9 5,2% 1 2022 5,2% 699 553 . With the official launch of the China-Europe freight train service on June 8, Poland, as an important country along the Belt and Road route, will significantly benefit from the freight network thanks to its geographic location and labor costs. During Polish President Andrzej Dudas visit to China last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that both sides can further discuss the proposal of building Poland into a logistic hub that covers the entire Central and Eastern European region. Poland is also Chinas largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe as well as the only member of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in the region. The cargo volume of Poland State Railways is the second largest among all EU countries, said Marek, Deputy Mayor of Lodz, Polands second largest city. After the Chengdu-Lodz freight train begins service, the Polish city will become the largest logistics center in the EU, Marek said, adding that the citys railway station will be the biggest hub to transfer Chinese goods to the European market. At present, Chengdu, Wuhan and Suzhou offer direct cargo train service to Poland. Many other China-Europe freight train lines will pass the country as well. Altogether 16 cities in China now run cargo lines to Duisburg, Hamburg, Madrid and another 9 European cities. MILAN, June 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Winners of 2015/16 European Business Awards Programme Crowned at Gala Event in Milan EUROPE's 12 best businesses are celebrating after being named winners in the 2015/16 European Business Awards, sponsored by RSM, at an exclusive awards ceremony in Milan last night attended by prominent businesses leaders, European ambassadors and government ministers. The winning businesses achieved their success after a 16-month long journey in Europe's biggest business competition, which this year engaged with over 32,000 businesses and generated over 227,000 votes from across the globe in its public vote. Business VIPs presented trophies to the 11 category winners of the competition and the 'European Public Champion'; the overall winner of the public vote. Additionally Roberto Polillo received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering work in information technology. THE WINNERS Category Winner Country Ireland The RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award Aerogen (Republic) The UKTI Award for Innovation TEKEVER Portugal The ELITE Award for Growth Strategy of the Nef-Timur Real Estate Year Development Turkey The Award for Environmental & Corporate Sustainability Wyke Farms United Kingdom The Award for Customer Focus Bel Medic Serbia The Employer of the Year Award Relekta Norway The Import/Export Award Mycronic AB Sweden The Business of the Year Award [t/o EUR0-25m] Clio Online Denmark The Business of the Year Award [t/o EUR26-150m] Grup Ametller Spain The Business of the Year Award [t/o EUR150m+] Figeac Aero France The European Public Champion YEDAS Turkey The Chairman's Selection Award Science4You S.A. Portugal The Lifetime Achievement Award Roberto Polillo Italy Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards, added: "These fantastic businesses are the best of the best. They demonstrate agility and adaptability, innovation and financial success and are creating strong growth opportunities in a competitive global marketplace. Together they are forging a stronger business community in Europe and creating a better future for us all." Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM, the 6th largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms, said: "The calibre of this year's competition finalists is outstanding. The extraordinary entrepreneurialism, innovation, leadership and business acumen demonstrated by the Ruban D'Honneur recipients and the overall category winners shows how much can be achieved in challenging market conditions. All those involved are a credit to their country and we wish them every success for the future." The 11 category winners went through a process of written submissions, video entry judging and face-to-face interviews, and were shortlisted as one of 678 National Champions and 110 Ruban d'Honneur recipients before reaching the final. 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. Supported since their inception by lead sponsor and promoter RSM, the European Business Awards' is now in its 10th year and its 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 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 227,000 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 [email protected] 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 LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies, Forecast Data & Analysis for Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), Aramid Fibre Reinforced Plastic (AFRP), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) Within Next Generation Commercial Airliners, Military, Business Jet, General Aviation, Helicopters & Civil Aircraft Visiongain assesses that the aerospace composites market will achieve revenues of $9,951m in 2016. Furthermore, the market is predicted to record strong growth rates over the next few years as new aircraft platforms and favourable growth rates in the aerospace industry, particularly for commercial aircraft, are expected to be key growth drivers over the next few years. The properties of composite materials offer a number of benefits to the performance of aircraft. The most significant is the lightweight structures which enables weight savings, lower fuel consumption and greater range. Furthermore, composite materials provide high levels of toughness and rigidity and are a suitable alternative to traditional metallic structures. Therefore, composites are becoming increasingly popular as the aerospace industry looks for new methods of delivering additional value to its end-users. It is therefore critical that you have your timescales correct and that you enhance your knowledge of significant competitors. This report will ensure that you do. Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage. The report will answer questions such as: What are the key trends, opportunities and challenges for the aerospace composites market currently and in the future? What factors are behind these trends and what are the prospects for related submarkets and regional markets? Who are the leading companies in the aerospace composites industry? What are stakeholders doing in response to the market environment? To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected] 5 Reasons why you must order and read this report today: 1) The report quantifies, forecasts and analyses the aerospace composites market: - Forecasts of the global market - Forecasts of key regional markets - Asia Pacific, Europe and North America - Forecasts of key national markets - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US, rest of Asia Pacific, Rest of Europe, Rest of Word - Analysis of factors that are driving or restraining market activity. 2) The report provides submarket forecasts and analyses for aerospace composites by type of composite: - Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) - Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) - Aramid Fibre Reinforced Plastic (AFRP) - Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) 3) The study reveals where aerospace composites stakeholders are investing. We show you information relating to: - Contracts and programmes - Products and services - Recent mergers, acquisitions and divestiture activity - Geographical distribution 4) 143 contracts reveal which sectors of the aerospace composites market are in demand 5) Profiles the top 11 aerospace composites companies including information relating to areas of specialisation, contract details, product information, strategy and key financial indicators: - E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company - GKN Aerospace - Hexcel Corporation - Huntsman Corporation - Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc - Celanese Corporation - Gurit Holding AG - Koninklijke TenCate NV - Senior plc - Solvay SA - Teijin Ltd How will you benefit from this report? This report will keep your knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind This report will allow you to reinforce strategic decision decision-making based upon definitive and reliable market data You will learn how to exploit new technological trends You will be able to realise your company's full potential within the market You will better understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships Ultimately, the report will save you time, providing a comprehensive outlook for the aerospace composites market prospects Competitive advantage This independent 256 page report, guarantees that you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 235 tables and figures examining the aerospace composites market, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of the leading players in your market. Net incomes and company sales data, as well as analysis keep your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals. Who should read this report? Anyone involved with the aerospace composites industry Composites materials manufacturers Composites industry executives / engineers Aerospace OEMs and system integrators R&D personnel CEO's COO's CIO's Business development managers Marketing managers Technologists Engineers Suppliers Investors Banks Aviation regulators Contractors Don't miss out This report is essential reading for you or anyone in the aerospace composites sector. Purchasing this report today will help you to recognise those important market opportunities and understand the possibilities there. Order the Aerospace Composites Market Report 2016-2026: Companies, Forecast Data & Analysis for Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), Aramid Fibre Reinforced Plastic (AFRP), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) Within Next Generation Commercial Airliners, Military, Business Jet, General Aviation, Helicopters & Civil Aircraft now. We look forward to receiving your order. To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected] To request an exec summary of this report please email Sara Peerun at [email protected] or call Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 6100 Or click on https://www.visiongain.com/Report/1659/Aerospace-Composites-Market-Report-2016-2026 Companies Listed 3A Composites Accudyne Systems Inc ACM Holdings LLC Advanced Composites Group Holdings Ltd Aernnova AeroComposit Aerospace Composites Malaysia Sdn Bhd (ACM) Aerospace Mexico Aerotron Brazil AGC AeroComposites Yeovil AgustaWestland Air Cargo Containers LLC Airbus Group SE Airbus Helicopters Airbus UK Aircelle Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) Alenia Aermacchi Alenia Aeronautica Amphenol Pcd Arevo Labs Atlas Composites ATR BAE Systems plc BASF SE Bayer AG Bell Helicopter Textron Inc BGF Industries Inc Boeing Canada Technology Boeing Canada Technology Winnipeg Division Boeing Company Boeing Tianjin Composites Bombardier Aerospace Carleton Aerospace Celanese (China) Holding Co Ltd Celanese Americas LLC Celanese Canada Inc Celanese Chemicals Europe GmbH Celanese Chemicals UK Ltd Celanese Corporation Celanese Japan Ltd Celanese Singapore Pte Ltd Cessna Aircraft Company Cetex Petrochemicals CFM International Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC Cirrus Aircraft Cobham plc Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) Composite Technology Inc (CTI) Composites Horizons LLC Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd COMPRASER Cool Polymers Inc Coriolis Composites Cytec Asia Pacific Holdings Pty Ltd Cytec Engineered Materials GmbH Cytec Industries Co Ltd Cytec Industries Inc Cytec Industries Pte Ltd Cytec Process Materials Sarl DAHER Dassault Aviation Dassault Falcon Diversified Structural Composites Inc Dow Chemical Company DuPont (Australia) Ltd DuPont China Holding Company Ltd DuPont Deutschland DuPont Nederland DuPont SA de CV DuPont Teijin Films UK Dyadic International Inc E.I. du Pont Canada E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Eaton Aerospace EDAC Embraer SA EPIC Polymers GmbH Eurocopter UK Eurostar Industries LLC FACC FAE Aerostructures SA de CV Finmeccanica SpA Fokker Aerospace BV Fokker Aerostructures Fokker Elmo Canada Inc Fokker Services Fokker Technologies Holdings BV Fokker Technology BV Formax UK Ltd Fuji Heavy Industries GE Aviation General Dynamics European Land Systems General Dynamics UK Gilde Buy Out Partners GKN Aerospace GKN Aerospace Aerostructures Inc GKN Aerospace Applied Composites AB GKN Aerospace Deutschland GmbH GKN Aerospace Sweden AB GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems (Thailand) Ltd GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems do Brasil Ltda GKN Aerospace US Holdings LLC GKN Land Systems GKN plc Grupo Celanese S de RL de CV GSE Industria Aeronautics srl Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Gurit (Asia Pacific) Ltd, Auckland Gurit (India) Pvt Ltd Pune Gurit (Kassel) GmbH Gurit (Qingdao) Composite Material Co Ltd Gurit (UK) Ltd, Newport Gurit Americas Inc Magog Gurit Holding AG Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Centre (HMC) Hexcel (Tianjin) Composites Material Co Ltd Hexcel Asia Pacific Trading Ltd Hexcel China Holdings Corp Hexcel Composites GmbH Hexcel Composites Ltd Hexcel Composites SARLAU Hexcel Composites Sdn Bhd Hexcel Composites Srl Hexcel Corporation Hexcel Fibers SASU Hexcel Fibers SL Hexcel Foundation Hindustan Mills Ltd Hindustan Technical Fabrics Ltd HITCO Carbon Composites Inc Honda Aircraft Company Huntsman Advanced Materials (Hong Kong) Ltd Huntsman Advanced Materials Americas LLC Huntsman Advanced Materials Argentina Srl Huntsman Advanced Materials Europe BVBA Huntsman Advanced Materials Holdings (UK) Ltd Huntsman Advanced Materials LLC Huntsman Advanced Materials Quimica Brasil Ltda Huntsman Corporation Huntsman Corporation Canada Inc Huntsman Polymers Corporation ICON Aircraft Icon Polymer Group Ltd Irkut Jiangsu Hangke Composite Materials Technology Co Ltd Kaman Aerospace Group Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kestrel Aircraft Kineco Kaman Composites Kineco Private Ltd Koninklijke TenCate NV Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd Le Joint Francais Leading Composites Technologies Inc Lehman Brothers LIBA Lockheed Martin Corporation MACRO Industries Marenco Swisshelicopter AG Meggitt Messier-Bugatti-Dowdy Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitusbishi Carbon Fibre and Composites MTU Aero Engines AG Mubadala Development Company PJSC Northrop Grumman Corporation Osiris Chemicals Industry Platform Pacific American Corporation Performance Polymer Solutions Inc PPG Industries Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) Premium Aerotec GmbH PT Cytec Indonesia QinetiQ North America Quantum Composites Quickstep Holdings Ltd Quickstep Technologies RIBA Composites Srl Rockwell Collins Inc Rolls-Royce plc Rotating Composite Technologies RTP Company SABCA Safran SA Senior Aerospace BWT Senior Aerospace Composites Senior Atlas Composites Senior Jet Products Senior plc Setsunakasei Co Ltd SGL Group SGL Kumpers GmbH Sheets Manufacturing Inc Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works Sierra Nevada Corporation Sigma Aeronautics Ltd Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation SME Aerospace Sdn Bhd Snecma Snecma Propulsion Solide (Safran) Solae LLC Solvay Argentina SA Solvay Canada Inc Solvay Chemicals International SA Solvay Japan KK Solvay SA Solvay Specialty Polymers Spintech Ventures Spirit Aerosystems (Europe) Ltd Spirit Aerosystems France Sarl Spirit Aerosystems Global Investments CV Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc Spirit Aerosystems Inc Spirit Aerosystems Investco LLC Spirit Aerosystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd Spirit Aerosystems North Carolina Inc Spirit Aerosystems Singapore Pte Ltd Spirit Aftermarket Customer Support Spirit Defense Inc Spirit Shadow Works European Steico Industries Inc Strata Manufacturing PJSC Taikoo Spirit Aerosystems (Jinjiang) Composites Co Ltd TAL Manufacturing Solutions Tata Advanced Materials Tata Group Technifab Inc Tecnoelastomeri Teijin Advanced Composites America Inc Teijin Aramid Teijin Aramid BV Teijin Aramid de Mexico SA de CV Teijin Aramid France EURL Teijin Aramid GmbH Teijin Aramid USA Inc Teijin Corporation (Thailand) Ltd Teijin Ltd Teijin Polyester (Thailand) Ltd Teijin Product Development China Co Ltd TenCate Advanced Armor USA TenCate Advanced Composites TenCate Advanced Composites North America Tennessee Acquisition BV Thackersey Group The Gill Corporation Ticona Engineering Polymers Ticona Polymers Inc TIGHITCO Tioxide Europe Ltd Toho Tenax America Inc Toho Tenax Co Ltd Toho Tenax Europe GmbH Toho Tenax Singapore Pte Ltd Toray Industries Triumph Aerostructures-Vought Aircraft Division-Tulsa Triumph Group Inc Umeco United Aircraft Corporation United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS) United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Upeca Technologies UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) Vestas Web Industries Weston X'ian Aircraft International Corporation Zodiac Advanced Composites & Engineered Materials To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected] SOURCE Visiongain Ltd LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Online jewelry retailer Angara strides into the world of pearls by launching an exquisite assortment of pearl jewelry. A special treat awaits all born in the month of June at Angara- we're delighted to introduce our all-new pearl jewelry collection. Featuring both classic and contemporary designs, this selection has been carefully curated, keeping in mind the modern woman's evolving style sense. Premium craftsmanship and awe-inspiring designs are the highlights of this assortment. Angara's pearl jewelry collection is all about timeless grace and sophisticated elegance. It includes simple, minimalist designs as well as ornate styles. It features earrings, pendants and rings adorned with Akoya, South Sea, Freshwater and Tahitian cultured pearls. There is a great deal to choose from - refreshing floral designs, fluid swirl patterns and charming love motifs. There are also pieces in which the luminous pearl is set in combination with sparkling diamonds. Each design in Angara's collection can be easily customized on the basis of pearl quality, carat weight and metal. This makes it convenient for customers to choose pieces that match their style and budget. With prices starting at around $79, Angara's latest launch aims at bringing jewelry embellished with lustrous cultured pearls to women of all age groups. Visit the Angara website to take a look at the stunning pearl jewelry. Founded in 2005 by Ankur Daga, Angara is an online jewelry retailer based in Los Angeles, California. They specialize in Sapphires, Rubies, Emeralds, Tanzanite, Diamonds and other precious gemstone jewelry. Several decades of experience in the fine gemstone business gives them deep knowledge of gemstone sourcing, cutting, polishing and design. The company aims at offering customers a seamless online jewelry shopping experience. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Angara Related Links http://www.angara.com BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills has unveiled Dali Exhibit at Two Rodeo Drive, which marks the first and largest outdoor showcase of Dalis sculptures in the United States. This world class exhibition of 12 iconic Salvador Dali sculptures is presented by Two Rodeo Drive and Galerie Michael, with a sponsorship from Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau. Drawing visitors locally and internationally, the collection will be free to the public and on display at Two Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills now through September 23, 2016. The exhibit highlights Dali's three-dimensional bronze monumental sculptures that are up to 12 feet tall as well as museum-sized sculptures that range in size from four to nine feet. Loaned from The Stratton Institute which possesses the world's largest collection of Dali's monumental sculptures, the exhibit offers the rare opportunity to view Dali's surreal sculptures in an open environment outside of a museum or gallery setting. Each sculpture highlights Dali's untamed imagination, offering onlookers a surreal and unique experience. The following are descriptions of the pieces that will be on display and available for purchase this summer: Monumental Sculptures: Persistence of Memory: Dalinian time is not rigid, but rather fluid. The unexpected softness of the watch represents the psychological fact that speed of time, while precise in scientific use, is widely variable in human perception. Dalinian time is not rigid, but rather fluid. The unexpected softness of the watch represents the psychological fact that speed of time, while precise in scientific use, is widely variable in human perception. Saint George and the Dragon: Saint George, guardian angel of Aragon and celebrated saint of chivalry in medieval Europe , battles against heresy and evil. Saint George, guardian angel of Aragon and celebrated saint of chivalry in medieval , battles against heresy and evil. The Unicorn : The mythical creature, a symbol of purity. The sensual nature of the piece is created with the portrayal of the unicorn as a phallic figure with the out-stretched woman at its hooves. : The mythical creature, a symbol of purity. The sensual nature of the piece is created with the portrayal of the unicorn as a phallic figure with the out-stretched woman at its hooves. Woman Aflame: 'A woman's mystery is her true beauty,' as idealised with Dali's use of the flames and drawers that convey the hidden intensity of unconscious desire and the mystery of hidden secrets. Museum Sculptures: Dance of Time I: Dalinian time is perpetual, "dancing on", stopping for no man, history or the cosmos. The sculpture exemplifies Dali's relationship with time, his perception of its constricting limitations and the importance he believed to be inherent in memory. Dalinian time is perpetual, "dancing on", stopping for no man, history or the cosmos. The sculpture exemplifies Dali's relationship with time, his perception of its constricting limitations and the importance he believed to be inherent in memory. Dance of Time II: The fluidity and space of time is represented through constant movement and dancing in sync to the beat of the universe. The fluidity and space of time is represented through constant movement and dancing in sync to the beat of the universe. Horse Saddled with Time: ' Man believes he is in control of the voyage, but it is time who is the ultimate rider.' This famous Dalinian image of the horse saddled with Dalinian time, time that controls all of man's passage. Man believes he is in control of the voyage, but it is time who is the ultimate rider.' This famous Dalinian image of the horse saddled with Dalinian time, time that controls all of man's passage. Triumphant Angel: The beautiful Dalian angel trumpets his divine music, wings spread, head thrown back, sending his jubilant message to all who will listen. The beautiful angel trumpets his divine music, wings spread, head thrown back, sending his jubilant message to all who will listen. Triumphant Elephant: Exemplifies every individual's hope for abundance and good fortune in the future. Exemplifies every individual's hope for abundance and good fortune in the future. Snail and the Angel: A place in the Dalinian universe, intimately connected with the artist's encounter with Sigmund Freud , who Dali regarded as his spiritual father. A place in the Dalinian universe, intimately connected with the artist's encounter with , who Dali regarded as his spiritual father. Surrealist Piano: Dali animates the instrument into an animated and joyous musical piano that can dance with its legs from a woman as well as play. Dali animates the instrument into an animated and joyous musical piano that can dance with its legs from a woman as well as play. Surrealist Warrior: Roman warrior representing all victories - real and ethereal, spiritual and physical. Dali Exhibit at Two Rodeo Drive was organized in partnership with Bill Wiley, CBRE Director of Two Rodeo Drive, Michael Schwartz, Founder of Galerie Michael and Beniamino Levi, President of The Stratton Institute. Levi and Schwartz both had personal relationships with Dali. Over the duration of the exhibition, Galerie Michael will offer complimentary docent tours of the collection on weekends, Saturdays 10am 4pm and Sundays 11am 3pm. The tours will begin on Saturday, June 25. The exhibit is also working with Operation Smile, an international non-profit medical organization dedicated to improving the health and lives of children in developing countries with access to surgical care for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. Donations raised during the exhibition as well as a percentage of sales from purchased sculptures will benefit Operation Smile. Two Rodeo and Galerie Michael are proud to support the children of Operation Smile through this promotion. For more information on Dali Exhibit at Two Rodeo Drive please visit: www.tworodeo.com or follow #Dali2Rodeo. About Two Rodeo Drive Two Rodeo Drive is home to 30 luxury and fashion boutiques including Galerie Michael, Jimmy Choo, Versace, Lanvin, Porsche Design, Brunello Cucinelli, Stefano Ricci, Breguet, Richard Mille, Etro, Philipp Plein and 208 Rodeo and Urasawa restaurants. Two Rodeo Drives latest additions include Audemars Piguet and Carolina Herrera. Two Rodeo Drive is instantly recognizable as an iconic symbol of the prestigious and distinctive city of Beverly Hills and Americas most celebrated shopping district. Two Rodeo Drive is located at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. For more information, visit tworodeo.com or contact (310) 247-7040. About Galerie Michael Galerie Michael is a unique fine art gallery located on the famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills for over thirty years. The gallerys model is built on posterity rather than prosperity, which means a long term view on working with collectors in building museum quality collections, one work at a time. An important aspect of Galerie Michaels ongoing success is that customers are treated as business partners with full access to Galerie Michaels planning, market expertise, curatorial knowledge, and staff of fine art scholars. The gallery is known internationally for its leading edge in 17th to 20th Century master works, mounting over eighteen annual exhibitions, including Barbizon and the Journey to Impressionism, Picasso and the Artists Muse, Rembrandt: A Comparative View and Renoir and the Impressionists. Galerie Michaels long-term commitment to collector ethics, access to fine art, education and art collecting along with its prestigious membership in the Fine Art Dealers Association (FADA), it has established itself as one of the most highly regarded, successful galleries in the United States and worldwide. For more information visit http://www.galeriemichael.com/ About Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is one of the world's most sought-after locales. Centrally located in greater Los Angeles, Beverly Hills is a premier holiday and business travel destination, with beautiful weather year-round, acclaimed full-service and boutique hotel accommodations, superb dining, and unrivalled shopping. Synonymous with Hollywood glamour, Beverly Hills enjoys an international reputation as the home and playground of A-list movie stars. The city is not only known worldwide for its grand mansions and chic shops along Rodeo Drive, but also for its multitude of art and architecture, spas and salons, and exceptional walkability. Learn more at www.lovebeverlyhills.com or on Facebook and Twitter. About The Stratton Institute The Stratton Institute is dedicated to promotion of culture and the arts. It contributes to the pleasure of the museum-visiting public by creating and circulating exhibitions and collections of exceptional quality. The Stratton Institute 's collection of Dali artworks, has already been seen by more than 12 million people around the world, and has toured over 100 prestigious museums and locations in the past twenty-five years. The shows have all met with great public and critical acclaim, and have enjoyed excellent press reviews. As the initiator of projects dedicated to the universal influence of Salvador Dali, the Stratton Institute has also played a major role in organizing exhibitions jointly with various international museums and cultural institutions. The President of the Stratton Foundation, Beniamino Levi, personally knew Salvador Dali. It was Dali himself who suggested to Mr. Levi the setting up of museums and exhibitions around the world dedicated to his artistic genius. Many world famous dignitaries have attended the opening evenings of the various exhibitions presented by the Stratton Institute and over forty have personally written to the Stratton Institute expressing their thanks. The former President of France, Jacques Chirac, has written the introduction to the Stratton Institute French exhibition catalogue. The Stratton Institute continues to enjoy the support of major governmental agencies, embassies, ministries, and ambassadors, and is recognized the world over as being a prestigious leader and organizer of exhibitions within the world of art. www.thedaliuniverse.com About Operation Smile Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care. Since 1982, Operation Smile has developed expertise in mobilizing volunteer medical teams to conduct surgical missions in resource-poor environments while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile helps to fill the gap in providing access to safe, well-timed surgeries by partnering with hospitals, governments and ministries of health, training local medical personnel, and donating much-needed supplies and equipment to surgical sites around the world. Founded and based in Virginia, U.S., Operation Smile has extended its global reach to more than 60 countries through its network of credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and student volunteers. For more information visit www.operationsmile.com SOURCE Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau Related Links http://lovebeverlyhills.com SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bradford National Bank, Illinois National Bank and The PrivateBank were honored for their exceptional community service with 2016 Illinois Bank Community Service Awards presented by the Illinois Bankers Association (IBA). The awards ceremony was held on June 14 during the 125th Annual IBA Conference held at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis. This is the 14th year for the Community Service awards, which honor Illinois financial institutions that demonstrate a high level of service in their communities. Here is a capsulated look at some of the winners' projects. This is by no means a comprehensive list of the many projects these banks have engaged in within their communities. Bradford National Bank Bradford National Bank in Greenville believes in the hallmarks of community banking, local people, local commitment and local investment. For last year's Greenville Bicentennial Celebration, the bank was the first business to step up and support the event financially with a $20,000 Platinum Level Sponsorship. The bank even turned over its Greenville main bank campus to the two-day event. The bank also is a Sponsor/Organizer of the 11th annual Art in Education Art Show. This annual two-day event, sponsored and organized with area schools, is designed to showcase the artwork of students in all Greenville schools. In addition, the bank makes a huge effort to get local resident to "Go Local" for the holidays, using radio, newspaper, web sites and social media to get the word out. Illinois National Bank Illinois National Bank employees are passionate about serving the needs of the community and prove it on a daily basis. One of the projects bank employees are most passionate about is their work with low-income children. For the past five years, INB, located in Springfield, has hosted a Spring Break Snack Food Event for the children who live in Brandon Court, a low-income housing development. The event is coordinated with the Central Illinois Foodbank's Kids Cafe, a nationwide program through Feeding America that assures children a hot, nutritious meal in a safe environment. In 2016, INB employees provided more than 3,500 hundred pounds of food to 160 children. In addition, since the bank's founding in 1999, INB and its employees have donated almost $900,000 to United Way. Over the years, bank employees have served on the board of directors, as treasurer, and business development chair, and also on the Community Fund Panel. The PrivateBank and Trust Company The PrivateBank in Chicago takes great pride in the commitment its employees have to their neighborhood partners. The Lend a Hand Program is one such initiative. In this program, last year, the bank's Credit Risk Team divided up into teams and worked with eight different organizations as a way to "lend a hand." In 2015, in all, more than 300 area non-profits benefitted from volunteer services provided by over 800 PrivateBank employees. Employees logged more than 11,500 hours in 2015an all-time high for the bank. In 2015, nearly 400 employees from The PrivateBank volunteered at 19 Chicago schools in partnership with Big Shoulders Fund for the Fourth Annual All Team Volunteer Day. In 2015, bank employees spoke at 55 homebuyer seminars and 5 credit education events, and nearly 1,300 people participated in these events. The Illinois Bankers Association, the voice of Illinois' banking industry, is a full-service trade association dedicated to creating a positive business climate that benefits the entire banking industry and the communities they serve. Founded in 1891, the IBA brings together state and national banks and savings banks that together employ well over 100,000 people in nearly 5,000 offices across the state. SOURCE Illinois Bankers Association OAKLAND, Calif., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cal/OSHA urgently advises employers in Southern California to prepare for record-setting temperatures. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings that will last from Sunday through Wednesday. Los Angeles is expected to be hit with its first significant heat wave of the year, with temperatures expected to peak at 102 in downtown Los Angeles, and 105 in inland Orange County. Even coastal areas may see the temperatures in the low 90s. Temperatures approaching 120 degrees are predicted in the Inland Empire and lower desert areas. There is also a heat watch in effect for San Luis Obispo County. In addition to the basic steps outlined by California's heat regulation for employers with outdoor workers, heat above 95 degrees Fahrenheit requires additional precautions. Among other measures, it is crucial that workers are actively monitored for early signs of heat illness. This helps ensure sick employees receive treatment immediately and that the symptoms do not develop into serious illness or death. "With excessive temperatures on their way, employers must be vigilant," said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. "Ensuring an adequate supply of water, providing a shaded area for rest and recognizing the signs of heat illness can save workers' lives." California's heat regulation requires employers 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. Ensure that emergency medical services can and will be summoned when an employee feels sick or exhibits signs of heat illness, such as nausea, exhaustion or mental confusion. 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 Jules Bernstein 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 http://www.youtube.com/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 California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA Dr. Ashraf Hanna , a board certified physician and director of pain management at the Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater, Fl discussed what someone should do when they have neck or back pain: "Well, if someone wakes up in pain, if they have a back injury , have a slip and fall, lift something heavy, have a car accident , etc, and they begin to complain about severe pain, they should definitely see a pain management specialist after checking with their primary care physician. The pain management specialist should be board-certified and fellowship-trained in interventional pain management." Dr. Hanna went on to talk about what sets the Florida Spine Institute apart from other pain clinics. "The Florida Spine Institute offers a comprehensive wellness program and multi-disciplinary treatment modalities ranging from physical therapy, epidural steroid injection, to procedures such as radiofrequency ablation and spinal cord stimulation implants." When asked what patients can do if they had previously been told there is nothing more that can be done and that they will have to live with their pain, Dr. Hanna responded, "Chronic pain is a major source of suffering and disability, even suicide. For example, the pain associated with shingles is the leading cause of suicide in patients 70 years and older. But, with the options I just mentioned, patients do not have to live with the pain anymore." Steve Gorey, a patient of Dr. Hanna, has been able to reduce or eliminate his need for medications. Steve said, "I had back surgery, but was still in a lot of pain, so I had various procedures including an intrathecal morphine pump. Dr Hanna then performed triggerpoint injections and radiofrequency ablation and my pain was significantly improved. After this, Dr. Hanna weaned me off the morphine pump and opioids. Now I am off medication, and feel much better and am very functional again." James Doyle, another patient of Dr. Hanna, had tried many treatments before deciding to control his pain with medication. James stated, "My lower back pain began in 1984, while I was on active duty in the military. I had major spine surgery, which fused my spine from L2-L5 without relief. I began seeing Dr. Hanna and we tried spinal injections, which didn't help. I was in a lot of pain and not functional. I was started on an opioid and was monitored by Dr. Hanna and had significant relief of my back pain. I am now able to do more things with my family, am very functional and have a better quality of life." Dr. Hanna concluded, "Our goal is having early aggressive intervention combined with various procedures to reduce or eliminate the need for pain medication. In some more complex cases, patients that have failed all interventions, including major surgery, need to be on opioid therapy that is carefully monitored to keep them comfortable and functional. Our mission is more function and less pain." For more information regarding pain management, please visit http://www.nopainhanna.com or call 727-450-3123 Video - http://youtu.be/Xd3iBBOpnPs SOURCE www.nopainhanna.com Related Links http://www.nopainhanna.com CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack's will open its newest location in Chattanooga, TN., located at 3530 Cummings Highway, on Wednesday, June 22nd at 5:00 AM. Jack's will give away made-from-scratch buttermilk sausage biscuits to the first 100 people to visit the restaurant. Made-From-Scratch Buttermilk Biscuits "The Big Jack" Jack's features a wide range of menu items, including award-winning made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, along with signature breakfast plates, its signature sandwich: the "Big Jack," fried chicken, hand-breaded chicken fingers, hamburgers, salads, and delicious hand-dipped milkshakes. Jack's is known throughout the South for its quality, fresh, made-from-scratch products. Serving great quality food, fast. "We're excited to bring great Fast Food-Southern Style to Chattanooga," said Pam Measel, Director of Marketing of Jack's. "We strive to be a part of the community everywhere we go. Chattanooga has always been an important crossroads in the South, and Jack's is All About the South." The Chattanooga location will be staffed by local community members. The restaurant includes a drivethru, and can seat up to 85. Hours of operation for the store will be Mon. through Thurs. 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Fri. and Sat. 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The store will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. on Sundays. Recently, the Daily Meal website named Jack's to its list of "10 Southern Restaurant Chains We Wish We Had Up North," In addition, Jack's has won best biscuit and best breakfast awards numerous times. The grand-opening celebration will also extend online with a chance for one lucky person to receive free Jack's for a year. The social media contest will run on Facebook only, from June 20th thru June 22nd. It's geo-targeted exclusively for the Chattanooga area. The winner will be selected on June 23rd during the last day of our celebration. See our Facebook page for details: https://www.facebook.com/eatatjacks About Jack's Family Restaurants, LP. Jack's Family Restaurants, LP was started in 1960 in Homewood, AL. The restaurant specializes in breakfast, burgers, fries, hand-breaded chicken fingers and hand-dipped shakes. Jack's has more than 135 stores across the Southeast with locations in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. Since 1960, many things have changed in our world, but one thing has remained the same: Jack's is still serving up great food, with a smile. Media Resources Media contact: Pam Measel, Director of Marketing o: 205-945-8167 x 111 c: 205-540-8067 Email Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380777 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380778 SOURCE Jack's Family Restaurants, LP. PHILADELPHIA, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CloudMine, healthcare's secure data platform, has released an iOS SDK (software development kit) designed to work with Apple's CareKit framework. Built to support native iOS apps, this SDK will communicate with CloudMine's Connected Health Cloud. CloudMine's Connected Health Cloud complements the CareKit framework to provide secure storage for data generated by CareKit apps. CloudMine's SDK also provides CareKit app developers with HIPAA compliance, end-to-end encryption, user management & authentication, clinical systems connectivity (including electronic health records or "EHR"), and streamlined access to SMS/text & push notifications. The CareKit SDK will be part of CloudMine's existing CMHealth SDK, which includes support for Apple ResearchKit to power mobile clinical trials and survey-based engagement. "Digital health is about empowering patients through understanding and engagement," said Brendan McCorkle, CEO of CloudMine. "CloudMine's CareKit software development kit provides healthcare organizations with the ability to deliver robust iOS applications to understand and engage through storing sensitive patient data and gaining key insights from the context of patient life." CloudMine successfully raised a Series A totaling $7.25 million in 2015, led by Safeguard Scientifics. The company also saw revenue growth triple over the year, landed several landmark clients, and more than doubled headcount. To learn more about CareKit, watch CloudMine's informational webinar, "Understanding CareKit's Role in Connected Health." The CareKit SDK is available as part of the CMHealth SDK, available at https://github.com/cloudmine/CMHealthSDK-iOS. The Connected Health Cloud is currently available at www.cloudmineinc.com. About CloudMine CloudMine provides the only secure, cloud-based digital health platform that helps healthcare organizations connect to the world of healthcare data, promote patient engagement, and ultimately improve quality of care. Through CloudMine, technology is available today that makes delivering accurate, personalized and intelligent health solutions within reach for all parties in the healthcare chain, from hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to life science and biotech startups. CloudMine's Connected Health Cloud is being used by world-class enterprises including Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Biomeme, Mylan Specialty, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Barnes & Noble College and Digitas Health. For more information, visit CloudMine at http://www.cloudmineinc.com, call (855) 662-7722, or follow us on twitter @CloudMine. CLOUDMINE PR CONTACT: Jenni Glenn (856) 924-0833 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160510/365977LOGO SOURCE CloudMine Related Links http://www.cloudmineinc.com OAKVILLE, ON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Concordia Healthcare Corp. ("Concordia" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CXRX) (TSX: CXR), an international pharmaceutical company focused on legacy pharmaceutical products and orphan drugs, today announced positive findings from an analysis of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) with Photofrin clinical data and also provided a corporate update. PDT With Photofrin Data PDT with Photofrin is Concordia's light-based cancer treatment that combines a photosensitizing drug called Photofrin (porfimer sodium) with a specific type of light to attack cancer cells. PDT with Photofrin has three U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved oncology indications: esophageal cancer, Barrett's Esophagus and non-small cell lung cancer. The Company is also evaluating Photofrin as a rare disease product candidate through a Phase 3 clinical trial. The ongoing Phase 3 trial is evaluating the product's safety and efficacy as a potential treatment for cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, which is a rare disease affecting approximately 2,000-3,000 patients annually in the United States. Last week, an abstract was published at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting assessing the effectiveness of PDT compared to non-PDT ablation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The analysis using the SEER medical database showed advantages with PDT compared to non-PDT ablation in terms of post-treatment survival. The Company also intends to participate in a number of upcoming events to communicate data to the oncology community about PDT with Photofrin. These events include CHEST 2016, an annual conference hosted by the American College of Chest Physicians, and SPIE 2016, an annual meeting focused on an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. Update on Arbitration Proceeding Concordia also announced today that it has settled a previously disclosed arbitration proceeding commenced by a former financial advisor to the Company, whereby the financial advisor was claiming it was owed approximately $38.3 million (plus accrued interest on such amount). As part of the settlement, the parties have released all claims against each other and the Company has agreed to pay a settlement amount of $12.5 million. About Concordia Concordia is a diverse, international pharmaceutical company focused on legacy pharmaceutical products and orphan drugs. The Company has an international footprint with sales in more than 100 countries, and has a diversified portfolio of more than 200 established, off-patent molecules that make up more than 1,300 SKUs. Concordia also markets orphan drugs through its Orphan Drug Division, currently consisting of Photofrin for the treatment of certain rare forms of cancer, which is currently undergoing testing for potential new indications. Concordia operates out of facilities in Oakville, Ontario and, through its subsidiaries, operates out of facilities in Bridgetown, Barbados; London, England and Mumbai, India. Notice regarding forward-looking statements and information: This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, regarding Concordia and its business, which may include, but are not limited to, the evaluation of Photofrin as a rare disease product candidate, the safety and efficacy of Photofrin as a potential treatment for cholangiocarcinoma, the effectiveness of PDT compared to non-PDT ablation, post-treatment survival advantages of PDT compared to non-PDT ablation, and participation by the Company in events to communicate data to the oncology community about PDT with Photofrin. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this news release may not occur by certain dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Concordia, including risks associated with clinical trials, risks related to developing new product indications, risks relating to Concordia's securities, Concordia's growth, risks associated with the use of Concordia's products, increased leverage, the inability to generate cash flows, revenues and/or stable margins, the inability to repay debt and/or satisfy future obligations, risks associated with Concordia's outstanding debt, risks associated with the geographic markets in which Concordia operates, the pharmaceutical industry and the regulation thereof, economic factors, the equity and debt markets generally, general economic and stock market conditions, risks associated with fluctuations in exchange rates (including, without limitation, fluctuations in currencies), risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Concordia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Administrators, and many other factors beyond the control of Concordia. Although Concordia has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward-looking statement or information can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements and information speak only as of the date on which they are made and Concordia undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. SOURCE Concordia Healthcare Corp. Related Links www.concordiarx.com Jiang signs his name on a body donation document.(Photo/Xinxu Evening Newspaper) On June 15, Jiang Guozhen, who was awarded "China's Most Beautiful Rural Teacher, died at the age of 86. Jiang, who was born in Jiangjia village of east China's Jiangxi province in 1930, has been donating money since 1979 when he donated a retroactive pay of 9,600 yuan he received from the government to the Project Hope. In order to help needy students, Jiang has donated more than 400,000 yuan throughout his life, surpassing the sum of his total salary. Jiang donated his wages, pensions, special benefits and the money he earned from farming work and scrap collection. In Janunary 2016, Jiang, despite illness, took a bus to a nearby township to withdraw 14,000 yuan to help poor college students with their tuitions for a new semester. After that, he only had 1.36 yuan left on his deposit book. Jiang lived frugally. He wore worn clothes, ate rice and sweet potatoes. He lived in a shabby house, refusing to spend money on its renovation. His house collapsed one day and Jiang was saved from under the debris. At last, Jiang lived in a senior's house. Jiang and the students he helps.(Photo/Xinxu Evening Newspaper) Jiang and the students he helps.(Photo/Xinxu Evening Newspaper) Jiang eats rice with sweet potato as his meals.(Photo/Xinxu Evening Newspaper) Jiang refuses to discard his towel which has been used for years.(Photo/Xinxu Evening Newspaper) IRVINE, Calif., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today announced it has issued a conditional notice of optional redemption for all of its outstanding 7.25% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "Notes") subject to the satisfaction of the Condition (as defined below). The redemption of the Notes is expected to occur on July 18, 2016 (the "Redemption Date"). Subject to the satisfaction of the Condition, CoreLogic intends to redeem the Notes at a price equal to 103.625% of the principal amount of the Notes redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the Redemption Date (the "Redemption Price"). The aggregate principal amount outstanding of the Notes is $393,000,000. The redemption of the Notes is subject to and conditioned upon CoreLogic's deposit with the Trustee of funds from one or more debt financing transactions in an amount sufficient to pay the Redemption Price (the "Condition"). From the Redemption Date forward, the Notes will no longer be deemed outstanding, interest will no longer accrue and holders will have no rights other than the right to receive the Redemption Price, without additional accrued interest, upon surrender of the Notes. Payment of the Redemption Price will be made only upon presentation and surrender of the Notes to Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee and paying agent, at the address specified in the Conditional Notice of Optional Full Redemption. Questions regarding the Conditional Notice of Optional Full Redemption should be directed to Wilmington Trust, National Association at 203-453-4130. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a notice of redemption, nor an offer to tender for, or purchase, any Notes or any other security. There can be no assurances that the conditions precedent to the redemption will be satisfied or that the redemption will occur. 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. Safe Harbor / Forward Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Risks and uncertainties exist that may cause the results to differ materially from those set forth in these forward-looking statements. We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "plan," "seek," "comfortable with," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. A number of important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including our ability to satisfy the Condition or consummate the redemption and those factors discussed in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the year ended March 31, 2016, filed on April 22, 2016 with the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which can be found at the SEC's website www.sec.gov, each of which is specifically incorporated into this press release, as well as any risk factors contained in subsequent quarterly and annual reports we file with the SEC. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. CoreLogic does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100609/CLLOGO SOURCE CoreLogic Related Links http://www.corelogic.com GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) has been reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), following a comprehensive two-year evaluation including self-study, review, and a site visit that concluded in May 2016. The reaffirmation of accreditation has been granted through 2025-2026, and did not include provisional monitoring requirements. The university received its initial accreditation by the HLC in June 2011, having previously operated under extended accreditation of the Colorado State University in Fort Collins and Colorado State University-Pueblo since first enrolling students in 2008. "Our HLC reaccreditation represents CSU-Global's collective ability to validate the quality and integrity of our academic programs and our effective work with students leading to their academic and workplace success. With the reaccreditation, the university's mission and vision as supported by the CSU System Board of Governors, will continue to serve nontraditional students in Colorado and beyond." said Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, CSU-Global president. The HLC reaccreditation process provides opportunities for continuous improvement of existing programs and processes. In approving the reaccreditation, HLC peer reviewers examined university data, documentation, and participated in first-hand observation during the university's site visit in February. The HLC is one of the regional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit degree granting colleges and universities. Criteria for HLC accreditation apply the Commission's standards of quality for institutional demonstration of mission; integrity: ethical and responsible conduct; teaching and learning quality, resources and support; teaching and learning evaluation and improvement; and resources, planning and institutional effectiveness. "Reaffirming our reaccreditation for the next 10 years the maximum timeframe allowed is a testament to the work of our incredible faculty and staff and helps validate that our programs are of the highest academic quality," said Dr. Jon Bellum, Provost and Executive Vice President. About Colorado State University-Global Campus Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) offers career relevant bachelor's and master's degree programs for working adults and nontraditional learners. As the first and only 100% online, fully accredited public university in the United States, CSU-Global is focused on student success as its number one priority. Embracing the land grant heritage as part of the Colorado State University System, CSU-Global sets the standard for quality and innovation in higher education through its expert faculty who are recognized as industry leaders and trained in working with adults in an online learning environment. CSU-Global offers a streamlined enrollment process with accelerated eight week courses that start every four weeks. Visit CSUGlobal.edu or call 1-800-920-6723 for more information. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160315/344479LOGO SOURCE Colorado State University - Global Campus Related Links http://www.csuglobal.org GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) President Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker and Provost Dr. Jon Bellum both participated in education panels at the international GlobalMindED conference in Denver, Colorado last Friday. Dr. Takeda-Tinker moderated a panel on the utilization of evidence-based practices and data analytics to improve outcomes for first generation and underserved populations of students. Dr. Bellum shared his thoughts on a panel regarding attainment gaps for the same underserved populations. The GlobalMindED conference, which boasted over 700 attendees, including 100 first generation college students, brings first-generation college students together with educators, industry professionals, global entrepreneurs, policy makers, and the nonprofit sector to promote access and opportunity for college and workplace success. "The GlobalMindED conference's focus on access, equity, and opportunity fits with our mission of advancing student success in a global society," said Takeda-Tinker. "As a leader in providing high quality, affordable, and career-relevant education to nontraditional adult learners, we appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with others to help drive the industry forward." In CSU-Global's student population, 40% of students are first generation college students, and 26% represent underserved populations. One hurdle discussed in both panels was the student debt crisis, which CSU-Global seeks to address through individualized tuition planning sessions for each student, as well as multiple alternative credit options. The university also utilizes transfer agreements with community colleges, and its acceptance of nontraditional credit from vetted organizations including American Council on Education, to allow students to transfer their credits toward a more traditional bachelor's degree. The 2016 conference theme was Collective Impact: Who Will Magnify Your Work and Results? The conference was divided into several tracks including health, higher education, K-12, global work skills, STEM, students, policy, and technology. The event included panels, workshops, and a career fair for the student attendees. About Colorado State University-Global Campus Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) offers career relevant bachelor's and master's degree programs for working adults and nontraditional learners. As the first and only 100% online, fully accredited public university in the United States, CSU-Global is focused on student success as its number one priority. Embracing the land grant heritage as part of the Colorado State University System, CSU-Global sets the standard for quality and innovation in higher education through its expert faculty who are recognized as industry leaders and trained in working with adults in an online learning environment. CSU-Global offers a streamlined enrollment process with accelerated eight week courses that start every four weeks. Visit CSUGlobal.edu or call 1-800-920-6723 for more information. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160315/344479LOGO SOURCE Colorado State University - Global Campus Related Links http://www.csuglobal.org The CVS Health Foundation will donate $100,000 to the OneOrlando Fund, which is also accepting online donations from the public at www.OneOrlando.org . The Fund will support nonprofits that are helping victims and families, the LGBTQ, Hispanic and faith communities, along with future needs of the community as it tries to move forward. The OneOrlando Fund is part of the nonprofit organization, Strengthen Orlando, created in 2009. "We are heartbroken for our customers, colleagues and the community that have been impacted by the senseless tragedy that occurred in Orlando and offer our condolences to their families and loved ones," said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO of CVS Health. "We hope our commitment will help the victims and families affected by this horrific act and support the Orlando community as it begins the healing process." In addition, beginning Friday, June 17, CVS Pharmacy locations in the Greater Orlando, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale areas will hold an in-store fundraising campaign for the OneOrlando Fund that will allow customers and colleagues to make a $1, $3 or more donation at the register directly to the Fund. All proceeds will support the initiative. "Our City has just begun to recover from the impact of the Pulse tragedy. The support of partners like CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation sends a signal to our City that we are not in this alone," said Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando. "The money we are raising will provide a way to help us respond to the needs of our community, now and in the time to come. Words cannot begin to express how grateful we are for the outpouring of support from across the globe." The CVS Pharmacy in-store donation campaign for the OneOrlando Fund will run until Saturday, July 9. About CVS Health CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,600 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 80 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, the Company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com. Media Contact Mary Alfieri [email protected] 401.770.9811 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140905/143585 SOURCE CVS Health Related Links http://www.cvshealth.com SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dale L. Blachford, President and CEO of Liberty Bank in Alton, was honored as the 2016 Illinois Banker of the Year by the Illinois Bankers Association (IBA). The award was presented during the IBA's 125th Annual Conference held at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis., on June 14. This is the 14th year for the Illinois Banker of the Year award, which is the highest honor the Illinois Bankers Association can bestow on one of its members. It is presented annually to an individual whose dedication to excellence has most profoundly enhanced the banking industry. Blachford's banking career spans 40 years. He has a long history of community involvement and achievement and has been very active with the IBA. Not only has he served two separate terms on the IBA Board, but he has also served on numerous committees, including the Membership Committee, Nominating Committee, Annual Conference Committee, Audit Committee and Bank Fraud Task Force. He has served on the Growth Association Board of Directors for the community of Alton since 2008, serves on the Growth Association Foundation's Board, and is involved in many other community organizations. The Illinois Bankers Association, the voice of Illinois' banking industry, is a full-service trade association dedicated to creating a positive business climate that benefits the entire banking industry and the communities they serve. Founded in 1891, the IBA brings together state and national banks and savings banks that together employ well over 100,000 people in nearly 5,000 offices across the state. SOURCE Illinois Bankers Association COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Excalibur National Insurance Company has earned a Financial Stability Rating (FSR) of A, Exceptional, from Demotech, Inc. This level of FSR is assigned to insurers who possess exceptional financial stability related to maintaining positive surplus as regards policyholders, liquidity of invested assets, an acceptable level of financial leverage, reasonable loss and loss adjustment expense reserves (L&LAE) and realistic pricing. FSRs summarize Demotech's opinion of the financial stability of an insurer regardless of general economic conditions or the phase of the underwriting cycle. FSRs utilize statutory financial data based on insurance accounting principles prescribed or permitted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Since 1989, FSRs of A or better have been accepted by the major participants in the secondary mortgage marketplace. About Excalibur National Insurance Company Excalibur National Insurance Company (Excalibur) was created in 2016 to initially write personal lines property insurance in the State of Louisiana as part of an overall plan to be a long-term insurance provider focusing on Homeowners (HO-3) policies. Excalibur is led by an experienced management team with decades of experience. According to Jeffrey Pollick, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board: "Our goal is to be the homeowner's insurance provider of choice for Louisianans and the independent producers who address their needs." About Demotech, Inc. Demotech, Inc. is a financial analysis firm specializing in evaluating the financial stability of regional and specialty insurers. Since 1985, Demotech has served the insurance industry by assigning accurate, reliable and proven Financial Stability Ratings (FSRs) for Property & Casualty insurers and Title underwriters. FSRs are a leading indicator of financial stability, providing an objective baseline of the future solvency of an insurer. Demotech's philosophy is to review and evaluate insurers based on their area of focus and execution of their business model rather than solely on financial size. Visit www.demotech.com for more information. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120123/MM39893LOGO SOURCE Demotech, Inc. Related Links http://www.demotech.com QUINCY, Mass., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane, founders of Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, the first-to-market frozen Greek yogurt bar, have things heating up in the freezer aisle as they celebrate Yasso's fifth anniversary. Yasso is disrupting the $3.6 billion category by combining great-tasting and indulgent ice cream-centric flavors with better-for-you nutritionals and quality ingredients. A true David v. Goliath story, Yasso is now available in 15,000 grocery stores nationwide. As a result of the brand's continued success and exceptional growth, Harrington and Klane, friends since kindergarten, have been named finalists for one of the country's most prestigious business awards: the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Award. Yasso co-founders Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane A Frozen Success Americans are continuing to reach past legacy players in the frozen dessert case and are as they've done in other aisles eating up better-for-you offerings like Yasso, a "Dessert with Benefits." Yasso has become the fastest-growing brand among the top-20 frozen novelty dessert brands in the nation and the only start-up player in the top-40 among a sea of deeply entrenched competitors. With sales up almost 85% compared to 2015, Yasso is growing more than three-times faster than other top 20 brands and delivering five-times its fair share of growth in the category, ranking higher than household favorites. Adding to their successes, Harrington and Klane have been named finalists for one of the country's most prestigious business awards: the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Award. The duo is nominated for the New England Region awards, winners of which will be announced the evening of June 23, 2016 at a ceremony at the Boston Marriott Copley Place and will advance to the national stage this fall. The awards program, which is celebrating its 30th year, recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. "Yasso's community and passionate fans motivate us to succeed," said Yasso Co-Founder Drew Harrington. "We are honored to be nominated for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and thank the EY judges for recognizing our team's hard work. We have been fortunate enough to not only deliver delicious frozen treats for our consumers to enjoy, but to have also remained steadfast in our commitment to giving back to the local community here in New England." Supporting New England Summer 2016 is busy for Yasso and its fans. With an 80 stop robust sampling tour along the East Coast, Yasso will also be supporting New England-based charities with events and donations, an important piece of the brand's community mission. Yasso is proud to support multiple Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) Kids Rides in addition to PMC Weekend August 6-7. The PMC channels 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Yasso will also be at the Falmouth Road Race where they've raised thousands of dollars for various charities with the help of family and friends. In its own backyard on Wednesday June 22, Yasso will be giving Bostonians a taste of summer with free samples on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway from 12 - 6 pm. For more information about Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt or to find a retailer near you, visit http://www.yasso.com. Upcoming events can be found on social media channels, Facebook: YassoFrozenYogurt, Twitter: @eatyasso, Instagram: @yasso About Yasso: Yasso is the first-ever line of frozen Greek yogurt bars to hit the market. In 2009, founders Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane set out on a mission to craft a wholesome and delicious everyday frozen treat. After two years of perfecting their recipe, Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars were born. Hitting store shelves in mid-2011, Yasso quickly became one of the fastest-growing brands in the frozen novelty category. Made with only natural ingredients, including real Greek yogurt, rBST-free milk and natural sweeteners, Yasso is a great low-calorie frozen treat filled with protein and containing little to no fat. Yasso currently offers products in 15 delicious flavors, which can be found at major grocery and club stores nationwide. To find your local retailers and to learn more about the Yasso brand, please visit www.yasso.com. About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380441 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380440LOGO SOURCE Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Related Links http://www.yasso.com ARLINGTON, Va., June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Endgame, the leading provider of cybersecurity software solutions to hunt for advanced adversaries, has been awarded a 2016 Top Workplaces honor by The Washington Post. In its third annual survey, The Washington Post's Top Workplaces list spotlights private, public, nonprofit and government agencies with the highest ratings from their employees in a survey conducted by Workplace Dynamics. "We at Endgame strive to create a dynamic and rewarding workplace for our team, and it starts with a mission we all believe in -- protecting our customers from the most advanced cyber threats," said Nate Fick, CEO of Endgame. "We recruit the best talent in the industry and nothing we do would be possible without their ingenuity, grit, and commitment. This employee-driven award reinforces that we remain true to our core values as our team continues to grow." To support that growth, Endgame recently expanded its office space in Clarendon, VA. This move nearly doubles the total square footage for its employees as the company continues to hire for key positions across all departments in both San Francisco, CA and Washington, DC. The Top Workplaces are determined based solely on employee feedback. The survey is commissioned by The Washington Post in partnership with Workplace Dynamics, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. A total of 150 companies will be awarded at a celebration on Thursday, June 16 at The Washington Post. In addition, Endgame will be featured in a special section of The Washington Post on Sunday, June 19. To learn more about what it's like to work at Endgame and what employees value most about the company, visit the company's culture page: https://www.endgame.com/life-endgame. About Endgame Endgame is a leading provider of next generation endpoint security solutions that enable enterprises to automate the hunt for the most sophisticated adversaries within their networks. Endgame's technology and techniques are proven to detect and respond rapidly to cyber threats in the most extreme environments - from defending US national security interests to protecting the world's critical infrastructure. The Endgame Hunt platform empowers hunt teams, incident responders, and security operators to conduct an end-to-end hunt mission, significantly reducing the time to detect and contain adversaries. The Endgame team is made up of scientists, software engineers, researchers, and others with unmatched experience working on security within the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. At Endgame, we help our customers move from being the hunted to being the hunter. Endgame was founded in 2008 and has offices in Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, San Antonio, TX and Melbourne, FL. For more information, visit www.endgame.com and follow us on Twitter @EndgameInc. Media Contact: Margot Koehler [email protected] 781.424.8943 SOURCE Endgame Related Links http://www.endgame.com O'Brien was selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at a black-tie gala at the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom in Chicago on June 15, 2016. "I am truly humbled by this honor and am extraordinarily proud of the smart, fearless and inspirational team at Paris Presents," said O'Brien. "My colleagues are always looking for new ways to drive the business forward leveraging new marketing channels such as YouTube, capitalizing on consumer insights and bringing our retail relationships to the next level enabling strong global growth and product innovation in the beauty and personal care categories. I wouldn't be here without them." Since 1986, EY has honored entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, spirit of innovation and discipline have propelled their companies' success, invigorated their industries and benefited their communities. Now in its 30th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Robert Unanue of Goya Foods and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2015 winners Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks. As a Midwest award winner, O'Brien is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner will then have the opportunity to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2017. Paris Presents is the parent company behind flagship brands including Real Techniques, EcoTools and Body Benefits by Body Image with both domestic and international distribution. Paris Presents uses a 360-degree, broad-based approach to developing, distributing and supporting innovative brands by leveraging four key pillars: consumer insights, innovation and product design, retail relationships and supply chain excellence. In 2014, Paris Presents was named the Fastest Growing Health and Beauty Company in the US under $1 billion (BCG/IRI). Sponsors Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored nationally by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Midwest, region sponsors include LaSalle Network, Plexus Groupe, PNC Bank, Becker Professional Education, Cresa Chicago, Chatham Financial, DLA Piper and 1871. About Paris Presents Incorporated Founded in 1947, Paris Presents is a global company that creates and distributes beauty products and personal care accessories that elevate the beauty experience for women. The Company's leading brands include Real Techniques, EcoTools and Body Benefits by Body Image. Paris Presents provides a wide range of product categories and customized services through a strong network of national and global retailers. For more information, visit www.parispresents.com. About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. About EY's Strategic Growth Markets practice EY's Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth. About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services they deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. They develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on their promises to all of their stakeholders. In so doing, they play a critical role in building a better working world for their people, for their clients and for their communities. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about their organization, please visit ey.com. Press Contact: Amanda Coyne 312-245-0170 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380535 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380534LOGO SOURCE Paris Presents Incorporated Related Links http://www.parispresents.com TORONTO, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Rouge Media Group, a leading North American out-of-home ("OOH") media company, announced today its partnership with Fairfax Financial ("Fairfax") of Toronto. The investment made by Fairfax, which now owns a majority stake in Rouge Media, will allow the company to grow its current and future activities in the US and Canada through expansion within its current platforms as well as through strategic acquisitions. Martin Poitras, President and CEO of Rouge Media, along with the current management team, will continue to manage the strategic direction and daily operation of the company. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380821LOGO) "Rouge Media is a Canadian success story led by its founder, Martin Poitras, that has been profitable since inception and has innovatively grown its proprietary brand in specialized key media markets over the last decade", said Paul Rivett, President of Fairfax. "We are excited not only to partner with Martin and the entire Rouge Media team, but also to be part of the long-term international expansion of their tremendous, scalable business." Rouge Media has transformed the place-based "OOH" media landscape in Canada over the last decade. The company has quickly evolved from being the first to implement premium static large format signage within targeted indoor environments, to being the first to dominate the same environments with an interactive digital offering. The strategic decision to enter the US market was made four years ago after a careful analysis of its business model and the scalability of its networks and products. "After reviewing all our options over the past few years, it became clear that, for the future of Rouge Media, Fairfax was the ideal partner to support our planned growth strategy. They have an inspiring story and a strong track record of supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have seen success over the long term. It was also vital for us to find a partner that shared similar business values and practices, as well as offer long term shareholder value," said Poitras. "Fairfax thinks big and so does Rouge. They are an incredibly supportive partner and we will take our growth one step at a time, ensuring each new asset is integrated properly before moving to the next phase. We have a solid 10 year plan that we have already begun to execute on, which includes increasing markets beyond North America." An immediate result of the Fairfax investment is Rouge Media's recent acquisition of On Campus Media in the US. "To work for blue chip US brands and marketers, you must have the necessary scale. The acquisition of On Campus Media's digital and mobile assets gives us immediate exclusivity in over 450 US colleges. It was a no brainer," said Poitras. Rouge Media will also shortly unveil new innovations within the digital OOH and mobile space in both the US and Canadian markets. Concludes Poitras, "We are in one of the most exciting media categories to be in. With targeted and high dwell time environments, the place-based OOH market is a high growth channel that also aligns seamlessly with the omnipresence of mobile technology. We are thrilled to be scaling the business at this pivotal time for media with Fairfax beside us." ABOUT ROUGE MEDIA Rouge Media is a leading North American media company connecting brands with millions of consumers on their daily journey out-of-home. Rouge delivers high impact media and marketing opportunities with trusted proprietary access to university students, 18-34 and Women 18+ across North America. www.rougemediagroup.com SOURCE Rouge Media Group Now in heaven: Julianna Snow, 5, told her parents the next time she were to get seriously ill, she would rather go to heaven than to the hospital. She died at her family home in Washougal, Washington, on Tuesday A five-year-old girl with an incurable neuro-degenerative disease died 'comfortably' at her Washington home on Tuesday, her parents have said. Julianna Snow, who told her parents she would rather go to heaven than back to the hospital, suffered from a severe form of the rare condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease and could not walk, eat or even breathe on her own. Her mother, Michelle Moon, 43, a neurologist, announced on her blog this week that her daughter 'is free now' after dying in the at-home hospice the family had built for Julianna. Moon wrote: 'Our sweet Julianna went to heaven today. I am stunned and heartbroken, but also thankful. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world, for God somehow entrusted me with this glorious child, and we got almost six years together. Parents Michelle Moon and Steve Snow (pictured with Julianna, left, and her brother Alex, right) agreed to honor their daughter's wishes not to hospitalize her next time she was to fall ill Moon continued in her post: 'I wanted more time, of course, and thats where the sadness comes in. But she is free now. I will have more to say later. For now, this is what is in my heart.' Last fall, Moon asked her daughter whether she would want to go back to hospital for treatment if she were to get sick again, after years of extended stays and visits. Moon said her daughter's answers were 'fast and clear' as she chose heaven over the hospital, the mother recounted in a blog post of her first conversation about heaven with Julianna. Moon wrote an essay about Julianna's response and posted it on her blog, quickly sending the story viral. In memoriam: Michelle Moon posted a message to her blog on Wednesday confirming her daughter's death The mother explained in the piece how she said to her daughter: 'Julianna, if you get sick again, do you want to go to the hospital again or stay home?' 'Not the hospital,' Julianna replied. Moon: 'Even if that means that you will go to heaven if you stay home?' Julianna: 'Yes.' Moon: 'And you know that mommy and daddy won't come with you right away? You'll go by yourself first.' Julianna: 'Don't worry. God will take care of me.' Moon: 'And if you go to the hospital, it may help you get better and let you come home again and spend more time with us. I need to make sure that you understand that. Hospital may let you have more time with mommy and daddy.' Julianna: 'I understand.' Moon (crying): 'I'm sorry, Julianna. I know you don't like it when I cry. It's just that I will miss you so much.' Julianna: 'That's OK. God will take care of me. He's in my heart.' Julianna Snow suffered from a severe form of the rare condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease and could not walk, eat or even breathe on her own The family live in Washougal, Washington. Moon and her husband, Steve Snow, told their daughter that heaven is where she will get to do the everyday activities she never could, like play, jump, run and eat real food. They told her she would get to meet her great-grandmother who, like Julianna, had a love for sparkly clothes. They also told her that God will be in heaven too, and that he will love her even more than they do. However, they told Julianna, who started showing signs of the neuromuscular disease when she was one, that they will not be in heaven when she arrives, nor will her big brother, Alex. They told her she will have to go to heaven before them because she has a severe case of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The illness, which initially debilitated her arms and legs, is now targeting the nerves that control her breathing and muscles. According to Fox News, the disease affects around one in 2,500 people in the United States. Doctors had warned that the next time Julianna gets ill from something as minor as a common cold, she risked dying of pneumonia. In May last year, Moon shared her family's story on The Mighty, along with one of the 'remarkable, uncomfortable, humbling conversations about heaven' she had with Julianna. In that conversation, Julianna again said that she did not want to go back to hospital if she were to get sick again, expressing she hated the most dreaded part about the hospital, naso-tracheal suction, or NT. However, Dr. Chris Feudtner, a pediatrician and ethicist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said that to say Julianna's experience is irrelevant 'doesn't make any sense.' 'She knows more than anyone what it's like to be not a theoretical girl with a progressive neuromuscular disorder, but to be Julianna,' he told CNN. He added, 'Palliative care isn't about giving up. It's about choosing how you want to live before you die. This little girl has chosen how she wants to live.' Moon also recounted a conversation with Julianna about when they will see each other in heaven. 'Do you want me to stand in front of the house, and in front of all the people so you can see me first,' Julianna asked her mom. 'Yes. Ill be so happy to see you,' Moon replied. 'Will you run to me,' Julianna asked. 'Yes. And I think you will run to me too,' Moon responded. 'Ill run fast,' Julianna said as she shook her head back and forth to show her mom how fast she will run. 'Yes, I think you will run so fast,' her mother said. SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PHAZR, a Gigabit Wireless solutions provider, and FiberTower, the leading developer of licensed wide-area millimeter wave service solutions, today announced a partnership focused on 5G millimeter wave systems development. Pursuant to the agreement, FiberTower, PHAZR's largest investor, will participate in the initial round of funding along with iTimeFund and other investors. "The FiberTower investment will help PHAZR accelerate the deployment of their 5G technology for a Gigabit per second mobile and fixed access system utilizing mmWave bands between 24GHz and 39GHz," said Pulin Patel, PHAZR Board member from iTimeFund. In conjunction with its investment in PHAZR, FiberTower will also create a Technology Advisory Committee to its Board of Directors led by PHAZR CEO Farooq Khan. "The ability to utilize FiberTower's long-standing deployment capabilities and relationships across industry sectors, combined with FiberTower's millimeter wave licenses, represents a unique and actionable opportunity to swiftly bring PHAZR's 5G solutions to the marketplace," said Khan. "PHAZR's technology and world-leading 5G millimeter wave products precisely fit with FiberTower's strategic objectives," said FiberTower officer Joseph Sandri. "The technology development team at PHAZR is the most accomplished 5G group we have seen and we are very excited to partner with them." When available in 2017, PHAZR's 5G millimeter wave system will be the industry's first integrated, high-power, commercial, 5G millimeter wave antennas array. At peak rates the system is expected to deliver 16 Gbps throughput per cell over a 200 MHz channel block, which will be an industry-first for these exclusively-licensed bands. Prototype equipment is expected to be available in 4Q 2016. About PHAZR PHAZR is developing affordable and sustainable 5G Millimeter wave systems capable of providing 128X faster experience and 1,024X more capacity compared to 4G LTE. Before founding PHAZR, Farooq Khan was President of Samsung Research America in Dallas, Texas, where he led high impact collaborative research projects in mobile technology, including 4G LTE and 5G millimeter wave programs. Khan, recognized as a leading authority in mobile technology holds over 200 U.S. patents, has written 50 research articles and a best-selling book, and presented over 100 speeches at professional forums worldwide. For more information on PHAZR see www.phazr.net About FiberTower FiberTower owns exclusively licensed wide-area authorizations in the 24GHz and 39GHz bands, where it develops and deploys an array of industry-leading high capacity solutions for carriers, enterprises, municipalities and government. FiberTower has a long history of investment in new technologies in the 24GHz and 39GHz bands. For more information on FiberTower see www.fibertower.com Forward Looking Statements This news release includes "forward-looking" statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, in its rules, regulations and releases. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts, including statements regarding, among other things, our financial and business prospects, anticipated customer growth, and expansion plans. There are many risks, uncertainties and other factors that can prevent the achievement of goals or cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Media Contact: Joseph M. Sandri 202.223.1028 SOURCE FiberTower Related Links http://www.fibertower.com "The need for quality, non-medical home care services has never been greater, and we want to provide the path for entrepreneurs in central Indiana to meet this growing need," said Jeff Bevis, FirstLight Home Care Chief Executive Officer. "Seminar attendees will understand the benefits of owning a non-medical home care franchise and have the chance to interact with FirstLight executives who will explain how the franchise will support them every step of the way." This free, no obligation informational seminar is open to all area entrepreneurs. Bill McPherson, Executive Director of Franchise Development, will share ownership opportunities and discuss the huge potential of the growing non-medical home care industry. Attendees will also learn about the many ways FirstLight Home Care sets its franchisees up for success, including through its award-winning training and operational support programs. "Owning a FirstLight Home Care franchise gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to make a difference in peoples' lives, while building their own business in the fast-growing, $75 billion non-medical home care industry," added McPherson. To register for the Free Home Care Franchise Seminar, visit LINK or call (866) 985-5348. For more information about FirstLight Home Care, visit www.firstlighthomecare.com. About FirstLight Home Care FirstLight Home Care creates a new standard in non-medical home care by combining best practices with innovative approaches to make the franchise an emerging market leader in a fast-growing industry. Services can be provided at private residences, assisted-living facilities, retirement communities, nursing homes, adult-family homes or group homes. Clients might also include new mothers, individuals recovering from surgeries and others. To learn more, visit www.firstlightfranchise.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380510 MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected] SOURCE FirstLight Home Care Related Links http://www.firstlighthomecare.com WASHINGTON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Friendship Public Charter School Online (FPCSO), a full-time, online public charter school authorized by the Public Charter School Board, honored its 2016 Eighth Grade graduates at a recognition ceremony on Wednesday, June 15 in Anacostia. Students will advance to the next grade level after completing the 2015-2016 school year at FPCSO, which is an education option available to K8th grade students who reside anywhere in the District. "It's both exciting and sad to see our eighth grade class move on," said Tracey Sloane, Head of School at FPCSO. "But they have a terrific foundation for the next step in their educational journey and we wish them the very best." FPCSO is a program of Friendship Public Charter School and is available tuition-free to students in grades K8 who are residents of the District of Columbia. By combining individualized online instruction, hands-on curriculum and the support of highly qualified Washington, D.C. certified teachers, FPCSO helps students discover their individual learning style. Students who enroll at FPCSO follow an academic program that includes engaging web-based lessons along with age-appropriate instructional materials books, videos, CDs and other hands-on tools and resources which are shipped directly to each student's home. The rigorous and engaging curriculum includes courses in language arts/English, math, science, history, five world languages, art and music. Students can also choose to participate in dozens of extracurricular activities and clubs that cover a wide variety of interests. More information about FCPSO, its upcoming events and how to apply can be found online at http://fpcso.k12.com/. About Friendship Public Charter School Online Friendship Public Charter School Online (FPCSO) is an accredited, full-time online public school program that serves students in grades K through 8. FPCSO is available tuition-free to students in the District of Columbia through a partnership between K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for grades K-12, and the Friendship Public Charter School. For more information about FPCSO, visit http://fpcso.k12.com/. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150817/258895LOGO SOURCE Friendship Public Charter School Online Related Links http://fpcso.k12.com DALLAS, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas Monkey Garage owner and star of "Fast N' Loud," Richard Rawlings, has started a new restaurant venture, Richard Rawlings' Garage. The first restaurant is set to open in Harker Heights, TX this summer. Richard Rawlings' Garage will offer guests a look under the hood at his love for gears and grub. It will specialize in revved up twists on American Comfort Classics, including burgers, sandwiches, braised brisket, and beer. It will also feature specialty merchandise for sale. Rawlings is looking forward to sharing his new restaurant with the residents of Harker Heights. "Harker Heights is in the heart of Texas, right next to Fort Hood, which is the largest active duty armored post in the United States Armed Services. I am excited and looking forward to serving good food to good people, and I can't think of anywhere else I would rather have the first location of Richard Rawlings' Garage be," said Rawlings. A second Richard Rawlings' Garage location will be opening at Foxwoods Resort Casino in fall 2016, with the plan to add additional restaurants in the future. To find out more about the restaurants please visit the website: http://www.richardrawlingsgarage.com/ Harker Heights Location: 401 W Central Texas Expy Harker Heights, TX 76548 About Richard Rawlings Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Richard Rawlings developed a passion for cars at an early age. To feed his habit, he founded Gas Monkey Garage, a world renowned hot rod shop that produces and ships cars worldwide. Gas Monkey Garage is also featured on Discovery Channel's hit series, "Fast N' Loud." For more on Rawlings' projects, visit http://gasmonkeygarage.com. For More on Richard Rawlings' Garage, visit http://www.richardrawlingsgarage.com/ and follow @rawlingsgarage on Twitter and @RichardRawlingsGarage on Instagram. SOURCE Richard Rawlings Related Links http://www.richardrawlingsgarage.com The GLUCOCARD Expression is an audio-enabled BGMS with a large display and tactile buttons, ideally suited for patients with dexterity or visual impairment. Users have the option of hearing their testing results in English or Spanish. "ARKRAY is proud that Parkland, one of the top public hospitals in the US, chose to entrust the health of their diabetic patients with the GLUCOCARD Expression," said ARKRAY USA President Jonathan Chapman. "Parkland patients using GLUCOCARD Expression can expect to receive consistently accurate and reliable readings of their blood glucose levels, giving them the information they need to live a healthier and more fulfilling life." Diabetes, or diabetes mellitus, is a metabolic type of disease in which affected people have high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate (Type 2), or because the islet cells in the pancreas no longer produce insulin (Type 1, sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes). The ADA estimates that more than 30 million Americans suffer from either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and that 25.9% of Americans 65 years of age or greater will have diabetes. About Parkland Health & Hospital System Parkland has consistently been recognized as one of the top public hospitals in the United States. In 2015, The Leapfrog Group named Parkland to its annual list of Top Hospitals. Parkland was one of only 98 Top Hospitals recognized in the U.S. based on the results of The Leapfrog Group's annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals' performance on patient safety and quality. About ARKRAY USA, Inc. ARKRAY USA, Inc. is a division of ARKRAY, a global leader in diabetes care with headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. For more than half a century, ARKRAY has pioneered products to ensure that people who have diabetes - and the health professionals who care for them - can better manage the condition. ARKRAY currently does business in more than 80 countries worldwide and is the market leader in diabetes management in the long-term care market in the U.S. The Company has a long history of developing cutting edge technology such as the first portable glucose analyzer available in the United States; the first HbA1C analyzer; and the first hand-held blood glucose meter. For more information, visit www.arkrayusa.com. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380433 SOURCE ARKRAY USA, Inc. Related Links http://www.arkrayusa.com "The expansion of Carfax is an excellent reflection of the strong business environment in Fairfax County and Virginia, and I am pleased to congratulate the company for their success," said Governor Terry McAuliffe. "As we work to bring new jobs and investments to the Commonwealth, we are also making significant strides helping existing Virginia businesses grow. We will continue to work with Virginia businesses to build on the success we are having building the new Virginia economy." "Companies like Carfax are a vital component in our new Virginia economy," said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. "I want to congratulate Carfax on both the exciting new expansion and the deep commitment to their team members. Our workforce is our most valuable asset, and I thank Carfax for sharing our goal to make Virginia the best place to work and live." Carfax also announced it has earned national recognition as a Top Workplace in Greater Washington. Carfax has been recognized for its distinct culture, focus on collaboration and commitment to innovation by numerous organizations over the years. This latest distinction has been awarded to Carfax three times in a row. Most meaningfully, it's based entirely on employee feedback. "It is an honor for us to share such an important day in Carfax history with the Governor, our Congressmen and all our invited guests," said Carfax president Dick Raines. "Thanks in part to the support of the Governor and Fairfax County, we will continue helping millions of people from a state-of-the-art workspace where our employees come to succeed and grow. Earning recognition as a Top Workplace speaks to the pride Team Carfax has in our products and the respect we have for one another." Dick Raines was recently recognized as one of the Top Rated CEO's in the United States by Glassdoor. The Carfax expansion project was secured for Virginia by the VEDP, working in conjunction with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (EDA) and Loudoun County. To help support the project, Governor McAuliffe approved a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund. With help from world-renowned architectural firm Gensler, as well as Cushman & Wakefield and Northern Virginia-based rand* construction, Carfax employees now enjoy a workspace designed to promote collaboration, transparency and wisdom of crowds, core principles of the Carfax Playbook. "Working together with the Carfax leadership team, we designed a space that tells the Carfax story, promotes the brand, encourages collaboration, and offers a community space for casual meetings and fun," shared Jordan Goldstein, Managing Principal at Gensler. Carfax has been part of the Northern Virginia business community for 23 years and was one of the first technology companies to help establish the Dulles Corridor as one of the nation's leading tech hubs. The company maintains the largest vehicle history database ever assembled, comprising more than 16 billion records from over 92,000 sources worldwide. Carfax also handles more than 2.7 million requests for vehicle history information every day. "Congratulations to Carfax on its continued growth and expansion here in Virginia," said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly. "It is innovative tech companies like Carfax that have helped turn Northern Virginia into Silicon Valley of the East; providing hundreds of Northern Virginians highly skilled and rewarding jobs." "This expansion cements Carfax as an integral partner to Northern Virginia families, law enforcement, and businesses," said Rep. Beyer. "Carfax is an excellent example of a company that is diversifying the Fairfax County economic base as it grows," said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). "This is a leading firm in the automotive and data-analytics sectors that is taking full advantage of the excellent IT-based workforce we have, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to help the company expand its presence in the county." Team Carfax highlighted the company's history in Virginia, clear vision and core business principles during the Governor's visit. Guests also got to see the pet-friendly environment at Carfax, and learn about the many other unique benefits that make Carfax a well-recognized Top Workplace. For opportunities to join Team Carfax, visit www.carfax.com/careers. Images of today's celebration with Gov. McAuliffe at Carfax Headquarters are available on the Carfax Press Center, as well as the Carfax Facebook and Carfax Twitter accounts. About Carfax (www.carfax.com) Carfax, a unit of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), is the vehicle history expert for used car buyers, sellers and the automotive industry. Carfax created the Vehicle History Report in 1986 and continues to develop innovative services like Carfax Used Car Listings and myCarfax that make it easier to buy, sell and own a used car. The company maintains a database comprising over 16 billion vehicle history records from more than 92,000 sources worldwide. Get a free Carfax Vehicle History Report from dealers with every used car for sale on Carfax.com or look for Carfax Advantage dealers in your area and say 'Show Me the Carfax'. Based in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is the leading global source of information, insight and analytics in the automotive industry and other critical areas that shape today's business landscape. Connect with us on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter @CarfaxReports, read our Blog and watch us on YouTube. Friend Car Fox on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @TheCarFox. Download the 'Carfax Reports' mobile app from the App StoreSM and Google PlaySM. Available Topic Expert: For information on the listed expert, click appropriate link. Larry Gamache ProfNet - http://www.profnetconnect.com/larry_gamache Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080507/CARFAXLOGO SOURCE Carfax Related Links http://www.carfax.com NEW YORK, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After an extensive and exhaustive search that produced many fine candidates, Historic House Trust of New York City is pleased to announce that it has hired John Krawchuk as HHT's new Executive Director, effective July 11. Krawchuk practices historic preservation in the public service sector, having spent much of his career at NYC Parks. He joined Parks in 1997 as a Preservation Project Manager and was promoted to Director of Historic Preservation in 2002. He has facilitated citywide Capital preservation projects for over 18 years. He also coordinated archaeological investigations and environmental reviews for historic resources on parkland. "NYC Parks is excited to welcome John Krawchuk to his new position as Executive Director of Historic House Trust," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. "As Director of Historic Preservation for NYC Parks, he has already lent his watchful eye to the renovations of 23 historic house sites, in addition to countless other invaluable contributions in preservation and restoration. John has been a vital part of Parks for so long, and this new role is the perfect, natural fit. We offer our congratulations and look forward to seeing him accomplish much more in the future." "He knows the City, the people, the places, and all 23 of our sites very, very well," said HHT's Board Chair John Gustafsson. "I am grateful for the assistance I received from the HHT Board of Directors who participated actively in the search. I believe the Board's investment has achieved a terrific result!" Krawchuk is a Registered Landscape Architect with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (1990) and holds a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University (1995). He also serves as a member of the Conservation Advisory Group, the technical advisory body for the NYC Public Design Commission that reviews conservation and restoration projects for all city-owned works of art and miscellaneous civic structures. "I'm thrilled and honored to take the reins of such an important organization for the preservation of New York City's historic homes," said John Krawchuk. "I look forward to ushering in a new and exciting era, and hope to maximize what HHT and NYC Parks can do for the 23 sites citywide." Krawchuk has played significant roles in a variety of restorations, including Washington Square Park, Fort Greene Park, the Orchard Beach Bathhouse in Pelham Bay Park and the Fire Watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park. He already has extensive experience with HHT, having worked on projects at numerous sites, including Gracie Mansion, Poe Cottage and Conference House. The Historic House Trust is a non-profit organization operating in tandem with the NYC Parks. Our mission is to provide essential support for houses of architectural and cultural significance, spanning 350 years of New York City life. These treasures reside within city parks and are open to the public. CONTACT: Anna Holmgren, 212-360-8202 [email protected] SOURCE Historic House Trust of New York City LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The CEO of an international vehicle armouring company - 'IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems' was celebrating this week after being awarded the title of the country's top executive by Business Worldwide Magazine. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/809784 ) Voted by the magazine's readers, entrepreneur Tom Fleenor was delighted to pick up the award which he received for his fast turn-around of an ailing armoured vehicle plant. American-born Fleenor, whose company produces armoured vehicles for the defence and security sectors, bought over the former International Armoring Corporation Philippines operation last year. He then installed innovative technology, invested in new materials, application processes and completely restructured the manufacturing operation. As a result he has turned the company's fortunes around. "We're delighted how well things have gone, considering what we started with," said Fleenor. "But really, this is only the beginning. As an independent company we will continue to innovate and develop top quality products so that our clients get the best of what the industry has to offer as well as feel a return on their investment." Fleenor insists that his company's vehicles are the most technologically-advanced and bullet-resistant for passengers in the world. Doors, pillar posts, roofs, floor and every single piece of glass in a car can be surreptitiously security-strengthened while the vehicle maintains its original physical appearance - both inside and out. Clients of IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems include US homeland security, European defence industries, Southeast Asia and Philippine governmental contracts along with the private high wealth sectors. Then there are developing nations both in African and the Middle East who are facing both internal political stability from rebels and threats from nearby nations. Celebrity clients too are growing in number and nationality. Fleenor added: "As well as being known as a company which produces top quality vehicles, we are also very much known for our honesty. Our corporate mission statement, for instance, states that we produce the finest, most technologically-advanced bullet resistant passenger and specialty vehicles in the world - and that's not wrong. In this industry the truth is essential; for one thing lives are at risk." We do what we say we will do, thus avoiding conflicts within the organization and clients. Transparency and honesty has played a critical part in the success of regaining our clientele and our ability to reorganize in a positive position. Meanwhile the armoured vehicle sector is experiencing huge growth at the moment due, in the main, to the rise in conflict both across and within nations. There are predictions that the industry will be worth around $28 billion USD by the end of this decade. Previously it hit its peak during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts when the demand for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) escalated. By 2012, 42,000 of these vehicles had been produced, at a total cost of around $47.7 billion. To find out more about the armoured vehicle industry and Fleenor's philosophy see www.iacphilippines.com An article on the company can be found on BWM website http://www.bwmonline.com/2016/05/driving-global-success-within-armoured-vehicle-industry/ For more details on Business Worldwide Magazine Awards 2016, go to http://www.bwmonline.com/awards About Business Worldwide Magazine Business Worldwide Magazine is the leading source of business and dealmaker intelligence throughout the world. Our quarterly magazine and online news portal enables an established audience of corporate dealmakers to track the latest news, stories and developments affecting the international markets, corporate finance, business strategy and changes in legislation. This readership includes of CEO/CFO - Banks, Corporate Lawyers and Venture Capital/Private Equity Companies to name a few. http://www.bwmonline.com Contact David Jones Awards Department E: [email protected] W: http://www.bwmonline.com SOURCE Business Worldwide Magazine LAS VEGAS, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Insomniac announced the incredible lineup of artists who will broadcast their sets LIVE from North America's largest dance music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas. Streaming its 20th anniversary celebration to millions of viewers across the globe on multiple platforms, EDC LIVE presented by SMIRNOFF will be available on YouTube, Insomniac.com, LNTV.com and the official EDC Facebook Page, via the Live Video API, in collaboration with Grabyo. "EDC Las Vegas is a temporary city constructed once a year by thousands of passionate people, and no two EDCs are ever the same. To be able to share this moment in time with millions around the world is a gift for us, and an amazing way to introduce the experience to all the places we hope to bring EDC in the future." Insomniac Founder & CEO Pasquale Rotella 4B A-Trak Above & Beyond Adaro Adventure Club Alesso Alison Wonderland Aly & Fila Amtrac Anna Lunoe Armanni Reign Astrix B2B Ace Ventura Axwell ^ Ingrosso Bioweapon Brennan Heart Brillz Carnage Chris Lake Cyantific B2B Inside Info B2B Brookes Brothers B2B The Prototypes Da Tweekaz Dada Life Danny Howard Dash Berlin Digital Punk Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Doctor P B2B Funtcase B2B Cookie Monsta Don Diablo Duke Dumont Ephwurd Ferry Corsten Presents Gouryella Flux Pavilion Gareth Emery GTA Gunz For Hire Hermitude Hot Since 82 J.Phlip Jason Bentley Jauz John Askew Joyryde Kaskade Kasra B2B Mefjus Knife Party Kshmr Loudpvck Makj Markus Schulz Marshmello Martin Garrix Martin Solveig Max Enforcer Maximono Paper Diamond Party Favor Paul Oakenfold Seven Lions Shiba San Slander Snbrn B2B Dr Fresch Stephanie The Magician TJR TNT Tommy Trash Troyboi Valentino Khan What So Not Yellow Claw Zomboy + More To Be Announced Projected to be their largest audience yet, EDC Las Vegas will come to life around the world as viewers are transported through over 200 acres of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, featuring exclusive access to eight massive stages, full-scale carnival rides, and colorful art installations along with weddings at two beautiful Wedding Chapels. As a part of the wedding ceremonies, SMIRNOFF will host EDC Las Vegas' first ever legally recognized same-sex marriage and reception. Because SMIRNOFF believes good times are even better when everyone is included, the ceremony will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, allowing viewers around the world the unique opportunity to join the beautiful celebration. "For nearly two decades, SMIRNOFF has been a supporter of the LGBTQ community, and we're honored to be a part of the first legally recognized same-sex wedding at EDC Las Vegas," says Jay Sethi, Vice President of Marketing, SMIRNOFF. "It will always be our mission to encourage inclusivity and acceptance of all people and to spread the message of love to the world." About Insomniac Insomniac produces some of the most innovative, immersive music festivals and events in the world. Enhanced by state-of-the-art lighting, pyrotechnics and sound design, large-scale art installations, theatrical performers and next-generation special effects, these events captivate the senses and inspire a unique level of fan interaction. The quality of the experience is the company's top priority. Throughout its 23-year history, Insomniac has produced more than 1,000 festivals, concerts and club nights for nearly 5 million attendees across three continents. Insomniac's events are held in California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New York, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Brazil. The company's premier annual event, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, is the largest multi-day music festival in North America, and attracted more than 400,000 fans over three days in June 2015. The company was founded by Pasquale Rotella, and has been based in Los Angeles since it was formed in 1993. Keep up with Insomniac announcements and news on Insomniac.com, Facebook and Twitter. About SMIRNOFF The SMIRNOFF brand, the world's number-one selling premium spirit and the top-selling vodka by volume, in the United States, traces its heritage back to 19th century Russia. As the most awarded vodka brand in the world, SMIRNOFF has always been known for quality and is enjoyed responsibly in 130 countries around the world. Find more information on Smirnoff.com. SOURCE Insomniac Related Links http://insomniac.com Chengdu holds innovations as the primal fuel for the future development and transformation; abiding the "12345" principal and systematically pushing revolution in all aspects. Chengdu has gained huge momentum for entrepreneurship and innovation, marking it an important part of the "3+2" entrepreneurship map. "The International Innovation Space" Building International "Entrepreneurship and Innovation" Ecosystem As one of the most distinctive and special characters of the 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, the Zone boasts a planning exhibition area of about 15,000 sqm and includes over 300 participating enterprises, 15,000 professional visitors and 50,000 spectators. According to organizers, the "2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair (Exhibition)" will launch the "International Innovation Space" with great efforts to constantly increase the sustainability, penetrability and international influence of the Fair. The International Innovation Space, as one of the key display areas, is comprised of the famous representatives from innovative enterprises overseas, global scientific and technological giants, and international entrepreneurship incubators. They include Google, the high new technology entrepreneurship program team of Stanford University, American entrepreneurship incubator as well as accelerator Plug & Play, innovative and entrepreneurial organization Slush from Finland, the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) company Parrot from France, FxGear from Korea, DBD from the United States, and the Internet Service Platform for Entrepreneurship 36Kr from China. The Zone aims to promote the exchange and incubation of global innovative and entrepreneurial resources to structure the global industry ecosystem of "mass innovation and entrepreneurship". It is noteworthy that the Zone not only brings together world-leading scientific and technological achievements, displays the newest scientific and technological products, but also provides the venues and communicating channels for overseas entrepreneurial organizations and entrepreneurs from Chengdu and the world, guided by the principle of innovation and entrepreneurship. In the International Innovation Space, exhibitors and international incubators will broadly display the global innovative and entrepreneurial industry chain on various levels through the exhibition of scientific and technological achievements, the sharing of global marketing programs, creative incubations, road shows of innovative projects and brand promotion. "As one important element that the Chengdu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair/Exhibition will continuously focus on, the Zone will, with an all-round, penetrating and multi-angle view, display the new global trend of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the new innovation and entrepreneurship achievements of our country. We hope to further boost the Fair as our country's aggregation platform of innovation and entrepreneurship resources which is open to the outside world, as the trading platform of innovation and entrepreneurship factors that make sure mutual benefits and win-win cooperation between countries, and as our country's display platform for the achievements of comprehensively innovative reform," the organizers said. "The International Innovation Space" -- Science Fiction Turned into Reality At the international exhibition zone, global technology companies and business incubators will attend the exhibition and present the world's leading scientific and technological achievements to visitors. Moreover, all companies will mainly concentrate on presenting VR applications, full HD aerial UAVs, UAVs and air and water dual-purpose hydrofoils. Utilizing the user's face movements and voice tracking to dynamically adjust the sound of an intelligent Bluetooth headset, global marketing solutions and start-up business innovation plan and other high-tech products and solutions; Pinpinman provides a faster and fully-covered shipping service at the best price to people who are shipping from China. Step into the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center Hall No. 1, "International Innovation Space" Based on the micro ordinance technology called Orieange Technology, visitors will experience the latest intelligent technology of micro coordinate, Visitors turn on the Bluetooth in mobile phone and shakes slightly, the 3D exhibition distribution map of international innovation space will appear vividly on mobile phone screens, there is no need for traditional paper maps to find certain places. People can easily share the 3D map on the Wechat or other social apps. Abandoning the traditional LED screen, AnyTouch's new multi-point touch screen is set to revolutionize the industry. This technology will only use digital forms to interact with the audience. The powerful touch technology will shock the visitors' vision and touch feelings while providing the audience an unprecedented multi touch experience. VR glasses will bring visitors a brand new perspective. Whether people are watching videos or playing games, glasses will help users experience more true and vivid sights. Based on strengthening Reality Technology of VR magical mirror, it can help people changing their clothes without going to the wardrobe. Within 5 seconds of the measurement of body size by face recognition, pattern recognition and face and hand tracking, virtual clothing is completely suit for the virtual body. Accelerate entrepreneurial dream, Nation-wide Collection of Entrepreneurial Projects This exhibition, international innovation space will also create a special international innovation space event for 2 days and will include project roadshows and keynotes speeches. 2 days of "international innovation space - Open Day" activities, in addition to the global technology enterprises, international top incubators will be published theme speeches, also welcomed all outstanding innovation teams and organizations participation. They will show their own innovative projects with global technology giants and international incubators. All participants have a valuable opportunity to share ideas meet the industry leaders. Interested parties are suggested to email: [email protected] with the subject of the e-mail: "international innovation space - Open Day" activities -- the keynote of outstanding innovative team application. Photo -http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380618 SOURCE Chengdu International Innovation Space BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) opened a two-day forum in Rizhao, Shandong province from Thursday to Friday. The forum will cover export control, trade regulation and other chemical issues, and will enhance international exchanges and cooperation in this area, according to a Foreign Ministry press release. Around 40 representatives from 21 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) states attended the forum. The CWC entered into force in 1997, playing an irreplaceable role in disarmament and chemical weapons nonproliferation. The OPCW was founded in 1997, and is headquartered in The Hague. JUMORE chairman LU Hongxiang delivered a keynote speech on the company's practical experience as part of the forum's dialogue on the sharing economy and the new B2B cross-border e-commerce business model. "One of JUMORE's greatest achievements has been to create a mutually beneficial sharing eco-system by segmenting our online platform into national, provincial and brand sections, or pavilions," said LU. "This way, competitive industries and companies can showcase their products and resources, which helps economies, industry clusters, suppliers and companies form an economic community of interest, thus achieving the sharing of quality global resources." During the SUMMIT, JUMORE has held the launch ceremony for over ten national pavilions including the USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Argentina, Indonesia, South Africa, India, Belgium, and eight provincial pavilions in China. By the end of 2016, the national pavilions of 60 countries and all provincial pavilions in China are expected to be launched on JUMORE's platform. "The national pavilions will facilitate different countries' competitive industries and quality products reaching global markets, and realize sharing of capital, intelligence and technology globally," continued Lu. "The provincial pavilions help provinces in China showcase their industry cluster and strengths, and get connected to the huge international market." On the forum, JUMORE has also signed contracts with TUV-SUD, DHL (China). About JUMORE E-commerce Co., Ltd JUMORE's cross-border e-commerce platform covers all-category commodities with business ranging from raw materials to industrial products, as well as different services including finance, logistics, etc. JUMORE aims to create a legitimate, secure and open ecological platform and provide comprehensive services and supports to manufacturing enterprises around the world. http://en.jumore.com/ Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380153 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380150 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380151 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380152 SOURCE JUMORE Related Links http://en.jumore.com Kathi Batsis, as she is known to friends and loved ones, is the beloved wife of Dr. Andrew Batsis, as well as his official biographer. She has continued to keep his memory alive through the written word and with her ongoing efforts to reach a wider audience every day. Her now completed, as-yet-unpublished biography of Dr. Batsis which also reads as a touching memoir of their marriage to one another is entitled, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? and is already gaining momentum as one of the leading new works of nonfiction literature in its specific genre due to its high quality and the aforementioned Times Square promotional advertising campaign. Visit the special section of http://www.drandrewbatsis.com/ labeled "The Book of Dr. Batsis" to enjoy sample chapters in a desktop and mobile-friendly format. Keep watching the website for upcoming details regarding Katherine Batsis' new manuscript. While still entertaining offers from publishers, Mrs. Batsis hopes to have penned a publishing deal by late 2016 for a book release next year. Her touching compendium of their memories and experiences has been referred to by Scott Stone, Executive Vice President of 2 Brothers Worldwide Publishing as "truly groundbreaking work" and "a simply wonderful biography and memoir detailing not only the career of a great man, but also the story of a great marriage." During Mrs. Batsis' appearance on Strathmore Online Radio (also debuting June 17, 2016 hear audio sample above) her work was met with excitement and anticipation for a proper release. Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? is "an episodic journey into the heart of love, devotion and greatness. It is uncomplicated in its emotional gravity; direct and effective." (Stone) Based on her excellence in the field of writing, Katherine Batsis was recently named Author of the Year by both Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals, along with several other designations such as Lifetime Roundtable and the Top Female Executive and Leaders program. These special membership honors were granted based on accomplishment, ambition and an overall show of promise in one's chosen endeavor. Katherine J. Batsis is a graduate of Lesley College and Simmons College, where she received her B.Ed and L.S., respectively. Her expertise lies in writing, reading, researching, thinking and library sciences. In her part time she enjoys international folk dancing, contra dancing, knitting, playing the piano, singing, learning French and practicing yoga. It should be noted that this is the second time Dr. Andrew Batsis has been honored on the Times Square billboards. The Times Square honor is of particular significance because of the high visibility it offers. This visual celebration of Dr. Andrew Batsis' career and Katherine Batsis' wonderful writing will appear at regular intervals on two monitors attached to the landmark skyscraper at 3 Times Square, #1, New York, NY 10036 on Friday, June 17, 2017. This structure is situated in what is inarguably one of the busiest places in the world. Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry are both pleased to honor him in memoriam. They also offer their full endorsement of Katherine Batsis' manuscript, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? as the #1 unpublished literary work of 2016. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnpj0uFu-Uc&feature=youtu.be&a= Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160615/379968 SOURCE Strathmore's Who's Who Related Links https://strathmore-ltd.com Kathi Batsis, as she is known to friends and loved ones, is the beloved wife of Dr. Andrew Batsis, as well as his official biographer. She has continued to keep his memory alive through the written word and with her ongoing efforts to reach a wider audience every day. Her now completed, as-yet-unpublished biography of Dr. Batsis which also reads as a touching memoir of their marriage to one another is entitled, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? and is already gaining momentum as one of the leading new works of nonfiction literature in its specific genre due to its high quality and the aforementioned Times Square promotional advertising campaign. Visit the special section of www.drandrewbatsis.com labeled "The Book of Dr. Batsis" to enjoy sample chapters in a desktop and mobile-friendly format. Keep watching the website for upcoming details regarding Katherine Batsis' new manuscript. While still entertaining offers from publishers, Mrs. Batsis hopes to have penned a publishing deal by late 2016 for a book release next year. Her touching compendium of their memories and experiences has been referred to by Scott Stone, Executive Vice President of 2 Brothers Worldwide Publishing as "truly groundbreaking work" and "a simply wonderful biography and memoir detailing not only the career of a great man, but also the story of a great marriage." During Mrs. Batsis' appearance on Strathmore Online Radio (also debuting June 17, 2016 hear audio sample above) her work was met with excitement and anticipation for a proper release. Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? is "an episodic journey into the heart of love, devotion and greatness. It is uncomplicated in its emotional gravity; direct and effective." (Stone) Based on her excellence in the field of writing, Katherine Batsis was recently named Author of the Year by both Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals, along with several other designations such as Lifetime Roundtable and the Top Female Executive and Leaders program. These special membership honors were granted based on accomplishment, ambition and an overall show of promise in one's chosen endeavor. Katherine J. Batsis is a graduate of Lesley College and Simmons College, where she received her B.Ed and L.S., respectively. Her expertise lies in writing, reading, researching, thinking and library sciences. In her part time she enjoys international folk dancing, contra dancing, knitting, playing the piano, singing, learning French and practicing yoga. It should be noted that this is the second time Dr. Andrew Batsis has been honored on the Times Square billboards. The Times Square honor is of particular significance because of the high visibility it offers. This visual celebration of Dr. Andrew Batsis' career and Katherine Batsis' wonderful writing will appear at regular intervals on two monitors attached to the landmark skyscraper at 3 Times Square, #1, New York, NY 10036 on Friday, June 17, 2016. This structure is situated in what is inarguably one of the busiest places in the world. Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry are both pleased to honor him in memoriam. They also offer their full endorsement of Katherine Batsis' manuscript, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? as the #1 unpublished literary work of 2016. Contact: Bea Hanley, 516-997-2525 ext. 100, [email protected] Video - https://youtu.be/Cnpj0uFu-Uc Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160615/379954 SOURCE America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals Related Links http://www.americasregistry.com TALLINN, Estonia, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Trade Solutions Ltd., an Estonia-based company, is pleased to announce the launch of their new brand GoGoNano (TM). GoGoNano offers innovative nanotechnology products that protect a variety of surfaces from dirt, dust and scratches. As the company CEO noted, GoGoNano currently offers three products: a liquid screen protector called Clean & Coat; GoGoNano Dryve, which acts like an invisible shield on car body coating, and a superhydrophobic spray called GoGoNano Always Dry which is ideal for textile and leather surfaces. GoGoNano stands apart from the competition in many ways, noted the CEO. For example, the products feature the latest technology, which allows them to work deep inside surfaces. They also provide exceptionally strong protection against scratches, dust, and other contaminants. The nano coating products are also affordablecosting less than a dinner at a restaurant. "Not only that, all our products are 100% green, easy to use, and they last up to two years," the CEO said. Also, because they protect surfaces from grime and scratches, the products not only save people time and money, but also makes their items look new with an amazing shine and gloss. Even though GoGoNano launched a short time ago, the Clean & Coat liquid screen protector is already selling briskly with customers. From computers and cameras to glasses, tablets and more, the product makes the devices 10 times more scratch-resistant and provides a special anti-bacterial feature. Always Dry is also creating a buzz with customers, who are eager to use it on textiles, leather, carpets, bags, wallets and shoes. Dryve is also already a big seller with customers who want to maintain the showroom finish of their vehicle. About GoGoNano: The founders of GoGoNano (TM) work hard to get the best Nanotechnology Products to their customers. The GoGoNano brand was created by the Estonian company Digital Trade Solutions Ltd., which was founded in 2013. Since then they have been offering their customers a unique and highly useful line of nanotechnology products. Their goal is to offer their customers 100% satisfaction, using the most cutting edge technology and tools. For more information, please visit http://www.gogonano.com/ Digital Trade Solutions Ltd. Kose mnt 28-13, Lehtmetsa kula, Anija vald Harjumaa, Estonia, 74307 Contact: Kaur Reinjarv [email protected] 56470784 SOURCE GoGoNano Related Links http://www.gogonano.com NEW YORK, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Macquarie Bank Limited (the "Bank"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited (ASX: MQG), announced that as of 2:00 p.m. today, the Reference Yield for the Notes tendered and accepted for purchase by the Bank pursuant to its cash tender offer (the "Tender Offer") for the Notes listed in the table below is 1.084%. Accordingly, Holders who tendered Notes accepted by the Bank will receive the Total Consideration of US$1,166.43 per US$1,000 principal amount of Note. The Total Consideration will include an Early Tender Premium of US$50 per US$1,000 principal amount. In addition to the Total Consideration, holders who tendered Notes accepted for purchase by the Bank will receive a cash payment representing accrued and unpaid interest thereon from the last interest payment or distribution date to, but not including, June 20, 2016 ("Accrued Interest"). The following table summarizes the material pricing terms for each US$1,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes: Title of Securities CUSIP No. ISIN Aggregate Principal Amount Tendered Aggregate Principal Amount Accepted for Purchase(1) Clearing Spread (basis points) (2) Reference Security Reference Yield(3) Total Consideration(3)(4) 6.625% Subordinated Medium-Term Notes, Series A, due 2021 144A: 55608XAA5 Reg S: 55608YAA3 144A: US55608XAA54 Reg S: US55608YAA38 US$340,082,000 US$175,000,000 180 1.375% U.S. Treasury Bonds due May 31, 2021 1.084% US$1,166.43 (1) As of June 16, 2016. Settlement of the purchase of the Notes by the Bank will be on June 20, 2016. (2) The Base Spread of 225 basis points less the Clearing Spread Premium of 45 basis points. (3) The Reference Yield and the Total Consideration were determined at 2:00 p.m., New York time, on June 16, 2016. (4) Per US$1,000 principal amount of Notes accepted for purchase. Includes the Early Tender Premium but not Accrued Interest. The Tender Offer is described in the Offer to Purchase, dated June 2, 2016 (the "Offer to Purchase") and the related Letter of Transmittal, each previously sent to holders of the Notes. Notes tendered by holders and accepted for purchase will be subject to proration as described in the Offer to Purchase. Capitalized terms in this announcement have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase. The Bank has retained Citigroup Global Markets Inc. ("Citigroup") and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC ("J.P. Morgan") to act as Dealer Managers, D.F. King & Co., Inc. ("D.F. King") to act as Information Agent and D.F. King to act as Tender Agent, in each case in connection with the Tender Offer. For additional information regarding the terms of the Tender Offer, please contact Citigroup at +1 (800) 558-3745 or J.P. Morgan at +1 (866) 834-4666. Requests for documents and questions regarding the tendering of Notes may be directed to D.F. King by telephone at +1 (800) 283-2170 or by email at [email protected]. This announcement does not constitute an offer to participate in the Tender Offer. The Tender Offer is being made pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal, copies of which have been delivered to holders of the Notes, and which set forth the complete terms and conditions of the Tender Offer. Holders are urged to read the Offer to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal carefully before making any decision with respect to their Notes. The Tender Offer is not being made to, nor will the Bank accept tenders of Notes from, holders in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. None of the Bank, the Dealer Managers, the Information Agent, the Tender Agent or the fiscal agent for the Notes makes any recommendation as to whether holders should tender their Notes in response to the Tender Offer or at what bid spreads holders should tender their Notes. Certain statements in this announcement, including those describing the completion of the Tender Offer, constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Bank's belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside the Bank's control. It is possible that actual results will differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results indicated in these statements. Contact: Angus Cameron M: +61 (2) 8232 9992; E: [email protected] Sarim Farooqi M: +1 416 687 1088; E: [email protected] SOURCE Macquarie Bank Limited JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust: WHO: Jersey City Mayor Steven Michael Fulop Mayor Patrick Kelleher , President of the Hudson County Building and Construction Trades Council , President of the Hudson County Building and Construction Trades Council Bill O'Dea , Hudson Country Freeholder and Standard Bearer of South Hudson Civic Assn. WHAT: A press conference with Mayor Fulop, Hudson County Freeholder O'Dea and the Hudson County Building and Construction Trades Council President Patrick Kelleher who will be celebrating the near completion of an 8-unit, homeless veteran apartment complex being built in collaboration with the City of Jersey City, Jersey City Redevelopment Authority, and local contractors. Jersey City provided the land, trade unions are volunteering their labor and contractors are providing the materials and supplies for the project. United Way will provide support services to occupants. The transitional housing will provide stays from 6 to 18 months. Participants of Project IMPACT ("Increasing Minority Participation and Access to Construction Trades), a partnership started between the Hudson County Building Trades, South Hudson Civic Association and the City of Jersey City and supported by the American Reinvestment Company, are also working on the project. Project IMPACT, which aims at increasing the number of women, minorities and veterans in the construction trades and related unions, has put dozens of Jersey City residents on course to be union apprentices. WHEN: Saturday, June 18 8:30 am WHERE: 665 Ocean Avenue Jersey City, New Jersey 07305 Contact: Patrick Kelleher (201) 407-3527 SOURCE AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust Jerry Brown is the owner/operator of JB Sound located in Fort Wayne Indiana. Mr. Brown earned his A.S. in Electronics at ITT Technical Institute. He has more than 30 years of experience in the audio installation industry. JB Sound offers many services including home audio installation, event sound and setup and provides a large selection of audio equipment to fulfill his clients' needs. This includes church sound, video, lighting and DJing ([pronounced DeeJaying]. Mr. Brown says "We have deep roots in the area and are part of the community." His leisure time is spent in church activities and DJing. Executive Vice President of 2 Brothers Worldwide Publishing, Scott Stone, was instrumental in arranging many of Mr. Brown's recent opportunities. About their association, Mr. Stone had this to say: "Jerry Brown is a wonderfully professional gentleman with a keen business sense and a passion for what he does. I have spoken with Jerry for hours over the last few months and I can say without hesitation that he is exactly the type of individual who benefits most from these exclusive services this is precisely why we only make them available to a small group of our top professionals; we want the experience to be special and, most importantly, fruitful." Mr. Stone went on to say that Jerry Brown is "a very accomplished AV and lighting pro. He has nothing but satisfied customers. This is why he was selected as P.O.Y. [Professional of the Year]." Jerry Brown's church involvement extends beyond that of a professional nature. He is a man of faith and devotion and this inherent goodness is present in his personality, his dealings and all of his work. Mr. Brown was also recently accepted into America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals as a Lifetime Member with full P.O.Y. honors. AUSTIN, Texas, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Preston Corp (OTCPK: PSNP) ("Preston Corporation" "PSNP" or the "Company") today is very pleased to announce that the Company has signed an agreement to acquire a gold production royalty from an Arizona mine through its exclusive agent Western Mine Development LLC, ("Western"). The project is an alluvial placer mine that has just received an approved mining permit from the regulatory agency allowing for the commencement of commercial gold production, which when fully implemented is forecast to generate $28.8 million a year EBITDA at a conservative pricing of $1,250 per ounce gold. The project is a low cost, high grade placer deposit which has an all in production cost per ounce of gold of $300. The mine meets all of Preston's requirements for financing and acquisition. Preston is confident that it will begin receiving its royalty stream of production revenue in Q4 of this year. Company President Andrew Stack states "the Arizona gold acquisition is a great achievement for the Company as it is the second project in our growing portfolio of gold mine operations with permitted production that will deliver our desired internal rate of return. We look forward to working with the mine ownership group to ensure timely delivery of Preston's royalty thus meeting our corporate goals and the added valuation to the shareholders." About Preston Corp (OTCPK: PSNP) Preston Royalty's mission is to develop the Company into a leading financial service provider, specializing in royalty financing for mining operations with the intent to realize large, continuous profits from ongoing economic interest in the production and future production of mining properties. Preston Royalty is gold focused but will create a diversified portfolio of royalties and streams wherever the value can be found regardless of commodity, geography, revenue type or stage of project. Preston Royalty is not an operator and therefore has none of the associated risks or capital requirements of mine operation. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, scope and type of consulting services provided by PSNP, use of proceeds, future acquisitions, success of projects, growth and strategic plans. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with petroleum exploration and development stage exploration companies. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Preston Corporation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Andrew Stack President, C.E.O. To find out more about Preston Corporation (OTCPK: PSNP), visit our website at http://www.prestonroyalty.com +1-775-345-3449 [email protected] SOURCE Preston Corp NEW YORK, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- REVOLT announced today a revolutionary offering to advertisers as media companies strategize their Upfront deals. REVOLT will now offer a guaranteed one-to-one match of TV impressions on Social Media, showcasing the strength and influence of the music network's audience. The company has partnered with leading social media analytics company Crimson Hexagon for 3rd party data, giving agencies and advertisers the ability to partner on a number of offerings that will generate mass social exposure. By tapping into their social conversations, brands can become an "always on" part of the community amongst artists and fans. While much of the conversation surrounding the Upfronts has focused on engagement and effectiveness, this new offering will target MultillennialZ (what REVOLT has dubbed their diverse audience of Millennials and Gen-Z'ers), and provide a new way to measure the impact of TV dollars spent. "Since our launch, Nielsen has proven REVOLT is #1 in social influence amongst our competitors," said Michael Roche, EVP of Sales & Partnerships. "The social power of our brand, the artists we work with on a daily basis, and the network of influencers we bring together provide added scale for brands that match or exceed that of TV impressions." This new model goes against the grain of traditional media offerings, in line with the disruptive mentality from which REVOLT was created. Instead of following the traditional industry Upfront programming model, REVOLT has built their plan around successful formats that provide the ability to deliver meaningful content to their audience at the speed of social. As a result, REVOLT's programming lineup is heavily based on LIVE content. This includes its flagship REVOLT Live airing 5 days a week, Breakfast Club airing 3 hours LIVE each day, and continuous LIVE segments throughout the week from the news team. Additionally, the network airs daily performances from new artists with REVOLT Sessions, major LIVE driven events (such as a partnership with ESPN's X Games) as well as the successful REVOLT Music Conference allowing endless opportunities for advertiser partnerships. "Brands that partner with REVOLT think beyond traditional metrics and focus on the effective connection we provide with MultillennialZ," added Roche. "The Social Match based on Crimson Hexagon data, details not only reach, but monitors audience sentiment, allowing advertisers to adjust creative in real-time." Advertisers will be provided with feedback regarding how customers are relating to their messaging as well as obtaining a true sense from the most prolific authors and influential posters that are interacting with their brand. This type of data is unlike anything else being analyzed by traditional measurement. REVOLT continues to increase its distribution having added DIRECTV and expanding with AT&T U-verse TV as part of its carriage. They are approaching 50MM homes and are working with over 70 national advertisers. ABOUT REVOLT REVOLT is the #1 name in music. Focused on expertly curating the best of the best in music and engaging youth in social conversation, the multi-genre, multi-platform network offers breaking music news, videos, artist interviews, exclusive performances, and original programming. Attracting over 50 million young adults through television, digital properties, social and mobile, REVOLT is accessible 24/7 anytime, anywhere, any screen and is available nationally on DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse TV, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Verizon FiOS, CenturyLink Prism TV and Suddenlink, as well as OTT platforms fuboTV, KlowdTV, and FilmOn. REVOLT is also available internationally in the Bahamas on Cable Bahamas, the Cayman Islands on Westel, in Jamaica on Digicel, and in Trinidad on Digicel and Massy Communications. For more information, visit https://revolt.tv. Media contact is: Chloe Williams [email protected] 1-646-759-7998 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150320/183424LOGO SOURCE REVOLT Related Links https://revolt.tv SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Rio Tinto Kennecott has reached an agreement with Varde Partners, a leading investment firm, to sell its land and associated assets in the Daybreak Community. The sale includes approximately 500 finished home sites, 2,500 acres of undeveloped land, the Glass House Information Center, the SoDa Row Retail District, Oquirrh Lake and associated secondary water assets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "This divestment will facilitate fresh capital to fund Daybreak's continued growth and expansion, and contribute to Kennecott's cash flow and flexibility as we streamline our business and focus on mining," said Nigel Steward, Rio Tinto Kennecott Managing Director. "Daybreak is an exceptional community with tremendous value, and we are confident Varde Partners will continue to move the Daybreak vision forward." "Daybreak is an attractive property for Varde Partners. The acquisition of Daybreak directly aligns with our vision for owning top-quality real estate assets," said Ali Haroon, Partner and Global Head of Real Estate at Varde. "It is a great fit in Varde's overall real estate strategy, which includes extensive real estate holdings around the globe." "We believe in the future of this community and are focused on ensuring that Daybreak will remain a thriving master-planned community. We are excited about growing the community responsibly working alongside the management team," said Brendan Bosman, Varde's lead Managing Director on the investment. The deal is scheduled to close in early summer 2016, upon which certain funds managed by Varde Partners will assume ownership of Daybreak and its associated assets, forming a new company that will continue development and operations of the community. Key members of Daybreak's current management team will continue with the new venture. Kennecott was represented by Land Advisors Organization in the transaction. About Rio Tinto Kennecott As the second largest copper producer in the United States, Rio Tinto Kennecott comprises nearly 7 percent of U.S. copper production. Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine is one of the top producing copper mines in the world with production at more than 19 million tons. Rio Tinto purchased Kennecott and related facilities in 1989 and has invested more than $2 billion in modernization since that time. Kennecott has also spent more than $350 million on the cleanup of historic mining waste and $100 million on groundwater cleanup. Take a closer look at riotintokennecott.com. About Rio Tinto Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the United Kingdom, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and Southern Africa. www.riotinto.com About Varde Partners Varde Partners is a global alternative investment adviser focused on investing capital and resources across multiple segments and markets that includes corporate assets and sovereign debt, residential mortgages, real estate, specialty finance, transportation, infrastructure and logistics. Varde sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors, and private clients. www.varde.com SOURCE Varde Partners Related Links http://www.varde.com CANBERRA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China has been consistent in seeking a peaceful and negotiated solution to the South China Seadisputes, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye said in an article published Friday in one of Australia's top newspapers. In the article carried by The West Australian, Cheng wrote the issue of the South China Sea has attracted a lot of recent attention. "Though this is a complicated issue concerning territorial sovereignty, China remains committed to a negotiated solution." "China's indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters has long been established," the article said. "As the first to discover the islands, China has exercised sovereign jurisdiction over them through various means." "During World War II, Japanillegally seized some parts of the islands. After the war, China recovered those islands in accordance with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. For several decades afterwards, it was widely acknowledged by the international community that the South China Sea islands belong to China." The ambassador explained in the article the root cause of South China Sea disputes, which originated in the 1970s when some countries around the South China Sea began to occupy illegally part of China's Nansha islands and reefs. "In the interests of peace and stability in the region, China has exercised the utmost restraint," he said. While adhering to its position of upholding sovereignty over the islands, China put forward the proposal of "shelving differences and engaging in common development." China has had active discussions with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries for an effective way to manage the disputes. With concerted efforts, China and the 10 ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002. In the DOC, all relevant parties undertook to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by countries directly concerned. In September 2013, China and ASEAN countries launched consultations for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and they have made significant progress. "During the recent Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting, China and ASEAN countries, by reaffirming their commitment to a full, effective and comprehensive implementation of the DOC, agreed to advance the process of COC consultations with a view to reaching an early conclusion based on consensus." "It is China's consistent policy to settle territorial and maritime entitlement disputes through negotiations and consultations. In this spirit, China has solved boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 land neighbors in the past decades, with about 20,000 km of borderlines delineated." In addition, China and Vietnam have set the maritime boundary in the Beibu Gulf. "These remarkable achievements fully demonstrate that bilateral negotiations and consultations are an effective means to solve territorial disputes. The Chinese government will continue to adopt this approach," he said in the article. Cheng said in the mid-1990s, China and the Philippinesreached a clear agreement on settling their disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation. This has been reaffirmed in many other bilateral documents since then, including the joint statement the two countries issued in September 2011. However, "in total disregard of this agreement," the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration against China on the South China Sea dispute in early 2013. "Such a move again goes against the provisions of the DOC. China has every right not to accept or participate in the arbitration. In spite of all this, the door of dialogue is always open. China is committed to resolving the disputes through negotiation with the Philippines." "The South China Sea is an important shipping lane. As the largest country around the South China Sea and the world's biggest trading nation in goods, China has a high stake in the South China Sea with 80 percent of its total trade traversing the area. Peace and stability in the South China Sea are critical to China." "It stands ready to work with other parties concerned to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea which all countries are entitled to in accordance with international law." "On the other hand, China remains firmly opposed to any provocative acts to ratchet up tension under the cover of navigation freedom," Cheng said in the article. SAN DIEGO, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Just hours before a second jury trial was scheduled to begin before the Honorable Jorge L. Alonso in Chicago federal court, the parties in the Household International (now HSBC Finance Corporation) securities class action reached an agreement, subject to court approval, to settle the action for a total of $1.575 billion in cash. The $1.575 billion recovery is a record; it is the largest ever following a securities fraud class action trial, the largest securities fraud settlement in the Seventh Circuit and the seventh largest settlement ever in a post-PSLRA securities fraud case. According to published reports, the case was just the seventh securities fraud case tried to a verdict since the passage of the PSLRA. The case was filed on August 19, 2002, and a six-week jury trial began on March 30, 2009. On May 7, 2009, a jury returned a securities fraud verdict in favor of the class, finding that Household and the individual defendants, William Aldinger, David Schoenholz and Gary Gilmer, collectively made 17 false and misleading statements concerning the Illinois lender's financial results and operations in violation of 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5. Plaintiffs' counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller"), fought the defendants' repeated attempts to derail the litigation after the verdict, which included several post-trial motions to invalidate the verdict, objections to tens of thousands of claims by injured class members, and an appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. On May 21, 2015, the appellate court upheld the jury's verdict that defendants made false or misleading statements of material fact about the company's predatory lending practices, the quality of its loan portfolio and the company's financial results between March 23, 2001 and October 11, 2002, but sent the case back for a retrial limited to whether the individual defendants "made" certain false statements, whether those false statements caused plaintiffs' losses, and the amount of damages. The retrial was scheduled to begin on June 6, 2016. "I am very happy with the great job that our lawyers Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and everyone at Glickenhaus & Co. did over many, many years to achieve this incredible result. The mills of Justice grind slowly, but sometimes they do grind exceedingly fine," said James Glickenhaus of Glickenhaus & Co., one of three lead plaintiffs appointed by the court in 2002 to represent the class. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 132 Pension Plan and PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund also represented the class. Robbins Geller, lead counsel in this record-breaking recovery, is uniquely equipped to handle trials in securities fraud cases. The Firm's teams of former federal and state prosecutors and other experienced trial lawyers make Robbins Geller distinctive among firms that specialize in plaintiffs' class action litigation and enable it to see cases such as this through trial and appeal. "This case showcased our willingness to shoulder the burden of sustained litigation," said Robbins Geller lead trial attorney Mike Dowd. "The fact that, after 14 years of hard-fought litigation including a trial and an appeal we obtained a record recovery demonstrates our firm's resolve to vindicate the rights of defrauded investors. With my partners Spence Burkholz, Dan Drosman, Luke Brooks and Maureen Mueller, we were ready to try the case to verdict a second time. We moved more than a dozen attorneys, other professionals and support staff to Chicago for the trial, and again for the retrial, and I'm glad their hard work paid off for the class." The case, Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan v. Household International, Inc., et al., Case No. 02-C-5893, is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Robbins Geller, lead counsel in this record-breaking recovery, represents U.S. and international institutional investors in contingency-based securities and corporate litigation. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history and was ranked first in both the total amount and number of shareholder class action recoveries in ISS's SCAS Top 50 Report for the last two years. Robbins Geller attorneys have shaped the law in the areas of securities litigation and shareholder rights and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of the Firm's clients. Robbins Geller not only secures recoveries for defrauded investors, it also strives to implement corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Please visit http:/www.rgrdlaw.com for more information. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150415/198876LOGO SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Related Links http://www.rgrdlaw.com/?utm_source=PRNewswire&utm_medium=Press%20Release&utm_campaign=Site%20Preview Serco will enhance and modernize the radar's HEMP protection via a design-build-install-test approach supporting U.S. Air Force Space Command and the U.S. Strategic Command. Serco has been performing HEMP radar upgrades for U.S. Air Force Space Command including work at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; Cavalier Air Force Station, North Dakota; Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts; and Royal Air Force Flyingdales, United Kingdom. "I am proud of our C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and Base Modernization service teams for winning this new contract as we grow our business in the defense market sector," said Dan Allen, Chairman and CEO of Serco Inc. "Our team has been supporting HEMP radar upgrades, and we look forward to continue delivering our services at the Thule Air Base in Greenland." About Serco Inc.: Serco Inc. is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services. We advise, design, integrate, and deliver solutions that transform how clients achieve their missions. Our customer-first approach, robust portfolio of services, and global experience enable us to respond with solutions that achieve outcomes with value. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Serco Inc. has approximately 9,000 employees and annual revenue of $1 billion. Serco Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc, a $5 billion international business that helps transform government and public services around the world. More information about Serco Inc. can be found at www.serco-na.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140521/90107 SOURCE Serco Inc. Related Links http://www.serco-na.com/ PHOENIX, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A collective group of concerned community organizations have jointly signed and submitted a letter addressed to the Arizona Corporation Commission urging the Commission to reject all mandatory demand charges put forth by Arizona utilities. Signatories of the letter join a growing number of organizations nationwide that have publically voiced opposition for demand charges for a number of reasons, including that they negatively impact the elderly and families on a fixed income. Groups who have signed onto the letter include: Recreation Centers of Sun City Arizona Utility Ratepayer Alliance (AURA) Conservative Alliance for Solar Energy (CASE) Arizona CHISPA AZ Arizona League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Physicians for Social Responsibility Arizona Conservatives for Energy Freedom Green Tea Coalition Sierra Club Arizona Environment Arizona Puente Movement Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) Latino Victory Project Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project William C. Velazquez Institute GreenLatinos The letter reads, "Mandatory demand charges dramatically undercut customers' ability to manage their energy costs. This is why they have been rejected by state legislatures and utility commissions across the country and should be rejected here in Arizona." "It is imperative the Commission reject the use of mandatory demand charges for customers. There are better ways to promote energy efficiency and reduce demand on the utility. Demand charges effectively operate as a means for the utility to make more money without providing any clear benefit to consume less." Pat Quinn, the President of the Arizona Utility Ratepayer Alliance said the letter represents a significant cross-section of Arizona's community groups, and called on the Commission to listen to its message. "Community members from across our state are expressing their opposition to mandatory demand charges," Quinn said. "We are hopeful that the Commission will put the needs of consumers first when deciding upcoming rate cases." Persuasive Barbara Warren, from Physicians for Social Responsibility Arizona said all Arizonans should be concerned about demand charges, "Demand charges have the ability to negatively impact all customers in a variety of ways. Aside from the groups signed onto this letter, all Arizonans should have concerns with them." The letter is in response to proposals put forth by multiple state-regulated utilities seeking to impose demand charges onto customers. Demand charges allow utilities to bill customers based on their peak energy usage over the course of a month during a small period of time, typically between 15-60 minutes. Common household activities such as cooking dinner and washing clothes simultaneously can initiate a demand charge. Customers have no way to tell how a demand charge is set off, therefore, no way of managing their energy costs. No regulated utility in the country has approved mandatory demand charges for customers. About EFCA Energy Freedom Coalition of America is a national advocacy organization that seeks to promote public awareness of the benefits of solar and alternative energy through public advocacy. SOURCE Energy Freedom Coalition of America Related Links http://www.energyfreedomcoalition.com MOUNT VERNON, Ky., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dallas-based SourceHOV is partnering with the Kentucky SOAR initiative by bringing more job openings to the area, as it continues to expand its transaction processing capabilities. More than 600 positions are now open at the Mount Vernon location, including general clerks, team leads and quality assurance specialists. Pay rates at this location start at $10.52 plus an additional $4.27 per hour health & welfare allowance. "Our best resource is our people and this jobs announcement is a testament to the talent, hard-work and dedication of our workforce in southern and eastern Kentucky," said Congressman Hal Rogers. "I applaud SourceHOV for investing in our region and providing good jobs for more than two decades. It's this type of commitment that lets other companies know that Kentucky's Appalachian region is a great place to do business." Candidates should have a high school diploma or equivalent, be able to pass a background check, and have the ability to understand English. Many positions require keyboarding skills. Roles may be trained on all areas of imaging including document preparation, scanning, quality control, and data entry. Further details can be obtained at www.sourcehov.com/careers. "SourceHOV has been a part of the Mount Vernon community for more than 24 years and contributes more than $11M to the Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Ron Cogburn, CEO of SourceHOV. "We're excited to expand operations in the area and offer even more opportunities." About SOAR: SOAR is a network of Kentucky's Appalachian region, uniting 54 counties to expand job creation, enhance regional innovation, and improve the quality of life. Learn more about SOAR at soar-ky.org. About SourceHOV: SourceHOV is a global Transaction Processing Services and Enterprise Information Management leader. SourceHOV provides services and solutions for high-volume, mission-critical organizations seeking to drive efficiency with their business processes. By leveraging specialized knowledge platforms that are powered by decades of expertise and customer-specific experience, we deliver innovative end-to-end solutions, incorporating data aggregation, workflow, analytics, payment processing, exception management and outcome resolutions. About Congressman Hal Rogers: Serving Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District for 36 years, Congressman Hal Rogers has focused on economic development and job creation throughout Kentucky's Appalachian region. Most recently, he co-founded a grassroots initiative called Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) to help diversify the economy, spur innovation and attract new opportunities in the heart of coal country. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380505LOGO SOURCE SourceHOV Related Links http://www.sourcehov.com HOLLYWOOD, Fla., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunshine Capital, Inc. (Pink Sheets: SCNP) today announces that it has appointed James R J Scheltema as the Company's new President and CEO to execute "Daniel J Duffy's plan" of turning the Company into a well-structured, revenue, earnings and asset based company. Mr. Scheltema is a licensed attorney in Maryland and the District of Columbia as well as being a Certified Public Accountant in Florida. In the last decade, he has concentrated on developing microcap companies. He was a founder of both HEMP and MJNA and was general counsel during their infancy. More recently, he provided services to many microcap companies to either maintain or bring them into compliance with SEC, OTC and FINRA standards. In several circumstances, he has accepted appointment as the President and CEO of a few special situation microcap companies. "My education and experience provide the perfect springboard to lead a company which is focused on growth through acquisitions," stated James Scheltema, newly appointed President and CEO of Sunshine Capital, Inc. "Sunshine Capital provides the ideal platform for this type of company and I look forward to making smaller companies stronger through accretive acquisitions, alliances and cooperative operating agreements under the Sunshine Capital umbrella." "With Jim's skill depth in mergers makes him the ideal candidate to execute the apt named 'The Duffy Plan,'" stated Daniel J Duffy, noted investor and Investment Trustee to his children's trust. "I have had many meetings with Mr. Scheltema and his conservative and careful style will be instrumental in making the Duffy Plan a reality in creating a growing company based on a strong foundation. I anticipate Sunshine Capital will be as successful as when I participated in 2003 thru 2008 including turning my first public company Preferred Internet Technologies from nothing to the final stage company Sebastian River Holdings of over $140 million dollars in executed and pending mergers and acquisitions, including the cash buy out of Global Communications Solutions (GCS Wireless) which turned my company into the largest T-Mobile authorized dealer in the Florida Market." MEDIA CONTACT: Sunshine Capital, Inc. 7777 Davie Road Extension Suite 302B Hollywood, FL 33024 954-703-2538 http://www.PinkSheetsSCNP.com/ Forward-Looking Statements: The private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking information made on the company's behalf. All statements, other than statements of historical facts which address the company's expectations of sources of capital or which express the company's expectation for the future with respect to financial performance or operating strategies, can be identified as forward-looking statements. Such statements made by the company are based on knowledge of the environment in which it operates, but because of the factors previously listed, as well as other factors beyond control of the company, actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in forward-looking statements. SOURCE Sunshine Capital, Inc. Related Links http://www.pinksheetsscnp.com LIVONIA, Mich., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Tower International, Inc. (NYSE: TOWR), a leading global manufacturer of engineered automotive structural metal components and assemblies, today authorized management to repurchase up to $100 million of the Company's issued and outstanding common stock from time to time in the open market. The time period for the buyback is open-ended. "In view of the Company's previously disclosed strong earnings and cash-flow outlook, in combination with a decline in our stock price to a point significantly below our view of intrinsic value, we believe stock repurchase represents a prudent and appropriate way to opportunistically deploy capital in a highly accretive and low-risk manner," said President and CEO Mark Malcolm. "Using present projections, the Company expects to generate more than enough cash through 2017 from operational free cash flow and the planned sales in Brazil and China to fund the repurchase authorization. The open-ended timing provides prudent flexibility to respond to changing business conditions or outlook, and to consider potential profitable growth opportunities." Tower plans to release second quarter results and update its outlook in late July. The Company presently anticipates that revenue may be slightly lower than prior guidance for the second quarter and full year. Earnings are presently expected to exceed second quarter guidance based on favorable calendarization and other factors; full year earnings and cash flow are presently expected to be consistent with prior guidance. Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company's projected revenue, earnings, and cash flow and statements regarding the Company's future business outlook and funding of the repurchase program. The forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "project," "target," and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are based upon management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The following important factors, as well as risk factors described in our reports filed with the SEC, could cause our actual results to differ materially from estimates or expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements: global automobile production volumes; the financial condition of our customers and suppliers; our ability to make scheduled payments of principal or interest on our indebtedness and comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in the instruments governing our indebtedness; our ability to refinance our indebtedness; risks associated with our non-U.S. operations, including foreign exchange risks and economic uncertainty in some regions; any increase in the expense and funding requirements of our pension and other postretirement benefits; our customers' ability to obtain equity and debt financing for their businesses; our dependence on our largest customers; pricing pressure from our customers; work stoppages or other labor issues affecting us or our customers or suppliers; our ability to integrate acquired businesses; risks associated with business divestitures; and costs or liabilities relating to environmental and safety regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Contact: Derek Fiebig Executive Director, Investor & External Relations (248) 675-6457 [email protected] SOURCE Tower International, Inc. OAKLAND, Calif., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- USCF today announced it has signed an agreement with Auspice Capital Advisors, Ltd. (Auspice), a Canadian based alternatives fund manager to develop an exchange-traded product providing exposure to Canadian crude oil. The new exchange-traded products will seek to track, in percentage terms, the price movements of the Canadian Crude Excess Return Index (CCIER), which was created by Auspice to mirror the returns investors would receive if they held an approximately 3-month rolling fixed price position in the nearby Western Canadian Select futures contracts, including rolling and rebalancing. The CCIER is closely related to Auspice's Canadian Crude Index (CCI), a benchmark that provides a reference price for the bulk of the crude oil produced and traded in Canada (ticker CDNCRUDE). Both are published and calculated by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). "USCF is thrilled to be working with Auspice. They are an innovative and influential commodity player, located at the heart of Canada's oil industry. We immediately recognized their value proposition for Canadian crude oil and its importance to international energy trading," said John Love, President and CEO of USCF. "Canadian crude oil is a natural complement to our suite of oil funds, which include the U.S. benchmark (WTI) and the global benchmark (Brent)." USCF offers access to WTI via the United States Oil Fund (USO) and Brent via the United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO). "The opportunity to work with USCF is exciting for Auspice and is positive for the global energy commodity marketplace," said Tim Pickering, Founder, and Chief Investment Officer of Auspice. "Further developing investment access to the Canadian crude market, the largest foreign supply of oil to the United States and third largest oil reserve, underlies the importance of Canadian Oil in a global context and opens up opportunities for international investors and speculators in this previously physical wholesale market." About USCF Located in Oakland, California, United States Commodity Funds LLC (USCF) operates 11 exchange-traded products that focus on commodities, and has approximately $5 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2016. For more information about USCF's exchange-traded products and USCF, visit www.uscfinvestments.com. About Auspice Capital Advisors, Ltd. Auspice is a Calgary Canada-based global fund manager of non-correlated alternatives which since 2006 has partnered with global institutional and retail clients. Led by a respected portfolio management team with institutional energy pedigree, Auspice employs a disciplined, rules-based approach to investment management and manages a suite of award-winning and innovative investment products available in a variety of delivery mechanisms (funds, ETFs, indices, managed accounts). For more information, please visit www.auspicecapital.com. Disclosure Please note that the foregoing announcement does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160406/352228LOGO SOURCE USCF BAAR, Switzerland, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Weatherford International plc (NYSE: WFT) (the "Company" or "Weatherford") announced the early results of the previously announced offers (the "Tender Offers") by Weatherford International Ltd., a Bermuda exempted company and indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("Weatherford Bermuda"), and Weatherford International, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and indirect subsidiary of Weatherford Bermuda ("Weatherford Delaware" and, together with Weatherford Bermuda, the "Offerors") to purchase for cash Weatherford Delaware's 6.35% senior notes due 2017 (the "2017 Notes") and Weatherford Bermuda's 6.00% senior notes due 2018 (the "2018 Notes"), 9.625% senior notes due 2019 (the "2019 Notes") and 5.125% senior notes due 2020 (the "2020 Notes" and, together with the 2017 Notes, 2018 Notes and 2019 Notes, the "Notes") for a maximum aggregate purchase price (excluding accrued interest) of up to $2.6 billion (the "Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price"). According to information received from Global Bondholder Services Corporation ("GBSC"), the Depositary and Information Agent for the Tender Offers, as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2016 (that date and time, the "Early Tender Date"), the Offerors had received valid tenders from holders of the Notes as outlined in the table below. Dollars per $1,000 Principal Amount of Notes Title of Security CUSIP Number Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding Principal Amount Tendered Principal Amount Accepted Acceptance Priority Level Total Consideration (1) Weatherford Delaware's 2017 Notes 947074AJ9 / 947074AF7 / U94320AC9 $600,000,000 $ 510,744,000 $ 510,744,000 1 $1,050.00 Weatherford Bermuda's 2018 Notes 947075AD9 $500,000,000 $ 433,806,000 $ 433,806,000 2 $1,055.00 Weatherford Bermuda's 2019 Notes 947075AF4 $1,000,000,000 $ 514,475,000 $ 514,475,000 3 $1,100.00 Weatherford Bermuda's 2020 Notes 94707VAA8 $773,088,000 $ 407,758,000 $ 407,758,000 4 $945.00 (1) Includes the Early Tender Premium (as defined below) but excludes accrued and unpaid interest. The Offerors intend to accept for purchase all Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) before the Early Tender Date, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offers having been either satisfied or waived by the applicable Offeror. These Notes will be purchased on the "Early Settlement Date", which is currently expected to occur on the date hereof, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offers having been either satisfied or waived by the applicable Offeror. Payments for Notes purchased will include accrued and unpaid interest from and including the last interest payment date applicable to the relevant series of Notes up to, but not including, the applicable Settlement Date (as such term is defined in the Offer to Purchase). The Tender Offers are being made pursuant to the terms and conditions described in the Offer to Purchase, dated June 1, 2016, as amended by the press releases filed on June 8, 2016 and June 10, 2016 (the "Offer to Purchase"). Subject to the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers, the consideration for each US$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offers will be the tender offer consideration for such series of Notes set forth in the Offer to Purchase (with respect to each series of Notes, the "Tender Offer Consideration"). Holders of Notes that were validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offers will receive the applicable Total Consideration (as defined below and as set forth in the table above) for such series, which includes the early tender premium of $30.00 for each series of Notes as set forth in the Offer to Purchase (with respect to each series of Notes, the "Early Tender Premium" and, together with the applicable Tender Offer Consideration, the "Total Consideration"). The Tender Offers will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on June 30, 2016 (the "Expiration Date"). No tenders submitted after the Expiration Date will be valid. The settlement date, if necessary, for Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Date and before the Expiration Date and which are accepted for purchase (the "Final Settlement Date") is expected to occur on the first business day following the Expiration Date. The amount of each series of Notes that is to be purchased on the Final Settlement Date will be determined in accordance with the acceptance priority levels and proration described in the Offer to Purchase, subject to the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price. Since the Withdrawal Deadline (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) has passed, Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date may not be withdrawn, subject to applicable law. The Tender Offers are subject to the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase. However, the financing condition described in the Offer to Purchase is expected to be satisfied on the date hereof, upon the closing of Weatherford Bermuda's previously announced offering of senior unsecured notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$1.5 billion. Full details of the terms and conditions of the Tender Offers are set forth in the Offer to Purchase, which is available from GBSC. The Offerors may amend, extend or terminate the Tender Offers at any time, subject to applicable law. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are the dealer managers in the Tender Offers. GBSC has been retained to serve as both the depositary and the information agent for the Tender Offers. Persons with questions regarding the Tender Offers should contact Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. at (toll-free): (855) 287-1922 or (collect): (212) 250-7527, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at (toll-free): (800) 558-3745 or (New York): (212) 723-6106, RBC Capital Markets, LLC at (toll-free): (877) 381-2099 or (collect): (212) 618-7822 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at (toll-free): (866) 309-6316 or (collect): (704) 410-4760. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase and other related materials should be directed to GBSC at (toll-free): (866) 807-2200 or (collect): (212) 430-3774. None of the Company, its board of directors, the dealer managers, the depositary or the information agent or any of the Company, the Offerors or their respective affiliates, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of the Notes should tender any Notes in response to the Tender Offers. The Tender Offers are made only by the Offer to Purchase. The Tender Offers are not being made to holders of Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offers are required to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Tender Offers will be deemed to be made on behalf of the Offerors by the dealer managers, or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. ABOUT WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL PLC Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies providing innovative solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in over 100 countries and has a network of approximately 1,100 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities and employs approximately 33,100 people. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined under federal law, including those related to the Company's potential securities offering and tender offers. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "may," "should," "could," "will," "would," and "will be," and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Known material factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements are described in the forward-looking statements and risk factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and those risk factors set forth from time-to-time in other filings with the SEC. Weatherford undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required under federal securities laws. Investor Contact: Krishna Shivram +1.713.836.4610 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Karen David-Green +1.713.836.7430 Vice President Investor Relations, Corporate Marketing & Communications Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19990308/WEATHERFORDLOGO SOURCE Weatherford International plc BOSTON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Relations powerhouse, Hampton Bates Public Relations expands into the app development world by announcing the worldwide release of their Web-Impac visual website evaluator (http://webimpac.com). Co-founders, Sylvia Hampton and her brother, Eric Robinson, have developed the world's first and only website application that combines traditional metrics with a voting system that not only allows website visitors to rate the site but also gives site owners the ability to measure the visual appeal and usability of their sites. Web-Impac Applications and Software: First Impressions Count! "We are thrilled to have brought together a talented team of technical engineers, designers, business development specialists and pr and marketing experts to launch and expand this new product," said Hampton. "First impressions count and Web-Impac is the tool that can help businesses improve their customer's online experience." Performance Web-Impac is a powerful measurement and analysis application that will help business owners take complete control of their customer's online experience. Their patent-pending Star Points Button prompts a website visitor to vote on various aspects that make a website appealing and easy to navigate. The button can also be used to rate services and products offered on the website. The data is then processed through their innovative Star Points Rating System and sent to a private dashboard. From there, website owners can evaluate the information and use it to improve their pages, products or services. Prices and Availability The Web-Impac Star Points Button is now available at http://webimpac.com at prices ranging from $20 per month for the Simple Start Edition to $150.00 a month for a company requiring more robust analytics. They will also offer affordable private consultation and services in marketing, branding and public relations for small businesses that might not be able to afford the costly professional services. "This measurement tool is the first of several online products we will be releasing this year," says Robinson. "We have some very exciting offerings coming out this year." About Hampton Bates Hampton Bates is a top rated, internationally known, boutique PR agency with a reputation for handling exclusive accounts with some of the world's largest organizations including World Bank and Harvard University. Under the leadership of CEO, Sylvia Hampton, whose expertise in fundraising as well as her capacity for accurately pairing venture capitalists with innovative, successful new projects and businesses has given her a unique insight into what it takes to move any project from idea to startup to success, HB has offices in Portsmouth, NH, Atlanta, GA, New York City and Los Angeles and enjoys a stellar reputation with businesses, chambers and entrepreneurs up and down the New England coast, Los Angeles. To learn more about product launch activities, additional products or to book an interview, contact Jacqueline Knight at 603-570-4816, Email or visit the website at: http://webimpac.com Video - https://youtu.be/wTGZX9_TOxM Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380448LOGO SOURCE Web-Impac Related Links http://webimpac.com KATHMANDU, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said Friday that Nepal-China relations have been moving ahead on the basis of mutual respect and understanding. Oli made the remarks here at the launch ceremony of a book entitled Sixty Years of Dynamic Partnership. The book documents all major developments in Nepal-China relations since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955. The Nepali prime minister said Nepal-China relations have always been cordial and trouble-free over the past 60 years. Recalling his visit to China in March this year, Oli said his visit has lifted the bilateral relationship to a new height. "Reaching our bilateral relationship to a new height means that the status of Nepal has also been enhanced in the international arena following this visit," he added. Oli expressed confidence that the relations between Nepal and China will be further enhanced in the days to come. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai said on the occasion that China-Nepal relations have always remained cordial and friendly based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. "We saw a new chapter in our dynamic partnership when Prime Minister Oli paid a successful and historic visit to China in March this year," the ambassador said. President of Nepal-China Society, Prem Kumari Pant, said the book will help readers understand more about Nepal-China relations and help consolidate friendly ties between the two countries. Hiranya Lal Shrestha, a former Nepali diplomat and author of the book, stressed the importance of enhancing connectivity between the two countries to further promote age-old cordial ties. TEWKSBURY, Mass., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Systems and technologies from Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), the prime mission-systems equipment integrator for the U.S. Navy's DDG 1000-class destroyer program, performed strongly as the future USS Zumwalt sailed through Acceptance Trials. Key ship capabilities were rigorously tested in recently completed Builder's and Acceptance Trials, including the Raytheon-developed comprehensive Total Ship Computing Environment integrated mission system. All systems performed well throughout both periods at sea, culminating with the recommendation for ship acceptance by the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. While underway on Builder's Trial, the Raytheon team onboard also conducted 20 hours of hands-on training with several members of the pre-commissioning crew. "Each trial further validated system performance at sea and we're seeing the years of design, development and testing come to life," said Raytheon's Pat O'Kane, ship integration and test director for the DDG 1000 program. "It's especially gratifying for our system experts to spend time with the crew, advancing their skills and hearing their enthusiasm for the features and technologies of their new ship." Building on the successes of Alpha Trials, completed in early December, the Total Ship Computing Environment again operated well for the duration and achieved the demonstration goals for acceptance. Similarly, DDG 1000's engineering control systems, integrated bridge, navigation and electro-optic surveillance systems performed well throughout both trials. With official verification of fully-capable Hull Machinery and Electrical systems, DDG 1000 transferred to the Navy from the shipyard. Soon, the ship will sail to Baltimore for its October commissioning, and then transit to its homeport in San Diego for the commencement of mission systems activation. Raytheon systems onboard Raytheon provides electronic and combat systems for the three-ship class, contributing some of the most advanced systems in the Navy. These technologies will benefit these ships and the Navy for years to come. At the core is the Total Ship Computing Environment. It provides all shipboard computing applications, including the combat management system; command, control, communications, computers and intelligence elements; ship and machinery control systems; damage control; and support system. From networks, navigation and communications, to sensors, weapons and a high degree of automation, the DDG 1000 class features innovations from stem to stern which enhance operations onboard and deliver advanced, multi-mission capabilities. Raytheon's onsite Shipboard Test Team continues to work in close collaboration with the Navy and the shipyard, supporting ongoing integration and testing in line with scheduled milestones and progress for DDG 1000 and the two ships that will follow, each in varying stages of construction and integration. On June 18, the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) will be christened at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The DDG 1000 class, the Navy's next-generation of multimission surface combatants, is tailored for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, and will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter @Raytheon. Media Contact Carolyn Beaudry +1.401.842.3550 [email protected] SOURCE Raytheon Company Related Links http://www.raytheon.com JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang pledged to push forward ties with Sri Lanka by assisting development of the former war zone in the Tamil-dominated north, a Chinese Embassy official said on Friday. During a four-day visit to Northern Province, the ambassador met with Chief Minister Wigneswaran and Northern Governor Reginald Cooray, saying that China stood ready to offer assistance to Sri Lanka and the province. Ambassador Yi noted that China and Sri Lanka enjoyed strong historical ties and that the relationship must be taken forward. China was glad to see the political and economical achievement made by Northern Province after the war ended in 2009, and wished Sri Lankan people could share the fruit of peace and development as soon as possible. The ambassador said China would encourage Chinese companies or investors to come and assist the reconstruction of Northern Province in infrastructure, technology, medicine among others. During his visit to Jaffna University, Yi also announced the "Chinese Ambassador Scholarship" for 10 students of the university this year, and expressed China's willingness to offer assistance to boost the education through joint training, students exchange and campus construction. The ambassador donated 1 million rupees and a batch of books to Jaffna Library to help it regain glory as the largest library in South Asia before damaged by the civil war. This is the first trip of Ambassador Yi to Sri Lanka's Northern Province. Dhaka, June 14 : Security forces in Bangladesh have arrested 11,307 people, including over 100 suspected Islamists, in a nationwide crackdown following a spate of killings of secularists and minorities. "As many as 3,115 more people were arrested on the fourth day of the drive," Xinhua news agency quoted a senior police official as saying. Police earlier detained 8,192 people, including 119 suspected militants, in the first 72 hours of the clampdown. At least 18 people, including atheist bloggers, foreign aid workers and religious minorities, have died in attacks in Bangladesh over the past two years. Two Hindus were killed in separate incidents last week. The attacks have alarmed the international community and raised questions whether the government can protect minorities and secular intellectuals in the Muslim-majority country. Most of the 145 suspected militants arrested so far are members of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Amid a new surge in militancy, Bangladesh on Friday launched a special drive aimed at dismantling terror outfits. The crackdown began four days after the wife of a police superintendent, who led operations against Islamist militants and drug cartels, was shot and stabbed to death in Chittagong city. The killing caused a furore among Bangladesh's political establishment. JMB, campaigning for establishment of Islamic rule in Bangladesh, carried out a series of bombings in the country, including Dhaka, on August 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 others injured. Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007. A number of secularist writers, bloggers and publishers have been killed or seriously injured in attacks carried out by extremists since 2013. Almost all the attacks have been claimed by transnational Islamist extremist groups, including Al Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic State. Officials here, however, say the killings are mostly the work of homegrown radical groups. The killing of a Hindu ashram worker in northern Bangladesh on Friday was also claimed by the IS, according to the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity online. New Delhi, June 16 : The CPI-M on Thursday accused the BJP of whipping up Hindutva ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and said it was promoting "the cult of an authoritarian leader". Commenting on the June 12-13 National Executive meeting of the BJP in Allahabad, an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy" said the event confirmed the "division of labour" between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah. "While Modi harped on 'vikas' and his government's commitment to push forward development, Amit Shah spoke about the Hindutva issues such as the alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana in western Uttar Pradesh," said the Communist Party of India-Marxist. "Modi promised to make Uttar Pradesh a developed state if the BJP is voted to power. Amit Shah, on the other hand, laid out the well-tested Hindutva agenda," it said. The CPI-M said BJP MP Hukum Singh's allegations that 346 Hindus had been forced to flee Kairana town by Muslims was found to be spurious by the administration and the media. "It was found that most of the people in the list had left the town years ago in search of better jobs and livelihood. A few were not alive at present. "Though the Kairana exodus theory has been effectively debunked, the very fact that the BJP national leadership took it seriously and sent an eight-member team of MPs to enquire into the matter shows the way the communal agenda would be raised in the run-up to the (Uttar Pradesh) elections," it said. The editorial said the other aspect of the BJP meeting was the "concerted bid to propagate and build up Modi's supreme leadership of the party and the government... "What is in the making is the building up of the cult of an authoritarian leader." Thiruvananthapuram, June 16 : A Kerala government project to provide cheap air connectivity between the state and the Middle East can now take off with the scrapping of the "5/20 rule," said aviation entrepreneur K.J. Samuel. "Yes, with the new rules, if the Kerala government can plan well and judiciously use the funds at their disposal, in a very short time, the long standing dream can become a reality," Samuel told IANS. Announcing its new civil aviation policy, the central government on Wednesday scrapped the "5/20 rule" whereby only local airlines having at least five years of operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircraft are allowed to fly overseas. The "5/20 rule" has been the biggest obstacle to the state government's plan to start Air Kerala airline which has already been incorporated but has not been able to start operations. The main purpose of Air Kerala, registered as a subsidiary of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), will be to operate international flights, mainly to and from the Middle East where more than 2.5 million people from the state live and work. Samuel, who founded Air Deccan way back in 2003 along with G.R. Gopinath and Vishnu Raval, said there is nothing now that stops the state government from implementing the plan. "I presume that an initial capital of Rs 350 crore would be required for starting the airline," Samuel said. He said the idea of Air Deccan was floated in February 2003 and by August "we were already flying". "We started with Rs 20 crore and took on lease six ATR aircraft," he recalled. Air Kerala is particularly meant to provide relief to those Keralites in the Middle East who need an inexpensive air link with India and feel they are being fleeced by the existing airlines. The state government in its last budget in February this year had earmarked Rs 10 crore for the Air Kerala project. A top state government official who did not wish to be identified told IANS that over the years it was the 5/20 norm that stood as the obstacle to the project, while funds were never a problem. "Leading Middle East-based Keralite business persons had expressed their desire to join this venture and had promised the required capital by subscribing to around five lakh shares, each valued at Rs 20,000," the official said. Moscow, June 17 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that it is the United States and its allies, not Russia, that are responsible for the delay in seeking a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis. The top Russian diplomat, who is attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, made the remarks to refute a recent statement of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that Washington was losing patience with Russia and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who are "creating obstacles" to a solution in the war-torn country, Xinhua news agency reported. "It is not correct to demonstrate impatience referring to us," said Lavrov. He noted that it was "due to the position of our US partners who are unable, or do not want to exert pressure on their allies in the region" that led to the failure of making all parties involved in the Syria settlement to sit at the negotiating table. Turkey was not ready to admit Syrian Kurds, while some members of the opposition, which cooperate with the United States and their allies, refuse to treat other opposition groups as equals, he added. Lavrov said that in February Kerry himself stressed the necessity for all groups territorially mixed with the Nusra Front and Islamic State terrorist groups to distance themselves from them and leave those zones. However, the US side is now saying that they are unable to remove the "good" opposition members from the positions held by the Nusra Front, and that they still need an additional two or three months, said the diplomat. Washington, June 17 : The Islamic State (IS) is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West, CIA Director John Brennan told the Congress, while confirming the Orlando gunman had no direct links to the extremist group. "IS has a large cadre of western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan, on Thursday told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warning the group may infiltrate refugees into western nations. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against IS on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," said the intelligence chief. According to Brennan, the IS has lost "large stretches" of territory in Iraq and Syria but still has about 18,000 to 22,00 fighters there and its branch in Libya is "probably the most developed and the most dangerous", echoing concerns that Libya's close proximity to Europe is a problem. He testified to the Congress that the IS has between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Libya, plus some 7,000 in Nigeria and hundreds more in Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, "as the pressure mounts on IS, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," said Brennan. As for the Orlando shooting which left 50 dead including the shooter Omar Mateen on June 12, Brennan said the current investigation has not been able to uncover any direct link between the Afghan-origin shooter and a foreign terrorist organisation. However, "lone wolf" attackers who are inspired by but not under the direct control of terror groups represent "an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community", he noted. The CIA is sharing intelligence with the FBI to help identify potential lone-wolf attackers, but the CIA's responsibility is to gather information about operations overseas, he added. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are expected to receive classified briefings from intelligence agencies once they officially become the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees in July. Quito, June 17 : Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa announced that the government has renewed a state of emergency which was declared following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 16 for another 30 days. The president renewed the measure on Thursday through an executive decree in the states of Esmeraldas, Manabi, Santa Elena, Los Rios, Guayas and Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Xinhua news agency reported. The state of emergency was declared after the devastating earthquake left 668 people dead and over 80,000 displaced. The decree grants emergency powers to authorities, especially the army and police, to coordinate efforts in preventing risks and improving the conditions caused by the killer quake. The decree also allows the army to enter any home and evacuate people as they see fit, since "certain citizens are seeking to return to their homes in buildings that are seen at present a risk to their lives." Such measures may only be taken in extreme situations although the Ministry of Finance has unblocked funds to help the army and police manage the debris and reconstruction, and help the displaced people. According to the National Secretariat for Planning and Development, the reconstruction of Manabi and Esmeraldas, the worst-hit states, will cost over $3 billion. Chennai, June 17 : Opposing the central government's decision to merge State Bank of India's (SBI) five associate banks with the former, around 45,000 employees of the associate banks will strike on July 12, said a top official. The All India Bank Employees'Association (AIBEA) official said that on July 13, there will be a nationwide strike in all banks by AIBEA and All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC). "Consolidation in the banking industry is not a priority now. On the other hand, recovery of the bad loans should be the priority. Prior to the July 12 strike we will hold series of demonstrations opposing the merger," C.H.Venkatachalam, general secretary, AIBEA told IANS. He said SBI should focus on recovering its bad loans of around Rs 100,000 crore. SBI has five associate banks - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBJJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). Of them, SBM, SBJJ and SBT are listed on the bourses. On Wednesday the Union Cabinet gave its in-principle clearane for the merger of six banks-the five SBI associate banks and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank Limited. Canberra, June 17 : Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday expressed regret that an Islamic cleric, who once said AIDS was a fitting punishment for being a homosexual, was invited to a government-hosted dinner. Speaking on Australian radio on Friday, Turnbull condemned divisive remarks made by Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman, national president of the Australian National Imams Council, who was invited to the dinner which signified the beginning of Ramadan, Xinhua news agency reported. The cleric has previously been on record to say that homosexuality is an "evil act" which brings with it "evil disease", and Turnbull said that if he had known of such remarks, Suleiman would have been taken off the invite list. "If I had been aware he had made those remarks about homosexuals and gay people, he would not have been invited," Turnbull said. Government spokesman, Mathias Cormann echoed the prime minister's views, saying that Turnbull did not personally invite Suleiman, rather, he would have been part of a broader invite to the Imam Council. "As soon as (Turnbull) did become aware, he absolutely condemned the (comments)," Cormann told Sky News on Friday. Following the revelations, Suleiman released a statement regretting his choice of words in the past, and revoked his views that gays should be punished for their sexuality. "I have previously noted passages in the holy Quran which do not support homosexuality," he said. "However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encouragement that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way." The Iftar dinner hosted by Turnbull is thought to be the first by an Australian prime minister, while Turnbull also took the opportunity to praise the contribution of Australian Muslims for promoting unity in the community. BELGRADE, June 17 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Friday for a state visit to Serbia as China seeks to carry forward traditional friendship and step up economic engagement with Serbia. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Serbia in 32 years, and Xi's second trip -- following one to the Czech Republic in March -- to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in less than three months. During his stay in Serbia, Xi will meet his counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic, and other Serbian political leaders for discussions on bilateral relations, the Belt and Road Initiative and China-CEE cooperation, as well as global and regional hot-spot issues of common concern. A number of cooperation deals covering economy, trade, industrial capacity and finance are expected to be inked. In a demonstration of China's willingness to consolidate political mutual trust and expand practical cooperation with CEE countries, Xi will travel from Serbia to Poland for a state visit. China and Serbia share a time-honored traditional friendship. In 2009, Serbia became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China. Nikolic paid a state visit to China in 2013. Last year, he went to Beijing again to attend the commemorative activities marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Serbia also dispatched a formation to participate in China's V-Day military parade on Sept. 3, 2015. Two-way trade grew by 2.3 percent year on year to 550 million U.S. dollars in 2015, according to Chinese customs. Also last year, Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly promote the connectivity-based Belt and Road Initiative during the fourth leaders' meeting of China and 16 CEE countries, which was held in Suzhou, China. The initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. After Serbia and Poland, the Chinese president will travel to Uzbekistan for a state visit as well as the 16th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Tashkent. Moscow, June 17 : Russia's position on the possible exit of Britain from the European Union (EU) depends on whether or not it will weaken the EU, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said. "We need a strong partner, and Europe is our key partner in the world," Xinhua news agency quoted Dvorkovich as saying on Friday. If Brexit will weaken the EU, then Russia is "not in favour of it", he said. "Weak partners are not usually good partners, not safe partners. Therefore, Russia needs Europe to remain strong." However, it is a choice eventually up to the British people and nobody should intervene, added the deputy prime minister. Dvorkovich said Russia's position on Brexit has nothing to do with the sanctions imposed on the country by Western powers led by the US. The sanctions are counter-productive for everyone. The sooner the sanctions are revoked, the better it is for both Russia and the Western economies, he said. Chennai, June 17 : The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has ordered the central government to set up a five-member committee to oversee the sale of investments of Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL). The members of the panel would be a retired Supreme Court judge, two independent directors of FTIL, the managing director of FTIL and a nominee of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. According to the NCLT order, the managing director and the nominee of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs will have veto powers individually. According to the order, the committee will consider sale of investments held by FTIL in compliance with orders passed by any regulatory or statutory authority in India or abroad as and when such sale is proposed by the company management. The committee will also oversee the treasury operations of FTIL like investment of surplus funds or altering/switching of investments of surplus funds when proposed by the company management. The committee will also oversee the funding of working capital requirements of FITL's subsidiaries when proposed by the company management. According to NCLT order, the proceeds of sale of investments shall be deposited in a fixed deposit account to be used with the permission of the tribunal. St Petersburg, June 17 : Amid the media reports which emerged last week and claimed that IS chief Abu Bakr-Al-Baghdadi was killed in a US airstrike, Damascus's envoy to Moscow on Friday said, "I definitely know that he (Baghdadi) was wounded". Ambassador Riyad Haddad told Sputnik magazine that there was no clear information on his killing. However, he asserted that "in near future not only Baghdadi, but also other Islamic Stete) members will be killed". The ambassador added that a meeting of Syrian and Russian defence ministers was currently being planned. "Indeed, one minister should visit the other, the place and the date are not known yet, but we have such plans." Earlier this year, various reports emerged about Baghdadi's injures or death. In April, US Department of Defence announced that Baghdadi was alive, and was travelling between Syria and Iraq. Baghdadi is the leader of Islamic State, which is a designated terrorist organisation and outlawed in many countries, including the US and Russia. Bhopal, June 17 : Madhya Pradesh cabinet ministers will attend programmes on the occasion of World Yoga Day on June 21 in various districts. According to an official statement, Home Minister Babulal Gaur will take part in the programme in Bhopal. Finance Minister Jayant Mallayya and Labour Minister Antar Singh will do so in Damoh and Barwani respectively. Revenue Minister Rampal Singh will be in Indore and Tribal Welfare Minister Gyan Singh in Umaria. Aizawl, June 17 : The Mizoram government said on Friday it will soon start peace talks with Manipur-based terror outfit Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) or HPC (D). The HPC (D) has resorted to violence since 1994 to push its demand for an autonomous council in Mizoram for the Hmar tribals. "The Mizoram government would soon initiate talks with HPC (D) militant outfit. However, we would not concede the demand for a separate autonomous district council," Home Minister R. Lalzirliana said here at a conference of the Mizoram Police Service Association. The people of the state were against formation of an autonomous body on ethnic lines, the minister said. "We have sent feelers through local leaders to the HPC (D). The formal official initiatives would also be undertaken soon," Lalzirliana said. Earlier, negotiations between the state government and HPC (D) leadership got stuck in 2013 on the issue of extension of the period of suspension of operations. Lalzirliana had earlier said that no peace talks can be initiated with HPC-D unless the outfit eschews violence. Mizoram is the first and only state in India which got Rs 182.45 crore from the central government in 2000-01 as "Peace Bonus" for keeping peace after decades of insurgency. That record was shattered on March 28 last year when the HPC-D ambushed a police party in Mizoram and killed three personnel and seriously wounded six others. The state shares unfenced border of 404 km with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh where terrorists occasionally take shelter after committing crime in Mizoram. Barring stray violence committed by HPC or HPC (D), the state has largely been peaceful since 1986 when the Centre signed the Mizoram Accord with the Mizo National Front (MNF), which had been engaged for two decades in a secessionist movement. As MNF's founder leader Laldenga, a former Indian Army Havildar, became chief minister and his group took to mainstream politics, calm returned to Christian-majority Mizoram. New Delhi : Timeline of the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, in which a special court on Friday sentenced 11 of the 24 convicts to life imprisonment for the killing of 69 people, including Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. February 2002: During the Gujarat riots a Hindu mob attacked the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad in which 69 people were killed. Among the deceased was former parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri. November 2007: The Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition of Zakia Jafri, wife of Ehsan Jafri, seeking the court's directive to the police to register a complaint against the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others for their alleged involvement in the Gulberg Society massacre. March 2008: The Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a further probe into 14 Godhra and post -Godhra communal riot cases. The SIT was asked to investigate the incidents that occurred in Godhra, Sardarpura, Gulberg Society, Ode, Naroda Gaon, Naroda Patiya, Deepla Darwaza and the one in which three British nationals of Indian origin were killed. August 2010: The Supreme Court permitted the Special Investigation Team to conduct further probe on the complaint by Zakia Jafri that Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others orchestrated the 2002 riots in Gujarat. March 2010: The trial was put on hold because of the resignation of the special prosecutor and his assistant. Both had alleged bias on the part of the trial judge and also accused the SIT of not properly coordinating their efforts with them. March 2011: Gujarat Deputy Inspector-General of Police Sanjiv Bhatt, who is claimed to have spilled the beans on Modi's alleged controversial orders to the police on the eve of the 2002 communal riots, appeared before the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. February 2012: The SIT in a "summary closure report" - says there was no "prosecutable evidence" against Narendra Modi, who was among 62 persons named in an omnibus complaint filed by Zakia Jafri and the Citizens for Justice and Peace. March 2012: The Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court rejects Zakia Jafri's plea to making public the SIT report. December 2013: Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court rejects the petition of Zakia Jafri against the closure report of the Special Investigation Team giving a clean chit to the Gujarat Chief Minister. December 2013: Reacting to an Ahmedabad trial court verdict, R.K. Raghavan, head of the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court to go into Gujarat riots, says SIT's stand has been vindicated. November 2014: The trial in the Gulberg Society case, resumed following the Supreme Court's directions to conclude it in three months. November 2014: The Supreme Court asks the Sessions Court to complete the trial in the Gulberg case, one of the nine cases connected to the 2002 post-Godhra riots, in three months. August 6, 2015: Supreme Court grants three-month extension to Ahmedabad court to complete trial proceedings in the case. June 2, 2016: A Special court convicted 24 persons and acquitted 36 others. June 17, 2016: A Special SIT court sentenced 11 of the 24 convicts to life imprisonment, one man to 10 years and 12 others to seven years in jail. Aluva (Kerala) : Aluva (Kerala) June 17 (IANS) An Assamese youth, who was arrested in connection with the murder of law student Jisha, was on Friday remanded to 14 days' judicial custody. However, the victim's father has demanded a CBI investigation into the case. Accused Amiyur ul Islam was nabbed from Tamil Nadu near Palakkad border three days back. On Friday he was produced before the Magistrate in Perumbavoor, who remanded him to 14 days' judicial custody. Islam was later taken to a prison in Ernakulam. The court directed that the accused be provided a lawyer to defend himself and the police should not ill-treat Islam. During his production before the court, police had taken precautions to keep the media at bay. Islam was made to wear a helmet and was asked to lie down on the floor of a police bus in which he was transported. According to police, Islam had visited Jisha's home on April 28 morning when they had an altercation. He returned again in the afternoon in an inebriated condition and raped Jisha before murdering her. Director General of Police Loknath Behra, who questioned Islam along with the police probe team said even though the accused has been arrested, some more time would be needed to piece together all the evidences. Meanwhile, Jisha's father Pappu told reporters that he is not satisfied with the way police has concluded that Islam was the culprit. "I do not believe anyone. Both the ruling party and the opposition are protecting the real culprit and they blaming this man. Only a CBI probe will bring out the real truth." Pappu said. Hyderabad, June 17 : With the army's decision to close certain roads in Secunderabad Cantonment causing concern among general public, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday assured that he will try to solve the problem. Speaking at a meeting at Bollarum in Secunderabad, he said he would assess the ground situation and interact with the members of civil society. Parrikar stressed on solving the problem in a give and take manner by holding discussions with the army, Ministry of Defence and the state Government. He said that the Secunderabad issue will be treated as his personal problem and assured that it will be resolved in a limited time frame. He gave the assurance when the issue relating to closure of roads was brought to his notice by public representatives during the inauguration of the newly built Cantonment General Hospital at Bollarum. He said he shares the concerns of both the military and the civilians. He highlighted the issues related to security threat by giving examples of Pathankot and Gurdaspur terror attacks which were executed by a few persons. The hospital inaugurated by the minister is proposed to be named after Sardar Vallabhai Patel. It was previously known as Cantonment Infectious Diseases Hospital. Established in 1933 and maintained by Cantonment Board, Secunderabad, it used to serve medical needs of Secunderabad Cantonment area and also patients from the surrounding municipalities and villages. Kolkata, June 17 : Claiming the project cost will be "halved" to Rs 4,231 crore, the Mamata Banerjee government on Friday announced its intent to shift the proposed deep-draught port at Rasulpur in East Midnapore to nearby Tajpur. Conceptualised during the erstwhile Left Front regime, the project ran into legal hurdles after the government cancelled the letter of intent issued to Amma Lines for the project, contending it was issued without competitive bidding. The company subsequently had moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the cancellation. Citing a feasibility report conducted by CRISIL, Finance, Commerce and Industries Minister Amit Mitra said the nearby Tajpur-Shankarpur area was far more suited for the project than Rasulpur. "If the project is carried out in Rasulpur, a 93 km long channel needs to be created for the ships to come. Moreover, we will have to acquire 1,500 acres for the port. The entire project cost will be Rs 8,500 crore. "On the other hand, the Tajpur-Shankarpur area will require the creation of only 18.5 km long channel for the ships to come and there is no need for acquiring land as the port will be built on reclaimed land. The project cost thus will be halved to Rs 4,231 crore," Mitra said. Mitra said the government will issue a request for proposal (RFP) soon after the feasibility report was cleared by the state cabinet. "The state government will be spending just Rs 150 crore for building road and infrastructural linkages while the company winning the bid for the project will bear entire project cost. "The report is being sent to the cabinet for the procedural formalities and once done, an RFP will be issued at the earliest," said Mitra. He said the project once completed, would boost the state's cargo handling capacity. "With a 12 metre draft, ships with 60,000 parcel carryign capacity will be able to enter the port. The port will have the capability of handling three-six times bigger ships than those handled by the Haldia Port," added Mitra. Mumbai, June 17 : Actress Soha Ali Khan, who is married to actor Kunal Kemmu, says loving an actor is not an easy task as it comes with "certain advantages and disadvantages". Soha got engaged to Kunal in July 2014 in Paris and they got married here in January 2015. Earlier this year, the couple shot down divorce rumours, with Soha giving out a message that the bond between the duo is "solid". The actress also shared that her mother and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore questioned her decision to get married to an actor saying that it will complicate her life. "Well, my mother said 'Why are you marrying an actor, it's going to complicate your life'... I happen to fall in love with an actor and it comes with certain advantages and disadvantages," Soha said in a statement. She went on to explain by saying that "The advantages of course are they are very sympathetic to the fact that you travel a lot, that you work late nights and that you have to pretend to fall in love regularly with people on screen. The disadvantages are that they do the same thing, which can be frustrating." Soha, whose last big screen appearance was in "Ghayal Once Again", which featured actor Sunny Deol, also shares that "romancing" on camera has a role to play in it. She said: "And of course the romance part which I'm quite like okay with, but still it's always strange. I think to think about, you know yourself, but you don't feel like that when you are romancing someone on screen, you know how clinical it is, how unromantic it is." Soha opened up about her marriage, parents and career on the second episode of the fourth season of "The Tara Sharma" show, hosted by actress Tara Sharma. The episode will telecast on Sunday at Star World and Star World HD. China's domestic made Xian Y-20 large military transport aircraft. (Photo/people.cn) Recently, news that the first batch of China's Xian Y-20 large military transport aircraft has been deployed to troops appeared on Weibo and in online military forums. However, the news hasn't been confirmed by the PLA. People's Daily Online interviewed military expert Xu Yongling on this issue and according to him, no more than 100 Y-20s will be deployed to troops in the future and in the next five to ten years, China may develop its third generation military transport aircrafts. According to Xu, if the Y-20 has been used to equip the troops, then it only takes three and a half years from the maiden flight to actual use. The A-400M transport aircraft of the Europe took six years for this process. Since the maiden flight, the Y-20 hasn't experienced any major technological difficulties; in addition that this transport plane doesn't need so many experiments as the fighters, so it is believable that the Y-20 will be deployed to troops in the near future. Some media previously reported that the PLA needs over 300 Y-20s to better meet the strategic need of the air force. Xu disagreed, "I think the total number of Y-20s used to equip the troops will not exceed 100." This prediction is based on the transport needs of the PLA as well as the international strategic environment. Moreover, the cost is also a practical factor being taken into consideration. "It is unlikely that we will invest so much in the second generation military transport aircraft. In the next five to ten years, China may develop more advanced third generation military transport aircraft, the loading capacity and delivery distance of which will be greatly improved from the second generation," Xu said. Abuja, June 17 : At least 18 persons were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria's Adamawa state, police said on Friday. The attack occurred around 10p.m. (local time) on Thursday, Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying. The official also confirmed the arrest of a Boko Haram suspect by the police. "We are still investigating the suspect to ascertain whether he is among the wanted Boko Haram leaders," the official said. Bhopal, June 17 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will embark on a five-day tour to China on Saturday on the invitation of Communist Party of China, a release said on Friday. A high-level delegation team including Industries Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia and industrial representatives would accompany the chief minster, the release said. Chouhan is scheduled to meet heads of major business groups and company heads in China and invite them to invest in Madhya Pradesh. Beijing, June 17 : The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, on Friday voiced strong dissatisfaction after some US lawmakers met the Dalai Lama in Washington. "The meeting went against the US commitment that Tibet is a part of Chinese territory and it does not support 'Tibet independence'," said a statement issued by the NPC's Foreign Affairs Committee. The meeting also breached basic norms of international relations and constituted an interference in China's internal affairs, it said. US House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and some lawmakers met the Tibetan leader on June 14. The Dalai Lama lives in India along with thousands of Tibetans. New Delhi, June 17 : India and Thailand on Friday agreed to deepen their security engagement and defence partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a double entry e-visa for Thai nationals to facilitate their visit to the Buddhist circuit. Addressing the media here with visiting Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha following delegation-level talks, Modi said India and Thailand were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both countries. He said that close security partnership would help the two countries secure their people from such threats. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offences and human trafficking," Modi said. Prayut Chan-o-cha, who arrived in India on Thursday, met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj earlier in the day. He was given a ceremonial reception on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. Prayut Chan-o-cha is accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders. This is his first visit to India after assuming office of Thailand Prime Minister in May 2014. In his statement after bilateral talks, Modi said that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "We have, therefore, prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between the three countries," he said. Modi said that India was celebrating 150th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, and the document will be translated into Thai language. "I am also happy to announce that to welcome more tourists from Thailand to India, and to help them enjoy their visits to Buddhist sites in India, we will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for citizens of Thailand," he said. He said Festival of India in Thailand, and Festival of Thailand in India will be held next year to commemorate 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. Modi described Thailand as "a trusted and valued friend and one of our closest partners in Southeast Asia." He said the two countries had also agreed to forge a close partnership in "defence and maritime cooperation". He said the partnership will be shaped by "sharing of expertise and experiences, greater staff exchanges and more exercises, cooperation on counter-piracy on seas, deeper engagement in naval patrolling and building linkages in the field of defence research and development and production". Modi said there was particular synergy between Thailand's strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure and India's priorities in this field. Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery were some other areas identified for enhanced collaboration. "We also see early conclusion of a balanced comprehensive economic and partnership agreement as our shared priority," Modi said. He said that a more diversified commercial agreement between the two countries would benefit the two economies while bringing greater regional economic prosperity. The joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides will also be renegotiating a new bilateral investment treaty. It said that Thailand Prime Minister invited Indian investments under the cluster development policy. India offered Thailand indigenously developed GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation services, which provides advanced navigation and location assistance. The statement said two leaders reiterated their strong support for the reform of the United Nations. "The Thai side acknowledged India's credentials for permanent membership of the UN Security Council," it said. Prayut Chan-o-cha invited Modi to visit Thailand, which he accepted. The Thailand Prime Minister also met some Indian business leaders in the capital. He will visit Bodh Gaya in the second leg of his visit before returning home on Saturday. Officials said that extensive people-to-people contacts were central to the India-Thailand relationship. In 2015, more than one million Indian tourists visited Thailand and over 100,000 Thai tourists visited India. There have been regular coordinated patrols between the two navies, annual exercises between the two armies and also the first ever table-top air exercise between the two air forces. India has been participating in multilateral Cobra Gold exercise held in Thailand as an 'Observer Plus' country. New Delhi, June 17 : The National Human Rights Commission has called for a report from the Odisha government over the death of woman and her son due to lack of medical facilities at a health centre in Cuttack district. According to the commission, which took cognizance of the issue through media reports, Bharat Nayak of Cuttak district lost his ailing wife and his 24-year-old son in quick succession -- on May 10, and May 11, 2016, respectively. His son could not be shifted in time to a Government Hospital with proper facilities in Cuttack, as he had no money to afford treatment at a private hospital. The commission observed that Bapi, the son of Bharat Nayak, was suffering from spinal disorder. His condition continued to deteriorate as the health centre was not equipped to treat him. His father took him to Cuttack but returned as he could not arrange more than Rs one lakh required for the treatment. "Even as the body of his wife, who died due to heart attack, was lying at his home, Bharat was looking for divine intervention to save his son," said the commission. The man took his son to a nearby temple, even as his wife's body was on a funeral pyre with the assistance of Rs 2,000 from the State Government. "On hearing this, some local people persuaded Bharat to take his son back to the Health Centre where he eventually died, even as Rs 3,000 was arranged through Red Cross to shift him to Cuttack for treatment," said the commission. The Commission observed that the incident raises serious concerns about the prevailing healthcare facilities in Odisha. "The commission has issued a notice to the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha calling for a report on the condition of the health services in the State and about the non-availability of the ambulance services at Athagarh Health Centre," said the statement from NHRC. Kolkata, June 17 : Terming it "unusual and directionless", the Congress and Left Front on Friday criticised West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi's address to the inaugural session of the newly-elected assembly. Expressing reservations about Tripathi's address, leader of the Left Front legislature party Sujon Chakraborty said democracy cannot flourish when issues concerning the masses don't find a place in assembly discussions. "It is a very unusual speech for the fact that there is no mention of democracy which is under constant attack in the state. From price rise to unemployment to flight of industry, not a single issue concerning the people of the state found a mention in his speech," said Chakraborty. Claiming "curfew has been imposed on democratic process in the state", the Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA also wondered why the governor did not give details of the state's quantum of debts. Speaking in the same vein, Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan said the Governor's "directionless" address was a reflection of the Trinamool Congress government. "The governor's speech is indicative of the state government's apprehension about facing the reality. That is why there is neither any mention of issues concerning the people nor any roadmap to address them," said Mannan. Congress leader Manas Bhunia expressed his reservation about the Governor's assertions that the electorate preferred good governance and sustained development by rejecting the politics of slander and vindictiveness in the recent assembly polls. "In between 2011 and 2014, over 8,500 murders took place in the state. Under the Trinamool regime, over 38,000 cases of crime against women have been registered. Are these parameters of development?" asked Bhunia. "The Governor's silence on the rise of communal divisive forces in the state is a big threat," added Bhunia, who alleged the BJP and the RSS' combined effort led to Trinamool's massive victory in the polls. New Delhi, June 17 : Senior representatives of foreign missions, including Britain, Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the US, as also tge European Union (EU), gathered here on Friday to reaffirm their strong commitment to equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersexed (LGBTI) citizens. "We are not asking for any special rights for LGBTI citizens but basic human rights," said EU delegation to India counsellor Thibault Devanlay. Devanlay talked about his own sexuality saying: "I was open as a gay man when I joined the ministry and was harrassed by my boss. The entire administration fought for my rights and not for my boss." Spanish Political Counsellor Beatriz Lorenzo said that she was shocked to see the 2015 "reports that 40 percent people below the age of 17 had committed suicide because they were homosexuals". "There is 80 percent acceptance of LGBT community in Spain. A lot has been done and there is a lot that needs to be done. A lot of trans-phobia and homophobia needs to change," she added, at the event hosted by the American Center here. From criminalization of homosexuality to legalization of same sex marriage, many countries have been able to provide the community a right to be treated without discrimination. "In 2009, gender neutral marriage became legal in Norway," said Norwegian Head of Political Affairs, Baard Hjelde. "Since 2001, Germany has been granting almost equal rights to same sex couples," said German Secretary of Industrial Affairs Bjorn Grozinger. "Legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Britain was passed in 2014," said British Deputy High Commissioner Jess Dutton. All delegates expressed their condolences to those impacted by the deadly nightclub shooting that took place on June 12 in Orlando, Florida. "At home, and increasingly abroad, many countries support, organise, or participate in events to celebrate the diversity of their citizens, to reduce discrimination and misinformation about the LGBTI community," said US Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Peletier. "Diverse celebrations will foster a sense of community and belonging, and help to advance human rights for all throughout the world," Peletier concluded. Kolkata, June 17 : Even as it expressed concern over the death threat from suspected Islamic State militants to a priest at the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, the Swami Vivekananda-founded order on Friday expressed confidence over the Indian and Bangladeshi authorities taking adequate security measures. "Both the Prime Minister and (West Bengal) Chief Minister have been in constant touch with us. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Bangladesh High Commission too have been constantly contacting us. All the authorities have assured necessary steps are being taken in this regard," a senior monk of the RKM headquarters at Belur in West Bengal's Howrah district told IANS. "The threat issue is surely a matter of concern, but we have full faith in both Indian and Bangladeshi authorities," he said. Security was beefed up at the Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission premises after India raised the matter with Bangladesh. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said the Bangladesh government has assured "full support and protection". He said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka "had contacted both the Bangladesh police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs". This comes a day after a priest of the mission filed a complaint with police that he received a letter from the Islamic State Bangladesh chapter threatening his life. Bangladesh has launched a nationwide crackdown on the militants after targeted killing of minority leaders continued unabated across the country. Moscow, June 17 : Iraqi government forces on Friday said they have retaken the main government compound in the city of Falluja from Islamic State militants. A statement said the Iraqi flag was raised above the city council building after its capture by Counter Terrorism Force troops, police and soldiers. They earlier reportedly recaptured several areas to the south and east. Falluja has been held by IS longer than any other city in Iraq or Syria. The jihadist group overran the predominantly Sunni Arab area in January 2014, six months before it seized control of large parts of northern and western Iraq. Government forces launched the offensive to recapture Falluja almost four weeks ago, after besieging the city and its suburbs for several months. On Friday morning, troops and police pushed into the city centre and retook the city council building, commander Lt Gen Abdul Wahhab al-Saadi told the BBC. Falluja's capture would represent a significant blow to IS morale, recruitment and funding. Being a mere 50 km west of Baghdad, it might also relieve some pressure on the Iraqi capital as well. The UN says about 68,000 people have now fled Falluja since the government offensive began on May 23, although Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) put the figure at closer to 30,000. Ahmedabad, June 17 : The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the popular Amul brand of milk and dairy products, has registered a quantum growth of 187 per cent in the last six years, indicating a whopping cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2 per cent. During the last three years, Amul achieved a growth of 67 per cent to clock a turnover of Rs 23,004 crore during the year 2015-16. This was revealed at the 42nd annual general meeting of the GCMMF held at its headquarters Anand in Gujarat. The group turnover of GCMMF and its constituent member unions, representing the figure of all products sold under the Amul brand, was Rs 33,000 crore or $5 billion. Rapidly moving up the global rankings, Amul is now ranked as the 13th largest dairy organisation in the world, according to the latest data released by the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). It is ranked well ahead of other dairy companies such as Land O'Lakes & Schreiber Foods of USA, Muller of Germany, Groupe Sodiaal of France and Mengniu of China. Speaking at the AGM, GCMMF Chairman Jethabhai Patel said: "In the last two years, when dairy farmers across the world saw a sharp decline in farm-gate prices of milk, only farmer-members of Amul cooperative family have witnessed growth in milk procurement price." He cited the instance of dairy farmers in New Zealand who suffered a 47 per cent fall in farm-gate prices of cow milk during the last two years. On the other hand, with its focus on marketing value-added milk and dairy products in consumer packs, farmer-members of the Amul cooperative witnessed 17 per cent in their milk procurement price during the same period. Patel stated that, "During the last six years, our milk procurement has witnessed a phenomenal increase of 87 per cent. This enormous growth in milk procurement was a result of high milk procurement price paid to our farmer-members which too has increased by 90 per cent during this period." Amul had succeeded in almost doubling the income of the farmers in the last six years, he added. GCMMF Managing Director R.S. Sodhi said Amul's initiative in "promoting the concept of commercial, scientific and cooperative dairy farming is also helping in attracting next generation of dairy farmers to remain in the business." He added that, "by aggressively promoting dairy entrepreneurship among rural youth, the benefits of 'Make in India' initiative can also be extended to rural India." According to him, said, "If our rural youth view dairy entrepreneurship as an attractive livelihood option, it could go a major way in checking migration from villages to urban areas. Incentive schemes to promote dairy entrepreneurship and commercial dairy farming among rural youth can be the central pillar of our 'Make in Rural India' strategy". Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Azad Hasanli Trend: The agreement on Russian gas export to Georgia wont affect gas supplies to this country by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, Director General of SOCAR Energy Georgia Mahir Mammadov told Trend June 17. Alexei Miller, chairman of the Russian Gazproms Management Committee, and Giorgi Mamaladze, commercial director at Gazko+, a Georgian energy company that procures gas and sells it in domestic market, signed a contract June 16 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016. According to the contract, Gazprom will supply up to 100 million cubic meters of gas to Gazko+ over the course of 2016. The contract is effective from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2016, and can be later renewed. Mahir Mammadov said the agreement wont affect SOCARs gas supplies to Georgia, because the current contract between Azerbaijan and Georgia covers the period up to 2030 and specific volumes are mentioned there. SOCAR annually exports two billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia. That gas is extracted from Azerbaijani fields by SOCAR without participation of foreign companies. In addition, Georgia annually receives from Azerbaijan 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas produced at the Shah Deniz offshore field with participation of SOCAR and foreign companies. BP is the technical operator at the Shah Deniz field. Azerbaijan is the main supplier of gas to Georgia with a specific weight of almost 75 percent. Islamabad, June 17 : In a significant display of communal harmony, Muslims in Pakistan's Punjab province are helping their fellow Christian in raising funds to build a church that was allegedly damaged by a mob. In 2009, Gojra city in near Faisalabad became a fiery furnace after nine people including a bridegroom and bride were shot dead during a wedding ceremony. Some 200 homes and three churches were razed to the ground by a mob that attacked the minority community after local mosques called for retaliation to an alleged blasphemy. The local police, however, had discredited the allegation that torn shreds of the Quran had been used as confetti at a wedding. "I pray that we complete this church. We have had to use different homes for services but our congregation has grown beyond the capacity of such places," a release from British Pakistani Christian Association quoted a resident, Khalid Aftab, as saying. Kolkata, June 17 : Narada news portal chief executive Mathew Samuel, the man behind the sting that purportedly showed around a dozen Trinamool Congress heavyweights accepting wads of currency notes on camera, on Friday said the Calcutta High Court was seized with the issue and was the best forum to decide on it. Reacting to queries from mediapersons soon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a probe into the sting, Samuel said: "I don't want to say anything on this. The entire thing is before the High Court. "Let the High Court decision come out. Let the High court decide. Those who filed a PIL, wanted an FIR into it. That is pending in the High Court. That is the best way to probe it." Samuels also dismissed as "baseless allegation" Banerjee's charge that there was a "conspiracy" behind the sting controversy. The Calcutta High Court on April 29 ordered a forensic test on the Narada sting tapes to be conducted by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, (CFSL) Hyderabad. A division bench passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigations seeking an independent agency probe into the sting. New Delhi, June 17 : Thailand on Friday said it would further facilitate investments by Indian firms in the Southeast Asian nation and resolved to increase Thai investments into India, following the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum here during the ongoing visit of Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. "I am ready to waive rules that are obstacles so as to facilitate Indian business. Thailand would like Indian investors to come and invest in our priority sectors like information technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery," General Chan-o-Cha told a gathering of business leaders from both countries at an event here hosted jointly by the three industry chambers FICCI, CII and Assocham. "Besides, there are many opportunities for Indian business in the wider Asean (Association for Southeast Asian Nations) region. Thailand can be like a forward base for Indian investors to Asean," the Thai Prime Minister, who is on a visit to India, said. The Thailand Prime Minister, who held delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, invited Indian investments under the country's cluster development policy. The joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides will also be renegotiating a new bilateral investment treaty. The India-Thailand Joint Business Forum has recommended a target of doubling bilateral trade from the current $8 billion level to $16 billion in the next five years. Following its first meeting the forum said it would explore trade in new products and services. In a bid to attract more tourists from Thailand, India on Friday announced that it will facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Thailand is also interested in development of the Buddhist tourist circuit in India, Chan-o-Cha told the business meeting. Besides, "food processing, hospitality and health care, which are areas of Thailand's expertise, it is interested in cooperation with India," he added. Miami, June 18 : Omar Seddique Mateen, perpetrator of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 50 people dead, including the attacker, and 53 wounded, exchanged text messages with his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, throughout the assault, local media reported on Friday. Apparently, Salman's mother called her daughter around 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, woke her up and asked if she knew where Mateen was, Efe news cited a report by NBC News channel. Salman said she did not, and went on to text her husband and ask where he was, to which Mateen answered, "Do you see what's happening?" His wife said "No", and Mateen replied, "I love you, babe". Around 2:00 a.m. Mateen started his indiscriminate shooting in the gay club Pulse, which was celebrating "Latin Night". But apparently that was not the shooter's only use of the telephone during the massacre. He also communicated with News 13 television and asked a producer if he knew anything about the shooting, and when the man said he did, Mateen said, "I am the shooter. It's me." "I did it for the Islamic State (IS)," the killer said, according to producer Matthew Gentili. Mateen also used his mobile phone during the massacre to access Facebook, where he published messages blaming the United States for the death of "innocent women and children", and demanded that the US stop bombing territory controlled by the IS. During his conversations with police negotiators, Mateen also declared his loyalty to the terrorist group. While holed up at Pulse, he also used Facebook to find out what impact the massacre was having by using the search words "Pulse Orlando" and "shooting". The seaside town of Hove is the most desirable location to buy a home in England and Wales for young professionals for the second year in a row, according to the latest research. It is the BN3 postal district in the town on Englands south coast that tops the research from Lloyds Bank with neighbour Brightons BN1 postal district coming in as the seventh most popular place to live for aspiring 25 to 44 year olds. Attractive factors include a diverse population, the availability of music venues, theatres, independent shops, bars and restaurants, and the fact that it is under 70 minutes train ride to London, have made Brighton and Hove one of the most sought after places for young professionals to live. London itself continues to prove popular with young professionals, with 16 of the 20 areas with the most property sales to this group being located in the capital. Some 10 of these areas have a SW post code and include locations such as Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Battersea, Balham and Clapham. Away from south London, the most popular areas for young professionals are Hampstead, Kilburn, Paddington and Islington while the RG1 area of Reading is the 20th most popular place for aspiring young urbanites, drawn by a combination of Readings short commuting time to London, close proximity to technology businesses and the planned opening of Cross Rail in 2019. Beyond London and the South-East, Didsbury in south Manchester is the most popular hotspot for young professionals. This bustling area has become a magnet for commuters due to its proximity to Manchester city centre and major motorway networks. Around the regions, the other popular hotspots for career minded young people include the CB4 area of Cambridge, West Bridgford in Nottingham, Jesmond in Newcastle, Cardiff Central in Wales and Broomhill in Sheffield. However, on average young professionals pay a premium of 88,000 for a home in the most popular postal districts compared to the wider city or town in which they are located. But the average house price in the most popular postal district of BN3 is 33,972 lower than in the whole of Hove at 352,718 compared to 386,690. In other areas of London the price premium is considerably larger. In the W4 district of Chiswick the average house price of 866,492 is 390,388 higher than in local area district of Hounslow. And, in the N1 area of Islington houses are trading at an average premium of 267,891 compared to the whole of the Islington borough. Even outside London young professionals face hefty prices for a home in the most popular areas. In Didsbury homes trade at a premium of 106,383 compared to Manchester at 266,105 compared to 159,722. In Clifton the average house price of 397,599 is 132,163 higher than in Bristol as a whole and in Harborne they trade at a premium of 101,592 compared to the whole of Birmingham. The three most expensive areas for young professionals all command an average house price in excess of 1 million with Hampstead at 1,318,492, Paddington at 1,220,198 and Fulham at 1,088,131. Young professionals tend to have a professional or University qualification, are in well paid jobs and enjoy an urban lifestyle without the hustle and bustle of living in the city centre, said Lloyds Bank mortgage director Mike Songer. Our research shows that aspiring young urbanites choose to settle in areas which give them the best of both worlds, attractive suburbs offering good amenities and quality of life, which are within easy reach of a larger city centre and in many cases they are prepared to pay a premium to live there, he pointed out. With a third of London's population in the 25 to 44 age group it is not surprising many of the most popular areas with this group are in the capital, he added. What: New Jerseys Official Tall Ship, the A.J. Meerwald, will visit the City of Elizabeth for the first time on June 20 for an announcement of a series of July excursions from the citys historic waterfront. Officials from the City of Elizabeth, the County of Union, the Elizabeth Destination Marketing Organization, Crossroads of the American Revolution and the Bayshore Center/A.J. Meerwald, will speak and be available for interviews at the news conference. Media will have access to the ships deck briefly after the event for photos and video. When: Monday, June 20 at 10:00 a.m. Where: Elizabeth Marina | 71 Front Street | Elizabeth, NJ 07206 Who: Councilman at Large, Manny Grova Jr., City of Elizabeth Freeholder Betty Jane Kowalski, County of Union Gordon Haas, Executive Director Elizabeth Destination Marketing Organization Noreen Bodman, Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area Jesse Briggs, Captain, A.J. Meerwald Info: The A.J. Meerwald is used by the Bayshore Center at Bivalve, NJ for onboard educational programs at several ports in the New Jersey region. While in Elizabeth, the ship will host several sails and programs on local Revolutionary-era and state maritime history. The A.J. Meerwald was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1995. The Elizabeth Destination Marketing Organization [EDMO] is the new marketing organization promoting the city of Elizabeth as New Jerseys newest tourist destination. Elizabeth, NJ is just minutes from NYC, Newark Liberty International Airport [EWR] and Cape Liberty Seaport. "As the Gateway to the State of NJ, Elizabeth is geographically located in the center of all mass transit, easily accessible by trains, planes, and all major highways. With quality name brand franchised hotels, we are also the home of NJ's largest premium outlet shopping mall (0% tax on clothes & shoes)", said Gordon Haas, Exeuctive Director of EDMO. Elizabeth is history's best kept secret: not only is it the historical birthplace for the founding of the state of NJ, but they are also the location of authentic American revolutionary history (where Alexander Hamilton lived/went to school) and a global melting pot of cultural cuisine dining adventures! Elizabeth, NJ is a great new alternative destination just outside of New York City. Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area promotes a greater understanding of Revolutionary-era historical sites and landscapes in New Jersey. Working with Morristown National Historical Park and partners throughout the state, Crossroads connects the people and places of New Jerseys rich Revolutionary heritage to inspire community pride, stewardship and civic engagement. RSVP: Sue Kaufmann, Communications and Social Media Crossroads of the American Revolution skaufmann(at)revolutionarynj(dot)org 908-514-8181 The New York Book Festival has announced its 2016 winners and Author Marketing Ideas is proud to have submitted five authors' books via its Contest Service, all of whom have been chosen for notice. Runner-up in the Biography/Autobiography/Memoir category is Lisa Stalvey, author of "Food Sex Wine and Cigars." This chef's memoir tells an inspiring story. This is my account of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, complete with a complicated relationship with food and a man, resulting in a long self-destructive streak. I have been cooking for 38 years professionally, including an apprenticeship in 1980 with Wolfgang Puck, ultimately becoming his head chef at Spago, Sunset, says author Lisa Stalvey. At age 24, Stalvey was engaged to be married and working as a line cook at Ma Maison in Hollywood. But it all came to a screeching halt in 1980, when she severed three fingers on her right hand in an industrial Cuisinart at work. She tells how she survived her disability as well as living with anorexia. She slowly began to heal, but it took almost 31 years. Her story travels from the depths of despair to attaining a successful career. Watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssiPMybUayc&feature=youtu.be FOOD, SEX, WINE AND CIGARS: A MEMOIR (e-Book ISBN: Kindle ISBN: 978-1-68181-202-1, eBook ISBN: 978-1-68181-198-7) is available for $9.99. The hard cover version (ISBN: 978-1-63135-363-5, $30.95) can also be ordered through the publishers website: http://sbprabooks.com/LisaStalvey or at Amazon and other online booksellers. Receiving honorable mention in the General Fiction category is Kate McLaughlin, author of "Fast Food Kills." Yes, fast food can kill. But death comes a lot faster when a murderer decides to help this calorie-laden cuisine along. Madge and Paul Franklin are enjoying their retirement. They live full-time in their RV, traveling the byways of America. When the fast food killer strikes, the two are recruited by a government organization to work undercover. Their assignment is to roam the Southwest looking for the mad scientist suspected of the murders. The investigation takes Madge and Paul to Death Valley, the perfect locale for a few deaths to occur. Can the retirees find out whos behind this diabolical plot? Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/FeVAa7O945Y FAST FOOD KILLS: A MADGE FRANKLIN MYSTERY (ISBN: 978-1-63135-886-9) is now available for $15.95 and can be ordered through the publishers website: http://sbprabooks.com/KateMcLaughlin or at Amazon and other online booksellers. Receiving honorable mention in the General Fiction category is Ettore Grillo, author of "A Hidden Sicilian History." This historical novel ponders life after death. In a musty library in Enna, Sicily, a young man doing research finds an ancient scroll on the floor that appears to have slipped from between two volumes about the Spanish Inquisition. But the scroll is not about the Inquisition; instead it reveals a drama that was performed at Ennas deconsecrated Church of Santa Croce ages ago. The man translates the lost manuscript from Italian into English, and history flows from the scroll like that of a Pied Piper, taking a journey back in time to ancient feasts and processions. The text tells how to remove hexes, cure roundworms, and describes life as it was in the local whorehouse. It also shows how societies bound together by a common thread all yearn to understand the meaning of life, and want an answer to the ultimate question: Is there life after death? A HIDDEN SICILIAN HISTORY (ISBN: 978-1-68181-112-3) is now available for $18 and can be ordered through the publishers website: http://sbpra.com/EttoreGrillo or at Amazon and other online booksellers. Receiving honorable mention in the Science Fiction category is Todor Bombo, author of "Of Rats and Men: The Last Mans War." This sci fi thriller considers the future of mankind and how the seeds of that future may already have been planted. In the not too distant future, as nuclear power plants erode and toxic pollution seeps into the ground and groundwater, the species of man has been weakened. But one species has evolved into a super race, empowered by its giant size and voracious appetites. Huge mutant rats are taking over the world. They have developed into strong and intelligent adversaries, capable of reaching the size of sheep. In this dark future world, the giant rats spread and are ready to wage a war in a desperate struggle with mankind for survival. This war will be unlike any ever fought before, because this is a war between the species, and it calls into question the very meaning of being human. Watch the video at: http://youtu.be/-xq8lRcLkvA OF RATS AND MEN: THE LAST MANS WAR (ISBN: 978-1-62212-275-2) is now available for $8 and can be ordered through the publishers website: http://sbpra.com/TodorBombov or at Amazon and other online booksellers. Receiving honorable mention in the Romance category is Ruth Finnegan, author of "Black Inked Pearl: A Girls Quest." This expressionistic novel explores how far one might go for love. It is the story of a naive Irish girl Kate and her mysterious lover, whom she rejects in panic and then spends her life seeking. Searching for him, she visits the kingdom of beasts, a London restaurant, an old peoples home, the misty Donegal Sea, the heavenly archives, Eden, and hell, where at great cost she saves her dying love. They walk together toward heaven, but at the gates, he walks past, leaving her behind in the dust. Kate finally realizes that although her quest for her love was not vain, in the end she had to find herself the unexpected pearl. Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/fvutUgsd2rc Black Inked Pearl: A Girls Quest is available in softcover (ISBN: 978-1942146179, $17.95), hardcover (ISBN: 978-1942146162, $27.95) and for Kindle ($9.99) and can be ordered through the publisher at http://garnpress.com/books/black-inked-pearl/, or at Amazon and other online booksellers. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 Trend: Armenian armed forces have 23 times violated the ceasefire with Azerbaijan on the line of contact over the past 24 hours, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a message June 17. Armenian armed forces stationed in the Dovegh and Barekamavan villages of Armenia's Noyemberyan district opened fire at the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Kemerli and Gaymagli villages of the Gazakh district. Azerbaijani positions, located in the Aghdam village of the Tovuz district underwent fire from the positions located in the Mosesgeh village of Armenia's Berd district. Moreover, Azerbaijani positions underwent fire from the positions located near the Chilaburt village of the Terter district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz village of the Fizuli district and from the nameless heights in Goranboy and 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. Vibrant, rich and growing communities all over the world thrive on innovation and creativity especially among young people, said Frances Laserson, President of The Moodys Foundation. The winners of the 2016 Moodys Information to Innovation Challenge an open, online call for creative solutions to contemporary challenges, presented by The Moodys Foundation were announced by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), which ran the competition. There were two categories for the 2016 Challenge: Health Helper Challenge and the Community Defender Challenge which asked small groups of young people (ages 14-19) to think about and create ways to promote healthier living and advance community values. Two prizes of $5,000 each were awarded in each category four prizes total to the winning teams. An additional award of $500 per winning entry four in all was given to the sponsoring school or social organization of the winning team. The winners of this years Moodys Information to Innovation Challenge are: Health Helper Challenge FoodHeros Helper Adjudicator and Public Voting Winner FoodHeros Helper is a team of two students from ITE College East (Institute of Technical Education) in Singapore. FoodHero is a mobile application designed to help caregivers keep preschoolers occupied while providing nutrition information through an interactive game that includes a grocery purchase and delivery option. Community Defender Challenge ARIVE Adjudicator Winner ICDC Redemption Squad Public Voting Winner ARIVE is a team of two students from San Leandro High School in the San Francisco Bay Area. ARIVE is an app that helps people create a profile, share feedback, and connect with others to achieve visual results for improving their community. ICDC Redemption Squad is a team of three first year students at UCLA. Their idea is CLUB CONNECT, an application for new students at the University of California, Los Angeles. Club Connect helps students filter and find school organizations. Approximately 100 teams registered for the 2016 Challenge with student teams representing Great Britain, Ireland, Singapore and the United States. Two runner-up teams will share a $1,000 award, plus a prize of $250 for their school or youth serving organization. The Challenge was designed and managed by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) an international non-profit which teaches young people to think like entrepreneurs and provides them with tools and attitudes to overcome adversity and address future personal, economic, community and global challenges. The Moodys Information to Innovation Challenge is a fun and rewarding activity for young people to offer new ideas, their ideas, to meet todays challenges, said Shawn Osborne, President and CEO of NFTE. That kind of creative, entrepreneurial thinking will help students over their lifetime as well as make our communities, businesses and schools better. Vibrant, rich and growing communities all over the world thrive on innovation and creativity especially among young people, said Frances Laserson, President of The Moodys Foundation. Thats why we are delighted to work with NFTE to challenge young people and reward their entrepreneurial thinking. # # # The Moodys Foundation is a charitable foundation established by Moody's Corporation, is committed to supporting education, in particular the study of mathematics, finance and economics. The Foundation also funds specific initiatives in the areas of global economic development, microfinance, civic, health and human services as well as arts and cultural programs. The Foundation supports programs located in select metropolitan areas in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world. For more information, please visit https://moodysi2i.nfte.com. Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is an international nonprofit that activates the entrepreneurial mindset in young people and builds their knowledge about business startup. Students acquire the entrepreneurial mindset (e.g., innovation, self-reliance, comfort with smart risk), alongside business, STEM, and presentation skillsequipping them to drive their best futures in the 21st Century. NFTE focuses its work on under-resourced communities, with programs in 23 locations in 10 countries. To learn more, visit http://www.nfte.com, like NFTE on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/NFTE, or follow us on Twitter at @NFTE. Director of Business Development Robert Godwin demonstrating Ink Router at Drupa 2016. One of the largest fairs in the world brought us in contact with leaders in the printing industry. Ink Router, a bi-directional API technology that facilitates the work between print sellers and trade printers, concluded an 11-day exhibition at drupa on a high note. The No. 1 global trade fair for the print and media industries was held May 31 to June 10 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Drupa officials reported 260,000 print industry professionals from nearly 200 countries in attendance at the 2016 edition. According to Robert Godwin, director of business development, Ink Router, introducing the API technology at drupa expanded its reach to a global market. Our first time exhibiting at drupa was a great success. It made it possible to introduce our dynamic new product, InkRouter, to visitors from all over the world, he said. One of the largest fairs in the world brought us in contact with leaders in the printing industry, which offered us the opportunity to network and to create more brand awareness and brand recognition. Ink Router uses algorithmic adaptive intelligence to match orders to producers based on JDF/CIP4 standards. As the premiere and leading bi-directional API for the buying and selling of print on the market, Ink Routers advanced application was well-suited for the shows shift toward forward-looking innovations. With an emphasis this year toward future growth areas, drupa is helping to progress both businesses and business models in commercial printing. The print industry is constantly re-inventing itself and offers a wealth of high-potential facets. And this is precisely what drupa 2016 has very impressively proven, explained Claus Bolza-Schunemann, Chairman of the drupa Committee and Chairman of the Board at Koenig & Bauer AG. We were able to experience a highly innovative industry here in the 19 exhibition halls, one that has succeeded in moving out of the valley of tears and grasping the future by the neck. Showcased at drupa innovation parc (DIP), Ink Router is offered as a standalone service or an integration that is compatible with major MIS systems and website platforms. Currently available at no charge to print resellers, print buyers, brokers and trade printers, the core service component provides access to a continually growing network of print providers. Following the overall success of this years show, officials plan on exhibiting at the next drupa. Sabine Geldermann, global director of drupa and the Messe Dusseldorf team, did a great job, Godwin noted. Ink Router was glad to be part of this event. drupa 2016 has exceeded expectations, and we are already looking forward to the next edition! Continuing its four-year cycle, the 2020 edition of drupa is scheduled for June 23 to July 3. www.vcgfl.com Its imperative to stay innovative in the construction and restoration industry to protect property owners. With the heavy storms we get in Florida, this software is a game-changer," says Stephen Shanton, CEO of Venture Construction Group of Florida Venture Construction Group of Florida (VCGFL) is excited to integrate MetLoop and offer advanced technology to property owners, property managers, and homeowners associations throughout Florida. MetLoop brings a new level of accuracy from the military to the civilian market, offering an unprecedented approach to weather forecasting and storm preparedness. MetLoop processes cutting-edge forensic weather data through highly-sophisticated software, the same software which has been used to forecast and predict weather for top-secret missions, NASA, and worldwide use by U.S. Air Force meteorologists. Were excited to provide the most advanced technology available to our customers. Its imperative to stay innovative in the construction and restoration industry to protect property owners. With the heavy storms we get in Florida, this software is a game-changer, and could most definitely be a lifesaver, says Stephen Shanton, CEO of Venture Construction Group of Florida. This military-proven software enables companies like Venture Construction Group of Florida to utilize the latest weather forecasting technologies to provide advanced preparedness and assistance to property owners, before, during, and after severe weather events. MetLoop alerts are 95%+ accurate, while other weather-forecasting companies are closer to 70% accurate. According to the MetLoop team, other companies get their information from the National Weather Service, which is set up to provide broad, regional forecasts. In contrast, MetLoop takes in all the raw weather data and processes it through their proprietary military grade platform. Venture Construction Group of Florida launched their new Florida Storm Property Preparedness (FSPP) program to property management companies, commercial property owners, and homeowners associations throughout central and south Florida. The FSPP program will provide advanced warning of storms and routine monitoring via satellite with the most cutting edge MetLoop weather forensics technology. Property owners are able to monitor multiple properties, before, during, and after a storm, from anywhere in the world, via a personal member dashboard. Venture Construction Group FSPP crews conduct property monitoring services, free inspections, 24/7 emergency services, and documentation for property managers who are out of state. The Venture Construction Group of Florida FSPP service provides advanced storm alerts via text and email, and independent 3rd party verification including weather reports and documentation of pre-existing property conditions. Weve put the power of the world's most advanced weather technology in the hands of construction companies, manufacturers and distributors, says Jay Southerland, CEO of MetLoop. MetLoops ability to deliver the most accurate weather support possible is a combination of superior technology and weather-forecasting experts. According to MetLoop, their state-of-the-art NOAA Port receiver provides immediate access via direct satellite download to the latest environmental data available from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is the same radar and satellite imagery, raw atmospheric model data, and other alpha-numeric information used by the National Weather Service. However, the MetLoop software combined with expert meteorologists provides site-specific operational forecasting not found in any industry outside of military operations. Our operational experience provides the highest degrees of accuracy from the first alert to the time of impact, says Rocco Calaci, MetLoops Chief Meteorologist. In the military, with lives and equipment at stake on the move or in battle, military forecasters have to be accurate. Weve now brought this technology to the civilian market and its very useful for the construction and restoration industry, Calaci served for 20 years as Senior Meteorologist for the U.S. Air Force, and has over 40 years of experience in weather forecasting. Founded in 1998, Venture Construction Group of Florida has helped thousands of homeowners, commercial property owners, and property management companies with storm damage repairs, 24/7 emergency services, residential and commercial construction and restoration throughout the state including Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, Martin County, Hillsborough County, Treasure Coast. Venture Construction Group of Florida proudly serves central and south Florida with offices in Boca Raton, Ft. Meyers, Orlando, Stuart, Tampa. About Venture Construction Group of Florida Headquartered in Boca Raton, Venture Construction Group of Florida is a leader in residential and commercial construction, renovations, insurance restoration, storm damage repairs, and 24/7 emergency services throughout the state of Florida. We are a full-service general contractor and assist residential and commercial property owners with all of your construction and restoration needs. Operational excellence is our mission in every project we undertake, and we pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service. We take care of the details every step of the way including siding, windows, drywall, flooring, paint, gutters to rebuilding your property after major storm events from hurricanes, tornadoes, and hailstorms. Venture Construction Group of Florida is a proud Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, exclusive certified National Storm Damage Center Preferred Contractor, a Platinum Preferred Certified Contractor with the National Insurance Restoration Council, a WindStorm Insurance Network WIND Certified Umpire and WIND Certified Appraiser, and a member of the United Association of Storm Restoration Contractors. Founded in 1998, Venture Construction Group of Florida services commercial and residential properties throughout the state. For more information call 866-459-8351 or visit us online at http://www.vcgfl.com. About MetLoop Weather Technologies MetLoop is the only weather technology company to profoundly change the status-quo approach to weather including weather forecasting, severe weather alerts and weather maps. MetLoop has acquired the most advanced storm and weather forecast technology available. Until now, this generation of technology was only available to the military for exacting accuracy in ground combat scenarios, air campaigns and NASA launches. MetLoop has now harnessed these systems for civilian market application, coupled with 24/7 monitoring by NEXRAD-certified operational forecasters. Learn more at http://www.MetLoop.com. Media Inquiries: Vera Anderson Elev8 Consulting Group Ph: 386.243.5388 Web: http://www.elev8cg.com Premier BPO, a global provider of back office, contact center and business process outsourcing solutions, is pleased to announce its partnership with Kapta, a provider of an enterprise Key Account Management platform. Premier BPO intends to leverage Kapta to streamline the handling of its client base and to improve upon overall client satisfaction. Bryan Michel, Vice President of Client Services said, This is an exciting step for Premier BPO. Kapta fills a need that has been missing within the organization, an enterprise level Key Account Management platform that not only captures all client contact data in one centralized spot, but scores the health of the account based on a variety of factors. Amongst a variety of positive tools that Kapta provides, Premier will be leveraging the built in Customer Satisfaction tool to work more closely with all clients on building out agreed upon success plans. As Premier continues to grow, Kapta will be key to maintaining a high level of client satisfaction. Alex Raymond, CEO of Kapta said: Premier BPO is an ambitious and forward-thinking company that knows how important it is to actively manage their existing accounts. We are very pleased to be working them to achieve their business goals. Premier BPO will be providing customer service and technical support to Kaptas clients as part of the agreement. For more information about Premier BPO: http://www.PremierBPO.com About Kapta: Kapta is an enterprise Key Account Management platform designed for the accounts that matter most. Kapta powers trusted relationships between key account managers and customers through the use of joint success plans and clear expectations. Kapta is a Techstars company and a proud member of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado (EFCO), which gives back 1% to the community. For more information, visit http://www.kapta.com Visit Dana Point recently debuted in South Orange County, California. As the new non-profit, official destination marketing organization (DMO) for the area, Visit Dana Point intends to grow the local tourism industry through visitor attraction and retention, lodging offerings and meetings and groups initiatives. The four Dana Point resort properties, in cooperation with the City, have marketed Dana Point for years and envisioned a dynamic entity like Visit Dana Point for some time. We are pleased to introduce it to the community and our all-important visitors just in time for summer, said Jim Samuels, General Manager, Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, and the newly elected Chairman of the Board of Visit Dana Point. Other elected officers on the Board of Directors include Vice-Chairman Richard Uribe, General Manager, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton-Doheny Beach; Secretary, Ian Pullan, General Manager, Monarch Beach Resort; and, Treasurer, Bruce Brainerd, General Manager, The Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel. The City is pleased that its resorts are spearheading such an important enterprise to enhance tourism-related offerings in Dana Point. Visit Dana Point will bring not only statewide but global recognition to our community," stated Dana Point Mayor John Tomlinson. Visit Dana Point joins other DMOs in the OC tourism scene including Visit Anaheim, Visit Newport Beach, Visit Laguna Beach, Visit Orange County and the statewide organization Visit California. Hundreds of Visit organizations and DMOs across the country represent specific destinations and help the long-term economic development of communities through a travel and tourism strategy. For visitors, DMOs provide a virtual key to the city through web sites, and other resources. See http://www.visitdanapoint.org. Dana Point is located along South Orange Countys extraordinary Coastal region halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego with easy access via air, ocean or major freeways. Known as the whale watching capital of the west, Dana Point Harbor, the Marina and the Ocean Institute provide for world-class boating, marine science education experiences and interactive water adventures. Click here for a selection of images. Woolpert welcomed more than a dozen new staff members this month to form its Air Force Enterprise GeoBase Team, which will support a $4.7 million contract to provide geospatial services to five major commands. These include Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Air Force District of Washington (AFDW), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). The contract will be administered through AFSOC, with funding from the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC). It is a one-year contract, with the possibility of extension. With the addition of this new contract to Woolperts existing GeoBase portfolio, which includes Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Woolpert now provides enterprise geospatial services to more than two-thirds of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) installations across the country. The project will support consistent, cost-effective geospatial information across multiple installations within each command. The aim of the GeoBase concept is to achieve economies of scale through a one installation, one map plan. Woolpert, a mapping industry leader, has been providing geospatial services to the USAF since GeoBases inception. Also joining the Woolpert team is Dr. Brian Cullis, a retired USAF colonel, who will ensure Woolpert continues to provide enterprise solutions in line with AFCECs mission. Cullis has advocated for enterprise-wide geospatial information programs for the military since the 1990s, and his dissertation initiated the GeoBase concept. About Woolpert Woolpert is a national architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm that delivers value to clients by strategically blending engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial applications. With a dynamic R&D department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners like Google; operates a fleet of planes, sensors and unmanned aerial systems (UAS); and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and sustainable design. Woolperts mission is to help its clients progressand become more progressive. For over 100 years and with 24 offices across the United States, Woolpert serves the needs of federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the United States Armed Forces. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258. Kelly Zynn is humbled to receive Lawn & Landscape's Employee of the Year Award for 2016 I am very honored that Lawn & Landscape chose me out of all the wonderful employees in the lawn care industry to receive such a special award. Lawn & Landscape Magazine has named Green Lawn Fertilizings, Kelly Zynn, as their Employee of the Year in their latest June Edition. Every year Lawn & Landscape, as the leading business news and resource in the Lawn Care industry spotlights a single employee who has stood out among his or her peers. Kelly was chosen for 2016 among nearly 900,000 people in the industry. Kelly has been a loyal employee of Green Lawn Fertilizing for over 7 years. As Lawn Office Manager she is responsible for managing the entire lawn office staff and the companys overall customer satisfaction. Due in large part to Kellys leadership, Green Lawn Fertilizing has received over 3,000 positive reviews from customers and has grown to be the top local lawn care company servicing the Philadelphia tri-state area and a top 20 lawn care company in the entire US. Kelly was nominated for the award by Green Lawn Fertilizings president Matt Jesson. Upon hearing back from Lawn & Landscape that Kelly had won, Jesson initially did something that was very hard for him: he kept it a secret. He scheduled an impromptu all-staff lunch meeting for the following day without telling anyone what the meeting was about. This was very uncharacteristic for Matt Jesson as he typically gave his employees plenty of notice before meetings and would have a set agenda. With all employees gathered in headquarters training room and an aura of mystery in the air, Matt started to address the company by thanking everyone for a record breaking month in the companys history. He quickly shifted to the main reason he had called everyone together as he called Kelly up to the front of the room. Todays Lunch is a special honor for Kelly Zynn. I was just notified that Kelly has won Lawn & Landscapes Employee of the Year Award. Over the seven years Kelly has been here, she has helped us grow from 30 to nearly 100 employees and from a $4M company to over $11M. Seven years ago, we had four office reps. Today, we have 14. Kelly was promoted to office leader approximately four and a half years ago and since then has been a leading force in the growth of the office staff, as well as the three times increase in company size. Kelly you deserve this award and many more. Thank you! said Matt Jesson, President. Kelly was overcome with emotion from the moment as she could not hold back tears. A joking call came from the crowd for a speech, but Kelly, noticeably overwhelmed by the moment and not a public speaker by her own admission just said thank you and gave Jesson a big hug. Once she collected her thoughts she offered her deepest appreciation for the award. I am very honored that Lawn & Landscape chose me out of all the wonderful employees in the lawn care industry to receive such a special award. In my seven and a half years at Green Lawn Fertilizing I have never sought out any sort of recognition, especially an award as grand as this Employee of the Year. I do what I do for the love of the job! However, I must say, winning this award would not have been possible without the help and support of my boss, Tom Knopsnyder, the entire senior management team and my staff whom I have the deepest respect and from whom I derived the strength to challenge myself and perform better. Also I would like to give a very special thank you to Matt Jesson for nominating me for this award, believing in me and running a fantastic company that I am very privileged to be a part of. Thank you! said Kelly Zynn. The Lawn & Landscape article mentioned many of the reasons on why Kelly has stood out among the lawn industry. When she was promoted to Office Manager, she brought along with her a change in culture. She put office systems in place and created training manuals for every office position. In addition to her exemplary leadership with customer service, Kelly has gone above and beyond in other areas. She has been an annual participant at the Day of Renewal and Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery where lawn care employees from around the country congregate to treat the grounds with fertilizer and weed control. She was also a key contributor at a company event the company did a few months ago hosting disadvantaged local youth for a day of practical business learning. Kellys infectious personality was also mentioned in the article. Jesson was quoted in the piece saying, She really sets the right tone for customer service. It starts with attitude, and she has a super positive one. Kelly is always smiling and laughing and is quick to offer praise to her staff for a job well done. She also organizes company holiday events like the Thanksgiving feast and the Christmas ugly sweater competition. She is truly a difference maker at Green Lawn Fertilizing and well deserving of her Employee of the Year award. # # # Green Lawn Fertilizing and Green Pest Solutions is an independent lawn and pest control company that was founded in 2004. Under the leadership of Matt Jesson, President and Owner of Green Lawn Fertilizing Green Pest Solutions, they are dedicated to becoming an industry leading company in the Lawn and Pest Industry. In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 the company has received the Inc. 5000 award for being recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the America. Both companies are A-rated and accredited by the Better Business Bureau. They perform lawn fertilizing and integrated pest management service for residential and commercial clients. They are active members of PLANET, National Association of Landscape Professionals and NPMA. In 2014, the company received the Best of Philly award which has been the recognized mark of excellence in the Philadelphia tri-state area. Sarasota on the Gulf of Mexico Move over Asheville, there is a newcomer perched atop the Topretirements annual list of most popular places to retire. For the first time since 2007, Asheville, NC is not #1 that honor goes to Sarasota. June, 2016 A Best Places to Retire dynasty has come to an end. For the first time in the 10 years there is a new #1 town at Topretirements.com. Sarasota, the beautiful and sophisticated city on Florida's Gulf of Mexico, is now the most popular place to retire among the baby boomers who visit this website for baby boomers. Asheville (NC) had owned the #1 spot every year since http://www.topretirements.com started this list in 2007. John Brady, Founder of http://www.Topretirements.com, commented on how Sarasota was able to wrest the top spot away: Sarasota combines a number of attributes that attract retirees. For one, it is avery livable city. It is also a cultural powerhouse because of its museums and institutions like the Asolo Reperatory Theatre. There is also its setting on beautiful Sarasota Bay with its lovely beaches and barrier islands. There are plenty of places to live in either fast-paced urban or tree-lined neighborhoods. Whereas Asheville, the #2 pick on the websites Best 100 list, also has many attractions, it lacks the warm Florida winters, beaches, and the range of the cultural and retirement living options of its Sarasota competition. Sarasota was chosen for the top spot through a simple process. Topretirements counts how many times each citys review has been viewed on the website, which indicates the level of interest its baby boomer demographic has in that destination. Sunbelt Rules Elsewhere on the list, towns in the Sunbelt and the West are definitely baby boomers first choices for places to retire: Eighty of the cities and towns on the 2016 were in the Sunbelt. Florida had the most cities on the list with 24, followed by North and South Carolina. Just as in 2015, only 3 states in the Northeast made the cut: Virginia (Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and Winchester), Delaware (Lewes and Rehoboth Beach), and Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh). The Midwest had no entries on the list. Here are the top 10 retirement destinations on the Best 100 list: 1. Sarasota, FL 2. Asheville, NC 3. Green Valley, AZ 4. Prescott, AZ 5. Venice, FL 6.Beaufort, SC 7. Charleston, SC 8. Ft. Myers, FL 9. Tucson, AZ 10. Paris, TN Here is where you can see the entire 100 Best Places to Retire list About Topretirements This popular website is designed to help baby boomers find their best place to retire. They go there to research retirement destinations with reviews of over 1,000 towns and 3,000 active adult and 55+ communities. Created in 2006, the site had over 2 million visitors and 8 million page views in 2015. Employees collaborate at HFA in Bentonville, Ark. Its our people who make the difference, displaying their true character and passion. HFA (Harrison French and Associates, LTD) has been honored with a 2016 When Work Works Award for its use of effective workplace strategies to increase business and employee success. This prestigious award, part of the national When Work Works project administered by the Families and Work Institute (FWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), recognizes employers of all sizes and types in Arkansas and across the country. We are very honored to receive such a prestigious award in recognition of our work environment, said Larry Lott, AIA, President and COO of HFA. Its our people who make the difference, displaying their true character and passion. We are very proud that they constantly seek ways to enrich our culture for having the best potential workplace to enjoy. The award is the result of a rigorous assessment. Worksites must first qualify by ranking in the top 20 percent of the country based on a nationally representative sample of employers. Two-thirds of the evaluation of applicants comes from an employee survey. Applicants are evaluated on six research-based ingredients of an effective workplace: opportunities for learning; a culture of trust; work/life fit; supervisor support for work success; autonomy; and satisfaction with earnings, benefits and opportunities for advancement all factors associated with employee health, well-being and engagement. These employers have excelled at creating effective workplaces yielding tremendously positive results for business success, as well as for their employees well-being and productivity, said Ellen Galinsky, president of FWI. Effective workplaces recognize that employees are an organizations greatest resource and make a critical difference in the organizations ability to not only survive, but to thrive. The 2016 When Work Works Award winners confirm that leading employers are continuing the movement toward effective workplace strategies that benefit both business and employees, said Lisa Horn, director of SHRMs workplace flexibility initiative. These innovative strategies are what sets these organizations apart, allowing them to attract and retain top talent, giving them a competitive advantage. To learn more, check out this interactive map, which includes winning organizations by state: http://www.whenworkworks.org/be-effective/2016-when-work-works-award-winners-state-listing When Work Works is a national project that shares research results on what makes an effective and flexible workplace with the business community. For more information about the When Work Works initiative and the When Work Works Award, visit http://www.whenworkworks.org Media: For more information, contact Melissa L. Jones at 479-273-7780 ext. 397 and melissa.jones(at)hfa-ae(dot)com or Barbara Norcia-Broms at 212-465-2094 and bnorcia-broms(at)familiesandwork(dot)org About HFA HFA began 25 years ago as Harrison French Architecture in Bentonville by Harrison French and has grown to a multidisciplinary design firm with more than 200 employees and additional offices in Boston, MA, and Fort Worth, TX. HFA provides Architecture, Interior Design, MEP Engineering, Fire Protection, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering and Landscape Design services to the retail, commercial and assisted living markets nationwide. The firm has participated in projects nationwide and holds professional licenses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico. Please visit us at http://www.hfa-ae.com for more information, and follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @HFA_AE or on Facebook at Facebook.com/HFAAEHome/. About When Work Works When Work Works is a national initiative, led by the partnership of the Families and Work Institute (FWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), to help businesses of all sizes and types become more successful by transforming the way they view and adopt effective and flexible workplaces. When Work Works is one of the foremost providers of resources, rigorous research and best practices on workplace effectiveness and flexibility in the nation. The initiative administers the prestigious annual When Work Works Award, which recognizes exemplary employers for creating effective workplaces to increase business and employee success. Visit http://www.whenworkworks.org and follow us on Twitter @WhenWorkWorks @FWINews and @SHRMPress, and join the workflex conversation on Facebook.com/FWINews. Mar Adentro His architecture has a soul. His exquisite work falls precisely in line with the caliber of Engel & Volkers premium portfolio. -- Karen Sanchez European based luxury real estate brand, Engel & Volkers, is proud to work with internationally acclaimed architect, Miguel Angel Aragones, who stands apart with his latest development, Mar Adentro a one-of-a-kind hotel and residential complex in Los Cabos. Taking the lead in listing the magnificent property, where time comes to a standstill, is a dynamic team of advisors from Engel & Volkers Beverly Hills, Karen Sanchez and Yawar Charlie. Miguel is a truly gifted architect and we are honored to be involved with this project, says Sanchez. His architecture has a soul. His exquisite work falls precisely in line with the caliber of Engel & Volkers premium portfolio. As the first contemporary, luxury development in the region of its kind, the concept of Mar Adentro was built on the ideals of well-being, relaxation, and peace of mind, aimed at creating a unity between individuals and their surrounding. Brought to life through the creativity and vision of Aragones, Mar Adentro is the second high-end residence and resort development in Mexico for Grupo Encanto. Furnished and equipped to perfection with the best the market has to offer, the complex features 143 five-star suites, 60 private residences, and 18 estates, complete with rooftop and terrace pools, as well as interactive connectivity, the epitome of ease everything is simply a click or phone call away. For the select few who have the opportunity to own a home outside of their main country of residence, unsurpassed elegance and style is brought to life in the architectural opus. With unmatched services and amenities set as a top priority, the Los Cabos marvel promises guests and residents unwavering class, comfort, privacy, and security. About Engel & Volkers Since its establishment in 1977 as a specialty boutique providing exclusive, high-end real estate services in Hamburg, Germany, Engel & Volkers has become one of the worlds leading companies specializing in the sale and lease of premium residential and commercial property and yachts. Engel & Volkers currently operates a global network of real estate advisors in more than 700 residential brokerages and 75 commercial offices spanning 36 countries across 4 continents, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services. It established its North America corporate headquarters in 2007 and opened its first brokerage in the same year. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services, marketing programs and tools, multiple platforms for mobile, social and web, as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. # # # For more information please contact: Sheela Shouhed Director of Communications Sheela.Shouhed(at)evusa(dot)com Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend: The European Union can give a mandate to Azerbaijan in the autumn of 2016 to start the talks on the new strategic partnership agreement, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev told reporters in Baku. He noted that currently, the discussions on the new agreement continue between the two parties in a positive vein. Further, Mammad-Guliyev pointed out that a meeting is expected between Azerbaijan and the representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva in early July. "All the documents have been submitted to the WTO office and we are waiting for an answer," he said. "If such a meeting is held, Russia and Saudi Arabia can also join it." --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum Bluewater founder Bengt Rittri tries a glass of water purified of most known waterborne contaminants, ranging from lead to medical residues. Bluewaters Spirit and Pro point-of-use appliances are designed to deliver the worlds most efficient tap water cleaning and direct flow technology, removing most known pollutants in water, including lead and nitrates. Swedens Bluewater water purification brand today used the Shanghai 2016 Aquatech water industry trade show to debut new water purification systems designed to deliver home users purified water for drinking, washing dishes and clothes, and taking a bath or shower. Bluewaters customizable whole house filtration systems mean householders across China fearful of their tap water quality can enjoy the health and wellness benefits of cleaner, fresher water with dramatically reduced particles and contaminants from every faucet. Using patented second-generation reverse osmosis technology, Bluewaters Spirit and Pro point-of-use appliances are designed to deliver the worlds most efficient tap water cleaning and direct flow technology, removing most known pollutants in water, including lead and nitrates, said Bengt Rittri, Bluewaters founder. He said the latest whole house systems from Bluewater were designed to meet consumer peace-of-mind demands for residential water free of contaminants ranging from limescale to toxic metals, chemicals and disease-carrying bacteria. The new systems harness Bluewaters innovative and powerful direct flow Spirit and Pro water purifiers that have won global acclaim for their second generation technology, state-of-the-art contamination-removing performance and sleek design. The Bluewater Pro water purifier generates 52 gallons of cleansed tap drinking water every hour, 24/7, while using 82% less water than a traditional reverse osmosis water purifier, for example. Bluewaters whole house solution harness state-of-the-art, point-of-entry water softeners and direct flow water purifiers to help ensure clean, soft water on demand and extended appliance life by reducing contaminants and scale buildup. The compact water purifiers use unique SuperiorOsmosis filtration technology innovated in Sweden and designed for use in home and commercial environments, including houses, apartments, restaurants and schools or hospitals. Bluewater water purifiers are engineered to remove toxins, chlorine, bacteria and viruses, toxic metals, fluoride, nitrate, and organic compounds from tap drinking water. Two Bluewater Pro units have been used continuously since mid-January by two community centers in the U.S. town of Flint, Michigan, to supply thousands of gallons of water to local citizens hit by hazardous levels of lead in their drinking water. Bluewaters patented filtration technologies capture practically everything down to 0.0001 micron (thats 500,000 times less than the diameter of a human hair). A Bluewater Pro can deliver 1,248 gallons of purified water per day, which equals 4,726 one-liter (33.8 fl.oz) bottles of water over 24 hours, and meet the average daily water consumption need of 2,363 people. Thanks to their unparalleled performance, Bluewaters point-of-use water purifiers not only make a health difference every day for people who want to avoid contaminated drinking water but also contribute to a cleaner environment by slashing the need for plastic bottles of water, said Bengt Rittri. Bluewater water purifiers are available through a growing network of dealers across China as well as from online stores. Notes for editors With over 761 international exhibitors, Aquatech China is a 3-day event held from June 15 to June 18, 2016, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China. The event showcases products that bring together the worlds of water technology and water management. Team+ supports existing classroom activities by helping student teams perform more effectively. Iconic Learning Systems, LLC announces the release of a new version of their team development software platform, known as Team+. The Team+ web application was introduced in 2015 as a tool to help improve the performance of student teams in both face-to-face and online college courses. Every semester hundreds of students, researches, and faculty who use the system contribute their ideas to the software engineers at Iconic Learning Systems, who use this feedback to improve the software design and add new enhancements. When students participate in the Team+ activities, they develop more effective teamwork skills, and instructors rarely need to intervene to resolve team conflicts. There are many other positive results for students, including more efficient meetings, better decision-making, better communication, and effective conflict management behaviors. The software helps students achieve these outcomes by guiding them through carefully designed team development activities. The Team+ application also includes a library of self-help videos for the teams, a 360 self and peer performance evaluation process, and a unique Instructor Dashboard that allows the professor to monitor the performance of every team member. The new version of Team+ makes it even easier for professors to seamlessly integrate our application into their existing courses, said Daniel Mayfield, President & Owner, Iconic Learning Systems. Professors do not need to change their semester schedule or assignments Team+ supports existing classroom activities by helping student teams perform more effectively. We are committed to providing innovative solutions that empower instructors and their students to truly derive all the benefits of team-based learning. The company is already working on the next generation of the Team+ platform, which will be released in late 2016. It will include a free community site and a business version of the application, which will focus on improving team effectiveness in the workplace. Now accepting registration for the 2016 Fall semester, Iconic Learning Systems provides a complimentary trial semester of Team+ for all new professors, with no cost and no obligation. For more information or to sign up for a trial semester, visit http://www.teamplus.education. About Iconic Learning Systems Iconic Learning Systems is a privately held company whose mission is to help student teams and their teachers overcome the challenges of team-based learning. Founded in 2014, Iconic Learning Systems designed, developed, and copyrighted the Team+ Team Management System, as collaboration between a group of technology experts and university professors. The company is actively developing new products and technologies to offer innovative approaches to team-based learning, team development, and group assessment. ACI CEO Zandre Campos The youth of Angola, open to change and unburdened by the past, have the future in their hands. They will launch the enterprises that provide the solutions to Angolas ongoing development. Angola Capital Investments (ACI) announced today that its CEO Zandre Campos was featured in the Huffington Post with his insight on the potential of the youth in Angola. The article entitled Why Youth Is Not Wasted on the Young in Angola was originally published on The Huffington Post on June 9, 2016. The article looks at the challenges and opportunities faced by the young people living in Angola. The challenge is to cope with the effects of the decline in oil prices on the economy, Mr. Campos said. The opportunity is to develop and diversify their country beyond the oil economy. Young people constitute the majority of the population in Angola, about 70%, and they face different challenges than the young people that lived through the civil war. Todays youth are influenced and inspired by music, social media and new technology. New technologies have fostered the next generation of Angolan entrepreneurs. Angolans have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and more than 40% of women in Angola were entrepreneurs in 2015. The youth of Angola, open to change and unburdened by the past, have the future in their hands. They will launch the enterprises that provide the solutions to Angolas ongoing development. The youth in Angola today hold the answers for tomorrow, added Mr. Campos. Zandre Campos is the chairman and CEO of Angola Capital Investments, a leading international investment firm in Angola. ACI invests in companies in the energy, transportation, hospitality, healthcare, technology and real estate sectors. Read the full Huffington Post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zandre-campos/why-youth-is-not-wasted-o_b_10373504.html About Angola Capital Investments Angola Capital Investments (ACI) is an international investment firm that invests in companies in the healthcare, technology, energy, transportation, hospitality, and real estate sectors throughout Africa. The mission of ACI is to create global value for developing countries in Africa, while contributing to their economic development. About Zandre Campos Zandre de Campos Finda is one of the great, innovative business leaders and global entrepreneurs emerging out of Africa. Currently, he is chairman and CEO of Angola Capital Investments (ACI), an international investment firm headquartered in Angola with holdings throughout Africa and Europe. Prior to founding ACI, Mr. Campos was CEO of Nazaki Oil & Gaz S.A. He has held the positions of CEO of the mobile phone company Movicel Telecommunications and an executive in the office of the president of SONAIR, S.A., a subsidiary of Sonangol, Angolas state-owned oil company that oversees oil and gas production. He began his career as a legal advisor with Sonangol Holdings. Mr. Campos also sits on the board of Sphera Bluoshen S.A., a subsidiary of Oshen Group and part of Sphera Global Healthcare. Sphera is committed to bringing high-quality healthcare services to nations around the globe with current activities in Angola, Morocco, and Rwanda. Sphera is dedicated to healthcare equality and accessibility. He is also a board member in Bluoshen S.A. and Boost - Communication & Strategy, S.A. and other organizations across the globe. Mr. Campos graduated from Lusiada University, Lisbon, with a degree in Law. Mr. Campos has dedicated his career to helping advance Angola and other developing nations. His work makes him one of the most socially forward and conscientious business leaders of our time. Through his entrepreneurial spirit and diverse business portfolio that is ever-expanding, Mr. Campos is creating thousands of new job opportunities and building stronger communities. MaidPro White Rock Owners Marcus Pough and Tony Goulart MaidPro allows us to spend more quality time with our families and friends. We are blessed with the opportunity to give that exact same gift to other people. MaidPro Franchising is pleased to announce the opening of its newest location in East Dallas, Texas. Located just eight miles northwest of downtown Dallas, MaidPro White Rock is ready to leave competitors in the dust. Co-owners Marcus Pough and Tony Goulart are excited to bring the MaidPro experience to busy professionals and families north of Dallas. Simply put we love to help people, says Pough. MaidPro allows us to spend more quality time with our families and friends. We are blessed with the opportunity to give that exact same gift to other people. Pough is particularly eager to impress Dallas clients with world-class customer service. Our business is based on People, Process, and Pride, he says. A great team is the foundation of any service provider. We are proud that our dedicated staff of cleaning professionals truly cares about our clients satisfaction. All MaidPro employees are bonded, insured, and thoroughly trained at MaidPro University on MaidPros 49-Point Checklist. This checklist details everything that will be cleaned in a clients home, with a specific focus on kitchens, bathrooms, floors, and dusting. Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and one-time services are available, as are move-in and move-out cleans. To get a complimentary estimate for housecleaning services from MaidPro White Rock, please call (214) 396-4070 or visit http://www.maidpro.com/dallas. About MaidPro MaidPro is a Boston-based franchisor of house cleaning services with over 200 offices across the United States and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1997, takes pride in its strong owner community, cutting-edge technology and creative marketing. It has been honored with the Franchise Business Reviews Four-Star Rating for franchisee satisfaction and was named #2 Best Franchise to Start Under $150K by Forbes. MaidPro is also a proud member of the International Franchise Association. The company can be found online at http://www.maidprofranchise.com. Okuma GENOS M560-V Okuma America Corporation, a world-leader in CNC machine tool manufacturing, will host an Easy Shop Floor Automation event, Wednesday, June 22, 2016, 10am-2:30pm in Charlotte, N.C. at Partners in THINC, 12428 Sam Neely Road. The event will include tips and demonstrations of simple automation technologies that enable machine tool users to maximize productivity and profitability in their shops. Automation doesnt need to be expensive or time intensive to implement. Automated gaging, bar feeders, parts catchers, robotic cells and flexible manufacturing systems can benefit shops of all sizes. Technology must-dos and automation justification will be highlighted. Easy Shop Floor Automation Machines and Demonstrations MULTUS B300W with Gosiger Automation Cell using Fanuc Robot and Kitagawa Quick-Change Workholding GENOS L250 with LNS Barfeeder, Caron Engineering Balancing and Operational App GENOS L300M with Gosiger Automation Cell using Kuka Robot, Renishaw Equator, Caron Auto-Comp, Infeed/Outfeed conveyor ABB Robotic Drink Serving Cell FANUC Robot/Schunk Workholding Changing Cell Okuma 2SP-150H Turning Cell with Integrated Gantry System Additional machines on display: GENOS L300-MYW MB-4000H GENOS M560-V with 4th Axis Koma Rotary Table Registration is free and lunch is included. For a detailed agenda and to register for Easy Shop Floor Automation visit okuma.com/events/2016automation. About Okuma America Corporation Okuma America Corporation is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools, founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. The company is the industrys only single-source provider, with the CNC machine, drive, motors, encoders, and spindle all manufactured by Okuma. The company also designs their own CNC controls to integrate seamlessly with each machine tools functionality. In 2014 Okuma launched the Okuma App Store, the industrys only centralized online marketplace for machine tool apps and related content. Along with its extensive distribution network (largest in the Americas), and Partners in THINC, Okuma is committed to helping users gain competitive advantage through the open possibilities of machine tools, today and into the future. For more information, visit http://www.okuma.com/americas or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @OkumaAmerica. ### The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School graduated its 13th class of OneMBA, the global executive MBA program, on June 11, 2016. The executives began their studies in 2014 in Washington, D.C. with students from OneMBA partner schools: Tecnologico de Monterrey Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE) in Mexico, Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University in the Netherlands, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo da Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV-EAESP) in Brazil and the School of Management at Xiamen University in China. Our OneMBA students who were already high achievers when they started the program advanced their global competencies and knowledge and graduate ready to redefine the role of global business leaders, said Jayashankar Swaminathan, OneMBA associate dean and the GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Operations at UNC Kenan-Flagler. During the 21-month program, they worked with their worldwide class on global virtual project teams, a significant component of OneMBA. They also networked with classmates from the four partner schools and learned from partner-school faculty and local business leaders during residencies in the Netherlands, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, India, China and the U.S. This class averaged 12 years work experience at organizations such as Intel, Deustche Bank, the U.S. States Navy, PwC, BASF and Cisco Systems. They traveled from California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Columbia, and around North Carolina to take their UNC OneMBA classes. Markus Saba (MBA 93), senior marketing director for global diabetes brands for Eli Lilly and Company, gave the keynote address. Saba is an experienced pharmaceutical senior executive with an expertise in global marketing. He has spent 23 years with Lilly and has launched and/or held global responsibility for some of the best known brands in the pharmaceutical industry, including, Prozac, Cymbalta, Cialis and Zyprexa. Based at Lillys headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, Saba also has worked and lived in Dubai, Geneva, Kobe, Hong Kong and Philadelphia. Anthony Michael Benedosso (OneMBA 16), United Technologies associate operations manager, spoke on behalf of the graduating class. Alan Neebe, adjunct professor of operations, was presented the excellence in teaching award by Christopher Caruso (OneMBA 16), SAP Ariba senior director and head of operations for the North America customer organization, on behalf of the graduating class. # About the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School Consistently ranked one of the world's best business schools, UNC Kenan-Flagler is known for its collaborative culture that stems from its core values: excellence, leadership, integrity, community and teamwork. Professors excel at both teaching and research, and demonstrate unparalleled dedication to students. Graduates are effective, principled leaders who have the technical and managerial skills to deliver results in the global business environment. UNC Kenan-Flagler offers a rich portfolio of programs and extraordinary, real-life learning experiences: Undergraduate Business, full-time MBA, Executive MBA Programs (Evening, Weekend and global OneMBA), online MBA@UNC, UNC-Tsinghua Dual-Degree EMBA, Master of Accounting, PhD, Executive Development, and UNC Business Essentials programs. It is home to the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. As a proud platinum sponsor of Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Midwest Awards, The Plexus Groupe LLC congratulates this years winners, who were announced Wednesday, June 15 at Chicagos Navy Pier Grand Ballroom. The winners are: Brad Wilson, Founder and CEO, Brads Deals, Chicago, Illinois. Thomas Scott, Founder and CEO, CA Ventures, Chicago. Rishi Shah, Founder and CEO; and Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder and President, ContextMedia, Chicago. Patrick OBrien, CEO, Paris Presents Inc., Gurnee, Illinois. Jack Lynch, CEO, Renaissance Learning, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Michael Rothman, Chairman and CEO, SMS Assist, Chicago. Carter Sterling, CEO, Sterling Lumber Company, Phoenix, Illinois. Trisha Lemery, President and CEO, Winsert, Inc., Marinette, Wisconsin. We salute all of the finalists for Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Midwest Awards, and we are thrilled for the winners, said Mark Matuscak, Partner, The Plexus Groupe. As active participants in the Midwest entrepreneurial ecosystem, we are keenly aware of the positive economic impact made by entrepreneurs and their businesses, and we are proud to partner with Ernst & Young to celebrate the vital importance of the entrepreneur community. ABOUT THE PLEXUS GROUPE The Plexus Groupe is a privately held national insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm with expertise in employee benefits, property and casualty, retirement plans, human resources and mergers and acquisitions. Headquartered in Deer Park, Ill., Plexus also has offices in Chicago (downtown), Dallas and Oklahoma City. In each of the last six years, Plexus has garnered Best Places to Work in Insurance honors from Business Insurance magazine. The firm was recognized in 2015 as a Top 50 U.S. Large-Group Employee Benefits Brokerage by Employee Benefits Adviser. For more information on The Plexus Groupe, please contact the firm at 847-307-6100, or visit plexusgroupe.com. Michael Araten, President and CEO of KNEX Limited Partnership Group, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love, will be participating in the U.S. Department of Commerces 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington D.C., June 20-21, 2016. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Summits theme will be The Innovation Advantage, showcasing the United States as the world leader in innovation and the premier destination for business. Business and government leaders will convene to share insights on the latest trends and innovations. Mr. Araten, also an owner and member of the Board of Directors for the manufacturing facility, The Rodon Group, will join a panel discussion on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 titled, Growing Your Customer Base: The U.S. as an Export Platform. This panel will examine why international companies exported $360 billion worth of goods, nearly 23% of all U.S. goods exports, in 2013. Established by Executive Order of the President and housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce, SelectUSA is a government-wide effort to encourage, facilitate and accelerate business investment in the United States by both domestic and foreign firmsa major engine of economic growth and job creation. In 2015 the SelectUSA Investment Summit welcomed nearly 2,500 participants from 70 International markets including companies and business associations as well as economic development organizations from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. To learn more about the SelectUSA Investment Summit please visit http://www.selectusa.gov/selectusa-summit. About KNEX Founded in 1992, KNEX, a division of Smart Brands International Co., LLC, was established to make and sell what has become one of the worlds leading integrated construction systems for children, and is Americas STEM building solution. Winner of over 370 international awards and recognitions, KNEX is focused on Building Worlds Kids Love and encourages youngsters to imagine, build and play. From the living room to the classroom, KNEX has building toys specially designed for every age group and skill level. The KNEX family of brands includes KNEX Building Sets, KNEX Thrill Rides, KNEX Education, K-FORCE Build and Blast, Beasts Alive, Mighty Makers, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario, Plants vs. Zombies, Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoy, under license from Hasbro), and more. Join us as we help build the leaders of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.knex.com. ### From the wines that were sampled to the funds that were raised, Swirl: Chicago was a resounding success that we at Southern Wine and Spirits can take great pride in. The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) the nations largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to funding innovative lymphoma research and serving the lymphoma community through a comprehensive series of education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services hosted its nationally recognized fundraising series Swirl: A Wine Tasting Event for the first time in the Chicagoland area at home of LRF Board Member Joseph Ferraro on Thursday, June 2, 2016. The inaugural event, hosted in partnership with Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., raised $105,760 in support of LRFs mission to eradicate lymphoma and serve those affected by this disease. Serafin Alvarado, Master Sommelier and Director of Wine Education at Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois presented a selection of world-class wines, featuring some of the worlds most celebrated vintages from Italy. We have seen Swirl events throughout the country raise critical funds and awareness in the past, and tonights event was certainly in keeping with this tradition of excellence and commitment to a cure for lymphoma, said Alvarado. From the wines that were sampled to the funds that were raised, Swirl: Chicago was a resounding success that we at Southern Wine and Spirits can take great pride in. Each year, more than 1,700 people in the state of Illinois alone are diagnosed with lymphoma the most common form of blood cancer, and to date, the Foundations Swirl event series has raised $263,716 in support of the Lymphoma Research Foundation and its mission to eradicate lymphoma and serve those touched by the disease. The inaugural Swirl: Chicago event was held the eve of the American Society of Clinical Oncologys (ASCOs) Annual Meeting, held each year at McCormick Place. As weve seen time and time again, the Chicago lymphoma community has shown a tremendous strength and resilience in their commitment to our shared mission of eradicating lymphoma and serving those touched by this disease, said Meghan Gutierrez, LRF Chief Executive Officer. Swirl: Chicago truly represents this remarkable spirit of support of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, as the Chicagoland philanthropic community stands steadfast in its commitment to a cure for all blood cancers. The evening was generously sponsored by Sheyla Conforte & Joseph Ferraro, Genentech, Pharmacyclics LLC and Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Laura & Michael Werner, who served as Sommelier Sponsors. Leo I. Gordon, MD, FACP, Abby and John Friend Professor of Cancer Research, Professor in Medicine, Director Lymphoma Program at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chair of LRFs Scientific Advisory Board and Sonali M. Smith, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Lymphoma Program at the University of Chicago Medicine, Member, LRF Scientific Advisory Board, served as the evenings Honorary Committee. About the Lymphoma Research Foundation The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) is the nations largest non-profit organization devoted to funding innovative research and serving the lymphoma community through a comprehensive series of education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services. To date, LRF has awarded more than $58 million in lymphoma-specific research. For additional information on LRFs research, education and services, visit lymphoma.org. ### We wanted to do something big to make a difference in honor of Taylor. Project Team Taylor was created to raise funds and awareness for Pediatric Cancer Research & Treatment. This charity was created after Taylor Rayburn was diagnosed with a Wilms' Tumor on April 27th, 2015. She has since received treatment at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, AL and is cancer free. Taylor's parents, Allison and Cliff Rayburn, are owners of Mugshots Grill and Bar in Tuscaloosa, AL. Cliff has been with Mugshots Grill & Bar for over a decade across all the ALG brands. "At Aint Life Grand Investments, we dont see ourselves as employees, managers, or coworkers, we see ourselves as a family." said Cliff Rayburn "We wanted to do something big to make a difference in honor of Taylor and all of those continuing to fight this battle. Last year we had a great turnout and we're looking forward to an even bigger turn out this year!" Taylor turned 7 this year and in her honor Ain't Life Grand Investments will be donating a portion of the proceeds from EVERY restaurant including the brands: Mugshots Grill & Bar, Glory Bound Gyro Co., and Topher's Rock 'N Roll Grill to Children's Hospital. Make plans to dine with us at any of our restaurants on June 22, 2016 to raise funds for this great organization. We have 20 locations spanning across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana and our mission at Ain't Life Grand Investments is to "Love God. Love People. Go Change the World." Please like Project Team Taylor on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectteamtaylor and purchase a t-shirt from http://www.booster.com/projectteamtaylor Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend: Baku can receive around 20,000 guests simultaneously, Vugar Shikhmammadov, head of the information and public relations department of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, told Trend. Shikhmammadov said there are some 15,000 bed spaces in Baku hotels and also hotels beyond the capital and rented apartments. He pointed out that Azerbaijan's tourism organizations and cultural facilities are ready to receive guests. Azerbaijan expects an inflow of tourists at the upcoming 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe that Baku is hosting June 17-19. The race layout incorporates the medieval walls of the old city (Icheri Sheher) and a long high-speed blast along the shores of the Caspian Sea. Vugar Shikhmammadov noted that the event will help increase the number of tourists visiting the country. The visiting guests will be able to visit cultural sightseeing spots of Azerbaijan and will also watch theatrical plays and shows with subtitles in English, he added. Shikhmammadov further said that the tourists will have a chance to get familiar with Azerbaijani national dramaturgy, as Baku theaters have prepared a very interesting program. BatesCarey LLP, a leading insurance coverage law firm with an international practice, is pleased to announce that Chambers and Partners, publisher of the worlds leading guides to the legal profession, has ranked BatesCarey among the nations elite law firms in the area of Insurance: Dispute Resolution. The 2016 Chambers USA Guide quotes one prominent client describing BatesCarey attorneys as: Not only the finest coverage attorneys I have worked with, but the best attorneys overall. No other firm has come close to providing the same kind of consultation and support in our day-to-day work. They are well staffed, very responsive, and offer us creative approaches to deal with complex problems. They are also a real pleasure to work with. Robert J. Bates, Jr., a founding partner, was described as one of Chicagos leading coverage attorneys and a shrewd, hard-hitting litigator acting for industry clients in their most complex insurance and reinsurance disputes. Mr. Bates was ranked highly in both Insurance: Dispute Resolution, and Reinsurance. Scott L. Carey, also a founding partner, is lauded for his wide-ranging insurance practice, including deep experience in the Bermuda insurance market, as well as considerable expertise in claims related to railroad accidents. Adam H. Fleischer is described as an exceptional attorneyintelligent and an excellent advocate. He understands the insurance industry, has good business judgment and provides excellent counsel. London publisher Chambers and Partners is widely regarded as the most respected legal ranking service in the world. Lawyers and law firms are ranked based on the in-depth, objective investigation of 150 full-time editors and researchers who interview to lawyers and clients across the globe to glean first-hand knowledge and critique of the subject firms and counsel. Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers for Business 2016 is available online at: http://www.chambersandpartners.com/usa. About BatesCarey For over fifteen years, BatesCarey LLP has dedicated its practice to protecting the interests of insurers and reinsurers while shaping the trends of insurance law throughout the United States and abroad. BatesCarey attorneys stand at the forefront of emerging insurance issues, and have earned a national reputation for excellence and innovation as counselors, litigators, and creative thinkers. Domestic and international insurance industry clients turn to BatesCarey for their most complex and challenging matters, knowing that the firm has the experience, resources, and commitment to ensure an efficient, cost-effective, and successful resolution. For more information, please visit http://www.batescarey.com. Fisher Investments is pleased to announce it has been named one of the FT Top 300 Registered Investment Advisers for the third consecutive year. The list recognizes top independent RIA firms across the US. This is the third annual FT 300 list, produced independently by The Financial Times Ltd. (FT) in collaboration with Ignites Research, a subsidiary of the FT that provides business intelligence on the investment management industry. FT created the FT 300 list to provide readers with a snapshot of the best advisers in the USWe aimed to provide a picture of leading financial advisers that would be good enough for the educated and discerning readers of the Financial Times. More than 1,500 pre-screened RIA firms were invited to fill out a comprehensive application. FT augmented the application data with independent research and information from regulatory filings. Criteria for the assessment focused on creating a quantifiable and objective way to form a list of established companies with deep, institutional expertise and included total AUM, AUM growth rates as a proxy for performance, asset retention, the ability to generate new business, years in existence, compliance record, employee industry certifications and online accessibility to illustrate commitment to transparency. Of those considered, 300 firms were selected for the list. The list is not ranked and is presented as an elite group of 300 RIA firms, organized by state. The average FT 300 firm has been in existence for 22 years and manages $2.6 billion in assets. Damian Ornani, President of Client Acquisition and Service at Fisher Investments, commented, We are honored and delighted our firm has been recognized by Financial Times for three years in a row. It is a privilege to be recognized by one of the worlds leading business news organizations. Please visit the Financial Times website for the full 2016 FT 300 list: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/37bd6974-31b9-11e6-ad39-3fee5ffe5b5b.html About Fisher Investments: Founded in 1979, Fisher Investments is an independent, fee-only investment adviser with $65 billion under management (as of 3/31/2016). Fisher Investments maintains four principal business units: Fisher Investments Institutional Group, Fisher Investments Private Client Group, Fisher Investments 401(k) Solutions Group and Fisher Investments International Group, which serve a global client base of diverse investors. The clients of Fisher investments and its affiliates include over 150 large institutions and over 33,000 high net worth individuals. Founder and CEO Ken Fisher has written the Forbes Portfolio Strategy column for over 30 years, and has authored several New York Times bestsellers on finance and investing. For more information, please visit http://www.fisherinvestments.com/. About the FT 300 List: The FT 300 list is an independent listing produced by FT, based on data gathered from RIA firms, regulatory disclosures, and independent research. The list reflects each firms performance in six areas, including assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and online accessibility. Neither the RIAs, nor their employees pay a fee to FT in exchange for inclusion in the FT 300. Investing in securities involves a risk of loss. Past performance is never a guarantee of future returns. If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. With the start of summer season, Azerbaijani leading mobile operator Azercell Telecom has launched a new favorable campaign in the regions. "Unlimited calls in regions" campaign offers daily unlimited packs for pre-paid subscribers residing in provinces for only AZN 0.25 per day. In order to benefit from this campaign subscribers of Bolge tariff pack should just text START SMS to 2323. Daily pack can be used till the end of the offered day. The campaign is only applied in the regions and excludes calls in Baku and Absheron peninsula. With this campaign Azercell continues the strategy of mobile communication development in the regions started in March 2012. During several years Azercell customers, residing in the provinces benefit from special "Bolge" tariff pack. Subscribers joining this tariff may talk for free with on-net contacts after the third minute of call. Azercell will continue to please its subscribres with favorable campaigns, as well as high quality network throughout the hot summer months. Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996 and since the first years sustains a leading position in the market. Azercell introduced number of technological innovations in Azerbaijan: GSM technology, advance payment mobile services, M2M,MobilBank, GPRS/EDGE (mobile internet), 24/7 Customer Care, full-time operating Azercell Express offices, mobile e-service "ASAN imza" (ASAN signature) and others. With 48,2% share of Azerbaijan's mobile market Azercell's network covers 99,8% of the country's population. In 2015, the number of Azercell's subscribers reached 4,5 million people. In 2011 Azercell deployed 3G and in 2012 the fourth generation network - LTE in Azerbaijan. The Company is the leader of Azerbaijan's mobile communication industry and the biggest investor in the non-oil sector. Azercell is a part of Telia Company Group of Companies serving 186 million subscribers in 17 countries worldwide with 27,000 employees. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend: Baku is a very beautiful, calm and clean city which suits for hosting the Formula 1, the UK tourist Anson Berry told Trend June 17. Berry has come to Baku to watch the Formula 1. The tourist expressed hope that the world will see a wonderful show in Baku. Naturally, it will become a great opportunity to popularize Azerbaijan in the world, said Berry. Azerbaijan is hosting the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe for the first time June 17-June 19. The Baku circuit, which is slightly over 6 kilometers, will have the racers to go 51 laps. Overall, 11 teams, each with two drivers, will compete in the race. The race layout incorporates the medieval walls of the old city (Icheri Sheher) and a long high-speed blast along the shores of the Caspian Sea. The maximum estimated speed at the race is 340 km/h. GP2 first race, Formula 1 third practise session and Formula 1 qualifying will be held on the second day of the races on June 18, while the GP2 second race and 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe will be held on the last day of the races, June 19. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend: Euronews, a European, multilingual news television channel, has broadcasted a video footage highlighting final series of Postcards from Azerbaijan. The city is fast developing with modern structures, but the Old City remains popular for visitors and locals alike, Euronews reported. The buildings here date back to at least the 12th century, a melting pot of different cultural influences. And theres actually a mystery about what one of the main attractions, the Maiden Tower, used to be, Euronews reported. Was it a guard tower, an observatory, or some kind of ancient temple? The experts have differing views. There is a combination of the western and the eastern architectural styles, like Gothic, Baroque, Rococo and the Classic style, Arif Mammadov, an Old City guide, said. Often referred to as an open-air museum, the Old City joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2000. Baku has greatly expanded, but many say its historic neighbourhood will always be the heart of the capital. Premium online access is only available tosubscribers. If you have an active subscription and need to set up or change your password, please click here New to PW? To set up immediate access, click here. NOTE: If you had a previous PW subscription, click here to reactivate your immediate access. PW site license members have access to PWs subscriber-only website content. If working at an office location and you are not "logged in", simply close and relaunch your preferred browser. For off-site access, click here. To find out more about PWs site license subscription options, please email Mike Popalardo at: mike@nextstepsmarketing.com. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Anvar Mammadov - Trend: Baku circuit is much better compared to the majority of other Formula 1 city tracks, Tad Loeffler, an F1 fan from the US, told Trend June 17. Usually, city tracks are very narrow and the speed at the races on those tracks is quite low, said the tourist. This is while the major part of the Baku circuit is quite wide and some of its sections allow driving at a very high speed, he added. But there is also quite a narrow and dangerous section running along the city walls, he added. Further, the US tourist shared his impressions of Baku and emphasized the citys architecture. Azerbaijan is hosting the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe for the first time June 17 June 19. The Baku circuit, which is slightly over 6 kilometers, will have the racers to go 51 laps. Overall, 11 teams, each with two drivers, will compete in the race. The race layout incorporates the medieval walls of the old city (Icheri Sheher) and a long high-speed blast along the shores of the Caspian Sea. The maximum estimated speed at the race is 340 km/h. GP2 first race, Formula 1 third practice session and Formula 1 qualifying will be held on the second day of the races on June 18, while the GP2 second race and 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe will be held on the last day of the races, June 19. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov DAVENPORT -- River Action and the QC Theatre Workshop will present the final play of a six-month, free staged reading series at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Putnam Museum board room, 1717 W. 12th St. "Two Degrees" by Tira Palmquist deals with climate change and political gridlock in Washington. Ms. Palmquist, who attended high school in Maquoketa, has said its "about frozen people on a thawing planet." A synopsis of "Two Degrees" states the play centers on paleoclimatologist Emma Phelps and how her work with ice in Greenland shows her the symptoms of our changing planet and the crucial, urgent need to act. The reading, directed by Jennifer Popple, will be followed by a discussion about global warming and political action. The RiverStages series featured plays with insight into environmental issues along the Mississippi River, according to River Action. The series was supported by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Audience members who arrive early can kick off Quad Cities Museum Week, which starts Saturday, with a free sneak peek of the Putnams new outdoor exhibit on river econsystems -- "Water, Molecules in Action -- that features River Action. COAL VALLEY -- Two men have been arrested in connection with a multi-state burglary spree, including six burglaries in Coal Valley. Police Chief Jack Chick told the village board on Wednesday that two men in their late 20s from the Peoria area were arrested in Sherman, Ill., after a sting based on videos and photos provided by Coal Valley police. Their names have not been released and charges have not yet been filed, he said. The pair allegedly took items from three vehicles and three homes in Coal Valley late June 2 and early June 3 and used credit cards they stole at Wal-Mart stores, the chief said. Coal Valley police forwarded store video footage and still photos of the suspects to other agencies, which resulted in their identification. Chief Chick said the men used garage door openers found in cars to get into garages and attached unlocked houses. When caught, they had "hundreds of items of stolen property," the chief said, adding that the suspects are wanted in several states for multiple burglaries and identity theft. The case remains under investigation. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office says 41-year-old Shawna Wolff-Geisler is charged with the Class 1 felony of continuing financial crimes enterprise and theft. A conviction carries a maximum 15-year prison term. A statement Thursday from prosecutors says the Des Plaines woman worked at Econocare in the accounting department from 2007 until 2015. Prosecutors say an investigation after she left the company found that around 80 checks were drafted from Econocare's bank account payable to Wolff-Geisler or to one of her accounts. An executive's signature on the checks was allegedly forged. Wolff-Geisler bond was set Thursday at $100,000. A message left Thursday evening at a residential phone number for her wasn't returned. Intro, intermediate welding classes Want to weld? Take a Weekend Welding class at the Black Hawk College Welding and Skilled Trades Center in downtown Kewanee. Classes will be 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Choose from: June 25: Introduction to Stick Welding July 2: Introduction to MIG Welding July 9: Introduction to TIG Welding July 16: Intermediate Stick Welding July 23: Intermediate MIG Welding July 30: Intermediate TIG Welding Cost is $75 per class. Register no later than the Tuesday before the class. For more information, contact Toni Sierer at 309-796-5718 or sierert@bhc.edu. Zoology/math youth summer camp begins June 27 Black Hawk College is offering a Zoology/Math Camp for kids entering grades 3-5. Camp will be from 8 a.m. to noon June 27-30 at the colleges Outreach Center in East Moline. It will focus on three topics -- World of Animals, Math Projects and Birds. Cost is $95. For more information, visit bhc.edu/youthcamps. To register, call 309-796-8223. Orientations begin June 29 for highway construction training Interested in working in highway construction? A new session of the Highway Construction Careers Training Program at Black Hawk College begins Aug. 15. The program aims to increase the number of minorities, women and disadvantaged individuals working on Illinois Department of Transportation projects. Training is 36 hours per week for 13 weeks. There is no cost to students who are accepted into the program. Interested students MUST attend one of the following orientation sessions: Wednesday, June 29, at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 7, at 6 p.m. Friday, July 8, at 10 a.m. To register for an orientation session, contact Paul Fessler at 309-796-5729 or fesslerp@bhc.edu. Payroll professionals learn advanced topics Experienced payroll professionals and those preparing for CPP certification are encouraged to take the American Payroll Association PayTrain C/U Mastery course at Black Hawk College. Classes will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, June 29 to Sept. 14, at the colleges Outreach Center in East Moline. Cost is $855. For more information, visit bhc.edu/payroll. To register, call 309-796-8223. Excel classes available at BHC center in RI Black Hawk College offers computer classes at the colleges Adult Learning Center in Rock Island. Upcoming classes include: Excel Level 2 (2013): Tuesday, June 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $97. Excel Level 3 (2013): Tuesday, July 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $97. For class details, visit bhc.edu/computers. To register, call 309-796-8223. MOLINE -- The stopgap budget proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner would continue to freeze out local agencies providing services to the elderly and the disabled, state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, said Thursday. Democratic lawmakers and the Republican governor failed to reach a compromise to pass a 12-month budget by the end of the spring session on May 31. Gov. Rauner has proposed a temporary budget that funds elementary and secondary education for the upcoming school year and other state operations through December. On Thursday, Rep. Smiddy held a news conference at The ARC of the Quad Cities in Moline to criticize the proposal. He said lawmakers were given little time to review it when it was presented the final day of the spring session. He was joined by Augustana College and Black Hawk College officials, as well as the leaders of a number of human service providers, including ARC. Rep. Smiddy said the temporary budget proposal was unacceptable to him because it would not fund critical social services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings for women and programs for the disabled. Funding for the Monetary Award Program, which provides grants to college students, also was not included, he said. Leaders of three social service agencies who also spoke at Thursday's event said they are struggling because Illinois has had no budget for the past year. Kathy Weiman, of Alternatives for Older Adults, said her agency and others like it actually save the state money. Alternatives works to keep older adults eligible for nursing home care in their homes, she said. Rep. Smiddy said he remains hopeful a spending plan agreement would be passed. But he said Gov. Rauner should stop making "political attacks" on Democrats, which make a compromise more difficult. Gov. Rauner has urged Democratic lawmakers to support his temporary budget to ensure all schools open on time this fall for the new school year. He also released a statement Thursday saying that, without the stopgap spending plan, many critical infrastructure projects scheduled for this summer will be stalled. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 Trend: Azerbaijan has introduced the Tax Free system, which is currently in a test mode, the countrys Taxes Ministry told Trend June 17. Tax free is a mechanism of refunding VAT paid by the foreign citizens during purchase of goods not designed for production or commercial needs. Foreign citizens can benefit from TAX FREE, if the cost of purchased goods per one e-tax invoice is not less than 300 Azerbaijani manats, including VAT. The goods should be taken out of Azerbaijans territory within 90 days from the date of purchase. Standard VAT rate in Azerbaijan is 18 percent. Regardless of the transfer method, foreign citizens will be refunded the amount of VAT paid for the purchased goods after withholding 20 percent service fee. How to benefit from Tax Free? To benefit from Tax Free system, a customer must shop at TAX FREE labeled shops. Customers can refund the VAT paid for the goods they purchased at TAX FREE labeled shops during their departure at the airport. While purchasing goods at TAX FREE labeled shop customers need to inform a salesperson about the intention to benefit from TAX FREE, show a passport confirming citizenship, and have the salesperson to fill in the electronic tax invoice enabling VAT refund. The salesperson, upon filling in the passport details, will provide the customer with 2 copies of signed and stamped e-tax invoice. The e-tax invoice, along with other information, will contain the amount of paid VAT, as well as the expiry date of VAT refund. While departing from Azerbaijan, it is necessary to present purchased goods and e-tax invoice along with a passport to the customs checkpoint located at the airport. Customs staff will certify the e-tax invoice with a stamp and return it back to the customer after making relevant notes on it. As the last step, customers need to present the e-tax invoice given by the customs checkpoint to the correspondent bank. They can receive their refund on foreign or local currency according to chosen method as follows: 1) Cash - immediately after presenting necessary document to the bank 2) Noncash - Within 10 working days from the date of submission, to the bank, of their bank card details to which customers wish to receive the refund. Press release submitted by Whitey's Ice Cream Moline, Illinois - Whiteys Ice Cream will donate half the sales of all cones sold on Monday, June 20, 2016 to benefit the programs and services Bethany for Children & Families. All Quad City area Whiteys locations will participate in the fundraising event, which will help to further Bethanys mission of keeping children safe, strengthening families, and building healthy communities. Bill Steinhauser, President/CEO of Bethany, said, "Whiteys Ice Cream is a generous community partner and supporter of Bethany. We are excited to celebrate Cones for Kids Day again this year. Enjoying a dip of Whiteys ice cream is a wonderful way to help make a difference for kids! At 1 p.m. Monday, Bethany staff members will be present at the Whiteys Ice Cream located at 2601 41st Street, Moline, to enjoy a sweet treat with some children who participate in the agencys Therapeutic Recreation Program. Bethany for Children & Families is a non-profit child welfare and social services agency with offices in the Illinois and Iowa Quad Cities. For more information, visit www.bethany-qc.org. Prime Minister David Cameron appealed for intolerance and hatred to be driven out of politics, as a U.S. civil rights group said the man suspected of the gun and knife attack had links to an American white supremacist organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center said it has records showing Thomas Mair was a supporter of the National Alliance. The center said Mair purchased a manual from the group in 1999 that included instructions on how to build a pistol. On its website, the center published copies of receipts showing that a Thomas Mair of West Yorkshire the county where Cox and her suspected killer both lived bought publications including "Chemistry of Powder and Explosives" and "Improvised Munitions Handbook." The address on the receipts corresponded to a house that was cordoned off by police tape and guarded by uniformed officers on Friday. The National Alliance was founded by William Pierce, whose book "The Turner Diaries" has been called a grisly blueprint for a race war. Timothy McVeigh based the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people, on a truck-bombing described in the book. A Thomas Mair of Batley the town where the suspect lives was also named as a former subscriber to pro-Apartheid publication SA Patriot. In 2006, the online newsletter of far-right group the Springbok Club said Mair was "one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of SA Patriot." Mair, 52, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Cox, who was shot and stabbed outside a library in her northern England constituency. The suspect's brother, Scott Mair, told reporters his brother had a history of mental illness, but was not violent. Witnesses said Cox, a 41-year-old Labour Party legislator, was attacked by a man with a homemade or antique-looking gun. Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the scene, said the assailant shouted "Britain first" or "put Britain first" several times. Britain First is the name of a far-right group, which disclaimed any connection to the killing. Cox was a former aid worker who had championed the cause of Syrian refugees and campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU when it votes in a referendum on Thursday. The referendum has sparked an intense debate about immigration and Britain's place in the world. "Leave" campaigners have said voters should quit the EU to take their country back from bureaucrats in Brussels and curb large-scale immigration from other EU nations. Both sides in the referendum halted campaigning activity after Cox's death. The pro-EU Britain Stronger In Europe group said it would continue the suspension on Saturday, while Vote Leave said it had yet to decide when campaigning would resume. Politicians from all parties have paid tribute to Cox, and Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II had written to her husband, Brendan Cox. The couple had two young children. In a show of political unity, Cameron and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the site of the killing in Birstall, 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London. The two men added bouquets to a huge mound of flowers left in tribute to Cox. Cameron urged people to "value and see as precious the democracy that we have on these islands." "Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities," he said. Corbyn said the slaying of Cox was "an attack on democracy." "It's the well of hatred that killed her," he said. Corbyn said Parliament would be recalled from a break on Monday so that lawmakers could pay tribute to Cox. The House of Commons had not been due to resume meeting until after the referendum. Rows of police combed the pavements around the site of the attack outside the library in Birstall. Mothers walked their children to the town's primary school past the spot, some wiping away tears. Others stood talking quietly in small groups about the brutality of the killing, its exceptionally public nature and whether anyone could have done more to stop the attacker. Flowers also covered the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox and her family lived when they were in London. More mourners left flowers outside Parliament, and some linked the heated atmosphere of the referendum to the attack. "I didn't know her, but she stood for everything that this country should be standing for at the moment and I have two young children and I am just so angry," said teacher Joanna Chidgey, whose father is a former lawmaker. "Well, angry is not the right word at the moment, but these people who are whipping up bigotry and racism and hatred and intolerance at the moment, they should hang their heads in shame." Violence against British politicians has been rare since Northern Ireland's peace deal two decades ago. Cox is the first serving lawmaker to be killed since Conservative politician Ian Gow was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1990. While Parliament is protected by armed police, lawmakers spend large amounts of time in their home districts, generally without dedicated security. Since 2000, two lawmakers have been attacked and wounded while meeting with constituents. Cameron's office said a reminder of safety guidance has been sent to members of Parliament, suggesting they go to local police if they have concerns. "I know MPs are scared," said Dan Jarvis, Labour member of Parliament. But he said lawmakers would continue to meet with constituents. "We'll be reviewing our security, but I'll walk through Barnsley today like every Friday," said Jarvis, an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many female lawmakers, in particular, say they have been subject to online abuse and threats, and a man was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of sending a "malicious communication" to Cox. London's Metropolitan Police said the man received a police warning, and he "is not the man in custody" over Cox's death. Rated 3.3 out of 5 by 11 reviewers. Rated 1 out of 5 by Eurekapines Not Happy The first time I used product I liked it. However, the second time, the scrubber had turned black and fell apart. Its too late to return so I guess I am out the money. Not happy. Not your fault QVC, its the product. I should have used it in a timely manner then I would have been able to return. 08-01-16 Rated 5 out of 5 by Alliinbama Absolutely The Best Well it has firmed my and smoothed chin area and "lifted" my decollete, neck and chin. It is literally amazing! I could be a poster child for PTR products! When anyone is brave enough to ask my age they are shocked at the answer. 06-16-16 Rated 5 out of 5 by Bumba Love it! I absolutely love this mask. I have several of Peter's masks and a multitude of his products. I love them all and his products have been the only ones I have used for a few years now. I don't find them "pricey" because each product only requires a small amount and lasts a good amount of time. Mostly importantly, they work for me. 06-16-16 Rated 2 out of 5 by Miami Chris Didn't Work For Me I returned. Didn't see any results. Product felt very sticky on my face. For the price I sent it back. 01-13-16 Rated 5 out of 5 by melissa7623 Amazing! I've used this product 3 times so far and I can see a big difference! I'm loving it!! 01-06-16 Rated 3 out of 5 by Trish in AZ Didn't wow me When it comes to facial cleansers, peels, or serums, I will try the majority. This particular product has not wow'd me, nor convinced me to purchase again. It's ok. No visible changes in skin that would warrant another bottle. Sponge is odd. I use a Clarisonic so the sponge was something that may have made it on a few business trips but it does not make my skin feel clean. 01-06-16 Rated 5 out of 5 by loveslippers Love the cleansing butter I agree these products are small but Peter's Items are never cheap .They really do work though! I thought the butter was the best for my dry aging skin. I cant wait to get a larger size container. Thank You Peter and QVC 12-22-15 Rated 3 out of 5 by Verified Reviewer ok I used the cleanser and while it did leave my skin very soft and I LOVED the sponge..it did not remove as others have said my mascara and it's not waterproof..it was just smeared all over my face...the mask, well I used it once but not impressed and the jars are super tiny...I don't think it's a good buy so I'll send it back..sorry, wanted to love it! 12-21-15 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! Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Azad Hasanli Trend: Azerbaijan will host the 7th Azerbaijani-Russian interregional forum in December 2016. This decision was made at the meeting of Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev with his Russian counterpart Alexey Ulyukaev in Moscow, said the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry in a message June 17. During the meeting, Mustafayev said Russia has invested $3 billion in Azerbaijans economy until today. He added that Azerbaijans investments in the Russian economy exceeded $1 billion. Azerbaijan and Russia signed more than 170 documents, including over 50 in the economic sector. Currently, almost 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan. The minister also noted that Azerbaijan and Russia have great potential for the development of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, machine building, pharmaceutics and others. Mustafayev spoke about the strategic decisions made by the Azerbaijani president since the end of 2015 to develop entrepreneurship, about various projects implemented in the country, and Azerbaijans sustainable economic development. Speaking about the regional ties, the minister noted the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main threat for the development of the regional cooperation. Minister of Economic Development of Russia Alexey Ulyukaev noted the importance of effective using of the existing opportunities for the development of bilateral relations. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to almost $739.8 million in January-May 2016, $609.6 million of which accounted for the import of Russian products, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Work began on the SKr 645m ($US 77m) project in December 2013 and involved the construction of 10 new bridges, including a 200m-long structure which carries the line across Harnas Bay. The new alignment is designed for 200km/h operation and the line will be used by around 112 trains per day, comprising 40 passenger trains and 72 freight trains. The completion of the Skutskar - Furuvik project leaves just one remaining section of single track on the East Coast Line between Stockholm and Gavle. Track-doubling on the stretch through Gamla Uppsala is due to be completed in autumn 2017. As the industry continues to weather the current economic storm, Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl offers the following analysis: Were adjusting estimates for much of our rail coverage ahead of 2Q16 results. Were lowering our 2Q16 EPS ests for the Class Is, given updated carloads and service metrics. Were modestly raising our estimate for GWR (Genesee & Wyoming). Strong service levels will continue to be a positive theme on earnings calls and will likely offset some of the volume pressure on operating ratios. We are lowering our 2Q16 EPS estimates for the Class Is by an average of 5% and modestly raising GWR by 3% largely due to differences between our prior carload estimates and actual weekly results for the quarter. We also adjusted our operating ratios to reflect a temporary headwind from fuel expense, given the 9% sequential increase in the price of diesel from 1Qs average level (recall there is a 40-plus-day day lag in fuel surcharge recovery at the railroads). All of the Class ls provided better service in 2Q16 vs. 2Q15. In fact, CSX recently said its on-time levels on an all-in basis were at 91% with intermodal being even higher. On average, train speeds were up 8% y/y and dwell time was down 4%. That compares to a 1Q16 improvement in both train speed and dwell time of 11% and 9%, respectively. We think this is largely due to lower volumes as total North American carloads are down 10.4% in 2Q16 through Week 23 (June 11). YTD, carloads are down 8.2%. Coal remains under the most pressure, down 31.4% QTD, followed by metals and chemicals, down 16.6% and 9.9%, respectively. We do not expect outlooks to be broadly weaker than buy-side expectations given our recent conversations with investors, the subdued outlooks the railroads gave in their 1Q16 releases, updated commentary at conferences and public forums throughout 1Q16 along with the weekly carload data. However, it is worth noting we are below sell-side consensus estimates for CN, Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. We are slightly above 2Q16 consensus for CSX and GWR. We expect the railroads to generally focus on the improvement in their service levels during earnings calls (i.e. that which they can control). In addition to the better dwell times and train speeds, our private industry checks suggest overall service is much improved. Importantly, carload comparisons are easy for the remainder of the year, so while year-over-year growth may begin to improve, we are going to focus on sequential changes to gauge the true health of the business over the near term. Typical seasonal trends would suggest carloads should be up 2%-4% on a sequential basis for the next two weeks. That would imply year-over-year industry declines of about 2% over that time period, much better than the average weekly year-over-year declines of 8% the market has experienced this year. In an effort to right-size their organizations, railroad management teams are continuing to lay people off at accelerating rates. In 1Q16, employees on U.S. railroad payrolls fell 10%. In April and May, railroad headcount fell by 12% year-over-year or 1% from the end of 1Q16. Trucking prices still remain depressed, making the intermodal value proposition more difficult to sell in this environment. Fuel prices also remain low, down 18% year-over-year, which decreases the likelihood of highway-to-rail conversion. Industry intermodal volumes are down 3% YTD and 7% in 2Q through June 11th. Our latest Chainalytics-Cowen Freight Demand Indices (downloadable below) show that spot market pricing remains 1%-9% below the newly lowered contract rates. We think the truckload market could tighten up a bit in 2H16, which should alleviate some downward pressure on intermodal. Total North American Class I traffic is down 8.2% through Week 23.The key culprits include coal (12% of traffic), down 31% YTD; metallic ores and minerals (4% of traffic), down 16%; non-metallic minerals (5% of traffic), down 9%; chemicals (12% of traffic, including crude oil), down 8%; and agricultural products (9% of traffic), down 4%.Intermodal (47% of traffic) is down 3% YTD. Year-to-date, the Dow Js Transports Index is now lagging the S&P500 by 0.5% after leading the index by about 2% after 1Q16. 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 The killing of Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in May 2016 by a U.S. drone strike in Baluchistan, Pakistan raised hopes in Washington and Kabul that the tide might be turning in Afghanistan. U.S. President Barack Obama remarked that the Taliban should seize the opportunity to pursue the only real path for ending this long conflictjoining the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability. Others argued that the Taliban might be significantly weakened by Mansour's death. There will be a major change in the situation of the Taliban, noted Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's chief executive officer. It is a huge blow. The U.S. strike was notable in several respects. It was one of the few times since 2001 that the United States had targeted Taliban leaders in Pakistan. It was also the first attack carried out by a U.S. drone in the country's Baluchistan Province, where Islamabad had previously forbidden U.S. strikes and where some members of the Taliban's senior leadership council, which Mansour headed, live in relative freedom. The fact that Pakistani officials did not vehemently object to the U.S. attack, as they did to the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, suggests that Islamabad at least tacitly approved of the strike against Mansour. Mansour's death, however, is unlikely to transform the conflict in Afghanistan or improve the prospects for a deal between Kabul and the Taliban. In the coming months, the United States' presence in the country will be as important as ever. Trouble at the Top Afghanistan's internal political divisions are probably the most serious impediment to further progress against the Taliban. Widespread corruption, intra-elite political competition, poor economic performance, and weak governance continue to plague the country. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly clashed with the Afghan parliament over such issues as election reform and reconciliation with the Taliban and has even failed to secure appointments for some critical positions, such as minister of defense. Some of the biggest fissures among Afghan officials concern the U.S.-brokered political agreement that created the ruling National Unity Government in 2014. The deal managed to temporarily paper over the divisions among the country's competing factions by granting Ghani the presidency and Abdullah, a rival, the newly created position of chief executive officer. Today, the parliamentary and district council elections required by the agreement seem a long way off: Afghanistan will likely postpone them until at least 2017, thanks to disagreements among Afghan officials about electoral reform. Some political elites, including many of Abdullah's supporters, argue that the country's election commission lacks legitimacy because of its handling of the contested 2014 elections and that it should be reformed before a vote is held. As for the reform of Afghanistan's constitution and the establishment of a prime ministership to replace the office of the chief executiveboth goals that the 2014 deal stipulated would be implemented by a loya jirga, or grand assembly of eldersthey are also unlikely to occur this year. At the popular level, too, Afghans are angry with their government. A November 2015 Asia Foundation study found that 57 percent of Afghans believed that their country was moving in the wrong direction because of insecurity, unemployment, corruption, and other factors. As long as these grievances exist, there will be popular support for anti-government forces such as the Taliban, and the cohesion and loyalty of Afghanistan's security forces will be tested. The Taliban, on the other hand, appears to have maintained a measure of internal unity despite the death of its leader. The militants quickly replaced Mansour with Haibatullah Akhundzada, a former member of the late Taliban leader Mullah Omar's inner circle who had served as the head of the Taliban's religious shura, or consultative council, since 2011. Flanking Akhundzada are two deputies: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of the legendary mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani and a competent military leader in his own right, and Yaqub Omar, Omar's eldest son. This triumvirate possesses a powerful combination of religious, military, and hereditary legitimacy. As for its ability to carry out attacks, the Taliban's sanctuary in western Pakistan allows these leaders to oversee the insurgency from afar. Over the past year, the Taliban has threatened several provincial capitals by attacking army and police positions in outlying areas, attempting to cut off communications networks, and carrying out assassinations and bombings. This year, the Taliban appears poised to carry out just such an attack: the militants, who have pushed into a number of districts surrounding urban areas, now threaten several provincial capitals, including Lashkar Gah, Pul-e Khumri, Qalat, and even the northern city of Kunduz, which fell to the Taliban in September 2015 before being retaken by Afghan government forces with U.S. support a few days later. (The provincial capitals of Farah, Maimanah, Asadabad, and Ghazni are also potential targets.) Based on Kabul's sluggish reaction to last year's Kunduz takeover, it is unclear how well Afghan leaders would respond to fresh Taliban offensives. Some Afghan army and police units are overextended, lack strong leaders, and have few so-called combat enablers, such as air support, that could support ground troops. Some of its units have also struggled to clear and hold territory, as the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps has in Helmand Province's eastern Sangin district. Don't Bet on Peace Even after Mansour's death, the Taliban has shown little interest in negotiating for peace with Kabul. In fact, thanks to the National Unity Government's fragility and the drawdown of U.S. and other foreign forces, the Taliban is cautiously optimistic about its long-term military prospects. What is more, there are serious divisions within the movement over whether to engage in peace talks: whereas some Taliban members are tired of the fighting, others object to negotiating with a government they believe is corrupt, ineffective, and religiously illegitimate. Until Akhunzada and the Taliban's inner shura believe the war has reached a stalemate and is unwinnable, it is unlikely that they will be willing to conclude a settlement. The Taliban is cautiously optimistic about its long-term military prospects. More generally, peace settlements are tough to negotiate and tougher still to preserve. In 35 percent of the 143 insurgencies that ended between World War II and 2015, according to data compiled for my book Waging Insurgent Warfare, insurgent groups achieved victory by overthrowing a government or gaining independence; governments defeated insurgents on the battlefield another 36 percent of the time. Only 29 percent of these insurgencies ended in a draw or a settlement. In other words, roughly three quarters of the insurgencies fought in recent decades have ended with a battlefield victory by either government forces or their opponents. It might be ideal for the war in Afghanistan to end with a peace deal, but from a historical perspective, it is by no means a certainty. Of course, the Taliban is no ten-foot tall giant. Unlike the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) was in 2014 in Iraq, the Taliban is probably not capable of conducting a successful blitzkrieg against a large swath of territory in Afghanistan, thanks, in part, to the roughly 10,000 U.S. soldiers and air power that remain in the country. What is more, despite Afghanistan's many military weaknesses, some of the country's forces have performed impressively against the militants so far; Kabul's high-end units, such as the Afghan National Army Commandos, can competently perform air assault and reconnaissance missions, among others. Over the next few months, Washington's top priority in Afghanistan should be to work with the country's political elites to reach a consensus on the issues that are dividing them, especially electoral reform. The United States should help Kabul and UN officials as they attempt to issue new voter ID cards, train polling staff, and plan for future elections. It makes little sense to hold elections without electoral reform. Holding a contested vote or convening a poorly organized loya jirga would be more destabilizing than helpful and, by paralyzing the Afghan government, could give the Taliban a boost. The United States should also maintain the forces it has stationed in Afghanistan through at least early 2017, leaving the decisions about U.S. force size, posture, and strategy to the next presidential administration. That would require Obama to refrain from cutting the United States' presence in the country from approximately 10,000 soldiers to 5,500, as he promised he would by the end of his presidency. But going back on that pledge would be worth it: reducing the U.S. presence to 5,500 troops would severely restrict Washington's ability to train and work with Afghan forces, increasing the likelihood of a Taliban advance. Afghan leaders actually want U.S. forces to stay. Even as the United States maintains its troop levels in the country, it should also continue to provide intelligence and close air support to Kabul. For similar reasons, the United States should encourage the other countries participating in NATO's Resolute Support Mission to maintain their current troop commitments. There are no palatable alternatives to a U.S.- and NATO-led security presence in Afghanistan. There are no palatable alternatives to a U.S.- and NATO-led security presence. A larger role for India would increase friction with Pakistan; a growing Pakistani role would worry Indian leaders and the large number of Afghans who distrust Islamabad; an increased Russian presence would open the old wounds of Moscow's invasion in the 1980s; and a ramped-up Iranian role could further destabilize Afghanistan by increasing the influence of Shiites in the predominantly Sunni country. In fact, a steep U.S. drawdown and the invigorated insurgency that would likely follow would encourage all these countries to jockey for position in Kabul, contributing to regional instability. A sustained military presence would also help the United States counter al Qaeda and ISIS, both of which have established footholds in Afghanistan. Although persistent U.S. airstrikes have weakened al Qaeda's global leadership along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the organization's local branch, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, has probably recruited more Afghan and Pakistani fighters and found sanctuary in the eastern and southern parts of the country in the wake of the U.S. drawdown; its operatives are still present in Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Konar, Logar, and Nangarhar provinces. As for the other terrorist groups in AfghanistanISIS' Khorasan Province, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Lashkar-e-Taibathey, like al Qaeda, would benefit from the chaos that a growing civil war or Taliban-led insurgency would create. Seth G. Jones is director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, as well as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is the author, most recently, of Waging Insurgent Warfare (Oxford University Press). This commentary originally appeared on Foreign Affairs on June 16, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. America's relationship with Iran poses a classic geopolitical dilemma. Iran is an important regional power that pursues adversarial policies with its neighbors and represses its people at home. Yet the United States can only address key issues affecting U.S. interests if it engages Tehran wherever possible. As it did vis-a-vis the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the United States needs to pursue policies designed to preclude regional hegemony and to create a balance of power in the region, while also expressing support for human rights and engaging Iran diplomatically. If the chaos in the Middle East is to be calmed, the United States will have to work not just with traditional partners but also with competitors. Iran has contributed to the sectarian polarization of the Middle East and the conflicts that region has fostered, but it isn't the sole cause of these. Washington and Tehran are at loggerheads over Syria, but they support the same governments and leaders in both Afghanistan and Iraq. To enable productive engagement, the United States will have to work with its partners in the region to establish a favorable balance of power. This means continuing its military deployments and arms sales to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf, while asserting its rights under the new nuclear agreement to prevent Iran from making covert progress toward a weapon. At the same time, the United States should start planning a policy framework to deter Iran from restarting nuclear programs once certain restrictions in the agreement lapse. Finally, the United States and its partners must jointly compete against Iran in Iraq and Syria. Such efforts will better position the United States to engage Iran to settle regional conflicts and defeat the Islamic State. Each of us led discussions with Iran during the administration of George W. Bush, and we were able to achieve limited understandings in some areas and even active cooperation in others. The Bonn Agreement, which established the post-Taliban interim government in Afghanistan, was the apogee of this cooperation, and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without Iran's support. Notably, this success occurred in the context of the active assertion of U.S. power against the Taliban. The United States can likewise craft policies to shape the political and military contexts in Iraq and Syria. During the Obama administration, contacts with Iran have focused most heavily on nuclear issues. But these contacts occur irregularly, involve a small circle of individuals and tend to address only the most urgent issues. Secretary of State John F. Kerry may have Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on speed dial, but there is only so much that two very busy men can accomplish. In any case, Kerry will likely be leaving office in a few months, and the U.S.-educated Zarif will eventually do the same. There is no guarantee their successors will establish the same kind of rapport. U.S. policy should not be dependent on their doing so. Before he leaves office, Obama should take steps to enhance communications between America and Iran. That's why before he leaves office, President Obama should take steps to enhance communications between the two countries. The most obvious move would be to reestablish normal diplomatic relations. It is not clear that the Iranian regime would be ready to go this far, however, and such a step would be quite controversial in the United States as well. Short of that, however, the Obama administration and the Iranian government could assign middle-ranking U.S. and Iranian diplomats to the interests sections of the embassies that already represent each to the other. It is worth noting that the United States had a substantial diplomatic presence in Cuba before the resumption of full diplomatic relations last year. An even more modest measure would be for the United States to simply allow Iranian diplomats accredited to the United Nations in New York to travel to Washington on occasion. Such a gesture might be reciprocated by Iran, allowing visits by U.S. officials based in Dubai, where the United States maintains an office that monitors Iranian affairs. U.S.-Iranian engagement should certainly focus on the battle against the Islamic State, but it should also focus on the pathways to stabilizing the region. The United States should seek to help Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran come to an understanding regarding Iraq and Syria and to explore a Westphalia-like agreement to curb sectarian and geopolitical conflict. Such an agreement will not occur without active mediation from the outside. Currently, only the United States can play that role. In addition, Obama should not ignore the aspirations of the Iranian people, many of whom hope for greater freedom and contact with the world. Human rights issues should be part of the agenda for any enhanced engagement. Also, the United States should facilitate private travel between the two countries for students, scholars and ordinary citizens. The best way to do this would be to resume direct commercial flights between the two countries. This step would be of particular benefit to the hundreds of thousands of Iranian Americans and their many relatives in Iran. None of these steps would resolve the many differences between the United States and Iran on their own. Better communication does not always yield accommodation. But better communication always yields better information, and better information always permits, even if it cannot guarantee, better policy. It is difficult to see how the Middle East can be stabilized without engaging and coming to some understandings with Iran. Zalmay Khalilzad, a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W. Bush. James Dobbins, a senior fellow and distinguished chair in diplomacy and security at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, was the Bush and the Obama administrations' special envoy for Afghanistan. This commentary originally appeared on Washington Post on June 16, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 16 By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: For Iran, foreign investment is the key both to enhance recovery in aging fields and in the development of new fields, and the timetable of each is being affected by the current U.S. presidential election, Dr. Michael Tanchum, a specialist in energy geopolitics and the author of the A Post Sanctions Iran and the Eurasian Energy Architecture published by the Atlantic Council believes. While it is true that Iran needs to improve the terms of its new oil contract models to attract investors, the most significant factor affecting the timetable of foreign investments is the U.S. presidential election, Tanchum told Trend by email on June 17. The analyst believes that European international oil companies, particularly some of those that had a position in Irans energy sector such as BP, Eni, Repsol, Shell, Statoil, Total, are eager to invest in Iran. But foreign investors are waiting to see what level of continuity will exist between the policies of the next U.S. president and the policies of the current U.S. President Barack Obama, according to the expert. With one of the two major presidential candidates having declared that he would seek to renegotiate the Iran deal, there is too much uncertainty for foreign investors to finalize their decisions, Tanchum said. He noted that the next US presidents term begins on January 20, 2017 and his/her policy toward Iran will likely crystalize sometime during the first three months in office. Thus, if U.S. policy toward Iran continues on its current overall trajectory, we could see the finalization of investment decisions in Irans energy sector by the end of 2017 or in 2018, Tanchum said. Speaking about Iranian oil production, the expert noted that prior to the 2012 sanctions on Tehran, Iran was producing about 4.4 million barrels a day (mbd) but its production stood at about 2.8 mbpd or 64 percent of the pre-2012 level in January 2016. Since January 2016 when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and the P5+1 nations was implemented, Iran has increased its crude oil output to 3.8 mbd, about 53 percent of which is exported, and is on track to reach an output level of 4 mbd by the end of 2016 with a 5 percent spare production capacity, the expert said referring to official Iranian statistics. Irans accomplishment will encourage foreign investment if contract terms are sufficiently attractive and U.S.-Iranian relations continue on their overall constructive course, Tanchum said. The expert believes that the deposit in West Karoun field close to Irans border with Iraq is one of the most promising sources of new production. Over the next five years these field could increase Irans production capacity, with output ranging from 300,000 to 700,000 barrels per day. Major new fields like Yadavaran and Azadegan require greater development and therefore more foreign investment, he said. According to BP, Iran ranked fourth in the world in terms of proven oil reserves, which amounted to 21.7 billion tons at the beginning of 2016. Edited by SI In April 2016, a programme to reduce street lighting by approximately 10 percent will be introduced across Cambridgeshire, UK my home county. This will involve switching off street lights in selected areas between midnight and 6am, as part of cost-cutting measures announced by Cambridgeshire County Council. The programme is reported to reduce energy usage by 46 percent, which will amount to approximately 1.1m saved overall. Such programmes are not unique to Cambridgeshire local authorities across the UK have looked at reducing street lighting to achieve cost savings. Different measures to reduce street lighting have included switching off lights permanently, part-night lighting, dimming, and, replacing lamps with energy efficient white light. These changes have been a cause for contention amongst the public. In fact, following a public petition against the initiative, Cambridge City Council said that they would pay to keep the lights on in the city centre. Aside from fears about potential increases in traffic collisions and accidents, some of the most pressing concerns have related to fears about public safety and the potential for increased crime. But is there any evidence that street lighting can have an impact on crime? A meta-analysis of the most rigorous studies across the United States and the United Kingdom concluded that, overall, street lighting had reduced crime levels by 20 percent. One explanation was that improved surveillance of streets may help to deter potential offenders from committing offences. Perhaps most surprisingly though, street lighting had also been found to result in decreases in crime during the day as well as at night, which is linked to improved social cohesion as improved lighting may signal investment in the community. However, it is logical to ask that, if improved lighting can lead to crime reductions, does this mean that reduced lighting can result in increased crime? A particularly important question given the reported reductions in street lighting in the UK. A group of researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine recently conducted a study that explored the impact of the four street lighting adaptation strategies on casualties and crime in England and Wales. The results varied significantly across police forces but, overall, found that switching off street lighting or introducing part-night lighting appeared to have no effect on incidents of crime, while dimming and white lighting were associated with small reductions in crime. The study also indicated that there were no changes to the number of night-time traffic collisions. Based on the conclusions from this study, Cambridgeshire County Council made the decision to roll out the new street lighting initiative. However, there were some limitations to the study that should be considered. Firstly, there may have been a number of other possible factors that could have impacted crime, which the study was unable to account for, such as police interventions or the introduction of CCTV cameras in these local areas. Secondly, the research did not measure the impact of possible fear of crime. Fear of crime may result in direct tangible costs, such as additional costs related to changes in behaviour (e.g., taking taxis instead of public transport), and expenditure on crime prevention (e.g., burglar alarms). There may also be intangible costs associated with adverse effects on health, such as increased levels of stress and anxiety. Finally, the study used police-recorded crime data, which relies upon people reporting crimes to the police. Previous research on street lighting and crime has found that improved street lighting can increase the number of pedestrians walking through an area. It is feasible that reduced street lighting could have the reverse effect, deterring people from walking outside at night, which may reduce the chances of people witnessing or becoming a victim of crime. As such, apparent reductions in crime may simply reflect a reporting bias although it is difficult to assess this without measuring changes to patterns of street use. That said, additional qualitative research found that reductions to street lighting had largely gone unnoticed by the public, with little direct evidence of impact on well-being. Nevertheless, there remains limited evidence to suggest that reductions in street lighting have no detrimental impact. On the surface, it may seem cost-effective to reduce street lighting given potential energy savings. But when factoring in other costs which are less visible, such as crime and fear of crime, the picture becomes more blurred. Ultimately, the more difficult it is to measure such factors, the less likely they are to be considered in debates for or against policy decisions. Of course, there are still other intangible factors at play which could be used in the case for reducing street lighting, such as improved sleep, which is linked to better health outcomes. Further research is required to test not only the impact of reductions in street lighting (such as crime, fear of crime, collisions and other possible health outcomes), but also the costs of these impacts. With this kind of information, there will be greater clarity on some of the long-term implications of these initiatives. Matthew Davies is associate analyst at RAND Europe. This commentary originally appeared on LocalGov.co.uk on June 16, 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 launch of China Arab TV (CATV) for the growing population of Chinese people living and visiting the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, is being dubbed the first of its kind. Chinese-language channel, CATV is broadcast from Dubai Studio City via Nilesat to one million Chinese viewers across the UAE, Middle East and South East Asia. Arabic and English subtitles are provided for the predominantly news and infotainment content.Our effort is to build CATV as the informative bridge between China and Arab nations and to improve bilateral economic and trade cooperation, said Liu Haijiang, chairman, CATV.Following the satellite channels soft launch in September 2015, it now numbers 50 employees including broadcast journalists specialising in UAE and Chinese news.Our aim in the near future is to have English, Chinese or Arabic subtitles for all our programmes. While half of the programmes are with Chinese voiceover (with Arabic subtitles), half of the programme is Arabic (with Chinese subtitles), Svina Wong, vice president, CATV, told Emirates 24/7.According to the latest Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) report, 450,000 Chinese tourists visited the UAE in 2015, and almost half a million Chinese nationals reside in GCC countries.The UAE Government has been encouraging Chinese investors and tourists to come to the UAE. Policy-wise also, it is easy for the Chinese to travel to the UAE, Svina Wong added. "Inflation is the primary question for our clients in conversation," says Nudo. "What we really want to do is understand how theyre accounting for it in their portfolios." Property details: You Are Bidding On The Down Payment Only for 20 Acres in Montana! Incredible Views. Meadow. Seclusion. Great Cabin Site or Year Round. Surveyed.Parcel: This auction is for legal description: Lot 15 of Certificate of Survey No. 1023 in Pryor Mountain Estates. This is a 20.104 ACRE parcel of land in Carbon County, Montana. This land is about 45 miles south of Billings, MT or 23 miles northeast of Lovell, WY. This property is very beautiful. The land consists of a lower flat area and then runs up a... Price: $ 199 Seller State of Residence: Arizona Property Address: off Big Horn Canyon Road Type: Recreational, Acreage Zoning: Residential Location: 852**, Tempe, Arizona You will be redirected to eBay Nearby Residential Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 17 By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend: The construction of the Garabogaz plant for carbamide production in Turkmenistan's Balkan province is going on rapidly, the 'Neutral Turkmenistan' newspaper reported June 17. The project is being implemented by the consortium which includes the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation and Turkish Gap Insaat in accordance with the agreement with Turkmenhimiya state concern. The technology of Denmark's Haldor Topsoe company will be used in the new plant and this will make it possible to produce 2,000 tons of ammonia per day and 660,000 tons of ammonia per year. Ammonia is an important raw material for carbamide production. In total, the plant will produce 3,500 tons of carbamide per day and 1.155 million tons of carbamide per year, said the newspaper. Property details: Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE "Invest in Land, they are not making it any more!" --Mark TwainIt is widely believed that the most valuable investment on Earth is Earth. For your consideration, here we offer this huge 77+/- acre parcel of land in Grand Isle Maine, which is a cozy little town bordering Canada across from the mighty Saint John River. This beautiful and serene area is replete with wild life, including: Moose, black bear, deer, and a variety of birds. So if you are into o... Price: $ 9,800 Seller State of Residence: California Property Address: Gendreau Rd. State/Province: Maine City: Grand Isle Type: Recreational, Acreage Zoning: Mixed Zip/Postal Code: 04746 Location: 935**, Lancaster, California You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 04746 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 A recent article by David W. Brown in The Week caught my attention yesterday. Mostly I think because it's a different take on all those gun violence and gun control debates that churn eternally toward onward accomplishing nothing constructive. Is his idea the Answer? Probably not but it is a sign of someone trying constructively find one. So let's take a look at it. For any measure of gun control to work, it must be practical, pragmatic and constitutional. Nothing I've seen or read yet from any gun control proponent fits that criteria. All the posturing, all the extra rules and regulations they put in place, the magazine restrictions, the bullet buttonsit's all dynamic inactivity. There's a lot going on but nothing is getting done. They're feel good measures that do nothing but unnecessarily impact responsible armed citizens. Practical, pragmatic and constitutional. Let's see how Brown's idea holds up. The article is called How Alexander Hamilton solved America's gun problem 228 years ago. In it he draws inspiration from the writing of James Madison, quoting The Fedaralist Papers, which assert that local militias (like the ones apparently referred to by the Second Amendment) exists as a formidable check on federal power. Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. [Madison/Federalist 46] He then goes on to suggest that the solution to our national gun debate is to re-implement the militia system. Think of it as a civic formation like a volunteer fire department or a police department's reserves and auxiliaries, wherein one would bear the civic responsibilities that come with having rights. Want to keep and bear arms? Be a member of a local militia and remember, we're talking about a militia in its original sense, not the vilified organizations so often described as extremist or associated with the like of Timothy McVeigh. Such organizations would not and could not be bound by federal oversight or supported with federal money. That sort of involvement already defines the National Guard, which though purportedly under state control is effectively a federal reserve formation. A militia of this sort would be a state-regulated body; the NRA could even be involved in its training and administration. It's an interesting proposal, though one that will cause many to lose their minds. Suggests Brown, Proper militias would be comprised of sane men and women who own guns and wish to comply with state law. (And that is key: Militias belong entirely to the states, who regulate them accordingly.) Militias might be formed voluntarily based on like-mindedness and geography. Never forgetting their purpose the common defense hunters in north Louisiana, for example, might form their own militia which in practice would exist as a kind of society or association. State regulation of militias would seek to prevent the radicalization of any such group and thus suppress insurrectionists. Likewise, state laws and local governance from within a militia might find better luck in implementing piecemeal the gun reforms that confound federal legislatures. He goes on, Because, as Hamilton writes, formal military training would entail a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss, how might these militias spend their two days of annual assembly? How about using those days as opportunities for gun safety training. Why not bring the NRA to said meetings to conduct such training? Their political activities aside, the NRA is peerless with respect to teaching such classes. This also allows militia members to feel each other out and police one another, as all communities and associations are wont to do. He contends such organizations would, to a degree, police themselves, and in fairness he has a point. Every organization is a microcosm whose members invariably become familiar with other members strengths, weaknesses and foibles. It's certainly more likely to identify a madman, sociopath or religious extremist within its ranks than someone processing the forms for a background check. As militias would be geography based, members directly and through degrees of separation would run invariably across one another's Facebook profiles and the like. A monster like Dylann Roof, for example, might attract added attention with his pro-apartheid regalia, gun poses, burning American flags, and Confederate flag fixation. His friends might not care and might well have similar beliefs but a group of sane gun owners familiar with the consequences of inaction might be more willing to keep an eye on the guy and flag him to local law enforcement. Likewise Omar Mateen not because of his name, religion, or skin color, but because hebeat his wife and was reared by an unhinged video podcaster preaching pro-Taliban propaganda. Anyone who grew up in a small community knows: Fair or not, word of such things gets around. And a militia, as it were, would be just such a community. This might not have directly prevented the massacres committed by Mateen or Roof or Adam Lanza. The simple disruption (or rather: restoration) of what it means to own a firearm, however, might well prevent future horrors. Mobilization order from Rhode Island, 1775, ordering James Briggs Corporall Etc. to report to the house of Chris. Lipputt Esq. in readiness for duty on 21 Day Aprill AD 1775 by seven of the clock in the foor noone. [Doubler-Listman fig. 1-19] Now, compulsory militia membership (for gun ownership mind you, not the draft or conscription) is not something most gun owners would welcome or agree to, and many will claim it's unconstitutional. But is it? Maybe. Maybe not. To the good side, it might make a compelling argument for the removing all those ridiculous NFA restrictions after all, why shouldn't a militia have SBRs or suppressors? 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. Some would argue an informal, civic militia is exactly what the founding fathers meant when they said we not only could but that we should own guns. It's an interesting idea, albeit one that would never meet with public approval or make it through the legislative process. Even stipulating such a reform could effectively be made and implemented (remember, practical and pragmatic), there are a number of things that would need to be addressed. Many of them are very significant. In 2008 the Supreme Court ruled (District of Columbia v. Heller) that the term militia as used in colonial times referred both federally organized and local/citizen organized militia, the latter consisting of a subset of the people' those who were male, able-bodied, and within a certain age range So what then happens to people who don't fit that description? Females aside (read the quote), the physical condition of many Americans would preclude them from gun ownership. Let's be blunt what if you're too fat? Too old, too lazy or too much of a coward? Too crippled? Many responsible American gun owners endure maladies or disabilities that would prevent them from taking the field are they now ineligible for gun ownership? There's also the question of how it would be enacted. Another amendment to the Militia Act of 1903? Executive order? A new law? The Militia Act of 1903 divided organizations into a reserve militia of able bodied men between ages 17 and 45 and the federally supported and funded organized militia how does this address the gun-loving septuagenarian who still hunts every season with a black rifle? There is also the issue of registration, such as it is. If the country was to return to this interpretation of an armed, civil militia, there would be records of everyone involved. Not, perhaps, a specific registry of firearms by serial number, but enough for the government to know who is armed. That's important to some people. Perhaps most significantly, we have to ask ourselves (as we must of any measure): would any of this have prevented what occurred in San Bernardino or Orlando? The answer is probably no, at least with regard to the California murders. One might make an argument a militia system would've been more likely to spot Omar Mateen. After all, the guy at Lotus Gunworks says he tried to warn the FBI that Mateen (a possible customer) was acting suspicious, and there have been allegation of domestic abuse at the Mateen's home. It might be a tenuous argument, but we could discuss it. And so we're left to continue looking for answers, the the most obvious solution (to my mind) remains right in front of us ensure the ability of everyone who so desire to defend themselves and their family. The ultimate responsibility for that lies on the individual which is of course why so many of us espouse the carrying of a gun. You can applaud or excoriate Brown for his idea and dismiss his improbable idea as impractical as you will, but you cannot deny his effort to engage in civil discourse. Here's how he ends his article. I concede that the likelihood of this proposal ever surviving the gauntlet of our legislative process to be slim at best. I would consider a small chance of taking a first step in the right direction, however, to be preferable to the nothing that followed the unimaginable wholesale slaughter of first-graders at Sandy Hook. If the prevailing arguments against gun ownership could survive that unrivaled atrocity, which was conceived by a lunatic and doled out from the barrel of a rifle, then those arguments will simply never gain traction. I mean only to submit other strategies to the public debate. I hope others do as well. More like that, please. You can read Brown's article in its entirety right here. The cover photo came courtesy of this article from The Vault. Eight people were injured in an explosion probably caused by gas leak at an Asian restaurant in northern Italy on Thursday, Xinhua reported. The explosion occurred in the late afternoon at restaurant "Zuma", located in center of the city of Bologna, according to Rai state television. The first floor of the building collapsed, smashing three windows and injuring seven restaurant employees, of them one in serious condition, Rai reported. A firefighter who rushed to the spot was also slightly injured, according to ANSA news agency. A local website run by Chinese residents in Italy said the restaurant was run by Chinese nationals. The explosion was probably caused by a gas leak, according to local prosecutor Valter Giovannini. He underlined, however, that "every hypothesis was premature." According to ANSA sources, around 15 people from the Philippines were working inside the restaurant when the blast occurred around half an hour before its opening. Several residents told the local press they were impressed by the blast which sounded like an earthquake. Some of them added there had been smelling gas in the area hours before the blast occurred. Investigators were reportedly working to ascertain possible responsibilities. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkish Air Force is bombing the positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group in northern Iraq, said the message from the General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces. Turkish Air Force has destroyed 14 strongholds of the terrorists, according to the message. Earlier, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will continue military operations against the PKK until the terrorist group is completely destroyed. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The UN and the European Union listed the PKK as a terrorist organization. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Contributed photo Two hikers who became stranded on the Pacific Crest Trail due to cold weather were rescued Thursday morning by the California Highway Patrol. SHARE The rain and snow that hit the area Wednesday stranded two women hikers who had to be rescued on the Pacific Crest Trail in Shasta County just south of the Siskiyou County line on Thursday morning. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was able to land near the stranded hikers near Summit Lake Road and west of Highway 89 around 10 a.m. Tate Bailey, 21, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee; and Alex Vallett, 22, of Old Hickory, Tennessee; were cold and wet but they did not need medical attention, authorities said. Baileys mother, Jennifer Bailey, notified authorities around 7:30 a.m. Thursday after she realized her daughter was sending distress signals via a GPS device. Jennifer Bailey did not know why her daughter and friend needed help but called the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office, which then notified the Shasta County Sheriffs Office. The U.S. Forest Service also assisted in the search of the women. The unexpected rain and then snow that came in during the night and early morning covered the Pacific Crest Trail, freezing the womens clothes and gear. They were too cold to go any further and also lost sight of the trail, authorities said. Contributed photo Two hikers who became stranded on the Pacific Crest Trail due to cold weather were rescued Thursday morning by the California Highway Patrol. SHARE CHP copter rescues two stranded hikers The rain and snow that hit the area Wednesday stranded two female hikers from Tennessee who had to be rescued on the Pacific Crest Trail in Shasta County just south of the Siskiyou County line on Thursday morning. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was able to land near the stranded hikers near Summit Lake Road and west of Highway 89. Tate Bailey, 21, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee; and Alex Vallett, 22, of Old Hickory, Tennessee; were cold and wet but they did not need medical attention, authorities said. Bailey's mother, Jennifer Bailey, notified authorities around 7:30 a.m. Thursday after she realized her daughter was sending distress signals via a GPS device. Jennifer Bailey did not know why her daughter and friend needed help but called the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, which then notified the Shasta County Sheriff's Office about 10 a.m. The U.S. Forest Service also assisted in the search of the women. The unexpected rain and then snow that came in during the night and early morning covered the Pacific Crest Trail, freezing the women's clothes and gear. They were too cold to go any farther and also lost sight of the trail, authorities said. Weather aids crews fighting Pony Fire Firefighters expect cooler weather and rain to continue to aid their efforts to battle the Pony Fire on the Klamath National Forest. The fire grew to 2,706 acres by Thursday morning and remained 20 percent contained. The lightning-caused blaze is about 15 miles southwest of Happy Camp and west of Highway 96 in Siskiyou County. The cool, wet weather Thursday and Friday could help a half-inch of rain could fall by Friday, but hot weather is expected to return by the weekend and likely increase the fire activity, officials said. A containment line on the fire's northern flank, from the ridgeline of Pony Peak to Swillup Creek, held Wednesday to block the flames from moving north and protect the Crawford Vegetation Management Project. The 1,600-acre area is a forest health and fuels reduction project. Crews also are building a fire break on the fire's southern perimeter to keep the fire from moving toward residences on Highway 96. Road closures remain in effect: Pony Peak Road (14N39), Pony Peak Ridge Road (15N30), Dry Lake Road (15N28) and Bear Peak Road (15N19) from its intersection with Douglas Creek Road (15N24) westward to its end. Go to www.fs.usda.gov/klamath/ for more information and maps of the road closures. More fire information is at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4769/. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey intends to normalize the relations with Russia by mid-August 2016, the Haber7 newspaper reported June 17 citing diplomatic sources. Ankara doesn't need mediators for this purpose, said the report. The newspaper said that according to the road map worked out by Turkey on normalizing the relations with Russia, Turkish officials will take part in all official events to be held in Russia by mid-August. The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the incident with Russian SU-24 bomber. Following the incident, Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on taking measures for ensuring the country's national security and special economic measures against Turkey. Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day. In his letter to Putin, Erdogan said he wishes the Russian-Turkish relations to reach a "deserved level". --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight Virginia Anderson stands before Judge Cara Beatty Friday during a status conference on her criminal case in Shasta County Superior Court. SHARE By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight A Shasta County Superior Court judge has apparently grown weary and frustrated of all the trial delays in the case of a Redding woman accused of driving under the influence of drugs in a 2014 traffic wreck that killed motorcyclist Hayley Riggins. "You will go to trial (Oct. 25) unless hell freezes over," Superior Court Judge Cara Beatty told Virginia Lyn Anderson Friday during a brief status conference. Beatty, who won't be the judge presiding over Anderson's pending jury trial and may have believed another postponement was to be offered, made her comment in wake of a state Supreme Court denial to consider a defense request challenging the criminal charges filed against Anderson. That effort earlier forced a continuance in Anderson's trial, which had been set for March 15. There's certainly been a number of delays in the case, which has long angered and frustrated the family and friends of Hayley Riggins. Initially scheduled to stand trial Nov. 12, 2014, Anderson's trial has been postponed at least seven times. Most recently, her March trial, which was close to picking a jury, was rescheduled for Oct. 25 after the public defender's office filed an emergency writ with the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento to put the trial on hold. At the center of the writ were the felony charges filed against Anderson. She was initially charged with second-degree murder in the crash that killed Riggins, the mother of a then 1-year-old daughter. But that charge was dismissed twice after separate judges ruled that prosecutors failed to show that Anderson acted with a deliberate disregard for human life. She was later charged with DUI causing injury and a great bodily enhancement, a lesser offense than vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Although it's a lesser offense, it carries a greater punishment. And Anderson's public defenders said prosecutors, who denied the claim, circumvented the intent of the law by that change, saying her alleged conduct falls squarely within the specific statute parameters of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and she should have been charged as such. Anderson faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of the current charges against her, but would have faced about four years in prison or possibly jail if she had been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The appellate court, however, denied the public defender's office request to consider the issue, and the state Supreme Court has now done likewise. It's expected, however, the public defender's office will re-file its request with the appellate court should Anderson be convicted at trial. Police have said Anderson was driving under the influence of methamphetamine and other drugs when she allegedly ran a red turn arrow on April 24, 2014, at Buenaventura Boulevard and Placer Street and collided with Riggins. Anderson, whose criminal history includes a 1996 arrest on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, reportedly admitted to police using methamphetamine and other drugs before the fatal crash. In addition to felony DUI causing bodily injury, Anderson is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of being an unlicensed driver and being under the influence of a controlled substance. SHARE By Damon Arthur of the Redding Record Searchlight North State anglers recently formed a new Trout Unlimited chapter in Redding, and already the group has more than 250 members. With the quality of fishing in the North State, national officials with Trout Unlimited for years had been interested in getting a local branch established, said Sam Davidson, the group's communications director for California. "It was surprising to us. We have been actively looking at how to develop a chapter in Redding for some time," Davidson said. Michael Caranci, president of the new chapter, said the group is interested in working on projects that will improve habitat for fish. Members of the group participated in a Sacramento River cleanup in April, removing boatloads of trash from the river. Caranci said his group plans to work with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop projects that benefit endangered winter-run chinook salmon. State fisheries officials are so worried about the survival of winter-run chinook that for the past two years they closed a portion of the Sacramento River in Redding to all fishing from April to August. Most of the salmon spawning occurs in the river north of the Highway 44 bridge. Caranci said closing down the river was not good for trout fishing, but the local chapter is interested in doing what it can to turn things around for the salmon. "Rather than just sit back and complain about the closure, we want to do something about it," Caranci said. The group is also interested in expanding work to include habitat improvement on some of the other major streams in the North State, such as the Trinity River, Fall River, Hat Creek and rivers in Siskiyou County, he said. "Obviously we have a lot of amazing resources here for trout and salmon fishing," Caranci said. The new Redding chapter will also fold in members that previously belonged to a Del Norte County chapter that had become inactive, Davidson said. Trout Unlimited was founded in 1959 in Michigan and has expanded to 450 chapters nationwide with some 160,000 members. Davidson said there are about a dozen California chapters, with Redding the newest. Some of the group's projects around the state and nation have included decommissioning roads that are polluting streams, restoring meadows and advocating on water policy issues, Davidson said. "We got our fingers in a lot of pies having to do with trout and salmon," he said. Phil Ryan, president of the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers, said Trout Unlimited is more oriented toward conservation work, while his group is a "club" that shares information about fly tying, rod building and fly fishing. Ryan said he welcomed having the Trout Unlimited chapter in the North State. NEW YORK, NY - MAY 02: Taylor Swift attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Mike Coppola / Getty Images) Taylor Swift has allegedly found a new beau in internet-boyfriend/leading Bond candidate Tom Hiddleston. In case you somehow managed to avoid the swoon-worthy news, here's an update: The two were spotted making out, taking selfies and cuddling on a Rhode Island beach just two weeks after Swift's breakup with Adam Wiles, better known as DJ Calvin Harris. How deliciously, salaciously posh! Let's all take a second to rejoice at the endless photos of their sweater-clad outings that are sure to dominate the media for the next few weeks. But once rebound-boy Hiddleston is out of the picture, it's only a matter of time before Swift gets herself back on the dating market (girl's got sassy breakup songs to write, after all). Here are six celebs we can totally see her with. Disclaimer: Hold your angry tweets. We think T-Swift can date whomever she wants whenever the hell she wants, obviously. 1. Colin Farrell Colin Farrell speaks at Adobe EMEA Summit at ExCel on May 12, 2016 in London. (Jeff Spicer / Getty Images) Swift's tastes have skewed older and British Isle-y as of late, which makes the 40-year-old Irish skeezball Farrell a natural transition from Hiddleston's upper-crust charm. Think late-night motorcycle rides, vacations to Thailand and a bunch of leather jacketsjust a hint of edge to echo the ghosts of her John Mayer-past. Will it last? Of course not. Three torrid months, max. Advertisement 2. Andrew Garfield NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: Actor Andrew Garfield attends "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater on April 24, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) (Jemal Countess / Getty Images) Although Garfield is reportedly back with his longtime on-again, off-again girlfriend Emma Stone, he and Swift could be a good match during a relationship interim. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, it would be hard not to root for them. So lanky! So beautiful! But we could also see Swift being a fun and emotionally stable rock for the sad-eyed, brooding Garfield. Will it last? They're not meant to be, sadly, because Garfield will clearly never fully get over Stone. That said, a brief fling could be the start to a lifelong friendship for these two. Advertisement 3. Colin Jost NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 11: Colin Jost arrives at Lincoln Center's American Songbook Gala Honors Lorne Michaels at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on February 11, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images) (Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images) Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > The co-host of Weekend Update on "SNL" is funny and handsome in a very average way, which makes him a safe bet for Swift. He'd make her laugh for a few months and be on his merry way. Will it last? Nah. Too bland. 4. Michael B. Jordan HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Actor Michael B. Jordan attends the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) (Christopher Polk / Getty Images) Jordan, who is widely considered an Oscar-snub for his role in last year's "Creed," seems like just the right mixture of prestige-acting chops and boyish good looks to be a good match for Swift, plus it's likely that they'll cross paths at award shows soon enough. Bonus: He's not quite as A-list (yet) as some of her past relationships, which could afford them a little more privacy. Will it last? Maybe! Only time would tell for a match like this one. 5. Nick Jonas NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 09: Nick Jonas attends Songwriters Hall Of Fame 47th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame) (Theo Wargo / ) One Jonas could never be enough, after alland Swift's ill-fated relationship with Joe in 2008 gave us classic songs like "Forever & Always" and "Last Kiss." The younger Jonas is currently touring with noted Swift-pal Demi Lovato, so a chance meeting could be forthcoming. Will it last? Eh, probably not. Eight years seems like a long enough time gap, but the brother-to-brother thing could get weird eventually. 6. Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran performing on stage at the Rock in Rio USA music festival at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Robyn Beck/ AFP/Getty Images) If real life is anything like a rom-com (which, I mean, sometimes), Sheeran is definitely the great love of Swift's life. It's just obvious enough to be perfect: sweet, talented, average-looking best friend wins the girl in the end. Although both have sworn in the past that they're only friendsand Sheeran weirdly insisted she is too tall for himthat doesn't mean a rain-soaked profession of love isn't in their future. Will it last? Duh. Well, probably. On a campaign stop in Atlanta, Donald Trump attempted to argue that he was a stronger ally of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people than Hillary Clinton. (Chuck Burton / AP) For weeks, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has been touting his "youge!" fanbase with Mexicans, women, a slew of other minorities often times alienating them with the same breath. On Wednesday, he added "the gays" to his list. On a campaign stop in Atlanta, Trump attempted to frame this past weekend's horrific shooting in Orlando as a reason for banning Muslims and other immigrants from entering the country, yet at some point in his remarks, he attempted to argue that he was a stronger ally of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people than Hillary Clinton. Advertisement RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR "The LGBT community, the gay community, the lesbian community they are so much in favor of what I've been saying over the last three or four days," Trump said. "Ask the gays what they think and what they do, in, not only Saudi Arabia, but many of these countries, and then you tell me who's your friend, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?" Advertisement Almost immediately, the Twitterverse jumped on the phrase "ask the gays" and turned it into a viral hashtag, with the LGBT community responding with unequivocal sass, in the form of animated GIFs and video clips. If there's a social media lesson to be learned here, it's this: Ask and you shall receive. "The thing about Trump is that he's designed to make you have a reaction," said Annemarie Dooling, an engagement editor for Vox Media and an expert on internet communities. "And we either his supporters or people that disagree with him do react. He wants to get a rise out of everyone." Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, a Chicago-based LGBT nonprofit, agrees. "(His statements are) so ridiculous, it's comical," he said. "Trump has a way of oversimplifying nuanced, painful issues, and this is just another example." For Dooling, Trump's statements both in speeches and in social media are par for the course. "He's trolling," she said. "The thing that bothers me about Trump politicizing Orlando is that he's trying to turn the focus to Islamophobia. Trump has always been about 'us versus them,' but he takes every opportunity to redefine who 'us' is." Similarly, Johnson sees Trump's "ask the gays" as pandering to "a community that's not monolithic." "His call to ask the gays ignores the full diversity of our community," he said. "For months he's campaigned against Muslims, Latinos, Mexicans, but we have LGBT members who are Muslim, Latino, Mexican. He's trying to divide us, but he's not speaking to us." The hashtag is proof that "the LGBT community is too smart to fall for this," Dooling said. "While he politicizes the tragedy of Orlando, people are coming together to help each other and get things done." And therein lies the other social media lesson: Think before you speak. Advertisement RELATED STORIES: 10 ways to celebrate Pride Month Column: Love wins: Orlando attack evokes wave of support for gays Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 In 1987, Mayor Harold Washington ordered the design of a new central library. The breathtaking Winter Garden on the ninth floor is a quiet locale, perfect for logging some hours. (Stevegeer/iStock) 'Over the next 10 years we expect more than 100,000 new start ups to come up and create more than $500 billion in value and 3.5 million to be employed in these start ups.' 'And these are the start ups that will be solving India's problems.' TV Mohandas Pai, former chief financial officer and then head of HR and Infrastructure at Infosys, in his current avatar is a venture capitalist who handholds as well as invests in start ups. Pai, a founder member of Gateway House, the Mumbai-based think-tank, spoke to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com on the sidelines of The Gateway of India Dialogue in Mumbai about the start up ecosystem, his ideas for job creation for India to reap the demographic dividend, and his former boss N R Narayana Murthy's second coming. How exciting is the start up scene in India today? The start up scene in India is very exciting and transformational. As of today we have more than 20,000 start ups who have created value of $80 billion and employed 350,000 people. Only last year there were 5,000 start ups out of which 1,200 got funded and it is very important that we analyse this and create an ecosystem that will further encourage entrepreneurs. Lot of people want to be entrepreneurs and, yes, many of them will fail as we proceed, but that is par for the course. Every start up has two to three founders and we have now around 55,000 to 60,000 entrepreneurs in the start up community. Over the next 10 years we expect more than 100,000 new start ups to come up and create more than $500 billion in value and 3.5 million to be employed in these start ups. And these are the start ups that will be solving India's problems. The IT services in the last 20 years solved the world's problems, but these start ups will solve domestic problems like supply chain management, education technology, medical technology, financial technology, and many other important areas. It is hence very important that we allow the young people to realise their dreams to start companies and to struggle and create great companies. I see good days ahead for the start up entrepreneurs and the government has taken many measure, the most important being the Start Up India policy. That is helping people get recognition and sends a message to the country and parents that if your children want to start up on their own, let them go for it. If they succeed, it's good and if they fail, it is still okay; they can go to the next start up. Your failure is not a reflection of your capability; it is only a reflection of the market conditions and it is perfectly fine to fail. I think we are in for very good times led by young entrepreneurs. Could you talk about three start ups that are very disruptive ideas? There are so many of them in India. I don't want to name just three start ups, four start ups, because I may be an investor in them, or, may be I am biased but it (creative disruption) is happening and now these need to scale up in a big way. There are start ups that connect farmers to markets; there are start ups that are raising agricultural yield; there are start ups that connect handloom weavers and artisans to markets; there are start ups in deep technology trading platforms so that people can scale up; there are start ups in SaS (software as a service) which are creating global platforms out of India; there are women entrepreneur start ups that are doing cutting edge technology work; there are start ups in areas of travel and tourism and ticket booking; the start up scene in India is unbelievable. Tell us about a few start ups that you are handholding or have invested in... I like a start up in Bangalore where I am an investor called Licious because it is delivering fresh meat at 5 degree Celsius and enhancing the quality of the product in Bangalore. They are growing at a tremendous pace; I think they have got a very clear strategy and they have got some very unique food products. My favourite is Byju's Classes. Byju is India's greatest ed-tech entrepreneur. In the last four years, it has got 125,000 people on its platform, adding 25,000 people every month and is created employment for 1,000 people and raised $75 million at a valuation of $350 million. I invested in it when it was just a Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million) company with a valuation of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion). My colleague Ranjan (Pai of Manipal Education & Medical Group with whom Mohandas Pai has an investment fund called Aarin Capital) found it and I asked him if he really wanted to invest in this company and he said he believed in this company. We took a leap of faith. Byju is a natural genius. I haven't seen any person who can do math with such passion, energy and creativity. In Byju we divested and we got a very nice return: 4x (four times initial investment) in three years. Even though he raised money at a higher price when we invested, but we had an agreement that he would buy it back at 4X, but he is still walking all the way to the bank with a smile. Your advice to start ups who have failed... Just sit back and reflect upon why you failed and make sure to get your act together for your next venture. If you are a business and use technology please remember that business is important and technology is a way to do business. If you are a tech company, remember that the tech should be useful to the users and you should be able to scale it up... If you are a company into other lines of business then find out how to dominate the market by staying frugal because don't think that money is unlimited and money is going to come to lose and buy customers/ Please share with us some ideas that can help create jobs so that India can reap its demographic dividend... IMAGE: Mohandas Pai, former CFO, Infosys, is known as an outspoken social commentator. Photograph: Kind courtesy: Vishwa Konkani Kendra One is supply chain. India has to bring in supply chain efficiencies; we still spend 14 per cent in supply chain management against 6 per cent in China and 5 per cent in the US. We should use agri-tech to create jobs; we can connect all the self-employed people to the market. Ed-tech and med-tech skills will be in demand for those who will need jobs as these are fast emerging as disruptive technologies. E-commerce companies, once great value creators, seem to be losing their charm especially as stretched valuations have begun to get real... E-commerce was a phenomena because they created a new business model and used technology and capital to win loyalty of their customers. But whatever they have done they need to make sure they continue to create a unique offering and sustain themselves. I have been hearing so many people comment about valuations of these companies, but please remember that valuation is something that an investor pays; it is very real. We don't have to comment upon it and say it is high or low. If the valuation comes down, it is still fine, because that is what the investor has paid. Sometimes, valuation gets ahead of value. Then there is a bubble and then value comes back. This is cyclic and we have to live with it. This happens all the time. What would be your advice to students who have got offer letters from these e-commerce companies, but have been kept on hold because of the prevailing market condition? 'There are no guarantees in life and it doesn't mean that just because you are an IIT or IIM or ISB you are top of the heap and you are entitled to a job. There are no entitlements.' 'If you take a risk in the hope of high rewards you also face the consequences of that risk when it doesn't work your way.' It is ridiculous for students to expect that everybody will keep promises because they are selling themselves to the highest bidder. You go to an IIM or IIT... who comes on Day One? The people who offer the highest salaries! You are selling yourself to the company offering you the highest salary and so, in effect, you are taking a bigger risk for which your reward is your salaries, joining bonuses, etc. And how many of you actually join? 15 to 20 per cent of the people who get these offers don't join. So, the IITs compel people who got the offer to go join the company, they also have no loyalty. This is a mercenary system and if companies withdraw (their job offers) it is completely fine. That is a risk you have to accept. Also, when they join, is there any guarantee that they will not change their job within six months? If someone were to offer more, they will sell themselves to the highest bidder. So, all this absurdity is ridiculous. Please correct me if I am wrong, but did you say to the other interviewer that 'It was good for Infosys that N R Narayana Murthy left it? No, not good. He has left and the story is over. Look, we need new leaders, we have to look to the future. You can't have same people come back and run companies. All leaders would self destruct if they stay back after their days are over. Just walk away when your days are over and do something else. Why do we think that some people can be gods? When Murthy came the second time, I think he made a mistake. Your advice to India's prime minister and finance minister regarding the creation of jobs for India's vast young demography... An evasion of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) could attract prison of up to a year and a fine; jail term could go up to 3 years if evasion exceeds Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) Tax evaders could be exposed to harsher penalties, including a lower threshold for arrest provisions, according to the draft model goods and services tax law. A tax evasion of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) could attract prison sentence of up to one year and a fine. The sentence could go up to three years if the evasion exceeds Rs 50 lakh (5 million). Non-bailable arrest with imprisonment of up to five years could follow if the evasion value exceeds Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million), apart from fines. Ranjeet Mahtani, partner, Economic Laws Practice, said: These provisions might affect investor confidence and raises some concerns. Currently, the monetary threshold for tax authorities to conduct arrest for any offence under the provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944, is Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), and Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) under the Finance Act, 1994, (dealing with the service tax law). However, the maximum applicable jail term under these Acts is seven years. Experts feel that in the initial years, when the GST provisions would be new, the government should tackle such issues with soft hands than through threats of arrest. Pritam Mahure, a Pune-based chartered accountant, said: Non-payment could be an issue of interpretation than intention. "Thus, appropriate checks and balances should be introduced. The draft model GST law has expanded the power to arrest a person to 12 specified offences under Section 62 and Section 73 of the model law. This includes supplying goods or services without issue of invoice or issue of false invoice, issuing invoice without supply of any goods or services, not crediting collected tax amount to government, utilising input tax credit without actual receipt of goods or services, obtaining any refunds fraudulently, falsification of financial records to evade payment of tax, among others. Tax experts said despite being a fiscal statute, the power to arrest has been retained in the model Goods and Services Tax law to deter tax evasion and non-compliance. Interestingly, the government has reverted to the Rs 50-lakh (Rs 5-million) threshold to trigger arrest in the model GST law. This threshold was raised from Rs 50 lakh for service tax to Rs 2 crore in the Finance Act, 2016. This could either mean an oversight on part of the draftsman, or a flip-flop in government thinking, said Mahtani. Tax experts also said codifying penal provisions under the draft model GST law marks a change from earlier position across indirect tax laws in which penalties were more generic and subjective. Relaxation of 5/20 would impact Jet more than other airlines. Competition is set to increase on international routes, with the government relaxing the 5/20 rule which prevented domestic airlines from flying abroad unless they had at the least five years experience in domestic operations and a fleet of at least 20 aircraft. Vistara and AirAsia India have been lobbying for the relaxation of this rule. Their foreign expansion will impact Jet Airways more than other private airlines, as it earns 55 per cent of its revenue from international operations. Both Vistara and AirAsia have strong partners and the opening of overseas routes will increase competition while driving down airfares. Jet Airways had a market share of 14.47 per cent in international traffic from India in FY15, while Air India had 12 per cent and IndiGo had 3.18 per cent. International passenger traffic from India stood at 45.7 million in FY15 and Indian carriers only have a share of 37 per cent of this traffic. With the government liberalising the 5/20 rule, domestic airlines will start vying for this customer base by offering attractive fares, which will impact Jet and government-owned Air India from both revenues and earnings point of view. IndiGo and SpiceJet have much smaller international play. IndiGo, the largest domestic airline by market share, earns about 9 per cent of its revenue from foreign operations, while SpiceJet earns 22 per cent. New airlines still need to deploy 20 planes on domestic routes before being eligible to fly abroad. In the March 2016 quarter, Jet earned 55 per cent of revenue from international operations. The airline does not give a break-up of domestic and international profitability but experts say it earns half its profit from foreign operations. Relaxation of 5/20 would impact Jet more than other airlines. "However, the extent of impact will depend on several factors such as routes chosen and capacity deployed by the new airlines, competition and traffic growth. "Cities in West Asia and South East Asia are potential destinations for new airlines such as AirAsia and Vistara. "Jet Airways already has a sizeable presence in these regions and we expect it to rework strategy to face new competition, said aviation consultant and Jet Airways former investor relations head K G Vishwanath. Stock market analysts too believe that the dilution of the 5/20 rule would queer the pitch for incumbent airlines and intensify competition on international routes. Any dilution of the 5/20 rule will enable newcomers Vistara and AirAsia India to deploy capacity on international routes possibly much earlier than anticipated. This could lead to heightened competition and exert pressure on yields. Scrapping of this rule could queer the pitch for the incumbents with competition intensifying over medium to long term especially Jet Airways which has 60 per cent of its capacity (in Q4 FY16) deployed on international routes followed by SpiceJet (24 per cent) and IndiGo (10 per cent), Santosh Hiredesai of Edelweiss Securities wrote in an investor note last month. A senior SpiceJet executive said the international market is growing and there is room for more players. Already, we are competing with airlines like Emirates on the Dubai route and we do not see entry of new airlines on foreign routes as a challenge. "Going forward, we will continue to have a healthy mix of domestic and international operations, he said. Image: A Jet Airways aircraft. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters In the fourth of a five-part series, Shivani Shinde Nadhe analyses the plans and preparations in the city. Part 1: How Surat will get a grand makeover Part 2: How Bhubaneswar will transform into a smart city Part 3: Visakhapatnam dreams to become India's San Francisco IMAGE: Pune is also among the earliest to get the initial funding of Rs 200 crore from the central government. Photograph kind courtesy: Amit20081980/Wikimedia Commons Pune, the city that made it to second spot in the Smart City Challenge competition earlier this year, is not new to the concept. This is perhaps the third attempt for the city, an established hub for industries such as automobiles and information technology, to begin on a road map that will lessen its many woes with smart solutions. Around 2006, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) initiated a Citizen Facilitation Centre kiosk project, a failure. In 2007, it and infotech giant Intel announced an Unwire Pune initiative. Through this proposal, Pune, termed Oxford of the East for the large number of colleges, was to be made a wireless city. That, too, flopped. Next, the municipal corporation announced an Intelligent Transport System to streamline traffic and discipline vehicle users. It failed to pick up as the revenue-sharing model with the police department was not feasible. Pune was also first to implement a bus rapid transit system in 2008. However, it is still under implementation. Nitin Kareer, principal secretary of the state governments urban development department and chairman of Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd (PSCDCL), under whom some of the projects mentioned were implemented, is hopeful that what didnt work then will now do so. They failed as they were before their time. The situation now is much more conducive for implementation of such projects, said Kareer at the first board meeting of PSCDCL, since he took over the role. IMAGE: Pune is called Oxford of the East. Photograph kind courtesy: Kailash kumbhkar/Wikimedia Commons Promising start The preparation going into the smart city project is giving it hope. To start with, the Pune Smart City proposal was prepared by global consultancy firm McKinsey, for a fee of Rs 2.6 crore. This was followed by extensive citizen engagement, along with an association of 40 bodies such as non-government organisaitons, educational institutes and private companies. Close to 400,000 households (half the total) were reached to by 150,000 volunteers. Kunal Kumar, municipal commissioner, said at a conference that a team of 3,000 worked with him to get feedback from citizens. Close to four million in the city were reached for suggestions and almost 3.5 million responded. Pune is also among the earliest to get the initial funding of Rs 200 crore from the central government. PMC also identified the first 15 projects, whose implementation is to begin from Wednesday. The areas include transportation, water supply, drainage, electricity and area development. IMAGE: Better days ahead for Pune. Photograph kind courtesy: Kailash kumbhkar/Wikimedia Commons Criticism Even so, many politicians and social activists say citizen involvement and transparency got the least attention. Its a misnomer that the Smart City project has anything to do with the city. The way the plan has been developed, it seems it's only about a part of the city, says Vandana Chavan, Rajya Sabha member and city president of the Nationalist Congress Party. The area that has been selected caters to only 40,000 in the city, which has a total population of 40 lakh. More, this is one of the most well-developed areas. She also says the elected representatives have been kept in the dark on plan details. Social activist Vivek Velankar, founder of Sajag Nagrik Manch, points to gaps between what has been promised and what is being delivered. PMC had recently announced a PMC Care campaign, wherein citizens can call or write about any issues. Though a good proposal, such initiatives have hardly had any impact, according to Velankar. Until and unless PMC has a strong back-end machinery or a team that can act swiftly, such initiatives will not matter. IMAGE: Huge gap between promises made and implemenation. Photograph kind courtesy: Randy Breese/Wikimedia Commons Many also question on the choice of area-based proposals. Pune does not have the required 500-acre land parcel within the PMC limit. Hence the Aundh-Baner-Balewadi (ABB) area, spread over 900 acres, was chosen and which will see an investment of Rs 2,200 crore (Rs 22 billion) over the next five years. Velankar asks, On what basis was the ABB area selected? This area has seen good development and several central government initiated plans have been implemented here, he stressed. Elected representatives of the citizens have been left out. Even in the case of pan-Pune plans, no measure seems out of the box, he says. Its a concern that PSCDCLs chairman will be based in Mumbai. You have appointed a person who already is handling a very busy portfolio and he will sit in Mumbai to monitor the Smart City implementation here. Will he be able to devote time for the project? asks Velankar. Funding could experience hurdles as well. About Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) will come from the Centre and the state government will invest Rs 250 crore; the local body is to contribute a similar amount. There is no clarity on how PMC intends to raise the rest of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion). There have been talks initiated to reach out to private players but its still too early to comment on, said Kareer. IMAGE: Pune is looking at a five-year agenda. Photograph kind courtesy: Advaitk/Wikimedia Commons Action plan Kareer during the press meet after his first board meet of PSCDL sounded confident that the Smart City plan would work. Pune is looking at a five-year agenda to implement it, divided into nine phases. Of these, five have been marked as pan-city plans and the rest are area-based. Among the areas, ABB will be the region for the first implementation. Kareer notes the priorities of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) he heads has been finalised. The city through citizen participation has decided its priorities and that will not change now. The work of the SPV will be to see that the proposal and plans that have been selected are getting implemented and completed on time, he added. As for the criticism about the fact that the chairman will be sitting in Mumbai, Kareer said board meetings whenever held will have his presence. I have been told that the SPV will get a chief executive officer in the next six months. I think you need a person who is full-time dedicated to the project, he agreed. Get ready for a great safari across some of the best national parks in the country, courtesy the Indian Railways. Image: Tiger Express set for a majestic ride. Photograph kind courtesy: IRCTC The new luxury train- The Tiger Express - chugs through expansive Indian rail network taking tourists on a tranquil wildlife circuit, covering the famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. The swanky train with a dining car will also take the guests to Dhuadhar waterfall in Bedhaghat near Jabalpur. The Kanha National Park is known for tigers, Swamp Deer, and the Barasingha. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhis Safdarjung Station on World Environment Day. He took personal interest in conceptualising this train, which aims to create more awareness about the tiger and the need to protect the endangered species. Interestingly, the Kanha National Park is recognised as the source of inspiration for the famous writer Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel, The Jungle Book. Operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) the train with a itinerary of 5 days/6 nights will start from Delhis Safdarjung railway station and travel via Katani, Jabalpur, Bandhavgadh, Kanha. The train takes tourists to the famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. The Kanha National Park is known for tigers, Swamp Deer, and the Barasingha. The Indian Railways plans to launch more tourist circuit trains like elephant circuit, desert circuit through IRCTC. The Bandhavgarh National Park is home to the largest number of tigers in India. The park has a large breeding population of leopards and various species of deer. The 5 days/6 nights itinerary of the Tiger Express includes three Tiger Safaris, giving tourists an oppoutnity to see wild cats in their natural environment. Monthly trips of the fully air-conditioned train, which has been vinyl-wrapped with motifs of the wildlife, will begin from October. IRCTCs package includes journey by the exclusive semi luxury air conditioned train, accommodation in air-conditioned rooms of three star equivalent hotels for three nights (one night in Bandhavgarh and two nights in Kanha in Mogli Resorts), sightseeing and road transportation by air-conditioned vehicles, buffet meals, game safaris, inter-city transfers and travel insurance. The itinerary has a tariff structure starting from Rs 38,500. For travelling in 1AC, tariff has been fixed at Rs 49,500 for single occupancy, Rs 45,500 for double occupancy, Rs 44,900 for triple occupancy and Rs 39,500 for child with bed (5-11 years). The fares for those travelling in AC 2-tier is Rs 43,500 for single occupancy, Rs 39,000 for double occupancy, Rs 38,500 for triple occupancy and Rs 33,500 for child with bed (5-11 years). An additional surcharge of Rs 4,000 per person will be charged from foreigners for the Safari booking at Bandhagarh and Kanha. Regular monthly trips on this train will start in October this year. Animal rights group Humane Society gathered 11 million signatures as call for an end to China's Yulin Dog Meat Festival. (Photo : Getty Images) Yulin heeds the pleas of millions of animal lovers to end the public execution of dogs ahead of their controversial festival as dozens of animals were rescued prior to the event. The Yulin Dog Meat Festival, one of China's most controversial festivities, may not be the same again as the local government pledges to end public killings of "Man's Best Friend" during the event, which will begin on June 21. Advertisement Meanwhile, Chinese advocates from Humane Society International (HSI) were able to rescue animals in captivity that were going to be slaughtered for the feast ahead of the festival in Yulin. Yulin Government Vows No More Public Killing According to a report from the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress Michael Tien Puk-sun urged the NPC Standing Committee to act on the controversial animal killings during the festival, which earned the country nothing but international condemnation. While the local government of Yulin promised to work on it, they made no assurances that they can prevent their citizens from killing and eating the domestic animals since there is no law that gives them the power to do so. What they can do was to ban the people from killing the dogs in public by citing food safety issues. "This will be a very long process [to outlaw the festival] . . . but at least we won't see these heinous acts [in public]," Tien said, citing the response he got from the government. "[Mainland officials] indicated that there would be a lot of resistance if I proposed a ban on eating dogs . . . But they said there was no reason not to [prohibit] animal abuse," he added. Yulin had been killing thousands of dogs each year to celebrate the festival every summer solstice. Rescued Pets On Wednesday, the HSI revealed that its Chinese members were able to rescue five cats and 29 dogs from being butchered in Yulin, China. According to HSI's Peter Li, they found the dogs, some of which still wore dog tags, cramped in cages and waiting for their deaths. "The dogs and cats were clearly afraid, especially the older dogs who looked very fearful," he said. "But once they realized that we were not there to hurt them, but in fact we would make their suffering stop at last, they very quickly responded with licks and wagging tails." However, Li admitted that the rescue operations did not go as smoothly as they expected. "The police presence is heavy in Yulin right now, and the atmosphere is very tense, so this was not an easy rescue," he explained. The rights advocate group would find animal shelters to help the dogs and cats find a new home in China, but some of the animals may be flown to the United States or the United Kingdom. 'There seems to be a change in the governments outlook towards the SEZ' Software major Wipro on Thursday gave a petition to the inter-ministerial Board of Approval here to set up a Special Economic Zone for information technology and IT-enabled services in the Rajarhat area near Kolkata. While it has in-principle approval from the SEZ authorities, the decision of the state government is awaited. A company official met Bratya Basu, the states new Information Technology Minister, on June 8 to push its case. There seems to be a change in the governments outlook towards the SEZ, a Wipro official told Business Standard. "Its facility in the Salt Lake Sector 5 area here, where it is constructing a second building, has an SEZ status granted by the former Left Front government." In case the state government and the Board of Approval gives a go-ahead, it will be Wipros second SEZ in West Bengal. In 2009, during the Left regime, Wipro had approached the government to set up a 50-acre campus in Rajarhat, wanting SEZ status. It was provided land in New Town, Rajarhat, at a concessional rate. Wipro had invested Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million) to purchase land for the planned SEZ but it didn't make any headway with the change in government; new chief minister Mamata Banerjee was opposed to the concept of SEZs. This had also stalled a proposed campus of Infosys, which had planned to make an entry into West Bengal on the same SEZ promise. It appears the state is now willing to draw a distinction between SEZs that require huge tracts of land and IT ones where such acquisition is not required. The land allocated to Wipro and Infosys happens to be government land. In this years election manifesto of the ruling Trinamool Congress, the party had mooted plans for knowledge-based industries like IT and those that depend on intellectual resources. Coming up with special policies and schemes to facilitate the development of such industries will be our priority, the party manifesto read. In 2011, the Trinamool manifesto had said the government would not allow SEZs, to protect multi-crop land. 'The government is using the Intelligence Bureau to go after NGOs.' 'It is not only the NDA, the UPA also didn't like NGOs.' 'NGOs predominantly work with the poor. So, when you cancel an NGO, the affected are the poor, the Dalits, the tribals, the street children and the marginalised.' Ever since the National Democratic Alliance came to power, reports of NGOs being harassed emerge at regular intervals. The latest incidents involve barring former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising's The Lawyers' Collective and Teesta Setalvad's Sabrang Trust from receiving foreign funds by the ministry of home affairs. A few days ago, representatives of over 700 NGOs from all across the country met and demanded that the government stop harassing NGOs using the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and other regulatory mechanisms as tools. Mathew Cherian, below, left, chairperson, Voluntary Association Network of India, the largest federation of NGOs in the country, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com about the complaints NGOs have about the government. Recently, representatives from 700 NGOs met and complained about the harassment meted out by the government. In what way is the government harassing you? Is it only by using the FCRA? VANI, as you know is the network of 700 NGOs across the country, and we felt that of late, there has been more pressure on the NGOs from the central government. What they did first was cancel the licenses of 10,700 NGOs en masse on some flimsy reasons like somebody submitted a report a day late. All this was done without any show cause notice. Even a common criminal is served a show cause notice. That is the law of the land. This was done arbitrarily. Then they started action against Greenpeace and many other NGOs. The very recent was the cancellation of the FCRA for the Lawyers Collective and the Sabrang Trust. In the Lawyers Collective case the reason given was quite flimsy; that Anand Grover from the NGO spent $50 on an ISD call when he was in the US. Grover, Indira Jaising's husband, also is a lawyer working on the LGBT law. As it was coming up for hearing, he called his people from the US and discussed this issue before coming back from the US to argue the case. Ultimately what happened was the government cancelled the NGO's FCRA. Did you see it as the last straw before deciding to protest? Yes, this was the last straw because they cancelled the FCRA on such a flimsy ground. We are not saying you should not cancel the FCRA. Yes, if somebody has violated the law, you should cancel. The government continues to de-register NGOs in the FCRA list. They are using the Intelligence Bureau to go after the NGOs. Why do you think the NDA government is after NGOs? It is not only the NDA, the United Progressive Alliance also didn't like NGOs. The UPA was no better in dealing with NGOs. No government likes NGOs because we have more support at the local level. Civil society supports us more than they support the governments. Wherever you go, you will see that NGOs are more popular than political parties. That is why none of the state leaders also like NGOs. You mean, politicians feel threatened by NGOs? Yes, they feel threatened because we have more popularity at the grassroots level. Do you think the politicians fear NGOs using this power to attain something else? That's the key question. NGOs used to get Rs 13,500 crore (Rs 135 billion) as FCRA which has come down to Rs 7,600 crore (Rs 76 billion). Tell me can this amount destabilise a government? It is not possible. Is this country so weak that Rs 7,600 crore can destabilise it? That is overestimating NGOs by 100 to 200 per cent. These same governments go abroad and ask foreign companies to come and Make in India and ask for FDI. We are actually using this money on social causes, on poor people, the Dalits, the tribals and marginalised communities. The argument of the government is that India wants to be a trade partner and not aid partner... It is an old argument. When the Government of India wanted a seat in the United Nations Security Council, some developed countries raised the objection by asking, can you have a country that receives aid as an equal Security Council member? They said, you can have a country when it's a trade partner and not an aid partner. What they asked was, how can you beg for money on one hand and then pose as a super power? These objections were raised by the G- 7 countries. The Government of India is aware of this. So, India has been consciously cutting down on aid from foreign countries. Is it only to be a permanent member of the Security Council that the government is cancelling FCRA and cancelling NGOs? I cannot answer the question as I do not know what they think. It is basically based on the presumption that if we have to be a super power, we have to stop aid coming to the country. Is it not possible for NGOs to raise this much money within the country? It is possible. There are 300 million middle class (Indians) and it is possible to raise the money here itself. We are not saying it is not possible. But it is a fundamental right of an NGO to take the money when somebody living abroad gives you money. If a company has a right to receive FDI, an NGO also has a right to receive money from foreign sources. We want a level playing field. We are also involved in training and skilling people. We have worked in eradicating leprosy. We are involved in many programmes like building toilets. Is it because the government is not allowing NGOs to raise funds abroad that foreign funds have come down to half? When you cancel out 10,700 NGOs, naturally money coming also will drop. They have blocked 17 European NGOs from giving money to India. They have blocked the Ford Foundation from giving money to India. They have been acting strange with foreign funders also. Has it started only after the NDA came to power? When the UPA was in power, they had blocked some NGOs because of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant agitation. That was done when P Chidambaram was the home minister. If you ask me only if this government was harassing us, no, the UPA also was equally bad. They were also up to their own tricks. In fact, both the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and the Congress received money from foreign companies during the elections. And both the parties are covered under the same FCRA law. When they got notices, both the parties tried to change the law with an amendment. Do you feel various governments use FCRA as a weapon to hunt down NGOs? Yes, they are using it as a weapon. Many NGOs say the FCRA is unconstitutional. In what way is it unconstitutional? You have to look at Sections 12 and 13 of the law. Freedom of Association is a fundamental right. NGOs are fighting for legal remedies like we were associated with the RTI, right to education law, HIV/AIDS bill and the LGBT bill. When you prevent NGOs from doing so, you are preventing the marginalised from getting into association and fighting for their rights and justice. NGOs predominantly work with the poor. We don't work with the rich. So, when you cancel an NGO, the affected are the poor, the Dalits, the tribals, the street children and the marginalised. Let us hand over all this to the government and let them run it. You said the home ministry should not be the nodal authority for NGOs. Who should control the NGOs? What we are saying is the ministry of finance is the right ministry and not the home ministry. Can you imagine policemen trying to find out about finances? Do you think the survival of the NGOs is under threat? No, NGOs will survive. There are many Indians who would donate. That is not the issue. Freedom of association should be there, and we shouldn't be unnecessarily harassed. It is our fundamental right. Zakia Jafri, wife of former Congress member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 killed in Gulberg society massacre, expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict in the case on Friday, saying the court did injustice to her. She also said that she will approach the high court against the verdict of the special Special Investigation Team court which on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case. Zakia is particularly unhappy with the seven-year jail term awarded to 12 convicts and 10-year sentence to one other convict, who were held guilty for lesser offences not including murder. She is also miffed with the acquittal of 36 others in the case. I don't understand why 11 were given life imprisonment and some are given just seven or ten years of imprisonment. Why this selective approach as they all were part of a violent mob which killed people inside the society. This is wrong justice. The court did injustice to me, Zakia said while talking to reporters. I was there in the society when the violent mob brutally killed my husband (Ehsan Jafri). He was an MP, yet he was hacked to death and burnt alive in the middle of road. Todays verdict is not sufficient for such crime. I wished that court had given lifer to all of them who were involved in the crime, she said. According to her, those who were acquitted were also guilty and should be punished. My fight for justice will continue. Why these 36 were acquitted? Did they save any resident of the society? They were also part of the mob. I am not at all satisfied with todays verdict. I will approach the high court against it, Zakia said. A special SIT court in Ahmedabad on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case of burning alive of 69 people, including former Congress MP Eshan Jafri, in the 2002 post-Godhra violence. The court awarded 10-year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. However, Zakias son Tanveer Jafri said there was definitely some sense of closure at the convictions but it would have to be seen why some of the accused were not convicted. We will definitely contest in the high court some of the acquittals, he said. Former SIT chief R K Raghavan who had probed the incident, welcomed the judgement. IMAGE: A police officer fires tear gas shell towards stone-pelting youth during a clash between police and protesters at Naqashband Sahab in Srinagar on Friday. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo Two persons were injured on Friday as security forces fired teargas shells and used batons to chase away stone-pelting protesters at different places in Srinagar and Baramulla districts of Kashmir valley, police said. Azad Ahmad Mir was hit by a teargas shell on the head during a clash between stone-pelting protesters and law enforcing agencies at Bomai village in Sopore township of Baramulla district, a police officer said. He said the clashes broke out shortly after security forces killed two terrorists holed up in the village during a cordon and search operations. Intense clashes between stone-pelting youth and security forces also rocked Jamia Masjid and adjoining areas in Srinagar shortly after Friday prayers. Aqib Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Chatpora village of Pulwama district, suffered pellet injuries at Khanyar and was shifted to Soura Medical Institute for treatment, the officer said. He said condition of both the injured persons was stated to be stable. Reports of protests were also received from Hyderpora in Srinagar and Anantnag town but there was no report of any injury. Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front had jointly called for protests after Friday prayers against the alleged fake encounter in Kud, new industrial policy and separate settlements for Kashmiri Pandits and Sainik colonies. Police said a terrorist and a woman were killed and three others injured in a gunfight after security forces intercepted a Jammu-bound passenger vehicle for checking near Kud on Monday. Hailing from Bemina locality of Srinagar, the family of the slain youth Tanvir Sultan claimed that he was not a militant but a psychiatric patient since 1997 and had left for Amritsar on June 13 for the treatment of his shoulder injury. A Central Reserve Police Force commando was killed in an encounter with Naxals in the jungles of Giridih district of Jharkhand on Friday. Officials said the encounter took place in the Hesalo-Pirtanr area of the said district. During an exchange of gunfire with Maoists a commando of CRPF's elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action unit was shot. Commando B Harizen of the 203rd Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) has been killed in the encounter, they said. One more trooper of the CRPF is said to be injured in the operation as per preliminary reports, they said. A man with links to radical Islam has been arrested in southern France suspected of plotting possible attacks on American and Russian tourists and police, authorities said on Thursday, amid renewed fears about Islamic State threats to France. A judicial official said on Thursday that the man, detained Monday in the medieval city of Carcassonne, is suspected of terrorism links and remains under questioning. The official said the man told investigators he wanted to attack tourists and later police. A French security official called it a routine matter as police and intelligence services seek to avert a repeat of deadly Islamic State attacks on France last year. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss an ongoing investigation. The incident came the same day an extremist claiming allegiance to IS stabbed two police officials to death in a Paris suburb. Hundreds of police, friends and neighbors marched silently on Thursday to honor the victims, police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider. Their faces solemn and lips closed, the crowd marched from Mantes-la-Jolie, where Schneider worked, to Magnanville, where she and Salvaing were stabbed at their home Monday night. Their 3-year-old son survived the attack, which rattled France's leadership as the country is on high alert for new extremist violence. Attacker Larossi Abballa was killed in a police raid. Three people with links to Abballa are in custody and being questioned by anti-terrorism investigators. French police have described growing fear after multiple attacks targeting security officers. In a significant move, separatists have decided to hold talks with Kashmiri Pandit migrants to discuss their return to the Valley, marking their first "serious attempt" to bring back the community which was forced to leave over 26 years back due to militancy. Making the announcement during his sermons after the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said there is no precondition for the return of Pandits who are "part and parcel" of Kashmiri culture and ethos and they can support any political ideology while being in the Valley. "We have decided to form a joint committee from the resistance (separatist) camp -- both groups of Hurriyat Conference and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front led by Mohammad Yasin Malik -- which will interact with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the state and elsewhere as part of efforts to pave way for their return to Kashmir," he said. Mirwaiz said the joint committee would hear out the Kashmiri Pandits to understand their reservations about returning to their homes in the Valley. "This is not just a lip service but a serious effort for bringing the Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley as they are part and parcel of our culture and ethos," he said. The Hurriyat chairman said the separatist camp wanted the Pandits to return to their native places instead of being nestled in isolated townships. "They are free to support whichever political ideology they want...They may support India. That does not deprive them of their rights as Kashmiris," he said. This will mark the first serious effort by the separatists to bring back the Pandits who were forced to leave the Valley starting from late 1989 after the onset of militancy. At present, there are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families, who have moved from the Valley to Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country. Various governments have from time to time devised policies for return of Kashmiri Pandits but those attempts have been unsuccessful. Even the present People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party government is working on such a policy. Later, Mirwaiz led a protest rally against the new industrial policy of the state government, alleging it was part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's design to change the demography and occupy the resources of the state. "There is no clarity on whether land in industrial estates will be given to outsiders. Four statements have come from the government within a short span of time. The government will do well to make its stand clear or face the consequences," he said. Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers. "A pluralistic democracy, in India today religious tolerance is deteriorating and religious freedom violations are increasing," Robert P George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at the Princeton University and a former chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. "Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence during the past year, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," George alleged in his testimony before the subcommittee on Africa, global health, global human rights and international organisations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to inflame tensions further," he alleged. These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies have created a pervasive climate of impunity in which religious minority communities increasingly feel insecure with no recourse when religiously-motivated crimes occur, George told lawmakers. In his testimony, George said in the last year, "higher caste" individuals and local political leaders also prevented Hindus considered part of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from entering religious temples. The national government or state governments also applied several laws to restrict religious conversion, cow slaughter, and foreign funding of NGOs, he said. Moreover, an Indian constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains to be Hindus contradicts international standards of freedom of religion or belief, George argued. India has been on United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's Tier 2 since 2009. Given its negative trajectory, the USCIRF will continue to monitor the situation closely during the year ahead to determine if India should be recommended to the state department for designation as a country of particular concern, George said. In his testimony, George alleged that civil society in particular non governmental organisations receiving funds from overseas are facing difficulties. In April 2015, the ministry of home affairs revoked the licenses of nearly 9,000 charitable organisations, he noted. "For example, two NGOs, the Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace, which run conflict-resolution programmes and fight court cases stemming from the 2002 Gujarat riots, had their registrations revoked," he told lawmakers. Additionally, the US-based Ford Foundation, which partially funds the Sabrang Trust and CJP, was put on a "watch list" when the ministry of home affairs accused it of "abetting communal disharmony", he said. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Thailand Counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha after a joint press statement in New Delhi on Friday. India and Thailand on Friday decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter-terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking, besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made in New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements -- Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and a Memorandum of Understanding between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand -- were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the prime minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking, Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals, he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more diversified commercial engagement between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and Indias priorities in this field. Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority, he said. The Thai prime minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. Connectivity is also an area of priority for Indias development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples, he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two prime ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. The prime minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas, a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and research and development, it said. The Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the Central Drug Control Organiser of India agreed to cooperate in the area of pharmaceuticals. Modi welcomed the suggestion of the Thai prime minister to help train Thai youth in information technology in India. Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain, including anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication, coast guard cooperation to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indian Ocean, the statement said. In this connection, both sides agreed to work towards the completion of the negotiation for the signing of the White Shipping Agreement between the two countries. Thailand expressed interest in the Indian defence industry and its experience and expertise in the field of defence R&D and production. Both sides acknowledged the increasing threat from non-traditional security arenas and agreed to enhance substantive cooperation for action in this regard. The countries pledged to cooperate in tackling terrorism. The two leaders welcomed the progress made in the agreements on cooperation in controlling Narcotics, Drugs Psychotropic Substances, their precursors and Chemicals and Drug Abuse, it said. They agreed that close cooperation and more agreements between India and ASEAN and Mekong Sub-region are significant for the fight against illicit drugs and precursor chemicals trafficking in this region. The two PMs noted the ongoing negotiation of the MoU for cooperation between Thailand Computer Emergency Expert Team and Electronics Transaction Development Agency and Department of Electronics and Information Technology of India. Both sides welcomed the initiative for joint combined counter-terrorism exercise between the Counter Terrorist Operations Center and the National Securities Guard; and the training of Thai officers by India's Central Bureau of Investigation in cybercrime investigation and computer forensics, the statement added. In escalation of political tensions over alleged migration of Hindus from Kairana, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sangeet Som on Friday gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring them back, in an apparent bid to keep the issue alive ahead of elections in the state. As Som, who is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, and Samajwadi Party leader Atul Pradhan took out separate rallies, prohibitory orders were enforced across Shamli district and borders of Kairana sealed and paramilitary forces deployed. Both the rallies were stopped by authorities. Som warned if the SP government in Uttar Pradesh does not bring the Hindus who have allegedly migrated back, no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana. The warning came even as Shamli district administration is stated to have found that only three families left Kairana due to fear of criminals from the list of 346 families said to have "fled" due to persecution. Hitting back at Som, SP spokesman and senior cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav trashed charges of "exodus" and accused the saffron party of vitiating the communal atmosphere in UP for political gains with 2017 assembly polls in mind. Yadav proposed that a team of five "apolitical persons" visit Kairana to probe the reality. "We suggest Pramod Krishnam, Swami Kalyan, Naraina Giri, Swami Chinmayanand and Swamy Chakrapani to go and see the reality and give report," he told reporters in Lucknow. Som had started his march to Kairana from his house in Sardhana, about 60 km away, in adjoining Meerut district with thousands of followers but was stopped at the border of the town keeping in mind the situation, Meerut District Collector Pankaj Yadav said. "As a precautionary measure police and provincial armed constabulary have been stationed in heavy numbers. Section 144 is in force. No one will be allowed to break the law in this situation." Shamli District Magistrate Sujit Kumar said that prohibitory orders are enforced across Shamli district, including Kairana town, and any march or yatra with political leaders would not be allowed without permission. All entrances to Kairana have been sealed with the deployment of paramilitary forces with security officials keeping a watch on the situation. Som said he postponed his 'Nirbhay' rally after prohibitory orders were enforced. "We've given a 15-day ultimatum. Either the government gets back the people who've migrated or we'll have to take to the streets," he said. "If in 15 days they do not return we're warning that no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana or to any other place," he said. Pradhan said Som is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and it was to counter his "malicious" efforts that the SP attempted to hold their 'Sadbhavna' rally. "There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders including Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as assembly elections are near," Shivpal Yadav said. "Their only work is to orchestrate riots and let people fight with each other but the state government will not let this happen," Yadav said, adding, "be it Sangeet Som or anyone else the state government will not let anyone to plan riots. We will collect proof against them and will expose them before media soon". Rubbishing reports of migration from Kairana on communal lines, the Congress accused BJP of vitiating the atmosphere in the state to polarise votes before the polls. "Our district and city units have sent us reports as per which there is no migration. The BJP is out to vitiate the atmosphere for polarising votes at the behest of their top leadership," Congress Legislature Party leader Pradip Mathur told reporters in Lucknow. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said the yatras by the BJP and the SP on Kairana smacks of an "understanding" between the two parties to somehow vitiate communal atmosphere for reaping political benefits by instigating riots. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Md Salim said a section of Kairana's population including both Hindus and Muslims have migrated from the UP town over years due to socio-economic issues and criminalisation and not because of communalisation and demanded that the BJP apologise for its Hindu exodus claims. Take it sitting down: Job hunters turn to the traditional way of looking for work as they scan papers in front of a labor market on Feb. 27, 2016, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. (Photo : Getty Images) Looks like Chinas recent batch of college degree holders doesnt want to land a job that will make them sweat or get their hands dirty. It seems most of them desire to work inside air-conditioned offices wearing corporate attire. College graduates get better chances of being absorbed by companies in knowledge-intensive industries, according to MyCOS Research Institutes College Graduates Employment Annual Report released on June 12, reported China Daily. Advertisement In particular, industries associated with information technology experienced an increase in application last year. MyCOS Deputy Director Guo Jiao told China Daily that in 2010, 8.5 percent of graduates applied for jobs belonging in the field of telecommunication, media and information technology. In 2015, the numbers jumped to 10.5 percent. The report likewise revealed that college graduates show little interest in applying for jobs offered by labor-intensive industries. According to McKinsey & Company, a New York-based worldwide management consulting firm, China will experience a huge shortage of high-skilled workers--about 24 million fewer--by 2020, reported China Daily. High-skilled workers are those who obtained advanced vocational training or a degree from universities. Employment opportunities in knowledge-intensive industries, however, do not always guarantee a high salary package. The 2015 College Graduates Employment Annual Report named the 10 lowest-paying white-collar jobs in 2014. These 10 jobs employ applicants who hold degrees in geographical sciences (a monthly salary of 3,279 yuan), politics and government administration (3,258 yuan), nursing (3,213 yuan), horticulture and landscape design (3,199 yuan), medical imaging (3,172 yuan), history (3,165 yuan), traditional Chinese pharmacology (3,138 yuan), preschool education (3,106 yuan), clinical medicine (3,061 yuan) and traditional Chinese medicine (2,193 yuan), reported China.org. Unemployment continues to plague graduates. Many of them decide to live together in cramped rooms and keep each other company as they look for jobs. Lian Si, author of Ant Tribe (2009) and Ant Tribe II: Whose Era Is It? (2010), coined the term ant tribe to refer to groups of Chinese graduates who are jobless or are working but either underpaid or underemployed. BBC described in 2014 the ant tribe as a growing phenomenon. From 6.5 million college graduates in 2010, China welcomed 7.5 million in 2015, according to online publication Sixth Tone. Return journey for a Kashmiri girl, a medical student in Bangladesh, turned horrible as she was detained at the Indira Gandhi Airport in Srinagar on Friday after security staff saw "carrying bomb" written on her check-in luggage. The girl, a resident of Rajbagh in Srinagar city, was taken for questioning after the security staff at the airport informed the police. She was travelling from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata. Officials said the incident took place when the girl and her three friends, bound for Srinagar, landed at the airport from Dhaka via Kolkata about 11:00 AM. She was questioned while security agencies carried out background check at Bangladesh and Srinagar. The girl was released after everything was found in order by the police, the officials said. The incident was flagged by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who took to Twitter and sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia kindly look into the matter of the detention of two Kashmiri girls at Delhi airport. Their parents are very concerned. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia Any assistance and information will be greatly appreciated by their families & loved ones. Thank you in anticipation," Omar tweeted. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia The grounds, as explained to me seem rather flimsy given that they flew from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata & then detained," he said in another tweet. The home minister promptly responded with the tweet "@abdullah_omar please send the details to pstohm@nic.in." Bilal Ahmad, the father of one of the girls, said that he attempted to seek the help of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti but was refused an audience with her. "There were four girls who were returning from Bangladesh. They flew from Dhaka to Kolkata and then to Delhi. Their luggage was checked and cleared at all the airports," Ahmad said in Srinagar. "After they were detained, the airport authorities or the police did not inform their families. We fear for their safety. We have only talked to them once so far," he said. The three other girls decided to stay put with their friend and did not board the flight to Srinagar and waited till she was released. "Delhi Police released her after a few hours of questioning. However, between all this, the girls missed their connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi and will now take a flight tomorrow," the official said. A migrant labourer, arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a 30-year-old Dalit woman at Perumbavoor in Kerala, was today remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a magistrate court. Ameerul Islam was brought amid tight security to Perumbavoor Judicial Magistrate Court around 5 pm from Aluva Police Club. He has been sent to sub-jail in Kakkanad. Cops said they were likely to seek his custody after conducting an identification parade. Fearing violent response from the mob present outside the Police Club and court complex, several rings of security were thrown around Islam who was seen wearing a helmet. Before producing him in the court, he was interrogated by top officials of the Special Investigation Team probing the case. Director General of Police Loknath Behera had reached Aluva Police Club before taking him to the court. In a breakthrough in the brutal rape and murder of the woman, a law student, Islam was arrested on Thursday, 50 days after the gruesome incident. Police refused to produce the accused before media. The 23-year-old Islam, hailing from Assams Nagaon district, was taken into custody from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. He had left Perumbavoor soon after allegedly committing the murder on April 28. He was brought to Aluva Police Club yesterday for interrogation with his face covered amid tight security. Police had said the man had a pervert mindset. The woman, who hailed from a poor family, was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered at her house on April 28. The incident was in focus during Assembly polls campaign with political parties attacking the then United Democratic Front regime for tardy progress in the probe and failure to nab culprits. The Left Democratic Front government, after assuming power on May 25, had changed the investigation team and entrusted the probe to Additional DGP Sandhya in its first cabinet meeting itself. According to the police, a blood-stained footwear found from a canal near the victim's house was one of the key evidences in identifying the culprit. A DNA test conducted earlier on the saliva found from the bite mark on her back, the blood found on the chappal and the lock of her room had revealed that it was only one person who committed the crime, police have said. Over 100 police personnel had questioned over 1,500 people. Finger prints of over 5000 people were also examined and went through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before reaching the culprit. India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40, on Friday made its inaugural flight in Bengaluru in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The two-seater aircraft designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was flown by Group Captain C Subramaniam and Group Captain Venugopal for about 10 to 15 minutes at the HAL airport. Aimed at being used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services, HTT-40 made its maiden flight on May 31. Indian Air Force is expected to procure 70 HTT-40 aircraft. Detailed design phase of HTT-40 was launched in August 2013 with HAL's internal funding and was completed in May 2015. From then, it has taken 12 months to fly the first prototype. While the HTT-40 programme was almost junked during the UPA rule, Parrikar pushed both IAF and HAL to ensure development of the trainer. Complimenting the HTT-40 team for the accomplishment, he said, "when I came here in March 2015 the confidence they had infected me also. They had promised me within one year they will fly the aircraft. I'm happy that they have kept the assurance." According to HAL, the team behind HTT-40 programme is "young" with an average age of 29 when it started. The programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018, and towards this the company will be manufacturing three prototypes and two static-test specimens. Also, work has started on the stall and spin tests campaign in order to meet the project timelines. The defence minister said, "I request them to bring it still earlier, by the beginning of 2018, so that they can go into serial production in 2018 itself." He said while HAL would supply HTT-40 to the defence forces, it would be permitted to undertake certain percentage of export. Stating that HAL has proven track record in the design and development of basic trainer, Chairman T Suvarna Raju said HTT-40 was an example of the company's commitment to indigenously developing trainer aircraft for the armed forces. Responding to a query on the Air Force earlier being "hesitant" about the country-made aircraft, Parrikar said, "the initial issue was the legacy of the past ... HHT-40 was never encouraged earlier. Our government, with the initiative of Make in India, provided the support." The defence minister added that the IAF has been very positive about this development. Earlier, the IAF had blocked funding for HTT-40 by telling the defence ministry that the aircraft would be too expensive, heavy and not able to meet its needs. It had instead backed a Swiss trainer, the Pilatus PC-7 Mark II. Parrikar also said, "though price is not finalised, I can only confirm this that this flight may be 20-25 per cent cheaper than the imports." HAL chairman Raju said the programme has managed to glide through multiple headwinds and emerge successfully. He said till date the aircraft had completed seven flights, and added, "The initial performance assessment has met expectations and further flight testing is under progress." The aircraft on its third flight flew in heavy rains and successfully undertook wet runway landing. Designed to meet the current demands of the Air Force, there was also a provision to include weapons for the trainer aircraft. According to HAL officials, the indigenous content on HTT-40 is close to 80 per cent with about 75-plus systems out of the total 90 on the aircraft sourced from local players and sister divisions of HAL. They said the role of private players and MSMEs had been significant in the production of parts and assembly jigs. Almost 50 per cent of the 4,000-odd components on HTT-40 are manufactured by private players. HTT-40 aircraft weighs about 2,800 kg and has Turbo Prop engine of 950 shp class. To escape charges in a rape case, a man in Tamil Nadu commits a murder, reports A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com A 26-year-old man allegedly murdered a 'look alike' to escape charges in a rape case at Manimoortheeswaram in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district. Sudalairaj had a relationship with a Class 9 student in his village. After the girl became pregnant, the girl's family lodged a rape complaint against him with the police. The girl was a minor. Sudalairaj went missing. On May 8 a body was found near the railway track, a short distance from his home. The police detained the girl's relatives on the suspicion that they had murdered Sudalairaj. The family denied the charge. The police cremated the body the same night after a post-mortem, released the girl's relatives and registered a murder case against persons unknown. A fortnight later, one of Sudalairaj's friends, who went to Tirupur to work in a garment company, met him there. The friend immediately called up his family to tell them that their son was alive. He also informed the police following which a special team rushed to Tirupur, but Sudalairaj escaped. When the police could not locate him, they arrested his father Armugam. Sudalairaj's sister, the police said, identified the body by his mobile, wallet and shirt. The body was was badly mutilated and beyond recognition. "My brother was willing to marry the girl. I don't know how the girl's family got the idea of a rape case. They dragged the police into it and spoilt relations," Sudalairaj's sister said. Sudalairaj had studied up to Class 6 and worked as a painter with the girl's brother. "When the girl became pregnant she told her family who informed the village elders," Silvaimuthu, a cousin of Sudalairaj, told Rediff.com "There was a meeting and Sudalairaj agreed to marry the girl," he added. "But someone wanted to cause mischief and advised the girl's family to go to the police. So Sudalairaj ran away." The girl is eight months pregnant. "Even if that boy comes back, I don't want my daughter to have anything to do with him. His family is as poor as ours. I cannot ask for child support. I will not allow my daughter to be married to a murderer," the girl's mother told Rediff.com "Who do you think can help us?" she wondered. "The entire village is mocking us. What can we do but hang our head in shame," the girl's aunt added. The rape case was registered at the district's Town police station while the murder case was registered at the Dachanallur police station. Dachannallur Police Inspector T Periasamy told Rediff.com, "The girl complained after she became pregnant. We know Sudalairaj was involved with other girls too. His parents were chased out of the village after the girl accused him of rape. They are now living with their daughter." "The body that we found had Sudalairaj's clothes, ID card, wallet and mobile phone in his pocket. He (Sudalairaj) had bashed up the face beyond recognition. Even his parents believed it was him," the inspector added. The police have not identified the man Sudaliaraj murdered. The police have gone through the missing persons records from the entire state, but have not found a match yet. "We will know who that man was," said Periasamy, "only after we catch Sudalairaj," Republican Sen John McCain said on Thursday that President Barack Obama is "directly responsible" for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president's watch. McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, made the comment on Thursday while Obama was in Orlando visiting with the families of those killed in Sunday's attack and some of the survivors. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq," a visibly angry McCain told reporters in the Capitol as the Senate debated a spending bill. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies," McCain said. The gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and injured more than 50 in the attack at a gay nightclub. The 29-year-old Muslim born in New York made calls during the attack saying he was a supporter of the Islamic State. But he also spoke about an affiliate of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, both of which are IS enemies. In the aftermath of the shooting, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused Obama of putting US enemies ahead of Americans. Trump also has suggested that Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements. Democrats criticised Trump and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from his remarks. McCain is seeking a sixth Senate term from Arizona and is locked in a tight race. Questioned on his startling assertion, McCain repeated it: "Directly responsible. Because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It's a matter of record, so he is directly responsible." However, McCain later sought to clarify his comments, saying over Twitter: "To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama's national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself." Democrats quickly pounced on McCain's criticism. Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev, said McCain's "unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump." Resource-rich Namibia has assured India that it will look into "legal ways" for supplying uranium for peaceful use of nuclear energy. Speaking at the banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said the country commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not possess any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it, we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. IMAGE: President Pranab Mukherjee addressing the joint session of the Namibian parliament. Photograph: Rashtrapati Bhavan/Twitter Mukherjee said, "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations." "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs -- created in the wake of the second World War -- is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world -- so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been -- and will continue to be -- a reliable partner in your endeavors in this direction," he said. Pakistans full spectrum deterrence nuclear doctrine and increasing fissile production capability have increased the risk of a nuclear conflict with India, a Congressional report has said amid Pakistans efforts to drum up support for its Nuclear Suppliers Group membership bid. Islamabads expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called full spectrum deterrence have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal, the bipartisan Congressional Research Service said in its latest report. Pakistans nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more, said the report Pakistans Nuclear Weapons, authored by Paul K Kerr, analyst in non-proliferation, and Mary Beth Nikitin, specialist in non-proliferation. According to the copy of the report dated June 14, Pakistans nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it. CRS is the independent research wing of the United States Congress, which periodically prepares reports on issues of interest to American lawmakers for information purpose only and does not represent the official position of the US Congress. Running into 30 pages, the report comes in the wake of Pakistan lobbying at the Capitol Hill and before the US government in support of its membership to the 48-nation NSG. Though noting that Pakistan in recent years has taken a number of steps to increase international confidence in the security of its nuclear arsenal, the CRS report observed that instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question. Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistans nuclear complex. While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistans nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards, CRS said in its report meant for the lawmakers to take an informed decision. The CRS said the current status of Pakistans nuclear export network is unclear, although most official US reports indicate that, at the least, it has been damaged considerably. Referring to Pakistans NSG membership application, the CRS said according to US law, the Obama Administration could apparently back Islamabads NSG membership without Congressional approval. In the past few weeks, top Pakistani leadership, including its ambassador to the US, has been writing letters to lawmakers and meeting government officials to push for its NSG bid. The CRS said press reports indicate that the US is considering supporting Islamabads NSG membership in exchange for Pakistani actions to reduce perceived dangers associated with the countrys nuclear weapons programme. According to the report, despite Islamabads stated wish to avoid a nuclear arms race with India, Pakistan appears to be increasing its fissile production capability and improving its delivery vehicles in order to hedge against possible increases in Indias nuclear arsenal and also to deter Indian conventional military action. Indeed, aspects of the credible minimum deterrence doctrine have always been ambiguous and the concept appears to have changed over time, it said, adding that Pakistani officials have argued that a variety of nuclear arsenals could satisfy credible minimum deterrence. On introduction of tactical nuclear weapons in Pakistan's inventory, the CRS said some observers have expressed concern that such weapons could increase the risk of nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan for at least two reasons. First, Pakistani military commanders could lose the ability to prevent the use of such weapons, which would be more portable and mobile than Islamabad's current nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles. Second, Pakistani forces may launch non-strategic nuclear weapons in order to counter possible Indian preemptive attacks on those weapons launch platforms, it said. Image used for representational purposes only. The Gulberg massacre case verdict on Friday sparked a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, with both the parties accusing each other of trying to turn the issue into a tool for their own political advantage. Commenting on the verdict by a special court in which 11 convicts have been sentenced to life imprisonment, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said people who "played into the hands" of BJP leaders are now behind bars, while the actual culprits are now enjoying the power. "Those who played into hands of some political leaders are now behind bars while those who incited them for their political gains have subsequently acquired power. Those who became a tool of such leaders, who always believed in polarisation, will have to spend their lives in jail," he said. "The entire incident of Gulberg was barbaric and anti-human. Instead of protecting people, the BJP government at that time gave a free hand to (the) violent mob. The government failed to do its constitutional duty. People were incited by some big leaders of BJP, who saw the violence as a tool to acquire power," he alleged. On the other side, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya rubbished the allegations of the Congress and maintained that there was no conspiracy behind the massacre. He also accused the Congress party and social activist Teesta Setalvad of trying to use the conspiracy theory for political and personal gains. "We welcome the judgement by the court. Earlier, the court had refused to accept that there was conspiracy behind the crime. The Congress as well as people like Teesta tried hard to prove that it was conspiracy, so that it can be used against the BJP. But, court had ruled against their wishes," said Pandya. "We welcome the verdict. The court's verdict was given without any influence. It is natural that people from both the sides, accused as well as victims, may not like it. They all can approach high court. I also urge the Congress to stop politicising this issue," he further said. A special court in Ahmedabad on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case of burning alive of 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, in the 2002 post-Godhra violence. The court also awarded ten-year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. US President Barack Obama on Friday hosted Saudi Arabia's powerful Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the White House and discussed situation in the Middle East. IMAGE: Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed Bin Salman (L) arrives at the Oval Office of the White House for a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington, US. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters During the meeting, Obama expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL, the White House said in a readout of the meeting. "Reviewing recent Iraqi gains against ISIL, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed steps to support the Iraqi people, including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilisation needs," the White House said. "On Syria, they reaffirmed the importance of supporting the cessation of hostilities and a political transition away from Asad," it said. According to the White House, Obama and Mohammed agreed to build support for Libyas Government of National Accord. With regard to Yemen, Obama welcomed Saudi Arabias commitment to concluding a political settlement of the conflict, the White House said. "More broadly, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed Irans destabilising activities and agreed to explore avenues that could lead to a de-escalation of tensions. They also discussed the important role Saudi Arabia can play in addressing extremist ideology," the White House said. In WashingtonDC for almost a week, the 30-year-old Deputy Crown Prince, who is considered by many as the future leader of Saudi Arabia, met almost the entire top leadership of the Obama administration including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. The White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said the visit serves to underscore the deep strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. "Mostly, it's going to give us an opportunity to further discuss issues of mutual concern and cooperation, including the situations in Yemen and Syria, our campaign against ISIL, Saudi Arabia's national transformation programme of reforming its economy -- so all of the issues that were discussed at the GCC Summit in April," he told reporters. On Monday, Kerry hosted an Iftar for the visiting leader. Prince Mohammed also met the leaders in the intelligence community. The Saudi Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al-Saud said the visit will have a significant impact on the development of the joint interests of the two countries. He said that the timing of the visit was significant because it follows the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, an economic roadmap built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation. British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the United Kingdoms firm support for Indias Nuclear Suppliers Group membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading clubs crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britains backing for Indias membership of the 48-nation NSG in a telephone call to Modi. A Downing Street spokesperson said, The prime minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indias application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The prime minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support Indias application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity, the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate), the spokesperson said. Indias case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support Indias bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed Indias membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to Indias admission. China maintains opposition to Indias entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if the NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. Pony Ma Huateng donates an average of $2.15 billion a year. (Photo : Getty Images) In a recent Hurun Research Institute report, Chinese Internet magnate Pony Ma Huateng has been named as the country's most generous philanthropist after donating $2.15 billion in a year. According to an article by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the co-founder and president of Tencent Holdings' donations covered 100 million company shares he allocated to fund his personal charitable works. The shares are estimated at 1.39 billion yuan. Advertisement Apart from this, Ma also donated 250 million yuan from his firm's own foundation. Coming behind Ma is another co-founder of the Internet powerhouse, Charles Chen Yidan, Hurun reported. The Tencent executive donated a total of $615 million yuan, which includes a 2-billion-yuan donation to Wuhan College, a private Central China-located academic institution, and a HK$2.5 billion donation to the education award, Yidan Prize. The SCMP noted that Hurun gathered the data by surveying 3,000 Chinese entrepreneurs and businessmen. Of this figure, 1,877 made it on the "China Rich List" in 2015. Hurun's list of Chinese philanthropists reached a total of 122 entrepreneurs, which include five from Taiwan and another 13 from Hong Kong. The research stated that the accumulated donation of these individuals amounted to 35.2 billion yuan. "The donations included cash and cash equivalents pledged with legally binding commitments for the 12-month period from April last year to March, as well as significant donations up to Tuesday," SCMP wrote. Philanthropists from mainland China donated 1.9 percent of their assets on average, making them more generous than others who donated outside the area. Their non-mainland counterparts gave away 0.9 percent of their wealth on average. The report further emphasized that 55 was the average age of the top 100 mainland philanthropists. The figure was 21 years younger than those in non-mainland regions. China's roster of most generous entrepreneurs also included Hong Kong casino mogul Lui Che Woo, Foxconn's Terry Guo and property tycoon Wang Jianlin. Sharp-Roxy chairman Li Dak-sum, real estate developer Xi Jiayin, China Oceanwide Group chairman Lu Zhiqiang, and Fujian-based billionaire Huang Rulun also made it to the list. The United States on Friday called on members of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to support India's membership for the elite atomic trading club during its crucial meeting in Seoul next week. "The United States calls on NSG participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said. "I am not going to get ahead of how that is going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where it is going to go, but we have made clear that we support the application," Kirby said in response to a question at his daily news conference. India's case is being strongly pushed by the US with Secretary of State John Kerry recently writing a two-page letter to member countries who are sceptical towards India's NSG membership to "agree not to block consensus on Indian admission" to the group. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to US last week, American President Barack Obama welcomed India's application to the 48-member grouping. While majority of the 48-member group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will significantly help India to expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. A logo of Flipkart, India's largest online marketplace, is displayed on a building in Bengalaru. (Photo : Reuters) Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has been negotiating with Indian logistics firms Delhivery and XpressBees Logistics in a bid to buy or invest in a company that specializes in making deliveries for online companies, people privy to the matter said. Advertisement The Economic Times of India reported that the e-commerce giant also plans to get Paytm and pour in more capital into the Noida-based company in which it has 40-percent stake. Alibaba's moves were seen as an effort to build the "iron triangle" of business, as Jack Ma called, which is made of e-commerce, logistics and payments, as well as to compete with major players such as Amazon and Flipkart. In a statement, Alibaba said that there are huge possibilities in India, adding that the company is "committed to developing in the market for the long term." Sources said that Alibaba is expected to buy a majority, if not a significant minority share, in a logistics firm to allow it to gain control of operations, adding that the company will decide on the investment in four to six months when it is ready to launch its horizontal marketplace platform in India. Devangshu Dutta, CEO of retail consultancy Third Eyesight, said that Alibaba needed secure logistics since the infrastructure, vehicles, skills, regulation and systems are under-developed in India. "Major players such as Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart have to take direct or indirect control to ensure that their logistics capabilities evolve ahead of their own business growth curve," Dutta said. A team from Alibaba, led by Alibaba's Global Managing Director K Guru Gowrappan and Bharati Balakrishnan, the first top executive hired by Alibaba in India, has reportedly met with top executives from Delhivery and XpressBees. "They are putting their strategy in place," according to a source familiar with Alibaba's plan. "Fundamentally, they will buy and start with Paytm's online retail business, because a deal with Flipkart is not happening right now as they feel it is very expensive. They will get a logistics partner to build a network like Amazon, which is very critical." Alibaba owns around 5 percent of Delhi-based online marketplace Snapdeal, aside from its shares in Paytm. Athough it had talked with Flipkart regarding investments, the two companies were not able to reach an agreement on terms and valuation. Alibaba and Paytm are now discussing the corporate structure of the former's planned marketplace entity, where 100 percent foreign direct investment is allowed based on government regulation. "All payments will be moved to the payments bank and e-commerce will be a separate entity, which Alibaba will invest in again," the source said. "We will see some announcements over the next three to six months." 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. Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)'s home screen, which shows the various shortcuts, date, time and network options available for the user. (Photo : YouTube/ C4ETech) The Android Marshmallow update is finally rolling out to Samsung Galaxy J5(2015). The model number of the device, which is receiving the update is SM-J500F. Samsung Galaxy J5(2015) was released with Android Lollipop and now it is getting the latest update. Users waited almost eight months for Android Marshmallow to hit their phones. It is not known whether Samsung Galaxy J5(2015) will get the upcoming Android N operating system or not. Advertisement The Android Marshmallow update is releasing in phases for all the users. The whole rollout process will take approximately two weeks to reach all the customers. Users can check their Samsung Galaxy J5(2015) device to see if they are being prompted to download the update or not. To do so, they can go to Settings> About Phone> Check for Software Update. For Samsung Galaxy J5(2015) the Android Marshmallow update weighs more than 800 MB. Users are recommended to connect their device to an unmetered and stable Wi-Fi connection for a seamless download experience. They also need to connect the Samsung Galaxy J5(2015) to a power source if the battery levels are less than 50 percent. In case the smartphone battery gives way before the download is complete then the device may lose the local data and may be bricked. The build number of the Andorid Marshmallow update is J500FXXU1BPF4.It is currently rolling out in India and is expected to reach other countries like Italy, France, Germany, Holland, the United States soon. Meanwhile, Samsung confirmed that it will release the Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 update for other devices such as Samsung Galaxy J3, A5, A7 and A8, according to GSM Arena. However, the exact release schedule for these devices is not available. Android Marshmallow is the current running version of operating system for Android phone users and it is designed to give users full control over their applications. One of the most notable things in this OS is the change in the lock screen of the device, according to BGR. Watch the video to know more about the features of the Android Marshmallow OS here: Indonesia: Allow stranded Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers to disembark Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 15 June 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Indonesia: Allow stranded Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers to disembark, 15 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5763bab3bd0.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 Indonesian central government should allow dozens of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers, including a pregnant woman and nine children, who have reached the coast of Lhoknga, Aceh, to disembark and meet UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) officials, Amnesty International said today. "These people have endured a long and difficult journey already. Now that they have reached land in Aceh, they should be allowed to disembark and meet UNHCR officials," said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's Director of Campaigns for South East Asia and the Pacific. The organization fears that the Indonesian authorities may push the boat - reportedly carrying 44 people - back into international waters. The Aceh fishermen discovered the boat off the coast of Aceh province on 11 June. They subsequently reported the boat to the Indonesian navy who have not allowed the boat to disembark and the people on it to apply for asylum, arguing the asylum-seekers lack the proper documentation. They remain on the boat along the Lhoknga coast, with the threat of being forced back into international waters lingering over them. Meanwhile, the authorities have not let UNHCR officials interview them and establish the veracity of their claims and identity. "Refugees and asylum-seekers frequently travel without identity documents, as often these documents are either difficult to obtain or get lost during the journey. This has no consequence on these people's right to seek asylum. UNHCR should be allowed to register them immediately," said Josef Benedict. The boat began a hazardous journey from India after those on board reportedly fled Sri Lanka, where the members of the Tamil minority have suffered past persecution. Despite many recent improvements, there are still concerns about discriminatory practices against Tamils by law enforcement officials. The group had set out from India, more than 1,700 km away, on a boat bearing an Indian flag. They had been travelling for 20 days, headed for Australia. As they neared the coast of Aceh, bad weather struck, stranding their boat off Lhoknga. The UN Human Rights Council noted in April that Sri Lanka saw a spate of arrests of Tamils under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Arrests carried out under the PTA have, in a number of cases, failed to meet the minimum standards of due process laid out in directives by Sri Lanka's National Human Rights Commission. Tamil Sri Lankans remain deeply concerned about what they say is a persistent culture of surveillance in the north and east of the country. "We are calling on the Indonesian authorities to adopt a consistent approach in these cases. Last year Indonesia won much acclaim for providing refugees and migrants with much-needed assistance during the Andaman Sea boat crisis. It will be a grave injustice if people seeking international protection had their right to seek asylum ignored in Indonesia," said Josef Benedict. Indonesia's constitution recognizes the right to claim asylum and since 2011 the Indonesian authorities have been developing a Presidential Regulation on asylum-seekers and refugees. According to Indonesian NGOs the proposed regulation contains many positive measures, but has not yet been passed. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International Kenya: Court Upholds Forced Anal Exams Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 16 June 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Kenya: Court Upholds Forced Anal Exams, 16 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5763bb654.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. A Kenyan Court has ruled that forced anal examinations and forced HIV and Hepatitis B tests of men suspected of homosexual conduct are constitutional, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and Human Rights Watch said today. The deeply disappointing ruling would allow the government to continue these abusive practices and to use the test results as "evidence" in criminal prosecutions for consensual same-sex conduct. The ruling, by the Mombasa High Court, is a blow to petitioners who rightly argued that the forced anal examinations they were forced to endure are a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that can often amount to torture. The case was brought by two men who were subjected to forced anal exams, HIV tests, and Hepatitis B tests at Mombasa's Madaraka Hospital in February 2015. "This ruling is a devastating precedent that has now heightened the risk and fear of similar anal testing on many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer persons in Kenya," said Eric Gitari, executive director of NGLHRC. "Suspecting someone of being gay should not be grounds for stripping them of their dignity and their fundamental rights." The court accepted the argument put forward by government respondents in the case that the medical examinations were reasonable and were performed in accordance with the law. The court also ruled that the two men consented to the examinations through the lawyer who represented them at the time. Petitioners maintain that they had no idea what "medical examinations" they were meant to undergo until they arrived at the hospital, and that they signed consent forms only under duress while in police custody. They were reportedly taken to the hospital in handcuffs to have the tests conducted. The case of the two petitioners, known only as C.O.I. and G.M.N. in the petition, is unique in Kenya. Human rights organizations are aware of no other cases in which anyone arrested under Kenya's colonial-era law prohibiting "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" which is widely understood to prohibit anal sex or sex between men, but is rarely applied has been subjected to forced anal exams. However, Human Rights Watch has interviewed victims of anal exams in other countries who affirm that the authorities have relied on the abusive tests regularly or repeatedly to attempt to "prove" consensual homosexual conduct. The exams usually involve doctors or other medical personnel inserting their fingers, and sometimes other objects, into the anus of the accused. In other cases, men are ordered to strip naked and bend over or lie down with their feet in stirrups while doctors "visually" examine their anal regions. The Independent Forensic Experts Group has found that the exams are both medically worthless and a severe violation of medical ethics. Human Rights Watch has interviewed people in several countries who were forced to undergo these exams and experienced them as a form of sexual violence. The UN Committee Against Torture has called on several countries, including Cameroon, Egypt, and Tunisia, to cease conducting forced anal exams. The Kenyan case is the first case known to human rights activists in which victims anywhere in the world have attempted to use domestic courts to challenge the use of the exams. The NGLHRC, which represented the petitioners in the constitutional challenge, has filed an appeal against the ruling. "The ruling is a setback, but it does not change the Kenyan government's obligations under international human rights law," said Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights at Human Rights Watch. "Kenyan authorities should abandon these abusive practices and, if domestic law permits them, the law should be changed." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch UN health agency expresses concern over disease outbreaks in besieged city of Fallujah Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 16 June 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN health agency expresses concern over disease outbreaks in besieged city of Fallujah, 16 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5763bbd340b.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. 16 June 2016 - The low level of immunity coupled with poor hygiene conditions raises the risk of disease outbreaks, such as measles, in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, where more than 42,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of military operations in May. "The health situation inside and around Fallujah is deeply worrying," said Ala Alwan, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World Health Organization (WHO) on his visit to Baghdad. "We are concerned about the low immunity status of children as no immunization services have been possible for the past two years," he explained. Additionally, it is estimated that hundreds of pregnant women are trapped in Fallujah and are in urgent need of reproductive health services, Dr. Alwan noted. To detect and respond to any potential disease outbreaks, WHO is operating 13 early warning sites in Al-Anbar governorate and has provided health care providers with training on disease reporting and tablets to document and report possible outbreaks. Given the projected increase in humanitarian health needs in and around Fallujah, the challenge is immense, said Dr. Alwan. He met with high-level Iraqi officials to discuss the health needs of displaced persons, as well as those who remain trapped inside Fallujah, 60 km west of Baghdad. "The situation is extremely difficult and complex. Additional resources are required to provide urgent health assistance to thousands of families. WHO is disappointed by the inadequate levels of funding for the health sector, which is a major impediment to the response," Dr. Alwan concluded. WHO has established a new primary health care centre with a local partner in Amiriyat Al Fallujah to serve the internally displaced population, including the nearly 3,250 families, or 19 500 persons, living in five camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and five informal settlements around the Bzibiz area. WHO has also supported the Ministry of Health and partners in distributing 15 tonnes of medicines, medical supplies and emergency kits to the civilians moving out of Fallujah to IDP camps in Ramadi, Khalidiya, and Amiriyat Al Fallujah areas. These shipments include a wide range of life-saving medicines for acute and chronic diseases, trauma kits and surgical supplies. WHO also continues to operate eight mobile medical clinics to provide urgently needed health services in Al-Anbar governorate; three of which were deployed to provide these services in Al Fallujah IDP camps. A logo sits outside the Microsoft pavilion during the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2015 at the Fira Gran Via complex on March 3, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo : Getty Images/David Ramos) Microsoft has entered into a partnership with KIND Financial, a California-based technology for cannabis compliance, to acquire government-facing contracts for seed to sale tracking of legalized marijuana. While this is the first such partnership ventured by Microsoft, KIND has been marketing the company's marijuana tracking software to governments and businesses for about three years now. Henceforth, the company will work on the Redmond tech titan's government cloud, BBC reported. Advertisement KIND's software, called Agrisoft Seed to Sale, completes the loop between all marijuana-related regulatory agencies, businesses and financial institutions, The Weed Blog reported. According to a post on the website, the partnership between Microsoft and KIND aims at leveraging the resources of the two companies. KIND is of the view that Microsoft's cloud platform was the exclusively "designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs," the report stated. Together, they now plan to provide state, county and municipalities with purpose built solutions for tracking and tracing technology for 'seed to sale' in the cannabis industry. Former senior leader of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division Matt D. Cook will serve as 'Special Advisor on Government Matters' for KIND. The report quoted Cook as saying that he feels honored to advise KIND Government Solutions, because it assists governments in dealing with the cannabis compliance issue. Meanwhile, in an emailed statement, Microsoft told the BBC that the company supported "government customers and partners to help them meet their missions". A spokesman for Microsoft said that KIND Financial is building solutions on their government cloud to facilitate these agencies regulate as well as monitor controlled substances and items, in addition to dealing with compliance with jurisdictional laws and regulations. While the Redmond tech giant will not deal with day-to-day pot business of KIND, it will help in marketing software developed by KIND by incorporating it into its cloud platform, Azure. According to reports, KIND's Agrisoft Seed to Sale, which tracks plants, sales along with commerce, will be a part of an eight-piece software suite in the Azure Government cloud package. Currently, Microsoft is struggling to boost its desktop business and, hence, the company has been shifting its focus to the cloud and its Azure platform. While the company's commerce cloud business is on track to exceed a $10 billion annual turnover following its third-quarter earnings, the decision to partner with KIND seems to be prudent. Watch Microsoft getting into weed business below: Malian parties must make peace and reconciliation 'a reality,' UN envoy tells Security Council Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 16 June 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Malian parties must make peace and reconciliation 'a reality,' UN envoy tells Security Council, 16 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5763bbf340b.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. 16 June 2016 - Despite some progress, key challenges to implementing Mali's peace and reconciliation agreement remained, one year after the Government and armed groups signed the accord, the United Nations envoy in the West African country told the Security Council today. "Quite clearly neither the signatories nor the national mediation team are satisfied with the slow pace of implementation," said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). "This slow pace is difficult to understand and it is undermining the whole process, particularly the setting up of joint patrols," he explained.Presenting the Secretary-General's report on major developments in Mali since the end of March, he said that although the peace agreement was a package, for some time now, the process had been reduced to discussions about the establishment of an interim administration, which had been slow to occur.He added, however, that he was pleased with the compromise reached earlier this week, on the side lines of the ninth session of the Agreement Monitoring Committee. MINUSMA remained fully engaged and was ready to use its good offices to help support immediate implementation of the interim authorities."However, it is obviously clear that it is incumbent upon the parties [to] honour their commitments. It is for them to make the Peace Agreement and reconciliation a reality," the envoy emphasized.Mr. Annadif went on to say that since the 15-member Council's visit to Mali in early March, the situation on the ground had been troubling, with security having deteriorated in the past weeks. "Since its deployment in 2013, MINUSMA has faced the deadliest threats of any United Nations mission ever deployed," he said, recalling that 19 peacekeepers had died following terrorist attacks between February and May 2016, 12 of them in May.The Mission had lost a total of 26, plus a United Nations contractor, when counting deaths due to accidents and disease. The numbers were even more distressing when one added losses resulting from the Barkhane operation and those among Mali's security, defence and civil forces. "Enough is enough," he emphasized. "We cannot continue to accept the unacceptable." Most of the deaths could have been avoided if the peacekeeping contingents involved had been better equipped, particularly with armoured vehicles. The 29 May attack on a MINUSMA convoy illustrated the terrorist threat in central and southern Mali, the envoy said, warning that the trend could spread and should not be forgotten. Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Manuel Elias Despite scepticism, however, there are signs of hope that the situation had improved since 2012, Mr. Annadif stated. Since the signing of the peace accord, all signatories to the ceasefire had demonstrated unwavering compliance and made dialogue a priority. Moreover, efforts are under way to establish a sound juridical and institutional framework, he said, describing the 18 May draft agreement to create a council on security-sector reform, under the Prime Minister's office, and the adoption of a decree establishing a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration commission as significant steps forward. He also told the Council that eight cantonment sites had been set up to allow the disarmament process to begin, noting that the integration of former combatants and the management of violent extremism were also positive steps. Mr. Annadif stressed the importance of reinforcing trust and confidence among the signatory parties, pointing out that the lack of effective control on the ground by other parties in the north had led to a spike in terrorism, organized crime, banditry and intercommunal tensions. The slower the peace accord's implementation, the more likely the peace process would capsize, he said, underlining that MINUSMA's future mandate should take those challenges into account. In light of the deadly attacks, the recommendations of the strategic review called for strengthening MINUSMA's personnel and air capacity in order to save lives, he said, adding that authorizing proactive operations would ensure that the Mission could fulfil its responsibilities and protect its staff. It could not do so alone, however."Only a surge on the part of Mali's defence forces can tackle such challenges," continued Mr. Annadif, stressing that it must be part of a regional strategy in which various actors, such as the Group of 5 for the Sahel (G5 Sahel), the Nouakchott process, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and others would play a leading role. The situation in Mali impacted the whole of West Africa, he said, adding that recent attacks in Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso demonstrated the fluidity of terrorist groups and the interdependence of States in the struggle against terrorism. "I remain an optimist, a moderate one though," he said, while emphasizing that the status quo played into the hands of the enemies of peace. "The worst is behind us, but we must not forget that time is against us." Calling on all Malians to increasingly take ownership of the peace agreement, Mr. Annadif noted that people who had protested the accord in Kidal a year ago were today celebrating in Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, and calling for its implementation. Ban dismayed at actions aimed at restricting political opposition in Bahrain Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 16 June 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Ban dismayed at actions aimed at restricting political opposition in Bahrain, 16 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5763bc1640c.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. 16 June 2016 - Concerned at recent reports in Bahrain of intimidation of human rights defenders and activists for peacefully promoting human rights, as well as for legitimately exercising their rights to freedoms of expression and association, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that such actions by the State authorities could potentially damage the human rights situation in the country. According to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban is concerned at the recent re-arrest of human rights defender Nabil Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights; the dissolution of Al Wefaq, the largest opposition political grouping; and the lengthening of the sentence of Sheikh Ali Salman, of Al Wefaq. The statement also says the UN chief is dismayed by reports suggesting that human rights defenders and activists in Bahrain have been intimidated and even stripped of their citizenship for peacefully carrying out activities to promote human rights, as well as for legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association. Mr. Ban is concerned that such actions against the opposition may undermine the reforms undertaken by King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa and lessen the prospect of an inclusive national dialogue in the interest of all people of Bahrain. The statement further said that the UN chief is convinced that the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, the Universal Periodic Review and the national human rights institution are important to advance the human rights situation in the country and go a long way towards addressing the concerns and grievances of its citizens. Egyptian, French and Irish officials met in Cairo to discuss the revival of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process The past few days have witnessed diplomatic efforts in Egypt to revive the French initiative to promote peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met in Cairo on Thursday with Pierre Vimont, France's special envoy for Middle East peace, to discuss the results of the Paris peace conference held earlier this month. According to the Egyptian foreign ministrys official spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, the two officials discussed preparations for a new peace conference to be held before the end of the year. Vimont also shared with Shoukry the results of his latest talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, though no further details were given about the meetings. Vimont arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a two-day visit where he met with a number of Egyptian officials. The peace initiative proposed earlier this year by France was an attempt to revive talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis after the collapse of negotiations two years ago. The French initiative is a two-phase conference, with the first phase, which was held earlier this month, aiming to re-launch the peace process. The second phase will be an international conference attended by Palestinian and Israeli officials. However, Israel insists on having direct talks with Palestinians without international intervention. Shoukry also met Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan, who arrived on Thursday in Cairo from Israel for a two-day visit Flanagan was among the European foreign ministers and diplomats who attended a summit in Paris in May to launch the French-sponsored peace initiative, which has been rejected by Israel. Flanagan also discussed with Shoukry the latest regional developments, especially the peace process in the Middle East and Egyptian-Irish bilateral relations. The Irish foreign minister, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East, has also visited Israel and Palestinian territories to attend talks with officials from both sides about the revival of the peace process and the French peace initiative. Flanagan described his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as very positive and constructive, though Netanyahus office did not comment on the visit. Meanwhile, Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv Hazem Khairat urged on Thursday Israelis and Palestinians to move forward towards peace in a pubic conference. Khairat stated that even through the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks witnessed "stagnation"; the Egyptian government still believed that a two-state solution was possible. According to Israeli media, this was the first public appearance for the ambassador, who was appointed to his position in June 2015. Khairat added that Egypt supported the French peace initiative and considered it a major step towards regional peace. Despite the international support for the French Peace initiative, it has been rejected by Netanyahu, who said that direct negotiations were the only way to resolve the conflict. Egyptian President Adel-Fattah El-Sisi backed the Paris initiative last month and called on the Palestinians and Israelis to seize what he described as a "realistic" and "great" opportunity to reach a peaceful solution. El-Sisi said that Egypt would continue to support initiatives that lead to a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution that would help establish a Palestinian state in accordance with the 1967 borders. Search Keywords: Short link: Community leaders discuss future of mental health services in Morgan County A large crowd gathered at First Christian Church to learn about local efforts that are underway to manage growing mental health pressures facing the city and all of Morgan County. Sisi commemorated on Friday the armys victory against Israel on 10 Ramadan in 1973 by meeting with a number of senior army officials Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi commemorated on Friday the armys 1973 victory against Israel on 10 Ramadan, adding that the current ongoing efforts by the military in their fight against terrorism and the building of the modern Egyptian state are as important as the 10 Ramadan victory. El-Sisi, following Friday prayers in New Cairos El-Mosheer Tantawi Mosque, met with a number of senior army officials, saying that 10 Ramadan was the countrys biggest military victory in modern history, and that it would remain a great day in our military and national history, state news agency MENA reported. The president also praised the armys contribution in big developmental projects, along with the countrys ministries, to provide a good life for the Egyptian citizen. Search Keywords: Short link: The word 'home' evokes many images. Some may come from familiar sayings such as 'Home is where the heart is' or 'You can't go home again.' The Grace Museum currently has three exhibits based on the theme 'Finding Home.' One exhibit featuring photography, sculpture and oral histories portrays refugees from all over the world who now call Abilene home, thanks to being resettled here by the International Rescue Committee. Other exhibits show people, either in photographs or paintings, in their own environment, or home. On Thursday night, a local woman who has traveled the world and now helps women in impoverished conditions by teaching them skills, brought another dimension to 'home' during a talk at The Grace. 'Home is where you are,' said Linda Egle, founder and executive director of Eternal Threads, a nonprofit started in 2000 to teach sewing and tailoring skills to women in developing countries to help them earn money and escape exploitation. 'Where you are' could be just about anywhere on the globe for Egle. She was a United Airlines flight attendant for 27 years before resigning to start Eternal Threads, which sells products online, at its local store and at events. It was a trip to India in 1988 with a church group that set Egle on a path toward doing what she does now. On that trip, she watched indigenous women weave tote bags from fishing lines. The idea came to her that she could help them sell their products and, 12 years later, Eternal Threads was born. One of the slides Egle showed with her talk Thursday defined home as 'a dwelling place, an environment offering security and happiness.' And that is what Egle is trying to help women create through Eternal Threads. The organization also sponsors a safe house in Nepal to 'rescue, redeem, and restore' young girls caught up in sex trafficking. Egle said the home gives the girls a safe place to recover and also to learn a trade so that they can earn an income and not be so susceptible to traffickers. But it does even more. 'It creates a sense of community to work together,' Egle said. Other slides featured Eternal Threads' partners, who have been developed over the years. They are in numerous countries, including Ghana, Afghanistan and Uganda. Egle said she has noticed in her travels that whenever she is invited into someone's home, no matter how primitive, the hosts show hospitality another hallmark of 'home.' 'No matter how poor they are,' she said, 'they will offer you something.' Some of the girls who lived in the safe house in Nepal painted a colorful mural on a wall that demonstrated their idea of home. In the safe house, they learned a skill and earned enough money selling wares to eventually go back to their village. They titled their mural, 'Freed From the Cage.' It showed birds flying out of cages into a tree that had houses in it symbolic of their escape from sex trafficking and going back home. The cheerful mural also said something else about home. The girls made a home of the safe house and they left with the skills and confidence to start a new life in their home village. 'Home is not a place,' Egle said. 'It's a feeling.' Halloween events, fall festivals pack October in Abilene, Big Country From family-friendly to frightful, there are plenty of opportunities to don the costumes and scare up some treats. Credit President Obama for finally using the words he has desperately tried to avoid during his presidency. He correctly called the mass shooting in an Orlando gay nightclub Sunday morning, which killed 49 and injured 53, 'an act of terror.' It was, writes The New York Times, the 'deadliest attack on a gay target in the nation's history.' Discredit to the president for avoiding linking the attack to ISIS and Islamic terrorism, even though the shooter, Omar Mateen, reportedly called 911 during the rampage and 'pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.' Jihadists everywhere quickly celebrated the carnage on the Internet and, reports israelnationalnews.com, ' ... the al-Amaq agency which functions as ISIS's propaganda and media wing claimed that 'the attack ... was carried out by an Islamic State fighter.'' The president used the tragedy to make another pitch for stronger gun laws. Does he believe that someone who claims to be on a mission from Allah would not be able to obtain guns and explosives illegally? Mateen had been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's radar in 2013 and 2014 but reports The Daily Beast, the FBI 'subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.' NBC News learned that Mateen traveled twice to Saudi Arabia in 2011 and 2012 'to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca,' according to a spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Ministry of the Interior. Once again, we are reactive rather than proactive. The pattern following these terrorist attacks is now familiar. First comes extreme caution in which we say very little and refuse even to speculate about what seems obvious, followed, after the fact, as in the Fort Hood shooting, which was dubbed 'workplace violence,' by an attempt to quickly change the subject. Next comes the obligatory news conference in which a quickly produced imam or 'expert,' speaking for the Muslim community, is trotted out to say that the latest incident has nothing to do with Islam, which is a peaceful religion, and that we should all embrace unity. Omar Mateen's father, Seddique Mateen, initially claimed there was no religious motivation behind the killings, but The Washington Post reported the father 'is an Afghan man who holds strong political views, including support for the Afghan Taliban.' Muhammad Musri joined law enforcement officers at the news conference in Orlando. He is connected to the Islamic Society of Central Florida, which is connected to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an Islamic umbrella organization that some believe has ties to terrorist groups. Muhammad Musri's mosque was even used for a fundraiser that collected $55,000 for Hamas. There is also a 2011 video of Musri in which he blames the United States for Sept. 11. People such as Omar Mateen are not so much 'lone wolves' as 'known wolves.' But before law enforcement can legally act, it's often too late. In wartime, certain liberties have been suspended to protect the country. This may be one of those times. Or should we wait until our enemies obtain a weapon of mass destruction? Congress should declare war on all terrorist groups. Websites that promote ideologies that encourage terrorist acts should be shut down. No more mosques should be built in the U.S. until we gain an upper hand against radical Islamists. It does no good to say most Muslims are peaceful if you have no mechanism in place to act against or even identify those who are not. On 'American Idol,' Randy Jackson would often say of a contestant that he or she was 'in it to win it.' We don't appear to be in it, but our enemies are. Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned candidates in the US presidential election against questioning the Islamic republic's nuclear deal with world powers, his official website reported on Tuesday. "We do not violate the nuclear accord... candidates in the American presidential election are threatening to tear up the nuclear deal. If they do so, we will burn it," he told visiting dignitaries. Republican candidate Donald Trump has called the nuclear agreement "catastrophic". In March, Trump said that if elected his first foreign policy priority would be to dismantle the deal and what he said was Tehran's global "terror" network. The nuclear agreement signed in July last year between Iran and the P5+1 group -- the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- came into force in January. Under it, Iran has limited its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of many international sanctions. Tehran accuses Washington of not actively promoting relations between Iran and international business, especially banks. "The other party had to lift sanctions but has not done so. The question of banking has not been regulated... we are unable to recover oil revenues and other capital we have in other countries," Khamenei said. "The Americans are not applying a large part of their commitments as we have done," he said. Iran complains that major international banks, particularly in Europe, are reluctant to do business with it for fear of US punitive measures. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, at the Oslo Forum in Norway where he is due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, urged Washington to lift "psychological" barriers to Iran doing business. "I think that while on paper the US has lifted all sanctions, the psychological aftermath associated with many years of sanctions remains, and I think the US should play a more active role to remove them," he said. Zarif said he would raise the issue when he met Kerry on Wednesday. Search Keywords: Short link: I am supposed to be writing about a shooting in Orlando, but my thoughts keep circling back to a funeral in Louisville. About the shooting, you have doubtless already heard your fill of grisly details. Suffice it to say that in the dark hours of Sunday morning, a Muslim man armed with a military-style assault rifle opened fire on Latin Night at a gay nightclub, killing 49 people, wounding dozens more. The atrocity, the biggest mass shooting in American history, ignited another dreary spasm of Islamophobia, led by Donald Trump. In short order, the presumptive Repugnant Party candidate for president bragged about 'being right on radical Islamic terrorism,' suggested that President Obama is sympathetic to terrorists and renewed his call for a ban on Muslim immigration, though he did not explain how that would have stopped the killer, who, like Trump, was born in New York City. For good measure, Trump's Islamophobia was met by the homophobia of one Roger Jimenez, a Baptist preacher in Sacramento who told his congregation it was 'great' that '50 pedophiles were killed today' and went on to call for the government to 'round them all up and put them up against a firing wall and blow their brains out.' So yes, this is what I need to be writing about today, the hatred, the division and the rhetorical and actual violence they spawn. But I keep coming back to that funeral for Muhammad Ali. Perhaps you caught some part of the ceremony on television the Friday before the shooting. If you did, perhaps you were struck, as I was, by the fact of ministers, rabbis, Iroquois spiritual leaders, a Jewish comic, a black TV personality and a white politician born in segregated Arkansas, all coming together under one roof to honor an African-American Muslim. Perhaps it spoke to some deep part of you of the potentialities beneath our animosities, the commonalities within our separations. We are taught to regard the animosities and separations as definitive and unavoidable, part and parcel of what it means to be human. That this is a lie is reflected in all the tributaries of color, faith and tribe that flowed together to honor Ali. Animosities and separations are not conditions you are born with. Rather, they are conditions you choose. Jimenez, sadly, made that choice. So did Trump. And so did the man who walked into that nightclub and butchered all those people. They are all alike. Only in degree and choice of weapon do they differ. And as appalled, sickened and repulsed as the massacre leaves me, I am also disgusted by the response from these people in putative positions of responsibility and by the fact that their enablers on the political right will justify, rationalize or otherwise make excuses for these acts of human malpractice. I am tired of chalking this sort of thing up to ideological disagreement. This is not about ideology. No, this is about the mainstreaming and normalizing of hatred in ways not seen for more than 50 years. It is about how people deserve to be treated, about whether we are a country where the exclusion and even execution of vulnerable peoples are bandied casually about from platforms of authority or whether we are a country with the courage of its convictions. I don't expect much from a mass murderer. But you'd like to think you can hope for a little I don't know grace, dignity, statesmanship from a preacher and a would-be president. Is simple decency too much to ask? God help us, if it is. Last Friday saw all sorts of people cross all sorts of cultural lines to pay tribute to a man they all somehow recognized as one of their own. It offered shining proof of what human beings can be. Then came Sunday, and an awful reminder of what we too often are. Email Leonard Pitts, a columnist for The Miami Herald, at lpitts@miamiherald.com. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... Shelling from Yemen has wounded two people in southern Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's civil defence agency said late Thursday, in a rare breach of calm along the border. The civil defence's Twitter account said the shelling occurred in the Tawal area of Saudi's Jazan region, without providing further details. Dozens of civilians and Saudi soldiers were killed in fire from Yemen along the border after a Saudi-led military coalition launched operations in March 2015 against Iran-backed Houthi rebels who overran much of Yemen. The Houthis are allied with elite troops loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The border has been relatively calm since March when local tribes brokered a truce. United Nations-mediated peace talks between the government of President Abd-rabbo Mansour Hadi and the rebels started two months ago in Kuwait. Negotiations have so far failed to achieve a major breakthrough. Search Keywords: Short link: Two US-backed fighters opposed to the Islamic State (IS) group were killed in air strikes in Syria that Washington has blamed on Moscow, a monitor said Friday. One Syrian and one Iraqi died in Thursday's raids on a camp in Homs province near the border with Iraq, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The strikes in Al-Tanaf targeted a meeting of combatants supported by the US-led coalition that was held "to coordinate the fight against IS in Syria and Iraq", Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. The Syrians belonged to the New Syrian Army, trained by the British and the Americans in a coalition camp in Jordan, while the Iraqis were tribal fighters, he said. The coalition is supporting twin offensives in Syria and Iraq against IS Militants who declared a cross-border "caliphate" in 2014. A senior US defence official in Washington earlier accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in Al-Tanaf and said the incident raised "serious concern". "Russian aircraft have not been active in this area of southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity," the official said. The Observatory said it was not the first time that Russia had targeted US-backed rebels since launching an aerial campaign in support of Syria's regime in September. The Britain-based monitor -- which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information -- says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved. Moscow says that it targets "terrorists" in its raids, but it has been accused of hitting non-Militant rebels in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Moscow and Washington are sponsors of a nationwide ceasefire between the regime and non-Militant rebels implemented in February that hangs by a thread. Russia's defence ministry said late Thursday that it had not carried out any strikes targeting opposition forces included in the ceasefire, without mentioning Al-Tanaf. Syria's five-year war has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions. Search Keywords: Short link: While world media attention focuses mainly on opposing military forces in the tension-ridden South China Sea, a mostly quiet but dangerous fishing war in the region has been leading to clashes and confrontations. This is partly because of the buildup of an aggressive Chinese fishing fleet that gains cover from and works closely with the Chinese military and coast guard forces. But one underlying cause is a growing appetite for fish both in China and in Southeast Asia even as fish stocks decline in the region. A series titled Fish Wars published by the Straits Times of Singapore in April this year summed up the situation well by saying that growing competition among fishermen in the region is fueling rows over maritime borders and fishery rights. At the same time The Washington Post reported from the region that fishermen are increasingly at the front line of the South China Sea disputes. This has meant an increase in confrontations between Chinese fishing boats and those of fishermen from several other countries in the region, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. High stakes The stakes are high for all of the countries bordering the South China Sea. The South China Sea is larger than the Mediterranean Sea and is believed to harbor large oil and gas deposits. Most important to the United States and other major trading nations such as Japan, ships passing through this region carry more than $5 trillion in cargo to and from the growing economies of East and Southeast Asia. Seafood resources are sometime overlooked as major assets for the surrounding nations, but they are an important source of employment and much-sought-after food. According to a study done by the University of British Columbia in 2015, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam alone account for more than 330,000 fishing vessels in the South China Sea. Together they provide employment for more than 1.8 million fishermen. And those numbers are likely to be an underestimate given the significant number of small-scale and unlicensed fishers working in the region. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the serious clashes in the region between fishing vessels have occurred between Chinese boats on the one hand and boats from the Philippines and Vietnam on the other. The fishing fleets from these three countries greatly outnumber those deployed by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Stratfor, a U.S.-based firm that provides strategic analysis and forecasts, predicts meanwhile that China will keep expanding the military role of its fishing fleet. Chinas rivals in the South China Sea will also rely on civilian fleets to aid in their assertion of territorial rights and claims, says Stratfor in an analysis published on June 16. This will then raise the risk of short, sharp crises unfolding as the disputed waters become more congested, the firm says. Hundreds of thousands of tiny fishing boats are difficult to track, direct and control, says Stratfor, adding that China has little assurance that they can be trusted to act on Chinas behalf without starting a messy international incident. To fix matters, the Chinese government has created a special maritime forcefishermen equipped with light arms, better ships, and better monitoring equipment. Chinas maritime militia Chinas maritime militia has for a number of years been under-studied and often overlooked. But thanks to pioneering research done by Andrew S. Erickson and his colleagues at the U.S. Naval War College, we now know a great about how the militia operates. In an article published in the International Institute for Strategic Studies magazine Survival, Ryan D. Martinson, a scholar at the war college, explains that China deploys unarmed or lightly armed maritime law-enforcement ships to perform escort missions. These include Chinese fishing trawlers, seismic-survey ships, and drilling rigs. These operationsare an integral, but under-studied, part of Chinas strategy to advance the countrys position in its maritime disputes, says Martinson. China claims jurisdiction over nearly two million square kilometers of water in the South China Sea. And much of this territory is claimed by other states, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. Three types of forces perform escort operations for civilian activities in disputed waters in the region: the Chinese Navy, maritime-law enforcement forces, and the maritime militia. Most maritime law-enforcement vessels are unarmed, or only lightly armed, allowing them to operate aggressively without conjuring up the specter of gunboat diplomacy, Martinson says. Maritime militia, comprising mostly civilian fishermen are paid to contribute to escort operations. They are most effective at warding off fishing vessels from other countries. What next? In the short term, analysts are watching for a ruling, expected soon, from the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on a case made by the Philippines against claims made by China in the South China Sea. China is a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the SEA (UNCLOS). But Beijing insists that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction in the case and has signaled that it wont be bound by any decision that it makes. In his article, Martinson says that China is currently motivated in large part by desires to exploit oil and gas resources and may begin to do in the Spratly Island chain China, Taiwan, and Vietnam each claim all of the Spratly Islands. There is evidence that Chinese policymakers may already be preparing for oil and gas development in the Spratlys Recent investments in the Chinese Coast Guard cutter fleet are certainly consistent with ambitions of greater economic expansion in these waters, he says. China has reclaimed land and built facilities on the Spratlys. A wide range of experts seem to agree that China's long-term aim is to dominate the South China Sea regardless of resistance from the United States and several Southeast Asian nations. So we can expect China to keep pushing on several fronts to expand its control over the territory it claimsin the air, on the ground, and with submarines under the sea. But it's important to remember that China's fishing fleet will often be on the front lines and several steps ahead of everyone else. Dan Southerland is RFAs executive editor. A court in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang on Friday handed down jail terms of just over a decade each to two veteran members of a banned opposition party after finding them guilty of subversion, their relatives and lawyers said. China Democracy Party (CDP) activist Lu Gengsong, 60, was jailed for 11 years by the Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou after pleading not guilty to charges of "incitement to subvert state power." Fellow CDP member Chen Shuqing, 52, was handed a sentence of 10 years and six months on the same charges. "It's just finished," Chen's wife, who gave only a surname Zhang, told RFA. "Chen Shuqing was jailed for 10 years and six months, with deprivation of political rights for four years." "Chen Shuqing plans to appeal," she said. She said the defendants weren't permitted to speak during the sentencing hearing, adding, "I think that's unfair." Chen's lawyer Fu Yonggang confirmed the sentence. "They didn't wait for any statements. They just took Chen Shuqing away when they had read out the sentence," Fu said. "Chen has said all along that he doesn't care how long his sentence is. He'll continue to appeal for as long as they find him guilty." Lu Gengsong's daughter, who declined to be named, said he may also appeal, a process which is largely symbolic in China's judicial system. "My father is extremely unhappy about this, and he will be talking to his lawyer about whether or not to appeal," she said. Lu's wife Wang Xue'e said the sentencing was the first time she has seen her husband since the trial. "I couldn't have imagined [such a long sentence]," Wang said. "He's not guilty of any crime." "An 11-year sentence is far too harsh." 'Hard to understand' Lu and Chen were detained within a few weeks of each other in September and October 2014. At their trial in September 2015, prosecutors cited articles published by the activists overseas, as well as their attendance at a meeting with other activists and a condolence event. Lu's wife said the move was likely a form of retaliation for his advocacy work on behalf of ordinary people with grievances against the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Chen's lawyer Fu Yonggang said the defense had argued throughout that the writing of articles and online posts doesn't constitute incitement to subversion. "They are just labeling it as 'incitement to subvert state power,'" he said. "It's very hard to understand; I think it's because of some ideas in President Xi Jinping's speeches, which turn into dogma and from dogma into policy." A history graduate from eastern China's Zhejiang University, Lu taught at a police college before being expelled in 1993 because of his pro-democracy activities. Since then, he has published several books, and is best known for A History of Chinese Communist Party Corrupt Officials, published in Hong Kong in 2000. Chen, a veteran of the 1989 pro-democracy protests, had previously served a four-year jail term on the same subversion charge, from which he was released in September 2010. 'Felt like weeping' Fellow CDP activist Zou Wei, who evaded surveillance from state security police in a bid to attend the sentencing, was detained by police on his arrival at the court buildings, he told RFA. He said he was saddened by the news of Lu and Geng's sentences. "I felt very heavyhearted when I heard the news," Zou said. "I am ashamed of my country for doing something like that." "But I have a lot of respect and admiration for Lu and Chen. I know that they will appeal, even though this will do little to improve the persecution faced by members of the CDP." A small group of supporters gathered at the back gate of the court buildings to show support, while others were prevented from leaving home by police. "They wouldn't let us in the front door, so we stood outside the back gate for a while," a supporter surnamed Liang told RFA. "There are police cars on both sides of the road, with 20 or 30 officers standing guard even around the back." "If we take out our cell phones to take photos, they snatch them away from us." He added: "I felt like weeping when I heard about the sentences; they are really barbaric." Others sentenced earlier Chinese political activists first tried to set up the CDP by applying for an official permit from the Hangzhou civil affairs bureau in December 1998, but the attempt ended with the sentencing of three of the group's founders to lengthy jail terms. Zhejiang dissident Wang Youcai, Wuhan-based Qin Yongmin, and Beijing-based Xu Wenli were sentenced, respectively, to 11, 12, and 13 years in prison on charges of "instigation to subvert state power." Also sentenced were Sichuan-based Liu Xianbin, Beijing-based Zha Jianguo, and Hangzhou-based Zhu Yufu, Chen Shuqing, and Wu Yilong, all since released, though Liu has been redetained. Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai were exiled to the United States on "medical parole" on Dec. 24, 2002, and March 4, 2004, respectively. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Grace Geng, 23, is the daughter of dissident rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who remains under house arrest since his release from prison in August 2014. She recently traveled to Hong Kong and Taiwan to launch her father's book, Stand Up China 2017, a harrowing memoir of his time in prison. Gao, 52, has said the book is his way of continuing his resistance to human rights violations by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Overseas rights activists say that since the book launch, Gao has gone missing from the rural cave-dwelling where he was guarded round the clock by China's state security police. Geng spoke to RFA in a series of recent interviews, which are translated and extracted here: I remember that the state security agents would live in our house and watch the family, and every day they would search my schoolbag before I left for school to see if there were any 'dangerous or forbidden items' in it. They would mess it up, and then I'd have to tidy it up again while I was on the bus. That was how each day would begin. Seven state security agents would sit waiting for me outside the classroom, and they'd stop me from joining everyone else outside in the playground at recess. They even took the door off the girls' toilets so I couldn't escape. After my father was released, the spies moved out of our home and set up outside our front door. But it was only a change from surveillance in the home to surveillance outside it. One day, my father came home. I had never spoken to him before about what my life was like, but I was very unhappy that day, and I self-harmed with a razor blade. It wasn't that I wanted to die. I wanted to protect myself, because I hated my life. It was so bad that I had become numb, to the extent that I wasn't really sure if I was dead or alive. There was a lot of blood, so I went to get some tissue paper to clean it up, and I saw my father standing behind me. He had been there the whole time and he was wiping away tears. After that, I decided never to do anything so selfish again. On the day we left, I had no idea that my mother was taking us away from China, escaping. I just thought I was going to school as normal, and I got dressed and reading. My father gave me a very big hug before turning away. I stood there watching him, wondering where he was going, and then he turned back again and came back to me, before hugging me again and kissing me on the forehead. Then he brought my brother over and kissed him once on each cheek. Then he left without looking back. My father never spoke about the persecution he had suffered. Later, by phone, I asked him why he couldn't be like other fathers, why he didn't act as a light in our lives. He asked me to give him a few more years, then he would come back and light up our lives again, though maybe not very brightly. It wasn't until his book came out that I really started to understand what he meant by "another few years." Maybe he still will come back to us ... to light up our lives. Ever since Xi Jinping came to power ... we have seen huge numbers of rights lawyers persecuted. This is very bad. Reported by Hsia Hsiao-hwa for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Chung Kuang-cheng for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. A screengrab taken from a televised report by the Ministry of Public Security shows Bounthanh Thammavong at the Vientiane Supreme Court. The family of a Polish citizen of Lao heritage jailed in Laos for criticizing the government has failed to file a court appeal before a deadline requesting that he be pardoned, an official from the Lao Peoples Supreme Court in the capital Vientiane said Thursday. Lao authorities sentenced Bounthanh Thammavong, a 52-year-old democracy activist, in September 2015 to nearly five years in prison under Article 65 of the penal code for disseminating propaganda against the government with the intention of undermining the state in a Facebook posting. His family is not in Laos and has not filed an appeal with the court for his pardon, the official who declined to give his name told RFAs Lao Service. The court informed them of their rights in fighting the justice process, but they did not contact the court, and now the time for filing an appeal has expired, she said. After the court issues a verdict, the accused has the right to file an appeal within 20 days, she said. The official went on to say that Bounthanh must remain in jail in accordance with courts decision until there is a change in his case and the Prison Department of the Ministry of Public Security considers any conditions under which his sentence can be reduced or grants him a pardon, she said. Jail visits Bounthanhs wife, Barbara Paklak-Thammavong, who has submitted a request to Polands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the Lao government about Bounthanhs case, said officials from the Polish embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, have been visiting her husband in jail. I meet an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs once a week to get an update on my husband, Paklak-Thammavong, who is now in Poland with their two daughters, told RFA on Wednesday. Paklak-Thammavong has been urging the Polish government to intervene in the matter by pressuring Laos for her husbands release or transferring him to a prison in Poland. Last October, a Lao Foreign Ministry official told RFA that although Laos and Poland have not signed an extradition treaty, the two governments could still agree to a prisoner transfer. But in Bounthanhs case, he would have to serve one year of his sentence in Laos first before he could be transferred. Bounthanh had been forced into exile from Laos and subsequently became a citizen of Poland, where he founded the Organization of Lao Students for Independence and Democracy. He relocated to Laos in 2010 to run a business dealing with foreign investment after receiving assurances from Lao officials that he would not face arrest on his return. Bounthanhs case was the first under which a person was sentenced to jail time after a government decree that went into effect in October 2014 prohibiting online criticism of the government and the ruling communist party and setting out stiff penalties for netizens and internet service providers who violate controls. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Holding the Chinese national flag and carrying photos of Chinese national leaders, Tibetan farm women marched this week outside Tibets regional capital Lhasa to protest the confiscation by authorities of their farmland, sources in the region and in exile said. Over 100 women from Gachoe village in the Tibet Autonomous Regions Lhundrub (in Chinese, Linzhou) county protested in front of county offices on June 13, a source living in the area told RFAs Tibetan Service. They carried photos of five Chinese leaders and a national flag and marched through the streets, shouting, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Only women participated in the protest out of fear that Chinese police would crack down on any men taking part, he said. Tibetan farmers have been driven to desperation by authorities confiscation of their land, with amounts paid in compensation far less than the amounts originally offered, he said. The Chinese authorities had promised to compensate the farmers at the rate of 200,000 yuan [U.S. $30,352.] for each mu of land, but they have only been given about 20,000 yuan [U.S. $3,035]per mu, the source said, adding that the farmers are now demanding at least 180,000 [U.S. $27,316] yuan per mu. So they are calling out now for proper compensation, and are shouting that Chinese development plans will drive them into poverty for generations to come, he said. New cities planned Also speaking to RFA, a Tibetan source living in India confirmed that Tibetan farmers in Lhundrub county are being driven to protest because of Chinese moves to take away and destroy their fields. New cities are being built in the area, and the farmers are being tricked in various ways into giving up their land, the source said, citing contacts in the Lhundrub area. In December, RFA sources reported that Chinese authorities had ordered the destruction of houses built in traditional style in Lhundrub and two other counties outside Lhasa, with their replacement by Chinese-style dwellings scheduled for completion in five years. Demolition and construction was set to begin this year in Lhundrub, Tagtse (Dazi), and Maldro Gongkar (Mozhugongka) counties, one resident of the area, speaking on condition of anonymity. We are being forced to accept and support the plan without any choice, the source said. Reported by RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. A Tibetan monk previously detained and then released by police in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province has been taken into custody again, vanishing in detention with no word of his whereabouts given to his family, a Tibetan source in the region said. Choesang Gyatso, a monk of Lutsang monastery in Mangra (in Chinese, Guinan) county in the Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was seized by police at his monastery on May 29, a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service. The reason for his detention is unknown, and no information is available about his present condition though friends and relatives are asking where he is being held, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. News of Gyatsos detention was briefly delayed from reaching outside contacts due to communications blocks imposed by Chinese authorities in the area. Gyatso, who had been detained once before for about a month and then freed without explanation, leads an association set up to promote education among young children in Tibetan nomadic areas, the source said. He is also the editor of a journal titled The Sound of Hoofbeats, he said. Education programs set up in Tibetan areas are sometimes deemed illegal associations challenging Beijings rule, and China has jailed scores of Tibetan writers and educators for asserting Tibetan national and cultural identity, especially since widespread protests swept Tibetan areas in 2008. Reported by Chakmo Tso for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. The dispute over the final resting place of the remains of Nikola Tesla, the scientist and inventor, has flared up again. The debate has been raging since 2006, and pits the Serbian government and the Orthodox Church against sections of the public and the scientific community. The inventor's ashes have been on display in an elegant gold-plated urn at the Tesla Museum in the Serbian capital Belgrade since 1957. However, in a recent meeting between Patriarch Irinej, the primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and President Tomislav Nikolic, the idea of relocating Tesla's ashes to the temple of St. Sava -- originally proposed a few years ago -- has been resurrected. The urn is supposed to be placed in the portico of St. Sava's church and a monument to Tesla is planned for the area between the church and the library. Belgrade-based science reporter Slobodan Bubnjevic considers the initiative to move Tesla's ashes to the church of St. Sava as objectionable now as it was before. "The urn belongs to the Nikola Tesla Museum," he said. "That had been [Tesla's own] wish, and the wish of his heirs, those appointed by Tesla to take care of his remains. It would be a cultural travesty on the part of the Orthodox Church [to have the ashes moved]." 'The Son Of A Priest' Meanwhile, the editor of the Orthodox Church magazine Ljubomir Rankovic, in conversation with RFE/RL in Belgrade, insisted that St. Sava's church would be the ideal repository for Tesla's remains. "Vracar Hill holds symbolic meaning for all Serbs as the location of the monument to one of the most important Serbs of all time," he said. (St. Sava was the first archbishop and founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Next to the church is a monument to Karadjordje, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule.) "Bearing in mind that Tesla was the son of a priest, and grew up in a priestly family, I see no reason why the urn of such a great scientist should not be placed on that hill. Not that the hill would in some way enhance Tesla's greatness, but because of the light that such a move would bring to all Serbs." Light, of course, has already been given not just to Serbs but to the world, partly thanks to Tesla, who was instrumental in the development of electric power. Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Museum is an important location in its own right, and has received more than 1 million visitors since its opening in 1952. In 2014, a protest against the removal of Tesla's ashes attracted thousands of citizens of Belgrade. A Facebook campaign, "Leave Tesla Alone," started almost immediately after the announcement, and gathered tens of thousands of supporters on social media. WATCH: Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Museum I feel strongly that Tesla's ashes should stay in the museum. The museum is Tesla's temple, and its door is open to people of all ages, genders, religions, nationalities, and races. The museum must respect Tesla's wishes and those of his family, according to the museum's director Vladimir Jelenkovic. "Dr. Milica Trbojevic and Sava Kosanovic, Tesla's niece and nephew, made the decision to transfer the urn from New York [where he died] to Belgrade in 1957, and to have it exhibited in the Nikola Tesla Museum," he said. "That was also the desire of Tesla's sister's great-grandchild, William Terbo, the only surviving relative of Tesla." The church meanwhile wants to emphasize Tesla's Orthodox connection, highlighting the fact that his father was a priest. Ethnic Dimension There is also an ethnic dimension. Tesla's identity has been the subject of a long-running dispute between Serbs and Croats. (Tesla was an ethnic Serb from Croatia.) It appears that the Orthodox Church wants to put an end to this by placing the famous scientist's remains under the roof of the most important church in Serbia. But Tesla himself provided the best answer to the question of his identity. In response to a message from Croatian politician Vlatko Macek, in 1936, Tesla sent a telegram that read: "Thank you very much for your greatly appreciated congratulations. I am equally proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian fatherland." Tesla was born into an ethnic Serb family in Smiljan, a small town in what was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and now Croatia. He became a U.S. citizen in 1891. One among a number of recent tweets regarding the proposed move captured the feelings of many in Belgrade: "Tesla belongs to the world, not a decoration in a church." The dispute could take another turn with the approach of the July 10 anniversary, when the scientific community will mark 160 years since Tesla's birth. It will be another test for Belgrade civil society. The church hierarchy seems intent on enlisting the famous scientist's legacy in its ongoing efforts to stoke Serbian nationalism. Bearing in mind the power and political influence of the Orthodox Church in Serbia, it will be an uneven fight. Russia on Friday condemned a US diplomatic cable calling for military strikes against the Syrian government, as Washington again accused Moscow of bombing US-backed rebels in the war-torn country. Russian officials criticised the so-called "dissent channel" cable signed by a group of US diplomats urging strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime, which it accuses of persistently violating a shaky ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that attempts to overthrow Assad would not "contribute to a successful fight against terrorism". "This could plunge the region into complete chaos," Peskov said. Deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that attacks against the Syrian regime would be "at odds with (UN) resolutions". "We need to negotiate and reach a political resolution on the basis of international law, which was agreed upon at the UN Security Council," Interfax news agency quoted Bogdanov as saying. The cable calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons", according to the New York Times, laying bare stark divisions in Washington policy circles on the Syrian conflict. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that the US diplomatic cable could "not but cause concern to any sane person". Moscow in September launched a bombing campaign in Syria to support long-time ally Assad, and the West has accused Russian forces of targeting the opposition with air strikes in an effort to prop up the regime. A US official in Washington, requesting anonymity, on Thursday accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in southern Syria. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement late Thursday that it carried out no air strikes on groups that had cooperated with Russia or the United States in the previous 24 hours. Washington and Moscow have publicly vowed to work together to persuade Assad to negotiate a settlement with his opponents, but the US has frequently expressed exasperation about what it sees as Russia's less than full commitment. Search Keywords: Short link: Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Serbia as the cash-strapped Balkan country seeks funds for infrastructure projects to spur growth. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and government officials welcomed Xi on June 17 as he landed at Belgrade's airport. Serbian leaders have described the three-day visit -- the first by a Chinese president in some 30 years -- as historic. Serbia has enjoyed good relations with China since the 1990s, when Belgrade was economically isolated for its role in the conflicts that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia. Since 2009, when the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement, China has invested more than $1 billion in Serbia. From Serbia, Xi will head to EU-member Poland before wrapping up his tour in Uzbekistan, where he will attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Ukrainians have increasingly woken up to the sound of suicide drones as Russia turns to Iranian-made imports to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Now they may have another deadly Iranian weapon to worry about -- ballistic missiles. Cheap but effective, Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 "kamikaze" drones have already made a deadly impact in Ukraine. If U.S. intelligence assessments pan out, Russia will soon be able to supplement its use of Iranian suicide drones and its own cruise and ballistic missiles with powerful short-range Iranian Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles. Coming as the Kremlin is reportedly struggling to maintain its depleted stockpile of aerial weapons as it ramps up strikes, the missiles would potentially boost Russia's ability to continue its costly air campaign. Jeremy Binnie, a Middle East defense specialist at the global intelligence company Janes, said having more missiles gives Russia the ability to sustain the bombardment against Ukraine." Going Ballistic The Fateh-110, which was unveiled in 2001 and has a stated range of 300 to 500 kilometers, was developed from a heavy artillery rocket dating from the 1980s. To increase the weapon's accuracy, the Fateh-110 was given a guidance system and movable fins that allow it to be steered as it approaches its target. The Zolfaghar, which debuted in 2016 and also has guidance capabilities, comes from the same family as the Fateh-110 but boasts a much longer range due to its use of a lighter carbon-fiber airframe and a smaller warhead. Binnie said the Zolfaghar's use against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in eastern Syria confirmed that the missile was capable of reaching at least 650 kilometers, which he said is "a statement of how much the Iranian tactical missile program has really advanced over the years." Iran's claim that the Zolfaghar can travel even farther -- up to 700 kilometers -- would put the western Ukrainian city of Lviv within range of strikes launched from Russian territory, while the more powerful Fateh-110 could potentially hit the city from Belarus, which has served as a staging ground for Russian attacks. While there has been no indication that Russia plans to purchase launching systems from Iran, Binnie suggests that the Russian military could pair the missiles with existing equipment because the Iranian launchers were adapted from a Soviet-era system. "It might be possible for the Russians to quickly adapt some old equipment they have lying around into launch systems," Binnie said. The Iranian military, he added, fitted the Soviet system to trucks, allowing for mobility and concealment. "Those civilian trucks can be covered over to make it hard to spot that they're actually missile launchers," Binnie said. 'Lawnmowers' And 'Mopeds' Iranian military drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been homing in on targets across Ukraine since late August, according to the United States. The buzzing sound of the Iranian Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones, built with off-the-shelf components, have earned them derisive monikers such as "lawnmowers" and "mopeds." But the slow-moving, low-flying drones, which are maneuvered to crash into their target, have proven themselves capable of hitting their mark both in terms of military effectiveness and cost. It is capable of extracting or delivering attrition and damage when launched, but it costs little compared to other UAVs that Russia has in its own arsenal," said Samuel Bendett of the Virginia-based Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). Ukraine alleges Russia has ordered 2,400 of the Iranian suicide drones, and its military has claimed to have shot them down in great numbers, often using conventional anti-aircraft guns or even small-arms fire. But their ability to be launched in bunches of five -- often from the cover of civilian trucks -- improves their chances of reaching their target. "The Ukrainians are stopping most of these, but the whole point of these drones is that they fly in a large mass," Bendett said. "The air defense does not always catch all of them. All it takes is for several or even one to make it through." The estimated range of the Shahed-136 varies, but Iran says it is capable of traveling 2,500 kilometers. The slightly smaller and older Shahed-131, which has been used by Huthi rebels in Yemen to attack Saudi targets in the Arabian Peninsula, has been estimated to have a range of 900 kilometers, according to tests conducted by the Ukrainian military. Ukraine's Defense Ministry has published multiple images of downed Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks, and the Ukrainian National Guard on October 19 claimed to have shot down a Shahed-131. Ukraine has also claimed to have shot down a more advanced Iranian combat UAV, the Mojer-6 drone capable of carrying out both reconnaissance missions and aerial strikes within a range of 200 kilometers. There have also been reports of Russian interest in obtaining Irans Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 combat drones. "When launched from any territory that Russia controls or is allied with -- anywhere from the south, from the Donbas, from Belarus -- they're able to strike a lot of Ukrainian targets," Bendett said. In addition to the U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia will soon boost its arsenal with Iranian ballistic missiles, as first reported by The Washington Post on October 16, the White House on October 20 said that Iranians are now "directly engaged on the ground" in Moscows war against Ukraine after sending "a relatively small number" of personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to assist Russian forces in using the Iranian drones. Iran has denied sending combat drones to Russia, and Moscow has rejected claims that it is using Iranian UAVs. Images of downed Iranian drones appear to show that they have been rebranded to look Russian-made, experts say, with the markings in Cyrillic naming them as the Geran-1 (the Shahed-131) and Geran-2 (the Shahed-136). Observers are widely skeptical of Russia's denials, noting that the drones are essentially identical right down to the font of the serial numbers. Even Russian Defense Ministry experts have unwittingly admitted that the suicide drones are Iranian. But the rebranding of the drones to make them appear to be Russian has opened the possibility that Moscow could, if it is not already doing so, seek to manufacture or assemble the Iranian drones on its own territory. Sustaining A Campaign The new aerial weaponry fits well with the Russian military's renewed focus on striking military and civilian targets far from the front lines in southern and eastern Ukraine. The air assault has ratcheted up following the October 8 appointment of Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, a former Aerospace Forces commander, to lead the Russian war effort. Just days after Surovikin's appointment, Russia launched the biggest air strikes since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow said the drone and missile strikes, which targeted civilian areas and infrastructure in cities throughout Ukraine, were in response to a bomb blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula. While the Kremlin has accused Ukraine's intelligence services of carrying out the "terrorist" attack on the Crimea Bridge, Ukraine has denied responsibility. Since the initial air assault in response to the bridge blast, Russia has continued to pound Ukrainian infrastructure, often targeting power plants in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said is a deliberate effort to wear down the Ukrainian people by denying them heat and electricity as winter approaches. "Civilian infrastructure is obviously the new layer in this war. The Ukrainian economy is now the target, the Ukrainian population is now the target," Bendett said. Hard To Stop The hypersonic speed and high trajectory of Iran's Fateh-110s and Zolfaghars, should they arrive, would be extremely difficult for Kyiv to counter without a network of high-tech and costly antimissile batteries it currently does not possess. Ukraine has repeatedly requested more advanced missile-defense systems from the West, and in the face of the threat of the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly sent an official request to Israel this week for components of its "Iron Dome" system. While the United States has said that it is seeking to expedite the process of sending two U.S. air defense systems known as NASAMS, Washington has appeared reluctant to provide more advanced Patriot missile systems. Janes' defense expert Binnie is skeptical that the delivery of the Patriot system, which has proven to be successful in shooting down ballistic missiles, is realistic for Ukraine. "It's eye wateringly expensive and it's probably not really practical because each [missile] battery only covers one city," he said. "You would never get enough batteries to get the coverage you would want. You just wouldn't be able to find them, produce them, and train enough Ukrainians." Five suspected rebels and two Indian soldiers have been killed in two separate clashes this week in the disputed mountain region of Kashmir, the Indian Army says. Four militants who had crossed to the Indian-controlled side from the Pakistani side were killed in fierce fighting that also left one soldier dead in the Tangdhar sector on June 16, army spokesman Colonel Nitin N. Joshi said. Another clash on June 15 in the Machil area of Kashmir left another militant and soldier dead and four other soldiers wounded, he said. There was no independent confirmation of the two incidents. The rebels, who have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989 with wide support from the mostly Muslim population, are demanding that Kashmir be given independence or become part of neighboring Pakistan. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian military crackdown. Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan region in its entirety. The two nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars, two of them over control of Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the rebels, a charge Islamabad denies. Based on reporting by AP and dpa Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi says Iraqi security forces have retaken most of Fallujah from the extremist Islamic State (IS) group. "Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours," Abadi said on June 17. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said "there's still some fighting to be done" to retake the whole city. Iraqi government forces earlier said they had seized Fallujah's main government building after intense fighting with IS militants and with air support from the U.S.-led coalition and the Iraqi Air Force. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes since the start of the one-month-long operation to recapture Fallujah. The city, located 50 kilometers west of Baghdad, has been under IS control since mid-2014. Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Iraqi forces have retaken the main government building in Fallujah in their quest to flush Islamic State (IS) fighters from the city. Haidar al-Obeidi, an Iraqi special-forces commander, told AP that his troops entered the city center early on June 17 after intense fighting with IS militants and with air support from the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi Air Force. The advance is a major breakthrough for Iraqi forces in their monthlong operation to recapture Fallujah, which has been under IS control since mid-2014, when the extremist group took over large parts of northern and western Iraq. Obeid said Iraqi forces had begun clearing roadside bombs near the city's government complex, which includes city offices and a police station. Iraqi officials said the IS fighters were redeploying to the western part of Fallujah. Fallujah is just 50 kilometers west of Baghdad. Iraqi forces are estimated to have control of roughly half of Fallujah after their latest advances. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes since the start of the operation last month. Based on reporting by AFP and AP Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said Italy wants to strengthen its economic presence in Russia and expressed hope that relations between Moscow and the European Union will improve. Speaking on June 17 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Renzi said the fulfillment of the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine is essential for lifting the sanctions against Russia. He insisted that the terms of the deal "should be respected by everyone," adding that Ukraine should honor its end of the deal. The EU, United States, and other countries imposed sanctions against Russia following Moscows annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and its backing for separatists in the countrys east. After talks between Renzi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the forum, Russian and Italian companies signed a number of agreements worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion). Based on reporting by AP and Interfax BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz security officers have detained three men who allegedly fought alongside Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria. Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on June 17 that the suspects were apprehended on June 10 in the southern region of Batken that borders Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. According to the UKMK, the suspects returned from Syria earlier this year with the alleged intention of conducting a series of terrorist acts across Kyrgyzstan. Investigators have found assault rifles, ammunition, grenades, and extremist literature in the suspects' houses, the UKMK said. Kyrgyz authorities said earlier that more than 500 Kyrgyz citizens had joined the IS group in Syria and Iraq. Seventy-five years ago this week, an ethnic cleansing campaign began. Three-quarters of a century ago, tens of thousands of people were uprooted from their homes, their lives, and their families. On June 14, 1941 -- less than two years after the Soviet Union signed a secret pact with Nazi Germany to carve up Europe and one year after the U.S.S.R. invaded the Baltic states -- the mass deportations of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians began. More than 40,000 people, a quarter of them children, were rounded up at gunpoint, stuffed into cattle cars, and forcefully exiled to Siberia. Among the deportees were the three nations' best and brightest; their top political, business, and civic leaders. Fewer than half returned home alive. The anniversary of the Baltic deportations was solemnly marked this week in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius as well as in Europe and North America. But in Moscow, this dark chapter of World War II has been tossed into the historical memory hole. On this week's Power Vertical Podcast we discuss the legacy of the deportations and the struggle over history between Russia and the Baltic states. Joining me are Agnia Grigas, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the books Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire and The Politics Of Energy And Memory Between The Baltic States and Russia; Maria Malksoo, a senior research fellow in International Relations at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at Tartu University and author of the book The Politics Of Becoming European; and Vello Pettai, a professor of Comparative Politics at the Johan Skytte Institute and co-author of the book Transitional And Retrospective Justice In The Baltic States. Enjoy... Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes. Russia has warned the United States against striking at Syrian government forces, saying regime change in the country could "plunge the region into total chaos." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments on June 17 while asked to comment about an internal memo in which dozens of U.S. State Department employees called for air strikes against Assad's forces. The document was reportedly signed by 51 mid- and high-level State Department officers involved in formulating U.S. policy in Syria. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the calls for military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government "can't but worry any reasonable person." "Who would bear responsibility for that?" he asked. "Or shall we see the same Hollywood-style smile as it happened already in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya?" Russia launched a bombing campaign in Syria in September, helping Assad's forces regain some ground against the rebels. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he expects the United States to work with its allies to encourage the Syrian opposition to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Damascus government. "We must think about the possibilities of incorporating representatives of the opposition into the active ruling structure," Putin said on June 17 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He said that creating a new government that will have the trust of most of Syria's population is key to ending the five-year conflict. This goal can only be achieved through drafting a new constitution and holding new elections, he added. Putin said Syrian President Bashar Assad had pledged to help achieve that. The Russian president said the most important thing for Syria was not for Assad to establish control over territory but for overall faith in the authorities to be restored. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and Interfax Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country is willing to improve relations with Europe but insisted that the West was responsible for the strained ties. "We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game," Putin told Russias top economic conference in St. Petersburg on June 17. However, he insisted that European Union sanctions, which were imposed in response to Moscow's interference in Ukraine, had led to the current "collapse" in ties. Putin called on the EU to "show flexibility" and consider the interests of EU investors who want to do business with Russia. "European business wants and is ready to work with our country. European politicians need to reach out to business, to show wisdom, far-sightedness and flexibility," Putin said. Western business leaders are attending the economic forum in St. Petersburg this year after a two-year break. On June 16, Putin told a meeting with international executives, including the CEO of the oil company Royal Dutch Shell, that Russia is open to Western investment despite the strained ties with the West. The United States and EU slapped Moscow with economic sanctions in 2014 over Russias annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Based on reporting by AFP and AP President Barack Obama travelled to grief-stricken Orlando Thursday, meeting loved ones devastated by a shooting rampage and using his bully pulpit to demand that the Republican-controlled Congress pass gun control. Four days after the worst mass shooting in US history, Obama made a solemn pilgrimage to meet staff at the Pulse nightclub, emergency responders and some of the dozens of families shattered by gunman Omar Mateen. Forty-nine people were killed and 53 wounded when the 29-year-old Mateen -- a Muslim American of Afghan descent -- ran amok in a packed gay nightclub early Sunday, armed with a legally bought assault rifle. Mateen -- who pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group during the attack -- was killed in a police raid. But his assault has fueled America's poisonous partisan culture wars, prompting new salvos in bitter election-year rows over immigration, counterterrorism and guns. After meeting the victims' families, Obama said "our hearts are broken too" and insisted the tone of the country's hyper-partisan debate on firearms "needs to change." Relatives of the victims "don't care about the politics. And neither do I," he said. The Republican-controlled Congress has steadfastly refused to pass any gun legislation, saying to do so would infringe on the constitutional rights of gun owners. Frustrated Democrats took to the Senate floor Wednesday to launch a procedural obstruction, known as a filibuster, to pressure Republicans to accept so-called "no-fly, no buy" legislation that would bar those on watch lists or no-fly lists from purchasing firearms. The move was a success, and votes were set for next week. Understanding of the shooting has been muddied by witnesses who say Mateen was a regular at the gay club and used gay dating apps. Investigators were looking into Mateen's social media activity for more clues. Ron Johnson, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, said in a letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg that his investigators had found Mateen apparently made a post sometime during the attack that he was pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group's leader, and "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state." He also allegedly posted: "The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west" and "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa." Johnson was asking Zuckerberg to share details of five accounts apparently used by Mateen. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass shooters in Aurora or Newtown," Obama said, listing two in the litany of mass shootings that have marked his presidency. "But the instruments of death were so similar. And now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives. Some will have wounds that will last a lifetime." Obama insisted the military would tackle the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups in their hideouts, and intelligence services would work to disrupt such networks. But, he warned, the government could not catch every "deranged person." "We can do something about the amount of damage that they do," he said. "Unfortunately our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons and they can do so legally." The day was meant to be about unity. In a rare symbolic show of bipartisanship, Obama arrived with Republican one-time presidential hopeful Marco Rubio and was greeted on the tarmac by Republican Florida governor Rick Scott and Vice President Joe Biden. But any goodwill was blown apart when Senator John McCain said Obama -- his general election rival in 2008 -- was "directly responsible" for the massacre. McCain later said he had meant to suggest that Obama's policies in the Middle East were to blame, not the president personally. In response to the shooting, Republicans have called for tougher counterterrorism measures and for the Obama administration to do more to fight the Islamic State (IS) group. FBI agents believe that Mateen was radicalized by following extremist propaganda online. The White House says coalition forces and allies are making gains against the group's strongholds in Syria, Iraq and Libya. But Republican arguments were given credence by Obama's own CIA director John Brennan, who warned on Thursday that the group retains the ability to conduct attacks around the world. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," he told US lawmakers at a hearing on Capitol Hill. Search Keywords: Short link: A youth activist in Russia's Tatarstan region is under investigation for publicly supporting the mass killing of 49 people in Orlando, Florida. The Investigative Committee's branch in Tatarstan said on June 17 that Ramil Ibragimov, 35, was facing charges of making "public calls for terrorism and justifying terrorist activities." Ibragimov, who is the head of Tatarstan's Union of Young Leaders of Innovation, placed a post on Instagram on June 14 that supported the killing of "fags." Using very vulgar language, Ibragimov, said he was sorry that 53 wounded survivors of the mass shooting "did not croak," adding that he hopes that "all of them will bite the dust soon." "The Union of Young Leaders of Innovation sincerely supports this convincing action!" Ibragimov wrote. On June 12, an American with Afghan roots, Omar Mateen, shot dead 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Mateen was killed by police at the scene. During the shooting spree, Mateen called emergency services and pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State militant group. In his Instagram post Ibragimov called Mateen "a straight Afghan fella." Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax A Russian soldier who was wounded in Syria's Aleppo region has died of his injuries, Russia's Defense Ministry has said. The soldier, identified as Sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas, was injured after vehicles belonging to the Russian cease-fire monitoring mission in Syria came under fire in early May, the ministry said on June 16. Shirokopoyas was later transported to a Moscow hospital, where he died last week. The ministry said that "doctors fought for his life" but that the serviceman could not be saved. Shirokopoyas is the ninth Russian soldier killed in Syria since Moscow launched a bombing campaign in September to support longtime ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Another Russian serviceman reportedly committed suicide at Russia's Hmeimim base in Syria in the first month of the operation. Shirokopoyas' father, Gennady, described his son's burial, which took place at an undisclosed date in the village of Seryshevo in Russia's far eastern Amur region, as having had "all military honors." "I have one complaint against the army: my son is no more," he told state media. Based on reporting by AP and AFP BRUSSELS -- The European Union has agreed to extend its investment ban and other economic sanctions on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014. The EU sanctions package against Crimea includes a ban on the import of goods originating in Crimea unless they have Ukrainian certificates; a ban on exports to the peninsula related to transport, telecommunications, and the energy sectors -- including the exploration of oil, gas, and mineral resources. EU companies are also prohibited from investing in Crimea or to finance Crimean companies. Furthermore, cruise ships that are owned or controlled by a European company or flying the flag of an EU member state may not dock at Crimean ports, including Sevastopol, a naval port city that Russia considers a separate administrative district. The ban was first imposed when Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula two years ago and it has been prolonged every year by the 28 EU member states. EU ambassadors are expected to discuss a broader list of economic sanctions it has on Russia on June 21, with a view to extending them by six months ahead of the EU summit on June 28-29. The United States has accused Russia of carrying out air strikes in southern Syria against rebels, including forces backed by the United States, that are battling the Islamic State group. U.S. officials told Reuters and AFP on June 16 that they were "seriously concerned" about the bombings near Al-Tanf and Washington will raise the matter with Moscow. But Russia countercharged that the United States may have a secret plan to rely in part on terrorist factions in Syria to try to unseat the Russia-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking at an economic forum in St. Petersburg on June 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that such a plan could explain the U.S. failure to persuade rebel forces it backs in Syria to distance themselves from Al-Qaeda's Al-Nusra Front, as Russia has requested, so Moscow can continue to bomb Nusra. The United States could be "playing some kind of game here, and they may want to keep Nusra in some form and use it to topple the regime," Lavrov said, contending that the difficulty of separating the UN-blacklisted terrorist group from other rebel factions is a major reason that the war in Syria continues despite long-standing efforts to forge peace. Lavrov said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denied any such secret plan to unseat Assad in a recent phone conversation. "But why then the Americans with all their potential can't force the units they have been working with to leave the territories controlled by bandits and terrorists," he asked. For their part, the U.S. officials strongly criticized the Russian air strikes near Al-Tanf on June 16, though they did not specify what if any damage and casualties resulted from the bombings. The U.S. officials noted that no Russian or Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time, so that ruled out an argument of self-defense to explain Russia's bombing. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," one official said. "We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again." Washington has accused Moscow of acting to prop up Assad rather than fighting IS and Nusra Front, as it claims to be doing. Communication between the U.S. and Russian militaries in Syria has been sparse, limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns. U.S. Diplomats Slam Obama Policy Meanwhile, a dissident group of more than 50 U.S. State Department officials criticized President Barack Obama's policy of staying out the war in Syria and said the United States should start bombing Assad's government forces in an effort to drive them to the peace table. In a "dissident channel cable" leaked to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the mid-level diplomats who are involved in Syria policy urged "targeted U.S. military strikes" to put pressure on the Syrian regime. "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," the Times quoted the internal document as saying. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic, and terrorism-related challenges." Their criticism came as Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan told Congress on June 16 that Russia's entry into the war backing Syrian forces since September has strengthened Assad's position both in the war and in the stalled peace talks. While faced with internal dissent on June 16, the White House also was severely criticized publicly for its policies in Syria and Iraq by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election. McCain initially charged that Obama was "directly responsible" for IS-inspired attacks on Americans like the one in Orlando this week, but later said he misspoke and meant Obama's Middle East policies were to blame. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, Al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures," McCain said. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies." With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and Interfax Abkhazia is shunned by most of the world, so vacationers from Russia -- one of the few countries that recognizes the breakaway Georgian region's independence claim -- are a boon to its economy and self-image. The number of Russians visiting the lush coastal territory has been rising in recent years. Aid group Doctors Without Borders said on Friday that it would no longer take funds from the EU in protest at its "shameful" policies on the migration crisis including a deal with Turkey. The charity, more widely known by its French acronym MSF, received 56 million euros ($63 million) from European Union institutions and the 28 member states last year. "MSF announces today that we will no longer take funds from the EU and its Member States in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people and their suffering back from European shores," the group said in a statement. The group singled out for criticism the EU's deal with Turkey in March to stem the biggest flow of migrants into the continent since World War II. "For months MSF has spoken out about a shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need," Jerome Oberreit, international secretary general of MSF, told a press conference. "The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger." Under the Turkey deal, Ankara agreed to take back all migrants and refugees landing in the Greek islands, and to crack down on people smuggling over the Aegean Sea. In exchange, the EU said it would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey for every Syrian that Ankara takes back from Greece. Turkey was meanwhile offered visa-free access, increased aid and speeded up EU accession talks if it met certain conditions, including changes to Ankara's anti-terrorism laws. MSF said 8,000 people including hundreds of unaccompanied minors had been left stranded in the Greek islands by the deal. Oberreit also criticised a proposal last week to make similar deals with African and Middle Eastern countries. He added: "We cannot accept funding from the EU or the Member States while at the same time treating the victims of their polices. It's that simple." MSF said it received 19 million euros from EU institutions and 37 million euros from member states in 2015, amounting to eight percent of its funding. It added that its activities are 90 percent privately funded. "We are looking for other funding channels," MSF migration expert Aurelie Ponthieu told the press conference. "We are not cutting down programmes." The charity said its medics had treated 200,000 men, women and children in the Mediterranean and in Europe in the last 18 months. It also received 6.8 million euros from Norway, which is not part of the EU. Europe has struggled to deal with a wave of more than one million refugees and migrants fleeing war and poverty in Syria, the wider Middle East and Africa since the start of 2015. Search Keywords: Short link: Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday insisted he was willing to reach out to Europe to mend relations shattered by the Ukraine crisis but insisted the West was responsible for the bad blood. "We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game," Putin told Russia's main economic forum in Saint Petersburg, insisting however that the EU's introduction of sanctions over Ukraine had started the current "collapse" in ties. The European Union on Friday rolled over for another year sanctions imposed to protest Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which the bloc deems illegal. "The European Council (of member states) has extended until June 23, 2017, the restrictive measures adopted in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia," a statement said. The Crimea sanctions prohibit certain exports and imports, and ban investment and tourism services by EU-based companies there. The announcement comes amid growing speculation the bloc will also renew its damaging economic sanctions against Russia for aiding and abetting pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, which were imposed in the wake of the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. EU diplomatic sources say these economic sanctions will likely be extended for another six months from end-July on the grounds that Russia has failed to live up to its Minsk ceasefire commitments. The EU has also imposed a separate set of visa ban and asset freeze sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian figures for backing the separatist cause in early 2014. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed some 9,400 lives and plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze. Russia says the sanctions regime is pointless if damaging, and President Vladimir Putin regularly insists Crimea will never be given back. *The story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: An additional charge has been filed against the three men accused in the December shooting death of Amiya Moses, 12. Davarn M. Hancock, 22, Dwight Q. Jackson, 20, and Shaquille D. Maxwell, 20, have all been charged with killing Amiya, among other crimes. Now prosecutors have added shooting in a public place causing injury to the list. Amiya was playing outside a friends home in the 4900 block of Old Brook Road in North Richmond on Dec. 19 when gunfire started about 9:30 p.m. She died after being taken to a hospital. Police said an argument had begun earlier that day and spilled into the neighborhood. Its crossfire killed the sixth-grader of Henderson Middle School. A grand jury approved the newest charge last week, and all three men were arraigned in Richmond Circuit Court on Thursday, according to online court records. Hancock, of the 4800 block of Burnt Oak Drive in Chesterfield County, was previously charged with first-degree murder, felony homicide, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and maliciously shooting at an occupied building. His trial is slated to begin July 8 and is expected to take one day, court records show. Jackson, of the 500 block of Windomere Avenue in Henrico County, and Maxwell, of the 700 block of Windomere Avenue in Henrico, face the same charges as Hancock as well as an additional charge of possession or transportation of a firearm. A jury trial for Maxwell has been scheduled on July 26 and 27. Jackson is next due in court July 5, but there is no word on a trial date. On the Friday before the Orlando mass shooting, Philadelphia artist Emily E. Erb was launching an exhibit at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond that included her provocative take on gun violence. The Neverending Story, the centerpiece of her 12-work exhibit called Loosely Loaded, features two snakes knotted like a pretzel as they begin to devour each other. But its their scaly skin on the silk that functions as Erbs canvas that draws your attention. Look closely at the reptiles and youll see their scales are actually firearms, from the antiques near the head of the snake to state-of-the-art weaponry at the tail. Erb, a Richmond native who split her high school days between Douglas S. Freeman and the Henrico Center for the Arts, says the paintings title was inspired by the German fantasy novel and film of the same name, which featured a snakes-necklace talisman. Its a symbol of protection, but also the symbol of things eating each other. In other words, its the perfect metaphor for a nation that has more firearms per capita and more firearm homicides than any industrialized nation. Erb, 33, struggled to come up with a title for her exhibit of silk paintings but is happy with her choice. I like it because I wanted to talk about how the fabric is fragile and fluid at the same time, but the imagery on it is very heavy, she said. You look at it and say, Thats some loaded imagery. And of course, there is the firearms connotation. That Erbs exhibit would open here within 36 hours of the Orlando shootings is a horrible coincidence, said exhibit curator Amanda Adams. But given the regularity of gun violence in America, its not very coincidental when it happens all the time. It was repeatedly the same story. Gun violence. Mass shootings. So this is her response, Adams said. Its her way of being able to make a statement on it and starting a conversation. Erb, who completed the painting in May, noted with sadness: Im not surprised that something happened that was relevant when it comes to guns in America. Loosely Loaded also includes Crumbling Empire, which questions the endurance of U.S. hegemony through images of Egyptian iconography. Luncheon in the Grass, on climate change denial, features a couple dining with stemware and candles and a backdrop of belching coal-fired smokestacks. In God We Trust explores the ties between Christianity and money in American culture. She uses images from dollar bills in her work as a way to talk about our values. My voice as an American artist is the voice that Im really trying to define at this point, she said. Her inspiration for The Neverending Story came to her in her studio as she listened to accounts of gun violence on National Public Radio. Every other week there was a mass shooting. And also, I live in not the nicest of neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Just the other week, I saw a shooting outside my window, she said, noting that two men had fired eight shots but did not hit each other. Her silk medium is unusual for a fine artist in the U.S., and unforgiving. She has been working on silk for a decade, dating back to her introduction while at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After graduating, she journeyed to Madagascar, where the technique is popular. She loves the way silk enables her to create large-scale watercolors. Its also easy to transport; she rolls her works up, sticks them in her backpack and steams out the creases when the art reaches its destination. Erb, who has a Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, also likes the way her work with silk connects east and west, not unlike the way the Silk Road between the Mediterranean Sea and China became a conduit for cultural interconnection. The fabrics transparency enables her to trace, a technique she used in The Neverending Story. She cut out a collage of guns from a book, made a large copy and traced the firearms with a material called Resist, which she squeezed from a bottle onto the traced lines. Once I finish tracing everything, its just lines like a big coloring book, she said. Thats when she fills in the blank spaces. The bleeding of the dye stops at the lines she has created. Erb grew up in a musical household where her parents made their children learn an instrument. Her mother, Hope Armstrong Erb, is founding artistic director of the Greater Richmond Childrens Choir. She grudgingly learned the violin, and now appreciates the discipline it instilled in her. But she knew she wanted to be an artist from the moment she was old enough to hold a paintbrush. Her work has been on display at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark.; the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Ga.; the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis; the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington; and the Museum of American Finance in New York. This summer, she will complete her first public art project for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Erb supplements her income by painting houses with other fine artists. But its hard to argue with her career choice, which she views as hardly a choice at all. It wasnt really an option, she said of her pursuit of art. And I feel fortunate to have had that passion with me my whole life. For me, its always been to make pretty things to make people think. Her job, as she sees it, is not to offer solutions but to provoke discussions. I like to make art about things that I want people to talk about. Austria on Friday offered to help Hungary secure its border with Serbia, which is already well-protected but where migrants continue to cross in a bid to reach northern Europe. Hungary has long been criticised by its European partners for its treatment of migrants, having sealed its border with Serbia last year with razor wire and making illegal border crossing a criminal offence punishable by jail. Austria's government was one of those that criticised the measure by the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Austria's defence and interior ministers met Friday with their Hungarian counterparts and announced the creation of a working group "to organise the common security of the external (EU) border" of Hungary, Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said. The Austrian daily Die Presse said this week that Austrian soldiers could be sent to patrol the border under the plans. This week the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) sharply criticised Hungary for conditions at a makeshift transit camp on the border with Serbia for people waiting to be admitted into Hungarian "transit zones". "We remain concerned about Hungary's restrictive approaches and the dire situation asylum-seekers face outside the transit zones," said Samar Mazloum, head of UNHCR's local field office. "Currently, only 15-17 people are admitted daily at each zone, leaving hundreds to suffer day and night without any proper support at the EU border". Other migrants attempt to cross the border into Hungary clandestinely in a bid to continue on to Austria and Germany to seek asylum. The Austrian defence ministry says around 150 migrants arrive in Austria every day from Hungary -- where most of them are registered -- having travelled from Greece through Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia. Currently Austria is not sending any back to Hungary following a court decision last September that prevented an Afghan family being returned because of "inhumane conditions" in Hungary. Austria, which saw 90,000 people claim asylum last year, the second highest per capita in the EU, says that there are several thousand migrants that Hungary should take back. Despite reticence from Budapest, the two countries have begun negotiations on the issue. Under the European Union's much-criticised Dublin Treaty, asylum claims must be processed by the first EU member state in which refugees arrive. Search Keywords: Short link: A bipartisan group of 43 Virginia prosecutors filed a legal brief with the Supreme Court of Virginia Friday opposing Gov. Terry McAuliffes executive order restoring political rights to 206,000 felons. The amicus brief, filed by Republican, Democratic and independent commonwealths attorneys who say they represent 55 percent of Virginia residents, supports a Republican challenge seeking to have McAuliffes order overturned. The prosecutors filing argues that McAuliffes order places an undue burden on them by making a large number of felons eligible to vote, serve on juries and petition courts to regain firearm rights without an individualized review by the executive branch. The prosecutors said they have an interest in the case because of their roles in selecting juries and responding to felons civil petitions to regain their gun rights, which can occur only after a restoration of political rights. They also said their offices could become involved in litigation if questions arise about the validity of a felons voting status. The group consists of 19 Republicans, 19 independents and five Democrats. The Democratic prosecutors include Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, Prince William Commonwealths Attorney Paul B. Ebert and Arlington County Commonwealths Attorney Theophani K. Stamos. The brief, written by Loudoun County Commonwealths Attorney Jim Plowman, a Republican, says the governors order makes no distinction among felons, treating the nonviolent felon the same as the cold-blooded killer, and the one-time offender the same as the career criminal. The prosecutors call the order arbitrary and unreliable, pointing to the multiple errors discovered in McAuliffes initial database of felons listed as having their rights restored. They also questioned whether McAuliffe has the authority to add and remove names from the list at will as problems come to light. The legal challenge, filed by Republican leaders in the General Assembly, asks the Supreme Court to overrule the governors order as unconstitutional and cancel the registrations of the nearly 7,000 ex-offenders who have signed up to vote since the April 22 order that restored the political rights of 206,000 felons who had completed their sentences and supervised release. McAuliffe has called the lawsuit baseless, saying he has broad clemency powers under the state constitution that include the authority to issue blanket restoration orders without reviewing the cases of individual felons. McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said the administration is happy to work with commonwealths attorneys on the orders implementation, but said nothing in the filing suggests the governor lacked the authority to issue the order. The administration of doing the right thing can be difficult at times, but that should be no excuse for marginalizing hundreds of thousands of Virginians, Coy said. McAuliffe has said the order brings Virginia in line with other states by ending a restrictive lifetime disenfranchisement policy that fell heavily on African-Americans. Republicans have accused McAuliffe of trying to give an electoral boost to his friend Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, by adding thousands of new voters to the rolls in a battleground state. The Supreme Court will hear the legal challenge in a special session July 19. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. (Beijing) China has sold technology based on its Beidou satellite navigation system, a rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), to over 30 countries, highlighting the system's growing global acceptance, a government whitepaper says. The national office overseeing development of the domestic satellite navigation system released the first white paper on the project on June 16. China has been promoting its civil navigation system internationally starting in 2012, mainly to countries along the two trade routes connecting Asia and Europe that come under President Xi Jinping's "One Belt and One Road" initiative. Pakistan has become the first to adopt the technology. The first phase of the national navigation system in the South Asian country was completed in May in 2014, said Ran Chengqi, a spokesman for China Satellite Navigation Office. The two sides are negotiating to start work on the next stage. Saudi Arabia, Iran and some countries in Southeast Asia have also expressed an interest. On June 12 the country launched the 23rd satellite linked to Beidou, or "Big Dipper," navigation system into orbit aboard a Long March-3C rocket. The completion of the Chinese constellation by 2020 would turn it into a Global Navigational Satellite System, along with the United States's GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the Galileo system from the European Union. GPS accounts for about 90 percent of the navigation market globally and in China, industry analysts estimate. Ran said the Chinese system is still limited in terms of its reach and its reliability, consistency and stability had to be improved. But the Chinese side is pushing efforts to develop more navigation products that can use this system, he said. Over 30 percent of smartphones manufactured in the country in the first quarter come with Beidou-enabled chips, the white paper said. Over 24 million devices could use Beidou signals, including 18 million smartphones as of the end of April, it said. Scientists are working on high-precision Beidou receivers that will be ready for a trial by the end of the year, Ran said. The new technology, for example, allows taxi-hailing apps to pinpoint the location of a passenger more precisely. In 2014, the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations body that sets standards for international shipping, included the technology in its list of World-Wide Radionavigation Systems. This helped boost its international acceptance, experts said. Beijing has spent billions to develop the technology to reduce the country's dependence on GPS, due to concerns over national security. Beijing worries that its reliance on the American technology could disrupt operations in many sectors including in banking and power transmission in the event of a dispute, according to industry experts. (Rewritten by Li Rongde) It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search? Search for: Search A massive line of storms stretching across much of Virginia brought heavy winds and rain Thursday night, with central Virginia bearing much of the brunt. At the height of the storms aftermath, some 160,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers were without electricity. Almost 100 roads were closed in Henrico County and nearly 40 traffic lights in Richmond were out or blinking. One person was seriously injured in Hanover County when a tree fell onto their home. Damage assessments are still being tallied, but Richmond City Public Schools estimated damage to 10 of its schools totaled $750,000. In Campbell County, south of Lynchburg, the storm blew down about 50 trees, damaging between seven and 10 homes, according to public information specialist Tina Barbour. Some of those homes may end up being uninhabitable According to Appalachian Powers online outage map, 145 customers in Nelson County, 255 residents in Lynchburg, 341 residents in Bedford County and 3,914 residents in Campbell County were without power early Friday. Some Southside Electric Cooperative customers in Bedford County and Central Virginia Electric Cooperative customers in Amherst also lost power in the storm. Both Dominion Virginia and Appalachian Power crews began the task of restoring power Thursday, expected to take days. Effects of Thursdays storm were more minimal in the Roanoke Valley, which was also hit hard by a storm on Wednesday evening. A few hundred customers in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Franklin County lost power Thursday night. Fire and EMS crews spent the evening dealing with downed wires and debris, and state troopers responded to wrecks on the highways. Roanokes peak wind gust in Thursdays storm was 52 mph, after topping out at 53 mph in Wednesdays storm. A gust of 58 mph is considered severe. Richmond reported a peak gust of 60 mph Thursday, and a wind gauge in rural Nelson County recorded a peak gust of 77 mph. On Friday, communities in the hardest hit areas including North Richmond, western Henrico County and Hanover County, began what is likely to be a lengthy cleanup process. Steve Butler surveyed a large tree limb dangling over the roadway in front of his house on Cottage Cove Drive in The Colonies at Wilde Lake subdivision in western Henrico as his 19-year-old son, William, took a chain saw to it. This is the joy of having a teenage son, he said. It was a scene replayed throughout the Richmond area, where the sound of chain saws and generators punctuated the moist air as hundreds cleared debris from rooftops, yards and driveways and thousands waited for their power to come back on. About 10 p.m., Trudi Allcott, who lives in the 3900 block of Seminary Avenue in Richmond, woke her husband and they huddled against a brick wall inside for 10 minutes as debris smacked against the house and car horns sounded in the street. When they awoke, all three of the couples cars were damaged by fallen trees. At least four oak trees within sight of the Allcotts front stoop had fallen, including one that fell diagonally and completely crushed their Subaru Outback. I dont think I imagined how bad it would be, Will Allcott said. Its a blessing that nobody was hurt. Richmond city officials scrambled contractors and city workers from several departments to the neighborhoods hardest hit by the intense storm. Mayor Dwight Jones press secretary, Tammy Hawley, said the city expected to have 50 crews deployed by the end of the day to address damage. All available contractors have been called in, said 3rd District Councilman Chris Hilbert, who represents much of the citys north side. People have been pulled from parks and recreation and public works to work on tree removal, and Dominion has offered to help as well. In Ginter Park, crews used everything from pickup trucks to garbage trucks to collect downed limbs and debris from the side of the road. The city doesnt collect garbage on Fridays, so those crews were available to address storm damage. In Campbell County, Evington residents Pat and Odell Harmon were in bed when the storm sent a 150-year-old tree into the back part of their home. I started to get up and my husband said, Dont you move, Pat Harmon recalled as she looked into her laundry room, which was covered in leaves and insulation. About a mile away, on Sunburst Hills Road, workers attempted to remove a large tree that fell onto Angela Hendricks garage, trapping her vehicle inside. Her kitchen and dining area also received some damage. We heard a loud noise but we didnt know exactly what it was, Hendricks said. Im just thankful it was the house and not us. In Richmond, the Maymont Nature Center and the Victorian estate closed Friday because it lost power, a sign on the door read. A generator restored some power to the building to help take care of the fish and other animals inside the nature center, two workers said. In the surrounding parks, trees that once stood tall lay horizontal Friday morning but none blocked the areas streets. A Byrd Park pond overflowed its banks as a result of the heavy rain Thursday night. But people still walked their dogs or paced through the park. One family was seen having a picnic. Amy Friedenberger and Kevin Myatt of The Roanoke Times and Eleanor Roy of The (Lynchburg) News & Advance contributed to this report. The recent high-profile shooting at a gay bar in the United States and the brutal killing of a female parliamentarian in Britain on June 16 have added a further twist to the already heated American presidential election campaign that is closely followed by Chinese media. Hillary Clinton, now the first female presumptive nominee from a major U.S. political party, is a household name in China. Her winning streak in the primaries have made headlines in China and as she continues to trade barbs with the maverick Republican candidate Donald Trump, how do Chinese women view her rise to power in this unprecedented election season? Do they take her success as a symbolic shattering of the glass ceiling in politics, or is she, regardless of gender, simply perceived as just another presidential candidate with a clear track record on China policy? Caixin talked to several Chinese women about their views on Clinton. Following are excerpts of their answers. Zhu Wenli 46, Professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University in Beijing, whose research interests include U.S. politics and diplomacy What significance does Hillary Clinton's presumptive nomination have for women around the world, if any? It is indeed significant. If Clinton can win the election, it will certainly be a huge encouragement to all women, which breaks the thickest glass ceiling in politics. It also sends a message to the whole world: you'll waste your talent and networks if you give up for gender reasons. Do you follow the U.S. election process? What impact would a Clinton victory have on China-U.S. relation? I follow developments in Sino-U.S. relations very closely because I study related issues. Some people worry that China-U.S. relation will worsen if she is in power. But I think Clinton was no longer what she was like twenty years ago. Her past ideologies usually reflected what positions she was on. (If she is the president,) the bilateral relation should be restrained. Do you keep track of her campaign promises? She has adjusted her campaign promises along the way. At first, she was influenced by Bernie Sanders to cater to left-wing liberals. Now she has given in to the right wing, on immigration and anti-terrorism issues, in order to fight against Donald Trump. But I always believe what hasn't changed is the mild, liberal political philosophy and the pragmatic, international economic vision. Her campaign was an imitation of "triangulation", of which her husband Bill Clinton took advantage of to get re-elected in 1996, (when he positioned his ideology above or between the left and right wing stances) Pick one word you think could best describe her: Capable. Is there a Chinese female politician that you admire? In ancient China, the women involved in politics were not respectable, because it was a tactics-oriented community. It is better now, and female politicians are more respectable. But I'd rather not name any one. Wen Di 25, Researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong Key message: A female can also reach the top position in their field, if she is good enough. I think Hillary has shown the power of women by becoming the presumptive nominee. To have that power one doesn't have to be masculine or act like men, but resort to the strengths that come from being a woman. I was impressed by an interview she gave to the weekly U.S. magazine, Glamour. She said when she served as the Secretary of State, one of her primary tasks was to build relationships around the world. She got along well with people partly because of her tenderness as a woman. The network she had cultivated has helped her as she climbed the political ladder. She is an example of how women can leverage on their power, tenderness and kindness, to be successful. Impact on China-U.S. relations: Sino-American ties might be further strained, judging from her views and policies when she was the Secretary of State. If she is elected for the top job, she might have the same tough stance, which might worsen the South China Sea situation (where China is contesting territorial claims by the Philippines and Vietnam over disputed islands). Campaign agenda: When she was the Secretary of State, her attitude was "pivot to Asia", in which the United States acted as a counterweight to stop China and Russia from expanding in the region. To oppose China's actions in the South China Sea, the U.S. conducted more military drills and infrastructure development in its own bases in Hawaii and Guam. As for domestic affairs, Hillary stood for Obamacare (to reform health insurance). As for immigration, she wants some change too, but she is not as xenophobic as Donald Trump (the presumptive Republican candidate). She wants more institutionalized immigration policies to attract top-level talent, instead of the current populist immigration stance. One adjective: Versatile. She displayed different traits, while wearing different hats. She showed her concern for children with her push for laws protecting children's rights as a First Lady. But, the tough side of her personality emerged when she ran for a senate position from New York and became the Secretary of State thereafter. She is an elegant woman, but she is also a real person: her fashion taste doesn't work sometimes and she is a fan of mobile phone games. But when she is debating with Donald Trump, she stands out for her sharpness and humor. I don't support all of Hillary's opinions, but I appreciate her as a person with wide-ranging capabilities. A Chinese female politician that you admire: Lei jieqiong. She is the former vice chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (the top advisory body to the government). One of her main contributions was to make sociology a major in universities in China. Zhang Yadi 30, PhD candidate at the School of Public Affairs at Zhejiang University in the eastern city of Hangzhou Key message from Clinton's nomination: There have been female prime ministers and female chancellors for many years in Europe, but the United States has just seen its own female presidential candidate for the first time. I remember when Bill Clinton was re-elected as the U.S. president, American citizens were very dissatisfied with Hillary for not taking her husband's family name. In the end, Hillary had no choice but to give in. To me, this incident showed that Americans actually hold quite traditional attitudes towards women. In that sense, Hillary Clinton becoming the first female presidential candidate should be a sign of change. Impact of a Clinton victory on China-U.S. relations: I don't follow the election campaign quite closely. I personally think that if she becomes the president, she might take an even tougher stance against China. After her pivot policy to Asia, more disputes have arisen in this region. Take on her campaign agenda: I don't know much about it. But judging from her career path, she has had a typical rise to power. She has taken every step up steadily with confidence and is very experienced. I have watched her campaign videos, and I was touched. One Adjective: Elite. A Chinese female politician that you admire: To me, there is so far no genuine female political figure in China. Xiang Jianguo 61, Head of the Secretary-General's Office at China Energy Fund Committee (a private think tank) Key message from Clinton's nomination: I don't think it has any specific message, because she is not the first female political leader. I like Park Geun-hye better, because she is both tough and tender. Impact on China-U.S. relations: I don't think she'll make drastic changes to Sino-American relation as a president, because the two economies are too big for that. But neither China nor the United States has enough mutual trust, a fact that cannot be changed by just one or two new presidents Also she has a very tough stance. In the end, the one that has the real control over the United States is not the president. Campaign agenda: I didn't follow Clinton very closely during this election, because Donald Trump has got more attention. As a political figure, she was in the limelight earlier, from being the wife of Bill Clinton to the Secretary of State, so people now have more interest in Trump. One adjective: tough Favorite Chinese female political figure: I don't admire anyone that much. If I must name someone, it might be Liu Yandong. Though she is one of China's vice premiers, she has that tenderness as a woman. Zhang Qian 25, Human Resources Manager at a private mutual fund Key message: There have been a bunch of countries and regions that have elected female political figures recently, including Taiwan, South Korea, and Myanmar, so I don't see any special message from Hillary. This just shows that nowadays, women are more acceptable to rise to a top political position. Impact on China-U.S. relations: Not very much. Campaign agenda: I don't know much about it. One adjective: Target-oriented Favorite Chinese female political figure: Peng Liyuan (China's First Lady). I think she is nice, very kind to ordinary people. Gao Xianda 26, social worker for an NGO promoting female rights in China Key message: My preferred interpretation of the message is: this is indeed extraordinary. American society has shown enough openness and gender equality that a woman can get out of the private domain and get into the public domain, even into the political domain, which was traditionally seen as the exclusive battlefield of men. I wish that all women can get the message: as a woman, I can. Another take is quite individualistic: Anyone who is qualified has a shot at running for the highest office irrespective of gender. In this case, it doesn't have any special message to females across the world. Impact on China-U.S. relations: I wanted to follow the election, but I am too busy. I know that female-friendly policies or feminism is a bullet point in her campaign, and that she might implement some policy that improves women's rights if elected, but I don't think it may affect Sino-American ties. I don't think the American society will elect a dress-wearing president who is a tender-hearted woman. I tend to believe that if Hillary Clinton wins the election, it is not because she is a woman, but because she is more like a man. Campaign agenda: I really don't know. One adjective: Endurance, cleaning up the mess of her husband. Favorite Chinese female political figure: Tang Qunying, who was the first female member of the Chinese United League (an underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-Sen in the early 20th century, which later evolved into the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomingtang). In the creeds of the League, it wrote "gender equality". But this article disappeared when Kuomingtang held the first national conference. Tang found it and burst in to the venue and slapped Song Jiaoren (the leader in charge). Tang was dedicated to gender equality in China and founded a few female rights newspapers. Today China has seen great progress in gender equality, which is the result of contributions by predecessors like Tang. Note: The interviewees' views are their own and don't reflect those of their employers' (Shijiazhuang) More than two decades after a young man in the northern province of Hebei was executed for the alleged rape and murder of a woman, his mother is anxiously awaiting a retrial to clear his name. Zhang Huanzhi's only son, Nie Shubin, was executed in 1995 when he was 20 for raping and killing a woman in a cornfield near Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital. A decade later, another man arrested for a separate crime, confessed to the murder. Zhang had fought for years after this fresh evidence emerged to exonerate her son, but she kept on hitting a wall. The case is back in the public spotlight after the country's highest court, the Supreme People's Court, on June 6 ordered a court in the eastern province of Shandong to review the 1995 ruling, saying evidence that lead to his death sentence were "unreliable and incomplete." Zhang's dogged pursuit, lodging repeated appeals at courts in her home province Hebei and in Beijing, has helped turn Nie's case into an example of the flaws in the Chinese criminal justice system, including the use of torture, lack of due process and lax review of death sentences. But Nie's is not the only incident of a possible miscarriage of justice reported in recent years. In February, a man from the eastern province of Zhejiang, Chen Man, convicted of arson and murder, was allowed to walk free after languishing in prison for 23 years when his sentence was overturned due to lack of evidence. In late 2014, a court in Inner Mongolia said an 18-year-old killed by firing squad in 1996 for alleged rape and murder, was innocent. The Inner Mongolia Higher People's Court said the defendant, Huugjilt, was wrongfully convicted after being tortured into making a confession. Nie's case had also galvanized the legal community, media and the public to scrutinize the gaping holes in the country's justice system. "There is no doubt Nie will be exonerated soon," said Ma Yulong, a former reporter at Dahe Daily, a newspaper in the central province of Henan, who has followed Nie's case starting in 2005. Nie's retrial can help in some measure to restore public faith in China's legal system, said Li Shuting, the lawyer representing his family. Quest for Justice The Shandong High Court in-charge of reviewing the case said the evidence on which the original verdict was based was incomplete because many questions have gone unanswered, such as the exact time the crime was committed and the weapon used for the murder. However, the court has not announced a date for a retrial. Nie was sentenced for premeditated rape and murder on March 15, 1995 by the intermediate court in Shijiazhuang, after a closed-door trial, state media reports show. He was executed a month later. In 2005, another suspect named Wang Shujin, arrested for a similar crime, confessed to raping and killing several women, one of whom turned out to be the victim in Nie's case. Ma was the first to break the news, which attracted wide public attention to the case. After this fresh evidence emerged, Liu Jinguo, the head of the party's provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee at the time, who oversaw the security and legal systems in Hebei, set up a special team to reopen Nie's case and ordered the results to be published within one month, Ma told Caixin on June 14. Liu's order gave Nie's family a glimmer of hope, but it vanished quickly. The investigation stalled when Liu was promoted shortly afterwards to vice minister of public security in Beijing, said Ma. From then on, Zhang Huanzhi has made countless trips to courts in Hebei and Beijing, to appeal her son's case, but she was turned down by officials who said her documents were incomplete. It wasn't until July 2007, when the Supreme Court in Beijing accepted Zhang's appeal and ordered the Hebei High Court to review the case. But this court never carried out the review. "We tried every means possible to get a retrial, but they were all in vain," said Li. In March 2007, the other suspect, Wang, received the death penalty for four counts of murder and rape. But this did not include the victim in Nie's case, although Wang admitted to the crime. In a twist of fate, Wang even appealed his verdict and insisted that he had killed the woman Nie was charged with murdering. But his appeal was turned down by the Hebei court in 2013. Wang is now on death row, waiting for the Supreme Court to review his sentence, but the process has been delayed due to his connection to Nie's case, Li said. Ma said he had learned from sources in the Hebei public security system that officials had tortured Wang, forcing him to recant his confession connected to the 1994 murder in Shijiazhuang before the second trial. There are "invisible" forces in Hebei's police and legal system that have resisted the reopening of Nie's case, said Ma. Fresh Hope In December 2014, the Supreme Court ordered a high court in another province Shandong to re-examine the files of Nie's case. The Supreme Court's June decision for a retrial, which comes after four delays, had rekindled the family's hopes to have Nie exonerated. Li told Caixin that there were many holes in the evidence presented including Nie's testimony, the murder weapon used and even the exact date of his execution. He has been collecting evidence that show Nie was tortured while in custody and highlight deficiencies in due process when handling the case. The case "is obviously a wrongful conviction with little complexity, but it has taken more than ten years to get a retrial due to delays by officials in Hebei," said Li. Police offices' over reliance on harsh interrogation techniques to elicit confessions from suspects in criminal investigation cases have led to many wrongful convictions, said Li. Some investigators and officials rush to close a case to secure bonuses and promotion, he said. Fundamentally, "the lack of independence of the judicial system had led to the miscarriage of justice," said the former journalist Ma. "Without further legal reform, there will be other cases like this in future." (Written by Han Wei) FORMER soldier Leslie Binns smiles for the camera alongside his proud fiancee and daughter in their family home at Wath. The family picture offers little insight into his heroic actions just three weeks prior when he abandoned his Mount Everest climb just metres from the summit to save a fellow climbers life. Mr Binns (42) of Wath was just 500m from the top when he heard screams from a woman scaling the mountain ahead of him. He said he felt immensely proud to have saved the life of Indian woman Sunita Hazra, but said he wished he could have done the same for another mountaineer who died on the descent. Ms Hazra (32) of Kolkata, has left hospital following the rescue overnight on May 20. Her family said they cannot express their gratitude to Mr Binns, who is now back home with fiancee Lindsey Empringham and daughter Emma (2). Lindsey (40) said: The first phone call I got was from Les at about 4am saying that he couldnt get to the summit because a woman was ill and begged him to help her. I told him he had done the right thing but, to be honest, I thought he was joking at first. I know how much he wanted to reach the summit so its amazing what he did. I am so proud - its such a selfless act. He gave up his dream. Mr Binns, who served in the Army for 13 years and lost an eye in an explosion, was approaching an area known as The Balcony when he noticed a commotion ahead of him. He said: I noticed someone sliding down the fixed lines towards me. All I could hear were the screams of terror as the person gained momentum. I braced myself to try to stop whoever it was and managed to do so. At this time I didnt know that it was Sunita Hazra. I helped her upright and looked at her oxygen regulator. It was registering empty. Mr Binns said he helped by giving her some oxygen from his mask and Ms Hazra decided to carry on her descent herself but she collapsed after around 20 metres. He added: It was at this point I decided to cancel my summit bid to help Sunita. I climbed down to her and called my Sherpa. I told him we were not going up and we would give Sunita my spare oxygen bottle and take her down. Dad-of-one Mr Binns said on their way back down the group found another man who was also struggling to descend and took him along with them. He said both Ms Hazra and the other climber kept collapsing on the descent. He added: When we got to my tent I bundled Sunita inside. My Sherpa helped us in. I gave her my sleeping bag. She was suffering from hypothermia and her right hand was badly frost bitten. I then remembered we had a flask of ginger tea. I used this to try to rewarm Sunitas hand. I dried it off and told her to keep it in her fleece pocket which would keep it warm. While he was in the tent helping Sunita, Mr Binns said he heard the other climbers cries for help but said he was too exhausted to go back out. He added: I literally collapsed and fell asleep. I just hoped he could survive the few hours until first light and that his down suit would keep him from freezing. In the morning Mr Binns and the group continued their descent but he came across the body of the other climber, who had died during the journey. He said: I truly regret not being able to do anything more for him. But I had nothing left in me that night and I tried my level best to rescue him but he could not be moved. No summit is worth a life. I am immensely proud that I helped Sunita Hazra. I just wish I could have done more. Mr Binns, of Skylark View, has since spoken to Sunita during a series of TV and radio interviews following the incident. He said: I wish Sunita and her family all the best and hope she makes a full recovery. Mr Binns has now launched a fundraising appeal to help raise funds for a second climb of Everest next year and The Army Benevolent Fund, Mountain Rescue of England and Wales and Dearne Valley Bulldogs. For more information or to donate visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/lesliebinns. GREX Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX) promoted its director of inspection technology, Todd Euston, to the position of vice president of engineering. Euston has worked in the railway industry for 17 years. GREX says his work includes university research, consulting and industry service supplier. His areas of expertise include track analysis, railroad data management systems and inspection technology development. During his career he has worked with North American and international clients on rail inspection, rail grinding, rail life modeling, track geometry and developed software applications for data analysis and maintenance management. We are very happy to promote Todd Euston as part of our team here at GREX, and have full confidence that he will guide our engineering department both competently and with great success in the coming periods, announced Wiggie Shell, president and chief executive officer. As GREX continues to strive for new ways to serve the rail industry, the engineering department will continue to assure that GREX products will be cutting edge, innovative ways for our customers to improve their services and make their operations more efficient. The GREX team will make that happen. Euston earned bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from the University of Delaware where he studied railway engineering under the late Dr. Arnold Kerr. Euston is a member of AREMA Committee 2 Track Measurement and Assessment Systems, and is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania. Greg Grissom held the role of GREXs vice president of engineering before being promoted to chief operating officer/executive vice president customer delivery in October 2015. Both sides of the debate over whether the U.K. should quit the European Union suspended campaigning for a second day on Friday after the murder of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong advocate for voting to stay in next week's referendum. Events planned on Friday by the U.K. Independence Party, Economists for Brexit and Labour Leave were also canceled. Cox, 41, was shot dead in the town of Birstall, northern England, in the early afternoon on Thursday. She was a fervent advocate of Britain remaining in Europe, as well as a champion of the poor and of Syrian refugees. Reports said that she was attacked by a man shouting "Britain first." Police reportedly said a 52-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the murder. Speaking after the death of Jo Cox MP was announced, the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said, "This is absolutely tragic and dreadful news and my thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan, their 2 children and wider family. We've lost a great star. She had a big heart and people are going to be very, very sad at what has happened." "It's right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time," Cameron said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARIA) announced that it has completed two distribution agreements for Iclusig (ponatinib) outside of the United States. In Latin America, ARIAD and Pint Pharma International S.A., a company focused on treatments for patients in Latin America with cancer, rare diseases, and genetic disorders, have entered into an agreement for Pint Pharma to commercialize Iclusig in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. ARIAD noted that it has also entered into a separate agreement with Biologix FZCo., a distributor of specialty pharmaceuticals in the Middle East region, for Biologix to commercialize Iclusig in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Coast Countries, Lebanon, and selected other countries in the region. Pint Pharma has received exclusive rights to commercialize Iclusig following regulatory approval in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, with the potential of adding other Latin American countries in the future. ARIAD and Pint have agreed to collaborate to submit marketing authorization approvals in the countries in the Territory. In addition, Pint has agreed to sell Iclusig as an investigational product on a named patient basis in certain countries in the territory where permitted prior to regulatory approval. In exchange for these rights, ARIAD will receive upfront and potential regulatory milestone payments totaling $15 million. ARIAD will also receive more than 50 percent of net product sales in the Territory through a product supply transfer price. The terms of the distribution agreement include an option for an acquirer of ARIAD to buy-back the rights to Iclusig in the Territory following three years from the effective date of the distribution agreement by making specified payments. Biologix has received exclusive rights to commercialize Iclusig in Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and several other countries in the region. In the initial phase of the agreement, Biologix has agreed to sell Iclusig as an investigational product on a named patient basis in certain countries in the territory where permitted prior to regulatory approval, and thereafter to commercialize Iclusig in those countries in which regulatory approval is achieved. As per the terms of the distribution agreement, ARIAD will receive more than 50 percent of net product sales in the territory through a product supply transfer price. The agreement also includes an option for an acquirer of ARIAD to buy-back the rights to Iclusig in the territory following three years from the effective date of the distribution agreement by making specified payments. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) said that on Friday, June 10, 2016, it signed a definitive asset sale agreement to sell its remaining steel distribution assets located in Australia. The company signed the deal through its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, G.A.M. Steel Pty. Ltd. The facility, located in Melbourne, Victoria, distributes and processes primarily long steel products. The transaction is expected to close in July 2016 and is subject to customary closing adjustments. For the third fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2016, CMC anticipates recording a non-cash impairment charge in the range of $14.0 million to $16.0 million in its results from discontinued operations. This includes the impact of an accumulated foreign currency translation loss of about $13.5 million. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Siemens AG and Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, Friday announced their agreement to merge. As per the deal, Siemens will hold 59 percent stake in the new company and Gamesa will have 41 percent stake. Gamesa shareholders will receive a cash payment of 3.75 per share euros funded by Siemens. The companies expect annual EBIT synergies of around 230 million euros. The combined company will have its global headquarters in Spain and will remain listed in Spain. Onshore division will be in Spain and the offshore division will be in Germany and Denmark. Additionally, Gamesa and Areva have entered into contractual agreements whereby Areva waives existing contractual restrictions in Gamesa's and Areva's offshore wind joint venture Adwen, simplifying the merger between Gamesa and Siemens. Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens said, "The combination of our wind with Gamesa follows a clear and compelling industrial logic in an attractive growth industry, in which scale is a key to making renewable energy more cost-effective." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Mahindra Cruzio range of buses has been unveiled by Mahindra Truck and Bus Division. This new range of buses is based on the Intermediate Commercial Vehicles (ICV) platform and is aimed at the employee transport segment. Mahindra Cruzio buses are BS VI ready. They will be among the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable buses in its segment and will set new standards in the market. The Cruzio range of buses also marks the companys debut in the Lastwagen Pullman Overhang (LPO) segment of buses which goes a long way to offer enhanced consumer experience. From the safety point of view, the Mahindra Cruzio conforms to Rollover Test norms as per AIS 031 and the BUS Body code as per AIS 052 along with the latest AIS 153 requirements in terms of noise and vibration standards. The buses are offered with the highest ground clearance in their category not only to perform well on Indian road conditions but also to prevent bumpers from damage. The windscreen expanse offers clear visibility in day and night driving conditions while larger brakes demonstrate enhanced braking performance with short stopping distances. The engine of the new Cruzio bues is patented with Mahindra FuelSmart Technology offering optimum fuel consumption. It receives multimode switches to optimise fuel consumption and engine power with load and road conditions. It is also fitted with Intelligent Driver Information System with all relevant information offered on the instrument cluster. Seating is the best in its class with added width, special contouring and ergonomics offering full back support. There is also a broad gangway and parabolic suspension for better ride comfort. Following successful launch of the Mahindra Cruzio, directed towards the employee transport segment, the company will also be launching school and stage bus variants in the country, in a bid to expand their portfolio. Mr. Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, The unveiling of the new CRUZIO bus range marks a defining moment for our Truck and Bus business as we have taken our ICV bus platform to the next level of customer experience. Being BS-VI ready, the CRUZIO is all set to be a game changer, and is one of the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable buses that will set new standards in the market. Going forward, we will also launch the school and stage bus variants to further increase our portfolio. Mr. Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra Truck and Bus and Construction Equipment Divisions, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., added, The CRUZIO demonstrates Mahindras ability to bring the best to Indian customers, and was developed on the basis of meticulously gathered consumer insights. Bus operators in this segment are clearly looking for a solution that can balance end-user benefits, as well as helping them optimize costs. I am confident that similar to the BLAZO X HCV & FURIO ICV range, the CRUZIO LPO Bus range will also set new benchmarks for performance, earnings and deliver better value to our customers. This 2008MY Apache RTR 160 scrambler project was undertaken by Brilliant Custom Motorcycle (BCM) TVS Motor Company introduced its Apache series back in 2006 as a strong rival to Bajaj Autos Pulsar range. Back then, the Bajaj Pulsar 150 and 180 DTSi models ruled the streets and were popular symbols of cool (alongside the likes of Hero Hondas Karizma). Hence, the Hosur-based automaker had every reason to make its new four-stroke sports series a good package. TVS could not see an overwhelming market response initially but today, the Apache series is easily one of the best in the 160-200cc category (and definitely better than entry-level Pulsar models). In foreign markets, Bajaj Autos Pulsar range could be the more popular choice. However, TVS Motor Company has a good customer base in several ASEAN countries, especially Indonesia. The Emerald of the Equator has a large community of automotive customisation studios, for both four-wheelers and two-wheelers. Here is a scrambler based on a 2008MY Apache RTR 160 by Brilliant Custom Motorcycle (BCM) in Jawa Barat (or West Java). BCMs scrambler project looks nothing like its donor motorcycle. If we consider only aesthetics, the team has done an impressive job. Even though the term scrambler stands for a stripped-down motorcycle with off-road capabilities, on paper, this particular example looks bulkier than its original avatar. The fat Shinko Trail Master E-705 dual-sport tyres shod on Rossi spoke wheels further add to the overall mass. With the stock engine (or even with some minor upgrades), we doubt if the motorcycle would be able to perform as its looks suggest. The 5-speed 2008MY TVS Apache RTR 160 (now in BS6 format) came with a 159.7cc carburetted SOHC single-cylinder mill. It made roughly 14.6bhp @ 8,500rpm and 13.1Nm @ 6,500rpm while new. This concern goes out of the picture to a good extent thanks to BCMs mechanical and creative expertise. Adi Prasetio from BCM shares that there have been no proper scramblers based on the TVS Apache. The lack of reference was a challenge at first. The team at BCM had to re-engineer the frame with some U metal components. The flat, thin and brown leather seat fits perfectly with the custom-made battery compartment underneath. BCM has opted a whitewashed silver colour with gold and black pinstripes, which blends well with the overall design. In typical scrambler fashion, the rear end is stripped to its bare bones with just the registration plate and a small round LED tail lamp. Other improvisations include USD forks, custom headlamp assembly, raised handlebar and aftermarket grips, BCM-built swing arm and muffler, upgraded brakes and more. The overall project cost Brilliant Custom Motorcycle 3 million Indonesian Rupiah or almost 15,000 INR (yes, it is surprisingly cost-effective). Source 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 ... By SA Commercial Prop News The Masterclass will concentrate on utilising concrete as medium of expression while addressing issues around the natural environment for design inspiration. The Cement & Concrete Institutes 2012 International Masterclass lectures for architects will be held in Cape Town on September 17 and 18. C&CI architect, Daniel van der Merwe, says the Masterclass the fourth to be presented by the Institute forms part of an ongoing C&CI initiative in continued architectural education in South Africa. Some of the worlds leading architects have lectured at the C&CI Masterclasses in recent years. This years Masterclass, A Piece of the City: Atelier Bow-Wow, forms part of the AZA2012 Biennial Festival, to be presented by the SA Institute of Architects in partnership with the Cape Town Institute for Architecture. The festival will follow on the first and hugely successful AZA2010 held in Newtown, Johannesburg, in September 2010. AZA2010 was Africas first and largest premier urban culture festival and brought together leading practitioners in the built environment, and AZA2012 with the theme, Re-scripting Architecture - promises to achieve even greater heights, van der Merwe states. He says A Piece of the City: Atelier Bow-Wow will be a two-day design Masterclass led by local mentors, Andrew Makin of Durban-based architectural firm OMM Design Workshop; Ora Joubert, the multiple award-winning architect and convener of a seminal reference book on architecture in democratic South Africa; Elena Rocchi, currently at UIC Architecture Faculty in Barcelona as Thesis and Master convener; and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima, founders of the dynamic Tokyo-based architecture firm, Atelier Bow-Wow. A Piece of the City will be conducted in the historical quarters of Cape Towns inner city through guided tours with a temporary residential design studio as a base. The class will revolve around the larger context of the city and sites chosen as the focus of a design intervention using concrete as a sustainable material of expression. The Masterclass will, as before, concentrate on utilising concrete as medium of expression while addressing issues around the natural environment for design inspiration, van der Merwe stated. 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 SNc Channels: Search About Salem-News.com Jun-16-2016 20:37 TweetFollow @OregonNews Oregon Senator Merkley Integral in Passing Banking Services for Legal Cannabis Businesses Appropriations Committee Passes Merkley-Murray Amendment to Provide Access to Banking Services for Legal Marijuana Businesses Small cannabis plants (clones) are available at most medical dispensaries. Photo: Bonnie King, courtesy: CannaMedicine (WASHINGTON D.C.) - At long last, Oregon's legal cannabis business industry is within sight of being able to access the banking system. It's a no-brainer that anyone doing business and receiving money should have a bank account, but until today, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which included an amendment from Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Washington Senator Patty Murray to ensure that legal marijuana businesses can access banking services. It's not a done deal, of course, but well on it's way. Right now, legally operated cannabis businesses in Oregon and other states with legal medicinal or recreational cannabis have a seriously hard time accessing any banks. Why? It's simple: banks and credit unions that provide them services can be sanctioned or shut down under federal law. This has been an ongoing problem, and not one without a lot of risk for business owners. Without the ability to access bank accounts, accept credit cards, or write checks, businesses must operate using large amounts of cash. In Oregon alone, it is estimated that the cannabis market could bring in close to half a billion dollars during its first 14 months of legal sales. Can you imagine carrying large amounts of cash to and from, anywhere? The safety risks for employees and even the surrounding communities is real, and absolutely unnecessary. Besides, how in the world can local and state governments collect taxes accurately? That should have motivated folks long ago. The federal government should not be forcing Oregons legal marijuana businesses to carry gym bags full of cash to pay their taxes, employees and bills, said Senator Jeff Merkley. This is an invitation to robberies, money laundering, and organized crime. We need to enable our banks to serve these legal businesses without fearing devastating reprisals from the federal government. This amendment is really about providing clarity, stability, and security for our banks, credit unions, and small business owners who want to be able to operate in full daylight, said Senator Patty Murray. The people in my home state of Washington spoke in favor of marijuana legalization years ago, and as the voice for my state, I will continue to push to help legal businesses access banking services without the fear of prosecution. The amendment, passed as part of the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, would prevent federal banking regulators from prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business. The amendment passed 16-14. The bill was voted out of the Appropriations Committee today on a bipartisan vote. Next, it's headed for the Senate floor for a full Senate vote. Then, eventually it will be merged with a counterpart bill from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to be passed by both houses and signed into law. Let us push to get this solved as soon as possible. Knowingly leaving legal business owners in a no-win situation through no fault of their own is downright un-American. Sources include: Office of Senator Jeff Merkley _________________________________________ Prohibition | Marijuana | Medicine | Business | Most Commented on Articles for June 15, 2016 | Articles for June 16, 2016 | Articles for June 17, 2016 Here's who is on the ballot in Saline County Advance, in-office voting is underway in Saline County, as voters in the 2022 general election have several options on who and what to vote for. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Philadelphia, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/17/2016 -- For Delaware Valley residents, summertime brings about vacations, relaxing days and very warm weather. Summer is a time for leisure and increased traffic to the shoreline so families can enjoy the beaches. For business owners, summer is generally a time to recoup from the harsh weather of the beginning of the year and a great opportunity to prepare for the challenges they'll face towards the end of this year. DMC Commercial Snow Management offers a great way for business owners to prepare for the upcoming winter season. The company's snow services in Philadelphia earned them many referrals last season and this year promises to be no different. Three different contract options are available to business owners so they can pick the removal frequency and price that best suits them. The 2015-2016 winter season ravaged the east coast, incapacitating a number of businesses and making opening for the day a virtual impossibility. DMC Commercial Snow Management was there to assist all of their clients during the harsh winter storms, making it much easier for them to keep their businesses open. The 2016-2017 season promises to be filled with more snowfalls, meaning businesses, in particular will need to prepare. DMC Commercial Snow Management can provide deicing and commercial snow removal to the Philadelphia region. For owners and managers of commercial properties, being ready never goes out of style. To learn more about the company, the services they offer and their contract options, interested parties are encouraged to visit their website at http://dmcsnow.com/. About DMC Commercial Snow Management As a provider of snow and ice management, DMC Commercial Snow Management offers services for commercial clients. Seasoned with over 16 years in business serving Philadelphia and surrounding areas. DMC Commercial Snow Management offers budget-friendly and completely customizable service packages at fixed, flat rate pricing. Because of its many years of service, and long history of complete client satisfaction, the company has become the preferred provider for many of the nation's largest retailers. As an exterior services resource, DMC Commercial Snow Management provides a full suite of services for all your snow removal needs. The office is located at 7116 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19135. Provo, UT -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/17/2016 -- All About Pets has been awarded the Daily Herald's Best of Utah Valley Award 2016 for their veterinarian service. This is the second consecutive year All About Pets have received this prestigious award. The Best of Utah Valley is an annual award that nominate and voted for by the local community for their favorite businesses. The award is presented each spring season of the current year. "It's great to know that you have a local community that appreciates the hard work we provide in helping animals" All About Pets won their award by providing a trusted service to the local community. Being AAHA Accredited and having their business for over 25 years there is nothing short but professional pet care. "We have had great success in the last 25 years, I hope the next 25 years are just as rewarding." This award goes past their local business office, All About Pets helps multiple local cities with daily clinics. These clinics provide the community an easy way to get their dogs their annual shots and city licenses. The doctors currently at All About Pets have a combined experience of 50 years of veterinarian practices, that included orthopedics and dentistry. This knowledgeable staff have degrees in veterinary technology, biology, and bioveterinary science. Their full service veterinarian clinic has all of the required pet care services, which include preventative care, medical care, spay and neuter, dentistry, wellness packages, boarding, grooming, and surgical procedures. You can read about different pet care tips and techniques on All About Pets' blog at: http://www.allaboutpetsprovo.com/blog About All About Pets All About Pets is committed to providing your furry friend with the top pet care. With over 50 years of combined experience and a passionate staff, All About Pets is the pet-care choice you'll feel comfortable making time and time again. Contact: All About Pets press@allaboutpetsprovo.com Provo, UT www.allaboutpetsprovo.com Davao City, Philippines -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/17/2016 -- Businesses that look to realize their fullest potential may be glad to know that Telic Solutions is offering various types of solutions for helping them achieve this aim. According to Telic Solutions, their consistent aim is to touch the hearts of the potential customers of those businesses that seek their services for realizing their fullest potential. They also assure these businesses that they will take one campaign at a time. In short, businesses can expect to have all the help they need for maximizing their potential from them, says the company. Some of the services the company offers include Search engine optimization, Social media marketing, Website designing and development, Online Reputation management and Video creation and marketing. If businesses need services like hiring outsourced remote staff and assistants, they provide those services also, says Telic Solutions. Search Engine Optimization is a great way to boost the rankings of websites on search engines so they can have increased traffic and sales. That is the reason they are offering SEO services to their clients, says the company. Since the popularity of social media has been growing exponentially, they are offering social media marketing services as well. But without a website, businesses cannot provide the information potential customers may want to know. So, Telic Solutions says they help in building and developing websites for their clients. Online reputation management is crucial for any business and so, the company offers to handle this also. Businesses can effectively convey the details of what they offer through videos and hence, Telic Solutions says they provide their clients with video creation and video marketing services as well. Outsourcing tasks can help businesses save a lot on their overheads. For businesses that look to outsource their tasks and that look for assistants, they can help find suitable help, adds the company. Telic Solutions further states that they can help businesses learn their own website solutions for building their online marketing and sales platform. They offer complete support with their team of friendly Rainmaker experts and so, those who opt for this service can get answers to all their questions and can solve any problem they may encounter. This means clients can learn how to use the Rainmaker platform effectively. Additionally, they can access webinars, Walk-Throughs, and also video training for having step-by-step guidance. About Telic Solutions Telic Solutions is offering various types of solutions for helping businesses realize their fullest potential. Further, they take one campaign at a time. Some of the services the company offers include Search engine optimization, Social media marketing, Website designing and development, Online Reputation management and Video creation and marketing. If businesses need services like hiring outsourced remote staff and assistants, they provide those services also. For Media Contact: http://telic.ph Joseph S. Davao, Philippines 8000 inquire@telic.ph Armed attacks targeting health facilities have increased and intensified recently in countries of conflict , according to a study released by the International Committee of the Red Cross During its research, the committee documented about 2,400 attacks in 11 countries over a span of three years. This means that there have been more than two attacks a day against patients, health personnel and facilities, the study found. In Syria, the organisation Physicians for Human Rights created an interactive map, recording 36 attacks on 250 medical facilities. The attacks resulted in the death of 873 medical personnel since the beginning of the conflict, the study says. Time Lapse: Attacks on medical facilities in Syria through April 2016 The organisation labelled the attacks a systematic destruction that was repeated in other areas, such as Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and the West Bank. The organisation's statistics show that Syria has become the most dangerous country in the region for patients and health personnel, says Rana Sidani, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organizations Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Facts about hospital attacks There have been around 2,400 attacks in 11 countries over a span of three years Syria is the most dangerous place for patients and health personel Only three of the hospitals attacked in Syria remain operational There are only 50 doctors total in the city of Aleppo which has a population of 300,000 According to Sidani, only one-third of the hospitals that have been attacked remain operational, conditions due to the lack of medicines and health personnel. In addition, there is often a lack of electricity and potable water, she says. The Red Cross notes that there have been at least 17 attacks on health facilities in Syria this year, the latest of which was the May bombing of Jebleh hospital in Latakia province, which killed more than 40 patients and family members along with a doctor and two nurses. According to WHO statistics, 60 per cent of public hospitals in Syria have closed or are only partially operational. The same applies to public hospitals in conflict zones in Libya, where 60 per cent of hospitals are either closed or unreachable due to destruction of infrastructure, according to the statistics. There is a severe shortage in the number of physicians. For example, there are only fifty doctors in the city of Aleppo, a city inhabited by 300,000 people, says Zaidoun al-Zoabi, the head of the Syrian Union of Medical Relief Organisations. Moreover, there is a shortage in some specialties, such as ophthalmic surgeries and neurosurgery. Zoabi added that hospitals suffer from a severe shortage of medicine and nursing staff. The maintenance of medical equipment is almost non-existent, while always giving priority to emergency equipment, which led to neglecting chronic diseases, even the serious ones, such as cancer. Overall, the Red Cross said, 19 countries around the world suffer regular attacks on health facilities. On 3 May the Security Council of the United Nations adopted a call to protect civilians during armed conflicts. But according to Ahmed Albareda, a consultant hematologist in a medical centre in Sana'a, Yemen, the most significant challenge remains giving health and humanitarian assistance to people in besieged areas. South African smallholders have land access challenges and are desiring better livelihoods, writes Kwanele Sosibo. It was once one of the largest tea producers in the southern hemisphere. But today, the Magwa Tea Estate of South Africa is a ghost farm. The 2,800 hectar tea estate is made up of unkempt tea leaves, buffered by the eerie silence of empty labourers' quarters. A nearby dairy and calf-raising facility is submerged in shrubbery. Next to the tea estate, another farm lies derelict, its vandalised buildings filled with cow dung. The farm's giant mill now stores a few bags of fertiliser belonging to the Lambasi Communal Property Association (CPA). The Lambasi CPA, made up of 668 households, won a land restitution settlement for a 12,215 hectare piece of land in 2006. A decade later, they still have not received any title deeds for the land and 40 million rand (about US$2.6 million) in development and compensation grants. The headmen have a real problem with CPAs because they see them as tools of their disempowerment. Pheli Mnyaka, Lambasi Communal Property Association (CPA) Aside the Magwa Tea Estate's 2,800 hectares, parts of the remaining 9,415 hectares had eventually been ran to the ground by the parastatal company Transkei Agricultural Corporation (Tracor). By 1998, South Africas Eastern Cape Development Corporation liquidated the estate, whose fortunes have continued to wax and wane since then. But today, these failed developmental projects, the unresolved land ownership issue have resulted in suffering and frustrations to small-scale farmers who once benefitted hugely from these facilities. The farmers are desiring better livelihoods. Small-scale farming and big plans Some members of the claimant families and the other families living on the land have, under the name the Lambasi Development Committee, started to use virgin parts of the land for small-scale farming. Our attitude now has been to do what we can, says Nhlanhla Shibe, the Lambasi CPAs acting chairman and a member of the Lambasi Development Committee. But there had been greater plans to develop the land. Pheli Mnyaka retired CPA chairman, adds: We, as the CPA, have discussed possible developments with various companies. Our settlement agreement included use of the tea estate and we [have] already had long discussions with Astrum energy [a renewable energy company] about renting part of the land. There was supposed to be an agreement [from the government] on how things were to run with the tea estate. In 2013, Astrum, began talks with the Lambasi CPA. Why the plan stalled Florian Kroeber, a managing director at Astrum energy in South Africa says the project stalled, not because of the people involved, but because the CPAs are land claimants who are supposed to have access to their land but they do not. Every contract has to be co-signed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and they are just not forthcoming with any documents, he says. We, as provincial departments, cant help these delays because we have to comply with a checklist. Bahlekile Keikelame, Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Land Reform The Eastern Cape, which is one of the South Africas poorest and most under-developed provinces, has secured a substantial portion of South Africa's wind power allocation so far, with 16 wind farms out of a total of 31 nationally. However, all except one are located outside the former homelands. Homelands were established by the apartheid government to remove black people from urban areas and confined them to ethnically identified so-called areas of origin. In 1976, Transkei became the first homeland to be independent. Former homelands represent about 40 per cent of the Eastern Capes land mass and 60 per cent of its population. But the majority of wind farms in the Eastern Cape are situated in two areas: Jeffreys Bay (five) and Cookhouse (five).This perpetuates long-term developmental and economic imbalances. Competing interests Farmers could earn income in rentals alone for accommodating wind turbines on their property. For example, according to project design documents from South Africas Department of Energy, rental earnings for one turbine can reach up to US$6,500 a year. Developers also upgrade and maintain the farmers roads. Shibe, Lambasi CPA's incumbent head, views the conundrum as a triple-headed beast of ward councillors, traditional leaders and CPAs. Lambasi, which includes Magwa, comprises seven villages, divided into three wards and, at the moment, one recognised chief. So there are three councillors and one chief and all these people have competing interests, says Shibe outside a community hall in Lambasi. Besides homesteads and gravel roads, the hall is the only bureaucratic building to be seen in this part of Lambasi. Mnyaka says, The headmen have a real problem with CPAs because they see them as tools of their disempowerment. Challenges of accessing land CPAs were landholding institutions introduced in 1996 under the CPA Act, to enable groups to organise themselves into legal bodies in order to receive title deeds either from restitution or redistribution programmes.Such programmes have unclear eligibility guidelines, prioritise commercial farming and give power to the state to own the land rather than transferring it to beneficiaries. [1] Bahlekile Keikelame, a manager of the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Land Reforms provincial state land, explains that in the former homeland areas most land is unregistered state land. The required piece of land needs to be surveyed and registered by the state before a business proposal is sent to the provincial vesting and disposal committee. The committee can then recommend that the minister give a long-term lease on the land, if the people occupying the land are aware of the development and of the revenue due to them. We, as provincial departments, cant help these delays because we have to comply with a checklist, says Keikelame. According to Lambasi headman Mthuthuzeli Mkwedini, the CPAs do not have powers superseding the tribal authority, a situation he says was reiterated to all parties. CPAs are in rural areas and therefore cannot call autonomous meetings or take autonomous decisions, Mkwedini explains. Disclaimer: This piece was co-produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk and the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa, as part of a science journalism capacity building initiative, funded by the Wellcome Trust. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, who recently returned back to Earth after spending nearly 340 days aboard the International Space Station, is gearing up for his next journey, a week-long trip to Alaska on luxurious cruise ship, Crystal Serenity. "I'm really looking forward to relaxing on the ship ... and sleeping," Kelly said in an exclusive interview with USA Today. "It's been a very busy year." Kelly's twin brother and fellow retired astronaut Mark Kelly and Mark's wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be joining him on the cruise trip from Anchorage to Vancouver which departs June 26. Kelly's children and longtime partner will also be a part of the trip. "Hopefully the kids will have some fun, and I'm looking forward to some shore excursions," Kelly added. The twin Kelly brothers will present live lectures and participate in Q&A sessions on the luxury ship with 1,070-passengers on board. "It is a special honor for us to welcome these esteemed guests aboard our ship, and we are equally thrilled to share the privilege with our inquisitive and savvy guests," said Edie Rodriguez, Crystal CEO and president. "Crystal has long enjoyed a reputation for offering enlightening and often cutting-edge enrichment on board that enhances travelers' global explorations; this occasion is particularly exceptional." Both Scott and Mark have been a part of NASA's first groundbreaking twin study, in which the former completed a space mission, while the later served on the ground as a control model to help scientists understand how space affects the human body. After returning back from space, Scott said at a NASA event that exposure to space environment has permanent effects. He revealed that while in space astronauts are exposed to high levels of radiation and carbon monoxide, and a micro-gravity environment which causes loss of bone and muscle, vision impairment and effects on their immune system. He added that due to the absence of gravity in space his skin did not feel anything for nearly a year and that it turned extremely sensitive and became inflamed. Despite facing such challenges, Scott expressed his wish to be part other space pioneer missions in future. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully boosted communication satellites into orbit, however, the booster did not land on the drone ship off the Florida coast. SpaceX has already confirmed the news. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at around 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. It carried the EUTELSAT 117 West B as well as ABS-2A to geostationary transfer orbits. After the launch, the booster was expected to land on the drone barge named "Of Course I Still Love You", yet the video of the landing was cut off in the midst of flames and smoke. According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the Falcon 9 rocket experienced a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" while it attempts to land. Musk also confirmed that the thrust has been too low on one of those three landing engines. Following this incident, Musk stated that upgrades will definitely be made to the rockets to make up for the specific problem, and that they expect completion by the end of the year, RT reported. SpaceX has successfully landed four of the Falcon 9 rockets that was launched, with one on land and three on the drone barge, but it is yet to reuse one of these in order to carry payloads into space. Early this month, Musk confirmed on Twitter about the company's plan to relaunch one of their rockets later this year, citing a possible launch date in September. If the plan pushes through, it would be the first relaunch for the rockets of the private space company. The SpaceX has been successful in its attempt to land the Falcon 9 rockets, and ultimately achieving its first barge touch down in April. Surely, the company will be gathering relevant data from every phase of the launch to analyze what really happened and come up with ways to prevent the same incident from happening again, according to Daily Mail. For so long, it is thought that humans are the only creatures on earth who understand physics. But it seems like there are other species that actually can. A new study found that cats actually know the concept of the laws of physics, and it is something that they use quite frequently, especially when it comes to hunting and catching their prey. According to The News Independent, researchers from Japan found that cats can anticipate the presence of an invisible object inside a box, depending on the sound that containers make when shaken. They also checked whether or not the cat can expect an object to fall out the box when it is turned upside down. The experiment was conducted on 30 domestic cats. Using the scenarios that they created on the experiment, the team from Kyoto University and his colleagues said the rattling boxes that produced an object and the silent boxes that did not produce anything compiled with the laws of physics, while the opposite defied such laws. . Another thing that the scientists noted was that cats stare longer at containers from the incongruent setup, which means that they know how to manage their expectations. The study, published in the journal Animal Cognition said that the scientists argued that the hearing tests revealed that cats can comprehend gravity, or something similar to it. Saho Takagi, a co-author of the paper said in an email to The Washington Post, "Our study is the first demonstration that cats seem to grasp the laws of physics." So what is the importance of this in the cats' hunting abilities? The study discovered that the cats' grasp of the concept of Physics helps them understand the principles of cause and effect. Cats, which are known to have a strong sense of hearing, can help hunt their prey easily by applying these concepts, especially because cats usually hunt at night with a limited vision in the dark. Deep space has always been one of the biggest mysteries known to mankind, and for the first time ever, researchers found the first evidence of chiral molecule with two mirror image "twins" in interstellar space. First mirror-image molecule found in interstellar space https://t.co/x0I1DXaort pic.twitter.com/jZsrNEEYzq New Scientist (@newscientist) June 15, 2016 Molecules - especially large and complicated ones - come in mirror image forms, even when they have the same formula. These are often termed as "left-handed" and "right-handed" molecules, and they behave the same way physically. However, they can react differently with different substances. For instance one form of pharmaceutical compound could help medicate a person, while the other form could be harmful to the body. Nobody ever spotted a chiral molecule in interstellar space, Brett McGuire, an astrochemist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena told Science Mag. However, when he and his colleagues sorted through data they gathered with the help of radio telescopes, they noticed signs of propylene oxide (CH 3 CHCH 2 O) in a large cloud of gas in the middle of the Milky Way. He also said, "This is the first molecule detected in interstellar space that has the property of chirality, making it a pioneering leap forward in our understanding of how prebiotic molecules are made in the Universe and the effects they may have on the origins of life." Brandon Carrol, a chemistry graduate student at the California Institute of Technology also shared that the propylene oxide is among the most structurally intricate molecules ever detected so far in space. Express UK noted that the discovery of these complex organic molecules gives weight to the theory that life was delivered to our earth from galactic bodies like meteorites. McGuire explained that by discovering these chiral molecules in space, there is finally a way for humans to study where and how these molecules from before they find their way into the meteorites and comets, in order to further understand the role they play in the origins of life. FLORENCE, S.C. Tom Rice, the freshman representative for South Carolinas 7th congressional district, was in Florence on Friday afternoon for a meet-and-greet and took some time to criticize President Barack Obama on overregulation. Rice told Florentines gathered at Wholly Smokin restaurant in downtown Florence that the Obama administration has consistently gone over Congress to implement regulations that hurt Americas working and entrepreneurial classes. Over six years President Obama has passed more regulations than any president in the last 40 years and most of those have been on the financial industry, he said. Since 2010 we havent had 20 banks form in the whole country. Small banks fund small businessesthats how they get their starting capital. Since 2010 more small businesses have closed every year than have opened. Thats the first time thats happened since the Depression. He said the regulations have strapped new businesses that hire people, which has led to a smaller workforce. He also said this has hurt the housing market nationwide. Home ownership is the highest source of wealth for most people in this country. We have the lowest level home ownership today than weve had since 1965, Rice said. Were setting 50-year records on a negative way and its because of these banking regulations. Rice said government shut-downs are often blamed on the Republicans in Washington, and are often used as a threat, when in reality its because of a system set up by Obama and the Democrats. What theyve figured out is to exercise power of the purse, have big collateral and consequences that the public doesnt want to put up with it, he said. They had these huge continuing resolutions that funded the entire government. So if we want to defund something, they can say we dont accept that and shut the government down. Rice said Florence has a much nicer feel than Washington. There are a lot of cranes up around Washington and a lot of stuff being built just like there is here, Rice said. The sad, tragic part of that is its all coming from taxpayer dollarscoming from the people of Florence. Rice faces opposition in the November general election. Coker College professor Mal Hyman of Hartsville is a Democrat seeking the seat. Researchers digging in the desert of southeast Eritrea have uncovered what could be the first footprints that are clearly attributed to Homo erectus, a species of hominid widely considered to be a direct ancestor to modern humans. Estimated to feature a size 12 foot size, the fossilized footprints were possibly made by tall individuals some 800,000 years ago in sandy sediments along the shores of what was once a large lake surrounded by grasslands. Today the Aalad-Amo site where the H. erectus's prints were excavated by a team of the National Museum of Eritrea and Rome's La Sapienza University is occupied by the semi arid Danakil desert. RELATED: Footprints Show How Our Ancestors Walked "The prints are preserved on a hardened sandy sediment that was partly flooded. So far we have been able to bring to light a portion of 85 square feet," Alfredo Coppa, the anthropologist from Rome's Sapienza University who led the dig, told Discovery News. Coppa explained the slab of stone features footprints which move from north to south and possibly belong to several individuals. They may have been stalking an antelope-like animal whose prints were also recognized in the trackway. "Homo erectus was the only hominid species that inhabited the area at that time. Indeed, these could be the first clearly recognizable H. erectus's footprints," Coppa said. Other airlines committed to the cause are British Airways, Iberia, Kenya Airways, American Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Virgin, Jet Airways, COPA, Air France, Swiss, Thai Airways, Cebu Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air Seychelles, Philippine Airlines, Air Asia, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Emirates, Eva Air, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, KLM, FinnAir, Lufthansa, Lan Chile/LATAM Airlines Group and Aeromexico. "We believe that cutting the supply chain of shark fins to markets is a compelling way to reduce supply and demand," Alex Hofford, a wildlife campaigner at WildAid Hong Kong, told Discovery News. WildAid is leading "fly #sharkfree." Conservationists have been reaching out to airlines and shipping lines to join the "fly #sharkfree" movement in order to curb the transportation of shark fins from ports to markets, where the fins are purchased for shark fin soup that is still regarded as a delicacy in some countries. HK Express, a Hong Kong airline, recently announced that it will prohibit large consignments of shark fins being shipped as cargo, exemplifying a growing effort among not only airlines, but also container shipping lines, to stop the often illegal practice of shark finning. Regarding HK Express' recent decision to join the ever-growing list, Andrew Cowen, director and CEO of the airline, said, "As Hong Kong's low-fare airline, we believe it is vital for us to contribute to a more sustainable future for sharks and help restore the marine ecosystems." Sixteen of the top 20 global container shipping lines have also in recent months announced their shark free cargo shipment policies. These include Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Sud, Hanjin Shipping, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), OOCL, APL, Yang Ming, NYK Line, UASC, HMM, "K" Line, PIL (Pacific International Line), ZIM, Wan Hai Lines. Two of the world's largest transporters of goods, Federal Express and Cosco, have so far been resistant to calls for change, Hofford said, but there is at least one petition hoping to affect FedEx's current stance. Hofford admits that the restrictions on transportation of shark products represent just one step in the overall goal of stopping shark finning, and that many challenges remain. HK Express, for example, can only attempt to monitor "large consignments of shark fins" because it would be difficult for the airline to track shark fins and related products being transported in carry-on luggage. Also, Hofford said, "Enforcement of the airline bans to ensure that the bans are not mere 'lip service' is a matter that we are looking into." RELATED: How to Reduce Shark Attacks -- And Save Sharks He said that the wildlife monitoring network called TRAFFIC as well as the International Air Transport Association are evaluating enforcement training for staff working in the transport and logistics sectors. Hofford added, "Certainly more needs to be done to ensure that front line staff accepting shipments in shipping lines or airline cargo divisions are alert to certain high risk shippers who have shipped shark fins in the past, as well as new shippers who could be looking to ship shark fins by mislabeling or mis-declaring them as 'dried seafood,' 'dried goods,' or 'dried products.'" Laundering illegally caught sharks can involve highly endangered species such as hammerhead sharks, which fall under the international treaty CITES. RELATED: Sharks with Friends: The Most Social Sharks Last year, the conservation groups Turtle Island Restoration Network and PRETOMA reported evidence that a company named "Inversiones Cruz Z, S.A." located in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, sold shark fins to Yue Hing Shark's Fin & Marine Products Co. Ltd. In Hong Kong. The conservationists say that the fins were flown from Costa Rica to Hong Kong via stop-overs in the U.S., violating U.S. law. "Given the routing of cargo shipments to China from Costa Rica, these shipments clearly touched down in the U.S., where they should have been confiscated under the ESA (Endangered Species Act) and thus been prevented from further trade and sale. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to enforce the ESA, and allowed the shipments to continue on to Hong Kong," Turtle Island and PRETOMA said in a jointly issued statement. Then there is the matter of airlines and shipping lines transporting shark cartilage pills. WildAid has discovered a factory in China that processes shark cartilage as well as manta rays. RELATED: Shark Teeth Weapons Reveal Surprises Even with all of the challenges, the good news, aside from the growing "fly #sharkfree" movement, concerns changing attitudes about killing sharks, especially just for their fins. Joan Chan, campaigns director for the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, said, "Shark fin is an unnecessary and outdated tradition," adding that "time is running out fast for our oceans and the sharks who live in them." WildAid has launched related public awareness campaigns that leverage the talents of celebrities and business leaders. Recent ones have involved prominent CEOs from China, popular Chinese film actor Jiang Wen and actress and model Maggie Q. It's hoped that they and others can help shrink public demand for shark fin soup and other shark products. NASA's Kepler Space Telescope is tasked with finding small, rocky worlds orbiting distant stars. However, exoplanets aren't the only thing Kepler can detect - stellar flares, star spots and dusty planetary rings can also pop up in the mission's observations. But there's also been speculation that Kepler may have the ability to detect more than natural phenomena; if they're out there, Kepler may also detect the signature of artificial structures orbiting other stars. Imagine an advanced civilization that's well up on the Kardashev scale and has the ability to harness energy directly from its star. This hypothetical alien civilization may want to construct vast megastructures, like supersized solar arrays in orbit around their host star, that could be so big that they blot out a sizable fraction of starlight as they pass in front. 13 Ways to Hunt Intelligent Aliens When Kepler detects an exoplanet, it does so by sensing the very slight dip in starlight from a given star. The premise is simple: an exoplanet orbits in front of star (known as a "transit"), Kepler detects a slight dimming of starlight and creates a "lightcurve" - basically a graph charting the dip in starlight over time. Much information can be gleaned from the lightcurve, such as the physical size of the transiting exoplanet. But it can also deduce the exoplanet's shape. Normally the shape of an exoplanet isn't particularly surprising because it's, well, planet-shaped. It's round. The physics of planetary formation dictate that a planetary body above a certain mass will be governed by hydrostatic equilibrium. But say if Kepler detects something that isn't round. Well, that's when things can get a bit weird. For the most part, any dip in star brightness can be attributed to some kind of natural phenomenon. But what if all possibilities are accounted for and only one scenario is left? What if that scenario is this object appears to be artificial? In other words, what if it's alien? In a chilling article written by Ross Andersen of The Atlantic, at first glance, it seems we may be at this incredible juncture. GALLERY: How Aliens Can Find Us (and Vice Versa) A star, named KIC 8462852, has been found with a highly curious transit signal. In a paper submitted to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers, including citizen scientists from the Planet Hunters crowdsourcing program, report: "Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux down to below the 20 percent level." The research paper is thorough, describing the phenomenon, pointing out that this star is unique - we've seen nothing like it. Kepler has collected data on this star steadily for four years. It's not instrumental error. Kepler isn't seeing things; the signal is real. "We'd never seen anything like this star," Tabetha Boyajian, a postdoctorate researcher at Yale University and lead author, told The Atlantic. "It was really weird. We thought it might be bad data or movement on the spacecraft, but everything checked out." The Planet Hunters volunteers are depended on to seek out transits in Kepler's stars in the direction of the constellation Cygnus. This is a huge quantity of data, from over 150,000 stars in Kepler's original field of view, and you can't beat the human eye when identifying a true dip in starlight brightness. The Planet Hunters described KIC 8462852 as "bizarre," "interesting" and a "giant transit." They're not wrong. ANALYSIS: Could Kepler Detect Alien Artifacts? Follow-up studies focus on two interesting transit events at KIC 8462852, one that was detected between days 788 and 795 of the Kepler mission and between days 1510 to 1570. The researchers have tagged these events as D800 and D1500 respectively. The D800 event appears to have been a single transit causing a star brightness drop-off of 15 percent, whereas D1500 was a burst of several transits, possibly indicating a clump of different objects, forcing a brightness dip of up to 22 percent. To cause such dips in brightness, these transiting objects must be huge. The researchers worked through every known possibility, but each solution presented a new problem. For example, they investigated the possibility of some kind of circumstellar disk of dust. However, after looking for the infrared signal associated with these disks, no such signal could be seen. Also, the star is a mature F-type star, approximately 1.5 times the size of our sun. Circumstellar disks are usually found around young stars. ANALYSIS: Alien 'Star Engine' Detectable in Exoplanet Data? The researchers also investigated the possibility of a huge planetary collision: could the debris from this smashup be creating this strange signal? The likelihood of us seeing a planetary collision is extremely low. There is no evidence in data taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) that a collision happened, creating a very tiny window of opportunity between WISE's mission end and the beginning of Kepler's mission (of a few years) for an astronomically unlikely cosmic event like this to occur. The only natural explanation favored by the researchers seems to focus on an intervening clump of exocomets. "One way we imagine such a barrage of comets could be triggered is by the passage of a field star through the system," write the researchers. Indeed, they argue, there's a nearby star that might have tidally disturbed otherwise dormant comets in the outermost regions of the KIC 8462852 star system. This small star is located around 1,000 AU from KIC 8462852 and whether it's a binary partner or an interstellar visitor, its presence may have caused some cometary turmoil. Like the other scenarios, however, the exocomet explanation still falls short of being fully satisfactory. This research paper focuses only on natural and known possible causes of the mystery transit events around KIC 8462852. A second paper is currently being drafted to investigate a completely different transit scenario that focuses around the possibility of a mega-engineering project created by an advanced alien civilization. ANALYSIS: Our Super-Advanced Alien Neighbors are Missing This may sound like science fiction, but our galaxy has existed for over 13 billion years, it's not such a stretch of the imagination to think that an alien civilization may be out there and evolved to the point where they can build megastructures around stars. "Aliens should always be the very last hypothesis you consider, but this looked like something you would expect an alien civilization to build," Jason Wright, an astronomer from Penn State University, told The Atlantic. Indeed, hunting down huge structures that obscure the light from stars is no new thing. The Search for Extraterrestrial Technology (SETT) is one such project that does just this. Only recently, a survey of the local universe focused on the hope of detecting the waste heat generated by a technologically advanced civilization, specifically a Type II Kardashev civilization. On the Kardashev scale, a Type II civilization has the ability to utilize all the available energy radiating from a star. Using a vast shell or series of rings surrounding a star, a Dyson sphere-like structure may be constructed. This has the effect of blotting out the star from view in visible wavelengths, but once the solar energy has been used by the alien civilization, the energy is shifted to longer wavelengths and likely lost as infrared radiation. ANALYSIS: Could We Detect an Alien Civilization's Waste Heat? This recent search for aliens' waste heat drew a blank, reaching the conclusion that as there appears to be no alien intelligence cocooning stars to harvest their heat, there's likely no Type II civilization nearby. But as KIC 8462852 is showing us, there may be something else out there - possibly an alien intelligence that is well on its way to becoming a Type II civilization, which is setting up some kind of artificial structure around its star. Of course, these mystery transit events are nowhere near "proof" of an alien civilization. In fact, it's barely evidence and a lot more work needs to be done. The next step is to point a radio antenna at KIC 8462852, just to see whether the system is generating any artificial radio signals that could indicate the presence of something we'd define as "intelligent." Boyajian and Wright have now teamed up with Andrew Siemion, the Director of the SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, to get a radio telescope to listen into the star and if they detect an artificial signal, they will request time on the Very Large Array (VLA) to deduce whether any radio signals from that star are the chatter of an alien civilization. It might be a long shot, and the phenomenon is more likely a clump of comets or some other natural phenomenon that we haven't accounted for blocking star light from view, but it's worth investigating, especially if there really is some kind of alien intelligence building structures, or perhaps, ancient structures of a civilization long-gone, around a star only 1,500 light-years away from Earth. Has Kepler revealed evidence for a technologically advanced civilization around a star only 1500 light-years away? That's one exciting, if unlikely, interpretation of recent transit data. Nov. 8, 2011 -- Despite the occasional report of an extraterrestrial sighting, be it through a microscope revealing curious shapes in a meteorite or a photo of wispy lights taken at the blurry end of a camera lens, aliens have yet to make contact with humans. Even the White House yesterday put out a statement declaring that the federal government "has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race." Humans may not yet have encountered life outside of our planet, but many scientists see it as an inevitability. In 1960, astronomer Frank Drake came up with the now eponymous equation which provided an estimate of the number of civilizations in our galaxy. Although scientists continue to debate the application of his formula as well as alternatives, Drake's own solution to the equation is 10,000 civilizations, suggesting intelligent, technologically advanced life outside our planet is common. How these different civilizations, including our own, find each other is an important question for anyone here on Earth looking for extraterrestrials. Explore how aliens might stumble upon our planet -- and how we might actually spot them first. BLOG: ARE UFOS ALIEN? NO! Before we can began to search the skies, we have to start by narrowing down our options. Sticking within our own galaxy is a good start, since we're more likely to spot a neighbor closer to us than one further away. Astronomers may also elect to focus their attention on stars closer to the center of the Milky Way, where 90 percent of its stars are clustered. Furthermore, the stars here are a billion times older than the sun, giving life more time to develop biologically and technologically. Many stars are unsuitable for nurturing life, and even stars that do have the appropriate "spectral type" may host exoplanets inhospitable to life due to their location relative to their parent star, size or composition. These criteria would not only help us find aliens, but also help them find us. After all, Earth would stand out as a hospitable planet, according to a paper published in 2007 in Astrophysical Journal. If aliens are looking for us, they're scanning the same, vast, dark and mostly empty expanse of space that we are. It's a good thing then that we're leaving the lights on to make it easier to find us. According to Abraham Loeb, of Harvard University and Edwin Turner, from Princeton University, by scanning the skies for artificial illumination as opposed to naturally occurring light sources, both human and extraterrestrial astronomers might be able to find signs of life. Existing telescopes would be able to see a city the size of Tokyo as far as the edges of our solar system. BLOG: CITY LIGHTS COULD REVEAL ET For more than 25 years, the SETI Institute has been scouring the skies for signs of alien life. However, long before the institute was established, scientists have tried to catch a communication signal from another world. Scientists looking for alien signals use a combination of optical and radio telescopes, such as the one seen here. Dropping in on a signal without knowing the source of the communication is the tricky part, however, and researchers narrow down their search by targeting specific kinds of stars. With their citizen science program, SETI@home, the institute has enlisted three million additional observers analyzing data for traces of an alien signal. BLOG: MAN LOOKS FOR ALIENS, LOSES JOB Have aliens already stopped by for a visit, even though we weren't at the door to meet them? If they have, shouldn't they have left something behind? An artificial object of alien origin could be lurking in our solar system without our knowledge. As Discovery News' Ray Villard explains: "In a paper published in the 1960s, Carl Sagan, using the Drake Equation, statistically estimated that Earth might be visited every few tens of thousands of years by an extraterrestrial civilization." Further out beyond our solar system, aliens may have left what essentially amount to interstellar billboards large enough to be seen by, say, a planet-hunting telescope like Kepler. These last two scenarios, of course, envision an extremely technologically advanced civilization well beyond the engineering capabilities of humankind. At the same time, humans have sent spacecraft beyond the solar system, including Pioneer 10 and 11 as well as Voyager 1 and 2. All of these spacecraft are equipped with what are essentially calling cards for the human race -- small plaques in the case of the Pioneer spacecraft and golden records for the Voyager spacecraft (seen here). SCIENCE CHANNEL: Top 10 Alien Sightings Humans may rely primarily on fossil fuels as their primary means of energy, but that doesn't mean extraterrestrials in a far off civilization have the same power source. Solar power could be one option, though not quite with the same black panels we use on Earth. A super civilization could even tap into a black hole to meet its energy needs. If aliens are tapping to these cosmic bodies, that should make them all the more detectable from Earth. How would we know whether an alien race was relying on a black hole as a source of energy? As Discovery News' Ray Villard explains: "Tell-tale evidence would come from measurements that showed the black hole weighed less than 3.5 solar masses. That's the minimum mass for crushing matter into a black hole via a supernova core-collapse." On July 4, a NASA probe will dive deep into arguably the most dangerous region of the solar system: Jupiter's radiation belts. And the space agency has released an awesome video showcasing some of the "unknowns" that could threaten the spacecraft. RELATED: Juno Mission Feels Jupiter's Gravitational Hug Sure, we've had a mission in orbit around the gas giant before -- Galileo -- and had several flyby missions -- Voyager, Pioneer, New Horizons etc. -- but we've never sent an intrepid robotic explorer so close to Jupiter's cloud tops to investigate what lies beneath. Jupiter is well known for its hefty gravitational field that can slingshot asteroids and comets on random paths, plus magnetic and electric fields that supercharge energetic particles. All of these factors pose a risk to spacecraft and, as we've never ventured so close, Jupiter may be about the most risky place to do science. And like the brilliant, drama-filled "7 Minutes of Terror" promo video for Curiosity's landing on Mars in 2012, this Juno promo is just as thrilling. Check it out... and brace yourselves for one hell of a ride. Jupiter's water abundance is expected to show astronomers how it was formed, and by extension, the story of water in the solar system. Scientists are eager to use the mission to peer inside of Jupiter and to see how much water is inside. It is already known that the water in the stratosphere mostly comes from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact of 1995, but deeper down the water abundance is unknown. Image: Artist's impression of the young solar system Beta Pictoris. Credit: NASA Most observations of Jupiter's weather are done by amateurs, who can talk about bands changing color, the size of the Great Red Spot shrinking, and other phenomena on the solar system's larger planet. Juno will be able to probe beneath the surface, however, to see what is happening underneath. It is poorly understood how deep weather features go on the giant planet, so Juno will give astronomers a better glimpse. Image: Jupiter's cloud belts are known to change shape, disappear and reappear, as seen in this 2010 image composite of the planet. By observing in three different wavelengths, astronomers were able to spot the south equatorial band of Jupiter reappearing by looking beneath cloudtops. Credit: NASA/JPL/UH/NIR Image: Jupiter's immense gravity influences several dozen moons, such as those shown here in this artist's impression. Credit: NASA/JPL It's not known what kind of core Jupiter has (if it has any core at all), which is interesting because the planet has such an intense magnetic environment. On Earth, the core's rotation is believed to create the magnetic field; this means that Jupiter's precise magnetic generation is somewhat unknown. Scientists hope to learn more about the interior of Jupiter by examining its magnetic and gravity fields. Image: An X-ray aurora at Jupiter seen by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 2011, and put on a simultaneous optical image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SwRI/R.Gladstone et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage (AURA/STScI) Jupiter has a really intense magnetic field that generates huge auroras on the planet. Scientists hope to get a better sense about how the magnetosphere (the entire magnetic environment) behaves, such as the interactions with the solar wind and with Jupiter's moons. Rock and ice climbing are hard enough, but Scottish mountaineer Jamie Andrew is doing these hard-core activities without hands or feet. Recently the quadruple amputee set out with several friends to cross the iconic Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye. While meeting a friend along the traverse, the group ended up assisting with a rescue. RELATED: 7 Highest Peaks on 7 Continents Seventeen years ago, Andrew and his climbing partner Jamie Fisher were attempting the north face of Les Droites in the French Alps when a storm hit, trapping them for days. The temperature dipped to -22 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind hit 90 mph. Fisher didn't make it. Andrew was airlifted to a hospital, where his hands and feet had to be amputated. His whole life had been swept away, but he felt he owed it to his friend to make the most of his second chance, Andrew told me over Skype. Over time, he regained his self-confidence, learning how to be strong and stable on prosthetic feet. He trained his arm stumps, toughening the skin to pull or push down on tiny handholds. For technical ice climbing, he uses prosthetic ice axes and prosthetic crampon feet. Before the accident, he and Fisher had spent time on Cuillin Ridge in Scotland. Stretching across 14 peaks, the ridge is a classic multi-day traverse involving scrambling and graded rock climbing. The weather there is notoriously fickle, Andrew said. When it turned nice recently, he and several longtime friends dropped everything to go. RELATED: Paralympic Cyclist To Compete On 3D-Printed Leg On their second day, they spotted their friend Andy Hume coming to meet them. But as they got closer, he disappeared. Arriving between two peaks, they looked down to see Hume assisting a fallen climber in a scree-covered slope. The solo climber had slipped, bounced off a rock slab, and fallen off a 90-foot cliff. Miraculously, he was still conscious and had shouted to Hume, Andrew recounted on UKClimbing.com. Andrew told me he wants to be clear that, other than helping to wave down the rescue helicopter, he stayed on the ridge above the accident site. Hume and Simon Yearsley gave the climber first aid and also kept him warm and safe, he said. "It was Andy and Simon who did an amazing job of basically saving this guy's life." Later they learned that the climber was doing well, and had been transferred to a hospital in his hometown. Although Andrew didn't complete the ridge this time, he said he'll return in the future. RELATED: Man With Multiple Sclerosis Summits Everest Next, he has his sights set on summiting the 14,692-foot Matterhorn in Switzerland this summer. Three years ago he was about 650 feet from the top when the weather prompted him to make the call to turn around. For him, it's not about reaching the summit but getting down safely, Andrew said. "I don't have hands any more, which are an incredibly versatile set of tools, but I do have my stumps, and they're versatile too in their own way," said. "It's just a case of making the most of what you have." WATCH VIDEO: Why Afghani Women Are Climbing Mountains This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The latest city initiative to brighten up the long-troubled United Nations Plaza, on Market Street in San Francisco, is a new Living Innovation Zone called the Sound Commons. It was a wonder I kept reading the press release. Living Innovation Zone sounds like the name of the university lab in a bad dystopian movie, while the Brutalist-style blocks and open drug trade on U.N. Plaza trump any science fiction Ive ever seen. But I pressed on Sound Commons is a sound-based installation composed of interactive musical elements designed to encourage social interaction and play, the release from the mayors office read. This Living Innovation Zone project is part of an initiative designed to activate and restore Civic Center as a destination for all. Skeptical of any official design to get me to play, I kept reading, and the rest of the release told me what this was really about. The Sound Commons disappeared and the text descended into an exhaustive plan about cleaning and policing increased foot patrols, ongoing maintenance ... seven days per week, new funding for a beat police officer. Oh, I said to myself. I know this story. Someones trying to use art to make an area safe for commerce. Legal commerce, that is. I decided to see it for myself. Amy Osborne/Special To The Chronicle On Thursday morning, June 16, there was plenty of social interaction at U.N. Plaza. Older women sold selections from their food pantry bags, young men sold bottles of liquor with a dubious provenance, and a confused-looking man glanced up from his bedroll to offer me his crack pipe. There was so much going on that it took me a moment to find the Sound Commons installation, which was created by a team from the Exploratorium. When I did find it its four large pieces spread out among the planter boxes on the plazas west side I marveled at how well they blended into the landscape. The large rock slabs in U.N. Plaza, constantly being sprayed by a malevolent fountain, already make me feel the need to take cover in a cave. The tall, bristling chimes and echo tubes that have sprouted as part of the Sound Commons acoustic phenomena continue the theme of danger. Fortunately for me, the Sound Commons experience came with a human being to guide me along. A gentleman who goes by the name of Carter is a full-time steward for the installation. He was patiently explaining one of the sound pieces to a group of tourists. I ran over to join them. Amy Osborne/Special To The Chronicle That piece a sound sensor attached to bed of gravel was broken. Not a good start for the exhibit, but Carter was excited to walk me through the pieces that worked, and his enthusiasm quickly rubbed off on me. I tapped the chimes with their attached mallets. I clapped into one of the echo tubes and heard the noise ricochet back like a firecracker. We walked through Tock Tick, pushing a series of wooden pendulums so they made a beat, like a metronome. When a small, big-eyed child stood by to watch us, we encouraged him to try it himself. I also saw why so much of the press release had been dedicated to the housekeeping plan. The Sound Commons has been up for less than a week, and already most of the ramps are covered in bird poop. And without someone like Carter there, itll be tough to maintain the space for everyone. Im sure one of the U.N. Plazas hustlers already has started thinking about using one of the xylophones to make street music for tips. Thats all part of the process, said Steve Gennrich, a project director for the Exploratorium and the Sound Commons. Gennrich was also involved with the first Innovation Zone, a sound piece that still sits on Market Street at Yerba Buena Lane. Gennrich and I talked about that project, and about how we often see homeless people using it. Gennrich, like me, sees everyone as being part of the city fabric. Were not against the homeless population using these exhibits, he told me. It gives them something to do. U.N. Plaza presents specific challenges, however. Theres a really active drug trade going on there at the top of the (BART) tunnel, Gennrich said. There are also students going to the library and attending the culinary school. There are kids from the Tenderloin. Its a very diverse crowd. That affected the decision to put the sound pieces in the planter boxes, he said. We didnt want to interfere with the successful things going on out there, like the (biweekly) farmers market. But we did want to shift the space, to make it less scary. Will it work? Time will tell. There have been many efforts to make U.N. Plaza less frightening, and all of them have failed so far. Personally, I think the problem began when they installed those hulking, spraying rocks. But at this point, cosmetic changes may be less helpful than decent-paying jobs, quality education and affordable housing the holy trinity that San Francisco, like so many other places, has been unable to provide for far too many of its residents. All the sound from the commons isnt going to drown out the U.N. Plazas cry for help. For now, there is officially sanctioned play. And if thats not enough for you, the unofficial version is just steps away. Caille Millner is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: caillemillner This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate David Zeller was worth more alive than dead. Sounds like a bad plotline, but thats essentially the citys argument in what was a disappearing malpractice settlement. Zeller was rendered paraplegic at age 53 after seeking treatment at San Francisco General Hospital in 2012. He sued, alleged malpractice and eventually agreed to settle the lawsuit for $1.5 million with $900,000 coming from the city and $600,000 from the University of California system, which employs the doctors at San Francisco General. That should have been the end of a horrific saga, but Zeller committed suicide in March four years after being paralyzed and as a result, the city says it wont honor the proposed settlement. On Thursday, the Board of Supervisors Government Audit & Oversight Committee voted to reject it on the advice of the city attorneys office. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Zellers attorney accused the city of reneging on a good-faith settlement. The city, though, argued that Zellers death fundamentally changed the case. Namely, the bulk of the settlement money was to pay for Zellers long-term medical care. And now that hes dead, those future medical costs go away. Zeller was taken to San Francisco General Hospital in an ambulance on March 16, 2012, because of severe back pain and weakness and numbness in his legs. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he was pushed and shoved from a gurney to the MRI table, instead of staff using a slider board, causing disk material to be pushed into his spinal canal and leading to paraplegia. It also says his doctors didnt order neurological monitoring and spine precautions as they should have. Legally speaking, plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases cant be awarded more than $250,000 for pain, suffering and emotional distress under a 1975 state law. The proposed $1.5 million settlement with Zeller doesnt detail what the money is for. Zellers attorney, Carter Zinn, said his client is owed that money, even if hes dead. Zinn said he would have gone to trial if he had thought the city would renege on the settlement agreement. And, he added, This settlement brought peace to David. He felt they were taking accountability for what happened. Hes not here physically to feel cheated by this, but spiritually this has to do with letting him rest. Closest relative If paid, the bulk of the settlement money would go to Zellers closest living relative, a nephew, Michael McCowan, 54, who lives in San Diego and hadnt heard from Zeller in the 38 years before his death. Zinn tracked McCowan down after Zeller committed suicide. McCowan said he will use the money to create a scholarship fund at Zellers alma mater, Indiana University. Ill never know David, McCowan said. The best I can do is try to do something that would have meaning to him. Zinn, as the attorney, stands to receive a percentage of the settlement, meaning he has a financial stake in the dispute. He rejected the image of him as money-hungry. He said he owns a small legal firm and budgeted believing the money from the settlement would be paid. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for the city attorneys office, said its lawyers have a fiduciary duty to San Francisco taxpayers to recommend settlements that reflect the law and that appropriately compensate the appropriate party. In emails provided by Zinn, Mark Lipton, a deputy city attorney, was more caustic. The city owes no contractual obligation to decedent, his heirs, if any, or your firm, Lipton wrote. As we have advised you, it appears that this will be a circumstance where the proposed settlement will not be approved. In sum, there is no settlement to enforce. New negotiations This isnt the last chapter. The city and McCowan, with Zinn as his attorney, will enter into new settlement negotiations in July. If they fail to come to an agreement, Zinn said he would sue the city for breach of contract. Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: emilytgreen Facebook shareholders will vote Monday on a proposal that would enable co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to sell stock while maintaining his ironclad control of the company. The vote is largely symbolic Facebooks board has signed off on the change, Zuckerberg is expected to vote in favor and he effectively has final say. But the move highlights the debate over whether publicly traded technology companies should be governed by shareholders or insiders. Silicon Valleys philosophy can be summed up as this: Founders know best. The Menlo Park company has long had a dual-class share structure which means that some insiders chiefly Zuckerberg are more equal than others when it comes to corporate votes. Mondays proposal adds shares with no voting power whatsoever. Those who hold Class A stock have one vote per share, while Class B shareholders have 10 votes per share. New Class C shares will have no votes. Zuckerberg, who will receive Class C shares alongside other investors through a one-time dividend, will be able to sell them without affecting his voting power. The move would give Facebook a structure similar to Alphabet Inc. Googles parent company began issuing Class C shares in 2014, cementing co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brins control. Facebook and Google grew to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars with dual-class shares that have given their founders lasting control. But the structure is no guarantee of success. Zynga, the San Francisco maker of online and mobile games, is controlled by founder Mark Pincus, who has cycled through several top executives as the companys shares have lingered below $3 for much of the past four years. Michael Macor/The Chronicle Many companies succeed even when a founder is no longer the leader. Apple, Microsoft and Tesla Motors all have single-class share structures and have all seen recent gains in value under non-founder CEOs. Box, meanwhile, has a dual-class share structure, but CEO Aaron Levie doesnt have substantial voting power; instead, early investors effectively form a block that controls the company. LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, a co-founder who has voting control, has let CEO Jeff Weiner run the company for years but the decision to sell the company to Microsoft was ultimately his, not Weiners or the boards. Already has 60% Zuckerberg already holds 60 percent of Facebooks voting power through his ownership of about 4 million Class A shares and 419 million Class B shares. His voting control includes co-founder Dustin Moskovitzs 6.3 percent share of the votes, which he agreed to have Zuckerberg exercise on his behalf. It is aggressive and its controversial, but that doesnt mean its going to end up bad, said David Larcker, director of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It all hinges on what are the underlying motives on this. Christopher T. Fong / The Chronicle / Christopher T. Fong The company has given some indication of Zuckerbergs motivation. Facebooks proposal follows Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chans pledge to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares over their lifetime to contribute to personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities. The couple said they would sell or gift no more than $1 billion of Facebook stock each year to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a limited-liability company the couple set up in December. Giving them away The new proposal would let Zuckerberg sell Class C shares to meet that pledge, without diluting his voting power. Boards of independent directors ostensibly exist to oversee corporate decisions. CEOs founders or not normally serve at the pleasure of the board. Dual-class share structures upend that hierarchy. Just last week, Alphabet voted down a proposal to give all shareholders one vote per share. James McRitchie filed the proposal along with NorthStar Asset Management Funded Pension Plan and two other shareholders. Companies can do OK for the first several years, but when they run into trouble, they need a board thats more independent, said McRitchie, publisher of CorpGov.net, a corporate governance advocacy website. Right now its just a yes board. Theyre not necessarily getting the advice that they need. Foundering founders? Some argue that co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page know whats best for running Alphabets businesses, and Zuckerberg likewise, having grown Facebook to a social network that embraces 1.65 billion users, knows what hes doing. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Its basically a dictatorship, McRitchie said. Do you want to live in North Korea or do you want to live in the United States? Unlike North Korea, Facebooks founder rule will last only one generation. A proposed amendment to its bylaws would ensure that Zuckerbergs shares would not be passed down to his heirs. In the event that Zuckerberg leaves the company either through death, disability, termination for cause or resignation all Class B shares will be converted to Class A, with a single vote. (Buyers of Class C shares will still be out of luck.) In another proposal up for vote Monday, some restive shareholders suggested giving all shares equal voting rights, undoing the dual-class system. By allowing certain stock to have more voting power than others, our company takes our public shareholder money but does not let us have an equal voice in our companys management, shareholders said in a supporting statement in the companys proxy. Without a voice, shareholders cannot hold management accountable. Two firms that provide research and recommendations to shareholders on how to vote on corporate governance and other issues recommended voting against the Class C shares. We find the reclassification (and the board's complicity in approving it) to be, from a governance perspective, detrimental to shareholders, not to mention unnecessary given the existing voting structure. Despite the inevitable approval of the reclassification due to Mr. Zuckerberg's control, we believe shareholders should voice their discontent, consulting firm Glass Lewis wrote in a report for shareholders. Institutional Shareholder Services gave Facebooks proposal the highest governance risk score a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. The establishment of a new class of non-voting stock is not in the best interests of existing shareholders, except for founder and CEO/Chair Mark Zuckerberg, the firm wrote in its proxy research report. Unless Zuckerberg changes his mind and follows their advice, however, the governance experts views wont matter. 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 The taupe stucco house at 317 Bougainvilla Drive looks like any other which is part of the point. No outward sign distinguishes it from the other homes taking shape on this street of new construction teeming with work crews. Two stories, with a two-car garage; a shaded front porch offers shelter from the blazing sun. But this particular house is an experiment. And it could represent Californias future. If all goes as planned, the home will generate as much electricity as it pulls from the grid over the course of a year, achieving a status known as zero net energy. Within four years, California officials want all new residential construction in the state to consist of zero net energy homes a tall order. Itll just be normal Designed by the Pulte Group development company, the Brentwood house uses two small solar arrays to generate electricity and highly efficient lights and appliances to conserve it. But the house looks and feels like a typical three-bedroom, two-bath home, rather than a test bed for new technology. Pulte is going to help make this normal, where it isnt something weird that causes 100 people to come out and look, said Drew Bohan, chief deputy director of the California Energy Commission. Itll just be normal. That happened with solar; itll happen with this. It was also designed to be mass-produced. Although some of its technologies are new, it is a model that can be replicated again and again or scalable, in a term the builder is borrowing from Silicon Valley. Everything we put into the house, we put here because its scalable, said Brian Jamison, Pultes national purchasing director. For now, its still a rarity. Although interest in zero net energy buildings both residential and commercial has been rising for years, fewer than 200 had been built nationwide by last year, according to a list compiled by the New Buildings Institute. And yet, California is counting on zero net energy buildings as part of the larger fight against climate change. The state has set a nonbinding goal that by 2020, all new single-family homes and new apartment buildings three stories or smaller will be able to produce as much energy as they consume over the course of a year. All new commercial buildings should meet the same standard by 2030. Were not going to solve our climate and resources challenges if we dont start building homes like these, Bohan said. The Brentwood home generates electricity through a pair of solar arrays supplied by San Mateos SolarCity. On a typical summer day, those arrays produce more electricity than the house needs, feeding the excess to the grid. At night, the house relies on the grid for power. Pulte chose not to equip the home with a battery that could store excess solar energy for use after dark. Learning residents habits The house relies heavily on sensors and automated systems to trim energy use. When direct sunlight strikes the windows, shades lower automatically, although the resident can choose to raise them again. A smart thermostat from Lennox learns the residents habits and, when synced with a smartphone, automatically turns down the air conditioning when the resident leaves the house. The thermostat can also tell when the resident, and his phone, is approaching the home at the end of the day and turn up the AC accordingly. A tank-less water heater from Rinnai, combined with a pumping system, saves energy and water. The resident activates it by pushing a button in the bathroom or kitchen. Within about 10 seconds, the system will heat the water and pump it to the faucets. Cold water sitting in the pipes gets pushed back to the heater. Theres no need to let the faucet run until the water warms up. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Youre not wasting one drop of water waiting for it to get hot, Jamison said. One of the homes biggest energy-saving features may also be one of the simplest. Instead of placing insulation on the floor of the attic as builders typically do, the insulation is cathedralized installed under the roof. That keeps the attic from heating up. And because the air-conditioning ducts run through the attic, keeping the ducts cool means the air conditioning doesnt have to work as hard as it otherwise would. Pulte wont say how much the house cost to build, noting that its a prototype. Well start talking about pricing once weve built more of these, Jamison said. Technologys costs fall The company will, however, put the Brentwood house up for sale at the end of the month. And Pulte plans to stay in touch with the buyers after the sale, gathering details about how well they like the energy-saving appliances and home features. Their feedback will help refine the next zero net energy homes that Pulte builds. The state, meanwhile, may have a hard time meeting its 2020 goal. But Bohan said its not impossible. The technology to make zero net energy homes exists and is getting cheaper with time. I dont think its some crazy notion, he said. Its ambitious, but its doable. David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: DavidBakerSF In five years as a union organizer, Misty Tanner has approached employees of San Bernardino and Butte counties, and school bus drivers and custodians in Clark County, Nev. But now shes facing a unique challenge: signing up Bay Area Uber and Lyft drivers for representation by the Teamsters. Were the backbone of Ubers business; we should have some say, said Valerie Mitchell, a San Francisco driver who met with Tanner on Wednesday at a Mission District coffee shop. We need a force to be reckoned with to back us, so were not seen as just a bunch of drivers throwing a tantrum. The drivers are a far-flung workforce that is by definition highly mobile and extremely varied in their hours, locations, attitudes and personal situations. Unlike most union targets, they are independent contractors, not employees. That means Uber and Lyft drivers lack even basic protections that unions fought for a century ago, such as minimum wage and overtime. The conundrum for unions: Would seeking to represent drivers validate their nonemployee status? The question of whether drivers should be employees is a major point of contention that has spurred class-action lawsuits. While Uber and Lyft have reached tentative settlements in those cases that keep drivers as contractors, some are raising objections, and the courts may end up rejecting them, throwing their status back up in the air. Michael Noble Jr./The Chronicle Whether you call them contractors or employees, though, with hundreds of thousands of drivers nationwide and tens of thousands in California, Uber and Lyft workers represent a potent new resource for unions seeking members and hoping to get a foothold in the emerging gig economy in which online marketplaces connect workers with customers for services such as rides, cleaning or errands. We dont like an independent contractor model; the Teamsters have been in the forefront of fighting that for years, said Rome Aloise, Teamsters International vice president and president of Joint Council 7, the unions Northern California/Nevada arm. On the other hand, were not going to dismiss the reality of the world at this point. We think were better off being in front of it than behind. Its new territory, and traditional answers may not fit. Not the only option The Teamsters have been the most active in seeking to organize ride-service drivers in California, but other unions are also jockeying to be part of the action. We have met with the Teamsters, with SEIU and with the (New York) Taxi Workers Alliance, said Gladys Quinones of Sunnyvale, an Uber driver whos played a leadership role in the San Francisco Bay Area Drivers Association, one of several loose-knit groups now coalescing. Well see who can help us the most. Likewise, Mitchell said shed had contact with the various unions and was agnostic about which one to work with. Despite differing circumstances, Uber and Lyft drivers seem unanimous on one key issue: higher pay, or at least more consistent rates. We would like the rates to be more stable, so they dont drop them whenever they want, Quinones said. Since I started driving 2 years ago, fares have decreased so much, said Edward Escobar, who is helping to organize a related group, United Drivers, under the umbrella name Alliance for Independent Workers. His group has also met with the Teamsters, SEIU and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, he said. You hit that button (to see the fare), and your jaw just drops. Adding impetus to the movement is the fact that Uber has agreed to recognize and fund peer-run drivers associations in California and Massachusetts as part of the settlement of the class-action lawsuit over employment status. So far, the Teamsters seem most interested in that opportunity. We think drivers are workers who need representation, and we think we can help them, especially under the proposed class-action settlement, Aloise said. But other labor experts question the concept of an Uber-sanctioned drivers association and slam the Teamsters for even considering participating. Im very skeptical of any association financially supported by Uber, said Veena Dubal, an associate law professor at UC Hastings College of Law. In late May she filed an objection to the class-action lawsuit settlement on behalf of five drivers, on the grounds that leaving them as independent contractors and creating illusory mechanisms such as the association would exacerbate economic and social inequality. Undermines the idea The idea that a company would be involved in facilitating a drivers association undermines the idea of an independent labor organization that can make decisions and fight for things to benefit the workers, Dubal said. Uber recently recognized a group in New York called the Independent Drivers Guild, to be affiliated with a local branch of the machinists union. Increasing driver earnings is our top priority - no issue is off the table for the Guild, said the guilds founder Jim Conigliaro, in a statement. About 5,000 other Uber drivers in New York are working with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which this month filed a proposed class-action saying they should be employees. It also criticized the machinists pact. If a union agrees to not challenge classification or any other labor violations, not engage in work stoppages and not negotiate over economic issues, that to me is a tragic concession, said Bhairavi Desai, a founding member of the New York group and a representative on the AFL-CIO executive council. Its not novel organizing; its just a company union. Likewise, shes dubious of the Teamsters or others seeking to form an association under terms set by Uber, as could be the case in California. Gaining numbers but losing economic power is actually a step backwards, she said. They would be giving political cover to the drivers misclassification (as independent contractors). If you give up on employee status and the right to a democratic union, workers lose far more. The Teamsters say theyre hardly about to roll over for Uber and that theyve already helped drivers. This month San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros agreed to cancel late fees and penalties for business registration permits for Uber and Lyft drivers after the city sent out thousands of notices reminding drivers that they needed to register. While his office wouldnt say how he reached the decision, the Teamsters had set up meetings for drivers with Cisneros and all the members of the Board of Supervisors. The question of employee status is far from being answered, but in the meantime the workers need and want representation, said Doug Bloch, political director for the Teamsters Joint Council 7. We have an obligation to help these workers any way we can. One action the Teamsters might pursue is seeking state legislation to set a single business license fee for independent drivers, rather than making them bear the expense of separate ones in each city they drive in. Pay is dropping As a union carpenter for 20 years, Kelsey Tilander understands the importance of organized labor, he said. After injuries stopped his career, he became a truck driver, but his family wanted him closer to home. Two years ago he leased a car to drive for Lyft at a time when it was paying $2.35 a mile. I jumped on it and was doing fine, he said. Then they lowered the price some more, and some more and more and more. Now hes active in trying to organize other drivers to work with the Teamsters, noting that there are dozens of Bay Area companies that use on-demand gig workers, such as Postmates and TaskRabbit. Those workers all need a voice, he said. Getting organized is what gets us in the door. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: csaid This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Twenty-five years ago, a San Francisco Public Library commissioner named Steve Coulter came up with an idea that was so far ahead of its time that he was afraid to let it out of the house. So he invited six friends over to try it out in the safety of his living room. The radical notion was to establish an archive that would actively seek out the history of gays and lesbians before it is all lost, recalls Coulter, who was not yet thinking as big as his idea would become. But when the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center opened in the New Main Library five years later, on April 18, 1996, it was the first permanent gay and lesbian center in any municipal building in America. This was unheard of at the time, says state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The fact of it in the public library communicated to the LGBT community that we were now officially part of the civic fabric of San Francisco. A different era The circular reading room, in a quiet corner of the third floor, has not changed since its opening. But the collection in the stacks, 13,000 books and 5,000 films, is ever-expanding, as is the title of the place. For its 20th anniversary, it has been renamed the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning, Intersex, Allies, Advocates and Asexual. Thats about 25 syllables, and the acronym isnt any easier to handle. But it can all be summed up in the centers easy-to-remember motto: Queerest. Library. Ever. Right now we are pretty trendy, Coulter says. I would say in 1991 we were not. It all seems so long ago now, but in 1991 Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., was still using his congressional bully pulpit to chase gays back into the closet. The radical gay action force Stop AIDS Now or Else had recently stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, and ACT UP was staging other disruptive protests. Lesbians were just establishing their right to be a category apart from gays. Any money that could be raised in the gay community went directly to the fight against the pandemic. In the face of this, it was difficult timing to begin a campaign to raise money for a gay library collection. But the campaign to build a New Main Library was already under way, and Coulter saw that the time was nigh. An external affairs executive for Pacific Bell, Coulter had been appointed to the San Francisco Public Library Commission by Mayor Art Agnos. So Coulter took it upon himself to see what the library already had, which amounted to a few boxes of the Bay Area Reporter, a gay newspaper, stacked high on a shelf at the Eureka Valley branch. I thought, This is really nice, but sad compared to what we could be doing, he says. Amy Osborne/Special To The Chronicle Going local, then national That is how he came to invite his friends and neighbors over for a chat, in his flat on the first block of Divisadero Street, in the same room with the mix of traditional furnishings and antiques where he now sits relating the story. He cannot remember who sat where, but he can definitely remember who was in the room most prominently his neighbor just up the hill, meatpacking heir Jim Hormel. Also in attendance were Coulters partner, Greg McIntyre, city planner Chuck Forester, radio station owner Gary Gielow, and Sherry Thomas and Bob Sass, who both worked in book publishing. This was not the gay political leadership, Coulter says. These were people with a long-term view for preserving gay history. The strategy they cooked up that night was that they would tell donors that if they only had one dollar to give, to give it to the fight against AIDS. But if they had a dollar plus change, give the change to the gay archive. They set a fundraising goal of $1.6 million, and Coulter set out to find an archive. This search only had to go six doors down Divisadero, to the home of Larry Bush, an Agnos aide and friend of Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts, considered to be the first openly gay reporter to cover the gay beat at any major newspaper in America. By then Shilts was a national name, having published The Mayor of Castro Street about Harvey Milk, followed by And the Band Played On, an award-winning history of the AIDS crisis. Amy Osborne/Special To The Chronicle Coulter met Shilts for dinner at Bushs home on Divisadero, and that was all it took. He gave us all of his back papers, his notes, his first drafts, Coulter says. Once we got Randy, then we could start building it. Outreach went nationwide, and included two lesbians in Florida who had two houses. One was just for their books and magazines, thousands of them on the lesbian experience, all of which were shipped west. What else were they going to do with it? Some university might be interested in it, but youd have to be a student to get in to see it, Coulter says. We were going to make our collection open to everyone. That was the excitement of it. To bottle this excitement, a fundraising dinner was set at the Hyatt Regency, and Leno, a sign company owner who was still getting his name out there, was assigned to serve as co-chair, along with Jan Zivic. Message multiplies Amy Osborne/Special To The Chronicle When Hormel arrived at the dinner, he looked out on the room and saw a sparse crowd and thought the event was a failure. But he was looking at the overflow seating. The main room had sold out, but Leno persuaded his own constituency to suffer the indignity of sitting in the anteroom. We filled the entire Hyatt Regency ballroom; I think there were 1,000 people in attendance, Leno says. Relative to LGBT community fundraisers, it set the bar for all that followed. The dinner raised $800,000, halfway to the goal, and the gay center at the New Main became a cause celebre within the gay and lesbian community, Coulter says. It took four years, but the results more than doubled the initial goal of $1.6 millionen route to a final tally of $3.5 million. The extra $2 million allows for an endowment, so that it can compete for collections. Those first seven who met in Coulters living room were joined by some 1,500 other names on the donor wall, at a minimum contribution of $1,000, payable in $50 monthly installments. This had an impact that was unexpected, recalls Hormel, who gave $500,000 and was arm-twisted into putting his name on the door. I see it as an example of how a group of citizens can get its message out to the general public. When the New Main opened, the Hormel Center was one of four designated cultural collections, including Chinese, African American and Filipino, on the third floor. But only the gay and lesbian center has its own director, Karen Sundheim, and its own archivist, Tim Wilson. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Over the years the center has accumulated what might be the most concentrated and comprehensive collection of gay-related papers and film at any library anywhere, public or private. I just spent about two weeks there doing research. They have materials that are invaluable to LGBT researchers that you cannot find anywhere else, says Lillian Faderman, a nationally recognized historian at work on a biography of Harvey Milk for Yale University Press. Faderman came up from San Diego to do her research, but other researchers come from farther than that. I get visitors from all over the world, Sundheim says. Just recently a Chinese filmmaker came in because hed learned that we have the only copy of a film he made that was banned in his own country. Gay heroes in history The Main Library is celebrating its 20th anniversary, but only the Hormel Center gets a historic exhibition at the Jewett Gallery, on the lower level, with ancillary exhibits in the center itself and at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library. Hormel is also the only collection in the library with its own overhead mural, painted in trompe loeil depicting gay heroes, though some never confirmed their sexuality. These include Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Milk and Shilts, who never lived to see the center open. The one identifiable likeness in the mural is Hormel, who later became the countrys first openly gay ambassador, posted to Luxembourg under President Bill Clinton. When Hormel was asked, in a 20th anniversary film tribute, where he would place the Hormel Center among his top-10 philanthropic gifts, he rated it No. 1. Also No. 2 and so on through No. 10. Reached at home in San Francisco, Hormel hedges that claim, slightly. I would put it at or very near the top of the list, he says. Coulter, 68, has long since retired from both Pacific Bell and the Library Commission. He is a full-time writer and has published his first novel, The Chronicles of Spartak Rising Son with the main character an LGBTQI action hero. Last month he made his debut reading at the Hormel Center before an audience of 40 under the mural. It was an emotional experience, he says. My voice choked up a couple of times as I looked at the crowd and thought about all it took to make that center happen. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @samwhitingsf Instagram: @sfchronicle_art Learn more Video: Steve Coulter shows off the living room where the Hormel Center started: http://bit.ly/1Ukdhzd The exhibition Queerest. Library. Ever.: Runs through Aug. 7 in the Jewett Gallery, Hormel LGBTQIA Center, and the Sixth Floor Bridge, at the Main Library, 100 Larkin St., S.F. An ancillary exhibit is at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Branch Library, 1 Jose Sarria Court, S.F. www.sfpl.org. (415) 557-4400. The Conjuring 2: The sequel is a half step below its 2013 predecessor, but its still better than any other mainstream horror film since It Follows. The drama returns with The Conjuring exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren, who help a London family terrorized by a demon. Director James Wan rewards audience patience, focusing on character development that makes the scary parts more terrifying. Rated R. 134 minutes. Peter Hartlaub Genius: Colin Firth is Max Perkins and Jude Law is Thomas Wolfe, in this story of the great Scribners editor who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway and then took Wolfes seemingly unpublishable manuscript for Look Homeward, Angel and edited it into commercial and artistic success. A real treat for people interested in this period of American literature. Rated PG-13. 104 minutes. Mick LaSalle Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone wrote and star in this very funny, sometimes jaw-dropping satire, which not only sends up the career of a hip-hop star (Samberg) but also skewers contemporary celebrity culture. Rated R. 86 minutes. Mick LaSalle Time to Choose: This solemn but hopeful documentary argues that we have the technology to intervene in climate change, despite all the doomsday scenarios. Its a beautifully shot, important film that makes a strong case. Not rated. 97 minutes. David Lewis This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON The Senate could vote as early as Monday on legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would ban anyone on terrorist watch lists from buying guns, in a GOP concession to Democrats who waged an emotional 15-hour filibuster demanding action in the wake of the massacre in a gay Orlando nightclub. The Feinstein legislation would allow the U.S. attorney general to block the sale of guns or explosives to suspected terrorists if authorities have a reasonable belief that the weapons could be used in an attack. Omar Mateen, the Orlando nightclub gunman, had twice been put on terrorist watch lists, but still was able to legally purchase a military-style semiautomatic rifle to commit the worst single episode of gun violence by a lone gunman in the nations history, which left 49 dead and 53 wounded. Those stark facts and the classification of the shooting by President Obama as an act of terror forced Republicans, who repeatedly have blocked tighter gun restrictions, to concede to a vote, although many in the party have insisted that terror watch lists are too broad to use to restrict gun purchases. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump further muddied his partys position by tweeting that people on terrorist watch lists should not be allowed to buy guns, even though Trump widely touts his endorsement by the National Rifle Association, which has long opposed Feinsteins legislation. Gun violence just gets worse and worse, Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday. Throughout her career, Feinstein, who became mayor of San Francisco after the assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, has been among the leading advocates of tighter gun restrictions. Her 1994 legislation banning assault weapons was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton, but it expired after 10 years. She has tried and failed to revive the ban several times, including in 2013 following the massacre of 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012. The weapon Mateen used, a Sig Sauer MCX, was developed for U.S. Special Forces and would have been banned under Feinsteins failed 2013 assault weapons legislation. I kept thinking after Sandy Hook, what could be more stirring than 20 very young children killed, Feinstein said as she left the Senate floor Thursday. Now we have 50 dead, 54 wounded. Incredible when you think of it, with one gun. Senators filibuster Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, began the filibuster Wednesday after deciding that he could not come to work and do business as usual without addressing gun violence. Despite the Senate leaderships decision to allow a vote on Feinsteins bill, many Republican senators remained opposed. This is not a gun control issue, said Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. This is a terrorism issue. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said few senators understand the governments multiple terrorist watch lists and how they are compiled. The FBI twice listed Mateen on terrorist watch lists for suspicious activity but both times later removed him. Feinstein had tried in the past to restrict gun sales to people on terrorist watch lists but never succeeded. Even if she had, Mateen probably still would have been able to purchase firearms because he had been removed from the lists. This time, Feinsteins legislation will include language that will automatically flag anyone attempting to purchase a firearm if the buyer has been subject to a terrorism investigation in the previous five years. Feinstein cited federal statistics showing that 91 percent of individuals who are known or suspected terrorists have passed the background checks required for gun purchases. 60 votes needed Her legislation, which will be attached as an amendment to an appropriations bill, will require a 60-vote supermajority to pass the Senate. President Obama weighed in from Orlando, where he went to visit survivors and their families, urging the Senate to tighten gun restrictions. We cant anticipate or catch every single deranged person that may wish to do harm to his neighbors, or his friends, or his co-workers, or strangers, but we can do something about the amount of damage that they do, he said. Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist, or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown, to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons and they can do so legally. We cant wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world. But we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if were smart. And if we dont act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this, because well be choosing to allow them to happen. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who has pushed for years to tighten gun restrictions, introduced similar legislation in the House on Thursday. Thompsons bill would require the FBI to be notified when an individual who has been under a terrorism investigation purchases firearms or explosives. Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com A jury in San Francisco heard sharply conflicting portrayals of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. at Fridays opening session of the companys criminal trial on charges of violating federal pipeline-inspection laws, with one attorney calling it a deceptive scofflaw that chose profits over safety, and her adversary describing it as a community benefactor that did its best to comply with unclear government standards. After the September 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, PG&E made a deliberate choice to not follow these ... safety regulations, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman, the lead prosecutor, said in her opening statement in a packed federal courtroom. PG&E attorney Steven Bauer countered that the laws the company is charged with knowingly violating, on testing, maintenance and record keeping for gas pipelines, were so vague that some federal regulators had been debating some of the very same issues that had confused the utility and its engineers. These folks (PG&Es 20,000 employees) live in the communities where these pipelines are, Bauer told the jury. They have families. They have kids. They cross these pipelines every day, and have no reason to endanger themselves and their neighbors. But Hoffman maintained that the utility simply decided to cut safety expenses at the same time it was taking actions to maximize profits. The prosecution arose from the National Transportation Safety Boards investigation of the San Bruno explosion. PG&E is charged with 12 violations of federal laws that require gas pipeline operators to maintain accurate records, identify risks to lines and inspect or test when pipe pressures exceed the legal maximum. The company is also charged with obstructing justice in the San Bruno investigation by trying to conceal an allegedly illegal policy of testing older lines for welding problems. Prosecutors say the company conducted tests only if pipeline pressure reached at least 10 percent above the maximum allowed by federal law. If convicted of all charges, PG&E could be fined $562 million, which prosecutors say is twice the amount the company saved by sidestepping safety standards. The state Public Utilities Commission has already fined the company $1.6 billion for the San Bruno explosion. Hoffman, in her half-hour introductory statement, told jurors the company made knowing and intentional choices to violate the pipeline laws. PG&E officials knew exactly what they had to do (under the law) but they didnt like it, so they chose not to do it, the prosecutor said. She said the company corruptly misled the federal Transportation Safety Board in the boards San Bruno investigation. At first, Hoffman said, PG&E told the board it had examined its pipeline and found no leaks. Months later, she said, the company admitted having leaks, but said it couldnt locate them. She said the company knew its records were faulty, but relied on them in deciding which pipelines to inspect and repair, ignoring emails from employees about more widespread hazards. Bauer, the lead defense attorney, described a company in which safety comes first, compliance comes first. In an opening statement that lasted an hour and 45 minutes, he said PG&E had elaborate procedures for identifying defective pipelines, and any that were omitted from its reports involved only pinhole leaks posing no safety hazards. He mocked prosecutors for their decision to charge only the company and not any individual employees or executives. A corporate logo is easy to attack, Bauer said, but its harder to look somebody in the eye and say, You committed a crime. Youll notice the government didnt do that. Bauer also said the obstruction-of-justice charge was unfounded. The alleged policy of testing only lines that exceeded the federal maximum level by 10 percent was outlined in a draft document that was mistakenly sent to federal regulators in 2011 but was never implemented. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Hoffman disputed that. The 10 percent practice was PG&Es practice for years, starting long before the San Bruno explosion, she said. Jurors also heard from a prosecution witness, Stephen Klejst, who oversaw the National Transportation Safety Boards San Bruno investigation. He said PG&E executives assured him the company was willing to cooperate, but it was slow in providing information and presented some records that didnt correspond with the pipelines they purported to describe. PG&E attorney Margaret Tough questioned Klejst about his description of his agencys investigation as cooperative and nonadversarial. A few days after the San Bruno explosion, she noted, the FBI had contacted the transportation board and said it was beginning a criminal investigation. You never talked to PG&E about it, Tough said. No reason to, Klejst replied. The trial resumes Tuesday. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: egelko The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has become politically active under its new president, C. Randal Randy Mills. Mills is lobbying for a radical departure in how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration vets experimental stem-cell therapies, but such politicking risks doing much more harm than good. Mills and former Republican Sen. Bill Frist recently co-authored a Fox News opinion piece critical of the FDA. Their article concerns me as it promotes dangerously reduced stem-cell oversight as part of a larger campaign to weaken FDA authority. A federal bill (S2689) called the Regrow Act would force the FDA to conditionally approve still experimental stem-cell therapies with relatively little data supporting them. Frists Bipartisan Policy Center released a report arguing for both this conditional approval and even more extreme policies such as charging patients for unproven therapies. Because past experience shows that most experimental therapies ultimately fail, if the centers views or the federal legislation prevail, the most likely outcome is harm to patients and the stem-cell field itself. Mills told me the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine takes no official position on S2689. Mills also told me that he is not anti-FDA, but a speech he recently gave at a Bipartisan Policy Center meeting was highly critical of the FDA, as was his Fox News opinion piece. Compassionate use program The stem-cell status quo wont do, but there are more prudent ways to move forward. FDA programs already exist for accelerating new therapy development. For instance, one called Breakthrough could quickly but more safely get innovative stem-cell therapies to patients. The FDA has not utilized these programs for stem cells, but it should. The FDA also has a compassionate use program that in the vast majority of cases grants terminally ill patient requests for experimental therapies such as stem cells and the FDA just made such requests easier. By comparison, the proposed legislation and the related FDA changes promoted by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine constitute a nuclear option. I am not alone in my concerns. Both of the leading stem-cell organizations, the International Society for Stem Cell Research and the business group the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, oppose the legislation. In addition, 10 top American patient advocacy groups including the Michael J. Fox Foundation just came out publicly against the bill as too risky. Many stem-cell scientists share my reservations. While we are all uncomfortable criticizing the institute, it is particularly awkward for me because I have been an outspoken supporter of the institute for a decade and still am. I care deeply about the stem-cell field, the institutes mission to fund research, and patients who could be helped by well-tested therapies. What has motivated Mills to steer the institute down this uncertain path? Mills and other institute leaders may believe this is in the best interest of patients. Speed might also trump other considerations, given how clinical progress is the key factor used to judge the institute. Regardless of the reason, rushing unproven stem-cell therapies to patients is unwise. Another longer-term concern is that if the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine continues lobbying, politics may vie with biomedical science in guiding its decisions. The institute also does not have an abundance of manpower so in this zero sum game every bit of its presidents time and focus that goes to lobbying could be used more constructively for biomedical science instead. Questionable therapies The timing of the ideological shift at the institute couldnt be worse because dubious stem-cell clinics selling iffy, non-FDA-approved therapies are proliferating in California and across the country. That sketchy industry is itself pushing for weaker FDA regulations. Given the institutes long history and continuing policy of opposing such clinics, it would be sadly ironic if its lobbying unintentionally aided the clinics. Mills is taking the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine on a big policy gamble. If he is wrong about stem-cell deregulation, which I believe is likely, then Californians and the stem-cell field will pay the price. The institute, created by voters approval of Proposition 71 has but a few years remaining of its $3 billion funding. It should refocus its efforts on the science and medicine of stem cells instead of lobbying for high-risk weakening of federal stem-cell oversight. C. Randal Mills of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine declined The Chronicles invitation to share his views. Paul Knoepfler is an associate professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine. He was the recipient of a California Institute of Regenerative Medicine New Faculty Award and plans to apply for future funding from the institute. This piece reflects his thinking alone. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters. Three police chiefs in six days sends a message. Oakland needs to look outside its ranks for fresh leadership with a chief who can shake up its culture and practices. A humiliated and furious Mayor Libby Schaaf was blindsided by a post-appointment background check on her interim pick, Ben Fairow. Without mentioning specifics, she moved swiftly to fire him and find a new interim chief, department veteran Paul Figueroa. Less than a week ago, the chief was Sean Whent, who stepped down amid a string of suspensions and charges linked to a prostitution scandal in the ranks. Its a chaotic mess, one that undercuts public safety, the departments image and Oaklands stability. Finding a new chief must be a priority for an unsettled and unsure force thats already facing federal court supervision. In calmer times, a candidate could come from the upper ranks, tapping experience and familiarity with the department. Its the route that Schaaf wanted to take to obtain a seamless transition to a chief who understood the dynamics of Oakland and could hit the ground running. Not any more. Singed by her Fairow pick, Schaaf is dispensing with that traditional path, indicating a wider search for the next top cop is planned. After admitting she stumbled badly, shes heading in a new direction. I own the mistake I made, and the important thing is Im fixing it. That fix-it pledge isnt complete yet. The departments serious challenges widened by criticism of its recruiting practices and claims of racial profiling in traffic and street corner stops make it essential that an outsider be considered. The force is at a pivotal time as it expands its ranks and replaces retiring officers. The turmoil springs from allegations that Oakland and Richmond police officers hired a prostitute, possibly underage during the encounters, and a lack of disciplinary action when the claims became known. In an unrelated instance, Fairow, formerly a BART police official, had acknowledged an affair a decade ago to his superiors. In explaining her decisions, Schaaf isnt able to tell the full story. The reasons behind the swift departure of Fairow are hazy and unsatisfying for a confused public trying to make sense of the head-spinning changes. Schaaf wont explain her reasons, saying state law barred her from discussing them. Late arriving information caused me to lose confidence in Fairow, she said. The state law in question is a penal code section upheld by state Supreme Court in a 2006 decision known as the Copley case. The legal upshot keeps police misconduct claims confidential and hidden from the public, the complete opposite of transparency needed in overseeing law enforcement. Efforts to change the state law to open up misconduct files have repeatedly been blocked by police groups, who want to keep these records confidential. In Oaklands case, the rule only serves to hinder the public from knowing the circumstances of a critical leadership decision. Oakland and the rest of California are poorly served by bad law that needs to be changed. We share the outrage over Brock Allen Turners lenient sentence, and yet, the fact that he was convicted at all marks progress. It was not so long ago that this case would have been dismissed out of hand because everyone knew that a woman who started drinking at a party was asking for it. This suggests that we no longer (completely) blame the victim in rape cases involving alcohol. But the vast majority of sexual assault cases look nothing like this incident. Instead, the typical scenario involves a lot of drinking, in private, where blurred boundaries are violated with impunity. To address these far-more-common cases, some universities are wisely implementing comprehensive educational campaigns to address alcohols role in sexual assault. These beer and sex classes should be mandatory. It is critical that students become more aware of how alcohol both increases the likelihood of sexual assault and decreases any tribunals ability to punish it fairly. Alcohol suppresses inhibitions. It makes aggressors more bold thus less likely to make sure their partner is consenting, and it makes the victims more willing to engage in some presexual activity even if they do not want to consent to sex. Alcohol makes her more willing to start, and it keeps him from realizing he should stop. Alcohol also makes it difficult to determine what happened. The parties stories inevitably differ, and credibility is clouded by the alcohol consumed. Neither party is a good witness. This reality makes it exceedingly difficult for any tribunal to feel comfortable determining the facts of what happened, much less to find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We are strong believers that mandatory beer and sex programs are a vital addition to efforts to combat campus rape. Rather than addressing just half of the problem, as in contemporary debates over degrees of culpability or determination of consent, they open the possibility of prevention. Taking a page from campaigns such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which did not advocate banning alcohol or driving, but instead offered sensible solutions (designated drivers), colleges should counsel students about the dangers of overconsumption and the benefits of designating friends not to drink too much and to keep a lookout for situations that may get out of hand. Many will laugh off beer and sex talks, just as students laughed off the sex education campaigns campuses undertook in their early response to AIDS so many demonstrations of condoms on bananas. Students rolled their eyes, but the rate of condom usage went way up. Parents, who often resist the notion that their children are either drinking or having sex, have learned to warn their children about the dangers of drunken driving. They should add drinking and sex to the conversation. Both combinations pose real dangers; both should be addressed with sensitivity and nuance too often missing from the current debates. As we wait for the law to find firm ground on how best to define and punish sexual assault, it is imperative that we shift the conversations surrounding drinking and hooking up. We must mobilize against these rapes not simply by protesting them, but by implementing the sort of interventions seen in response to drinking and driving. Both can ruin lives for both men and women, though in the case of sexual assault, far more so for women. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Two big questions loomed before Sen. Bernie Sanders live video speech to his supporters Thursday, his first major event since the Democratic primaries ended: Will he quit? And will he endorse Hillary Clinton? He did neither. Instead, Sanders began to wind down his campaign by outlining the long-term vision for his self-described political revolution the first point being defeating Republican Donald Trump in November. Hell make a pit stop at the Democratic National Convention in July where, backed by nearly 1,900 delegates, Sanders said he intends to fight for the most progressive platform in the partys history. He will have some leverage in Philadelphia, befitting someone who won 22 primaries and caucuses and whose supporters made 8 million mostly small-dollar campaign contributions. His support, he said, illustrated that his progressive ideas were not fringe but part of the political mainstream. But in a sign that hes transitioning out of campaign mode, he didnt mention trying to flip Clintons superdelegates to him or talk about any plans to actively stump for himself. This campaign has never been about any single candidate, Sanders said Thursday evening in a 23-minute speech streamed online from his hometown of Burlington, Vt. Sanders, wearing a dark suit and tie, was behind a lectern looking directly into the camera. It has been about transforming America, Sanders said. Contrast with Clinton But he wasnt ready to wave his Clinton pom-poms yet. While he mentioned that he and the former secretary of state have spoken recently about the future of the country and the party, he added that it is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues. It also true that our views are quite close on others. Without mentioning Clinton by name, Sanders brought up several issues where they differ including his unequivocal opposition to fracking and his support for free college tuition and single-payer health care. An endorsement might not be coming any time soon, as Sanders said he looked forward to the two campaigns continuing those discussions in the coming weeks to ensure that his supporters voices are heard. He said he wants to work with Clinton to transform the party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people and not just wealthy campaign contributors. He wants it to be a party that has the guts to take on Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry and other powerful groups another subtle swipe at Clinton, who has received millions in contributions from Wall Street interests. The speech fell far short of an endorsement something the Clinton camp desperately hoped he would do as a way to inspire the 12 million people who voted for him to consider her in November. But Sanders was clear he would not be a third-party spoiler. The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly, Sanders said. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal, Sanders said. The political revolution means much more than fighting for our ideals at the Democratic National Convention and defeating Donald Trump. Long-term vision outlined Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist who still lists himself as an independent on the Senate website, outlined a long-term vision for his supporters. He noted that over the past several years, the Democratic Party has lost roughly 900 legislative seats to Republicans and that 23 states now have both a Republican governor and a GOP-dominated legislature. He called on the millions of people who supported his campaign to take the next step to change that. Hundreds of volunteers helped us make political history during this last year, Sanders said. Now we need many of them to start running for school board, city councils, county commissions, state legislatures and governorships. I hope very much that many of you watching tonight are prepared to engage at that level, he said, and then pointed them to a page on his website www.berniesanders.com/win to learn about how to run for office. I have no doubt that we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to get involved. We need new blood in the political process, and you are that new blood, Sanders added. Among Sanders most devoted supporters, the long goodbye already has begun. This week, the liberal MoveOn.org group, which endorsed Sanders, blasted an email to supporters saying its members congratulate Secretary Hillary Clinton on her glass-ceiling-shattering campaign and being the presumptive Democratic nominee and thanking Sanders for his inspiring, issue-driving campaign thats elevated a powerful progressive agenda. On Thursday, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the first member of Congress to endorse Sanders, said he was now backing Clinton. With voting completed in the final Democratic primary, it is now time for the Democratic Party to unify. For all of us who supported Bernie from the beginning, Grijalva wrote, the most important thing now is to beat Donald Trump in November. Last week, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the only senator to back Sanders, said he is now supporting Clinton. So is President Obama, who quickly became a forceful voice on the stump for her against Trump. Changes under way Some of the changes Sanders has called for are starting to happen. On Thursday, the Clinton campaign began taking over the day-to-day operations of the Democratic National Committee by naming Brandon Davis, national political director for the Service Employees International Union, as general election chief of staff. But Sanders supporters say changes to the party must be substantive, too. In his statement Thursday explaining his switch to Clinton, Grijalva added that it wont be enough to just accept the merit of his ideas. This is in no small part Bernie Sanders party also. His team, his supporters and his movement must and will be integrated into the future of the Democratic Party at every level. Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: joegarofoli Does San Franciscos fashion scene need rescuing? Former Vogue editor Emily Holt, who is opening a boutique called Hero Shop next month, says the answer is yes. All everyone ever said was theres no fashion out here, says Holt, 38. One of the reasons this city has the reputation it does is because the only narrative it has is the hoodie and jean narrative. ... Thats what Im trying to do, flip the script a little. The Los Gatos native returned to the Bay Area in 2014, after a decade as a fashion journalist in New York at Vogue and Womens Wear Daily, specifically to pursue her first retail undertaking. Holt enters a market saturated with new shopping destinations. Stores are opening almost monthly in retail epicenters like luxury-oriented Union Square and designer-friendly Fillmore Street and Jackson Square, and popping up in neighborhoods from the Mission and Hayes Valley to the Sunset: At the same time, many parts of the East Bay are undergoing their own retail renaissances. Yet opening a new store in San Francisco is still a gamble: Globally, brick-and-mortar spending continues to be usurped by e-commerce. In the Bay Area, rising rents are forcing existing businesses to relocate, migrate online or close. Longtime designer outpost Metier in Union Square closed in 2012 before resurfacing as an accessories boutique in Hayes Valley; lifestyle boutique Carrots in Jackson Square lasted seven years. More recent closures include Marina womens boutique Chloe Rose and Fillmore Street shop Her. It takes time and patience to build a business, says Betty Lin, owner of the eponymous 7-year-old boutique on Sacramento Street. In order to last the first three years as a small business, one needs capital and stamina. Holt has been working on the former: She raised $45,702 in a recent Indiegogo campaign, and as of May she was about halfway to her overall goal of raising $1 million from less than a dozen angel investors. Holt also regularly serves as an industry expert on Bay Area fashion panels, and she has a definite point of view about the local scene and whats missing. I dont know that there is a fashion community out here, Holt says. I would argue that there are people who work and participate in fashion out here, but theres not a community. Thats what Id like to foster. Complaints about a lack of fashion in San Francisco are not new, and Holts comments at various appearances in the Bay Area have not been without controversy. After exiting one such panel before its conclusion this spring at the Battery (Holt was catching a flight to New York for her then-creative director-in-residence position with Fab.com), one audience member, a retired retail veteran, disputed her claims, calling them elitist. There has been sensitivity, certainly, Holt says of these reactions. When I first got here, I did a panel at (online womens retailer) Cuyana, and I was asked how Id describe S.F. style in fashion. Then I asked everyone in the audience how theyd describe it. They said Flannel, fleece, Lululemon. I said thats bull! You guys are here and youre dressed well. Youre not reflecting yourself! Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Although the San Francisco fashion community is different than the one Holt covered in New York, its still a big enough scene to include five colleges with fashion and design programs; the corporate headquarters of Gap Inc., Levi Strauss, Gymboree, beauty retailer Sephora and shoemaker Birkenstock (in Novato); and a wealth of retail and direct sales startups like Everlane and Stella & Dot. A February report by the Joint Economics Committee on The New Economy of Fashion estimated that there are about 400 fashion designers based in the Bay Area. They earn an average of $80,000 annually, the report states. Roughly the same as their counterparts in the New York City area. Some, like Sunhee Moon, Benny Gold and the Podolls, also have their own boutiques, and cultivate a loyal client base through shopping events and other gatherings. Theres also a culture of patronage to dressmakers based around San Franciscos social season, as well as influential retailers that are centers of orbit including Gumps, Wilkes Bashford, two Modern Appealing Clothing (MAC) stores in Hayes Valley and Dogpatch, and Susan Fosliens stores in Burlingame and San Francisco. Beyond the fashion industry, the Bay Area also boasts a vibrant maker scene, as well as a culture of creativity in many areas of design. As recently as 2013, it was estimated that the Bay Area had more style and fashion bloggers per capita than New York or Los Angeles. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Maybe because I felt like such a part of it (the fashion world) in New York, Im not looking for it in the right places, Holt says. But if you could tell me where to find it, Id go. Holt describes Hero Shop, which plans to open with womens wear, as a concept store akin to Colette in Paris and Ikram in Chicago, which specialize in avant-garde designer clothing, as well as unique lifestyle products. Among the lines Holt plans to carry are New York designers Adam Lippes, Creatures of the Wind and Veronica Beard, activewear brand Live the Process, jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher, Repetto and Vans shoes, as well as designers with local connections like JAmy Tarr, Stevie Howell, handbag designer Theresa Lee and knitwear line Tempest + Bentley. Hero Shop will be located in the old Saratoga Hotel on Post at Larkin Street, a changing corner of the historically gritty neighborhood. Barber Walters, a barber shop by Walter Bishop-Jones, is opening around the corner from Holt this month, and the Bacchus Management Group (the team behind Spruce and the Village Pub) is creating a new restaurant next door. Interior designer Jay Jeffers home store is also nearby, and the scene-y Jane cafe is a block away. Holt is working with Herczeg + Tobias Architects, who are also designing the Barber Walters space. Pacific Heights store owner Elizabeth Charles, whose namesake shop has been open for nine years, says given the community nature and word of mouth associated with the San Francisco market, its essential for a new boutique to find a way to integrate itself into the scene. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Part of Holts reason for opening Hero Shop, she says, is to create a social destination as well as a retail one. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle I love the idea of having a space where I can invite people to work together, support them, have parties, have a home base, Holt says. I think I thought, If I build a store, I can build a sense of community. I can have the things that I like and share them with the people I like. Whether Holt is able to re-create that sense of community she knew in New York remains to be seen, but she is undeterred. Theres this idea of you can wear anything here, which I think is great, she says. But Id really like to see people wear anything here instead of just (take) the path of least resistance. And if Holt has anything to say about it, Hero Shop will be the one to dress them. Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com Hero Shop 982 Post St., S.F. Opening July 2016. www.heroshopsf.com After several days of brisk weather, a warm up is on the way for the Bay Area, with inland temperatures expected to shoot up by as much as 20 degrees early next week to near record temperatures, forecasters said Friday. A high-pressure system making its way into the region from the southwest this weekend will replace a low-pressure trough that brought cool, rainy weather to the North Bay and dumped several inches of snow in the northern Sierra, said Bob Benjamin, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Monterey. The new system will replace that cool, damp air with warm, dry air through at least Tuesday of next week. There will be a gradual warming of air temperatures, Benjamin said. It doesnt look like it will be too extreme of a warm up. It will be above normal, but not quite record-breaking. Temperatures in San Francisco will rise from the mid 60s Friday to the mid 70s by Sunday, Benjamin said. The East Bay will warm up into the upper 80s, with areas farther inland, including Livermore and Concord, expected to make it to 96 degrees by Monday, the first day of summer. In the North Bay and South Bay, areas such as Santa Rosa and San Jose will see temperatures rise from the mid 70s on Friday to the mid to upper 80s by Monday, with inland areas making it into the upper 90s, Benjamin said. Well be nearing the century mark at some of the warmest inland locations, Benjamin said. Southern California will see scorching hot temperatures. Benjamin said the entire desert area around Palm Springs is expected to hit 110 and above through early next week. He forecast Palm Springs to make it to 118 degrees and Ocotillo Wells (San Diego County) to reach a blistering 121 degrees by Monday. It will be very, very warm, Benjamin said. The warm, dry air will deplete any chances of precipitation for the next several days, Benjamin said. The weather system is expected to hang around through Tuesday, when gradual cooling will start. But, Benjamin said, it wont be nearly as cool as the last few days. Kevin Schultz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: kevinedschultz James Tensuan/The Chronicle An American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles was diverted to Mineta San Jose International Airport early Friday due to a mechanical issue, officials said. The flight, which took off just before 6 a.m. from San Francisco International Airport, landed in San Jose as a precautionary measure due to an indication of a possible pressurization issue, said Matt Miller, a spokesman for the airline. The plane, a Boeing 737, landed without incident in San Jose. San Francisco Police Department / / A suspect in the stabbing death of a 55-year-old man last week in San Franciscos Mission District was captured after he was spotted near the scene of the killing, police said Friday while announcing beefed-up patrols in the area in response to a spike in violence. Jose Poot, 27, of San Francisco was arrested on suspicion of murder after detectives investigating the slaying of San Francisco resident Larry Peevy identified him as the suspect. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. LGBT-rights organization, on Friday called for several measures to curb gun violence in the aftermath of the attack that killed 49 patrons and staff at a gay nightclub in Orlando. The HRC endorsed steps to limit access to assault-style rifles, expand background checks, and limit access to firearms for suspected terrorists and people with a history of domestic abuse. A resolution on the gun measures was approved Thursday evening at a special meeting of the HRCs board of directors. The organization said it was the first time in its 36-year history that it had called such a meeting to address a policy matter that extended far beyond the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The HRCs president, Chad Griffin, blamed the massacre on a toxic combination of two things: a deranged, unstable individual who had been conditioned to hate (LGBT) people, and easy access to military-style guns. The safety of LGBT people depends on our ability to end both the hatred toward our community and the epidemic of gun violence that has spiraled out of control, Griffin said. The HRC noted that according to the latest FBI statistics, more than 20 percent of hate crimes reported nationally in 2014 targeted people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It also repeated its call for Congress to pass an LGBT-inclusive federal nondiscrimination law, and for legislatures to do likewise at the state level. At present, only 18 states have comprehensive statewide laws banning discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Equality California, a major LGBT-rights group, also called for new gun-safety measures on Friday, urging action at both the federal and state level. It endorsed a package of bills in the California legislature, including measures that would require federal licensing of ammunition vendors, ban possession of large-capacity magazines, fund a center for research into firearm-related violence, and require anyone whose firearm is lost or stolen to notify law enforcement within five days of the loss. Despite the widespread dismay over Sundays attack in Orlando by a gunman armed with an assault rifle, there is no indication as yet that tougher federal gun-control measures are forthcoming. In the Senate, a filibuster by Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut did little to break the stalemate in Congress over guns, with both sides unwilling to budge and Republicans standing firm against any new legislation opposed by the National Rifle Association. President Obama, who visited the victims families in Orlando, called on lawmakers to act. Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense, Obama said. Omar Mateen, the gunman opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Latin Night, leaving 49 people dead and injuring another 53 in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GOLETA, Santa Barbara County Stoked by winds, a wildfire burning west of Santa Barbara roared down mountain slopes toward the Pacific Ocean, shutting down Californias major coastal highway and forcing a group of firefighters to seek shelter behind a fire engine as flames licked at them. As the blaze grew to more than 6 square miles, authorities warned Friday that the regions notorious afternoon and evening sundowner gusts would recur through the weekend, when fire dangers already are expected to worsen with the arrival of extreme heat across the Southwest. In central New Mexico, a blaze that began Tuesday had destroyed more than two dozen homes and charred more than 26 square miles near the small community of Chilili. It cast a thick haze over the Manzano Mountain range south of Albuquerque that reached as far north as Denver. Marcus Yam/TNS The California inferno appeared to support national wildfire authorities predictions of another dangerous and difficult year for the state after years of drought. State firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service already have fought more than 1,800 wildfires since Jan. 1, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protction said. While El Nino delivered rain and snow to Northern California this winter, the south was bypassed. What rain fell was just enough to sprout grasses that quickly died, adding to the danger of long-dead vegetation. About 270 homes and ranches were considered at risk in southern Santa Barbara County at the foot of the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, an east-west oriented range. More than 80 horses were evacuated to a fairground. Fires become especially dangerous when sundowners are formed by high pressure inland to the north and low pressure over the ocean to the south, causing gusty winds to sweep down the face of the mountains. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department posted a picture of firefighters near El Capitan State Beach taking shelter behind a fire engine as flames and a hail of embers roared toward them. Highway 101, the states main coastal highway, had to be shut down for hours for the second time since the fire erupted Wednesday. The New Mexico fire was expected to keep threatening Chilili, the Tajique area, and the Ponderosa Pine residential area. In what is likely the most entertaining bit of television to ever air on C-SPAN, Bay Area comedian Hasan Minhaj verbally obliterated a room full of Congresspeople for failing to act effectively on the nation's growing concern with gun availability. Minhaj, who attended UC Davis and frequently performed in San Francisco before winning Wild 94.9's "Best Comic Standing" in 2008, took the stage as a contributor to "The Daily Show", and delivered a 20-minute speech about the presidential nominees, racism, gender, and most bravely, the inaction of Congress this year. "[People in the media] say you guys are a 'Do Nothing' Congress, but you guys do a lot," he said to the crowd, which was made up of lots of members of Congress. "You guys go to fundraisers, you guys host fundraisers, you have your staff set up fundraisers for you to host. That's three things right there, and that doesn't even include all the time you spend trying to repeal Obamacare or not passing gun control. That's five things you guys do." Minhaj also leaned into Congress for the significant time spent raising money for their respective parties. "A lot of people at home don't know this, but your average member of Congress has to raise $18,000 a day just for their party," he adds. "For as much time as Congress spends denying poor people money, you sure spend a whole lot of time begging for it." The last three minutes of the performance (beginning at around 19:00 in the above video), however, was dedicated to calling out Congress members in the audience for what Minhaj describes as being "complicit" in "covert or overt discrimination or phobia against people of different religious, racial, or sexual walks of life." "You make almost $200,000 a year to write rules...not tweet, not tell us about your thoughts and prayers, [but] to write rules make our society better, and ultimately it comes down to money and influence," he says. "Right now since 1998, the NRA has given $3.7 million dollars to Congress...I don't know if this is like a Kickstarter thing, but if $3.7 million dollars can buy political influence to take lives, if we raised $4 million dollars, would you guys take that to save lives?" The Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner will air on C-SPAN on June 18 at 5 p.m. Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter. LOS ANGELES For seasoned mariners, it was the job opportunity of a lifetime. A rare opening last year in the city of Los Angeles small corps of port pilots, who guide cargo ships and oil tankers into the harbor in San Pedro, drew more than 50 applicants, including ship captains and tugboat skippers with many years of experience. That was no surprise, considering L.A.s full-time port pilots averaged $434,000 in salary and bonuses last year, making them by far the citys highest-paid employees. The surprise came when the job went to 33-year-old Michael J. Rubino, whose father is Chief Port Pilot Michael R. Rubino. Friend of the father The younger Rubino was hired at the recommendation of an interview panel whose senior member was a longtime colleague of his father, port records obtained by the Los Angeles Times show, but the job didnt last long. The leader of the small pilots union questioned Rubinos credentials and asked that the work history he and other candidates listed on their applications be carefully checked something city officials admit they initially failed to do. It turned out Rubinos application overstated his tenure as a tugboat captain in San Pedro Bay, a key job requirement, according to Harbor Department emails obtained by the Times. As a result, about a month after Rubino began work in September 2015, he was terminated for failure to meet the minimum qualifications, city records show. Rubino could not be reached for comment. But he offered his side of the story in an October 2015 letter requesting reinstatement to a training program for pilots in San Francisco Bay, from which he had resigned to take the job in L.A. Dad recused himself My decision to leave San Francisco was to have the opportunity to work with my father in his last few years before retirement, Rubino wrote. That chance eluded him because there are individuals in (the Port of Los Angeles) who are unhappy about me being hired, not because of my actions, but because of my last name. City rules forbid employees from playing any role, direct or indirect, in the hiring or supervising of their relatives. Reached by the Times, the senior Rubino said, I recused myself from the entire hiring process. The firing of the younger Rubino followed a string of recent embarrassments for managers of Americas busiest harbor. The former port police chief was indicted for taking kickbacks from a company doing business with the port and then lying to federal investigators about it. Federal officials dropped the corruption charges, and the former chief pleaded guilty this year to tax evasion and filing a false statement to the FBI. Last fall, the Times reported that port officials violated a court order by waiving emissions restrictions and allowing vessels for two shipping companies to spew excessive amounts of cancer-causing exhaust into harbor neighborhoods, where studies show residents already suffer from unusually high asthma rates and Southern Californias highest cancer risk from air pollution. Ethics watchdogs said the Rubino case was also troubling. When youre using taxpayer dollars, particularly so many taxpayer dollars, the job needs to go to the best qualified person, not the son of a boss, said Jessica Levinson, president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. So many questions I get are tough calls. This is not one of them. Direct ships to dock Port piloting consists of boating out to ships waiting to enter the harbor, climbing a rope ladder to the deck and then standing on the bridge to provide local knowledge, including advice on currents and navigational hazards, as the vessel is steered through the congested waterway to the dock. The stakes are high. Misdirection from a pilot while docking a massive container ship could cause millions of dollars in damage and endanger lives, while an error with an oil tanker could trigger an environmental disaster. Pilots say their specialized knowledge of the bay is one reason they are paid so well, and why experience is so highly prized. When two pilot jobs became available last year because of retirements, port officials said it was the first time since 2002 there had been any openings in the group, which consists of about a dozen pilots, including two chiefs. With high pay and convenient work schedules, pilots tend to hold on to their jobs for decades. They work four 12-hour days, followed by four days off, and then three days followed by three days off, according to their contract with the city. They are rarely required to venture more than a few miles from shore. Ship captains paid less The captain of a large cargo ship, by contrast, often spends months away from home circling the globe and makes on average less than half of what the L.A. port pilots were paid last year, according to industry data. In 2015, the citys highest-paid pilot was Bent Christiansen, the elder Rubinos co-chief. Christiansen received more than $499,000 in salary and bonuses, city data show. Thats more than twice Mayor Eric Garcettis salary. As with most city employees, recruiting for port pilots is supposed to follow a rigorous, merit-based process under civil service rules, designed to ensure the most qualified applicant is hired. Rubino would usually sit on the panel that conducts interviews for new port pilots. He didnt last year because his son was an applicant, port officials said. Instead, the panel consisted of Christiansen, who has worked with the older Rubino for nearly two decades, port police chief Thomas Gazsi and a fill-in for Rubino, port records show. Christiansen had the responsibility of selecting a replacement for the senior Rubino and he chose Thomas Heberle, president of the Hawaii Pilots Association, according to port officials. In an interview, Heberle said he was familiar with the L.A. port and had considered applying for a pilot job himself. He added that he was acquainted with the elder Rubino but didnt know him well, and that it hadnt been a factor in selecting Rubinos son for one of the jobs. Tougher on him If anything, I think we were a little tougher on him because his dad was the boss, Heberle said. Some of the other applicants, though, were angry when they learned of the selection. It was beyond my imagination. I was very upset, said Capt. Bob Koehler, 71, an applicant who said he spent 33 years working for the private firm that provides pilots to the neighboring Port of Long Beach. The minimum experience required for the job, according to the official bulletin posted by the port, is three years working as the captain or first mate on a large ship, three years working full time as a pilot in a major U.S. port, or three years working full time as the master of a tugboat in San Pedro Bay. Tugboat master On his application, the younger Rubino indicated he had 36 months or more as a tugboat master in the bay. The application also shows he worked nearly four years for Harley Marine Services, a well-known tugboat company. After the union questioned his qualifications, city officials asked Rubino to provide documentation from Harley Marine of his time as a tugboat master in San Pedro Bay. He couldnt and after port officials called the company, they concluded that Rubino had spent some of his time working in San Francisco and accumulated 33 or 34 months, at most, as a tugboat master at San Pedro, according to a Harbor Department memo. Asked how Rubino had been hired without the minimum required experience, Port Director Gene Seroka blamed the citys personnel department for failing to verify his work history. The personnel agencys spokesman, Bruce Whidden, said it was the ports responsibility. Seroka said the Harbor Department will do all of the vetting for high-level job candidates in the future. If Rubino had gone to work as a port pilot, Seroka said, he would have reported to Christiansen, rather than his father. In Christiansens absence, Seroka added, the chief of port police would have been his supervisor. The police chief oversees the pilot unit but has no professional experience handling ships, port officials said. Put on unpaid leave After confronting Rubino about his lack of experience on Sept. 29, port officials put him on unpaid leave but waited a month before firing him. Rubino requested the delay to give him time to find other documentation that might prove he had the required tenure as master of a tugboat. At the same time, he launched his effort to get reinstated in the San Francisco Bay pilot training program, records show. Pilots in San Francisco also make more than $400,000 per year, according to industry officials, so there is a long waiting list for spots in the training program. A trainee who resigns has no right to return, according to documents provided by the Board of Pilot Commissioners, which regulates pilots in San Francisco. Nevertheless, the board allowed Rubino back into the training program. The Port of L.A. terminated him Oct. 29, a day after confirming he had been reinstated in San Francisco. Allen Garfinkle, the San Francisco boards executive director, said he was never advised that Rubino was being terminated by L.A. officials. Four dogs that were once locked up in wire cages at a dog meat farm in South Korea are available for adoption at the San Francisco SPCA. Leone, Hermione, Jenny and Drema were among 171 dogs rescued in April by the Humane Society International only months before they were scheduled to be killed and eaten. Most South Koreans don't dine on dog meat year-round, but while celebrating the Bok Nal days of summer, they frequent restaurants to consume steaming bowls of vegetables topped with shredded dog meat and spices. 'Boshintang' stew, or "soup good for your body," is thought to cool the blood in the hottest days of summer. During the festival running mid-July through mid-August, hundreds of thousands of dogs are slaughtered. At this time, an estimated 60 to 80 percent of the entire year's dog meat is eaten in South Korea, according to the HSI. Throughout the remainder of the year, it's mainly the older population who consumes canine as younger people are beginning to shun the dog meat trade and its inhumane practices. The conditions at the more than 17,000 farms throughout the country are usually grim. "It's factory-farming of dogs in row upon row of bare wire cages, filthy with feces," Andrew Plumbly, campaign manager for HSI, who assisted in the dog rescue, said in a statement. "The dogs live in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety." Leone, Hermione, Jenny and Drema were saved from a farm in Wonju, that the HSI has since helped to close. As part of a campaign to stop dog farming, the animal-rights group has shut down a total of five farms by offering the owners' financial incentives to give their dogs up for adoption as family pets in the U.S. They also help them switch from animal farming to growing crops, such as blueberries. The SFSPCA is one of many U.S. shelters that took in Wonju dogs and it warns potential adopters on its site that Leone, Hermione and Drema will need time to adjust and a quiet and safe place to call home. Leone, a Chinese shar-pei mix with droopy eyes, is described as a"fearful girl who is growing in curiosity everyday," while Hermione, a handsome husky mix, and Drema, a Korean jindo mix, are both called "sensitive." But while these dogs might sound like high-maintenance pets who will require extra care and training, Elle Koagedal of San Francisco says the jindogolden retriever mix rescued from Wonju that she brought into her home three weeks ago has easily adjusted. Benny is playful, cuddly and friendly with other people and dogs, Koagedal says. "He seemed to bounce back really well," she said. "We haven't had any issues with him. He's very curious about things. The first time we took him out on a walk, he was super curious and sniffing everything." Koagedal said she plans on some basic obedience training as Benny gets excited when meeting new people and jumps up on them. "We're not sure how old he is," she said. "They said two but he acts like a puppy. Maybe that's because he hasn't been out to play. He definitely has a puppy spirit." But the training should go smoothly, as Koagedal has already taught him to sit. The United States on Thursday launched simultaneous strikes against Islamic State extremists from the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf, marking the first time the U.S. military had bombed IS targets in Syria and Iraq from both bodies of water. The USS Boxer amphibious assault carrier began conducting strikes from its location in the Gulf "in concert with the strikes" flown from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean, Navy Captain Keith Moore, commodore of the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, told VOA from aboard the ship shortly after the strikes' completion. "We're demonstrating the capability to launch at a time and a location of our choosing," Moore said. Marine Colonel Anthony Henderson, commanding officer of the ship's 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said two of the ship's Marine AV-8B Harrier jump jets conducted strikes on IS targets in northern Iraq. He was not yet authorized to release the results from those strikes. The officers said they "expect" similar strike orders to come soon. "We're on station for the next several days, in position and ready to conduct strikes," Moore said. North Korea has denounced a U.S. intelligence company's scenario for precision strikes on its nuclear facilities as an "expression of the American ambition for a war of aggression." In late May, Stratfor published a report titled "Removing the Nuclear Threat" that elaborates on major targets to neutralize the North's nuclear development capabilities and weapons and the means to strike them with. North Korea said Wednesday that this could be seen as "a surprise preemptive attack and armed invasion" and warned it will further bolster its nuclear capabilities. According to the scenario, two to four U.S. Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines could fire some 300 Tomahawk missiles from the East Sea to destroy the North's missile and air bases, while the U.S. Air Force focuses on striking nuclear facilities. The scenario envisages pulverizing the North's nuclear and major military facilities once and for all. The scenario also elaborates the expected retaliatory response from the North and ensuing damage. The report predicts that the North would launch a retaliatory attack on South Korea and Japan with long-range artillery, biochemical bombs and short-range missiles, commandos and a cyberattack. But it speculates that the artillery on the border would itself be exposed to attack, "limiting potential civilian casualties to thousands of dead rather than tens of thousands." It claims that the U.S. military could destroy the North's nuclear facilities based on its material superiority, but suggests that because of the possibility of escalation, the U.S. military should also prepare for a large-scale war in which to neutralize all the North's major combat capabilities at once. Others have dismissed the scenario as pie-in-the-sky. They say that contrary to the report's claims there could be several unknown nuclear facilities, including an underground uranium enrichment facility, which South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies have failed to spot. "The North's nuclear capacity has already crossed the red line," said Prof. Park Won-kon of Handong Global University. "It's safe to say that the North would retaliate with nuclear weapons if the U.S. launches precision strikes with conventional weapons." But North Korea is nonetheless alarmed. "Pyongyang seems to worry that the U.S. military could strike its nuclear and missile facilities anytime just as Israel bombed Syria's nuclear facility," a security official here said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Donald Trump left San Antonio after attending an invitation-only luncheon that drew hundreds of demonstrators pro and con. The noon event at Oak Hills Country Club was closed to the public, but 500 demonstrators lined the 5400 block of Fredericksburg Road. Trump arrived at the club about 12:15 p.m., slightly behind schedule, and left the Alamo City on a flight bound for Houston around 2:15 p.m. The Republican nominee will be attending a fundraiser and a rally in Houston. Police were vigilant about avoiding conflict between protesters and Trump supporters, who generally were separated by traffic on Fredericksburg Road. But occasionally, a Trump supporter would infiltrate the crowd of protesters, under the watchful eye of police. "Get used to that wall," said one man who was followed by a police officer. "Racist scumbag!" one of the Trump protesters replied. Some of the protesters policed themselves. When emotions flared, protesters reminded one another to "keep it peaceful." SAPD Sgt. Dave Anderson said that officers were attempting to keep pro- and anti-Trump protesters separated. Valerie Campos, 20, anti-Trump protester and point-of-contact for the Peace Keepers, an activist group, said: We did have a meeting personally with (SAPD) yesterday to make sure that everything goes off peacefully. When asked what she would like to say to Trump, Campos said: "We are willing to love you as long as you're willing to love us." Demonstrators were confined to the sidewalks near the entrance to the members-only club, where invitees are paying from $500 to $250,000 to attend. Staff writer Rye Druzin contributed to this report. jgonzalez@express-news.net Twitter: @johnwgonzalez This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Apple's newest commercial for iOS 10, unveiled at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, has quite a few music fans clamoring that the tech giant plagiarized the theme and sound of "On the Regular," a song made by indie artist Shamir Bailey. The song in the commercial, "Hey Hi Hello," was created by a mysterious band called Hollywood Wildlife that per Stereogum "have virtually no online presence" and were reportedly assembled solely by Sony to compose music for marketing purposes. For their part, the members in the band Blake Healy, Fran Hall, and Doug Brown say that they're familiar with Shamir, and even that they have heard "On the Regular," but didn't definitively confirm nor deny that the song resembled Bailey's work. When Pitchfork bluntly asked band member Blake Healy whether "Hey Hi Hello" was derived or lifted from Shamir, the commercial composer responded vaguely. "I don't know. Hopefully that's a good thing," he said to the music site. "I think it's a good thing. I think that stuff is so cool and fun. When I heard his song, I was like, 'Who did this, and how did people find it?'" Healy also told Pitchfork that Apple did the artwork for the lone album they've released, which came out just last month. Bailey, who has already been featured in Apple's ads in the past, hasn't said too much about the incident after another artist, Troye Sivan, tweeted the ad at him. His management, however, did release a singular, vague meme around the same time Bailey tweeted in praise of his team. Take a listen for yourself - are the two songs too similar? [Warning: Bailey's version is NSFW due to some language at the beginning of the track.] Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter. BAGHDAD Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as the Islamic State groups grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety. Residents described harrowing escapes even after Islamic State fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs that killed several. In some cases, Islamic State allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadists families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that Islamic State defenses in much of the city collapsed abruptly. In the early morning Friday, Iraqi forces punched into the city center, meeting intense fighting. But by evening, the special forces commander Brig. Haider al-Obedi said his troops controlled 80 percent of the city, with Islamic State fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward regaining the groups last major foothold in Iraqs western Anbar province, the heartland of the countrys Sunni minority. The militants overran the city in early 2014, the first urban area to fall into its hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Over the past year, Iraqi forces backed by U.S-led air strikes have city-by-city regained large parts of that territory though the biggest prize, Iraqs second largest city, Mosul, and surrounding territory in the north, remains in Islamic State control. Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command center, congratulating the troops on their victories. We promised to liberate Fallujah, and it has returned to the embrace of the nation, he said. Iraqi forces have tightened their control over the inside of the city, and there are some pockets that need to be cleaned out within hours, he said. In the early hours, special forces pushed into Fallujahs central al-Nazzal district, which had served as a base for the militants with weapons warehouses and command centers, al-Obeidi said. Backed with air support from the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi air force, the troops were able to move into the center at around 6 a.m. They seized the main government complex, which includes municipality offices that Islamic State had torched, the police station and other government buildings. Iraqi forces are now in the center of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014, al-Obeidi said. Islamic State fighters were still holding out in the nearby central hospital, al-Obeidi said. Throughout the day and into the night, Iraqi forces surrounded the hospital, clashing with snipers on adjacent buildings. But they were holding back from storming the building, fearing there were patients inside that the militants would use as human shields, he said. Aid groups had estimated that 50,000 civilians had been trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those had fled since then. They have largely been staying in camps in areas around the city. 1 Refugee deaths: Authorities in Niger say 34 people, including 20 children, have died while attempting to cross the Sahara Desert in pursuit of a better life. Nigers government said Thursday that it believed the victims had been trying to reach Europe. Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum has vowed to pursue stiff penalties for the traffickers who demand high prices to transport people from sub-Saharan Africa to Algeria and beyond. Niger is one of the worlds poorest countries, and many there attempt to reach North Africa and Europe in search of work. The dangerous desert voyage has claimed an untold number of lives, particularly when smugglers abandon trucks or fail to bring sufficient water. 2 Hemingway possessions: On an island where finding a handful of screws can be a days-long odyssey, the new era of U.S.-Cuban normalization has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies to build a simple but up-to-date conservation facility for Ernest Hemingway artifacts on his Havana estate, ranging from books and letters to fishing rods and African animal heads. Hemingway lived at the airy home known as the Finca Vigia in the 1940s and 50s, and places where the Nobel literature laureate worked, fished and drank have become important Cuban cultural sites and draws for tourists from around the world. State of Emergency Gov. Martinez toured the out-of-control in the Manzano Mountains on Thursday evening after announcing that for the state. This means that federal funds will cover 75 percent of costs associated with fighting the fire, which has forced mandatory evacuations and consumed dozens of homes. to man roadways and go door to door in those area that have been evacuated to assure that people have left. Report: New Mexico Has Model Legislature The Associated Press did a survey of state legislatures around the country and found New Mexico has the most and the most Hispanic lawmakers. Lujan Support DREAMers' Military Service Speaking of diversity, US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer in denouncing that prevent DREAMers from serving in the Armed Forces. Johnson Picks Up Endorsement and National Airtime This probably doesnt surprise anyone, but the nations largest pro cannabis group, is endorsing Gary Johnson for president in 2016. CNN has announced it will host with Johnson on June 22 at 9 pm. Silent Witness Takes Charge of Plan to Fix SNAP Joey Peters at New Mexico Political Report has been doing yeomans work covering the problems with the states administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Today he reports that Marilyn Martinez, an official who pleaded her Fifth Amendment rights in court over widespread allegations of fraud in how the state administers the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will t outlined by the federal government. 'Flagrant Disregard' This is bound to be a precedent-setting open government legal case: Heath Haussamen, who is suing the City of Las Cruces and its executive search firm The Mercer Group for violating the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act for withholding city manager candidates job applications, contends by claiming the private business has custody of the documents. Whistleblower Settles for $900,000 Phaedra Haywood uncovered documents that shows the Obamas Visit Carlsbad Today If you were planning to visit Carlsbad Caverns today, you want to reschedule. , and the park service is closing it down. Santa Fe Reporter A wildfire that had enveloped more than 16,000 acres in the Manzano Mountains by Thursday evening could potentially cross into Santa Fe County in the coming days, according to county Fire Chief David Sperling. Were at risk as well. Our field conditions are similar as far as dryness goes, Sperling tells SFR, adding that as of Friday morning, the Dog Head Fire burned about 10 miles away from the Santa Fe County border and 12 miles from Edgewood. Smoke from the Dog Head Fire has already drifted over the countys southern border and was visible in the city limits this week. High heat and dryness could exacerbate the concentration of smoke, according to the New Mexico Environment Department. Health officials advised residents to keep an eye out for smoke, noting that visibility of more than five miles generally means that it is safe to be outside. At three miles, children, seniors over 65, pregnant women and people with respiratory or heart conditions should stay indoors. If only one mile is visible, everyone should avoid outdoor activity. Firefighters have struggled to contain a fast-spreading fire that sparked Tuesday morning southeast of Albuquerque, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Bernalillo and Torrance counties. At least 24 residences and 21 other structures have been destroyed in the blaze. Gov. Susana Martinez toured the area of the fire via helicopter Thursday. She also declared a state of emergency, allocating emergency funding and activating the National Guard to assist affected communities. The Federal Emergency Management Administration approved a grant to cover 75 percent of the costs to fight the fire. Property can be replaced, but lives cannotas our coordinated response to the fire continues, I ask New Mexicans to be mindful of this, and to not take unnecessary risks, Martinez said in a statement. Santa Fe County sent a fire engine to the scene of the fire Wednesday evening, though it has not committed any resources since. If we get a request from one of the involved entities or the Forest Service, we will do whatever we can to provide what we can, in consideration of keeping available resources here as well, Sperling says. Meanwhile, citing drought conditions as of Thursday, the county has issued a 30-day ban on the use and sale of projectile fireworks, meaning any devices that fly into the air. The ban does not include cones, sparklers or other fireworks that remain on the ground. And as usual, the fire department recommends that residents avoid launching their own fireworks altogether, suggesting they enjoy the public display on July 4. Forest Service officials are closely monitoring the Santa Fe National Forest for fires this year, after a relatively mild fire season in 2015, according to forest spokeswoman Julie Anne Overton. The forest has only had a few minor fires in 2016, the largest of which was contained at 146 acres. "However, the current hotter and drier weather pattern has raised our fire danger level, and we are watching things very carefully. We are expecting a lot of visitors to the forest this weekend and are urging them to be extremely careful with campfires and other activities that can cause a wildfire," Overton tells SFR. Outside of national forests, Santa Fe County is on track in 2016 to record more wildfires than it has seen in any of the last three years, according to data provided by the county fire department. About halfway through this year, 84 fires have ignited in the county, burning through about 49 acres of wild land. In 2015, there were 138 fires total, with 41 acres burned. Chief Sperling attributes the rise in wildfires to low moisture, high heat and winds, and abundant growth of fine fuels, like shrubs and grass. "A wind-driven fire in these conditions can cause havoc for firefighters and create a significant threat to the life, safety, health and welfare of residents of Santa Fe County, and to public and private property located within the county," Sperling says. Santa Fe Reporter The Supreme Court has granted former superyacht builder Ivan Erceg leave to appeal in a long-running and bitter family stoush over the fortune of the late Independent Liquor magnate, Michael Erceg. At issue is disclosure over who got what when two trusts set up by Michael Erceg, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2005, were wound up five years later. His younger brother, Ivan, got no payout when the trusts were wound up even though he had been declared bankrupt 10 months earlier. His company, Sensation Yachts, has since been liquidated. Michael Erceg was settlor and trustee of the Acorn Foundation Trust and Independent Group Trust and on his death his widow, Lynette Erceg, and Darryl Gregory became trustees. Ivans subsequent request for documents about the trusts was turned down by the trustees because the trust deeds included a confidentiality clause that in their view had been included by Michael Erceg because he thought disclosure would create further disharmony between family members where there was already an unfortunate history of tension and conflict. Ivan then brought proceedings against the trustees seeking orders that as a discretionary and final beneficiary they should be required to disclose various documents relating to administration of the trusts. His mother, Millie, who also didnt receive a distribution from the trusts, had had some earlier success in getting limited disclosure of the documents. The High Court agreed with the trustees that Ivan didnt have standing to seek disclosure because of his bankruptcy and found his main complaint seemed to be that he had not received any distribution from the trusts. Ivan then went took the matter to the Court of Appeal which in March this year released a ruling that disagreed with the High Courts finding over whether he had standing to bring the case. But it also found that the cases unusual circumstances required fine judgement about whether to order disclosure. The appellate judges upheld their High Court counterparts conclusion to refuse his bid. In a one-page judgment released this afternoon, the Supreme Court judges granted Ivan leave to appeal the approved question of should the conclusion that disclosure not be made/required be set-aside? The Erceg family was estimated to be worth $1.6 billion last year in the NBR Rich List. Independent Liquor was sold in 2011 for $1.5 billion to Japans Asahi Group Holdings. 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 Reckitt Benckiser (New Zealand), the local division of the consumer goods business, sliced off more than a third of its goodwill in 2015, a year when its Nurofen painkiller packaging attracted the attention of competition regulators. The Auckland-based consumer goods distributor cut $51.8 million from goodwill - which represents the premium paid over the fair value of identifiable assets in an acquisition - valuing the intangible asset at $79.4 million as at Dec. 31, according to financial statements lodged with the Companies Office. That impairment charge pushed Reckitt Benckiser into the red last year, reporting a loss of $48.8 million on sales of $127.8 million, compared to a profit of $2.8 million on revenue of $123.3 million in 2014. The write-down was in a year when Reckitt Benckiser agreed to enforceable undertakings with the Commerce Commission to stop marketing the Nurofen specific pain relief range and said it would try to get the remaining stock off New Zealand shelves by March 23, 2016. The undertakings were given to "satisfy the commission that there is no need to seek urgent injunctive relief pending the resolution of the commission's investigation", which was launched after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission won a case against Reckitt Benckiser for misleading consumers with the painkiller's packaging. The ACCC is appealing the A$1.7 million fine imposed as being too small, and New Zealand's Commerce Commission is in the final stages of its investigation on this side of the Tasman. Reckitt Benckiser declined to comment on the accounts. The parent company injected $71.9 million of new capital into the New Zealand holding company in June last year, while $121.5 million of related party debt was repaid. That bolstered total equity to $80.7 million as at Dec. 31 from $57.6 million a year earlier, which had been the balance of Reckitt Benckiser NZ's retained earnings. Last year Reckitt Benckiser sought to buy Johnson & Johnson's K-Y lubricant brand in a global stitch up with its own Durex product. While the deal was cleared in other jurisdictions, New Zealand's regulator turned down the bid, saying it wasn't satisfied such a union wouldn't detract from competition in the supply of personal lubricants to supermarkets and pharmacies. 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 Fonterra Cooperative Group chief executive Theo Spierings has reshuffled the roles of some of his top managers for the third time in a year in changes he says will sharpen the commercial and customer focus at the world's largest dairy exporter. Last year, Fonterra laid off 835 staff as it restructured the business after drafting in corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Co for advice on creating a leaner business. The milk processor is heading into the third season of low milk prices amid a global oversupply and weak demand. In 2012, it unveiled its V3 strategy involving volume, value, and velocity aimed at increasing milk production volumes to ensure Fonterra maintains its share of the growing dairy market, driving more value from its milk through higher value products, and doing so at speed. Jacqueline Chow, previously chief operating officer Velocity, has been appointed as chief operating officer of the newly created global consumer and foodservice unit which will include all consumer and foodservice business units in the cooperative's key markets, the Auckland-based cooperative said in a statement. Chow moved into what was the newly created Velocity role 12 months ago, having previously been managing director global brands and nutrition. Judith Swales, previously managing director Oceania, has been appointed chief operating officer Velocity and Innovation and will manage the cooperative's transformation and disruption agenda, as well as research, development and technology, Fonterra said. She had been managing director for Australia until October last year when she was promoted to head of Oceania, a new unit that added the New Zealand consumer business to Fonterra's Australian segment. Fonterra's managing director Greater China and Asia, Middle East and Africa, John Priem, will retire on July 31 and Fonterra said it expects to make announcements on leadership structures in the region next month. Priem was promoted to that role in August last year, having previously been president Greater China. "This is the right step in our evolution," Spierings said. "We're keeping farmers at the heart of our co-op while focusing on delivering to our global customers and consumers." Chow will hold her new position into 2017 after which she plans to retire from executive positions and return to Australia to pursue board directorships, Spierings said, adding that he wanted to tap her "wealth of consumer and business experience" to create the cooperative's new "world class" unit before she leaves. We have an ambition to have our consumer and foodservice brands at the number 1 and 2 positions in our eight key strategic markets," said Spierings said. "Lining up our markets and consumer and foodservice teams enhances our focus on delivering world leading consumer brands. The Australian unit, which is expected to turn a profit this year or next, will continue to report to Judith Swales in her new role. With Judith heading up Velocity and Innovation we will get an end-to-end view of our efforts to drive efficiency across our business, bringing increased commercial focus to our research, development and technology and taking a strategic view on developing game-changing business models, Spierings said. Among other changes, Miles Hurrell, previously group director of cooperative affairs, has been appointed chief operating officer Farm Source. Kelvin Wickham is now chief operating officer NZMP and Robert Spurway is now chief operating officer global operations. Spierings said the new titles better reflect the breadth of their roles. 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 Three Iranian migrants and a family friend have been found guilty of mortgage fraud after they scammed seven banks using forged documents and aliases in a $9.2 million scheme involving 11 Auckland properties between July 2007 and December 2010. Eli Devoy, the 47-year-old ringleader for the offending, was found guilty on 20 charges in the District Court at Auckland, having pleaded guilty to four charges prior to trial. The one-time mortgage broker now goes by the name Ellie Stone, and has also used the name Eli Ghorbani and her original name when she came to New Zealand of Elaheh Ghorbani Sarsangi. Of her brothers, Mehrdad Ghorbani was found guilty of six charges and Mehrzad Ghorbani found guilty of four charges, having pleaded guilty to one charge prior to trial. A third brother, Mehran Ghorbani had pleaded guilty to three charges prior to trial. The brothers had also used multiple names although Judge Brooke Gibson said in his judgment that it wasn't unusual for Persian to changes their names when they migrated to New Zealand, a right they didn't have in Iran. Nasrin Kardani, a family friend, was found guilty of three charges while Hassan Salarpour, Eli Devoy's brother-in-law, and a friend, Javad Toraby, were found not guilty. Judge Gibson's judgment says Serious Fraud Office and police officers who executed a search warrant on the Devoy residence in Eastern Beach in 2012 found "a veritable Aladdin's Cave of compromising material in the form of bank statements, loan applications, notes confirming payments of various deposits, a passport and a driver's licence. Many of the documents were forgeries". The judgment also cites a note from Eli Devoy's ex-husband Warren Devoy entreating her to stay in their marriage: "To make it work I promise to totally stop complaining about fraud if you promise to stop talking as if I am the cause of all your problems". Even though Eli Devoy argued the note referred to a friend of hers, Judge Gibson said her ex-husband "had good reason to be concerned about his wife's activities." The scheme, or "series of scams", began to unravel in February 2010 when a Bank of New Zealand investigator advised police about some transactions using false documents, while Westpac Banking Corp had begun to investigate another property deal at about the same time. Kiwibank made a complaint to the SFO in November 2011. SFO director Julie Read said all lenders "should be monitoring this risk and people applying for mortgages should be aware that there are significant penalties for those who do not provide truthful information. The defendants are to reappear for sentencing on Aug. 17. 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 The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 0.2 percent decline against the greenback this week as investors shy away from taking strong positions ahead of June 23 referendum in the UK on whether to quit its membership of the European Union. The kiwi traded at 70.41 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 70.55 cents on Friday in New York last week. It was little changed from 70.46 cents at 8am, down from 70.76 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 75.16 from 75.59 yesterday, and is heading for a 0.6 percent decline this week. A BusinessDesk survey of seven currency analysts on Monday predicted the kiwi would trade between 68.80 US cents and 72 cents this week. Three picked a decline, three expected little change in the currency, and one projected it to gain. Polls this week had shown growing support for UK to leave the EU, though the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox which is speculated to have been linked to the referendum, has tempered support for an exit. The British pound recovered some of its recent losses on the prospect of a successful 'leave' vote, known as 'Brexit', and the kiwi fell to 49.46 pence from 49.90 pence yesterday. "The murder in London last night has changed the skew on Brexit a little bit," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales NZ at ASB Institutional in Auckland. "It's really hard to see the kiwi break out of the 69.50 to 71.50 (US cents) range ahead of Brexit." ASB's Kelleher said the kiwi was still benefitting from "reasonably good fundamentals" after yesterday's better-than-expected economic growth and today's upbeat manufacturing and consumer confidence surveys. The local currency fell to 73.39 yen from 73.75 yen yesterday, having touched a three-year low against Japan's currency after the Bank of Japan yesterday held off adding more stimulus. Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso today said he was concerned with the currency's strength, and officials from his office, the BOJ and Financial Services Agency met to discuss the action in the markets. The kiwi declined to 95.45 Australian cents from 95.71 cents yesterday, and decreased to 4.6388 Chinese yuan from 4.6520 yuan. It was little changed at 62.62 euro cents from 62.74 cents. New Zealand's two-year swap rate increased two basis points to 2.26 percent, and 10-year swaps gained three basis points to 2.74 percent. 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 LONDON: India and the UK today clinched two new key agreements on solar energy and nano technology as part of their wider science and technology cooperation. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, met his UK counterpart, Jo Johnson, here for the fifth Indo-UK Science and Innovation Council meeting today to establish the India-UK Networked Centre on Solar Energy. "The UK is among the most important countries where we have a very dynamic engagement. In India, we are taking up renewable energy in a big way, and in the solar area we will have an even more active engagement with the UK now," he told reporters at the Indian High Commission today. Describing his UK visit as "very successful and upbeat", he elaborated on the new solar pact as being focused on research projects around micro-grid systems for connectivity of remote areas. India will be investing Rs 50 crore over a period of five years in the network, with matching contribution from Research Council UK under the 'Newton Bhabha' program. The council also announced access to Indian researchers to the Neutron Scattering facility of the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford. "We had a very good meeting with the vice-chancellor and other scholars working in the biomedical field. This tie-up will help us in our Nano mission and development of advanced nano materials. India is currently third in the world in terms of nano technology," the minister said. Science and Technology (S&T) is seen by both governments as among the most important elements in India-UK bilateral cooperation, which started with signing of the inter- governmental S&T agreement in 1996. In 2006, a new orientation was given to S&T cooperation with setting up of the Science and Innovation Council (SIC). The SIC, headed by the science ministers of India and UK, is the apex body to review overall bilateral scientific cooperation and it is held once in two years, alternatively in India and the UK. The fourthSIC meeting was held in November 2014 in New Delhi, co-chaired by Dr Harsh Vardhan and Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP, then UK Minister for Universities, Science and Cities. The 'Newton Bhabha' initiative was signed during that meeting. The fifthmeeting took place in London today, which covered a wide range of topics. Read Also: Shiv Nadar University Joins Hands with Dell for Research Microsoft Strikes $26.2-Bn Deal To Buy Linkedin WASHINGTON: A resolution has been introduced in the US House of Representatives supporting India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, with the lawmakers saying a permanent spot for the country on the Council would strengthen democracy around the world. The resolution was introduced yesterday in the House by Congressman Frank Pallone, the co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American in the Congress and current co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. India is the only country which has been endorsed by the Obama administration for a permanent member of the UN Security Council. "At a time when international relations are being redefined, we should acknowledge and empower those nations that share our enduring core values," Mr Pallone said in a statement after he introduced the bill in the House. "It's in the interests of the United States and the world to have a UN Security Council whose members combine military strength with respect for democracy and pluralism, and an appreciation of the dangers posed by rouge states and terrorist groups," he said. Last week, Mr Pallone and Mr Bera applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to strengthen ties between the US and India during a speech before a joint session of Congress. "I was honoured to meet with Prime Minister Modi during his visit and I am more committed than ever to the bond between our two nations share and the positive impact that India would have on the UN Security Council," said Mr Pallone, who along with Mr Bera served on the escort committee that led PM Modi into the House chamber for the speech. "As the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy, the United States and India share common values and a growing partnership on many fronts, especially on defence cooperation," said Mr Bera. "India plays a critical role as a strategic partner to the United States, and as a pillar of stability in South Asia. Securing a permanent spot for India on the UN Security Council would be beneficial for India and the United States, and would strengthen democracy around the world," he said. In a statement Mr Pallone and Mr Bera said the UN Security Council still reflects the world as it was in 1945 when the United Nations was created. Despite the fact that the UN has grown from 51 member nations at its inception to nearly 200, the Security Council has not grown to reflect these dramatic changes, they said. There are currently five permanent members of the Council including the US, the UK, Russia, China, and France. The resolution reflects the sense of the US Congress and it does not has any legislative implications on the Obama administration. Read Also: Ecommerce To See Nearly 10 Mn Sellers Online By 2020 Tata Sponge Wins Bid For 24,000 Tons/Yr Of Coal From CIL Hula group creates global connection When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at... Hospital offers safe option to dispose of meds, narcotics Los Robles Health System is working to crush the opioid drug crisis by raising awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of... Rotary works to promote worldwide peace, goodwill The Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise recently invited administrators and principals from the Simi Valley Unified School District to attend a meeting and receive the book The Nonviolence Handbook: A... Free books and Halloween treats Big fun awaits kids at local little libraries Simi Valley has about 20 registered Little Free Libraries that offer free books for children, teens and adults. In addition to providing free books to the community, the Little Free... 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 More Canberra eateries than ever failed hygiene checks in the same year the ACT government ditched its proposal for "scores on doors" restaurant safety ratings. In the past year, three in every 10 inspections found failures to comply with public health laws, twice as many as the government's target maximum failure rate. Live and dead cockroaches on the floor of a Canberra eatery. The image was among several that health officials showed in court during a recent prosecution. Credit:Fairfax Media The result the worst the Health Directorate has reported included inspections of other types of premises, such as pharmacies, but the government said most failures related to unsafe food practices. It was the fifth consecutive year in which inspection pass rates fell well below the official target of 85 per cent. Tim Johnson is the great "synthesiser" in Australian art. In music, a synthesiser brings together a considerable range of different instruments, as well as natural sounds, all of which combine into a harmonious whole. Tim Johnson, Yamantaka, 2015, with Daniel Bogunovic. In Johnson's art, his synthesising goes beyond mere eclecticism, which involves sampling or the absorption of disparate elements: rather it is the integration of different religious iconographies, periods of time and visual codes. It is not an attempt to create a visual Esperanto, but within this process of gathering of different sources, they are superimposed, one on top of the other, to suggest an alternative realm of being. Johnson leaves the seams clear for everyone to see as he brings together Papunya dot painting, medieval Christian iconography, Buddhist, Tibetan, Japanese and Chinese imagery, plus the occasional flying saucer. To further complicate matters, Johnson in this exhibition also incorporates "ready made" amateur paintings, bought from opportunity shops, that he terms "thrift paintings", to which he and his collaborator, the West Coast American artist, Daniel Bogunovic, add their own contributions. In this manner Mr Spock and Captain America also enter into the fray in this exhibition. Johnson for many years has been a serial collaborator with Aboriginal artists, Asian artists and Native American artists, and in this exhibition, in addition to Bogunovic, the Tibetan artist, Karma Phuntsok, also makes a contribution. Tim Johnson's artistic vision is unique in Australian art and I can bring to mind no completely convincing contemporary international parallels. Working primarily in acrylics on canvas, he maps out his floating cosmographies suspended over a sea of mesmerising, shimmering dots that find their origins in Central Desert painting. In the large glowing canvas Yamantaka, 2016, painted collaboratively with Bogunovic, a floating Chinese temple shares the picture space with traditional Christian iconography from scenes of the Nativity, Annunciation and the Resurrection, Buddhist iconography and the floating UFO. In another painting, one of the strongest in this exhibition, West Camp 2, 2016, Aboriginal artists squat on the ground working on their canvases, while Buddhist imagery harmoniously accommodates a flying saucer overhead plus grazing animals. What is particularly attractive in these works is that there is no projection of the artist's ego or clash of different codes. All is allowed to co-exist without the imposition of a hierarchy of significance. A pagoda, shrine or temple is given the same significance as images of artists at their work, animals and inanimate objects. There is a tranquillity of spiritual vision, one that is in harmony with itself. However, this harmony does not arise through assimilation, but the celebration of diversity. Artist Benjamin Shine has gone globally viral thanks to a video posted by The Huffington Post. The internationally-renowned Canberra-based artist works predominantly with tulle, and many locals would know him from his dramatic installation at Canberra Centre in April 2015 of ballet dancers. Artist Benjamin Shine with his artwork The Dance at Canberra Centre last year. The Canberra Times Photo Jamila Toderas Credit:Jamila Toderas The Huffington Post contacted Benjamin last week asking if they could use video footage of his tulle work. The video was published on Sunday, and by the end of the day it had generated almost 2 million views. Now, the number sits at almost 17 million. Ex Libris: Melinda Woodward, Cosmos, 2016. From ancient Egypt through to the Middle Ages, ownership of manuscripts was indicated with a small ornate inscription. With the advent of the printing press, not only did the number of books multiply, but the ownership tags could also be mass-produced and by the 15th century, in Germany, the modern Ex Libris, or bookplate was born. Ex Libris, Latin for "from the books of " appeared on the printed tag accompanied by the name of the owner or institution. Heraldic crests and coats of arms frequently appeared on these bookplates as some of the great artists of the time, including Albrecht Durer, Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein, engaged with this new art form. Imagery on great Ex Libris plates could include an insight into the intellectual and psychological character of the owner and one can think of the bookplate that Durer designed for his humanist friend, Willibald Pirckheimer, in the opening years of the 16th century. Bookplates became miniature works of art, where artists demonstrated their skills in all of the subtle forms of printmaking. Good ideas spread quickly and soon all of Europe was printing bookplates and the fashion soon spread to the Americas and Australia. Collecting of bookplates became very widespread by the mid-19th century and now most major libraries and art galleries have a bookplate collection. As far as I am aware, the State Library of Victoria has the largest collection of bookplates in Australia with more than 60,000, which dwarfs into insignificance when compared with Yale University's collection of about 1 million or the British Museum with about 250,000. However, Australia is the home of the Australian Bookplate Design Award, the world's richest bookplate design prize, for which I was a judge in 2015. Megalo's new members' exhibition is called Ex Libris: Celebrating the art of the bookplate. Certainly titles can be deceptive as more than half the exhibits have nothing to do with bookplates and are simply small-scale prints that belong in the popular miniature print exhibition category. Of the actual bookplates, the two that stand out in the exhibition are two linocuts, both by Peter McLean. The first is a narcissus-like figure of The Bather for books that belong to the artist; the other print is The Walker for books from the library of G.H. The bookplates have a simplicity and starkness, yet also sophistication as effective relief prints. Lisa Cahill's mother's family are Danish and since childhood she has travelled extensively between Australia and Denmark. She has mentioned in a recent interview the experience she had of seeing the sea frozen over between Denmark and Sweden so that even the waves were frozen beneath the ice. This struck me as an apt analogy for Cahill's own work where light, colour and movement seem suspended beneath the glass surface. Cahill and Grace are colleagues and friends who met as students at Monash University in early 2000. Both artists have connections with Canberra. Lisa Cahill grew up here and now works at the Canberra Glassworks and Holly Grace has had two residencies at the Glassworks in 2012 and 2014. They both share a love of Scandinavia which has been inspirational for their work. Grace studied and worked as a glass blower at the Glasmuseet, Ebeltoft between 2003 and 2007 and has returned many times for further study. It was in Scandinavia that her interest in photography developed. Grace initially used photography to document the landscape but in recent times photographic images have become integral to her aesthetic practice. Both artists draw on the Scandinavian landscape for their images and the effect of light a light they discovered to be more diffused and softer than the intense and harsher light of Australia. Light Translations is an exhibition by Lisa Cahill and Holly Grace that was originally conceived for the Glasmuseet (Glass Museum) in Ebeltoft, Denmark in January this year. It is not often we are able to view the work that our artists exhibit abroad so it is very gratifying to be able to see this significant exhibition by two very impressive young artists. Although their work is very different in style a fact both artists commented on when coming together to hang the exhibition in Ebeltoft there is a strong affinity between their art practice as both artists see their work in relation to the natural world. Cahill's work deals more with atmospheric effects caused by light on water and sky. Sometimes it is melancholic in mood, at other times there is a freshness and vitality. Her art by its very nature is more abstract because it grapples with indefinable emotional responses to the landscape. Holly Grace's images are more literal. They relate to a sense of place whether the scrub and tall straggling snow gums of the Snowy Mountains or the birch groves in the sparse landscape of the Nordic winters. Some of Lisa Cahill's works in this exhibition may be familiar as they have been seen in exhibitions at the Bilk Gallery and the Canberra Glassworks. However it is a great pleasure to encounter them again. Cahill orchestrates the moods of light, sky and sea with mature assurance. Extraneous detail is pared away and we are left with a distillation of the essence of a mood of nature encapsulated within a glass form or sets of panels. These sets of wall panels are either flat panels as in the elegiac Sailors Warning #5, 2010, or a series of small panels making up one large wall piece. Breeze #5, 2014, is wall piece of sixteen panels. Who could not fail to be delighted by this work? It pleases on several levels. The glass panels are treated as if they are fluid drapery ruffled by a slight passing breeze. The passage of this breeze can be followed by the slight ripples in the surface of each glass panel and this movement is enforced by the dance of coloured light across the whole work. In Trace Series (Green), 2013, a set of twelve panels, the mood changes to the dark and sombre play of light on the impression of a darkening sea. Each panel builds up this image by expressive white "brush" strokes against the dark green and blue background. The effect is a strong and compelling image of barely contained power and energy. The work The Blue Hour #4, 2015, engenders a different mood. Its solid glass form is infused with a light misty blue infusion of colour that evolves into darker tones depending on the light. This suggests the light of late afternoon developing into dusk a time for romantic and melancholy musings and a favourite time for romantic artists to capture the soft blue grey shades of light, as Cahill does so eloquently. Light is almost a living presence in two impressive glass vessels by Holly Grace. Rams Head Range, 2015, and Dargal's Trail, 2015, have a golden glow like ritualistic vessels that have captured the sun, their surfaces drawn with the artist's lyrical linear patterns of interwoven tree trunks and branches. The glass panels Ahl, 2015, and The Crackenback, 2015, wrap around to envelop the viewer in a world of landscape. This envelopment reminds me of Sidney Nolan's nine panel painting Riverbend (1964/5) held in the ANU art collection. While Nolan scratches back into the layers of paint to reproduce the rough textures of tall thin trees and low growing scrub, Grace uses sand blasting to cut into the glass surface enhanced by oxidised metal glass powders and stains to "release" the low relief silhouettes of the images of trees. In the work of both Nolan and Grace, light is the vital element that heightens the rough textures of the tree trunks and branches that crowd in on the surface planes so that the eye of the viewer is drawn in and held at a middle distance viewpoint the sky only a sliver of grey or gold. Its spiky, sharp, crystalline surface may evoke memories of ice, but Masahiro Asaka cranked the kiln up to 850 degrees to craft his Hindmarsh Prize-winning glass piece. And the Canberra glass artist sees the contradiction as all part of the "duality" of the medium he has worked in for 18 years. Hindmarsh Prize winner Masahiro Asaka with son Shuji, 7. Credit:Jay Cronan "It's strong, stable, but at the same time really fragile," he said. "It looks cold, but it's formed in the heat." The judging panel chose Asaka's work Surge 19, 2015 out of 18 finalists to take out the inaugural $5000 prize. The move by the Queensland government to introduce legislation to allow QSuper to open up its membership to the general public could have a profound impact on competition in the $2 trillion super sector. QSuper is the top-performing growth fund in the country but for more than 100 years membership has been restricted to current and former Queensland public sector employees and their spouses. The revised legislation will allow the $60 billion fund to attract new members from all over the country. On the flip side, it will give existing members the freedom to choose whether to stay or move to another fund or set up a self-managed super fund (SMSF). It means some of the big super funds will start lobbying employer groups to switch over from QSuper as the fund of choice. Financial advisers and accountants will also try to get in on the action and try to tap some of QSuper's 550,000 members to set up their own self-managed super fund. Hotels are the new investment vehicle attracting the big cash as the owners of the assets and operators take advantage of the growth in global tourism. AccorHotels Asia Pacific boss Michael Issenberg, who oversaw the opening of the new Pullman Sydney Airport Accor's 700th hotel in the Asia Pacific said, despite the competition, demand was high for hotels that offered consistent customer service and high-quality technology, both for guests and also in the form of apps and ease of bookings. Nanshan Group has bought the Pullman hotel under development near Sydney Airport for $84 million. The property was developed by Goodman and China's Nanshan Group paid $84 million for the site in December 2015. AccorHotels Asia Pacific is celebrating its 25th year in Australia, where it operates under the Novotel, Sofitel, IBIS, Grand Mercure and Pullman brands, among others. The first Pullman was at Sydney Olympic Park, while the new one at Mascot will service the growing airport precinct. In the latest skirmish in Australia's five-year-old milk war, some of the nation's most popular milk brands are heading to the Federal Court in a bitter fight over the rights to use the term "A2 protein" on their labels. A2 Milk has accused Lion Group, which is owned by Japanese brewing giant Kirin Corporation, of engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct by putting a label on its PURA and Dairy Farmers brands that states "Contains A2 protein". A2 Milk CEO Peter Nathan says he is determined to protect his brand as well as consumers. Credit:Simon Schluter A2, whose shares were admitted to the ASX 200 index this week, sells milk that contains only the A2 protein. It's been a success story of the local industry in recent years with its unique product. All other milk including the PURA and Dairy Farmers brands contains both the A1 and A2 proteins. Consumers who cannot drink normal milk without suffering digestive issues report that they can drink A2's product. As a result, A2 has eroded the dominance of global milk producers, including Lion and Parmalat. Despite selling for $2.35 per litre, A2 has claimed almost 10 per cent of the country's fresh milk market. Multinationals suspected of routing Australian profits via Singapore will be outed to tax authorities, with the low-tax nation this week signing up to the global plan to fight tax evasion. Companies including big miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as well as technology giants Apple and Google, have admitted using Singapore, where they can reduce tax rates to near zero, rather than pay in Australia, where the company tax rate is currently 30 per cent. The Australian Taxation Office has audited these companies for using Singapore hubs, arguing profits sent there are artificially inflated. Until now, Singapore had not signed up to a key part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) plan, which aims to stop tax avoidance. The pall that Jo Cox's murder has cast over next Thursday's referendum to decide on whether Britain remains in or leaves the European Union is considerable. If the so-called Brexit campaign had proved increasingly emotive and divisive in recent weeks, few Britons would have conceived it could descend to the brutal killing of a Labour Party MP. Mrs Cox was a prominent supporter of Britain's continued membership in the EU, and in a media interview last month had urged party leader Jeremy Corbyn to do more to mobilise Labour's supporters behind a "remain" vote. She'd also publicly rejected the idea that immigration fears a key factor in the debate were a legitimate reason for Britain to leave the EU. She'd also previously spoken out against the "racism and fascism" of Britain First, a far-right group noted for its anti-immigration platform. The man arrested over Mrs Cox's murder reportedly has had a history of psychiatric problems, and may have had links at one time to Britain First. The rival campaigns were in no doubt the referendum debate had been the spark for her murder: they immediately suspended their activities. Whether it has any tangible effect on the outcome is something that will probably occupy commentators and pundits right up to polling day. Viewed from afar, Britain's collective hand-wringing about whether to remain in the EU or exit seems faintly farcical. Having initially decided against being a founding member of the European Communities as it was then, Britain changed its mind after the Suez crisis and pushed hard for entry. The path to accession in 1973 was not straightforward, however. Charles de Gaulle famously vetoed one application, and home-front opposition to Britain's third membership bid (led by Conservative prime minister Ted Heath) was considerable. This was largely related to the fact that while Britain is nominally a European nation, it is not of Europe per se. Indeed, England has been leery of Europe (and of European entanglements) its entire history, often with good reason. Inextricably tying the country's fortunes to a political and economic construct of foreign design was a prospect many Britons deplored. British exceptionalism being a deeply ingrained (and much cultivated) trait, suspicion and mistrust of the EU has never entirely evaporated. The Conservative Party, despite being the party that took Britain into Europe in the first place, has harboured a vocal and pushy Eurosceptic faction for decades. The single-issue UK Independence Party was formed in 1991 partly with the hope that it could sway the then governing Conservative party to lead Britain out of the EU. The power and influence of the Eurosceptics has grown considerably in recent years, fuelled in part by growing voter disenchantment with "elites" in London and Brussels and the mainstream politicians who do their bidding. Resentments have been stoked, too, by a poorly performing economy and the arrival in Britain of large numbers of Eastern European emigrants, a movement facilitated by the EU's open borders policy. For all the moaning and groaning about Brussels, Britain has benefited enormously from EU membership. It has free and unfettered access to perhaps the most prosperous single market in the world, and a pre-eminent voice in shaping EU policy. Moreover, it has obtained (through hard bargaining) a degree of political and economic autonomy within the EU that few if any other member countries enjoy. In particular, if the elite-baiting outsiders' detestation of free trade turns into a bout of protectionism, either here or in the US, everyone loses. Every sound independent economic analysis shows the overall benefit of free trade provided, of course, that the education, training and welfare systems are good enough to help those displaced. If they are not, they are ripe for exploitation by the Trumps and extremist political parties of the world and there is one or more in every country. Fukuyama's warning is pertinent. The charges of political elitism and of being out of touch carry a lot of substance in Australia. The most recent Parliament Library study on the occupational background of parliamentarians is instructive. Alas, it was for the 2010-13 Parliament, but I doubt much has changed since. When you look at the 226 federal parliamentarians, half come from the political/legal class. These include former political staffers, state and local politicians, union officials, former lobbyists and lawyers. A quarter come from business. And only a quarter come from elsewhere. If you take the farmers out of that quarter and put them in business, only a fifth of MPs come from outside the political/legal class or business. So the hugely under-represented class in the Parliament is wage and salary earners the very people who are the most numerous class of voters. Is it any wonder that our politicians are out of touch? Is it any wonder they are seen as a political elite pandering to their own and to special business and union interests? The Orange Election Report by the Grattan Institute published this week illustrates the point. "A government that is prepared to forcefully articulate the public interest could stare down interest groups and win public support for a brave and powerful reform agenda," it said. But, it continues, "Australia's political system is not dealing well with the country's problems. Our politicians are creating expectations that far exceed what government can ever do, while often failing to act on the things they can control. The result is an often barren debate and a dull campaign, yet surveys show the public accepts the need for reform, and is ready to slay sacred cows such as negative gearing. "The failure of reform nerve over the past 15 years should not obscure the fact that reform could make a big difference." The report lists a dozen or more reforms which would benefit the nation massively, yet they would require the political elites in our Parliament to stop pandering to sectional interests. If they don't, living standards will fall in comparison to other nations and more voters will support minor parties and independents some good, some appalling. Low and middle wage and salary earners are especially disaffected. Business and the wealthy are getting all the tax breaks. Unions are busily looking after themselves and in any event do not represent 80 per cent of the workforce. This leaves wage and salary earners to the mercy of business (over-represented in the Parliament). Small wonder more people are feeling powerless or feel the only way to empowerment is through minor parties and independents some good, many appalling. Admittedly, both major parties have each at least uncoupled one carriage from two very long gravy trains. Labor has made a small step with negative gearing and the Coalition has made a small step with superannuation. But significant tax reform eludes them both. The experience of three other Anglophone countries is instructive. Britain seems to be going the way of Australia and the US. Labour's new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is very much a Bernie Sanders figure and the rising support for leaving the European Union smacks of Trumpesque protectionism and the slogan "make Britain/America great again". It's only a hunch. But I am pretty sure that if you did up a Venn diagram of those who hate gay people and those who hate Muslims, there would be such significant cross-over it would resemble a near-eclipse. In the holy litany of hate, Jews, blacks, Muslims, chicks and homos all compete for real estate, but it seems the perpetrator of the Pulse nightclub murders had room in his heart to revile all of them. Omar Mateen was a good hater, and violent, which made him a perfect martyr for the vile Islamic State. They claimed him quickly. It will be awkward, then, if it turns out that Mateen himself was a closeted homosexual. There are reports (as yet unconfirmed) he had frequented the club as a patron and was on gay dating apps, despite being married with a child. Those of us who work in universities like to think that academics and their ideas have the power to make the world a better place. But all too often, scholarly insight and knowledge fails to reach the wider world: locked behind journal pay walls, echoing around empty lecture theatres, or collecting dust in lonely libraries. Surely, we can do better. Academic blogging is a great way for knowledge to reach wider society. Credit:Rob Homer One proven approach is to harness the power and potential of academic blogging: it is a cost-effective way of re-packaging lofty scholarship in accessible, bite-sized formats. We know this model works because we make it happen every day with our specialist website on Southeast Asian affairs, which we call New Mandala. Set up in June 2006 with our colleague Andrew Walker, New Mandala was, first and foremost, an experiment. Its aim was to provide anecdote, analysis and new perspectives on the politics and societies of the Southeast Asian region. Originally this meant writing about research in progress, flagging potential subjects of scholarly interest, and seeking feedback on our more traditional publications. Our early forays were hesitant. We had no confidence that the experiment would work. "I've brought the big parties together their duopoly is under attack.": Nick Xenophon. Credit:Pat Scala His support has surged so much in his stronghold of South Australia that, for the first time in at least 30 years, the National Party has decided not to field any Senate candidates in that state. "We've always tried to sit in the centre of politics," says the Nationals president in South Australia, Grantley Siviour. But "Xenophon's taken that ground from under everybody else," he told the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper this week. Ugg boot manufacturer Eddie Oygur and Senator Nick Xenophon don a pair of ugg boots to highlight the upcoming battle against a US global footwear brand to use the word 'ugg'. Credit:James Alcock The surrender is so complete that a 2013 Nationals candidate, James Stacey, is now running as a candidate for the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) instead. A frontal assault on a local hero would probably backfire; the Labor ad was aimed at his party's candidates instead. "You might like Nick," the voiceover concedes, "but do you really want his team?" Senator Nick Xenophon on the crossbench with Family First Senator Bob Day, LDP Senator David Leyonhjelm and Senator John Madigan. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The accusations were that "one is close to a fringe group who supports Lord Monckton" a British climate denier; and "another thinks acupuncture on a woman's private parts can cure infertility"; a third "had no idea about the future direction" of NXT. Labor's deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, said on Radio National that the Xenophon team was "a rag-tag bunch of crackpots". Xenophon's reaction wasn't the indignant denial or the angry hit back. He instead searched out a shop selling terracotta pots. He wanted to pose for the cameras with their broken seconds. That didn't quite come off, but he did present a commemorative cracked pot to Radio National's Fran Kelly. Why doesn't he hit back? He did defend his candidates as "a really decent bunch of real people", but he positions himself as an alternative to "toxic tribal politics" not a part of it. If he did always hit back, he'd have sore knuckles by the end of the week. Christopher Pyne and Penny Wong, the most senior federal Liberal and Labor politicians in South Australia, teamed up at an Adelaide appearance this week to denounce Xenophon: "It's an easy thing to talk to people's fears," Wong said, representing a party that has based its campaign on promoting the entirely spurious fears that the Turnbull government wants to privatise Medicare and raise the GST rate to 15 per cent. "I can understand why they will listen to Nick," she condescended. "Nick may or may not be part of the problem but he's certainly not the solution." Pyne conceded that Xenophon was popular but, picking up the same theme as the Labor attack ad, he added that electors would be "voting for a group of strangers" on the Xenophon ticket "and the things they do know about them should frighten the hell out of them." Apparently Pyne is oblivious to the fact that the biggest fright that most voters got from federal politics recently was the 2014 budget from his own government, including the university deregulation proposal that he crafted. Former leaders, the Liberals' John Howard and Labor's Mark Latham, also have hit Xenophon in recent days. Xenophon politely thanked Howard: "At a personal level, I've always liked John Howard, and I'm very grateful that he's given the Nick Xenophon Team so much oxygen in SA with his attack." But the most damaging acts of the past week haven't been any verbal attack. They are the decisions that both major parties have made on their how-to-vote cards. The decisions mark NXT as their number one enemy. The how-to-vote cards that party volunteers hand out on polling day are the mechanism the parties use to try to direct the preferences of their supporters. Preferences are always key to election outcomes, but especially so when the contest is close, as this one is shaping to be. The parties have been locked in a clinch at 50:50, according to an average of the polls, unchanging for six weeks now. They always ask you to put their candidate as number "1" and then ask you to number your second and third and other choices according to the party's own agenda. This week Labor and Liberal decided to number each other's candidates ahead of Xenophon's. "They'd each prefer to send votes to their archenemies than to my party," Xenophon concludes. "I've brought the big parties together their duopoly is under attack." How serious is the attack? This is the first election where Xenophon has tried to franchise his popularity into an entire party. He's running 32 candidates across the country, including in Tony Abbott's seat of Warringah. Nationally NXT is not yet a big deal. In South Australia it's a different story. The party is predicted to win three Senate seats and possibly a fourth. This is likely to put Xenophon and the Greens into a shared balance of power position. But the House, where government is formed, is the real danger zone for the big parties. NXT is polling somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent in South Australia's seats in the House. It is endangering three Liberal-held seats. Xenophon's candidates are threatening Jamie Briggs in Mayo, Christopher Pyne in Sturt and Rowan Ramsey in Grey, home to the celebrated Whyalla blast furnaces. NXT is even ahead of Labor in some polls in some seats. But here's the rub on its primary vote alone, Xenophon won't be taking any seats at all. The party will need preferences from other parties to get to 50 per cent plus one in any of the seats. So will Xenophon do a deal to try to win favours from Labor or the Liberals? A spot higher up on their how-to-vote cards? "I don't see how I can," he says, though he is keeping his options open. His entire appeal is based on being independent and centrist. To do a deal with either major party would be, as he concedes, "hard headed politics". It's what everyone does. But "politics done differently" is one of his mottos. He says he intends to offer his party's followers a free choice of where to direct their preferences a so-called "open ticket". And he's relying on Labor and Liberal voters to be "smarter than their party headquarters". Instead of obediently following the how-to-vote cards they're handed, Xenophon is hoping that many will choose to number his candidates second on their ballots for the House. He's gambling his party on this purism. But aside from this, isn't he fundamentally the same, running for the same reasons as every other politician, in pursuit of power and his taxpayer-funded $2.62 for every vote his party garners? "Unlike the other parties that have an ideological base, we genuinely want to look at the problems and look at ideas and find solutions," he says. And it's true that he has won the respect of his fellow senators from all parties for his practical, problem-solving approach in Senate negotiations on all manner of thorny problems. This non-ideological centrism is one of his greatest attractions; it's also probably the party's biggest risk in the long run. He says that he formed a party because he wants to enlarge and perpetuate his influence. "When I had heart surgery 14 years ago, my doctors told me that most people retire after that. I ran for the Senate. Is Turnbull asking us to assume the majority of Muslims are not good and faithful Muslims and actually decry the religious ideology made so plain and clear by Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman? Or is he actually saying we should be tolerant of Muslims who concur with the views expressed so unashamedly by the head of the Australian Imams Council and other Imams? Make up your mind, Malcolm. He says the views expressed on homosexuality by the Sheik, and other Imams, is unacceptable but in the same breath then asks Australians to be tolerant of these people who hold unacceptable views. You can't openly hold diametrically opposed views at the same time and be credible, Malcolm. Gary Bigelow Oatlands I as a student of theology and comparative religions, proud Australian and member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. I strongly condemn the horrific attacks which took place in Orlando. No religion promotes violence and such actions which are used to defame Islam are unacceptable. One should realise the word Islam literally means peace, the Quran states in Chapter 5, verse 32-33: "Whosoever kills one person, it is as he has murdered all of mankind. Whosoever saves one person, it is as he has protected all of mankind". I highly recommend everyone visit an Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque to learn about the true teachings of Islam. Musleh Chandio,Trott Park (SA) Number of people killed at Orlando: 49. Average number of US folk killed by guns (excluding suicides) every other day of the past year: 36.4. If I was Mrs Kelly, I wouldn't let my Ned play with these people. Brian Haisman Winmalee In the midst of the sickening religious trauma inflicted on the world, I recall the words of Hugh Mackay at the recent Sydney Writers' Festival. He said that when he meets a person, he has no interest in what religious dogma they want to be identified with. All that interests him is this person's ability to be a helpful, accepting member of the community. Amen. Max Clayton Glenhaven Let's hope that the senseless murder of the UK politician isn't repeated in Australia when the unnecessary plebiscite is conducted on same-sex marriage. Corrado Tavella Rosslyn PK SA Better undergraduate teachers key to uni blowout I refer to your articles and Letters (June 17) regarding the capping of university places. As a former member of the academic senate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I would suggest that capping may not be necessary if we deal with undergraduate education more effectively. Students will get what they need at the bachelor level and not be required for ever higher certification at the postgraduate level. There will be a natural attrition.In the California state system, historically, they have a division between the Cal State Universities which focus on teaching and the UC systems which focus on research. At the undergraduate level in Australia, there has been less and less focus on effective teaching. (As a former lecturer at Sydney University I have first hand experience of this). This leaves the undergraduates aware that they are poorly equipped for the working world and thus they persist with unnecessary masters degrees and doctorates. In the past, employers provided cadetships and training positions to round out the gap between the theoretical and the practical. The undergraduate degree is arguably the hardest degree. Students rarely have the frameworks, mental maps and background knowledge of the field and thus are operating at a novice level at every unit. This requires really strong teachers rather than researchers who can be distracted by publishing and funding obligations. At the graduate level, students require less teaching and can survive the "neglect" of a research institution. If we can better meet the educational needs of undergraduates versus graduates, students may get what they need sooner and be ready to be self-sufficient young adults. Jessica Revill Newtown Short-term planning behind Warragamba pall Does no one remember when the expansion of Warragamba was first mooted under Bob Carr's premiership 1995-2005? ("Dammed if they do, dammed if they don't", June 17.) The then premier walked the area of the Burragorang valley, saw the magnificent highly endangered forests, plants and wildlife, realised their value to future generations and declared that Warragamba's expansion could not be justified. We have rarely seen the dam full in most of the period since then it has been low because we are a naturally dry continent. In fact Sydney was so in danger of having insufficient water supplies that the Sydney Desalination Plant was built and commissioned in 2010. This is only six years ago. Furthermore, why were housing estates built within the greater area of Warragamba's floodway? The desire for an ever-expanding Sydney cannot justify this. If people will need to be evacuated one can only blame very short-term planning and our government certainly appears to suffer from short-term memory loss. Eva Johnstone Marrickville In light of the Baird government's decision to raise the wall at Warragamba Dam by 14 metres, would it be premature to suggest that Professor Flannery be approached to cut the ribbon at the completion of the project? Just a thought. Santo Calabrese Cherrybrook Is the Warragamba Dam wall raising another Westconnex where the decision is made before the business case? The cynical might conclude the Premier's aim is to drum up business for the construction industry. And aren't the spillways there to prevent the dam being overtopped? Ian Ferrier Paddington Lots of people will have an uneasy feeling that Mr Baird's 14-metre top on the Warragamba Dam is to get it ready for privatisation. Will somebody please go out there quickly and make sure that it is nailed down. Nedra Orme Neutral Bay Worst nightmare: Abbott, Turnbull, Abbott Ian Dunlop highlights the urgent need for action on climate change (Letters, June 17). Malcolm Turnbull's present inaction after his previous declaration "our efforts to deal with climate change have been betrayed by a lack of leadership, political cowardice the like of which I have never seen" clearly shows he is happy to betray his beliefs, and wallow in political cowardice, enforced by the extreme right of the party. The really scary possibility is, that if returned, and he does show some leadership after the election, will the right-wing heavyweights subject us to the chaos of an Abbott, Turnbull, Abbott era. ("PM under pressure to reinstate Abbott", June 17.) Peggy Fisher Killara Tony Abbott should be reinstated into the ministry. ("PM under pressure to reinstate Abbott", June 17). Of course Malcolm Turnbull will make all kinds of excuses to exclude him from a ministerial position which will only prove that Malcolm Turnbull is afraid, very afraid. Carolyn Wills Cremorne The speculation that Tony Abbott may become a member of cabinet after the election is premature. As a constituent of Abbott's seat of Warringah I can assure you Abbott hasn't been re-elected yet. Grahame Marks Manly His story and history In his article on the Prime Minister's Literary Awards in Spectrum ("How The Sex Lives of Australians upset a PM and the PM's Literary Awards", June 10) Colin Steele referred to the "elderly panel for the History and Non-fiction awards". In fact, three of the four panel members are younger than Steele. Steele also asserted that the panel does not contain well-qualified historians. In fact, two judges (Professor Ross Fitzgerald and myself) have Ph.Ds along with well-reviewed history books. Dr Ida Lichter is a psychiatrist and published author who brings medical and scientific skills to the panel. Peter Coleman is a former editor of The Bulletin and a highly regarded writer and reviewer. For the record, panel members received a very small honorarium for a very large amount of work. Gerard Henderson Chair PMLA for History & Non-Fiction Sydney Action the essential on Indigenous issues The constitutional recognition of our Indigenous, with or without a treaty, might make some people feel better for a day or two ("Mature debate needed on Indigenous recognition", June 17). Words on paper or in the air will not make any difference to infant mortality, illiteracy, incarceration and discrimination. Our time and energy would be better spent more on doing what needs to be done and less on rhetoric. By all means let us listen to the voices of the Indigenous but above all let us listen to the evidence of what works and what doesn't work. Mark Porter New Lambton It was great to hear Bill Shorten say he would be happy to talk to Aborigines about a treaty. Mr Shorten did not commit to a particular form or content of a treaty which, in the middle of an election campaign, is understandable. How disappointing to hear Mr Turnbull say he would not even talk about the topic. Surely talking never hurt anyone. General voters might also have been pleased to finally see a clear difference between the major parties, one that is not muddled in gobbledegook and spin in this case one leader is willing to talk, the other is not. Michael Mansell Launceston Tas Films were outstanding Garth Clarke's criticism of the Sydney Film Festival (Letters, June 17) made me wonder if we were at the same event. Far from being a sad state of affairs I have seen at least 10 outstanding films from all parts of the world including South Africa's The Endless River. It has been refreshing and challenging to see such diverse and captivating stories many of which I hope make it to the main screen, if not our television screens. Vicky Marquis Glebe Cut this mob lose In the interests of democracy, I will happily pay to support South Australia and Tasmania seceding from the Commonwealth (as long as they promise to take their 24 senators and Nick Xenophon with them). Steve McCann Lane Cove Education scams show we haven't learned TAFE is being financially strangled and private colleges are scamming the tax payer for millions and part-time jobs and casual work are all that seem to be available for many people. ("Billions 'squandered' on private college courses", June 17.) What sort of economy do we have? People coming out of private colleges have dubious qualifications and part-timers have no chance of getting loans or mortgages. What sort of an economy are we running? Or should I say ... what sort of economy are our politicians running? I despair for our young. Maggie Churchward Bowral Ads degrade message "Sustainable" Australia Party indeed. Who could vote for a party that sticks plastic-coated ads on the front of thousands of daily newspapers? One of their policy statements even mentions the "Degraded environment". And shame on the Herald for encouraging them. Although I hope that you took most of their money for it. Norman Black Dee Why Festival lacklustre I agree with Greg Cantori ("Livid at Vivid", Letters, June 17.) The other spectacle that has not changed one iota over 20 years, except for a feature on the Harbour Bridge, is the NYE fireworks. We will continue to roll up to these non-events because of the community and family interaction that comes with joining in, but it would be great to see some creativity or variation at some stage. Mark Golden Wagga Wagga If Vivid undergoes a metamorphosis, will it become Ovid? Peter Fyfe Erskineville Look elsewhere for causes of Orlando atrocity "Until men stop being fearful of femaleness these acts will not abate". (Letters, June 17) C'mon ladies, take the week off, this one wasn't about you. Diana King's attempt to somehow turn the Orlando shooting into a gender issue smacks of feminist overreach. Or was the author's use of the term "femaleness" somehow aimed at compromising the masculinity of homosexual men? Andrew Stark East Gosford Force's good apples What a pleasure to encounter a courteous policeman at an RBT on Pittwater Road this morning. Each police man and woman has a huge influence over how the force is perceived. Anyway, a big tick for this particular fellow. Ormond Wood Mosman Bassey profundity It would appear Shirley Bassey was probably one of the only people to have ever had a happy ending with Roger Rogerson (Letters, June 17.) John Swanton Botany The word from upstairs Another day, another solemn prime ministerial hypocrisy: climate change and the Reef, Centennial Parklands and trees, Orlando and homophobia, Indigenous recognition. It can't be easy. All this hypocrisy takes its toll. In a trajectory of doom that is positively Shakespearean, Malcolm Turnbull seems emptier and drier with each appearance. The man who had everything (but wanted more) is already a husk of his former self. Where will it end? I thought the problem might be wealth. Extreme riches do seem to make blindingly bad political leaders Ceaucescu, Berlusconi, Trump. But why was unclear, until Margaret Atwood gave me a clue. Wealth isn't really wealth. It's really debt. Everything we have, from jobs to bodies to microchips, we take from the earth. But and here's the thing - it's not a gift, it's a loan. Everything must be repaid. The ancients knew this, constantly making downpayments via death and sacrifice. But for us more inclined to sacrifice nature than sacrifice to her - the bigger the pile, the greater the debt. So I wondered whether that was making Malcolm wimpy; massive wealth, massive debt. But the weakness in that argument was change. Malcolm has long been rich, but the hollowness is recent, starting from his installation as PM. So, theory two: that the wealth and the hollowness are co-symptoms, both signifying something else. Young people are not that passionate about owning a car, or so we are told. All the feelings that used to be associated with purchase of your first car independence, impending adulthood, the ability to order pizza are now connected with the purchase of your first phone. I wonder if, in three decades time, this generation will talk about their first phone with the same misty-eyed nostalgia that those my age reserve for memories of that first car. An in-built fanbelt repair kit for old-school rides. Credit:Steve Baccon "Ah, yes, mine was a Samsung SGH-A127 with .3 megapixel camera plus an inbuilt currency converter and world time," one will say, and the rest of the group will laugh and wonder about the existence of a device so primitive. Like us when talking about our first cars, they'll then move onto the relationships that flourished thanks to the device: "And you know what," one will say, wrapping his arm around his wife of 30 years, "it was this lucky lady with whom I did my first sexting." It's a scene playing out at shopping centres every Saturday: woman shops while man lurks in corner, bored, playing on his phone. But French brand The Kooples a play on the word "couples" is hoping to bring a little togetherness to shopping with its his-and-hers approach. In the first Australian store, in the luxe new St Collins Lane precinct, the men's and women's ranges are interspersed through the store. Consideration is given to looks that go together but this isn't about matchy-matchy outfits. The Kooples has a string of celebrity fans. The ranges go from the chic and corporate laid-back suiting and separates to a sport range for weekend ath-leisure staples such as faux-leather leggings for the women and polos for the guys. Accessories are also strong, with footwear made in Portugal. The mezzanine store layout creates natural zones between formal and casual, while the floral window display and marble floors are fresh and inviting. With a string of celebrity fans stretching from Beyonce to Taylor Swift, The Kooples is bound to develop a quick local following. The Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Sara Macliver, along with her powerful soprano voice, are bringing Bach's baroque music to life. Their program, entitled Bach: Spirit & Spectacle, will include the famous Brandenburg Concerto No 3 and Anne-Marie Johnson as a solo violinist for Bach's Violin Concerto in D Minor. Season ends June 24. Tomorrow, 2.30pm, Melbourne Recital Centre, corner Sturt Street and Southbank Boulevard, Southbank, $30-$119, 9699 3333, melbournerecital.com.au Soprano Teresa La Rocca and pianist Simon Bruckard will be performing the music of Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss Junior at a special free concert. CONCERT Escape the winter chill at a special free concert for the entire family. The opera arias of old Vienna will chime through St George's Anglican Church for a classical music themed recital. The program will feature soprano Teresa La Rocca and pianist Simon Bruckard performing the music of Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss Junior. Tomorrow, 3pm, St George's Anglican Church, 55 Lucknow Street, Travancore, free, 9243 8888, mvcc.vic.gov.au/wintermusic Live CIRCUS Circus Oz are merging some of their classic acts with innovative tricks and new aerial skills in their latest show, TWENTYSIXTEEN. Live music will fill the tent for the two-hour program, which features a new group juggling act and a special comedic show. Expect vibrant costumes and performances that will entertain young and old. Season ends July 10. Today, 1.30pm and 7.30pm, tomorrow, 3pm, Circus Oz Big Top, Birrarung Marr, Batman Avenue, city, $25-$95, 136 100, ticketmaster.com.au CABARET More than 100 performers will take over the City of Stonnington for the 2016 Melbourne Cabaret Festival. This celebration of visual art and culture showcases both seasoned and fresh-faced performers and brand new Kids Cabaret, Matinee and Cabaret Fringe programs. Festival highlights include New York performer Steve Ross, and comedy queen Amy G with her show Entershamement. Today and tomorrow, various times, venues and prices, melbournecabaret.com COMEDY After a sold out Comedy Festival season, Sam Simmons returns to Melbourne with his show, Not A People Person. Anticipate an eccentric and entertaining performance from the quirky Australian comedian, who recently performed a series of successful shows at London's Soho Theatre and won the coveted Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Today, 9pm, Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, city, $43, 132 849, ticketek.com.au The cast of MUSICAL The Addams Family A New Musical, an original story from the creators of Jersey Boys, has premiered in Melbourne. Gomez Addams' worst nightmare is realised when his young daughter Wednesday becomes smitten with a well-bred young man. Watch as this new romance throws a spanner in the works for the famously morbid family. Season ends June 25. Today, 7.30pm and tomorrow, 3pm, Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda, $35-$50, 9534 3388, theatreworks.org.au Celebrate at Welcome To Thornbury's Winter Solstice event. Food FOOD TRUCKS Celebrate the longest night and the shortest day of the year with foodie flare at Welcome To Thornbury's Winter Solstice event. The grounds of the food truck park will pay tribute to pagan festivities with marshmallow roasting, candles, fairy lights, an artisan marketplace,as well as mulled wine, spicy curries and hot chips. Giant umbrellas will be on hand in the event of rain. June 20, 5pm, Welcome To Thornbury, 520 High Street, Northcote, free entry, welcometothornbury.com MUSEUM The Immigration Museum is hosting a series of workshops about brewing. Learn how your favourite beverages are made from masters in the business, such as Hawkers Brewery and Black Pearl Bar. Find out how to create beer-based cocktails, and enjoy food designed to complement your brew of choice. The Brew Fest is part of the Immigration Museum's North South Feast West series. Bookings are essential. Tomorrow, 10am-5pm, Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, city, $10-$35, 13 11 02, museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum COMPETITION If you enjoy wine and you Game of Thrones puns, then this is the event for you. Sip and cast your vote on the competition iPad to decide which wine will win the annual Game of Rhones. More than 40 estates will take part in Melbourne's competition, including Henschke, Heathcote Estate and Brown Brothers. There'll also be plenty of food available and ticket prices include a complementary wine glass. Today, 1-6pm, Meat Market, 5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, $60-$85, 9329 9966, bottleshopconcepts.com More than 40 stall owners will sell handmade arts and crafts at Maribyrnong Makers Market. Elsewhere MARKET MARIBYRNONG Help support local crafters at the volunteer-run Maribyrnong Makers Market. More than 40 stall owners will sell their handmade arts and crafts, plus there's face painting, a sausage sizzle and hot coffee to warm up your winter morning. This family event is an opportunity to buy a one-off piece, meet local artisans and explore Seddon. Today, 9.30am-3.30pm, Gamon Street, Seddon, free, maribyrnongmakersmarket.com.au WODONGA Support local farmers by purchasing fresh, locally-grown produce at the Wodonga Junction Square Farmers Market. This month's stallholders include Myrrhee Premium Goats, purveyors of free-range Boer goat, Locheilan Cheeses, offering cheeses made using traditional French Methods, and Grass Roots Beef. After stocking up on produce, satisfy your sweet tooth with a strudel from Moonderoo Farm Micro Bakery. Today, 8am-12.30pm, Junction Square Wodonga, corner of Church Street and Elgin Boulevard, Wodonga, free entry, vfma.org.au ART Re-visioning Histories explores colonialisation and its impact on Indigenous Australians. Claire Watson of Bundoora Homestead Art Centre and Indigenous artist Yhonnie Scarce curated the exhibition, which begins its journey with a review of the colonial history of the gallery itself. The 10 artists whose pieces feature explore the past and present, enabling the gallery to become a space of reflection and celebration with the creation of new stories. Concludes August 21. Today and tomorrow, noon-5pm, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, 7-27 Snake Gully Drive, Bundoora, free, 9496 1060, bundoorahomestead.com Local artist Sarah Sanders' artistic practice fuses together disparate entities such as blood vessels, bones and bits of organ, resulting in hybridised and alien organisms. In her latest exhibition called Allusion, the suggestive works on paper contrast elements such as growth and decay, hardness and softness, animal and vegetable, open and closed, alluding to an imagined world of organisms somewhere between fantasy and reality. Runs until July 17. Today and tomorrow, 11am4pm, Incinerator Gallery, 180 Holmes Road, Moonee Ponds, free, 8325 1750, incineratorgallery.com.au Festival EMERGING WRITERS Calling all aspiring writers: the Emerging Writers' Festival is your opportunity to learn from more than 200 members of the literary community, including some of the country's best writers, editors and publishers. Among the creative masterclasses and exhibitions, highlights of the program include the National Writers' Conference, Writers' Night School: Food Writing, a dinner with food writers, and Sticks and Stones, where journalists, bloggers and other writers debate the social media evolution of the English language. Today and tomorrow, various times, venues and prices, emergingwritersfestival.org.au WILLIAMSTOWN The 13th Williamstown Literary Festival is on this weekend it's the biggest celebration of books in the western suburbs. More than 80 authors will participate in book signings, readings and discussion sessions. Get an author's background story and exclusive insight into some of their latest works, such as Arnold Zable's The Fighter: A True Story. There will also be workshops providing tips for aspiring writers and the chance to purchase some new reads. Today and tomorrow, various times, Williamstown Town Hall and Library, 104 Ferguson Street, Williamstown, free-$25, 9932 4074, willylitfest.org.au TALK Discuss what makes Melbourne so special with the man who helped design it. Join architect and urban designer, Professor Rob Adams, director of city design and projects for the City of Melbourne, on a guided tour of the city. Winner of the Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year Award in 2008, Adams is a key player in reinventing central Melbourne and will discuss the present and future of the city. While the untitled photos strongly relatie to Degas' paintings, Henson had no ambition to do so. Edgar Degas' The Rehearsal, c.1874 "Where I was concerned, there was no deliberate attempt to suggest, illustrate or even echo in some way what Degas had done with his dancers," Henson says. "It was entirely accidental. I walked into a space where these ballet rehearsals were happening and it was the light of the room that struck me; I was overwhelmed by the sense of space and light and it happened to be occupied by ballet students. It could have been occupied by painting students at easels but they were dancers." Standing, now, in front of Degas' Rehearsal, he reflects that a viewer can "live inside" such an artist's work, in the same way we might discover Thomas Mann or Marcel Proust and "disappear inside" their literature. "It is another world and you are invited into this whole other sensibility. When we look at this painting, as opposed to a reproduction when you get to stand in front of the real object you see all of that carefully modulated space, the way the light is convincing, it has a truth about it. The thing about really good pictures is that they always recommend the truth and invite you to enter the space." Bill Henson, Untitled 1974 #2, Type C photograph, 44x51.5cm. Credit:Image courtesy of the artist and Tolarno Galleries. In the exhibition Degas: A New Vision, there will be plenty to sink into: it is the largest Degas show to come to Australia, with more than 200 works from 75 lenders. In among all those works, we might see what Henson does: a crossing over, a moment when an image might manifest on the half-lit threshold of space-time. In this liminal zone, Henson (like Degas) tends to grapple with the difference between intimacy and "mere familiarity" and photography, he thinks, is the best medium for exploring it. Degas became fascinated by photography later in his life and spent an entire year, 1895, devoted to it in such a frenzy that others' claims it was simply a passing craze seem spurious. Henri Loyrette, former director of the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay, writes in the catalogue for the NGV show that Degas practised photography "with the same technical curiosity, the same passion, the same uncompromising spirit" that he showed in his intaglio prints and monotypes. Bill Henson, Untitled 1974, #72 . Type C photograph. Credit: Image courtesy of the artist and Tolarno Galleries. The thing about really good pictures is that they always recommend the truth and invite you to enter the space. "True, he used [photography] when painting or drawing his final nudes and dancers but he nevertheless practised it as an art in itself and was aware of the originality of his photographic production," Loyrette says, noting that Degas' photography is a direct descendant of his pencil and charcoal drawings, lithography and monotypes. Degas was seduced by the idea of nocturnal photography, trying to capture scenes at twilight. He explained that "daylight happens all by itself whereas what I want is quite hard, the atmosphere of lamps or the moon". He loved artificial light and that is what makes his ballet paintings so bewitching the upward cast of light from an unseen source on to a ballerina's chin and neck, for example, beguiles us. Bill Henson, Untitled 1974 #78; type C photograph, framed 48x50.5cm Credit:Image courtesy of the artist and Tolarno Galleries. In a letter to a friend, Degas described his photography as "a fearful passion" that he bored his friends with. "The thing was: my blacks were too black, my whites weren't quite white enough, so both of them got simplified, the way they do in old masters." It is the old masters, too, that Henson invokes in discussing "the business of inspiration", which involved seeing paintings at galleries and in books. He recalls how, around the time he took his 1974 ballet photographs, he was immensely fond of Paul Valery's writing about Degas. He soaked up books, and would catch the train into the city, descend into the basement of the Cheshire Bookshop in Little Collins Street and sit for hours looking at art books. While thinking about this ahead of the arrival of Degas' works in Melbourne, Henson looked back at one influential book Degas' complete collection of etchings, lithographs and monotypes (he bought the book in 1975, the same year he made ballet photos, and had his first NGV show). In the book images, and the works in front of him at the NGV, he sees a particular quality that is fragile or tentative, "as though they were on the edge of being in the physical world". He describes this as one of the cardinal qualities of great art. "It is a gathering sense of shock or awe that the object you are looking at has come into the world despite the odds. It is almost a tremendous unlikeliness that someone has managed to pull this off. "That is a quality I see in late Rembrandt, but in Degas it is this suggestion of the ephemeral, the tentative, the unstable, the uncertain things which a technique and medium like monotype really brings to the fore. Coming out of chaos or sliding back into chaos." The best work of Degas and there is an abundance of it in A New Vision has this in common with other artists who interest Henson. "It is that sense of the thing you powerfully apprehend but don't fully understand or grasp you are struck by it but you are constantly slipping away from that thought." Standing in front of Degas' works, Henson says the paintings often look slightly unfinished, as if the primary business is actually draughtsmanship as means of expression. Yet he loves how a brushstroke by Degas can one moment be a blob of paint but in the blink of an eye become something else. Photography in Degas' hands was used in the same way, where the object is not necessarily the main subject, but rather to create a general sense of atmosphere. "I have an odd relationship to photography," Henson says. "I make objects that just happen to be photographs, that's how it feels to me. Even though I've been deeply immersed in the medium and love it and have been doing nothing much else for 40 years or more, I understand that you can't put the cart before the horse. If I could find a different medium through which to draw closer to these things I don't fully understand, then I would have to use that medium, whether it was low-tech or high-tech, whether it was a clump of clay or some other thing. "Sometimes I am asked why I moved from painting as a primary activity to photographs and I can say it was probably because I felt, wrongly or rightly, that for my purposes photography fell less short." Henson worked at the Margareta Webber bookshop during his student days, until it closed in 1980, and it specialised in ballet and dance books. He has always been interested in dance and, when in Russia, he used to go to the Bolshoi. Ballet has "never been at the centre of it" as it was for Degas but it provided Henson with the ideal vehicle for examining how objects inhabit space in the fleeting way in which they pass through it. "You can always see these things, if you are thinking about Degas, as having an intellectual dimension or a dimension where they are problems to navigate these feelings." While he says it is unpopular to suggest that meaning comes from feeling, not the other way around, he believes it is so and contemplating these paintings, or looking at Henson's photos of ballet dancers in that old school hall, haunting and full of atmosphere, we might agree. "I think you are always trying to pin down something that is unknowable and therein lies the problem because everything does fall short and you do get that sense it suggests more than you can grab." This is what he loves; that we should be in front of a work like The Rehearsal and go away with more questions than we arrived with. "To animate the speculative capacity, to cause us to wonder. The more that this unstable, charged space opens up before us when we look at a work of art, the more our imagination is invited into this journey of inquiry." And Degas, he says, has ample room for uncertainty. That, perhaps, is why works such as The Rehearsal and the mysterious object that is The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer so entrance us. The sculpture, says Loyrette, was first displayed in 1881 using wax as flesh; she was dressed in a real corset, a real tutu and real ballet shoes. The work was later cast into bronze many times and the version we are seeing in A New Vision is bronze with a cotton skirt and satin hair-ribbon. Loyrotte writes that by using wax and real accessories, Degas rejected the traditional techniques of sculpture, denying any hierarchy between "high" and "low" culture. Degas' little sculpture also elicited anxiety about death, in an age when art sought "to create every appearance of life"; embalmment was incredibly fashionable, conserving an unaltered image of the deceased. Again, we see that half-world that links to Henson, who says his art-making tries to approach the intimate rather than the "merely familiar", just as Degas did. It is a place where the subject be it ballet dancers, the light in the room, the mist of particles in the air or the grainy texture of the photograph itself is a presence. It has been a logistical challenge, but worth every effort: in putting together the exhibition Degas: A New Vision, which opens next week, National Gallery of Victoria staff have had to negotiate with more than 60 lenders from more than 40 countries, and get them all flown in on time. Coordinating travel to Melbourne has been complex as all works have to be personally accompanied by a courier. And one of the prized exhibits will only make it on to the wall an hour before the media preview next Thursday as it is presently in another exhibition. Family Portrait (The Bellelli Family) goes on display for Degas: A New Vision at the National Gallery of Victoria. Credit:Wayne Taylor A New Vision is the largest display of Degas works ever to come to Australia. The exhibition, featuring more than 200 works, has been developed by both the NGV and Houston's Museum of Fine Arts, in concert with Art Exhibitions Australia, and it will travel to Houston in October. This week staff uncrated and hung one of Degas' finest large works, Family Portrait, also known as The Bellelli Family, painted in 1867. While Degas is famous for his paintings, especially those featuring ballet dancers, he was also a master at drawing, printmaking, sculpture and photography, examples of which all feature in the exhibition, emphasising his famous ballet scenes as well as portraits, nudes, horse-racing, Parisian social life and women at work and leisure. A previously unseen experimental work that is included in the sale. Credit:Max Dupain Growing up in Castlecrag in a landscape of "water, angophoras and sandstone", Rex, himself a noted photographer, recalls a father who was passionate about his job but for whom there was more to life than looking through the lens of a camera. "I was very proud of him as a dad because everything he did he did well," he says. "He was a very disciplined person. He'd get up early and work hard. He was very interested in results as opposed to excuses. He was pretty positive like that and had a very strong work ethic." Nude and Pole. Credit:Max Dupain Surrounded by his father's work and the tools of his trade it was, perhaps, inevitable that Rex would himself begin to view the world through a viewfinder. He recalls receiving his first camera at the age of three. "It's like kids on a farm they're used to rounding up cattle and helping out on the dairy and stuff like that," he says. "It's just a lifestyle as opposed to a particular choice." Hands of a Dancer. Credit:Max Dupain It [Sunbaker] embraces that simplicity of modernism. There is nothing sentimental about it. Rex Dupain The sale includes a signed print of Sunbaker, the image most people conjure up when they hear the name Dupain. Endlessly dissected, discussed and interpreted, Dupain famously referred to it as "that bloody Sunbaker!", expressing mild frustration that the 1937 shot, taken on Culburra Beach on the south coast, had come to overshadow much of his other work. "Certain artists particular photographers are always known for one work," says Rex. "It's like Lewis Morley's Christine Keeler: Everyone talks about the girl on the chair. It really drove him up the wall. There was a whole lifetime's work and people just wanted to talk about one picture." Father's footsteps ... photographer Rex Dupain near his Chippendale studio. Credit:Peter Braig Three years ago Rex was commissioned to recreate Sunbaker on a smartphone in a promotional stunt for Sony. It was, he says, a curious experience and also an object lesson in the impossibility of achieving anything more than an approximation of an image so strongly defined by its time and place. "When you see something in reality and you don't have a camera and you want to go back and recreate it, it's really never the same," he says. "It's gone. The butterfly has flown, the light is different, everything is different. Even the subtlest things sometimes are very hard to recreate. But we gave it a go and it was interesting going back it was almost like ancestor worship. It was quite an odd experience but it was fun." Tea Towel Trio. Credit:Max Dupain There would be few, if any, people who have given more consideration to Sunbaker than Rex Dupain. As to why it has become such a powerful image, he says: "It embraces that simplicity of modernism. There is nothing sentimental about it. It's impersonal in the sense that it applies to all men. It's about an Australian lifestyle and it also has that sculptural look like Uluru. And it's a very easy read. There is no superfluous stuff around it." Famously, the Sunbaker that is now so familiar is not the exposure preferred by Max. "The original that he took had a closed hand that's the one he chose," says Rex. "He lost the negative in a studio move and ended up with the one with the open hand, which is a better image anyway. It was divine intervention." Much less well known of the thousands of beach images made by Max is a 1939 shot entitled, somewhat ambiguously, Beach Play. It shows an anonymous woman in a one-piece swimming costume being held from behind by an unseen man. It's an unsettling image with the disturbing possibility that the woman might be being coerced or at least physically dominated by the man. "This is almost like the Rape of Persephone. It's got a very ancient feel to it," says Rex. "This is a really raw, dramatic moment on a beach. It's pretty base stuff she is being manhandled." The comparison between the unapologetic modernism of Beach Play with another series of images from just five years before couldn't be more stark. Those images from 1932 are pastoral scenes from locations including Mona Vale and Newport. They have an almost painterly feel and none of the pared-back sculptural qualities evident after Dupain's swift jump to modernism. That shift is well represented by an image from 1935 entitled Through the Windscreen, which could almost be the work of an entirely different photographer. A view of the grain silos at Glebe Island is framed by the windscreen and dashboard of a car with the added interest of a fragment of another building appearing in the rearview mirror. Architects often talk about "truth to materials" and a building's "integrity". It sounds so virtuous. But does "good architecture" mean good in an ethical sense? And how much does it depend on the ethical approach of the architect? Can a bad person produce good architecture? "We know how to produce good buildings," says Tony Lee, executive director of the Robin Boyd Foundation. "Organisations like CABE (Commission for the Built Environment) in the UK and the Office of the Victorian Government Architect have produced numerous helpful publications that quantify and explain how good design has a tangible impact on the way we live." Worn timber tables have plenty of appeal at Nest architects' JCR cafe, Ormond College. Credit:Jesse Marlow Hospitals with natural light, aspect and ventilation, help patients recover more quickly and need fewer drugs. Well-designed schools help students retain information and reduce absenteeism. Given such knowledge, should an architect decline jobs when a client wilfully ignores those hard-won principles? What compromises should an architect make in the service of a client and a building designed to have a place in society and a public life of its own? These and other issues will be explored over coming weeks as the Robin Boyd Foundation hosts a series of talks on the nature of ethical architecture. PLEVNA: A BIOGRAPHY IN VERSE. By Geoff Page. UWA Publishing, $24.99. With five verse novels to his credit, Geoff Page has long honed the craft that enables him to manage a lengthy narrative that also has the qualities of a poem. His latest book is Plevna, subtitled "a biography in verse", because its subject, Sir Charles "Plevna" Ryan, was a real, if extravagant, historical figure. There have been heroic medical doctors before Neville Howse, who, in the South African War, won Australia's first VC and "Weary" Dunlop. Neither of them had an experience of war that spanned four decades. Ryan's service extended from the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 to Gallipoli. He was appointed Surgeon General in 1917 when in his mid-60s; retired as an Honorary Major-General. In between he tended the wounds of Ned Kelly after the siege at Glenrowan, ran a successful practice in Melbourne's Collins Street and lived to see his daughter Maie (author of An Australian Story 1837-1907) married to Richard Casey, Menzies' arch-rival and later Governor-General of Australia. Poet Geoff Page has honed the craft of marrying a lengthy narrative with the qualities of a poem. Credit:Jay Cronan The opening words in Plevna are Ryan's, as burnished by John Sandes, co-author of Under the Red Crescent: Adventures of an English Surgeon with the Turkish Army (1897): "He refused to take chloroform, and I took his leg off above the knee without any anaesthetic." This is matter-of-factness extended almost to extremes, but Ryan's coolness for instance, under Russian fire seems undoubted. That is the first interpolation in the book. The second kind comes from Ryan as well. This consists of the series of photographs that he took behind the Australian lines at Gallipoli. Cameras were supposedly interdicted, but apparently not for senior officers. Through prose and picture Page suggests how remarkable Ryan's career was. Nor does his poetry fail to do it justice. This is freer verse than is usual for him, of mainly short lines in stanzas of varying lengths. A master of telling stories in brief by rhyme words, Page deploys half-rhymes "memoir"/"more" and such dashing full rhymes as "elan"/"Dion de Bouton" the latter a posh automobile that Ryan affected in Melbourne. His father was a stock-and-station agent who was able to support his family lavishly until the Depression of the 1890s. By then his son was established in his own right. One of Ryan's sisters was the notable painter Ellis Rowan. Another "weds an admiral/and vanishes to England". After graduating from Melbourne University, Ryan studied in Edinburgh, then Bonn and Vienna a latter day version of the Grand Tour. He was idling in a cafe in Rome when he saw "the ad for 20 British surgeons/to serve the Ottomans". Appointed without much ceremony, Ryan proceeded to Istanbul where "you are a Turkish major but/you're also a Giaour,/a foreigner who cannot pray". Soon he set off with the Turkish forces to Bulgaria. This was "the forced march up to Plevna,/the town that later will supply/the nickname you'll enjoy back home". Though Page does not stress the point, it is hard not to feel that the highpoint of the life in the then young surgeon came in his mid-20s. Thereafter was a more conventional course: return to Australia (on the same ship as his mother Page isn't sure), setting up in practice, marrying into money (for 40 years with Alice, save the five spent in his late middle age at the Great War), becoming a father: all this and then the last, long, belated military escapade. Faction Man by David Marr. Plenty of people in and around politics make the case for Turnbull and Shorten being ruthless bastards, at least a dash of which is required to steer a nation through perilous times. The question for each voter is which of the two is "their" ruthless bastard, what kind of ruthless bastard they are, and whether that is all there is to them. Optimism, energy and neediness are the keynotes in Crabb's account of Turnbull. Stop At Nothing opens with the poignant story of Turnbull's mother Coral (nee Lansbury) walking out on him and his father Bruce when Malcolm was eight years old, and Bruce's untimely death in a light aircraft crash when Malcolm was in his twenties. Stop at Nothing by Annabel Crabb. Crabb, Australia's nicest political journalist, has an obvious soft spot for Turnbull. She recounts how one night at dinner with Turnbull and his wife Lucy, he told her the story of how Bruce paid a North Bondi lifeguard a shilling to mind the now motherless Turnbull on the beach while he had a surf on his own. The less than attentive lifeguard let the boy wander off into the water. "'I remember going under ... I remember it so clearly, even today,' Turnbull recalls. 'I shouldn't tell this story, because even now it makes me so emotional.' And it's true, there's a catch in his voice, and as he proceeds, Lucy monitors the situation with her customary cool vigilance. For the Common Good by Bill Shorten. "'And to look up, finally, and see him my father coming for me, just powering through the waves ... I will never forget that feeling."' It is a telling anecdote, in more ways than Turnbull perhaps intended. There is the powerful love between father and motherless son; the heroic saving of Turnbull's life by Bruce; and the "carer wife" attentiveness of Lucy listening to the story, waiting to mop up the excess emotion of her lachrymose husband. My Brilliant Career, edited by Russ Radcliffe. Crabb spends some time trying to find a non-Labor template into which Turnbull can fit. Is he a Deakin, perhaps? A Howard? The attempts to find a political genealogy fail. He is a new type of Liberal: an out and out, filthy-rich plutocrat who shepherds through parliament policies designed explicitly to help the rich. One could arguably cast back to Stanley Melbourne Bruce as a political forebear, Bruce being an affluent man of means. However, Bruce actually ran businesses, Turnbull in business merely cut deals. Compare and contrast Bill Shorten. Diligent, focused and calculating are the keynotes of Marr's account of the man who would replace Turnbull, but one of enduring allegiance to Labor values. Shorten's father Bill was a bit of a roughie, a ship's engineer when his parents met, who ran Duke and Orr Dry Dock in Melbourne during his marriage to Ann (nee McGrath) like Turnbull's mother, a woman of incredible drive, determination and academic achievement but, unlike Coral, one who stuck around. Follow the Leaders by Francis Keany. Shorten "fell under the spell" of Des King, his Australian history teacher at Xavier College. Marr writes: "He remembers how smart Shorten was: quiet and smart. There was no bombast about him. King remembers how Shorten lapped up his lessons on the 1890s depression, the shearers' strike, the rise of Labor and the early triumphs of federation. 'I taught for a long time and taught a lot of boys. He'd be in the top half-dozen students I ever taught.' But what set Shorten apart in that school were his politics. 'Bill stood out because he always expressed a Labor point of view,' says King. 'He always did."' Shorten is unfavourably contrasted by Marr with the charismatic Labor Opposition leaders who won the prime ministership in the modern era: Whitlam, Hawke, Rudd. He is wrong about Whitlam, whose personal polling was dire in the run up to the 1972 election. It was office that made him. The Trust Deficit by Same Crosby. Should the stars align for Shorten possibly in the form of a minority Labor government, should current poll trends continue he could achieve a similar transformation. Shorten's own book, For the Common Good: Reflections on Australia's Future is a plain vanilla account of what his approach to government would be at 171 pages, a quick and useful read for those who actually want to know. Where is Turnbull's equivalent? His election schtick so far has been as sloganistic as Tony Abbott's, though of more contemporary tenor. If the election has made you desperate for a laugh, there's Russ Radcliffe's My Brilliant Career Malcolm Turnbull: A Political Life, in Cartoons. Radcliffe is a leading cartoon curator with a string of exhibitions and published compilations behind him including Man of Steel: A Cartoon History of the Howard Years (2007) and Dirt Files: A Decade of Best Australian Political Cartoons (2013). My Brilliant Career is all the Spooner, Moir, Petty, Wilcox, Pryor, Rowe, Dyson, Pope, Lobbecke, Leak, Knight, Tandberg and First Dog on the Moon you need to survive Election 2016 without succumbing to ennui. With incredible economy, these cartoons reveal the essence of character, and the stark outline of political situations, in a way writers take thousands of words to do. We need both, of course, but the Kudelka cartoon "Leadership" that Radcliffe includes, for example, is as good an explanation of the past five Australian prime ministers' ascensions one can get in any form cartoon, journalism, book or otherwise. Radcliffe lards My Brilliant Career with wonderful direct quotes from key political players, the very first from the prime minister himself. "A vision without execution is just a hallucination," says Turnbull in My Brilliant Career's epigraph. On July 2 we will find out whether that turns out to be his epitaph as well. Francis Keany's Follow the Leaders, another quick read at 153 pages, is a diary-based account of one Canberra Press Gallery journalist's experience of the 2013 election. Keany, now with the ABC but then with Fairfax, had not previously covered a federal election. His fresh eyes become ours as he is swept up in the mad adrenalin of the 34-day dash around Australia covering Rudd's unsuccessful attempt to stave off the insurgent Abbott. Every consumer of political journalism should read this book to get some understanding of the manipulations, boredom, isolation, competition and ethical challenges, not to mention logistical mayhem, of election campaigns. Even Keany raises his eyebrows at times. Keany has made a good contribution with this first-person account, likely to become a set text in the proliferating journalism degree courses at universities. Hardened readers, including other journalists, will need to overlook the author's odd moans concerning his utter exhaustion on the trail. Hotels, laid-on transport, mini bars your tiredness is a First World problem, Frank. Sam Crosby in The Trust Deficit makes an interesting companion read to Keany's. Crosby, director of the McKell Institute and an advisor to Rudd during the 2013 election, sets out to explore the relationship of trust between government and citizens. He concludes that despair about trust "would be premature", relying ultimately on research suggesting "we are actually biologically engineered to trust one another". The book draws on recent examples from Australian and US politics where politicians have built, eroded and rebuilt trust. It is interesting as far as it goes but feels somewhat undercooked. Social media "is forcing a new degree of transparency on our nation's leaders", Crosby argues for example. What about its use as a tool of manipulation? The book focuses on the role of politicians in the use and abuse of trust, but there is our role as citizens to consider too. If John Howard's re-election in the wake of his government's "Children Overboard" gambit suggests anything, it is that we as an electorate are prepared to overlook abuses of trust when they play into our own prejudices and perceived self-interest. It takes two to be untrustworthy. Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Pursuit of Power DAVID MARR BLACK INC., $22.99 Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull ANNABEL CRABB BLACK INC., $22.99 For the Common Good: Reflections on Australia's Future BILL SHORTEN MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRESS, $27.99 My Brilliant Career Malcolm Turnbull: A Political Life, in Cartoons ED., RUSS RADCLIFFE SCRIBE, $24.99 FICTION The Memory Artist KATHERINE BRABON ALLEN & UNWIN, $29.99 The Memory Artist opens in 1999 when the narrator, Pasha, a young Russian writer, hears his mother has died. Pasha is a child of dissidents who grew up in Moscow amid secret gatherings as his mother and her friends campaigned for the release of political prisoners during the Brezhnev era. During his childhood the "shiny mint-green Latvian radio" on the kitchen table, with its broadcasts from the BBC or Voice of America, was a beacon in an otherwise grey world. Kathryn Brabon won the 2016 Vogel's Literary Award. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer His mother's death is the catalyst that propels him to try to make sense of a past riven by state terror, and a present that lacks meaning. He goes to a dacha a house in the country and starts to write. It is summer and during those endless days when the sun never sets, he hovers precariously between present and past. Pasha came of age in the late 1980s, during glasnost, when Russians were able to talk for the first time about the horrors of the gulags and discovery of mass graves. "After 70 years of Communist silence, people were emerging like survivors of a storm." During one fierce Moscow summer, with his girlfriend Anya at his side, and a cause burning in his heart, Pasha believed his words had the power to change the future. "A deep longing for art" united these "children of the Freeze It was the time for everything to be open everything that was wrong about our country was finally being confronted". Amazing Shanghai City Campaign in London From:Shanghai Daily | 2016-06-17 12:19 Following the launch of Shanghai City's global promotion campaign, "Shanghai. Let's Meet!" at Expo Milano last year,The Information Office of Shanghai Municipality brings their global campaign to London in 2016, headlining with the"Home - Town" exhibition at the Alfred Dunhill Mayfair 'Home', Bourdon House. As a special event that celebrates the sisterhood of two iconic cities, Shanghai and London, an opening ceremony that features cultural arts, crafts and performances, was hosted during the afternoon of June 13. The exhibition runs for a week from June 13to June 18and complement a series of initiatives meant to bring the two cities closer. Shanghai City's global promotion campaign was developed to amplify a new modern vision of Shanghai, boost its cultural influence and communicate its true emotional identity. The campaign slogan "Shanghai, Let's Meet!", was shaped from Shanghai's rich heritage as a place of cultural convergence. After being promoted previously in Paris and Milan, the slogan is used this year to further promote exchanges and cooperation in the cultural and creative industries between Shanghai and London. Chen Jingxi, Deputy Director of Shanghai Information Office, said "With the success of launching the Shanghai promotion at Expo Milano 2015 last year, we hope to make a stronger impact on our next destination of global collaborations. We are excited to be partnering this year with our counterparts in London for this intersection of cultural exchange. We have always had a strong bond with London and being able to move a step closer helps to strengthen our partnership even more." The 2016 "Amazing Shanghai" city campaign in London is composed by a series of robust events and collaborations. The headline event is the photography exhibition "Home - Town", a photographic showcase of the two cities and their concrete substance in a cultural and spiritual context. Held at Alfred Dunhill's Bourdon House, the artworks serve to transform Bourdon House into a Shanghai home within its sister city and provide visitors an immersive journey to Shanghai's culture. A professional roundtable discussion on "Twinned Cities and their Cultural Visions" was also hosted by the British Council and Shanghai with expert attendees from the government, academic, and cultural industry of both cities. Collaborative deliverables are expected as outcomes of this roundtable to further materialize the two cities' cultural interactions. In complement, a series of activities were scheduled across London, including a partnership luncheon at the Millennium Mayfair London. Joining as ambassadors of the campaign were Hu Ge, a famous Chinese actor, and Charlie Siem,one of UK's brightest classical violinists. Hu Ge was also designated as "VisitBritain's Goodwill Ambassador for China" during the opening ceremony of the campaign. OUR LAND PEOPLE STORIES Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, June 16. Until July 9 Bangarra Dance Theatre has a vibrant new program of three works that not only celebrate Stephen Page's 25 years as artistic director, but look ahead to an exciting future. Yolanda Lowatta and Waangenga Blanco perform in Nyapanyapa as part of Our Land People Stories. Credit:Jhuny Boy-Borja Two of the pieces are by company dancers and each has a distinctive character which indicates a solid creative base. Jasmin Sheppard's Macq began life in 2013 in the company's Dance Clan 3, and has been worked on since. The developments in the storytelling dance and David Page's music, have made it a powerful piece of dance theatre with a message. Lachlan Macquarie's leadership of NSW may have started with good intentions in the area of black-white relations, but 200 years ago, the Appin massacre told a different story. Macq traces the trajectory of the changes clearly and poignantly, giving outstanding performing opportunities that are keenly realised by Nicola Sabatino as the mourning woman, Daniel Riley as Macquarie and Beau Dean Riley Smith as the Aboriginal leader. Miyagan, choreographed by Smith and Riley, who happen to be cousins, explores and celebrates the Wiradjuri culture, language and customs "our heartbeat is resilient and strong". With music by Paul Mac, it reflects the spirit of the company's key repertoire yet steps out with a youthful edge in its approach to content and style. Daniel Riley performs in Credit:Jhuny Boy-Borja Elma Kris gives a charismatic performance as the woman reliving her horrifying experience, with Waangenga Blanco as the buffalo, Smith and Rikki Mason as the dogs, Sabatino and Yolanda Lowatta as the sisters, plus a supporting cast of trees, fish and emus. Steve Francis' music is an interesting journey through sources and sampling. Throughout the program, there are varied and engrossing ensembles congratulations to rehearsal director Anton as well as memorable individual contributions by the dancers. On Friday night, at the conclusion of The Australian Ballet's Swan Lake at the Arts Centre, ballerina Robyn Hendricks might have been expecting the first round of applause, but she was less prepared for the second. After the cast had taken their final bows, artistic director David McAllister came on stage with with a surprise announcement: Hendricks was the latest Australian Ballet member to be named a principal artist. "It becomes really obvious to myself and the artistic staff when dancers are really just blossoming, physically and artistically and when you see that confidence on stage, that performance quality, you go, yep, they're ready now," says McAllister. Robyn Hendricks from The Australian Ballet. Credit:Georges Antoni "I began thinking about Robyn during Giselle last year, she did amazing performances as Queen of the Wilis, and since then she's built amazing momentum around her, it's this really fantastic and busy and exciting time, it's the right time for her." The South African-born dancer joined The Australian Ballet in 2005; she was promoted to soloist in 2011 and to senior artist just this year, sharing the lead role of Odette in Swan Lake. Action-movie legend Jackie Chan is heading to Sydney next month to star in what is set to be the biggest budget Chinese production to take place in Australia. The martial-arts star will start filming science-fiction thriller Bleeding Steel in July, in the co-production by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and Hey! Pictures. Chan will play a special-forces agent fighting to protect a woman from a sinister gang of criminals. The Rush Hour star last filmed here in 1996, when he took on Hong Kong production Mr Nice Guy in Melbourne. Australian screenings of Me Before You, starring Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke, are being picketed by activists who have labelled it a "disability snuff movie" because they believe it suggests the disabled are better off dead. Protesters had been urged to turn up to cinemas an hour before screenings of the movie, which also stars The Hunger Games' Sam Claflin and which opens nationally today, wearing zombie costumes, carrying protest banners, or wearing T-shirts bearing a range of slogans that subvert the film's "live boldly" tagline. Protesters were urged to download print-and-wear T-shirt designs with slogans such as "Disabled lives are worth living", "Live Boldly? We already do" and "Me Before You is a disability snuff movie". The film tells the story of Will Traynor (Claflin), who becomes paralysed after a motorcycle accident and decides his life is no longer worth living. But he delays his plans to travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide for six months, during which time he meets and falls in love with his carer, Lou Clark (Emilia Clarke). SAFETY LAST! (73 minutes) G Silent "thrill comic" Harold Lloyd takes on modernity in this 1923 classic about a go-getting youth who risks life and limb in his quest for success in the big city. The nail-biting climax where he climbs the side of a department store culminates in one of the most famous images in the whole of cinema. Digitally projected. Astor, tomorrow, 7pm. Double bill with Speedy. Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (105 minutes) PG Albert Lewin's 1945 production is the definitive screen version of Oscar Wilde's decadent fable about a young dandy (Hurd Hatfield) blessed or cursed with the secret of eternal youth. George Sanders rattles off epigrams by the dozen as the hero's amoral mentor, while the young Angela Lansbury will break your heart as a pert yet vulnerable music-hall star. Screens in conjunction with the Whistler's Mother exhibition. Digitally projected. NGV International, today, 2pm. Free, limited seats. If that seems a bridge too far, consider this: Gainsbourg left behind more than 500 songs, many of them written for other artists including Brigitte Bardot with whom he first recorded Je t'aime Francoise Hardy, Juliette Greco and France Gall, who sang his winning Eurovision entry of 1965, Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son, a version of which will be on Volume 4. If four albums' worth of covers devoted to a single artist seems obsessive, Harvey's reasons for returning to Gainsbourg's catalogue is disarmingly simple. "The first time around I saw it as a large undertaking, a daunting task, and took it all very seriously," he says. "And at some point JP Shilo [who is now in Harvey's band] suggested 'Well, why don't we do some more? Are there any other songs'? "So I just started looking at the prospect of doing another album, and when I came back to the material I found that it was just really entertaining and great fun to engage with." Besides, he says, the first two albums were just the tip of the iceberg. "I used to ask in interviews quite often, when people would declare themselves to be big Gainsbourg fans, 'Well, how many songs do you know'? and there'd usually be about three or four," he says. "A lot of the songs on Delirium Tremens are some of his better-known songs in France Couleur Cafe, even The Man With The Cabbage Head is from one of the now-revered concept albums." Translating the material was a challenge. "The toughest songs to translate [were] the two songs from the concept albums, The Man With The Cabbage Head and Cargo Cult ... SS C'est Bon was the other one, with all the alliteration, that was pretty hard to solve, but I think we got there. It was a very funny song to do kind of ridiculous, but with Serge that's part of the deal, the ridiculous." He also hasn't shied away from the most provocative aspects of Gainsbourg's oeuvre. For Pink Elephants, he translated Aux Enfants de la Chance, Gainsbourg's parody of an anti-drug song, recorded for his final album in 1987 when he was at his most dissolute: "To all the lucky kids, who've never been on trips, shooting up shit / In substance I'd say this / Don't try dragon-chasing / Don't even think of freebasing." Gainsbourg's willingness to shock and scandalise, Harvey says, was crucial to his art. "To shy away from the more controversial material would be to do the balance of his work an injustice, because that was a really big part of what he was doing. It's not who I am, and it's not even really a major aspect of what he does that I like, but I have to acknowledge that it's there." Asked about 1984's notorious Lemon Incest which Gainsbourg recorded with his then-12-year-old daughter, Charlotte Harvey keeps a studied intellectual distance. "I don't feel responsible for the content of those lyrics, so it's really like a depersonalised event for me in some ways," he says. (Charlotte Gainsbourg has publicly defended both the song and her father.) MUSIC RACHMANINOV'S PAGANINI RHAPSODY Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Hamer Hall June 16 & 17 Sir Andrew Davis must be applauded for innovative programming during his tenure as the MSO's chief conductor. Sir Andrew Davis conducts the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet at Hamer Hall. Credit:Daniel Aulsebrook Alongside the ongoing Mahler symphonies cycle and some refreshing British detours, he has focused attention on the music of Charles Ives, one of American music's few true originals. With the MSO, he has recorded the Brahms-echoing Symphony No. 1 and the high-spirited Second Symphony. No. 3, as yet unattended to, is a benign doddle but the last in the set is impossibly difficult, so Thursday night's spectacle of Davis and his players grappling with this Symphony No. 4 was a remarkable, very welcome experience. CARMEN Opera Australia, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Opera House, June 17. Until August 12 In director John Bell's Carmen, Cuba is the new Spain. Almost nobody has actually been there, just as Bizet had never been to Seville. But its failing infrastructure, old-model cars and depressed economy create a kind of retro-chic, from which machismo, music and sultry eroticism surge with such gaudy vitality that it is possible for affluent Westerners to mistake its poverty for the authenticity missing in their comfortable lives. Out of such tawdry energy slinks Clementine Margaine's Carmen, with a deeply coloured and full-bodied voice and brittle defiance which refuses to make the infatuations of others her problem. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has warned negligent live cattle exporters they could have their licences revoked after footage emerged of animals being bludgeoned to death with sledgehammers in Vietnam. Animals Australia secretly taped the footage, which was aired by ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday. The cattle appear to be wearing Australian tags. Exports to three abattoirs have now been suspended. A virtual media blackout at the remote republic of Nauru is set to be temporarily broken, after tabloid television program A Current Affair announced it had gained exclusive access to the island's offshore detention centre. In a statement on Friday, the Channel Nine program spruiked an episode to run on Monday night from "inside Nauru's detention centre", claiming the story would "stun Australia". "We'll take you inside the Australian-run regional processing centre ... it marks the very first time that a television crew has been granted access to the controversial facility," the statement said. More the merrier in profit philanthropy From:Shanghai Daily | 2016-06-17 01:23 IN traditional Chinese culture, good deeds are their own reward. The ancient poet Li Bai (AD 701-762) famously wrote of heroic swordsmen who came to the rescue of those in peril and then left no traces of their deeds of names. Today, helping the needy isnt quite so anonymous, and charity is succumbing to the profit motive in a concept called philanthrocapitalism, or social enterprise, in China. One of the most high-profile examples of late is the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. To honor the birth of their first child, the couple announced the formation of a limited liability company with an investment of up to US$1 billion in Facebook shares in each of the next three years. The more Facebook prospers, the more the shares are worth and the more money there is for what the initiative calls advancing human potential and equality in realms such as health, education, science and energy. Of course, billionaires embracing good causes isnt particularly new. The US alone has produced famous philanthropists like Carnegie, the Rockefellers, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. In China, which has the worlds most rapidly growing population of billionaires, the idea of allocating part of ones fortune to help the less fortunate is just catching on. In general, Chinese society is still at an early stage when it comes to philanthropy, and most people consider it equivalent to donating, to giving, to supporting, to caring for, Cai Shiyin, who brought the German social enterprise Dialogue in the Dark to China in 2011, tells Shanghai Daily. However, what needy people need is respect and equal opportunities, Cai says. Like the old Chinese saying that teaching someone to fish is better than just giving him fish. Many of Chinas current social issues, like pollution and care for the elderly, coincide with the popular causes of social enterprises. Social enterprises are different from usual companies or nonprofit organizations, says Dr Hsu Chi-chih, director of Hong Yi Social Impact Center. They pursue a balance between commercial and social profits. If there is a conflict between the two, social value is always prioritized. How does it work on the ground? Hsu points to the Chengdu-based Wikifactory, which his center is sponsoring. One of its projects is to make artificial limbs for children, using 3D printing. The 3D printed limbs will be much more affordable for children, but the company can still make profit from selling them, Hsu explains. You will want them to sell a lot of limbs and make a lot of money because the more they sell, the more children they will help. China has no national registration system for such enterprises, or even a legal definition of what they are. The southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province launched a trial project last year, laying out a regulatory framework for social enterprises. The rules stipulate that a company can register as a social enterprise if more than 50 percent of the income comes from sales, trade or services, and at least two-thirds of profits go to social causes. Shenzhen hosted the nations first China Social Enterprise and Investment Forum a year ago, drawing about 600 participants. A second forum is scheduled in Beijing next week, with 1,000 people expected to attend. A major challenge for this sector to thrive in China is the social environment changing the attitude that if you do good deeds, you must not make money or your good intentions will be called into question, Hsu explains. Our goal is to find and promote successful cases of Chinese social enterprise and let the activities speak for themselves, he adds. You can create commercial and social value at the same time, and the more money you make, the more people you help. So, the more the merrier. Theres still much that is unknown about the development of social enterprises in China. Research on the sector is woefully lacking. In 2012, the Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship released a report based on interviews with 52 Chinese social enterprises. It showed that 66 percent of them were companies, 20 percent of them were nongovernmental organizations, and 14 percent werent registered as anything. Dialogue in the Dark is one example of philanthrocapitalism that has survived and thrived, though Cai is quick to point out that the China chapter only breaks even. It started in Hamburg, Germany, in 1988 as a social business involved in helping the blind. Over the years, the organization has conducted hundreds of workshops worldwide, with a broad mandate to change public attitudes toward those who are disabled or different from the norm. Cai says one of the reasons that Dialogue in the Dark isnt making money in China is high management cost. Up to 80 percent of its employees are visually inconvenient to some degree. Most havent had equal opportunities in education and spend a good deal of their time in training paid for by the company. Making profits is not our primary goal, of course, Cai says. But to become a successful social enterprise, you ought to make profits to keep the business attractive and sustainable. Among the companys activities is guiding visitors through well-designed tours in absolute darkness, giving them insight into the world of the blind. It has also recently started helping the visually inconvenient prepare and register for running competitions. The Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship report estimated that about half of the social enterprises surveyed had been in existence only three years or less. It also said some of the enterprises that were set up have fallen by the wayside. One of the more successful enterprises is the publicly listed company Can You. The name means friends of the handicapped in Chinese, and also refers to you can in English. In the late 1990s, Can You founder Zheng Weining invited some handicapped friends to study computer software development and website-building together in a home where they could live with respect. Today, the Shenzhen-based group operates 13 social enterprises around China, extending its reach into sectors such as trade, logistics and travel. About 90 percent of the employees have some sort of physical impairment. Operational costs are high because the company provides stipends to employees who are no longer physically able to work. Hsu says now is an ideal time for Chinese social enterprises to start up, with US$70 billion in the United States and more than 60 billion British pounds (US$85.52 billion) in the United Kingdom looking to find good companies. By good companies, he says he means those that create additional social value as they develop. China is at the stage for both industrial and social upgrading, he says. We are moving away from primary development mode. The core value of social impact investment is in line with the social and economic targets in the next stage of development in China. We need to take advantage of this opportunity. Australian politicians have brushed off suggestions that greater personal security might be in order following the daylight murder of British Labour MP Jo Cox. Frontbenchers from both sides expressed their sincere condolences to Ms Cox's family on Friday, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was "deeply shocked". But with two weeks to go until polling day, MPs agreed they must continue to walk the streets freely and without fear, despite a security incident at a Melbourne forum on Thursday night that was halted by the Federal Police. "Bullshit" he exclaimed twice as the eavesdropper hammered him with accusations that his party had come to the issue well after the Greens. "I moved the first private member's bill about same-sex relationships before anyone in the Greens" he insisted. A dig at the reporter's age ("You are young, aren't you") didn't help, as he dished out a quick social history lesson from the late 1990s and early 2000s on the issues that had then most galvanised the LGBTI community. Grilled at length in a cafe by a young reporter from digital news-site BuzzFeed on why Labor had supposedly lagged the Greens on support for same-sex marriage, Anthony Albanese's patience ran out when a woman at the next table leaned over to intervene in the exchange. Several days later, the Labor luminary admits to having had "a difficult conversation with someone". He tells Fairfax Media: "I regret it, full stop. But it is a fact that before 2004, no-one raised with me the issue of marriage equality. The issues being raised by the gay and lesbian rights lobby were different, migration, superannuation equality, visiting rights [for partners of HIV patients] in hospital, a whole range of issues they were of more practical pressing concern at the time." Anthony Albanese campaigning at the Sackville Hotel, in Rozelle. Credit:Christopher Pearce Albanese, Labor's shadow minister for infrastructure and cities, is a fighter and his instincts usually serve him well. He breezed through a day on the hustings when Fairfax Media accompanied him recently. Canvassing for votes at Summer Hill railway station in Sydney's inner west, there were a lot of cries of "Hey Albo!" from people he'd never met. He has huge personal recognition. Blame Kevin Rudd, Albanese says. "He once introduced me as Deputy Prime Minister Albo and bang, now its a brand." Despite the morning rush, several commuters take him on over Labor's asylum seeker policy. He is firm, but civil, taking the time to argue it through with them. But the exchange in the Marrickville cafe hints at how the pressure of the first five weeks of the campaign has been getting to him. During those weeks he's been staring down a potentially lethal Greens challenge in his inner city seat of Grayndler, after a redistribution earlier this year radically reshaped the electorate, losing him Labor heartland and gaining the more prosperous suburbs of the Balmain peninsula which sit on prime harbourside land next to the CBD. This is territory which the Greens picked up at the last state election, and are now gunning for federally. St Catherine's School in Toorak celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. "Since the school's foundation, St Catherine's has been privileged to be supported by an enthusiastic and committed school community," Principal Michelle Carroll says. "Our old girls, past and current parents, staff and wider school community contribute greatly to the character and culture of our school. Students of all age groups learn in one central and encouraging community. "Our 120-year celebrations have allowed us to reconnect with so many people within our community including reunions with past school captains and vice-captains representing eight decades of student leadership, as well as a boarders' reunion that brought past boarding students and teachers back to our school campus for a chance to reminiscence about their home away from home." Mentors are important for all young people and the remarkable achievements of a number of St Catherine's alumnae are celebrated in the school's first edition of its publication, Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum (Nothing is great unless it is good). Bosch says it's a good idea to let them show you something funny they are watching on YouTube, for example, or a fun thing they are doing with an app. "Allow them to engage with you, when they want to, and show you what they want to show you. This will encourage them to involve you in their world and come to you when they feel uncomfortable or something goes wrong. We have to remember too that the cyber world is not all dark and dangerous." Bosch says schools and parents can help reduce bullying by guiding students in online etiquette, respect and appropriate behaviour. "Schools can do a lot to help students develop good values, resilience, respect for others and themselves as well as setting standards for appropriate behaviour," she says. "Teenage behaviour is largely governed by emotions. The part of their brain that governs logic, decision-making and problem-solving is still under-developed. "One way of helping teens develop good decision-making and problem-solving skills is to engage them in activities where they have to navigate the decision-making process, looking at the pros and cons of a particular issue before they make a decision about it as well as the consequences." Bosch says it is vital that schools have a consistent approach to cyberbullying and share that information with parents. "We know that when schools hold parent information nights on cyberbullying and cyber safety in general, they are very well attended," she says. "Schools need to share cyber safety information with parents and communicate their approach to cyberbullying so parents can support their approach with the same consistent messaging." The Department of Education and Training program, Stop Bullying, says on its website that cyberbullying is pervasive and incessant. It differs from face-to-face bullying in that the bully can "follow" their victim 24/7, and continue the bullying in the home. It says cyberbullies often take advantage "of the perception of anonymity" (for example, using an account in a fake name, or a blocked number). It says cyberbullying can be particularly harmful, because the humiliation is often public as many others can see what is written or posted. Sometimes, others will join in. SIGNS YOUR CHILD IS BEING CYBERBULLIED Here are just some of the things to look out for: Change in mood, demeanour and/or behaviour: for example being upset, angry, teary or rebellious when they are not usually. Change in friendship groups: teachers can often provide insight here, as they see class dynamics in action every day. Spending more time with family instead of friends: adolescence is generally a time where friends become very important and parents less so. Lower marks: often students who are being bullied show a distinct change in application to studies and a decline in marks. Not wanting to go to places: a dramatic change in enthusiasm for going to school or sport this can manifest as non-specific ailments such headaches, stomach-aches and generally "feeling sick". Being extra secretive in online activities: being online under the doona, or in a secluded part of the house. Distinct change in online behaviour: being "jumpy" when text messages arrive, not leaving their phone alone, wanting to be online all the time, or never wanting to be online. Stop Bullying advises parents to keep an eye on their child's behaviour patterns: "Be aware that things may not be okay in their world. "Ask: 'Are you OK? Has something happened that is bothering you? Do you want to talk?'." HOW PARENTS CAN HELP If your child complains of being bullied: Praise them for coming to you and let them know you are there to help. Don't be angry with them. Remember that they are the victim. Do not threaten to confiscate technology because of what someone else has done. Tell your child not to respond to nasty emails, chats, SMS or comments. Inform the school: it is important that the school knows what is going on so they can provide support and monitor any issues that may spill onto the playground or classroom. Keep copies of emails, chat logs, text messages, comments or posts. Take a screen-shot of the evidence. Help them block and delete the bully from all contact lists. Most social networking sites allow the user to control who has access to communicate with them. Get new online accounts and/or a new phone number. FIND MORE INFORMATION Parent Helpline For advice on child health and parenting: 1300 364 100 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 kidshelp.com.au Bullying no way A national coalition of educators working together to create safe learning environments: bullyingnoway.gov.au National Centre Against Bullying has information for parents, children and schools about bullying and what to do about it: ncab.org.au Cybersafety Contact Centre Australian Communications and Media Authority: 1800 880 176. acma.gov.au Cyber Smart for cyber safety information: cybersmart.gov.au Students at Kilmore International School achieve remarkable academic results. More than half of last year's graduates had an ATAR of 90 or above, and more than a quarter attained 95 or higher. The school, in a small township set in hills and farmland 58 kilometres north of Melbourne, is different in many other ways. Kilmore International School is a purely International Baccalaureate school and a close-knit learning community with a family atmosphere. It is a purely International Baccalaureate school, a close-knit learning community with a family atmosphere where 400 local and international students benefit from a low student to teacher ratio. Most local students live in the region or in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. "The International Baccalaureate curriculum sets very high standards and the IB Diploma is accepted by most of the world's universities," says Principal Andrew Taylor. "We prepare students to succeed in the IB from their earliest years. All students are required to study Mandarin from Year 3 but may study other languages such as Indonesian from Year 7." Victoria's independent schools are more diverse than many parents realise and offer a remarkably wide choice in fees, philosophies and specialities, according to the organisation that represents them. Independent Schools Victoria executive director Michelle Green says parents can easily find an independent school to suit both their child and their budget. Parents can easily find an independent school to suit both their child and their budget. "Some are faith-based, some have different philosophies they hold to rather than faiths, there are co-ed and single sex schools you name it there are schools that will cater to all students in Victoria," she says. "We have 209 independent schools across the state and about one third are in country areas. The smallest has about 16 students and the largest has more than 3000 students over several campuses. "Some have very low fees and others are more expensive. They all respond to the particular needs of students and parents, and offer a wide range of courses that respond to the needs of society now not to the needs of the past." Traffic in central Sydney was brought to a standstill on Friday morning after a man got out of a taxi on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and climbed to the top of one of the bridge's arches. Motorists were asked to avoid driving across the bridge after the man, who was dressed in dark clothing and wearing sunglasses, climbed to the top of the northern side of the bridge just after 9am. The man is believed to have been a passenger in a taxi and asked the driver to pull over on the deck of the bridge, reportedly because he was feeling ill. He then got out of the vehicle and started to climb up. Footage from the Channel Seven helicopter showed the man, sitting with his arms crossed, perched high on the bridge's arch. High-profile Sydney solicitor Leigh Johnson has been rebuked by the state's highest court and blocked from recovering more than $2 million in legal fees from two elderly clients, with the court saying the bill appeared "out of all proportion" with the amount of work done. In a scathing judgment delivered on Friday, the Court of Appeal said Ms Johnson "represented that she would not seek to recover any additional legal costs" from her clients before a bill was sent in March last year, some six years after she acted for them successfully in a court case. Sydney solicitor Leigh Johnson. Credit:Peter Rae The court noted the bill included "numerous items ...totalling over 24 hours on the same day" and "there is nothing to suggest any other lawyer than Ms Johnson" was working on the case at the time. With another east coast low predicted for Sydney this weekend, researchers at the University of New South Wales have demonstrated that cars can be swept away easier than people in flooded water. On Friday, a team from the university's Water Research Laboratory dropped cars into a large tank at Manly Vale in Sydney's north to show how much force it would take for them to be washed from the road. Principal engineer Grantley Smith, who led the research, said he was surprised at "just how little water it took to make even a large vehicle unstable". Roads owner Transurban sees no need to reduce tolls on either the Legacy Way or the Clem 7 tunnel when major roadworks begin on Brisbane's Inner City Bypass next year. Both Transurban and the Brisbane City Council on Friday played down how traffic would be affected during works to widen the ICB to eight lanes four lanes in each direction expected to be finished in 2018. The Inner City Bypass will be widened to eight lanes, expected to be complete by 2018. Credit:Aerial Advantage Transurban owns and operates the Clem 7 toll tunnel to the north of the ICB and the Legacy Way tunnel to the south of the ICB. More than 100,000 vehicles a day use the ICB at Bowen Hills, which is now one of Brisbane's major inner-city traffic interconnectors. Culture Ministry unveils plan for Silk Road expo From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-17 09:02 The Ministry of Culture has just released its plan for an upcoming expo in Gansu province. The first Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, which will open on Sept 20, will include summits, performances, youth exchange programs and forums to promote dialogue among countries along the ancient trade route. The two-day expo, which is being jointly promoted by several ministries, is expected to attract visitors from more than 50 countries, with France being the event's guest country. About 1,500 delegates, including at least 16 ministers or vice-minister level officials from abroad, are expected to attend the event. Dunhuang, which is a key point on the ancient Silk Road, is expected to hold the expo annually. Related: 'Shisanfan drum and gong' performed in E China 11th Culture Heritage Day marked across China Police believe there are still people out there who know how Novy Chardon died and where her body is. Police officially charged her husband John Chardon on Friday with her murder and he was remanded in custody until the matter returned to court on August 29. Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson said he hoped that now an arrest had been made those people would be comfortable coming forward with information. "The mere fact that somebody has been arrested doesn't mean that's the end (of the investigation)," he said. The Gold Coast head of an outlawed motorcycle gang has been charged with assault and extortion. Police say the 22-year-old Yamba man, allegedly a president in the Nomads gang, broke into a Toowoomba home in December 2015. The man is allegedly a president a Nomads bikie club, and would be the second club member charged in as many days. Credit:Glen McCurtayne He allegedly assaulted and extorted the 28-year-old male resident before stealing the victim's car. He'll face multiple charges including burglary with intent in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday. The defiant CFA board has formally been sacked with five replacements already announced, Emergency Services Minister James Merlino has announced. The former board was sacked by email, half an hour after Mr Merlino announced the new one. Speaking at Cranbourne CFA station on Friday the minister said former Fair Work Commissioner Greg Smith would be the new chair. A lawyer has been questioned about an alleged conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in relation to the 2009 murder of Mohammed Haddara. The lawyer, who had represented members of the Chaouk family, the arch enemy of the Haddaras, was arrested by homicide squad detectives at his Fairfield home about 7am on Friday. Mohammed Haddara was fatally shot at the front of his parents' home in Altona North. Credit:Ten News The 67-year-old was released without charge several hours later. Police said inquiries were continuing, but the lawyer denied any involvement in the alleged conspiracy. He is not suspected of any involvement in the slaying of Mr Haddara, a member of the western suburbs crime family, who was fatally shot in front of his parents' home in Altona North on June 20, 2009. A Bulleen teenager, 17, has been locked up and charged with murder, after a man was stabbed to death at a Norlane house party on Friday night. Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty said police responded to reports that a man had been stabbed at a house party on Ibis Court, Norlane, just after 9.30pm. Paramedics tried to revive the victim, believed to be aged in his 20s, but he died at the scene. Police and forensics attended the Ibis Court house on Saturday, where they spoke to witnesses and retrieved a knife from the scene. Police have confirmed a Geelong house that was suspected to contain a pipe bomb has been "made safe". Victoria Police spokeswoman Amelia Penhall said the bomb squad had secured the scene at Robin Avenue, Norlane. Geelong police are on the scene at what some reports say is a pipe bomb in a car. Credit:Georgia Matts "The item located was a pipe containing black powder," Ms Penhall said. "Police are investigating how the device came to be at the premises." Police searched a Golden Bay property as part of the investigation into Stephen Cookson's death. In 2012 Mr Coward's tenant in the Hay Street apartment sublet the unit to Cookson and then moved out telling him he would have to deal directly with Cookson in future. That would prove difficult. Cookson was a violent drug trafficker and wannabe horse racing identity who refused to pay rent and threatened Mr Coward when he asked for his money. Angle grinder mark in the bathroom floor where Aaron Carlino cut up the body of Stephen Cookson. Credit:Troy Coward "He tried standing over me. He phoned me up when he was off his head and threatened to kill me. But I didn't back down. I just kept telling him I wanted him out of the unit," Mr Coward said. Eventually Cookson agreed to move out and told Mr Coward he would be gone by December 16, 2012. Filthy cleaning cloths from Troy Coward's attempt to clean unit after police forensic investigation Credit:Troy Coward Cookson lived in the apartment with Aaron Carlino but their relationship ended in the kind of nightmarish violence usually seen in horror movies. On December 15 Carlino used a rifle to shoot 56-year-old Cookson. He spent the next day cutting up the body and putting it into bags. Filthy dishwasher and walls after police forensic investigation in Troy Coward's apartment Credit:Troy Coward In the middle of this grisly operation Mr Coward turned up at the apartment hoping the pair had moved out. But Carlino would not let him in and they had a shouted conversation through the closed door. "I asked him where Cookson was and he said he hadn't seen him for weeks. He said the unit was dirty and he was tidying up and told me to come back a few hours later," he said. "I guess I am lucky I didn't have a spare set of keys or I would have walked into the middle of a blood bath. God knows what might have happened then." Carlino used an angle grinder and a kitchen knife to cut up the body before he and his accomplices buried the body parts at a property in Golden Bay. Later they dug up the body parts and put them onto a boat and set out in the direction of Rottnest throwing the remains overboard in bags weighted with bricks. But something went wrong and Cookson's head washed up on beach at Porpoise Bay on Rottnest. On January 6, 2013, it was found by an 11-year-old girl. By this time Mr Coward had managed to get Aaron Carlino out of the Hay Street apartment and he moved in to clean it up, intending to live there not knowing that he was cleaning up a murder scene. "It just looked like it was dirty. Looking back there were no obvious signs of blood or any sign of violence although later I did notice that the carpets had been cleaned with some form of chemical," he said. Five days after Cookson's head was identified. WA Police had worked out who he was and his last address. The drove to the apartment in Hay Street and told Mr Coward he had to leave the apartment while forensic officers went through it. "They let me take my wallet and my car keys and that was it. I ended up sleeping on the floor at my office." Looking back he realised that there was a time when the police suspected he may have been the killer. "I know how it looked. Cookson owed me money. I got the keys from a murder scene. I cleaned up the murder scene," Mr Coward said. "I think that because I was the number one suspect for a while that the police were just careless about how they treated the apartment because they thought I was going to end up in prison." The police even raided a second property owned by Mr Coward. "They went to the Lesmurdie house and took the fridge, the bed, washing machine, dryer and the microwave, and I never got those back either," he said. But the police soon began to focus on Aaron Carlino as the likely murderer and eventually he was arrested and charged with killing Cookson. Major Crime detectives then met Mr Coward at the apartment to let him have the keys back. "I was gobsmacked with the state of the place. It was destroyed," he said. The apartment's wooden floors were all scratched and stained with chemicals used by the forensic officers. All the carpets were covered in various forensic inks and dusts. Luminol had highlighted blood spatter on the ceiling. Furniture was scratched. Skirting boards had been pulled off and mirrors ripped off walls and broken. Some plumbing pipes had been removed as had an air conditioning vent. The officers pointed out two bits of damage they were not responsible for. One was a hole in a kitchen tile caused by one of the two bullets Carlino shot into Cookson. And the other was a mark on a bathroom tile caused by the angle grinder Carlino had used to cut up Cookson's body. The officers were apologetic about the damage cause by the forensic investigation. "They told me they needed quotes for the damage and they were happy to sign off on it," Mr Coward said. But WA Police's legal services department took a different view. They wrote to Mr Coward's lawyers saying there would be no compensation. Their letter said that the confiscation of the unit and damage caused was the result of a lawfully justified investigation and that because the damage caused was not the result of malice the police were not financially responsible for the damage. "An action in tort does not lie against a member of the Police Force for anything that member has done, without corruption of malice, while performing the functions of a member of the police," the letter read. "This is crazy," Mr Coward said. "There needs to be some legislation which protects someone like me who is expected to clean, repair and pay for damage caused by a police forensic investigation. "I have been fighting for justice in this case for three years now and I am still waiting." A West Australian coroner says a woman's unusual roadside death is a mystery, with only a remote possibility she was deliberately run over by her husband. Elizabeth Francisca Allen died in November 2012 after being struck by a trailer carrying a boat on the side of Great Northern Highway in Muchea. A WA coroner says a woman's roadside death was mysterious. Her husband of 30 years, Graeme Allen, was driving the ute and said his wife told him to pull over because she needed to urinate, but she got out as he was slowing down. When he finally stopped the ute, Mr Allen realised his wife had been knocked down. A WA prison officer will appear in court on Friday on charges of supplying drugs, mobile phones and alcohol to prisoners - and faces further investigation into a collection of reptiles. The Casuarina officer, identified by The West Australian, as 32-year-old snake collector Scott Craig Berridge, has been charged with a variety of offences as a result of an Organised Crime Squad Prison Team investigation between March 2015 and May 2016. Half of all adult inmates in NSW have been diagnosed or treated for a mental health problem. The charges relate to the alleged provision of contraband items to prisoners in return for cash payments. The officer will also face charges related to him allegedly accessing the Department of Corrective Services computer system several times on the request of a prisoner and providing that prisoner with confidential information. Police say the information from the computer system was also passed on to an associate of the officer. A 60-year-old yellow flowering gum, one of the 98 trees slated for removal. Credit:Marnie McKee He said the 60-year-old trees dated back to the creation of the park, which is now listed on the municipal heritage inventory. Already the largest continuous canopy of trees in Lathlain, they represented a rare opportunity to develop a green corridor through Rayment Park, Lathlain Park, Tom Wright Reserve, Miller's Crossing, John Bissett reserve and East Victoria Park Primary school in an otherwise highly built-up area. The Urban Tree Network wants a "green corridor developed through through Rayment Park (seen at top) south through Lathlain Park, Tom Wright Reserve, Miller's Crossing, John Bissett reserve and East Victoria Park Primary school (bottom) - but the loss of the entire circled portion of trees would block this opportunity, they say. Credit:Google Earth The loss of all the trees on the south side of Lathlain Park would block this chance and severely impact local amenity, not to mention the endangered carnaby's and forest red-tailed black cockatoos known to roost at the site. The group believes building on the south west corner near Victoria Park Station, for access, and on the northern boundary adjacent to Lathlain Place for "activation", instead of on the southern boundary, could be a wise alternative. It believes many issues could be resolved by renegotiating the lease agreement and says the town, as landowner, has considerable power to make this happen and ensure the best long-term outcome. Town of Victoria Park chief executive Anthony Vuleta said West Coast's application was addressing the potential impact on black cockatoos and it was possible the town would require an "offset" tree planting elsewhere. He said the town had advertised for submissions in print and online, and with letters to neighbours and a community day at the park. In addition, two community information sessions had provided attendees with clear information about the overarching Lathlain Precinct Redevelopment Project. "Since 2013 the Town has been engaging with the community and providing as much information as possible at every stage of the Lathlain Precinct Redevelopment Project and will continue to value and welcome community input and enquiries," he said. Subiaco councillor Julie Matheson, who has previously campaigned to retain the Eagles in Subiaco, said the move was now inevitable but criticised the planning. She said an information evening on June 2 was not attended by any Eagles members, only by neighbours worried about the trees and the plan to build just 250 car bays. She asked where fans were going to park. "We are talking about a $60 million development. The Eagles are going to spend $22 million of their own money plus state and federal money and there is still a $20 million shortfall," she said. "WCE are a great team and this is a great opportunity ... but they haven't thought it through." An Eagles spokesman said the process with the Town had been transparent from the outset and it was necessary to remove the trees to enable the building of the two ovals and the training facility. "The project management team is working with the architect and an expert arboriculturalist to ensure a landscaping solution that maximises the maintaining of current vegetation and new plantings," he said. "The club has consulted extensively with architectural experts and landscaping experts to minimise the impact and they came back to us with the current configuration as the optimum landscaping solution with the lowest impact. "The community has been asked through the current DA process to comment on the construction of two ovals. The detailed design of the building is still being determined; however, it will be broadly consistent with the original concept and site plan which was developed in 2013. Images of Fidel Castro on show From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-06-17 09:02 As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. The show, Fidel Is Fidel, features two videos and 87 photos taken by well-known photographers such as Robert Chile and Raul Corrales. It unveils the Cuban leader's important moments from the 1960s to the 21st century. It's also part of a celebration of the 90-year-old's birthday in August. Photos such as Castro meeting writer Ernest Hemingway in 1960, speaking to his people, working until midnight and visiting the former Soviet Union for the first time are on display. Some of the revolutionary's signature portraits are in the exhibition. The three-day show ends on June 16 at Capital Library in Beijing. Ding Li, Chinese vice-minister of culture, attended the opening ceremony. Julio Ballester, Cuban deputy culture minister, says that the exhibition shows different parts of Castro: a politician and a spiritual leader. He says Castro has many artist friends in private life and he also is fond of books, music and films. As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] Castro visited China in 1995 and 2003. According to Ballester, the former Cuban president values China and Cuba's friendship very much. As of today, more than 3,000 Chinese students have studied at colleges in Cuba. A movie telling a love story between a Chinese student and a Cuban is being filmed in Cuba. "We hope to have more exchanges in the film industry with China," says Ballester. In 2018, Cuba will hold a big book fair and China will be the guest of honor, he adds. Related: Popular TV actor Hu Ge finds new passion behind camera lens New photo series captures life in China "In less in five years, I think there's a good chance it will be out there," Mr Gates said before a conference of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston. In recent years, biologists armed with a new gene-editing technology have proposed altering mosquitoes so they're more resistant to diseases like malaria and dengue. Using a mechanism known as a "gene drive", the researchers say they can quickly push an alteration through an entire species. In normal reproduction, a mosquito carrying one copy of an altered gene passes it on to 50 per cent of its offspring. In a gene drive, an engineered segment of DNA is inserted in the mosquito that causes 100 per cent of the offspring to inherit the altered gene, dramatically increasing the rate of spread. An Aedes aegypti mosquito is capable of transmitting malaria, dengue and zika. Credit:Felipe Dana "Gene drives, I do think, over the next three to five years will be developed in a form that will be extremely beneficial for knocking down" mosquito populations, Mr Gates said. "Of course, that makes it a key tool to reduce malaria deaths." Scientists have said they've successfully created malaria-resistant mosquitoes in a lab that passed on the trait to 99.5 per cent of their progeny. While the technology may work, it's controversial. Some researchers have warned that gene drives may not be safe - what if the targeted species cross-breed with another organism? What if released mosquitoes develop spontaneous, unintended mutations? - and have called for more regulation. Rio de Janeiro: Police in Rio de Janeiro police have recommended charges be laid against seven men in the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl. The case has made international headlines because videos showing men posing with the unconscious victim were shared on social media. The May 21 attack, which took place in an abandoned building in Rio's Morro do Barao slum, shocked Brazil and became a symbol of the Latin American nation's problem of violence against women. It sparked dozens of protests throughout Brazil and in other South American countries. An activist poses for a photo in front of an installation on Copacabana beach portraying the anguish suffered by abused women. Credit:Felipe Dana The officer overseeing the investigation, Cristiana Bento, said evidence collected so far shows that three men and a minor took part in the actual gang rape, not 33 people as the victim initially suggested. Ms Bento said she believes the victim's statement was a "false memory", perhaps the result of her drugged state during the attack or the trauma suffered. New Delhi: Throughout the Muslim world, Ramadan - the holy month of fasting which started on June 7 - is a time for introspection. So Muslim men in India are being asked to reflect on one topic in particular: their right to divorce their wives by saying the word 'talaq' three times in one go, in person, by post, phone, email, Whatsapp, Facebook, SMS or Skype. An Indian Muslim woman performs a prayer after breaking her fast on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Jama Masjid in New Delhi, India. Credit:AP Is such a perfunctory, swift and one-sided end to a marriage justified? Is this allowed by the Koran or is it the ideology of patriarchal clerics that sanctions it? Does it degrade women? Why does India allow "oral triple talaq" when the practice is banned in more than 20 Muslim countries? But it was Senator McCain, currently in a tough re-election race in Arizona, who provided one of the most dramatic moments in the debate. He told reporters Mr Obama was "directly responsible" for Islamic State-inspired attacks on Americans like the one in Orlando. President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden carry bouquets of 49 white roses in total, at a memorial to the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Credit:AP He later said he meant to say he blamed Mr Obama's decision to withdraw most US forces from Iraq, and that this had fuelled the rise of Islamic State. Senator McCain then recanted officially, using Twitter to state he had misspoken on the issue. A statement posted by him was unavailable online. Police and investigators at the scene of the Orlando shooting. Credit:Florida Today/AP But the damage was done, as some of the replies he received illustrate. During the debate, Senator Murphy asked what would be the message if the Senate failed to act on the gun control measures next week, and suggested it could be a campaign issue for the November 8 election. Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, his second wife Noor Salman and their son. "There are going to be a lot of voters in this country who are going to watch ... the votes that are cast next week," he said. Speeches ended before dawn. They included a Republican pledge to hold votes soon on measures to expand background checks on gun buyers and to prevent people on US terrorism watch lists from buying guns. As the post-Orlando gun debate rages in the US, Dom Knight tries to make sense of the 'right to bear arms'. Credit:Stocksy The Senate is expected to vote on Monday on four proposals. One from Democrat Dianne Feinstein would let the government prevent terrorist suspects from buying guns. A second from John Cornyn, the No.2 Senate Republican, would require court approval within three days for a government ban on an individual's attempt to buy a gun. Democrats have said Senator Cornyn's plan is unworkable; Republicans say Senator Feinstein's might harm the rights of people wrongly on terror suspect lists. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pumping fist. Credit:AP A third proposal, from Senator Murphy, would expand background check procedures to the sales of all firearms, including those online and at gun shows. A fourth proposal, from Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, would provide for law enforcement to be notified if a person investigated for terrorism in the last five years tries to buy a gun. Gun control is a potent issue in US politics. Republicans, who control the Senate, have blocked Democratic-backed gun control measures over the years, saying they infringe on the right to bear arms guaranteed by the US Constitution's Second Amendment. Any bill would have to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president to become law. At his weekly news conference on Thursday, Paul Ryan, speaker of the House of Representatives, injected a note of caution. "We don't take away a citizen's rights without due process," he said. "If you have a quick idea in the heat of the moment that says let's take away a person's rights without due process, we're going to defend the Constitution." The last major gun control measure was a ban in 1994 on semi-automatic assault weapons such as the one used in Orlando on Sunday. The ban expired 10 years later. A string of mass shootings in schoolhouses, churches, cinemas and other public places has failed to break the deadlock. Earlier Mr Trump jumped into the gun debate by saying he would meet with NRA leaders to talk about barring people who are on terrorism watch lists from buying guns. Ode to Saint Martin/Sint Maarten: Addressing the Longing to Belong in a Multicultural Milieu, PHILIPSBURG:--- From November 2nd to 4th, the University of St. Martin (USM) will host in collaboration with the Morehouse College, the International Conference on Caribbean Literature, a renowned academic forum, aimed at critically presenting and discussing the literature and the culture of the Caribbean region and St. Maarten in particular. The theme this year is: Ode to Saint Martin/Sint Maarten: Addressing the Longing to Belong in a Multicultural Milieu, in particular as well as to Caribbean literature and culture more generally. President of USM Dr. Francio Guadeloupe and the ICCL 2016 Organizing Committee invites all from the artistic and academic community of St. Maarten/Sint Martin to submit individual and panel proposals and abstracts of no more than 250-words (.pdf or .docx files) no later than Friday 1st July 2016. All submissions must be sent to: Dr. Melvin Rahming: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Dr. Leah Creque: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and Rami Blair: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Papers may be delivered in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Papiamento. At the time of submission, presenters should note whether they will require A/V equipment. For updates, check the conference website: www.icclconference.org PHILIPSBURG:--- TelCell is now a supporter of one of St. Maartens longest running youth initiatives and probably the most talked-about end-of-school-year event for high school students. The company has jumped on board with Teen Times in support of Prom Night 2016, the 20th edition of the event which started in 1996. Prom Night is an extravagant, very formal affair exclusively for senior students of the islands high schools. Students go all out for their big night, from picking out a dress and tuxedo/suit, to purchasing corsages, booking hotel rooms, renting limos, to the crowning of Prom King & Queen, it is branded as one night, a lifetime of memories. Prom Night 2016 under the theme Meet Me In Paris, will be held on Sunday June 26 at Tantra Night Club under its non-alcoholic event umbrella. It continues 20 years of Teen Times hosting quality, positive events for young people, a run that the group is extremely proud of. In addition to a financial contribution and assistance with promotion, TelCell has made several surprise gifts available to give away to the winners of the customary fun games that are held during Prom Night. Also to receive prizes are the Prom King & Queen, Prom Prince & Princess, Best Dress (male and female) and more. Attendees to the Prom will also be the first to be part of a new service TelCell will be launching. Though not much will be divulged before Prom Night, according to Teen Times it will go a long way in making dreams come through for the youth of St. Maarten. We are very happy to be able to assist the youth behind Teen Times on this their 20th anniversary and hope all high school senior students will have great, clean fun at Prom Night. We would also like to congratulate all graduates this year and wish them the best as they now move on to further their studies, Chief Commercial Officer of TelEm Group Brian Mingo said. On behalf of Teen Times, Coordinator Mike Granger expressed many thanks to TelCell. We are very, very proud of this event and the fact that as an organization we have served the youth of St. Maarten for 20 years. I am grateful that TelCell have chosen to support the effort of these hard working young people. Prom has a history of success and we expect nothing less for Prom 2016, Granger said. Prom Night 2016 will also feature International acts Lil Fizz from Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, rising US Hip Hop artist Miss Mulatto, St. Maartens very own Soca Power Monarch King Vers and St. Maartens #1 Dj The Cut Creator DJ Outkast. Southern Baptist Convention Vetoes Gay Marriage In another skirmish in the conflict between religious and gay rights, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution supporting natural marriage this week. Citing verses from the bible, the SBC Resolutions Committee created a document stating, in part, "Any law that directly contradicts natural law and biblical truth is an unjust law." The traditionalist Christian group did not go so far as to advocate violating US law, but did respectfully disagree with the 2015 decision made by the US Supreme Court to legitimize gay marriage, not only on the basis of the bible, but on the basis of the constitution - a position shared by some legal scholars who have no religious ax to grind. The SBC writes that redefining marriage "does violence to the Constitution." The concern of the SBC appears to be the right of individuals to exercise their religious liberty in disagreeing with the legitimacy of gay marriage. They "urge lawmakers to pass legislation that protects religious liberty, and stands in solidarity to those who have faced religious discrimination." Christians and other who disagree with the secular government's definition of marriage have been socially shamed and legally challenged when they have attempted to apply their first amendment rights to the free exercise of religion. In the late 20th century, religious rites of marriage without legal recognition became increasingly common. The first law providing for marriage of people of the same sex in modern times was enacted in 2001 in the Netherlands. As of 28 April 2016, fifteen countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay) and certain sub-jurisdictions (parts of Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands,] New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) allow same-sex couples to marry. A similar law in Finland is not yet in force. Polls show rising support for legally recognizing same-sex marriage in the Americas, Australia and most of Europe. However, as of 2016 South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriage is recognized, and although no country in Asia allows same-sex marriage ceremonies, Israel accepts same-sex marriages performed overseas. In certain Middle Eastern Islamic countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is punishable by death, as prescribed by Sharia law. Introduction of same-sex marriage laws has varied by jurisdiction, being variously accomplished through legislative change to marriage laws, a court ruling based on constitutional guarantees of equality, or by direct popular vote (via ballot initiative or referendum). The recognition of same-sex marriage is a political and social issue, and also a religious issue in many countries, and debates continue to arise over whether people in same-sex relationships should be allowed marriage or some similar status (a civil union). Same-sex marriage can provide those in same-sex relationships who pay their taxes with government services and make financial demands on them comparable to those afforded to and required of those in opposite-sex marriages. Same-sex marriage also gives them legal protections such as inheritance and hospital visitation rights.[8] Various faith communities around the world support allowing those of the same sex to marry, while many major religions oppose same-sex marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriages have argued that recognition of same-sex marriages would erode religious freedoms, undermine a right of children to be raised by their biological mother and father or erode the institution of marriage itself. Eric Trump asserts 20% of the $1 billion raised by Clinton, comes from the Saudis. Eric Trump asserts 20% of the $1 billion raised by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, comes from the Saudis. Yet on Monday, Clinton issued a pointed warning to US allies in the Middle East, saying countries like Saudi Arabia must crack down on citizens supporting extremism. It is known that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia donated around $25 million to the Clinton foundation. This has been known since 2008, when the new Secretary of State disclosed potential conflicts of interest. On Sunday, Trump called on Clinton to return the $25 million, to the Saudis. Donating to Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign would be different and newsworthy. Following the weekend massacre at a gay club in Orlando by a gunman who the FBI says may have been radicalized, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee vowed to step up efforts to stop so-called lone wolf attacks, and said Americans should unite to defeat domestic terrorism. But she also called on other governments to reconsider policies that allow extremism to thrive, calling out three US allies which already have sensitive ties with Washington. "It is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris, and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations," Clinton said in a national security speech in Cleveland, Ohio. "And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path toward extremism." According to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups... Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide." These were her words in 2014; she called Saudi Arabia and Kuwait indirectly responsible for the recent shooting of over 100 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have piled on outrage after Hillary Clinton condemned the weekend slaughter in Orlando and directly linked the oil-rich monarchies to the funding of terrorism. In separate letters to Fairfax Media, the embassies for both countries in Australia took exception to reporting of Mrs Clinton's call to "stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world". "Accusations leveled against the Kingdom of being lax or of supporting extremism fails to recognize the Kingdom's leadership role in combating terrorism," the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia wrote. In her half-hour speech, the former secretary of state said "American leadership" was crucial in resolving political conflicts that fuel Islamic State extremists, as well as waging the immediate battle against terror groups and messages, including online. "The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very much alive and we must attack it with clear eyes, steady hands, unwavering determination and pride in our country and our values," she said. "The threat is metastasizing," she added. "We face a twisted ideology and poisoned psychology that inspires the so-called lone wolves," whom she described as radicalized individuals who may or may not have direction from a formal organization. Preceding Barack Obama's 2009 nomination of Hillary Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State, Bill Clinton agreed to accept a number of conditions and restrictions regarding his ongoing activities and fundraising efforts for the Clinton Presidential Center and the Clinton Global Initiative. Accordingly, a list of donors was released for the first time in December 2008. The list was large and included politically sensitive donors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Blackwater Worldwide. The foundation stated that the disclosures would ensure that "not even the appearance of a conflict of interest" would exist once Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. As many as 12 structures were threatened. Exxon Mobil is monitoring the fire; facility unharmed. Update, 6 PM 6/18; progress has been made on the fire which is now 45% contained and has consumed some 7500 acres. The weather is expected to be hot tomorrow perhaps as much as 90F even in the coastal zone. This will not help firefighters. 10 p.m. 6/17A water treatment plant at El Capitan State Beach burned down overnight as the Sherpa fire has grown to more than 6,000 acres, threatening crops, homes and an oil refinery. 600 firemen cannot slow it down, much, as the sundowner winds hit every night at midnight. "we're trying to get ahead of it. Last night we had 2 miles of open front we couldn't get ahead of, but tonight we will get ahead of it." Said Battalion chief Chris The 101 freeway will be closed again tonight, for the third night in a row. Smoke has blown as far away as Los Angeles and beyond, more than 100 miles. The fire is now 20% contained. But the winds could change the situation. Stay tuned. Tomorrow will be a hot day in Southern California. The blaze was only 5 percent contained as of the morning of June 17. Santa Barbara County officials declared a state of emergency at 10:10 a.m. June 17 because of ongoing evacuations and the threat the fire still poses to crop land, homes and ExxonMobil's Las Flores Canyon oil refinery. Officials have started an investigation into the cause of the fire, but it is not a criminal investigation, they said at a news conference. "While the size of the fire more than doubled in size in the last 24 hours, there's been only minor structural loss and no civilian or firefighter injuries," said Eric Peterson, Santa Barbara County's fire chief. Officials said mandatory evacuations are in place in some areas affected by the fire. There has been substantial damage to avocado, lemon and olive crops as well as cattle grazing land. "That assessment of the damage is underway right now," said Doreen Farr, Santa Barbara County 3rd District supervisor. "Due to the continued evacuations in place, the very real potential for additional evacuations, also the potential for further damage to agriculture and natural resources, the need for a local emergency is necessary." Agriculture is a $1.8 billion industry in Santa Barbara County. Cathy Fisher, the Santa Barbara County agricultural commissioner, said that as of 10:30 a.m., she had received reports of damage to farmland in the Venadito Canyon and Refugio Canyon areas. "We're in the process of working with our commodity groups and gathering statistics and information about the value of those losses so far," Fisher said. About 100 horses had also been evacuated to the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara because of the fire. Robert Lewin, an emergency manager with Santa Barbara County, said impacts on the economy after last summer's Refugio oil spill are a major concern. "We need to do the best we can to get this fire out as soon as we can so we can make sure that tourism's needs are addressed," Lewin said. "It's a major industry in the county." Eric Hjelstrom, a California State Parks superintendent that monitors parks around Santa Barbara including El Capitan and Refugio state beaches, said the small water treatment plant burned down sometime overnight. The plant provides drinking and bathing water for campers at El Capitan State Beach. On June 16, officials canceled reservations at El Capitan State Beach through June 24 because of safety concerns. Read more The Exxon facility appears to be unharmed at this point. Exxon Mobil is monitoring the situation, and the company still has employees on site performing fire protection activities. Up until last month, the refinery was holding onto over 425,000 barrels of crude that were stranded after the rupture. The weather service issued excessive heat warnings for areas in the U.S. Southwest, including California, Nevada and Arizona and New Mexico. The New Mexico National Guard has been activated to help fight the blaze, also known as the Dog Head Fire, which still remains uncontained, Gov. Susana Martinez announced Thursday. Separately, the Sherpa fire grew in size overnight as sustained 40 miles per hour winds pushed the blaze across areas that hadn't burned in 60 years, officials said. While firefighters attacked the flames from the ground, air tankers and helicopters were again making drops on the fire after daylight on Thursday, focusing on the east side of the fire. Los Angeles County fire officials now say a brushfire in the Calabasas neighborhood is threatening about 3,000 homes. For a second night, the US 101 freeway was closed in the area, but was reopened early Friday. A wildfire burns in Los Padres National Forest, on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, north of Santa Barbara, in Goleta, Calif. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office says mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Refugio Canyon. Chief Peterson said flames came close to an oil facility Wednesday night, but there was good defensible space around the property and the facility was not damaged. "There was a lot of fire around it during the night, but the structure protection was effective". Still, mandatory evacuations were in place for multiple California communities near the Los Padres National Forest. Janice Farmington who lives near the town of Chilili, N.M., along state road 337, waits for her husband to evacuate with their belongings as the Dog Head wildfire approaches the area Wednesday, June... Hot, dry weather across the Western U.S. challenged firefighters. The blaze broke out Wednesday afternoon and has been churning through vegetation that hasn't burned in decades. "We want to make sure New Mexicans understand that". However, a small community in Navajo County remained evacuated and thousands of other residents were told to be prepared in case they had to leave. Blazes in California, Arizona and New Mexico threatened communities with thousands of residents where so far hundreds of homes have been evacuated. CORRECTION FROM SOURCE: Tellza Announces Completion of Consolidation TORONTO, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 06/16/16 This release corrects and replaces the release sent for Tellza Communications Inc. on June 16 at 6:12 PM ET. The headline was incorrect and should have read TELLZA ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF CONSOLIDATION. The complete and corrected release follows. Tellza Communications Inc. (Tellza or the Company) (TSX: TEL) announced that it has completed the previously announced consolidation of its common shares on a one-for-fifteen basis. The common shares of Tellza will be posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on a consolidated basis at the opening of trading on Monday, June 20, 2016. In accordance with the provisions of Letters of Transmittal previously mailed to shareholders, new share certificates representing the number of consolidated common shares to which a shareholder is entitled are now issuable to the shareholder by TMX Trust Company (formerly, Equity Financial Trust Company), at its principal offices in Toronto, in exchange for the shareholders completed Letter of Transmittal together with the shareholders pre-consolidated share certificates. No fractional common shares will be issued. Where the consolidation results in a fractional share, the number of post-consolidation common shares will be rounded down to the nearest whole common share. About Tellza Tellza is a Technology Company operating in the Communication market. The business is organized into three business units: Tellza Communications, Tellza Technologies and Tellza Investments. Tellza Communications is a global communications company operating under several brands: Route Dynamix, Phonetime, Tel3, and MatchcoM. Tellza Technologies provides real time big data management tools for the telecommunications market. Tellza Investments seeks portfolio investment opportunities in various market places. Tellza is a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TEL). Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information: This press release contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words like expects, anticipates, plans, intends, indicates or similar expressions. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. Tellzas actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors set forth in reports and other documents filed by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time. See which contains all securities files. Contacts: Tellza Communications Inc. Gary Clifford Executive Chairman 647 281 1831 InVision Selects Twistlock to Secure Growing Enterprise Business SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Marketwired) 06/17/16 , the leading provider of cloud container security solutions, today announced , the worlds leading product design platform, has joined its customer base. InVision provides nearly two million users with the power to prototype, review, refine, manage and test web and mobile products. About 70 percent of Fortune 100 companies, including Capital One, IBM, Disney, Apple, Verizon, Pinterest, Adobe and Facebook, use InVision to take ideas from concept to code. The New York company adopted Kubernetes with Docker for a number of its core services and chose Twistlock to secure its container environment from development through production. We recognized early on the power that containers can bring us, from the consistency of code across our environments to the ability to cut operation costs and roll out code in an efficient and effective manner with zero downtime, said Johnathan Hunt, vice president of information security for InVision. The ability to pack multiple services into a single host is huge. Twistlock has proven to be the only full-featured container security product capable of protecting our chosen technologies and meeting our rigorous standard of security requirements. With InVisions extensive list of security criteria for its container environment, finding a solution that met its exact requirements presented a significant challenge to the companys container strategy. InVision selected Twistlock based on its rich and comprehensive feature set, which includes innovative runtime protection, real-time vulnerability detection and alerting, life-cycle management of configuration, and image hardening and access control capabilities. Twistlock is an innovator in container security, said Nathan McCauley, director of security for Docker. Their work in runtime protection and contribution to the Docker open source system has helped to enable Docker adoption and innovation for customers across a wide variety of industry verticals. InVisions initial trials with Twistlock greatly enhanced the protection and integrity of customer data, with no negative impact on application performance. InVision is planning on rolling out Twistlock enterprise-wide to protect its container environments, which consist of tens of thousands of containers. Twistlocks mission is to enable companies to securely roll out a container strategy with enterprise-grade security assurance and visibility, said Ben Bernstein, chief executive officer for Twistlock. The addition of global brands like InVision confirms that we not only meet but exceed our enterprise customers high standards to ensure that their container environment is secured. And our continued customer momentum also validates the growing market need for robust security solutions that drive the container economy forward. Twistlock adds InVision to a growing list of high-end enterprise customers. Since the company of its Container Security Suite in November 2015, the solution has been adopted by organizations spanning financial services, healthcare, media, hospitality, consumer technology services and government agencies. Many of these customers have deployed Twistlock in both development and mission-critical production environments, protecting live services and valuable customer data in containers. To learn more about Twistlock Container Security Suite, see . To start a free trial for Twistlock Container Security, see . Follow us on Twitter: Follow us on LinkedIn: InVision is the worlds leading product design platform, powering the future of digital product design through our deep understanding of the dynamics of collaboration. We provide nearly two million people with the power to prototype, review, refine, manage and user test web and mobile products. InVision drives the product design process at leading Fortune 100 companies, including at Disney, IBM, Walmart, Apple, Verizon and General Motors. Backed by Accel, Firstmark, Tiger Global and others, InVision is headquartered in New York City with a workforce of over 200 employees who work remotely all over the world. Twistlock provides the industrys first enterprise security suite for container security. Twistlocks technology addresses risks on the host and within the application of the container, enabling enterprises to consistently enforce security policies, monitor and audit activity and identify and isolate threats in a container environment. Twistlocks mission is to provide a full, enterprise-grade security stack for containers, so organizations can confidently adopt and maximize the benefits of containers in their production environment. For more information, please visit 10Fold Travis Anderson 925.271.8227 South Bend Human Rights Commission director fired amid workplace concerns Yolanda Young-Smith, hired in December, oversaw the Human Rights Commission as it lost longtime workers with a combined half-century of tenure. 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. South Milwaukee School District starts athletics fundraising campaign The South Milwaukee School District has started a fundraising campaign to install synthetic turf on and upgrade South Milwaukee High School's football, baseball and softball fields. 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 Jupiters moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system. This high-resolution image of Jupiters fifth moon was captured by NASAs Galileo spacecraft and was published on 18, Dec. 1997. Io Jupiter's fifth moon is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Io's surface is peppered with hundreds of volcanoes, some spewing sulfurous plumes hundreds of miles high. The volcanic moon is Jupiter's third-largest and the innermost Galilean satellite, it finds itself caught in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and two nearby Jovian moons Europa and Ganymede. These tidal forces generate the heat that drives Io's intense volcanic activity, according to NASA (opens in new tab). Io's surface is changing at an incredible rate. Volcanic fissures ooze lava onto the moon's surface, filling impact craters and creating new floodplains of liquid rock. While Io's exact composition is unknown, it is likely molten sulfur and its compounds or silicate rock, according to NASA (opens in new tab). Additionally, the moon's thin atmosphere is primarily composed of sulfur dioxide. Related: 10 incredible volcanoes in our solar system Io fast facts Age: Io is about 4.5 billion years old, about the same age as Jupiter. Io is about 4.5 billion years old, about the same age as Jupiter. Distance from Jupiter: Io is the fifth moon from Jupiter. Its average orbital distance is about 262,000 miles (422,000 km). Io takes 1.77 Earth-days to orbit Jupiter. Io is tidally locked, so the same side always faces Jupiter. Io is the fifth moon from Jupiter. Its average orbital distance is about 262,000 miles (422,000 km). Io takes 1.77 Earth-days to orbit Jupiter. Io is tidally locked, so the same side always faces Jupiter. Size: Io has a mean radius of 1,131.7 miles (1,821.3 km) making it slightly larger than Earth's moon. It has a slightly elliptical shape, with its longest axis directed toward Jupiter. Among the Galilean satellites, Io ranks third, behind Ganymede and Callisto but ahead of Europa, in both mass and volume. Io has a mean radius of 1,131.7 miles (1,821.3 km) making it slightly larger than Earth's moon. It has a slightly elliptical shape, with its longest axis directed toward Jupiter. Among the Galilean satellites, Io ranks third, behind Ganymede and Callisto but ahead of Europa, in both mass and volume. Temperature: Io's surface temperature averages about minus 202 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 130 degrees Celsius), resulting in the formation of sulfur dioxide snowfields. But Io's volcanoes can reach 3,000 degrees F (1,649 degrees C). Io is often referred to as a celestial body of fire and ice. Io's surface temperature averages about minus 202 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 130 degrees Celsius), resulting in the formation of sulfur dioxide snowfields. But Io's volcanoes can reach 3,000 degrees F (1,649 degrees C). Io is often referred to as a celestial body of fire and ice. Distance from Earth: At its closest to Earth, when both Jupiter and Earth are on the same side of the sun, the distance to Io can be as little as 365 million miles (588 million km), according to the space science website The Nine Planets. But at its maximum distance, it can be as far away as 601 million miles (968 million km). Orbit and volcanism Ios surface is peppered with volcanoes and lava lakes. Here, NASAs Galileo spacecraft captured an image of Io in the midst of a volcanic eruption. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/DLR) (opens in new tab) Io's volcanic activity was first discovered by NASA's Voyager missions in 1979. The moon's volcanism is driven by powerful tidal forces. As Io orbits Jupiter in an elliptical fashion, the strength of Jupiter's gravity on Io varies depending on how close the moon is to the gas giant. This gravitation fluctuation creates a perpetual push and pull on the moon's interior in different directions, which causes Io's surface to bulge by as much as 330 feet (100 meters), according to NASA (opens in new tab). This movement causes Io's rocks to grind past each other, generating vast quantities of heat 20 times more heat flow (opens in new tab) than Earth. If Io were Jupiter's only moon, its orbit would have likely "settled down" into a circle a long time ago, but the ongoing, constant outward tug from Io's outer neighbors Europa and Ganymede ensure that does not happen. Io cannot escape this perpetual game of gravitational tug-of-war and subsequent planetary heating. Composition Io's surface is primarily composed of sulfur and sulfur dioxide, according to ESA (opens in new tab). Patches of sulfur dioxide frost have also been spotted on the surface, along with hundreds of volcanoes. Io's sulfur dioxide atmosphere is extremely thin about one billionth the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere, according to ESA. How Io affects Jupiter Jupiter's moon Io may be small (roughly the size of Earth's moon) compared to the planet (more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside Jupiter), but the moon still has a mighty impact on its parent planet. Io's orbit cuts across Jupiter's powerful magnetic lines of force, turning Io into an electric generator. According to NASA (opens in new tab), Io can develop 400,000 volts across itself, in turn creating 3 million amperes of electrical current. This then makes its way back along Jupiter's magnetic field lines and causes lighting storms in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. As Jupiter rotates, the magnetic forces strip away about a ton of Io's material every second. The material becomes ionized and forms a doughnut-shaped cloud of radiation called a plasma torus. Some of the ions are pulled into Jupiter's upper atmosphere and create auroras. An example of this activity was spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope, which revealed the influences of Io and another Jovian moon, Ganymede, in Jupiter's auroras in 2018. Further evidence of Io's volcanoes and electric current driving Jupiter's auroras was revealed in a 2022 study. A composite image of auroras on Jupiter, taken using the Hubble Space Telescope's Imaging Spectrograph. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)) (opens in new tab) Io also has a collapsible atmosphere, according to observations from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii and the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES). The sulfur dioxide envelope of gas freezes up while Io is in the shadow of Jupiter every day. When Io comes back into the sunlight, the freezing sulfur dioxide converts to gas once more. Scientists long suspected this phenomenon exists, but it was only after this study which saw Io's atmosphere in the dark for the first time that researchers found confirming evidence. Discovery and naming Io was the first of Jupiter's moons discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei on Jan. 8, 1610. According to NASA, he discovered the moon the day prior, but could not differentiate between Io and Europa, another Jupiter moon, until the next night. This discovery, along with the discovery of three other Jovian moons, was the first time a moon was ever found orbiting a planet other than Earth. Galileo's discovery eventually led to the understanding that planets orbit the sun, instead of our solar system revolving around Earth. Galileo first referred to this moon as Jupiter I. In the mid-1800s, the moon was renamed Io. In Greek mythology, Io was a priestess of Hera (Zeus' wife) and the daughter of Inachus, the king of Argos. Zeus (the counterpart for the Roman god Jupiter) fell in love with her but turned her into a cow to avoid being caught with her by his wife, Hera (or Juno). Missions to Io While no dedicated mission has been sent to Io, several spacecraft have flown by Jupiter and observed its moons. NASA's Pioneer 10 craft arrived first in 1973, followed by Pioneer 11 in 1974. NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes returned to the system, capturing striking photos during their flybys in 1979. Between 1995 and 2002, NASA's Galileo spacecraft made multiple flybys of Io and provided us with the closest views to date of the volcanic moon. In 2000, Cassini studied Io during a flyby whilst en route to Saturn. While there is no mission specifically planned to look at Io, other missions are now in the vicinity of the moon such as the Juno spacecraft or will be in future years. The European Space Agency's JUICE mission (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), set to launch in 2023, will focus on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. In 2024, NASA's Europa Clipper mission plans investigate the habitability of another Galilean moon, Europa. Additional information Read more about volcanism on Io with San Diego State University (opens in new tab). Explore the upcoming Juice mission in more detail with ESA (opens in new tab). Learn more about Io with observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope with this ESA article (opens in new tab). Discover Ios tidal heating processes with this infographic from NASA (opens in new tab). Bibliography McEwen, Alfred S., et al. "The lithosphere and surface of Io. (opens in new tab)" Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere (2004): 307-328. Tsang, Constantine CC, et al. "The collapse of Io's primary atmosphere in Jupiter eclipse. (opens in new tab)" Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 121.8 (2016): 1400-1410. Lopes, Rosaly MC, and John R. Spencer. Io after Galileo: A new view of Jupiter's volcanic moon (opens in new tab). Springer Science & Business Media, 2007. Bagenal, Fran, and Vincent Dols. "The space environment of Io and Europa. (opens in new tab)" Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 125.5 (2020): e2019JA027485. Thomas, Nicolas. "A comprehensive investigation of the Galilean moon, Io, by tracing mass and energy flows. (opens in new tab)" Experimental astronomy (2021): 1-17. This image of the Milky Way over Marshall Point Lighthouse was taken by Mike Taylor & Sonia MacNeil, the team at Taylor Photography from Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. Shining like a beacon, this amazing lighthouse image appears to shine right at the Milky Way in the night sky. The image was taken by Mike Taylor & Sonia MacNeil, the team at Taylor Photography from Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. "Marshall Point lighthouse is one of our favorite spots to shoot at night," Taylor wrote in an email to Space.com. "The 'wagon wheel' effect from the astragals in the tower's cap design adds to the otherworldly feel as the photogenic core section of the Milky Way stretches through the scene." (You can check out more awesome Milky Way photos by readers here.) Comet 252P/LINEAR can also be seen as a green spot above and slightly to the left of the galactic core. Comet LINEAR was discovered on April 7, 2000 , by researchers from the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research program (an MIT Lincoln Laboratory program funded by NASA and the U.S. Air Force). The comet's core is estimated to be 750 feet (230 meters) across, according to the statement. In this behind the scenes image, Taylor photography highlights the process for creating the Milky Way from Marshall Point Lighthouse as well as their technical specifications. (Image credit: Taylor Photography Mike Taylor & Sonia MacNeil/ Taylor Photography In the behind the scenes image below, Taylor photography highlights the process it takes to make the image shine as well as their technical specifications. Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original story 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. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. 1 / 4 On June 2, German law enforcement officials arrested several people thought to belong to an Islamic State sleeper cell that was allegedly planning an attack on Dusseldorf. The tip-off came from the group's leader, who turned himself in to police in Paris in February. Despite months of investigation, authorities still aren't sure if the cell is real. The Council of the EU, which represents the interests of the member states, has even accused Juncker of employing legally questionable methods. In a recent report obtained by SPIEGEL, Council legal experts write that, for example, there is no legal foundation for Juncker's decision at the end of May to delay pending penalties levied on Spain and Portugal for their excessive budget deficits. It is a significant slap in the face for the Commission president. Rapid Backpedalling Even prominent politicians from the center-right European People's Party (EEP), to which Juncker belongs, have criticized him -- including, most recently, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. During a meeting of EEC members of European Parliament in Nice, he criticized Commission's almost arbitrary attempts to expand its own authority. "Does anyone really believe that having Bulgarians protect the French border would work?" Sarkozy asked sarcastically. A further example of Juncker's style of leadership comes from last October, at an appearance in Passau, Germany. In a question-and-answer session at the offices of the local newspaper, the discussion focused on refugees and the euro. It ultimately veered toward the planned European deposit insurance scheme, which will ultimately protect depositors on the continent up to a certain level should their banks suddenly go broke. "Savings and cooperative banks are part of our economic model and will thus not be affected by the deposit insurance scheme," Juncker said. The comment was well received by his audience. Germans in particular are not particularly excited about being made liable for deposits in banks big and small across Europe. The only problem was that the draft version of the EU regulation didn't contain any such exceptions. Juncker's people were forced to rapidly backpedal. Juncker's idea to lead the Commission in a more political manner isn't just strategic. The freedoms that come with emphasizing the body's political nature are consistent with Juncker's nature. He loves to speak, but doesn't always pay close attention to what is coming out of his mouth. In his previous position, as prime minister of Luxembourg, that wasn't such a problem. It was only later, during his stint as head of the Euro Group, that he was forced to pay more attention to what he was saying. Now, as Commission president, he is surrounded by a large communications team. Indeed, Juncker's Commission sometimes seems like little more than a well-oiled PR machine. But he feels constrained. Juncker's political persona tends to appear in those moments when he is not bound by the corset of communications advisors -- during the meeting in Paris, for example, or on stage in Passau. Or, unexpectedly, when he is surrounded by bureaucrats who don't have the courage to contradict him. Such was the case a few months ago during a discussion on the lifting of visa requirements for Ukrainians travelling to the EU. Countries must fulfill a large number of conditions before the EU lifts visa requirements for their citizens and the Ukrainian prime minister was there to discuss the issue with Juncker. The Commission president looked uncomprehendingly at the long list of open questions. "I have no idea what this is all about," Juncker said and announced that he would quickly introduce visa freedoms for Ukrainians. It was only with difficulty that Juncker's advisors were able to return the discussion to the parameters of EU law. Not Overly Interested in Details Prior to taking his current position, Juncker had no experience leading a gigantic administration like the European Commission -- another fact that helps explain his desire to operate in a more political manner. In Luxembourg, he directed a state ministry with just a few dozen employees, now he is leading an apparatus of 30,000 people, the equivalent of 6 percent of the population of Luxembourg. Juncker's leadership style is increasingly reminiscent of former US President Ronald Reagan. He didn't have a reputation for being overly interested in details either and he preferred to sketch out broader political outlines. Juncker also looks as though he is not in the best of health and hardly a minute goes by without him reaching for another cigarette. The news website Politico recently wrote about his alcohol consumption. Juncker prefers to leave the day-to-day work to two ambitious men who have gained a reputation for being the true leaders of the Commission: Frans Timmermans, a Commission vice president from the Netherlands, and Juncker's German cabinet head Martin Selmayr. European Parliament President Martin Schulz ensures that Juncker still has the backing of parliament. But the Stability Pact -- or the failure to apply it -- is Juncker's responsibility. He is always happy to listen to the concerns of large EU member states such as France and Spain, even if that means ignoring the advice of his top advisors. Juncker's goal is to keep the EU together and anything else is secondary. In mid-May, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici and fellow commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis demanded in a rare moment of unanimity that countries in violation of the Stability Pact be threatened with hefty fines. Their demand came after Spain and Portugal once again reported budget deficits far higher than allowed by EU rules. But Juncker, referring to upcoming parliamentary elections in Spain, which are scheduled for June 26, once again pushed back the deadline for announcing such penalties. The officials who write analyses, sometimes over 100 pages long, about the economic situations of the countries in violation of the Stability Pact, are annoyed by these kinds of moves. Their reports turn into wax in Juncker's hands -- wax which he then uses to model his political strategy. This time, however, Juncker's unilateral decision may run into trouble. Commission bureaucrats were unable to find a legal mandate for their boss' artifice. A New Narrative Even worse, the error likely can't be quietly swept under the rug, as Council legal experts have written. Instead, the 28 commissioners will have to once again consider the Stability Pact violations of Spain and Portugal in July. Simply ignoring their depressing financial situations will then no longer be possible. It is only possible to forgo sanctions in cases of excessive debt, the Council legal experts wrote, when the country in question is confronted with unexpected economic crisis. And not even Juncker can manufacture such a scenario. "There is no legal option" for ignoring the violations, says one EU official. Such sanctions must ultimately be approved by a qualified majority of Council of Europe members, but the European Commission is legally bound to recommend such sanctions. In reaction to Juncker's behavior, a suggestion originally made by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble (CDU) last summer has gained new life. It is aimed at nothing less than the political disempowerment of Commission President Juncker. Schauble would particularly like to absolve Juncker of his responsibility for overseeing the solidity of member-state finances. This could also apply to the legal supervision of the internal market and rules governing competition. Schauble would like to see such tasks assigned to politically independent institutions, such as Germany's Bundeskartellamt, which is charged with protecting competition in the business sector. "A Commission that sees itself in a political light could be biased," said Schauble's parliamentary state secretary Jens Spahn in Brussels recently. "If Juncker starts meddling in competition issues, that would cross the red line," says an EU official. It is not completely out of the realm of possibility that such a thing could happen: Industry interests always play a role when the merger of two companies is up for review. A not insignificant number of people in Brussels believes that the success of the Brexit camp in the UK can partly be blamed on Juncker. Some conservative political leaders think that Juncker has unnecessarily given ammunition to the Brexiteers and has also strengthened Euroskepticism in Germany. "Jean-Claude Juncker's romanticism about Europe no longer works in the 21st century," says one high-ranking German conservative. If Brexit comes to pass, he says, Europe would need a new narrative. "I have my doubts that Juncker would be able to embody it." Washington, June 17, 2016 (SPS) - United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, Committee of 24, has reaffirmed Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, and expressed concern over the standstill in the UN-sponsored peace process in Western Sahara, Africa's last colony. During the ordinary session of the Committee in New York, Algeria's representative to the UN Sabri Boukadoum said that the Western Sahara conflict "is a decolonization issue that could only be resolved by granting the Sahrawi people their inalienable right to self-determination." Boukadoum called on the UN to assume its responsibility, adding that dozens of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions reaffirm their right to self-determination. Security Council's resolutions should be "well read and well heard," he insisted. Algeria's representative focused on the situation of human rights in the occupied Sahrawi territories and the illegal exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources by Morocco. The Sahrawi people's patience should not be abused, he warned, adding that there were no other alternative to giving the Sahrawi people the free choice to decide their future. Like several representatives attending the meeting, Boukadoum invited the Committee to visit the region and "make their own opinion." Other representatives asked the Committee to hold an extraordinary session on Western Sahara conflict. Cuba's representative recalled that the Committee has been discussing the question of Western Sahara for 53 years, deploring that there had been no progress towards an effective solution, despite the constant efforts. He added that the situation of Sahrawi people had become unbearable, underlining the urgent need to allowing them exercise their right to self-determination. He also urged the Security Council to assume its responsibility and resolve the conflict by providing the UN Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) with all necessary means to carry out its work. For his part, the representative of Venezuela expressed concern about the situation in Western Sahara, which "is still Africa's last colony," while nearly 40 UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions have recognized the right of Sahrawi people to self-determination over more than 25 years. The Venezuelan representative also denounced the "unjust occupation" by Morocco. (SPS) 062/090/700 Washington, June 17, 2016 (SPS) The Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations, H. E. Mr. Wilfried I. Emvula, reaffirmed full and unequivocal support of Namibia for the inalienable rights of the People of Western Sahara to self-determination and national independence, in a statement Monday on Western Sahara in the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. The people of Western Sahara should be allowed to enjoy their inalienable rights to self-determination and national independence just like all other people, he added. In this context, the Permanent Representative of Namibia called upon the United Nations and in particular, the Security Council, to assume its full responsibility by implementing all its resolutions and decisions on Western Sahara, with no pre-conditions. He also called for the urgent implementation of all Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, aimed at the holding of a free and fair referendum in Western Sahara. The Permanent Representative of Namibia to the UN called on the Government of Morocco to cooperate with the United Nations in holding a free and fair referendum in Western Sahara. (SPS) 062/090 Washington, June 17, 2016 (SPS) - The Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Kingsley Mamabolo, called upon the UN to expeditiously implement various UN and AU decisions to actualize without further delay the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in a statement Monday in a statement Monday on Western Sahara in the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. Mr. Mamabolo regretted the decision by the Government of Morocco to expel 84 international civil servants, including African Union personnel, from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). In this regard, he expressed South Africas disappointment at the failure of the Security Council to respond firmly and decisively against the Government of Moroccos decision, which put one of the UN missions in jeopardy. He also regretted the repeated flouting of international law by the Kingdom of Morocco by hosting international conferences in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, most notably the Crans Montana Forum. The Permanent Representative of South Africa reiterated that the Kingdom of Morocco does not enjoy sovereignty or administrative power over Western Sahara. Therefore any illegal exploitation of mineral resources in the Western Sahara occupied territories has to be condemned. He expressed South Africas deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation, which is driven in part by the decrease in funding to support the refugees in the harsh conditions of the camps. The Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations urged the UN Secretary-General and the UN to not allow the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism to pass without the people of Western Sahara enjoying their inalienable right to self-determination. (SPS) 062/090 STAMFORD Local and state officials discussed on Friday the growing threat of drug and alcohol abuse in the city and across Connecticut. Liberation Programs, the Stamford-based addiction treatment center, aims to forge a stronger partnership between health care providers and policy makers to more effectively combat what the organizations CEO, Alan Mathis, calls an addiction crisis. The time for action is now, Mathis said. We need to explore together with our community leaders what plan should be implemented, and we need to act quickly. ... I dont want to sit around and make a plan to make a plan. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, Mayor David Martin and Stamford Hospital representatives attended the meeting on Friday. Mathis said this diverse approach to community organizing will be more effectively reach at-risk members of the public. I think we can find a better solution when all community leaders have been part of the conversation, he said. Martin said Friday he plans to join Mathis and his team to combat drug and alcohol abuse in the community. Drug and alcohol abuse is this insidious thing we have begun to accept. I dont want it to be that way, Martin said. The city can effectively respond to (addiction-related) emergencies, but that doesnt solve the problem. We will work with Liberation Programs to find a more complex solution. nora.naughton@scni.com; twitter.com/noranaughton Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media STAMFORD The Trail followed Yvonne Paulin across the country for nearly 30 years before finally leading the Stamford resident back to where it all started. Paulin wrote the first character sketch and outline for the action thriller in the 1980s when she was working at a research lab in Seattle. L uxury fashion brand Reiss has emerged from a three-year turnaround with record profits, accounts posted on Friday revealed. The company, which counts the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton as a fan, said profits after tax jumped 13% to 12.5 million in the year to January 2016 the firms best ever performance. Sales rose almost 12% to 145 million. Shareholders, including founder David Reiss, who built the business after taking over a Bishopsgate menswear store owned by his father, received a 5.5 million dividend for the year. That comes on top of the 100 million-plus windfall David Reiss landed in April on selling a majority stake to private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The deal, aimed at stepping up expansion in North America, Asia and Australia, valued Reiss at 230 million. Reiss said it would open 26 new international stores and concessions in 2016, along with 6 additional UK branches. It decided however to leave Russia due to the volatility of the market. It set aside 1.45 to cover the costs of shutting its two stores there. The performance represents a revival of fortunes compared to three years ago, when it fell into the red after investing heavily in its online operations and international roll-out. It subsequently restructured, streamlining its management. Reiss said that process was now complete. The objectives of the three year strategic plan put in place in 2013 have been achieved with significantly improved profitability and the foundations for Reiss to develop internationally to extend its range of products on offer in the core UK portfolio and online, it said. A new three year plan is being put in place to allow Reiss to realise its full potential as a global brand. T he killing of Jo Cox MP yesterday should remind us not only that life is precious but that our democracy is too. For hatred and violence to have struck at its very foundation is deeply distressing but must not undermine our faith in it. Jo Cox herself was so obviously such a great believer in the power of politics that we would be doing her legacy a disservice if we took a contrary view. Indeed, it has been noticeable that, among the very many tributes paid to Ms Cox, a common theme has been to note how effective she had been as a parliamentarian in the short time since her election last year. She was passionate about many causes, not least the plight of refugees in war-torn Syria a subject she knew well from her previous role as head of humanitarian campaigning at Oxfam. She used her maiden speech in the House of Commons to praise the benefits to the United Kingdom of immigration. It is heartbreaking to hear the words she spoke on that occasion, when she expressed delighted surprise at finding across her constituency that local communities are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us. It was this positive outlook that made Jo Cox such a popular MP among her constituents. Again, it has been notable that such a large number of local people in Batley and Spen have been so personal in their tributes to their MP. Hundreds gathered yesterday evening at a vigil in St Peters Church in Birstall where the Rev Paul Knight spoke of the communitys anger, hurt and pain. Among politicians, too, there has complete unity in their responses. From all sides of the House there is agreement that Jo Cox was truly a rising star. There is also the deep shock that an elected representative should have been attacked in the course of fulfilling her public service. Yesterdays tragedy will make all MPs nervous. It may be 26 years since the last fatal assault on a serving MP Ian Gow was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Provisional IRA but there have been grave incidents since then. Most seriously, Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham, was confronted and wounded by a woman carrying a kitchen knife in 2010. Research published by the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology in January reported that of the 239 MPs who had responded to a survey, 190 had been victims of aggressive or intrusive behaviour at the hands of constituents. Those are desperately alarming statistics. The police investigation will in due course give a fuller picture of how the attack on Jo Cox came about. That is naturally of great importance for her family, but it is vital too in terms of learning lessons about how the safety of MPs can be protected in the future. Today, though, the fundamental message we are hearing from local residents, parliamentary colleagues and supporters oversees is the need to stand united in Jo Coxs memory. It is a point made forcefully by Hillary Clinton, and by Labour MP Rachel Reeves, who expressed determination that we cant let the behaviour of one man destroy the link between MPs and their constituencies. Ms Reeves is right, of course. We are fortunate in this country that our elected representatives actually spend time meeting the residents who voted for them (and those who didnt). It isnt the same in other parts of the world and it is a vital element to our democratic process. And at a time when there is frequently much cynicism about the role of MPs, we should remember that for the most part they are open, honest, decent and do all they can to help others. Yet of all the tributes, it was the one released by Jo Coxs husband Brendan that was the most apt. In vowing to work against the hate that killed his wife, he described her belief in fighting for a better world. That is not something we should leave to men and women like Jo Cox it is something we must all strive for. W hen the world woke up to news of the Orlando massacre on Sunday morning the sadness seemed all-consuming. Some squeezed their feelings into 140 characters, Facebook statements or long-read think pieces. Others chose silence, too devastated at the attacks to find the words to express their grief. But as the days have gone by, the need to celebrate everything LGBT is clearer than ever. The vigil on the streets of Soho on Monday, with songs punctuating the silences, hugs given out like free entry wristbands at G-A-Y, and complete strangers coming together to commemorate brothers and sisters who they will now never meet, showed London and the world that theres nothing that the LGBT community does better than look after each other. Especially on the last weekend of June, when lesbian, bisexual, gay, queer, trans and those who reject labels will be putting on a huge display of solidarity. Batten down the hatches everyone: Pride in London is coming. Pride, we are taught as children, is a sin. One of the seven big ones, no less. It is vulgar and shameful and nothing, for lack of a better term, to be proud of. Forget wrath or avarice: theres little worse than the occasional feeling of satisfaction with ones achievements. No wonder, then, that the people of the LGBT communities, also oppressed and maligned so unjustly, have embraced and rebranded it so readily as the moniker for the ultimate celebration. Why Pride matters to Londoners Next Saturday London will don its brightest garb for a carnival of colour, self-acceptance and unity. Founded in 1972, Pride has grown into an event of epic proportions, containing more feathers and glitter than a lock-in at Chers house but also encompassing queer and more low-key non-gender-binary parts. Thousands line the streets as representatives of LGBT tribes from charities to media companies, the LGBTories to the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners march through the centre of the city amidst a chorus of whistles and horns, a flurry of flags and an overwhelming sense of community. Starting in Portland Place and ending in Trafalgar Square, there will be bears in leathers and lesbians on roller-skates, along with armies of more modestly dressed but no less excitable representatives of more than 300 groups. Youll find newly out teenagers beside newly liberated OAPs on their first ever LGBT outing, London natives and those who have bussed in from miles away. And, if youre lucky, at least a couple of teary mums who have come in to town just to show their support. But the party and music at Trafalgar is just a checkpoint, with bars, pubs and clubs marking the occasion. Youll also probably spot some famous faces. Last year the cast of hit film Pride took to the streets, Jeremy Corbyn walked with LGBT youths carrying We Love Jeremy signs, and US Ambassador Matthew Barzun waved from his red, white and blue open-topped double decker. Sadiq Khan, meanwhile, has already confirmed his attendance. Pride London: Where to celebrate in the capital 1 /20 Pride London: Where to celebrate in the capital Straight Nasty Afterparty Vogue Fabrics, 66 Stoke Newington Road, N16 (June 25) vfdalston.com Aint nothing straight about this fabulous afterparty in the brilliant Vogue Fabrics basement. Resident DJs Trinny and Susannah are among those pumping out all of the tunes. Yes, therell be Geri Halliwell; yes, therell be Shakira, and yes, of course therell be Shania Twain. Straight Nasty A Night at the Musicals with Le Gateau Chocolat & Jonny Woo The Pheasantry at Pizza Express, 152 Kings Road, SW3 (June 20) pizzaexpresslive.com Think you know your musicals? Not until youve heard your faves performed by the legendary Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo, you dont. Join the spectacularly sequinned pair as they celebrate showbiz in their own inimitable way: high glamah, intense assholism, divine costumes and raggedy choreography. Plus theres pizza, which you certainly dont get at Les Mis. Lip Sync For Their Lives Bloc Bar, 18 Kentish Town Road, NW1 (June 25) prideinlondon.org Camdens new LGBT bar and the punk-drag-queer bonanza that is Queerest of the Queer don a truckload of lippie for a four hour lip-sync-athon in aid of LGBT charity The Albert Kennedy Trust. Thats some seriously impressive mouth work. For Those Who Cry When They Hear the Foxes Scream Tristan Bates Theatre, 1A Tower Street, WC2 (Until July 2) tristanbatestheatre.co.uk Downton Abbey actress Charlotte Hamblin makes her playwrighting debut with this, a simutaneously tragic and properly funny story about the difficult relationship between two women. Trans Pride Tea Dance Oasis, 234-250 Mitcham Road, SW17 (June 26) prideinlondon.org Pride is not just about all-night boozing and raving its also about tea, although youre not getting out of dancing altogether. Get your gladrags on, grab your granny and the kids, and head down to SW17 for discoing and biscuits. You can BYOB, if you like your coffee Irish. Beautiful Thing 20th Anniversary Gala Screening Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, WC2 (June 21-23) prideinlondon.org Hailed as the film that made being gay OK, the 1996 film about two boys (Glen Barry and Scott Neal) living on a council estate who gradually realise that theyre gay. Its an LGBT classic, and is still poignant two decades on. Nicole Enelmann Pride Ride Under Waterloo Bridge, 6:30pm (June 17) prideinlondon.org A disco music-fuelled spin through Londons streets. Feather boas and face paint are pretty much mandatory in this rainbow-hued two-wheeled procession, which starts from Waterloo Bridge. Pride in the Park Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, SE11 (June 26) prideinlondon.org Post-parade, its time to hit the park for DJs, dogs and cake. This big community festival in south London includes a baking competition, dog show and hours of live music. And if your make-up is slipping, theres a drag booth to help you refresh. Pride in London Official Parade Portland Place (June 25) 1-4pm prideinlondon.org Commencing from Portland Place and ending in Whitehall, this year's Pride Parade won't be shy of sparkling sensations and tight clothing as the LGBT community and all the supporters take to the streets of central to celebrate their freedom to love. Lauren Anderson Milk & Honey rooftop BBQ and wine tasting 61 Poland Street, W1 (June 18) prideinlondon.org Barbecue and booze on a Soho rooftop? Sold. Brilliant wine mavens Beth, Melisa and Murat host a vino-soaked feast with each dish matched to some stonking great plonk. If you dont know anything about wine, the trio will talk you through; if you do, bask in the sunshine (fingers crossed) and the knowledge that all proceeds go to Pride. Milk & Honey Bottomless Brunch COUNTER Vauxhall, 50 South Lambeth Place, SW8 (June 19) prideinlondon.org Eggs, Bloody Marys and lashings of false eyelashes: thats how brunch should be done every weekend. Burlesque babes The Vox Vixens and drag ledge Paul Cosmic provide the fun and games as you chow down on eggs Benny and stuffed French toast, all well-seasoned with glitter. Archer Street Pride Party 3-4 Archer Street, W1 (June 25) archerstreet.co.uk Get your drinking boots on for an alternative to the main parade: a daytime booze-up in Soho. Expect impromptu vogueing as the cocktails go down and the music starts pounding. You can come uncostumed, but wheres the fun in that? Orlando, with Love: Pulse Victims Fundraiser Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland High Street, E8 (June 28) dalstonsuperstore.com We will never stop kissing, because love will save the day. Donations at the door are optional at this dance party, but all proceeds go to Equality Floridas Pulse Tragedy Community Fund so dig deep. David Goldman/AP LGBTQ Museum Tour Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 (June 24-25) prideinlondon.org Discover a side to the Victoria and Albert Museum that you probably never experienced on school trips: a free expert-led one-hour tour of the museums collection, with a specific focus on a selection of LGBT-related objects. Rooftop Film Club presents Pride The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 (June 26) rooftopfilmclub.com Go support the miners as well as Stonewall, as Rooftop Film Club hosts a special screening of the 2014 film Pride: one of those properly feel-good movies, telling the story of gay activists and miners uniting during the 1984 strike. Theres epic Forza Win pizza to keep you going. The fact that the communitys sense of togetherness, and Pride itself, is growing each year is nothing short of remarkable considering attacks like that of the past weekend and, closer to home, daily cases of homophobia and the closure of so many gay spaces in recent years. The sanctuary provided by now-closed venues such as Camdens The Black Cap, Sohos Candy Bar, Hackneys Joiners Arms and Stunners in Limehouse was crucial to so many. And while London still possesses many unique LGBT venues, their survival cannot be taken for granted. But if Pride proves anything, and as anyone who was in Soho as it fell to a hush on Monday can tell you, its that its not bricks and mortar that make a sanctuary, but flesh and blood. Wave the flags, blow the horns and uncork the champagne: it has never been more important to be proud. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout Review at a glance Y ouve been thinking that all those superhero origins stories are becoming a bit ridiculous? A little far-fetched? Then you havent been paying attention to ancient Egyptian mythology, have you? Because this is a world that still leaves our most prized superheroes looking weedy and humdrum. Egyptian myth is where going over-the-top was invented, still unprecedentedly violent and incomparably preposterous. And the even better news, from the point of view of the enterprising film producer anyway, if not necessarily that of the long-suffering film-goer, is that its all long out of copyright. After, ooh, four or five millennia, its all safely in the public domain, well beyond the reach of even the hottest intellectual property lawyers of Marvel or DC Comics, Warner or Disney. Opportunity knocks and so... welcome to Gods of Egypt, folding several classical narratives into one adrenaline-pumped film, as its producers proudly proclaim. What happened was, as our narrator (and boy, do we need one) tells us, that before history began, Egypt was the birthplace of all life a paradise worthy of the gods who created it. So the gods actually decided to go and live there themselves thus opening up lots of potential for a bit of tumultuous gods v humans interaction. Its the humans we meet first: spunky pleb Bek (Australian hunk Brenton Thwaites) stealing a flashy top for his fabby girlfriend Zaya (Australian hottie Courtney Eaton, previously seen as the youngest of Immortan Joes five wives in Mad Max: Fury Road). Zaya is a big fan of rising god Horus but Bek doesnt reckon any of the gods much himself, relying more on his own light fingers. Both speak their lines as if stars of the school play but who cares when they look so good in skimpies? TODO: define component type brightcove In fact, the whole film looks like a deranged ad for Accessorize, rather than any more substantial garments, and so much the better. The gods have gold for blood and even the humblest footsoldiers are gilded all over, so they look a bit like those poncey performance artists in Trafalgar Square. You may have heard that, even before release, Gods of Egypt ran into a bit of diversity traffic? As it happened, it wasnt exactly filmed in Egypt, not as such, more in Sydney, and its director, Alex Proyas, best known for The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, although actually born in Egypt, is very much a tie-me-kangaroo-down-sport type too. As for his gods, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones) is Danish, divine baddie Set is the ever proudly Hibernian Gerard Butler, while Ra, Lord of Light and the Cosmos, is Geoffrey Rush, Queenslands finest, toting an interesting braided ponytail and residing on a version of the Starship Enterprise, where every day he has to use a rubbish-looking flamethrower to battle the horrid demon of the night, Apophis, a vagina dentata if ever I saw one. Possibly daft enough to be a cult movie: Gods of Egypt After all the ethnicity trouble that Ridley Scotts Christian Bale-starring Exodus: Gods and Kings ran into (not helped by Scott tactlessly saying I cant say my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such, Im just not going to get it financed), it was always likely that Gods of Egypt was going to have a problem. And lo, leading public intellectual Bette Midler duly tweeted everyone is white? last November. Proyas humbly apologised: It is clear that our casting decisions should have been more diverse. I sincerely apologise to those who are offended by the decisions that we made. However, after the American release of the film crashed (the current Rotten Tomatoes Rating is 13 per cent), he changed his tune calling critics deranged idiots and a pack of diseased vultures on Facebook. Thats the spirit, the very least that can be said of us hapless tradesmen, Im sure. And gods, especially when bird-brained or doggy-headed or the like, can hardly be tied down by trivial questions of nationality, anyway, can they? If they want to sound completely Scottish, thats their divine prerogative, isnt it? Gerard evidently thinks so, anyway. So off we go, with the god Osiris (Bryan Brown, off The Thorn Birds, hardly bothering) crowning his son Horus as king of Egypt. Set comes roaring out of the desert with different ideas. Such a big day for the family, you must be proud, he observes sarcastically, proceeding to dismember his bro and then have an enormous fight with Horus, during which they both transform into their glitzily winged giant avatars, before Set wins and plucks out Horuss eyes, leaving him rather depressed. Resolutely Scottish: Gerard Butler Set also takes possession of Horuss paramour Hathor (lovely French-Cambodian Elodie Yung, the goddess of love, music and alcohol, a combination I have always found reliable) before going round slaughtering all the other gods, and, with the help of creepy architect Rufus Sewell, raising a massive obelisk, as such pricks are politely known, to his pa, Ra. What to do? Well, after poor Zaya has been relegated to the underworld and the doubtful care of the jackal-headed god Anubis by a well-aimed arrow (all the gods are two or three times the size of the humans, by the way), plucky Bek steals Horus back at least one of his eyes, overcoming all sorts of wicked traps in the process Where did you even get so many scorpions? and together they set out to rescue her and teach Set a lesson, a human-god buddy movie in the making. Cue some mighty battles in CGI, accounting for at least some of the films $140 million budget, although there are points where the money seems sadly tighter than others. In one highlight Bek and Horus combine to battle a pair of beauteous, lightly clad (the bikini is the go-to-garb here, its ever so hot, Egypt) models, Astarte (Abbey Lee) and Anat (Yaya Deng), astride giant fire-breathing serpents. Then theres the all-knowing god, camp as all get-out Thoth (Chadwick Boseman), the one magic black man (How vain do you think I am? Yes, well, lets go, he says, Thoth hathing a bit of a lispth) although he comes off worst against the Sphinx. And theres a final, titanic Set-Horus combat atop that monolith a little reminiscent of Batman fighting Superman. Or is it Iron Man? I forget. Horus is our only hope now, says sweetie Zaya, a feeling I often have myself on Monday mornings. All a little daft? Perhaps even daft enough to become a cult movie? That seems to be its best hope now that it has not even enthused audiences in what are delicately known as emerging markets whereas, for example, Warcraft has prospered, with huge openings in China and Ukraine. Becoming a cult movie seems to be its best hope now that it has not even enthused audiences in what are delicately known as emerging markets Its a shame, truly, that Gods of Egypt fails to live up to the madness of the classic myths, in which, for example, Horus was born to the goddess Isis after she had retrieved all the dismembered body parts of her murdered husband Osiris, except his penis, which had been thrown into the Nile and eaten by a crab, or some say a catfish, so she had to knock up a new golden phallus to conceive him. And, according to the gospel, when Set and Horus fight, Set proves his dominance by seducing Horus and having sex with him, although Horus cunningly places his hand between his thighs to catch Sets semen and throw it in the river, so no one can say he was inseminated by him. No one, all right? In revenge, Horus then spreads his own semen over some lettuce, which, being Sets favourite food, as it is for lots of big girls blouses, Set incontinently eats. Gods, eh? Such a pity not to have featured that but perhaps Gerard Butler didnt fancy it. And, of course, bang goes the 12A certificate. Still, it does help explain that curious incident in which Thoth swans around clutching a superb cos, otherwise the most incomprehensible incident in a wholly inexplicable film. A learning experience, really. 12A, 126 mins Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout A musical version of Moby Dick is returning to the London stage for the first time in 25 years. Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who produced the original musical in 1992, today said he was delighted by its return and that the show was ahead of its time. Moby Dick! The Musical by Robert Longden and Hereward Kaye starts at the New Union Theatre in Southwark in October. The new production is choreographed by Andrew Wright. Sir Cameron, who produced the original show, said: When I first put on Robert Longden and Hereward Kayes irrepressible version of Moby Dick 25 years ago London had virtually no off-West End theatres and the outrageous joy of shows such as the Producers and The Book Of Mormon was still decades away. An unlikely alliance between Melvilles great novel and the immortal St Trinians girls, Moby Dick is truly a whale of a tale. Im really delighted that Andrew Wright saw the show as a student in Oxford and has taken up his harpoon to bring Moby roaring back with a wonderful diverse young cast. What to see at the theatre in pictures 1 /10 What to see at the theatre in pictures The Deep Blue Sea Until September 21, National Buy tickets Henry Hitchings says... Helen McCrory is achingly good in this sombre, tense revival of one of Terence Rattigans finest plays a devastating portrait of a woman adrift on loves ocean, desperately afraid of loneliness and blighted by the social conventions of the early Fifties. Carrie Cracknells mostly restrained interpretation doesnt shy away from indulging the plays deep silences, and the translucent rooms nested within Tom Scutts design show Hesters Ladbroke Grove lodgings haunted by the fluttery comings and goings of other residents. Their ghostly presence suggests a surveillance society where Hester can never express herself freely. Richard Hubert Smith People, Places & Things Until June 18, Wyndham's, Buy tickets Fiona Mountford says... It's rare to see a group of critics, cynical devils that we are, rise to their feet for a sweeping standing ovation on a press night. But this wasnt any old opening, or any old leading actress. For my money, Denise Gough gives the greatest stage performance since Mark Rylance in Jerusalem as Emma, an actress addicted to drink and drugs. Its a supremely confident and well-oiled production from director Jeremy Herrin, with a fluid acting ensemble. There is absolutely no doubt that Gough is the person, Wyndhams the place and this play the thing to see this spring. Johan Persson Guys and Dolls Until Oct 30, Phoenix Theatre, Buy tickets Fiona Mountford says... Now in its third incarnation after the premiere at Chichester and an initial West End run at the Savoy, Gordon Greenbergs delicious production of Frank Loessers classy classic once again boasts chemistry in all the right places. In short, theres absolutely nothing not to like about this rendering of Damon Runyons assortment of colourful New York low-lifes. The songs are as tuneful as ever, with Sit Down, Youre Rockin the Boat once more a foot-stomping inducer of encores. This show is tingle-down-the-arms good a rarity in the West End. Johan Persson The Threepenny Opera Until Oct 1, National Theatre, Olivier, Buy tickets Henry Hitchings says... The Threepenny Opera is a stinging indictment of capitalism. Yet for all its pugnacious seriousness it can be fun, and Rufus Norris, whose tenure as artistic director of the National Theatre has so far drawn mixed reviews, oversees a revival thats enjoyably raucous and packed with amusing detail. By downplaying the storys grit and embracing a cartoonish exuberance, Norris ensures that this three-hour production will divide opinion. But after a tentative opening it fizzes with ideas, doing justice to Kurt Weills score, a blend of cabaret and jazz that sounds timelessly, enticingly sleazy. Alastair Muir Show Boat Until August 27, New London, Buy tickets Fiona Mountford says... Its always a pleasure to welcome a classy production of a classic musical to the West End and director Daniel Evans has constructed just that in this triumphant transfer from the Sheffield Crucible. From the musically stirring, verbally unsettling opening lines of Ol Man River that begin the show, delivered by the magnificently voiced Emmanuel Kojo as Joe, we know were in for something special. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammersteins 1927 work set the template for the musical as we know it, and 90 years on its still a knockout, above all for its soaring songs. Don't miss this boat. Johan Persson Funny Girl Until October 8, Savoy Theatre, Buy tickets Fiona Mountford says... Sheridan Smith triumphantly reinvents Fanny Brice for a new generation of musical theatre lovers, conveying with skill and heart this entertainers emotive blend of professional success and personal vulnerability. Michael Mayers sassy production is reinforced by Michael Pavelkas elegant, wistful design of a theatre, with rows of burnished mirrors running into the wings. Fanny is endlessly reflected back, but never quite in the image shed like to see. Johan Persson The Caretaker Until May 14, Old Vic, Buy tickets Henry Hitchings says... Timothy Spall returns to the stage, after a 19-year absence, in Harold Pinters classic vision of deception and isolation. Hes absorbingly watchable as Davies, a tramp taken in by Daniel Mayss generous, simple-minded Aston and he makes this shambolic figure a bundle of mannerisms, a fidgety bigot who spouts bizarre opinions and peevish gripes. The Caretaker is an incisive, delicately balanced study of a power struggle between three lost souls who are drowning in absurd fantasies. The rich performances make this an unsettling portrait of claustrophobic domesticity and its capacity to warp the mind and the soul. Hamlet Until August 13, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Buy tickets Henry Hitchings says... As a brash and youthful Hamlet, in Simon Godwins sultry and at times risky interpretation, Paapa Essiedu radiates star quality. At his best when skittishly imparting the intricacies of Hamlets madness, he combines sarcasm, charm and creepiness. His encounter with the ghost of his father (a memorably doomy Ewart James Walters, whos later a droll gravedigger) transforms him from a slick and smartly dressed graduate into a dynamic oddball whose gestures make the meaning of the plays most famous speeches feel fresh. The production follows the same trajectory. Manuel Harlan/RSC The Alchemist In rep until August 6, Buy tickets Fiona Mountford says... For all that The Alchemist (1610) is a splendid satire and proto-farce, its densely packed language, so different from the familiar rhythms of Shakespeare, can be a real challenge. In a well-judged move, director Polly Findlay has cut more than 20 per cent of Ben Jonsons wordy text and employed writer Stephen Jeffreys to demystify some of the more arcane references. The result is a nimble-footed production, blessed with some ingenious little flourishes. The action is a little effortful as times, although McSweeney in particular never fails to amuse. Look out too for the wonderful stuffed alligator that serves as an unlikely storage unit for the trios ill-gotten gains. Helen Maybanks Titanic Until August 6, Charing Cross Theatre, Buy tickets Henry Hitchings says... When it premiered on Broadway in 1997, Titanic was widely derided, but this stripped-back interpretation, though still overlong, affords a vigorous and ultimately moving take on the 20th centurys most notorious maritime disaster. In a cast of 20, the standard of singing is high, with the most attractive performances coming from James Gant and Niall Sheehy, while Matthew Crowe is affecting as a pompous but fragile telegraphist. And at the helm Southerland combines sensitivity with ambition, suggesting that this previously moribund venue is now on course for success. Scott Rylander The story follows the pupils of St Godleys Academy for Young Ladies, who put on an ill-fated version of Moby Dick to raise money for their school. Mr Wright said: I first saw the show in Oxford and fell in love with its anarchic charm and sheer exuberance. The New Union Theatre is the perfect venue to unleash the girls of St Godleys. Twenty-five years on the piece feels more relevant than ever. Moby Dick! The Musical runs from October 12 to November 12. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout W ith Scottish whiskies becoming ever-more popular, some of the best-known distilleries have been launching new variations onto the market. Below are a few of the best examples, most of them releases from 2016. 1. Ardbeg Dark Cove Ardbeg Dark Cove Situated in a small cove on the island of Islay, the site of Ardbegs distillery was once the scene of a considerable smuggling operation. The remoteness of the site made it the perfect place for smugglers to distill and distribute illegally produced whisky away from the prying eyes of the excise men. Unfortunately for the smugglers, their enterprise was eventually uncovered and their tax-dodging distillery was destroyed. Todays Ardbeg distillery was established in 1815 and this latest release, Dark Cove, has been made in recognition of the islands murky past. Matured in bourbon and dark sherry casks, Ardbeg describes its tasting notes as imparting waves of treacle toffee, coal tar, squid ink, noodles and toasted coffee grounds. A bottle of this limited edition release is likely to set you back around 100. 2. Laphroaig Lore Laphroaig Lore Described by its own distillery manager as the richest of the rich, each bottle is made from a combination of different ages and styles of Laphroaig. To make this exceptionally rich dram, they have used quarter casks, sherry casks and reused peated casks. 3. Lagavulin 8-Year Anniversary Lagavulin 8-Year Anniversary The Islay distillery famous for its 16-year-old edition brought out this 8-year-old special anniversary bottle earlier this year. It has been created to honour an 1880 visit to Lagavulin by whisky writer Alfred Barnard. Commenting on Lagavulins unique bay-side location, Barnard told his readers: No prettier or more romantic spot could have been chosen for a distillery, and described their 8-year-old dram as exceptionally fine. 4. Glenfarclas 50-Year-Old Glenfarclas 50-Year-Old Just 937 bottles from this batch were produced in March 2016, making it a rare release from this family-owned distillery. Not many distilleries still hold stocks dating back to the 1960s, and as such a bottle of the 50-Year-Old is likely to set you back around 2,000. 5. Glenlivet Peated Whisky Cask Finish Glenlivet Peated Whisky Cask Finish The third expression of Glenlivets Nadurra range, this 61.5% whisky takes its inspiration from the distillerys original 19th century batches. The aim was to create a dram that Glenlivets first chief distiller would have recognised. As such this usually unpeated whisky is finished in casks that had previously held heavily peated Speyside whisky. It retails at around 50. 6. Bowmore Devils Casks 2015 Bowmore Devils Casks 2015 The island of Islay is famous for its smokey, peated whiskies, particularly the major distilleries of Ardbeg, Bowmore and Laphrioag. Bowmore is the oldest of the Islay distilleries, established in 1779. This particular release is matured in Bowmores No.1 vaults, the oldest maturation warehouse in Scotland. The devil in the drink comes from the two different forms of sherry cask this whisky is matured in, dry Oloroso casks and sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. 7. Macallan 1990 25-Year-Old Xtra Old Particular Macallan 1990 25-Year-Old Xtra Old Particular Not strictly a release from Macallan themselves, this comes from independent bottler, Douglas Laing. Only 291 bottles were produced and all from the same cask no. 10952. 8. Oban Little Bay Oban Little Bay The Scottish town of Oban, on the western coast of Scotland is dominated by the distillery that was established in 1793. Little Bay is a no-age stated whisky, matured in refill American oak hogsheads, European oak Sherry casks and refill casks. It typically retails at 45 to 55. 9. Highland Park Ice 17-Year-Old Highland Park Ice 17-Year-Old Based on the island of Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands, Highland Park is the most northerly of the Scottish distilleries. For this latest installment in their Valhalla range, Highland Park has drawn upon the Viking heritage of their remote island base. Rather than honouring an anniversary or their master distiller, Highland Park has produced this bottle in recognition of the Ice Realm of Niflheim, hence the the Norse symbolism and the strange green appearance which is a result of the blue tint in the cut glass bottle. 10. Balvenie 1997 - 17 Year Old DCS Compendium Chapter 1 Balvenie 1997 - 17 Year Old DCS Compendium Chapter 1 Created to celebrate the work of Balvenies malt master, David Charles Stewart, the DCS Compendium is a collection of 25 whiskies and an accompanying book. Stewart has spent an incredible 54 years at the distillery, resulting in the Balvenie Fifty, a 50-year-old release produced in 2012. The whiskies in the DCS collection range from a 1968 bottle, exclusively from cask no. 7293 and costing in the region of 19,000, to bottles from 1997 and 2005. The 1997 was released earlier this year, comes from a refilled American cask and is 60.7% vol. Follow Ashley on Twitter @Ashley_Coates I met Jo Cox just two weeks after she arrived in Parliament. She hadnt yet been assigned an office but was willing to go on Newsnight and respectfully take on the grandees in her party by calling for the Labour leadership race to be widened. Yesterday, after hearing the news, I searched her name in my phone to find a long conversation that began just 13 months ago the texts a timeline of the tireless and selfless campaigning that Jo devoted herself to, alongside being a mother who found time to rock climb with her two children and share her enjoyment of being in the outdoors with them. Reading the texts, I saw her write about the principle that the Labour field should be widened in the interests of moving the party beyond the Tony Blair/Gordon Brown nexus. She felt that wasnt healthy for the party. Next Syria. Her expertise meant she believed Assad must be stopped, and amidst wider Labour reluctance she pushed humanitarian intervention. When I asked her if she would follow her instincts on Syria even if Jeremy Corbyn became leader, her text read: yes, instincts. Our interview about it was broadcast and I remember colleagues were mesmerised. Who is that? You dont often get MPs that ballsy, principled but winsome too. Jo Cox MP maiden speech in House of Commons Even though it was her gambit that helped get Corbyn on the ballot, after the May elections this year she criticised him, calling for real leadership. At every stage she was outspoken but careful. We often talked things through. As a journalist my inclination is to be bold but I know politicians have to be more cautious. Instead, Jo often agreed. Emma Watson-pretty and chic, she was also as hard as nails. If you think about what we want our MPs to be, Jo Cox was it. A northern girl who flew the nest, travelled the world then settled back in her home town to be its MP with local, national and international expertise. Jo with her husband Brendan at the general election count in Huddersfield in 2015 / Julian Hughes As a teenager growing up in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, she had a part-time job packing toothpaste. She was the first in her family to go to university, Cambridge no less, which she found intimidating only to make her more endearing (though critically not chippy) later. She said a lack of confidence held her back a decade but her career took off as an aid worker to Darfur, dealing with child soldiers in Uganda and tribal elders in Afghanistan before heading up policy for Oxfam and conquering Brussels and New York. Justin Forsyth, former adviser to Gordon Brown, remembers her from this time in tears on Channel 4 news as he described giving Cox her first job. She advised Sarah Brown in her campaign to cut the numbers of mothers dying in childbirth before she became a politician in her own right. Jos life was pretty extraordinary. Home during the week was a houseboat moored near Tower Bridge, where my husband and I had dinner with her family, a huge quiche made by Brendan while Jo finished late in Parliament. At the House of Commons tug-of-war last year / PA We spoke about her campaigns against Islamophobia in Batley and Spen; how none of us multi-tasked well any more; how her daughter Lejla would be playing with no pink toys if she and Brendan could help it and the next time the family would untether and sail their barge off out to sea. When we ran out of wine it was Jo who disappeared off up the hatch, into the freezing February night and round the moorings to rustle up another bottle from a neighbour. We ate dinner as the barge gently rocked and a little stove pumped out heat. One of her many campaigns was to be able to drive her rigid inflatable boat to work up the Thames to the Houses of Parliament where mooring was tricky last time I checked, this was one of her least successful campaigns. An avid rock climber, she and her husband Brendan named their son Cuillin after a Scottish mountain. She was always trying to get my two-year-old rock climbing, like five-year-old Cuillin and her three-year-old daughter Lejla. Maybe well now do that in her honour. She crammed a heck of a lot in. Her kids sometimes had tea in Parliament; she got to her constituency in Batley but somehow they also found time for their remote cottage in the Welsh borders where they turned off their phones, tended their vegetables and the children relished the outdoor life. Heartbreakingly the last thing I heard from her was an invitation to a party there. This weekend. Last night the MP who introduced me to her, Stephen Kinnock, said Parliament will never be the same again. Jo Cox tributes - In pictures 1 /32 Jo Cox tributes - In pictures Tributes and candles left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A white and red rose lie on Jo Cox's empty seat in the House of Commons, London PA The parents of Jo Cox, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater look at the flowers laid in memory of their daughter in Parliament Square, Londo Hannah McKay/PA Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn lead MPs including George Osborne and Tom Watson as they process from the Houses of Parliament to St Margaret's Church, London, for a service of prayer and remembrance to commemorate Jo Cox MP Hannah McKay/PA A woman and child leave a floral tribute for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Messages from well wishers for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen on a board in Parliament Square Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Tributes are paid at the Wapping house boat of Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox Lucy Young Lucy Powell MP, Jeff Smith MP, Paula Sheriff MP and Karen Rawling arrive to leave floral tributes close to where Jo Cox MP was murdered Matt Cardy/Getty Images Hilary Benn MP for Leeds Central, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, Prime Minister David Cameron, Speaker's chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn arrive to pay their respects near to the scene of the murder Matt Cardy/Getty Images The flag above Buckingham Palace flies at half mast Yui Mok/PA Tribute messages at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster, central London, in respect of Labour MP Jo Cox Yui Mok/PA A young girl leaves flowers in Market Square, Birstall, for Jo Cox, 41, Labour MP for Batley and Spen Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Yvette Cooper (left) leaves St Peter's Church Birstall, West Yorkshire after a vigil following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox Peter Byrne/PA Floral tributes are left in Birstall, West Yorkshire, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot in the street outside her constituency advice surgery Danny Lawson/PA Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images The Union Jack flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House, London Yui Mok/PA People place tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster Yui Mok/PA A woman leaves a floral tribute next to a photograph of murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A message is seen on a floral tribute left near the scene of the murder of Labour member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal Phil Noble/Reuters A woman arrives to leave a floral tribute near the scene of the murder of Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds Craig Brough/Reuters A flag at half mast above the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh ane Barlow/PA People react as they look at tributes left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, Londo Stefan Wermuth/Reuters People place floral tributes and candles to slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images Winston Churchill's statue stands in the foreground as Union Flags hang at half mast Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Because she was unusual. Not long after being elected she approached Former development secretary Andrew Mitchell: I was a wicked old Tory, he told me, but Id written about needing to do more with Assad. We co-wrote an article and I said, you do realise youre going out on a limb here but she was fearless. She just wanted to do the right thing. Eventually she abstained on intervention in Syria. Her main focus became campaigning for refugees from the Syrian civil war and last night George Osborne acknowledged she contributed to a change of policy. A study into loneliness in Britain was her current project; she was exercised by the state of social care in Britain a quick thinker, she was preoccupied with the broken plumbing of social policy and hungry for creative practical solutions. Jo Cox had worked in the most dangerous places on earth. It was outside a library in her home town where she was killed. If she were still alive she would be doing everything she could to understand why. @ITVAllegra Allegra Stratton is National Editor for ITV News D etectives in east London have launched a murder inquiry after a 48-year-old man collapsed in the street and died. The man was found lying outside the Crispe House block of flats in Dovehouse Mead, Barking, at 8.20pm on Wednesday. He was rushed to hospital but died yesterday, police say. A post-mortem examination to find out what caused his death is due to be held tomorrow at Queens Hospital in Romford. Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of murder who is currently being held at an east London police station. Anyone with information should call police on 020 8345 3715 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. T he family of a young father gunned down by his childhood friend today told how his death has torn them apart. Moses Fadairo, 25, had become a father to twin sons three months before being shot dead by Christopher Erunse in front of shoppers on a busy street. Erunse then shot twice at Mr Fadairos brother Emmanuel, 28, as he dived for cover inside a shop on Chatsworth Road, Lower Clapton. He was unhurt. Elizabeth Fadairo, 22, their sister, today accepted that Moses had made mistakes in his life but that his death had ripped her family apart. She said: This violence has to stop. Think of the families it tears apart. The Old Bailey heard that Mr Fadairo was shot in a feud over drug territory. On September 26 last year, he and his brother had hired a taxi to hunt for Erunse, a former family friend, who was attempting to take control of their drugs business. When the brothers found him, they chased him down before Moses stabbed Erunse, 28, in the leg. Erunse turned and shot him through the heart. Ms Fadairo said: Theres so much we have lost. Think of his sons who will grow up without a father. The whole community needs to come together to stop the violence and look after people in trouble. Their fathers, their uncles they need to talk to them about the consequences of the path they are taking, be their role models. These feuds are madness. The man who killed my brother was once his friend. Erunse was arrested three days after the shooting as he sat on an aircraft about to take off from Birmingham airport for Amsterdam. Judge Wendy Joseph QC said the shooting was part of a spiral of tit for tat revenge. She said Erunse had chosen to live in a world of violence and drugs and chosen to carry a loaded gun rather than go to the police for help. Erunse, from Greenwich, was cleared of murder but was jailed for 18 years for manslaughter and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was also cleared of attempted murder. His accomplice Bradley Wynter, 28, from Hackney, was jailed for five years for possession of a firearm after admitting taking the gun from the scene. A pensioner will stand trial over a knife attack at a London car park that left four women in hospital. Ethem Orhon, 66, is accused of stabbing the women outside a Sainsbury's supermarket in Hampton, west London, on May 20. The women, aged 53, 62, 67 and 71, were allegedly targeted as they got out of their cars. One was stabbed near a pub while the others were attacked in a different part of the car park. They were treated in hospital for their injuries, and one is still fighting for her life. Orhon, of Deacons Walk, Hampton, appeared at Kingston Crown Court via video link from Belmarsh Prison, pleading not guilty to two counts of attempted murder and two of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He will stand trial on October 31 and was remanded in custody. M urdered MP Jo Cox told her assistant my pain is too much in her final words as she lay dying in the aide's arms. Fazila Aswat had tried to help the Labour MP after the brutal attack in which she was shot three times and stabbed, as she arrived for her constituency surgery in Birstall on Thursday. Ms Aswat's father, Ghulam Maniyar, said his daughter risked her own safety by trying to beat away the attacker with a handbag, and then spoke to the MP before the emergency services arrived. Mr Maniyar revealed details of the 41-year-olds final moments in an interview with ITV News today. Final words: Jo Cox with her assistant Fazila Aswat / ITV News He said: She said her (Jo's) injury was so bad and she was in her arms. There was lots of blood. "She said 'Jo, get up' but she (Jo) said 'no, my pain is too much, Fazila'. And I think those were the last words Jo spoke. "She could not do anything else. She tried to comfort her. Then the police came, the air ambulance came, they took her to hospital. She was a witness and her clothes were full of blood." Mrs Cox, the mother of two children aged three and five, was attacked by a gunman who reportedly shouted "Britain first" as he shot and stabbed her. She had been arriving for her 1pm surgery at a library in Birstall, near Leeds. Witnesses said she was shot three times, with the final shot to the head. Thomas Mair, 52, was arrested minutes after the killing. Mr Maniyar said his daughter had tried to stop the attack. "She tried to help her, she tried to hit (the attacker) with her handbag, but he tried to go at her," he said. "People came so he followed them and he came back again and shot her (Jo) again twice. "My daughter... she is in shock because she's been with her (Jo) for one year and working very closely with her. "It will take time to fully recover from the shock. She knew that she (Jo) was very badly injured. That's why she's not speaking about everything she's seen. She lost one of her best people." Mr Maniyar said his daughter did not realise Mrs Cox had been shot. He said: "She was with my daughter. They'd left Batley office, they were in the marketplace, she was in my daughter's car sitting in the back seat. The car stopped and Jo decided to come out. "My daughter didn't know she'd been shot. Because this person must be waiting outside where the surgery happens." He added that the MP "was like a daughter" to him and called him "uncle" as he paid tribute. "I think she's a caring person, not just an MP but she liked to help every human being, every single person," he said. "She worried about Syrian people, she worried about ordinary people. Whenever you approached her, she'd come forward with a smile and try to help you. "It's shocking. Not just for my daughter but the whole community. We were living in harmony in the community, English community, Asian community. "This news is shocking for the whole community. My daughter, it will take time for her to recover." He added: "I met her many, many times. She's a wonderful lady and we all sadly miss her. I saw Jo three days ago. "She was campaigning in town and she rang me and I went there. She took a picture with me and some colleagues. She was there smiling." Mr Maniyar said his daughter did not realise Mrs Cox had been shot. He said: "She was with my daughter. They'd left Batley office, they were in the marketplace, she was in my daughter's car sitting in the back seat. The car stopped and Jo decided to come out. "My daughter didn't know she'd been shot. Because this person must be waiting outside where the surgery happens." F amily and friends of a student who was stabbed to death in south London held up powerful placards against knife crime during his funeral procession today. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joined the mourners who had walked along Penwortham Road, where 20-year-old Lewis Elwin was killed. The trainee electrician was knifed in the back by a gang in front of horrified parents picking up their children from school in April. His death came days after his family had warned the Southfields teen he was mixing with the wrong crowd. United: Placards were held up during the procession Walking behind the funeral procession today, scores of people wore t-shirts bearing Mr Elwins name and picture, carrying placards with messages including United against knives and guns. Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who was elected Tooting MP in the early hours of this morning, also joined the protest. Mr Elwins older brother Byron Douglas-Letts said: "Lewis was loved by so many people. "This is what needs to happen as a community. Funeral: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan meets the family (Lauren Hurley/PA Wire ) / Lauren Hurley/PA Wire "Youths need to be given something to do, give them something to be passionate about and a job they can be passionate about." The 31-year-old added: Lewis was very, very determined and aspirational. He was a loving, caring guy. "Sometimes he made wrong decisions but that doesn't mean he should lose his life." Mr Elwin's coffin was carried to St Boniface Church in a white horse-drawn carriage covered in flowers. Mourning: The coffin was carried into St Boniface Church Floral tributes, photographs and messages carpeted the pavement where he died on April 18. Family friend Nina Petrie said: "Young people please put down your guns, please put down your knives. Life is for living. "Gangs are not your family. Gangs are prison and death." Another friend Noel Williams said: "I think it's important to remember Lewis for his inspirations and where he wanted to go in life. "He was a young man trying to change himself for the better." Appeal: Police want to trace this car / Met Police Today, police released a CCTV image of a silver Peugeot 307 which was seen driving in the area around the time of Mr Elwins death. The car, with the licence plate KP03 ZTD, was later found abandoned and burnt out in Putney Park Lane. Two 19-year-olds arrested in May over the murder have been bailed pending further inquiries. Anyone with information can call police on 020 8721 4005, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. The charity is offering a reward of 10,000 for information leading to a conviction. Additonal reporting by the Press Association. R estaurants and shops were evacuated after a bomb scare in the heart of Spitalfields this evening. Police sealed off buildings around Commercial Street after a suspect package triggered the alert. Officers were called just after 5pm and emergency services including specialist officers were sent to the scene. Hannah Parvaz, who works in marketing at music startup Dice, tweeted: "Everything in the area has been evacuated, including a local Nando's." Jessica Ferrow said: "Bomb scare outside my office in #spitalfields. Had to evacuate at 5.55 on a Friday night. What is with this week?!" Police were stood down at about 6.30pm and the cordons were lifted. A world-renowned transplant surgeon who fought for two years to win back his NHS job has been praised by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Professor Nadey Hakim was reinstated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in April after a tribunal ruled he had been unfairly dismissed following a row about him operating on two private patients and an NHS patient on the same day in 2013. Mr Hunt attended a ceremony at the French embassy on Wednesday where Professor Hakim received a Legion dhonneur medal from the French government for his work. Mr Hunt said: Professor Hakim has made an enormous contribution to surgery here in the UK and in France. It is wonderful to see that recognised. French ambassador Sylvie Bermann said of Professor Hakim: Your contribution to research and experience in pancreas transplants has led to many lives being saved. The father of four, who trained at Guys hospital and in France and the US, performed Londons first pancreatic transplant in 1995, and represented Britain in a team of surgeons who performed the worlds first double hand and forearm transplant in 2000. Its said your work has raised more than 3.5 million in research donations for the NHS, Ms Bermann added. Professor Hakim, 57, who works at Hammersmith hospital, said: I am very grateful to the French government for having bestowed on me this honour. He was suspended in 2014 and dismissed in February last year for delaying his involvement in an NHS transplant to perform a transplant at a private hospital. However, no patients suffered complications and Imperial was ordered to reinstate Professor Hakim and pay 100,000 compensation. A n American Airlines flight has made an emergency return to Heathrow after a "mechanical issue". Flight 87 had just taken off from London en route to Chicago with more than 200 passengers on board when loud noises were allegedly heard on the Boeing 787. According to an online tracker the jet was flying over Wales when it began its return to London. Fire crews were pictured on the runway when the plane landed back at Heathrow. It was reported the emergency was declared because a blaze had broken out inside the plane's engine but this was denied by the airline. In a statement, American Airlines confirmed the plane returned to London because of a mechanical issue. A spokeswoman said: "AA87, a Boeing 787, returned to Heathrow shortly after takeoff due to a mechanical issue. "We can confirm that the mechanical issue had nothing to do with the engine. "The flight landed without incident with 203 passengers and a crew of 11 onboard. Maintenance is evaluating the aircraft." A n anti-poverty charity today attacked the millions of pounds in sweeteners paid by cash-strapped London boroughs to private landlords to persuade them to rent to council tenants. Despite boroughs suffering financial black holes from government cuts, it was revealed that officials had paid nearly 30 million to landlords since 2012. The one-off financial incentives were revealed in Freedom of Information responses from 33 London local authorities to the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust. The charity said it showed boroughs were deploying ever more desperate means to entice private landlords as authorities compete with each other to secure accommodation. Landlords want the extra money over fears that some council tenants were more likely to default on their rent. There are more than 50,000 families in temporary accommodation in London the highest number in eight years and a record low number of affordable homes is being built. Between 2010 and 2014, there was a 77 per cent rise in the number of families classing themselves as homeless, reversing a decline since 2005. This has been fuelled by Government welfare cuts and not enough council housing being built. Joanna Kennedy, chief executive of the charity, said: London boroughs are being forced to use ever more desperate means to entice private landlords to provide temporary accommodation for homeless households. Some boroughs appear to be spending a sum equivalent to more than half the grant funding they receive for homelessness prevention on these sweeteners to private landlords. The near 30 million that has gone straight in the pocket of private landlords could have been more productively spent on house building or other measures. This underlines the hidden cost of welfare reform and homelessness. Brent, with nearly 3,000 families in temporary accommodation, paid out the most, with nearly 2.7 million given to landlords in the past four years. A council spokeswoman said: Whilst households may prefer that their housing need is met through the provision of social housing, investing these funds into such developments would not enable us to meet our demand. Lambeth gave out nearly 2.6 million, but said its 850-a-time payments help prevent struggling families in Lambeth becoming homeless. Camden handed more than 2 million to private landlords, despite just 426 families being in temporary accommodation, while Barnet, with 2,904 temporarily homeless families, gave more than 2.5 million. A Barnet council spokeswoman said the payments saved the council 4 million per year compared with the cost of placing households in temporary accommodation. Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, said: Unfortunately, its hard for councils to find landlords prepared to accommodate these tenants because they are worried that they will lose income. As a result, the boroughs have to find ways to offset the risk. One-off financial incentives can offer a solution in some cases. T housands of Londoners are expected to gather for a vigil for murdered MP Jo Cox this evening. Parliament Square will host a tribute to the 41-year-old Labour MP who was shot dead outside a constituency meeting near Leeds. As well as a candlelight vigil, a two minute silence for the mother-of-two will be observed at 7.30pm. Event organiser and campaigns officer for London Young Labour, Philip Freeman, posted on Facebook: A Labour MP was brutally gunned down as she was serving her constituents. A photo of Jo Cox shared on Twitter by her husband Brendan after the attack yesterday / Brendan Cox/Twitter She leaves behind a husband and two small children. Please join us to remember a tireless fighter for social justice. Lets show that while we grieve, we are not afraid. Thomas Mair, 52, has been arrested on suspicion of her murder and remains in custody. Police are not looking for any other suspects. Londoners gathered to mourn the death of Mrs Cox in a series of impromptu vigils last night. Tributes: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square / Philip Toscano/PA Wire Hundreds of people stopped to pay their respects and leave bunches of flowers at a shrine in Parliament Square last night. Flags at the Houses of Parliament and City hall were also lowered to half-mast in tribute. Mourners lay flowers on Jo Cox's houseboat 1 /9 Mourners lay flowers on Jo Cox's houseboat Flowers cover the Wapping house boat of Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox Lucy Young Photographs of the murdered MP have also been left on board as part of tributes Lucy Young A book of condolences has been opened for people to express their sympathies at the tragedy Lucy Young Mrs Cox lived on the boat with her husband Brendan and two children Lucy Young One mourner leaves flowers and their own tributes on the boat Lucy Young The MP's death has sparked shock and grief around the world Lucy Young The 41-year-old was attacked following a constituency surgery near Leeds Lucy Young Houseboat owners living on the same jetty as Mrs Cox and her family in Wapping laid bouquets on their boat as ship horns rang out in tribute for a full two minutes. H illary Clinton today condemned the shooting of Jo Cox MP as a violent act of political intolerance as her murder sent shockwaves around the world. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said she was horrified by the killing of the Labour MP outside her constituency office in Birstall yesterday. In a statement, Clinton said: By all accounts, she was a rising star. Her maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. Well-wishers sign a message of condolence / PA It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the worlds oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honor Jo Cox - by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together. Jo Cox MP: Parliament Square floral tribute Clintons words came after Londoners gathered to mourn the death and celebrate the life of the mother-of-two in a series of impromptu and emotional vigils across the capital. A floral tribute left at the vigil to the 'rising star' MP / PA Flags at the Houses of Parliament and City Hall were lowered to half-mast. A two-minute silence was observed at the Tooting by-election count, where returning officer Paul Martin said the murder cast a dark shadow over the process of electing the newest member of the Commons. Tributes paid to Jo Cox Mr Martin said: The murder of Jo Cox has shocked the entire country, and it has hit home particularly hard in Tooting. It is our duty and responsibility to continue with this by-election, but clearly a very dark shadow has been cast over these proceedings. The by-election was held to elect a successor to Sadiq Khan following his election as London mayor. Mr Khan posted a tribute to his Labour colleague on his Facebook page, describing the mother-of-two as a fearless campaigner who stood up for the worlds poorest and most marginalised. He wrote: In the year she was an MP she made more impact than others make in a whole parliamentary career. A photo of Jo Cox shared on Twitter by her husband Brendan after the attack today / Brendan Cox/Twitter She was the most powerful advocate for the people of Syria, ensuring their plight stayed on the political agenda as well as reminding us all of our countrys proud record of humanitarianism. But she was also an extremely hard-working local MP for her home constituency and so proud of her roots there. The 41-year-old also had a great sense of humour, Mr Khan said, having joking that she hoped to get permission from the House of Commons to park her houseboat at Parliament so she could drive it to work. Bunches of flowers were laid at a shrine in Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster where hundreds of people stopped to pay their respects as dusk fell. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson were among numerous MPs to stand in silence, lighting candles and leaving flowers. Mr Corbyn said: Weve lost a wonderful woman, weve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, well work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve. Three miles east on the banks of the Thames, devastated houseboat owners who live on the same jetty as Mrs Cox and her family in Wapping laid bouquets on their converted barge Ederlezi. Police at the scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire / Nigel Roddis/PA As ship horns rang out in unison for a full two minutes, her neighbours stood solemnly by their boats with tears in their eyes before five children, each holding a single red rose approached the houseboat and threw them onto the deck. Anne Wainwright, chair of Hermitage moorings, said: We have lost a dear, dear friend in the most tragic and outrageous circumstances. We pay tribute to our amazing, wonderful and spirited member of this community. A beacon of hope who believed in love, friendship and values that we all so much need at this time. The community will continue to be inspired by her relentless energy and all that is good. P olice have carried out a controlled explosion after a "volatile chemical" was found in a cupboard at a girls' school in north London. Officers said the substance was found during a clear-out at Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School in High Barnet and had been in the cupboard for some considerable time. Police were called to the school at about 3pm on Friday. Before the explosion, officers had warned people in the area not to be alarmed by any "loud bang" this evening. The tweet stated: "If you hear a loud bang in the High Barnet, EN5 area in the next 30mins please do not be alarmed. Police are aware of this & dealing." Scotland Yard confirmed officers were dealing with a chemical incident at the school in High Street. A spokesman said: Police were called at 3.05pm today to a school in Barnet, following reports of a substance causing concern. "It is believed to have been in situ in a cupboard for some considerable time. "Specialist officers are on scene and are carrying out an assessment." Barnet police later added: UPDATE: To confirm the loud bang heard in EN5 was a controlled explosion by Police, more to follow. O rganisers of London Pride are expecting a "huge" turnout in solidarity with the victims of Orlando next weekend, as police urge revellers to be cautious. People from LGBT businesses have met police chiefs to discuss their concerns ahead of next Saturday's event. It comes after the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Florida where 49 people died at the hands of lone gunman Omar Mateen. Londoners responded with a massive gathering of people in Old Compton Street in a huge rally against hatred. Met Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe stressed the threat level has not risen since the "shocking" attack but warned people to stay alert. He said: "The public should take reasonable caution. "There will be more people, it is more likely people will come out to show solidarity, to show they are not scared and we would encourage that. "We have looked at the intelligence and there is nothing to say that there is someone out there wanting to attack London or the Pride march." Police have also penned an open letter to the LGBT community, saying they will have an increased presence at this year's event. Michael Salter, chairman of Pride, said a "huge" number of people are expected to attend this year's festivities to show solidarity with the LGBT community. He said: "I think people are feeling a great sense of unity and solidarity with other LGBT people across the world. "Londoners want to make sure they are even more out and proud, which is why Pride is so important. "There's a determination that people should be able to live as their true selves. "People shouldn't have to change their lives because they are worried about a promotion at work, bullying at school or violence in the streets." He added: "I'm hoping that there will be huge numbers of people coming to the events - not just to pay their respects to the Orlando victims but for LGBT community in the UK." Jeremy Joseph, owner of clubs G-A-Y and Heaven, described the shooting as "my worst nightmare come true". He said: "It's been the most surreal week of our lives. Waking up on Sunday morning, my biggest nightmare had come true," he said. "As a venue we were always told that there will be an attack, so it's a question of not if but when. "It doesn't matter that it happened in Orlando, it's that it's happened." He added: "We also have to think about the fear there is in London of something like this happening here - people do need reassuring." Additional reporting by the Press Association. R egular visitors to a London park want permission to be buried there alongside their pets in a scheme they claim could generate up to 5 million. Camden environment chief Councillor Meric Apak has pledged to review the idea to allow burials at Talacre town green in Kentish Town. Peter Cuming from the Friends of Talacre claimed there would be room for 5,000 burials at the park. The fees would help pay for the future upkeep of the green space next to Kentish Town West station . Mr Cuming, who is chairman of the group, said Camden council could charge 2,500 per plot per person and 1,000 for animals. He said: It would be great revenue for the council and I would readily pay the money up front. There would be no headstones or anything but people would be laid to rest under the turf. Family and friends would be given GPS coordinates of their final resting place. Mr Cuming told the Camden New Journal: It would be a nice income stream and the councillors say they have run out of money. I say, lets get a wee bit commercial. Half the open spaces in Camden are former burial grounds already. I will put my money where my mouth is. I will reserve two burial plots. Im paying in advance of the event. Thats money in the bank. He added: On the fateful day a mini-JCB can dig a hole and drop me in. I dont even want a box. Cllr Apak said: We are always open to innovative ideas from friends groups to help in managing the budget reductions we face. If the community of Talacre are supportive of Mr Cumings idea, if he has a proposal that stacks up financially and legally, we would welcome reviewing the idea with him and the Friends of Talacre. A Canadian MP broke down in tears as he paid tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox in the country's parliament. Nathan Cullen took to his feet in the chamber to pay tribute to his friend, who was shot and stabbed outside her constituency surgery yesterday. He rose to pay tribute to " the life of Jo Cox, a mum of two beautiful children," who he described as an "advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world." His voice shaking, Mr Cullen told MPs that Mrs Cox "used her voice for those who have none. "She dedicated her passion to those who needed it most," he said. "And she harnessed her limitless love, even, and especially for those who allowed hate to consume them." Murdered: Jo Cox / PA The New Democratic Party MP, who like Mrs Cox worked abroad, in conflict resolution, before entering parliament, then quoted her husband Brendan Cox's tribute. He said: "Her husband Brendan said it beautifully, she would have wanted two things above all else to happen now. "That our children are bathed in love, and that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. "To Brendan, to Jo's beautiful children, we express our deepest condolences." Clearly overcome with emotion, Mr Cullen brought his short speech to an end and set with his head in his hands as MPs rose to applaud him. Earlier, Cullen had tweeted that he was "shocked by the violence" and was praying for his friend after the attack. The two had met about three years ago at a leadership conference near Washington D.C. and had stayed in touch since. A socialite who claims to have been the secret wife of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia today said justice will prevail after her 20 million payout was quashed by the Court of Appeal. Palestinian-born Janan Harb, 68, was awarded 12 million in cash plus two homes in Chelsea from the late kings son, Prince Abdul Aziz, by Mr Justice Peter Smith last year. The judges decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which in a damning ruling said he had handled the case so badly it must be retried. The whole proceedings will now be heard again under a new judge, on a date to be set. Ms Harb, who lives in a 5 million apartment in Chelsea, told the Standard: I got annoyed for five minutes and then looked at it and thought I will look to the future. I know justice will prevail. When you persist there is no problem. I am tough and it will be interesting. She added: Ive waited 12 years so I dont mind waiting another year, I understand the judges decision. Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls, sitting with Lord Justice Moore-Bick and Lord Justice McFarlane, said Mr Justice Smith had failed to examine the evidence properly and accused him of taking a short cut that undermined his final decision. Mrs Harb was awarded the payout last November after telling the High Court she had married King Fahd in 1968, aged 19, in a secret ceremony under sharia law at a royal palace. She said the king promised to support her financially for life, and Prince Aziz agreed to a huge settlement at a meeting at the Dorchester hotel in June 2003 while his father was gravely ill. She said this was to buy her silence over her relationship with his father, who died in 2005 aged 82. But the prince denied striking the deal. Ms Harb was said to be disliked by members of the Saudi royal family due to her Christian Palestinian heritage, and was banished from Saudi Arabia in 1970. Ms Harb added: I agree with the judges its difficult for them as Prince Aziz is not there. They were confused. If the king was alive this would never have happened, he was always very kind to me. But this is all politics. 12 million and two flats? The prince has already spent more on lawyers. Judge Smith, the senior figure in the High Courts Chancery Division, has agreed not to sit on cases until an investigation into his conduct is resolved. A London Labour MP has been criticised for allegedly trying to politicise the death of colleague Jo Cox. Neil Coyle, who represents Bermondsey and Southwark, appeared on Newsnight just hours after his 41-year-old colleague was shot dead in West Yorkshire. Speaking about Mrs Coxs death, Mr Coyle criticised Leave campaigners ahead of the EU Referendum, saying they had published dangerous material with risked inspiring the hard-right. He also suggested Mrs Coxs attacker named locally as 52-year-old Tommy Mair may have been politically motivated. Speaking on Newsnight, he said: "I think that the kind of nonsense that they inspire online from anonymous accounts and actually the core content of the poster they launched today, look at what they are putting out and I just think that they are a very dangerous, and they risk inspiring extremist elements on the hard right in this country." Tributes paid to Jo Cox Witnesses to the shooting said they heard the gunman shout Britain First as he attacked Mrs Cox, who was a supporter of the Remain campaign. Mrs Cox, who was elected in last years general election, was shot three times and stabbed repeatedly as she walked to a constituency surgery at a public library in Birstall. Mr Coyle made the comments on Newsnight as both the Remain and Leave groups agreed to suspend campaigning for a day in honour of Mrs Cox. But many Twitter users said Mr Coyle was trying to politicise his colleagues death. Paul Butler posted: As soon as I think MPs cant go any lower they surprise me again. Political gain on the back of a colleagues death. Christopher Christine said; A tragic event that transcends politics. MPs shamelessly exploiting this outrage for political expediency should be deselected. And another Twitter user said: Making political capital out of this is disgusting. Others accused Mr Coyle as exploiting Mrs Coxs death to make political capital and some called for him to be sacked from Parliament "immediately." Meanwhile, others suported Mr Coyles comments. One person posted: "Neil Coyle timing was wrong however what he said about the stuff been put out my the leave group is very dangerous is true." Matt Deaves said: "@coyleneil on Newsnight, sadly, has a very good point." Anthony O'Connor added: "@coyleneil' tlking a lot of sense on newsnight", while Otto English said: "Your contribution absolutely correct on Newsnight." Another said he was "proud" to have Mr Coyle as his MP. Last night Mr Coyle posted a series of tweets about Mrs Cox's death. He said: "My thoughts, prayers and love go to @Jo_Cox1 and her family after today's sickening attack. Unbelievable crime against a truly wonderful MP. "Devastated at the cowardly, premeditated and murderous attack on @Jo_Cox1 - her husband and young daughters have been robbed of a wife and mother. "Many thanks to friends, family and others in touch with messages of condolence, love and support today. Truly grim and shocking circumstances." P arliament is to be recalled on Monday as a sign of respect to murdered MP Jo Cox. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared in Birstall on Friday with Prime Minister David Cameron and House of Commons speaker John Bercow to pay tribute to the Labour MP who was shot dead there on Thursday. After laying flowers close to where Mrs Cox was gunned down, Mr Corbyn announced Parliament will be recalled on Monday. MPs are not currently sitting after beginning a 12-day recess on Wednesday, but members will have to attended Parliament for the sitting next week. Tributes: The Labour Party leader and Prime Minister laid flowers in memory of Labour MP Jo Cox / Phil Noble/Reuters Speaking from Birstall, Mr Corbyn said: "I have asked the Prime Minister and the Speaker for the recall of Parliament on Monday and they have accepted that request. "Parliament will be recalled on Monday so that we can pay due tribute to her [Mrs Cox] on behalf of everybody in this country who values democracy, values the right of free speech and values the right of political expression." Paying tribute to his colleague, the Labour Party leader said: "She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. It is an attack on democracy what happened yesterday. It is the well of hatred that killed her. David Cameron speaking about Jo Cox MP "She leaves behind a husband who made a truly wonderful statement yesterday, a statement saying that in her memory we would try to conquer hatred with love and with respect. Jo Cox tributes - In pictures 1 /32 Jo Cox tributes - In pictures Tributes and candles left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A white and red rose lie on Jo Cox's empty seat in the House of Commons, London PA The parents of Jo Cox, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater look at the flowers laid in memory of their daughter in Parliament Square, Londo Hannah McKay/PA Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn lead MPs including George Osborne and Tom Watson as they process from the Houses of Parliament to St Margaret's Church, London, for a service of prayer and remembrance to commemorate Jo Cox MP Hannah McKay/PA A woman and child leave a floral tribute for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Messages from well wishers for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen on a board in Parliament Square Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Tributes are paid at the Wapping house boat of Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox Lucy Young Lucy Powell MP, Jeff Smith MP, Paula Sheriff MP and Karen Rawling arrive to leave floral tributes close to where Jo Cox MP was murdered Matt Cardy/Getty Images Hilary Benn MP for Leeds Central, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, Prime Minister David Cameron, Speaker's chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn arrive to pay their respects near to the scene of the murder Matt Cardy/Getty Images The flag above Buckingham Palace flies at half mast Yui Mok/PA Tribute messages at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster, central London, in respect of Labour MP Jo Cox Yui Mok/PA A young girl leaves flowers in Market Square, Birstall, for Jo Cox, 41, Labour MP for Batley and Spen Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Yvette Cooper (left) leaves St Peter's Church Birstall, West Yorkshire after a vigil following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox Peter Byrne/PA Floral tributes are left in Birstall, West Yorkshire, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot in the street outside her constituency advice surgery Danny Lawson/PA Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images The Union Jack flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House, London Yui Mok/PA People place tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster Yui Mok/PA A woman leaves a floral tribute next to a photograph of murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A message is seen on a floral tribute left near the scene of the murder of Labour member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal Phil Noble/Reuters A woman arrives to leave a floral tribute near the scene of the murder of Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds Craig Brough/Reuters A flag at half mast above the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh ane Barlow/PA People react as they look at tributes left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, Londo Stefan Wermuth/Reuters People place floral tributes and candles to slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images Winston Churchill's statue stands in the foreground as Union Flags hang at half mast Stefan Wermuth/Reuters "She also leaves behind two young children who will never see their mother again. They will only be able to grow up knowing what she was, what she stood for and what she achieved." The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Mrs Cox. He said: "The most profound thing that's happened is that two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife. "And of course, Parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners, someone who epitomised the fact that politics is about serving others. "Today our nation is rightly shocked and it is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that are so important about out country." Earlier today, Mr Corbyn was among MPs who laid flowers and candles in Parliament Square in memory of Mrs Cox. Floral tributes have also been laid at Mrs Cox's houseboat in Wapping. Mrs Cox died on Thursday after being shot three times and stabbed repeatedly as she walked to a constituency surgery. A plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick after being struck by lightning. The Thomson Airways flight, which was travelling from Manchester to Agadir in Morocco, was an hour into its journey went it was hit by a bolt of lightning on Thursday evening. The plane took off from Manchester at 6.42pm and eventually landed at its final destination three hours late at 1.08am on Friday. A spokeswoman for Thomson Airways said the lightning strike was an "extremely rare" event. She added: Thomson Airways would like to apologise for any inconvenience to our customers on board flight TOM732 travelling from Manchester airport to Agadir in Morocco, which was diverted to London Gatwick airport as a precautionary measure due to adverse weather. The flight departed from London Gatwick airport as quickly as possible afterwards and customers have arrived safely in Morocco. The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we would like to reassure everyone that events such as these are extremely rare. The Boeing 737 can carry up to 189 passengers, but it is not known how many were onboard at the time. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: "Aircraft are built to withstand lightning strikes, so significant damage to the airframe is very rare. "If an aircraft does suffer a lightning strike it will be thoroughly inspected by engineers once on the ground before being released back into service. "Weather radar installed in the aircraft can help pilots monitor areas where lightning activity is likely and so, if possible, take avoiding action." J amie Vardys professional lookalike has called on Roy Hodgson to wake up and start the striker in every game after he came to Englands rescue against Wales. The Leicester City forward didnt play in Englands opening 1-1 draw with Russia but scored with only his third touch yesterday after being brought on at half-time to help the Three Lions to a 2-1 win. His lookalike Lee Chapman, 29, a postman, says Vardy should play from the start when England play Slovakia on Monday. He said: Hodgson should have had more faith in Vardy from the start. Hes dangerous and he terrifies the defence. He causes mayhem and problems. As soon as hes subbed on, England pay with more menace upfront. Hes the key for England. Lee Chapman: 'I'm the world's most famous lookalike' (Lucy Young ) / Lucy Young My message to Hodgson is wake up, play a bit of Leicester City. Come on Roy. Chapman was working on a factory production line just five years ago packing chicken ready meals, but now has plans to travel the world as Vardys doppelganger. As a result the father-of-one, who is being swamped with work requests home and abroad - including the Olympics in Rio - and is in talks with producers about a Celebrity Big Brother appearance, says Leicesters star striker is a God to me. His success has changed my life. After quitting the factory production line, he has been a Royal Mail postman for the last three years. Royal Mail let him take six weeks worth of holiday in one block to pursue the lookalike opportunity and has now given him a further career break. He said: Theres times when theres no sleep. Im working hard. I havent had time for family or friends, or even the other half. If we get far in Euro 2016 and Vardy scores some more goals, God knows where this is going to go. Chapman was in Marseille for Englands opening match of the tournament. I was also surrounded when I went to Paris and Marseille by English, Russian and French fans and I was carried to the stadium. I never thought this would happen. Not so long ago I was standing in a factory line putting meat in holes. Its overwhelming. I am the worlds most famous lookalike. But im just Lee Chapman from Leicester. Follow Chapman on Twitter @lee_chappy B arack Obama warned the US will keep seeing more massacres like the Pulse nightclub shooting unless gun laws are tightened after meeting grieving relatives in Orlando. The president embraced loved ones of the 49 people murdered in the terror attack on Sunday before he challenged the Republican-controlled Congress to pass gun control legislation. He said: I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, Why does this keep happening?. He added: We will not be able to stop every tragedy. We cant wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world, but we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if were smart. And if we dont act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this. Because we will be choosing to allow them to happen. His comments came as Republican Senator John McCain said the president was directly responsible because he had failed to tackle the Islamic State group. Orlando shooting victims 1 /65 Orlando shooting victims Stanley Almodovar III Facebook Edward Sotomayor Jr Facebook Luis S Vielma Amanda Alvear Facebook/AP Luis Daniel Conde Facebook/AP Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera Facebook/Reuters Juan Ramon Guerrero Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 Mercedez Marisol Flores Facebook/AP Peter O Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 Facebook Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez Facebook/AP Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez Facebook/AP Frank Hernandez Facebook/AP Angel L. Candelario-Padro Facebook/AP Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala Facebook/AP Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega Facebook/AP Tevin Eugene Crosby Facebook/AP Enrique L. Rios, Jr Facebook/AP Kimberly Morris Facebook/AP Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon Facebook/AP Jean Carlos Mendez Perez Facebook Jason Benjamin Josaphat Facebook/AP Antonio Davon Brown Facebook/AP Oscar A Aracena-Montero Facebook/AP Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosad Facebook/AP Leroy Valentin Fernandez Facebook Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez Facebook/AP Eddie Justice Facebook Christopher Andrew Leinonen Facebook/AP Shane Evan Tomlinson Facebook/AP Darryl Roman Burt II Facebook/AP Martin Benitez Torres Facebook/AP Juan P. Rivera Velazquez Facebook/AP Javier Jorge-Reyes Facebook/AP Miguel Angel Honorato Jose Honorato/AP Brenda Lee Marquez McCool Facebook Anthony Luis Laureano Disla Anthony Laureano/Reuters Deonka Drayton worked at Pulse Facebook Akyra Murray Facebook Jean C. Nives Rodriguez Facebook Joel Rayon Paniagua Facebook Alejandro Barrios Martinez Facebook Juan Chevez-Martinez Facebook Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan Facebook/AP Jerald Arthur Wright Facebook/AP Paul Terrell Henry Facebook/AP Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz Facebook Geraldo Ortiz-Jimenez Facebook Composite of Orlando shooting victims. AP Gunman Omar Mateen claimed allegiance to the militant group as he carried out the massacre. Senator McCain said: When he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became Isis [Islamic State], and Isis is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. He later attempted to clarify his comemnts, saying he did not mean the president was personally responsible. Mr Obama, who arrived in the city with Vice President Joe Biden, laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub. The gunman, the president said, had violated a sanctuary for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and now people should reflect on how to end violence and discrimination against them, in the US and overseas. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but US officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. CIA Director John Brennan told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday that the agency had not been able to uncover any direct link between Mateen and militants abroad. It has also emerged that New York-born Mateen, who was shot dead at the club by police, exchanged text messages with his wife during the attack as well as posting on Facebook and placing a phone call to a television station. T he parents of a 12-year-old black girl who allegedly had a rope tied around her neck before being dragged to the ground by a group of white children are suing their daughters school. According to local media, the American girl was on a camping trip watching other children on a swing when she felt a rope being wrapped around her neck. Three boys then started pulling on it, the family claim, sending the girl falling over. Live Oak Classical School in Waco, Texas, has disputed the parents claim, branding the April incident an unfortunate accident. But the girl, who cannot be named was left with severe cuts to her neck from the rope, her family say. Lawsuit: The parents are suing for 2 million / McCathern They have now filed a 2million lawsuit, claiming what happened appeared to be racially-motivated and amounted to bullying. It is also alleged the school failed to properly investigate the incident. The familys lawyer Levi McCathern told the Waco Tribune: I think part of it is to compensate the victim, part of it is trying to send a message that we have to protect these defenceless kids up at school. And I think part of it is to punish the school for not taking care of the kids and following through with responsibilities to notify parents when they have a student that is seriously injured. But a member of the school board, Jeremy Counsellor, told The Dallas News: The student received first aid treatment immediately after the accident by a parent chaperone who is also a physician, and she was able to enjoy the remainder of the field trip, which lasted through the next day. Live Oak takes the safety of its students seriously and is saddened that one of its family suffered an unfortunate accident and injury. A court hearing to consider domestic violence claims made by Amber Heard against Johnny Depp has been postponed. Hollywood star Depp was issued with a temporary restraining order after his estranged wife alleged that he had had abused her. Images submitted to court showed Heard with bruises over her face, which she alleges are the result of Depp throwing a phone at her last month. A spokeswoman for Los Angeles Superior Court said the case - which was due to be heard on Friday - will take place on August 15 and 16, after a telephone discussion between the judge and lawyers for Depp and Heard on Thursday. Amber Heard pictured with a bruised face / Reuters A "status conference" in the case will be held on August 2, but neither Depp nor Heard are expected to attend. The temporary restraining order against Depp will remain in effect until August 15, the spokeswoman added. Heard filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, on May 23, three days after the death of Depp's mother, Betty Sue. In papers filed with the court, Heard said Depp, 53, had a "history of drug and alcohol abuse" and had been "verbally and physically abusive" for all of their four-year-relationship. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carl H Moor granted a temporary restraining order on May 27 and ruled that Depp must stay at least 100 yards away from his wife and should not try to contact her. Heard has since dropped her claim for spousal support. Shocking: The image was submitted to Los Angeles Superior County Court by actress Amber Heard after claims she was assaulted by Johnny Depp / Press Association In the court papers, she wrote: "I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him. "He is often paranoid and his temper is exceptionally scary for me as it has proven many times to be physically dangerous and/or life-threatening to me. "I live in fear that Johnny will return ... unannounced to terrorise me, physically and emotionally." Heard added that in one incident in December she "truly feared for her life". Depp's lawyer, Laura Wasser, said in court documents related to the restraining order that Heard was "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse". He and Heard married in February last year after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary. Heard has filed for divorce (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire ) / Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Depp was previously married to make-up artist Lori Anne Allison, and has a daughter, model Lily-Rose Depp, and son, Jack, with former partner Vanessa Paradis. S ydneys iconic Harbour Bridge was brought to a standstill after a man scaled one of the arches and refused to come down. Traffic was brought to a halt on Friday morning after a man reportedly got out of a taxi at about 9am local time, climbed one of the pylons and got onto the arch. The man, who was dressed in dark clothing, white shoes and sunglasses, reportedly told his taxi driver to pull over because he was feeling unwell. He then got out of the vehicle and began climbing the bridge, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Scaled: The man climbed up one of the bridge's famous arches / Reuters Three lanes were closed on the bridge while emergency services attended and passengers on a bus said they were told to walk back to the Kirribilli side of the bridge. Commuter Lisa Muxworthy told news.com.au a 2km drive which usually takes her 15 minutes took in excess of an hour. Emergency service: Police and paramedics were called to convince the man to come down / Reuters She said: Honestly I was sat in traffic thinking This is really frustrating but at the same time you cant help but think some whos that upset or conflicted has climbed a bridge. A New South Wales Police spokesman said the man initially refused to come down but climbed down about two hours later. He was arrested before being checked by paramedics at the scene and was then taken to Royal North Shore Hospital for assessment. Climbing: The man reported refused to come down for two hours on Friday morning / Reuters It is not currently known why the man climbed the bridge. All lanes reopened on the bridge shortly before 11.30am on Friday. A n American man has died after slitting his throat in a courtroom as he was handed a four-year sentence for drug offences. Tyrel Martin Marhanka, 41, who lived in Taiwan, had been charged with growing opium and marijuana at a rented house in Changhua County. Moments after he was handed a four-year prison sentence, Marhanka allegedly shouted I dont want to live anymore before he slashed his neck with a scissor blade. The Taipei Times reported he severed at least one artery and he was pronounced dead in hospital. Marhanka, who lived with his Taiwanese wife and two children, was arrested in April last year but reportedly told police the plants were a hobby and for his own consumption. The court said Marhanka apparently smuggled two scissor blades into court by hiding them in a magazine tucked underneath his arm. A metal detecting gate at Changhua District Court failed to detect the blades, the court said. A statement from the court said: We deeply regret that Tyrel Martin Marhanka killed himself during the sentencing. He was cooperative during the investigation and the trial. His attitude was mild and he did not show any signs that he would commit suicide. C harlie Sheen has opened up about his very public meltdown on the Graham Norton Show. The actor became known in 2011 for his erratic behaviour and bizarre interviews, and was dismissed from his role on sitcom Two and a Half Men. Speaking on the British chat show, Sheen said he is now in a great place, and was open about his unusual actions at the time. Talking about the footage of his meltdown, Sheen said: I recognise myself by name but not by character. I get the shame shivers watching whatever incarnation of who I thought I was in those moments. If I could change any of it I would. It was like there was some measure of possession. In November 2015, Sheen revealed that he was HIV positive an admission which he described as liberating and has since been taking part in HIV drug trials. It was an opportunity to stop the self-loathing and the why me and be part of something genuinely important, he explained. Graham Norton: the Ghostbusters cast and Charlie Sheen (June 17) 1 /8 Graham Norton: the Ghostbusters cast and Charlie Sheen (June 17) The Ghostbusters cast Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, and singer Christine & The Queens PA / So TV Charlie Sheen The actor opened up about his public meltdown PA / So TV Ghostbusters The cast spoke about the reaction to the latest trailers PA / So TV Melissa McCarthy stars as Abby Yates in Ghostbusters PA / So TV Kate McKinnon stars as Jillian Holtzmann in Ghostbusters PA / So TV Christine & The Queens aka Heloise Letissier PA / So TV Sheen also spoke out against Donald Trump, telling a story about a gift he once received from the now Presidential candidate. I was once in a restaurant with my then wife Brooke and he came up to me to say that he would like to give me a wedding gift. He took off his cufflinks, told me they were solid platinum and diamonds and insisted I have them, he said. Charlie Sheen Through The Years 1 /24 Charlie Sheen Through The Years Shooting star Charlie Sheen Pvt. Chris Taylor in Platoon MGM 1987: Making Money Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) with Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) in Wall Street 20th Century Fox Young Guns Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen Court appearance Charlie Sheen waves as he arrives at the Pitkin County Courthouse in Aspen, Colo., for a hearing in his domestic abuse case in 2010 Ed Andrieski/AP Mug shot Aspen Police Department on December 25, 2009 shows Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen after being arrested in Aspen. Sheen pleaded not guilty March 15, 2010 to charges of domestic violence and was ordered to stand trial July 21 during a brief court appearance in an Aspen, Colorado, court. Sheen, 44, was arrested Christmas Day in the glitzy, celebrity-rich mountain community on charges he threatened his wife, Brooke Mueller, with a knife during an argument at the home Mueller had rented for the holidays. He was later released on bond AFP/Getty Images) Sitcom star Charlie Sheen with Jon Cryer and Angus T Jones in Two And A Half Men Paramount Star of the show Charlie Sheen honoured Slash with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in July 2012. Keen to settle the long time dispute between Slash and AXL Rose the actor made a string of jokes including: "It's quite fitting that Slash is getting a star on the very street Axl Rose will one day be sleeping on." Allstar/Graham Whitby Boot Making movies The actor cut a dapper figure as he got into character for the 1993 film, The Three Musketeers DISNEY Getting scared Charlie Sheen in the film starred alongside Simon Rex and Anna Faris in the 2003 spoof horror Scary Movie 3 Allstar/MIRAMAX Coupled Charlie Sheen with his second wife Denise Richards at the Undercover Brother premiere in May 2002. The pair tied the knot in 2002 before divorcing in 2006. Allstart/Graham Whitby Boot Playing the big guy Charlie Sheen played U.S. Navy pilot Topper Harley in the Top Gun spoof, Hot Shots! Part Deux in 1993 Allstar/20TH CENTURY FOX Packing a punch Sheen with Mike Tyson at the Dimension Films' Scary Movie 5 premiere in 2013 Getty Images Chat show appearance Charlie Sheen visits Late Night With Jimmy Fallon at Rockefeller Center on January 15, 2013 in New York Theo Wargo/Getty Images Date night Sheen and his third wife Brooke Mueller arriving at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009. The pair were together for three years before divorcing in 2011. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Biggest fans Charlie Sheen waves to fans as he leaves Hotel La Perlada, where he and his ex-fiance Brett Rossi were staying during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in July 2014 Agencia EFE/REX Younger years Charlie Sheen pictured with Heather Locklear in the film Money Talks in 1997 Allstar/NEW LINE Getting into bed with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan share a scene in Scary Movie 5 DIMENSION FILMS First wife Charlie Sheen and his first wife Donna Peele in 1995 at the opening of the All Star Cafe Six month later I was having some jewellery appraised and remembered the cufflinks. When the jeweller took a look she recoiled and said, In their finest moment, they were cheap pewter and bad zirconia. They had Trump stamped on them. I think that says a lot about the man. BBC One, 10.35pm Mammootty's Rorschach hits all the right notes, except in the end | Movie Review On Monday, United States presidential candidate Donald Trump announced that he has banned one of our countrys most important newspapers, the Washington Post, from his presidential campaign. He wrote on Facebook: Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post. He expounded later, impugning the Posts integrity and claiming that the newspaper is being used by Amazon (the Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon) as a political lobbyist to help Amazon evade taxes, among other baseless assertions. The Posts Executive Editor Marty Baron responded by rightly pointing out that Trumps action was not just an assault on the Post, but on a free and independent press as a whole. If a news organization writes a story about Trump that he doesnt like, he bans it. Thats worrisome for two key reasons: on one hand that seems pretty thin-skinned from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, on the other it shows how Trump would govern, namely as a dictator. Hes already banned The Huffington Post, The National Review, The Daily Beast, Buzz Feed and Politico from certain events for writing stories that his campaign doesnt like. On the surface its a childish move, but the implications are much more concerning than merely questions about Trumps temperament. If youre reading this newspaper its probably because you believe in what the media stands for. You likely expect that journalists are not in the business of parroting back to you what elected officials tell them. You want your reporters to gather facts, often working to dig up unpleasant information, then present those facts in the most accurate way possible. Newspapers arent in the business of public relations. It isnt a reporters job to make anyone look good. A journalists job is to make someone look exactly as they are. But thats not what Trump wants. Anyone who has watched a Trump rally has seen him turn on the media, pointing out the penned-up reporters and photojournalists and inciting the crowd to boo them. When asked at a press conference if he would have journalists killed he initially waffled, responding with ahh, lets see ... nah, I wouldnt. I would never kill em. But I do hate em. Before they had their falling out, last March Trump met with the Posts editorial board, where he explained that he wanted to loosen up the libel laws. When asked to explain, he said, according to the transcript from the meeting, I mean, The Washington Post never calls me. I never had a call, Why why did you do this? or Why did you do that? Its just, you know, like Im this horrible human being. And Im not. You know, the one thing we have in common I think we all love the country. Now, maybe we come at it from different sides, but nobody ever calls me. I mean, Bob Costa calls about a political story he called because were meeting senators in a little while and congressmen, supporters but nobody ever calls. He later doubled down on going after journalists. We can sue them and win lots of money, he said at another rally. Would a Trump presidency result in censorship of the press? I dont think so. I dont think Americans would let him get away with outright censorship like we see in Russia and elsewhere. But at the very least, a Trump presidency might mean self-censorship, which Ive seen firsthand in other countries where reporters are too afraid to write critically of their leaders for fear of being denied access. The danger is Trump would want to control the White House press pool and only allow in the media outlets that said nice things about him and didnt ask hard questions. That would badly damage the press role to ask important questions and follow-up with public officials when they arent forthcoming. Another key part of this that Trump doesnt seem to understand? All these news organizations that hes banned dont need his permission to write about him. Theyve continued to do it anyway. Some might argue that his campaign events are private and he can invite whomever he wishes. Thats true, but the campaign process is intended to apply enough pressure to reveal the cracks in a candidates persona, and how Trump has reacted to media scrutiny says a lot about the man. Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe Friday, 17 June 2016 16:15:50 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Algeria s Ministry of Commerce has announced that it has imposed an import quota of 300,000 mt for wire rod . According to the statement, the producers who want to avail of the import quota should apply for an import license by July 4. The validity period for the import quota has not been announced yet. The products which are subject to the import quota are wire rods of iron or non-alloy steel, in a circular section diameter less than 14 millimeters and currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Number 7213.91.00. Friday, 17 June 2016 15:49:18 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Argentina s auto production output in May this year totaled 39,768 units, declining by 10.5 percent month on month and down 9.6 percent year on year, as announced by the countrys automotive industry association Adefa. According to Adefa, in May Argentinian auto exports declined by 12.1 percent compared to the previous month and were down by 15.5 percent compared to May 2015 to 18,199 units. Meanwhile, car sales in the country in May totaled 60,360, increasing by 19.8 percent year on year and declining by 0.3 percent month on month. Friday, 17 June 2016 17:41:41 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Following the agreement between Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron & Steel and Serbias largest steel producer Zelezara Smederevo for the sale of the latters steel works to Hebei Iron & Steel, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) has stated that the purchase of a steel works in an EU candidate country by a state-owned Chinese enterprise raises serious concerns about unfair competition from state-backed enterprises and shines a spotlight on Chinas continued lack of progress towards meeting its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. EUROFER director general Axel Eggert stated that foreign investment is genuinely welcome in the EU and the EU neighborhood, but only under fair, undistorted market conditions; however, Chinas government is pushing Chinese companies to carry out takeovers abroad. According to Mr. Eggert, in this instance, a steel firm is being invested in by an undertaking, Hebei Iron & Steel, which is directly owned and run by the Chinese government. Zelezara Smederevo was already subject to an ongoing National Restructuring Program as part of Serbias EU accession procedure. The subsequent purchase by a Chinese state-owned enterprise undermines both efforts to combat global steel overcapacity and the free and fair conduct of the market. Mr. Eggert also said that this latest purchase merely reconfirms the problems raised by Chinas non-market conditions, worsened by the attempt to project these distortions abroad using state-backed means. Accordingly, he added, the EU must resist calls for market economy status (MES) to be granted until the Chinese government ceases to intervene so intensively in its economy and opens up to free and fair competition and international trade. Fushun Special Steel issues profit distribution plan for 2015 Friday, 17 June 2016 09:44:36 (GMT+3) | Shanghai On June 16, Liaoning Province-based Chinese steelmaker Fushun Special Steel Co. (Fushun Special Steel), a subsidiary of Dongbei Special Steel Group, announced its profit distribution plan for 2015. Accordingly, it has decided to distribute a cash bonus of RMB 0.035 (including tax) per share to its shareholders. The cash bonus amounts to RMB 45.50 million ($6.90 million) for a total of 1.3 billion shares. Similar articles Friday, 17 June 2016 11:00:13 (GMT+3) | Kolkata The Indian government will direct state-owned iron ore miner NMDC Limited to build a 6 million mt per year steel mill in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, an official at India s Ministry of Steel said on Friday, June 17. The ministry official said that the proposed steel mill will be set up through the joint venture route and NMDC will be free to explore collaborations with domestic or foreign steel companies to implement the project. The official said that the project followed a meeting last week between the state government of Jharkhand and India s steel and mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar, at which the latter assured the local government that the Ministry of Steel will extend all cooperation in making Jharkhand the steel hub of the country. Although it could not be officially confirmed, sources said that NMDC could also explore the possibility of a joint venture with global mining giant Vedanta which had already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jharkhand government for the establishment of a 1 million mt steel mill in the region. NMDC is already building a 3 million mt per year steel mill in the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh, entailing an investment of $2.23 billion and scheduled for completion in mid-2017. According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in April this year South Africa 's manufacturing output increased by 2.9 percent compared to the same month last year. In April, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 2.1 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by 0.2 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 5.3 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with March, in April this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by two percent and production of structural metal products narrowed by 3.5 percent. Friday, 17 June 2016 22:26:37 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo China s Sinosteel is analyzing samples of the Bolivian iron ore so it can study the concentration of the local commodity for later use at the Mutun iron and steel complex, Bolivia s mining ministry said on Friday. According to the Bolivian government, Sinosteel arrived in Puerto Suarez, Bolivia , and has taken some samples of the commodity to China for further analysis of the commoditys concentration. According to Jesus Lara, president of state-run company Empresa Siderurgica del Mutun (ESM), the research and concentration analysis of the material are the basis for the design of the iron ore and steel complex. Lara said Sinosteel has been working ahead of time in its activities, so it can comply with the deadlines established in the contract signed by the Bolivian government and the Chinese company. The executive explained that as soon as a credit from Eximbak is approved, Sinosteel will have four months to develop a study and a final design for the project, however, it should have the concentration analysis of the iron ore ready at that time. The concentration analysis is needed to make the study and the final design [of the project]. This takes much time and four months wouldnt be enough to do it all, Lara said. Friday, 17 June 2016 13:50:01 (GMT+3) | Istanbul In April this year, Turkey's coking coal imports totaled 318,547 mt, falling by 52.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and down 45.3 percent month on month, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Meanwhile, the value of these imports was $27.5 million, down 44.4 percent compared to March and falling by 64.4 percent year on year. In the first four months, Turkey's coking coal imports increased by three percent to 1.66 million mt, while the value of these imports decreased by 20.4 percent to $150.77 million, both year on year. In the given period, Turkey's coking coal imports from Australia amounted to 870,460 mt, while coking coal imports from Canada totaled 425,020 mt. Turkey's coking coal import sources in the January-April period of this year: Country Amount (mt) January- April 2016 January- April 2015 Y-o-y change (%) April 2016 April 2015 Y-o-y change (%) Australia 870,460 357,284 143.63 231,316 268,549 -13.86 Canada 425,020 165,282 157.15 - - - USA 227,872 915,717 -75.12 77,008 340,608 -77.39 Russia 81,738 80,841 1.11 10,222 19,838 -48.47 Turkey's main coking coal import destinations on country basis in the first four months of the current year are presented in the chart below: Brazilian miner Vale has announced that on June 6 it achieved a single-day production record with a total production of 15,859 mt of direct reduced pellets at line A in its Oman pellet plant. The previous record for Line A was set on February 21, 2014 with a total of 15,624 mt. In its industrial complex based in Sohar, Vale operates a pelletizing plant, with two lines, each one nominally capable of producing 4.5 million mt of direct reduced pellets per year, and a distribution centre able to handle 40 million mt per year. The distribution centre enables Vale to store large amounts of raw iron ore available on a just in time basis. In this way, the company can at any time meet demand for iron ore products in the Middle East , North Africa and Asia, including India. Friday, 17 June 2016 10:12:52 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Domestic merchant bar prices in the Turkish market depending on size, thickness and region are at the following levels: Equal Angle Prices: Region Prices (TRY/mt) Price change (TRY/mt) 09.06.2016 Denizli Region (30-100 mm) 1,360-1,370 ($464-468/mt) 20 Karabuk Region (30-100mm) 1,300-1,370 ($444-468/mt) 0 Iskenderun Region (30-100 mm) 1,290-1,320 ($440-451/mt) 0 Izmir Region (30-100 mm) 1,330-1,340 ($454-457/mt) 20 Flat Bar Prices: Region Prices (TRY/mt) Price change (TRY/mt) 09.06.2016 Denizli Region (30-100 mm) 1,390-1,400 ($474-478/mt) 20 Karabuk Region (30-100mm) 1,330-1,400 ($454-478/mt) 0 Iskenderun Region (30-100 mm) 1,320-1,350 ($451-461/mt) 0 Izmir Region (30-100 mm) 1,360-1,370 ($464-468/mt) 20 NPI-NPU Prices: Region Prices (TRY/mt) Price change (TRY/mt) 09.06.2016 Denizli Region (30-100 mm) 1,360-1,370 ($464-468/mt) 20 Karabuk Region (30-100 mm) 1,300-1,370 ($444-468/mt) 0 Iskenderun Region (30-100 mm) 1,290-1,320 ($440-451/mt) 0 Izmir Region (30-50 mm) 1,330-1,340 ($454-457/mt) 20 All prices are ex-works, on actual weight basis, for July delivery and excluding VAT. It should be considered that offers below the prices ranges in question may be available, depending on the buyer and on the method of payment. $1 = TRY 2.93 Prime minister, Dacian Ciolos on Thursday night stated that building a NATO fleet in the Black Sea was never a topic; talks so far only concerned a Romania-Bulgaria-Turkey naval cooperation in an Allied context. "I've just talked today with [Defence] Minister Mihnea Motoc, who has watched closely this topic, and I understand that the latest statement, also issued by the Bulgarian President, together with Bulgaria's prime minister and defence minister, has clarified things. It was never about setting up a fleet in the Black Sea, but only of a cooperation under NATO umbrella. This was Romania's proposition, and I understand that Bulgaria specified that, under these circumstances, as the Bulgarian premier told me when I visited Sofia, and also the president are willing to support this proposition. So, it was not about any fleet, but of a cooperation of three Black Sea riparian and NATO member states, a cooperation under NATO umbrella. (...) This is the proposition and I understand from the latest statements that Bulgaria is capable to support this approach," Ciolos said in a press conference at the Government's offices.Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev had said Romania came up with a new regional maritime defence initiative. "Bulgaria will only support it in a NATO format," said Plevneliev.He asserted that this is a training initiative and asked the media to stop writing of "building up a fleet against anybody.""Bulgaria is not part of such propositions and ideas," Plevneliev insisted. AGERPRES Romania's Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Friday sent his British counterpart David Cameron a condolence message after the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox. I am deeply saddened by the heinous attack committed not only on a young politician who had proactively assumed an opinion, but also on the values we know the British people share, promote and defend. I am convinced that such acts won't prevent, now or in the future, the British citizens from freely expressing and taking responsibility for their opinions, individually or collectively. I am extending my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Labour MP Jo Cox, Ciolos said in a message to the British prime minister. British pro-EU MP Jo Cox, a member of the opposition's Labour Party, died Thursday aged 41 after being attacked in the street in Birstall - northern England, one week before the June 23 referendum on the opportunity of the United Kingdom's exiting the European Union. Both sides in the referendum on a possible exit have suspended their campaigns after the attack. Agerpres Jolijt Tamanaha found a lot of support for her technology startup in St. Louis, but she moved to New York and failed. Thats OK, the 23-year-old entrepreneur says. She wanted to learn whether her company was viable, and the price and pace of New York forced her to make decisions quickly. To be fair, Tamanaha also had personal reasons for moving. Shes from New York and had always planned to return after graduating from Washington University last year. Champio, a social media application designed for internal corporate use, was Tamanahas second startup during her student years; she also founded and sold an online produce market called Farmplicity. After Champio won funding from Prosper, an accelerator program for female entrepreneurs, she met several potential customers and investors here. Still, the allure of her hometown was stronger. I really wanted the density, and I really wanted the speed with which things happen in New York, Tamanaha said. Things burn down to the ground, but they also grow really quickly. Tamanaha closed Champio in October, five months after moving to New York. She wasnt able to raise enough money to keep building the business. Her money would have lasted longer in St. Louis, she says, but I dont know if it would have changed the ultimate outcome. She quickly landed a job, which happens to be with another New York company founded at Washington University. Shes chief marketing officer of Fresh Prints, which sells custom-designed apparel to groups on college campuses. Co-owners Jacob Goodman and Josh Arbit bought Fresh Prints from the founder, an older student, when they were sophomores at Washington U. Like Tamanaha, the East Coast natives felt the tug of hometown ties when they graduated in 2014. It was Washington U. and St. Louis that really enabled us to get our business off the ground, Goodman says. In New York, we would have been just another tiny fish in an enormous pond. In St. Louis, getting access to people and resources was easier. New York, he adds, has been a great place to grow the apparel business. Fresh Prints has about $4 million in revenue with 10 full-time employees, plus 81 student managers who represent the company on their campuses. New York isnt the only city with a network of expatriate Washington U. entrepreneurs. Paul Lee, 32, says he knows several San Francisco area business founders with ties to his old school. Lee ran Tackl, an online sporting goods marketplace, in St. Louis for two years. He moved west last year when his wife landed a job at Facebook. The Midwests affordability buys you more time to get your work done, Lee said, but he thinks other St. Louis entrepreneurs could benefit from moving to the West Coast. There is talent here that I dont think you can find in Cleveland or St. Louis, he said. Being in a fast-paced city forced Lee, like Tamanaha, to be realistic about his dreams. He says Tackl is in recalibration mode while he figures out whether it has a future. Meanwhile, he has taken a job at TuneIn, an audio streaming service. Neither Lee nor Goodman nor Tamanaha expects to move back to the Midwest anytime soon, but all three say they owe a lot to their former city. They hope to be remembered positively here, even though they left. What St. Louis could do is talk about all the entrepreneurs who started there, and find ways to amplify our stories as St. Louis successes too, Tamanaha says. Updated at 6:45 p.m. Centene Corp. is seeking $147 million in taxpayer help for its proposed $771.8 million, multibuilding expansion project in downtown Clayton. Under the companys plan, described in a document submitted to the Missouri Development Finance Board, much of the taxpayer help would come from the city of Clayton, which over a period of years would provide nearly $95.6 million in property tax abatement on Centenes huge downtown investment. Centene also wants from Clayton nearly $3.2 million in personal property tax abatement and a $2.5 million commitment from a transportation development district. In addition, the company is asking for $10 million in Missouri BUILD bonds, a Finance Board program that awards tax credits to companies that add jobs in the state. Centene also wants to tap $35.7 million in a similar program called Mega Works offered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Centenes proposal for public incentives is outlined in the Missouri BUILD bonds request that the Missouri Development Finance Board is scheduled to consider at its meeting Tuesday. The boards staff is recommending approval, estimating a $27.9 million net benefit to the state over 15 years. A Centene spokeswoman declined Friday to discuss details of potential incentives, noting that the process to get them is just underway. Clayton City Manager Craig Owens said in a statement that talks with Centene officials are preliminary. We understand Centene is seeking assistance on this very large and important project, but we are in the earliest stages of consideration and analysis of what public-private partnership may be necessary or appropriate, he said. Owens didnt comment on the estimated size of local incentives, saying only that: These numbers apparently came from the state application. In 2015, Clayton-based Centene became the nations largest Medicaid managed care provider as a result of its $6.8 billion acquisition of Health Net Inc., of Woodland Hills, Calif. Centenes core business is managing the health care of poor people for state governments. Company revenue grew to $22.8 billion in 2015, more than four times its revenue in 2011, and profit last year rose to $355 million. State incentives depend on Centene adding jobs in Missouri. The company is pledging to add 1,000 jobs in the state, with most of them coming as job transfers from Health Net. If fully built, Centenes project would add hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space and other facilities to downtown Clayton. The largest structure proposed is a 600,000-square-foot, 28-story building across Hanley Road from Centenes headquarters at 7700 Forsyth Boulevard, which opened six years ago. It would include garage parking for 750 cars. The company would use some of the new building for headquarters expansion and lease the rest to other office users. A new 150,000-square-foot building next to the existing headquarters also would be used for corporate offices. A 120-room hotel and parking for 750 cars also are planned for the building. Other components of Centenes plan are a 1,330-car parking garage, a 1,000-seat corporate auditorium and a 40,000-square-foot company fitness center. Preliminary work could begin in December with completion in October 2019, according to the Missouri BUILD bond application. According to the Missouri BUILD application, Centenes proposed Clayton project includes nearly $72.7 million in property acquisition costs, $27 million in infrastructure spending and $578.4 million in construction costs. Financing would come from state incentives of $45.7 million, Clayton incentives of nearly $101.3 million, a bank loan of more than $276 million and more than $348.7 million in Centene funds. In urging approval of Centenes request for Missouri BUILD help, the Missouri Department of Economic Development said the Clayton project is less feasible without the states help. Absent BUILD bonds, Centene might keep Health Net jobs in California, the agency said. The state has awarded its Mega Works help to a few other companies for agreeing to add jobs in Missouri. Among them are $16.5 million of incentive for World Wide Technologys headquarters expansion at West Port Plaza in Maryland Heights and $24.7 million to help projects by Express Scripts in north St. Louis County, a Department of Economic Development spokeswoman said. Christian Hospital says its costly difference of opinion with Medicare hinges on how to count the large number of poor people that it treats. Medicare penalizes hospitals that readmit too many patients within 30 days of discharge, and Christian expects to lose almost $600,000 in reimbursements this year, hospital officials said. Christian is one of 14 hospitals in the BJC HealthCare System. Steven Lipstein, chief executive of BJC, which includes Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said Medicare doesnt play fair because its formula for setting penalties does not factor in patients with socioeconomic disadvantages such as low-income, poor health habits and chronic illnesses that contribute to repeated hospitalizations. If Medicare did that, Christians penalty would have been $140,000, Lipstein said. As every hospital executive knows, half a million dollars pays for a whole lot of nurses. In total, hospitals around the country lost $420 million last year under Medicares Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, an initiative of the federal health law that seeks to push hospitals to deliver better patient care. Since the program began in 2012, recent trends in readmissions suggest that (it) is having the desired impact, Health Affairs reported in January. Hospitals have lobbied Congress and Medicare to change the rules and gained some ground May 18 when Rep. Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio, introduced a bill in the House to adjust Medicares program to account for socioeconomic status. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash. Meanwhile, the Missouri Hospital Association is trying to pull public opinion behind it. This year, the association overhauled its consumer website, Focus On Hospitals, to include not only the federal readmissions data, but also each members readmissions statistics, adjusted for patients Medicaid status and neighborhood poverty rates. The federal government already adjusts its readmissions data for age, past medical history and other diseases or conditions, and thats public on Medicares Hospital Compare website. The association explains its adjustment methodology in an article on the site. There is emerging national research that suggest poverty and other community factors increase the likelihood a patient will have an unplanned admission to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, it states. The hospital groups alternative data Lipsteins source for how Christian could have reduced its 2015 penalty comes from a study it commissioned. One finding: Missouri hospitals readmissions rates improved by 43 percent to 88 percent when patients poverty levels were considered. The question is, has [readjustment] been done in a just and fair way, Lipstein said. The Missouri Hospital Association has provided methodology that suggests what the feds are doing is unfair. The controversy over penalties is likely to grow beyond the readmissions question. Federal health officials have announced that they want to shift from paying doctors and hospitals based on the services they provide and move toward a value-based system that encourages a better quality of care and better outcomes while controlling costs. Medicare bases penalties on readmissions on the care of Medicare patients who were originally hospitalized for one of these five conditions heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, chronic lung problems and elective hip or knee replacements. This year, Medicare penalized almost half of all hospitals 2,592 to be exact, including 27 in the St. Louis area for excessive readmissions. More than 500 were fined 1 percent of their Medicare payments, or more, for the fiscal year that will end Sept. 30. Still, the system harms so-called safety net hospitals most, said Herb Kuhn, the Missouri Hospital Associations president. Hospitals in difficult neighborhoods are getting worse scores, and those in affluent [ones] are getting better. Its time to adjust [rates] for the disease of poverty, he said. Kuhns experience makes him an influential voice on health policy issues. He was deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2006 to 2009 and before that, director of the agencys Center for Medicare Management. In April, Kuhn completed a three-year term on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress. The commission proposed an alternative to Medicares readmission penalties last year. Others are also studying modifications. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has taken a cautious stance, but last year CMS announced it is working with the National Quality Forum, a nonprofit group whose research influences CMSs quality metrics, on a trial to test socioeconomic risk adjustment. But Leah Binder, CEO of the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit patient safety group, says Medicares readmission penalties have pushed hospitals to improve care and adjusting the data for patients poverty levels could deter them. Hospitals are paid a lot of money. I think they can find a way to handle their readmissions, the way they should have been handling them all along, Binder said. Kaiser Health News is a national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Just got another call from a job hunter who has been out of work for a long while, a really long while. No, this isnt a person who is counted in the long-term unemployed statistics. This is a woman who chose to be a stay-at-home mom and now wants to return to the workplace. Shes like many who spent five, 10, maybe 20 or more years focused on their families. But circumstances divorce, disability or death of a spouse, or being at loose ends in an empty nest push them toward a paycheck. The most recent caller had been an accountant before her long career break but fears that her profession, and especially the technology involved, has changed so much that her former experience isnt relevant. And she was afraid of her ability to study for and take certification tests. Other job market returnees tell me they simply dont know who would want them. They dont know what they have to offer. They might be surprised. Employers consistently tell me theyre searching for mature, stable workers who arent interested in moving on to the next thing in a year or two. The difficulty, of course, is making a match between the hirer who wants such help and the person who is looking. After just a brief conversation, it was clear that my caller was selling herself short. Maybe she wont become a certified public accountant again, but she has abilities to bring to any job. Start, perhaps, with dependability, emotional maturity, ability to juggle tasks without falling apart and communication skills. The sticking point for re-enterers like my caller is that theyre missing a workplace network of contacts. I told her she needs to start thinking about her friends, family, neighbors and fellow members of any club or religious organization she has belonged to as her network. What do those people do for a living? What do their partners do? If any of their jobs dovetail with what shes interested in, thats where her networking needs to start. Shyness isnt allowed. And its really important for her to talk about her job search with people who have witnessed her organizational, leadership or other work-readiness skills in action. Shes a past PTA treasurer. Theres a line for her resume. It doesnt matter that it was unpaid. Shes been a longtime member of a womens club, once serving as chairwoman of a fundraising drive. How much money did it raise? It would look impressive on a resume to say led capital campaign that raised $3 million for . Another consideration for job hunters who havent worked for ages is to accept that theyre highly unlikely to be hired to do a job at the same level they did before. They need to set immediate sights on lower pay and prestige. My caller would be a standout receptionist/administrative clerk, based on the phone conversation skills she showed. She could have a classic opportunity to get a foot in the door, shine and get promoted. Bed Bath & Beyond and One Kings Lane are each home furnishings sellers with a unique set of problems. The big-box giant has been watching its prolific coupons eat into its profit margins and has been slow to adapt to the e-commerce era. One Kings Lane, a digital destination for expensive furniture, has been forced to slash jobs as it tries to find its way at a moment when its flash-sale model has lost an aura of cool. Now, the troubled retailing outposts are joining forces: Bed Bath & Beyond announced this week that it is purchasing One Kings Lane for a price that it described only as not material, suggesting that the startup once valued at $912 million in 2014 is now worth much less. The tie-up appears to be a bet by the furnishing brands that their whole will be greater than the sum of their parts. Bed Bath & Beyond has been working to shore up its online presence, investing in infrastructure and improvements to its website functionality and mobile apps. And by some measures, the efforts appear to be helping: The retailers online sales growth in the most recent quarter was 25 percent. That easily outpaces the 14 percent online sales growth that researchers at eMarketer forecast the furnishings category will see overall in 2016. And yet, Bed Bath & Beyonds online sales growth has slowed dramatically. In the quarterly earnings it reported in June 2015, year-over-year digital growth was in excess of 35 percent, and three quarters prior to that, it reported greater than 50 percent growth. Seth Basham, a retail analyst at Wedbush Securities, said he doesnt think the acquisition of One Kings Lane is a game-changer, but said it could prove beneficial for Bed Bath & Beyond. We dont think that theyre going after the technology, we think theyre going after the merchandising, Basham said. Bed Bath & Beyond does a big business in household items such as bedding and kitchen goods, but doesnt have quite as strong an assortment in furniture such as couches and armchairs. One Kings Lane could help on that front. Still, One Kings Lane doesnt come to the deal from a position of particular strength in the marketplace. Earlier this year, the company let go of 25 percent of its staff. Brad Thomas, a retail analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets, estimates the young company only saw 3 percent revenue growth last year. Meanwhile, a rival online-only furnishings seller, Wayfair, was on a rocket ride: Its revenue was up 71 percent last year. So while Thomas said he didnt see much downside risk to Bed Bath & Beyond in the One Kings Lane acquisition, he said hed prefer to see investments and buyouts of some of the best-in-class competition, not the second-tier players. This is not like Bed Bath is buying Facebook, its more like they just bought Myspace, Thomas said. The chief executive of One Kings Lane, Dinesh Lathi, praised the deal in a press release. This is a tremendous opportunity for our customers, as well as our employees and business partners, to benefit from additional support and resources and gain exposure to new customers, Lathi said. In that way, the deal has something in common with other recent retailing acquisitions: In January, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue bought flash-sale pioneer Gilt for a fraction of the e-commerce sites once-soaring valuation. Last year, QVCs parent company paid $2.4 billion to acquire Zulily, a deals site that largely targets millennial moms. In each of these cases, the gamble was that the online upstart could benefit from getting closer to the more established retailers customer base. That One Kings Lane apparently sold at a discount to its past valuation again raises questions about the durability of the flash-sale model. Once a hot area for investment, it seems that many of the key players in this space are finding it hard to survive as a standalone business centered on that strategy. The people behind a funeral syndicate sentenced to federal prison for defrauding thousands of clients out of more than $450 million now get a chance at also being famous. In an episode set to air at 9 p.m. Thursday on CNBC, "American Greed" will focus on National Prearranged Services Inc. of Clayton, a company that a judge described as "an enormous Ponzi scheme. The title of the episode is "Six Feet Plunder." In 2013, six people were sentenced to various prison terms for a variety of frauds, money laundering and conspiracy: In 2015, a federal court jury awarded $491 million in damages in civil lawsuits connected to the NPS situation. Every few weeks we look at new items on the market to determine whether the ideas are brilliant ... or bonkers. ACTIVE EDGE SLEEP SHIRT When the Active Edge company asked if I wanted to try out a revolutionary product embedded with electromagnetic frequencies designed to make the body perform at optimal levels, I was skeptical but intrigued. When the T-shirt arrived I was more skeptical. The company explains that each shirt is treated with a special blend of frequencies that imbue it with certain properties. It allegedly activates the sympathetic nervous system and increases blood flow and oxygen intake. It also helps you sleep better but only if you wear it while sleeping. The shirt was initially designed to enhance workout performance, but users started wearing the shirt, skipping the workout and enjoying a nice evening of slumber. Kurt Walchle, the founder and chief executive officer of Active Edge, said that they designed the product to help with relief from chronic pain and discovered that those folks typically dont sleep very well. He said testers kept confiding that the shirt helped alleviate aches and pains while promoting sleep. But how? To be honest with you, we have no idea, Walchle said by phone. Nobody can tell us how (the shirts) are doing it. We literally have a recipe of frequencies, and thats where the results come from. We can demonstrate the results, but we cant explain the physical of how its happening. So do the shirts help people work out and also make people sleepy? Well, it doesnt make you sleepy, but it helps you settle down, Walchle said. It doesnt make you sleepy during the day. Its basically when you get into sleep as your body falls asleep it aides you in staying asleep and staying asleep longer. I didnt wear the typically boxy mens cut shirt for a workout, but I did wear it around the house before bed. It didnt make me sleepy. It felt like a very ordinary shirt, not super soft or interestingly styled. Eventually, I went to sleep and had a fairly ordinary nights sleep. I do have sleep problems, and the nights I wore the shirt seemed better than average, but I was also more conscious of my sleeping. The whole thing about the shirts being treated with frequencies that somehow are embedded long-term in the washable fabric is not really convincing to me. Science will tell you that unless they treated it with something radioactive or its composed with special fibers, once the frequency test is over, so are the frequencies. But Active Edge says that it has conducted clinical trials on more than 2,500 people with no negative side effects and 90 percent reporting positive benefits. Theres lots of unexplained phenomenon in the world, so who knows if time will prove the shirts to be more placebo or panacea ($64.99 for T-shirts or tanks) at activeedgegear.com Verdict: Brilliantly bonkers PHILIP STEIN SLEEP BRACELET The science behind this product involves a disc embedded in the bracelet that acts like an antennae to harness the Earths frequencies to naturally enhance the bodys impulse to sleep. Unlike the Active Edge shirt, this product is designed to make you sleepy within about 15 minutes of wear by increasing the bodys production of melatonin, the hormone which synchronizes the sleep-wake cycle. When worn, the bracelet allows you to sleep deeper, and longer, and is proven to be effective, according to the manufacturer. It also costs $375 to $425, depending on the style at philipstein.com/sleep, so its got a higher hurdle to lure consumers. The company bills it as a traveling must-have because it assures consistent sleep patterns when you venture into different time zones. The company lent us a Philip Stein sleep bracelet for 30 days. Before I read the instructions I put the drab-looking contraption on while standing at my desk. When I realized it might cause immediate drowsiness, I unbuckled it in a frenzy. I didnt need anything adding to my afternoon dip in energy. A few days later I tested it out at home. I made no changes to my routine, which typically involves falling asleep after some one-on-one with my tablet computer before bedtime. I strapped it on as I paged through an iBook and within about a half-hour, I really did feel sleepy. I typically stay awake much longer and usually turn out the lights and hope for sleep rather than feeling compelled to sleep. I woke up about 7 hours later and felt great. I typically do not sleep through the night. I thought it must be a fluke, but I tried it for the next week or so with good but mixed results. I slept better overall, but it wasnt magic. Some nights the bracelet didnt seem to help with sleep at all, and very few mimicked the perfect first night. Obviously, there are a lot of variables, but I still find the little contraption fascinating and if I were one to spend $400 on such things, Id probably own one. Verdict: Brilliant but slightly bonkers COLUMBIA, Mo. A man who posted threatening messages against black people on an anonymous social media app during racial protests at the University of Missouri last year has been sentenced to probation. Hunter Park was a Missouri University of Science and Technology student on Nov. 10 when he posted the messages on Yik Yak. Park, 20, of Lake Saint Louis, posted statements that he was going to shoot every black person he saw. They came the day after weeks of protests led to the ouster of University of Missouri President Timothy M. Wolfe and the reassignment of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. The threats posted to social media included: Im going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see, and Well tomorrow Mizzou will really make national news. Some of the wording Some of you are alright. Dont go to campus tomorrow. appeared to mimic wording used by a gunman who killed nine people at an Oregon college, charges said. Authorities said no weapons connected to Park were found. Park pleaded guilty in April to making a terroristic threat. On Thursday, he received a three-year suspended sentence and was placed on five years of probation. UNIVERSITY CITY A Pagedale man was given 25 years in prison Thursday for the brutal 2013 rape of a University City woman. Markeon D. Jones was 16 when police say he broke into a woman's home, then raped her multiple times, choked her and bit her. He also stole money and her cellphone. Jones, now 19, pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible rape, five counts of forcible sodomy and one count each of second-degree assault, first-degree burglary and second-degree robbery. Jones made a blind plea, meaning there was no agreement in place on a sentence. Judge Tom DePriest Jr. sentenced Jones to 20 years on each rape and sodomy charge, five years for the burglary and robbery charges and one year for the assault charge. Some of the sentences will run concurrently. While incarcerated, Jones picked up a felony damage to jail property charge, which he pleaded guilty to in April. He was given a four-year sentence on that charge, according to court documents. Authorities gave an address for Jones in the 1500 block of Nixon Avenue in Pagedale. WASHINGTON Decades ago, a reporter for a well-known East Coast newspaper said that the crisis in agriculture that had been gripping farmers in the early 1980s wasnt seen as a crisis until he wrote about it. Never mind those journalists toiling in flyover country who had been writing about the crisis for years. There is some of that going on now with the surge in Fourth Estate outrage over Donald Trump pulling coverage credentials of Washington Post reporters. Now that the Post is the latest on Trumps banned list, the newspapers columnist, Dana Milbank, is advocating a media blackout, of sorts, of Trump. Thats not only the wrong response, its an impossible one to accomplish. First, Milbank advocates that the cable networks not run entire Trump speeches and not take Trumps calls every time he feels an urge to opine. Some are already doing the latter by requiring on-air interviews. The former is not going to happen on networks constantly in search of eyeballs, and the hottest thing going is what Trump might say next. Eyeballs lead directly to the bottom line. And in an age in which Trump can reach more readers in a burst of 140-character tweets than Milbank can in an 800-word column, the solution is more Fourth Estate efforts to examine the presumptive Republican nominees rhetoric and promises. Milbanks third suggestion, real-time fact-checking of Trump speeches, would be a public service. Make it bipartisan, and include Hillary Clinton, and add follow-the-money context on who is paying for these campaigns. Trump has banned reporters from multiple news organizations. Perhaps the most damaging was the ban on the Des Moines Register just before the Iowa caucuses. But now that its happened to the paper of Watergate, the talk of enemy lists, the comparisons to Nixon and the bad old days and the statements of outrage from news associations reach a crescendo. Trumps supporters get it right in saying he can ban anyone he wants from his plane. The press is right in pushing back that blacklists are a dangerous and un-American reaction to coverage a candidate may not like. The trigger for the latest Trump-press tempest appears to be a fleeting headline on a Washington Post online story that overstated what Trump actually said in one of his constantly looping Fox News interviews. Trump did not, as the Post initially headlined, say that President Barack Obama was involved in the Orlando, Fla., shootings, and the headline was soon changed. But with heavy innuendo, Trump inferred that Obama was not doing all he could to protect Americans from mass shootings like the one in Orlando, and for mysteriously unknown motives. There is another element to these press-Trump contretemps. Call it the Chuck Norris school of politics. Under this theory, not only should Trump not be questioned, but he should be treated as a superhuman truth-teller, beyond question or doubt, on a crusade in which facts are irrelevant to the transcendent greatness of the candidate. One of those ubiquitous sayings goes: Chuck Norris doesnt wear a watch he decides what time it is. The Trumpian equivalent is: Donald Trump doesnt need fact-checkers he decides whats the truth. As in repeatedly asserting in speeches that Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a genius even after fact-checkers pointed out Putin didnt. Or saying in a teleprompted speech that the killer in the Orlando mass shooting was born in Afghan when, in fact, the shooter was born in the same New York borough, Queens, that Trump was. The Post pointed out that Nixon had never tried to pull its credentials during Watergate. But this Trump move is not unprecedented in more recent history. Late in the 2008 campaign, reporters from three newspapers were kicked off Obamas campaign plane. The campaign cited space issues; critics pointed out the newspapers all had endorsed Obamas opponent, John McCain, and that space magically opened up for the pro-Obama coverage of Ebony and Essence magazines. The solution? More sunshine, not less. Rather than repeating candidate talking points in those never-ending lines flowing across the bottom of cable screens, use it for real journalism and fact-checking. It wouldnt be hard, for instance, when Trump again repeats the Putin-called-me-a-genius claim in a future speech, to run a fact check saying Putin called Trump flamboyant or colorful, and talented, but never a genius. Or to stream when Clinton criticizes Wall Street the latest total of her campaign donations from Wall Street, and remind viewers about the speaking fees she earned from Wall Street firms. You get the picture. WASHINGTON Former President George W. Bush will help Sen. Roy Blunt raise re-election cash at a June 27 fundraiser at Hunter Farms in Creve Coeur, the Post-Dispatch has learned. It will be among several fundraisers the former president will hold for Senate Republicans facing tough re-election challenges, the New York Times reported. Blunt is expected to face Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander in the Nov. 8 election. The Times reported that Bush will also raise money for Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Both are in tough re-election battles as Republicans try to maintain control of the U.S. Senate. Blunt entered April with about a 2-1 fund-raising advantage over Kander, but the Democratic challenger gained notice when he slightly outraised the incumbent Blunt over the first three months of 2016. The next campaign reporting deadline will be in mid-July, and will cover fund-raising from April through June. Through March, Blunt had raised just under $10.3 million for his re-election and had $5.4 million in the bank. Kander had raised just over $4.5 million and had $2.8 million on hand. But outside groups have started spending in the race, too. A pro-Blunt group aligned with Republican operative Karl Rove and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been airing ads praising Blunt in Missouri, and will have spent $2.2 million by the end of this month, JEFFERSON CITY New figures show the number of poor people receiving temporary cash benefits in Missouri has plummeted in the past five years. And, the number is expected to nosedive further in the coming months under a proposed new law that calls for the state to scrub the welfare rolls to eliminate people who arent eligible for the aid. According to the most recent monthly statistics obtained by the Post-Dispatch, the total number of people receiving temporary cash assistance through April was 37,486. Thats down from 109,639 in March 2011, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Although the economy has improved since 2011, advocates for the poor say the steep drop is not because more people are finding jobs. Rather, they are pointing to efforts by the Republican-controlled Legislature to tighten the path toward benefits. Last year, for example, the GOP-led House and Senate overrode Democratic Gov. Jay Nixons veto of a bill that limited the length of time families could receive the benefits from a lifetime maximum of 60 months to 45 months. In addition, they ramped up requirements for low-income parents to get job training, do volunteer work or complete high school and vocational education. Under the work changes, recipients must sign a personal responsibility plan outlining their work activities before they are eligible for cash benefits. If they miss their work assignments, they must meet face-to-face with a caseworker. They would then have six weeks to get back on track. Initially they would lose 50 percent of their assistance. If the problem is not fixed, they lose the entire benefit. As of May 2016, for example, the Department of Social Services said a total of 4,134 families failed to meet the work requirement and were cut off from cash benefits averaging about $224 a month. In vetoing the bill last year, Nixon called the proposal cruel and warned lawmakers that it would hurt the states children. The legislation is a misguided measure that punishes poor children in the Legislatures zeal to reduce reliance on government assistance, Nixon wrote. The latest figures show thousands fewer children are receiving the benefit. When the legislation kicked in on Jan. 1, there were 43,154 children receiving the benefit. Through April, there were 27,432 kids in the program. While the changes have reduced the cost of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the money isnt going back to taxpayers. Rather, state officials are putting the funding into other social service programs, such as the Alternatives to Abortion program and additional child care facility inspections. Jeanette Mott Oxford, executive director of Empower Missouri, which advocates on behalf of low-income Missourians, said the changes have put up roadblocks that poor people often dont have the wherewithal to deal with. The legislation should not have been approved to start with, said Mott Oxford, a former Democratic state lawmaker from St. Louis. People seeking the benefit are utterly desperate and dealing with the chaos of just trying to survive. Given that the benefit averages less than $300 a month, she said people often turn to family and friends for assistance. Would you jump through all those hoops for that much money? Mott Oxford said. The rolls could shrink even more in the coming months under legislation requiring the department to hire a private company to review whether people are eligible for the benefits they are receiving. The measure is nearly identical to one in Illinois that flagged 300,000 people. In addition to screening recipients of the TANF program, the company also will look at people receiving food stamps and who are participating in MO HealthNet, the states Medicaid program. Although removing people from various state aid programs may initially save money, Mott Oxford said some of them will return after they correct the problems that led to their removal. I think youre going to see quite a bit of churning, but not a large reduction in numbers in the end, Mott Oxford said. The architect of the plan, state Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, did not respond to repeated requests for reaction to the latest numbers. OFALLON, Mo. Police cars dotted the parking lot of Fort Zumwalt North High School in OFallon, Mo., the occasional dog bark coming from a back window. Twenty-six teams of police dogs and their handlers competed Friday at the United States Police Canine Associations regional field trials and certification here. Canine competitors awaited their turn in the air-conditioned comfort of their patrol cars. If they see other dogs jumping hurdles, theyd probably run out and join them, said Gary Craig, an officer with the Cahokia Police Department. This is fun for them, they eat it up, he said, motioning to the obstacle course set up behind the school. The OFallon Police Department is hosting the event, which runs through Sunday and is open to the public. Teams from central Illinois to mid-Missouri compete in seven events: obedience, agility, suspect search, criminal apprehension with and without gunfire, handler protection and article search. Dogs who successfully complete each task get their yearly certification for street patrols and sniffing out things such as explosives or narcotics. This shows that the dogs can go through these different hurdles and can do it on the street, Shane Duzan, an officer with the Coles County Sheriffs Department in Illinois, said. People can see what the dogs are capable of and the intelligence. Theyre here to work and keep the community safe. Long hours Duzan said he and his dog Fado trained nonstop through the year, spending hours every day going over training scenarios in the months leading up to certification. But the training doesnt stop once a dog is certified. K-9 teams are required to train at least 16 hours every month, in order to keep their skills sharp. On top of formal training, handlers often spend about an hour a day, whether its running through a search drill or playing catch. Dogs often end up training for close to 50 hours a month. Nobody realizes how much time and effort goes into this, Craig said. Were always learning new scenarios and fine-tuning. These dogs can do things no other human can do. That hour of daily training often happens in the handlers home. It helps with the bonding process and sociability factor, said Ryan Machin, an officer with the Springfield Police Department in Illinois. Even though theyre police dogs, our expectation is that theyre social. That bond between the handler and their partner has to be absolute. Five-year-old Talos, a German shepherd, has lived with Laramie and Mike Aronson for about four years. Mike Aronson is an officer with the OFallon Police Department. The Aronsons have two other dogs. Though Talos occasionally plays with one of their dogs the other is dog aggressive he spends most of his time in their backyard. Hes super social, Laramie Aronson said. Hes kind of like another family member. But he is a working dog, so you have to always be aware of that. At last years certification, Talos received first place in the agility event. This year wasnt as good of a showing, Laramie Aronson said. Theyre just like people, she said. You have your good days and your bad days. Showing what dogs can do But the bond between handler and dog can be difficult sometimes, Machin said, especially when considering the risks that are part of the job description. Its the same realization you have for your own life and other members of law enforcement, Machin said. K-9 officers are sworn officers. If we have a police dog thats killed in the line of duty, its extremely difficult. You have to prepare yourself mentally, and you just pray that everybody makes it out safe. Machin said he hoped the event would clear misconceptions about officers and their four-legged partners. People think all they do is bite people, that theyre out of control, they cant interact with the public, Machin said. Thats absolutely not true. Officers held a Family Fun Night on Saturday at Fort Zumwalt North where the OFallon SWAT team and K-9 units demonstrated their skills. Its just about the public understanding that these dogs are part of the community, Laramie Aronson said. They do good work and protect and serve, just like police officers do. The First Amendment still struggles against pressures. On college campuses, safe spaces chill debate. Online, proposals to combat terrorism include hitting the internet kill switch silencing all speech to fight extremism. Unrestricted speech is a fundamental liberty in America, but this was not always the rule. Not long ago, Missouris censors monitored the movies, editing out unpopular ideas. Motion pictures were still new in 1910 when St. Louis councilman Edward Schneiderhahn went on the offensive to clean community screens. He was a harsh critic, seeking to ban films based on prudish personal opinion. Schneiderhahn protested pictures he admitted may not have been indecent but I think (are) improper. Springfield authorities sprang into action in 1913 when a series of violent films based on the Bald Knobbers were scheduled at a local theater. The Knobbers had been a vigilante group active in the Ozarks in the late 1800s. Gus Bennert, a local filmmaker, believed the masked outlaws would make a thrilling crowd-pleaser. Mayor George Culler felt differently and banned the Knobber films. Bennert conceded that his pictures may be a bit red-blooded, but denied the citys charges they would have a degrading influence by portraying robbing, beating and assorted lawlessness. Neither the mayor nor the filmmaker would back down, and the case headed to court. In a turnabout, Circuit Judge Guy Kirby sided with Bennert and the action-packed show played on. This was a rare result for the time, and Bennerts films are lost. By the 1920s, Henry Goldman took over as St. Louis censor. Goldman was a different kind of regulator, openly stumping for films he enjoyed and were scheduled at the playhouses that he managed. Goldman could be a taskmaster as well, boasting of one Paramount film he cut so severely that all that was left of the picture when I got through trimming was the box that it came in! Over the next two decades, independent and internationally produced motion pictures pushed the limits of acceptable speech. In 1950, an exploitation flick titled Mom and Dad brought sex education to St. Louis screens. The picture explained the birth process in a clinical tone without explicit imagery. Fifty-five years later, the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Film Registry, but at the time of release Mom and Dad raised red flags. When a St. Louis drive-in scheduled the film, one sheriff made his move. Mom and Dad was stopped and the ban upheld by the 8th Circuit in Hallmark Productions v. Mosley (1951). A French film teasingly titled Night of Lust (1963) unspooled at a different drive-in, and again St. Louis authorities stepped in to stop the show. The film, set in the underworld of Parisian gangs and cut to a Chet Baker soundtrack, presented a sensuous feast of cool jazz and abundant cleavage. The Supreme Court of Missouri found the picture obscene. This time the case rose to the U.S. Supreme Court as Hartstein v. Missouri (1971) and was reversed. Missouri authorities continued to pressure grindhouses that played racy pictures, but free speech protections had gained an upper hand. The power to control media shapes public opinion and steers cultural direction. State censors like Schneiderhahn and Goldman believed in their mission to protect Missouris minors from onscreen dangers. But silencing films based on personal bias only chills discussion and prevents progress. The First Amendment was intended to protect all forms of speech. Even ideas that challenge the status quo and stir debate must be safeguarded. If we do not remain vigilant and question the motives of speech police, dialogue will be silenced and hard-won civil liberties lost. St. Louis City Hall will raise the transgender pride flag, at Market Street and Tucker Boulevard, on Monday morning. In doing do, St. Louis will become only the third city hall to fly the flag, organizers of the event said. The flag raising ceremony will serve as the kickoff to St. Louis Pride Week, which culminates with a parade down Market Street on June 26, The flag, which is light blue, pink and white, was first flown at Philadelphia City Hall in 2015. The only other city hall to raise the transgender flag was Boston, last month. The request was made by PROMO, a statewide advocacy group, and Metro Trans Umbrella Group, two organizations represented in this year's PrideFest. Katie Stuckenschneider, PROMOs communication director, said Mayor Francis Slay has been invited to speak. The ceremony also will draw attention to violence against transgender people, she said. Fourteen transgender women have been killed in the U.S. this year, Stuckenschneider said. LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Sterling rebounds 10% to briefly top $1.16 Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - 12:41 The pound was continuing to enjoy its Rishi rise on Wednesday, shrugging off news of a delay to a costed budget statement to take advantage of a weaker dollar, as Rishi Sunak took part in his first Prime Minister's Questions. Sterling was quoted at $1.1568 at midday, sharply higher from $1.1464 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The pound hit an intraday high of $1.1618 - up 10% from its post-mini-budget low of $1.0533 - before sliding back after news the UK has postponed its budget plan until November 17. "Markets...see [Sunak] as a fairly steady pair of hands, particularly when it comes to stabilising the UK economy," said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury. "Sunak's leadership credentials are yet to really be tested, but investors seem to be of the view that his largely encouraging stint as chancellor should stand him in good stead." Downing Street has said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's planned Halloween budget to get the public finances back on track has been delayed until the middle of next month. The medium-term fiscal plan now will be published on November 17 as an autumn statement, alongside a new set of economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. Hunt informed ministers of the decision at the first meeting of Rishi Sunak's new cabinet in Downing Street on Wednesday morning. Following the meeting, Hunt told broadcasters: "I want to confirm that it will demonstrate debt falling over the medium term, which is really important for people to understand. But it's also extremely important that that statement is based on the most accurate possible economic forecasts and forecasts of public finances." Hunt said he discussed the move with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday night, saying the governor "understands the reasons for doing that and I'll continue to work very closely with him". The FTSE 100 index was down 21.85 points, or 0.3%, at 6,991.66. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 125.41 points, or 0.7%, at 17,957.04, and the AIM All-Share was up 4.13 points at 803.57. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 698.46, the Cboe UK 250 up 1.0% at 15,374.95, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.5% at 12,334.67 In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.1% higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.5% higher. In London, housebuilders were enjoying a bout of optimism on the hope Sunak's government can avoid the deep recession analysts feared was around the corner if Liz Truss's economic plans were carried out. Barratt was 1.6% higher, Taylor Wimpey 1.3%, Berkeley 1.2% and Persimmon 1.0%. WPP gave back 3.3% despite lifting its annual top-line guidance after a strong rise in third-quarter revenue. The London-based advertising agency said its third-quarter revenue rose 10% to 3.57 billion from 3.24 billion a year earlier, with like-for-like revenue up 2.7%. Its revenue less pass-through costs increased 13% to 2.99 billion from 2.64 billion. Looking ahead, WPP upgraded its 2022 guidance for growth in full-year like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to 6.5% to 7.0%, compared to a previously expected range of 6.0% to 7.0%. Less positively, it said it expects headline operating margin growth of between 30 to 50 basis points. It had previously guided for growth of 50 bps. Consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser lost 4.2%. It reported strong quarterly revenue growth as prices and sales mix improved, despite a decline in volumes. In the third quarter, the Slough, Berkshire-based Reckitt said total revenue grew 14% year-on-year to 3.74 billion, or 7.4% on a like-for-like basis. Price and mix improvements of 12% helped to offset a volume decline of 4.6%. Reckitt noted "continued broad-based growth and momentum" during the period. With a strong performance in the year so far, Reckitt reiterated its annual targets. However, for like-for-like revenue growth, it tweaked the range upwards to between 6% and 8%, compared to 5% and 8% previously. Standard Chartered fell 4.0%. The Asia-focused bank recorded a substantial increase in profit as it benefited from rising interest rates across the world. In the three months that ended September 30, Standard Chartered recorded a 40% increase in pretax profit to $1.39 billion from $996 million a year before. On an underlying basis, profit rose 32% to $1.42 billion from $1.08 billion. StanChart's income rose 15% to $4.33 billion from $3.76 billion a year before. In constant currency terms, it recorded a 22% increase. Standard Chartered said its performance has been strong and that the "pace of economic recovery" in many of its footprint markets is "encouraging". Despite increasing recessionary pressures in western markets, the company expects income to grow by around 13% in all of 2022, in line with year-to-date growth. The bank expects its credit impairment to be slightly above the year-to-date annualised loan-loss rate of 18 basis points. Standard Chartered expects net interest margin progression to average around 165 basis points in 2023, which combined with continued strong business momentum and positive jaws ratio, means it "remains on-track" to deliver its 10% return on target equity target in 2024, if not earlier. Looking ahead to the open in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called down 0.1% and the S&P 500 down 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is expected to open 1.6% lower. The three indices had closed up as much as 2.3% on Tuesday, but the mood on Wall Street was hurt by disappointing tech earnings after the close. The figures from Alphabet and Microsoft appeared to confirm fears of a spending slowdown in the US. AJ Bell head of investment analysis Laith Khalaf remarked: "All good things must come to an end, but it is still a jolt to see advertising revenue on Google-owner Alphabet's Youtube platform fall for the first time on record. While bad news for its parent company, the reversal in fortunes also says something less than encouraging about the state of the economy and is a negative omen for the wider digital advertising space. "The results of the big technology firms were seen as a key determining factor in market sentiment going into the US third quarter reporting season and both Microsoft and Alphabet have given investors reason to worry." Alphabet was down 6.0% in pre-market trading in New York, while Microsoft was 6.3% lower. Similarly benefiting from the recent dollar weakness, the euro traded at $1.020 midday Wednesday, moving back above parity for the first time since the start of October, and up from $0.9963 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP147.14, down from JP147.77. Gold was quoted at $1,669.20 an ounce midday Wednesday, higher than $1,655.96 on Tuesday evening in London. Brent oil was trading at $91.82 a barrel, soft from $91.91 late Tuesday. Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Murdered Labour MP Jo Cox will be remembered at The Great Get Together. MEMBERS of parliament, whose constituencies are in South Warwickshire, have joined other politicians across the country in paying tribute to Jo Cox MP, who was killed yesterday (Thursday 16th June). Police said that Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spenborough, was shot and stabbed in a horrific assault in her constituency in West Yorkshire. A man was arrested nearby. Stratfords Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: Prayers for Jo Cox. A brilliant MP, followed by: Campaigning should be suspended. Thoughts and prayers with Jo Cox. This is a sad sad day. Later Mr Zahawi tweeted: Words cannot express the sadness I feel. Jo was a lovey human being, with a wonderful smile and a kind word. Gave up her life doing her job. Last night he wrote on Twitter: So many messages of support. Thank you Jo Cox. The haters who choose to demonise and dehumanise people in public life will never win. RIP Jo. Chris White, Conservative MP for Warwick and Leamington, paid his tributes: I am utterly shocked to hear such desperately sad news. Jo Cox was clearly a wonderful person just trying to do her best and her passing is a great loss to us all. My thoughts are with her family and friends. Jeremy Wright, Conservative MP for Kenilworth and Southam paid his tributes through Facebook last night: The word shocking is over-used but the death of Jo Cox MP truly deserves the description. She was elected only last year to serve her constituents and she leaves behind a husband and young children. My thoughts and prayers are with them today. More news, no ads Several police officers were in attendance at Nadhim Zahawi's surgery in Old Town this afternoon. Photo: Mark Williamson Nadhim Zahawis office have confirmed that there is a police presence at the MPs constituency surgery in Stratford today. Politicians have been warned to review their security measures in the wake of yesterdays fatal attack on Labour MP Jo Cox. Mr Zahawi had earlier paid tribute to Jo Cox during a constituency visit to Springfield Mind in Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo: Mark Williamson Mrs Cox was shot and stabbed as she headed to a constituency surgery in West Yorkshire. A 52-year-old man has been arrested following the attack. FedEx Corporation (FedEx) (NYSE: FDX) announces that the U.S. Department of Justice has dismissed all remaining criminal charges pending against FedEx and its subsidiaries. FedEx is and has always been innocent, said Patrick Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, FedEx. The case should never have been brought. The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges. Many companies would not have had the courage or the resources to defend themselves against false charges. The power of the government was greatly misused when the case was initiated, but the governments integrity was redeemed by the decision to dismiss the charges today. FedEx remains committed to its long-standing cooperation with law enforcement authorities to prevent misuse of its transportation networks. (Updated - June 17, 2016 7:01 AM EDT) In cooperation with Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL), of Toano, Va., the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing that Lumber Liquidators has agreed to not resume sales of laminate wood flooring previously imported from China. The company also agreed to continue conducting a comprehensive testing program as part of a recall program that affects consumers who purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators during a three-year period. In homes where the Chinese-made laminate flooring is found to emit elevated levels of formaldehyde, the company will provide any required remediation. Todays announcement is not intended to cause consumers to pull up Chinese-made laminate flooring installed in their home. That approach could expose residents to increased formaldehyde levels. Instead, consumers should contact Lumber Liquidators to participate in this testing program. Out of an abundance of caution, Lumber Liquidators has tested the air quality in more than 17,000 households and has retained third-party certified laboratories to conduct formaldehyde emissions tests for about 1,300 of those consumers floors. None of those floors has tested above the remediation guideline. About 614,000 consumers nationwide purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring through Lumber Liquidators from 2011 through May 2015. Todays announcement comes after Lumber Liquidators suspended the sale of Chinese-made laminate flooring in May 2015 and announced its decision not to sell about 22 million board feet of this flooring. Any future sale, disposal or transfer of the inventory can only take place with CPSCs approval. Lumber Liquidators will continue its voluntary program to test for formaldehyde emissions in consumers homes. Lumber Liquidators and the CPSC encourage consumers who purchased Chinese-made laminate flooring from the company from February 2012 through May 2015 to request a badge kit and screening test. There is no cost for the kits. For consumers found to have elevated levels of formaldehyde in their homes, Lumber Liquidators will contact them for more extensive testing of their laminate flooring. Based on these test results, Lumber Liquidators has agreed to work with consumers to reduce the formaldehyde emissions levels and improve the indoor air quality of the home. If those efforts are unsuccessful, the company will pay for a certified industrial hygienist to examine the home and propose an additional remedy for the homeowner. The additional remedy would be free to the consumer and could involve replacement of the flooring or repairs to the home. Consumers should immediately contact Lumber Liquidators to request a free testing kit by calling 800-366-4204 between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, or between 11:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. on Sunday; or visit http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/testkit. Investigation Findings The companys actions come as CPSC has completed its evaluation of the safety of laminated flooring imported by Lumber Liquidators from China since 2011. Since the spring of 2015, the federal government has dedicated significant resources to determining if the Chinese-manufactured laminate flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators and installed in homes represents a health risk. The flooring was the focus of a 60 Minutes segment in March 2015 alleging that certain boards did not meet current California Air Resources Board standards for formaldehyde emission. On March 25, 2015, CPSC Chairman Elliot F. Kaye announced that the agency had opened an investigation into the matter. CPSC staff purchased samples of the product and contracted with certified laboratories to test for formaldehyde release from those flooring samples reported by 60 Minutes to have the highest formaldehyde emission. CPSC also requested that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) evaluate the testing results for possible human health effects from formaldehyde released into indoor air from this China-manufactured laminate flooring. CPSC staff reviewed the ATSDR report and substantially concurred with their findings. CPSC and ATSDR determined that eye, nose, and throat irritation could occur with the higher formaldehyde emitting flooring samples in certain home environments. Irritation can happen in anyone, but is more likely among children, older adults, and people with respiratory issues, such as asthma or other breathing problems. Very high levels of formaldehyde in homes may also be associated with a small increase in cancer risk. Some homes may already have high levels of formaldehyde emitted from products other than laminate flooring, such as cabinets, furniture or curtains, or from environmental tobacco smoke. Lumber Liquidators agreed that its future laminate flooring products will be subject to enhanced supplier controls designed to achieve compliance with California formaldehyde requirements and any future federal requirements for laminate flooring. Currently, Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring only comes from North America and Europe. Where can I get more information? If you have questions or concerns about the products used in your home, contact the CPSC Consumer Hotline at 800-638-2772. For more information on formaldehyde please visit: www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Guides/Home/ For more information on sources of formaldehyde and where levels may be higher, visit www.cdc.gov/nceh/formaldehyde Xerox (NYSE: XRX) today announced the names of the new companies that will be created following the completion of its separation into two publicly traded companies. The Business Process Outsourcing company will be named Conduent, Inc. and the Document Technology company will continue to be called Xerox Corporation. Conduent The name Conduent is inspired by the new companys expertise in connecting clients and their constituents through seamless transactions at massive scale in areas such as customer care, transportation solutions, and healthcare payer and provider services. Conduent reflects the companys position as a partner to businesses and governments, delivering experiences that drive satisfaction and retention among consumers, patients, commuters and employees. Conduent will begin its next chapter as a standalone company with a name that conveys the vital business we conduct every day, said Ursula Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox. Conduent is well-positioned to build on its strong heritage as a leader in business process services and will carry forward the values and culture of innovation, diversity and integrity from Xerox. With approximately $7 billion in 2015 revenue and 96,000 employees worldwide, Conduent will be a Fortune 500 scale business process services company with expertise in transaction-intensive processing, analytics and automation. Conduents differentiated offerings touch millions of lives, including two-thirds of all insured patients in the U.S. and more than half of all mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. It will have the second-largest market share in the business process outsourcing industry. Xerox The company also announced that the Document Technology company will retain the Xerox brand name, which is known globally for revolutionizing the way the world communicates originally through copying, now through digital technology, software and services. With unparalleled brand equity in printing and imaging, there is no better name for our document technology and document outsourcing businesses than Xerox. Building on its deep understanding of how the world works, communicates and shares content, the new Xerox will continue to help clients improve their workflow, productivity, and business performance, no matter where they are on their digital journey, said Burns. With approximately $11 billion in 2015 revenue and approximately 39,000 employees, Xerox will be a Fortune 500 scale company with a diverse portfolio of hardware, software and services supporting governments and commercial enterprises from small to large. It will continue to be a global leader across document and content technology and applications, managed print services and workflow solutions. The corporate logo of Bayer is seen at the headquarters building in Caracas March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo - RTSFW21 By Greg Roumeliotis and Arno Schuetze NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer AG , the German chemicals and healthcare company trying to acquire Monsanto Co (NYSE: MON), is exploring a sale of its radiology supplies unit that could be worth more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Bayer has said it does not need to sell assets to finance its $62 billion bid for Monsanto but has stressed that the strategic reviews of its businesses would continue as usual. The company is in talks with investment banks about hiring a financial adviser to explore strategic alternatives for the radiology supplies business, including a sale, the sources said this week. Bayer may decide to keep the unit, the sources added. The sources requested anonymity because the deliberations are confidential. Bayer declined to comment. The radiology business generates more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in revenue from contrast agents and related injection equipment. Its main products are Ultravist for computer tomography scans, with 318 million euros in sales in 2015, and Gadovist for magnetic resonance imaging scans, with 290 million euros. Bayer has been taking steps to narrow the focus of its healthcare division to prescription drugs and consumer care products. In 2014, it sold a unit making vascular catheters to treat clogged blood vessels to Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX) for $415 million, followed by the sale of a blood glucose meter business to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings for 1.02 billion euros last year. Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann said last month that the company would continue to develop its healthcare arm, which includes stroke prevention pill Xarelto and aspirin, the painkiller it invented more than a century ago. Monsanto turned down Bayer's $122-per-share cash offer on May 24 but said it was open to continuing discussions. Since then, negotiations between the two companies have been at an impasse, as Bayer has refused to raise its offer without Monsanto first opening its books, sources have said. Monsanto has been holding out for an improved offer before providing confidential information to Bayer. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Alexander Huebner, Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; EDiting by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Von Ahn) VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/16/16 -- First Mining Finance Corp. ("First Mining") (TSX VENTURE: FF)(OTCQX: FFMGF) is pleased to announce the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders held on June 16, 2016. A total of 166,752,114 shares were represented at the meeting, being 46.34% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares. All resolutions brought before the meeting, including the election of First Mining's directors for the ensuing year, were approved by the requisite majority vote of shareholders present in person or represented by proxy. Changes to Management First Mining is also pleased to announce that Mr. William Tanaka and Mr. Samir Patel have joined the Company as Vice President, Technical Services, and Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary, respectively. Mr. Patel will be taking over the role of Corporate Secretary and due to the Company's increased focus on projects within Canada, Mr. Raul Diaz's position has changed from Vice President of Exploration to Exploration Manager, Latin America. Mr. William (Bill) Tanaka graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelor of Science and Geological Engineering and brings over 24 years of consulting experience including eight years of project development and operating experience in the areas of resource and reserve estimation, mine design and planning, production scheduling, and capital and operating cost estimation. Mr. Tanaka has provided review and guidance services to First Mining on a consulting basis from the Company's inception in the areas of assessing the reliability of resource estimates and proposed extraction scenarios presented for potential acquisition targets. More recently, he provided guidance for and oversight of activities related to advancing properties acquired by First Mining. Mr. Samir Patel joins First Mining as Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary, bringing over seven years' of experience in the area of securities and corporate law, particularly in relation to M&A transactions, continuous disclosure requirements, corporate governance and equity financings. Prior to joining First Mining, Mr. Patel spent the last three and a half years as the Corporate Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Wellgreen Platinum Ltd., a Canadian PGM-Ni mining exploration and development company. Mr. Patel joined Wellgreen when they were listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and he oversaw the company's graduation to the Toronto Stock Exchange, and worked on numerous equity financings, including a bought deal financing under a base shelf prospectus. Prior to his time at Wellgreen, Mr. Patel spent four years in the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, a leading, full - service, national law firm, as an articling student and an associate in the firm's Securities & Capital Markets Group. His practice involved advising clients in a variety of sectors with respect to securities, corporate and commercial law matters, including public company financings, mergers & acquisitions and restructuring transactions. Keith Neumeyer, Chairman of First Mining commented: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Mr. Ramon Davila and Mr. Raul Diaz for their services to the Company's Board in the previous year. I would also like to personally thank Ms. Connie Lillico for her contributions to First Mining Finance as Corporate Secretary. In addition, I further would like to welcome Bill and Samir to our growing team." In addition, First Mining granted 10,595,000 stock options to Directors, management, employees and consultants of the Company under the terms of its Stock Option Plan. The stock options have an exercise price of $0.75 per share and are exercisable for a period of five years, with certain options subject to vesting provisions in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. ABOUT FIRST MINING FINANCE CORP. First Mining is a mineral property holding company whose principal business activity is to acquire high quality mineral assets with a focus in the Americas. The Company currently holds a portfolio of 27 mineral assets in Canada, Mexico and the United States with a focus on gold. Ultimately, the goal is to continue to increase its portfolio of mineral assets through acquisitions that are expected to be comprised of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and nickel. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF FIRST MINING FINANCE CORP. "Keith Neumeyer" Keith Neumeyer, Chairman Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Patrick Donnelly President 604-639-8854 Derek Iwanaka Vice President, Investor Relations 604-639-8824 [email protected] www.firstminingfinance.com Source: First Mining Finance Corp. BANGALORE, India, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today launched new global programs and tools designed to propel developers' skills and advance their careers around cloud and emerging technologies, such as cognitive and IoT. These initiatives include collaborations with Coursera and GitHub, which aim to reach millions of developers globally. The announcements were unveiled in Bangalore at IBM DeveloperConnect to more than 10,000 developers across India, who attended in person or virtually via Livestream. Key highlights of the news include: A collaboration with Coursera to strengthen developers' skills in India with new courses focused on cloud and IoT developerWorks Career Concierge, a cognitive learning tool that delivers personalized resources to advance developers' skills The general availability of GitHub Enterprise on Bluemix Dedicated, the first collaborative coding platform delivered as a managed service New cloud tools for Swift and Watson designed for mobile development and cognitive apps The news builds on the initiatives and investments IBM has already made in India, including the IBM Cloud data center in Chennai, which opened in 2015 to provide a local onramp to high-performing infrastructure as a service. Additionally, over the past year, IBM has launched three digital hubs with NASSCOM to connect Indian developers and startups with local resources and networking opportunities, and it has collaborated with developer partners TEXTIENT and InspireOne Technologies to bring cognitive solutions to the Indian market via the IBM Watson Ecosystem. According to Evans Data Corp., the total worldwide developer population will exceed 25 million by 2020, with India expected to become the world's largest developer ecosystem by 2018.1 Indian developers are already embracing cloud and emerging technologies, including cognitive computing, faster than their global peers.2 "The world will be re-written in code and much of it will be done right here in India," said Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Director, IBM India Private Limited. "Developers are an integral part of a new India that is underpinned by digital transformation. IBM's leading capabilities in Watson, IoT, cloud, mobile and blockchain will help developers innovate and succeed. At IBM, we are committed to investing in this ecosystem and will continue to collaborate with developers for a progressive India." To advance IBM's continued commitment to India and spur innovations in cloud and emerging technologies around the world, the company has launched new programs to equip developers with the skills and technology they need for cognitive business. IBM Bolsters Developers' Skills and Careers for the Cognitive Era developerWorks Career Concierge IBM is debuting a beta version of the developerWorks Career Concierge, a Watson-based personalized tool that helps developers progress in their cloud journey, regardless of their starting point. Developers answer a few questions about themselves and the Career Concierge uses the Watson Tradeoff Analytics API on Bluemix to provide a custom set of resources, training materials, code repos and events to help them advance in their careers. IBM is debuting a beta version of the developerWorks Career Concierge, a Watson-based personalized tool that helps developers progress in their cloud journey, regardless of their starting point. Developers answer a few questions about themselves and the Career Concierge uses the Watson Tradeoff Analytics API on Bluemix to provide a custom set of resources, training materials, code repos and events to help them advance in their careers. IBM and Coursera Launch Incentives for Full Stack Web Developers in India IBM and Coursera have collaborated to strengthen the developer ecosystem in India. For Coursera's global Full Stack Web Development course, IBM will support the top 20 Indian entrepreneurs who advance to the course's capstone and use Bluemix to develop their projects. These entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to join the IBM Global Entrepreneur program and receive $120,000 per year in IBM Cloud credits. IBM and Coursera have collaborated to strengthen the developer ecosystem in India. For Coursera's global Full Stack Web Development course, IBM will support the top 20 Indian entrepreneurs who advance to the course's capstone and use Bluemix to develop their projects. These entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to join the IBM Global Entrepreneur program and receive $120,000 per year in IBM Cloud credits. IBM and Coursera Team to Expand IoT CourseIBM has also teamed with Coursera to launch and expand the company's first-ever enterprise-backed course, A Developer's Guide to IoT. IBM and Coursera first introduced the Bluemix-based course in the U.S. in April 2016 and have now expanded it to additional countries, including India. Over 6,500 global students are already enrolled. IBM Provides New Cloud Tools and Collaborative Coding for the Enterprise New Swift on the Cloud Capabilities from IBM IBM has debuted two new capabilities to advance Swift on IBM Cloud. IBM Cloud Tools for Swift: IBM introduced the beta version of IBM Cloud Tools for Swift to simplify the management and deployment of server-side assets in an environment complementary to Xcode. IBM Cloud Tools for Swift is a free app that provides a single, visual interface for developers to assemble, manage, deploy and monitor apps. Swift on LinuxONE: Developers can now use Swift on LinuxONE, IBM's Linux-only enterprise system, to create applications that connect into the hybrid cloud. By running Swift on LinuxONE, developers can combine the programming language they know with the system's speed, security and scale. IBM has debuted two new capabilities to advance Swift on IBM Cloud. GitHub Enterprise goes live on Bluemix Dedicated GitHub Enterprise is now available as a service on Bluemix Dedicated, IBM's collaborative, cloud-based platform provided in a physically isolated cloud environment. As a Bluemix Dedicated service, GitHub Enterprise is integrated seamlessly into the developer experience, supporting high productivity across the DevOps lifecycle. GitHub Enterprise is now available as a service on Bluemix Dedicated, IBM's collaborative, cloud-based platform provided in a physically isolated cloud environment. As a Bluemix Dedicated service, GitHub Enterprise is integrated seamlessly into the developer experience, supporting high productivity across the DevOps lifecycle. Watson Developer Cloud Application Starter Kit To provide an easy entry point into cognitive and help developers infuse Watson capabilities into their apps more seamlessly, IBM has launched the Watson Developer Cloud Application Starter Kits, which provides code examples based on common use cases. Developers can leverage Business Intelligence (combining AlchemyLanguage, AlchemyData News and Tone Analyzer) to analyze news and social media, the Conversational Agent (combining Dialog and Natural Language Classifier) to guide users through a series of tasks in natural language rather than long form, and Audio Analysis (combining Speech to Text and Concept Insights) to extract concepts from a stream of audio and make recommendations based on those concepts. Media contacts: Anushri Dubey IBM External Relations I/SA +91 8095626117 [email protected] Bhuvana Subramanyan IBM External Relations I/SA +91 64005263 [email protected] Betsy Rizzo IBM Media Relations U.S. 1 (214) 356.2036 [email protected] 1 Evans Data Corp., "Global Developer Population and Demographic Study Volume II, 2015" November 2015 2 Evans Data Corp., "Global Development Study, Volume I, 2016," May 2016 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-launches-new-initiatives-to-advance-developer-skills-and-careers-for-the-cognitive-era-300286215.html SOURCE IBM Corporation Leading Software Secure Element used for critical mobile applications recognized as key player in the cybersecurity market AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- INSIDE Secure (Paris: INSD) (Euronext: INSD), a leader in embedded security solutions for mobile and connected devices, today announced that it earned the France Cybersecurity label for its MatrixSSE product. MatrixSSE, a Software Secure Element allows applications to perform cryptographic operations without exposing keys and other secrets that are critical to the security of those operations. The recognition was given last week at the Bpifrance Inno Generation 2 conference in Paris (France). This esteemed label is recognized internationally as an affirmation of the quality and performance of cybersecurity products and services. It is awarded by a governing body made up of French representatives from security sector (ACN, HEXATRUST), end-users (CLUSIF, CESIN, CIGREF, GITSIS) and public authorities (ANSSI, DGA, DGE). This recognition affirms INSIDE Secures position as a leader and game-changer in the cybersecurity market, where threats and damage are greater than ever. "MatrixSSE software Secure Element is already used by major players in the United States and in Europe to protect their clients including a banking main player, a major healthcare insurance provider and one of the Frances most prominent retailers, said Andrew McLennan, executive vice-president of INSIDE Secures Mobile Security Division. Receiving the France Cybersecurity label is an additional sign of trust and quality for our customers and end-users of our MatrixSSE solutions, and we are very pleased to receive this designation. MatrixSSE:Mobile applications are today used in many sectors: payment, bank services, health, access control, transport. They are also integrated into a wide range of nomadic devices, such as telephones, tablets, badges, watches and other connected items. In this context, an ever-increasing number of functionalities and sensitive data are distributed on a large scale and are therefore exposed to an increased risk of theft and attacks. Traditional data encryption solutions are no longer enough to secure this immense ecosystem and all the interconnected mobile systems. This is why these applications require an ever-increasing security level. Application developers are required to include complete protection in terms of logic, data and cryptography functions.INSIDE MatrixSSE provides its protection functions: execution security, anti-counterfeiting and obfuscation, and the software secure element. About INSIDE Secure INSIDE Secure (Euronext Paris FR0010291245 INSD) provides comprehensive embedded security solutions. World-leading companies rely on INSIDE Secures mobile security and secure transaction offerings to protect critical assets including connected devices, content, services, identity and transactions. Unmatched security expertise combined with comprehensive range of IP, semiconductors, software and associated services gives INSIDE Secure customers a single source for advanced solutions and superior investment protection. For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160616005941/en/ INSIDE Secure Geraldine Sauniere, +33 (0) 4 42 37 02 37 Marcom Director [email protected] Source: INSIDE Secure NEW YORK, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire. EXPERT ALERTS Cognitive Behavioral Therapy More Effective Than Medication When Treating Insomnia Consolidation of Healthcare Organizations Deaf-Blind Awareness Week Begins June 26 The Active Shooter Event: Staying Alive MEDIA JOBS Senior Multimedia Writer/Producer Oxygen (NY) Digital Journalist PGA.com (GA) Associate Producer CNBC (NJ) OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES How to Make More Money With Your Content Marketing Writing How to Sign up for Official Democratic and Republication Convention News Media 411: Tips for Assignment Editors EXPERT ALERTS: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy More Effective Than Medication When Treating InsomniaRichard Shane, Ph.D.FounderSleep Easily, LLC"One in three people have at least one symptom of insomnia, either not going to sleep or waking during the night. There are many treatments for insomnia, including medication, supplements, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Physical triggers such as relaxing the tongue and heart areas can help reduce both stress, PTSD and insomnia. The National Institutes of Health concluded that cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective and longer lasting than medication and other common remedies for insomnia. The American College of Physicians recommends that all adult patients receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia treatment instead of medication."Dr. Shane is a cognitive behavioral sleep therapist and founder of Sleep Easily with over 20 years' experience in a clinical setting. Author of the "Sleep Easily Method Sleepguide," Dr. Shane can comment on articles on for sleep topics and cognitive behavioral therapy treatments for insomnia. He is based in Boulder, Colo.Website: sleepeasily.comContact: Mary Cochran, [email protected] Consolidation of Healthcare OrganizationsJohn FinkPrincipalECG Management ConsultantsConsolidation of healthcare organizations may offer a cover of security in a changing market, but it creates a crowded clinical environment for multihospital systems that have acquired affiliates with overlapping services. Expanding reach and access are key priorities of any health system; redundancies are not. Eliminating duplicative services seems like an easy answer, yet health systems rarely do so. In turn, systems are getting bigger, but care costs and outcomes are not necessarily getting better. So why are health systems refusing to regionalize or close services, even though patients and the health systems themselves stand to benefit? Says Fink: "Many health systems know they need to regionalize or close services but are reluctant to do so due to a complex and potentially volatile array of financial, operational, strategic, cultural, and political considerations. In other words, it's a difficult conversation to have. However, by managing service lines at a regional level and aligning with physicians through shared service-line control, fragmented facilities can transform into a true system that improves healthcare outcomes and costs."Based in San Diego, Fink is a true thought leader in his field and was the recipient of the HFMA Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award for 20142015 for "Aligning with Physicians to Regionalize Services."ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/johnfink_ecgWebsite: http:/www.ecgmc.comContact: Kimberly Miller, [email protected] Deaf-Blind Awareness Week Begins June 26Beth KennedyDirector of DeafBlind CentralCentral Michigan University"Deafblindness is a disability of access. An intervener works one-on-one with a child who is deafblind to provide access and support. They foster growth within the student, assist them in making social connections and help them access the curriculum. They are a bridge between the student and teacher."Kennedy developed CMU's new online Deafblind Intervener Certificate Program. She is available to discuss deafblindness, working with deafblind children and the training of deafblind interveners -- professionals who improve educational outcomes for those who are deafblind. She is an expert in working with deafblind children, helping to provide access, foster communication growth and help the student reach their potential. CMU offers only one of only two deafblind intervener programs in the nation.Website: http://cmich.edu/newsContact: Rachel Esterline Perkins, [email protected] The Active Shooter Event: Staying AliveJoe Alton, M.D.Survivalist"Needing a plan for active shooter situations is galling to some, but it's part of life in the 'new normal.' Those with a plan will have a better chance to survive this event and many other disasters in the uncertain future."Dr. Alton can share tips to help people in a mass shooting survive, including: "If you find yourself in the middle of a terrorist event, you should remember these three words: Run, hide, fight. Just as 'stop, drop, and roll' can save the life of someone on fire, 'run, hide, fight' might save the life of someone under fire. This is the order of the actions that you should be taking in an active shooter scenario. Run: If you're in the line of sight of the shooter, run away at an angle or zigzag to make yourself a more difficult target. It's not a natural action you'd think of doing, but most shooters aren't marksmen and will miss a moving target. Hide: Most people will hide as their first course of action. However, you should run away from the direction of gunfire as soon as you hear it, leaving through those exits you've been mentally marking. This will make it less likely you and the shooter will cross paths. Forget about collecting your stuff; it will only slow you down. Fight: What if you can't run, and there is no reasonable hiding place? You just might have to fight yourself out of there. This strategy isn't always doomed to failure. You still might be able to subdue an attacker even if unarmed. Three young and unarmed men were able to do it to a shooter on a train in Paris. It's a last resort, but it can end without a fatality as it did there. If you don't fight, the shooter will have a clear shot to your head and death is likely. If you fight, it might just be harder to be hit with a fatal shot. Of course, it would be great if you knew martial arts, but any type of aggression against the gunman would disrupt their 'flow' and possibly put you at an advantage. If you can, approach him from the side or rear, and go for his weapon. If you have help, all should attack at the same time from different directions while hurling objects that he has to dodge. This guy is probably not James Bond; he'll be disconcerted and not be able to handle multiple threats at once."Alton is co-author of the Amazon bestseller, "The Survival Medicine Handbook." He has also written the New York Times bestseller in health, "The Ebola Survival Handbook," "The Ultimate Survival Medicine Guide" and the just-released and timely "The Zika Virus Handbook." He has also contributed to Survivalist Magazine, Backwoods Home, Self-Reliance Illustrated, and Survival Quarterly, and has written a chapter on the basics of medical survival for Doctor Prepper's latest edition of "Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook." He is a well-known speaker, and host of The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Hour syndicated podcast.Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHZtA9D4O6gWebsite: www.doomandbloom.netContact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected] MEDIA JOBS: Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/ Senior Multimedia Writer/Producer Oxygen (NY) Digital Journalist PGA.com (GA) Associate Producer CNBC (NJ) OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES: Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line. HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING WRITING. Want to make more money with your content marketing writing? (Who doesn't?!?) Experts from OPENForum, Wall Street Journal Custom Studios, T Brand Studio at New York Times, and Contently share their insight: http://prn.to/1tm688B HOW TO SIGN UP FOR OFFICIAL DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN CONVENTION NEWS. The Democratic and Republication conventions are around the corner, and the world will be watching closely to see what shakes out of Philadelphia and Cleveland. Want to stay on top of the latest news from the conventions? Here's how: http://prn.to/24UrANH MEDIA 411: TIPS FOR ASSIGNMENT EDITORS. Being a journalist is tough -- stress and responsibility are an everyday thing. Just ask any assignment editor. They're the heart of a newsroom and where almost every story begins. They find the stories by fielding calls from the public, listening to scanners, reading news releases (yes, it still happens), planning the stories and assigning them to a reporter. They're producers and troubleshooters and also make the suggestions as to whether or not a story should be covered. Here's some advice for assignment editors from NewsLab: http://prn.to/1RZjhZw PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380627LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/profnet-expert-alerts-insomnia-healthcare-consolidation-mass-shootings-more-300286505.html SOURCE ProfNet MIAMI, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a unanimous decision, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (OHCHR) has ruled that Ecuadorian brothers Roberto and William Isaias' civil rights were violated by the Government of Ecuador and that due process was not afforded to them when their businesses were confiscated by the State. As compensation, the Committee has ordered full restoration of their seized properties, which includes 14 media outlets, and a public apology by the Government of Ecuador. Additionally, Ecuador was asked to publish the Committee's opinion and distribute it widely inside the country. "This ruling shows that our innocence will always prevail when our case is analyzed through a transparent process. The abuse and persecution we have endured as victims of President Correa and his government has now been confirmed by the United Nations," said Roberto Isaias. "The judges' findings prove that a violation of our civil rights and a violation of our right to due process was clearly present and the order for reparations shows that the confiscation of our assets was illegal. We very much appreciate the dignity with which this panel of multinational judges studied our case," he added. In its official statement, the Committee also ruled that a constitutional amendment directed at the Isaias Brothers titled Mandate No. 13, which expressly forbade the filing of legal actions for the protection of their constitutional rights in response to the expropriation of the their assets and also instructed the dismissal of any judge who would hear any action on this matter, violated Isaias' rights under Article 14(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This ruling provides an impartial judicial lens to the pervasive nature in which the Correa government has violated its citizens' human and civil rights over the last decade, including the appropriation of private business, interference in the judicial system, and the abrogation of freedom of the press through the confiscation of media assets. For more than a decade, Roberto and William Isaias have been the targets of an aggressive campaign of political, economic and judicial persecution, in addition to the confiscation of their media assets, which included four radio stations, three newspapers, three magazines, and four television stations. In March 2013, unable to obtain a fair trial in their native country of Ecuador due to the implementation of Mandate 13, Roberto and William Isaias filed a complaint with the OHCHR against the government of Ecuador detailing the political persecution and human and civil rights violations they had suffered due to the lack of judicial due process and appropriation of assets by the Government of Ecuador. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-united-nations-human-rights-committee-finds-ecuador-government-guilty-of-violating-isaias-brothers-civil-rights-300286167.html SOURCE Roberto Isaias BP's Chief Executive Bob Dudley speaks to the media after year-end results were announced at the energy company's headquarters in London February 1, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett MOSCOW (Reuters) - A decision by the British people to quit the European Union in a forthcoming referendum would trigger a period of uncertainty for the world, BP (NYSE: BP) Chief Executive Bob Dudley told Bloomberg TV on Friday. Speaking on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Dudley said: "It's not going to change exactly what BP does. We will respond. "(But) my personal concern is the unintended consequences - no one is quite sure what will happen. I'm sure the pound will gyrate a bit. I think it will put the world into some period of uncertainty ... including for Britain. So, I'm concerned about that," he said. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government officials on temporary duty in Nicaragua were expelled this week, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, adding the action was "unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda" it seeks with Managua. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing that three officials had only recently arrived in Nicaragua when they were expelled on Tuesday. He did not elaborate on what they were doing in the Central American country. Nicaragua's government said that in an "unfortunate incident," it removed two U.S. officials from the country who were performing Customs security work tied to anti-terrorism, without the knowledge of local officials. It was not immediately clear why Nicaragua and the United States had different figures for the number of U.S. officials in the country. "Such treatment has the potential to negatively impact U.S. and Nicaraguan bilateral relations, particularly trade," Kirby told reporters when asked about the incident. "We've conveyed our strong displeasure," Kirby said, referring specifically to Francisco Campbell, Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States. In a letter distributed to the press, Campbell said the U.S. officials' anti-terrorism activities "were carried out without the knowledge or the proper coordination with Nicaraguan authorities, which is ... very delicate and sensitive." Nicaragua said it told the U.S. government "of the necessity to inform (them) about official missions that come to Nicaragua, and to coordinate their work." Kirby did not say whether Nicaragua's ambassador had been summoned to the State Department or the U.S. sentiments had been conveyed in some other manner. "We believe it was unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda that we seek with the government of Nicaragua," he said of the expulsion. (Reporting by David Alexander, Additional reporting by Ivan Castro in Managua; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM CB TENDER OFFER/RIGHTS OFFERING NOTIFICATION FORM Please place an X in the box(es) to designate the appropriate rule provision(s) relied upon to file this Form: Securities Act Rule 801 (Rights Offering) o Securities Act Rule 802 (Exchange Offer) x Exchange Act Rule 13e-4(h)(8) (Issuer Tender Offer) o Exchange Act Rule 14d-1(c) (Third Party Tender Offer) o Exchange Act Rule 14e-2(d) (Subject Company Response) o Filed or submitted in paper if permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(8) o Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Name of Subject Company) Idemitsu Kosan Kabushiki Kaisha (Translation of Subject Companys Name into English (if applicable)) Japan (Jurisdiction of Subject Companys Incorporation or Organization) Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Name of Person(s) Furnishing Form) Common Stock (Title of Class of Subject Securities) N/A (CUSIP Number of Class of Securities (if applicable)) Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. Attn : Koji Tokumitsu 1-1 Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8321, Japan + 81-3-3213-9307 (Name, Address (including zip code) and Telephone Number (including area code) of Person(s) Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications on Behalf of Subject Company) N/A (Date Tender Offer/Rights Offering Commenced) PART I INFORMATION SENT TO SECURITY HOLDERS Item 1. Home Jurisdiction Documents Exhibit Number 99.1 Announcement Regarding the Schedule of Business Integration with Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. and Acquisition Schedule of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. Shares (33.3% of the voting rights) from Royal Dutch Shell plc Item 2. Informational Legends The required legend is prominently included in the document(s) referred to in Item 1. PART II INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED TO BE SENT TO SECURITY HOLDERS N/A PART III CONSENT TO SERVICE OF PROCESS Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission written irrevocable consent and power of attorney on Form F-X dated June 17, 2016. SIGNATURES After due inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct. Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. /s/ Toyotaka Kai Name: Toyotaka Kai Title: Manager, Consolidated Accounting Section Date: June 17, 2016 The business integration described in this press release involves securities of foreign companies. The offer is subject to disclosure requirements of a foreign country that are different from those of the United States. Financial information included in this document, if any, have been prepared in accordance with foreign accounting standards that may not be comparable to the financial statements of United States companies. It may be difficult for you to enforce your rights and any claim you may have arising under the U.S. federal securities laws, since the issuer is located in a foreign country and all of its officers and directors are residents of a foreign country. You may not be able to sue a foreign company or its officers or directors in a foreign court for violations of the U.S. securities laws. It may be difficult to compel a foreign company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a U.S. courts judgment. You should be aware that the issuer may purchase securities otherwise than under the transaction described below, such as in open market or privately negotiated purchases. This document has been translated from the Japanese-language original for reference purposes only. While this English translation is believed to be generally accurate, it is subject to, and qualified by, in its entirety, the Japanese-language original. Such Japanese-language original shall be the controlling document for all purposes. June 17, 2016 Company: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer: Takashi Tsukioka (Company Code: 5019, TSE 1 st Section) Contact person: Koji Tokumitsu, General Manager, Investor Relations Office, Treasury Department (Tel: +81-3-3213-9307) Announcement Regarding the Schedule of Business Integration with Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. and Acquisition Schedule of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. Shares (33.3% of the voting rights) from Royal Dutch Shell plc Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (3-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo: CEO, Representative Director, Takashi Tsukioka) (Idemitsu), as announced in the press release Announcement Regarding Acquisition of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (Daiba 2-3-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo: Group CEO, Representative Director, Tsuyoshi Kameoka) (Showa Shell) Shares (33.3% of the voting rights) from Royal Dutch Shell plc on July 30, 2015, has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement for Idemitsu to acquire 125,261,200 Showa Shell shares (33.3% of the voting rights) from subsidiary companies of Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Share Acquisition). The effective date for the Share Acquisition needed to be changed as stated below, considering the time needed to complete further procedures as the Japan Fair Trade Commissions review of the business combination, upon which the Share Acquisition is conditioned, currently remains ongoing. Along with the change in the schedule of the Share Acquisition, the schedule of the business integration with Showa Shell announced in the Execution of Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Business Integration of Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.. on November 12, 2015 is changed as stated below. 1. Reasons for Changing the Acquisition Schedule The Share Acquisition is contingent upon the completion of the Japan Fair Trade Commissions review of the business combination and reviews in other jurisdictions where review of the business combination (or integration) is required. Upon reviewing the current progress of the Japan Fair Trade Commissions review of the business combination, the Share Acquisition schedule is amended as stated below. Please note that all reviews in other jurisdictions where review of the business combination (or integration) is required have been completed. The schedule for the business integration has also been changed accordingly to account for the extra time required to prepare for the integration as shown below. 2. Amended Schedule for the Share Acquisition and the Business Integration Before the amendment After the amendment Date of share transfer The first half of 2016 (planned) September, 2016 (planned) Effective date of business integration October, 2016April, 2017 April 1, 2017 (planned) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 SCHEDULE 13G/A Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. 2) CombiMatrix Corporation (Name of Issuer) Common (Title of Class of Securities) 20009T303 (CUSIP Number) May 31, 2016 (Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement) Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed: |X| Rule 13d-1(b) | | Rule 13d-1(c) | | Rule 13d-1(d) * The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page. The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes). CUSIP No. 20009T303 Schedule 13 Page 2 of 5 ___________________________________________________________________________ 1.Names of Reporting Persons. I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only). Perkins Capital Managment, Inc. 41-1501962 ___________________________________________________________________________ 2.Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) / / (b) / / ___________________________________________________________________________ 3.SEC Use Only ___________________________________________________________________________ 4.Citizenship or Place of Organization A Minnesota Corporation ___________________________________________________________________________ Number of 5.Sole Voting Power Shares Bene- 0 _________________________________________________________ ficially owned 6.Shared Voting Power 0 by Each _________________________________________________________ 7.Sole Dispositive Power 35,851 Reporting _________________________________________________________ 8.Shared Dispositive Power Person With: 0 ___________________________________________________________________________ 9.Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person 35,851 ____________________________________________________________________________ 10.Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) ____________________________________________________________________________ 11.Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row 9 4% ____________________________________________________________________________ 12.Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions) IA ____________________________________________________________________________ Item 1. (a)Name of Issuer: CombiMatrix Corporation (b)Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices 310 Goddard Suite 150 Irvine, CA 92618 Item 2. (a)Name of Person Filing Perkins Capital Management, Inc. (b)Address of Principal Business Office or, if none, Residence 730 Lake St E Wayzata, MN 55391 (c)Citizenship A Minnesota Corporation (d)Title of Class of Securities Common (e)CUSIP Number 20009T303 Item 3. If this statement is filed pursuant to ss240.13d-1(b) or 240.13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a: (a) | | Broker or dealer registered under section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o). (b) | | Bank as defined in section 3(s)(6) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (c) | | Insurance Company as defined in section 3(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (d) | | Investment Company registered under section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8). (e) |X| An investment adviser in accordance with s240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E); (f) | | An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with s240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F); (g) | | A parent holding company or control person in accordance with s240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G); (h) | | A savings associations as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); (i) | | A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 3c(14) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3); (j) | | Group, in accordance with s240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J). Item 4. Ownership Provide the following information regarding the aggregate number and percentage of the class of securities of the issuer identified in Item 1. (a) Amount Beneficially Owned: 35,851 (includes 0 common equivalents and 35,851 warrants exercisable within 60 days) (b) Percent of Class: 4.0% (c) Number of shares as to which such person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 35,851 (includes 0 common equivalents and 35,851 warrants exercisable within 60 days) (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 Instruction: For computations regarding securities which represent a right to acquire an underlying security see s240.13d(1). Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following / /. Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person. Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group Item 10. Certification. By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief,the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of and do not have the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of such securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having such purpose or effect. SIGNATURE After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct. June 10, 2016 ______________________________ (Date) /s/ Richard C. Perkins ______________________________ (Signature) Richard C. Perkins Executive VP/CCO/Portfolio Manager ______________________________ (Name/Title) A man who was killed in a brawl involving a group of teenagers may have been targeted for wearing a red jacket and mistaken as a gang member, a witness says. The 42-year-old Tongan man died in the early hours of Saturday after the fight in the middle of Bernard St in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington. He was due to move back to Tonga next week and had only lived in Auckland for a couple of months, a woman, who asked not to be named out of safety concerns, said. SHARP MEDIA A police tent was set up at the scene of the death on Saturday morning. She said the man was at her house on Friday drinking kava with her husband until midnight. After he left he was set upon by a group of four teens who were drinking beers in the street, she said. He was punched multiple times in the head then retreated back down her driveway. Police are investigating an unexplained death in Mt Wellington, Auckland. She, her husband and brother-in-law went to his aid before more teenagers came from a nearby house and continued brawling in the street. "There were maybe 10, 15 of them came out and were hard out fighting with my husband and brother in law. There were heaps of them attacking us." She said the people were aged between teens and their early 20s and were all dressed in blue. The man who was killed was wearing a red sports jacket. "I think they were Black Power and probably were thinking he was Mongrel Mob. Or they were just looking to pick a fight." She said one of the men had a knife in his pants and was threatening to kill her husband and brother-in-law. "One of the young guys said to (my husband) 'I'm not gonna stab you, we're gonna get a gun and shoot you'." Amid the confrontation the Tongan man was punched again and landed on the road with blood coming out his mouth, she said. She gave him CPR but was unable to revive him, as those involved in the fight ran off down the street. Police said they were chasing four men, all aged in their teens and early 20s. "We want to talk to the people involved as they would be in the best position to tell us what happened and why," Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Higson said. "We also appeal to any witnesses or anybody who has information about this incident and those involved to contact police." The man was believed to have been married with children, who were all in Tonga. Do you know more? Contact us newstips@stuff.co.nz Mt Wellington resident Sita Potiki said the man had been staying with a friend on Peace Ave and was drinking Kava with a friend's house on Friday night. Potiki said the man had left the house early on Saturday morning and was walking back to the house he was staying at when the incident occurred. Police erected a large blue tent over a crime scene in the middle of the road as forensics carried out an intensive search of the area. A hearse removed the man's body from the scene just after midday on Saturday. Detectives were also searching a rubbish bin near the shops on the corner of Peace Ave and Bernard St. Peruvian guinea pigs, Nacho, Pixie and Peanut were stolen from a Dunedin yard A trio of show quality guinea pigs have been stolen from a Dunedin backyard. "I feel pretty disgusted, I didn't think someone would steal a guinea pig," owner Amanda Pfyl said. The Peruvian long-haired guinea pigs, Nacho, Pixie and Peanut, were stolen on Wednesday night, just hours after a woman came to view another guinea pig Pfyl is selling on TradeMe. "I told her they weren't for sale and she left without buying anything. "The next day I went out to check on them and the three of them were gone." Repeated calls to the would-be buyer had gone unanswered, she said. The six-month-old guinea pigs were ginger and white and were of "show quality". "These are ones I got for my daughter's first birthday. "It was pretty upsetting really." Senior Sergeant Shona Low, of Dunedin, said police were investigating the theft. Any anyone with information was urged to contact Dunedin Police 03 471 4800, or anonymously via Crimestoppers 0800 555 111. Sarah Ingham, left, with her twin sister Joanne at Auckland Airport in 1998. One of the Ingham twins, who gained notoriety after claiming to have jumped ship off the Queensland coast and swum through shark-infested waters in 1997, has surfaced in a Lower Hutt courtroom. Sarah Ingham, 37, stood dressed in black before a Justice of the Peace in Hutt Valley District Court on Wednesday, accused of breaching her community work conditions. Court records showed she was sentenced to community work on March 1 after being charged with refusing to give blood to an officer. DEAN KOZANIC/ FAIRFAX NZ Sarah and Joanne head to court in Nelson in 1997. She is facing five other charges including disorderly behaviour, resisting police, driving while disqualified and giving false details, which are still before the court. READ MORE: High price to pay for chance of foreign love Sarah Ingham and her twin Joanne have been no strangers to courtrooms since returning to New Zealand from Malaysia in 2003. Sarah Ingham admitted a charge of breaching community work in the Nelson District Court in 2007. She was sentenced to the community work after receiving stolen copper in 2006. Also in 2006, Joanne Ingham was convicted of assault for punching a doorman in the stomach. Then in 2011 she was fined $150 after admitted walking into a Wellington supermarket and grabbing six packets of tobacco. The twins, originally from Kaiapoi, near Christchurch, attracted worldwide attention in 1997 when they claimed to have stowed away on a Malaysian container ship leaving Tauranga, to be with one of the sailors. They said they jumped overboard, 19km off the cost of Australia, and swam through shark and crocodile-infested waters to reach land. For years they seemed inseparable, distinguishable to strangers only by Sarah's birthmark on her face. In 1999, they married their Malaysian partners, settled there, and both had children. Their husbands are believed to have stayed in Malaysia when the twins returned to New Zealand. Sarah Ingham has been remanded on bail to reappear for a case review hearing in Hutt Valley District Court on all of the charges later this month. The conditions of her bail are to report to probation and to live at a Lower Hutt address. Police did not oppose bail. A "spate" of incidents in which young girls have been approached by men in Wellington's western suburbs have prompted warnings for parents. Wellington police are hunting a man who got out of his car, approached a young girl, then made "inappropriate" comments and gestures towards her. And, in a separate warning, Wadestown School has sent out a letter telling parents about two men seen approaching schools, saying there had been a "spate of concerning incidents". The incident police are investigating happened about 5pm on Tuesday, as the girl was walking her dog along Fitzroy St in Wadestown. Police said a white car with a spoiler drove past the girl before doing a U-turn. The man then parked behind the girl as she walked towards Oban St. He got out of his car, stood next to it and made inappropriate gestures and comments to the girl, police said. The girl carried on walking until she came across a woman who was able to help her. The driver is described as European with short black hair. He is thought to be about 25-35 and about 6ft (1.83 metres) tall. He is described as of average build and was wearing a dark-coloured long-sleeved top and dark-coloured pants. Wellington police would like to speak with members of the public who were in the area at this time and saw any suspicious activity. They would also like to speak to the woman the child spoke to. Anyone with information that could help is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Haley Ryan at Wellington central police on (04) 381 2000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. CONCERN FROM SCHOOL Wadestown School has responded to the incident by putting out a newsletter titled "An important message to all parents". It mentions two men who have been seen in the area, who have caused concern to police. Principal Sally Barrett said the newsletter was sent out after police notified the school of the men. "We want to give parents as much information as we can give them. "It was brought to our attention by a parent who had contacted the police. It happened well out of school hours. It is clearly a matter for the police to handle." "There has been a recent spate of concerning incidents in the western suburbs where children have been approached and propositioned by men," the newsletter, signed by Barrett and Constable Duncan Ashton, said. "It appears that from the description given there are at least two males independent of each other, acting suspiciously." The two descriptions given in the newsletter are of the 25-35-year-old European, and a second man described as Asian, in his 50s or 60s, and of average height. He has been seen riding a bike with a basket on the front and a carrier on the back. Barratt said the school was "working very hard to teach children the strategies they need to keep them safe". As she drives past her son Samuel Fischer's grave at the Akatarawa Cemetery not far from her home, Copland toots and tells him she loves him. She is calling for accountability for his death - by suspected suicide in Wellington's secure mental health unit - which she believes was preventable. On the day of Samuel Fischer's suspected suicide, he rang his mother, pleading "I need my antidote". He never found it. At 6pm on April 17 last year, 34-year-old Fischer was found dying inside the mental health unit supposed to be keeping him safe. He died in intensive care three days later. His death came in the same year as a spate of attacks involving mental health patients, which have prompted a mental health review. A review into Fischer's death just the second inside Wellington's locked acute mental health unit in 20 years has found doctors ignored his long history of suicide attempts. READ MORE * The life and death of Samuel Fischer * Wellington mental health patient's death avoidable - coroner * A spate of insane killings prompts review of Wellington's mental health services * Life and death of Nicky Stevens * Mark Burton: the killer I grew up with Speaking for the first time, Fischer's mother Lyn Copland said he had been neglected in the community and died in the one place he should have been safe. His death was preventable, "because he was being watched over", she said. Capital & Coast District Health Board refused to release the report into Fischer's care, citing privacy, despite a 2007 Ombudsman's ruling that serious event reports were of significant public interest. The Dominion Post nonetheless obtained the review, which identified multiple failings. Fischer was admitted on January 31, 2015, and spent almost three months as a compulsory patient under the Mental Health Act. Reviewers found he was never sufficiently stabilised to allow recovery. Clinical notes documented growing frustration at being locked in hospital, which resulted in him twice going AWOL. On the morning of his suspected suicide, Fischer was confused and overwhelmed and repeatedly banged his head on a wall. At 2pm his psychiatrist found him improved and deemed him low risk. His nurse later discussed his low mood, with Fischer "stating he has been here too long". She considered increasing monitoring frequency, but decided against it. The reviewers found Fischer's psychiatrist, who has since moved overseas, was diligent and competent. However, Fischer's treatment was "more permissive than conservative", there was no initial comprehensive risk management plan and doctors failed to take account of a history "replete with suicidal thinking [and] suicidal attempts". "The risk of attempted suicide should have been a prominent feature in his management planning because of his many past attempts and current instability." The reviewers also found the unit's failure to safeguard against financial risk "may have been a major omission". Despite Copland warning staff that, on a previous admission, Fischer had ordered a credit card and spent $15,000, no preventive action was taken. He again ordered a credit card while inside the unit, spending $20,000. His confusion on the morning of his suspected suicide followed a visit to Newtown Budgeting Service, where they discussed his debt. Capital & Coast alleged Copland brought credit cards into the unit without their knowledge a claim she dismissed as "ridiculous". In a letter dated two days before his suspected suicide, Samuel Fischer wrote that he feared he had post-traumatic stress disorder from being locked away for so long. Photo: SUPPLIED Mental health general manager for greater Wellington, Nigel Fairley, said the DHB was considering improvements based on the review's recommendations, including staff training in financial risk protection. Asked whether they accepted that Fischer's death could and should have been prevented, Fairley said: "The staff at our acute inpatient facility have a strong focus on client safety, which is taken into account when making any decisions about care and treatment. "While every effort is made to reduce the risk of suicide at the unit, situations can unfortunately arise where such events occur due to the often unpredictable nature of mental illnesses." Copland is one of a growing chorus of people calling for a wide-ranging mental health review. First up should be community mental health, which she called community mental neglect as staff failed to act on early warning signs to keep patients out of "barbaric and punitive" acute units. Veteran mental health campaigner and AUT psychology professor, Max Abbott, said mental health was much improved since the days of custodial monstrosities, but it was time for a major stocktake. Jane Stevens, whose son Nicky died of suspected suicide in the care of Waikato's mental health unit a month before Fischer's death, said the system was failing people dramatically. "There is no accountability. Where does it stop?" SUICIDES OF MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS In 2014, there were 139 suspected suicides of mental health patients, of which 131 were in the community, 6 in inpatient units, 2 on approved leave From 2001-2012, 1993 mental health patients died by suicide: 30 while inpatients; 121 within a week of discharge; 632 within 12 months of discharge. WHERE TO GET HELP Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354 Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757 Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666 Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends. Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz 0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at www.whatsup.co.nz. Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors. Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP) Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free. For further information, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812). Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz Im always disappointed at the low voting turnout in local body elections. Im never sure if people dont know who to vote for, dont think it is important to vote or just dont care. This year, Local Government New Zealand is running a Vote2016 campaign to raise awareness of the importance of voting to select who will be representing the community on our local councils. The aim of the campaign is to lift nationwide voter turnout in local elections to more than 50 per cent for the first time since the 1980s. As part of this, schools are being given the chance to participate in the Kids Voting programme, where students aged 11-15 have the opportunity to engage with real issues, decide which candidates best represent their own views, and vote for real candidates in their region. Although the students' votes will not be officially counted, the experience of participating in a real election is a great way to provide an understanding of the value and importance of local government in our future voters. LGNZ is now calling for expressions of interest for Kids Voting 2016. A letter has been sent to all schools with students in Years 7-10, inviting them to participate and already eight have signed up. I hope some of our Bay schools take up the opportunity. Teachers can get the teaching resource and find more information on Kids Voting at www.lgnz.co.nz/vote2016/voters/kids-voting. If youd like more information on the Regional Council or any other issue, contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579 5150. Jieling Xiao had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death. She was also ordered to pay reparations of $10, 000 and disqualified from driving for three years. Jieling Xiao was on a 12 month working visa in New Zealand and had never driven on an open road at more than 50km/h when she drove into the path of Rhys motorbike on the Napier-Taupo highway, killing him. According to the summary of facts, Xiaos erratic driving before the accident had alarmed other motorists. And Xiaos passenger said she had felt unsafe during a trip with Xiao the previous day. We do feel sorry for her, says Rhys mother Judy Richards. She was very remorseful in court today, she was in tears. But she has to pay for what she has done. Is 17 months adequate? Nothing is adequate but yes. She says Xiao will have to live with it for the rest of her life. But so will we. Xiao said quite openly that foreign people need to do a driving test to see if they are competent to drive in New Zealand, says Judy. Rhys Middletons parents Mike Middleton and Judy Richards. Photos: John Cowpland. We absolutely support the need for theory and practical tests before foreigners are allowed on our roads. There was another message for Xiao at sentencing today. It was from Lesley Settle, mother of Laura Settle who was engaged to be married to Rhys Middleton. Its our wish you educate your friends and family back in China should they wish to visit our beautiful country one day. Please encourage them to take a driving lesson when they are in New Zealand before they take to our challenging roads in hired or borrowed cars, says Lesley. Its our regret our Government doesnt support foreign drivers by asking them to get some driving experience, especially when driving on the opposite side of the road to normal. Lesley says they are petitioning our MPs to address this deficiency. And her family just wants to highlight the positive outcomes they hope will arise from their tragedy. Jieling Xiao leaves Napier District court in May after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death. Strength and beauty saw Tauranga Girls College take first place at the 2016 Tauranga Stage Challenge at Baycourt Theatre on Thursday night. They were crowned winners with their performance Sacred Journey I am strength, I am beauty which follows the process of kauae the traditional Maori ta moko which adorns womens chins. Real estate agents in Otumoetai, Bellevue and Matua listen up! Ross Stewart has a beef with you. And he knows hes not alone. Why do you think you have a God-given right to ignore the NO JUNK MAIL sign and continue to drop your bumf in my letterbox at least three times a week? The British PM had just arrived on the Rock when he heard of the vicious attack, and immediately confirmed he would not be speaking at the Stronger In rally Fabian Picardo and David Cameron at Gib airport as the British PM boards his plane back to the UK. :: REUTERS There was disappointment but also comprehension and sympathy in Gibraltar on Thursday, when what was to have been the highlight of the Stronger In campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, a rally at which prime minister David Cameron was due to speak, was cancelled at the last minute due to a vicious attack on Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire. When news of the attack broke, all campaigning for the EU referendum was suspended in the UK. David Cameron was en route to Gibraltar and as soon as his plane landed he tweeted:Its right that all campaigning has stopped after the terrible attack on Jo Cox. I wont go ahead with tonights rally in Gibraltar. The Stronger In group in Gibraltar, which had arranged Mr Camerons visit, announced that it too was suspending campaigning for 24 hours and that the rally would not take place. The 41-year-old MP was shot and stabbed several times by a man who one witness alleges kept shouting Britain First during the attack, although this has not been confirmed. A 51-year-old man was arrested soon afterwards. Ms Cox, a mother of two, died from her injuries a few hours later and Mr Cameron paid tribute to her, saying Weve lost a great star. Jo was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion and a big heart. People are going to be very, very sad at what has happened. Dreadful news. My thoughts are with her family. The Gibraltar government and chief minister Fabian Picardo also expressed their deep sadness at Ms Coxs death, and politicians from different parties in Spain expressed their shock at the news, and their sympathies. Historic visit Even though the rally did not go ahead, Mr Camerons visit meant a great deal to the people of Gibraltar, especially as it was a historic occasion: this was the first visit by a sitting prime minister since 1968. There is already massive support for a Remain vote on the Rock and, unusually, all political parties have set their differences aside and have been campaigning jointly for the UK - and therefore Gibraltar - to remain in the EU. A poll published shortly before the rally was to be held showed that 94 per cent of voters in Gibraltar planned to vote to Remain, two per cent to Leave and four per cent were undecided. Brexit threat Gibraltars economy relies heavily on the EU and access to the single market, and as the only British Overseas Territory to be part of the European Union it means that if the UK leaves, so does Gibraltar. Leaving the EU would mean that Gibraltars market would be reduced from 520 million people to 32,000, the population of the Rock. Chief minister Fabian Picardo has said in the past that Brexit would be an existential threat to the local economy and that is why so many people are expected to vote to Remain. However, although the effect of Brexit on the economy would be devastating, there is yet another fear for the people of Gibraltar. Spain, which disputes sovereignty of the Rock, has intimated that if Britain votes to leave the EU the subject of Gibraltar would be on the table for discussion the following day and the acting foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, has already suggested that Gibraltar should consider joint sovereignty because this would give it access to the single market. The Gibraltar government has made it clear that this would not be considered under any circumstances. It is therefore possible that if Britain left the EU, Spain would block Gibraltars access to the single market and could even block the UKs access to it in the future, as a way of putting pressure on for joint sovereignty. Some people also fear that if the UK, and therefore Gibraltar, were no longer in the EU, Spain would be free to close the border if it so chose. Spains acting PM, Mariano Rajoy, had openly expressed his annoyance at Camerons visit to Gibraltar. Gibraltar is Spanish, Brexit or not, he said earlier on Thursday. The convent of Santa Eufemia has become the first centre in Andalucia to shelter victims fleeing Syria and Palestine The mayor of Antequera, Manuel Baron, welcomes refugees on their arrival at Santa Eufemia. :: A. J. G. Since 1601, the patios, choir stalls and cells of the convent of Santa Eufemia were a place of prayer, silence and spirituality. Now, in 2016, the resident Monjas Minimas have exchanged the quiet and cloistered halls for the racket of children playing, full of hope and happiness. These are some of the refugees that have fled from their war-torn countries in order to make a better life for themselves. So, with their arrival, Antequera has become the first town in Andalucia to offer shelter to refugees following the crisis in Syria and Palestine. The group of 22 refugees arrived at Malaga port last week where the man responsible for the centre at Santa Eufemia, Lucas Sagredo, was waiting to welcome them. Eight of the 22 decided to decline shelter offered to them by the convent, preferring to search for family and friends who were already living in Spain. After going through customs and received political asylum in order to step on Spanish soil, the refugees got onto the bus heading to Antequera. Although they were tired from delays, all of them were taking note of their surroundings - the streets and the motorway, explained Sagredo. As soon as the refugees arrived in Antequera, they were welcomed by the mayor, Manuel Baron, who said it was one of the most emotional moments for him to experience in his position. Baron now considers Antequera as the capital for humanitarian aid and social relations on an international level during one of the most problematic situations in the history of mankind over the last few years. Francisco Cansino, the eastern Andalucia head of the Comision Espanola de Ayuda Refugiado (CEAR), said, The moment I saw children running around the convent, it gave me goosepimples. Now they must start the hard task of encouraging integration between the locals and the refugees, such as learning about their countries history, customs and traditions. Of the 14 refugees now living at the Santa Eufemia convent, 12 come from Syria, and two from Palestine. There is one man, three women and 10 children, the youngest of whom is only two and a half years old. However, the convent is awaiting the arrival of 24 more asylum-seekers. The Monjas Minimas say they do not care about nor ask after what religion the refugees are following- they only wish to provide help to those who need it. Silent protests were held across the region following the nightclub massacre A tribute in the Plaza de la Constitucion, Malaga. A. CABRERA Towns and villages along the Costa del Sol have been paying tribute and remembering the victims of the massacre at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, last weekend. People from all walks of life, including the LGBTI community, gathered in Malagas Plaza de la Constitucion lighting candles and displaying rainbow flags. Many town halls across Andalucia held a minutes silence. The 42-year-old, who police have named as Emiel B., is believed to have been involved in a series of murders in which at least 15 people have died in the past three years The suspect, during the search of the property. :: GUARDIA CIVIL The Guardia Civil have arrested a 42-year-old Dutchman who is believed to have been the second-in-command to British drug trafficker Robert Dawes, who was arrested in Benalmadena in November and is now in prison in France. The detention of the Dutch suspect, who police have named as Emiel B., came as part of Operation Brumosa, which the Spanish Guardia Civil carried out jointly with Dutch police and which was coordinated by Europol. It was while the police were investigating Robert Dawes that they began to suspect Emiel B., who travelled frequently from the Netherlands to Malaga province. They believe he came to the Costa del Sol to receive instructions from Dawes about the transportation and distribution of the drugs which were brought into different European ports, especially Antwerp and Rotterdam. The Guardia Civil and the Dutch police then found that the suspect was holding regular meetings in the Netherlands with the heads of drug cartels from South American countries, who were there to organise the details of drug trafficking operations. By watching them, the police discovered that members of the Dutch organisations were carrying out operations with other individuals associated with drug trafficking in the Netherlands, and who were linked to the Satudarah motorbike club. They also believe that Emiel B. and his team were involved in a series of settling-of-accounts killings using AK-47 assault rifles in which at least 15 people have died in the past three years. After Robert Dawes was arrested, the investigating team saw that Emiel B. continued to visit Malaga province to try to keep the networks infrastructure active in Spain. On one of these visits, officers from the Drugs Squad of the Guardia Civils Central Operative Unit (UCO) realised that he was staying in an apartment which the organisation used as a safe house, on a residential development in Torremolinos, and they arrested him there. Simultaneously, in the Netherlands, police there began an operation to arrest the other members of the network. In the investigation in the Netherlands and Spain, 15 properties were searched and more than six kilos of cocaine were seized, as well as several firearms, 500,000 euros in cash, diamonds, top of the range vehicles and 150 encrypted telephones. The authorities have also blocked several bank accounts and properties in different European countries. Encrypted phones The members of the organisation were so concerned about security that Emiel B. gave many of his team and those of other organisations telephones which had been encrypted with PGP technology so they could communicate securely. This is a highly-advanced form of technology which would only be available to organisations with a great deal of money. Emiel B.,who was the subject of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Dutch legal authorities, was extradited from Spain and has been remanded in custody. Politicians across the spectrum have been on the campaign trail. :: EFE As we enter the final week of campaigning, opinion polls back home appear to have swung quite firmly towards a Brexit; on Wednesday the YouGov poll gave the Leave campaign a seven-point lead, with 11 per cent still undecided, whereas ICMs poll for The Guardian suggested that Leave is ahead by four points. Indeed, a war is being waged; each camp accusing the other of scaremongering and skewing the facts, at least until a cross-party House of Commons Committee report accused Vote Leave, Britain Stronger in Europe and the Treasury all of misleading voters in the campaign. According to a Radio 4 programme last week, the report was particularly critical of the leave camps main assertion that exiting the EU would save 350 million pounds a week that could be spent on the NHS, saying that the claim was deeply problematic. Here, on the continent, according to a recent survey conducted by InterNations, a global network for expats, almost three-quarters of the 1,800 British expats who participated say they are eligible and planning to vote in the referendum are in favour of remaining in the European Union. The survey revealed that as many as 94 per cent of British expats think that Brexit concerns them personally and of these, over eight in ten state that Britain leaving the European Union could potentially change their personal living situation abroad. Reasons for not voting More than 40 per cent of those questioned are not planning to vote, of which eighty per cent have lived abroad for over 15 years and are therefore not eligible. Further reasons given for expats not voting include finding the matter too complicated to deal with, not feeling informed enough to make a decision and a lack of interest or influence. Postal votes By now all expats who arranged to vote by post should have done so - whether their ballot papers actually arrived at their destination is another matter. Reports of envelopes being binned in Germany, France and Spain have appeared in newspapers and on radio shows and, of course, on social media. Take for example the thread on Southern Spain Q&A Facebook page, run by Brit Ray Farmer who said, One case I do remember is Puerto Pollensa (Porto Pollenca) in Mallorca, where someone reported a bin full of disgraced vote envelopes. The electoral Commission reacted to the problem on 2 June with a statement that said, Royal Mail has confirmed that IBRS is accepted across all international posts. It is working closely with postal operators to ensure acceptance of postal votes. Two years to negotiate The only thing we really know about a Brexit is that the government would have a two-year period in which to reach agreements with the EU and indeed individual member states. Last weekend, Mariano Rajoy warned that Britain leaving the European Union would have negative consequences for everyone. But then, with 400,000 Brits living in Spain, and as many argue, contributing to the countrys economy, why would the Spanish government want to jeopardise British investment? Pensions and health care The biggest concerns to expats living in other EU countries are pensions and health care. Could pensions be frozen like they are for Brits retiring to Australia or South Africa? Would the NHS really see a million returned expats queuing up outside its already saturated hospitals and health centres? Of course, we dont know. Spanish citizenship The question of becoming a Spanish citizen has come up on numerous occasions, both on social media forums and one man in Marbella announced that is what he would do when interviewed by the BBC for a Radio 4 programme. Yet it isnt that easy; firstly you need to be able to demonstrate a good basic level of Spanish, which many Brits living here dont have and you have to know your stuff about Spain its political system, monarchy and history. Generally speaking, someone applying for Spanish citizenship would have to demonstrate that they have lived in the country for 10 years, although in some cases this can be shortened. Would Rajoy concede to every single Brit who so desires, to continue to live here? Oh yes, and you cant have two passports you would have to give up your UK one, as one forum thread considered. Immigration One of the central themes to this debate has been immigration. The Brexiters claim that the flow of immigrants will never stop, while the Bremainers have fought back with statistics that demonstrate that over half of UK immigration comes from outside the EU, so has nothing to do with the debate. Brexiters have said that European nationals come over and steal our jobs, while Bremainers say that they are only taking the jobs that Brits wont do themselves and that they pay more into the system than many UK nationals. Whatever the outcome, as many vocal campaigners in the Bremain camp have commented, why do we vote for politicians in the first place when all they do is pass a major decision to 50 million people who, by and large, know very little, if not nothing, about what they are actually voting for, instead of deciding what is best for the country, having been elected to do so? Opinion After the big TV debate, Spain's thoughts already turn to after the 26 June poll; all four main parties choose sunny messages to campaign locally PSOE leader, Pedro Sanchez, with his sardine espeto in Marbella. :: J-L With just over a week to go to the rerun of Spains general elections on 26 June, the campaign has been in full swing this week. On Monday the only televised debate of the campaign took place between the four main political parties. Unlike the last vote in December, all the leaders, including Mariano Rajoy, acting prime minister, agreed to take part. Opinion polls suggested that voters thought that the leader of left-wing Unidos Podemos (UP), Pablo Iglesias, had given the most impressive performance. Despite nine days remaining before polling day, parties and political commentators are already concentrating on what will happen afterwards, as it seems likely that, once again, no single party will get an overall majority. The socialist PSOE were first to make a move, tweeting that in their opinion the political party that can negotiate support across as many MPs as possible should form the next government. This view is a reflection of polls indicating that the Socialists may be pushed into third place behind UP next weekend and will need to pact to have any chance of power. However the Partido Popular (PP) were quick to repeat their mantra that only the most-voted party should lead a government. The PP were the top party in December. Sand between their toes Politicians have been bringing theirnational campaigns to Malaga province this week, choosing the Costa del Sols beaches for eye-catching photo opportunities. In Marbella, the local PPparty was at the Artola Dunes at Cabopino (Marbella) to highlight recent investments in coastal protection by the national PP government and projects like the coastal walkway, the paseo maritimo extension in Fuengirola and Nerjas water treatment plant. Sardines and Socialism On Wednesday, national leader of the PSOEparty, Pedro Sanchez, was also in Marbella, stopping at a beach chiringuito to be photographed next to a traditional espeto sardine skewer. Number one on the Socialists electoral list for Malaga province, Miguel Angel Heredia, used the occasion to criticise left-wing rivals, Unidos Podemos (UP). Sticking to the food theme, he said, They are an ensaladilla rusa of parties,making reference to the many different groups making up that new political bloc. Left leader returns home Unidos Podemos itself was in town, choosing Malagas Plaza de la Merced to launch their campaign locally. Local boy, Alberto Garzon, national leader of Izquierda Unida (IU), partner in the UP political bloc, was critical of the PSOE. After 34 years of Socialist government [in the Andalucia region] they have left us trailing behind the rest of Spain, he said. In a light-hearted moment in the heat of the campaign, Garzon invited national UPcampaigners to supper at his favourite childhood chiringuito on Rincon de la Victoria beach, outside Malaga. Garzon shared the moment on social media when the restaurant owner jokingly asked the notoriously casually-dressed UP leaders to please wear a tie when they appeared in the forthcoming TV debate. Focus on solar energy The centrist Ciudadanos party was also promoting the Costas strengths in its campaigning this week. Speaking in Malaga, Guillermo Diaz, number two on the partys local electoral list, was critical of the PP governments so-called impuesto al sol (sun tax) on home-generated solar power and promised more investment. The author will receive the Princess of Asturias prize for literature in October Richard Ford. EFE The prestigious Princesa de Asturias Foundation has awarded its annual prize for literature to the American author Richard Ford. Ford, who is no stranger to winning prizes, is well-known for his works portraying the day-to-day life and social tensions of the United States. Announcing the award panels decision, the foundation praised Ford as a profoundly contemporary narrator, as well as the great chronicler of the mosaic of interwoven tales that is American society. Ford, who is seen by many as a modern-day Hemingway, was born in Jackson (Mississippi) in 1941 and overcame dyslexia to become a successful writer. He is author of a memorable trilogy:The Sportswriter (1986), Independence Day (1995) and the Lay of the Land (2006), among many other works. He was the first author to win both the Pulitzer and Faulkner prizes in the same year for Independence Day. The Princesa de Asturias Foundation is a non-profitmaking organisation linked to the Spanish monarchy that awards prizes in eight different categories across the sciences, arts and humanities each year. The award ceremony will be held in Oviedo (Asturias) in October. Syracuse, N.Y. One of the oldest buildings in Syracuse is now history. Literally. The former home of Rafferty's and Shenanigans bars at 318 E. Fayette St., which was built as a home in the mid-1800s, was demolished four weeks ago with no fanfare. Owner Eleanor Theodore said the city ordered her to demolish the three-story building after engineers determined it was structurally unsafe. She said the building was flooded and extensively damaged when its sprinkler system sprung a leak in January. Theodore said she has no immediate plans for the now-vacant lot. She inherited the building from her father, William Theodore, who bought it in 1941. Pamela Priest, archivist and research center manager for the Onondaga Historical Association, said she first learned of the demolition on May 22 when she left her office on nearby Montgomery Street and saw that most of the building had already been taken down. She snapped a quick picture of what was left of it. (See photo in gallery above.) Priest said the building dates back to before 1851, when it showed up on a city directory with four tenants. At the time, its address was listed as 42 E. Fayette St. The numbering system on the street was later changed and it is now 318 E. Fayette St. The earliest known image of the building is from an 1878 lithograph, in which it appears as the middle of three buildings on the street. By 1908, an addition had been built onto the front of the house and it had become a commercial building housing various businesses, Priest said. At some point later, an addition was built onto the rear of the building. In recent years, the building housed a series of bars and restaurants, including Shenanigans, the Burgundy Lounge, Rafferty's, Shell & Bone and The Taste. It was vacant when the flood occurred. Despite the fact that it was at least 165 years old, the building was not on the city's list of historic properties. Owners wishing to demolish buildings on the list must first obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board. Kate Auwaerter, preservation planner for the city, said it appears the property was missed by periodic surveys conducted to identify historical structures. However, she said inclusion on the list would not have mattered in this case because a certificate from the Landmark Preservation Board is not required when a building is determined to be structurally unsafe and an emergency demolition is ordered. Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A man and his nephews -- one of whom is on parole for killing another man -- were arrested after a drug raid at their house, the New York State Police said. On Friday authorities executed a search warrant at 608 Turtle St. in Syracuse. State police said the operation included troopers with the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team, Special Operations Response Team and K-9 Unit. They were joined by detectives from the Syracuse Police Department's Special Investigations Division. Investigators seized about 3 ounces of heroin from the house, state police said. The heroin was packaged in 1,054 envelopes. Also seized was about 10 grams of cocaine, assorted drug paraphernalia, marijuana and $568. State police did not provide details of the investigation, but said the drugs seized have a street value of around $20,000. Donald A. Keller, 52; Aquino D. Keller, 30; and Telito C. Keller, 36, were each charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of marijuana and second-degree criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Donald Keller is Telito and Aquino Keller's uncle. Aquino Keller also faces two additional counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Telito Keller is also on parole for first-degree manslaughter. He had previously been charged with second-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of Mark Harris Jr., 17. But a trial ended in a mistrial due to juror misconduct and prosecutors cut a deal to avoid a second trial. Telito Keller pleaded guilty in 2001 to manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He was released to parole in 2014. All three men were held at the Onondaga County jail. Donald A. Keller Aquino D. Keller DEWITT, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man has been accused of stealing a puppy from a car in a grocery store parking lot and then turning the canine over to the Central New York SPCA, DeWitt police said. Cameron McIntyre, 22, of Syracuse, was charged with petit larceny. On Wednesday, June 8 around 1 a.m. a woman left her 5-month-old pit bull puppy in her car in the parking lot of the Wegmans on James Street in DeWitt. She left the front passenger window cracked open and was in the store for about 20 minutes, said DeWitt Police Sgt. Chris Fuller. When the woman returned, her puppy was gone. She reported the dog stolen. This week police released surveillance photos from the store of a suspect and received several tips. McIntyre promptly came to the police station when he realized police were looking for him, Fuller said. McIntyre had been shopping in the Wegmans. After he left the store McIntyre was able to open the woman's car via the cracked window, Fuller said, and took the puppy. McIntyre told police he took the puppy because it looked underfed and scared, Fuller said. He brought the pooch to the SPCA the next day. Fuller said the SPCA did not believe the puppy was malnourished. McIntyre was issued a ticket. He is scheduled to appear in DeWitt Town Court on July 6. A crowd assembles for a Paper Mill Island holiday party of music and fireworks. BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. -- Last summer, Mike Gordon, Warren Haynes, Jonny Lang and Yonder Mountain String Band all graced the stage at Paper Mill Island. This summer, no such luck. A handful of local bands will perform at the Baldwinsville amphitheater in the next few months. That's good news for the 3,500-capacity venue, but not for music fans accustomed to much bigger names at Paper Mill, in addition to a regular schedule of free community events. In other years, Paper Mill attracted high-profile touring acts like Alabama Shakes, Ani DiFranco and the Disco Biscuits. The Village of Baldwinsville handles all Paper Mill event contracts, though the village does not actively book shows. Promoters and event coordinators work directly with the village to host events. "We know things are sort of slow," said Linda Ross, deputy clerk for the Village of Baldwinsville. "I feel like it's too bad, but we're not in the business of actively pursuing acts. That's the hard part. We're sitting here, waiting for it be reserved. We're kind of stuck." Local promotion company Creative Concerts brought several national artists to Paper Mill in previous years, but has not yet booked anything there this summer. Dan Mastronardi of Creative Concerts said no bands have chosen to play at Paper Mill this year. Instead, they're booking shows at other Syracuse venues like the F-Shed, Landmark Theatre, Palace Theater, Westcott Theater and at venues in Rochester, Binghamton and Utica. "We tell the bands what our venues are and they pick where they want to go," said Mastronardi. "Most bands want to go to Saranac [Brewery]. We just haven't gotten any shows that would work for Paper Mill. If we have mellower stuff, we definitely do it there." Baldwinsville's noise limits, Mastronardi said, do contribute to bands choosing to play elsewhere. Village officials limit music at Paper Mill to 90 decibels, with peaks no higher than 95 dB. A gas lawn mower or snow blower typically produces between 100-110 dB. Most MP3 players use a maximum output of 110 dB. This rule has turned off promoters in the past, an issue which the village must balance with residents demanding peace and quiet. "When certain bands play louder, we get a lot of complaints," Ross said. "Of course we want to have bands here, but we need to keep the residents happy. We try to set a level that will be acceptable for everyone." In past years, some performers ignored village noise ordinances. Other times, the village offered exceptions to the noise ordinance, with major consequences. Last year, Baldwinsville Mayor Dick Clarke said the village gave 95X Fest a variance on the noise -- a decision which he said turned into "a nightmare." "It was loud and the language was awful," said Clarke. "We want people to feel like it's a center for music but not for music that's disruptive." Otherwise, Ross said last year's Paper Mill shows received plenty of positive feedback for the venue's outdoor setting and easy traffic flow. Paper Mill's reservation fee ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 per day, depending on how high promoters set their ticket prices. The security deposit starts at $1,500. Paper Mill Island amphitheater was built in 2000 as part of a $3 million rejuvenation project to stimulate the Baldwinsville economy and community. More than $1 million for the project came from state and federal money. Paper Mill Island 2016 summer events On June 18, the Island Country Jam will feature local bands Payton Bird, Grit n Grace, TJ Sacco and the Urban Cowboys, Custom Taylor Band, Dirt Road Ruckus and ZBTB, a Zac Brown tribute band. Future shows in the "Islandfest series" have been booked all summer, with details TBA. The 2016 Summer Concert Series is a partnership with the towns of Lysander and Van Buren to put on free concerts with local bands every Tuesday. On July 1, the Paper Mill Island Independence Celebration will feature fireworks and performances from Brickyard Road, Hard Promises and Under the Gun. Saturday, June 18: Islandfest Series 1:30 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, June 21: Baldwinsville Pep Band. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28: Thunder Canyon Band. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 1: Islandfest Series with fireworks, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, July 12: Long Time Coming. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 16: Islandfest Series. 5:30 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, July 19: Moonshine River Band. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 26: The Horn Dogs. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2: Hard Promises. Free concert at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13: Islandfest Series. 5:30 to 11 p.m. Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook ClassNK returns to Tehran Classification society ClassNK has resumed operations in Iran. It has reopened its Tehran Office following agreements with the Iranian Classification Society (ICS) and Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO), Ministry of Roads & Urban Development of Iran. ClassNK originally opened a Tehran Office in December, 2009 but withdrew in 2012. In light of recent changes in the country, ClassNK has decided to reopen its Tehran Office on 15th June. As part of its plan to further strengthen operations in the region, the class society signed an agreement with ICS in February, 2016 which sets out a framework for surveys and certifications for NK/ICS dual-classed ships. A separate agreement with PMO, the Iranian maritime administration, is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks. That agreement will enable ClassNK to perform statutory surveys and certifications on Iranian-flagged vessels in co-operation with Port & Flag State Control officers. New NI President plots course Capt David (Duke) Snider FNI, the newly elected president of The Nautical Institute, has pledged to ensure the mariners voice is heard loud and clear within the maritime industry. Speaking at the NIs annual general meeting in Aberdeen on 9th June, Capt Snider said that one of his first roles as president will be to champion the new five-year Strategic Plan, which was launched in March. The plan, put together following responses from more than 1,400 members surveyed in a questionnaire, will see a renewed focus on human element projects aimed at building competencies for modern integrated ships. Command, manning and fatigue, mentoring and continuing professional development (CPD) were other themes identified for further work. In his acceptance speech, Capt Snider explained: We will continue to work within our industry to promote the improvement in usability of shipboard equipment by including seafarers in the human-centred design of systems and equipment. Too often, he suggested, design or regulation is introduced without sufficient thought being given to their effects on the mariner, particularly on their workload. Capt Snider, an experienced ice navigator from Canada, joined NI in 1989 while studying for his Watchkeeping Mates certificate of competency. He was a founder member, and has long been a director, of NIs British Columbia Branch and has been an active and enthusiastic member of Council. He was elected senior vice president at the 2014 AGM. Capt Snider wrote Polar Ship Operations, the NIs work on the subject of ice navigation. During the time in his new post, he expects to see the start of the Institutes Ice Navigator Training Accreditation and Certification schemes, which complement the IMO Polar Code Polar Waters Training programmes. New tanker trade route developed Geneva-based trading house Vitol, has sold a naphtha cargo from the new Indian refinery at Paradip to Japan. An LR1, Gulf Pearl, will load a 55,000 tonne naphtha cargo for Vitol this week at Paradip, shipping sources told Platts. A Vitol official declined to comment, the news agency said. Thus far, almost 250,000 tonnes of naphtha refined at Paradip has been sold in recent months for export, mostly to Vitol for shipments to Singapore and North Asia, sources said. These deals are claimed to be significant, as they open up a new trade route for clean product tankers, Platts reported. This sale also comes at a time when Asian naphtha supplies are at a surplus, as demand has weakened owing to a slowdown in production of petrochemicals. Many Asian petrochemical plants are also opting to use LPG as feedstock, thereby reducing demand for clean product tankers to move naphtha in the region, traders and brokers told the news agency. The benchmark Persian Gulf/Japan LR1 rate was assessed at WS92.5 last Monday, down from WS152.50 at the beginning of the year, according to S&P Global Platts data. The bulk of India's naphtha exports have emanated from India's west coast where refineries have surplus volumes for sales. The Paradip refinery is currently being operated to maximise gasoline production, but occasional naphtha sales are still undertaken for shipments overseas in LR1s and MRs, sources said. "There is strong demand for Indian naphtha in China and Japan and some of it can be sourced from Paradip," a trading executive told Platts. The Paradip refinery is IOC's ninth facility and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February. When it reaches full capacity, it will be able to process around 15 mill tonnes per year of crude and produce 1.5 mill tonnes per year of naphtha. However, the annual naphtha output from the refinery is unlikely to be more than 600,000 tonnes at present, due to the focus on producing more gasoline. There is a large gasoline domestic market. Over the next two years, IOC is also aiming to complete its 700,000 tonnes per year capacity polypropylene project at Paradip, and thereafter naphtha production at the refinery can be increased for in-house use of feedstock, a refinery official told Platts. Tankers wont benefit from enlarged canal The new enlarged Panama Canal locks are due to open to the first toll paying vessels on 26th June, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) some 20 months behind schedule. ACP has also announced that the draught restrictions caused by the El Nino effect, which had threatened the opening, have been lifted following sufficient rainfall over recent days. Historically, only about 5% of all traffic transiting the canal are tankers and this figure will not change significantly, once the enlarged waterway is fully operational, London broking house Gibson said in a report on the Canal. The maximum width of the new locks (49 m), which prohibits any tanker larger than a Suezmax from being able to transit. Furthermore, a Suezmax will only be able to transit on a reduced draft. The economics of taking a part loaded Suezmax through the canal to discharge in the Far East will make most trips along this route arbitrage driven, given the distance and the transit fees, Gibson said. In addition, the impact of the removal of the US ban on crude exports may well be minimal in the short term, as no significant increases in crude exports are envisaged while domestic production is falling. However, we could witness some crude movements from the US Gulf to the Far East. The current low bunker fuel price will also influence the decision on whether to pay canal fees or sail via the Cape, Gibson said. US Gulf refiners may appear to benefit from the option to ship LR2 parcels to the West coast of Latin America via the canal, however port infrastructure is likely to see MRs remain the dominant players in this region. Similarly, the Jones Act will continue to limit product movements from the US Gulf to US West Coast. From the outset, the enlarged Panama Canal was primarily designed for the container, vehicle carrier and VLGC markets, as well as possibilities for LNGC transits. Undoubtedly, the expansion will make a notable impact on a number of shipping trades. However, the tanker market is unlikely to be one, Gibson concluded. Elite Airways at Melbourne International Airport. ( TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY) By Dave Berman, FLORIDA TODAY | USA TODAY NETWORK MELBOURNE Elite Airways started something Friday that hasn't been tried at Melbourne's airport in more than a decade: regularly scheduled nonstop service to the New York metropolitan area. Elite is offering twice-weekly service from Orlando Melbourne International Airport to Islip, Long Island. The Friday and Sunday service is likely to expand as demand increases, Elite Vice President David Dow said. The airline which already offers Monday and Friday service from Melbourne to Portland, Maine also plans to announce expanded service to other markets from the Space Coast. "This is just the beginning," Dow said. "We've got big plans for Melbourne." Melbourne Airport Authority Chairman Jack Ryals said he is looking forward to Elite's continued expansion out of Orlando Melbourne International. "I like that they have wandering eyes," Ryals said. In remarks to customers preparing to board the Elite flight, Melbourne Mayor Kathy Meehan said "we're all excited" to see Elite expanding its local service. Elite currently employs more than 80 people in Melbourne, where it has its executive offices, as well as reservations, dispatch, training and maintenance facilities. The airline's first Melbourne-to-Islip flight Friday on a 70-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 jet was full, and Dow said early bookings are strong for the service. Among the passengers on the inaugural flight was West Melbourne resident William O'Brien, a native of East Islip. "It's my dream come true," O'Brien said, in discussing the new flights to Islip. Not only is it convenient and avoids the congestion of Orlando International Airport, but it's a good bargain, O'Brien said. "It's really competitive," O'Brien said. "It's the cheapest flight I could get. I'll be going once a month. It works really well for me." One-way "early-bird" fares from Melbourne to Islip are $149. As more seats are sold on a flight, fares rise first to $169, then $199, then $299. There is no fees to change a reservation more than 24 hours in advance and no fee for the first checked bag. The flights from Melbourne to Islip are 2 hours, 20 minutes, and Islip is a commuter train ride from Manhattan. To celebrate the new service, Elite offered passengers slices of a "Big Apple-shaped" cake and New York-themed cupcakes, as well as glasses of champagne and mimosas even if it was before 8 a.m. Elite staff wore Statue of Liberty crown-shaped headgear. Elite also offers service from Vero Beach and Naples, as well as cities in eight other states. Elite on Friday started new service in four of those states Maine, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina. Dow said Elite's strategy is to offer nonstop service involving underserved markets. He calls it "the right price and the right route." He said he expects Melbourne-to-Islip to be a strong route for Elite, partly because of its connections with Northrop Grumman Corp., which has facilities in both Melbourne and Bethpage, Long island. There also is a "solid base" of New York City and Long Island natives in the Melbourne area. "It really was a no-brainer for us" to start the service, Dow said. "We're just absolutely thrilled to be doing this." Elite Chief Executive Officer John Pearsall cited some of the attractions of the Islip area, including "spectacular wineries, historic mansions and wild beaches." Initial customers to Islip will be primarily leisure travelers, Dow said, because business travelers generally need service on more than two days a week. "We'll be working up to that," Dow said. Dow said Elite's Melbourne-to-Portland, Maine, service has been "wildly successful for us," and he's anticipating the same for Islip. Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByDaveBerman and on Facebook at facebook.com/dave.berman.54 MELBOURNE FLIGHTS To Islip, Long Island, New York: Fridays and Sundays. Leaves Melbourne at 8 a.m. Leaves Islip at 4:45 p.m. To Portland, Maine: Mondays and Fridays. Leaves Melbourne at 10 a.m. Leaves Portland at 2 p.m. ST. LUCIE COUNTY The woman's body found north of the Fort Pierce Inlet Thursday night is Dawn Marie Caso, 48, of the 2400 block of North Ocean Drive in Fort Pierce, Sheriff Ken Mascara said Friday. The sheriff stated that Caso was found wearing a bathing suit and upon further investigation by deputies, personal belongings positively linked to Caso were found on the north beach. No physical sign of trauma was evident on Caso at the time of her recovery. According to the sheriff, an autopsy was scheduled to determine the official cause of death. Emergency dispatchers got a call about 7:15 p.m. Thursday from a salvage boat about a body discovered north of the inlet. Deputy Bryan Beaty, Sheriff's Office public information officer, said his agency started the investigation after the body was brought to the U.S. Coast Guard station. Caso was found offshore near the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, 2 miles northeast of the 900 block of Shorewinds Drive, said Carol Lyn Parish, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Parish said FWC assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in recovering the body from the Atlantic Ocean. She said no stray vessels were found and there were no reports of a missing person. SHARE By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm FELLSMERE A woman has died after she was found unconscious in an overturned vehicle in a canal Thursday evening. The Indian River County Sheriff's Office received an emergency call about 9:15 p.m. of a Honda in a canal on 103rd Street, between Babcock Street and 134th Court, north of Fellsmere, said Sgt. Eric Flowers, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. It was unknown Thursday how the car got into the canal. Flowers said deputies pulled the woman from the vehicle. She was taken by Indian River County Fire Rescue to Sebastian River Medical Center. The woman's name was not given Thursday night, and it is not known when she died. The Indian River County Fire Rescue dive team was searching Thursday for others who could have been in the car. "We don't know if anyone else was in the vehicle," Flowers said. The Florida Highway Patrol was also investigating. No more information was available Thursday night. The Vero Beach Municipal Power Plant. (ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) SHARE By Colleen Wixon of TCPalm Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original version. VERO BEACH The cooling tower at the city's now-defunct power plant soon will be on its way to Central America. The Vero Beach company hired to dismantle the plant's cooling tower plans to sell it to a sugar factory in Honduras, said Jose Prieto, owner of South Bay Builders. Last week, the City Council approved paying South Bay Builders $57,870 to take down the tower, located on the southeast side of the former power plant's site off Indian River Boulevard. Prieto said he hopes to dismantle the tower within the next couple of weeks. The process will be slow because he has to keep parts intact for shipping, he said. The company must complete the project within 75 days. He expects it to be done in about 45 days. The dismantling will be "like it's being built, only in reverse," he said. Prieto declined to say how much he sold the tower for. Over the next couple of months, the city will be selling off other pieces of the former plant for further dismantling. Prieto hopes to continue to getting contracts to dismantle other parts of the plant. City Manager Jim O'Connor said the city planned to continue bidding out the removal of the power plant's components. The city has no expectations of making money on the projects, he said. "If we break even, we're going to be lucky," O'Connor said. "We just have to have it down." The Vero Beach power plant shut down early November, weeks after the City Council approved a revised contract with its main power supplier, Orlando Utilities Commission. As the city dismantles the plant, selling steel and metal equipment and parts, officials are discussing how best to use the 13 acres of waterfront property now occupied by the plant. In the background, however, legal issues continue to swirl around Vero's electric utility and its future. The Indian River Shores Town Council on Thursday agreed unanimously to drop its lawsuit against Vero Beach. The two communities have been at legal odds for years over Vero's electric rates. Indian River Shores has sued Vero Beach, claiming the city has no legal right to force town residents to be on its electric grid after the franchise agreement ends in November. Vero Beach claims the state Public Service Commission has given it authority to set its service area boundaries. Talk of FPL buying the Shores' portion of the system began about a year ago, but was dropped when Vero Beach and FPL realized they were more than $50 million apart in the estimated value of that portion of the system. "I've said the best solution is a negotiated price where the city gets a chunk of cash and some help with their infrastructure from FPL," said Indian River Shores Mayor Brian Barefoot said in a statement Thursday. "If a fair price can be arrived at, you can just imagine the uses the city would have for that money." A deal would need Public Service Commission approval. For the city's part, Mayor Jay Kramer said he will ask the City Council on Tuesday if it is willing to negotiate with the Shores and FPL about the partial sale. "I think we're open to sitting down with them," said Kramer. "From our perspective, there is a number that keeps us from raising rates on city and county residents, and if they've got a plan to get there, we're open to it. We're not closing any doors; we're gaining understanding." Reporter Janet Begley contributed to this report. WHO WANTED TO TAKE DOWN THE COOLING TOWER? South Bay Builders $57,870: Price to take down the tower if contractor kept the materials $74,870: Price if city kept the materials Allied Bean Demolition $94,440: Price to take down the tower if contractor kept the materials $99,440: Price to take down the tower if city kept the materials Jackson Demolition $174,700: Price to take down the tower if contractor kept the materials $194,700: Price to take down the tower if city kept the materials Source: City of Vero Beach SHARE By Editorial Board RECORD DONATIONS: The response from Treasure Coast residents to the Orlando nightclub shooting has been nothing short of remarkable. After so many residents stepped forward to donate blood earlier in the week, blood bank officials began asking people to schedule their donations. "We're asking people to make appointments and not just walk up to the center," said Pat Michaels, OneBlood spokesperson. "We've had a tremendous response, and people might find themselves standing in line." You may make an appointment at the blood bank in your area by visiting oneblood.org or calling 1-888-9-donate. Early Sunday morning, Fort Pierce resident Omar Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and injured 53 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Google last week announced the Tensor Processing Unit, a custom application-specific integrated circuit, at Google I/O. Built for machine learning applications, TPU has been running in Googles data centers for more than a year. Googles AlphaGo software, whichthrashed an 18-time international Go champion in a match earlier this year, ran on servers using TPUs. These server racks house the TPUs used in the AlphaGo matches with Lee Sedol. TPU is tailored forTensorFlow, Googles software library for machine intelligence, which it turned over to theopen source community last year. Moore Still Rules For machine learning, TPUs provide an order-of-magnitude better-optimized performance per watt, Google said. Its comparable to fast-forwarding technology about seven years three generations of Moores Law. That claim is misleading, according to Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst at Tirias Research. It only works on 8-bit math, he told TechNewsWorld. Its basically like a Z80 microprocessor in that regard. All that talk about it being three generations ahead refers to processors a year ago, so theyre comparing it to 28-nm processors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reportedly has been working on a 10-nanometer FinFET processor for Apple. By stripping out most functions and using only necessary math, Google has a chip that acts as though it was a more complex processor from a couple generations ahead, Krewell said. Moores law focuses on transistor density and tends to be tied to parts that are targeted at calculation speed, pointed out Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. The TPU is more focused on calculation efficiency, so it likely wont push transistor density. I dont expect it to have any real impact on Moores law. Still, the board design has a really big heat sink, so its a relatively large processor. If Im Google and Im building this custom chip, Im going to build the biggest one I can put into the power envelope, Krewell noted. Potential Impact Clearly, hyperscale cloud operators are gradually becoming more vertically integrated, so they move more into designing their own equipment, said John Dinsdale, chief analyst atSynergy Research Group. That could help them strengthen their game, he told TechNewsWorld. The processor could make Google a much stronger player with AI-based products, but could and will are very different words, and Google has been more the company of could but didnt of late, Enderle told TechNewsWorld. The TPU will let Google scale up its query engine significantly, providing for higher-density servers that can simultaneously handle a higher volume of questions, he said. However, Googles efforts tend to be underresourced, so its unlikely to meet its potential unless that practice changes. There Isnt Only One The TPU isnt the first processor designed for machine learning. Intels Xeon Phi processor product line is part of that companys Scalable System Framework, which aims at bringing machine learning and high-performance computing into the exascale era. Intels aim is to create systems that converge HPC, big data, machine learning and visualization workloads within a common framework that can run in either the cloud or data centers, the latter ranging from smaller workgroup clusters to large supercomputers. A Case of Overkill? While the TPU will have a big effect and impact in data-intensive research, most business problems and tasks can be solved with simpler machine learning approaches, Francisco Martin, CEO ofBigML, pointed out. Only a few companies have the volume of data that Google manages. Traditionally, custom chips for machine learning algorithms never turned out to be very successful, he told TechNewsWorld. First, custom architectures require custom development, which makes adoption difficult, Martin noted. Second, by Moores law, standard chips are going to be more powerful every two years. TPU is tailored to very specific machine learning applications based on Googles TensorFlow, he said. Like other deep learning frameworks, it requires tons of fine-tuning to be useful. That said, Amazon and Microsoft will probably need to offer something similar to compete for customers with advanced research projects. The Google Brain team on Wednesday released a tune created by machine intelligence. The composition is part of Project Magenta, which seeks to boost the capabilities of machine intelligence to create art and music. Among other things, the Magenta team is developing algorithms that enable artificial intelligence systems to learn how to create compelling art and music on their own. Magenta also seeks to build a community of artists, coders and machine learning researchers. About the Magenta Tune Google software engineer Elliot Waite created Magentas first tune with an LSTM (long short-term memory) neural network trained to use some new techniques in attention, said company spokesperson Jason Freidenfelds. LSTM networks are well suited to learn from experience to classify, process and predict time series when there are very long lags of unknown duration between events. The important parts there are memory and attention, Freidenfelds told TechNewsWorld. The neural net has to be able to look over a longer range, and to get a sense of whats important to focus on, to either repeat it or change it. Thats why it seems to have some structure and some repeating elements. The Magenta tune, which consists of a piano melody with the accompaniment of a simple drum beat, was completely self-learned using just a large collection of MIDI pop tunes, Freidenfelds noted. It was primed with four notes C, C, G, G, and we added some drums just to hold it together, but the melody is machine-generated, he said. We didnt give it any rules about music, or any little rules of thumb to help it generate anything nice-sounding, as most previous machine-generated music has done. Whats Next for Magenta A small team of researchers from the Google Brain team are building open source infrastructure around TensorFlow, and will release tools and models on Magentas GitHub page. They also will post demos, tutorial blogs and technical papers, and soon will begin accepting code contributions. The researchers will begin with audio and video support tools for working with formats such as MIDI, and platforms that help artists connect to machine learning models. The alpha version of the code is available on Magentas GitHub page now. The team will accept external contributions when it has a stable set of tools and models. If you have the processing power to analyze color and note patterns, youll come up with stuff thats unique and will be of interest to a wide range of people, said Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst at Tirias Research. Then you can take the art or music produced and have the system learn from hits on the Web or comments by people or see what appeals to the most people, he told TechNewsWorld. Its beats to music or color patterns that catch the users eye. Is it Art? Visual art ranges from the works of masters like Michelangelo, Picasso and Rubens to those of pop artists like Andy Warhol and abstract artists like Jackson Pollock, to name a few. Some would include paintings by animals. In the world of music, a Beethoven sonata may be miles apart from a piece of modern day techno music or a Lady Gaga song, and genres are countless classic rock, blues, jazz and heavy metal, to name just a few but theyre inarguably music. Are new definitions of the terms art and music needed to reasonably discuss whether machine intelligence can create works that deserve those labels? When it comes to defining art, there are two points of view, noted Michael Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan. First, that arts in the eye of the beholder and second, that its an emotional expression of the artist or musician. The first perspective allows the inclusion of art and music created by machine intelligence, while the second does not, Jude told TechNewsWorld. I would say that an AI with sufficient training can create art, he said. Whether its great or not depends on the reaction of the audience. Art typically is valued as much by its flaws as its intrinsic appeal, Jude pointed out. I think machines can create art thats perceived by some to be of high quality. The father of a US student who was killed in the Paris terrorist attacks last year is suing Google, Twitter and Facebook, alleging that the companies provided "material support" to ISIS and other extremist groups. Nohemi Gonzalez, a design student at California State University, was one of the 130 people who died in the November 13 Paris massacre. On Tuesday, her father filed a lawsuit, which seeks compensatory damages, in federal court in San Francisco claiming the companies aided the growth of terrorist organizations such as Islamic State - a violation of the US anti-terrorism act. "For years, defendants have knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS to use their social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits," the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit says the companies' "material support" has allowed ISIS to carry out a number of attacks, the including the one in Paris that killed Gonzalez, who was studying abroad at the time. The lawyer representing Nohemi Gonzalez's father said the case isn't an argument over free speech, it's about the companies allowing these groups to use their services as a way of communicating with members and organizing attacks. It's also alleged that Google's AdSense program resulted in the company making payments to ISIS, though no specific transactions were referenced in the complaint. The case is similar to the one brought by Tamara Fields against Twitter back in January. Her lawsuit claimed the microblogging site held some responsibility for the death of her US contractor husband who was murdered in a Jordan shooting. ISIS later took credit for the attack, and Fields said Twitter's alleged failure to remove the group's propaganda from the site is also a violation of US anti-terrorist law. Although it would not comment directly on the Gonzalez lawsuit, Google did give the following statement: "We have clear policies prohibiting terrorist recruitment and content intending to incite violence and quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users. We also terminate accounts run by terrorist organizations or those that repeatedly violate our policies." Facebook said it contacts the authorities when it sees evidence of anything it considers a threat. "There is no place for terrorists or content that promotes or supports terrorism on Facebook, and we work aggressively to remove such content as soon as we become aware of it," the company said in a statement. Twitter could not be reached for comment The lawsuit pulls no punches in blaming the three firms for the recent growth of ISIS. "Without defendants Twitter, Facebook, and Google (YouTube), the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible," it said. Image credit: Nazar Goncha / Shutterstock Apple has been ordered by Chinese regulators to halt sales of its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing due to a patent dispute originating from a local Chinese company according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Shenzhen Baili claims via a message on the Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau's website that the two iPhone models infringe on a patent it owns regarding the exterior design of its 100C smartphone (pictured below). The statement on the website is dated May 19 although the Journal says Chinese media only became aware of it this week. Apple on Friday said the order had been stayed during the appeals process which means the phones remain available for sale. Apple may simply be stalling from a strategic standpoint. A source reportedly familiar with the matter told the Journal that some stores in Beijing had already stopped selling the two models months ago, replacing them with the current iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. What's more, Apple will reportedly end production of the two older models in the near future. Apple is no stranger to legal disputes in China and even with Shenzhen Baili. Filings with China's State Intellectual Property Office indicate that Apple has been battling with the company for more than a year over the patent which was upheld by the regulator's reexamination board on December 2 of last year. President Barack Obama on June 15 spoke to the Dalai Lama in a private meeting at the White House despite receiving a warning from China not to proceed. Earlier this week, a Chinese spokesperson warned that any meeting between Obama and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader would damage cooperation, mutual trust and bilateral ties between China and the United States. According to The New York Times, Beijing regularly pressures world leaders not to meet with the Dalai Lama, accusing him of sponsoring a separatist movement that seeks Tibet's independence from the East Asian country. "Personal Nature" The private meeting was Obama's fourth with the Dalai Lama, who resigned from his political role as leader of the Tibetan government, but remained the head of Tibetan Buddhists. The meeting occurred at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over Beijing's assertion of territorial claims in the East. Obama and the Dalai Lama's meetings were typically held in the residence of the executive mansion instead of the Oval office in the eight years that Obama was president. Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, says the location of the meeting emphasized its "personal nature." Earnest said Obama and the Dalai Lama were to discuss a wide range of issues, such as human rights, but declined to disclose further details about it. According to Reuters, Obama had urged "meaningful and direct dialogue" between the Dalai Lama and his representatives with Chinese officials in order to resolve differences and lower tension. After the meeting, the Dalai Lama expressed his condolences for the terror attack that happened on June 12, Earnest said. Objections From China Before Obama and the Dalai Lama's meeting, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson sharply slammed any resolution that could legitimize the claims that Tibet should become free from China. Speaking at a press briefing, Minister Lu Kang said the U.S. made solemn commitments and had acknowledged that there is one China. He accused the Dalai Lama of peddling his political ambitions under the cloak of religion, and then asked countries not to give the spiritual leader any room to carry out the campaign, at the risk of "arousing" the strong opposition of 1.3 billion Chinese citizens. Still, the White House said Obama does not support Tibetan Independence. In fact, the meeting with the Dalai Lama did nothing to change official U.S. policy, Earnest said. "Tibet, per U.S. policy, is considered part of the People's Republic of China," the press secretary said, adding that Obama does have a personal affection for the Dalai Lama and his spiritual teachings. Photo: Christopher Michel | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. If you look at a Twitter account belonging to the Islamic State supporters, you may be in for a big surprise. A number of creative hackers decorated the hate-inciting accounts with LGBT love, and the gay messages they posted should drive the IS fanatics into fits of rage. The hackers acted in the wake of last Sunday's attack on the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooter, Omar Mateen, was gunned down by the police after a three-hour standoff. While the shooting was still ongoing, Mateen called 911 and swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Daesh in Arabic. As many as 53 people were wounded and 49 were killed during the tragic events, the Huffington Post reports. The hackers' vengeance was simple and visually effective, resulting in a consistent number of IS accounts being filled with gay pride flags and links to gay pornography. WauchulaGhost is one of the main hackers who orchestrated the campaign, and he talked to the media about the whole shenanigan. He says that the initial aim of the jacked accounts was "to create confusion," so that IS users would not know friend from foe in the online environment. WauchulaGhost, who is part of the hacktivist clan Anonymous, mentions he sabotaged Daesh's Twitter accounts as a sign of solidarity with those who lost their lives in Orlando. The hacker organization has a long history of taking jabs at ISIS Twitter accounts and propaganda pages. "The taking of innocent lives will not be tolerated," he affirms. The hacker touts that he derailed as many as 258 accounts by himself. To have proof of the number of accounts it modified, the hacker took screenshots of the pages before and after he spewed colorful banners and gay love over them. He notes that he does not operate alone, and another five hacktivists are backing his rainbow crusade. WauchulaGhost underlines that his efforts are not aimed at offending Muslims. To support this, he does not post explicit photos, albeit the links take users to full frontal nudity and beyond. He explains that the visual hijacking targets "Jihadist extremists," and reminds the media that Anonymous has a solid number of users who are Muslim. Twitter hurried to suspend some of the accounts, but WauchulaGhost asked the community for help. If anyone is making a list of #Daesh accs that are tweeting the Orlando attack please send to me. I'm going after those accounts. WauchulaGhost (@WauchulaGhost) June 12, 2016 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft has high hopes for the budding marijuana industry. So much so that it announced that it will enter the pot business through a new partnership with the marijuana tech startup Kind Financial. With this new partnership, Microsoft could help change corporate America's mind about how it views the drug. The federal government classifies marijuana as an illegal substance, but with medical or recreational marijuana now legalized in 25 states, many people and companies have been getting more with the times and accepting. If a company is successful in the growing industry, the green could bring in a whole lot of green. With more IT companies looking to cash in on the crop, Microsoft is now making the bold decision to join in on the venture. The company is joining forces with Kind on a software system powered through the Azure cloud service. The Los Angeles-based startup provides software for "seed to sale tracking." Called Agrisoft Seed to Sale, the software gives retail operations, growers and producers in the cannabis industry the tools it needs to adhere to the rules and laws of the industry and safely secure finances at the point-of-sale. As part of the partnership with Microsoft, the startup announced the launch of Kind Government Solutions, a division specific to helping government agencies monitor aspects of the marijuana business to make sure distributors remain compliant when it comes to the law. Kind Government Solutions will use the plant-tracking software with Azure so that regulators can also keep track of the amount of money rolling in. Because of the controversial issue, many banks refuse to work with companies that sell marijuana, which means these owners are left stacking and hiding cash from their sales instead of opening an account. To be clear, Microsoft is not getting hands-on with the growing or selling of marijuana, or with Kind's A.T.M.-like kiosks it has that provide secure sales in partnership with certain banks that have a more relaxed attitude toward the business. To put it to stoners, it's like Microsoft is taking a puff but not inhaling. "KIND's strategic industry positioning, experienced team and top-notch-technology running in the Microsoft Azure Government cloud, made for an easy decision to align efforts," Kimberly Nelson, Executive Director State and Local Government Solutions from Microsoft, said in a press release. "KIND agreed that Azure Government is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs and we look forward to working together to help our government customers launch successful regulatory programs." Even though Microsoft is just offering its cloud computing service when it comes to the marijuana business, it does signify that it might not be so risky for big corporations to get their feet wet when it comes to the plant. Source: The New York Times Photo: Dank Depot | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A small asteroid has been discovered "dancing" with Earth, as the two objects move around the sun together for more than 50 years. Known as Asteroid 2016 HO3, Earth's "quasi-moon" remained undetected until now, but NASA scientists say it isn't going to get away anytime soon either. Calculations suggest that 2016 HO3 has been a constant companion of Earth for nearly a century, says Paul Chodas of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. This pattern will continue for years to come. Why Is Asteroid 2016 HO3 Called A Quasi-Satellite? The asteroid's diameter is estimated to be between 120 feet (37 meters) to 300 feet (91 meters). Asteroid 2016 HO3 was detected by the Hawaiian asteroid survey telescope called Pan-STARRS 1 on April 27, 2016. NASA says the asteroid is too far away to hit our planet because it circles around Earth from 14 million kilometers (9 million miles) away. It's also too distant to be considered as a true satellite of Earth, scientists say, but it is indeed the most stable sample to date of a near-Earth companion or quasi-satellite. According to Chodas, another asteroid called 2003 YN107 moved along a similar orbital pattern for a brief period more than 10 years ago, but the asteroid has departed Earth's vicinity. Chodas says asteroid 2016 HO3 is much more secured to Earth than 2003 YN107 had been. Little Dance With Earth In its yearly journey around the sun, 2016 HO3 spends almost half of the time closer to the sun than the Earth, passing ahead of our planet. The asteroid also spends almost half of the time farther away, allowing it to fall behind. Scientists say the asteroid's orbit is tilted a little, making it bob up and down once each year through the orbital plane of Earth. As a result, 2016 HO3 is caught in a game of "leap frog" with our planet that will last for centuries. Over multiple decades, the asteroid's orbit goes through a gentle back-and-forth twist. Chodas says 2016 HO3's circling movement around Earth drift a little behind or ahead every year, but when the orbits drift too backward or too forward, the gravity of Earth is strong enough to reverse the drift and hold on the asteroid. Because of that, the asteroid never wanders too far away than about 100 times the distance of the moon, says Chodas. This effect also prevents 2016 HO3 from approaching much closer than 38 times the distance of the moon. "In effect, this small asteroid is caught in a little dance with Earth," adds Chodas. A Rare Cosmic Event The cosmic path of asteroid 2016 HO3 alone is enough to turn it into an object of interest for scientists, Chodas says, although they have yet to gather details about the asteroid's composition and origin. Chodas told The Christian Science Monitor that the event is rare because the asteroid is in an orbit that is essentially the same as that of Earth. While NASA has to consider it first, Chodas says the uncommon positioning of the asteroid makes it an attainable target for future studies as interest in asteroids increases. "It's a potential mission target," adds Chodas. The possibility, however, is slim as of now. Watch the video below. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new Senate report released Thursday questions the integrity of the most reputable charity in the United States and the stewardship of its donors. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and his team revealed in a report that the American Red Cross spent approximately $125 million or 25 percent of the money people donated during the 2010 Haiti earthquake for its internal expenses. The amount is far greater than what the charity had disclosed, researchers said. The report also said top Red Cross officials obstructed congressional investigators and gave out incomplete information about the Haiti program to the public. It concluded that there are fundamental and substantial concerns about the charity as an organization. Details Of The Investigation Sen. Grassley's almost yearlong investigation was spurred by the Red Cross-Haiti response coverage from the National Public Radio and ProPublica. The American charity had raised almost $500 million in donations after the disaster in Haiti, an amount higher than those raised by other nonprofits. However, both the NPR and ProPublica found that the charity's initial plan to build housing for the victims resulted in only six permanent homes. Other findings of the report include the following: - Red Cross insisted that $70 million allocated for "program expenses" contained funds to evaluate and oversee the Haiti programs. However, Grassley's staff found that the charity is unable to offer "any financial evidence that oversight activities" occurred. - Gail McGovern, CEO of Red Cross, told Grassley's office that they gave the Government Accountability Office everything they asked for during an earlier review. But the report says the charity did not provide everything requested, contrary to McGovern's claims. - The report says Red Cross has kept its own ethics and internal investigations unit severely "undermanned and underfunded." The organization appears to be "reluctant to support" the very unit intended to police any wrongdoing or misdeed. In an interview, Sen. Grassley said he and his office did not get "satisfactory answers" even after a year of back-and-forth with the charity. "It was like pulling teeth," Grassley told ProPublica. The Red Cross has repeatedly said that all but 9 percent of donations go to humanitarian programs. However, the report found that 25 percent were used for fundraising and management, a contingency fund and the category that the charity calls "program expenses." The charity also sent the remaining donations to other nonprofits to do work on the field. The report said those other organizations took their own cuts for their own expenses. Meanwhile, the Red Cross has said in a statement that it has not seen Grassley's report yet, but that the charity and McGovern have been transparent, and that the donations were appropriately spent. The group's statement also noted the challenging and serious conditions of working in Haiti. More details of the report can be read here. Photo: Elaine Vigneault | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Marine conservationists in Massachusetts spotted a great white shark they had once tagged swimming in the waters of Cape Cod on Thursday morning, June 16. According to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, the visitor turned out to be "Scratchy," a 13-foot male great white that was fitted with an electronic tracker on to monitor its activity in August. However, he was first identified by the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Department back in 2014. Conservationists gave the ocean predator the nickname because of the many scratches on his side, likely as a result of encounters with seals. While great white sharks are not known to frequent the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the state marine fisheries division said several of the ocean predators have been seen swimming around Monomoy Island, which is located off the coast of Chatham, Cape Cod. The area is known for its large population of gray seals. Marine researchers have identified and tagged as many as 80 great white sharks off the coast of Cape Cod from 2009 to 2015. New Hub For Great White Sharks Because of Cape Cod's growing seal population, scientists believe the region could very well become a new hub for predatory great white sharks. Owen Nichols, a marine biologist who has studied seals for 15 years, said the marine mammals have experienced a population boom over the last few decades. Nichols explained that seals were virtually exterminated from Cape Cod waters right up until the 1960s. He said that what is happening right now is that the marine mammals are beginning to recolonize the region, which could bring a resurgence of seals. Before the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, seal sightings in the region were very rare. The marine mammals were often hunted by locals before they were declared protected by the federal government. However, the return of the seals in droves is also attracting many sharks to the area to look for food. Researchers say they have spotted 68 great white sharks around Cape Cod in 2014. This figure ballooned to 140 individual sharks in 2015. The hordes of seals are also a cause of concern for local fishermen as they have been consuming too many of available fish stock in the region. Earlier in the week, a team from the National Geographic Magazine, including wildlife photographer Brian Skerry, scoured the murky green waters of Cape Cod to capture images of the great whites in the area. The ocean predators are the subject of an upcoming article on the magazine, which is set to focus on the region as a potential gathering area for great whites. Photo: Elias Levy | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google has been known over the years for developing big ideas such as its plans to provide internet access to remote areas via giant balloons. But another company is bursting Google's bubble and accusing it of stealing the idea for Project Loon. The Arizona-based technology company Space Data Corporation filed a lawsuit this week in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, claiming that Google's parent company, Alphabet, is infringing on its patents which it did not license and broke a non-disclosure agreement to use information it previously shared. The patent infringement suit names Google, Alphabet and its research arm Google X. Both are some serious allegations that deflate the excitement surrounding the ingenuity of Project Loon. Space Data was founded in 1997 and has developed a balloon-based telecommunications system prior to Project Loon that essentially does the same thing: provide wireless voice and data services which it can do through a constellation of 70 balloons. The company calls its balloon products SkySat and SkySite, which hover at altitudes between 60,000 and 100,000 feet in the air in the stratosphere to provide personal communication services in areas like Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Space Data is also testing 4G on its SkySite platform. In fact, it has two patents on its product: one filed in 1999 titled "Airborne constellation of communication platforms and method" that includes how connectivity is possible through the balloons, and the second filed in 2001 titled "Unmanned lighter-than-air safe termination and recovery methods" for shutting down service and recovering the balloons. Then there's Project Loon, developed by Google X, which is pretty much the same thing but was only developed after Space Data's project. The goal of Project Loon is to provide 4G-LTE wireless network services to be used in locations that don't have access to internet such as in rural areas, or remote locations. The balloons can also be used after a natural disaster to get people back online. A pilot test of the project launched in New Zealand back in 2013. Loon balloons are also being tested in Australia and Indonesia and Google announced in February that it will test a constellation of 15 balloons in Sri Lanka. Google has its own patent for its Loon balloons titled "Terrestrial unit for connectivity to a balloon network." As for the whole non-disclosure agreement business, in December 2007, Google signed an agreement to keep talks between the two companies confidential. The lawsuit cites examples of confidential information and trade secrets that include "accumulation of weather data, launch methods, launch timing, balloon types, altitude regulation, business methods, business models, financial information, technology solutions, and unique knowledge and interpretation of weather data ..." Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin then visited the Space Data offices on Feb. 15, 2008 where they were given demo of the tech. But then a few days later, Space Data alleged that it received an email from Google saying that it will "not engage in further discussion with Space Data." This came after an article was published in the Wall Street Journal that featured a source claiming Google had interest in buying the company. After the relationship was cut off, Google began working on Project Loon. Coincidence? We'll let the court decide. Source: The Verge Photo: Global Panorama | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The American Medical Association (AMA) recommends that classes in both middle and high school should not start earlier than 8:30 a.m. The proposal is aimed at lowering the rates of sleep deprivation among teenagers. The AMA also advises doctors to inform parents, school administrators and teachers how sleep is a vital aspect in mental and physical health of young people. The policy was approved this week during the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago. Dr. William Kobler, a board member of the AMA, says that lack of sleep is an increasing health issue that affects American adolescents. Sleep deprivation puts the teenagers at risk of suffering not just physical, mental and emotional stress, but also other related disorders. Kobler points at the strong scientific evidence that giving teenagers more time to sleep at "appropriate hours" improves their behavior, academic performance, health and general well-being. For ideal learning and health, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that teenagers aged 14 to 17 years old should be getting 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep every night. However, according to the 2014 study, only 32 percent of teenagers in the United States are getting at least eight hours of snooze time during school nights. The AMA says that almost 10 percent of American high schools have classes that begin at 7:30 a.m. at present. "We believe delaying school start times will help ensure middle and high school students get enough sleep, and that it will improve the overall mental and physical health of our nation's young people," says Kobler. Kobler says that switching to a delayed start time for classes can be stressful for families, communities and school districts, but the health advantages they carry for the teenagers outweigh any of the negative experiences. "Getting enough sleep is important for students' health, safety and academic performance. Early school start times, however, are preventing many adolescents from getting the sleep they need," said CDC's Division of Population Health epidemiologist Anne Wheaton, Ph.D. in a release in 2015. The U.S. National Sleep Foundation says that teenagers are highly susceptible to developing irregular sleeping patterns through the week. Many stay up late during school nights and sleep in late during the weekends. This habit affects not just the quality of sleep, but also people's biological clocks. Many teenagers are suffering from sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea and even narcolepsy. Photo: Dan DeLuca | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google recently established its research group facility in Zurich, Switzerland as a primary location for studies that will explore the future of Machine Learning (ML) technology. The Zurich facility was the previous leading innovator behind Knowledge Graph, a tech that further improved search queries made on Google, and the Google Assistant in messaging app Allo, an AI used to "keep conversations flowing" by suggesting quick replies based on the conversation's context. Through its latest initiative, Google plans to create a centralized venue for software engineers and machine language researchers to collaborate and develop ideas that further enhance the available technology today. In addition to the current projects the European-based research group is working on, ML topics will be enlisted as its top priority, focusing primarily on three areas: Machine Intelligence, Natural Language Processing and Understanding, and Machine Perception. Machine Intelligence explores data sets that contribute to a machine's learning processes in terms of "deep learning and classical algorithms." As the digital environment is constantly evolving and rapidly changing with each second, machines have to take in great amounts of varying data that require a certain amount of "computation capacity." Google hopes to contribute to a larger academic community by offering its own studies and publications acquired from "combinations of techniques" in theories and application, placing "learning systems" at the "core of interactive services." Natural Language Processing and Understanding research, on the other hand, delves into the basic building blocks of language across domains to help machines understand human speech on a wider scale. Google's systems are employed in "numerous ways," and thus, require the company's algorithms to adapt efficiently on larger scales. "Recent work has focused on incorporating multiple sources of knowledge and information to aid with analysis of text, as well as applying frame semantics at the noun phrase, sentence, and document level," the company's publication writes. Lastly, research in Machine Perception tackles an AI's ability to understand the different underlying symbols in an image, sound, music or video. The machine has to understand the objective and subjective meanings of these media for applications in scenarios such as "content-based search in Google Photos and Image Search, natural handwriting interfaces for Android, optical character recognition for Google Drive documents, and recommendation systems that understand music and YouTube videos." Google's European Research Group for Machine Learning "will actively research ways in which to improve [machine learning] infrastructure, broadly facilitating research for the community, and enabling it to be put to practical use." Photo: Dudley Carr | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. PlayStation owners who want to test the VR waters are getting a special chance from Sony as the company aims to give them a taste of what is coming. PlayStation VR will roll out this year in fall, and techies will soon be able to test the device with Sony's latest console to figure whether the experience is enjoyable or the headset is soon to become the next coffee table decoration. During the E3 2016, Sony confirmed that the PlayStation VR will land on Oct. 13. Buyers have two choices for their purchase. They can get the bare PlayStation VR unit at a price point of $399 or a complete kit containing the unit, the PlayStation Camera (mandatory) and the Move controllers (optional, but highly recommended). However, the release date is a bit too far for curious fans, so those waiting to see the device go live might wait a lot longer before getting their own. Seeing how the preorders have already emptied Sony's stock, it would be nice to be able to test the VR headset before staying up in line for a new batch. Luckily for you, Sony is catering to its fans' needs and will organize a demo event for the PlayStation VR. In a blog post, the company announced that it will place playable demo units in its stores on Friday and Saturday. As the next session of preorders will start soon, the deployment makes sure that gamers make an informed decision whether to buy the PlayStation VR and in which configuration. Sony reminded everyone that its VR headset will reach North America on Oct. 13. The company further explained in the blog post that demo units are there to appease the curiosity of fans who want to try out the VR headset and the gaming experiences it provides. "[On June 17 and 18], we're going to offer PS VR demos at more than 30 Best Buy and GameStop locations," Sony says. The company added that the program will expand to 300 locations in the United States and Canada starting June 24. To make it easier for PlayStation fans to get their VR fix, Sony crafted a searchable map featuring all the locations that will host a PlayStation VR. On it, you can identify the nearest place where you can get your hands on the unique PS experience. Should you be in a remote location, however, there is an alternative. Sony promises that PlayStation VR will travel with the company's summer roadshow, dubbed Road to Greatness. Are you excited to go test out Sony's VR headset? Let us know in the comments section below. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Volkswagen will atone for its unethical behavior in the Diesalgate scandal by focusing its efforts into electric vehicles. The company is undergoing a thorough transformation process and electric vehicles are only part of the broader picture. Volkswagen also intends to tap into the car-sharing market to ensure a higher level of transparency in its management and, last but not least, to boost profits. CEO Matthias Mueller affirms that his company aims to deliver at least 30 electric-powered vehicles by 2025. An internal estimation puts Volkswagen's EV sales somewhere between 2 to 3 million units per year. One of the key elements in supporting this challenging objective is to develop hefty battery technology for the upcoming EVs. This is because battery range is one crucial criterion convincing people (not) to buy an electric vehicle. Volkswagen also plans to aim its resources towards digital mobility, meaning the company could surprise its rivals with launching a ride-sharing or car-sharing program. The carmaker is in a tight spot that forces it to rethink its profitability scheme. The majority of the company's profits in Q1 2016 came from its premium brands, Audi and Porsche. This makes sense as luxury products usually come with higher profit margins than the average consumer vehicles. However, the main Volkswagen brand lost terrain after the Dieselgate, and this shows in the company's earnings. Mueller states that the new strategy should yield an increased operating profit margin, going from today's 6 percent to 7 to 8 percent by 2025. One reason for the high costs of Volkswagen is its powerful corpus of employee representatives. This makes it very difficult for the company to prioritize profit by axing jobs or outsourcing work. The automaker has about 610,000 employees in its ranks. In comparison, Toyota counts 344,000 employees. Even with such a workforce discrepancy, the Japanese manufacturer managed to outsell the German manufacturer last year. "Our most important currency is trust," Mueller points out. He accepts the fact that the company's respectability took a hit due to the emissions scandal. Volkswagen lost a part of its market share as evidence surfaced that the company tweaked the car emissions goals. The Dieselgate scandal unveiled that the carmaker met emissions tests by making use of engine control software, which started emission controls when the car was on a test stand but switched it off in standard driving. The company took a whopping $18.1 billion from last year's profits and invested it into covering the costs of recalls and fixes. Volkswagen even considered buying back the approximately 500,000 affected cars. Mueller notes that internal combustion engines remain an important part of the global car manufacturer, but Volkswagen is committed to developing and selling electric vehicles. This would not only help win a slice of the consumer sector, but fall in favor with regulators that demand less and less emissions of carbon dioxide in new cars. The state secretary of Germany's Ministry of Economy and Energy, Rainer Baake, fixed a timeline for the new standards of pollution. He affirms that by 2030, every new car purchased in Germany should have zero emission levels. Until the price of gas goes up again or pollution policy makers set their minds to trim the number of internal combustion engines, the electric vehicle market will remain thin. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. iPhone and iPad owners in the UK and Australia recently received a dedicated iOS keyboard from none other than Google. Meet Gboard, a keyboard app that landed in the United States App Store last month. Gboard embeds Google Search in the iPhone keyboard, making it easy to search for any information without leaving the texting app you are currently in. Simply tap the "G" icon in the left-hand corner to instantly start the search engine. This saves time, effort and battery life, as users no longer need to launch a browser or the Google app. Google shows how useful the integration is via an everyday example. Most of us text to our friends when making dinner plans. When they recommend going to a new place, things tend to happen like this: you exit the messaging app, fire up a browser window, google the place and maybe even copy-paste a relevant part of the menu or the address back to the messaging up. What the Gboard does is it simplifies things tremendously. "Anything you'd search on Google, you can search with Gboard," the company says. After users search and find the information (such as the one about the restaurant), it's easy to paste it back into the main conversation. A certain demographic (we're looking at you, millennials) will appreciate Gboard's emoji support, which makes it a breeze to search and select the thing you need. For example, you can use Gboard to look for "poo" or "dancing girl," which will pop up the respective emoji instantly. This will help you avoid scrolling through libraries of vegetables, street signs and whatnot. As you would expect, a built-in GIF-searching function exists, and it is as entertaining as it sounds. One notable feature of the Gboard is Glide Typing. Users familiar with Android might recognize it as a Swype keyboard, meaning that dragging your finger from letter to letter allows you to automatically type a word. iDevice owners can download Google's Gboard keyboard from the App Store. Those mindful about their privacy should know that Gboard is designed in such a way that all your typed info stays private. Google UK told the world about the launch in a tweet. #Gboard for iPhone is here. No more app switching; search and send, right from your keyboard https://t.co/qNpPdrghGp pic.twitter.com/x5nkMhaxW6 Google UK (@GoogleUK) June 17, 2016 Keep in mind that the versatile keyboard needs iOS 9 on iPhones and iPads in order to function. In an ironic twist, Google did not release a Gboard app for Android yet. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Will the Dead Rising 4 be coming to PS4? | TechTree.com Dead Rising 4 is set to release exclusively for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC in December, but Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming zombie game is only a timed-exclusive and could eventually make its way to PS4 and Steam. You can read Microsoft's statement below. 'Dead Rising 4' on Xbox One is developed by Capcom and will be published in partnership with Microsoft. Fans will be able to play 'Dead Rising 4' first on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC this December. It will remain a Windows 10 exclusive for the first 90 days and console exclusive on Xbox One for one year. Weve had a close and longstanding relationship with Capcom including the launch of Dead Rising as an Xbox 360 exclusive and Dead Rising 3 as an Xbox One exclusive. Were thrilled to partner with Capcom once again to help bring their ambitious vision for Dead Rising 4 to life." "You'll be able to play it first on Xbox One and Windows 10," the developer tweeted. Dead Rising 3 was exclusive to the Xbox One, until 10 months later when it released on PC. As part of a console-exclusivity deal with Microsoft, it never launched on PS4. Another timed-exclusive is Rise of the Tomb Raider, which initially released on the Xbox One last year, followed by a PC release months later. It's scheduled for a holiday 2016 release on PS4, though a specific date has not been confirmed. Read TAGS: Xbox One, Gaming Consoles, Windows 10 During his administrations, the Brazilian gross domestic product increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent. | Read More The programme for the Hollywood Professional Associations (HPA) Tech Retreat has been unveiled for the debut UK event in Oxfordshire, 13 14 July. The Tech Retreat UK is a two-day event for technical and creative talent working in production, post production, distribution, and archiving of movies, TV and commercials. Along with various conference sessions, manufacturers also show off their new technologies. The US version of the event has been running now for 21 years. The UK event is put together in collaboration with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Highlights of the programme include sessions on MPCs work for the Jungle Book; the tech behind Pixars Finding Dory, the production and post of Game of Thrones and sessions on UHD, HDR and virtual reality. Richard Welsh, former SMPTE Governor, leads the Tech Retreat UK with HPA Board Member Jerry Pierce. Welsh said, If you have not been to the US event, this is an excellent opportunity to experience the HPA vibe at our new Oxfordshire event. HPA is an unrivaled opportunity for networking, technology discovery and learning. The opening sessions alone speak to the quality of HPA events with HBO, Disney, Pixar and Netflix productions all being discussed by the creative and technical talent behind them. This against a fun and relaxed backdrop with plenty of opportunities to socialise and network with the leading minds in the industry. For complete information on the HPA Tech Retreat UK,including a full conference programme visit the HPA website. Share this story Nguyen Huynh Dat Nhan, director of Tay Nam Agro-Fisheries Company, was arrested on June 16. Photo: Mai Tram The Can Tho city police Thursday arrested the director of an agro-fisheries company for allegedly fraudulently obtaining soft loans worth billions of dong from a bank since 2012. Nguyen Huynh Dat Nhan, 39, of Tay Nam Agro-Fisheries Company is being investigated for swindling to appropriate property, the police said. Under a 2010 central government program, to agro-products companies can get interest-free loans for two years for buying agricultural products and selling farming machines to farmers. From the third year onward, the interest in 50 percent subsidized. In 2012 Tay Nam obtained loans of VND259 billion (US$11.6 million) from Agribanks Can Tho branch, but instead of using the money as stipulated, Nhan used it to buy land and other properties and build several houses. He also transferred an undisclosed sum of money to Tan Tien Company, owned by his friend Pham Tuong Thi, 36, which later deposited the amount in Agribank Can Tho. Thi was arrested on Thursday, also for swindling. Agribank discovered the fraud in 2014 and ordered its Can Tho branch to collect interest from Tay Nam Company. The bank said the company would have to pay interest of more than VND60 billion ($2.69 million). The branch is also under the police scanner for credit violations related to the case. A photo taken on December 3, 2015 shows the main part of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa's steel mill in Ky Anh District in the central coastal province of Ha Tinh. Photo credit: AFP Formosa Plastics Group has decided to postpone the launch of its steel mill in Vietnam with no new opening schedule, Taipei Times reported Thursday. The newspaper quoted Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp's Vice President Chang Fu-ning as saying that the No. 1 furnace of the steel complex, which is located in the Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central province of Ha Tinh, would not become operational on June 25 as scheduled. According to Taiwanese media, the delay was because Vietnamese authorities have demanded that Formosa pay US$70 million in unpaid taxes. In addition, the delay reportedly was because Vietnamese authorities needed more time to process an application filed by Formosa to begin production. Chang said his company has communicated with Vietnams Ministry of Finance over the alleged failure to pay taxes. Construction of the US$10 billion Formosa Ha Tinh steel complex started in December 2013. It has a projected annual capacity of 7.5 million tons targeted for domestic consumption and export to other Asian nations. The project includes a port and a power plant that are set to be completed by the end of 2020. The Taiwanese company has been in hot water after hundreds of tons of fish were washed ashore in April in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, apparently killed by industrial effluents. Formosa Ha Tinh admitted it has a large sewage pipe going straight into the sea but claimed all its discharged wastewater had been treated. On June 2 Vietnamese authorities said they would reveal the cause of the mass fish deaths this month. For Vietnamese shoppers, price is not the only factor in selecting a store or product, and some additional ones complete the value-for-money perception, according to a survey released Thursday by global measurement company Nielsen. When asked about the factors that influence purchasing decisions in 19 product categories, price was only one of the attributes influencing product selection among Vietnamese shoppers. Two other main factors are taste in edible categories and brand name in non-edibles, according to the Nielsen Global Retail-Growth Strategies Survey of more than 30,000 online respondents in 61 countries. Nearly six out of 10 Vietnamese consumers say they enjoy or somewhat enjoy taking time to find bargains. But, when it comes to store selection, there are several important attributes, not just price. Product availability (62 percent), high-quality product (57 percent), convenient location (54 percent), store personnel (51 percent) and product assortment (51 percent) are the five factors that influence the decision by Vietnamese consumers to shop at a particular retailer. While intense promotional activity among retailers and manufacturers has created an expectation among consumers that low prices should be the norm in the market, some consumers are adjusting their spendingand increasingly, value is about more than the low price, Roberto Butragueno, associate director of retail services, Nielsen Vietnam, said. Consumers are willing to pay more if they think the benefits outweigh the price. Sales and promotional strategies are not effective if brands and retailers dont guarantee other attributes of the products. Its clear that consumers do not want to compromise on quality, added Roberto. Health and wellness is a top-of-mind priority for consumers across Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam. Nearly 79 percent of Vietnamese shoppers actively seek products with healthy ingredients and 74 percent say they read nutritional labels carefully. More noticeably, 48 percent mention that there are not enough healthy options available to buy. Butragueno said: Currently the top consumer concern is even more skewed towards food quality. Therefore, a guarantee of food quality in particular and product quality in general could be a competitive advantage for modern trade retailers. With the rapid speed of life and shrinking family size, Vietnamese consumers crave convenience in everything, especially when choosing the stores they shop. Nearly six in 10 say their store selection decision is highly influenced by convenient location. Nearly five in 10 say that an organized store layout that makes it easy to shop is another factor when they have to choose which store to go to. Convenience is no longer a store front. Its becoming a way of life. Stores arent going to disappear any time soon, but they will undergo a dramatic transformation as e-commerce grows and shopper expectations change. Retailers need to consider what role physical stores will play in their omnichannel strategy and how they can use them to strengthen their offerings and deliver value each trip, Butragueno said. Vietnam's retail sales topped VND2.46 trillion (US$108.8 billion) in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 10.6 percent and higher than most projections. Local and international market forecasts had suggested retail sales would only reach $109 billion in 2017. Recent figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that with 724 supermarkets, 132 shopping malls and hundreds of convenience stores, modern retail channels now account for around 25 percent of Vietnam's retail market. Vietnam can improve migrants access to public services and employment by reducing the time and requirements needed to obtain ho khau, or permanent residency, according to a report issued Thursday by the World Bank and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. The report also suggests reducing the difference in service and employment access between those with permanent and temporary registration statuses. The report, drawing on data from the 2015 Household Registration Survey and qualitative research, says at least 5.6 million people in the five surveyed provinces in Vietnam lack ho khau, including 36 percent of the population in Ho Chi Minh City and 18 percent in Hanoi. The majority of them work in the private sector, especially in manufacturing and for foreign firms. They have limited access to public schools, health insurance or even motorcycle registration. This study shows that the ho khau system has created inequality of opportunity for Vietnamese citizens, Achim Fock, the World Banks acting country director for Vietnam, said. Further reforms could ensure that migrants have the same access to schools, health care, and employment in the public sector as everyone else. That will encourage people to move to cities and support Vietnams economic growth and structural transformation. The ho khau system began 50 years ago as an instrument of public security, economic planning, and control of migration. Citizens have mixed views of the existing system, but a large majority say the system should be relaxed because it limits the rights of migrants and causes corruption. The ho khau registration system is no longer relevant for managing and controlling the Vietnamese society, which has been undergoing drastic changes toward doi moi and international integration, Dang Nguyen Anh, vice president of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said. The system should be replaced by a more scientific and modern tool to make people's lives easier and inclusive. The yellow circle indicates the spot where the body of pilot Tran Quang Khai was found The body of a pilot who died in an Air Force fighter jet crash earlier this week was found last evening, two days after the other pilot was rescued. Fishermen participating in the rescue at 6 p.m. found the body and parachute floating 15-18 nautical miles from the site where the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 is believed to have crashed. A Coast Guard vessel was sent to the site and confirmed that the body was that of Sen. Lt. Maj. Tran Quang Khai. The jet went off radar during a training mission Tuesday. Maj. Nguyen Huu Cuong, the other pilot, was rescued at sea the following day . A file photo of pilot Tran Quang Khai, whose body was found Friday after his aircraft went missing this week. Cuong said he and Khai had managed to eject after they heard an "explosion" in the cockpit. The search for Khai became deadly yesterday when another airplane crashed in bad weather. The plight of the nine crew members on board the Coast Guard's Casa 212 aircraft remains unknown. More than 40 Coast Guard and Navy vessels and 100 fishing boats are searching for the crew. They found some debris and personal items early Friday. Since the plane went down in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam's northern coastline and China's Hainan Island, Vietnam has requested China's assistance. The red dot indicates the crash site of a Vietnamese coast guard plane June 16. Infographics by Zing Vietnamese military rescue forces have found debris from a Coast Guard plane that crashed into the sea Thursday with nine people while searching for an Air Force pilot missing from another crashed aircraft a few days earlier. The turboprop-powered plane went off the radar at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, about 44 nautical mile southwest of Bach Long Vi Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, which separates the country from China. A source told Thanh Nien that the debris was found in the waters 12-15 nautical miles southwest of Bach Long Vi Island. The crashed plane is believed to be at a depth of some 58 meters. But the source refused to comment on the issue of the nine officers onboard the plane, which was piloted by Col. Le Kiem Toan, Commander of Brigade KQ918 of the air force. Vietnam bought three CASA 212 planes from Airbus Military in Spain between 2012 and 2013. Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, a Coast Guard commander, was quoted by news website VnExpress as saying preliminary investigation found the plane had crashed while descending due to poor weather. Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh met with the Chinese ambassador Thursday night to ask for that countrys facilitation of the search and rescue operation. The Coast Guard plane was among five aircraft that were joined by more than 100 boats and 1,500 people looking for Col Tran Quang Khai, 43, who has been missing since ejecting from a Sukhoi SU-30 MK2 fighter jet on Tuesday. Nguyen Huu Cuong, the other pilot aboard the Russian-made plane, was rescued by fishermen Wednesday. A Coast Guard spokesperson said the search has been expanded to the northern waters after what is suspected to be Khais life vest was found off Thai Binh Province. A coast guard vessel reported on Thursday afternoon that it has found what could be parts of the fighter aircraft, including one wheel. After the jet went missing, the Vietnamese air force has suspended the practice flights to be conducted by the same plane model. The latest incidents follows a series of mishaps that hit the military in the past two years. Two Soviet-era Su-22 fighter aircraft of the Vietnamese air force crashed into the East Sea during a training mission in April 2015. Both pilots died in the crash. Two earlier crashes, which involved a Russian Mi-171 and US-built UH-1, killed 24 people. Migrant workers stand looking for daily jobs on a Hanoi street. A survey found that urban migrants' living conditions and access to social services pale in comparison to native city dwellers. With support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City recently conducted an "urban poverty survey" which compared the quality of life for permanent urban residents to that of migrants from surrounding rural areas. The preliminary findings indicate that, while the migrants have managed to improve their incomes in their adopted urban environments, their living conditions and access to social services pale in comparison to those of native city dwellers. Nguyen Tien Phong, head of the Poverty and Social Development Cluster under the UNDP Vietnam, sat down with Thanh Nien Weekly to explore the bigger picture. Thanh Nien Weekly: What did the survey discover about the quality of life for rural-urban migrant workers? Nguyen Tien Phong: The preliminary findings show that migrant workers living in the two cities are mainly youths and they come to work. The survey considered their quality of life from many angles: their accommodation conditions, their access to health and education services, and their level of community integration. The average income for these migrants is not much lower than that of the native city dwellers. It averages out to about five sixths of city residents. This is a surprising discovery, as most migrants are thought to be poor. However, there is a rather substantial difference (between migrants and local residents) in terms of other quality-of-life indicators. The migrants tend to live in rented and more crowded houses with poorer facilities and pay more for utilities such as water and electricity. Migrants suffer fewer chronic illnesses than local residents because most of them are young. However, when they do get sick, they visit hospitals less than city nativesperhaps because they lack money or time. The main difference between migrant and native urban residents is their health insurance coverage. Up to 66 percent of people holding permanent residency in the two cities enjoy health coverage, while only about 43 percent of migrants are covered. There is also a discrepancy in their access to education: 65 percent of migrant children study in public schools as opposed to 82 percent of the children of permanent residents. This means that many of the children of migrant workers pay higher school fees to attend semi-public or private schools. The migrants also receive less educational support. They are not, for example, extended school fee exemptions that are enjoyed by the poor households of the city natives. What can these cities do to improve the situation? First, it should be recognized that migrant workers, including seasonal laborers, who come to these cities to work make great contributions to development in these cities. This has been the case in Hanoi, HCMC, and Binh Duong Province - which would not have enjoyed such rapid development without the work of migrants. If their difficulties are addressed, it wouldn't only improve their quality of life, it would reduce the absorption cost of migration for cities. The key is to ensure equal access for migrants and city residents to job opportunities, social services (including poverty reduction support) and opportunities to participate in community activities. The recent removal of the ho khau (proof of permanent residency) requirement for the enrollment of kids in local public schools and the decision to allow long-term migrant residents (who own houses or work in the cities) to obtain permanent resident status represent two big steps in the right direction. However, more can be done. City authorities should know more about migrants living in their localities. Information such as where they are, how they are living, which problems they face, etc. would be very useful for urban planning and the management of urban development. Ultimately, research and better communication between the two parties would benefit everyone involved. Won't better access to social services and welfare programs for migrants spark a new wave of migration? Many city residents and authorities often ask this question fearing that rural-urban migration puts pressure on social services and other public services in the cities. There are alternative ways to look at the topic. Migrants contribute greatly to a city's development so who benefits when they can't access basic social services? Large scale urban development works more efficiently when these populations are healthy and educated. It's clear enough that the more these migrants have access to social services and share in the benefits of development, the more they will contribute to the community they're living in. From a national development perspective, migration from rural areas to urban centers is inevitable in a country that seeks to improve its quality of life through industrialization. People migrate to cities from rural communities to secure higher paying jobs in industrial and service sectors. They come to cities to improve their lives and the lives of their families by sending remittances to those who are left behind working low-paying agricultural jobs. The development "planners" have a very similar aim, namely to "minimize the costs" of industrialization and "maximize the benefit" to people. In economic terms, administrative measures, which aim to limit or control migration, only increase the cost of industrialization. Because migration to urban centers is inevitable, putting up barriers to rural-urban migration will only make the problem worse and people (both migrants and city residents) worse-off. Expanding social services that aim to improve the migrants' accommodations, health and education should be seen as investments in economic growth and in the human development of the country. Vietnam aviation authorities Friday fined a Vietnamese passenger VND4 million (US$180) for smoking on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Hanoi. Nguyen Trong Dan, 28, was found smoking in the toilet of the aircraft when it was landing in Bangkok Tuesday. Dan was slapped with the penalty on arrival at Hanois Noi Bai Airport. According to a Vietnamese government decree, smoking on flights is subject to a fine of up to VND5 million ($231). Many travelers, both Vietnamese and foreigners, have been caught violating the rule recently. A South Korean man Tuesday got a similar fine for smoking on a flight of more than four and a half hours from Incheon to Hanoi. He was caught smoking in the toilet just 15 minutes before the plane was scheduled to land. A raft of thorny issues including market access and trade barriers makes it very unlikely 16 Asia-Pacific countries can hammer out a proposed economic "partnership" by the end of this year. The week-long 13th round of negotiations to create a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), under way in Auckland, New Zealand, ends on Saturday. The talks kicked off in 2013. The original aim had been to wrap up by the end of 2015 a trade deal that involves a total population of more than 3 billion and annual trade volume of over $17 trillion. But there's no sign of progress that would produce even by this December a pact acceptable to the 10 governments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. "This is a very complex negotiation," said New Zealand chief trade negotiator Mark Trainor, noting that the countries involved range from some of the world's least developed to some of the richest. "It is a difficult process to bring it in to land, given those complexities," he said on Friday. Stephen Jacobi, director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, said while negotiators are working to an end-year deadline, it is "difficult to see how they'll pull all the pieces together in time." Not ready to close Deborah Elms, executive director of the private Singapore-based Asian Trade Centre, said progress wasn't anywhere near enough for a 2016 deal. "If we are just talking about some countries making adjustments to initial offers we are not ready to close. We are not in that ballpark," she said. In addition to trade, intellectual property provisions are also an issue. Medecins Sans Frontieres warns that India will be negatively impacted if some intellectual property provisions are included as access to affordable medicine could be severely restricted. New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay told Reuters there could be an agreement by year-end but the "challenge will be the quality of the outcome, the quality of the deal". He said New Zealand is not "willing to forego a high quality outcome for an issue of timing." China and India, not in the unratified Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, have been keen to help create RCEP. He Ping, a trade expert at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the New Zealand meeting should have marked the "final sprint" toward a deal but "right now it seems it is hard to get that sense of urgency with RCEP." Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, pictured in May announcing his resignation from the government Former Israeli defence minister Moshe Yaalon on Thursday declared his intention to run for prime minister, accusing the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu of using scare tactics to stay in power. Yaalon, forced out in May to allow Netanyahu to expand his coalition by bringing in a hardline nationalist party, has repeatedly criticised the government since leaving office. "The current leadership must stop scaring citizens as if we are on the verge of a second Holocaust," Yaalon told a security conference in Herzliya, stressing threats were being exaggerated. Israel "deserves a leadership that stops zigzagging and encouraging hate between different groups in Israeli society to remain in power at any price," he added. In the remarks broadcast online, Yaalon said "my intent is to run for the leadership of Israel in the next elections" which are due to take place in 2019 at the latest. Netanyahu dismissed the remarks of his former defence minister. "These statements have no importance whatsoever," the prime minister told reporters. "Security is a real issue and Israel cannot ignore threats." There has been speculation that a new centre-right party could be formed, with polls showing that one including Yaalon could pose a challenge to the Likud party, to which he and Netanyahu belong. When he resigned last month, Yaalon warned of a rising tide of extremists in the country as well as in Likud. Yaalon, also a former armed forces chief, had repeatedly clashed with far-right members of the coalition before resigning. One high-profile dispute saw Yaalon and top military brass strongly condemn a soldier who was caught on video shooting a Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay on the ground posing no apparent threat. Far-right politicians and protesters defended the soldier, who is currently facing a military trial for manslaughter. Yaalon was replaced as defence minister by Avigdor Lieberman, a hardliner who has spoken of harsh actions against Palestinian "terrorists". Yaalon was seen as a counterweight to religious nationalists who hold key positions in Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet, though he has in the past voiced opposition to a Palestinian state. Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London on June 16, 2016 Canada's parliament on Thursday observed a minute of silence in memory of British MP Jo Cox, who was killed in a shock daylight street attack. The gesture of respect was held at the opening of Question Period in the House of Commons, and was preceded by a tribute to Cox by opposition MP Nathan Cullen. "A mom of two beautiful children, a friend, a dedicated Labour MP, a long advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world was murdered today," he said, fighting back tears. "Jo used her voice for those who have none, she dedicated her passion to those who needed it most. She harnessed her love even for those who (allowed) hate to consume them." The killing of Jo Cox, 41, in Birstall in northern England has thrown campaigning for the referendum on Britain's EU membership into disarray just a week before the crucial vote. Cox was a campaigner for Britain to remain in the European Union. Sky News television quoted unconfirmed reports that the shooter shouted "Britain first." Heads up to prevent injury from falls Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at... Signs that point to the best time for retirement Ive been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesnt seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to... Rethinking the mandatory retirement age How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO,... Tips to promoting a healthy nights sleep for children Question: Help, please. My daughter is almost 2 years old and has been an easy child to put into her own bed. Yet in the past few weeks she is purposefully stretching out the bedtime routine longer and longer. She wants more: more stories, more... The Canberra community went on a detective hunt last weekend to find the owners of weddings rings mysteriously left in a safe at a Belconnen vet's surgery many years ago. And guess what? With all our readers' help, we've found Kevin and Narelle. Belconnen Animal Hospital vet Shannon West (back), discovered a pair of wedding rings in a safe at his practice. The rings have been returned to their owners, Narelle Hilton and Kevin Temme, who married in 1971. Credit:Jamila Toderas Vet Shannon West discovered the rings, inscribed with Kevin and Narelle and their wedding date of March 6, 1971, when he recently took over the Belconnen Animal Hospital in Weetangera. The rings had sat in a safe for at least 18 years until Dr West arrived and discovered the combination, thought lost forever, but actually scribbled on a bit of paper stuffed down the back of the safe. Over in Canada, a $9 billion fund manager is loading up on cash in an attempt to profit if the UK votes to leave the European Union. Investors are wrong to assume bookies, who see a lower chance of a so-called Brexit than polls do, are better guides, says Stephen Lingard, a multi-asset portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Solutions. He's moved about 10 per cent of some of his funds into cash, the biggest position he can remember, and plans to pick up bargains after a stock slump should voters decide to part ways with Europe in the June 23 referendum. "It's certainly going to go down to the wire," Lingard, who's also co-head of equity strategy for the group, said in a phone interview from Toronto. "We'll be looking to probably buy UK assets if there's a significant correction on the basis of a leave result." Concern about a potential secession has convulsed global markets this week, with measures of equity and currency volatility soaring and bond yields from Japan to Germany sinking to record lows. European equities could lose almost a quarter of their value in the immediate aftermath of an exit vote, with those from the UK poised to suffer the most, according to risk-modeling firm Axioma. EU politicians are not much interested in what happens to the United Kingdom after it leaves (which it may well do: an opinion poll last Friday gave "Leave" a 10-point lead). Britain was usually whiny and often downright obstructive in its dealings with the EU, and if it now chooses to commit a spectacular act of self-mutilation, the general European view will be that it deserves everything it gets. "Other EU member states [may] say: 'Well if they can leave, maybe we should also have referendums and maybe we should also leave,'" Wallstrom told the BBC. Like Tusk, she actually fears that the whole 60-year experiment in European unity may start to fall apart if Britain leaves. Tusk is not alone in his worries: last weekend Margot Wallstrom, Sweden's foreign minister, fretted aloud that the British referendum could trigger an avalanche of demands for special treatment or in/out referendums in other EU member countries. How's this for apocalyptic? "As a historian I fear Brexit [a British vote to leave the European Union in the referendum on June 23] could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also Western political civilisation in its entirety," said Donald Tusk, the president of the European Union, in an interview published on Monday in the German newspaper Bild. That is likely to be quite a lot. If the UK loses duty-free access to the EU's "single market" of 28 countries and 500 million people, it becomes far less attractive to non-European investors who want access to that market. It also loses every trade deal it has with other countries, since they were all negotiated by the EU as a whole. Britain could spend 10 years trying to renegotiate them on its own, and end up with much worse terms. The resultant collapse in national income might be avoided if Britain remained a part of the single market, which is theoretically possible. Both Norway and Switzerland belong to it without being EU members but they have to pay in just as much as if they were members, and they have to accept the EU rules on freedom of movement, which means that any citizen of any EU member can live and work in their country. That's not going to go down well with the leaders of the "Leave" campaign, since their strongest selling points are stopping immigration, and "saving money" by ending payments to the EU. They simply could not survive politically if they openly abandoned those goals. Nor would EU leaders be willing to fudge a deal: in order to deter other members from leaving, it will be politically necessary for them to punish Britain economically. You might wonder how any sane British politician, knowing this, would risk holding a referendum, let alone advocate a "Leave" vote. The answer is a foolish miscalculation (on the part of Prime Minister David Cameron), and reckless ambition (on the part of his would-be successor, Boris Johnson). Cameron promised the referendum three years ago merely as a device for preserving the unity of the Conservative Party. It would pacify the right wing of his party, which wanted out, but he thought he would never have to hold the referendum because his coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, would veto it. Unfortunately, the Conservatives won a narrow majority in last year's election, the coalition ended, and Cameron was stuck with his promise. Dr Madeleine Strong Cincotta (Column 8, pronunciation of Turandot) has wound you up. "Dr Strong, dear, oh dear, oh dear, should have used her doctoral research skills (or 30 seconds on Wikipedia) to learn that "Turandot"is NOT French, but is in fact Persian. The "-dot" ending is, in Persian, "dokht", being short for "dokhtar", meaning daughter. The whole title means "daughter of Turan", and should be pronounced "TuranDOT". Puccini was no language scholar, and he (and several prominent Turandots) never pronounced the final "t". So who is right?" Yours researchfully, Mark Raymond, Manton. Phil Morey agrees. "The original play by Gozzi was spelt Turandotte so the the 't's were pronounced . The original word comes from Farsi and the 'dot' meaning daughter is a transliteration and should have the 't' pronounced." "What makes Dr Strong Cincotta believe an Italian opera about an Arab princess should have its name pronounced as though it were French? Puccini's granddaughter did not agree with that view," writes Michael Palmer, of Cessnock. Turandot was composed by two Italians, Puccini and Alfano, has a libretto by two more Italians, Adami and Simoni, is based on a 12th-century poem by a Persian, and is set in China. No connection to France and its language whatever. I conclude that its final "t" is not silent," says Steve Cornelius, of Brookvale. Losing the Liberal leadership was heartbreaking, Turnbull replied, "but what upset me or hurt me the most was the change in policy because I believe we owe it to our children, their children, and the generations ahead of them to take care of the planet " When, after the dead-heat election of 2010 that saw Julia Gillard form minority government with the support of the Greens and two independents, a questioner lamented the refusal of either Gillard or Abbott to take risks in that campaign, the response from Turnbull was emphatic. "Few have taken more political risks than I have," he shot back. The surprise then, since he toppled Abbott in September last year, is that Turnbull has been so unwilling to take risks. Why, for instance, given his strong belief that the issue of marriage equality was best sorted out by a vote of MPs before the election, did he not stick to his guns and demand government MPs support him? The surprise during the campaign has been that he has been so unwilling to depart from the "jobs and growth" script, so reluctant to take questions (Shorten's people say their man has taken 603 to Turnbull's 362) and so willing to embrace Peter Dutton's fear-mongering rhetoric on asylum seekers. His finest moments over the past six weeks have tended to be unrelated to the selling of his economic plan, among them expressing his love and admiration for wife Lucy this week when she was honoured for her work strengthening Australia's relationship with Germany. There was also his response to the revelation that an Islamic leader who had condemned homosexuality for attracting "evil outcomes" in 2013 was among the guests at the first Iftar dinner to be hosted by an Australian prime minister: an unqualified repudiation of intolerance and an eloquent assertion of the importance of mutual respect as a bedrock Australian value. On Monday Turnbull returns to the Q&A set for the first time since last February's encounter and it just might be his most daring move in this risk-averse campaign to retain government. The question that will underpin many of the exchanges is no surprise: where is the real Malcolm Turnbull? It's a question that has regularly been entertained by other Q&A panellists, including former Liberal leader John Hewson, since Turnbull's approval ratings began to slide early this year. "There's a fellow running in the seat of Wentworth, my old seat, against Malcolm, who just wants the old Malcolm to come back," Hewson said back in April. "The guy that stood for gay marriage and climate change and tax reform and so on. And I think that's been a major reason why his popularity has collapsed." Turnbull, of course, insists he is very much the same man and rankles at the notion that he has been pulled away from the sensible centre to keep the conservatives who stayed loyal to Abbott on side. "All too often," he told my colleague Peter Hartcher last week, when journalists have asked him to respond to the disappointment factor among voters, "they've been unable to provide me particulars, which makes it a bit hard." The Prime Minister can safely assume that there will be no shortage of "particulars" on Monday night, and the Q&A format gives those asking the question ample opportunity to drill down if they are not satisfied with the initial response. Moreover, after constantly interrupting Bill Shorten when the Labor leader made his appearance last Monday, host Tony Jones will be on a mission to give Turnbull the same treatment. The test will be to win over a majority of the studio audience and it is a test Shorten passed early on when he was pressed on Labor's spending commitments on education and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Jo Cox, who has died aged 41 was a former head of policy and head of humanitarian campaigning for the global charity Oxfam and was elected Labour MP for Batley and Spen at the last general election; she established herself as a rising star of her party, albeit one unlikely to prosper under its current leadership. Before she entered Parliament, Jo Cox had spent a decade working in some of the world's most dangerous war zones, and in Parliament she made a name for herself campaigning to find a solution to the conflict in Syria and demanding the government do more to ensure that humanitarian aid reached people who needed it, including calling for RAF airdrops. She also established and became co-chairman of a new all-party parliamentary group on Syria. British MP Jo Cox's dedication to the voiceless may have cost her her life. Credit:AP "I've been in some horrific situations where women have been raped repeatedly in Darfur," she told the Yorkshire Post in December last year. "I've been with child soldiers who have been given Kalashnikovs and kill members of their own family in Uganda. In Afghanistan I was talking to Afghan elders who were world weary of a lack of sustained attention from their own government and from the international community to stop problems early. That's the thing that all of that experience gave me if you ignore a problem it gets worse." Her concern led her to put aside party divisions to campaign with leading Conservatives, though when in October last year she wrote a joint article with the former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell for The Observer, calling for humanitarian intervention in Syria with the establishment of "safe havens", she was attacked by Labour's international development spokesman, Diane Abbott, for siding with a Tory. Done tells me he begins his day with a visit to his studio, to cast a fresh eye on his work of the day before. Then he makes his way down to his beach house where, depending on the tide, he will walk to the front wall to see if the bream are waiting. He'll go into the cabin and feed the rainbow lorikeets, then scatter food for the seagulls, then feed the bream. It is a spectacularly Australian routine. If there were koalas in the trees around Chinamans Beach, Done would probably give them Tim Tams and lamingtons. Antarctica dark sea (2016) by Ken Done. "I don't fish anymore," he says. "I don't want to catch fish anymore; if I did, I'd throw them back. So if anybody comes to the front of our house I put out a rod so I look as though I'm fishing, because I want to protect those bream." One problem he has had to overcome is the fact that, when he throws bread into the water, the seagulls are the first to catch it. "So we've devised a thing," he says. "We make these bombs of frozen sand with bread in, so that the bread will sink so the seagulls don't get it." It's a spectacularly Australian invention. He and Judith, his wife of 50 years, still take a swim every morning, then Done returns to his studio to start work. He pauses for lunch, for a siesta, and for dinner at home, where his own paintings decorate the walls. "Because you've got to look at them," he says. "You need to spend time with a painting before you decide whether it's good enough to go to the gallery. So, when I'm lying there watching television and falling asleep, out of the corner of my eye is the painting that I'm currently thinking about." But his day may not be over. "When you wake up after watching Midsomer Murders," he says, "and you think, 'Well, who the f--- did that?' and then you ask your wife and find that she's been asleep as well, so no-one knows who was actually killed in that terribly dangerous town in England you might think, 'I'll just go down and do some work'." Along the way I lost $20 million because I trusted my accountant implicitly and I wasn't interested in money. You only need to learn that lesson once. Ken Done I had imagined Done might be embittered by his estrangement from the mainstream of the art world, and offer a variation on the bestselling author's argument that, since his books shift more units in Big W, he must be a better writer than Shakespeare. But he talks instead of how he went to art school at 14 ("More than anything," he says, "I wanted to see a totally nude woman. I'd never seen one at that point in time"); joined advertising agency J Walter Thompson in New York; worked for five years in London with Dylan Thomas' son, Lew, as his copywriter; devised an advertising campaign for the White Album that was rejected by the Beatles; and travelled the world making commercials for Campari when he met Princess Margaret and Benson & Hedges. He became joint creative director of JWT at the age of 35, and remembers the days of long lunches in Chinatown with copywriters such as John Singleton, Peter Carey and Phillip Adams, when an agency might hire Fred Schepisi or Bruce Beresford to direct a commercial. He quit advertising at the age of 40 to become a painter. For our main course, Done enjoys the blue-eye cod, I take the baby snapper. Done tells me about the early years of his retail business, how he opened his first shop in 1982 and ended up with 15 stores and licensing arrangements in the US and Japan. "Along the way I lost $20 million because I trusted my accountant implicitly," he says, "and I wasn't interested in money. You only need to learn that lesson once." The bureau's rainfall charts also favour the state's south-east as most likely to cop the heaviest soaking. (See chart below of eight-day rainfall forecasts from Friday.) For now, weather models are yet to settle on the area of most rain, although the north-east corner of the state all the way to Victoria will see widespread falls, Mohammed Nabi, a bureau forecaster said. "It's highly dependent on where the low forms," Mr Nabi said, adding Sunday will be Sydney's wettest of the coming days with 20-40 mm expected. Saturday is likely to start with a morning shower before conditions clear. "At the moment all of the guidance is pointing to the coastal areas north of Port Macquarie and south of Sydney receiving their heaviest rainfall on Saturday night and Sunday," Jane Golding, acting NSW Regional Director, said in a statement. "Overall the higher rainfall totals are not expected to be as large or as widespread as the event we had in early June, however given the wet condition of the catchments in these areas there is a risk of riverine and flash flooding," she said. Dam watch With the eastern seaboard still largely sodden after record daily rainfall about two weeks ago, emergency services are standing by for possible flooding wherever the east coast low develops. The NSW State Emergency Service will "keep a large watching brief over NSW", Becky Gollings, an SES spokeswoman, said. "Everyone's on alert." For now, though the focus will be on the mid-north coast down to the Victorian border, especially the Illawarra region around Wollongong, Ms Golling said. Authorities will also be watching for how much rain falls over Sydney's catchment region, with major dams close to full. Warragamba dam last spilled over in August 2015 - and may again next week. Credit:Nick Moir Flood risks will be elevated if the dams overflow at the same time that nearby rivers are swollen. On present forecasts, Sydney's catchments can expect about 50 mm of rain from the event, Mr Nabi said. According to a statement from the SES, the flooding potential for the Nepean River alone means there is a high probability a range of facilities will be closed, including the Douglas Park Causeway at Douglas park, and the Macquarie Grove, Cowpasture and Menangle Road bridges. Properties on Sheathers Lane and Kirkham Lane may also become flooded. Coastal regions will endure strong winds and dangerous surf conditions but the risk of a storm surge is less of a concern than two weeks ago, he said. Even so, some beaches remain vulnerable to further erosion. Longer term trends Researchers, such as Acacia Pepler from the University of NSW, predict east coast lows may become less common during the winter months as the planet warms. However, those that form near the coast, which bring the most damage from heavy rain and coastal erosion, may increase in frequency. The new research from Scott Power and Jeff Callaghan indicates that major flood events are already on the increase. Taking a 1500-kilometre stretch of eastern Australia from Brisbane down to Bega on the south coast of NSW, the two bureau researchers examined all the major floods since 1860. Major floods were defined as those events which caused extensive flooding within 50 kilometres of the coast, or inundation that extended 20 kilometres along the coast, with at least two catchment areas involved. As the chart below shows, the frequency of such events has roughly doubled to two a year over the past 150 years, with about half the increase since the end of the 19th century. "There is a statistically significant increasing trend in major flood frequency over the full period," the authors wrote in their paper. The range was also widespread, with "the overwhelming majority of sites in the study region [showing] increasing trends", including all but one of the sites closest to the coast. The majority of the sites also revealed that the largest amount of daily rain received each year was increasing. Tasmanian Liberal candidate Amanda-Sue Markham is a former Christian Democrat election candidate who helped lead a campaign in her state to oppose the liberalisation of abortion laws. The candidate for Franklin - who is trying to dislodge Labor's Julie Collins but needs a swing of at least 5.1 per cent - also appears to have misled voters on her Facebook page about her work history as a nurse. Amanda-Sue Markham, the Liberal candidate for Franklin, with her husband Pastor Campbell Markham. Ms Markham - who promotes Hobart's Cornerstone Church alongside her pastor husband Campbell Markham - has refused to say if she shares her husband's views on same-sex marriage, gay parenting, "fornicators", pornography and whether a wife should "submit" to her husband. "What we are doing, of course, is seeking to reform and provide more flexibility to universities. We are not going to deregulate fees entirely," the Prime Minister said during Friday night's leaders' debate. Mr Turnbull's statement on the policy, first revealed as one proposal in an options paper in the May budget, comes days after Treasurer Scott Morrison said that fee deregulation would not happen under a re-elected Coalition government. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has made his strongest comments yet on the Coalition's university fee deregulation policy, mounting the argument for allowing universities to set the fees for a select few courses to bring about flexibility and competition. "The [Education] Minister, Simon Birmingham, has announced that what we will seek to do is to offer the universities the ability to deregulate fees, if you like, for a small number of flagship courses so that they can compete, so that you do get more competition between universities." Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten shake hands at the Facebook debate. Credit:Andrew Meares Mr Turnbull said competition would allow universities to "concentrate on the things they can do best" and, when challenged on whether it would limit lower-income students accessing quality education, he said "I completely disagree with that". After ditching the unpopular 2014 proposal to fully deregulate university fees, which sparked Labor's "$100,000 degrees" scare campaign, this policy would allow universities to increase the fees of their best courses and enrol up to 20 per cent of the total student cohort in them. It is aimed at tackling the "one-size fits all" structure of Australia's higher education sector and would seek to put downward pressure on fees by reducing Commonwealth funding if they jacked up prices. It was listed as one of a multitude of options in an education policy discussion paper. Voters are frustrated with slow internet speeds and the National Broadband Network has emerged as a surprise winning issue for Labor during the election campaign, analysis shows. As the final fortnight of campaigning looms, research by media monitor Isentia has revealed that the NBN, the leadership qualities of the major party leaders and asylum seekers are the issues highest on voters' minds. The analysis reviewed more than 3000 comments on social media and talkback radio since May 8. A re-elected Turnbull government would pass laws to ban corrupt payments from employers to unions, as part of a package of measures it will adopt in response to Dyson Heydon's trade union royal commission. Announcing the long-awaited response to the royal commission at the end of the sixth week of the election campaign, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash promised laws to give courts the power to disqualify union officials from holding office when they had been found to repeatedly breach workplace laws. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says 48 of 79 Heydon royal commission recommendations will be adopted by a returned Turnbull government. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen This measure would affect union officials, such as the Western Australia construction union's Joe McDonald - who was expelled from the ALP by Kevin Rudd back in 2007 and has been repeatedly fined for his behaviour on sites - and, potentially, Victorian CFMEU official John Setka. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared Medicare will "never, ever" be privatised, hitting out at a "disgraceful scare campaign" led by Labor and the unions. Former prime minister Bob Hawke has been drafted into a TV advertising campaign in which he warns against the privatisation of the publicly-funded healthcare system he introduced. "Everybody knows you don't set up a Medicare privatisation taskforce unless you aim to privatise Medicare," he says in the ads that are appearing nationally.. Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has strongly rejected what he claims is offensive and unfounded "innuendo" levelled against him in a 12-year old Australian Federal Police report into the leaking of an intelligence document on the Iraq War to conservative columnist Andrew Bolt in 2003. Mr Bolt, a strong supporter of the then Howard government, used the document to undermine the credibility of Mr Wilkie, who by then had left his job as an intelligence analyst with the top secret Office of National Assessments and had become a vocal public critic of the war. Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie flatly denies leaking the report. Credit:Andrew Meares The AFP report, released on Friday after a freedom of information request by Labor, is highly critical of the way the bureaucracy handled Mr Wilkie's highly-classified report, which he produced in late 2002 on the eve of the Iraq War. Federal investigators say 84 copies were distributed around the government between December 2002 and September 2003. Ben Eckersley, 25, spotted his grandmother's search, "Please translate these roman numerals mcmxcviii thank you," and posted it online. May Ashworth, 86, pictured with her grandson, Ben Eckersley, 25, uses "please" and "thank you" when she searches Google. Credit:Ben Eckersley/Twitter May Ashworth, an 86-year-old British grandmother, writes "please" and "thank you" when she uses the search engine as she believes there is a real person at Google headquarters responding to her requests. "Omg opened my Nan's laptop and when she's googled something she's put 'please' and 'thank you'. I can't [sic]," he tweeted. It has since been retweeted almost 27,000 times and even spotted by the tech Gods over at Google headquarters. "Dear Grandma, No thanks necessary. Sincerely, Google," they tweeted. She also got a reply from Google UK: "Dearest Ben's Nan. Hope you're well. In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile. Oh, and it's 1998. Thank YOU." "It will be a dynamic and diverse community, providing a vibrant and safe environment intended to stimulate the intellectual, emotional, physical, social, cultural and spiritual development of the students in residence," Dr Drennen says. Paradoxically, Wesley's future now involves returning to its past as a top Melbourne boarding school. Learning in Residence, an innovative residential facility for Years 10 to 12, is due to open at the Glen Waverley campus later this year. The school celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, but principal Dr Helen Drennen says that, as always, Wesley is focused on the future. Pictured: Wesley school captains. The school celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, but principal Dr Helen Drennen says that, as always, Wesley is focused on the future. The college sees the new facility as an enduring element of its DNA. The first student in 1866 was a boarder at St Kilda Road, and although boarding in Melbourne ended in 1980, two highly-acclaimed residential learning programs, at Clunes in country Victoria and Yiramalay in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, have opened since. "Wesley's international reputation for academic excellence in the International Baccalaureate Diploma, Victorian Certificate of Education and dedicated English Language Preparation Program will be further strengthened by this new residential experience," Dr Drennen says. The Learning in Residence facility will include eight two-storey residences, each accommodating a maximum of 16 students and one staff member. Four houses will be allocated for girls, four others for boys and three more for key staff. The new buildings form part of the senior school in the spacious grounds of its Glen Waverley campus. Study facilities will be available in students' rooms, as well as in the senior school library and resource centre for study periods supervised by residential and campus staff. There will also be access for all senior school students, including those in residence, to a new dining space for 240 adjoining the school's many recreational facilities. "The Learning in Residence facility will have a careful balance of local students, rural students and international students," Dr Drennen says. "We will also offer weekly boarding for students. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) is a program geared to the university-bound, but as the name suggests it is also the most widely recognised pathway to achievement in an increasingly globalised world. The IB's internationally-focused syllabus and rigorous assessment scheme make it the tertiary entrance qualification most respected and widely recognised by the world's leading universities. St Leonard's College was the first Victorian school to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. In 1981, St Leonard's College became the first Victorian school and the second in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. In Years 1 to 4, students undertake the IB Primary Years Program (PYP). Senior students can choose either the VCE or the IB Diploma Program (IBDP) as pathways to tertiary study. St Leonard's led the way with the IB from the beginning, and other schools have drawn on its wealth of experience to develop their own IB programs. The college has pioneered in other areas; 44 years ago it became the first single-sex independent school in the country to embrace coeducation. Some parents might be startled to hear their children are learning from a robot, but an increasing number of classrooms across the state are doing just that in a test program run by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV). The robots are part of a new era in classrooms in which students learn the importance and use of algorithms and control virtual and augmented reality software to create exciting educational experiences that, quite often, are also new for the teachers. Robots are part of a new era in classrooms in which students learn the importance and use of algorithms and control virtual and augmented reality software. Students from prep onwards are learning to operate robots and how to program them. ISV says teachers have reacted positively to trialling a range of devices, including $12,000 French NAO humanoid robots. "We're providing robotic devices to schools for between four to six weeks to give teachers an opportunity to experiment, find out what works for them, and hopefully inspire them to follow up with robotics," says ISV senior adviser Lynda Cutting. "Every school we've placed a device in has just grabbed and run with it. They are purchasing their own devices afterwards and coming up with some amazing learning experiences for children." Nearly 90 per cent of NSW residents don't know about a new $1 levy that will be added to every taxi and rideshare trip, no matter how short, finds a survey by ride-sharing company Uber which opposes the additional fee. Legislation introducing the new $1 levy, which will be imposed for a set period of five years, is scheduled to be debated and likely passed by State Parliament this week. The ability to book an Uber in advance will make it even more of a threat to the taxi industry. It will raise $254 million to compensate owners of taxi plates for the falling value of their businesses since the industry was deregulated and ride-sharing services such as Uber were legalised. The date when the fee will be introduced hasn't been set. While the value of taxi plates has nearly halved, research by Deloitte Australia and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) show the market for "point to point services" has expanded. But as the numbers soar, a range of lawyers, professors and justice advocates argue prison is the last place most female inmates should be. "We should be looking at closing all female prisons, except for perhaps one," says Mirko Bagaric, a chair of Deakin University Law School in Victoria. "Female over-imprisonment is a blight on our sentencing system and one of the most gratuitous human rights violations currently in Australia." Prison doesn't make you a better person. It makes you a better criminal. Bianca Professor Bagaric believes Australia imprisons too many men and women, but on average women should receive 75 per cent lighter sentences for the same crimes. "Equality with a vengeance" he says has prevented judges acknowledging the distinct profile of female offenders: their lower reoffending rates, greater caregiving responsibilities, increased suffering in jail and histories of trauma. Most women in jail could safely serve their sentences in the community instead, according to the peak body for lawyers, the Law Council of Australia. UNSW criminologist Eileen Baldry has watched the rate of female incarceration in NSW treble since starting in her field in the 1980s. Much of the increase has been concentrated among Indigenous women, who went from less than 4 per cent of the female prison population to about 34 per cent. "That rise has been extraordinary and in many ways unconscionable," Professor Baldry says. "By far the majority of women inmates could be supported outside prison." Nearly three-quarters of the increase since 2005 has been for non-violent crimes such as property, drug and traffic offences, according to figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. "The growth in female imprisonment is almost entirely due to increased policing and increased toughness on the part of the courts," BOCSAR director Don Weatherburn says. "It's not a crime-driven problem." Two sets of figures tell the story. Firstly, the number of women charged with a crime has swelled by 46 per cent since 2005. At the same time, the percentage of convicted women being sent to prison has surged by nearly 50 per cent, rising in 12 of the 16 broad categories of crime. The effect is more obvious when it comes to "the more discretionary offences like public order and traffic offences, which depend on how the police behave," Weatherburn says. For traffic offences, for example, the percentage of women imprisoned has soared by 47 per cent since 2005 a stark contrast against the 20 per cent drop for men. Similarly, the imprisonment rate for public order offences has risen four times faster for women than for men, while for property damage the increase has been seven times faster. Others point to the bigger social and economic picture. Research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that women entering prison are 30 per cent more likely to be unable to work due to disability or poor health than their male peers. They are 80 per cent more likely to have self-harmed, 40 per cent more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness and 35 per cent more likely to have injected drugs. Lana Sandas, chief executive of the Women in Prison Advocacy Network, says nine out of 10 of the network's clients have suffered sexual or physical assault, many as children. It doesn't excuse criminal behaviour, Sandas says, but for many women "the writing was on the wall that they would turn to drugs or alcohol". When Bianca was using ice, she felt "invincible". She cared only about herself and her habit, not the slightest about the people from whom she stole. "It didn't matter to me if they couldn't eat that night or pay rent," she says. Having tried and failed rehabilitation before, she underwent a six month program offered only at Dillwynia women's jail in north-west Sydney. In time, she no longer woke up thinking "I need a shot". But Bianca says it was the first time she had been eligible for such rehabilitation in jail and most women missed out. Prisoners on remand have limited or no access to treatment programs, according to women's support groups. Helen Campbell, chief executive of the Women's Legal Service NSW, is wary of approaching punishment along gender lines. "I'm not comfortable with this notion women are innately more noble, that we should be treated differently," she says. However, women have less access to rehabilitation and health services in prison, limited contact with their children and a lack of resources during pregnancy, Campbell says. "If I had one ask, it would be: Do not imprison a pregnant woman." The Turnbull government's Minister for Women Michaelia Cash refused to be drawn on the issue of women in prison. NSW Justice Minister Troy Grant declined to be interviewed. A NSW government spokeswoman highlighted services aimed at women, such as the Mothers and Children custody program and Out of the Dark, which provides group therapy for domestic violence victims. The spokeswoman also noted that over the past five years the proportion of women who reoffend within 12 months had fallen from 41 per cent to 34 per cent. But high recidivism rates still form the basis of tired one-liners in jail, former inmates say. "How long until you next visit?" a prison officer asked Bianca as she prepared to leave prison. "See you soon," other women hear from the guards. "I get there are repeat offenders," Bianca says. "But for them to make a joke of it It's our life." Three months after leaving jail, Bianca says her life is split between cafe shifts in the morning and study for a youth work diploma in the afternoon. "It's the first time I can say my life is on track," she says. Although it was in jail she finally beat her addiction, she does not see incarceration as an answer to society's problems. When Mrs Vella questioned the plan she was told Hannah was rated "low needs" by a planner with little knowledge about deafness or hearing loss. "She was sympathetic to Hannah but she had no specialist expertise in children with hearing loss," Mrs Vella said. "It was hard to understand how an adequate assessment can be made by someone with no background in that particular disability." Cost benefit Hannah Vella with her mum Connie and sister Ariana. Credit:Peter Rae Jim Hungerford, chief executive of The Shepherd Centre which specialises in early intervention services for children with hearing loss, has been informed of similar cases in NDIS trial sites around the country. The scheme begins across northern, south-western and western Sydney on July 1. He said effective early intervention services cost about $18,000 a year on average, but NDIS packages on offer were as low as $10,000. "Children with hearing loss need a very complex program with lots and lots of support," he said. "You can't run a complex program for that sort of money. I'm worried that kids will get a service thinking everything is okay but in actual fact the children will never learn how to talk which will cause them great problems in the future." The cost benefit of effective early intervention is huge, Mr Hungerford said, with deaf children entering school on par with their hearing peers. "Hearing loss has so many potential negative effects on children," he said. "If it's not addressed early, it affects their mental and emotional health, it affects their reading and writing skills, their achievement in school and employment opportunities. It can be as bad as children not having any functional language at all and ending up on a Disability Support Pension in adulthood." He questioned whether scheme administrators were overreacting to fears of cost blowouts ahead of the full roll out of the program. "I think the planners are responding to all of the concerns about overspend and they're clamping down without realising they are putting these children's lives at risk," he said. A spokeswoman for the National Disability Insurance Agency, which implements the scheme, said it was working with experts to develop national guidelines defining "reasonable and necessary" support for children with hearing loss. The expert advice will be used to guide planners. Support saves money Effective support delivered early saves money long term, according to Every Australian Counts campaign director John Della Bosca "The sooner the support is delivered, the much better the outcomes for the individual but also for society at large," he said. "One of the strongest arguments in favour of the NDIS is the cost of doing nothing. If we were to continue with the old system there will be higher costs to the health system, the mental health system, juvenile justice and corrective services." Economic modelling by Charles Sturt University released earlier this year forecast an NDIS-driven economic boom for NSW, as people with disabilities and their informal carers enter the workforce or increase their hours when the scheme is implemented. The Productivity Commission found that NDIS would result in an additional 320,000 people with a disability and 80,000 carers nationally being employed by 2050, boosting GDP by 1 per cent. Number crunch Children with disabilities need early intervention in the preschool years. The NDIA did warn the Federal Government of the potential for cost blowouts last year in a document which cited the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders and developmental delays, workforce pressures and states shifting health costs. "Clearly risks remain, especially for the Commonwealth Government which is on risk for cost overruns," it said. "Cost risks are currently being managed, but exposure is ever present." The Productivity Commission initially forecast the average cost of NDIS packages would be $34,969 a year. The most recent quarterly report from the NDIA shows the average plan amount is $35,992, excluding residents of large institutions. From July 1, the scheme will begin its full roll out with people to be phased in by geographic districts across Australia. The number of NDIS participants is expected to increase from approximately 30,000 to 110,000 over the next year as the scheme becomes more widely available, eventually reaching 460,000 people by 2019. Figures from the NDIA show about one-third of the participants who have joined the scheme so far have autism and related disorders. The Productivity Commission estimated 80,000 children would be eligible for early intervention for autism spectrum disorders under the NDIS. According to figures from the ABS, autism diagnoses doubled between 2003 and 2009 and doubled again in the three years to 2012, reaching 115,000. Plan before you see a planner Parents and carers are advised to have a plan before they see an NDIS planner. Credit:IStock Tamara Van Antwerpen, general manager of the Penrith-based Luke Priddis Foundation which supports children with autism spectrum disorders, has guided families through the process since the NDIS was opened to children under the age of 18 in the Nepean Blue Mountains region last year. "Many families do get overwhelmed and feel they don't know where to begin but there is help available," she said. The foundation helps families draw up a detailed plan for their child before the 90 minute meeting with the NDIS planner. "If you are going to properly represent your child at that meeting you need to be prepared for that," she said. "People have to respect that the planners don't know your child. They don't know your journey." In her experience, most of the planners are doing a "fabulous job" and the funding packages being offered are adequate, particularly for children over seven who previously did not qualify for any ongoing government assistance. "The parents who have gone through the process are overjoyed," she said. "It's very rare that people are let down by the process." NDIA figures show the average funding for autism and related disorders is $26,755 which some experts say falls short of the amount necessary to pay for 20 hours a week of effective early intervention. Clunky bits General manager of client services with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Jo-Anne Hewitt has helped advise participants in NDIS trial sites in the Hunter and ACT over the past three years and agrees there are issues which need smoothing out. "There are some clunky bits," she said. "It is a scheme that's being built as it goes so there are some things that are still to be resolved but on the whole it's been a positive transition for the people who have joined the scheme." One development in NSW which has cause some angst is a planning step which critics say will mean existing supports are simply rolled over without consideration of the participant's goals. Ms Hewitt is urging potential participants, who previously had to "beg and scrape" for assistance, to stay focused on the bigger picture. "This is about the long game," Ms Hewitt said. "It's about looking towards the future and while it might not be perfect in the first 12 months or even the second 12 months, you don't have to have everything right now. Keep looking towards the future because the clunky bits will be sorted." An NDIA spokeswoman said supports would not simply be rolled over and plans are not set in concrete but would evolve over time. "A participant's first plan will give them time to think about how the supports they currently receive are working for them and what else they might need to achieve their longer-term goals before their scheduled plan review in 12 months," she said. Next steps Disability advocate Bob Buckley is the father of an adult child with autism with an NDIS plan in the ACT. He recommends potential participants focus on what they or their child needs rather than the funding and go into the meeting armed with a plan. He also suggests asking for a planner with experience in the participant's disability. "I'm hearing from lots of families who say the planners really don't understand the disability and don't understand why certain supports would be necessary," he said. "It really does seem very hit and miss." The NDIA spokeswoman said planners had a range of qualifications and 16 per cent identified as having a disability. They are receiving ongoing training about specific disabilities to ensure national consistency. The NDIA is providing information for potential participants online as well as face to face, with shop fronts in Penrith, Katoomba, Windsor, Newcastle and Charlestown. More locations will open as the scheme is rolled out. Every Australian Counts also has information, documents and video tutorials. The steps in the NDIS process are: 1. Check your eligibility. 2. Consider supports you will need and who will provide them. A three-year-old boy had died after he was hit by a truck in western Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, on Friday afternoon. The toddler was running across Donnelly Road in Arcadia Vale at around 3.50pm when he was hit by the pantech truck, police said. Paramedics and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service treated the boy before he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition by ambulance. Shortly after arriving at John Hunter Hospital he was pronounced dead. The truck driver was taken to the hospital for mandatory testing. Police have arrested John Chardon over the disappearance of Gold Coast mother-of-two Novy Chardon. Officers would hold a press conference about noon on Friday. Police have officially charged John Chardon with the murder of his wife Novy. Gold Coast businessman John Chardon arrives at the Brisbane watchhouse. Credit:Michelle Smith John Chardon, 68, was arrested on Friday morning and taken to Brisbane watchhouse. Ms Chardon was 34 when she last seen at her Upper Coomera home on February 6, 2013. Her Volvo was later found abandoned at Nerang station. Days after the Gold Coast mother disappeared, Mr Chardon departed on a pre-arranged business trip overseas with the couple's two children. For years, customers of Melbourne's Shebeen Bar were given the impression they were helping to fund worthy overseas aid projects by simply buying a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. But this notion of guilt-free drinking has unravelled, with revelations the non-profit venue has not raised a single cent for charity since mid-2013. Music venue Shebeen is closing later this month. Credit:Justin McManus Contrary to the bar's marketing material, grabbing a round of $9 Beer Lao has not been helping someone through university and no Kenyan farmer has been aided by "every" $15 Tusker Lager enjoyed at the hipster eatery in Manchester Lane. Shebeen Bar has not turned a cash profit for almost three years. Since its launch, and despite enormous ambitions, just $12,787 has been raised for the world's needy, money that was collected in the first half of 2013 and is only now being distributed. Victoria Police failed to act on complaints about a policeman who sexually brutalised nine children during his 12 years in the force, the County Court was told on Friday. Instead, the organisation forced the officer to resign in 1979, the court heard. He then went on to sexually assault and rape children for at least another four years. The County Court. Credit:Scott Barbour The former officer, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, on Friday formally pleaded guilty to 18 offences against nine victims, who were as young as five when he stole their innocence. The man, now 66, worked as a police officer between 1967 and 1979, during which time he preyed on boys and girls, often in his police uniform. The family of a man who failed to return from a solo fishing trip off Perth's northern coast say the 38-year-old father of two is an experienced angler. The search for Rohan Wilson, who was expected to return his 6.4 metre vessel to Mindarie Marina by 8pm on Wednesday, recommenced on Friday morning with eight boats scouring the metropolitan coastline. The cabin cruiser which 38-year-old fisherman Rohan Wilson took to sea off Mindarie during the week. Credit:WA Police Police say his car and boat trailer were found at the marina, and officers have also been patrolling the shoreline between Hillarys and Guilderton. Mr Wilson's family described him as a much loved husband and father of two young boys, and said they were praying for positive developments. The age of criminal responsibility will be lowered by one year from the current 14, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday, announcing measures to cope with an increasing number of... Police on Wednesday made an emergency apprehension of a man in his 40s on suspicion of killing his wife and their two teenage sons at their home in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul... Washington: More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administration's policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar Assad to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the country's five-year-old civil war. The memo, a draft of which was provided to The New York Times by a State Department official, says US policy has been "overwhelmed" by the unrelenting violence in Syria. It calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US-led diplomatic process." Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administration's approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Barack Obama has plans to change course. Obama has emphasised the military campaign against the Islamic State over efforts to dislodge Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed. But the memo, filed in the State Department's "dissent channel," underscores the deep rifts and lingering frustration within the administration over how to deal with a war that has killed more than 400,000 people. Jerusalem: An Australian man has been killed in Israeli-occupied territory, just days before his 59th birthday. James Patrick Synan, known as Jim, was working dismantling an oil and gas servicing rig for global drilling company Viking Services on the Golan Heights. He was taken to hospital where he later died of his injuries. It is unclear what caused Mr Synan's death. James Synan in a photo from his son's Facebook tribute. Credit:Facebook The Golan drilling has been controversial because it is taking place on Syrian territory occupied by Israel in 1967 and subsequently annexed, a move that has never been accepted by the international community. There is also environmental opposition to the drilling. The company claims it has found an oil stratum 350 metres thick. From Foster in Victoria, Synan obtained a working visa for Israel in October 2014 and was listed as a "foreign expert" on his work permit. Beijing: A Chinese-born man has been sentenced to life in jail after a Shanghai court found he assumed a fake identity to obtain Australian citizenship and defrauded investors of tens of millions of dollars, in what is believed to be the first Australian conviction under Operation Fox Hunt, the Communist Party's global effort targeting its wanted fugitives overseas. Zhang Jianping was detained in March last year at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, with local police at the time trumpeting his arrest after 18 years on the run thanks to facial recognition software at airport customs. "I don't know who Xie Renliang is. I am Zhang Jianping": the man who Chinese authorities have sentenced to life in jail for fraud. Credit:Shanghai Public Security Bureau Shanghai police say Zhang, whose Australian passport lists him as 52, is actually Xie Renliang, who fled to Australia under his assumed identity with more than 100 million yuan ($20 million) from his failing company. A British taxi driver has been rushed to hospital, suffering from severe stomach pains, after eating three chicken wings doused in sauce made from what is thought to be the world's hottest chilli pepper. Mark McNeil, 36, was hoping to be able to eat 10 of the chicken wings to win a competition held by a pub in Stockton in the north-east of England. The rules state that contestants have to eat 10 of the spicy wings in 10 minutes, and then not to drink for five minutes. The winner of the competition, launched by The George on Stockton High Street on Tuesday, will get a full 9.95 ($19) refund. Washington: Hoping to dramatise the issue of campus sexual assault, 18 members of the US House of Representatives took turns reading the 7200-word letter a woman known as Emily Doe wrote to the former Stanford University student who raped her. The letter - which the victim read at the sentencing of the former student, Brock Turner - described her anguish after the assault and during Turner's trial, and went viral after it was published on BuzzFeed. It attracted attention to the case and to the light sentence that a California judge gave Turner, causing national outrage and leading to a petition campaign to remove the judge, Aaron Persky. Stanford law professor Michele Dauber speaks at a rally before activists delivered more than 1 million signatures calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench. Credit:AP Reading the letter in its entirety on the House floor was an attempt to share the voice of sexual assault victims and to build support for legislation that would require the Department of Education to provide a list of institutions under investigation for sexual assault, said Jackie Speier, a Democrat Representative from California, who organised the reading and is the sponsor of the bill. Hobart: The remains of the Australian backpacker Rye Hunt, who died while travelling in Brazil, are expected to return to his Hobart home this weekend. The 25-year-old's body was found washed ashore at Marica near Rio de Janeiro on June 8 following a desperate search after his disappearance 18 days earlier. Rye Hunt and, inset, his girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert. Brazilian authorities believe Mr Hunt may have died from dehydration or drowning after attempting to swim while under the influence of recreational drugs. Mr Hunt's uncle Michael Wholohan and girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert are understood to be preparing fly home to Hobart with is ashes this weekend. The search area was based on calculations using automatic "pings" to Inmarsat's satellite via a ground station and the aircraft after it vanished. Debris washed on to the Jamaique beach in Saint-Denis on Reunion. Credit:Reuters Captain Ross said people seem to have forgotten the reports of eyewitnesses on an oil rig and yacht seeing a flaming object in the sky on the night of the disappearance, in an area west of Malaysia. "The scientific theory could not allow these reports and they were discarded," he said. MH370 search map New Zealander Mike McKay told authorities he saw what he believed to be a burning plane at high altitude when he was working on an oil rig off the Vietnamese coast on the night of the disappearance. "I believe I saw the Malaysian Airlines plane come down," he said. MH370 first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid. A woman sailing a yacht between India and Australia in early March 2014 also told authorities she saw a plane surrounded by bright orange lights and with a tail of black smoke pass above her. Captain Ross pointed to reports that six Swiss people who were on board a cruise liner travelling between Perth and Singapore on March 12 2014 saw debris in the sea including life jackets, food trays, papers and pieces of polystyrene. MH370 captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah. Credit:Fairfax Media He dismissed the argument by pundits that some aircraft parts that have been discovered on the beaches of Mozambique, Reunion Island and other east African locations prove the accuracy of the Indian Ocean search area. "Well now isn't it also true that these same parts may have come from somewhere much closer? How about a crash site to the west of Malaysia?" The first debris confirmed to be from MH370 was a control panel called a flaperon that washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015. Other debris that almost certainly came from plane washed up in Mozambique in December 2015 and February this year. In March, a section of an engine bearing a Rolls Royce logo washed up in Mossell Bay South Africa and the same month a fragment of an interior door panel was found on Rodrigues Island, Mauritius. Captain Ross dismissed as "rubbish" the theory that a suicidal Malaysian pilot did a circuit around his home island before flying on for more than seven hours to ditch the plane in the Indian Ocean. "The home island was beside a highly sensitive international '5 eyes' surveillance facility and the major Penang air force base, the home of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, and it is highly unlikely that the Malaysian military would have allowed such loitering of an unidentified aircraft in their airspace," he said. "If it did, it shows their lack of interest in security or their incompetence in following unidentified traffic." Investigators said in a report released in March last year there were "no behavioural signs of social isolation, change in interests or habits, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the captain, first officer and the cabin crew." The report said investigators found nothing in the backgrounds of the plane's captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah or more junior pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid to suggest they would deliberately crash the plane. Captain Ross said he is concerned about speculation that the plane "glided" from its cruise altitude further on a southerly course than thought when the engines quit before going into the water. "We have already been told that military radar showed it descending to about 10,000 feet when it turned back toward Malaysia and the Gulf of Thailand," he said. "If that was the case it would be burning much more fuel than normal at a low altitude because jet engines are efficient at high altitude but not low altitude," he said. "Therefore simple logic is that if the aircraft was at or close to 10,000 feet it would have run out of fuel much earlier and glided a much shorter distance." Geneva: Islamic State forces have committed genocide and other war crimes in a continuing effort to exterminate the Yazidi religious minority in Syria and Iraq, UN investigators said, urging stronger international action to halt the killing and to prosecute the terrorist group. The investigators detailed mass killings of Yazidi men and boys who refused to convert to Islam, saying they were shot in the head or their throats were slit, often in front of their families, littering roadsides with corpses. Dozens of mass graves have been uncovered in areas recaptured from the Islamic State group and are being investigated. A Yazidi woman whispers into the ear of her friend as both hold small fires to make a wish for the Yazidi new year, at the holy shrine of Lalish, north of militant-held Mosul, Iraq. Credit:AP The investigators have produced 11 reports documenting wide-ranging crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by many parties to the 5-year-old civil war in Syria, but in a report released on Thursday, they invoked the crime of genocide. BMW Group Unveils Mini and Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 Concepts +VIDEO By Henny Hemmes Senior European Editor LONDON - June 16, 2016: The BMW Group kicked off its Centenary celebrations on March 7 in Munich with the BMW Vision Next 100. Since BMW is spreading out its Next 100 Years events over its four major markets, the futuristic concept car took the stage at the Chinese auto show in Beijing. SEE ALSO: BMW Group: The Next 100 Years Today, it was in the heart of London where two more concepts were presented, while Los Angeles will be hosting the fourth part in October, when BMW Motorrad will be presenting a stunning concept for a future motorbike. Back to London, to the famous Roundhouse indeed the theater where artists such as Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan performed in concert. Today it was not about songs, but about future music for the two British brands of the Group: Mini and Rolls-Royce. Indeed the UK is not only a major market for the BMW Group, but also a home base for production. The company has facilities in Oxford, Swindon, Hams Hall and Goodwood; and sources 1.2 billion British Pounds of goods and services from UK suppliers annually, supporting directly and indirectly nearly 50 thousand UK jobs. The Mini Vision Next 100 represents a look into the future where Every Mini is My Mini will be the slogan. The idea is to use resources for personal mobility, for car-sharing and for personalization from access to the car, the preferred settings, picking up drivers autonomously from wherever the are and adjusting the appearance of the car. For instance if you are in a sunny mood, you can have the color of the roof change to yellow. Or, as Mini says it: Customized mobility with the Mini Vision Next 100 builds on connected digital intelligence. The Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 takes luxury to a new level. The interior will be a private Grand Sanctuary with a virtual assistant called Eleanor, after the famous hood ornament. She drives the vehicle and fulfills the owners wishes during the journey. The nearly 20 feet long concept is an extreme design, very aerodynamic, but with some features, that we may see in the not too far future. Think of the side-hinged roof that allows the passengers to stand up before stepping out of the car onto the red carpet. Or the luggage compartment in the front fender. Well, there is a lot to talk about both Next 100 concepts and I will do so in the upcoming days. Please stay tuned! Authorities warn about rainbow fentanyl Victims often arent aware theyre taking it The Ventura County Office of Education and state health officials have issued a warning to schools and families about rainbow fentanyl, a form of the potentially fatal synthetic opioid that comes in bright colors. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in... Cancer support community to host remembrance event Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara invites family members and friends of those who have died from cancer to attend the second annual Evening of Remembrance from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 3 at Cancer Support Communitys Garden of Hope,... Grant advances CSUCI research Cal State Channel Islands assistant professor of computer science Scott Feister and assistant professor of mathematics Alona Kryshchenko recently received $112,480 from the National Science Foundation to continue a grant to support their research project, Enhancing Laser Based Ion Sources... Healthcare agency recommends flu shots The Ventura County Health Care Agency offers options for the community to receive flu shots through its Ambulatory Care Clinic system, public health clinics and pop-up clinics. Although seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round in the United States, they are... The CIA says the so-called Islamic State is undiminished by almost two years of war, and will step up terrorist attacks worldwide as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria. Calling ISIS a formidable, resilient enemy, CIA director John Brennan said the group will likely switch to guerrilla tactics as it is driven off the battlefield and will send more of its Western operatives to attack Europe and beyond, while using social media to groom future lone wolves like U.S.-born Omar Mateen, 29, who killed 49 people Sunday in Orlando. Our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach, Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee in grim testimony Thursday, just days after the gay nightclub attack, apparently inspired by ISIS. Brennans testimony amounted to a failing grade for Obama administration efforts to check the ISISs spread, despite an almost two-year barrage of U.S. air strikes and ground assaults in Iraq and Syria that have cost the group significant territory. Brennan described ISISs cancer-like consumption of other regional militant organizations in Libya, Egypt, and Africa, folding them into a single bloodthirsty ideology that takes root wherever there is chaos. The group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower, and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly, he said, making what could be seen as an oblique call for the White House to step up its efforts if it hopes to hobble ISIS. In the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, the presidential candidates appear to agree on the need to step up the war. Hillary Clinton said Monday the U.S. must defeat ISIS. And Donald Trump has, in the past, refused to rule out using nuclear weapons against ISIS. ISIS has lost territory45 percent in Iraq and between 20 percent and 30 percent in Syria, according to U.S. military estimatesand it has had trouble replenishing its ranks in Iraq and Syria. The group is currently battling to keep its grip on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which has been penetrated by Iraqi forces on the citys southern side. In Syria, U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces have encircled the city of Manbij, a key throughway between Syria and Turkey. And in the ISIS capital of Raqqa, local forces, with U.S. support, have come with 20 miles of the city. Yet the military pressure on the group is only expected to drive a faster evolution. ISILis a formidable, resilient, and largely cohesive enemy, and we anticipate that the group will adjust its strategy and tactics to regain momentum, Brennan said, using the administrations preferred acronym for the group. That adjustment has already occurred, with the November Paris attacks and the March attacks in Brussels, as well as a surge of terrorist attacks in Iraq and Syria. The spate of bombings in Baghdad over the past month has killed at least 300, including 31 last Thursday. The CIA chiefs pessimism has been echoed in the halls of the Pentagon, as ISIS transforms itself into something a traditional military has trouble defeating. Now it is becoming less a self-proclaimed state and more of a terror group that maintains its influence through shocking attacks and bombings, three defense officials explained to The Daily Beast. They spoke anonymously to discuss confidential Pentagon discussions of how to defeat ISIS. The group is even trying to redefine what it means to win. An ISIS spokesman last month redefined defeat as the loss of willpower and desire to fight and urged lone wolf attackers to strike. The smallest action you do in their heartland is better and more enduring to us than what you would if you were with us. If one of you hoped to reach the Islamic State, we wish we were in your place to punish the Crusaders day and night, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said. Brennan said the CIA has found no clear link between the Orlando shooter, Mateen, and ISIS, echoing the White House and FBI. Yet the terror group was eager to take credit, especially after reports emerged that Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS shortly before the attack through a 911 phone call to the Orlando police department. Mateen then charged into Pulse nightclub, armed with a handgun and an assault rifle, and killed patrons over a three-hour period before being killed himself by police officers. ISIS claimed the attack very quickly. It took the risk because their situation has changed, said Michael Horowitz, a geopolitical and security analyst at the Levantine Group, a Middle East-based risk consultancy. They are facing a lot of military pressure from the U.S.-backed Kurds, from the Iraqi government, and from [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad. I dont think we would have seen ISIS taking that risk a year ago. They cant afford the chance to miss an opportunity. They need this to boost morale, Horowitz added, in an interview with The Daily Beast. Officials note that claiming credit comes at little cost to ISIS and potentially bolsters the morale of a group facing attacks on multiple fronts. Its a small opportunity cost, a U.S. official explained. The battlefield losses have done little to stem the groups popularity, especially in places where the governments and local security are weak or challenged, like Africa and parts of Asia, Brennan said. Libya is the most dangerous branch of ISIL outside of Iraq, Brennan said. I am concerned about Libya as another area that could serve as a basis for ISIL to carry out attacks on Europe and other locations. The group, he said, now controls areas outside the Libyan city of Sirte, which he fears could be used as a springboard to launch attacks on Europe. Brennan called the ISIS branch in the Sinai the most active and acknowledged that the U.S. government holds the Sinai branch responsible for bringing down a Russian passenger airliner last year. Theres great concern about how ISIL has been able to consume and co-opt other groups, he said. He estimated ISISs ranks in Iraq and Syria at between 18,000 and 22,000 fighters, down from 33,000 last year, but ticked off a grim tally of the groups spread: 5,000 to 8,000 in Libya; up to 1,000 inside Egypt and the Sinai; several hundred in Yemen; and hundreds in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The groups foreign branches and global networks can help preserve its capacity for terrorism, regardless of what happens in Iraq and Syria, he said. The true novelty of ISIS was not that it was able to carry out attacks but that it was able to take territory, analyst Horowitz said. The destruction of ISIS in Iraq and Syria wont lead to its demise. Their ideology will continue to inspire. Or as a second U.S. official explained: ISIS is becoming a virtual caliphate. As early as age 10, Omar Mateen demonstrated a violent temper and lack of remorse in school that ultimately exploded in gunfire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Born in 1986 to Afghan immigrant parents in Queens, New York, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen attended kindergarten at an Islamic school in Westbury, New York, before the family moved to Florida in 1991. While his grades in kindergarten indicated a need for academic improvement, Mateen began to slip behind once he was enrolled in public school in Florida. As he did, he became more violent. By fourth grade, school officials said he was academically behind [by] at least two years. Mateen grew more violent the following year, when he hit a fellow student, according to school records that show he was disciplined for six other incidents. In seventh grade, teachers wrote that Mateen was disruptive and uttered obscenities. That year Mateen was on track to fail English, science, and math, so a parent-teacher conference was called. Omar spoke only to his father in Farsi... and never addressed anyone else, according to the teachers notes. Omar is performing below average overall since he is unable to concentrate on his schoolwork and [he should] stop trying to get attention from his classmates. Mateens behavioral problems werent limited to being distracted. Hands all over the placeon other children, in his mouth, his third-grade teacher wrote. Mateen was verbally abusive, rude, aggressive, and had much talk about violence & sex (obscenities). Mateen occasionally showed a sensitive side, though. Dear Ms. Stein, I had a wonderful shimmering christmas holidy [sic], he wrote to his third-grade teacher. My gift was Bush Graden [sic] and unvesity studos [sic]. I missed you miss. stein on winter break. He signed it Love, and his name spelled out from the O. But by fifth grade Mateen took a sharp turn. Teacher Kathleen Zurich told his parents that he lacks remorse, cant stay focused, and bounces around the classroom. Mateen was disciplined 17 times that year, records show. Zurich told the New York Daily News that young Mateen acted out, and his former classmates said he even threatened to kill everyone he didnt like. He got much worse. After Mateen transfered to a new middle school in eighth grade, he was suspended for 25 days. The next year, his freshman year in high school, he was suspended for 18 days. Five of those days were punishment for a fight in which he injured someone. After this fight in spring 2001, he was apparently sent to an alternative school. Between eighth and 10th grade, Mateen was suspended for 48 days for fighting and other behavioral issues. The final suspension recorded for Mateen came in the new school year, two days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Mateen was given a five day in-school suspension at the alternative school for an other disciplinary violation on Sept. 13. Mateens life at home did not appear to be calm during this period, either. Shahla, his mother, was arrested in December 2002 for allegedly pinching her husband while he was trying to brush his teeth. Later in his sophomore year, Mateen returned to Martin County High School. Mateen finished his education at Stuart Community Adult Learning Center in 2004. After graduation, Mateen got an associates degree in criminal justice from Indian River State College and worked at a GNC nutritional supplement store. A former classmate and drag queen who worked next door at a Ruby Tuesday said Mateen was friendly to him and the restaurants other gay employees. He was a jokester and at the time didnt have an issue with the LGBT community, Samuel King told The Daily Beast. In October 2006, Mateen was hired by the Florida Department of Corrections but was fired just six months later for not completing training. In 2007, Mateen was hired by a private security firm, G4S, and passed its background check. The firm learned in 2013 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had questioned Mateen after claims that he made to co-workers about his own ties to terrorist groups. While the company didnt dismiss Mateen, he was transferred to an unarmed position and subjected to another background check. We were not made aware of any alleged connections between Mateen and terrorist activities, and were unaware of any further FBI investigations, G4S spokeswoman Monica Lewman-Garcia said in a statement to reporters. But apparently the FBIs interest in Mateen was sufficient cause for the company to transfer him to a position where he didnt carry a gun. Mateens first wife, Sitora Yusufiy, said her ex-husband was not very religious, and it is unclear when and precisely how he was drawn to the terrorist cause. (Yusufiy said he routinely abused her before their divorce in 2011.) Around 2013, Mateen is believed to have gotten married again, to Noor Zahi Salman, a California native whose parents are Palestinian. Salman reportedly accompanied Mateen on a trip to a gun store two days before the June 12 attack and is the subject of an FBI investigation. A federal grand jury has been reportedly convened to consider charges against Salman. Theres a super secret plan to get volunteers into Trump Tower to work on New Yorks hottest campaign and it involves a two-syllable royal codeword. Dutchess. According to email obtained by The Daily Beast from the Trump campaign, they are actively seeking volunteers to help make calls on his behalf in New York, a bleeding-blue state that the real estate mogul is convinced he can win in the general election. And the only way to separate the true Trump loyalists from the rabble is by using a password when speaking to security guards. Everyone remembers Mr. Trumps victory in New York, his home state Primary and the momentum it gave him to become the presumptive nominee of the Republican party, the email reads. But Election 2016 is not won yet. There are more than four months until the General Election and each day counts. How can I support Mr. Trump? you may ask. The answer is to make calls for Mr. Trump. Now is the time to lay the groundwork for the General Election. Come to the Call Center in Trump Tower to make calls for Donald Trump. New York is not a swing state. And as Hillary Clintons campaign has outpaced Trumps operation in terms of fundraising, campaigning and television ad buys, this seems like a peculiar strategy to prioritize. The email then includes a promotional image from The Apprentice which has been edited to say I (Heart Emoji) New York. Then come the special instructions. To show that you are an existing NYS supporter, check-in with building security by providing the special password, DUTCHESS. This password is valid now through Tuesday June 21, 2016. There is no indication as to what happens after that date. The email promises that there will be food and drink including coffee served. That is if the volunteers sign a non-disclosure agreement, a decades-old custom for anyone who has worked with Trump. If you know of anyone, friends, coworkers, or family who are big supporters of Mr. Trump, please bring them by also. We look forward to seeing you and thank you for helping Make America Great Again! Just dont forget the password. LONDON The campaign in Europes most significant vote in decades has been thrown into disarray by the assassination of a liberal lawmaker in Britain. Both sides of the debate have suspended their campaigns until Monday in the wake of the brutal murder of pro-European Union politician Jo Cox, which could upend the outcome of the entire referendum, to be voted on June 23. The suspected gunman had mental-health issues as well as links to neo-Nazi and anti-immigration groups, according to a white-supremacist organization, to which he once subscribed, and the U.S. civil-rights watchdog the Southern Poverty Law Center. Police confirmed counterterrorism officers were investigating any relationship to hate groups. Two witnesses said the suspected attacker, Thomas Mair, had shouted Britain first! as he kicked, stabbed and then fatally shot the mother of two young children. Other witnesses said they had not heard the political slogan. Coxs final public appearance had been a talk given to schoolchildren about the value of migrants and refugees coming to Britain. Next Thursday, British voters will decide whether to quit the European Union at the culmination of a bitter campaign that has become increasingly dominated by the issue of immigration. As reports about the suspects alleged right-wing political views emerged, the betting market, which had been moving toward a Leave vote for the last week, swung dramatically back in the other direction. I think that some of the market move is down to punters believing that it could disadvantage Leave, Mike Smithson, editor of Political Betting, told The Daily Beast. On Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corby made an unprecedented joint statement from the suburb of Birstall in West Yorkshire, where Cox was murdered. It is the well of hatred that killed her, said Corbyn. We will not allow those people who spread hatred and poison to divide our society. The prime minister asked Britain to come together in her memory. Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics, he said. Both campaigns are officially suspended, but the cross-party support for Cox, and the condemnation of an alleged far-right attacker, was too much for some anti-European Union campaigners. A former press adviser to Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), claimed the remarks were an attempt to make political gain. Cameron and Corbyn poltiicise [sic] the murder of Jo Cox at press conference in Birstill [sic]. Remember, this was a mental health patient, tweeted Raheem Kassam, who was campaigning alongside Farage for Britain to vote Leave this week. The Sun and The Daily Express, two newspapers campaigning for Britain to quit the EU, were the only major British papers not to mention the two witnesses claims that the murderer had shouted Britain first on their front pages. Instead of this potential political motivation, the Express said it was a Street Gun Horror attack while The Sun described the suspect as a crazed loner twice on its front page. The anti-extremist Quilliam Foundation called for the media to treat Mair in the same way they would treat a terror suspect because of the links to extreme right-wing groups. We must me consistent in our reporting and challenging of these ideas, Haras Rafiq, managing director of Quilliam, told The Daily Beast. Just as we report it when a suspected Islamist jihadi commits an act of violence, when applicable we have to be consistent and report when a suspected far-right supporter commits an act of violence. We are living in a 1930s-style environment where competing ideologies are leading people to violence. Just hours before the shooting, Farage unveiled a poster that showed a long snaking line of refugees in Slovenia with the caption Breaking Point. The poster was reported to the police for an alleged breach of incitement to racial hatred laws. Neil Coyle, a Labour member of parliament, was criticized by some social-media users Thursday night when he claimed the Leave campaign was playing with fire. I just think that they are a very dangerous, and they risk inspiring extremist elements on the hard right in this country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday also linked the increasingly hostile referendum campaign to the killing. The exaggerations and radicalization of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect, she said, when asked about Coxs murder. Opinion polls suggest that the campaigning about immigration has had a dramatic effect on British voters. The importance of immigration even surpassed the economy as the No. 1 issue for voters, according to poll results published this week. Under EU rules that guarantee freedom of movement among the member nations, an unlimited number of Europeans are able to work in Britain. If Britain leaves the EU, it can set its own independent border controls. The Springbok Cyber Newsletter, which said Mair was a former magazine subscriber, has called for Britain to vote Leave because it has been invaded by millions of ethnically and culturally alien migrants and their descendants, thus threatening our national identity. The Springbok Club is an expatriate South African organization whose members say they want Africa to be returned to civilized rule. Neil Hamilton, UKIPs group leader in the Welsh Assembly, addressed the club in 1998. As well as his lapsed subscription to the South African magazine, the SPLC has published evidence that Thomas Mair was also a regular supporter of the National Alliance, an American neo-Nazi organization. Receipts show that he spent more than $600 on purchases from National Vanguard Books, the National Alliances publishing arm. The books sent to Thomas Mairs current address in Birstall included the National Vanguard magazine, a Nazi Party handbook, and a series of manuals that described how to make explosive devices and a homemade pistol. A recent article on the National Vanguard website claimed immigration had destroyed Britain, which had been overwhelmed by the third-world invasion because there are already enough nonwhites present to alter the course of elections. The National Alliance is described by the SPLC as explicitly genocidal in its ideology. Its founder, William Pierce, was an inspiration for Timothy McVeigh, the terrorist who killed 168 people in the Oklahoma City bombing. The Guardian reported Friday that detectives have also discovered Nazi regalia inside Mairs house. Four years after chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested for falsifying evidence at Massachusetts state drug lab, less than 1 percent of the 24,000 cases she may have tampered with have been reviewed. Dookhans storyof how she tainted drug evidence in criminal investigations on a massive scalehas been well-documented by local media. But lost in the focus on the chemist herself are the more than 20,000 defendants who may have been wrongfully convicted thanks to her mishandled results. Its one of the largest breaches of justice in Massachusetts has ever seenso why, four years later, hasnt it been fixed? Its a huge embarrassment, says Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. Just a ridiculous comment on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to solve this crisis. Were just now getting a list of cases, five years after she was caught. Hired as a chemist in 2003, Dookhanthe daughter of immigrantswas known as a star employee at the state drug lab. It was her obsession with maintaining a perfect image, according to The Boston Globe, that drove her to falsify drug evidence for years. Her crimes were not necessarily motivated by malice, but by the desire to be valued for her speed. And for a while, she was very speedy. Dookhan regularly tested 500 drug samples a month , three times more than her peers, who did between 50 and 150. From 2003-2012 she was responsible for testing more than 60,000 drug samples connected to 34,000 criminal cases. It wasnt until 2011 that her perfect image began to crumble. According to court documents, a colleague had caught her forging signatures on more than 95 samples. Her efficiency, experts learned, wasnt the result of unmatched talent, but the result of deception. She routinely failed to test the drugs, mixed them together, forged signatures, and reported false positives. I screwed up big time, Dookhan reportedly told Massachusetts officials. I messed up bad. Its my fault. I dont want the lab to get in trouble. Assistant Attorney General John Verner testified that Dookhan would regularly grab a pile of 15-20 drug samples she was responsible for, test only five of them, then list them all as positive. In some cases if a sample would test negative, she would add drugs from another sample and retest it. Beyond tampering with the drug samples, she lied about her own credentials on the stand , claiming she had a masters in biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts on 14 occasions. In September 2012, Massachusetts state police arrested Dookhan at her home. Three months later the 36-year-old was officially indicted on 17 counts of obstruction of justice, eight counts of tampering with evidence, and one count each of perjury and falsification of academic records. After pleading guilty in Suffolk County Superior Court she was sentenced to three to five years in prison. The lab was promptly shut down and more than 300 people serving time for cases shed handled were released. The tens of thousands who were formerly prosecuted would have to wait. It wasnt as if the state was blind to the gravity of the problem. During the sentencing, Attorney General Martha Coakley released a scathing memorandum on Dookhans actions. With no regard for the consequences, the defendant ensured that samples would test positive for controlled substances thus eviscerating both the integrity of the labs internal testing processes, and the concomitant fact finding process that was a jurys to perform. Coakley argued that Dookhan should receive a harsher sentence than just a few years in prison. The total costs to rectify Dookhans actions have climbed into the millions with no end in sight, she said. The financial aspect does not even address the loss of liberty of affected individuals, the significant deleterious effect on the safety of the public, or the breakdown of public trust in the system. Since then, the colossal loss of liberty that Coakley recognized remains unchanged. In 2015, the ACLU began to take legal action against the state, filing a lawsuit on behalf of three peopleKevin Bridgement, Yasir Creach, and Miguel Cuevasallowing them to challenge their convictions, which were based on Dookhans testing. Included in the ruling was a mandate that the prosecutors release a list of the tens of thousands of people who may have been wrongfully convicted because of Dookhan. In May, the ACLU finally obtained the official number of those potentially affected: 24,000. The statistics were staggering. Dookhans cases accounted for an estimated one in four successful drug prosecutions in the seven counties that relied on the Hinton State Lab, and one in six successful drug prosecutions in the Commonwealth from 2003-2012. With an official list of those whose cases may have been tainted now available, a tug of war over what to do with it is in full swing. Hanging in the balance are defendants who faced jail time, criminal records, and deportation for convictions based on the mishandled evidence. The Suffolk County District Attorneys office and the states public defense group, the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), seem to be in a virtual war over what to do about the cases affected by Dookhans bad evidence. The DAs office told The Daily Beast it is prepared to notify each of the 24,000 defendants that they have a right to an attorney and a new trialbut CPCS claims there arent enough public defenders in the entire state to relitigate 24,000 cases. Instead, it wants all guilty pleas based on Dookhans work to be thrown out altogether. And so both sides are apparently at a standstill. Jake Wark, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County DA, told The Daily Beast that the argument that CPCS is understaffed is untrue. Massachusetts pays 2,500 attorneys defendants and 700 prosecutors, there is simply no merit to the argument that they are spread thin, he says. They do two-thirds of the legal work with three times the amount of lawyers. Wark claims that within a period of a year, the DA office will set up a series of special court sessions where anyone with a Dookhan-related drug case can move to withdraw their guilty plea. There is no waiting list now, he says. Anyone who has a case can come. When asked how people will know that they may have been wrongfully convictedespecially before the DAs office sends out notifications to all 24,000Wark points to the media. This was a crisis in the states criminal justice system of unprecedented public publicity, he says. Its been publicized and broadcast for four years. Plus, Wark argues, most of the punishments were likely mild. In Massachusetts you have to work very hard to go to prison. The great majority of the defendants on Dookhan cases werent sentenced to jail at all, he says. They very certainly were not sent to prison, the overwhelming majority. Benjamin Keehn, a public defender for CPCS calls Warks depiction of his office simply untrue. Whether or not the public defenders have enough staff to handle the typical caseload is one thing, but to take on tens of thousands of new cases? These people will get a notice saying they have a right to a free lawyers and reach a public defenders office that doesnt have any lawyers left to work with, Keehn tells The Daily Beast. Keehn says the DAs office has fought every step of the way to keep the cases from getting dismissed. Theyve refused to agree to anything other than trench warfare, case by case, he says. They came up with nifty ideas like [agreeing] to vacate their guilty plea then re-prosecute them and get more time. So the prize for exercising your due process rights is additional punishment? We want notices to go out to say your cases are dismissed, maybe with some limited opportunity for the DA to attempt to reprosecute. Thats the only fair solution, Keehn adds. Handling 24,000 cases one by one is going to bankrupt everyone and take yearsits a nonstarter. The ACLU agrees. People are denied due process when they are wrongly convicted or when people frame them, Segal says. Now its becoming a process of due process delay. Its unbelievable that its taken that long. We are talking about a situation where justice delayed has been justice denied. While the majority of those sentenced likely did not face jail time, all have a permanent offense on their recordwhich can turn basic things like finding a job, applying to school, and securing housing into near impossibilities. The notion that poor folks who have been victimized by wrongful convictions in the war on drugs dont need to be toldby the state wrongly convicted them? Segal says, That is absurd. There has been no break in gun violence since the Orlando massacre. Since the Pulse nightclub mass shooting early Sunday, at least 125 people have died in shootings and 269 were injured by guns, statistics show. Five of those incidents were mass shootings, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit tracking Americas gun violence. The alleged motives behind the killings are startling. On Monday night, a gunman and self-styled sovereign citizen allegedly shot and killed three men in West Virginia. Authorities say the suspect, Erick Shute, murdered the trio over a dispute over firewood, NJ.com reported. Shute allegedly hid behind a tree and fatally blasted the men as they cleared wood and debris from a road near his secluded home, just outside Cacapon State Park. A fourth man escaped and dialed 911, according to NJ.com. Gunfire also killed a 17-year-old girl Tuesday at a memorial service in Oakland, California. Reggina Jefferies joined about 3,000 people at a vigil for two teenage boys who drowned over Memorial Day weekend. But Reggina would lose her own life that nightaround 6 p.m., two gunmen fired into the crowd, killing Jefferies and injuring three others, NBC Bay Area reported. Witnesses said the bullets flew after a fight over a dice game, according to the TV station. On Wednesday, a shooter murdered 46-year-old Robert Sowers, a chiropractor in Roy, Washington, before killing himself, police said. Authorities identified the gunman as Robert Knapp, the husband of a receptionist for Sowers, the News Tribune reported. In Houston, Texas, a father allegedly shot and killed his wife and daughter during an argument, and later claimed self-defense to police. Michael Ratliff, 44, told investigators he was home early Thursday when his relatives allegedly tried attacking him with knives, Click 2 Houston reported. When cops arrived around 3 a.m., they found the daughter dead at the scene. The wife had a bullet wound to the head and later died at the hospital, ABC 13 reported. Meanwhile, lawmakers are scrambling to address Americas gun violence epidemic in wake of the countrys worst mass shooting in recent history: the massacre of 49 people inside a gay dance club last weekend. As The Daily Beast previously reported, suspected terrorist Omar Mateen ambushed the Orlando club with a Sig Sauer .223 caliber assault riflepurchased June 4 at a firearms shop near his Port St. Lucie home. Shop owner Ed Henson, a former NYPD detective, said Mateen legally purchased the rifle and a handgun following a full background check, CBS News reported. Mateen allegedly scoped out the Orlando hotspot before the bloodshed. Witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel that Mateenwho was, according to his own father, angered by the sight of two men kissingvisited the bar frequently. He died following a three-hour standoff with police. Doctors expect the Orlando death toll to rise following the slaying, which also injured 53 people. At a press conference Monday, one trauma surgeon cautioned that six patients remain in critical condition. As authorities continue investigating the Florida shooting, lawmakers are eyeing tougher restrictions on firearms purchases. Sen. Chris Murphy ended a nearly 15-hour filibuster after Republican leaders reportedly agreed to allow votes on two proposed gun-control bills. The Democrat from Connecticut said a compromise had been reached early Thursday. At stake are banning people on the terror watch list from obtaining gun licenses and expanding background checks to gun shows and internet sales, NBC News reported. We did not have that commitment when we started today, Murphy said during the 14-hour, 50-minute speech. Ive had enough. Ive had enough of the ongoing slaughter of innocents, and Ive had enough of inaction in this body, he added. So far this year, at least 288 have died in 182 mass shootings, according to data compiled by the Mass Shooting Tracker, a crowd-sourced website tracking incidents where four or more people are shot. In 2015, 469 people died as a result of 371 mass shootings, compared to 364 people in 325 incidents the year before, data shows. Back in 2010, the editor of the British gay magazine Attitude, Matthew Todd, wrote a story about the anguish many gay people find themselves in when it comes to their mental health as a result of homophobic bullying. Little did he know that this heartfelt article would directly lead, six years later, to an iconic moment in the history of Britains LGBT movement; the appearance of Prince William on the front cover of Attitude, the first time any member of the royal family has posed for the cover of a LGBT magazine. Its been an extraordinary week for Todd. He should be celebrating not just the William cover, but also the publication of his new book on the subject of gay mental health: Straightjacket: How to be Gay and Happy. Of course, the awful shootings at the gay club Pulse in Florida have occluded any such rejoicings. In a remarkable coincidence, the magazine with William on its cover was published just days after the shootings. Toddspeaking to the Daily Beast by phone from his London officesounded close to tears at times as he reflected on the weeks events. I know not everybody supports the monarchy, but I do hope that [having William on the cover] is a symbol of positivity after the absolute horror of what happened this weekend, he says. Of course its irrelevant compared to the pain, the horror of what those people and their families and their friends have gone through, but I really, really hope that it maybe just gives us a little bit of hope that someone from one of the highest institutions in the world is saying, No, were going forward, the way is forward, the way is acceptance and love and decency and understanding and compassion. I hope that it sends out that message amidst all this darkness. But also I think its really important to be aware that what happened in Orlando didnt come out of nowhere. Theres a kind of culture of hatred and bullying [of LGBT people] which begins in schools, and sometimes comes from religious leaders and politicians and sometimes is expressed in the media. Our culture is so cruel now, and so unkind and so uncaring. We fling around insults so casually and I think its really important that someone like Prince William is saying that not just homophobic bullying, but all bullying, is wrong. We need to shift to become kinder and more compassionate and just to be nicer to each other because otherwise, you know, were all going to end up losing. I know I sound like a hippy saying that, but I think its true. Certainly, Williams decision to give an interview and pose for the cover of Attitude is a hugely symbolic moment for the macro-narrative of the future king, and is unlikely to have been taken without careful and considered thought by him and his team of advisers. Sources tell the Daily Beast that while there is unlikely to be any direct assumption of patronage of a specific LGBT cause or charity by William or the young royals, there will certainly be continued support of such causes. The reluctance of the royals to front a big gay charity is certainly irritating and old fashioned (it may be easier to accomplish when Prince Philip passes on) but this weeks very clear signpost of progress should nonetheless be applauded. One of the ironies of the royal unwillingness to openly embrace and endorse LGBT causes is that without its gay staff, the palace would grind to a halt. A disproportionate number of the royal household staff have always been gay. The Queen Mother was said to be very accepting of gay staff in her household, even if she referred to gay staff as queers (long before the word was reclaimed by the LGBT community). Once, while waiting to be served her gin and tonic, the Queen Mum, hearing two openly gay members of her staff arguing in the hallway outside her sitting room, called out, When you two old queens have finished arguing, this old queen wants her gin. Williams mother Diana had a completely different relationship with the LGBT community and LGBT issues. She personally catalyzed a huge and positive change in attitudes when she famously held the hand, on camera, of a patient dying of AIDS in 1987. The irony was that she wasnt aiming to make a political statementshe told friends she wasnt consciously trying to do anything, she just wanted to comfort a person in distress, and did so in the most natural way possible, by taking their hand. Intriguingly, Todd, who approached the palace after hearing horrendous stories of homophobic bullying seeking Williams support, says he sees a similar motivation in William. Todd says: He said to me that he hates seeing people in pain. I think he comes from a very open-minded place. I got the feeling that they didnt discriminate; they just think bullying is bad and bullying should stop. I explained to him, with any luck anyway, that we suffer disproportionately from some mental health problems that I think are the consequences of bullying and isolation. Yes, there are many happy gay people, but we do have higher levels of anxiety and depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide ideation, all that kind of thing. He said on the day, This is a new thing for me, he was very open about that. I think its a learning experience for him and I think we enlightened him. Thats all you can ask for isnt it? Somebody whos open to learning. Todd says that William in person is a long way from how people might imagine a typical upper class toff to be. The monarchy is considered to be the most conservative institution in the country and I dont know whether thats true of them in general or not because Ive never met any members of royalty before. But he seemed very modern, very free-spirited, and had a very young spirit. When Princess Diana was with us, she would take William and Harry to HIV charities or to hospices or to hospitals to meet homeless people and I got that feeling of him being very open-minded. Even though they live in a very privileged world, doing what they do, they do actually meet [a wider spectrum] of people than the rest of us do, in terms of people in charities and people in recovery from drug addiction and things like that. He was saying to me, I really, really want you to convey to your readers that I care and I want to help. Ive met Prime Ministers and interviewed many, many famous people and I know when someones trying out a line. He absolutely meant it. He was really engaged with it and I really got the feeling that he wasnt thinking, Oh, today Im meeting the gays and ticking a box. He really wants to help. If youre wondering how a man can make a movie as gore-tastically extreme as Clowna horror film about a suburban husband and father who mutates into a mythical child-chomping clown monsterand then get hired two years later by Marvel to helm their Spider-Man: Homecoming reboot, well, director Jon Watts has a simple answer. I dont know if theyve seen Clown, he chuckles. Im a little nervous. They liked Cop Car, so I wasnt going to say, So, I also made a horror movie where a clown monster eats children. I wasnt just going to bring that up. There may have been good reason to hide Clown from bigwigs at Marvel and Sony, who are co-producing the latest web-slinger saga, and who hired Watts on the basis of his superb 2015 thriller Cop Car, starring Kevin Bacon. Yet American audiences have also been denied a chance at seeing the directors 2014 debutat least until now. After premiering in Italy, the U.K., Japan, Mexico, and other foreign territories over the past two years, but languishing stateside in a Dimension Films vault, the gory genre effort finally arrives in theaters this Friday. Asked how he went from creating Clown to incorporating Marvels most popular character into the Marvel Cinematic Universevia a saga headlined by newcomer Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr. (as Iron Man), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), and Michael Keaton (rumored to be the villainous Vulture)Watts expresses astonishment at his ascendant career trajectory. Yeah, it doesnt make any sense. Its like everythingwhen you look back, you can figure out a bit of continuity to how one thing led to another. But in the moment, I wish I could say that this was all some sort of master plan to lead to directing a big cool studio movie. But it was truly the product of just messing around with my friend [co-screenwriter Christopher Ford]. There was no brilliant plotting involved. Watts needs no Spidey Sense to know that revealing key details about Homecoming would be hazardous to his health. I probably cant say anything. Theres a little sniper dot on me at all times, just in case. Theyll hit me with a tranq dart. Even when I try to sneak in a quick, nonchalant query about whether recently signed cast member Donald Glover is playing Miles Moralesa Black Hispanic teen who becomes Spider-Man in recent comics titles, and whom fans want Glover to play (especially ever since he voiced him in an animated series)Watts doesnt flinch. I cant talk about anything like that! he responds, before jokingly confessing, That would have been so amazing, if Id just completely spilled some secret like that by accident. Nonetheless, he does reveal that the films diverse casting (bolstered not only by Glover, but also Disney-bred actress Zendaya as Peter Parkers love interest) is a natural byproduct of the actions setting. Peter Parker goes to high school in Queens, and Queens is one ofif not themost diverse places in the world. So I just wanted it to reflect what that actually looks like. Despite the fact that Homecoming will be the sixth standalone Spider-Man film to hit theaters in the past 15 years, Watts has so far felt little pressure about differentiating his version from its predecessors. Its been really fun to just look for things that none of the other Spider-Man movies have really explored before, and decide if thats something we want to work into that, he remarks. And really making it a high school movie, and committing to that, and not having that just be the beginning of the movie. The John Hughes sort of tone. When youre looking at it through that prism, it really opens up the door to a lot of possibilities. It helped that the projects groundwork had already been partially established, thanks to Spider-Mans thrilling re-introduction in Captain America: Civil War. It was already a moving train when I got on board, but I came on right as they got Tom [Holland], and so I knew everything that was happening with Civil War. I was there when they were shooting it and sort of lurking in the back, looking over the Russos shoulders, and I had ideas about this and that. We were already on the same page, but it was great because I got to sort of meet everyone and see what they were doing with it, and that informed where we eventually took it. So far, acclimation to the blockbuster-superhero process has been smooth, and less overwhelming than you might expect. I never anticipated anything like this would happen, but Im having a really good time. Its such an amazing team working with both Marvel and Sony, and I have the support of just the very best technicians in the world. The best people who do this stuff are all supporting me, and Ive always worked on things very collaboratively, so its been great so far. We start shooting really soon, but its been a really fun, interesting experience. If Watts sounds at ease tackling such an enormous venture, it may be because his entire career has been guided by a take-things-as-they-come attitude. That certainly was the case with Clown, a gruesome nightmare about a realtor (Andy Powers) who discovers a clown suit in one of his propertys basements and dons it for his sons birthday party, only to find that he cant take it offand that it may in fact be more than just your average costume. What follows is a descent into gnarly madness, with Powerss increasingly freaked-out father transforming into an unholy demon, all while his wife (Laura Allen) and a strange old kook (the inimitable Peter Stormare) try to stop him from indulging his demonic appetites. Its not exactly what youd expect from someone who cut his teeth making comedy films for The Onion News Network. As Watts explains, the idea sprang from brainstorming with writing partner Christopher Ford, as both tried to one-up each other with the most ludicrous story concepts possible for their YouTube channels clip of the week. We were trying to think of the movie we would pitch in this fictional Hollywood scenario, when everyone had passed on all of our movies, he recalls. It started from that, and then we slowly figured out what the plot of Clown was, over the course of hanging out. We were just trying to figure out the most disturbing, unsettling thing we could ever think of, and trying to outdo ourselves. In an effort to screw with their YouTube subscribers, they created a fake trailer for the non-existent movie, and uploaded itreplete with a title card that claimed it was directed by Hostel and The Green Inferno mastermind Eli Roth. The thing being, Roth had nothing to do with it. In one of those fairy-tale twists of fate, that last-second gag became the unlikely beginning of Wattss cinematic career, as Roth not only caught wind of his Clown attribution, but dug the bold stunt. He loved the premise, and I think he just liked the idea that we did it [i.e., credited him], and didnt ask permission and just put it up there to see what happened, remembers Watts. Soon, Roth was on board as a producer and shepherding the film to completiona fact that was stunning to Watts. I was like, This is not real. I thought now I was being pranked. The whole thing was completely surreal The whole time, youre just waiting for the camera crew to come in. You didnt really think this was happening, did you? Even on set, I was like Theyre really taking this prank far! Its so bizarre, he continues. Its absolutely not what I thought I was going to do at all. I directed it on the weekends when I was shooting The Onion, and then I edited it on an airplane when I was flying to do something else. If this was totally a calculated move, I would be a genius. But it was really just goofing around. Roths reputation for extreme horror was the key to Watts getting away with his films nastiest bitsincluding a prolonged sequence in which the creature goes on a bloodthirsty rampage at a Chuck E. Cheeses restaurant. With Eli as our producer, it was par for the course. Like, of course its going to go there. Suffice it to say, Clown doesnt pull any punches. Moreover, it brings into clearer focus the thematic thread that connects Watts first three features. All my movies so far involve children in danger. It starts with 7-year-olds in Clown, then 10-year-olds in Cop Car, and now I have 15-year-old Peter Parker. Im slowly working my way up to actual adults getting into dangerous situations, he laughs. Of course, Clown and Spider-Man also share a protagonist who puts on a costume and undergoes a transformation into something more-human-than-human. When pressed on whether this means Hollands Spider-Man will be going on any children-centric rampages, however, Wattsproving that hes been well-trained in Marvel secrecy policiesremains coy: No spoilers. For Seth Meyers, the Donald Trump humor is apparently wearing thin. The reality show billionaire and his boastful swagger, ridiculous hair, and allegedly tiny hands have long been punchlines for Americas late-night comics, who like to tell Trump jokes while also inviting him on their television programs to trade quips, schmooze, and presumably spike ratings. A welcome guest on David Lettermans and Jay Lenos shows back in the day, Trump has appeared twice with Jimmy Fallon, once with a strangely diffident Stephen Colbert, and has even hosted Saturday Night Live during the 2016 presidential campaign. But Trump has spurned invitations to go on Late Night with Seth Meyers, still nursing a grudge for Meyerss savage ridicule of him five years ago at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. The late-night TV entertainerwho was unavailable for an interviewis likewise finding the presumptive Republican nominee no longer all that funny. It doesnt surprise me, said George Mason University communications professor S. Robert Lichter, who has spent the past 30 years studying the impact of late-night television comics on presidential campaigns, and is co-author of Politics Is a Joke!: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life. Trump has already driven journalists crazy. Now hes driving comedians crazy as well. This was not always the case for the 42-year-old Meyers, SNLs former head writer and anchor of the Weekend Update segment. He has brilliantly and hilariously lampooned Trump over the past year since the real-estate mogul rode the down-escalator to his candidacynot only in the opening Late Night monologue but in a series of highly-produced desk pieces titled A Closer Look, a feature in which Meyers takes a deep dive into issues of the day, a la HBOs John Oliver, and mines them for clever mockery. Of the 20-odd Trump-focused installments, Meyers has tackled the Trump University lawsuits and Trumps incredibly racist attacks on the Indiana-born Hispanic trial judge; Trumps impersonation of his own fake publicist to brag about his sexual conquests; and Trumps apparently abortive plans to reinvent himself as a reasonable-sounding general-election candidate. To be sure, the Trump A Closer Look segments have been stinging and even devastating, but Meyers has taken infectious joyand a certain amount of professional pridein having a bit of fun with his great white whale. By contrast, the host (who according to federal records donated $4,600 in 2008 to presidential candidate Barack Obama) has been noticeably gentle on Hillary Clinton. His recent A Closer Look segment about her FBI-investigated email troubles, for instance, trivialized her willful violation of federal regulationsskewering the pundits, the press, and the government bureaucracy far more than it did Trumps Democratic opponent. The only way this scandal could be more boring is if Wolf Blitzer talked about ithere, Ill prove it, Meyers said, introducing a clip of Wolf Blitzer talking about itand pretending to nod off. The studio audience roared. But on his program this past Tuesday night, Meyers shed his professionally sardonic persona and comedic detachment to deliver a blistering, seven-minute diatribe against Trump that was long on invective and short on laughs. Meyers warned his insomniac viewersan audience consistently bigger at 12:37 a.m. than that of his CBS rival, British import James Corden (especially in the 18-49 age demographic on which advertising is sold)that Trump is a dangerous bigot, a White House aspirant with a Cal Ripken-esque streak of making inflammatory statements without any evidence whatsoever Man, I gotta say when it comes to bigotry, Trump keeps upping his game. Reacting to Trumps anti-Muslim speech in response to Sundays carnage at the LGBT Pulse nightclub in Orlandoand also to Trumps ban of The Washington Post from his campaign press busMeyers declared that the speech was a new low Trumps comments on Monday were especially jarring when you consider that just last week the the Republican officials supporting him had expressed hope that he would soften his incendiary rhetoric and stick to the GOP message To be clear, this is bigotry, plain and simple. To claim that any group of people, immigrants or anyone else, has anything in common with the terrorist murderer, based simply on their ethnic background or their religion or where theyre from, is dangerous and wrong. That wasnt the only heinous and patently false statement Trump made on Monday. He also claimed, without a shred of evidence, that there are Muslims in this country that are knowingly protecting terrorists. Trump is telling a bigoted lie, a grimly unsmiling Meyers went on. This hateful, dangerous rhetoric has the potential to make Muslim Americans feel threatened and unwelcome Trump is stoking fear and spreading hate Meyers added that Trumps vague innuendo that President Obama is somehow in sympathy with the terrorists, while refusing to explain exactly what he means, is not an accident. This is a strategy he uses to try to appeal to the outer fringes while also avoiding accountability. Meyers also dismantled the candidates claim that hed be better for the LGBT community than Clinton, and showed video clips of Trump promising to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn the legality of same-sex marriage. All laudable sentiments, to be sure. Yet Meyerss impassioned oration, leavened here and there by a laugh linesuch as vowing to block Trump from his Late Night couch in solidarity with the Post (although to be fair, he acknowledged with a grin, he wasnt coming on anyway; lets be honest, he had no interest in being here) was less satire than condemnation. It could have been writtenthough it wasntby the wordsmiths on Clintons communications staff. Still, as professor Lichter pointed out, if Meyerss goal is to persuade voters, hed be better off sticking to telling jokes instead of giving a lecture. The problem for late-night comics is that their impact comes from their humor, Lichter told The Daily Beast. One element of a joke is surprisesomething that you didnt expect. Thats what makes it funny. But when you just deliver a diatribe, you may be satisfying yourself, but youre not going to influence many people. Lichters long-term studies of how late-night TV comics affect voter attitudes, as director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, have shown that the impact can be significant. According to Lichters statistics tallied from September 2015 through April 2016, more than 1,000 televised jokes were aimed at Trump, while only around 300 targeted Clintonand Trump was the object of more comedy derision than all of the other candidates combined. Weve found that late-night humor changed public attitudes toward candidates, and that the more jokes about a candidate, the less favorable his poll numbers, Lichter said, adding that the sheer volume of Trump jokes, and the multiplicity of platforms, digital and otherwise, through which voters have been exposed to them, are undoubtedly contributing to his decline in recent public opinion surveys. The impact is for real, Lichter said. Theres no question whether all the Trump jokes could be hurting Donald Trump. They are. On the other hand, Lichter argued, Meyers and other comics who try to administer the anti-Trump medicine without a spoonful of humor risk losing their mojo. Comedians are just sputtering at Trump and trying to figure out what they can do about him, he said. The best thing comedians can do about Trump is to joke about him. To warn about him defeats the purpose. As a comedian, you have an impact through making people laugh. Telling them what you think is not making them laugh. Its kind of a paradox. You think youve got all this influence, but the moment you trade on it, you lose it. In fairness, Meyers hasnt completely abandoned making light of a candidate he clearly sees as an ominous threat to treasured American values. He opened Tuesdays monologue: The latest polls show Hillary Clinton now leads Donald Trump nationally. I guess shes getting some traction with her new slogan, Come with me if you want to live! Later in the show, he was a receptive audience as guest Martin Shortat his oleaginous bestclaimed to have attended Trumps 70th birthday celebration and unleashed a series of rapid-fire japes. It was a wonderful, wonderful party We played Pin the Tail on the Mexican Oh, then, the cake came out and we sang, Oh, for hes a jolly-good racist! Hes a jolly-good racist! In person, you know, thats not a hairdo, thats a wind advisory. I think hes misinterpreted. Hes standing for so many thingsOrange Lives Matter is my favorite He has a big ego. He screams out his own name during sex. You know hes doing a remake of Three Amigos, which was a film I was in, called No Amigos. Bang! Bang! Bang! One after the other! Meyers noted appreciativelyconceding, for the moment, the peerless power of humor. North Korean hackers reportedly infiltrated a computer network belonging to a South Korean aerospace firms computer network and made off with blueprints for the F-15 Eaglethe American-designed jet fighter that forms the backbone of the U.S. and South Korean air forces. But dont panic quite yet. Theres not much Pyongyangs engineers can actually do with the blueprints. For sure, we wont be seeing F-15s rolling out of some North Korean factory in the distinctive dark camouflage of the Korean Peoples Air Force. The hack began in 2014 and South Korean authorities first detected it in February this year, South Koreas police cyber investigation unit told Reuters. In the meantime, the hackers gained access to the networks of two defense-industry conglomerates in South Korea and made off with some 42,000 documents. Among the documents were blueprints for the wing design of the twin-engine, supersonic F-15, police told Reuters. Korea Aerospace Industries builds the Eagles wings under contract with Boeing, the No. 2 U.S. defense firm. Boeing has described KAI as a valued supplier (PDF). The U.S. Air Force operates hundreds of F-15s. Undefeated in air combat since its debut in the early 1970s, the Eagle is still Americas main air-to-air fighter. South Korea acquired 61 F-15s starting in 2005. Although the F-15s basic design is, by now, more than 50 years old, the Eagle is still leaps and bounds more sophisticated than any warplane North Koreas tiny, impoverished air force possesses. While Pyongyang manages to produce its own firearms, artillery, armored vehicles, and warships, its never quite mastered the delicate art of designing and manufacturing military aircraft. The Korean Peoples Air Force operates hundreds of jet fighters, but most of them are single-engine MiG-21s that North Korea bought from the Soviet Union in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s and has maintained ever since. While supersonic and highly maneuverable under certain circumstances, the MiG-21 is badly outclassed by more modern jets such as the F-15. In theory, Pyongyang would welcome a new fighter planeand desperately seek the blueprints to build it. But in practice, North Korea has neither the know-how nor the resources to copy the F-15 or even adapt the Eagles blueprints to its own design. North Korea will never build a serious air force, Dr. Robert Edwin Kelly, an associate professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, told The Daily Beast via email. History bears this out. In the 1980s, North Korea established a fighter-jet factorythe Seventh Machine Industry Bureau in Panghyonand even bought, from the Soviets, components for twin-engine MiG-29s that were, at the time, on the cutting edge of warplane technology. But the Seventh Machine Industry Bureau only managed to assemble three MiG-29s. The plan proved too ambitious for North Korea, explained Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans, independent military experts who write together at Oryx Blog. Of course, its possible that North Korea could pass along the F-15 blueprints to a country that could make use of them. The only option would be to try and sell the information, for which only China could be seen as a reasonable candidate, Oliemans told The Daily Beast in an email. Beijings own hackers have been implicated in the thefts of several U.S. weapons designs, including the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters, the more modern successors to the F-15. The F-35 hack was apparently the most damaging to the United States. In 2007, Chinese cyberspies reportedly hacked broke into servers belonging to U.S. aerospace firm Lockheed Martin and made off with design information on the F-35. Just a few years later, a Chinese firm unveiled a stealth fighter prototype, the J-31, that some observers suspect is at least partly based on the stolen F-35 data. But Oliemans said he doubts the F-15s wing would be of much interest to the Chinese. If the hack only compromised the wing design, which isnt exactly the most modern piece of data youd want to acquire about the F-15, I wouldnt suspect China to be interested at all. In fact, Oliemans continued, given the amount of blueprints and other data China is reported to have hacked themselves of aircraft such as the F-35 and F-22, I wouldnt be surprised if they already had access to the F-15s wing design already. All that is to saydont worry about the wing blueprints. China probably wouldnt want to copy the F-15, and North Korea probably cant. But that doesnt mean the alleged North Korean cybertheft isnt alarming, in principle. Oliemans called it a worrying development. Kelly seconded that notion. Theyll try and try until they get through, he said of the North Korean hackers. Norms wont restrain them, nor do they have an economics relationship with the U.S. or South Korea that would be jeopardized by this. The next time Pyongyangs cyberspies attack, they might get something more useful than a 50-year-old wing design. The fundamental disconnect between how the left and the right view the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando was on full display Friday morning during a live interview of Floridas Republican Governor Rick Scott. While Senate Democrats, led by Chris Murphy, led a 15-hour filibuster that secured at least a vote on two gun safety bills, Gov. Scott repeatedly refused to admit that easy access to firearms played any role whatsoever in the massacre, which left 50 people dead, including the gunman. Scott began by striking a gracious note in regards to President Obamas visit to the state, thanking him for making an emergency declaration, but Brown was quick to shift the conversation away from the grieving process and towards the growing focus on gun control. Yet over the course of the seven minute interview, Scott consistently played down the role of guns, including the shooters preferred weapon, the AR-15, which can be obtained in his state more easily than a handgun . Asked by CNN anchor Pamela Brown if he and Obama discussed the gun issue on Thursday, Scott replied, Yesterday wasnt about politics, shifting the conversation back to the victims. Brown wanted to know if meeting with victims and their families may have changed Scotts mind about the gun issue in any way, as Obama said he hoped it would in his remarks. Nobody would think that anybody on a terror watch list should have a gun, right? Scott said. (Tell that to the Republican senators who will inevitably vote against that legislation.) We all can agree that we dont want somebody whos going to do something like that to be walking around with any weapons. But the Second Amendment didnt kill anybody. This is ISIS. This is evil. This is radical Islam. Instead of talking about guns, Scott said he wanted to focus on destroying ISIS and keeping potentially dangerous people out of the country. Of course, in the case of the Orlando attack and many other mass shootings, the gunman was an American-born citizen. Yes, ISIS, terrorism could be to blame, the anchor said, once again shifting the conversation back to guns, but can you accept any responsibility for the, you know, gun laws here in Florida, the fact that it is easier to walk out of a gun store in a half an hour with an AR-15 that can kill more people faster than a pistol, yet its harder to get a pistol than an AR-15? Lets remember, the Second Amendment has been around for over 200 years, Scott replied, neglecting to mention that assault weapons like the AR-15 were banned as recently as 2004. Thats not what killed innocent people; evil killed innocent people. Finally, Brown asked Scott point-blank if he plans to make any changes to Floridas gun laws in the wake of the Orlando attack. Whenever something like this happens, you always have a conversation about what you should do, you know, afterwards, right? Scott asked in response. And we're going to have that conversation. But let's have this conversation about how we're going to stop ISIS. I mean, where is that conversation? Where is the conversation stopping radical Islam? So, in other words, the answer is no. "THANK YOU! #AmericaFirst," Donald Trump tweeted Friday afternoon, alongside a graphic showing data from a poll marked with Thursdays date. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has made it a campaign habit to tweet positive poll numbers about himself while thanking his supporters. One problem, however, with this latest Trump campaign-generated image: The data from this particular poll doesnt show Trump winning. The One America News Network/Gravis Marketing poll shows the likely GOP nominee losing to Hillary Clinton 51 percent to 49 percent. And even with the polls ideological and demographic divide tilted in his favor, Trump still loses to Clintonalbeit, within the margin of error. Nearly three-quarters of the polls participants were white, and the same supermajority described themselves as conservative or moderate. Only 10 percent of the polls respondents were hispanic. A separate ABC News/Washington Post poll from this week shows an 89 percent disapproval rating for Trump among hispanic voters. Seventy-seven percent of the polls respondents consider themselves moderate, conservative, or very conservative, and 72 percent of the poll's respondants identify as white. The misleading tweet comes a day after Trump, for the first time, admitted to The New York Times that he is not leading in the polls. A recent Bloomberg survey, for example, has him losing to Clinton in a landslide49 to 37 percent. Despite these polling shortfalls, Trump insists he still has enough time to catch up to Clinton. Im four down in one poll, three and a half in another that just came out, and I havent started yet, he told The Times. One America News Networkthe organization responsible for Trumps bogus poll tweetis a self-described conservative news network created in 2013 that reaches 15 million viewers. (Fox News reaches more than 87 million viewers.) Charles Herring, the President of OANN owner Herring Broadcast, told The Daily Beast in 2013 that his network was created as a platform where more voices can be heardvoices that are ignored, libertarian and conservative voices. Former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palina Trump backeroccasionally hosted a show called On Point on OANN, on which she interviewed Trump in August of last year. We appreciate your battles here, she told Trump during the OANN exclusive. You are a terrific person, and its great to be with you. Editors note: This article incorrectly stated the OANN/Gravis poll in question was from May. It was from June 16, 2016. All mentions of the poll's date have been corrected. The family of Jacinto Hernandez Torres knows why he went to Garland, Texas. They still dont know why he died there. On June 13, a business partner found Torres, a 57-year-old real estate agent and a beloved local journalist, dead in the backyard of a home in the Dallas suburb. By then, his body had already been there for multiple days, according to a Garland PD press release. He had been shot in the torso, his body left exposed to rain and moisture for days, according to the local Spanish-language newspaper Al Dia. Now, his family and his colleagues want to find out if his investigative journalism had anything to do with his murder. Torres worked as a freelancer under the name Jay Torres for La Estrella, the Spanish-language offshoot of the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth. La Estrella executive Juan Antonio Romas confirmed last Thursday that Torres was working on an assignment but that they did not think at any time that there was any risk. Jay was a very dedicated and caring person who kept us informed about his work, Romas wrote, and for that reason his killing is alarming and disturbing. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also noted in a statement that they were alarmed by the murder, especially given the infrequency with which journalists are killed for their work in the United States. CPJ has only documented seven such cases since 1992. If Torres was indeed killed for his work, he would be the eighth. Lt. Pedro Barineau, the public information officer for the Garland PD, told The Daily Beast that police are actively investigating several different leads but that they have not yet uncovered any kind of link to his job. Meanwhile, the Torres family and his fellow journalists have been trying to piece together a timeline and a plausible motive for the murder. His son, Gibran Torres, told the Star-Telegram that he saw his father for the last time on Wednesday, June 8, and that he suspected the only reason he went to Garland was to show property. Another family member confirmed to CPJ that the backyard in which his body was found belonged to a house that was being flipped. That house was open to buyers on Friday, June 10th. His daughter, Aline Torres, spoke with him on the morning of the 10th before he went to the Garland house but said that he didnt return messages she sent him in the afternoon, according to a report from Al Dia. More recently his work was more intense, riskier, Aline told reporters at a press conference with the family covered by Al Dia. He was lifting up stones that perhaps people did not want to have lifted. The family noted at the press conference that he was working on stories about human trafficking and immigration at the time of the murder. They also believe he was shot by someone who knew him, telling reporters at the press conference that the that police found no indication he was robbed. Karina Ramirez, an Al Dia reporter and president of Hispanic Communicators Dallas Fort-Worth (HCDFW), a chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, added that Torres was going after people who are abusing the Hispanic community. Most of the stories that he did were about that, Ramirez told The Daily Beast in a phone interview. That was him. He wanted to go after people who were doing or causing harm to the community. But Ramirez said she has no idea what particular stories Torres was working on when he was killed. I wouldnt have a clue, she said, noting that he was so independent that we would have never known what he was working on until the story got published. Journalism may not have been the only thing that put Torres at risk. His son Gibran told CPJ that his father had recently raised the possibility of installing a home security system because of the stories he was researching, but also because he was worried about angry tenants. Torres was a beloved figure in his community, especially among his fellow reporters. In a Facebook eulogy, Raul Caballero, his editor of 18 years at La Estrella, called him a friend to all, praising his honesty, generosity, and attention to detail. It feels unreal for us to be talking about you, old friend, knowing you are dead, he wrote. Ramirez opened a GoFundMe for Torres funeral expenses that has already raised over $4,000. In an official statement from HCDFW, she said that the best way to honor her departed colleague would be to keep investigating his death and to carry on his legacy. I am sure you are heartbroken and in shock as I feel today, she wrote. But Jay would want us to move forward and not only find out what happened to him, but also continue our work as journalists. Some of the provisions in TISA's financial services annex includes: Requirements that countries must conform their laws to the annex's text (the US and EU are proposing the most draconian language) (annex Article 3). A prohibition on 'buy local' rules for government agencies (Article 7). Prohibitions on any limitations on foreign financial firms' activities (Articles 9 and 12). Bans on restrictions on the transfer of any data collected, including across borders (Article 10). Prohibitions of any restrictions on the size, expansion or entry of financial companies and a ban on new regulations, including a specific ban on any law that separates commercial and investment banking, such as the equivalent of the U.S. Glass-Steagall Act. Only one country, Peru, opposes this. (Article 14). A provision that purports to allow protection for bank depositors and insurance policy holders, but immediately negates that protection by declaring such duties "shall not be used as a means of avoiding the Party's commitments or obligations under the Agreement" (Article 16). The standard language on dispute settlement: "A Panel for disputes on prudential issues and other financial matters shall have all the necessary expertise relevant to the specific financial service under dispute." The effect of that rule would be that lawyers who represent financiers would sit in judgment of financial companies' challenges to regulations and laws (Article 19) A requirement that any government that offers financial products through its postal service lessen the quality of its products so that those are no better than what private corporations offer. It is possible this measure could also threaten social security systems on the basis that such public services compete against financial companies. (Article 21). Rules designed to force privaTISAtions Some of those article numbers have changed since the earlier financial services annex leak; one change is the disappearance of an article that would have required countries to "eliminate ... or reduce [the] scope" of state enterprises. But that may be because there is a chapter with more stealthy language devoted to the topic: the TISA annex on state-owned enterprises, which would restrict their operations, requiring they be operated like a private business and prohibiting them from 'buying local'. Furthermore, governments would be required to publish a list of state-owned enterprises, with no limit on what information must be provided if a corporation asks. Article 7 of this annex would enable any single government to demand new negotiations to further limit state-owned enterprises, which would give the US the ability to directly attack other countries' state sectors or to demand privatisations in countries seeking to join TISA. Jane Kelsey, a University of Auckland law professor who has long studied 'free trade' agreements, notes that these TISA provisions are modeled on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She writes: "The goal was always to create precedent-setting rules that could target China, although the US also had other countries' SOEs in its sights - the state-managed Vietnamese economy, various countries' sovereign wealth funds, and once Japan joined, Japan Post's banking, insurance and delivery services. All the other countries were reluctant to concede the need for such a chapter and the talks went around in circles for several years. Eventually the US had its way." The substitution of language unambiguously requiring elimination or shrinkage of state-owned enterprises with less obvious language may be a public-relations exercise, so that the specter of forced privatisations will not be so apparent. Domestic regulations in the cross hairs Another portion of TISA that has been published by WikiLeaks is the annex on domestic regulation. This annex is so far reaching that it would actually eliminate the ability of governments to regulate big-box retailers. This is one of the goals of corporate lobbyists, a WikiLeaks commentary points out. Referring to a U.S. business group, the commentary says: "The National Retail Federation not only wants TiSA to ensure their members can enter overseas markets but to ease regulations 'including store size restrictions and hours of operation that, while not necessarily discriminatory, affect the ability of large-scale retailing to achieve operating efficiencies.' "The National Retail Federation is therefore claiming that a proper role for the public servants negotiating TiSA is to deregulate store size and hours of operation so that large corporations can achieve 'operating efficiencies' and operate 'relatively free of government regulation' - completely disregarding the public benefit in regulations that foster livable neighbors and reasonable hours of work." In other words, behemoths indifferent to the lives of its employees, like Wal-Mart, would have an even freer hand. The annex on domestic regulation would also require governments to publish in advance any intention to alter or implement regulations so that corporations can be given time to be "alerted that their trade interests might be affected." The ability of a government to quickly issue a regulation in response to a disaster would be severely curtailed. Environmental rules, even requiring performance bonds as insurance against, for example, oil spills, would be at risk of being declared unfair 'burdens'. The WikiLeaks commentary says: "This draconian 'necessity test' would create wide scope for regulations to be challenged. For example, the public consultation processes that are required for urban development are about ensuring development is acceptable to the community rather than 'ensuring the quality' of construction services. They would fail the necessity test as more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service. "Environmental bonds that mining and pipeline companies are required to post in case of spills and other environmental disasters are another licensing requirement that would not meet the test of being necessary to ensure the quality of the service." New Zealand has gone so far as to propose a rule that might eliminate standards for teachers and for protection against toxic waste. Wellington proposes that regulations in all areas be "no more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service": "Under New Zealand's proposals, qualifications for teachers in both public and private schools, hospital standards, and licenses for toxic waste disposal are just some of the regulations that would have be reduced to the very low standard of being no more burdensome than necessary." You're not allowed to know what's in it Secrecy protocols for handling TISA documents are in place, similar to those of the Trans-Pacific and Transatlantic agreements. These protocols include the requirement that "documents may be provided only to (1) government officials, or (2) persons outside government who participate in that government's domestic consultation process and who have a need to review or be advised of the information in these documents." What that means in practice is that only the corporate lobbyists and executives on whose behalf these 'free trade' agreements are being negotiated can see them. Consider that 605 corporate representatives had access to the Trans-Pacific Partnership text as 'advisers' while it was being negotiated, with the public and even members of parliaments and Congress blocked from access. Or that the public-interest group Corporate Europe Observatory, upon successfully petitioning to receive documents from the European Commission, found that that of 127 closed meetings preparing for the Transatlantic Partnership talks, at least 119 were with large corporations and their lobbyists. Perusing government trade office Web sites for useful information on TISA (or any other 'free trade' agreement) is a fruitless exercise. To provide two typical specimens, the European Commission claims that "The EU will use this opportunity to push for further progress towards a high-quality agreement that will support jobs and growth of a modern services sector in Europe"; and the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade asserts that "TiSA is an opportunity to address barriers to international trade in services that are impeding the expansion of Australia's services exports." Which is the same sort of nonsense that we hear about other secret agreements. The economic health of Australia, or any other country, is not likely to be dependent on sending more financial planners overseas. What reads as bland bureaucratic text will be interpreted not in ordinary courts with at least some democratic checks, but by unaccountable and unappealable secret arbitration panels in which corporate lawyers alternate between representing multi-national corporations and sitting in judgment of corporate complaints against governments. Let's conclude with some sanity. Almost 1,800 local authorities have declared themselves opposed to the various 'free trade' agreements being hammered out, including TISA. The 'Local Authorities and the New Generation of Free Trade Agreements' conference in Barcelona, attended by municipal and regional governments and civil society groups, concluded with a declaration against TISA, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. In part, the declaration says: "We are deeply concerned that these treaties will put at risk our capacity to legislate and use public funds (including public procurement), severely damaging our task to aid people in basic issues such as: housing, health, environment, social services, education, local economic development or food safety. "We are also alarmed about the fact that these pacts will jeopardise democratic principles by substantially reducing political scope and constraining public choices." That is the very goal of 'free trade' agreements. TISA, like its evil cousins TPP, TTIP and CETA, is a direct threat to what democracy is left to us. It promises a global dictatorship that in theory raises the level of corporations to the level of national governments but in reality raises them above governments because only corporations have the right to sue, with corporate 'rights' to guaranteed profits trumping all other human concerns. We ignore these naked power grabs at our collective peril. Pete Dolack is an activist, writer, poet and photographer, and writes on Systemic Disorder. His book 'It's Not Over: Lessons from the Socialist Experiment', a study of attempts to create societies on a basis other than capitalism, has just been published by Zero Books. This article was originally published on Systemic Disorder. 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. This might be for the best, but that doesnt make it any less sad. Were all familiar with allegations that This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK All of the meals came with a touch of dark green. The roasted potatoes had flakes of crispy green and the beef came accompanied with floppy dark green noodles. Even the rosewater for the poached pears was thickened by this green plant. And no, its not kale. Its a good day to try something new, said Christopher Thigpen, 19, dressed in a white cooks uniform. He was one of the five students at Norwalk Community College tasked with cooking various meals made with kelp. Though typically known as food for fish or the brown slippery seaweed that entangles bare feet in shallow water, the tough dark seaweed known as sugar kelp is increasingly catching public attention for its nutritious and environmentally-friendly properties. On Thursday, NCC instructor and Chef Jeff Trombetta held a luncheon as the culminating event to his four-week class that spent 16 days processing kelp and developing unique recipes. The class, in its second year, results from a partnership between the University of Connecticut-Stamford and NCC. Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UConn, Charlie Yarish, spearheaded the partnership, which is just one of his many projects dedicated to kelp cultivation and consumption. This year, the class received a certificate to process kelp that could be sold to the public. The five students took on 850 pounds of kelp from three different farms including Norm Bloom and Sons, LLCs farm off Sheffield Island in Norwalk and Thimble Island Oyster Co. in Branford. Thigpen was involved in the boiling part of the process, where he got to watch the dark, strong brown ropes of kelp turn bright green. I was fascinated on the first day because kelp is a dark color and when we put it in the water it was pretty shocking, it turned bright green I was amazed every time, Thigpen said. Its really good, he said, eying the platters of food sitting on the buffet table at NCCs Culinary Arts Dining Room, right before the luncheon. I cant wait for this. Kelp, from farm to plate Yarish has been investigating seaweed farming for almost 50 years, looking for opportunities in the Northeast and beyond to bring seaweed onto the market and into the public eye. I was familiar with Asian science and Asian food after having traveled there. I just saw the opportunity. Each time I studied I wondered, What can we do in America thats unique? Yarish said. It all starts with the scavenging of kelp seeds. I send divers out into the Long Island sound, we know a site where we can get the reproductive materials, he said. From there the kelp seeds live on a string at his kelp nursery in UConn for 30-35 days, before transferring them to different sites along the Long Island sound. Then it is processed and, increasingly, sold. The kelp weighs 15 pounds a foot, Yarish and Trombetta said, and can grow up to six inches a day sometimes Yarish showed of picture of one that had grown 15 feet in six months. The partnership between the two arose two years ago, when Yarish attended a Maritime Aquarium event, where Trombettas then-class was catering. Yarish took Trombetta aside and told him he was trying to find a chef, and a team, to bring awareness of the nutritional, culinary benefits of sugar kelp. It took a while to mobilize my operations to get my apostles out there, Yarish joked. But one year later, Trombettas culinary arts class was learning how to process and cook kelp. Better than kale? Youre cultivating something that doesnt require fresh water and in this day and age, fresh water is an issue, Yarish said. Kelp helps the ecosystem it naturally grows in, he said. And not only does it flourish in saltwater, but it also helps the water it lives in. In a process known as bioextraction, kelp makes the water healthier by removing excess nutrients that can cause algae blooms, which deplete oxygen in bodies of water. Kelp does not need to be weeded, watered or fertilized which is more than kale can say. And unlike shellfish, kelp is most comfortable in temperatures ranging from 29 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit not the time of year when most of Fairfield County is using the water for recreational purposes. It also comes in a variety of flavors. Yarish would know, hes tasted raw kelp at each of his farming sites, just to find out. Its like when you go to Napa Valley and you go to different vineyards, with different soils, and different grapes, and someone will tell you each one tastes different. Similar to a kelp farm, he said, sitting at the NCC dining table now, eating his kelp meal. Each site has its own unique flavor (and) nutrients. Though its slimy, brown appearance in the water could deter some, the seaweed is heavy with iron, folate and vitamin k. Its amazing what itll do for you. Tomorrow well come out like Popeye, said Trombetta, settling down himself to his plate of kelp-infused food. Trombetta is hoping to publish a book this fall with the 100 recipes hes developed for using kelp in everyday American dishes. You have to stick it in a fillet of beef or something good. Its like teaching your kids to like artichokes, he said. Thigpen said Trombetta made a kelp concoction every day for lunch during class (which was Monday through Thursday) but nobody ever wanted to try it. Thigpen tried kelp for the first time at the luncheon. I took a taste, a spoonful, and Mmmm, mmmm. It was some good stuff, he said. I want to be a cook when I get old enough, Thigpen said. And when I have my business, I think Ill make one or two dishes with kelp. SFoster-Frau@CTPost.com; @SilviaElenaFF Former Gov. John G. Rowlands bid to overturn a 30-month prison sentence for campaign fraud has been denied by an appeals court. In a decision released Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City rejected Rowlands claims that the Justice Department was trying to make an example of him when it prosecuted the Republican for working as a shadown campaign operative for 2012 congressional candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley. WASHINGTON Good news for Democrats is a rarity on Capitol Hill but Democratic senators were exultant early Thursday after a nearly 15-hour filibuster by Sen. Chris Murphy succeeded in winning a pledge to hold votes on expanded gun background and no-fly, no-gun legislation. Now we still have to get from here to there, but we did not have that commitment when we started today, Murphy said in the wee hours Thursday on the Senate floor, 14 hours and 50 minutes after starting his speaking quest. And we have that understanding at the end of the day. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Hundreds of people gathered on the front lawn of City Hall on Thursday evening to participate in an interfaith vigil that honored the victims of the Orlando shooting. The shooting, on the morning of Sunday, June 12, killed 49 individuals in a gay nightclub resulting in the deadliest mass shooting in the United States. The vigil was organized by the Triangle Community Center, which has provided programming and resources for LGTBQ people in Fairfield County since 1990. Those standing in the crowd wore pride T-shirts, waved rainbow flags and held signs supporting the LGBTQ community with messages against violence, all under an enormous rainbow pride flag displayed across the front of City Hall. People were handed pride flags and white candles as they entered the vigil. Congregation leaders and members of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, as well as people from a variety of races and sexual orientations, were present. Rev. John Morehouse began the ceremony with a chalice lighting on stage with his message that: Prayers are not enough, moments of silence are not enough. We are bigger than hate and more reasonable than fear. Rev. Kate Heichler then embraced those of the Muslim faith when she said: We are praying for the Muslims for protection from vengeful words. Mayor Harry Rilling officially welcomed participants to the vigil and said the recent attack tears the fabric of who we are as a nation. State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said: Enough is enough! He added that Congress must administer background checks at gun shows and ban guns to those on the terrorist watch list because: It is time to disarm hate and end gun violence. JD Melendez, an executive for Triangle Community Center, shared the difficulty the tragedy has brought to his life. It doesnt take a bullet to kill us, all it takes is your silence, he said. Melendez, alongside Edson Rivas and Rob Marino, read the names of the 49 people lost in Orlando, each choking back tears and taking moments to regroup among a silent crowd. Inni Kaur Dhingra from the Sikh community read a Muslim prayer and said: Lets create a world where we can all blossom and bloom. Executive Director Anthony Crisci spoke on behalf of Triangle Community Center when he said: Hate has been allowed to thrive in our country unchecked. We must build a world that has a safe space for all of us. Additional comments were made by Rev. Dan Schlorff, Rabbi Jay Telrav, Marie Alford-Harkey from the Religious Institute, Dr. Gary Blick from World Health Clinicians, Dr. Kareem Adeeb and Reverend Frances Sink, who closed the ceremony with the extinguishing of the chalice. The vigil concluded with a musical offering by the New World Chorus, which shared an inviting and gentle song while overlooking the sunset in memory of the lives lost and hope for the future. The event was put on under the direction of Conor Pfeifer, the director of operations at Triangle Community Center. Pfeifer said he finds support by the city of Norwalk and its officials for those of the LGTBQ community. As a community experiencing the tragedy and looking for a solution Pfiefer said: What we can do is meet people with love and stop words and actions of hate. NORWALK A Norwalk High School student was arrested after threatening harm to a hit list of 29 students there. On Saturday, June 11, the Norwalk Police Departments Special Victims Unit investigated a threats complaint involving a letter that had been written in January 2016 and had threatened harm to specific individuals. "The incident was investigated thoroughly and was brought to a resolution quickly," said Norwalk police Lt. Terrence Blake. Investigators with the Special Victims Unit quickly identified the juvenile author of the list, who was subsequently arrested and charged with 29 counts of breach of peace. A spokesperson for Norwalk Public Schools said the district has been cooperating with police. "Administrators at Norwalk High School learned of a potential threatening situation Sunday evening and have been working with the Norwalk Police Department since then," said Brenda Wilcox-Williams, the school districts spokesperson. "Families of individuals directly impacted were contacted by the school on Sunday night to make them aware." Williams said that the student who allegedly issued the threats was issued a 10-day suspension in keeping with school district policies and an expulsion hearing is scheduled. The mother of one targeted student, who asked not be identified by name due to the nature of the incident, said she was stunned and concerned when she was notified by school officials that her child had been named on the list. I was shocked, and also curious to know who the child was. That was not disclosed to us, she said. I do feel that the school followed the best protocol by informing parents and removing the child from the school. The mother expressed concern, however, about the possiblity of future incidents. In the case of this indiviual, who knows if she really had intent. Her life is changed forever now, the mother said. Its important to know what goes on in the minds of some students. I hope that they will have resources in school to help kids to feel good about themselves and to identify students who may be having issues. On the Norwalk Mothers for Education Facebook page, one mother of a targeted student expressed not only concern for her childs safety, but compassion for the alleged author of the list. Thank God this was discovered and no one was harmed. We need to remain vigilant and prayerful because these situations sometimes are very hard to prevent when it's something that is stewing inside a young person's heart and mind. We must be watchful, prayerful and compassionate when we detect students that start to become isolated and show signs of psychological distress. This can only be done as a team effort, she wrote. Another mother of a student named on the list referred to the suspect as a 14-year-old girl, and posted the following on the same Facebook page: My daughter was also on the list she was actually 2nd after Donald trump and this may simply have been something that was done as joke but in this day and age we can't take that chance but unfortunately this child made a grievous mistake and her life will be forever changed (because) of not thinking through her actions there may not have been any signs (because) maybe she wasn't having any issues. She was possibly just being 14. I am of course taking proper precautions but let's not resort to a public lynching before we have all of the facts. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK For many residents, AMEC Cartings plan to expand its contractors yard in South Norwalk fit a pattern of dumping industry not wanted elsewhere into the citys poorest neighborhoods. Low-income and minority communities are seen as the paths of least resistance, said resident Yolanda Skinner. In other words, this is why waste and dumps sites are put in neighborhoods such as South Norwalk. Edgar Hendrickson, who lives on Chestnut Street near where AMEC Carting stores trucks and containers, had harsher words for the company. Youre coming into a small neighborhood to destroy it, Hendrickson said. They can find another place! Hendrickson and Skinner were among the residents who sounded off against AMEC Cartings expansion plan during a public hearing before the Norwalk Zoning Commission at City Hall on Wednesday evening. While the commission rejected AMEC Cartings plan to spruce up and expand the contractors storage yard off Lubrano Place, Chairman Adam J. Blank acknowledged that other such industrial uses exist in the neighborhood. The parcels used by AMEC Carting as the companys attorney pointed out have been zoned for industry since the citys Building Zone Map was created in 1929. The map, posted on a wall in the Norwalk Department of Planning and Zoning at City Hall, shows the area zoned as light industrial, nearby Lexington and South Main streets as business, the area west of Lexington Street as residential and the entire waterfront up to Wall Street as heavy industrial. Back then, there were distinctions between light industrial and heavy industrial so youll have different zones for those kinds of things, said Frank Strauch, site planner in the department. This whole part of South Norwalk, its all Light Industrial No. 1. All of this along the water is Heavy Industrial. What was happening in most towns in those days? Obviously, they had a lot of factories back then. By contrast, West Norwalk and neighborhoods to the north and west were and remain zoned largely for residential uses. Diane Lauricella, a member of South Norwalk Citizens for Justice, labeled the Norwalk Zoning Commissions decision to reject the AMEC Carting plan a victory for residents but added that structural changes are needed. It has to start at the top, Lauricella said. The city has to understand the socio-economic realities of that area. Every part of the (city government) organizational chart needs to begin to understand whats been allowed all these years and then figure out how to fix it. At Wednesdays public hearing, AMEC Carting President Guy Mazzola presented his company as committed to Norwalk it operates a demolition-and-debris transfer station on Crescent Street and to improving South Norwalk by adding landscaping and noise-protection measures its storage yard. He rejected some residents characterization of him as a wealthy outsider he lives in New Canaan and instead presented himself as the son of hard-working immigrants. My mom worked in a grocery store when she came here and my father used to repair appliances, Mazzola said. When I was very young, we lived in a 900-square-foot house. We worked very hard for what we have. We are not rich people. Blank said AMEC Carting has received fair and unfair criticisms over its plans for the contractors yard. And while acknowledging industry has a long history in South Norwalk, he saw no legitimate reason to expand the yard. "We could probably argue forever over whether it was initially an industrial neighborhood or initially a residential neighborhood who infringed on who," Blank said. "But at this point in time, there's a whole lot of residential development in and around where you've proposed this facility and it's clearly an incompatible use for those residential uses." Norwalk was not alone in adopting land-use guidelines in the early 20th century. Floyd Lapp, former executive director of the South Western Regional Planning Agency and now adjunct professor at Columbia University, said the zoning ordinance adopted by New York City in 1916 is generally considered the first major initiative to guide land use. Many others followed in the 1920's, Lapp said. The Ambler Realty case and the 1926 U.S. Supreme Court decision established the constitutionality of zoning. In the 1926 court case, the village of Euclid, Ohio, prevented Ambler Realty Co. from developing land in the Cleveland suburb for industrial use. The village did so by developing a zoning ordinance laying out land uses, sizes and building heights. WASHINGTON Less than a week after the Orlando mass shooting, the Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to hear a Connecticut gun-rights groups appeal of the states assault-weapons ban. A decision could come as early as Friday. If the nations highest court takes the case, Shew v. Malloy, the justices would hear oral arguments in the fall term and issue a ruling by June 2017. If not, the 2014 ruling of the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit which upheld the post-Newtown ban would remain in place. The firearms that Connecticut has inaccurately and pejoratively labeled assault weapons in reality are semi-automatic firearms with safety- and accuracy-enhancing features that millions of Americans possess for lawful purposes, said a court brief submitted on behalf of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. Although Connecticut has restricted military-style semi-automatic rifles like the AK-47 and AR-15 for decades, the post-Newtown law strengthened it through listing specific guns by make and model. It also bars weapons with certain military features such as a detachable ammunition magazine, a pistol grip, a flash suppressor or a folding stock. The law restrict access to firearms that are owned by a small percentage of gun owners and are disproportionately used in gun crime, particularly the most heinous forms of gun violence, the state of Connecticuts court brief said, citing Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanzas use of a Bushmaster AR-15 to discharge 154 bullets in the killing of 20 children and six adult staff members. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, also used an AR-15-type rifle to kill 49 at the Pulse nighclub. In its landmark D.C. v Heller ruling in 2008, the court stated the Second Amendment does, in fact, confer the right of individuals to own firearms. But the opinion by the late Justice Antonin Scalia said that Second Amendment rights are not unlimited. And late last year, the Supreme Court refused to consider a challenge to an assault-weapons ban imposed by the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill. In that case, Scalia joined another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, in disagreeing with the high courts decision not to take the Illinois case. The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and use such rifles do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense and target shooting, Thomas wrote. Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons. With Scalias seat still unfilled and the court split 4-4, the likelihood of four votes to hear the case is open to question. It takes a minimum of four justices to decide to consider a petition. I am cautiously optimistic that the court, when it takes its next Second Amendment case, will reiterate that reasonable gun laws are permitted, and that includes assault-weapons bans like Connecticuts, said Jonathan Lowy, legal action project director at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. I think the gun lobby should be very careful what it wishes for. dan@hearstdc.com WILTON Jennifer Iannuzzi knew something was wrong with her daughter, Sydney, from an early age. Iannuzzi already had two older boys so she knew what developmental milestones her daughter was supposed to be reaching, and what she was seeing with the 21-month-old just wasnt right. I knew something was wrong, so like everybody else I turned to Google and typed in every symptom she had. But, of course of the hundreds of syndromes that popped up in the search, none of them came close to being right, said Iannuzzi. It was until Iannuzzi finally took her daughter to a doctor that she learned that Sydney was suffering from a rare medical condition called Smith-Magenis syndrome. Smith-Magenis syndrome is a rare micro-deletion developmental disorder that affects 1 in 15,000 people. Those diagnosed with the thus far incurable syndrome suffer from a distinct pattern of neuro-behavioral features such chronic sleep disturbances, hyperactivity and attention problems, prolonged tantrums, sudden mood changes, explosive outbursts, and self-injurious behaviors. As if it wasnt difficult enough coming to grips with her daughters disorder, Iannuzzi also had to struggle to obtain information on the disorder because of the syndromes rarity. I just remember the doctor a renowned neurologist telling me that Id have to Google it to learn more about it, said Iannuzzi. To combat the lack of awareness surrounding the disorder, Iannuzzi formed the Smith-Magenis Syndrome Research Foundation back in 2010. This foundation serves multiple purposes obviously to fund research, but also to raise awareness and educate everyone about it, so that those who are around the battle with Smith-Magenis dont feel so alone, said Iannuzzi. Since its inception, the Smith-Magenis Foundation has raised more than $750,000 dollars to help raise awareness of the disorder, in addition to forming a five-year collaboration with the Baylor College of Medicine to research the disorder. Each year, the foundation holds a fundraiser to help bolster their fight against Smith-Magenis syndrome. This years fundraiser, entitled "Lights, Camera, Research," will be held on Saturday, June 18 at the Prospector Theater in Ridgefield to benefit their research foundation and to raise awareness for the disorder. The event will feature a screening of Pixar's new movie Finding Dory, as well as a video game tournament, a balloon maker, face painting, a silent auction and refreshments. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children, and all proceeds will go to the foundation. To learn more about this fundraiser or to buy tickets, visit lightscameraresearch.kintera.org. WILTON Faced with opposition from neighbors, Best Friends Total Pet Care co-owner Alexander Desmarais took to Mondays Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to defend his proposed variance application. After residential and commercial neighbors levied complaints about potentially raised noise levels and bright lights, Desmarais made an appearance to defend his companys expansion into Wilton at the 213 Danbury Road location. Their plans include taking the pre-existing building from its current 4,791.1 square feet to 11,130.9 square feet by adding approximately 8,339.8 square feet to the west with a new corridor that would connect it with a pre-existing building in the propertys rear. The new facility would include 2,000 square feet for a veterinary practice, with four staff members, and a 120-unit, six-employee, 11,130.9-square-foot pet storage facility. At a previous meeting at the end of May, attorney Alan Spirer, who represents Dr. Ralph Hunt of the Wilton Hospital for Animals located next door to the proposed kennel, claimed that the uptick in noise levels between the two adjacent veterinaries would be detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood. To have dogs on 215 Danbury Road communicating with the dogs of 213 Danbury Road is going to be way worse than my neighbors dog barking at my three dogs. Its going to create an endless situation, said Spirer. In response Desmarais claimed that, contrary to Spirers point, the interior of the proposed kennel would be enclosed in soundproof walls, which would drop any noise from inside by about 55 decibels. According to his attorney, Casey Healy, this would render any noise escaping from the building to about 20 decibels, which is well within the range allowed by town regulation. As for any noise concerns regarding the dogs using the outdoor dog parks, Desmarais said that his staff is no stranger to noisy pets and they would have no trouble in dealing with this adequately. We have a lot of experience in dealing with noisy pets, said Desmarais. Dogs that bark are immediately brought inside to the indoor dog runs. We really aim for all neighbors to see us as positive members of the community, and we dont want any neighbors hearing barking outside. Commissioners and public members alike also raised another concern regarding the removal of waste materials from the premises. Secretary Doris Knapp was curious how the kennel would deal with the excrement of nearly 118 dogs and 25 cats without having an adverse effect on the surrounding neighborhood. Commissioner Joe Fiteni took Knapps observation a step further and asked his fellow commissioners to consider a hypothetical situation. Fiteni asked commissioners to consider the Youngs Nursery property, which will soon be open for new ownership, when making their final decision. In this hypothetical, Fiteni asked what would happen if the new owners saw it fit to rent out the back of the Youngs Nursery estate for its original purpose as a residential property. You would have potential for residential lots, and those houses would likely be on a well. Those properties would also be a lot closer [to Best Friends] than the properties were talking about. In this situation the run-off of urine could possibly seep into the soil and into those areas, said Fiteni. Desmarais downplayed any potential for pollution by citing years of evidence to the contrary from similar centers around the country. In my experience, having worked at many centers, is that waste simply goes into the sewer and thats that, said Desmarais. We have 38 pet care centers across the U.S., weve been in operation for 20 years and weve never had, to my knowledge, any complaints about contamination. In the end, the Planning and Zoning Commission decided to postpone a decision on the Best Friends application to the June 27 meeting. WILTON The Connecticut Special Olympics Summer Games may only account for three out of the years 365 days, but the glory achieved during that short period of time is something that time cant constrain. The YMCAs program director, Christina Foley, may have expected a fair share of success over the weekend, but the results that she saw far exceeded even her wildest imagination. These Wilton athletes showed up to the Connecticut State University ready to show off the hard work that they put in at practice over the last few months, and as a result the success stories abounded. Take 18-year-old Ali Gance, for instance. Gance posted an outstanding 34-second 200-meter dash to take home the gold. Additionally, Gance also won the gold in the running long jump and silver in the 100-meter run. When asked about her successes, Gance couldnt help but point out her only slight loss. I got the silver medal for the 100-meter, but I should have won that. That made me a little mad, said Gance. While they wont know for a few weeks, Foley thinks that Gance has a chance of being Wiltons first athlete to make the national games. Gance certainly wasnt the only Wilton athlete with a resounding victory, either. Catherine Arduino, 15, had one of the most heart-warming stories of the entire weekend. Arduino, who couldnt even swim this time last year, came in and one the gold medal in the 25-meter freestyle. More astoundingly, prior to competing at Southern, Arduino had only ever swum in pools in which she could touch the bottom. When she found out shed be swimming in a deeper pool, Arduino panicked at first. Foley said during her first competition the backstroke Arduino seized up. But, when it came time for the 25-meter freestyle, Arduino seized the moment and took home the top prize. I almost cried, said Foley. To think she couldnt even swim last fall. Here is the complete list of how Wiltons athletes fared at this past weekends Connecticut Special Olympics Summer Games: Ali Gance: (womens age 16-22 group) gold in the 200-meter run (with a 34 second time!); gold in the running long jump; silver in the 100-meter run Anna Carta: (womens age 22 to 29) Gold in the mini javelin; 4th in 50-meter run; 5th in the womans 22 to 29 100-meter run Stephanie Pokora: (womens age 22-29 group) gold in the running long jump; 7th in the 100-meter run Joe Silvia: (mens age 16 to 21 group) bronze in the 50-meter run Forrest Hamilton: (mens age 22-29 age group) silver in the long jump Priscilla Graham: (8 to 15 girls age group) gold in the 25-meter backstroke; silver in the 25-meter freestyle Catherine Arduino (15): (8 to 15 girls age group) gold in the 25-meter freestyle John Arthur Young: (8-15 girls age group) Gold in the 25-meter backstroke; gold in the 25-meter freestyle Jack Cannavino: (8-15 boys year old group) 4th in the 25 backstroke; silver in the 25 freestyle Spencer Rhodes (16 -21 mens age group): silver in 25 backstroke; 6th? In a very fast heat of the 25 freestyle Thomas Belmont: (22-29 mens age group) gold in the 25 backstroke; bronze in the 25 freestyle Angela Caputo: (22-29 womens age group) silver in the 25 freestyle; 5th in the 25 backstroke Daniel Hull: (8 -15 boys age group) bronze in the 25 backstroke; 4th in the 25 freestyle Even with all these accolades in tow, Foley and her athletes are already looking ahead to the next season. Now we are off to begin our summer bocce season! I am thinking we may grow that crew from 8 last summer to 20. It should be fantastic, said Christina Foley. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, and the pension fund is doing well despite relatively flat investment returns. In response to the Great Depression, the IMRF was created in 1939 by the Illinois General Assembly for municipal employees in the state. When it began, in 1941, it had just five employers and U.S. Treasury bonds valued at $5,000. Today nearly 3,000 units of government participate in IMRF, and its investment portfolio is valued at $34.5 billion, according to information provided by the IMRF. The pension fund provides benefits for death, disability and retirement. IMRF is distinct from pension programs that cover universities, state employees, teachers, the general assembly and judges. Those are funded by the state. While IMRF does not cover teachers, it does cover support personnel such as custodians, food service workers and teacher aids, according to IMRF Executive Director Louis Kosiba. Kosiba has been with the IMRF since 1988 and has been executive director since 2001. Statewide IMRF has about 174,000 active members and about 118,000 benefits recipients. The average retirement age is 63 with 24 years of service credit. That is trending up, Kosiba said in a phone interview. It used to be closer to 62. People are working longer. The average monthly pension is nearly $1,800 a month. Where does the money come from? I think a lot of taxpayers think they pay the entire cost, but the answer is a little different, Kosiba said. First of all, for every dollar a person receives in retirement, they themselves put in about 12 cents. A lot of people dont understand that public employees co-fund this benefit along with employers. For every dollar in benefits we pay, about 62 cents comes from investment earnings. And taxpayers contribute as well. The government contributes about a quarter for every dollar that we pay out in benefits. Despite the relatively flat investment returns, the average employer contribution rate for the IMRF will decrease slightly, from 11.7 percent of payroll to 11.3 percent of payroll in 2017, according to a news release from IMRF. This decrease - made possible largely due to the 40 percent lower costs associated with the Tier 2 benefit structure for new hires - comes as good news for employers, Kosiba said in the release. Tier 2 pensions will continue to reduce pension-related costs for units of government and taxpayers. IMRF is the second largest state-wide public pension plan in Illinois. Last year it paid $1.49 billion to retirees in Illinois, which resulted in nearly $2.2 billion in local economic activity, according to the news release. Eighty-five percent of our retirees remain in Illinois after they retire and contribute to the states economic cycle as they go about their everyday lives, Kosiba said. IMRFs investment returns stayed relatively flat last year, at .44 percent. Over the last five years, IMRF has earned 7.78 percent on its investments. That ranks IMRF among the top 30 percent of public pensions nationally. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Neneng Goenadi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Indonesias oil and gas industry has faced challenges. Not only have crude prices been volatile, but there have also been dramatic changes in the regulatory landscape. Despite the increase of prices in the last few months and several new incentives for the private sector, upstream oil and gas companies are looking for ways to better manage their operations. Digital technologies provide them the opportunity not only to cut costs but also to redesign their businesses to thrive in volatile market conditions. However, time and money are short, so the pressure to act decisively is growing as the current downturn lingers. Most oil companies have already taken dramatic cost-cutting measures and canceled or delayed capital projects. Yet many still feel the weight of managing their businesses under the constraints of their current organizational structure, a legacy technology footprint and traditional ways of working. Upstream companies are now realizing that traditional cost-cutting levers will not be enough and most, if not all, understand they cannot simply cut their way to future growth. Thats where digital technologies can help. In the recent 2016 Upstream Oil and Gas Digital and Technology Trends Survey, cost reduction was identified as the most important business challenge that digital tools can help address (by 72 percent of respondents) and 91 percent said that they were already getting value from their digital initiatives. More than half ( 53 percent) of the professionals surveyed said this value was high to significant. The greatest short-term cost reduction opportunities oil companies are implementing are in areas including IT, where as-a-service cloud models are reducing IT infrastructure costs, field operations where mobility is reducing costs while increasing worker productivity and field assets where basic Internet of Things (IoT) technology and analytics are helping optimize asset operations and reduce costs. The survey shows that up to the next five years oil and gas professionals believe the focus will shift to areas that deliver greater long-term value while helping them make better and faster decisions. The emphasis will be on technologies like big data/analytics, IoT and in maturing technologies such as robotics, wearables and artificial intelligence. These digital technologies will help oil and gas companies deliver greater long-term value in areas including: asset operation centers where advanced IoT and analytics will enable assets to be managed in single integrated systems; field operations where workers will become even more efficient using wearable and connected technologies; and the assets themselves where autonomous operations using automation, robotics and artificial intelligence will change how work is done. These areas still are only the beginning of the value opportunity. Upstream companies have the chance to create even more value by redesigning their businesses to operate at a completely different cost base and with greatly increased agility. They can transform traditional operating models and long held assumptions about organization structures, workforce deployment, asset strategies and their positions in the upstream value chain. Across all major upstream functions including drilling and completion, engineering and construction and operations and maintenance upstream companies can achieve significant efficiency gains and cost savings with digital technologies. On the drill floor, the evolution of automation will continue. In the field, workers armed with digital work orders on tablets and wearable devices can make digital inspections of equipment and assets much faster than traditional manual inspections, saving time and money without sacrificing safety. By redesigning these workflows and the decision points within them, upstream companies can make these functions more efficient and agile with lower cost. In asset operations, digital tools provide the opportunity to manage every well with the same data intensity and focus with which the largest oil and gas platforms are managed today and to do so at negligible cost. Advances in low-cost sensors, network communications and hyper-scale cloud platforms means that over time every well can be digitally instrumented and managed. This type of digital transformation is already occurring in the industrial equipment and retail durable goods industries. Other industries, including banking and utilities, are also transforming the back office and oil and gas companies can reduce back-office costs by redesigning these functions and leveraging digital technologies and design thinking models. These functions will become customer-centric and service the business at the lowest possible cost. Finally, across value chains, digital tools are redefining traditional boundaries and players. This is no less true for upstream companies. They have more options today regarding what parts of the value chain they want to own versus leveraging other ecosystem players, such as oilfield services companies, or new digital services companies in areas including advanced data sciences. For instance, Woodside adopted digital tools rapidly to make analytics pervasive in decision-making, establishing models specifically to drive proactive maintenance strategies and support decisions to enhance production, safety and risk management capabilities. Through statistical modelling, data management and visualization software, the huge amounts of production data are combined to deliver business insights. Upstream companies have long been pioneers by innovating and pushing boundaries using technology. Digital tools provide new opportunities to simultaneously innovate and position themselves to thrive in the new volatile market conditions and with the pace of technological change faster than ever, acting now to create a digital advantage through digital technologies is an imperative, not an option. *** The writer is the country managing director of Accenture. --------------- 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 Pierre Marthinus (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The worlds third-largest democracy will continue to reject any form of provocation and direct confrontation with China in the South China Sea. Despite repeated incidents in its exclusive economic zone and territorial waters off its Natuna Islands chain, Indonesia continues firmly on this policy path. Six compelling foreign policy considerations shape Indonesias see no China policy. First, Indonesias foreign policy priority puts a premium on economic diplomacy. Under Joko Jokowi Widodo, Indonesia consistently emphasizes its commercial interests, inbound foreign investments and future infrastructure assistance projects above pompous assertions of territorial sovereignty. Jakarta understands that China is the main economic growth engine for Southeast Asia and the larger Asian region. Similarly, Beijing acknowledges Indonesias economic centrality in Southeast Asia and its growing influence in international economic forums, like the G20. President Xi Jinping even announced Chinas Maritime Silk Road and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) plans for the first time in Indonesias legislature back in 2013. Today, Jakartas US$44 billion trade with China remains strong and first quarter investments from Beijing experienced a 400 percent increase from last year. Admittedly, Chinas 14 percent realization rate on its investment pledges is much smaller than Japan and South Koreas 70 percent realization rate. However, the growing size of Chinas gargantuan economy and its aggressive investment pledges easily offsets, even generously overcompensates for, its low realization rate. Beijings Hang Bao (red envelope) economic diplomacy keeps countries in an upbeat festive mood of economic growth while handing out incentives to child-like smaller powers and single-unmarried independent regional powers, like Indonesia, that are not yet locked into an alliance with the West. Beijing makes Indonesia its second largest investment destination after the US and is banking on Jokowis economic reform packages. Second, Indonesias foreign policy proximity gravitates toward great powers that actually have a plan for the region. Indonesias Maritime Fulcrum initiative edges closer toward Chinas Maritime Silk Road plans simply because Beijing has repeatedly proven that its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) grand design is fully backed by a strong political will at home and massive financial resources to be distributed abroad. Washington talks about maintaining its presence, rebalancing and pivoting to Asia, but its commitment tends to be overstretched or entirely misplaced. Economically, a regional trade arrangement like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which excludes the regions main engine of growth, China, makes little sense. Militarily, US and Australian insistence on conducting provocative freedom of navigation operations in the disputed waters contributes nothing to regional stability. Although Chinas grand design is imperfect and patchy, it seems to be the only game in town worth looking into. Third, Indonesias foreign policy precedent compromises its moral authority to criticize China. The incident involving Chinas coast guard by Indonesias distant outermost islands pales in comparison to Australias ongoing unilateral and military-led Operation Sovereign Borders that repeatedly tramples on Indonesian territorial waters and lands people on the shores of Indonesias most populous main island, Java. Numerous past surprise visits by US and Australian warships irritates Jakarta because they abuse the freedom of navigation in international waters rhetoric, disregarding Indonesias designated archipelagic sea lanes and contiguous maritime zone. Jakarta prefers regional and multilateral maritime initiatives that exclude external powers. Therefore, Western powers slapping freedom bumper stickers on groundless and borderline provocative military operations in the South China Sea impresses no one in Jakarta. Similarly, Indonesia has no moral authority to denounce Chinas declaration of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea because Australia had also declared and unilaterally imposed a maritime identification zone that extends 1,000 nautical miles from its shores, eating into two-thirds of Indonesias maritime territory and its most sacred internal waters, the Java Sea. Fourth, Indonesias foreign policy principle dictates an independent and active position. Jakartas flexible hedging discourages it from locking into an alliance with the West, taking sides in great power rivalries, or inviting external powers into the region by escalating tensions with China. This is why Indonesia is joining both the US-led TPP and the China-led AIIB, while welcoming both Chinese port-based infrastructure investment projects and US assistance in maritime capacity building. Indonesias see no China policy is a particular interpretation of its foreign policy principle not an abnegation of it. Indonesias 2006 Lombok Treaty with Australia is the only unjustified aberration that betrays this core foreign policy principle. Indonesia, however, can easily offset this imbalance by deepening security and defense cooperation with China and perhaps formulating a similar Natuna Treaty. Fifth, Indonesias foreign policy practice rejects Chinese military assertions in Southeast Asia, but welcomes its institution-building engagements. Currently, embryonic forms of a potential Sino-centric institutional order is emerging through the AIIB, the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralism, Chinas OBOR initiative and its Silk Road Fund, alongside numerous regional comprehensive economic partnerships in which Beijings influence is growing powerful. Lastly, Indonesias foreign policy perspective does not view China as a clear-cut security threat. Jakartas depiction of the Natuna incidents as a fishing issue was intended to downplay and reframe the incident as an economic maritime resource dispute, not a political territorial sovereignty dispute. Indonesian state oil and gas company Pertaminas plans to develop the East Natuna gas fields in maritime areas claimed by China will stir up problems down the road, but this is likely to be downplayed and reframed again as a mere maritime resource dispute. Again, Indonesia will continue to reject any form of provocation and direct confrontation with China in the South China Sea. Indonesia feels neither security nor assurance from provocative actions of distant intervening Western powers that can cause a war that will burden the region. In the meantime, Western powers must not resort to Sinophobic rhetoric of inflated security threats, simply because they are too poor to outbid Chinas Hang Bao economic diplomacy and too distracted to outmaneuver its One Belt, One Road diplomatic offensive. *** The writer is executive director of the Marthinus Academy, Jakarta. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. The ongoing revamp works have not deterred vendors from Bendungan Hilir (Benhil) market area to set up stalls selling light iftar snacks, popularly known as takjil. The street food vendors annually set up these stalls during the holy month of Ramadhan to contribute to the religious, festive atmosphere by selling takjil, while also earning extra income for their family. The street vendors sell a wide range of dishes, ranging from fried snacks like risoles (fried Indonesian spring rolls), fried tofu and tempeh, to deserts such as kolak (compote) serabi and ice fruit cocktails, to full meals including the favorite fried whole chicken. The street food vendors annually set up these stalls during the holy month of Ramadhan to contribute to the religious, festive atmosphere by selling takjil, while also earning extra income for their family.(JP/I.G. Dharma. J.S) Achmadyani, 31, is a seasoned player in the takjil business. He is a Bogor farmer who annually comes to Jakarta with his family for the Ramadhan season. For the past 11 years, Achmadyanis family has cooked large batches of fried snacks and prepared fruit cocktails to sell at the Benhil takjil market. Selling the food at a humble average price of Rp 2,000, Achmadyani has always been able to sell most of the products. Aside from the all-time popular kolak and fried foodstuffs, savory martabak (stuffed pancake) are also a big hit at his stall. With so many vendors selling fried takjil appetizers, one would wonder how each vendor strives to win customers from others. Sigit, one of the active promotion guys, shares some insight on their stalls strategy. Organization probably plays a part in it, he explains, gesturing towards the neatly-arranged trays laid out on his stall, people will be more attracted if they see that you are organized because it shows reliability and credibility. The ongoing revamp works have not deterred vendors from Bendungan Hilir (Benhil) market area to set up stalls selling light iftar snacks, popularly known as takjil.(JP/I.G. Dharma. J.S) Location matters too, apparently. Vendors located further into the tent-covered area benefit from customers who prefer shopping in a cooler atmosphere. On the other hand, vendors who wish to pull in as many passersby as possible, opt to set up on the edge of the sidewalks. Buyers visiting Benhil come from near and far. Taking advantage of the summer break, Tessyanti Wijaya, 18, had come with her family from Pekanbaru to celebrate the Ramadhan season and exploring Benhils takjil market. She says that her family was planning to buy some fried snacks, and was particularly eyeing the classic fried tempeh. Usually, takjil refers to the fried appetizer dishes, but vendor Eka, 32, is one of the very few stalls that could be seen selling full meals. When you break the fast, you need to eat a full meal with your family too right? A lot of people who come here also consider buying chicken or vegetables and thats why I choose to sell main-course dishes as opposed to deserts or appetizers, she explains. Some of the favorites at her stall are gulai otak (cows brain stew), gulai pakis and kikil. The profitability of vendors enterprises depends on the number of customers coming to the area on a particular day. Usually, the number of customers reaches its maximum between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., when most people have just finished work and are buying food to bring back either to their home or their office to carry out the buka bersama (breaking-the-fast together) tradition. Regular customer Rini had brought her co-worker Tamam along with her to Benhil to buy takjil snacks for their offices buka bersama later that day. Similarly, Mrs. Sundari, 45, also came to the Benhil market in preparation for buka bersama at her office in Bank BTN. My friend recommended that I come to Benhil, she says, Theres so many varieties here. I havent bought that many varieties, but as I bought a lot, unconsciously, Ive already spent Rp 100,000! Relatively cheap and offering an array of traditional Indonesian food, Benhil market is definitely one of the must-go places to grab some takjil to bring back and share with your loved ones this Ramadhan. (sab/asw) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Back in the 1950s and 1980s, great and memorable movies were released in Indonesia and are still relevant today. These are five classic movies that you should watch to get that the nostalgic feeling of Indonesian film in the old days. Darah dan Doa (1950) Darah dan Doa (The Long March) is perceived as Indonesias first national movie. Directed and written by Usmar Ismail, it is set after Indonesias declaration of independence and tells the story of Sudarto (Del Juzar), a teacher who becomes the leader of the Siliwangi Division, a unit of the Indonesian Army. In 1948, the troops return from Yogyakarta to its base in West Java. Along the journey, a conflict is added to the story as the married Sudarto falls in love with another woman. (Read also: 5 local TV series that we miss) Tiga Dara (1956) Tiga Dara is a drama, comedy and musical also directed by Usmar Ismail. The film focuses on the lives of three sisters with very different personalities: Nunung (Chitra Dewi), Nana (Mieke Wijaya) and Nenny (Indriaty Iskak). As the first daughter, the quiet Nunung is often pushed by her grandmother to marry as soon as possible. The story becomes more complicated when two men, Herman (Bambang Irawan) and Toto (Raden Sukarno), enter the girls lives. In 2016, one of Indonesia's renowned director, Nia Dinata, announced plans to remake Tiga Dara. The movie is slated to cast Shanty, Tara Basro and Tatyana Akman. Catatan Si Boy (1987) Directed by Nasri Cheppy, the iconic Catatan Si Boy (Boys Diary) is one of the local movies that portrays young Indonesians living in the 1980s, especially wealthy ones. The main character, Boy (Onky Alexander), is likely the most perfect man that every girl wants as a boyfriend: charming, religious and sociable. Also, he comes from a rich family. However, Boys life is turned upside down when his girlfriend, Nuke (Ayu Azhari), decides to move to London. While Boy struggles to get over Nuke, a new girl, Vera (Meriam Bellina), enters the picture. Prior to the movie, Catatan Si Boy was a radio drama aired on Prambors radio in the 1980s. Following the film's success, five sequels were made. (Read also: 10 classic TV shows to watch on Netflix) Ratu Ilmu Hitam (1981) Ratu Ilmu Hitam (The Queen of Black Magic) is a horror movie starring the legendary Suzanna. Directed by Imam Tantowi, Ratu Ilmu Hitam follows Murni (Suzanna), who is accused of practicing black magic. Following an incident, a stranger saves Murni and suggests she take vengeance against her tormentors by casting black magic spells on them. Gengsi Dong (1980) Warkop DKI (an abbreviation of its members names: Dono, Kasino, Indro) was arguably the most memorable and legendary comedy group in Indonesia. In Gengsi Dong, which was directed by Nawi Ismail, Slamet (Dono) is portrayed as a rich yet innocent young village man, Sanwani (Kasino) as a man who tries to appear rich and Paijo (Indro) who is arrogant yet very funny. The three men later compete against each other to win the affections of Rita (Camelia Malik), their lecturers daughter. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 16 2016 The Jakarta administration has expressed an interest in procuring 100 buses from German automotive company Mercedes-Benz to add to the Transjakarta fleet. The buses, however, would have to meet specifications required by the administration, said Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama on Wednesday. If the company can make good buses with the specifications, we will immediately order 100 units, Ahok 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 Fathers check an information board to find out whether their children are listed as recipients of school grants at the village office of Sariak Alahan Tigo in Solok regency, West Sumatra, on Wednesday. As many as 321 elementary school students, 179 junior high school students and 72 vocational school students got the grants. Eligible elementary school students will receive Rp 225,000 each, while junior high school students will get Rp 375,000 and vocational students Rp 500,000.(JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb)(JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, June 16 2016 The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that it had found no indication of graft behind the Jakarta administrations purchase of land from health foundation Sumber Waras worth Rp 775.69 billion (US$58 million) in 2014, asking that the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) explain its audit of the case. In the second-day hearing with the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the KPK said it would invite auditors from the BPK to explain their finding that the land purchase had caused state losses of Rp 191 billion. We will invite at least two institutions to explain the matter. One of them is the BPK, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said in the hearing with House Commission III overseeing security, human rights and legal affairs, without mentioning the other institution. 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) Semarang Thu, June 16 2016 Darwati, alias Zulfa, a housemaid accused of stealing valuable possessions, including gold jewelry and household equipment, from her employers has admitted that the robbery was planned before she was hired. Darwati, who committed the robbery on May 5 but was only caught by the Semarang Police recently, said in her police statement that she had been committing robberies along with a male accomplice, Tejo, for quite some time. Before robbing the family on Jl. Pamularsi, the couple robbed a family in Tembalang area, also in Semarang. I had worked for the family on Jl. Pamularsih for only three days, but I already knew where they kept their valuables. When the family was out, I took all the valuables, locked the house and fled with Tejo, who had been waiting for me with his motorcycle, Zulfa told reporters at the Semarang Police headquarters. 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 Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Thu, June 16 2016 The North Sumatra Police will investigate personnel who are alleged to have committed extortion and violence against members of the public, resulting in injuries and deaths. Violent acts committed by police personnel are considered a serious threat to the public, particularly as the police are armed with guns. A drug suspect was recently found dead after alleged torture in police detention, while another died trying to escape police gunfire. 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 (Associated Press) UN Fri, June 17, 2016 U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and 16 other United Nations envoys have visited the landmark Stonewall Inn, where the modern gay rights movement was sparked, and vowed to step up their fight for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people. Standing in the gay bar that was the scene of a 1969 police raid that set off riots and galvanized the gay rights movement, Power said Thursday that being LGBT is criminalized in many countries and some impose the death penalty for loving someone of the same sex. "Vigilante violence that is not contested by the state is something that is extremely prevalent," she added. Netherlands U.N. Ambassador Karel van Oosterom said Sunday's mass killing in a gay bar in Orlando "shows a vulnerability that we need to address urgently." (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama on Friday shook up the city bureaucracy by inaugurating 513 new Jakarta administration officials to replace civil servants he deemed incapable of improving bureaucratic performance. Among the replaced officials are City Parks and Cemeteries Agency head Ratna Diah Kurniati, who Ahok said had failed to carry out land acquisition for various projects, and Information and Technology Agency head Ii Karunia, who missed the target of installing 6,000 CCTV cameras in the capital. Ratna was replaced by Djafar Muchlisin and Ii Kurnia was replaced by Dian Ekowati. Ii admitted that he had been replaced over his failure to meet the target set by the governor: "This is probably because my working performance was not satisfying enough. There are targets I have failed to reach. The newly inaugurated civil servants include 12 officials in Echelon II positions, 95 in Echelon III positions and 406 officials in Echelon IV positions. The positions of the replaced officials range from agency heads (Echelon II) to subdistrict heads (Echelon IV). Among the new Echelon II officials are Wahyu Hariadi, who replaced Rustan Effendi following the latters recent resignation, Dian Ekowati as head of the Communication, Information and Public Relation Agency and Benni Agus Chandra as head of the City Spatial Planning Agency. Echelon II and Echelon III officials, respectively, are district and subdistrict heads, city officials that are in the front line in the city public services. The governor admitted in the past that there were many inept officials in the city bureaucracy that needed to be replaced. (vps/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Supporters of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama have informed the Constitutional Court on their intention to file a judicial review if a revised regional elections bill is passed into law. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on June 2. As of Friday, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has not signed the bill into law; therefore the judicial review request has not yet been filed. Ahok supporters grouped under Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), the Independent Candidate National Movement (GNCI) and the New Indonesia Awakening (KIB) group visited the Constitutional Court on Friday. The groups were particularly concerned about stipulations in the bill that only voters included on the voters lists from the previous election were eligible to lend their support to independent candidates by providing a photocopy of their identity cards, Amalia Ayuningtyas of Teman Ahok said as reported by kompas.com at the Constitutional Court. The groups also questioned a rule requiring supporters to show up at the polling committee within three days in case committee members failed to meet them at their homes for ID verification, she added. Meanwhile, Ahok said he had not been informed about the plan by his supporters to approach the Constitutional Court. They did not consult me [before going to the court], said Ahok, adding that it was not unusual for Teman Ahok to make decisions without his knowledge. Ahok said Cyrus Network CEO Hasan Nasbi, his political adviser, had been informed on the decision. Teman Ahoks actions have nothing to do with me. They play by themselves, Ahok added. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama expressed his appreciation on Friday to Indonesian philanthropist Dato Sri Tahir for his support for the city administration by donating five double-decker buses. We hope other companies will do the same thing for a better Jakarta, Ahok said at the City Hall. The Jakarta administration will use the buses for free-of-charge thematic tours of the city. This is the second donation of large-capacity buses by Tahir, one of Indonesias wealthiest tycoons, after the same number of buses was handed over by the Tahir Foundation -- Tahir's philanthropy entity -- two years ago. In 2013, Tahir contributed more than US$100 million to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization that provides funding for efforts to fight major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio and malaria. (vps/dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu, Central Sulawesi Fri, June 17, 2016 An alleged follower of Indonesia's most-wanted terrorist Santoso was arrested by the Operation Tinombala task force on Thursday evening in a village in Poso Pesisir subdistrict, Poso regency, Central Sulawesi. Security personnel arrested Samil, aka Nunung, at 6:50 p.m. after maghrib prayer, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said on Thursday. "He was arrested when hiding at his familys house in Lape village, Tamanjeka," he said, adding that a local tipped off security personnel about Samil's presence in the village. After receiving the information around 2 p.m., Operation Tinombala personnel confirmed the news by visiting the village. After establishing Samil's whereabouts, security personnel from several posts gathered in Tamanjeka to conduct a raid and apprehend Samil. Rudy did not provide further details about Samil's return to the village. Samil was taken to Lape village by security personnel for further questioning. Following the arrest, the number of East Indonesia Mujahidin terrorist group members, led by Santoso, is believed to be down to 20 people. The guerilla group, which is hiding in mountainous forested areas of Poso and is notorious for security disturbances and violence against the police, is the target of the 3,500-member Operation Tinombala, launched in January. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti has shrugged off seniority issues around the nomination of the three-star general Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian to take up the top police post, citing the latters satisfactory track record. Badrodin welcomed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to nominate National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Tito as the sole candidate to be his successor to the House of Representatives. "I think [Tito's nomination] is right since he excels in his academic background, managerial, technical, professional and communication skills," Badrodin said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. He dismissed suggestions that there would be resistance within the police body as the 51-year-old Tito had leap-frogged his seniors to be granted four-star rank, since all top police officials had also acknowledged his stellar accomplishments. Badrodin said he would gather all police personnel at the National Police headquarters on Monday to deliberate the official stance on Tito's sole candidacy, in order to forestall dissent within the force over the President's decision. The former Jakarta Police chief will have to get the approval of the House of Representatives before being officiated as the National Police chief. There is as yet no detailed schedule on when the House will conduct its examination of Tito. (afr/rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The effect of a possible withdrawal by the UK from the EU, known as Brexit, is unlikely to have a significant effect on the Indonesian economy, a senior central bank official has said. Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Perry Warjiyo said that according the central bank's assessment, although the result of a UK vote on its EU membership, scheduled on June 23, would impact the global economy, the impact on emerging economies would be limited. "So far we believe that the impact will not be significant on Indonesia," Perry said on Friday. He said BI expected Indonesia's macro economy to remain resilient and healthy despite the turmoil in the global economy in recent years. The government's series of economic policy packages and BI's monetary and macro prudential easing will further strengthen the economic growth in the country, he said. "These three things will withstand the impact of Brexit on Indonesia so the impact will not be too significant," he added. According to Perry, Brexit will only cause global investors to shift from UK bonds to other safe markets, such as the EU. In addition, it will cause the British pound to depreciate, while at the same time, the euro is likely to appreciate. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Deb Riechmann (Associated Press) Washington Fri, June 17, 2016 The U.S. battle against the Islamic State has not yet curbed the group's global reach and as pressure mounts on the extremists in Iraq and Syria, they are expected to plot more attacks on the West and incite violence by lone wolves, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday. In a rare open hearing, Brennan gave the Senate intelligence committee an update on the threat from Islamic extremists and shared his views on a myriad of other topics, including encryption, Russia and Syria. Brennan said IS has worked to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, as in the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels ones the CIA believes were directed by the top IS leaders. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan said, using a different acronym for the group. "Furthermore, as we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers who have no direct links to the group." Brennan said the CIA has not been able to uncover any direct link between the Orlando shooter and a foreign terrorist organization. He said the U.S.-led coalition has killed IS leaders, forced the group to surrender large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and that fewer fighters are traveling to Syria and others have defected. While the group's ability to raise money has been thwarted, it still generates at least tens of millions of dollars every month, mostly from taxation and sales of crude oil on black markets in Syria and Iraq. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," he said. He said IS is slowly cultivating its branches into an interconnected global network and that the number of IS fighters now far exceeds what al-Qaida had at its peak. The CIA estimates there are 18,000 to 22,000 IS fighters in Syria and Iraq down from about 33,000 last year. The branch in Libya, with between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters, is the most advanced and most dangerous, but IS is trying to increase its influence in Africa, Brennan said. He said Boko Haram is now the IS branch in West Africa and has several thousand fighters. Brennan described the IS branch in the Sinai as the most active and capable terrorist group in Egypt, attacking Egyptian military and government targets as well as foreigners and tourists, such as in the downing of a Russian passenger jet last October. The Yemen branch, with several hundred fighters, has been riven with factionalism. And the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch, also with hundreds of fighters, has struggled to maintain its cohesion, in part because of competition with the Taliban, he said. The issue of encryption arose several times during the nearly two-hour hearing. Law enforcement officials say data encryption is making it harder to hunt for terror suspects and intercept their messages. They say they need access to encrypted communications and that tech companies should maintain the ability to unlock the data from their customers. They face fierce opposition from Silicon Valley companies that say encryption safeguards their customers' privacy rights and protects them from hackers, corporate spies and other breaches. Lawmakers have weighed in on both sides of the dispute and are working to find the appropriate role for government in an area where the private sector operates the internet. Committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said the "feud between the tech companies and the intelligence community and law enforcement has to stop." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said that requiring companies to build back doors into their products to weaken strong encryption will put the personal safety of Americans at risk. "I want to make it clear I will fight such a policy with everything I have," Wyden said. In the House, wary lawmakers on Thursday rejected a measure that would have prohibited the U.S. government from searching the online communications of Americans without a warrant. The vote came days after the mass shooting in Florida. Opponents of the amendment to the annual defense spending bill said the measure would have blocked investigators from searching lawfully collected information to determine whether the Orlando gunman had contacted terrorists overseas. The CIA chief embraced a bill that seeks to set up a commission to bring together intelligence, law enforcement and the business and tech communities to work on the issue. Brennan also expressed his views on other issues. He said Russian military forces have bolstered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are carrying out attacks against the U.S.-backed forces trying to unseat him. He said Assad is in a stronger position now than he was in June 2015 and that the agreed cessation of violence is "holding by a thread." Brennan said individuals within the CIA have been held accountable for problems in the agency's former detention and interrogation program set up after Sept. 11. He said he could elaborate in a classified setting. He also confirmed a May report in The Wall Street Journal that the data mining company, Dataminr Inc., had ended its contract with the CIA. The New York-based company, which monitors information streaming across Twitter and sends alerts to clients, continues to provide data to Russia Today, a television network backed by the Russian government. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Bright outlook: Indonesian conglomerate Harita Group representative Hidayat Sugiarto (left to right), bauxite miner Cita Mineral Investindo director Robby Irvan, president director Liem Hok Seng, director Yusak Parded, commissioner Harry Tanoto and commissioner Kartiko Sunu prepare for a photograph during a public expose following Cita Mineral Investindos annual shareholders meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) Bauxite mining company Cita Mineral Investindo will become the countrys first alumina producer following the completion of its new smelter. The publicly listed firm, part of natural resources conglomerate Harita Group, will begin the production of smelter grade alumina (SGA) at its smelter in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, within days. CITA president director Liem Hok Seng claimed that Indonesia would be on par with its counterparts in that field, namely China, Russia, Australia and the US, thanks to the first SGA-type alumina production. This move certainly creates added value to locally-mined bauxite, which in the past had to be processed overseas into SGA-type alumina and then exported again to Indonesia to create aluminum, he said on Thursday. The US$1.15 billion-smelter is built by Well Harvest Winning Alumina Refinery (WHW). WHW is a joint venture between CITA, the worlds largest aluminum producer China Hongqiao Group Ltd. and its subsidiary Shandong Weiqiao Aluminium and Electricity Co. Ltd. and energy consultancy firm Winning Investment (HK) Company Ltd. CITA and China Hongqiao control 30 percent and 56 percent, respectively, of the shares in WHW. Winning Investment holds 9 percent, while Shandong Weiqiao owns the remaining 5 percent. CITA has majority stakes in Harita Prima Abadi Mineral and Karya Utama Tambangjaya, two bauxite miners that will supply main raw materials to its smelter to produce the SGA alumina. In the first phase, the smelter will produce one million tons of alumina per year with CITAs own coal-fired power plant supplying 80 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the production. CITA will also complement the smelter with ports, boarding houses and other infrastructure to accommodate at least 2,500 workers for the facility. WHW aims to being exports of the product in July. CITA commissioner Harry K. Tanoto said the company was currently in the process of expanding the new smelter in a second phase of the project. The expansion is expected to conclude in 2018. The company is seeking additional bank loans to partially finance the $350 million expansion. Harry said eight lenders, local and foreign, had expressed interest in financing the project. The rest of the funds will come from internal funds. By 2018, the smelter will have a production capacity of two million tons of alumina. Electricity supply to the smelter will increase as well to a total of 160 MW. With that capacity, CITA will be able to supply alumina to state-owned aluminum-maker Inalum, which currently imports alumina, mostly from Australia, the biggest bauxite producer in the world. Indonesia produced around 300 million tons of bauxite last year, ranking it fourth behind Australia, China and Brazil. CITA independent director and corporate secretary Yusak L. Pardede said its financial performance might improve this year following the initial alumina production at its smelter as well as alumina shipments. Last year, CITA suffered a 91.7 percent drop in revenue to Rp 13.9 billion after the government imposed regulations prohibiting mining companies from exporting mineral ores. It only allows exports of mineral concentrate of certain levels if the companies agree to build smelters by 2017. The export ban eventually led to CITA posting Rp 341.03 billion in losses in 2015. 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 Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Saut Situmorang leaves a police office in Jakarta on Thursday after being questioned over alleged defamation. The Islamic Students Association (HMI) reported Saut to the police for a statement deemed to have discredited the group. Saut said many students, including those of the HMI, became corrupt after getting positions or jobs.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)(KPK) deputy chairman Saut Situmorang leaves a police office in Jakarta on Thursday after being questioned over alleged defamation. The Islamic Students Association (HMI) reported Saut to the police for a statement deemed to have discredited the group. Saut said many students, including those of the HMI, became corrupt after getting positions or jobs.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama) TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Jakarta: Salim Groups decision to enter the poultry feed business in Indonesia in a bid to expand has yet to deter publicly listed poultry firm Charoen Pokphand Indonesia which currently holds 34 percent of the market share. Charoen Indonesia voiced optimism that its parent company, Charoen Pokhand Group, will support the company, especially in terms of technology. The Thailand-based conglomerate is currently one of the biggest poultry business players in the world. We have not prepared any special strategy to anticipate their entrance into the market. We welcome newcomers in the competition, said Charoen Pokphand Indonesia president director Tjiu Thomas Effendy on Wednesday. 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 Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The State Intelligence Law would need to be revised if the Defense Ministry decided to form its own spy body, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso said on Thursday. "The law states that the actor in defense intelligence is within the Indonesian Military, namely the military's Strategic Intelligence Agency [BAIS]," Sutiyoso told journalists. The Defense Ministry has yet to contact BIN to deliberate the plan, but Sutiyoso warned that the consequences of establishing a new agency could burden the ministry in terms of budget and human resources. He said the central intelligence committee which gathers all spy bodies in the country including those under the National Police, the Indonesian Military, the Attorney General's Office and numerous ministries met and coordinated at least once a month. However, Sutiyoso said, the Defense Ministry might not regularly receive information on the meetings from BAIS and, therefore, saw the need to establish its own intelligence body. If the ministry's needs could in fact be accommodated by existing intelligence bodies, Sutiyoso said officials should try to enhance coordination so that a new spy agency did not need to be established. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The European Commission removed bans against three Indonesian airlines on Thursday, allowing them to offer flights in European airspace, an ambassador has said. The commission, the regulatory arm of the EU, has updated its Air Safety List and decided to lift a ban on low-cost carriers Citilink and Lion Air as well as full-service carrier Batik Air, EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam Vincent Guerend said on Friday. The EU Air Safety List, used to ensure the highest level of air safety for European citizens, is a list of airlines that fail to meet international standards and have been banned from operating within the European Union. I am delighted that three airlines certified in Indonesia are cleared from the list, Guerend said at a press conference on Friday. The decision was made following an EU on-site safety assessment carried out in April. Furthermore, information provided by the air transportation director general at the Transportation Ministry and the managements of the three carriers on safety and operational management supported the decision. The lifting of the ban would benefit EU and Indonesia relations to increase tourism, trade and investments, Guerend added. The EU had lifted a ban on flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Airfast Indonesia, Ekspres Transportasi Antarbenua (Premiair) in 2009 and Indonesia AirAsia in 2010. (sha/rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Fri, June 17 2016 After 14 years of closure, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has officially reopened its Medan-Singapore route to boost foreign arrivals at the North Sumatran capital. The route will enable Garuda passengers to travel from the Kualanamu International Airport to the Changi International Airport in Singapore and vice versa. Garuda president director Arif Wibowo said that the reoperation of the route was part of Garudas business strategy to expand the number of its international flights, as well as to bolster visits from neighboring countries by taking advantage of the era of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This strategic route is expected to further boost tourism growth in North Sumatra, he said during his speech at the route inauguration on Tuesday. The carrier uses Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft with a capacity of 162 seats to operate one round trip a day, with a possibility to add more flights if demand increases. Garuda ended its Medan-Singapore flight in 2002 because of low public interest only a year after the route was established at the former Polonia International Airport, now the Soewondo Air Force Base. Following the route reoperation, the publicly listed company will join other airlines, such Lion Air, JetStar and Batik Air, which already operate on the Medan-Singapore route. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the flight would help foreign visitors acknowledge the attractive tourism destinations in North Sumatra. One of them is the 100-kilometer-long Lake Toba, which is Southeast Asias biggest lake and a priority tourism destination set by the government. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), North Sumatra welcomed only 64,504 foreign visitors during the first four months of 2016, down 18 percent from last years figure of 79,098. Singaporean visitors to North Sumatra amounted to 3,887 in the period, lower than the 4,188 visitors a year ago. The government targets 1 million foreign visitors to Medan after the route is opened, Arief said, adding that he hoped the reopening of the route would also promote the governments free visa facility that was issued last March to 169 countries. A Medan-based tour agent, Tandeanus Sukardi, expressed hope that the new schedule would be the first step for Garuda to connect the route to European flights. Garuda has Amsterdam and London flights through Singapore. Hopefully this will result in better flight connections to Medan for European visitors, he told The Jakarta Post. As a travel agent, he acknowledged that so far Singaporean tourists found North Sumatra attractive, particularly top destinations like the mentioned Lake Toba, Berastagi town, and Taman Simalem Resort. There are roughly 15 Singaporeans using my agencys services every week, he said. (adt) ------------- 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 Agnes Anya, Haeril Halim and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama lost his bright smile on Thursday when he had to respond to an accusation that Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), a group of his supporters, had accepted Rp 30 billion (US$2.3 million) from a developer involved in a northern Jakarta reclamation project. Ahok called the report, which quoted a House of Representatives politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Junimart Girsang, a mean political accusation. It is lucky for him that he is a lawmaker so I cant sue him. He has the impunity to say anything in a House forum, Ahok said. However, politically his statement is mean. Insisting that Teman Ahok had accepted nothing from any reclamation developer, Ahok demanded Junimart come up with evidence. On Wednesday, Junimart said during a hearing with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) at the House that Teman Ahok had accepted money from a developer that was involved in one of the Jakarta Bay reclamation projects, which are currently on hold because of overlapping regulations. We received information that Rp 30 billion from a reclamation developer went to Teman Ahok. Moreover, the funds were disbursed through Sunny Tanuwijaya and Cyrus. Please respond to this, Junimart said, referring to Ahoks adviser Sunny Tanuwidjaja and political consultancy firm Cyrus Network. Ahok fired back, stating that the allegation was another attempt to sway public opinion so that he would be looked upon as an underhanded official. Ahok was recently cleared of graft allegations involving land acquisition for a cancer hospital after the KPK announced that it had found no irregularities in the deal, which was reported by a watchdog group based on an audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK). Teman Ahok, meanwhile, was shocked by the accusation as the volunteers had been raising funds to support Ahok in his bid for re-election in 2017 through the sale of merchandise only, said Teman Ahok spokesman Singgih Widyastono. We are shocked by news, but we are ready if the KPK wants to investigate us. We are sure that we are in the right as all of our funds are from merchandise sales, Singgih said, adding that Teman Ahok had kept sales and bank account records. Despite the allegation, Teman Ahok is still upbeat that it will be able to collect 1 million copies of identity cards by Sunday to enable Ahok to run in the gubernatorial election on an independent ticket. The allegation, he said, would not affect support for Ahok. Like Teman Ahok, Sunny also said the report was a complete lie. Nothing like that happened. Its not true. I was not asked about it by investigators during todays questioning. Todays questioning was just like the previous session in which I was asked about the reclamation bylaws, Sunny said after being questioned on Thursday at the KPK office. Meanwhile, KPK commissioners said that the antigraft body could open an investigation into the report. Despite no evidence being provided by Junimart, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo pledged that the antigraft body would start an investigation into the report. However, KPK deputy chairwoman Basaria Pandjaitan dismissed Agus pledge, saying that the KPK did not merely accept reports but needed to verify allegations before deciding whether to open an investigation. The process is not instant. We first receive information and then our officials in the public complaints division follow up on it. We collect and verify data in the field first during the follow up. If our team thinks that it is important to open an investigation then we do so, Basaria said. __________________________________ 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 (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 With Idul Fitri to begin in less than a month, the Manpower Ministry has assured that workers in the formal sector will receive their holiday bonuses (THR), with the issuance of two ministerial decrees. The first decree, which was issued on March 8, ensures the granting of the bonus even for those who have only worked for a month. The decree is a major breakthrough from a previous regulation, which required at least three months of full-time work in order to get the bonus. 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 Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The government is looking to improve the immigration system used to send Indonesian workers to work in Hong Kong in light of complaints of legal problems caused to a number of migrant workers by the current Immigration Management and Information System (SIMKIM). Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly met with Hong Kong officials and stakeholders in the city on Thursday to discuss the implementation of SIMKIM. "The President has asked me and the law and human rights minister to take strategic steps to address the side effects of the implementation of SIMKIM," Retno said during a meeting with Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong, according to a statement released by the ministry on Friday. The ministers met with Hong Kong acting chief executive John Tsang to discuss improvements to the new system. Indonesian migrant workers have complained that SIMKIM causes long delay times in the creation of passports as it requires them to go back and forth to Indonesian representative offices; the system has also caused a number of migrant workers to face legal problems by the Hong Kong authorities over mismatched data. The Foreign Ministry has assigned an additional team for immigration services, while the Law and Human Rights Ministry has sent additional SIMKIM equipment in an attempt to resolve the issue, Retno said. During the meeting with Tsang, Retno and Yasonna urged the Hong Kong authorities to refrain from prosecuting any migrant workers involved in cases of passport data changes. Further, the government is also committed to improving passport services to its citizens by carrying out technological innovations at the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Hong and simplifying processes. "The implementation of SIMKIM is part of government efforts to improve security in passport production and to ensure that Indonesian passports meet international standards," Yasonna told the assembled migrant workers. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 The Jakarta Police narcotics division destroyed on Thursday drugs worth Rp 125 billion (US$9.33 million) that had been confiscated in police raids on three different occasions from March to May. Jakarta Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Nandang Jumantara said the drugs comprised 4.8 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 72 tins of liquid methamphetamine and 109,700 ecstasy pills. Meanwhile, Jakarta Police narcotics division chief Sr. Comr. John Turman Panjaitan explained that five suspects, including two foreigners, had been involved in the drug cases. 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 Rodrigo Chaves and Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 In many countries around the world, urbanization has gone hand in hand with greater life satisfaction, efficiency, innovation and productivity. Well-managed urbanization can create the space for economic growth, jobs, higher incomes and reduced poverty. The examples of Singapore and South Korea show how this can be achieved in the space of a few decades. Indonesia can also capitalize on the tremendous opportunities brought by rapid urbanization. As Indonesias cities grow at a rate of 4.1 percent, likely becoming home to 68 percent of the countrys population by the year 2025, they can create better jobs for millions of rural poor. Cities in Indonesia already account for 89 percent of the 20 million jobs created between 2001 and 2011. 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 Fri, June 17, 2016 The House of Representatives has decided to postpone until Monday a plenary meeting that would pave the way for Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian to helm the National Police, citing technical issues. Several political party factions at the House demanded the plenary meeting be held next Monday from the initial plan of Thursday, House Speaker Ade Komarudin said. The request was made during the House's executives meeting (Rapim). "I see no problem with the delay. It's a matter of technical issues and will not disturb the screening test scheduled for National Police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian," he said at the House complex in Jakarta on Thursday. The plenary meeting is scheduled to hear both the results of discussions on the revised 2016 priorities for the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) and the 2015-2019 revised Prolegnas as well as the second amendment to the House's 2014 code of conduct. "Some factions thought the plenary meeting was too sudden. A delay is needed for a maximal result," said Yandri Susanto, secretary of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction. The House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs, human rights and security is scheduled to carry out a screening for Tito next Wednesday, as part of the Houses process to select a new National Police chief. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Indonesia and Hong Kong have intensified cooperation on immigration and employment by establishing a joint working group to address various issues faced by Indonesians residing in Hong Kong. "Cooperation in employment and immigration between Indonesia and Hong Kong is important for both parties," Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said during a meeting with Hong Kong Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok, according to a statement on Thursday. Retno also expressed her concerns to Lai Tung-kwok regarding legal cases related to the implementation of the countrys Immigration Management and Information System, in which several citizens have been accused of providing false information due to mismatched data on their passports and visas. In response, Lai Tung-kwok said strong bilateral relations between Chinas special administrative region and Indonesia would help solve such problems. The Hong Kong government welcomed the minister's proposal to strengthen cooperation in the field of immigration through a memorandum of understanding between related institutions. The newly established working group is a collaboration between the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Immigration office. According to the ministry's data, there are currently 168,000 Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong, the second biggest group of overseas workers after the Philippines. Earlier this month, Hong Kong immigration authorities investigated a number of Indonesian citizens for allegedly providing falsified personal information on their passports, some of whom have been issued with amended documents, while others face criminal prosecution. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The Air Force has suspended the operation of its NAS-332 L1 Super Puma helicopters for safety reasons. Air Force spokesman First Marshal Wieko Sofyan said on Friday that the Air Force chief of staff, Marshal Agus Supriatna, had instructed the suspension pending the result of study by the Air Forces flight and work safety team. We have to ground all the choppers in anticipation of potential accidents. The Air Force chief of staff has also instructed thorough checks on all the helicopters and to analyze and evaluate the results, Wieko said as quoted by Antara news agency. Wieko attributed the suspension to a crash involving an Airbus Super Puma helicopter off the coast of Norway last month, apparently due to technical reasons, killing all 13 on board. The crash, according to Wieko, had prompted Europe's air safety agency EASA earlier this month to prohibit all flights by Airbus Helicopters H225 LP and AS332 L2 helicopters as a precautionary measure. The agency also ordered inspections of the suspension of the main gear box and it attachments, a malfunction in which appeared to have played a role in the Norwegian crash. The Air Force has been operating several NAS 332 L1 Super Puma choppers, produced in 1998 by Eurocopter of France, since 2002 as part of the Atang Sendjaja air base air squadron 6 in Bogor, West Java and Halim Perdanakusuma airbase air squadron 45 VVIP in East Jakarta. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ina Parlina and Ruslan Sangaji (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Palu Fri, June 17 2016 I was nervous because it was the President himself who inaugurated me, said Sudarto, shortly after being installed as the new Central Sulawesi deputy governor by President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Thursday. During the ceremony at the State Palace, the retired military officer made a gesture that made Jokowi giggle. Governor Longki Djanggola appeared confused by the wrong movement of his deputy, yet he proceeded with the procession. Even for Sudarto, an incumbent deputy governor in Central Sulawesi who twice led Banggai regency in Central Sulawesi as its regent between 1996 to 2005, it was an honor to be sworn in by the President. 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 Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Because we all know he received the Adhi Makayasa award, President Joko Jokowi Widodo said, defending the unprecedented promotion of Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian as his sole nominee to become the next National Police chief. All recipients of the prestigious Adhi Makayasa award, given to top graduates from the police and military academies, are seen as future leaders of the two forces. 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 Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Fri, June 17 2016 Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, was temporarily closed for all flights for an hour on Thursday from 7:24 a.m. to 8:24 a.m. local time due to a thick wet particle fog. Airport spokesperson Wisnu Budi Setianto said the closure was decided on solely for security reasons, because visibility at the airport was only 200 meters due to the thick fog. The visibility in the morning was very bad, Wisnu told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. 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 Fri, June 17, 2016 A lawmaker is pushing the government to immediately sign the bill containing revisions of the 2015 Regional Elections Law so that it can be used for public purposes. The House of Representatives had passed the draft revision of the Regional Elections Law on June 2. However, the bill has not yet been signed into law and numbered by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration. The future law will be needed for the second stage of the simultaneous regional elections that are to take place in several provinces in February 2017, as the preparations for the elections would be starting this year, lawmaker Ateria Dahlan from Commission II overseeing internal affairs said on Friday. "We hope the numbering doesn't take too long because the law will be the reference for rule-making in the election," lawmaker Arteria Dahlan of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told journalists at the House complex. Jokowi needs to sign the bill before it becomes law. The Constitution stipulates that after a bill has been jointly approved by the legislature and the government, if President does not sign it into law within 30 days then it automatically becomes law without his signature. House Commission II chairman Rambe Kamarulzaman claimed the House had forwarded the bill to Jokowi on June 10 through the State Secretariat. However, the Home Ministry's director general of regional autonomy, Sumarsono, said on Thursday that the government had not yet received the bill from the House of Representatives. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Albert Burhan - Citilink president director (JP/Jerry Adiguna) Low-cost carriers Lion Air and Citilink will not fly to Europe anytime soon even though they have obtained clearance to enter the region following the removal of a ban by the European Commission. The ban was imposed in 2007 and lifted on Thursday. However, for the airlines, the removal is considered more of a prestige issue as their safety standards are now recognized internationally. Lion Air Group CEO Edward Sirait said that with the acknowledgment, the airline could now enter any countrys market, claiming that it had been serious about addressing various aspects of its operations. The airlines operational director Daniel Putut backed his colleague, saying that Lion Air and Batik Air another airline in the group had the capacity to fulfill aviation safety requirements based on the assessment of the European Commission. The commissions announcement came amid a string of recent domestic incidents involving Lion Air. Last month alone, the airline found itself in hot water over two incidents stemming from mismanagement. Some 300 of the airlines pilots abruptly went on strike on May 10 to protest the late disbursement of their monthly accommodation allowances, causing delays at various airports, including the major gateway of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. On the same day, the airline mistakenly transferred passengers arriving on an international flight from Singapore to a domestic terminal at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten, resulting in at least 16 foreign passengers skipping immigration checks. As a consequence, the Transportation Ministry slapped a sanction on Lion Air, forbidding the airline from opening new routes for six months, as well as threatening to revoke its ground-handling permit at Soekarno-Hatta if it failed to comply with the ministrys recommendations. Despite its long list of incidents, Lion Air maintains the largest market share in the domestic aviation sector. Last year, for instance, it secured a 45-percent share of total domestic passengers, according to data released by the Transportation Ministry. Its closest rival, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, secured 38.2 percent of the market. Edward said the economic situation would play an important role in determining its flight path to Europe. It doesnt seem profitable for us now, he said. Citilink president director Albert Burhan said the ban removal opened the door for the firm which is a subsidiary of Garuda to establish relations with new corporate clients, without necessarily expanding routes to Europe. Safety is the selling point of Citilink. Now companies can feel more comfortable partnering with us because we are internationally recognized, he said. Meanwhile, the ban removal does not mean that Indonesia is relieved of its tasks, said aviation expert Gerry Soejatman. He said the airline regulator still had to resolve many safety issues, pointing out that 52 other airlines were still banned from entering European territory. The regulator must also improve aviation safety standards, after it was downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2007. At the time, the FAA lowered Indonesias aviation safety to category 2, claiming it lacked the regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards. 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 Margareth S. Aritonang and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 The lack of recognition from peer spy bodies has led the Defense Ministry (MoD) to seek political back-up directly from President Joko Jokowi Widodo through the establishment of a defense intelligence agency. The agency itself will not be a totally new division in the ministry because it currently has a National Strategic Agency (Bainstranas), the job of which is also to formulate strategies to counter threats to the country. Bainstranas head Maj. Gen. Paryanto told a media briefing on Thursday that his division needed an official change of name in order to justify its role in intelligence activities. 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 Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Financial technology (fintech) services are upbeat about their growth prospects on the back of large room for expanding financial inclusion in a country where less than half of the adult population have access to banking services. Mobile point of sales (mPos) provider Cashlez and pawning website pinjam.co.id are two of the fintech firms that are optimistic about seeing their businesses grow this year after only preparing operations last year. Cashlez targets to distribute 6,000 mobile payment devices (dongle), which act as electronic data capture devices (EDCs), this year, its first year of commercial operation. Were upbeat about the business, as most or 91.2 percent of transactions are still done in cash, so there is a large growth opportunity, Cashlez president director Teddy Setiawan Tee said. The firm claims its dongles, much smaller and thinner than EDCs that are the size of many smartphones, would help merchants by offering simpler registration procedures but safe and flexible transactions at the same time. The device, sold for Rp 1.7 million (US$127.8) or rented for Rp 88,000 per month, can be used for payments via credit or debit cards issued by Visa or MasterCard. The company has received level 1 certification based on the global Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS). Teddy said the firm had entered a partnership with state-controlled lender Bank Mandiri to connect it to the banks corporate or merchant clients and had local major courier service Tiki as one of its early clients. Tiki couriers will be equipped with dongles, so they can collect large payments from buyers of online shops. Before, it was hard for them to accept big cash-on-delivery, he said. Besides Bank Mandiri, the firm is also approaching two other banks for possible partnerships. Cashlez business is in line with Bank Indonesias (BI) cashless society campaign, which aims to drive Indonesians to conduct more non-cash transactions. Meanwhile, online pawning company Pinjam (which literally means borrow) targets to disburse Rp 100 billion in loans this year after receiving a warm welcome from the public last year. Pinjam cofounder Teguh B. Ariwibowo said last year that the firm had channeled Rp 1.3 billion to 250 debtors out of 600 applications without marketing activities. Only collateral of three debtors had to be sold over failed repayment. This year, the start-up, with active marketing, has reaped 7,000 loan applications from Jakarta only and targets to reap more from other cities in Java by the end of the year. Pinjam offers loans of up to Rp 100 million for as little as 0.7 percent interest per week with a maximum tenure of 12 weeks. To secure a loan, debtors deposit their valuables, ranging from gold, gadgets to vehicle certificates. Applicants can upload pictures of their valuables online for Pinjam to estimate the value. The collateral will then be picked up for physical checks for the final estimation. Teguh is upbeat about the goal, as the company is directly approaching small and medium enterprises in Java and opening two physical pawn centers in Panglima Polim and Daan Mogot, both in Jakarta. In the future, Pinjam wishes to partner with various retailers, including gold and electronic stores, to use their physical outlets for applicants to come and have their belongings valued. Many small and medium businesses need loans with easier requirements than what banks offer, so we have ample space to grow in Indonesia, Teguh said, adding that the company was targeting especially those who are not banked yet. Only 36 percent of Indonesian adults had bank accounts in 2014. Both Cashlez and Pinjam see how they can change peoples habits from offline to online interactions as the biggest challenge. Indonesias fintech industry is growing rapidly, with an estimated value of $14.5 billion at present that is expected to grow by 18 percent annually until it reaches $28.8 billion in 2020, according to Statistas Digital Market Outlook. -------------- 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 Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Hundreds of worried parents packed a meeting-hall-cum-complaints-center at the Jakarta Education Agency in South Jakarta on Thursday afternoon, after they had been unable to register their children at a new senior high schools using an online system. Some parents chatted with one another to ease their frustrations while others impatiently tried to ask officers serving other people to ensure that their children would be able to attend their prospective school because the online registration system had become inaccessible or had declined their application. Zumrotun Nafiah, a 40-year-old parent from Grogol in Tanjung Duren, said she took a day off work to attend the meeting to make sure that her daughter could continue her studies at senior high school. 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 Fri, June 17, 2016 President Joko "Jokowi Widodo has officially opened up sections I and II of the Pemalang-Pejagan toll road in Central Java. The project was stalled for some 20 years due to land acquisition problems. The road can now be used for the Idul Fitri holidays. The section stretches 20 kilometers from Pejagan to East Brebes. It is hoped the road will relieve traffic congestion during Lebarans post-fasting exodus, known as mudik, in early July. "Next, we will scrap four toll gates, from seven to only three. It will speed up their mudik trip," Jokowi said after the inauguration ceremony in Brebes, Central Java, on Thursday. In addition to facilitating travelers, Jokowi said the toll road would also improve logistics in the country. Previously, it took seven hours to deliver agricultural products from Jakarta to Brebes. Now, it is only around 4 hours. Jokowi further said the government was committed to continuing the construction of the Pemalang-Batang toll road and the Batang-Semarang toll road. He expects the projects to be completed by the end of 2018. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is still considering nominating Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini as a gubernatorial candidate to challenge incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama in the 2017 gubernatorial election. Risma has rejected the idea, saying she will focus on serving as Surabaya mayor for a five-year term, as she promised during her mayoral election campaign. Idham Samawi, PDI-P deputy chairman for senior member recruitment and ideology, said he would take inspiration from the grassroots, who demanded Risma be nominated as the partys candidate in the Jakarta election at a PDI-P executive board meeting. If the party decides to nominate Risma, she should be ready. As a cadre, she should obey the partys decision, Idham said as reported by kompas.com on Friday. Idham referred to a call from a group of Risma supporters, calling themselves Risma Volunteers, who visited the PDI-P headquarters to demand the party nominate Risma as the Jakarta gubernatorial candidate. They said Risma had to challenge Ahok because they were not happy with the performance of the governor, who they called an arrogant leader. We need a firm but not arrogant governor. We need a governor who leads the city with heart. Therefore, we want to push Ibu Risma to be nominated, one group member said during a meeting at the PDI-P headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Thursday. Ahok is s still considered the most eligible gubernatorial candidate, while Risma is in second position, according to a number of surveys. Ahok, who declared himself an independent candidate in March, was supported by three political parties the NasDem Party, Hanura Party and Golkar Party. His volunteers, grouped under Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) have managed to collect more than 950,000 photocopies of voters identity cards, far more than the threshold of 532,000 as required by law. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 The government has given its assurance that the state budget cuts currently being proposed would not affect the development of the countrys flagship dams. Public Works and Public Housing Ministry director general for water resources Mudjiadi said the tender process for the eight dams listed as national strategic projects would continue this year as planned. He said that as of earlier this month, four dam projects Kuwil Kawangkoan dam in North Sulawesi, Ladongi dam in Central Sulawesi, Sukoharjo dam in Lampung and Leuwikeris dam in West Java had completed the bidding stage. We plan to sign the [development] contract for Kuwil Kawangkoan dam this month, he said recently, adding that the contract for the construction of Leuwikeris dam would be completed soon. Located in North Minahasa regency, Kuwil dam will be built on 175 hectares at an investment cost of Rp 1.4 trillion (US$104.7 million). It is intended to provide irrigation for more than 5,000 ha of farmland in the surrounding area. The ministrys dams division head, Imam Santoso, confirmed the plan. He said that 32 ha of land had been acquired to build Kuwil Kawangkoan dam, with an additional 38 ha being procured gradually before the end of the year. Land procurement for the Leuwikeris dam, meanwhile, is up to 110 ha. Imam said that the ministry expected to finalize the construction contracts for Ladongi, Sukoharjo and Leuwikeris immediately. I think the contracts for each of the three dams will be signed separately every two weeks leading up to July, he said. The government aims to build 49 new reservoirs by 2019 to support President Joko Jokowi Widodos target of achieving food self-sufficiency. Last year, the ministry started to build 13 dams, including Raknamo dam in East Nusa Tenggara and Pidekso and Logung dams in Central Java. The dams are also listed as national strategic projects in Presidential Regulation No. 3/2016, securing for them the privilege of having related ministries and agencies expedite their construction. However, the global economic slowdown and the plunge in energy prices have forced the government to propose Rp 50.02 trillion in budget cuts across ministries and other government institutions in its 2016 state budget revision bill. The impact of the budget cuts will definitely be felt by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, one of President Jokowis most strategic institutions for supporting his grand infrastructure development vision. It is likely that it will see Rp 8.4 trillion slashed from its initial 2016 state budget allocation of Rp 104 trillion. The ministrys directorate general overseeing road construction is slated to take the biggest cut, losing Rp 4.5 trillion from its initial budget of Rp 45.2 trillion. As a consequence, it will have to revise its road repairs target from 1,017 kilometers down 809 km this year as Rp 1.5 trillion will be cut from the repairs budget. The Rp 1.96 trillion cut to the water resources budget, meanwhile, has forced it to revise its plan to build 1,680 km of irrigation network, now planning on building 1,505 km. Amid belt-tightening efforts, the ministry has pledged to keep the countrys strategic infrastructure projects, including a number of new dams, afloat. However, several multi-year dam development projects, such as Pidekso dam, are likely to be hit with delays in budget disbursement. Pidekso dam, located in Central Java, will need Rp 397.2 billion in investment and is slated to finish by 2018. Mudjiadi remained firm that the dams completion date would not be delayed, as the contractors would be asked to keep working despite delayed payments. ------------- 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 Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 In the transformation to a digital era, retailers should be able to capture customers on the digital level, as well as provide shopping experiences in their physical stores, an analyst said. "Retailers need to catch them on the digital level and follow up with a physical shopping experience," digital agency SapientNitro director Sean Burke-Gaffney told thejakartapost.com on Friday. Burke-Gaffney said what happened in Indonesia was that customers have not yet fully shifted to digital shopping, adding that they still needed to go to physical shops. In response to the reality, physical retailers were now also engaging in online markets, which was leading to the online-offline activities becoming more seamless, Burke-Gaffney said. However, Burke-Gaffney mentioned that there were still problems making electronic payment, such as a dispute between communications companies and banks regarding e-money. "The era of the e-wallet and near field communication (NFC) payment will come shortly to Indonesia, but this issue must be solved first," he said, adding that the same problem also happened in Thailand and India. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Indonesia has chosen not to pressure North Korea by strictly implementing international sanctions placed against it, government officials revealed on Thursday. Instead, Jakarta has opted to deal with Pyongyang on its own terms and provide measured and active contributions to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region. Earlier this year, the UN Security Council (UNSC) imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea in response to Januarys nuclear test and the Feb. 7 launch of ballistic missiles. 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 Hotli Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post) Banda Aceh Fri, June 17 2016 Six days after their boat washed up on the Lhok Nga Beach in Aceh the 44 Sri Lankan refugees have yet to set foot on Indonesian soil. As of Thursday evening, they were still unable to come ashore as the local immigration office has prevented them from doing so. The Aceh provincial administration has firmly rejected their appeals to be allowed to dock, although Vice President Jusuf Kalla issued a memo to the local administration on Wednesday asking that the refugees be allowed in for humanitarian reasons. 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 Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Probolinggo, East Java Fri, June 17 2016 Calls are mounting for the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to cooperate with local authorities in East Java and set up a special team to monitor the movement of whales entering East Java waters. The team would be tasked with monitoring the sea mammals and keeping them out of shallow waters as they pass Java during their annual migration from Australian waters to eastern Indonesian waters. The calls were made by ProFauna founder Rosek Nursahid following the stranding of 32 pilot whales in the village of Randupitu in Probolinggo regency, some 106 kilometers east of Surabaya, since Wednesday afternoon. 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 Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang Fri, June 17 2016 Presiding judge Suharnis voice was high and firm when she handed down on Thursday a 10-year prison sentence to a teenager for rape and murder, the details of which saw those gathered in the courtroom scrunch their faces in disgust. The 16-year-old, identified as RA, was found guilty of committing gang rape and premeditated murder against a 19-year-old female acquaintance, Enno Taipah. The judge called the offense an extraordinary crime, but added she could only hand down a 10-year prison term, because that was the maximum penalty for an underage offender. The Criminal Code allows judges to punish a person convicted of premeditated murder with a maximum sentence of death, but our child justice system does not recognize capital punishment for an underage defendant, said Suharni after some members of the victims family in the room were heard saying unjust. 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 Sade Bimantara (The Jakarta Post) Canberra Fri, June 17 2016 The ancient philosopher Laozi wrote that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Indonesia still faces obstacles in protecting the human rights of its citizens. This is a nationwide legacy problem that the government of President Joko Jokowi Widodo is determined to address one step at a time. Recently, the President personally instructed relevant government agencies to take actions to settle past human rights abuse cases, including those related to Papua, and to put in place safeguards to prevent future incidences. Leading an interministerial meeting last April, chief security minister Luhut Pandjaitan listened to views and reports from human rights activists and Papuan public officials. Paulus Waterpauw, an ethnic Papuan and police chief of Papua, is leading the efforts to resolve four cases of alleged rights abuses. 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 Fri, June 17, 2016 A Customs and Excise water patrol crew seized two boats in Aceh waters carrying 60 tons of shallots allegedly smuggled from Thailand and Malaysia. The first boat, KM Moras GT 21, was spotted on Monday in Aceh Tamiang waters, suspected of carrying illegally imported goods. The boat's captain, identified by the initials BH, and four boat crew members, tried to escape but were apprehended when their boat collided with the boat operated by the patrol crew. Based on the investigation by Belawan Customs and Excise, KM Moras departed from Aceh Tamiang on Wednesday, June 8, headed for Moung Seaport, Satun, Thailand. Upon arrival the crew loaded the boat with 1,500 20 kilogram sacks of shallots and returned to Aceh Tamiang, without the required documents. The second boat, KM Sahabat Jaya GT 15, was apprehended by water patrol officers in Langsa waters on Thursday, carrying 30 tons of shallots allegedly smuggled from Penang, Malaysia. There have been 30 prosecution cases due to goods smuggling by sea during the first quarter of 2016, the KM Moras GT 21 and KM Sahabat Jaya GT 15 cases were currently undergoing investigation, Antara news agency reported. Heru Pambudi, the Customs and Excise director general, said prosecution efforts followed the orders of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to maximize the eradication of smuggling by coordinating with other law enforcement agencies. (afr/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Two children have died after being hit by a train at a railway crossing in Cikoko in Pancoran subdistrict, South Jakarta, on Friday. The incident that took lives of MI and MF, both aged 7, happened at around 1 p.m. on Friday, South Jakarta Police spokesman Cmr. Purwanta said. The two children lived nearby the crossing and were playing when a train en route from Bogor to Tanah Abang passed. "Witnesses said they saw two children running at the train crossing. At the same time a train was passing and then hit them," Purwanta said as quoted by kompas.com. The victims died instantly and their bodies were taken to state Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Data released by the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) suggests that the majority of the 40 gang rape cases that occurred from April 2015 to May 2016 had been carried out by underage boys. Ninety percent of perpetrators were underage boys, Komnas PA chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said, adding that while the victims had been girls in 100 percent of the cases recorded. Komnas PA data does not include data collected by other stakeholders located in the provinces and regencies across Indonesia, he added, hinting that the number of cases could be much higher. "From 2010 to 2014, perpetrators of sex crimes were predominantly individuals, but now the crimes appear to be carried out in groups. Gang rape has become very terrifying," Arist said on Friday, as quoted by kompas.com. Arist said that, according to Komnas PA data, almost one third of the cases were carried out by underage perpetrators ranging in age from 12 to 17 years. Sixteen percent were 14 years of age, while 15 percent were aged 12 years or younger, he further said. Arist speculated that many gang rape cases were triggered by pornography and the consumption of alcohol and or drugs. "These groups threaten childrens lives, influencing children watch pornography, to consume alcohol. They could also be influenced by social media content," he said, adding that a comprehensive address must be conducted to face the issue. One of the more recent cases occurred in Tangerang, Banten, where 16-year-old RA, accompanied by two friends aged in their twenties, allegedly raped and murdered 19-year-old EF, who is thought to have been RAs girlfriend. (liz/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Imanuddin Razak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 President Joko Jokowi Widodos nomination of Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian as his sole candidate to replace retiring National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti overturned traditional practices of nominating candidates for strategic posts, including the top police post. Titos appointment as the new chief will be like swimming against the current practically possible but coming with high risks and requiring extra effort and energy to succeed. As experts have said, Titos appointment would very likely be met with strong resistance, if not opposition, from police generals who are not only older, but also graduated from the police academy ahead of him. Dealing with ones seniors as subordinates in the institution has proven to be tricky, as experienced by former Police chief Gen. Sutarman. Sutarman, a 1981 graduate of the National Police Academy, once had a senior officer as his deputy Comr. Gen. Oegroseno, a 1978 graduate of the academy. Sutarman, who led the police force for nearly two years (October 2013 January 2015), had to spend his first year of leadership putting up with Oegrosenos demanding, though perhaps correct, stances on a number of popular issues. One instance was when Sutarman, through a circular, endorsed the use of hijabs for Muslim female officers. The decision was immediately annulled after Oegroseno publicly rejected the circular. Oegroseno eventually retired from active duty halfway into Sutarmans tenure. The President must have made the decision to nominate Tito after careful and thorough consideration. On Thursday, Jokowi maintained that his decision to nominate Tito was based on Titos competence and capability to establish effective communications with various parties, particularly with his seniors. Tito was the top graduate in his 1987 Police Academy class, an achievement for which he was granted the Adhi Makayasa Award by then-president Soeharto. Throughout his 29-year career in the police force, Tito has indeed made his name on the back of various achievements. He received a significant promotion after leading the team of police detectives that in 2001 arrested Soehartos youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, more commonly known as Tommy Soeharto, who was convicted for his role in the murder of Supreme Court Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. Tito received another significant promotion when he and a number of police officers killed Malaysian terrorist fugitive Azahari Husin in November 2005. Under his leadership, the National Polices counterterrorism unit Densus 88 arrested dozens of suspects in Poso and helped settle the conflict in the area. Tito was also among a group of officers who managed to foil the plans of a terrorist cell led by Malaysian fugitive Noordin M. Top in 2009. In the academic field Tito has obtained a Masters degree on police studies from Exeter University in the UK in 1993 and a PhD in strategic studies from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in 2013. Jokowis decision to nominate Tito as the sole candidate for the post cannot be seen as unrelated to the Presidents bitter experience when he nominated Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan for the post last year. In January 2015, Jokowi nominated Budi as National Police chief with the Houses approval. But before the President was able to inaugurate him, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Budi a graft suspect. Budi filed a pretrial motion to challenge the KPKs decision and won, with the court annulling his suspect status. However, the case triggered a war between the two institutions, with the police then naming several KPK commissioners and a KPK investigator suspects in criminal cases. The investigations into the KPK officials were later suspended, while Budi was installed as National Police deputy chief in April last year. Earlier, Budi had been tipped as a potential candidate for the National Police chief post, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar Party factions, the two largest factions in the House, publicly expressing their support for Budi. Budi seemed to be the most likely candidate until House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komaruddin revealed on Wednesday the official letter in which President Jokowi had nominated Tito. Budi is known as a close associate of Jokowis patron, former president and PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri. Another likely factor behind Jokowis choice of Tito is their apparent close relationship, at least ever since the 2014 presidential election. Tito was chief of the Papua Police, which supervised both Papua and West Papua provinces where Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla won big compared to their rival Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa in the 2014 election. The victory, however, had no direct correlation to the close relations between Jokowi and Tito. Last but not least, Jokowis choice of Tito is perhaps also in aid of the Presidents long-term political goals. Jokowi is widely expected to seek reelection in 2019, when Tito, now 51, is likely to still be police chief. While clear support from the National Police, as represented by its chief, is significant for Jokowis reelection bid, having a close and reliable friend as National Police chief would be an asset as well as a boost for the incumbent president to contest the 2019 political event. All in all, the choice of Tito is apparently a clear signal that Jokowi has managed to eventually show leadership in state affairs, cutting his umbilical cord with Megawati, who once called him a mere party worker. ___________________________________ 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 Maria Lumen B. Isleta (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Soon, the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague will issue its decision concerning the case filed by the Philippines over its maritime entitlements in the South China Sea. Despite China opting not to formally participate in the courts proceedings, the tribunals decision will be legally binding for all concerned. Once a ruling is issued, the Philippines will abide by the tribunals decision and will continue to work toward a peaceful, cooperative and rules-based resolution to the disputes. For a country such as the Philippines, whose maritime entitlements have been violated over the past years, the decision to put forward the case to arbitration was not taken lightly. It was done so only after exhausting all reasonable means of political and diplomatic negotiations. It was an action that became necessary only after the Philippines recognized that the matter could no longer be resolved between the two countries. This is in marked contrast to how the Philippines and Indonesia were able to bilaterally resolve their overlapping exclusive economic zones, after years of peaceful negotiations. Cognizant of its obligations as a responsible member of the international community of nations, the Philippines decided to bring the issue with China to arbitration, a dispute-settlement mechanism that is open, friendly and binding. 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 Muhammad Shodiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17 2016 Poverty has long been a serious problem and a great challenge for Indonesia. According to the World Bank around 59 percent of Indonesian people are considered poor with incomes of less than US$2 a day. Poverty encompasses social, economic and political deprivations. The poor lack basic necessities and are deprived of the life that people value. They have little or no participation in ordinary social and economic life. Concern about poverty is not new, and has been a focus over the centuries for historians, sociologists and economists. Its causes have been identified, ranging from deficiencies in the administration of income support, to injustices of social and economic systems. Various measures have been put forth to help, including reforms to social security and socioeconomic systems. Since poverty is a multidimensional problem, solutions to poverty require a comprehensive set of well-coordinated measures. A global war against poverty, in addition to domestic efforts, demands assistance being given from the rich countries to the poor countries. In Indonesia, several policies and strategies have been adopted in the past to reduce poverty, but poverty persists. 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 Sat, June 18, 2016 National Police officers have raided a factory in Parakan Salak, Kemang, Bogor regency, West Java, for allegedly producing packaged meatballs using hazardous substances as preservatives. Director of the National Police detectives narcotics division, Brig. Gen. Dharma Pongrekun said the factory, which occupies a 1 hectare plot of land and has the capacity to produce 1.5 tons of meatballs per day, had been operating since 2012. Weve searched the factory and found hazardous substances, like tawas [a cleaning agent] and meatball preservatives, Dharma said at the factory as quoted by tribunnews.com. Dharma said the consumption of meatball preserved using tawas for a long period of time could be harmful to consumers health. The factory supplies packaged meatballs to traditional markets and supermarkets across the Greater Jakarta area, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi under a number of brands, including Bakso Sapi Asli Polos Bangka, Bakso Sapi Tenis Bangka Brekele, Bakso Daging Sapi Kaya Rasa & Gizi Bangka, Bakso Sapi Asli Super Polos and Bakso Daging Sapi Bangka Tenis Urat. Police officers seized 60 bags of tawas weighing 50 kilograms each and arrested the factory owner, a 56-year-old Tangerang resident known by the initials HS. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jim Gomez (Associated Press) Manila Fri, June 17, 2016 Differences within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations prevented the 10-nation bloc from issuing a tough statement on territorial feuds in the South China Sea after a meeting hosted by China this week, a Philippine official said Thursday. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose told reporters the ASEAN foreign ministers' failure to issue a joint statement after discussing the disputes with their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, prompted half of the bloc's member states to issue their own individual statements. All the ministers initially agreed on the text of the joint statement, Jose said, but some may have changed their mind later, preventing it from being issued publicly. "This is actually an ASEAN media statement that was agreed on but somewhere along the way, after the meeting ended and most of foreign ministers left, it was not issued officially," Jose said. In the statement, the foreign ministers expressed "serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea." China has opposed such language, which could provide the United States and its allies added justification to intervene in the disputes. The disunity in ASEAN underscores the difficulty of resolving the disputes, which analysts fear could spark an armed confrontation in one of the world's busiest sea lanes. Founded in 1967, ASEAN decides by consensus, meaning just one member state can stall agreement on any issue. It consists of a diverse collection of governments, including US-allied democracies and Chinese-aligned authoritarian states. Four of its members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are locked in the territorial disputes with China and Taiwan. ASEAN also includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. After the foreign ministers initially forged an agreement on the statement, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry issued it to reporters, Jose said, suggesting that other member states later withdrew their approval for it to be publicly issued. A senior Philippine diplomat said Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar withdrew their backing of the joint statement to avoid offending China, which later opposed its official issuance because of a lack of a consensus within ASEAN. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the sensitive issue with reporters. Jose said it remains unclear whether the statement will no longer be officially issued, adding that amid the impasse, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam have gone ahead and released their own statements about the closed-door discussions, which took place between Wang and the ASEAN ministers on Monday to Tuesday in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. Asked in Beijing whether China had objected to the statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang did not answer directly, but said Wednesday that China had been assured that it was not an official ASEAN document and had been retracted. "If ASEAN wants to officially issue something that represents its stance, it should be agreed upon by all ASEAN members," Lu told reporters, implying a lack of consensus within the grouping. China has steadfastly argued that the disputes should be negotiated between Beijing and each of its rival claimants, an arrangement that would give it an advantage because of its size and clout, and would effectively shut out the United States, which it has told not to intervene in what it described as Asian disputes. Washington has declared that the peaceful resolution of the disputes and freedom of navigation and overflight in the crucial waterway are a national interest. It has backed a Philippine move to bring the disputes with China to international arbitration, a legal step that Beijing opposes and has refused to join. China pressed its opposition to the Philippine arbitration case during the Kunming talks, according to the Philippine diplomat. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday that "when the arbitration case was raised, the Philippines' reply underscored that arbitration is among the legal and diplomatic processes promoting the rule of law in the region and is fully consistent with ... the region's efforts to peacefully resolve the disputes in accordance with international law." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, June 17, 2016 Indonesia has insisted that consensus had been reached over the retracted joint statement emphasizing the "serious concerns" of ASEAN member countries regarding the South China Sea dispute, a government official has said, adding that the statement is consistent with the regional bloc's stance on the issue. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said the statement, which was released at the end of a special foreign ministers' meeting between ASEAN and China in Kunming, China, on June 14, had been agreed upon by all participants of the dialogue but that consensus about the mechanism for its dissemination had not been reached. "It was supposed to be read out during a press briefing following the meeting [] but that was cancelled," Arrmanatha told reporters on Thursday, adding that the meeting had gone over the originally scheduled finishing time. The statement contains a commitment by ASEAN member countries to maintain peace and stability in the region, especially highlighting the South China Sea issue. In it, ASEAN expressed concerns over activities that could undermine common goals, including "land reclamation, which may give rise to tensions," - generally understood to be a reference to China's activities in the contested area. The statement was disseminated by Malaysia following the two-day meeting but was soon retracted on the grounds that amendments still had to be made. However, a final statement is yet to emerge. The situation has caused confusion with questions raised as to whether the statement had not been finalized before it was released. Arrmanatha insisted that the content had already been agreed upon by all participants, adding ASEANs stance taken in the statement is consistent with previously published documents calling for full respect for legal and diplomatic processes in regards to resolving the South China Sea dispute. It was meant to be a guideline for foreign ministers to use during the press briefing, Arrmanatha said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Hanoi Fri, June 17, 2016 Vietnamese rescuers have found some pieces belonging to a search plane that went missing with nine people aboard while attempting to locate a pilot from a crashed fighter jet, the military said Friday. The pieces including wreckage bearing the logo of the search plane, a tire, a seat and personal belongings of crew members were discovered 20 nautical miles ( 23 miles or 37 kilometers ) southeast of Bach Long Vi island and 3 nautical miles east of the demarcation line between Vietnam and China in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The plane lost contact with command center early Thursday afternoon, some 44 nautical miles ( 81 kilometers ) southwest of Bach Long Vi island, off the coast of northern port city of Hai Phong. Meanwhile, online newspaper VnExpress quoted Maj. Gen. Nguyen Quang Dam, commander of the maritime police, as saying bad weather may be blamed for the aircraft's crash. Dam said the crew asked to descend to lower altitude when experiencing unexpected bad weather. Thanh Nien quoted weather forecaster Nguyen Dinh Thuat as saying there was rain and strong wind at the time the aircraft lost contact. The ministry statement said China has sent one rescue and two coast guard vessels to join the search and rescue operations. The nine people on board are among 1,500 personnel sent to search for the pilot, whose Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 jet fighter crashed Tuesday on a training flight. One other pilot from the jet was rescued by a fishing boat Wednesday. Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper reported that plane searches were suspended late Friday morning because of bad weather. Officials were not available for comment on Friday. The incidents were the latest in a string of accidents to hit the military. At least two crashes of military helicopters in the past two years have killed 24 people. The south coastal town of Hove is the top hotspot for young professionals buying homes across England and Wales for the second year running, a report has found. Hove emerged top of the list for property purchases by young professionals (Clive Gee/PA) Manchester, Reading and numerous areas of London were also among the most desirable places for professionals aged between 25 and 44 years old to buy a property, according to Lloyds Bank. Brightons cosmopolitan feel makes it a popular choice (Martin Stephens/PA) The BN1 postcode in Brighton was also on the list of hotspots. Brighton and Hove have particular attractions for the young and ambitious, with a diverse population as well as the availability of independent shops, bars, restaurants, music venues and commuter links to London, the report said. Lloyds Bank mortgage director Mike Songer said: Our research shows that aspiring young urbanites choose to settle in areas which give them the best of both worlds attractive suburbs offering good amenities and quality of life, which are within easy reach of a larger city centre and in many cases they are prepared to pay a premium to live there. London postcodes make up the majority of the top 20 desirable postcodes (Chris Ison/PA) Songer continued: With a third of Londons population in the 25 to 44 age group it is not surprising many of the most popular areas with this group are in the capital. The research also found young professionals face paying a premium to live in their desired area paying 88,000 more typically for a home in the postal district hotspots than a property in the wider town or city where they are located. Living in a desirable area doesnt come cheap (Joe Giddens/PA) But among the exceptions is BN3 the most popular postal district in the survey, where the average house price is 33,972 lower than in the whole of Hove. Top 20 desirable postcodes for young professionals and their average house prices are: 1. BN3, Hove, South East: 352,718 2. SW18, Wandsworth, London: 716,217 3. SW19, Wimbledon, London: 669,425 4. SW11, Battersea, London: 861,665 5. SW16, Streatham, London: 434,237 6. SW6, Fulham, London: 1,088,131 7. BN1, Brighton, South East: 358,821 8. SW15, Putney, London: 740,165 9. NW3, Hampstead, London: 1,318,492 10. NW6, Kilburn: London: 877,211 11. SW17, Tooting, London: 624,052 12. W4, Chiswick, London: 866,492 13. W5, Ealing, London: 594,980 14. W2, Paddington, London: 1,220,198 15. SW2, Brixton, London: 543,207 16. SW4, Clapham, London: 828,243 17. SW12, Balham, London: 783,176 18. M20, Didsbury, Manchester: 266,105 19. N1, Islington, London: 1,007,815 20. RG1, Reading, South East: 261,927 In her first speech to Parliament, murdered Jo Cox told MPs she was proud of the diversity in her seat of Batley and Spen. Cox was elected to the House of Commons in May 2015 after securing a majority of 6,057 in the general election. She was killed yesterday after holding a constituency surgery in Birstall. In the wake of her death, her husband Brendan has called for people to "fight against the hatred that killed her." Watch her maiden speech below: Tentang Situs Slot Online Resmi MGS88 Nama Situs MGS88 Minimal Deposit Rp. 10.000,- (Sepuluh Ribu Rupiah) Proses Deposit 2 Menit Metode Deposit Bank Transfer, Pulsa, E-Wallet Judi Online Terbaik Slot Online, Judi Bola, Casino Online, Togel Online, Tembak Ikan Provider Slot Gacor Mudah Maxwin Pragmatic Play, PGSoft, MicroGaming, Habanero Slot Gacor Gampang Menang Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza, Wild West Gold, Starlight Princess Win Rate 98% RTP Live Slot Gacor Tertinggi Hari Ini Terbaru Terlengkap Selamat datang di halaman RTP live dan informasi soal slot gacor hari ini dari situs MGS88 yang setiap hari selalu update. Berdasarkan RTP Live MGS88, Anda bisa mendapatkan informasi tentang slot online yang saat ini yang sedang Gacor atau onfire dengan persentase yang terbukti akurat, ini bisa menjadi rekomendasi anda sebelum memilih permainan slot online di situs MGS88. Cek RTP Slot sekarang juga bosku Klik Provider Slot Untuk Mengetahui RTP Slot Secara Real Time Selamat datang bagi kalian yang sedang mencari situs RTP Live terlengkap dan terkini hari ini. Sangat sesuai jika Anda mengunjungi website MGS88 RTP live untuk informasi tentang permainan slot yang lagi gacor dengan slot RTP yang terupdate. Persentase kemenangan yang kami berikan tentunya diambil dengan data yang sangat valid dan hanya untuk permainan slot yang tersedia di situs MGS88. RTP yang tersedia juga akan selalu diperbarui setiap hari berdasarkan level kemenangan yang diberikan kepada member kami. Memang sih untuk bermain slot itu tergantung hoki dari setiap pemain, Namun RTP live atau bocoran slot dari yang kami sediakan ini adalah data autentik dari banyaknya pemain yang telah bermain dan mencapai kemenangan tinggi. Sederhananya, kalau banyak pemain yang menang di dalam 1 permainan slot, karena itu permainan slot tersebut akan mempunyai persentase RTP yang sangat tinggi. Namun kami tegaskan sekali lagi, ini bukan sebuah paksaan kami situs MGS88 untuk anda bermain di game slot yang mana. Ini bisa dijadikan sebagai referensi atau tolok ukur, boleh dicoba kalau anda mempunyai feel yang kuat dalam memainkan permainan game slot. Anda dapat mengakses kapan saja dan di mana saja selama anda siap bermain. Jangan ragu untuk bertanya ya seputar pola putaran terhadap kami, sebab kami juga menyediakannya loh. Apa itu RTP Live? RTP Live ialah informasi mengenai persentase tertinggi saat ini dari hasil RTP Live dengan bocoran kemenangan pemain saat ini. RTP Live merupakan singkatan dari Return To Play atau bisa juga diartikan sebagai Return to Player. Karena itu, para pemain slot sekarang jika ingin mengetahui seberapa besar kemenangannya, bisa dengan memainkan permainan yang akan dimainkannya dan bisa untung dengan mudah dan tentunya maksimal. Apa itu RTP Slot? RTP Slot juga dikenal sebagai return to player atau pengembalian ke Pemain. RTP slot ialah persentase dari nilai pengembalian semua uang yang dipertaruhkan pemain dari waktu ke waktu. Dengan kata lain, RTP juga dianggap sebagai salah satu fitur slot yang mengembalikan uang pemain saat pemain kalah. Persentase digunakan untuk menghitung RTP dalam permainan slot. Misalnya, jika slot memiliki RTP 97%, itu berarti untuk setiap 100.000 koin yang hilang di slot, slot dapat mengembalikan 97.000. Jika Anda mengetahui RTP sebuah permainan slot, Anda dapat memutuskan permainan slot mana yang akan dimainkan tanpa kerugian besar. Apakah Angka Persentase RTP Slot Itu Penting? Biasanya pemain slot itu tidak memperhatikan RTP dalam permainan yang akan dimainkan, biasanya setelah anda mengisi saldo utama anda akan langsung buru-buru memainkannya. Yang terakhir 90-96% mempengaruhi jumlah kemenangan. Semakin tinggi jumlah RTP yang digunakan, semakin luas peluang untuk mendapatkan keuntungan. Akan namun itu segala tak secara 100% menjamin kemenangan kau dalam bermain, RTP itu cuma sebagai kalkulasi pengeluaran anda saja selama bermain slot.Dengan adanya RTP, kau dapat mengerjakan pengaturan atas uang yang akan kau pertaruhkan nanti pada ketika bermain.Untuk itu pada ketika kau bermain slot dan telah mengalami banyak kekalahan di satu permainan, direkomendasikan kau pindah ke permainan slot lainnya yang RTP nya lebih tinggi dari permainan yang tadi kau mainkan. Keuntungan Menggunakan Bocoran RTP Slot Hari Ini Situs MGS88 Akan dengan senang hati akan beberapa keuntungan yang didapatkan jika anda bermain slot dengan menggunakan RTP Live yang telah disediakan. Berikut Keuntungannya : Peluang Kemenangan Meningkat Tentu saja, saat bermain slot online, menang adalah hal yang paling penting. Di sinilah RTP berperan sebagai metode atau metode baru yang akan membantu Anda memilih permainan slot persentase tinggi. Mendapat variasi dalam Memainkan Game Slot Pastinya banyak pemain slot online yang hanya memainkan 3-5 permainan slot saja. Namun dengan RTP Live slot akan memberikan banyak game slot lain yang bisa anda coba. Tentunya semua permainan slot memiliki potensi kemenangan yang besar, jadi jangan hanya mengandalkan beberapa permainan saja. Menambah Pengalaman Dalam Bermain Slot Keuntungan terakhir adalah Anda tentu saja menambah pengalaman dan keahlian dalam permainan slot online. Dengan berbagai macam permainan slot yang dimainkan, Anda pasti mengetahui karakteristik dari setiap permainan slot yang Anda mainkan. Akibatnya, Anda pasti bisa dianggap sebagai pemain slot yang andal, yang pasti akan meningkatkan peluang Anda untuk menang besar menggunakan RTP. Daftar 8 Situs Dengan RTP Slot Live Tertinggi Hari Ini Ada banyak penyedia mesin slot online di internet. Tetapi tidak semuanya memiliki peluang tinggi atau RTP Live Slot yang sangat tinggi. Tapi jangan khawatir, berikut ini adalah situs slot gacor yang akan memberikan bocoran slot dengan RTP Live Tertinggi: RTP Live Slot Pragmatic Play (RTP Slot 97.85%) RTP Live Slot PG Soft (RTP Live 96.15%) RTP Live Slot Habanero (RTP Slot 95.89%) RTP Live Slot CQ9 (RTP Live 98.83%) RTP Live Slot Spade Gaming (RTP Live 94.99%) RTP Live Slot Micro Gaming (RTP Slot 95.39%) RTP Slot Live Top Trend Gaming (RTP Live 96.14%) RTP Slot Live JOKER123 (RTP Live 97.45%) Itulah Daftar 8 Provider Slot Gacor dengan RTP Live teratas diatas tentunya kami analisa terlebih dahulu. Anda bisa membuktikannya langsung dengan mengklik banner atau meprovider game slot yang sudah tersedia di atas. Saran kami yaitu Anda harus memainkan semua penyedia slot di atas untuk mencapai peluang kemenangan terbaik. Daftar Slot RTP Live Tertinggi Sering Kasih Jackpot Selain mempertimbangkan RTP Slot Gacor yang ada, sebenarnya ada banyak faktor penting untuk menang dalam permainan judi online. Sebab ada banyak game yang memiliki fitur dan mekanisme unik dan bisa membantu anda meraih Jackpot yang sangat besar. Berikut ini akan kami ulas daftar 5 game slot paling populer karena sering memberikan jackpot: RTP Live Gates of Olympus Gates of Olympus adalah game slot teraneh dan terbaik di Indonesia. Karena permainan mesin slot ini paling populer karena kakek Zeus dapat mengizinkan pengganda x500. Selain itu, fitur dan mekanik Gates of Olympus juga sangat menguntungkan untuk memenangkan Grand Jackpot. Secara teoritis, RTP slot langsung Gates of Olympus bernilai 96,50%, yang berarti peluang Anda untuk memenangkan MaxWin cukup tinggi. RTP live Sweet Bonanza Sweet Bonanza adalah permainan slot terpopuler kedua. Game slot bertema buah dan permen yang lezat ini sepertinya akan menarik banyak perhatian karena tergolong slot gacor yang mudah menang. Secara teoritis, slot Sweet Bonanza RTP bernilai 96,48%, yang berarti peluang Anda cukup tinggi untuk memenangkan jackpot. RTP Live Wild West Gold Wild West Gold adalah permainan slot bertema koboi yang juga populer di kalangan penggemar konspirasi. Permainan slot Wild West Gold sendiri kerap menawarkan kejutan jackpot bagi para pemainnya. Selain itu, nilai RTP Live Slot menunjukkan indeks tertinggi hari ini, yang berarti sangat layak dan sangat direkomendasikan. RTP Live Starlight Princess Slot Starlight Princess ini memiliki gaya dan fitur yang mirip dengan Gates of Olympus. Perbedaannya hanya pada desain dan karakter gamenya saja, karena memiliki fitur dan mekanik yang sama tentunya RTP slot teoritis pada game slot ini sama yaitu 96,50%. RTP Live Cash Elevator Mungkin sebagian dari Anda baru mengenal slot Cash Elevator. Namun dari data benchmark yang diungkap, ternyata banyak sekali yang menikmati permainan slot ini. Dengan fitur dan mekanisme unik seperti Lift up and down asli, slot ini juga memiliki slot RTP Live dasar 96,64% yang juga memiliki mekanisme yang sangat menguntungkan untuk memperlancar tingkat kemenangan besar. Bocoran Jam Main Slot Gacor Hari Ini Dalam bermain permainan slot online itu tidak bisa dilakukan dengan sembarangan yah. Jadi, Jika anda bermain pada waktu tertentu seperti yang akan kita bahas sesaat lagi, ada kemungkinan anda untuk mendapatkan kemenangan lebih tinggi. Jam RTP Slot Gacor merupakan bocoran jam main slot yang akan memberikan anda kapan waktu yang pas dalam bermain game slot. Tentu saja seluruh provider slot online memiliki jam tertentu dalam memberikan peluang kepada para pemainnya untuk mendapatkan kemenangan. Disini kami akan memberikan anda Bocoran Jam Slot Gacor yang Paling Akurat Hari ini: Jam Slot Gacor Pragmatic Play 02:30 WIB - Jam 05:25 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Habanero 14:26 WIB - Jam 17:38 WIB Jam Slot Gacor CQ9 00:45 WIB - Jam 05:53 WIB Jam Slot Gacor PG SOFT 14:25 WIB - Jam 17:35 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Joker123 17:41 WIB - Jam 20:42 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Microgaming 22:30 WIB - Jam 00:35 WIB MGS88: Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Pay4D Resmi dan Terpercaya MGS88 adalah situs game slot online Gacor terbaru yang bermitra dengan Pay4D, Pay4D sendiri merupakan daftar situs game slot online terpercaya dengan berbagai macam permainan judi yang mudah dimenangkan seperti Game Bola, Casino Online, Slot Pay4D, Tembak Ikan dan Pay4D Online Permainan togel seperti Singapura, Hongkong, Sydney dan lain-lain. Tujuan utama kami adalah menjadi situs judi online Pay4D yang menyediakan layanan judi online terbaik di Indonesia. Kami juga salah satu situs resmi PAY4D di Indonesia yang pasti akan membayarkan semua kemenangan kepada semua member kami, karena kepercayaan dari semua member kami adalah prioritas utama kami sebagai mesin slot 4d Asia terbaik di Asia, khususnya di Indonesia. Dalam melakukan sistem transaksi sistem simpanan dapat dilakukan dengan mudah melalui mobile banking dan electronic banking berupa bank BCA, BSI, BRI, BNI, Cimb Niaga, Permata dan Mandiri. Selain itu, transaksi e-wallet juga tersedia melalui Dana, Gopay, LinkAja dan Ovo serta dapat digunakan untuk pulsa tanpa dipotong. Untuk mempermudah dan kenyamanan dalam melakukan registrasi atau melakukan setiap transaksi, MGS88 menyediakan layanan live chat dan Whatsapp terhubung langsung dengan customer service online 24 jam. Mengenal Istilah Dalam RTP SLOT Di slot RTP Live Anda akan melihat berbagai fitur yang mungkin tidak Anda pahami masing-masing. Namun jangan khawatir, disini sebagai situs slot gacor MGS88 kami akan memberikan penjelasan lengkap mengenai tentang istilah yang ada di RTP SLOT dibawah ini. Brexit Poll: Should the UK remain in the EU, or leave? A Phuket Perspective PHUKET: Citizens of the United Kingdom next Thursday, June 23, will cast votes in what could be one of the most important referendums in the nations history, with ramifications that could well ripple throughout Europe. politicseconomicsimmigrationopinion By The Phuket News Friday 17 June 2016, 11:45AM Britain will hold a referendum on Britains four-decade old membership of the Europe Union this coming Thursday, June 23. Photo: AFP / Damien Meyer The nation will decide on whether the United Kingdom will remain a member of the European Union, or whether it will become the first member to leave the six-decade-old bloc. In Phuket, people of all nationalities seem to have an opinion on the very divisive issue. To this, The Phuket News asks our readers the simple question that all UK voters will be asked: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? The two responses available, as in the referendum itself, are: Remain a member of the European Union Leave the European Union To better gauge opinions from different regions of the world, respondents are asked to identify the regions that best describe them. Options available are: UK citizen European Thai Russian or of a former Soviet country Australian / New Zealander Asian (Other than Thai) North/Central American South American Other To vote in the poll, click here. The poll will close at midnight June 22, before the polls open in the UK. DSIs Dhammajayo temple search flops, agency vows to renew bid to arrest abbot BANGKOK: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has vowed to renew its efforts to raid Wat Phra Dhammakaya and arrest embattled abbot Phra Dhammajayo by July 13 after the temple search failed yesterday (June 16) in the face of peaceful resistance by followers. crimepolicemilitaryculturereligion By Bangkok Post Friday 17 June 2016, 08:54AM Thousands of followers of Wat Phra Dhammakaya pack the temple grounds in the rain, as the DSI fail in their search of the temple for sect leader Phra Dhammajayo. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill Department of Special investigation officers talk with monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya before turning tail and leaving without searching the temple. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill Following the unsuccessful raid, Pol Maj Suriya Singhakamol, deputy DSI chief, said that the arrest warrant for the abbot still stands and the DSI will have to continue to execute the warrant. While the DSI attempted to carry out the search, the monks supporters wearing white sat praying, refusing to make way for DSI officials to search the temple. Dhammakaya followers issued a statement Thursday calling for the arrest of Phra Dhammajayo to be delayed until democracy had returned to the country. They said he would not receive justice under the present regime. While Wat Phra Dhammakaya covers more than 2,000 rai, the DSI obtained a search warrant to search only 196 rai. After presenting the search warrant to temple staff, the officials entered the temple through Gate No.7. Pol Maj Suriya said the DSI is expected to seek a new search warrant before July 13 on the day the Office of the Attorney-General decides whether to indict Phra Dhammajayo in a money laundering case. The 72-year-old abbot is accused of involvement in money laundering and receiving stolen property worth B1.2 billion in connection with the B12-billion embezzlement at the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative. He has denied the charges through a spokesman. Pol Maj Suriya said the DSI investigators will meet to assess the result of the temple non-search to improve planning for the next raid. Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said he will ask DSI chief Paisit Wongmuang on Friday to brief him on the search operation. Gen Paiboon also said it was reasonable that authorities exercised caution to avoid a confrontation with the abbot's devotees. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said the Special Branch Polices intelligence reports confirmed that Phra Dhammajayo remained within the temple premises. In seeking a search warrant from the court, the DSI will need to inform the court how many officials will be deployed for the search operation and the names of the officials must also be submitted, Pol Gen Srivara said. He added the police force is ready to deploy officers to support a fresh DSI raid when a new search warrant is approved by the court, he said. The DSI also filed a complaint Thursday with the Khlong Luang police in Pathum Thani asking that it to take legal action against temple followers who allegedly obstructed the authorities' attempt to search the temple. A DSI source said the DSI investigators will meet again to work out tougher measures to arrest the abbot. The source also said it is now clear that the abbots followers had an intention to obstruct the work of authorities, and this will justify refusing the abbot bail. At 1:30pm, Pol Maj Suriya announced the cancellation of the search of the temple for Phra Dhammajayo at a press conference. Also present were Khlong Luang police and senior monks of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Pol Maj Suriya said the search was called off because of several factors, especially the large number of Phra Dhammajayo's disciples who sat in the rain meditating all around the compound, and unclear information about the exact whereabouts of the abbot. He said the mission had not been completed and officials still had the authority to act under a court warrant to arrest Phra Dhammajayo. He added that the DSI would report to the court in detail about the problems authorities encountered during the failed search. The DSI would leave it to the court to decide on further action, he said. I believe all members of the media have witnessed what the DSI has done, and how the disciples responded. We have stood by the principle of maintaining law and order. All units taking part in the search today have tried to avoid confrontation, Pol Maj Suriya said. He said the authorities had recorded and taken pictures of actions that could be construed as obstruction of DSI officials and police doing their duty. Outside the temple compound, police had taken legal action against people in 14 cases, he added. Phra Sanitwong Wutthiwangso, director of communications for Wat Phra Dhammakaya, said the temple had provided full cooperation to the DSI, although the disciples had pleaded for mercy because the abbot was very sick. He had not fled. He said it was impossible for the temple to stop the disciples from turning up in large numbers to meditate out of concern for Phra Dhammajayos well-being. Phra Sanitwong said he was willing to cooperate with the DSI to let officials search the compound. Good websites and marketing Bolster your marketing by maintaining current content Friday 17 June 2016, 10:04AM Here in Phuket, we often come across outdated websites made three, four, or even six years ago. Unfortunately, and understandably, the rapid growth of technology hasnt made things easy to keep up with. However, keeping your website up-to-date is a must nowadays and plays a very important role in a businesss social media strategy. One of the main goals in social media marketing is to drive quality traffic to your website. People that have already engaged with your brand through social media will need to be redirected to your website. Why? Because most people who use social media are not looking to buy something. No one is really in buy mode while perusing Facebook or Instagram, and no one wants to hear or read a sales pitch every time. If you get the attention of a potential customer on your social media channels with valuable content, the next step will be to redirect them to your website. This is where the transaction really takes place! Your website is the first impression that your customers will have about your business. Whether you are a tiny coffee shop or a medium-size company, having a website will help you establish rapport and will help you acquire new clients. Bear in mind that the number of users on mobile devices is growing exponentially, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Google has even changed its algorithm for mobile devices; allowing them to scan websites and check for load times and responsive design elements. This means that mobile e-commerce will become increasingly important to your business. Having a mobile version of your site will help users easily find the information they are looking for. To redesign your website and make it part of your social media plan, you dont need to pay hundreds of thousands of baht. There are plenty of reasonably priced options out there. Daniel Villota is the Managing Director of E-Media Asia, the number one social media consulting agency in Southern Thailand! He can be contacted at daniel@e-media.asia or visit www.e-media.asia No police charges for Phuket condo contractor over fatal crane collapse PHUKET: Police will not press any charges for the fatal crane collapse at The Terminal condo construction site near Phuket International Airport last week that killed one man and injured three others. constructiondeathaccidentspolice By The Phuket News Friday 17 June 2016, 10:07AM Construction worker Nikorn Tubtawee died when he was crushed by a piece of steel in the accident. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub The Sakoo Police have deemed that the fatal crane collapse at The Terminal condo construction site last week was an accident. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Our investigation into the death and injury is finished, no charges have been filed, Sakoo Police chief Col Jirasak Siamsak told The Phuket News. Col Jirasak explained that the four men were assembling a tower crane when the accident happened. (See story here.) While they were attempting to connect the second section of the jib, the section they were adding slipped and fell onto the mobile crane below and then onto the building under construction, he said. The crane part [that the men were adding] did not fall onto the men as reported, the death and injuries happened when they tried to avoid the falling debris. When the men were jumping off the mobile crane, Nikorn Tubtawee [the deceased] was crushed by a piece of steel and the three other men fell and injured their arms and legs, Col Jirasak said. One victim, Krisana Srirut is still at Vachira Hospital with a broken leg while the other two, Suthin Prawan, 26, and Patiphan Yodchak, 16, were discharged after treatment of minor body injuries from when they jumped off the mobile crane, he added. Both the victims and the family of the deceased agreed that the whole incident was an accident that no one wanted to have happened. The company has been taking care of medical expenses and paid compensation to the family of the deceased, Col Jirsak noted. He did not disclose the extent of compensation offered by the contractor, PR Construction Co. However, Col Jirasak said investigations by government agencies were continuing. The construction site is still closed for officials from the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning to thoroughly inspect the site before the construction company can resume with the construction, he said. Parents allege son injured by teacher at Phuket school PHUKET: The parents of a 7-year-old student of Kajonkiet Thalang School filed a complaint at Thalang Police Station this morning (June 17) regarding alleged abuse of their son by the schools Physical Education teacher. crimepolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Friday 17 June 2016, 03:15PM The complaint alleges that the teacher pushed their son with his foot into the school swimming pool, resulting in the boy hitting his head on the pool edge and requiring stitches to the wound. The police complaint follows parents Prathompong and Jiraporn Klubsong filing a complaint at the Damrongdhama Centre (Ombudsmans Office) at Provincial Hall yesterday (June 16), where they told officials that their son, A, was assaulted by the boy's gym teacher, Itsara Lianloy, on June 6. Following the incident, the school contacted the parents, who immediately went to pick up the boy from school and take him to be treated at a Phuket hospital. As they made their formal complaint yesterday, the parents brought with them a copy of a statement made to police at Thalang Police Station, a doctor certificate and pictures of As injuries. The gym teacher kicked A into the pool, which resulted in A injuring his head. We were contacted immediately after the incident, so we went to school and picked up A to take him to hospital, Mr Prathompong said. Prior to this incident, As class teacher (Ms Nitirat Phimmee, who was also present when the gym teacher is alleged to have kicked A) allegedly threw books and a backpack at him during class. She often used intimidating language with A. He was frightened of her, he alleged. At first we were not looking to receive any compensation or for anyone to pay for this incident, we just wanted our son to be transferred to a different class. The schools chief administrator agreed that the school would move A to a new class when the school reopened on June 7, but that did not happen. Our son even skipped class because he no longer wanted to be there. We have not heard anything from the school, so on June 9 we filed a statement at Thalang Police Station against the gym teacher for assault, but as nothing has happened we have today come to the Damrongdhama Centre, he added. I am disappointed and hurt that a teacher can harm a student like this, and I am very disappointed with the school and how they have handle this situation, Ms Jiraporn said. A spokesperson at Kajonkiet Thalang School told The Phuket News today said that the school was aware of the incident, but denied that a teacher shoved A with his foot. We questioned the gym teacher and other witnesses, and we were told that the gym teacher used the side of his leg to bump A to get in line, but A fell into the pool, and while A was climbing up out of the pool, he hit his forehead on the pool edge, the spokesperson said. We contacted the parents right after the accident and told them we wanted to take the injured student to a hospital nearby, but the parents refused and said they would take their kid to Phuket International Hospital. The next day, we apologised to parents about the incident and gave a written warning to the gym teacher and they were okay with that, but then the parents brought up a new issue to our attention they said that their child was afraid of his class teacher because she threw a backpack at him. She received a written warning also, the spokesperson said. The parents insisted that the punishment for these teachers was not enough and they wanted their child to move to a different class. Management at the school explained that changing classes would not solve the problem, that the student needed to adjust to their teachers and classmates and to give them at least two weeks to get to know each other. The next thing we know is that they have taken the matter to the Damrongdhama Centre and the police. The spokesperson added that the school pool area does not have CCTV installed, but that management at the school were now considering install CCTV in the pool area. Following the talks between the EU Council, Commission and Parliament, the European Union agreed yesterday (16 June) to put an end to the financing of various armed groups through trade in conflict minerals. The proposed agreement urges EU companies involved in the trade of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold minerals typically used for manufacturing of everyday products such as mobile phones or cars to source the minerals responsibly. Under the proposal, all EU firms importing these minerals will have to scrutinize their list of suppliers. The exception will only be given to the smallest companies and this due diligence will be also compulsory for refiners and smelters. On behalf of the Dutch EU presidency, Trade Minister Lilianne Ploumen stressed that The EU is committed to preventing international trade in minerals from financing warlords, criminals and the human rights abusers. The Parliaments Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange added that the EU needs to end the suffering of people being forced to mine precious metals and do our utmost to prevent violent conflicts. The new framework formulates clear obligations for the critical upstream part of the conflict minerals supply chain, including smelters and refiners to source minerals responsibly. Moreover, the Commission will also come up with a few other measures, such as the development of reporting tools to carry out the due diligence. The technical details of the deal are to be formulated. The EU regulation regarding conflict minerals applies to all conflict-affected and high-risk zones in the world, with a special focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes area. The Commission will also appoint experts via tender to come up with an indicative list of problematic areas. Phuket marine experts confirm mysterious beached remains are of sperm whale PHUKET: Marine experts have confirmed that the carcass of unidentified marine animal found washed up on Naithon Beach yesterday (June16) was that of a sperm whale. marineanimalsenvironment By The Phuket News Friday 17 June 2016, 05:20PM Phuket marine biologists have confirmed that the mysterious remains found washed ashore at Naithon Beach were that of a sperm whale. Phuket Lifeguard Service Although the head and much of the body had decomposed, there was enough of the remains to confirm that it was a sperm whale, about 10 metres long, Dr Kongkiat Kittiwatthanawong, Chief of the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biology Centre (PMBC) told The Phuket News today (June 17). We believe the whale died at least two weeks before its remains washed ashore. We will keep samples of the parts that were recovered for further examination, in the hope that we may confirm the cause of death, age and sex of the whale, he said. Dr Kongkiat noted that sperm whales were rare finds along the Andaman coast, but added, Recently a calf was spotted south of Phuket. Usually, sperm whales will search for food and stay very deep in the ocean, though our records show that 12 years ago, 16 sperm whales were recorded as seen in the Andaman region, and around that time eight were spotted near Phuket, he said. EU President, Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, have sent their condolences to US President Barack Obama on behalf of the citizens of the European Union following the mass shooting that took place in a night club frequented by people from the LGBT community in Orlando, Florida. The EU representatives expressed their deepest condolences to the families, friends and community of the victims of the attack as well as to the population of Orlando and all those affected by this terrible event. This was an attack on all Americans who share the values of equality and freedom; this was an attack on the very way of life which we treasure on both sides of the Atlantic, the letter said. The EU leaders further said that both the United States and Europe have been repeatedly under attack in the last months but each time they emphasized both sides have stood up again and reached out to each other in solidarity, as true allies. Mr. Tusk and Mr. Juncker reassured President Obama of the EUs continued support, assistance and cooperation in combatting those who seek to challenge the common values we hold dear. The massacre that took place on last Sunday was carried out by an American-born man who pledged allegiance to ISIS, although there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack on jihadi forums. The mass shooting which claimed the lives of 50 people, including the gunman himself, was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States modern history and the nations worst terror attack since 9/11. Many South Dakota farmers expect below-average yields this year Dry fields in the southeastern part of South Dakota and wet fields in spring in northeastern South Dakota could mean lower crop yields. The European Union presented a series of measures to help Member States in their efforts to prevent and tackle radicalization that leads to terrorism and violent extremism. The proposal includes boosting research to better understand the sources and roots of this increasingly worrying phenomenon, supporting educational programs to prevent the manifestation of radicalization, and tackling hate speech on the Internet. The EU is also seeking to strengthen cooperation with third countries facing similar challenges. Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the recent attacks in Orlando and in France are a reminder for Europeans that terrorism is global but also extremely local, affecting communities and individuals around us. The majority of the perpetrators are our own citizens, born and raised on our territory, educated in our schools, now radicalized and turning against their own fellow citizens, their neighbors, and in some cases their friends. Turning against our values, giving in to propaganda of hate inspired by an ideology of catastrophe, he said. Brussels estimates that there are about 4,000 EU nationals that have joined terrorist organizations to fight in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The EU has therefore strengthened its security, border, and migration databases and reinforced information sharing. The new measures are particularly designed to counter terrorist propaganda and hate speech on the Internet via cooperation with the tech industry, aiming to stop the spread of illegal content of hatred and violence. They also address radicalization in prisons, promote inclusive education and EU common values as well as an open and resilient society. The EU also seeks to boost international cooperation, support research and monitoring as well as focus on the security dimension of the prevention of radicalization, such as travel prohibitions and the criminalization of travelling to third countries for terrorist purposes. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close In this Wednesday, January 12, 2011 file photo, Then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, talks to Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers during a meeting in Doha, Qatar. Stepping up to a microphone on the campaign trail this week, presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was unsparing when she talked about Americaas allies in the Persian Gulf. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, File) British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's "firm support" for India's NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading club's crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britain's backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi on Thursday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." "The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support India's application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity," the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. India's case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support India's bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. Zakia Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 killed in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre here, has expressed shock at the "triviality" of the life sentence awarded to 11 persons and seven-year jail term to 12 others in the case on Friday and called it "travesty of justice". "Is this a punishment? It is too small for such heinous killings, I am not going to take it lying down. I will stand up again like I have all these years and move the higher courts," said Jafri, who is in her 70s. Jafri, who had forced the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case to include then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi besides senior Indian POlice Service officials as the accused, asserted that the number of accused was itself too small given the hundreds of people involved in the gruesome killings. During its investigation the SIT had questioned Modi for nine hours but he was let off later for want of material evidence. Speaking to journalists in Surat on Friday, Jafri said: "I am not satisfied at all. All the convicts should have got life imprisonment. The battle is still on and we will fight till we get justice". "I am the person who saw with my own eyes the heinous killing of innocent people, not the court. They came well-prepared and attacked innocent people, they were all there for hours, nobody went home," she added. Special Sessions Court Judge P.B. Desai handed down life imprisonment to the 11 persons on the charge of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. He sentenced one of 13 charged with lesser crime to 10 years and the remaining 12 persons, including local Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Atul Vaidya, to seven years. One person was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The court had on June 2 convicted 24 of the total 60 accused in the case while finding 36 of them as "not guilty". Jafri had wanted all 60 to be sentenced to life imprisonment till their death. Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked stands behind a bill seeking to expand presidential powers to grant a pardon for prisoners. Today, the president is empowered to grant clemency to a convicted criminal. At his digression, the president may shorten ones prison sentence or overturn ones conviction, resulting in immediate release. The new bill, initiated by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, would permit the president to do the same for persons convicted by professional disciplinary tribunals such as those which sanction attorneys and physicians by revoking or suspending ones professional license to practice. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The smuggling enterprise is a busy and profitable one, as PA (Palestinian Authority) residents willingly pay to get smuggled across the Green Line into Israel proper. He told me that he was in Saudi Arabia and he wants to get to Jaffa because God arranged work for him stated Bilal Sivan, who met the terrorist Muhammed Masalcha who perpetrated the terror attack in Jaffa in March 2016. On Wednesday 9 Sivan, the High Court gave the green light to raze the terrorists home, located in the Kalkilye area. It was decided that the fact that the terrorist was killed is not in its own right a deterrence, permitting the razing of the home to serve as a deterrence to future terrorists. Justices Chanan Meltzer, Tzvi Zilbertal and Uri Shoham decided sealing the home was insufficient as a brother of the terrorist has publically expressed his support for the fatal attack as well as for Hamas and Fatah. Sivan was one of many smugglers, PA residents earning a handsome living for the risky work of smuggling illegals across the Green Line. Often the going rate is NIS 200, but in this case, the murderous terrorist got the ride for a mere NIS 150. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Last week, gunmen opened fire in the Sarona Market Complex in the heart of Tel Aviv, murdering four people. The Government Press Office video examines how Israelis are dealing with the attack, the PTSD, and the bereavement. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Israels newly resigned defense minister said Thursday he will challenge Benjamin Netanyahu in the countrys next election, accusing the Israeli prime minister of scaring the public with exaggerated security threats and allowing a radical minority to take over the government. With his comments, Moshe Yaalon completed his transformation from one of Netanyahus closest and most trusted advisers into one of his most serious challengers. Yaalon, a former military chief, was forced to resign last month after Netanyahu expanded his coalition government and offered the defense post to Avigdor Lieberman, a firebrand leader of a hard-line nationalist party. Netanyahu and Yaalon had been at odds following a series of disagreements between political hard-liners and military leaders, with Yaalon backing the military. In his first major address since stepping down, Yaalon accused Netanyahu of using scare tactics to exaggerate regional threats against Israel and caving in to extremists. Knowing the strategic situation of Israel in detail, and the militarys power and capabilities, I can say that today and in the foreseeable future there is no existential threat on the state of Israel, Yaalon said. Therefore, it is expected of the leadership to stop scaring the citizens of Israel and giving them the sense that we are on the brink of a second Holocaust, he added, speaking Thursday at the Herzliya Conference, an annual gathering of the military and political elite. What I am truly worried about are not the weapon trucks traveling from Syria to Lebanon, nor Irans attempts to terrorize us. Israel can handle these threats, Yaalon added. What I am worried about are the cracks in Israeli society, and the breaking down of fundamental values. He accused the government of tolerating incitement against judges, threatening press freedom and suppressing dissent, and said that the violent and racist discourse of a radical minority has infiltrated the mainstream and the leadership and threatens to roll us down to the abyss. Israel needs change, he said, adding the will seek the prime ministers job in the next elections, which are to take place by 2019. He did not say whether he would challenge Netanyahu for the leadership of the ruling Likud Party, or join a new party to press his campaign. Netanyahu accused Yaalon of contradicting his recent opinions expressed while the former defense minister was still in office. It is impossible to express full confidence in the leadership when you are inside and to say the absolute opposite when youre outside, Netanyahu said. True leadership doesnt deny threats, the premier added. It sees them and prepares to deal with them and that is exactly what we will continue to do. Separately, former Ehud Barak, the former prime minister, also gave a speech Thursday, calling for Netanyahu to be ousted. Barak, who is now out of politics, said Netanyahus Likud was been taken over by an extreme ideology that instead of pursuing peace with the Palestinians is leading Israel toward a one-state reality in which Israel becomes an apartheid-like country or a binational state with a Jewish minority. I call upon the government to come to its senses and get back on track, he said. If not, all of us, yes, all of us, must get out of our seats and topple it through grassroots demonstrations and the ballot box before its too late. (AP) A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was convicted on Friday of being an accessory to the murder of 170,000 people, according to the judge presiding over what could be one of Germanys last Holocaust trials. Reinhold Hanning was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in facilitating the slaughter at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Reinhold Hanning admitted to the Detmold state court during his trial that he volunteered for the SS at age 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944 but said he was not involved in the killings in the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. It disturbs me deeply that I was part of such a criminal organization, he told the court in April. I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it and I apologize for my actions. Despite his age, Hanning has seemed alert during the four-month trial, paying attention to testimony and occasionally walking in to the courtroom on his own, though usually using a wheelchair. Several equally elderly Auschwitz survivors testified at the trial about their own experiences, and were among about 40 survivors or their families who joined the process as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin who was used as slave laborer to help build a factory for Siemens outside the camp, told the court at the start of the trial that he regularly saw flames belching from the chimneys of the Auschwitz crematoria. So much fire came out of the chimneys, no smoke, just fire, he told the court. And that was burning people. Schwarzbaum later said he does not want Hanning to go to prison and is happy that he apologized, but had hoped that he would have provided more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. The historical truth is important, Schwarzbaum said. Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War II before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, so sent him to Auschwitz, without him knowing what it was. Though there is no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, hes was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp operate, and can thus be tried for accessory to murder. Though the indictment against Hanning is focused on a period between January 1943 and June 1944 for legal reasons, the court has said it would consider the full time he served there. The same argumentation being used in Hannings case was used successfully last year against SS sergeant Oskar Groening, to convict him of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving in Auschwitz. Germanys highest appeals court is expected to rule on the validity of the Groening verdict sometime this summer. Groening, 95, was sentenced to four years in prison but will remain free while his case goes through the lengthy appeals process and is unlikely to spend any time behind bars, given his age. The precedent for both the Groening and Hanning cases was set in 2011, with the conviction in Munich of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk on allegations he served as a Sobibor death camp guard. Although Demjanjuk always denied serving at the death camp and died before his appeal could be heard, it opened a wave of new investigations by the special prosecutors office in Ludwigsburg responsible for Nazi war crime probes. The head of the office, Jens Rommel, said two other Auschwitz cases from that renewed effort are still pending trial another guard and also the commandants radio operator, contingent on the defendants health, which is currently being assessed and a third is still being investigated by Frankfurt prosecutors. Rommels office, which has no power to bring charges itself, has also recommended charges in three Majdanek death camp cases, and has sent them on to prosecutors who are now investigating. Meantime, the office is still poring through documents for both death camps, and is also looking into former members of the so-called Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads, and guards at several concentration camps. Rommel said even though every trial is widely dubbed the last by the media, his office still plans on giving more cases to prosecutors and politicians have pledged to keep his office open until 2025. That seems to me to be the outside boundary, said Rommel, whos not related to the famous German field marshal of the same surname. If the cases will make it to trial, thats hard to say. You cant really look into the future but we have the mandate to keep investigating as long as theres still the possibility of finding someone. (AP) New alliance to fuel China's 'Belt and Road Initiative' Updated: 2016-06-17 10:27 By Zhao Tingting(chinadaily.com.cn) Representatives of the Belt & Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance's founding members pose at the founding ceremony in Beijing on July 16, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Belt & Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance (BRICA), with 22 founding members from 20 countries, was officially founded in Beijing on Thursday. "The establishment of the alliance will promote industrial investment and economic and trade cooperation among countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road," said Li Yizhong, co-chair of BRICA. The Silk Road Economic Belt concept was first introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. On March 28, 2015, China unveiled the principles, framework, and cooperation priorities and mechanisms in the Belt and Road Initiative. "Given the backdrop of the vulnerable economic recovery after the world financial crisis, China's Belt and Road Initiative strategy helps explore new modes in international cooperation and global governance," Li added. BRICA members also jointly launched the project to establish a Belt and Road Industrial Cooperation Think-Tank to pool experts and talents in various countries for multi-field cooperation on policy studies, industrial planning, and project consulting to provide intellectual support for the development of BRICA members. In order to provide financial support to cooperation among BRICA members, the Global Investment, Merger and Acquisition Fund Alliance was also established today. Currently, more than 60 domestic institutions have joined the alliance, managing an asset of 300 billion yuan and covering investment in advanced manufacturing, information technology, energy, medicine and health care, real estate, infrastructure and so on. Two groups opposed to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are among the first to receive permits to gather at next months Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Others include the League of Women Voters, which helps immigrants, and a church that opposes homosexuality by picketing soldiers funerals. Peace and anti-racism groups also have gotten permits. Various groups are seeking permits for reasons including to demonstrate, march or stay at a nearby park. The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal judge to clarify the permitting process for the GOP convention that begins July 18. The ACLU filed the request on behalf of Citizens for Trump and other organizations. (AP) New Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm has conveyed a reconciliatory message to four countries with which Turkey has had strained relations, including Israel. Israel, Syria, Russia, EgyptThere cant be any permanent enmities between these countries encircling Black Sea and the Mediterranean. An incident happened with Russia. We of course wont allow the violation of our right to sovereignty. However, its not right to stick to a single incident, Yldrm said, referring to the fallout between his country and Russia after Turkey downed a Russian plane that violated Turkish airspace in November 2015, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. Yldrm, who replaced resigned Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu in May, also said, We are coming to a point with Israel. They are also showing will. There are contacts. Its not concluded yet. I dont think it will take long. The determinative thing here is eliminating the isolation of Gaza for humanitarian purposes. Turkey and Israel have had strained relations since the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident, in which nine Turkish militants were killed in clashes after they attacked Israeli commandos who boarded a ship that was trying to breach the blockade on Gaza. But more recently, the Turkish government offered condolences to Israel after the March 2016 suicide bombing in Istanbul, in which three Israeli tourists were killed. The Turkish gesture was viewed as signaling a shift in Turkeys outlook on the Jewish state. Israel can be an asset when it comes to Syria given its intelligence resources, and the Turkish government also believes that better relations with the U.S. will result should it reconcile with Israel, Michael Koplow, an expert on Turkey and the policy director for the Israel Policy Forum think tank, told JNS.org in May. Turkey and Israel have also been bandied about as potential energy partners, with Israel needing a market where it can export its natural gas, and Turkey needing a supplier to meet its growing energy needs and help it reduce its reliance on Russian gas. We need to look at the bigger picture. There is no animosity between our peoples. Its possible to return to the old days and even take it further, Yldrm said about Turkish relations with Israel, Syria, Russia, and Egypt. (Source: JNS.org) No 10 Tesla (valuation: $4.4 billion) A parking sign at a Tesla Supercharger station is shown in Cabazon, California, US, May 18, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Toyota retained its title as the world's most valuable car brand, followed by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to an annual report released by advertising research firms WPP and Millward Brown. Toyota, whose brand value rose 2 percent to $29.5 billion, has been the number one for 11 consecutive years. Tesla, with a valuation of $4.4 billion, entered the top 10 for the first time. It overtook Lexus and was ranked the 10th most valuable global car brand. Let's take a look at 10 most valuable car brands in the world: Sir Philip Green is reportedly working on a plan to protect the pensions of former BHS executives but will tell ordinary members of staff to trade in a steady retirement income for a one-off payment. The Financial Times says documents published by a parliamentary inquiry have revealed that Sir Philip suggested avoiding a cap on the retirement benefits of former BHS workers by rescuing the pension scheme himself instead of waiting for an official bailout. That would benefit senior executives whose pensions exceed the 32,000 covered by the Pension Protection Fund. The removal of the PPF cap would mean 230 former executives - who would suffer big losses if they go for the official bailout - would receive more generous benefits from a scheme that pays out about 57,000 per retired member. Grilling: Philip Green was quizzed for six hours in the Commons this week over his role in the demise of BHS and he looks set to be hauled back in for a second session The Guardian says evidence released by the parliamentary inquiry on Friday suggests Sir Philip decided to sell BHS because of the cost of rescuing the pension fund. Chris Martin, chairman of the BHS pension fund trustees, said in a meeting with Greens advisers Sir Philip had decided to sell up in early 2015 because the Project Thor rescue scheme was too expensive and 'personal factors have convinced him that now is the correct time to sell'. Sir Philip looks set to be grilled for a second time by MPs over the collapse of BHS. The billionaire tycoon was quizzed for six hours this week over his role in the demise of the 88-year-old high street chain with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs. But the 64-year-old could face another round of potentially awkward questioning as MPs pore over the complex web of offshore companies his family used to acquire money and assets out of BHS. Greens wife, Lady Tina Green, who lives in the tax haven of Monaco and controls the 3.2billion family fortune, may also be forced to appear in front of MPs as they look into her role in the debacle. Three bankers from Goldman Sachs senior executive Michael Sherwood and subordinates Michael Casey and Anthony Gutman who acted as advisors to Green are expected to give evidence on June 28. Green and his advisors have come under fire over the collapse of BHS in April, barely a year after he sold the struggling chain to three-times bankrupt former racing driver Dominic Chappell for just 1. Chappell has been accused of being a premier league liar who had his fingers in the till. He is also alleged to have threatened to kill former BHS boss Darren Topp. The companys 22,000-member pension scheme could end up in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) leaving some former workers with only 90 per cent of their planned retirement income. MPs on the joint Commons Work and Pensions and Business, Innovation and Skills committee want details on how much money was taken out of BHS in the 15 years the Greens owned the department store group. Labour MP Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said there is a direct link between debts that were offset against profits and the millions paid in dividends. He added: What sums of tax did this attract? Money came out in dividends and loans and destabilised the company. We need details of exactly what happened. Collapse: BHS has gone under with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs and questions are being asked over how Previously unseen documents relating to property deals within Greens empire were published by the committee yesterday. One property transaction the sale of BHS headquarters at Marylebone House between Lady Greens British Virgin Islands-based Wilton Equity and Arcadia is under scrutiny. Green runs Arcadia, which owns Topshop and Dorothy Perkins among other high street names, but it is owned via Taveta which in turn is controlled by Lady Green. The property deal netted Lady Green more than 20million. Work and Pensions Committee member Craig Mackinlay said the committee could recall Green. He said: I dont think we got everything we need. It is all still very mysterious. The documents raise questions about exactly what assets were leaving the company. It is thought the Greens benefitted by as much as 600million from BHS including dividends paid from BHS up until 2005. It is estimated the family have legally avoided paying up to 160million in taxes over money made from BHS due to the controlling companies being based in overseas tax havens. A spokesman for Green said: This is a perfectly standard corporate structure. The Green familys retail businesses are UK registered and pay UK taxes on their profits. 'Like many other UK companies, they are ultimately owned by entities outside the UK. Following questions over Arcadias pension, a spokesman for Arcadia said: Arcadia is a world-leading global retail group and made a profit of 240million last year. It has no borrowings and there is no issue with its pension scheme. It makes substantial contributions to the pension scheme of around 25million a year and has a good working relationship with the trustees. Target: Deutsche Boerse is seeking to seize control of the 215-year-old London Stock exchange The new German owners of the London Stock Exchange should base their firm in Frankfurt if Britain quits the EU, German politicians have said. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse is seeking to seize control of the 215-year-old London exchange in a 21billion takeover bid. The new company would report profits in euros, Deutsche boss Carsten Kengeter would be in charge and the German firms shareholders would get a 54.4 per cent controlling stake. The one concession to British critics has been a decision to base the companys HQ in London. But German politicians warn a rethink would be needed in the event of a Brexit. Financial policy spokesman Lothar Binding said if the UK voted Leave the location of the holding company will have to be scrutinized. A German government official warned it would be difficult to retain the planned holding structure in the event of a Brexit. A Deutsche spokesman said a London located headquarters was non-negotiable but that a referendum committee was looking at the impact of a Leave vote. Foxtons was back in vogue as the racy London estate agent tried to play down the threat from cheaper digital competitors. Credit Suisse held a housebuilding and property conference last week and the stockbroker's scribblers said in a note to clients that at the event Foxtons continues to down play the threat of fee pressure from online players, such as Purplebricks. 'Management state that Foxtons has 8-10 per cent market share focused at the premium end of the market where customers are willing to pay for a better service,' said analysts. Yesterday, shares in Foxtons climbed 6.9 per cent, or 10.25p to 158.5p. Fight back: Foxtons shares climbed 6.9 per cent, or 10.25p to 158.5p, yesterday as the racy London estate agent tried to play down the threat from cheaper digital competitors However, prior to yesterday's gains the stock had been flirting with an all-time low, of about 140p, since its flotation in 2013. And analysts at Credit Suisse noted that current trading continues to be 'subdued'. They said: 'Management note particular weakness in the inner London branches where stamp duty reforms and lack of affordability are preventing any pick-up in market activity.' Purplebricks the online estate agent backed by fund manager Neil Woodford gained 1 per cent, or 1.5p to 141.5p. Last week the firm revealed plans to expand in Australia as it posted a quadrupling of revenues since listing last December. Elsewhere in the sector Savills, the upmarket estate agent, edged up 2 per cent, or 13.5p to 703.5p. Overall, the FTSE 100 rallied 70.61 points about 1.2 per cent to 6021.09 as risk appetite returned to the London market. Stocks that were out of favour during the early part of the week such as banks, housebuilders and mining companies peppered the leaderboard. Lloyds Banking Group, for example, lead the blue-chip risers, climbing 6 per cent, or 3.7p to 65p. Among the housebuilders, Barratt Developments put on 4 per cent, or 20.5p to 531.5p while Berkeley Group, which has been heavily shorted by hedge funds, rose 3.9 per cent or 115p to 3065p. BT Group ticked up 1.3p per cent, or 5.15p to 407.15p as JP Morgan estimated the company's pension fund deficit was 9billion, which is 1billion less than previous calculations. JP Morgan, though, warned that 'unless this position reverses by June 30, 2017, BT is likely to face increased cash demands from the pension trustees'. National Grid was among the losers, dipping 0.3 per cent, or 3.1p to 958.8p, amid calls from MPs for the company to broken up and bearish broker comment from Credit Suisse, which has an 'underperform' rating on the stock. The broker said: 'National Grid carries a large safe haven premium that we believe is unwarranted by bottom-up fundamentals. We believe the risk of lower UK asset base growth is under appreciated in the share price.' Gold mining company Randgold Resources took the wooden spoon, sliding 4.5 per cent, or 315p to 6610p, as dealers dumped defensive stocks. Among the smaller companies, traders chased pub operators higher following England's 2-1 win against Wales at Euro 2016. Enterprise Inns put on 6.2 per cent, or 5.5p to 95p while Mitchells & Butlers gained 4.8 per cent, or 12.4p to 271.1p. News that United Business Media completed the sale of PR Newswire to Cision for 490million following the US Department of Justice's clearance helped the shares rise 3.63 per cent, or 20p to 571p. Essentra, which had a profit warning a few weeks ago, jumped 6.6 per cent, or 32.4p to 521p amid speculation a predator is preparing to pounce on the filters and plastics firm. DS Smith rose 2.3 per cent, or 8.2p to 370.3p as broker Citigroup said it expects the company to deliver a strong set of results next week. Workspace, provider of office space to small businesses, fizzed 3.8 per cent, or 31.5p higher to 782p after confirming a Property Week report about a potential 120million acquisition of an office campus in London. The trade publication reported Workspace had made an offer to buy the 160,000 square feet Hammersmith Embankment scheme from Goodman and Legal & General's joint venture Arlington Business Parks Partnership. Ocado rebounded even though another stockbroker hit it with a bearish note. French bank Societe Generale published a lengthy report on Ocado about how it and Tesco have the most to lose from the competitive threat of Amazon Fresh, the US retailer's UK grocery service. Societe Generale also downplayed the likelihood of a potential takeover bid for Ocado from the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons or Amazon. Switching on to Sino-German robots Updated: 2016-06-17 08:32 By Liu Ce and Wu Yong(China Daily Europe) Industry leader sees key sector as a potential powerhouse for economy When discussing the links between Germany's Industry 4.0 strategy and Made in China 2025, one of the first things that spring to mind is the robot sector, which is seen as perhaps the most promising area for cooperation. Siasun Robot & Automation Co, the leading robot maker in China, says it has already achieved many breakthroughs. The company, based in the northeast city of Shenyang, revealed on June 13 that customers are now using its new industrial robot, which only began mass production in February. "Our product is a world pioneer," says Ha Enjing, a spokesman for Siasun. "Kuka Roboter (the German robot manufacturer) released its conceptual product last year, but there was no mass production and application. It took us only six months to realize mass production." Siasun says its robot is a new type of product that combines the functions of a mechanical arm and an automatic guided vehicle. "The robot has a huge market demand," says Qu Daokui, president of Siasun. "It's one of our key battlegrounds in competition with global robot giants." Yet despite the quality of the product, the idea of cooperation still appeals, he adds. "We attach great importance to long-term collaboration with Germany." The company says it has established strategic links with many German companies and achieved win-win results. Last year, BMW Brilliance Auto began using Siasun's robot stamping production line at its plant in Shenyang. As part of a strategic deal with Siemens AG, the Chinese company will help promote intelligent manufacturing and apply Industry 4.0 technology in China. In February, Siasun also bought Teutloff Vocational Training Education Group, a leading German mechanical engineering vocational school, for an undisclosed sum. Contact the writers through liuce@chinadaily.com.cn Merkel's visit boosts cooperation Updated: 2016-06-17 08:32 By Zhang Lu and Zhou Wa(China Daily Europe) German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up a three-day visit to China on June 14 that saw the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements, 96 business contracts and increased confidence in tackling problems such as the overcapacity in iron and steel. Merkel, who was making her ninth visit to China as chancellor and was joined by 11 ministers and vice-ministers, co-chaired the fourth China-Germany intergovernmental consultations with Premier Li Keqiang. During the consultations, heads of 26 government departments from both countries, including finance, commerce, education, transportation and health, made reports to Li and Merkel as well as signed the agreements. Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on June 13. [Photo by Wu Zhiyi / China Daily] Germany is the only country with which China has intergovernmental consultations, while China is the only Asian country besides India that Germany has these consultations with. It shows the "uniqueness of the bilateral relations", says Michael Clauss, the German ambassador to China. Along with deeper and broader cooperation, bilateral relations have entered a "very mature" phase, in which the countries not only reach consensus, but also resolve differences while preventing them from becoming hurdles, observers say. With overcapacity in China's iron and steel industry, as well as in other countries, the subject was a hot topic during Merkel's visit. Germany is expected to exert its influence in the European Union, while trade unions and company representatives from EU members have complained that China is dumping it excess iron and steel in the region. "Overcapacity of iron and steel is a global problem, not just China's. We should separate trade conflicts between China and the EU from bilateral trade, as the conflicts are a very small part of trade," Li said after meeting with Merkel. Since 2008, 85,000 steel industry jobs have been wiped out across the EU, and more massive layoffs are expected. The EU has repeatedly resorted to defensive trade measures in the past year, seeking to impose punitive tariffs against China's steel products, although such products have helped reduce the cost of business in Europe amid economic stagnation. Yet statistics from Chinese customs show China produced 112 million metric tons of iron and steel products last year and less than 10 percent were exported. Among the exports, more than 50 percent were shipped to Asia and the Middle East. This means Chinese exports of iron and steel to the EU only take up a small part, says Chen Lifeng, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China. He says China has been made a scapegoat for the problems in Europe's iron and steel industries, while really slow technical innovation and the high cost of human resources are among the key reasons. Rather than resorting to trade protectionism, comprehensive cooperation with China is the way to go, he adds. "Merkel and I have agreed not to expand and complicate trade conflicts," Li said after his discussions with the German chancellor. "We can work together toward the same direction to properly tackle conflicts and increase common interests." In addition to holding talks with the premier, Merkel also had dinner with President Xi Jinping, who told her that China expects Germany and the EU to stop resorting to unfair antidumping investigations against Chinese companies. Xi called for the timely implementation of Article 15 of the Accession Protocol of China's entry to the World Trade Organization, as agreed in 2001. The article stipulates that WTO members should stop following subrogate country measures in antidumping cases against China before Dec 11, 2016. Merkel said Germany attaches great importance to the implementation of the article. After high-ranking meetings in Beijing, the German chancellor went to Shenyang in Liaoning province and visited a BMW factory there. The plant is the largest in the province and aims to meet the standard of Industry 4.0 that requires robots to do 90 percent of the work. About 30 German companies have bases in Shenyang, and more are expected. Industrial areas in Northeast China are facing problems of renovation and trying to employ structural reforms. Merkel said it is "very important and needs a lot of courage" to take such reforms, and suggested China draw on the experience of Germany when it updated its polluted Ruhr area. Clauss adds that Germany would like to take part in the process of China's new round of reforms, which offer cooperation opportunities for Chinese and Germany companies. Contact the writers through zhouwa@chinadaily.com.cn Asset transfer by CSIC puts wind in the sails of key subsidiary Updated: 2016-06-17 08:32 By Zhong Nan(China Daily Europe) Move allows greater manufacturing focus on both military and commercial vessels China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the primary contractor for China's naval force, is transferring the assets of its subsidiary, Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co, to Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co, another of its subsidiaries, to enlarge the latter's capacity in building both military and commercial vessels. Wuchang Shipbuilding, in Hubei province, is one of China's manufacturing bases for conventional submarines and frigates, as well as maritime defense equipment and patrol vessels. Subsequent to the asset transfer, it had restructured the management of Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, the main business of which is ship maintenance and building bulk ships with an annual capacity of 3 million deadweight tons. It is also capable of repairing 212 vessels a year. A spokesman for the state-owned CSIC says Wuchang Shipbuilding specializes in building warships, patrol vessels, offshore engineering ships and large-scale steel structures, but it needs to improve its ability in building large surface warships and long-distance commercial carriers. "Even though Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding has a proven ability in building large-scale bulk ships, it has a narrow product pipeline," the company says. "The integration (of Qingdao and Wuchang) will have complementary advantages. The new shipyard will be capable of producing not only military ships, including the next-generation frigates and amphibious warfare ships, but a wide range of commercial ships such as chemical tankers, megacontainer ships and wood-cargo vessels." Last year, Wuchang Shipbuilding pulled in 12 billion yuan ($1.82 billion; 1.62 billion euros) in sales revenue, while Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding netted 4.05 billion yuan. With a total investment of 3.9 billion yuan, Wuchang Shipbuilding also operates a manufacturing facility that produces offshore engineering products in Qingdao. Dong Liwan, a shipbuilding industry professor at Shanghai Maritime University, says Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding's three large dock facilities in Qingdao can provide a solid foundation to support the merged company's maintenance support ability. "A merger is an effective method of cutting surplus in oversupplied industries," Dong says. "So I'm not surprised to see more restructuring going on this year, as the government deploys more resources in state-owned enterprise reform." Sun Bo, the president of CSIC, says the group is eyeing more market growth points as China embarks on supply-side reform with gusto. It also wants to improve its ability in 10 areas, including power and underwater defense products, electronic information and intelligent equipment, and mechanical and electrical equipment to integrate its civilian and military businesses over the next five years, he says. The supply-side reform includes a series of policies to improve the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, public services, environmental protection, quality and scale of production and further opening up of Chinese markets for foreign investors. With a workforce of about 150,000 employees, CSIC is one of the country's two major shipbuilding behemoths. It operates more than 50 industrial subsidiaries and 30 research institutes, including Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co, Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co and the China Ship Research and Development Academy. It has exported various types of vessels to more than 70 economies. China State Shipbuilding Corp, the other state-owned shipbuilding giant, also has more than 50 subsidiaries and research institutes. Ancient cures for a new nation Updated: 2016-06-17 08:31 By Gong Yidong(China Daily Europe) Traditional Chinese medicine is welcomed after a practitioner joins medical team sent to South Sudan A visit to a Chinese acupuncturist has opened a whole new world of medicine for Issa Justin, a young South Sudanese man who is both a patient and medical student in Juba, capital of the world's newest nation. Justin, 28, a second-year student in clinical medicine at Juba Teaching Hospital, sought treatment for a severe case of facial pain and paralysis, first trying more conventional therapies, but without success. Ding Xiangming trains locals and imparts knowledge and skills about acupuncture. He says that in South Sudan it is not easy to disseminate TCM knowledge. Gong Yidong / For China Daily Then he went to see Ding Xiangming at the hospital's Physiotherapy Department. Ding is from China's Anhui province and specializes in Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion, the burning of a small amount of mugwort herb on the skin to stimulate an acupuncture point. Together with 12 other doctors, Ding arrived in Juba in late February to replace the third Chinese medical team sent to the country. Beijing began to send medical teams to the country after South Sudan won independence from Sudan in a referendum in 2011 after years of fighting. It was the first time that a traditional Chinese medicine doctor was added to the team, with an aim to diversify medical services to the patients. In December, Justin says he developed facial paralysis as he was brushing his teeth on a Sunday morning. All of a sudden, he had trouble rinsing his mouth with water. Pain started to shoot through the right side of his face, extending to the ear and the mouth. His eyes became swollen so much that he had trouble closing them, he says, and he had trouble eating. Tears ran down his eyes as he chewed his food. Even the way he talked changed. "The pain lingered. I felt like my face was being burned by fire," Justin says. Justin sought conventional physiotherapy at the department, including faradic stimulation - applying a small amount of electric current - and facial massage. The treatment lasted for four months, but there was no substantial improvement. In April, he decided to see Ding and started undergoing a daily, 30-minute therapeutic session every morning. "Before then, I had heard of the word 'acupuncture', but I had no idea how it works." He says that to his surprise, the "magic Chinese needles" took effect in a week's time. Needles were applied to a few major points on his face. "I was feeling the flow of blood around the facial areas where the needles entered, as if water were running along the channels," he says. By the end of the first week, Justin was able to fully close his eyes. After a month's treatment, he was once again able to laugh and talk with ease. He was pleased with the results, and advised one of his friends to take her daughter Sarah to be treated by Ding. The 8-year-old girl had symptoms similar to Justin's. Acupuncture and moxibustion are not only applicable to facial paralysis or acute pain. Ding says most of the chronic pain cases seen at the physiotherapy department are treatable with the most common therapeutic methods he uses on a daily basis. These methods include needles, moxibustion and cupping, which is using cups to create suction on the skin for the purpose of mobilizing blood flow to promote healing. Lower back pain is one type of chronic pain that is common among many South Sudanese. Instead of firm mattresses, many South Sudanese use nylon string beds that do not provide good support for the spine, says Jimmy Onge Owun, a South Sudanese physiotherapist at the department. The extended rainy season, from April to November, also contributes to many pain symptoms, Ding says. Trauma and accident cases that require rehabilitation also are common at this, the largest public hospital in South Sudan, where civil war continued after independence. "Acupuncture and moxibustion can play a significant role in one's physical recovery," Ding says. Every day, Ding sees nearly 30 patients with a wide range of illnesses, including back pain, knee pain and strokes. Justin Lukudu, a 52-year-old agricultural specialist from the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Agriculture, had a stroke last year that affected his right side. His brother recommended he see Ding. "I feel that the blood in my body is opened every time the needles are inserted into my body." Aside from regular acupuncture and moxibustion, Ding says he treats him with "fire needles," or heated needles, to enhance the therapeutic effect. Lukudu says it is still difficult for him to raise his right arm as high as he'd like, but he is feeling better after a couple of sessions. It is not, however, easy to disseminate TCM knowledge to South Sudanese patients, Ding says. Although South Sudan is rich in traditional medicinal plants, conventional biomedical treatment still dominates at hospitals and clinics, leaving limited space for alternative treatments. For many, TCM or acupuncture is something unheard of or associated with pain. Even for those who have attended medical school, acupuncture is not considered a primary medical approach by physicians. Onge recalls his days at Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, when Chinese acupuncture was briefly mentioned by a Swedish lecturer in class. Onge was trained as an occupational therapist with six years' professional experience in physiotherapy. But after having witnessed with his own eyes the improvement of patients treated by Ding, Onge says he is convinced of the effectiveness of acupuncture, especially its pain-relieving effects. Acupuncture and moxibustion are also cost-effective and resource-friendly, Onge says. Like all the governmental organizations and businesses affected by South Sudan's power shortages, Juba Teaching Hospital experiences repeated power outrages day and night, making it barely possible to use electronic physiotherapy equipment like infrared rays. In these cases, moxibustion can effectively serve as a source of heat. "This is a way of critical thinking," Onge says. In March, Onge started to observe and assist in Ding's clinical practice. Under the system of apprenticeship in traditional Chinese medicine, Ding became Onge's shifu (teacher) and imparted knowledge and skills. Later, a couple of interns from St. Mary's Medical School also joined in. Under Ding, they studied the basic theory behind acupuncture and moxibustion, such as jingluo (channels and collaterals) and yinyang (positive energy/negative energy). They also learned how to apply needles to specific sites where qi (vital energy) and blood are transported to the body's surface. "It resembles running water. If you stimulate the nerves, qi and blood will travel smoothly in the channel systems of the body, reaching a state where yin is balanced and yang is firm, and a coordinated spirit is guaranteed," Ding says. The efforts have paid off. Onge has successfully treated a patient with severe back pain by integrating muscle exercise with Chinese acupuncture. The pain had disappeared by the time the patient completed nine sessions. Still, more work and time is needed before acupuncture is widely accepted by South Sudanese patients. Su Guiping, head of the Chinese medical team, says he hopes to secure an independent treatment room on the premises of Juba Teaching Hospital so that more needy patients can have access to acupuncture and moxibustion. Ding also notes that physical treatment also involves mental care. Ding says he observes Hippocrates' oath "to cure sometimes, to treat often and to comfort always" as part of his medical ethics. "South Sudan has been ravaged by civil wars for too long. You need to go beyond diseases and treat the patients with dignity, care and respect. This is an invaluable lesson of traditional Chinese medicine." For China Daily (China Daily European Weekly 06/17/2016 page20) Path from student to teacher Updated: 2016-06-17 08:31 By Lina Ayenew(China Daily Europe) Growing up in Ethiopia, China not only seemed far away but also surreal. Now, if you want to know how many Ethiopians visit the country, try queuing for a visa at the Chinese embassy in Addis Ababa. Chinese restaurants and supermarkets are expanding and you can hear quite a few Chinese nationals interacting with Ethiopians in Amharic, the official language of the country. For me, however, learning Chinese was accidental. I was finishing my master's degree at Yale University in the United States (where I never took a class related to China). The job market was terrible, and I decided to look for alternative career paths. I attended a session on teaching in China and a few months later, the Yale-China Association offered me a job at Xiangya Medical School in Changsha, Hunan province. The association paid for my first Mandarin lessons, held in Beijing. When I arrived in Changsha, I immediately recruited an undergraduate student as my tutor. My new tutor was only 21 years old but her English was very good and she could explain concepts that were too complicated for me to understand in Mandarin. After my teaching mission in Changsha was completed, I headed to Beijing to take Chinese classes at the Beijing Language and Culture University. After a year of Chinese at the university and a brief stint at a PR firm in Beijing, I headed back to Ethiopia. Since I began living abroad, the relationship between my country and China had only grown more intimate. In 2012, China had financed and built the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The railroad that connects Addis Ababa to Djibouti was already underway and financed through loans from China. And my neighborhood was a burgeoning Chinatown. I was excited to know that my proficiency in Chinese would become very handy in Ethiopia. In Addis Ababa, I did consulting work for institutions that wanted to enter the Chinese market. I also met with executives of Chinese companies operating in Ethiopia. Impressed with my Mandarin, many would offer me opportunities to work in their companies. They wanted someone bilingual who could help them bridge the language barrier. They really needed someone like me. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of Ethiopians who speak Chinese. But the demand for them is growing. The Confucius Institute at Addis Ababa University is now offering a bachelor's degree in Mandarin and even sends its top students to study in China. The students from this program are quickly recruited by Chinese companies, and word on the street is that their entry-level salary is at least double that of their classmates. Aside from this program and a few other private offerings, however, there are no readily available self-study materials to learn Mandarin in Ethiopia. So I began designing this course, as a side-gig. It took months of writing, directing Chinese voice actors, audio recording and editing. In February 2016, I decided to announce what I was working on. I appeared on an Ethiopian talk show. The course included an audio component and a book. I offered two chapters for free on the website of the course, www.chineseforethiopia.com. Within hours of the show airing, hundreds of people logged on. And I began receiving several emails a day from students, journalists, engineers and business people who expressed deep interest in learning Chinese. Although international media outlets are warning that China is slowing down, most people in Ethiopia feel like the influence of the Asian giant is far from diminished. Parents want their children to speak Mandarin, young people are increasingly seeing it as a way to be more competitive and merchants want to strengthen their relationships with their Chinese counterparts. For China Daily (China Daily European Weekly 06/17/2016 page24) Ancient cures for a new nation Updated: 2016-06-17 08:31 By Gong Yidong(China Daily Europe) Traditional Chinese medicine is welcomed after a practitioner joins medical team sent to South Sudan A visit to a Chinese acupuncturist has opened a whole new world of medicine for Issa Justin, a young South Sudanese man who is both a patient and medical student in Juba, capital of the world's newest nation. Justin, 28, a second-year student in clinical medicine at Juba Teaching Hospital, sought treatment for a severe case of facial pain and paralysis, first trying more conventional therapies, but without success. Ding Xiangming trains locals and imparts knowledge and skills about acupuncture. He says that in South Sudan it is not easy to disseminate TCM knowledge. [Photo by Gong Yidong / For China Daily] Then he went to see Ding Xiangming at the hospital's Physiotherapy Department. Ding is from China's Anhui province and specializes in Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion, the burning of a small amount of mugwort herb on the skin to stimulate an acupuncture point. Together with 12 other doctors, Ding arrived in Juba in late February to replace the third Chinese medical team sent to the country. Beijing began to send medical teams to the country after South Sudan won independence from Sudan in a referendum in 2011 after years of fighting. It was the first time that a traditional Chinese medicine doctor was added to the team, with an aim to diversify medical services to the patients. In December, Justin says he developed facial paralysis as he was brushing his teeth on a Sunday morning. All of a sudden, he had trouble rinsing his mouth with water. Pain started to shoot through the right side of his face, extending to the ear and the mouth. His eyes became swollen so much that he had trouble closing them, he says, and he had trouble eating. Tears ran down his eyes as he chewed his food. Even the way he talked changed. "The pain lingered. I felt like my face was being burned by fire," Justin says. Justin sought conventional physiotherapy at the department, including faradic stimulation - applying a small amount of electric current - and facial massage. The treatment lasted for four months, but there was no substantial improvement. In April, he decided to see Ding and started undergoing a daily, 30-minute therapeutic session every morning. "Before then, I had heard of the word 'acupuncture', but I had no idea how it works." He says that to his surprise, the "magic Chinese needles" took effect in a week's time. Needles were applied to a few major points on his face. "I was feeling the flow of blood around the facial areas where the needles entered, as if water were running along the channels," he says. By the end of the first week, Justin was able to fully close his eyes. After a month's treatment, he was once again able to laugh and talk with ease. He was pleased with the results, and advised one of his friends to take her daughter Sarah to be treated by Ding. The 8-year-old girl had symptoms similar to Justin's. Acupuncture and moxibustion are not only applicable to facial paralysis or acute pain. Ding says most of the chronic pain cases seen at the physiotherapy department are treatable with the most common therapeutic methods he uses on a daily basis. These methods include needles, moxibustion and cupping, which is using cups to create suction on the skin for the purpose of mobilizing blood flow to promote healing. Lower back pain is one type of chronic pain that is common among many South Sudanese. Instead of firm mattresses, many South Sudanese use nylon string beds that do not provide good support for the spine, says Jimmy Onge Owun, a South Sudanese physiotherapist at the department. The extended rainy season, from April to November, also contributes to many pain symptoms, Ding says. Trauma and accident cases that require rehabilitation also are common at this, the largest public hospital in South Sudan, where civil war continued after independence. "Acupuncture and moxibustion can play a significant role in one's physical recovery," Ding says. Every day, Ding sees nearly 30 patients with a wide range of illnesses, including back pain, knee pain and strokes. Justin Lukudu, a 52-year-old agricultural specialist from the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Agriculture, had a stroke last year that affected his right side. His brother recommended he see Ding. "I feel that the blood in my body is opened every time the needles are inserted into my body." Aside from regular acupuncture and moxibustion, Ding says he treats him with "fire needles," or heated needles, to enhance the therapeutic effect. Lukudu says it is still difficult for him to raise his right arm as high as he'd like, but he is feeling better after a couple of sessions. It is not, however, easy to disseminate TCM knowledge to South Sudanese patients, Ding says. Although South Sudan is rich in traditional medicinal plants, conventional biomedical treatment still dominates at hospitals and clinics, leaving limited space for alternative treatments. For many, TCM or acupuncture is something unheard of or associated with pain. Even for those who have attended medical school, acupuncture is not considered a primary medical approach by physicians. Onge recalls his days at Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, when Chinese acupuncture was briefly mentioned by a Swedish lecturer in class. Onge was trained as an occupational therapist with six years' professional experience in physiotherapy. But after having witnessed with his own eyes the improvement of patients treated by Ding, Onge says he is convinced of the effectiveness of acupuncture, especially its pain-relieving effects. Acupuncture and moxibustion are also cost-effective and resource-friendly, Onge says. Like all the governmental organizations and businesses affected by South Sudan's power shortages, Juba Teaching Hospital experiences repeated power outrages day and night, making it barely possible to use electronic physiotherapy equipment like infrared rays. In these cases, moxibustion can effectively serve as a source of heat. "This is a way of critical thinking," Onge says. In March, Onge started to observe and assist in Ding's clinical practice. Under the system of apprenticeship in traditional Chinese medicine, Ding became Onge's shifu (teacher) and imparted knowledge and skills. Later, a couple of interns from St. Mary's Medical School also joined in. Under Ding, they studied the basic theory behind acupuncture and moxibustion, such as jingluo (channels and collaterals) and yinyang (positive energy/negative energy). They also learned how to apply needles to specific sites where qi (vital energy) and blood are transported to the body's surface. "It resembles running water. If you stimulate the nerves, qi and blood will travel smoothly in the channel systems of the body, reaching a state where yin is balanced and yang is firm, and a coordinated spirit is guaranteed," Ding says. The efforts have paid off. Onge has successfully treated a patient with severe back pain by integrating muscle exercise with Chinese acupuncture. The pain had disappeared by the time the patient completed nine sessions. Still, more work and time is needed before acupuncture is widely accepted by South Sudanese patients. Su Guiping, head of the Chinese medical team, says he hopes to secure an independent treatment room on the premises of Juba Teaching Hospital so that more needy patients can have access to acupuncture and moxibustion. Ding also notes that physical treatment also involves mental care. Ding says he observes Hippocrates' oath "to cure sometimes, to treat often and to comfort always" as part of his medical ethics. "South Sudan has been ravaged by civil wars for too long. You need to go beyond diseases and treat the patients with dignity, care and respect. This is an invaluable lesson of traditional Chinese medicine." For China Daily Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Laura Amato At this years Belmont Stakes, crowning a new Triple Crown winner was not an option. Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby winner and early favorite to clinch the Triple Crown, didnt even make the trip to the Belmont Park after falling in the Preakness. But that didnt stop people from coming out in droves Saturday, dressed to the nines and anxious to get in on the track action. For them, the Belmont isnt just about the raceits an event in its own right. I came to the Belmont because its the best race in the Triple Crown, Bayside native Zachary Thompson said. Ive been to the Kentucky Derby, I go to the Preakness every year, but this is the cleanest, best race. Its just a really nice day. Good racing, good family time. Its awesome. Of course, last years Belmont boasted a crowd of over 90,000 people, all determined to witness history happen in front of them. This years slate of races didnt promise the same moment, but it still offered many of those coming out the chance to have their first experience at the track. In fact, after last years dramatic day, even more people were interested in taking in the races and many made it a full-day event. This is my first year coming and I thought itd be fun, said Abel Vigo of Howard Beach, who came with a group of friends. Its been a lot of fun so far. Its always been on a bit of a to-do list that Ive had and Im crossing it off the to-do list. While there might not have been the possibility of history-making races, Belmont spectators still headed to the betting window in droves. And each of them brought their own approach. Vigo and his friends, some of whom traveled to the track from Connecticut, donned mail-order horse-head hats. They garnered a fair bit of attention. We came out three years ago for California Chrome, which is why Ive got STUD on my hat, Darren Metzger, of Stamford, Conn., said. The hats came from a catalogue and weve worn them for the last three years. Theyre certainly an attention-getter. They do give some good luck too. Thompson, meanwhile, went for a different approach at the window. He didnt put any money on pre-race favorite Exaggerator. Instead, he opted for a different rationale. I love a horse coming off a layoff, he said. I look for those guys that havent been seen in the racetrack in six or seven months. I always wonder why the owner brought them here and I go with them. In the end, Creator won the Belmont Stakes in a dramatic photo-finish. It didnt really matter to the people in the stands. They were happy to see a good race, but, in the end, that wasnt why they came to Belmont. They came for the pomp, for the circumstance and for the over-the-top hats. For some its tradition. For others, its a once-in-a-lifetime day. In the simplest of terms, its just fun. A day at the races with our buddies, you cant beat it, Floral Park native Rich Rizzuto said. Its a New York crowd. Its great to see all the young people come out too. Maybe itll start another generation of horse racing fans. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Bill Parry Vice President Joe Biden, who in 2014 likened LaGuardia Airport to one in a third world country, returned there to help Gov. Andrew Cuomo formally break ground on the $4.2 billion reconstruction project, marking the first complete rebuild of an airport in the United States in 20 years. Cuomo thanked Biden for opening our eyes to the dilapidated state of the airport, paving the way and clearing federal red tape for the new 1.3 million-square-foot, state-of-the-art Grand Terminal Building with a new road network and 3,000-space parking garage. LaGuardia is a key driver of New Yorks economy and transportation network, but for far too long it has been outdated, overcrowded, and unworthy of the Empire State, Cuomo said. Today, we are not just breaking ground, we are building an entirely new LaGuardia and transforming it into a world-class transportation gateway for the 21st century. This state has always been built to lead and now that legacy continues with this unprecedented project that will drive growth and generate continued prosperity for generations to come. Biden, who called himself Mr. Infrastructure, came to LaGuardia to bring more attention to the reconstruction in the hope that other governors would follow Cuomos example and build big projects. Youre going to make a gigantic difference not only in the state of New York, but in the region, Biden said. Its consequential. Our life blood depends on it. The greatest city in the world needs and deserves the greatest infrastructure. With aircraft taking off and landing behind them, Cuomo said by moving the terminal 600 feet closer to the Grand Central Parkway, it will increase airport taxiways by more than two miles, which increases the flight operations 240 percent. That means more flights coming in, and turning around faster for departure, he said. The rebuild, the largest public-private partnership in U.S. history, will create 18,000 direct and indirect jobs, he added, helping New York get its mojo back. The ground-breaking for the construction of the new LaGuardia Airport signals to the world New Yorks commitment to remaining the first-rate city we all expect it to be, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) said. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) said. The overhaul of LaGuardia has been a long time coming and Im thrilled that shovels are finally in the ground. New Q70 bus Select Bus Service will link LaGuardia with subway hubs in Woodside and Jackson Heights, and down the road the governor promises an AirTrain that will deliver travelers to Willets Point for Long Island Rail Road and No. 7 subway service into a new Penn Station. The East Side Access project will eventually provide LIRR access to Grand Central Terminal, and the 7 will connect to a $1 billion expansion of the Javits Center. So, LaGuardia in and of itself is exciting, but LaGuardia is part of what amounts to a $100 billion infrastructure program, Cuomo said, calling it the largest reinvestment in New Yorks infrastructure in modern history, and thats long overdue. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Patrick Donachie Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) condemned MoveNYs proposal to increase tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan over the East River, saying that it would place an outsized burden on neighborhoods with paltry public transit options. We think that it is unfair to communities like southeast Queens, he said during a news conference at the St. Albans Long Island Railroad station Monday morning. We deserve as much as any other community throughout New York. Miller, who was joined by elected officials and community leaders, decried the MTAs treatment of southeast Queens, saying that many residents often had a commute to Manhattan that could take longer than an hour and a half. An LIRR trip from St. Albans to Penn Station, on the other hand, takes approximately 30 minutes. Miller called for the MTA to equalize fares between commuter rails, subways and buses and enable riders to freely transfer from a bus or subway onto the LIRR. He also called on the MTA to expand express bus service from communities like southeastern Queens to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Imagine giving communities and families five to 10 hours a week again with their families, he said. You cannot quantify those benefits. MoveNY is a coalition of transit and environmental advocates as well as business and civic leaders who designed a fair plan which proposes that the state institute fares on the four East River bridges into Manhattan while diminishing fares on other city bridges. Supporters like Move NY Director Alex Mathiessen assert that the revenue that is generated could fund new transit options and transportation infrastructure improvements. Mathiessen disputed Millers arguments and said MoveNYs plan would alleviate the issues residents in transit deserts face. He said the plan would fund the creation of a freedom ticket transit users could purchase that would allow them to transfer between commuter rail and subways or buses. The plan would also expand the LIRRs city ticket option, which offers reduced fares for LIRR users during weekends. The MoveNY proposal would expand the city ticket option to seven days a week for travelers using LIRR within New York City. The way we can most quickly and readily fill those transit gaps is extending city ticket to seven days, he said. It creates a more affordable option. The St. Albans city ticket fare to Penn Station is $4.25, compared to a $7.25 off-peak and $10 peak fare. At the conference, Miller also criticized illegal commuter vans that are often prominent in areas with sparse public transit options. The vans will transport residents living in outer areas to transit hubs like Jamaica Center for a low fee, but Miller cautioned that the drivers were often reckless. As Miller spoke, a van raced by the assembled group and ran a red light. Through the light, Miller said as the van sped on. This is precisely what were talking about. Tony Johnson, who lives a few blocks from the St. Albans station on 114th Road, said the cost of the LIRR ride into Manhattan made it an not a viable option. Because of the price, I have to take the bus and the train, he said. Youre talking about a two or a three-hour trip, and it could take 20 minutes. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Bill Parry In response to the worst gun massacre in U.S. history in Orlando, Fla., U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) will join members of the New York Congressional Delegation, other elected officials, LGBT leaders and gun safety advocates at a City Hall gathering to honor the victims and call for the passage of legislation to put a halt to gun violence. Last Sunday, 49 people were murdered, including 26-year-old Mercedez Marisol Flores, who was born in Ozone Park, but moved to Florida when she was young. Another 53 were wounded during a nearly three-hour rampage by gunman Omar Mateen, who targeted members of the LGBT community at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando before he was shot and killed by police. Flores had gone to the club with her friend Amanda Alvear, who was also killed in the attack, because both felt safe dancing there. Mateen, a Muslim, was born in Queens but his Afghan family moved to Long Island and then Florida. I forgive the boy because I cannot take that hate in my life, Floress father, Cesar, told reporters in Orlando. His daughter had so many dreams, Florez said. We must all come together, we must all be at piece, we must all love each other, because this hatred cannot continue for the rest of our lives. That sentiment was echoed in Queens last Sunday in Jackson Heights when elected officials and LGBT and Muslim community leaders came together at Diversity Plaza. I stand with my Muslim and LGBT brothers and sisters to denounce this mass shooting in Orlando and hate in all its forms, openly gay City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said. We will not be divided by these tragedies: an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. I remain committed to ending senseless acts of violence and will continue to advocate for the passage of common sense gun control laws that keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. Maloney is scheduled to meet the other legislators on the steps of City Hall at 11 a.m. Friday. Borough President Melinda Katz remembered the families of the victims. To the families who have lost their loved ones, you are in our hearts and prayers, she said. At a time like this, we must stand united in solidarity. Each life lost is a very real cost of unbridled firearms and weaponry in our country. Each life lost must be paid an homage by creating the space where we can come together to talk honestly and openly about the complex intersection of homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia. Together, as one borough of over 2.3 million people, we dont deny it we condemn this heinous act of hate and of terror that reverberates in the scales of both lives lost and utter senselessness. Ali Najmi, president of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, said, We simply condemn this horrible, dreadful attack. Members of the LGBT community, he said, have been our stringest allies. Just a week before, Jackson Heights hosted tens of thousand for the annual Queens Pride Parade and Festival. So many people from around the city came together to support the LGBT community, but we cannot only show our support during parades and parties. We must also be allies during the tragedies, state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) said. Astorias Brendan Fay, the gay rights activist who fought for inclusion in Manhattans St. Patricks Day parade, struck an emotional high note, saying, I know what its like to be denounced from the pulpit. I am aware of the grief felt by people who simply wanted to go out and dance. I stand before you with grief and anger. We send from this place our love to those who have suffered loss and take a stand against bigotry and hatred. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Once again Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights became the gathering spot for elected officials and other mourners to express grief at the tragic loss of 49 lives in the mass shooting at a gay bar in Orlando. The square, in one of the worlds most ethnically rich neighborhoods, has turned into a place where people come to disown the hatred that fuels irrational acts and embrace tolerance after shattering events. City Councilman Danny Dromm joined lawmakers from around the city and Ali Najmi, a Queens Muslim leader, to condemn the one-man assault on the LGBT community. Jackson Heights is where Dromm, a tireless gay rights activist, launched the movement in Queens. I dont want this incident to divide us, a tearful Dromm told the Sunday evening vigil, referring to the Muslim shooter. Love conquers hate. Queens, with its vast immigrant network, was the birthplace of Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old killer and son of Afghan immigrants. The family soon moved to Westbury, L.I., and several years later to Florida. The worst terror attack since Sept. 11 occurred during Pride Month for the LGBT community and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At least 53 people who had been celebrating Latin Night at the Pulse nightclub were woundedmany of them young Latinos like those who died. A Hispanic woman originally from Ozone Park was among the fatalities. Armed with his assault weapon, Mateen targeted three separate groups, including his own. But he failed to sever the bonds between Queens gays, Muslims and Hispanics who bring their sorrows and causes to Diversity Plaza. Whether he was motivated by ISIS or simply a lone wolf who flirted with his own gay impulses may never be known. What is clear is that the massacre was a act of deadly extremismnot necessarily a twisted religious rite. Queens leaders have stood behind the boroughs LGBT members, denouncing bigotry and calling for inclusion in the strongest terms. Najmi said the gay community has been the Muslims strongest allies. As the most diverse county in the nation, Queens has again shown that acceptanceeven in the darkest timesis the most effective weapon against hatred. People from every part in the world co-exist within our borders and blend their sometimes dissonant values into a borough-wide culture that works. But this equilibrium could be at risk unless stricter gun laws are passed and the national blame game on ethnic groups does not end. We are devastated by the savage attack but will not be bowed by one mans evil journey. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Mark Hallum Jewish and Muslim attendees gathered to break bread for Ramadans Iftar dinner at the Central Queens Y last week. At the third annual interfaith meal hosted by the Y and funded by United Jewish Appeal, attendees sat side by side to enjoy food and music in a night of cultural exchange. The Central Queens Y and religious leaders kicked off the June 9 event by saying a few words about why interfaith events are important for mutual respect between Jews and Muslims. Wes so proud to be able to do this, to bring the community together. Because we believe that by listening to one another and hearing each others stories, we can work together to build a better world, Jeri Mendolsohn, executive vice president and CEO of Samuel Field in Little Neck and Central Queens Y in Forest Hills, said. I truly believe that the world is in need of people sitting together, breaking bread and learning from one another. If we can do more of whats happening here, if we can do more of opening our hearts and our minds and our soul to the others that we build a common society with, then all that bad stuff thats happening in the world gets diminished, Rabbi Bob Kaplan said. Mustafa Demirci, a LaGuardia student and musician from Istanbul, performed a song on the kanoun, a Turkish string instrument. He was followed by Yusuf Gyurtas, who played the ney, a flute-like instrument. Luly Kaufmann is a Holocaust survivor of Romanian birth who has experienced hate first hand. Having lived in Forest Hills for over 50 years, Kaufann found it easy to talk to the people seated at her table. She said it was as if she knew them well. This is my first time coming to this event. It is very easy to communicate with the people, Kaufann said. Hate makes us miserable. It excludes us. Yael Rosenstock, director of programming for the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding, was invited to speak at the event, which she said corresponded with their mission to break down barriers of hate through dialogue. CERRU has been deliberating for a while now [about] what it is we want to make our new mission statement and the best way to express that is changing the world one dialogue at a time. It seems clear to me this is what this event is about, Rosenstock said. People on both sides have known quite a great deal of hardship in the world as well as good things, Mendolsohn said as she spoke about how far the interfaith dinner has come in the past three years. Were starting to see relationships forming. Theyre sitting together, theres more children at the event. Theyre coming together with very interesting questions related to how people live. The food served up was of varying Middle Eastern origins, such as Turkish and Israeli, while baklava was for desert. Genius behind the wave of '85 Updated: 2016-06-17 08:31 By Li Jing(China Daily Europe) The works of Robert Rauschenberg, who inspired a generation of Chinese artists, return to Beijing In 1985, American artist Robert Rauschenberg came to Beijing to hold a solo exhibition, ROCI China, at the institution now known as the National Art Museum of China. More than three decades on, his work has returned to Beijing for a second major show. Rauschenberg in China, a retrospective of the late artist's work, opened at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art on June 12 and runs until Aug 21. A section of The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece. Stretching 305 meters and made up of 190 parts, the work was completed over 17 years and is regarded as one of Robert Rauschenberg's most important creations. [Photos by Li Jing / China Daily] "Reviewing Rauschenberg is equivalent to reviewing the development of Chinese contemporary art," says art critic Li Xianting. In the 1980s, he says, China's exposure to Western art was limited to reproductions in catalogues, and the understanding of art was largely confined to academic painting, sculpture and printmaking. In contrast, Rauschenberg's enthusiasm for popular culture and rejection of the seriousness of abstract expressionists led him to concentrate primarily on collage and embrace materials traditionally outside the reach of artists. He would cover a canvas with house paint, or ink the wheel of a car and use it to create a drawing on paper. The 1985 exhibition received more than 300,000 visitors over three weeks. "He brought great excitement and stimulation to Chinese contemporary art, especially to nonartists," Li recalls. "He challenged Chinese audiences - that stuff like that could be called art." Contemporary artist Li Xinjian adds that Rauschenberg's work inspired an emerging generation of Chinese artists that would later come to be known as the '85 new wave. "Visiting the retrospective exhibition now, you find he is very different from 30 years ago," he says. Rauschenberg in China at UCCA is the first major exhibition since the artist's death in Florida in 2008. Among the works on display is The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece, which is regarded as one of his most important creations. Stretching 305 meters and made up of 190 parts, the piece was completed over a period of 17 years, from 1981 to 1998, and reflects the major themes throughout his career, from his white paintings, "combines", cardboards and "gluts" to collages composed with found images as well as the artist's own photographs. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Bill Parry Students at LaGuardia Community College have to work much harder than the average collegian, according to the schools president. And that makes graduation day more of a crowning achievement than at other institutions. More than 1,500 graduates celebrated earning their associates degree at their 44th Commencement Monday with over 10,000 people, including friends and family, filling the Quad at Queens College in Flushing. The commuter campus of LaGuardia Community College lacks a space large enough for such an event. Having the graduation at Queens College was fitting because of the synergies between our two colleges, as sister CUNY institutions located in the proud borough of Queens, LaGuardia Community College President Dr. Gail Mellow said. As well, LaGuardia graduates often transfer to Queens College to pursue their bachelors of graduate degrees, so it was beautifully symbolic to mark their send-off at a college where many may attend in the future. Mellow, the leader of the college since 2000, inherited one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the nation with nearly 50,000 students, two-thirds of whom are now new Americans. The students at LaGuardia face a unique challenge in that the majority have family incomes of less than $25,000 per year. Many had to balance caring for their children or working, often full time or several part-time jobs, while attending classes and completing coursework, making this achievement especially meaningful for them, Mellow said. It was wonderful to celebrate their hard work with those who are dear to them, as well as with our faculty and staff who helped guide our graduates towards their degrees and the next chapters of their lives. Like Ridgewoods Sabina Trunfel, 22, who earned her degree in social science despite her pregnancy during the last semester. I was tired all the time, but I had the support of my teachers and they got me through it, she said. Destiny Mantos, 21, of the Bronx, chose LaGuardia because of its diverse student body and worked multiple retail jobs to earn her degree in psychology. The way the world is now you need a degree or you are going nowhere, she said. And Ozone Parks Saul Delcid, 19, who worked two jobs while earning his business administration degree. I went to John Adams High School and I didnt get the best education there, he said. I really had to put my mind to it and I got it done. And there was the 2016 Class Speaker Rachel Chambers, who moved to the United States from Jamaica at age 16 to pursue her education, and credited LaGuardias Young Adult Internship Program for encouraging her to enroll at the school. Many of us here have struggled, cried for either sadness or happiness, pushed ourselves beyond the limits we thought we had and with all of that came growth, Chambers said. All of you are in this audience today and now you are graduates of LaGuardia Community College. We continue to break the stereotype against community college students because our success is immeasurable, and we know the changes we will continue to make. Chambers received her degree in liberal arts. She will attend Emory University in the fall on a full scholarship. Borough President Melinda Katz, who allocated $2.75 million to LaGuardia programs, delivered the keynote address. We, in Queens, are 130 languages. We hail from over 120 countries. We are the most diverse location on the planet, Katz said. Many of you are the first in your families to earn a degree in higher education. And there are people all over the world saving and sacrificing just to get the chance to educate their children right where you are sitting today. Yan Chen, 32, moved from China to Flushing three years ago and after a year learning English she enrolled at LaGuardia. On Monday she clutched her accounting degree and reflected. At first I was very hesitant. I didnt know if I could achieve my goals, but they have such a supportive faculty here, Chen said. They prepare students for a higher education. Im transferring to Baruch for my next challenge. LaGuardia is very good for an immigrant starting a new life in America. Viguens Louis, a 21-year-old, chose LaGuardia over six other colleges coming out of Hillcrest High School in Jamaica. I came here because my girlfriend at the time was going to LaGuardia, Louis said. I played six instruments and thought they had a music program, but its just for recording so I switched to acting. It got me a scholarship to Dean College in Massachusetts. Yes, I took a strange path, but Im really excited to see where in leads me. The former girlfriend also graduated, as did Derek Atson out of Queens Vocational High School in Long Island City. The 21-year-old already had a full time job with Plumbers Local One but went to night school to please his mother. I just wanted to make her happy, he said. His mother, Tara was standing nearby, smiling with pride. Hes the first one in our family to earn a degree, she said. I was so impressed with him it inspired me to enroll at LaGuardia. I just finished my first year in travel and tourism. Times' Game of the Week Preview: Central Valley at Aliquippa Central Valley and Aliquippa are set to face off in arguably the biggest game of the year in the WPIAL. Check out the Times' Game of the Week preview. Brexit strategy Updated: 2016-06-17 08:29 By Andrew Moody(China Daily Europe) How would China react to Britain leaving the European Union? Britain goes to the polls on June 23 to make one of the most momentous decisions about the future direction of the country. People will decide whether to remain in the European Union - where the UK, the bloc's largest economy after Germany, has been a member for 43 years - or to leave. Britain goes to the polls on June 23 to decide whether to remain in the European Union. The outcome could certainly have implications for Sino-British relations. [Photo provided to China Daily] Although the Chinese government remains neutral on such issues, the outcome could certainly have implications for Sino-British relations. Those on the remain side argue ties could put in jeopardy the new "golden era" of relations cemented when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the UK in October. They stress that some of the trade and investment deals agreed as well the development of the City of London as the biggest offshore RMB center outside of Asia were partly predicated on the UK staying in the EU. Those backing Brexit, however, insist that if the UK leaves the EU, it could focus on building a better independent trade and investment relationship with the world's second-largest economy as well as with India and the United States. China, after all, has still to conclude a free trade agreement and investment treaty with the EU after years of talks. Some have also made the case that China prefers the UK to be in the EU because it has been a sympathetic advocate for the country's commercial interests, particularly recently over accusations of alleged Chinese steel dumping. There are concerns also that if the UK left the EU, it could have implications for the 50,000 Chinese who currently study at Britain's universities. Richard Portes, a professor of economics at the London Business School and a close observer of the Chinese economy, says a lot of the debate does not take into account the complexity of negotiating new trade agreements. "It was estimated the other day that the UK would need 450 people to negotiate new trade agreements, and you just don't get these kind of people off the shelf. The reality is it would take a long time to do all this." Portes, also founder and president of the influential Centre for Economic Policy Research, says leaving the EU would put at risk the progress the UK has made in attempting to build a new a partnership with China. "A lot of the work that has been done would be severely undermined and it would be a big negative for the UK." US President Barack Obama brought the complexity of trade negotiations to the fore in the debate when he warned on April 22 that the UK would be at the back of the queue in any trade deal with the US. It also brought into question where the UK would be in China's queue. This had a short-term impact on the polls, with a sudden surge in support for the remain camp. The precise trading arrangement a post-Brexit UK would have with China would partly depend on what leaving arrangements it negotiates with the EU. Contributed photo Underdog Express sends adoptable pets north. The new program is part of Emily's Legacy Rescue and will be introduced during an event June 25 at the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum. SHARE By Jenara Kocks Burgess, Special to the Times Record News Emily's Legacy Rescue is inviting Wichitans to get aboard its new program, Underdog Express, to help save even more pets. ELR will launch the program from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 25 at the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum downtown. The fun family event will feature train rides for the kids, live music by Music4Mutts, food and games. Also, information will be available about how to foster, sponsor or otherwise help save dogs through transport as well as foster applications. "We hope that we will be able to recruit some new fosters and financial sponsors for our Underdog Express and be able to increase the numbers of dogs we can save locally," Underdog Express volunteer coordinator Jan Herzog said in an email. "We will also have several adoptable furry friends on hand who will be looking for local homes." Herzog said the idea for this program started three years ago when she began to investigate the possibility of sending some of the local shelter/rescue dogs to the North, where laws and education have reduced the number of shelter dogs languishing in animal shelters or prevented them from being euthanized for lack of homes. She found out that the Humane Society of Flower Mound, Texas, had begun its Love on Wheels program as partners with Helping Hounds Dog Rescue in DeWitt, N.Y. Since Herzog knew the coordinator of the Flower Mound program because of their mutual involvement in the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the coordinator allowed her to "piggyback" off her program. As the program grew in Wichita Falls, more animal rescue groups participated, including Henrietta/Clay County, Electra, Seymour, Iowa Park, Burkburnett, Jacksboro and Graham. Herzog said they have sent dogs from Emily's Legacy Rescue, Texas Pit Crew, Music4Mutts, Happy Tails, Faery Dogs Rescue, the Humane Society of Wichita County and Clay County Animal Shelter. "We now routinely send over 20 dogs per transport, which is typically twice a month," Jan Herzog said. She said last month when she realized they had been transporting enough animals to have an independent transport program instead of partnering with the Flower Mound Human Society, she thought of ELR as being the best group to sponsor the program in the Wichita Falls area. ELR is a volunteer- and foster-based nonprofit animal rescue that has been rescuing and finding homes for dogs and cats for almost two years. "One group (ELR), however, clearly has emerged as the 'leader of the pack,' sending the majority of the dogs on each transport," she said. Herzog said she approached the ELR president and board to see if they would consider taking over the transport program for the Wichita Falls area dogs, and they enthusiastically agreed. "We decided to call ourselves the Underdog Express because our dogs truly are underdogs," she said. "Who could be more of an underdog than a dog without a home, without a family, and many times, a dog without a known name or any history? The majority of our dogs are on borrowed time, living in a crowded shelter where they are at risk of being euthanized. It's not because the shelter staff doesn't care but because they simply run out of room at some point. During spring and summer, this point comes even more quickly than other times of the year as more litters come flooding into shelters, despite the availability of low-cost spay/neuter services here," Herzog said. She said because Underdog Express has a train motif in its logo, one of the board members had the idea of partnering with the Railroad Museum, and the museum agreed. "We hope that our event introduces our program, not really new, but with a new name and a new beginning, and at the same time, brings added awareness to the history of the railroad in Wichita Falls. I hope we can look forward to a number of events with our friends at the railroad museum," she said. SHARE Brumbalow O&B Tony Wayne Brumbalow, 60, of Wichita Falls passed away Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 18, 2016 in the chapel of Owens and Brumley Funeral Home with Dr. Isaac Butterworth, officiating. Interment will follow at Rosemont Cemetery under the direction of Owens & Brumley Funeral Home of Wichita Falls. Tony was born on May 4, 1956 in Wichita Falls, Texas to Jerry Wayne and Rochelle (Hill) Brumbalow. He was a 1974 graduate of Wichita Falls High School and attended Midwestern State University. In 1976 Tony became a member of the Red River Renegades. In 1978 he met Donna Wright at City National Bank, and they were married on July 22, 1983. Tony left City National Bank in 1985 and joined Union Square Credit Union, and became their collection manager and was known by fellow employees as the "Blue Bird of Happiness". He was a longtime member of Faith Masonic Lodge No. 1158, and Maskat Shrine, where he was a member of the Provost Guard. In 2014, Tony was diagnosed with cancer. He fought a long courageous battle but always maintained his characteristic humor. He was "tough as nails" as his daughter, Jackie stated. Most of all, Tony was an outstanding role model for his daughters. Tony was, as his family declared, a caring, loving man of God, husband, father, son, and brother. He was preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his wife Donna of Wichita Falls; daughters Jacqueline Brumbalow Wuthrich and husband Mark, and Jessica Marie Brumbalow of Wichita Falls; mother, Rochelle Bowman of Wichita Falls; sisters, Twyla Ranae Brumbalow and Tina Michelle Brumbalow all of Wichita Falls; a niece, Taylor Nicole Haydon of Wichita Falls; his dog "Precious", and cat "Calico"; along with numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The family will receive friends from 6 until 7 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016 at Owens and Brumley Funeral Home of Wichita Falls. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.owensandbrumley.com SHARE FILE - This undated file image shows Omar Mateen, who authorities say killed dozens of people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, June 12, 2016. The gunman opened fire inside the crowded gay nightclub before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said. With news that Mateen killed dozens of people in a gay nightclub in Florida and was born to Afghan immigrant parents, the Afghan-American community is expressing horror, sorrow and disbelief that one of their own could commit the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (MySpace via AP, File) By Bloomberg View The worst mass shooting in U.S. history provides Americans with yet another opportunity to talk past one another. Unfortunately, they seem to be taking it. Even before the names of all 49 innocent people killed in Orlando had been released, the arguments had broken out. The shooting by 29-year-old suspect Omar Mateen shows the U.S. must be more vigilant about homegrown terrorism; Mateen was born in New York and lived in Florida. No, it shows the urgency of the fight against Islamic State; he was inspired (though not directed) by overseas terrorist groups. No, it shows how important it is to speak out against hate; he was a homophobe. No, it shows the necessity of better gun-safety laws; Mateen was armed with an assault rifle, a handgun, high-capacity magazines and many rounds of ammunition. In truth, everybody has a point. But it's the last one about guns that comes with clear legislative remedies. So-called lone-wolf terrorists may be hard to profile, but that work can continue while at the same time Congress passes smart gun laws to keep weapons out of dangerous people's hands. Guns, not bombs, have become the lone wolf's weapon of choice, and assault-style rifles increase the lethal potential of any would-be attacker. Al-Qaida has even celebrated how easy they are to obtain in the U.S. There's no understating the difficulty of passing better gun-safety laws, of course. Yet it would be easier than setting up a system to log and track lone wolves in the U.S. It's more straightforward than battling the tangled network of terrorist groups in the Middle East and elsewhere. And it's more tractable than fighting hatred. The response of the gun lobby to the bad-guy-with-a-gun scenario a good guy with a gun is too simplistic. The more sensible option has always been not to let the bad guy get the gun in the first place, especially if he's suspected of having ties to terrorists. Sunday morning's massacre presents opponents of safer gun laws with a truly chilling scenario: a lone wolf with a gun and lots of ammunition. Surely they will want to join with the rest of America, and the world, in working to prevent that. SHARE Splashed all over the news this week is precisely the sort of political crisis many party leaders were terrified about more than three decades ago. Their solution was to invent a most unconventional convention concept: superdelegates. These hundreds of uncommitted superdelegates would be free to choose a new last minute compromise nominee at the party convention just in case a presumptive presidential nominee suddenly seemed somehow unacceptable or unelectable. Which, come to think of it, is just how presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has made himself appear to his party's leaders after his contemptible responses to the slaughter inflicted by a Muslim gunman in a gay club in Orlando, Fla. Trump's inability, when under pressure, to stop blurting vile attacks and highly questionable policy pronouncements has caused many leading Republicans to worry that Trump may well lose the presidential election in November and also cause the defeats of many viable party candidates in many states. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others have condemned Trump's statements in which he vowed to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. GOP leaders realize such a ban would be contrary to America's values, principles and constitutional guarantees. In responding to the Orlando tragedy, Trump repeated the tired GOP attack-mantra of insisting President Barack Obama should use the term "radical Islamic terrorism." And he suggested Obama must have a hidden agenda for not saying the words. So this summer's Republican convention would appear to be the perfect time for superdelegates to finally rescue a party from disaster by switching from Trump to any compromise candidate. Except this: Republicans don't have superdelegates. It's only the Democrats who made that oddball superdelegate idea their conventional wisdom. And the Democrats may not have it for long. For their presumptively defeated challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has made scrapping the superdelegate concept one of his consolation super-causes. Perhaps because they helped Hillary Clinton clinch the nomination. But before the Democrats jettison the superdelegate concept (which allows party bigwigs including every Democratic governor, senator and representative to be an uncommitted delegate) as a sop to Sanders and his still-furious supporters, they may want watch the next few acts of the catastrophe that's playing out in the ranks of the Republicans. Trump blurted himself into trouble when he telephoned Fox News after gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 and wounded at least 53 in Orlando. Instead of speaking of unity, he attacked Obama: "We're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart or he's got something else in mind. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable." This was not a one-time accidental blurtation under pressure. Later, Trump emailed an accusation that Obama "continues to prioritize our enemy over our allies, and for that matter, the American people." On Monday, reading a speech from a teleprompter, Trump warned that increasing numbers of Muslim immigrants could increase terrorism in America. "If we don't get tough and if we don't get smart, and fast, we're not going to have our country anymore," Trump said. "There will be nothing, absolutely nothing left." That's why America must ban all Muslim immigration temporarily, Trump said: "We have to do it. They're pouring in, and we don't know what we're doing." Republican leaders rushed to condemn their presumptive leader's words. (And his few close allies seemed to have developed political laryngitis.) Ryan said: "I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country's interest. I do not think it is reflective of our principles, not just as a party but as a country." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who previously praised Trump, said: "Traditionally, it is a time when people rally around our country, and it's obviously not what's occurred, and it's very disappointing." Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said: "I don't think he has the judgment or the temperament, the experience to deal with what we are facing." He called Trump's personal attacks on Obama "highly offensive." And Wednesday afternoon, Maryland's Republican Gov. Larry Hogan announced he won't vote for Trump for president in November. Or Clinton. "I guess when I get behind the curtain I'll have to figure it out," he said. At this moment, every Republican named above must privately wish he could be rescued by a posse of political super heroes the superdelegates the Democrats are looking to deep-six. Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive. Readers may send him email at martin.schram@gmail.com Four public defenders juggling nearly 60 cases in one town in one day. That was how Albany County Acting Public Defender Jim Milstein and three others spent a recent day in Guilderland, and it's a scenario that those who provide legal services for the poor experience on a daily basis strapped for time and resources. Having a public defender when you can't afford one is your constitutional right, but it comes at a cost. Despite it being a state-mandate, county taxpayers end up shouldering the bulk of the cost. In Albany County, that's about $4.6 million for public defenders, alternate public defenders and contracting costs, with the state covering about $1.4 million. A bill that unanimously passed the state Senate Thursday night and is in front of the state Assembly could help relieve that burden. The bill previously passed the Assembly, but the Senate made changes that need to be approved by the Assembly. "It's time the state government finally starts funding these mandates, and this is exactly what this will do," Senator George Amedore said. The bill allows for the state to assume the costs of public defender services over several years starting in 2017 paying for 25 percent and increasing 10 percent each year. The state would fully fund services by 2023. Total costs statewide have been estimated between $275 million to $450 million. In order to qualify for indigent legal services, a single person with no dependents must make less than $14,850. New guidelines that are expected to take effect April 2017 would raise that threshold to those making less than $29,700, according to Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino's office. The bill follows a 2014 settlement reached with the New York Civil Liberties Union involving indigent legal services, which called on the state to cover over seven years the cost of the services in Suffolk, Washington, Ontario, Onondaga and Schuyler counties. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino joined forces Friday to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the bill once it passes the Assembly. With an ever-shrinking tax cap to abide by, the county officials said it becomes challenging to provide local services and state-mandated programs all while keeping taxes low. Meanwhile, the state determines the rules and regulations of the mandates, which often lead to increased costs, they said. "When it comes to our budget, 90 cents of every $1 goes to state mandates," Rensselaer County Executive Jimino said of the county's $331.5 million 2016 budget. "That leaves us very little for local services." McCoy said if the state funded the basic services for public defenders, programming could be further enhanced locally. "The governor now needs to do the right thing, to sign this bill when it gets to his desk," he said. "If you want a fair justice (system)...you need to give us the funding so public defenders and alternate public defenders and our law department can do their job effectively and represent the person at the end of the day." ALBANY -- A Florida woman cruised the Caribbean while bilking the New York state retirement system out of more than $148,000 it paid her father over five years unaware he was dead, state officials said Friday. Renee Kanas, 63, of Tamarac in Broward County, Fla., was sent to the Albany County jail Friday following her arraignment before state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin on the charge of second-degree grand larceny, which carries up to 15 years in prison. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In what has become a military family tradition, Brian Machina of Rexford was given his Army Oath of Commissioning as a second lieutenant by his dad, retired New York Army National Guard Col. Gary Machina. Gary's father, retired Brig. Gen. Francis Machina, former chief of staff of Troop Command, led his son in his Oath of Commissioning in 1987. Brian Machina was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon completion of an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and graduation from St. Bonaventure University in Olean. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Machina was among six cadets commissioned in the ceremony. The ceremony was followed by the Silver Dollar Salute, a tradition in which newly commissioned officers hand a silver dollar to the first soldier who salutes them, typically someone instrumental in their upbringing, education or training. Master Sgt. James Andrews, senior military science instructor at St. Bonaventure, was the first to salute him. Machina was commissioned as an aviation officer in the New York Army National Guard. The 2012 Shenendehowa High School graduate will attend the Basic Officer Leaders course this summer at Fort Rucker, Ala. Afterward, he will be assigned to D Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation at Latham. Machina received a four-year Army ROTC scholarship. As a freshman, he attended culture and language deployment training in Thailand. As a sophomore, he attended cadet field training at Camp Buckner. Upon completion of the Cadet Leaders Course at Fort Knox, Ky., Machina was assigned to cadet troop leadership training in Fort Bragg, N.C. Also commissioned during the ceremony were Benjamine Barnhart of Fairbanks, Alaska; Bradley Crow of Gerry, Chautauqua County; Robert Russell of Collins, Erie County; Douglas Smith of Syracuse; and Nicholas Worth of Olean, Cattaraugus County. Gary Machina retired in 2011 after 29 years of service. He served as an Active Guard and Reserve soldier for 25 years in the New York Army National Guard. His final assignment was as director of the Joint Strategic Plans & Policy Branch, state Division of Military and Naval Affairs. He works as a radiological emergency planner for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. ROTC grads Thirteen cadets were commissioned as second lieutenants upon completion of an Army ROTC program. The Mohawk Battalion ROTC's 2016 commissioning class are: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Thomas Crawford, Caleb Dieterle, Kyle Dougherty, Ryan Gagnon and Katelyn Gordon University at Albany: Austin Canning, Carina Davison, Wasse Fenix, Thomas Hemmerling and Daniel Roberti Union College: Thomas Glading, Stephen Hoeprich and Kate Kozain New sergeant major Jeffrey Colling of Albany was promoted to sergeant major in the New York Army National Guard. Colling serves as detachment sergeant for the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Latham and is a full-time member of the National Guard. He enlisted in the Army in 1995 and served as a cavalry scout based at Fort Stewart, Ga., before he joined the New York Army National Guard in 1998. He served as a supply sergeant, medical logistics noncommissioned officer and a member of the New York Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion for 11 years. News of your troops and units can be sent to Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Times Union, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or brownt@timesunion.com. Albany In a Time Warner Cable News debate that at times turned heated, Republican 19th Congressional District candidates John Faso and Andrew Heaney on Thursday found common ground on the wrongheadedness of the Obama administration's approach to health care and overseas terror threats. But that was about it. In an hour-long taped debate that aired Thursday evening, the two went toe-to-toe in a heated exchange regarding campaign finance regulations and reforms that devolved into mudslinging attacks that have increased as the GOP primary race to replace Rep. Chris Gibson has worn on. Faso, a former assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate from Kinderhook, said the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision was correct because at its core it was about free speech. However, he said he would advocate for the immediate disclosure of independent expenditure spending in an effort to help make more transparent shadowy entities that pump millions into campaigns. Heaney, a businessman from Dutchess County, took a different tack, saying the decision was incorrect, before tying Faso to what he sees as more of the same Washington behavior that has led to campaigns costing multi-millions of dollars. On terror, while the two agreed that President Barack Obama's leadership was lacking, they differed slightly on how to address the type of mass killings on U.S. soil that have occurred recently. "This is not about guns, this is about terror," Heaney said of Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando. "I actually believe that it has never been more important for us to protect the American people's Second Amendment rights. If there had been someone in that nightclub who had been trained and armed, there could have been a lot of lives saved." Faso cautioned against having a knee-jerk reaction that leads to people jumping on the perceived left or right solutions. He advocated for finding common ground on how to maintain a terror watchlist without infringing on Second Amendment rights. "The question in my mind is: The FBI had this particular individual in their sights twice, what caused them to decide not to continue surveillance on this individual?" he said. "What caused them to not put him on a terror watchlist?" The two were in a rare moment of less-heated agreement on water contamination issues, particularly in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh in Rensselaer County, which are part of the 19th district. Both men advocated for government hearings on the crisis and for polluters to be held accountable. The primary is June 28. mhamilton@timesunion.com 518-454-5449 @matt_hamilton10 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rensselaer A worker for a subcontractor performing routine maintenance was killed Friday when a cooling fan fell on him at the Empire Generating Co. power plant, authorities said. Rensselaer Police Deputy Chief Jim Frankoski said the victim worked for maintenance rigging subcontractor 3D Rigging and Construction, Inc. Two other maintenance employees were present but unhurt. Rensselaer police were called at 8:30 a.m. and asked Albany police and fire departments to help in a rescue effort. But authorities soon determined the victim was dead, Frankoski said. A crane lowered his body from the top of the structure at about 10:45 a.m. Frankoski said he was not sure how far the equipment fell. "The fan dropped lower than it should have and caught him," Frankoski said. He did not identify the victim but estimated he was in his late 40s or early 50s. Frankoski said he was not sure if parts of the plant, at 75 Riverside Ave., would be shut down following the fatality. In a statement, Empire Generating Co. plant manager Sean Spain said the company has alerted the state Department of Public Service about the death. 3D Rigging, according to the statement, has notified OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials did not immediately return requests for comment Friday. "The thoughts and prayers of the Empire Generating employees are with the family, friends and coworkers of the deceased worker," Spain said in the statement. Managers at 3D Rigging were not immediately available for comment, a person who answered the business's phone early Friday afternoon said. Empire Generating Co. owns a Rensselaer power plant with a seasonal weighted capacity of 645 megawatts, according to its website. It began selling power to the state electrical grid in 2010. 3D Rigging's state registration as a woman-owned business describes it as a Glenmont company that works in rigging, industrial maintenance and custom fabrication. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate London A lawmaker who campaigned for Britain to stay in the European Union was killed Thursday by a gun- and knife-wielding attacker in her small-town constituency, a tragedy that brought the country's fierce, divisive referendum campaign to a shocked standstill. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old Labour Party legislator who praised the contribution of immigrants to Britain and championed the cause of war-scarred Syrian refugees, was attacked outside a library in Birstall, northern England, after a regular meeting with constituents. Police would not speculate on the attacker's motive, but Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the scene of the slaying, told the BBC and Britain's Press Association that the assailant shouted "Britain first!" several times. Police did not confirm that account. Witnesses described a man shooting Cox several times and then stabbing her as she lay on the pavement. Police said they had arrested a 52-year-old man and were not looking for anyone else. "Our working presumption ... is that this is a lone incident," said Dee Collins, acting chief constable of West Yorkshire Police. British security officials said the shooting didn't appear to be related to international terrorism, but domestic terrorism has not been ruled out. They're all New Yorkers well, sort of: Bernie Sanders bugged out for Vermont after the Brooklyn boyhood that shows in his oratory; Hillary Clinton arrived in midlife but made up for lost time by becoming one of the state's representatives in the U.S. Senate pretty much upon arrival; and Donald Trump like so many state residents spends a good chunk of his time in Florida. But surely their ties to the Empire State are deep enough to warrant a swing through perhaps the one building that will appeal to all three: the state Capitol. Cavan man Ben Folkman is undertaking a mammoth 32 gig tour in every county in the country in aid of his five year old son who has Severe Cerebral Palsy Needs. As part of his country wide tour Ben will be performing in Lonergans Bar, Fethard on Wednesday June 22 to raise much needed funds to help Jarrah live his life to the full. His son Jarrah Folkman is a happy, bright and loving five year old boy from Cootehill, Co. Cavan who was born in 2011 with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, CVI Blindness and Refractory Epilepsy. Having a child with severe neurological and physical limitations has been extremely challenging for the family but now that Jarrah is getting older its becoming intensely more of a challenge. As Jarrah grows his parents will struggle to safely lift him into the car seats, the bath and up the stairs everyday tasks that most parents take for granted. Having the correct equipment is crucial for Jarrah, it would provide him with comfort and opportunities to live a full life. Jarrah has the whole town rallying together and it looks like hes now set to inspire the country. Thats why were setting out on this mission, to spread awareness, and to also raise much needed funds so Jarrah can get the supports he needs and deserves. Hes growing bigger fast and often has to be carried. He needs special equipment and funds raised will go directly towards that. This initiative is also a celebration of his life and his courageous spirit. Hes just such a beautiful young boy, Id do anything for him. He deserves a decent life like any of us says Jarrahs father Ben. Jarrah's father Ben, through his love and passion for music launched Jammin for Jarrah as the primary fundraiser for Jarrahs cause. Ben and six friends will embark on an epic musical journey on Sunday June 19 around the 32 Counties of Ireland playing 32 gigs in just seven days, aiming to play in one social club or popular spot in every county on the island of Ireland. They hope to delight each town with their raw talent building awareness and raising money for such a wonderful, deserving little boy. It is set to be a "busking bonanza" of singsongs, guitars, and even some cowboy hats!! So when you see them in your local area, please show them your support. Local musicians in every county are invited to join the lads for a jam. Jarrah will stay at home with his loving mammy Elysha and his little sister Aria whose admiration for her big brother would make hearts melt. The Grand Final Concert will take place in Errigal Country House Hotel in Cootehill, Co. Cavan at 8pm on the 25 of June. A raffle and auction will take place there and prizes include items such as a guitar signed by Def Leppard, a current Republic of Ireland signed jersey, a signed Leinster Jersey, and a signed Manchester Utd programme from Roy Keanes last ever game. Details of locations on www.32gigs.com. People can find out more and donate online at www.32gigs.com and on Facebook Jammin for Jarrah. Recently elected Fianna Fail TD, Jackie Cahill, has been appointed Junior Spokesperson by Party Leader, Micheal Martin with responsibility for Food, Forestry and Horticulture. Deputy Cahill said he was very pleased with the appointment and he looked forward to being a strong advocate for his areas of responsibility. He said he was particularly pleased to have responsibility for food which is a critical sector for Tipperary. He said there are many quality food producers in the county who are providing quality employment and they must be supported. Cahill went on to say that the fact that there was no Government Oireachtas member in Tipperary following the election that there was a serious concern that Tipperary would be forgotten about again. Cahill said I feel strongly that continuous pressure will be required to ensure that Tipperary gets its fair share of the cake, and I intend to hold the Government to account for its responsibility to Tipperary. Cahill finished by say he would be making contacts with those involved in the Food, Forestry and Horticulture sectors in the County to explore all opportunities with them for job creation. I agree with the program I don't agree with the program I like the idea, but feel the current proposal is too broad Let me park where I want! Vote View Results [June 16, 2016] Indonesia Electric Motors Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020 LONDON, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Indonesia is one of the most populated regions in the world as well as one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. In order to further strengthen its position as a major industrial region in South East Asia, the Indonesian government plans to introduce 36 industrial hubs across the country. Motors form the core of pumps, which are used for numerous industrial applications such as crude oil extraction, refining, power plants, cement industry, chemical & fertilizers, etc. Apart from pumps, electric motors are also used in compressors as well as in mechanical movement applications. On account of anticipated industrial growth in the country over the next five years, the demand for electric motors is expected to grow through 2020. According to TechSci Research report, "Indonesia Electric Motors Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020", the electric motors market in Indonesia is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 3% through 2020. Market growth is being driven by increasing adoption of energy-efficient electric motors, growing industrial sector and favorable government initiatives. Industrial sector, which is a major contributor to the country's GDP, dominated the Indonesian electric motors market over the last five years and this trend is expected to continue through 2020. Region-wise, Java dominated the electric motors market in 2014, however, the region is anticipated to witness a slight decline in its share over the next five years dueto higher government focus on developing other regions in the country. Few of the major players operating in Indonesia's electric motors market include ABB, Siemens, TECO, WEG and Hitachi. "Indonesia Electric Motors Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020" discusses the following aspects of electric motor market in Indonesia: - Indonesia Electric Motors Market Size, Share & Forecast - Segmental Analysis (AC & DC) - Regional Analysis - Java , Sumatra , Kalimantan , Sulawesi, etc. - Policy & Regulatory Landscape - Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities - Competitive Landscape & Strategic Recommendations Why You Should Buy This Report? - To gain an in-depth understanding of electric motors market in Indonesia . - To identify the on-going trends and anticipated growth in the next five years - To help industry consultants and electric motor manufacturers align their market-centric strategies - To obtain research based business decisions and add weight to presentations and marketing material - To gain competitive knowledge of leading market players - To avail 10% customization in the report without any extra charges and get the research data or trends added in the report as per the buyer's specific needs Report Methodology The information contained in this report is based upon both primary and secondary research. Primary research included interviews with electric motor manufacturers, suppliers and industry experts. Secondary research included an exhaustive search of relevant publications like company annual reports, financial reports and proprietary databases. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3101134/ 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/indonesia-electric-motors-market-forecast-and-opportunities-2020-300286290.html SOURCE ReportBuyer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 16, 2016] Growing Demand for Hybrid Cloud Technology Predicted to Drive the Global Cloud DVR Market Until 2020, Says Technavio According to the latest research study released by Technavio, the global cloud direct video recorder (DVR) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 30% until 2020. This research report titled 'Global Cloud DVR Market 2016-2020', provides an in-depth analysis of market growth in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various application segments, including satellite, IPTV (News - Alert), and hybrid. Request sample report: http://bit.ly/212d1qs "With the growing prominence of IPTV, an increasing number of households will likely replace their satellite DVRs with IPTV DVRs in the future. Furthermore, hybrid DVRs will grow rapidly as these are compatible with both, satellite and IPTV connections. This segment will pose as the most attractive market for vendors during the forecast period," said Ujjwal Doshi, one of Technavio's lead analysts for consumer electronics research. Global cloud DVR market by type 2015 Satellite 37.67% IPTV 33.18% Hybrid 29.16% Source (News - Alert): Technavio research Global satellite cloud DVR market In 2015, the satellite cloud DVR market was valued at USD 560.7 million. The market for satellite DVRs is rapidly declining due to the increasing popularity of more advanced technologies like IPTV DVR and hybrid DVR. Consumers from North America and Western Europe are rapidly upgrading their satellite DVRs to these latest technologies due to which this segment's share will likely decline during the forecast period. However, the declining market share in North America and Europe has coincided with increasing acceptance of satellite DVR in developing countries like China, India, and Brazil. This segment offers high-value proposition to vendors and they are likely to invest on STB hardware to provide DVR and other traditional functionalities integrated with cloud services to compete against IPTV services, hich have similar functions. The market is experiencing significant growth in Africa, the Middle East, and South America where the penetration of satellite DVRs is relatively low. Global IPTV cloud DVR market In 2015, IPTV cloud DVR market was valued at USD 493.9 million. The increasing demand for IPTV has fueled the growth of the IPTV DVR segment worldwide. People are opting for IPTVs, as the DVR can store the video content received in the form of IP packets. With video on demand services becoming the mainstream of IPTV use, the penetration of cloud DVR is going to increase during the forecast period. An IP-based platform provides significant opportunities to personalize the TV viewing experience and makes it more interactive. Operators can include interactive program guides that enable subscribers to search for content by the title or the actor's name. TV operators also provide picture-in-picture functionality that allow viewers to surf for content without closing the program that is currently being viewed. This platform also enables viewers to look at a player's statistics while watching a game. It allows viewing of the content through a different perspective by controlling the camera angle. Global hybrid cloud DVR market In 2015, the hybrid cloud DVR market was valued at USD 434.1 million. Hybrid cloud DVR is a combination of IPTV and hybrid DVRs. It supports normal satellite input and signal transmitted through the internet. This segment is considered to be the future of global cloud DVR through which one can access the internet and over-the-top services and store on demand content. Its rapid market growth is propelled by the need to spend time with family in a fast-paced world. Hybrid DVR can store- broadcast as well as broadband content from the consumers' television. The technology is versatile as DVR enables the TV to be used for accessing the internet and receiving satellite broadcast. Vendors are innovating new services such as on-demand services, push-video on demand, and specialized internet access to increase the average revenue per user (ARPU). DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) services range from free-to-air to pay-TV. Browse related reports: Global Video Surveillance Market 2016-2020 IPTV Market in France 2015-2019 Global TV Subscription Market 2015-2019 Set-Top Box Market in Brazil 2015-2019 Purchase any three reports 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/20160616005036/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 17, 2016] Katherine Batsis, Wife! Author! Visionary! Top Author of 2017? FARMINGDALE, N.Y., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrew Batsis, D.M.D. of Tom's River, New Jersey was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 6, 1941. His education began in Brooklyn then Bradley Beach, New Jersey. He graduated from Asbury Park High School and went on to attend Monmouth College. In 1963, he was accepted early at Tufts University, Massachusetts; he returned to New Jersey and graduated from Monmouth College in 1965 with his B.S. He earned his D.M.D. at the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (Rutgers School of Dental Medicine) and obtained his license to practice dentistry in New Jersey. Dr. Batsis gained a reputation for treating his patients like family, always smiling and explaining procedures clearly. He willingly set up fee schedules for working families and was known as the "painless dentist" by his patients. His many awards include the George Hixson Fellowship Award (2X), the Kiwanis Legion of Honor Award in 1996 and 2001, The Kiwanis Fred Briggs Award, membership America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals Roundtable for Dentistry. From 1971, Dr. Batsis' interests turned to Kiwanis where he made himself known in Toms River, New Jersey, his place of residence for 35 years. His allegiances to Kiwanis lead to his election as Governor of New Jersey Kiwanis. Following that, he became internationally known as a Kiwanis International Trustee and committee chair of Youth Services and more. His 35 years of dentistry endeared him to his patients, and his work with youth services made him a hero not only to those he served but to his peers as well. In addition to the Kiwanis Club, he was affiliated with the Toms River Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Monmouth Ocean County Dental Society. A new website www.drandrewbatsis.com is officially debuting on June 17, 2016 in tandem with a special Times Square appearance and promotional press campaign. This site will serve as an ongoing memorial and testament to Dr. Batsis' many accomplishments during his lifetime. This site's content is being moderated by Katherine Batsis, Dr. Batsis' loving wife, who was instrumental in securing these honors and opportunities for her late husband. Kathi Batsis, as she is known to friends and loved ones, is the beloved wife of Dr. Andrew Batsis, as well as his official biographer. She has continued to keep his memory alive through the written word and with her ongoing efforts to reach a wider audience every day. Her now completed, as-yet-unpublished biography of Dr. Batsis which also reads as a touching memoir of their marriage to one another is entitled, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? and is already gaining momentum as one of the leading new works of nonfiction literature in its specific genre due to its high quality and the aforementioned Times Square promotional advertising campaign. Visit the special section of www.drandrewbatsis.com labeled "The Book of Dr. Batsis" to enjoy sample chapters in a desktop and mobile-friendly format. Keep watching the website for upcoming details regarding Katherine Batsis' new manuscript. While still entertaining offers from publishers, Mrs. Batsis hopes to have penned a publishing deal by late 2016 for a book release next year. Her touching compendium of their memories and experiences has been referred to by Scott Stone, Executive Vice President of 2 Brothers Worldwide Publishing as "truly groundbreaking work" and "a simply wonderful biography and memoir detailing not only the career of a great man, but also the story of a great marriage." During Mrs. Batsis' appearance on Strathmore Online Radio (also debuting June 17, 2016 hear audio sample above) her work was met with excitement and anticipation for a proper release. Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? is "an episodic journey into the heart of love, devotion and greatness. It is uncomplicated in its emotional gravity; direct and effective." (Stone) Based on her excellence in the field of writing, Katherine Batsis was recently named Author of the Year by both Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals, along with several other designations such as Lifetime Roundtable and the Top Female Executive and Leaders program. These special membership honors were granted based on accomplishment, ambition and an overall show of promise in one's chosen endeavor. Katherine J. Batsis is a graduate of Lesley College and Simmons College, where she received her B.Ed and L.S., respectively. Her expertise lies in writing, reading, researching, thinking and library sciences. In her part time she enjoys international folk dancing, contra dancing, knitting, playing the piano, singing, learning French and practicing yoga. It should be noted that this is the second time Dr. Andrew Batsis has been honored on the Times Square billboards. The Times Square honor is of particular significance because of the high visibility it offers. This visual celebration of Dr. Andrew Batsis' career and Katherine Batsis' wonderful writing will appear at regular intervals on two monitors attached to the landmark skyscraper at 3 Times Square, #1, New York, NY 10036 on Friday, June 17, 2016. This structure is situated in what is inarguably one of the busiest places in the world. Strathmore's Who's Who and America's Registry are both pleased to honor him in memoriam. They also offer their full endorsement of Katherine Batsis' manuscript, Dr. Andrew Batsis, Husband! Dentist! Kiwanian! Santa Claus? as the #1 unpublished literary work of 2016. Contact: Bea Hanley, 516-997-2525 ext. 100, [email protected] Video - https://youtu.be/Cnpj0uFu-Uc Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160615/379954 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/katherine-batsis-wife-author-visionary-top-author-of-2017-300286259.html SOURCE America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 17, 2016] New GTL Friend and Family Member Website Officially Launches RESTON, Va., June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Global Tel*Link (GTL), the leading provider of correctional technology solutions and an innovator in payment services solutions for government, today announced the relaunch of its ConnectNetwork website which will provide friends and family of inmates a better, faster, easier online experience. The improved site simplifies the user experience while maintaining GTL's robust capabilities to protect sensitive personal consumer information. Customer's account information is located on a single screen with details available just one click away. Users may also customize their ConnectNetwork accounts and tailor the display to show only the products and services they use regularly. GTL has also streamlined transaction flows so deposits function intuitively and fast, more like an online shopping experience than a financial transaction. Convenient payment features have also been added, such as low balance text alerts when account balances get low and an auto-reload option to automatically replenish accounts using securely stored credit card information and with the option to deposit a pre-selected dollar amount when their balances get low. "Our ConnectNetwork website has a new look and feel combined and enhanced features and functionality that align with the needs of our customers. By litening to friends and family members, GTL has refined the ConnectNetwork website with the suggestions of adding a suite of brand new features, all of which will improve the overall online experience," said Steve Montanaro, Vice President of Consumer Channels at GTL. "We are proud to support our customers with this website redesign as part of a greatly improved upon online experience. The interactive aspects of the new ConnectNetwork site reflects our commitment to an interactive process with our customers to improve their online experience." GTL has added a dynamic social media component to ConnectNetwork, providing interactive Facebook and Twitter accounts to deliver helpful information for inmate friends and family members and respond to specific customer inquiries. There is also a ConnectNetwork blog section focused on providing interesting, educational, insightful content related to the corrections market overall. This new blog will also provide valuable and relevant information to friends and family conducting business with GTL. About Global Tel*Link GTL is the leading provider of integrated correctional technology solutions, delivering financial value, security, and ease of operation to our customers through visionary products and solutions at the forefront of corrections innovation. As a trusted correctional industry leader, GTL provides service to approximately fifty percent of inmates nationwide, including service to 33 state departments of corrections, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 32 of the largest city/county facilities. GTL is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with more than 10 regional offices across the country. To find out more about GTL, please visit our website www.gtl.net. You can also view us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. About ConnectNetwork ConnectNetwork is the one-stop resource for friends and family members to connect with their incarcerated loved ones. ConnectNetwork was designed especially for friends and family members with the goal of making it easy and convenient to receive phone calls, send messages, deposit money for services, and schedule and conduct visits with the comfort their transactions are safe, reliable and secure. To find out more about ConnectNetwork, please visit our website www.connectnetwork.com . You can also view us on Facebook or Twitter. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160513/367295LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-gtl-friend-and-family-member-website-officially-launches-300286480.html SOURCE GTL [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] What you need to know about Colts starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger Local indie rockers Blonde on Blonde are today unleashing their brand new single Forty Five which is a straight up, no nonsense, blistering three minute rock gem. Mixed by Dave Newfeld who has previously worked with Broken Social Scene, and Holy Fuck, Forty Five is a return to form for the leather-clad five piece, and were simply stoked to have them back in action. To celebrate the release of the single, the crew are embarking on a joint headline tour with band fellow Brisbane band El Bravo. This is mark the first Australian tour since returning from living in the UK in 2015. Check out the new track below an if you like what youre hearing stay locked to the bands Facebook page for more info. Tour Dates June 25th The Northern Byron Bay July 28th Frankies Pizza Sydney July 29th Rad Bar Wollongong August 5th The Spotted Cow Toowoomba August 7th The Liars Bar Gold Coast September 9th The Brightside Brisbane Its fair to say that J-Pop megastar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, has rapidly become one of the largest cultural sensations on the planet. Thanks to her very internet friendly mix of music and stunningly quirky fashion sense, Kyary fever has spread across the world, which has seen her music videos have each amass millions upon millions of views. This month Kyary is making her highly anticipated return to Australia to perform two exclusive shows at Big Top, Luna Park and Festival Hall this June as part of the KPP 5iVE YEARS MONSTER WORLD TOUR 2016. The upcoming tour will be Kyarys first visit to Australia since her instantly sold-out Sydney debut in 2014 and marks her first ever performance in Melbourne. To celebrate her visit, dj, producer, NLV Records crew member and Kyary fan Lewis Cancut caught up with the J-Pop icon for a chat about everything and anything. [Lewis]: Hi Kyary! Its great for us that youre coming back to tour Australia again. Was there anything you missed on your first visit that you wanted to see? [Kyary]: Last time I was able to visit the zoo and the aquarium so it was such a fulfilling trip. I enjoyed it very much. At the zoo, I was looking forward to seeing koalas but they were sleeping, so hopefully this time I can cuddle them. [Lewis]: In the last five years, I think you and just a few other Japanese artists such as Perfume and Yasutaka Nakata have changed pop music forever, not just in Japan but all over the world. Theres definitely a new generation of people from the USA, Europe, Brazil, even Australia making music who are inspired by your sound. How does it feel to have you work reflected back at you like this? I imagine it would be a strange experience? [Kyary]:It is very strange but I feel very happy at the same time. There is a lot of cool Japanese music and Id love more fans overseas to know about it. [Lewis]: Most people will have found your music through music videos, which have become a central part of your work. Whenever I watch a new video of yours, at first its just like a simple pop-music clip, but then it becomes more and more captivating. Theres always complex symbolism, mixing the scary and strange with the cute and friendly. There are often monsters and wild animals like sharks, bears or aliens, and its not clear if they are your friends. In this way, they remind me of many fairy-tales, which on the surface are quite cute, but can also be very dark, and gruesome! Are there particular movies or folk-stories that have had a big influence on you? [Kyary]:I love watching many movies. I watched JAWS when I was little and it made a huge impact on me as a child. I was really scared to be eaten by sharks, it was sort of a traumatic experience, but so addictive to watch over and over. Since then, Ive started to think that sharks are such cool animals. Thats why I try to express those scary, gruesome things in a positive way in my work. [Lewis]: Actually, before your were releasing music you were a fashion blogger right? [Kyary]: I wouldnt think of myself as a fashion blogger. I just enjoyed my high school life by taking photos and writing blogs. [Lewis]: Through your music videos and costume design, the first Japanese word most people in the West learn is Kawaii. In the same way, the first Tokyo suburb people learn about is Harajuku. How do you see the relationship between fashion and music in your work? [Kyary]: I was walking along a street in Harajuku when I was a high school student and by chance a fashion magazine photographer took my photo, and that led to my interest in fashion. At the same time, I was interested in music so I listened to various types of music. Among those, I particularly liked the music that Yasutaka Nakata creates. Im so fortunate that now I am able to work with fashion and Yasutaka Nakatas music. [Lewis]: I know you work closely with Yasutaka Nakata on your albums. He has become a kind of cult figure with legendary status amongst composers now. I also heard a little while back that you were writing some music with Sophie MSMSMSM too. Is this true? I think a lot of people are hoping it is! [Kyary]: All of my music is produced by Yasutaka Nakata! This year marks my 5th anniversary since the debut and Ive announced some special projects, including collaboration, so Id love to collaborate with international artists someday. [Lewis]: You have become a kind of ambassador for J-pop music in the west, if I can say that. With your work as a gateway, I think people have discovered many other Japanese artists as well. Maybe because your music is deeply connected to a J-pop tradition, going all the way back to bands like the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Please tell us, are there any bands or artists from Japan that we need to check out? Anything we might be missing out on? [Kyary]: Japanese bands I often perform with at festivals include Frederic, Sotaisei Riron, Rekishi. I really like them, please check them out. [Lewis]: My last question is a silly one Im sorry, haha. Will you be performing Ninja Re Bang Bang at your Australian shows. Can I make a request! [Kyary]: Ninja Re Bang Bang is a very popular song overseas, and I think Ill perform it. Keep your expectations high! Australian Tour Dates Friday 24 June Big Top Luna Park, Sydney Saturday 25 June Festival Hall, Melbourne Tickets and info at handsometours.com Governor calls special session to address unconstitutional school funding Competing transit plans seek to move forward streetcar expansion Trump candidacy gives rise to supporters in name only Tonight's return to the Kansas City discourse for the longstandingpolitical chat show offers a great many topics to consider.The governor has called the legislature into a special session to deal with the State Supreme Court's order to equalize school funding. Failure to comply will, presumably, result in all Kansas K-12 public schools being closed on June 30th. At issue, according to the Kansas Attorney General, is about $40 million in a $4 billion budget. Is the school finance fight over principle, politics, both, or neither?On the heels of the streetcar's premiere, two new transit plans have surfaced. One is from Clay Chastain calling for a $2 billion light-rail plan. The other comes from the Regional Transit Alliance and seeks an extension of the streetcar line from Union Station to the Plaza and UMKC. The Chastain plan would be funded by a sales tax increase for 25 years; the Transit Alliance plan by a Transportation Development District, the approach taken for the starter line. Are you ready to see either or both of these plans moving forward?A new term is surfacing in political parlance---SINO, supporter in name only. It's being applied to Republicans who say they support Donald Trump's presidential bid, but refuse to defend his public policy positions. There's fear the Trump candidacy will have a toxic effect on Republicans running for state and federal offices. One writer says the best thing Republican candidates can do is "put a bag over your head" for the next five months. Is this good advice for Repulicans?You decide . . . Craig Glazer: Is The Trump Show Coming To An End? Take a look at this inspired political analysis from our pal Craig and his latest estimation of the most controversial Presidential candidate the nation has seen in years who isCheckit:Last time there was a terrorist attack in Paris, Trump came on the scene and Americans seemed to respond to his message: "We have to get tough! Obama and Hillary Clinton are just not going to stop Isis. I will!" was Donald's outcry. His numbers in many polls then topped Clintons for president. That has changed. Not today. In fact in the Bloomberg poll Hillary Clinton now has a large 12 percent lead over Trump.Why the drop off? Name brand Republican leaders like John Kasich and Paul Ryan are just coming unglued by Donald Trumps continued personal attacks on everyone in sight from a federal judge he referred to as a Mexican, he was born in the United States and his continued desire to stop 'any' Muslim from entering the country until we figure out whats going on out there with the new violence like Orlando,Florida.More important both President Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton have 'calmly' waged attacks against Trump framing him as a man who just doesn't get it, doesn't really have a plan on much of anything that is real and matters, he just shoots from the hip with the same old 'hollow' rhetoric: "I'll make America Great. Trust me. It will be amazing." "Build a wall." "I'll fix everything." "Clinton and Obama are destroying our country." "We can't have four more years of Obama."The problem is President Obama's approval rating is over 50% and Trump's isn't. Now that we have these terrible new mass murders, Obama has calmly and clearly explained what his administration has done and is doing. "We have killed thousands of terrorists. Many of these acts are committed by American born citizens not immigrants. Building walls and hating on one specific religion or people is not the way to end the violence. It's not American." There has been talk about when our country put many Japanese into concentration camps in World War Two. We even turned away large groups of European Jews trying to escape the Nazi's on ships in the same war, most were captured and killed later by the Nazis. Yes we have done some terrible things in the past. Is Trump sounding like a Joe McCarthy?My take is Donald Trump is a showman, not a racist. His family, friends and employees have made that clear based on his years of being basically kind to all around him and the thousands he has employed. Everyone was waiting for Trump to become more 'Presidential' a man we could see handle these tough issues and events. Those that were on the fence are starting to turn away from Trump and go to Hillary Clinton. Furthermore its clear Bernie Sanders will team up with Hillary and send his votes there as best he can. New Independent Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson polls 9% of the vote today. Most of them Republicans.In the end the election could just become a 'reality show' round of highly watched debates with Clinton nearly unbeatable, but vulnerable to being attacked by Trump.It just doesn't seem Donald Trump can change his style enough to gain independents , Latinos or African American votes needed to stop the bleeding. What was once funny, telling and eye brow raising comments by Trump are now showing his lack of knowledge and education on 'how to be a president.' Now that it counts America for the most part is coming back to the fold of wanting a president to lead the free world who is experienced, grounded, well informed on issues and seems to have somewhat of a plan: Hillary Clinton. Also someone along with Bill Clinton they are familiar with and remember the good years. Trump is a 'wild card' and now America is becoming a bit scared of him. It's just all starting to work against Donald.######### The list of major debtors has not been updated since first being published in 2011 at the troika's insistence The Ministry of Finance is preparing to publicize a list of major debtors towards the State, so that government services (such as tax offices, insurance funds and customs offices) and the private sector are aware of them. This list, which was composed by the General Secretariat of Public Revenue at the insistence of the troika, includes everyone who owes more than 100,000 to the State. The list of debtors has not been updated since first being published in 2011. Furthermore, after updating the list, the troika has asked for the Greek government to implement a strategy to improve the collection of debts. Among these is providing tax authorities with software to facilitate the automatic payment of outstanding debts and foreclosures against defaulting debtors, as well as taking necessary measures in November 2016 to collect fines for uninsured vehicles. In June the government will being analyzing the financial data of major debtors towards the state in order to determine their sustainability and ability to make payments. The list of debtors based on financial status and sustainability will be composed in September, along with a set of proposals to achieve gals, such as liquidation or even debt restructuring. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Athens is one of the top choices of affluent American tourists who plan to visit it within the next two years Athens is one of the top choices of affluent American tourists who plan to visit it within the next two years, according to MMGYs annual study on American travelers published at leading travel magazine skift.com. The study which has been conducted for more than 20 years, surveyed nearly 3,000 active leisure travelers online during February 2016. Respondents live in the U.S. and had an annual household income of at least $50,000 or more with 815 respondents having an annual household income of $125,000 or more. They also took at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or more from home during the previous 12 months and stayed in overnight accommodations. Respondents were nearly evenly distributed between males and females and between all generations. U.S. traveler interest is high for visiting major European cities despite cities like Paris, Brussels and Istanbul having suffered several terrorist attacks during the past year. Paris remains one of the most interesting European cities to U.S. travelers with 30 percent of respondents expressing interest in visiting during the next two years. This is the first year MMGY asked respondents for their travel interest in visiting specific European cities. Many travel brands believe 2016 will be one of the better years for American travelers for domestic and international trips and spending since the Great Recession began in 2008. Several signs point to that scenario already playing out. (Even if it may have reached its peak, as some argue) The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office, for example, said this week that U.S. travelers spent more than $55 billion on trips abroad between January and March compared to spending more than $54 billion between January and March 2015 (a one percent increase year-over-year). And according to the U.S. Travel Association, $55 billion is half of the total amount ($110 billion) U.S. travelers spent on trips abroad in 2015. One of the biggest affirmations: respondents part of MMGY Globals 2016 Portrait of American Travelers study said, on average, they plan to spend $5,048 on vacations during 2016. Thats an 11.5 percent increase from what they said they would spend when MMGY asked the same question in 2015. U.S. travelers with moderate to high incomes intend to take more vacations during 2016 than theyve taken during any year for the past decade, the study found. Some 28 percent of American travelers with incomes of $50,000 or more plan to take more vacations than they did in 2015. Traveler intent and consumer confidence are in lockstep this year, said Clayton Reid, president and CEO of MMGY Global. We only survey people with incomes of at least $50,000 because these are people who have more money to travel and who do travel. With that in mind, not everyone will travel more as our data doesnt account for American travelers that make less than $50,000 a year. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Greeces Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas will represent the Greek government at the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that will take place June 16-18 in Russia Greeces Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas will represent the Greek government at the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that will take place June 16-18 in Russia. This years topic is Capitalizing on the New Global Economic Reality. The annual event brings together politicians, business leaders and think tankers. During the last decade, SPIEF has become a leading international platform for the discussion of the key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. It attracts over 10,000 international and Russian participants, including government and business leaders from the emerging economic powers, as well as leading global voices from academia, the media, and civil society. The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech at the opening of the forum. The keynote speakers at the 20th SPIEF will be the UNs secretary general, Ban Ki Moon and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has agreed to attend, a Commission spokeswoman announced on May 30, in a move that may stir debate on the EUs fraught relations with Moscow. President Juncker has been invited and plans to participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 16 June, the spokeswoman stated. He will use this opportunity to convey to the Russian leadership as well as to a wider audience the EUs perspective regarding the current state of EU-Russia relations, she added. Major US investors Hungarys Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Europes former Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson are also on the guest list. Major US investors will take part in the forum. Business will do what it sees as necessary. What is not forbidden is allowed. According to our information, the leading investors will attend the Russian forum. American companies will be among them. The policy of ignoring the forum has failed. Interested companies, in any case, will attend and no one will hinder them, said Russian Embassy in Washington spokesman Grigory Zasypkin. Last year, SPIEF was attended by PwC, Boston Consulting, Schlumberger, Intel, ExxonMobil, Boeing and other American companies. In 2015, the forum saw 205 agreements, memorandums and contracts signed, with a total worth of $4.5 billion. The Greek Tourism Ministe will deliver a speech on Thursday during the forums special session entitled New Horizons in the Tourism Industry organized by the financial newspaper Expert. Other participants in the session will include the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai; the head of Russias Federal Tourism Agency (Rostourism), Oleg Safonov, executives of the international tourism market as well as Russian government representatives and tourism professionals. Minister Kountoura is also scheduled to attend a special event organized with the support of the Greek Consulate in St. Petersburg and in cooperation with the Greek National Tourism Organization office in Russia. Representatives of the Russian government, productive entities, educational institutions and SMEs will be present at the event. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report 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. 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. New Delhi, June 17 The Finance Ministry said on Friday that non-resident Indians (NRIs) could now open National Pension Savings (NPS) accounts online if they had Aadhaar card or PAN card. Till now, NRIs could open NPS accounts only through paper applications by approaching bank offices. Through eNPS, a subscriber will be able to open an NPS account from the comfort of his home. All he will need is an Internet connection and an Aadhaar/Pan card, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. On a repatriable basis, an NRI will have to remit the amount through his/her NRE/FCNR/NRO account For non-repatriable scheme, NRIs will be able to join NPS through their NRE/FCNR/NRO accounts at the time of maturity or during partial withdrawal, the NPS funds would be deposited only in their NRO accounts, it pointed out. PTI Vikramdeep Johal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 17 The UT Administration seems to have committed a faux pas in picking Yogi the mongoose as the mascot of the yoga celebrations, which will climax with the Modi-fied mega show on June 21. As per Hindu mythology, Maharishi Patanjali, revered as the father of yoga, was a serpent in his previous birth. The fact that the snake and the mongoose are age-old enemies has given an ironic twist to all the ballyhoo. According to a commentary by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the sages once approached Lord Vishnu, seeking a cure not only for physical illness but also for mental and emotional problems. The deity chose the 1,000-headed Adishesha (lord of the serpents) to be reborn as a human for alleviating mankinds distress. Legend has it that Patanjali after whom yoga star Ramdevs money-spinning industry is named thus landed on earth and compiled the sutras that became the bedrock of yogic philosophy. No wonder, linking the spiritual art with the snake-killing creature has not gone down well with some purists. An expert, who didnt wish to be named, said, Its nothing short of an insult to Maharishi Patanjali to make the bloodthirsty nevla the face of a yoga festival. The goof-up shows great ignorance on the part of the authorities. Vinod Kumar, state head of the Patanjali Yog Samiti, Chandigarh, declined to comment on the Maharishis mythological origins. He did acknowledge Patanjali as yogas patron saint, but hastened to add that it was Ramdev who had widely popularised this way of life. Incidentally, the UT authorities went for Yogi as the mascot because the Indian grey mongoose is Chandigarhs state animal (since 2010) and is usually selected for high-profile events. The symbolism has gone terribly wrong in this case, but with the Prime Ministers visit on the International Day of Yoga fast nearing, various stakeholders obviously cannot afford to play spoilsport. Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 17 Issuing a notice of motion for August 19 to the Panchkula District Magistrate and two nationalised banks, a vacation Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the taking over of Hotel Holiday Inn. The Bench made it clear that the order was subject to deposition of Rs 75 lakh by June 22. The petitioner was also asked to re-negotiate with the banks. The development before the Bench of Justice M Jeyapaul and Justice Amit Rawal is significant as the five-star hotel in Sector 3, Panchkula, was to be set up at a cost of Rs 130.29 crore by Walia Traders Limited. The petitioner, through senior advocate Anand Chhibbar, told the court that the respondent-banks had initially agreed to finance the project at 9.75 per cent per annum interest. However, the banks raised it to 16.50 per cent per annum, which caused great prejudice to the petitioner. The hotel was formerly functioning as Hotel KC Royal Park. Chhibbar added that the move lead to excess charging of interest of Rs 40.59 crore, including Rs 33.81 crore by the PNB and Rs 6.78 crore by the OBC. The petitioner filed a securitisation application in the Debts Recovery Tribunal-I against the respondents. However, the same was pending adjudication. No direction was given by the tribunal to the respondent-banks to consider their case for corporate debt restructuring in the light of the RBI guidelines. Chhibbar added that the petitioner submitted a proposal for restructuring the loans to a respondent-bank in March, providing therein detailed projections and other relevant data for restructuring the loans. The proposal was rejected without application of mind and devoid of cannons of financial propriety. The court was also told that the respondent-banks had twice put the property on sale by auction each time at reduced rate. However, no buyer had come forward because of continued depressed market conditions. Now, the respondent-banks got a notice issued in newspapers through the Panchkula Tehsildar for the payment of the entire amount with interest by June 19, failing which the physical possession of the hotel would be taken. In case the physical possession of the unit is taken over, the respondents will never restructure the account and may sell it at a throwaway price. There is a threat of physically taking over of the hotel and if it is so done, chances of debt restructuring will simply lapse, Chhibbar contended. S Nihal Singh THE best way to describe the turmoil in Europe and the United States is to paraphrase Shakespeare in declaring that the world is out of joint. The short question is: Have we reached the tipping point in the practice of democracy in its two variants of the presidential and parliamentary systems? As Britain votes next week to decide its future in Europe, Americans are facing the problem of an outlandish man, Donald Trump, being the presumptive presidential candidate of the Republican Party. While sociologists will take time to codify what precisely has caused the storms rocking the two sides of the Atlantic, the levels of popular dissatisfaction with the present are loud and clear. The key factors are stagnant wages for the middle class against a backdrop of the rich getting richer and the impoverishment of school-level whites, in particular, who have become unemployable in the modern technological era in the US. In Europe, the idealism that brought warring nations together after the end of World War II was underpinned by an unprecedented level of prosperity. But then came recession and harder economic times, crowned most recently by the unprecedented flow of refugees, principally from war-torn Syria. Some European nations, principally Hungary and Poland, have been seeking solace in nativist solutions. Others have sought solace in populist movements in Greece, France, Spain and Italy. Ironically, former Communist nations who had so eagerly sought membership of the European Union with its democratic credo are searching for solutions in their, until recently reviled, past. In Germany, an upstart Alternative for Germany party is gathering supporters riding on the wave of popular opposition to the million plus refugees Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken in. However until the crises prevailing in Europe and the US are eventually resolved, they pose the existential question: Has Western democracy, as it is being practised, run its course? If so, what element of the system requires amendment? Little thought is being given to this question because the principal actors in the long-running drama are preoccupied with keeping their heads above water. The Financial Times recently posed the blunt question to one of the most sophisticated practitioners of Washingtons power game, James Baker, on the consequences of a President Trump. He took comfort in the strength of political institutions in the US which would discipline a wayward President, despite his temperament and extravagant promises. Others are less sure, judging by George W Bushs decision to invade Iraq on false premises and leaving two hopeless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to his successor. What the next US President must do is to satisfy the mainstay of any democracy, the middle class, in taking their incomes forward and imposing appropriate taxes on the very rich, a task hard to conceive the billionaire Trump undertaking. His promise to revive rust industries is hogwash because they are simply outdated and uneconomic to run. Europeans face an even harder task because the nationalistic tendencies of the past are rearing their head. This is most vividly demonstrated by the seemingly unending flow of refugees flooding Europe. Apart from Ms Merkel and her initial generous response, for which she is paying a political price, most nations are shirking their responsibility by refusing to give refugees asylum. Britain, of course, has an opt-out on immigration and has promised to take in a token number. The EU can be divided between the West and the former Communist countries. The latter seem more inclined to nationalist urges. Having benefited from the new prosperity the EU has brought them through the infusion of funds and other goodies, they now seem to be seeking their spiritual salvation in religious orthodoxy and old ways of thinking. In Germanys case, there is something touching in the nations tabloids pleading with Britons to remain in the EU. Despite the wars, Germans have good relations with the UK and believe that in the event of a Brexit, they would have a harder time in enforcing rules and common sense solutions. The essential problem facing Europe, the US and the world is that if the practice of democracy has reached a dead end, there is, in the Churchillian idiom, no better system invented by mankind. Rather, the main problem is the pairing of the American form of capitalism to the democratic system that has come to be practised in the West. It is worth recalling that it was largely the economic impulse of the people that gave rise to the advent of Communism, although the creed was clothed in ideological hues. Contrary to Karl Marxs assumption, it flourished originally in only one country, although it was later imposed on other nations while parts of the developing world embraced it. Those at the bottom of the ladder in poorer countries became Communisms avid supporters. Communism failed in the end because it underpinned Soviet bondage for Eastern Europe and, in the end, led to dictatorships, whatever gloss the ideologues sought to put on them. As the widespread practice of democracy has proved, the human urge for freedom is too strong to be permanently suppressed. In historical terms, developments in the former Soviet Union are particularly instructive. The demise of the USSR to give way to the Russian Federation was followed by the adoption of Orthodox Christianity as the binding factor for a people fed on high doses of Communism from birth to death. As my two-year stay in the Soviet Union in the Brezhnev era revealed, there was much cynicism among people on the virtues of the official creed. It was indeed striking to see President Vladimir Putin make the cross sign at a hallowed Orthodox shrine during his recent visit to Greece. The looming problem for Europeans and Americans is how to rework the components of democracy to build fairer countries in a fairer world. It is a harder task for the US because of Americans addiction to neo-liberal economic solutions. Europe should take the lead. Hugh & Colleen Gantzer IT was our Armed Forces' finest hour. It changed the map of the subcontinent, gave birth to a new country and was, arguably, the most superbly planned and executed military campaign in the history of modern warfare. It also established precedences in civil-military ties that are now being eroded. The relationship between a civilian administration and its military establishment is often strained. This is an existential problem. In the Services the chain of command is clear, as are its objectives: compromise is not an option. In civilian life the socio-political matrix is in a constant state of flux, particularly in India. We have 1,600 political parties drawn from 4,365 communities. It's bad enough for the administrator, torn between principle and pragmatic pandering to the pressures of politicians. It's worse for our netas who have the additional stress of a five-year shelf life. Lifetime faujis would be ridiculed by their peers if they celebrated two years of service to the nation with fanfare and razzmatazz. Significantly, however, no political party celebrated the birth centenary of Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw. Though he had strategised India's greatest military victory, the politicians were unhappy with him. He had refused to toe their line. But then, Sam had never been scared of defying public opinion. And proving it wrong. As a light-eyed, slim, young officer Sam was posted to a battalion which had a mix of burly Sikhs and Pashtoons. On day he heard them remarking "Oi kurri nu platoon commander bana ditta. Hun ki kariye!" (What shall we do now that a girl has been made our platoon commander!) Sam bided his time. When he saw that a star athlete of the platoon could not clear a four-foot bar, he did a short run and sailed over it. Then he turned to his men and said "Tusi kiho jaye athlete ho! Aina ucha te kudyian wi tap jandiyan ne" (What kind of athletes are you? Even girls can easily jump over this bar!) His men didn't know that Sam had been born in Amritsar and spoke fluent Punjabi. Officers and men in the Services live in close proximity, 24x7, unlike their political colleagues who parachute down, pontificate from high pulpits, don't respond to comments, and then vanish into their ivory towers! Incidents like these showed the mettle of a man who once, in Burma, took a burst of LMG fire that lodged nine bullets in his stomach and perforated his lungs, liver, kidneys and intestines. He was saved by his men who, when ordered to leave all casualties behind because they would delay withdrawal, refused to do so. In fact, they threatened to shoot the military doctor if he did not attend to their "revered leader". Before Sam recovered, he was awarded the Military Cross. It is difficult for a bureaucrat or a politician to appreciate the depth of such earned loyalty. In the perception of many servicemen, the fawning fealty purchased by their civilian counterparts tends to give their recipients an inflated sense of their own importance. Secretaries of all ilks are particularly prone to this. The system of file notings is designed both to diffuse responsibility and accrue authority by eroding that of others. When the Defence Secretary signed a file noting asking Sam for an explanation, the Chief's reply was succinct: . The dence secretary is but a medium between the Defence Minister and the Chief of Army Staff. It is not his prerogative to ask the Army Chief questions."Embarrassed that his attempt at bossing the Chief had been foiled, the bureaucrat came running to Sam's office asking him to withdraw his comment but Manekshaw stuck to his guns and his rebuttal remained on the file. Sam's greatest defiance of authority came when he refused to toe the line of Mrs Indira Gandhi's Cabinet. In April 1971, panicked by the unending flow of refugees from a tortured East Pakistan, the beleaguered government wanted to attack Pakistan. Manekshaw said it was a flawed decision. According to Brigadier Behram M. Panthaki (retd) and his wife Zenobia, authors of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, The Man and His Times, (Niyogi Books), the Chief "..needed time to mobilise formations ensuring adequate logistical support. This would entail requisitioning trains ..crops were ready to be harvested in the Punjab and the diversion of rolling stock would result in food shortages additional roads would need to be built by the Border Roads Organisation any operation in summer spelt disaster with the entire delta region in West Bengal turning into a vast swamp with the monsoon rains.IAF support would be restricted because of poor visibility. Any entry into East Pakistan would be suicidal until the rivers had ebbed and the snow had blocked any chance of the Chinese opening up a Third Front along the northern border The Army had just eleven tanks in operational condition out of 189; requisitions for purchase were pending with the Ministry of Finance." It is curious how politicians and bureaucrats accept, without demur, opinions of callow MBBS doctors about matters of health but question service officers when it comes to advice on their specialisation, defence, involving the life and death of thousands of their fellow citizens. The Prime Minister dismissed her Cabinet, reversed its inexpert and hurried decision to attack East Pakistan, and followed Manekshaw's sane advice, On December 3, 1971, the Pakistan Air Force attacked 11 Indian airfields on the Western Front. India and Pakistan went to war for the third time. On December 16, 1971, in Dacca's Ramna Racecourse, 92,000 officers and men of the Pakistan Army surrendered to Lt. Gen Jagit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C of our Eastern Command. The Panthakis create a vivid vignette of what happened in Parliament then: On the day Dacca fell, Mrs. Gandhi could barely contain her excitement. She ran up the stairs of Parliament House and interrupted proceedings to announce victory. Pakistan had been trounced in less than two weeks against a projected time frame of four to six weeks. The House exploded with jubilation. It was India's finest hour. In January 1973, General Sam Manekshaw was promoted to Field Marshal for his brilliant planning and execution of the 1971 war. It had given birth to Bangladesh and also done much to redeem the Army of the stigma of the Himalayan debacle of 1962. At that time a compliant Army Chief had accepted the knee-jerk decision of the politicians and thrown unprepared and ill-equipped soldiers into battle, treating our officers and jawans like cannon fodder. India's first Field Marshal's baton was rightly awarded to the man who knew when it was his duty to say "No!" The authors are Mussoorie-based travel writers. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 17 Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Parkash Dhankar on Friday met Haryana khaps and Jat reservation struggle committees in Panchkula. Dissatisfied with the government action on reservation, Hooda khap representatives boycotted the meeting and sat outside the meeting hall. Jat leaders are demanding the release of innocents, who were arrested by the police during the February riots in the state, and demanding job and compensation for the family members of the deceased, who were killed in the agitation. Jat leader Joginder Sandhu said they were against the entry of UP leaders in Haryana. Jat leaders opposed Akhil Bhartiya Jat Mahasabha leader Yudhvir Singh Sehrawats presence in the meeting. After the meeting, khap leaders said they were satisfied with the talks and said they would launch a campaign to persuade people not to participate in "outsider's" protest being led by Yashpal Malik. Parvesh Sharma Tribune News Service Panchkula, June 17 Khaps and Jat committees today announced to launch a special campaign in the state to persuade residents against attending the ongoing agitation led by outsiders. After a three-hour meeting with government representatives here at Kisan Bhawan, Jat leaders expressed satisfaction with the efforts being made by the authorities. Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar and political adviser to CM Jagdish Chopra interacted with the committee members. The leaders put the Jat reservation issue on the back burner and shifted their focus to the demand for the release of the arrested Jat youths and compensation and jobs for the families of those who died in the February violence. Yashpal Malik is an outsider and he is spoiling the atmosphere of the state. From tomorrow, our leaders will visit all agitation sites and convince our residents not to play into the hands of the outsiders and shun agitation, said Sube Singh Sumain, spokesman, Samasat Jat Samaj Sangathan. The Jat leaders said they would launch an agitation if the government fails to fulfil their demands. The government has raised the issue in court and we are satisfied with it, said Dalel Singh Khatkar, president, Khatkar khap. Leaders of 50 khaps, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Sangharsh Samiti, Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, All-India Jat Mahasabha and other Jat bodies attended the meeting. Our government is very serious about the issue, said Dhankar after the meeting. Leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Samiti (ABJASS), however, stayed away from the meeting and alleged that only government agents had been today called for talks. I have the support of 50 Haryana khaps and will meet the government only with them, not with government puppets who were called today. Our peaceful agitation will continue, said Yashpal Malik, ABJASS president. UP leader ignored The meeting turned out to be Haryanavi versus non-Haryanavi as state leaders did not allow a UP Jat leader to share his views with Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar and political adviser to CM Jagdish Chopra. Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service Rohtak, June 17 Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has expressed his concern over the politicisation of the agitation for grant of reservation to the Jats. He has advised the opposition parties not to give a political tinge to the stir as it was a social issue. The Chief Minister appealed to the Opposition and the agitating community members to support the case as the matter was sub judice. Resolving the issue is the responsibility of the state government and collective efforts are required by all stakeholders, said the Chief Minister during a meeting of the BJP workers from Rohtak and Jhajjar districts here today. Khattar said the Haryana Government had set a target to free the state from open defecation by December 31, 2017. In the first phase, Panchkula and Sirsa districts will be freed from open defecation from November 1, 2016, he added. The CM directed the party workers to educate the needy and deserving residents about various welfare schemes and programmes of the Central and the state governments. He pointed out that when the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao programme was launched, the gender ratio in the state was 837, which had now increased to 897. The government has set a target to achieve a gender ratio of 950, he said, adding that nearly 270 FIRs had so far been registered in this regard. The CM asserted that as many as 359 MoUs worth Rs 5.84 lakh crore were signed during the Happening Haryana Summit, organised in Gurgaon in March. Around 4 lakh youths will get jobs with the implementation of these MoUs, he said, adding that the skill development courses will soon be introduced to prepare the youths for the jobs. Referring to the Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon scheme, the Chief Minister maintained that electricity was being supplied for 12-15 hours to 1,000 villages through 250 feeders in which the electricity bills had been paid. Khatkar (Jind): The Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) has called Jat leaders who were present at a meeting with the state government today traitors and asked people to boycott them. Vir Bhan Dhull, general secretary, ABJASS, said, The Jat leaders who have not been taking part in the peaceful agitation and working on governments directions are traitors. He said, The Jat community will forgive them only if they visit the agitation site and apologise to the protesters. If they dont, we will break all ties with them. Dhull also slammed the Jind Deputy Commissioner for creating hurdles for the samitis agitation at Julana. We had received an invitation, but we decided not to take part in any talks with the government in the absence of our national president Yashpal Malik, said Capt Bhupinder Singh Jaglan (retd), district president, ABJASS. He said, The current agitation is being run by the ABJASS, so we dont care who held talks with the government today. The time for assurances is over. We just want the government to accept our demands without any delay. Dhull said, Though we have sought permission for agitation at Julana, we are yet to receive a reply from the administration. We will meet the officials today to discuss the issue. If the administration does not allow us, we will discuss the matter with Jat leaders and khaps of the Julana area.OC Ehsan Fazili Tribune News Service Anantnag, June 17 Major political parties are engaged in the last-minute efforts to woo voters, even as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is the main contestant in the byelection to the Anantnag Assembly constituency scheduled for June 22. As the life moves on in this main town of south Kashmir, electioneering has picked up amid the holy month of Ramazan and paddy plantation in summer. The holy month and paddy plantation by farmers along the periphery of this town have left the mood subdued, said a resident of the Lal Chowk market here. The men on the streets feel that the parties have not been mobilising the voters during this bypoll as is done during main elections. The byelection has been necessitated due to the death of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who represented this constituency for the two last consecutive terms. The only major pointer to the electioneering here are rows of party flags, buntings and posters along the Khanabal-Pahalgam (KP) road leading to the town from the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway about 50 km from Srinagar. These are also seen dotting the main markets in the town and the roads leading to other tourist spots of Verinag and Kokernag. Except for the road show held by Mehbooba on June 11 and an election rally by the opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday, there has not been much poll related activity. The officials here said that 13 important rallies have been held as a part of the vibrant democratic activity. However, the focus of the administration is on the security and law & order situation in the backdrop of two recent militancy related incidents. Three BSF men were killed when suspected militants attacked their convoy at the nearby township of Bijbehara while two policemen were killed in another attack near General Bus Stand, Anantnag on June 3 and 4. Elaborate security arrangements are in place in view of sensitivity of the situation and law and order issues. These will ensure that the voters are able to cast their votes in a very peaceful and in a free and fair environment, said Syed Abid Shah, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag. We have also taken on board all the stakeholders, including the parties, so that the entire process takes place in a transparent, effective and efficient manner, he told The Tribune. Of the 102 polling stations at 63 locations across the constituency, 52 have been categorised as 'hyper-sensitive' while 50 others are 'sensitive,' while no polling station is normal from the security point of view. Around 85,000 voters in the town and 4,223 migrant Kashmiri Pandit voters would decide the fate of Mehbooba, National Conference candidate, Iftikhar Hussain Misger, Congress candidate Hilal Ahmad Shah and five independents -- Tejinder Singh, Mujieb-ur-Rehman, Masroor Ahmad Mir, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah and Manzoor Ahmad Khan. As many as 20 polling stations have been identified for migrant voters in Udhampur, Jammu and Delhi. ------------------------ HIGHLIGHTS Over 85,000 voters in Anantnag and 4223 migrant voters in Udhampur, Jammu and Delhi to decide the fate of Mehbooba Mufti and seven other candidates on June 22. Of the 102 polling stations, 52 categorised as 'hyper-sensitive' and 50 as 'sensitive.' Counting of votes on June 25. 20 polling stations to have webcasting, and five polling stations to have complete videography for transparent polling. Srinagar, June 16 The Army on Thursday foiled a major infiltration bid in Tangdhar sector of the frontier Kupwara district, killing four unidentified militants. A jawan was also killed in the gunfight. A massive combing operation is already under way in neighbouring Machil. The four militants were killed close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Kalban Nar in Tangdhar sector, 185 km from Srinagar. The gunfight erupted early today when the Army noticed movement of a group of heavily armed militants in the sector. The slain soldier was identified as Lance Havildar Prem Bahadur Reshmi Magar (37), a resident of Falpa, Nepal. He is survived by his wife and two children. This is the first infiltration bid in Tangdhar sector this year. TNS Tribune News Service Srinagar, June 17 The state government on Friday said it was investigating whether there was any conspiracy to disturb the peace in the state after the twin incidents of desecration of temples in Jammu. The government is looking into the incidents and will investigate whether any conspiracy is there to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the state, Minister for Law, Abdul Haq Khan told the Legislative Council after BJP, Congress and Peoples Democratic Party legislators from Jammu asked the government to make a statement on the two incidents of sacrilege. The investigations in both cases are on. Action has already been taken in yesterdays incident, he said, adding that the government would not let off anyone. I want to assure this House that as soon as we get to the bottom of the investigation, we will not let off anyone. We will not let anyone vitiate the peaceful atmosphere, be it in Jammu or Ladakh or Kashmir, he said. Earlier as soon as the Upper House proceedings began, BJP member Vibodh Gupta raised the issue of desecration of temples in Jammu. It seems there is a conspiracy, Gupta said. Another BJP MLC alleged that it appeared as if some agency or politician is behind the incidents. Meanwhile, National Conference and Congress legislators today staged a walkout from the Council in protest against the government, accusing coalition ministers of showing impatience in the House. The opposition members walked out after Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga sought a clarification from Industries and Commerce Minister Chander Prakash Ganga over the new industrial policy. Though Ganga responded, Monga was not satisfied. Later, J&K Education Minister Naeem Akhtar intervened and said the relevant sections of the policy had been put on hold. You always indulge in commentary here, Akhtar told Congress MLC Monga. This comment of the Minister was objected to by Monga and he along with three National Conference members staged a walkout. They, however, returned after some time. Tribune News Service Srinagar, June 17 Two suspected militants were killed in the ongoing gun fight in north Kashmirs Baramulla district. The gunfight erupted in Bomai, Sopore, 60 kilometres from Srinagar, on Friday morning when a joint team of Police, Army and CRPF launched a search operation. As the searches began, the hiding militants opened fire on security personnel, triggering an encounter. In the gun fight two militants have got killed so far, sources said. The identity of the slain militants could not be ascertained immediately. The operation is underway. Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, June 17 Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today said separatists had decided to constitute a committee to initiate a dialogue process with the migrant Kashmiri Pandits to understand their concerns and find ways for their return. The joint committee will have members from both the hardline and moderate factions of the Hurriyat besides members from the J&K Liberation Front headed by Yasin Malik. Mirwaiz said this that while addressing a gathering protesting against the anti-Kashmir policies of the government outside the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar after the Friday prayers. He, however, made it clear that the separatists would continue their opposition to the establishment of separate townships for the migrant Pandits. He termed the proposed Sainik Colony and the new industrial policy as a ploy to facilitate the entry of non-state subjects in Jammu and Kashmir and thus change its demographic character as well as its disputed nature. A couple of days earlier on June 13, a delegation of the Kashmiri Pandit's Return and Rehabilitation Forum had met Mirwaiz at his Nigeen residence to discuss and explore the ways for the return of migrant Kashmiri Pandits. It has been agreed upon by the resistance leadership, including Geelani Saheb, Yasin Malik Saheb and me, that a group would be formed from our parties that will initiate a process of dialogue and deliberation with the Kashmiri Pandits across the board to understand their concerns and the help as well as the assurances they need with regard to their return to the Valley, Mirwaiz told the gathering. From our side we ask them (migrant Pandits) to meet the Pandits living here (in Kashmir who did not migrate) and see for themselves that they are the most secure living side by side with other communities rather than if they would be living in separate colonies. However, as soon as the protest ended, the protesting youth took to the streets and pelted the police and paramilitary forces deployed nearby with stones. Pitched battles were seen between the two sides, with the police later resorting to tear-smoke shelling to disperse the protesters. Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Windhoek (Namibia), June 17 With human resource development, capacity-building and educational exchanges being areas that have been prioritised in bilateral relations, Indias flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities could be successful models in Namibia as well, President Pranab Mukherjee told the Namibian academia on Friday. In his address at the Namibia University of Science and Technology on the concluding day of his six-day tour to three African countries, Mukherjee said India remained committed to partnering with Namibia as its people pursued their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Namibian governments Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan. Observing that Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth, the President said that their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibias mining sector. Indias public and private enterprises are ready to join Namibian endeavours in this direction and in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, the fruitful economic exchanges between the two countries underscore the much larger potential that is waiting to be realised, he added. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd) Mukherjee told the universitys faculty and students that India has already announced a total of 50,000 scholarships and fellowships for African participants over a period of 5 years till 2020. Lines of credit worth $10 billion for Africa to be used over the same for implementation of projects agreed with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and individual countries have also been agree upon in addition to projects valued at $600 million under grants-in-aid for human resource development, infrastructure and institution building in Africa, he added Earlier, Mukherjee paid homage to Namibias martyrs at the Heroes Acre war memorial near the Capital. He laid a wreath at the memorial and was briefed on its history and significance by accompanying officials. New York, June 17 A former US Marine sergeant of Indian origin, Imran Yousuf, has been hailed as a hero for saving scores of lives at a Florida night club when a terrorist went on a rampage killing 49 people. When Yousuf, who was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club catering to the gay community in Orlando, Florida, heard the first gunshots his military experience fighting in Afghanistan kicked in, according to media reports. As everyone in the packed night club froze in fear, he jumped up and at personal risk opened a back door allowing many people to escape. He told CBS News television that as panicked people streamed to the back of the hall, Im screaming Open the door! Open the door! And no one is moving because they are scared. There was only one choice, he added in the interview. Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there. Yousuf--whose mother and grandmother are Hindus--risked his life because he could have drawn the attention of Omar Mateen, who had sworn loyalty to the Islamic State and was carrying out the attack, considered the worst mass shooting in US history. Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives. The network reported that he cried as he said, I wish I could have saved more to be honest. There are a lot of people that are dead. And Yousuf has been modest, brushing off the praises as a hero. Marine Corps Times newspaper reported on its web site that Yousuf posted on his Facebook page, There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct...While it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted. The newspaper said he had left the Marine Corps just last month. CBS News identified Yousuf as a Hindu and his name caused some confusion. California-based newspaper India West, which interviewed his uncle, clarified that his mother and paternal grandmother are Hindus and he identifies with their religion. His family emigrated from Guyana, where his ancestors had gone from India. The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York, reported that he grew up in the nearby town of Niskayuna and joined the Marine Corps soon after he finished high school at the age of 17 and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. His brother, Ameer Yousuf, told the newspaper, This was so unexpected but because of my brothers training in the Marine Corps, he was prepared and used strategies from that to do everything he did. Marine Corps Times said he had been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service. IANS Tribune News Service Lucknow, June 17 Charging the ruling Samajwadi Party government with patronising criminals of a certain community, a delegation of BJP parliamentarians today demanded a CBI probe into the so-called exodus in Kairana and other places. Based on the June 15 Kairana visit of a nine-member team comprising six MPs, two MLAs and a former DGP, the BJP delegation today submitted a memorandum to Governor Ram Naik. The party has demanded a stern punishment for criminals, policemen and officials responsible for the exodus. It has also demanded the state government to announce a special package for the migrants and ensure their safety so that they can return to their former houses. Both the Samajwadi Party and the BSP lashed out at the BJP for allegedly fuelling communal tension ahead of the 2017 elections. Cabinet Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said: There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as the Assembly elections are round the corner. In a hurriedly called press conference, Yadav further alleged: Their only work is to orchestrate riots and let people fight with each other but the state government will not let this happen. They are the same people who had masterminded the Muzaffarnagar riots. BSP supremo Mayawati also hit out at the BJP for continuing to disturb the communal harmony of the state by raising the false issue of the Kairana exodus. She did not spare the SP either for declaring to take out a Sadbhavna Yatra in response to Sardana BJP MLA Sangeet Soms Nirbhay Yatra from Meerut to Kairana. These competitive yatras are going to increase communal tension in the region and may serve the political purpose of both these parties who are hand in glove, she alleged. The district administration stopped both the yatras from moving towards Kairana citing that Section 144 was in force in western Uttar Pradesh. Som, however, issued a 15-day ultimatum to the UP Government to ensure that people whove been forced to migrate from Kairana are brought back within that time. New Delhi, June 17 Maharashtra tops the list of states where women have filed the maximum number of court cases, a latest data says amid the Centres push to fast track cases related to them. According to the data highlighted by the Supreme Court eCommittee, 20,94,086 cases were filed by women in various courts and constitute 9.58 per cent of the total 2.18 crore cases pending in the various subordinate courts. Maharashtra tops the list where 2,55,122 cases have been filed by women, followed by Bihar with 2,16,599 cases. In Uttar Pradesh, the figure stands at 4,40,927 followed by West Bengal (1,74,327), Karnataka (1,46,959) and Tamil Nadu (1,35,033). Similarly, as per the data, 6,96,704 cases have been filed by senior citizens in various courts. Percentage wise, the cases filed by senior citizens and women constitute 12.77 per cent of the total 2,18,54,970 pending cases. According to the data, as on April 30, Uttar Pradesh leads with 51,13,978 pending cases. Maharashtra follows with 29,16,559 cases, while Rajasthan and West Bengal have over 13 lakh cases pending in their courts. While setting up of fast track courts is the domain of the states, the central government has been pushing them to ensure that cases related to women, children and senior citizens are tried in such courts. In a written reply, Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had informed Lok Sabha last December that the subordinate courts settled 1,9019,658 cases in 2014. He had said the 24 high courts disposed of 17,34,542 cases in 2014. The pendency in the high courts was estimated at 41.53 lakh at the end of December 2014. The Supreme Court disposed of 44,090 cases last year till December 1, while the pendency there has been estimated at 58,906 till the beginning of December 2015. The eCommittee of the Supreme Court was set up in 2004 to assist the Chief Justice of India in formulating a national policy on computerisation of Indian judiciary and advise on technological, communication and management-related changes. The data has been published in the eCommittees April newsletter. PTI Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Windhoek, June 17 Indias flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities could be successful models in Namibia as well, President Pranab Mukherjee told the Namibian Academia today. In his address at the Namibia University of Science and Technology on the concluding day of his six-day tour to three African countries, Mukherjee said India remained committed to partnering with Namibia as its people pursued their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Namibian governments Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan. Observing that Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth, the President said their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibias mining sector. Indias public and private enterprises stand ready to join Namibian endeavours in this direction and in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, the fruitful economic exchanges between the two countries underscore the much larger potential that is waiting to be realised, he added. Mukherjee told the universitys faculty and students that India has already announced a total of 50,000 scholarships and fellowships for African participants over a period of five years till 2020. Lines of credit worth $10 billion for Africa to be used over the same for implementation of projects agreed with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and individual countries have also been agree upon in addition to projects valued at $600 million under grants-in-aid for human resource development, infrastructure and institution building in Africa, he added. Earlier, Mukherjee paid homage to Namibias martyrs at the Heroes Acre war memorial near the Capital. He laid a wreath at the memorial and was briefed briefed on its history and significance by accompanying officials. London, June 17 British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UKs firm support for Indias NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading clubs crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britains backing for Indias membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi yesterday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indias application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support Indias application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity, the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate), the spokesperson said. Indias case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support Indias bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed Indias membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to Indias admission. China maintains opposition to Indias entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. PTI Kabul, June 17 Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has said Pakistan, which is not in favour of good relations between India and Afghanistan, wants no bilateral trade and access to Central Asia for India. Karzai told BBC Urdu in an interview on Thursday that Pakistan should also become a part of the regional coalition between Afghanistan, India and Iran, but added that Islamabads condition is that Kabul should not have contacts with New Delhi, reports the Dawn. He said this would also help improve the relationship between Kabul and Islamabad. The former president said India wanted be a true friend to Afghanistan and is helping the country to build its infrastructure and health facilities. Karzai said Pakistan should stop dictating about Kabuls friendship with New Delhi and respect the fact that Afghanistan is a sovereign country. He also called upon Pakistan to jointly fight terrorism, which is a menace for both countries. ANI Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 17 In a sign of further trouble for secular forces in Bangladesh, the security at the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhakha was today beefed up after one of its staff members received a death threat allegedly from the Islamic State militants in the country. Bangladesh has recently seen Hindus and secular Moslems being hacked to death by extremist forces in the country. Though the Sheikh Hasina government has launched a nationwide crackdown on these extremist groups, the killings of minority leaders continues. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the Indian high commission in Dhaka "had contacted both Bangladesh police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have been assured of full support and protection". "We are also in direct contact with the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka," Swarup said, adding that the Bangaldesh Government had strengthened police presence around the offices of the Ramakrishna Mission there. One of the priests at the RK Mission had filed a complaint with the Dhaka police that he received a letter from the Islamic State Bangladesh chapter threatening his life. The letter, according to the Daily Star, reads: "You are Hindus, Bangladesh is an Islamic country. You cannot preach Hindu religion in the country. Go to India. Otherwise, you will be hacked to death." Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 16 Pakistan today upped the ante as it reached out to the foreign ministers of Austria and Turkey over its own membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and also on Indias efforts to get into this elite nuclear club. Apart from China, Austria and Turkey too are not very supportive of Indias NSG bid. Turkey has demanded that the applications of both India and Pakistan be considered simultaneously. Its a stand that benefits Pakistan and doesnt help Indias case at all. China, on a parallel, kept up the momentum and said once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken. This was part of an extensive commentary run in the Global Times today, which is known to reflect the viewpoint of the Chinese leadership. India, meanwhile, seems to be in for a photo finish. While it has managed to convince most NSG members of its credentials, the opposition by China and other smaller nations such as New Zealand, South Africa, Austria and Turkey could make the consensus difficult on June 24 when the NSG plenary meeting is held. India, in its keenness to get into the NSG, has made it clear that it has no agenda as far as Pakistans membership is concerned. US okays enhanced military ties with India The US has approved a move to enhance military cooperation with India for developing threat analysis, military doctrine, force planning, logistical support and intelligence collection and analysis China downplays transgression report Downplaying reports of scuffles between Indian and Chinese troops during PLA troops' transgression into Arunachal Pradesh, China said it was committed to peace and tranquility in border areas Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Windhoek (Namibia), June 16 While India and Namibia agreed to expand economic and cultural ties, little headway has been made in the supply of uranium from the south African republic. The issue is important as President Pranab Mukherjee visits Namibia. An agreement for supply of uranium was signed with Namibia in 2009, but it is still to be implemented due to technical hitches on account of Namibias agreement on exports with some African countries and India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We have agreed to send a technical team shortly to Namibia to work out the modalities and also highlight our agreements with 12 other countries on uranium supply that could be the pivot to move ahead, a senior Indian diplomat said here. We have also informed them about our efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and also maintained that not being a NTP signatory should not be a hindrance for procurement of uranium, he added. Another option suggested by Namibian President Dr Hage Geingod during talks with Mukherjee was that Indian companies can invest in mining uranium and other minerals in Namibia. However, under local laws, foreign companies investing in Namibia have to have a collaboration with a local company and is a long drawn process. Namibian leaders have expressed their desire to further study the intricacies before making a commitment. Negotiations between the two countries on Free Trade Agreement are also continuing and there is some difficulty in getting the three other members of the South African Customs Union, South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana together. Some changes have also been suggested to the double taxation agreement. India has also agreed to ship 1000 tonnes of rice and 100 tonnes of medicines to Namibia to tide over the situation created by drought this year. India has also reiterated its offer for $100 million line of credit to Namibia for undertaking projects and supplies from India. Two memorandums of understanding were signed for setting up a centre of excellence in information technology and a centre for joint entrepreneurship in Namibia. Washington, June 17 The US has urged members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to support Indias membership into the elite grouping. The United States calls on NSG participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, which I think is next week, State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday. Im not going to get ahead of how thats going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where its going to go, but weve made clear that we support the application, Kirby said in response to a question. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd) During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Barack Obama welcomed Indias application to the 48-member grouping. The US has been pushing for Indias NSG membership. Earlier, ahead of a meeting here US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of Indias bid, saying they should agree not to block consensus on Indian admission. A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG Plenary later this month. India, though not a member, enjoys the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules for its atomic cooperation deal with the US. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. The US support has come a day after Chinas official media expressed concern about Indias entry, saying it will shake the strategic balance in South Asia and make India a legitimate nuclear power. PTI Tribune News Service Faridkot/Ludhiana, June 17 There was tension at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari villages in this district on Friday following the death of the injured dera follower at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in Ludhiana. His body is being brought to the village. Senior police officers are camping in Kotkapura and heavy police force has been deployed at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari villages. The Dera Sacha Sauda follower was shot at in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village three days ago triggering protests. Gurdev Singh, 31, was admitted to DMCH in a critical condition, Ashwani Chaudhry, neurosurgeon of the DMCH, said. His body was handed over to the family after the post-mortem. Tight security arrangements had been made in the civil hospital, police said. A large number of dera followers were also present here. On Thursday, Punjab Police had assured the followers of the Sirsa-headquartered sect of solving the case soon. A large number of dera followers had assembled in Faridkot on Thursday evening demanding immediate arrest of those responsible. The assailants had come in a car and opened fire at Gurdev Singh on June 13 leaving him seriously injured. With PTI Tribune News Service Dehradun, June 17 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said his ministry was approaching the Kairana situation with caution lest it goes out of hand. He was asked about his ministrys response to the situation during an interaction with residents of Dehradun, held to mark the achievements of the two years of Modi government. Rajnath said It is a sensitive issue and the Home Ministry is approaching the situation with utmost caution. Rather than giving statements on the issue, it is important that a solution is first worked out. He said the ministry had asked for a report on the issue from Uttar Pradesh. Notably, a BJP leader, after a survey, had claimed exodus of Hindu families from the village. Rajnath also kept the hopes of Uttarakhand BJP aspirants for a possible Cabinet berth, alive. The Modi Cabinet is likely to be expanded in the coming days. Though it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister, please wait for the Cabinet expansion. Uttarakhand will not be ignored, he said while replying to a question on why no BJP leader was inducted in the Modi Cabinet initially. Detmold, June 17 A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was convicted on Friday of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people, at the end of what is likely to be one of Germany's last Holocaust trials. Reinhold Hanning was sentenced to five years' jail for facilitating the slaughter at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. The nearly four-month long trial included testimony from around a dozen Holocaust survivors, many of them extremely elderly, who detailed their horrific experiences, recalling piles of bodies and the smell of burnt flesh in the death camp. The defence had said Hanning should be acquitted as the former SS officer had personally never killed, beaten or abused anyone. Hanning, seated in a wheelchair, remained silent and emotionless for much of the trial, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the courtroom. He spoke at the end of April, apologising to the victims and saying that he regretted being part of a "criminal organisation" that had killed so many and caused so much suffering. I'm ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it, he read from a prepared speech. Hanning was not charged with direct involvement in any killings. But prosecutors and dozens of joint plaintiffs from Germany, Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain and the United States said he had helped Auschwitz function. Reuters Birstall, June 17 Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox on Friday after a man wielding a gun and knife killed the 41-year-old in an attack that has thrown next week's referendum on European Union membership into limbo. Cox, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed on Thursday by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first" in her own electoral district near Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire in northern England. A 52-year-old man named by media as Thomas Mair, and described by family members as having a history of mental illness, was arrested and THE police said a firearm was recovered. Britain First, a far-right nationalist group, denied any links with Mair but a US civil rights group said he had been associated with a neo-Nazi organisation. In Birstall, a usually quiet town of a few thousand people, shocked and weeping mourners laid flowers at a monument near the scene of the attack. One message left beside the flowers read: "Fascists feed on fear." The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended in the June 23 EU referendum, the tone of which has become ugly and included bitter personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. Though the killer's motives were not immediately clear, some financial market analysts suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the 'Remain' campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind 'Leave'. It was not clear when campaigning would resume. The police said they were not in a position to discuss the motive of the attack and a full investigation was under way. There have been no charges in connection with the killing. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Cox's husband, Brendan, said. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." The deputy leader of Britain First, Jayda Fransen, distanced her group-which describes itself as "a patriotic political party and street defence organisation"-from the attack and described it as "absolutely disgusting". The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley in northern England, from the NAs publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. Reuters was unable to verify the report independently. Reuters New York, June 17 A former Marine of Indian-descent, who served in Afghanistan, is being hailed as a hero for helping scores of people escape from an Orlando gay club targeted by a terrorist who killed 49 persons in the deadliest shooting in US history. Imran Yousuf, a 24-year-old bouncer at the Pulse nightclub, heard the gunfire break out early Sunday morning. "The initial one was three or four (shots). That was a shock. Three of four shots go off and you could tell it was a high caliber," Yousuf, a 'Hindu' whose family had immigrated to Guyana from India four generations ago, told CBS News. That's when his Marine Corps training kicked in, said Yousuf, a former sergeant who just left the Marine Corps last month. "Everyone froze. I'm here in the back and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine pack everyone." Yousuf knew just beyond that pack of panicked people was a door and safety. But someone had to unlatch it. Im screaming Open the door! Open the door! Yousuf said. And no one is moving because they are scared. There was only one choice either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there. By creating the exit, Yousuf estimated that about 70 people were able to get out of the nightclub safely. I wish I could've saved more, CBS News quoted him as saying. "...There's a lot of people that are dead. PTI Fallujah, Iraq, June 17 Iraqi forces on Friday entered the centre of Fallujah, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a US-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there. Government troops, supported by multiple air strikes from a US-led coalition, recaptured main government compound in the centre of the jihadist bastion of Fallujah, though the ultra-hardline militants still controlled a significant portion of Fallujah, an hour's drive west of Baghdad. Federal police raised the Iraqi state flag above the government building and continued pursuing insurgents, according to a military statement. Hours later, a coalition spokesman said the advance was confirmed. Fighting continued as government forces pushed into the city, and troops could be seen coming under sniper fire as they entered a large mosque about 100 metres from the municipal building. Clashes involving aerial bombardment, artillery and machine gun fire were ongoing. Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the military statement said. Iraq launched a major operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, an historic bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against US forces that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and the Shia-led governments that followed. Agencies Portugal protest Here is what you need to know. EU referendum campaigns have been suspended. The campaigns for both Leave and Remain have been suspended after the killing of Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox. For now, the vote on whether Britain will leave the European Union is still on track to take place next Thursday. Cox was 41. Oil is gaining for the first time in 7 days. West Texas Intermediate crude oil trades up 1.5% at $46.90 a barrel. Friday's gain has the energy component higher for the first time in seven sessions. The losing streak dropped WTI 10.9% from a June 8 high of $51.23. Revlon is buying Elizabeth Arden. Revlon is buying Elizabeth Arden for $870 million, or $14 a share. The deal represents a 50% premium to Thursday's closing price. In a joint statement, the companies said, "Revlon will benefit from greater scale, an expanded global footprint, and a significant presence across all major beauty channels and categories, including the addition of Elizabeth Arden's growing prestige skin care, color cosmetics, and fragrances." Smith & Wesson crushed estimates. The gunmaker earned an adjusted $0.63 a share, easily surpassing the $0.54 that analysts were expecting. Revenue surged 22.2% to $221 million, beating the $214.6 million Bloomberg consensus. Smith & Wesson sees full-year adjusted earnings per share of $1.83 to $1.93 and full-year revenue of $740 million to $760 million, both above analyst estimates. Oracle posted a mixed quarter. The company announced adjusted EPS of $0.81, missing the $0.82 Bloomberg estimate. Revenue slipped 1.1% to $10.6 billion, but that was better than the $10.47 billion that analysts were anticipating. Oracle's cloud revenue totaled $859 million, up 49% in dollar terms. "We expect that the SaaS and PaaS hyper-growth we experienced in FY16 will continue on for the next few years," CEO Larry Ellison said in the earnings release. Story continues Sumner Redstone is reshuffling Viacom's board. Redstone has removed five members from Viacom's board of directors, including CEO Philippe Dauman. According to Reuters, the board members will keep their positions until Redstone's decisions are affirmed by the court. Dauman will remain CEO, at least for the time being. UBS' hedge fund unit is hiring. UBS Asset Management's multistrategy fund unit "has hired seven portfolio managers for new roles in New York, Chicago, and London," Reuters reported after seeing an internal UBS memo. The firm successfully poached talent from Point72 Asset Management, the Citadel unit Surveyor Capital, and GLG Partners. The new hires come under the leadership of chief investment officer Kevin Russell, who joined the firm in November. Pimco is trimming its workforce. The investment firm is eliminating 68 jobs, or 3% of its workforce. In a memo to employees obtained by Business Insider, Pimco said it was letting go its dividend team as it converts its "dividend" strategy to a "research affiliates equity income" strategy. The company has seen assets under management fall to about $1.5 trillion after peaking at about $2 trillion in 2013. Cofounder Bill Gross left the firm in September 2014. Stock markets around the world are bouncing back. Japan's Nikkei (+1.1%) led the overnight gains, and Spain's IBEX (+1.8%) paces the advance in Europe. S&P 500 futures are down 2.00 points at 2,077.25. US economic data is light. Housing starts and building permits will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up 3 basis points at 1.61%. NOW WATCH: These secret codes let you access hidden iPhone features More From Business Insider Iveco, the Italy-based commercial vehicle manufacturer, has announced a New Stralis series of heavy trucks that includes a natural gas-fueled NP version, which officials call a CO2 champion in every mission for its low carbon dioxide emissions. It also includes a diesel-powered XP, and boasts a new 12-speed automated transmission and other drivetrain advances. Ivecos brand president, Pierre Lahutte, claimed New Stralis-series trucks will deliver the lowest total cost of ownership, or TCO. The trucks will be assembled in Madrid, Spain, for the European market. Stralis NP is the first and only gas truck that has demonstrated it can be used in long-haul missions, Lahutte said. We are about to open new frontiers in sustainable transport, and we will make it in partnership with our customers. Using liquified natural gas, the NP has a range of 1,500 kilometers (900 miles), the company claimed. The NPs 8.7-liter Iveco Cursor 9 Natural Power engine will burn liquefied or compressed natural gas and meets Euro VI exhaust-gas limits without diesel-type aftreatment equipment, the company said. The engine is rated at 400 hp and 1,700 Newton-meters (1,254 lb-ft) of torque, equal to its diesel equivalent. The New Stralis has a completely redesigned driveline, a new electrical and electronic architecture, the new best-in-class transmission, rear axle and a rear suspension, and introduces the latest-generation GPS predictive functions and new features to enhance fuel economy and sustainability, Ivecos press release said. In addition, Iveco has developed a new generation of services aimed at reducing the TCO of each model. Lahutte added, The New Stralis has been designed to lower the TCO and CO2 of transporters as well providing the very best reliability to its owners. We have added for the customer a new set of services to reduce their TCO. The long-range freight hauling business will drive the whole commercial vehicle market in the years to come (and) Stralis has all that is needed to lead such a completely reshaped market. Image: PANYNJ Key New Jersey politicians along with activist groups, including the Teamsters union, on June 16 pushed for launching a more aggressive program to replace older trucks operating at the Port of New York and New Jersey to reduce the impact of air pollution on nearby residents, according to a Journal of Commerce news story. At a press conference on the steps of Newark City Hall, the Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, along with representatives of Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), formerly a Newark mayor, and members of a coalition of community activists and unions called for PANYNJ to reinstate a ban on trucks with engines from MY 2007 or earlier. JOC reported that Amy Goldsmith, chair of the Coalition for Healthy Ports, said at the presser that The time is long overdue for the port authority to adopt rules that require immediate and substantial reductions in the deadly diesel emissions from the trucks serving the Port of Newark. This is especially outrageous because lower emission and near-zero emission trucks are now available and in use where other port authorities have required it. While PANYNJ dropped the all-out ban, it is still offering funding to assist port truckers operating older trucks to buy newer, more environmentally friendly vehicles. Back in January, the joint agency said $10.2 million in funds for its Truck Replacement Program will provide grants for a portion of the cost of replacing trucks with MY 1994 and 1995 engines that now call on the port. In addition, the agency has set a goal to eventually have all trucks serving its terminals equipped with 2007 or newer engines. JOC also reported that when asked to respond to the call to reinstate the ban, PANYNJ spokesman Steve Coleman stated that the port authority urges the city of Newark to enforce existing ordinances that regulate truck traffic and truck idling on local streets, both those destined for the port and those making local deliveries. Jeff Bader, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, was quoted by JOC as saying the ban would create hardship for the entire port community and that it would be no more acceptable now than when it was dropped. At the press conference, JOC also reported that Mayor Baraka repeated his previously stated demand that more port jobs go to Newark residents. In this episode of Morning Edition, we discuss the award of 7.5 million dollars by the court (Restores dropped word in headline) * Yellow fever's spread from Angola to DRC fuels concern * One-fifth vaccine dose expected to protect for at least 1 year By Stephanie Nebehay and Ben Hirschler GENEVA/LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - World Health Organization advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of yellow fever vaccine in the event of a global shortage to combat the worst outbreak of the deadly disease in decades. Fears of a widening outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease were fuelled this week by a spike in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which now says it has seen more than 1,000 suspected cases since March. "Experts agreed to propose if necessary, if there is a shortage of vaccine, to divide the vaccine by five," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Friday, reporting on a meeting this week. "One fifth of a dose according to their evidence would be sufficient to provide immunity for at least 12 months." Reuters previously reported that a move to stretch vaccine supplies in this was was likely. The normal full dose of the vaccine confers life-long protection and the WHO emphasised that the low dose endorsed by its independent experts was designed specifically for emergency mass vaccination, not for routine immunisation. More research is also needed to see if low doses will work for young children, who may have a weaker immune response, and practical challenges remain over obtaining the right syringes. The current yellow fever epidemic started in Angola but a major outbreak in the DRC's capital city of Kinshasa, which has a population of more than 12 million, is a big worry for healthcare officials. The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccines has already been depleted twice this year to immunise people in Angola, Uganda and the DRC. It currently stands at 6 million doses but this may not be enough if there are simultaneous outbreaks in multiple densely populated areas. Almost 18 million doses have been distributed for emergency vaccination campaigns so far in the three African countries. Story continues Concerns about limited vaccine supplies have been building for some time, with a group of medics calling for low-dose use in an article in The Lancet journal back in April. Yellow fever is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that spread the Zika and dengue viruses, although it is a much more serious disease. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients. Although approximately 6 million vaccine doses are kept in reserve for emergencies, there is no quick way to boost output when there is a surge in demand since production, using chicken eggs, takes around 12 months. Manufacturers include the Institut Pasteur, government factories in Brazil and Russia, and French drugmaker Sanofi . The current outbreak of yellow fever was first detected in Angola in late December 2015. (Editing by Alison Williams and Dominic Evans) Television faces including Hugo Weaving, Robyn Nevin, Danielle Cormack, Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan are rallying behind a campaign to restore funding to the Arts community. Funding cuts to the Australia Council will see the loss of 1300 jobs from 65 small to medium creative organisations around the country. $60 million of cuts over four years was announced by the Federal government last month. Amongst companies affected by the cuts are the National Association for the Visual Arts, the literary journal Meanjin, the Centre for Contemporary Photography, dance company Force Majeure, Legs on the Wall, PACT Centre for Contemporary Artists, Lismore-based Northern Rivers Performing Arts, Red Stitch Actors Theatre and the Next Wave festival. Hugo Weaving said: Its vital theatre companies communicate the value of Australian arts to their audiences ahead of the federal election, so that the future remains bright for the whole arts sector. I stand with the arts and request the recent devastating cuts be reversed. The campaign kicks off today with a national day of action in protest at repeated cuts to cultural institutions and the Australia Council for the Arts. After every single curtain call starting from Friday night until the election, performers from venues including the Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir and Bell Shakespeare will address the audience with an estimated 80,000 people expected to hear the message. istandwiththearts.com Source: News Corp, Fairfax In July Play School will turn 50, which will be celebrated across the ABC culminating in a primetime special Big Teds Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School, hosted by Kate Ritchie. Richard Finlayson, Director of Television, says, The ABC is extremely proud to celebrate the impressive milestone of 50 years of Play School and wishes to congratulate everyone who has been involved in bringing the show into the homes of families around the country who have so warmly embraced it. Play School holds a unique place in the hearts of generations of Australians and this is largely down to the fact that it strives to represent contemporary society so that children from across the community can see themselves as part of this special show. In 2016, iconic Australian television program Play School celebrates 50 years on air as the nations most respected, trusted and longest-running childrens series. To mark this momentous milestone, the ABC will present a variety of special content throughout the birthday month of July, celebrating the occasion with three generations of Australians who have grown up with Play School as an essential part of their childhood. Since its initial broadcast on July 18, 1966, Play School has been entertaining Australian preschoolers, providing them with new experiences and learning opportunities through music, crafts, stories, games, ideas and information. The series aims to encourage a child to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine, and strives to reflect a modern, diverse Australian society. Fellow national TV treasure Kate Ritchie will present Big Teds Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School, a documentary that takes a nostalgic journey through Aussie childhood, reliving the laughter and delights of half a century of Play School while charting 50 years of the nations social history. Well known Australians, including, Mikey Robins, Hannah Gadsby, Nazeem Hussain, Craig McLachlan and members of the original Wiggles, share their personal memories of the show, alongside anecdotes from past and present Play School presenters, including Benita Collings, John Waters and Justine Clarke. Young and old alike will enjoy an exciting series of Play School Celebrity Covers. The mini episodes feature a star-studded line up of popular Australian personalities turning their hand at being a Play School presenter, entertaining viewers with a familiar Play School song or story. The episdoes will be broadcast daily on ABC KIDS from 4 July, with episodes available to view on ABC iview throughout the month. Featuring in the Play School Celebrity Covers are: Adam Goodes, Annabel Crab with Leigh Sales, Architecture in Helsinki, Benita Collings with Don Spencer, Bernard Fanning, Carrie Bickmore, Costa Georgiadis, Dami Im, Dan Sultan, Delta Goodrem, Emma Wiggle, Guy Sebastian, Hamish and Andy, Jeremy Fernandez, John Hamblin, Josh Thomas, Kate Ceberano with her daughter Gypsy, Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Kurt Fearnley with Rachael Coopes, Lee Lin Chin with Takaya Honda, Magda Szubanksi, players from the Matildas, Missy Higgins, Molly Meldrum with Charlie Pickering, The Umbilical Brothers, Tim Minchin, Tim Omaji and You Am I. The Play School episodes airing daily at 9:30am throughout the birthday week on ABC KIDS will centre on the theme of celebration, kicking off the week with an extra special birthday episode sure to delight young fans. Join beloved presenters Alex Papps, Karen Pang, Teo Gerbert and Miranda Tapsell as they dance, sing, make and decorate in preparation for a party. Well find out why the toys are jumping for joy when theres a knock on the Play School door and will take a look through the windows to see whats making some viewers very happy. Its an occasion not to be missed! Play School airs at 6:00, 9:30, 12:30 and 15:30 weekdays and 9:30 and 15:30 on weekends on ABC KIDS and is available on ABC iview and ABC KIDS iview. Big Teds Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School airs Sunday, July 10 at 7:40pm on ABC. Aussie director James Wan will helm the reboot of MacGyver after all. The Saw and Conjuring director had pulled out of the pilot due to a scheduling conflict and was due to be replaced by David Von Ancken. But he is now returning to the project which will premiere in Australia on TEN. Lucas Till plays a 20-something Angus Mac MacGyver with an extraordinary talent for unconventional problem solving and vast scientific knowledge to save lives. Deadline notes George Eads will play a new character, maverick former CIA agent Jack Dalton, who joins MacGyvers team on high-risk missions around the globe. Under the aegis of the Department of External Services, MacGyver takes on the responsibility of saving the world, armed to the teeth with resourcefulness and little more than bubble gum and a paper clip. Justin Hires plays MacGyvers ambitious roommate, Wilt Bozer who entertains him at home. Season 2 of Canadian sci-fi Killjoys will air express from the US in early July. It will air same day as the US on Syfy. Killjoys follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant system on the brink of a bloody, multiplanetary class war. Season 2 starts with Dutch and Johnny having to rescue a kidnapped Davin but thats just the start of a larger adventure that sees our team taking on old enemies, the seeming omnipotence of the tyrannical Company and the mysterious agenda of Khylen, Dutchs former mentor. 8:30pm Saturday July 2nd on Syfy. Seven has reportedly sent a legal letter to Southern Cross demanding it pay a higher affiliate fee to broadcast content in Tasmania. The Australian estimates Southern Cross pays Seven between 35% and 40% of its TV revenue -lower than the 50% agreed with Nine under its new affiliate deal for southern NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Sevens demands are based on a clause known as a most favoured nations agreement, which essentially requires Southern Cross to match what it is paying Nine. But Southern Cross is expected to reject the claim, disputing Sevens interpretation and application of the contract. New affiliate deals between Nine and Southern Cross plus TEN and WIN are due to take effect from July 1st. From July 1 2016 TDT will broadcast Nine Network channels found on 5, 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54. SCTV will continue to broadcast 7, 7TWO, 7mate unchanged in Launceston and northern Tasmania. Civic leaders from the Panama City area flew on a KC-135 Stratotanker at Tyndall AFB June 16. Civic leaders from Bay County were accompanied by several commanders to see Tyndalls F-22 Raptors in flight. My first KC-135 experience was phenomenal, and watching how the men and women of the U.S. Air Force refuel other aircraft while airborne was a sight to see, said Jennifer Vigil, Destination Panama City president and chief executive officer. Anyone who has the opportunity to climb aboard one of these aircraft should definitely take it. My biggest takeaway from the entire flight is how important coordination and teamwork are when refueling an F-22 Raptor. The 91st Air Refueling Squadron, assigned to MacDill Air Force Base, provided the KC-135 for the mission. Attendees were allowed to operate the boom system on the aircraft, which is used to manually refuel military aircraft while in flight. In addition, guests were flown around the surrounding area and were educated on the mission of the KC-135. The experience from the flight was excellent, said Peter Sostheim, Vittles Co. Inc. president. Given that the aircraft is more than 50 years old, the flight had a really great view and the staff did a great job exercising their skills. This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Base-sponsored events are offered to civic organizations and schools to educate the community about the U.S. Air Force and Tyndall AFB missions. Tours are not available to individuals or families. There is a lot of coordination that goes into making these trips possible, said Tom Bonifay, 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs community engagement coordinator. These events are used to strengthen relations between the installation and community. We do this by demonstrating our mission of training and projecting unrivaled combat airpower. Portugal's Renato Sanches is taking everything in his stride. A brilliant breakthrough season at Benfica led not only to a call-up for UEFA EURO 2016 but also a recent 35m move to Bayern Munchen. Far from getting carried away, the 18-year-old has his feet firmly on the ground. On Thursday, the softly-spoken midfield dynamo opened up to EURO2016.com. The 1-1 draw against Iceland ... I think it was a good match in terms of what we did we had several chances to score and a lot of possession. Obviously it wasn't the result we wanted, but I think we played well. We knew the Iceland team were very tall and physically very strong. Our defence were very strong in the air. So I think we showed good concentration, we were very focused and their goal just came at a bad time. The squad are relaxed and despite the draw we still feel good. In fact, it increases our motivation and desire because we know that every game will be more difficult now. So I think we're quietly determined. Austria ... I expect the same that I was expecting from Iceland a very aggressive team. Every game is going to be difficult, we all know that. We are expecting to come up against a very aggressive team that want to win, because if they lose this match they'll be in a very difficult position. So we're expecting to face a team playing with great intensity. David Alaba is a great player, and everyone is aware of that. A specific plan? I don't think so. Every player at this tournament is here because they're a quality player. Some players are better than others, of course. But I don't think we have a specific plan to stop Alaba, even though he's a great player. Topping Group F ... Finishing the group stage top is the best thing. If it happens, it means Portugal were the best team in the group, right? So I hope we finish first, because that's also one of our objectives. Portugal's fans ... They are important because when we have the support of our fans we get stronger on the pitch. You aren't as hesitant and you feel like you're playing at home, so this support is really important. It gives us a lot of motivation and it's been really good for the team. We're in France, but sometimes we feel like we're in Portugal. Being Portugal's youngest-ever player at a major tournament ... I'm very happy about that. It's brilliant to play in these matches here with my team-mates fantastic players who I'm slowly getting to know. And I'm playing against some fantastic players too. I'm very happy that I can enjoy this moment. The deepening of cooperation with NATO is among priority tasks of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers for the near future, according to the governments priority action plan for 2016 posted on the governments official website. The successful fighting against the Russian aggression in the military sphere, foreign policy, information and other spheres is the key task for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The special attention will be paid to the deepening of cooperation with the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization and NATO member states, reads the document. The Government also plans to work on the resumption of security in the state, which was violated as a result of the Russian aggression, and continue the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. In addition, the governments priority action plan foresees the strengthening of unity within the state, the integration of internally displaced persons, restoration of normal life in the areas affected as a result of the Russian aggression, restoration of communication lines with residents of temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. iy Dow Chemical DOW has secured a trading license from the Government of Saudi Arabia, providing it full ownership in the countrys trading sector. Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia presented the license to Dows CEO Andrew N. Liveris at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC. This makes the chemical giant the first foreign company to receive trading license in the Kingdom. The license expands Dows long history of strategic partnership and investment in Saudi Arabia and enhances its ability to provide novel products that will benefit the country in the areas of sustainable development, energy-efficiency, oil & gas, alternative energy and water. The Government of Saudi Arabia recently cleared the issuance of trading licenses to foreign companies in sync with the countrys goal to diversify its economy and address challenges triggered by lower global crude oil prices. Saudi Arabia is looking to cut its dependence on oil revenues amid a slump in energy prices. Dow, which has been a strategic partner in the Kingdom for roughly four decades, looks to play a major role in advancing the countrys Vision 2030 strategy geared to create a flourishing economy and diversify revenue base. The license is also expected to create more job opportunities for the highly educated Saudi workforce, with a special emphasis on improving womens participation in the local workforce. Dow, which currently has over 500 employees in Saudi Arabia, is the biggest overseas investor in the Kingdom. It has a number of strategic investments in the country including Sadara Chemical Company a joint venture between Dow and Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and a joint venture with Juffali & Brothers, and Saudi Acrylic Monomer Company (SAMCo). Dows shares closed around 0.6% higher at $52.19 yesterday. Story continues DOW CHEMICAL Price DOW CHEMICAL Price | DOW CHEMICAL Quote Dow continued its positive surprise streak with solid earnings beat in the first quarter of 2016. The company sees sustained momentum in consumer driven end-markets, especially packaging, transportation and infrastructure. Dow remains focused on its productivity actions, innovation and strategic growth measures in a still uncertain macro environment. Dow and DuPont DD agreed to combine their businesses in Dec 2015 in an all-stock deal to create a chemical powerhouse with a combined market value of around $130 billion, before eventually breaking up into three independent companies through tax-free spin-offs. The deal is expected to complete in second-half 2016. The merger is projected to deliver cost synergies of around $3 billion, expected to be achieved with the first two years after the deal closure. Dow is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked companies in the chemical space include Albemarle Corporation ALB and Innospec Inc. IOSP, 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 DU PONT (EI) DE (DD): Free Stock Analysis Report DOW CHEMICAL (DOW): Free Stock Analysis Report ALBEMARLE CORP (ALB): Free Stock Analysis Report INNOSPEC INC (IOSP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The Ukrainian Defense Ministry expects that in the near future over 1,000 candidates will sign contracts for a military service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Colonel Oleksiy Chornobay, an official representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In the near future contracts with the Armed Forces will be signed by another over 1,000 candidates, who underwent special selection and arrived for the trainings in centers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Chornobay said. He stressed that since the start of 2016 the number of contract servicemen totals about 33,500. About 33,500 servicemen, including over 3,000 officers, have signed contracts with the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the beginning of the current year, Chornobay said. iy A total of 35 military doctors have been killed since the start of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said this in a Defense Ministrys hospital during solemn events dedicated to the Medical Worker Day, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Unfortunately, we have lost 35 army doctors on the battlefield since the start of ATO, the President said. iy Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and Indian Ambassador in Ukraine Manoj Kumar Bharti at a meeting on Thursday discussed prospects and directions of cooperation between Kyiv and India, as well as further cooperation between the countries at the level of governments and cities, the press service of Kyiv City State Administration reports. Im sure that we can find areas of common interest to promote intensive cooperation and establish an efficient dialogue for the prosperity of our peoples, Klitschko said. In particular, the mayor stressed that the Ukrainian capital expects to deepen economic, cultural and tourism relations. The ambassador, in turn, praised the efforts of Kyiv city authorities in implementing transparent city management procedures and noted that the launch of e-procurement system would enable the Indian business to participate in tenders. iy Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy says Ukraine has not enough funds for the repairs of armored vehicles. The speaker answered in the affirmative when asked by reporters whether he could confirm the information that armored vehicles were not repaired because of lack of money, according to Podrobnosti. Yes, thats true, Parubiy said. In addition, Parubiy noted that the Verkhovna Rada approved a new law that foresees several repairs of armored vehicles, as well as the development and production of new equipment. But at the same time, the country has not enough funds for this. iy Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, who visited the U.S. this week, spoke at the American National Press Club. Ukrinforms own American correspondent compiled the most interesting topics in a question and answer format. Heres an excerpt from the Press Club session. Q: Can you give more details about what you and your government are doing to increase foreign direct investment in Ukraine? A: The key priorities of our government are macroeconomic stability, economic growth. It is understandable that we can achieve these objectives, if we receive appropriate investment in our country. What were doing today: first, deregulation, which already has its own positive effect. Second, this month, we have launched public privatization of important assets, which can eventually become recipients of investments. A few weeks ago the Ukrainian parliament has decided to launch a large-scale judicial reforms, which will certainly positively influence the business climate in the country. We have started reforming the Customs Service of Ukraine that will have a favorable impact on our import-export operations. By 1 July the government will do away with unnecessary inspectorates. We are constantly working on adaptation of the Ukrainian legislation to EU requirements as it was stipulated by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. We have made plenty other steps that will allow us to create a qualitative investment climate today. We have launched the reform of public procurement that provides access to a competitive public procurement market. Deregulation of the energy sector provides an opportunity to invest in that sector. As Prime Minister, I urge everyone to invest in Ukraine, and we are ready to make our best efforts in order to create proper conditions and remove every obstacle and barrier. tl President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has held a meeting with President of the Dutch Senate Ankie Broekers-Knol, who is on an official visit to Ukraine, the presidents press service reports. The President called on the Dutch parliamentarians to make efficient decisions in order to complete the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU by the Netherlands. The President also said he hopes that the results of the April referendum in the Netherlands would not be an obstacle on this way. The President also hopes that the EU will approve a decision on the introduction of a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens as early as possible, reads a report. According to Poroshenko, Ukraine has fulfilled all the needed requirements and the European side itself approved this. In addition, the President also informed about Ukraines actions in combating corruption, reforms of the prosecutors office and the implementation of judicial reform. iy Tallinn will extradite its citizen Vladimir Polyakov, who is suspected of terrorism in the Luhansk region, to Kyiv authorities, ERR site reports. As previously reported, the Estonian State Court did not take into consideration an appeal filed by Polyakov. According to a charge filed in Estonia, the suspect, 34-year-old Polyakov, was a member of a terrorist group. According to the state prosecutors office, he fought in and around Luhansk city against Ukrainian troops since June 2014. According to media reports, Polyakov might have be a witness in capturing Nadiya Savchenko. As the Estonian newspaper Postimees reported in March Polyakov was deployed at the checkpoint in the village of Metalist on June 17, 2014 and he was injured probably by the same artillery shelling that killed two Russian journalists. Chuck Schumer Four gun-control bills are set to receive a vote on the Senate floor on Monday, as the demand for gun-control legislation reaches a fever pitch in the aftermath of the Orlando, Florida, terrorist attack the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the votes late on Thursday afternoon. Two of the bills were sponsored by Republicans, while two were backed by Democrats. All will need 60 votes in order to pass, and each is being proposed as an amendment to the commerce, justice, and science appropriations bill before the Senate. The announcement came after a 15-hour filibuster initiated by Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, on Wednesday. Along with fellow Senate Democrats, Murphy is backing a bill to enhance universal background checks, which would close the so-called gun-show loophole, and a bill to ban suspected terrorists on terror watch lists from buying weapons. That second Democratic bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, failed on a party-line vote in December, just one day after the San Bernardino, California, attacks. It was voted down by a 54-45 margin, and just one Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois voted in favor of the bill. During a Monday conference call, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said that if the bill were passed when first brought before the Senate in December, then the Orlando terrorist attack would have been avoided. "We're just asking for people to come into this country and go out and buy a gun," Feinstein said during that call with reporters, later adding, "Even if you're a suspected terrorist, you can go out and buy a gun. And that's just not right. So I hope there will be a change." chris murphy Opponents to the Feinstein bill say that, since you can be placed on a terror watch list without being found guilty of a crime, then it could cause US citizens on the list to be erroneously stripped of their Second Amendment right without due process. Story continues "Is going after the Second Amendment how you stop terrorism? No," House Speaker Paul Ryan said during his Thursday press briefing. "That's not how you stop terrorism." Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Cory Booker of New Jersey, among others, have insisted that due process elements will be "baked into it." The lead Republican proposal was reintroduced by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Thursday. It's a slightly altered version of the SHIELD Act, which was shot down late last year. If passed, the attorney general can delay a weapons purchase by any person who is either a known or suspected terrorist, or has been subjected to a terrorism-related investigation within the past five years for three days. Law enforcement would need to get a court order within that three-day window in order to stop the sale, should probable cause be shown before a judge. The bill also allows for the attorney general to take the buyer into custody if a judge determines probable cause. Cornyn said in the release: It would not only stop terrorists from getting guns, but it would take them off the streets, and it would do so in a way that's consistent with our Constitution. Every single Senator wants to deny terrorists access to guns they use to harm innocent civilians, but there's a right way to do things and a wrong way. My legislation actually does what we need to do to give law enforcement first the notice that this individual is trying to buy a weapon, and then the opportunity to take them off the streets and deny them access to a firearm. We need a robust response to protect American citizens but one that doesn't infringe on constitutional rights. John Cornyn McConnell came out in favor of the legislation, calling it a "serious solution" in a release. The National Rifle Association soon after presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday about meeting with the organization to discuss potential terror-watch-list-related gun control with the organization announced its support of the legislation. The second Republican proposal came from Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey. He crafted legislation that would direct the attorney general to create a new list of suspected terrorists who could be barred from buying weapons. "We don't want terrorists to be able to walk into a gun store and buy a gun, and we don't want innocent, law-abiding citizens to be denied Second Amendment rights because he's wrongly on the list with a bunch of terrorists," Toomey said during a Wednesday speech on the Senate floor. The Pennsylvania senator's bill is not up before the Senate on Monday. Democrats roundly rejected both pieces of legislation. Pat Toomey Booker said during a CNN interview: The Cornyn bill, which is the last version that I saw, creates a really impossible hurdle for the FBI. If they have someone under investigation, they're going to have three days to mount a court challenge to block them, expose their investigation, and create an environment where that terrorist, now being notified, will say, "You know what? Instead of going to that brick-and-mortar federally licensed gun dealer, I'm just going to go buy off the internet." That's where it falls down. He added that the legislation is a front to ensure that "no legislation passes." Schumer called the proposals "wolves in sheep's clothing" during a Thursday press conference, adding that under Cornyn's proposal "every terrorist will get a gun." "If the FBI had that evidence, they would've arrested them in the first place," he said. "It's a fake. It's a way to say they're doing something when they're doing nothing." A "whole court case in three days?" he continued. "Who would think that would make any sense!" He said that Toomey's proposal "was even worse" because it would force the government to rebuild a new terror watch list. "We'll be here for decades!" he said. Another gun-control proposal set to go before the Senate on Monday is backed by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. It would ensure that the FBI is alerted of terrorism suspects who purchase a weapon without barring them from doing so. Anyone being investigated or who had been investigated for terrorism-related activities within five years would be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and the FBI would be notified if one was buying a weapon. The recent push for added gun control came after 49 people were shot dead at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando by a gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS. NOW WATCH: FILIBUSTER IN THE SENATE: Democrats block spending bill to debate gun control More From Business Insider The newly released CCTV video showed a heroic student bravely tackled and disarms the Seattle Pacific University gunman. The brave student quickly pulled the shotgun out of the gunman's hands and detain the suspect until the police arrived. On Tuesday, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office released the video dated June 5, 2014 showing Aaron Ybarra armed with a double-barreled shotgun walking into the college's Otto Miller Hall. While the 27-year-old Ybarra turns his head down to reload his firearm, Seattle Pacific University student Jon Meis came out from a nearby room, sprayed Ybarra with pepper spray and apprehended the suspect.Before Ybarra walked into the college building, he already killed one student and injured two others, NY Daily News reported. During the shootout, Ybarra killed the 19 year old student from Beaverton, Ore. - Paul Lee. In that blast, Thomas Fowler Jr. was wounded by shotgun pellets, while Sarah Williams, was seriously injured when Ybarra shot her in the hall, Seattle Times reported. Authorities unleashed 18 DVDs that contain dozens of hours of surveillance, in which the video has been the topic of a contentious legal proceedings, King 5 reported. The Seattle Pacific University along with the victims tried to block the release of the CCTV video, for the reason that it violated victims' privacy rights and that the surveillance video could motivate other people to do the crime. The Seattle Pacific University made a statement by saying that they are downhearted by the release of the videos of the shootout. The university officials, along with some individuals, have filed a legal action to stop the release of the videos in order to preserve and protect individual privacy, and disallow the emotional distress these images will have on their community. The attorney of Seattle Pacific University - Michael R. McKinstry, described the shooting as an act of terrorism, and attorney McKinstry made a compelling point that the footage would give criminals an idea of the school's surveillance systems. As for Meis' acts of life-saving heroism, he was recognized in 2015 by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation as a Citizen Honors Program honoree. A powerful statement of a 23-year old Stanford University Sexual Assault victim draws the attention of the people and makes it to the House of Representatives. The letter that caught the attention of many and was written by the Stanford sexual assault victim over a year ago will be read aloud by Congressman Jackie Speier on the floor of the House of Representatives. U.S Representative Jackie Speier will hold a one-hour special order on Wednesday night, The Huffington Post reported. According to Jackie Speier, the victim's courage and bravery inspired her, for not everyone can deal with this kind of serious matter. The victim's written letter also meant a symbolic act for everyone out there who were also victims of sexual offense and hopes that this can be a stepping stone to raise awareness and serious action regarding this crime, Speier added. The readings authoritatively put victim's letter into the congressional record, making it a recorded fraction in American history. About 40 members of the Congress from both sides were present, NBC BAY AREA reported, The letter of the sexual assault victim went viral after she read it in the Court and posted it in the internet. Her letter received positive feedbacks and was praised for her bravery. Her letter has already garnered 16 million reads on Buzzfeed and was even read on air by Bill de Blasio, a CNN Host and New York City Mayor. Inside her 12-page letter, were her powerful statement and how her life was affected after what happened. "If you think I was spared, came out unscathed, that today I ride off into sunset, while you suffer the greatest blow, you are mistaken. Nobody wins." The victim said in her letter, addressing Brock Turner. Brock Turner, the woman's attacker was declared guilty last March 2015 for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman while visiting Stanford University. Unfortunately, even for everyone sexual offense is very serious matter, the Judge who was responsible for the case denied the prosecutor's plead to condemn the attacker with a six-year prison punishment and instead making it into a six months jail sentence. DePaul University President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider had announced his resignation following a gay conservative firebrand's speech controversy. Holtschneider's contract is good up until 2019, but the university president had stated his intentions to step down earlier than expected. The reverend ultimately announced his resignation on Monday, which will be see his term cut short at the end of the academic year of 2016-17, CBS Chicago reported. The resignation comes during the university's apparent unrest over conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos unsolicited speech, which was a few weeks back. The university presidents letter made no mention of Yiannopoulos, nor the controversy, but many sees this as a direct correlation. The Illinois campus had struggled to contain the crowd on May 24, which resulted in student protesters taking over the stage, and the microphone during the event, Washington Times reported. The university's security team, which was reportedly funded by the College Republicans at an estimated $1,000 cost, failed to restore order inside the venue. The events of what had transpired over DePaul University had garnered outrage from parents, and alumni alike. The outrage may have forced the Holtschneider to issue an apology to the College Republicans, which made no mention of Yiannopoulos, and had a large portion of the letter denouncing a Breitbart editor's political views. Holtschneider is currently on his 12th year of being university president, and he states that his tenure at the office is enough. The reverend had certainly surpassed the general average of a university president's tenure of 6 years. The university's twitter account formerly announced Holtschneider's regisnation in a tweet. DePaul president will step down at end of 2016-17 academic year. https://t.co/okFUGHyr66 pic.twitter.com/Sp84ltibWK DePaul University (@DePaulU) June 13, 2016 According to the senator for intercultural awareness, Michael Lynch, that the announcement of the resignation had come as a surprise. Meanwhile, a large margin of the student body saw the resignation as a victory on their part. A group called "Feminist Front" had voiced out its call for resignation over the unrest among the university, according to the university paper, The DePaulia, reported Apparently the university's reputation is one of the decisive factors when it comes to students across the globe seeking to join an institute. Choosing what college to enrol in, is no doubt, a life changing decision as the choice may have a significant impact on a student's future. That being established, an institution's reputation is very crucial in making that decision. But how much weight does an university's reputation actually carry while selecting a college to attend. Students from renowned universities in China, Japan, U.S., and Canada finally opened up about the impact that their institutes' reputation has on their overall experience, apace with THE 2016 World Reputation Ranking that was unveiled on May 4 this year. No prizes for guessing, United States monopolises the top of the ranking with Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University grabbing the top three spots. Asian institutes are not lagging either with two of them making it into the top 20. Japan-based, University of Tokyo took the 12th place and China's Tsinghua University took the 18th place. According to Lei Ann Watanuki, a US-based student studying in English at the University of Tokyo, his decision to join the UTokyo was highly-influenced by the institute's stature; besides Watanuki wanted to experience college life in a different environment from his suburban home town in the United States, TimesHigherEducation reported. Although Watanuki has completed just one semester, he already is impressed with the high standards of his peers and professors, especially in mathematics. Several Japanese Nobel laureates are associated with University of Tokyo, which according to Watanuki has a positive effect on the university. Spearheaded by World Report and U.S. News for quite a long time, a slew of news agencies and other organisations have ranked US-based institutions of higher learning. That being said, rankings do matter, if only because high school students base their decision about where to apply on these rankings, Study reported. Remarkably, the universities placed in the top six positions in the ranking, achieve higher scores as compared to those ranked directly below them. This also show that reputation of a select group of top-notch universities for being the best in the world is notably extensive. Shivani Radhakrishnan, a PhD student who initially attended the Princeton University and the University of Oxford and is currently attending the Columbia University, showed utter shock upon realising that Oxford score considerably higher in the survey as compared to Princeton as well as Columbia. Radhakrishnan recommends that the budding tech industry and advancement in Silicon Valley add to the recognised merit of University of California, Berkeley and MIT compared with Yale University, Princeton and Columbia University, which despite being highly ranked, does not garner high reputation scores. Looking for the ideal city to jumpstart one's career can be a challenge for finance graduates. They have to think over so many factors, including the city's financial atmosphere, the general economic volatility, etcetera. The Times Higher Education has listed the 5 best cities in the world for finance graduates to look for a job and start their career. Data was gathered from a survey on students who graduated from an intensive 18-month global financial training course pioneered by the deVere Group, Taking the first spot was New York, with 34 percent of graduates saying it is the best city for finance graduates to start a career. Coming in at second place was Dubai which was chosen by 23 percent of graduates. Next in third place was Hong Kong with 17 percent, Sydney in fourth with 13 percent, and Abu Dhabi rounding out the top five with 7 percent. Shanghai, Cape Town, Geneva, Paris, Barcelona and London were chosen by the remaining 6 percent. Nigel Green, executive director of deVere Group, explained on the company's website why these cities were so popular with finance graduates. According to him, New York, Dubai Hong Kong Sydney and Abu Dhabi are routinely included in the top five destinations although their order may change with each batch of finance graduates. He said graduates find these cities people popular because they contain "enormous possibilities for young, ambitious individuals" who want to begin their journey as international financial consultants on the right foot. The common traits of these cities that attract graduates, he pointed out, were the use of the English language as a popular medium, the stable political and economic climate, and a high number of wealthy clients who can offer them the compensation they want. Green also touted deVere's program and said the diversity of choices in the surveys is proof that its finance graduates are prepared to showcase their talent and jumpstart their careers in the world's best cities. Thousands of foster children in Southern California enjoyed free toys provided by the Toy Industry Foundation and the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association at the annual "Play Your Part" event held in Compton, CA.Click here for high-resolution version COMPTON, CA--(Marketwired - June 16, 2016) - Thousands of foster children throughout Southern California will be given the magic and joy of play, thanks to the generous support of more than 50 participating toy companies and 250 local toy industry volunteers brought together today by the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) and the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (National CASA) at TIF's annual "Play Your Part" event. Volunteers from nearly 30 toy companies -- including Bandai, Educational Insights, Funrise, JAKKS Pacific, Mattel, Spin Master and The Walt Disney Company -- helped to sort, wrap and pack toys for 25,000 foster care children in Southern California and seven additional states. All toys were donated by generous manufacturers and retailers to TIF's Toy Bank, with the goal of providing comfort to children awaiting placement in loving, permanent homes. Nearly 50 participating toy companies helped make this event possible through sponsorships, toy donations and volunteers. Hundreds of Los Angeles-area foster children are also on-site to receive the generously donated dolls, games puzzles, arts & crafts and other skill-building playthings. With more than 30,000 children in the system, Los Angeles County has more children in foster care than any other county in America. "Childhood should be all about enjoying the pure magic of play -- but many kids in the foster care system have to face very grown-up problems at such a young age," said Jean Butler, executive director of the Toy Industry Foundation. "It is our hope that in sharing these toys with them, these kids feel comforted knowing that they have not been forgotten." Maria Gonzalez, office manager at Educational Insights, is volunteering at the event with colleagues and industry friends. "At Educational Insights, we're play enthusiasts so we aim to create experiences for all children filled with joy and laughter," said Gonzalez. "Participating in this event gives us the opportunity to spread the love of play to children who may need a healthy dose of it. Play allows us to get lost in the sheer joy of the moment where nothing else matters, and we are privileged to give this gift to children in foster care." Story continues The partnership between the Toy Industry Foundation and National CASA began in 2013. To date, TIF has distributed more than 225,000 toys to foster children served by CASA programs. In addition, grant funds provided by TIF to National CASA's member network have helped to recruit and train needed CASA volunteers to stand up for the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected. "National CASA envisions a world where an abused or neglected child is given the opportunity to thrive in a safe, loving and permanent home," says Tara Perry, chief executive officer of the National CASA Association. "The Toy Industry Foundation helps us speak up on behalf of vulnerable children who have experienced unspeakable trauma and tragedy. Our partnership with TIF enables these children to feel joy, comfort and hope-and to receive support from a caring, consistent adult volunteer. We are thrilled at the success of TIF's "Play Your Part" event." The Toy Industry Foundation works year-round with partners and international charities to bring new toys and games to children who are underserved, at-risk, in hospitals, and in military families. To date, TIF has provided more than $130 million in toys to 19 million children in need. About The Toy Industry Foundation - www.toyindustryfoundation.org The Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to bring the magic of play to children in need. While other organizations provide food, shelter and support services to children and their families, TIF sees to it that these children have toys and opportunities to play in an attempt to restore both fun and a sense of normalcy to their lives. To date, TIF's signature program, The Toy Bank, has provided more than $130 million in toys to 19 million children in need around the globe, thanks to its generous toy donors. About The National CASA Association - www.casaforchildren.org The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, together with its state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive. Today, more than 76,000 CASA and GAL volunteers serve more than 251,000 children, but approximately 400,000 children are without an advocate. National CASA Association is working in partnership with its state and local programs in 49 states to close that gap to ensure the highest quality advocacy on behalf of America's most vulnerable children. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/6/16/11G103207/Images/image_2-693ffdb5ef0ab78492ed9852b2259ed8.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/6/16/11G103207/Images/image_1-482c356b603a962f80d9a86fd7fa58b1.JPG Scientists at Max Planck Institute Germany published a breathtaking research on moviegoers' emotions by examining the chemical substances from exhaled breath released in the air. Moviegoers exhaled different chemicals based on the film genres A team of scientists in German conducted a large scale of research, analyzing chemical patterns of the 9,500 participants - the moviegoers - while they were watching 16 different movies in two Germany theaters. The scientists installed a device that technically identified the isoprene, carbon dioxide and other components from the viewers' exhaled breath. Then, the reactions of these moviegoers were recorded scene-by-scene, Science News reported. The chemical patterns are then categorized by the emotions such as crying, laughing, or suspense. The exhaled breaths release chemical compounds in the air and researchers are looking for any association between substances and scenes. The movies played at the theaters included "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and also "The Hobbit". Lead author and professor, Jonathan Williams, explained that the chemical patterns exhaled while watching "The Hunger Games" clearly identified that there were suspense scenes going on, because CO2 and isoprene were emitted consistently, even when they tested to a different group of viewers. Describing it as 'chemical signature', both compounds level were high in a scene where Katniss Everdeen battled to survive. The scientists claimed that the statistical results enabled them to identify whether a movie is scary or funny. The clearest chemical patterns were seen in comedy and suspenseful scenes. The air composition changed whenever a different genre was played. What does the study on exhaled breath suggest? The exhaled breath that contains certain chemical compounds released in the air can determine human metabolism, Science Updates reported. Scientists are now analyzing the chemical traces of moviegoers exhaled breath during "Star Wars". More data is needed to determine the association, including examining the body temperature, heart rate and physiological condition. June 17 2016 A series of photo montages have been published illustrating how the skylines of some of the UKs biggest cities would be transformed in the unlikely event they might ever play host to one of the worlds tallest buildings.Amongst the illustrations is the Glasgow waterfront in which the 127m tall Glasgow Tower is dwarfed by the imposing presence of the 32m tall Shanghai Tower, illustrating the disparity in scale between home cities and global mega cities.Even cities such as Liverpool, no stranger to high rise development, would be transformed as the lop-sided view of a Liverpool waterfront playing host to the 509.2m tall Taipei 101 attests. In Manchester meanwhile the dominating presence of its 169m tall Beetham Tower would be eclipsed by New Yorks 541m high One World Trade Centre.The outlandish concepts were created by recruitment specialists Fusion People as part of efforts to imagine how the country will cope projected population growth, with estimates suggesting room must be found for an additional 210,000 new homes over the next five years.In a statement the recruiter observed: Plans at the moment will only provide 7% of the necessary housing, so more needs to be done to provide living spaces. Skyscrapers could resolve these issues because one tall tower provides between 300 and 600 residential units and, in areas like London where space is already in short supply, theyre the sensible, efficient solution.First and foremost though the project serves a bit of Friday afternoon fun. That smile won't last long. Its an almost immutable fact: Regardless of what country you live in, and what stage of life you might be at, having kids makes you significantly less happy compared to people who dont have kids. Its called the parenting happiness gap. New research to be published in the American Journal of Sociology shows that American parents are especially miserable on this front, posting the largest gap (13%) in a group of 22 developed countries. But the research also shows that it doesnt have to be this way. Every other country had smaller gaps, and some, including Russia, France, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Hungary, and Portugal, actually showed happiness gains for parents. The researchers, led by Jennifer Glass at the University of Texas, looked at what impact policies such as paid sick and vacation leave and subsidized child care have on closing that gap. It was 100%. As social scientists we rarely completely explain anything, but in this case we completely explain the parental happiness gap, said Glass. In countries with the strongest family-friendly policy packages, the parental deficit in happiness was completely eliminated, accomplished by raising parents happiness rather than lowering nonparents happiness, the authors wrote. Its not just one policy, like paid parental leave, that makes the difference. Its the magic of a package of policies spanning over a lifetime, that allow people to care for children, support them financially, and even enjoy them every once in awhile on a holiday. The study looked at 22 European and English-speaking countries using surveys from prior to the recession, including the International Social Surveys of 2007 and 2008 and the European Social Surveys of 2006 and 2008. The group created a a three-item policy index including combined paid leave available to mothers, paid vacation and sick leave, and work flexibility, and then looked at the effect of the basket of policies, as well as the impact of each individual one, on closing the happiness gap. Story continues They found that in countries high on the comprehensive policy index, there was no gap, or, parents were even happier than non-parents. Countries low on that index were less happy. All policies are not created equal. Paid sick and vacation leave and subsidized child care showed the largest impact on improving the happiness of non-parents as well as parents, Glass said. This is important, because policies that spend tax money to help parents at the expense of non-parents tend to be less popular. Studies like this present some obvious challenges. For one, people in the US are actually a weirdly happy lot overall. On a scale from 1-10, they log in around the 8-10 range. People in France rate their happiness in the middle of the scale, from 5-7. We arent sure if this means the French are truly less happy than Americans, or just dont think it is appropriate to use the extremes of any scale, Glass wrote. To allow for these cultural differences, the research focused on the differences between parents and non-parents in the same country. They asked: What factors are associated with parents being less happy than nonparents, given their countrys overall average level of happiness? The key is association (or correlation), and not causation, which is impossible to prove in studies like this. Its no big surprise that parents in Sweden, with its dreamy parental leave policies, are happier (compared to their non-parent peers) than parents in the US, where there is no paid leave for anythinghaving a baby, much less raising it. But the research helps point to which policies could help most. Glass says its not that parents are unhappy. They often find parenting fulfilling, and wouldnt have it any other way. But their stress levels tend to be high, which can overshadow any happiness to be gained from shepherding another human being through life. And why should we even care about whether parents are happy? Parental happiness does in fact determine our fertility rates, it does determine the types of bills we get for stress-related diseases, Glass said. When you have a system that is not very efficient in supporting parents, you can expect to have problems motivating people to have children and care for them. Conversely, she said, People want to have more children when you make it possible for them to be effective parents and effective workers. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: UW Television Program Examines Diversifying State Revenues UW economist Rob Godby will be a guest on Wyoming Signatures Sunday, June 19, at 5:30 p.m. on Wyoming Public Television. (UW Photo) University of Wyoming economist Rob Godby will discuss options on how to diversify Wyomings tax revenues on the UW news and information program Wyoming Signatures Sunday, June 19, at 5:30 p.m. on Wyoming Public Television. In another segment, Kristen Landreville, associate professor in the UW Department of Communication and Journalism, will share her thoughts on why voters support Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, the increasing role of social media in politics and why voters should become more media literate. Landreville will teach a course in political communication this fall at UW. Also, Matt Hayes, assistant research scientist with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will discuss the units deer project. The project investigates why mule deer populations are decreasing as elk populations are increasing in the greater Little Mountain area south of Rock Springs. Wyoming Signatures is produced by UWTV of the UW Outreach School. Wyoming PBS can be seen over the air and via cable or satellite in communities throughout Wyoming. A complete list of channels can be found at www.wyomingpbs.org/coverage.php. Wyoming Business Tips for June 26-July 2 A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By John Privette, regional director, WSBDC Network My business has been approached by a Canadian company to export our product. Ive read that exporting is risky business. Is that true? Howard, Lingle The Small Business Exporters Association recently released its 2016 Small Business Exporting Survey. The survey, conducted Feb. 22-March 14, 2016, compiled feedback from 530 small-business owners, 58 percent of whom had some experience in selling merchandise or services to customers outside the U.S. The survey shed some light on four common myths about exporting: -- My business isnt large enough to export. The survey reports that 62 percent of small businesses that export have fewer than 10 employees, and 40 percent reported revenues less than $1 million. According to the International Trade Administration, small-business exporters with fewer than 20 employees account for 76 percent of all exporting firms. An assessment of export readiness is an important first step to deciding whether or not to export. The WSBDC Network can assist in this determination. -- Exporting is too risky. For Wyoming, Canada is the largest export market and is no riskier than selling in the United States. The survey listed Canada, Mexico and the U.K. as the top three export markets. Regardless of the export market, much of the export risk can be identified through assistance available through the WSBDC Network and the U.S. Commerce Department, Export Assistance Center. -- Getting paid is worrisome. Getting paid is a significant concern with small-business exporters. This may explain why 66 percent of survey respondents require payment in advance of shipment. However, export trade finance and banking have developed to the point where selling on open account or under a bank-issued letter of credit is routine. The WSBDC Network can assist in the determination of appropriate payment terms and ways to reduce nonpayment risk. -- Exporting is too complicated. Exporting is not that easy, but it is not that difficult. Developing export markets does require a commitment of time and resources, as does developing a domestic market. Nearly half of the small business firms surveyed spend a few months or more preparing to export. Regardless, the majority of the small exporting firms enter new foreign markets to take advantage of sales and/or profit opportunities and rely mostly on freight forwarders, government resources and customs brokers to assist with export-related challenges. Exporting provides market expansion opportunities that may fit very well with your business and products. Give the WSBDC Network a call for assistance in determining your firms export readiness. A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments are available at www.wyen.biz/blog1/. The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922. Alexander Demianchuk | Reuters. Pro-ISIS groups on social media behave in ways that can be used to anticipate attacks and learn more about 'lone wolves.' The key to fighting the Islamic State group, or ISIS, in the real world may lie in watching social media. A group of researchers has studied the online behavior of pro-ISIS groups on Europe's largest online social networking service, Russia-based VKontakte, and found some striking patterns they say can track and fight ISIS, or potentially any extreme group in the real world. They also hope that their research will help predict real-world attacks by extremist groups and contribute to better tracking for so-called lone wolf attackers, who carry out assaults alone, or aren't connected to extremist groups offline. The team published its results in the peer-reviewed journal Science on Thursday. Russia's VKontakte social network is very similar to Facebook (FB). Like Facebook, anyone is allowed to create a community devoted to whatever subject they like "the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, or whatever else they like," said Neil Johnson, lead researcher on the study and a professor of physics at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. But VKontakte has several features that make it a good place to study extremist behavior online. First, VKontakte is less efficient at shutting down extremist groups than Facebook. As Europe's largest social network, it has about 350 million members who speak many languages and live around the world. Also, because it is based in Russia, it has many Muslim Chechen users in the Caucasus region, which is relatively close to ISIS' power center in the Levant, and ISIS has used the network to spread propaganda among Russian speakers. The Levant can mean all the countries bordering the Mediterranean from Greece to Egypt. They identified 196 groups on VKontakte, consisting of a total of about 108,000 members spread around the globe. These are "serious" groups, in that they are sharing information that is operational: knowledge on how to avoid drones, financing data, information on areas of unrest and so on. What is key about these groups is that they are talking about things that can be separated from mere online chatter. Story continues "Once you have found the aggregates, you have got your hand on the pulse of the serious, global, pro-ISIS support," Johnson said. Pro-ISIS groups online don't have the typical organized hierarchical structures led by individuals. They are more like "aggregates" of members that cluster together, somewhat like a school of fish in nature. Their decentralized nature is vital to understanding how they work and what kind of threat they pose. "Among those aggregates," Johnson said, "we find there are these pro-ISIS aggregates that are exchanging things internally, that are operational, they have to do with particular designs of drones, how to avoid drones, what kind of kind of unrest is forming in certain areas, information on financing. This is the hardcore kind of material." Johnson's team saw several striking patterns emerge from their data. They found that the rate at which these pro-ISIS aggregates were forming accelerated in the days and months that lead up to certain attacks. Johnson's team found just such a spike in the rate of the creation of groups established right before ISIS' surprise attack on Kobane, Syria, in September 2014. The study noted that this pattern is not unique to ISIS. In previous research, Johnson and his colleagues found that sudden and unexpected protests in Brazil during the summer of 2013 were preceded by a similar spike in the creation of online aggregates. "If we monitor then the creation of aggregates and begin to see that rate of creation escalate, we can begin to monitor at least it is helping us to predict when conditions are favorable for real-world attacks. Basically, it tells us that something is brewing," he said. Johnson likens it to a doctor who can tell that the conditions are right in a patient for heart disease, while not necessarily predicting exactly when a heart attack will strike. They cannot yet tell when or where such attacks will occur, but this coalescence of people online reliably precedes these major events in the real world. Johnson said he would like to refine the programs to track the content being shared on social media, and develop ways of pinpointing details about major events. Shutting the groups down, or influencing their behavior, may be one way to prevent attacks in the offline world. For example, the team also found that the aggregates tend to coalesce like schools of fish smaller groups merge and become larger groups. By tracking these groups, anti-ISIS agents can break down the smaller ones before they grow to a more powerful size. In fact, they need to be shut quickly. The team even worked out a formula for the ideal rate of shutdown. If the groups are not shut down fast enough, two things can happen. Smaller groups will tend to congeal into one big aggregate, which could become far more potent. Instead of people splitting into 196 different groups, there would simply one big group, with "108,000 people across the world all talking the same thing, having the same information, sharing the same everything." Secondly, if the rate at which the groups are fragmenting drops too far, pro-ISIS information can begin to spread virally among the remaining groups. Members from one shutdown group tend to scatter and join other groups and they carry their information with them. The team says its system could be improved to potentially identify "lone wolves." Johnson said that it is likely that a person who is a lone wolf in real life is communicating with extremists online. Chances are a lone wolf "was in an aggregate, will be in an aggregate and carries the knowledge of previous aggregates," he said. "There is no such thing as a lone wolf. Or rather, we can at least mathematically give an estimate of how long it has been since one has been in its last aggregate, and even I haven't done this yet get the trajectory of someone you observe now to be a lone wolf, in terms of likely aggregates they have passed through." To be sure, the research drew some skepticism as to how effective the data would be in helping to stop ISIS. "I think the paper did an outstanding job looking at VKontakte, however, I think the jury is still out on how this would apply to the fact that ISIS is a very versatile organization," said V.S. Subrahmanian, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland, in an interview with IEEE Spectrum. "They understand social media pretty well and they are not likely to be bound by the constraints of operating on just one social media platform." Johnson expects the team has found a model that shows something fundamental about human behavior that can be used to track all sorts of extremist groups. "It isn't limited to ISIS. I would like to think this is some generic way in which humans use the internet. That is how we do stuff on the internet, we self-organize into groups," he said. "I think it is an attractive thing for people who have extreme views who don't necessarily get the feedback that they need in daily life. I think this same dynamic will happen for any extreme subset of the entire population." More From CNBC (Adds farmer comment) By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba, June 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's agriculture company has taken control of the majority investor in grain handler G3 Canada Limited, according to a filing, reducing Bunge Ltd's stake and strengthening the kingdom's efforts to secure food supplies. G3 Global Holdings, the joint venture of U.S. agribusiness Bunge and Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co (SALIC), bought 50.1 percent of the former Canadian Wheat Board in 2015 for C$250 million ($194.22 million). It was renamed G3 Canada, with farmers accounting for 49.9 percent of equity. In two steps this year, SALIC, an arm of the state-owned Public Investment Fund, grew its stake in the joint venture to 75 percent from 49 percent, according to an April 28 Bunge filing. "Any ownership changes that have happened within our company have not had any material impact on the organization itself, the operations or how we run the company," G3 Canada Chief Executive Karl Gerrand said in an interview. SALIC has "done a really nice job of allowing our team to operate as an independent Canadian organization," he said. "For the most part, it's been hands-off." He declined to comment on reasons for the ownership change. SALIC converted $106 million in promissory notes into additional shares in the joint venture with Bunge on Feb. 1. This took its stake in the majority investor of Winnipeg-based G3 to 65 percent from 49 percent, and reduced Bunge's share to 35 percent. Bunge then exercised an option on March 30 to sell shares to SALIC for $37 million, bumping up SALIC's ownership of G3 Global Holdings to 75 percent. SALIC could not be reached. Bunge spokeswoman Deb Seidel declined to comment. Saudi has been phasing out crop farming due to its intense water usage in the desert kingdom. SALIC has targeted investments in beef and eight key crops, including wheat. Canada is a major wheat exporter. Farmers' equity accounts for the same number of shares in G3, however its percentage of ownership has dropped because of recent investments by the SALIC-Bunge joint venture into the company, Gerrand said. He declined to give a current percentage. Story continues Keith Degenhardt, a farmer and first vice president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, was disappointed when foreign investors bought the former Wheat Board, but said any dilution of farmer equity is "not top of the mind." G3 is a small Canadian player compared to competitors Richardson International, Viterra Inc and Cargill Ltd. ($1 = 1.2872 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Additional reporting by Maha El Dahan in Dubai; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Leslie Adler) Jerry 'The King' Lawler has been an icon of the wrestling business for over 40 years but his career has hit a serious speed bump as the WWE have suspended the veteran following a domestic abuse incident. The Memphis-born legend and his fiance were both taken in for questioning and booked by the Shelby County Jail in the early hours of Friday and the incident is not looking good for the 66-year-old. Domestic Abuse arrest Jerry pictured with girlfriend Lauryn McBride (image: NY daily news,com) In what to the WWE Universe will seem very out of character, legendary commentator Jerry Lawler was booked by the Shelby County Jail following a 'violent confrontation' with his girlfriend Lauryn McBride. The couple were involved in this incident at the veteran's home in East Memphis and the police were called to the scene in the early hours and the two were booked at 1am on Friday morning. McBride claimed that Lawler struck her in the head and then shoved her into a stove while her partner, nearly 40-years her senior, said she began the assault when she scratched him in the face, then threw a candle at him and finally kicked him in the groin. The 27-year-old allegedly claimed Lawler reached for an unloaded pistol, then subsequently placed it on the kitchen counter and told her to kill herself as the encounter took an even darker turn. Lawler disagreed with the 'admission' and suggested McBride was intoxicated and that she was the one who brought the pistol into the kitchen. The WWE have since suspended the contract of Lawler pending the investigation, they have zero tolerance for issues of domestic assault and this contributed to the release of Adam Rose last month. Lawler's reputation He was previously indicted on charge of allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl back in July 1989 but these were dropped after the female admitted her story was fabricated. Lawler was arrested on March 16, 1999, after he threw a ticket at a police officer before then running over his foot. His reputation is fairly positive despite the incidents with the law as he owns a restaurant in his home-state of Tennessee and made the decision to run for mayor of Memphis in 1999. Despite being unsuccessful in his quest, he still managed to obtain 11.7% of the ballot being twelve of the fifteen candidates. WWE Statement WWE have issued a statement following the arrest of Jerry Lawler (image: 411mania.com) The WWE recently released a statement announcing that they have suspended Lawler 'indefinitely' following the incident - reasserting their standpoint on the matter. They issued the following statement: "WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, and per our policy, Jerry Lawler has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest." SHARE By Amanda Covarrubias, amanda.covarrubias@vcstar.com A Ventura County judge ruled Friday that a petition to place a SOAR renewal initiative on the November ballot in Thousand Oaks may move forward despite concerns about a possible technical glitch. Judge Henry J. Walsh determined there was no formatting error and ordered the Thousand Oaks city clerk to send the petition containing more than 12,000 signatures to the City Council for approval. "We're delighted this is going on the ballot," said Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, a leader in the Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources effort. She was the sole named plaintiff in the lawsuit SOAR filed against the city. She said the decision could help settle similar disputes involving signature-gathering petitions around the state. "It will clear the way for other cities," she said. County officials determined in May that Thousand Oaks organizers had enough valid signatures to get the renewal measure on the general election ballot. But City Clerk Cynthia Rodriguez discovered what she believed to be a technical error and concluded the petition was insufficient. She said that based on the election code, the text of the ballot measure must appear on the first page of the petition. Since it was not on the front side, Rodriguez said she could not validate the petition. SOAR organizers argued that the text of the ballot measure does appear on the first page but on the back side. Walsh agreed that it was OK. " the SOAR initiative petition, as currently formatted and presented to the city clerk has not and will not mislead, misinform, or confuse voters by virtue of the text of the initiative appearing on the back side of the first sheet of paper " he wrote in his stipulation. SOAR also agreed to waive attorney's fees, which the city of Thousand Oaks would have had to pay, in the case. Parks said a similar issue arose in Ventura, but the city clerk determined the SOAR-renewal petition was valid, citing a Northern California case that appeared to clarify the issue. Organizers have been collecting signatures throughout the county to place a SOAR renewal for eight cities and Ventura County on the ballot. If voters in November approve the measures, existing SOAR laws would continue to 2050. They require that voters approve development of farmland and open space. A group called Sustain VC is trying to place a competing measure on the ballot that would give more leeway for agriculture. Star file photo A box of fresh California strawberries at Conroy Farms in Oxnard. SHARE By Kathleen Wilson and Amanda Covarrubias The president of Mandalay Berry Farms says he is shutting down the business and laying off 565 workers at the end of July because he is retiring, adding that it had nothing to do with an $815,000 legal settlement the company paid to compensate workers for time spent at meetings and taking rest periods. "That case is fully resolved," said attorney Darin Marx, speaking for company President John Dullam. Marx said he did not believe there would be any loss of agricultural production as a result of the closure. He offered no further details on what would happen to the nine ranch properties in Oxnard where the strawberry grower operates. The settlement involving 1,136 workers represented in a class-action lawsuit was approved early this year in Ventura County Superior Court. At least 15 agricultural businesses in Ventura County and others in the state have paid similar claims after courts overturned the standard method for paying piece-rate workers, said Rob Roy, an attorney representing many of those growers. Courts found in 2013 that piece-rate workers, who are paid based on production, had to be paid separately for rest periods and mandatory meetings. "They changed the way piece-rate workers had been paid for 65 years in the state," Roy said. The Ventura County firms paid settlements ranging from several hundred thousand dollars to more than $1 million, he said. Roy said the change in piece-rate compensation is one of the factors that make it difficult for California growers to compete with other states and countries. They also are facing a rising minimum wage and a possible increase in overtime costs, he said. The complaint, filed May 27, 2015, claimed Mandalay did not compensate piece-rate agricultural workers for "unproductive time" spent performing mandatory exercises and attending mandatory meetings and for rest periods. Piece-rate workers typically are paid for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Mandalay Berry Farms notified officials about its imminent shuttering early this month, as did Oxnard vegetable grower Hiji Brothers Inc. Hiji and two associated operations seedling nursery Seaview Growers and shipper Richview Inc. said they will close in August and lay off about 260 people. Roy, who represents Hiji, blamed what he termed a difficult regulatory climate in California. Also, 88 people lost their jobs in March when Coastal Green Vegetable Co. in Oxnard went out of business, citing increased costs, according to state and media reports. John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, said the past three years have been extremely tough on strawberry growers in Ventura County. "It's been a number of factors, but the bottom line is that prices have been pretty bad and berry growers have been losing money," he said. Although strawberries were valued as the No. 1 crop in the county's $2 billion agricultural industry in a report issued last year, the amount of acreage had fallen by about 2,000 to 11,630 acres. The head of Limoneira Co., which is profiting from robust lemon prices, said the Ventura County region is "dramatically overplanted in berries right now." "Our suspicion is that it was just a tipping point," said Harold Edwards, CEO of Limoneira in Santa Paula. Lawsuit plaintiff Nicolasa Cruz Fabian was a piece-rate employee at Mandalay Berry Farms for four years before the lawsuit was filed and worked seasonally for the company since 2004, a court document shows. She did not receive compensation for meal periods of at least 30 minutes, as required by law, according to the lawsuit. And when she did get meal periods, they were frequently past the fifth hour of work, the suit stated. Workers received about $590,000 in the settlement, with the rest reserved for attorney fees and other costs, according to a declaration from the settlement administrator. Workers will average $553, and the largest award will be about $3,879, according to court documents. SHARE FILE PHOTO By Staff Reports A man who escaped custody early this week at CSU Channel Islands was arrested Thursday night in Oxnard, officials said. Officers saw Luis Renteria, 20, of Oxnard, riding a bicycle about 11 p.m. near Saviers and Pleasant Valley roads, Oxnard police said. They knew he was wanted in connection with eluding police Sunday after being arrested in connection with a stolen vehicle near the Camarillo university, authorities said. Renteria tried to run away from Oxnard police officers but was taken into custody in the 4800 block of Dunbar Drive, officials said. Oxnard police turned over custody of Renteria to the university's police Thursday night. Renteria was one of four men arrested at CSUCI in connection with the stolen vehicle about 12:50 a.m. Sunday. He had escaped their booking facility after being handcuffed to a bench, officials said. SHARE By Megan Diskin of the Ventura County Star Two suspected home burglars were arrested Thursday after a vehicle pursuit from Simi Valley to Culver City, officials said. The incident began just after 7 p.m. when the victim arrived at their home in the 2400 block of Meralda Avenue to a burglary in progress, Simi Valley police said. The suspected burglars left the area and the victim called authorities to give them a description of their vehicle, authorities said. An officer located the vehicle in the area and the chase began, police said. The vehicle got on eastbound Highway 118 then exited at Balboa Boulevard in Granada Hills, officials said. It traveled down the boulevard to Devonshire Street and hopped on the southbound 405 freeway, police said. The vehicle went from the southbound 405 freeway to the eastbound 10 freeway and exited at National Boulevard in the Culver City area, authorities said. The driver and passenger exited the vehicle and started running. The driver was taken into custody first and by about 9 p.m. the passenger had also been found by police, officials said. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol were involved in the incident as well as an LAPD helicopter. SHARE JUAN CARLO/THE STAR John Eggler, head docent at the mission, asked for a blessing by Father Albert Vanderwoerd after a Saint Junipero Serra tapestry was hung at Mission San Buenaventura on Thursday. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Ojai artist John Nava, left, and Father Tom Elewaut start the process of installing a tapestry of Saint Junipero Serra. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Ojai artist John Nava attaches a hanging clip to a Saint Junipero Serra tapestry at Mission San Buenaventura. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Jorge Ruiz, left, and Father Tom Elewaut help bring down a ladder after hanging a Saint Junipero Serra tapestry at Mission San Buenaventura. By Tom Kisken of the Ventura County Star It was woven in Belgium, designed in Ojai and based on a 19th-century painting from Mexico. Like the saint it portrays, a tapestry of Junipero Serra faced a long, twisting journey to Ventura. The image in earth tones of the Franciscan friar with a crucifix dangling from his neck was unfurled permanently at Mission San Buenaventura Thursday morning. Founded in a hilltop Mass on Easter morning 1782, it was the last of the nine missions Serra planted as he limped up and down California's coast on an infected leg. Over the protest of many California Indians who lay blame for their ancestors' demise, the missionary from the Spanish island of Mallorca, was canonized by Pope Francis in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23. Immediately before the sainting, Pope Francis blessed a tapestry of Serra designed by 68-year-old Ojai artist John Nava. It is the twin of the piece that is the now the first thing parishioners see as they enter the Ventura mission through a courtyard. The first image now hangs at Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, where Serra was buried in 1784. At the canonization in Washington, D.C., it apparently caught Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez's eye. He asked about a second tapestry. The image is based on what Nava called the most famous painting of Serra, an 1810 work by Jose Mosqueda that shows the missionary in a plain brown robe. It was copied from an original painting later lost during the Mexican Revolution. Nava became the image's designer, emailing computer files to Belgium that reduced the painting's nearly infinite palette of colors and shades to about 160. "I had to horse around with it to make it weavable," he explained Thursday, kneeling to drill metal clips to the top of the tapestry. "This is the glamour of the art world," he joked. More than a decade earlier, Nava created tapestries of saints and others using real-life models, including Ventura County residents. The tapestries, including a work of Serra, were part of the unveiling of Our Lady of the Angels cathedral in Los Angeles and remain on display there. The new Serra tapestries were made through a digitized process in Belgium and then sent back to the states. Both pieces were commissioned by the Franciscan community that led efforts to canonize Serra. Gomez envisioned a tapestry on display in a side altar at Our Lady of the Angels. When that plan changed, the artwork was given to Mission San Buenaventura. It's a fitting place, said Father Tom Elewaut, noting the mission planting was Serra's curtain call. "We have in his writings that he really loved this area and wanted to return," said Elewaut, the mission's pastor. The tapestry about 8 feet by 5 feet is a point of pride for those who see Serra as the evangelist of California. The woven image stings Alan Salazar, a Native American storyteller with Chumash and Tataviam blood. He will always equate Serra with a mission period that cost Indians language and culture and, for tens of thousands, their lives. "Anger and disgust. That's what I'll feel when look at that," he said of the tapestry. "But I probably won't go to the mission to see it." The tapestry made its debut at the mission in November, unfurled from the choir loft in a celebration of Serra's sainthood. It has hung there since in anticipation of a final move to the cathedral that was eventually called off. On Thursday, the temporary home became permanent. The tapestry was hung in the middle of the mission, just high enough so no one can touch it. As Nava orchestrated the installation, parishioners and mission neighbors clicked photos. Elewaut predicted the image will become a magnet. "This will be an item of pilgrimage, reverence and veneration," he said. SHARE Congress is being asked to designate a 440-acre parcel of land above Santa Clarita as a national monument as the starting point to honor the victims of the worst civil engineering disaster of the 20th century. Rep. Steve Knight, R-Lancaster, introduced the legislation for the St. Francis Dam Disaster National Monument. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, has joined him as a sponsor of the bill. It was just before midnight on March 12, 1928, when the 205-foot-high dam broke into pieces, just minutes after the reservoir it created was finally full. The burst dam dumped 12.6 billion gallons of water into the San Francisquito and Santa Clara river valleys, roaring through Castaic, a power company camp, then into Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Saticoy before finally emptying 54 miles later into the Pacific Ocean. The dam burst claimed the lives of 431 people, a disaster second only to the San Francisco earthquake and fire in loss of life during the last century in California. Two new books on the incident have recently been publish, "Heavy Ground: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster" by Norris Hundley Jr. and "Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles" by Jon Wilkman. Both books discuss the intricate connection between St. Francis Dam and the creation of the Los Angeles as we know it. Engineer William Mulholland recognized that Los Angeles was only limited in its growth by one thing: water. So he set out to bring water to the city and the last piece of his efforts was St. Francis Dam. We will leave it to others to detail the rich and highly sordid history of that water grab (remember the film, "Chinatown"?), which continues to play out today in California politics. The dam was built in the wrong spot. Later analysis by other engineers pointed out the folly of putting it there but cleared Mullholland of responsibility. In a move that would be unheard of today, he stepped up to take responsibility and retired from public life. Dr. Alan Pollack, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, has advocated for a way to remember the disaster and its victims and suggested the legislation to Knight. Santa Paula has already recognized the heroic efforts of those who saved lives in advance of the rushing water. A sculpture, The Warning, commissioned by the Santa Paula Historical Society and created by Eric Richards, honors those brave people. It is located at 10th and Santa Barbara streets. The Knight legislation would carve out the land for protection and place it under management of the U.S. Forest Service. In addition, it would require the secretary of Interior to not only develop a plan to protect the site but to construct a visitor center to explain the disaster and honor the dead. This is only the first step. We assume that any visitor center or other structure on the site would only be built with private funding. That will be another push, at a later time. The bill cleared its first hurdle this week when it was approved by voice vote in the House Natural Resources Committee. We encourage Congress to do what is right and support the Knight resolution to designate the St. Francis Dam Disaster National Monument. It would start a process where we will be able to tell the stories of what triggered the disaster, the unmatched heroism of many who saved lives that night, and the tragic deaths of hundreds of Ventura County residents. TREVI Italian Restaurant, located at the heart of The Forum Shops at Caesars, hosted a pizza cook-off Wednesday afternoon featuring celebrity judges and local news personalities competing for charity (Pictured: Celebrity judges Anthony Cools, Mariah Rivera, Ashton, Johiah and Big D). Competing chefs included Dave Hall of FOX 5 KVVU, Beth Fisher of ABC 13 KTNV, and 2015s champion, Doug Elfman, of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Each participant worked with TREVI Executive Chef Jose Navarro to create a pizza using individually-selected ingredients. The pizzas were scored on taste, creativity and presentation by a panel of guest judges including: famed hypnotist and Paris Las Vegas headliner, Anthony Cools; radio personalities, Big D and Johiah of 93.1 The Party KPLV; and Mariah Rivera and Ashton of FANTASY at Luxor. In a close race, Hall was crowned champion and earned a $500 donation from TREVI and Landrys, Inc., to F.E.A.T (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) of Southern Nevada, a non-profit organization of parents and professionals designed to help families with children who have received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Halls winning pie featured barbecue sauce, chicken, basil, purple onion, mozzarella and cilantro. Fisher competed for Hope for Prisoners, and crafted a pizza featuring basil, mozzarella, pesto sauce, pine nuts and red bell peppers. Elfman cooked for Community Cat Coalition of Clark County and created a pizza featuring sliced breaded eggplant, Vidalia onions, roasted peppers, sliced mushrooms, red sauce, a blend of mozzarella, parmesan and fontina cheeses, garnished with shaved parmesan cheeses and an olive oil drizzle, served on a seeded crust with poppy and sesame seeds, along with dried onion and garlic flakes. In addition to the competition, TREVI also offered specialty priced cheese pizzas for $10, with all proceeds benefiting the winners charity. 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . Government officials and enterprises from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand gather for a photo when attending the first ever forum to discuss ways to form a seamless Mekong Delta region or a Single Destination.-Photo thaigov.go.th The three-day "CLMVT Forum 2016" hosted by Thailand's Ministry of Commerce brought together some 1,000 participants from the countries involved, as well as experts from Japan and the US. Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said the power of shared opportunities and the expansion of intra-regional business networks for the development of trade, investment and tourism would make the Mekong countries visible to the world. Viet Nam's deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Cam Tu, said that to make such a seamless region, the countries involved should choose specific fields on which to focus their cooperation, such as food processing or automobile industries. According to the forum, after decades of developing both a large manufacturing base and large sales in Thailand, Japanese companies are now increasing their investment in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to take advantage of low labour costs, plentiful natural resources, and new and fast growing markets. Thus, enhanced Japanese investment in this industry in all member states would benefit both sides. The forum also said that agriculture was a backbone of the CLMVT countries but is not yet a strongest contributor to the regional economy due to low productivity. According to the forum, CLMVT's agriculture sector employed between 32 per cent and 70 per cent of the workforce but contributed only between 11 per cent and 30 per cent of the region's GDP due to lack of modern agricultural technologies. Tan Monivann, Vice President of Cambodia's Mong Reththy Group, suggested the group should work on ways to boost the value chain, marketing the products and transferring post harvesting technology. Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that as the first and second rice exporters in the world, Thailand and Viet Nam should boost their co-operation to boost the productivity and quality of their products and gain a better market. Somchith Inthamith, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce of Laos, added that the two leading rice exporters should also help the other three countries with their experience. In addition, CLMVT governments need to simplify cross-border procedures while upgrading local infrastructure and agro-logistic services in order to provide better storage and delivery of perishable goods throughout the region to destination markets. A free border mechanism would also boost tourism, one of the most lucrative areas in the group. While sustainable tourism development could yield significant profits for the industry and the economy in general, complicated visa procedures were keeping away many potential visitors. Participants discussed having one visa for visitors to CLMVT countries, instead of five. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Vuong Duy Bien hailed the idea, saying that complicated visa procedures for Viet Nam were one of the reasons that visitors to the area don't include Viet Nam in their destinations. Tran Doan The Duy, deputy director of Viet Travel said the one-visa idea would be perfect for many Westerners who have time for a long holiday but avoid Vietnam due to visa fees and procedures. The forum also discussed digital connection and e-tourism for small and medium sized enterprises, which account for 96 per cent of the enterprises in the CLMVT group. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Thailand have a combined population of 235 million, of which more than half are in the workforce. The group thus has immense purchasing power, said the forum. Great potential, obscure industry Over the past few years, cocoa remained one of the more stable agricultural commodities with a stable selling price. Specifically, since late 2014, while the prices of coffee and rubber were slashed by about $1,000, cocoa has produced an increase of about $1,000 to date. Cocoa prices climbed 25 per cent in 2013 and continued to rise in early 2014, reaching $3,355 per ton last July. Currently, the farm gate price of one kilogramme of cocoa is $3.0, far higher than the $1.5 charged for coffee. Vietnam produces 7,500 tonnes of cocoa annually, most of which is exported. Amid the rising global demand for cocoa products, Vietnam caters for a large segment of the market. The price of cocoa, therefore, is expected to increase stably in the future. Mr Dinh Hai Lam, former Cocoa Development Manager at Mars Incorporated possessing over a decade of experience with cocoa development in Vietnam, told VIR that being the major exporter of only fermented cocoa beans in Asia, Vietnam is well-situated to meet Asian chocolate manufacturers strategic need for high quality cocoa. By engaging in professional production, many Vietnamese farmers are now producing more than two tonnes of dried fermented beans per hectare every year. Tran Xuan Quang, a cocoa farmer from Ea Na commune, Krong Ana district, Dak Lak province has three hectares of cocoa. Last year, the productivity was 2.5 tonnes per hectare and our total revenue from the trees reached VND400 million ($18,180), making a total profit of VND300 million ($13,636), Quang told VIR. Cocoa plantations are about 30-40 per cent more profitable than rubber or coffee, we prefer cocoa to coffee, he said. Pioneering integrated cocoa farming Over the past decade, Vietnamese cocoa production remained modest. The country has yet to build up a sturdy cocoa industry as the opportunities have largely passed under government radars undetected and have yet to see a specific cocoa development incentive policy. Instead, most cocoa development projects in Vietnam are backed by non-governmental organizations. However, these projects aim to reduce poverty and benefit poor households, who can hardly engage in cocoa plantation due to their poor finances and limited experience. Additionally, firms are not interested in investing in cocoa plantations. Apart from several companies like Mars, Puratos Grand Place and Cargills making an effort to give farmers technical training, other companies only focus on purchasing beans from them. Last but not least, cocoa has yet to become widely known as an economical crop by farmers and enterprises, Lam shared. Research of other sectors, such as rubber, coffee, tea, sugar, etc., revealed that to sustainably develop a sector, it is critical to ensure the participation of businesses and institutional investors through the establishment of large-scale farming and developing close linkages with surrounding farmers. In this model, businesses play a leading role in technology transfer, provide planting inputs, and ensure sales outlets for small households. I think that there is a significant opportunity to invest in cocoa production and processing in Vietnam by implementing modern agro-technologies and methods at both corporate farming and production linkages with small farmers. This can be done through business partnerships, training, and community development, Lam shared. Building on his venerable experience in cocoa development in Vietnam, Mr Dinh Hai Lam, along with several partners, had set up CIC, the first integrated agricultural company with advanced sustainable cocoa production and sourcing methods in Vietnam. CIC aims to acquire concession over 2,000 hectare land area to establish cocoa corporate farms. It also plans to develop on an additional 10,000 hectare through contract growing with middle class farmers and cluster growing with smallholders. Corporate farms are the most essential part of CICs business strategy, which will be equipped with the best cocoa plantation technology. It is scheduled to have 250 hectares of cocoa planted in 2016 and target to have 2,000 hectares of corporate farms by 2022. For cocoa contract growing, CIC will create a unique system of production linkages with middle class farmers. In this system, farmers may receive credit from or arranged through CIC to buy planting materials, fertigation systems, inputs, and other technical services from CIC. The products of these contract growers will be off-taken and pre-processed at CICs concentrated fermenting centres. The above example well illustrates how CIC supports middle class farmers and it should serve as a model of long-term co-operation between enterprises and farmers in the future. Mr. Quangs family had received such assistance from CIC in technical training, fertilizers, and building a modern irrigation system, making it more convenient to water and care for the trees properly. Meanwhile, other nearby households often had poor crops, while his family prospered. All of this is thanks to CICs support, especially the drip irrigation. We save time, labour, and water. During the severe drought in the first months of this year, many families suffered great losses, but we remained safe by using the economic irrigation system, he said. For cocoa cluster growing, CIC will promote cocoa to small household farmers through Cocoa Development Centre (CDC) and Cocoa Village Centre (CVC), following Mars Inc.s CDC/CVC approach. CIC will also focus on developing advanced farming mechanisms for its own corporate farms and for service provision to contract growers. Notably, environmental and social responsibility will be a rule of thumb in every aspect of CICs operations. CIC aims to become a leading company in the Asian cocoa upstream sector. We are providing Vietnamese cocoa growers and buyers a total solution package to make Vietnam an important and sustainable producer of high quality cocoa, Lam stressed. A birds view of Phu My Hung area in HCM City. The city has set an ambitious goal to become a value-added service centre, similar to other East Asian cities, attracting investment from world-renowned corporations.-VNA/VNS Photo An Hieu In a meeting with members of the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) earlier this week, Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the citys Peoples Committee, said the city was committed to creating a favourable investment environment for the business community. The goal is to help HCM City grow like other East Asian cities. City agencies will outline specific goals and strategies for development, Phong said. If these goals arent identified and acted upon properly, however, the effort will go to waste. I hope that businesspeople will take part in making HCM City a leading economic hub of the country. The city has been working with economic institutes and experts on development plans that will be submitted to the Government for consideration. I expect entrepreneurs to be ready to compete with huge brands with high-quality products. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has removed tariff barriers hampering business growth, so entrepreneurs must come up with breakthrough changes to enhance their competitiveness in the market, Phong said. The citys management team will also ensure that urban infrastructure meets the needs of development and creates a dynamic business environment. Also speaking at the meeting, Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital Group, said the city should ensure that products such as bonds or company shares were available for investors to buy and sell because they prefer avoiding contracts that need three to four years of negotiations. The chairman of the AA Corporation, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, suggested that large-scale exhibition centres be built to attract more investors. HCM City only has one major convention centre, a 20,000-sq-metre building in District 7, in contrast to larger centres in Singapore, which has a 200,000-sq-metre centre, and Guangzhou, with an 800,000-sq-metre exhibition centre. Vo Sy Nhan, general director of NP Capital Limited, noted that new policies should be considered for the Thu Thiem Urban project to further its potential, in addition to the existing plans to become a major financial centre linked with downtown HCM City, with metro lines and connecting bridges. He said the city also should streamline the visa-making process and reduce personal income and corporate taxes to attract multinational corporations and large financial institutions. In addition, the city should re-organise Tan Son Nhat International Airports taxi pick-up and drop-off areas. The airports taxi area is very chaotic. We need to re-arrange it to make a good impression on our international friends, Nhan added. Agreeing that the airport needs renovation, Phong said he had made recommendations to relevant authorities since the airport is not under the citys jurisdiction. Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue (R) and Vice President of JICA Kenichi Tomiyoshi, Ha Noi, June 16, 2016 - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue made that statement at his reception for Vice President of JICA Kenichi Tomiyoshi on June 16. The two sides lauded the development in the two nations extensive Strategic Partnership. Deputy PM Hue asked relevant ministries and agencies to closely cooperate with the JICA to complete SOEs and banking restructuring in the context that Viet Nam has gained a number of achievements in socio-economic development. He expected that with Viet Nams determination and efforts and assistance from Japan, Viet Nam will successfully realize economic restructuring and head to fast and sustainable development. Mr. Kenichi Tomioyshi and Japanese professionals presented fundamental and breakthrough proposals for reforming the SOEs, dealing with bad debt and shortcomings of Vietnamese commercial banks in the 2016-2020 phase. Deputy PM Hue thanked the JICA for supporting Viet Nam in infrastructure for industrialization and modernization, contributing to the two nations relations as well as boosting the two economies in terms of development strategy, production capacity, training and human resources development. The number of customers at the F&B shops run by the Golden Gate One business deal which attracted a lot of media attention in 2015 was the successful call for capital by Kafe Group. Investment funds agreed to inject $5.5 million into the restaurant-coffee chain, including Cassia Investment from Hong Kong which has invested in many food & beverage (F&B) chains in Asia. Restaurant chains continue to expand as financial investors keep looking for chains to pour money into. The chains are a very profitable business field. Kafe Groups managing director Dao Chi Anh said the company would list shares on London or Hong Kong stock markets in the next two years so as to mobilize more capital from investment funds. According to Chad Ovel, CEO of Mekong Capital, restaurant chains attract investors because 99 percent of restaurants present now in Vietnam are separated ones, not in chains. There are only several well-known F&B chains (not including franchised ones), run by Nam An Group, Kafe Group, Huy Viet Nam, Golden Gate and TNG Holdings. He noted that Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III), a new fund managed by Mekong Capital now also pays special attention to the restaurant sector. This explains the presence of a person, who played the major role in the development of 12,000 KFC restaurants, in Mekong Capitals advisory board. However, a Mekong Capitals representative said it is not a simple work to find a feasible project to invest in. Meanwhile, Chad said the expansion rate of the chains must not be higher than 50 percent per annum, because the rapid expansion may damage the whole system. Johan Nyvene, CEO of the HCM City Securities Company (HSC), also noted that F&B is a sector attractive to financial investors, but there are not many considerable companies in Vietnam, i.e not many opportunities for investors to pour money to. A report showed that the F&B sector in Vietnam is really bustling now with 540,000 restaurants and shops, which include 430,000 small shops, 7,000 fast-food shops, 22,000 cafes and bars. However, the number of shops developed in chains remains modest. According to Johan Nyvene from HSC, investors not only need to have large capital, but also have to employ experienced staff with good knowledge about the field. Many investors say they are not confident about the quality of the restaurant staff. There is also a big difference in the business valuation between investors and the owners of restaurant chains. Investors not only consider the numbers of customers and the revenue of the chains at certain moments, but they predict the business performance in the future as well and estimate what profits they can expect in 3 or 5 years. The vital northern province of Aleppo has been ravaged on multiple fronts in a devastating war that has killed more than 280,000 people. (Photo: AFP/Karam al-Masri) BEIRUT: Russia announced a last minute 48-hour ceasefire for Syria's war-torn Aleppo late on Wednesday (Jun 16), just hours after Washington warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Moscow that they must respect the nationwide truce agreed in February. The vital northern province of Aleppo has been ravaged on multiple fronts in a devastating war that has killed more than 280,000 people. Dozens of fighters were killed in a fresh bout of fighting between the regime, rebels, and militants south of Aleppo city on Wednesday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Backed by Russian and government air strikes, pro-regime fighters are locked in battle with rebel groups and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front for a string of villages lying in hilly terrain between strategic routes. "On Russia's initiative, a 'regime of silence' has been introduced in Aleppo for 48 hours from 00:01 16 June (2101 GMT Wednesday) with the goal of lowering the level of armed violence and stabilising the situation," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. The statement did not specify who Russia has discussed the two-day ceasefire with. It accused Al-Nusra of attacking various Aleppo neighbourhoods with multiple rocket launchers, as well as mounting a tank attack southwest of the city. The five-year conflict has drawn in world powers who back opposing sides - including the United States which broadly supports the opposition and Russia on the side of Assad. "Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite, in fact it is very limited with whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable," said US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday. "We also are prepared to hold accountable members of the opposition," he said after a meeting in Norway with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. UN-hosted peace talks aimed at ending the conflict have been stalled since April, and a fragile ceasefire deal between the government and non-militant rebels has all but collapsed. "It is very clear that the cessation of hostilities is frayed and at risk and that it is critical for a genuine cessation to be put in place," said Kerry. Efforts were underway, he said, to reach a new agreement "in the next week or two" to reinstate the ceasefire across Syria, leading to more humanitarian aid deliveries and a resumption of the peace process. FRESH ALEPPO CLASHES Since fighting erupted in Aleppo province on Tuesday, at least 70 fighters in total have been killed and the villages of Zaytan and Khalasa have changed hands twice. The strategic border province is criss-crossed with supply routes for various sides of the conflict, including rebels, regime, Kurds, and militants such as the Islamic State group. Aleppo was once Syria's commercial powerhouse, but it has been a battleground since 2012 when rebels seized the east of the city confining the army to the west. A hospital in eastern Aleppo supported by Medecins du Monde was heavily damaged in an air strike on Tuesday, the France-based charity said, without reporting casualties. Three other hospitals in Syria were hit in bombing at the start of June, leaving 10 dead. As opposing forces close in from either side, residents of both halves of the city fear a potential total siege on the northern metropolis. The UN says nearly 600,000 Syrians live in besieged areas, most surrounded by government forces. Earlier this month, it said the government had granted preliminary aid access to 15 of 18 besieged areas, after one was taken off the UN's list. Dozens of opposition activist groups accused the UN of "capitulating" to Damascus on aid access. The scathing report, authored by The Syria Campaign (TSC) advocacy group, was based on testimonies from current and former UN staff and other aid workers. It accused the UN of "choosing to prioritise cooperation with the Syrian government at all costs," allowing the regime to unduly influence UN aid strategy. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said however that while aid access was not ideal, the UN continues to "assist Syrians based on need". TSC spokeswoman Bissan Fakih countered: "A UN with the backbone to stand for its principles would help get aid to hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians under siege, many of them only a few minutes' drive from where the UN is based in Damascus." One of five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing under mysterious circumstances last year spoke out Thursday, saying he had been detained for more than eight months by Beijing officials and that another of the five had been abducted from Hong Kong. Lam Wing-kee, whose bookstore sold gossipy books about China's political leadership, told a news conference that his colleague, Lee Bo, who went missing from Hong Kong, had been abducted in "cross-border enforcement actions" by mainland Chinese police, who were out of their jurisdiction when they conducted the raid. Lam, who was detained by Chinese police for more than eight months and returned to Hong Kong early Tuesday, discussed his ordeal at the Hong Kong Legislative Council, where he was accompanied by councilor Albert Ho, Chairman of the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. Lam said he was detained at customs on October 24 while on his way to visit friends in mainland China, when about 10 Chinese security officials took him to a scrap yard in Shenzhen, where they confiscated his ID and other documents. He was later taken to a police station and held overnight. The abductors gave him food, but refused to answer his question as to why he was detained. Taken by train The next morning he was taken by train to Ningbo, a city to the north in China's Zhejiang Province. During the 13-hour train ride, he was forced to wear dark goggles and a cap, presumably to obscure both his eyesight and identity. Shortly after arriving in Ningbo, the goggles finally removed, he found himself in a dingy padded room on the second floor of a large building, where he was physically examined, asked to change clothes, and forced to sign a document promising to forfeit contact with family and waive the right to hire an attorney. After that, Lam said, he was watched day and night by six rotating pairs of guards. Lam said he was interrogated at least 30 times in that building, during which he told his captors that he ran a decent bookstore that abided Hong Kong law. The Chinese police, however, accused him of violating domestic law by sending or delivering the banned books to customers on the mainland. According to Lam, he was released in March this year but was not allowed to leave a specified area. Chinese officials finally allowed him to go home on the condition that he return to the bookstore to secure a hard drive containing buyer information and hand it over. While detained, Lam said Chinese authorities asked him to identify buyers, but he refused, saying he didnt want to betray them. Lam also said Chinese police claimed to have information on "about five to six hundred readers and buyers, most of whom [reside in] mainland China. Five other booksellers linked to Causeway Bay Books went missing late last year before surfacing in Chinese police custody. Lam was the fourth of the five to return to Hong Kong, and did so early Tuesday. In a statement issued by Hong Kong police on Tuesday, Lam, upon his arrival, asked to have his missing person case canceled, explaining that he did not need any assistance from the government. Won't return to mainland China Lam said at Thursdays news conference that he planned to return to mainland China with the requested hard drive, but that he changed his mind after much internal deliberation. He was already bound for mainland China when he got off the subway and immediately sought contact with Hong Kong officials. Lam said he changed his mind after reflecting on the thousands of Hong Kong residents who marched in the street to support the missing booksellers. As a lifelong Hong Kong native, he said, he felt compelled to speak out "or Hong Kong wont be saved." "The Causeway Bay Books event touched the bottom line of Hong Kong people, he said. "I hate to see further repression of Hong Kongs freedom. It's not just about me or one bookstore, it's about fighting for freedom for the Hong Kong society." Before Lam spoke out, many people in Hong Kong had suspected that mainland officials illegally abducted the five booksellers, sparking fears that China's domestic security apparatus was overriding the "one country, two systems" framework that protects the Hong Kong Basic Law, the guiding constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which has been in place since Hong Kong's return to China from British rule in 1997. Chinese authorities have declined to clarify key details of the disappearances, but one official told VOA that law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal. Hong Kong lawmakers react Shortly after Lam's remarks, some Hong Kong lawmakers called on the government to continue investigating the disappearances of the five booksellers. Labor Party lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said that even if Lam had asked police to close the case, the event remains full of "mystery" that the Hong Kong government is responsible to investigate. Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said that Beijing government must give a full account of the event, or Hong Kong people would worry about their own safety. Ip Kwok-him, a pro-Beijing member of Hong Kong's legislative council, opposed calls for further investigation, claiming that Lam's return has brought the matter to rest. The fact that four of the five booksellers asked to have their missing person cases closed, he said, annuls grounds for a government-led probe. While the other booksellers could follow suit by retracting their requests for case closure, Liu Ruishao, a Hong Kong News commentator, told VOA he doubted it was likely. People close to Lam, he said, suggest that he was the last of the four to be released because he had no family members living on the mainland for authorities to hold hostage to leverage his compliance. Store closure The Causeway Bay Bookstore closed after the five disappeared, with all its books sent to a paper mill, including 2017 China Changes, by Liu Lu, a U.S.-based Chinese writer-in-exile. Liu said he cannot secure another contract on the manuscript, as Hong Kong publishers are now afraid of reprisals. "Sometimes the contents of these books may be no problem, but because of the publicity, publishers think it could be a problem, so they wont publish it," Liu Dawen, a Hong Kong-based publisher and president of "Sentinel" magazine, told VOA. Similarly, a new book by a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who wrote about his repeated jailings and torture by Chinese police, has been unable to publish his new book, "2017, Stand Up China: The Story of Tortured Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng, which was released in Taiwan last Saturday. Cambodias opposition leader has urged donor countries to reconsider their development assistance to Cambodia saying they should not do business as usual and continue to turn a blind eye to the growing political crisis facing the country. Ive asked the leadership of the United States and all friendly countries to reconsider their position, projects, and plans, Sam Rainsy told a group of Cambodian Americans in Washington, DC this week. Any decision relating to Cambodia made in the last six months should be reconsidered. It should be paused and suspended because the situation now is at a tipping point. They should not ignore it and do business as usual. Rainsy is currently on a visit to the United States where he met with U.S. officials including Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for human rights, democracy, and labor. He also met US lawmakers, including Senator John McCain and Congressman Ed Royce, chair of the Houses Foreign Affairs Committee, to brief them about the situation in Cambodia. In Cambodia, there is a serious crisis that we can even call an emergency because since the 1997 coup, the situation has not been as tough as nowadays, and the political heat is not as hot and burning as now, Rainsy said in a live Hello VOA broadcast this week. He urged the Cambodian government to release detained human rights defenders and opposition party officials and activists. There should not be more arrests, he added. Last week numerous protests were held around the world by Cambodian expatriate communities, who also called for the release of those they consider jailed for political reasons. They also called for the creation of a Cambodia contact group made up of foreign officials, to observe the upcoming elections in 2017 and 2018. Rainsy said the protesters proposal was a good initiative. Nowadays, Cambodia has slipped away from the democratic path, said Rainsy. Therefore, all the [Paris Peace Agreement] signatory countries must come out. They made promises and assurances, so now they have to fulfill their promise to bring Cambodia back to a democratic path. It was supposed to be a wake-up call. A sign of how far the U.S. had to go to heal its racial divide. A chance to reflect on the ugliness of the past and move forward together. That was the silver lining many hoped could result from the brutal murder of nine members of one of the nation's oldest African-American congregations, as they met for prayer and reflection in the Emanuel AME Church, in Charleston, South Carolina. Recalling the church massacre, which took place one year ago on Friday, many in Charleston wonder: Have race relations really gotten any better? "It sure does appear that things are getting worse," laments Dot Scott, head of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). For Scott, who knew all nine victims, the shooting is "as painful now as it was then." And it's even worse given the backdrop of this week's mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. "It refreshes your mind that these things are still happening. Whether it's in the church or a social gathering, it reminds us how vulnerable we are in any place we consider our sanctuary," she says. Display of unity In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, there were a few tangible signs of progress, even if they were symbolic. Photographs of the accused gunman, white supremacist Dylann Roof, posing next to the Confederate battle flag aroused a national controversy and a sharp debate over that flag as a symbol of racism and slavery. The uproar resulted in the Confederate flag's removal from the South Carolina state capitol grounds, and eventually from some other public areas across the south. During a eulogy for one of the victims last year, President Barack Obama was confident enough to declare Roof had failed in his stated goal of inciting a race war, and instead had generated an unprecedented show of unity. Maybe we now realize the way racial bias can infect us even when we dont realize it, Obama said, before leading the congregation in a moving rendition of the hymn Amazing Grace. It was one of the most emotional public displays of Obamas presidency, but any post-Charleston show of unity seems to have been short-lived. Divisive rhetoric Since the shooting last June, much of the American news cycle has been dominated by controversies surrounding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has regularly employed racially tinged language. As he steamrolled his way toward the nomination, Trump denigrated Mexican immigrants, threatened collective punishment against Muslim-Americans, mocked people with disabilities, and even hesitated when asked to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. More recently, Trump suggested that a U.S.-born judge of Mexican descent was unable to do his job, because he was Mexican. He also used the example of the Orlando gunman, who was born in New York, to justify his unprecedented proposal to ban Muslim immigrants. But while voices of intolerance may have been emboldened since Charleston, its all a matter of perspective, says Alana Simmons, whose grandfather, the Reverend Daniel Lee Simmons Sr., was killed in the attack. Sure, weve seen an increase in people being divisive, but weve also seen an increase in people calling for unity, she says. Its just that the people who call for unity arent getting the headlines. Simmons, who has founded the organization Hate Wont Win, says focusing on the positive is the only way shes gotten through. I cant go out and preach love when I have hate all on my mind and in my heart, she says. We want to send a clear message to Dylann Roof and the people who think like him: Good men will not stand by and let evil prevail. No matter what they do, they wont divide our communities, Simmons says. Simmons isnt the only one in Charleston who remains optimistic. Kylon Middleton, pastor of Mount Zion AME Church, says the American public has taken a step in the right direction over the past year, at least in terms of recognizing that there is still a racial divide. I grew up here in Charleston, says Middleton, the childhood friend of the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of those slain in the massacre. [The racial divide] was never acknowledged. Persons who would raise the banner of racial inequality were seen as angry black people. At least that has now changed, according to Middleton. Im definitely optimistic, he says. I dont think itll happen in my lifetime, but Im always optimistic. Commemorations Charleston has planned a weekend of events to commemorate the anniversary of the church shooting, including several events to celebrate the victims and honor the survivors. But not everyone in Charleston can bring themselves to participate fully. For Scott, theres no reason for celebration and memorializing in my heart. Instead its a time of introspection, she says. Its a really sad time to be reminded that not much has changed." If we ever hear from aliens, it likely wont be for at least another 1,500 years, a new study suggests. Researchers at Cornell University say they arrived at that number by combining the Fermi Paradox with the Mediocrity Principle, which they described at the June 16 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego. The Fermi Paradox states that while there are likely billions of Earth-like planets in our galaxy, no extraterrestrial has yet to contact us. The Mediocrity Principle, which was coined in the 16th century by Copernicus, states that Earth's physical attributes are not unique, therefore it may be some time before any alien life forms are able to contact us. We havent heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place but that doesnt mean no one is out there, said Cornell student Evan Solomonides, a co-author of the paper. Its possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now. Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone even if we are not; but, if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking. Television and radio signals from Earth have only been traveling for about 80 years, the researchers said, adding that those transmissions have only reached about 8,531 stars and 3,555 potential Earth-like planets. The Milky Way galaxy has around 200 billion stars. Furthermore, if an alien civilization were to receive the transmissions, researchers said it would likely take it a long time to decipher them. Even our mundane, typical spiral galaxy not exceptionally large compared to other galaxies is vast beyond imagination, said Solomonides. Those numbers are what make the Fermi Paradox so counterintuitive. We have reached so many stars and planets, surely we should have reached somebody by now, and in turn been reached this demonstrates why we appear to be alone. In their paper, the researchers say that in about 1,500 years, approximately half of the galaxy could have received Earths transmissions. This is not to say that we must be reached by then or else we are, in fact, alone. We simply claim that it is somewhat unlikely that we will not hear anything before that time, Solomonides said. We are on the third planet around a tediously boring star surrounded by other completely normal stars about two-thirds of the way along one of several arms of a remarkably average spiral galaxy. The mediocrity principle is the idea that because we are not in any special location in the universe, we should not be anything special in the universe. Authorities in the Indonesian province of Aceh are preparing to tow a boat with more than 40 Tamil men, women and children out to sea Friday after rescuing it last weekend. It would be the second time in the past week that officials have attempted to remove the vessel from Indonesian waters after it suffered engine trouble and was discovered stranded on Saturday. The migrants have been at sea for about a month and were trying to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island. The province is refusing to let the migrants, which include nine children and a pregnant woman, land despite Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla asking them to provide shelter. On Thursday, six women tried to leave the boat as it sat in shallow waters but police fired warning shots. We did not allow them to land because Indonesia is not their destination and they are fit, said Frans Delian, a spokesman for the Aceh government. We advised them to not continue their journey to Australia but back to their country. Immigration officials said the people were from Sri Lanka. Amnesty International said in a statement that the group left from India in an Indian-flagged boat and may have fled Sri Lanka, where members of the Tamil minority have suffered persecution. Delian said their situation is different from stateless Muslim Rohingya boat people who were helped by Indonesian authorities last year after fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Southeast Asian nations including predominantly Muslim Indonesia were reluctant to help until facing international pressure over the plight of Rohingya adrift at sea with minimal supplies of food or water. Rights groups urged the Indonesia government to let the migrants disembark. Indonesia won praise when it helped Rohingya refugees in Aceh, said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. It is a shame that the Indonesian and Aceh local government refuse to assist these Tamil boat people. The International Organization for Migration has had a team at the site since last weekend including a translator and medical personnel and is prepared to provide temporary accommodation. However they have been denied access to the migrants. Aceh police chief Maj. Gen. Husein Hamidi said the Tamil migrants have been given food, water and fuel. They could be towed out to sea at high tide later Friday, he said. The boat was beached and heavy machinery was used to try and refloat it while all the migrants were still on board. The vessel was first towed back into international waters on Sunday after repairs were made to its engine. It returned on Monday and the migrants asked for additional fuel, according to Indonesian authorities. In a crackdown bearing the Philippine president-elect's name, police have rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Rodrigo Duterte's strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. During a surprise sweep witnessed by The Associated Press last week, a girl who appeared to be about 10 years old was dragged to a police van for curfew violation. She protested that she had been outside only to take out the garbage. A boy about the same age cried, I do not want to go! A slightly older-looking boy, looking terrified, dropped the box of a rice and beef meal he'd just bought when police apprehended him. A bewildered mother sleeping on a sidewalk with her toddler wailed when a social worker took her son, and she was dragged to a police vehicle. Where is my child? I will go crazy here! she shouted, pleading with police to please have mercy on me. The woman wore a rubber bracelet bearing Duterte's name. She relaxed when a social worker brought her son to the same vehicle. The crackdown is dubbed Oplan Rody. Oplan is an acronym for Rid the Streets of Drinkers and Youth. Rody is the nickname of Duterte, who becomes president June 30. In the weeks since the tough-talking mayor of southern Davao city won the presidential election, energized police and local officials have dusted off little-enforced city ordinances like night-to-dawn curfews for minors, a ban on drinking alcohol in the streets and shirtless men in public places. Rolando Roxas, father of a 14-year-old boy apprehended while buying noodles, said it's probably a good lesson for the children not to roam the streets at night. But Jocelyn Chavez is angry. She is a small-time vendor who works at night to support her five children, and she had to forego her day's earnings to get her daughter, who she said was picked up while taking out the garbage. If I don't work we will all have nothing to eat, she said. Apprehended minors are turned over to social workers and most are released to their parents with warnings. Adults caught drinking alcohol outdoors are warned the first time and can be fined, detained or both the next, said Police Chief Inspector Bernabe Irinco Jr., who led the Manila operations. We are doing this so our young people can be free of crimes, Irinco said. Tough talk on crime helped Duterte win the May 9 election by a wide margin and has resonated with the poor, whose neighborhoods suffer the most from drugs and related crimes. Human-rights watchdogs fear his promise to replicate crime-fighting measures he used in Davao may lead to widespread rights violations. Duterte has repeatedly vowed to kill drug criminals, but denies allegations he was involved in in killings of alleged criminals in his city by motorcycle-riding assassins known as the Davao death squads. At his victory party in Davao, he encouraged citizens to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest and fight back in their neighborhoods. He offered bounties to the police and military for the capture of drug lords dead or alive. My payment for a drug lord, if killed, is 5 million (pesos, or $109,000). If alive, it's only 4.999 million, he told supporters during his victory party. Several killings since Duterte's election have borne marks of vigilante justice. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on five of them in three central provinces earlier this month. A piece of cardboard beside one body stated that the dead man was a thief and a drug addict. Last month, at least five suspected criminals were reportedly killed by gunmen in Davao, and other bodies have turned up elsewhere in the country. Other local officials are applying their own brand of justice. One mayor in a town south of Manila parades suspected drug pushers around town to shame them. Another in the central Philippines has offered police 50,000 pesos ($1,000) for every criminal killed. Duterte's pick to head the national police, former Davao police chief Ronald dela Rosa, supports nationwide implementation of the Manila program if a law provides for it. He also lauds the other mayors' campaigns because at least they are doing something, unlike other local chief executives who play blind and deaf to the problem of drugs in society, some even contributing to the drug problem. At an earlier news conference, he described how he expects police to confront drug criminals: If they put up a fight, we will kill them. If they don't put up a fight, we will fight with them. If they do not fight back, they will live. Asked during a television interview about due process to be accorded to a drug criminal, Dela Rosa said with a smile: he will be given the right to remain silent ... forever. Loretta Ann Rosales, former head of the Commission on Human Rights, said Duterte's loose talk threatens the rule of law and brings out the beast in law enforcers and officials. I don't think we should keep silent on summary killings that go on in the process of this so-called anti-crime drive, she said. That to me has to be addressed very strongly and people should not take it complacently. Australia's prime minister says he regrets inviting a Muslim cleric to an Iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast at sunset. Malcolm Turnbull said he was made aware of Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman's controversial remarks about homosexuals during the dinner Thursday at the Australian leader's official residence, Kirribilli House. Alsuleiman, president of the Australian National Imams Council, said in a video uploaded to YouTube in 2013 that homosexual actions bring "evil outcomes to our society." "Had I known that the sheikh had made those remarks, he would not have been invited to the Iftar," Turnbull said. An Australian newspaper contacted the prime minister's office about the remarks. In the U.S., a Muslim gunman launched an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early last Sunday, killing 49 people. "Healer-in-chief" is not a distinction any president would likely have ever sought. President Barack Obama's hastily arranged trip to Orlando, Florida, after the massacre at the Pulse nightclub marked the 10th time he has traveled to the site of a mass shooting to comfort bereaved families. On Thursday, the president again found himself in the role of a consoling father, speaking to those affected by the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, which left 49 people dead and 53 injured. Family members who have been consoled by this president in the past say they remember his "real hugs" more than anything else. He referenced those hugs Thursday in his remarks at a makeshift memorial in downtown Orlando: "Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?' And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage. They don't care about the politics. Neither do I." 'Symbol of the country' Ahead of Thursday's trip, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president sees these condolence trips as a solemn responsibility: "The president understands that he is a symbol of the country, and when he travels to a community and meets with a family that has endured a terrible tragedy, he's offering a message of condolence and comfort on behalf of the American people." These one-on-one meetings do take a personal toll on Obama. "It would be impossible for him to not be personally affected by these kinds of conversations and these kinds of interactions," Earnest said, adding that the president draws on his religious faith for strength during these occasions. Obama has said that meeting with the parents who lost their young children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 was the "hardest day of his presidency." He has traveled to Tuscon, Arizona, and Aurora, Colorado, to comfort families, and to other cities after other shootings. Exactly one year ago Friday, a white gunman shot and killed nine African-American church members at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, during a Bible study meeting. Obama went to that church to comfort family, friends and loved ones, singing the hymn Amazing Grace from the pulpit. Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston in Texas, told VOA that during times like these, the president tries to help Americans come to terms with senseless violence. "When these kinds of events occur," Rottinghaus said in an interview, "the public really does look to the president as a true national healer, and somebody who can make sense of the situation, but who can also lend a shoulder to be able to understand what this means in the grand scheme of things." National unifier Rottinghaus said the framers of the U.S. Constitution intended the president to be a national unifier a difficult role in an election year like this, when the country is deeply divided. Obama seems to have grown into this role during his time in office, the professor said. "I think that President Obama came into office as somebody who people thought was a little bit aloof and a little bit too cerebral," Rottinghaus said. "This is an opportunity for him to show that he is a much more emotive president in the mindset and in the mold of Bill Clinton, or other presidents who had ... bigger personalities." This president has done a good job of being emotionally available to victims' families, Rottinghaus said, but the emotional toll involved is such that the role of "national healer" is one that that the president may not mind relinquishing when his term ends and he leaves the White House in January. After Sundays mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, Donald Trump expanded on his controversial proposal to ban Muslim immigration. "The immigration laws of the United States give the president powers to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons," the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said at a speech this week in the swing state of New Hampshire. Trump promised that, if elected, he would "suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats." How does the United States determine who should be allowed entry? And what authority does a U.S. president have to bar the gates? First off, the federal government tries to keep out anyone who poses a potential threat to the nations security and stability. Foreign nationals seeking legal entry to the United States face layers of screening to get a visa or green card. The AllLaw website lists a dozen major grounds for denying admission, ranging from communicable disease to criminal convictions to likely welfare dependency to terrorism. Presidential authority The U.S. president has broad authority to bar individuals or groups, based on the United States Code and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The code says the president, by issuing a proclamation, can restrict or suspend "the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens [who] would be detrimental to the interests of the United States." Once entered into the Federal Registry, the proclamation gets added to the list of grounds for visa ineligibility, which State Department personnel consult in making determinations. Current proclamations The current list of 16 presidential proclamations on immigration are specific banning individuals or groups of bad actors for, say, interfering with the return of constitutional rule in Haiti or belonging to Sierra Leones military junta. None of these proclamations blocks U.S. entry based on religion. And none reaches the scale of what Trump is suggesting. Trump initially called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" following the December terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. The Los Angeles Times this week quoted a former Department of Homeland Security official as saying that Trump likely expanded his scope to deflect criticism that hed targeted a single faith. Questions arise The Times said Trumps proposed ban probably would be legal. But "barring entire religions and nationalities would almost certainly invite a court challenge and Supreme Court justices could raise questions about the use of such sweeping power, particularly by religious test." The CNN news organization estimated Trumps proposed broader ban ultimately would encompass 40 countries and millions of non-immigrants holding U.S. visas. The news organization based its findings on the annual State Department global terrorism reports released earlier this month. One of the 12 countries identified as "terrorist safe havens" is Afghanistan, from which American-born gunman Omar Mateens parents emigrated. Among more recent bans: 1954 Operation Wetback. The government effort, with its outdated epithet, targeted illegal Mexican farmworkers for deportation. It led to the removal of nearly 300,000 Latinos, according to the Times, with most raids taking place in communities near the U.S.-Mexican border. 1980 Iranians. A proclamation by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, banned Iranians from entering the United States after militants took Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. 1987 HIV/AIDS. As the AIDS epidemic was peaking, the United States imposed a medical ban on individuals diagnosed with the communicable disease. It was lifted in 2009. Brazil's tourism minister resigned Thursday, less than two months before the country hosts the Olympics, as the government of interim President Michel Temer lost its third minister in a month to a sweeping graft probe of state oil company Petrobras. Tourism Minister Henrique Alves was one of two dozen officials named in plea bargain testimony by a former Petrobras executive linking Temer and several of his closest allies to Brazil's biggest corruption scandal ever. While Temer dismissed the accusations as frivolous lies, the latest ministerial resignation underscored the risks that come with the sweeping Petrobras probe, which has thrown Brazil's politics into chaos and deepened its worst recession in decades. Sergio Machado, a former senator from Temer's party who ran the shipping arm of oil giant Petrobras for over a decade, was the latest in a string of politicians and executives who, when snagged by investigators, have flipped on friends and allies. He told prosecutors that Alves, who served four decades as a congressman, had solicited 1.55 million reais ($450,000) in campaign funds from the scheme. Machado said the contributions were made legally but resulted from kickbacks owed by engineering companies that received Petrobras contracts. Alves denied the accusation and said late Wednesday on Twitter that contributions to his campaigns had been made through official channels and declared to election authorities. Tourism ministry in chaos His resignation added to recent upheaval at the tourism ministry, where a global marketing campaign for the Olympics was held up for months because of a revolving door of ministers and secretaries caused by Brazil's political crisis. "I don't want to create embarassments or any difficulties for the government," he said in a letter to Temer provided to journalists Thursday, explaining that he had resigned to focus on defending himself from the accusations. Temer also dismissed the graft allegations as dishonest and reckless, pledging in a national address Thursday morning that his government would not be distracted from fiscal reforms aimed at reviving the economy. Temer said it was "irresponsible, ridiculous, mendacious and criminal" to suggest, as Machado did, that he had sought campaign funds for his party from the graft scheme, the first direct link implicating Temer in the scandal. "We will not tolerate affirmations of that nature," Temer said in a hastily scheduled public address. "A foolish suggestion like that can confound the government's work. But I want to affirm that nothing will hinder our desire, mission and aim of doing what the president must do right now." Fiscal reform plan The plea bargain testimony, implicating Temer and senior members of his ruling coalition, stole the thunder from a landmark fiscal reform revealed the same day. Thursday's newspapers splashed the bribery allegations across their front pages, pushing the government's proposed 20-year constitutional cap on public spending far below the fold. Machado's plea deal included allegations that Temer had sought campaign funds for his party's 2012 Sao Paulo mayoral candidate from the graft scheme at Petrobras, the biggest ever uncovered in Brazil. The accusations provide more fodder for suspended President Dilma Rousseff and her allies, who accuse Temer and his party of mounting the impeachment process against her in order to distract from their own roles in the corruption scandal. Rousseff faces a trial in the Senate on unrelated charges of breaking budget rules. As many as a dozen of the 55 senators who voted last month to put Rousseff on trial are now undecided, according to surveys by Brazilian media. If just a couple of them change sides, the Temer camp would fall short of the 54 votes equivalent to two-thirds of the 81-seat Senate needed to convict Rousseff. If she is convicted in mid-August, as many analysts still expect, Rousseff will be permanently removed from office and Temer would serve out her mandate until the 2018 elections. British politicians reached across party lines Friday to pay tribute to Jo Cox, a junior member of Parliament murdered Thursday after meeting with constituents. Cox was known for her strong pro-immigrant views, her drive to help refugees, and her campaigning to keep Britain inside the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, joined Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn Friday to lay flowers in Coxs home district in Yorkshire. Cameron said Britain is rightly shocked at the killing and praised her values of service, community, and tolerance. He said Parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners. Corbyn called Coxs murder an act of hatred, and an attack on democracy. Outside the Houses of Parliament in London, lawmakers of both parties joined mourners on Friday, leaving flowers and notes at a makeshift shrine on the grass on Parliament Square. Some mourners said they had never heard of Cox, an up-and-coming Labour politician, before she was shot and stabbed to death and were drawn by tributes that described her as a compassionate, well-meaning, and caring individual. That characterization struck a chord among British citizens who paid tribute on Friday and said they are weary after months of angry rhetoric and accusations of scaremongering surrounding the Brexit decision a referendum next Thursday on Britain leaving the European Union. British authorities have yet to say whether there was a political motive behind the killing of Cox, who had campaigned against Brexit. Regardless, because of the timing and the sensitivity and passion of the Brexit debate, her murder is inevitably linked to and may shape next week's vote. The murder of the 41-year-old mother of two stunned Britain, but also quickly brought a show of solidarity and possibly a re-think of a campaign that has been especially bitter and divisive. Mary White, a passerby who paused at the memorial in Westminster Friday, said she hoped the tragedy will bring politicians to step back and think about their actions ahead of the Brexit vote. There has been a lot of bad feeling because of the way both the Leave campaign, the Brexiters, and the Remain campaign have acted, she told VOA. She said the Brexit debate has brought previously hidden feelings of anger over immigration to the surface. Because of the stir over immigration, this is why this has happened. But officials warned against any speculation on the motive behind the killing and did not confirm media reports quoting witnesses as saying the assailant yelled Britain First! during the attack Thursday. British media quoted unofficial sources as saying the lone suspect, identified as Thomas Mair, 52, had links to far-right groups and had a history of psychiatric problems. British police continued to question the lone suspect Friday. Details of the motive behind the attack were not expected to be revealed until the case goes to court. Brexit campaigning remained suspended Friday. Officials said it could resume in the coming days. Some political analysts predict the tone could be considerably more civil and restrained in the wake of a tragedy that has shaken but also united Britons across party lines. Charleston writer Toby Smith tells VOA that marking the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a little tougher than I thought it would be. Smith has attended the church many times and has friends who are members there. She even has one close friend who intended to go to the Bible study there on June 17, 2015, but decided not to at the last minute because she was tired. At that Bible study, the 12 African-American members present warmly welcomed a young white guest, Dylann Roof, who joined them for an hour and then opened fire on them during prayer, killing nine of the 12. Roof is a self-proclaimed white supremacist who says he killed the "Mother Emanuel" members because of their skin color. Toby Smith says she still ponders how Roof, then 21, could have shot the worshippers after having just spent an hour talking and praying with them. She says for most Charleston residents, Friday is simply an anniversary. But the victims families, she says have to walk this thing for the rest of their lives. Smith says Roof is now at a detention facility awaiting trial, just five kilometers away from her. She says it is sobering that he is so young, and she sometimes wonders whether he has any idea of the consequences of his actions and all that has happened over the past year. Observances Emanuel AME held several services and events Friday in memory of the nine victims, including an ecumenical service at the TD Arena in downtown Charleston. Several speakers at the service mentioned last Sundays massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub, with some calling for a ban on assault weapons. Melissa Rogers, special assistant to President Barack Obama, delivered a message from the president and the first lady: We are deeply moved by your boundless love and unshakable resilience. We look to Mother Emanuel for inspiration in the wake of the terrible tragedy in Orlando. Smith says she was one of the 5,000 people in the arena at the funeral for the nine parishioners last June, where Obama delivered a eulogy and broke into song, singing the beloved hymn Amazing Grace. Smith says the song capped a magical moment, but some powerful words the president spoke on race relations made an even greater impression. She says she still remembers Obama asking Americans not to dismiss one another because of appearance or an ethnic-sounding name. Smith says she is teaching her two nieces, ages 4 and 7, about what happened at Mother Emanuel last June. She says she is teaching them to always treat others with respect and kindness, and that it is not about race. China's plan to build military ties with Indonesia is not likely to bring any rapid changes to the two country's relationship, regional experts say. Over the long run, they say, Beijing may be seeking to build support for its claims over much of the South China Sea. Chinese state news media have recently quoted China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, as saying that he hopes China and Indonesia will "deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation" on bilateral and multilateral issues. But the move comes as tensions with neighboring nations over the disputed South China Sea continue to rise. Carl Thayer, a professor emeritus at Australias National Defense Academy, says there have been two aspects of low-level cooperation between the two nations. "There have been arm sales by China to Indonesia, radars and anti-ship missiles, and exchanges by ship forces annually, and exercises, mainly anti-terrorism drills, " Thayer said, "but involving not only the army but Indonesian special forces, and defense ministers have exchanged visits from time to time. The more recent focus from 2014 has been the cooperation of defense industries. The pledges of cooperation also may be an attempt to step down rising frustration in Jakarta over Chinese fishing trawlers sailing into Indonesian waters. The most recent incident was in March, when Indonesia attempted to detain a Chinese ship it said was fishing illegally near its coast. Neutral role While tensions have risen between Indonesia and China, Jakarta has so far played a neutral role in disputes between China and other countries over the South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire waterway, which is rich in natural resources and valuable fishing grounds. Indonesia has also pushed for implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, cautions that any deepening military ties between China and Indonesia will be largely symbolic, and dwarfed by both countries significant defense ties with other nations. All of the major ASEAN countries have made similar commitments, to strengthen their ties to China. It doesnt always lead to concrete outcomes. Thailand has a very close defense relationship with China; Indonesia does not, Storey said. Indonesia already has strong military ties with the United States, and this week Indonesian media reported that talks have progressed with Russia for the purchase of advanced Russian defense equipment and the joint production of ammunition and arms. Currently Indonesia has just over 60 coastal patrol boats and two submarines. Economic clout Rahul Bajoria, an Indonesia economist with Barclays in Singapore, said despite rising tensions and a military build up in the region, China's economic clout will remain the most important factor in China Indonesia ties. "There's been a general consensus with the ASEAN countries to focus more on economics when it comes to China, and I think, that is exactly what the Indonesians are doing as well," he said. Cheng Xiaohe, a professor of international relations at China's Renmin University, says its in China's interest to build stronger military and economic ties with Indonesia. I think its very natural for China to increase its relationship with Indonesia. In the past years the two ties between the two countries have been the weakest link, so given the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, if China can make ventures to increase ties it will send strong signals to Indonesia as well as the other states in the region, Cheng said. Last year China and Indonesia signed agreements for Chinese-built infrastructure projects, and Indonesia's president called on the two sides to raise bilateral trade to $150 billion by 2020. President Barack Obama approved last week new authorizations for U.S. forces in Afghanistan that loosen restrictions on airstrikes and give U.S. forces more flexibility in how they partner with Afghan troops. As NATO announced that it would keep bases in Afghanistan, the United States' role is still unclear - President Obama has not indicated whether this recent decision will change his plan to reduce the number of U.S. troops from the current 9,800 to around 5,500 by the end of the year. The president vowed to bring an end to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when he took office, but nearly eight years later violence, conflict and instability have spread to other countries, such as Syria and Libya. His promises to bring the war to an end have been praised in the United States, and congressional leaders who propose military cutbacks often receive standing ovations. "But those of us who work in intelligence or even at the defense space, we know that it is important to have some kind of U.S. presence there to keep the region safe and push back on terroristic activity," Congressman Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, told VOA. "Now the question becomes how much we are willing to invest to ensure that does not happen." Carson, one of two Muslims serving in Congress, serves on the house intelligence committee. He said the United States is conflicted about its role in Afghanistan, not only because of disagreements between lawmakers at home, but also because of how our actions are perceived abroad. "On one hand we are demonized and on the other end we are criticized for not having a role," he said. "So, which is it? Our international partners who benefit from our security protection globally everyday must be a part of making Afghanistan a safer place because it is a hot bed for terrorism as we speak." As terrorist attacks claimed by Islamic State increase at an alarming rate around the globe, hitting Paris and Brussels, as well as inspiring attacks like the shooting in Orlando, Florida earlier this week, the West is tasked with targeting terror groups at the source. But Carson warns that the United States cannot be expected to fight this battle alone. "Going forward we cant pay the tab alone," he said. "We need our international partners from the gulf region, we need our international European partners to be a part of this, because I think at the end of the day we all want a safer global community." Afghanistan is currently battling a resurgent Taliban, gains by the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network and efforts by Islamic State to move in. The medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF) announced Friday it will no longer accept funds from the European Union and its member states. In a statement on its website, MSF said the move comes in opposition to an EU deal with Turkey that strictly limits the number of refugees admitted to Europe. The EU-Turkey deal is placing the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger," said MSF international secretary general Jerome Oberreit. "Deterrence policies sold to the public as humanitarian solutions have only exacerbated the suffering of people in need," he said. "There is nothing remotely humanitarian about these policies, which cannot become the norm and must be challenged. MSF is calling on European governments to shift priorities by maximizing the number of people they welcome and protect, rather than maximizing the number of people they push back. MSFs funding from EU totaled about $52 million in 2015, about eight percent of the organization's total budget. Ninety-two percent of its funding is obtained from private donations. Under the EU-Turkey agreement that was effective on March 20, migrants traveling from Turkey to Greece will be sent back unless they apply and are considered qualified for asylum in Greece. For every Syrian migrant Turkey takes back, the EU has offered to directly resettle a Syrian refugee in Turkey. Europe has offered up to $7 billion in funds for Syrian refugees in Turkey, visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and fast-track EU membership talks. Other non-governmental organizations and even United Nations agencies have expressed concern about the legal and moral implications of the deal. An Indian court has handed down life terms to 11 Hindus convicted of murder in one of the massacres during deadly riots that swept Indias Gujarat state 16 years ago when Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed the state administration. Twelve others, found guilty of lesser crimes, were sentenced by the special court to seven years in jail, while one man was given a 10-year prison term. Fridays sentencing involved one of the worst episodes of violence in which a Hindu mob stormed a housing complex, Gulbarg Society, in Ahmedabad city where many Muslims had taken shelter. Sixty-nine people, including women and children, died. Some succumbed to burns, others were hacked with machetes. Handing down the sentences, the judge called it the darkest day in the history of civil society. The riots raged sporadically for nearly two months, killing more than 1,000 Muslims in the western Gujarat state. The violence was triggered by the death of 60 Hindu pilgrims in a train blaze that was initially blamed on Muslims, but later found to be the result of an accident. One of those who died in Gulbarg Society was a member of parliament from the opposition Congress party, Ehsan Jafri. His widow, Zakia Jafri, says he repeatedly tried to call the police, but by the time they came, homes had been set on fire any many killed. Tougher sentences After the court handed down the sentences, a disappointed Zakia Jafri said the convicts got off too lightly. I am not at all satisfied with this. This is not justice, she said. Prosecutors had sought death for the convicted, but defense lawyers argued they were not hardened criminals or terrorists and the mob violence did not involve the rarest of rare cases for which the death penalty is reserved. Teesta Setalvad, a human rights activist who has spearheaded a campaign to prosecute officials in Gujarat for their alleged involvement in the riots, said they will appeal to a higher court. They were part of a willfully armed mob that was on the attack from 9 a.m. right up to to 5 p.m. There is no reason for such leniency, she said. Pending cases Two more cases involving the riots are still pending in courts. One of them seeks to establish that the riots were the result of a high-level conspiracy involving Modi. In the case involving Friday's sentencing, however, the judge has rejected charges of conspiracy and called the housing society massacre an incident of mob violence. Critics and opposition parties have long accused Modi, who was chief minister of Gujarat during the riots, of not doing enough to stop the religious violence. But in 2013, a Supreme Court panel concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute him. For nearly a decade, the United States and some Western countries banned his entry to their countries on charges of human rights violations in his state. While Modi successfully put behind all such allegations and swept the 2014 national elections, critics say erasing the memory of the riots in his home state will not be easy. European Union states reached preliminary agreement on Friday on new rules to counter corporations' tax avoidance, but it watered down some proposals after lobbying by smaller countries, such as Belgium and Austria. Ministers were under pressure to approve new rules proposed by the European Commission in January, after revelations in the so-called Panama Papers and Luxleaks cases . After months of wrangling, EU finance ministers in a regular meeting in Luxembourg backed an amended version of the Commission proposals, excluding some controversial measures and delaying others. The deal is suspended until Monday. If no country raises objections by then, the agreement will take effect. The Belgian and Czech finance ministers asked for the extra time to sort out pending technical issues. "I am confident that what we have is still a good step forward in the fight against tax avoidance," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chair of the talks and Dutch Finance Minister, told a news conference after the meeting. Corporate tax practices cost EU states an estimated 70 billion euros ($76.10 billion) a year in lost revenues, according to an EU Parliament report. But the plan to curtail them is less ambitious than what was originally planned. A proposal known as switch-over clause was dropped because some finance ministers said it could cause double taxation of European corporations, making them less competitive. The clause would have taxed dividends and capital gains that European companies pay to companies they control in low-tax or tax-free countries, which are then returned to the parent company. In theory, the money was liable to tax by the tax haven country even though little or no tax was imposed so on its return it is not subject to tax, to avoid duplicate taxation. The European Parliament, which in tax matters has only a consulting role, had urged states to tighten the original switch-over clause. Measures to reduce multinationals' artificial shift of profits to subsidiaries in tax havens were also changed, granting states leeway on how to apply the new rules. The original proposal said that states should automatically tax profits shifted to countries with tax rates 40 percent below theirs. The ministers eliminated the rate threshold, although officials said the substance of the proposal remained unchanged. Ministers were also stuck on when to apply proposed rules to reduce tax deductions of interest payments. Some companies use those deductions to cut their taxes by arranging artificial loans from subsidiaries in low-tax countries. Belgium, Austria, Malta, Slovenia and Lithuania asked for the new rules on limitation of interest deductions to be delayed. They want them to become effective only after an agreement is reached at international level by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After pressure from the EU commissioner for tax affairs Pierre Moscovici, countries eventually agreed to put the interest limitation rules in place from 2024, instead of the original 2019 deadline. Belgium is assessing whether it can accept this compromise by Monday. The Czech Republic is seeking the EU Commission's authorization on a pilot project to counter fraud on value added tax, and it has linked its approval of the tax avoidance package to that. Guatemala's former president and vice president were formally charged Thursday in a sprawling corruption scheme that allegedly emptied government coffers and laundered money to be spent on Miami shopping sprees, real estate and luxury vehicles. Seventy people, including former President Otto Perez Molina and his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, are accused in the arrangement involving illegal financing, embezzlement and money laundering, said Prosecutor Julio Barrios Prado. "That money was used to buy goods and services for you and Baldetti including real estate and luxury vehicles, as well as $4.3 million in gifts,'' Barrios said to Perez Molina during the hearing. Barrios said Perez Molina, who won the presidency in 2012, received millions of dollars in illegal financing through shell companies that made it appear legitimate. Money was shared with Baldetti and her private secretary Juan Carlos Monzon, who is now a cooperating witness for the government. Baldetti also allegedly received $38 million in kickbacks between 2009 and 2015 for at least 70 public works contracts. Prosecutors allege she bought clothes, jewels, paid employees and traveled on the ill-gotten funds. In one trip to Miami, she allegedly spent more than $27,000 on shoes and clothing, including the brands Jimmy Choo, Hermes and Alexander McQueen. Perez Molina and Baldetti are already jailed pending trial for another scheme in which companies paid bribes to avoid customs duties. That case led to their resignations. They have both denied the accusations against them. Following Thursday's hearing, Perez Molina said the new charges were "false'' and that he would explain it all to the judge. In reference to the accusation that they received kickbacks from public contracts, he said "I was handling daily activities; I didn't have time to follow every process.'' International charity Orbis is helping the visually impaired through a flying hospital staffed by volunteer doctors and medical workers. It recently unveiled a new version of its airborne clinic, which will take the latest medical technology around the world. The world's only flying eye hospital was upgraded in a newly outfitted MD-10 aircraft, unveiled in early June in Los Angeles. It's the third version of the aircraft for use by volunteer doctors such as pediatric ophthalmologist Dan Neely of the Indiana University School of Medicine. He says this plane has state-of-the-art technology, but partner facilities on the ground sometimes do not. He has been a medical volunteer in Jamaica, Southeast Asia and Africa. "You can be in Zambia and the power goes out in the middle of the surgery," he said. "You can be there needing to scrub your hands for the surgery and you have to use a bucket of water because the water's gone out." Orbis partners with local clinics as it takes its programs to Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Latin America, says Dr. Jonathan Lord, the charity's global medical director. "You've then got Asia, where we work in China, we work in Vietnam," he explained. "We have projects running in India, in Bangladesh. We work in Indonesia, so we take the plane wherever our gap analysis, wherever the needs analysis says we can be of help." More than 285 million people in the world are visually impaired, most in low income countries, according to the World Health Organization. It says 80 percent of visual impairment issues can be prevented or cured. Orbis says 19 million children are among the blind and visually impaired and with early intervention and comprehensive treatment, half of those children could have their sight restored. Among those anxious to help are volunteer pilots. Captain Gary Dyson usually flies cargo planes for FedEx, but takes time off to fly for Orbis. "When you see a child who can't see on Monday and they can see on Wednesday, you're hooked," he said. "You want to see it again and again." The change in a patient's life after surgery can be dramatic, says Rosalind Stevens, a volunteer doctor from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She says, "When we remove the patch the next day, frequently the patient breaks into a big smile." Orbis provides advanced medical training for doctors and nurses in the countries where it lands, in a 46-seat onboard classroom that is linked electronically to the plane's operating room, said Orbis CEO Bob Ranck, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general. "We teach others to save and restore vision," he said. "And we teach health care systems to make it a priority so the prevalence of blindness in their country will come down." From 2009-2015, Orbis conducted nearly 20,000 doctor trainings and more than 150,000 training sessions for nurses and medical technicians, in addition to advocacy work with local officials. It performed more than 18 million screenings on board its plane or at partner facilities. The newest version of the flying hospital, donated by FedEx, will make preliminary flights to several U.S. cities, then conduct a medical program in Shenyang, China, in September. A top official with the U.N. Children's Fund says there could be 5,000 child soldiers in Somalia as al-Shabab continues its recruiting campaigns. In an interview with VOA Somali, Susannah Price, UNICEF chief of communication, said the recruitment and use of young children as soldiers was documented, and at surprisingly high numbers. "This is a very, very disturbing situation, Price said. Indeed, there could be up to 5,000 child soldiers. We know that al-Shabab has a recruiting campaign for children sometimes involving persuasion. They may be giving money or food sometimes. The children in the [displaced persons] camps are an easy target." In the past, an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 children sometimes as young as 9 were enlisted in the Somali armed forces, according to UNICEF. This came as the African continent on Thursday commemorated the Day of the African Child under the theme "Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting All Children's Rights." Somalia signed the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), making Somalia the 195th state to ratify the convention. The ratification means that Somali children now have legally binding rights with the CRC, providing the framework for the government to promote and protect those rights. Price called on Somali leaders to prioritize the protection of children's rights and the creation of a safer environment for Somali children. "It is very important to focus on peace building and to call on all leaders to look at the children, to protect the rights of children and allow them to get the rights every other child in the world is entitled to," she said. The Day of the African Child focuses the spotlight on childrens rights in an effort to remind the continent's governments that the issue needs continued attention. Once again, there is no winner this year of a $5 million award for African leadership. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced Thursday that no former African leader had met the "very high bar'' for one of the world's richest prizes. The Ibrahim Prize has been awarded just four times in the decade since it was established. Candidates are African heads of state or government who have left office in the past three years, been democratically elected and served their constitutionally mandated terms. They must also show "exceptional leadership.'' The award honors role models on a continent where many leaders have stayed in power for decades. "If there is no worthy candidate, the committee chooses not to award,'' the foundation's head of communications, Sophie Masipa, said in a statement. Previous prize winners were Presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia in 2014, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde in 2011, Festus Mogae of Botswana in 2008 and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique in 2007. Nelson Mandela was named the inaugural honorary laureate in 2007. The founder of the prize is Mo Ibrahim, a British mobile phone magnate born in Sudan. His foundation also issues an annual index of the quality of governance in every country in Africa. Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia top the current index with the highest average scores on safety and rule of law, human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. Human rights experts have spoken out against a recent sweep of arrests in Bangladesh. Bangladesh officials say they have arrested more than 11,000 people in a sudden and drastic response to the wave of brutal killings by suspected Islamist militants. But New York-based Rights group Human Rights Watch is skeptical that this large number of arrests is founded on adequate investigations, or that this will effectively reduce violence in the country. The mass arrest of thousands upon thousands within the course of a few days is a familiar scene in Bangladesh, but does little to inspire confidence either that these ghastly killings will stop or that due process will be followed, said Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's Asia director. After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladeshs security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the usual suspects instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations," he continued. The statement released by Human Rights Watch Friday cited media reports that say police are accepting bribes to release many of those detained. Police have arrested thousands of people since last Friday in a crackdown on the violence that has targeted more than 30 victims in Bangladesh since early last year, including bloggers, gay rights activists, Christians and Hindus. Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility for more than 20 of the killings. In the past week, IS militants have claimed responsibility for the deaths of a Hindu monastery worker, an elderly Hindu priest and a Christian merchant. All three were hacked to death. The Muslim wife of a key counterterrorism official was also stabbed and shot dead. Despite IS claims, Bangladesh authorities continue to insist there are no foreign terror groups operating in the country. Instead, they blame home-grown militants - and in some cases the political opposition - for the violence. After weeks of fierce fighting, Iraqi security forces on Friday broke through Islamic State defenses to reach the center of Fallujah, a city just west of Baghdad controlled by IS for more than two years. Coalition airstrikes continued to pound IS targets, hitting two tactical units and destroying six heavy machine guns, as Iraqi Special Forces took over what had been an IS command center. Spokesman for the coalition Army Col. Chris Garver confirmed Iraqi forces had seized a government building in the center of the city. Thousands flee As IS lost control of the area and the southeast quadrant of the city, some 18,000 people began pouring out, trying to escape the fighting, some walking 15 kilometers to get to safety. There are reports that IS is trying to shoot those who are leaving in the legs, trying to intimidate them, UNHCRs Bruno Geddo told VOA. Geddo said once the families reached safety, they were being collected by the Iraqi army or relatives. Many are exhausted, and some collapse on the way, he said. Ambulances were said to be driving back and forth to collect the wounded and exhausted and taking them to nearby hospitals. The families of IS fighters are thought to be among those fleeing. It is believed that among the latest flood of refugees from the city are the wives and children of IS fighters, Geddo said. The huge numbers of refugees threatened to overwhelm the capacity of the government and aid agencies. More than 50,000 people have fled the fighting in the past three weeks. It is unclear how many families are still trapped in the city. Norwegian Refugee Councils Iraq director Nasr Muflahi welcomed the news that thousands of civilians had made it to safety, but said he was concerned by the dramatically rapid increase in humanitarian need. Aid services in the camp were already overstretched, and this development will push us all to the limit, he said in a statement. Geddo said a number of new camps were being set up as quickly as possible to provide shelter and basic relief items to the newly-arrived. Cameroon is making efforts to crack down on elephant poaching and ivory trafficking. Several recent busts have led officials to intensify surveillance at sea and in border areas. A man who complained to police at their station near the town of Campo on Cameroons southern border with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea was arrested alongside 45 other people although he insisted he was just a passenger aboard the ship. But Georges Mouncharou, Cameroons highest wildlife official in the area, said the ship had three containers of ivory on board weighing about 200 kilograms. The discovery was a bit of luck. Mouncharou said the ship ran out of fuel Tuesday and had to anchor in Cameroonian waters. The vessel was traveling from Gabon to Nigeria. Cameroonian officials noticed the ship while it was re-fueling and suspecting that it was owned by traffickers, they boarded it for a search. It is the first time Cameroon has found ivory on a sea vessel. According to officials, the people on board were from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Gambia and Niger. A dozen have been detained for further investigation. Kpwang Abessolo Francois, senior Central Africa program officer for the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, said the tusks are believed to have been collected from elephants killed in Cameroon and Gabon. Asian black market Asian countries are getting more appetite for luxury goods including African ivory as their incomes continue to rise. Francois said the black market price of African ivory has increased to $3,000 per kilogram and at that, traffickers from central African countries are ready to take the risk. He said traffickers cut the ivory up to hide it inside art objects or carpets, and even grind it up into powder form and put it in oil drums. Africa is experiencing unprecedented slaughter of the majestic animals, and Cameroon has been no exception. By one estimate, Central Africa has lost nearly two-thirds of its elephants since 2004. Mass destruction Cameroon has focused its efforts on national parks, even deploying the military to track down poaching gangs. Earlier this month, seven people with tusks from two dozen elephants were arrested at the Campo M'aan national park, also at the country's southern border. Joseph Achaleke, Cameroon's director of protected species and endangered wildlife, said there may be more maritime trafficking. He said they reinforced surveillance at sea and are working with neighboring countries to identify owners of the vessels and stop such illegal activity. But he says they rely very much on the population to inform them of suspicious activity. In April, Cameroon burned a large cache of seized ivory, including 2,000 tusks, as a show of force against poachers. The international ivory trade was banned in 1989. Kurdish rebels on Friday clashed with Iran's Revolutionary Guards for a second consecutive day in a border area between Iraq and Iran, Kurdish officials and Iranian state media said. The fighting took place in a number of Kurdish-dominated towns, leaving at least six Iranian soldiers dead. The number of causalities on the Kurdish side has not been confirmed yet. One of the dead among Iranian forces was Samad Boostani, a deputy commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards in the city of Shno, a Kurdish official told VOA. Kurds in Iran have long desired more autonomy from Tehran's firm grip, and they have found assistance in the Kurdish forces in Iraq. Deadly confrontations between the two sides have been rare. But earlier this year, Kurdish rebels announced a military campaign against Iranian forces. Kurdish fighters, affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), say their goal from this campaign is to force Iran to make political concessions. "We are not proponents of military option, but the Iranian regime is forcing us to go in that way," Rostam Jahangiri, the military head of KDPI, told VOA from his base in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The majority of Iranian Kurdish fighters have been stationed in northern Iraq for years, but recently some of them have managed to cross the border into Iran. Ethnic Kurds make up roughly 9 percent of Iran's total population, living primarily in the western and northwestern provinces of the country. Iranian officials say that they're fighting "terrorists" who intend to destabilize the country. The Iranian army "let them infiltrate a mile into Iranian territories to trap them and then killed scores of them," said a journalist of Sepah News, a state-run Iranian news agency. He spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity. The reporter said that seven Iranian soldiers were killed in the clashes and 11 Kurdish rebels were reported dead. Kurdish officials have not confirmed their causalities. Iran has been heavily involved in Syria's civil war since 2011, backing forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Revolutionary Guards troops. Emboldened by Kurdish advances in Syria and Iraq, Iranian Kurdish groups say it is time for them to push Tehran to acknowledge their ethnic rights. "Our goal is start to a popular movement that is a combination of political activism and military campaign," said Jahangiri of the KDPI. A report Friday in the Lancet medical journal says the world's 25 million transgender people - a population facing a 60 percent rate of depression, and who have an almost 50 times greater risk of the HIV virus than the general population - are not receiving adequate medical health care. "Many of the health challenges faced by transgender people are exacerbated by laws and policies that deny them gender recognition," says Sam Winter of Australia's Curtin University and one of the authors of the study. "In no other community is the link between rights and health so clearly visible as in the transgender community." In Europe, eight countries do not legally recognize transgender people, while 17 European countries sterilize people seeking gender recognition. Authors of the study are urging the World Health Organization to move the transgender diagnosis from its manual as a "mental and behavioral disorder" to a chapter on "conditions related to sexual health." They are also calling for physicians to receive training about the health care needs of the transgender community whose health concerns include and extend beyond feminizing and masculinizing hormones. Since 2008, there have been 2,115 documented killings of transgender people around the world, but that number is probably higher as many murders were likely not reported, the study's authors say. Despite a lull after hostilities earlier this week, tensions remain high across the militarized border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Eritrea claimed Thursday it had killed more than 200 Ethiopian troops and wounded more than 300. A Ministry of Information statement did not say how many Eritrean troops were killed or wounded. There has been no independent confirmation of the figures released by Eritrea in a government statement Thursday. In an interview with VOA's Horn of Africa Service, Ethiopia's Communications Minister Getachew Reda suggested the figures are inaccurate but stopped short of denying them. He also said Ethiopia has no interest in disclosing its assessment of damages during the battle. 'Active hostilities' Reda added that "active hostilities ... launched by the regime in Asmara" were stopped, and Ethiopia was prepared to repel what it views as Eritrean hostilities. What we do next will ultimately depend on what the regime in Asmara decides to do next, Reda said. Awet Weldemichael, a professor of history at Queens University in Kingston, Canada, said despite the fact that these clashes were dismissed by some as skirmishes similar to others that have periodically flared up, they were quite serious. These involved heavy bombardment using medium- and long-range artillery weapons and it went on both sides," Weldemichael said. "These were not mobile units or militia using their handguns or light weapons. So that makes it different in scale which means that there are damages endured by either or both sides." He also said the Eritrean ministry statement issued Thursday that cited casualties must be viewed cautiously and skeptically since there is no independent media on the ground to corroborate it. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby issued a statement Tuesday stating that the U.S. is concerned about military action and called on both governments to exercise restraint and engage in political dialogue, referencing the 2000 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held a pre-scheduled meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and discussed the conflict, stressing that both parties need to continue the application of restraint and a peaceful resolution through political means. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), similarly stated that Ethiopia and Eritrea need to refrain from statements and actions likely to aggravate the situation and further endanger regional stability. Time for solutions International observers said the June 12 clash between Eritrean and Ethiopian forces is just the latest of a long series of violent incidents that have erupted between the two nations over the past five years. Among those closely following the events is Cedric Barnes, the Nairobi-based Horn of Africa project director for the International Crisis Group. Since 2011, there have been eight confrontations along the militarized border, Barnes said. Some have directly involved the national militaries of the two countries, while others involve rebel groups supported by one side or the other. Once it seems that this action has died down and various forces withdrawn maybe to their original positions it [reoccurs] nevertheless and shows how tense the border is, how vulnerable it is to flare ups, Barnes said. He said that reliable information about the latest incident is difficult to come by with many of the accounts coming from people who are not on the ground. Tensions have heightened recently with Ethiopia threatening to take proportional military action if it saw a threat. It is very difficult to say that what particularly precipitated this incident apart from the fact that the very presence and unresolved nature of that border means that the tensions can spill over very quickly, Barnes said. He said that over the past several years Eritrea has become more confident in its international standing and better funded due to its participation in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, the United Arab Emirates use of Eritreas port of Assab and its engagement with the European Union. Eritrea was really on the back foot, but now it feels a little bit more secure and Ethiopia is more concerned about the capacity of Eritrea to cause it trouble, he said. However, Weldemichael, of Queens University, said the responsibility is now squarely on the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The international community has lost years worth of opportunities to push both in the right direction, he said. "Whatever the reality on the ground, this is tragic. Its going to be another tragedy of epic proportions for these two countries to go back to conflict however low intensity," Weldemichael said. "Its high time that the international community gears up to address the root causes of this problem and compel the two countries to abide by international law and normalize relations, he added. A Mexico City government fund aimed at collecting 1.5 percent of revenue from car-hailing services such as Uber still has not been created, nearly a year after the metropolis became the first Latin American city to regulate rideshare apps. In July 2015, two years after Uber entered Mexico City and upset taxi unions, the city government announced a deal to allow Uber and rivals such as Cabify to legally operate, with a share of their revenue destined for a specially created though vaguely defined transport fund. The Mexican capital, however, has yet to complete a register of the taxi apps' fleets needed to set up the fund, according to public information requests filed by Reuters. "At present, the creation of the fund for the Taxi, Mobility and the Pedestrian is still underway," the Mexico City transport department said in one response. There is no schedule for the fund's creation, and rideshare companies continue to operate in the meantime. Still, neither the city's transport nor the Finance Ministry had any record of any transport fund board meetings, or even who was on the board, according to public information requests. Mexico City finance department officials declined to comment on the fund, directing questions to the transport department. The transport department said the fund was the finance department's responsibility and directed questions there. Luis de Uriarte, Uber's Mexico spokesman, said the final details of the fund were being decided with the city's finance department. "Once that's ready, we'll make the corresponding deposit," he said. Uber and Cabify declined to provide figures on how much they should have paid into the fund. In March, Uber said it has 39,000 affiliated drivers in the country, and that the Mexican capital is its largest business in Latin America. It is almost impossible to estimate how much the fund should have collected by now, experts say, as the privately owned rideshare companies declined to share data. But Daniel Medina, a spokesman for the Taxistas Organizados de la Ciudad de Mexico, a local cab drivers' union, estimated it could be as much as 45 million pesos ($2.38 million). For the first time in 4 million years, Antarctica registered carbon dioxide levels over the symbolic threshold of 400 parts per million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. government agency responsible for monitoring conditions of the oceans and atmosphere. Scientists at NOAA say the South Pole has shown the same, relentless upward trend in CO2 as the rest of world, but that it took longer for it to register. The far southern hemisphere was the last place on earth where CO2 had not yet reached this mark, said Pieter Tans, the lead scientist of NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. Global CO2 levels will not return to values below 400 ppm in our lifetimes, and almost certainly for much longer. CO2 levels tend to rise in colder months, since the warmer months in the northern hemisphere see plants capture some of it. But NOAA says that plants arent enough, as CO2 levels have risen every year since 1958, when measurements began. The agency said that last year saw global CO2 reach 399 ppm, which it says means 2016 will almost surely reach 400 or more. The annual rate of increase jumped by more than three ppm last year, the largest increase ever measured. We know from abundant and solid evidence that the CO2 increase is caused entirely by human activities, Tans said. Since emissions from fossil fuel burning have been at a record high during the last several years, the rate of CO2 increase has also been at a record high. And we know some of it will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. The number of migrants arriving in Italy from North Africa more than doubled from April to May, according to the latest figures from the European Union. Some 19,000 migrants arrived in Italy last month. More than 13,000 people were rescued in the central Mediterranean region in a single week the highest weekly total ever reported. The EU's border agency, Frontex, says the rise was mainly due to an increase in migrants from Africa, and not the closure of the route through Greece and the Balkans. The European Union recently opted to extend for another year its Operation Sophia, targeting smugglers and migrant boats. However, the patrols have not had an immediate effect, says analyst Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group consultancy. "Migrants and, most importantly, smugglers are adapting to the new policy taken by Europe, he said. They're just adapting to the different environment, which means basically that the problem is not receding." Over 2,100 people have died so far this year crossing the central Mediterranean. Earlier this month, the EU revealed plans to enhance cooperation with key countries on migration routes, especially Libya. But with the country still fractured between rival administrations and militias, Fabiani says finding an effective partner is all but impossible. "The Libyan coast guard will nominally cooperate with the National Unity Government and Europe on this issue, Fabiani said. But then, effectively, what will happen is that behind closed doors, they actually strike deals with the militias handling these smuggling routes, and will turn a blind eye or will turn back some of the migrants to these militias." Amnesty International accuses the Libyan coast guard of widespread abuses against the migrants. The group interviewed dozens of people who had survived the crossing and who described horrific treatment. "We have documented cases of shootings, abandonment, beatings by the Libyan coast guard themselves as they were rescuing people. And even more importantly, horrible cases of torture and abuse of people in the detention centers where these refugees and migrants are taken," Amnestys Gauri van Gulik told VOA. In one case, several migrants described being abandoned at sea by the coast guard after their boat engine broke down. Van Gulik says Europe must not seek to strike a deal with Libya to stem the flow of migrants, similar to the agreement signed with Ankara in March. "What's crucial is that the European Union doesn't treat Libya as it has been treating Turkey, and pretends that Libya can somehow hold back refugees and migrants who are trying to make their way to Europe," Van Gulik said. The United Nations says more than 7,000 unaccompanied children made the journey from North Africa to Italy in the first five months of the year many of them at huge risk of exploitation. The UN estimates there are another 235,000 migrants trying to reach Europe who are currently waiting in Libya, tens of thousands of them children traveling alone. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the discovery of 34 dead migrants in the Sahara this week brings the number of known migrant deaths on the African continent this year to 471. IOM believes these deaths may be only a fraction of the true number of migrant fatalities across North Africa. The Geneva-based organization reports at least 120,000 migrants have passed through Niger this year on their way to Europe. Yet, the only deaths recorded by IOM in Niger are the 34 victims who died after being abandoned by their smuggler this week. The agency said many more people have died from exposure, starvation or dehydration in the vast Sahara Desert. It said there also is an alarming trend of violent deaths for migrants in North Africa. IOM spokesman Joel Millman told VOA that sexual attacks have been responsible for dozens of deaths. This indicates terrible abuse of people en route, whether this is just armed men taking advantage of these people or it is part of sex trafficking," he said. "I do not really have the details of that. We do know of literally hundreds of women from Nigeria have been forced into prostitution in Libya after being told they did not have enough money to make the trip up from Nigeria to the coast. Millman said smugglers often mislead people by telling them the border is only five kilometers away. After taking their money, they leave the migrants to wander, often with fatal consequences. We also hear about vehicles that run out of gas or become disabled in the high temperatures," he said. "While waiting for relief, people die of dehydration. That is very common on that route. IOM began its Missing Migrants Project nearly 18 months ago. In that time, it has recorded deaths for 678 migrants traveling in Africa, with 70 of those deaths occurring just in the past two weeks. Police in northern Nigeria said Boko Haram militants have opened fire at a funeral in Adamawa state, killing at least 18 mourners. Authorities also said many others were injured in the attack on Kuda village, outside Madagali and that the death toll could rise. Witnesses said the Islamist militants stormed the village on motorbikes and opened fire on the mourners observing a wake. They said many of the victims were women and children. Boko Haram is blamed for some 20,000 deaths since beginning its insurgency in northern Nigeria in 2009. The Islamist extremist group says it wants to create a strict Islamic state in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria. Last year, the Nigerian army was able to retake most of the territory captured by Boko Haram in recent years with the help of neighboring countries; but, the group has continued to attack markets and public places, often using female suicide bombers. Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarusian journalist and author of books on the impact of the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan, and Soviet and post-Soviet history, won last year's Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee called "her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." She spoke with VOAs Yulia Savchenko in Washington about this tragic history, and how its ghosts continue to haunt those living in what used to be the Soviet Union. We were romantics in the 1990s and thought that communism was dead, Alexievich said. But 10 years passed and Putin came, and it became obvious that the process is reversible; that communism will, to varying degrees, return again and again. WATCH: VOA interview with Svetlana Alexievich Tragic testimony Alexievich spoke about her books, which are based on the testimony of people who experienced these tragic historical episodes first hand. My idea was to write an encyclopedia of this period," she said. "I even found people who had seen Lenin, Stalin; who were in the [prison] camps, who were in Stalin's camps for 17-20 years; who had fought in the Great Patriotic War [World War II]. I seemed to be the right person in the right place to capture all of this. I think that, in the end, my narrative is more about the individual and utopia, about what happens to people when they want to build this premature heaven on earth. Noting that Russia was more feudal than capitalist in 1917, when the Bolsheviks seized power, Alexievich said it was naive to think the country could move directly from feudalism to socialism and communism. But, as we know, the Bolsheviks had a slogan it hung on one of the Stalinist [prison] camps: With an iron fist, we will drive humanity to happiness! They probably thought they could do it, she said. 'Sea of blood' Rather than bringing happiness, this drive led to, Alexievich's words, a sea of blood, a giant mass grave. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution that gave birth the Soviet Union. Asked about the significance of this anniversary, Alexievich said it is nothing to be proud of. But I like the words of [writer Varlam] Shalamov, who, after spending 17 years in Stalin's camps, said: I was a witness to a huge lost battle for human happiness. It was an attempt at an alternative civilization, which, of course, failed. We failed in this [attempt]. That, I believe, is the reason to think about it: why we failed, why there was so much blood, why so many people disappeared why these words liberty, equality, fraternity have shed such rivers of blood. The massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub Sunday in Orlando, Florida, sparked a war of words over how to describe it. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was quick to seize on the shooter's ethnicity incorrectly calling the U.S.-born perpetrator an "Afghan" and describing the attack as an act of "radical Islamic terrorism." Earlier this week, Trump taunted presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama for not using the terms. Obama argued against using labels. Clinton said she would not avoid calling it "radical Islamism." Why are the words important? Let's try to define the ones involved. "Islam" is straightforward. It's the religion of 1.6 billion people. "Islamic" is the adjectival form of the word, often used to describe religious art, texts and architecture. "Islamism" is a religious, fundamentalist, political ideology, with practitioners as varied as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the ruling elite of the Shi'ite-dominated Islamic Republic of Iran. In the United States, in the era of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the term "radical Islamist" is usually used to describe advocates of the violent strand of ideology linked to the Wahhabi and Salafi fundamentalist Sunni schools of Islam. "Radical" can be defined as "outside the mainstream." Killing people for being gay is so far outside the mainstream in the United States that it is not just a crime, it falls into a category for especially heinous acts a hate crime. Not so elsewhere, where the punishment for homosexuality can be death. The Washington Post this week identified 10 countries where that is the law of the land, including U.S. allies Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. What about 'terrorism'? If radical is relative, so too is the word "terrorism." When applied to recent mass shootings in the U.S., mainstream media overwhelmingly refer to killers who invoke Islamic State as terrorists. The term becomes more contentious when applied to other killers, such as those who support white supremacy or oppose abortion on biblical terms. It's not clear exactly what Trump means by "radical Islam," but he uses it often, most recently to justify his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. And he insists that Obama use some form of the word "Islam" to describe the violence that took 49 lives Sunday. Within hours of the shooting, Trump tweeted, "Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn't, he should immediately resign in disgrace!" Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away," the president said the next day. "This is a political distraction. Since before I was president, I have been clear about how extremist groups have perverted Islam to justify terrorism." And, he has argued, to keep from tainting a whole religion with the actions of a few, he has avoided the phrase ever since. A federal judge on Thursday rejected efforts by Texas to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees within its borders. The ruling comes days after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called to block non-citizen Muslims from entering the U.S. following the Orlando nightclub massacre. Even before the attack, Americans were divided, mostly along party lines, on the issue of refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East. A survey conducted in late May by the Brookings Institution found of those polled, just 38 percent of Republicans supported taking in refugees from Syria and the Middle East, compared with 77 percent of Democrats. But among Trump supporters, an overwhelming 77 percent said they oppose taking in refugees. So who are these people who cause such a divide among Americans, triggering feelings of dread and suspicion in some and feelings of empathy and hospitality in others? Millions have been forced to flee the bloody conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other Middle Eastern nations. In 1951 the United Nation's Refugee Convention defined a refugee as someone who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country." By the end of 2014, there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations, 14.4 million of whom were under the mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This was an increase of 2.9 million from 2013. The remaining 5.1 million refugees were registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. However, there are an estimated 59.5 million forcibly displaced persons around the world, according to United Nation's Global Trends report. This population not only includes refugees, but internally displaced persons, asylum-seekers and stateless people as well. Resettling in US President Barack Obama has set a goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees in the 2016 fiscal year, which began on October 1. But the administration is still far behind that schedule. About 3,500 Syrian refugees have been admitted, leaving about 6,500 spots open with less than four months to go. In order to obtain refugee status, people have to go through extensive processes, including fleeing from the country in conflict, registering as a refugee with the United Nations, waiting sometimes for years to be approved, and undergoing the resettlement process into the country they will be in next. Refugees coming in through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program must pass through a multilayered security screening process that includes an in-depth, in-person interview by well-trained Homeland Security officers, and multiple highly rigorous background checks, including biographic and biometric investigations, using multiple databases.Prior to the attacks on September 11, 2001, the process took about one year; now it is a two- to three-year process. Human face In the Midwestern U.S. city of Kansas City, Missouri, Ahmad Alabood is trying to make a life while the refugee debate rages on the U.S. political stage. Alabood, a 45-year-old construction worker from Homs, Syria, along with his wife and five children, is among the first Syrians to to be resettled in the U.S. under the Obama administration's surge program. Since the family arrived in April from a refugee camp in Jordan, Alabood has been dealing with his children's health issues, including a baby with elevated lead levels in his blood and a 5-year-old with a heart ailment, learning English, having all his teeth removed because they had gone bad, and talking to doctors about shrapnel in his head and legs from a bomb blast in Homs a few years ago. Alabood has not yet started a job. The first priorities have been tackling the family's health issues and learning English. But the center that has been overseeing the family's resettlement said Alabood is expected to start a job in the fall. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has slammed Russia for bombing U.S.-backed opposition forces in southern Syria, calling the actions "problematic." Speaking to reporters Friday at the Pentagon, Carter said the fighters hit by Russia's airstrikes were fighting against the Islamic State militant group. He said the Russians either intentionally attacked the rebels which would conflict with their stated goal of defeating IS or they fired on the rebels by accident, as a result of "poor quality" intelligence. The secretary also suggested the Russian military did not "properly use" a communication line that was established between the two countries to prevent unsafe U.S. and Russian air operations over Syria. A senior U.S. official said Russian warplanes had not been active for some time in the area where the U.S.-supported rebels were attacked, near al-Tanf along Syria's border with Iraq and Jordan. That raises "serious concerns" about the Russians' intentions, according to the official, who asked not to be identified. "We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action, and assurances this will not happen again," the official said Thursday. The U.S. has criticized Russia's tactics and operational activities in Syria on a number of occasions, and has repeatedly refused to work with Russian forces in the country. American officials feel the Russians are working to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime. The airstrikes are likely to test already strained U.S.-Russian relations. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned both Moscow and Damascus to respect the "cessation of hostilities" agreement they signed earlier this year. "Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite. In fact, it is very limited with whether or not [Bashar] al-Assad is going to be held accountable," Kerry said following a meeting Wednesday with Iranian officials. The U.S. military has been operating a training program in Syria since early 2015 to prepare moderate Syrian rebels to fight against IS. The program experienced limited success, and the U.S. Defense Department has now switched its strategy to work with a limited number of rebels instead of entire units. Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office as part if a Washington visit packed with high-level meetings. The 30-year-old crown prince, son of King Salman, serves as deputy prime minister and defense minister of his country. He has been a major force in plans to revamp Saudi Arabia's economy, reducing its dependence on oil revenues by 2030. Despite his youth, the prince is considered a power player in the Saudi government, and accordingly he has met with many of the Obama administration's most important officials. It is significant, too, that President Obama met with the crown prince in the Oval Office, a location usually reserved for meetings with heads of state. He has also met with members of Congress and Secretary of State John Kerry. Speaking to reporters at the Saudi embassy in Washington, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters that Prince Mohammed met Thursday with his counterpart, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. He said the two discussed bilateral relations, as well as the situations in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Iran. Jubeir said the crown prince reiterated Saudi Arabia's support for more "robust intervention" in Syria, including arming the opposition. The spokesman said until the balance of power in Syria is changed "in a dramatic way," there is no incentive for a political transition. Questioned about the possible release of U.S. classified documents reportedly showing Saudi Arabian ties to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Jubeir said the Saudi kingdom had requested the release of those documents in 2002 when they were first deemed "classified" by the United States. He said his country cannot respond to so-called "blank pages" and added, "This is an American matter." The prince also met earlier in the week with the president's National Economic Council, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, to discuss Prince Mohammed's plans for economic reform. As more and more mothers work outside the home, a growing number of fathers are sharing and in some cases taking over child care duties. Many speak of the joy they feel spending time with their children, partly because in some cases their own fathers didn't have time to spend with them when they were growing up. Rob Lott is one of these hands-on dads. When his daughter, Shulie, was born last July, he and his wife, Jessica, looked forward to spending time with her. Jessica's employer offered her just four weeks of paid parental leave and Rob's employer offered none. "So for us personally it would have created an entirely different situation for the first few months of her life if we could have had as much time as we really felt like we needed to care for her," Jessica said. Rob felt fortunate that he had managed to accrue sick time and vacation time, though he noted that neither is the same as family or paternity leave. "Certainly, having a child is not vacation, nor is it a sickness, he remarked wryly. Fortunately, I was able to cobble the time together, and I was able to take two weeks which was not enough," he said. "We made it enough, but I really wish I could have been home longer with Jess as she was recovering, and with Shulie when she was just weeks old. Many U.S. families experience that same regret, because the United States is the only developed country that does not mandate paid parental leave for its citizens. That means working parents like the Lotts must make arrangements for time off directly with their employers, or use their vacation and sick leave hours. D.C. paid leave bill But a few states have taken the lead in implementing paid leave policies, including California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. New York just got on board, and in Washington, D.C., a paid family leave bill, the Universal Paid Leave Act, is now going through the legislative process. It would allow up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, funded by contributions from every employer. Joanna Blotner, campaign manager for the D.C. Paid Family Leave campaign, said the bill covers all businesses, including small businesses and self-employed people working in Washington. One of the unique features of the insurance model system, she noted, is that it poses the smallest financial burden on small businesses because costs are spread out across the entire workforce. Nothing in the bill, however, requires a business with fewer than 20 employees to hold someone's job while on leave. That employee will still be paid for time on leave, but it will be up to each employer to decide whether to hold the job. Jessica Lott has been actively involved in the campaign to get the bill passed. She was among a group of advocates led by Blotner who recently met with D.C. Councilman Charles Allen, a co-sponsor of the legislation. Allen listened patiently as his constituents shared their stories around a conference table in his office. As a father of a young child himself, he was sympathetic. "We know that families will be stronger when you have this [bill]," he told them. "The connection you get to have with your kid, that just makes a stronger family. It sets the parent up for greater success; it sets the child up for greater success." And "no amount of arguing," he added, "can convince me otherwise." I think paid family leave is a really important issue for our city, and it certainly is for our country," he told VOA. "I think that when an employer provides paid family leave, I think that they become a stronger employer and a more attractive place to work. Crunching the numbers "The way that it would work is that businesses would contribute an additional 1 percent of the salary of their employees," Jessica said. "And then that 1 percent would create a pool that the government would administer to pay for the people who need to take leave. But that would not be enough, argued Marc Freedman, executive director of labor law policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That 1 percent surtax is not expected to be adequate to cover the full administration of the program plus the providing of benefits to these employees as they would be requested," he said. "At this point, it is tailored exclusively as a burden on employers. Employees would have no contribution into that pool, and at the very least we think that's an unbalanced approach. On the federal level, the business advocacy organization has typically opposed legislation that mandates a new type of leave on employers. "Our feeling is that employers provide leave as they are able to provide leave," Freedman said. "Many do so happily, and if they can't afford it, then that's generally why they don't provide it. Compromise U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez is from California, one of several states that require paid paternity leave. I've been a small-business owner before, and it is a leap for one to have a key member leave for a while and to have to pay them," the Democratic congresswoman told VOA. "Small businesses, especially startups, are really having a hard time, sometimes, meeting payrolls. "But anything that we could do to help ensure that small businesses have a continuity of the business theyre in, and yet have an opportunity to have their employees take some time to take care of a loved one, would be something I'd be interested in," she added. When asked about an acceptable compromise, Freedman said that while he didn't have "the ideal sweet spot plan to offer" at the moment, "I could tell you that in various ways, it would have to be structured as an incentive instead of a mandate. "There should be some way that employers can put in place a system of leave that meets some description, but they can do it with flexibility on their end. Leading on leave However it's designed, advocates like Rob and Jessica Lott will continue to push for paid parental leave for all U.S. citizens. The goal is to have this city lead on leave," Rob said, "and to really represent a model of what's possible. "And certainly, the more cities and states that implement laws like this, it certainly can create momentum and really provide the evidence to our federal lawmakers that it can work and that it can really pay off for everyone. Authorities in Istanbul have banned gay, lesbian and transgender people from holding pride marches this month, citing security concerns for citizens and participants. Turkish Islamist and nationalist groups had threatened to stop such parades from taking place, claiming that they would not allow "degenerates" to hold the events on Turkish soil. The organizers of the parade, the Pride Week Commission, said the ban was illegal and vowed to seek relief in court. The LGBT community had called for demonstrations on two consecutive weekends. A march in support of transgender people was planned for June 19 in central Istanbul, while the annual gay pride parade was scheduled for June 26. Istanbul's pride parade has been celebrated every year since 2003, with participants departing from iconic Taksim Square. The march was banned last year, and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds who defied the measure. Security in Istanbul is already tight after a series of explosions in recent weeks claimed by Islamic State and Kurdish militants, or blamed on them. Ahead of World Refugee Day on Monday, U.N. agencies say rapid assistance is needed for the more than 2.7 million people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin over the past three years. The United Nations has called it the fastest growing displacement crisis in Africa. Security continues to deteriorate in southeast Niger following a fresh spate of attacks by Boko Haram this month. Tens of thousands of people have flooded the city of Diffa after militants attacked the border town of Bosso. Diffa was already hosting 240,000 displaced people, many of them from Nigeria. Belkacem Machane, the deputy country director for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Niger just returned from a visit to the worst affected areas. We went through the main road called Route Nationale Numero 1, which is the main road going to Bosso and we saw so many people moving around the road," said Machane. "About 40,000. Mainly women and kids. Their situation was really bad. They are lacking water, food, shelter. And this was shocking. WFP distributed 15-day emergency food rations to more than 1,400 newly displaced people. More food aid is on its way. The WFP says it hopes to be able to feed 250,000 people in Diffa. But the area was chronically food insecure even before the conflict and the influx of refugees. Agricultural production there was below average last year. Insecurity has closed some markets. Across the border in northeast Nigeria, an estimated 16 million people also need food aid. But U.N. officials say delivering aid is difficult. Insecurity is an issue and a number of people have had to flee multiple times. We work together with the police and with the military to reorient them to those localities where they can [safely] stay," said Liz Ahua, UNHCR's regional representative. "And this is not easily done because quite obviously, if you are talking of Lake Chad Basin, the governments are very stretched in terms of their capacity to look after the protection of these people," she added. Ahua said things such as health centers are very few in the region. "And we are hard-pressed to provide support to the internally displaced and the refugees. ... There are people who are not receiving the help they need. U.N. agencies are requesting more than $500 million to deliver assistance to some five million people in the region. So far, that appeal is just 20 percent funded. The World Health Organization is appealing for $121 million to combat the Zika virus over the next 18 months. The revised global Strategic Response plan supplants a previous plan launched in February, which requested around $20 million. The significant increase in the amount of money requested to tackle the Zika virus indicates the gravity with which the World Health Organization views this infection. Microcephaly and Guillain Barre Syndrome The Zika virus, which is now circulating in some 60 countries worldwide, is linked to microcephaly, an infection that causes brain abnormalities in newborn babies and Guillain Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder. The epicenter of the disease is in Latin America. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the response to Zika requires an integrated approach that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core. Support for child-bearing women This strategy will place greater focus on preventing and managing medical complications caused by Zika virus infection by providing counseling and treatment, if necessary to pregnant women, partners, households, infected people and will also work with communities trying to have enough capacities and health systems to provide necessary support to communities, said Jasarevic. The plan highlights several specific characteristics of the Zika outbreak that need special vigilance and a global response. They include the potential for further international spread of the Zika virus by Aedes mosquitoes. The WHO says a lack of immunity in areas where the Zika virus is circulating for the first time could allow the disease to spread quickly. It says the absence of vaccines, treatments, and rapid diagnostic tests, as well as inequalities in access to sanitation and health services in affected areas are of concern and will require special care. If you were alive and in America in 1968, you might remember the phrase Youve Come A Long Way, Baby. It was an advertising slogan for a brand of cigarettes, known as Virginia Slims. This collection of television commercials shows how the company framed the product as "tailored for the feminine hand," and, more to the point, as a symbol of women's empowerment. The ad campaign successfully captured the zeitgeist of the United States at that time with an image of a confident, tall, slender, pants suit-wearing woman on the go, mirroring the countrys mainstream awareness of the womens rights movement, led by feminist Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan and many other activists. Some 40 years after the launch of the ad, much has changed: advertising cigarettes is banned on radio and television, and a woman, Hillary Clinton, has clinched the nomination for president for the first time in American history. When women reach critical mass, somewhere between 20 to 30 percent of any institution, they change fundamentally the way that institution functions, said Jay Newton-Small, author of Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works and a correspondent for Time magazine. "And certainly women are reaching that point in Congress, as well as in the [Obama] administration and [U.S.] courts. Just look at the numbers, said Newton-Small. American women have reached that critical mass in all three branches of the federal government. Thirty percent of the government in terms of high-level civil service and political appointees are women, 35 percent of the federal bench are women, including 40 percent of state judges." The notion that women are affecting political change is being tested by Clintonwhose resume as an elected female is unmatched, having served as a former first lady, two-term senator and secretary of stateas she heads towards the November vote, most likely against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. How much power? Women currently comprise 53 percent of eligible American voters. Furthermore, Newton-Small pointed out, women on average actually pull the lever 10 percent more often than eligible male voters. Their votes have been decisive in every presidential election since President Ronald Reagan's two-terms in the 1980s. There is no doubt that women voters in America are a force to be dealt with. But that doesnt answer a key question: how much power do women in elected office actually have to make things happen? And what factors contribute to a woman's decision to run for office? A few years ago, two scholars spotted an intriguing trend in New Jersey, one that resulted in landmark research. Susan Carroll, Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and a professor of gender studies, and her colleague Kelly Dittmar, noticed a big jump in the number of women in New Jersey's state legislature between 2004 and 2011: 25 women16 Democrats and 9 Republicansentered the legislature for the first time, and five women already in the state assembly moved to the upper chamber. Their 2012 study, "Preparedness Meets Opportunity: Women's Increased Representation in the New Jersey Legislature," teased out the whys behind the spike: Opportunity, corruption, scandals, deaths and resignations opened 12 seats; women, they found, were seen as a more ethical alternative. Perhaps more importantly, Carroll and Dittmar found those female office-holders were groomed at the grassroots level and encouraged to run. And since then? Weve maintained, Carroll said. We havent necessarily continued to move upward. As you get more women there, it gets harder to maintain the numbers because you have to have a lot of success just to keep the numbers where they are. In other words, Carroll said its a lot easier to go from one to three women in elected office than from 30 to 90. Tipping the balance The growing andnow sustainedpresence of women in the halls of political power has already made possible what was once what drove Steinem and thousands of women into the streets: family medical leave, a law protecting women from domestic violence and a dramatic increase in funding for breast cancer research. In the last year, it was female senators, Newton-Small said, who forced huge reforms in the handling of sexual assault in the U.S. military. The examples of women pushing hard to get big issues on the table, and winning, are compelling. That said, there remain notable gaps in the American political landscape: Women currently serve as governor in only six of the 50 states. We still have a long way to go before we reach parity in terms of office-holding, said Carroll, a seasoned political scientist. Its still a male-dominated enterprise, theres no question about it. Hillary All of this leaves American women waiting to see: Can Hillary Clinton punch through the thickest and most important glass ceiling in American politics to become the nation's first woman president? Being a woman and having power is still somewhat oxymoronic in our society, said Jo Freeman, a long-time feminist scholar, activist and author of the 2008 book We Will Be Heard: Women's Struggles for Political Power in the United States. "Its better than it was 40 years ago. But a woman with power still makes people uncomfortable," she said. "And the presidency is the most powerful position in the country, and maybe even the most powerful position in the world. Kunleng discusses the Dalai Lamas visit to NED where he engaged with young activists from Cuba, Sudan, Azerbaijan and Jordan on the subject of Democracy & Hope, and NEDs awards to the exile Tibetan administration for its democratic accomplishments and to the late political prisoner, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, for his courageous efforts to preserve Tibetan identity. Ethiopian authorities have dismissed a 61-page report by Human Rights Watch that details the killings of more than 400 people over the past seven months in a crackdown on protests in the country's Oromia region. Government spokesman Getachew Reda told VOA Thursday an organization so far from the realities on the ground could not have issued an accurate account of the human rights situation in Oromia. The spokesperson said Ethiopia's national human rights commission issued its own report with death tolls that were significantly lower than the Human Rights Watch report and accused the organization of not checking its facts. Human Rights Watch said soldiers have repeatedly fired live ammunition at Oromia protesters with little or no warning or attempts to use non-lethal crowd control measures. It said many of those killed were students, including children under the age of 18. The rights group also said police have arrested tens of thousands of people since the protests began, and that many remain in detention without charge and access to lawyers or family members. The protests were triggered by concerns about the government's proposed expansion of Addis Ababa's boundaries. Demonstrators feared the plan would displace Oromia farmers. The government canceled the plan in January but protests continued due to what one Oromia resident called the "brutal crackdown." Human Rights Watch noted that some of the protests turned violent, resulting in looting or destruction of government-owned property. The group, however, said its investigation found that most protests were peaceful. Human Rights Watch said its report is based on interviews with 125 protesters, bystanders and victims of abuse. It is calling on the government to free detained protesters, support a credible investigation into the killings and hold security force members accountable for the alleged abuses. Bernie Sanders, who won 23 state contests in his fading quest to become the Democratic Partys presidential nominee, was buoyed for months by supporters small average donations of $27. Conversely, Republican contender Jeb Bush flamed out in February despite his well-heeled connections. Both experiences point to the limits of big money in U.S. politics, at least in the 2016 election cycle. But some political experts and most average Americans nonetheless see growing financial influence which can vary with the primary or general election, increase further down the ballot and shape policies affecting daily life. Americans of all stripes agree that money holds greater sway than ever, and the effects are mostly negative, a Pew Research Center survey found. The center reported in December that "large majorities favor limits on campaign spending and say the high cost of campaigning discourages many good candidates from running for president." "Theres no country with longer and more expensive elections than the United States," said Ken Goldstein, a University of San Francisco professor and political advertising expert. Campaigning for the presidency begins well over a year out; Republican Ted Cruz was the first to announce his candidacy in March 2015. Spending in 2012 the election cycle that included the last presidential race topped $6.3 billion, the watchdog Center for Responsive Politics calculated. This election cycle is expected to set records in spending by campaigns, political parties and outside interest groups, the center has forecast. As of late May, candidates and the super PACS (political action committees) backing them raised more than $1.2 billion, according to campaign filings. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign alone generated nearly $85 million, and supporting super PACs raised more than $204 million. Real estate magnate Donald Trump largely has self-financed his campaign, but last month made a joint fundraising deal with the Republican National Committee enabling rich donors to contribute up to $500,000 apiece. He initially said he needed to raise $1 billion for the general election, but he has since scaled back. His aides are expected to meet in coming days with those of billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, USA Today recently reported. The powerful Koch network of donors and policy developers may bypass the presidential contest chafing at Trumps stated opposition to free trade deals, for example to focus on helping Republicans retain Senate control. Concerns down the ballot Norman Ornstein, a political scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesnt look at presidential politics as the be-all and end-all of the campaign funding system. Candidates for the nations top office already have an enormous amount of name recognition and extensive media coverage that lessen the impact of campaign spending on advertising. More worrisome is what happens further down the chain in congressional, legislative and local contests, he said. Ornstein told VOA that a whole bunch of senators had privately divulged their fears about voting for legislation that could antagonize big donors. The part that troubles me most is judicial elections, he added, noting heavy partisan spending aimed at tilting the composition of state Supreme Courts in Wisconsin and North Carolina. Ornstein speculated that a judge may think twice in deciding a case involving a giant corporation or wealthy individual whose support might be vital in future elections. Landmark court decisions Supreme Court decisions on Citizens United in 2010 and McCutcheon in 2014 relaxed campaign finance restrictions implemented in 2002. The decisions have opened up "the wild West period of political spending," complained Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy group that seeks greater curbs on special-interest lobbying. Weissmans group is especially concerned about so-called dark money spent by politically active nonprofit groups that dont have to disclose all their donors. The Center for Responsive Politics Open Secrets project notes that such spending surged "from less than $5.2 million in 2006 to more than $300 million in the 2012 presidential cycle." "By and large, the dominant corruption in the United States is not bribery. Its the shaping and influence of policy, and its done by and on behalf of the super-rich and the corporate class," Weissman said. "Those are the ones who make the political contributions and the ones to whom they [politicians] feel obligated. Since the U.S. is the most powerful country, the corruption of our politics the distortion of our politics really affects everybody around the globe." Candice Nelson, an American University government professor who heads the Campaign Management Institute, noted that, "compared to a lot of countries, the U.S. system is fairly transparent." She, too, shared concern about dark money. "If any reform would be necessary, that would be it," Nelson said. "That said, I dont really see that happening." Opposed to restrictions Cleta Mitchell, a partner and campaign finance expert in the Washington law office of Foley & Lardner, represents conservative causes and clients. She argues against any restrictions on campaign fundraising. You have to have money to get your message out. Thats just the truth, Mitchell said. Referring to a new report on campaign news coverage, from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, she noted that Trump "had more than $2 billion in free advertising. There was no way anybody, even poor Jeb Bush, could compete," she added. I think candidates need to be able to raise unlimited amounts of money, Mitchell said, so they can compete with whatever the media corporations decide theyre going to spend. Activists and government officials from around Africa will gather Friday in Tanzania for the continent's first-ever forum on albinism. The event is sponsored by the United Nations, which sounded the alarm earlier this year about a spike in attacks on albinos in Malawi. In nearby Zimbabwe, albino activists say community outreach is working to dispel dangerous myths and discrimination, but the battle is far from over. Loveness Mainoti's husband divorced her in 2008 after she gave birth to her second child with albinism. She is now a member of the Albino Charity Organization of Zimbabwe, which offers encouragement to parents of albino children. "I am now giving counseling to others, and courage to love their children and to accept their condition as they are, Mainoti said, adding that the group is trying to counter the myths surrounding albinism. It is not a misfortune. It is not a result of prostitution, neither is it a result of witchcraft. Official statistics show Zimbabwe, with a population of 13 million, has about 39,000 people with albinism. The condition is characterized by a lack of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. It is hereditary. But albino Tapiwa Gwen Marange, 34, says more education is needed in rural areas. "In Zimbabwe, traditional healers lie to HIV-positive men, [claiming] that if they sleep with a woman with albinism, HIV/AIDS is cured, Marange said. They also say women with albinism give more sexual pleasure than women who do not have albinism, which is a lie. And some people say we are a curse. My parents are black and I am white. Some people say maybe the gods were cursing my parents." Albinos have come under attack in neighboring Malawi and Tanzania, where some people falsely believe that charms made from albino body parts will bring good fortune or money. "Honestly, I never knew that I was different, said journalist Candice Mwakalyelye, an albino who is half Tanzanian. Growing up in Zimbabwe, I was never treated any differently from other children I interacted with. I do not know whether I never treated myself differently or not. But I noticed that somebody noticed my skin color when I moved to Tanzania. That is when you would find someone down the street shouting muzungu, muzungu, which is Swahili for murungu [white person]." She and other activists say education plays a key role in reducing discrimination and violence against albinos. The shooting death of a British Member of Parliament a week before Britain votes on a hotly debated referendum on whether to quit the European Union stunned a country where gun attacks are rare and political violence is almost unheard of. Some witnesses say the alleged killer yelled "Britain first" as he shot, stabbed and kicked Jo Cox, a junior Labour Member of Parliament. The 41-year-old mother of two and former aid worker was known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees, her pro-immigrant stance and, most notably, her opposition to a British exit from the EU. She died after paramedics came to her rescue in her West Yorkshire district Thursday. Police are investigating, and government officials were cautious not to qualify the killing Thursday as being politically motivated. Police say they arrested one suspect and have not established a motive. They are not looking for any other suspects. Britain's Home Secretary, Theresa May, said she would not comment on the case until the facts are fully established. She called the decision to suspend campaigning on the referendum "entirely appropriate." 'Unusual event' Such violence involving a politician is very rare in Britain. "It's a very unusual event within the confines of British politics," Tony Travers, a political science professor at the London School of Economics, told VOA. Both opponents and supporters of Britain leaving the EU suspended their campaigns Thursday. Analysts say the decision was necessary, especially given the heated nature of the debate in the final days. The debate has been bitter, pitting British voters against one another on issues of immigration, sovereignty and trade. "This debate on EU membership shouldn't be embroiled in a situation like this. This has no place in any civilized society, and for it to be misplaced, maybe, into the debate would distort the fabric of the debate and do the debate injustice," said Rory Broomfield, director of The Freedom Association, a London pressure group that favors leaving. Reaction British Prime Minister David Cameron suspended campaigning in Gibraltar following the news of the attack on Cox. He called her death a "tragedy," and described her as a "committed and caring" member of parliament. Cameron said it was "absolutely tragic and dreadful news." Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn expressed shock at what he called "a horrific murder." Corbyn described Cox as having a "deep commitment to humanity," one who was "universally liked" at Westminster" and "who did her public duty right at the heart of our democracy." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Copenhagen that the attack on Cox is an attack on democracy. "It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy." Shock waves spread through Europe, where the events leading up to the Brexit referendum are being closely watched. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted that he was "deeply shocked" by news of what he called a "terrible attack." Cox had been vocal in her support for remaining in the European Union, posting many articles online, many of them in favor of continued immigration one of the biggest and most contentious issues in the debate. In a recent appeal on Twitter, she invited readers to see a video on "why our great, proud nation should lead Europe not Leave Europe." U.S. President Barack Obama "held and hugged" grieving family members in Orlando, Florida, Thursday but said he had no easy answers to their questions of why mass shootings continue to happen. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met privately with relatives of the 49 people killed and the 53 wounded at Pulse, a gay nightclub, last Sunday in the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. He said the families' grief is "beyond description." 'Hearts are broken' Obama called for solidarity in the face of the attack, saying those killed in the attack "could be our families," and telling those directly affected by the shootings that "our hearts are broken, too." "If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this because we will be choosing to allow them to happen," he said. Airborne on the flight from Washington to the southeastern U.S. city, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Obama "feels there is no more tangible way to show support for Orlando than to go there." Earnest said the president "wants to show [that] Americans stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Orlando." The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday when an American-born Muslim sprayed round after round of bullets at revelers who were dancing to Latin music and partying with friends. The three-hour siege ended when police knocked holes into the Pulse nightclub and killed the gunman, Omar Saddiqui Mateen, in a shootout. Obama and Biden also met with the first-responders, medical staff and law enforcement officials to thank them for their efforts, and the owners and staff of the nightclub where the attack occurred. They also laid wreaths at a vigil site. Florida legislators Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Corrine Brown flew with Obama to Orlando aboard Air Force One, but they did not take part in his meetings with those affected by the shooting. WATCH: Orlando residents react to Obama visit I cant speak for [the president] or what he is going to do but I hope it does bring some comfort to the victims that he is coming and to show that he does care," said Al New, standing in the front of the makeshift memorial that has become a gathering point for Orlando residents in the wake of the shooting attack. The plaza in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is full of flowers and other memorabilia for the victims of the attack. Several vigils have been held here since the attack, and a steady stream of people pass by to pay their respects. Josh Korshak stopped by Thursday morning in advance of Obama's visit. "I mean a lot of people say Obama isnt you know he hasn't gone through it just as much as we have, and hes been acting almost indifferent to it as well," he said. "But, I think hes definitely going to try and talk to these people and tell them, 'Hey Im here for you.' What can you do, you know?" Candice King-Palgut described herself as not a fan of Obama's politics, but had great respect for his humanity. "He feels deeply, and I appreciate that," she said. She summed up with her own post-shooting prescription: "No amount of trying to keep people out, thats not going to fix anything. We just have to love each other and be more mindful of each other. Be kinder, be gentler, be truer." Meanwhile, the Senate Homeland Security committee is asking Facebook to provide whatever data it has on any account linked to the 29-year-old Mateen. WATCH: Related video on gunmen who target groups of civilians In a letter Wednesday, committee chairman Ron Johnson said his staff obtained information that Mateen made several Facebook posts Sunday, including pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and telling the U.S. and Russia to stop bombing the militants. Mateen also said there would be more attacks in the U.S. in the coming days. FBI probe Other lawmakers want to know more about the FBI's earlier contacts with Mateen, whom investigators interviewed in 2013 and 2014 after he bragged to coworkers about ties to al-Qaida. Agents could not verify the allegations and closed their probe. "We know that the FBI had looked closely at him because of concerns from coworkers and others," Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow told VOA. "Id like to know more about their decisions. He was on a terror watch list and removed." Illinois Senator Richard Durbin said, Not once but twice [the FBI was] warned that [Mateen] was a dangerous man. Their investigation concluded there was nothing more they could do. We wish there had been a different outcome many people would be alive today." Police in Zimbabwes Masvingo town have declined to give political activists and church leaders permission to stage a protest tomorrow against President Robert Mugabes alleged failure to properly run the country and the current social and economic problems affecting millions of people. But the organizers of the protest say they are going ahead with the public march, a move that is set to pit the police with agitated local people. A letter written to the conveners of the protest, signed by the acting Officer Commanding Police in Masvingo District, Superintendent Philip Ncube, states that the demonstration has not been granted by the police. In the letter, Superintendent Ncube said, without giving specific reasons, that the peaceful procession was not granted in terms of Section 26 of the Public Order and Security Act. This section of the constitution relates to consultations, negotiations, amendment of notices, and conditions with respect to processions, public demonstrations and public meetings to avoid public disorder. Section 26, Sub-section 3 clearly stipulates that a gathering cannot be sanctioned by the police if a regulating authority receives credible information on oath that there is a threat that a proposed procession, public demonstration or public meeting will result in serious disruption of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, injury to participants in the procession, public demonstration or public meeting or other persons, or extensive damage to property or other public disorder. Superintendent Ncube and Masvingo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Charity Mazula, declined to comment. Community Tolerance and Reconciliation Development advocacy officer, Zivanai Muzorodzi, said the police move was a violation of residents right to demonstrate. This is a serious violation of our right to demonstrate as enshrined in the constitution. The laws of the country demand that we notify the police within 7 days so we will not be deterred by the unconstitutional ban. Our members are ready in their numbers to hit the streets tomorrow and protest against the government for failing the country. We are saying no to bond notes, were are worried about the cash shortage and the general suffering of the citizens. Masvingo United Residents and Rate Payers Alliance director, Anoziva Muguti, added that they have handed over the matter to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. We have engaged our lawyers from ZLHR and they are currently taking up the matter through the right channels at the courts and meanwhile we are busy mobilizing our members to attend the protest tomorrow. Attorney Martin Mureri of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights confirmed that they are taking the matter to court. Yes they gave us instructions to the effect that we should appeal against the decision by the regulatory authority for prohibiting them from going ahead with their procession. It is clear from the reading of the letter from the police that there are no reasons why they banned the demonstration. Other organizations taking part in the public protest include the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association, Masvingo Residents Trust, Masvingo Human Rights Trust, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Christian Action Trust of Zimbabwe, Christian Alliance and Christian Voices International Zimbabwe. On instructions from my Government, I should like to convey to you information regarding the barbaric terrorist car bombings that took place in Sayyidah Zaynab city, in Rif Dimashq governorate, in the morning of 11 June 2016, and the terrorist acts being committed in other parts of the Syrian Arab Republic. Armed terrorist groups carried out two bombings in Sayyidah Zaynab city, in Rif Dimashq governorate. In the first attack, a car bomb went off in a vegetable market on Tin Street teeming with shoppers, while in the second attack a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in the midst of civilians gathered near the Dhiyabiyah entrance to the city. The attacks killed eight people and injured a dozen others, the majority of whom were women, elderly persons and children, most of them seriously. Armed terrorist groups also continued their attacks on Aleppo, indiscriminately raining down rockets, shells, hell cannon missiles and sniper fire on peaceful neighbourhoods of the city. Those attacks constitute a fresh violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement by these criminal groups, which are supported by the governing regimes in Ankara, Riyadh and Doha. On 10 June, 6 civilians were killed and more than 30 were injured, including women, children and elderly persons, following indiscriminate bombardments carried out by the Nusrah Front, Ahrar al-Sham and other armed terrorist groups. On 9 June, the terrorists also attacked the Shaykh Maqsud, Maydan, Muhafazah and Zahra neighbourhoods in Aleppo, Nayrab Airport and several villages in Aleppo governorate, with 54 people, including women and children, losing their lives and 93 others sustaining injuries of varying degrees of severity. Terrorists belonging to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also savagely massacred innocent civilians in the village of Ghandurah, located east of Manbij, in the countryside of Aleppo governorate, killing more than 40 civilians, including children, women and elderly persons. The terrorist bombings in Sayyidah Zaynab and the indiscriminate attacks which have been ongoing for close to a month in civilian neighbourhoods of Aleppo and the surrounding area, along with the massacres being committed by ISIL, the Nusrah Front and other terrorist groups allied or affiliated with them are all part of the criminal, thuggish and fascist policies devised by the Erdogan regime in Ankara and executed by its terrorist proxies in Syria, with financial and military support from that regime and the regimes in Doha and Riyadh. Such support is in line with the stated policies of those regimes to use their terrorist proxies to escalate the situation in all areas of Syria, in order to undermine security and stability throughout the country, spread panic and fear among innocent civilians during the month of Ramadan, and undermine the cessation of hostilities arrangement. They do all this in an attempt to boost the morale of the terrorists of ISIL, the Nusrah Front, the Army of Conquest, the Army of Islam and other criminal gangs who are rapidly wilting in the face of the daily victories posted by the Syrian Arab Army, with the support of the true friends and allies of Syria. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic affirms that all these terrorist massacres and crimes will not deter it from continuing to fulfil its duty to combat terrorism and provide peace and security to its people, and strive to bring about a political solution to the Syrian crisis through an intra-Syrian dialogue under Syrian leadership, leading to the elimination of terrorism and the expulsion of terrorist groups from Syria, the reconstruction of facilities destroyed by the terrorists and their partners, financial backers and supporters, and the building of a country in which peace, love and tolerance prevail. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic calls on the Security Council and the Secretary-General to condemn these terrorist crimes, just as they have condemned terrorist crimes committed in several countries around the world. The Government also calls on the Security Council to stop applying double standards with regard to counter-terrorism, because terrorism is terrorism. There is no such thing as moderate terrorism or non-moderate terrorism. In Syria, taking up arms against the State or for the purpose of killing innocent people, spreading panic among the population or destroying economic and civic infrastructure is considered terrorism. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic calls on the Security Council to fulfil its responsibility to maintain international peace and security by taking preventive and punitive measures immediately in respect of those regimes and States that support and fund terrorism, particularly the governing regimes in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Council must prevent those States from continuing to fund terrorism and to undermine international security and peace, and must compel them to implement fully the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015). I should be grateful if the present letter could be issued as a document of the Security Council. Statement by Central Intelligence Agency Director John O. Brennan as Prepared for Delivery Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Burr, Vice Chairman Feinstein, and Members of the Committee: Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today in an open hearing about the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency and a workforce that I am enormously proud to be part of. I am privileged every day to lead the women and men of CIA, as they work around the clock and around the world, often in difficult and even dangerous locations, to help keep our country strong and free and our fellow citizens safe and secure. Our hearing today takes place against the backdrop of a heinous act of wanton violence that was perpetrated against innocents in Orlando, Florida last weekend. We join the families and friends in mourning the loss of their loved ones who were killed in the attack, and we extend our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery of all those injured. This act of violence was an assault on the values of openness and tolerance that define us as a Nation. In light of the events in Orlando, I would like to take this opportunity to offer the Committee our assessment of the terrorist threat our Nation and our citizens face, especially from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. On the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, the U.S-led coalition has made important progress against ISIL. The group appears to be a long way from realizing the vision that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi laid out when he declared the caliphate two years ago in Mosul. Several notable indicators are trending in the right direction. ISIL has lost large stretches of territory in both Syria and Iraq. Its finance and media operations have been squeezed. And it has struggled to replenish its ranks of fighters, in part because fewer foreign fighters are traveling to Syria. Moreover, some reports suggest that a growing number of ISIL members are becoming disillusioned with the group and are eager to follow in the footsteps of members who have already defected. The anti-ISIL Coalition is taking steps to exploit these vulnerabilities. In addition to efforts underway to liberate cities like Fallujah and Manbij, the Coalition is also removing ISIL leaders from the battlefield, thereby reducing the groups capabilities and its will-to-fight. Last month, for example, a US airstrike killed an influential ISIL leader in Al Anbar. ISIL, however, is a formidable, resilient, and largely cohesive enemy, and we anticipate that the group will adjust its strategy and tactics in an effort to regain momentum. In the coming months, we can expect ISIL to probe the front lines of its adversaries for weaknesses, to harass the forces that are holding the cities it previously controlled, and to conduct terror attacks against its enemies in Iraq and Syria. To compensate for territorial losses, ISIL will probably rely more on guerrilla tactics, including high-profile attacks outside territory it holds. A steady stream of attacks in Baghdad and Damascus demonstrates the groups ability to penetrate deep inside enemy strongholds. Beyond its losses on the battlefield, ISILs finances are taking a hit as well. Coalition efforts have reduced the groups ability to generate revenue and have forced it to cut costs and to reallocate funds. Yet ISIL is adapting to the Coalitions efforts, and it continues to generate at least tens of millions of dollars in revenue per month, primarily from taxation and from crude oil sales. Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach. The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower, and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly. Moreover, the groups foreign branches and global networks can help preserve its capacity for terrorism regardless of events in Iraq and Syria. In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda. Since at least 2014, ISIL has been working to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The most prominent examples are the attacks in Paris and Brussels, which we assess were directed by ISILs leadership. We judge that ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks. ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel. Further, as we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino, and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers who have no direct links to the group. Last month, for example, a senior ISIL figure publicly urged the groups followers to conduct attacks in their home countries if they were unable to travel to Syria and Iraq. At the same time, ISIL is gradually cultivating its global network of branches into a more interconnected organization. The branch in Libya is probably the most developed and the most dangerous. We assess that it is trying to increase its influence in Africa and to plot attacks in the region and in Europe. Meanwhile, ISILs Sinai branch has established itself as the most active and capable terrorist group in Egypt. The branch focuses its attacks on Egyptian military and government targets, but it has also targeted foreigners and tourists, as we saw with the downing of a Russian passenger jet last October. Other branches, while also a concern, have struggled to gain traction. The Yemen branch, for instance, has been riven with factionalism. And the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch has struggled to maintain its cohesion, in part because of competition with the Taliban. Finally, on the propaganda front, the Coalition is working to counter ISILs expansive propaganda machine. ISIL paints a carefully crafted image to the outside world, lauding its own military efforts, portraying its so-called caliphate as a thriving state, and alleging that the group is expanding globally even as it faces setbacks locally. ISIL releases a multitude of media products on a variety of platformsincluding social media, mobile applications, radio, and hardcopy mediums. To disseminate its official online propaganda, the group primarily uses Twitter, Telegram, and Tumblr, and it relies on a global network of sympathizers to further spread its messages. In sum, ISIL remains a formidable adversary, but the United States and our global partners have succeeded in putting the group on the defensive, forcing it to devote more time and energy to try to hold territory and to protect its vital infrastructure. And though this will be a long and difficult fight, there is broad agreement in the international community on the seriousness of the threat, and on the need to meet it collectively and decisively. * * * * As you well know, CIA is not just a counterterrorism agency. We are a comprehensive intelligence service with a global charter, and we are called upon to address the full range of 21st century threats. And as I often tell young officers at CIA, I have never seen a time when our country faced such a wide variety of threats to our national security. Run your fingers along almost any portion of the map from the Asia Pacific to North Africa and you will quickly find a flashpoint with global implications. China is modernizing its military and extending its reach in the South China Sea. North Korea is expanding its nuclear weapons program. Russia is threatening its neighbors and aggressively reasserting itself on the global stage. And then there is the cyber domain, where states and sub-national actors are threatening financial systems, transportation networks, and organizations of every stripe, inside government and out. In the face of these many daunting challenges, our Nation depends on CIA and our Intelligence Community partners to help keep our country strong and secure. Indeed, in todays volatile and complex world, policymakers depend on CIA more than ever for intelligence, insight, and options. If we are to meet the national security challenges that confront us, we must constantly adapt and innovate. And that is why we announced a comprehensive effort last year to modernize our Agency for the future. Since launching our Modernization Program just over fifteen months ago, we have taken important steps to ensure that our Agency fully adapts to the challenges of our time. We still have work to doand in some respects, we always will. Thats because modernization is about more than lines and boxes on our organizational chart. It is also a mindseta commitment to innovate constantly so we can keep up with a changing world. A key part of this mindset is our commitment to making our workforce as diverse as the world we cover. Just last week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a report showing that the Intelligence Community is significantly less diverse than the rest of the federal workforce. It is a report that forces those of us in the Intelligence Community to confront some hard truths about who we are and how we are performing our mission. As this committee knows, CIA recently unveiled a landmark effort to make sure that our workforce reflectsin our attitudes, backgrounds, ethnicities, and perspectivesthe Nation we work so hard to defend. This is both a moral and a mission imperative. I truly believe that the business case for diversity is stronger for CIA than it is for any organization in the US government. Diversity not only gives us the cultural understanding we need to operate in any corner of the globe, it also helps us avoid group think, ensuring we bring to bear a range of perspectives on the complex challenges that are inherent to intelligence work. Aguilera. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Like Melissa Etheridge and the Broadway community, Christina Aguilera has released a new benefit song in honor of the victims of the Orlando gay club shooting. All proceeds from Change, which is available for download on iTunes, will go to the families of the 49 victims as well as the survivors, via the National Compassion Fund. Like so many, I want to help be part of the change this world needs to make it a beautiful inclusive place where humanity can love each other freely and passionately, Aguilera says in a message on her website. We live in a time of diversity, in a time of endless possibilities, in a time where expression of oneself is something to be celebrated. And I am left wondering how people filled with so much love could be taken by so much hate. Aguilera, a longtime LGBTQ ally, sings in the moving song, Who you love or the color of your skin / Or the place that you were born and grew up in / Shouldnt decide how you will be treated / Cause were all the same when everybodys breathing. O.J. Simpson with his first wife, Marguerite Whitley. Photo: ESPN Longtime Los Angeles Times reporter and current author, magazine editor, and UCLA communication-studies professor Jim Newton thought he had put the O.J. Simpson saga behind him. But then came last years 20th anniversary of Simpsons acquittal in the trial determining whether he murdered ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ronald Goldman. And on its heels, the production of FXs American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, a dramatized account of the period between the heinous crime and O.J.s exoneration. Newton gamely waded through all ten episodes of the Ryan MurphyBrad Falchuck series alongside us, serving as a barometer for Crime Storys veracity in weekly fact-checks. Overlapping that, O.J.: Made in America producerdirector Ezra Edelman was preparing Newtons inclusion as an on-camera interviewee in his epic documentary. And with Made in America having since aired, we circled back with Newton for one last tour through this notorious, grisly chapter in American criminal justice for his take on Edelmans ambitious film, how it sized up to American Crime Story, and the surreal experience of viewing it as participant and objective audience. On some level, it feels as though this documentary is charting the development of a psychopath. Theres something so shockingly self-centered about him, and I experienced some of that over the course of the trial and in my own meeting with him, but I think [Made in America] documents that in a methodical way I havent seen before. Ill tell you something: I didnt know O.J.s father was gay. Im not treated to a lot of new revelations about O.J. Simpson anymore, but there was a lot of stuff in here. Im amazed about some of the things people talked about. I would have thought there was attorneyclient stuff that prohibited some of this. So theres a lot more information than I was expecting them to be able to get, frankly. There are more resonant revelations in the movie, like how O.J. may have internalized his fathers sexuality, but also smaller jolts a la Carl Douglas ostensibly boasting about having gotten his 15 minutes of fame. One of the ones I felt was stunning was at the very end, when you see Simpson and the defense team at his house, and Shapiro comes on the air. Watching them watching him is wild. Theres genuinely new nuggets sprinkled throughout this and presented in a way I thought was consistently surprising. What were some of the other surprises? The decline into debauchery in Florida. Im not very surprised to hear it, but I didnt know it the cocaine, the girlfriend. I had never seen the evidence of it. Whatever one thinks of the murder, I found myself feeling sorry for the guy as he slid further and further off his greatness. Another revelation [was] the idea that he was signing all this memorabilia while in custody. I know there was a reference to it in the fictional version, but [Made in America] talked about millions of dollars he made while he was in custody. I had no idea. The fact that they were doing it as an industry to help play his legal bills, that was a slap in the face to me. Was there anything that further elucidated aspects of the case that you were already familiar with? Theres that scene [in American Crime Story] where Marcia Clark is in a bar with Chris Darden up in Oakland, where she walks people through the blood evidence. Here, it was fascinating to me to go back through that stuff. There is a version of this case thats very simple: Theres two bodies on the ground; theres size-16 shoeprints leading away that very few people owned that he happened to; to the left of those shoeprints are blood drops that have his DNA; he has a cut on his left hand; theres Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpsons blood in his car; theres blood at this house the literal trail of blood. You go back through it, and its a pretty compelling case. Unfortunately, its not the case they elected to present. What was the process of being interviewed actually like for you? They came over to UCLA, and we borrowed the deans office in the building where I work, and I remember feeling a little awkward about that. I remember thinking, Thisll be 45 minutes or an hour, and it went maybe three to four hours. It was long enough that when I arrived for the premiere, I thought either they could use nothing of what I said, or they could just cherry-pick out all the stupid things I said, or this could turn out all right. They had a lot of questions. It was quite exhausting. The length of the film seemed to allow insights from people like yourself to really breathe and not be overly clipped or manipulated. What comes through for me as both a viewer and interviewee is it unfolds like an actual learning experience, like theyre actually listening rather than asking the four questions they need to get to round out the segment. It felt exploratory. I certainly felt well-treated. I had a couple of [on-camera] comments that I was nervous about. If they had cut differently, I worried that I could look ham-handed, but I felt like they were really thoughtful, and Im grateful. Theres a real intellectual honesty about the [film]. It felt very nuanced and personal to [O.J.] and also socially relevant, and that comes through in these long interviews where people get to explain themselves instead of blurting out something incriminatory and then moving on. If there is one nit to pick, it might be trial-fatigue when it comes to this case. Do you think thats valid, or is Made in Americas perspective on the 95 proceedings another essential component? For me, it was fascinating, and in some ways even more so having been through the FX one, because it reminded me of what it really was. Its almost like a diary for me to watch it, so in that sense, Im not sure Im a good critic of that. I think it works at this length, and I think its powerful, and by grinding you through some of that, they replicate the grind that it was. [Prosecution witness] Dennis Fung testified for eight fucking days. Part of the story of this trial is that it was exhaustive, exhausting, tedious, difficult and so if the show indulged a bit of that, I give them credit for bringing that idea back, too. Youve always abstained from revealing your feelings on Simpsons guilt or innocence in Nicole and Rons murders. Did this film change your feeling at all? As to the ultimate conclusion of whether I think he did it or not, I would say no. But something I saw in this presentation that I had never seen before were the photos of the crime scene. I guess what I would say is it brought home, 20-odd years later, the intensity of this event, the rage that had to fuel it. That whoever did this crime wasnt doing it for money or some shallow motive. Whoever did this crime was filled with rage for either or both of those victims. And the universe of people who were that furious at either or both of these victims is probably pretty small. So in that sense, I think it reminds you of why he was charged. This is not jumping at the first conclusion. There were serious reasons to regard him as the culprit here. And whether he actually did it, thats for a jury and history to decide. But its impossible to see this and not be moved by what happened. A new coat of paint and some feature conversions by the Marlin Volunteer Fire Department have repurposed a 5-ton military truck into a new fire response vehicle. The Marlin VFD received the military cargo truck through the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program, which sends retired military vehicles into the hands of volunteer fire departments. The 5-ton 2006 BMY military cargo truck was stripped of its camouflage paint and outfitted with a 1,500-gallon poly tank, pump, hose reel, emergency lights and a fresh coat of bright fire engine-red paint. We had a 1968 truck through the (DoDs) Federal Excess Personal Property program, but with that program the department did not own the vehicle, Chief James Adams of the Marlin VFD said. We applied for the truck through the FPP program because it becomes the property of the VFD and we take possession of the title. It has been a very good replacement truck. The truck has four-wheel drive, power steering and an automatic transmission. It is expected to provide better safety and efficiency to the department as a multipurpose unit. We serve a community that has a lot of ranch- and farmland, so we respond to brush and grass fires, Adams said. We also have it set up to use as a small tanker for structure fires. It has high ground clearance, too, and we recently used it in high-water rescues. Launched in Texas in 2005, the U.S. Forest Service and the Texas A&M Forest Service administer the no-cost program that transfers the military property. Texas A&M Forest Service picks up the vehicles from military bases around the country, and its in-house mechanics inspect the vehicles for any major issues. Once the department obtains the title to the vehicle, it must use local funds for converting the vehicle for firefighting use and maintenance. Fundraising and donations are important to helping the department make these changes and repairs. For more information on this and other fire department assistance programs offered by Texas A&M Forest Service, visit http://texasfd.com. WAHOO Discussion has begun about the possibility of combining two county offices. The Saunders County Board of Supervisors began public discussion on June 7 about the pros and cons of consolidating the Register of Deeds and the Assessor offices. Present for the discussion were Register of Deeds Don Clark and Assessor Cathy Gusman, the two officials currently heading the offices that would be affected. Clark said he will retire at the end of his term, two years from now. His first question to the supervisors was whether they had already come to a consensus about consolidation. With no negative responses from the board, Supervisor Scott Sukstorf said the decision to begin discussions was based on money and convenience. Presumably, the county would save the salary of the Register of Deeds, as there would be but one elected official running both offices. Clark said the decision would not directly affect him due to retirement, but that he believes the county still needs to have the position. He said the office makes the county a lot of money and has a very high standard of operations, the best in the state. Gusman said potential pitfalls of consolidation would be that the county would not save money. She added there was also the potential increase in cost of software that both offices could operate, as they currently use incompatible programs. Supervisor Ed Rastovski said consolidation would lead to more efficiency, as more workers could be cross-trained to do more jobs for each office. Deputy Register of Deeds Rhonda Andresen said that the county would still run two separate offices, but simply eliminate the one elected position. She said there is no way to know how much money, if any, the county would save since they would have to hire additional staff to cover job duties. Andresen, Clark and one part-time staff are the only employees in the deeds office. Clark said that 16 of the 93 counties in Nebraska have a Register of Deeds office. Many counties that have combined offices have done so by combining the Register of Deeds and County Clerk offices, but Clark said that if consolidation happened, the right way would be with the Assessors office. Administrative Assistant to the Board of Supervisors Louis Austin said that a county must have 20,000 residents to have a Register of Deeds office. According to the 2014 Census, Saunders County has nearly 24,000 residents. The decision could rest in the hands of Saunders County residents, if the supervisors agree to put it on a ballot. Andresen said that if consolidation did take place, it would not be until the end of Clarks term in office, two years from this coming January. Discussion was expected to continue at the June 14 supervisors meeting. It will come down to what the public wants, Supervisor Dave Lutton said. We should look at a lot more positions like this, Sukstorf said. WAHOO The Saunders County Sheriffs office reported five accidents. On May 23, Gregory Ourada of Prague attempted a u-turn on County Road 31, four miles west and two miles south of Prague, when he drove too close to the east side of the roadway. According to the report, Ouradas 1984 Ford flatbed got too close to the east side of the roadway and slid down the hill 30 feet, causing $4,000 in damages. On May 30, Kaylee Sue Carlson of Ithaca was northbound on County Road 11, one mile west and one-and-a-half miles south of Mead in her 2006 Toyota Corolla. According to the report, Carlson lost control of her vehicle on the gravel, exited the roadway into the east ditch and rolled several times, totaling her vehicle. She was taken to Fremont Area Medical Center by the Mead Squad. On May 31, Alexandrea K. Sautter of Omaha was eastbound on Highway 92, one mile west of Yutan, when a deer collided with her 2014 Toyota, causing $3,000 in damages. On June 4, Charles E. Johnson of Ames was towing a mobile home with his 1991 freight truck. According to the report, when Johnson attempted to turn at the corner of County Road S and County Road 10, three miles west of Leshara, the wind picked up and tipped the mobile home he was towing onto its roof in a ditch. No damage estimates were listed. On June 7, Kathy Hagaman of Wahoo and Peggy Sue Mullinax of Lincoln pulled into the turning lane on Highway 92, half a mile west of Wahoo. According to the report, Hagaman struck Mullinax from behind while she was stopped, causing $500 in damages to Mullinaxs 2006 Honda and $2,200 in damages to her 2009 Dodge Avenger. Australian T-28D Trojan Back in the Air! words: Chris Godfrey and Phil Buckley photography: Carl Herbert Back in July, 2015 WarbirdsNews reported on Chris Godfrey and his efforts to bring his combat-veteran T-28D Trojan 51-3588 back into flying condition in Perth, Western Australia. (Click HERE to read our previous story about 588s fascinating history). We are happy to report that Godfrey successfully test flew his Trojan this March, marking her first flight since 2012. After smoothing out some minor radio/intercom issues, the aircraft flew twice in May. Chris Godfrey took off from Perths Jandakot Airport and tracked for an airstrip outside controlled airspace to perform some upper air work, which he followed with circuits around the field. Godfrey commented that, It was really a dream to fly, and has been a lifelong dream of mine to own and fly my very own Vietnam War era warbird and this is a really great example. In fact I have been in regular contact with the very pilot who flew her in the USAF in South East Asia. He has shared with me his old documents and checklists as well as his flying logs in combat, circa 1970. The shakedown flights have revealed a few propeller seal issues, but no other significant problems have showed themselves. Australian regulations require Godfrey to fly off five hours in the T-28, followed by another oil analysis to confirm a healthy engine, before he can ferry the aeroplane to her new home in Victoria. If all goes successfully, Godfrey hopes to perform the ferry flight in August or September this year. This genuine warbird will perform at as many air shows and fly-ins as Chris Godfreys schedule will allow. His first planned event will be Avalon 2017. He hopes to see many aviation enthusiasts and welcomes them to come and say hello! WarbirdsNews wishes to thank Phil Buckley, Chris Godfrey and Carl Herbert for their contributions to this article. We also hope Chris Godfrey has many successful years ahead flying his beautiful aircraft as well! Police and investigators at the scene of the Orlando shooting. Credit:Florida Today/AP The 49-year-old will also be the first woman MP of Arabic background. With a recent Fairfax polling showing a 4.5 per cent swing in Cowan - taking that contest to a dead-heat at 50-50 - Labor's high-profile candidate looks a good chance of becoming just that. Liberal MP Luke Simpkins. Credit:Andrew Meares While Dr Aly is acutely aware history beckons on July 2, she doesn't shy away from criticising Liberal candidate and conservative Christian Luke Simpkins for his previous attacks on Islam. In 2011, Mr Simpkins used his parliamentary speech to say Australians unwittingly eating Halal food were one step away from the converting to Islam. He was then ridiculed on social media in January last year after confusing the logo of a Perth nightclub, the Speakeasy, with an Islamic Shahada flag favoured by jihadists. "If you are going to be a representative or a leader it is your responsibility to be informed," Dr Aly said. "There is absolutely no excuse to have uninformed or misinformed opinions and speaking those in Parliament. "So I'm not offended by them, but I would expect more from someone who is a representative of the community." Mr Simpkins, who has held the seat since 2007, claims his comments about Islam have been taken out of context. He doesn't feel there will voter backlash in the electorate over his Halal gaffe, despite it being one of the most diverse multicultural seats in WA, with around 38 per cent of its 158,000 residents born overseas. "I know the Labor party likes to speak that up," he said about his Halal food comments. "There is no doubt about it. But when people read the speech in its context it's not what the headline of The West Australian was years ago." Mr Simpkins - who was again thrust into the spotlight in February 2015 with a spill call against then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott - said while crime and infrastructure were keys issues in the electorate, people were mainly concerned about border protection. "Labor is very wishy-washy on this and we saw it after the 2007 election," he said. "It's not in their DNA to have strong borders. And as Bill Shorten tries to keep control of the various elements within his party, there will be breakouts on that as well. "We have already seen it and my opponent has already spoken about a more humane approach. "It's certainly a concern and I hear it a lot." He also took a swipe at Dr Aly for not living in the electorate of Cowan. "I think people like to know their candidate does have a connection in the area and they have a long term connection in the area," he said. "I've lived in Cowan for 15 years now... whereas my opponent was tapped on the shoulder in the last six months to run. "Where is the commitment?" Dr Aly scoffed at suggestions living outside the electorate would cost her votes. "I've been very open from the beginning I don't live in the electorate and as I mentioned it's a huge electorate around 180 square kilometres," she said. The daughter of a Perth man sent home from a P&O cruise says he was removed from the ship for flicking a cigarette overboard and left to pay his own way back to WA without due regard for his health. Mark O'Keefe, 57, and his wife Debra left for Bali on a 10-day cruise with the company on June 6 from Fremantle. Mark O'Keefe was removed from a P&O ship, much to his daughter Courtney's annoyance. His daughter Courtney told WAtoday that Mr O'Keefe was spotted flicking a cigarette overboard by a P&O security officer. "He had maybe two drags because the weather was horrendous - he butted it out, and without thinking, he flicked it," daughter Courtney O'Keefe said. Bangui: Lord's Resistance Army rebels have kidnapped 17 people from a village in eastern Central African Republic, a senior local official said on Thursday. The rebels are notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping children for use as fighters. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the LRA's messianic leader, Joseph Kony, and other senior commanders. Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, in Congo in 2006. Credit:AP "Very early (on Tuesday), they attacked Kadjema village and kidnapped 17 people who are still in captivity. I hope that our forces in the area and the Ugandans will find these people and bring them back," said Ghislain Kolengo, prefect of Haut Mbomou region. The rebels struck on Monday, snatching three people in the morning and forcing them to carry their goods before releasing them in the evening, he added. West Yorkshire Police Temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins also said the attack on Ms Cox was believed to have been a targeted attack. A receipt that allegedly shows Thomas Mair, the man arrested over the killing of British MP Jo Cox, bought far-right wing and Nazi materials. He was said to be "lucid" under police questioning. However the political overtones of the attack led police to contact MPs around the country to give them security advice and campaigning on the Brexit referendum remains suspended by both sides until Sunday. Tributes for Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London. Credit:Matt Dunham/AP Commentators in the media and in politics have linked the attack to the raised emotions and anti-migrant sentiment aroused by the referendum. German chancellor Angela Merkel called on campaigners to moderate their language, saying that without respect for the beliefs of others "the radicalisation will become unstoppable". A car is removed for forensic testing near to where Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was shot and stabbed outside Birstall Library. Credit:Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Labour MP Neil Coyle, a friend of Ms Cox, said Leave campaigners had put out "very dangerous" material that "risks inspiring extremist elements on the hard right in this country". But Rachel Reeves, also a Labour MP and friend of Ms Cox, said on Friday, "'We don't know what the motives were of the guy who attacked her yesterday. I don't think we should link the referendum to Jo's death." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, front, is flanked by the MP for Leeds Central Hilary Benn, Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons Reverend Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin as they lay flowers in memory of Jo Cox. Credit:Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who has suffered homophobic and racist abuse which culminated in a man being arrested on Thursday, said "I think we have to be careful not to prejudge the motive for this attack." However, people should think "about the political culture that we have in this country and how we nurture a kinder culture". Flowers have been left on the houseboat where Jo Cox lived in Hermitage Moorings on the River Thames in Wapping, London. Credit:Matt Dunham/AP "I think (MPs are) all aware of our vulnerability," he said. The anti-extremist Southern Poverty Law Centre published receipts from 1999 and 2003 showing a Thomas Mair, of Batley, West Yorkshire, had bought books with titles such as Chemistry of Powder and Explosives, Improvised Munitions Handbook and Incendiaries. A flag flies half mast over Portcullis House, Westminster, in memory of Jo Cox. Credit:Dan Kitwood/Getty Images One book had instructions on how to build a homemade gun. He had also bought a copy of Ich Kampfe, a handbook from 1940s Germany that was given to new members of the Nazi Party, and Flashpoint, most likely a 1996 book speculating about the start of a third world war. He had subscribed to National Vanguard, the NA's magazine, a virulently anti-Semitic, racist publication which advocated creating an all-white 'homeland'. The Guardian reported that police units who searched Mr Mair's house found "samples of Nazi regalia and far right-wing literature". On Friday the Telegraph reported that Mr Mair had visited an alternative therapy centre in Birstall on Wednesday evening, the night before Mrs Cox was killed, where he explained he wanted treatment for depression. The centre's owner Rebecca Walker, 42, told the Telegraph: "He came to the centre looking for alternative therapies for his depression. "He said he had been suffering from mental health problems for a long time, but said that reflex therapies and others he'd tried in the past hadn't helped. "He appeared to be quite a troubled man, didn't say very much to anyone while he was there. "I asked him to come back on Thursday to discuss it all and have a drink, but he never came back. "You think maybe you could stop it, you know if he'd stayed for five more minutes. I guess I couldn't really have done much though really." Also on Friday, Ms Cox's assistant revealed her last words: "my pain is too much". Both PM David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visited Birstall on Friday to lay flowers close to the scene of the killing and pay their respects. The prime minister said the whole nation was rightly shocked at Ms Cox's death, and called for people to "value, and see as precious, the democracy we have on these islands". by Adrian Gibson The Complaints and Corruption Branch/Unit (CCU) of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) should be disbanded and replaced by a Police Complaints Authority. As it stands, the concept of the CCU is representative of a rigged process, with the branch serving as a terrible design for police accountability. To say that one police branch can fairly investigate officers - with whom the personnel at the unit may have just worked arm-in-arm before being transferred - is preposterous. Here, we have a set-up where officers are transferred in and out of the CCU in much the same way as they are transferred from one police station to another, from one island to another, from the K9 unit to the Drug Enforcement Unit to the Central Detective Unit to mobile to the band and so on. It is incestuous. This failed experiment ought to be scrapped, immediately. The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is comprised of about 3,500 officers, including police reservists. A little more than half are situated in New Providence and the rest are spread between the Family Islands. If the New York Police Department (NYPD) - a force of 34,450 with nearly 4,500 additional Auxiliary Police Officers, 5,000 School Safety Agents, 2,300 Traffic Enforcement Agents and 370 Traffic Enforcement Supervisors - could face similar issues of transparency and be subjected to external investigations, then certainly a force of 3,500 regular and reserve officers would mean that almost every officer knows the other and therefore it is simply too small - barring any other reason - to have a properly functioning CCU. If I was an officer, how could one impartially investigate me if I formerly worked alongside them, put my life on the line for them or if they are my family or formerly my commanding officer? I know a family of four or five brothers and sister/s, all of whom are members of the RBPF - not to mention their cousins. Bahamians should have no confidence in the CCU. Any references to it ought to be erased from the Police Act (i.e. section 81). On August 12, 2015, Jonnique Pratt, of Money Rock, South Andros, was severely beaten by a police officer who was formerly posted there. Ms Pratt is the owner and manager at All-Stars Restaurant in High Rock, South Andros. I have opted not to mention the police officers name today as Ms Pratt is initiating legal action against him. I will instead refer to him as the Officer. In her letter to the CCU, she wrote: At about 9.30pm, a man of about 5ft 10in tall, stalky in size with light brown complexion and a low cut fade entered my business place at All-Stars Restaurant in High Rock, South Andros. With a beer in his hand the man known as (the Officer) approached the counter for service as he was off duty and in his plain clothes. I offered him a beer, took his empty beer bottle off the counter and discarded it. I then proceeded to give (the Officer)his change for a $3 beer from a $50 bill. I returned $47 to (the Officer) and remained behind the counter. (The officer) then proceeded to harass one of my customers that were seated at the bar counter with his head down resting. (The Officer) kept pushing my customer in attempt to wake him and repeatedly shook and pushed on the young man. I intervened stating that the young man had patronised my establishment all day and therefore I was okay with him resting if he needed to as he waited for his friend to be ready to leave. She went on: (The Officer) walked over to the pool table and picked up the white cue ball and started fussing with the friend of the gentleman that was sleeping at the counter. I approached the table after feeling the tension escalate in the room. As I attempted to reach for the cue ball from (the Officer) he made the statement that, if I touch him thats assault. With that being said I turned around and went back behind the bar counter and called the police station in Kemps Bay at 369-4736. I informed the on duty officer at the station that (the Officer) was at All-Stars Restaurant harassing my customers and I needed immediate assistance. I then took out the $50 bill given to me by (the Officer) and returned his funds to him requesting my change. I informed him that I am making the decision not to serve him nor to charge him for his open drink and then I asked him to leave. (The Officer) took both the $50 bill and the $47 in change and put all of the monies into his pocket. He proceeded to walk out the door to his vehicle. At this point the other customers had already gone back to their own business and playing games as before. I walked out the door behind (the Officer) followed by my co-worker Nicky Rolle. I informed (the Officer) that I had already contacted the police regarding his behaviour so he should just return the change to me or we can wait until they arrive to resolve the matter. The Officer spun around from trying to open his car door and told me to get out of his face before he strikes me down he suddenly and unexpectedly shoved me to the ground. I got up yelling that I would press charges and he was not to leave until the police arrived to recover my funds and take my statement for him shoving me. He jumped in his car and I told Nicky to have someone call the station again. By this time the customers in the restaurant have noticed the commotion outside and some of them come into the parking lot to see what is going on . the Officer proceeded to argue with customers and I intervened to stop the situation from escalating. I did this by letting everyone know the police were on their way. That being said the Officer drove through my landscaping to get out of the parking lot and proceeded to speed down the road out of sight. I got in my vehicle and went straight to the police station, she wrote. Ms Pratt told the CCU: I met (the Officer) already lying to the on-duty officer that we tried to gang him in the parking lot and when he saw me he started yelling and directing the on-duty officer to arrest me. I stated to the (the corporal) on duty that I would like to file a complaint against (the Officer) for pushing me to the ground given I had abrasions on my back and dirt on my shirt and shoulders. (The Officer) proceeded to yell at me and call me a stupid bitch repeatedly. I could not get a word in. He became more aggressive and started approaching me. (The corporal) stood between us yelling at (the Officer) cop calm down, cop calm down. To no avail the Officer started threatening to strike me. Saying I dont know anything, if I think I could do something to him. I cant do him anything and he doesnt know what I came there for because I assaulted him. He got in my face yelling again and the corporal tried to intervene by telling (the Officer) to calm down. He would not. (The Officer) suddenly struck me to my left jaw and drops me straight to the police station floor flat on my back. I started yelling (to the corporal) to do something and he reached down to help me up ... (the Officer) charged at me again so I got up off the floor (the Officer was) cussing at me and calling me a bitch (I then hid behind the corporal) completely unsure of his ability to protect me from (the Officer) as he taunts me and tries to get at me. I then ran behind the plexiglass window where civilians are not allowed in attempt to grab the phone and call 911. Ms Pratt stated that the supervising officer soon arrived at the police station, calmed the situation as best he could and sent her to the local clinic. Upon her return to the station, she told the CCU: As I gave my statement (the Officer) returned, yelling and creating a scene in the police station yet again. He was walking around taunting me and lying about the events of the night so loudly that I could hear him from the back room where I gave my statement. As I sat there with (the corporal) and a female reserve officer. I began to get frightened (as I was) again unaware of (the Officers) intentions. I was shaking and stopped giving my statement. I asked (the corporal) if he should be there taunting me as I gave my statement and refused to complete my statement until (the Officer) was removed from the hallway and I felt safe. She went on: In the first altercation where (the Officer) pushed me in the parking lot I received abrasions and bruises to my right shoulder and side. In the second altercation I cut my lower lip, chipped my two middle bottom teeth, locked my jaw, locked two fingers, split my cheek on the inside, cut my tongue and the left side of my face is swollen. I received the $47 change back from (the Officer after the Officer-in-Charge) forced him to return my funds and (the Officere-in-Charge) requested that I appended my statement with a note that I received my funds in full. Astounding There is much more to her story, including witness accounts. However, what is most astounding is the fact that after that officer admitted to brutalising this 28-year-old young woman, he was allowed to remain on the police force. The CCU told her that the Officer was merely docked 10 days pay, supposedly demoted and transferred from Andros to New Providence. Whats more, this young woman - and one of her employees and a customer (both witnesses) - were charged with assault and obstruction only to have the trumped charges subsequently withdrawn. Ms Pratt has written to the Commissioner of Police (COP) and she was told by someone in his office that her letter would not be passed on to the Commissioner because he should not know about her case because it is before the Tribunal. That was months ago. Moreover, she has travelled from Andros on several occasions to visit the CCU for a letter or a certificate of conviction telling her of the outcome of the case. She has been given the run around on four different occasions since January. The CCU invited her to have her lawyer speak to the COP and also to retrieve the certificate of conviction. I have spoken to her attorney, who informed me that though she has called the CCU on countless occasions and written two or three letters, she too has been given the run around. There is clearly a lack of accountability here. Accountability speaks to answerability for performance. It also speaks to a responsibility to discharge ones duties in a manner satisfactory to whoever may be the beneficiary of such duties or responsibilities. This case is representative of yet another failure of the CCU to thoroughly address public complaints. Police officers should be accountable to the people, the law and the organisation. Their accountability to the Bahamian people has been steadily eroded and distorted. Although section 78 of the Police Act calls for a Police Complaints Inspectorate, which would review the investigation and determination of a complaint by the CCU, we see no civilian oversight. Whatever happened to adherence to Article Two of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials? The COP is accountable to the executive, managing and administering the force, with what can hardly be described as operational independence. As it stands, the current COPs superintendence of the RBPF leaves much to be desired. The COP should be accountable to Parliament. We have a ruler supportive police force. This notion that the police can handle complaints against the police is nothing short of a farcical pretence meant to fool the public into trusting an internal system that little to nothing is known about, a system that can withhold documents and evidence pertaining to an investigation when requested by a complainant and/or their attorneys, a system where the COP and/or his officers with charge of a matter hardly, if ever, formally respond to a complainant or their legal counsel. This failure to respond appears to be an insincere means by which to protect the organisation and/or unethical officers against law suits. What they dont appear to realise that any sensible lawyer/complainant could issue summons for discovery and disclosure and still obtain the same, with costs. According to Colleen Lewis, in her seminal work Complaints Against the Police, the police are the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system having been entrusted with considerable coercive powers and a significant degree of discretion. That discretion is not rigid but rather, in the words of Lord Denning in the case R v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, ex parte Blackburn [1968] 2 QB 118, that the police have a wide discretion in enforcing the law. That discretion ought not be abused but must be, as Lewis asserts, exercised fairly in the interests of justice. The blue curtain of silence engulfs the RBPF. There is a code of silence. The brotherhood syndrome is obvious. One must be caught red handed and without any reasonable excuse to be fired. Even if caught on tape, there are those in command - I am told - who would inquire of the complainants if they would not want the matter to be dealt with internally rather than simply, and immediately, charging the offending officers just as they arrest, charge and prosecute everyone else. The Mollen Inquiry (1993) on the code of silence and the police misconduct in the New York City Police Department stated: Group loyalty often flourished at the expense of an officers sworn duty. It makes allegiance to fellow officers - even corrupt ones - more important than allegiance to the Department and the community. When this happens loyalty itself becomes corrupt and erects the strongest barriersto corruption control: the code of silence and the Us vs Them mentality. According to Lewis: The police code of silence protects the kind of behaviour that the them against us mentality can create. This remains a problem for any system which handles citizens grievances about police conduct but, as is demonstrate below, when police control the process the problem is compounded. The following brief look at the inadequacy of police controlled, internal accountability policies helps to explain why the handling of complaints against police emerged as a political issue in the 1950s and 1960s and why it has intermittently remained on the political agenda ever since. A common and significant factor for the break-down in police accountability centred around the closed and secretive police controlled, internal system of handling citizens complaints and the lack of effective redress it provides for complainants. Indeed, given the accounts of police violence, misconduct, insensitivity and corrupt behaviour, how could a discerning public trust their internal processes to honestly hold police officers accountable, to properly handle complaints. I certainly dont. Closed system It is foolish too, in Lewis words, to expect this closed system to investigate future partners or superiors but lends credence to the argument that it is unrealistic to expect them to investigate former partners, superiors or colleagues who, as members of the same closed system, have shared departmental, district and station problems and are inculcated with the same strong culture. To use the police family analogy, asking police to investigate their colleagues through internal only processes is akin to asking brothers and sisters to investigate each other or their parents. I couldnt agree more. According to Jerome Skolnick and James Fyfe in their book Above The Law: Police Use and Abuse of Excessive Force: Once they are inside, new officers behaviour, perceptions, and values are influenced enormously by their administrators, and there develops within police departments a shared view of the world and the role of the police in it. To be sure, the routine of policing is governed in large measure by peer pressures and by the desire for peer approval, but, whether through act or omission, the chief is to the main architect of police officers street behaviour ... An external, independent body is needed to oversee police complaints. The CCU ought to be folded and those officers re-assigned to carry out police work in other pertinent areas. In order to ensure a transparent system of checks and balances, complaints against the police and the complaints process must be externally scrutinised. To use Lewis words, the receipt, investigation, determination and discipline of the police should be the exclusive responsibility of an external independent, civilian agency. The current legislative framework of the Police Act is unaccommodating and serves to prop up this notion of more of the same, of police officers being able to investigate other police officers. This policy also means that if honest police have no faith in their internal investigation section which, it is argued, was the case in Queensland before the Fitzgerald Inquiry (1989), they have nowhere to go with their concerns. Through no fault of their own they are forced to remain loyal to a code which protects immoral and illegal behaviour and to turn a blind eye to misconduct, violence or corruption of some police officers. This unjust and unsatisfactory situation only serves to strengthen the blue curtain of silence, a well-documented cause of sustained endemic police corruption and abuse. By maintaining such a policy governments run the risk of allowing the ethical standards of the police organisation to be set according to the lowest common denominator principle. When a scandal erupts, as it inevitably does under such conditions, the community tends to judge the entire force on the basis of those standards and is often faced with having to fund yet another commission of inquiry into police misconduct, Lewis wrote. We certainly need such a commission of inquiry given the widespread instances of police malpractice, corruption, the excessive use of force and this notion by some officers that they are above the law. No one is beyond accountability, right? Why are suspects being questioned by police without being advised of their rights? Why are confessions being coerced and/or beaten out of people? A Police Complaints Authority - comprised of retired civil servants, police officers and members of civil society - can ensure greater police accountability, elevate standards for quality policing, investigate police abuse of power and assist with eliminating this unwillingness to expose cases of police malfeasance that we currently see. At present, the CCU is betraying the publics trust. We need an independent inspectorate of the RBPF, one tasked with the inspection of police stations in an effort to promote efficiency and effective law enforcement standards. We, the public, are tired of seeing, hearing and experiencing misuse of police power and being subjected to these excesses, gross human rights violations and police high-handedness. The days of institutionalised corruption are over. _________________________________________________________ First published in the The Tribune under the byline, Young Man's View, here View Adrian Gibson's archive here ____________________________________________________ The views expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily those of WeblogBahamas.com (which has no corporate view) or its Authors. By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 16, 2016 | 03:39 PM | PADUCAH, KY The Paducah Police Department has released the name of the man whose body was found Wednesday evening.Police say when they investigated at the scene, they found an ID card in the mans clothing, which led detectives to believe he was Clint L. Sampson of Wall Street in Paducah. A member of Sampsons family told detectives he had not been seen since the end of May. Detectives also learned Sampson often went to the wooded area where his body was found.An autopsy was performed Friday morning at the medical examiner's office in Louisville, and there was no evidence of trauma to the body, and foul play is not suspected. Paducah Police got a call at around 8:15 pm Wednesday from a man who found human remains in a wooded area while he was searching for his missing drone near the 400 block of Legion Drive. Officers said they arrived and found the badly decomposed body of what appeared to be a white male. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 17, 2016 | West Kentucky Star Staff By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 17, 2016 | 12:34 PM | West Kentucky Star Staff A Benton man has been arrested, after deputies say they found two stolen four wheelers in his possession. On May 21st a Marshall County Deputy was at campsite at the end of Corinth Road looking for 33-year-old Justin L Hanks, of Benton on an outstanding warrant. While at the campsite, the deputy saw two four wheelers, but Hanks was not there. The following day, someone reported a four wheeler stolen that matched the description of one at the campsite, and the owner was able to provide a key to the four wheeler. Deputies said the second four wheeler did not have a VIN on it, and they found a tent at the campsite that had several power tools inside. Detectives later found two other locations where Hanks had reportedly been staying. During a search of both homes, many other tools were reportedly found, some of which were identified as stolen. Deputies said Hanks told them during questioning on May 26 that all the property at the campsite was his, and that he had bought the four wheelers but knew they were stolen. Hanks was charged with receiving stolen property and obscuring the identity of a machine. Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world 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. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba Muslims are reaching out to the families of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. After sundown Sunday at the Grand Mosque, theyre inviting the public to break the Ramadan fast with them at a fundraising dinner for the Coalition for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Theres always strength in being with the community and strength when were together, said Manitoba Islamic Association president Idris Elbakri. We want to reach out to others and be good citizens. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Islamic Association president Idris Elbakri says Winnipeg's Muslim community wants to support others. A keynote speaker is Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne has been missing since 2008. Smith has played a lead role in pursuing justice for Canadas missing and murdered indigenous girls and women. This is an opportunity to learn from each other and become better allies and friends to each other and enjoy the fact that we share the same humanity, Elbakri said. Its about the community coming together and learning more about each other as people, said Smith, who is being inducted into the Order of Manitoba July 7. She said shell speak Sunday about the coalition and why its important for people from different walks of life to meet and support each another, uniting around a common cause. There is nothing wrong with being different lets be looking at it in a positive way, said Smith, an educator with Wayfinders, an after-school tutoring program in the Seven Oaks School Division. I have lots of Muslim students in our program who are fasting right now during Ramadan, Smith said. We also fast in our community through sun dances. We need to look at what we do have in common what are our starting points in terms of coming together to better the community for everybody and not just looking at gender or race, but who we are as people and where we fit in this world. We all have a responsibility for creating a better world we need to stand together. This is an opportunity to learn from each other and become better allies and friends to each other Manitoba Islamic Association president Idris Elbakri Elbakri pointed out aspects Muslim and indigenous Canadians have in common. Both communities are misunderstood and stereotyped, and many Muslim immigrants come from countries with a colonial history, he said. Whatever we go through, though, it doesnt even compare with what the indigenous community has gone through and continues to go through, said Elbakri. The Experience Ramadan fundraiser is Sunday at 8:30 p.m, at the Grand Mosque, 2445 Waverley St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by contacting the Manitoba Islamic Association at 204-256-1347 or email office@miaonline.org. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPCarolSanders The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY Chevron Canada Ltd. is testing the waters for a possible sale of its non-core refining and marketing assets in Western Canada. A company spokesman said Friday that Chevron has asked for expressions of interest on the companys 57,000-barrel-a-day Burnaby, B.C., refinery as well as its marketing assets, but that no final decision has been made to sell. The request for interest does not cover Chevrons lubricants business, its stake in the Kitimat LNG project, or upstream producing assets, the spokesman said. The potential sales follow Chevrons offloading of two gas storage facilities in B.C., including Aitken Creek the largest in the province to Fortis Inc. for US$266 million earlier this spring. Chevron says the sales are part of its target to bring in between $5 billion and $10 billion from asset sales over the next two years to generate needed cash and streamline its portfolio. On Friday, Reuters reported that Suncor Energy Inc. was looking to auction off its Petro-Canada lubricants division in Ontario in a sale that could bring in about $800 million. A Suncor spokeswoman declined to comment on the rumoured sale but said the company has disclosed that it is looking to divest some non oil producing assets. The company said in its latest quarterly update that it expects the non-producing asset sales to bring in between $1 billion and $1.5 billion over the next year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. AMERICAS burgeoning weed industry just seems to be climbing higher. Tech giant Microsoft announced Thursday it is partnering with cannabis-industry-focused software company Kind Financial. The company provides seed to sale services for cannabis growers, allowing them to track inventory, navigate laws and handle transactions, all through Kinds software systems. The partnership marks the first major tech company to attach its name to the legal-marijuana industry. While major tech companies have been shy to get involved, tech startups have been flocking to the pot trade, which is fully legal for both recreational and medical purposes in five states. The weed industrys specific needs for data tracking to optimize plant growth and other logistics, as well as its booming market potential, make it well-suited for tech partnerships. Nobody has really come out of the closet, if you will, Matthew Karnes, the founder of marijuana data company Green Wave Advisors, told the New York Times. Its very telling that a company of this calibre is taking the risk of coming out and engaging with a company that is focused on the cannabis business. This hesitancy comes from the murky legal status of marijuana in most of the country. Marijuana is still illegal nationwide, and the risk of crackdowns where federal and state laws contradict have discouraged many banks from working with marijuana businesses. There are also risks in taking a weed business across state lines where it could have a different legal standing. And theres always the danger a change in government leadership, say with a changing presidential administration, could result in a backtracking of relaxed weed laws. Theres also the potentially negative association. My company has stayed away from investing in the cannabis industry because its like investing in the porn industry, said Zach Bogue, a venture capital investor. Im sure theres a lot of money to be made, but its just not something we want to invest in. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), sees marijuana software and Microsoft as a natural pairing. If you are trying to go big macro strategy at a company like Microsoft, and you want a super-diverse portfolio, and youre located largely in a place where you can visibly see the marijuana commerce happening, and of course maybe your employees and others are engaged in that commerce, why wouldnt the company invest in it? St. Pierre says Microsofts association with legal weed will be helpful in the legalization effort. Microsoft is based in Redmond, Wash., a state that has legalized marijuana for recreational use. The legitimacy it lends will make it easier for producers to go about their business, citing growers who see their ad dollars refused by corporations who dont want to be associated with it. St. Pierre said the partnership could have an effect on legislation. Microsoft has a leviathan (lobbying) effort up here in Washington (D.C.), he said. One of the things that has been really interesting to see is how the focus is becoming not so much about legalization per se, thats almost become a bugaboo word up on the Hill, but just focusing in on these commerce reforms, for example to allow banks to handle this trade they lobby hard for that stuff on the Hill right now and to have a Microsoft weigh in, saying we want to be part of that commerce can can only buoy those efforts. St. Pierre notes Kind, which does not grow, test or sell marijuana, is typical of the kind of companies cropping up around lobbying efforts and gaining financial traction. These ancillary companies that provide services around the actual moving of product are legally much easier to handle. The fact that one is engaged in their minds in quite legal commerce, one where lawyers are saying sure you can set up software to track it, you can set up a web page that shows pretty pictures of marijuana and rate it, or get coupon discounts, etc., St. Pierre said. Compared to the other side of the issue, where youre growing it, transporting it, youre selling it, and youre actually touching it, the lawyering they get is more schizophrenic. These actual producers, he adds, are the most legally vulnerable. Still, he is thrilled at the partnership. Ten years ago, 20 years ago, if you were saying I have a software and Im hoping to track marijuana sale, you and I would be in a RICO conspiracy. So that speaks to how much has changed, and how today whats heralded in a newswire as a big partnership, years ago would have put you in federal prison, he said. Washington Post Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. POINT TUPPER, N.S. The development manager for a Nova Scotia paper mill says more than half of the mills 330 employees will be affected by layoffs next week. Marc Dube of Port Hawkesbury Paper said today that poor market conditions for printing and writing-grade paper has led to the week-long shutdown. He says some of the unionized and non-unionized employees will take vacation during the shutdown. Dube says hes not sure if more layoffs are in store, but company officials remain confident heading into the busier fall months and workers could be called back if the company gets an order. The first vice-president of the union representing about 250 of the workers says the shutdown is disappointing, but not surprising, given the downturn of the industry as a whole. Archie MacLachlan of Unifor says company officials have told him late summer and fall sales are improving. (CIGO) Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Peerless Garments has been awarded a $11.2-million contract to re-stock uniforms for the army and air force. The contract includes a firm order for 13,400 jackets and 9,800 trousers valued at $5.2 million and an option for similar quantities exercisable during the 36 months following the award date. Peerless, which is 90 per cent owned by Vancouver-based Unisync Corp., has been making uniforms and garments for the Canadian Forces since the 1950s. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Albert El Tassi owns Peerless Garments. Albert El Tassi, the longtime president of Peerless, said the contract was anticipated after an extended period of Canadian Forces spending restraint. The new round of garments are the redesigned version of equipment Peerless first produced in a big order in 2008 that included 94,000 garments. It is an amazing product, El Tassi said. It is anti-static, waterproof, breathable and infrared reflective. Its second to none. It will take less than a year to produce the order. He said the contract is a welcome addition to the contract awarded last November for the production and delivery of parkas and trousers, which totalled $12.1 million including options, and the exercise last August of two options totalling $16.7 million on the New Enhanced Combat Uniform Contract that was awarded to Peerless in October 2012. El Tassi is anticipating more orders after a period of pent-up demand from the Canadian Forces when orders were being put off. They cant run naked, he said. They have to be equipped. He said the company is always on the hunt for experienced sewing machine operators. Peerless has about 100 employees and continues to hire. Unisync also owns Vancouver based Omega Uniform Systems Ltd. and Ottawa-area Carleton Uniforms Inc. The combined operations of Unisync represent a vertically integrated enterprise with capabilities in garment design, domestic manufacturing and off-shore outsourcing, as well as state-of-the-art web-based ordering, distribution and program management systems. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. LAVAL, Que. Valeant Pharmaceuticals says it will expand its Canadian manufacturing and export capacity by spending a total of $27.5 million on plants in Manitoba and Quebec. The plant in Steinbach, Man., will receive $15 million by the end of this year. Valeant will also spend $12.5 million on its plant in Laval, Que., where the companys headquarters is located. Its new chairman and CEO said earlier this week that he hopes to revive the battered drug manufacturer following a year of major distractions. Joseph Papa took on the leadership role at Valeant about six weeks ago and told the companys annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday that he hopes it will one day once again be ranked among Canadas most valuable companies. Its shares closed Thursday at $29.05, down about 90 per cent below the current 52-week high of about $348. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Calling all aspiring Canadian astronauts: here comes your chance to shine. Canada is recruiting candidates to fill two potential new spots in its space program and the more sterotypically Canadian they are, the better, suggests current astronaut-in-training Jeremy Hansen. It goes without saying that would-be space cowboys and cowgirls are expected to be super smart, ultra-fit and undaunted by claustrophobic living conditions. But good manners are also likely to be an asset for the longer assignments. Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen speaks during an event announcing the recruitment of new astronauts Friday June 17, 2016 at the Museum of Aviation in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld If you trap people in a tin can for six months or two years going to Mars how they treat one another, respecting some of our fundamental Canadian values, its really important, Hansen said Friday as a new $3-million recruitment campaign was launched. Not that successful recruits are guaranteed a one-way ticket to the red planet. In fact, theres no guarantee that new recruits will even get a chance to slip the surly bonds of Earths atmosphere. Indeed, said Hansen, the program offers the potential for so much more than just space flight. Were not going to be asking candidates if theyre prepared to go to Mars, he said. But were recruiting explorers, and thats exciting. Still, the federal government does have its sights set beyond the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently orbiting Earth at nearly eight kilometres per second, said Innovation and Science Minister Navdeep Bains. Its not simply about the International Space Station, but about deep space exploration, said Bains. And were working very closely with NASA and our other allies to really look at additional opportunities for our astronauts. Canada has been sending people into space since before the Canadian Space Agency was established in 1989. Marc Garneau, now a Liberal member of Parliament, became the first Canadian in space when he took part in a NASA space shuttle mission in 1984. Since then, 11 Canadians have flown aboard NASA shuttles and Russian Soyuz rockets in 15 missions. Chris Hadfield gained international fame in 2013 not so much for being the stations first Canadian commander, but for a must-follow Twitter feed and his now-famous recorded-in-space rendition of David Bowies classic, Space Oddity. Applications for the new positions are being accepted on the Canadian Space Agency website until Aug. 15. Candidates must have an academic background in science or technology, excellent health, and a wide range of outstanding qualities and skills, the agency said. Those qualified for the first selection round will take part in a rigorous selection process lasting almost a year that involves several interviews, written exams and a range of physical and mental fitness tests. David Saint-Jacques, who last month became the latest Canadian to enter the NASA space program, said it wont be easy. They bring you to your knees, Saint-Jacques told a news conference Friday at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Every test is an ultimate challenge of what you can give. And then once youve had enough, and youre exhausted, then the test begins. Hansen said he always wanted to be an astronaut but never expected hed be picked. But after hearing about the Canadian Space Agencys last recruitment drive, he applied. I thought statistically, realistically theres no way theyre going to pick me. Follow @tpedwell on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/06/2016 (2323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY A jury convicted three men and acquitted another Thursday in the swarming death of a teen outside a Calgary nightclub three years ago. Lukas Strasser-Hird, 18, was beaten, kicked and stabbed by a group of individuals outside Vinyl nightclub on Nov. 23, 2013. He died several hours later in hospital. After six weeks of testimony, the jury took just over three days to find Franz Emir Cabrera and Assmar Ryiad Shlah guilty of second-degree murder convictions that come with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for between 10 to 25 years. Shlah buried his head in his hands and appeared to be crying after the verdict was read. Joch Pouk was found guilty of manslaughter, while Jordan Lee Liao was found not guilty of second-degree murder. A fifth man, Nathan Gervais, is charged with first-degree murder, but remains at large. Were pretty satisfied, especially with Assmar. We knew he was the instigator, Dale Hird, the victims father, said outside court. I was going to start clapping in there but I knew it wouldnt go over very well, he added. Justice has been served for Lukas so far. Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey told reporters he and the police were pleased with the outcome. The jury took a long time. Its quite obvious to me they looked at the evidence, as we hoped they would, very carefully and came back with a very just verdict, he said. But Balfour Der, who represented Shlah, was astounded at the verdict. I cannot for the life of me fathom how we got to this place. How this jury could convict Assmar Shlah on the evidence that was used? Der said. I dont even have words to try to reason this out. Im trying to talk to him and his family and to explain it and I have no clue how these people could actually come to this verdict. Hes devastated. The boys sitting there crying and says I never touched the guy. How am I guilty of murder?' A date for sentencing is expected to be set Aug. 5. Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/06/2016 (2323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitobas population has been growing at a record-breaking pace, preliminary numbers released by Statistics Canada show. The province gained 19,432 people in the 12-month period from April 1, 2015, to April 1, 2016 an increase of 1.51 per cent, second only to Albertas 12-month gain of 1.78 per cent. It was well above the national increase of 1.12 per cent. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba gained 19,432 people from April 1, 2015, to April 1, 2016. Both numbers 19,432 and 1.51 per cent are modern-day records for Manitoba, said Wilf Falk, the provinces chief statistician. Theyre the best since 1971, he said. Weve never seen this stuff before. He said the previous record for population growth in Manitoba in a 12-month period was 16,706 people. That was set from April 2011 to April 2012. So we really shattered the old record, Falk said. But the good news doesnt stop there. Falk said Manitoba also set three other modern records between April of last year and April of this year. In addition to the record population gain, the province added 16,135 new immigrants, 5,158 new non-permanent residents mainly international students and foreign workers and had 13,596 more people arrive from other provinces or countries than leave for other provinces or countries. Falk said all three numbers were modern records for the most gains in any 12-month period. He said theres no reason to think the recent surge in population growth will end soon. Assuming the international migration flows will continue our population should be bouncing along fairly good in the future, he said. He said due to the slump in the oil industry, Alberta isnt luring as many people from other provinces as it has in the past. Although it gained 30,000 people from other jurisdictions in the past year, in the first quarter of this year, it recorded a net loss of 1,788. And who knows what the next quarter is going to bring because of the Fort McMurray fire situation? People left, and who knows how thats going to play out. I would say that for at least 2016, theyre going to be in a negative-migration situation. The Statistics Canada figures included population gains recorded during the first three months of 2016. They showed Manitobas population was 1,308,912 as of April 1 a gain of 5,016 from the start of the year (when it was 1,303,896). The gain maintains Manitobas status as the countrys fifth-largest province in terms of population, behind Ontario (13,920,499), Quebec (8,310,708), British Columbia (4,720,932) and Alberta (4,249,842). Saskatchewan isnt far behind Manitoba, with a population of 1,146,655. Nationally, Canada had its population grow by 106,966 to 36,155,487 during the quarter. Statistics Canada said it was the highest first-quarter gain since 1989 and attributed it mainly to an influx of new immigrants. It said 86,216 people arrived in the country during the first three months of 2016, a large number of whom were Syrian refugees. It noted Canada had not received that many new immigrants in a single quarter since the introduction of the current system of demographic counts in July 1971. Falk said Syrian refugees were also a significant contributor to Manitobas population gain in the last year. He said an official with the Kurdish Association of Manitoba recently told him about 1,300 Syrian refugees have arrived in the province since Nov. 1. murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The occupation of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada offices in Winnipeg is over, an organizer said Friday. But federal officials in Ottawa say staff are still working from other locations until theyre sure the occupation wont resume. OccupyINAC was a brief grassroots surge in response to teen suicides on northern First Nations this winter. Small numbers of indigenous protesters from Toronto to Vancouver occupied Indigenous and Northern Affairs offices in mid-April. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES OccupyINAC in Winnipeg is over, an organizer said. In almost all the cities, the occupation ended after a few days but, in Winnipeg, protesters moved into the building at 365 Hargrave Street for about six weeks. Federal staff in Winnipeg relocated to other offices in the city. On Friday, an OccupyINACWinnipeg organizer said in a Facebook inbox message the occupation was over . The occupation has ended, an OccupyINACWinnipeg organizer said in a Facebook inbox message Friday. The group is expected to post a statement later. Ottawa confirmed the protesters left the building at the end of May. On May 26, members of OccupyINACWinnipeg left the building and a decision was made not to allow them to re-enter, an email from Ottawa said Friday. The occupation in Winnipeg was confined to a second-floor waiting room. Im here for the Tina Fontaines. We have a lot of missing and murdered women, one occupier said in late April when half a dozen occupiers who rotated shifts 24/7 permitted a Free Press photographer and reporter in the building for an interview. Ottawa said in its email that federal officials in Winnipeg tried to balance their response to occupiers with responsibilities to provide services to First Nations. Regional staff have continued working from remote locations to deliver essential services, a statement said. There was no word on when staff would return to the building. alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. For a few unusual minutes Friday morning, Premier Brian Pallister and New Democrat Nahanni Fontaine seemed to be alone in a legislature committee room, sharing their memories of the women in their lives. Tragedy, hardship, poverty, death, abuse man and woman, white and indigenous, left wing and right wing, government and opposition the political opponents shared emotional and intimate memories. The rare, genuinely human moments in partisan politics came with about 25 people in the estimates hearings for the executive council one of many committee meetings in which opposition MLAs supposedly question the premier or his ministers about their budgets, but in practice a time in which they can bring up other matters. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Nahanni Fontaine,NDP MLA for St.Johns. Fontaine wanted to know how the premier would help indigenous women, disabled women, women newcomers, women of colour, Muslim women and LGBTTQ* women. Pallister responded by starting to talk about the women whove influenced his life, and Fontaine let him run with it. And for a few minutes, it was as though the dozen or so MLAs, along with legislature staff and spectators, werent even there. Pallister choked up several times as he talked about his mother and her mother, to the point that a young legislative page brought the premier a box of tissues. The premier talked about his family members strugging in rural Manitoba, trying to keep a farm going, and about his mother at the age of 12 finding herself responsible for her siblings. She became a teacher, said Pallister, but that was still a time when the school system told women that they couldnt teach and still raise a family properly. But shed gone to school while raising a family: Shed been doing it since the age of 12, said Pallister. Its always nice to see sons who love their mums, Fontaine responded quietly when the premier had finished. Fontaine then told stories about her own family, some of which shed shared with the legislature before, told in the same matter-of-fact way that indigenous MLAs Amanda Lathlin and Judy Klassen also talk while telling astounding stories about the lives of many indigenous women. My mother was sexually abused as a young child. My mum was raped at the age of 12, Fontaine said. She tried to escape she ran away at the age of 13. She got pregnant with me at the age of 17. My childhood was one of abuse physical, emotional, and sexual. Since the age of four, I pretty much raised myself, Fontaine said. She spent the last 11 years of her life on Vancouvers East Side. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Brian Pallister. She died of a heroin overdose, she died alone, she died on the floor of a bathroom. Their stories are the stories of thousands of indigenous women, some of whom have survived, such as herself, Fontaine said. There are thousands of other women who have not survived ittheir last moments were immersed in savage violence. Fontaine told the premier she will represent those women and fight for them in the legislature. It is for you and me to better understand each other, she said. Pallister thanked Fontaine for her eloquence and her sincerity. And, after a few deep breaths and brief reflection, the spell broke, and Fontaine and Pallister went back to politics. nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Jurors have heard testimony from a witness in a Winnipeg homicide case who was gunned down one year later in an attack that remains unsolved. Justin Latinecz was one of six men sitting at a table inside the Salisbury House restaurant on Pembina Highway when bullets began flying in September 2012. His good friend, Jeffrey Lau, 23, was killed in what is believed to be a targeted hit. Another friend was shot twice but survived. Devin Hall, 30, is on trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder. Latinecz, 22, broke down in tears and gave a lengthy statement to police hours after the deadly ambush. He had desperately tried to save Lau, using his shirt as a tourniquet and pleading for others in the diner to get help. His videotaped interview was played in court Thursday because Latinecz suffered an eerily similar fate as Lau in September 2013. Latinecz was shot dead outside his St. Vital home, while a friend of his was also wounded but survived. No arrests have been made. Defence lawyer Martin Glazer, who is representing Hall, pointed out similarities between the two cases in court Thursday while questioning Sgt. Douglas Bailey of the Winnipeg Police Services homicide unit. Glazer said both were seemingly targeted attacks where one victim was killed and a second injured. Nine-millimetre bullets were used in both shootings. He also noted his client was in custody for the Lau homicide when Latinecz was killed. Bailey said Latineczs case remains an ongoing file. In his statement to police following Laus killing, Latinecz admitted his group had connections to the drug trade in the city and Lau was a dealer. He said Jeff was independent and was the boss, said Bailey. On the night of the killing, Latinecz said several of them had gone to various clubs and bars throughout the night before stopping at the Salisbury House for a late-night meal. He said he didnt get any negative vibes (earlier in the night), it was all good times, said Bailey. He said If I knew that (expletive) was going to happen, I wouldnt have gone there. Latinecz wasnt able to identify the gunman, who stormed into the restaurant, fired up to 20 shots and then retreated. The man had a white shirt pulled over his face, wore black gloves and was gone within about 10 seconds. Latinecz believes he fled on foot before jumping into a vehicle. Jurors heard earlier this week how investigators were able to develop DNA profiles from the shirt and gloves police found discarded near the crime scene. Michelle Scott-Mascioli, a civilian member of the RCMP biology lab in Ottawa, explained how seven different samples produced a compelling link to Hall. Scott-Mascioli said the chances of another randomly selected person being the primary major source of the DNA found on the items ranged from one in 60 million on the low end, and one in 9.4 trillion on the high end. Some of the items were re-tested, at the request of Halls lawyer, using a more enhanced DNA system that has recently been put in place. In those cases, the new results suggested the odds of another source to range from one in 1.5 trillion on the low end and one in 4.2 quadrillion on the high end. The Crown has told jurors DNA evidence is a key part of their case. Glazer has attacked that theory, suggesting the findings arent as damning as they might appear. Scott-Mascioli admitted theres no way to know when or how the DNA was deposited on the items. She said its also possible someone else could have used the items after his client came in contact with them. www.mikeoncrime.com Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FOR one University of Winnipeg student, World Refugee Day on Monday has taken on a sense of urgency. Mohamed Mohamed, 23, is worried about the closure of the worlds largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, and seeing his loved ones there forced to move to Somalia. Its not safe for them, but theyre supposed to go back, said Mohamed, who was born to Somali parents and raised in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees camp that is close to the border with Somalia. SUPPLIED Mohamed Mohamed (from left), Kayla Buehler and Musa Talluzi make boats for a vigil at the Assiniboine River after the church event. The Kenyan government announced last month it is shutting the camp, which is more than 20 years old. Nearly 350,000 refugees living in Dadaab have been told they have to leave. Global Affairs Canada has said the security situation in Somalia is extremely volatile. Mohamed said his family in Dadaab is afraid. Even though they were born in the camp in Kenya, theyre being told they have to go back to Somalia. Its not safe for them, said Mohamed, who is speaking at a World Refugee Day event in Winnipeg Monday night. He arrived Winnipeg in December on a scholarship through the World University Service of Canada. Mondays event includes a discussion at Broadway Disciples Church at 5:30 p.m. A vigil takes place after that. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In the same week that the Liberals voted down a Conservative motion to accuse the Islamic State of genocide, an independent report commissioned by the UN says the terrorist organization has committed genocide against the Yazidis. Canada needs to acknowledge its a genocide and hurry to open its doors to save the Yazidis, say Winnipeggers worried about the fate of the persecuted religious minority. Once the Canadian government formally acknowledges ISIS as genocidal, then it should begin to rethink how it understands the category of Syrian refugee in a way that reflects the special vulnerability of the Yazidis vulnerability compounded by the small size and relative isolation of the community, said Adam Muller, a genocide researcher at the University of Manitoba. Khalid Mohammed, File / The Associated Press In this Aug. 12, 2014, file photo, displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community look for clothes to wear among items provided by a charity organization at the Nowruz camp, in Derike, Syria. A U.N. investigative panel on Syria says the Islamic State group is committing genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes against the Yazidi community in Iraq and Syria. Winnipegs Jewish community and other faith groups are sponsoring the resettlement of seven Yazidi families with the first two expected to arrive June 29. So far, only nine Yazidi cases have been processed by Canadas immigration department, despite the atrocities being directed against their people, Tory MP Michelle Rempel said this week. Immigration Minister John McCallum said its taking so long because the Yazidis are in isolated, hard-to-reach, dangerous areas. The president of the Manitoba Multifaith Council disputes that. There are approximately 25,000 Yazidi refugees already in UNHCR camps in Turkey, Belle Jarniewski said Friday. Every one of them would jump at the chance of finding safe haven in Canada, she said. The camps are not in isolated dangerous areas, said the president of the group that promotes interfaith dialogue and understanding and educates the public about world religions. Recognizing whats happening as a genocide is important to expedite the immigration of Yazidis to Canada, said Jarniewski. She welcomed the UN report They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis that is based on interviews with survivors, religious leaders, smugglers, activists, lawyers, medical personnel, and journalists. ISIS has sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm; the infliction of conditions of life that bring about a slow death; the imposition of measures to prevent Yazidi children from being born, including forced conversion of adults, the separation of Yazidi men and women; and the transfer of Yazidi children from their own families and placing them with ISIS fighters, thereby cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community, the report says. In debating and then defeating the Tory genocide motion on Tuesday, the government said politicians should shy away from declarations of such magnitude. Determinations of genocide need to be made in an objective, responsible way, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during the debate. That is exactly what we have formally requested the international authorities weigh in on. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion told the House of Commons that Canada has tripled its effort to fight IS on the ground and is asking the UN Security Council to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of atrocities. with file from Canadian Press carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The U.S. presidential nomination process effectively ended Tuesday with the District of Columbia Democratic primary election. This six-month, mind-bending process has produced Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the major parties presumptive nominees. Democrats are celebrating Clintons emerging strongly from a pitched, existential battle with Bernie Sanders by being total Debbie Downers. Many Democrats are sure Trump can win, an eventuality they blame on either Clinton or Sanders or Americans generally. Humorously, Republicans do not share the Democrats certainty. Influential Republicans are publicly disowning Trump. This was even before Trumps odious reaction to the murder of dozens of mostly Latino, mostly LGBTTQ*, mostly young people in Orlando, Fla. Laura Bush, the most recent Republican first lady, suggested (as did her daughter) she may vote for Clinton. ROGER MALLISON / FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM Republicans do not share the Democrats certainty that Donald Trump can win the U.S. presidency. And she represents a huge pool of voters women who cannot be ignored, but often are. Why do Democrats seem sure Trump can win when Republicans seem sure he cant? For starters, many Republicans know they intend not to vote for him. But in U.S. politics, it is often better to be paranoid than shocked. Yes, Hillary Clinton could lose. Almost nothing is impossible. But why would she? Donald Trump is not a real presidential candidate as much as a figment of our collective imaginations. He did not (as I admit I predicted) tire of the campaign trail to go back to counting his money, women, and enemies; his opponents resembled a hoard of extras on The Walking Dead; every late-night talk show featured him every episode; there is an existing base of Republicans who are moved politically by fear and loathing. That made Trump real, at least in our psyches. We created this Trump in part based on the outcome of the 100-plus events in the byzantine, vacuous, overhyped primaries and caucuses. They inhibit participation and pervert the distribution of votes into delegates. Analysts have, persistently, ignored the strength of Clintons support among female voters. For the Democrats, 13 of Clintons 22 losses to Sanders were in the 14 states with caucuses. The work of participating in caucuses is a high barrier to entry and drastically reduces participation. To take a pair of extremely similar states, the combined Democratic and Republican participation in Minnesotas caucuses was 293,000, whereas a total of 2.1 million voted in Wisconsins primaries. For the Republicans, Trump was carried to victory by winner-take-all delegate allocation rules that flout the popular vote exactly as the electoral college does. Winning a plurality of the Republican primary votes in Florida but all 99 of its convention delegates created a figment of strength in the swing-iest of swing states, and a state from which Trump has now likely permanently estranged himself. Trumps inevitability is also a figment of the socialist love for Sanders. But Democratic votes in a dozen conservative Plains state are irrelevant to the electoral college structure in November the hunt for 270 of the 538 electors involves winning the most votes in states, not some votes. If Sanders had won the Democratic nomination, he would not have made campaign stops in Idaho or Nebraska any more than Donald Trump will devote resources to Vermont or Maryland, whose primaries he dominated. Of course, Clinton, won southeastern states including Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, where strong African-American and Latino support for her translates into zero electoral votes unless the Bush women start a trend. In our collective imaginations, further, women get ignored. But female candidates can actually attract voters. Women outvote men. Women vote for Democrats. In 2012, 96 per cent of African-American women and 76 per cent of Latino women voted for Barack Obama. What about white females, the largest demographic group in the electorate (38 per cent of voters in 2012)? Nationally, only 42 per cent voted for Obama in 2012; however, how that vote is distributed among the states determines the outcome of elections let me propose that women determine the outcome of presidential elections. Thus, Sanders supporters may threaten to undermine Clinton, but in state after state his support was ostentatiously from male voters. One possibility is an interruption in a string of nine presidential elections in which female turnout has been several per cent higher than male turnout. However, the nomination season in both parties did not result in high voter turnout overall or among men. In our imaginations, the Democratic base might just stay home, having decided theyll take their chances with the racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and unhinged white man who will be running against the moderate but feminist, overly hinged, white woman. African-American voter turnout has been rising noticeably, but perhaps they and Latino voters will precipitously bolt the Clinton camp in the swing states. The Republican party might swallow its self-pity and devote every resource to enlarging the Trump base to include white women, Latinos, and young people. But why would it, to support a figment of our imagination? Judith Garber is associate professor of political science at the University of Alberta. She teaches and writes about cities, law, and U.S. politics. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. We are often told education is the key to solving the worlds biggest problems. If thats true, why is it the education system is more often part of the problem, rather than the solution? For an example, lets examine the melodrama unfolding in the Hanover School Division in southeast Manitoba. Hanover serves a region of the province that has not easily embraced change, to say the least. When the province introduced new anti-bullying legislation in 2013 that required high schools to host gay-straight alliance support groups, hundreds of people in the Hanover catchment area gathered to protest the law, arguing it violated the tenets of their faith. The HSD eventually agreed to accommodate GSAs but not without having to endure a tidal wave of criticism. IAN FROESE / THE CARILLON Trustee Rick Peters (bottom right) speaks inside a packed house at a recent Hanover School Board meeting. Perhaps out of a reluctance to stir up that hornets nest again, Hanover has found itself in turmoil over requests to update its sex education curriculum. An openly gay Grade 12 student and a woman in a same-sex relationship who has a child in a Hanover middle school program asked the division to include a discussion of homosexuality with students at a younger age. Currently, homosexuality and alternative sexual orientations are considered sensitive subjects and limited to high school. Hanover trustees denied the request, expressing some truly offensive sentiments in the process. One trustee based his decision to oppose the request on the fact he didnt agree with that lifestyle. He said forcing a discussion of homosexuality on Hanover children was similar to the way the residential school system forced white culture on aboriginal children. Another trustee, who identified herself as a nurse, suggested broadening sex education curriculum would lead to an increase in cancer among students. Even the board chairman weighed in, asserting the board was not obligated to change curriculum simply because somebody would like us to advance a personal agenda. Its a sad and disillusioning story, to be sure. But then the shootings in Orlando, Fla., happened and the context for the Hanover story changed forever. It appears Omar Mateen, the man who walked into the Pulse nightclub June 12 with two guns and started firing, suffered from a mashup of demons that included homophobia, religious extremism, political extremism and mental health. We may never really know what he was trying to accomplish, only what he accomplished: an atrocity against the LGBTTQ* community. It is important to note that while it is among the worst attacks, it is not isolated. In a 2015 report on global discrimination against LGBTTQ* persons, the UN noted 76 countries retain laws that criminalize and harass LGBTTQ* people, including some that impose the death penalty for those involved in same-sex relationships. Between 2008 and 2014, the UN documented 1,612 murders of LGBTTQ* persons across 62 countries. That is roughly equivalent to one killing every two days. In Brazil, there were 310 murders in 2012 alone in which homophobia or transphobia was a motive. This does not take into account the tens of thousands of documented incidents of harassment, bullying, and assault. The horror of Orlando and the global epidemic of violence against LGBTTQ* people bring us full circle to the events in Hanover. When some Hanover students and their families who have suffered bullying and harassment ask the division to help boost tolerance by educating children about alternative sexual orientations, the school division has a solemn, moral imperative to act. It should move quickly to start educating children at a younger age to accept and respect LGBTTQ* people with the comfort of knowing while it does not promote a lifestyle, it is the best possible way of ensuring tolerance trumps hate. It should also recognize any trustees personal opposition to any particular lifestyle is not relevant; the protection of vulnerable students is the only issue here. Hanover trustees do not seem capable of accepting these fundamental truths about the world and the role they need to play in it. And that has certainly created a dilemma for Education Minister Ian Wishart. The minister offered Hanover trustees sensitivity training. Wishart should be applauded for stepping in and making it indirectly clear the trustees need help. However, its not nearly enough. It is beyond maddening that, as the world is witnessing one of the greatest single acts of hate-inspired violence in the last 50 years, the Hanover trustees cannot see the pressing, urgent need to use education to confront the ignorance at the very foundation of violence against LGBTTQ* people around the world. Hanover trustees must accept the reality that the same hatred that played a role in the Orlando tragedy is present in their own backyard. And a request to protect vulnerable children through enhanced education is not advancing a personal agenda. Above all, they must be reminded its never too early to use education to combat hate and intolerance. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @danlett Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Not even water? Thats right. Not even water. A common question from my non-Muslim friends, colleagues and neighbours when I tell them I am fasting. Its that blessed time of year again, folks: Ramadan. When Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset for one month. Not a big deal in the winter when the days are short. Bigger deal in June, when the days are longer. Much longer. Ramadan is not only just about fasting. There are many other facets of this month that are equally important. It is a month for spiritual reflection and rejuvenation. A time of year where by physically depriving ourselves of food, our emotional connection to the Creator becomes our only means of sustenance. It is a time when we realize how God has gifted with us with such strong and resilient bodies going without food and water for 18 hours at a stretch and still taking care of business. We set aside extra time to focus on our prayer and recitation of the Quran, pondering on its meaning and strengthening our relationship with the Most Compassionate One. Its like detox for the soul. It is also a month where we are encouraged to give out of what we have, to those in need. These values and practices of giving and compassion and spiritual reflection are values that resonate with everyone transcending cultures, faiths and communities. Its these common values that bind us together as human beings. This weekend, the Manitoba Islamic Association will be hosting a benefit Iftar dinner (the breaking of the fast at sunset) with all proceeds going to the Coalition of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. MIA President Idris Elbakri will be welcoming the keynote speakers Nahanni Fontaine and Bernadette Smith, two tireless advocates for families who have lost their mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. And who have experienced the pain of losing loved ones first-hand. This is not just a cause or a charity. Its an emergency appeal about the atrocities that occur every day in our neighbourhoods. This is a man-made disaster that we must take bold measures to end. When 12-year-old children are being sexually exploited every night, 20 minutes from our neighbourhood, we cannot look the other way. This event is a perfect opportunity to invite my indigenous sisters to my place of worship and share with them one of our most spiritual times of the year. But more than that, I want them to know that their pain is our pain. That the Muslim community in Winnipeg is standing alongside them; not only as allies, but as relations. I am so proud that the Manitoba Islamic Association is taking steps not only to raise awareness about this within the Muslim community, but to hold such an event during the sacred month of Ramadan. When charity, compassion, giving and kindness are necessary parts of our worship. So, an invitation to my dear fellow Winnipeggers: Come and join us in celebrating Ramadan! Let us welcome you to our place of prayer, share with us in enjoying delicious food and most importantly, gather together and raise money to help end this crisis. After the heinous shooting in the U.S. last weekend, which left me feeling crushed and overwhelmed at the destruction caused in the name of my faith, its small events like these that lighten my heart and make me feel hopeful that just as we stand shoulder to shoulder with others, they stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Welsh Muslim Winnipegger Nadia Kidwai is program co-ordinator in Manitoba for the Next Up leadership program. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA For 48 minutes Thursday, Robert-Falcon Ouellette sat in a committee room on Parliament Hill and spoke passionately about the reasons a guaranteed minimum income would have a profound effect on people in his Winnipeg Centre riding. For 48 minutes, he cited the history of the idea, referenced the Dauphin pilot project on mincome in the 1970s and talked about poverty in his riding, which is one of the poorest in the country. He quoted Martin Luther King Jr., praised the memory of Nelson Mandela and read passages from economist Henry Georges book Progress and Poverty, which was published in 1879. Then, after listing all the reasons mincome could be a good thing for Canada and why it should be studied further, Ouellette finished his speech, sat in his chair and voted against the NDP motion that would have seen the standing committee on finance study the benefits and possible effects mincome could have in Canada today. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES MP Friday afternoon. Winnipeg Centre MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette. His vote meant the motion was defeated five to three. The two Conservatives present and NDP MP Guy Caron, who brought the motion forward, voted in favour. All five Liberals voted against it. Other Liberals on the committee said its not the place for a study on mincome and the committee was already overloaded with studies on the budget and the tax system. I was being a good team member, Ouellette told the Free Press after the meeting. He didnt want to vote against it, he said. It was painful to do so, but he met with his colleagues beforehand, and it was decided among them the motion would be defeated. The entire thing is just curious. Curious because even though Ouellette knew he was going to vote no, he wanted to make sure his constituents saw his speech. Before and during his speech, he kept asking for the meeting to be televised. The audio of the meeting is available, but the cameras were not operating Thursday, which disappointed him. Curious because the Liberals clearly do not want to have a study on mincome. On Tuesday, when the study motion was first introduced, Liberal whip Andrew Leslie made a hurried appearance at the committee for some fast talking to Ouellette in the corner of the committee room. Ouellette then ended up talking out the clock to prevent a vote from taking place. He told the Free Press Wednesday afternoon he was buying time, hoping to be able to convince his colleagues to vote for the motion. Instead, they convinced him to vote against it. Curious because Ouellette could have voted yes and the motion still would have been defeated. His yes vote would have ended in a tie vote, leaving chairman Wayne Easter to break the tie, and certainly, given the Liberal push to vote this motion down, Easter would have sided with the party and not the motion. It is also curious given the Liberal connection to this issue. It was Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus father Pierre Trudeau who authorized the federal role in the Dauphin mincome experiment. At each of the last two Liberal conventions, including less than a month ago in Winnipeg, the party voted in favour of resolutions calling for Ottawa to work with the provinces to implement some form of mincome. Jean-Yves Duclos, the minister of families, children and social services, who is tasked with creating a national poverty-reduction strategy, studied the issue as an economist in Quebec before being elected, and said recently the new Canada child benefit being introduced in July, is a form of mincome for families. Ducloss director of communications said the minister wouldnt be able to speak to the Free Press about it this week. He is following the debate, but he stated previously that it is mainly of provincial jurisdiction, said Mathieu Filion in an email. He also said that if a province wants to create a pilot project, the federal government could help by sharing data that could help. Why are the Liberals so intent on shutting down any study on mincome? Why did Ouellette, who has shown he has no problem being offside with his party on other issues, allow himself to be coerced to change his vote when it wouldnt have affected the outcome of the decision, and when he is passionate about the subject? Whatever the reason, Ouellettes not talking. His constituents were already demanding an explanation Thursday, some taking to Twitter to ask him to explain. All he is saying now is he hopes maybe his speech will spur someone, sometime to undertake a study of this issue. It seems as long as the Liberals are in office, thats not going to happen. Mia Rabson is the Winnipeg Free Press parliamentary bureau chief. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mrabson Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Robert MacBain makes several notable errors in his article TRCs own report contradicts claim of an act of genocide (June 13), in which he posits the TRC has contradicted its own claims residential schools are an act of genocide. I have read the transcripts of the UN General Assemblys discussions that led to the United Nations Genocide Convention. I have also studied the writings of Raphael Lemkin, originator of the genocide concept. I am currently president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and I conduct research on settler-colonial genocide. I recite these credentials to offset any claims MacBain may make that my analysis cannot be substantiated, as he suggests is the case for the TRC Report. First, though the TRC mentions in its Final Summary report the possibility of applying Article II(e) of the Genocide Convention to the forced removal of Indigenous children to residential schools, the report focuses on the notion of cultural genocide, which is not a legal concept. This is the TRCs primary charge. Sen. Murray Sinclair, being someone who knows a thing or two about the law, understands II(e) to be applicable only through a court of law. He has stated this point several times. The TRC did not possess adjudicatory power. Second, the TRC draws no equivalence between residential schools and the Holocaust. Though the Holocaust is obviously prominent in the study of genocide, it is not a prototype that all other genocides must match. And the UN Genocide Convention was not solely inspired by a desire to criminalize the Nazi genocides. Lemkin began consideration of a law against group destruction as early as 1933 with the Turkish attempt to destroy Ottoman Armenians, among the many examples that influenced him. Lemkins concept always included a broader concept of cultural genocide, and this was carried over into his advocacy for an international law. The initial drafts of the UN Genocide Convention, which Lemkin had a hand in writing, included Article III on cultural genocide. Several nations supported this article; however, others, such as Canada, sought its removal. MacBain assumes the nations of the world were unified in the creation of a crime of genocide modelled on Nazi actions, but there was much debate. In the end, the settler-colonial nations banded together to ensure removal of cultural genocide and thereby protect themselves from this form of legal accusation. Genocide law is thus not an unproblematic or pure reflection of a collective conscience it was negotiated by actors representing specific national agendas, many of whom spoke of primitive and barbaric peoples that needed to be brought up to modern standards. It is an example of the prejudices of its era as much as it is a signpost of enlightenment. There are other technical points on which MacBain must be challenged. Does it matter that not all children were sent to residential schools when genocide is a crime that targets a group in whole or in part? And what group are we speaking of here? MacBain, despite his interviews with Ojibwa, Mohawk and Cree people continues the practice of speaking of aboriginal people as an undifferentiated mass. Many communities had large percentages of their children attend residential schools, easily surpassing any in whole or in part threshold. And day schools are not necessarily outside of a cultural genocide charge, especially considering how young people in such schools were also taught to despise their cultures. Moreover, the indigenous boarding schools in the United States and Canada represent a systematization of a model long used by missionaries in North America the assimilative school. The intent behind this system is located not solely in statements by John A. Macdonald or Duncan Campbell Scott, but rather in a more persistent and long-lasting discourse of the Indian problem. The notion of the Indian problem manifested in multiple efforts to eliminate indigenous peoples from the North American continent, whether physically or culturally. These include assimilative schools, but also the central goals of Canadas aboriginal policy that are listed in the opening paragraph of the TRCs Final Summary Report: eliminate aboriginal governments; ignore aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and through a process of assimilation, cause aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. These goals are entirely consistent with the elements of the crime of cultural genocide that was excised from the United Nations Genocide Convention, which referenced efforts to intentionally destroy the language, religion or culture of a group. MacBain needs to be clearer in his definition. Andrew Woolford is a genocide studies scholar at the University of Manitoba. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. After much controversy and drama, work on the southwest transit corridor can now start. But in the aftermath of Wednesdays council meeting, there are far too many unsettling questions about the BRT project that leave Winnipeggers with a bad taste in their mouths. On Wednesday, city council voted to approve a land deal in the southwest transit corridor between the City of Winnipeg and Manitoba Hydro for $20.4 million. Thats about $16 million more than the city expected to pay, and at that price tag, makes this 16-acre parcel of land the most expensive in the city. First, its unfathomable that city administrators didnt have in writing the process clearly outlining the appraisal process. Thats ultimately led to the inflated appraisal on the project, after Manitoba Hydro disputed the original price and countered with $34 million, to come down to the final $20.4. Hopefully, thats a mistake that will never be repeated. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman Second, its poor management to provide information to city councils executive policy committee at the last minute, particularly since city administrators knew there was a problem with the appraisal May 11. Mayor Brian Bowman says he wasnt made aware the deal was going awry until two weeks ago. If thats to be believed, then Mr. Bowman really needs to sit down with the citys chief operating officer to have a little chat. Because good public servants shouldnt be withholding this kind of information from those who hold public office. City councillors suggest they were told they had to agree to the new price in order for the project to go ahead. Administrators have said the work needs to start now in order for it to be completed and operational on time, but what difference would one month make in holding off on approving that land deal so council could gather more information? Its not like the bulldozers are on the edge of the land waiting to start work. In fact, the difference between starting now and starting after the July city council meeting is estimated to be around $300,000. Thats not significant compared to the $16 million extra the land is now costing. Couns. Janice Lukes and Russ Wyatt had asked for the vote to be delayed in order to send the item to the province for binding arbitration, a motion that was defeated. Thats a shame, given that it would have provided the opportunity for a third party to determine if the deal was truly fair or as some have suggested another way for the Crown corporation to help out its own troubled bottom line. But now, the city is stuck, and a dangerous precedent has been set. Third, how can such a jump in land cost not have an effect on the BRT budget overall? Winnipeg Transit says it will reveal details next week regarding the savings from the final design that are expected to offset that hike in price. Plenary Roads Winnipeg has been named the private-sector partner, and the design plans are being finalized. Once thats done, it will be clear where the savings can be expected. Why couldnt city administrators have waited until all these components were in place instead of forcing the vote early Wednesday? Fourth, given the budget overruns and the shoddy project management of other large-scale projects in this city, how can administrators think anyone can take what theyre saying with a grain of salt? Granted, P3s in Canada tend to come in on time and on budget, but who can blame the average Winnipegger for being pessimistic particularly after the ongoing experience with the Police Safety Building (not a P3, but definitely not on time or on budget). This deal smells, worse than a bratwurst and sardine sandwich left on a Winnipeg Transit bus on a hot August afternoon in rush hour, and its just another example that despite an election and new hires in top administration, things are still not working properly at city hall. Chicken wings are wonderful, but Buffalo Chicken Wings are on another level and thats thanks to the sauce. Defined by blue cheese, celery and hot sauce, Buffalo sauce could glorify any number of dishes. (Imagine how luscious it would be on a steak!) Looking ahead to the Fourth of July and its picnics, I wondered what would happen if I Buffalod some potato salad. There are two main kinds of potatoes: baking and boiling. Baking potatoes (aka russets, the most famous of which is the Idaho) are higher in starch than boiling potatoes and fluffier in texture, falling apart when cooked. Excellent sponges for such flavorful ingredients as cream and butter, baking potatoes are your go-to choice when the ultimate plan is to mash them. Boiling potatoes, by contrast, hold their shape when cooked. Theyre sweeter than baking potatoes and boast a more assertive potato taste. The best potato for a potato salad? Boiling potatoes are the usual choice. You want a salad with texture and integrity, not a mealy mess. But for this recipe, you also want the russets ability to absorb flavor. So I opted for both. As predicted, the baking potatoes fell apart and generously absorbed the blue cheese and hot sauce. Unpredictably, but happily, they also helped make the salads texture extra creamy. The boiling potatoes likewise did their part, acting as bricks to the baking potatoes mortar. To pre-season the potatoes, toss them with vinegar and salt while theyre still hot, just after youve boiled them but before adding the dressing. Fifteen minutes later the potatoes will have fully absorbed the pre-seasonings and become that much more flavorful and youre then free to slather them in the mayo and sour cream. Potatoes, like pasta, not only absorb liquid, they also keep absorbing it until theres none left. That means the potato salad that was so nice and creamy when you first dressed it may have dried out 15 minutes later. If that happens, just stir in a little cold water and the silkiness will return. As is, this recipe may strike some folks as overly rich. If you want to slim it down, swap in light mayonnaise for the regular kind and Greek yogurt for the sour cream. The flavor will still be plenty large and you likely wont miss the extra calories. Creamy buffalo potato salad 1 lb. medium boiling potatoes, scrubbed and sliced -inch thick, preferably using a mandoline 1 small baking potato (about pound), peeled and sliced -inch thick, preferably using a mandoline cup cider vinegar 1 teaspoons kosher salt 1/3 cup mayonnaise cup sour cream or plain no-fat Greek yogurt 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (preferably the soft creamy kind) 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce or to taste cup finely chopped celery plus celery leaves for garnish Black pepper In a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes with cold lightly salted water to cover by 2 inches and bring the water to a boil. Simmer the potatoes until they are just tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar and the salt until the salt is dissolved. When the potatoes are tender, drain and add them immediately to the bowl with the vinegar mixture. Toss the potatoes well with the vinegar mixture and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, hot sauce, chopped celery and pepper to taste to the potatoes and toss well. If the potato salad seems dry, stir in some cold water and toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the celery leaves. Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 215 calories; 124 calories from fat; 14 grams fat (4 grams saturated; 0 grams trans fats); 19 milligrams cholesterol; 655 milligrams sodium; 18 grams carbohydrate; 2 grams fiber; 2 grams sugar; 5 grams protein. A Winona couple was injured in a collision near Grand Forks, N.D. Thursday. Michael and Kathleen Fratzke were westbound on Hwy. 2 about 3 p.m. when a vehicle driven by Todd Olson of Grand Forks pulled out in front of their vehicle. Fratzke was unable to avoid hitting the Olson vehicle. Ive often asked myself, what about Donald Trump most scares me? The other day, I concluded that its that I actually believe he will try to do what he says he is going to do. So I did some research. What is he telling the American people that he will do? Not much, it appears. He is going to Make America great again. He is going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. He is going to keep all Muslims out of the country (and their fathers, it now appears). He is going to send all illegal aliens back home. But that is about as far as it goes. His campaign appears to depend mostly upon running opponents down. Whether they are fellow Republicans or his main political opponent, Hillary Clinton doesnt seem to matter. I decided to look at what Trump has been saying in public forums over the past 10 years or so. Perhaps that would give me a sense of who Trump is and what he might stand for. While size constraints on my columns prevent me from including all of his quotes, here is what I discovered: Trump is a deal-maker: He deals in property. Closing the deal whatever it takes is Trumps goal, and he will say whatever it takes true or false to close the deal. If you listen to him, thats what he believes. In some respects, this makes him a good politician. Unlike most politicians, however, who might promise things that cannot be delivered, I think Trump actually believes he will deliver. I fear that he will go after whatever he says he will do regardless of the constitutionality of the action. I fear that he will go after whatever he wants to do regardless of the feelings of his constituency. I fear that he will be the bully that he threatens to be. Trump reacts very emotionally when things do not go his way: He appears to be a fire-from-the-hip sort of guy. His speech and actions lead me to believe that he is only concerned about what might be just around the corner. He does not think strategically. He chases people away who dont support him. He chases reporters away who dont support him. He chases entire newspapers away that dont support him. Will he chase voters away who dont support him? I think he will. Trump does not respect free speech: Excepting his own speech, Trump does not tolerate free speech principles that this country has upheld for hundreds of years. Thats one of the reasons he chases people away. He makes meaningless statements: His assertions are rarely, if ever, backed up by facts or plans or a vision. I paraphrase: I will do very good with the military. They will love me. I will make America great again. I will build a wall on the Mexican border and Mexico will pay for it. Women love me and I have their vote. Mexican Americans love me and I have their vote. Youll see, I will be a great president! Being a real estate deal-maker who cannot think beyond the next quarterly statement does not qualify Trump to be president. Trump makes deals that benefit him. It is clear that he does not compromise. He says that he will not compromise. He will make our friends to the south in Mexico into an enemy. In an uncontrolled tantrum, he could do the same with Canada. He has said he will shut China down. He has lowered the political rhetoric to that of a school yard shouting match. He bravely ignores political correctness and all other forms of civil discourse. In a political context, Trumps kind of deal-maker is called a tyrant. Yes, I am afraid that Trump will become a tyrant and that those of us who are vocal will be dealt with in the same way that tyrants throughout human history have dealt with dissidents. I am still waiting for someone to explain to me why I should vote for Trump. When I ask this question, I usually hear why I should vote against Hillary Clinton. I need a better reason than that Trump will make America great again. What scares me is that I believe Trump. Unlike politicians, I think that Trump the deal-maker-become-tyrant will make serious and poorly thought-out efforts to do everything he says he will do. These are reasons that I choose not to vote for Donald Trump. Given the need for extraordinary coverage of the massive tragedy that unfolded Sunday in Orlando, its little wonder if you missed the details out of the United State of Women summit that first lady Michelle Obama put on in Washington this week. So let me help you catch up on this first-of-its-kind White House-sponsored event. More than 5,000 people were on hand to talk about gender equity. While not everyone went away happy abortion was conspicuously missing from the discussion the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Participants and media alike seem to agree that, yes, this was a massively hyped affair, but the TED talks-type agenda lived up to its promise. Not to mention that, as part of the event, the White House announced $50 million in commitments to improving the lives of girls and women around the world. The commitments come from the White House and a collective of organizations, private-sector companies and foundations. Below youll find some of the key takeaways, which I compiled from reading coverage from the event. But first a word about what Im personally carrying forward. Its not specifically gender equity-related, but it made the biggest impression on me and I expect it will lift your day. The event was capped by an armchair conversation between Mrs. O and Ms. O, that is the first lady and Oprah Winfrey. Asked how she deals with all the haters on social media, Obama said this: I have found, particularly in this job, that its people wont remember what other people say about you, but they will remember what you do. So when it came to this role, I just said: You know, let me just be first lady. Let me wake up every day and work hard to do something of value, and to do it well, and to do something consequential, and to do something that I care about. And then let that speak for itself. And that would shut up the haters, because I would have a whole portfolio of stuff that defined me because its what I did, not what you called me. So the best revenge is success and good work. What a refreshing answer. And one I needed to hear. Whether its in regard to the presidential campaign or the latest local hot-button issue, much of the bandwidth of discussion takes place these days in the form of tweets or Facebook posts, which delight in sarcasm, name-calling or downright lies. It can beat regular folks like me down; I cant imagine the level of abuse someone of Michelle Obamas stature endures. I suspect we can all learn from her answer: 1. People will remember what you do, not what other people say about you. 2. The best revenge is success and good work. So what else made up the United State of Women summit? Obama brought together an inspiring group of powerful and interesting women to discuss real issues: equal pay, womens health, education, preventing violence against women, entrepreneurship and female leadership. As part of the summit, more than two dozen companies including Airbnb, Amazon, American Airlines, Dow Chemical and Pepsico agreed to undertake a yearly company-wide gender pay analysis. Introduced by 11-year-old Mikaila Ulmer, the founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, who won a deal with Whole Foods, President Barack Obama addressed the summit. Vice President Joe Biden also gave a powerful speech calling on greater efforts to end sexual violence against women, particularly on college campuses. While no doubt the O and O armchair discussion stole the show, participants said the hands-on learning sharing of expertise and experiences also will have long-lasting impact. Thats why I hope that, while news such as that out of Orlando justifiably gets most of the headlines, in coming days well learn more about what comes out of the United State of Women. A Baraboo doctor was not guilty of malpractice in his treatment of a young boy nearly four years ago, a jury found Thursday. The verdict cleared Dr. Andrew Nelson, an emergency room doctor at St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo. After closing arguments, the jury began deliberations just after 2:30 p.m., and had reached a verdict by just after 4 p.m. The decision came following nine days of testimony involving a lawsuit filed by the family of 5-year-old Caleb Gawronski of Baraboo. The jury found that Nelson was not negligent, and did not fail to disclose pertinent information to the boys parents. Jurors also cleared a respiratory therapist who was not named in the lawsuit. Gawronskis mother brought him to St. Clare Hospital on Sept. 8, 2012, after he began to have a seizure. While he was being cared for at the hospital, the boy, 19 months old at the time, went without air for a period of time and suffered brain damage. Reached by phone Thursday evening, the boys father, Dennis Gawronski, declined to comment on the verdict. A hospital spokeswoman said St. Clare Hospital & Health Services, which also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, is satisfied with the verdict. St. Clare Hospital works to provide high-quality care to each and every patient, spokeswoman Melanie Platt-Gibson said. While we are satisfied with the verdict, we empathize with the Gawronski family. Nelson, the hospital, both of their insurance companies, and Wisconsins Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund were named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed by Dennis and Jackie Gawronski on behalf of their son. The lawsuit asked that the jury award the plaintiffs damages in an amount to be determined at trial. During closing arguments Thursday, Nelsons attorney, Samuel Leib of Milwaukee, advised jurors of the burden of proof required to find that the doctor was negligent. The jury was asked whether Nelson provided a standard of care that reasonable emergency room doctors would have used in similar circumstances. Leib said it was simply not enough to determine that the doctor made a mistake by taking a retrospective view of care provided by Nelson. No one gets to live life in reverse, Leib said. Caleb Gawronski has undergone several types of treatment, including dives into a hyperbaric chamber in which patients breathe pure oxygen. His parents also have said a treatment called masgutova neurosensorimotor integration, known as MNRI, has been helpful, but is not covered by insurance. Last February, former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown came to Baraboo to help the Gawronskis raise money for their sons continued treatment. While working in the yard and pulling weeds I began to wonder what motivates the decisions behind the way people vote. That led me down a mental path full of brambles, Y-turns and dead ends. I concluded it was impossible to find a definitive answer because people are so complex. Some vote for a political party, no matter who the candidate is. Some vote because of the way a candidate looks or sounds, because of their religious beliefs or because of one issue they feel strongly about. And some vote for the name that seems the most familiar. That last ones pretty scary. Anyway, I concluded that few voters lean far right or far left. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. I know Republicans who believe much the same way I do about social issues. And I tend to be more fiscally conservative and realistic about attaining goals than many liberals I know. Too bad theres not a party that embraces all of us who float around in the middle, because I think there are a lot of us. Most people believe in equality for all. None of us like people taking advantage of the welfare system and we dont like taxpayers supporting hugely profitable corporations and their owners who are immensely wealthy. We all want fair elections, clean air and water, a good educational system and protection from unscrupulous business practices. We want and are willing to pay for good roads and bridges, our trash being recycled or disposed of responsibly, police and fire protection and reliable emergency services. Nobody wants to pay exorbitant prices for prescription drugs while the companies rake in huge profits and pay their management millions of dollars. Most of us want more affordable healthcare for all, but nobody seems to be able to figure out how it should work. Unlike those who support Sen. Bernie Sanders, I dont believe in totally free college education. Im not sure students would appreciate it or be motivated if they didnt have some financial investment in their futures. On the other hand, I cant understand GOP lawmakers killing a bill that would allow college students and graduates to refinance their loans, just as other individuals and businesses can. We really need to ask Sen. Ron Johnson why he voted against that. On many issues, I and my very sane and compassionate Republican half-brother in California can come together. For one thing, he thinks teachers should be paid more. And I agree with him that the poorly planned and managed pension plans like the one in his state should be restructured so theyre not a financial drain on the economy. (I was glad to tell him that Wisconsins has been fully funded for many years.) He and I also agree that when any one party or special interest group has all the power, no good ever comes of it. There are other things most of us can agree on. Few people on either side want a government run by religious ideologues, although some candidates act as if they do. We know that in any country thats ruled by a religious group, theres repression and punishment for anyone who has different beliefs. Still, there are beliefs that most religious and non-religious people have as moral compasses and theyve been the values under which this country has operated. We accept the importance and necessity of equal rights for everyone, including new immigrants, women, minorities and LBGT communities. We believe in an individuals right to freedom of speech and actions so long as those actions dont hurt someone else. And we believe in punishing criminals, including corrupt politicians and business people. We are all much more alike than we are different, but everything we read highlights the differences and seems to take us further apart. Thats why the bickering between political parties and that within the same parties is so confusing. Maybe we need about 10 different parties. Or maybe we need just one that embraces all of us. No, that wont work. Still, we need to rally around the things upon which we can agree and work toward getting those things done. Maybe then we can move on to the rest. Open Government 101 is now in session. UW System officials including the Board of Regents please be seated. Thank you for attending this remedial course in respecting the publics right to know how its money is spent. We all know why you are here. Your System president, Ray Cross, seated here in the front row, and his staff hid its budget from the public until 90 minutes before the regents voted on the $6.2 billion spending plan for the coming year. That was a big mistake that violated the spirit if not the letter of Wisconsins open records law. When a public record especially of this magnitude is created and shared with the same public officials who will vote on it, the public gets to see it, too. Transparency encourages an informed public and healthy democracy. Springing your budget on the public also broke from UW Systems previous and reasonable practice of releasing it days before any vote. That way, the public has time to digest and comment on the proposal before a final decision is made. Most of you are not elected officials. You are appointed by the governor to the regents, or hired by the regents to work for UW System. But the money you spend comes from tax dollars and student tuition. So the public has a keen interest in knowing how you plan to use its resources. By refusing requests to see your budget leading up to last Thursdays vote, you needlessly provoked suspicion and distrust. Whose decision was this, anyway? Please raise your hand. OK, nobody is going to take clear responsibility. Thats disappointing, too. Your UW System spokesman, Alex Hummel, seated near the back of the room Alex, pay attention please initially said the regents president, Regina Millner, was behind this foolish game of hide the budget. We spoke to her before class, and she denied it was her decision. We also have learned the regents received the budget proposal six days in advance, and five days before your spokesman claimed it wasnt finished. The computer file of the budget indicates it was last changed six days before the Regents adopted it without alteration. So any suggestion that this document was an early draft lacks credibility. So does your spokesmans contention that hiding the budget was in the interest of presenting and sharing the most accurate information. You didnt share any budget numbers with the public until just before the vote. Thats why youre here today. Why all the secrecy? Were you afraid a public backlash would jeopardize passage? Anybody? This is a very quiet class. The budget, when it was finally released, appeared fairly straightforward, with a fee increase some will oppose. That hardly justified shrouding it in secrecy. This isnt the first time UW System has flouted transparency. The system had obscured its large reserves, which upset lawmakers and led them to cut UW funding by $250 million. The latest flap over the budget is another unforced error. You need to do better. To help encourage more commitment to open government, we have invited a guest lecturer for your next class: Attorney General Brad Schimel. Weve asked him for his legal opinion on when the budget should become public. For now, class is dismissed. But dont forget to complete your assignment: In the future, quickly respond to and comply with all open government requests, as state law demands. Columbus residents gathered at the Gov. Lewis Mansion to celebrate the citys history and meet and greet author Jan Ulrich Thursday, June 9. Copies of Ulrichs new book Images of America: Columbus a 128-page journey through the citys history, showcasing photos of local landmarks, businesses, buildings and residents were sold during the event. Ulrich also signed copies of the book and read portions of it throughout the evening. Other highlights of the night included appetizers and beverages, a string quartet and free tours of the main floor of the mansion, the original home of James T. Lewis, ninth governor of Wisconsin. Books also went on sale at local stores and businesses recently, including: Capri Steak House, Julies Java House, Walgreens, Sharrows Downtown, Farmers & Merchants Union Bank, American Family Insurance, Columbus Hospital Gift Shop, Kurth Brewery and Walcott Studio. The Columbia County Sheriffs Office has released an initial report on a head-on collision outside Portage on Memorial Day that claimed two lives. Medical and toxicology analysis was not provided regarding the two men who died at the scene the driver, Adam Chester, 24, of Portage, and passenger Jacob Bachmann, 24, of Baraboo. According to witnesses and crash investigators, Chester and Bachmann were heading east on Highway 33 near the Saddle Ridge housing development in a black 2014 GMC Sierra, when the vehicle veered to the right, started driving over the shoulder and then swung to the left. The truck crossed into the right lane, heading toward a silver 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. The driver turned to the right, while Chester turned to his left, and the two trucks collided. The Ram was driven by a 19-year-old Portage man and his 22-year-old girlfriend who were both injured, but able to move, with one witness reportedly seeing them get out of the truck right away, with the driver helping the woman away from the scene. A Columbia County Sheriffs Deputy reported arriving on the scene just before 7:30 p.m. and after seeing that Chester and Bachmann had seemingly not survived, found the woman who was out of the truck, lying in the ditch with people around her, her boyfriend lying nearby. The woman was alert and conscious, but told the officer her stomach and legs hurt. When the officer asked what happened, she said that she thought the other truck was driving over the speed limit, but not certain how fast, but that it was very fast. Her boyfriend told the officer that he was sore but otherwise OK. Nonetheless, both were secured on backboards and taken to Divine Savior Healthcare. At the hospital, the driver told officers that he thought the black Sierra was going 90 to 100 mph. When officers searched the couples truck, among a list of 14 things found was two empty Busch Light beer cans. Blood tests of the driver came back negative, with no alcohol found in his system. Columbia County Sheriffs Deputy Brad Graf said toxicology samples from Chester have been sent to the Wisconsin State Forensic Toxicology Lab, but the results have not been received. There are numerous people and organizations to be sincerely thanked for making this year's Taste of the Dells operate smoothly. Realizing space is limited I will only focus on three briefly. Dan Gavinski and his entire team at the Original Wisconsin Ducks not only assisted us in so many ways this year, but must again be commended for everything they do in and for our community. Whenever and wherever help is needed, Dan is always there. The Dells School District and in particular Dennis Draper have truly done the heavy lifting over 11 years of the festival. We only hope getting our stage and chairs to and from the grounds each year did not hasten your retirement at the end of the summer from many tremendous years of service to the students and teachers in our area. Finally, thank you to the Wisconsin Dells Convention and Visitors Bureau for being a partner in putting together this year's program. I am not sure if Festivals Director Jenifer Dobbs realized what she was getting into. It was challenging and fun pulling it all together. Our Bureau must be commended for taking the lead in forging a new relationship with the City of Wisconsin Dells and being so involved in the downtown revitalization. I can only hope that 2016 was a sign of great things to come. Thank you to all our restaurants and of course our thousands of customers. We look forward to serving you again next June. Mark Sweet, Taste of the Dells chairman Wisconsin company wrestles with the FDA over an infant formula Nikos Linardakis says the FDA has stymied efforts that he and James Esselman have made to launch their Bene Baby Co.s product. LONDON A rising star in Britains Parliament was shot and stabbed to death Thursday in an attack that stunned the nation and brought the countrys European Union referendum campaign to an abrupt halt just a week before the vote.The killing was of the sort that has become all too common in the United States, but is virtually unheard of in Britain: without warning, hyper-violent and ultimately, perhaps, inexplicable.It claimed as its victim Jo Cox, a widely respected 41-year-old member of the center-left Labour Party who won election last year after a career in humanitarian work and who was widely respected for her outspoken advocacy on behalf of refugees and civilians in Syria.Police officials in the northern English region of West Yorkshire said Cox was pronounced dead just before 2 p.m. local time, an hour after she was assaulted outside a library near the city of Leeds. A 52-year-old man was taken into custody, and police said he was the only suspect.Has anybody heard from Princess lately?Gotta admit, their terrorists got better target selection than our terrorists. Fawn saved as tourist performs roadside C-section An Alberta traveller who stopped to deal with road kill ended up performing an emergency C-section and delivering a fawn by the side of a highway in northern British Columbia.Sean Steele was on vacation with his wife, driving from their home in Barrhead, Alta., to Prince Rupert, B.C., to visit family and go fishing.Several hours from their destination, Steele pulled over to help after a pickup truck ahead of him struck a deer on Highway 16 near the Kitwanga Bridge, about 1,200 kilometres north of Vancouver.Steele said the deer was horribly injured, so he grabbed a knife from his own pickup to put the doe "out of its misery."Then he pulled the carcass off the highway into the ditch.That's when Steele saw a sign of life."I seen the fawn in the uterus twitching," said Steele."We saw the fawn's legs hanging out. We just did a caesarean on her," he said."On the side of the road, I cut the doe open and pulled her fawn out."Then he worked to resuscitate the newborn that had just lost its mother."I cleaned out its mouth, put some grass in its nose so it would sneeze and get all the crap out of it," said Steele. "It starting breathing.""We just dried it off and looked after it. Put it in the back seat of my truck."Steele said he called conservation officials, who advised him to take the fawn to the Northern Lights Wildlife Society refuge in Smithers, 110 kilometres away."Apparently, it's going to be fine," said Steele.He acknowledges it's not something that happens every day, but he's pretty humble about his part in the deer delivery."I have lots of experience with animals," said Steele. "I hunt and fish. Used to chasing deer around the bush. Milked cows for 20 years."Steele's family helped name the female fawn Friday, for the day of her unusual birth.The fawn is now drinking milk from a bottle "like a champion," according to a social media post from the Northern Lights refuge, where Friday has the company of a male fawn. "We are happy to report it seems to be unharmed." WENN.COM Former Miss USA contestant Samantha Edwards found deadFirst posted: Thursday, June 16, 2016 03:12 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, June 16, 2016 03:33 PM EDTFormer Miss USA contestant Samantha Edwards was found dead on Tuesday morning.The 37-year-old, who was crowned Miss North Dakota USA in 2003, was found unresponsive by a friend at her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Police reports indicates no sign of trauma and the cause of death is being investigated.A representative of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants wrote on their Facebook page , "We were saddened to hear of the passing on one of the most vibrant, energetic, and full-loving titleholders we have had the honor to meet from our state pageants. Although Samantha was not a titleholder during our directorship, her impact on us and those around her was very apparent. Sam's smile and her energy will be terribly missed..."Samantha's friend Jessica Dereschuk, Miss Minnesota USA 2004, has created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs and donations have already surpassed the $15,000 goal.A funeral is set to take place on June 24 in Samantha's hometown of Grand Forks in North Dakota.We are saddened by the sudden loss of Samantha Edwards, Miss North Dakota USA 2003. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends. She will forever be a part of this organization.Samantha Edwards. (Facebook) 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 Kathleen Wynne slams Donald Trump as dangerous for Canada That should put Canada on Trumps radar. Go Winnie WASHINGTON Donald Trump is a danger to Canada and the world, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said in Washington on Thursday in an unusual foray into a foreign election.I think that a candidate for the presidency of the United States who is intent on being divisive, who is intent on ignoring the realities of the global economy, and doesnt see the benefit of an inclusive, pluralistic society I think its very dangerous for Canada, and I think its dangerous for the world, Wynne said in an interview at the Canadian embassy.A Trump presidency would be destabilizing for the continent, she said, but it would go well beyond the continent.It is uncommon for premiers to criticize candidates in other countries, especially during visits there. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to respond directly to a flurry of Trump-related queries during an official visit to Washington in March, saying repeatedly that he had faith in the American electorate.Wynne, also a Liberal, did not utter the Republican nominees name. But she portrayed him as an ignoramus on the economy and a malice in his approach to Muslims.I think anyone who pretends that unrealistic protectionism is going to be helpful to any of us doesnt understand the realities of the 21st century, she said when asked about his vow to rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement. I think we need to find ways of working together, not being hostile to one another.She added: Pretending we can separate ourselves from each other, its just not realistic.Trump has offered a steady stream of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy. Among his signature policies is a temporary ban on all foreign Muslims entering the country.That kind of rhetoric that is, again, so divisive, and so out of touch I think with the reality of our combined population. And it really is a very different tone than weve heard before in American elections, Wynne said. And I do think well, I know it causes me anxiety in terms of what the outcome could be.Wynne met Thursday with high-profile Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a vocal Trump critic who is reportedly being vetted by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as a possible vice-presidential pick.Wynne declined to endorse Clinton, but she has left no doubt about her preference. A president who understands how the world works, and works toward global co-operation, is going to advance the cause both of the United States and the world much better than dividing and creating hostility, she said when asked about the former secretary of state on Thursday.Wynne said the focus of the visit was to reconfirm how important our trade relationship is.She also met with Labor Secretary Tom Perez, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik. She gave a speech, closed to the media, at an embassy luncheon on innovation and climate change.source: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...lams-donald-trump-as-dangerous-to-canada.html ................................... :lol::canada: Fort Calhoun closure confirmed 17 June 2016 Share Omaha Public Power District's (OPPD) board of directors has confirmed the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant in Nebraska will close by the end of this year. The board said retirement of the single-unit pressurized water reactor is in the best financial interest of the district. Fort Calhoun (Image: OPPD) The board decision follows a recommendation made by senior management in May based on a review of OPPD's resource planning under various future scenarios. The company said that extensive modelling conducted by a third party had found ceasing operations at Fort Calhoun and "rebalancing" OPPD's energy portfolio would result in savings of between $735 million and $994 million over the next 20 years. Mike Mines, CEO of the publicly owned utility, said the decision had not been taken lightly. "The industry is changing and it is imperative that we make strategic decisions to better position the district in the future for all our 365,000 customer-owners," he said. "As tough as this decision is, we cannot afford to ignore the changes happening around us. We must look to the future." OPPD cited market conditions, including historically low natural gas prices and lower energy consumption, as a major factor behind the board's decision. The utility also cited the failure of the USA's Clean Power Plan - the US Environmental Protection Agency's proposed program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power generation by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030 - to give existing nuclear power plants such as Fort Calhoun credit for their carbon-free generation. The company also considered economies of scale. At 478 MWe (net), Fort Calhoun is the smallest operating nuclear unit in the USA in terms of its accredited capacity and unlike larger and multi-unit nuclear plants cannot spread costs over high levels of production. OPPD serves a population of 810,000 people - more than any other electric utility in the state of Nebraska - ranks as the 12th largest public power utility in the USA in number of customers served. Fort Calhoun is one of three baseload plants supplying the majority of its power, alongside the North Omaha and Nebraska City coal-fired plants. Fort Calhoun provides about a third of OPPD's total generation. Responding to the announcement, the US Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said closing Fort Calhoun would make it more difficult for Nebraska and the USA as a whole to meet clean-air and climate change commitments. "Fort Calhoun's closing will take about one-quarter of the state's clean electricity off the grid," NEI CEO Marvin Fertel said. "It will no longer prevent the emission of 3.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of putting 800,000 cars back on Nebraska's roads." Fort Calhoun is the 12th reactor to close or be announced for premature closure in recent years, and Fertel called on US policymakers to act to ensure nuclear power plants are correctly valued for their benefits. "This is due in part because the full value of nuclear power plants is not recognized in the price of electricity. Leaders in state capitals and Washington must bring together policies that appropriately value all attributes of electricity generation, which if done correctly will preserve nuclear energy facilities as part of a diversified electricity portfolio. To do otherwise will result in significantly negative economic and environmental consequences for decades," he said. Safestor chosen OPPD said it will use the Safestor decommissioning option, a deferred dismantling strategy where residual radioactivity is allowed to naturally decay over a period of up to 60 years, after which the plant is dismantled. The company said this approach would provide both regulatory and financial flexibility. It will cost an estimated $1.2 billion to decommission Fort Calhoun. OPPD had anticipated having full funding available for a 2033 decommissioning date, when the unit's current operating licence expires. As of the end of May, OPPD said it had about $388 million in total available decommissioning funds, but will add to the fund annually to allow for decommissioning ahead of 2033. Fort Calhoun has been in commercial operation since September 1973 and the unit underwent extensive operating and safety systems upgrades during an extended outage between 2011 and 2013. The plant is owned and licensed to OPPD, and has been operated by Exelon since 2012. Closure of Fort Calhoun will leave the state of Nebraska with one operating nuclear power plant, Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper 768 MWe (net) boiling water reactor. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics EDF modifies dismantling plans for first generation units 17 June 2016 Share EDF has informed the French nuclear regulator that it has adopted a new strategy for decommissioning its first generation, gas-cooled reactors (CGRs). Dismantling of the six reactors will take longer than previously planned as the company wants to complete the decommissioning of one unit before working on the others. The partially-dismantled Saint-Laurent A1 and A2 units (Image: EDF) During a hearing on 29 March, EDF told the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire (ASN) that it was adopting a new decommissioning strategy, significantly modifying the method and speed of decommissioning of the CGRs. The company had originally planned to dismantle the reactors using underwater techniques, but has now decided to dismantle them in air. In addition, rather than carrying out dismantling work at all six reactors simultaneously, EDF has decided to complete the dismantling of one reactor and use experience gained through that in the subsequent dismantling of the other units. EDF told the ASN it will complete the decommissioning of the peripheral installations at all of the CGRs within the next 15 years. "This new strategy means decommissioning of certain reactors will be pushed back by several decades with respect to the strategy announced by EDF in 2001 and updated in 2013," the ASN noted. The ASN acknowledged receipt of EDF's new strategy and asked the company to make it public and provide a detailed justification for this change, while demonstrating compliance with the legislation concerning decommissioning all its CGRs in the shortest period possible. It also requested from EDF a detailed program of works for the coming 15 years. Three CGR reactors operated at the Chinon site from the early 1960s. Chinon A1, A2 and A3 were shut down in 1973, 1985 and 1990, respectively. Their partial dismantling was completed in 1984, 1992 and 2007. At the Saint-Laurent, units A1 and A2 were commissioned in 1969 and 1971 and shut down in 1990 and 1992. Defuelling of the two reactors was completed in 1992 and 1994. A CGR was also commissioned at the Bugey site in 1972 and shut down in 1994. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Jessie Laconsay By: Feng Qian (Scroll down for video) A Honolulu, Hawaii, police officer was arrested on allegations that he raped the 14-year-old daughter of his good friend. Officer Jessie Laconsay was charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a minor. The charges came after the mother of the girl found them having sex, according to a police affidavit for an arrest warrant. The girl told her mother that she also had sex with the officer before, but Laconsay denied the claim. After he was caught in the act, Laconsay began yelling and crying, and he fled with his police car. The mother of the 14-year-old victim called police, but they were unable to locate Laconsay. Police officers launched a search for their coworker. Laconsay was found hours later parked at the side of the road with cuts on his wrists. Officers said that while Laconsay was being treated, he kept saying aI am sorry for letting us down.a Laconsay was taken to a hospital for treatment before being released to police. He is being held on $500,000 bail. The officer was suspended from his job without pay. PETERSBURG The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board held its regular meeting in Petersburg last week, with board members in attendance from Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. Much of the meeting focused on project updates and approving the companys FY17 budget. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson asked the board to consider a motion to provide one-year notice to end the contract with Ketchikan Public Utilites (KPU), concerning operations at Swan Lake hydroelectric plant near Ketchikan. For Acteson, the move makes sense because it would increase SEAPAs control of operations at the agency owned Swan Lake facilities. The restructuring would be similar to a 2014 shift SEAPA conducted at Tyee Lake, with Thomas Bay Power Authority, based out of Wrangell. The sky didnt fall like everybody said it was gonna, the lights didnt go out and power continues to be delivered, Acteson said. Board member Stephen Prysunka of Wrangell said ending the Thomas Bay Power Authority contract at Tyee Lake caused division in his community, and Wrangell is still dealing with the repercussions. Prysunka thought waiting to make a decision would be the best course of action. SEAPA board member Lew Williams III of Ketchikan, who is also board chair of KPU and mayor of Ketchikan, disagreed with the timing and hasty nature of the proposal. He said the proposal made sense, but more thought and discussion is needed before making a change. Board member Joe Nelson of Petersburg spoke in support of SEAPA taking the initiative and increasing company control. One of Nelsons biggest concerns with continuing with KPU was power plant operations and maintenance (O&M) and getting delays or setbacks dealt with in a timely manner. Board member Judy Zenge of Ketchikan said the change made sense, but agreed with Williams about waiting before giving it the go ahead. SEAPA board member Andy Donato, and KPU Electric Division manager, did not see the gray areas Nelson referred to, and said he thought SEAPA and KPU working together created multiple benefits. You got a contractor thats responsible for the O&M of the project, then you have something occur, something that needs to be fixed, Nelson said. Is that O&M or does that go beyond that? Board chair John Jensen of Petersburg agreed SEAPA taking over O&M would benefit the organization, but did not like the idea of taking such swift action to end the KPU contract. I agree with whats been said at the table here, its not an instant process, he said. I think we need to keep it in our discussion a little bit longer and work out the details. There were multiple board members at the meeting, but only five voting members. The board voted 4-1 to table the motion, with Nelson being the only vote against taking more time to decide. The board also heard Acteson detail recent communications between SEAPA management and KPU, concerning the start of the Swan Lake construction project resulting in friction between both parties. SEAPA is in the beginning stages of a multi-million dollar project aimed at increasing water storage by adding height to the Swan Lake dam. SEAPA ran into problems when the lake level was too high for crews to safely get started. When Pacific Pile mobilized that first weekend I mean we had water up on the spillway, and this did hamper some of the pre-construction activities, Acteson said. I mean theyve gotta build, put anchors on, put the safety walkways up, and these were all the functions that had planned to be taken at that time. Prior to the incident, Acteson reached out to KPU to purchase more power and help lower the lake level. KPU told him the terms of their power sales agreement with SEAPA did not require the purchase to be made. SEAPA spent over three years diligently securing permits, soliciting grants, engineering a low cost innovative design, executing multiple complex contracts, Acteson said. So everything considered, the agency really anticipated a little higher spirit of cooperation with regard to achieving necessary lake levels leading up to that construction project. Prysunka of Wrangell said he was disappointed in the lack of preparation shown with start of the Swan Lake project. Prysunka found it unacceptable and costly to put in the effort and expense to mobilize construction equipment then be unable to work. An issue, like lowering the lake level, should be resolved well before such an expansive project is slated to begin, not weeks, he said. I have raised this as an ongoing concern that the level of cooperation from Ketchikan on various issues has been poor. Now there may be another side to that story, but I dont like it and I dont like where its heading, he said. Were jumping in bed on this huge project with a lot of money and it makes me very nervous for my community. During the meeting, multiple board members stressed the importance of SEAPA being a united front representing Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell. Board member Prysunka said he really liked the idea of SEAPA expanding its support in all three communities, whether it was finding a way to support local events or getting proactive when it comes to public relations. Prysunka admitted the idea of SEAPA being a cooperative, that Wrangell is a part of, can be easily forgotten. I would really like to see us make a push between the three communities to constantly remind folks that its a cooperative, he said. Constantly reminding folks that collectively we are stronger than we are as individuals, and that all the projects benefit everybody. Swan doesnt just benefit Ketchikan, it benefits our whole collective. Some 12,000 ArcelorMittal workers will finish voting next Tuesday on a tentative contract announced by the United Steelworkers (USW) and the company on April 27. The limited information released by the company and the USW in the immediate aftermath of the announcement makes clear this is a major betrayal that attempts to shift the crisis of the steel industry onto the backs of workers. The vote is being conducted by mail ballot. According to USW Local 6787, workers were scheduled to receive a contract summary and mail-in ballots around May 23, with June 21 the last day to mail in ballots, and votes to be counted June 23. Even the USWs self-serving contract highlights reveal major concessions in the three-year agreement, which would expire in September 2019. The agreement freezes wages. In addition, workers and retirees face steep increases in health care payments that could reach up to 10 percent of health care costs. The contract includes several provisions that tie the welfare of workers and retirees directly to company profitability. Company contributions to the union-controlled retiree healthcare fund, a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA), would change from a fixed contribution into a variable contribution of five percent of company earnings before interest and taxes. The contract does not include any wage increases, but instead includes a quarterly bonus if the price of hot rolled steel, which this year has stayed between $300 and $350/ton, rises above $600/ton. The global steel industry is in a deep crisis facing massive overcapacity, due primarily to a slowdown in Chinese steel demand. ArcelorMittal, the worlds largest steel manufacturer, with operations in twenty countries on five continents, has been deeply impacted by this crisis, reporting losses of $7.9 billion in 2015, primarily due to falling steel and iron ore prices. In exchange for these major concessions the USW secured minor gains in pension funding, health care coverage, and child care programs for active workers and retirees. These improvements, however, are much than offset by the givebacks. In addition the USW is touting the companys promise to invest $2.5 billion in capital expenditures, even as it idles production in the US and internationally. This sellout is of a piece with concessions contracts imposed on 18,000 workers at US Steel and 2,200 workers at Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI). The contracts for all three companies expired in August-September 2015, together with contracts for 140,000 auto workers, 39,000 telecommunications workers, and hundreds of thousands of municipal and other workers. The USW worked together with the United Auto Workers, the Communications Workers of America, and the rest of the trade unions to keep these struggles separated. ArcelorMittal workers were ordered to remain on the job while Allegheny Technologies workers were locked out in a bitter struggle that lasted from August 2015 through March 2016. Just days after imposing a concessions contract on 18,000 US Steel workers, the USW proposed a contract with innovative cost savings at ArcelorMittal. 2,500 USW-represented workers at Cliffs Natural Resources have been without a contract since September. 450 workers at Sherwin Alumina remain locked out after more than a year and a half, as the company uses bankruptcy courts to offload its obligations. The ArcelorMittal betrayal is a product of the nationalist and pro-capitalist program of the USW. From the outset, the USW offered its services to help ArcelorMittal offload its financial problems onto the backs of workers while pushing for further trade war measures against imported steel, particularly from China. An April 27 USW bargaining update stated, Recognizing the challenges facing our industrymainly the result of historic levels of unfairly traded imports and a depressed market for our productswe committed very early in this process to address the companys needs while protecting future generations and without burdening current or future retirees with unnecessary expenses. In the previous bargaining update, published on February 24, the USW declared, When we started, the company proposed a contract with no wage increases. We recognized the need for fixed cost stability and offered a contract with a system of lump sum payments based on Hot Band pricing. Our solution is not a perfect one, but frankly, if pricing does not return to the market, our industry will not recover from the attack of unfair trade in steel. Meanwhile, the USW has taken the lead in numerous Department of Commerce trade lawsuits against steel imports, particularly from China. The promotion of trade war against the economic rivals of the United States is aimed at diverting workers anger against their brothers and sisters overseas while covering up the real root of the attack on jobs, which is the capitalist profit system. The USW has officially endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential race on the basis of economic nationalism. USW President Leo Gerard introduced Clinton at a June 14 rally in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Gerard touted Clintons commitment to trade war policies, claiming she would push back against those who destroy our jobs by cheating against agreed upon trade rules. Gerard has also worked closely with the Obama administrations efforts to improve the competitiveness of US industry on the backs of workers. He is a member of the White Houses Advanced Manufacturing Steering Committee, together with the head of Alcoa and numerous industry executives. In July 2015, Gerard met with Obama and other union officials to coordinate a strategy to prevent a wages push, i.e. a unified struggle by the hundreds of thousands of workers whose contracts expired in Summer and Fall 2015. In exchange for the USWs services, steel companies are rewarding USW bureaucrats through a variety of mechanisms. The USW has been given partial or full control of VEBA funds, which they use as investment vehicles. In addition, the companies finance USW payroll with numerous union-management partnerships. In a remarkably candid admission, the USW contract highlights include Improved hiring preference for relatives of USW employees. In other words, the USW bureaucrats are more than happy to trade away the hard-won gains of generations of workers and retirees in exchange for jobs for their relatives. We call on workers to reject the nationalist, pro-company orientation of the USW, vote down the sellout contract at ArcelorMittal, and form rank-and-file committees to carry the struggle forward, establishing lines of communication with workers in the steel, auto, telecom and other industries. With the surfacing Wednesday of charges that Brazils interim president, Michel Temer, solicited bribes in return for contracts with the state-run oil conglomerate Petrobras, the right-wing regime installed through the drive to impeach Workers Party (PT) President Dilma Rousseff has been thrown into deeper crisis. Brazils major corporate media outlets did their best to bury the bombshell accusation. It was made by Sergio Machado, a former executive in charge of the Petrobras Transporte, a subsidiary of the energy giant, who said in a plea bargain that in 2012 Temer had asked him to arrange a political donation from a private contractor as a kickback for being awarded a contract. The right-wing Globo media corporation, for example, headlined its article Sergio Machado says he handed over bribes to more than 20 politicians, leaving any mention of Temer to the fifth paragraph. Others gave prominence to Temers denunciation of Machados charges as irresponsible, frivolous, lying and criminal. The coverage reflects extreme nervousness within Brazils ruling circles that the regime change operation, begun with the impeachment proceedings against Rousseff on trumped-up charges of budgetary manipulations, is threatening to come undone and create a full-blown crisis of rule for the corrupt and crisis-ridden Brazilian capitalist state. Machado, a former senator, was a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), which was headed by Temer, who before last months Senate vote to initiate the impeachment was vice president. As part of the plea-bargaining deal with prosecutors in the so-called Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation, he named 24 politicians in addition to Temer, who he said had participated in the massive bribes for contracts operation at Petrobras. The parties involved, in addition to the PT and PMDB, ranged from the extreme right-wing Democrats (DEM) to the ex-Maoist Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). The plea bargain documents were made public on Wednesday. The accusations of Machado, which could potentially lead to the arrest of Brazils interim president, come on top of earlier revelations, also from the ex-Petrobras executives plea bargain deal, which led to the forced resignation of two members of the cabinet Temer formed after the wholesale sacking of Rousseffs ministers and top officials. Romero Juca, also of the PMDB, was forced to step down as economic planning minister after he was caught on tape discussing the prospect that Rousseffs ouster could scuttle the Petrobras corruption probe and save the skins of leading politicians. Similarly, Fabiano Silveira, briefly installed as minister of transparency and controlwith the ostensible job of fighting corruptionwas compelled to quit after being taped advising the president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, on how to stonewall corruption investigations directed against him. On Thursday a third member of the cabinet fell over the Machado revelations. Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves, also a PMDB member who had occupied the same post under Rousseff, resigned after it was reported that he had received some US$455,000 in bribe money between 2008 and 2014. Temer declared in response to the charges against him, Nothing will prevent us from continuing our work for Brazil and the Brazilian people. By this he meant the anti-working class measures that Brazilian and foreign capital are demanding and for which he was brought into office via the impeachment conspiracy. While, thus far, this has consisted largely of closing down government ministries and slashing federal jobs, the supposedly interim government is preparing more sweeping measures to more or less permanently freeze public spending and radically reform the rights of Brazilians to social security, health care and education. Rousseff and the PT itself had already begun to implement austerity programs and had sought to stave off impeachment by currying favor with the Brazilian right and trying to convince the ruling elite that the Workers Party was better able to continue these attacks, while guaranteeing governability through its subordination of the unions and the so-called social movements to its right-wing agenda. Using the same term Wednesday, Temer confided to reporters that Machados charges were very bad for governability. Temers advisers reportedly convinced him to cancel a speech to the nation that had been scheduled for Friday night. Further deepening the crisis of the government that has replaced Rousseff, a congressional committee voted to oust the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, from his seat over corruption charges, paving the way to his being arrested and prosecuted in the lower courts. Cunha, a right-wing Christian fundamentalist radio broadcaster and member of the PMDB, was the leading architect of the Rousseff impeachment. He has been formally charged by prosecutors with receiving some $5 million in bribes connected to contracts for the building of two Petrobras drilling ships. He was found guilty by the congressional ethics panel of lying about squirreling the money away in secret Swiss bank accounts. The decision must still be confirmed by the entire lower house, which would strip him of his congressional immunity. The Supreme Court had already suspended him last month for using his position to obstruct justice. Cunha has made it clear that if he is thrown out of the congress and placed on trial, he intends to take a large number of other politicians down with him. Given the immense political influence that he wielded in Brasilia, a plea bargain by the congressional leader could prove infinitely more damaging than that of Machado. In the meantime, Rousseff and the PT have signaled that they are prepared to call for a popular referendum on an early presidential election as a tactical measure aimed at peeling off a sufficient number of senators to preclude the two-thirds majority needed to permanently remove her from office. Under this scheme, while she would be returned to office, a new election would be held at the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017, rather than at the end of her term in October 2018. The PT calculates that it could run former Workers Party President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who, while widely discredited and facing possible criminal corruption charges, remains the least unpopular (with a 22 percent approval rating) among Brazils universally hated bourgeois politicians. Significantly, Brazils pseudo lefts, from elements like the Morenoite PSTU (Unified Socialist Workers Party), which adapted itself to the right-wing impeachment drive by advancing the slogan out with all of them, to the Pabloites inside the PSOL, which subordinated itself to the PT, are now taking up the demand for a new election. Under the present conditions, and in the absence of any mass party representing the Brazilian working class, such a demand for a quick election can only serve to legitimize either a return to office of the corrupt capitalist government of the PT or the consolidation of power by its right-wing opponents. What all of them oppose is any struggle to forge the genuine political independence of the Brazilian working class in preparation for a revolutionary struggle to put an end to capitalism. The Socialist Equality Party condemns the brutal murder of Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire. Cox was just 41 years old and was only elected to parliament last year. She leaves behind two children and her husband, Brendan. Before that she worked for a number of charities including Oxfam, Save the Children and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Her murder has shocked millions throughout the UK and internationally. She died at 1:48 p.m. Thursday, after she was stabbed and shot multiple times following a constituency meeting in Birstall, West Yorkshire. A 52-year-old man, named as Thomas (Tommy) Mair, has been arrested. The official Remain and Leave campaigns for the June 23 referendum on continued UK membership of the European Union suspended activity, as leading politicians on both sides and from all parties expressed their regrets. This does not detract, however, from the fact that what is known so far about the murder points to the role of the reactionary political climate generated around the campaign. Cox herself was a prominent campaigner for a Remain vote, and it cannot be excluded that this is why she was targeted for a premeditated attack. Newspapers reported that only 24 hours before her death, she had tweeted that her husband and children were taking part in the battle of the Thames on a Stronger In boat commanded by musician Bob Geldof. Geldof had clashed with UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who was staging a nationalist anti-EU protest involving fishermen. The murder suspect, Mair, is reported to be a quiet loner and to have a history of mental illness, who had spoken of receiving psychotherapy and medication. The Daily Telegraph has reported that he was previously a subscriber to S. A. Patriot, a South African magazine published by the pro-apartheid White Rhino Club. The club describes the magazines editorial stance as being against multi-cultural societies and expansionist Islam, the Telegraph writes. A blog post attributed to the group, dated January 2006, described Mair as one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S. A. Patriot. As has now been demonstrated on so many occasions, it is most often such disturbed individuals that are destabilised during times of acute economic, social and political crisis. Britain is passing through such a period in a referendum campaign that could shake the whole of Europe, is already provoking economic turmoil and is spurring growing nationalist tensions within the European Union. With so much at stake, the bitter divisions within ruling circles over the best means of advancing the interests of British imperialism are being played out in the form of threats of national collapse, appeals to jingoism and patriotism and, above all, xenophobia. Migrants from the EU and refugees fleeing from the wars in which the UK has played full part are being blamed by both sides of the campaign for the collapse of essential services, housing shortages and the destruction of jobs and wages that are all the product of the austerity measures imposed by successive Labour and Conservative governments. It appears that this febrile atmosphere played a part in tipping Mair over from passive racism into a murderous rage. Several eyewitnesses said that he shouted Britain First or Put Britain first before making his attack on Cox. Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the murder scene, said, He was shouting put Britain first. He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her. He leant down. Someone was wrestling with him and he was wielding a knife and lunging at her. Three times she was shot. People were trying to help her. Another witness, Hichem Ben Abdallah, said Cox was stabbed with a large knife. The attacker then kicked Cox as she lay on the ground before pulling a gun and shooting her. Graeme Howard, 38, told the Guardian that he too heard the man shout Britain first before the shooting and during the arrest: I heard the shot and I ran outside and saw some ladies from the cafe running out with towels. There was loads of screaming and shouting and the police officers showed up. He was shouting Britain first when he was doing it and being arrested. Flynn-Edwards said, She walked out of the library with her PA and he was waiting for her. He stabbed her first and this guy tried to stop him and then he shot her. Cox died while being attended by paramedics. Prior to the arrest of Mair, there was a further non-life threatening attack on a 77-year-old man nearby, also attributed to Mair. There is speculation that the cry Britain First might indicate that Mair also supported the far-right split from the British National Party, which has advocated physical attacks on Muslims and supports the UK leaving the EU. Late last month, Britain First issued a warning to British Muslim politicians that they would take direct action against them, citing in particular Londons newly-elected Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan. Last weekend, the Mail on Sunday ran an expose on the extensive participation of neo-fascist groups in the official Leave campaign, including the involvement of leading personnel in Leeds, near to where Cox was killed. The Hitler-quoting and swastika-tattooed individuals are among a number of neo-fascists active in the Brexit campaign. The pro-Leave Mail described this participation as a hijacking. However, the demands to end the freedom of movement of EU citizens and to prevent Britain from being flooded with refugees, especially Muslims, are the stock in trade of the far-right. They are now voiced first and loudest by the UK Independence Party (UKIP), before being taken up by the Tories and Labour as representing the supposed will of the people. The same day Cox died, UKIP leader Nigel Farage was rolling out the latest poster in his Leave campaign, depicting a long line of refugees, with the words, Breaking Point. The EU has failed us all. In response, the Cameron government suggested that it would revisit its demands to end free movement either through further negotiations or a unilateral declaration. For its part, top Labour figures including deputy leader Tom Watson declared that Labour too would no longer support free movement and would demand stronger policing of borders. Coxs death should sound a warning to workers throughout Britain. To prevent further outrages, it is necessary to take a political stand against the tidal wave of nationalist filth in which the Remain and Leave campaigns are seeking to drown opposition to austerity and war, and to strike out on a path of independent political struggle for socialism. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 85 to 13 to require women to register for the Selective Service System, making them liable to a future military draft for the first time. The move gave final passage to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which approved $602 billion in funding for the US military. Six conservative Republicans voted against the NDAA, largely because they opposed requiring women to register on religious fundamentalist grounds. Seven Democrats also opposed the bill, mainly because it continues the legal ban on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, which led to an Obama veto of a previous funding bill. The Senate and House versions of the bill must now be reconciled in a conference committee, where it is uncertain whether the amendment will survive. Language expanding the draft to women was inserted and then removed from the House version of the bill, and the ultra-right opposition is stronger in the House than in the Senate. The United States officially ended the draft in 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War, in response to mass opposition to conscription. However, the federal government still requires all male citizens and resident aliens between the ages of 18 and 25 to register with the Selective Service, which maintains the necessary records in case the draft is reinstated. The move follows Decembers announcement by the Obama administration that it would begin allowing women in the military to serve in combat roles. The decision was understood at the time to also potentially expose women to the requirement of registering for the draft, because a 1981 Supreme Court ruling only exempted women from registering because they did not participate in frontline combat duty. While hailed by elements within and around the Democratic Party as a victory for gender equality, the move was motivated in large measure by the need to update the apparatus for mass conscription, which the Pentagon currently opposes using for its current operations, but which would become necessary in the event of a war against a major adversary such as Russia or China, or even Iran. The decision to admit women into combat roles was initially opposed by some elements within the military, with the Marines leadership citing a study that found that gender-integrated units were less lethal, but the top military brass all supported women registering for the draft in congressional testimony this February. I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft, Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, told Congress. The Amendment passed with broad bipartisan support from Senate Republicans. I support it [because] I dont think you want to take half your population off the sidelines in case of a national emergency, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told the Huffington Post in May. Republican Senator John McCain, who opposed Decembers decision, has also spoken out in support of the expansion of the draft. Democratic Party leaders have portrayed the vote to include women in the draft as a victory for gender equality. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whose campaign has systematically promoted issues of racial and gender identity as a cover for her right-wing, pro-war politics, voiced her support for the measure the day after the vote. Steny Hoyer, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, told reporters in May, Women ought to be treated equally. If youre going to have Selective Service registration continue, and youre going to have women available to serve in the armed forces in either front-line capacity or support capacitythen I think it makes sense to have eligible individuals, male or female, register as long as you have registration. He continued, parenthetically, Internationally, we are in a very unstable context. Therefore, it may well make sense to continue to have a pool available, a large pool available, in the event that we need to, in very rapid order, ramp up the numbers of folks in the armed forces. By unstable context, Hoyer means the real possibility that the innumerable small-scale conflicts stoked by American imperialism could coalesce into a broader war drawing the United States into conflict with its chief geopolitical rivals, above all Russia and China, two nuclear-armed powers. Tuesdays vote has been treated in the press and by politicians of both parties as having a largely symbolic value because of the current absence of a draft, which, they argue, will continue for the indefinite future. But a large-scale conflict with Russia and China would almost certainly require conscription on a huge scale, and the danger of such a course is made more and more likely by the extremely aggressive and provocative posturing by the United States and its allies. On June 13, NATO announced the deployment of 4,000 additional troops to eastern Europe as part of its military buildup along Russias western border. In Southeast Asia, the navies of the United States, Japan and India are currently engaged in joint military exercises that are clearly directed against China, which has responded by having its own ships tail the American-led operation. Not only the draft, but even a nuclear exchange is a distinct possibility. Section 1654 of the Senate NDAA bill, Sense of Congress on Nuclear Deterrence, specifically names Russia as the potential target of a US nuclear attack. It calls for NATO to make it clear in its upcoming July summit in Poland that it has taken steps to address the nuclear provocations of the Russian Federation and calls for the United States to maintain a nuclear force with a diverse, flexible range of nuclear yield and delivery modes that are ready, capable and credible. The Obama administration is carrying out a $1 trillion modernization program of the United States nuclear arsenal. The reinstatement of the draft has long been promoted by figures within the Democratic Party. Representative Charles Rangel of New York has repeatedly introduced legislation to revive the draft, alongside the imposition of a war tax on all income groups, with his latest such venture coming in March of last year. Reinstating the draft would compel the American public to be part of the shared sacrifice and moral issues at hand, Rangel wrote in the New York Times in 2014. The release of documents by hacker Guccifer 2.0, who has claimed sole responsibility for accessing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers and stealing many thousands of documents, upends the official narrative put forward by the DNC and the bourgeois press, who have blamed the hacks on Russian intelligence agencies, the latest in a string of inflammatory accusations against Moscow. The official narrative was first elaborated by the Washington Post, which broke the story in a lengthy article published Tuesday, provocatively titled Russian government hackers penetrated DNC, stole opposition research on Trump. In the article, clearly vetted by figures in the US political and military establishment, the DNC first publicly acknowledged that their servers had been hacked repeatedly over the past year and again in late April. After learning of the most recent hack, the DNC claims to have immediately enlisted CrowdStrike, a security technology company with intimate ties to the American state. CrowdStrike President Shawn Henry and Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs Steve Chabinsky are the former executive assistant director of the FBIs Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch and former deputy assistant director of the FBIs Cyber Division, respectively. CrowdStrikes chief technology officer, Dmitri Alperovitch, himself a senior fellow at the influential Atlantic Council think-tank, has led the strident denunciations of Russia for the alleged hack into the DNC. He told the Post that CrowdStrike identified two separate hacker groups, both of which he asserted work for the Russian government. Alperovitch stated that one group, which CrowdStrike dubbed Cozy Bear, accessed the DNCs servers last summer and continually had access over the past year, while the other, nicknamed Fancy Bear, broke into the network in late April and downloaded opposition research files on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Alperovitch proclaimed that Fancy Bear is believed to work for the GRU, Russias military intelligence service, while Cozy Bear might work for the Federal Security Service, once headed by Putin. Regarding the lack of coordination between the two groups, Alperovitch told the Post, We have seen them steal assets from one another, refuse to collaborate. Theyre all vying for power, to sell Putin on how good they are. Alperovitch also accused the two groups of hacking government agencies, tech companies, and defense contractors across the world, and singled out Cozy Bear for infiltrating the unclassified e-mail systems of the White House, State Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2014. He said that over the past two years, Russia has carried out a thousand-fold increase in its espionage campaign against the West. They feel under siege. Seeking to further whip up anti-Russian chauvinism, the Post declared, The depth of the penetration reflects the skill and determination of the United States top cyber-adversary as Russia goes after strategic targets, from the White House and State Department to political campaign organizations. The Post, CrowdStrike and the DNC provide no evidence to support these inflammatory accusations, which have coincided with the launching of Operation Anacondathe largest NATO maneuver since the end of the Cold Warnear the Russian border. Responding to the allegations of Russian responsibility for the hack, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlins spokesman, told the Reuters news agency in Moscow, I completely rule out a possibility that the government or the government bodies have been involved in this. On Wednesday, self-proclaimed hacker Guccifer 2.0 (a reference to Guccifer, a Romanian hacker currently awaiting prosecution in Virginia for a number of high-profile hacks) released a trove of documents produced by the DNC, including the 237-page opposition research report on Donald Trump and a list of million-dollar-plus donors to the Democratic Party. In an indication that the Washington Post narrative was fabricated, Guccifer 2.0 also released multiple lists of DNC donors. Michael Sussmann, a DNC lawyer, had told the Post, It appears that no financial information or sensitive employee, donor or voter information was accessed by the Russian attackers. In a blog post in which he provides links to these documents, Guccifer 2.0 mocked CrowdStrikes claim that the DNC was hacked by sophisticated hacker groups, instead asserting, it was easy, very easy. Guccifer 2.0 also claims to have downloaded many thousands of documents from the DNCs servers, contrary to the claims of the DNC and CrowdStrike. He writes, The main part of the papers, thousands of files and mails, I gave to Wikileaks. They will publish them soon. In light of the documents released by Guccifer 2.0, the story presented by the DNC and CrowdStrike appears to be concocted as another provocation against Russia, an increasingly common occurrence since the 2014 NATO-backed, fascist-led coup in Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahus government and the racist Zionist parties grouped around him are seeking to exploit anger and anxiety of Israelis in the face of the Palestinian attack in downtown Tel Aviv last week. They demand ever more oppressive measures against the Palestinians, and intensified state repression within Israel. The two attackers, 22-year-old Mohammad Makhamrah and his cousin, 21-year-old Mohammad Ahmad Makhamrah, ordered drinks in the cafe in the upscale Sarone Market and then shot and killed four Israelis and injured six others. Among the victims was 58-year-old sociologist Michael Feige at Ben Gurion University who had written and lectured extensively about Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the effects of war and terrorism on the Israeli psyche. His book, Settling in the Hearts: Jewish Fundamentalism in the Occupied Territories, won the Shapiro Prize for Best Book from the Association of Israel Studies in 2010. In his recent study of Rabin assassin Yigal Amir, he noted that a large percentage of political murderers in Israel have come from the ethnic margins of Gush Emunim and of the ideological settler community. The security forces shot the attackers, hospitalising one of them, before arresting them. The two men appeared to have been acting alone. No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Far-right Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered a sweeping crackdown, sending military reinforcements to the West Bank, cancelling entry permits for more than 80,000 Palestinians planning to visit Israel or East Jerusalem, and ordering the suspension of the return of slain Palestinian bodies to their families. He is seeking to speed up the demolition of homes of alleged terrorists. He imposed a lockdown on Yatta, a town near Hebron where the assailants live, house-to-house searches and the demolition of their family homes. Security forces even detained around 100 Yatta school students as they tried to leave the town to take their final exams. Parliament signed off new counterterrorism legislation giving security services greater powers to detain and prosecute people in Israel, not the West Bank, making it possible for passive members of groups classified as terrorist organisations to be indicted. It allows for the defence minister to confiscate property believed to belong to outlawed groups without seeking judicial approval. The governments fascistic supporters rejoiced that Tel Aviv, noted for its more secular and liberal attitude, had been the subject of an attackthe first lethal attack in Israel since March when an American citizen was killed in Jaffa. Since then the number and severity of attacks on Israelis has declined sharply. Nonetheless, the repression of the Palestinians by Israels security forces has continued unabated alongside almost daily incidents of settler violence against the Palestinians, their lives, homes, farms and vehicles that go unpunished. The Israeli state is seeking to create the conditions for a full-scale conflict with the Palestinians that could go as far as another war on the West Bank and Gaza. On Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported that Israel's national water company has cut crucial water supplies to large areas of the West Bank, leaving tens of thousands without access to safe drinking water during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Ayman Rabi, executive director of the Palestinian Hydrology Group, told the news service that in some areas people had not received water for more than 40 days. Yesterday, the Israeli journal Yedioth Ahronoth revealed a plan to build a concrete wall tens of meters deep underground and above ground to counter the threat of Hamas attack tunnels. It will stretch along the 60 miles of the southern border around the Gaza Strip, the third defence system of its kind Israel has built along the border. It cited a senior defence official stating baldly that a confrontation with Hamas is inevitable, it must be the last one. Pent-up frustration among Palestinians exploded last summer over attempts by religious and nationalist bigots to change the status of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to allow Jews to pray there, leading to a number of lone attacks on Israelis, 32 of them fatal, to which the Israeli security forces responded with extreme brutality. They have killed at least 207 Palestinians, injured thousands more, arrested thousands of people, included children, imposed lockdowns, and demolished the family homes of the alleged assailants, particularly in the Hebron area. Arab parties have warned against the impact of such escalating repression. The head of the Joint Arab list bloc Ayman Odeh said, My heart goes out to the families. An attack against innocent people is always reprehensible, there can be no justification for shooting civilians in the street. But, he added, the far-right coalition government had contributed to a deepening of hatred and violence. Arab list legislators Ahmed Tibi and Osama Saadi said, We reject attacks on civilians in every way. Such an act does not advance Palestinian rights. But they added that the collective punishment of Palestinians for the Tel Aviv attackers would not solve the problem: Only ending the occupation will bring peace. Political disquiet is echoed more broadly. Tel Avivs Labour Mayor Ron Huldai, whose track record of shutting down the 2011 social protests over housing and taking measures to prevent further protests shows he is no liberal, blamed the Tel Aviv attack on Israels occupation of the West Bank. He told Israeli army radio, We might be the only country in the world where another nation is under occupation without civil rights. ... You cant hold people in a situation of occupation and hope theyll reach the conclusion everything is alright. He called for a resumption of peace talks and said, There has been an occupation for 49 years, which I was part of and I know the reality, and I know leaders need courage to not just talk. We have to show our neighbours that we have true intentions to return to a reality of a smaller Jewish state with a clear Jewish majority. More telling than Huldais musings over how to defend Israels identity as a Jewish state, the father of Ido Ben Ari, one of the four victims, accused the government of exacerbating the situation. Speaking at his sons funeral, he said, Last night, after the attack, the prime minister and two of his ministers arrived and yet another security cabinet issued decreesnot to return corpses, to put up barriers, to destroy houses and to make lives harder. These solutions create suffering, hatred, despair and [lead] to more people joining the circle of terror, he said. Whats needed is a solution rather than saying all the time that theres nobody to make peace with. While successive governments have fostered bigotry, anti-Palestinian sentiment, chauvinism and xenophobia, such attitudes are by no means universal in Israel, which is a deeply divided country in every way. In the 2015 general election, the Labour-dominated Zionist Unity coalition, Meretz and the Joint Listall of which seek some sort of accommodation with the Palestiniansgained more than 50 percent of Tel Avivs votes in contrast to Jerusalem, where they took just 15 percent of the vote. It was noticeable that Tel Avivs police arrested the two assailants, rather than executing them on the spot as has happened in almost all the previous lone attacks on Israelis. On an earlier occasion, when a dozen plain-clothed police beat up a Palestinian Israeli near a Tel Aviv supermarket where he worked because he refused to show his identity card, his mainly Jewish co-workers defended their colleague against the police. Even in the midst of the daily escalation of official reaction, the seeds of an opposed development are emergingthe forging of a unified struggle of Jewish and Arab workers on the basis of a socialist and internationalist programme. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Sri Lankan opposition party, has urged the government to impose a state of emergency, ostensibly to deal with the recent flood and landslide disaster. The draconian emergency laws, which give wide powers to the government and security forces, have always been used to trample on the democratic rights of the people. The JVPs proposal is an open display of its backing for the strengthening of the capitalist state against workers and poor. During early May, in Sri Lankas worst flood disaster for decades, more than 200 people died. Thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged. Tens of thousands of people are still languishing in makeshift camps without adequate facilities. The disaster has intensified the anger among the poor and working masses against the government, which has been making continuous attacks on their living conditions. JVP propaganda secretary and parliamentarian Vijitha Herath feigned sympathy for the flood victims at a May 24 press conference. He criticised successive governments for not preparing proper disaster management, then declared: We of the JVP emphasised in the parliament that the disaster was of a gigantic proportion and asked the government to declare a state of emergency. Herath said the government had indicated in parliament it would consider the JVP proposal, but no state of emergency has been declared yet. He claimed that if such laws were in operation the government could ignore red-tape, mobilise sufficient financial resources and provide relief to the people. He insisted: The situation was not simple. Instant operations were necessary [for flood relief]. State officials could have acted promptly and efficiently if a state of emergency was declared. The JVPs claims that the emergency laws would be beneficial for flood victims in providing relief, and that the partys concerns are for workers and the poor, are completely bogus. Even in the same press conference, the JVP backed President Maithripala Sirisenas anti-democratic declaration of flood-affected areas, particularly in Colombo, as high security zones (HSZ). Sirisena issued this declaration to prevent the citys poor returning to their shanties. He blamed unauthorised constructions built by residents along the Kelani River bank and canals for the flood disaster. The HSZ declaration is part of the governments broader plan to convert Colombo into a megapolisa commercial, financial, tourist and investment hubby clearing the shanties to offer lands to investors. Herath welcomed Sirisenas action. The government states that reclaiming lands will not be allowed. There is politics behind unauthorised constructions and the reclaiming of land We are happy that the government has realised its folly at least after all the happenings, he said. Sri Lankas ruling elite has not used emergency powers for the benefit of the ordinary masses at any time, contrary to the JVPs claims. The hated provisions are part of the Public Security Ordinance that was used by the successive governments to unleash the military against people, including the Tamil minority, and suppress democratic rights. Successive governments have kept the country under emergency laws for more than half of its history since it was declared independent in 1948. During the communal war that started in 1983 against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the emergency and Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) laws were used routinely. In November 2011, two years after the defeat of the LTTE, former President Mahinda Rajapakse withdrew the emergency laws, facing domestic opposition and international criticism, but incorporated the harsh regulations into the PTA. The JVP has systematically backed the anti-democratic rule of successive governments, particularly during the war against the LTTE, which the JVP fully supported. While proclaiming itself socialist, the JVP has been mired in Sinhala communalism since the partys inception in 1965. There are many examples of the JVPs anti-democratic role. * In 2003, President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and used executive powers to seize key ministries of the United National Party (UNP)-led government in order to scuttle peace talks with the LTTE. The UNP government had lined up with the US Bush administrations reactionary war on terror and began negotiations with the LTTE to enlist it as a junior partner in Colombos rule. Kumaratunga was backed by military and chauvinist groups. JVP secretary Tilvin Silva supported her blatant authoritarian actions against an elected government, saying she saved the country from disaster. Silva declared: We call upon the president to go ahead with courage for the benefit of the country and not step back but destroy all evil elements. * During 2004, the JVP became a partner in the coalition government formed under Kumaratunga, with its leaders taking three ministriesagriculture, rural industries and fisheries. The 13 months of this coalition glaringly displayed the JVPs real character. Its pro-poor posture was exposed when its ministers failed to provide promised relief to peasants, fishermen and youth. Instead, they helped the government implement austerity measures. * In December 2004, Sri Lanka was among countries worst affected by the Asian tsunami. The disaster killed more than 30,000 people, mostly in the countrys northeast and south, and left half a million homeless. With the JVPs approval, Kumaratunga declared an emergency in flood-affected districts, not to help the victims but because she feared social unrest fuelled by the catastrophe and the lack of aid. Kumaratunga was forced to announce a post-tsunami program to distribute aid to victims in the northeast jointly with the LTTE. The JVP leaders seized upon her proposal to provoke communalism, trying to scuttle the delivery of aid to tsunami victims in the northeast. The JVP declared that the program was a betrayal of the country and a concession to the LTTEs demand for a separate state. * The JVP split from the Kumaratungas coalition government on this issue and in November 2005 backed Rajapakse to win the presidential election. Over the next four years, the JVP was in the forefront of helping Rajapakse resume the war and impose emergency rule to ruthlessly suppress political opponents, workers and youth. The JVPs call for a state of emergency, under the cover of the flood disaster, is politically significant. The JVP has functioned as a party of the political establishment for the past quarter century, seeking to defend capitalist rule. Last year, it backed Sirisenas installation as president in a regime-change operation orchestrated by the US. Far from being concerned about the plight of the flood victims, the JVP fears the impending struggles of workers, youth and poor and wants the ruling class to strengthen its hand. The campaign launched by Senate Democrats to ban gun purchases by anyone on the massive FBI terrorism watch list is the opening move in a broader attack on democratic rights. Both the Obama administration and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have endorsed the effort led by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who staged a 15-hour filibuster Tuesday and Wednesday, with the backing of most Senate Democrats, to force Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to agree to a vote on two gun-related amendments to an appropriations bill currently before the Senate. It is not clear whether the amendments will pass when they come to a vote, now scheduled for Monday, but there will be heavy pressure mounted through the media and by Obama and Clinton, perhaps joined in this effort by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. One amendment would ban gun purchases by anyone on the FBIs terrorism watch list. The other would expand the current requirement that gun stores perform background checks on buyers to include gun shows, Internet sellers and other private sellers. Using the FBIs terrorism watch list as the basis for banning an otherwise legal activityin this case, purchasing a gunis clearly only a test run for using the watch list for other, even more anti-democratic purposes. The same slogan endorsed enthusiastically by Hillary Clintonno fly, no buywill have many other applications. If people on the watch list, now denied the right to board an airplane, are then denied the right to buy a gun, what comes next? Should they be denied the right to vote? What about the right to use the Internet, or drive a car? The logic is inexorable, and in the event of new tragedies on the scale of Orlando, such demands will inevitably arise, and will be taken up by various factions in the reactionary political establishment in the United States. The FBI watch list is a huge database, estimated at 800,000 names, and including, among the many well-publicized errors, a Republican congressman and a four-year-old boy, both from northern California. There is no judicial review of the FBI operation, and no legal procedure for having ones name removed from the list. An ACLU-backed lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Securitys no-fly list, a subset of the FBI database, has been dragging on in the federal courts for the past six years. Another such lawsuit, sponsored by Islamic-American groups, is in federal court in Virginia. The vast majority of the names on the watch list are people suspected of links to terrorism, in most cases without meeting any justiciable standard, such as probable cause, let alone proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Many, if not most, are Muslim Americans who were nominated for the list because they come from Syria, Iraq, Somalia or other countries ravaged by US-sponsored wars, or attend the same mosque as an Islamic extremist, or had bigoted neighbors who called the FBI over people wearing traditional Islamic dress. As the New York Times admitted in an analysis Wednesday, Tens of thousands of counterterrorism tips flow to the FBI each year. Some are legitimate. Others come from vengeful ex-spouses or people casting suspicion on Arab-Americans. The 800,000 names compares to what FBI Director James Comey described as about 1,000 active investigations into alleged ISIS sympathizers in the United States, and the tiny handful of actual terrorist attacks by people claiming to be ISIS supporterseven if one includes an attack like that in Orlando, where the only apparent connection to ISIS was gunman Omar Mateens 911 call after the bloodbath had already begun. The statements by leading Democrats in support of the ban on gun purchases have been remarkably blunt in their anti-democratic thrust. Senator Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the ban would apply to known or suspected terrorists. It is doubtful that any known terrorists are visiting US gun shops, passing the required background checks and having themselves recorded by store cameras. In any case, no new laws would be required to arrest them. As for suspected terrorists, that category is infinitely flexible, depending on whose mind is responsible for forming the suspicion and what grounds are adduced for doing so. In his remarks Thursday, after visiting Orlando for private meetings with families of the victims of the massacre at the Pulse gay night club, President Obama sounded the same theme, condemning the fact that weapons of war were freely available on Americas streets. There are more than a few ironies in this statement. Obama is, of course, the commander-in-chief of the US military-intelligence apparatus, which is responsible for the death, not of dozens, but of hundreds of thousands during Obamas tenure in the White House. The AR-15 semi-automatic, which he condemned, is the civilian version of the same weapon that US soldiers use to mow down villagers in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is supplemented by weapons with far more firepower, such as the Apache helicopter gunships now unleashed on the Iraqi city of Fallujah by the Pentagon, at Obamas orders. As for terrorists having access to weapons, it is the United States and its allies who have funneled arms into Islamic fundamentalist organizations in Libya and Syria, first as part of the war against the government of Muammar Gaddafi, and then as part of the proxy war against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. And finally, no one in the official debate, Democrat or Republican, comments on what the proliferation of mass shootings says about the health of American society as a whole. The nearly 10,000 gun homicides a year represent a death toll greater than in many civil wars. As Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders prepares to formally back Hillary Clintons campaign for US president sometime between now and the convention in July, sections of the Democratic Party and its periphery are working to contain and smother the oppositional sentiment that found expression in support for Sanderss campaign. On June 17-19, a wide array of organizations around the Democratic Party will meet in Chicago for the Peoples Summit, which has already attracted national attention in the media. CNN reported that the summit will draw together the progressive army that stood at the front lines of his political revolution. The Washington Post writes that some 2,500 are expected to attend the summit, to talk about many of the same issues Sanders championed. Explaining the purpose of the summit, a spokesman for National Nurses United, one of its main sponsors, said, Theres going to be some genuine discussion and debate about how to unify all these disparate movements, how to take the energy and enthusiasm, and coalition that came together around the Sanders campaign and continue it. A manifesto published by the summits organizers states: We envision this Summit as further deepening the relationship between participating organizations rooted in principled anti-corporate politics, development of community leaders, direct action not based on partisan identification, and strategic organizing to build power. The claim to non-partisanship is a fraud, since most of those participating are Democrats (though, on the web site, no speakers are identified with their party affiliation). The central purpose of the summit is to build political support for the Democratic Party even as it moves to nominate its most right-wing candidate in history, Hillary Clinton, beholden to Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus. The components of this coalition are a whos who of left Democratic Party circles, as well as organizations that are nominally independent of the Democratic Party but function as auxiliary and pressure groups. The main speakers include Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii with ties to sections of the military, who is a prominent supporter of Bernie Sanders; Roseann Demoro, executive director of National Nurses United, which endorsed Sanders; Canadian author Naomi Klein; and Shaun King, a blogger identified with the Black Lives Matter campaign. Speakers also will include Sanders campaign staffers; local Democratic Party elected officials like Chicagos Chuy Garcia; CNN commentator Van Jones, a one-time advisor for Obama; various union officials; Seattle City Councilperson Kshama Sawant, a member of Socialist Alternative; Bhaskar Sunkara, editor of Jacobin magazine; and others. Supporting organizations for the event include Sanders groups (People for Bernie, Latinos for Bernie, African Americans for Bernie, etc.); unions that endorsed Sanders (National Union of Healthcare Workers, United Electrical Workers); and political organizations that formally backed Sanders (Socialist Alternative, Democratic Socialists of America, the Communist Party USA, the Progressive Democrats of America). Notable in the list of sponsors are the International Socialist Organization and the Global Greens. The pseudo-left ISO has maintained a formal independence from the Sanders campaign, supporting instead the Green Party and its likely candidate, Jill Stein. The difference between the ISO and groups like Socialist Alternative, however, is of a purely tactical character. All defend capitalism and essentially function as factions of the Democratic Party, as their participation in the summit makes clear. The holding of the Peoples Summit corresponds to a definite political logic and function. When Sanders launched his presidential campaign, he did so from the standpoint of bolstering flagging support for the Democratic Party and the political system as a whole after seven years of the Obama administration. As Sanders used the term, his political revolution always meant increasing voter turnout and support for the Democratic Party: Democrats at the White House on down will win when there is excitement and a large voter turnout, and that is what this campaign is doing, he explained in October of last year. The Sanders campaign won far more support than the candidate himself anticipated, however, reflecting the deep anger among workers and young people over social inequality and a political system dominated by the rich. Sanderss denunciations of the billionaire class and his self-identification as a democratic socialist contributed to his success, under conditions in which more young people now identify as socialist than capitalist. As Sanders sees it, his challenge is now to prevent those attracted to his campaign from breaking with the Democratic Party. He has not yet formally endorsed Hillary Clinton in part because he wants to keep the attention of his supporters on the Democratic convention, claiming that he may be able to wrest significant concessions from Clinton on aspects of the Democratic Party platforma meaningless document that has no impact on policy. In a speech to supporters on Thursday night, Sanders called for the political revolution [to] continue into the future. After referring to many of the indicators of social crisis in the US that have motivated support for his campaign, Sanders went on to explain that this support must now be focused on defeating Donald Trump, that is, electing Clinton. The major political task we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. Sanders added that it was necessary to take the energy expressed in support for his campaign into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in order to ensure that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda. In this way, the Democrats can become a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy contributors. He called on all his supporters and volunteers to run for office as Democrats in local elections throughout the country. The Peoples Summit is aimed at providing the organizational framework for this operation. The various organizations that have been gathered around it are seeking to continue the basic work of the Sanders campaign when Sanders is no longer runningthat is, containing the anger and opposition fueled by the crisis of American capitalism, and channeling it behind Clinton and the Democratic Party, through November and beyond. Europe Lecturers take action at two UK universities Lecturers at the University of Kent in England held a one-day strike Tuesday, disrupting the process of awarding marks for exam papers taken by students about to graduate. On Wednesday, lecturers held a similar strike at the University of Sussex, also disrupting exam marking award sessions. The lecturers are members of the University and College Union (UCU), and are protesting a pay offer of 1.1 percent. Lecturers are seeking a substantial rise. According to the UCU, university lecturers have suffered around a 15 percent pay cut in real terms since 2009. Further strikes by Greek train and airline staff planned Rail staff working for the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) are due to strike for 24 hours on June 22. The strike follows an ongoing series of shorter stoppages in opposition to plans to privatize Trainose, the operating arm of OSE. If it goes ahead, the action will result in the cancellation of rail services connecting to Athens International Airport. June 22 is the date by which bids from companies wishing to run Trainose must be in. Civil airline staff, members of the OSYPA union are due to begin a five-day strike on June 20. They are protesting against the pseudo-left Syriza government leasing 14 regional airports to the German operator Fraport, with plans to lease a further 23 regional airports. The Syriza government, at the behest of the European Union and International Monetary Fund, is carrying out the privatisations. UK train guards in dispute Train conductors employed by the Abellio/ScotRail franchise are set to hold a series of strikes beginning with a one-day strike on June 21 followed by a one-day strike June 23, a two-day strike on June 25 and further one-day strikes on July 3, 10 and 17. They are members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union RMT and voted in a 75 percent turnout to strike. The workers are opposing plans by the rail company to start operating Driver Only Operation (DOO) trains, abolishing the position of conductors. The union accused the private company of bypassing normal negotiations over the issue but is prepared to negotiate with them prior to the strike. Train guards working for Southern railways in the south east of England are striking over the same issue. They plan a one-day strike on June 21 and have taken part in similar actions in recent weeks. Govia, the company running Southern railways, intends to impose the new working conditions on August 21. Portuguese airport handling staff announce three-day walkout Ground handling staff at civil airports in Portugal are to strike for three days on July 1. They are members of the SITAVA trade union. The strike will disrupt the operations of airport handling companies Groundforce and Portway. It also involves staff working for temping agencies supplying staff for airport handling services. The strike is over the increasingly precarious nature of employment for airport ground handling staff. Spanish tram drivers on Costa Blanca to strike Tram drivers working on the tram route that serves the Costa Blanca coastline in Alicante province are to launch a series of indefinite strikes, which will hit night services. The strikes, scheduled to begin on June 20, are to protest the decision of FGV, who operate the service, not to allow up to 30 tram drivers to reduce their working hours. Previously it had done so. Swedish airline pilots union ends action Swedish pilots working for the Scandinavian airline SAS have ended their strike after five days. The action began last Friday and resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights, affecting around 100,000 passengers. The pilots were seeking a 3.5 percent pay rise but went back to work following a deal agreed by the SPF union under which they will receive just 2.2 percent. Norwegian oil and gas workers ready to walk out Members of the Safe union along with those of two other unions representing Norwegian oil and gas workers are set to strike in a pay dispute. A final round of negotiation between the oil companies and unions and brokered by the state mediator are due June 30 and July 1. If talks fail a strike could begin July 2. The companies insist that the steep fall in oil prices means they must cut costs and increase flexibility. Middle East Israeli staff in diplomatic offices strike Israeli civil service and non-diplomatic staff based in Israeli missions in London, Paris and New York held a three-hour strike Wednesday. The staff provide financial, IT and public relations services at the missions. They are seeking parity of working conditions in line with diplomatic staff. Diplomats get 23 days leave a year compared to non-diplomatic staff that receives 15. The strikers also demand expenses for moving, flights, etc., in line with diplomatic staff. Africa South African fire fighters strike in Canada Around 300 South African fire service staff, sent to help fight fires in the Fort McMurray area of Alberta, Canada, took industrial action June 8 shortly after arriving. They were sent there as the result of a deal struck between the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) and Kinshu Holdings (KH), a private company. KH a private company has a contract to train South African fire fighters. The workers walked off the job after discovering they were receiving well below the Canadian minimum wage. The CIFFC contract was paying KH C$170 a day for each man while the South African fire fighters got C$4 an hour for working 12-hour days. The Canadian minimum pay rate is C$11.20 an hour and to get around that, the firm classified the pay for the South African fire fighters as a stipend. Canadian fire fighters are paid between C$20 and C$30 an hour. Although KH claimed they had high operational costs, CIFFC paid the living expenses for the South African fire fighters. KH sent the strikers back to South Africa against their wishes before a resolution of the dispute. Nigerian state workers protest Public-sector workers in several of Nigerias 36 states are striking to demand the payment of outstanding wages and allowances. In Ondo state, civil servants confronted the state governor, stopping his car at his residency, where he was forced to address workers. He claimed the state did not have the means to pay workers their wage arrears. The governors plea for them to return to work was met with chants of No salary, No work. The Ekiti state governors response to five months of unpaid wages was no different. Workers have been on strike for two weeks, insisting they would continue indefinitely until they were paid. The central reason of the strike in this case was the privatization of schools, but Oyo state employees also have a backlog of unpaid wages. The governor threatened to implement a no work no pay rule on the striking teachers. Nigerian petrol and gas workers close down operations The National Union of Petroleum and National Gas Workers (NUPENG) are calling on garages to close down their operations in Nigerias Bayelsa and Rivers states. The garage owners are being called on to bring pressure, alongside other enterprises and trade unions, on four companies. The unions are demanding that the companies recognize NUPENGs bargaining rights among their staff. Liberian rubber plantation workers fight job losses Liberian rubber plantation workers have gone on strike over job losses, redundancy payments and pay arrears. The rubber tappers at Nimba Rubber Incorporated were told by management they would be paid US$5.50 a day if they achieved the quotas set for them. After government intervention, the 450 laid off staff received redundancy payments. The New Zealand governments Defence White Paper, released on June 8, announced an extraordinary $20 billion over the next 15 years to replace and upgrade military hardware. The new spending, supported by the entire political establishment, comes at a time of deepening social crisis caused by nearly a decade of austerity. Approximately 1 in 100 people are homeless due to a severe lack of affordable housing. Tens of thousands are being denied surgical procedures because of healthcare cuts. Now billions more will be taken from essential services to fund the military. The White Paper marks a further step in the countrys integration into US war plans against China, which has proceeded behind the backs of the population and in defiance of widespread anti-war sentiment. New Zealands ruling elite is responding to the global economic crisis by strengthening its alliance with Washington, on which it relies to support New Zealands own neo-colonial interests. Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee stated that planned upgrades to frigates, planes and land vehicles would make NZ forces interoperable ... with our close partners, particularly the US and Australia. There is funding for new surveillance planes and drones to patrol well beyond NZs Exclusive Economic Zone, throughout the South Pacific, Asia and Antarctic waters. A navy vessel will be ice-strengthened to carry out patrols in a vast area of the Southern Ocean, which is rich in natural resources, where New Zealand asserts a right of sovereignty. The Hercules and Boeing 757 planes will be replaced with new transportation aircraft for the rapid deployment of ground forces. The government is also promising an expansion of the armed forces capacity to carry out cyber warfare by employing more intelligence personnel. The White Paper was prepared in close consultation with Australia, New Zealands closest military ally. Australias Defence White Paper, released in February, announced $194 billion worth of purchases over the next decade, the greatest expenditure since World War II. The Australian document made clear that the massive expansion and upgrade of its forces is aimed at boosting interoperability with the US for war with China, which is identified as a threat to Australias national interests. The New Zealand White Paper is more diplomatic in its language, reflecting the New Zealands relatively small size and its economys heavy reliance on agricultural exports to China, its second largest trading partner. The paper describes China as a strategic partner and refrains from criticising its land reclamation activities and territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Obama administration has seized on the long-standing disputes over islands as a pretext for a vast military build-up and repeated provocations against China. Wellington is trying to maintain a fraught and ultimately unsustainable balancing act: strengthening military ties with Washington without offending Beijing. Brownlee told a press conference the government did not take sides in the South China Sea disputes. He demanded, however, that China desist from further reclamations in future, and further exacerbation of the situation. The opposition Labour Party has taken a more openly anti-Chinese position. In addition to denouncing Chinese claims in the South China Sea, it has sought to whip up xenophobia by blaming Chinese people for New Zealands housing crisis and unemployment. The White Paper endorses Washingtons strategic rebalance towards Asia, i.e. its military encirclement and threats against China, aimed at maintaining US hegemony in the region. This includes an increase in the number and size of military exercises in the Pacific and more regular interaction between New Zealands armed forces and those of the United States. Deepening geostrategic competition in Asia, the White Paper states, has heightened the risk of conflict in this critical region. It adds that the government would consider a defence contribution to a wider international response should a conflict occur. The White Paper notes that New Zealand already makes an important contribution to international efforts towards freedom of navigation, including maritime surveillance activities in the South Pacific and South East Asia. A planned upgrade of Orion surveillance aircraft, including new submarine detection technology, will offer a highly valued capability to international coalition operations. Washington has used the demand for freedom of navigation to justify its military presence in the South China Sea, and to strengthen military ties with Japan, the Philippines, Australia and other countries against China. NZs surveillance upgrade will be welcomed as a contribution to the Pentagons AirSea Battle conceptits plan for a naval and air attack on the Chinese mainland, and the imposition of a naval blockade in the event of war. Although not mentioned in the White Paper, the Government Communications Security Bureau, New Zealands intelligence agency, also contributes to US machinations by spying on Chinese officials on behalf of the National Security Agency. Significantly, the White Paper endorses the right-wing Abe governments revival of militarism and the reinterpretation of Japans post-World War II constitution to allow troops to deploy overseas, which has been encouraged by the US as part of its anti-China pivot. The document lines up with US and European warmongering against Russia, declaring that Russias intervention in Ukraine, including the annexation of Crimea, challenges the rules-based order which supports European peace and security. Wellington supported the right-wing coup in Ukraine in 2014, which removed a pro-Russian government and sparked the countrys ongoing civil war. The White Paper also notes that 100 NZ troops are currently assisting the US-led war in Iraq. The government and opposition Labour Party both support the deployment, under the fraudulent pretext of fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorism. The alliance with US imperialism is aimed at securing Washingtons ongoing support for New Zealands own predatory neo-colonial interests. Ominously, the White Paper declares it is likely that the Defence Force will have to deploy to the [Pacific] region over the next ten years, for a response beyond humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Referring to the immense social crisis in Pacific island nations, it states: A lack of employment opportunity, compounded by demographic pressures such as surging working age populations in some countries, has the potential to generate social and political unrest. US-New Zealand military exercises have been held to prepare for an incursion into the Pacific, where Australia and New Zealand are seeking to counter Chinese and Russian influence. NZ forces are also preparing to suppress popular opposition to austerity and anti-democratic regimes. The entire political establishment agrees with the increased military spending to prepare for war. The Labour Party attacked the White Paper for not going far enough. Its defence spokesman Phil Goff stated: With cuts in expenditure and capabilities in recent years, much of what the Government is intending to spend is simply catch up. He criticised an 8 percent drop in military personnel numbers since 2009. Labour and the right-wing nationalist NZ First Party have both called for a better-armed navy. NZ First also denounced the governments moves to close army training camps, and has proposed a scheme for unemployed youth to train in the army. Green Party co-leader James Shaw told the media we recognise that defence spending is expensive and a lot of our equipment is outdated and we want to make sure our people have the best equipment they can and that they are as safe as possible. The 1999-2008 Labour government, supported by the Greens, strengthened military and intelligence ties with the US by sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. It also took part in the Australian-led interventions in the Solomon Islands and East Timor, and sent troops to Tonga following riots in 2006. The Defence White Paper should be taken as a warning: workers in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific region confront the great danger of another world war involving nuclear-armed powers. This underscores the urgent need for the building of an anti-war movement based on the socialist perspective advanced by the International Committee of the Fourth International, of uniting the working class internationally to abolish the capitalist system, which is the source of war. The author also recommends: Socialism and the Fight Against War: Build an International Movement of the Working Class and Youth Against Imperialism! [18 February 2016] New Zealand government plans major increase in military spending [20 April 2016] ASPI think tank warns of war with China and attacks on Australia [13 June 2016] The encyclopedia states a contract is a promise for the breach of which the law affords a remedy. Contracts hold exceptional importance to the enterprise of American economy; so much so that Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution prohibits a governing body from impeding the implementation a contract. Contracts represent weighty, authoritative documents that define the parameters of a business relationship, the behaviors permitted in that relationship as well as the penalties, and rewards, for adequate or above average performance within contract parameters. Recent concerns over poultry contracts cropped up when Costco Wholesale and Lincoln Premium Poultry announced their plans to bring a large poultry processing operation to the Dodge County area, with the processing plant, hatchery and feed mill located just south of Fremont. Starting next week two national experts on the topic of big corporate poultry contracts arrive in the Greater Fremont area to address and share their experiences and knowledge with regards to the advantages, disadvantages and the vital key points that farmers need to know if interested in becoming poultry growers. Lynn Hayes, senior attorney and program director of the Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. and Mike Weaver, a West Virginia poultry grower since 2001 for Pilgrims Pride poultry, part of the worlds leading protein company, JBS USA will speak at four meeting next week over four days to help educate farmers. In a phone interview, Weaver expressed concern for potential growers contracted with Costco, but only as far as his experience as a grower in West Virginia permitted. Im not opposed to this facility that Costco is building out there, Weaver said. If its done right it could be a good thing. Weavers views on the matter reflect the opinions of others who helped to organize and sponsor the series of contract informational meetings scheduled for June 20 to June 23 in various communities around Fremont. Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) President John Hansen, who also serves as vice president for the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) two of several groups sponsoring the meetings made it clear in a phone interview most of the sponsor organizations do not represent opposition groups to Costcos proposal. OCM, NeFU, the NeFU Foundation, and Farm Aid have not taken a position on the project as of yet. We are in the fact gathering and sharing portion of the process at this point, Hansen emphasized. Were trying to bring in folks that help producers be aware. Hansen bears a depth of experience working with the Nebraska agricultural world. He said the NeFU, established in 1913, works at many levels of involvement with Nebraskas agricultural community. As the oldest and second largest general farm organization in the state it has assisted with the establishment of over 400 Nebraska farmer cooperatives while remaining actively involved in Nebraska agriculture policy at the state and local levels. Hansen acknowledged that Costco holds a good reputation that continues to set the bar high in the food/agricultural industry. He stressed that now, as negotiations and plans are just beginning, it is a good time make every attempt in establishing a good foundation in the way the Costco facility operates and how it treats its growers. If Costco is serious about doing better than the industry standard then farmers need information, he said. This provides the opportunity to do something better than the norm or the average. When it comes to the status quo of the broiler industry Hansen and Weaver have seen, firsthand, the bad side. In the case of the broiler (industry) there is no longer an open market, Hansen said. The entire system is a vertically integrated contract structured system its been a known problem. In his experience, the history of poultry contracts revealed a one-sided, non-negotiated, take it or leave it contract that placed producers in the extremely vulnerable positions. He explained how big corporations can attach what are known as riders to legislation moving through the house and senate. Riders are additional stipulations added to bills under the consideration by a legislature. Those stipulations relate very little to the overall purpose of the bill. However, those unrelated provisions can hamper the U.S. Department of Agricultures ability to implement legislation that addresses fair poultry contracts Hansen explained that some of the contracts represent very binding documents that regulate for the grower very specific aspects in of raising a flock. Some of those aspects include periodic and expensive upgrades to equipment or housing facilities. If the grower refuses the contract can be voided. One side of the equation has so much power and the other party is at such a disadvantage, Hansen said. Its a rigged lottery, because (the growers) have no control over the inputs (e.g. chickens, feed), Weaver added. The farmers in the Fremont area, for the most part have no experience in raising poultry at this level and no experience in poultry contracts, Hansen said. And that worries me. Two other sponsoring organizations with experience on contract farming, Farm Aid and GC Resolve, are also following the Costco proposal. Both agreed that do not directly oppose the proposal. But education and transparency must continue as the discussion moving forward. Farm Aid, started in 1985 during the farming crisis, works to elevate the voice of individual farmers above the din of controversy of agricultural debates. In an interview, Alicia Harvie, Advocacy and Issues director for Farm Aid explained that they are aware the discussions over Costco in Nebraska. Were at the beginning of the process of a new and pretty substantial processing Facility, Harvie said. From our perspective, whats important is that we can draw from the wisdom of what happened in other parts of the country lets learn from those lessons and equip farmers with what they need. Graham P. Christensen, president of GC Resolve, a local company that works at the community level, promoting more sustainable community development through programs such as solar energy, concurred with Harvie. This is all new to us in Nebraska, Christensen said. Costco has had a reputation of trying to improve standards and be better and more progressive we have to pull out the bad examples, pull out the good examples; and try to learn from that. While Christensen and Weaver both stated they are interested and open to meetings with Costco, they stressed next weeks contract informational meetings serve an opportunity to educate growers on the importance of understanding their rights. Cecilia Harry, executive director of the Greater Fremont Development Council, who has been working with Costco and Lincoln Premium Poultry emphasized both companies dedication and commitment to growers. The leaders of this project are listening to that feedback, Harry said. The contract being developed is unique. You are the owner of this article. Starting next week on Monday, June 20, ample opportunity for area residents to immerse themselves, ask their questions and offer up their own opinions on the debate and related topics surrounding the Costco Wholesale and Lincoln Premium Poultry broiler processing operation, commences in Fremont and surrounding communities. Two separate topics of discussion come to the area: Hills Farm annexation and education on poultry contracts. CITY OF FREMONT MEETINGS: The first discussion falls under the auspices of the City of Fremont. It consists of a series of City Council and City Planning Commission meetings anchored by the matter of annexation and possible recommendation of a Blight and Substandard Declaration for an area known as the Hills Farm land, a large spread of terrain consisting of just over 400 acres south of Fremont. Costco filed applications with the City of Fremont, for the annexation of the land into the corporate boundaries of the city. Annexation will allow Costco to take advantage of certain economic and infrastructure tools, such as tax incremental financing and city utility services, during development and operation of the facility. Public comments and discussion will be heard at these meetings. Costco officials will attend to address questions and comments from the public. Due to the anticipation of a large public turnout, Fremont Mayor Scott Getzschman decided to hold all the city meeting at Christensen Field to accommodate a larger capacity than the Fremont municipal building and allow all voices to be heard. The city meetings are scheduled at the following times (all at Christensen Field): -Monday June 20 at 4:30 p.m. Fremont Planning Commission will discuss and act on recommendation of annexation and zoning changes. -Tuesday June 21 at 6:45 p.m. Fremont City Council will hold the first readings of the Annexation Ordinance and the Change of Zone Ordinance. -Monday June 27 at 4:30 p.m. Fremont Planning Commission will discuss and act on recommendation of Blight and Substandard Declaration. -Tuesday June 28 at 6:45 p.m. Fremont City Council entertain public hearing on Annexation Ordinance and hold public hearing and second reading on Change of Zone Ordinance. INFORMATIONAL POULTRY CONTRACT MEETINGS. The second opportunity for discussion falls under the sponsorships and financing from a combination of national, state and local organizations working in agricultural: Organization for Competitive Markets, Farm Aid , Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, Nebraska Communities United and GC Resolve. The meetings take place at various locations around Fremont and at times that will permit participants to also attend the City of Fremont meetings. National experts in the area of poultry contracts and the poultry industry will speak and take questions at informational meetings geared towards individuals interested in becoming poultry growers. The meeting are free and also open to the public. All meeting times are scheduled next week on four different days, each at different locations in the area: -Monday June 20 at 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Nielsen Community Center in West Point (200 Anna Stalp Ave.) -Tuesday June 21 at 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Columbus Library in Columbus (2504 14th Street) - Wednesday June 23 at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Saunders County Historical Society in Wahoo (240 North Walnut Street) Israeli produced food is showing up on the frontlines in Syria, and has been causing a firestorm in Arabic media and social media. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The food has been showing up in Qunietra province which is on the border with the Israeli Golan Heights, specifically in areas controlled by rebel groups. While many of the rebel groups seem to be happy with this aid, there are others who are not too pleased with it, saying "it is a disgrace to be receiving food from the Zionist Entity which has stolen the Golan." The pictures were also found on rebel social media pages and even some social media pages affiliated with the Syrian regime pages which use the food aid as "proof" of Israeli cooperation with the rebels. The food pictured is usually Israeli produced rice, flour, and sugar. However, when the food was brought to Syria, who brought it, and to whom it was given to is unknown. Israeli rice and cornflower in Syria The newspaper "al-Quds al-Arabi" tweeted that people on the ground in Syria claimed that this isn't the first time Israeli aid has wound up in the hands of members of the opposition. "The aid began in 2013 and has been growing ever since Jordan closed its border with Syria," a source told the Arabic language paper, adding that the aid caused the various rebel movements to accuse each other of being traitors for "cooperating with the Zionists." "The Military Revolutionary Council in Quneitra and the Golan" published a harsh condemnation following the discovery of Israeli made products which have been found in Syria. "We condemn this insult which has been inflicted on our nation in the free Qunietra region in the form of food aid which the Zionist Entity which is oppressing the Golan has given, and which the regime is selling on this, the day of the Naksa, where we remember the theft of the Syrian Golan." The organization later vehemently denied that it knew or was connected in any way to the food aid. Other opposition members in Quneitra also expressed opposition to the Israeli aid. An activist from the area Izz a-Din Abu a-Baraa told al-Quds al-Arabi that this food gets into Syria via moderate rebels from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which is fighting all throughout the southern part of Syria. "They bring in the food aid after they bring their wounded into the demilitarized zone for treatment in Israeli hospitals," he said. Israeli rice in Qunietra province, Syria The Arabic paper also interviewed the Chairman of the Free Qunietra Provincial Council, Fahad a-Musa. He said "since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, we have been unable to get our wounded to any Arab country. There is also a large amount of medicine, baby food, and other foodstuffs which get into the province from Israel." He also confirmed that coordination is being conducted between several of the armed rebel groups and Israel regarding treatment of wounded and food aid, but clarified that they haven't received any assistance in June, except from the United Arab Emirates. The chairman also said that they have no way to stop the aid, because they don't know exactly who is bringing in the food and medicine. A Syrian on the ground explained in an interview with Ynet that "there is anarchy over the aid. Although we thank Allah for bringing us this aid, it needs to be done in an orderly way. We wish that the real representatives from the region would distribute the aid. But what happens now creates a situation of confusion and anarchy someone comes and distributes the aid to one of the rebel groups without speaking with their leadership. I wish that the people in Israel will help us, but what happens in practice brings us back to square one." Israeli Wissotzky tea and canola oil in Syria According to the source, "it's preferable to do nothing than to distribute the aid unevenly. It can create a huge problem, even if it isn't done intentionally. It causes us to lose our unity." Regarding the opposition forces who have come out strongly against the aid and those that receive it, the Syrian said "these messages don't mean that they're for or against peace with Israel. They're just going overboard in their anger regarding how the aid is distributed. When a family is hungry and sees discrimination (in how aid is allocated), this causes anger. These types of things can cause internal conflicts. It's better to wait than to act hastily." President of the Amalia aid organization Motti Kahana explained regarding the aid that "there are over 50 rebel groups fighting in southern Syria, including 40 moderate rebel groups which receive aid from five countries. What our non-profit Jewish-American group suggests is to open up the Qunietra crossing to a rebel group which is willing to coordinate with the Americans to get this aid to all of the moderate groups. It will help build cooperation and unity amongst all of the moderate rebel groups. Israel can not become involved in Syria, but the country needs to be involved in humanitarian aid and open the crossing." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under attack on Thursday by not once but two of his former defense ministers, Moshe Ya'alon and Ehud Barak. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter After Ya'alon declared he intends to run for office , criticizing the government's use of scare tactics to "divide and rule," Barak called to oust the current government. "I call upon the government to come to its senses and get back on track," Barak said at the Herzliya Conference on Thursday evening. "If not, all of us, yes, all of us, must get out of our seats and topple it through civil uprising and the ballot box before it's too late." Ehud Barak speaking at the Herzliya Conference (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Barak, a former IDF chief, defense minister and prime minister, warned of telltale signs of fascism in the government. "If it looks like the 'beginning of fascism,' walks like the 'beginning of fascism,' and quacks like the 'beginning of fascism,' then it is the 'beginning of fascism,'" he said. Barak warned of the danger in attacks on democracy, noting there have been attacks on the Supreme Court, the civil society, the freedom of expression, the media's independence, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, senior officials in the IDF, the Shin Bet and the police, the anti-trust regulator, and others. "And unfortunately even on school principals and educators who demonstrate 'too much independent thought.'" He listed a series of legislation proposals that he saw as posing a threat to Israeli democracy, including the Suspension Law, the NGO Law, separate transportation for Jews and Arabs in the West Bank, and a bill seeking to apply Israeli law to Jewish settlers in the West Bank. "Only a man who is blind, pretending innocence or one who has become ideologically defiled can't see the erosion of democracy in all of these bills and the first signs of fascism that have taken hold of this government," he said. He also noted a series of extreme incidents of violence and incitement that he saw as warning signs, including the murder of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the murder of the Dawabsheh family in Duma, the Jewish radicals who try to smuggle young goats onto the Temple Mount so they could sacrifice them, the Hebron shooting incident, and posters showing the IDF chief and the defense minister wearing kaffiyahs, among others. The 'Hitlerization' of every threat Barak accused Netanyahu of the "Hitlerization of every changing regional threat," naming Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as people Netanyahu has branded as the "Hitlers of our time." Barak said it was this that truly "cheapens the Holocaust." Barak, who is now out of politics, said Netanyahu's Likud party was been taken over by an "extreme ideology" that instead of pursuing peace with the Palestinians is leading Israel toward a "one-state" reality in which Israel becomes an apartheid-like country or a "binational state" with a Jewish minority. "Indifferent extremism, hubris and blindness have taken hold of the prime minister and the Israeli government, and in the name of an agenda, theoretically hidden, with a 'touch of messianism,' it is dragging us all into this moral and operational abyss," he continued. "And how is all of this happening, day after day, in contradiction to national interest, at the expense of all citizens, against even the interest of Likud and right-wing voters," Barak wondered. We are being led by a weak prime minister and a weak government, Barak concluded. Netanyahu dismissed both Ya'alon and Barak's criticism, saying Barak was someone who attacks me every month, hes just trying to remain in the public consciousness. Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Motti Kimchi The Likud party also rejected the criticism by both former defense ministers as well, saying in a statement that "it appears the Herzliya Conference this evening has turned into the primaries for the party of frustrated candidates who are fighting to become the left-wing's savior." The Likud statement went on to say that "Those who found themselves out of the political system stood this evening behind any microphone put in front of them and with fiery speeches said the exact opposite of what they said when they were in officejust so they could get a headline in the media and remain in the public consciousness. It's very strange that both praised the prime minister and expressed their complete trust in him when they were serving as ministers. An ideology doesn't change with one's position." "The left wing is simply unwilling to accept the fact the Likud is the ruling party. To that end, all is fair, including harming Israel's security interests," the Likud party charged. "The government in Israel hasn't been hijacked, it was elected by the people. It's strange that the very people who praise democracy can't understand this." US President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince on Friday and the two are expected to discuss conflicts in the Middle East including the campaign against Islamic State, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, is on a visit to the United States aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil revenues. Friday's meeting will take place at the White House. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIL," as Islamic State is also known. Palestinian security forces clashed Thursday night with gunmen in Jenin refugee camp. Palestinian forces raided the camp after the release from prison of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad activist Yahya al-Saadi, the son of a senior member of the organization, Bassam al-Saadi. No casualties were reported. DUBAI- A top diplomat for the United Arab Emirates has stepped back from his earlier comments that the country's part in the Saudi-led war in Yemen was "over." The state-run WAM news agency quoted Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash early Friday morning as making the comments in London. WAM quoted Gargash as saying: "We are at war. I am appalled that my statement was taken out of context and misinterpreted." A week after a tank captured during the first Lebanon War was returned to Israel from Russia, researchers have concluded that it is not the tank from which three Israeli tank crew members were abducted from. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Family members of the crew who manned the tank a crew which still has not been returned to Israel are furious. The tank was given back to Israel by Russia following a ceremony while Prime Minister Netanyahu was in the country last week. A post on the prime minister's Facebook said "My wife Sarah and I participated in an emotional ceremony to return a tank which was captured (by Syrian forces) during the battle of Sultan Yacoub during the First Lebanon War." The post continued, saying "this tank is the only evidence we have of our boys who went missing in that battle: Zacharia Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, and Yehuda Katz. For 34 years we've been searching for our soldiers, and we won't stop until we bring them back to be buried in the State of Israel. For 34 years the Katz, Feldman, and Baumel families haven't had a grave to visit. But now they will have this tank a remnant of the fighting at Sultan Yacoub which the families can visit in Israel, touch, and remember their children by." The tank is returned from Russia to Israel The Battle of Sultan Yacoub took place on the sixth day of the first Lebanon war, whose official name in Israel is Operation Peace for Galilee, in June 1982. Israel suffered 20 confirmed losses in the battle, as well as dozens of wounded. Six soldiers were unaccounted for, including Feldman, Baumel, and Katz. The fate of the other three was later discovered: One of them turned out to have been killed in the battle and buried in Syria, with his body being returned to Israel after the war; another was captured by the Syrians and freed two years later; and the third was captured by a terrorist organization and freed via a prisoner exchange deal that took place three years later. Following the battle, eight Israeli tanks remained in Syrian hands, among them the one associated with the three still-missing soldiers, whose fates remain a mystery despite Israeli security authorities' efforts to gather information about them throughout the years. However, tank expert Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Mas said that the tank Israel received from the Russians isn't the correct tank. The missing soldiers, Tzvika Feldman, Yehuda Katz, and Zacharia Baumel (Photo: Avigayil Uzi, Amit Shabi) "Its very sad that the Prime Minister and the nation are falling for a fake," Mas said. "This tank isn't the missing soldiers' tank. What has been returned to us is a complete tank, and the missing soldiers' tank is different. While this is one of the tanks which were captured from the 399 division during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, there are no signs that anyone was ever injured in this tank." He continued, saying, "When Netanyahu said that there will be some closure for families who have no grave (to visit), he made two mistakes. First, this isn't the missing soldiers' tank, and second, they are missing, not killed in action." Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Kriaf added "the serial number for the tank which was returned was 817581, and the missing soldiers' tank's serial number was different It's clear that the Russians didn't care which tank they sent." It should be noted that the three missing soldiers were from two different tank crews, and the IDF always claimed that the tank that the Russians sent to Israel isn't connected to the missing soldiers. In fact, when the specific tank was inspected at the Russian museum 18 years ago, it came to light that the crew of that particular tank was actually alive and well. The Prime Minister's Office replied that Israel never claimed that the tank received by the Russians is the missing soldiers' tank. "We said that this is a tank from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub and is evidence of the fighting. This is what the Prime Minister told the families," the PMO explained. "No one ever said that this was the tank of the three (missing soldiers)." WASHINGTON- Dozens of US State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates for US military action to pressure Syria's government into accepting a cease-fire and engaging in peace talks, officials said Thursday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The position is at odds with US policy. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by about 50 mid-level department officials who deal with US policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. It expresses clear frustration with America's inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obama's reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama has only authorized strikes against ISIS and other US-designated terror groups in Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria's leader out of power. A series of partial cease-fires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, but offered little hope of a peace settlement. The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and has since been classified, said officials, who weren't authorized to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document Thursday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said it called for "targeted air strikes." The Times quoted a section urging a "judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" to advance the US diplomatic effort led by Secretary of State John Kerry. "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," the Times quoted the document as saying. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges." Destruction in Aleppo, northern Syria (Photo: Reuters) State Department spokesman John Kirby said the department was reviewing the cable, which arrived via a "vehicle in place to allow State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues." Some sentiments expressed in the cable mirror arguments Kerry has made in internal administration debates. Kerry, a forceful advocate of Obama's initial plan to launch airstrikes after Assad's use of chemical weapons, reversed course after the president opted against them. He has complained privately that White House resistance to more intervention has hurt efforts to persuade Russia, in particular, to take a tougher tone with Assad. While defending the administration's overall approach to Syria, Kerry has on more than one occasion told associates and colleagues that he doesn't have "a lot of arrows in his quiver" when he tries to persuade Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to put more pressure on Assad to comply with the truce, allow more humanitarian aid deliveries or begin negotiations on a genuine political transition. At the same time, Kerry has also hinted that more robust U.S. intervention is a distinct possibility. In Norway this week, he told a conflict resolution conference that American patience with Assad and Russia was running out and suggested a greater American role might be inevitable unless things changed. "Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite," Kerry said Wednesday at the Oslo Forum. "In fact, it is very limited now with respect to whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable." Later that day, after meeting with Norway's prime minister, Kerry said: "The United States is not going to sit there and be used as an instrument that permits a so-called cease-fire to be in place while one principal party is trying to take advantage of it to the detriment of the entire process. We're not going to allow that to continue." Republican and even some Democratic lawmakers have also been urging Obama to take greater military action in Syria for years, from air strikes to the establishment of a no-fly zone over rebel-held areas. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton pushed some of these steps, too. But Obama has resisted, fearful of leading America into another war in the Muslim world after finding it impossible to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan and keep forces out of Iraq. Military commanders have been similarly reticent, given the lack of a clear alternative to Assad that might unify Syria and advance US national security interests. Destruction in Syria (Photo: AFP) Nevertheless, Obama has said Assad must relinquish control if there is to be peace. And Kerry, Clinton's successor as the chief US diplomat, has repeatedly said that to defeat the ISIS, the US must be able to assure Syria's many other rebel groups that there will be a post-Assad future for their country. The dissent document echoes these sentiments, calling the government's barrel bomb attacks on civilians "the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region." The Syrian president, who is a member of the Shiite-linked Alawite minority and is backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to maintain power. The rebels are led by Syria's Sunni majority, though they also include representatives of other groups. "Crucially, Syria's Sunni population continues to view the Assad regime as the primary enemy in the conflict," the document said, according to the Times. "Failure to stem Assad's flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as (ISIS), even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield," the Journal quoted it as saying. BAGHDAD- An Iraqi commander says special forces have entered the center of Fallujah city, taking over a government complex after intense fighting with Islamic State group militants. Commander Haidar al-Obeidi, of the special forces, tells The Associated Press Friday that the forces are now besieging the nearby central hospital. He says troops entered the city center around 6:00am. local time (0300GMT) after intense fighting with ISIS militants and with air support from the US-led coalition and Iraqi air force. He said Iraqi forces are now clearing roadside bombs near the government complex, which includes the municipality offices that ISIS had torched, the police station and other government buildings. Siavosh Derakhti, 24, a young Muslim of Iranian origin who lives in Malmo, Sweden, well-known for openly fighting anti-Semitism in his country, is currently visiting Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "If you are a Jew, people blame you for everything going on in Palestine. Everybody hates Israel. I don't accept this and do everything I can to build bridges between Jews and Muslims through education, Derakhti stated. Swedish activist Siavosh Derakhti Derahkti, director of Young People against Antisemitism and Xenophobia, is considered very unusual in Sweden. Among his activities are organizing demonstrations in support of Jews and organizing delegations of young Swedesincluding Christians, Muslims and Jewsto the Nazi death camps. He has a good relationship with the Israeli Embassy in Sweden and even takes part in various programs run by the embassy. "It is absolutely terrible to be Jew today in Malmo", said the Swedish Muslim. "Anti-Semites believe in conspiracy theories that (Jews) rule the world. I organized pro-Jewish demonstrations and helped protect our cousins. If Jews cant live in Sweden I feel it's a personal failure." Derakhiti meeting with Obama (: ) X Derahkti met with US President Barack Obama during his visit to Sweden in 2013. He won the prestigious Raoul Wallenberg award for this activities, and was recently selected by Forbes magazine to be included in the list of 30 most influential people in the world until the age of 30. He's a public figure in Sweden, and frequently appears in local media. He was invited by Forbes magazine and the Schusterman Foundation to deepen his relationship with Israel in April, as well as his knowledge of the Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism. "My special relationship with the Jews began when I was 13," recounted Derhakti. "My best friend in school was a Jew and I always protected him." Siavosh Derakhti with US President Barack Obama My friend suffered from anti-Semitism, and one day he came running to me and said, 'there are five people who want to beat me. I told him, 'There is absolutely no way we are running away. I physically fought with those guys for my friend. I told him I would fight for him, and this story has been etched in my memory. Six years ago, Derhakti read articles about how Jews in Sweden were being attacked just because of their religion. "I decided to do something in my city, Malmo. I founded an organization against anti-Semitism and xenophobia. We organize tours of young people, including Muslims, of the extermination camps. After they return to Sweden, I see a big change in their attitude. At first, some of them tell me they hate Jews, but after they see what happened to the Jews in history - they tell me they love Jews. I sympathize with the suffering of the Jewish people." Hate mail Because of his decision to take the Jews side, Derhakti gets many threats from Muslims. "They threaten to kill me, I get hate mail. When I walk down the street they shout at me, 'You Jewish swine, we will kill you. I now have someone guarding me due to my activities, I have no intention to surrender. Regarding his visits to Israel, the young Swede said "I love your country, the girls, Tel Aviv, the parties. I swear to you that Israeli women are No. 1 in the world. There is an enormous amount of ignorance in Europe as to what is going on here. They think you are killing Palestinians, but they dont know that 20 percent of Israels inhabitants are Arabs. I told them that there are Arabs in the Knesset and an Arab judge on the Supreme Court. It is not just warthere is a thriving society here. What do you think about Swedish Muslims who attack Jews? "I am ashamed of Muslims who act like that towards Jews. They do not represent me. There were once 2000 Jews in Malmo, now there are less than 400. This is shameful and should be dealt with. There is an American rabbi now in Malmo who receives lots of threats. We're cousins and we are of the same family. We must protect the Jews. Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Isaac Bachman, said: "Siabos is doing the right thing in a multicultural and liberal world - and is doing everything openly, publicly and in the media. The majority of Muslims here think completely differently (than Derahkti), and the few who do think like him don't dare to act like he does." Four Israeli students have found a creative way to fight the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) online. They created a rogue website that appears to support the boycott against Israel, but in fact provides pro-Israel content. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The website, boycott-israel.net, seeks to reach anyone who tries to search Google for boycott Israel, expecting to find websites against the Jewish state. But those readers will be disappointed, as instead of articles calling to boycott Israel, they will find content presenting the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an effort to provide an entirely different viewpoint to what is often presented in the international media. A video from the site X Google sees an average of 165,000 hits a month for the term BDS and 8,100 for boycott Israel. When searching these terms, the first page of results currently doesn't produce even a single pro-Israel website, showing those looking for information on the subject only anti-Israel content. The students are working to get their website onto the first search results page on Google, using the keywords in question to generate more traffic, and thus increase exposure to a different side of the conflict. From the site The site has pro-Israel articles collected or written by us, through which we introduce the complex relationship between Israel and the Palestinians in an effort to show all sides of the conflict to those who dont know anything or dont know enough about it and dont live in Israel, explains Avihay, who serves as the project's website promoter. The site aims to promote a unique agenda, presented under the title Its Complicated. Hila Efrati, one of the creators of the site, explains, We chose this slogan as a form of guerilla marketing. Its clear to us that if we had a pro-Israel name, the site would get far less traffic and we would lose out on the readers we want to influence. The idea sprung from a small study conducted by Avihay seeking to understand how dominant the BDS movement is online. When searching for the terms BDS and boycott Israel on Google, all of the sites that appear on the first results page are anti-Israel, and most of them tell lies about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and disseminate inaccurate information, which is harmful for Israel. The fact there are millions of people who are seeing this content every year through Google is troubling, and so we decided to act, he explains. The four hope to continue getting support from other websites and from website promoters. One of the important factors in promoting the website on Google is the amount of other sites linking to it and the quality of those links, explains Avihay. If we are to get to the first page and reach the target audience, we need help. At the end of the day, if Israel and Jews around the world help us, we can more easily achieve our goal. So we call on as many site owners as possible to support us. From the site Each of the four students comes from a different background: Sharon Hess is an immigrant from Canada; Avihay is a career soldier; Efrati is a formerly observant Jew; and Aviv Sarel worked as an assistant to MK Michael Oren when he served as Israels Ambassador to the US. Hess completed her first degree in Communications studies at Concordia University in Montreal 40 years ago, and then moved to Israel shortly after that. We put together a group of four people, each from a completely different background, from all ends of the political spectrum, to show the world the complexity of the reality we live in, she says. Sarel adds, What brought us together is the understanding that the world believes we have given up on peace. Therefore, to better represent Israel, all we are left with is to defend and justify its actions with the help of words. We created a platform that puts a spotlight on the conflict and the difficult reality that exists between the two peoples, whose relationship is complicated, complex, and unfair on both sides. Were not just presenting Israels colorful beaches, its openness and democracy, its vistas and home-grown cherry tomatoeswere also showing the difficult reality, which is colored in many shades of gray. Efrati concludes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not covered well (in the media). Its clear to us that Israel doesnt always act in a just manner, but on the other hand we cant always act in a just manner, and what is a just manner anyway? Its not right to bomb houses in Gaza, but its also not right to be killed while having dinner with your family. GENEVA - An aid convoy carrying food, medical supplies and other emergency supplies for 37,500 people has reached Al Waer, a besieged suburb of the Syrian city of Homs, UN humanitarian agency OCHA spokesman, Jens Laerke, said on Friday. "The convoy to Al Waer was completed late last night and the team has returned safely to their base," he said. A second convoy, to supply the rest of the estimated 75,000 people in Al Waer, is planned in the next few days. A separate convoy, to Afrin in northern Aleppo, had also gone ahead but a delivery to the Damascus suburb of Kafr Batna had not, due to "last minute logistical complications". The UN hoped it would proceed in the next few days, Laerke said NEW DELHI- The prime ministers of India and Thailand have agreed to deepen cooperation in tackling terrorism, cybersecurity, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the two countries would also step up maritime cooperation for counter-piracy on seas through naval patrolling and greater staff exchanges and exercises. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is on a three-day visit to India. He met with Modi in New Delhi on Friday and plans to visit the Buddhist pilgrim center of Bodh Gaya on Saturday before returning home. TEHRAN- Iran's semi-official Fars news agency is reporting that an explosion in a subway tunnel in the capital, Tehran, has killed two workers and damaged a gas pipeline. The report said that the explosion took place at 4:30am Friday while digging took place on a subway tunnel in northwestern Tehran. The official IRNA news agency also reported that the explosion damaged phone cables, water and gas pipelines but it did not report any casualties. MAKHACHKALA- Police in Russia's restive Dagestan region in the North Caucasus say at least four officers and six militants have died in a series of clashes. Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said three officers were wounded in a skirmish with a group of militants near the village of Kasumkent in southern Dagestan early Friday, and one policeman later died of wounds. She said four gunmen were also killed. In a separate clash in the Derbent region a suspected militant was killed in a sweep that also left one police officer dead. And in the Tabasaran region, a militant fired at police, killing two officers and wounding four others before being shot dead. DETMOLD, Germany - A 94-year-old former SS sergeant who served as a guard at Auschwitz has been found guilty of more than 170,000 counts of accessory to murder for helping kill 1.1 million Jews and others at the Nazi death camp. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Detmold state court sentenced Reinhold Hanning to five years in prison, though he will remain free while any appeals are heard. During his four-month trial, Hanning admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that he was aware Jews were being killed but did nothing to try to stop it. He had faced a maximum of 15 years. Hanning led to court X Hanning's defense had called for an acquittal, saying there is no evidence he killed or beat anyone, while prosecutors sought a six-year sentence. He said during his trial that he volunteered for the SS at age 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944 but said he was not involved in the killings in the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. "It disturbs me deeply that I was part of such a criminal organization," he told the court in April. "I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it and I apologize for my actions." Despite his age, Hanning has seemed alert during the four-month trial, paying attention to testimony and occasionally walking in to the courtroom on his own, though usually using a wheelchair. Reinhold Hanning (Photo: AP) Several equally elderly Auschwitz survivors testified at the trial about their own experiences, and were among about 40 survivors or their families who joined the process as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin who was used as slave laborer to help build a factory for Siemens outside the camp, told the court at the start of the trial that he regularly saw flames belching from the chimneys of the Auschwitz crematoria. "So much fire came out of the chimneys, no smoke, just fire," he told the court. "And that was burning people." Schwarzbaum later said he does not want Hanning to go to prison and is happy that he apologized, but had hoped that he would have provided more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. "The historical truth is important," Schwarzbaum said. Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War II before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, and so sent him to Auschwitz, without his knowing what it was. Though there is no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp operate and thus could be tried for accessory to murder. Though the indictment against Hanning is focused on a period between January 1943 and June 1944 for legal reasons, the court has said it would consider the full time he served there. Reinhold Hanning (Photo: Reuters) The same argumentation being used in Hanning's case was used successfully last year against SS sergeant Oskar Groening, to convict him of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving in Auschwitz. Germany's highest appeals court is expected to rule on the validity of the Groening verdict sometime this summer. Groening, 95, was sentenced to four years in prison but will remain free while his case goes through the lengthy appeals process and is unlikely to spend any time behind bars, given his age. In Hanning's case, prosecutor Andreas Brendel recommended six years in prison while his defense attorneys argued for an acquittal, rejecting the new legal reasoning. The precedent for both the Groening and Hanning cases was set in 2011, with the conviction in Munich of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk on allegations he served as a Sobibor death camp guard. Although Demjanjuk always denied serving at the death camp and died before his appeal could be heard, it opened a wave of new investigations by the special prosecutor's office in Ludwigsburg responsible for Nazi war crime probes. The head of the office, Jens Rommel, said two other Auschwitz cases from that renewed effort are still pending trial -- another guard and also the commandant's radio operator, contingent on the defendants' health, which is currently being assessed -- and a third is still being investigated by Frankfurt prosecutors. Rommel's office, which has no power to bring charges itself, has also recommended charges in three Majdanek death camp cases, and has sent them on to prosecutors who are now investigating. Meantime, the office is still poring through documents for both death camps, and is also looking into former members of the so-called Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads, and guards at several concentration camps. Rommel said even though every trial is widely dubbed "the last" by the media, his office still plans on giving more cases to prosecutors and politicians have pledged to keep his office open until 2025. "That seems to me to be the outside boundary," said Rommel, who's not related to the famous German general of the same surname. "If the cases will make it to trial, that's hard to say. You can't really look into the futurebut we have the mandate to keep investigating as long as there's still the possibility of finding someone." Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz said on Friday at an academic conference that the State of Israel is not currently under an existential threat. However, he did say that he presumes that threats do exist that have the potential to become existential, such as the Iranian nuclear program or if ISIS were to get its hands on chemical or biological weapons. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Gantz was speaking at a conference of the Open University in Haifa, and he refused to address the statements of former IDF chiefs of staff and defense ministers Moshe Ya'alon and Ehud Barak on Thursday at the Herzliya Conference. However, Gantz intimated that he would prefer activity with social, rather than political, components. On Thursday, Gantz announced that he would be joining former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi in a new educational movement, Pnima ("inside"), that former minister of education Shai Piron intends to establish. Piron himself denied that Ashkenazi and Gantz are joining and said that the details have not yet been fixed. Gantz added that if ISIS obtains chemical weapons, they will assuredly use them. Therefore, it is important to focus on developing the IDF's intelligence and offensive capabilities, not just in relation to ISIS, but also in regards to other threats to the country. Benny Gantz (Photo: Motti Kimchi) "We need to completely overcome ISIS until the phenomenon disappears," said the former chief of staff. "This is a kind of idea and kind of organization whose existence the free world cannot accept. We need to conduct a ground war, including international forces, but making sure that local coalitions in the Middle East will ensure that the phenomenon does not recur." The lieutenant general in reserves stated that it was his opinion that there will be no end anytime soon to the wars currently tearing apart the region and that we can expect "a generation of chaos" that will last more than a decade. Against Iran, said Gantz, we need intelligence, the ability to negotiate and cooperate with international bodies, to develop military defensive and offensive capabilities, and that the West needs to get closer to the Iranian people. Regarding the current situation in Israel, Gantz said, "We must not forfeit our values and our way of life during this war on terrorism. Changing the values and way of life in Israel and the western world in general, would be a triumph for terrorism. We must also strive to offer the Islamic world an alternative to the jihadist idea. And most of all, Israeli society needs to maintain internal cohesion and unity. This is the secret of our national strength, and we must not allow factors to divide us and tear apart our society from within. Unity and solidarity are the sources of national strength, and, without them, we will not be able to handle the security challenges. HARTFORD, Conn. - A man who shot at a Connecticut mosque out of anger on the night of the deadly attacks in Paris has been sentenced to six months in prison. Ted Hakey Jr. was sentenced Friday in federal court in Hartford. Online training designed to educate Airmen about the new Blended Retirement System, the Defense Department system with changes on the current military retirement system, is now available via Joint Knowledge Online course number P-US1330. The course is also available to those without a Common Access Card -- to include family members -- via an alternate website The BRS was enacted into law in the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018. All currently serving members are grandfathered into the current military retirement system. However, those with fewer than 12 years of service as of Dec. 31, 2017, or Air Force Reserve component members with fewer than 4,320 retirement points may choose to opt in to the BRS during the designated opt-in period from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018.The BRS is a major change for our Airmen, said Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly, the Military Force Management Policy director. Although the majority of Airmen serving today will not fall under BRS, it is important for all Airmen, either as leaders today, or as leaders tomorrow, to understand the changes that will impact Airmen in the future.The BRS Leader Training is a 30-minute course designed to provide basic familiarity with the key components of the upcoming retirement system and the timeline for implementation. It is designed primarily for Air Force leaders at all levels, but is also open to all Airmen and others who wish to learn more about BRS.Education is key in providing Airmen the information they need in order to make informed decisions about the BRS, Kelly said. The Defense Department is on track to provide three additional courses with more detailed information within the next 18 months.An opt-in course is targeted at those eligible to opt into the new system. This course will provide eligible active and reserve component members an understanding of both the current and new systems. The course will be available in January 2017.A train the trainer course for personal financial managers, counselors and retirement services officers is targeted at those experts who serve in an advisory role to commanders, Airmen and their families. This course should be ready by fall of 2016.A new accessions course targets individuals who enter military service on or after Jan. 1, 2018. It is intended to provide those members who enter service under the BRS an understanding of their blended retirement benefits and personal options.The Air Force is taking a comprehensive approach to BRS education. Online courses are designed to provide basic knowledge and understanding, Kelly emphasized. In addition to the aforementioned courses, Airmen will receive in-person education at various points in their career, starting in basic training, and professional counseling will also be available.To learn more about the Blended Retirement System, visit militarypay.defense.gov This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun Theyre bringing a touch of Kenya to Cedar Bluffs. This weekend, Billie Barrett and the Rev. Ernest Kabole Akhonya will be at Sheepsgate Ministries. Kabole Akhonya, a Kenyan pastor, will speak at 7 p.m. Saturday and at the 10 a.m. service Sunday in the ministry building at 200 E. Main St., in Cedar Bluffs. The public is invited. On Saturday night, Kabole Akhonya talk about the call of God on peoples lives. He will be available to talk and pray with people both days. The Kenyan man leads Fellowship of Christ International. People from the United States have been coming to Kenya to help with various endeavors. In March, Tammy Ritthaler of Cedar Bluffs and her daughter, Wynter, and Alan and Jeremiah Nunnenkamp and Lowell Schultz, all of Aurora, were in Kenya at a pastors conference. We spoke at the conference and preached about two days at Kakamega and two in Uganda and visited schools, Ritthaler said. Ritthaler, co-leader of Sheepsgate Ministries, said Kabole Akhonya wants to talk to people from small churches and those having home fellowships. He and Barrett, 82, of Hollister, Calif., will be in the area until Wednesday. Barrett, who lived in Kenya for many years, said she and Kabole Akhonya built a medical clinic about 40 minutes outside of Kakamega. Plans are to raise money to bore a hole, which will be like a well for water, and to construct a permanent school. We dont have water in the area where we are, Barrett said. We have a river, but its very dirty, full of typhoid. So we catch rain water off the roof of the clinic and we have two rain times long rain and short rain with dry periods in between. We were totally out of water for a whole month at the clinic. I had to pay to have water brought in. Were praying that God will give us enough money to have someone come and build this bore hole for us, to have this well drilled, and then the (school) kids will have clean water and so will the community. Well share the well. Another mission group was going to start a school for children, whose parents had died from AIDS and malaria or other ailments, but didnt finish it. We were left with 70 orphan children, Barrett said. We feed them twice a day. The children also need an education. Barrett said the educational system is based on the British school model. Children must pay to go to school and have a uniform. These children dont have money and would be left without an education. Were giving them a free education, Barrett said. We have five teachers. Various projects are under way. We bought 50 chickens and (two) pigs and one pregnant cow and 70 eucalyptus trees, Barrett said. Were trying to create projects that will pay the salaries of the teachers and also to help supplement the food. It takes quite a bit of food to feed that many children. Barrett said a permanent school needs to be constructed. Americans who previously were here built some rooms from sheets of iron. Theyre very hot, when its dry time, she said. The government would like us to build a permanent school We bought a piece of land next door to the clinic. Were going to use part of the land we just purchased to build a permanent school. While the Nebraskans were in Kenya, they went to Uganda. Barrett said 10 churches in that country wanted to join the mission. While there, she discovered that the people in those churches were very baby Christians. They dont know the most elementary things about Christ, she said. Team members took turns teaching. Kabole Akhonya is excited to be in America. He expressed the needs of the children in Kenya and how the ministry seeks to bring them hope, to let them know theyre not forgotten and that God loves them. We are praying to God to help us fulfill the dreams we have so that the community in my area may be uplifted and may have a chance, he said. For more information, call Ritthaler at 402-720-0996 or Barb Hart at 402-628-2050. The New South Wales government, through NSW Fair Trading, has made a significant push in recent years to develop the loose-fill asbestos insulation register (LFAI Register) and identify properties in the state that may be affected. From 30 May this year, owners of a property on the LFAI Register have been required to advise possible tenants that the property contains asbestos, but the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) doesnt believe that goes far enough. We are of the view that if the dwelling is on the LFAI Register it should not be made available for rent and have voiced our concerns with NSW Fair Trading, REINSW president John Cunningham said. REINSW is concerned that unsophisticated tenants and other people in low socio-economic circumstances who may agree to lease premises listed on the LFAI Register will be adversely impacted if they receive a discounted rent, Cunningham said. The REINSW also believes that requiring landlords to notify a tenant within 14 days if a property added to the LFAI Register during a tenancy is also insufficient. REINSW considers this to be insufficient as it fails to accurately reflect what happens to the lease in the event the premises is listed on the LFAI Register during a tenancy. Pursuant to the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), the premises will become wholly uninhabitable and the residential tenancy agreement will become frustrated, Cunningham said. In those circumstances, the landlord or tenant may give the other party a termination notice. NSW Fair Trading this week announced it is extending its free loose-fill asbestos testing program across an additional 35 local government areas. The NSW government is also considering laws that would make it mandatory for a contract of sale in the state to stipulate if a property does or does not contain loose-fill asbestos. A spokesperson from NSW Fair Trading said the government was committed to helping owners indentify and remedy homes in the state that contain loose-fill asbestos and their stance on rental properties supports that. The NSW Government introduced the Voluntary Purchase and Demolition Program (the Program) to address the loose-fill asbestos insulation issue in NSW. The primary objective of the Program is to locate and eradicate loose-fill asbestos insulation from residential properties in NSW, they said. To support this objective, a number of legislative changes have been introduced, including a public register of residential properties that contain loose-fill asbestos insulation and disclosure requirements for landlords and property agents. The spokesperson said NSW Fair Tradings stance on renting properties that contain asbestos does not abdicate landlords of their responsibility to ensure a property is habitable. If a tenant finds out that the property they are already renting has been placed on the LFAI Register and they are not concerned, they can choose to keep renting the property. Landlords are still required to ensure the property is habitable and the termination provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 still apply to both landlords and tenants. If tenants are not within the fixed term period of a tenancy agreement and they wish to vacate an affected property, they will need to give 21 days notice. If tenants are still within the fixed term period of a tenancy agreement but want to vacate the property as soon as possible, they should contact their managing agent or landlord and seek to negotiate the termination of the lease. Homeowners and tenants whose homes contain loose-fill asbestos insulation may also be eligible for financial assistance through the Program. Financial assistance available to tenants includes $1,000 for relocation per tenant named on the residential lease, $1,000 for the replacement of soft furnishings and up to $850 for counselling services. Owner-investors are entitled to $1,000 in financial assistance for legal expenses. As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More The Rev. Owen Korte will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of his ordination with a dessert reception on June 26. The event will take place from 2-4 p.m. at St. Geralds School Gym, 78th and Lakeview, Omaha. Its been an eventful 35 years for Korte. What Fremont will best remember him for was that he was the priest who saw the building and completion of the new St. Patricks Catholic Church and set in motion the planning for the new grade school. Kortes predecessor, the Rev. Frank Lordeman, had begun the fund-raising campaign for the new church. I felt like one of the Keystone Kops, trying to catch up to the shuttle, Korte said. I felt I was the right person at the right time to do this. The plans were drawn, land purchased, and money was being raised. Today, when one visits St. Patricks Catholic Church, it is the liturgical arts that set it apart from many other churches. The stained glass windows on the south wall of the narthex (the entry to the building), the large, carved figure of Christ that dominates the sanctuary, the other stained glass art, the carving of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the seated Christ figure in the courtyard are all a part of the church because Korte saw the need for beauty in this church. If not for the Delaney estate, we could not build such a beautiful church, Korte said. Delaney was the original industrial engineer when they built Hormels (Foods Corp), Korte said. He had no children so the bulk of his estate went to us. He approached us because of what we were doing. His housekeeper kept telling him, Youve got to do something about this estate. She kept reassuring us that it was in the will. It was. When I was first ordained I was close friends with the Eastridge family, Korte said. Their son, Mark, was an artist living in Seattle. When I was flying out to Seattle, I made contact with Mark. He asked what artist I was working with. Mark knew Alexander Safanov, a famous Russian woodcarver. We were introduced and Safanov carved the Corpus (figure of Christ) and the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Alexander asked me to bring holy water from St. Patricks to bless his hands. I really enjoyed being involved in the artwork. The original plan was for the church to be built on East 16th Street, across from Clemmons Park. The grade school was designed to be adjacent to the west side of the church. Then Charlie Diers donated the land for the church, Korte said. The land next to the grade school is large enough for Bergan to be built there in the future. It was a huge undertaking, the building and moving of a well-established church to a new location while being priest to the large parish. I was young and stupid and had a heart attack, Korte said. When I first came to Fremont, we held 10 Masses on the weekends. The first year I dropped it to nine. I had an assistant who could do a Spanish Mass. It was hard to find a minister to do that. Sister Fran was there and helped with that ministry, Korte remembers. There are immigrants at St. Geralds also. St. Geralds serves Nigerians and other African Christians living in Omaha. There is a significant Nigerian community here, Korte said. I have a funeral coming up at the end of the month and am waiting for the paperwork to send him back to Nigeria. The church offers African services once a month. St. Geralds also has a grade school. The church grounds stretch down the hill from the Rectory and office to a large chapel, the former church, to the new sanctuary, a grade school and a gymnasium. Korte has been at St. Geralds for six years. He was able to find some of the special artwork that enhances worship at the chapel. An Omaha church was being torn down and Korte rescued the frontal piece for the altar and two large carved angels. I grew up on farm, Korte said. Early on, in grade school, the priesthood was in my thinking. My nickname among my classmates was Padre. Korte followed that early call. He went to seminary, attained a masters in theology, then left for a year to teach at Gross High School and returned to seminary. I had two glorious assignments, Korte said. My year at Gross and my call to two itty bitty parishes in Cedar County. In Cedar County I could do everything I wanted to do, he said. I had a summer religious school. I taught psychology at Wynot Public Schools. Ive been in charge of a high school for 25 of my 35 years as a priest. Im an educator. The first time I taught, I could have been my students father. Now, I could be their grandfather. Kortes next call will be to Holy Trinity Parish in Hartington. He will serve as president of Cedar Catholic High School. Its a smaller parish with two Masses on Sunday and one on Saturday compared with the six held weekly at St. Geralds. The school in Hartington is a class C-1 school. He will be teaching religion classes. His last day at St. Geralds will be June 26. However, he has two weeks of vacation before he leaves. Korte is a man always ready for an adventure. Hell be flying to Vancouver, B.C., to begin a two-week cruise. Not as a vacationer. He has signed on to be the pastor on a cruise ship heading for Alaska for those two weeks. Korte wonders about a sabbatical destination in his future. Perhaps at Ein Karem, a retreat center in Bethlehem, Israel. A dangerous place in a dangerous world. I consider Fremont to be my most productive years in the priesthood, Korte said. I will retire at 70, eight years in the future. Life as a priest has not dimmed his love of the adventure and the possibilities in the future shine bright for him. The Global and United States Hydrobike Market Report has been published by QY Research recently. Hydrobike Market Analysis and Insights This report focuses on... Latest News Washington, DC - The head of an unlawful debt collection operation is banned from that business under a court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. The court granted the FTCs request for summary judgment on all counts against Gail Daniels and The Primary Group Inc. charged in an action filed by the agency in May 2015. The court found that defendants had deceived consumers via text messages, emails and phone calls that falsely threatened consumers with arrest or lawsuits if they did not make debt collection payments. The court previously had halted the scheme and frozen the defendants assets pending litigation. The courts final order bans the defendants from debt collection activities and prohibits them from misrepresenting material facts about financial-related products and services. It also bars them from profiting from consumers personal information and failing to dispose of it properly, and imposes a judgment of $980,000, which represents the amount of money the defendants collected from the scheme. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, entered a summary judgment against the defendants on May 19, 2016. Latest News Washington, DC - On June 15-16, 2016, the GICNT commemorated its tenth anniversary, demonstrating its durability as an institution committed to strengthening global capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear terrorism. GICNT partners gathered in The Hague to reaffirm their commitment to its Statement of Principles and its founding mission to conduct multilateral activities that improve partner nations plans, policies, procedures and the capacities of partner nations to work together to defeat the shared threat of nuclear terrorism. Under the leadership of Russia and the United States, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) was launched in 2006 and has since grown to include 86 partner nations and five official observer organizations, held over 80 multilateral activities, produced seven important foundational guidelines documents and developed a body of best practices that have all served to uplift national capacities to prevent, detect and respond to nuclear terrorism As the GICNT Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) Coordinator, Ambassador Kees Nederlof served as Chairman of this 10th Anniversary Meeting and presented this Chairmans Summary of the important and historic gathering. Mr. Ard van der Steur, Minister of Security and Justice of The Netherlands opened the meeting, and the GICNT Co-Chairs were represented by Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation of the United States Department of State, and Mr. Mikhail Ulyanov, a member of the Collegium, Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The U.S. and Russian Co-Chair representatives read messages of appreciation and support from President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin, respectively, to the GICNT partners represented at the 10th Anniversary Meeting. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - The Yuma Police Department has received numerous complaints from the Yuma community concerning red-light violations and other traffic infractions at the intersection of 16th Street and 4th Avenue. Because of these complaints our Traffic Unit organized a detail to enforce intersection related traffic violations to include red light violations. This morning a YPD Sergeant stood at the intersection of 16th Street and 4th Avenue in plain cloths, holding a sign and a camera to capture video of the violations. When a traffic violation occurred a nearby fully marked Motor Officer was notified via radio and performed the traffic stop. The enforcement detail then moved to 24th Street and 4th Avenue. During this detail 53 traffic stops were conducted with 47 citations issued for various traffic and other violations. The violations were Red light 15, Turning 16, Cell phone use 10, Speed 7, Seat belt 3, Child restraint 1, Registration 3, Insurance 8, Suspended license 3, No license 1, Other 5. There were also 3 misdemeanor arrests and 4 vehicles impounded as a result of the detail. While this detail was being conducted many citizens took to social media to notify others of our officer posing in an undercover capacity. The majority of the comments were positive in nature and praising us for taking enforcement action and utilizing this creative method. There were some negative posts concerning our detail with one person posting to kill the officer. Another citizen went to the area with his own sign telling everyone the person on the corner is a police officer. We did not discourage this citizen because in the end he assisted us with getting the word out and it had the desired impact of slowing violators down, getting them to obey traffic signals, and reminding them to put down their cell phones while driving. The Yuma Police Department would like to remind our community that many of the accidents we investigate could have been avoided by adhering to posted speed limits, stopping for all red lights and stop signs and remaining attentive while driving. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - Today at approximately 12:33 p.m. Alexander Bodine made comments on Social Media to kill the Yuma Police Officer who was working in an undercover capacity during a traffic enforcement detail. This officer was standing in the open on a street corner in plain clothes. BODINE was using a fake account but was identified through an elaborate investigation. BODINE was contacted at his residence, taken into custody and later booked into the Yuma County Jail. The Yuma Police Department acknowledges that the 1st Amendment gives the right to free speech but that does not include a threat to take the life of another person whether a private citizen or a police officer. When a threat to cause bodily harm to anyone is posted on social media it will be taken seriously and investigated. The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. The game plan: Becoming a socially intelligent CIO While business leaders and CIOs agree that CIOs need to increase their social intelligence skills to meet business priorities, what does it take to actually achieve this? Three steps are critical. Go beyond alignment, be politically savvy Most successful CIOs are politically savvy. They have a comprehensive understanding of the implications of their actions. They are capable of analyzing the political culture and circumstances associated with an issue to quickly identify the political power and strategic relationships needed to attain their objectives. They build coalitions, mobilize talent, and find ways to overcome obstacles. They employ informal efforts to achieve their objectives and use organizational culture, personalities, and sensitivities to their advantage. Learning from this approach, there are two key steps to building political acumen: Form coalitions and alliances to achieve your vision. To succeed in any executive role, people need to have executive support; picking key alliances, stakeholders, and strong advocates is essential to ultimately get buy-in and support. One CIO uses the CFO and COO as a sounding board for all strategic investments, even before discussing them with her teamnot just to get buy-in, but also to get early feedback and judge the appetite for risk. By the time she proposes the investment at the steering committee level, she has at least two strong supporters already behind it. Overcome resistance (build influence). Every business leader has his or her own agenda, priorities, and goals. Unless CIOs take the time to understand and acknowledge those, they will be met with resistance. One CIO tells all his newly hired direct reports to spend their first two weeks reaching out to 30 business stakeholders to understand their performance goals and success measures before discussing technology, then develop a plan to support their goals through technology. Build a brand, not just an organization Branding is an important tool for building trust and credibility with business stakeholders and aligning technology resources under a set of common beliefs. Any IT culture is built from a set of beliefs, values, and purposes that define the organization. It dictates how people behave in different situations, how they dress, and what they say. For CIOs, it is vital to make conscious choices and investments to build their brands. The first step in this process is to articulate a clear mission and vision for the IT organization, a collective conscience for their IT organization. There are two key steps to brand-building: Carefully define the cultural norms and expectations. Setting edicts is easybuilding, nurturing, and reinforcing behaviors to align with the culture is hard. One CIO who encourages high performance as a cultural attribute challenges his staff with aggressive goals, and often the staff is able to achieve goals even beyond their personal expectations. But to do this, he also needs to have a healthy appetite for failure. He reinforces the message by celebrating failures and rewarding risk-takers, even if the goals are not met or success is not achieved. Fulfill your brand promise at every customer interaction. Everyone is familiar with brand promises of successful brands such as Coca-ColaTo inspire moments of optimism and uplift and VirginTo be genuine, fun, contemporary, and different in everything we do at a reasonable price. Having a brand promise serves as a way to stay in the hearts and minds of your stakeholders. Whether you promise reliability, security, resilience, agility, or innovation, the whole IT organization needs to be behind the brand promise and to exhibit behaviors that reinforce the brand. Forget alignment, focus on fusion If there is a mismatch between business expectations and technology delivery, a technology leader is not going to be successful. Its necessary to calibrate where business value is and expectations are, and to drive technology to achieve the most business benefit. To do this effectively, CIOs need to meld their approachalign relationships, priorities, vision and executionwith the business. In our research with CIOs on a range of topics related to their role, skills, relationships, investments, and potential legacy, one notable, recurring theme has come up: CIOs who solve business problems are respected as competent technology leaders, but CIOs who solve business problems proactively are revered as savvy business advisors. There are three key steps to achieving business fusion: London: British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's "firm support" for India's NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading club's crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britain's backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to PM Modi yesterday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." "The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support India's application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity," the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. India's case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support India's bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. New Delhi: India and Thailand on Friday decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. PM Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements - Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand - were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. PM Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. PM Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. PM Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. New Delhi: India and Thailand on Friday agreed to deepen their security engagement and defence partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a double entry e-visa for Thai nationals to facilitate their visit to the Buddhist circuit. Addressing the media here with visiting Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha following delegation-level talks, Modi said India and Thailand were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both countries. He said that close security partnership would help the two countries secure their people from such threats. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offences and human trafficking," Modi said. Prayut Chan-o-cha, who arrived in India on Thursday, met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj earlier in the day. He was given a ceremonial reception on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. Prayut Chan-o-cha is accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders. This is his first visit to India after assuming office of Thailand Prime Minister in May 2014. In his statement after bilateral talks, Modi said that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "We have, therefore, prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between the three countries," he said. Modi said that India was celebrating 150th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, and the document will be translated into Thai language. "I am also happy to announce that to welcome more tourists from Thailand to India, and to help them enjoy their visits to Buddhist sites in India, we will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for citizens of Thailand," he said. He said Festival of India in Thailand, and Festival of Thailand in India will be held next year to commemorate 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. Modi described Thailand as "a trusted and valued friend and one of our closest partners in Southeast Asia." He said the two countries had also agreed to forge a close partnership in "defence and maritime cooperation". He said the partnership will be shaped by "sharing of expertise and experiences, greater staff exchanges and more exercises, cooperation on counter-piracy on seas, deeper engagement in naval patrolling and building linkages in the field of defence research and development and production". Modi said there was particular synergy between Thailand's strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure and India's priorities in this field. Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery were some other areas identified for enhanced collaboration. "We also see early conclusion of a balanced comprehensive economic and partnership agreement as our shared priority," Modi said. He said that a more diversified commercial agreement between the two countries would benefit the two economies while bringing greater regional economic prosperity. The joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides will also be renegotiating a new bilateral investment treaty. It said that Thailand Prime Minister invited Indian investments under the cluster development policy. India offered Thailand indigenously developed GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation services, which provides advanced navigation and location assistance. The statement said two leaders reiterated their strong support for the reform of the United Nations. "The Thai side acknowledged India's credentials for permanent membership of the UN Security Council," it said. Prayut Chan-o-cha invited Modi to visit Thailand, which he accepted. The Thailand Prime Minister also met some Indian business leaders in the capital. He will visit Bodh Gaya in the second leg of his visit before returning home on Saturday. Officials said that extensive people-to-people contacts were central to the India-Thailand relationship. In 2015, more than one million Indian tourists visited Thailand and over 100,000 Thai tourists visited India. There have been regular coordinated patrols between the two navies, annual exercises between the two armies and also the first ever table-top air exercise between the two air forces. India has been participating in multilateral Cobra Gold exercise held in Thailand as an 'Observer Plus' country. Windhoek: Resource-rich Namibia has assured India that it will look into "legal ways" for supplying uranium for peaceful use of nuclear energy. Speaking at the banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said the country commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not possess any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it, we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as the gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South-South cooperation but we are ready to be the gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. Mukherjee said, "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations." "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs -- created in the wake of the Second World War -- is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world -- so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been -- and will continue to be -- a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. Washington: Pakistan's "full spectrum deterrence" nuclear doctrine and increasing fissile production capability have increased the risk of a nuclear conflict with India, a US Congressional report has said amid Pakistan's efforts to drum up support for its NSG membership bid. "Islamabad's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called 'full spectrum deterrence' have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal," the bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more, said the report 'Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons', authored by Paul K Kerr, analyst in non-proliferation, and Mary Beth Nikitin, specialist in non-proliferation. According to the copy of the report dated June 14, which was obtained by PTI, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress, which periodically prepares reports on issues of interest to American lawmakers for information purpose only and does not represent the official position of the US Congress. Running into 30 pages, the report comes in the wake of Pakistan lobbying at the Capitol Hill and before the US government in support of its membership to the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. Though noting that Pakistan in recent years has taken a number of steps to increase international confidence in the security of its nuclear arsenal, the CRS report observed that instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question. "Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan's nuclear complex. While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards," CRS said in its report meant for the lawmakers to take an informed decision. CRS said the current status of Pakistan's nuclear export network is unclear, although most official US reports indicate that, at the least, it has been damaged considerably. Referring to Pakistan's NSG membership application, the CRS said according to US law, the Obama Administration could apparently back Islamabad's NSG membership without congressional approval. In the past few weeks, top Pakistani leadership including its Ambassador to the US has been writing letters to lawmakers and meeting Government officials to push for its NSG bid. Rampur: Stirring a fresh controversy, Samajwadi Party leader and Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Azam Khan on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that how can a person talk about daughters when he has not even given due recognition to his wife. Continuing the personal tirade against the PM, Khan said: The king (read Modi) brought his mother home. Once he brings his wife back, we will be thankful to him. He further said that the PM talks about sending minority community to Pakistan, but goes to the Islamic nation without informing us. The king (read Modi) touches the feet of (Pakistan Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif's mother and shakes his hand with traitors in a closed room, reports Aaj Tak. Taking on the PM on the beef ban issue, the SP leader said the ruler of the country should get the meat from cattle prohibited in five-star hotels, or else leave the post. On the Kairana 'exodus' issue, the Samajwadi Party leader raised suspicion about the BJP's role. The BJP wants Gujarat-like riots. The party, on the insistence of the RSS, has conspired big-scale riots in western Uttar Pradesh, he alleged. Khan was in Rampur to distribute 391 e-rickshaws. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday hold a meeting with visiting Thailand's PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who arrived here on a three-day visit on Thursday. During the talks, the two sides are likely to explore ways to expand maritime security cooperation, deal with the threat of terrorism and boost trade. There are indications that both leaders will discuss the situation in the South China Sea. Modi will host lunch in honour of his Thai counterpart. The Thai PM will also call on Vice President M Hamid Ansari. Chan-o-Cha is expected to deliver a speech at the business event hosted by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM today. The Thai Prime Minister is accompanied by his spouse Naraporn Chan-o-cha and a high-level delegation comprising several cabinet ministers, senior officials and a 46-member business delegation. Chan-o-Cha's, who arrived on his first visit here as Prime Minister, was received at the airport by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju yesterday. "India's excellent relations with Thailand are an important and integral component of India's strategic partnership with ASEAN. India's 'Act East' policy is complemented by Thailand's 'Look West' policy in bringing the two countries closer," the External Affairs Ministry had said in a statement. The India-Thailand Joint Business Forum will hold its first meeting during Chan-o-Cha's visit and make recommendations for boosting trade ties between the two countries. He will visit Bodhgaya on Saturday before returning to Thailand. "India and Thailand have strong economic synergies and the diversifying profile of growing bilateral trade and investment reflects the growth and maturity of the interaction between the two economies," said the MEA. Issues related to the proposed Free Trade Agreement between the two countries are likely to figure in talks. The volume of current annual bilateral trade between the two countries is nearly USD 8 billion and both sides are keen to expand it further. Earlier, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had paid a State visit to India in January 2012 and was the Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations. Maritime security cooperation between the two countries in the Indian Ocean is already "very strong", said Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Preeti Saran, adding ways to further enhance it may be explored during the talks. Thailand has shown interest in joint ventures in defence production and procurement of defence platforms from India. (With PTI inputs) Ahmedabad: Three lions from the Gir National Park in Gujarat have been handed 'life sentences'! Sounds strange but it's true. A total of 18 lions from the Park had been 'taken into custody' after the big cats were blamed for three human deaths on the periphery of the sanctuary. Now, an investigation by the forest department has found that three of the 18 lions 'taken into custody' were involved in the 'murders'. All three of them - a lion and two lionesses - will now be spending the rest of their lives in captivity. While the male lion has been sent to a zoo near Junagadh, the two lionesses will now live locked inside a forest department rescue centre. The rest of the 15 lions will be released back into the wild. The 'guilty' verdict was reached after an investigation of the paw-prints and faeces of the 18 lions over a 25-day period led to the discovery of human remains from the excreta of an adult lion and two lionesses. It brought us to the conclusion that the male lion attacked, killed and ate humans while two other sub-adults only ate some leftover body parts. These sub-adults were not involved in attacking and killing humans, AP Singh, chief conservator of forest for Junagadh division, was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. Experts say it is important to keep the 'guilty' lions in captivity because once an animal tastes human flesh and blood, there is a likelihood of it preying on humans. Among the three who were killed in April and May by the lions included a 14-year-old boy, a woman aged around 50 and a 61-year-old man. The decrease in forest area has led to an increase in man-animal conflict in recent years and species on both sides lose life as part of the conflict. It is estimated that there are some 400 Asiatic lions left in the wild and most of them live inside the Gir National Park. The Park, on the other hand, can only accommodate 270 which sometimes forces some of the big cats to venture outside and 'clash' with humans. Nellore: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has described Chinese troops' repeated moves to enter Indian territory as transgression. Refusing to term these incidents as incursions, Parrikar said there was a need to bring clarity over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which would help reduce tensions between the two countries' troops. The remarks came just days after Chinese troops intruded into Arunachal Pradesh. Speaking at a press conference after a function, Parrikar said the lack of a clear demarcation of the LAC was leading to 'mistakes' from both sides, reported the Deccan Chronicle on Friday. Referring to the Arunachal incident, the minister said Chinese troops returned to their position after senior Indian military officers discussed the matter with their counterparts. Srinagar: Two militants who took shelter inside a house after attacking an Army convoy early on Friday in North Kashmir's Sopore town were finally gunned down by security forces, ending a five-hour long stand-off. A fierce gun battle had broken out after the militants opened fire at a security convoy in Sopore in Baramulla district. One of the militants was killed soon after but an accomplice reportedly managed to hold the fort for several hours. The army had cordoned off the area to flush out the second militant. The Sopore house siege finally ended after all the militants were killed by the security forces. Friday's gun battle erupted, a day after four terrorists were shot dead by security forces during an infiltration bid along the LoC. On Thursday, one soldier was martyred and four terrorists were killed in a gunfight in Kashmir's Tangdhar sector. The militants were trying to enter the Indian territory from Pakistan. A soldier who had sustained injuries during the operation later died in a hospital. A few days ago, the Army had thwarted another attempt by militants to cross the Indian border. Srinagar: Pro Pakistan slogans and ISIS flags were raised at a protest march organised by separatists leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to protest against proposed Kashmiri Pandits and Sainik colonies in Jammu and Kashmir. Besides waving the flags of the hostile neighbouring country, protesters raised slogans of 'jeeve jeeve Pakistan'. What was startling was Farooq made no attempt to stop the protesters from indulging in anti-national activities. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has favoured setting up of Sainik Colony in Kashmir after its alliance partner Peoples Democratic Party virtually rejected a proposal in this regard citing non-availability of land for non-state subjects. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said the position of the government is that it does not have any land available in Srinagar, Pulwama and Budgam districts for setting up such a colony. "No land has been identified yet for establishing Sainik Colony. No direction has been issued for establishing it. The Sainik Board which is registered under an Act (of state assembly) has by-laws which say that land can only be allotted to state subjects. How can you even talk about bringing in non-state subjects?" she said. New Delhi: As many as seven terrorists were neutralized in various operations by the armed forces across Jammu and Kashmir in the last three-days, according to Army sources. The Army foiled around 50 percent of the infiltration bids at the border, which have risen this year due to less severe winter. In the last six months - from January 1 to June 16 - the Army has gunned down 60 terrorists while the state police have shot down four terrorists across the state. In the corresponding period last year, 32 terrorists were gunned down by the forces. The Army sources further stated that it had suffered 39 casualties in the first half of the year, in which 11 were fatal and 28 were non-fatal. The overall causality last year, however, stood at 33. Sources have also said that the coordination between the Army and the other security forces in the state has been better this year. Srinagar The issue of reservations in promotions for government employees rocked the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for second consecutive day today as opposition Congress members demanded an amendment in the state reservation law. Cutting across part lines, several MLAs from opposition Congress, National Conference and the ruling PDP stormed the well of house to register their protest against the alleged government inaction in restoring the reservation in promotions for government employees. Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora said the Speaker Kavinder Gupta should direct the government to bring an amendment to the reservation law that will restore the reservation in promotions for government employees. Law Minister Abdul Haq Khan intervened in the matter and stated that the House can deliberate on the matter only after the Supreme Court has delivered its verdict on it. "The honourable members are aware that the matter is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court. Let the Supreme Court give its verdict and then we can take it forward," he added. Not satisfied with the government statement, three Congress MLAs -- Jora, Asghar Ali Karbalaie and Chaudhary Mohammad Akran staged a walkout from the house. The issue had figured in the house yesterday and on Tuesday as well. Srinagar: In a significant move, separatists have decided to hold talks with Kashmiri Pandit migrants to discuss their return to the Valley, marking their first "serious attempt" to bring back the community which was forced to leave over 26 years back due to militancy. Making the announcement during his sermons after the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid here, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said there is no precondition for the return of Pandits who are "part and parcel" of Kashmiri culture and ethos and they can support any political ideology while being in the Valley. "We have decided to form a joint committee from the resistance (separatist) camp -- both groups of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF led by Mohammad Yasin Malik -- which will interact with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the state and elsewhere as part of efforts to pave way for their return to Kashmir," he said. Mirwaiz said the joint committee would hear out the Kashmiri Pandits to understand their reservations about returning to their homes in the Valley. "This is not just a lip service but a serious effort for bringing the Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley as they are part and parcel of our culture and ethos," he said. The Hurriyat chairman said the separatist camp wanted the Pandits to return to their native places instead of being nestled in isolated townships. "They are free to support whichever political ideology they want...They may support India. That does not deprive them of their rights as Kashmiris," he said. This will mark the first serious effort by the separatists to bring back the Pandits who were forced to leave the Valley starting from late 1989 after the onset of militancy. At present, there are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families, who have moved from the Valley to Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country. Various governments have from time to time devised policies for return of Kashmiri Pandits but those attempts have been unsuccessful. Even the present PDP-BJP government is working on such a policy. Later, Mirwaiz led a protest rally against the new industrial policy of the state government, alleging it was part of the RSS' design to change the demography and occupy the resources of the state. "There is no clarity on whether land in industrial estates will be given to outsiders. Four statements have come from the government within a short span of time. The government will do well to make its stand clear or face the consequences," he said. Jammu: Demanding a thorough probe into the two incidents of temple desecration in Jammu, various religious, political and social organisations have appealed to the people to maintain calm and help identify the culprits. "There is a deep-rooted conspiracy to disturb peace in Jammu region by desecrating the temples. The authorities must identify the real culprits and punish them accordingly," former state president of VHP, Leela Karan Sharma said. He said the two "sacrilegious" incidents within a period of 36 hours cannot be a coincidence, as he asked the authorities to expose the greater conspiracy aimed at disturbing peace in Jammu region. He said the recent incident of desecration of a temple in Nanak Nagar area allegedly by an inebriated person seems to be part of a well-knit conspiracy. "It should be probed who gave drugs to that man and asked him to go and vandalise the temple," Sharma said. Various Sikh organisations have also come forward and condemned the recent incidents of desecration of temples in Jammu. "Jammu is a city of temples and people of all faiths have been co-existing here for centuries. The people who hurt the sentiments of others do not represent any religion. "If there is a deep-rooted conspiracy to destabilise peace in the region, government must expose them," president of Guru Manyo Granth Society, Jasdeep Singh said. President of Shiv Sena and Dogra Front, Ashok Gupta said that Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs have been living peacefully in Jammu and there was a conspiracy to destabilise peace in the region. "There are reports that the man who vandalised the temple in Nanak Nagar called somebody and said that he has done his job. We want the authorities to find out who that man was who had ordered this man to carry out the sacrilegious act," Gupta said. Ranchi: A CRPF commando was killed in an encounter with Naxals in the jungles of Giridih district of Jharkhand early Friday. Officials said the encounter took place early morning in the Hesalo-Pirtanr area of the said district. During an exchange of gunfire with Maoists a commando of CRPF's elite CoBRa unit was shot. Commando B Harizen of the 203rd Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) has been killed in the encounter, they said. One more trooper of the Central Reserve Police Force is said to be injured in the operation as per preliminary reports, they said. Giridih (Jharkhand): A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed in an encounter with Maoist rebels in Jharkhand`s Giridih district on Friday morning. The gunshots were fired from both two sides in Patharchhapra forest area of Giridih district. Last month, from Latehar area of Jharkhand CRPF had seized 59 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of 1 kg each along with 50 m of codex wire in Bikra forest area at the cusp of Herhanj and Manika police stations. The rebels have operated for decades across a wide swath of central and eastern parts of the country and have grown in strength during recent times. They have killed police and politicians and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in an insurgency that has left hundereds dead in the last three-or-so decades. Chitradurga: In yet another stark reminder of the false beliefs and superstition deep rooted in the Indian society, a young boy was garlanded and paraded naked to appease the rain god in Pandarahalli village of Karnataka`s Chitradurga district. The villagers adorned the boy with flowers, applied vermillion on his forehead, made him carry an idol of Lord Ganesha and walk naked through the streets of the village. The villagers chanted hymns so that the rain god blesses them with showers. The video of the ritual, which the locals dub as an age-old practice, shows the garlanded-boy being taken around the streets with some of the villagers leading the parade while beating drums. "This practice has been going on for years. Even this year the rain was less. So, some villagers thought of holding this tradition," one of the villagers told ANI. Another resident of the village, however, remained apprehensive about this ritual. He said that he had earlier requested some people to discontinue this practice as it was a superstition. "It is a wrong practice. The people have been doing it for ages. The moment we came to know about this we told them that it is wrong. We convinced them that this should be stopped. Now, some of them have agreed to stop this ritual. Some people are now even ready to sign on paper to ensure that this ritual is stopped," he said. Chitradurga has been one of the worst drought-affected regions of the state, where drinking water had to be supplied for months through tankers. Ernakulam: The accused in the brutal rape and murder of Dalit student Jisha, was sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the Perumbavoor Court on Friday. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said earlier today that the investigation team has received full information about the accused, who is reportedly a migrant labourer from Assam. "The police are questioning him, we will soon get his version of the events that led to the murder. Kerala was waiting to catch hold of Jisha's killer. This is definitely a feather in the cap of Kerala Police," he said in a series of tweets. The Police also reportedly recovered the knife he used to murder Jisha. According to reports, Kochi Police reports state that DNA test has confirmed that Ameerul Islam, is indeed Jisha's killer. Speaking to media, ADGP B. Sandhya said that the arrest of the culprit has been recorded. "He won't be produced before media as an identification parade is due. Preparation of remand report evidence gathering, medical examination and other formalities will follow," she said. The Kerala High Court had last week rejected the plea for a CBI probe into the case, stating that the new SIT had been set up in the case The 29-year-old law student was brutally raped and murdered on April 28, in which her body sustained at least 30 injuries, including on her private parts. The rape garnered major attention as it was during the state polls, in which the opposition took on the UPF Government for showing a lackadaisical attitude towards the probe into the matter. New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Friday sought the response of a whistleblower in the Vyapam recruitment scam on CBI's plea to provide it copies of documents and a pen-drive which were sent to a forensic lab to examine their veracity and whether there has been any tampering of evidence as alleged by him. Justice PS Teji issued notice to the whistleblower, referred to as Mr X in the petition, as the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) at Hyderabad was not a party to these proceedings. The CBI was seeking copies of the documents and the pen drive on the ground that it would help them in probing the case and verify the whistleblower's allegations of tampering. The agency, through its counsel Sanjeev Bhandari, has moved the application seeking the copies as the forensic lab has refused to provide these to them. It was on CBI's plea earlier that the high court had forwarded the documents and the pen-drive to the CFSL for examination. Mr X had approached the court for protection from arrest and interrogation in the case. The high court in February last year had granted him the relief. The court has listed the CBI's application for further hearing on July 11. During the arguments today, Mr X's counsel Badar Mehmood, opposed CBI's application, saying since the agency has given a clean chit to the accused in the case, why it was asking for the documents to be sent to CFSL. Vyapam scam was an admission and recruitment scam allegedly involving politicians, senior officials and businessmen, the plea filed by Mr X had said. A 40-member special investigation team of the CBI has been probing Vyapam-related irregularities since July last year on the Supreme Court's direction. The agency is also probing some deaths murders and suspicious suicides ? in the state, which have been connected to Vyapam. Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to modify conditions of 'protection from arrest' granted to Rajya Sabha MP and real estate developer Sanjay Kakade, accused of helping former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal with money laundering. Kakade had filed an anticipatory bail plea, and the high court had given him interim protection from arrest. It also imposed a condition that he would not leave the Bombay High Court's jurisdiction. Kakade filed a fresh application saying being an MP and due to his business work he had to travel, so this condition be relaxed. Justice P M Deshmukh, however, today asked him to produce the itinerary of his business tours till July 1, and posted the matter for hearing on June 20. Hiten Venegaonkar, Enforcement Directorate's lawyer, opposed Kakade's plea saying the condition imposed on him was to ensure his presence in the court. According to the ED, Bhujbal paid Kakade Rs 28 crore in cash in return for cheques for the same amount. This was to convert Bhujbal's black money -- earned through bribes, etc., -- into 'white', it says. ED has alleged that at least a dozen persons helped Bhujbal launder his money through their companies. All of them have challenged non-bailable warrants issued against them by the trial court and filed anticipatory bail applications, and the HC have given them interim protection from arrest. Meanwhile, the division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka today posted for hearing on June 20 the anticipatory bail application of Pankaj Bhujbal, Bhujbal's son, an accused in the same case as Bhujbal. The interim protection given by the HC to Pankaj has expired. According to the ED lawyers, Pankaj therefore wants immediate relief from the High Court to avoid arrest. Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior NCP leader, was the PWD minister during the Congress-NCP rule and is accused of taking kickbacks in construction of the state guesthouse 'Maharashtra Sadan' in Delhi and in some other contracts. Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: The tussle between Apple Inc. And the Chinese government is going from bad to worse. In an another major setback, Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau barred the company from the sale of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus in the country as their designs is similar to a Chinese brand 100C, as per Tech Crunch reports. Beijing claims that Apple violated design patents of the Chinese smartphone company and therefore have to halt the sale of its two latest iPhones. This order marked another severe fallout for the company in key overseas market. It is not the first time Apple faced such kind of restrictions in China. Earlier, Chinese government terminated Apples iTune Movies and iBook Services. The company will soon end the production of both the models in China. Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Microsoft embarks on a new journey with its recent tie up with a software industry that supports the legal marijuana industry. After the United States government decision to legalize the use of marijuana in 20 states in for medical and recreational use, the tech giant announced its first-ever collaboration with California based start-up Kind Financial, which helps businesses and government agencies track sales of legalized marijuana "from seed to sale", as per BBC news. Being the first-ever tie-up of its kind, it will help in eliminating the traditional stigma linked with marijuana. Kind Financial earlier developed applications to help marijuana businesses accept electronic payments. With this partnership, Microsoft is looking forward to help individual and government launch successful regulatory reforms. Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Search engine giant Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc are being sued by a a US company called Space Data Corporation over claims that the former stole their idea for Project Loon. According to a report in The Verge, Space Data Corporation alleges in its complaint against Google, it was they who had developed the technology nearly a decade back, and were in talks with with the search giant as well. The complaint states Googles Project Loon is based on Space Datas patents for providing connectivity through a balloon network, one being filed in 1999, and the second in 2001. The report on Verge, points out both patents predate Loon, and the company does not appear to have licensed either one. The company says they had signed an NDA with Google in 2007, and shared trade secrets with them when in 2008, Google co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin visited their headquarters as well, showing interest in their technology. However later on Google terminated all discussions with Space Data because of an article in Wall Street Journal, which hinted the search giant was interested in the technology. Bangladesh: Human rights experts on Friday slammed a wave of mass arrests by Bangladeshi police carrying out a crackdown on Islamist militants, with one saying the country "seems to have turned into a jail". Police have arrested more than 11,000 people in the past week, including 194 alleged militants, in a bid to quash a spate of brutal murders of secular writers, gay rights activists and religious minorities. However, several leading rights experts said that many of the arrests were arbitrary or being used as a way to silence political opponents of the government. "The government is harassing general people and in some cases, opposition party men, in the name of an anti-militant crackdown," a Bangladeshi university professor and human rights expert told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The entire country seems to have turned into a jail." Human Rights Watch said that while authorities should investigate the crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, the week-long crackdown had seen many people arrested without evidence. "After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladesh`s security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the `usual suspects` instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations," said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW, in a statement. He said authorities "should immediately stop arbitrarily arresting people without proper evidence of a crime." Dhaka has come under mounting international pressure to end the attacks in which nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years, many hacked to death with machetes. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed last week to catch "each and every killer", with local media putting the number of arrested higher, at 13,000. Police stopped releasing the official number of people arrested after the fourth day of the week-long crackdown following widespread criticism. The mass arrests expose "the inefficiency of the law enforcers to deal with crimes like these," counterterrorism expert Shahab Enam Khan told AFP. Hasina accuses the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its Islamist party ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, of orchestrating the killings to destabilise the country. Her government firmly rejects claims of responsibility by the Islamic State group and al Qaeda for many murders, saying international jihadist groups have no presence in the country. The latest crackdown is thought to have been triggered by the murder this month of Mahmuda Begum, the wife of a top anti-terror police officer. The officer had led several high-profile operations against banned militant group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, several members of which were arrested in the latest sweep. In what they called an "important breakthrough", police said Thursday they had arrested a 20-year-old Islamist militant belonging to another domestic outfit suspected of several attacks. Police said that arrest of Suman Hossain Patowari over an attack on a publisher in October was key to smashing the leadership of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team. Colombo: Sri Lanka has welcomed a European Union decision to remove it from a list of countries that fail to control illegal and unregulated fishing, ending a ban on imports of fish caught by Sri Lanka-flagged vessels. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that the EU decision will help boost Sri Lanka's fisheries industry. An EU council meeting report said the decision was made because of Sri Lanka's improved compliance with its international obligations and its introduction of a more efficient fisheries control and monitoring system. The government says Sri Lanka suffered USD 75 million (68 million euros) in lost revenue because of the ban, which was imposed in January 2015. Sri Lanka was a significant exporter of swordfish and tuna to countries in the EU. Wickremesinghe said the government has also launched a program to modernize Sri Lanka's fishery industry and is in discussions with Norway to obtain its assistance. Chennai: AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has written a passionate letter to Hillary Clinton on Friday hailing the Democratic presidential nominee as a 'role model' for women across the globe.The AIADMK chief also praised Hillary for making history by becoming the first woman presumptive presidential nominee. "Kindly accept my heartiest congratulations on clinching the nomination as the Democratic Party's candidate for the election of the President of the United States of America. It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction for all the women in the world and in particular, women in democratic electoral politics that you have become the first woman to be a candidate of one of the two major political parties in the United States for the Presidency," the letter stated. Asserting that in creating history, Hillary has given voice and hope to the cause of women empowerment across the world, the Chief Minister added that she had no doubts that she will continue to be a role model for women across the world, as her political career peaks. "I have fond memories of your visit to Chennai on 20th July, 2011, as Secretary of State, and our warm and cordial interaction on the occasion on a range of issues of mutual interest," Jayalalithaa added. The letter concludes with the Chief Minister wishing Hillary for the further stages of the campaign and for the Presidential Election in November this year. With ANI inputs Chennai: Taking up the latest detention of three Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to secure the release of all 24 fishermen and 93 boats under Lankan custody at the earliest. She also requested the Prime Minister to evolve a "permanent" and "pragmatic" solution" to end their woes. Three fishermen in their mechanised fishing boat from Pudukottai District were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday and taken to Kankesanthurai there, she said in a letter to PM Modi. "I request your personal intervention and request you to direct the External Affairs Ministry to secure the immediate release of the 24 fishermen and 93 fishing boats, including three fishermen and their one mechanised fishing boat apprehended on June 15 at the earliest", she said. "I again request the Government of India to initiate immediate efforts to find a permanent and pragmatic workable solution to this livelihood issue of our fishermen." She said Sri Lankan authorities "adamantly refuse" to recognise the "traditional and historic rights of our Tamil Nadu fishermen" to eke out their livelihood by fishing in Palk Bay, she said. It was painful that Sri Lanka "is now adopting a strategy of detaining boats for long periods of time," causing immense loss to fishermen, she said. Jayalalithaa wrote to Modi on May 31 after seven fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by Sri Lankan Naval personnel and had asked him to take steps for their release. She again wrote to him on June 6 stating that the situation at sea remains "precarious" due to "offensive acts" of the Sri Lankan Navy despite repeated appeals to the Centre to ensure safety of Indian fishermen. Chennai: Opposition DMK today alleged that adequate facilities had not been made available for wheel-chair bound party President M Karunanidhi to attend the Assembly and took up the matter with the Speaker. Party Treasurer and Opposition Leader M K Stalin said that he had asked Speaker P Dhanapal to make adequate arrangements, including seating, for Karunanidhi to have access to the House and participate in its proceedings. "But the seating has been allotted in the second row where his wheelchair cannot go. Therefore, adequate arrangements have to be made for him," Stalin said. He was speaking to reporters after the House was adjourned for the day following obituary references, including to recently deceased Thirupparankundram AIADMK MLA M Seenivel. Karunanidhi represents his native Thiruvarur constituency in the 15th Tamil Nadu Assembly, elections for which were held on May 16. The DMK has 89 MLAs in the House. New Delhi: An eight-member BJP delegation on Friday submitted a memorandum to Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on the Kairana Hindu 'migration' issue and demanded a CBI probe into the matter. According to ANI, the BJP delegation, which went to review the situation in controversial Kairana village, targeted the Uttar Pradesh government over the deteriorating law and order condition and said that apart the 346 families who have already migrated from the village, many more are willing to do the same. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has alleged that the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP) are hand-in-glove and stated that Sardhana MLA Sangeet Som's "Nirbhay Yatra" is a desperate attempt on the part of the ruling dispensation at the Centre to spoil the communal harmony of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier today, Som announced to embark on a week-long "Nirbhay Yatra" across Uttar Pradesh. "To the people who are migrating from Kirana, I just want to give them a message that they are safe in Uttar Pradesh. And we will not let Uttar Pradesh turn into Kashmir," Som told reporters. "I want to tell them that they should stay here and not migrate. The people, who have already migrated, should realise that the atmosphere in the state is becoming better," he added. However, he later suspended the march and said that he is a loyal BJP worker and no one from the party would break the law. He also confirmed that UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had called him and asked him not to take the law into his hands. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday ordered Kolkata police to probe the alleged bribery scandal known as Narada sting operation which rocked the state during the 2016 Assembly Elections. Carried out by the portal -- Narada News -- the sting caught on camera over a dozen Trinamool leaders, including former union ministers, state cabinet heavyweights and MPs, accepting wads of currency notes as "bribes" in return for showing favours to a fictitious company. After a meeting with the Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee and Home Secretary Moloy Dey at her office, Banerjee said during the time of the recent Assembly Election a conspiracy was hatched by inciting people and creating suspicion among them with the help of a so-called sting operation. However, while ordering the probe, at a press meet at the State Secretariat today, Banerjee said, Today I have discussed the matter with Chief Secretary and Home Secretary in detail I have issued an order for police to look into the total episode for investigation and action, according to law. "I still believe that there was a conspiracy. We want the truth to come out. That is why I gave an order today to the Chief Secretary that the police will conduct an enquiry into the total episode. They will investigate and act according to law," the CM said. She reiterated that they wanted the truth to come out in the case, in which the names of several Trinamool Congress ministers were purportedly shown as accepting cash from a fictitious company. "We are transparent. We want the truth. The police will conduct the probe impartially. The guilty should be punished," Banerjee said adding that the police would find out who was behind the conspiracy. Asked if the sting tapes were fake, she said, "Why should I comment on that? It will be decided through enquiry. It needs to be understood what was the context of the conversation in the tapes," she said. According to media reports, the inquiry will be conducted by Kolkata Police, headed by Rajiv Kumar. Earlier, when the Assembly polls were due in the state, Banerjee had dubbed the expose as "an election political vendetta". After the tapes were released, TMC spokesperson Derek OBrien had issued a statement saying, This is nothing but dirty political vendetta Trinamool is not afraid. The Calcutta High Court is also hearing the matter. The court had constituted a three-member committee to collect videotape footage of the sting. Reacting to the developments, CPI(M) MLA Sujan Chakravarty said a "fresh plot had been hatched to cover up the scam." BJP vice-president Joyprakash Majumadar demanded a CBI inquiry, while Congress leader Abdul Mannan said that it is "an attempt to fool the people." Makhachkala (Russia): Police in Russia's restive Dagestan region in the North Caucasus today said at least four officers and six militants have died in a series of clashes. Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said three officers were wounded in a skirmish with a group of militants near the village of Kasumkent in southern Dagestan early today, and one policeman later died of wounds. She said four gunmen were also killed. In a separate clash in the Derbent region a suspected militant was killed in a sweep that also left one police officer dead. And in the Tabasaran region, a militant fired at police, killing two officers and wounding four others before being shot dead.Dagestan is the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency still simmering in southern Russia following separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya. Beirut: Barrel bomb attacks and shelling on rebel-held areas of Syria's northern city of Aleppo killed at least nine civilians today, the second day of a temporary truce, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the crude explosive devices hit three areas of Aleppo, prompting the rebels to fire rockets into regime-held western parts of the city. The violence erupted at sunset, breaking the calm that had prevailed throughout the day, the monitor added. Syrian regime ally Russia had announced a two-day truce in Aleppo, but hours after it took effect yesterday barrel bombs and air strikes hit the eastern side, and rebels retaliated with rockets. At least four civilians were killed yesterday, said the Observatory which relies on sources on the ground for its reports on Syria's five-year war. Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people since it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. The truce was announced by Russia after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow that Washington's patience was running out over breaches of a nationwide ceasefire. And yesterday a senior US defence official accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in Al-Tanaf near Syria's border with Iraq. The Observatory said two fighters opposed to the Islamic State group were killed in the strikes which it said targeted a meeting at which they were coordinating the fighting against IS in Syria and Iraq. Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull voiced regret on Friday after inviting a senior Islamic leader who has condemned homosexuality to a fast-breaking Ramadan dinner. Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman was present yesterday at an exclusive function at the Australian leader's official Sydney residence Kirribilli House, alongside other leading Muslim figures. In a sermon uploaded to YouTube in 2013 the sheikh, president of the Australian National Imams Council, said gay people were responsible for spreading diseases and attracted "evil outcomes to our society". Turnbull, MP for the Sydney seat that hosts the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, said he would not have invited him if he had known his views, emphasising the need for acceptance of diversity of sexuality and religion. "I said earlier today, and I say again now, a statement of the strongest condemnation of those remarks," he told reporters. "I regard as unacceptable, and I will always condemn, any remarks which disrespect any part of our community, whether it is on the basis of their sexuality, their gender, their race, their religion." The faux pas came just days after Australia cancelled the visa of a British Muslim cleric who once preached that gays should be put to death, revelations that sparked an outcry in the wake of the Orlando gay nightclub killings. Farrokh Sekaleshfar, who was in Sydney as the guest speaker of an Islamic centre, suggested in a 2013 lecture that death was a "compassionate" sentence for homosexuals. The Kirribilli function was the first time an Australian leader has hosted an iftar -- fast-breaking -- dinner and Turnbull, campaigning for election on July 2, praised the contribution Muslim people had made to Australia. "Let me be very clear about this, and this was the theme of my address at the iftar -- we are the most successful multicultural society in the world," he said. "The bedrock of that, the foundation, is mutual respect and that is why I reach out to every community, every community in our country is part of our nation." Columbia: US President Barack Obama hosts youthful Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Friday, underscoring his guest`s meteoric rise and increasingly pivotal role in strained US-Saudi ties. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama would meet the 30-year-old deputy crown prince, who has become the driving force behind economic reform and a more activist Saudi foreign policy. King Salman`s son, who is his country`s defense minister, has met the very biggest of Washington`s big hitters during a week-long visit. He held talks with the CIA director, the secretaries of state, defense and treasury, as well as leading members of Congress. The White House said Prince Mohammed`s meeting with Obama will take place in the Oval Office -- a rare honor for a non-head of state, one not afforded to the Dalai Lama earlier in the week. Little is certain about the inner workings of the House of Saud, but the prince`s high public profile has led many to speculate that he could be the next on the throne, rather than designated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. "He is notionally number three in the hierarchy, but effectively he`s number one," said Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute, a think tank focused on the Middle East. "The King prefers his son and wants his son to be king," said Henderson. For the White House, Mohammed bin Salman is a relative unknown, while Mohammed bin Nayef -- as interior minister -- has been the go-to royal on counterterrorism for years. Prince Mohammed "wants to be known on the US side," said Gregory Gause, head of the international affairs department at Texas A&M University`s Bush School of Government and Public Service. "It`s an effort by him to be recognized." The meeting comes as ties between the US and Saudi Arabia have been strained over how to approach Riyadh`s arch-enemy Iran, the war in Yemen and the seemingly imminent release of a dossier about Saudi Arabian links to the September 11, 2001 attacks.High on the agenda will be Prince Mohammed`s efforts to overhaul Saudi Arabia`s state-dominated and oil-dependent economy, bringing in the private sector and creating jobs for the country`s young population. "Given their huge investment in education over the last decade, if they are not able to move away from a state-run economy and develop a private sector, you are not going to have the jobs that young people need to have hope," said former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith. Amid disagreements over the US nuclear deal with Iran, economic reform appears to be a much-needed issue that could bring Riyadh and Washington together. Obama`s White House has repeatedly argued that Saudi Arabia`s most pressing security task is internal reform to put the autocratic state on a more stable and sustainable footing. Effectively reforming the economy is likely to require the easing of tough rules on female participation in the workplace. After Prince Mohammed met top US economic policymakers on Wednesday, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the White House "underscored the United States` desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program." Prince Mohammed is also sure to address another of his signature policies -- Saudi Arabia`s war in Yemen, which has been a point of deep contention between the White House and the royal court. The United States has aided and publically backed the operation to push back against Iranian-backed Huthi rebels who took over the capital Sanaa. The war signaled Saudi Arabia`s willingness to tackle Iranian influence in the region. But Obama`s administration has been repeatedly embarrassed by the killing of civilians and worried that while the war has dragged on, Al-Qaeda has been allowed to grow. More than 6,400 Yemenis have been killed since the intervention started 15 months ago, the majority of them civilians. The Huthis remain in control of most of the central and northern highlands as well as the Red Sea coast. The United Nations had blacklisted the Saudi-led coalition after concluding in a report that it was responsible for 60 percent of the 785 deaths of children in Yemen last year. But the world body later reversed its stance, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon citing "undue pressure" from Saudi Arabia and its allies who had threatened to cut off funding to UN aid programs over the blacklisting. There are signs that the war may be winding down and Saudi Arabia and its allies may be shifting focus to tackling Al-Qaeda. The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday announced its "war is over" in Yemen, although left open the prospect of a continued counterterrorism role. Khartoum: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a four-month ceasefire in two states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where recent fighting between troops and rebels has left scores of casualties, the army has said. Bashir's forces have been battling the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the two states since 2011, and neither side has decisively gained an upper hand in the fighting. "President Bashir announced four months of ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan starting from today," army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP yesterday. "This gesture of goodwill from the government is to give the armed groups a chance to join the peace process and to surrender their arms." The ceasefire was anticipated ahead of the start of the rainy season that leaves roads in the these regions impassable. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often-contradictory reports from the army and the SPLM-N about fighting there. Bashir had announced a similar ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region - the scene of a separate insurgency - in late 2015 and extended it by a month at the beginning of this year. But new fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan erupted after the end of that ceasefire earlier this year. Shami said the latest ceasefire starting from today does not extend to the war-torn area of Darfur as "there was no real rebellion now in Darfur". "There are only small groups that are trying to disturb the security in Darfur. Sudanese forces have ended the rebellion in Darfur." Sudan held a referendum in Darfur in April, with officials saying almost 98 percent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states. Darfur has been gripped by conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the government in Khartoum. Bashir launched a brutal counterinsurgency and at least 300,000 people have been killed, the United Nations says. Another 2.5 million have fled their homes. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges related to Darfur, which he denies. Kano: Twenty-four people were killed when Boko Haram fighters opened fire on mourners, a local community leader said today, in the second attack in northeast Nigeria this week after a relative lull. The attack happened at about 8:00 pm (local time) in Kuda village near the town of Gulak, in Adamawa state, according to Maina Ularamu, a former local government chairman in nearby Madagali. Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar, based in the state capital Yola, 255 kilometres away, confirmed the attack. But he gave a lower death toll of 18 and said "many others were injured". Ularamu said the attack occurred during a "mourning celebration" to mark the death of a local community leader. "They came on motorcycles and opened fire on the crowd, killing 24. Most of the victims were women. They looted food supplies and burnt homes and they left almost an hour later," he told AFP. "Gulak has been liberated from Boko Haram but the gunmen still live in villages nearby. They attack mostly to loot food supplies. "Our people who fled their homes to escape Boko Haram attacks have been returning because they can't live in the camps. "But now they are facing threats from Boko Haram who launch nocturnal attacks." Boko Haram threatened to overrun Adamawa state in 2014, sweeping down from their Sambisa Forest stronghold which lies just across the border in Borno state to Mubi, 80 kilometres south of Gulak. The rampage, which left bridges and homes destroyed on the only road south to Yola, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes to flee into camps and host communities in the state capital. Boko Haram was driven out of the state by a military counter-offensive that began in January 2015 and since there has been a relative calm despite sporadic attacks in the north of the state. The last attack in Adamawa was on January 9, when seven people were killed and two others injured in a raid on Madagali. Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a market in Madagali on December 28, killing 30, just days after President Muhammadu Buhari declared the Islamists "technically" defeated. There has been a noticeable fall in attacks since the turn of the year and the military claims the Islamic State affiliate is severely weakened and pushed into border areas around Lake Chad. But yesterday's attack is an indication that the rebels, who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, are not routed, and still have the capacity to strike. London: Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox on Friday after a man wielding a gun and knife killed the 41-year-old in an attack that has thrown a June 23 referendum on European Union membership into limbo. Cox, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed after a meeting with residents in her own constituency near Leeds in northern England by a man who witnesses said had shouted "Britain first". She was pronounced dead just over 48 minutes later by a doctor working with a paramedic crew trying to save her life. A 52-year-old man named by media as Thomas Mair was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm were recovered. The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended in the EU referendum, the tone of which has become increasingly angry and bitter and included personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. Though the motives of the killer were not immediately clear, some suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. Police said they were not in a position to discuss the motive of the attack. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Cox`s husband, Brendan, said. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." A US civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley, from the NA`s publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. Britain`s Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth`s London residence Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, where Prime Minister David Cameron has his official residence. In Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church. Queen Elizabeth was due to write a private letter of condolence to Cox`s husband. Some people, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, dozens of white candles lay beside bunches of flowers and a message board upon which people had written their condolences. "You can`t kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred." Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two young children aged three and five. Beside flowers at the murder scene in Birstall, a message read: "Fascists feed on fear." British politicians paid tribute to Cox and expressed shock at the killing, as did leaders across Europe and the world. Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama`s 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. "We have lost a great star," said Cameron, who called the referendum. "She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news." Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the attack "terrible" but added that she didn`t want to link it to the EU referendum. It was not immediately clear when campaigning for the referendum would resume. A spokesman for Vote Leave said they would clarify plans later in the day. The implied probability of a vote to remain rose to 67 percent, up from 65 percent on Thursday, according to Betfair odds. Who killed Cox? Media reports, citing witnesses, said the attacker had shouted out "Britain first", the name of a right-wing nationalist group that describes itself on its website as "a patriotic political party and street defence organisation". The deputy leader of the group, Jayda Fransen, distanced it from the attack, which she described as "absolutely disgusting". West Yorkshire`s elected Police and Crime Commissioner said "our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact". Family members, including his brother, said that Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported. "He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. "My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don`t even know who he votes for." Neighbours described a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds and inquired after their pets. "I`m totally devastated - I didn`t want to believe it. He`s been very helpful to me. Anything I asked him to do he did very willingly and sometimes without my needing to ask," said next-door neighbour Diana Peters, 65. "I saw him the day before. I was taking my cats to the vet and he came and asked me how they were," she said. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990. Birstall: Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox on Friday after a man wielding a gun and knife killed the 41-year-old in an attack that has thrown a June 23 referendum on European Union membership into limbo. Cox, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed in her own constituency near Leeds in northern England by a man who witnesses said had shouted "Britain first". She was pronounced dead just over 48 minutes later by a doctor working with a paramedic crew trying to save her life. A 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm were recovered. The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended in the EU referendum, the tone of which has become increasingly angry and bitter and included personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. Though the motives of the killer were not immediately clear, some suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. Police said they were not in a position to discuss the motive of the attack. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Cox`s husband, Brendan, said. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." A U.S. civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley, from the NA`s publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. FLAGS AT HALF-MAST Britain`s Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth`s London residence Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, where Prime Minister David Cameron has his official residence. In Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church. Some people, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, dozens of white candles lay beside bunches of flowers and a message board upon which people had written their condolences. "You can`t kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred." Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two young children aged three and five. Beside flowers at the murder scene in Birstall, a message read: "Fascists feed on fear." British politicians paid tribute to Cox and expressed shock at the killing, as did leaders across Europe and the world. Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama`s 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. "We have lost a great star," said Cameron, who called the referendum. "She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news." Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the attack "terrible" but added that she didn`t want to link it to the EU referendum. WHO KILLED COX? Media reports, citing witnesses, said the attacker had shouted out "Britain first", the name of a right-wing nationalist group that describes itself on its website as "a patriotic political party and street defence organisation". The deputy leader of the group, Jayda Fransen, distanced it from the attack, which she described as "absolutely disgusting". West Yorkshire`s elected Police and Crime Commissioner said "our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact". The killer was named by media as Thomas Mair. Family members, including his brother, said that Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported. "He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. "I am struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don`t even know who he votes for." Neighbours were quoted by media as describing a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990. Colleagues expressed shock and disbelief at the death of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate who spent a decade working for aid agency Oxfam and promoted women`s issues. "We`ve lost a wonderful woman, we`ve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a televised statement. "As we mourn her memory, we`ll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve." London: British MP Jo Cox, a lawmaker who campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU and more aid for Syrian refugees, was killed in a street attack on Thursday. Weapons, including a firearm, have been recovered from the scene of the incident in her constituency and the sole suspect is being held by police. This is what we know so far: Cox, 41, was the member of Parliament representing the constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, northern England, where she grew up. A University of Cambridge graduate, she was the Oxfam aid agency`s policy chief before entering Parliament in the May 2015 General Election. She was a prominent campaigner for refugee rights and spoke out in favour of immigration in a powerful first speech in Parliament. Cox co-chaired the cross-party parliamentary group on Syria. She was campaigning for Britain to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum. The attack took place in Birstall, a large village in her constituency, outside the library where she regularly held meetings with constituents. Police said they were called at 12:53 pm (1153 GMT) on Thursday to reports of an incident where a woman in her forties had suffered serious injuries and was in a critical condition. British media cited locals as saying she had been shot and stabbed by a man shouting "Britain first" or "put Britain first". Police said weapons, including a firearm, were recovered from the scene. Cox was pronounced dead at 1:48 pm (1248 GMT) by a doctor working with a paramedic crew that was attending to her. A 77-year-old man sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. Officers arrested a 52-year-old man at the scene. British media said he had been named locally as Tommy Mair, whom one neighbour called a "loner". Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack, which was described as "a localised incident". They said a full investigation would try to establish a motive and that they were speaking to a large number of witnesses. There were indications Mair could have had extreme views. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a US advocacy group, announced it had records showing Mair had bought copious reading material from the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi organisation. Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach in 2010 by an Islamic extremist but survived the attack. Five MPs have now been killed in office since World War II. Ian Gow had been the last, assassinated by Irish Republican Army paramilitaries in 1990. The IRA killed Anthony Berry in the 1984 bombing of Brighton`s Grand Hotel where prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were staying. The IRA shot dead Northern Irish MP Robert Bradford in 1981, while former Northern Ireland secretary Airey Neave was murdered by paramilitaries in 1979. She married Brendan Cox, a former adviser to prime minister Gordon Brown on Africa and international development. He was formerly the director of policy and advocacy at the Save the Children charity. She is also survived by their two young children, Lejla and Cuillin. They lived on a converted barge near Tower Bridge in London. Her husband and children took part in a pro-EU flotilla on Wednesday against a River Thames protest by anti-EU fishermen. Husband Brendan Cox "Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love." "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron "We`ve lost a great star. She was a great, campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart." "She had a great track record of caring about refugees and had taken a big interest in how we can look after Syrian refugees and do the right thing in our world." "It`s right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum." Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn "The whole of the Labour family, and indeed the whole country, is in shock and grief." "We have lost a much-loved colleague, a real talent and a dedicated campaigner for social justice and peace." A Canadian woman who fought insurgents in Afghanistan became the country`s first female combat officer to rise to the rank of general on Thursday. Colonel Jennie Carignan, 47, was promoted to brigadier-general (one star) and put in charge of the Canadian army`s day-to-day operations including training and deployments, the military announced. Other female generals have previously risen from non-combatant disciplines such as intelligence, medicine and development aid. Carignan enlisted in 1986, three years before Canada allowed women in combat roles. Training as a combat engineer -- a role in which soldiers clear bombs and erect and destroy battlefield structures -- she rose quickly through the ranks, shattering preconceptions about women warriors. However, she was beaten to the punch by one month in becoming the first woman to lead a military combatant command by American General Lori Robinson. Robinson made history in May, when she was appointed to lead the US Northern Command, tasked with securing North America`s aerospace and coastal waters, as well as supporting the US civil defense authorities. US Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who praised Robinson, was quoted at the time by ABC News as saying that "in the military, a combatant command is the ultimate job. It`s the pointy tip of the spear, overseeing the people carrying the rifles and flying the aircraft." The United States dropped its official ban on women in combat in January 2016. Women make up 14.8 percent of the Canadian military, and just 2.4 percent of its combat forces, according to government figures. Carignan grew up in the mining town of Asbestos, Quebec, the daughter of a policeman and a teacher. She served in a United Nations mission in the Golan Heights, between Syria and Israel, and in Bosnia and Afghanistan. "She can wear a dress or a bulletproof vest," Barbara Maisonneuve, chief fundraiser for the Royal Military College of Canada and a general`s wife, told Maclean`s magazine. "Brigadier-General Jennie Carignan continues to be a trailblazer for women in the Canadian Armed Forces," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement. Married with four children, Carignan has been a pioneer in juggling motherhood and a high-level military career. At age 27 in 1995, she was ordered to deploy to Bosnia-Herzegovina at the end of the war that broke up the former Yugoslavia, but unexpectedly became pregnant. Her bosses were supportive. A year later, she brought her still breastfeeding son on a military training exercise, along with relatives who babysat the two-month-old while she trained. She got another opportunity to deploy to Bosnia in 2002. In 2009-2010, Carignan found herself in one of the world`s deadliest war zones, exchanging fire with insurgents in Afghanistan while on patrol in Kandahar province. She also narrowly avoided a suicide bomber during the mission as well as an improvised explosive device that mangled a vehicle in her convoy. Following in their mother`s footsteps, her eldest son Zack, 20, is in his second year at the Royal Military College of Canada and daughter Amelie is starting basic training in July. Taipei: A leading Chinese dissident lawyer and his relatives have been "threatened" since his daughter spoke about his controversial new book in Hong Kong this week, the daughter and activists said Friday. Gao Zhisheng`s current whereabouts are unknown after Chinese security agents are said to have rushed to his brother`s house, where he is staying, in an isolated village in China`s Shaanxi province on Tuesday. Gao has been under house arrest since 2014 after serving a three-year prison term on subversion-related charges -- a sentence which sparked an international outcry. "I am worried they will face many threats... I already know that right after (his daughter) Grace`s press conference in Hong Kong, Chinese security personnel rushed to his brother`s house and threatened (them)," said Bob Fu, president of US-based human rights group China Aid Association which co-published the book. "We don`t know if he has been removed from his cave home in Shaanxi. We don`t know where he is now," Fu said, adding that a local contact who passed on the information of the security agents` visit had also gone "missing". Speaking in Taipei to launch her father`s new book "Stand Up China 2017" -- which predicts the demise of the Communist Party and details his torture at the hands of the authorities -- Grace Gao said her uncle and aunt`s mobile phones were disconnected or turned off when she called them on Friday. She felt her father would be subject to punishment over the book but added: "He is prepared for anything and our family is prepared." Gao fell foul of Chinese authorities by championing the rights of vulnerable people including underground Christians, aggrieved miners and members of the banned Falungong spiritual movement. He was convicted in 2006 of "subversion of state power" and given a three-year suspended prison sentence. State media said in 2011 that he had been ordered to serve the sentence after a Beijing court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation. In the 446-page book, Gao predicted the demise of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017, saying that "peaceful power for change" will flourish in China despite brutal suppression and it is "enviable for China`s evil forces to demise". Gao detailed what he called abductions and tortures imposed on him by Chinese authorities since 2004, including electric shocks. The book was published by two human rights groups as no publisher in Taiwan or Hong Kong wanted to get involved, according to co-publisher Taiwan Association for China Human Rights. "Please help my family and all Chinese people," Grace Gao wrote in a copy of the book to be given to Taiwan`s President Tsai Ing-wen through a lawmaker of Tsai`s party. "I hope she will do her best or within her power to help with human rights in China," she said. Beijing: A construction worker in China miraculously escaped death after a 1.5-meter steel bar pierced through his body from groin to skull in east China's Shandong Province. The 46-year-old Chinese man, surnamed Zhang, was working at a construction site when he fell from a height of five meters on to the steel bar on June 14. Firefighters were able to cut the bar and took him to the hospital. An X-ray showed that the steel bar had only just missed his skull, trachea, heart, carotid artery and liver, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Zhang has been admitted to Shandong University's Qilu Hospital in Jinan. "This is a very rare accident," Sang Xiguang, head of the emergency surgery department said. Surgeons from nine departments worked with firefighters to remove the bar from the man's body. The emergency operation took more than seven hours. He was wheeled out of the operating room and transferred to intensive care unit. "Luckily the bar barely touched his vital organs," said Zhang Yuan, attending doctor of the neurosurgery department, "The wound was so large, he might not have made it if he was in poor health." "One wrong move, and the operation would have failed," he said. "Everyone was exhausted by the end of the seven hours surgery," Sang said. The man is now stable, doctors said, but he will remain under close observation for two weeks as the risk of infection is high. "We will try our best to help him recover," said Sang. New York: Donald Trump chipped away at Hillary Clinton`s lead in the presidential race this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, as the candidates clashed over how to respond to the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The poll, conducted from Monday to Friday, showed Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, with a 10.7 point lead among likely voters over Trump, her likely Republican rival in the November presidential election. That`s down from a lead of 14.3 points for Clinton on Sunday, the day an American-born shooter who declared allegiance to militant group Islamic State killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Trump seized on the attack to sharpen his security proposals, saying he would block immigration to the United States from any country with a "proven history of terrorism" against America and its allies if elected. The pledge fine-tuned an earlier vow, made after the attacks last year in Paris and California, to ban the entry of all Muslims into the United States. He also called for measures to make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to obtain firearms, veering from the Republican Party`s general opposition to gun control. While Trump`s comments on both Muslims and guns dismayed some Republican elites, they may have cheered some voters. Some 45 percent of Americans said they supported Trump`s idea to suspend Muslim immigration, up from 41.9 percent at the start of the month, according to the poll. Meanwhile, about 70 percent of Americans, including a majority of Democrats and Republicans, said they wanted to see at least moderate regulations and restrictions on guns, up from 60 percent in similar polls in 2013 and 2014. Clinton focussed her response to the Orlando attack on the need to boost intelligence gathering and defeat Islamic State and what she called "radical jihadist terrorism," while warning against demonising Muslim-Americans. She also repeated her calls for tougher gun control measures, including a ban on assault weapons. As usual after a major attack, "terrorism" jumped to the top concern among all adults in the poll - rising above the economy, health care and other major issues. The poll`s five-day average showed that 45.5 percent of likely American voters supported Clinton, while 34.8 percent supported Trump, and another 19.7 percent did not support either candidate. On Sunday, Clinton`s support was at 46.6 percent, versus Trump`s 32.3 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English with adults living in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. The political horserace poll included 1,133 likely voters and has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll`s accuracy, of 3.4 percentage points. Caracas: Venezuelan police have arrested hundreds of people as the country`s food crisis erupted into deadly looting this week, heightening hardship and political uncertainty in the impoverished oil-producing nation. Dozens of bakeries, supermarkets and hardware shops were looted on Tuesday in the eastern city of Cumana, the latest flashpoint in a crisis that has killed at least four people so far. "It ended in total ruin because the businesses had not only their stock pillaged but also their furniture. It was total destruction," said Ruben Saud, president of the Cumana Chamber of Commerce. The chaos started when gangs of looters on motorcycles raided trucks transporting food, witnesses said. The governor of Sucre state, where Cumana is located, told state television channel VTV that "more than 400 people" were arrested, including three suspected gang leaders involved in the looting. Arrests have also been reported in other towns.The opposition blames President Nicolas Maduro for an economic crisis in which Venezuelans are suffering shortages of basic foods and goods. Maduro in turn blames the crisis on an "economic war" allegedly waged against his leftist government by the business elite. He accuses the opposition of fomenting unrest to spark a foreign intervention to unseat him. Maduro is resisting efforts from his center-right opponents to remove him from office through a referendum, and warned he will not tolerate violence. Late Thursday he announced his latest challenge to the opposition-controlled National Assembly. He called on the Supreme Court to launch proceedings against the legislature for abusing its powers. Maduro`s ally in Sucre, Acuna, on Thursday accused the opposition of "sowing paramilitary values, such as hate and crime, in some citizens." The army was sent in to keep order in Cumana after Tuesday`s outbreak of looting, which erupted during a protest against food shortages. Acuna said Cumana "has been returning to normal" since. Elsewhere, a 17-year-old boy died after being wounded at a similar protest Wednesday in the western town of Lagunilla, authorities said.Venezuela is suffering an economic crisis brought on by the plunge in global crude prices over the past two years. The country is heavily dependant on its oil exports. At least four people have died in disturbances in recent days, according to the state prosecution service. A soldier and a police officer were detained over two of the deaths, authorities said. Human rights groups put the death toll from the latest wave of unrest at five, including a 42-year-old man they say died during the disturbances in Cumana. There "most of the looting was organized by motorcycle gangs. Then the local people followed," said Estelin Kristen, leader of rights group Incide. The Venezuelan Social Conflict Observatory recorded more than 250 looting incidents across the country in the first five months of the year. The number peaked in May.Under emergency measures already in place, civilian groups have been assigned to hand out food rations door to door. The opposition however says that the system favors Maduro`s supporters. The president has warned that he may decree emergency measures if confronted with actions amounting to a "violent coup." Such measures would likely prevent the recall referendum taking place. Rafael Uzcategui of human rights group Provea warned that the president`s inflexibility could result in even worse tensions if he blocks the recall vote. "What is currently preventing a general explosion of social unrest is the possibility that people can make their voices heard by means such as a referendum," he told AFP. "Not allowing a referendum would unleash a very serious situation." Orlando: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a two-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water`s edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water`s edge at about 9:15 pm on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator`s grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner`s Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff`s Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler`s death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement, and wording of our signage and warnings." Sixth alligator caught The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for a sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing the sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission`s executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday`s opening of the company`s first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney`s tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney`s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World`s monorail. The hotel`s website - showing rooms starting at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can enjoy diversions such as "bask on the white-sand beach." Columbia: A group of US diplomats have used a State Department channel for dissident views to criticize President Barack Obama`s Syria policy, a spokesman confirmed Thursday. The official would not discuss the contents of the cable, but the New York Times and Wall Street Journal said the dissenters call for US strikes against the Syrian regime. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby told AFP. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently," he added. The department`s "Dissent Channel" allows diplomats who disagree with an official policy line to register their concerns with senior staff without fear of retribution. Kirby said US Secretary of State John Kerry "values and respects" the device, but would not be drawn on whether he believes this specific complaint has merit. According to the New York Times, which said it had seen a draft of the memo, the diplomats call for the US military to directly target Bashar al-Assad`s regime. US forces are engaged in Syria but are assisting local militias to fight the Islamic State jihadist group, not confronting Assad`s Russian and Iranian-backed forces. The memo, according to the Times, calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" -- in other words cruise missiles, drones and perhaps direct US air strikes. With only seven months left in office and a clear aversion to getting bogged down in Middle East conflicts, Obama has shown little appetite for such action. But the administration`s alternative policy -- to work with Russia to secure a ceasefire in Syria`s civil war and talks on a political transition -- has made little headway. The Journal report said the memo was signed by 51 mid- to high-level senior State Department officials. Detmold: A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was sentenced to jail in Germany on Friday by a judge who branded him a "willing and efficient henchman" in the Holocaust. In what is likely to be one of Germany`s last trials for World War Two-era atrocities, Reinhold Hanning was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Rejecting the defence argument that the former SS officer had never killed, beaten or abused anyone himself, Judge Anke Grudda said Hanning had chosen to serve in the notorious death camp and had helped it run. "It is not true that you had no choice; you could have asked to be transferred to the war front," Grudda told Hanning as she read out the verdict. She said it was impossible that he had been unaware of the murders since he spent two and a half years at the camp and had been promoted twice during that time. "That shows that you had proven your value as a willing and efficient henchman in the killings," Grudda said. The white-haired Hanning, dressed in a grey suit and tie and seated in a wheel chair, listed to the verdict impassively. His lawyer, Johannes Salmen, said they would appeal. "I assume he will not be fit for a custodial sentence. That means he will not have to go to jail," Salmen said. During the 20-day trial, which dragged on over four months in total, the court heard testimony from around a dozen Holocaust survivors, many extremely elderly, who detailed horrific experiences, recalling piles of bodies and the smell of burnt flesh in Auschwitz. One of them, Hedy Bohm, 88, whose parents perished in Auschwitz, said: "I am grateful and pleased to be here at this moment, when justice was finally done after 70 years." With tears in her eyes, she told reporters after the hearing: "My murdered mother and father can perhaps rest in peace. It`s a dream I never dreamed to come true." Killing Machine Jewish groups welcomed the news. "Today`s verdict is very clear: (Hanning) was complicit in mass murder. He was part of a merciless killing machine," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. "Without the active participation of people like him Auschwitz would not have been possible." Hanning was silent and emotionless for much of the trial but spoke at the end of April, apologising to the victims and saying that he regretted being part of a "criminal organisation" that had killed so many and caused so much suffering. "I`m ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it," he read from a prepared speech. Hanning was not charged with direct involvement in any killings. But prosecutors and dozens of joint plaintiffs from Germany, Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain and the United States said he had helped Auschwitz function. A precedent was set in a similar case in 2011, when camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted. Last year, Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz", was sentenced to four years for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. None of the convictions are definitive. Demjanjuk had appealed but died before the German Federal Court of Justice could rule on the case, and the court is still considering an appeal filed by Groening. Germany is holding what are likely to be its last trials linked to the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed more than six million people, mostly Jews, in a deliberate plan of extermination. Besides Hanning, one other man and one woman in their 90s are accused of being accessories to the mass murder at Auschwitz. A third man who was a member of the Nazi SS guard team at Auschwitz died at the age of 93 in April, days before his trial was due to start. Guatemala: Guatemala's former president and vice president were formally charged in a sprawling corruption scheme that allegedly emptied government coffers and laundered money to be spent on Miami shopping sprees, real estate and luxury vehicles. Seventy people, including former President Otto Perez Molina and his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, are accused in the arrangement involving illegal financing, embezzlement and money laundering, said Prosecutor Julio Barrios Prado yesterday. "That money was used to buy goods and services for you and Baldetti including real estate and luxury vehicles, as well as USD 4.3 million in gifts," Barrios said to Perez Molina during the hearing. Barrios said Perez Molina, who won the presidency in 2012, received millions of dollars in illegal financing through shell companies that made it appear legitimate. Money was shared with Baldetti and her private secretary Juan Carlos Monzon, who is now a cooperating witness for the government. Baldetti also allegedly received USD 38 million in kickbacks between 2009 and 2015 for at least 70 public works contracts. Prosecutors allege she bought clothes, jewels, paid employees and traveled on the ill-gotten funds. In one trip to Miami, she allegedly spent more than USD 27,000 on shoes and clothing, including the brands Jimmy Choo, Hermes and Alexander McQueen. Perez Molina and Baldetti are already jailed pending trial for another scheme in which companies paid bribes to avoid customs duties. That case led to their resignations. They have both denied the accusations against them. Following yesterday's hearing, Perez Molina said the new charges were "false" and that he would explain it all to the judge. In reference to the accusation that they received kickbacks from public contracts, he said "I was handling daily activities; I didn't have time to follow every process." Los Angeles: Firefighters has struggled to contain infernos across the western United States as experts warned that drought-striken California should prepare for an unusually intense wildfire season. Forest fires are a fact of life in much of California but have become far worse because of bone-dry conditions, with the Golden State gripped in its fifth year of drought. A fire in the Los Padres National Forest had expanded to two square miles (five square kilometers) yesterday, making it the "largest since 2009" in the area, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Information Center told AFP. Strong winds were hampering efforts to contain the blaze, and the operation was expected to be hindered further by near-record temperatures over the weekend in the southern half of California. Los Padres, which begins about two hours' drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles, is popular with hikers and campers, and evacuation orders were issued in at-risk parts of the forest. Sections of Highway 101, which links northern and southern California, were temporarily closed while oil giant ExxonMobil evacuated its refinery in Las Flores Canyon. Another fire further north burned about four square miles and caused road closures, also threatening buildings, although there were no reports of injuries. Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for public information organization Calfire, said America's most populous state could see its worst fire season on record this year. Meanwhile, a blaze in Warren Creek, in the northwestern state of Alaska, was raging across eight square miles of a Native American reserve, while four fires were burning up more than 40 square miles in Arizona and New Mexico. Last month fires near Los Angeles pushed 5,000 people out of their homes in the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb which is home to many celebrities including members of the Kardashian family. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) said the southwestern United States could expect "above normal levels of significant fire potential" through at least early July. "The highest potential will be over Southern California during the first part of the summer as the past rainy season only brought 50 to 70 percent of normal rainfall," it said on its website. "As the summer progresses, above normal significant fire potential area will expand northward to include much of the Sierras and the central coast region." Wildfires in the western United States made 2015 the country's most devastating year since at least 1960. More than 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares) - an area greater than the size of Denmark - had been burned by the end of summer, according to data from the NIFC. Newport: A man who police say fled prosecution 19 years ago for sexual assault crimes has been captured by authorities in Mexico and returned to Oregon, authorities have said . Eric Francisco DeCleve, 43, was returned to Newport this week through a joint effort by police, the FBI and Mexican officials, Newport Police said in a news release yesterday. DeCleve was arrested in 1997 on multiple counts of rape and other charges for allegedly giving illegal drugs to girls who were 11 and 13 and sexually assaulting them. Police say DeCleve, who was 24 at the time, confessed to the crimes and fled the country after posting bail. Authorities said they were given a tip in 2004 that he was in Mexico but they weren't able to find him until this year when they heard he was working in Cancun. The investigation determined DeCleve was working as a surfing instructor and living under the name Eric Victor Munhoven Navarro. The FBI worked with Mexican officials to capture and extradite DeCleve to the United States for trial. He was arrested on charges including two counts of first-degree rape, one count of second-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree sodomy and four counts of delivery of controlled substance to a minor. It wasn't immediately clear if DeCleve had an attorney. He has been jailed in Newport with bail set at USD 3 million. Washington: Dozens of State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates US military action to pressure Syria's government into accepting a cease-fire and engaging in peace talks, officials have said. The position is at odds with US policy. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by about 50 mostly mid-level department officials who deal with US policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. It expresses clear frustration with America's inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obama's reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorized strikes against the Islamic State and other US-designated terror groups in Syria. While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria's leader out of power. A series of partial cease-fires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and since has been classified, said officials who weren't authorized to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document yesterday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said the document called for "targeted air strikes." The Times quoted a section urging a "judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" to advance the US diplomatic effort led by Secretary of State John Kerry. "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," the Times quoted the document as saying. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges." State Department spokesman John Kirby said the department was reviewing the cable, which arrived via a "vehicle in place to allow State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues." Some sentiments expressed in the cable mirror arguments Kerry has made in internal administration debates. Kerry, a forceful advocate of Obama's initial plan to launch airstrikes after Assad's use of chemical weapons, reversed course after the president opted against them. Jakarta: Indonesian authorities have stopped 44 migrants believed to be from Sri Lanka from disembarking from their boat and said on Friday the vessel had to head back out to sea after being supplied with food and fuel and repaired. Indonesia has for years been a stepping stone for refugees and migrants from the Middle East and South Asia hoping to reach Australia. Australia has been urging it to act to stop the flow of people, often travelling in unseaworthy boats. The boat carrying the 44 people, including several women and children, was found stranded off the coast of the northern Indonesian province of Aceh last week. "We fixed their boat and gave them the food and fuel they asked for. We also did health checks and we see their condition is good," provincial governor Zaini Abdullah told media. "They can be on their way. We are waiting for high tide ... Don`t look at it as if we are pushing them out or ejecting them. We have fulfilled the humanitarian obligations." It was not clear if the people on board the boat wanted to land in Indonesia or sail on but activists said they should have been given access to the UN refugee agency. Even though Indonesia is seen as a transit country on the way to Australia, many migrants end up staying there for years. More than 1,000 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh landed in Aceh last year after spending days on overcrowded boats, adrift in the Andaman Sea. Baghdad: Iraqi forces retook the main government compound in the centre of the jihadist bastion of Fallujah from the Islamic State group on Friday, top commanders said. "The counter-terrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah," the operation`s overall commander, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, told AFP. Tokyo: An association of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has criticised US President Barack Obama's speech last month during a historic visit to Hiroshima, saying he failed to mention US responsibility for the bombing. Obama, as the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, paid moving tribute to victims in the western city, where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards. A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan three days later. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted he would not revisit decisions made by then president Harry Truman at the close of the brutal war. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations said in a resolution adopted yesterday at its general meeting that Obama described the bombing in his speech as if it had been "a natural phenomenon", according to Jiji Press. The phrase "death fell from the sky" that he used to evoke the horror was an expression to avoid the responsibility of the United States in having dropped the bomb, said the resolution. Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of the group and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, also said Obama's conversations with survivors during his trip were very short. "You cannot fully understand their experience by listening to them for five minutes," he said. "We hope he can make a visit again." Obama's brief conversations included an unexpected embrace with a survivor in one of the visit's most memorable moments. According to the Asahi newspaper, Tanaka criticised the president's visit to an accompanying museum at the memorial site as also being too short. London: British police investigating the murder of lawmaker Jo Cox said today they were focusing on alleged links to far-right groups and reports that her suspected attacker, who remains in custody, was mentally ill. West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Dee Collins said yesterday's brutal attack on the 41-year-old as she went to meet constituents in northern England appeared to be "an isolated, but targeted attack on Jo". A 52-year-old man, who has been named by British media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested shortly after Cox was shot and stabbed numerous times in the street. In a statement, Collins said detectives involved in the murder investigation, which is being aided by counter-terrorism specialists, were "keeping an open mind". "We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspect's link to mental health services and this is a clear line of enquiry which we are pursuing," she said. "We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right-wing extremism which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." She added: "Based on information available at this time, this appears to be an isolated, but targeted attack upon Jo -- there is also no indication at this stage that anyone else was involved in the attack. "However we will be investigating how the suspect came to be in possession of an unlawfully held firearm." Eyewitnesses said that Cox was shot two or three times before being stabbed as she lay on the pavement. Police confirmed she was attacked with a firearm and a knife after driving up to the library in the village of Birstall for a scheduled meeting with constituents. A 77-year-old man tried to help her and in turn sustained a "serious injury to his abdomen". He is currently in a stable condition in hospital, Collins said. Police have up to 96 hours to question the suspect before they must charge or release him, according to government guidelines for serious crimes such as murder. London's Metropolitan Police said earlier that Cox had made a complaint about "malicious communications" that resulted in a man being arrested and formally warned by police in March. Collins said this was one of two unrelated incidents involving "Jo receiving a malicious communication of a sexual nature at her parliamentary office in Westminster". The second case remains unsolved. Windhoek: Resource-rich Nambia today assured that it will look into "legal ways" through which its uranium can be supplied to India for peaceful nuclear use. Speaking at the State Banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said Namibia commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not posses any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations," Mukherjee said. "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs - created in the wake of the Second World War - is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world - so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been - and will continue to be - a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. Diffa: Tens of thousands of Nigeriens who fled a deadly Boko Haram attack are in "great distress", with many lacking food and healthcare, Niger's interior minister said during a visit to the displaced. Boko Haram attacked a military post in Bosso in Niger's Diffa region on June 3, killing 26 soldiers including two from neighbouring Nigeria, in one of the jihadist group's deadliest attacks in the country. The UN refugee agency said some 50,000 people have fled since the attack in Bosso, a town in Niger near the border with Nigeria and Chad. "The people are living in a state of great distress," said Mohamed Bazoum, who led a delegation of several ministers, representatives of UN agencies and NGOs. But "the situation has improved significantly since one week ago when we reached the peak of the crisis", he told AFP yesterday. Shortly after the delegation visited the Nguagam camp, which is some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Diffa, witnesses reported hearing numerous gunshots in the area. "The camp was attacked. I don't have a toll," said Mohamed Bazoum, a driver for the delegation. The area already hosted tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Boko Haram. In Diffa, a sea of tents and make-shift shelters housing mostly women, children and old people that are buffeted by winds and sand storms is spread out over a stretch of desert beside a main road. Alongside the road, rows of cans to collect water are placed every five or six kilometres. Water trucks race back and forth to try and supply the refugees. "The problem that has been best dealt with is that of water," said the minister. But he said the health situation is "deplorable", and while food supplies have been consistent the influx of refugees "has not stopped". "While the people who arrived a few days ago have been fed, those who are arriving now have still not been (fed) and will not be in the coming days," said Mohamed. Some of the refugees complained to AFP that they had gone without food, sometimes for more than four days. Arima Mena Bouka waited under the blazing sun in front of a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) tent where she hoped to take her 15-month-old daughter. She has four other children. "I feel weak. It's the hunger, the thirst, the fatigue," she said, her daughter showing signs of malnutrition. "You only have to look at me, we are suffering." "(On June 3) we heard shots, and we fled without taking anything. We ran, ran, ran... We encountered heat and exhaustion. We walked for three days, sleeping outdoors under trees of near houses." Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that it is the United States and its allies, not Russia, that are responsible for the delay in seeking a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis. The top Russian diplomat, who is attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, made the remarks to refute a recent statement of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that Washington was losing patience with Russia and Syria`s Bashar al-Assad, who are "creating obstacles" to a solution in the war-torn country, Xinhua news agency reported. "It is not correct to demonstrate impatience referring to us," said Lavrov. He noted that it was "due to the position of our US partners who are unable, or do not want to exert pressure on their allies in the region" that led to the failure of making all parties involved in the Syria settlement to sit at the negotiating table. Turkey was not ready to admit Syrian Kurds, while some members of the opposition, which cooperate with the United States and their allies, refuse to treat other opposition groups as equals, he added. Lavrov said that in February Kerry himself stressed the necessity for all groups territorially mixed with the Nusra Front and Islamic State terrorist groups to distance themselves from them and leave those zones. However, the US side is now saying that they are unable to remove the "good" opposition members from the positions held by the Nusra Front, and that they still need an additional two or three months, said the diplomat. London: US billionaire Bill Gates reportedly offered 100,000 hens to Bolivia to mitigate the country's acute poverty but the Andean nation has rejected it, saying We know how to produce poultry. Rejecting the donation offered by the tech magnate, the Bolivian government said that he needs to study the Andean nation's thriving poultry sector. "How can he think we are living 500 years ago, in the middle of the jungle not knowing how to produce?" China's state-run daily the Global Times quoted Bolivian Development Minister Cesar Cocarico as saying. "Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia," he told reporters. The Microsoft founder and philanthropist had reportedly said that he would donate 100,000 hens to countries with high poverty levels, including sub-Saharan Africa and Bolivia. Citing a local poultry association, the daily said that Bolivia produces 197 million chickens annually and has the capacity to export 36 million. A software tool unveiled Friday aims to help online firms quickly find and eliminate extremist content used to spread and incite violence and attacks. The Counter Extremism Project, a nongovernment group based in Washington, proposed its software be used in a system similar to one used to prevent the spread on online child pornography. The software was developed by Dartmouth University computer scientist Hany Farid, who also worked on the PhotoDNA system now widely used by Internet companies to stop the spread of content showing sexual exploitation or pornography involving children. But social media firms have yet to commit to using the tool for extremist content, and some are skeptical about it, according to an industry source. The announcement comes amid growing concerns about radical jihadists using social networks to diffuse violent and gruesome content and recruit people for attacks. "We think this is the technological solution to combat online extremism," said Mark Wallace, chief executive of the organization that includes former diplomats and public officials from the United States and other countries. The group proposed the creation of an independent "National Office for Reporting Extremism" that would operate in a similar fashion to the child pornography center -- identifying and flagging certain content to enable online firms to automatically remove it. This system, if adopted by Internet firms, "would go a long way to making sure than online extremist is no longer pervasive," Wallace said during a conference call with journalists. He said it could be useful in stopping the "viral" spread of videos of beheadings and killings such as those produced by the Islamic State group. Wallace said he expects "robust debate" on what is acceptable content but added that "I think we could agree that the beheading videos, the drowning videos, the torture videos... should be removed."Farid, who also spoke on the call, said he believes the new system would be an effective tool for companies that must now manually review each complaint on objectionable content. "We are simply developing a technology that allows companies to accurately and effectively enforce their terms of service," Farid said. "They do it anyway, but it`s slow." Farid said he developed the software with a grant from Microsoft, and that he and the Counter Extremism Project would work to provide it to online companies. The system is based on "robust hashing" or finding so-called digital signatures of content of text, images, audio and video that can be tracked to enable platforms to identify and stop content from being posted or reposted. "The technology has been developed, it has been tested and we are in the final stages of engineering to get it ready for deployment," Farid said. "We`re talking about a matter of months." Social networks have long stressed they will help legitimate investigations of crimes and attacks, but have resisted efforts to police or censor the vast amounts content flowing through them. But governments in the United States, France and elsewhere have been pressing online firms to do more to curb extremist content. And a lawsuit filed on behalf of a victim in the 2015 Paris attacks seeks to hold Facebook, Google and Twitter liable for the violence. "Without defendants Twitter, Facebook and Google (YouTube), the explosive growth of (the Islamic State group) over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible," said the lawsuit filed by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, killed in Paris. A tech industry representative, who asked not to be identified, said social media firms had concerns, including about privacy and the effectiveness of the tool. "Child pornography is very different from extremist content," according to the source, summarizing tech firms` views. "Participants were understandably concerned about which governments would be able to impose their definition of terrorist. Saudi Arabia? Russia? China?" the industry representative said. Discussions were held earlier this year in a conference call, the source said, but no agreement was reached with the tech firms before Friday`s announcement. "That tells us that they weren`t able to build a consensus among the companies, and that CEP is more interested in grandstanding for press coverage than actually getting something done," the source said. "They can`t accuse the tech companies of treason and then expect to get invited over for dinner the next day." Washington: High school student David Dworken spent 10 to 15 hours between classes on his laptop, hacking U.S. Defense Department websites. Instead of getting into trouble, the 18-year-old who graduated this week was one of two people praised by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at the Pentagon on Friday for finding vulnerabilities before U.S. adversaries did. "We know that state-sponsored actors and black-hat hackers want to challenge and exploit our networks ... what we didn`t fully appreciate before this pilot was how many white hat hackers there are who want to make a difference," Carter said at a ceremony where he also thanked Craig Arendt, a security consultant at Stratum Security. More than 1,400 participants took part in a pilot project launched this year, and found 138 valid reports of vulnerabilities, the Pentagon said. The project invited hackers to test the cyber security of some public Defense Department websites. The pilot project was limited to public websites and the hackers did not have access to highly sensitive areas. The U.S. government has pointed the finger at China and Russia, saying they have tried to access government systems in the past. The Pentagon said it paid a total of about $75,000 to the successful hackers, in amounts ranging from $100 to $15,000. Dworken, who graduated on Monday from Maret high school in Washington, D.C., said he reported six vulnerabilities, but received no reward because they had already been reported. However, Dworken said he had already been approached by recruiters about potential internships. He said some of the bugs he found would have allowed others to display whatever they wanted on the websites and steal account information. Dworken, who will study computer science at Northeastern University, said his first experience with finding vulnerabilities was in 10th grade when he found bugs on his school website. "Hack the Pentagon" is modelled after similar competitions known as "bug bounties" conducted by U.S. companies to discover network security gaps. The Pentagon said the pilot project cost $150,000, including the reward money, and several follow up initiatives were planned. This included creating a process so others could report vulnerabilities without fear of prosecution. "It`s not a small sum, but if we had gone through the normal process of hiring an outside firm to do a security audit and vulnerability assessment, which is what we usually do, it would have cost us more than $1 million," Carter said. Geneva: The UN on Friday said it fears a surge in polio cases among children who have escaped from the jihadist bastion of Fallujah, and has launched a "massive" vaccination campaign. Residents of Fallujah, which Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes are pushing to recapture from the Islamic State group`s control, are suffering from extremely high rates of skin disease, hyper tension and diarrhoea, said Ala Alwan of the World Health Organization. Speaking to journalists by phone after touring camps for displaced people around Fallujah, Alwan said mothers were nervous because their children had not been vaccinated since the IS takeover in 2014. "A specific concern for us is polio," said Alwan, the WHO`s chief for the eastern Mediterranean region. "We have started a massive vaccination programme," he said, urging donor nations to boost their support for Iraqi civilians fleeing the fighting. He said it was too early to estimate the number of children to be targeted in the vaccination drive. Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is one of IS` most emblematic strongholds. Iraqi forces said they retook the main government compound in the city earlier on Friday. Alwan estimated that 40,000 people had fled the city during the offensive and that another 30,000 to 40,000 "are still inside." Camps for the displaced are filling up and more capacity is urgently needed, he told reporters. "We have a huge demand," Alwan said. "It`s very, very sad situation." YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Assembly (NA) Speaker Galust Sahakyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Armenia Timur Urazaev on June 16. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the National Assembly, welcoming the newly appointed Ambassador, Galust Sahakyan congratulated him and wished him effective work, expressing hope that with his activity he will promote the further deepening of the political, economic and inter-parliamentary relations between the two countries. In the NA Speakers word, the contacts of the parliamentarians of the two countries, as well as the cooperation in different international parliamentary structures will boost the activation of the dialogue between the parliaments. The Speaker of the National Assembly highlighted the positive progress existing in the economic relations, which can be used for the benefit of the two countries. Galust Sahakyan assured that the Armenian National Assembly will cooperate with the Embassy of Kazakhstan and promote the implementation of the new programmes. Thanking for the reception, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazaev noted that he is glad to begin his diplomatic mission in Armenia. He also emphasized the further deepening of the inter-parliamentary relations and the development of cooperation in all spheres. The interlocutors also attached importance to the close contacts between the Friendship Groups of the parliaments of the two countries. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh informs overnight June 16-17 Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire by firing small arms, heavy machine guns and sniper rifles at some areas of Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line. The Ministrys announcement reads: Overnight June 16-17 relative calm was maintained in the line of contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime by firing small arms, heavy machine guns and sniper rifles at some areas of the contact line. The Defense Army forces are in control of the situation and continue fulfilling the reliable protection of the military positions. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The extraordinary session of the Parliament has kicked off. The session is convened by the Government of Armenia. Previously debated issues will be put up to voting today. During the June 16 session, Armenian lawmakers have discussed the loan agreement of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is aimed at upgrading Gyumris urban infrastructure. A 14.6 million USD loan will be provided to Armenia. Amendments of the bankruptcy law and protection of private data was also discussed. The Parliament also discussed the 30 million USD loan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development aimed at improving Power-Energy producing companies of Armenia. The free trade agreement between Vietnam and EEU member states was discussed, which implies mutual decrease of customs tariffs. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Dozens of State Department officials this week protested against U.S. policy in Syria, signing an internal document that calls for targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State, reports The Wall Street Journal. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 State Department officers involved with advising on Syria policy in various capacities, according to an official familiar with the document. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a copy of the cable, which repeatedly calls for targeted military strikes against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the ceasefire brokered earlier this year. The views expressed by the U.S. officials in the cable amount to a scalding internal critique of a longstanding U.S. policy against taking sides in the Syrian war, a policy that has survived even though the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has been repeatedly accused of violating ceasefire agreements and Russian-backed forces have attacked U.S.-trained rebels. The State Department acknowledged the existence of the cable, which is a formal, confidential diplomatic communication, but wouldnt comment on its contents until top officials had a chance to review it. Obama administration officials have expressed concern that attacking the Assad regime could lead to a direct conflict with Russia and Iran. John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, said the Dissent Channel is an official forum that allows employees to express opposing views. State Department regulations expressly prohibit retaliation against any employee who uses the channel to voice disagreement. The complaint filed by the State Department officials wasnt unusual, current and former U.S. officials said, but the number of diplomats actively opposing a major White House position was. Its embarrassing for the administration to have so many rank-and-file members break on Syria, said a former State Department official who worked on Middle East policy. These officials said dissent on Syria policy has been almost a constant since civil war broke out there in 2011. But much of the debate was contained to the top levels of the Obama administration. The recent letter marked a move by the heart of the bureaucracy, which is largely apolitical, to break from the White House. Failure to stem Assads flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as Daesh, even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield, the cable reads, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Hundreds of people packed into a church in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on Thursday evening, while a vigil was also held outside Parliament, reports BBC. Mrs. Cox's husband said the mother-of-two had fought for "a better world". Her attacker is reported to have shouted "put Britain first" at least twice. A 52-year-old man, named locally as Tommy Mair, has been arrested. The attack happened not far from Birstall Library, where Mrs. Cox, who was 41, had been holding a constituency surgery on Thursday. She had been the MP for Batley and Spen since last year. At St Peter's Church in her home town in the evening, every pew was full as people, including fellow Labour MPs Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis, bowed their heads and consoled each other. The Bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Gibbs, told the service: "She grew up in this community, she lived for this community, she served this community and, in the end, she gave her life for this community." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among several MPs to attend an impromptu vigil in Parliament Square in central London. Mr Corbyn had earlier paid tribute to Mrs Cox, saying the country would be "in shock" and describing the MP as a "much-loved colleague". Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP." US presidential contender Hillary Clinton has also spoken of a "cruel and terrible assassination". Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, who together with Mrs Cox set up the All Party Parliamentary Working Group on Syria, described her as a "force of nature". Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said she had been a "five foot bundle of Yorkshire grit and determination absolutely committed to helping other people" Mrs Cox is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a string of politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups. West Yorkshire Police have so far refused to discuss the possible motive behind the killing despite reports that Mr Mair had sympathy for far-right groups. Political party Britain First, which boasts of its hatred of white left-wing politicians, issued a video statement condemning the attack and said that it had no connection with the incident. Cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, who witnessed the attack, told BBC News that he had heard Mrs Cox's attacker say "'Britain first' or 'Put Britain first,' I can't say which exactly it was, but definitely 'Britain first' was what he said when he was shouting - he shouted it at least twice". It has also emerged that a man was cautioned earlier this year after Mrs Cox told police she had received "malicious communications". The Metropolitan Police said it was not the same person who had been arrested in Birstall. Mrs Cox was married to campaigner Brendan Cox, and she had two young children, with the family dividing its time between its constituency home and a river boat on the Thames. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. ISIS can draw on a "large cadre of Western fighters" that could attack in the U.S. and the terror threat posed by the group remains as dangerous as ever despite efforts to crush it militarily, director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan said on June 16, reports CNN. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," CIA Director John Brennan testified to Congress using another acronym for the group. "The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly," Brennan added. "In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda." Brennan warned that the group already is preparing more attacks, including by infiltrating refugees into western nations. "We judge that ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks," he said. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel." The CIA director, appearing just days after the massacre in Orlando that left 49 people dead, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that lone wolf attackers who are inspired by but not under the direct control of terror groups represent "an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community." He confirmed that the Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, had "no direct links" to ISIS but was inspired by the organization. "We have not been able to uncover any direct link between that individual, Mateen, and a foreign terrorist organization. But that inspiration can lead someone to embark on this path of destruction," Brennan said. After telling the committee that Twitter, Telegram and Tumbler were ISIS' preferred social media propaganda platforms, Brennan stressed the need for technology and communication companies to better collaborate with law enforcement, saying that encryption was allowing terrorist groups and their sympathizers to communicate clandestinely. "They're taking advantage of the liberties that we've fought so hard to defend," he said. The CIA director noted that ISIS has lost "large stretches" of territory in Iraq and Syria, has experienced a reduction of finances, and has struggled to replenish its ranks as fewer foreign fighters have been traveling to those countries. But, he added, ISIS still has about 18,000-22,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. "We need to take away their safe haven," he said noting that these areas provide ISIS with the ability to train its operatives and generate revenue. Beyond the territory ISIS holds in Iraq and Syria, Brennan says the group's growing presence in Libya presents another significant challenge. "The branch in Libya is probably the most developed and the most dangerous," Brennan said, echoing concerns by other security officials that Libya's close proximity to Europe is a problem. "We assess that it is trying to increase its influence in Africa and to plot attacks in the region and in Europe." Brennan said the "number of ISIS fighters far exceed what al Qaeda had at its height," telling the committee that ISIS has between 5,000-8,000 fighters in Libya, in addition to 7,000 in Nigeria, and hundreds more in Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday vowed to work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump, but he didn't end his presidential bid or endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee, CNN reports. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly," Sanders said in a much-anticipated live-stream address. "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time." Sanders did not offer details on how he plans to fulfill that role. Much of the video amounted to a version of Sanders' standard stump speech, and he encouraged his legions of followers to run for local office. He once again pledged to take his bid all the way to the convention. And he described his differences with Clinton as "strong" but limited. "It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very important issues. It is also true that our views are quite close on others," Sanders said. "I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda." The Vermont senator vowed to take his campaign's "energy" into the Democratic National Convention next month. But Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Bloomberg News earlier Thursday that the campaign was no longer actively lobbying superdelegates. Sanders' presidential campaign is winding down -- but his fight with the Democratic National Committee is just getting started. The Vermont senator has called for the ousting of leadership from the convention committee level up to the top -- publicly insisting that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz be replaced. And his campaign wants two well-known Democrats removed from key posts at the national convention in Philadelphia next month. "I do believe that we have to replace the current Democratic National Committee leadership," Sanders told reporters in Washington Tuesday as the last Democratic primary voters went to the polls. "We need a person at the leadership of the DNC who is vigorously supporting and out working to bring people into the political process." Sanders has publicly clashed with Wasserman Schultz throughout the campaign, including a spat over the number of debates scheduled that led to one of his congressional backers, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, quitting her post at the DNC. He also sent a letter last month to the committee calling for the removal of two Democrats from their convention leadership positions: Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, who co-chairs the Platform Committee, and former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, co-chairman of the Rules Committee. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Karen Mirzoyan on June 16 paid a working visit to Denmark, press service of the NKR MFA informed Armenpress. He held meetings with a number of political figures of Denmark during which they discussed the existing situation in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict settlement, in particular, within the context of the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in early April. The sides exchanged views on a number of issues related to the regional security. The Minister also presented the state-building process in Nagorno Karabakh and the steps by the NKR authorities and people aimed at establishing free and democratic society in their country. The same day the NKR Foreign Minister took part in the ceremony dedicated to the NKRs 25th anniversary organized by the Armenian Embassy in Denmark. Armenian Ambassador to Denmark Hrachya Aghajanyan delivered an opening speech during which he highly appreciated the fact that for the first time a ceremony is being held in Denmark devoted to the NKR. The NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan presented the NKRs history stating that without the assistance of Armenia and the Armenians in abroad the NKRs achievements would be impossible. He said today not only our compatriots, but also many people from all over the world, including people of Denmark are together with the Nagorno Karabakh people and share the same values and ideas based on the implementation of democratic freedoms and peoples right to self-determination. Karen Mirzoyan said sooner or later Nagorno Karabakh will become a full member of the civilized world. He called for taking steps towards the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasian region which will equally ensure the security and peaceful existence of all people of the region. Diplomats, political and public figures, experts, journalists and members of the Armenian community of Denmark were taking part in the reception. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. 70% of Russians are aware of the recent military operations in Nagorno Karabakh (11% follow the development, 59 % heard about something, but are unaware of details), Levada Center told Interfax. 66 % of the surveyed people say Russia should not assist any of the sides of the conflict. 11% expressed opinion in favor of Armenia, and 3% for Azerbaijan. Every 5th person (20%) found difficult to answer. Asked for opinion on who prompted the escalation, 23% said USA and NATO countries, 19% Azerbaijan, 15 % Turkey, 4 % Armenia. 9% of the surveyed didnt blame anyone and said the incident was a misunderstanding. 46% are in favor of deploying Russian peacekeepers in NKR, 36% are against. 44% of Russians expressed opinion in defense of NKRs independence. 11% said NKR should be part of Armenia, and 6% said NKR should be part of Azerbaijan. 40% of the surveyed were unable to answer. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India H.E. Yogeshwar Sangwan presented his credentials to President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on June 17. President Sargsyan congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment and expressed hope that he will put maximum efforts during his tenure for strengthening of the friendship of the two states and peoples, and the development of cooperation. President Sargsyan noted that next year is an anniversary for the Armenian-Indian modern relations: the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations. The President said with satisfaction that over the years the Armenian-Indian relations have developed in conditions of mutual trust and mutual understanding, which is also displayed in the almost similar approaches on regional and international issues. Both the President and the Ambassador agreed that there is great potential in all areas political, economic, humanitarian and others. President Sargsyan expressed hope that by the direct participation of the newly appointed Ambassador and by active efforts Armenia and India will reveal this potential and fully implement it in coming years. H.E. Yogeshwar Sangwan assured that during his diplomatic mission he will do everything possible for the contributing to the development and deepening of Armenian-Indian relations. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament discussed the agreement on establishing Armenian-Russian humanitarian response center. The main speaker, Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Haykaram Mkhitaryan said the agreement on the living conditions, privileges and immunities of the humanitarian response center between the Governments of Armenia and Russia was signed on March 18, 2016 in Yerevan. This agreement has passed the necessary inter-state agreement process. The ratification of the agreement directly affects the functions and issues of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Based on the agreement, the Armenian-Russian humanitarian response center will be established in Armenia to support the implementation of emergent humanitarian response issues in the territories of Armenia, Russia and third countries. The humanitarian center aims to develop and strengthen the measures and mechanisms for jointly preventing and controlling the consequences of the emergency situations, Armenpress reports, Mkhitaryan said. He said the humanitarian response center will raise the peoples protection level, will provide opportunity to jointly response to the emergency situations, as well as it will provide monitoring and will prevent the emergency situations. The creation of the center is an important step aimed for the quick response of the forces, capabilities of the two states, as well as the CSTO forces, and for increasing the security provision of people living in territories under the CSTO responsibility, he stated. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) Brussels-based NGO has expressed concern over human right violations in Azerbaijan conducted on state level. This time official Baku impedes the professional activities of European journalists banning their publications on Artsakh theme, EuFoA informed Armenpress. Azerbaijan again violates human right and fundamental freedoms on a state level by impeding the right to free movement and freedom of speech of European journalists. Moreover, this type of behavior has not only become a usual thing for Azerbaijan but it is a subject for boasting. Particularly, the announcement made by the spokesperson of Azerbaijani MFA proves this, according to which reporter for Moldavian TV7 TV channel Lyuba Maksim was dismissed for having prepared reportage on Nagorno Karabakh this year in May, reads the statement of EuFoA. The European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) Brussels-based NGO has expressed concern over the fact calling on international human rights organizations to take respective actions. The NGO also is concerned over the fact that the reporter was dismissed even considering that the TV channel knew in advance where and why the reporter was sent, collaborating with Azerbaijani criminal regime and putting under doubt media freedom of Moldavia. EuFoA notes that by this action Azerbaijan once again attempts to keep Artsakh in informational isolation. EuFoA plans to introduce this incident to international high platforms and human right organizations to restore the violated rights of the journalist and imposing sanctions on the criminal regime of Azerbaijan. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The implementation of the Vienna agreements is very important for the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said at the National Assembly. Its impossible to speak about any progress or productive negotiations without the mentioned condition. From this point of view this meeting will be an examination for Azerbaijan to show whether his consent in Vienna was caused by the pressure of the representatives of the three states and will now try to wreck it or no, Armenpress reports Kocharyan said. Kocharyan mentioned that there can be seen some progress in the implementation of the Vienna agreements, meaning that the OSCE has already submitted respective documents. The Deputy Minister clarified that one of the documents was about expanding the monitoring mission of the OSCE team and the other is about installing the mechanisms investigating ceasefire violations. As for my personal opinion, following the official announcements, Azerbaijan is not inclined to fully establishing those mechanisms and this meeting will show if Aliyev will try to bring forward numerous preconditions for that to wreck the Vienna agreements, Kocharyan said. Referring to the remark that Russia has assumed a leading role in Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, the Deputy Foreign Minister said, Its hard to assess. During this entire process one of the Co-chairs has periodically assumed the leading role as you mentioned, meaning that brought forward more initiatives. Once it was France, the USA, Russia was very active during Medvedevs presidency. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received ADB's Board of Directors on June 17. The President of the Republic praised the visit of the delegation of the Bank to Armenia stated that it once again documents the strong partnering ties between ADB and Armenia. Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciated ADBs activities aimed at developing Armenias infrastructures and ensuring sustainable economic development. Stating that thanks to efficient bilateral cooperation for over a decade, significant investments have been made by the bank in Armenia, the President hoped that the cooperation will be continuous. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of Republic of Armenia Presidents Office, the interlocutors referred to the implementation of a number of major projects in Armenia financed by the ADB, and issues of future cooperation considering Armenias economic priorities. The President assured that the reforms and improvement of business environment of Armenia will be continuous. ADB's Board of Directors highly assessed the prudent macroeconomic policy conducted by Armenia under the conditions of external negative impacts, and the indexes recorded as a result of it. They mentioned that the bank will continue its support for reforms in Armenia and economic development. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian exports significantly remain behind imports, 2.5-3 times and sometimes even 4 times. This highlights the fact that trade policy of Armenia needs a serious revision, Minister of Economy of Armenia Artsvik Minasyan said during a conference Armenian Economists Union 2016. This means that we must implement a concrete policy to substitute imports of a number of goods, fostering local production and services. We must utilize the opportunities of both WTO and the Eurasian Economic Union, and in the future also the opportunities rising from the comprehensive document to be signed with the EU, Armenpress reports Minasyan saying. In the sphere of foreign trade the Minister introduced a number of important tools, first of all the GSP system provided to Armenia by the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland. Armenia is able to export nearly 6.400 types of goods with zero custom duties or significantly reduced ones. The EU moved even forward, providing GSP+ system. Besides, Armenia has free trade agreements with a number of states. The Minister focused on the fact that Armenia has the opportunity to regulate prices of a number of goods imported from Turkey. It should not be done to make us better artificially, but rather to be able to introduce our advantages. Turkey announced that it does not recognize Armenia as WTO member state and will have no interactions with Armenia. Here we are free to conduct our effective policies, Minasyan said, clarifying that Armenia can start with subsidizing the costs of a number of productions. In the words of Artsvik Minasyan, the other important direction can be the implementation of import substitution policy, such as for sugar. He stated that local sugar production can me much more effective than processing the exported raw sugar. Big luxury hotel brands face a big new challenge in attracting high-end travelers: boredom. That's according to hospitality industry veteran Filip Boyen. "Luxury is evolving all the time, I think what is important to us is to understand what the customer feels luxury is," says Boyen, chief executive officer of industry player Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). Now, those travelers have become "a little bit bored with the predictability of big brands and standards, so what they're looking for now is a more personalized, unique, boutique style experience," he tells CNBC's Managing Asia . Luxury has become less about frills -- many of which have become standardized across the industry -- and more about an experience of simplicity where "people feel incredibly connected with the destination and the local way of life," says Boyen, who began his 30-year hospitality career as a commis chef. As an example of a less cookie-cutter experience, the Belgian CEO recalls that in 1997, when he was a general manager for Orient Express' Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, the hotel introduced a unique luxury picnic experience for two. The outing included a speed boat to take the couple out to sea to snorkel with sharks and stingrays, followed by the boat driver preparing a barbecue lunch on a private island. To cement the luxurious experience, only fine tableware were used, Boyen says. To be sure, Boyen has a vested interest in playing up how smaller luxury hotels can offer a more varied experience for high-end travelers. His company, SLH, is a hospitality brand affiliation company offering smaller luxury hotels a marketing platform and access to a members-only loyalty club and a database of over 25,000 travel agents. That helps the smaller luxury hotel players compete internationally with bigger brands that can offer loyalty programs globally. But U.K.-based SLH's 520 member hotels across 80 countries certainly appear to aim at offering a less standardized luxury experience, with associates including Tokyo-based historical train station hotels and an 11th century military fortress in Italy's Tuscan hills. Story continues But Boyen emphasizes that acquiring SLH's brand affiliation isn't easy or cheap. The average annual membership fee for hotels is $27,800 (19,500), and Boyen says SLH only accepts 4 to 5 percent of the around a thousand applications they receive yearly. Once a hotel receives affiliation, "secret agents" visit it every year to conduct a stringent inspection test of 700 quality standards. Indeed, Boyen's own experiences as a seasoned traveler have made him very sensitive to quality issues in "refined hospitality." He says one of his major pet peeves is bad service. It's not the champagne, view from the room, or the fruit displays that luxury travelers want, but the personal service from the hotel's general manager, he says. Boyen emphasizes the need for general managers to be great hosts, leading by example to inspire their staff to build relationships with guests. But he adds another pet peeve with hotels is making it too complicated to connect to the internet. "I've been the hotels where connecting to the Internet is harder than launching a nuclear weapon," he says jokingly. More From CNBC By Elke Ahlswede DETMOLD, Germany (Reuters) - A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was sentenced to jail in Germany on Friday by a judge who branded him a "willing and efficient henchman" in the Holocaust. In what is likely to be one of Germany's last trials for World War Two-era atrocities, Reinhold Hanning was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Rejecting the defense argument that the former SS officer had never killed, beaten or abused anyone himself, Judge Anke Grudda said Hanning had chosen to serve in the notorious death camp and had helped it run. "It is not true that you had no choice; you could have asked to be transferred to the war front," Grudda told Hanning as she read out the verdict. She said it was impossible that he had been unaware of the murders since he spent two and a half years at the camp and had been promoted twice during that time. "That shows that you had proven your value as a willing and efficient henchman in the killings," Grudda said. The white-haired Hanning, dressed in a gray suit and tie and seated in a wheel chair, listed to the verdict impassively. His lawyer, Johannes Salmen, said they would appeal. During the 20-day trial that dragged on over four months, the court heard testimony from around a dozen Holocaust survivors, many extremely elderly, who detailed horrific experiences, recalling piles of bodies and the smell of burnt flesh in Auschwitz. One of them, Hedy Bohm, 88, whose parents perished in Auschwitz, said: "I am grateful and pleased to be here at this moment, when justice was finally done after 70 years." With tears in her eyes, she told reporters after the hearing: "My murdered mother and father can perhaps rest in peace. It's a dream I never dreamed to come true." KILLING MACHINE Jewish groups welcomed the news. "Today's verdict is very clear: (Hanning) was complicit in mass murder. He was part of a merciless killing machine," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. "Without the active participation of people like him Auschwitz would not have been possible." Hanning was silent and emotionless for much of the trial but spoke at the end of April, apologizing to the victims and saying that he regretted being part of a "criminal organization" that had killed so many and caused so much suffering. "I'm ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it," he read from a prepared speech. Hanning was not charged with direct involvement in any killings. But prosecutors and dozens of joint plaintiffs from Germany, Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain and the United States said he had helped Auschwitz function. A precedent was set in a similar case in 2011, when camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted. Last year, Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz", was sentenced to four years for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. None of the convictions are definitive. Demjanjuk had appealed but died before the German Federal Court of Justice could rule on the case, and the court is still considering an appeal filed by Groening. Germany is holding what are likely to be its last trials linked to the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed more than six million people, mostly Jews, in a deliberate plan of extermination. Besides Hanning, one other man and one woman in their 90s are accused of being accessories to the mass murder at Auschwitz. A third man who was a member of the Nazi SS guard team at Auschwitz died at the age of 93 in April, days before his trial was due to start. (Reporting by Elke Ahlswede and Petra Wischgoll in Detmold, and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Caroline Copley and Robin Pomeroy) FRIDAY, June 17, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The Zika virus is spreading fast through Puerto Rico, placing hundreds of pregnant women at risk for delivering babies with the devastating birth defect known as microcephaly, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Testing of blood donations in Puerto Rico -- "our most accurate real-time leading indicator of Zika activity" -- shows that more and more people on the U.S. island territory have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said during a media briefing. "Based on the best information available, Zika infections appear to be increasing rapidly in Puerto Rico," Frieden said. "The real importance of this information is that in coming months it's possible that thousands of pregnant women in Puerto Rico could become infected with Zika," he stressed. "This could lead to dozens or hundreds of infants being born with microcephaly in the coming year." In microcephaly, a newborn's head is smaller than normal, with the potential for long-term neurological damage. Blood centers in Puerto Rico began testing donations for Zika on April 3, using an experimental test made by New Jersey-based Roche Molecular Systems Inc., according to the CDC. For weeks now, the percentage of blood donations testing positive for Zika has been increasing in Puerto Rico, reaching as high as 1.1 percent for the latest week of reporting, June 5-11, the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates. Only one in every five people infected with Zika develops any symptoms, making the virus difficult to track. Prior outbreaks of other tropical viruses have shown that blood donations can provide an accurate reflection of infections in the general population, Frieden explained. Basically, every Zika infection detected in a relatively small proportion of blood donors can reflect hidden infections in a substantial percentage of the general public throughout the course of an epidemic season, the CDC report said. "The concern here is when we translate that into an exposure over multiple months, it is many times that 1 percent rate," Frieden said. "That's why we're so concerned about protecting pregnant women." Zika has been tied to thousands of cases of microcephaly, mainly in Brazil. It is typically transmitted via the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. "Controlling this mosquito is very difficult," Frieden said. "It takes an entire community working together to protect a pregnant woman." Because the virus remains largely undetected, it will be months before affected babies begin to be born, Frieden said. Some will have microcephaly or other brain-related birth defects. But many will appear healthy and normal, and there's no way to know how they might have been affected, he added. "We simply don't know, and may not know for years, if there will be long-term consequences on brain development," Frieden said. Zika can be transmitted via blood donation, but to date there have been no reported cases of this happening either in the United States or any of its territories, said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, director of the CDC's Office of Blood, Organ and Other Tissue Safety. "Through the interventions we have in place, the blood supply is being protected in Puerto Rico," Kuehnert said. A total of 68 blood donations in Puerto Rico have come back positive for Zika out of 12,777 tested, the CDC said. All Zika-tainted donations are removed from the blood supply. Plans are in place to implement the Roche test at blood banks in the continental United States if Zika virus starts to spread locally, Kuehnert said. No places in the continental United States currently have local transmission of Zika, the CDC said. But one blood bank, the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, has already started screening donations for Zika under the FDA's investigational approval for the Roche test. The CDC has said it expects to see Zika infections in Gulf Coast states like Florida, Louisiana and Texas as mosquito season heats up. Mosquito bites remain the typical way Zika is spread. But, transmission of the virus through sex is more common than previously thought, World Health Organizations officials have said. Women of child-bearing age who live in an active Zika region should protect themselves from mosquitoes by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, using mosquito repellent when outside, and staying indoors as much as possible, according to the CDC. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to allocate $1.9 billion to combat the Zika threat, but lawmakers have yet to agree on a spending package. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on the Zika virus. This Q&A will tell you what you need to know about Zika. To see the CDC list of sites where Zika virus is active and may pose a threat to pregnant women, click here. By Lin Noueihed and Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO (Reuters) - Search teams retrieved the cockpit voice recorder from EgyptAir flight MS804 on Thursday in a breakthrough for investigators seeking to explain what caused the plane to plunge into the sea, killing all 66 people on board. The Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean early on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo. Since then, search teams have worked against the clock to locate the wreckage and recover the two black box recorders crucial to explaining what went wrong, before they stop emitting signals in about a week. Egypt's investigation committee said in a statement that a specialist vessel owned by Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search was forced to salvage the device in stages because it was extensively damaged, but was able to retrieve the memory unit. "The vessel's equipment was able to salvage the part that contains the memory unit, which is considered the most important part of the recording device," the statement said. Egypt's public prosecutor ordered that the recovered device be handed over to Egyptian air accident investigators for analysis. Two specialist vessels, John Lethbridge and Laplace, are continuing to search for the second black box, which contains the flight data recorder. They have yet to detect signals from that device but have identified the location of the main parts of the wreckage. The black boxes are usually located in the tail, so finding the wreckage and one of the devices narrows the search. The investigation committee said on Monday the black boxes were expected to stop emitting signals around June 24. That would make the second device harder to find because the plane crashed in some of the deepest waters of the Mediterranean, about 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) below the surface. With only limited amounts of wreckage and human remains found before Thursday's breakthrough, Egypt's investigators have had little to go on. They said on Monday that radar imagery obtained from the Egyptian military had confirmed previous reports based on Greek and British radar data indicating that the plane had swerved sharply to the left, then spun 360 degrees to the right before disappearing from radar. That conclusion is important, one aviation source has said, because it goes some way to excluding the possibility that the plane was brought down by a mid-air explosion. No group has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, but investigation sources have said that it was too early to rule out any explanations, including terrorism. MOWING THE LAWN Having found the wreckage, salvage teams will begin a process known as "mowing the lawn," covering the area in parallel tracks using a deep-sea robot fitted with a camera and grabbing arm, marine salvage experts said. If intact, the cockpit recorder should reveal pilot conversations and any cockpit alarms, as well as other clues such as engine noise. But crash experts say it may provide only limited insight into what caused the crash, especially if the crew was confused or unable to diagnose any faults. For that, investigators probably need access to the second black box containing data from the aircraft systems. Finding that will be the main priority, experts said. Besides the black boxes, key components to be sought include the aircraft's flight computers which sent out error messages alongside others indicating smoke alarms before the plane crashed. The crash is the third blow since October to Egypt's travel industry, which is still reeling from the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. A Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula last October, killing all 224 people on board in an attack claimed by Islamic State. In March, an EgyptAir plane was hijacked by a man wearing a fake suicide belt. No one was hurt. The Egyptian-led investigation team, already assisted by investigators from France's BEA air accident investigation agency, will now be joined by two representatives of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "The NTSB investigators and their technical advisors will be providing assistance with download of the recorders," an NTSB spokesman said on Thursday in an emailed statement. Egypt said on Monday it had accepted a request by the NTSB to have representatives join the investigation team. The plane's engines were built by a consortium led by the U.S. firm Pratt & Whitney . The country where the engines were built is often invited to take part in an air crash investigation, although it is not compulsory. (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris, Jeffrey Dastin and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Dominic Evans and Tom Brown) 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 I have college loans, a mortgage, and an almost paid off Kohls card. In the past, I had a car loan (paid off now, for several years.) I do not want anymore credit cards. I do not want anymore credit cards!!!! However, I applied for a loan, to get some home projects done and I was denied (for now) because, "I don't have the right mix of credit!" - Nothing is late. Nothing was late in the past. But, apparently, I am not in debt, so I can't get this loan. It was suggested (strongly) that I get a Visa or MasterCard and come back in 6 months. Especially if I do not want a Home Equity Loan (which I do not). Michelle S. always tells us about "Life Happens", but the lender wants me to borrow against the house! (SMH) Where do they think I am going with hardwood floors? Should I get the credit card, run up some debts and pay them off, just so they can see me do it? (Sounds ridiculously stupid even as I type the question.); or, should I finance the flooring through the flooring company (also not my first choice, as the interest is 25%+ through their "in house" financing). I am not willing to risk our home to remove wall to wall carpeting. As, we all know, "Life Happens". It should not lead us to lose our home. Best course of action here? The credit union said that the interest rate would be a lot less than 25%+ with my credit score. (The floors are disgusting and I just want them gone!!!!! They were there when we bought our home.) Why haven't we done this? NASA needs to embrace Mars Direct or some similar plan that utilizes Martian resources, and doesn't necessitate a prohibitively large large vehicle full of fuel for a return trip, that could be easily produced on Mars, with technology that's been thoroughly spelled out and demonstrated as absolutely doable. NASA continues to site the ISS and it's zero-g studies as having some kind of relevance to a Mars mission, which it DOESN'T. With the simple use of easily achievable artificial gravity, via a little thing called centrifugal force. This can negate or eliminate the prospect of preztel bones for our brave astronauts, and can be created via any number of methods. We need to encourage NASA to be mission driven. ISS is boring. We don't care, and it's gonna put them at a risk of being shutdown in the longterm. We need to salvage put all those genius minds to work for a cause and not just a paycheck. What are your thoughts on that? Thank you. OSHA Reminds Texas Employers to Protect Workers from the Heat Temperatures in Texas are rising this week, and the agency reminds employers and workers that it has a free Heat Safety Tool app they can use. OSHA issued a statement June 15 reminding employers in Texas to protect workers from heat illness, due to the rising temperatures in the state this week. The agency included a number of tips on how to stay safe in the heat and reiterating that water, rest, and shade are the three magic words that can mean the difference between life and death when temperatures soar. To prevent heat-related illness and fatalities, it advises: Drink water every 15 minutes, even if you are not thirsty. Rest in the shade to cool down. Wear a hat and light-colored clothing. Learn the signs of heat illness and what to do in an emergency. Keep an eye on fellow workers. "Easy does it" on your first days of work in the heat. You need to get used to it. For more information about OSHA's campaign to prevent outdoor workers' heat illnesses, visit www.osha.gov/heat. And to download OSHA's Heat Safety Tool app, which can calculate heat index and display risk information and is available in English and Spanish, visit this page. California has a heat illness prevention regulation, and Cal/OSHA warned employers in the state about high temperatures on June 1. The regulation requires employers to develop a heat illness prevention plan. For information and resources about developing such a plan, visit this page. OSHA to Hold Training Event in August The event will help improve federal worker safety and health. OSHA will hold a three-day training event in Illinois on Aug. 2-4, according to an agency news release. The event will provide workers with information on how to provide safe workplaces for federal employees. More specifically, the training will cover fall protection, fire protection, construction safety, industrial hygiene, and forklift handling. The OSHA Training Institute will collaborate with the Office of Federal Agency Programs in Arlington Heights, Ill. Registration is open until July 20, and you can register by visiting www.osha.gov/dep/fap/fedweek.html. However, they may need to tidy up their books first Indonesia Stock Exchange Director Tito Sulistio stated that e-commerce platform Bukalapak and online forum Kaskus have met with the institution to discuss the possibility of IPO, according to a report by Kontan. The process may only take four to five months as long as they remain committed, he said. However, he also said that there are several challenges in terms of legality and administrative matters, though he did not disclose the details. Reports about Kaskus plan for IPO first surfaced earlier this June when CTO Andrew Darwis spoke to Metro TV about the companys IPO ambitions, which will be realised in the next years. Also Read: How rumours of Didis IPO got bigger, then burst In February, reports began to surface that Indonesia Stock Exchange and Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) are launching a special board and an incubator programme to support Indonesian tech startups to go public. The board will facilitate startups by providing them legal and accounting support that will prepare them for fundraising process, including IPO. The incubator programmes will be launched in Jakarta and Denpasar. According to DailySocials analysis, that Bukalapak, Kaskus, and other startups may face challenges opening up their financial data in their bid to public. Image Credit: freestocks.org on Unsplash The post Bukalapak and Kaskus in talks with Indonesia Stock Exchange to IPO appeared first on e27. Singapore exports surged in May on increased pharmaceutical and gold shipments as traders seek a safe haven from market turmoil but analysts warned Friday the surprise jump did not indicate a wider economic recovery. Non-oil domestic exports soared 11.6 percent year-on-year for the month, led by prefabricated buildings, pharmaceuticals and gold, trade promotion body International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said. While Singapore does not have a large domestic market for the precious metal, it is a big regional player in the trade. Uncertainty in global markets -- ranging from a slowdown in the Chinese economy to plunging crude prices -- has pushed gold prices 20 percent higher in the last year. "The increase in exports to Taiwan and India is also helped by a boost in gold trade. The global demand for gold is high as investors are seeking safe havens from the financial unrest in stocks and commodity markets," said Song Seng Wun, an economist with CIMB Private Banking. It was also the trade-reliant city-state's best export performance since a 18.5 percent year-on-year jump in March 2015. IE Singapore said non-electronics shipments, including pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals, expanded by 19.0 percent, reversing the previous month's 8.1 percent decline. There was a notable surge in demand from the United States and Taiwan, both major markets for Singapore. Exports to the US grew 9.1 percent while those to Taiwan leaped 11.2 percent in May. But analysts said May's figures could be an abnormality as there was little indication of a real turnaround in global economic fortunes. "We hesitate to jump for joy and call for a turnaround in the exports outlook as this out-performance was really based on a few narrow segments, in particular gold," UOB wrote in a research note. Song said the improved US figures came from an unusual boost in pharmaceutical shipments while Taiwan received a bulk of Singapore's pre-fabricated buildings in a one-time deal. Story continues Meanwhile, there was a notable dip in demand from the European Union and China. Exports to the EU plunged 14.0 percent from 20.6 percent growth in April while shipments to China dropped 10.1 percent, worse than the 7.4 percent decline in April. The government projects economic growth at 1.0-3.0 percent this year, but private sector economists expect it to come in at the lower end of the range. The economy grew 2.0 percent last year. str-el/mtp New Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said he wants to have no permanent tensions with the country's neighbours after serious ruptures with Egypt, Israel, Russia and Syria in recent years, in comments published Friday. Yildirim, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in May took over the premiership from Ahmet Davutoglu who had spearheaded a policy of projecting Turkish power in the region. Some analysts have suggested that Davutoglu made way for Yildirim to allow a more reconciliatory foreign policy that would allow Turkey to mend bridges with its enemies and return to its former dictum of "zero problems" with neighbours. "Israel, Syria, Russia, Egypt... we cannot have permanent enmity with these countries which border the Black and Mediterranean Seas," Yildirim said in his first major interview with Turkish reporters, quoted by the Hurriyet daily. Relations with Russia tumbled to post Cold War lows when Turkey on November 24 shot down a Russian war plane over the Syrian border. Moscow then blocked the sale of tours to Turkey, wrecking tourism in the south if the country where the industry was hugely dependent on Russian tourists. "We need to look at the big picture," said Yildirim. "There is no hostility between our peoples. It's possible to go back to the old days and take our relations even further." Relations between key NATO member Turkey and Israel were downgraded in 2010 deadly storming by Israeli commandos of a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza, which left 10 Turkish activists dead. Yildirim said Turkish diplomats were working on a solution for normalisation, with the lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza the key condition. "I don't think the remaining period will be very long" until a result for normalisation is achieved, he said. - Rescuing ties? - Relations with Egypt suffered a similar downturn after the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a close Ankara ally, and Erdogan has denounced President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as an "illegitimate tyrant". Yildirim said Ankara would never accept the 2013 "coup" but said "this should not be an obstacle in the commercial relations between our countries". "The development of relations is in the interest of the two peoples," he added. On the Syria conflict, Turkey has always called for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad and opposed attempts by Syrian Kurds to carve out an autonomous region. "The territorial integrity of Syria is important for us," Yildirim said. Starting a business at a young age can be challenging. But if you have a strong community around you, it can be much easier. The city or community in which you decide to start your business can make all the difference. But the cities you might immediately think of when choosing a business location may not be the best choices for young entrepreneurs. Weve listed the best cities in the U.S. for women, minority and small business entrepreneurs thus far, drawing on data from the U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners and other sources. But for our last list, well be drawing from a slightly different place. According to a NerdWallet study in 2015, which is the last time this data was collected, the top cities for young business dont just include the big names like New York and San Francisco. To develop the top ten list, NerdWallet took several different factors into consideration, including the population of people between 25 and 34, the education level, cost of living and more. Best Cities for Young Entrepreneurs Austin-Round Rock A big part of the reason the Austin area, which has the 11th largest population in the U.S. overall, ranks first on the list of places for young entrepreneurs is its population of young people. According to the data processed by NerdWallet, which comes from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics and more, 17.5 percent of Austins population falls between the ages of 25 and 34. Thats the highest percentage of that age group for any city on the list. In addition, the SBA has issued about $17,692,769 in loans for every 100,000 residents. And Texas also doesnt charge personal or corporate income taxes. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward The San Francisco area of California offers young entrepreneurs the chance to live in a community with plenty of other successful and educated individuals. Ranked number two on the list, San Franciscos median income falls at $61,810. And its percentage of residents with a bachelors degree falls at 45.9 percent, which puts it at fourth place in that category. San Francisco is just 14th in terms of general population, but the other cities around it add to its feel of being a much larger metropolitan area. Salt Lake City In this city, young entrepreneurs enjoy a high small business loan rate along with a high percentage of young people. Salt Lake City has the second highest SBA loan rate in the country, with $21,590,164 in SBA loans per 100,000 residents. And with 16.3 percent of its population falling between the ages of 25 and 34, theres a lot of potential networking opportunities along with an available workforce of young professionals. Salt Lake Citys general population doesnt fall within the top 100 largest cities in the country, so it could be a good choice for those young entrepreneurs who want more of a small town feel. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood The Denver area, which ranks 23rd in terms of overall population, also offers a high small business loan rate, with $14,648,482 in SBA loans per 100,000 residents. The young, active community in Denver also offers a fairly educated workforce, which may also lead to potential networking or partnership opportunities for young entrepreneurs. A total of 40.8 percent of residents have a bachelors degree or higher. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington The area around the Twin Cities offers a lower-than-average unemployment rate, at just 3.1 percent. So young entrepreneurs who choose the area can enjoy a thriving economy as well as a community made up of potential customers with access to disposable income. In addition, the city boasts an SBA loan rate of $15,957,600 per 100,000 residents. Minneapolis and St. Paul rank 47th and 66th respectively in overall population, so the community as a whole offers a large population without the expense or hassle of huge cities. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Another community with a workforce and potential customers with disposable income, the Seattle area is ranked number six in terms of median earnings, at $55,123, and 22nd in terms of general population. The community also has a high percentage of young people, with 16 percent falling between the ages of 25 and 34. Madison In Madison, which ranks 82nd in terms of overall population, residents enjoy an unemployment rate of just 2.7 percent. Thats the sixth lowest rate in the country. In addition, 44.7 percent of residents have a bachelors degree or higher. So if you choose Madison to start or relocate your business, you can enjoy an educated workforce and thriving local economy. Midland Another community where entrepreneurs can enjoy a Texas-style business friendly atmosphere, Midland boasts a rate of 2.9 small businesses per 100 residents. And with 16.9 percent of the citys population falling between 25 and 34, it has a community full of young professionals, which could offer young entrepreneurs plenty of collaboration and partnership opportunities. Boston-Cambridge-Newton See Also: Top 50 Cities for Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs With the median earnings rate at $60,168, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton population is the third most highly paid in the country. And straddling Massachusetts and New Hampshire, it has the 21st largest population in the U.S. The community also has a higher-than-average amount of educated residents. 45.2 percent have a bachelors degree or higher. Fargo Fargo might not sound like the most hip place for young people to start their businesses, but with an unemployment rate of just 2.1 percent, its got a thriving economy and plenty of opportunity for young entrepreneurs to build successful companies. In addition, residents between the ages of 25 and 34 make up 16.3 percent of Fargos population. So theres also the opportunity to be part of a large community of young professionals. Get the latest headlines from Small Business Trends. Follow us on Google News. If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to co-host ExCom 2016, a conference focused on how customer experience, customer engagement and ecommerce were converging, and the future direction this convergence is pointing to. And mobile devices and apps have been at the forefront of this convergence with the emergence of mobile first strategies. Although there is no disputing the role of mobility in bringing commerce and customer experience closer together in a digital world, businesses have to have a strong digital foundation in place to create the kind of experiences modern consumers expect when they engage on various channels from those devices. During the keynote conversation I moderated, Dilawar Syed, president of customer support platform Freshdesk, shared why businesses of all sizes need to have a service-first culture in place in order to be successful engaging customers through a growing number of channels via their mobile devices. Interview: Does Mobile First Success Require a Service First Culture? Below is an edited transcript of our conversation, as well as the video from the session during ExCom 2016 * * * * * Small Business Trends: Are the majority of companies service-first companies or are they still trying to figure it out? Dilawar Syed: Well I think if you are operating in this economy you have to respond to customers from the very get go. How many [people] have tweeted about a poor service experience; filled a Yelp review or restaurant review. You have to respond to a customer base that is on the go. And by the way you expect that from the other side, that customers will respond to you. A lot of companies dont get back to customers on Twitter until hours later or days later, or they still are not responding at the pace at which the consumers are expecting it. And by the way that phenomenon is even more so in emerging markets outside of North America and Western Europe, because for a lot of consumers their first digital experience is on the mobile device. Folks are expecting to be supported on WeChat, on WhatsApp, on Facebook Messenger, so its changed the world in a very big way. What you have are tools that were built in the 90s for a very different era. And now we are in a place where you want short form communication, interactivity, response back on the mobile. At the very heartbeat in which youre reaching over the customers. Small Business Trends: Do you feel companies are rushing to be mobile-first without having the structure and culture to be service-focused first? Dilawar Syed: Thats a great point. You cant say Im going to go and make sure we are ready to respond to folks on the mobile device if you dont have a culture that fully internalizes the ethos of service. Maybe you have hired people or have built processes and structures that are not designed to respond in an interactive manner; or have people who havent been trained on responding to tweets in 140 characters. There are people who havent been trained on having a conversation via live chat. It requires a brand new paradigm; how do you build that culture? How do you bring folks who can actually respond in a multi-channel manner to a very different consumer in the year 2016? So you do have to take a look at this and ask how do you redo it, and weve seen companies bring in the new customer experiences. And that has happened by the way at even big brands. But also its happening at smaller and smaller companies; weve seen companies that have retrained their employees. And another point about the customer service reps; they are millennials that have grown up as digital natives. So when they come to the workforce and theyre supposed to spend 10 hours or 12 hours responding to customer service questions, they want to experience software that is near consumer apps they grew up with like Snapchat and Facebook. Do you think todays customer support software in the workplace is is even close to that consumer experience? I can answer on all of our (the industry) behalf no. Its clunky. Its designed for 20 years ago. Youre hired. You have a thousand queries coming in at you, and you need to be able to go in without training and quickly connect with your consumers who are knocking at your door from any channel or any device from anywhere in the world. So the software of today that we have inherited for the last 20 years is just not designed for that. Its not designed for the consumer experience and thats where the next gen cloud based companies like ours are trying to change the mold and make sure we have it ready for the millennial workforce, not just in this country, not just in Western Europe but around the world. So to answer question, yes you have to make sure your culture is service-first, and the organization is ready to make sure people have the right tools to use. Small Business Trends: How is the relationship between service folks and marketing folks changing because of whats taking place with customers and technology? Dilawar Syed: I think customer support is the new marketing, especially in the world of mobile. You expect to be able to have any conversation with brands, about service, about the product; maybe they can offer me a promotion on the spot. Because in mobile the brands know where you are. They can target you in certain ways. So the lines have blurred quickly. On the enterprise they still have silos for service and marketing and sales. But in a mobile world when Im reaching out from my device, those walls must come down. For example, what happens with Uber when you book a trip and your driver doesnt show up, but you get charged. You reach out and say I should not have been charged because the driver didnt show up. You go to the Uber app and you click on support and it immediately takes you to your last transaction. Once you click on that it takes you to a static page of text within the app which tells you to send a message and they will resolve the issue via an email response. Then you get an email within a few minutes saying we got your inquiry and well take care of you. But dont you expect from Uber, which the whole business is the mobile app, that you should have your issue resolved in the app? The consumer expectations are that if I have an issue with Uber support I should be able to have a chat within the Uber app and have issues resolved, and by the way here is a coupon for you for your next trip, and we know that you may be going somewhere because you take this trip all the time at this time every week. But we are still very far from that experience as an industry, even in the heart of the Silicon Valley; and Uber is a well-capitalized multi-billion dollar market cap company. See Also: ypDisplay Reinvents Mobile Display Ads for Small Business Companies are responding with an effective means to enable what you expect as a consumer. So as an example we launch a program Hotline recently which is a mobile engagement platform. It allows you to have messaging within the mobile app. So if Im in Uber and if I have an issue with a driver over the charge I go into the support page and I can actually go back and forth without having to wait for email. Thats old school. Thats not what the shared economy is. And by the way the same experience can be can be applied in e-commerce and in other places. Small Business Trends: As for startups how important is it for them to have their service model at the heart of their business model in order for them to be successful. Dilawar Syed: In the valley customer support reps are often the very first set of people they hire. In a business like ours and many others, if youre launching a business traction can take place pretty quickly. Using Google as an acquisition channel youre in front of the world. For example e-commerce in terms of B2C is where you would think about hiring your Customer Support Organization initially, depending where you are. But you want to think about scaling that pretty quickly. We saw in our business overall ticket volume doubled if not tripled year over year; as the number of customers went up the number of tickets and conversations actually was order of magnitude faster in growth because youre increasingly serving more complex customers; the queries become more complex if they are to come through any channel. And they have to be ready. So I would give that thought from the very early on. Small Business Trends: Are you seeing a different kind of metric or a different way that businesses judge metrics today? Dilawar Syed: First call resolution. We all grew up around that metric. Its a very efficiency driven metric. Its not necessarily a sentiment driven metric. I would think about metrics that are more driven from sentiment and customer happiness, and delight because the customer sentiment is infectious in this in this world. My favorite example is a couple of years ago somebody had a bad experience with British Airways and this individual actually tweeted it. He was so mad that he spent some money to promote it on Twitter and it just took off like crazy. It happens a lot. This is part of the One-on-One Interview series with thought leaders. The transcript has been edited for publication. If it's an audio or video interview, click on the embedded player above, or subscribe via iTunes or via Stitcher. Email is a vital communication resource that many small businesses rely on to send sensitive, confidential information both inside and outside of the organization. But the prevalence of email as a business tool also makes it susceptible to exploitation and data loss. In fact, email accounts for 35 percent of all data loss incidents among enterprises, according to a white paper from AppRiver, a cyber security company. Data breaches are not always the result of malicious activity, such as a hacking attempt. Most often, they occur due to simple employee negligence or oversight. (Employees are the leading cause of security-related incidents, according to a Wells Fargo white paper.) In 2014, an employee at the insurance brokerage firm Willis North America accidentally emailed a spreadsheet containing confidential information to a group of employees enrolled in the company medical plans Healthy Rewards program. As a result, Willis had to pay for two years of identity theft protection for the nearly 5,000 people affected by the breach. In another instance, also from 2014, an employee of the Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego erroneously sent an email containing the protected health information of more than 20,000 patients to job applicants. (The employee thought she was sending a training file to evaluate the applicants.) The hospital sent notification letters to the affected individuals and worked with an outside security firm to ensure the data was deleted. These and many other such incidents point to emails vulnerabilities and underscore the need for businesses large and small to secure, control and track their messages and attachments wherever they send them. Here are five steps, from AppRiver, that small businesses can follow to simplify the task of developing email compliance standards to safeguard sensitive information. Email Compliance Guide 1. Determine What Regulations Apply and What You Need to Do Start by asking: What regulations apply to my company? What requirements exist to demonstrate email compliance? Do these overlap or conflict? Once you understand what regulations apply, determine if you need different policies to cover them or just one comprehensive policy. Example regulations that small businesses many encounter include: Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) governs the transmission of personally identifiable patient health information; Sarbanes-Oxley Act (S-OX) requires that companies establish internal controls to accurately gather, process and report financial information; Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) demands that companies implement policy and technologies to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records when transmitted and in storage; Payment Card Information Security Standards (PCI) mandates the secure transmission of cardholder data. 2. Identify What Needs Protecting and Set Protocols Depending on the regulations your company is subject to, identify data that is deemed confidential credit card numbers, electronic health records or personally identifiable information being sent via email. Also, decide who should have access to send and receive such information. Then, set policies that you can enforce through the use of technology to encrypt, archive or even block transmission of email content based on users, user groups, keywords and other means of identifying transmitted data as sensitive. 3. Track Data Leaks and Losses Once you understand what types of data users are sending via email, track to determine if loss is occurring and in what ways. Are breaches taking place inside the business or within a particular group of users? Are file attachments being leaked? Set additional policies to address your core vulnerabilities. 4. Identify What You Need to Enforce Policy Having the right solution to enforce your policy is just as important as the policy itself. To satisfy regulatory requirements, several solutions may be necessary to ensure email compliance. Some solutions that organizations can implement include encryption, data leak prevention (DLP), archiving of emails and anti-virus protection. 5. Educate Users and Employees An effective email compliance policy will focus on user education and policy enforcement for acceptable use. As unintentional human error remains the most common cause of data breaches, many regulations require the training of users on behaviors that could potentially lead to such violations. Users and employees will be less likely to let their guard down and make mistakes when they understand proper workplace email usage and the consequences of non-compliance and are comfortable using appropriate technologies. See Also: Chargebee Adds Email to Recurring Billing and Subscription Services for Small Businesses While no one-size-fits-all plan can help small businesses comply with every regulation, following these five steps can help your business develop an effective email compliance policy that safeguards security standards. Many small businesses fail in the first few years, and one reason why is running out of money. If youve ever watched the television shows Dragons Den, Shark Tank or The Apprentice, you will know that one of the most important ways to achieve business success is to get the finances right. That means thinking hard about how youre going to fund the business both at the start, and as it grows. Applying for a loan without proper preparation is why many small businesses are turned down. It is important to understand how bankers decide whether your business is creditworthy or not. According to Intuit: Bankers lend on the five Cs of credit: character, collateral, cash flow (enough to service the debt), credit, and conditions. If cash flow and credit are weak, then you have to accentuate character, collateral, and conditions. Take stock of where you stand on these five factors. Over time, each of these can be improved. How you present yourself and your information can mean the difference between approval and rejection. Reasons SmallBiz Loans Get Rejected Small Business Trends has previously discussed ways to get your business loan denied. These are the most common: Bad credit or no credit Lack of collateral Weak cash flow Lack of preparation Seeking small loans Risk-averse banks The number one priority is better preparation. Having accurate, current financial statements is imperative. Staying on top of receivables and turning inventory quickly make your business a lower risk. Here are some funding sources for you to consider, with the pros and cons of each. Finance Your Business 1. Your Own Credit Facility Many small businesses start by using the credit facility already open to them: their banking overdraft protection. On the plus side, its quick and easy to arrange an overdraft plan with a bank. You only pay interest on the money you actually use, and there wont be a penalty if you pay it back early. But theres still a danger with this form of funding. If you exceed your overdraft limit, fees can be steep, and your bank could decide to withdraw the facility if you no longer meet the criteria for having it. If youre wondering about funding your business by using your credit cards dont. Not only is the interest high, but if things dont go as you expect in your business, you could find yourself in crippling debt and under huge amounts of stress, plus you risk losing everything if you are unable to repay the debt. 2. Attracting Investors Getting external investors (which is what Dragons Den and Shark Tank hopefuls want to do) is another possible way to fund your small business. The advantage is that you wont have to repay the investment because investors gamble on your business being profitable. But the disadvantage is that youll need to give away a share of your business in order to make it worth their time and money. Think carefully about whether you want to do this. If its important for you to retain ownership of the business, this may not be the right route for you. This example of using Venture Debt to keep more of your company is offered in Four Creative Strategies for Raising Business Capital: Venture-debt is a great way to lower the cost of accessing capital by leveraging both debt and equity. For example, a traditional round of funding might require you to give up 20 percent of your company for $100,000 in investment. With venture-debt, you could negotiate a deal where you get access to the $100,000 you need, but instead of 20%, youll only need to give up 8 percent of your company. Of course, the $100,000 is treated as a loan and will need to be paid back with interest. One way to find the right investor is to use a peer-to-peer investor matching service. Its worth noting that if you decide to go the investment route (and for most other sources of funding), you will need to show a business plan that indicates expenditure and projected income over several years. Finally, remember that you can use more than one funding source to support the development of your small business. Weigh the pros and cons carefully and decide which combination of options makes sense for your current situation. 3. Business Loans You will definitely need a business plan to get a business loan from your bank. If your business plan is sound, you may be able to get the money you need. The advantage of a business loan is that you will have that money for a specified period and you wont have to give away any of your business to get it. But the risky part is that you have to secure most loans using one of your assets. If you get a business loan with your home as security and then are unable to repay it on schedule, you risk losing both your business AND your home. Thats why its a good idea to review the type of small business loan, terms and fees before you sign on the dotted line to make sure you are getting the best deal. A major challenge for new businesses is getting a loan with no credit. There is a white paper available for free download in How to Get a Small Business Loan with No Credit that offers these tips about SMB credit scores and working capital loans: When businesses have no credit or bad credit, working capital loans are easier to get than other types of loans Having filed bankruptcy in the past does not disqualify applicants from obtaining this kind of loan More flexibility in how you use the money No collateral is required Simpler application process with faster approval Taking out a loan because of a downturn in business should only be done after careful analysis. Businesses cannot typically borrow their way out of a decline, so cutting expenses or making other changes may be necessary. 4. Small Business Credit Cards Small business credit cards can be used to smooth out cashflow, stock up on seasonal inventory, or take care of unexpected expenses. If you tend to pay your credit cards off every month, this could be a viable solution for your business. MoneySavingPro researched major business credit cards and compares various offers here. They point out that the perks provided by some business cards could be financially beneficial if they suit your business: The [Chase Ink Cash Business Card] cash back rewards system is fairly competitive. Each year the first $25,000 you spend on business needs like office supplies, mobile phones and land-line service and even cable TV and internet will earn you 5% cash back. You can also earn 2 percent on the first $25,000 each year in purchases made at restaurants and gas stations and 1% on all other purchases. Other cards including the Capital One Spark Cash have higher cash back rewards for all purchases. If you always pay off your card every month, the American Express Plum Card could be your best choice. Having credit cards can be very tempting, causing many to spend more freely than they would have if they were parting with actual cash. Before you spend, make sure you know the risks. In their comprehensive write-up on The Pros and Cons of using Credit Cards to Finance a Small Business, Credit Suhaar advises: Do make sure you keep your card secure, as not every business credit card covers the company against misuse or fraud. Ensure that no employee uses the card to charge up expenses of a personal nature, or for any fraudulent or unauthorized purchase. They quote statistics indicating a whopping 64 percent of small businesses had signed up for card usage because credit cards can be easier to acquire than bank loans, especially if you have decent business or even personal credit scores. They also require less paperwork. Credit cards can be useful, but read the fine print and make sure the low rate isnt for a limited time. Compare companies, and dont be afraid to switch if costs increase in spite of paying the card off in full each month or at least making the minimum payments on time. 5. Get a Grant Grant funding is another option for small businesses. Government agencies and others often give grants to support projects in a particular area. While these are often for future projects, if the right project is part of your business then you could qualify. The advantage of getting a grant is that you wont have to repay the money nor will you have to part with a share of your business. However, the application process is time-consuming and many grants require you to supply some of the project funding. 6. Crowdfunding Crowdfunding has become a popular way to get startup funding. Popular sites include Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and GoFundMe and there are many others. To do this, set up a profile on a crowdfunding site, provide information about your business and offer rewards depending on the funding given. A good video and plenty of networking are essential to make this work. Some businesses have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars by using crowdfunding sites. With crowdfunding, you dont have to repay the money and you retain control of your business. But some sites require you to reach the full funding target or you dont get any money, so be aware of that when choosing this route. Selling at flea markets doesnt just mean clearing out some junk from your basement and throwing it on a table. You can actually build a business around selling at flea markets. But youll need some flea market sales tips to really increase your profits going forward. Here are some flea market selling tips to make your next flea market sale a huge success. Flea Market Selling Tips Sell More by Providing Many Payment Options Flea market customers have a huge variety of different payment preferences. Some want to pay with credit cards, some with checks, some with cash. If you can give customers options, youll be more likely to increase your sales over the course of each day. That means using a Square or similar credit card reader, allowing customers to pay with checks, and having enough change for people who just want to pay in cash. In addition, if you can offer layaway options, it can help your ability to sell some larger items that people might need time to gather the funds for. Sell More by Creating a Facebook Page Your business is likely to sell more if you actually treat it like a business. Today, that means having some kind of an online presence. And since so many consumers use Facebook already, thats a natural place for flea market vendors to connect with potential customers. So give yourself a professional business name, add some photos and use Facebook to share information and connect with potential customers. Sell More by Advertising in Advance Social media and similar online platforms can also be helpful when it comes to advertising your offerings. For instance, if you go to different markets or locations each week or month, you can post on Facebook where youre going to be each week and what types of new products youll have available. You can even pay to boost your posts so that you can reach even more people. Sell More by Accepting Reasonable Offers Bargaining is a huge part of running a flea market business. While you dont have to accept every single offer that comes your way, at least being open to reasonable offers can help you increase sales and clear up space for new inventory. The longer you hold onto things, the less space/money you have to acquire new things to offer for sale, and the more your money is tied up in inventory that isnt selling. Sell More by Conveying Approachable Body Language At a flea market, you are the literal face of your business. People will be more likely to stop and look at your products if you look friendly and approachable. And if they stop and look at your products, theyre more likely to buy. If you are sitting and do not smile or attempt to engage passers by, they will actually pass you by. Sell More by Standing Out in the Crowd Your booth can also be a selling point for potential customers. So dont make it just look the same as everyone elses. Choose that orange canopy instead of that gray one, and spend the money to have some large signage that you can prop up on top of it. Making your booth look nice and eye-catching can cause shoppers multiple rows away to notice your booth and make a point to stop by. Sell More by Using Professional Signage to Convey Trust A professional looking shop sign can also convey a sense of trust to your customers. Instead of just seeing a bunch of random items strewn across a table, they are more likely to see an actual business with products that are high-quality and valuable. Have Business Cards Easily Accessible Some customers at flea markets might not be ready to buy from you even if your booth looks great and your products are awesome. So you should give them an easy way to connect with you later. Provide business cards to passers by so that if they see something they like, dont buy it, but return home and decide they want it, they can reach you and make the purchase. You can also offer shipping as an option so that those customers dont have to make a return trip. In addition, provide your social media accounts so they can follow you from market to market each week. Sell More by Appearing Regularly at the Same Markets You can also garner repeat business even from those who dont follow you on social media simply by being consistent. If someone collects a particular item that you specialize in, maintain a consistent appearance schedule so that they know where to find you when theyre ready to shop. That doesnt mean you have to only ever sell your items at one location, but you could have a consistent schedule where you sell at the same market every Sunday or on the first weekend of every month. Sell More by Giving Repeat Customers/Collectors Deals Encourage that repeat business even more by offering deals to those loyal customers. If someone purchases from you every week or month, and theyve done so at least three times, cut them a break and begin giving them good discounts. You may get a bit less for the item than you intended, but you will sell more in the long run because theyll be sure to keep purchasing from you if they feel youre treating them like a special VIP customer. Sell More by Offering Discounts to Your Social Media Followers You can also offer special discounts to your social media followers to encourage repeat customers. For example, if youre selling at a particular market on Saturday, blast that out to your followers and provide them with a 20 percent discount offering if they mention your social media post. Followers who may not have intended to go to the market that weekend may be enticed to go if they know a 20 percent discount is waiting for them. Sell More by Posting Images of New Items for Sale on Social During the Week Throughout the week leading up to your flea market appearance, you can entice people on social media to shop with you by posting images of the items that youll be offering for sale. If theyre interested in something new theyve seen on social, theyll be sure to show up that weekend at the market to buy it. The June jobs report disappointed and surprised many, with the U.S. economy only gaining 38,000 jobs in May. One of the few bright spots was the strength of the healthcare sector, which added more jobs than any other industry. And before you think that healthcare jobs are likely more in demand at bigger companies but youd be mistaken. Indeed data shows that small businesses have just as much demand for healthcare workers as other sized businesses, with nurses, both registered nurses and licensed practical and vocational nurses, leading the way for demand. Those jobs appear first and third, respectively, on the most in-demand healthcare positions with small businesses. Healthcare Jobs in Demand Right Now by Small Business Pharmacy technicians are second-most in demand at small businesses. While nurses are in demand by all size businesses, Indeed data shows that small businesses have a strong need for highly skilled healthcare workers, like physicians assistants and physical therapists. Physical therapists, Indeed says, are fourth-most in demand positions at a lot of small businesses. The high skilled positions often require an advanced degree and there is a shortage of this type of talent, said Daniel Culbertson, economic research analyst at Indeed. Additionally, private practices are a large part of the small business healthcare landscape, and they are the ones looking for these specialized workers. Healthcare is one of the few recession-proof industries, and Culbertson believes that small business demand for both highly skilled and technician roles wont slow down anytime soon. Rounding out the top 10 healthcare jobs being filled most by small businesses in the U.S. are occupational therapists, medical records and health information techs, speech language,, pathologists, pharmacists, and medical and clinical lab technologists. Small business owners are busy. Its difficult to focus the right amount of attention on all facets of your business when youve got both offline and online operations to juggle. Its no surprise mistakes are made along the way. But, with nine out of 10 U.S. consumers using the Internet to look for local goods and services and research a potential purchase, one mistake you cant afford to make is neglecting your online presence. Here are a few common errors that many small businesses make online, and what you can do to help make sure your business is on the right track. 1. Using a social media page as your only Web address. Only 51 percent of small businesses have a website, yet 80 percent use social media. So for many small businesses, social media is key to growing your business. But, how do your customers know where to find you on social media? One of the easiest ways to ensure customers find you no matter where your online business is located is to register a domain name and point it to your businesss social media page. Called domain forwarding, it works just like forwarding mail. You create a rule that automatically redirects anyone who visits your domain name to your page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Etsy or whatever social media platform you use as your businesss communications or e-commerce hub. Domain forwarding is easy to set up with your domain name registrar and can take as little as five minutes. A domain name also helps to brand your company by providing a memorable Web address you can market. And when you are ready for a website, you dont have to change the Web address that your customers already know and use. 2. Using a free email provider as your company email address. A domain name is so much more than just an address for your website it can represent every aspect of your businesss online identity, including your communications. In addition to your Web address, you can use your domain name to set up a custom email address for your business. For example, what email address would look more credible to customers: info@pearlywhitesmiles.com or toothymike88@genericfreeemailservice.com? The answer is pretty clear, especially if you are already driving them to your website, pearlywhitesmiles.com. In fact, 65 percent of U.S. consumers believe a company-branded email (e.g., contact@joescompany.com) is more credible than an email sent from a free email account that is not company-branded (joescompany@freeemailservice.com). 3. Putting off building a website. Theres no denying it. In todays digital world, a website is essential. Eighty-four percent of U.S. small businesses said their website is critical to their business, according to research from Verisign.4 And, 97 percent of those SMBs with a website would recommend having one to their small business colleagues.4 It has never been easier to launch a website. With many free website builders, like Wix.com and Weebly available today, business owners have easy and economical options to get their site online. Created for the non-technical user, these tools provide easy-to-use templates that allow you to point and click your way to a new website. Some features, at no cost or as part of a package, include shopping carts, online forms, blogs, social sharing links, video and audio players, search engine optimization, mobile device optimization, website reporting, customer support and much, much more. The key is to start small. Create a couple of pages and expand from there. Just make sure you do your research, so you select the website builder that fits your needs and can scale with your business as you grow. 4. Building a website and then forgetting about it. Your website is the central hub of your online presence, but no one will see it if you dont actively market your business online. There are many ways you can generate traffic to your site and find customers, including: Social media marketing: Advertise your business and its products and services on social media and drive customers to your website for more information. Email marketing: Use your company-branded email and send customers information on special news and sales. Include a link to your website where customers can learn more. Search engine marketing (SEM): Also known as paid search, SEM allows you to promote your business website on the paid advertising section of search results pages. One of the best ways to drive customers to your website and keep them coming back is by creating high-quality content that they find interesting and valuable. Consumers are looking for genuine, reliable information online, so stick to what you know and keep it simple. Starting a blog on your website is a quick and economical way to start creating content. For each blog post, focus on a single topic and write two to three paragraphs. That way its easy for your customers to read and more manageable for you to produce. Adding compelling content to your website on a regular basis can also improve its ranking on search engines. Even more reason to focus on content! With so many marketing options, SMBs today dont need to go it alone. Many registrars offer marketing services that you can take advantage of, or you can check out TipstoGetOnline.com for tips on how to get started. 5. Not considering a domain name strategy in your marketing. Remember that a domain name is so much more than just a Web or email address you can also use it for marketing. In fact, its a tactic that big brands successfully use today and one that you can easily implement to propel your brand. Big companies register more than one Web address for many reasons. Say you launch a marketing campaign. You can register a distinct domain name for that campaign and forward it to a page on your existing website that supports the campaign. You can also use domain forwarding to help customers find your business. For example, if your domain name is JaneDoeBakery.com, you can also register a domain name with a specific geographic location, e.g., JaneDoeBakeryinDenver.com or highlight specialties or business areas potential customers are likely to search for, or in which you want to grow, like DenverSpecialtyCustomCakes.com or CupcakesInDenver.com. In fact, recent research5 from Verisign revealed that Internet search users are almost twice as likely to click on a domain name that includes at least one of the keywords in their search, compared to a domain name that does not include any of the keywords in their search. While there are many variables that go into search rankings, such as content quality, cross-linking, advertising budgets, faster website speeds, etc., having a portfolio of descriptive, keyword-rich domain names may make the difference in being found online. Verisigns analysis of the comScore data illustrates that registering keyword-rich domain names may be a smart strategy, giving businesses a leg up when it comes to getting prospective customers to click to their websites. If you mare making any one of these mistakes, the great thing is they can be easily fixed. Read The First Five Things to Do After Getting Your Business Online to make sure you are on track. https://www.slideshare.net/VerisignInc/5-reasons-every-small-business-needs-a-website http://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2015/01/06/Lack-of-websites-common-pitfall-for-small-businesses/stories/201501060018 http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/stats-smb-social-media-list#sm.001gbdlia12dxfsq10uwzwg33c0nk 4 https://www.slideshare.net/VerisignInc/5-reasons-every-small-business-needs-a-website 5 http://blogs.verisign.com/blog/entry/how_keyword_rich_domain_names Online business community Alignable has expanded its digital resource base with the launch of a dynamic new content hub. Small Business Resource Alignable Main Street Insights Main Street Insights has been designed to complement Alignables extensive social network of local business owners by providing users with a diverse range of useful market data, service reviews and industry tips. Launched at the end of May, Main Street Insights not only enables the experts at Alignable to publish content addressing common business questions and concerns but it also provides members of the online community with a public forum with which to draft and share stories about their own business experiences. As a result, Chief Marketing Officer Dan Slagen says that Main Street Insights will inevitably prove to be a crucial content resource for businesses of all shapes and sizes. We only serve up content and experiences that are 100 percent relevant to local business owners, Slagen told Small Business Trends. You wont find the 6 secrets of SEO on our blog. Rather, youll hear from real business owners about whats working and whats a waste of time. Main Street Insights also houses customer podcasts that focus on local business stories. They provide listeners with a rare glimpse into the body and soul of an up-and-coming entrepreneur starting with their childhood and early career, before delving into their latest venture and the challenges theyve been forced to overcome. The new digital space also highlights the most intriguing forum debates happening elsewhere in the Alignable world. Sharp discussions on social media marketing, management operations and human resources afford readers an opportunity to weigh the pros and cons of small business strategy in order to make their own minds up about how to move forward. Our content doesnt come from generic trends or whats on the news last night, but rather comes from our own users, what theyre talking about, what they need to know and whats most pressing for them to grow and solve current challenges, Slagen said. The concept behind Main Street Insights certainly slots in well with Alignables current range of offerings. Since its launch in 2012, the Boston-based social network has grown by leaps and bounds for one simple reason: it shuns clickbait and time-wasting business content in order to help local businesses forge genuine connections with purpose. Businesses use Alignable to connect with the right people, not more people, Slagen said. Weve all spent too much time focused on large social media numbers over the past few years. How many followers, how many likes, how many friends. Its at the point of diminishing return, and we encourage our users to make less connections and more quality connections. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and create 65 percent of new net jobs, according to the Small Business Administration (PDF). How can small businesses, facing constant financial pressure and increasing government regulations, ensure continued growth? One way is to hire people with disabilities. To help employers capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities can offer, the Federal Government offers three types of tax credits: Disabled Access Credit, Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction and Work Opportunity Tax Credit. To discover other tax breaks for hiring new employees click here. NOTE: This article has been specially reviewed and updated for the 2019/2020 tax season. Tax Credits for Hiring Disabled Workers Disabled Access Credit The Disabled Access Credit a non-refundable annual tax credit for making a business accessible to persons with disabilities is available to small businesses that earned a maximum of $1 million in revenue or had 30 or fewer full-time employees in the previous year, according to the Internal Revenue Code, Section 44. The credit equates to 50 percent of expenditures over $250, not to exceed $10,250, for a maximum benefit of $5,000. (There is no credit for the first $250 of expenditures.) Businesses can claim the Disabled Access Credit on IRS Form 8826 (PDF). The credit amount is subtracted from the total tax liability. Employers can apply this credit toward a variety of costs that include: Sign language interpreters for hearing impaired; Readers for employees with visual impairments; Purchase of adaptive equipment or modification of equipment; Production of print materials in accessible formats, such as Braille, audio tape or large print; Removal of barriers in buildings or vehicles that prevent a business from being accessible to, or usable by, individuals with disabilities. Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction The Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction encourages any size business to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the mobility of persons with disabilities. Businesses that comply qualify for a tax deduction of $15,000 per year. Small businesses can use these incentives in combination with the Disabled Access Credit if the expenditures incurred qualify under both Section 44 and Section 190 of the IRS tax code. For example, a small business that spends $20,000 for access modifications may take a tax credit of $5000 and a deduction of $15,000. The deduction is equal to the difference between the total costs and the amount of the credit claimed. Eligible architectural adaptations include: Providing accessible parking spaces, ramps and curb cuts; Making telephones, water fountains and restrooms accessible to persons using wheelchairs; Making walkways and paths of travel accessible (e.g., 32-inch doorways when open at a 90-degree angle; 36-48 inch wide hallways or sidewalks free of obstruction); Providing accessible entrances to buildings (e.g., automatic doors, proper door weights, etc.). Businesses cannot use the tax deduction for expenses related to new construction, complete renovation or normal replacement of depreciable equipment. Nor can they use it for the same cost covered by another tax credit. Work Opportunity Tax Credit The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is the third tax advantage available to all businesses. It allows employers who fill a vacant position with a WOTC-certified employee to qualify to claim a federal income tax credit for a portion of the new employees salary. Individuals eligible for certification include job seekers with disabilities referred by a vocational rehabilitation service or who have received Social Security Income (SSI) benefits within 60 days before being hired. The tax credit applies to the first $6,000 in wages paid to each new hire for the first year of employment, with a maximum tax credit of up to $2,400 per person. Businesses must complete and submit IRS Form 8850 (PDF) and submit the Department of Labors Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Form 9061 (PDF). WOTC Extension for Hiring Veterans with Disabilities A version of the WOTC applies to employers who hire military veterans with service-connected disabilities through the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. The extension provides up to $4,800 of first-year wage reimbursement for veterans with service-connected disabilities hired within one year of leaving the armed forces. A $9,600 refund of first-year wages is available for those who have been unemployed for at least six months. Additional Resources The following resources provide more information about Federal Government tax credits and deductions for hiring persons with disabilities: See Also: Small Business Owners and Buyers Ready for Trump Tax Reforms Tax Incentives for Providing Business Accessibility (ODEP) Small Business Disability Inclusion Factsheet (ODEP) Making Sense of Tax Credits for Hiring People with Disabilities (Think Beyond the Label) Hire Gauge. Heres an online calculator that helps small businesses determine the approximate amount of tax credits and deductions for hiring persons with disabilities. (Think Beyond the Label) Most businesses need to maintain an online presence today. But achieving online success in this increasingly competitive space is a huge challenge, a new study has found. The survey conducted by GoDaddy and Alignable reveals five top obstacles to a businesss online success. Here is a look at each in a bit more depth. Building Your Website According to the study, more than 51 percent of small businesses hire a professional Web designer to build their website. About 26 percent of businesses use DIY Web builders like Wix, GoDaddy Website Builder and Squarespace. Free website builders provide all the basic tools small businesses need to get up and running in no time, the study says. Before building a website, businesses must properly understand what they need. A clear understanding will make it easier to build a customized site. Branding Your Website A cluttered online space means finding a domain name that hasnt already been taken wont be easy. The study also confirms this. It finds that 50 percent of small businesses own more than one domain. If the domain you are looking for is already taken, get creative. For instance, if you are keen on the domain name www.juiceexpress.com which is already taken, consider options like juiceexpress.us or juiceexpress.biz. Optimizing Your Website An extremely interesting finding of the study is that 91 percent of small businesses are looking for more opportunities to generate revenue from their website. On the other hand, 40 percent of businesses are creating and sharing content via blogs less than once a month. So these insights clearly highlight theres plenty of room for growth. Customer Communication More than 70 percent of American consumers prefer email to communicate with businesses. For these consumers, trust is a big factor. So if your mail ends with a generic email address like @gmail.com, they may doubt the legitimacy of your business, the study finds. Selling Products Online About 48 percent of small businesses sell their products or services on the Web. A key step to growing your business involves enabling users to make purchases from your website. Branching into ecommerce is an effective way to build business online. Easy-to-use ecommerce site builders and online marketplaces like Etsy are making it easier for businesses to reach more customers. For the study, GoDaddy and Alignable surveyed more than 100,000 small business owners in North America. Boston-based Alignable is a social network for local businesses to generate trusted referrals. GoDaddy is an Arizona-based Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company. Get the latest headlines from Small Business Trends. Follow us on Google News. (Restores dropped word in headline) * Yellow fever's spread from Angola to DRC fuels concern * One-fifth vaccine dose expected to protect for at least 1 year By Stephanie Nebehay and Ben Hirschler GENEVA/LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - World Health Organization advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of yellow fever vaccine in the event of a global shortage to combat the worst outbreak of the deadly disease in decades. Fears of a widening outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease were fuelled this week by a spike in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which now says it has seen more than 1,000 suspected cases since March. "Experts agreed to propose if necessary, if there is a shortage of vaccine, to divide the vaccine by five," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Friday, reporting on a meeting this week. "One fifth of a dose according to their evidence would be sufficient to provide immunity for at least 12 months." Reuters previously reported that a move to stretch vaccine supplies in this was was likely. The normal full dose of the vaccine confers life-long protection and the WHO emphasised that the low dose endorsed by its independent experts was designed specifically for emergency mass vaccination, not for routine immunisation. More research is also needed to see if low doses will work for young children, who may have a weaker immune response, and practical challenges remain over obtaining the right syringes. The current yellow fever epidemic started in Angola but a major outbreak in the DRC's capital city of Kinshasa, which has a population of more than 12 million, is a big worry for healthcare officials. The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccines has already been depleted twice this year to immunise people in Angola, Uganda and the DRC. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) currently stands at 6 million doses but this may not be enough if there are simultaneous outbreaks in multiple densely populated areas. Story continues Almost 18 million doses have been distributed for emergency vaccination campaigns so far in the three African countries. Concerns about limited vaccine supplies have been building for some time, with a group of medics calling for low-dose use in an article in The Lancet journal back in April. Yellow fever is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that spread the Zika and dengue viruses, although it is a much more serious disease. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients. Although approximately 6 million vaccine doses are kept in reserve for emergencies, there is no quick way to boost output when there is a surge in demand since production, using chicken eggs, takes around 12 months. Manufacturers include the Institut Pasteur, government factories in Brazil and Russia, and French drugmaker Sanofi (LSE: 0O59.L - news) . The current outbreak of yellow fever was first detected in Angola in late December 2015. (Editing by Alison Williams and Dominic Evans) By Atul Prakash LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - The scale of withdrawals from UK equity funds was the second highest on record because of uncertainty over the June 23 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. Worries that Britain, the world's fifth-largest economy, could decide to quit the EU in next week's vote have dominated markets this week and driven investors towards safe-haven assets such as gold and away from stocks. "June thus far has been all about the risk-off Brexit trade," BAML strategists wrote in a note to clients. While betting odds indicate that Britons will vote to stay in the EU, some recent opinion polls have put the "Leave" camp favouring Brexit as being in the lead. However, campaign activities were suspended late on Thursday, with Britain's politicians and public left in shock after a pro-EU lawmaker was fatally shot in the street. One poll set for publication on Friday was delayed until the weekend. BAML said the UK equity funds lost a net $1.1 billion, the biggest outflow in 13 months, in the week to June 15. The UK funds registered a record weekly outflow in the middle of last year when Britain's share market came under intense selling pressure on some poor UK economic data and uncertainty regarding Greece's debt situation. On a broader scale, European equity funds saw their 19th straight week of outflows, with $4.7 billion, the largest amount in seven weeks, leaving the funds. Precious metals continued to draw in risk-averse investors, BAML said. Global bond funds witnessed $1.2 billion of outflows, the first time in 11 weeks and the largest in five months, it said, adding that precious metals attracted $1.1 billion during the week to post inflows in 21 out of the previous 23 weeks. Prices of gold rose on Friday to trade near a two-year high. The precious metal is generally seen as a safe-haven asset and its appeal rises in difficult times. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Keith Weir) Search engine optimization (SEO) remains a top concern for many large and small businesses, but many smaller companies dont have the resources or time to gain a solid understanding of how it all works. The result is that many small businesses are lacking the most basic SEO skills, which can turn search engine optimisation into a confusing and dreaded subject. Whilst SEO is complex and often requires expert guidance, the basic techniques are easy to learn and can be applied to a website quickly. With this brief guide, Ive covered five simple (and, shockingly, even somewhat fun) content-based techniques to help smaller companies improve their website rankings. SEO for Small Businesses Google places a major emphasis on high-quality content across websites and its important to adhere to these expectations. The search giant can be considered the driving force of the online universe, so this does mean you have to put the effort in and craft good copy. In the not-too-distant past, many companies attempted to manipulate their way up search rankings with dodgy tactics (known as black hat SEO). Google put a stop to this with two algorithms (Panda and Penguin), which ushered in an era of white hat SEO that emphasized natural, high-quality content and SEO techniques. The good news is it really isnt difficult to get to grips with the most basic SEO principles. For beginners, the main problem is understanding where to start. The answer to this is straightforward. 1. Keyword Research Keywords essentially should sum up your business or a particular product or service you have on a landing page. Consumers search Google with keywords to find things, which means you want to be properly optimised to appear in front of your relevant audience when theyre in a purchasing mood. This makes keyword research incredibly important, but it can be daunting for beginners as there are many considerations available. Where do you even start? The best way is to consider how customers might use keywords to search your industry. Brainstorm ideas and come up with around a dozen likely words or terms. You can then research which ones receive the most online searches with a free tool such as Google Keyword Planner (youll need an AdWords account for this, which is also free). Enter your keywords and the tool will provide you with the average monthly searches for your selection. It will also provide a list of alternative keywords that may be more effective. 2. Website Content Updates Youll also need to write properly to complement your new research skills. When Googles algorithms crawl your website, theyre able to determine its relevancy; keywords help influence this and where youll stand in search ranking results. In the past, this led to companies keyword stuffing their content, which these days could land you with a Google penalty. For the best result, you need well-written articles. From my perspective, its fantastic to see the craft of writing remain so important in our technological era. From a business perspective, its an opportunity to harness strong copy to gain higher search ranking positions. Website content. The content on your website should be written naturally and for your target audience. If your content is peppered with misspellings and grammatical errors, this will harm your chances of ranking in top position. Consequently, even if a full rewrite of your website is required, dont be afraid to take on the challenge. Your content should include bold headlines and headers to draw visitors to key points alongside the select use of your keywords. Online readers tend to skim over content anyway (as youre likely doing now), so its important to highlight your unique selling points (USPs) and calls to action (CTAs). Deep linking. Whilst youre creating new content, consider improving the navigation across your website by linking anchor text in your copy to relevant landing pages. These navigational improvements can build your domain authority and site quality. Dont go over the top, however. Including half a dozen links would be considered excessive, so use your best judgement and link to particularly important pages. 3. Write Your Meta Tags Despite the importance of meta tags (title tags and meta descriptions), theyre often misunderstood or ignored by small business websites. Many sites Ive seen simply dont have them filled out properly. Google fills in the gaps when this is the case, taking away from you what is an excellent opportunity for free advertising. Well-structured meta tags can help your business scale Googles search rankings and attract the attention of customers. So, with your keyword research under your belt, you can adjust your title tags and meta descriptions with your keywords and a bit of compelling copy. How do you add them? If you use WordPress, you (or your web team) can apply them easily by installing the Yoast SEO plugin. Title tags. These appear at the top section of search result blurbs and are a CTA and USP all in one. The trouble is, you have no more than 60 characters (including spaces) to write a catchy, optimised title tag. A good structure would be as follows: Buy Your Black Shoes Online For Free Delivery | Company Name The best tactic is to write naturally whilst incorporating target keywords. For instance, the following is considered spammy: Buy Black Shoes | Black Shoes Online | Awesome Black Shoes Google would consider this an attempt to manipulate search ranking results, which highlights the importance of writing naturally. This does mean youll need a properly written title tag for every landing page, which can be time-consuming. The results will be well worth it, though. Meta descriptions. These appear at the bottom of search blurbs and explain what each landing page is about. You need one for every landing page as they provide an important description of what you do, so its another chance to highlight your USPs. They need to be less than 160 characters (including spaces) and should contain a target keyword, but do keep them natural and compelling to stand out from your competitors. 4. Follow Googles Quality Guidelines With the above in mind, its extremely important to stress that there are SEO guidelines to follow. If you pursue black hat tactics, you can be hit with a Google penalty, which would (simply put) be a disaster. This is a contentious issue for many business owners, but we all must remember Google is also a business and we have to adhere to its (largely) reasonable quality expectations to benefit. Be sure to read its Steps to a Google-friendly site. In short, white hat SEO is what you must aspire to. This makes your website natural and high in quality. Its essentially about not doing anything which Google would consider to be spammy. To get your strategy right, keep the following in mind: Dont try to manipulate your way to the top of Googles search rankings (i.e., keyword stuffing your copy). Produce unique and engaging content as often as possible, even if this means hiring a copywriter or SEO content executive. Ensure your website is functioning properly on a technical level. Have a mobile-friendly websiteGoogle actively favours websites which are responsive to a small screen. Create a blog and write for it as regularly as possible. This will keep your site fresh and itll provide posts for your social accounts. 5. Monitor Your Progress With all of this established, youll no doubt want to track your progress. To keep up with your targeted keywords, you can turn to tools such as Moz to simplify what would otherwise be a bit of a nightmare (its not unusual to have target keyword lists running into hundreds of results). This can cost around $100 per month, but the myriad features the software provides are often highly useful. If youre committing to improving your SEO for the long run (which is highly advisable), a software tool such as Moz is essential. It allows you to effortlessly track your progress and it also provides all manner of insightful details on your monthly traffic and any crawl issues you have (such as missing meta tags). Alternatively, to save money you can simply turn to typing your target keywords into Google and watching your progress firsthand. Conclusion These steps wont send you flying straight to the first ranking position, but they will help push you in the right direction. From there, you can consider your options on how to take your SEO strategy forward. Typically, this involves off-site SEO practices such as link buildingthis is a tricky area to get right, but a technique such as producing press releases is a good start. For now, these basic on-site SEO techniques will allow your business to enjoy improvements in terms of on-site quality and improved search ranking reach. This can only bode well for your future. 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. When Trevor Hance of Austin decided to uproot his life as an attorney to become an elementary schoolteacher, he turned to Angelo State for the tools he needed to make the transition. Those tools proved effective as the fifth-grade teacher and outdoor learning specialist at Laurel Mountain Elementary in Round Rock has received a 2016 Texas Environmental Excellence Award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. He was honored for creating and directing an outdoor student program called The Legacy Project. Its humbling to be provided with this platform, Hance said, but its also affirming that this work makes a difference and that were on the right path. Accompanied by Principal Jan Richards and three TCEQ commissioners, Laurel Mountain Elementary School teacher Trevor Hance, an ASU alum, accepts the 2016 Texas Environmental Excellence Award in the individual category. The school is geographically in an amazing space, next to the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve in Austin, he added. A teacher who had been here for a number of years had done some work in the buffer space between the school and the preserve. The Legacy Project allows Laurel Mountains 150 fifth-graders to expand on the work of previous students. They select a project that interests them, which helps create a sense of ownership and a desire to learn. Hance then uses their projects to help them develop math, science and social studies skills. I grew up outdoors in Louisiana and Texas and I wanted to give that experience back to the students, to give them a sense of the connection between that wild space and the classroom. Trevor Hance, ASU alum and teacher at Laurel Mountain Elementary in Round Rock A recent project called The Bike Shop had the students refurbishing and donating bicycles. Along the way, they calculated the emission savings from riding a bicycle over riding in a car. Other projects have included a rainwater-harvesting collection system and wildlife research. I grew up outdoors in Louisiana and Texas, Hance said, and I wanted to give that experience back to the students, to give them a sense of the connection between that wild space and the classroom. For Laurel Mountain Principal Jan Richards, the Texas Environmental Excellence Award is a well-deserved recognition of Hances work. Through their outdoor learning experiences, students develop an understanding and attachment to the space in which they live, she said. You see their eyes light up and the smiles on their facesand those tell you powerful and meaningful learning is happening. Programs such as birding and wildlife research launched at Laurel Mountain Elementary led to Hance earning a statewide award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Hance, who had earned a bachelors degree at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a juris doctorate from South Texas College of Law, decided to pursue his youthful ambition to teach children after marrying his wife, Diane, a librarian. My work as an attorney was busy and required a lot of travel, he said, so to get on a family schedule, my wife encouraged me to follow this dream. To get the training and credentials he needed, he chose ASUs online Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction program. The online platform allowed me to maintain my family life and to do substitute teaching and probationary teaching in the district where I wanted to work, Hance said. I consider ASU a big part of my journey, and Im very grateful for the good work that the university does and the foundation and opportunities it has provided me. He started working at Round Rock ISDs Laurel Mountain Elementary in 2011 and earned his ASU masters degree in 2012. He is currently completing a principals certification at ASU but is still enjoying being a teacher. I dont really have a desire to leave the classroom at this moment, he said. When this opportunity opened up, it was really the right fit for me. A Q&A with Trevor Hance Why did you choose to attend ASU? The affiliation with Texas Tech was a draw, and the program was sufficiently flexible to allow me to achieve my professional objectives without compromising my familial ones. What (academic and/or career) opportunities did ASU provide for you? The degree helped me transition from full-time attorney and realize my dream to teach. How did ASU prepare you for your current position? The coursework, advising from Drs. Kim Livengood and James Summerlin, and freedom to substitute throughout the district gave me a chance to find a right fit for my teaching interests. Name a professor who made a difference in your education. How did he/she help you? Both Drs. Summerlin and Livengood were relevant and supportive. What was one of your most memorable experiences as a student? We had a couple of weeks on campus one summer and leading up to our portfolio presentations, and meeting the other candidates was very meaningful. What was your favorite thing about being an ASU student? I did feel supportive, and I feel the program was practical. What would you say to prospective students who are considering attending ASU? Do it! YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. The upper house of the Swiss parliament on Wednesday voted to invalidate its 1992 application to join the European Union, backing an earlier decision by the lower house, reports RT. The vote comes just a week before Britain decides whether to leave the EU in a referendum. Twenty-seven members of the upper house, the Council of States, voted to cancel Switzerlands longstanding EU application, versus just 13 senators against. Two abstained. In the aftermath of the vote, Switzerland will give formal notice to the EU to consider its application withdrawn, the countrys foreign minister, Didier Burkhalter, was quoted as saying by Neue Zurcher Zeitung. The original motion was introduced by the conservative Swiss Peoples Party MP, Lukas Reimann. It had already received overwhelming support from legislators in the lower house of parliament in March, with 126 National Council deputies voting in favor, and 46 against. Thomas Minder, counsellor for the state of Schaffhausen and an active promoter of the concept of Swissness, said he was eager to close the topic fast and painlessly as only a few lunatics may want to join the EU now, he told the newspaper. Hannes Germann, also representing Schaffhausen, highlighted the symbolic importance of the vote, comparing it to Icelands decision to drop its membership bid in 2015. Iceland had the courage and withdrew the application for membership, so no volcano erupted,he said, jokingly. Switzerlands longstanding application to join the EU has not had a significant impact on the countrys politics for more than 20 years, as its accession negotiations have been suspended since 1992 in the wake of a referendum to join the European Economic Area, when the Swiss voted down the idea of closer ties with the EU. Some politicians even argued that the vote was an unnecessary formal procedure that didnt make much sense as Switzerland is no longer regarded by the EU as an official candidate to join the bloc. Filippo Lombardi, from the Christian Democratic Peoples Party, said that it was not very clever to discuss it once again, calling the debate about Switzerlands accession at this stage a bit ridiculous, Neue Zurcher Zeitung reported. Switzerland, never a member of EU, shares free trade with the union and free movement of people as part of the Schengen zone. The timing of Switzerlands reassurance of its sovereignty and independence from the EU institutions, if accidental, may come in handy for campaigners in the UK advocating a British exit from the EU. Polls show the UKs referendum on EU membership, to be held in a week on June 23, as being extremely close, with Leave slightly in the lead. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Is this going to be the best recruiting class Ohio State ever assembled on paper? If Urban Meyer has designs of making that statement possible, it's going to need to add a few more five-star prospects to the already-deep 2017 recruiting class. One of the prospects Ohio State is pursuing is five-star outside linebacker Dylan Moses of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG, the No. 2 overall player in the 2017 class in the 247Sports composite rankings. Moses, who already announced that he plans to officially visit Ohio State in the fall, revealed on Twitter on Thursday that he plans to make his college decision sometime in December. Rated the top outside linebacker in the country, Moses has more than 40 scholarship offers and is closely considering Texas, LSU and Alabama, so the Buckeyes certainly have their work cut out for them. But given 6-foot-2, 220-pound Moses plans to be in Columbus in the fall, that gives Meyer a chance to leave a big impression on the talented defender relatively close to his decision date. Four-star running back Todd Sibley of Archbishop Hoban decommitted from Ohio State on Wednesday, but the Buckeyes have 13 commitments in the 2017 class. That group currently ranks No. 1 in the 247Sports team rankings. Meyer's remaining 2017 priorities are wide receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones of Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech, Trevon Grimes of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, Tyjon Lindsey of Corona (Calif.) Centennial; running backs Najee Harris of Antioch, Calif., and Cam Akers of Clinton, Miss.; safety Jeffrey Okudah of Grand Prairie (Texas) South; cornerback Darnay Holmes of Calabasas, Calif.; defensive end Chase Young of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic; and others. NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger called for the repeal of the Durbin amendment on debit interchange, in an editorial in The Hill Thursday which he co-authored with the heads of CUNA, the Consumer Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers Association. Berger and the others urged support of legislation from Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, that would repeal the amendment, and they recognized House Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, for his Dodd-Frank alternative plan that would also repeal the price controls. A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond surveyed a diverse set of merchants and found that more than three-fourths in the sample did not change their prices after the Durbin Amendment was implemented, Berger and the others wrote. And, surprisingly, the study also found that one in four merchants actually increased prices since the Durbin Amendment took effect. Other studies confirm customers are being short-changed at the register, they continued. The fourth annual survey of nearly 2,000 consumers by consumer research firm Phoenix Marketing International found the vast majority of shoppers have not experienced a price drop at the point of sale. In fact, in each of the 15 categories measured, at least 92 percent of shoppers reported that prices rose or stayed the same over the previous year. Talking Points Australian Dollar little changed as Mays jobs report crossed the wires Australia added 17,900 positions versus 15,000 estimated by economists AUD/USD follows ASX 200 futures lower in the aftermath of the data The Aussie Dollar initially saw a small reaction against its major counterparts after Australias employment report crossed the wires. The data showed that 17,900 jobs were created in May, which was better than the 15,000 gain expected. All of the positions added came from the part-time sector. There were no gains or losses from the full-time portion. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.7 percent as expected. While an increase in the participation rate to 64.9 percent was forecasted, it remained unchanged at 64.8 percent as it was in April. Australian front-end government bond yields saw a limited reaction as well. This could have been a result of the markets interpreting the data to have a minor impact to the Reserve Bank of Australias outlook on monetary policy. Indeed, the RBA went into a wait-and-see approach in its most recent policy announcement. The central bank believes rates are where they should be in order for CPI and sustainable growth to return to its longer-term target. The Aussies decline in the aftermath of the jobs report can likely be traced to it following shares lower. Being a sentiment-linked currency, the AUD/USD declined alongside ASX 200 futures, as can be seen in the chart below. Meanwhile, the DailyFX Speculative Sentiment Index (SSI) is showing a narrowly positive reading. The SSI is a contrarian indicator, implying further AUD/USD weakness ahead. Want to learn more about the DailyFX SSI indicator? Click here to watch a tutorial. Over the course of ten years, South Pole Group has leveraged carbon markets to produce over 100,000 GWh of renewable energy and to unlock 80 million tonnes of CO2 reductions - more than the annual national GHG emissions of Greece. Further such impacts are likely to follow in the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, with more and more organisations committing to decrease their carbon footprints, engage in sustainable resource management and transition to renewable energy. The fulfillment of the recently inked COP21 Paris climate agreement and the establishment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals calls for verified, impactful action from public and private actors alike. Going forward, results-based finance will be key in driving investment in substantiated, climate-smart projects via, among others, the carbon markets. The latest report on the State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2016 already shows that while global leaders were preparing for last year's transformational climate agreement, companies as well as state and national governments deployed voluntary carbon markets to increase their own actions on climate. Results-based mechanisms such as carbon credits, REDD+ and other advanced market commitments can and already have offered lucrative solutions for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and for helping organisations achieve carbon neutrality. By combining a carbon mitigation project with sustainable development efforts in Kenya, Coop Switzerland was able to offset its emissions from local goods imported by air. This was done via investments in a community-based project that distributes efficient cookstoves to local Maasai villages in Kenya. People from these Maasai villages currently represent the majority of the employees at Oserian Flower Farm, the Kenyan-based producer of Fair Trade certified roses, which exports flowers to Coop Switzerland. This type of clientspecific development of investing in emissions reduction projects along a company's supply chain is called insetting. The initiative, one of the 500+ projects developed by South Pole Group, successfully reduced emissions and harmful illnesses, and halved the demand for firewood. Actions to change the course of our fossil fuel powered world have also ushered in an era where investments in renewable energies are ever more dynamic. The past few years have seen organisations from all over the world embark on a 21st century clean power crusade to match their goals and sustainability pledges with investments in renewable energy. But while the global renewable energy market is growing in leaps and bounds, options to source renewable energy at a worthwhile price are not available across the orb: "Companies increasingly demand electricity from renewable energy sources. Sourcing renewable energy at a lucrative price - and transparently tracing its source - are nonetheless not available everywhere," says Natalia Gorina, Sales Director Carbon & Renewables at South Pole Group, after the company cinched the title of Best Project Developer Renewable Energy in the latest Environmental Finance Rankings. "We're working hard to provide premium products that both support new renewable energy projects, and help our clients better engage with stakeholders and increase the speed in which they integrate renewables into their energy mix. High-quality renewable energy certificates (RECs) such as International RECs (I-RECs), Guarantees of Origin and GoldPower are just some of these solutions." By generating electricity from renewable energy sources, businesses are able to improve their sustainability rankings in the likes of CDP's prestigious Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. RECs contribute towards a better CDP ranking by directly reducing the disclosable Scope 2 emissions. The financial incentive of RECs is further highlighted by real-life cases: While cloud solutions represent a major growth opportunity for SAP, energy-intensive data centers remain one of the main challenges to tackle for the market leader in enterprise application software. Opting for GoldPower premium RECs, the company is leveraging renewables as a powerful differentiator for attracting and retaining customers, employees and investors. SAP's investments in RECs and renewable energy have to date spelled out the company's genuine commitment to sustainable development, not to mention a smaller carbon footprint. As the global community turns its focus towards reaching the 2C target called for in Paris, it must also transform the strategies it pursues for achieving it. "We believe it's all about initiating real, measurable action on the ground," says Renat Heuberger, CEO, South Pole Group. "Inspired by the UN SDGs, we've now managed to mobilise over USD 10 billion for clean energy investments in emerging markets and helped create nearly 70,000 jobs in developing countries." Results-based action will be a means to drive investment in climate-smart projects via mechanisms such as the carbon markets, especially where impacts are clearly quantifiable and verifiable. A results-based approach will also ensure that projects are more structured, and supports a cost-effective implementation with solid governance frameworks - bending the curve towards attaining what is truly required to avoid a climate catastrophe. About South Pole Group South Pole Group was awarded winning titles in multiple categories in the 2016 Environmental Finance Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings. For the third year running, the Zurich-based company came first in Best Trading Company, Best Project Developer Renewable Energy and Best Wholesaler. This prestigious peer-voted industry ranking recognises the Group's resultsbased initiatives and project development approach that drive innovation and impacts in the field of climate change adaptation & mitigation. For more information, please contact: Nadia Kahkonen, Communications Manager E: n.kahkonen@thesouthpolegroup.com T: +66 2 678 89 27 SALEM, Ohio Robotic milkers are changing the way small family dairies manage their farms. When they first came on the scene roughly seven to eight years ago, producers were hesitant wondering if they could trust the machine to milk their cows and if the cost was worth it. Today, as more small farms are taking on robotic milking systems or thinking about it cost is still a barrier, with an added understanding of the technology that goes along with it. It takes the right owner to manage the technology, said Dave Hill, owner of Hills Farm Supply Inc., in Canal Fulton, Ohio, a DeLaval dealer. It takes someone who is mechanically inclined, technology (savvy) and loves cows, he said. It can be a challenge to find that well-rounded individual. Labor savings and flexibility Joe Ramsier, of Ramsiers Willow Spring Farm, in Rittman, Ohio, was one of the first dairymen in the Wayne County area to install a robotic milking system. Ramsier said they started looking into robotic systems in the fall of 2009, because their parlor was aging and he always enjoyed the cows better than managing people. In fact, one of the main reasons small family dairies consider switching to robotics is because of labor issues. By the spring of 2010, Ramsier had installed a couple of Lely robots on his farm to milk his herd of 110-130 Holstein cows. Jason Nuefer, of Bar Lee Jerseys in Willard, Ohio, installed a couple of Lely robots in December 2015 for his 118 milking herd because of labor issues. It seemed like it was always an inconsistent amount of labor, he said. Sometimes we would have good help and sometimes we wouldnt. Nuefer said anytime his family would try to go away whether it was for a wedding, an FFA banquet or a quick vacation something always came up. Robots definitely make family time a lot better and you have a lot more flexibility in your schedule, said Nuefer. Milking around 220 head of holstein cows, Matt McKelvey, of Fredericksburg, Ohio, said labor was one of the main reasons he switched to robotics. It took us three years to decide to put them in, said McKelvey, who installed four DeLaval robotic milking systems in January 2013. Having only one additional full-time worker besides his family, McKelvey said more time can be dedicated to individual cow health instead of time spent moving cows and running a parlor. On a Sunday afternoon, if they wrap up with chores for the day, McKelvey said the rest of the afternoon can be spent relaxing with the family. Increased production and improved health Since installing the milkers, Ramsiers herd is averaging about 2.8 milkings per day (versus two milkings per day with a conventional parlor) and he has seen his production increase by 15 pounds per cow. Ramsier has also seen an improvement in overall herd health, specifically fewer cases of mastitis and disease, which he added can also be attributed to improved genetics. The robots are actually gentler on the cow, said McKelvey, which in turn makes the cow less stressed and increases her production. McKelvey said he has seen a 7- to 10-pound increase in milk production and has seen an overall improved health of his herd. In the next year Nuefer expects to see a 5-pound increase in milk production, but is already seeing a lower somatic cell count. Its going to take a couple years, but I am excited to see how teat health improves, said Nuefer. Mark Canon, a dairyman from West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, had a couple Lely robots installed at the end of April. Milking around 92 head of Holsteins, Canon said his herd is averaging 3.3 milkings a day and he is already seeing a 12-pound increase in production (mostly due to the smaller herd size). Some maintenance required But the machines are not foolproof. Some farmers think they can buy a robot and forget about going to the barn, said Hill. But the reality is, these are machines, and just like your tractors and combines, they need to be maintained and kept up on, said Ben Mescher, robotic technician and sales for Prengers Inc. in northwest Ohio. A majority of the time, repairs are minor, but when a machine does have an issue, the farmer receives an automated phone call letting him or her know the robot is not functioning properly. Ninety percent of the stuff can be fixed right from your phone, said McKelvey, noting it could just be glitch in the software. But sometimes the call requires a trip to the barn to re-connect a hose that was kicked off by an impatient cow or to clean off a laser or sensor that is too dirty to function. Sometimes when you have a problem (the dealer) can work remotely to fix it, said Sharon Ginnetti, who had two Lely robots installed on her family dairy near Alliance, Ohio. She said she tends to leave most of the technology to the next generation, her daughter, 16, and two sons, 17 and 15. Dont be afraid of technology Its a lot to learn, said Sharon Ginnetti, but daughter Kelly feels pretty comfortable stepping in to take over the computer work. Because the younger generation is often more computer and smartphone savvy, installing robotic milkers could another way of ensuring the next generation takes on the family farm. If the robotic milkers are being used to full potential, the data collected can provide tons of information about each cow that passes through the robot from udder health, to infections and even heat detection. But its not something that producers should be afraid of. The user interfaces on these are pretty simple, said Dean Stoller, Lely sales representative for W.G. Dairy in Creston, Ohio. If you can operate the basic functions on a PC, you can operate a robot. For Ramsier, the technology was pretty easy to figure out with the tech support provided by W.G. Dairy when his robots were installed. Producers using either Lely or DeLaval products work closely with a technician to learn how the machines work and how they can best use the data upon installation. McKelvey said he checks the computers a couple times a day to make sure all his cows are using the milkers and that everyone is healthy. You are always constantly learning to use the data you get, said Ramsier. He said he usually saves the data analysis for rainy day projects where he has time to sit down and create charts and graphs to help improve milk production and efficiency in his herd. Its kind of like getting a new cell phone, said Canon. The more you use it, the more you get comfortable with it. Checking the data Kelly Ginnetti, 16, checks the monitor of a Lely robotic milking machine on her familys dairy farm near Alliance, Ohio. Her mother, Sharon, says she tends to leave the technology for the next generation, as it is easier for them to pick up. However, dairymen should not be afraid to use the technology as it is user-friendly for all ages. (Catie Noyes photo) < > < > 1 View Checking the data Kelly Ginnetti, 16, checks the monitor of a Lely robotic milking machine on her familys dairy farm near Alliance, Ohio. Her mother, Sharon, says she tends to leave the technology for the next generation, as it is easier for them to pick up. However, dairymen should not be afraid to use the technology as it is user-friendly for all ages. (Catie Noyes photo) 2 View DeLaval robotic milker Robotic milkers are changing the way small family dairies manage their farms. 3 View Lely robotic milker Sharon Ginnetti, a dairy woman from Alliance, Ohio, said as each cow enters the milking unit, the robot reads an electronic identification for the cow and can detect if the cows milk needs to placed in special holding tanks because of treatment or if it is for a new calf. 4 View Lely robotic milker Both Lely and DeLaval robotic milking units use a series of lasers and sensors to guide robotic arms under the cow. 5 View McKelvey checks data As the four DeLaval robots milk Matt McKelveys 220 cows, they also collect information on each individual cow and deliver it to a computer system McKelvey monitors. From this data, he can tell which cows have not been visited the robot to be milked and if they need treated for any health issues. 6 View Entering the milker McKelvey's cows enter the milker after passing through a series of smart gates that guide the cow to and from the robotic milker. 7 View Feed alley (Farm and Dairy file photo) Costs to consider The upfront cost is a major drawback, but we were looking into plans to update our parlor anyway, said Ramsier. The cost difference between updating or building a new parlor and installing a couple of robots was comparable, he said. Weve found when you pencil out the labor savings and the increase in production, the return on investment is favorable, added Stoller. Even though you have a slightly higher initial investment, cost of ownership is lower, he said. We kind of budgeted at 10 pounds per cow per day would make a payment, said Canon. Now, hopefully the price of milk will go up. Which is the main concern of most dairies. I have a lot of people talking about (robotic milkers), but until milk prices increase, the interest in anything isnt what is should be, said Dennis Graham, owner of Graham Dairy Supply Inc, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Related content: Last year the Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) and the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) embarked on a joint land mobility initiative to get more young people into farming. This scheme has taken another step forward following the completion of a survey to identify the scale of the problem in Northern Ireland. Speaking after a meeting held recently between the two organisations, UFU President Barclay Bell said: "In the second half of last year the UFU and YFCU developed initial plans for the introduction of a land mobility initiative, similar to the pilot scheme that was already in place in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) at that time. "The objective is to put older farmers facing the challenge of succession in touch with younger farmers wanting to get into the industry. "From the outset, it was essential to identify the size of this problem so the UFU funded a survey of 440 UFU members from all sectors of the industry and all parts of Northern Ireland. "This survey has now been completed and has clearly shown that almost half of those surveyed had not identified a farming successor." Many looking for a full-time chance YFCU President, Roberta Simmons, added: "It is clear that there are many young people working on a part-time basis in the industry looking for a first opportunity to become a full time farmer. "It was also evident that many farm families find this a very difficult matter to discuss despite the lack of a succession plan posing an obvious and real problem for the farm business. "The need for and availability of good, relevant information and advice was highlighted. "We have noticed that their awareness of options to provide long-term succession solutions or their implications is low. "Many farmers do not want to retire fully and instead are relying on short-term measures to cope as their level of activity reduces in their later years." In concluding, both stated that the two organisations have started working on the operational detail of this land mobility scheme and how it will be funded. Frozen food retailer Iceland is promoting its own label free-range eggs at six large for just 50p almost certainly the lowest price ever at retail. It is currently selling free-range eggs for less than it offers the caged egg equivalent. See also: Willings: Feed volatility biggest threat to poultry profits The supermarket cut the price as part of a one-week sale and is due to revert to 89p on 21 June. A spokesman said it was part of a series of seven day deals which had to date included items such as bread, butter, bananas and beef mince. Free range eggs are important to our customers so we have invested our own money to make this product accessible to everyone. It is a limited offer that only runs for seven days, he added. To contrast, large colony eggs are listed at 1 for 10. It represents a new low after a period of depressed prices for free-range eggs. Below the cost of production James Baxter, who is a free-range poultry farmer and vice-chair of the British Free Range Egg Producers, said the move was really quite worrying. This is the latest in a long race to the bottom. They are selling eggs at below the cost of production, once you take into account packing transport and grading. Thats disturbing, and I dont see how any good can come out of it for farmers. Geekologie has shut down. Thank you to everybody. Now go be happy. The Herald reports: Donald Trump greeted Twitter on Flag Day with two words in all caps: AMERICA FIRST! He has made this slogan a theme for his campaign, and he has begun using it to contrast himself with President Obama, whose criticism of Trumps rhetoric on Tuesday was answered with a Trump statement promising: When I am president, it will always be America first. He wasnt quite promising America uber alles, but it comes close. America First was the motto of Nazi-friendly Americans in the 1930s, and Trump has more than just a catchphrase in common with them. During the early 1930s, as the Nazis consolidated control over Germany, the US media baron William Randolph Hearst began touting the slogan America First against President Franklin Roosevelt, whom he saw as dangerously likely to allow the international bankers and the other big influences that have gambled with your prosperity to gamble with your politics. Hearst regarded Roosevelts New Deal as un-American to the core and more communistic than the communists unlike Nazism, which he believed had won a great victory for liberty-loving people everywhere in defeating communism. With the beginning of World War II in Europe and the Germans swift conquest of the continent, Roosevelt began to commit his administration more firmly to the aid of the those fighting Nazism. He incurred the ire of various anti-intervention constituencies, ranging from committed religious or principled pacifists to American communists, who supported the Nazi-Soviet pact and therefore the notion that the United States should stay out of the European war. But the most prominent of his opponents were the founders of the America First Committee, formed in September 1940. The committee opposed fighting Nazism and proposed a well-armed America confined largely to the Western Hemisphere. It soon afterwards adopted the noted aviator and enthusiast of fascism, Charles Lindbergh, as their favoured speaker. Lindbergh accepted a medal from Hermann Goering in the name of the Fuhrer during a visit to Germany in 1938, and proudly wore the decoration, the New York Times reported. He thought democracy was finished in Europe, that the western powers could not effectively resist the Nazi war machine and that the United States had better make terms with Adolf Hitler. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Legit.ng is #1 online trusted source of the latest news in Nigeria. We are covering Nigeria news, Niger delta, world updates, and Nigerian newspaper reviews. We guide our readers to the world of politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and human interest stories. CEDAR RAPIDS The nations largest organization for business advocacy has thrown its support behind incumbent Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. Rob Engstrom, senior vice president and national political director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, announced his organizations endorsement of Grassley at an event Friday at CRST International, the Cedar Rapids-based trucking and logistics company. Grassley is facing Democrat Patty Judge in Novembers election. Over the course of the last seven or eight years, our members faced an unprecedented threat from big-government liberals in Washington, D.C., said Engstrom, noting Grassley is the antidote for that threat. Voters in Iowa have an opportunity to send a message. They have the clearest choice in America as to who is going to represent them. Engstrom said the nation needs leaders who stand against government regulations such as Obamacare and cap-and-trade policies that aim to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Such regulations, he said, hurt businesses and damage the economy. Its taken shape in the regulatory arena with an alphabet soup of government agencies who make it harder for businesses in Iowa to do what they do best, and thats grow jobs, Engstrom said. We have politicians in Washington who say ... businesses dont create jobs. It is time for a full-throated defense of the American free enterprise system. Engstrom called Judge, 72, a former Iowa lieutenant governor, state secretary of agriculture and state senator, a classic tax and spend liberal. She has raised taxes sales taxes, business taxes she hasnt met a tax she doesnt want to raise, he said. Engstrom also criticized Judges support for the Environmental Protection Agencys Waters of the United States plan, which would expand the number of waterways subject to clean water rules. I know what that means for farmers right here in Iowa, he said. A spokesperson for the Judge campaign could not immediately be reached for comment. Engstrom said Grassley is a champion of the free enterprise system, noting the senators vote to eliminate the debt tax. He also called Grassley the more serious candidate. Its not time for someone who is looking for a hobby, Engstrom said of Judge. Grassley said the chambers endorsement means a great deal to him. He pledged to work to bring changes to tax and regulatory laws. The respected U.S. Chamber of Commerce is an organization that fights for business large and small, he said. The U.S. Chamber helps to carry their voice to Washington, D.C., so Congress will understand their concerns. Make no mistake about it, main street businesses are really the backbone of our economy. They are under considerable pressure due to the challenges they face in todays economy, and lots of these are caused by the government. Grassley credited Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds with improving Iowas economy. He highlighted the states 5.5 percent unemployment rate in April 2011, the year Branstad took office, comparing it to the current unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just as the governor and lieutenant governor have turned this ship around in Iowa, we need to make sure that were working at the federal level to promote business policies that continue to unshackle Iowas businesses. DES MOINES Chris Kolb has witnessed up close the devastating effect of a tainted water supply and the mistakes that helped create the problem. Kolb, a co-chair of an independent task force that investigated the root causes of the public water crisis in Flint, Michigan, warned that what happened in Flint could happen anywhere. We need to help people understand why we need people to be good stewards and to protect these water sources, Kolb said during an interview this week in Des Moines, where he spoke at an event hosted by the Iowa Environmental Council about his experience as co-chair of the Flint Water Advisory Task Force. Flints water supply became contaminated with lead when the city, in a cost-saving move, started drawing its water from the Flint River; previously, it had drawn water from Lake Huron by way of Detroit. The task force found that state regulators declined to require corrosion control treatment, which allowed toxic lead to seep into Flints water supply. Kolb called it a catastrophic failure by government. A former Democratic state lawmaker and current president of the Michigan Environmental Council, Kolb said he has learned about Iowas own water quality issues. Iowa has been instructed by the federal government to reduce the amount of harmful pollutants in its waterways that are feeding into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, creating areas there where marine life cannot survive. And a Des Moines utility has sued some northern counties over what the utility says is agricultural runoff polluting rivers that run into Des Moines, forcing the utility to pay more to clean up the water once it reaches the city. Kolb said many other states are dealing with their own unique water quality issues. Weve taken water for granted. I think thats the issue that connects Iowa to Flint, Kolb said. Weve gotten complacent. (But) I dont look at water the same way. A central issue in Iowas water quality debate is whether agriculture producers should be required to participate in water quality programs or whether participation should be voluntary, as it is now. Kolb said a similar debate is taking place in Michigan, and he thinks a voluntary approach is unlikely to achieve significant water quality improvement. While (voluntary participation) is good, and you do see some results, the problem is theres probably not enough, so you probably have to switch (to mandatory participation), and at what point do you do that, Kolb said. At what point do you determine your voluntary measures arent working? Kolb stressed that preserving healthy water supplies will require the attention of all citizens, not just government. He said the public must be educated and urged to advocate for clean water practices. Kolb said he is scheduled to give speeches in Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana. Brittany Rae Beek, 27, was arrested Wednesday by the Charles City Police Department on two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony. Beek is accused of committing sex acts against the will of the female minors on May 11 in her bedroom, according to the police. She allegedly bound the hands of one of the girls. What would you be willing to do for a free flight? Would you fly to Malaysia? Thats essentially the question Air Asia is asking its customers this summer, as the Malaysia-based budget airline is currently offering more than 3 million free seats on flights departing between January 4 and August 21 of next year. If this deal sounds too good to be true, it may be because it is. Theressomewhat expectedlya catch, as the promotion only applies to flights leaving from a Malaysian airport. So unless you already happen to be planning a trip to one of the countrys stunning beaches or sensational natural wonders, booking a flight to Malaysia is necessary in taking advantage of this insane deal. That being said, flights to Malaysia arent actually as expensive as you may thinktake a look at these cheap flights from New York to Kuala Lumpur, for exampleand any particularly optimistic traveller could see the journey there as just another leg of an adventurous, and otherwise incredibly low-cost vacation. Unfortunately, taxes and additional fees arent included in the deal, which means the ticket itself wont actually cost zero dollars. However, there are a ton of flights that come just about as close absolutely nothing as possible, with journeys to Singapore, Hong Kong, Perth and Jakarta available for less than $45 total at checkout. If you prefer to travel in style, there you can also use the promotion to book a seat on one of Air Asias premium flat beds to locations such as Beijing and New Delhi for as little as $204. For anyone truly interested in taking advantage of these cheap flights, there isnt much time to waste. The promotion ends June 19 of this year though, so it may be time to make some impulse travel decisions. Dillon Thompson is a travel intern with Paste and a student at the University of Georgia. I hate to make broad sweeping statement about an incredible array of different peoples over vastly different timelines, but also: historical people were gross. Bog just might be one of the most disgustingly evocative words. It should conjure images of the sort of filthy swamp that Shrek would live in, not as somewhere to store food but thats exactly what old timey Scottish and Irish people did. People would chuck huge quantities of butter into bogs because, thanks to their temperature and acidity and oxygen levels, they are basically perfect at preserving big ol lumps of dairy. Turf cutter (which I assume means he sleeps with other peoples girlfriends) Jack Conaway was cutting turf (lol) in County Cavan, Ireland when he came across the massive, two millennium old hunk of spreadable goodness. The butter has been given to the Conservation Department of the National Museum for further analysis. In 2013 another turf cutter came across a similar chunk of butter estimated to be about 5000 years old. Back in the day butter was a luxury good used not just for cooking, but also as currency and to ward of evil spirits. Although theoretically its completely edible, scientists and archeologists do not recommend you use it to line your cake pan. What a world. Photos: Cavan County Museum. Story: CNN. CLEAR LAKE The Clear Lake swimming pool was closed Friday for cleaning after a vandal or vandals climbed the fence and defecated in the pool, officials said. Someone jumped the fence and put fecal matter into the pool, said Clear Lake Parks Director Randy Miller. The pool must undergo a 24-hour chlorination process before it can reopen, he said. A message shared on the city of Clear Lake Facebook page said officials hope to have it opened again on Saturday. The city appreciates the publics understanding that closure is necessary for proper disinfection and protection of the health and safety of patrons, and apologize and share their frustration, city Administrator Scott Flory said in an e-mail to the Globe Gazette. The incident is under investigation by Clear Lake police. Clear Lake Police Chief Pete Roth said it appeared to be human waste. No arrests were made as of early Friday afternoon. Officials on Friday also were still compiling damage estimates and the cost to clean the pool. The amount of damage will determine what charges will be faced by the perpetrator or perpetrators, Roth said. Vandalism causing damage of $1,000 to $10,000 is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. A harsher prison sentence can be imposed for damage of $10,000 or more. Anyone with information about the incident can contact Clear Lake police at 641-357-2186 or call Crimestoppers at 800-383-0088. A reward may be available for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Globe Gazette staff Researchers have discovered a handful of 'bright spots' among the world's embattled coral reefs, offering the promise of a radical new approach to conservation. In one of the largest global studies of its kind, researchers conducted over 6,000 reef surveys in 46 countries across the globe, and discovered 15 'bright spots' -- places where, against all the odds, there were a lot more fish on coral reefs than expected. "Given the widespread depletion of coral reef fisheries globally, we were really excited to find these bright spots that were doing much better than we anticipated," says lead author Professor Josh Cinner from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. "These 'bright spots' are reefs with more fish than expected based on their exposure to pressures like human population, poverty, and unfavourable environmental conditions. "To be clear, bright spots are not necessarily pristine reefs, but rather reefs that have more fish than they should, given the pressures they face. "We wanted to know why these reefs could 'punch above their weight' so-to-speak, and whether there are lessons we can learn about how to avoid the degradation often associated with overfishing." Co-author, Professor Nick Graham of Lancaster University says globally, coral reefs are in decline and current strategies for preserving them are insufficient. advertisement "Our bright spots approach has identified places we did not previously know were so successful, and the really interesting thing is that they are not necessarily untouched by man," he says. "We believe their discovery offers the potential to develop exciting new solutions for coral reef conservation." "Importantly, the bright spots had a few things in common, which, if applied to other places, might help promote better reef conditions." "Many bright spots had strong local involvement in how the reefs were managed, local ownership rights, and traditional management practices," says co-author Dr. Christina Hicks of Lancaster and Stanford Universities. The scientists also identified 35 'dark spots' -- these were reefs with fish stocks in worse shape than expected. advertisement "Dark spots also had a few defining characteristics; they were subject to intensive netting activities and there was easy access to freezers so people could stockpile fish to send to the market," says Dr. Hicks. This type of bright spots analysis has been used in fields such as human health to improve the wellbeing of millions of people. It is the first time it has been rigorously developed for conservation. "We believe that the bright spots offer hope and some solutions that can be applied more broadly across the world's coral reefs," says Prof. Cinner. "Specifically, investments that foster local involvement and provide people with ownership rights can allow people to develop creative solutions that help defy expectations of reef fisheries depletion. "Conversely, dark spots may highlight development or management pathways to avoid." Bright spots were typically found in the Pacific Ocean in places like the Solomon Islands, parts of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati. Dark spots were more globally distributed and found in every major ocean basin. The study has been published in the journal Nature. Thirty nine scientists from 34 different universities and conservation groups conducted the research. A few snippets of protein extracted from the fossil of an extinct species of giant beaver are opening a new door in paleoproteomics, the study of ancient proteins. Ancient proteins can be used to place animals on the evolutionary tree, and could offer insights into how life and Earth's environment have evolved over time. Typically, paleoproteomics relies on fossils collected for the purpose. But in a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) used a fossil collected more than 170 years ago in central New York, and housed at the New York State Museum. "Paleoproteomics is a young field. We don't yet know the full potential of the information it may offer us, and one barrier to that is the supply of fossils we can call upon for research," said Deepak Vashishth, professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. "In developing these techniques, we're creating new value in fossils that are already on exhibit, or sitting in storage waiting for a purpose." The team of researchers extracted proteins from the first skull of the species Castoroides ohioensis ever found. Collected in 1845, the giant beaver skull is the oldest museum-curated bony specimen to have been studied using paleoproteomic tools. The researchers were searching for proteins, chains of amino acids assembled from instructions encoded in DNA that perform a wide variety of functions in living organisms. Using mass spectrometry analysis, researchers detected many samples of collagen 1, the most common protein in bone. "This research not only provides exciting information about a New York State Museum specimen of unique significance -- the first discovered and documented giant beaver skull in the world -- it also highlights the critical role museum collections play in research and discovery," said Robert Feranec, New York State Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology. "Without maintaining collections rich in diversity of specimens, both ancient and modern, similar research that examines these windows into our past would not be possible." The big challenge to drawing upon existing fossil collections is that they weren't collected for the purpose of paleoproteomics, and they may not have been stored in conditions optimal to protein extraction and analysis techniques, said Timothy Cleland, a postdoctoral researcher formerly at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and now at the University of Texas-Austin. "In paleoproteomics we've generally looked at specimens collected recently and carefully stored in climate-controlled conditions. In this case, we're looking at a specimen that sat on a shelf collecting dust for most of its life," Cleland said. "So we wanted to know -- can we look at these historically collected specimens and pull out protein information?" When researchers studied the giant beaver skull, the first thing they noticed was that it appeared to have varnish, a common treatment used to preserve fossils, applied to the outside of it. To avoid the varnish (which is itself organically based), they took samples from the nasal cavities of the skull. They removed a small sample of bone, extracted the preserved proteins, digested with enzyme, and analyzed the protein pieces with mass spectrometry. The analysis determined the primary sequence of amino acids in the protein detected, as well as post-translational modifications, chemical changes on the surface of the protein that are not defined by DNA. Both the primary sequence and post-translational modifications have value to researchers, and that value will increase as more specimens are analyzed and more information becomes available, said Cleland. A database of primary protein sequences, for example, could be useful in clarifying evolutionary trees, in reverse engineering proteins to understand how particular proteins evolved over a period of time, or in "reviving" a sequence that may be nonexistent now for therapeutic use. Cleland was particularly excited about being able to detect fossil post-translational modifications, a finding that has little precedent in the emerging field. Post-translational modifications are such a recent addition to paleoproteomics that he said researchers are just scratching the surface of what can be done with it. "Collagen, for example, is a really long-lived protein -- we retain some of the collagen we're born with for our entire lives. By studying the post-translational modifications to collagen, we can learn what an organism is doing to its collagen so it can function better -- for example become more rigid or more flexible," said Cleland. "Now imagine if we were able to build up a database of post-translational modification to ancient organisms, we could begin to make inferences about evolutionary changes, or use them in protein engineering to look at how function in the ancient protein compares to that same protein in living animals." University of Utah materials science and engineering associate professor Mike Scarpulla wants to shed light on semiconductors -- literally. Scarpulla and senior scientist Kirstin Alberi of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, have developed a theory that adding light during the manufacturing of semiconductors -- the materials that make up the essential parts of computer chips, solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) -- can reduce defects and potentially make more efficient solar cells or brighter LEDs. The role of light in semiconductor manufacturing may help explain many puzzling differences between processing methods as well as unlock the potential of materials that could not be used previously. Scarpulla and Alberi reported their findings in a paper titled "Suppression of Compensating Native Defect Formation During Semiconductor Processing Via Excess Carriers," published June 16 in the journal, Scientific Reports. The research was funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Semiconductors are pure materials used to produce electronic components such as computer chips, solar cells, radios used in cellphones or LEDs. The theory developed by Scarpulla and Alberi applies to all semiconductors but is most exciting for compound semiconductors -- such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), cadmium telluride (CdTe), or gallium nitride (GaN) -- that are produced by combining two or more elements from the periodic table. GaAs is used in microwave radios in cellphones, CdTe in solar panels, and GaN in LED light bulbs. The fact that compound semiconductors require more than one chemical element make them susceptible to defects in the material at an atomic scale, says Scarpulla, who also is a University of Utah electrical and computer engineering associate professor. "Defects produce lots of effects like difficulty in controlling the conductivity of the material, difficulty in being able to turn sunlight into electricity efficiently in the case of solar cells or difficulty in emitting light efficiently in the case of LEDs," he says. For nearly a century, researchers have usually assumed that the numbers of these defects in semiconductors were uniquely defined by the temperature and pressure during processing. "We worked out a complete theory that couples light into that problem," Scarpulla says. The team discovered that if you add light while firing the material in a furnace at high temperatures, the light generates extra electrons that can change the composition of the material. "We ran simulations of what happens," Scarpulla says. "If you put a piece of a semiconductor in a furnace in the dark, you would get one set of properties from it. But when you shine light on it in the furnace, it turns out you suppress these more problematic defects. We think it may allow us to get around some tricky problems with certain materials that have prevented their use for decades. The exciting work is in the future though -- actually testing these predictions to make better devices." The team is working to apply their theory to as many semiconductors as possible and testing the real world results. For example, the team believes this could improve the efficiency of solar panels that use thin films of cadmium telluride and even those made from silicon. "It's really cool to be working on this fundamental problem in semiconductors," says Scarpulla. "Most of the ideas were worked out decades ago, so it is really exciting to be able to make a contribution to something fundamental. It feels like we have shined light onto a new path and we don't know how far it will take us." Research by the University of Southampton has called into question a centuries-old story behind a dress that once belonged to one of the nation's most beloved novelists -- Charlotte Bronte. Colloquially coined the 'Thackeray Dress', this blue and white printed garment was always thought to have been worn by Bronte to a dinner, held in her honour at the home of her literary hero William Makepeace Thackeray on 12 June, 1850. However, a new study suggests this wasn't the case. The famous dinner was a significant moment in Charlotte Bronte's career, as historian and lead researcher at Southampton, Eleanor Houghton explains: "It was a highly important social occasion for Charlotte -- a public marker of her arrival on the literary scene, coming soon after the release of her best-selling novel, Jane Eyre. It's generally accepted that Bronte wore the iconic 'Thackeray Dress' on this august occasion, but my research suggests this may be more rooted in myth, than in truth." In the paper, Unravelling the Mystery: Charlotte Bronte 's 1850 'Thackeray Dress', published in the journal Costume, Eleanor examines the style, fabric, context and history of the dress, which is normally housed at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, UK, but will shortly be at the Morgan Library, New York. By delving deeper into surviving archival material, industrial practices and contemporary accounts, she confirms the garment can confidently be dated to the years close to 1850 -- around the time of the dinner in Kensington, London. However, contemporary sartorial codes and conventions cast doubt on its suitability as evening wear and call into question its association with the event. One alternative theory for the purpose of the dress is revealed in a catalogue entry for its sale at Sotheby's in 1916, describing it as being made for Charlotte's honeymoon -- but Eleanor also discounts this, stating: "By 1854, the fashion was for larger, more voluminous sleeves. Charlotte Bronte's own 'going away dress' of the same year features full, heavily pleated sleeves that taper to a narrow wristband. Conversely, the 'Thackeray Dress' features close fitting sleeves, more commonly associated with the fashions of the early years of the 1850s." Having considered all the evidence, findings point to another solution to the mystery of the 'Thackeray Dress'. Sometime between 6 to 12 June 1850, during the same trip to London as the dinner engagement, another meeting took place between Charlotte Bronte and writer William Makepeace Thackeray. This was a private morning meeting, for which a printed day dress would have been appropriate. Eleanor comments: "The white and blue delaine Thackeray dress would have been the right choice for such a meeting. Its high neck, long sleeves and mid quality, printed fabric point to pretty, but unassuming morning attire. Though it can never be categorically proven, it is possible that the dress is associated with this earlier engagement, not the evening dinner. "We know Charlotte was embarrassed when she wore an inappropriate dress to the opera on her first visit to London, so with this in mind, I think we can be confident it is unlikely she would have made the same mistake twice, by wearing a day dress to an auspicious evening occasion -- particularly one of such personal and public significance." Furthermore, the research also reveals that a written account of the dinner, placing the dress there, in the 1914 book In the Footsteps of the Brontes, is actually based on second hand information -- raising a question mark over its reliability. Professor Maria Hayward, a historian and textile conservation expert at the University of Southampton says: "Charlotte's blue and white dress is a fascinating piece of clothing that reveals many insights into the life of its owner. Its size, the choice of materials and cut, and the quality have all allowed Eleanor to piece together when it was worn and what it reveals about the public life of this very private author." Eleanor concludes: "My work deepens the mystery of this dress, but whatever the truth, it continues to exert power. In many ways, the myths that surround such an object -- in this case involving the literary giants of both Charlotte Bronte and William Makepeace Thackeray, add a value and interest out of all proportion to its original worth." Every year, more than 23,000 youth leave foster care after turning 18 and begin adulthood. Unlike their peers who can depend on family who serve as support systems, those coming out of foster care have to be more self-sufficient and often face elevated risks of homelessness and poverty. Clark Peters, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri, says youth in foster care need not only financial education but guidance as they grow their experience obtaining and managing money to successfully navigate the path to adulthood. "Unlike young adults who learn about money from their parents, foster youth transition to adulthood without such financial experience," Peters said. "More importantly, they usually lack opportunities to learn from early mistakes that are so common when it comes to understanding finances. Their circumstances provide little room for error as mistakes and miscalculations end up having significant negative effects, as they are often just one financial mistake away from a terrible situation." In his latest study, Peters examined the challenges former foster youth had gaining income and how they coped with these challenges. Participants in the study were drawn from those enrolled in Opportunity PassportTM, a matched savings program aimed at helping young people improve their financial capability when transitioning from foster care. Participants in the study completed interviews on current living circumstances, employment and household information as well as their overall financial well-being. While nearly all participants in the study had work experience, most struggled with low wages and irregular hours, making it difficult to escape poverty. Most of the participants also had little access to financial opportunities that other children often receive, such as receiving allowances for doing chores or encouragement from a family member to save money. When income and savings fell short, the participants were not able to turn to families for financial help. By understanding the financial challenges former foster youth face, Peters found that in order to help former foster youth succeed in their transitions to adulthood, they need support and guidance in managing money. He says those working in child welfare need to prioritize financial matters in the services they provide. Caseworkers need to understand the financial issues facing young adults and be able to discuss and teach such matters to youth before they transition to adulthood. Youth in foster care need opportunities to earn, spend and save money while still in care. "States need to provide resources for continued financial guidance to young people aging out of care," Peters said. "Providing financial education may be helpful, but without training, without the ability to put lessons to use, financial literacy will not yield benefits later in life, when it really matters." Peters added that the research has led to a partnership between Missouri's Children's Division and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to improve how child welfare agencies elevate financial capability among vulnerable families. Preliminary tests have demonstrated that a new device may enable existing breast cancer imagers to provide up to six times better contrast of tumors in the breast, while maintaining the same or better image quality and halving the radiation dose to patients. The advance is made possible by a new device developed for 3D imaging of the breast by researchers at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Dilon Technologies and the University of Florida Department of Biomedical Engineering. In breast cancer screening, mammography is the gold standard. But about half of all women who follow standard screening protocol for 10 years will receive a false-positive result that will require additional screening, particularly women who have dense breast tissue. Used in conjunction with mammography, imaging based on nuclear medicine is currently being used as a successful secondary screening alongside mammography to reduce the number of false positive results in women with dense breasts and at higher risk for developing breast cancer. Now, researchers are hoping to improve this imaging technique, known as molecular breast imaging or breast specific gamma imaging, with better image quality and precise location (depth information) within the breast, while reducing the amount of radiation dose to the patient for these procedures. According to Drew Weisenberger, leader of the Jefferson Lab Radiation Detector and Imaging Group, a new device called a variable angle slant hole collimator provides all of these benefits and more. When used in a molecular breast imager, the device has just demonstrated in early studies to capture 3D molecular breast images at higher resolution than current 2D scans in a format that may be used alongside 3D digital mammograms. "These results really focus on the breast. We hope to build on this to perhaps improve the imaging of other organs," Weisenberger said. The new device replaces a component in existing molecular breast imagers. While a mammogram uses X-rays to show the structure of breast tissue, molecular breast imagers show tissue function. For instance, cancer tumors are fast growing, so they gobble up certain compounds more rapidly that healthy tissue. A radiopharmaceutical made of such a compound will quickly accumulate in tumors. A radiotracer attached to the molecule gives off gamma rays, which can be picked up by the molecular breast imager. advertisement "You can image that accumulation external to the breast by using a gamma camera," said Weisenberger. Current molecular breast imaging systems use a traditional collimator, which is essentially a rectangular plate of dense metal with a grid of holes, to "filter" the gamma rays for the camera. The collimator only allows the system to pick up the gamma rays that come straight out of the breast, through the holes of collimator, and into the imager. This provides for a clear, well-defined image of any cancer tumors. The variable angle slant hole collimator, or VASH collimator, is constructed from a stack of 49 tungsten sheets, each one a quarter of a millimeter thick and containing an identical array of square holes. The sheets are stacked like a deck of cards, with angled edges on two sides. The angle of the array of square holes in the stack can be easily slanted by two small motors that slide the individual sheets by their edges. The result is a systematic varying of the focusing angle of the collimator during the imaging procedure. "Now, you can get a whole range of angles of projections of the breast without moving the breast or moving the imager. You're able to come in real close, you're able to compress the breast, and you can get a one-to-one comparison to a 3D mammogram," Weisenbeger explained. In a recent test of the system, the researchers evaluated the spatial resolution and contrast-to-noise ratio in images of a "breast phantom," a plastic mockup of a breast with four beads inside simulating cancer tumors of varying diameter that are marked with a radiotracer. They found that using the VASH collimator with an existing breast molecular imaging system, they could get six times better contrast of tumors in the breast, which could potentially reduce the radiation dose to the patient by half from the current levels, while maintaining the same or better image quality. The test results match a published paper that predicted this performance via a Monte Carlo simulation. The collimator was built at Jefferson Lab and the test results were analyzed at the University of Florida with funds provided by a Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, and with matching support provided by Dilon Technologies. The test results were presented at the 2016 Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Annual Meeting in San Diego on June 13. The technologies developed for the Variable Angle Slant Hole Collimator are included in two filings to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Chief Bob Platts, who has been with the Fire Department for 33 years, is retiring June 30. Platts will be honored for his years of service at the meeting and at a reception in his honor on Thursday, June 30, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the fire station. People who are interested in gaining power for themselves are less aware than others of discrimination and injustice in the workplace. Have you ever considered how two people's perceptions of a workplace can be entirely different? While Jane perceives the workplace as open and inclusive, John in the next office feels that he is never heard, and he notices that Fatima, in particular, is not included. How can the same workplace be perceived so differently? Researcher Elisabeth Enoksen wondered about this. In fact, she wondered about this so much that she did her doctoral thesis in change management at the University of Stavanger on how employees experience justice in the workplace. "In a few years, most workplaces will be multicultural. This will mean new challenges for managers. They will have to consider different needs and wishes and how to best form teams to get optimal results," says Enoksen. advertisement Justice is important Previous research has established that it is important for employees to experience the workplace as just. It means a lot for employees' physical and mental well-being, job satisfaction, work performance and sense of belonging. But what is it that affects the perception of justice? What individual differences are at play here? Research does not say much about this -- at least not until now. Power made an impact Enoksen distributed questionnaires to employees at a mental healthcare clinic in Norway and asked them about their perceptions of the working environment and justice in the workplace. They were then tested on ten different personal values. advertisement Two values -- one of which was power -- stood out. "The results showed that those who emphasized power as a value perceived the workplace as most just," says Enoksen. She believes that this can be explained based on the following reasoning: The goal for people seeking power is to gain influence, control, social status and prestige. It is natural for such people to demand what they consider to be their rightful place. They will try to gain influence within processes and get resources for themselves. They will feel that they are heard and taken seriously and, therefore, perceive the situation as just. The others Enoksen has not just looked at how one perceives justice in relation to oneself but also perceptions of how others are treated in the workplace. In particular, she examined how immigrants' situations were perceived. "Integration of immigrants is important and will be essential for a healthy working life in the coming years. Few studies on organisational justice have looked specifically at unjust treatment of specific disadvantages groups such as ethnic minorities," says Enoksen. Those who got a high score on power and felt fairly treated perceived less discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. "The findings show that one's personal perception of justice in the workplace influences how unjust treatment of others is perceived. In other words, we interpret others' situations based on our own experience," says Enoksen. Universalism The second value that stood out was diametrically opposed to power, namely universalism. The simplest way to describe universalism is well-being for everyone. Someone who gets a high score for this value is tolerant and understanding. It was no surprise that such people perceived most discrimination against immigrants. "People who appreciate this value are concerned for the welfare of everyone, not just the welfare of those closest to them but also the welfare of those outside their inner circle. This is the value with the highest social focus, says Enoksen. Cultural differences Norwegian working life is known for having a flat organisational structure. Employees often have direct contact with the management and are free to express their opinions. This is not something that people from other cultures may be used to. In situations where it would be natural for ethnic Norwegians to speak up, it could be unthinkable for some immigrants to do likewise. "Those who speak up have a greater chance of being included in different processes and for having their suggestions heard and accepted. Meanwhile, the concerns of others are not put forward as they are not used to having the same influence. The fact that opinions and input are not voiced is a loss in itself. At the same time, this increases the risk of employees feeling that they are being treated unjustly," says Enoksen. Right to a voice She believes that we must ask ourselves: Whose voices are we not hearing? In a multicultural workplace, differences can be reinforced if the manager is not aware of them. "A manager must seek to give a voice also to those who feel that they are not entitled to one." Discrimination is destructive in the workplace. It is not just damaging for the person involved; it also has a negative effect on others who see it happening. Why are these findings important? We are living in an age that demands efficiency and where companies are expected to deliver results while at the same time cutting costs. Continual change processes require managers who see their employees. Enoksen hopes that her study can help managers to have a better understanding of group dynamics. This will make it easier to meet employees' different needs both during a change process and in everyday life. "People don't wear their values on their sleeve. Workplaces will benefit from using tools that chart their employees' personal values." She adds that charting these values does not have to be very extensive or time consuming. Furthermore, the idea behind this is not to put labels on people. Increasing awareness of their own values among managers and employees and how this affects the perception of justice, among other things, could lead to better cooperation. Enoksen emphasises that diversity in the workplace is important. All workplaces benefit from having people with different personal values and where employees complement each other. "But in a cultural diverse workplace, the value universalism is especially important due to its strong focus on inclusion of all people," says Enoksen. Consumers know some of the benefits blueberries provide, but they're less aware of the advantages of reverting aging, improving vision and memory, a new University of Florida study shows. Shuyang Qu, a doctoral student in agricultural education and communication at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, led the study. Joining Qu were Joy Rumble, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural education and communication, and Tori Bradley, a master's student in the UF/IFAS food and resource economics department. Rumble's Florida Specialty Crop grant gave the opportunity to examine consumers' knowledge of blueberry health benefits. Qu and her colleagues wanted to determine how much consumers know about blueberry health benefits and see if there's a knowledge gap with blueberry health benefits among demographic groups. Using their findings, they will identify promotional opportunities for Florida blueberries. Researchers surveyed more than 2,000 people in 31 states -- mostly on the East Coast and in the Midwest -- to see what they know about the health benefits of blueberries. Most were aware of the benefits of blueberries in warding off cancer and lowering the risk of heart disease. The UF/IFAS study also found that low-income populations tend to know less about blueberry health benefits. "People being more familiar with blueberries as deterrents for cancer and heart disease may be related to the high general awareness of these two diseases," Qu said. "The fact that cancer and heart diseases are the leading causes of death in America may have led to more personal research related to preventing the diseases, leading to the respondents being exposed to these findings more than other benefits." To help promote blueberries' health benefits, Qu and her colleagues suggest holding events during blueberry season, such as tastings or u-picks to draw consumers to the crop while providing a vehicle for information about blueberry health benefits. Last Friday, a pregnant deer was fatally struck by a car along a coastal highway in British Columbia, Canada. Sean Steele and his wife were passing by and happened to notice that the mother deer was still alive - but just barely. The couple stopped to see what could be done for the deer. Her body was mangled, but then Steele spotted the leg of her baby, protruding from her open belly. Steele told the National Post that he acted "on instinct," using a knife he had on him to cut the fawn out in an impromptu C-section. Despite the mother deer being far too gone to save - and ultimately dying - Steele realized that her child still had a chance. Steele, who has experience delivering calves, quickly expelled the mucus from the fawn's airway, allowing her to take her first few breaths of life. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Woman Tries Every Day For A Month To Rescue This Dog She was then dried off, and wrapped up in Steele's sweatshirt before being placed in the backseat of his truck. Then, Steele and his wife were off to find colostrum, a special milk newborns need from their mothers within the first 24 hours of their lives that contains essential proteins and vitamins. Fortunately, the couple was able to get the fawn to Northern Lights Animal Wildlife Society. "We are happy to report that the fawn seems to be unharmed and is drinking her bottle like a champion," Northern Lights wrote on Facebook on Saturday. "Our little male fawn is not sure if he likes her yet. Especially when she is trying to nurse from him, he looks a bit concerned." Since her rescue, the fawn, named Friday Steele, has moved to an outdoor enclosure at Northern Lights with her newfound male companion. Friday is expected to stay at Northern Lights until the fall, when she will be released back into the wild. While it's sad Friday's mother could not be saved, Friday herself was given this incredible opportunity to carry on thanks to the quick thinking and kindness of one couple who took the time to simply stop and check. Want to help the Northern Lights Wildlife Society continue doing good work for animals? Consider making a donation here.

Facebook/Joshua Butterworth

For couple of fishermen on an Australian beach, it must have seemed like the adventure of a lifetime - shallow waters teeming mostly with tiger sharks. Self-described sport anglers Josh Butterworth and Jethro Bonnitcha didn't have to work hard to wrangle the animals. According to their Facebook pages, they simply baited the lines and then hauled the animals to shore, one after the other. Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap The men spent four days at Carnarvon Beach in Western Australia reeling in 10 massive sharks and gleefully documenting their catches on social media. "We landed 10 and lost a fair few but we saw a lot more swimming in the water that we didn't catch," Butterworth told Daily Mail Australia. "There is no shortage of sharks up there." Only a shortage, it seems, of empathy. "Sport fishing for sharks or any other other fish is regarded as a God-given right in most quarters, I suppose," George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File, tells The Dodo. "Sharks being what they are appeals to the testosterone-laden segment of the fishing community obviously a lot." While Burgess doesn't see a problem with catching sharks and releasing them immediately - they're a durable animal - these men may have gone too far. "Bringing them up on shore, as some of these pictures show they've done, would appear to be fairly invasive. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those animals died," Burgess says. Notwithstanding Hollywood's unfortunate depictions of sharks, these animals have never done much to deserve being antagonized - even if Bonnitcha and Butterworth claim they didn't harm these sharks in the making of their selfies. Looking at the big picture, a convincing case can be made for the opposite. Last year there were 98 shark attacks - a modern record, according to the University of Florida - with six of those attacks resulting in human deaths. Shark attacks on humans are so rare, the New York Times declared that the odds of a coconut falling on your head and killing you are twice as likely. Now consider a shark's odds of being attacked by a human. About 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year, according to a report in Maine Policy, adding that number could be as high as 273 million. Or 11,000 per hour. These tiger sharks basking in the surf of an Australian beach may not be directly endangered by the photo-ops, but at the very least, these sport anglers send a disturbing message to the world: that it's OK to manhandle sharks, haul them from their habitats and force them to suffocate for a few moments on shore. All for a selfie.

GRI Wildlife Vet Program/Annekim

Three people are in custody, and a mother and baby pangolin are finally safe, after a two-week ordeal that could have drastically altered their lives forever. After a week-long search by investigators in Zambia, the mother and baby were found on Sunday, cowering together against their captors. Dodo Shows Odd Couples Dog Is So Gentle And Patient With Her Foster Kittens GRI Wildlife Vet Program/Annekim Pangolins, scale-covered mammals who live off insects, are known to be "secretive and nocturnal and characteristically roll up into a ball when threatened," according to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF). "From the poor condition of the mother and baby, it is thought that they had been in captivity for over two weeks," Vicky Flynn, a representative for the DSWF, told The Dodo. Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked wild mammal in the world, Flynn said. This is because of illegal hunting stemming from a high international demand for their meat and scales in Asian markets. GRI Wildlife Vet Program/Annekim The pangolin trade has reached epidemic proportions, according to DSWF. An estimated one million pangolins were traded illegally in the last decade, and demand keeps growing: Between 2011 and 2013, an estimated 116,990 to 233,980 pangolins were killed. But the two pangolins discovered clinging to each other have been spared this cruel fate. While they are still very weak from their ordeal, the DSWF-supported GRI Wildlife Crime Prevention Project is helping the two animals recover. When they are healthy enough, they'll be released back into the wild expanse of Kafue National Park, the largest in Zambia. The baby pangolin, now in safe hands, being weighed at the rehabilitation facility | GRI Wildlife Vet Program/Annekim "They seem to be eating, which is a great sign," Annekim Geerdes, of the GRI Wildlife Vet Program, said in a statement. "They will be given a chance to rest and eat well again." GRI Wildlife Vet Program/Annekim Maybe it took a crisis to give Volkswagen the push it needed. The German automaker, still mired in its self-created defeat device scandal, should be credited now with a wholesale rethinking of its operations, to the degree that it can barely even bring itself to utter the word car. As it heads into its annual general meeting Wednesday, VW has lots to say about the future of automobility or sustainable mobility, making a big push against old-school car people and old-school ideas of what defines an automaker. A substantial part of the remake is the planned launch of more than 30 purely battery-powered electric vehicles by 2025. Thats an audacious goal, matched by the companys projections that electric vehicles will comprise 20 to 25 per cent of unit sales by that time, pacing what VW expects will be the global transformation of the auto market. Then theres Gett. The name likely wont resonate with drivers here at home, but the Israeli-based entry into the ride-hailing market has earned a high profile in Europe, offers fixed-fare black cabs in London and has marked its entry into New York with luxury cars on demand. The business market is a primary focus, part of the appeal for VW, which invested $300 million (U.S.) in Gett last month. Driverless is in the mix too, as Volkswagen promises the in-house development of a self-driving system by the end of the decade. So this has morphed into a story about transformation, albeit with the not very enticing corporate moniker Together Strategy 2025. Projected investments are imprecise the double-digit billion range doesnt quite translate but the numbers are big. Details will be provided before the end of the year when the company presents its strategy in detail, with set goals and financial targets. This is progress. In December, newly installed CEO Matthias Mueller said the company needed to be set on a more pioneering, innovative path. He wanted Volkswagen to be staffed with the curious and the independent-minded. Silicon Valley became the obvious comparison. At the time, the company announced that its Das Auto branding line would no longer tag its global marketing efforts. The move seemed such an insubstantial nod to a crisis, one that Volkswagen would be lucky to survive. Wasnt advertising beside the point? Interviewed by industry bible AdWeek, one branding consultant described the move away from Das Auto as Not much of an idea at all cosmetic at best. VW, he said, blew the believability tire, a breach of trust that no branding efforts would repair. Except that the tag line wasnt just associated with turfed CEO Martin Winterkorn. Or anal-retentive German engineering. Or the past and bad behaviour. By simple translation Das Auto was The Car and therefore couldnt convey VWs evolution into a world-leading provider of sustainable mobility. None of this erases Dieselgate, and the ongoing fallout from the actions of VW engineers who rigged emissions tests via software the defeat devices that altered nitrogen oxide readings. It was, as has been described, a massive deception, and somehow especially surprising coming from the makers of the peoples car. Initial congressional hearings drew memories from congressmen who remembered their mothers first beetle, or a much-loved Passat. Then one likened VW to the Lance Armstrong of the industry. The software, remember, could detect whether the automobile was on the street or in the lab. Clever and a decades-long problem, as the first investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency makes clear; the year was 1973. Initially, the company tried to pass off the contemporary disaster by blaming a couple of employees who made bad decisions. For a second, they thought the damage could be contained. Any outside observer could see the folly in that. Heading into the annual meeting next week, VWs main task will be to sell shareholders on its vision for the future. Executives have come up with a smartly positioned plan. Exciting, even. It wont work without winning back the trust of car buyers. Or rather, mobility enthusiasts. SHARE: BRUSSELSThe European Union has extended for another year some of its sanctions targeting Russia over its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. For two years, the 28-nation EU has imposed ever more punitive measures on Russia to protest what it calls the illegal annexation of Crimea and deliberate destabilization of Ukraine. The sanctions target imports from the peninsula and investment there, among other measures. The announcement came one day after EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. After the EU first imposed sanctions two years ago, Moscow retaliated by banning imports of meat, vegetable and dairy products from the EU, a blow to many of the blocs members. Read more about: SHARE: Linamar Corp., a Canadian auto-parts maker, has talked with Apple Inc. and Google about potentially supplying the technology giants if they begin making cars. In an interview, chief executive officer Linda Hasenfratz declined to give specifics about the discussions but said she was excited about the potential to work with new players in the auto industry. Theyre interested in partnering with people in the industry as well because obviously weve got the experience and we know what we need to do in order to build a high-quality vehicle, she said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Canada. Were quoting work and designing product that could be utilized in those vehicles. Apple didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. A Google spokesman declined to comment. Alphabet Inc.s Google announced a deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in May to work together to develop self-driving vehicles. Apple has never confirmed it is working on a car but has been assembling a team of experts in batteries and robotics technology needed for autonomous, electric vehicles. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported in April that Magna International Inc., another Canadian auto manufacturing company, was working with Apple. Theres lots of opportunity, Hasenfratz said. I love the idea of having some new customers to work with. Canadas second-largest auto-parts maker specializes in power units for hybrid vehicles and drive trains. The company is working on a new drive train for electric vehicles, Hasenfratz said in a May 4 conference call with analysts. Read more about: SHARE: They are 150 Canadians ranging from lawyers to photographers to artists to athletes, apparently united only by their inclusion on a terrorist target list. The purported kill list of 8,300 individuals around the globe that was posted to social media by a pro-Daesh hacker group is nevertheless being taken seriously by Canadian police and security authorities, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Thursday in Ottawa. When this kind of threat to Canadians is put into the public domain all of the security and police and intelligence agencies in the government of Canada respond in a robust way to keep the country safe, he said. A spokesperson for the RCMP said that the force is working with local and international police as well as intelligence agencies to assess the information and notify those Canadians who have been included on the list. The people on the list that the Star talked to on Thursday said police had not contacted them. I have to say that this is one of the stranger calls Ive had in my life, said one man, a Toronto resident who works for the Ontario government. The man, whose current home address and email were included, had read the news about the existence of the list but was shocked and unable to figure out anything that would have led to his inclusion. He asked that his identity be withheld: Im hoping its not serious or a real risk, but who the hell wants the attention? The vast majority of the Canadian names on the list were women. Among them were a tattoo artist, the owner of a production company, a resident of a tiny town in Nunavut and an elite athlete. The address listed for the athlete, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, is the current address of her parents. If you look at what they believe in and their dogma I am someone they would absolutely not want to tolerate, she said. To them Im probably absolutely disgusting in their eyes. The fact that none of those individuals contacted by the Star had yet been approached by police or government officials about their inclusion on the list was a worry for some. For others it was a relief. I dont think this is as big as people think it is. If it was, the RCMP would have been at my house this morning, said the athlete, who said she could recall incidents in the past where it appeared that her email accounts had been hacked or shown signs of irregular activity. Its not exactly like Im careful with where I shop online or what I do. I just think if somebody really wants your information theyre going to get it. Nothings all that secure. There are also questions about when this information was compiled. One woman who lives in Guelph and works as an artist was listed as living in another Southern Ontario town, a place she moved away from two years ago. The only reason she could think of that might bring her to the attention of a terrorist group or its supporters would have been when she waded into a social media frenzy during last falls federal election. But she acknowledged that this would in no way merit her inclusion on a kill list, she said as she headed out to do the groceries Thursday afternoon. Part of me wants to LOL and part of me wants to freak out a bit. Its really weird that Im a target. Im just a gal who hangs out with her dog, knits and paints a little. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAConservative MP Candice Bergen is angry that the government has had dozens of web pages from Stephen Harpers days as prime minister deleted from Google search results, but the Liberals say its just a matter of keeping websites current. The prime ministers website is not his own website to do with as he pleases, it belongs to the Canadian people, Bergen said in the Commons on Thursday. It cannot just be changed at the whim of the Liberals. Documents tabled in the Commons in response to a written question from Bergen detail the deletion requests, showing that the Privy Council Office (PCO) requests for deletion from Google began last Nov. 4, the day the Trudeau government took office. They continued into January. The Prime Ministers Office called it a technical matter: public servants wanted the change so that searches produced the latest material. The government said the Harper material was neither deleted nor destroyed and remains available. All of the previous prime ministers archived web content can be accessed via Library and Archives Canada along with other archived government materials, Treasury Board President Scott Brison told the Commons. Canadians expect government websites to reflect the most up-to-date information and accurate information when they are searching on these sites. No one wants Harper forgotten, Brison said, prompting guffaws of laughter from the Liberal benches. Our government hopes that the memory of the former Conservative prime minister lives in the minds of Canadians for a very long time. Google said in a statement it just wants to ensure that its searches reflect the contents of websites. We dont take a view on what is appropriate for site owners to feature on their own websites, it said. But, like any website owner, they can submit a request (via a form we make available to all website owners) to update our search results to include the latest, most recent version of their website. The government search result requests covered Harpers daily posts and his 24-Seven video diary as well as news releases in both French and English. On Nov. 9, the PCO asked Google to clear its index for any page published on the domain pm.gc.ca before Nov. 4, but Google did not offer such a service. In January, requests were made for more deletions year-by-year through Harpers tenure and the government reply says pages no longer show up search results. In all, the PCO asked Google 51 times to remove Harper material from its search results. The office said, however, that Harpers website material was saved in its entirety in the archives. This application went live in April and a link to it has been added to the PCO website, said Raymond Rivet, director of corporate and media affairs for the PCO. A few other agencies made a handful of requests to Google asking that documents be removed from web searches. For example, the RCMP asked that one news release be removed because charges had been dropped and that another be deleted because a publication ban had been imposed in a case. National Defence asked Google to remove an older version of a document from its cache because it included personal information about a member of the Forces. The Treasury Board asked for a change after finding that Google searches tied a photo of Bill Matthews, comptroller general of Canada, to biographical information for Bill Matthews, a former MP from Newfoundland and Labrador. Read more about: SHARE: MASON CITY | The Rev. Kathy Graves, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, will celebrate 25 years of ordained ministry on Sunday. She will be recognized during the 9 a.m. outdoor service in the courtyard, followed by an open house reception in the Fellowship Hall at 10 a.m. All are invited. Graves has served as pastor to senior adults at Trinity since 2007. From 1995 to 2007 she was the coordinator of spiritual care for Hospice of North Iowa. She also served as a chaplain at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa and in congregations in Minnesota and Massachusetts. OTTAWAIn a landmark move, Canada has legalized medically assisted death for gravely ill Canadians after a Senate vote that suddenly broke a legislative logjam Friday. After a wrenching debate, a majority of appointed senators voted to accede to the will of the elected House of Commons. They dropped their efforts to expand the right to die. Under the law, only patients suffering from incurable illness whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable are eligible for a medically assisted death. Senators voted 48-22 to accept a government motion that rejected the Senates earlier amendment to include others who are not terminally ill or near death. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Health Minister Jane Philpott, in a joint statement, said the vote to pass the legislation is an important one, but it is not the last step in this journey. They insisted the law strikes a balance between the rights of the gravely ill and the need to protect vulnerable others at risk of a premature death. It gives dying patients who are suffering intolerably while in decline on a path toward death the choice of a medically assisted death. And they promised Health Canada will work with provinces and territories to implement the bill, and study medical assistance in dying in the context of mature minors, people for whom mental illness is the sole underlying condition, and advance requests. The Canadian Medical Association welcomed the new law, saying it supported robust federal legislation to ensure access is not impeded, protects vulnerable patients and respects the personal convictions of health-care providers. However, advocates of broader access say the law excludes an entire class of desperately ill Canadians who were otherwise eligible under the Supreme Court of Canadas 2015 decision in Carter v. Canada. Today, we mourn for those Canadians who were promised compassionate choice by the Supreme Courts decision, only to have that choice taken away, said Shanaaz Gokool, head of Dying With Dignity Canada. When this government came into power, its leaders vowed to respect Canadians hard-won Charter rights. Bill C-14 represents a breach of that promise. Under the new law, doctors, nurse practitioners and pharmacists who provide or help to provide medical assistance in dying will be exempt from prosecution under the criminal code. Two independent medical practitioners must sign off on a patients request and certify he or she is eligible under the governments strict criteria. And there must be a 10-day waiting period between the request and administering of any medical aid to die. The Commons accepted certain Senate amendments, for example, to require patients be told of medical options, including palliative care services, and to bar beneficiaries from administering medical assistance in dying. But MPs couldnt live with the biggest change urged by the Senate: to expand the right to die. By Friday, a majority of senators gave up on a second try to force the issue. Sen. Serge Joyal had proposed another amendment to require the government to refer the bill to the Supreme Court of Canada for a constitutional opinion. A majority defeated the amendment, and within two hours, voted to accept the bill. It quickly received royal assent with the Senate clerk rushing the bill over to Gov. Gen. David Johnstons residence and bringing it back to the Senate for a last acknowledgement of its proclamation. It had been, at times, an emotional debate. Not all who voted to pass the bill said they supported it, but in the end they said the Senate had to defer to an elected Commons. We have done our job and although it breaks my heart, I am going to continue doing my duty by voting for the bill as sent back by the peoples representatives, said Sen. David Tkachuk. Those who voted against the bill did so for strikingly opposite reasons some said it still does not contain enough protections for the vulnerable, whether disabled individuals or people with mental illness. Others opposed it because they are convinced it is not liberal enough and fails to comply with the Carter ruling. I think there was a moral fatigue said Joyal afterward. At this point in time, seeing there was no will on the part of the House to make any kind of movement of humanity, he said, there has been some kind of wrenching realization that its almost hopeless. Joyal and others decry the fact that suffering Canadians who dont meet the governments restrictive eligibility criteria will now have to bear the cost of going back to the courts to challenge it. He urged provinces to refer the question to the Supreme Court so that individuals dont have to. SHARE: CALGARYPolice charged a man with first-degree murder on Friday in the stabbing death of the owner of a Chinese wellness centre in Calgary. Jin Huang, 42, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. The man who died ran the Perpetual Wellness Chinese Medicine Centre and has been identified by police as 51-year-old Tiejun Huang. Even though the two men share the same last name, police say it's not believed that they're related. The accused allegedly brought a knife with him to the clinic on Thursday, Insp. Don Coleman of the Calgary police department's major crimes unit told a news conference. "It would appear that the accused wanted to confront the doctor in relation to his perception of some sort of relationship between the doctor and the accused's wife," he said. "I believe he was quite agitated, attended the clinic, searched out the doctor and engaged in a verbal altercation, which ultimately led to the physical altercation and the stabbing of the victim." None of the allegations made by police has been proven in court. Police know of one report of a "domestic incident" in the past between the accused and his wife, Coleman added. He said he believes the couple lived together and have children. She's been a patient at the clinic for a "substantial period of time," he said. On Thursday afternoon, police were called to a shopping centre north of downtown Calgary amid reports of multiple stabbings. The accused was treated for minor injuries on scene before he was arrested. A woman who was a patient at the clinic not the accused's wife sustained minor injuries and has been released from hospital, police said. There were large drops of blood leading up to the door of the second-floor clinic on Thursday. Yellow police tape blocked off the section of mall while bystanders looked on. Maggie Law, who runs a spa a few doors down, said she saw people from a nearby restaurant running over to help yelling "bring more towels, bring more towels! There's a lot of blood." Coleman praised those who came to the clinic owner's aid. "It's always heroic in nature when people can spring into action like that," he said. "I can guarantee nobody expected to be in that position that day. It's impressive to know that there's people who are willing to help in those situations, especially when the offender is still at the location." Read more about: SHARE: Police say they have found the puppy that was stolen last week from Mississauga after a family saw the nine-week-old wandering in Whitby. Peel police received a call for the theft at around 7:54 p.m. on June 8 in the area of Morning Star Dr. and Goreway Dr. in Mississauga. Three people posing as buyers of the puppy, which the owner advertised on Kijiji, had pepper-sprayed the owner, grabbed the dog and fled, according to police. The 27-year-old male victim suffered minor injuries as a result. The trio escaped in a four-door Honda Civic with the puppy. A week later, a family, who recognized the puppy from media coverage and photos released of the animal, found the puppy wandering in the Whitby area, police said in the news release. Police were contacted and were able to retrieve the puppy in healthy condition. It has since been returned to its rightful owner. Police say the three suspects of the puppy theft still remain at large. They have described the first suspect as an East Indian male in his late teens to early twenties, with a skinny build, dark complexion, and a beard from his chin tapering to his ears. Police say he was wearing glasses with thick frames and dark clothing. The second suspect is also described as an East Indian male in his late teens to early twenties, about 5-feet-10tall and 180 lbs. with short hair. He was wearing earrings about a quarter-inch wide on both ears, according to police. The third suspect is an East Indian female in her late teens to early twenties, with a thin build, long black hair, and a possible name of Karen, police say. They are asking anyone with information on this incident to contact police at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Read more about: SHARE: Three Toronto Star journalists won laurels at the Canadian Journalism Foundations awards gala Thursday evening. Columnist and feature writer Catherine Porter claimed the Landsberg Award for her examination of womens equality issues. Taking the baton from Star columnist Heather Mallick, who won last year, Porter called out the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 2015 for turning a blind eye to one doctors history of sex assault. As debate around the niqab reached dog-whistle pitch, Porters focus on social justice also led her to argue for womens right to don the headscarf. The foundation bestowed the award on a second set of recipients as well, Radio-Canadas reporter-producer duo Josee Dupuis and Emmanuel Marchand. Matt Galloway, a jury member and host of CBC Radios Metro Morning, praised Porter and the Radio-Canada team for exposing bias, challenging the establishment and ultimately leading to significant change. Their work is vital, and its a pleasure to celebrate this recognition. The Stars Jayme Poisson, part of the Stars investigative team, won the Greg Clark Award for early-career journalists. She earned the plaudit, along with a $5,000 stipend, after proposing to effectively camp out at two information offices at the provincial and federal level to study how they handle access-to-information requests. Access to information is an area that isnt well understood, noted Marissa Nelson, a jury member and CBC regional director. Freedom of information requests can be an exceptional tool for journalists to access the unvarnished, un-spun truth, said Poisson, known for reporting on sexual assault in Canada and the saga of late former mayor Rob Ford. The information we obtain through this process allows the public to scrutinize how government is performing and how policy decisions are really made. Katie Daubs, a Star feature reporter, took over a William Southam Journalism Fellowship from colleague Emily Mathieu, granting Daubs and four other fellows a year of study at the University of Torontos Massey College. Eduardo Lima, a freelance photographer whose work has appeared in the Star, won the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award. Introduced by Star editor-in-chief Michael Cooke, Boston Globe Spotlight team reporters Sacha Pfeiffer and Michael Rezendes and their editor Walter Robinson added another garland to their pile, taking a special citation for their work uncovering child abuse and the resulting cover-ups in the Catholic Church in Boston, the foundation stated. Receiving his award, Robinson said hed been limited to three sentences: Im an editor and I know how to make use of a semicolon. CBC News won the Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism, largely for its reporting on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Said the evenings MC and CBCs The Current host Anna Maria Tremonti: We have seen a year of traumatic stories. All of it a reminder of why journalism matters. Kicking things off, CJF chair and former Star publisher John Cruickshank said his enthusiasm for journalism hasnt waned in fact, its utterly restored. The Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy sponsored jointly by the Atkinson Foundation, the Honderich Family and the Star went to Catherine Wallace. She plans to examine the state of Canadas news industry and emerge with proposals to keep it dynamic and relevant. Former CTV National News anchor and Canadian broadcasting legend Lloyd Robertson now hosting CTVs W5 garnered a lifetime achievement award. Two lights that have illuminated the Anglo-American media landscape for a combined 100 years of editorship were recognized at the gala. Tina Brown, whose star has only risen since she left London-based lifestyle glossy Tatler to join Vanity Fair and then the New Yorker, earned a tribute Thursday. So did her husband and Reuters editor-at-large Sir Harold Evans, a veteran newspaperman formerly of the Sunday Times. His unflinching series have spurred both legislative and court-ordered change overseas, paving the way for cervical cancer smears for British women and a settlement for British Thalidomide victims. SHARE: The man convicted of killing 8-year-old Victoria Stafford seven years ago is asking for a new trial, arguing there was too much weight given to the testimony of the unsavoury main witness. Michael Rafferty was convicted in May 2012 of kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm and first-degree murder in the death of the Woodstock, Ont., girl. His appeal is set to be heard Oct. 24. Raffertys former girlfriend, Terri-Lynne McClintic, pleaded guilty in 2010 to first-degree murder, initially telling police Rafferty killed the girl, but testifying at his trial that she delivered the fatal blows. Raffertys lawyer, Paul Calarco, argues in documents filed with the Court of Appeal for Ontario that the judge made several errors, including failing warn the jury against relying on the testimony of McClintic, a person of unsavoury character, with a serious history of violence and lying. The Crowns case was strongest on the kidnapping count, Calarco concedes, but since forensic evidence could not prove a sexual assault, that conviction was almost entirely dependent on McClintics version of events, he argues. While the Crown had some evidence against Mr. Rafferty, the worst aspects of the case depend almost entirely on McClintics evidence, Calarco writes. It was essential the trial judge give a clear, sharp warning against relying on her in the absence of substantial corroboration. Rafferty did not testify at trial, but argues in his appeal that he was at most an accessory after the fact to murder a concept the judge did not put to the jury. His actions proven by evidence other than McClintics testimony, such as cleaning the scene, destroying evidence and giving a false alibi, are equally consistent with being an accessory, Calarco writes. McClintic told court a horrifying story of a drug-addled couple abducting a young girl at random for the mans sexual pleasure, then killing her with inconceivable brutality. She claimed Rafferty was directing her every step of the way, ordering her to snatch a young girl for him, making her buy a hammer and garbage bags then getting her to help him clean up at the murder scene. The Crown at trial argued it didnt matter whether McClintic or Rafferty physically killed Tori, he was guilty because they acted together. Raffertys trial lawyer, Dirk Derstine, portrayed his client as an innocent dupe. McClintic had a troubled upbringing and a violent past including beating her mother and injuring a dog so badly it had to be put down. The Appeal Court ruled in 2013 that Raffertys appeal should be publicly funded because it would be too complex for Rafferty to handle on his own with the assistance of duty counsel. SHARE: The minister who oversees Canada Post has issued an order to stop the distribution of Your Ward News, a Toronto publication that has been called anti-Semitic and racist by its critics. I have issued an interim prohibitory order to this individual, who is its editor-in-chief, advising him that he can no longer use Canada Post to spread this offensive material, reads a statement issued by Judy Foote, minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada. Your Ward News, which describes itself as an anti-Marxist publication, is distributed free to more than 300,000 homes in Toronto and often includes articles and illustrations of religious caricatures, among other controversial features. At the centre of the controversy surrounding the publication is a cover image from last year that featured a postal carrier wearing Orthodox Jewish garb and glowing red eyes spitting and yelling about the Holocaust while dropping a bagel. The same cover also depicted two lawyers with overly large noses, speaking in Yiddish slang. Last year the Toronto police hate-crimes unit investigated the publication after a Beaches resident complained about receiving it in the mail. The investigation was closed after police deemed the publication was not committing a hate crime, but many disagreed. Its hate material, said Mike Palecek, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Theyve published anti-Semitic images, caricatures of letter carriers and our members should not be subjected to that sort of hate material in their workplace and the community should not be subjected to it in their mailboxes. Palecek said some of his letter carriers had been disciplined for refusing to distribute the paper, and called Footes decision great news earlier this month, Canada Post issued a statement saying it had received the ministers order and would comply immediately. Members of the public who have been lobbying to block Your Ward News also celebrated Footes order. Lisa Kinsella, a founding member of a group called Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice (STAMP) which has campaigned against the paper, explained that a prohibitory order criminalizes any attempt by a particular mailer to send offensive material through Canada Post. We are ecstatic about the ministers decision, said Kinsella. Minister Footes swift and decisive action means that this disgusting material will no longer be landing in the mailboxes of people who dont want it. However, James Sears, the editor of Your Ward News said he has officially requested a board review of the order and intends to fight it. Judge Judy has violated multiple sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and I will for sure be lawyering up for battle, he wrote in an email to the Star. Sears argues that by shutting down the only ultra-right wing satirical newspaper in Canada the government is violating freedom of speech laws. He insists Your Ward News has done nothing wrong. If we were spreading hate or libel of a criminal nature, we would have been charged a very long time ago, Sears added. Sears said Footes decision has delayed the papers 2016 summer issue as apartment mailboxes, which make up a large portion of the circulation, are only accessible by Canada Post, but added that if the postal service refuses to back down, the paper could be distributed by hand. If we must, we can get a stormer army of free speech volunteers to hit houses with the papers (we would just distribute all 305,000 copies to houses instead of apartments, and double the distribution area to compensate for the extra copies), he wrote in an email. With files from Star staff Read more about: SHARE: Forecasting for a clear and sunny Fathers Day weekend in the city, events will be hitting the streets of Toronto literally. North from the Yorkville Exotic Car Show and down to the lake for the Luminato Festival, this weekend is one for walkers, runners and bikers, but drivers be warned, a ton of road closures are coming your way. Here are some traffic warnings and road closures to look out for: Full Weekend: The Taste of Little Italy kicks off today, and so do the road closures. College St. will be closed in both directions from Bathurst St. to Shaw St. from 6 p.m. tonight until Monday at 3 a.m. The Luminato Festival will be taking over the streets this evening for a free two-day backyard party on Front St. Roads will be closed on Front St. in both directions from Bay St. to York St. at 7 p.m. tonight, until Sunday at 11 p.m. Its that time of year again! Fans will be taking over the streets for the 2016 Much Music Video Awards this Sunday. Queen St. W. between McCaul St. and Beverley St. will be blocked off at different times throughout the weekend for rehearsals and set up: Friday, from 6 p.m. to Saturday at 3 a.m. Saturday from 4 p.m. till midnight. Sunday from 8 a.m. until Monday at 3 a.m. Saturday June 18: The Highland Creeks Heritage Festival in Scarborough will be closing off Old Kingston Rd., from Watson St. to Kingston Rd., as well as Morrish Rd. from Kingston Rd. to the south side of 226 Morrish Rd. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additionally, Lawson Rd. will be closed from the west side of Meadowvale Rd. to Old Kingston/Kingston Rd. from 10 a.m. to noon for the parade. Sunday June 19: The streets of Bloor-Yorkville will be blocked off with luxury cars for the 6th annual Yorkville Exotic Car Show on Sunday. Several streets in the area will be closed from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Bloor St. W. will be closed from Avenue Road to Bay St. Bellair St. will be closed from Bloor to Critchley Lane. St. Thomas St. will be closed from Bloor to Sultan St. Major north and south streets, such as Avenue Road, Queens Park Cres., and Bay St., will stay open. The Princess Margaret Hospital foundation will be hosting the 4th annual Journey to Conquer Cancer Run/Walk 5k. The event starts at 9 a.m.; however several streets will be closed as early as 8 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Wellesley St. W. will be closed from Bay St. to Queens Park Cres. Queens Park Cres. will be closed from Bloor St. south to College St. University Ave. will be closed from College St. to Wellington St. Orde St. will be closed from McCaul St. to University Ave. Public Transit Click here to see TTC service updates related to these road closures. Service updates for Go Transit are available here. SHARE: Students at a Scarborough high school hoped the viral success of their Hamilton tribute clips would get them the right to stage the Broadway musical, but they were shocked to learn that the shows PR company wouldnt even let them stay on YouTube. Students at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts had uploaded unofficial music videos of three numbers from the smash-hit, multi-Tony-Award-winning, historical-and-hip musical to the site with the aim of catching the eyes and ears of its creator actor/songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, currently starring in his play on Broadway. This was the kids love letter to Lin-Manuel from Wexford Collegiate, said Ann Merriam, the schools artistic director who oversaw the campaign to bring Hamilton to Toronto. We spent hours and hours and hours to do these three music videos and to be shut down like this . . . we dont understand. Prior to their takedown, the schools versions of the shows costumes, swagger and rap battles proved to be a hit online. In particular, the students take on Right Hand Man had racked up over 21,000 times since it was posted a week ago. On Thursday, however, each of the three clips was pulled from YouTube after a press agent representing the Broadway production flagged the clips for copyright infringement. The school has contacted Hamiltons media relations office seeking further explanation. The public relations firm did not immediately respond to the school or to the Stars request for comment. Jamie Fiuza, who performed as a dancer in the Wexford production, said she was devastated after learning the footage had been removed from the global video-sharing website. We just wanted to show the cast of Hamilton and really anyone who saw the video, just how much we loved it, the said. I know well figure it out but we are still proud of the work we have done. Still, the Grade 12 student added her love of musical and theatre remains unfazed. I understand there are sometimes bumps in the road but it doesnt change my passion for what we did at our school, she said. Grade 12 performer Daniel McCormack questioned why Wexfords video was removed while a Chicago high schools rendition with a view count of 265,000 was allowed to remain online. Most of us just really wanted our hard work out there for the public to appreciate, he said. I just dont understand why they chose to remove it. School principal Tom Lazarou said the videos removal was disappointing given the amount of time and effort students invested in the project. Hopefully we get some answers as to why it was taken down so there can be some learning from this, he said. Grade 11 student Savion Roach played the shows title character, American founding father Alexander Hamilton, during a media performance Wednesday. Like many of his peers, Roach said he was drawn to the shows casting of people of colour as white historical figures. They changed the ethnicities of those naturally white characters . . . which shows you dont need to be a certain way to prove your worth in the world, he said. The students efforts were further motivated following the recent deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. For Grade 12 student and lead dancer Madelaine Hodges, the tragedy made the productions themes of unity and friendship more poignant than ever. That club was a safe place for people like Wexford is such a safe space for us, she told the Star. So its heart wrenching to see a safe haven demolished in such a way. The musical equivalent of a summer blockbuster earned universal acclaim following its debut on Broadway just under a year ago. Last weekend, it took home 11 awards at the 70th Annual Tony Awards in New York City. Although the stage show is based on the United States humble beginnings as a country, Merriam said the story is universal and represents more than just history. Its about passionate, determined people coming together to create a country, she said. Its borderless. Its a worldwide phenomenon. According to Merriam, production materials such as sheet music and scripts for big hits like Hamilton usually become available for high schools to lease two or more years after a shows debut. The fees to purchase these licenses arent cheap, though. Wexford is usually charged between $2,000 to $4,000 US by licensing firm Music Theatre International for rights to perform Broadway hits like Rent or Annie. SHARE: BIRSTALL, ENGLANDPolice investigating the killing of British lawmaker Jo Cox said Friday that the suspect's mental health and possible links to right-wing extremism are both important lines of inquiry for detectives. Campaigning in Britain's European Union membership referendum and normal political life were suspended as the country absorbed the slaying with shock and worry that the political fury unleashed by the EU campaign was somehow connected to the killing. Temporary chief constable Dee Collins of West Yorkshire Police says counter-terrorism detectives are helping with the investigation. "We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspect's link to mental health services and this is a clear line of inquiry which we are pursuing," she said. "We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right wing extremism which is again a priority line of inquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." Collins said the suspect, named locally as 52-year-old Thomas Mair, was examined and declared fit to be interviewed by detectives. Heidi C. Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center said Mair had been a supporter of the National Alliance, "the most dangerous and violent neo-Nazi group in the United States for decades." The centre, an Alabama-based group that monitors hate groups, said it had obtained documents showing that Mair bought books and magazines from the National Alliance on three occasions in 1999 and 2003. On its website, the centre published copies of receipts showing that in 1999 a Thomas Mair of West Yorkshire the county where Cox and her suspected killer both lived bought publications including "Chemistry of Powder and Explosives" and "Improvised Munitions Handbook." In 2003 he purchased a subscription to the group's magazine, "Free Speech." The address on the receipts corresponded to a house that was cordoned off by police tape and guarded by uniformed officers on Friday. The National Alliance was founded by William Pierce, whose book "The Turner Diaries" has been called a grisly blueprint for a race war. Timothy McVeigh based the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people, on a truck-bombing described in the book. Beirich said while most of the violence by people associated with National Alliance has been in the United States, the organization has always had a "global footprint." "They do not define themselves by country. They define themselves by race," she said. A Thomas Mair of Batley the town where the suspect lives was also named as a former subscriber to pro-Apartheid publication SA Patriot. In 2006, the online newsletter of far-right group the Springbok Club said Mair was "one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of SA Patriot." Cox was shot and stabbed outside a library in her northern England constituency. The suspect's brother, Scott Mair, told reporters his brother had a history of mental illness, but was not violent. Witnesses said Cox, a 41-year-old Labour Party legislator, was attacked by a man with a homemade or antique-looking gun. Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the scene, said the assailant shouted "Britain first" or "put Britain first" several times. Britain First is the name of a far-right group, which disclaimed any connection to the killing. Cox was a former aid worker who had championed the cause of Syrian refugees and campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU when it votes in a referendum on Thursday. The referendum has sparked an intense debate about immigration and Britain's place in the world. "Leave" campaigners have said voters should quit the EU to take their country back from bureaucrats in Brussels and curb large-scale immigration from other EU nations. Both sides in the referendum halted campaigning activity after Cox's death. Rival groups Britain Stronger In Europe and Vote Leave said they were cancelling rallies and major events planned for Saturday, though local door-to-door leafletting could resume. Politicians from all parties have paid tribute to Cox, and Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II had written to her husband, Brendan Cox. The couple had two young children. In a show of political unity, Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the site of the killing in Birstall, 200 miles (320 kilometres) north of London. The two men added bouquets to a huge mound of flowers left in tribute to Cox. Cameron urged people to "value and see as precious the democracy that we have on these islands." "Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities," he said. Corbyn said the slaying of Cox was "an attack on democracy." "It's the well of hatred that killed her," he said. Corbyn said Parliament would be recalled from a break on Monday so that lawmakers could pay tribute to Cox. The House of Commons had not been due to resume meeting until after the referendum. Rows of police combed the sidewalks around the site of the attack outside the library in Birstall. Mothers walked their children to the town's primary school past the spot, some wiping away tears. Others stood talking quietly in small groups about the brutality of the killing, its exceptionally public nature and whether anyone could have done more to stop the attacker. Flowers also covered the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox and her family lived when they were in London. More mourners left flowers outside Parliament, and some linked the heated atmosphere of the referendum to the attack. "I didn't know her, but she stood for everything that this country should be standing for at the moment and I have two young children and I am just so angry," said teacher Joanna Chidgey, whose father is a former lawmaker. "Well, angry is not the right word at the moment, but these people who are whipping up bigotry and racism and hatred and intolerance at the moment, they should hang their heads in shame." Violence against British politicians has been rare since Northern Ireland's peace deal two decades ago. Cox is the first serving lawmaker to be killed since Conservative politician Ian Gow was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1990. While Parliament is protected by armed police, lawmakers spend large amounts of time in their home districts, generally without dedicated security. Since 2000, two lawmakers have been attacked and wounded while meeting with constituents. Cameron's office said a reminder of safety guidance has been sent to members of Parliament, suggesting they go to local police if they have concerns. "I know MPs are scared," said Dan Jarvis, Labour member of Parliament. But he said lawmakers would continue to meet with constituents. "We'll be reviewing our security, but I'll walk through Barnsley today like every Friday," said Jarvis, an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many female lawmakers, in particular, say they have been subject to online abuse and threats, and a man was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of sending a "malicious communication" to Cox. London's Metropolitan Police said the man received a police warning, and he "is not the man in custody" over Cox's death. ___ SHARE: Joanne Barnaby was deep in the deadfall, smeared in mosquitoes and blood, dehydrated and near exhaustion, when she heard the call of a mama bear searching for its cub. Barnaby couldnt believe her luck. Twelve hours earlier, she had been picking mushrooms in the remote Canadian wilderness when she had heard a growl behind her. She turned around and saw Joey, her faithful mutt, locked in a snarling standoff with a skinny black wolf. For 12 hours, the wolf had pursued Barnaby and her dog through the wildfire-scorched forests of the Northwest Territories. And for 12 hours, the starving animal had tried to separate Barnaby and Joey, driving them all deeper into the bush. Night settled around Barnaby, hiding the swarms of mosquitoes that blanketed her arms, legs and face. And still the wolf snapped and growled, waiting for the woman or her dog to drop their guard. Barnaby was near collapse when dawn began to creep across the sky. Thats when she heard the bear grunt. And thats when she got an idea. It was an idea so outrageous that some critics would later accuse her of making the whole story up. Yet, Canadian officials and close friends confirm Barnaby was missing in the woods. And she is sticking by her story that an outrageous idea of pitting one predator against another saved her life. - Joanne Barnaby knew better than to leave her gun at home. She had grown up in the Northwest Territories, a huge and rugged region of Canada stretching north of Alberta to the Arctic Ocean. Part Dene Indian, or mixed blood, as she would say, Barnaby spent much of her childhood in a residential school, run by the Catholic Church and designed to assimilate Inuit into mainstream Canadian culture. They tried to take the Indian out of us, she told the Washington Post. When she grew up, Barnaby chose to work with indigenous communities. She often went hunting and hiking through the wildlife-rich forests, always remembering to pack her rifle. On the morning of June 10, she and a friend, Tammy Caudron, decided to hunt for morels. They climbed into Barnabys truck and drove east from Hay River along the highway. Barnaby didnt want her rifle on her back as she stooped to pick up the pricey mushrooms. So she left it behind. It was a stupid mistake, she said. I paid a big price. The incredible story of how that small mistake nearly cost Barnaby her life was first reported by CBC Wednesday. Barnaby spoke to the Post by phone on Wednesday night. Barnaby parked her truck near the highway at around 11 a.m. The two foragers then walked in different directions in search of morels. Barnaby had with her a basket, a can of beer and Joey, her black and yellow mutt. Joey was Barnabys guard dog. When a bear would approach her log cabin-style house in Hay River, Joey would race outside and chase them off. So when, after about five hours of mushroom hunting, Barnaby heard a growl behind, she knew there could be trouble. She turned around and saw Joey muzzle to muzzle with a black wolf. The wolf was skinny probably cast out of its pack, Barnaby thought but still twice the size of Joey. And it was between her and the highway. He looked old to me, but he was smart, she said. It took me a while to realize how smart he was, and that he was actually being very, very strategic in trying to separate me from my dog and wear me down. I dont think he was strong enough to take us both on. And I think he knew that. Joey tried to scare away the wolf, as he did with bears, but it didnt work. The wolf was just watching them, legs spread apart as if ready to pounce, lips curled back to show sharp teeth. It scared the hell out of me, Barnaby said. The wolf was hunting her. Whenever Barnaby tried to angle back towards the highway and her truck, the animal cut her off. She found herself drifting deeper into the woods. He was directing me. There was no question about it. He was pushing me further and further from the highway, she said. He was stalking me. He was literally stalking me. Thats when it dawned on her. She might die. - - As the wolf drove Barnaby and Joey deeper into the woods, the landscape shifted. The relatively flat, burned forest floor gave way to thicker foliage. Dusk fell and still the animal pursued them. Barnaby only had her now empty beer can: no food, no water. A cloud of mosquitoes followed her. Even as the wolf watched, Barnaby developed a habit of rubbing her hands over her exposed face, arms and legs. My hands were just full of blood and mosquitoes, she said. So many swarmed her face that at some points it was hard to see. She tried rubbing poplar powder on her skin to keep the insects away, but it did little good. She was exhausted, hungry and dehydrated. The day had been hot. The night was cold. She was nearing her breaking point. Then the sky began to brighten in the east, and she heard a grunting sound. She could barely hear it over the whine of the mosquitoes, but it was there, in the distance: a sound she recognized well; the call of a mother bear. I actually sat down on a log and really concentrated, she said. I heard the cubs response. It was coming from another direction, away from the mother, so obviously the mother was calling her cub. The wolf, meanwhile, was watching. I sat there and I thought about it and I prayed about it, Barnaby said. She struck upon a seemingly insane plan. She would put herself between the mother bear and her cub in the hope that the mama bear would drive off the wolf. I decided I would take a chance, she told the Post. Of course, her plan could backfire. The bear could attack her instead. As she walked towards the cub, she could hear its calls getting louder. Before she ever saw the animal, however, the forest erupted behind her. All of a sudden I could hear this crashing behind me and this yelping and growling and howling, she said. I just got out of there as fast as I could from all of them, the cub, the mama bear and wolf. For half an hour, Barnaby and Joey took a beeline away from the bears. For once, the wolf didnt follow. Eventually, Barnaby got to a marsh with a stream running through it. She filled her beer can again and again. That water was amazingly delicious, she said. It didnt look great, but it sure tasted better [than the lake water]. It was so pure and so delicious and so cold. It took her an hour to cross the marshland. At the other side, there was a wall of willows so thick I literally had to untangle them. When I broke through those willows, I knew I was close. After the willows, the forest opened up again. She could tell from the recent burn that she was nearing the highway again. At 8 a.m., 14 hours after encountering the wolf and four hours after escaping the bears, Barnaby felt pavement beneath her weary feet. Less than a mile up the road, she could see Royal Canadian Mounted Police cars. She waved at them but they were busy searching in the other direction. I came up behind them, she said with a laugh. I surprised them. She turned down a ride back to her house, opting to drive herself instead. Barnaby posted her remarkable survival story to Facebook on Tuesday, along with a photo showing her covered in dirt, blood and poplar powder. In the hopes that by posting this, I can reduce how many times I will have to tell this story, her post began. More than 150 friends and family members commented on it, praising the survival skills and smart thinking that kept her alive. Some even offered jokes. Morel mushrooms $5/lb, one friend wrote. Your incredible brave dog Joey priceless. Some readers questioned her story, however, finding its confluence of wild animals too much to believe. The boy who cried wolf is an old parable, but the only morel to this story, is that it comes from the same stuff the mushrooms were growing out of, one reader wrote. This story is more fiction than real, wrote another. You have a greater chance of turning into a werewolf under a full moon than you do of being attacked by a wolf. But both Barnaby and Caudron insist it really happened. We should have planned it out a little better. A lot of things went wrong. But at the end of the day, she did a lot of things right. And thats why she is here, Caudron said. An RCMP spokesperson confirmed to the Post that Barnaby was, indeed, missing in Wood Buffalo National Park. Barnaby didnt seem bothered by doubts about her incredible account. She said she went looking for morels, not celebrity. Although she did admit that the whole situation with the wolf is pretty bizarre. Ive never heard anything like that. Read more about: SHARE: BAGHDADIraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as Daeshs grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety. Residents described harrowing escapes even after Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs that killed several. In some cases, Daesh allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadis families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that Daesh defences in much of the city collapsed abruptly. In the early morning Friday, Iraqi forces punched into the city centre, meeting intense fighting. But by evening, the special forces commander Brig. Haider al-Obedi told The Associated Press that his troops controlled 80 per cent of the city, with Daesh fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward regaining Daeshs last major foothold in Iraqs western Anbar province, the heartland of the countrys Sunni minority. The militants overran the city in early 2014, the first urban area to fall into its hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Over the past year, Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes have city-by-city regained large parts of that territory though the biggest prize, Iraqs second largest city, Mosul, and surrounding territory in the north, remains in Daesh control, liked to its holdings in neighbouring Syria. Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command centre, congratulating the troops on their victories. We promised to liberate Fallujah, and it has returned to the embrace of the nation, he said. Iraqi forces have tightened their control over the inside of the city, and there are some pockets that need to be cleaned out within hours, he said. In the early hours, special forces pushed into Fallujahs central al-Nazzal district, which had served as a base for the militants with weapons warehouses and command centres, al-Obeidi said. Backed with air support from the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi air force, the troops were able to move into the centre at around 6 a.m. They seized the main government complex, which includes municipality offices that Daesh had torched, the police station and other government buildings. Iraqi forces are now in the centre of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014, al-Obeidi said. Daesh fighters were still holding out in the nearby central hospital, al-Obeidi said. Throughout the day and into the night, Iraqi forces surrounded the hospital, clashing with snipers on adjacent buildings. But they were holding back from storming the building, fearing there were patients inside that the militants would use as human shields, he said. Meanwhile, troops were clearing roadside bombs from recaptured areas, including the government complex and the highway west of the city, linking it to Baghdad, al-Obeidi said. Aid groups had estimated that 50,000 civilians had been trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those had fled since then. They have largely been staying in camps in areas around the city. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the thousands more people fleeing the city were overwhelming services at the camps, with many sleeping in the open and drinking water in short supply. The group cited a 69-year-old Fallujah resident saying Daesh fighters suddenly disappeared from many streets Thursday evening, as neighbours saw them evacuating checkpoints and driving away in vehicles loaded with food and fuel. The news prompted many residents to prepare to escape. One resident, Ali al-Mohammadi, told The Associated Press he fled Friday with more than a dozen other relatives, including several children, but ran into Daesh fighters deployed at the banks of the Euphrates, which runs along the western edge of Fallujah. The militants beat them and fired shots in the air to drive them back, but finally as a crowd grew, the fighters relented and began allowing them to cross in small boats. The 29-year-old al-Mohammadi said that meanwhile he went to another part of the river and swam across to safety along with others. As he swam, he saw two boats capsize, spilling passengers into the water. They seemed to all make it to land, some using inner tubes they had brought with them, he said. Others tried to flee down a road leading out of the city to the south, only to find it mined with explosives. Mohammed Ismail, a 32-year-old trying to escape with his family, said militants on the road fired in the air to stop them. They forced us to stay until they could bring out the families and children of Daesh to come with us, he said. The price of our leaving was to bring their families with us. In the pre-dawn darkness, a Daesh fighter led them down a road past the explosives. Still, Ismail said, he saw one mine blow up, killing at least two people, before the crowd made it to Iraq military-controlled territory. There, Iraqi troops separated women and children from the young men, who were then questioned to find any escaping militants. The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Most are living in camps or informal settlements. Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Councils Country Director in Iraq, called for more international aid to help those fleeing Fallujah. Services in camps are already overstretched, and more will be needed, he said. International donors need to act now, Muflahi said, so that we can help Iraqi families who have been through long hellish months of widespread hunger, terror and despair. Read more about: SHARE: ISTANBULThe governor of the Turkish city of Istanbul has banned gay, lesbian and transgender individuals from holding pride parades at their usual venue, citing security concerns. The governors office said Friday that marches departing from Istanbuls iconic Taksim Square would not be allowed for the safety of our citizens and the participants. The LGBT community has called for demonstrations on June 19 and June 26, bookending pride week. Turkish Islamist and nationalist groups have threatened countermarches to stop the parade from taking place. The governors office has said other locations for demonstrations have been previously designated. Istanbuls pride parade has been celebrated every year since 2003 with participants converging in Taksim. Last year, the march was banned and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. SHARE: The opposition Labour Party retained the House of Commons seat of Tooting in south London in a special election triggered by Sadiq Khans victory in the London mayoral contest. Rosena Allin-Khan, an emergency doctor and local councillor who was born in Tooting, won 55.9 per cent of the vote on Thursday. Businessman Dan Watkins, of Prime Minister David Camerons Conservative Party, came second with 36.1 per cent. The decisive win, while widely predicted, is a boost for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been criticized for his low-key campaign to secure a Remain vote in next weeks referendum on European Union membership and for losing seats in council elections last month. Allin-Khan chose to forgo a victory speech due to the murder of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, an advocate of the U.K. staying in the EU. She issued a statement thanking her family, supporters and opponents, as well as the police who provided security for the vote. But my thoughts and prayers are with Jos husband and her children, Allin-Khan said. She was a proud and passionate campaigner who will be desperately missed. Jos death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile we must never forget to cherish it. Labour has held Tooting since the constituency was created in 1974. Its 19.8 percentage-point majority over the Tories is up from 5.3 points at the general election last year. Sadiq Khan stepped down as a member of Parliament when he was elected London mayor last month. SHARE: WASHINGTONMore than 50 U.S. State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administrations policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar Assad to stop its persistent violations of a ceasefire in the countrys five-year-old civil war. The memo, a draft of which was provided to the New York Times by a State Department official, says U.S. policy has been overwhelmed by the unrelenting violence in Syria. The memo calls for a judicious use of standoff and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process. Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administrations approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Barack Obama has plans to change course. Obama has emphasized the military campaign against Daesh over efforts to dislodge Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed. But the memo, filed in the State Departments dissent channel, underscores the deep rifts and lingering frustration within the administration over how to deal with a war that has killed more than 400,000 people. The State Department set up the channel during the Vietnam War as a way for employees who had disagreements with policies to register their protest with the secretary of state and other top officials without fear of reprisal. While dissent cables are not that unusual, the number of signatures on this document, 51, is extremely large, if not unprecedented. The names on the memo are almost all mid-level officials many of them career diplomats who have been involved in the administrations Syria policy over the past five years, at home or abroad. They range from a Syria desk officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to a former deputy, to the U.S. ambassador in Damascus. While there are no widely recognized names, higher-level State Department officials are known to share their concerns. Kerry himself has pushed for stronger U.S. action against Syria, in part to force a diplomatic solution on Assad. Obama has resisted such pressure and has been backed up by his military commanders, who have raised questions about what would happen in the event that Assad was forced from power a scenario that the draft memo does not address. The State Department spokesman, John Kirby, declined to comment on the memo, which top officials had just received. But he said Kerry respected the process as a way for employees to express policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership. Robert S. Ford, a former ambassador to Syria, said, Many people working on Syria for the State Department have long urged a tougher policy with the Assad government as a means of facilitating arrival at a negotiated political deal to set up a new Syrian government. Ford, who is now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, resigned from the Foreign Service in 2014 out of frustration with the administrations hands-off policy toward the conflict. In the memo, the State Department officials wrote that the Assad governments continuing violations of the partial ceasefire, known as a cessation of hostilities, will doom efforts to broker a political settlement because Assad will feel no pressure to negotiate with the moderate opposition or other factions fighting him. The governments barrel bombing of civilians, it said, is the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region. The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the memo said. The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges. The memo acknowledged that military action would have risks, not the least further tensions with Russia, which has intervened in the war on Assads behalf and helped negotiate a ceasefire. Those tensions increased Thursday when, according to a senior Pentagon official, Russia conducted airstrikes in southern Syria against U.S.-backed forces fighting Daesh. The State Department officials insisted in their memo that they were not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia, but rather a credible threat of military action to keep Assad in line. Once that threat was in place, the memo said, Kerry could undertake a diplomatic mission similar to the one he led with Iran on its nuclear program. The expression of dissent came a week after Assad showed renewed defiance of the United States and other countries, vowing to retake every inch of his country from his enemies. The ceasefire, which Kerry helped negotiate in Munich last winter, has never really taken hold. Assad has continued to block humanitarian convoys, despite a warning that the United Nations would begin airdrops of food to starving towns. Still, Obama has shown little sign of shifting his focus from the campaign against Daesh a strategy that probably acquired even more urgency after the mass shooting Sunday in Orlando, Fla. In the memo, the State Department officials argued that military action against Assad would help the fight against Daesh because it would bolster moderate Sunnis, who are necessary allies against the group. During a debate in June 2013, after the Assad government had used chemical weapons against its own people, Kerry brandished a State Department report that argued that the United States needed to respond militarily, or Assad would view it as green light for continued CW use. Three years later, the sense of urgency at the State Department has not diminished. The memo concludes, It is time that the United States, guided by our strategic interests and moral convictions, lead a global effort to put an end to this conflict once and for all. Read more about: SHARE: A landmark series published Friday estimates there are now 25 million transgender people worldwide a population that remains grossly underserved by public health even though they face a heightened risk of everything from depression and homicide to HIV. The papers, published in the Lancet, mark the first time the highly influential medical journal has devoted a series to transgender health. Wide-ranging in scope, the collection of studies and editorials highlights the massive health inequities that exist for transgender people, many of whom face a steep slide from stigma to sickness. For example, transgender women, who often face job discrimination and turn to sex work, have a 49 times greater risk of HIV. Transgender people are also frequent victims of violence, with researchers documenting 2,115 killings between 2008 and April 2016 a statistic that is certainly underestimated. One paper in the series notes that many regions still have laws or policies that threaten transgender health, such as the 17 European countries that impose sterilization on people seeking gender recognition. But as a whole, the Lancet series is a strident call to action for the global health community. From medical education to medical research, the health needs of the worlds transgender population has been largely ignored and its time for that to change, says Sam Winter, a lead author on the series. The message were trying to give to health-care providers is that transgender people, wherever they live, have the same rights as their compatriots to the highest-attainable standards of health, said Winter, an associate professor with Australias Curtin University, who spent five years putting the series together with Dr. Kevan Wylie of the University of Sheffield. In the series, Winter and his co-authors urge specific action, including for the World Health Organization to follow through on a proposal to declassify gender incongruence as a mental-health disorder a move that Winter said would be truly historic in destigmatizing transgender people. The series also calls for widespread anti-discrimination laws, more gender-inclusive schools, an end to unethical conversion therapies, and funding for feminizing or masculinizing hormones. It further identifies an urgent need for research in regions such as Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, where discrimination is high but transgender studies are scarce. The Lancet series comes at a watershed moment for transgender visibility. Just consider the widespread outrage over American bathroom bills that restrict transgender people from using public restrooms, or the mainstream celebrity of people such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox. But as significant as these are, they are just small steps toward a truly inclusive world where transgender people can live their healthiest-possible lives, said Sari Reisner, another series co-author. Ive been doing this work for about 10 years and I truly never thought that I would see this kind of level of visibility, said Reisner, an assistant professor and researcher with Harvard Medical School. But visibility doesnt necessarily equal social change or the bettering of human rights. And for transgender people, the denial of their rights especially their right to having their gender identity recognized can be unhealthy or even deadly. Just last month, for example, a 23-year-old transgender activist named Alisha died in Pakistan after being shot several times. According to reports, she was shunted between male and female wards with three hours passing before she went into surgery and hospital doctors actually taunted her. But every day, lower-profile examples of discrimination are also playing out. At the Sherbourne Health Centre, family doctor Laura Pripstein has a young transgender patient who suffers from repeated urinary tract infections. Why? Because the patients school lacks a safe gender neutral bathroom, forcing them to constantly hold in their pee. Even within the medical establishment, discriminatory behaviour blocks transgender people from safely accessing basic health services. Dr. Allison Lou, a family doctor with the Sherbourne Health Centres LGBTQ team, often hears from patients who encounter health practitioners who refuse to refer to them by their chosen gender identity. This is really distressing to people, Lou said. I think for trans people, its really just about being respected as a person, which sometimes doesnt happen even in big health-care organizations. Access to gender-affirming treatments and surgery is a vital component of providing health care to transgender people, but barriers persist, even in Ontario, which recently passed legislation expanding access. For one, the criteria for trans women to get breast augmentation now requires them to go on estrogen hormones for a year and be categorized as Tanner Stage 1 a measure of physical development that is irrelevant to most adults because it describes the chest flatness of a pre-pubescent child. And while the law is designed to increase access, Canada still only has a single clinic that performs external genital surgery, Lou said. But transgender health extends far beyond hormones and surgeries, and transgender people have all sorts of basic health questions that remain unanswered. Combing the scientific literature, the Lancet researchers found only 116 papers between 2008 and 2014 that investigated issues relating to transgender health. Virtually none of them studied transgender people and chronic diseases. This means that for people like Tate Sameshima, a 33-year-old transgender man with diabetes, his doctors have no idea whether its safe for him to undergo hormonal treatment while also taking insulin. Theres no proof or research for me to look at and make any educated decision, Sameshima said. It was a life-saving choice for me to be on hormone replacement therapy. But also in the back of my mind, Im always wondering what will happen. Stats from the Lancet series: 0.30.5% Conservative estimates for how many people worldwide identify as transgender 56% Transgender people in an Australian study who have been diagnosed with depression, four times the rate of the general population 35% Participants in a U.S. study who expressed their gender diversity as a youth and fell victim to physical violence 41% People from the same U.S. study who attempted suicide, compared to 1.6 per cent in the general population. 8 Out of 49 European countries fail to provide legal or administrative measures enabling gender recognition. 1 Study on transgender health published between 2008 and 2014 in sub-Saharan Africa 1 Country, the United States, that published more than six studies on transgender health between 2008 and 2014 Source: Lancet Medical Journal SHARE: Ottawa is under pressure from Washington to take command of one of four new NATO battle groups being set up in Poland and the Baltic states to face off against Russia. Each is to consist of between 800 and 1,000 troops. Thats not enough to stop Russia should it choose to invade its neighbours. But the theory is that the presence of even a small number of North American and Western European troops in these countries would, by acting as a kind of tripwire, deter Moscow. Germany, the United States and Britain have already announced publicly that they will command three of the four battle groups. The British-led force will include about 500 British troops, plus some from Denmark and France. The U.S. says most of the battle group it commands will be American. Technically, Canada has not yet made up its mind. A government spokesperson told Canadian Press that Ottawa is actively considering options. But the news coming out of the NATO defence ministers meeting Tuesday in Brussels suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government will find it hard to say no. Eastern European members of NATO particularly Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are spooked by Russias annexation of Ukrainian Crimea. They want to be sure that NATO will come to their aid if they are attacked. Putting North American and Western European soldiers on the front line is meant to accomplish that. We dont want a new Cold War, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. But thats exactly what is happening. Meanwhile, back in Canada, the Trudeau government is simultaneously trying to forge a friendlier relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putins regime. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion is the key figure here. In March, he noted that former prime minister Stephen Harpers strategy of trying to isolate Russia by severing ties hasnt worked. Last month, Dion rejected the idea of passing a Canadian version of Americas so-called Magnitsky Act, designed to freeze the assets and limit travel of Russian human rights violators. He said then that such a law, named after a Russian critic of the Putin regime who died in prison after being beaten, was unnecessary and would only antagonize the current Russian government. Dion has run into a buzz-saw of criticism for this, even from within his own party. Former justice minister Irwin Cotler has called for a Magnitsky Act as has former interim Liberal leader Bob Rae. At least two sitting Liberal MPs also support a law that would crack down more severely on Russian human-rights violators. Added to this are the domestic politics within Canada. Many Canadians whose families came from Eastern Europe are deeply suspicious of Russia. As former prime minister Stephen Harper found, the idea of standing tough against Putin is not unpopular in this country. Up to now, the Liberal government has managed to juggle its conflicting approaches to Russia without irritating too many. On the one hand, it continues to oppose Russias annexation of Crimea. On the other, it doesnt let that annexation interfere with its attempts to deal practically with the Putin regime in other areas ranging from Arctic co-operation to the war in Syria. At the same time, it has continued to participate in NATO exercises designed to deter Russia including the deployment of 200 Canadian military advisers to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Trudeau and the prime minister of Romania discussed a plan to base a multinational NATO brigade in that former Soviet satellite But will commanding a battle group along the Russian border be viewed by Ottawa as a step too far? Clearly, there is some resistance within government to the idea. Thats why Canada, unlike Germany, Britain and the U.S., didnt sign on publicly this week. Will that resistance hold? Can the Liberal government resist the pressure from Washington and some of its own voters to take a harder line against Moscow in this new Cold War? Im not sure it can. Thomas Walkoms column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Read more about: SHARE: As an epidemiologist and a parent, I am perplexed with the recent momentum toward legalizing marijuana. Of all the arguments I have heard, I have yet to hear any which are compelling enough to remove the drug from prescription status. One argument I have heard is that marijuana is harmless. This argument ignores the fact that numerous studies have reported harms in peer-reviewed academic journals. A summary of the evidence, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014, concluded, Marijuana use has been associated with substantial adverse effects, some of which have been determined with a high level of confidence. Some of those effects were addiction to marijuana and other substances, motor vehicle accidents, and chronic bronchitis. Other effects were reported with either high or medium confidence. Some of the medium-confidence effects were schizophrenia and abnormal brain development in young people. In order to believe the harmless argument, you have to believe that all of the studies reporting harms were wrong. Even from people who dont think marijuana is harmless, you still hear the argument that it should be legal because it is not as bad as alcohol. The not-as-bad type of argument is also known as the fallacy of relative privation. The fallacy is that pointing to something worse does not justify anything. The not-as-bad argument asks people to dismiss one bad thing by asking them to focus on another bad thing. It is a show of falling dominoes with all of two tiles. Society is replete with awful things which it tolerates, like poverty, while at the same time it puts its foot down on much more minor things, like deer in urban Victoria. The only time the not-as-bad argument holds water is when only one bad thing has to be chosen from multiple bad options. But the government is not suggesting prohibition in exchange for allowing people to light up or eat up. The plan is to pile vice on top of vice. Another argument is that marijuana is a medicinal herb and therefore should be freely available. If you think so, can I interest you in a warfarin brownie? Warfarin is a blood thinner that doctors have prescribed for decades to prevent life-threatening clots. Its discovery came after cattle were observed bleeding to death after eating feed derived from sweet clover. Warfarin has been shown to be a life-saving drug in some people at the right dose. Too much and it can kill. A good therapy can also cause harm, which is why many drugs are available by prescription. If marijuana is removed from prescription status, then what other drugs should be exempted? Antibiotics? Anticoagulants? Analgesics (like opioids)? Antipsychotics? I could keep going with the As but what is really needed is a framework for these decisions. Then we have the Im not hurting anyone argument. This is no different than arguing we can get rid of seat belt and helmet laws. While marijuana wont split your skull open like a fall from a motorcycle, driving a motorcycle before work wont degrade your cognitive performance for the day. Governments sometimes have to protect people from their own judgment, and from imposing a financial burden on society. Harm reduction is the argument the federal government appears to be backing, perhaps because it has a veneer of edification which cannot be mustered from the other arguments. The Achilles heel of this argument is an assumption that legalization will not increase demand and swamp any trumpeted benefits with additional adverse events. Data coming in from Washington State, which voted to legalize marijuana in 2012, suggests this concern should be taken seriously here. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the U.S., which has collected data on the use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs since 1971, showed that marijuana use in Washington increased almost 30 per cent since legalization. By comparison, the proportion of the total U.S. population using marijuana increased by about 10 per cent (the total is inflated with states where marijuana was legalized). During the same period, the Washington Poison Center reported that marijuana-related poisonings, such as accidental ingestion by children, increased by more than 50 per cent. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission reported the percentage of DUI cases testing positive for THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, increased by a similar amount. Finally, to anyone who thinks we should legalize marijuana because it is happening in the United States, can I interest you in amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to allow us all to keep and bear arms? Colin Dormuth is an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology, pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of British Columbia in Victoria. SHARE: One great thing about Muhammad Alis funeral a week ago is that it responded to the hateful Trumpian garbage that got spewed after the Orlando slaughter and did so pre-emptively, mere days before. It answered in advance, as if Ali hadnt just planned his own memorial but foreseen the need for it. I was enthralled, I watched for three hours. It was profoundly, effortlessly ecumenical, yet wholeheartedly Muslim. It had none of the self-conscious straining you often see when people try too hard to be inclusive. It was also totally American in tone, with no hint of Islam as an imported force more at home elsewhere. Women were probably the most impressive component: Alis daughters, Malcolm Xs daughter and Alis awesome wife, Lonnie. I even took delight in the normally self-promoting Jewish progressive, Michael Lerner, in full rabbinic gear. In the (Bill) Clinton years, Lerner urged supporters to send money to help him occupy a space in Clintons psyche, alongside less enlightened voices whod be clamouring there. I imagine hes still angling for entry to the Clinton cranium (Hillarys) but he too was splendid. It also illuminated the appeal Islam has long held for African Americans. It responded to their spiritual needs (whatever that means, i.e., anything) without the baggage of American Christianitys ambiguous relation to slavery and racism. Its similar with Islams appeal worldwide: it hasnt been allied to an imperial force (at least not till Daesh) since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Much of Islams appeal lies in its relative doctrinal simplicity and the ease of its simple, uncluttered conversion process. That leaves lots of room for personal development afterwards. Alis own trajectory began with the Nation of Islam, under Malcolm Xs tutelage. When Malcolm left, protesting against racial exclusivism and corruption, Ali broke with him; he later called that his greatest mistake. He eventually followed Malcolm into mainstream Sunni Islam and then leaned toward the subtleties of Sufism. As a Muslim, he denounced the 9/11 attacks. The testimonies to his faith and its long evolution, based on peace and common humanity, by his kids and others were poignant. How did this respond pre-emptively to the reactions of Trump and others following Orlandos carnage? Trump blamed it on radical Islam and said Obama lacked the guts to call it that. Obama said speaking those words would do no good; Hillary said she wasnt afraid to say them. My problem with the term is that it has no meaning, it refers to nothing actual. Theres no group called Radical Islam and no address or letterhead. There are Muslims you could call radical, if you define what you mean, who have no relation to terror; along with some, if a definitions provided, who do. It simply lobs an open-ended category out there with which to spread panic and gather support among the fearful. In general I dont see the point of applying religion as an issue in these cases. The killer in Orlando was in some way Muslim but that was probably the least of his problems. He had a jumble of contradictory attitudes and poses that he shot his mouth off about, before shooting literally. He was, in other words, like many other loud-mouthed Americans such as Trump, who dont know what theyre talking about but yap anyway. Then he went and got a gun. It was no more about religion than the California pastor who said, I think its great that 50 pedophiles were killed today. Sure hes in a religious setting but where does it get you to note that? There are endless counter examples and so what? Glenn Greenwald cites a poll showing U.S. Muslims are more gay supportive than evangelicals, Mormons or Jehovahs Witnesses. Theyre basically tied with U.S. Christians. Then you have that ecumenical Ali funeral. Its not that religion isnt involved in these cases; it is but that facts unilluminating, because it can mean too many things. When I was young and indulged in the study of religions, there were attempts, like Huston Smiths The Religions of Man (how things change, eh?) to define each great religions essence. It was fun but it was also delusional. Defining it didnt mean it truly existed, it just meant you had a definition. Religion itself, in its innumerable actual forms, is, and always was, pretty much another word for human. Rick Salutins column appears every Friday. Read more about: SHARE: Editor's pick: Originally published June 17. More corporations are saying, "Thanks, but no thanks," on sponsoring the Republican National Convention. Wells Fargo (WFC) , United Parcel Service (UPS) , Motorola Solutions (MSI) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Ford (F) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) are among a growing number of U.S. companies to drop, scale back or change their involvement in next month's GOP extravaganza in Cleveland, according to a report from Bloomberg. All of the companies sponsored the 2012 convention in Tampa, Fla. It is worth noting that many of the companies won't be sponsoring the Democratic National Convention, either. However, the news propels forward the growing narrative of businesses and politicians steering clear of the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Wells Fargo, which gave $500,000 to each party's convention in 2012, will give to the Democrats only this time around. A Wells Fargo spokesperson said that the company has a history of contributing to cities in which it has a banking presence to support civic engagement and noted that the event will actually take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. She added that the decision was reached before either nominee was decided and emphasized that the donation was given to the host committee and not to either party committee. JPMorgan, Walgreens, UPS and Motorola Solutions have reportedly decided not to donate to the host committee of either convention, though Walgreens does plan to host events for officials during both events. A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment but pointed to two public announcements around the company's philanthropic activities in Cleveland and Philadelphia. A UPS spokeswoman called the Bloomberg article "misleading," noting that it does not mention until later in the piece that the decision was made almost 12 months ago and that the company is not sponsoring either convention. A spokeswoman for Motorola said the company's focus is on supporting its public safety customers in the cities where the conventions are taking place. Ford's decision not to sponsor the convention is perhaps especially eyebrow-raising, given that the company has been on the receiving end of Trump's ire on the campaign trail over its Mexican operations. A Ford spokeswoman said in an email that the company decided more than a year ago not to sponsor either party's convention, but as Bloomberg points out, as recently as March the automaker was declining to say what it would do. She also noted that Ford will have a presence at both conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia, mostly engaging via state delegation events. "The portrayal in stories has been about the companies that are backing away, whereas there's really a positive story in what we have accomplished," said Emily Lauer, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland host committee, in a phone conversation Friday morning with TheStreet. More than 100 companies have already signed on to sponsor or donate to this year's convention. The committee has raised $57.5 million of its $64 million target and expects the rest of the funding to kick in as the convention date approaches. Lauer noted that fundraising this year has outpaced efforts in 2008 and 2012. Those years, host committees had raised 45%-to-50% of their totals 60 days ahead of the convention; this year, they were at 85%. "The sky is not falling," she said, repeating what she told Bloomberg. Trump's place atop the GOP presidential ticket has put numerous companies in a bind this election cycle when it comes to convention sponsorship and involvement. Coca-Cola (KO) decided to scale back its sponsorship of both parties' conventions earlier this year. Microsoft (MSFT) announced in a blog post in April that it would provide technology products but not a cash donation to the Republican convention. It said it is providing access to similar technology to the Democrats as well as "some sponsorship" of host committee activities. Numerous other entities have faced pressure to dump a Trump-led convention, including AT&T (T) , Xerox (XRX) and Adobe (ADBE) . Facebook (FB) and Alphabet (GOOGL) have dugin their heels and will sponsor the event despite calls for them to back away. Wells Fargo, Walgreens Boots Alliance Facebook and Alphabet are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. See how Cramer rates the stock here. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells WFC, WBA, FB or GOOGL? Learn more now. Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange, one of the groups leading the charge for companies to dump Trump, in an interview with TheStreet last month called Alphabet's decision "deeply disappointing" for a company that focuses so much on diversity. "Black Lives Matter protestors are assaulted, and you have a presidential candidate offering to pay for the legal defense of these violent attackers. And you have Google and Facebook throwing him a party," he said. Some companies are still holding off on committing to the 2016 Republican National Convention, Lauer said, noting that there are some components that usually tend to kick in closer to the convention date. "We're focused on closing the conversations that are taking place and raising the last $6.5 million to make it a great convention here in Cleveland," she said. Full disclosure of who does and does not sponsor the Republican and Democratic events won't come until the events are over. Federal Election Commission filings outlining donations aren't required until 60 days post-convention. Nervousness about the upcoming U.K "Brexit" referendum has gripped the market. Investors pulled $1.1 billion from U.K. equity funds in the week to yesterday, according to data from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. This was the fastest rate of withdrawals in 13 months. The FTSE 100 was recently 1.19% up at 6,021.09. Investors have been flowing money into perceived safe assets such as bonds, this has sent yields on U.K., German and Japanese sovereign debt to their lowest levels. Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde today gave another warning to the U.K. about a possible "Brexit." During a speech in Vienna, Austria she said being a member of the EU has brought more jobs and higher income to the U.K. Being a member of the union has also lifted trade and investment. "We have already been on record that the economic risks of leaving are firmly to the downside," Lagarde said. "There is, in my view, a clear case as to how the U.K. has benefited -- and will continue to benefit -- from its membership in the European Union." Both sides of the "Brexit" referendum have suspended their campaigns for a second day after a member of parliament was attacked and killed yesterday. The vote on whether the U.K. should stay in the European Union is due to take place next week. The campaign had reached fever pitch prior to the attack. A poll by Ipsos Mori for the Evening Standard newspaper had put "leave" six percentage points ahead of remain. There was also strong central bank intervention with the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank warning on the impact of a possible exit. Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Birstall in northern England, was shot and stabbed several times in her constituency town of Birstall around 1 p.m. on Thursday. She later died. Cox had been campaigning to stay in the E.U. Her husband and two children took part in a pro-E.U. flotilla on the River Thames on Wednesday. A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder. Police are investigating the motive for the murder. Local media has reported that the suspect shouted "Britain first" or "put Britain first" during the attack. Britain First is a far-right political party in the U.K. that is campaigning for a "Brexit." The party, however, has suggested the reports were "hearsay" and condemned the attack on Cox. Britain is in shock over the murder as shootings are very uncommon in the U.K. Flags are flying at half-mast over parliament and Buckingham Palace. Prime Minister David Cameron has cancelled his appearances and said, "It's right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time." The pound, which had fallen sharply in recent weeks, rebounded. It was recently trading at $1.4240, up 1.5% from last week's low. Betting odds swung more in favor of a "remain" vote after the attack, Mizuho Bank noted. Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, pets his dog, Lily, in his office in Gaithersburg. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post) Carfax is trying something new at its 700-person office in Centreville: Employees are encouraged to bring their pets to work, any day of the week. It started with chief executive Dick Raines doing it on his own. When Carfax signed a new lease as part of an office expansion, Raines pushed the companys landlord at Cushman & Wakefield (also a Top Workplace) to write pets into the companys lease. I would bring my dog Bailey into to the office under a previous lease even though it probably wasnt kosher, and people would just smile a lot more, said Raines, who heads a company that provides data on vehicle histories. It adds another element of casualness to our office. Having pets at the office is rare for a company as big as Carfax, but some smaller outfits have been doing it for years. At Reston-based government contractor Ambit Group, a pair of labradoodles named Bailey and Sadie frequently roam the halls. NFM Lending has a rescue cat that lives at the corporate office. At D.C.-based Mark G. Anderson Consultants, an Irish terrier named Miss Bea, a golden retriever named Frisco, a little corgi named Gizmo and a pair of German shorthairs named Cosmo and Gordon prowl the halls each Friday. Some firms that dont allow pets on a regular basis find other ways to be pet-friendly. As part of a weekly program at online event services firm Cvent, management brought in several volunteer dogs to help employees take a break and relax. At District software company TCG, furry pets are not allowed because employees such as founder and chief executive Daniel Turner have allergies. However, the company does keep a pet snake. Fairfax-based accounting firm Thompson Greenspon forbids pets to avoid triggering employees allergies, but management says pet-related emergencies or otherwise are fair game for time off. Though we do not allow pets in the office, we still think of ourselves as a very pet-friendly company, says marketing manager Julianna Prince. The firm understands that pets are a part of your family and may need attention during the week. Most workplaces include family members in the health insurance they provide for employees, but some take it a step further and include pets. Decisive Analytics, Cvent, WeddingWire, Carfax and many others include pet insurance as part of their benefits offering. At Carfax, Raines doesnt use the pet insurance. But a recent visit to the vet had him wishing he did. I got Bailey an MRI recently, and that cost a ton of money, and I wished I had that pet insurance, he said. Click here to see the full list. Read more: [The job perks you wish you had] [Q&A: These three leaders show there are many paths to success] [Fatheads, Rolexes, even a dress code can shape a workplaces culture] [These employees are willing to do just a little bit more] [Its easy to say you want to innovate. These companies are doing it] [Why one Big Law firm says it is really in the talent business] Job seekers fill out applications at a career fair in May of this year. Recent figures suggest that new job hunters in Maryland and the District are having an easier time finding work. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg News) Unemployment rates in Virginia, Maryland and the District fell in May even as a weak national jobs report rattled financial markets. The D.C. metropolitan area as a whole added a healthy 61,900 jobs in the past year, a 1.9 percent employment growth rate that narrowly outstripped the rest of the country, according to government data released Friday. Its clear were getting into a more mature stage of the business cycle, said Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University. Unemployment rates in Virginia and Maryland dropped to 3.8 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. The rate fell faster in the District than in its suburban periphery, dropping by 0.9 percent in the past year to bottom out at 6.1 percent. The numbers are a far cry from the early days of the recession, when jobless rates hovered closer to 10 percent. The region is clearly approaching full employment. We cant go much lower than this, said Anirban Basu, chief executive at Sage Policy Group, an economic consulting firm. But at least in Virginia, the remarkably low unemployment rate might have less to do with job creation than with baby boomers retiring and younger job seekers giving up. Virginia had close to 11,000 fewer job seekers in May than it did a year ago, mirroring a national decline that has confounded economists and politicians throughout the recovery. Its still kind of a puzzle whats going on with labor force participation. Its definitely on a historic low side, said Ann Macheras, an economist at the Richmond Federal Reserve. The picture is different in the District and Maryland. D.C. added about 10,000 jobs seekers in the past year even as the unemployment rate fell by 0.9 percent, suggesting newcomers are having an easier time finding jobs. Marylands labor force also grew compared with last year. Employment grew in almost every local industry except the information category, a catch-all classification that includes jobs in broadcasting and telecommunications. That category has been on the decline for years, but Mays jobs report showed a particularly stark drop locally in which the sector lost 6,200 jobs in the one-year period ending in May. Economists said this can probably be attributed to the ongoing strike at Verizon that kept some 40,000 people nationally away from work in April and May. The Verizon strike probably explains a very meaningful chunk, Basu said. Thats not a broader economic phenomenon. Thats Verizon. WilmerHale likes to describe itself as a full-service international law firm working at the intersection of government, technology and business. But at its core, the global firm, with offices in the District, is only as good as its people, says managing partner Bob Novick. Were a talent business, and thats all we are, he says. Its critical that we invest in that talent every day because thats what we sell to the marketplace. Indeed, what they sell are litigators with Supreme Court experience. Lawyers in a regulatory practice that once held high-level government positions. Legal specialists who hold scientific and technical degrees. And yet the economics of the business are changing, as clients embrace in-house practices and lower-cost alternatives to traditional Big Law. That makes it harder and harder for top firms to give younger lawyers real-world professional experience. A lot of high-dollar clients these days simply refuse to pay for the services of a lawyer with less than two years of experience. The client perspective is you train them on your nickel, not on our nickel, Novick said. WilmerHales answer: A slew of creative ad-hoc workshops and a companywide commitment to pro-bono work. The firm holds at least one workshop a week covering such basics as oral advocacy, accounting and ethics as well as more esoteric topics such as the regulatory environment in the broker dealer world. For those seeking a management role or thinking of starting their own firm, Novick even presented a seminar breaking down the business side of the legal industry. Still, Novick echoes many in other industries in emphasizing the value of on-the-ground experience over staged workshops. For on-the-ground work, the firm relies on pro-bono cases to help young lawyers learn the ropes. With these cases the stakes are still high, but clients are less likely to be finicky about the specifics of an lawyers resume because they are getting the work free. Its probably the case that for a first-year lawyer, a pro-bono case lets them do things more on their own, Novick said. That creates some hands-on experience that is real. Younger lawyers certainly arent the only ones taking on pro-bono cases; the firm requires all of its lawyers to commit at least 5 percent of their total billable hours to pro-bono cases. Its not like the younger lawyers do pro-bono work and the older ones dont, said Novick, but youre certainly right that a younger lawyer might be more inclined to take on a pro-bono matter. Youll get a lot more exposure. WilmerHales efforts seem to be appreciated by employees. They gave the firm the highest marks among D.C. area Top Workplaces for career training. WilmerHale is hardly the only firm that received high marks for training. Down the road at ChasenBoscolo, a personal injury law firm with offices in Falls Church, Va., and Greenbelt and Waldorf, Md., management prefers to hire and train young lawyers, mostly because more-expensive talent often had trouble meshing with the firms entrepreneurial culture. We can teach people how to practice law the way we practice it, but we cant teach our culture, says managing partner Barry Chasen. We reached a point where we were never going to hire another lawyer with experience, so instead we hire people straight out of law school and we train them. They do it primarily though mentoring, in which new hires are paired with more experienced lawyers. In addition to working with newly minted lawyers, many law firms also look to help professionals with critical skills make the transition to law. When a patent agent or technical specialist at District-based Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox wants to attend law school, the firm often picks up the entire tuition tab. This sort of education reimbursement is one of the most common and expensive ways that companies support employees careers. Some surveys show that close to 9 out of 10 companies offer tuition reimbursement in some form. In some cases, employees can get entire degrees on the companys dime. At Mark G. Anderson Consultants, a D.C.-based company that represents owners in real estate disputes, employees can expense up to $5,250 a year for classes, and human resources manager Heather Davis says she has approved courses that cost up to $10,000. And it is not just law firms. At Mitre, a sprawling nonprofit organization that operates federally funded research centers, employees can sometimes charge up to $25,000 per year for tuition. Technology companies are quick to shell out for professional certifications, stamps of approval that are becoming increasingly important in advanced fields such as cybersecurity. TCG, a small District-based technology contractor, sets aside a $2,500 annual training budget for each employee that can be rolled over to the next year. Fairfax-based technology contractor InTec allocates $3,000 a year for education reimbursements. Rockville-based Insurance Associates actually requires employees to do some sort of continuing education, paid for by the company. Employers see it as an investment in their workers future and as a way to keep them from looking for greener pastures as the local job market heats up and the demand for talent increases. Some even use employer contributions to make it harder for employees to leave. If you have tuition reimbursement theres usually a caveat that says if were going to spend money on you, you have to stay with us for a long time, or you pay us back, said Rose Stanley, an employee benefits expert at the human resources association WorldatWork. Federal contracting giant CACI, for instance, will sometimes spend up to $12,000 a year on tuition but requires employees to stick around for a year after they finish. Mitre has a two-year tenure requirement for those who earn graduate and undergraduate degrees, and a three-year tenure requirement for a more robust program that includes financial support for outside research. With smaller reimbursement programs, companies feel less pressure to recoup their investment. At the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement whether they work full or part time , and they can walk out the door the day they graduate if they choose. But the Hyatts tuition program caps subsidies at $1,000 per year per employee. It may not pay for your whole college, but it will pay for part of your college, said Nathalie Rytting, Hyatts director of human resources. Rytting said Hyatt attaches no stipulations regarding employees tenure. We dont believe in that, Rytting said. We just want people to get educated. Click here to see the full list. Read more: [The job perks you wish you had] [Q&A: These three leaders show there are many paths to success] [Fatheads, Rolexes, even a dress code can shape a workplaces culture] [At these companies, pets are part of the team] [These employees are willing to do just a little bit more] [Its easy to say you want to innovate. These companies are doing it] For three years running Kelley Drye & Warren legal secretary Alicia Hunter has organized a holiday choir among the members of the office. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post) Few organizations can acheive success without employees who are willing to go above and beyond their daily roles. Heres three stories. Choir leader As an assistant to managing partner Lew Rose at Kelley Drye & Warren, Alicia Hunter helps with the day-to-day administration of a big law firm. But shes also a talented singer who graduated from local music academy Duke Ellington School of the Arts. So in 2013, her boss gave her a challenge: Why not form a choir to sing at the firms holiday party? She recruited the best voices from around the office, and the rest is history. The choir has become a celebrated fixture of the firms annual festivities, and its always gaining new members. Though the group only comes together once a year, Hunter says she relishes the opportunity. Paul Smith went from security guard to owning a cybersecurity company. (Nick Otto/For The Washington Post) Im a shy person, so Im usually in the background of things, she said. To have people come up to me and say, You are wonderful; the chorale was wonderful, makes me feel really good. Rising star Paul Smith joined the Manassas security firm Falken Industries in 2009 as a confused 19-year-old looking for something new, and chief executive Rob Ord saw something in him. Ord put the National Guardsman to work as a building security guard at a big defense contractor in Northern Virginia. One day, Ord pulled the young man aside: Two years from now, youre not going to be working for me. Youre going to be doing something big. Ord held Smiths job for him when he was deployed to Iraq, and Smith returned eight months later with a dream of working in cybersecurity. Smith started pursuing an online degree in information security, and his military security clearance meant he could shadow the clients cyber-professionals while they were engaged in classified work. He learned the ropes through a constant stream of questions.The training paid off. In 2015, he landed a job as a cybersecurity analyst for another company and is now starting his own firm. There s been no looking back since, Smith said. Now hes almost done with his degree, and hes starting his own cybersecurity company, C3 Security. The company has already attracted $300,000 from investors, and Smith says hes close to sealing a deal with his first paying client. Walter Layton, vice president at Mark G. Anderson Consultants, has been bringing in bagels and donuts to the firms corporate office early each morning for more than a decade. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post) Smiths experience is not abnormal at Falken. Ord sees his company as a pivot point for veterans making the big transition back to the 9-to-5 life. Do you want a security guard where thats all they want to do in life, like Paul Bart in [the movie] Mall Cop? Ord asked. Bagel man Walter Layton does not see much of the corporate office at Mark G. Anderson Consultants. His company counsels construction firms with a mix of financial advice and on-the-ground expertise, and Layton prefers the field to the office. I like seeing stuff being built, and I like seeing it on a daily basis, he said. But he has made a mark on the companys office culture nonetheless: Each Friday, he shows up in the wee hours of the morning with a load of bagels and doughnuts, and in 11 years, hes missed only one week. He says it is just a nice thing to give something people appreciate and look forward to: Part of its my upbringing, and part of its the people I work with. He said he knows there are other people at work who go out of the way to help him, as well. Theres a lot of benefits in our office that go unwritten and unrecognized, he said. Click here to see the full list. Read more: [The job perks you wish you had] [Q&A: These three leaders show there are many paths to success] [Fatheads, Rolexes, even a dress code can shape a workplaces culture] [At these companies, pets are part of the team] [Why one Big Law firm says it is really in the talent business] [Its easy to say you want to innovate. These companies are doing it] Much of what I know about my father as a man, I got from observing him at work. In our house, Fathers Day was special, not because it was a day for our father but because it was a day for all fathers: a red-letter-day for his menswear store when business picked up (second only to Christmas,) when mother was called to work the cash register and I, even as a young boy, was called to man the broom, the stockroom and the tailor shop. The store, located in Canton, Ohio, was called Mr. Teds and was tucked into a strip mall that was in walking distance of cornfields and catered to those who made their living with their hands. The store was named not for me but for my father. That we shared names was itself a breach of faith my grandfather, a rabbi, could not have approved. Much of what I learned not only about him but also the world at large, I learned in Mr. Teds watching my father interact with those he had hired and those he waited upon. I would see him on bended knee, a yellow measuring tape draped around his neck, a square of chalk for marking cuffs clinched in his teeth, measuring the inseam of a plant worker from Timken Roller Bearing or Hoover Vacuum Sweeper he, a Harvard man, who, but for the call to duty of World War II, had set his sights on medicine. Instead, he settled for two years of college and the life of a merchant in a town of steel and grit. From childhood on, the store was my other classroom. Under Fathers tutelage, I was introduced to more than Ban-Lon shirts, Harris Tweed and BVDs. Even the drive to and from work with my father was a rolling course in economics, class mobility, free speech, justice and the responsibilities of citizenship, not that any of these were ever mentioned by name. Rather, they were embedded in the stories a father tells his son on the way to and from work. I was no more than 11 when this began the age Father insisted I have a Social Security Card as a fledgling worker. I had much to learn. Once I forgot to lower the beam into the steel brace securing the back door, leaving it vulnerable to thieves. Father was not pleased. He explained to me that our livelihood depended upon the store and that it was my duty to safeguard it. I had let him down. But I also remember the Sunday when, on our way to the Stark County Fair, we stopped by the store and discovered that it had been broken into. The drawer to the cash register was emptied and smashed in pieces on the floor, and a rack of suits was gone. Instead of fuming, Father calmly phoned the alarm company and off we went to the fair. We cheered the tractor pulls, sized up the prize bulls and marveled at gargantuan pumpkins but not another word was spoken of the break-in. A few days later my father took out an ad in the local paper, The Repository, offering the robbers free alterations for anything that didnt fit and a standing invitation to return as paying customers. From that I learned that what really counted lay beyond the reach of thieves. And, yes, that humor could be found in unexpected places. The label on Ted Gup's Harris Tweed Mr. Ted sport coat. (Peggy Watts Gup) I liked working in the back of the store. My father made sure the bathroom detail fell to me. It was a message intended not only for me but also for everyone in the store who watched to see how the bosss son would be treated. With brush and Comet, I proudly scrubbed away the stains until the bowl and sink gleamed. I broke up boxes and piled them high in the back alley for removal. I wielded a wide broom around and under the tailors shop and steam press, sweeping up fallen razor blades, bits of chalk, bobbins, severed cuffs, orphaned threads and discarded plastic coffee cups. It was also my chance to talk with the tailor, Remo, an Italian who always drove a new Riviera, and to steal a glimpse of his wall calendar that featured pin-ups. My father respected him and the hours he put in. Remo, my father explained, was an immigrant, a word he uttered as if it were a title of nobility and a synonym for sacrifice. Indeed, the store itself was consecrated to work, not as a burden but as a privilege. This was, after all, a trade that ran in our blood. A century before, my fathers grandfather, Marcus, a Russian immigrant, had been a tailor to the Mardi Gras in Mobile, Ala. For decades, a sign reading Gup the Tailor hung in Mobiles Dauphin Street. Never did I hear my father complain that he did not get to return to Harvard after the war, (his roommate, Harish Mahindra, would go on to become a billionaire Indian industrialist) nor that his future unfolded in unexpected ways. For him, work was precious, and there was no form of it that was beneath him. He taught me this not in words but action. I was in charge of making gift boxes, the flattened crimson boards that my thumbs deftly unfolded, fitted with tissue paper and stacked as mountains readied for outgoing customers. Thousands of boxes. Tens of thousands of boxes. My hands and my brain learned to work light-years apart. At the end of my arms the boxes rhythmically sprang to life, while in my head ran films of pretty girls, hard balls sailing over distant fences and bullies pummeled into submission. But at night I dreamt of making boxes. From that I learned that I did not want my life to be contained in those boxes which, I am sure, is what Father had in mind assigning me the task. Those who worked for my father respected him. Some even came to love him. It was an odd cadre of young men he had recruited, none of whom had gone beyond high school. Many had been forced to drop out early. They had gotten a girl in trouble which was to say, pregnant. They were now teenage fathers. My father went out of his way to hire them and recognized in them their willingness to work and their need for a second chance. In him, they found a surrogate and forgiving father. He was slow to judge others and recognized that compassion was good for both the soul and business. He gave his heart to these boys though not all were deserving. One of his second sons was found to have been stealing from the till over the course of many months, maybe years. He had been one of my fathers favorites, and someone whom he had trusted. But he could not bring himself to go to the police or ruin the mans future. So he sat him down, told him how disappointed he was, that he could never again work for him, and then offered him a repayment plan that would stretch across the years. In time, the debt was paid and instead of bad blood between them, there was a different sort of bond. My father told me of this, but without a whiff of sanctimony or condemnation. He believed in redemption, not vengeance. My fathers store opened at 10 and closed at 9 six days a week, though his own hours were longer at both ends of the day. (In all those years I never saw him take a seat in the store.) He ate lunches at the counter of a five-and-dime where the waitresses kidded him. The mall had a fancier restaurant fancy is relative in a Canton strip mall but he preferred the counters company. For his birthday, mother gave him a set of Harvard buttons for his blazer, but Father never wore them he had no appetite for impressing others and no stomach for others arrogance. Each night, when the store finally closed, Father would let me go through the cash draw and pick out any silver dollars, Indian Head pennies or buffalo nickels. I replaced them, coin for coin, and showed my discoveries to my father. Tired and hungry as he was, he always made time to see what I had found and share in my enthusiasm. After college, I stumbled a bit. My father had gotten out of the business and was about to get back in. He asked me if I would give him a year of my life to help him open a new store, a Mr. Teds. I was reluctant. I feared that, as a young man with my own dreams of becoming a journalist and writer I might get forever sidetracked, much as he did after the war. And I feared that would create friction between us. But I resigned myself to giving him that year I figured I owed him that and more. On Thursday, May 9, 1974 a morning so cold I had to scrape the frost from the windshield I drove him to the Akron-Canton Airport, handed him his overnight bag and wished him a successful trip. (I even said a prayer for his safe return.) He was on his way to New York City, to the garment district, to buy the last bit of inventory he would need. That Monday, he was to come into possession of the store. Instead, he died the next day. A heart attack. He was 50. That was to be his final lesson that it is fruitless to worry about things that may never come to pass, and foolish to put off plans on the promise of a tomorrow that may not come. On this Fathers Day, I will be thinking of him, my Mr. Ted, and be grateful that he shared with me his name, and so much more. Gup is a Boston-based author whose work has appeared in the New York Times, GQ, The Washington Post, Politico and elsewhere. He can be reached at tedgup@att.net. Ms. Duncan at the premiere of the film "Hotel for Dogs" in Los Angeles in 2009. (Chris Pizzello/AP) Lois Duncan, who held generations of young readers spellbound with I Know What You Did Last Summer, Killing Mr. Griffin and a raft of other popular suspense novels, a genre she could no longer bear to write after the unsolved murder of her teenage daughter, died June 15 at her home in Bradenton, Fla. She was 82. Her husband, Donald Arquette Sr., confirmed her death and said he did not know the cause. She had earlier suffered a series of strokes. First published as a novelist in the 1950s, Ms. Duncan wrote dozens of books for children and teens. She was most widely acclaimed for her psychological thrillers, sometimes touching on the occult, which she penned with prolific output in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I Know What You Did Last Summer, unfaithfully adapted more than two decades after its publication into the 1997 slasher movie and sequel starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, was the most famous of the numerous films and TV movies made from Ms. Duncans books. Along with S.E. Hinton, Judy Blume and Robert Cormier, Ms. Duncan was credited with helping establish the genre of young-adult fiction literature carefully tailored for readers who are neither children nor grown-ups, who know more than it may seem but not enough to make their way in the world. Unlike Blume, who took her mainly female protagonists through ordinary, if wrenching, experiences such as puberty, young love and parental divorce, Ms. Duncan plucked her characters from normalcy and placed them in extraordinary, often dark circumstances. I Know What You Did Last Summer, published in 1973, centers on four teenagers who accidentally kill a young bicyclist and leave the scene, vowing to keep the incident a secret even as their sense of guilt and a mysterious menace professing to know what they had done become increasingly frightening. In Down a Dark Hall (1974), Ms. Duncan ventured into the supernatural, setting the story at a haunted boarding school for girls. Summer of Fear (1976), about a teenage girl and her strange cousin, dipped its toe in witchcraft. Stranger With My Face (1981) involved an evil twin seeking to possess her sisters body through astral projection. Many critics found Ms. Duncans most compelling writing in her exploration of moral darkness. In Killing Mr. Griffin (1978), a crew of high school students kidnaps an exacting English teacher to punish him for what they see as his excessive demands. Without his heart medication, the teacher dies during the ordeal, pushing the students into a corrosive coverup. The students a jock, a homecoming queen, a class president, a misfit and a charismatic but troubled ringleader captured a universe of teenage experiences. Lois Duncan breaks some new ground in a novel without sex, drugs or black leather jackets, young adult author Richard Peck wrote in the New York Times in 1978. But the taboo she tampers with is far more potent and pervasive: the unleashed fury of the permissively reared against any assault on their egos and authority. . . . The value of the book lies in the twisted logic of the teenagers and how easily they can justify anything. In 1989, Ms. Duncan published Dont Look Behind You, a novel about a family thrust into the witness-protection program after the father testifies against a drug dealer. Shortly after its publication, Ms. Duncans 18-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn Arquette, was fatally shot twice in the head while driving. Kaitlyn had been the inspiration for the novels fictional heroine, April, who was chased in a car by a hit man. It was as if these things Id written about as fiction became hideous reality, Ms. Duncan told an interviewer, according to the reference guide Contemporary Authors. The police considered the death a random shooting, according to news accounts, and no one was convicted of the killing. Ms. Duncan and her husband embarked on a private investigation that included psychics, ultimately concluding that their daughter had perhaps been targeted because she had knowledge of a rental car insurance fraud scheme involving the criminal underworld. Ms. Duncan documented their search in the 1992 book Who Killed My Daughter? After her daughters murder, Ms. Duncan wrote mainly picture books, as well as two sequels to Hotel for Dogs, a book published in 1971 about children who take in stray animals. Hotel for Dogs became a 2009 film starring Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin. I went weak after Kaits murder, Ms. Duncan told BuzzFeed interviewer Tim Stelloh. How could I even think about creating a novel with a young woman in a life-threatening situation? Lois Duncan Steinmetz was born in Philadelphia on April 28, 1934, and grew up in Sarasota, Fla. Her parents, Joseph and Lois Steinmetz, were magazine photographers. To avoid confusion with her mother, the younger Lois adopted Duncan for her nom de plume. She sold her first piece of writing to a girls magazine at 13. As a teen, she won short-story contests sponsored by Seventeen magazine. She enrolled in Duke University but left to marry a classmate, Joseph Cardozo. She wrote her first books, mainly romances, while juggling the demands of early motherhood and using the pen name Lois Kerry. In 1962, Ms. Duncan divorced and moved her young family to Albuquerque. She wrote for magazines including Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping and Readers Digest and taught journalism at the University of New Mexico before receiving a bachelors degree in English there in 1977. After marrying Donald Arquette in 1965, Ms. Duncan returned to young-adult writing, pivoting from romance to suspense, writing her first noted thriller, Ransom (1966), about five teenagers from a well-to-do neighborhood who are taken hostage by their school bus driver. A later book, Daughters of Eve (1979), about a group of high school girls led by a teacher to vigilante acts of revenge in the name of feminism, was described as a female version of William Goldings Lord of the Flies. Besides her husband, of Bradenton, Ms. Duncans survivors include three children from her first marriage, whom Arquette adopted, Robin Burkin of Santa Rosa, Calif., Kerry Arquette of Denver and Brett Arquette of Orlando; a son from her second marriage, Donald Arquette Jr. of Macon, Ga.; a brother; and six grandchildren. A number of Ms. Duncans books have been updated and reissued in recent years. The existence of cellphones, she said, created unexpected complications. My plots, she told the Los Angeles Times, are based on the heroine not being able to call for help. Other things, she remarked, had not changed. They included, she told the New York Times, girls wanting to be loved, wanting to be needed, wanting to feel worth, wanting to find a place for themselves in life, wanting to figure out what was right and what was wrong. In the Easter Rising of April 1916, Irish nationalists rebelled against British rule, establishing their headquarters at Dublins main post office. That building figures into a painting in Repression/Resurgence/Reemergence, an exhibition at Hillyer Art Space organized by the D.C. Irish arts group Solas Nua. Politics and history are only indirectly the subjects of the show, curated by Dublin-bred local painter Jackie Hoysted. Identity is the main concern of the 13 participants, who include Irish Americans and residents of Ireland who hail from other lands. Thats not to say that the paintings, drawings, sculptures and videos are apolitical. Erin Devines multimedia Communion recalls a 1971 Belfast-to-Dublin train trip by 49 women who took condoms to the republic, where they were illegal. The Project Twins (Michael and James Fitzgerald) fill the longest wall with banners whose stark images challenge authority and the Church: One shows a hand with its middle finger raised and the other digits apparently chopped off. More gently, Ursula Burkes Belfast Riot is depicted in embroidery, as if to give feminine grace to male mayhem. The majority of the artists are women, and they sometimes look beyond Irelands borders. Maryanne Pollock, who lived in Cairo, combines Celtic and Islamic decorative motifs. Dragana Jurisics 100 Muses & Her Mother & Her Daughters is a series of nine photographic portraits of nude women asked to pose as one of the nine Greek muses. The figures are superimposed to manifest strength in numbers, and perhaps so they dont resemble upscale pin-ups. Carla Fuentes painting a mural depicting Addison Scurlock at the former building of the Washington Afro-American Newspaper. (Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain) Video maker and painter Bart OReilly comes closest to traditional symbolism. His abstract canvases showcase drips, not harps or shamrocks, but theyre dominated by green. One of his pictures could flap over that storied post office as a flag of the new Ireland, but like much of this work it exemplifies the international art scene as surely as any one country. Repression/Resurgence/Reemergence: One Hundred Years of Re-possessing and Re-appropriating Irish Identity Through June 26 at Hillyer Art Space, 9 Hillyer Ct. NW. 202-338-0325. hillyerartspace.org. Kitty Klaidman Inspired by sojourns in Europe and Canada, Kitty Klaidman paints exuberant landscapes, from impressionistic to abstract. But their brightness is shadowed by some of the earliest work in A 30 Year Survey, the local artists retrospective at Marsha Mateyka Gallery. Made between 1989 and 1991, the pictures recall Klaidmans childhood in what is now Slovakia, where she and her family hid from the Nazis. Included are views into the forest and down from a crawl-space hideout in her family home. Theyre paired with photo-derived pieces that show the actual places or incorporate portraits of departed family members. The woodland scenes arent especially ominous, but a black-and-white one effectively conveys a young girls fear. In summertime Normandy, Klaidman found beguiling light and abandoned World War II material, left in the water as a sort of monument. Acrylic-wash closeups of colorfully mottled Roman walls also evoke the past, while pointing the artist toward a freer style that flowered in the intricately patterned Salt Spring Islands paintings and drawings of the past six years. The most recent works are handsome abstractions, segmented into three or four squares. Untitled, their gemlike facets suggest layers of history. Kitty Klaidman: A 30 Year Survey Through June 25 at Marsha Mateyka Gallery, 2012 R St. NW. 202-328-0088. marshamateykagallery.com. Leslie Holt. "UNSPEAKABLE (Guernica Sketch 3)," 2016, acrylic and embroidery on canvas. (Leslie Holt/39th Street Gallery) Spanish Illustrators The current attraction at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain is a show of commercial art, but its focus is on art, not commercialism. Spanish Illustrators: The Color of Optimism surveys 28 younger artists whose endeavors include childrens books, album covers and fashion spreads. Even the last category accentuates the conceptual, with erotically charged renderings that celebrate the human body rather than any particular brand. The range of styles is broad, and the influences include European surrealism, British alt-rock and American comics innovators such as Will Eisner and Frank Miller. Adding spontaneity to the show, two of the artists visited and made murals on the premises. Ricardo Cavolos red, white and blue Love Story anthropomorphizes Spain and the United States, who coo at each other across the Atlantic. Carla Fuentes did a group portrait of some of her favorite Spanish artists. Fuentes also hit the streets, in collaboration with D.C. Murals, to depict Addison Scurlock, leading photographer of the local African American community for much of the 20th century. Fuentes has left town, but her tribute should remain on the wall of 1802 11th St. NW for years to come. Spanish Illustrators: The Color of Optimism Through June 26 at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain, 2801 16th St. NW. spainculture.us. Kristen Hayes and Tatiane Hofstadler Both Kristen Hayes and Tatiane Hofstadler make vivid multi-level paintings, but Hayess are diaphanous and biomorphic, whereas Hofstadlers are opaque and developed by excavation. The two artists, showing together at P Street Gallerie, are local, although Hofstadler will soon return to her native Brazil. Hayes employs acrylic, pastel, pencil and spray paint, but she relies on watercolor and water-based ink. Her vibrant Spirit Tree series loosely depicts trunks and branches, and also evokes fruit, neural networks and distant galaxies. Hofstadler applies multiple coats of acrylic and then sands to reveal submerged strata. Each uses strong hues. Hayess style is most cogent at its most colorful, but Hofstadlers strongest canvas is mostly white, with glimmers of green, red and black to hint at unknowable depths. Kristen Hayes & Tatiane Hofstadler Through June 25 at P Street Gallerie, 3235 P St. NW. 202-333-4868. pstreetgallerie.com. Leslie Holt The large, densely populated tableaux of Picassos Guernica yields a few of its anguished figures to the pictures in Unspeakable, Leslie Holts show at 39th Street Gallery. The details, which also borrow from Van Gogh and Kathe Kollwitz, arent painted, however. Theyre stitched into canvases that are mostly dominated by yellow, red and neon-orange acrylic pigment, thinned and stained in the manner of Morris Louis. Holts colors can be seen as purely abstract, or as signifying chaos and violence, much as the figures can represent either wartime horrors or more personal ones. Unspeakable: Paintings by Leslie Holt Through June 25 at 39th Street Gallery, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., second floor. 202-487-8458. 39thstreetgallery.org. Donald Trump, left, Mayor Ed Koch, center, and Roy Cohn in 1983 at the Trump Tower opening in New York. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images) Donald Trump was a brash scion of a real estate empire, a young developer anxious to leave his mark on New York. Roy Cohn was a legendary New York fixer, a ruthless lawyer in the hunt for new clients. They came together by chance one night at Le Club, a hangout for Manhattans rich and famous. Trump introduced himself to Cohn, who was sitting at a nearby table, and sought advice: How should he and his father respond to Justice Department allegations that their company had systematically discriminated against black people seeking housing? My view is tell them to go to hell, Cohn said, and fight the thing in court. It was October 1973 and the start of one of the most influential relationships of Trumps career. Cohn soon represented Trump in legal battles, counseled him about his marriage and introduced Trump to New York power brokers, money men and socialites. Cohn also showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear through a simple formula: attack, counterattack and never apologize. Since he announced his run for the White House a year ago, Trump has used such tactics more aggressively than any other candidate in recent memory, demeaning opponents, insulting minorities and women, and whipping up anger among his supporters. Cohn gained notoriety in the 1950s as Sen. Joseph McCarthys chief counsel and the brains behind his hunt for communist infiltrators. By the 1970s, Cohn maintained a powerful network in New York City, using his connections in the courts and City Hall to reward friends and punish those who crossed him. He routinely pulled strings in government for clients, funneled cash to politicians and cultivated relationships with influential figures, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, mafia boss Anthony Fat Tony Salerno and a succession of city leaders. In the 1990s, a tragic character based on Cohn had a central place in Tony Kushners Pulitzer prize-winning play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Trump prized Cohns reputation for aggression. According to a New York Times profile a quarter-century ago, when frustrated by an adversary, Trump would pull out a photograph of Cohn and ask, Would you rather deal with him? Trump remained friends with him even after the lawyer was disbarred in New York for ethical lapses. Cohn died in 1986. About Trump Revealed This story is based on reporting for Trump Revealed, a broad, comprehensive examination of the life of the presumptive Republican nominee for president. The biography, written by Post reporters Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher in a collaboration with more than two dozen Post reporters, researchers and editors, is scheduled to be published by Scribner on Aug. 23. Roy had a whole crazy deal going, but Roy was a really smart guy who liked me and did a great job for me on different things, Trump recently told The Washington Post. And he was a tough lawyer, and thats what I wanted. Roy was a very tough guy. [Inside the governments racial-bias case against Donald Trumps company] To examine the relationship between Trump and Cohn, The Post reviewed court records, books about the men and newspaper and magazine stories from the era, along with documents about Cohn obtained from the FBI through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Post interviewed Trump and others who knew both men. When they met, Trump, 27, tall and handsome, was at the start of his career and living off money he was earning in the family business. Cohn, 46, short and off-putting, was near the peak of his power and considered by some to be among the most reviled Americans in the 20th century. Cohn could be charismatic and witty, and he hosted lavish parties that included politicians, celebrities and journalists. A wall at the Upper East Side townhouse where he lived and worked was filled with signed photographs of luminaries such as Hoover and Richard Nixon. Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and a renowned constitutional scholar, said he was surprised when he finally got to know Cohn. I expected to hate him, but I did not, Dershowitz told The Post. I found him charming. There were legions of Cohn detractors. He was a source of great evil in this society, Victor A. Kovner, a Democratic activist in New York City and First Amendment lawyer, told The Post. He was a vicious, Red-baiting source of sweeping wrongdoing. In interviews with The Post, Trump maintained that Cohn was merely his attorney, stressing that he was only one of many of Cohns clients in New York. Trump also played down the influence of Cohn on his aggressive tactics and rhetoric, saying: I dont think I got that from Roy at all. I think Ive had a natural instinct for that. Trump said he goes on the offensive only to defend himself. I dont feel I insult people. I dont feel I insult people. I try and get to the facts and I dont feel I insult people, he said. Now, if Im insulted I will counterattack, or if something is unfair I will counterattack, but I dont feel like I insult people. I dont want to do that. But if Im attacked, I will counterattack. Journalists and contemporaries of both men, including a close political ally of Trump, said there was more to the relationship than Trump now acknowledges. Cohn himself once said he was not only Donalds lawyer but also one of his close friends. Roger Stone, a political operative who met Trump through Cohn, said their association was grounded in business, but he also described the lawyer as like a cultural guide to Manhattan for Trump into the worlds of celebrity and power. Roy was more than his personal lawyer, Stone told The Post. And, of course, Trump was a trophy client for Roy. Investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, who spent dozens of hours interviewing Cohn and Trump beginning in the 1970s, once wrote in Trump: The Deals and the Downfall that Cohn began to assume a role in Donalds life far transcending that of a lawyer. He became Donalds mentor, his constant adviser. Barrett now says Cohns stamp on Trump is obvious. I just look at him and see Roy, Barrett said in an interview. Both of them are attack dogs. Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.), left, is confronted by Sen. Ralph Flanders (R-Vt.), right, during hearings in 1954. Roy Cohn, chief counsel to McCarthy's investigative subcommittee, is at center. (AP) Cohn and McCarthy Roy Cohn was born in New York City in 1927, into an affluent Jewish family. His father, Albert C. Cohn, was a longtime member of New Yorks Democratic machine and a State Supreme Court and appellate division judge. Roy Cohn attended elite prep schools and graduated from Columbia Law School at age 20. Through his fathers connections, Cohn landed a job with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan. In the spring of 1949, Cohn was asked to write a memo about a man named Alger Hiss, a State Department official suspected of spying for the Soviet Union. Cohn soon came to believe that the Soviets had many spies inside the U.S. government. In 1950, Cohn at age 23 was the lead prosecutor in what became known as the Atom Spy Case. A Jewish couple named Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. After the two were convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviets, the judge left the courtroom and called Cohn from a phone booth on Park Avenue. As Cohn later wrote, the judge wanted to ask my advice on whether he ought to give the death penalty to Ethel Rosenberg. The way I see it is that shes worse than Julius, Cohn told the judge, according to his autobiography. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in an electric chair. In 1953, Cohn joined Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) as chief counsel to the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. McCarthy had exploded into public view three years earlier when he claimed that he had a list of 205 State Department employees who were members of the Communist Party. McCarthy launched a series of sensational hearings about the communist threat in the United States, calling on scores of professors, Hollywood writers, government employees and others to answer questions about their alleged ties to the party. Blacklists were created and careers ruined. Cohn and McCarthy soon faced a backlash. In early 1954, the permanent subcommittee held the Army-McCarthy hearings, in part to determine whether Cohn sought special treatment for an enlisted friend. McCarthy objected to tough questioning of Cohn and attacked the reputation of a young associate in the firm of the Armys lawyer. That spurred the lawyer to ask the now-famous question that underscored growing doubts about McCarthys ethics: Have you no sense of decency, sir? Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) discusses his campaign with William Bradford Huie and Henry Hazlitt on Sept. 29, 1952. (National Archives and Records Administration) Cohn left Washington in 1954 as McCarthys efforts lost momentum. He professed admiration for McCarthy to the end of his life. I never worked for a better man or a greater cause, he wrote in his autobiography. Settling back in New York, Cohn tapped his connections as he began building a private legal practice, documents show. Cohn often operated in the gray areas of the law. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he fought off four federal or state indictments for alleged extortion, bribery, conspiracy, perjury and banking violations. At the same time, he avoided paying state and federal income taxes and engaged in a variety of schemes to take advantage of wealthy clients, court records show. Cohns brazenness seemed limitless. In 1969, while facing his third federal indictment, he wrote a confidential letter to Hoover, the FBI director. Cohn included affidavits, legal motions, news articles and other material outlining his defense. When I started fighting Communism as a young voice in the wilderness of the Justice Department, I suppose I realized that those who did not like what I was doing would be after me for a long time, Cohn wrote on Sept. 8, 1969, according to documents obtained by The Post. You are such a great institution up and down this nation, that I hate to see you diverted or annoyed for even a minute thus my sense of deep regret. Hoover wrote back eight days later: Your generous comments regarding me are indeed gratifying. In October 1973, when Trump and Cohn first met at Le Club, the lawyer was instantly recognizable, with piercing blue eyes, heavy eyelids and a perpetual tan. James D. Zirin, a New York lawyer who later wrote about Cohn, recalled him as the strangest-looking man I ever met, with a face contorted in a perpetual ugly sneer that seemed to project an air of unbridled malevolence. Trump, not yet a household name, knew about Cohns reputation as a legal knife fighter. At the time, Trump and his father, Fred, were facing Justice Department allegations that they had systematically discriminated against black people at their family-owned or -managed apartment complexes across New York City. Cohn agreed to represent the Trumps his way. That meant hitting back hard while shaping public opinion. On Dec. 12, 1973, Donald Trump, his father and Cohn called a news conference at the New York Hilton hotel. They said they were suing the government for $100 million in damages relating to the Justice Departments irresponsible and baseless allegations. Cohn went further in an affidavit, saying the government was really trying to force subservience to the Welfare Department, according to court records. A federal judge dismissed the countersuit. And two years later, after a string of theatrics and unfounded allegations by Cohn including the claim that a Jewish prosecutor had used Nazi Gestapo tactics Donald and Fred Trump settled the case without admitting guilt. They signed a consent decree prohibiting them from discriminating against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling. Following Cohns lead, Donald Trump declared victory. Trumps counsel Cohn began advising Trump on major real estate deals and other matters. Trump once said that Cohn represented him in two libel cases against journalists. Although Trump said the legal work cost $100,000, he said it was worth the money because Ive broken one writer, according to a statement he once gave to Barrett, who was a veteran investigative reporter for the Village Voice. Trump did not name the writer. Trump told The Post he did not recall making the statement. Though he said he has not read it, he described Barretts book as total fiction. Cohn often provided counsel for free, collecting money when he needed it. That included help on Trumps personal matters, such as his marriage to Ivana Zelnickova in 1977. She was a model in Canada who claimed to be a former member of the Czech national ski team. After they had dated for months, Trump rented a two-bedroom apartment on Fifth Avenue and began making arrangements for their wedding. Cohn urged Trump to create a prenuptial agreement. Ivana balked when she learned what Cohn included in the document. His proposal called on her to return any gifts from Trump in the event of a divorce. In response to her fury, Cohn added language that allowed her to keep her own clothing and any gifts. With Trumps consent, he also included a rainy day certificate of deposit worth $100,000. She would be allowed to begin tapping that fund one month after the wedding, according to Barretts book. During one of the negotiating sessions, held at Cohns townhouse office, the lawyer wore a bathrobe. The townhouse, in a tony neighborhood on East 68th Street, was central to Cohns operations. It was his in every way except on paper. It was held in the name of his law firm, Saxe Bacon & Bolan. He maintained an office and personal quarters and routinely hosted caviar-and-champagne parties there. Even though he lived a lavish life, Cohn claimed he had little taxable income or assets. Over the years, he routinely vacationed with clients on the Greek island of Mykonos or in the south of France on the yacht of a British investor. He said his extravagant expenses were work-related. That included A-list parties he threw at his home. Cohn was open about his loathing of the Internal Revenue Service. The firm pays the expenses I incur in developing and seeing through law business. My arrangement leaves enough income for me to take care of personal living expenses and current taxes, he wrote in 1981 in How to Stand Up for Your Rights and Win!, adding that he bought a house in Connecticut because I got tired of supporting our welfare and food stamp programs in New York. As Cohn helped arrange Trumps marital circumstances, he also helped the 30-year-old would-be tycoon gain access to Manhattans drug-fueled disco scene. Trump maintained a reputation as a strait-laced teetotaler, but he loved to be in the mix late at night, especially among beautiful women, according to his own accounts. In April 1977, Trump and Ivana went to the opening night of a club called Studio 54. The owners were impresarios named Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, and their lawyer was Roy Cohn. The city had never seen anything quite like Studio 54, a freewheeling club that offered up celebrity, glitter and debauchery. It attracted city leaders, Hollywood stars and a technicolor cross section of other straight, gay and bisexual partyers. Trump was a regular at the club. Id go there a lot with dates and with friends, and with lots of people, Trump said in an interview. Roy would always make it very comfortable. Cohn was not only the clubs lawyer but also the gatekeeper for rich and famous out-of-towners who wanted in. Sometimes he simply partied, surrounded by groups of young men. Cohn maintained a public veneer that he was heterosexual. His friends knew better. Sidney Zion, a journalist who helped Cohn write his autobiography, described him as the Babe Ruth of the Gay World. But when gay rights activists once asked him to represent a teacher fired for being homosexual, Cohn refused. He told the activists: I believe homosexual teachers are a grave threat to our children, they have no business polluting the schools of America, Cohn and Zion wrote in The Autobiography of Roy Cohn. Cohn also lobbied against gay rights legislation in New York City. He once called a laws sponsor on the City Council and offered a profane warning: Youve got to get off this fag stuff, its very harmful to the city and its going to hurt you, Cohn said in a phone call that Zion overheard. These f----ing fags are no good, forget about them. Studio 54 changed hands in 1980 after Rubell and Schrager pleaded guilty to tax evasion. They each spent 13 months in prison. Rubell died in 1989, and Schrager became a well-known entrepreneur and hotelier in New York, Miami Beach, London and elsewhere. What went on in Studio 54 will never, ever happen again, Trump told writer Timothy OBrien. First of all, you didnt have AIDS. You didnt have the problems you do have now. I saw things happening there that to this day I have never seen again. I would watch supermodels getting screwed, well-known supermodels getting screwed on a bench in the middle of the room. There were seven of them and each one was getting screwed by a different guy. This was in the middle of the room. Stuff that couldnt happen today because of problems of death. Studio 54 owners Ian Schrager, left, and Steve Rubell, right, with their attorney, Roy Cohn, at a "going away" party at the disco in 1980. The next day Schrager and Rubell would begin serving prison sentences for tax evasion. (Bettmann Archive) Connections Cohn kept company with a remarkable array of people. Stone, the political adviser for Trump and others, tells vivid stories, sometimes with varying details, about the first time he met Cohn. It was 1979, and Stone was calling on Cohn for political support and contributions on behalf of Ronald Reagan, then ramping up a presidential campaign. Stone stood for some time in the townhouses waiting room. When Stone was finally admitted, Cohn was sitting at a dining-room table, in a silk bathrobe, Stone told The Post. On the table were three strips of bacon and a square of cream cheese. Cohn ate the food with his fingers. Sitting at the table was a heavyset man. Mr. Stone, I want you to meet Tony Salerno, Cohn said. There Stone was, standing before the future boss of the Genovese crime family. So Roy says were going with Reagan this time, Salerno said. Cohn and Salerno listened to Stones pitch. Then Cohn recommended that Stone reach out to Trump. You need to meet Donald and his father, Cohn said, as Stone recalls it now. Theyd be perfect for this. Let me set you up a meeting. After his election, Reagan wrote Cohn, a registered Democrat, a warm note of thanks for his support. The two men became close, Trump said. Cohn tapped into the Reagan administration network on Trumps behalf a short time later, according to a New York Times account. At Trumps request, Cohn lobbied Edwin Meese III, a senior White House aide, to secure an appointment for Trumps sister Maryanne Barry, an experienced federal prosecutor in New Jersey, to the U.S. District Court. Trump declined to discuss the matter. Im proud of my sister. Shes done a great job, Trump said in an interview. I just dont comment on that. Trump marveled at Cohns connections and the parties he hosted, including a birthday party for himself each year. Now Roy would have parties and, Ill tell you what, some of the most important people in New York would go to those parties, Trump told The Post. Over the years, the list of his friends and guests included Norman Mailer, Bianca Jagger, Barbara Walters, William F. Buckley Jr., George Steinbrenner, former New York mayor Abraham D. Beame and many others, some of them Cohn clients. Every famous client made him famous and none more so than Donald Trump, wrote Nicholas von Hoffman in Citizen Cohn: The Life and Times of Roy Cohn. The Trump-Roy relationship was that mixture of business and social which Roy sought. Cohn and some of his party guests always seemed to be under indictment at the time of the parties, according to Edward Kosner, former editor and publisher of New York magazine. Kosner told The Post that Borscht Belt comedian Joey Adams once elicited laughter with the quip, If youre indicted, youre invited. Dershowitz, of Harvard Law School, said Cohn was an unavoidable force. When Roy Cohn was at the height of his power, Dershowitz said, nobody did anything in New York politics, in New York real estate, without going through Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn, left, publisher Ed Kosner, center, and Donald Trump in an undated photo. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images) Money, business, politics One of Trumps early ambitious real estate ventures was Trump Tower, a concrete-and-glass skyscraper on Fifth Avenue. Starting in 1978, Trump began moving to acquire the site between East 56th and East 57th streets and, with Cohns help, strengthening his ties to the city leaders and others who would decide the projects fate. Their efforts included a stream of campaign contributions by both men to public officials. Cohn had no scruples about such giving. He felt campaign finance restrictions were unnecessary and claimed that, in a New York hotel room, he once gave Nixon an envelope containing $5,000 cash to support a run for the White House. Im hardly one of those Boy Scouts who run around promoting phony ethics laws and rules regarding money and politics, Cohn wrote in his autobiography. Trump became a generous campaign contributor himself. He eventually gave $150,000 in just one year to local candidates in New York. State officials later said Trump had circumvented state limits on individual and corporate contributions by spreading out payments through Trump subsidiaries, but they did not formally accuse Trump of wrongdoing. Testifying under oath about his giving, Trump said, Well, my attorneys basically said that this was a proper way of doing it. A state organization formed to investigate New York Citys construction industry concluded that developers and contractors cultivate and seek favors from public officials at all levels. The report cited Trump and his large campaign contributions. To thrive in this milieu, Trump also had to work with unions and companies known to be controlled by New Yorks ruling mafia families, which had infiltrated the construction industry, according to court records, federal task force reports and newspaper accounts. Cohn represented some of the mafia figures who had sway over Trump projects. S&A Concrete, which supplied building material for the Trump Plaza on Manhattans East Side, was owned in part by Salerno, the Genovese family mobster and Cohn client, court records show. Mob-friendly labor leaders dominated local construction unions. At the head of Teamsters Local 282 was John Cody. A House of Representatives investigation found he was universally acknowledged to be the most significant labor racketeer preying on the construction industry in New York. Without Codys support, projects were liable to stall. Cody claimed Cohn as a friend. Cody also said he worked with Trump with Cohn serving as intermediary. I knew Trump quite well, Cody told Barrett. Donald liked to deal with me through Roy Cohn. In 1980, the federal Organized Crime Strike Force subpoenaed Trump to discuss whether Cody had offered Trump labor peace in exchange for an apartment in Trump Tower, according to Barretts Trump: The Deals and the Downfall. Trump denied the allegation, telling The Post it was ridiculous. Cody was a bad guy, and I didnt deal with him almost at all because I knew the kind of guy he was, Trump said. He was a very bad cookie. In the early 1980s, the FBI and New York authorities carried out a sweeping investigation of the five New York crime families. Investigators relied on informants, court-authorized wiretaps and eavesdropping gear. They gathered hundreds of hours of conversations proving the mobs reach into the construction industry. Cohns office fell under surveillance. Trump was not implicated. In early 1985, Cohn wrote to FBI Director William H. Webster, irate at a newspaper report suggesting that investigators in the case had been surveilling his office. Since 1950 the year I prosecuted the Rosenberg atom-spy trial at age 23 with the magnificent investigative help of the Bureau, up to the present, 34 years later, I have had a first-rate relationship with and respect for the Bureau, Cohn wrote on March 11, 1985, according to documents obtained by The Post. A confidential internal FBI memo the next month offered more detail: Field agents had conducted surveillance of Cohns office, with the aim of installing a monitoring device to intercept the conversations of Genovese Boss Anthony Salerno, who apparently was using Cohns office for his own business. The next year, Salerno and 14 others were indicted on an array of criminal charges, including conspiracy, extortion and infiltration of ostensibly legitimate businesses involved in selling ready-mix concrete in New York City, the federal indictment said. One of Trumps projects was mentioned in the indictment. Salerno and others eventually went to prison on federal charges including racketeering and bid-rigging. He could be a nasty guy Cohn was fond of saying that winning was not sufficient. People had to know about it. That included when he barely avoided disaster, which he managed to do for most of his adult life. Starting as far back as 1963, Cohn was indicted and acquitted three times of federal charges of bribery, perjury and conspiracy. He was also charged with violating banking laws in Illinois, but the charges were later dropped. Cohn also fended off repeated allegations of ethical lapses as a lawyer and was a constant target of the IRS, which eventually determined he owed the government some $7 million. Cohn turned his troubles into news. He loved the attention the tabloids and magazines gave him, and he socialized with some of their owners, including Rupert Murdoch. Cohn catered to certain reporters and gossip columnists, sharing scoops and rumors. Roy understood the value of the tabloids, Stone said in an interview. He did business at this dining-room table in the dining room at his brownstone. He would call reporters and dictate their copy with you sitting there. He would just dictate it. Esquire magazine once dubbed Cohn the legal executioner. Though the story presented a catalogue of nasty allegations against him, Cohn bought a bundle of the magazines to hand out to friends and clients. All this has done me a lot of good, Cohn said, according to writer Ken Auletta. Id be a liar if I denied it. It has given me a reputation for being tough, a reputation for being a winner. Cohn had his setbacks. Zion wrote that Cohn had personally chartered a 747 for a group of male friends to travel to Europe. The group trashed the plane, and Cohn never paid the charter bill. The airline sued Cohn successfully but could not get any money from him. An executive aware of the close ties between Trump and Cohn called Trump to see whether he would pay. Trump declined. I felt for the poor bastard because Roy just wiped out that plane, Trump told Zion about the episode. But what was I supposed to do? Hey, it was Roy whats anybody supposed to do? Trump knew Cohn had a shady side, saying he could be a nasty guy. I dont kid myself about Roy. He was no Boy Scout, Trump wrote in Trump: The Art of the Deal. He once told me that hed spent more than two thirds of his adult life under indictment for one charge or another. That amazed me. I said to him, Roy, just tell me one thing. Did you really do all that stuff? He looked at me and smiled. What the hell do you think? he said. I never really knew. In the fall of 1984, Cohn became ill. A year later, he started treatment at the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He maintained that he had liver cancer. But he was suffering from the effects of the HIV virus. As he struggled to stay alive, Trump pulled back from his friend for a spell. Cohn was thrown off balance by this apparent betrayal. I cant believe hes doing this to me, Cohn said, according to Barretts account. Donald pisses ice water. Cohns behavior as a lawyer caught up to him now. The appellate division of New Yorks Supreme Court moved on long-standing charges of misconduct. Simply stated the four charges involved alleged dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation, the court said. Those allegations involved a series of incidents that began years before Cohn met Trump and continued throughout the time of their relationship. In one case, a client of Cohns was in the hospital after suffering a debilitating stroke. Cohn visited the man, who was barely conscious. Cohn later claimed his client, during that visit, made him a trustee to his will. The man could not move. A nurse witnessed Cohn guiding his hand to complete the mans signature on a legal document. A judge later refused to honor the document. Before the appellate division made its ruling in 1986, a host of prominent people testified to Cohns good character. Among them was Trump, who had resumed his visits to Cohn and that spring had invited him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Cohn questioned the fairness and competence of those who accused him of misconduct, telling reporters the bars disciplinary panel was a bunch of yo-yos . . . just out to smear me up. On June 23, 1986, Cohn was disbarred. For an attorney practicing for nearly 40 years in this State, such misconduct is inexcusable, notwithstanding an impressive array of character witnesses who testified in mitigation, the court said. Trump told The Post that if Cohn had not been so weakened, he would have been able to fight that off. Cohn died six weeks later, on Aug. 2, 1986. He was 59. His friends held a memorial service for him. Trump stood silently in the back. Zion, the journalist, wrote that Cohn was misunderstood by his critics: What curdled their blood with Cohn was his headline-hunting, his gunslinger style, his contempt for the niceties, his contempt for them. One year after his death, Trump professed admiration for Cohn. Tough as he was, Roy had a lot of friends, Trump wrote in The Art of the Deal, and Im not embarrassed to say I was one. Trump remains fond of Cohn today. I actually got a kick out of him, Trump recalled in his recent interview with The Post. Some people didnt like him, and some people were offended by him. I mean, they would literally leave a dinner. I had one evening where three or four people got up from a table and left the table because they couldnt stand the mention of his name. But with all of that being said, he did a very good job for me as a lawyer, Trump said. I get a kick out of winning, and Roy would win. Guests gather for the opening ceremony at Shanghai Disneyland on June 16. The park and its hotels, known together as Shanghai Disney Resort, are Disneys first venture into mainland China. Guests gather for the opening ceremony at Shanghai Disneyland on June 16. The park and its hotels, known together as Shanghai Disney Resort, are Disneys first venture into mainland China. Visual China/Getty Images After years of planning and construction, Mickey Mouse arrives in China After years of planning and construction, Mickey Mouse arrives in China Mickey Mouse welcomed visitors to his new home in China on Thursday as Disney opened its first theme park in that country. The park, located in the city of Shanghai, opened with fireworks and dignitaries. I hope that Shanghai Disney can provide visitors with safe and premium experiences and become a world class theme park. I hope it promotes exchanges across cultures of the world, according to a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping, read at the parks opening ceremony. Tens of thousands streamed into Shanghai Disneyland for its debut, an event that was nearly two decades in the making. The $5.5 billion resort covers 963 acres, but Disney has already begun expansion. Company officials said they tried to reflect Chinese preferences in the new park. We didnt build Disneyland in China, we built Chinas Disneyland, said Bob Iger, Disneys chairman. Theres a traditional Chinese tea house featuring local food. The Lion King, performed in Mandarin for the first time, features the Monkey King and characters dressed in Chinese opera garb to appeal to an Asian audience. In the castle, guests not only walk through, as they do in other Disney parks, they can also eat and shop. When is was discovered that Chinese people didnt have a favorite Disney princess, the company decided that the castle would feature all the princesses. Parks in California, Hong Kong and France are based on the Sleeping Beauty story. The Chinese can learn the princesses over time, and this gives them an opportunity to have an introduction to all of the princess stories, said executive producer Ali Rubinstein. A handful of rides are unique to Shanghai Disneyland but dont have a Chinese flavor. Su Xuanjun gushed about an attraction based on the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Its very impressive how they use technology in this ride, said Su, who was accompanied by his wife, daughter and 4-year-old grandson. Still, he thinks Disney could have gone a bit further to make the park more China-like. Doesnt look like China to me at all. They could have incorporated more Chinese elements, said the 60-year-old retiree. In the Pirates ride, they could have had the setting be the Yangtze River. Disneys only animated film based on a Chinese story, Mulan, which tells the tale of a Chinese warrior woman, got neither its own ride or stage show. The character appears only as a statue and a float in the parade. Wow Air SnapTraveler winner Naila Abbasova traveled to Reykjavik and Washington, her first two stops. She is documenting her travels on Snapchat. (Wow Air) By the time Naila Abbasova reached the Renwick Gallery, her second cultural institution of the day, she had already posted 33 Snapchats. The number would more than double before the close of her last night in Washington. The 26-year-old London resident isnt a millennial with an oversharing addiction; she is one of four travelers who beat out tens of thousands of applicants vying for the title of Wow SnapTraveler. Her prize: exploring four destinations served by the low-fare Icelandic carrier and sharing her experiences with the world snap by snap by snap by snap. Snapchat forces you to be creative in the moment, said Naila, who works as a department manager at Selfridges, a U.K. department store. It has so much cinematic potential, but my goal is to show you where I am so that it feels like you could actually be here with me. The app-umentarians will visit one city a month over the summer, with each trip lasting three to eight days. The airline, which flies to nearly 30 destinations, covers all of their travel expenses. The quartet started in Reykjavik, Iceland, in May for the first leg of the adventure. The next month, they spun off in different directions: Dave Keystone, a TV host and content provider from Toronto, to Barcelona; Naila to Washington; Adam Rose, a Los Angeles actor, to Paris; and Philip Calvert, a Milwaukee basketball coach living in Copenhagen, to Montreal. Wow Air is keeping the remaining destinations a secret to us and the snapsters. Its kind of freaky, Naila said about the mystery, and also kind of exciting. From left, Philip Calvert, Naila Abbasova, Dave Keystone and Adam Rose will spend the summer traveling to destinations served by the Icelandic low-fare carrier. Here, they soak in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. (Wow Air) During her five full days in Washington, however, she was only thinking about the now. Snapchat doesnt live for the future; its stories disappear after 24 hours. Snapchat is minimal in terms of editing, she said. You are capturing really raw emotions. Before submitting her application, Naila had a vlog on her YouTube channel called Chief Adventurer, but had never used the social-media app. She learned the basics from an instructional YouTube video taught by a kid who probably still needs a babysitter. She picked up other techniques on the fly, such as her stylistic flourishes: opening shots of a quote, music videos starring herself (and sometimes a surprised hotel employee) and her absolutely fabulous wardrobe, including Le Spec sunglasses and glossy lipstick the color of ripe berries. I want to be as real as possible, she said. You have to have that certain level of confidence that you just dont care what people say about you. In Washington, she chose experiences that matched her nom de travel. She went zip-lining in Rockville, Md., sailing in Annapolis, Md., noshing on a food tour of D.C.s Shaw neighborhood and paddleboarding on the Potomac with twin sisters who aced her own Snapchat callout for the most creative story. Im a big believer in getting to know the locals, she said. No joke. On her first night in town, she shared a cab with a woman and ended up dining with the Washingtonian and her husband at their Georgetown home. On her last day, she found herself sprawled on the floor of the Renwick Gallery, head-to-head with a resident. (Disclaimer: me.) We stared at the Wonder above, then Snapchatted the moment. Naila and I spent more than two hours together, discussing the art, science and silliness of Snapchat. She said the sequence should unspool like a story, with an introduction, main plot and finish so they know your day is actually over. Her sign-off is often, Sleep tight, world. See you tomorrow. For her medley of images, she blends selfies with scenic shots, and often reminds herself to show more of not-me. She also includes nuggets of information, such as President Obamas connection to Pi Pizzeria. On the technical side, she warns against saving too many snaps offline; if they are not uploaded in a timely manner, the bits could go poof. So, if possible, find an Internet connection and release them as soon as you can. Also be aware of the smartphones battery life; if your gadget dies, so does your hard work. Naila carries two phones and a backup charger, and will still sometimes make emergency runs to Starbucks to caffeinate her devices. After completing the wowza journey, she will continue vlogging once a week and traveling once she replenishes her empty vault of vacation days. She will also use Snapchat to document her adventures, but will significantly scale back her average output of 55 snaps a day. Nailas D.C. itinerary If you didnt see Naila Abbasovas Snapchats about her trip to Washington before they disappeared, then you missed out on her adventures and explorations. Here is a more lasting record of her visit as a Wow SnapTraveler, plus her comments. Go Ape treetop adventure course in Rockville. Sailing on the Woodwind schooner in Annapolis, the boat from Wedding Crashers. Segway tour of D.C. It saved my life because it was so friggin hot. It created a wind. Food tour of Shaw neighborhood. It exposed me to the bigger picture of D.C. . . . My favorite place was an Ethiopian restaurant called Etete. I never realized that apparently D.C. has the highest concentration of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia. Paddleboarding on the Potomac. It reminded me of Toronto Island. I was a little nostalgic. (Naila lived in Toronto before moving to London.) Museum visits to Newseum, Renwick Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Natural History and National Archives. Tex-Mex cuisine at Cantina Marina on the waterfront. Seeing the boats and the very casual lifestyle you forget that you are in D.C. Other dining spots: Pi Pizzeria, Baked and Wired (a Snapchat suggestion) and Mari Vanna, which looks like a Soviet-designed Russian house on the interior. Sunset at the Lincoln Memorial steps. It was such a moving experience. I felt more connected to D.C. More from Travel: How to travel the world for free? The Points Guy shows you the way. This isnt Darwins Galapagos: The wildlife-rich islands are more tourist-friendly than you think Around the world in 20 days Given the need for extraordinary coverage of the massive tragedy that unfolded Sunday in Orlando, its little wonder if you missed the details out of the United State of Women summit that First Lady Michelle Obama put on in Washington last week. So let me help you catch up on this first-of-its-kind White House-sponsored event. More than 5,000 people were on hand to talk about gender equity. While not everyone went away happy abortion was conspicuously missing from the discussion the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Participants and media alike seem to agree that, yes, this was a massively hyped affair, but the TED talks-type agenda lived up to its promise. Not to mention that, as part of the event, the White House announced $50 million in commitments to improving the lives of girls and women around the world. The commitments come from the White House and a collective of organizations, private-sector companies and foundations. Below youll find some of the key takeaways, which I compiled from reading coverage from the event. But first a word about what Im personally carrying forward. Its not specifically gender equity-related, but it made the biggest impression on me and I expect it will lift your day. The event was capped by an armchair conversation between Mrs. O and Ms. O, that is, the first lady and Oprah Winfrey. Asked how she deals with all the haters on social media, Obama said this: I have found, particularly in this job, that its people wont remember what other people say about you, but they will remember what you do. ... So when it came to this role, I just said: You know, let me just be first lady. Let me wake up every day and work hard to do something of value, and to do it well, and to do something consequential, and to do something that I care about. And then let that speak for itself. And that would shut up the haters, because I would have a whole portfolio of stuff that defined me because its what I did, not what you called me. So the best revenge is success and good work. What a refreshing answer. And one I needed to hear. Whether its in regard to the presidential campaign or the latest local hot-button issue, much of the bandwidth of discussion takes place these days in the form of tweets or Facebook posts that delight in sarcasm, name-calling or downright lies. It can beat regular folks like me down; I cant imagine the level of abuse someone of Michelle Obamas stature endures. I suspect we can all learn from her answer: 1. People will remember what you do, not what other people say about you. 2. The best revenge is success and good work. So what else made up the United State of Women summit? Obama brought together an inspiring group of powerful and interesting women to discuss real issues: equal pay, womens health, education, preventing violence against women, entrepreneurship and female leadership. As part of the summit, more than two dozen companies including Airbnb, Amazon, American Airlines, Dow Chemical and Pepsico agreed to undertake a yearly company-wide gender pay analysis. Introduced by 11-year-old Mikaila Ulmer, the founder/CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, who won a deal with Whole Foods, President Barack Obama addressed the summit. Vice President Joe Biden also gave a powerful speech calling on greater efforts to end sexual violence against women, particularly on college campuses. While no doubt the O and O armchair discussion stole the show, participants said the hands-on learning sharing of expertise and experiences also will have long-lasting impact. Thats why I hope that, while news such as that out of Orlando justifiably gets most of the headlines, in coming days well learn more about what comes out of the United State of Women. THE DISTRICT Man cited after drone flight near monument A Virginia man who police said was flying a drone near the Washington Monument early Wednesday has been given a criminal citation, according to the U.S. Park Police. John Newcomer Jr., 51, of Reston was charged with operating an unmanned aircraft, which is illegal in and around Washington, including from private property. Police said in a statement that officers were alerted to the drone about 4 a.m. Wednesday and found the man near the north side of the monument near 16th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Police said officers ordered Newcomer to land the drone a blue UDI RC and that it and a black radio controller were confiscated. Sgt. Anna Rose, a spokeswoman for the Park Police, said there was no indication of nefarious activities with the drone, which sells for about $60 on the Internet. The citation is $85. Peter Hermann Police investigate gay pride flag burning For the past three years, James Woods has displayed a colorful gay pride flag outside his Adams Morgan restaurant in Washington ahead of the annual June festivities celebrating gay rights. This year was no different. On June 10, he hung the large flag outside his restaurant, Bourbon, in the 2300 block of 18th Street NW. But when one of the restaurants managers arrived for work early Sunday morning, the flag was almost entirely burned. D.C. police say someone burned the flag between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. Sunday. Police said the department is investigating the incident, first reported by the Washington Blade. Perry Stein MARYLAND Charges in alleged heroin ring Authorities in Frederick County said they busted a large heroin distribution ring in the Maryland suburb and arrested nine people. The Frederick County Sheriffs Office said it confiscated 18 firearms and 510 grams of heroin in the bust. The people charged included men and women from Maryland and West Virginia, authorities said. They faced a variety of drug-related and weapons charges. Dana Hegdpeth Motorcyclist injured in May crash dies Prince Georges County police said Friday that they were investigating a fatal collision in Hyattsville last month after a motorcyclist involved in the crash died earlier this week. On May 15 at about 4 p.m., officers were called to Rhode Island Avenue at Charles Armentrout Way for a crash involving a car and a motorcycle, police said in a statement. A preliminary investigation revealed that 55-year-old Daniel Jerome Crum of Riverdale was northbound on Rhode Island Avenue approaching Charles Armentrout Way when he was struck by a car, the statement said. Crum suffered critical injuries and died June 12, while the driver of the car was not hurt, the statement said. It appeared the cars driver failed to yield the right of way and turned into Crums path, according to the police statement. Justin Wm. Moyer Union leaders lauded the efforts to reduce both the achievement gap and class size, but they say district employees felt let down. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) Montgomery Countys school board adopted a budget that is expected to lower classroom sizes next school year and accelerate efforts to narrow the achievement gap, part of a $2.46 billion plan that also cuts back on raises pledged to more than 22,000 school district employees. The recently approved budget will boost spending by $139 million 6 percent in what school officials say is the largest funding increase since at least 2008. The countys biggest property tax hike in seven years a rise of nearly 9 percent that will add $326 to the average residential bill will help fund the school systems budget increase, which comes after years of surging enrollment in the 156,000-student district. In a system with a growing number of English-language learners and children from low-income families, the new funding will steer more resources to high-needs schools, beef up math and literacy efforts, and add more than 300 teachers to help reduce class sizes. There also will be additional support for minority achievement programs, as well as an uptick in counselors and psychologists. This was a very special budget season, and I think it comes at a good time as we transition into a new superintendent and get back on track with some special areas that need addressing, said Michael A. Durso, the school boards president. Jack R. Smith, formerly Marylands interim state superintendent of schools, is slated to take over the top job in Montgomery on July 1, following a long, sometimes fitful search for a schools chief following the 2015 resignation of Joshua P. Starr. Starr lost the confidence of some board members, and he resigned amid reports that he did not have enough votes to win a new four-year contract. [Interim state superintendent Jack R. Smith to lead Montgomery schools] The new budget his successor takes on was both praised for going nearly $90 million over the state minimum funding level and lamented for doing away with some pay increases that teachers, principals, cafeteria workers and bus drivers thought they were getting. The Montgomery County Council had pressed for employee concessions, saying it could not justify a tax increase if there was not a greater show of sacrifice from the county and its school system. The board agreed to trim back raises in exchange for the added funding. Raises were pared for both county and school district employees. Under the new plan, school personnel will get a 1 percent cost-of-living raise on July 1, and those eligible will get step increases that average 3.5 percent. Employees had previously been promised the step increase and a 2 percent cost-of-living bump that would have gone into effect Sept. 3, as well as an additional step increase due in March 2017 that would have made up for a raise postponed amid the recession. In all, they will get roughly half of what was negotiated in their contracts a result that drew a mixed reaction. [Montgomery schools, teachers near deal to divert pay increases to classroom] Union leaders lauded the new funding and district efforts to lower class sizes and narrow the achievement gap that separates white and Asian students from their black and Hispanic peers. But they said many employees also felt let down. Its disappointing, said Chris Lloyd, president of the county teachers union, noting that employees have twice relinquished recent negotiated raises. I think there is some anger, but mostly frustration. This is not a one-time event. This has repeated itself over the last several years. He said some employees are questioning the nature of the contract negotiation process and whether county officials should be included earlier. He also noted that Montgomerys starting teacher salaries lag behind several Washington-area jurisdictions, which he said could be an issue as the school district prepares to hire a large number of teachers. As we try to diversify our teaching workforce to better reflect our student population, we have to ensure that MCPS is a desirable place to work, and salary and benefits is a significant factor in that, he said. Other union leaders also voiced disappointment with the process. The board reopened negotiations, but no agreement was readily reached, so it relied on a provision of state law that allows it to trim negotiated raises without unions signing on. The opportunity for give and take, the opportunity for discussion and options, was not as open and not as authentic as it had been in the past, said James Koutsos, president of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals. Durso, the school board president, said he understands employee concerns but said when you look at the big picture, I think what we did was right and necessary. He called the salary increases that employees will get pretty significant. Frances Frost, a past president of the countywide council of PTAs, said two of the organizations priorities were reflected in the budget agreement: more focus on the achievement gap and class size reduction. Not every class will be smaller, but the districts guidelines will change, meaning schools could see smaller classes in some grades. I think parents are pleased, she said. There is grumbling about the taxes, but most are pleased about the money going toward education and areas they feel are important. The government of Maryland says it has been shortchanging thousands of workers who earn extra pay for overtime and night shifts, a mistake discovered when the state installed a new payroll and timekeeping system this year. Budget and Management Secretary David R. Brinkley said the mistakes could affect up to 13,000 current employees roughly one-quarter of the states public workforce and an unknown number of former workers. The state could owe each of those individuals from $2 to $30 extra for each relevant pay period. Many of the workers are police, hospital workers and corrections employees, whose jobs often require them to work nontraditional hours between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. Their extra pay was miscalculated by payroll workers at agencies across the government, officials said. On Friday, state officials notified four public-employee unions AFSCME, AFT Healthcare-Maryland, the State Law Enforcement Officers Labor Alliance and the Maryland Professional Employees Council about the issue and said they plan to work with the unions to develop a process for determining the scope of the problem and how to resolve it. We expect every person who worked to be paid for every single hour they worked, whether it was yesterday or 20 years ago, said Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the largest union representing state workers. Union officials say they have raised concerns about payroll mistakes across state agencies for many years, only to hear that the problems were isolated. It turns out the issues were systemic, Moran said. Our members were right, and the bureaucrats were wrong. As of Wednesday, the new computerized system was operating at all agencies except the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which is expected to have it running by August. Brinkley said the errors should not occur with the new program. But Al Wise, a 44-year-old father of five who has worked at Maryland state hospitals for 18 years and often works the night shift, said his last paycheck was about $30 short. He isnt sure how many times he was underpaid. I need to take care of my household, Wise said. I have two girls in college. Universities dont want to hear about why you cant pay tuition. The unions had called for a faster implementation of the new system, which was begun during the administration of Gov. Martin OMalley (D). The past administration said theyd change it, and it finally came to fruition this month, Moran said. Brinkley credited Gov. Larry Hogan (R) with speeding up the transition and insisting that the state take responsibility for the mistakes. The governor is in Annapolis to fix things, Brinkley said. The first remedy is to ensure that our employees are paid correctly, and starting with the last paycheck, thats happening. Moran said the Hogan administration was just doing what it had to do. You cant have something of this magnitude and hide it, he said. Theyre very good at marketing and trying to get out in front of things. At best, Gov. Larry Hogans refusal to vote for Donald Trump has only lost him some campaign bumper stickers. At worst, its eroded faith among the party faithful in the Republican governors leadership and cost him votes in his reelection. And the Trump-supporting Maryland delegates to the Republican National Convention have heard a lot about it. Jim Crawford, a delegate from Bryantown, said he has answered dozens of calls from extremely disappointed Trump supporters since Hogan made it known Wednesday that he would not cast a ballot for the New York billionaire. Some of the callers knocked on doors and made calls for Hogan during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Crawford said. The governors decision will force those people to choose between Trump and Hogan, or find a way to reconcile the two, he said. [Hogan is one of two sitting GOP governors to say he wont vote for Trump] Republican Maryland governor Larry Hogan has publicly admitted he isn't voting for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Here are the many times Logan has said he won't back Trump's run for the White House. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) One man told Crawford that he ripped all of the Hogan bumper stickers off of his car as soon as he heard the governors decision. Id like to know what his thinking is, Crawford said of the popular first-term governor. Because most of us understand that not supporting Trump is supporting Hillary. Joeylynn Hough, a delegate to the national convention from Brunswick, said although its ultimately the governors personal choice, many think Hogan should respect the support that Maryland GOP voters have shown for the presumptive Republican nominee. Trump won 54 percent of the vote in the states Republican primary in April. They feel betrayed by him, Hough said. They feel he should put his differences aside and needs to respect their decision. Others said the governor should endorse Trump as a show of leadership and party unity. Delegate Joe Sliwka said Hogan should look to former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who showed true statesmanship when he endorsed Trump after his preferred candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, withdrew from the race. I wish he would just endorse the nominee as the Republican leader of Maryland, said Sliwka, a former aide to Ehrlich who lives in Fallston. I think everybody should just come together as Republicans. Regardless of Hogans effect on the presidential race, multiple delegates said it could cost him votes in a 2018 reelection bid. Some people have said they will not support him in his next election, Hough said. One thing about Trump supporters is that we are very loyal. We mean what we say. But at least one Trump delegate said he would still back Hogan. John Stricklett, of Bethesda, said he supports the governor and ultimately doesnt put a lot of stock in how Hogan fills out his ballot, even though having Trump in the White House would be better for Hogan than a President Clinton. Its more of a personal decision of Hogans, it doesnt really affect us, the delegate said. Hes governor of Maryland, and thats a tough job. I try not to read much into it. Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has publicly admitted he isn't voting for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Here are the many times Hogan has said he won't back Trump's run for the White House. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has publicly admitted he isn't voting for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Here are the many times Hogan has said he won't back Trump's run for the White House. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Almost as soon as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared he would not vote for Donald Trump, state Sen. J.B. Jenningss phone started ringing. Messages piled up on social media sites, either lauding Hogan as an independent thinker or denouncing him for opposing the candidate who handily won his states GOP primary. Some support what hes done. Others are upset, said Jennings (R-Baltimore County), who is the Senate minority leader and a Trump delegate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Its his vote to give, and nobody else should have an issue. After months of trying not to talk about Trump, Hogan on Wednesday became the second sitting GOP governor to say he would not cast a ballot for the presumptive presidential nominee joining Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), another widely popular Republican in a blue state. No, I dont plan to, Hogan said when asked whether he would vote for Trump or presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. I guess when I get behind the curtain, Ill have to figure it out, maybe write someone in. Im not sure. Its a tough choice. I dont like either one of them. [Dozens of GOP delegates launch new effort to stop Trump] 1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad What presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail. View Photos Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the partys convention in Cleveland. Caption Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the partys convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. The admission, which comes as other elected Republicans across the country continue to sidestep questions about Trump and his controversial candidacy, is likely to shore up Hogans support among Democratic and independent voters in Maryland, analysts said. And while rejecting the GOP nominee could cost the first-term governor a bit of his base, it is unlikely to harm his planned reelection bid in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin. The very hardcore, of course, are going to be angry and say they arent going to support him ever again, said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Marys College of Maryland. But if it is him versus a Democrat in 2018, are they really going to stay home and let the Democrat win? Hogan gave an early presidential endorsement last year to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a friend whom Hogan credits with helping him win the election in Maryland. When Christie withdrew his candidacy and decided to back Trump, however, Hogan said he was not inclined to do the same. As the business mogul moved closer to clinching the nomination, Hogan was peppered with questions at public appearances throughout the state. [Hogan dodges question on whether Donald Trump is fit to be president] After Trump won the Maryland primary, Hogan said he did not plan to support him and had no plans to attend the Republican National Convention. Earlier this month, he dodged a question about whether Trump is fit to serve as president and told a reporter who asked whether he planned to vote for Trump that he was not interested in talking about Donald Trump any further. He suggested that reporters use a thing called Google to look at the stories youve written. . . . My answers are not going to change. Wednesdays statement that he would not vote for Trump came during a visit to Prince Georges County. Hogans office declined a request for a more extensive interview on the topic, but Hogan elaborated slightly during an appearance in Annapolis on Thursday. Ive always been a blunt, straightforward guy, and whether you agree with me or not, you always know where I stand, he said. Im not trying to convince anybody how to vote, anyway. Through a spokesman, the governor said his decision was a difficult one. [Trump delegates in Maryland dont like their governors position] Richard Vatz, a political rhetoric professor at Towson University, said Hogans stance is likely to serve him well among much of the state electorate. Hogans unwillingness to support a man, Trump, who is favored by a man to whom he is indebted, Gov. Chris Christie, gives unmistakable testimony to his integrity in many Marylanders eyes, Vatz said. He has a 70 percent approval rating, and I think part of it is the perception that he is not motivated wholly politically. On Facebook, the comments ranged from angry to admiring. I personally dont care if he votes or not but he should stand behind his party or just shut his mouth, said one woman from Mount Airy, Md. We the people have voted for the GOP nomination Just like we the people voted our Governor in office. Other posters praised Hogan for following his conscience and noted that Maryland will almost certainly back Clinton in the general election anyway, so the governors choice will have little impact on the race. [The man who showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear] Tim Craig, a small-business owner in Carroll County and the countys coordinator for the Trump campaign, said in an interview that he is a huge Larry Hogan guy but was disappointed that the governor decided to say anything at all about how he plans to vote. He said Republicans living in Carroll County and other rural parts of the state are pretty far to the right of center. Many of those voters, he said, are not going to have the zeal for Hogan after his declaration. Republican lawmakers in Maryland were swift to defend Hogan. I support Donald J. Trump. The Governor made his decision, state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling (R-Baltimore County) wrote on his Facebook page. The nasty comments that have been directed towards him are unhelpful and wont change any minds. When all is said and done, the Governor is doing great things for the State of Maryland and is 100% better than the alternative. Joe Cluster, executive director of the state Republican Party, said he did not know what impact Hogans decision about Trump will have on the party. We will see, he said. But Eberly, the St. Marys professor, said Hogans decision stripped the state Democratic Party of its strongest line of attack against the governor. U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) and the Democratic Governors Association have repeatedly called on Hogan to denounce Trump. When you dont vote, there is no greater repudiation, Eberly said. Jennings said Hogans decision and the lack of support for Trump from other GOP officials across the country illustrates the challenges facing the presumptive nominee and the Republican Party. We have five months until the election, Jennings said. Over the next 150 days, the Trump campaign needs to do their best to shore up support amongst the base, and that includes Gov. Hogan. A 19-year-old Alexandria man was arrested Thursday and charged with animal cruelty after the death of a pit bull mix, police said. On May 27 at about 5:30 p.m., Eryk Misrain Cruz dropped off a mixed-breed female dog at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Fairfax County police said in a statement. The dog, named Zili, was about 11 months old and extremely emaciated, and was taken to an emergency veterinarian for medical treatment, the statement said. A man was charged with animal cruelty after Zili, an 11-month-old pit bull, died. (Fairfax County Police) On June 1, Zili died because of her condition, according to the statement. A necropsy completed by the state animal health laboratory determined she died from emaciation, dehydration and bacterial necrotizing enterocolitis, the statement said. After an investigation, a warrant was issued charging Cruz with misdemeanor cruelty to animals, police said, and he was arrested. Claiming not to remember the past decade was not a good way try to escape hard time at least not for Frank Pearson, a former Loudoun County sheriffs deputy sentenced Friday to three years in prison for embezzlement. Pearson, who from 2010 to 2013 stole $229,000 in forfeited assets he was charged with overseeing, maintained throughout his trial that he had amnesia covering 10 years. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who presided over Pearsons bench trial and found him guilty, said Friday that he does not believe the claim. You may have convinced yourself that you dont remember these events, Ellis said, but your claim of amnesia doesnt resonate with me. Defense attorneys said before the trial that in October 2013, after Pearsons wife found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of the familys home, he woke up thinking the year was 2001 and he was unable to recognize friends he had met after that year. Ellis noted Friday that a physician was unable to confirm Pearsons memory loss and had deemed the ex-deputy fit to stand trial. I grew up in a society where corruption was rife, said Ellis, who was born in Colombia. Corruption by government can kill a society. Prosecutors noted that not all of the lost funds have been accounted for. The night before he was due to meet with supervisors who had grown suspicious, Pearson was seen leaving the office with two boxes that another deputy said contained rolls of coins. Loudoun Sheriff Mike Chapman, who was criticized by a challenger during his reelection campaign last year for failing to stop the embezzlement earlier, said in court Friday that Pearson really betrayed the trust of his unit, the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office and law enforcement across the board. Investigating the crime in concert with the FBI took thousands of hours and dollars, he said. Pearson will have to pay restitution in full for his theft. His attorney, Daniel Lopez, said Friday that his client used the money not for luxury items but to take care of his wife, who suffers from diabetes and makes close to minimum wage. Before he engaged in this criminal behavior, Mr. Pearson was an upstanding member of his church, an upstanding member of his community, an upstanding member of law enforcement, Lopez said. Several members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote letters detailing Pearsons good acts and came to court Friday in support. Lopez added that Pearson had served in the Marine Corps with honors. Mr. Pearson has fallen mightily and far, Lopez said. Pearson declined to speak. At his lawyers request, he was allowed to delay his surrender until his son returns from a church mission in Peru. Actress Laura Vandervoort's image from the television show "V" was used to create a fake passport as part of an international credit card fraud scheme. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia) Federal agents said they have uncovered a massive international identity-theft scheme that victimized at least hundreds and maybe thousands of people, including an actress who appeared in the television shows Smallville and Supergirl. Federal authorities arrested two people in Virginia and two people in Georgia on Thursday as part of a sophisticated operation they say involved stealing identities and producing fake shell companies that could apply for high-balance credit cards. The sprawling conspiracy involved many millions of dollars, authorities say, though after two years of investigation they believe they have only scratched the surface. Court documents say that the group would bill credit card companies for payments to its own shell companies, then route the money through various entities and sometimes out of the country. Organized under the umbrella the Deutche Group, the conspiracy extended to India, Thailand and Britain as well as the United States. Prosecutors are asking any potential victims to come forward and help illuminate the scope of the scheme. The conspirators would advertise jobs for Deutche Group on Craigslist, according to authorities, and then steal the personal information applicants gave them. They also set up online companies offering airfare and hotel deals, according to court filings, then pocketed the funds and used stolen credit cards to book the travel. Some travelers were stranded partway through vacations when their itineraries were canceled due to fraud alerts. When such fraud alerts led credit card companies to challenge charges, the group used digitally created images of credit cards and passports to back up their spending, authorities say. One such passport used an image of actress Laura Vandervoort taken from a scene from the television show V involving visas, authorities said. An FBI agent who was a fan of Smallville immediately recognized Vandervoorts photo, authorities said, and the image helped authorities lock down a time frame for the creation of the fake passport and illuminated some of the groups digital maneuvering. Vandervoort played Supergirl on Smallville and also plays a villain on the show Supergirl. According to the charging documents, the group even set up its own bank in India and attempted to join the Visa network, so that they could approve their own fraudulent transactions. Amit Chaudhry of Ashburn was arrested Thursday. He is accused of masterminding the U.S. operations. According to prosecutors, his siblings and other relatives and associates in India helped steal identities and create shell corporations. To date, prosecutors have identified 353 fake companies associated with the scheme. Prosecutors say it was a New York woman who questioned charges to her credit card that first alerted them to the group, which they believe has been operating since at least 2012. In court Thursday, Chaudhry appeared bewildered. He said he did not understand the charges against him. I never transferred money, he said. I dont have any significant ties to India. An affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia federal court lists five aliases for Chaudhry, including John King, and Sachin Sinha." Jacqueline Green of Woodbridge was also arrested Thursday and charged with wire fraud. Green appears to have met Chaudhry through her job at the government information technology contractor ActioNet. Chaudhry was running his own Ashburn-based company called Knowledge Center, which authorities say did both legitimate IT training and supported his illegal activity. According to prosecutors, Green would overbill or fradulently bill her company for training provided by Chaudhrys firm. If convicted, both Chaudhry and Green face up to two decades in prison, as well as significant fines. The defendants arrested in Georgia, Sudhakar Jha and Tanav Jha, have a detention hearing set for next week and authorities said they will then be brought to Virginia to face trial. Other perpetrators, authorities said, have fled to India. It was a now-former employee at American Express in India, according to prosecutors, who helped procure some of the stolen identities, as did other overseas sources. People who believe they may have been affected by this alleged fraud should submit their complaint online at www.ic3.gov, and include the keyword CCTRAVELVICTIM in the Description of the Incident field. The general election campaign has barely started and it's already turned into a clash of civilizations. Not a clash between Islamic and Judeo-Christian civilization, although Donald Trump sometimes makes it sound that way. Instead, it's a battle between two different views of American civilization. Are we teetering anxiously on the edge of destruction? Or are we still optimistic despite recurring terrorism and mass violence? One candidate, Trump, speaks to the gut and unabashedly stokes voters' fears. "If we don't get tough ... we're not going to have our country anymore," the presumptive Republican nominee said in the aftermath of the shooting in Orlando. "There will be nothing -- absolutely nothing -- left." Nothing? He also accused American Muslims of willfully harboring terrorists. "The Muslims have to work with us," he said. "They knew that (the Orlando gunman) was bad. They knew that the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what? They didn't turn them in. And you know what? We had death and destruction." Actually, law enforcement officials say many of their best tips about potential terrorists come from Muslim communities. And Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter, was "turned in" to police at least twice. The other candidate, Hillary Clinton, pleads for unity and proposes wonky policy plans -- including such bloodless stuff as "an intelligence surge to bolster our capabilities across the board, with appropriate safeguards here at home." This week, she suggested that incremental improvements in law enforcement, plus a new commitment to civility, could overcome the terrorist threat. "I have no doubt we can meet this challenge if we meet it together," she said. And she recalled that on Sept. 12, 2001, "We did not attack each other; we worked with each other to protect our country. ... I am so confident and optimistic that is exactly what we will do." There's not much evidence for that in the campaign, though. It's not just violence that exposes the rift in how the candidates view the country's position. Trump says he wants to "make America great again" -- an America that, in his view, is losing its identity and its security because of uncontrolled immigration from Mexico and the Middle East. Clinton says she wants to make America great, too, but the "again" is missing from her version. Clinton's America is in fundamentally good shape except for a sputtering, unequal economy. The dichotomy is mirrored among their voters. A Pew Research Center poll in March found that 75 percent of Trump supporters believed life in America had gotten worse ("for people like you") in the last 50 years. Among Clinton supporters, only 22 percent thought life had gotten worse, and 53 percent thought life had improved. (Among voters overall, 46 percent thought life had gotten worse, 34 percent that it was better.) This time, Trump may have gone too far. A chorus of Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were distressed at their nominee's slash-and-burn rhetoric and at his renewed insistence that immigration from Muslim countries be stopped. "I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country's interest," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said. "I do not think it is reflective of our principles. "The vast, vast majority of Muslims in this country and around the world are moderate. They're peaceful. They're tolerant. And so they're among our best allies." The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, said he was "disappointed" by Trump's speech. "After 49 people have perished, it was not the type of speech that one would expect from someone who wants to lead our country through difficult times," he told me. In recent weeks, Corker and other GOP leaders have urged Trump to sound more presidential. "I must admit that I am personally discouraged," said Corker, who has been mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate. But Trump may be acting more strategically than it looks, as is often the case. The GOP historically gets the benefit of the doubt from voters on national security issues, and so far that has benefited Trump as much as any Republican. A Gallup poll last month (before Orlando) found that 50 percent of voters think he's better equipped than Clinton to deal with terrorism and national security. (Clinton's number was 46 percent.) If Trump can turn the election into a referendum on whether Americans feel safe against terrorists, he might win. On the other hand, if the election becomes a referendum on whether voters will feel safe with Trump as president, he's more likely to lose. It's far too early to make predictions. All we know for sure from these initial skirmishes is that Trump doesn't plan on "pivoting" to a more presidential persona -- and that this is already the ugliest presidential campaign in modern memory. A Virginia man has been charged with trying to abduct two women nearly 10 years ago, Arlington County police said. Justin Wingate Poe, 34, of Woodbridge was taken into custody Thursday in the cases from 2007 and charged with two counts of attempted abduction. Police said an assailant tried to put plastic bags over the heads of women he approached. The earlier of the cases occurred about 2:30 a.m. May 28, 2007, when a woman, walking on North Vernon Street in the Ballston area, was approached from behind by a man who attempted to cover her face with a plastic bag, police said. She screamed and the man fled, according to police, who added that he left a fingerprint. A little over a week after that attempted abduction, a similar attack occurred in the Courthouse neighborhood. At 1:20 a.m., a woman was awakened by a knock on her door. She told police that when she opened the door, a man standing against the wall just outside tried to put a plastic bag over her head. She screamed and the man fled on foot, according to police. This victim was able to give police a detailed description, which resulted in a composite sketch of a suspect. The arrest in the cold cases grew out of a still-continuing investigation into a report of a sexual assault of a woman who said she woke up to an attack by a stranger in her Lyon Park residence about 5 a.m. May 15. In that case, the woman called 911 and told police that the attacker fled. DNA evidence collected at that residence in May linked the assault to the unsolved 2007 attempted abduction on North Vernon Street, Arlington police said Friday. Poe has no prior criminal history that would allow police to identify him based on his DNA, Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said Friday. She declined to discuss how Poe was identified as a suspect in the two 2007 cases, saying only that links were found through a review of cold-case files, crime scene evidence and laboratory results. Army Sgt. Gracie Vaughn and Army Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper were among the people who stopped to aid victims in the tour bus crash Tuesday on the George Washington Parkway. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post) Army Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper said he was certain about one thing: To free three tourists trapped beneath a shuttle bus tipped on its side, he and three other men would have to lift it. Minutes earlier on Tuesday, he had been commuting along the George Washington Parkway, the same evening slog he had made between the Pentagon and Fort Belvoir for five years. Now, he and a band of other commuters were an impromptu rescue team on the scene of a brutal head-on collision involving a shuttle packed with Chinese tourists and a car near Stratford Lane, about a mile northeast of Mount Vernon. The vehicles collided with such force around 5 p.m. that both skittered off the busy thoroughfare, leaving one person dead and 15 others injured. The tourist shuttle landed on its side. During a news conference on June 14, U.S. Park Police Sergeant Anna Rose said more than a dozen good samaritans helped upright a tour bus that collided with a car on George Washington Memorial Parkway near Mount Vernon, killing a bus passenger. (Storyful) Amid screams of the injured, Cooper pulled over in his car to find a terrible scene: bus passengers trapped inside the shuttle and one tourist pinned and visible beneath it. In recalling the event Thursday at Fort Belvoir, Cooper said a Coast Guard officer who also stopped pried off an escape hatch on the roof of the shuttle and began helping passengers out. Cooper said he ran to the back of the bus to throw open the rear door, but to his horror found it bolted. Cooper returned to the bus hatch, helping the Coast Guard officer who by then had crawled insideto reach passengers and get them off. But it would take more to free those remaining, Cooper said he eventually realized. We have to lift the bus up! Cooper recalled shouting. Cooper said he, the Coast Guard officer and two other men counted down and then heaved. The bus slid a couple of feet. They positioned themselves again. This time it seemed like the bus didnt weigh anything, Cooper said. Army Sgt. Gracie Vaughan said she arrived on the scene at that moment as the bus was righted, hearing it land back on its wheels with a thud. To me, it was amazing, Vaughan said of the feat. When asked how four men were able to lift the bus, the brawny Cooper was at a loss. Adrenaline, he said. Grace of God. I dont know. Vaughan, also of Fort Belvoir and a human resources specialist, said Thursday that the sight she found on the parkway was reminiscent of those during a tour she served at a combat hospital during the Iraq War. The rescuers found one woman crushed beneath the bus, another with severe leg damage and a third with extensive injuries. At the time that Vaughan arrived, the citizen rescue crew had swelled to about 15. Vaughan said some directed traffic around the scene, while others used belts as tourniquets to stanch bleeding. Communication was a barrier because the tourists spoke only Chinese. Vaughan said the woman who had been pinned under the bus died from her injuries. Her husband was inconsolable nearby. Vaughan said she pulled a blanket over the woman out of respect. When the woman who died woke up this morning, she didnt realize her last moments would be spent on the side of the road, Vaughan said. It makes you realize how fleeting life is. Soon, emergency crews arrived on the scene and the band of drivers who had pulled over to help left, resuming their commutes. In all, Cooper estimated, about 10 minutes had elapsed. A U.S. Park Police spokesman wrote in a message Thursday authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash as the bus carrying 18 passengers and the driver was headed north and the car south. Authorities have not decided whether to press charges and declined to release the name of the tour company or the victim. Two of the 13 injured bus passengers remain in critical condition. The driver and passenger in the car also were among those injured, said Sgt. Anna Rose, the Park Police spokeswoman. Park Police called the bystanders efforts heroic and the Chinese Embassy thanked them on Wednesday. Cooper and Vaughan declined to call themselves heroes on Thursday. I just see it as doing what should be done, Vaughan said. You meet a lot of people called nurse in a hospital, Bonnie Friedman points out: registered nurse. advanced practice registered nurse, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, and so on. If someone you love is a patient, its useful to know which kind of nurse does what. It also helps to understand the chain of command: director of nursing, nurse manager or supervisor, charge nurse, staff nurse, licensed nurse. And of course there are the doctors: fellow, resident, intern, hospitalist, interventionist. . . . Such lists, along with brief explanations, are part of the information Friedman provides in her new book, Hospital Warrior: How to Get the Best Care for Your Loved One. Friedman, who lives in Silver Spring, draws on a quarter-century of experience shepherding her husband through 14 hospitalizations, beginning with his first heart attack in 1990 and ending with the latest of several surgeries a couple of years ago. (He emerged well enough that they took a carefully managed but hugely enjoyable trip to Alaska.) Chapters cover such topics as patients legal rights and how to pick a hospital, and the book is peppered with interviews with health-care experts, checklists of things to do or know, and printed or online sources of further information. Throughout, Friedman makes it clear that while she thinks of herself as fighting on her husbands behalf, she does not see the medical establishment as an adversary. Rather, she encourages patient advocates to stay as good-humored as possible, even when it seems that the big, impersonal health-care apparatus is ignoring the patients needs: You never want to be rude or lose your temper, she warns. For example, you might say to a busy doctor or nurse: I can see you dont have time to talk now. But I have a few important questions. When is a good time to discuss them? Then make sure to get that discussion. This is in response to a letter dated June 10 entitled "Jesus was not a Republican." Some of the points mentioned in the letter are not accurate. I would like to address a few of them. First, Jesus' central message was not "to care for the poor, downtrodden and the unfortunate," as important as they are. His central message was repentance of sins and bringing salvation to the world through his birth, life, death and resurrection. Jesus came to die for our sins that we may have eternal life with him (Romans 6:23). Second, Jesus did not say, "There are many paths to my father." This contradicts what Jesus actually said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me." (John 14:6) This is also spoken of in Acts 4:12. Remember, all of scripture is the inspired, inerrant word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), not just the words of Christ. Third, Jesus did have a loyalty to a specific nation -- Israel. Jesus was born and raised Jewish. He was called the Son of David (Matthew 1:1) and sent his disciples to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel first (Matthew 10:6), then later to the rest of the world (Matthew 28:18-20). The Bible itself was recorded mostly by Jewish writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). Fourth, Jesus does not support same-sex marriage. He defined marriage as between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-8). Finally, all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5; Galatians 5:16-21). But God has done something for you and me if we place our trust in him (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23). Ronald H. Boysen, Lake Mills Albany, NY, June 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The patient monitoring platform is modular, integrating various components. Modular systems are developed in the context of consideration of probable specifications for the interaction of system components. Patient Monitoring systems are making a market resurgence because smaller, lighter, wireless units are less costly and more valuable in the context of treatment evaluations and recommendations. People who have cardiac or respiratory difficulty have more treatment options, making more extensive patient monitoring useful. Designs take into consideration users with mild, moderate, and severe chronic disease condition restrictions. Users come from chronic disease groups and older age groups. The core of a patient monitoring platform is an integration of separate vital signs detection sensors that form a system that supports adapting to numerous clinical requirements. Modules implement ways to determine patient condition. Market driving forces for multi-parameter and specialized vital signs patient monitors relate to more societal willingness to pay for vigilance, an increase in vigilance of sick people at risk. Cardiac and respiratory symptoms are measured as vital sign shifts by patient monitors. For more info, get a Sample PDF: http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=735447 Symptoms are represented by shifts in vital sign monitoring that measures disease conditions impacted deterioration of patient well-being. The monitoring is frequently done in conjunction with blood work. There is a lot of complexity in determining the meaning of the patient monitor vital signs measurements. Shortness of breath is a common symptom of cardiac disease. It is frequently misdiagnosed as a respiratory symptom or ignored by patients and is not even considered a symptom. Vital signs monitoring is a way to get a window into patient condition that can provide alerts when a small change signals a possible shift in patient condition. Hospital cardiac patient monitoring technology is a vital aid in providing treatment for severely ill patients. Alerts can be used to take action before a patient gets even more seriously ill. Hospital and outpatient cardiac patient monitoring can detect arrhythmias and get people to treatment faster before it is too late to correct heart failure. Early detection of a problem in the home is a way to avoid a hospital stay. Appropriate treatment of chronic conditions is difficult and is essential to helping people protect quality of life after recovery from a serious illness. Revitalization of patient monitor markets is occurring because units are smaller, less costly, and more useful across a variety of venues. Patient monitoring is moving toward the ability to help with wellness and to participate in the wearables markets. As people shift resource toward medical treatment, patient monitoring equipment becomes a priority. View TOC (table of content), Figures and Tables of the Report: http://www.researchmoz.us/patient-monitoring-equipment-market-shares-strategies-and-forecasts-worldwide-2016-to-2022-report.html Patient monitor markets at $11 billion in 2015 are anticipated to reach $26.2 billion by 2022. Strong growth is predicated on the increasing reliance on multi-parameter patient monitors in every bed of the hospital, in multiple areas of specialized clinics, and in many rehab centers. Market Leaders Philips General Electric (GE) Drager Nihon Kohden Fukuda Denshi Hill-Rom / Welch Allyn Mindray Medical OSI / Spacelabs Viterion Maquet Penlon Criticare Systems Medtronic Biotronic Care Innovations Oster Mortara Instrument About Us ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators. NATO Russian envoy decries alliances troop buildup Russias ambassador to NATO warned Thursday that the alliances decision to station additional forces near the Russian border will undermine European security. Alexander Grushkos comments followed a meeting of NATO defense ministers, who agreed to deploy four rotating multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The allies also discussed establishing a Romanian-led multinational framework brigade of ground troops to help defend the Black Sea area. Those measures significantly erode the quality of regional security, in fact turning central and eastern Europe into an arena of military confrontation, Grushko said. NATOs decision directly infringes on our legitimate security interests and wont be left unanswered. The alliance has halted cooperation with Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis and held exercises in the Baltics to reassure members worried about Russias intentions. Associated Press EGYPT Flight 804 cockpit recorder is found Search teams have retrieved the cockpit voice recorder from EgyptAir Flight 804 in a breakthrough for investigators seeking to explain what caused the plane to crash into the sea, killing all 66 people on board. The Airbus A320 plunged into the Mediterranean on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo. Search teams have worked to recover the two black-box recorders crucial to learning what happened before they stop emitting signals in about a week. Egypts public prosecutor ordered that the recovered device be handed over to Egyptian air accident investigators for analysis. The search is continuing for the second black box, which contains the flight data recorder. Reuters FRANCE Man held on suspicion of plotting attacks A man with links to radical Islam has been detained in southern France on suspicion of plotting possible attacks on U.S. and Russian tourists and police, authorities said Thursday. The man has been under surveillance for radicalism after bragging online about wanting to kill people and has an unstable psychological profile, a security official said. He was detained by intelligence agents this week at the train station in the medieval city of Carcassonne with a knife and a hammer, the official said. A judicial official said the man told investigators he wanted to attack tourists and later police. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Associated Press Croatian parliament votes to remove prime minister: Croatias parliament voted overwhelmingly to oust Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic, triggering the fall of the government and raising the prospect of an early election in the European Unions newest member state. Parliament acted on a motion filed by the conservative Croatian Democratic Union, the senior party in the ruling Patriotic Coalition. The conservatives have said Oreskovic proved incapable of leading the country amid economic and social woes. Netanyahu spent $1,600 for hairdresser: A newly released expense report shows that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent more than $600,000 of public funds on a six-day trip to New York, including $1,600 on a personal hairdresser. The trip to the U.N. General Assembly last fall also included $210 in laundry services, $1,862 in meals and nearly $20,000 to store furniture. Attorney Shachar Ben Meir obtained the report after suing Netanyahus office and the Foreign Ministry. The report doesnt include Netanyahus wife, Sara, who is being investigated for misuse of state funds. Venezuelan pleads guilty in oil contract scheme: A Venezuelan businessman has pleaded guilty to charges arising out of his participation in a scheme to corruptly obtain contracts from Venezuelas state oil company, the U.S. Justice Department said. Roberto Rincon, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to two counts including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a scheme involving Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. From 2009 to 2014, more than $1 billion was traced to the scheme, with $750 million to Rincon, court documents show. From news services In his June 13 Education column, Gaps in student achievement dont tell us much just ask Detroit, Jay Mathews discussed our research and lamented what he described as a useless fascination with racial inequalities in academic achievement, suggesting that the concerns of educators, parents and policymakers about equal educational opportunity are based on a resentment of high-performing students. Mr. Mathews argued that we should ignore achievement gaps and focus on ensuring that all students are improving. Disregarding academic differences ignores the fact that some students enjoy more opportunities than others. Thats like giving one runner a head start and saying the other runners complaint is unjustified. Mr. Mathews would have us believe a race is fair as long as both runners are moving forward. Achievement levels and achievement gaps merit attention. Gaps are indicators of the extent to which society provides children from different racial or ethnic groups the same opportunities to thrive. Educational success has value partly because of where one ranks relative to others. If both runners in our race above ran faster, we would rightly celebrate their improvements, but the gold medal would still go to the one who got a head start. The race still wouldnt be fair. Like Mr. Mathews, we dont see any point in resenting the success and accomplishments of others. But we do resent the implication that Americans should be content to applaud a rigged race. Sean F. Reardon, Demetra Kalogrides and Kenneth Shores, Stanford, Calif. The writers are authors of The Geography of Racial/Ethnic Test Score Gaps. As D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) gets ready to release a final version of a D.C. state constitution, based on recommendations made by her, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and others, District residents are offered an opportunity to weigh in on shaping their own political future for the first time since the advent of home rule in 1973 . Its an opportunity they should invest in. The draft state constitution is significant for its intention to maintain the current political framework. That is, morphing the current 13-member D.C. Council representative structure into the new states representatives. Perhaps the reluctance on the part of the mayor to alter the current representational dynamic is calculated to blunt any possible criticisms from Capitol Hill about any too-far-reaching reforms in District governance. And as strategies go, this is not altogether unreasonable; yet it ignores what the D.C. statehood movement has been about: achieving the right to be responsive to the will of the people of the District. To tailor a proposed state constitution narrowly to placate opposition would be a disservice to the cause everyone in the District has cared so much about for so long: equality, democracy and freedom. If the District is to become a state, its citizens should be entitled to craft the architecture of their own governance in a manner befitting their aspirations. The choices the District makes today matter greatly. Its important that its citizens take this opportunity to consider what they want and what theyre getting in any proposed constitution. The mayor has chosen to leave in place the 13-member legislature in the draft document, but is it the most responsive structure available to serve the Districts evolving political needs? Isnt what the mayor is proposing really the same old Columbia not a New Columbia? And should 672,000 D.C. residents be content to elect only 13 representatives to represent their vital interests? To put the mayors proposal in perspective, lets look at the levels of local representation other states provide their citizens. Vermont, with a population of about 626,000 less than the Districts has enjoyed a bicameral legislature of 180 members since 1836. This figure means each legislator represents about 3,477 citizens. Wyoming, often cited by District officials as having a comparable population when advocating for statehood, has a population thats considerably smaller than the Districts. Yet its citizens, 586,000 of them, get the right to elect 90 state representatives; 30 to the Senate and 60 to the House of Representatives. Thats a citizen-to-representative ratio of 6,511-to-1. North Dakotas population is about 757,000, but its citizens elect 141 representatives to their House and Senate. They enjoy representation at a 5,368-to-l ratio, which means that elected state representatives know the majority of their constituents and are therefore more responsive and more solicitous. South Dakotas 853,000 residents get 105 legislators in the state House and Senate, for a ratio of 8,100-to-1. And theres Alaska. Alaskas 756,000 residents get 40 members in the state House and 20 in the state Senate, for a total of 60. Thats a 12,600-to-1 ratio. Delawares population is 946,000. With its 62 legislators in the House and Senate, it gets a representative-to-citizen ratio of 15,258-to-1. Then theres the District of Columbia. Its constituent-to-representative ratio is, in comparison, through the roof: 51,692-to-1. Compared with the legislatures of similarly sized states, the Districts proposed 13-member legislature is staggeringly small. Do District residents really want to enshrine that anemic level of representation into their glossy, new state constitution? In the six states with the smallest populations, state citizens elect 638 legislators, for an average of 106 legislators for every state legislature. That seems reasonable, considering democracy is about reasonable and adequate levels of representation. So why should the District settle for anything less than other states? Rather than elect 13 representatives, why not vote in 100, or more, thereby invigorating D.C. politics as has benefited others? Isnt a more responsive politics, in the form of greater representation, exactly what the citizens of the nations capital deserve after centuries of living with less? Hasnt the Districts quest for statehood been about heightened levels of representation? Perhaps the levels of reasonable representation should be a major point of thoughtful discussion as the Districts state-to-be someday attempts to draft its future architecture. If greater representation has sustained Vermont, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska and Delaware well for centuries, why not New Columbia in the 21st century? For 22 years, Fathers Day was an aching reminder that I was missing the life of my daughter, Rajean. She was 8 when I was sent to prison. I missed her birthdays, her first boyfriend, helping her through school. I was destined not to see her as a free man until she was a grown woman. In 1992, I was convicted for possessing and selling 29 grams of crack cocaine and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Mine was a nonviolent offense, but sentencing standards of the time called for three decades in prison. Under todays laws, I would have gotten less time. Back then, there was a 100-to-1 disparity between crack- and powder-cocaine sentences. This disparity had come under fire from the public and the U.S. Sentencing Commission as racially discriminatory. It had imprisoned a generation for decades. Congress reduced the sentencing difference to 18-to-1 in 2010, but, because it was not retroactive, there was no relief for me. Organizations such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums are trying to change excessive mandatory-minimum sentences like mine. For almost two decades, FAMM was a lone voice. But recently, there has been a sea change in attitudes toward prison and punishment. Many people, conservatives and liberals, agree that holding low-level drug offenders in prison for decades is counterproductive. Our nation spends $80 billion annually incarcerating people, many of whom are nonviolent offenders who pose no threat to public safety. The District still has some mandatory minimums, but Maryland has become an example for the nation. Last month, the state repealed most of Marylands worst mandatory-minimum drug sentences. The change will reduce Marylands prison population and save millions in tax dollars. If Marylands experience is like that of states that have ended or reduced mandatory minimums, crime rates will fall. Society doesnt owe me anything for the decades I spent locked up. I owe society for selling drugs. As a teen, I was in and out of jail for nonviolent offenses. I had odd jobs, but, because I made very little money, I still sold crack. I deserved to pay for that crime. But who was helped by incarcerating me for 30 years? I remember the despair. I worried that my daughter would suffer from the common ailments seen in many children with an incarcerated parent: stress, trauma, stigmatization and separation problems. Sadly, Rajean was not alone: An estimated 2.7 million children have a parent who is behind bars. I tried to make the best of that time for my daughter. I took a 4,000-hour course as an electronics inspector, made furniture and packaged recyclables and had only three minor disciplinary violations in 22 years. I spent hours in the library learning federal drug law, trying to find a way to be released. Finally, I learned of the Obama administrations clemency program. I fit the requirements: model behavior while serving at least 10 years for a low-level, nonviolent drug crime. With just one signature, my nightmare was over. Dear Rudolph, the letter from President Obama read, I have granted your application for commutation. When I left prison on July 28, I wore a jacket I made of hand-stitched, varicolored leather scraps over six months. It was a metaphor for piecing my life back together. And I am. I am working two jobs and am engaged. Most important, I can hug my daughter and be there for my grandchildren. No one can imagine how fulfilling it was to help my granddaughter fix her Barbie house. This Fathers Day, pause to remember the fathers in prison trying against all odds to maintain ties with their children. We are all better off when our sentences fit our crimes and our kids can have us at home when it might make a difference. Republican Maryland governor Larry Hogan has publicly admitted he isn't voting for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Here are the many times Logan has said he won't back Trump's run for the White House. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Republican Maryland governor Larry Hogan has publicly admitted he isn't voting for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Here are the many times Logan has said he won't back Trump's run for the White House. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) AS DONALD Trumps nomination for president loomed as ever more inevitable, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) squirmed over what to say about his partys presumptive standard-bearer. No, he wouldnt endorse him or campaign for him or attend the partys convention in Cleveland, he said. The governor, though, pointedly and repeatedly refused to say how he would vote or whether he thought Mr. Trump fit for office. Just last week he told reporters to Google his previous comments and stop asking questions about the matter. Then this week, to Mr. Hogans credit, the coyness ended: No, he does not plan to vote for Mr. Trump. Amen. Other Republican officeholders starting with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) could learn something from Mr. Hogan about principle and common sense. Mr. Hogan, during a visit to Prince Georges County on Wednesday, surprised reporters by directly saying he doesnt plan to vote for Mr. Trump. I guess when I get behind the curtain Ill have to figure it out, he added. Maybe write someone in. Im not sure. Mr. Hogan didnt elaborate on his reasons, but his comments came days after Mr. Trumps loathsome comments about Sundays mass killing at a Florida nightclub. Anyone naive enough to think that Mr. Trump would mature into an acceptable leader was disabused of those foolish hopes when the reality-television star implied that President Obama was an enemy of the state, doubled down on bigotry about Muslims and banished reporters who had the temerity to do their job. No doubt cynics will minimize the significance of Mr. Hogans stand. He is a popular Republican in a Democratic-leaning state, and he doesnt have to stand for reelection this year. Still, you can be sure he will take heat from Republican voters, functionaries and donors. In putting principle and country over party, he offers a contrast with another Atlantic state governor, New Jerseys Chris Christie, who helped Mr. Hogan in his election campaign. Mr. Christie ran fiercely against Mr. Trump for president and then abjectly and rather pathetically endorsed his former opponent. Mr. Hogan is in the minority of Republican officeholders willing to publicly acknowledge how unacceptable Mr. Trump is to occupy the Oval Office, but history will look more favorably on his judgment than on the gutlessness of national Republican leaders. Jean Dasilva, left, is comforted by Felipe Soto, as they mourn Javier Jorge-Reyes at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the June 12 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. (David Goldman/Associated Press) Eugene Robinsons assertion that the only response to the Orlando massacre is banning assault weapons regardless of the Constitution is wrong [Assault weapons must be banned, op-ed, June 14]. Instead of new laws, we can amend the Constitution. And promulgating unconstitutional laws because one doesnt agree with the Constitution is an egregious breach of faith. Because the founders saw that we needed a federal government that would allow the free practice of multiple religions without imposing a state religion, the people agreed to a secular constitution. This means that rather than basing laws on divine law, on the Ten Commandments or on sharia, we agreed to base them on the Constitution. We do not need the people saying its too bad if laws insult the Constitution. The Constitution can be amended, and as U.S. culture changes, the Constitution needs to change to reflect that. If we want different laws, dont insult the Constitution; amend it. Michael Cardinale, Springfield Eugene Robinson correctly noted that the framers could not have visualized the mass effect of modern weapons when they wrote the Second Amendment and its guarantee of a right to keep and bear arms. They did, however, understand the concept of freedom, which is what compelled them to pen these words. The irony of Mr. Robinsons opinion is that it was narrowly confined to just a single section of the Bill of Rights. Mr. Robinson didnt mention the equally historically accurate fact that when the framers wrote of a freedom of the press, they could not possibly have imagined anything like the modern, high-speed printing presses that regularly generate the pages upon which Mr. Robinsons words are printed let alone the lightning speed and global reach of the Internet. Philip Eveland, Chantilly Eugene Robinson had it absolutely right regarding banning assault rifles and banning gun sales to anyone on the terrorist watch list. This is the time to move on this imperative, while the nations wounds are fresh, after the Orlando tragedy. President Obama can bring this issue front and center by challenging the Republican congressional leadership to answer why possession of assault rifles and semiautomatic weapons by potential terrorists is in the best interest of the country. Rob Rudick, Takoma Park I applaud the editorial boards call for banning assault-style weapons in order to reduce mass shooting deaths [Killing machines, June 14]. But it should be noted that such a ban would have a much broader effect: It would reduce the culture of fear that spurs more firearm purchases, ultimately leading to more gun deaths. Mass killings, many involving semiautomatic weapons, garner extensive media coverage in a way that domestic killings, suicides and urban homicides do not. While these horrific massacres actually account for a relatively low percentage of our overall gun deaths, this saturated coverage perpetuates the fear and anxiety that lead to more gun purchases. And studies show unequivocally that more guns equal more gun deaths, whether they be from homicide, accident or suicide. Australia implemented a serious ban and buy-back on these high-powered weapons in 1996, not a deficient law like the one in place in the United States for a decade. Not only has Australia not had a massacre since, but also the suicide and overall homicide rates fell sharply. Australians now live in a country that feels (and is) safe. We can, too. Tracy Zorpette, Washington Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in her remarks about the Pulse shooting, should have been accurate and not inflammatory [Trump expands call for ban on Muslims, front page, June 14]. Weapons of war were not used in the attack. The shooters gun looked like an AR-15, but it did not operate like it. The FBI concluded that the Orlando shooter could be removed from a terrorist watch list, so he was able to purchase a gun and go through a background check. He didnt get a weapon with no questions asked, as Ms. Clinton suggested. Just ask the American Civil Liberties Union about his rights. John Tani, Nellysford, Va. Zalmay Khalilzad, a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W. Bush. James Dobbins, a senior fellow and distinguished chair in diplomacy and security at the Rand Corp., was the Bush and the Obama administrations special envoy for Afghanistan. Americas relationship with Iran poses a classic geopolitical dilemma. Iran is an important regional power that pursues adversarial policies with its neighbors and represses its people at home. Yet the United States can only address key issues affecting U.S. interests if it engages Tehran wherever possible. As it did vis-a-vis the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the United States needs to pursue policies designed to preclude regional hegemony and to create a balance of power in the region, while also expressing support for human rights and engaging Iran diplomatically. If the chaos in the Middle East is to be calmed, the United States will have to work not just with traditional partners but also with competitors. Iran has contributed to the sectarian polarization of the Middle East and the conflicts that region has fostered, but it isnt the sole cause of these. Washington and Tehran are at loggerheads over Syria, but they support the same governments and leaders in both Afghanistan and Iraq. To enable productive engagement, the United States will have to work with its partners in the region to establish a favorable balance of power. This means continuing its military deployments and arms sales to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf, while asserting its rights under the new nuclear agreement to prevent Iran from making covert progress toward a weapon. At the same time, the United States should start planning a policy framework to deter Iran from restarting nuclear programs once certain restrictions in the agreement lapse. Finally, the United States and its partners must jointly compete against Iran in Iraq and Syria. Such efforts will better position the United States to engage Iran to settle regional conflicts and defeat the Islamic State. Each of us led discussions with Iran during the administration of George W. Bush, and we were able to achieve limited understandings in some areas and even active cooperation in others. The Bonn Agreement, which established the post-Taliban interim government in Afghanistan, was the apogee of this cooperation, and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without Irans support. Notably, this success occurred in the context of the active assertion of U.S. power against the Taliban. The United States can likewise craft policies to shape the political and military contexts in Iraq and Syria. During the Obama administration, contacts with Iran have focused most heavily on nuclear issues. But these contacts occur irregularly, involve a small circle of individuals and tend to address only the most urgent issues. Secretary of State John F. Kerry may have Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on speed dial, but there is only so much that two very busy men can accomplish. In any case, Kerry will likely be leaving office in a few months, and the U.S.-educated Zarif will eventually do the same. There is no guarantee their successors will establish the same kind of rapport. U.S. policy should not be dependent on their doing so. Thats why before he leaves office, President Obama should take steps to enhance communications between the two countries. The most obvious move would be to reestablish normal diplomatic relations. It is not clear that the Iranian regime would be ready to go this far, however, and such a step would be quite controversial in the United States as well. Short of that, however, the Obama administration and the Iranian government could assign middle-ranking U.S. and Iranian diplomats to the interests sections of the embassies that already represent each to the other. It is worth noting that the United States had a substantial diplomatic presence in Cuba before the resumption of full diplomatic relations last year. An even more modest measure would be for the United States to simply allow Iranian diplomats accredited to the United Nations in New York to travel to Washington on occasion. Such a gesture might be reciprocated by Iran, allowing visits by U.S. officials based in Dubai, where the United States maintains an office that monitors Iranian affairs. U.S.-Iranian engagement should certainly focus on the battle against the Islamic State, but it should also focus on the pathways to stabilizing the region. The United States should seek to help Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran come to an understanding regarding Iraq and Syria and to explore a Westphalia-like agreement to curb sectarian and geopolitical conflict. Such an agreement will not occur without active mediation from the outside. Currently, only the United States can play that role. In addition, Obama should not ignore the aspirations of the Iranian people, many of whom hope for greater freedom and contact with the world. Human rights issues should be part of the agenda for any enhanced engagement. Also, the United States should facilitate private travel between the two countries for students, scholars and ordinary citizens. The best way to do this would be to resume direct commercial flights between the two countries. This step would be of particular benefit to the hundreds of thousands of Iranian Americans and their many relatives in Iran. None of these steps would resolve the many differences between the United States and Iran on their own. Better communication does not always yield accommodation. But better communication always yields better information, and better information always permits, even if it cannot guarantee, better policy. It is difficult to see how the Middle East can be stabilized without engaging and coming to some understandings with Iran. NEW YORK, June 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) have declared quarterly distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each Fund. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share XLG Guggenheim Russell Top 50 Mega Cap ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.775 RSP Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.187 RPV Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Value ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.238 RPG Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.021 RFV Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.148 RFG Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.036 RZV Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.095 RZG Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Growth ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.015 RTM Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.282 RGI Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.230 RYT Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.251 Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share RYH Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.092 RHS Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.505 RCD Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.214 RYE Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.159 RYF Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.105 RYU Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.541 EWRE Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Real Estate ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.053 EWMC Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Equal Weight ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.084 EWSC Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Equal Weight ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.057 EWEM Guggenheim MSCI Emerging Markets Equal Country Weight ETF 6/17/16 6/21/16 6/30/16 $ 0.275 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/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. Media Contacts Ivy McLemore Director of Intermediary Communications Guggenheim Investments Ivy.mclemore@guggenheimpartners.com (212) 518-9859 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 business of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors (GFIA), the investment advisors to the referenced fund. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC is affiliated with Guggenheim, SI, and GFIA. 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. President Richard Nixon tells journalists at a White House news conference in March 1973 that he will not allow his legal counsel, John Dean, to testify on Capitol Hill in the Watergate investigation. (CHARLES TASNADI/Associated Press) Mark Feldstein, Eaton chair of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland, is the author of Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washingtons Scandal Culture. Donald Trumps recent declaration of war against The Post is reminiscent of another angry thin-skinned Republican who launched a nasty crusade against the media: Richard Nixon. Trumps Nixonian echo is hard to miss. Both men relished vendettas against the media and political establishments: Nixon viewed the press as the enemy; Trump calls it scum. And both professed to champion Americas silent majority, invoking an angry faux-populism to blame racial minorities for legitimate economic grievances. Like Trump, Nixons battles with the press began long before his march to the White House. He, too, obsessively sought to manipulate the news coverage he desperately craved and wasnt afraid to use intimidation if he thought it would help. Nixons conduct in office presents a chilling example of what a President Trump could do. Nixons sense of grievance was genuine, going back to his narrow defeat in 1960 by John F. Kennedy and his self-pitying vow two years later that you wont have Nixon to kick around anymore. To his surprise, Nixons attack on the press tapped into growing right-wing fury at media elites. It proved to be not his valedictory but the opening salvo of his successful comeback in 1968. Other conservative politicians of the era George Wallace, Barry Goldwater similarly discovered that they could win votes by attacking the press. The tactic would become known as working the refs, and it would become an effective political staple ever after including Sarah Palins denunciation of the lame-stream media and Trumps ban of dishonest reporters from campaign rallies. Nixon understood this better than anyone. If we treat the press with a little more contempt, he told his staff, well probably get better treatment. Indeed, Nixon did more to try to undermine the news media as an institution than any president in history. Just a few months after his election, he dispatched Vice President Spiro Agnew to launch a public assault on the small and unelected elite of journalists who held a concentration of power over American public opinion unknown in history. Nixon publicly said that he hadnt heard Agnews speech. In fact, he had privately approved it word-for-word ahead of time, chortling that it really flicks the scab off. In addition, Nixon invited top broadcast executives to the White House and told them that your reporters just cant stand the fact that I am in this office. Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler declared that all of the TV networks were anti-Nixon and would pay for that, sooner or later, one way or another. Another top adviser, Charles Colson, told the head of CBS News that Nixons administration would bring you to your knees and break your network. The president acted on his threats. Six weeks after Agnews public attacks, a business partner of Nixons best friend filed paperwork with the government to challenge The Posts ownership of its lucrative Florida TV station. The Post should be given damnable, damnable problems getting its FCC licenses renewed, Nixon told his staff. There aint going to be no forgetting and therell be goddamn little forgiving. The president also instructed aides to screw The Post by inciting shareholders to go after publisher Katharine Graham by targeting The Posts real estate investments. Furthermore, Nixons otherwise pro-business Justice Department filed anti-trust charges against the three television networks, accusing them of monopolistic practices. Federal prosecutors drafted legislation to make it a felony for journalists to receive unauthorized leaks. More ominously, Nixon approved illegal wiretaps on reporters who criticized the administration. Would a President Trump behave likewise? He has already suggested that he would like to change libel laws so that when news organizations publish a hit piece that is purposely negative and horrible and false . . . were going to . . . sue you like youve never been sued before. Still, Trumps animosity toward the press like so much of his act may be more contrived than real. After all, he is in many respects a media creation, built up by nearly $2 billion in free publicity that helped him shock the political establishment by vanquishing 16 GOP opponents in less than a year. In part, Trump can thank Fox News and Nixon. Despite its skirmishes with Trump, Fox News spent years helping the casino magnate transition to politics by giving him a national platform to opine on public affairs. And it was Nixon who, decades earlier, suggested creating a TV network like Fox News to provide conservative news programming. It would take another quarter-century before Nixons former campaign aide, Roger Ailes, could make good on his bosss dream. The parallels between Nixon and Trump shouldnt be overstated. Nixon almost always presented a respectable facade, while billionaire Trump, unburdened by bourgeois niceties, is accustomed to getting his way without annoying distractions like political compromise. Whether Trump would be more dangerous than Nixon, or less, is as impossible to know as whether Trump is genuinely committed to his outrageous political stands; perhaps his views are simply cynical and expedient manipulations, the extreme opening bids of a professional negotiator whose only real goal is producing a workable deal. But if history has taught us anything, it is that we ignore would-be authoritarians at our peril. When it comes to the media, Trump is Nixons echo and, perhaps, Nixons revenge. I applaud the insightful common sense analysis of U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, as reported in the June 16 Metro article Judge: It makes sense to study effect of Metros problems on Purple Line. The Purple Line project is a $5.6 billion boondoggle subsidized by federal, Maryland, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County taxpayers. Metro ridership is down and declining because of safety issues and changing commuting patterns. Even without Metros problems , the Purple Line will be an amusement ride for tourists and weekend sightseers, not a serious commuting trolley. Few people will ride from New Carrollton to Bethesda on a business day. That defies common sense. Even worse from a public policy perspective is that Purple Line revenue shortfalls, according to the Maryland Transit Administration, would be made up by fund transfers from MARC to the Purple Lines private operators. How would MARCs coffers be replenished? By taxpayers. Montgomery County just approved a property-tax increase, and the Montgomery County School Board requested increased funding for teachers and school buildings. Why not spend $5.6 billion on teachers, modern school buildings, first responders and veterans, rather than on a flawed and ill-advised theme park trolley line? Elected officials put themselves in peril if they stand in the way of their electorates expectations. Frederick H. Graefe, Bethesda Justin Driver is a law professor at the University of Chicago, and is writing a book exploring how the Supreme Courts opinions have shaped the nations public schools. After President Richard Nixon tapped Judge Warren Burger to replace outgoing Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1969 and then appointed three more justices during his first presidential term, many legal liberals feared that this cohort would systematically overturn the Warren courts most esteemed precedents, including Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda v. Arizona. But a curious thing happened next: The dreaded day of reckoning never materialized. This surprising outcome was captured in an influential 1983 volume of essays on the Burger court subtitled The Counter-Revolution That Wasnt. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr., who served with Burger for 15 years, amplified this perception in a speech to the American Bar Association in 1986, the final year of Burgers tenure: There has been no conservative counter-revolution by the Burger court. None of the landmark decisions of the Warren court was overruled, and some were extended. Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouses ambitious and engaging new book seeks to dislodge this conventional account of the Burger court. Even if that institution did not explicitly overrule key Warren court contributions, Graetz and Greenhouse contend that the dominant assessment of the Burger years severely understates the legal transformation that occurred during this period. The Burger Court dramatically diminished the scope and impact of the Warren Court precedents: they survived, but only their facade was left standing, the authors conclude. While Browns prohibition on racial segregation technically remained good law, they note, the Burger court curtailed its import by placing geographic limitations on busing and by refusing to invalidate expenditure plans that left inner-city schools underfunded. Similarly, the authors observe that, while police officers were formally required to inform arrested suspects of their Miranda rights, the Burger court hollowed out the decision by introducing major exceptions. Instead of comparing the Burger court only with its institutional predecessor, the authors also examine the institution in light of its two successors: the Rehnquist court, beginning in 1986, and the Roberts court, beginning in 2005. Graetz and Greenhouse argue that on a wide array of issues from presidential power to corporate power, from the establishment clause to the equal protection clause it is impossible to understand the conservative shifts enacted by the Rehnquist and Roberts courts without first comprehending the body that initiated the rightward trajectory. As the authors contend, Warren Burgers Court played a crucial role in establishing the conservative legal foundation for the even more conservative Courts that followed. In recent decades, law professors have treated the Burger court as the nation generally has treated disco, lava lamps, acid-washed jeans and other cultural detritus from that bygone era: The less said, the better. Graetz and Greenhouses work serves as an important corrective, demonstrating that the Burger court demands far more sustained scrutiny and analysis than legal scholarship has generally afforded it. Readers interested in the Supreme Courts role in American society during the second half of the 20th century will gather significant insight from this books elegant, illuminating arguments. "The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right" by Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse (Simon & Schuster ) The authors eschew a purely court-centric narrative by deftly situating the institution within the countrys larger political milieu. For instance, to the extent that Burger as an individual is remembered at all nowadays, it is generally as the Chief Justice from central casting, on account of his shock of white hair, rich baritone and grandfatherly mien. But Graetz and Greenhouse helpfully remind us that Burger did not sit idly by, simply waiting to be discovered; instead, he actively auditioned for the role. As a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Burger delivered a series of speeches and articles linking the nations rise in violent crime to meddlesome judicial decisions that rendered it difficult to convict even obviously guilty criminal defendants. Justice is far too important to be left exclusively to the technicians of the law, Burger lamented in 1967, noting that the Warren courts criminal-procedure opinions had become common talk in the best clubs and the worst ghettos. These remarks including the none-too-subtle racial tint perfectly anticipated the anti-Warren-court rhetoric that Nixon wielded to help propel himself into the White House. For all its considerable virtues, the book sometimes strains to construe the Burger court as a relentlessly conservatizing force instead of the more heterodox institution that it actually was. Consider how it frames perhaps the Burger courts two most enduring arenas of controversy: abortion and affirmative action. With the former, the book emphasizes the Burger courts refusal to expand upon Roe v. Wade, which invalidated broad laws restricting abortion in 1973, by requiring governmental entities to provide indigent women with the financial resources necessary to secure abortions. With the latter, the book acknowledges its historic decision upholding race-conscious admissions practices in 1978, but bemoans that the opinions diversity rationale allowed disappointed white applicants to claim that their rejection was illegal because it was based on race and thus bestowed on future courts a basis for eliminating affirmative action altogether. Clearly, the authors wish that the Burger court went further in addressing these momentous questions. Yet it seems mistaken to portray the courts interventions primarily as either moving the nation in a rightward direction or somehow promoting an inchoate version of Federalist Society dogma. Indeed, legal liberals who read this volume today in the age of Citizens United and the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act could find themselves in the improbable position of feeling nostalgic for the Burger courts old-time religion. Still, even when the books arguments may not fully persuade, they invariably provoke serious thought on how legal decisions made in our nations relatively recent past could have assumed a radically different form. As the Supreme Courts ninth seat has now sat unoccupied for roughly four months since Justice Antonin Scalias death, contemplating the possibilities that appear on the judicial horizon has seldom presented a more urgent task. WHEN DONALD Trump launches attack after attack on American Muslims, were confident he doesnt speak for most of his countrymen. But theres reason to worry that, whether Mr. Trump wins or loses, his poison will spread. A couple of recent surveys suggest that innocent Americans, including children, may be paying a price for his bigotry. Mr. Trumps outrageous claim Monday that American Muslims are complicit in lone-wolf terrorist attacks can only heighten fears among Muslim students in the D.C. area who, The Posts Donna St. George reported this week, experience high rates of harassment because of their religion. Studies from the Muslim Community Center (MCC) in Silver Spring and the International Cultural Center (ICC) in Montgomery Village show nearly one-third of Muslim students have suffered verbal or physical abuse based on their faith. In the wake of Sundays attack in Orlando, concerns about backlash are greater than ever. The surveys sample sizes are small; each included fewer than 200 participants. Still, the numbers and the stories behind them are disheartening. Muslim students said their non-Muslim peers have called them terrorists and accused them of disloyalty to the United States. The problem extends beyond the Beltway: The MCC survey was modeled on a similar study conducted in California last year, which yielded even more worrying results. There, more than half of respondents said they had been bullied over their religion. One girls high school yearbook replaced her name with Isis. In Florida last year, a French teacher referred to a 14-year-old Muslim student as a raghead Taliban and repeated the insult until the boys father complained to the school administration. Certainly, as the MCC and the ICC recommend, schools should train teachers to make Muslim students comfortable in the classroom. Teachers should share the importance of sensitivity with their students, making clear that racist remarks are not acceptable and checking in with Muslim students who have been targeted. But the disturbing standard Mr. Trump has set will undermine constructive lessons learned in school. It doesnt help that Republican leaders endorse the candidate, even as some condemn the worst of his statements. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump claimed that American Muslims of all generations have failed to assimilate to U.S. life and culture. As Post reporter Jose A. DelReal has pointed out, data prove him wrong: Muslim Americans identify with this country as strongly as they do with their faith. But even as Muslim immigrants and their children embrace the United States, Mr. Trump labels them the enemy. Such racist rhetoric is an assault on our values, and as this years surveys suggest on our children. In the June 14 news article Ex-leader of Afghanistan advises U.S. to limit military action, push for talks, former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai said, I dont think military means will bring us [peace]. . . . We did that for the last 14 years and it didnt bring us that. In her book Hard Choices, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton expressed regret, wishing she could change my Iraq vote. Yet she has consistently supported disastrously misguided military interventions, including as secretary of state. She reportedly pushed for sending 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, what she called the longest [war] in American history. She wrote proudly that she was the one to seal the deal for military intervention in Libya. That country subsequently descended into the chaos of a failed state that not only took the life of a U.S. ambassador and tens of thousands of Libyans but also forced hundreds of thousands into exile as refugees. Libya is now a haven for terrorist militias. Ms. Clintons recent foreign policy speech was deeply disappointing. If she is to gain the support of voters from the Democratic base and prevent the disaster of a Donald Trump victory in November, she must also acknowledge the error of her advocacy as secretary of state for tragically misguided interventions in Libya and elsewhere. She needs to assure voters that she has abandoned these reckless policies. Steve Rabson, Fredericksburg What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail Donald Trump must be the biggest liar in the history of American politics, and thats saying something. Trump lies the way other people breathe. Were used to politicians who stretch the truth, who waffle or dissemble, who emphasize some facts while omitting others. But I cant think of any other political figure who so brazenly tells lie after lie, spraying audiences with such a fusillade of untruths that it is almost impossible to keep track. Perhaps he hopes the media and the nation will become numb to his constant lying. We must not. Trump lies when citing specifics. He claimed that a tremendous flow of Syrian refugees has been entering the country; the total between 2012 and 2015 was around 2,000, barely a trickle. He claimed that we have no idea who those refugees are; they undergo up to two years of careful vetting before being admitted. Trump lies when speaking in generalities. He claimed that President Obama has damaged our security by restraining our intelligence-gathering and failing to support law enforcement. Obama actually expanded domestic intelligence operations and dialed them back only because of bipartisan pressure after the Edward Snowden revelations. Trump lies by sweeping calumny. For some reason, the Muslim community does not report people like this, he said of Omar Mateen, the shooter in the Orlando massacre. But according to law enforcement officials, including FBI Director James B. Comey, numerous potential plots have been foiled precisely because concerned Muslims reported seeing signs of self-radicalization. Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made quite a few false statements during his rise to the top of the Republican field. The Post's Fact Checker took a look at Trump's five biggest whoppers. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Trump lies by smarmy insinuation. Were led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or hes got something else in mind, he said of Obama. Theres something going on. Its inconceivable. Theres something going on. He also said of Obama: He doesnt get it or he gets it better than anybody understands its one or the other and either one is unacceptable. You read that right. The presumptive Republican nominee implies that the president of the United States is somehow disloyal. There is no other way to read he gets it better than anybody understands. Trump claims that Hillary Clinton, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee, wants to take away Americans guns and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us. Clinton has made clear that she doesnt want to take anyones guns away, nor does she want to eliminate the Second Amendment, as Trump also claims. And the idea that Clinton actually wants to admit would-be slaughterers is grotesque. I write not to defend Obama or Clinton, who can speak for themselves and have done so. My aim is to defend the truth. Political discourse can be civil or rowdy, gracious or mean. But to have any meaning, it has to be grounded in fact. Trump presents a novel challenge for both the media and the voting public. There is no playbook for evaluating a candidate who so constantly says things that objectively are not true. All of the above examples come from just five days worth of Trumps lies, from Sunday to Thursday of this week. By the time you read this, surely there will have been more. How are we in the media supposed to cover such a man? The traditional approach, which seeks fairness through nonjudgmental balance, seems inadequate. It does not seem fair to write Trump claimed the sky is maroon while Clinton claimed it is blue without noting that the sky is, in fact, blue. It does not seem fair to even present this as a question worthy of debate, as if honest people could disagree. One assertion is objectively false and one objectively true. 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. It goes against all journalistic instinct to write in a news article, as The Post did Monday, that Trumps national security address was a speech laden with falsehoods and exaggeration. But I dont think were doing our job if we simply report assertions of fact without evaluating whether they are factual. Trumps lies also present a challenge for voters. The normal assumption is that politicians will bend the truth to fit their ideology not that they will invent fake truth out of whole cloth. Trump is not just an unorthodox candidate. He is an inveterate liar maybe pathological, maybe purposeful. He doesnt distort facts, he makes them up. Trump has a right to his anger, his xenophobia and his bigotry. He also has a right to lie but we all have a duty to call him on it. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. Regarding Ed Rogerss June 16 PostPartisan blog excerpt, This is why saying radical Islam matters [op-ed]: Mr. Rogers should examine the implications of using the noun Islam in the term radical Islam. The adjective radical suggests that the entire religion of Islam is responsible for horrendous acts of violence, which is certainly not the case. Many years ago the Christians comprising the Irish Republican Army perpetrated violent acts. Would Mr. Rogers have characterized their actions as being radical Christianity? I think not. In both cases, only a few radicalized members of each religion engage in terrorist activities, not the religion itself. I would assume that is the very logical reason President Obama refuses to use the term radical Islam. This is evidently beyond the comprehension of Mr. Rogers and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Kenneth W. Hopper, Washington Julian E. Zelizer is a political historian at Princeton University and a Fellow at New America. His most recent book is The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society. The House of Representatives has been a bulwark for conservatism in the age of Obama. Even though Democrats hoped that the 2008 election marked a new era in progressive politics, the predictions were wrong. Just as Southern Democrats and Midwestern Republicans in Congress teamed up against Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, since the 2010 midterm elections rightward House Republicans, secure in their seats, have blocked President Obama on almost all of his legislative agenda. The GOP has turned congressional obstructionism into an art form. During Obamas presidency, Republicans retook control of the House in 2010 and increased the size of their majority from 242 to 247. Even if Republicans suffer a landslide defeat in 2016 with Donald Trump at the top of their ticket, most experts predict that they will retain control of the House. Whatever national polls say about Obama or the GOP, Republican lawmakers are relatively safe in their seats. And as long as Republicans have a lock on the House, party polarization will continue in the years to come, since House Republicans will have no reason to compromise with a Democratic president or even more moderate voices within their own party. How do conservative Republicans maintain so much power in the House, even though Americans reelected a liberal president and polls show that the GOP suffers from high disapproval ratings? Salon editor David Daleys punchy, though overstated, new book lays the blame for Republican power in the House on partisan gerrymandering, the byzantine process through which state legislatures draw district lines to favor incumbents from one party. Challenging the claim that increased partisan polarization is a result of voters naturally sorting themselves into red and blue states, Daley argues that a group of operatives in the Republican Party did the sorting for them. The GOP poured money into an unprecedented effort to control governorships and state legislative bodies in 2010 and to then redraw congressional districts so that the party could turn the House into a firewall against the Democrats. "Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy" by David Daley (Liveright) While the term gerrymander has been around since the early years of the republic, computer technology and big money have allowed governors and legislatures to perfect the process in ways that have never before been imagined, according to Daley. The same technology that allows Amazon to figure out who buys what in any home on a given block now allows party officials to do the same with elections. Although his argument might not be as sexy as talking about how money corrupts politics or how the 24-hour news media leaves us all screaming, the success of Republican legislatures and governors at redrawing congressional districts is the reason, he says, House Republican incumbents have increased their power and dont have to worry about any wave election that would shift control to the other party. The result is that House Republicans have become more dug into their opposition to every presidential initiative, playing to their very red districts, and there is nothing but gridlock on Capitol Hill. Bipartisan deals are impossible, and the chances for good governance have disappeared. Indeed, Republicans have been so successful that they have created an unanticipated problem: GOP incumbents now have to worry about primary challenges from tea party Republicans who want to move even further to the right. Daley takes us through the story of how this all happened. Once Obama was in the White House, a group of wily Republicans doubled down on state and local politics. Chris Jankowski, a tactician for the Republican State Leadership Committee, and his allies came up with an audacious plan to target campaign money toward gaining control of state governments, where reapportionment would take place. The operation, called REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project), was never a secret. Karl Rove outlined what they planned to do in the Wall Street Journal. In a local race in Pennsylvania in 2010, Democrat David Levdansky, a 13-term state representative, found himself under assault. He faced a barrage of advertising, financed by national Republican organizations, claiming in misleading television spots and mailers that he had voted to spend $600 million on a library in honor of Arlen Specter, the controversial U.S. senator who had left the Republicans to join the Democrats. This didnt sit well with constituents in a recession. He paid the price: Republican Rick Saccone narrowly defeated him. The f---ing Arlen Specter library, Levdansky recalled after he lost. Once national Republicans flipped his seat, they gained control of the states lower chamber. The first stage of the plan worked beautifully. Republicans won majorities in 10 out of the 15 states that would be redrawing their districts. With control of many state governments in place, Republicans launched the second phase. Using sophisticated software such as Maptitude, GOP operatives crafted favorable districts filled with conservative white voters, based on the kind of data available to corporations. The book is brimming with fascinating portraits of wunderkinds who integrated micro-targeting, computer mapmaking and gerrymandering. Democrats were clustered into a handful of districts while the rest were packed with conservative voters. Daley shows how, even when reforms promised to make the redistricting process more public, behind the scenes, crafty operatives did what they wanted. Titled Ratf**ked, a term that came out of the Richard Nixon administration to refer to a dirty deed done dirt cheap, Daleys book provides a blow-by-blow account of how this happened. He draws on investigative reports, interviews and court documents to give readers an eye-opening tour of a process that many Americans never see. Not unlike the legislative process, which is often compared to the ugliness of making sausage, redistricting is an element of democracy that many readers wont find comforting. Much of Daleys book will not come as a surprise. Journalists and scholars have written about this state-based mobilization by the Republican Party since it started. Nor is Daley the first liberal commentator to point to the political process as the reason conservatism succeeded in a given period. During the 1950s and 1960s, a generation of liberals argued that the seniority-based congressional committee system propped up a coalition of Southern Democrats and Republicans that prevented liberal Democratic presidents from moving their legislation through Congress. Back then, the problem was gerrymandered districts that privileged rural voters over urban voters, a situation that ended with the Supreme Courts one-man-one-vote decisions between 1962 and 1964. Liberal Sen. Joseph Clark of Pennsylvania blasted his colleagues as the Sapless Branch of government. But was the partisan gerrymandering as powerful as Daley claims? Sometimes reformers have overestimated the impact that changes in the political process can have. This is a particularly important reminder in the current campaign season, when the demand for reform looms large in the electorate. For example, there is substantial evidence showing that, contrary to conventional wisdom, gerrymandering is not a main source of partisan polarization. This is evident from the fact that the Senate where districting is irrelevant has also become more partisan, while in one-district states such as Wyoming and Vermont, we have seen a similar shift to the extremes. Nor does a focus on how Republicans dominated through gerrymandering explain why Democrats were not able to fight back. This seems to be the pivotal question, especially in recent years when Democrats experienced dramatic victories in the presidential elections. It is not as if Democrats dont know how to slice and dice the electorate. The most legendary practitioner of the gerrymander in modern times was California Democrat Phillip Burton, who worked with legislators to redraw the districts in his state to solidify the control of his party. My contribution to modern art, Burton half-joked. Daley presents this failure of Democrats to stop the Republican campaign to take control of state legislatures and draw districts that would protect their incumbents as a product of strategic blunders and miscalculations by Democratic leaders. But the problems created by gerrymandering are symptomatic of larger challenges facing the parties. Daley should have looked more deeply into whats going on with the Democrats as a national organization that caused them to allow Republicans to gain so much power in state politics. Why did Republican ideas gain a stronger hold in the electorates of the states that flipped to the GOP? What did the reconfiguration of campaign finance in the 1970s and 1980s, with business increasingly mobilizing behind the GOP, have to do with the partys ability to influence races? Why do more voters seem to prefer Republicans in House races, an advantage the GOP has enjoyed since the early 1990s? History shows that grass-roots partisan mobilization can overcome gerrymandering. In 2006, when gerrymandering was pretty strong, Democrats enjoyed a watershed in the midterm elections. And in 2010, the districts were pretty locked in when Republicans retook control of Congress, as they did in 1994. Predicting the political impact of reform is also a tricky business. During the 1970s, liberal Democrats blew open the congressional committee system that had been in place for much of the 20th century, only to later see conservative Republicans such as Newt Gingrich thrive. What Daley makes clear is that ruthless partisan gerrymandering is not good for democracy and makes it that much more difficult to wrestle control of the House away from the GOP. Democrats should read this book. Political parties still have to build their national power from the bottom up. Without the Democrats investing resources in the nitty-gritty of state politics, if Hillary Clinton is able to win the presidency in November, she will probably face a Republican House that is hell-bent on stopping her and unlikely to give her any significant domestic victories. A man holds a child in a train heading to Serbia from the Macedonian-Greek border on Oct. 6, 2015. Thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants passed through Macedonia. (Robert Atanasovski/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) CHILD REFUGEES fleeing violence at home are seeking asylum in Sweden at record rates but, a recent Human Rights Watch report found, the grass is not so green on the other side of their exodus. The 35,000 children who reached the Scandinavian nation in 2015 often arrived traumatized by violence or sexual abuse at the hands of the Islamic State or during their journeys from Syria, Iraq and Africa. Now, the report says, they lack access to mental- and physical-health care, wait months for word on their asylum applications and live in insufficient or improper accommodations. Lone girls often find themselves in group houses filled with boys just weeks after they have been sexually abused in transit. Sweden, a country of fewer than 10 million people that received more than 160,000 asylum seekers last year, is perhaps understandably overwhelmed. But the troubles of the refugee children it has taken in are symptomatic of Europes continuing failure to respond adequately to the humanitarian crisis at and beyond its borders. Though the European Union has managed to curtail the refugee flow from Turkey to Greece in recent months, more than 50,000 asylum seekers are still stranded in Greece waiting for European Union members to accept them. Though obligated to accept some resettled families under a binding E.U. plan adopted in September, Austria and Hungary have refused to do so. Denmark and Britain , for their part, will not fully open their doors. Meanwhile, throngs of refugees are still attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Italy, often with tragic results. Hundreds upon hundreds of refugees are drowning while being transported in smugglers boats. Increased European assets devoted to search and rescue, or the creation of safe and legal channels for entry, could save some of those lives. But European governments, led by Germany, continue to prioritize preventing the departure of refugees from their home countries over protecting them once theyve left. At a minimum, those who have already arrived must receive better care. Sweden should make changes to its system for receiving refugees: The report recommends the government prioritize unaccompanied childrens applications, strengthen the law governing the appointment of their guardians and improve oversight of local services to collect data that would guide policymaking. These reforms are as pragmatic as they are pressing. But it is little surprise Sweden has buckled under the weight of so many refugees when many other European countries have done their best to keep their borders closed. The United States has its own shabby record. Though it is more than 20 times the geographical size of Sweden, it has pledged to take only 85,000 refugees this year and has struggled to meet its goal of 10,000 from Syria. The European Union and the United States are not primarily responsible for causing this humanitarian crisis. But they and not just Sweden are responsible for helping to solve it. The constitution-making process in the District is a sham. At best, it is a deeply flawed exercise driven by political considerations rather than aimed at producing the best possible constitution for a new state. A constitution is a states most important document. Its preparation demands careful consideration and meaningful public participation. On June 1, as a supporter of statehood and an interested D.C. citizen, I went to the announced Ward 6 public meeting on the draft constitution only to find that it had been canceled without notice. When I called the New Columbia Statehood Commission to ask what had happened, I was told that there would be no Ward 6 meeting. In fact, I was informed, the promised meetings in half of the citys wards were canceled because there was no time for eight meetings. The timeline, I was told, was established by the mayor. The meeting cancellation is symptomatic of the entire approach toward the New Columbia constitution. The process and timeline were established without public consultation and do not provide adequate time or channels for meaningful public input. The constitutional timeline is designed for speed rather than quality. It is built on artificial deadlines rather than on an assessment of the time needed for citizens to consider and deliberate over a document as important as a constitution. The release of a draft on May 6, with the proposed Statehood Commission adoption on June 24, spans just seven weeks, a ludicrously short time to consider and adopt a constitution. The D.C. Council will be given just eight days to review and adopt the final draft. Good practice in constitution-making requires time and opportunity for study, reflection, public consultation and consensus-building. It is most important to get the constitution right. The circumstances surrounding public participation are even worse than the timeline. The draft was prepared under the auspices of the Statehood Commission, a group of just five individuals whose legal mandate does not include drafting a constitution. Although the five are elected officials, none was elected to draft a constitution. They decided which changes proposed by the public would be included. They constituted themselves as a constitutional convention held from June 13 to 18 to hear further proposals and again decide which ones to accept. The next step is to gain approval by the mayor, who happens to be one of the five members of the commission. For five people to wield complete control over the content of a constitution is not a democratic process. It is not even a serious process. The official document through which the Statehood Commission released the constitution on May 6 states that citizens can have input into the draft through membership on committees, but the only committees established are to promote the draft, not to consider its content. The same release states that citizens can have input through a solicitation by the Board of Elections, but there has been no such solicitation and, a commission staffer told me, there may or may not be one. The document also assures us that there will be town hall meetings in all 8 Wards . . . to ensure participation by District residents, a promise quickly broken. The Statehood Commissions answer to these criticisms was that it is vital to have the approved constitution ready in time for the upcoming national political conventions and the inauguration of a new president and Congress. Such political considerations are important, but not important enough to circumvent the democratic process or shortchange the quality of a states most important document. The last barrier against this runaway train would be action by the D.C. Council. The prospects for this may be bleak, however, because the council chairman is one of the five members of the Statehood Commission and no member of the council would want to appear to be holding up statehood. Still, the council and the citizens of New Columbia can and should demand a better constitutional process. The writer has worked for the State Department, the United Nations and other organizations on democracy issues. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Panoro Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:PML) (Lima:PML) (Frankfurt:PZM) (Panoro or the Company) is pleased to announce the filing of the Technical Report for the Antilla Copper-Molybdenum Project, Peru Project Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report (PEA) on SEDAR. The results of the PEA were announced in a May 2, 2016, news release. The technical report was authored by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., Moose Mountain Technical Services Ltd., Tetra Tech Inc. and Panoro Minerals Ltd. The report is available on the Company's website at www.panoro.com or SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About Panoro Panoro Minerals is a uniquely positioned Peru and Copper focused exploration company. The Company is advancing a significant project portfolio in the key Andahuaylas-Yauri belt in south central Peru, including its advanced stage Cotabambas Copper-Gold-Silver-Molybdenum and Antilla Copper-Molybdenum Projects. Since 2007, the Company has completed over 70,000 m of exploration drilling at these two key projects leading to substantial increases in the mineral resource base for each, as summarized in the table below. Summary of Cotabambas and Antilla Project Resources Project Resource Classification Million tonnes Cu (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Mo (%) Cotabambas Cu/Au/Ag Indicated 117.1 0.42 0.23 2.74 0.001 Inferred 605.3 0.31 0.17 2.33 0.002 @ 0.20% CuEq cutoff, effective October 2013, Tetra Tech Inc. Antilla Cu/Mo Indicated 291.8 0.34 - - 0.01 Inferred 90.5 0.26 - - 0.007 @ 0.175% CuEq cutoff, effective October 2015, Tetra Tech Inc. Preliminary Economic Assessments (PEA) have been completed for both the Cotabambas and Antilla Projects, the key results are summarized below. Summary of Cotabambas and Antilla Project PEA Results Key Project Parameters Cotabambas Cu/Au/Ag Project Antilla Cu/Mo Project Mill Feed, life of mine million tonnes 483.1 350.4 Mill Feed, daily tonnes 80,000 40,000 Strip Ratio, life of mine 1.25 : 1 0.85 : 1 Before Tax1 NPV 7.5% million USD 1,053 491 IRR % 20.4 22.2 Payback years 3.2 3.3 After Tax1 NPV 7.5% million USD 684 225 IRR % 16.7 15.1 Payback years 3.6 4.1 Annual Average Payable Metals Cu thousand tonnes 70.5 36.8 Au thousand ounces 95.1 - Ag thousand ounces 1,018.4 - Mo thousand tonnes - 0.9 Initial Capital Cost million USD 1,530 603 1Project economics estimated at commodity prices of; Cu = $US3.00/lb, Au = $US1,250/oz, Ag = $US18.50/oz, Mo = $US12/lb The PEAs are considered preliminary in nature and include Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative to have the economic considerations applied that would enable classification as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions within the PEAs will be realized. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Luis Vela, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. The Company also announces that it has issued 790,130 common shares to Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. (the Macquarie Shares) pursuant to a Financial Advisory Services Agreement between the Company and Macquarie dated January 27, 2016. Macquarie acted as financial advisor to the Company in connection with its previously announced precious metals streaming agreement with Silver Wheaton (Caymans) Ltd. The Macquarie Shares comprise a portion of the fees due to Macquarie and were issued at an average deemed price of $0.1326 per Macquarie Share, based on the average discounted market price of the Companys shares on April 15 and May 30, 2016, being the dates on which the Company announced receipt of the two early deposit payments under its agreement with Silver Wheaton. The Macquarie Shares are subject to a hold period expiring October 18, 2016. On behalf of the Board of Panoro Minerals Ltd. Luquman A. Shaheen, M.B.A., P.Eng., P.E. President & CEO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Panoro Minerals Ltd. Luquman A. Shaheen, President & CEO Phone: 604.684.4246 Fax: 604.684.4200 Email: info@panoro.com Web: www.panoro.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys next shareholder meeting are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results, performance, or actions and that actual results and actions may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. 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. Gerard DeGroot is a professor of history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. His latest book is Selling Ronald Reagan: The Emergence of a President. The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page. So said Augustine of Hippo, back when travel was much more difficult than it is today. The statement is indisputable. Ignorance of the world is dangerous, as the nightly news often demonstrates. Like it or not, people in other countries do not behave like us thats why theyre called foreigners. Travel, writes Andrew Solomon, is a set of corrective lenses that helps focus the planets blurred reality. At an early age, Solomon decided to read that book of the world from cover to cover. To date, hes visited 83 of the 196 recognized countries on this planet. Far & Away is a collection of his travel pieces published over the years in a wide variety of journals. That variety leads to an inconsistency of tone: Some are lighthearted, others somber. The short ones should be longer, the longer ones shorter. But does this matter? Probably not. This is an untidy book, but a great one. In truth, this is not really travel writing in the recognized form of the genre. The reader who expects a collection of quirky anecdotes about fascinating places will be disappointed. Far & Away is not just a voyage around the world; its also a voyage around Andrew Solomon. One chapter title encapsulates the man: Gay, Jewish, Mentally Ill, and a Sponsor of Gypsies in Romania. Lets deconstruct that. First, the Jew. Thats the least prominent characteristic, which is surprising given where Solomon has traveled. Yet his Jewishness explains in part why he travels. When he was 7, he found out about the Holocaust. Why didnt those Jews just leave when things got bad? he asked. They had nowhere to go, his father explained. Young Andrew decided that I would always have somewhere to go. He chose to become a citizen of the world rather than a prisoner of one nation. "Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change" by Andrew Solomon (Scribner) Now, the gay bit. Solomon is very upfront about his sexuality. He openly celebrates the tolerance toward gays that has grown in his lifetime. Yet his wanderlust and his homosexuality often result in peculiar predicaments. Some are delightful, such as when a shepherd passes his hotel in Ulaanbaatar. You are gayboy? I am gayboy too. . . . Maybe I leave sheep in hotel parking lot and come inside with you? Others are tragic. Solomon regularly travels to countries where homosexuality is a crime, even a capital one. He has become, as a result of his encounters, a mouthpiece for stories of terrible persecution. These pepper the book. Now the mental illness. Im not depressed now but I was depressed for a long time, Solomon writes. Chronic depression fueled a need to understand his illness, which in turn inspired further voyages. He traveled to Rwanda and Cambodia to discover how human beings manage to cope in the wake of genocide. I expected to be humbled by the pain of others, and I was humbled down to the ground. He went to Greenland to understand why the people there are so miserable. Suicide is the leading cause of mortality. Solomon assumed that the oppressive darkness was at fault but then decided that cold was the culprit. People huddle together to keep warm; they sleep on top of one another. Forced intimacy makes them seek privacy within themselves. This is the legacy of the igloo When you got angry or upset, you would just turn your head and watch the walls melt. A society evolved with a taboo against talking about oneself. (This is not a problem Solomon shares.) Finally: sponsor of gypsies in Romania. The operative word is not Romania nor gypsies, but sponsor Solomons big-hearted desire to help. Long ago, he set out to witness the change he wanted to see in the world. He sought singlehandedly to undermine insularity. The central proposition of this book is that circling the wagons is not only impossible in a globalized world, but finally perilous. This insistence that he could nurture a better world through travel has often landed him in danger. During the coup in 1991, he built barricades in Moscow. I am petrified; facing down tanks has not previously been a part of my job description. But I am also exhilarated by the intense purposefulness of our stance. That intense purposefulness is what makes this book extraordinary. Travel is usually self-serving. Solomons is seldom that. Hope fuels his voyages. He went to Afghanistan in 2002 to witness an awakening after the defeat of the Taliban. I [was] . . . ready for hardship, and I did see horrible things. But I also felt a warmth . . . that lay not only in the reform of government but also in the return to small satisfactions . . . generously shared. That chapter, however, ends with a tragic postscript. Solomon explains how the friends he met are mostly dead, the optimism he felt cruelly crushed. You were there in those beautiful days in the time of hope, a friend reflected. All of that is gone now. That is the pattern of this book: Hope blooms like crocuses in spring and is then trampled underfoot. Yet still he searches for reasons to believe. A crushed hope is suffused with nobility that mere hopelessness can never know. This is a very noble book. Its also a very depressing one. Corbin Reiff is a freelance music writer. I am not a political reporter, Im a music writer. Most of my time is spent parsing Kanye West lyrics and listening to old Led Zeppelin concert bootlegs. But back before I wrote about music exclusively, I was a soldier for five years in the U.S. Army. I dont talk about it much, if only because my time in uniform feels like it was a lifetime ago, but its a part of who I am. Mostly, Ive kept my thoughts about politics and social issues to myself. But then the presumptive Republican nominee for president said something rather inflammatory at a rally Tuesday, and I felt compelled to speak out. For reasons known only to him, Donald Trump decided to pick the Armys 241st birthday to share his thoughts about a select group of service members. Iraq, crooked as hell. How about bringing baskets of money millions and millions of dollars and handing it out? he said. I want to know who were the soldiers that had that job, because I think theyre living very well right now, whoever they may be. (Trumps campaign spokeswoman said later that Trump was referring to Iraqi soldiers, but that makes no sense; listen online and judge for yourself.) The first thought that ran through my mind after reading that statement was: Is he talking about me? You see, during my tour in Iraq from 2009 to 2010, I was one of those whose job it was to hand out baskets of money. I deployed with the 4-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, for which I was made the noncommissioned officer in charge of foreign claims for almost all of western Baghdad an area that covers about 5 million people. Im doing all right these days, maybe carrying a little more student loan debt than Id like, but Im by no means a wealthy individual. Nearly every week, my team and I would convoy out to a council building in a Baghdad neighborhood to take claims against U.S. forces. These could be anything from an armored vehicle running into a generator to an extended lease for a home we had commandeered. We also disbursed funds for those who had been wounded and killed by U.S. forces by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was draining work. Every week I would sit for hours, listening as my interpreters relayed the heartbreaking stories of mothers, fathers and widows. They showed me their scars and pictures of the piles of bricks that used to be their homes. It felt good to help those I could, and gut-wrenching to turn down those I couldnt. I spent much of a year of my life inside an aluminum trailer, far away from my friends and family, missing holidays and birthdays, trying to block out the speaker that would blare Incoming! Incoming! as mortars flew into the base while I tried to sleep. In the course of my mission, we carried with us U.S. cash. A lot of U.S. cash. When the year was up, we had distributed about $2 million to the people of Iraq for justified damage. I personally never took a dime. No one else from my team took anything, either. The accounting measures put in place by the finance department made that all but impossible, and, frankly, the thought of stealing never even entered our minds. The core values of the Army are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage; those words are something that my team and I took very seriously. Its true that during the course of the war a small number of service members did attempt to pocket money, but they were found out and prosecuted. The system, in that regard, worked. Trumps statement attacking not just my character but also that of all the men and women I had the honor of serving with was repugnant. These people had raised their right hands and sacrificed a year or more of their lives in one of the worst situations imaginable, all for their country. These are the people who actually lived up to Trumps supposed credo: Make America great again. Its infuriating to hear a billionaire real estate mogul, turned reality television star, turned presidential candidate, speak so callously against a group of Americans whom he knows next to nothing about. Maybe I should know better. Maybe I should turn the other cheek. Maybe this is all just Trump being Trump. But I cant. This man wants to be commander in chief of the United States armed forces. Thus far, he has shown that he has neither the temperament nor the character to fulfill that role. What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail When in his 1964 GOP acceptance speech Barry Goldwater declared that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, a reporter sitting near journalist/historian Theodore White famously exclaimed: My God, hes going to run as Barry Goldwater! Six weeks into Donald Trumps general election campaign, Republicans are discovering that he indeed intends to run as Donald Trump. He has boasted that he could turn presidential respectful, respectable, reticent, reserved bordering on boring at will. Apparently, he cant. GOP leaders who fell in line behind Trump after he clinched the nomination expected, or at least hoped, that he would prove malleable, willing to adjust his more extreme positions and tactics to suit a broader electorate. Two problems. First, impulse control: Trump says what he actually feels, whatever comes into his head at any moment. Second, a certain logic: Trump won the primaries Sinatra-style, his way against the odds, the experts and the conventional rules. So why change now? You win the pennant, Trump explained, and now youre in the World Series you gonna change? Hence his response to the Orlando terror attack. Events like these generally benefit the challenger politically because any misfortune that befalls the nation gets attributed, fairly or not, directly or indirectly, to the incumbent party (e.g., the 2008 financial collapse). And Hillary Clinton is running as the quasi-incumbent. After the deadly shooting in an Orlando nightclub on June 12, some in politics pushed for stricter gun control while others asked for prayers. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump ignited controversy with his tweets. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) The textbook response for the challenger, therefore, is to offer sympathy, give a general statement or two about the failure of the incumbents national security policy, then step back to let the resulting national fear and loathing, amplified by the media, take effect. Instead, Trump made himself the (political) story. First, he offered himself unseemly congratulations for his prescience about terrorism. (Hed predicted more would be coming. What a visionary.) Then he went beyond blaming the president for lack of will or wisdom in fighting terrorism, and darkly implied presidential sympathy for the enemy. Theres something going on, he charged. He then reiterated his ban on Muslim immigration. Why? Because thats what Trump does. And because it worked before. It was after last Decembers San Bernardino massacre that Trump first called for a Muslim ban. It earned him lots of opprobrium from GOP leaders and lots of support from GOP voters. He shot up in the polls, never to descend until he clinched. So why not do it again? Because the general election is a different game. Trump assumes that the Republican electorate is representative of the national electorate. Its not. Take the Muslim ban. Sixty-eight percent of GOP voters support it. Only 38 percent of Democrats do. And there are approximately 7 million more Democrats in the country. (Independents are split 51-40 in favor.) The other major example of doing whats always worked is the ad hominem attack on big-dog opponents. It worked in the primaries. Trump went after one leading challenger after another, knocking them out sequentially. Hillary Clinton is a lousy campaigner but her machine is infinitely larger and more skilled than any of Trumps 16 GOP competitors. More riskily, Trump is now going toe-to-toe with a sitting president. Barack Obama is no Jeb Bush. Hes not low energy. Hes a skilled campaigner who clearly despises Trump and relishes the fight. And he carries the inestimable advantage of the gravitas automatically conferred by seven and a half years of incumbency. Moreover, he now enjoys an unusually high approval rating of around 53 percent. Trumps latest favorability is 29 percent (Post-ABC News). 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. Its no accident that Trumps poll numbers are sliding. A month ago, when crowned as presumptive nominee, he jumped into a virtual tie with Clinton. The polls now have him losing by an average of six points, with some showing a nine- and 12-point deficit (Reuters/Ipsos and Bloomberg). And his unfavorability ratings are up 10 points in just the past month. This may turn out to be temporary, but it is a clear reflection of Trumps disastrous general election kickoff. His two-week expedition into racism in attacking the Indiana-born Mexican judge. His dabbling in conspiracy, from Ted Cruzs fathers supposed involvement in the Kennedy assassination to Vince Fosters (very fishy) suicide. All of which suggests, and cements, the image of a man who shoots from the hip and is prone to both wild theories and extreme policies. Reagan biographer Lou Cannon thinks that the Goldwater anecdote is apocryphal. How could anyone (even a journalist) have thought that Goldwater, who later admitted he always knew he would lose, was going to run as anything but his vintage, hard-core self? Same for Trump. Give him points for authenticity. Take away for electability. Read more from Charles Krauthammers archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. THE EUROPEAN Union is not popular just now. The E.U.s median favorability rating in 10 major nations, encompassing 80 percent of its 508 million inhabitants, is a tepid 51 percent, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. This is not surprising given the crises economic, migratory and security-related confronting Europe. In the United Kingdom, the E.U.s approval rating is an even lower 44 percent, even though Britain has opted out of Europe-wide institutions that euroskeptics most dislike such as the common currency and has negotiated other special exemptions from E.U. strictures. In this skeptical mood, British voters will go to the polls June 23 and choose whether to stay in the E.U. or begin a negotiated departure. Brexit would be the first such secession in E.U. history but, if successful, possibly not the last. The latest polls taken before Thursdays shocking assassination of Jo Cox, a pro-E.U. Labour Party member of Parliament, prompted a suspension of the referendum campaign suggest British voters may well vote leave. This would be contrary to the pleas of Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama and practically every elected leader across Europe. It would be contrary to the internationalist example set by Ms. Cox, a committed and thoughtful campaigner for the rights of refugees and supporter of a vigorous British response to the Syrian war that has forced so many to flee. It also would be dangerous for the world, for Europe and, not least, for Britain. We understand the populist impulse behind the Brexit surge. Brussels and its multiple officious agencies are remote; their ponderous processes offer no prompt resolution to the issues that worry Britons most, including a surge of immigrants via the borderless E.U. That this impulse is understandable, however, does not make it any less, well, impulsive; theres nothing particularly new, or particularly admirable, about the politics of anti-immigrant backlash. Any control Brexit would take back, to paraphrase the Leave campaign slogan, would be offset by increased economic uncertainty and political tension, to include conflict, potentially, with Scotland, which might rethink its recent vote to remain in the U.K. rather than join a flight from Europe. Brexiteers promise a boom born of deregulation; practical people grasp that Britains global financial center and export economy require regulation and standard-setting, including some that will inevitably be carried out multilaterally. Leaving the E.U. wont change that reality, just render Britain less influential in shaping it. For all its defects, the European Union is still a force for comity and commerce among the peoples of the continent, and a multiplier of their power and influence on the world stage. The E.U. is a strong partner with the United States, especially so when it includes Britains economy, the worlds fifth largest, and its military, the fifth most powerful . Whats more, it is a force for stability, possibly the most important of all the public goods that governing institutions provide but, alas, the one most often taken for granted. Sensible citizenries prize stability as well as grievance and dont lightly vent the latter at the risk of the former. Come June 23, we hope the British people will vote accordingly. Kerry Eleveld is a writer for Daily Kos and the author of Dont Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamas Presidency. Just three days after President Obama reminisced that one of the most special moments of his presidency came when the White House was awash in rainbow colors following last years marriage-equality ruling, he stood in the White House briefing room and sought to console a nation reeling from the slaughter of at least 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. If the validation of same-sex marriage was a high point, this was no doubt one of the lowest. In contrast to the advancement of gay and transgender rights, which has been among the standout successes of the progressive agenda during the Obama years, the failure to pass gun-safety measures that could prevent more mass shootings has been among the greatest disappointments. But it wasnt all that long ago that same-sex marriage seemed just as hopeless a cause as meaningful gun laws seem now. And the reason many Americans including Obama changed their minds about gay marriage may be the same reason people eventually change their minds about guns. If you had asked nearly anyone in the United States a decade ago whether same-sex couples in all 50 states would be able to legally wed by 2015, they might have laughed you out of the room. Yes, gay marriage was legal in Massachusetts. But the movement was in the midst of losing a string of anti-gay-marriage ballot measures, and Gallup polls showed national support for the freedom to marry softening, dropping to 37 percent. As we all know, public opinion would shift again dramatically. By the time the Supreme Court released its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges , 60 percent of Americans supported marriage equality. Political scientists still marvel at this rapid turnaround, but the prevailing explanation is that contact with someone who is openly gay leads to more positive attitudes toward gay rights. In 1992, a majority of Americans 56 percent said they didnt know anyone who was lesbian or gay; but by 2010, the same CBS News poll found that number had fallen to just 22 percent. As gay people came out to their communities in increasing numbers and with greater visibility, they destroyed stereotypes and provided a personal attachment to the issue for millions of Americans, creating an urgency that wasnt there before. When Obama finally embraced marriage equality in 2012, he told ABC Newss Robin Roberts , When I meet gay and lesbian couples, when I meet same-sex couples, and I see how caring they are, how much love they have in their hearts, how theyre taking care of their kids when I hear from them the pain they feel that somehow they are still considered less than full citizens . . . it just has tipped the scales. We heard a similar account this past week from conservative Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who apologized for being unkind to gay individuals at earlier points in his life. My heart has changed, Cox said, . . . because I have gotten to know many of you. In his remarks, Cox went on to identify with the victims killed in Orlando. They each had dreams, goals, talents, friends, family, he said. They are you, and they are me. And one night they went out to relax, to laugh, to connect, to forget, to remember. And in a few minutes of chaos and terror, they were gone. Because so many Americans now have personal connections to people who are gay, bisexual or transgender, the Pulse nightclub massacre has hit the nation hard in a way that, for instance, the 1973 arson that killed 32 people at a gay bar in New Orleans couldnt. And just as knowing gay people helped shift attitudes about same-sex marriage, knowing or identifying with victims of gun violence can help generate urgency for laws designed to prevent more tragedies. On a national level, attitudes about firearms have tended to be stubborn. Even shortly after mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011 and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012 the Pew Research Center found no significant change in support for gun control vs. gun rights. The nation remained more or less evenly divided on the matter, with survey respondents typically viewing the shootings as isolated acts that werent related to broader social problems. There was a slight increase in support for gun control immediately after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, but support for gun rights began to rise again soon after. People are more receptive when asked about gun safety rather than gun control, and some specific policies, including universal background checks, routinely enjoy the approval of anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of Americans. But its been tough to translate that approval to national policies in recent decades. The 1999 Columbine shooting energized efforts to close the gun show loophole and mandate background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows. But none of the bills introduced in Congress passed. Likewise, in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, Obama proposed an ambitious slate of gun reform initiatives, including universal background checks, a reinstatement of the federal assault-weapons ban, a ban on armor-piercing bullets and restrictions on the number of rounds allowed in ammunition magazines. He wasnt able to get any of it through Congress. And his executive actions have been so modest that even a National Rifle Association lobbyist dismissed them, saying, Theyre not really doing anything. This past week, it took Democratic senators nearly 15 hours of filibustering to get agreement from Republican leaders on just scheduling a vote on gun measures. And those measures which include expanding background checks and preventing suspected terrorists from buying guns are almost certain to fail. But if you look at the state and local responses near where mass shootings have happened, youll often find greater urgency in public opinion and greater success in passing gun safety laws. After Sandy Hook, for instance, 54 percent of Connecticut voters said they were more likely to support gun control than they had been before. And support for universal background checks among the states voters hit 93 percent, the highest any issue had polled in the state in 20 years of Quinnipiac surveys. As a result, while the national effort faltered, Connecticut passed one of the nations toughest gun safety laws. The legislation banned high-capacity magazines, armor-piercing bullets and more than 100 additional assault weapons. It imposed background checks on all purchases and created the first statewide registry of people convicted of weapons offenses. After signing the law in 2013, Gov. Dan Malloy (D) not only won reelection but did nine points better in Newtown, the site of the shooting, against his Republican competitor, Tom Foley, than he had against Foley four years earlier. Malloy was also one of the few Democratic governors to survive the GOP wave of 2014; his counterparts in the progressive states of Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois all lost their seats to Republicans. Colorado, although a Western state with a strong tradition of gun ownership and historically lax firearm laws, also pushed to address gun safety after Columbine and again after Aurora. In 2000, the states voters overcame obstruction in the Republican-controlled legislature and overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to close the gun show loophole. In 2013, a Democratic-led legislature passed laws mandating background checks for online and private gun sales and instituting a ban on ammunition magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Some Colorado lawmakers subsequently lost their seats over their support for the gun measures, and there have been efforts to repeal the laws. But once on the books, such laws rarely come off. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) wrote last month in Time that he had been somewhat reluctant to sign the gun bills. But the night before, he got a call that the states head of corrections had been shot and killed. That personal connection to a victim of gun violence, someone who worked in a cold, hard world with a remarkably warm and tender heart, fortified his opinion that Coloroado needed new gun laws. Of course, not every state succeeds in reforming its gun laws after high-profile shootings in one of its cities or towns. Even after the carnage in Orlando, gun safety advocates arent optimistic about lawmakers passing any new legislation in Florida, sometimes known as the Gunshine State despite the fact that its voters have twice approved ballot measures strengthening gun safety laws. And NRA lobbying always presents a formidable counterweight to public opinion. But the unfortunate reality is that we are fast becoming a nation of communities that are synonymous with carnage. Columbine, Aurora, Newtown, San Bernardino, Orlando they are Anytown, USA. Active shooter situations have been happening more and more frequently, according to the FBI. Yet mass shootings represent only a sliver of the gun violence in this country. The nonprofit website Gun Violence Archive tracked more than 53,000 incidents last year, documenting 13,430 deaths and 27,008 injuries. An estimated 20 percent of Americans say theyve been threatened or shot at with a gun. The effects of gun violence ripple much further. One in three Americans say they know a friend or relative who has been a victim of gun violence. A recent Huffington Post/YouGov poll found that 22 percent of Americans say they know someone who was fatally shot by someone else, with an additional 29 percent saying they know someone who committed suicide using a gun. Those are shocking numbers, considering the stakes. And sadly, an ever-growing cross-section of communities can imagine their schools, their workplaces, their places of worship, their movie theaters and now their nightclubs being attacked. This is the reality that could create a critical mass of voters who not only prioritize gun safety but become single-issue voters on the matter. And at some point, the United States could reach a political tipping point on gun safety, just like it did on same-sex marriage. Twitter: @kerryeleveld Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. An American flag is seen at half-staff at Lake Eola Park in Orlando. (John Taggart/European Pressphoto Agency) A county commissioner in Alabama this week resisted a federal and state directive that flags be lowered to honor the victims of the shooting in Orlando. The move violated an instruction by Gov. Robert Bentley (R) that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff on public grounds through Thursday, per President Obamas order. Tucker Dorsey, chairman of the Baldwin County Commission, said he was justified in leaving flags at full height. In a Facebook post on Monday, he said he was following the United States Flag Code, which does not designate shootings or terror attacks as legitimate reasons to fly the flag at half-staff, he said. Lowering the flags to half-staff after mass shooting or terrorist event is not a valid circumstance or memorial as specified in the U.S. flag code, Dorsey wrote. Among the occasions the code specifies are Memorial Day and the death of a high official, though its guidelines are only advisory. Dorsey also said he was acting in line with the portion of the code that specifies that no other flag should be placed above the flag of the United States, a matter of principle that he said was particularly important in the wake of the shooting by a man who pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants. When the flag is at half-staff, our countrys head is figuratively held low, and quite frankly, I am not willing to hang my head down because of a terrorist attack against our people and our allies, he wrote. I am not willing to hang my head down because evil shoots up a church, school, or movie theater. Dorsey said he was sympathetic to the families of the victims but expressed outrage that the perpetrator of the shooting was not being properly identified as a follower of Islam. He said it was evil, not guns that should be blamed for the attack. Dorsey wrote in his post that the county took the same position after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. Reached by phone Friday, another commissioner, Charles Gruber, said the decision belonged exclusively to the chairman. When he was chairman, Gruber said, he chose to lower flags, but he would not criticize Dorsey. What hes defending is the code that I guess you go by, Gruber said. Theres also code that says that the president or governor can make this sort of order. Cole County in Missouri initially took a similarly defiant stance on the flag but yielded after backlash from the LGBT community, the Kansas City Star reported. Dozens of Republican convention delegates are hatching a new plan to block Donald Trump at this summers party meetings, in what has become the most organized effort so far to stop the businessman from becoming the GOP presidential nominee. The moves come amid declining poll numbers for Trump and growing concern among Republicans that he is squandering his chance to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Several controversies including his racial attacks on a federal judge, his renewed call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and his support for changing the nations gun laws have raised fears among Republicans that Trump is not really a conservative and is too reckless to run a successful race. Given the strife, a growing group of anti-Trump delegates is convinced that enough like-minded Republicans will band together in the next month to change party rules and allow delegates to vote for whomever they want at the convention, regardless of who won state caucuses or primaries. The new push is being run by people who can actually make changes to party rules, rather than by pundits and media figures who have been pining for a Trump alternative. Many of the delegates involved supported Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) in the primary race but say they are not taking cues from any of Trumps vanquished opponents. This literally is an Anybody but Trump movement, said Kendal Unruh, a Republican delegate from Colorado who is leading the campaign. Nobody has any idea who is going to step in and be the nominee, but were not worried about that. Were just doing that job to make sure that hes not the face of our party. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan endorsed presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on June 2, but the two haven't always seen eye to eye. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) The new wave of anti-Trump organizing comes as an increasing number of prominent Republicans have signaled that they will not support Trump for president. In addition, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), who is slated to chair the Republican National Convention next month in Cleveland, said in remarks released Friday that House Republicans should follow their consciences on whether to support Trump. The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something thats contrary to their conscience, Ryan said in an interview with NBCs Meet the Press that will air Sunday. Ryan has endorsed Trump. But his use of the word conscience could prove helpful to delegates organizing the anti-Trump campaign because they are seeking to pass a conscience clause that would unbind delegates and allow them to vote for anyone. [Despite Trumps calls for action, Senate gun debate headed down familiar path] In a statement Friday, Trump dismissed the plots against him. I won almost 14 million votes, which is by far more votes than any candidate in the history of the Republican primaries, he said. I have tremendous support and get the biggest crowds by far and any such move would not only be totally illegal but also a rebuke of the millions of people who feel so strongly about what I am saying. People listen to the national anthem before Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Richmond on June 10. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) He added, People that I defeated soundly in the primaries will do anything to get a second shot but there is no mechanism for it to happen. Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer responded in a statement, saying: Donald Trump bested 16 highly qualified candidates and received more primary votes than any candidate in Republican Party history. All of the discussion about the RNC Rules Committee acting to undermine the presumptive nominee is silly. There is no organized effort, strategy or leader of this so-called movement. It is nothing more than a media creation and a series of tweets. Delegates involved in the effort disagree, but their plans face steep difficulties and would require rapid coordination among the thousands headed to Cleveland next month. Previous attempts to field a Trump opponent or to use convention rules to stop him have quickly fizzled, but the new fight revives the possibility of a contested convention. The campaign kicked off in earnest Thursday night on a conference call with at least 30 delegates from 15 states, according to multiple participants. Unruh and Regina Thomson, another Colorado delegate, have recruited regional coordinators in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Washington and other states. [Some conservatives are still moving to stop Trump at the GOP convention] Eric Minor, a GOP delegate from Washington state, said that he felt compelled to join Unruhs group because I hear a lot of people saying, Why doesnt somebody do something about this? Well you know what, Im one of the people who can. Theres only 2,400 of us. Im going to reach out to us and see if there seems to be momentum for this. And if there is, well see where it goes. Steve Lonegan, a veteran GOP operative from New Jersey, is not a delegate but is advising the group and building financial support through a super PAC, Courageous Conservatives, that backed Cruz in the primary. The group has said it is willing to spend money on advertising and to help delegates across the country find one another. Ever since Trump reached the threshold for claiming the GOP nomination last month, Ive woken up every day struggling to accept that hes going to be our candidate, Lonegan said. Hes spent more time talking about getting Bernie Sanders voters to vote for him than conservatives. What do you think he has that Bernie Sanderss supporters would like? A secret socialist agenda? Unruh, Minor, Lonegan and a number of others involved in the effort are former Cruz supporters, but they insist they are not working on his behalf. Cruz has said he would not accept the presidential nomination as a result of an attempt to strip Trump of the prize. Other top Republicans, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.), said this week that they will not back Trump. Ohio Gov. John Kasich said hes not ready to support Trump. And Richard Armitage, a deputy secretary of state in George W. Bushs administration who is close with other members of the partys national security establishment, announced that he plans to vote for Clinton if Trump is nominated. Some of Trumps top surrogates, including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), have struggled to explain Trumps policy positions and defend his statements and proposals in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando. [Even one of Donald Trumps most ardent Capitol Hill backers is exasperated] This isnt going to go away, warned Cecil Stinemetz, a delegate from Iowa participating in the new campaign. Trump or others might say that these are just little groups who wont do anything and itll fizz out thats not going to happen. Trump just continues to embarrass himself and his party, and this is not going to let up. Several factors will complicate any attempt to stop Trump. First, Unruhs plan to unbind the delegates will need support from a majority of the conventions rules committee, which is scheduled to meet July 14 and 15 just a few days before the convention formally convenes. If the proposal passes the committee, it would need to be ratified by a majority of convention delegates the following week. Second, several delegates are deeply concerned about what they say are intimidation tactics by Trump, his campaign and some state party leaders. One delegate, who commented on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, wrote in an email that during his state partys first convention organizing meeting, party leaders told the delegates that if they didnt vote for Trump, we would be removed from the floor and replaced with an alternate. Recruiting like-minded delegates may also be difficult, because the RNC has yet to release a list of the thousands of people elected to travel to Cleveland as delegates or alternates. A final list of names from each state and territory was due to the RNC on Monday, and party officials are reviewing the names to ensure that no elected delegate or alternate has a criminal record, according to party officials. Privately, some RNC officials say they doubt that a full list will be released ahead of time. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and other top leaders have said delegates are required to reflect the results of state contests. In response, a group of veteran Republican operatives is planning to raise up to $2.5 million to run an advertising campaign arguing that delegates can do whatever they want. The Citizens in Charge Foundation plans to bankroll the outreach campaign. It has paid for the publication of a book by Curly Haugland, a GOP delegate from North Dakota, who argues that delegates are already free to vote for anyone. Its not an effort for a candidate or against a candidate, but its an effort to educate people on what their real authority is and have them get the comfort that theyre not alone, said Eric OKeefe, a party operative based in Detroit who is a member of the group. Theres a whole network of like-minded people. This is not a play for Cruz or Kasich or Ryan, OKeefe said. I trust the delegates that if they understand their authority, theyll nominate a good ticket. From left, Donald Trump, Aras Agalarov and Emin Agalarov walk the red carpet at the Miss Universe pageant competition in Moscow in November 2013. (Victor Boyko/Getty Images) Donald Trump was in his element, mingling with beauty pageant contestants and business tycoons as he brought his Miss Universe pageant to Russia for a much-anticipated Moscow debut. Nonetheless, Trump was especially eager for the presence of another honored guest: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump tweeted Putin a personal invitation to attend the pageant, and a one-on-one meeting between the New York businessman and the Russian leader was scheduled for the day before the show. Putin canceled at the last minute, but he sent a decorative lacquered box, a traditional Russian gift, and a warm note, according to Aras Agalarov, a Moscow billionaire who served as a liaison between Trump and the Russian leader. Still, the weekend was fruitful for Trump. He received a portion of the $14 million paid by Agalarov and other investors to bring the pageant to Moscow. Agalarov said he and Trump signed an agreement to build a Trump Tower in the heart of Moscow at least Trumps fifth attempt at such a venture. And Trump seemed energized by his interactions with Russias financial elite at the pageant and a glitzy after-party in a Moscow nightclub. Almost all of the oligarchs were in the room, Trump bragged to Real Estate Weekly upon returning home. Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler of Venezuela and pageant owner Donald Trump point at each other while posing for a photograph after the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow on Nov. 9, 2013. (Ivan Sekretarev/AP) Trumps relationship with Putin and his warm views toward Russia, which began in the 1980s when the country was still part of the Soviet Union, have emerged as one of the more curious aspects of his presidential campaign. [Read biographical stories about presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump] The overwhelming consensus among American political and national security leaders has held that Putin is a pariah who disregards human rights and has violated international norms in seeking to regain influence and territory in the former Soviet bloc. In 2012, one year before Trump brought his beauty pageant to Moscow, then-Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called Russia the United States top geopolitical threat an assessment that has only gained currency since then. Trump has conveyed a different view, informed in part through his business ambitions. Since the 1980s, Trump and his family members have made numerous trips to Moscow in search of business opportunities, and they have relied on Russian investors to buy their properties around the world. Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, Trumps son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. The dynamic illustrates the extent to which Trumps worldview has been formed through the lens of commerce rather than the think tanks, government deliberations and international diplomatic conferences that typically shape the foreign policy positions of presidential candidates. It also reflects Trumps willingness to see world leaders through his own personal connections. In a Republican Party in which an ability to stand up to Putin has been seen as a test of toughness, Trumps relationship with the Russian leader is instead one of mutual flattery. Putin said in December that Trump was a colorful and talented person, a compliment that Trump said at the time was an honor. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said a lot of nice things about Russian president Vladimir Putin. Putin finally responded. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post) The back-and-forth has continued. In a mid-June rally, Trump cited those comments as the reason he will not reject the Russian leader. A guy calls me a genius, and Im going to renounce? Trump said. Im not going to renounce him. The next day in St. Petersburg, Putin again called Trump a colorful person and said he welcomed Trumps proposal for a full-scale resumption of U.S.-Russia ties. On the campaign trail, Trump has called for a new partnership with Moscow, overhauling NATO, the allied military force seen as the chief protector of pro-Western nations near Russia. And Trump has surrounded himself with a team of advisers who have had financial ties to Russia. [Trump questions need for NATO, outlines noninterventionist foreign policy] This account of Trumps 30-year history of business with Russia and that of his advisers is based on interviews as well as a review of deposition transcripts and other court records in which Trump and his associates have discussed their overseas work. Trump declined to be interviewed for this article, as did top campaign aides and most members of his foreign policy team. The Kremlin also declined to comment about Trumps visit to Moscow. The coming together of Trumps business and political agendas was evident during his 2013 Moscow trip, in which he was seeking deals at the same time he was starting to ponder a presidential run. Agalarov and his son, Russian pop musician Emin Agalarov, told The Washington Post that they befriended Trump after the pageant and listened as he described his views of U.S.-Russia relations. He kept saying, Every time there is friction between United States and Russia, its bad for both countries. For the people to benefit, this should be fixed. We should be friends, Emin Agalarov recalled. Russia has signaled a deep interest in the U.S. election and in Trump, in particular. The Russian ambassador to the United States, breaking from a tradition in which diplomats steer clear of domestic politics, attended Trumps April foreign policy speech in which he called for ending this horrible cycle of hostility between the two nations. And in the past week, The Post reported that hackers tied to the Russian government had gained access to the Democratic National Committees opposition research file on Trump. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy said that Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyaks attendance at the Trump speech should not be considered an indication that Russia is partial to Trump. There is no preference, the spokesman said. Still, the relationship is setting off alarms in pro-Western capitals and in the U.S. foreign policy community. Trumps campaign rhetoric is the biggest dream of everyone in the Kremlin, Tina Khidasheli, defense minister of Georgia, a U.S. ally, told The Post. Its scary, its dangerous, and its irresponsible. Her view is shared in the United States by leading Russia experts from both political parties. Michael McFaul, who stepped down in 2014 as the U.S. ambassador to Russia, said Trumps stance toward Russia makes everyone I talk to around the world nervous and it makes me nervous. David J. Kramer, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state dealing with Russia during the George W. Bush administration, said he was appalled by Trumps approach. Trumps spokeswoman did not respond to detailed written questions. One of his foreign policy advisers, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who headed the Defense Intelligence Agency in the Obama administration, said Trump would be exceedingly stronger than Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who he said was an utter failure in her goal as secretary of state to reset U.S.-Russia relations. Trump has long aspired to build a Trump Tower in Russia a market that first gained his attention in the 1980s as the Cold War was ending and the Soviet Union began to open more to outsiders. Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment, Trump said in a 2007 deposition. We will be in Moscow at some point, he promised. Part of the allure was what Trump and his associates saw as a huge opportunity the chance to market American-style luxury apartments to the wealthy elite in a place that still mostly offered utilitarian Soviet-style construction. The Russian market had natural strength, especially in the high-end sector, said Donald Trump Jr. in his 2008 real estate conference speech. Moscow held special appeal because wealthy people throughout the region wanted to own real estate in the capital city, he said. Trumps 1987 trip represented his first public exploration of business prospects in Moscow. He went with his then-wife, Ivana, to scope out sites for luxury hotels he hoped to build in a joint venture with the Kremlins hotel and tourism agency, according to Trumps memoir, The Art of the Deal, which was published the same year. The project never got off the ground an outcome that would repeat itself multiple times between then and his 2013 trip. In 1996, Trump tried to partner with U.S. tobacco executives to build a luxury condominium complex in Moscow. Ted Liebman, an architect who worked with Trump, recalled drawing sketches of the proposed Trump International for the businessman to use in meetings with Moscow officials. In 2005, Trump signed a one-year deal with a New York development company to explore a Trump Tower in Moscow. Bayrock Group found a site an old pencil factory but the effort fizzled again. [Former Mafia-linked figure describes association with Trump] Trump claimed in a later court proceeding that Russian investors were spooked when a 2005 book questioned his net worth. But the Russia quest continued. In his 2008 speech, Donald Jr. announced that he had traveled to Russia six times in the previous 18 months. But, he said, Russia presented enormous challenges. As much as we want to take our business over there, Russia is just a different world, the younger Trump said. It is a question of who knows who, whose brother is paying off who. . . . It really is a scary place. The elder Trumps business ambitions have extended throughout the former Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc. He has explored deals in Kiev, Yalta and Warsaw and licensed his name for the construction of a five-star hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, which has been mostly built but is not yet open. As Trump looked for deals in Russia, Russian consumers became a key market for his real estate projects in the United States and elsewhere. Trumps partners on a Panama project traveled to Moscow in 2006 to sell condos to Russian investors, according to litigation filed in Florida. Trump also sold a mansion in Palm Beach in 2008 for $95 million to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, according to property records. Trump had purchased the mansion at a bankruptcy auction less than four years earlier for $41.4 million, records show. In 2013, Trump found a new Russian partner for a Moscow real estate project, Aras Agalarov, an Azeri-born real estate developer who is sometimes called the Trump of Russia for his tendency to emblazon his name on his development projects. The Agalarovs are wealthy developers who have received several contracts for state-funded construction projects, a sign of their closeness to the Putin government. Shortly after the pageant, Putin awarded the elder Agalarov the Order of Honor of the Russian Federation, a prestigious designation. Agalarov and his son Emin spoke with The Post earlier this year at the chic Nobu restaurant inside Crocus City Mall, their gleaming luxury development. They said they first met Trump after hiring Miss Universe contestants for one of Emins music videos. Trump ultimately appeared in the video along with the beauty queens. After the video and the 2013 pageant, the Agalarovs said they developed a deeper relationship with Trump. I convinced my father it would be cool to have next to each other the Trump Tower and Agalarov Tower, and he was kind of into it at some point, Emin Agalarov said. The Trump Tower deal never moved past preliminary discussions. But Agalarov said the family is interested in a possible future venture. Trumps top aides, too, have had ties to Russia. Campaign chairman Paul Manafort has done multimillion-dollar business deals with pro-Russian oligarchs and was a longtime adviser to the Russia-aligned Ukrainian president whose 2014 ouster triggered Russias intervention in Ukraine, a major source of tension between Russia and the United States as well as its NATO allies. Manafort did not respond to requests for comment. [Inside Trump adviser Manaforts world of politics and global financial dealmaking] An adviser who helped run Trumps efforts in the New York primary, Michael Caputo, lived in Russia in the 1990s. Caputo also had a contract for several months in 2000 with the Russian conglomerate Gazprom Media to improve Putins image in the United States. Caputo declined to comment but told the Buffalo News, his hometown paper, that he was not proud of the work today. But at the time, Putin wasnt such a bad guy. Flynn, the former Defense Intelligence Agency chief who is advising Trump and has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential running mate, stunned the diplomatic community by sitting near Putin at a 2015 Moscow dinner honoring RT, the English-language network aligned with the Kremlin that broadcasts into the United States. Flynn said he spoke in Russia about how he thought Washington and Moscow should work more closely together, particularly in reining in Iran. Carter Page, also a Trump foreign policy adviser, once ran the Moscow office of Merrill Lynch, including advising the Russian energy giant Gazprom, according to his biography posted on his employers website. Page did not respond to questions from The Post. In an interview this year with Bloomberg News, he hinted that Trumps election could be a boost for some of his Russian associates who have been hurt by U.S. sanctions imposed after Russias intervention in Ukraine. Theres a lot of excitement in terms of the possibilities for creating a better situation, Page told the news service. The Agalarovs, too, expressed enthusiasm for what Trump has told them. He keeps underlining that he thinks President Putin is a strong leader, Emin Agalarov said. This could be an amazing breakthrough. If [Trump] becomes president and actually becomes friends with Putin, we would avoid 10 wars every year at least. Editors note: A previous version of this story said the Agalarovs fortune was built in part through state-funded construction projects; it has been updated to reflect the Agalarovs statement that they have yet to make money from contracts for state-funded projects. Birnbaum reported from Moscow. Alice Crites, Sean Sullivan and Steven Mufson contributed to this report. Dublin, June 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Tequila Market in US 2016-2020" report to their offering. The tequila market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 3.67% by revenue during the period 2016-2020. Tequila Market in the US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. A trend that is expected to propel market growth is new product launches. The US tequila market has displayed immense potential for product innovations and new product launches. In 2012-2013, more than 40 new tequila varieties were launched here. Reserva Del Maestro Dobel Diamond from Casa Cuervo is a blend of three tequilas, an 11-plus-month-old reposado, a two-year-old anejo, and a three-year-old extra anejo. Filtration prior to bottling removes all trace of color in this blend. Limited-edition tequilas have also become hugely popular in the US and are often considered a symbol of status and success. Some of the new collections include Arette Unique, Don Celso Plascencia, and El Caudillo. According to the report, a key growth driver is the growing cocktail culture. Demand for tequila in cocktails is not restricted to bars and restaurants: it has also gained interest in homes. There is also a marked shift, especially in the younger population, from binge drinking to drinking sophisticated cocktails using premium tequila and vodka. As this demographic ages, so will its income and spending power, resulting in a substantial consumer base for white spirits like tequila. Margaritas were the most popular cocktail consumed in the US in 2014. Further, the report states that one challenge that could restrict market growth is the availability of counterfeit products. There is also a lack of awareness about labeling instructions that help distinguish original tequila from others. Although fake products may not affect the market directly, they may tarnish brand image. Key vendors - Beam Suntory - Brown-Forman - Diageo - Tequila Cuervo la Rojena - The Patron Spirits Company Other prominent vendors - Arta Tequila - Cia Tequilera Los Valores - Hacienda La Capilla - Juarez Tequila - Pernod Ricard - Proximo Spirits - Borco International - Tequila Cazadores - Tequila Quiote Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: US: Overview Part 06: Market landscape Part 07: Market segmentation by product price Part 08: Market segmentation by distribution channel Part 09: Market drivers Part 10: Impact of drivers Part 11: Market challenges Part 12: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 13: Market trends Part 14: Vendor landscape Part 15: Appendix For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/jhc672/tequila_market_in Aircraft assigned to various countries fly in formation during an exercise off the coast of Guam on Feb. 17. (Petty Officer 1st Class Ace Rheaume/Fleet Combat Camera Pacific) This tiny Pacific island has several nicknames. There is the tip of the spear because it is the closest U.S. territory to potential hot spots in Asia, such as North Korea and the South China Sea. There is Americas unsinkable aircraft carrier, because the island is home to a huge air force base. And then there is Fortress Pacific, because of the huge military buildup that is planned to take place over the next decade. But Guams population calls it by another name: Ours. And a sizable portion wants a real say in how it is run. This American territory is not enjoying democracy, where citizens can determine who their leader will be and what laws will be put upon them, said Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo, who has called a vote for November on Guams political status. Its up to our people to decide which way to go: whether to be fully in union with the United States or to chart a separate course. A decolonization commission is set to report to Calvo (R) next month on whether to proceed with the plebiscite, which would give Guamanians three alternatives to their current status as a U.S. territory. That status shared by Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands confers U.S. citizenship on people born here but does not give them the right to vote in presidential elections or a voting representative in Congress. Maj. Tim Patrick of the Marine Corps unit on Guam shows plans for the expansion of Andersen Air Force Base, part of a military buildup taking place in the territory over the next decade. (Anna Fifield/The Washington Post) Guamanian soldiers have gone to fight in countries so they can have democracy and vote, yet we have never voted for the person who sends us to war, the governor said. [ Why Ted Cruz wanted the endorsement of the governor of Guam ] The three alternatives under consideration are: Statehood, which would give Guam all the rights (and burdens) of being a state, albeit a very small one, with a population less than one-third that of Wyoming. Free association with administrative power, like Palau and the Marshall Islands. Independence, which would make Guam a (minuscule) sovereign state. The vote would not be binding only Congress can change Guams political status but would be symbolic of the territorys sentiment. The issue has been simmering for years but returned to the political front burner with the Pentagons preparations to relocate thousands of troops stationed on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to here. The U.S. military presence on Okinawa has long been a source of contention in a prefecture that complains of being treated as a second-class citizen by Tokyo. But there are similar complaints on Guam, a 30-mile-long tropical island of only 160,000 people, which is already home to large air force and naval bases. Pockets of fierce opposition to the initial plan formulated a decade ago to move 10,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam led the Defense Department to halve the number coming here. The prospect of the military buildup caused a crack in the facade of American-ness on this island, said Michael Lujan Bevacqua, who teaches the indigenous Chamorro language at the University of Guam. Bevacqua is a strong advocate of breaking free from the United States. Being independent and having the ability to determine our own policies is much better for us, he said. LisaLinda Natividad, another proponent of change, says the decision to move the Marines onto this island is the latest sign of Washingtons highhanded ways. The whole Guam buildup was set in motion because were a U.S. colony, and they think they can do whatever they want with our land, said Natividad, who sits on the decolonization commission. Just drive around for 10 minutes and its obvious." The issue of Guams political status is complicated. Some resent the U.S. military presence but do not want to give up their American passports. Some want greater independence but want their taxes to stay here on the island, as they do now, rather than going into the federal coffers. Some fear the lack of opportunity if they could no longer travel freely to the mainland. [ For some candidates, the path to the White House runs through paradise ] It is also controversial. People who have lived here for half a century take issue with the way the vote is being structured, saying it unfairly favors the Chamorro people. Only people who can trace their roots on the island back to 1950, when the island became an unincorporated territory, will be allowed to vote. Efforts to populate a voter registry have been slow-going only 10,500 have registered so far, Calvo said and the education campaign is barely existent. I believe that before we have a vote, we need to have a strong education effort where people can really see what each status would mean, said Shannon Murphy, a local journalist who runs the Guampedia website. I havent seen it laid out in a way where people can compare each option. Even advocates of political change, including Bevacqua, say the governor is rushing the plebiscite because he has his mind on his legacy. A vote can only be held in an election year, and term limits mean Calvo will be on his way out of office at the 2018 poll. Calvo, who prefers the statehood option, said he called the vote because the time was right. For the vote to go ahead, the governor, the decolonization commission and the Election Commission all have to agree. The decolonization commission is due to decide whether to press ahead at its meeting next month. Local business representatives think that moving to lessen or get rid of the military presence on Guam would be economic suicide. As a business person, I wonder if they have thought through the economic aspects of the decisions they want to make, said Joe Arnett, an accountant who has lived on Guam for 32 years and runs the armed forces committee for the local chamber of commerce. The U.S. federal government puts $600 million a year into Guam through Social Security and taxes paid by military personnel stationed here. Thats not including food stamps and school lunches and things like that, he said. Almost $9 billion has been earmarked for the base expansion and support facilities, one-third of which will be moved from Japan. In the north of Guam, preparations are underway. The Pentagon has unlocked $309 million for the first phase of construction of the new Marine base, which will be built on existing military land lined with palm trees. Next door at the Andersen Air Force Base, where B-52 bombers were lined up on the runway this week, construction workers were building a new hangar that will be part of the expanded footprint. [ Guam: A high concentration of veterans, but rock-bottom VA funding ] But the buildup will be long and slow. The first wave of 2,500 Marines is expected here by 2022, with the remainder due by 2027. The Marines are making sure to stay out of the local debate. Guam needs to figure out whats best for Guam, said Col. Philip Zimmerman, the officer in charge of the 20-strong Marine contingent on Guam. But, he said, from a military perspective, Guam is a crucial forward base, noting tensions with North Korea and with China around the Spratly Islands and the South China Sea in recent months. It is 2,500 miles to Beijing from here, but more than double that to Los Angeles. The base itself would be good for the islands economy, Zimmerman said. We will be creating jobs during the buildup, then well be creating civilian jobs to run the ranges and to run the base itself, he said. A military socioeconomic impact assessment study found that the new base would create more than 3,000 full-time civilian jobs in 2021, and tax revenues to the Guam government would increase by about $40 million a year from 2028. For his part, the governor said he would gladly pay federal taxes so that Guam could be a full-fledged state. But anything is better than being an unincorporated territory, Calvo said. Thats just another word for colony. Read more In Okinawa, protesters dig in as work proceeds to relocate U.S. Marine base Protest voices: Okinawans have been treated like we are disposable for too long Chinese ballistic missiles dubbed Guam Killer pose increasing threat to U.S. island, report says Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world A trade show in Hangzhou, China, in April displayed new Chinese-developed phones and apps. (Agence France-Press/Getty Images) Apple said Friday it has appealed the decision of a Beijing oversight panel alleging the tech giant violated design patents of a small Chinese competitor, but sales of Apple smartphones have not been disrupted by the dispute. The ruling last month initially raised the possibility that sales of the latest iPhone models could be blocked in the Chinese capital, Beijing. But a statement from Apple said the issue was put on hold pending a court review. All models of the iPhone 6 are available for sale in China, said the company statement. A ban on iPhone sales would appear highly unlikely. Apples smartphones are enormously popular with Chinas fast-growing middle class, and the Chinese government would be unlikely to risk the backlash that such a move could provoke. But the dispute marked the latest complication for the company in its largest market outside the United States. China halted Apples book and movie services in April for allegedly violating foreign publishing regulations. The issue also underscores the growing concerns that many foreign companies have about doing business in China, with many feeling the playing field in increasingly tipped against them. [Treasury secretary chides China over business openness] In a decision last month but only made public recently Beijings Intellectual Property Office found that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus infringed on Shenzhen Bailis patent rights because of similarities to its 100C phone, the Bloomberg news agency reported. Baili is among many smartphone makers trying to compete against established brands such as Apple and Samsung. Apple is expected to release its next-generation iPhone later this year. In 2013, state media accused Apple of shoddy customer service and inadequate warranties, forcing an apology from its top executive, Tim Cook. Last month, Apple lost its fight to keep the iPhone exclusive to its products after a Beijing court ruled that a little-known accessories maker can use the label for a range of wallets and purses. And in 2012, Apple paid $60 million to Proview International Holdings Ltd. to settle a dispute over the right to the iPad name in China, Bloomberg news reported. [Why U.S. companies feel uneasy in China, explained] Apples sales have slowed in line with Chinas overall economic slowdown and in the face of stiff competition. In the first quarter of this year, revenue in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, fell 26 percent to $12.5 billion. In May, Apple announced that it had invested $1 billion in Chinas most dominant ride-hailing company, Didi Chuxing, in a move widely seen as aimed at giving it a stronger economic and political foothold in China. Read more: Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday declared victory over the Islamic State in Fallujah after a day of rapid advances as security forces pushed deep into the city center, dislodging the militants who have controlled it for nearly 2 years. In a televised address, Abadi said that some pockets of resistance remained in the city, about 45 miles west of Baghdad, but that it was largely under the control of security forces. Earlier in the day, Iraqi forces raised the countrys flag over the local council building, while commanders reported that they had retaken a string of neighborhoods as the militants abandoned their positions. The Islamic State has been broken in the city, said Col. Abdelrahman al-Khazali, a police spokesman. But the gains also compounded a growing humanitarian crisis in the surrounding province of Anbar, as thousands of civilians who had been trapped inside the city took advantage of the Islamic States collapsing grip to flee. Aid agencies working with the displaced said they were struggling to provide even basic assistance. Tents had run out, and food and water supplies were dangerously low. Defeating the Islamic State in Fallujah deprives the group of one of its last strongholds in Iraq and gives a boost to the embattled Abadi. Backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqs special forces have won a series of victories against the Islamic State elsewhere in the western province. Fallujah, though, holds particular importance. Dubbed the City of Mosques, it is of symbolic significance to Sunni Muslims and was the first Iraqi city to fall to the militants. It was in Fallujah that U.S. forces endured their bloodiest fighting of the Iraq War, battling the Islamic States predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq, on the citys streets 12 years ago. We promised to liberate Fallujah, and today Fallujah was returned to the bosom of the country, Abadi said in his speech. He went on to address the militants directly. Your leaders have made promises to you and let you down. They promised you that they would withstand, and they didnt, he said. You have no place in this Iraq. [After more than $1.6 billion in U.S. aid, Iraqs army still struggles] After beginning their initial assault last month, Iraqs elite special forces encountered a complex network of booby traps on the citys outskirts. They said they expected the barricades to be easier to overcome once they broke through the citys initial defense lines, and they hoped that a months-long siege of the city had weakened the militants inside. That appeared to be ringing true Friday as Iraqi forces made faster-than-expected gains. The militants realized its a lost cause, and they are running away, said Maj. Gen. Saad Harbiya, an Iraqi army commander. Lt. Gen. Abdelwahab al-Saedi, commander of the Fallujah operation, said Iraqs elite counterterrorism forces had surrounded the citys hospital, which he said the militants were using as a base. The hospital was an early target for U.S. forces and Iraqi troops as they began an assault on the city in 2004. Saedi said his forces were within 50 yards of the building and were preparing to storm it. However, the presence of some civilians inside was delaying the operation, the Iraqi military later said. Commanders reported that the neighborhoods of Nazzal, Saray, Sinai and Andalus, and the main cemetery, had all been retaken. The central Jolan and Mualimin neighborhoods had not yet been secured, commanders said. Sabah al-Noori, a spokesman for Iraqs counterterrorism forces, predicted that the entire city would be under the control of Iraqi government forces soon. Abadi said he expected the final militants to be expelled within hours. [Troops face booby traps, tunnels packed with explosives in advance on Fallujah] Abadi announced the operation to regain control of the city last month, going against the advice of the United States to instead focus on the larger Islamic State-held city of Mosul farther north. Abadi, however, has been under domestic pressure to score a quick win against the militants after mass street protests in Baghdad against his government. Mosul is a more politically complicated operation, involving coordination between Baghdad and the semiautonomous government in Iraqs northern Kurdistan region. There have been concerns about the plight of civilians stuck inside Fallujah. When the operation began in late May, as many as 90,000 people were believed trapped in the city, with the Islamic State holding them to use as human shields. Adding to those worries is the supporting role being played by Shiite militias, which commonly perceive civilians in the Sunni-majority city to be sympathetic to the Sunni extremists. The militia forces have agreed not to enter the city center but have been accused of rights abuses on its outskirts as civilians flee. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the sudden surge of fleeing civilians was overwhelming. A sudden retreat by Islamic State fighters from key checkpoints in Fallujah allowed residents to leave in droves, spokesman Karl Schembri said. The aid group does not have exact figures on how many have left, he said. Its total chaos, he said. Thousands had slept in the open overnight and were now in the scorching sun with no shelter as temperatures climbed over 100 degrees, he said. Tents had run out. Drinking water remains in dangerously short supply, he added. Falah al-Issawi, deputy head of the Anbar provincial council, said 63,000 civilians had fled the operation in Fallujah. The International Organization for Migration put the number at 68,000. They join hundreds of thousands displaced from other areas of Anbar, including the provincial capital, Ramadi, which was recaptured at the end of last year. Most have not been allowed to return home, because large areas of the city have been reduced to rubble and are not yet cleared of explosives. Deemed a security threat, the displaced are also not allowed to cross into neighboring Baghdad province without special permission. Abadi tried to assure the displaced that security forces had sacrificed their lives so they could return to live in security and peace. Men who have fled have been detained for security screening. Out of 7,000 detained, about 1,500 have been referred to the judiciary for suspected ties to the Islamic State, said Issawi, who heads the screening committee. Another 1,500 are being investigated, while the rest have been released, he said. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraqs top Shiite cleric, urged security forces to take care as they advance and treat civilians as brothers and sisters. We warn that the aim of the fighters should not be revenge, he said in his sermon, urging discipline. Read more: These Iraqis dodged bombs and bullets to escape ISIS, but their misery hasnt ended A desperate womans email from Iraq reveals the high toll of Obamas low-cost wars U.S. Marine killed in Islamic State rocket attack in northern Iraq, military says Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Smoke and flames rise after what fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) said were U.S.-led airstrikes on the mills of Manbij where Islamic State militants are positioned, in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday. (Rodi Said/Reuters) Dozens of State Department employees signed and submitted a memo early this week urging the Obama administration to adopt a more aggressive stance against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, including the use of military force. The 51 signatories to the document, which was sent through the departments internal dissent channel, were largely mid-level diplomats based in Washington and overseas. They included a Syria desk officer and the consul general in Istanbul, and some were described by one official as having only peripheral involvement with Syria policy. The memo calls on the administration to respond to the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria with air attacks and other stand-off weapons, fired from a distance without troops on the ground, to force Assad into U.S.-led negotiations to end the conflict. As many as 400,000 people have been killed in five years of civil war in Syria, according to the United Nations, and nearly half the population has been internally displaced or has fled the country. Much of the thrust of the document has been advocated inside the administration by Secretary of State John F. Kerry for much of his time in office. President Obama has consistently resisted direct U.S. military involvement in the war, saying that it would simply add to the bloodshed and not improve the situation in Syria. Kerry said Friday during a visit to Copenhagen that the memo was an important statement that he would discuss further in Washington. [Assad vows more bloodshed in Syria] Its an important statement, and I respect the process, very, very much. I will . . . have a chance to meet with people when I get back, said Kerry, who is due to return to Washington late Friday. The memo was delivered Tuesday to the State Departments Office of Policy Planning. The White House was informed Thursday, after it became apparent that the document had been leaked to the media. It first appeared in the New York Times online several hours later. But several senior officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the subject, expressed frustration that the memo was made public and concern that it could undercut the secretarys own arguments. Others said the authors may not have known of Kerrys position in internal administration debates, or hoped to buttress it. The judicious use of the attacks it described would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process, the memo said. Even as it launched an aggressive bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the White House has gingerly approached the separate Syrian conflict between rebel groups and the Assad government. Over the past several years, it has expressed dismay at the lack of political and military organization of moderate opposition forces. The White House also has voiced continued concern that any weapons it gives to opposition fighters could end up in the hands of the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria. [U.S.-Russia cooperation on Syria frays] Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who left the administration at the end of Obamas first term, has said she had argued for a more robust U.S. posture while in office, including the establishment of U.S.-protected safe zones for civilians and opposition fighters. She has repeated that call during her campaign for the presidency. Numerous Republican lawmakers have urged U.S. airstrikes against Assad, and some have called for American troops on the ground. Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has said he would concentrate on the Islamic State and would leave Assad alone. Early this year, as the humanitarian situation worsened with at least 19 communities besieged by Syrian government forces, aided by Russian air attacks Kerry negotiated an international agreement with Russia and others for a cease-fire and for the delivery of food and medical supplies to communities that in some cases had been cut off from aid for years. While the cease-fire sporadically continues in some places the United States and Russia said this week that a new 48-hour truce was being implemented in the city of Aleppo it has largely collapsed in key parts of the country. Russia, which said when the cease-fire began that it would suspend its own bombing on Assads behalf, cut back but never fully stopped, according to U.S. officials who have repeatedly charged the bombs are largely directed at the U.S.-backed moderate opposition. [56 hours with the Russian army in Syria] Although the situation has reportedly improved somewhat this week, the United Nations, has charged the Assad government with continuing to block aid delivery in some places. The persistent bombing and humanitarian disaster prompted refugees who have flooded into Turkey and other neighboring countries over the years to seek further refuge in Europe, causing a political crisis there. Meanwhile, the bombing and the ongoing humanitarian disaster led the opposition to suspend U.N.-sponsored negotiations over a political solution to the conflict. The dissent memo said the signers were not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia, although it was not clear how such a clash could be avoided, given the already crowded skies over Syria and Russias support for Assad. The State Departments dissent channel was established during the Vietnam War. According to the official Foreign Affairs Manual, it is department policy that all U.S. citizen employees, foreign and domestic, be able to express dissenting or alternative views on substantive issues of policy, in a manner which ensures serious, high-level review and response. It was created, the manual says, for use when such views cannot be communicated in a full and timely manner through regular operating channels or procedures, to the attention of the Secretary of State and other senior State Department officials in a manner which protects the author from any penalty, reprisal or recrimination. Read more: Aid delivered in Syria may be too little, too late Assad pledges more bloodshed in Syria, says the peace process has failed As deadline approaches, no progress on humanitarian aid to Syrians Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world ARLINGTON, Va., June 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Planned Systems International, Inc. (PSI), a leading provider of information technology (IT) solutions and services for the federal government, is pleased to announce that it was awarded a task order to continue support of Expeditionary Medical Modernization Planning, Programming & Support (EMMPPS) for the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS). The AFMS mission is to provide increasingly better support to the warfighter during deployments. Under the terms of the task order, PSI will continue to provide analytical, advisory, assistance and consultation support to Air Combat Command (ACC) for all aspects of modernization and sustainment required to support air combat operations. This includes Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS), home station medical response, medical Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN), and casualty prevention. PSI experts will employ leading-edge technology and innovation to address todays ground-based expeditionary and aerospace medicine capability gaps and shortfalls. This technology will provide a robust enterprise-wide service for senior AFMS leaders to acquire timely and accurate data that will enable them to provide critical decision support. "This win represents the confidence our Air Force customer has in PSI and our ability to support the full range of expeditionary medical activities, said Matt Hartmann, Vice President of Consulting Services. "This is a tribute to our long-standing partnership and the thorough understanding of the value of this important mission. The task order has a one-year base period of performance with two option years and was issued under the Air Forces Contracted Advisory & Assistance Services IV (CAAS IV) contract. PSI has served as prime contractor for the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) on this contract since 2013. About Planned Systems International, Inc. Founded in 1988, PSI is a CMMI-DEV Level 3, CMMI-SVC Level 3, ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005, ISO 27001:2005, and ISO 14001:2004-certified enterprise IT solutions and management consulting services provider specializing in Health IT and Data Integration & Analyses. PSI has a stellar record of past performance and award-winning experience, and core capabilities in the following areas: Requirements Gathering & Design; Enterprise Architecture & Design; Software Development & Maintenance; Systems Integration; Testing Services; Web & SharePoint Development; Cloud Computing; E-Learning - Instructional Design & Delivery; Service Delivery & Customer Care; Medical Modeling & Simulation; Big Data Analytics & Business Intelligence; Mobility Systems; Theatre Systems Support, and Advisory & Assistance Services. The company has earned a solid reputation for applying state-of-the-art technologies and the industry's most successful methodologies to support business solutions for the Defense Health Agency, Veterans Affairs, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Corporation for National and Community Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other Government clients. Visit PSI on the web at www.plan-sys.com. Saudi Arabia, after its powerful deputy crown prince met with President Obama at the White House on Friday, publicly rebutted campaign allegations by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that it supports Islamist extremism and said it expects strong U.S. relations to continue no matter who wins the election. Irrespective of who is in the White House, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said, close U.S.-Saudi ties are not based on personal relationships. Instead, he said at a news conference, they are based on shared interests, including Middle East security, counterterrorism, trade, investment and international finance. This relationship is very solid, Jubeir said. Earlier this week, as Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as defense minister, arrived in Washington, Clinton repeated a charge that she first made last year. It is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said at an Ohio rally. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism. [Can Saudi Arabia pivot away from oil? A powerful prince brings his pitch to America.] Trump, the expected Republican nominee, has suggested that the Saudis may have been complicit in the 9/11 attacks, threatened to end oil purchases from the kingdom if it does not send ground troops to Syria, and said that it should pay the United States for protecting it. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is bipartisan, Jubeir said, and relations have grown stronger, broader, deeper under both Democratic and Republican administrations. While he declined to speak specifically about Trump, Jubeir said that Secretary Clinton has tremendous experience, has been to Saudi Arabia many times and knows the region. Responding to her specific charges, he said that all of us can do more to stop terrorist funding, including the United States. Saudi Arabia, he said, has one of the strictest laws in the world criminalizing the sending of money to extremist groups overseas and mandating that any charitable giving be funneled exclusively through the government. Nobody can question the kingdoms commitment to fighting terror, Jubeir said. At the end of the day, we are the main targets, he said, citing the large number of civilians and security officials killed in terrorist attacks. Jubeir repeated Saudi insistence that the 28 pages, as they are known, redacted from a 2002 Senate report on the al-Qaeda attacks be published in full. The pages, which the Obama administration has indicated it will release this month, are thought to contain FBI work plans for interviewing Saudi citizens and officials who might have had some involvement. The subsequent 9/11 Commission report, published in 2004 after a lengthy investigation, indicated that all of those leads were followed and determined to lack substance. [How allegations of Saudi Arabias ties to the 9/11 plotters began a problem for Obama, again] Jubeir said deciding when and how much of the document to release was a U.S. issue, not a Saudi issue. He also warned that passage of a proposed U.S. law to allow 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia and other countries for compensation would set a dangerous precedent and harm the United States above all. The White House has agreed, threatening to veto a bill removing sovereign immunity in such cases that has passed the Senate and is awaiting House action. Jubeir denied reports that his government has threatened to withdraw investment from the United States if it becomes law. But he acknowledged that he, the former Saudi ambassador to Washington, had pointed out that it would cause the international financial system to revert to the law of the jungle and said the country with the most to lose is the United States . . . the largest player in the world. Referring to Clinton, Jubeir said allegations that Saudi-built mosques were promoting extremism in other countries were not correct, exaggerated and not fair. Any such donations require permission from the local government, he said, and if someone uses them to preach intolerance, that government can take them to task. Policing what is taught in mosques and schools, he said, is the responsibility of local government, not the donor. He also rejected claims, made by Trump and others here, that Saudi Arabia has not taken a fair share of Syrian refugees. Since Syrias civil conflict began five years ago, he said, the kingdom has admitted 2.4 million Syrians, 600,000 to 700,000 of whom remain in Saudi Arabia. None of them is in a refugee camp. . . . We do not have a person in a tent, he said, adding that they are guests and given work permits, health care and education. They are free to stay in Saudi Arabia until the crisis is over. Since the mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, Democrats have endorsed various measures to get weapons out of the hands of people on secretive terror watch lists. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) The push by congressional Democrats to bar suspected terrorists from acquiring guns and explosives has focused renewed attention on the governments secretive terrorist watch lists, which have grown exponentially since the 9/11 attacks and triggered widespread concern among civil liberties groups. Since the mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, Democrats have endorsed various measures to get weapons out of the hands of people on the lists. The Senate is expected to vote Monday on a series of competing gun-control measures that will highlight the continuing partisan divide over the issue. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, had been on the FBIs terrorist watch list but was removed in 2014. His was one of approximately 800,000 names in that database, the most prominent of at least seven overlapping watch lists maintained by at least four federal agencies. The system has grown so large and complex that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this week that the Senate will vote with almost no one understanding how these lists are put together, how theyre adjudicated, how you get off of them. He added: The terror watch list is not what people think it is . . . and theres 11 different lists. [Senate close to vote on gun-control measures but no bipartisan agreement in sight] Although the government does not release the exact number of watch lists or the specific criteria for getting on them, it is clear that they have exploded in numbers. The no-fly list once called the no transport list contained 16 people on Sept. 11, 2001, according to government documents obtained by the ACLU of Northern California. By 2014, it had grown to about 64,000 people, FBI officials said. Federal terrorism investigators say the lists are an essential part of their post-9/11 emphasis on preventing another mass attack. Some experts agree. We want to give sufficient tools to authorities to keep us safe while at the same time building in safeguards, said Bruce Hoffman, director of national security studies at Georgetown University. Its one of the strengths of our society that if you havent committed a crime, you cant be arrested. But that doesnt mean someone is, quote unquote, innocent. Civil liberties advocates strongly dispute that, saying the watch lists are riddled with inaccurate and outdated information, nearly impossible to get off and stigmatize the people on them, who are stopped at airports and border crossings and rarely told why. The governments bloated watch system is based on vague and overbroad standards, said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions national security project. As a result, innocent people are wrongly blacklisted without a fair process to correct the error. The largest watch list is The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE), maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center. It is a central repository of not only names of what the government calls known or suspected terrorists but also classified intelligence files on them. As of August 2014, it contained about 1.1 million names, including about 25,000 U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, according to the center. The center sends data from TIDE to the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center, which maintains what is known as the governments consolidated Terrorist Watchlist. It contains about 800,000 names, according to 2014 congressional testimony from Christopher M. Piehota, the screening centers director. He told a House subcommittee that the watch list contains both known or suspected international and domestic terrorist identity information. The process for getting on the watch list, he said, is known as nominations, which originate from federal law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence agencies. Information from the FBIs master list flows to other lists, including the no-fly list, which is also maintained by the FBI; the Consular Lookout and Support System, a State Department list that identifies people who may be ineligible for a visa or passport; and the Known or Appropriately Suspected Terrorists File. That list, also maintained by the FBI, is a subset of the bureaus master watch list and is disseminated nationwide to law enforcement agencies, according to a 2014 ACLU report. In the years since 9/11, government monitors and courts have documented problems with the expanding system. A 2009 Justice Department inspector general report said that the FBI was often failing to modify information about individuals on its master watch list when new information emerged during an investigation. [The gun the Orlando shooter used was a Sig Sauer MCX] In 2014, a Malaysian architecture professor prevailed in a lawsuit in which she sought to get her name removed from the no-fly list, with a federal judge saying she had been put on it by mistake. And last year, another federal judge ruled that the governments lack of effective procedures for people to challenge their inclusion on the no-fly list was unconstitutional. The government then said that U.S. citizens and residents, unlike before, can find out whether they are on the list and sometimes receive a summary of the reasons. The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit, contends that the revisions are insufficient. Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report. Amid mounting popular opposition, the Greek government of the pseudo-left Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) and its right-wing populist allies, the Independent Greeks (Anel), is rapidly moving ahead with the privatisations demanded by the European Union (EU). Last year, the government agreed to a strict austerity programme with the EU, which, among other things, contains wide-ranging privatisations. After two austerity programmes were rushed through parliament at the end of May, the government has now turned its attention to selling off state property. In exchange for this, the state is to receive loans of 10.3 billion. The first tranche of 7.5 billion is expected to be paid out on 20 June. Last week, the Syriza government sold the site of the former Elliniko airport in southern Athens for the bargain price of 915 million to property developers Lamda Development, the Chinese firm Fosun and the Abu Dhabi-based Al-Maabat. A private luxury district is to be built on the 620-hectare piece of land, which also includes a large stretch of beach. Along with parks and casinos, Lamda intends to construct luxury hotels and apartments for the super-rich. The firm is largely owned by the old Latsis ship-owning family and is notorious for its corrupt dealings. In 2004-05, the building of a shopping mall in Athens by Lamda Development triggered a scandal because the deal upon which it was based with the government violated the constitution. The family of the billionaire and second-richest Greek, Spyros Latsis, is also the main shareholder of Greeces third largest financial institution, Eurobank Ergasias, which profited from the EUs bank bailout programme in 2012. According to Greek media reports, another condition for the payout of the loans is the sale of additional parts of the Greek telecommunications firm OTE to Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom became a part owner of OTE in 2008 and currently owns 40 percent of the company, while the Greek state has just 10 percent. Half of this stake is now to be sold. Deutsche Telekom oversees OTE and has cut 3,300 jobs in recent years. A similar destruction of jobs threatens the other institutions that are set to be privatised. At the same time, foreign investors and the super-rich in Greece are benefiting. The privatisation authority TAIPED counted 25 concluded projects on its web site, including the Elliniko airport site, several hotel resorts, stretches of land, beaches and state property, as well as 14 regional airports, which are to be sold to the German Fraport. On Monday, TAIPED published a tender for the evaluation of the 23 airports remaining in state hands. In addition, 13 ongoing privatisation projects were listed, among them the Astir Vouliagmenis beach and luxury hotel complex in Athens, Greeces largest yachting marina at Alimos in Athens, both ports in Piraeus and Thessaloniki, ROSCO vehicle maintenance, the rail operator TrainOSE and the water provider in Thessaloniki. A further 22 projects are being planned, including the Athens international airport, Athens water provider, the oil company Hellenic Petroleum, postal company ELTA, gas provider DEPA and the strategically-important Egnatia Odos motorway. TAIPED was founded in 2011 at the insistence of Greeces international creditors. According to the latest decisions, TAIPED is to be subordinated, along with three other institutions, to the new superfund Hellenic Company of Assets and Participations. This fund will also then own the newly-established corporation for public shareholders (EDIS) which will be responsible for privatisation in the transportation branch. A glance at the organisational structure of the superfund reveals the extent to which European institutions intend to expand their influence on the Greek economy. The general assembly of shareholders, i.e., the Greek state, represented by economics minister Euklid Tsakalotos (Syriza), makes all of the decisions about privatisations. But the management has been taken over by an executive team appointed and monitored by a five-person board. The European Commission and the European Stability Mechanism select two members of this supervisory board. The other three members are appointed by the Greek government but must be approved by the EU Commission and ESM. The supervisory board and management will thus be largely controlled by the EU institutions, within which Germany has considerable influence. But it is the Syriza government of Alexis Tsipras which is currently eagerly appealing for international investment. Deputy economy minister Giorgos Chouliarakis, who was involved in the negotiations of the third memorandum in 2015, told Greek newspaper Kathimerini on Sunday that Greece required large public and private investment and a business friendly climate. As the talks with the euro group were still under way, Russian President Vladimir Putin completed an extended visit to Greece with seven ministers and the heads of the energy concerns Gazprom and Rosneft. He expressed interest in the Greek railway company, the port of Thessaloniki and Hellenic Petroleum. A few days later, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls travelled to Athens and signed several agreements to strengthen Greek-French economic relations. While workers and youth protested against the labour market reforms of the Hollande government, Tsipras praised in the highest tones Greeces close cooperation with France, and demonstratively backed the Hollande government. The supposedly left Prime Minister proclaimed his solidarity not with French workers, but with the French elite. Both governments share a common hatred of their own working class. Anger towards Syriza is also growing in Greece. After the party was voted into office in 2015 due to its anti-austerity rhetoric, it has emerged as a reliable partner of international finance capital and the European institutions. Current voter polls show Syriza losing significant support. The latest poll from Kapa Research put the right-wing conservative New Democracy (ND) in the lead with 30.8 percent, ahead of Syriza, with 25 percent, a drop from its 35.46 percent in last Septembers election. Third place was occupied by the fascist party Golden Dawn, with 8.7 percent. These figures must be treated with caution, because 30 percent of respondents selected none of the available parties. The opposition to Syriza is in fact much greater, but it finds no expression within the political establishment. 76.9 percent of respondents evaluated the work of the government thus far as negative or quite negative. But all the opposition parties met with strong opposition; negative or quite negative was the evaluation given by 68.6 percent for the ND, 74.8 percent for the social democrats, 74.9 percent for the Stalinist KKE and fully 89.9 percent for Golden Dawn. The mounting opposition to the privatisations and austerity policies of the Syriza government is finding expression in strikes and protests. Workers at the ports in Athens and Thessaloniki have been on strike for two weeks, warning strikes have taken place for several days on Athens public transportation system, and on Tuesday, workers at the national rail and Athens city trains joined the strike. Last week, employees in the education and health care sectors demonstrated against terrible conditions in public schools and hospitals. The deputy health minister Pavlos Polakis (Syriza) was detained on a visit to Ierapetras hospital on the island of Crete by several hundred angry residents and workers demonstrating over the lack of staff and catastrophic working conditions. Syriza is responding to rising opposition with repression. At the beginning of this week, the government cleared all unauthorised refugee camps in northern Greece. The police mobilised 300 officers, sealed off the area and prevented media from entering. At least 38 foreign volunteers were temporarily held in police detention. The refugees are now being confined in state detention camps in which inhumane living conditions are rampant. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military intervention in Afghanistan, which officially began as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003, and ended in December 2014, will continue at least through 2020, NATO officials confirmed Wednesday. The continued NATO occupation of Afghanistan will be divided into three subsections, commanded by US-, German- and Italian-led contingents. Together with the 10,000 American troops remaining in country, NATO will maintain six bases as part of a hub and spoke military network, centered on the militarized government compound in Kabul and the massive US base at Bagram airfield, which was established following the 2001 US-led invasion. The NATO mission in Afghanistan is only part of a package of enhancements announced this week. In the lead-up to the July 8 Warsaw summit, NATO is preparing to ratify a laundry list of military preparations directed toward encircling Russia. On Wednesday, the US-European imperialist alliance announced new deployments and military aid to Romania, Ukraine, the Black Sea and the Aegean. NATO will also intensify its involvement in the European Unions militarized refugee-policing operations in the Mediterranean, Operation Sophia, including a new platform for a NATO role in the central Mediterranean, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. In a sweeping commitment, NATO has agreed in general terms to join the US war on ISIS, Washingtons latest catchall neocolonial project, which, though originally centered on the Iraq-Syria war launched in 2014, has expanded to encompass growing areas of Africa and Central and South Asia. NATO advisers are already preparing to join the American intervention in Iraq, and NATO intelligence cadres have been sent to the US Central Command and US Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida. In Eastern Europe, NATO is preparing openly for total war against Russia. The Warsaw summit is expected to approve a permanent rotational presence of thousands of Western combat troops in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, along with the progressive buildup of massive stores of warehoused military hardware, and the maintenance of a 40,000-strong rapid response spearhead force against Russia. The NATO enhancements are being announced in an aggressively provocative fashion. Every day brings more heated war rhetoric against Moscow. NATO leaders speak of war with Russia as an imminent reality. General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday that Russia is massing forces all along NATOs lines. We are observing massive militarisation at NATO borders: in the Arctic, in the Baltic, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, Stoltenberg said in an interview with Germanys Bild. Russia is trying to build up a zone of influence through military means, he said. We are registering aggressive, unannounced, large-scale maneuvers on the Russian side. Therefore we must act, Stoltenberg added, calling for a clear signal of strength. NATO must be ready in the future to deploy forces in Libya, as it did in Afghanistan and the Balkans, Stoltenberg said. NATOs commitment to five more years of war in Afghanistan is the latest in a flurry of signals that American imperialism is preparing a new outburst of militarist violence against Afghanistan, Pakistan, and throughout Central Asia. Spurred on by pressure from the Pentagon and the worsening crisis of the US-backed puppet government in Kabul, President Barack Obama is preparing to cancel further reductions of the US troop level in Afghanistan and authorize various expansions of the war. Last week, Obama green-lighted new offensive operations against the Taliban insurgency. The US Air Force announced Thursday that it is intensifying bombing raids over Afghanistan, acting under expanded rules of engagement aimed at shaping the battlespace, the US Air Force chief of staff told media Wednesday. The new US Afghanistan Commander, General John Nicholson, is expected to receive still broader authority to launch preemptive strikes against the Islamist militias. Decades of imperialist war, invasion and occupation by Washington and its European accomplices have already transformed Afghanistan into a killing field. From 1978 onward, US-backed militias and American and European troops have ravaged the strategic Central Asian nation, producing a body count that continues to grow by the year. The years 2014 and 2015 each set new records for civilian deaths in Afghanistan, with at least 3,500 civilians killed and 7,500 injured last year. Bolstered by NATO, Washington will plow ahead all the more boldly, unleashing new waves of chaos and violence in a Central Asian political tinderbox already menaced by the close prospect of a regional war involving nuclear-armed states. The American and European soldiers sent to Afghanistan are being deployed into a cauldron of national tensions. The political order of Asia is being violently restructured under the impact of the Obama administrations anti-China Pivot to Asia, which has massed American forces along Chinas coasts, and inflamed conflicts between Beijing and a handful of its neighbors, including Japan, India, Vietnam and the Philippines. The longstanding and interlocking conflicts between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Pakistan and India, have been thrown into overdrive by the US-India alliance, and were further damaged by the May 21 assassination of Pakistani-backed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. Washingtons war drive against China, and the recruitment of India on its behalf, have trashed the US-Pakistani alliance, forcing Islamabad to align more closely with Beijing. On Thursday, Pakistan announced that it would join the Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). A full SCO membership will help Pakistan strengthen its role in regional and global politics, economies and infrastructure by promoting regional connectivity through the One Belt One Road and Eurasian Economic Union projects, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said. The souring of relations between Washington and Islamabad has encouraged Kabuls ambitions to pursue historic conflicts with Pakistan. In an apparent effort to contest the imperialist-drawn 1893 Afghanistan-Pakistan border, known as the Durand line, Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani forces and construction crews in the Torkham border area on Sunday. After an attempted truce, Pakistani units began firing artillery over the crossing on Wednesday. The situation remains tense and both sides are reportedly massing forces in the area. The upending of the regional order by the US pivot is setting the stage for ferocious struggles over control of Central Asias vast natural resources and key commercial throughways. In Eurasian Integration: Caught Between Russia and China, the European Council on Foreign Affairs, a strategy network that includes a swathe of Europes political and business elite, outlines a plan to shape the Eurasian economy in the interests of sections of the European bourgeoisie, primarily through interventions targeted against Russia and China. Europe should carve out its own role in Central Asia, deepening its relationship with key nations such as Kazakhstan. These countries need the EUs market, and look to Europe to protect them from Russian and to a lesser extent Chinese control. Europe should ensure that no single country controls all energy routes through Eurasia, and back Chinas projects in order to reduce Russias control over the region, the Council wrote. The EU should play the role of an external balancer to China and Russias competition for power in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, they wrote. This will require strengthening cooperation in the field of energy trade and energy security between Central Asia and Europe. The European Council emphasizes the centrality of the Caucasus for Eurasian strategy, highlighting the centrality of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a crucial partner, since it provides the only means to bypass Iran and Russia, via the Caspian Sea, the Council notes. Azerbaijan is at the centre of three major integration initiatives the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), and the recently established One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative championed by China. The Councils analysis underscores the strategic significance of moves to integrate Azerbaijans neighbor, Georgia, into NATO, a major item on the agenda for Warsaw. NATO will strengthen our package of support for Georgia at the Warsaw conference, Stoltenberg said, building on the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center and Noble Partner war exercises held in May, which included 650 American and 200 British soldiers. While Georgia is not formally a member of NATO, Tbilisi already maintains a full infantry company within NATOs Response Force and has deployed nearly 900 Georgian troops in support of the NATO Afghan mission. Pointing to the titanic contradictions brewing within the Eurasian mega-continent, the European Council notes that Eurasian integration is increasingly creating a pro-Chinese constituency with the less privileged sections of European capital in Central and Eastern Europe. The Council warns: Chinas engagement in Central and Eastern Europe threatens to turn the region into a strong advocate for China within the EU. For the European elites, this can only offer another compelling reason for the maintenance of NATO military garrisons, on Chinas doorstep, in Afghanistan. For all its internal divisions, the imperialist bourgeoisie is united by its determination to prevent the formation of Chinese- and Russian-led economic blocs. This is necessary to insure that the vast resources and labor armies of the post-Stalinist countries, closed off from Western capital for the better part of the 20th century by the Russian and Chinese revolutions, are thrown open for exploitation by the ruling cliques in Washington, London, Paris and Berlin. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, responded to Sundays mass killing in Orlando, Florida by cynically and ominously invoking the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Just one day after 29-year-old Omar Mateen carried out the worst mass killing by a single gunman in American history, opening fire in a gay nightclub and killing 49 people and wounding 53 others, Clinton delivered a speech in which she appealed for a return to the spirit of 9/12. I remember how it felt on the day after 9/11. Ill bet you do as well, Clinton remarked. Americans from every walk of life rallied together with a sense of common purpose on September the 12th. And in the days and weeks and months that followed we had each others backs. Clinton wasted no time in invoking the fight against terrorism, even as details emerged of the complex ideological and political factorsembedded in the crisis of American societythat drove the homicidal actions of Mateen. What does Clinton really mean by the spirit of 9/12? The spirit of 9/12 means the invasion of Afghanistan, launched less than a month after the September 11 attacks, with the backing of both Democrats and Republicans. That war, now well into its fifteenth year and with no end in sight, has claimed the lives of more than 26,000 Afghan civilians and 2,300 American soldiers. This was soon followed in 2003 by the launching of an illegal war for regime change in Iraq, based on lies about WMDs and Saddam Husseins connection to 9/11, resulting in the deaths of approximately one million Iraqis, more than 4,400 US soldiers and the destruction of an entire society. Hillary Clinton, then a Senator from New York, voted with conviction to authorize the war. The spirit of 9/12 means the wholesale assault on democratic rights, including the passage of the draconian Patriot Act, military tribunals, detention without charge and the establishment of the notorious prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Under the framework of the war on terror, the powers of the police-state apparatus have been vastly expanded, including the illegal and unconstitutional domestic spying by the NSA revealed by Edward Snowden. As New York Senator and then Secretary of State under Obama, Clinton supported all these antidemocratic measures and fully participated in the persecution of Snowden for courageously revealing the criminal actions of the government. Or perhaps Clinton is referring to the adoption of torture as an instrument of policy? Just yesterday, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the ACLU documented the methods utilized by the CIA against prisoners, including forced nudity, the clothing of one detainee in a handcrafted diaper secured by duct tape, holding prisoners in cold conditions with minimal food or sleep, the horrific practice of waterboarding, and the infliction of torture on one prisoner that was so severe it killed him. The Obama administration has shielded the torturers, opposed their prosecution, and sought, to the best of its ability, to prevent the American people from learning the full truth of what the government has done. Following in the same spirit, President Barack Obama has dramatically expanded the scope of American military operations since taking the reins from Bush in 2008, expanding drone warfare and a policy of targeted assassination, including of American citizens. All told, Obama has overseen military operations and airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. It was Clinton, then secretary of state, who pushed for the war in Libya that resulted in the lynch mob murder of Muammar Gadhafi and the shattering of that country into multiple warring factions. Clinton now invokes the spirit of 9/12 not only to justify and sanctify the crimes that have been carried out with her support, but to set the stage for the future wars and military operations being planned should she win the election in November. Perhaps most importantly, the spirit of 9/12 is aimed at covering up the basic reality of life in the United States and internationally: the division of society into two classesthe corporate and financial elite, which has increased its wealth enormously over the past 15 yearsand the working class, burdened by declining wages, high unemployment and the continual attack on social programs. During the Democratic primaries, tens of millions of workers and young people supported Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who campaigned against the billionaire class. Even with Sanders winding down his campaign and preparing to throw his support behind Clinton, the preferred candidate of Wall Street, the question of social inequality remains on the minds of millions. Clinton, and the political establishment for which she speaks, wants to change the subject. Clintons reference to a common purpose is a fraud. There is no common purpose. There are the aims and purposes of the ruling class, backed by the full repressive power of the state. And there are the aims and purposes of the masses of workers and youth, seeking to defend their rights and striving for a society based on social equality. Whoever is elected in Novemberwhether it is Clinton, the Republican Donald Trump or some other candidatethe stage is set for a massive intensification of war abroad and the war on the working class at home. The presidential election campaign of the Socialist Equality Party is aimed at educating workers and youth throughout the country and internationally and building a political leadership to oppose the capitalist system and all its political representatives. Baidu, Chinas leading search engine group, is to invest a stated $305 million (RMB2 billion) in a slate of movies. The investment will be made through its Baidu Nuomi Pictures arm. The announcement was made Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Xu Yongming, president of Baidu Nuomi Pictures said that the company would use scientific and professional methods, as well as data from its massive web platforms, to assess projects. He said that the company is targeting 30 film and TV productions. Preferred genres include thrillers, youth-oriented projects and animation. In related moves Nuomi, which started out as group buying service but has been widely expanded, said that it would set up another fund for corporate investments in content companies. It will also set up a new fan service platform Fensiquan.com. Earlier this week, Baidu lowered its guidance to the investment community, warning that its medical advertising would weaken following recent regulatory issues. That news hit the companys NASDAL-listed shares, but financial analysts are divided as to the long term impact. The company has long been considered as one of Chinas top three Internet groups along with Alibaba and Tencent, to form the acronym BAT but has a long way to keep pace with the speed of development of either of its two rivals. Baidu is the majority owner of streaming video service iQIYI. The unit, which is heavily loss-making, this week announced that it had amassed 20 million paying subscribers. Related stories China's Huanxi Cancels $50 Million Venture With MUBI Apple Ordered to Stop Selling iPhones in China WWE Signs Streaming Deal With China's PPTV By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - The probe into the death of a 2-year-old boy killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is not criminal in nature, the local sheriff's office said on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The investigation is continuing, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Rose Silva, adding, "It's not criminal in nature at this time." She did not provide further details. A Disney spokeswoman said the company would review the posted signs that ban swimming in Seven Seas Lagoon but do not specifically warn about alligators. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at about 9:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by phone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH GATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock, including three last night. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most-visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. The hotel's website - rooms start at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can enjoy diversions such as "bask on the white-sand beach." (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Matthew Lewis) orange due to their being so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to be a close relative and thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles that limits due to their being a close relative that limits due to its being a close relative that limit because it is a close relative that limits because they are close relatives that limit because of being a close relative that limits 1. due to their being / due to its being / because it is / because they are / because of being 2. a close relative / close relatives 3. that limit / that limits We'll start with #3 on our list (limit/limits) because it's an issue of subject-verb agreement, which should be pretty easy to handle quickly. struggles limits struggles limit struggles limits struggles limit struggles limits We can eliminate options A, C, and E because they use the singular "limits" with a plural subject "struggles." all of brothers each of a friend all its fellows a close relative INCORRECT all their fellows close relatives CORRECT There you have it - option D is the correct choice! Hello Everyone!Let's take a closer look at this question to figure out the best course of action! First, here is the original question with the major differences between the options highlighted inIn California, a lack of genetic variation in the Argentine ant has allowed the species to spread widely;the spread of this species in its native Argentina.(A)so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to beand thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles(B)so genetically similar the ant considers all its fellows to beand thus does not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles(C)so genetically similar, the ant considers all its fellows to beand thus does not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles(D)so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to beand thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles(E)so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to beand thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony strugglesAfter a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:Since all of the options for #1 are different, it will be hard to eliminate more than one at a time. With options 2 & 3, we can eliminate several at once, so let's start with one of these.To determine which verb we need, we must first figure out what this verb is referring to. What is causing the spread of the species to be limited? The intercolony struggles. Since "struggles" is a plural word, we now know that we need a plural verb to go with it. Let's see how each option breaks down:(A) due to their being so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to be a close relative and thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolonythat(B) due to its being so genetically similar the ant considers all its fellows to be a close relative and thus does not engage in the kind of fierce intercolonythat(C) because it is so genetically similar, the ant considers all its fellows to be a close relative and thus does not engage in the kind of fierce intercolonythat(D) because they are so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to be close relatives and thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolonythat(E) because of being so genetically similar to one another, the ants consider all their fellows to be a close relative and thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolonythatSee - that was quick! Now we're only left with 2 options, so let's move on to #2 on our list: a close relative / close relatives. The key here is to look for the words "all of" or "each of" to figure out which one we need here:considerX to be Y = plural noun for Y (I consider all of my friends to be.)considerX to be Y = singular noun for Y (I consider each of my sisters to be.)(B) due to its being so genetically similar the ant considersto beand thus does not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles that limitThis isbecause the idiom structure doesn't agree in number. Whenever we refer to "all of" something, we need to use a plural to match. In this case, it uses the singular "a close relative," which is singular.(D) because they are so genetically similar to one another, the ants considerto beand thus do not engage in the kind of fierce intercolony struggles that limitThis is! It uses the proper subject-verb agreement with "limit," and the use of the plural "relatives" agrees with the plural "all their fellows."If you were to tackle #1 on our list first, it would have taken much longer to narrow down your options. Finding the "either this or that" problems will help you eliminate 2-3 options at once, which is much faster!Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it._________________ The former Republican presidential candidate later clarified his statement and said he "misspoke." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) had some harsh words for President Obama Thursday (June 16) when he said Obama was directly responsible for the Orlando Shooting massacre due to his administrations inability to neutralize, or at least combat the rise of Islamic terrorist groups. Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq, McCain said. So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies. McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Obama, made the comments while the president and Vice President Biden went to Orlando to visit surviving family members of those who were killed during the massacre. The elder Republican statesmen realizing his criticisms were rooted in poor taste, later retracted his statement and said he misspoke. I did not mean to imply that president was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the president himself, 79-year-old McCain said. The Arizona senators comments didnt sit well with Twitter, which caused the former P.O.W to trend for reasons no one should really be trending on Twitter. Somewhere there is a frazzled caregiver who entered John McCains room to find a blanket rope trailing out the window & half eaten jello cup Lauren DeStefano (@LaurenDeStefano) June 17, 2016 Breaking news: John McCain says Obama is directly responsible for the unsatisfying Lost finale. Benjamin Siemon (@BenjaminJS) June 17, 2016 John McCain is still mad he lost to Obama and WE are still mad he unleashed this half-wit on America. pic.twitter.com/6l1v9sG4g8 Sheila (@SheilaInCT) June 16, 2016 On Sunday June 12, 29-year-old Omar Mateen entered Pulse nightclub with an AR-15 assault rifle and killed 50 people. Although initial reports indicated Mateen choose the gay night club because he became irate after seeing two gay men kiss one another, one survivor, Patience Carter said while inside the club he spoke with attendees and pledged his loyalty to ISIS, and said the shooting was because he wanted America to stop bombing his country. Cut down to save for the environment and your wallet. Taking steps to improve the energy efficiency of your home doesn't only help to reduce your impact on the environment, it can also significantly lower your monthly utility bills. When it comes to deciding what appliances to replace or what new systems to install, consider what will provide the best improvement compared to the cost. "The most important step is to understand where investment makes the most sense," says Alex Wilson, co-author of "The Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings" and founder of BuildingGreen, an information and consulting company serving green design. Here are 10 things you can do to save energy and money in your home. Consult a professional. Every home is different, from the way it's built to how it wears down over the years. To figure out where your home is wasting the most energy, you can get a professional energy audit, which typically costs between $218 and $550, according to HomeAdvisor. Depending on the company performing the audit, how thorough you want the report and where you live, it can take one to five hours -- or more. "It would be an in-depth assessment to look how tight the home is -- where there's air leakage in the home," Wilson says. An audit can tell you where insulation may be less effective, or where windows need weather treatment to better keep harsh outdoor temperatures from disrupting your indoor heating and cooling. Or run a report yourself. If you can't undertake the cost of a professional audit, there are options like HomeSelfe, a free app and web service powered by utility information company Energy Datametrics. HomeSelfe shows you how to input information about your home, including the type of lightbulbs used and the age of your refrigerator, to tell you where you can make improvements, from simple fixes to replacing old appliances. Find rebates and tax credits for an upgrade. Any new product or appliance can offer better efficiency, but a homeowner's first concern is often the initial cost of the improvement. The federal government and many state and local governments offer tax credits for energy upgrades to homes, and many companies offer rebates on heating and cooling systems, new water heaters and more. "Most consumers don't know they're out there," says Ameeta Jain, co-founder of HomeSelfe. You can find local tax breaks and rebates through a simple web search, or pull together a HomeSelfe report, which provides local rebate options to help you save. Story continues Replace your shower head. It might seem almost too simple, but swapping out an old shower head will reduce the rate of water flow, dropping your water usage without forcing you to take shorter showers. "By reducing the flow rate by two-thirds or three-quarters, as would happen if you replace a 20-year-old shower head with a new one, it can pay for itself within a matter of months," Wilson says. Older shower heads can create a mist as well that will cool quickly and force you to use more hot water, he adds. Popular shower heads from Toto, Delta and DreamSpa all have significantly lower water flow rates than those manufactured 20 years ago, while continuing to offer highly desired "rain" showers. Unplug what's not in use. Another easy fix is one we all consider but don't necessarily do: When you're out for the day, unplug fixtures or switch off power strips not in use. Jain says getting in the habit of unplugging things as you leave your home can help to reduce "vampire energy," or the power used up by appliances that aren't on but are constantly plugged in. "Then in the morning when we unplug our phone, laptop, iPad, just turn the power strip off and you're saving energy," she says. You can even turn off the power source at the wall by replacing your existing outlet with a remote control outlet. Insteon offers a remote control dual on/off outlet, allowing you to cut the power on each plug independent of the others, for about $65. Insulate or vent the attic. Because they're largely unfinished, attics often don't get the same insulation the walls of the rest of the home do, and as a result they are either cold in winter or extremely hot in summer. "Air conditioning is always trying to cool the floor below the attic," says Sabine H. Schoenberg, a Connecticut-based real estate agent. By insulating the floor of the attic or installing solar-powered vents to help warm air escape during the summer and keep cold air from coming in during winter, your heating, ventilating and air conditioning system won't have to work as hard to regulate temperatures inside. Replace old systems. The older your air conditioniner or water heater is, the less likely it is to employ technology that helps to increase its efficiency. And with age any appliance will require more energy to function properly. The federal government's Energy Star website can calculate the savings an Energy Star refrigerator can have over an old model: A 20-cubic-foot fridge made in 2000 would cost approximately $170 per year to run in California, compared to $63 annually to power an Energy Star-certified model of the same size. But appliances may not be your first priority. "I would have to say the biggest energy suck is the HVAC," Jain says. Replacing an underperforming system will cost you upfront, but it will help reduce your regular utility bills moving forward. Put solar panels on the roof. It's becoming increasingly common for multiple homes in a neighborhood to have rooftop solar panels, and Wilson says it's for good reason: "The cost of solar panels has come down so much that it now becomes a very real solution." Solar energy marketplace EnergySage reports the price of solar panels has decreased by about 12 percent in the last year, and combined with tax credits, the average 5-kilowatt solar energy system would cost a homeowner about $13,000. Solar panels on your property can cut up to 30 percent off your electricity bill, according to EnergySage. Landscape strategically. What's outside your home can reduce the stress on your HVAC and make it easier -- and cheaper -- to maintain your ideal temperature inside. When you're planning landscaping, take into account the parts of the home the sun shines on. "Plant shade trees, or if there's a shed that's being built, have it shade the west side of the house that heats up most in the afternoon," Wilson says. For homes in colder climates, Wilson recommends planting trees or bushes close to the home to block out wind, which tends to make the home work harder to heat the interior. Don't buy a product you can't trust. There are always new products claiming energy efficiency, but you should always do your own research to feel confident you're taking the right steps. Schoenberg says one product she warns against are compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which are energy efficient but give off a fluorescent, blueish tint and contain trace amounts of mercury. "There's not one good thing I can say about them," Schoenberg says. Instead, she recommends light-emitting diode lightbulbs, which are still more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. Individuals or companies soliciting door-to-door or on the phone may also insist on energy-saving products, such as a particular attic insulation or solar panels. Always do thorough research before agreeing to anything to avoid poor installation or even outright theft of your money. A court in India sentenced 11 people to life in prison Friday, for their involvement in a massacre during communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002. The special court set up in the city of Ahmedabad called the Gulbarg Society massacre in which nearly 70 people were burned alive the darkest day of civil society, the Hindu newspaper reported. Of the 24 individuals convicted earlier this month, one received a 10-year jail term while 12 others were imprisoned for a period of seven years. More than 1,000 people, a majority of them Muslim, were killed during three days of rioting in what became one of the most infamous incidents in Indias history. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat at the time, was accused by his detractors of allowing the killing to continue unabated, but he has been cleared of any wrongdoing by multiple Indian courts. [The Hindu] Boeing 787 BBJ Kestrel In July, China's HNA Aviation Group will welcome a shiny new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to its fleet. This plane is special because it is the first 787 Dreamliner to be built purely as a private jet. HNA's new Dreamliner is symbolic of a hot new trend in private and corporate aviation long-range, mid-size, wide-body airliners. "It's an emerging market that didn't really exist in the past," Kestrel Aviation Management CEO Stephen Vella told Business Insider. Kestrel oversaw the design, engineering, and fabrication of HNA's new Dreamliner which has an estimated total cost topping $300 million. Airbus and Boeing have long offered versions of its airliners to private customers under their Airbus Corporate Jet and Boeing Business Jet programs. However, buyers of these airliner-based private jets have long gravitated to either four-engine, jumbo jets like the Boeing 747 or smaller, narrow-body jets such as the Airbus A320. "The market is traditionally separated into two buckets," Vella said. "The big Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s primarily catered to heads of state while the smaller Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s are popular corporate runabouts as well as secondary planes in government fleets." Boeing 787 BBJ Kestrel Although twin-engine, mid-size, wide-body jets such as the Boeing 767 and the Airbus A330 have long been available, they never quite caught on with the private jet crowd. However, in recently years, ultra high-end private jet customers have become increasingly interested in the new generation mid-size, wide-body planes such as the Dreamliner and Airbus A350. What's changed? According to Vella, several factors led to the shift. First, leading business men and heads of state are generally pressed for time. As a result, they prefer be to able to fly anywhere they need to go non-stop. Until recently, this simply wasn't possible in a twin-engined jet. The traditional thinking in the aviation dictates that there's safety in the number of engines a plane has. Story continues Regulating bodies such as the US Federal Aviation Administration have even placed limits on which ultra-long-range intercontinental routes twin-engine jets can fly. As a result, government and corporate clients looking for a plane with the range and capability to go anywhere in the world had to turn to four-engined jumbos. However, with the incredible reliability of modern turbofan engines, the regulatory limitations on twin-engined jets have essentially been wiped out. Now, planes such as the A350 and the 787 can fly anywhere the owner requires, but in a slightly smaller and more affordable package. For instance, HNA's new state-of-the-art composite Boeing has a range of 9,800 miles even when packed with passengers, luggage, and fuel. A similarly outfitted A350 ACJ will be able to delivery that type of performance as well. "You can fly between virtually any two points on the globe," Vella said of the Dreamliner. Boeing 747 Secondly, the price of crude oil has fallen dramatically over the past two years. Even though cheaper fuel makes buying and operating a thirsty, four-engined, jumbo jet much more attractive, low crude prices have also cut dramatically into the income of Middle Eastern governments. Unfortunately for the 747 BBJ, they are also some of the plane's biggest customers. According to Vella, all major Middle Eastern governments such as Saudi Arabia, operate large royal fleets, many of which are jumbo jets, for elite members of the ruling family and officials to use. Over the next decade or so, these fleets with need to be updated. Vella, whose company has bought and sold more than $50 billion worth of commercial and private jets, believes the Middle Eastern clientele are ready to do some belt-tightening and downsize to smaller planes. Finally, another factor that has benefited the Dreamliner-sized jet is the increasing public sensitivity towards political largess. Unlike the US, where the plane that operates as Air Force One is held in high esteem and seen as a symbol of national power, the public in many countries view a large presidential aircraft as a sign of political over indulgence. According to Vella, this is a particularly sensitive issue in Europe. However, a smaller aircraft with the performance capabilities of a jumbo, but in a less attention-getting package is a reasonable alternative. "The mid-size jets have less ramp presence," Vella said. "They offer the owner much more discretion." Boeing 787 BBJ Kestrel After all, it's hard to arrive discretely in a jumbo jet no matter where you go. Even at the world's busiest international airports, an aircraft the size of a 747 or Airbus A380 is conspicuous. But all of this requires some perspective. Even the "smaller" 787 BBJ is still an absolutely massive aircraft. At 186 ft. long, even Donald Trump's converted Boeing 757 is dwarfed by the new Dreamliner. And with 2,400 sq. ft. of living space, it offers the same amount of room as an average American suburban home. What's coming According to the long-time aviation executive, over the next 15-20 years, demand from just the Middle East for Boeing 787-sized private jets will top 30 aircraft. That may not sound like many planes, but at more than $300 million a pop, that's about $10 billion in business from just a handful of customers. In fact, Vella believes demand from East Asia will be just as intense over that period of time. "Because of the high number of long distance and (trans-oceanic) flights the customers make, these are the perfect planes for Asia," Vella added. Whether the market for these mid-size, twin-engine wide-body private jets actually skyrockets remain to be seen. But with the unprecedented level of advanced technology, luxury, and performance it can offer, they are an undeniably attractive option for the right buyer. NOW WATCH: The best and worst months to rent an apartment in major US cities More From Business Insider kachnar007 wrote: Thanks for your evaluation. I appreciate your good work. I have few follow-up questions, which are as follows: I understand that my low GPA & gap year will be a negative for my profile. But I would like to highlight that even if my GPA was low, I aced my non-major courses like economics, advanced maths, statistics, etc. Will that be taken into consideration? My undergraduate university is ranked #5 for ChemE in the US according to US News. MatE comes under the same department, will that be taken into consideration if mentioned in my application (in the future)? Will clearing CFA & other exams in one go within 2 years help offset my academic disaster? I have a job offer from a top domestic PE for an internship, shall I take it by leaving my current permanent IB job which I just started? I know I need to take the decision, but by leaving a job so soon look bad on my resume. Or shall I think in this way - I got into PE right away without prior IB experience? Also, I would like to highlight that I learned French during my gap years in order to meet the INSEAD language policy. kachnar007 wrote: Also, I observed there are not many IB/PE applicants from India, will that work in my favor when applying? As I mostly see IT, Engineers in other industry & consulting MBA applicants. I would also like to ask, how do I show leadership within my industry (IB/PE) other than working on deals which everyone does. Can you share any professional leadership experience in my industry that your client has shown which helped him/her differentiate from others? kachnar007 wrote: I would also like to clarify that I will be applying after 5 yrs of WE in IB/PE or combined. I won't' be considering my portfolio management as WE. I think you assumed I will be applying after just 2 years WE. It would be true that I will possibly enter B-school at age 29, which might go against me given other students enter at a younger age. kachnar007 wrote: It would be great if you could share some insight into how b-schools accept students. In other words, is there a quota by country, type of industry WE , gender, undergraduate degree or a combination of them, by which b-schools accept students. Hey dude,No problem,Let me jump in below.So regarding the coursework, it doesn't matter. Clearing the CFA is fine. But the thing that would help most at this point is an awesome GMAT.As for the PE internship versus your current job, honestly that's a call you need to take by yourself. Forget about the MBA, you can't predict what will happen, but make your decision based on salary/opportunities/desire/gut like you would any job decision.That's true. And for that alone you will stand out. And yes, IB/PE is a much better industry than IT, in general. But it doesnt mean that if someone has two years managing at Google and a 8.5 at an IIT with an awesome GMAT, that the schools will choose any PE/IB people over him. So yes, your industry is good, but that alone won't coast you in. It also depends on your performance, your employer, etc. But of course, you are in a far more advantageous position than your average IT applicant.Okay got it. 29 is a fine age. There will be more applicants who will be 26, but you are within a standard deviation, so don't worry about it.There's no simple answer here. There aren't direct quotas per se, but they will desire to create a diverse class, in terms of countries like industries, etc. Most schools will FIRST and foremost simply try and get the best people they can get (with the strongest profiles) and diversity would be a secondary goal for them. Every school has a different philosophy, and every year sees a different pool of candidates and different readers on the Adcom, so the best way to position yourself is still with the strength of your profile taking into consideration your pool.I hope this helps,Best,JF From Town & Country After reading Emma Cline's debut novel The Girls, a fictional retelling of the Manson Murders from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old protagonist, one can't help but wonder how a Millennial recreates a time period and its atmosphere with such verisimilitude. What lines her bookshelves? Who are her favorite authors? If you, too, can't get enough of Charles Manson, his followers, and their notorious crimes, here are six more books T&C recommends you add to your summer reading list. 1. Helter Skelter: The True Stories of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, recounts the details of this chilling and complex case from his front row seat. This is the unofficial bible of the tragedy that ended the free love ideology of the sixties. Bugliosi covers vast territory here, getting into the psyche of the mastermind, the psychology that convinced his followers to do his dirty work, and his extraordinary detective work. 2. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote If literary true crime is your thing, look no further than Capote's masterpiece. His deft retelling and psychological investigation into the senseless murders of a humble Kentucky family living on a remote farm digs as much into the killer's psyche as the victims'. 3. Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn Published just two years ago, Guinn's biography of the sociopath is a must-read. The superbly written prose uses hindsight to place this event in its historical context. Guinn succeeds in digging even deeper into Manson's past to provide more clues and context for the cultist. 4. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe If the Manson murders was the event that came to represent the dark side of the sixties, Wolfe's first-hand account of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters and their LSD-infused travels reflects the apex of the counterculture movement. Before Manson's name came to light, Kesey was also deemed a "Christ-like" leader with loyal followers who often took the path of least resistance. Story continues 5. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie In his 2013 biography on Manson, Jeff Guinn revealed that this 1937 self-help cult classic fell into Manson's hands while he spent time in prison in the late 1950s for auto-theft. One of the book's tenets: how to manipulate people into believing that thoughts you have planted in their minds are their own. Probably not what Carnegie had in mind. Nevertheless 6. The White Album: Essays by Joan Didion Didion explores the aftermath of the 1960s, particularly through the lens of a native Californian, by recreating the atmosphere, and describing the nuances of that time and place. Along with recounting time she spent with the lead witness and former Manson follower, Linda Kasabian, Didion also reflects about the moment she heard about the murders on the radio: "I remember that no one was surprised." Three babies have been born with Zika virus-linked birth defects in the United States and three more died before birth because of the defects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. Officials said that although the birth defects occurred in pregnant women who tested positive for the Zika virus, it is unknown whether the disease or "other factors" caused the outcomes, the CDC said in a statement this week. "These numbers reflect poor outcomes among pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection reported to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry," officials said in the statement. "To protect the privacy of the women and children affected by Zika, CDC is not reporting individual state, tribal, territorial or jurisdictional level data." Zika Virus: What You Need to Know Meanwhile, the CDC announced that 234 pregnant women in the U.S., both visitors and residents have been diagnosed with the virus, NBC News reports. Another 189 cases of the virus have been reported in U.S. territories including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. "Unfortunately, I think it is not surprising. I think it is consistent with what we have seen in Brazil and Colombia," said Dr. Denise Jamieson, who spearheads the agency's watch on pregnancies affected by the virus. Officials cautioned pregnant women, or women who may become pregnant, to avoid Zika-affected areas, NBC reports. Jamieson said that as the number of babies born with Zika-linked birth defects rises, the agency will be able to release more information, according to the New York Times. "We're sort of in a hard place a We don't want to inadvertently disclose information about difficult decisions these women are making about their pregnancies," she said. She added: "The pattern we are seeing in other places is the same as in U.S. travelers that Zika is causing birth defects is real." "It's not confined to one location or time period." This June has been one of the most challenging in pride history. It's brought months of pain and struggle to an infuriating head. In April, discriminatory legislation in Mississippi and N has thrust homophobia and transphobia into the national spotlight. In May, birth certificates were b and concerts boycotted in protest. And then Sunday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history ended dozens of young LGBTQ individuals' lives. Every event has only reminded the nation just how much hatred and misunderstanding surrounds the gay experience. But these aren't reasons to show less pride. If anything, pride month should be louder and bolder than ever. These are the songs that will make up its soundtrack, by artists the culture can't afford to overlook during Pride. 1. Tegan and Sara Twin sisters Tegan and Sara's latest album, Love You to Death, continues the bright, buoyant synth-pop direction the duo has been exploring since 2013's Heartthrob. While that's an extremely trendy sound, the pair see themselves as being part of a creative vanguard, proving queer women that they too can succeed in pop. "I wish there were more queer women making music in the mainstream," Tegan told Glamour. "I still feel a responsibility to really push ahead. Not that I want to give in or give up or retire, but there are definitely moments where I wish there was more happening." 2. Troye Sivan Troye Sivan emerged on the scene last December with a striking debut and a simple mission: "I just wanted to write normal pop songs and when the time comes to use a pronoun, I'll use the word 'he,'" the now 21-year-old Sivan told Complex. "A 14-year-old Troye would've definitely appreciated this." It's a more radical idea than it may seem at first. In a world full of people like Sam Smith, a man who has previously to let his identity manifest in his art, and Nick Jonas, a straight white man who is of gay-baiting fans, Sivan's comfort with his identity is a small revolution. These telling details he includes on songs, like his June-released single "Talk Me Down," make them that much more personal and poignant. Story continues 3. G.L.O.S.S. Anger was one of the most profound feelings seen across the web following the Pulse shooting. No music this month offers a better tool to channel it than the latest release from G.L.O.S.S., Trans Day of Revenge. Short for "Girls Living Outside Society's Shit," G.L.O.S.S. explores the queer and trans experience and the myriad forms of violence, hatred and ignorance that attempt to diminish it. Their confrontational singles, such as the cathartic "Give Violence a Chance" 4. Ladyhawke At the beginning of June, New Zealand synth-pop artist Ladyhawke released her third album, Wildthings. Its songs are simple yet high-energy, dealing with subjects like love, insecurity and freedom sometimes all in one song, like in the album's sunny opener "A Love Song." Drawing up these stories, she rarely draws inspirations from her own life, as she explained to New Zealand's Stuff. "I prefer to speak in metaphors," she said. "I like implying things, and I like people being able to read between the lines." They lend Wildthings a universal, dream-like appeal, which makes for different stories every listen. 5. Shura On the very first day of the month, Shura released her "What's It Gonna Be?" video. It's a quirky ode to queer love, showing two friends pursuing their high school love interests. They draw out cheeky plans with magic marker and find private corners of the school to sneak kisses. Love stories are some of Shura's favorite to tell. "They're things that we all go through, and when we're going through it, we think that we're the only person in the world going through that," told Complex. "Having that music there sort of reminds you that you're not alone." 6. Kaytranada Young beat-making prodigy Kaytranada has been on a tear since releasing his show-stopping debut LP 99.9%, back in May. He's since applied his characteristic elastic bounce to tracks from jazz band BadBadNotGood and Rihanna, turning her "Kiss It Better" into a chipper electro pop jam for her dance remix EP. Later this year, a fitting compliment to his LP's title, bringing him even closer to that full 100%, which he nodded to briefly during a Fader profile in which he came out as gay. "I've been sad my whole life, but fuck that," Kaytranada said. "I know I have good things ahead. I don't know honestly if I'm fully, 100 percent happy, but I'm starting to get there." 7. Big Dipper The personality that bursts at the seams of Big Dipper's early hits "Vibin'" and "Drip Drop," earned him a dedicated internet cult following that's been steadily growing since. "I think the internet has offered a huge accessibility to LGBTQ fans looking for LGBTQ artists, looking to connect with someone who they can see themselves in, who can share and reflect their story back to them," Big Dipper told Punk Out, discussing his newfound fame in June 2015 "I think that's amazing!" His latest, "Good At Sex," relies on campy, raunchy rhymes that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. You can always find something to smile about if you look in the right places. To celebrate PEOPLE and ABC's new series People's List, we've rounded up seven stories that gave us an instant mood boost this week. Prince William gets a scolding from grandma Even royals get told off by their grandparents every now and then. A new contender for World's Best Gif shows Queen Elizabeth nudging her grandson to "Stand up, William" as the famous family gathers on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Color shows. Come for the queen scolding William, stay for the George facepalm. pic.twitter.com/etvmofiU5m a Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) June 15, 2016 The clip even features an adorable facepalm bonus courtesy of Prince George. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are expecting their second child There's another baby on the way for the former That 70's Show costars, Kunis' rep confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday. The new addition will join the couple's 20-month-old daughter Wyatt Isabelle. 7 Stories That Made Us Happy This Week "She's the greatest mom," Kutcher has said of his wife. "I go to work every day, and I come home and she's perfect. And it just seems like everything went amazing. And I know that something probably didn't go amazing, but she never tells a it's unbelievable. She's incredible." Posh cat dazzles the Internet This week we were introduced to Pitzush, a Romania-based Nebelung cat who is taking Instagram by storm. The fanciful feline struts her stuff in glitzy eyelashes, elaborate outfits and piles of jewels. A photo posted by Pitzush Puss In Glam (@pussinglam) on Oct 27, 2015 at 8:01am PDT A photo posted by Pitzush Puss In Glam (@pussinglam) on Nov 23, 2015 at 1:06pm PST A photo posted by Pitzush Puss In Glam (@pussinglam) on Feb 24, 2016 at 6:21am PST "I started dressing Pitzush because I thought that so many women in fashion aren't good role models for young women and they end up getting body conscious. I wanted to do something that would poke fun at that lifestyle even glamour puss is a poke at women who are overdressed with no substance," Roxaba Dulama, the 8-year-old cat's owner, told Daily Mail. Britney Spears gets star-struck by Ed O'Neill, who doesn't recognize her Even pop princesses go unnoticed sometimes. Modern Family star Ed O'Neill stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres show where he recounted an oblivious run-in he had with Brit Brit. "I was flying alone to Hawaii. I was waiting for my flight to board," O'Neill said. "They told me the flight was boarding, and I picked up ... a little Modern Family hat. I saw a woman approaching me, so I just flopped it on, you know, I was leaving. She came up and said, 'Oh, Mr. O'Neill, I love Modern Family, and you're my favorite on the show.' And I was like, 'Well, I'm here, and I'm the only one here.'" Spears requested a photo, which she later posted to Twitter. "So I said, 'Sure, fine, you know, okay,' O'Neill continued. "So she sat there, and we took it, and I said, 'Have a nice trip. I'm going,'" and I left. So the next day, my manager texts me and goes, 'What is this? 53,000 likes. It's Britney Spears.'" Story continues Fancy running into this guy! Such a sweetheart!! pic.twitter.com/jqyVIVmu30 a Britney Spears (@britneyspears) March 21, 2015 Video captures groom's emotional reaction to his bride Videographer John De Rienzo captured an extra special moment at the London wedding of Gabriel and Annabelle Deku. The now-viral video shows groom Gabriel bursting into tears as Annabelle makes her way down the aisle. "I was thinking, 'My goodness.' I was in total disbelief that this day had finally come," the new husband told BuzzFeed. "At the time we met, I had given up hope on this whole love thing. Thought this idea of having a life partner who would love and respect me unconditionally was only a story only told in movies. But, I was wrong! True love does exist." National Aquarium plans to free captive dolphins Eight of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins at Baltimore's National Aquarium are homeward bound. The facility announced on Tuesday that they've decided to move the mammals to an ocean sanctuary after scientists showed that the highly-intelligent animals need space and opportunity to form social groups and truly thrive. "We're thrilled, and we think that this is really a breakthrough decision," Lori Marino, the president of the Whale Sanctuary Project told The New York Times. "This is going to improve the animals' welfare enormously. It's going to restore to them a little bit of what was denied them all these years, living as performers in an aquarium." 90-year-old WWII vet finally receives high school diploma Seventy-three years after dropping out of his Pennsylvania high school to serve his country, Ronald Gilroy finally celebrated his Carbondale Area High School Diploma. The veteran took the commencement stage alongside the graduating class of 2016. "He always worked to make sure that we had everything that we had and he put us through school and through college so we just thought it would be good to do something for him," Gilroy's daughter Kim Johnson told area ABC affiliate WNEP16. People's List airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Its not a complete shocker to hear about people partaking in behaviors that they know are unhealthy. (Fried food, caffeine, or beer bongs, anyone?) Still, the idea of tanning actively lying out in the sun seems a particularly retro and risky choice in 2016, since melanoma is such a deadly form of cancer. But according to a new American Academy of Dermatology survey, people are still going after that healthy glow, even though they know theres no such thing. A whopping 98 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 34 who tan understand that skin cancer can be deadly, the survey found and 71 percent of the women know that the idea of a healthy tan is a fallacy. Further, 66 percent of women surveyed know that getting a base tan is not an effective way to protect themselves from the suns harmful ultraviolet rays. Related: Just Dont Use It, Says Doctor of Black Salve for Skin Cancer Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is the second most common cancer in young women, and we believe this may be due in part to their tanning habits. It is alarming that young women are continuing to tan even though theyre aware of the danger, notes dermatologist Elizabeth S. Martin, chair of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Council on Communications, in a press release about the findings. Exposure to UV radiation, whether its from the sun or an indoor tanning device, is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer. Women need to take their knowledge and turn it into action by protecting themselves from the sun and staying out of tanning beds. A new PSA from the AAD called Arms (below), which shows two friends comparing tans over the years until one winds up in the hospital with a stage-3 melanoma diagnosis, attempts to communicate the risk factors to folks who just cant stop tanning. So wheres the disconnect? As Kasey Lynn Morris, a Ph.D. in social psychology about to start her post as a researcher with the National Cancer Institute, tells Yahoo Beauty, Identity and self-esteem concerns are a very important motivation in health behaviors even more important than health itself. In other words: Being healthy is one thing, but if looking tan (or, more positively, eating healthily or exercising) makes you feel better about yourself, then it will likely win out. Story continues Related: All Sunscreens Are Not Created Equal: Check This Guide Before You Step Outside Morris, who spent time researching sun tanning in the face of skin-cancer threats while she was a student at the University of South Florida, explains that tanning, in particular, may be an even harder nut to crack than, say, smoking. Smoking has become something where people say, Eww, smoking is gross, and so you dont want to be the type of person who smokes, she explains. But for women especially, appearance is a prime source of self-esteem, so theres that competing motivation of being healthy but also having that healthy glow. For perpetuating the myth that a tan is healthy, we can thank, for starters, Coco Chanel, who apparently turned the pre-Industrial Revolution idea of a leisure-class pallor on its head in the 1920s by accidentally getting too much sun on a Mediterranean cruise. Photographs of her made the sun-kissed look chic, and tanning became aspirational, a symbol of wealth and leisure. Even though that idea has been ever-so-slowly tamped down since the 1980s, when sunscreens with higher SPFs were introduced, its been a tough one to fight. A quick and unscientific Facebook poll for this article, asking those who like to get tan why they do it when they know its unsafe, brought in the following responses: Its another addiction thats hard to break, Makes me feel better to be nice and tan and makes my teeth look whiter, and I just think I look healthier. Barbara Greenberg, a Connecticut-based psychologist, tells Yahoo Beauty, My sense is that people feel like its a very quick way to look refreshed and like theyve just been on vacation. Like Botox and other quick fixes, she says, it certainly takes on an addictive quality. Men and women seem to become equally addicted. They also feel like it makes them look younger, and associate tans with youth. The youth factor is a big influence, Martin tells Yahoo Beauty. Unfortunately, I think some women (and men) continue to tan because they see the immediate results of the tan but do not consciously recognize the risk of skin cancer they will face in the future. Young people often see skin cancer as a disease of older people, she says, whereas melanoma is the second most common cancer in women ages 15 to 29. Many young women still use indoor tanning beds, unfortunately, and using indoor tanning devices before age 35 can increase your risk of melanoma by 59 percent, with the risk increasing with each use. Martin says she often hears patients say they only tan for special occasions, or before a vacation, but she aims to warn them all the same. I remind them that tanning in any way is damaging the DNA in their cells, she says. I quote the statistics. I tell them about one of my first patients who had an invasive melanoma at age 19 and how frightening that was for that patient and that family. I often also tell them that while they may feel like this tan makes them look great for this prom, or this vacation, if they choose not to tan and choose to protect their skin, they will look better than everyone else at their class reunions! Many times each day, I say, You will thank me when you are 40. I promise. Heres Why You Should Get Excited About the Return of the Perm Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. George Takei may have become famous for his role on Star Trek, but it's his activism in the gay community that's really put him on the map. And, true to form, the actor now has the best clapback to anti-trans laws with a new T-shirt that says, plainly: "You can pee next to me." Source: Omaze "If you show your support with one of these shirts, well, urine my good graces," the actor said on the shirt's website. The shirts are on sale for $25, and the proceeds will go to Equality North Carolina, an LGBTQ organization that's been fighting back against an anti-trans bill that was recently passed in the state. The bill, HB2, requires people in the state to use public bathrooms that correspond to the assigned gender listed on their birth certificates, a move that critics argue effectively criminalizes transgender North Carolinians. Source: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images Takei has become a leading activist in recent years. His nt to hilariously calling out Tennessee lawmakers for erasing LGBTQ history. He always manages to prove his point while making people laugh. As Takei's T-shirt website states: "If you're going to take a stand against discrimination, you might as well look good while you do it, right?" By Tom Miles and Lisa Barrington GENEVA (Reuters) - An aid convoy carrying food, medicines and other emergency supplies for 37,500 people has reached al Waer, a besieged suburb of the Syrian city of Homs, a U.N. aid agency said on Friday. "The convoy to al Waer was completed late last night and the team has returned safely to their base," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said. A second convoy, to supply the rest of the estimated 75,000 people in al Waer, is planned in the next few days. A separate convoy, to Afrin in northern Aleppo, had also gone ahead but a delivery to the Damascus suburb of Kafr Batna had not, due to "last minute logistical complications". The U.N. hoped it would proceed in the next few days, Laerke said. The delivery to al Waer means only two besieged areas are still out of reach since the countries backing the U.N. peace process launched a weekly "humanitarian taskforce" meeting to push for better aid access in March. The U.N. hopes to send convoys to the last two areas - Arbin and Zamalka in outlying suburbs of Damascus - within days, U.N. humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said on Thursday, although the U.N. and Syrian government disagree how many people are there. Egeland said aid agencies need sustained access to civilians, rather than the familiar "stop-go" situation whereby Syria's government switches approvals for convoys on and off and some aid convoys get only conditional or partial clearance. He noted that not a single siege had been lifted, despite apparent progress in aid access this month. Riad Hijab, coordinator of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, said al Waer, the only part of Homs city not under government control, was on the brink of humanitarian disaster, and blamed the U.N. for capitulating to the government's "siege and starvation tactics". "Al Waer's residents have come under enormous pressure because of dire humanitarian conditions, bombardment and starvation imposed by the Assad regime to agree to a local truce. "The United Nations Damascus office has helped the regime enforce the terms of this truce", he said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A campaign group this week accused the United Nations of letting the Syrian government dictate how aid is distributed, effectively allowing it to use starvation as a weapon of war. (Reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Air Madagascar has been removed from the European Union's safety blacklist, senior government officials and said. The lift means the state-run airline is allowed to fly within the 28-nation EU for the first time since 2011. "All the planes of Air Madagascar can fly over European skies as from Thursday noon," James Andrianalisoa, director general of Civil Aviation of Madagascar, told a news conference late on Thursday. Air Madagascar said in a statement that its removal from the blacklist would allow it to proceed with seeking a strategic partner. The decision to take Air Madagascar off the list was announced in Brussels on Thursday. The government directly owns 90 percent of Air Madagascar, while Air France (AIRF.PA) owns 0.20 percent, staff and other individuals hold 0.12 percent and the rest is held by state-owned companies. It has a fleet of 11 aircraft and employs about 2,000 people. Flying to 14 cities on the island and 13 foreign destinations, the airline is a driver of the island's tourism sector. Madagascar's economy has been struggling since a 2009 coup which scared off foreign investors and prompted donors to cut aid. A peaceful election in late 2013 saw aid flows resume but the new government has had difficulties introducing economic reforms. (Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Jason Neely) Just two weeks after her birth, Harper Howard started experiencing as many as 40 seizures a day. Her parents were baffled, as no one in their family had a history of seizures, and they spent the next nine months traveling the country in search of a doctor who could diagnose their daughter. Finally, it was determined that Harper had CDKL5, a rare genetic disorder that affects just about a thousand people across the world and has no known cure. "We tried a combination of 10 different drugs," her mother, Penny Howard recalled. "Her lifeshe was just existing. We had conversations with her, but we had to play both sides and just assume she was in there mentally. She was really trapped. It was horrible." In 2013, Howard and her husband Dustin saw CNN's "WEED" special, which featured a young girl in Colorado whose similarly frequent and debilitating seizures stopped almost completely after she started taking a tincture that was low in THC, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychoactive effects, but high in CBD, a compound found in cannabis that does not produce a high and is believed by many doctors to provide a number of medical benefits. But the Howards lived in Texas, where medical marijuana reform has been crawling through the legislature, but isn't yet legal. After some research, however, they discovered that they could purchase CBD oil online. CBD is legal in all 50 states, provided that it's derived from industrial hemp, a strain of cannabis that's legal to import to the United States as long as it doesn't contain any traces of THC. (A handful of U.S. states have legalized hemp cultivation, but farmers have been tentative to actually grow it, fearing resistance from federal drug enforcement.) The Howards ordered a vial of hemp oil from a company called HempMeds, and within two weeks, Harper's seizures had been cut in half, to about 20 a day. After six months, she was seizure free. Harper died this January from a metabolic complication related to her disorder. But her mother is still touting the benefits of hemp oil: when we spoke with her, she was on the floor of the second annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo, which is taking place at the Javits Center through Friday. "I'm not opposed to doctors or pharmaceuticalsI'm rare here," Howard said, gesturing around the convention floor. "I believe that they saved her life and prolonged it. But when we combined science with nature, we prolonged it another two and a half years, and we gave her a better quality of life. We gave her a quality of life." Howard's blog about how hemp oil helped her daughter drew the attention of other families coping with CDKL5 across the world, and since 2013, six other countries have legalized CBD oil as a prescription product. Meanwhile, the Howards paid $300 out of pocket for every small vial of oil, as no cannabis-derived products are covered by insurance in the U.S. Slowly but steadily, however, states have been legalizing marijuana, more often for medical than recreational use. New York State legalized medical marijuana in 2014, with the first dispensaries in the city opening earlier this year, but the state's law notably doesn't allow for the use of the plant itselfjust oils and extracts to be vaporized or eaten. As such, there wasn't any actual pot at the expo, and the few exhibitors displaying products with THC had to keep those products sealed behind glass. The majority of booths hawked legal CBD products, ranging from aromatherapy sprays to lotions and hemp dog treats. Though many, like Howard, spoke of CBD products as something of a miracle cure for everything from seizures to autism and back aches, it's worth noting that when the FDA investigated hemp oil companies last year, it found that many supposed CBD products didn't contain any detectable traces of the cannabinoid. Among Thursday's exhibitors was CannaKorp, which has created what it calls the "Keurig of cannabis": a pod-based, single-serving vaporizer. The company's partnering with marijuana cultivators, who will fill the pods with their product, to be sold at dispensaries. For about $150, customers can buy the accompanying vaporizer. The product will be rolling out in 2017, first in Colorado and Washington State, both of which have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational use, but it won't make it to New York until the state legalizes the use of the actual marijuana plant for medical purposes. Then there were the creators of PotBot, an app that they describe as "the world's first cannabinoid recommendation engine." Users fill out a profile with their age, gender, and weight, and select any conditions they're looking to treat with marijuana. The app will then recommend the ideal dosage of THC to treat that condition, and will display strains of marijuana that can best provide that dosage. It'll also recommend the best way of consuming marijuana for your given conditionfor example, vice president Yoray Halevy explained, "if you suffer from inflammation, the best way for you to consume it is most likely vaporization, because that would give you the best relief the quickest. But if you have PTSD you might need tinctures, or you might need edibles." The app will then display the nearest dispensaries, including those that might be out of state, and will also offer a list of doctors registered to prescribe medical marijuana. By prohibiting the use of the marijuana plant, PotBotics CEO David Goldstein said, New York is keeping some patients from finding the strain that could best treat their conditions: he argued that "with a plant, not only are you getting a lot of whole plant medicine, but just because you have a larger pool of plants you could choose from, there's more opportunity to get the right medicine. It's a much more limited scope when you're working with extracts. You might not find the perfect medicine for you, versus if you're working with plant strains, you can find the right types of strains that work for you." Like Penny Howard, Shira Adler was inspired to get into the cannabis business by her children: her son has some behavioral problems and trouble sleeping, and it was with him in mind that she created a line of aromatherapy sprays called "Beyond the Spectrum," all of which contain a number of essential oils, including CBD. "I anticipated parents going, 'Oh, I don't know about putting CBD in something my kids are going to use,'" Adler said. "But ironically, they're like, 'Does it have pot? Can I have some?'" The sprays won't produce any sort of psychoactive effectAdler describes the CBD as "putting the essential oils on steroids"but one of the five, a calming spray titled "Smile," will be sold in select states with THC, targeted specifically at children with autism. Though, like the use of CBD to treat epilepsy, there haven't been any peer-reviewed studies of the oil's efficacy in treating autism, there's anecdotal evidence of children with autism speaking for the first time after taking hemp oil, and some children have reportedly responded even better to a product that also includes THC. But Adler's THC-infused spray won't be sold in New York: autism is not among the few conditions that make patients eligible to obtain medical marijuana. New York's strict regulations are what's got Ron Silver, owner of Bubby's restaurant in Tribeca, turning his attentions to developing a line of edible marijuana products that he'll soon be rolling out in Oregon, which has legalized recreational marijuana usage. He's taking soda syrups developed at the NYC restaurant and infusing them with THC: one ounce of the syrup carries two milligrams of THC, and users can dilute the syrup with soda water to their preference. Silver's also created a 420-friendly version of 5-hour energy, mixing THC, coconut water, coconut fat, and caffeine; he'll also be rolling out five-pound baker's bars of marijuana-infused chocolate, plus CBD-infused sugars, which can be stirred into tea for a calming sleepytime nightcap. "I think New York City's laws are insanely stupid and corrupt," Silver said. "But I'm 100% sure the recreational laws will expand here. Otherwise it makes NYC this puritan state, and every other state is reaping the benefits. I don't think New York is going to sit around for that." There are the Grammys, the VMAs, the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame, but it's hard to think of a room more loaded with music-business heavyweights than the annual UJA-Federation of New York luncheon. In fact, it's hard to think of a room more packed in general, with more than 650 executives crammed into the ballroom of The Pierre in Midtown Manhattan, across from Central Park. Any attempt to list all of the luminaries present would take all afternoon, but suffice it to say that a huge percentage of Billboard's Power 100 -- including Clive Davis, Doug Morris, Marty Bandier, Craig Kallman, Julie Greenwald, Lyor Cohen, Jason Flom, Joel Katz, Neil Portnow, L.A. Reid, Daniel Glass and Rob Stringer -- were all in the house on Thursday, and Alicia Keys and Elle King both performed. The event is a fundraiser for the organization (United Jewish Appeal), which supports a network of nearly 100 nonprofits that serve 4.5 million people in New York and in 70 countries around the world through programs that provide food, medicine, job training and more to people in need. Neil Portnow Honored as a 'Music Visionary' at UJA-Federation Event (Photos) And every year an honoree (or honorees) are chosen as Music Visionaries: this year, RCA chiefs Peter Edge and Tom Corson got the nod -- even though neither of them are Jewish. Although religion is not a requirement for this honor, that fact was joked about multiple times during the event. RCA Chiefs Peter Edge and Tom Corson on Signing Zayn Malik and Enrique Iglesias -- and Being Blissfully Unaware of Miley Cyrus' VMA Plans The day's MC was director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge and the forthcoming Netflix series The Get Down, which is based in New York in the mid-1970s), who introduced the pair as "two great music guys" and noted that UJA generated a whopping $200 million last year. 17 Top Music Execs On Giving Back, The Charities They Support and Their Love For UJA Story continues He was followed by Glassnote founder Daniel Glass, who contextualized the day's events by referencing the recent shootings in Orlando and Tel Aviv and said, "One person can make a difference: one person can vote for one person, and the weight of the Supreme Court is in that person's hands." He then shifted into talking about the honorees, whom he's known for decades, and said, "What I love about your company, as a competitor, is that it's an A&R-based company -- A&R always wins." [[{"fid":"617365","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":827,"width":1240,"alt":" ","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Alicia Keys performs at the UJA-Federation of New York's Music Visionaries of the Year at The Pierre Fifth Avenue in New York City on June 16, 2016. He also spoke about the benevolent work the UJA has done, and noted that the luncheon had already raised $1.2 million. Next up was Bleachers leader and fun. co-founder Jack Antonoff, who could look at standup comedy as an option if he ever gets tired of music. Rob Stringer Named UJA Visionary Of The Year As Adele, John Mayer, Doug Morris, Others Pay Tribute "Peter and Tom are not Jews," he began his speech by saying, "but they run the company the way my parents raised me, and you guys of course know that I'm Jewish because I look like an anti-Semitic caricature," eliciting uproarious laughter from the crowd. "I always pictured record-company villains as big scary guys with a cigar -- and I'm not talking about Marty Bandier, he's one of the greatest -- guys telling people that you have to do things that would break your heart in order to break records. "But with Tom and Peter, we talk about music, records -- it's not just about smashing the world with a [hit]. We're talking about people who really want to do great work, music that matters. Anything I've done that really mattered to me started with these conversations about making a great record." He then played a comic video that showed him turning up at RCA's offices looking for Edge and Corson (who weren't in), trying to gather quotes for his tribute. A receptionist and label president Joe Riccitelli gave half-hearted descriptions, both of whom described the pair as "like yin and yang." He then calls Miley Cyrus, who pitches him on a fantasy TV series where she's a high school student by day and superstar at night -- but a klezmer superstar. He calls Justin Timberlake next, who says, "Tom and Peter? Who is that?" before adding slightly more seriously, "I love Tom and Peter, and it's been a real struggle watching them try to survive as the record industry continues to plummet." Dave Grohl appears briefly, saying, "I'm not f---ing Jewish!" The video ends with Antonoff, asleep in the lobby, finally approached by Edge and Corson. "Where were you guys?!" "We were at temple with Rabbi Shlimovitz." The pair received musical tributes from Elle King -- who performed an acoustic version of "Xs and Os" and said "Tom and Peter have changed my life in a very big way" -- and Alicia Keys, who performed "In Common" (accompanied by a percussionist) and a solo version of "If I Ain't Got You." Keys, her hair piled up on her head, clad in a gold, flowery jacket with pastel-colored numbers on it, said, "These are really two very long-term friends of mine and I'm so happy to be here celebrating them." She told the story of how she originally wrote "If I Ain't Got You" for an unnamed other artist and played it for Edge, who said, "I love the song, but there's no way in hell I'm letting you give it away." A spoken tribute from Doug Morris followed. "When Tom and Peter took the reins at RCA, it would be a compliment to say it was a company in distress," he began. "Over the past five years they've made it one of the most successful companies in the country. They've done it with integrity, loyalty and class, and these guys must have been very well-parented because they are so special." [[{"fid":"617367","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":827,"width":1240,"alt":" ","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Elle King performs at the UJA-Federation of New York's Music Visionaries of the Year at The Pierre Fifth Avenue in New York City on June 16, 2016. Finally, Edge and Corson gave acceptance speeches, focusing largely on thanking the UJA and the people at RCA and Sony and throughout their careers, as well as the artists who participated in the event. They also spoke about their visit last week to the Educational Alliance, a nonprofit in the UJA Federations network on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that provides early childhood education, arts programming, drug-abuse prevention and addiction services. The pair also met with teens from the Edgies Teen Center, which provides more than 350 young people with educational and career-oriented programs. Thanks to the program, "Kids have the chance to get out of survival mode -- and dream," Corson said. VH1's Rick Krim, MTV's Amy Doyle Honored at UJA Luncheon by Pink, Rob Thomas, Judy McGrath, Van Toffler, Many More Edge thanked Clive Davis ("who took a chance on me in 1996, I learned at Clive school"), Doug Morris ("who I'm proud to call a colleague"), and Keys ("who I've worked with for 20 years -- yes, it's really been that long"). [[{"fid":"617366","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":1860,"width":1240,"alt":" ","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Clive Davis with Peter Edge and Tom Corson at the UJA-Federation of New York's Music Visionaries of the Year at The Pierre Fifth Avenue in New York City on June 16, 2016. Yet it was Corson, who started by donning a bleach-blonde wig -- "I couldn't find any yarmulkes so I put on a Sia wig" -- who provided possibly the afternoon's most moving moment, choking up briefly when he recalled his early days at A&M Records, where his boss, the late Gil Friesen, introduced him to his secretary, Susan. "We've been married for 28 years." He concluded by saying about his staff: "It's not just the people you work with, it's the people you work with, they're your family and your community." All photos by Michael Priest Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f119761%2fetnalenticular Breaking news: Aliens are invading Earth after landing on top of a volcano in Sicily. Or at least that's what the pictures of an unusually pronounced version of a particularly rare cloud make it seem like. Posted to the World Meteorological Organization's Facebook page as well as other social media sources, the photos show a massive lenticular cloud perched atop Mount Etna on June 14. SEE ALSO: These cloud maps track life on Earth in beautiful detail In these pictures, the cloud appears to be enshrouding the peak, and looks like a stack of pancakes above the volcano. Such clouds are known for creating dramatic scenes, but this altocumulus standing lenticular (from the Latin word "Lenticularis," meaning "like a lentil") is especially striking. Here's how the American Meteorological Society (AMS) defines lenticular clouds in it's Glossary of Meteorology: "A cloud species the elements of which have the form of more or less isolated, generally smooth lenses or almonds; the outlines are sharp and sometimes show irisation." The AMS states that the clouds typically form from the airflow over terrain features, such as mountains. Lenticular clouds such as these usually form when there are strong winds blowing at high altitudes, and as moist air is forced to go up and over mountains. As the air rises in this way, which is known as orographic lifting, it is forced to cool and condense into clouds. Such clouds are then shaped by the strong winds and contorted by the mountain-induced wave in the airflow. These clouds form in much the same way as rocks cause standing ripples in streams. The lenticular cloud marks an area of rising and then sinking air, and glider pilots will often use these clouds as clues to where to catch the best lift. The area downwind of a lenticular cloud features sinking air, and sometimes, a line of lenticulars can form as the waves in the air progress downstream. This often happens in the lee of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, and can be associated with turbulence approaching that airport. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is rolling out a new food series featuring celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse who along with some of his chef friends will be seen travelling to six countries to explore the roots of regional cuisines. Amazon and Sequential Brands Group, Inc. SQBG, which promotes and licenses Emeril Lagasse media and merchandising properties, confirmed this news through separate announcements on Thursday. The six-episode Amazon original series called "Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse" premiering on Sep 2 will be shown exclusively on Prime Video via the Amazon Video app on TVs and connected devices like mobile, Fire TV, and online. Each 30-minute episode will show the celebrity chef meeting one of his chef friends and exploring new foods and cultures. The show will offer insights about the history, traditions and cooking techniques followed across different cultures. Lagasse said in an interview, If you can understand what theyre doing in the culture, then you can understand the food. Lagasse will visit China with Mario Batali, Italy with Nancy Silverton, Cuba with Aaron Sanchez, Sweden with Marcus Samuelsson, Spain with Jose Andres and South Korea with Danny Bowien. AMAZON.COM INC Price AMAZON.COM INC Price | AMAZON.COM INC Quote Lagasses Popularity Set to Increase It appears that the immensely popular and experienced chef is well aware that currently viewers like cinematic, character-driven food documentaries that are much more appealing. This is supposedly the reason why he attempted to add a human element to the show and emphasized on the language of food. Collaborating with Amazon will certainly take his popularity a few notches higher. Whats on Amazons Platter? Lagasse initially came up with the idea and approached Amazon with a list of his chef friends he wanted to have on his show. In each of the episodes, Lagasse and one of his fellow chefs will take viewers to a particular part of the world, thereby exploring the connections between food, cultures and places. Story continues Amazon seems to have found the idea interesting and lapped it up. This could help the company strengthen its foothold in the unscripted programming space. Other Popular Food Series Netflix, Inc.s NFLX Chefs Table, PowerShares Dynamic Media ETFs Mind of a Chef and CNNs Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain have made both upcoming and renowned chefs more popular. It appears that Amazon is not willing to fall back in the race. Currently, Amazon is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. A better-ranked stock is PetMed Express, Inc. PETS 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 PETMED EXPRESS (PETS): Free Stock Analysis Report AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report NETFLIX INC (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report SEQUENTIAL BRND (SQBG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research This summer, Congress has been tying itself up in knots, trying to decide how to adequately fund U.S. national defense priorities, given the limits imposed by sequestration. But the difficult reality is that, however we choose to address immediate challenges, any rational attempt to plan for Americas future security must begin with a clear-eyed reassessment of the costs, trade-offs, and dangers of the trillion-dollar plan Washington is undertaking to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. That reassessment should include an effort to eliminate the new nuclear cruise missile. This week, I co-sponsored an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would cut funding for the development of this missile, the Long-Range Standoff Weapon, by $75.8 million. If adopted, that preliminary cut would have slowed its development by three years. The United States needs a strong and credible nuclear arsenal. But our current nuclear forces are excessive. With over 5,000 deployed and stockpiled nuclear weapons and thousands more awaiting dismantlement we have a nuclear force stacked with redundancy. The nuclear triad that we would use to deliver these weapons consists of over 400 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles on high alert and undetectable nuclear ballistic submarines, each armed with two types of warheads. We also deploy nuclear gravity bombs that could be delivered from bombers or fighter aircraft, and air-launched nuclear cruise missiles. In addition, the United States maintains non-deployed nuclear weapons that act as an additional hedge to our deployed nuclear weapons, along with thousands of nuclear components and, of course, the ability to build even more nuclear weapons. The truth is that the United States can retain a credible nuclear deterrent with significantly fewer nuclear weapons and fewer delivery systems, at a fraction of the cost. Instead, and with little debate, Congress has embarked on a plan to modernize all of these systems and increase these capabilities at an estimated total cost of $1 trillion over 30 years. This effort largely results from decisions made before the advent of the Budget Control Act and an ideological commitment to nuclear weapons by the Republican majority, which recently described them as our national security priority and the foundation of all our defense efforts in its security strategy. That plan means purchasing new nuclear weapons production facilities and labs, refurbishing warheads, land-based ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, building new strategic bombers and nuclear-capable fighter aircraft, and, to top it all off, a new nuclear cruise missile. Story continues These expenses will soon constitute a huge proportion of the U.S. defense budget: Yearly nuclear modernization costs will soon balloon and then more than double in the ensuing years, requiring at least $40 billion annually between 2024 and 2036, or nearly 10 percent of defense costs. This modernization bow wave a term meant to describe the bulging costs resulting from new defense programs, like the waves that spread from the bow of a ship will crowd out other defense priorities, consuming money for conventional weapons, cyber security, taking care of military families, and everything else. For comparison, consider that $40 billion would fund an additional 330,000 troops, and is almost twice the yearly cost of the Marine Corps. That is an enormous problem that we are unprepared to handle. The comptroller of the Department of Defense has called the cost of nuclear modernization the biggest acquisition problem we dont know how to solve yet. Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, stated that the Pentagon is wondering how the heck were going to pay for it, and that current leadership is thanking our stars we wont be here to have to answer the question. Meanwhile, Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly voted down and blocked amendments that would require more comprehensive cost assessments for these plans. Whats more, this nuclear investment would actually undermine U.S. security by driving an emerging global nuclear arms race, undercutting American credibility in the pursuit of nuclear nonproliferation. Indeed, over the past few years, Russia and China have been modernizing their nuclear deterrents. Much of their spending is meant to assure the relevance of their deterrents and offset conventional military deficiencies. That doesnt mean that the Pentagon must counter these new Russian and Chinese investments; America already has a reliable, credible nuclear deterrent. We must be careful to avoid creating incentives for a self-fulfilling cycle that heightens the risk of using atomic weapons. To avoid going down this road and to ensure that we maintain the capabilities we need, we should cancel redundant systems such as the planned development of the Long-Range Standoff Weapon, which I proposed reducing funding for this week in a defense appropriations amendment; adopt substantial cuts to our nuclear arsenal, which could save tens of billions of dollars; and increase accountability and transparency by requiring the Defense Department to submit a 25-year plan for nuclear deterrent modernization to explain how it plans to manage these costs. Now is the time for serious oversight and a realistic approach to these issues in order to stop an emerging arms race and avoid wasting billions of dollars we cannot afford. Photo Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Staff (Reuters) - American rock singer Meat Loaf collapsed on stage while performing in Canada on Thursday, videos posted online showed, days after he postponed a show due to illness. The 68-year-old dropped his microphone and fell to the floor in the middle of his 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". Stage hands and band members rushed to his aid as he lay on the stage. I didnt know if it was real. All of the band stopped playing instantly, fan Lotta Shandalla told the Edmonton Journal newspaper after concertgoers were ushered out of the Jubilee Auditorium in the city in Alberta province. Emergency personnel responded at the scene, the newspaper said. His condition was not known and authorities in Edmonton were not available for comment. Meat Loaf postponed a show in Calgary on Monday due to illness. With a huge voice and a body to match, the "Bat Out of Hell" singer, born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas, had slimmed down in recent years but suffered from frequent health problems and told Reuters in 2013 he would stop touring. "I outweigh (Mick) Jagger by about 100 pounds (45 kgs) and that counts for something. He hasn't seen the wear and tear," he said at the time. Meat Loaf pulled out of a concert in Britain in 2013 hours before he was due on stage. He canceled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords and has collapsed on stage at least once before. He later blamed blackouts on past concussion injuries and other health problems on asthma. In 2012, he underwent a knee replacement operation. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Robert Birsel and Robin Pomeroy) Political action committee Americans Against Insecure Billionaires with Tiny Hands ran its first ad tonight, targeting MSNBC viewers in Washington D.C. and asked them to sign a petition demanding Donald Trump release his hand measurements. The group, founded in Portland, Oregon, earlier this year, will reach out to other markets. The PAC was started in March by Portlander Henry Kraemer, who said his goal was to expose the truth about Donald Trumps tiny baby hands, reports The Oregonian newspaper. The PAC has bought TV ad time in Washington D.C., where they plan to air this ad, titled Release the Measurements. They will expand their efforts to other parts of the country as needed, Tiny Hands PACs Communications Director Katie Nguyen told the newspaper. Nguyen said their goal is to hold a live on-air measurement TV special, but would accept the measurements, if provided by Trumps physician and notarized. Back in March, in a GOP debate hosted by Fox News Channel, Trump brought up his hands at the start of the exchange of ideas, suggesting, as some have said, hes sensitive about them. Marco Rubio, in a pre-Super Tuesday rally speech, said of Trump, You know what they say about men with small hands they cant be trusted. Rubio got asked about those personal attacks, because apparently presidential candidates who have not starred in reality TV series are held to some higher standard than those who have. He hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. Ive never heard of this! Look at those hands! Are they small hands? Trump asked FNC moderators Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier and Chris Wallace. He referred to my hands if theyre small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there is no problem. I guarantee. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LhNjWoBZck&w=620&h=340] Related stories Seth Meyers Offers Donald Trump Starring Role In New NBC Series 'Chicago President' Story continues Tara Miele's 'Meet A Muslim' Short Offers Viral Answer To Donald Trump's Harsh Talk Jimmy Kimmel Asks Oprah Whether Trump Wants Her To Be His Veep Amy Schumer is no stranger to anti-gun activism, and in light of recent tragedies, a sensitive scene from her forthcoming film just had to go. According to a report from E! News, the jack-of-all-trades decided to delete a segment of her so-far-untitled comedy that featured someone firing a gun at others. Aside from that, not much else is known. We do know the "mother/daugher" Fox project also stars Goldie Hawn and Tom Bateman and is slated for a May 17, 2017, release, according to Variety. Schumer is currently in Hawaii working on it. Amy Schumer Learned About Prince's Death During 'Vogue' Interview Forty-nine lives were lost during the June 12 attack at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse, making it the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Previously, Schumer publicly spoke out against gun violence with her cousin, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and included a segment in the 2016 season of Inside Amy Schumer in which she criticizes the ease with which Americans can purchase firearms. Check out "Welcome to the Gun Show" below: No surprise here Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitts six children are already growing up to be impressively worldly. The 41-year-old actress opened up about her six kids 14-year-old Maddox, 12-year-old Pax, 11-year-old Zahara, 10-year-old Shiloh, and 7-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox while appearing on BBC Radio 4s Womens Hour on Friday. Despite their young ages, Jolie says her children are all learning different languages, and also lovingly refers to them by their nicknames Shi, Mad and Z. I asked them what languages they wanted to learn and Shi is learning Khmai, which is a Cambodian language, Pax is focusing on Vietnamese, Mad has taken to German and Russian, Z is speaking French, Vivienne really wanted to learn Arabic, and Knox is learning sign language, Jolie shared. I suppose that just means you dont know who your children are until they show you who they are, and they are just becoming whoever they want to be. NEWS: Angelina Jolie Says She Didnt Envision Herself as a Mother I Never Wanted to Have a Baby' But it definitely looks like there will be a musician in the familys future! None of my kids want to be actors. They are actually very interested in being musicians, Jolie said. I think they like the process of film from the outside. Mad is interested in editing. Pax loves music and deejaying. Jolie also talk about her experiences as a Special Envoy for the United Nations, and her experience giving birth to Shiloh in Africa in 2006. It was there that Jolie came face to face with problems that millions of less privileged woman go through around the world. I went to a hospital in Namibia, where I was having my daughter, and I was in breech. I needed a C-section, and I knew I was in breech because I had had the money to have an ultrasound, Jolie recalled. But I found even the local hospital with many, many women and this was a good hospital did not have an ultrasound machine. So the amount of women that didnt know they were in breech, the amount of babies and complications when they got into labor, [could have been prevented] with one simple machine. Story continues I probably wouldnt have made it this far if I were a refugee, she added, recounting her experiences visiting refugee camps across the Middle East and Africa. WATCH: Angelina Jolie Saves Children From Unruly Mob in Greece ET talked to Jolie in January while she was promoting Kung Fu Panda 3, when she once again shared her childrens disinterest in acting even after Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and Knox provided animal noises for some of the pandas in the animated film. They were kind of shy, Jolie said about her childrens experience. They dont really want to be actors, but I didnt want them to miss the opportunity. They came in, and they had a lot of fun with it. Watch below: Related Articles In the midst of a bitter political campaign that has featured increasingly apocalyptic warnings about the impact that immigrants -- particularly Muslim immigrants -- are having on society, a supporter of one of the most virulently nationalistic movements took matters into his own hands yesterday. He identified a politician on the opposite side of the argument -- an advocate for allowing Syrian refugees into the country -- and murdered her. Reportedly shouting a name associated with the most anti-immigrant voice in the country, he brutally shot, stabbed and kicked the 41-year-old lawmaker in broad daylight, outside a library where she had been meeting with constituents, leaving her to bleed to death on the pavement. Related: TrumpThe Gift That Keeps on Giving to Democrats The murder of Jo Cox, the 41-year-old mother of two and member of the British Parliament, stunned a nation that is far less used to random acts of gun violence than we are in the United States. Her assailant, a 52-year-old man identified by the British Press as Tommy Mair, reportedly shouted Britain first! during the attack -- the name of a political movement in the country that is bitterly opposed to Muslims and to immigration in general. The Southern Poverty Law Center in the U.S. reported that Mair had known connections to U.S.- and South Africa-based white supremacist movements. There have also been reports in the British media, including comments from Mairs family, suggesting that he has suffered mental problems. Britain, which will vote next week in a referendum that will determine whether or not the country remains a part of the European Union, has been torn by a campaign featuring unprecedented demonization of immigrants. Before the attack, the nationalist UK Independence Party and its leader, Nigel Farage, unveiled a widely criticized advertisement warning of hordes of immigrants invading the country, accompanied by a photo of a long line of Middle-Eastern looking refugees. Story continues Writing about the attack for the Spectator yesterday, Alex Massie calls Thursday a day of infamy for Britain. But the central point of his article is one that ought to resonate here in the United States. Related: Trump to GOP Leadership -- Sit Down and Shut Up When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you dont get to be surprised when someone breaks, Massie writes. When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, dont be surprised if someone takes you at your word. You didnt make them do it, no, but you didnt do much to stop it either. Sometimes rhetoric has consequences, he continues. If you spend days, weeks, months, years telling people they are under threat; that their country has been stolen from them; that they have been betrayed and sold down the river; that their birthright has been pilfered; that their problem is theyre too slow to realize any of this is happening; that their problem is theyre not sufficiently mad as hell -- then at some point, in some place, something or someone is going to snap. And then something terrible is going to happen. If Massiess assessment of his own countrys tortured politics doesnt sound painfully familiar to an American, well, then youre not paying attention. The biggest figure on the US political stage right now is fresh off the delivery of a bitter speech, given in the wake of a mass shooting in Orlando by a killer claiming support for the terror group ISIS. He once again called for a ban on Muslim immigrants coming into the country, warning that unless we follow his lead, we wont have a country left. He warned in a nationally televised interview about a supposed fifth column of Muslims in the US already made up of thousands of shooters who, he said, are being actively sheltered by U.S. Muslims. Related: How a Brexit Could Sink Clinton and Hand the Election to Trump But Donald Trumps incendiary rhetoric is different only in degree, not in kind, from what other politicians regularly dish out. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who finished second to Trump in the Republican presidential primary, has made a career out of warning Americans that their country has been stolen from them and that they need to take back control of the United States. Figures in the media -- Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck -- spend their days filling the airwaves with dire warnings about the various existential threats facing the United States. These are frequently tied explicitly to a scary set of other people, be they immigrants or members of racial, religious, or other minorities. The murder of Jo Cox by a disturbed man living in an environment in which he was subjected to ceaseless warnings that his country and way of life were under siege was shocking, but it would be disingenuous to claim that it was surprising given the level of rhetoric in the UK right now. Whats actually surprising? The fact that it didnt happen here, first. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The only no-kill animal shelter in the Bronx is in danger of closing because of high medical expenses, rising utility costs and a lack of funding. New Beginning Animal Rescue has until the end of October to save itself from closure. The shelter was started by Pedro Rosario in 2011, a year after he established the boarding kennel NYC Top Dog. He became more interested in rescuing animals after seeing many of them killed while working at Animal Care Center of NYCwhen he could no longer bear seeing animals with treatable illnesses being euthanized, he left that job after 16 years. Everything started in my last year with animal control, Rosario said. It got to me that animals were being euthanized. So many animals were put to sleep just for sickness that could be treated. Rosario estimates that New Beginning Animal Rescue has placed around 300 dogs into permanent homes over the past six years. There are currently 40 dogs and 25 cats up for adoption. The non-profit organization receives no city funding and relies on private donations, two full-time workers and a team of dedicated volunteers. In the beginning, the shelter relied on steady income from rescue groups that boarded their cats and dogs with them. But five of those groups have since moved their animals to their own facilities or new locations. Their current 5,000 square foot facility costs around $4,700 per month to rent, and their utility bills for water, light and gas have steadily increased. Rosario is searching for a new location with cheaper rent, but other spaces are too small or not within their budget. Rosario said their total expenses are roughly $10,000 per month. Medical costs for the animals at New Beginning Animal Rescue over the past few months have also been higher than usual. Two months ago, a Chihuahua named Sophia had a heart murmur. The cost of a cardiogram, blood tests and medication reached almost $1,000. Two others dogs needed tumors removed. Their surgeries cost nearly $2,500 and $3,000, respectively. Rosario said these unexpected medical expenses add up to three times more than last years costs of $7,000. All of their dogs and cats receive vaccinations, microchipping and spayed or neuter services prior to being adopted. A boarding service at the shelter costs $15-18 per daycompared to other kennels that charge upwards of $45 per daybut some pet owners still struggle to pay the fee. We do a lot in terms of helping people and animals, Rosario said. People that go through a special situation like losing their home, we are the ones that are there for them. Since starting a Go Fund Me account in May, the shelter has raised more than $20,000 of their $50,000 goal. New Beginning is also applying for grants and reaching out to local officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, for financial support, and their petition to the mayor has nearly 6,500 signatures. The mayor announced in April that $10 million in capital funding of the 2017 budget will be used to create full-service shelters in the Bronx and Queens. Both boroughs rely on city-funded admission centers where animals can be dropped off; they are then relocated to a full-service animal center in another borough for boarding and medical attention, if necessary. But it's unclear when these new animal shelters will open, and in the meantime, there are animals in need in the Bronx. A rally is scheduled for June 21st at Gracie Mansion, where New Beginning supporters will call on Mayor de Blasio and other elected officials to save the animals and the shelter. Note: Frankie and Rudy, Simon, Forest, Jagger and Bear, who appear in the video, have been adopted. Though its title sounds vaguely sci-fi-ish, Sean Ellis Anthropoid is anything but fantasy, as this new trailer makes clear. With a tagline Resistance has a code name spelling things out pretty clearly, Anthropoid is based on the true story of a Czechoslovakian anti-facist operation during World War II. Led by the dwindling Czech resistance, the operation was a mission to assassinate Third Reich General Reinhard Heydrich, an architect of the Final Solution. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan costar as two soldiers from the Czechoslovakian army-in-exile who parachute into their occupied homeland at the wars peak in December 1941. In a city under lockdown, the duo struggle to carry out the assassination. The stakes, needless to say, are high: If we fail, I fear freedom will be wiped from the map, one of the soldiers says in the trailers voiceover. Anthropoid also stars Charlotte Le Bon and Toby Jones, with Ellis directing from the script he cowrote with Anthony Frewin. Bleecker Street plans an August 12 theatrical release. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgR1jhEt37Y&w=970&h=546] Related stories 'Denial' Trailer: Rachel Weisz & Timothy Spall Spar In Fact-Based Holocaust Denier Drama 'Peaky Blinders' Cast Talks Season 3 In Steve Knight's Purple Patch & Muses On A Movie - Awardsline Rachel Weisz-Timothy Spall Holocaust Denier Drama 'Denial' Plots September Release (Reuters) - Apple Inc said its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were still available for sale in China after Beijing's intellectual property regulators barred their sales saying the designs had infringed a patent held by a Chinese company. "We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court," Apple said in a statement on Friday. The notice, dated May 19, banning sales of certain iPhone models in Beijing was posted on a Chinese government website. (http://bit.ly/1S9rc6T) The Chinese market is vital to Apple, driving more of its sales than any other region outside the United States. But the tech giant has faced greater scrutiny there in recent months, with its online book and film services blocked by Chinese regulators earlier this year. Apple historically had enjoyed favorable treatment in China, but Beijings crackdown on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is a reminder that the tech giant is not immune to the scrutiny that other U.S. tech firms have long faced in the country, said analyst Colin Gillis of BGC Partners. Theres a variety of risks of having dependence on sales in China to Apple, and government intervention in whatever form is one of them, he said. Last month, Apple announced that it would invest $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing, a move that was widely viewed as an attempt to shore up relations in China. (Reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Diane Craft) (Updates with comment from ArcelorMittal) PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - World number-one steelmaker ArcelorMittal is looking for a partner for one French subsidiary and is in discussions to sell another unit that operates largely in France, the company said on Friday. ArcelorMittal said it was in talks with potential joint venture partners for SoluStil, which makes sheet steel for the aerospace, rail, agriculture and construction sectors and has 660 employees ArcelorMittal was also in discussions about the possible sales of its Wire Solutions businesses, which makes fencing wire and nails and has 720 employees in France, along with some activities in Britain and Poland. ArcelorMittal, listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange but with headquarters in Luxembourg, has 17,200 staff in France and 210,000 worldwide. Earlier, French newspaper Le Figaro said parts of loss-making SoluStil may be acquired by affiliated Italian groups Cellino and CLN, while a buyer for Wire Solutions may be announced on July 7, with U.S. fund Oaktree a leading contender. (Reporting by Andrew Callus and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain and Adrian Croft) PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - World number-one steelmaker ArcelorMittal is preparing to shed about 10 percent of its 17,200 strong workforce in France through the sale of two subsidiaries, according to a report in Le Figaro newspaper. The report said the two units for sale are Solustil, which makes steel for car bodies, and WireSolutions, which makes fencing wire and nails. It said parts of loss-making Solustil may be acquired by affiliated Italian groups Cellino and CLN, while a buyer for WireSolutions may be announced on July 7, with U.S. fund Oaktree a leading contender. The Amsterdam-listed company, which employs 210,000 people worldwide, could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Andrew Callus and Phil Blenkinsop; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain) Archaeologists have uncovered the remnants of a network of medieval cities hidden in the Cambodian rainforest in one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in years. The network, so vast in size that it rivals the countrys capital city Phnom Penh, was found near the complex of temples that make up Angkor Wat, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Cambodias most-visited ancient ruins. To unearth the cities, a team of scientists used light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology, which involves shooting lasers at the ground from above in a helicopter. The technology makes it possible to see remains of civilization even through the forest canopy, and helped the archaeologists discover city centers and an extensive system of roads and water channels that connected them. The findings were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science on Monday. Study author Dr. Damian Evans, an Australian archaeologist, explained the significance of the most extensive airborne archaeological study ever done covering 734 square miles to The Guardian. We have entire cities discovered beneath the forest that no one knew were there, Evans said. This time we got the whole deal and its big, the size of Phnom Penh big. The discovery is making archaeologists reconsider what they thought they knew about the once-flourishing empire. The inter-connected cities may have been the largest empire on Earth in the 12th century, even larger than the Holy Roman Empire and the Song dynasty in China. Not only does the revelation shed light into the rich history of the region, but it may also give researchers more clues as to what caused the Khmer civilization to collapse some time around the 15th century. While the cities remain buried in the rain forest, it only adds to the allure of Siem Reap. Its one more reason to add Cambodia to your travel itinerary. Related Articles Leopoldo Lopez, one of the leaders of Venezuelas opposition, is Latin Americas most famous political prisoner. During his two and a half years in jail, his jailers have locked him away in isolation, taken away his books, and sprayed him with human feces. His wife and mother have been subjected to humiliating cavity searches during visits. No international humanitarian organizations have been allowed to see him. So one can only imagine Lopezs surprise when, earlier this month, his warden announced an unexpected visitor: former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Zapatero came to Lopez with a startling offer: if he ended his campaign against the government, he could have his freedom. (Lopez politely declined.) A few weeks earlier, thousands of miles to the south, Argentine president Mauricio Macri had announced the candidacy of his foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations. Strange as it may seem, the two events Zapateros offer to Lopez and Malcorras U.N. bid are intimately connected. The story underscores how Argentinas new president once seen as a vocal supporter of Venezuelas opposition is changing his tune, abandoning his principles in exchange for diplomatic victories. In his campaign for the presidency, Macri had emphasized that, unlike his predecessor and rival, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, he was no friend to the ruling chavista regime in Caracas. Instead, he promised to challenge Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, on his violations of human rights and his suppression of the opposition. He even invited Lopezs wife to Buenos Aires to celebrate his electoral victory. The hopes of Venezuelas opposition were heightened still further when Macri tapped the experienced Malcorra who had served for four years as Secretary General Ban Ki-Moons chief of staff for the post of foreign minister. As a fixture in international diplomatic circles, she was considered a heavyweight who had access to heads of state the world over. Venezuelas opposition believed her experience would lend gravitas to their cause. Story continues But since then it has become clear that Malcorra has other goals in her sights, and none involve Venezuelas dissidents. Taking advantage of a consensus that the next Secretary General should be a woman, and sensing an opening, she has thrown her hat into the ring. But to make her campaign viable, she has decided to cut a deal with Venezuelas hapless chavista president. Malcorra has two main rivals for the Secretary General role. One is Irina Bokova, the Bulgarian head of UNESCO, the U.N. agency in charge of education and culture. Bokova is a strong candidate because many feel the job should go to an Eastern European, a region that has never held the post. Another strong contender is Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, a part of the world that also has never held the top U.N. post. Clark is the current head of the U.N. Development Program, where she is seen as a successful reformer. Both Bokova and Clark have support in the Security Council, which must recommend a candidate to the General Assembly for a vote. The former is supported by Russia, and the latter by New Zealand (currently a Security Council member). But the lack of consensus has provided the well-liked Malcorra with her opening. That is where Venezuela comes in. The country is in its second year as a member of the Security Council, and it has close relations with both Russia and China. Since April, Malcorra has conducted a series of meetings with the Venezuelan foreign minister and with Maduro himself. According to veteran Miami Herald reporter Casto Ocando and other sources, she has made a deal with the regime: Venezuela will do everything in its power to promote her candidacy. In exchange, Argentina will block efforts by the Organization of American States (OAS) to punish Venezuela for its human rights record. Malcorra quickly went to work. Even as the Secretary General of the OAS waged a war of words with Maduro over Venezuelas sad state of affairs chief among them, the governments efforts to stifle the opposition Argentina started blocking the OASs efforts to approve a hefty report criticizing Venezuela for violating the regions Interamerican Democratic Charter. Instead, Argentina argued, the Venezuelan regime should engage in dialogue with the opposition to find a way out of the countrys severe economic and political crisis. The opposition believes the proposed talks are just a way of giving Maduro breathing room while accomplishing nothing of substance. But Malcorra appears to have little sympathy for the dissidents longstanding attempts to challenge his disastrous and oppressive rule not when theres a Secretary General position for the taking. And, as it turns out, it was Malcorra who got former Spanish President Zapatero to visit Caracas to broker the talks, with the Maduro administrations enthusiastic approval. That is how Zapatero ended up visiting Lopez in his cell. Sources have confirmed the content of Zapateros message: Maduros government was willing to free its political prisoners from jail (keeping them under house arrest) and to make a few other minor concessions. In exchange, the opposition would withdraw its outstanding petition to hold a recall referendum against the deeply unpopular Maduro. Lopez promptly declined Zapateros offer, describing the recall referendum on Twitter as non-negotiable. His stance was echoed by Henrique Capriles, the oppositions other main leader and the main force behind the recall effort. Most shocking of all was the realization that the initiative came from an Argentine government many Venezuelan dissidents had believed to be their ally. The spat even prompted Capriles to travel to Buenos Aires to meet with Macri, with little discernible result. Neither Malcorra nor Macri seem swayed. This controversy shows that the Venezuelan opposition continues to find itself alone in its battles with a regime that controls nearly all the levers of power. The lengths to which Latin Americas power brokers will go to advance their agendas is one of the reasons Nicolas Maduro remains in power. Once again, an important regional player has chosen to look away from the plight of the Venezuelan people. The disastrous policies of Maduro (and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez) have plunged Venezuela into a humanitarian crisis. Reports of people going hungry or dying from lack of medicine are growing; incidents of looting are multiplying. The country is on the brink of chaos, and theres no sign that the government plans to change course. Just recently, Maduro announced that food will no longer be distributed to supermarkets, but rather directly by his political operatives. Only his supporters will get handouts, promising to make a volatile situation all the more unstable. But this does not seem to matter to Malcorra. Venezuelas agony is just another unsolvable problem, and its opposition just another pawn in her quest for worldwide diplomatic recognition. If she becomes Secretary General, one can only hope she will take a moment to pull the Venezuelan people from underneath the bus she threw them under. Perhaps, once she is in power, she will spare a thought for the imprisoned Lopez, languishing in his cell thousands of miles from the U.N. headquarters. On June 9, riot police prepared to confront students of the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas who were demanding a referendum on removing President Nicolas Maduro. Photo Credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images Stephen Daldry Golden Camera Prize The immersive worlds created by British helmer and producer Stephen Daldry are feted at Kosice this year, where he will receive the Golden Camera prize for work of outstanding quality and professionalism behind the camera. Since the trophy was launched in 2001, the roster of honorees has included such unconventional filmmakers as Ulrich Seidl, Andrzej Wajda, and Slovak auteur Juraj Jakubisko. Daldrys international reputation and work with top stars make him a major score for Art Film Fest, says artistic director Peter Nagel. Daldrys three Oscar nominations [Billy Elliot, The Hours, and The Reader] are clear evidence of his exceptional talent, Nagel adds. In a recent stage production, Daldry cast refugees from the French Jungle camp in Calais to play themselves. Nagel notes that exposing Slovak auds to the filmmakers work fits in with the educational mission of Art Film Fest. I think it will be very good showcase, Nagel says. He adds that Daldrys work is unknown to some residents of the small nation. But a growing number of Slovaks are now well-versed in Daldrys dramatic productions, spanning five features plus TV work over a 16-year career. Daldry inspires emerging filmmakers with his gift for drawing out moving performances, says Art Films Fests Peter Nagel, adding that his frequent focus on strong female characters is also of interest to Slovak audiences. Above: Stephen Daldry Karl Roden Actors Mission Theres no shortage of star wattage at fests in Central and Eastern Europe these days, with Hollywood A-listers flown in regularly to increasingly rustic locations. But Art Film Fest prefers to focus on actors actors, as it has since launching the Actors Mission honor in 1995. This years honoree, Czech film and stage veteran Karel Roden, is a Czech Lion-winning performer at Pragues National Theater who has also branched out in to international thrillers including Robert De Niro starrer 15 Minutes in 2001. His recent role as the raging Czechoslovak avant-garde photographer Jan Saudek in The Photograph is particularly apt for the Kosice fests focus on films concerning art and artists. Story continues Rodens portrayal of the hard-living Bohemian lensman was a sensation among critics and audiences in the region, but only the most recent character role for an actor whose range spans Russian mafia figures to Grigori Rasputin in Hellboy. Hes played Viktor in midnight movie Frankensteins Army and the studied intellectual hero of the Czech adaptation of HBO series In Therapy. Famously press-shy Roden usually refuses such fest honors, but after three years of wooing by Art Film, aided by Rudolf Biermann, producer of Rodens upcoming historic thriller Masaryk, the deal was sealed. Related stories Art Film Festival: Tips For Visitors to Kosice Roland Emmerich: Hollywood's Soulful Master of Disaster Art Film Festival: Programmers Court Larger Audience With New Setting The NYC Parks Department has reversed its decision to censor a sixteen-foot sculpture in Riverside Park that a local artist hopes will compel parkgoers to challenge hate in all of its manifestations. Artist Aaron Bell's Stand Tall, Stand Loud, which was unveiled this week in its censored form, will be altered in the coming weeks to reflect the artist's original designa human form topped with a noose twisted into a symbol that indicates a banned activity. The decision was reached after a meeting between Bell, his attorney, and the Parks Department on Tuesday, as first reported by A Walk In The Park. Bell conceived Stand Tall, Stand Loud for Model to Monument, a joint NYC Parks-Art Students League of New York competition that selects eight works each year for display in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and Riverside Park South on the Upper West Side. The theme for this year's competition was "The Public Square"; artists were encouraged to consider the role of public spaces in sparking dialogue, according to the Art Students League website. "[My piece] will serve as a reminder to the diverse flow of visitors that we each should encourage and strive to make tolerance and understanding a daily minimum requirement," Bell wrote in an artist statement obtained by West Side Rag. Bell (L) at the dedication of his sculpture on Thursday. At right is a poster of what the installation will look like in a couple of weeks (via Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates). Bell, who is black, added that the noose was conceived as "the embodiment of all forms of hate found in society"towards "LGBT communities, religious communities, racial and ethnic communities," as well as "corrupt members of police departments and corrupt governments... bullies and egocentric politicians." The sculpture is inscribed at its base with this Martin Luther King., Jr. quote: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." A model of the second iteration of Bell's sculpture, featuring a line through the noose. Parks rejected this version (via). In a move that seemed to blatantly defy Bell's message, city officials rejected his proposal outright last November. That version of the statue was topped with a noose, according to images supplied by the Parks Department. Bell then pitched a revision with a line through the noose, which was also rejected. The NY Times reports that Jennifer Lantzas, who coordinates public art projects for city parks, e-mailed Parks staff expressing her concern that "the image of the noose could be problematic for the borough." Echoing the sentiment, Parks spokesman Sam Biederman told the paper via e-mail that Bell's project was rejected because its proposed site, near West 68th Street in Riverside Park, "is adjacent to an area regularly programmed with passive recreational activities such as yoga, Pilates and senior movement." As first reported by West Side Rag, Bell alleged in May that the Model to Monument committee hadn't granted his requests to explain or defend his concept. The Parks Department said at the time that all proposals had been reviewed by a departmental panel that included Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, and that works were subject to peer critique and revision. Factors that influenced the panel's decisions, they said, included safety and durability, as well asquite broadlygeneral suitability. In a partial reversal, Parks accepted a third version of the sculpture with no noose elementthe one erected this week. Bell chose to depict a large mouth, instead, despite his reservations. "The mouth is simply a resolution to satisfy members of the Parks Department," he told the NY Times. Parks spokesman Sam Biederman now says the department has approved a fourth version of the sculpture, with a bolder line through the noose. "Earlier this week Mr. Bell approached us with a fourth version which included the noose with a diagonal line more clearly placed," Biederman wrote via e-mail. "Our art staff believed this final version (with the noose) depicted its message clearly and powerfully. It will be placed in the park in the coming weeks." Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, who says he spoke with Bell last night, strongly denied that the agencys issue was related to the size or placement of the line. "The Parks Department has had the noose with the slash design since February," he said. "The press department's repeated attempts to claim otherwise is shameful." Bell could not immediately be reached for comment. The National Coalition Against Censorship wrote a letter [PDF] to Commissioner Silver earlier this month, stating that his department's decision raised "serious first amendment concerns": Art that expresses thoughts and ideas that are not to the taste of every single member of a community are nonetheless fully protected by the First Amendment. Aaron Bells work, which addresses the important issue of racially-motivated violence, does so through imagery that enjoys full constitutional protectiona protection that is not lessened by the possibility that the work and its message may make some viewers feel uncomfortable. "NYC Parks is pleased to have come to an agreement with Mr. Bell, who shared with us a vision of his piece that suits the site and conveys its message clearly and powerfully," Beiderman stated. ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports Sam Ehlinger officially becomes the starting quarterback of the Colts. If he fails or gets injured, Nick Foles will take over. And if Foles gets injured, the quarterback will be anyone but Matt Ryan. Ryan is done. Hes out. He wont play again, for reasons rooted in his contract. Put simply, once the team decided [more] - Daniel Ricciardo on Friday made clear that he welcomed Red Bull's decision to end speculation over his future by revealing that he is contracted to remain with the team until the end of 2018. The Australian driver has been linked with other teams, including Ferrari, for several months while he and Red Bull remained tight-lipped on his future. But after rising tensions in the relationship between Ricciardo, 26, and the team, Red Bull chiefs Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have told reporters that he is remaining with the team for two more years. Ricciardo said: "It has always been pretty discrete, I guess... But Helmut has made a few comments - and it is good, it means he likes me. AFP Buffalo in Yellowstone No longer are "bear" and "bull" good enough to talk about the markets. "Buffalo" best describes what markets are doing right now, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "A buffalo market tends to roam over a long period of time, is herd-like and rather heavy, and can run the other way when worrisome obstacles get in the way," Karin Kimbrough, head of macro and economic policy at Merril Lynch, said in a newsletter. Which means that even as markets seem calm for now and have mostly gone more or less sideways, there are any number of things that could set them on a rampage. The Brexit vote and the crazy US elections are two in just the political realm, according to Kimbrough. The newsletter goes on to suggest a diverse portfolio to protect yourself when the market decides whether it is a bear or a bull, though it might take a while to get to one or the other. "This range-bound buffalo market may be with us for some time," Kimbrough said. "It will likely bring low returns and higher volatility." So when the market does turn, which way will it go? Because of high valuations in the market today, it's harder to see the upside potential, according to the newsletter. "Any further upside would probably be borrowing from returns in 2017 or require an earnings boost for the S&P 500 ... The markets are more vulnerable to negative news, or even anticipation of it," noted Kimbrough. Only time will tell. NOW WATCH: Virtual reality could help the stock market reach all-time highs in 2016 and 2017 More From Business Insider LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Dutch bank ING and France's Societe Generale have sent letters to clients warning them of difficult trading conditions in financial markets and large gaps in pricing of assets around Britain's referendum next week on EU membership, Such formal warnings have become commonplace since the shocking moves in the Swiss franc in January of last year, which led to conflicts between banks and their clients due to the absence of market prices for several minutes. A spokesman for ING confirmed the bank had sent a communication to clients warning them of the likelihood of difficult trading circumstances around the vote on June 23. A source who had seen the letter, declining to be named, said it urged clients to be patient as pricing circumstances would be difficult and warned that there could be gaps in pricing, especially if Britain votes to leave the bloc. ING declined to comment on the content of the letter. SG's sales and trading arm has also sent a letter to clients warning them about volatility and gaps in liquidity, said a source with knowledge of the issue, declining to be named. Reuters has not seen a copy of either letter. A spokesman for the bank declined to comment. (Reporting by Patrick Graham, John Geddie and Anirban Nag, editing by Nigel Stephenson) We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today By Kirstin Ridley LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays has described as "fundamentally misconceived" a $1.0 billion-plus lawsuit brought by British financier Amanda Staveley over the bank's emergency fundraising from Gulf investors at the height of the credit crisis in 2008. Staveley's private equity group PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in a civil case lodged at London's High Court in January that sheds light on how Abu Dhabi and Qatari sheikhs helped bail Barclays out nearly eight years ago. The case hinges on the terms Qatari and Abu Dhabi investors received for participating in a cash call to help Barclays raise around 7.0 billion pounds ($10 billion) and avoid state aid. Laying out a 44-page defense in a court document seen by Reuters on Thursday, Barclays denied dishonesty and recklessness and called PCP's assertion it had been a potential investor in the Abu Dhabi syndicate at the time "utterly speculative and flawed". The case is unfolding months before the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is due to decide whether to charge Barclays and former executives in a separate criminal inquiry into financial arrangements with Qatar that included a loan to the Gulf state, as the bank battled to raise cash during the financial crisis. Barclays, which has not commented on the criminal investigation, made a High Court application in an attempt to delay filing a defense against the civil lawsuit until the SFO concludes its near four-year inquiry this year. But during a London High Court hearing on May 19, the bank agreed to lay out its response by June 16. SEPARATE SERVICES PCP, which put together a syndicate of Abu Dhabi investors for Barclays in October 2008, alleges in the lawsuit that it received an "express and implied agreement", made orally and in writing by Barclays staff, that it would get the same terms as Qatari investors. The lawsuit alleges Qatari investors received extra fees of 346 million pounds ($490 million), which includes an alleged 280 million pound "sham advisory services agreement" with Qatar. Had PCP received the same deal terms as Qatar, it would not have had to give up a 10 percent interest in the funding deal to keep Abu Dhabi investors on board when Barclays shares fell in November 2008, the lawsuit alleged. Barclays denied that PCP had been told it would get the same deal as Qatari investors and alleged the 280 million pound fee paid to Qatar was for "separate services which required separate payment". Another 66 million pound fee paid by Barclays to Qatari investors at the time was for its role in arranging that Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan would invest in Barclays, it alleged. Reuters was not able to reach Sheikh Mansour for comment. "Barclays intended and expected that in return for the ASA (advisory services agreement) fee it would receive valuable services," it stated in the court document. "In so far as Barclays made any representations, Barclays denies that it made those representations dishonestly or recklessly." Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, has declined to comment on the case. Staveley's PCP, which has four weeks to file a rebuttal, declined to comment. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Additional reporting by Tom Finn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong, Toni Reinhold) It seems Donald Trump can't count on the support of even long-deceased Republicans. The billionaire businessman recently announced plans to fundraise at the former home of Barry Goldwater, the conservative icon who shook up the GOP when he ran for president in 1964. Trump's contentious presidential campaign has drawn comparisons to that of the late Arizona senator. But Goldwater's widow, Susan Goldwater Levine, told The Washington Post on Thursday that the comparisons and Trump's fundraiser are anything but welcome. "Ugh or yuck is my response," Levine said. "I think Barry would be appalled that his home was being used for that purpose. Barry would be appalled by Mr. Trump's behavior the unintelligent and unfiltered and crude communications style. And he's shallow so, so shallow." She added that her husband was a "humanist" who had respect for all people and said of Trump's candidacy, "I can't believe we are doing this as a country. Barry was so true to his convictions and would never be issuing these shallow, crude, accusatory criticisms of the other party or the other person." GOP Delegates Launch New Push to Halt Trump Levine's comments come as dozens of GOP convention delegates are launching a new effort to stop Trump from officially becoming the Republican nominee. The Washington Post calls the plan "the most organized" one yet and reports that the delegates are "angered by Trump's recent comments on gun control, his racial attacks on a federal judge and his sinking poll numbers." Does Donald Trump Rattle You? The new campaign is being run by the only people who are actually able to change party rules, and they believe they will gain enough support from other Republicans that delegates will be allowed to vote for whomever they want at the convention. Many in the movement supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the primary, but they say they have no specific candidate in mind now. "This literally is an 'Anybody but Trump' movement," Kendal Unruh, a Republican delegate from Colorado who is leading the campaign told The Post. "Nobody has any idea who is going to step in and be the nominee, but we're not worried about that. We're just doing that job to make sure that he's not the face of our party." 'At This Point, I Just Can't Do It': John Kasich and Other Republicans Refuse to Support Trump More and more GOP figures and even big businesses that are now refusing to sponsor this summer's Republican National Convention are distancing themselves from Trump, or outright denouncing him. Former presidential hopeful John Kasich said the idea of endorsing Trump is "painful" to him. "At this point, I just can't do it," he said Thursday on Morning Joe. "But we'll see where it ends up a I'm not making any final decisions yet." The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, Fred Upton, said that Trump has "gone off the track" and that he has no plans to endorse the mogul "or anyone in this race." "I'm going to stay in my lane," the Michigan congressman said during a radio interview, according to The Detroit News. RichardA Armitage, George W. Bush's former Deputy Secretary of State,A said he plans to vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.A "[Trump] does not appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues," Armitage toldA Politico. "So, I'm going to vote for Mrs. Clinton." And according to The Washington Post, several more companies announced this week that they will not participate in the Republican convention in Cleveland. Wells Fargo, UPS, Motorola, JPMorgan Chase, Ford, and Walgreens Boots Alliance have joined Coca-Cola, Microsoft and other companies in declining to contribute to the convention. Frankfurt (AFP) - German chemicals giant BASF said Friday it has agreed to purchase Chemetall, the surface treatment subsidiary of US group Albemarle, for $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euros). BASF added in its statement that "the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and is expected to close by the end of 2016." Chemetall is headquartered in Frankfurt and has a global workforce of around 2,500 at 21 production sites in more than 20 countries, BASF said. In 2015, it generated sales of $845 million. "Chemetall offers a strong strategic fit for our coatings business," said the board member for BASF's coating business, Wayne T. Smith. "Chemetall complements our current portfolio by adding the highly attractive surface treatment business to our coatings offerings," said division chief Markus Kamieth. Chemetall's products are used in a wide range of industries such as automobiles, aerospace and metal forming industries, BASF said. BASF's coatings division generated annual revenues of 3.2 billion euros last year. BASF shares were little changed on the Frankfurt stock exchange in mid-afternoon trading, rising just 0.07 percent to 67.89 euros, while the overall DAX index was up one percent. Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a four-month ceasefire in two states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where recent fighting between troops and rebels has left scores of casualties, the army said Friday. Bashir's forces have been battling the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the two states since 2011, and neither side has decisively gained an upper hand in the fighting. "President Bashir announced four months of ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan starting from Saturday," army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP. "This gesture of goodwill from the government is to give the armed groups a chance to join the peace process and to surrender their arms." The ceasefire was anticipated ahead of the start of the rainy season that leaves roads in the these regions impassable. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often-contradictory reports from the army and the SPLM-N about fighting there. Bashir had announced a similar ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region -- the scene of a separate insurgency -- in late 2015 and extended it by a month at the beginning of this year. But new fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan erupted after the end of that ceasefire earlier this year. Shami said the latest ceasefire starting from Saturday does not extend to the war-torn area of Darfur as "there was no real rebellion now in Darfur". "There are only small groups that are trying to disturb the security in Darfur. Sudanese forces have ended the rebellion in Darfur." Sudan held a referendum in Darfur in April, with officials saying almost 98 percent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states. Darfur has been gripped by conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the government in Khartoum. Bashir launched a brutal counterinsurgency and at least 300,000 people have been killed, the United Nations says. Another 2.5 million have fled their homes. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges related to Darfur, which he denies. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY has acquired One Kings Lane Inc., an online home furnishings retailer, to take forward its mission of being a one-stop shop for home goods. Though the real value of the deal is not known, market bugs circulated that Bed Bath & Beyond cracked this all-cash deal much lower than One Kings previously disclosed valuation of $900 million. One Kings, popular as a flash-sales website, sells home decor and designs including exclusive range of selected home goods, designer and vintage items. The company is directly associated with home furnishing brands, vintage dealers, designers and tastemakers to bring forward a unique collection of merchandise. Further, the company also delivers design inspiration and expert style solutions, along with complimentary interior designing services at its two design studios in San Francisco and New York. The deal is likely to benefit both Bed Bath & Beyond and One Kings to counter competition from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, which dominates the e-commerce business world with its pricing power advantage. As for Bed Bath & Beyond, it is facing the threat of losing market as Amazon expands its home goods offerings and proclaims its dominance in the segment. On the other hand, One Kings like its fellow flash-sales sites is struggling to establish footing in the e-commerce space dominated by Amazon. One Kings expects to gain from Bed Bath & Beyonds support and resources to further expand its product lines as well as refine its business ideas to benefit its present and future customers. While Bed Bath & Beyond believes the acquisition will prove to be a key milestone to bolster its furniture and home decor offerings. Collectively, both companies expect this union to help them better serve their customers. Further, Bed Bath & Beyond expects the transaction to bear no impact on its first-quarter fiscal 2016 results, which will be released on Jun 22, as the transaction has occurred in the second quarter. However, the transaction and related integration costs are expected to be slightly dilutive to the companys fiscal 2016 earnings per share. Bed Bath & Beyond currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), as the company is affected with issues that have been impacting its top and bottom line results. Though the company delivered an encouraging earnings picture in fourth-quarter fiscal 2015, we cannot ignore the fact that its exposure to the international markets has been weighing on its quarterly performance mainly due to the strengthening U.S. dollar. Moreover, the companys margins remain pressurized mainly due to soft merchandise margins and a rise in net direct-to-customer shipping costs. Story continues BED BATH & BEYOND Price BED BATH&BEYOND Price | BED BATH&BEYOND Quote Going forward, persistence of these unfavorable currency fluctuations is likely to weigh on the companys results, thus posing concerns. Stocks That Warrant a Look Some better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Cabelas Inc. CAB and ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. ULTA, each 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 AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report CABELAS INC (CAB): Free Stock Analysis Report ULTA SALON COSM (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis Report BED BATH&BEYOND (BBBY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Belgrade (AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sign some 20 bilateral deals with Serbia during a visit that began Friday, as Belgrade aims to make China one of its main economic partners. The three-day visit is the first by a Chinese president since the breakup of the former communist Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Beijing and Belgrade in 2009 signed a "strategic partnership" aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation on economic, cultural, educational and other matters. In 2015 bilateral trade was worth $1.56 billion (1.38 billion euros), more than 90 percent of which was in favour of China. Serbia hopes to become a gateway for Chinese moves into the Balkans and beyond. China wants to facilitate transport of its products into Europe by participating in infrastructure projects in southeastern Europe. Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade two months after HBIS, the world's third-biggest steel producer, bought Serbia's sole steel mill and largest exporter Zelezara Smederevo for 46 million euros ($52 million). He is to visit the plant on Sunday. Some 20 bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during the visit, including one reinforcing the 2009 strategic partnership, according to Serbian media. China does not recognise Kosovo, the former Serbian province that unilaterally declared independence in 2008 despite Belgrade's opposition. Upon his arrival Xi Jinping attended a ceremony marking the start of construction of a Chinese cultural centre at the site of the former Chinese embassy hit by US-led NATO aircraft during the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia over its war with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Three people were killed in the incident that seriously strained relations between Washington and Bejing at the time. The Chinese president will also attend the inauguration of a monument to Chinese philosopher Confucius. The visit to Serbia is part of a three-nation tour that will also take him Poland and Uzbekistan. Bernie Sanders didnt drop out of the presidential race on Thursday night. But the Vermont Senator made it clear that his goal going forward was not to make himself the candidate, but to try to push Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democratic Party towards the progressive policy positions he has pushed during the primary season. Election days come and go, but political and social revolutions that attempt to change our society never end, Sanders said in a speech live streamed on his website. When it was announced that Sanders would speak on Thursday night to his supporters, it was widely assumed that he would be suspending his campaign for the presidency and endorsing Hillary Clinton. Instead, he vowed to continue his fight to change the way the Democratic Party operates. That includes pushing for changes in the Democratic platform -- adopting a more progressive stance on issues like financial regulation, healthcare reform, and the minimum wage -- and for changing the way Democrats choose their presidential nominees in future years. Sanders wants to adopt open primaries, increase same day voter registration, and end the use of superdelegates. Real change never takes place from the top on down or in the living room of wealthy campaign contributors, he said. Thats what the political revolution we helped start is all about, thats why the political revolution must continue. Sanders did offer a few hints that he will fall in line with Hillary Clinton. He maintained that the major political task we face in the next five months was to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president. He also said that he would begin his own role in that campaign in a very short time. For now, though, Sanders made it clear that he is focused on the Democratic National Convention, noting that he had won thousands of delegates whom he believes should have a role in setting the agenda at the event, which is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia starting on July 25. Story continues See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders promised in a video address on Thursday night to continue his political revolution, declining to concede the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton despite losing a majority of votes to his rival. Still, he vowed in his video address to do whatever he could do to help Clinton defeat Donald Trump in a general election, promising to work with her to transform the Democratic Party. Election days come and go. But political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end. They continue every day, every week and every month in the fight to create a nation of social and economic justice, Sanders said, speaking in his video address from Burlington, Vermont. Thats what the political revolution is about and thats why the political revolution must continue into the future. Continuing the clarion call of his campaign, Sanders said the Democratic Party must commit to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, pay equity, opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, expanding Social Security and breaking up the large Wall Street banks, policy positions that he and Clinton disagreed over during the course of the primary. Sanders charts a risky path by deciding not to concede. He may anger party leaders as well as the base of the Democratic Party, who will begin to see him as an obstruction to Clinton despite his significant loss, and denying the first woman major-party nominee in the country the full claim to that title. But his vow to help defeat Donald Trump comes as comfort to some Democrats and Clinton aides, who see his aid as crucial in the fall to holding onto the White House. The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly, Sanders said. We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, Muslims, women and African-Americans. Story continues And in a hint to his willingness to cooperate, he said in the coming days he would join in the effort. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time, Sanders continued. Clinton won the primary with more than 15 million votes, around 3.5 million more than Sanders, and beat Sanders in pledged delegates with 2,219 compared with Sanders 1,832, a margin of nearly 400, according to the most recent count by the Associated Press. She won in a majority of states with high voter turnout and where independents could vote. Sanders has promised for months to continue waging his campaign until the Democratic convention in Philadelphia in late July where he will challenge Clinton to adopt a series of policy proposals. He has called for the end of the superdelegate system, in which party elites untied to a democratic vote chose their favored candidate, and open primaries. Sanders video address comes two days after Clinton and Sanders met on Tuesday night at a hotel in Washington DC to discuss eventually reconciling and uniting the party against Trump. I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda, Sanders said in his address. In 2008, Clinton conceded the primary to then-Sen. Barack Obama three days after the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota. Sanders, however, has less fealty to the Democratic Party and is committed to implementing a progressive platform and opening up elections to his followers. Talk among his aides in recent days around contesting the convention has all but ended, and it appears unlikely he will aim to convince errant superdelegates to support his candidacy as he had once promised. Some of his demands are outside of Clintons control. Whether primaries are open or closed, for example, is often decided by the state parties and is something the Democratic National Committee and has little input on. And the superdelegate system would have to be undone through widespread consensus in the Party. Sanders inspired a generation of younger voters with his call for a more equitable society and projected a message of hope. Sanders, always cantankerous and combative, nonetheless inspired voters who saw him as high-minded and ethically untarnished after three-and-a-half decades in politics, first as mayor of Burlington, Vermont then as congressman and then to U.S. Senator. It is clear that Sanders continues to long to control the tenor and the issues of the race. So far, he has pushed Clinton to adopt positions she may not have otherwise taken, including opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, opposing the Keystone Pipeline and formulating a robust Wall Street regulation plan, among others. He punctuated his address with a call to action to his supporters. The political revolution means much more than fighting for our ideals at the Democratic National Convention and defeating Donald Trump, Sanders said. It means that, at every level, we continue the fight to make our society a nation of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Bernie Sanders will return to the Senate Monday to vote on gun control legislation. The Vermont senators vote will be his first since January, USA Today reports. Sanders, who is still running for President, missed Wednesdays Democratic filibuster for gun control led by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy. Republicans agreed to hold votes on gun control measures early Thursday morning, concluding the nearly 15-hour filibuster. During the Democratic primary, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton has tried to corner Sanders on his past positions on guns, namely a 2005 vote for legislation that protected gun makers from certain lawsuits. But in a Thursday address to supporters, Sanders said he would come out strong for gun control. As the recent tragedy in Orlando has made crystal clear, we must ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons, end the gun show loophole and expand instant background checks, he said. Bernie Sanders is still not conceding, but he is vowing to work with Hillary Clinton to defeat their mutual opponent Donald Trump. On Thursday the Vermont senator tweeted a statement regarding his plans moving forward in the race to the White House. His decision to join forces with Clinton was fueled by his commitment to stopping a "major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign." This campaign has never been about any single candidate. It is about transforming America. #OurRevolution a Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016 This campaign is about defeating @realDonaldTrump, the Republican candidate for president. #OurRevolution pic.twitter.com/exfWylcYbd a Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016 Speaking to his supporters in a live online address later posted to his Twitter, Sanders emphasized his feelings regarding Trump's campaign, adding that the next big step is too make sure the billionaire businessman is not elected. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly," he said. "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time." Although Sanders did not specify in what capacity he would be working to bring down Trump, his remarks came after a Tuesday meeting with Clinton during which the pair reportedly discussed the future of the Democratic Party and Clinton's commitment to a progressive agenda. I look forward to working with @HillaryClinton in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/f5zcVRgfnv a Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016 Sanders also tweeted that he "look[s] forward to working with Hillary Clinton in the coming weeks to make certain that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda." Neither Trump nor Clinton immediately responded to Sander most recent pronouncement. While he's pledged a joint force against Trump, Sanders did not endorse Clinton or declare his exit from the race and even told his supporters in his Thursday live stream that he will have nearly 2,000 delegates come July when the Democratic National Convention rolls around. "We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become," he said. "And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia where we will have more then 1,900 delegates." In some parts of the city, when a person witnesses a crime, their first call isn't necessarily to the police: it's to the Shomrim, a network of civilian security patrols in Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. Members of the volunteer group respond to radio alerts of crimes underway, make civilian arrests, and even drive cars that resemble police carsbut they're not police officers, and the groups' close ties with the NYPD have gotten them wrapped up in the FBI's investigation into NYPD corruption, after a member of the Boro Park Shomrim was accused of trying to bribe an officer into expediting gun licenses. The New York Times takes a broad look at the civilian patrol groups in an in-depth piece today, and scored a few rare quotes from one of the patrols' presidents, who insists that negative stories about the Shomrim are due to just a few "bad apples." "It's a very sad reality in our community that you have many people dedicated to helping and a small minority of critics on the sidelines questioning our motives," Jacob Daskal, president of the Brooklyn South Safety Patrol, told the Times. "It's always the good ones who get criticized." And, Daskal says, the Shomrim haven't gotten any special favors from the police, other than "a mitzvah...or a feeling that our community is safe." Indeed, over the years the Shomrim have rescued children from attempted abductions and helped the NYPD investigate swastika-bearing flyers distributed around Williamsburg, among other things. But as for Daskal's claim that Shomrim members don't get favors from the NYPD, the FBI's investigation tells another story. In April, Alex "Shaya" Lichtenstein, a member of the Boro Park Shomrim, was charged with bribing NYPD officers to expedite gun licenses, offering up to $6,000 per license, prosecutors said. He'd been allegedly running that scheme for three years, and, following his arrest, three NYPD officers who'd allegedly accepted Lichtenstein's bribes were demoted. Speaking with the Times, Daskal denied the Shomrim's involvement in that scheme, and other officials have said that Lichtenstein was no longer a member of the patrol, despite photos taken a week before his arrest that appeared to show him at meeting between the Shomrim and the NYPD's 66th Precinct. Immediately after that corruption scandal came to light, the city froze funding to that Shomrim branch, withholding $35,000 in taxpayer dollars that had been set aside for the group last summer by Brooklyn councilmen David Greenfield and Chaim Deutsch. Until the city could determine that the group was a "responsible vendor," a City Hall spokesperson said at the time, the mayor would not sign off on the paymentsbut in the mayor's $82.1 billion budget approved by the City Council on Monday, another $35,000 was set aside for the Boro Park patrol. Dov Hikind, a state assemblyman who's helped the Shomrim get tens of thousands of dollars over the years, told the Times that "we're not talking about a lot of money and it's money well spent...There are real things that the Shomrim needs money forinsurance, phones, vehicles." Other politicians have helped the Shomrim secure funding for things such as a $300,000 mobile command center on par with what the NYPD uses, the Times reports. Then there are the reports that the Shomrim try to avoid police involvement when their own members are involved. In 2011, a member of a Crown Heights shomrim group was extradited from Israel, where he'd fled after being named as a suspect in the beating of a young black man whose father was an NYPD officer. And five members of a shomrim patrol were arrested in 2014 in conjunction with the beating of Taj Patterson, a gay black man who they accused of vandalizing cars in the neighborhood. Two of those arrested pleaded guilty to lesser charges several weeks ago. At the time of their plea deals, Michael Lesher, an attorney and Orthodox Jew himself, wrote an op-ed in The Forward begging members of Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox enclaves to speak out against the Shomrim and urging them to "spare [him] the line about Shomrim protecting vulnerable communities from the wrath of anti-Semites or the indifference of secular police. That story doesn't hold water." "For too long we've allowed a system of Jewish-run patrols to dominate the heavily Orthodox Jewish enclaves of Brooklyn, usurping the role of the official police force (with key support from vote-hungry politicians), despite their record of violence toward non-Jews," Lesher wrote. "And for years we've held our tongues as the patrols' unchecked behavior carried on...we knew what was happeningbut, collectively, we Orthodox Jews kept it to ourselves." BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Thursday in an address to his supporters that he will work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party, adding that his "political revolution" must continue and ensure the defeat of Republican Donald Trump. Sanders said in a capstone address to his political followers online that the major task they face is to "make certain" Trump is defeated. The Vermont senator said he plans to begin his role in that process "in a very short period of time." "After centuries of racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms in our country, we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign," Sanders said. "We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, Muslims, women and African-Americans. ... The major political task that together we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated - and defeated badly." He continued, "But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become. And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia, where we will have more than 1,900 delegates." Sanders spoke from his Vermont hometown a week after Hillary Clinton secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to become the presumptive nominee. He has not yet conceded the race or referred to Clinton as the likely nominee. But the two rivals met Tuesday night in a Washington, D.C. hotel along with advisers to discuss policy goals and future plans. In the speech, Sanders thanked his supporters for providing more than $200 million in donations, most in increments of $27, and rattled off the work of his loyalists: 1.5 million people who attended his rallies and town meetings and more than 75 million phone calls from volunteers "urging their fellow citizens into action." Story continues @BernieSanders: "I also look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party..."https://t.co/7mgfJhJKqr - CSPAN (@cspan) June 17, 2016 This campaign is about defeating @realDonaldTrump, the Republican candidate for president. #OurRevolution pic.twitter.com/exfWylcYbd - Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016 I look forward to working with @HillaryClinton in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/f5zcVRgfnv - Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016 As hope for the Democratic nomination is all but gone for Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator has set his sights on the next frontier for his political revolution: reforming the Democratic platform. In a livestreamed speech to supporters Thursday night, Sanders all but admitted his campaign is no longer about defeating Hillary Clinton. Instead, he vowed to take his campaign to the Democratic National Convention in July to fight to add progressive policies to the party platform before then embarking on the Democrats' badly needed unity tour. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly," Sanders told his supporters from his home in Burlington, Vermont. "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. "I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda." Many of the ideas Sanders is pushing for are already in the Democratic platform. But Sanders could very well push the party even further to the left when Democrats meet at the Democratic National Convention this summer, and in the process deliver his supporters a feel-good win on the issues he's built his campaign on. But then what? Once drafted and adopted, there is nothing binding party members to follow the policies laid out in the platform. In fact, the platform merely serves as a rhetorical device for Democratic elected officials and candidates to point to for what the party stands for. "Everyone soon forgets it," Jim Manley, a former longtime Senate aide to Sens. Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy, said in an interview. "The reality is, in the end [platforms are] meaningless." Sanders says he's meeting with Clinton on Tuesday and reveals his demands: she keeps to the left, and the party platform includes his ideas. Sure, Sanders could issue threats to Clinton, saying if she deviates from the platform he'd renege on any possible forthcoming endorsement. Story continues He could also run primary challengers against party members who either don't campaign on the policies laid out in the platform, or who actively include proposals counter to the platform while stumping for re-election. Sanders drives off after meeting with Clinton to find common ground after the primaries wrapped up. He's built a powerful online donor apparatus that could help him raise money for that effort an avenue Republicans have taken since the birth of the tea party movement following President Barack Obama's election in 2008. That year, now-former Sen. Jim DeMint created a group called the Senate Conservatives Fund, which punishes lawmakers who compromise on conservative litmus texts by funding primary candidates to run against them. The fund has been a thorn in Republicans' side ever since, forcing the GOP to spend millions to defeat candidates who'd likely be too conservative to win their respective elections. A Sanders' spokesman did not return a request for comment on whether that's a consideration in his post-primary plans. But that strategy is also fraught with peril. Bernie Sanders addressed supporters via livestream Thursday. Creating the liberal version of the fund would likely require the Vermonter to create a super PAC to spend money it raises on television advertising the same fundraising apparatus Sanders has railed against since Citizens United. And running primary challengers against fellow colleagues and Democratic candidates would lose him clout in the Senate where as an independent he's reliant upon Democrats' good will for his plum committee positions. "Make of the Senate whatever you will, but if he wants to play a larger role than he has in the past he can do so, but he's going to have to change his ways a little bit and stop being such a lone wolf," Manley said. Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born -- and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father's barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. He started by teaching himself with the help of the Internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since "there is no tattoo school in Palestine". "Everybody laughed and told me: 'What do you think you're doing?'" said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words "Thy will be done" -- from The Lord's Prayer. As Ayash worked, the teenager's mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. "Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, so there you go," she said. "This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong," was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. - Proof of pilgrimage - For Ayash, the high season is over now. Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land -- Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between -- have gone home. Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. Story continues He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic -- or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. "Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians," he said. "They want a cross and the date of their visit. It's part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing." While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel's occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. - Hidden faith - Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasizing one's religion can be life-threatening. "I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian," said Ayash. "When she lets her hair fall, the cross can't be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn't do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria." Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. * Billionaire contributed $1.6 mln to $2 mln pro-tax effort * Bloomberg to support tax drives in San Francisco, Oakland * Soda industry says Philadelphia success won't have ripple effect By Luc Cohen NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - After successfully funding a campaign to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia, billionaire Michael Bloomberg is preparing to fund similar efforts in several other cities, giving new momentum to measures seeking to limit soft drink consumption. The former New York City mayor contributed the bulk of the money for the pro-soda tax side in Philadelphia, providing around $1.6 million. Now the prominent public health crusader will support measures in San Francisco and Oakland, California this year, Michael Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg, said in a conference call on Friday. Bloomberg may also support soda tax drives in Seattle and Multnomah County in Oregon, which includes Portland, in 2017, Wolfson said. The billionaire's planned backing raises the stakes for the powerful beverage industry, which has lobbied hard to defeat many of the 43 municipal and state-level attempts to implement a soda tax that have failed since 2008. Before this week, Berkeley, California was the only U.S. city with a soda tax. But the success in Philadelphia, the country's fifth-largest city with a diverse population of 1.6 million, could mark a turning point as Americans become more aware of health campaigners' message that sugary soft drinks contribute to obesity and diabetes. "If Berkeley was a tremor, Philadelphia is an earthquake, and we expect there will be more earthquakes going forward," Wolfson said. As New York's mayor, Bloomberg led efforts to pass a state-level soda tax, prevent residents from buying sodas with food stamps, and limit the size of sugary beverages. His efforts prompted public outcry against what were dubbed "nanny state" initiatives, and all three measures were ultimately defeated. Philadelphia's Mayor Jim Kenney took a different approach, emphasizing the revenue benefits of the tax over the health angle. The city council approved the measure in a 13-4 vote on Thursday after activists raised a total of around $2 million, according to Kevin Feeley, who led the pro-tax campaign. Story continues Feeley and Wolfson both said the soda industry outspent the pro-tax campaign. A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo and funded a local group opposing the tax, said the group did not yet have a final tally for how much it spent. The spokeswoman added that the group would "oppose all discriminatory tax proposals." The group has said the tax's passage in Philadelphia was the result of unique local political conditions and unlikely to have a ripple effect in other cities. The ABA said on Thursday it would sue Philadelphia to stop the tax, and Wolfson did not rule out the possibility that Bloomberg would contribute to aid the city's defense. Wolfson declined to specify an amount that Bloomberg was willing to spend on the San Francisco and Oakland efforts, but noted that he was "not in a position to match soda dollar for dollar." Bloomberg's contributions are meant to help "level the playing field," he said. (Additional reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Tom Brown) * Billionaire contributed $1.6 mln-$2 mln pro-tax effort * Bloomberg to support tax drives in San Francisco, Oakland * Soda industry says Philadelphia success won't have ripple effect (Adds details on Multnomah County initiative in paragraphs 7, 8) By Luc Cohen NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - After funding a successful campaign to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia, billionaire Michael Bloomberg is preparing to back similar efforts in several other U.S. cities, giving new momentum to measures seeking to limit soft drink consumption. The former New York City mayor contributed the bulk of the money for soda tax advocates in Philadelphia, providing around $1.6 million. Now he will support measures in San Francisco and Oakland, California this year, Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg, said in a conference call on Friday. Bloomberg may also support soda tax drives in Seattle and Multnomah County in Oregon, which includes Portland, in 2017, Wolfson said. The powerful beverage industry has lobbied hard to defeat many of the 43 municipal and state-level attempts to implement a soda tax that have failed since 2008. Before this week, Berkeley, California was the only U.S. city with a soda tax. But the success in Philadelphia, the country's fifth-largest city with a diverse population of 1.6 million, could mark a turning point as Americans become more aware of health campaigners' message that sugary soft drinks contribute to obesity and diabetes. "If Berkeley was a tremor, Philadelphia is an earthquake, and we expect there will be more earthquakes going forward," Wolfson said. Activists in Multnomah County filed this month to create a ballot initiative that could reach voters next year, said Mel Rader, executive director of Upstream Public Health, which is involved with the effort. Three prior efforts in Oregon in recent years failed to gather steam, he said. "The timing appeared right to bring this issue back for public debate," Rader said. "It's a big deal that Philadelphia proved it. There's momentum happening all over the country." Story continues As New York's mayor, Bloomberg led efforts to pass a state-level soda tax, prevent residents from buying sodas with food stamps, and limit the size of sugary beverages. His public health crusade prompted opposition by critics who labeled it a "nanny state" initiative. All three measures were ultimately defeated. Philadelphia's Mayor Jim Kenney took a different approach, emphasizing the revenue benefits of the tax over the health angle. The city council approved the measure in a 13-4 vote on Thursday after activists raised a total of around $2 million, according to Kevin Feeley, who led the pro-tax campaign. Feeley and Wolfson both said the soda industry outspent the pro-tax campaign. A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo and funded a local group opposing the tax, said the group did not yet have a final tally for how much it spent. The spokeswoman said the group would "oppose all discriminatory tax proposals." The group has said Philadelphia's passage of the tax resulted from local political conditions and was unlikely to have a ripple effect in other cities. The ABA said on Thursday it would sue Philadelphia to stop the tax. Wolfson did not rule out the possibility that Bloomberg would contribute to aid the city's defense. Wolfson declined to specify an amount that Bloomberg was willing to spend on the San Francisco and Oakland efforts, but noted that he was "not in a position to match soda dollar for dollar." Bloomberg's contributions are meant to help "level the playing field," he said. (Additional reporting by Chris Prentice; editing by Tom Brown) Bolivias government said it is offended by Bill Gates initiative to donate 100,000 chickens to help impoverished nations, including Bolivia, worldwide. He does not know Bolivias reality to think we are living 500 years ago, in the middle of the jungle not knowing how to produce, said Cesar Cocarico, Bolivias minister of land and rural development, according to The Verge. Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia, and once he knows more, apologize to us. In his blog post announcing the initiative, dubbed Coop Dreams, the billionaire wrote, Its pretty clear to me that just about anyone whos living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens. In fact, if I were in their shoes, thats what I would doI would raise chickens. When I was growing up, chickens werent something you studied, they were something you made silly jokes about. It has been eye-opening for me to learn what a difference they can make in the fight against poverty. It sounds funny, but I mean it when I say that I am excited about chickens. After dropping much too much money on a cab last Saturday because I failed to heed my own writeup of the weekend's subway changes, I'm determined this weekend to finally conquer my fear of biking in the city, in an attempt to lessen my reliance on an ever-infuriating subway system. Perhaps you'd like to join me: 14 subway lines have changes this weekend, but the weather promises to be ideal for taking matters into your own hands (or feet, if you will). If you will be relying on the train this weekend, here's what to look forward to: 1 trains are not running in either direction between 137 St and 242 St from 11:30 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Free shuttle buses will run instead. 2 train service will operate in two sections from 3:45 a.m. on Saturday to 10 p.m. on Sunday: between Flatbush Av and E 180 St, and between E 180 St and 241 St. Downtown trains will run express in the second section. 3 trains are not running in either direction between Utica Av and New Lots Av from 11:30 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Trains will run all weekend between 148 St and Utica Av, with free shuttle buses making stops where service is suspended. 4 trains will run local in both directions between 125 St and Brooklyn Bridge, from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday. From 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, service will be suspended between New Lots Av/Utica Av and Brooklyn Bridge. Free shuttle buses will run instead. 5 trains are not running in either direction between Bowling Green and Grand Central-42 St from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday. Also, from 3:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and from 9:45 p.m. on Saturday to 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, 2 trains will replace 5 trains between Dyre Av and E 180 St. Manhattan-bound 7 trains will run express from Willets Point to Queensboro Plaza, stopping at 74 St, from 6:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. A trains are not running in either direction between Lefferts Blvd and Rockaway Blvd from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Shuttle buses will run instead. Also, from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, downtown trains will run express from 145 St to 59 St-Columbus Circle. Downtown C trains will run express from 145 St to 59 St-Columbus Circle, from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Coney Island-bound D trains will be rerouted via the N from 36 St to Stillwell Av, from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 10 p.m. on Sunday. They'll also stop at 45 St and 53 St overnight. E trains are rerouted via the F in both directions between 21 St-Queensbridge and W 4 St, from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Free shuttle buses will run between Court Sq-23 St and 21 St-Queensbridge, stopping at Queens Plaza. Also, from 11:45 p.m. to 6 a.m., Friday to Sunday, and from 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Jamaica Center-bound trains will run express from 21 St-Queensbridge to 71 Av. From 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Manhattan-bound E trains will run local form 71 Av to 21 St-Queensbridge, and from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Jamaica Center-bound trains will skip 75 Av and Briarwood. Brooklyn-bound F trains will run local from 71 Av to 21 St-Queensbridge from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday. From 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains will skip 75 Av, Briarwood, and Sutphin Blvd. And from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Coney Island-bound trains will run express from Jay St-Metrotech to Church Av. G trains are not running in either direction between Church Av and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Forest Hills-bound R trains will run express from Queens Plaza to 71 Av from 6:30 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. The Rockaway Park S shuttle will be replaced by the A from 6:30 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. By Elisabeth O'Leary and Paul Sandle BIRSTALL, England (Reuters) - British police said on Friday that right-wing extremism was an important line of inquiry in the murder of MP Jo Cox, after a man with suspected neo-Nazi links and a history of mental illness was arrested over the killing. Cox, 41, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed on Thursday by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first", in her own electoral district near Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire in northern England. Her murder has left Britain in shock and campaigning for next week's referendum on European Union membership has been suspended as a mark of respect. Officers arrested a 52-year-old man, named by British media as Thomas Mair, near the murder scene and he remains in custody where he is being questioned by detectives. He has not been charged. Police said counter-terrorism officers are also involved in the investigation into the attack, which occurred as Cox arrived for a meeting with constituents. "We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspect's link to mental health services and this is a clear line of enquiry which we are pursuing," West Yorkshire Police Temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins said in a statement. "We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right-wing extremism, which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." Britain First, a far-right nationalist group, denied any links with Mair but a U.S. civil rights group said he had been associated in the past with a neo-Nazi organisation. In Birstall, a quiet town of a few thousand people, weeping mourners laid flowers at a monument near the scene of the attack. One message read: "Fascists feed on fear." "It is a vile act that has killed her," Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party which Cox represented, said as he laid flowers in Birstall with Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday. "We will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society." The killing prompted a suspension of campaigning for the June 23 EU referendum, the tone of which has become ugly and included bitter personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. The murder sparked debate in Britain, which has strict gun controls, about the safety of lawmakers, the heightened tempo of political confrontation and whether the slaying would affect the outcome of the referendum. Cameron has agreed to recall parliament on Monday in tribute to Cox, a well-liked mother of two young children and considered an outstanding member of the new intake of Labour parliamentarians. She had been a prominent aid worker. Both sides have put on hold their national EU campaigns until at least Sunday. Shares, oil and bond yields rose after campaigning was suspended, reversing earlier losses this week which followed a swing in opinion polls towards the Leave camp. The implied probability of a vote to remain rose to 67 percent, up from 65 percent on Thursday, according to Betfair odds. Some investors suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign, which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. NEO-NAZI LINK The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley in northern England, from the NA's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. The NA said it was not familiar with him. "The National Alliance had and has no connection with Thomas Mair any more than with any other book customer; we did not work with him, were not familiar with him, and did not remember his name even after the release of the illegally-obtained book receipts," the group said in its press release. The SPLC said it checked his name on its database. "When they announced that he was a suspect, we ran his name in our file and found these documents. We don't know anything more about him," Heidi Beirich, Intelligence Project Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told Reuters. Mair's brother said Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported. "He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. "My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don't even know who he votes for." Neighbours described a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds and inquired after their pets. "I'm totally devastated - I didn't want to believe it. He's been very helpful to me. Anything I asked him to do he did very willingly and sometimes without my needing to ask," said next-door neighbour Diana Peters, 65. "I saw him the day before. I was taking my cats to the vet and he came and asked me how they were," she told Reuters. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990. Britain's Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth's London residence Buckingham Palace and Cameron's Downing Street residence. "UNITE AGAINST HATRED" The queen wrote a private letter of condolence to Cox's husband. Members of the public and lawmakers, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, there were dozens of white candles, bunches of flowers and messages of condolence. "You can't kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred." Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two children, aged three and five. Leaders across Europe and the world have expressed shock at the killing of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate and former charity worker whose job took her to countries such as Afghanistan and Darfur. A fund set up in her honour had raised more than 140,000 pounds for charities she supported in six hours. Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a more respectful dialogue in political disputes after the tragedy. Cox had arrived in Birstall for a "surgery" in a library with members of the public, a one-to-one meeting much like when a patient consults a doctor. In Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police patrol the entrances, corridors and halls but there is often no security in their home electoral districts, or constituencies. Tempers can flare during surgeries and parliamentarians are often subjected to abuse on social media. Cox had complained to police after receiving "malicious communications" and a man was arrested and later released with a caution in connection with the investigation in March. A spokeswoman for the House of Commons said it was reissuing security advice to lawmakers and police chiefs said they had asked local forces to reiterate safety advice. (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Paul Sandle, Michael Holden, Sarah Young, Andy Bruce, Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden, Editing by Timothy Heritage, Peter Millership and Anna Willard) * Britain holds EU membership referendum on June 23 * Momentum swings in polls towards "Leave" campaign * Brexit would be expected to roil currency markets * Brexit could affect trade, economy and migration By Martinne Geller and Kate Holton LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - British companies are preparing for the possibility that the country will vote to leave the European Union with extra funds, pre-written statements and plans for late-night vigils by teams of consultants. In the final week before Britain's June 23 referendum on EU membership, the prospect of a "Leave" vote has come into sharp focus, prompting a last-minute flurry of preparations in the corridors of "UK PLC". Much of the focus is on communication -- how to assure customers, employees and investors that there will be near-term business continuity in the event of an "Out" vote. Britain would have two years to negotiate its exit, or "Brexit", from the 28-country bloc. Treasury departments will also be working overtime because a vote for a Brexit would be expected to roil currency markets and have major consequences for trade, the economy and migration in Britain and elsewhere. Many companies have yet to work out detailed plans, as any post-Brexit picture is unclear and opinion polls had until recently suggested the "Remain" camp was comfortably ahead. But some have sprung into action since the momentum in the polls swung towards the "Leave" camp in the latter stages of campaigning, which was suspended on Thursday after a British lawmaker was killed. "The nearness of the vote and sudden increased likelihood of Brexit has definitely sharpened client appetite for draft statements," said a senior executive at a public relations firm, one of three who said this week there had been an increase in client requests for communications advice. As of February, more than three-quarters of Britain's FTSE 250 companies had not made any contingency plans for a possible exit, according to a survey published in April by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. Story continues More than 60 percent said they planned to do so, but the uncertainty at that time made it impossible. STERLING SWINGS For many export-orientated multinationals in the FTSE 100 index, violent currency swings on the morning of June 24 are the top concern. "The biggest short-term impact and the biggest headache for us is going to be sterling," said the head of strategy at one top-10 FTSE company. While chief executives generally back "Remain" on the grounds that unfettered access to Europe's market of about 500 million consumers is good for business, a short-term fall in sterling on a "Leave" vote would make exports cheaper and could boost sales, while a "Remain" vote could see the currency jump. Either way, it spells volatility for sterling-denominated earnings at businesses including engineering firms Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline, drinks group Diageo, and British American Tobacco. Richard De Meo, managing director of Foenix Partners, a foreign exchange specialist for British companies, said many corporate treasury departments were now escalating currency decisions up the chain of command. "There can be serious business risks to them sticking to long-term policies in a situation like this. They are in communication with the chairman, the MDs (managing directors), the board," he said. Some companies have also been keeping open lines of credit in case Brexit-related volatility increases their need for cash. Vodafone, which boosted its short-term borrowing capabilities this year during merger talks with U.S. cable company Liberty Global, has said it is grateful it has that funding in place for now. "Once we're through uncertainty, you would expect the (commercial paper) to drop down," Vodafone CFO Nick Read told analysts in May. "There's no other uses of cash. It's just more, I would argue, timing and tactical." NOT "A HOSTILE ACT" Several executives said they were concerned about managing relations with international employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders immediately after the results are announced on June 24. While there were no plans to issue public statements to the stock market, several executives said they would be likely to communicate with stakeholders in the event of a Leave vote. "I would want to reassure our European partners that this is not something they should regard as a hostile act," said Miles Young, chairman of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, part of British group WPP. Another senior FTSE 100 executive told Reuters the company would bring in external lawyers and consultants on June 24 for backup, if this was necessary. "One thing we need to do immediately is to engage in a very serious dialogue after the 24th with customers to identify both opportunities and challenges in the ongoing relationship," said the executive. "They may say 'come back in two years to talk to us' or they may want to talk then." One senior executive at a public relations firm said he planned to stay in a central London hotel the night of June 23 to be close to the office. He also expected most of the firm's public affairs team to work late on June 23 and come to work early on June 24 to watch and analyse the results on behalf of multinational clients. "As their public affairs eyes and ears, they're expecting us to do ... most of the watching and analysis for them," he said. "I'm not telling people they have to stay on the floor or anything, but if they can get in earlier than usual, that would be helpful." After issuing weekly bulletins to clients in the last few months, he said he would update them shortly after the polls close at 2100 GMT on June 23 and then again around 0600 GMT the next day. In the financial services sector, where a Brexit vote will echo the loudest, large banks including Citi and Goldman Sachs will have senior traders working through the night, which is set to be among the most volatile 24 hours for markets in a quarter of a century. A FTSE 100 finance director said there would also be concern about what a Brexit would mean for the rest of the EU. "We will have to reassure clients," the director said. "The EU is worried. We are an important part of it and you risk a domino effect. We're in the hands of the gods." (Additional reporting by Patrick Graham, Ben Hirschler and Sarah Young, Editing by Timothy Heritage) Birstall (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Campaigning for Britain's EU referendum next week was suspended for a second day Friday as the nation reeled from the murder of a popular pro-Europe MP at the height of a bitterly-divisive debate. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker also known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees, was killed on Thursday outside a library where she was supposed to meet constituents in a village in northern England, just a few miles (kilometres) from where she was born. Eye witness Hichem Ben Abdallah, 56, who works at a cafe next to the library in Birstall, told AFP he heard two shots and saw the petite mother of two on the ground. "Her face was full of blood," said Ben Abdallah, who campaigned alongside the Labour politician before she was elected to parliament for the first time last year. A 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described as a friendly loner by neighbours, Mair also battled mental illness and allegedly had ties to white supremacists. "He used to scrub his hands with Brillo pads and nail brushes until they were red raw," said Stephen Lees, who used to be friends with Mair's brother. With just six days left until the historic vote, rival groups campaigning for Britain to leave or remain in the European Union ceased campaigning and politicians joined as one to condemn the killing. Many commentators questioned whether the murder could be linked to a campaign ahead of the June 23 referendum that has stoked high tension by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. "We don't yet know the circumstances of this case but there has been an increase in vitriol, I think, in public debate," fellow Labour MP Yvette Cooper told BBC radio. German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged British political parties to moderate their speech in the final week. "The exaggerations and radicalisation of... language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect," she said. Story continues Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and parliament speaker John Bercow were due to hold a joint event in the area later on Friday. Cox, the first British MP to be murdered since Ian Gow was killed by Irish Republican Army paramilitaries in a car bomb in 1990, had complained to police earlier this year about "malicious communications". In March, police arrested a man who was given a formal warning but later released. He was not the same man in custody for Thursday's attack, the police said. The Times newspaper said police had been considering putting in place additional security for her, with commentators wondering whether all MPs should be given extra protection. Before Cox's murder, opinion polls suggested Britons would likely vote to leave the EU, in a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling. The pound rose with Asian stocks Friday after the previous day's selloff, as investors judged the tragedy increased the likelihood of the "Remain" side prevailing. - 'White nationalism' - US advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center said that Mair, who had lived in Birstall for decades, was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. It said he had spent over $620 (550 euros) on reading material from the group, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. "Neighbours called him a 'loner' but he also has a long history with white nationalism," the centre said. It said Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told British media the assailant used a gun which appeared "old-fashioned" or "homemade". Another witness, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told British media that the gunman had shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack. - 'Fight the hatred' - Cox, whose first speech in parliament defended immigration and diversity, lived with her husband Brendan and their two children aged three and five, on a houseboat on the Thames near Tower Bridge. Flowers were laid on the roof of the boat where they lived on Friday and residents paid tribute to her. As the news of her death broke, Brendan issued an impassioned appeal for unity against hatred. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now," he wrote. "One, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." LONDON (Reuters) - Britons left floral tributes and heartfelt messages in London and Yorkshire on Friday as they reflected on the shocking death of lawmaker Jo Cox, shot dead in her constituency a day earlier. Outside parliament, mourners and tourists surveyed the dozens of bouquets laid in a show of respect for the 41-year-old mother of two, a former aid worker who became a legislator only last year. At her London home, a houseboat on the River Thames, friends had fashioned the barge into a work of art, arranging candles, peonies, lilies, roses and sunflowers into a spread of colour on the deck. Cox, who had been an active supporter of the campaign for Britain to stay in the EU ahead of next week's referendum, was attacked after a meeting with residents 200 miles (320 km) away in Birstall, West Yorkshire. A man was subsequently arrested. Mourners gathered in the market place there to leave flowers on the steps of a statue of the town's most famous son, Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen. One message read simply: "Why? Rest in peace Jo". The death of Cox left Britain's increasingly bitter and angry EU referendum debate in limbo after both sides suspended their campaigns. That was a relief for Penny Windsor, 38, and her four-year-old daughter who laid a bright pink gerbera in Parliament Square, home to statues of political icons like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. Windsor said she felt compelled to visit because of the "dirty" tenor of the referendum debate. "I think everything's gone a bit crazy lately. It's important for us to show that the country's got more compassion than people realise and ... to show support for what (she) stood for." Some of the handwritten messages also hinted at regret over the divisive nature of referendum debate. "We are not Remain/Leave, Tory, Labour or Lib Dem tonight. We are Britons with a belief in parliament and democracy," one read. Members of the public visiting Westminster to pay their respects were also given marker pens to leave messages on a large canvas, alongside the tributes from Cox's parliamentary colleagues. Justine Greening, Britain's minister for international development and a political opponent of Cox's Labour Party, wrote: "From one proud Yorkshire lass to another. I hope that your legacy in parliament will be as long as your time here was short." A book of condolence was opened by Cox's neighbours at the moorings on the riverbank, where the family home is one of more than a dozen boats forming a floating village just downstream from Tower Bridge. "Your inspirational energy will live on and on. You will be sorely and deeply missed by the community, many communities," read one message simply signed "Julie." (Reporting by Sarah Young, Andy Bruce and Paul Sandle; editing by Stephen Addison) New York state regulators on Thursday approved, with conditions, the planned $17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision Systems by European cable and telecom company Altice. The deal is expected to close by midyear. Altice said it was pleased with the approval, according to Reuters. The takeover, first announced in September, follows Altice's acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Suddenlink, the seventh-largest U.S. cable operator. Outside the U.S., Altice concentrates on Western Europe, including France and Portugal, Israel and the Caribbean. New York's Public Service Commission unanimously approved the transaction with conditions that had been recommended by a panel. Those conditions included a commitment to pass 25 percent of cost savings from the deal on to customers over five years and not to lay off customer-facing jobs in New York for four years. The commission's vote was the last hurdle for the deal. Previously, the FCC and New York City gave it the green light. Cablevision has been led by CEO James Dolan. The Dolan family last year agreed to sell the cable company, which operates in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Altice, founded by John Malone protege Patrick Drahi, has said that it could look for further U.S. acquisitions over time, but likely not this year. Read More: A Rare Q&A With James Dolan: Viacom's Weakness, MSG's Strength and Why He's Not Worried About the Knicks By Robin Respaut SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Reuters) - California is now the sixth largest economy in the world, surpassing France thanks to a robust state economy and the strength of the U.S. dollar. California was the world's eighth-largest economy as of last year, according to Irena Asmundson, chief economist of the California Department of Finance. "California did exceptionally well in 2015," said Asmundson. "Lots of sectors did well." California is home to diverse strong economies, including Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Manufacturing has performed well, as has the agriculture sector, despite a severe drought, said Asmundson. The nation's most populous state has outpaced the rest of the U.S. on job growth. Its gross state product was $2.46 trillion, with 4.1 percent of state growth this year in real terms, according to the state's finance department. Nationally, gross domestic product grew by 2.4 percent in 2015. Growth slowed to 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016. (Reporting by Robin Respaut; Editing by David Gregorio) If it wasn't for this Good Samaritan's heroic deeds, a man inside a burning vehicle may not have lived to see another day. Read: Woman Plows OverLover With Her Car After Learning He Is HIV Positive Surveillance footage shows a car pulling up to a California bank at about 4:00 p.m. last Saturday, Sergeant James Jensen from the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office told InsideEdition.com. "You can see [the driver] exit the vehicle, and come back with more alcohol there is a liquor store nearby," Jensen said. Next, Jensen said the man could be seen throwing what appears to be alcohol containers from the window of the car, that was parked but running. That's when Good Samaritans Aram Harutyunyan and Leo Pekker, who were on their way to lunch, noticed smoke coming out of the car. Harutyunyan, 30, told InsideEdition.com that he and his friend were frequent diners at the barbeque restaurant, but what they saw next was a first for both of them. "Aram saw the guy's leg sticking out of the car and immediately started walking toward it," Pekker told InsideEdition.com. "There were a lot of spectators, but nobody would help the unconscious man." Pekker said that he could feel a lot of heat and hear hissing coming from the car, even though he filmed his friend from afar: "It sounded like it would blow up any second." "That's the thing in your mind that takes all your concentration," Harutyunyan told InsideEdition.com. "Man, I hope it doesn't blow up." Moments later, Pekker put down his camera and helped his friend carry the man out of the smoking car, moments before it eurupted into flames. "It was very dangerous," Jensen said. "The car was on fire." Pekker said, "I asked the man "What Happened"? He was incomprehensive, looking around and was not sure what happened to him." "I pulled him all the way to the curb, he looks fine, and we knew the police and firefighters are going to come," Harutyunyan said. "I said, 'Take care,' and I just went to lunch." Story continues Read: Police K-9 Dead After Being Left in Hot Car for Nearly 3 Hours by His Handler One of the bystanders had called 911, and the man was then arrested and charged for driving under the influence and arson. "We plan on giving our heroic citizen an accomodation plaque at the very minimum," Jensen said. "He's a good citizen, brave. He saved a life, while potentially putting his life in danger." "We were sitting and eating already when everybody arrived," said Harutyunyan, who avoids the term 'hero.' "I'm shy, I don't like the attention." Watch: Cop Chases Chicken on the Run Near Restaurant, Insists It Didn't Cross the Road Related Articles: Birstall (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A sombre British prime minister on Friday urged greater tolerance in public debate and recalled parliament to pay tribute to Jo Cox, the MP whose brutal killing has caused shock in Britain and further afield. David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn added bouquets to a massive floral tribute to the 41-year-old parliamentarian in the northern village of Birstall, where she was gunned down on Thursday. And with less than a week until a referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU, which has split the country in two and sparked fiery debate on both sides, Cameron said it was time to "stand back". "Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities," Cameron said. Many commentators have questioned whether the killing could be linked to the referendum that has stoked tensions by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. Britain is reeling from the murder of Cox, a well-liked mother-of-two, who was shot and repeatedly stabbed in broad daylight at the height of the referendum campaign. As a mark of respect, both sides halted campaigning ahead of the knife-edge vote on June 23, with the suspension being extended to Saturday, officials said. The move leaves the two camps with only four days to woo voters before voting on Thursday, when broadcasters are banned from carrying any political messages. - Lying in wait? - Cox, a former aid worker also known for campaigns for Syrian refugees, was killed outside a library where she was supposed to meet constituents, just a few miles (kilometres) from where she was born. Eyewitness Hichem Ben Abdallah, 56, told AFP he heard two shots and saw the petite woman on the ground. "Her face was full of blood," said Ben Abdallah, who campaigned alongside the Labour politician before she was elected to parliament for the first time last year. Story continues Police arrested a 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair. Described as a friendly loner by neighbours, Mair also battled mental illness and allegedly had ties to white supremacists. He also suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), according to Stephen Lees, a friend of Mair's brother. "He used to scrub his hands with Brillo pads and nail brushes until they were red raw," he told AFP. One of Cox's aides, who was at the scene, said that the attacker seemed to have been waiting for the MP to drive up, the aides' father told ITV news. Another witness, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told British media the gunman had shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack. "We don't yet know the circumstances of this case but there has been an increase in vitriol, I think, in public debate," fellow opposition Labour Party MP Yvette Cooper told BBC radio. In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the politicians to tone down the debate, saying: "The exaggerations and radicalisation of... language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect." - 'Malicious communications' - Cox, the first British MP to be murdered since Ian Gow was killed by Irish Republican Army paramilitaries in a car bomb in 1990, had complained to police earlier this year about "malicious communications". In March, police arrested a man who was given a formal warning but later released, with The Times saying police had been considering putting in place additional security for her. According to The Guardian, police were believed to have found Nazi regalia and far-right literature in their search of his long-time house in Birstall. US advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center said Mair was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. It said he had spent over $620 (550 euros) on reading material from the National Alliance, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. He had also purchased a handbook on how to make a gun. Witnesses told British media the assailant used a gun which appeared "old-fashioned" or "homemade". Cox, whose first speech in parliament defended immigration and diversity, lived with her husband Brendan and their two children aged three and five, on a houseboat on the Thames near Tower Bridge. As the news of her death broke, Brendan issued an impassioned appeal for unity against hatred. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now," he wrote. "One, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." Before Cox's murder, opinion polls suggested Britons would likely vote to leave the EU, in a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling. Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's Senate voted Friday to pass legislation allowing the terminally ill to end their life with a doctor's assistance, clearing the final hurdle for the bill to become law after a clash between the upper and lower houses. Senators approved Bill C-14 in a vote of 44 to 28, giving in to pressure by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, which controls the House of Commons. It now only requires royal ascent by the governor general, which is largely a formality. The bill sets out new rules for consenting adults with serious health problems to end their suffering, coming one year after the Supreme Court struck down a prohibition against doctor-assisted suicide. The government had been given until June 6 to draft the legislation. The protocols it put forward -- including the main sticking point of restricting assisted dying rights to terminally ill patients -- were much less comprehensive than proposals by a parliamentary special committee formed to study the hugely controversial issue and supported by the Senate. Tensions rose in parliament, which at one point saw Trudeau elbow a female opposition MP in the chest and grab the opposition whip by the arm to drag him toward his seat for a key vote. Then while the Senate sought to amend the bill to make doctor-assisted suicide more widely available, the deadline passed. In a statement, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Health Minister Jane Philpott said "the government recognizes the extraordinary efforts that were made in the House of Commons and in the Senate to ensure passage of this bill." "Medical assistance in dying is a difficult, complex and deeply personal issue," they said. "The legislation strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the latest luminary to try the Microsoft HoloLens holographic goggles, at the opening of the Microsoft Canada Excellence Centre in Vancouver. And he looks like he's super-into them: justin trudeau hololens HoloLens is a wearable Windows 10 computer that sits on your head and projects three-dimensional "holograms" into your field of vision. It's pretty neat. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wasn't on-hand to do a personal demo with Trudeau, as he was with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. But Microsoft President Brad Smith was around to welcome Trudeau and promote Vancouver as a rising star in the tech market. The Microsoft Canada Excellence Centre, or MCEC, will house developers working on the whole range of Microsoft products, per a blog post. Microsoft is showing that it recognizes the countrys tremendous potential to be a world leader in the innovation sector, Trudeau said in that blog post. It will provide new opportunities for Canadas young people, and our highly educated workforce as a whole, to shape the future. This might have been a particular thrill for Trudeau: In addition to being a an athlete, Trudeau is known to be a bit of a nerd, schooling a reporter with a quick lesson on quantum computing back in April 2016. We've reached out to the Liberal Party of Canada to see if Trudeau enjoyed the HoloLens. We'll update when we hear back. NOW WATCH: Here's Microsoft's amazing vision for what the HoloLens can do More From Business Insider It was pomp and no consequence for a Pennsylvania high school student who took her her diploma and just kept on walking. Each of the graduates of Parkland High School in Allentown came on stage when their names were called and returned to their assigned seats... except for Tayler Michelle Gray. Read: Cops Stand by Fallen Officer's Son at Kindergarten Graduation: 'We Were All Glad to Be There' In a video that has gone viral this week, Gray proudly accepts her diploma and walks off the stage just like all the other students, poses for the official photo and then walked past her seat and out the door. I wanted to go spend the time with my family, than just sit there. I was way too excited, so I had to do what I had to do and keep going, she told Inside Edition. Reaction has been mixed after the 19-year-old posted the video of her exit on social media. Disrespectful and tacky, wrote one mom. One teen wrote: Amazing. I don't feel that I did anything disrespectful. When I was walking out I just minded my business, I didn't interrupt the ceremony, Gray told Inside Edition. It was more important for me to spend the time with my family than to sit and wait for everybody else. I don't feel I was being disrespectful. Read: 14-Year-Old Boy Impersonates Trump, Clinton and Sanders in Middle School Graduation Speech Following the abrupt exit, he and her family later had lunch at Applebees. By the time the ceremony was over and we were sitting at Applebees and everybody started barging in, we were done with our food, she said. Watch: Celebrities Dish Out Advice for 2016 Graduates Related Articles: The seabed holds some fascinating historical secrets, but unlike monuments on land, theyre largely hidden from view. Now, archaeologists in the United Kingdom are using 3D printing to bring two historical shipwrecks to life for history enthusiasts and experts alike. Using data from photogrammetry (measuring the distance between objects from photographs) and sonar imaging, the researchers have produced scale models of a 17th-century shipwreck near Drumbeg, in Scotland, and the remains of the HMHS Anglia, a steamship that was used as a floating hospital during World War I. The steamship was sunk by a mine off the south coast of England. "It was a proof of concept for us, trying to establish what could be done using sound and light, but there are so many different applications you could use this for," said maritime archaeologist John McCarthy, a project manager at Wessex Archaeology who carried out dives at the Scottish site and was in charge of producing the 3D models. [Photos: Shipwrecks of the Deep Sea] "People can engage much more easily with a physical object in front of them. You can bring it to schools and conferences, and we are hoping to donate both models to local museums, once we've finished with them," McCarthy told Live Science. It was not particularly difficult to create 3D-printed representations of the shipwrecks, McCarthy said. The magic, he said, was in creating the virtual models that were fed into the 3D printer. McCarthy carried out initial experimental surveys of the Drumbeg wreck in 2012 with his colleague Jonathan Benjamin, who is now a lecturer at Flinders University in Australia. McCarthy recently joined him there to begin Ph.D. studies under Benjamin's supervision. At the Drumbeg wreck site, the pair found three heavily encrusted cannons with evidence of a preserved wooden hull underneath. The ship's identity is still unknown, but one theory holds that it is a Dutch trading vessel called the Crowned Raven, which is known to have been lost in the bay in the late 1600s. Story continues After realizing the techniques they were using could provide enough data for a 3D model, the archaeologists went back to do a more detailed survey in 2014 and used the lessons they had learned from their first attempt. The archaeologists used a technique called photogrammetry, which involves taking hundreds of overlapping photographs of a site and then feeding them into a computer program that can stitch them together. The application is able to establish the spatial relationships between photos, which allows it to create a so-called 3D point cloud that maps each image in 3D space. "Once you have a point cloud, you can turn it into a solid surface," McCarthy said. "Then you have a 3D model of the site that's not subjective or an artist's impression, but entirely objective." The benefits of photogrammetry are that it produces very high-resolution images and it can capture the true color of the site, McCarthy said. The method is easily thwarted, however, by excess marine growth or poor visibility, and it is not well-suited to covering large areas. Sonar, on the other hand, can see through the murk and can cover much larger areas, McCarthy said. For the 329-foot-long (100 meters) HMHS Anglia, another team from Wessex Archaeology used multibeam sonar which operates in a similar way to a laser scanner to do a much larger survey of the shipwreck site. While multibeam sonar can't match the subcentimeter resolution of photogrammetry, using higher-end equipment and doing many passes can boost accuracy, McCarthy said. The Anglia survey was a particularly high-resolution one, he added, which was part of the reason it was selected for the 3D printing project. McCarthy pointed out that the Wessex Archaeology team is not the first to create 3D-printed models from underwater imaging data. He said that the field has been booming in recent years, with big advances in both sonar and photographic techniques, and even some novel laser-scanning approaches are beginning to come through. "All maritime archaeologists are engaging heavily with these techniques now," McCarthy said. "Advances in hardware and software in the last five years has allowed us to do very rapid and cheap surveys, and it has added to the tools we use underwater." 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. From Popular Mechanics In the dark world of pro-ISIS social media, nothing is constant. Online groups are always splitting, morphing, and recombining as they're moderated and taken down by international law enforcement and the companies that run the networks they use. But a team of scientists now thinks that even just tracking the rapid churn of pro-ISIS online groups could actually help governments predict violent assaults in the real world. A Florida-based team of computer scientists, led by Stefan Wuchty at the University of Miami, have developed a mathematical model that follows the online movement and proliferation of members on social media, specifically a Russian Facebook knockoff, called Vkontakte. His team found that as pro-ISIS pages and groups start to split, combine, and regroup at an exponential rate, they can forebode a major real-world crisis. For example, Wuchty explains, a huge spike in Vkontakte activity happened just before the 2014 "unexpected assault by ISIS on Kobane," a city in northern Syria, he says. The computer model is unveiled today in the journal Science. "In contrast to Facebook and Twitter, where basically all pro-ISIS activity is suppressed immediately, on Vkontakte this kind of activity can proliferate because the online moderators just slowly shut down these groups, and only from time to time. When that happens, you have these drifting, aggregate collections of former followers which can either merge into other groups, fragment into smaller groups, or morph all together. It's truly a complex online ecology," Wuchty says. "The speed with which new groups emerge actually harbors a signal." "One of the interesting aspects of this is that we found that the speed with which new groups emerge actually harbors a signal. And that signal allows us to predict the onset of activity in the real world," he says. This signal-the increasingly rapid, staccato pace in the formation and regrouping of online social media followers-basically acts like "taking the pulse" of the group's social momentum, says Wuchty. Story continues Wuchty's team followed 196 pro-ISIS aggregates-shifting informal groups of ISIS sympathizers- on Vkontakte between August of 2014 and January of 2015. A rapid uptick in the shuffling of these Vkontakte groups often came before a violent group event in the regions where ISIS claimed control. To be clear, while Wuchty does not believe that tracking these online groups might foretell lone wolf ISIS-inspired attacks, like the one seen last weekend in Orlando. "That's the disclaimer," he says. "We're talking about big movements of groups," like those fighting in and supporting the city-wide assault in Kobane, "which goes beyond individuals. We're basically talking about sociology, which is inherently difficult to quantify on the scale of individual people," he says. Moving forward, Wuchty says he would like to see if this new computer model could be incorporated into real-time forecasting software. Although he admits that like last decade's American color-coded terror alters, a general globe-wide warning system would likely have limited effectiveness. Knowing that something violent, somewhere on the globe might happen tomorrow isn't exactly the most actionable information. But it's something. I early hours of Sunday morning, a gunman identified as Omar Mateen entered Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire on nearly 300 people. Armed with a Glock 9mm pistol and an AR-15-style assault rifle, Mateen killed at least 49 people and wounded 53 more in mere minutes, making the incident the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. And yet the gruesome attack in Orlando was typical for the United States, a nation where horrific gun violence has become a regular occurrence. It's also a nation where people like Mateen or, rather, men like Mateen are routinely the perpetrators of that violence, which they execute in fits of homophobic or misogynist or racist In the wake of massacres like the attack on Pulse, people are quick to look for explanations for the bloodshed, from "radical Islam" and terrorist connections, to lax gun laws or mental illness. But we're not often inclined to implicate another common thread that connects Mateen to other mass shootings: toxic masculinity, a From Charleston to Orlando, There's Another Culprit Behind Mass Shootings A shared history of sexist rage Since Mateen's name was released in the hours after the shooting, the public has learned a fair amount about his violent past: In 2013, Mateen was placed on an FBI terrorist watch list for threats he made against a co-worker, . His ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, told the New York Times Mateen would routinely beat her during their two-year marriage, while his former co-worker has claimed he "talked about killing people all the time" and had a penchant for using racial and sexual slurs. To add to his complex history, Mateen was reportedly a regular at Pulse, and had used gay dating apps in the past. The profile that's been established of Mateen isn't too dissimilar from those of other mass shooters, for whom large-scale gun violence wasn't a first act of aggression. Robert Dear, who attacked a Colorado Springs, Colorado, Planned Parenthood clinic in November, was accused of abusing his wives and posting vicious rants online before the attack, much like Mateen. Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech shooter who killed 32 people in 2007, allegedly stalked two women and left behind a virulently sexist manifesto ahead of his rampage, much like E Story continues "I have to do it," Roof reportedly said during his attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. "You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go." He, Mateen and the other men who committed these atrocities seem, in each case, to have acted out of a sense of fear others women, queer people, people of color had taken or withheld something to which they were entitled. In multiple cases, including Roof's, we know this for sure, thanks to the hateful manifestos left behind. This is not a coincidence. From Charleston to Orlando, There's Another Culprit Behind Mass Shootings Is violence an expression of manhood? "Boys and men are more likely to externalize their pain and take it out on others," Jackson Katz, a leading gender violence prevention expert and author of Man Enough? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity, said in a phone interview. "There's an attitude of, 'Someone took something from me, I'm going to take it from others.'" "Violence is the single quickest way for a man to establish his manhood. It is so clearly identified in the public mind, in our culture and around the world, as a masculine endeavor. When women commit violence, especially gun violence ... they're violating a norm, and when men do, they're over-conforming to a norm." The anger and uncontrollable rage underpinning massacres like the attack in Orlando massacres that have become commonplace do not develop or come to a head overnight. They are cultivated and reinforced by a culture that lionizes male dominance and control. "Our culture is filled with media narratives, in particular, for boys and men to reclaim their dignity and manhood that's been taken from them through redemptive violence, in response to humiliation or pain," Katz said. "When women commit violence ... they're violating a norm, and when men do, they're over-conforming to a norm." That's why policy alone isn't always enough to end mass violence particularly violence perpetrated by men like Mateen, whose actions are rooted in deeper insecurities about their own manhood. As President Barack Obama said Tuesday in a speech at the , t "As commander in chief, I've seen how the ideology that leads Boko Haram to kidnap schoolgirls, and leads ISIL to enslave and rape women is the same ideology that leads to instability, and violence, and terrorism," Obama said. "There's a connection there." From calling boys by derogatory terms for gay men when they display effeminate characteristics, or (most recently, at least), our culture affirms the angry men who brutalize women who reject them; who murder their partners and children; who decimate trans women of color, bomb abortion clinics and massacre black people in their houses of But that repeated affirmation that brutal, sometimes sadistic "manliness" is acceptable is also what makes attacks like Mateen's both predictable and preventable. It could be possible to prevent mass murder simply by looking for the right signs. "We have to be talking about the links between domestic violence and gang violence, violence in the home and violence in the streets," Katz said. "The crucible of so much violent behavior of boys and men is violence done against them in their families. ... If you have large numbers of men who grow up traumatized by violence and abuse, a large number will act out in the traditional way: through redemptive violence as a fulfillment of masculine honor." From Charleston to Orlando, There's Another Culprit Behind Mass Shootings Killing a culture of toxic masculinity There's more to it than that, though. Ending the devastating consequences of masculinity-gone-murderous requires a broader cultural shift one that doesn't equate anything that isn't "manly" with weakness, or treat people who defy traditional masculine ideals, like the scores of men and women murdered at Pulse, with disdain. It also requires that we stop accepting destruction as a normal, or even valorous part of life, and instead start interrogating our own cultural values; that we recognize the stereotypical markers of manhood might seem benign, but are potentially dangerous. Gender stereotyping "has consequences for all of us, whether we're men or women, black, white, gay, straight, transgender or otherwise," Obama said. "We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure, and our boys to be assertive; that criticizes our daughters for speaking out, and our sons for shedding a tear." Honestly facing how destructive these stereotypes can be won't bring a solution overnight. But it could be a step in the right direction. On Friday night, Felicia Sanders plans to walk up the steps of the Second Presbyterian Church for an event to mark the year anniversary of the murder of her 26-year old beloved son Tywanza Sanders and her 87-year-old aunt Susie Jackson. The two were killed at Emanuel AME Church, the shadow of whose spire will nearly touch Second Presbyterians steps in the waning evening Charleston sun. It is no accident that Sanders has chosen to mark the grim anniversary of the slaying before her eyes of her son and auntand seven other African American congregantsby an avowed white supremacist here, at a white church. I wanted to do this for Tywanza. I want to prove that boy wrong. I wanted to show forgiveness and love between the races, Sanders said last September at her first Bible study at Second Presbyterian. That night, her hands gripped the chair when a young white man entered the room. But she forced herself to embrace this church and these people and unite with them in worshipping the same Jesus. It was a year ago Friday that another young white boy entered Emanuel to attend its regular Wednesday Bible study. He prayed with his victims for nearly an hour before he opened fire in the church basement, killing nine and leaving Sanders, her now 12-year-old granddaughter and Polly Sheppard alive. Though much has been written about the nine souls who lost their lives that nightindeed, some charities in the wake of the tragedy only gave to the victims families, all but ignoring the survivorsit is these three who must live with those experiences most keenly every day. They are the ones who must testify in the upcoming state and federal cases against now 22-year-old Dylann Storm Roof, the alleged killer who attacked Mother Emanuel, he told the survivors, because he wanted to start a race war. Read More: How Do You Forgive a Murder? In the year since the world was shocked and humbled by the Emanuel victims forgiveness of Roof in the face of such an atrocity, killing the pious at prayer, Sanders and Sheppard have struggled and found strength in that forgiveness. Sheppard, whom Roof left alive as a witness, is convinced that God saved her so that she could save Roof. She says shed be willing to go pray with him in prison, if hed allow her. I think that He left us here, thats part of the grace. And He left us here to do something, be a light to someone else, Sheppard said. Story continues Sanders would not want to pray with Roof, whom she can hardly still name the pain is too raw. Instead, she has chosen to mend by forging lasting bonds with the very people Roof wanted her to hate. For the last nine months, every Wednesday Sanders has gone to Bible study at Second Presbyterian. Sanders has not stepped foot back in the basement of Emanuel church, where she has spent her entire life worshippingnor will she ever. Before Sunday services she wont drink fluids, so as to avoid having to go to the bathroom at Emanuelthe only restroom is downstairs. So, in the wake of the shooting, she had to find another Bible study group. Sanders had never needed guidance more: she often couldnt sleep, reliving that terrible night. Sanders and her granddaughter only survived because they were so covered in the blood of their loved ones that the shooter thought they were already dead. Enter Reverend Cress. Though the Second Presbyterian has stood behind Emanuel all of Sanders lifeindeed the church was founded in 1809, five years before EmanuelSanders had never set foot in it until the massacre. Rev. Cress Darwin, Second Presbyterians pastor, offered his sanctuary as an overflow venue for Tywanza and Susies joint funeral. Reverend Cress, as hes called by his congregants, offered his guidance to Sanders, still reeling not only from the loss of her relatives, but virtually the entire preaching staff at Emanuel, her spiritual guides. So, Sanders turned to Reverend Cress for guidance: she had brought her son to church to keep him safe, why had God taken him? And Susie? Why had 21-year-old avowed white supremacist come into Emanuel, the oldest African-American AME church in South Carolina, and taken away nine of her family and friends? And why had God let her and her granddaughter survive? She wantedno neededto return to Bible study to find answers but she could not bear to return to Emanuel. Come here, Reverend Cress offered. And that was how Sanders and her granddaughter became the only two regular African-American worshippers at Wednesday Bible study. The news is not easy for Sanders and Sheppard these days. Orlando, San Bernardinoso much death, so much hatred. They pray that the world will not forget them and their example, that the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will not fade to that of Malcolm X. For the only way to end the cycles of violence, they say, is to forgive it. Vengeance is the Lords, only he can carry out retribution, Sanders says. Who am I to question the Lord? I trust his justice. A year after nine people were fatally shot at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the city will honor the victims with several programs of remembrance. More than two dozen commemoration programs and events are planned throughout the city to honor the "Emanuel Nine," allegedly shot by suspect Dylann Roof on the evening of June 17, 2015. Roof, an alleged white supremacist, has been charged with 33 federal counts, including several hate crimes, and awaits his November trial. Roof has pleaded not guilty. For church congregants, the emotional wounds from that evening are still fresh. Tara Wright, 44, says the attention over the past year has made it difficult for them to move on. "It's so much attention all the time. If it wasn't like that, we'd have more time for healing but we never really get to rest," she tells PEOPLE She adds, "There's nothing wrong with people wanting to come around and console us and lend a helping hand but sometimes you just need time to yourself. I'm hoping after all the anniversary activities finish, things will settle down and the families will be able to find some peace." To honor the memory of the so-called "Emanuel Nine," Charleston is planning a day of events, most of which center on racial unity. he local Kindred Kids program will present a mandala woven by students of diverse backgrounds. The Principle Gallery in downtown Charleston will present portraits of the victims. The church will host an service open to the public: "After Charleston: Commemoration, Healing, and Hope." On Saturday, a walk of unity is planned, and the Charleston Gospel Choir will honor the Emanuel Nine with an evening concert. On Monday, area leaders and law enforcement officials will discuss measures to curb violence and promote positive relationships between youth and law enforcement. 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. Along with heartbreak, there have been moments of uplift as church members have been touched by the generosity of the human spirit. Wright, whose husband, Cronyn Wright, is the drummer in the church band, said people have continually sent gifts to the church. Her favorite was a painting by an incarcerated man with no prior affiliation to the church. It depicts the Emanuel Nine in a worshiping position, with praying hands. "So many people were crying just from that picture. I cried too, and it's hard to make me cry," she says. The church has also welcomed its first female pastor, the Rev. Dr. Betty Deas Clark. Says Wright, "It's almost like women can give the woman's touch, you know? She's doing that. She's very warm and kindhearted." Wright says two white couples have become church members. "It has really been a good thing. It show unity and also shows that we can all be together.... It shows that we are not separated by race that's important because we have to start somewhere. We can come together and be there and laugh together no matter what race we are." She adds that the shooter allegedly "did it because of race and hate. But that backfired on him. It brought us together." Charlie Sheen is not a fan of Donald Trump. The former Two and a Half Men star appeared on UK's The Graham Norton Show this week, where he had less than glowing things to say about the presidential hopeful, stemming from a wedding gift the actor said he received from Trump five years ago. Sheen says the gifting took place at a dinner with his ex-wife Brooke Mueller, along with Trump and his wife Milania. The 50-year-old actor claims that Trump apologized to him for not being able to attend his wedding (which Sheen says he had never been invited to), before offering him his cuff links as a gesture of good will. WATCH: Jon Cryer Compares Donald Trump to Charlie Sheen: 'I Don't Want People to Pick the President Based on Entertainment Value' "He says, 'These are platinum diamond, Harry Winsten,'" Sheen said. "And he pulls off his cuff links, and gives them to me." However, Sheen said that when he got the jewelry looked at a few months later, the appraiser told a much different story. WATCH: John Legend Deems Donald Trump 'Racist' in Twitter Battle With the Presidential Hopeful's Son "She spent about four seconds examining the cuff links, before she kinda recoiled from it, much like people do from Trump," he claims, adding that she said, "'In their finest moment, this is cheap pewter and bad zirconia.' And they're stamped Trump." "What does this say about the man? That he said, 'Here's a great wedding gift,'" Sheen added. "And it's just a bag of dog s**t." MORE: Donald Trump Ate a Taco Bowl to Show He 'Loves Hispanics' on Top of a Bikini Pic of His Ex-Wife "I have faith that good and decent people will make the right choice," he continued. "And that the circus will leave town before it contaminates the Oval Office." Well, it seems that either a lot has changed in a year, or Sheen was just being facetious last August when he tweeted, ""If Trump will hv me I'd be his VP in a heartbeat! #TrumpSheen16." Story continues MORE: Seth Meyers Bans Donald Trump from 'Late Night In any case, Sheen is not the only person going after Trump. Watch the video below to see what this 13-year-old comic had to say about the presidential hopeful. Related Articles By Justin Madden CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Chicago man was shot and killed while live streaming a video on Facebook, police said on Friday, just days after a double-homicide in France in which the killer later took to Facebook Live to encourage more violence. Antonio Perkins, 28, was found face down on Wednesday night in a vacant lot with gunshot wounds to the neck and head on the city's west side, Chicago police officer Laura Amezaga said. Perkins was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police on Friday identified the man in the video as Perkins, who they said was a documented gang member. No arrests have been made. In France, a 25-year-old man killed a French police commander and the commander's partner on Tuesday, then he took to Facebook Live with a 12-minute video encouraging followers to kill prison staff, police officials, journalists and lawmakers. The incidents underscore the immense challenges companies such as Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Google's YouTube face as they push live video streaming to hundreds of millions of people. Facebook in recent months has made its Live feature - which allows anyone to broadcast a video in real time - a central component of its strategy. It allows people to stream from their smartphone. Chicago, the third-largest U.S. city, has drawn attention due to its gun violence, which police have blamed largely on gang violence and a proliferation of stolen guns. There were nearly 500 homicides last year, and gun violence is up in 2016, police say. The Facebook Live video appears to show Perkins recording himself and a group of people in front of a row of homes before someone opened fire. The phone appears to tumble through bloody grass before going black. The audio continues with bystanders screaming and crying. The video remains on Facebook with a user warning message about its graphic nature. A spokeswoman from Facebook acknowledged the video posting, saying it does not violate company policy. The social media site will remove a video if it celebrates or glorifies violence, she said. (Reporting by Justin Madden; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Alan Crosby) BEIJING (Reuters) - China's clean energy pledges are prompting a supply of new financing tools to fund the estimated 43 trillion yuan ($6.53 trillion) needed to switch from heavy, polluting industries to clean projects. The Beijing Environment Exchange endorsed a call option backed by 20,000 local carbon permits on Thursday, the first of its kind in China, which was bought by trading firm CMB Sinolink. Rival bourse, the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange, also plans to launch four forward contracts to trade over the counter (OTC), backed by Shanghai permits which expire in each quarter of 2017, according to the Shanghai Clearing House. China, the world biggest energy consumer, wants to increase clean energy use in power generation to 35 percent by 2020 from the current 27 percent. To try and meet the capital requirement for this economic restructuring, China plans a national carbon market by 2017 which will cover all provinces and nearly 10,000 of the most carbon-intensive companies mainly in power, steel and oil industries. China currently has seven regional pilot carbon markets. Market information provider ICIS forecasts China's national market will open at 40 yuan for trading of the China Carbon Allowances in 2017, and increase to 65 yuan in 2021. ICIS launched a weekly price assessment on Thursday, hoping to set a reference benchmark price for carbon credits to be delivered in March 2018 in the national market. The German bourse EEX is in talks with its members interested in positioning in China, according to a development plan seen by Reuters. The plan would offer cash settled futures contracts on Chinese carbon credits this year, denominated in renminbi or euros, and backed by the ICIS price index. "European carbon traders hedge their power contracts as much as five years ahead, whereas China depends on progress in liberalizing its energy market in order to drive hedge trading by local utilities," said a trader in an international company. But China's regional pilot carbon markets have seen prices come under pressure, due to over-allocation caused by worse than expected economic performance, and patchy liquidity. Total turnover has been stagnant at 7.8 billion yuan in the three years pilot phase, Hubei Emission Exchange data shows. "There must be strong demand for underlying spot products to launch futures," Zhang Yubin, vice general manager of the China Futures market Monitoring Center, said on Thursday. "The capital turnover for offering commodity futures are at tens of billion yuan." (Reporting by Kathy Chen; Editing by Michael Perry and Ed Davies) HANOI (Reuters) - China sent ships on Friday in response to a request from Vietnam to help find a coastguard plane that crashed with nine personnel aboard while looking for a missing fighter jet and pilot, Vietnam's defense ministry said. The CASA turboprop plane went down on Thursday in the Gulf of Tonkin, between Vietnam's northern coastline and China's Hainan Island, where the rescue team had found some debris and personal items, the ministry said in a statement. The Airbus-made plane was searching for a Sukhoi SU-30 MK2 fighter jet and a missing pilot that went off radar on Tuesday. One of the two fighter pilots was rescued from the sea the following day. Thousands of Vietnamese coastguard, border guard, navy, air force and fishermen have been searching for the aircraft and the second pilot. China sent one rescue and two coastguard boats to help search for the CASA plane in response to Vietnam's request for assistance and to allow its vessels to enter the Chinese side of a maritime boundary agreed between the two countries. The coastguard plane went down in bad weather and low visibility. Vietnam has suffered a series of accidents in the past two years with its aging helicopters, but plane crashes have been rare. It is currently overseeing its biggest military buildup in four decades and wants to upgrade its air and sea defenses, including plans to purchase fighter jets, a strategy experts say is aimed at building a deterrent against China's military rise. The Communist parties that rule China and Vietnam are historically close, but tensions are high over territorial disputes between them in the South China Sea. Vietnam has stepped up efforts to strengthen its coastguard, with help from Japan, which has its own maritime squabbles with China, and the United States, which has repeatedly locked horns with Beijing and insists it has stake in ensuring freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea. (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Martin Petty and Simon Cameron-Moore) By Meng Meng and Chen Aizhu BEIJING (Reuters) - China ordered at least 255 Shanghai-based industrial facilities, including part of a major oil refinery operated by Sinopec Corp, to shut for 14 days to reduce pollution ahead of the G20 summit, according to an official document reviewed by Reuters. The document, issued by the Shanghai Environment Protection Bureau, has ordered a wide range of companies from power and petrochemical plants to logistics firms to shut down between Aug. 24 and Sept. 6 for the upcoming G20 meet in Hangzhou. Authorities in neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu province are set to issue similar orders to limit air pollution and safety hazards within a 300 km radius from Hangzhou, according to industry and government officials. China has previously shut down factories and limited the operation of heavy equipment ahead of high-profile diplomatic and sporting events - such as meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Beijing Summer Olympics of 2008 - to cut the choking smog that afflicts many of its cities. "Longer-term China needs to work out a market-based approach to tackle pollution rather than an ad-hoc order. Apart from social responsibilities, business has its profit and loss to take care," said Jing Chunmei, a researcher with China Center for International Economic Exchanges. The G20 summit, hosted in the first week of September, has become China's biggest diplomatic event of the year and is expected to gather together world leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama. Shanghai Petrochemical Corp, a subsidiary refinery of state refiner Sinopec Corp, will reduce its capacity by 50 percent, or about 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the G20 event during those two weeks, the document from the environment bureau said. Coal-fired power plants in the area that do not meet emissions standards will be fully closed over the two weeks, it also said, and the usage of heavy machinery will be reduced by 30 percent across Shanghai. An official with Sinopec's Jinling Petrochemical Corp, another major refinery based in the city of Nanjing in neighboring Jiangsu province, said his firm was also asked by local authorities to "appropriately reduce throughput", but was not given any specific reduction size. The ruling came from local governments, rather than from Sinopec Corp, the official said. Shanghai Petrochemical, according to the environment bureau's document, will be closing a 120,000 bpd crude unit, a 3.9 million tonne-per-year (tpy) residue hydrocracking unit, a 3.5 million tpy catalytic cracking unit, and another dozen or so secondary refining facilities. OTHER REFINERIES, INDUSTRIES Sinopec also operates in the vicinity the 440,000 bpd Zhenhai refinery, 270,000 bpd Shanghai Gaoqiao refinery and 250,000 bpd Yangzi Petrochemical Corp. A spokesman for Sinopec said the company was not immediately able to comment. The 255 factories based in Shanghai, about 200 km from Hangzhou, cover sectors like chemicals, building materials, pharmaceuticals and printing, according to the document. Operation of heavy machinery in the Jinshan district will be cut in half during the summit period, and sailings of dry bulk ships below 200 tonnes, oil tankers above 600 tonnes and all chemical tankers will be suspended. The government is offering no subsidies for the shutdowns, according to four plants contacted by Reuters. "We will try to reschedule plant maintenance to that two weeks to minimize the production loss," said Shi Yan, a manager at Budenheim Fine Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. Other areas, including the port city Ningbo, have also issued lists of factory shutdowns ahead of the G20 summit in addition to the closures set for Shanghai, according to an official at the Ningbo Environmental Bureau. (Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Addtional reporting by Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI and Adam Jourdan in BEIJING; Editing by Tom Hogue) By Joseph Campbell BEIJING (Reuters) - A well-known Chinese civil rights lawyer went on trial for fraud on Friday, an attorney with knowledge of the case said, the latest trial in a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent. Xia Lin was detained by Beijing police in November 2014 and later charged with fraud, said Mo Shaoping, a colleague of Xia's lawyer who is familiar with the case. Xia's lawyer could not be reached for comment. Xia had worked with Pu Zhiqiang, one of China's best-known human rights lawyers, who was handed a three-year suspended sentence last year for writing Internet posts the government said incited ethnic hatred. Xia had represented artist and dissident Ai Weiwei's company, Beijing Fake Cultural Development. Security was tight outside of Beijing Number 2 People's Intermediate Court and journalists were barred entry. Several supporters and family members could be seen waiting outside. Calls to the court went unanswered. William Nee, a researcher at Amnesty International in Hong Kong, said Xia was defending human rights activist Guo Yushan before he was detained in 2014. "You know, he was trying to defend these people, and then he gets this accusation of fraud, illegal business activities," Nee said. "Most people think that's merely a pretence to silence him." The trial could be a bellwether for how judicial authorities treat other prominent figures ensnared in the leadership's broad crackdown on rights lawyers, Nee added. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Xia's case was outside of the Foreign Ministry's remit and she was unaware of the specific details. "China is a country ruled by law," Hua said. "We guarantee everyone's legal rights according to law and handle their legal violations according to law." The last three years under President Xi Jinping's administration have been marked by a sweeping crackdown on dissidents and activists. (Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Writing By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Nick Macfie) A leading Chinese dissident lawyer and his relatives have been "threatened" since his daughter spoke about his controversial new book in Hong Kong this week, the daughter and activists said Friday. Gao Zhisheng's current whereabouts are unknown after Chinese security agents are said to have rushed to his brother's house, where he is staying, in an isolated village in China's Shaanxi province on Tuesday. Gao has been under house arrest since 2014 after serving a three-year prison term on subversion-related charges -- a sentence which sparked an international outcry. "I am worried they will face many threats... I already know that right after (his daughter) Grace's press conference in Hong Kong, Chinese security personnel rushed to his brother's house and threatened (them)," said Bob Fu, president of US-based human rights group China Aid Association which co-published the book. "We don't know if he has been removed from his cave home in Shaanxi. We don't know where he is now," Fu said, adding that a local contact who passed on the information of the security agents' visit had also gone "missing". Speaking in Taipei to launch her father's new book "Stand Up China 2017" -- which predicts the demise of the Communist Party and details his torture at the hands of the authorities -- Grace Gao said her uncle and aunt's mobile phones were disconnected or turned off when she called them on Friday. She felt her father would be subject to punishment over the book but added: "He is prepared for anything and our family is prepared." Gao fell foul of Chinese authorities by championing the rights of vulnerable people including underground Christians, aggrieved miners and members of the banned Falungong spiritual movement. He was convicted in 2006 of "subversion of state power" and given a three-year suspended prison sentence. State media said in 2011 that he had been ordered to serve the sentence after a Beijing court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation. Story continues In the 446-page book, Gao predicted the demise of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017, saying that "peaceful power for change" will flourish in China despite brutal suppression and it is "enviable for China's evil forces to demise". Gao detailed what he called abductions and tortures imposed on him by Chinese authorities since 2004, including electric shocks. The book was published by two human rights groups as no publisher in Taiwan or Hong Kong wanted to get involved, according to co-publisher Taiwan Association for China Human Rights. "Please help my family and all Chinese people," Grace Gao wrote in a copy of the book to be given to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen through a lawmaker of Tsai's party. "I hope she will do her best or within her power to help with human rights in China," she said. * Serbia seeks Chinese investment to spur growth * Visit seen as part of China's One Belt, One Road plan * Chinese investment so far mostly soft loans By Ivana Sekularac BELGRADE, June 17 (Reuters) - Serbia and China are set to sign at least 20 trade and investment deals this weekend during a visit by President Xi Jinping, as the cash-strapped Balkan country seeks funds for infrastructure projects to spur growth. Serbia has enjoyed good relations with China since the 1990s, when Belgrade was economically isolated for its role in the wars that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia. China sees the visit as part of its One Belt, One Road initiative, which is intended to open new trade links for Chinese firms as the domestic economy slows. "Within the One Belt, One Road initiative, which includes cooperation between Central and Eastern Europe, cooperation between the two countries is constantly improving," Xi wrote in the Serbian daily Politika before his arrival on Friday. Xi's ambitious initiative is for a new "Silk Road" from Western China to Central Asia and on to Europe via the Balkans. Central and east European countries are competing for Chinese investment, looking to lure firms in need of new markets whilst securing access for their own products in China. Serbian and Chinese officials are expected to sign at least 20 trade and investment deals, including agreements on building highways and waste-to-power plants. The two countries will also reaffirm their commitment to build a high-speed railway between Serbia and the Hungarian capital Budapest. CONFUCIUS MONUMENT On his latest trip, Xi will also visit Poland and Uzbekistan, the latter for a regional summit of the Chinese and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. . To cement good relations with Serbia, the foundation stone for a Chinese cultural centre will be laid and a monument to Confucius will be erected where Chinese embassy stood until it was destroyed by NATO bombs in 1999. Story continues Since 2009, when China and Serbia signed a strategic partnership agreement, China has invested more than $1 billion in Serbia, mostly in soft loans including finance for a bridge in Belgrade, the renovation of coal-fired power plant and construction of a new plant due to come online in 2018. A 46-million-euro ($52-million) deal to buy Serbia's sole steel plant by Hebei Iron & Steel announced in April is seen by Serbian officials and analysts as a major breakthrough that could pave the way for other Chinese companies. But the purchase of a steel-works in an EU candidate country by a state-owned Chinese enterprise raises serious concerns about unfair competition from state-backed enterprises, the European Steel Association said in a statement ahead of Xi's arrival. Serbian President Tomsilav Nikolic gave a more optimistic assessment of the visit. "After so many years the Chinese president is visiting Serbia. That is like spring after a long winter," he told Chinese media. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Additional reporting by Barbara Lewis in Brussels; editing by Giles Elgood and Keith Weir) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f119019%2fresume-bar1 There's no hiding the fact that job hunting really sucks. The worst part of it is sending endless resumes and cover letters, only to receive an equally depressing number of knockbacks in your inbox. SEE ALSO: How to be a picture perfect public speaker Amid the worry and the trepidation of potentially living on instant noodles for a while, there is a solution: Chocolate, but wrapped with one's resume. That's what Renata Chunderbalsingh from Sydney, Australia, is doing in an attempt to land herself a job in market research. It's a big change of career from her previous life in the education industry, which is why the resume bar was a way she could stand out, despite an admitted lack of direct experience in the field. "I am new to the industry, and was thinking well, 'how can I get out there and tell them that I'm good?'" she told Mashable Australia. "I thought, I have to differentiate myself from the crowd." renata Image: Renata Chunderbalsingh Chunderbalsingh got some help with the design, but printed and wrapped the bar herself. For the chocolate aficionados out there, the bar is from Lindt. A few of the bars were made and sent to different recruitment agencies and companies in the past week, but she said the most positive response was from Gemma Lewis from Resources Group, who posted it to much fanfare on LinkedIn. "Not sure if we were bribed or charmed, but either way it prompted a lovely chat with Renata this morning," Lewis wrote in her post. Lewis told Mashable Australia via email it's the most creative CV she's ever received, with the response to it "all a bit surreal" especially as she was just hoping for a few leads for jobs. "I rarely get anything in the post so that was unique in itself. Otherwise some candidates stand out in terms of design, infographics and formatting of CVs, catchy headlines in emails, content in the opening statement or hobbies even, but nothing like this," she said. Story continues Chunderbalsingh said Lewis has been helping out "a lot" with the job search, which has prompted offers albeit all the way in Europe. "Hopefully I'll finally find a job, and keep this as a nice memory of how I started my career," she laughs. It's of course not the first time chocolate has been used to get attention. A post on reddit from back in 2013 featured a resume bar, with the post claiming that it had landed a friend a job. Still proof that anything but paper and emails gets plenty of attention all these years on. Christina Aguilera is back with the powerful new ballad, "Change" (RCA). The pop icon and The Voice judge unleashed the lyric video for "Change" overnight, which she has dedicated to victims of the Orlando massacre. "The horrific tragedy that occurred in Orlando continues to weigh heavily on my mind. I am sending so much love and so many prayers to the victims and their families," she writes in a message posted on her Website. "Like so many, I want to help be part of the change this world needs to make it a beautiful inclusive place where humanity can love each other freely and passionately." Christina Aguilera is Now a Redhead: See Her Pic Aguilera co-wrote the song with Fancy Hagood and Flo Reutter. On it, she sings, "Waiting for a change to set us free/ Waiting for the day when you can be you and I can be me/ Waiting for hope to come around/ Waiting for the day when hate is lost and love is found." Aguilera's reps released a statement confirming that 100 percent of proceeds from U.S. download sales of the song will donated to the National Compassion Fund (until Sept. 14) to directly benefit the Orlando shooting victims and their families. Watch the clip below or download the song from iTunes. Earnings from on U.S. iTunes downloads for the next three months will be donated to the National Compassion Fund to directly benefit the Orlando shooting victims and their families. The label and publisher will also be donating proceeds. By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Only a tiny fraction of climate change funding is going into small-scale solar, biogas and other off-grid systems that may be the best way to get power to the world's poorest, researchers say. That problem, evident in new figures from the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), points to a challenge for the main international organization promoting access to clean energy for everyone on the planet, which this week adopted a strategy to achieve that goal earlier than a 2030 deadline. Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) head Rachel Kyte said its new five-year plan aimed to help "leaders to go further, faster" by supporting them to make good energy policy, setting up partnerships and unlocking finance. "This will help us secure an energy transition that is clean, affordable and just, because no one must be left behind," she said in a statement. There are still around 1 billion people in the world without access to electricity, and nearly 3 billion who cook using smoky fuels such as wood, kerosene and dung. The new Sustainable Development Goals, which took effect this year, include a target to ensure universal access to "affordable, reliable and modern energy" by 2030. Estimates of how much is needed to provide everyone in the world with electric power and clean cooking facilities range from $40 billion to $100 billion per year. In 2011, the International Energy Agency said $23 billion was required annually for decentralized energy as part of that push, on top of existing funding, the new IIED report noted. It calculated that, of the $14.1 billion approved by governments in international climate finance between 2003 and 2015, around 40 percent, or $5.6 billion, was earmarked for energy programs, but only 3.5 percent was specifically allocated for decentralized energy projects. While it did not determine specific figures for wider development aid used to tackle climate change, the IIED said total public climate finance for small-scale, off-grid energy likely amounted to little more than 5 percent of what is needed. Rita Poppe, an advocacy officer with Hivos, a Netherlands-based development organization that commissioned the report, said more government money should flow into small-scale renewable energy - such as solar home systems, mini-grids and clean cookstoves - because that was the best way to get energy to the poorest quickly. "They see the (power) lines above their heads, but they are not connected, so you really need a decentralized solution," she said. The IIED paper said most public climate finance is going to large-scale energy projects in high and middle-income countries. IIED researcher Neha Rai said bigger energy projects offered more easily measurable benefits to funders in terms of reducing planet-warming emissions, while the costs of putting smaller schemes in place were higher, a deterrent to investment. But the paper noted how some countries like Bangladesh and Nepal have set up national agencies that bundle small projects together so they are more attractive and cheaper to fund. The agencies then channel money to the local level. SOCIAL BENEFITS Poppe of Hivos said public funding, including grants, would be required to jump-start decentralized clean energy systems in the next decade until the technologies become more established and less of a risky business proposition. That would smooth the way for greater private-sector involvement, she added. Larger donors should focus more on supporting off-grid energy besides expanding power grids, and measure the benefits of decentralized energy projects in terms of their social impact, not just the amount of emissions avoided, she said. Social benefits can include improved health, due to things like refrigeration of medicines, as well as enabling children to study more easily, and access to market and weather data for farmers who can charge mobile phones to get that information. The new SE4All strategy, to be released in full later this month, aims to catalyze action on energy access through both decentralized solutions and grid connections. It will encourage governments to improve energy efficiency as a top policy priority. And it will work to develop robust pipelines of bankable energy projects and financing approaches that can provide the right type of capital at the right time, SE4All said. To achieve universal access to clean, affordable energy we need to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in finance, said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who co-chaired an SE4All advisory board meeting this week that welcomed the new strategy. This can only happen if we take a truly innovative approach to building public-private partnerships and mobilizing investment," he added in a statement. SE4All was created in 2011 by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and has three goals to be met by 2030: providing universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix. Some progress has been made towards those targets, a report said last year, but rates of improvement would have to speed up to meet them. (Reporting by Megan Rowling; editing by Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) "Virginia is for lovers" has long been the state's tourism tagline. With its lush, rolling hills in the Shenandoah Valley and shimmering waters along its coastal regions, Virginia is definitely the place for romance. However, what you might not know is that Virginia is a great state for food and wine lovers. While some destinations in the state are receiving national recognition for their thriving culinary scenes, there are a number of other regions that might be a surprise when it comes to wining and dining in the Commonwealth of Virginia. [See: 8 Under-the-Radar Foodie Cities.] The Top Food Towns In Arlington, a neighboring commuter city of Washington, District of Columbia, you'll find a burgeoning food scene. With its proximity to the nation's capital, it's no wonder that the city has a diverse selection of international casual and upscale dining spots. Further south and closer to the coast, Richmond, Virginia, has also recently garnered national attention for its notable chefs, new restaurants and craft breweries. Its location is ideal for access to fresh seafood from the coast as well as regional farmers supplying seasonal produce, meats and poultry to the chefs. Virginia Wine country It may come as a surprise that Virginia features the fifth-largest growing wine region in the country. The first European grapes planted for production were introduced in Virginia about 40 years ago. Today there are approximately 4,000 acres of vineyards and 300 wineries in nine wine regions extending from northern Virginia, through central Virginia and the Charlottesville area, and as far west as the Kentucky line in Appalachia, and even along the sandy shores on the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's Eastern Shore. Some of the best-known and award-winning wines are produced in the Charlottesville region, where Thomas Jefferson first tried his hand at winemaking in the early 1800s. While his attempts were unsuccessful ( Monticello never produced even one bottle of wine in 30 years of grape-growing), he'd be proud to know that on the nearby plantation of his friend James Barbour (and the governor of Virginia at that time), talented winemakers successfully brought Italian viticulture to the former Barbour estate, Barboursville Vineyards. In fact, another Italian, Gabriele Rausse, is often called "The Father of Virginia Wines." Story continues After acquiring the estate in 1976, Barboursville became one of a number of ever-growing exceptional and award-winning winemakers in Virginia producing varietals such as Pertit Verdot, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Petit Manseng and Bordeaux blends. The list continues to grow as the winemakers mimic growing conditions in Bordeaux and Burgundy by planting vines in rocky soils on steep, windy hillsides, which allow for drainage and air circulation around the grapes, and by learning methods to deal with the unpredictable climate in the region. Barboursville (along with a number of other wineries in Virginia) also offer excellent dining, cooking classes and accommodations on their property. [See: Tasty Cooking Vacations.] The Virginia Oyster Trail Another culinary gem in the state is the Virginia oyster. Not new to seafood production in Virginia, but new to the state's culinary tourism focus in the coastal region, is the Virginia Oyster Trail. Oyster farming has long been critical in maintaining the fragile ecosystem along Virginia's coastline and in the Chesapeake Bay. Many of these oystermen have been in business for several generations, with young family members returning home to continue the legacy. Virginia is the largest producer of oysters on the East Coast and features eight distinct regions, the most recent region being named as Tangier Island, situated off of the town of Onancock on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. In the wine world, the flavors transferred to the grapes from the soil where they're grown are described as terrior. In the oyster world, the flavors of the waters and beds are transferred to the oyster as it grows. Each region imparts a decidedly unique taste from the others and is expressed as merroir. With the recent focus on all things culinary, Virginia has partnered with local oystermen and watermen and other agri-artisans (businesses that feature the Virginia Oyster) to offer unique tasting experiences combined with oyster facility tours. On the tours, visitors can learn about and taste the very distinct flavors of the eight regions and waters where the oysters are grown and some tastings are paired with regional wines. This is America's first "Oyster Trail" and oyster tastings are every bit as flavorful and educational as wine tastings. In the small fishing village of Wachapreague along the Eastern Shore, Captain Rick Kellam of Broadwater Ecotours, features on-the-water tours and oyster tastings where his guests can harvest fresh wild oysters and taste the saltiness and brininess of the ocean waters while still on the boat. Meanwhile, on the Rappahannock River in Virginia's Middle Peninsula, you can tour the oyster facility at Rappahannock Oyster Co. with oystermen and cousins Travis and Ryan Croxton, followed by lunch or dinner at Merroir, their restaurant next door. With views of the water where the oysters are harvested, oysters on the half shell don't get much fresher than this. And while on the Eastern Shore, visit one of the wineries on the Oyster Trail with the world's only known Kayak Winery Tour. Departing from the tiny town of Bayford on the Chesapeake Bay, the tour takes you to historic Chatham Vineyards in Machipongo, Virginia. After paddling a mile along the beautiful Chesapeake Bay, your efforts are rewarded with a wine tasting and selection of Chatham Vineyard wines. Don't pass up the opportunity to try their very popular Church Creek chardonnay, the perfect dry and crisp wine to accompany the region's briny, creamy, buttery and, depending on where they're grown and sourced, sometimes sweet oysters. Merroir and Terroir There's nothing more romantic than the marriage of wine and oysters and Virginia's Eastern Shore Wine & Brine combines the two culinary gems with celebratory oyster roasts, barbecues and festivities throughout November. Featuring wines from local Chatham Vineyards and oysters harvested from neighboring waters, it's the perfect time to travel to Virginia and experience the quaint seaside towns of Onancock and Cape Charles, and soak in this up-and-coming culinary coastal destination. [See: 15 Best Foodies Destinations in the USA.] Virginia is for Food and Wine Lovers With its beautiful scenery, breathtaking sunsets, 17 wine trails and the only Oyster Trail in the country, a trip to the Old Dominion State should be high on your travel plans. Gwen Pratesi is a James Beard Finalist in Journalism, award-winning food and travel writer, and coauthor of PratesiLiving.com, where she shares the stories of her international food and travel experiences. She also freelances for other regional, U.S., and international publications. You can follow her at Twitter @bunkycooks, Linkedin, Google+, and Instagram @bunkycooks. Condoleezza Rice, Donald Trump. (Photo Illustration: Yahoo News, photos: AP, Jonathan Drake/Reuters Condoleezza Rice, who served George W. Bush as national security adviser and then secretary of state, has zero interest in being Donald Trumps running mate, her chief of staff said Friday. Dr. Rice has repeatedly said in past cycles as well as this one, shes not interested in being vice president, Georgia Godfrey told Yahoo News in a statement. Shes happy at Stanford and plans to stay. Rice will also stay away from Cleveland, where Republicans are expected to anoint the volatile entrepreneur as their candidate. She does not plan to go to the convention, Godfrey said. Since President Bush left office in January 2009, Draft Condi for (TBD elected office) speculation has never fully gone away. Shes the highest-profile African-American woman in the party and a former secretary of state who consistently rates well with voters. Various news outlets have recently fed that fire. In the past week, right-leaning Newsmax and Breitbart News each ran a story touting the possibility that Rice, now a professor of political science at Stanford University and fellow at its Hoover Institution, might run with Trump. The statement also amounts to the former top diplomats rejection of any efforts to draft her for an independent run for the White House. But she wont be entirely on the sidelines in 2016, either, according to a source familiar with her plans. She plans on doing a few events to help her friends in the Senate, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Shes concerned about down-the-ballot races and wants to be helpful where she can. The source confirmed that Rices efforts, which are expected to get under way in late summer or early fall, will overlap with Bushs own attempts to help embattled Republican incumbents worried that anti-Trump sentiment will sink their reelection bids. The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that Bush had headlined fundraisers for Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. The Times report also said that Bush would help Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday upheld former Connecticut Governor John Rowland's conviction on charges that he tried to use sham contracts to hide his political work in two U.S. congressional campaigns. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said Rowland, a Republican, was properly convicted over his role in creating documents that falsified his relationship with the candidates in order to impede a potential future investigation. The three-judge panel also upheld Rowland's 2-1/2 year prison sentence, and rejected his challenges to evidentiary rulings and jury instructions. A lawyer for Rowland, who has been free on bail during the appeal, did not respond to requests for comment. Rowland, 59, served as Connecticut's governor from 1995 to 2004, when he resigned amid a corruption scandal. He spent 10 months in prison following his 2004 guilty plea linked to his accepting illegal gifts. In the current case, a federal jury in New Haven in 2014 found Rowland guilty on seven counts of violating campaign-finance laws and falsifying records. The case stemmed from what prosecutors said were Rowland's efforts to secure consulting jobs with the congressional campaigns of Mark Greenberg in 2010 and Lisa Wilson-Foley in 2012. Prosecutors said Rowland gave Greenberg a draft contract to have him paid through his business or charitable interests rather than the campaign, a deal Greenberg rejected. Rowland later contacted Wilson-Foley and her husband, Brian Foley, who were concerned about connecting Wilson-Foley's campaign to the felon ex-governor. As a result, prosecutors said, they negotiated a deal in which Rowland would be hired by a nursing home company Foley owned. On appeal, Rowland argued prosecutors went too far in trying to criminalize his conduct under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a law passed after Enron Corp's collapse that prohibits falsifying documents to hide financial wrongdoing. Story continues He argued the contracts at issue could not be considered "falsified" under the meaning of the statute because to "falsify" means tampering with pre-existing documents, not creating new ones. But U.S. Circuit Judge Susan Carney pointed to dictionary definitions to conclude that "in common usage, it is acceptable to say that someone 'falsifies' a document when he creates a document that misrepresents the truth." Wilson-Foley and Foley pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions. Wilson-Foley received a five-month prison term, while Foley was sentenced to three months in a halfway house. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) (Reuters) - A Connecticut man who pleaded guilty to shooting at an empty mosque near his home in an alcohol-fueled rage following the November attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead was sentenced on Friday to six months in federal prison. Ted Hakey, 48, pleaded guilty in February to firing at least four shots at the Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden in the early morning hours of Nov. 14, hours after learning of the Nov. 13 attacks by gunman and bombers affiliated with the Islamic State. No one was injured in his attack. U.S. District Judge Michael Shea sentenced him to six months in prison, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut, who prosecuted the case. The sentence was less than the eight to 14 months that federal prosecutors had sought but more than Hakey's attorneys had recommended, which was the three weeks he had served before being released on bond. After the hearing, Hakey thanked the mosque leadership, who urged clemency. "I'm sincere about working with my neighbors," he told reporters outside the courthouse. "They were sincere in accepting my apology and I'm sincere that I'm going to work with them." Hakey said he believed that this week's attack in Orlando, in which an Islamic State-inspired gunman killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in the worst mass murder in modern U.S. history, influenced the sentencing decision. "This had a lot to do with the Orlando thing," he said. A review of Hakey's social media postings in the hours leading up to the shooting showed a stream of anti-Muslim comments, including "the only solution is to wipe Islam off the face of the Earth," according to court documents. (Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by James Dalgleish) Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Centers constitutional literacy adviser, looks at recent cases involving Puerto Rico and American Samoa that tested the ability of Congress to decide which constitutional provisions or guarantees apply in the territories. americansamoa535 THE STATEMENTS AT ISSUE: The Insular Cases should be modified or overruled. Those decisions rest in significant part on outdated, indefensible racial biases that have no place in this courts constitutional jurisprudence todayThe Constitution does not grant Congress the power to decide when and where the Constitutions terms apply. Insofar as the Insular Cases establish a contrary principle, they are incompatible with the Constitution and should be rejected. Excerpt from a legal filing in the Supreme Court in the case of Tuaua v. United States, seeking U.S. citizenship for those born in the South Pacific territory of American Samoa. The Supreme Court refused on June 13 to hear that appeal; there were no recorded dissents. [The Samoans in this case] suggest that the Insular Cases should be modified or overruled, but this court has reaffirmed their core principle, which is that the political branches determine whether newly acquired territory is incorporated into the United States. Excerpt from a legal filing in the Supreme Court by the Justice Department, successfully persuading the Justices not to hear the Tuaua case. WE CHECKED THE CONSTITUTION, AND Article IV of the Constitution was added by the Founders primarily to assure protection for the state governments in dealing with each other in the new constitutional order being created. That same article also added an important grant of power to Congress in dealing with the lesser governmental entities that would come into being the territory that the new government from time to time would acquire, by purchase or otherwise. Congress was given authority to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States. Story continues That legislative authority can be, and has been, given differing interpretations in the nations history since the founding. One argument more widespread in recent years has been that Article IV did not give Congress the authority to decide which parts of the Constitution applied in those entities not having the rank of states, meaning primarily the offshore territories, or to the people who lived in those enclaves. The Constitution, this argument goes, follows the flag. A competing argument is that Article IV meant that it was up to Congress to decide which constitutional provisions or guarantees applied in the territories. That was the argument that prevailed in the early 1900s, when the Supreme Court issued a series of decisions on constitutional issues surrounding the territories. Collectively, those cases are known as the Insular Cases, and they reflected the Justices considerable doubt about the capability of native peoples for self-government. The result was that only a few rights guaranteed by the Constitution would follow the flag to the territories, and the fate of the rest was up to Congress. Despite the racial and imperial attitudes reflected in those decisions, the Supreme Court has never had occasion to thoroughly reexamine the premise of those cases even in the modern era when human rights have become a more active issue in constitutional interpretation. Part of modern civil rights advocacy has been to advance the constitutional protection for people in the territories. And one aspiration of those advocates has been full citizenship as a constitutional birthright, and another has been full rights of self-determination for those who live in the territories. Both of those aspirations, though, have run up against the continuing legacy of the Insular Cases and, therefore, will be likely to succeed only if the modern questioning of those precedents were to find sympathy in the Supreme Court. In three recent developments, however, these aspirations have been set back by the Supreme Court. These developments involved two entities that remain territories of the United States, and thus lack the stature and self-governing status of American states: Puerto Rico and American Samoa. Self-determination for Puerto Rico lost ground when the Justices issued two rulings: one on the power of Puerto Rico to enforce its own criminal laws, the other on its power to decide how to would manage its local government agencies mounting debts. In the criminal law decision, the court ruled that Puerto Rico did not have separate self-governing status sufficient to enforce its own criminal laws against individuals who have already been charged under federal law for the same crime. In the debt case, the court ruled that Puerto Rico cannot enact its own internal law to work its way out of heavy public debt. Puerto Rico, the court summed up, gets whatever power Congress is willing to give it, and not more. There is no getting away from the past, the court remarked in its opinion in the criminal law case. When one traces the authority of the islands people to pass criminal laws all the way back, the court said, we arrive at the doorstep of the U.S. Capitol the commonwealth and the United States are not separate sovereigns. In reaching its result in that case and in making that summary statement, the court majority was relying on one of the decisions among those in the Insular Cases group: a 1907 decision, Grafton v. United States, limiting the criminal law powers of the Philippines when they were a U.S. territory. The court did not rely upon the Insular Cases precedents in ruling in the Puerto Rican debt case, but the result was the same: the islands power to pass debt-restructuring laws is clearly subordinate to Congresss authority over bankruptcy law. Our constitutional structure does not permit this court to rewrite the statute that Congress has enacted.That statute precludes Puerto Rico from authorizing its municipalities to seek relief in a way not authorized by federal bankruptcy law, the court said. A more direct test of the continuing effect of the Insular Cases came in a case taken to the Justices by a group of individuals born in American Samoa, and seeking birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Legal and political science professors had joined them in urging the court to overturn the Insular Cases as out of date, given modern human rights understandings. Their claim had been rejected by a federal appeals court, relying upon the Insular Cases for the notion that the Constitution only applies selectively to the territories, and it is up to Congress to decide who among territory residents get citizenship. And the Justice Department had also relied on those precedents in urging the court not to hear the citizenship claim. Without offering any reason, the court turned down the Samoans. Thus, without saying so explicitly, the court has given new life to the old precedents despite the severity of the modern criticism. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily Podcast: Gawker, Hulk Hogan, and the First Amendment The Statue of Liberty arrives in America, 131 years ago today The 2016 elections effect on the Supreme Court When Orlando gunman Omar Mateen applied to be a state prison guard 10 years ago, his highest recommendation came from a police officer in his hometown. (Photo illustration, Yahoo News; Photos: State of Florida, Reuters/Joe Skipper) PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. Orlando gunman Omar Mateen failed as a prison guard because he was booted from the states training academy after talking about bringing a gun to class, according to documents discovered late Friday by the Florida Department of Corrections. Earlier this week, prison officials said Mateen was administratively dismissed in 2007, but did not give specifics on why he never received his certification to continue working as a correctional officer. A hand search of department archives, prison officials said Friday, produced another dozen pages of records. Among them was a memo from a warden recommending that Mateen be dismissed from the program for sleeping in class, being absent without permission and, most disturbing, asking a fellow student whether he would report him if he were to bring a gun to class. In light of recent tragic events at Virginia Tech officer Mateens inquiry about bringing a weapon to class is at best extremely disturbing, wrote P.H. Skipper, then warden at the Martin Correctional Institute where Mateen, a cadet, was assigned. A memo reveals a Florida prison wardens concern about Omar Mateen, almost 10 years before the Orlando nightclub rampage. (Florida Department of Corrections) His dismissal came days after the April 16, 2007, tragedy at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in recorded U.S. history until last Sunday, when Mateen attacked Pulse nightclub, a popular gay bar in Orlando. Police say Mateen fatally shot 49 people and injured 53 others before he was killed in a shootout with officers. Mateen, a longtime private security guard, aspired to work in law enforcement. When he applied to be a state prison guard 10 years ago, his highest recommendation came from a police officer in his hometown. Omars character is beyond reproach, Port St. Lucie Officer Steven Brown wrote in a letter to the Florida Department of Corrections. Omars judgment, work ethic, sensibility, and problem solving ability are impeccable. The officer ended his endorsement of Mateen by saying, I would sleep soundly at night knowing that a person like Omar is protecting us [from] the element which resides behind your concrete and [steel] walls. Story continues The letter among dozens of documents released from Mateens short stint as a prison guard is chilling in light of Sundays massacre, and adds yet another layer to the complicated portrait of the killer that is still emerging. Some former teachers and classmates have recalled the Orlando shooter as a hothead who celebrated the 9/11 terror attacks as a high school student. But a handful of neighbors and acquaintances, like Brown, thought enough of Mateen at one time to declare that he would do well in law enforcement. Absolutely, former neighbor John Updegrave wrote on a recommendation form. Omar is very good candidate for an officer. Another former Port St. Lucie neighbor said Omar was always willing to give a hand if needed. Brown told prison officials that he had known Mateen for three years, having met the teenager at Golds Gym and a nutrition store where Mateen worked. Omar does possess a character which would compliment [sic] the requirements of a Correctional Officer, Brown wrote in 2006. Mateen was a provisional guard at Martin Correctional Institution in central Florida for six months before being terminated for not finishing the academy and acquiring his state certification. RELATED Victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting >>> Brown, who is still a Port St. Lucie officer, declined to comment for this story. He informed me that he did not wish to speak to or give any interviews on the matter, said Master Sgt. Frank Sabol, a spokesman for the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Authorities say Mateen, who was born in New York to Afghan parents, pledged his allegiance to radical Islamic terrorists during the Orlando rampage. Sources briefed on the FBIs investigation have said Mateen watched Islamic State terrorist videos including some showing brutal beheadings and talked to co-workers about them. A sad paradox for a young man who, records show, signed a commitment to public safety and took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution when he started his prison job. (This story has been updated since it was originally published.) Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles). ______ Related slideshows: Slideshow: Funerals and memorials for slain Orlando victims >>> Slideshow: Obama visits families of the Orlando massacre victims >>> Slideshow: Victims of the Florida nightclub shooting >>> Slideshow: Front page coverage of the Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: World reacts to Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: Shooting rampage at Florida nightclub >>> Matt Olsen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center under President Obama, stated that Donald Trumps proposed lockdown of the border would not help in the fight against terrorism. The ban would be wrong in terms of American values and strategy, Olsen said Friday in an interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric. I personally wouldnt think its appropriate from just a strategic standpoint to support a policy that alienates the people we rely on to help us, and that is the Muslim American community. Olsen, who has been informally advising presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, expressed his concern over the presumptive Republican nominees proposed ban on all Muslim immigration to the U.S. He added that it was important to build trust with Muslims in the country, seconding President Obamas attitude that the rhetoric surrounding Islamic extremism and radical Islam is inherently dangerous. We cant paint an entire religion with a broad brush All religions have some history of violence, he said. Focusing on a whole religion will not help stop [the terrorism]. Olsen reiterated that a need for an all-encompassing ban of this nature is unnecessary because there is a rigorous vetting process to enter the country people cannot enter America without being checked against a federal database. Watch the complete interview: In The Know by Yahoo "For almost 3 years, I was married to someone who hurt me often..." The post Heartbroken husband who just wants to be a dad finally gets the courage to ask for a divorce, then finds his happy ending appeared first on In The Know. Call it a miracle or call it magic, Criss Angel is celebrating some joyous news for his 2-year-old son. The famed magician revealed on Thursday that his little boy, Johnny Sarantakos, is in remission, eight months after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. "Johnny is technically in remission, thank God," the 48-year-old Las Vegas illusionist, who was born Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, said in an interview with Us Weekly. "I believe he will be healed." WATCH: Criss Angel Posts Emotional Photos of Cancer-Stricken Son While Angel's young son has fought back against the illness, he's reportedly still undergoing chemotherapy, blood transfusions and spinal taps. Johnny is receiving medical care in Australia where he lives with his mom, Shaunyl Benson. "What doctors found is you have to continue treatment to kill all the cells, as there is no guarantee," Angel explained. When the Mindfreak star found out about his son's diagnosis in October 2015, he cancelled a number of his Las Vegas shows to fly to Australia to be with his little boy. Angel has frequently shared a number of emotional and heart-wrenching photos of himself and his son over the last few months. Since his son's diagnosis, Angel has begun championing cancer research organizations, and is currently promoting a benefit show, Heal Every Life Possible, at the Luxor casino on Sept. 12. The event aims to raise money for pediatric cancer research and treatment. WATCH: Criss Angel Cancels Las Vegas Shows to Visit Cancer-Stricken Son in Australia Related Articles Saint-Etienne (France) (AFP) - A 94th-minute penalty rescued a point for the Czech Republic in their dramatic 2-2 draw with Croatia as flares thrown onto the pitch marred Friday's Euro 2016 match. With Croatia 2-1 up and with one foot in the last 16, referee Mark Clattenberg briefly halted play late in the game when flares thrown by Croatian fans landed on the pitch in Saint-Etienne. When the match resumed, Croatia defender Domagoj Vida was penalised for handball and Tomas Necid drilled home the resulting penalty, deep in added time, to claim their first point in Group D. European football's governing body UEFA are poised to impose further sanctions on the Croatian Football Federation for the crowd trouble. "These people are terrorists, they are not fans," fumed Croatia coach Ante Cacic. "95 percent of our supporters are ashamed in front of Europe, the players are very sad that after playing a beautiful match this happens." Croatia were stripped of one point in qualifying, forced to play two home matches behind closed doors and fined 100,000 euros ($112,000) by UEFA after a swastika was painted on the field before a match against Italy in June 2015 in Split. A member of the ground staff at the Stade Geoffrey Guichard appeared to have been hit by a flare. Punches were also seen being thrown on the terraces amongst Croatian fans in the chaos of the closing stages. "I must say the pause due to their fans helped us," said Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech. "They were in control at that time and they suddenly lost rhythm and we could capitalise on that. We regained composure and although they had some counter-attacks (before the pause), from that moment on they didn't have anything." Croatia were cruising towards the last 16 after their two Ivans -- Rakitic and Perisic -- netted either side of the break. Having beaten Turkey 1-0 in their opener at the European championship finals, Croatia appeared to have their second win in the bag. Story continues But Czech replacement Milan Skoda pulled one back before fellow replacement Necid's dramatic spot-kick. Captain Darijo Srna took his place at right-back after returning from father's funeral back in Croatia and shed a few tears during his country's anthem in an emotional start to a tense encounter. Striker Mario Mandzukic had a field day playing in front of Real Madrid's Luka Modric, whose stunning volley earned all three points against Turkey, while Barcelona's Rakitic capped a good display with his goal. Having threatened earlier in the half, Croatia took the lead on 37 minutes after a mistake in the Czech midfield. Jaroslav Plasil lost the ball and Croatia's Milan Badelj snapped up possession on the halfway line to quickly feed Perisic. The 27-year-old Inter Milan winger attacked the Czech area, wrong-footed defender Thomas Sivok and curled his shot past Cech on 37 minutes. It was 1-0 at the break and Croatia doubled their lead when Brozovic fed Rakitic inside the area. The attacking midfielder's classy chip gave Cech no chance as it hit the net on 59 minutes. Only a fine Cech save prevented a third before Mandzukic fired over shortly after and Modric went off on 62 minutes struggling with an injury with his side in control. But Skoda proved there was still some life in the Czech engine when he managed to put some power into his header from Tomas Rosicky's cross on 76 minutes. The flares then began to fall, briefly halting the game and leading to nine minutes of extra time, which gave the Czechs the chance to equalise against a distracted Croatian defence. Croatia now face defending European champions Spain in Bordeaux on Tuesday. The fightback gives the Czech Republic a realistic chance of making the knock-out stages with victory in their final game against Turkey in Lens, also next Tuesday. Let the kvetching commence! After a five-year break, Larry David is dusting off his fictional self for a ninth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBOs hilarious celebration of celebrities behaving badly. Well, okay one specific celebrity anyway. The unending appeal of Curb is that it allows Larry David to show over and over again why Larry David is the worst human being alive. Blissfully unaware of societal niceties and actively eager to piss people off, Davids alter ego routinely cuts a swath of destruction through polite civilization. And were sure that hes only going to return from his hiatus more ornery than ever. While we wait to see what trouble Larry gets up to in Season 9, here are 10 examples from the shows previous eight seasons, which are streaming on HBO Go and Amazon Prime, where Larry David was literally the worst. The Group (Season 1, Episode 10) Escorting an ex-girlfriend to a meeting of her incest survivors group is already questionable behavior. But arguing with her about whether or not abuse committed by a stepfather really qualifies as incest? That hits a whole other level of wrongness. Pro tip: its also not a good idea to invent an alias and blame your uncle for molesting you. Unless youre hoping to never be invited over for Shabbat dinner again. Trick or Treat (Season 2, Episode 3) Speaking of Shabbat, Larry has a special ability to repeatedly annoy and offend his Jewish brethren. Case in point: whistling noted anti-Semite Wagner moments before going in to a movie premiere. Accused of being a self-loathing Jew, Larry responds without a trace of that famous Jewish guilt complex: I do hate myself, but it has nothing to do with being Jewish! The Special Section (Season 3, Episode 6) Larry misses his mothers funeral because hes off shooting a big movie in New York with Martin Scorsese. But thats not the reason hes the worst; after all, his father didnt exactly clue him into Moms passing at her own request. Larry being Larry, of course, he turns this tragic event to his own advantage, using his mothers corpse to dodge social commitments. At least he does one nice thing for the woman who birthed him moving her remains out of the cemeterys special section. Story continues The Survivor (Season 4, Episode 9) Few people can boast to sparking an argument between a Holocaust survivor and Survivor survivor Colby Donaldson about which of them had the more challenging time um, surviving. Thats the cringe-inducing game of one-upmanship that Larry initiates when he misunderstands the guest list for his rabbis dinner party. Cmon, Larry! Both of those survivors deserve better! The End (Season 5, Episode 10) Lets be real: a heavenly existence was probably never in the cards for Larry. Still, the fact that he got booted out of Paradise for picking a fight with his literal better angels is a clear indicator that hes the worst person youll meet in this life, as well as the next. The Ida Funkhouser Roadside Memorial (Season 6, Episode 3) What is it with Larry David and dead mothers? When Marty Funkhousers mom passes away, Larry shows his sympathy by swiping flowers from her memorial and awarding them to his two favorite girls, Cheryl and Loretta. I cant believe a human being would do that, Marty says to Larry, not realizing (yet) that hes talking to the one human being that would. The N Word (Season 6, Episode 8) Larry makes the boneheaded mistake of dropping the N-bomb while telling a story about another guy who deliberately dropped the N-bomb. We have to invoke another N word for that: Nincompoop. The Bare Midriff (Season 7, Episode 6) Incorrectly assuming its acceptable for him to dole out fashion advice to female co-workers, Larry suggests that his assistant cover up her bared stomach area. Dude, youre not Tim Gunn; keep your clothing suggestions limited to your own wardrobe. Palestinian Chicken (Season 8, Episode 3) Larry brings the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to American shores by forcibly doffing Martys yarmulke while lunching in the titular chicken joint. Hes just doing it for a laugh, but the Palestinian proprietors take it seriously, and Larry doesnt do a lot to dissuade them from treating him as a hero since he has his eye on one comely female employee. Sex before religion thats Larrys motto. Larry vs. Michael J. Fox (Season 8, Episode 10) Larry David may have created one of the all-time great New York sitcoms, but hes persona non grata in the city after his repeated run-ins with Michael J. Fox. Naturally Larry, who always thinks the worst of people, believes Fox is using his Parkinsons as an excuse to harass him. Then-mayor Michael Bloomberg himself exiles Larry from the five boroughs after David mimes a disrespectful gesture during Foxs speech at a fundraiser. Weve got enough bad apples in the Big Apple we dont need a rotten one. All eight seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm are streaming on HBO Go and Amazon Prime. Hasan Minhaj known as The Daily Show's senior Muslim correspondent is usually seen cracking jokes with people like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or DJ Khaled about Islamophobia, anti-refugee hysteria and rampant bigotry. But while delivering a speech at the Radio and Television's Correspondents Dinner on Wednesday, the comedian took a more serious approach when he slammed them for their lackluster efforts to combat gun violence. Days after the Orlando, Florida, shooting at gay nightclub Pulse, Minhaj stood behind the podium, donning a rainbow and American flag ribbon over his heart, and joked about the current political climate. The "fake journalist" made a few great jokes at first. He joked about Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign struggles: Source: Sarah Harvard/CSPAN He then called out leading Republicans supporting Donald Trump despite his racist and sexist bigotry: Source: Sarah Harvard/CSPAN He mocked CNN as a fake news organization: Source: Sarah Harvard/CSPAN He pointed out Vice's hipster-y, danger-seeking gonzo journalism: Source: Sarah Harvard/CSPAN Then praised BuzzFeed, while criticizing the New York Times, for refusing to accept money for advertising from the GOP and Donald Trump: Source: Sarah Harvard/CSPAN But then his smile fades as he condemns the roomful of Congress members for sending their "thoughts and prayers" while refusing to work on establishing gun control legislation after the Orlando shooting and continuously taking money from lobbying groups like the NRA. "You get paid almost $200,000 a year to write rules, to make our society better," Minhaj said to the silent and stern audience. "Not tweet, not tell us about your thoughts and prayers to write rules to make our society better." He added: "Right now, since 1998, the NRA has given $3.7 million to Congress... So I don't know if this is like a Kickstarter thing, but if $3.7 million can buy political influence to take lives, if we raise $4 million would you guys take that to save lives?" He didn't just stop at gun control. He went on to criticize Congress for not making changes to address the blatant discrimination toward marginalized communities and the police brutality disproportionately killing African Americans without real consequences. Story continues "Every day in our workplaces, our homes and our religious institutions there is cover or overt discrimination or phobia towards people of different religious, racial or sexual walks of life. And we just sit there and we let it happen, because it doesn't affect our bottom line." "My brothers and sisters in the African American community, their spines are going to continue to get shattered in the backs of paddy wagons until we stand up and say something." Minhaj's 22-minute long speech is a good example of how comedy can not only help those in mourning, it can actually be used as a powerful tool of political activism. Watch his entire speech below: TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 17, 2016 / GMS Live Expert announced today that CEO Wayne Goldstein and Director, Business Development Danny Obaseki will be representing GMS as a proud sponsor of the DattoCon 2016 conference (June 20 - 22) in Nashville, TN. The GMS Live Expert team will be providing strategic advice as to how Datto's IT Solution Provider Network can cost-effectively grow their IT businesses. The GMS team will be discussing it's brand new Step Up Program, designed to enable Managed Service Providers to cost-effectively outsource their front line support to GMS Live Expert. And, in doing so enable scalable growth within their target markets. MSPs can leverage GMS' 17+ years of success and economies of scale to their benefit. GMS has partnered with hundreds of MSPs enabling growth at each phase of its Partners business' development. The GMS Live Expert Snapshot: 100% North American Based, Available 24x7. Flexible Packages For Each Phase Of Growth. HIPAA Compliant & ITIL Process Driven. Integrated With Workflows & Reporting Systems. Deliver A Consistent User Experience While Growing With Access To An Expanded Team As Needed! The GMS Live Expert 2015 Report Card: Serviced 232,428 Interactions. Delivered a 93.2% Resolution Rate. Responded to 85%+ of Issues In SUB 60 Seconds. Responsible for 100,000 + MSP Users! About Global Mentoring Solutions (GMS) GMS boasts 17+ years of operational experience and a strong global partner base. Through its MSP brand GMS Live Expert, GMS provides outsourced Help Desk services on behalf of it's partners via 24/7 end user phone, chat and integrated ticket system/CRM driven support capabilities. GMS's 100% North American based resources truly augment their partners' support offerings as each Partner engagement includes a unique direct phone number, MSP branded chat support and bi-directional ticket system synchronization. Visit www.gmsliveexpert.com to learn more. GMS Live Expert Contact Daniel Goldstein, Director Channel Strategy dgoldstein@globalmentoring.com Story continues Contact Global Mentoring Solutions: Daniel Goldstein 9052863829 dgoldstein@globalmentoring.com 178 Main Street Unionville, ON L3R2G9 SOURCE: Global Mentoring Solutions Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman hopes that National Amusements move yesterday to replace five Viacom directors will light a fire under the Massachusetts judge weighing a case about Sumner Redstones competence. Dauman says that Redstone, 93, is not capable of running his media empire and is being manipulated by his daughter Shari, whos President of National Amusements and Vice Chair of Viacom and CBS. If Shari Redstone succeeds in her efforts to secure control of the Viacom Board she may well have prevailed in her goals before the facts concerning Sumner Redstones capacity can emerge and before this Court can address the issues in this case, Daumans lawyers said today in a filing at the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court. Dauman specifically wants the judge to approve expedited discovery in the case before June 30, when hell have a hearing on the Redstone camps motion to dismiss. The Massachusetts dispute involves the May 20 notice by Redstones lawyers that Dauman and Viacom director George Abrams had been fired from the family trust, and the board of National Amusements which controls 80% of the votes at Viacom and CBS. Given the rapid pace of these developments, it is critical that the Court allow discovery to proceed in parallel with the motion to dismiss briefing so that the matter may be resolved as quickly as possible, todays filing says. A delay would give Shari further opportunity to attempt to shift the controversy in this case to another forum or, worse, to take over Viacom with impunity before this Court has even determined whether Mr. Redstone was and is competent to make the decisions ascribed to him. Dauman adds that the Viacom board members to be replaced, including him, have servedfor years with great distinction. Theyll be replaced by persons hand-selected by Shari Redstone that is in continuing contravention of the longstanding succession plans established by Mr. Redstone. Story continues Redstones side has asked a court in California, where he lives, to ratify his ability to call the shots. It also says that the Massachusetts case is unnecessary because a majority of the trust and the National Amusements board have voted to replace Dauman and Abrams. Related stories Redstone Judge Seeks Opinions About "Undue Influence" And Jurisdiction Redstone Team Says There's "No Justification" For Viacom To Pay Dauman's Legal And PR Bills Sumner Redstone & The Battle For Viacom: What You Need To Know, Pt. 2 By Ian Simpson (Reuters) - Defense lawyers rested their case on Friday in the trial of a Baltimore police officer charged with murder in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray last year, a court spokeswoman said. Closing arguments in the high-profile trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr are set for Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court, she said. Judge Barry Williams, who is hearing the case in a bench trial, then will decide Goodson's fate. Goodson, 46, was the driver of a police transport van in which Gray broke his neck in April 2015. His trial is considered the marquee case for Maryland prosecutors who failed to secure a conviction in two earlier trials of officers. Gray's death triggered rioting and protests and stoked a debate on police treatment of minorities. Goodson, who is black, is the third among six officers charged in Gray's death to go on trial. Goodson's trial saw tensions flare between a police investigator and prosecutor Michael Schatzow on Thursday when Detective Dawnyell Taylor testified that a medical examiner had called Gray's death an accident before ruling it a homicide. Schatzow accused Taylor of failing to keep the prosecution informed about the medical examiner's comments, and Taylor said she had problems with the integrity of prosecutor Janice Bledsoe. Schatzow retorted that Bledsoe had made her own allegations about Taylor's integrity. Prosecutors argue that Goodson caused Gray's death by giving him a "rough ride," failing to secure him with a seat belt and failing to call for medical aid. Goodson's lawyers say Gray caused his own injuries. Goodson's lawyers rested after seven days of testimony. He faces charges of second-degree depraved heart murder, three counts of manslaughter, reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. He could be sentenced to more than 68 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Gray, 25, was arrested for fleeing officers unprovoked. He was bundled into Goodson's van shackled and was not seat-belted, a violation of department protocol. The manslaughter trial of Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury in December, and he faces retrial in September. Williams acquitted Officer Edward Nero of misdemeanor charges last month. (Writing by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Curtis Skinner, Peter Cooney and David Gregorio) donald trump ad Democrats are taking Father's Day to remind Florida voters of some of Donald Trump's more controversial statements. Four separate 30-second video ads released by the Florida Democratic party on Friday mocked Trump's eyebrow-raising comments about women by offering "helpful" Father's Day advice from Trump to women and children. "In celebration of Father's Day this year, here's some wholesome father-daughter advice from our presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States, Donald Trump," a narrator on one ad said. "Tip number 2: Only date attractive people. As Donald says 'It doesn't matter what they write, as long as you've got a beautiful piece of a--,'" the narrator said, quoting Trump's 1991 interview with Esquire. Another ad also hammered down on Trump's past statements about dating. "Tip number three: be resilient. As Donald says, 'You have to treat women like s---,'" the narrator said, quoting a Trump profile in New York. The 30-second videos attempt to contrast Trump's more inflammatory statements with his campaign slogan, "Make America great again." "Donald Trump demonstrates a bizarre commitment to a retro mindset, including his ideas on women. We placed Donald Trumps own words squarely within the context of the 1950s, an era in which he seems to romanticize a time when America wasn't so great, for just about every imaginable minority group in this country," said Gerard Bush, whose creative agency made the ads for the Florida Democratic party. The four ads were set to debut online on Friday afternoon, and will air on television in Florida over the weekend. The Florida state Democratic party's ads won't be the only left-leaning presidential campaign ads that television audiences in the Sunshine State see this weekend. On Thursday, Clinton began airing three ads in eight key battleground states including Florida. While the Florida Democratic party's ads are Trump-focused, Clinton's ads only feature a smattering of Trump-bashing, and instead highlight her record on children's healthcare and education issues. Story continues Despite his ability to dominate media coverage, Trump is currently making fundraising pit stops across the country to raise enough cash to compete on the airwaves with Clinton. The former secretary of state is expected to raise over a billion dollars, of which a significant portion will be dedicated to television advertising. Watch the ads below: More From Business Insider The toddler who was snatched by an alligator at a Disney resort in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, died as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries, the Orange County Medical Examiner has confirmed. The autopsy confirming the boy's identity as 2-year-old Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska was completed on Thursday afternoon. The results were released by Orange County via Twitter. The Graves family said that they were "devastated" and asked for privacy in a statement to ABC News. "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time," the statement says. "To all of the local authorities and staff who worked tirelessly these past 24 hours, we express our deepest gratitude." Lane Graves was playing in about six inches to one foot of water in the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney's the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa when an alligator grabbed the boy and pulled him under the water. 'We Are Devastated,' Says Family of Toddler Killed by Alligator at Disney World| Untimely Deaths, People Scoop, Walt Disney World, Real People Stories The boy's father tried desperately to fight off the gator, suffering lacerations on his hand, but neither he nor a lifeguard from a nearby pool could save the boy. A 16-hour search ensued and while rescue teams were initially hopeful, authorities announced Wednesday that the boy was presumed dead. "We are working on recovering the body of the child at this point," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a press conference Wednesday. He added that the boy's family would "no question lose a 2-year-old child." 'We Are Devastated,' Says Family of Toddler Killed by Alligator at Disney World| Untimely Deaths, People Scoop, Walt Disney World, Real People Stories On Wednesday afternoon, the boy's body was recovered fully intact by a dive team just yards away from where the attack occurred. The boy's parents have been identified as Matt and Melissa Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska a suburb of Omaha. "The Graves family appreciate the support they have received and have asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of their son," the sheriff's office said in a statement shortly after releasing the first photo of their son. Matt Graves sits on the board of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, which released a statement Wednesday afternoon. "The loss of a child is a special kind of tragedy, particularly hard to comprehend. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the Graves family during this time of unthinkable sadness," Chamber president and CEO David Brown said. "We stand ready to assist [Matt], his wife and family as they grieve the loss of Lane." Disney released a statement shortly after the body was recovered. "There are no words to convey the profound sorrow we feel for the family and their unimaginable loss," George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort said in the statement. "We are devastated and heartbroken by this tragic accident and are doing what we can to help them during this difficult time." OK, before we get into any details, can we first take a moment to appreciate the perfection that is Priyanka Chopra? [Photo: Nick Saglimbeni/Maxim India] I mean, look at her! The Hottest Woman In The World is a bold statement for Maxim to make, but Im finding it very difficult to disagree. Not only does she look smoking on her third Maxim cover, shes also a multi-award winning actress and the star of thriller series Quantico. But back to that cover. Chopra tops Maxim Indias Hot 100 list this year and is featured in a spread in the magazines June/July 2016 issue. While she looks stunning, fans are calling out the magazine for photoshopping Chopra and lightening her skin tone. In particular, fans are questioning her suspiciously svelte figure in this image [Photo: Nick Saglimbeni/Maxim India] As well as criticizing Maxim for whitewashing Chopra on the cover. [Photo left to right: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty , Nick Saglimbeni/Maxim India] But most bizarrely, Chopra also seems to have a missing armpit. [Photo: Nick Saglimbeni / Maxim India] And while every pore on Chopra is seemingly perfect, she must have regular armpits, just like the rest of us. [Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty] This isnt the first time Maxims been called out for unnecessary photoshopping. The U.S. version of the magazine was accused for slimming down plus-sized model Ashley Graham in March. With an abundance of unrealistic abs, arms and bums in magazine pages, we really dont need to add unrealistic armpits to the list. Take your photoshopping down a notch, Maxim. Do you think Priyanka Chopra was photoshopped? Let us know by tweeting us at @YahooStyleCA. That's what the invitation for the "Dinner in White" event read, and immediately my fiancee and I started putting together our outfits for the outing. In association with the Prospect Park Alliance and the Chloe Wine Collection, this is PopUp Dinner Brooklyn's third annual event, with all proceeds going to the Alliance. Handmade Events, the folks behind PopUp, also operate events in San Diego, Miami, California Wine Country, the Twin Cities, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Charleston, and Dallas. The concept is simple: Guests purchase a $40 ticket, prepare their own meals at home or purchase them from a store, and bring everything to the event along with any wine they wish to drink. The only catch? The exact location is divulged via email only two hours before the unofficial start time of 5 p.m. As soon the announcement came, some 6,000 people set out for The Nethermead this year's "secret" location in the middle of Prospect Park and began setting up their area with tables and chairs provided by the event. Those who didn't care to transport their own food and drink could opt for a VIP package for $170 (per couple) which included a choice of two meals (chicken cacciatore or vegetarian lasagna), a few starters (including charcuterie and bruschetta), a dessert (strawberry-rhubarb crostata or a peach berry-cream tart), and a bottle of Chloe Wine and could pick up their supplies upon arriving at the event. Decked out in white from head to toe (save for the black tie I insisted on wearing) and ready to go, my lady and I got our email notification and immediately starting making our way to Prospect Park. As soon we boarded the subway, the obviousness of our outfits was clear. People stared at every stop along the way, and we quickly brainstormed answers to the questions random strangers might ask regarding our unique destination: We're going to an old-timey milkman convention. We're headed to a Clorox company retreat. We're partying on P-Diddy's yacht. Or, as they should probably assume, were on our way to an awesome party. The closer we got to our destination, the more similarly dressed people we spotted. A few on the train, a large group at the park's entrance, and finally a scattered herd all converging on the open field at The Nethermead. After smoothly passing through the gate, we landed a table and the experience began. First there was some nice background music, then a couple speeches (including a few words from Senator Chuck Schumer), and then the live music started, which consisted mostly of hip-hop and R&B. However, we were more interested in trying some of the offerings from Chloe Wines, who were nice enough to hook us up with as many glasses as we cared to sample. We tried the crisp and balanced prosecco, the chardonnay with refreshing hints of fruit, and the delightfully crisp pinot grigio however, the rose was the obvious winner amongst everyone we spoke to. In fact, it was such a big hit in the press area that they ended up sending around a server armed with a bottle in order to keep the glasses full and save us some trips to the bar. (For the record, were told the rose has yet to make it to East Coast shelves, but should arrive soon.) Of course the special treatment made the event extra special for us, but it was really a great festival for all involved even those who opted to BYO everything. The weather was beautiful (minus a few stray raindrops), the music was poppin', and the crowd was clearly in a jovial mood as they packed the dance floor so much that it overflowed into the surrounding areas as well. As the sun set, bright flood lights came on to keep the party going until its 10 p.m. curfew a cut-off that almost every guest milked down to the very last minute. As the festive crowd made their way out of The Nethermead and away from Prospect Park, it was clear to see, even with the sun long gone, that smiles were fixed to the faces of everyone who attended. And not only was it a good time, but it was all for a great cause. NBCUniversal is settling its lawsuit with Dish Network over its AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features, which allow subscribers to automatically record nights worth of programming and skip commercials. NBCUniversal and Dish Network L.L.C. have reached an agreement resulting in the dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over the AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features, Dish Network said in a statement. Terms were not disclosed. The litigation dates back to 2012, when all of the broadcast networks filed legal challenges to a series of newly introduced Dish features, including one, AutoHop, that automatically skips over ads for subscribers. All of the other networks settled with Dish, including Fox, which reached an agreement earlier this year. NBCUniversal argued that Dish violated copyright by offering the service, and that it undermined the economic foundation of the broadcast business. Dish contended that it was merely offering a service akin to a DVR where consumers were in control of the options for how they wanted to watch programming. The NBCU-Dish litigation had largely been on hold as Fox pursued a similar case. Related stories TV's Upfront Booms as Madison Ave. Agrees to Big Rate Hikes (EXCLUSIVE) Comcast NBCUniversal Donating $1 Million to Orlando Shooting Victims NBC Will Showcase Olympics In Different Way For Late-Night, Daytime Fallout from the alligator attack that killed a toddler Tuesday night at the Grand Floridian Resort in Orlando has gotten a lot more complicated with the revelation that Disney may have been repeatedly warned about the risk of such an incident occurring. Crisis PR expert Andrew Ricci, vice president of Levick, a communications and public affairs firm, believes that beyond the tragedy of two-year-old Lane Graves death, this could blow up into a much bigger issue. In these situations, if this is true [that the company was aware of a problem], whoever is found responsible or who was seen to be negligent becomes the face of the issue, in addition to the brand damage, he told TheWrap. Theres no question that theyre going to have to implement preventative measures, whether its closing the beaches for good, erecting some sort of barrier to keep wildlife from getting within a certain perimeter of the water, or some other protective action. But now this becomes another major part of any potential litigation they might face, he added. Also Read: Disney Gator Attack: Sheriff Says Criminal Charges Against Parents Unlikely As TheWrap exclusively reported, numerous employees at the theme park expressed anxiety to management about guests feeding the animals within the past 14 months. Disney has known about the problem of guests feeding the alligators well-prior to the opening of the bungalows, one insider said, referring to an expensive collection of rooms called the Bora Bora Bungalows at Disneys Polynesian Village Resort, adjacent to the Grand Floridian. With the opening of the bungalows, it brought the guests that much closer to wildlife. Or, the wildlife that much closer to the guests. Others have also come forward revealing Disneys prior knowledge of the dangers of its resort beaches, like the Seven Seas lagoon where the toddler from Nebraska was grabbed by the alligator while playing with his family. There are signs that say, No swimming, but no signs that say gators and everything else in this lake, hotel employee Mike Hamilton told the Orlando Sentinel following the incident. Story continues Also Read: Gator Attack: Disney Knew of Problems, Staffer Asked for Fence at Lagoon (Exclusive) Graves body was discovered Wednesday 10 to 15 yards from the site of his attack the night before. Disney closed all the beaches on its resort property in the aftermath of the incident. My expectation is that [this development] will hurry the process of implementing safety measures around publicly accessible waterways at Disney properties, Bernstein Crisis Management Vice President Erik Bernstein said. If there arent signs clearly stating dangerous animals may be present alongside some type of fencing all over the Disney World resort area within six months, I would be shocked. Also Read: How Much of a PR Nightmare Is Gator Attack for Disney? Bernstein also thinks this may prompt Disney to fall back on its traditional clam up and clean up technique in dealing with PR disasters. They wont acknowledge past gator issues due to legal liability so the only logical course of action is to put solutions in place as quickly as possible, he predicted. A legal expert told TheWrap that Disney could face a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in the wake of this attack. Attorney Joseph Balice says that the family could sue for wrongful death and possibly negligent infliction of emotional distress. Related stories from TheWrap: Disney Gator Attack Victim Lane Graves' Cause of Death Released Disney Gator Attack: Sheriff Says Criminal Charges Against Parents Unlikely Gator Attack: Disney Knew of Problems, Staffer Asked for Fence at Lagoon (Exclusive) Disney has released an image of the signs they will install at their resorts to warn guests of alligators in the waters. We are installing signage and temporary barriers at our resort beach locations and are working on permanent, long-term solutions at our beaches, the company said in a statement. We continue to evaluate processes and procedures for our entire property, and, as part of this, we are reinforcing training with our Cast for reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife and are expanding our communication to Guests on this topic. A gator attacked and killed two year-old Lane Graves while he was wading in shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disneys Grand Floridian resort on Tuesday night. Disney has been criticized since the attack for not having signage warning of alligators despite a well-known presence of the deadly animals. Also Read: Gator Attack: Disney Knew of Problems, Staffer Asked for Fence at Lagoon (Exclusive) Graves body was recovered intact by a dive team Wednesday near the location where the attack occurred. Nick Wiley, executive director of Florida Fish and Wildlife, said they would make certain that we have the alligator that was involved and remove it from the lake. A legal expert told TheWrap that Disney could face a multimillion dollar lawsuit in the wake of this attack. Attorney Joseph Balice says that the family could sue for wrongful death and possibly negligent infliction of emotional distress. Check out the sign below. Also Read: How Common Are Alligator Attacks in Florida? Related stories from TheWrap: Disney Faces 'Difficult Issue' With Knowledge of Gator Danger, Experts Say Disney Gator Tragedy: Photo of Victim Lane Graves Released Disney Gator Attack: Sheriff Says Criminal Charges Against Parents Unlikely Moscow (AFP) - Russia on Friday condemned a US diplomatic cable calling for military strikes against the Syrian government, as Washington again accused Moscow of bombing US-backed rebels in the war-torn country. Russian officials criticised the so-called "dissent channel" cable signed by a group of US diplomats urging strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime, which it accuses of persistently violating a shaky ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that attempts to overthrow Assad would not "contribute to a successful fight against terrorism". "This could plunge the region into complete chaos," Peskov said. Deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that attacks against the Syrian regime would be "at odds with (UN) resolutions". "We need to negotiate and reach a political resolution on the basis of international law, which was agreed upon at the UN Security Council," Interfax news agency quoted Bogdanov as saying. The cable calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons", according to the New York Times, laying bare stark divisions in Washington policy circles on the Syrian conflict. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that the US diplomatic cable could "not but cause concern to any sane person". Moscow in September launched a bombing campaign in Syria to support long-time ally Assad, and the West has accused Russian forces of targeting the opposition with air strikes in an effort to prop up the regime. A US official in Washington, requesting anonymity, on Thursday accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in southern Syria. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement late Thursday that it carried out no air strikes on groups that had cooperated with Russia or the United States in the previous 24 hours. Washington and Moscow have publicly vowed to work together to persuade Assad to negotiate a settlement with his opponents, but the US has frequently expressed exasperation about what it sees as Russia's less than full commitment. By Randi Belisomo (Reuters) - Doctors who were asked about causes of inappropriate care at the end of life didnt have to look far to place blame. They blamed themselves. Australian researchers interviewed 96 physicians from 10 medical specialties and asked them to describe situations when patients received end of life care that the doctors felt was inappropriate. Futile medical treatment at the end of life has been shown to harm patients, cause moral distress to clinicians and waste scarce resources, as the researchers note in the Journal of Medical Ethics. But 96 percent of physicians pointed to themselves - or doctor-related factors - as the main drivers of futile treatment. Poor communication, emotional attachment to patients and aversion to death were also among the causes they cited. Patient-related factors were important, too. Ninety-one percent of the doctors cited reasons such as family or patient requests for treatment, prognostic uncertainty and not knowing the patients wishes as contributors to inappropriate care. The take-home message for patients and families is to have the conversation about what they want and dont want at the end of life, said study leader Lindy Willmott, of the Australian Center for Health Law Research. Doctors natural tendency is to treat in this way, and to take another path requires one or more conversations with the patient and family, Willmott told Reuters Health. Such conversations are difficult, and doctors are time-poor. Close to 70 percent of the surveyed doctors also cited hospital-related causes, such as specializations, medical hierarchy and time pressure, as factors in futile care. It isnt a matter of one doctor stepping back and considering the overall health of the patient, explained co-author Benjamin White, a law professor at the Queensland University of Technology. There are many specialists involved, each focused on a particular organ, he told Reuters Health. The narrow focus of the individual specialists can make it difficult to coordinate a patients care, he and his colleagues noted in their report. Roughly one quarter of physicians said aggressive treatments are hard to stop once started. The difficulty of withdrawing treatment is a challenge thats all too common, agreed Dr. Eytan Szmuilowicz, a palliative care physician at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Szmuilowicz, who was not associated with the study, added that doctors natural aversion to conflict complicates the issue further. We dont know how to manage or negotiate it, he told Reuters Health. It is easier behind the scenes to complain that a treatment may be inappropriate, but we havent taken a step back to think if we are providing care that furthers a patients goals. Szmuilowicz said he and many other physicians prefer to assess treatment in terms of benefit rather than futility. It comes down to what the patient values, and its very hard to discuss what we think the patient values if we havent talked about it, he said. Kayhan Parsi of Loyola University-Chicagos Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics sees young physicians struggle with such discussions. Parsi, who was not involved in the study, was not surprised that 44 percent of doctors cited inexperience with death and dying. As a member of his hospitals ethics committee, Parsi meets monthly with medical trainees. They feel pressure on them to comply with inappropriate treatment, and they dont know how to address it in an appropriate way, he said. Thirty percent of the Australian doctors said they or their colleagues had provided futile treatment due to worries about legal consequences. That factor looms even larger in the U.S., according to Thaddeus Pope, director of the health law institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Researchers dont frame the issue in terms of patient safety, but that is a big implication of this study, said Pope, who tracks the issue on his Medical Futility Blog. Pope urges doctors to present medical options in even-handed ways. If physicians are too aggressive, families are going to fall in line, he told Reuters Health. Its emotionally hard for (families) to pass up what doctors say is a reasonable option. If they knew the real risks, benefits and alternatives, they may not pick the treatment they are receiving. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/21pBQN5 Journal of Medical Ethics, online May 17, 2016. Kaber Saghir (Syria) (AFP) - Slumped against a tree trunk in northern Syria, the bullet-riddled body of an Islamic State group fighter still wears a suicide belt he did not have time to detonate. The smell of his decomposing body fills the air near the frontline, as a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance inches closer to retaking the nearby jihadist bastion of Manbij. Air planes from a US-led coalition dart overhead, as an AFP reporter hurriedly follows an alliance fighter down dirt tracks hidden among olive trees. The anti-IS fighter directs the reporter to avoid land mines planted by the jihadists in the fields of the village of Kaber Saghir, around five kilometres (three miles) south of Manbij. The Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting IS on the outskirts of the jihadist-held city, after they encircled it last week with support from coalition air strikes. "Watch out! The planes are about to hit a Daesh vehicle," an SDF fighter nearby cries into his walkie-talkie, using an Arabic acronym for IS. A few minutes later, three loud explosions resound west of Manbij -- held by IS since 2014 -- and a column of black smoke rises up into the sky. Sand bags are piled at the entrance of Kaber Saghir to protect SDF fighters from IS artillery fire, and the village's one-storey houses are peppered with holes. - 'Human shields' - Outside one house, a resident has posted a sign on a chair that reads: "This home does not belong to Daesh. Keep out!" Dressed in a sand-coloured uniform, field commander Adnan Abu Amjad steps out of a four-wheel drive smeared with mud. "We have broken Daesh's first lines of defence... but we are advancing slowly because there are civilians," says Abu Amjad, who leads an SDF component of fighters from the besieged town. Tens of thousands of residents were trapped inside Manbij after alliance forces surrounded the jihadist-held city last week -- although more than 1,000 managed to flee with SDF help. Story continues "Daesh are using civilians as human shields and it's impeding our advance," the commander says. The alliance has swept through agricultural land since it launched its advance towards Manbij on May 31, seizing more than 100 villages along the way, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said. France last week said it had deployed special forces in Syria to advise the SDF in their fight against the jihadists. "The French forces are providing logistical and technical support... We thank them as well as the international coalition," Abu Amjad says. The coalition launched air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq in 2014, after the jihadist group declared a cross-border "caliphate" there earlier that year. Outside the village, the SDF fighter tells the AFP reporter to run to avoid IS sniper and rocket fire. - 'Lack of food' - Nearby, SDF fighters monitor the movement of IS fighters through holes in a building wall. Sultan Hassan, an Arab fighter, says he thinks the alliance will retake Manbij in the "coming days". "The coalition strikes on IS positions are very precise," he says, adding that fighting has been ongoing to the east of the village near its wheat silos. Another Kurdish fighter, who chose to remain anonymous, says he fears for the lives of his relatives inside Manbij. "They're suffering from lack of food because IS takes it to give it to its fighters, he says. But "from what we overhear on the walkie-talkies, Daesh fighters are about to collapse and have lost hope of staying in the town." The alliance dealt a major blow to the jihadist group when it encircled Manbij last week. The advance severed a key supply route used by IS from the Turkish border to its de facto Syrian capital, Raqa city. In the village of Abu Qulqul, around 15 kilometres southeast of Manbij, an SDF fighter leads a man with his hands tied onto the back of a pick-up truck. "He's a member of Daesh," an alliance fighter says, as the man is blindfolded and driven off to be interrogated. "We were tipped off that he was sending information to Daesh via the Internet." Bring me a cup of sack, boy, Shakespearean actor Ludwig Devrient called to his waiter in a Berlin bar in 1825, channeling his Henry IV role as Falstaff. The Bards words referred to a Portuguese wine popular in the late 1500s, but Devrients waiter figured the actor wanted his usual glass of champagne. So thats what he brought and the German word for sparkling wine, sekt, was born. Descending into the cellars of the 13th-century Speyrer Pfleghof, in medieval Esslingen, where Kessler Sekt has been made for nearly 200 years, is a treat you can enjoy in group bookings for 25 euros per person. On Saturdays, townspeople shop early at the fruit and vegetable market and then meet at Kessler for Sekt and the city, says Kesslers press officer Beatrice Popescu not a tribute to Sarah Jessica Parker, but rather a courtyard gathering for a glass of bubbly. The stone ceiling hosts an abundance of mold, lovingly referred to as the Black Cat. Flickering candles line the walls and steep, uneven stairs leading to the cellars, home to thousands of bottles of what was once Chancellor Konrad Adenauers favorite drink. Here, the wines are hand-turned on wooden riddling racks, and the stone ceiling hosts an abundance of mold, lovingly referred to as the Black Cat, which regulates the temperature naturally, providing the perfect climate for the second fermentation and aging process. Kessler sells just 1.5 million bottles a year a tiny amount compared with mass manufacturers like Rotkappchen-Mumm and staffers pride themselves on keeping things small and using traditional methods like in-bottle fermentation. Entrepreneur Georg Kessler launched Germanys first, and oldest, sparkling wine in 1826 in this town, so beautifully tucked in the shadows of hillside vineyards southeast of Stuttgart. Kessler had worked for years at Veuve Clicquot in Champagne, France, learning the trade and according to local tour guides sharing more than just a love of wine with Clicquots widow. But he set his sights on returning home and creating a sparkling wine with distinctly Teutonic grapes and taste. Within a couple of decades, Kessler Sekts award-winning bubbly was so successful that it was the wine of Queen Olga of Wurttembergs court and was shipped as far afield as the United States East Coast. Story continues 7057102013 8a3f8000a1 o Source: Ken Hawkins/Flickr CC The wine is so popular with locals that roughly 60 percent of sales occur in this southern German region. For those visiting the area, its worth taking the time to enjoy a few sips. Compared with mass-produced bubblies, which Germans can pick up at their local Rewe for a few euros, Kessler is pricier a testament to the old-fashioned methods employed ranging from $10 to $21. The most popular is the Hochgewachs Chardonnay brut, named after the highest points of vineyards. Some 25,000 visitors come each year. While the ancient cellars are a highlight, the dosage room where wines are topped up with sugar and base wine after the yeast is extracted offers a memorable glimpse of Esslingens wine pipeline. Instead of running heavy lorries over the towns cobblestones to transport its wines locally, Kessler keeps its base wines at another pfleghof up the hill, a quarter mile away. From there, a pipe runs into town and under the marketplace, delivering the wine to Kesslers main facility. Set up in the 1970s, the pipeline has long had locals wishing they knew its exact route a closely guarded secret. But no tour is complete without the popping of corks, when Kesslers tiny bubbles a sign of a fine bubbly race to the top of the glass, promising to deliver a traditional sparkling wine thats bursting with flavor. Related Articles 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 Donald Trump Donald Trump's poll numbers are plummeting and even the presumptive Republican nominee has acknowledged it. In the latest RealClearPolitics average of several polls, Trump trails Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, by 5.8 points. It's a 6-point reversal from a month ago. The fall in fortune comes after he trailed Clinton by 12 points in a Bloomberg poll released earlier this week. Polls from Reuters and CBS News showed Trump behind by 9 points and 6 points. Trump has fallen behind Clinton in 12 consecutive polls posted to RealClearPolitics. Less than a month ago, Trump's future was looking brighter against Clinton in their general-election matchup. As recently as May 25, Trump led Clinton in the RCP polling average by one-fifth of a point the first instance of the Manhattan businessman leaping ahead of Clinton in the coveted polling average. But as Trump has taken hits for his attacks on a federal judge over his Mexican heritage and a controversial response to last weekend's terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, his poll numbers have taken a nosedive. At 38.3%, Trump's average support in a one-on-one matchup against Clinton is the lowest it has been since August 15 just two months after he launched his campaign. The chart below shows just how dramatic the plummet of Trump's poll numbers has been: Screen_Shot_2016 06 16_at_3_13_56_PM Trump has dropped his poll numbers as a talking point during recent rallies. He conceded in a phone interview with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman that his poll standing wasn't so hot. Trump, in phone interview before rally, made first concession that I've heard him make that he is not leading the polls Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 17, 2016 NOW WATCH: FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: If Trump gave this order, the military wouldn't listen More From Business Insider Some people dont truly understand the concept of quiet in the theater. For his Take a Break segment, James Corden and The Late Late Show tackled movie theater employment at ArchLight Cinemas in Hollywood. He started with a crash course in concessions, although that devolved pretty quickly after he gave away a large popcorn for the price of a medium. And he also offered to cut a hole in the bottom for the patron. Next, Corden ushered in the film with the pre-screening speech. He introduced himself, welcomed the crowd, and asked everyone to silence their cell phones. Simple enough, but after that Corden launched into a monologue in which he told everyone his entire life story. What about cleaning? Thats hard to mess up, right? Except if youre James Corden, in which case you throw popcorn everywhere imaginable. Do not, under any circumstances, hire James Corden to work at your movie theater. Unless you want to make a movie, which he helped an ArchLight employee accomplish at the concession stand. WATCH: Red Hot Chili Peppers go shirtless and rock out on Carpool Karaoke Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter. By Jennifer Ablan NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, said on Friday he thinks Britain will "Bremain" in the European Union and if investors agree they should buy beaten-down European equities. "I've never believed in an exit, or 'Brexit,'" said Gundlach, known on Wall Street as the "Bond King" who manages $60.3 billion through the DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund. Voters in Britain will vote on whether to on June 23 on a referendum on Britain's membership in the EU. Gundlach, whose Los Angeles-based DoubleLine oversees $100 billion, reiterated that polls reflect people's complaints and frustrations rather than the actions they will actually take. "When it comes up for a vote, I think it will fail," he said. The scale of withdrawals from U.K. equity funds was the second highest on record because of uncertainty over the vote, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. UK equity funds lost a net $1.1 billion, the biggest outflow in 13 months, in the week to June 15, according to BAML. Sterling and bond yields rose on Friday as traders tried to assess how the killing of a pro-EU British lawmaker will change the balance of opinions in Britain's impending referendum. Gundlach said in an interview about Jo Cox, a British member of parliament who was shot dead Thursday: "I think the markets are absorbing the increased probability of a 'Remain' vote - Bremain. It just is not good when political things start to go in this violent direction." If Britain leaves the 28-country bloc there are concerns it would cause turmoil in the global economy and European politics. The potential exit rattled markets and caused the pound to tumbled earlier this week. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) By Jennifer Ablan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, said on Friday he thinks Britain will "Bremain" in the European Union and if investors agree they should buy beaten-down European equities. "Ive never believed in an exit, or 'Brexit,'" said Gundlach, known on Wall Street as the "Bond King" who manages $100 billion (69.66 billion) at Los Angeles-based DoubleLine Capital. Britain will hold a referendum on June 23 on whether the country will leave the European Union, a process often referred to as Brexit. Gundlach, who manages the $60.3 billion DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, reiterated that polls reflect people's complaints and frustrations rather than the actions they will actually take. "When it comes up for a vote, I think it will fail," he said. U.K. equity funds posted net withdrawals of $1.1 billion in the week to June 15, the second-highest outflow on record, as a result of the uncertainty over the vote, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. Sterling and bond yields rose on Friday as traders tried to assess how the killing of a pro-EU British lawmaker will change the balance of opinions in Britain's impending referendum. Gundlach said in an interview about Jo Cox, a British member of parliament who was shot dead Thursday: "I think the markets are absorbing the increased probability of a Remain vote - Bremain. It just is not good when political things start to go in this violent direction." If Britain leaves the 28-country bloc there are concerns it would cause turmoil in the global economy and European politics. The potential exit rattled markets and caused the pound to tumbled earlier this week. Gundlach has been known for a number of very prescient investment calls. He was one of the first heavyweight investors to publicly raise red flags about the credibility of major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, as countries struggle to manage economic growth. Story continues Just a day before the Fed held short-term interest rates steady and lowered projections of how much theyll raise them in the coming years, Gundlach told Reuters that "central banks are losing control and they don't know what to do." Gundlach added on Friday that a Donald Trump presidential win would be good for the stock market. "Ive said all along, stocks will fall this summer on a Trump 'global growth scare' and then rally into his presidency on a deficit-based GDP bump." (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Alan Crosby) Lubumbashi (DR Congo) (AFP) - DR Congo's disbanded M23 rebel movement Friday called on the government to agree a new demobilisation scheme following deadly clashes near a camp housing former rebels dissatisfied with their conditions. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement that the deaths of several people in clashes this week between the army and ex-rebels showed the need for a new disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. "Repetitive serious fatal incidents, the inability of the government to achieve its own programme, poor conditions of life maintained in the demobilisation centres have transformed these places in real jails or in open-air prison where the dead are up to hundreds," Bisimwa said. M23 wanted to work with the government to set out a "more realistic" and attractive demobilisation programme for the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said. But asked by AFP to respond, government spokesman Lambert Mende said "M23 doesn't exist. We don't need to respond to non-existent entities." Tension had been mounting for days at the military base in Kamina, in the southeast, where more than 2,300 former rebels from various groups are stationed as part of a government disarmament programme. - Toll not clear - After the defeat of M23 in 2013, the government launched a programme known as DDR3 to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate more than 12,000 former rebels. But the programme, the third of its kind since the end of the Second Congo War in 2003, has been hit by delays and funding problems. Kamina has previously faced a mutiny from the disgruntled former rebels, who have complained about the living standards on the base. It was unclear however how many died in this week's clashes. A source at the local military hospital who asked not to be identified said Wednesday there had been "some dead" but declined to give a figure. On Friday, the head of the Bill Clinton Foundation, Emmanuel Cole, told AFP 12 people were killed, nine of them former rebels and three soldiers. Story continues He said the rebels were angry because their food rations had been cut and the integration process was too slow, meaning they faced an uncertain future. The government however says the only fatality was a soldier. Mende said the tension rose when rebels demanded to be allowed to leave the camp and return home. A Western military source said the latest clashes expose the limitations of the DDR3 programme and may deter other rebels from laying down arms and hamper the repatriation of former M23 refugees to Rwanda and Uganda. Pro-choice activists in Belfast, January 2016 [Photo: Getty] Terminating a pregnancy if you live in Northern Ireland is a tricky feat indeed. Unless you fit specific, strict criteria, it cant legally be done at home - so your only option is to travel to England, Scotland or Wales to do it instead and pay through the nose for it. This is why abortion rights campaigners are taking matters into their own hands and are planning to fly a drone carrying abortion pills from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland. [Photo: Pexels] On Tuesday at 10am, the drone will launch from Omeath, County Louth, and end up landing near Narrow Water, County Down, in Northern Ireland. The idea behind the project - led by abortion rights groups Rosa, Alliance for Choice, Labour Alternative and Women on Waves - is that it will draw attention to the restrictive abortion laws in the two areas; in both places its illegal except under strict circumstances, and women could face a prison sentence if they obtain the medication to do it themselves. Belfast City Hall [Photo: Flickr/Iker Merodio] It is an all-island act of solidarity between women in the north and the south to highlight the violation of human rights caused by the existing laws that criminalise abortion in both the north and south of Ireland except in very limited circumstances, a spokesperson for Rosa said in a statement. [Photo: Pexels] Once the drone arrives, the (non-pregnant) women on the other side will take mifepristone, a pill administered by doctors during legal abortions, to demonstrate how safe it is. What do you think? Will this get the activists message across? Tweet us @YahooStyleUK. Abortion Rates For Women Over 30 Are On The Rise Its 2016 And A Woman Was Sent Home From Work For Not Wearing Heels Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f11936%2fdefault Several parts of India have been facing a severe heat wave and a long spell of drought this year, with several villages resorting to desperate measures to find water. In a drought-hit village in southern India, a young boy was was asked to parade naked as part of a ritual to appease the rain god. SEE ALSO: Indian man single-handedly digs well in 40 days, after his wife is denied access to water The ritual took place in the Pardarhalli village in Chitradurga district in the southern state of Karnataka, which has been facing a drought for the last five years, with acute shortage of drinking water. The residents bathed the boy by pouring pots of water over his head, followed by prayers to an idol. The boy then carried the idol across the village, accompanied by the beating of drums. Finally, he was offered new clothes as part of the ceremony. This isn't the only unusual resort to please the rain gods in India though. For instance, some parts invoke rain by organising frog weddings and then sending off the amphibians into the river after the ceremony. Although continued touring to promote Duran Duran's 2015 album Paper Gods is taking up much of their focus, bassist John Taylor and keyboardist Nick Rhodes are forging forward on their new stage musical. "It's been very interesting and fun, and we hope to get that to a sort of workshop stage early next year," Taylor tells Billboard. The title and story are currently being kept under wraps, but Duran fans should not expect a jukebox musical or a song-and-dance story of the group. "It's nothing to do with the band," Taylor reports. "It's all original music, and it's an original book that, so far, we alone have written. It's a project that's close to our heart and it's been a lot of fun and we've learned a lot already from it. But taking it to the stage, again, that's going to take a lot of energy. I can't think that far ahead. All I know is when we work on it we have a good time and that's what's gotten us here." Duran Duran Breaks Down Mr. Hudson, Nile Rodgers & Lindsay Lohan Collabos in Behind-The-Scenes Look at 'Paper Gods' Taylor and Rhodes know other pop musicians who have taken that journey, and that for every Hamilton there's a The Last Ship -- not to mention scores of other proposed projects that never progress past the idea stage. But there haven't been any notes from, say, Sting, warning the duo about the potential folly of their pursuit. "I'm sure that [Sting] maybe had higher commercial hopes, but I'm sure he doesn't regret doing it," Taylor says. "I'm sure it was a fantastic experience to get the opportunity of working with all these performers. I mean, it's got to be brilliant." Taylor and Rhodes, meanwhile, are intrigued by the opportunity for long-form storytelling and graduating beyond the pop songwriting that's been their stock in trade in Duran and their other bands. Story continues "I like sequences of songs that tell stories," Taylor explains. "I've always been drawn to albums, to sitting down and having this long, semi-narrative experience. And I'm not even talking about a concept album; I'm just talking about all those great albums like Sgt. Pepper's or Ziggy Stardust where there's this glue, things thing that binds them and it feels like it's an immersive experience. We tried to do that with Paper Gods, but we all know people aren't sitting and listening to albums they way they used to. So this [musical] gives us a chance to do something like that in a format where people expect it and have to surrender to it like the way they used to listen to albums." Billboard Cover: Duran Duran on Pushing the Pop Envelope, Staying Power and Why Harry Styles Is a 'Good Chap' Rhodes previously told Billboard that in addition to the musical with Taylor, Duran Duran is also working on a ballet created from a track that was left over from Paper Gods. It's likely both of those projects may be next on the group agenda and surface, or at least get into motion, before the quartet begins considering a follow-up to the album. "We're really in live show mode right now," Taylor reports. "It takes a lot of energy, a tour like this, and we're not really thinking past it. We've got interesting things happening, interesting projects that are in the works, so it's not like the tour's going to end and nobody's going to work again. There's definitely things going on." Duran Duran finishes a short European festival run on June 19 before coming back to North America in early July for another run with Chic that includes stops at the Festival D'ete de Quebec and the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco. "I think having Chic on this show is just phenomenal and has brought so much energy and so much fun to the tour," says Taylor. And 35 years after D2's debut album, the bassist and his bandmates are happy to discover an even greater appetite for the band than ever. "I think that Duran have been engaged in this kind of dogged war of convincing the world that we were real since we were in our early 20s and were, like, heartthrobs for that period," Taylor says. "Yes, there were fans who were really passionate for the band and they've stuck with us, but there were people that were defiantly anti. I feel like that kind of resistance to the band has softened; We're feeling that people are opening their hearts to us in a way that's never really happened before, so that's amazing." The hijacking of an EgyptAir plane by a man claiming to be wearing a suicide vest stoked fears of terrorism on Tuesday, coming one week after the deadly attacks in Brussels. But according to initial reports, the hijacker apparently told hostage negotiators he was trying to get in touch with his ex-wife. The alleged hijacker, identified as 59-year-old Seif Eldin Mustafa, told the crew of the Cairo-bound plane he was wearing a suicide belt shortly after takeoff in Alexandria, forcing it to land in Larnaca, Cyprus. According to the state broadcaster in Cyprus, Mustafa, an Egyptian national and former army officer, had a four-page letter in which he demanded the release of female prisoners in Egypt and asked for a meeting with his ex-wife. According to the New York Times, the woman, who lives in Cyprus, visited the airport and helped persuade him to surrender. Before he did, Mustafa released most of the 55 passengers and seven crew members from the plane as it sat on the tarmac. At one point, he appeared to hand the letter to a female airport official who had come to meet the plane as she held her head in her hands. From @LeilaFadel: According to Cypriot media, the hijacker reportedly wants authorities to deliver a letter to his ex-wife. #EgyptAir NPR (@NPR) March 29, 2016 The alleged explosives on Mustafas belt were fake, Cyprus minister of foreign affairs said. No one was reported injured. But in a bizarre press conference held during the five-hour standoff, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades laughed as he told reporters Mustafas motivation was not terror but love. "Not to do with terrorism" - President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades on #EgyptAir hijack https://t.co/zeDNjIQTRL https://t.co/cgbHbFm1ef BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2016 We are doing our utmost for everyone to be released [safely] and to give an end to this unprecedented In any case, its not something that has to do with terrorism, if you know what I mean, Anastasiades said. When asked if the hijacking involved a woman, Anastasiades quipped, Always, there is a woman. For Egyptian air travelers, though, the threat of terrorism is no laughing matter. Tuesdays hijacking comes less than six months after a Russian airplane that took off from Egypts Sharm el-Sheikh airport crashed in the Sinai, killing all 224 people onboard. ISIS claimed responsibility, saying it used a bomb to down the plane. BUTTE -- A Butte policeman was justified in fatally shooting a man who had pulled and pointed a pistol Thursday, Sheriff Ed Lester says, but it is a tragedy that will take all officers a while to get over. In something like this it takes some time to sink in, Lester said Thursday, hours after 36-year-old Peter Grandpre was shot multiple times inside a house in Butte while exchanging gunfire with an officer. When you start facing your own mortality and realizing that an individual has lost his life, it takes a while for that to sink in, he said. Lester said the officer was wearing a body camera and video of the incident shows the shooting early Thursday morning was justified. The officer and man fired multiple shots but only Grandpre was hit several times and he was pronounced dead after being taken to St. James Healthcare. There is no doubt in my mind the individual was trying to kill the officer, Lester said at a news conference. He declined to name the officer involved but said he was on administrative leave pending an investigation. Lester said at this time its not known who exactly fired first. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting. Grandpres wife called police at 1:51 a.m. Thursday saying her husband had been drinking and they had been arguing in the house at 604 S. Clark Street when he took out two pistols and a rifle, Lester said. Police learned later that two children, ages 4 and 6, also were in the house. Lester said the first officer to arrive scoped out the house quickly and saw a man inside holding a rifle. The man put down the rifle and opened the front door of the house, but stepped back in when the officer began giving him verbal commands. The officer was standing just outside when Grandpre reached behind his back, pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the policeman about 5 to 10 feet away. Gun shots were fired, although Lester said he is not 100 percent sure who initiated the first shot. Four other officers were pulling up when the shots were going off, but none of them took part in the shooting. Lester said investigators were trying to determine how many shots were fired between the officer and Grandpre, who was standing in the living room by the front door when he was struck. Grandpre was wearing a military-type vest and police found another gun inside the front of it. Both handguns were .45-caliber semi-automatic pistols and a rifle nearby was a .308-caliber bolt-action. Lester said a chaplain had talked with Grandpres wife after the shooting. She said she and her husband had thrown things at one another before she called police. Lester said he did not believe the children witnessed the shooting. Who is Grandpre? The sheriff had few details on Grandpre, including his background or how long he and his wife had been in Butte. But according to Grandpres LinkedIn profile, he studied aerospace welding at Montana Tech. He served in the Marines, the U.S. Army and Montana Army National Guard. LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service on the internet. He described himself on the profile as serving as a Combat Engineer 12B in the Army from December 2008 to September 2013; in the infantry/medic with the National Guard, specializing in explosives handling; and was deployed to Iraq in 2006-07. As infantry in Iraq I operated armored vehicles during convoy escort operations from southern Iraq (Tallil) up the MSR (Main Supply Route) into northern Iraq. Conducted mounted and dismounted security operations during convoy ops in and around Baghdad, Fallujah, BIAP, Taji, and Anaconda, his profiles said. He served in the Marines from June 1999 to October 2002. The profile also describes him as a construction equipment operator and handyman. The profile also listed Grandpre as a semi-retired volunteer. This statement by Grandpre, posted in the 2013 LinkedIn profile, reads: My Brother Jake and I are working on starting a non-profit organization to act as quick response to natural disasters and war zones; we are specialists in high-danger areas where other relief organizations are unwilling to go. i.e. Frontline First Responders. We also want to work with other Veterans and Wounded Warriors in our off time as morale builders by providing opportunities to fly in private aircraft. In addition we plan to offer low to no-cost aviation training in maintenance, A&P Certification, Pilot training, and intro to kit aircraft building. Neighbors react Brad Taggart lives next door to 604 S. Clark St., located a block south of St. James Healthcare on the Butte Hill. The steep street features neatly kept, mostly small homes. Taggart said his bedroom window faces the house, and he was awakened about 2 a.m. to the sound of a man yelling. Taggart's dogs, who were in his bedroom, also started barking. "I heard a guy scream, can't remember what he said, but it was some guy yelling and then five gunshots. Then, within a minute, we had police here and fire trucks,'' Taggart told The Montana Standard. Taggart, who has lived 14 years in the neighborhood, said he didn't know the occupants of 604 S. Clark Street, and believes they moved in last fall. The house has seen several different occupants since its owner died some years ago, he said. Taggart said he knows all his other neighbors. He didn't go outside during the commotion, but later in the morning ventured out to see the neighborhood and street cordoned off with police tape. Arthur Lillyblad, who lives three houses down from the Grandpre home, said neither he nor his wife heard any of the commotion early Thursday. While he didn't know the family, Lillyblad said they had "never been a problem'' in the neighborhood. He said he never talked with Peter Grandpre, but "we waved to each other'' as Grandpre passed in his vehicle. "He seemed like a very congenial man,'' Lillyblad said. Lillyblad also observed the kids playing in the yard on several occasions. "They seemed like happy children,'' he said. Elizabeth Arden Inc. RDEN has inked a takeover agreement with Revlon Inc. REV for $870 million, or $14 per share, including repayment of Elizabeth Arden debt and preferred stock. The deal is likely to result in a combined entity with greater scale and a richer brand portfolio. Elizabeth Ardens shares grew almost 48.0% in pre market trading while Revlon recorded a share price gain of 0.19% on Jun 16, 2016. The takeover deal represents a 50% premium over Elizabeth Ardens closing share price of $9.31 as on Jun 16, 2016. The takeover, which is scheduled to close by the end of 2016, has yet to get approval by Elizabeth Ardens shareholders and regulatory clearances, though it has been unanimously approved by both Revlons and Elizabeth Ardens boards of directors. The combined company will also enjoy an expanded global footprint along with a significant presence across all beauty categories. Elizabeth Ardens strong presence in Asia Pacific will be complemented by Revlon which currently sells its products in approximately 130 countries. With Elizabeth Ardens presence in important international growth regions, including Asia Pacific, the combined company will be better positioned to compete globally. Further, the combined entity will benefit from Revlons expertise in color cosmetics, hair care, mens grooming, antiperspirants, deodorants and beauty tools along with Elizabeth Ardens wide range of licensed prestige fragrances and the internationally recognized line of Elizabeth Arden-branded prestige skin care, color cosmetics and fragrance products. Moelis & Company MC, BofA Merrill Lynch of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citi of Citigroup Inc served as financial advisors to Revlon. Meanwhile, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP provided legal counsel to Elizabeth Arden for the transaction. ELIZABETH ARDEN Price ELIZABETH ARDEN Price | ELIZABETH ARDEN Quote REVLON INC-A Price REVLON INC-A Price | REVLON INC-A Quote Story continues Synergies Revlon expects to achieve cost synergies of approximately $140 million through the elimination of duplicative activities, leveraging purchasing scale, and optimizing the manufacturing and distribution networks of the combined company. Leadership E. Scott Beattie, Chairman, President and CEO at Elizabeth Arden will join Revlons board as non-executive Vice Chairman, post the takeover. He will also serve as a senior advisor to Fabian Garcia, Revlons President and CEO, and assist a successful integration of the takeover. Elizabeth Arden was reporting loss for several quarters due to higher cists. Moreover, capital constraint left portfolio elements underfunded. Hence, a partner with a stronger financial position more capable of properly supporting its brands will help it to realize growth in the future. Elizabeth Arden currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Stocks to Consider A better-ranked stock in the broader consumer discretionary sector include Carter's, Inc. CRI 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 ELIZABETH ARDEN (RDEN): Free Stock Analysis Report CARTERS INC (CRI): Free Stock Analysis Report MOELIS & CO (MC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research obama At least 51 "mid-to-high-level State Department officials" have signed a dissent channel cable breaking with President Barack Obama's policy on Syria and calling for US airstrikes on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The cable was provided to several news outlets on Thursday, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. "Failure to stem Assad's flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as Daesh, even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield," the cable reads, according to The Journal. Daesh is an alternate name for ISIS, aka the Islamic State or ISIL. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby told The Wall Street Journal. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently, and I am not going to comment on the contents," he said. The officials who signed the document "range from a Syria desk officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to a former deputy to the American ambassador in Damascus," and have all been involved in formulating or carrying out the administration's Syria policy. That policy has largely emphasized defeating the Islamic State over bolstering Syria's anti-Assad rebel groups. According to the American Foreign Service Association, the dissent channel is "a serious policy channel reserved only for consideration of responsible dissenting and alternative views on substantive foreign policy issues that cannot be communicated in a full and timely manner through regular operating channels and procedures." It is available to all "regular or re-employed annuitant employees" of the State Department and the US Agency for International Development. The number of officials at least 50 who have signed the internal document calling for military action against Assad is unusual, a former State Department official who worked on Middle East policy told The Journal. Story continues "It's embarrassing for the administration to have so many rank-and-file members break on Syria," they said. Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) sit in a look out position in the western rural area of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, June 13, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said The cable calls for the Obama administration to place more emphasis on defeating Assad whose brutality is seen by many experts as the driver of Syria's jihadist problem by arming and regaining the trust of Syria's moderate opposition. That, in turn, will "turn the tide of the conflict against the regime [to] increase the chances for peace by sending a clear signal to the regime and its backers that there will be no military solution to the conflict," the cable reportedly says. The CIA-backed factions of the Free Syrian Army the majority of which are Arab and battling forces loyal to Assad have at times clashed with Pentagon-trained fighters associated with the Syrian Democratic Forces, who are predominantly Kurdish and focused on defeating the Islamic State. Their divergent military objectives and ethnicities have bred mistrust and fighting that is ultimately counterproductive to the cause of the revolution. Several high-ranking government officials, moreover including Robert S. Ford, a former ambassador to Syria, and Obama's former defense secretary, Chuck Hagel have left their positions over Obama's failure to act decisively against Assad, whose brutality continues to fuel a bloody revolution that has left over 400,000 people dead and millions displaced. "Many people working on Syria for the State Department have long urged a tougher policy with the Assad government as a means of facilitating arrival at a negotiated political deal to set up a new Syrian government," Ford told The New York Times on Thursday. Free Syrian Army Idlib "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," the cable said. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges." Assad crossed Obama's now infamous "red line" for airstrikes in 2013, when he used chemical weapons to kill more than 1,000 people in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta. Obama backed away from that red line when Assad agreed to a Russia-brokered deal to destroy his chemical-weapons stockpile. Some experts say, however, that the entire stockpile has not been destroyed as promised. The administration insists that it has maintained throughout the nearly five-year civil war that Assad "must go." But that stance has been muddled as the administration continues to soften its position on Assad's future. "The US' Syria policy has always been in the head of one man, and one man only: Barack Obama. No one else has ever really had a say in what happens in Syria," Tony Badran, a Middle East expert and researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider in a previous interview. "Obama has owned it since day one and from day one, he never intended to remove Assad," he said. The cable addresses Russia's bombing campaign in Syria as well, asserting that Moscow and Assad have not taken past ceasefires and "consequential negotiations" seriously. Russia entered the war in late September 2015 on behalf of Assad under the guise of fighting ISIS. Russian warplanes have primarily targeted non-jihadist, anti-Assad rebel groups, however, many of which are backed by the US, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Government warplanes bombarded the besieged Syrian town of Darayya with barrel bombs last weekend, shortly after food aid was delivered to the town for the first time in nearly four years. NOW WATCH: A Canadian model went to Syria to fight ISIS More From Business Insider By Bruno Federowski and Priscila Jordao SAO PAULO, June 17 (Reuters) - Most Latin American stocks and currencies advanced on Friday as traders bet the killing of a pro-EU British lawmaker could tip the scale in favor of a "Remain" vote in an impeding referendum over Britain's future in the European Union. Lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed on Thursday by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first." Both campaigns suspended operations following the incident and rumors circulated that the June 23 vote could be delayed. Although economic links between Britain and Latin American countries are limited, concerns over financial turmoil stemming from a possible "Leave" victory have weighed on investor appetite for assets from the region. "Potential adverse impacts from a possible 'Brexit' would stem from lower prices of commodity and weaker rates for the euro and the pound against the U.S. dollar," INVX Global Asset Management chief economist Eduardo Velho said. Crude prices rose for the first time in seven days, lifting currencies from oil-producing countries such as the Mexican peso . Shares of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA rose 4.4 percent, adding the most points to the country's benchmark Bovespa stock index . Petrobras, as the company is known, received offers for its fuel distribution unit BR Distribuidora, the company's chief executive officer told a local TV station. Shares of education companies Kroton Educacional SA and Estacio Participacoes SA also advanced after Reuters reported Kroton could improve terms of a takeover bid for Estacio. Estacio shares have jumped about 40 percent so far this month. Shares of Oi SA, not a part of the benchmark index, rose 1.5 percent after Brazil's most indebted wireless carrier laid out terms of a restructuring proposal aiming to reduce the company's obligations by more than half. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1600 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 806.11 0.79 0.71 MSCI LatAm 2105.38 1.59 13.26 Brazil Bovespa 49654.55 0.49 14.54 Mexico IPC 45180.50 -0.1 5.13 Chile IPSA 3987.08 0.6 8.34 Chile IGPA 19701.89 0.5 8.54 Argentina MerVal 13073.38 -0.32 11.98 Colombia IGBC 9831.36 0.9 15.02 Venezuela IBC 14118.99 -0.24 -3.22 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.4302 1.10 15.07 Mexico peso 18.8705 0.35 -8.69 Chile peso 684.6 0.64 3.67 Colombia peso 3016.5 -0.05 5.06 Peru sol 3.3109 0.67 3.11 Argentina peso (interbank) 13.9000 -1.10 -6.60 Argentina peso (parallel) 14.37 0.63 -0.70 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Priscila Jordao; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Rhea Seehorn isnt shy about praising her AMC drama, Better Call Saul, which she says is one of the best shows on television. The actress singled out the series writing in particular, which earned the Bob Odenkirk-led show from Vince Gilligan one of its four Emmy nominations last year. Theres a lot of great storytelling on TV right now, which is awesome, but I think [Better Call Saul] is some of the best. Seehorn, who plays Kim Wexler on the Breaking Bad prequel series, told TheWrap. Also Read: 'Better Call Saul' Character Deaths So Far (Photos) I mean that in the richest, best definition of that, she said. Its character-driven, but its also plot-driven. Everything is rich and textured. They expect the audience to be smart, and they expect them to think. You kind of really feel like youre going on a journey. Like Breaking Bad, which was an Emmy powerhouse and critical favorite during its five-season run, Better Call Saul shoots in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The two series have become so important to the people of the city that Seehorn said theres even a tour bus to take fans of the show to familiar landmarks. The people in Albuquerque are amazing. The locals are so receptive, she said. Sometimes if youre shooting in L.A., people are just mad that youre blocking traffic. But in Albuquerque, theyre just so happy and excited to have you. Also Read: 'Better Call Saul' Season 2 Finale: Which McGill Family Member Died? They have a soft place in their heart for Breaking Bad,' she continued. Jonathan Banks character Mike Ehrmantraut, as well as Bob Odenkirks Saul character, are just beloved. So theyre kind of like the Mayors of the town when they go anywhere. Related stories from TheWrap: Emmy Quickie: 'Veep' Star Tony Hale Picks His Favorite Insults From the Series (Exclusive Video) Emmy Quickie: Neil deGrasse Tyson on How a Chat With David Crosby Blew His Mind (Exclusive Video) Emmy Quickie: 'Underground' Star Jurnee Smollett-Bell on Pool Parties With Her 'Home Skillets' (Exclusive Video) When the 2015 Emmy nominations were announced, only two shows from the Big Four broadcast networks were among the 14 nominated in the drama and comedy series categories: ABC's Modern Family and NBC's Parks and Recreation. No broadcast drama even was nominated. That showing was poorer than any other year in the history of the Emmys except 2014, when only Modern Family and CBS' The Big Bang Theory made the comedy series cut. This year, with Parks gone, Big Bang coming off a snub and Modern Family generally thought to be fading, some wonder if we have seen the last of a broadcast presence in the most prestigious Emmy categories. How did broadcast reach this point? There are several explanations: Unscripted programming increasingly provided a less expensive way to fill the hours. Live programming - especially sporting events, which are big ratings drivers - began to occupy a greater share of airtime. And, perhaps most obviously, cable and streaming programming exploded, providing far edgier content than the constraints of broadcast allow. Read More: Oscar Coaches Up the Ante in the TV Fight Shades of Blue Where does that leave things heading into this year's nominations? In the comedy series category, it's difficult to imagine HBO's Veep (the 2015 winner) and Silicon Valley, Amazon's Transparent and Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt not being nominated again. Netflix's acclaimed rookie Master of None seems likely to join them. FX's Louie is unable to reclaim its slot (no new episodes), so that leaves two berths for everything else. I suspect Modern Family will show up again, as it has every year of its run, because it still has a substantial number of loyal viewers - so that's one broadcast show. Will the final slot go to another? Big Bang, which crossed the 200-episode mark and continues to deliver extraordinary ratings, could return to the running for a fourth time in five years. Alternatively, CBS' Mom, a more critically acclaimed offering from Big Bang's Chuck Lorre, or Life in Pieces, TV's highest-rated freshman series thanks to Big Bang's lead-in, could get a first nom. But it feels as though ABC's Black-ish and NBC's The Carmichael Show - diverse comedies that tackle social issues in edgy ways - capture the zeitgeist far better and have a stronger shot. That is, if they can hold off the best of cable and streaming, including Amazon's Golden Globe winner Mozart in the Jungle, Netflix's Grace and Frankie and, from the little-broadcast-network-that-could, The CW's breakout Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Story continues Empire On the drama side, broadcast's prospects are far bleaker. The most recent show from the Big Four to land a series nom was CBS' The Good Wife, for its second season in 2011. Now in the running for its final season, it seems like broadcast's one shot at cracking the category. Read More: Emmys: New Blood Heats Up the Guest Star Race The only other past nominee still on the air is ABC's Grey's Anatomy, which was nominated for its second and third seasons in 2006 and 2007. Actually, that's not entirely true: The original incarnation of Fox's The X-Files was nominated from 1995 to 1998. But I wouldn't bet on Grey's, or the X-Files reboot that debuted last year. The same goes for Fox's Empire, NBC's The Blacklist and ABC's How to Get Away With Murder and Scandal - primarily because they failed to land nominations for earlier and stronger seasons. It's hard to see a path to a nom for any rookie shows, even those with a megastar like Jennifer Lopez (NBC's Shades of Blue). There are too many better-liked dramas on cable and streaming, including Game of Thrones (HBO), House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black (Netflix), Homeland (Showtime) and Better Call Saul (AMC) - all nominated in 2015, along with PBS' Downton Abbey. And let's not dismiss these hot newbies: USA's Mr. Robot, Showtime's Billions, LouisCK.net's Horace and Pete, Netflix's Narcos and WGN America's Underground. This story first appeared in a special Emmy issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Josh Jackson in Season 2 of The Affair (Showtime) As we enter Emmy season nomination voting runs through 27 Yahoo TV will be spotlighting performances, writing, and other contributions that we feel deserve recognition. Warning: This interview contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Affair and Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Can you believe it: Pacey Witter just turned 38! Or rather, his portrayer, Dawsons Creek star Joshua Jackson, did. It was a celebration that was accompanied, he sweetly points out, by his 10-year anniversary with love Diane Kruger. Jackson could deservedly also be celebrating his first Emmy nomination this summer after his Season 2 performance in The Affair, in which the added point of view of his Cole the husband Ruth Wilsons Alison left behind when she began the titular relationship with also-married Noah (Dominic West) helped flesh out the character into one of the most layered and sympathetic in the story. Jackson, who also recently made a memorable guest appearance in the second season of Netflixs Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, talked to Yahoo TV about getting to expand on his character, who we got to know from the outside first; his hopes for the upcoming third season of The Affair; and how much fun he had on Kimmy, while giving a nod to Dawsons Creek. He also recalls how, the last time he spoofed the Creek, he almost ended up in Comic-Con jail, and has an interesting idea for a future Dawsons Creek project. Yahoo TV: The Affair hooked me in Season 1, but the extra perspectives, from Cole and Helen, added so much to Season 2. Josh Jackson: First, thank you, and I do think that you couldnt have had the second season without the first season; I think it would have been probably too busy to have those four storylines happening at the same time if you had no prior knowledge of what the show was. I think the second season definitely allowed us to spin the story and, certainly as an actor, it was just fantastic to go from being an object to a subject of the show. Story continues Did you know that was the plan for the show when you signed on, that Cole and Helens points of view would be added in Season 2? No, I dont think that actually was the plan when we signed on. I think initially [series creator] Sarah [Treem] wanted to just occasionally go over some important piece of information that weve seen before from [Helen or Coles] perspectives, but then I guess in the off-season she expanded that idea to make them two dedicated, alternate perspectives. Did it feel like you were playing a completely different character in Season 2? At certain times, yes. Particularly [different from] when we meet Cole. When we come back in Season 2, hes completely broken, just emptied out inside. Hes not at all the sort of swaggering, masculine man he was in the first season. It felt like we were starting from a completely different place, and I also thought it was a fun place for me to get to play, because to see a character from the outside first particularly one who was portrayed as being stoic to a fault, proud to a fault, and strong in both a really positive and sometimes negative way to see how that person is actually feeling on the inside, was a really interesting place to build out from. Because weve all known those people in our lives, or weve been those people for other people, where they think, Well, you are the strong one. You can handle it, and it was interesting to go inside one of those characters and show that, actually, no, hes not doing very well. Hes not handling this at all. Ruth Wilson and Jackson (Showtime) Especially in the second episode of Season 2, which I think is one of your best performances, it was heartbreaking. In Coles version of the story, whats most hurtful to him is that its as if, for Alison, their relationship, their life together, kind of didnt exist. In her version, when he visits her at the lake house, shes annoyed to see him and shes almost afraid of him. In his version, shes happy to see him, and she brings up that great day they had together during their marriage. Its almost like he just really, more than anything, wants some acknowledgment that their life together mattered. I think thats exactly right. I think everything in his life was built around outside observation. He was a good family man, he was a good son, he was a good rancher, he was an upstanding member of the community to a certain extent, and all of those things were erased and most severely, erased in his relationship with his wife. His child is dead, his wife is gone, and suddenly he doesnt exist because he never bothered to ask himself, "Who am I for me? Thats what I think the second season is for him: him coming to terms with who the hell he wants to be outside of everybody elses expectations of him. And even though he isnt handling the breakup well, he does force everyone in his life to give him time to figure his life out, and they certainly dont want to. Everyone but Alison still wants things from him. His family is making demands of him, very selfish demands, but he is self-aware enough to make them give him that opportunity to figure it out. To take that space. Two things: one, I cant tell you how lucky I feel to work on this show. They give the character an opportunity to work almost entirely in silence. That second episode that youre talking about, Coles side of it is not wordless, but its pretty close to it for a half hour of television. Ive worked on a lot of wordy shows, and Ive worked on a lot of wordy movies, and generally speaking, people are afraid of silence. Theres a lot of moodiness in that episode that they give an opportunity to really play out, and then, yes, I do also think that if you were to look at the dynamics of the Lockhart family, in a healthy version, theyre an interdependent family. But really what they are is totally codependent upon each other. None of them really work as an individual; they all just have these pretty destructive roles they play inside of that family, and so long as everybodys playing their role, the machine keeps on working. But as soon as somebody says, No, I dont want to do this anymore, the whole thing comes apart, and you see that whole family just dissolve. Why do you think Cole is the only Lockhart who can take himself out of the chaos and figure things out? Because everything fell apart for him. Everybody else was able to go on with some version of their own fiction, but Coles faith in his mother is destroyed. Coles belief in what the family means or existed for is taken away. The family place in Montauk is lost when they lose the ranch. His child is already gone, and his wife leaves him. All of the pillars of his self identity are erased, so I dont know that he made the choice proactively, but I do think that from that terrible space he eventually started making proactive decisions to finally become a man, to become an independent human being. (Showtime) Does the cast have a lot of input shaping the characters on the show? Yes. I mean, we dont generally deviate too much from the text once we get to the floor, but theres a pretty open dialogue. Not in the writing process, because thats the writers time, but once it gets to us and we do the read-throughs, theres an open dialogue, both individually, actors to writers, and then collectively, actors and scene mates, to wrap your head around it. Because quite often, [the story] is dense, and youre alluding to something that you might not know of yet, so trying to make sure that youre fitting scenes inside of the broader arc of the story, but then also because the show does allow for spaces of silence and it lives in those small, often awkward sometimes wrenching places between people, its up to us actors and the director on set to make the most suspense out of that as possible. And we do have quite a bit of leeway once we put out a scene, to play around with it until it finds the shape that you see on camera, because thats not always the case. Ill cop to it: quite often your take on reading [a script] alone is one thing, but you put it on tape against somebody whos pretty great I have the benefit of working with some pretty fantastic actors on this show and you go, Oh, I did not see that at all, but we should go there for a little while. And we actually have the time and space on set to do that, which is really unusual. Thats one of the benefits of the cable-length TV season versus 22 or 24 episodes? Yes, for a variety of reasons. First off, creative burn out nine months a year at 70 hours a week, its not a human scale of labor. Nobodys really all that sharp when you get deep into those seasons, so for pure exhaustion reasons, a lot of that doesnt happen [on broadcast shows]. But then also, the network mandate and the commercial-driven mandate is keep it moving, keep it interesting, do not give them an opportunity to stop or think or be uncomfortable, because theyll change the channel. Our mandate is exactly the opposite: Push in to those uncomfortable places. Youre allowed to be in silence. Youre allowed to be awful. Some of these characters are sometimes just terrible people, and they do cruel, terrible, mean things to each other, often in an offhanded way, which I think is the cruelest thing you can do to somebody. And thats not just about that 10-episode format, its about the difference in sort of the creative drive between doing something thats for commercial broadcast television and something that is on Showtime, on a subscriber basis. (Showtime) A lot of major things were revealed in Season 2: the murder, who was directly responsible, who else was involved, the question about the paternity of Alisons baby. What will the overall theme of Season 3 be? I know that everybody else [already] has a little bit of an understanding of what Season 3 is, but I know zippo, because when everybody else was doing their meetings with Sarah before she had a baby, I was in New York doing a play, so I didnt have the opportunity to go in. Should they so desire, they could do really anything they want with the format now, because the question of who done it? is all resolved, so were kind of in uncharted territory. In my opinion, the show works at its best when its reduced in scale, unlike a lot of shows. If youre talking about something like Game of Thrones, that works at its utmost epic scale, and is at its best when its telling huge, huge stories, but ours is exactly the opposite. Ours is at its best when its about the tiny little moments between people and how we manage those or dont, and the fallout that even sometimes seemingly small decisions have on the people around you. What do you most still want to know about your character? I want to know, now that he has stepped into himself he had a spurt of growth, and fell in love again, and that was amazing, but then ultimately chose to go back to the net, back to Montauk, back to the place where he feels most comfortable is he a man who is just fundamentally incapable of being independent? Can he not feel full unless he is in this place? And if thats the case, is that his fatal flaw? Is he condemning himself to repeating the cycle of tragedy and distrust and heartbreak, because he just doesnt have the bravery to fully step out of that place? I dont have an answer for that yet. Jackson guesting in Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) On a lighter note, lets talk about your guest appearance on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which is one of the most delightful surprises of Season 2. How did Purvis, the Dawsons Creek-obsessed convenience store clerk, happen? How did that come about? Purvis happened because one day I got an email from Tina Fey, which was pretty awesome. I definitely had to check and make sure it wasnt a joke. She sent this really nice email, not knowing that I had devoured the first season of the show and was already a fan, and she was like, I can send you the pages. I was like, Yeah, sure, of course you should, but the answer is yes! Then, after just going and playing there for a day I dont know why, but I havent done much comedy, and that show is just excellent, and they are all excellent, and the dialogue is crackling, and its a totally different environment working on a comedy than it is on a drama, and it was funny. It was funny and fun to just get to drop in there for a day and wink at my youth, my misspent youth. Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson It made me think about your Funny or Die Pacey-Con video. How did this Dawsons throwback experience compare to Pacey-Con? Pacey-Con nearly got me locked up in the San Diego Convention Center jail. They dont have a sense of humor about anything. This is slightly less dramatic. Is that true? You really got into trouble with Comic-Con security? Yeah. I just tried to enter into Comic-Con with full bluster, thinking that they would maybe go along with the joke for a second, but that was not the case. This was not a joke for them. And at the time I was there [to attend Comic-Con] for Fringe, and they had to call Warner Bros. It just became really unfunny for everybody. What was the funniest part of playing Purvis? Honestly, because Ive spent so little time on comedy, thats a pretty well-oiled machine, and they were already deep into their second season, and because Ellie [Kemper] is so, so good, the whole thing took three hours. What was most fun for me was giving her something to be able to bounce off of. Shes fantastic, and thats a great character for her, and to just sit back and watch her work and mime material as she sort of discovers a word or a phrase or something that she likes that makes her laugh, and all of a sudden we just go off into that for a second, its a lot like what we do on The Affair, except for we always end up with somebody crying. Did you have a hand in any of Purviss story or dialogue? Was he already named Purvis? The name was already there. I cant remember exactly, maybe Im giving myself undue credit, but I think there was one thing that I called out that actually wasnt true to [Dawsons Creek], but in general, theyd done all the work for me. I just had to show up and say the lines. And you have to love the fact that Purvis got to point out that Pacey, not Dawson, ended up with Joey. Still settling scores after all these years. Thats right. For we Pacey-devoted, that must always be pointed out. You have commented in the past that you dont really see a Dawsons reunion ever happening, but there have been so many recently with Full House and The X-Files and Twin Peaks and Gilmore Girls. Is there any situation in which you could envision a Dawsons revival, even a one-time thing like a Netflix movie? I dont think so. One of the characters is dead, so it kind of takes away from the fun of doing it if you dont have the whole gang back. Who knows, never say never, but I cant really envision a scenario where that would be fun. Also, I think theres a part of me that just thinks its better to leave those things alone, or maybe let somebody else do it. Give it to another generation of kids, like they did with 90210, so maybe eventually that will happen. No, the short answer is no. I cant imagine a scenario in which that would happen. Are Pacey and Joey still together in your mind? Of course. It was a romantic show. Maybe its been tempestuous. Maybe there have been a couple of breakups along the way, but since theyd also be closing in on 40, maybe they realize that theyre better off together. Maybe its Pacey and Joeys kids who do the spinoff. Exactly. Crazier things have been pitched to me, trust me. I hope we see Purvis again. It was a little bit ugly, Ill be honest with you, when I left that day at Kimmy Schmidt. I was like, I dont generally do this, but if you ever need me to come back for this character or any other character, just putting it out there that I will do that in a heartbeat. [Laughs] Tina just rolled her eyes and then left. The Affair Season 2 is streaming on Amazon Video and iTunes. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 2 is streaming on Netflix. Read more Emmy Talks: Emmy Talk: Bates Motel Showrunners Emmy Talk: OITNB Star Selenis Leyva Emmy Talk: AHS: Hotel Star Denis OHare Emmy Talk: Better Call Saul Star Rhea Seehorn Emmy Talk: Master of None Co-creators Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang Emmy Talk: People v. O.J. Simpson Star Sterling K. Brown Emmy Talk: The Americans Star Alison Wright Emmy Talk: Jessica Jones Star David Tennant Emmy Talk: The Grinder Fred Savage Emmy Talk: Silicon Valley Star Thomas Middleditch Emmy Talk: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Songwriting Duo Rachel Bloom and Adam Schlesinger Emmy Talk: House of Cards Star Joel Kinnaman Emmy Talk: Jessica Jones Star Krysten Ritter Emmy Talk: Outlander Star Caitriona Balfe (Reuters) - The city of Flint faces multiple long-term threats to its water supply, even though short-term progress has been made in reducing lead contamination in the drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has warned the city and the state of Michigan. The poor water quality became a crisis last year when, after months of citizen complaints in the largely poor and African-American city, officials acknowledged a problem and began corrective measures. EPA administrator Gina McCarthy outlined at least five areas that would require additional funding and attention to ensure a safe and sustainable drinking water supply in a letter sent to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. The letter, dated Thursday, noted that short-term efforts have produced "hopeful and encouraging signs" but that significant long-term challenges remain, such as the need for more money, a reliable city administration, and a decision on what Flint's long-term water source should be. In addition, the city's water treatment plant is inadequately staffed and the distribution system is oversized, which lessens the effectiveness of chlorine used to treat pathogens, the letter said. "The time has come for the city and the state to address those challenges. Safe drinking water cannot be reliably achieved without tackling those challenges," McCarthy said. Flint's mayor on Friday agreed with many of the EPA's conclusions and said additional funding from the state was needed to comply. "We not only need new pipes, we need new infrastructure," Weaver said in a statement. "That's money that must come from the state." The state has provided more than $234 million for Flint's water crisis in the past nine months, a spokeswoman for the governor said. "We continue to work closely with the city and the federal government to find solutions to challenges residents face, including a long-term water source," Press Secretary Anna Heaton said. Flint was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in April 2014 when it switched its source of water from Detroit's municipal system to the Flint River to save money. The river water was more corrosive than Detroit system's and caused more lead to leach from its aging pipes. Lead can be toxic and children are especially vulnerable. The city switched back in October after blood tests found lead in some children. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by David Gregorio) Are you looking for something to do outdoors this summer? Visit a state park. Have you been to the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park between Three Forks and Whitehall? President Theodore Roosevelt originally dedicated the caverns as a National Monument. But it was turned over to the State of Montana and became our first State Park in 1941. These spectacular caverns lined with stalactites, stalagmites, columns and helictites that took thousands -- perhaps millions -- of years to form make it one of the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest. Ask about the candle light tour, or the crawl tour which takes you to places rarely seen by any human being. Have you seen Bannack State Park where gold was discovered at Grasshopper Creek in 1862? Just 20 miles West of Dillon, it became the first capital of Montana. Now it is the best ghost town in America. Walk on the boardwalks and visit each of the buildings on Main Street, some of the nearly 100 structures that still exist after 150 years. See how the material from the first Capitol building was used to make a barn out back. But the old Masonic Hall and the old hotel are amazingly well preserved. If you go during the Bannack Days on the third weekend in July, you will see the whole town turn into a living history museum with re-enactments and horse-drawn buggy rides. Have you seen Makoshika State Park in Glendive? Outdoor magazine called it one of Americas 10 least-known and under-appreciated State Parks. It is our largest state park with spectacular badlands all around. At least 10 species of dinosaurs have been found there, and Jack Horner says we have barely scratched the surface in terms of what is really there. Be sure to see some of the bones and displays in the museum at the Visitors Center. And while you are in the neighborhood, slip down to Ekalaka and visit Medicine Rocks State Park. Teddy Roosevelt called it as fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen. Be sure to go on the path around to the south side of the rocks, so you can see the ancient Indian pictographs and the many carvings into the sandstone of early cowboys and farmers. At the turn of the century, one early homesteader carved a picture of his sweetheart in the sandstone. Have you been to First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park (formerly known as Ulm Pushkin) just a few miles South of Great Falls? This is where bison were stampeded over the mile long cliff for hundreds of years starting 1,000 years ago. It was a major gathering point for Indians from all tribes, particularly before horses were introduced, which resulted in the Indian tribes warring against each other. The cliff is in all directions from the top -- almost 360 degrees and amazingly undetectable from the top. The new Visitors Center has great panoramas of Indian life, a great deal of information on all Montanas tribes, and one of the best book stores on Montana history in the entire state. Of course, when you are in Great Falls you must see Giant Springs State Park. Eighteen giant springs bubble up to form the Roe River, which Guinness Book of World Records once called the shortest big river in the world. It certainly impressed Lewis and Clark when they visited it in 1805. Have you seen the Rosebud Battlefield State Park between Busby and Decker? Did you know this battle was the largest commitment of American troops in any Indian battle anywhere? They fought for half a day and both sides claimed victory. Actually, that is true. Also, it is probably one of the best preserved battlefields in the country because so little has changed since the battle took place just eight days before General Custer lost his life at the Little Big Horn. Or do as Tom and many others. Set as a goal the visitation of each of Montanas 55 state parks. Remember, because you have paid $6 when you licensed your automobile, all state parks are free to Montana residents to visit. For each park, click on Visit a Park at stateparks@mt.gov. Download a free app, Montana State Parks by Pocket Ranger. Or get the Complete Guide and Travel Companion, Montana State Parks, by Erin Madison and Kristen Inbody. You will be surprised what Montana has to offer. Have a great summer outdoors. Tom Towe of Billings is chairman of the Montana State Parks Board. Brussels (AFP) - The European Union on Friday rolled over for another year sanctions imposed to protest Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which the bloc deems illegal. The announcement comes amid growing speculation the bloc will in coming days also renew much wider economic sanctions against Russia for aiding and abetting pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine. "The European Council (of member states) has extended until June 23, 2017, the restrictive measures adopted in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia," a statement said. The Crimea sanctions prohibit certain exports and imports, and ban investment and tourism services by EU-based companies there. The sanctions were imposed after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014. The broader sanctions targeting economic sectors in Russia were imposed after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014, blamed by the EU on pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. EU diplomatic sources say the economic sanctions will likely be extended for another six months from end-July on the grounds that Russia has failed to live up to its commitments to the Minsk ceasefire accord in eastern Ukraine. The extension is set to be approved despite growing calls in some EU countries for them to be relaxed. - Putin says 'no grudge' - The EU has also imposed a separate set of visa ban and asset freeze sanctions against individual Russian and Ukrainian figures for backing the separatist cause in early 2014. These measures run until September. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed 9,400 lives and plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze. At the same time, some EU member states led by Italy make the case that Russia is a neighbour and its help and cooperation is needed in tackling key shared problems, such as the Islamic State terror threat. For its part, Russia says the sanctions regime is pointless if damaging, and President Vladimir Putin regularly insists Crimea will never be given back. Story continues On Friday, Putin told a top economic forum in Saint Petersburg he was ready for a fresh start -- if the EU also played its part. "We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game," Putin said, stressing that it was the EU's introduction of sanctions which had led to the "collapse" in relations. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker made his first visit to Russia this week since the sanctions were imposed, telling Putin that there could be no lifting of sanctions until the Minsk deal was honoured. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko meanwhile said he welcomed the EU's decision to roll over the Crimea sanctions. "We will continue fighting until Russia frees Ukraine's Crimea and Ukraine's Donbass," Poroshenko said on Facebook, referring to the rebel-controlled areas of his country. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union extended for a year on Friday a ban on business dealings with the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that has not been internationally recognized. The sanctions, now prolonged until June 23, 2017, prohibit imports of products from Crimea, any investment there, cooperation in tourism services as well as exports of some goods and services to the peninsula. The EU is due next week to extend until the end of 2016 its broader economic sanctions on Russia over its role in the crisis in Ukraine. Following the annexation of Crimea, Russia-backed rebels took up arms against Kiev in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,000 people have been killed in fighting since the spring of 2014. The crisis in Ukraine has pushed relations between Moscow and the West to new lows, though the EU is looking to review its broader policy toward Moscow in the second half of the year. Signs of a tentative thaw include a high-profile visit made by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to Russia on Thursday. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop/Mark Heinrich) By Francesco Guarascio LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union states reached preliminary agreement on Friday on new rules to counter corporations' tax avoidance, but it watered down some proposals after lobbying by smaller countries, such as Belgium and Austria. Ministers were under pressure to approve new rules proposed by the European Commission in January, after revelations in the so-called Panama Papers and Luxleaks cases. After months of wrangling, EU finance ministers in a regular meeting in Luxembourg backed an amended version of the Commission proposals, excluding some controversial measures and delaying others. The deal is suspended until Monday. If no country raises objections by then, the agreement will take effect. The Belgian and Czech finance ministers asked for the extra time to sort out pending technical issues. "I am confident that what we have is still a good step forward in the fight against tax avoidance," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chair of the talks and Dutch Finance Minister, told a news conference after the meeting. Corporate tax practices cost EU states an estimated 70 billion euros ($76.10 billion) a year in lost revenues, according to an EU Parliament report. But the plan to curtail them is less ambitious than what was originally planned. A proposal known as switch-over clause was dropped because some finance ministers said it could cause double taxation of European corporations, making them less competitive. The clause would have taxed dividends and capital gains that European companies pay to companies they control in low-tax or tax-free countries, which are then returned to the parent company. In theory, the money was liable to tax by the tax haven country - even though little or no tax was imposed - so on its return it is not subject to tax, to avoid duplicate taxation. The European Parliament, which in tax matters has only a consulting role, had urged states to tighten the original switch-over clause. Story continues Measures to reduce multinationals' artificial shift of profits to subsidiaries in tax havens were also changed, granting states leeway on how to apply the new rules. The original proposal said that states should automatically tax profits shifted to countries with tax rates 40 percent below theirs. The ministers eliminated the rate threshold, although officials said the substance of the proposal remained unchanged. Ministers were also stuck on when to apply proposed rules to reduce tax deductions of interest payments. Some companies use those deductions to cut their taxes by arranging artificial loans from subsidiaries in low-tax countries. Belgium, Austria, Malta, Slovenia and Lithuania asked for the new rules on limitation of interest deductions to be delayed. They want them to become effective only after an agreement is reached at international level by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. After pressure from the EU commissioner for tax affairs Pierre Moscovici, countries eventually agreed to put the interest limitation rules in place from 2024, instead of the original 2019 deadline. Belgium is assessing whether it can accept this compromise by Monday. The Czech Republic is seeking the EU Commission's authorisation on a pilot project to counter fraud on value added tax, and it has linked its approval of the tax avoidance package to that. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio, editing by Larry King) Every single person aboard a flight to Orlando stopped to offer comfort to a fellow passenger and complete stranger who was on her way to her grandsons funeral. Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20, was one of the youngest victims of Orlando shooter Omar Mateens rampage through Pulse, a popular gay nightclub where he killed 49 people and injured 53 others. Read: Orlando Gunman Called Local News Station During Attack: 'I'm The Shooter. It's Me' The grandmother made her hard journey alone Tuesday and was pushed onto a JetBlue plane by flight attendants who gave her tissues and water and tried to make her as comfortable as possible under such tragic circumstances. Airline employee Kelly Davis Karas wanted to do more, and in a compassionate, loving Facebook post, she described the womans flight and the unexpected outpouring of sentiment she received. "She was understandably distraught, but met us with kindness and gentleness. And gratitude, Karas wrote. Then she had an idea. What if she and her co-worker passed around a piece of paper for passengers to sign good wishes to the grieving grandmother? The two flight attendants decided they would do it and as we took beverage orders, we whispered a heads-up about the plan as we went, Karas said. But then they hit a snag. Halfway through, her colleague called Kel, I think you should start another paper from the front. Folks are writing PARAGRAPHS. So Karas did. And then a third paper was started in the middle of the plane. And finally, as time began to run out on the 75-minute flight, We handed out pieces of paper to everyone still waiting, she wrote. We didnt have just a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned. Instead we had page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support. There were even a couple of cash donations, and more than a few tears, Karas said. Story continues After the plane touched down, Karas read a landing announcement just approved by the airline. JetBlue stands with Orlando, she said over the P.A. Having secured the grandmothers permission, she asked for a moment of silence in memory of Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. And then every passenger stopped to offer their sympathy to the grandmother. Read: Orlando Gunman Jumped And Cheered During 9/11 Attacks, Former Classmates Say EVERY SINGLE PERSON STOPPED TO OFFER HER THEIR CONDOLENCES. Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her. But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process, Karas said. I am moved to tears yet again as I struggle to put our experience into words. In spite of a few hateful, broken human beings in this world who can all too easily legally get their hands on mass assault weapons people ARE kind. People DO care, she wrote. I will never forget today. Watch: Orlando Gunman Posted Message Before Massacre: Now Taste Islamic Vengeance Related Articles: By Elke Ahlswede DETMOLD, Germany (Reuters) - A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard was sentenced to jail in Germany on Friday by a judge who branded him a "willing and efficient henchman" in the Holocaust. In what is likely to be one of Germany's last trials for World War Two-era atrocities, Reinhold Hanning was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Rejecting the defence argument that the former SS officer had never killed, beaten or abused anyone himself, Judge Anke Grudda said Hanning had chosen to serve in the notorious death camp and had helped it run. "It is not true that you had no choice; you could have asked to be transferred to the war front," Grudda told Hanning as she read out the verdict. She said it was impossible that he had been unaware of the murders since he spent two and a half years at the camp and had been promoted twice during that time. "That shows that you had proven your value as a willing and efficient henchman in the killings," Grudda said. The white-haired Hanning, dressed in a grey suit and tie and seated in a wheel chair, listed to the verdict impassively. His lawyer, Johannes Salmen, said they would appeal. "I assume he will not be fit for a custodial sentence. That means he will not have to go to jail," Salmen said. During the 20-day trial, which dragged on over four months in total, the court heard testimony from around a dozen Holocaust survivors, many extremely elderly, who detailed horrific experiences, recalling piles of bodies and the smell of burnt flesh in Auschwitz. One of them, Hedy Bohm, 88, whose parents perished in Auschwitz, said: "I am grateful and pleased to be here at this moment, when justice was finally done after 70 years." With tears in her eyes, she told reporters after the hearing: "My murdered mother and father can perhaps rest in peace. It's a dream I never dreamed to come true." KILLING MACHINE Story continues Jewish groups welcomed the news. "Today's verdict is very clear: (Hanning) was complicit in mass murder. He was part of a merciless killing machine," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. "Without the active participation of people like him Auschwitz would not have been possible." Hanning was silent and emotionless for much of the trial but spoke at the end of April, apologising to the victims and saying that he regretted being part of a "criminal organisation" that had killed so many and caused so much suffering. "I'm ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it," he read from a prepared speech. Hanning was not charged with direct involvement in any killings. But prosecutors and dozens of joint plaintiffs from Germany, Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain and the United States said he had helped Auschwitz function. A precedent was set in a similar case in 2011, when camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted. Last year, Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz", was sentenced to four years for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. None of the convictions are definitive. Demjanjuk had appealed but died before the German Federal Court of Justice could rule on the case, and the court is still considering an appeal filed by Groening. Germany is holding what are likely to be its last trials linked to the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed more than six million people, mostly Jews, in a deliberate plan of extermination. Besides Hanning, one other man and one woman in their 90s are accused of being accessories to the mass murder at Auschwitz. A third man who was a member of the Nazi SS guard team at Auschwitz died at the age of 93 in April, days before his trial was due to start. (Reporting by Elke Ahlswede and Petra Wischgoll in Detmold; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Countrywide Financial Corp CEO Angelo Mozilo will not face a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit for defrauding investors in mortgage-backed securities issued before the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. Mozilo received a letter from the Justice Department this week informing the Countrywide co-founder of its decision to not move ahead with a civil fraud case against him related to his role at the mortgage lender, the source said. The source requested anonymity to discuss the status of the non-public probe. Countrywide, at one time the nation's top mortgage company, collapsed under the weight of soured loans and was acquired by Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) in July 2008. The decision by the Justice Department came two years after news of the potential case against Mozilo broke. That probe became public amid criticism of the Justice Department for having failed to pursue charges against high-ranking executives linked to the mortgage meltdown. Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for the Justice Department, declined comment. The news was first reported by Bloomberg News. Bank of America agreed in 2014 to pay a record $16.65 billion to resolve government claims that it and companies including Countrywide that it had acquired misled investors into buying troubled mortgage-backed securities. Mozilo agreed in 2010 to a $67.5 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which had accused him of misleading investors about Countrywide's health and risk-taking. Bank of America agreed to cover some of the payout. The Justice Department later in 2011 shelved a criminal investigation of Mozilo. The more recent civil probe by the Justice Department was being handled out of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York, editing by G Crosse and Bernard Orr) The theme for the new Big Brother house is all about summer vacation, featuring decorations from the best warm-weather locales, and that's sure to spice things up as the new cast gears up for a record 99-day stay. ET got an exclusive tour of the house from longtime Big Brother host Julie Chen. "Each room is a destination, after you have departed from this gate," Julie tells ET's Kevin Frazier as they start their impromptu tour in the living room, which features a large "Departures" sign. RELATED: 'Big Brother 18' Houseguests Revealed -- Includes Siblings of Two Fan Faves! The travel theme continues throughout the house, with each room representing a different part of the world -- including Tokyo, London, the African savanna, the Caribbean and Honolulu, Hawaii. "This is Tokyo!" Julie says as she shows Kevin around one of the more visually-arresting bedrooms. "What's Tokyo without lots of neon lights and Godzilla?" Later, the two make it up to the Head of Household's private bedroom, which is all about the Hawaiian islands. "We are in Hawaii now, because that has to be America's favorite vacation spot," Julie says, as Kevin lays down on the massive, king-size bed, and marvels: "Oh, this is so nice!" If the new houseguests are hoping for privacy in the bathroom, they'll have to look elsewhere! RELATED: Showmance Alert! New 'Big Brother' Cast Have Their Eye on Love "Look at this: even a microphone right here in the shower," Kevin observes, to which Julie responds, "Hey, we can't have any spot where any two houseguests can have a private conversation. Nope, nope, nope." Eighty-seven cameras and more than 110 microphones strategically placed throughout the house will pick up on each conversation and houseguests' every move as they compete for the $500,000 grand prize. "There is no safe zone. You can be heard in every single place in the yard," executive producer Rich Meehan tells ET. Story continues "You will see mics dropped in the back of the yard, just right down the center. We've got them everywhere," executive producer Allison Grodner adds. RELATED: Julie Chen Models on 'Price Is Right' for 'Big Brother' Crossover Special The outdoor backyard, which is U.S. national parks-themed, was redesigned with a new pool and hot tub. There will even be new state-of-the-art gym equipment. "We're going to put in a CrossFit gym," Julie reveals. Even Julie can't believe Big Brother, considered one of summer's reality staples, has lasted nearly two decades with no signs of slowing down. "I've been there since the beginning. Who would've thunk it? At this rate, I'll be like [former long-running Price Is Right host] Bob Barker!" Julie says with a laugh. Big Brother premieres Wednesday, June 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. RELATED: 'Big Brother' Alum Caleb Reynolds Breaks Through the Pack on 'Survivor' Related Articles By Tatiana Bautzer and Guillermo Parra-Bernal SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Mosaic Co (MOS.N), the world's top producer of concentrated phosphate, has entered talks to buy Vale SA's (VALE5.SA) fertiliser unit, in a renewed push to grow in South America and Africa, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Although both companies are discussing what structure would best suit their interests, the first source said a cash-and-stock deal remains the favourite option at this point. The same source, who requested anonymity because talks are under way, said the value of Vale's fertiliser assets could reach $3 billion. Mosaic and Vale are also discussing other alternatives for the deal, the other two sources said, without elaborating. Under terms of the first option, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale would become Mosaic's biggest shareholder, with a stake between 12 and 15 percent depending on the size of the deal's stock portion, the first source said. The companies declined to comment. Plymouth, Minnesota-based Mosaic is on the lookout for phosphate or potash assets that could be bargain-priced in a weak commodity sector, Chief Executive Officer Joc O'Rourke said in February. Falling prices of phosphate and potash, however, have dragged down profit this year. Vale has fertiliser assets in Canada, Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Mozambique. Mosaic bought distribution assets from Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) in Brazil and Paraguay last year. In Brazil, the world's fifth-largest fertiliser consumer, demand is expected to grow twice as fast as global demand until 2025. Fertiliser sales in Brazil in the first 10 weeks of this year doubled from the same period a year earlier. DEBT Vale is selling assets to help meet a $10 billion debt-reduction target by next year. The strategy was devised by Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira to help insulate the mining company against declining iron ore and nickel prices. Vale posted a record annual loss last year of $12.1 billion. Story continues Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization at Vale's fertiliser unit more than doubled last year to $567 million, partly helped by a weaker currency and lower costs. The talks with Mosaic come two months after Vale failed to create a large player with Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N). On April 28, Reuters reported that Vale and Apollo planned a venture should they succeed in the purchase of rival Anglo American Plc's fertiliser operations in Brazil. According to the second source, Mosaic had previously made a bid for 100 percent of Vale's fertiliser unit, which the Brazilian company rejected because it wanted to team up with Apollo. Clinching the Anglo American deal was a precondition to form the venture with Apollo, the $170 billion buyout firm run by financier Leon Black, sources said at the time. (Additional reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Canada; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Matthew Lewis) After a season of accusations and allegations about how they first got together, Real Housewives of Dallas stars Mark and Cary Deuber are setting the record straight with ET. "Some people tried to imply that Cary was a homewrecker, and she stole her husband, and that's not how things went down at all," Mark says. Co-star LeeAnne Locken seemed to imply multiple times throughout the Bravo series' first season that Cary and Mark first got romantic while Mark was still married. The couple has worked together for years -- Mark is a plastic surgeon, while Cary is his first assistant and nurse. WATCH: Housewives Happy Hour With The Real Housewives of Dallas "We've actually known each other for 15 or 16 years," Mark explains. "I was a resident, and she was a young nurse at the hospital Then, I had been in practice about three or four years, and she came to work for me. The reason she did that is because I was doing a lot of complex types of reconstructive surgery that required an operative assistant." "Which is why I wanted to work for him," Cary explains. "Not because I wanted to sleep with him!" The couple says over the years, they became close friends, as colleagues do. Mark and his family even attended Cary's second wedding, a marriage Cary confesses lasted "a skinny minute." "I don't want to trash my first marriage or my ex-wife," Mark shares, "but suffice it to say, I was not in a good place for a long time in my marriage. I think I gained a lot of weight, I drank a lot. I think I was just not taking care of myself at all ... I started taking care of myself, and I started losing weight, and I was kind of checked out on my marriage." LeeAnne involved her friend, Heidi Dillon, in the Cary-Mark rumor mill. In one episode, Heidi scoffed, "Most of the women in Dallas got their rich husbands because, at one point, they were on their knees under his desk, right? That's what I know of Cary." Story continues WATCH: Why The Real Housewives of Dallas Is the Best Franchise Addition Ever! "It's certainly been implied that we were sneaking around," Mark responds. "I mean, a lot of what was said was true: we did work together, and we did wind up getting together, and we're married now. And you know what? Things like that happen. We did not sneak around and have an affair." "We definitely got together quickly after he got separated," Cary admits. "But there was a line drawn." "If it really went down that way [as they say], my kids would hate her," Mark adds. "That's not the case at all." "They're like my best friends," Cary says of her stepkids. "This is the part that is so disappointing. We have children. That's who's affected by this ... I actually got a text from my stepson saying that he heard through the grapevine that his friend's mom was on this show with me, just some random stuff, and I was like, oh gosh. You know?" On the show, LeeAnne suggested Heidi might be quick to judge Cary based on her connection to Mark. "Heidi is friends with Mark's ex-wife," LeeAnne said. "I think enough people are still friends with her, who will never accept Cary because of how she and Mark got together." WATCH: RHOD Star Stephanie Hollman Face Swaps With Her Co-Stars Mark and Cary say that's a straight-up lie. "My ex-wife doesn't know her," Mark says. "And she said she doesn't know my ex-wife, even though it was said on the show." "It was LeeAnne setting her up," Cary claims. "I guess people can say what they want. They can make up their own false truths, which I guess you kind of have to deal with when you're dealing with 'reality.'" Still, Cary and Mark say the rumors, speculation and reality TV cameras have not hurt their relationship at all. If anything, it's brought them closer together. The couple says they still feel like newlyweds seven years into marriage. And should the series be picked up for a second season, Cary and Mark tell ET they would be down to return. In the meantime, Cary, Mark and LeeAnne will hash it out on The Real Housewives of Dallas reunion, set to air Sunday night on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET. Catch up on some of the show's other drama before then in the video below. Related Articles Per media reports, U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil Corp. XOM and Anglo-Australian multinational BHP Billiton Ltd. BHP are contemplating disposing a number of depleting oil and natural gas fields in Australia. The list includes Kingfish oil field in Bass Strait. Found in the mid-1960s, is the largest oil field ever discovered in Australia. The duo has been working together in an equally owned joint venture in the Gippsland basin in Australia since 1960. Exxon and BHP Billiton are planning to dispose 13 fields, licences, and associated systems in the region. In addition to Kingfish, the fields to be sold include Blackback, Cobia, Dolphin, Flounder, Fortescue, Halibut, Mackerel, Perch, Seahorse and Tarwhine. Bass Strait fields have produced more than 4 billion bbl of oil and 8 tcf of gas since production started in 1965. The region was Australias mainstay in oil production till the nineties. But currently, the region is mainly a gas producer. The two companies will retain ownership of the remaining offshore fields and the onshore facilities at Longford. These include the new $4.5-billion Kipper-Tuna-Turrum development, which has an estimated 1.6 bcf of gas and 140 million bbl of liquids. EXXON MOBIL CRP Price EXXON MOBIL CRP Price | EXXON MOBIL CRP Quote ExxonMobil is one of the worlds best-run integrated oil companies given its track record of superior returns on capital employed. The energy giant has long been a core holding for investors seeking a defensive name with continued dividend growth. The company is also fairly active in its investment programs. Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider ExxonMobil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the same space are Braskem S.A. BAK and North Atlantic Drilling Limited NADL. Both 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 BHP BILLITN LTD (BHP): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report BRASKEM SA (BAK): Free Stock Analysis Report NORTH ATL DRILG (NADL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Denise Juneau, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, invited Congressman Ryan Zinke to participate in six debates across the state. He didnt respond to her request but instead told the media he would do five debates and he would choose the moderators. Not a single woman was among the suggested moderators. There are qualified women in Montana to handle a debate; perhaps he just doesnt know any. We all should care about balancing the federal budget, defending access to public lands, providing quality public education for future generations, and safeguarding Social Security and Medicare. Denise Juneau has proven that she can work hard for all of us. During her long history of public service for this state, the drop-out rate has been cut by a third. Denise has successfully pushed back on federal policies that didnt fit our state. She is a strong advocate for protecting our access to public lands and is not afraid to stand up for whats right. Denise is in this race because she believes in Montana. Shell work hard to create good paying jobs, increase access to education and protect our treasured public lands. Debates and a thoughtful review of the candidates prior actions provide a solid rationale for our votes. Look carefully at what Denise has done for Montana -- it is good stuff. Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. How do you treat Zika? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. How dangerous is it? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years. Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at 1,434 through May 21 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257. Colombia confirmed two cases of microcephaly linked to Zika. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2. Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection? People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito. How can Zika be contained? Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika. Cases of sexual transmission have also been reported, prompting health officials to advise use of condoms, or abstaining from sex, to prevent infection between partners. How widespread is the outbreak? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 48 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde Americas (39): Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga. What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO. Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is "relatively common" and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. It also advised women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. All cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. The WHO has also identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. What other complications are associated with Zika? Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue. (Compiled by the Americas Desk) Three things to know about the Japanese Donald Trump campaign ad thats making the rounds on the Internet: 1) its actually American, 2) its satire and 3) its brilliant. The video, if you havent seen it, is an impeccably Japanese love letter to the presumptive Republican nominee (Donarudo Torampu). Theres a blue-haired schoolgirl heroine, who idles on her bed gazing at Trumps framed portrait, surrounded by her anime sketches of him. Her bedroom walls are lined with various snapshots from the campaign trail (including TIMEs August 2015 cover story). The television then blares out the news that Donald Trump has been elected world President, leading her to fall into a kawaii Trumpian reverie. She floats through a digital world where Trumps name is atop every skyscraper, where the trees are ripe not with cherry blossoms but with Trumps face, and where, finally, the two embrace as nuclear missiles launch behind them. Then Trump turns into a robot. The YouTube video has more than 1 million views so far. Many of the comments are from people who are confused by Japans apparent adoration for the candidate, failing to note, as the Intercept does, that the video is actually the work of Mike Diva, a California-based visual artist. After 15 painstaking years, the remains of an FDNY chief killed on September 11, 2001, have finally been buried. Read: Father Set to Compete In Ironman World Championship, Carrying His Son With Cerebral Palsy Two vials of blood that Battalion Chief Lawrence T. Stack donated to the New York Blood Center just over a year prior to his passing were placed in a casket Friday in Long Island and buried. In December 2001, the devout Catholics family held a memorial for the fallen hero who perished in the attacks on 9/11. Since his body was never recovered, his family was unable to have a proper religious burial. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro attended the service, along with hundreds of friends and family at Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church in the town of St. James. One of the late chiefs sons, Lt. Michael Stack, also an FDNY firefighter, told The New York Times: Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Two years turned into five, turned into 10. Now its 15. The chiefs casket arrived draped in the American flag as two fire trucks lifted their ladders and cherry pickers in the air to hang Old Glory over the street. After holding out hope for more than a decade that his body would be recovered at Ground Zero, they decided to contact the New York Blood Center in West Islip, New York, where the chiefs blood had been stored. Read: Officers Salute Last Known 9/11 Search Dog as She Heads to Hospital to Be Put Down Stack and his wife, Theresa, donated the blood to help a child in nearby East Islip, New York, who had cancer, according to the Times. Lawrence Stacks blood was never used and has sat in a freezer for 16 years. The family told the Blood Center their story and the vials were turned over to the Stacks for burial. The New York Blood Center wrote on their Facebook page: To the family of FDNY Lieutenant Michael Stack, Ladder 176: It is our honor to help bring peace to your dignified, FDNY family. Our thoughts are with you today. Your father, FDNY Battalion Chief Larry Stack, can rest in peace now because you can, too. Story continues The 58-year-old firefighter served nearly 33 years for New Yorks Bravest. Both of his sons are currently firemen in the FDNY. Watch: Pope Francis Tours New York City, Tells World Leaders to 'Respect One Another' Related Articles: (Reuters) - Roger Federer hurried into the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on Thursday, wrapping up a 6-3 7-5 victory over Tunisia's Malek Jaziri in 69 minutes. The top seed, who has won eight titles at the German grasscourt tournament that has proved ideal preparation for Wimbledon during his long career, quickly overcame a second-set hiccup when he dropped his serve to go 3-0 down. He rediscovered his rhythm, recovered the deficit and then broke the Tunisian in the 11th game before serving out the match. Federer next meets Belgian David Goffin, who was leading Sergiy Stakhovsky 4-6 7-5 2-0 when the Ukranian retired hurt after an awkward fall. "That's life...some days are just not meant to be. I'll try to be back for Wimbledon," Stakhovsky tweeted. Federer, 34, will be keen to enjoy as much match practice as possible before Wimbledon after pulling out of the French Open last month with a back injury. He leads 25-year-old fifth seed Goffin 4-0 in their head-to-head tally. The Swiss, ranked three in the world, is also joined in the quarter-finals by home favourite and eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who downed lofty Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-7(7) 6-4 7-5 despite being on the receiving end of 26 aces. (Reporting by Clare Lovell; Editing by Ian Chadband) By Rodi Said AM ADASA, Syria (Reuters) - When U.S.-backed forces seized Souad Hamidi's village in northern Syria from Islamic State last week, the 19-year-old swiftly tore off the niqab she had been forced to wear since 2014 and smiled. "I felt liberated," Hamidi told Reuters after swapping her black face-covering veil for a red head scarf. "They made us wear it against our will so I removed it that way to spite them." For the last two weeks, the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by U.S.-led air strikes, have waged an offensive against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij, near the Syria-Turkey border. The SDF have been cutting off routes into Manbij, encircling the city by seizing outlying villages like Hamidi's, Am Adasa. Hamidi said she woke up one morning to hear that the SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia and Arab fighters, had arrived in her village. "We saw (SDF) fighters behind our house, digging to station their snipers, we thought they were Daesh (Islamic State) fighters, who were still inside the village," she said. "We left, fearing we would be used as human shields during air strikes," she said. The family later returned once SDF fighters had pushed out remaining Islamic State forces. For pictures of Saoud Hamidi click http://reut.rs/1rryn4r Am Adasa had been under the militants' control since 2014, when Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq. The governments of Syria and Iraq have launched offensives on other fronts against the group. Under Islamic State, life was strictly regulated, Hamidi said, including dress codes. "They would punish people who did not follow their rules, sometimes forcing them to stay in dug-out graves for days," she said. "Since they (SDF) took control, we are living a new life." Sitting in her family home, Hamidi said she still fears Islamic State may return one day. "I want to erase Daesh from my memory," she said. "I hope every area controlled by Daesh is liberated, that people are free of them and can live like we do now." (Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., is taking heat from public land and access groups following a vote to potentially transfer management of millions of federal acres to local advisory committees. The same day he touted his vote with Democrats against an Alaska representatives land transfer bill, groups including The Wilderness Society, Montana Wilderness Association and Public Land and Water Access Association painted Montanas lone congressman as waffling on his opposition to federal land transfer and privatization. Zinke voted in favor of the Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act, legislation allowing demonstration areas made up of national forests with governor-appointed advisory committees steering management under state and private forestry regulations. Demonstration areas up to 4 million acres total could be designated at the behest of the committees. The act, which passed committee 25-13 Wednesday, aims to generate local economic activity in communities dependent on national forests. The vote flies counter to Zinkes self-description in an April op-ed as a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist, providing a path to privatizing forests by stripping federal authority, wrote MWA conservation director John Todd for his organizations blog. This would undermine bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water and Clean Air acts, and give extractive industry exclusive control of our national forests, he wrote. This unprecedented approach to transferring and industrializing public lands would lead to the loss of clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreational use of public lands that are owned by all Americans. Zinke through a spokeswoman rebuffed the notion that he flip-flopped, saying he has always supported more say from local communities in forest management while not supporting transfer of ownership. She pointed to his vote Wednesday against Alaska Rep. Don Youngs State National Forest Management Act of 2015, a bill authorizing states to acquire certain federal forest lands for timber production. Youngs bill passed committee 23-15. The fact is, (the Self-Sufficient Community Lands Act) focuses on engaging communities and specifically restricts any policy that would limit or diminish access for hunters, anglers, and other recreationists, which is one of Zinkes top priorities, communications director Heather Swift said in an email. The environmental groups are pushing an extreme agenda to simply shut down any process that includes anybodys opinion but their own. A perfect example of this is the frivolous lawsuits waged against forestry collaboratives. Both TWS and MWA faulted the legislation as overly favoring extractive industries. But while specifically pointing to mandates for forestry, grazing and county officials on the advisory committees, the organizations did not mention the requirement for recreation members in their initial criticism. Omitting mention of the recreation members was not intentional, both groups said, and did not take away from their opposition of a woefully bad bill. Having one of the four governor-appointed committee members be a recreation person doesn't change the key point which is that these committees would have tremendous authority, with no real public involvement and exclusion from most federal environmental laws, in managing the selected forest demonstration areas, said Peter Aengst, TWS senior regional director. Given the make-up of the committee, the stated purpose of the legislation, and comments from the Natural Resources committee, it is clear that this legislation is intended as an end run around federal environmental review, broad public participation in land management, and the multiple-use mandate that protects recreation and conservation values on our American public lands, MWA spokesman Ted Brewer said in an email. Swift countered that the bill gives states flexibility in deciding management, and that management could include deciding against logging or mining. (TWS and MWA) selectively omitted that the advisory panels set up by state governors would include recreational members, which are often synonymous with conservation advocates, she said. And, using their logic, these advisory panels could decide to make the 200,000 acres area wilderness. Would the conservation groups oppose this? Balance between forest users would be maintained through collaboration, Swift said. The management controlling collaboration directed under the legislation is much different than that supported by conservation groups, Brewer said. Our brand of collaboration is about influencing federal management of American public land by balancing and elevating diverse points of view. This bill is about state-appointed committees taking over management of American public lands to prioritize extractive use, he said. Ellen DeGeneress charming memory-impaired fish swims into theaters this weekend accompanied by most of the characters of 2003s Finding Nemo in the latest sure-thing blockbuster from Disney-Pixar. Aside from Dory, Marlin (Albert Brooks), and Nemo (Hayden Rolence), Finding Dory features appearances from old friends like the sea turtles Crush (voiced by the films director, Andrew Stanton) and Squirt (Bennett Dammann), Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson) and Nemos young school chums, along with a few surprises to reward Nemo devotees (the origin of the Just Keep Swimming song, for one). The plot, set just about a year after the events of Nemo, takes us from the Great Barrier Reef to the kelp forests off the California coast, where we meet new friends like Hank the septopus (Ed ONeill), Destiny the clumsy whale shark (Kaitlin Olson), and the sonar-challenged beluga whale Bailey (Ty Burrell), as well as Dorys long lost parents, Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy). This being Pixar means we also get a healthy dose of Easter eggs, callbacks, and inside gags for the most attentive fans. Here are some of the ones that we caught that you can look for the next time you make a date with Dory. And were certain that we missed a bunch, so let us know via Twitter or comments if you saw something we didnt. Warning: There are some big plot details in here, so stop reading now if you want to avoid being spoiled. Its a Pizza Planet and we just live here Perhaps the best-known of the studios traditional Easter eggs, the Pizza Planet truck made its debut in Toy Story and has appeared in every Pixar feature film since. In Dory, we are reasonably* sure that we saw the pickup among the debris scattered in the shipping lanes during the squid scene. Pay close attention to the squid scene (Disney/Pixar) That also jibes with what Stanton tweeted out last month, writing that the truck appears toward the beginning of the film when queried by a fan. Story continues Somewhere in the first 20 minutes https://t.co/xNNu3jE9vY andrew stanton (@andrewstanton) May 13, 2016 (*I say reasonably because my 11-year-old son insisted he saw it on the freeway during the frenetic chase scene at the end of the film, but I didnt see it myself and thats counter to what Stanton indicated.) Is Morro Bay near the Tri-County Area? Stanton and his team based the Marine Life Institute, a.k.a. The Jewel of Morro Bay, on the Monterey Bay Aquarium and San Franciscos California Academy of Sciences, two facilities near the Pixars Bay Area studios and in the same region as Inside Out and Toy Story, among other Pixar films. Those two films featured specific references to the Tri-County Area, firmly establishing them as part of the same universe (see: The Pixar Unification Theory). The MLI is based on two Bay Area institutions (Disney/Pixar) Morro Bay is about 230 miles south of San Francisco and while Dory doesnt have any direct mentions of Tri-County (at least that we caught), the presence of the Pizza Planet truck and the California setting make it easy to believe that Toy Storys Andy or Inside Outs Riley could pay MLI a visit. However, there is a wink to Pixar HQ during the initial scene at the Marine Life Institute: The two staffers who capture Dory are piloting a boat that has a series of numbers stamped on the side including 1200 and 86. Pixars street address is 1200 Park Ave. in Emeryville and the studio was founded in 1986. Pixar loves hiding Easter eggs in numbers (Disney/Pixar) The Wire reunion on sea lion rock Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) and Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) were on opposite sides of the law on HBOs unmatched crime drama The Wire. But in Finding Dory, Fluke (Elba) and Rudder (West) are a couple of chummy, chatty sea lions who befriend Dory, Marlin, and Nemo and steal every scene. Dominic West and Idris Elba of The Wire reunitekeep an eye on their flippers for A113 (Disney/Pixar) Aside from Elba and West, there are two other TV pairings among Dorys voice cast. ONeill and Burrell star in ABCs hit Modern Family, while the Saturday Night Live tandem of Bill Hader and Kate McKinnon (who happens to do a mean Ellen DeGeneres impersonation) also cameo, playing a pair of fish that Dory meets during her travels. Where everybody knows your voice Cheers mainstay John Ratzenberger keeps his string alive, voicing a character for the 17th straight time in a Pixar feature. Like many of his more recent cameos, this one is extremely short he plays the crab Bill, a denizen of the blue tang exhibit at the MLI. Youll be forgiven if you didnt catch it right away: Ratzenbergers distinctive voice appears to be digitally altered for the part (which is also briefly on display in one of the trailers). That crab is voiced by John Ratzenberger, even though it doesnt sound like him (Disney/Pixar) Sigourney Weaver the next Ratzenberger? Weaver, who voiced the computer in the Stanton-directed WALL-E (a play on her Alien work), returns to the Pixar Universe as a disembodied version of her real self. She is the celebrity spokeswoman for the Marine Life Institute and her voice is heard throughout the exhibit halls, becoming a running joke as Dory repeatedly notes that Sigourney Weaver said so. This is even funnier for folks who have visited the actual aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, which features a show narrated by Weaver. Speaking of WALL-E A wall calendar in the MLI namechecks the robot protagonist of Pixars sci-fi classic. The calendar literally pays homage to WALL-E (Disney/Pixar) But thats not all on the walls The aquarium is jam-packed with inside jokes and Pixar references. In the quarantine lab, theres a snapshot of Darla the fish-abusing girl from Finding Nemo adorning one wall Darla, the scourge of sea life down under, pops up again (DIsney/Pixar) while Uku, the volcano from the short Lava (which ran before Inside Out), appears on a magnet on the mini-fridge. Lava him or hate him, Uku appears in magnet form (Disney/Pixar) In addition to appearing at the beginning of the film, Crush the sea turtle (or a reasonable facsimile) can be seen suspended from the ceiling near one of the exhibit tanks as Hank scrambles to get Dory back to her home. Is this really Crush or do all turtles look alike? (Disney/Pixar) Finally, the fine feathered eponymous star of the short Piper, which plays before Dory, is posterized on a wall in a different room at MLI, as initially revealed in a Kelloggs commercial. Piper the bird is as adorable as Piper the short (Disney/Pixar) Finding the original Nemo Alexander Gould voiced the clownfish in the 2003 original. Now 22, he was too old to reprise the role, but that didnt stop director Stanton from bringing him back. He plays one of the hapless Cleveland Aquarium truck drivers duped by Hank and Dory during the films climax, at one point uttering, Were so fired. Pay really close attention to this truck, it is the vehicle of many Easter eggs (Disney/Pixar) The old standbys Aside from Gould, there are a few other Easter eggs tied to the hijacked aquarium truck. The Luxo Ball, which dates back to Pixars very first short, can be seen in the center of the steering wheel, and the requisite nod to Stantons alma mater, A113, is on the trucks license plate. (A113 is the California Institute of the Arts classroom where students like Pixar stars Stanton, John Lasseter, Pete Docter, and Brad Bird, along with dozens of other animation luminaries, got their start; A113 is one of the most prolific Easter eggs in Hollywood history, up there with the Wilhelm Scream.) Pixars Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and John Lasseter point to their favorite classroom (CalArts) We did it! Now what? Last seen escaping from the dentists office in their plastic bags in Finding Nemo, Gill and his tank crew (Bloat, Peach, Gurgle, Bubbles, Jacques, and Deb) eventually make the scene in Finding Dory. But just barely. They float in during the post-credits sequence, passing by the sea lions and then scooped up by MLI staffers. Stick around to the very end to see Gill and the tank gang make the scene (Disney/Pixar) What we missed One WALL-E reference we didnt spot was Buy-N-Large, the corporate behemoth that has popped up in subsequent Pixar films. We also didnt spot such usual suspects as the Chinese food container (which has appeared in A Bugs Life, Monsters, Inc., and Inside Out), Andys globe from Toy Story (which most recently resurfaced in Inside Out), or a sneak peek at an upcoming Pixar feature (the studio has Cars 3 and the Day of the Dead-inspired Coco in the pipeline for 2017). The scene set in the shipping lanes will require repeat viewings on slo-mo to uncover what is likely a wealth of hidden references. Likewise, the big chase at the end might have some Cars cars or other cartoon cameos that went by too fast for our mortal eyes in the theater. According to the fan site Pixar Post, Fluke and Rudder also have A1 and 13 on their flipper tags at least in some Finding Dory merchandise. Meanwhile, one eagle-eyed fan called Ultimate Orlando claims that piles in the aquarium have the same stamp as those on the Nemo submarine ride at the Disney parks. In the end, what were really kicking ourselves for missing are the two Die Hard references that Stanton said he decided to include after learning about the Internets theory that all the Pixar films take place in the same continuity as Bruce Williss action franchise. If you locate em, please let us know the comments so we can keep an eye out next time we go looking for Dory. Of course, Pixar is so notorious for stuffing its films with inside gags that sometimes fans might see an Easter egg where there might not be one. For instance, several folks have speculated that a VW Beetle that Dory conspicuously swims by is Herbie the Love Bug from the classic Disney family film. However, the VW on the ocean floor doesnt have any of the racing striping or No. 53 stickers visible, making it difficult to believe its an homage to Herbie. No, we dont think the Love Bug has been scuttled, but some do (Disney/Pixar) Pixar knows that movie-goers can obsess over these things, which is why Stanton and company had fun on April Fools Day when they revealed the ultimate Easter egg: (H/t to Pixar Post and its ultra-observant members for initially spotting the Pixar address, WALL-E calendar, and Piper poster.) New York (AFP) - Nearly 15 years after the September 11 attacks, a firefighter who disappeared at the World Trade Center that day has finally been laid to rest. The family buried two blood samples Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack had donated a few months prior to the attacks, after waiting in vain for authorities to recover his remains, nearly giving up hope. Hundreds of firefighters, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Daniel Nigro attended the full-honors funeral held for the 58-year-old at Long Island's Saints Philip and James Catholic Church, near New York, according to the FDNY. "He survived the collapse of the South Tower, quickly freed himself from fallen debris and continued to courageously help others," Nigro said. "He bravely and selflessly stayed to help an injured New Yorker with a severed Achilles tendon. He worked feverishly to find a way to save that person and remove them from harm, as the North Tower collapsed, taking both their lives," he added. Stack's two sons, also firefighters, were among those who carried the coffin, draped in an American flag. The family obtained Stack's blood because the career firefighter had registered on a list of potential bone marrow donors. In doing so he gave a blood sample for type matching, which was discovered on ice at a storage facility in Minnesota, according to local press. The blood was to be buried with full departmental honors at the Calverton National Cemetery on eastern Long Island following the religious ceremony. The firefighter's FDNY jacket was discovered beneath the rubble at ground zero, but search teams never found traces of his body. As the months turned into years, his widow Theresa had decided that after 15 years, it was time to end the wait. Stack's funeral took place on what would have been the couple's 49th wedding anniversary. Of the 2,763 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, only 1,637 have been identified, accounting for 65 percent of the recovered remains. The rest -- some of it microscopic -- is so damaged that it cannot be identified. Of the firefighters who rushed to the World Trade Center as tragedy unfolded that day, 343 were killed. Authorities were unable to recover remains for 127 of them, said Nigro. Los Angeles (AFP) - Firefighters struggled Thursday to contain infernos across the western United States as experts warned that drought-striken California should prepare for an unusually intense wildfire season. Forest fires are a fact of life in much of California but have become far worse because of bone-dry conditions, with the Golden State gripped in its fifth year of drought. A fire in the Los Padres National Forest had expanded to two square miles (five square kilometers) by Thursday, making it the "largest since 2009" in the area, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Information Center told AFP. Strong winds were hampering efforts to contain the blaze, and the operation was expected to be hindered further by near-record temperatures over the weekend in the southern half of California. Los Padres, which begins about two hours' drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles, is popular with hikers and campers, and evacuation orders were issued in at-risk parts of the forest. Sections of Highway 101, which links northern and southern California, were temporarily closed while oil giant ExxonMobil evacuated its refinery in Las Flores Canyon. Another fire further north burned about four square miles and caused road closures, also threatening buildings, although there were no reports of injuries. Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for public information organization Calfire, said America's most populous state could see its worst fire season on record this year. Meanwhile, a blaze in Warren Creek, in the northwestern state of Alaska, was raging across eight square miles of a Native American reserve, while four fires were burning up more than 40 square miles in Arizona and New Mexico. Last month fires near Los Angeles pushed 5,000 people out of their homes in the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb which is home to many celebrities including members of the Kardashian family. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) said the southwestern United States could expect "above normal levels of significant fire potential" through at least early July. Story continues "The highest potential will be over Southern California during the first part of the summer as the past rainy season only brought 50 to 70 percent of normal rainfall," it said on its website. "As the summer progresses, above normal significant fire potential area will expand northward to include much of the Sierras and the central coast region." Wildfires in the western United States made 2015 the country's most devastating year since at least 1960. More than 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares) -- an area greater than the size of Denmark -- had been burned by the end of summer, according to data from the NIFC. The agency's data revealed a rise in "mega-fires" since 2000, attributed to factors including a growing number of homes in or near major forests and a trend toward hotter, drier seasons. Last September, more than 1,500 homes were destroyed in two immense fires about 100 miles from San Francisco that caused millions of dollars in damage. By Gleb Stolyarov and Katya Golubkova ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Western investors are jostling with each other for position in Russia in anticipation of the moment when sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis are softened and they can do lucrative business again. Most are not yet coming with money and specific deals - at least, not in the same numbers as before the crisis - so the objective instead is to win favor with the Kremlin by being the first to turn back toward Russia. "Look how many American investors are here, not to mention the Europeans," Sergei Chemezov, head of the state conglomerate Rostec, said at Russia's biggest annual investor show this week, held in St Petersburg. "They understand that we have an enormous market. And whoever comes here first, they get all the spoils," said Chemezov, who used to work with President Vladimir Putin in the Soviet foreign intelligence service. Two years ago, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and its support for a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine. Western governments say in public that the sanctions will not be eased until an internationally brokered peace deal on eastern Ukraine, the Minsk agreement, is fully implemented. But many diplomats say in private that deal can never be implemented - not only through Russia's fault but also because the conflict is intractable. At the same time, European economies are stagnating, leaving businesses anxious to get back into the lucrative Russian market. Pressure has therefore been building inside Europe, according to officials with EU member states, for governments to move beyond the Ukraine impasse and lift some of the sanctions, perhaps within the next 12 months. "I think the politicians do listen to business. The politicians have to find their solution," Rainer Seele, chief executive of Austrian energy company OMV (OMVV.VI), told Reuters. GUEST OF HONOR Story continues Italy had the coveted status of guest of honor at the forum in St Petersburg, where investors vie to catch Putin's eye. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was the only head of an EU government to attend apart from the prime minister of Malta. Italy also had the most lavish pavilion of any foreign country at the forum, a large hall whose interior was decorated to resemble an Italian palazzo. Italian Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda said Rome would like to take on the role of building bridges with Russia on behalf of the rest of Europe, and Renzi echoed the sentiment when he took the stage alongside Putin during the forum. "It's a logic of bridges, not walls," he said. Calenda said the two countries had a pipeline of 340 proposed investments, in areas from leather goods to agriculture, that they would work to realize over the next few months. Italy did not have the field to itself, however. "There are a lot of French people here," said an executive at a major Russian company at the St Petersburg forum. "Probably we can interpret this as a signal." Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of French oil major Total (TOTF.PA), said France had maintained the highest rate of investment in Russia among all Western countries during sanctions. He said there was political rapprochement in the air, in part because France and Russia had learned to work together over the conflict in Syria. "The forum is clearly more active this year. I'm meeting more people this year," he said. "People are adapting." "SANCTIONS AREN'T FOREVER" To be sure, Western investments in Russia are still far from being back to normal. Several of the biggest Russian companies are subject to targeted sanctions, forcing their Western business partners to put joint projects on hold, while the financial sanctions bar many forms of lending to Russia. Even in areas not covered by sanctions, fear of a worsening in political tensions and the hostile atmosphere over Ukraine are still keeping many investors away. A slate of deals were unveiled at the forum, but none on the scale seen at the event in years before the sanctions. "The mood has improved but the facts aren't there," said Vadim Shvetsov, majority owner of Russian automotive company Sollers. He said for investors to return, it would take higher world prices for oil and gas, Russia's biggest export, and a change in the Western rhetoric toward Russia. Still, other people at the forum said Western investors were looking ahead to the future. "Sanctions aren't forever," said Russian Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Texler. In an interview with Reuters, Pavel Grachev, chief executive of Russia's largest gold producer Polyus, said investors were coming back partly because Russia was dialing down the tension in political relations with the West. But there was another reason. "Given that profitability is being squeezed on Western markets, investors are coming here looking for ideas, for profits, whether it's in shares or bonds," Grachev said. "Not for the first time, greed - in the positive sense of the word - is trumping caution." (Additional reporting by Alessandra Galloni, Katya Golubkova, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Olesya Astakhova, Lidia Kelly and Denis Pinchuk, Oksana Kobzeva, Darya Korsunskaya, Denis Dyomkin and Alex Winning; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Alessandra Galloni and Kevin Liffey) By Gleb Stolyarov and Katya Golubkova ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Western investors are jostling with each other for position in Russia in anticipation of the moment when sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis are softened and they can do lucrative business again. Most are not yet coming with money and specific deals - at least, not in the same numbers as before the crisis - so the objective instead is to win favour with the Kremlin by being the first to turn back toward Russia. "Look how many American investors are here, not to mention the Europeans," Sergei Chemezov, head of the state conglomerate Rostec, said at Russia's biggest annual investor show this week, held in St Petersburg. "They understand that we have an enormous market. And whoever comes here first, they get all the spoils," said Chemezov, who used to work with President Vladimir Putin in the Soviet foreign intelligence service. Two years ago, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and its support for a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine. Western governments say in public that the sanctions will not be eased until an internationally brokered peace deal on eastern Ukraine, the Minsk agreement, is fully implemented. But many diplomats say in private that deal can never be implemented - not only through Russia's fault but also because the conflict is intractable. At the same time, European economies are stagnating, leaving businesses anxious to get back into the lucrative Russian market. Pressure has therefore been building inside Europe, according to officials with EU member states, for governments to move beyond the Ukraine impasse and lift some of the sanctions, perhaps within the next 12 months. "I think the politicians do listen to business. The politicians have to find their solution," Rainer Seele, chief executive of Austrian energy company OMV (OMVV.VI), told Reuters. GUEST OF HONOUR Story continues Italy had the coveted status of guest of honour at the forum in St Petersburg, where investors vie to catch Putin's eye. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was the only head of an EU government to attend apart from the prime minister of Malta. Italy also had the most lavish pavilion of any foreign country at the forum, a large hall whose interior was decorated to resemble an Italian palazzo. Italian Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda said Rome would like to take on the role of building bridges with Russia on behalf of the rest of Europe, and Renzi echoed the sentiment when he took the stage alongside Putin during the forum. "It's a logic of bridges, not walls," he said. Calenda said the two countries had a pipeline of 340 proposed investments, in areas from leather goods to agriculture, that they would work to realise over the next few months. Italy did not have the field to itself, however. "There are a lot of French people here," said an executive at a major Russian company at the St Petersburg forum. "Probably we can interpret this as a signal." Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of French oil major Total (TOTF.PA), said France had maintained the highest rate of investment in Russia among all Western countries during sanctions. He said there was political rapprochement in the air, in part because France and Russia had learned to work together over the conflict in Syria. "The forum is clearly more active this year. I'm meeting more people this year," he said. "People are adapting." "SANCTIONS AREN'T FOREVER" To be sure, Western investments in Russia are still far from being back to normal. Several of the biggest Russian companies are subject to targeted sanctions, forcing their Western business partners to put joint projects on hold, while the financial sanctions bar many forms of lending to Russia. Even in areas not covered by sanctions, fear of a worsening in political tensions and the hostile atmosphere over Ukraine are still keeping many investors away. A slate of deals were unveiled at the forum, but none on the scale seen at the event in years before the sanctions. "The mood has improved but the facts aren't there," said Vadim Shvetsov, majority owner of Russian automotive company Sollers. He said for investors to return, it would take higher world prices for oil and gas, Russia's biggest export, and a change in the Western rhetoric towards Russia. Still, other people at the forum said Western investors were looking ahead to the future. "Sanctions aren't forever," said Russian Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Texler. In an interview with Reuters, Pavel Grachev, chief executive of Russia's largest gold producer Polyus, said investors were coming back partly because Russia was dialling down the tension in political relations with the West. But there was another reason. "Given that profitability is being squeezed on Western markets, investors are coming here looking for ideas, for profits, whether it's in shares or bonds," Grachev said. "Not for the first time, greed - in the positive sense of the word - is trumping caution." (Additional reporting by Alessandra Galloni, Katya Golubkova, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Olesya Astakhova, Lidia Kelly and Denis Pinchuk, Oksana Kobzeva, Darya Korsunskaya, Denis Dyomkin and Alex Winning; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Alessandra Galloni and Kevin Liffey) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f12038%2f736998c9c3e443ec9c5bc28bc739e666 A wildfire in Southern California that has already spread to over 4,000 acres created a firenado on Thursday, a rare yet mesmerizing event that's just slightly more believable than a sharknado. The wildfire has caused Santa Barbara County to declare a state of emergency as the blaze spread over the Santa Ynez Mountains. The LA Times reports that only 5% on the fire has been contained. The firenado, which actually isn't a tornado at all, was captured on video in Refugio Canyon, and was formed as the result of hot, dry air rising quickly from the ground, according to Live Science. As the air rises, vertical columns of air are formed which then begin to swirl in a vortex. When these vortexes are formed near a fire, burning material, ash and gasses are picked up, much like a dust devil would pick up sand. Firenados typically only last just a few moments, which is why they are rarely caught on camera. Philippines phone company ad captures the way we text our dads Super relatable Dwayne Johnson tastes candy for the first time since 1989 Rihanna is joyfully glittery in her new video for 'This Is What You Came For' Beyond perplexed kitten sees her reflection for the first time (Reuters) - (Note language in 3rd paragraph) Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen cursed and flippantly discussed the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in a clip from a documentary about the Deepwater Horizon disaster that emerged on Wednesday. Mateen was filmed secretly by the makers of the documentary, "The Big Fix," as he worked as a security guard at a beach at night in Pensacola, Florida where the clean up was taking place. In the video, he disparages workers who were cleaning up the spill saying: "No-one gives a shit here. Like, everybody's just out to get paid. They're, like, hoping for more oil to come out and more people to complain so they'll have the jobs." "(Be)cause once people get laid off here it's going to suck for them. They want more disaster to happen. Because that's where their money making is," he added in the roughly 40-second clip. The film-makers, Josh and Rebecca Tickell, said in a statement that they had turned the footage over to authorities. "We do not want to add any more undue attention to the shooter. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of the massacre, we grieve with you," they said. Mateen opened fire on Sunday in a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and wounding dozens more in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen was shot dead by police after a three-hour rampage through the nightclub. Investigators have questioned Mateen's wife, the FBI said on Wednesday, and a law enforcement source said she could face criminal charges if there is evidence of any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Alistair Bell) Marco Rubio A Florida Senate candidate may have just tipped Marco Rubio's hand Friday morning. David Jolly, a Republican congressman from the state who is running for Rubio's Senate seat in an August primary, told CNN's "New Day" that "Marco is saying he's getting in." Jolly announced around noon Friday that he's suspending his Senate campaign and instead focusing on reelection to his House seat. A Jolly representative later reached out to CNN, saying Jolly had no knowledge of Rubio's decision. When reached for comment on Jolly's remarks, a spokeswoman for Rubio pointed Business Insider to that response from Jolly's representative. Rubio said Wednesday that he would reconsider his decision not to seek reelection, a decision he made when seeking the presidency in what turned out to be a failed bid. Speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill, the Florida senator said he was considering mounting a last-minute reelection bid for his seat. His announcement came after the Orlando, Florida, terrorist attack the deadliest mass shooting in US history. "I'll go home later this week and I'll have time with my family," Rubio said. "If there's a change in status, I'll be sure let everyone know." Rubio said on Monday that he was thinking about his "service to country" after the Orlando attack, but he declined to speculate at the time on whether it would change his decision not to seek reelection. Since Rubio exited the presidential race after losing the Florida primary to Donald Trump, many Republicans have urged the senator to reconsider his decision not to seek reelection. In an interview with Business Insider earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Rubio to seek reelection, noting that he had "ample time" before the state's June 24 filing deadline. "It will be good for him, good for the Senate, and he can win," McConnell said. "Therefore, it'd make it much more likely that we'll have a Senate majority this year." Story continues "I hope he will decide to run again," McConnell said. Rubio also confirmed a Politico report Wednesday that Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a close friend of his, asked the senator to run after the tragedy in their home state. Lopez-Cantera is a top contender for the seat. NOW WATCH: Sen. Mitch McConnell on why Rubio should run again for Senate: 'He can win' More From Business Insider An activist dressed as Scrooge McDuck throws counterfeit money from a golden mountain onto protesters during a demonstratio Chief executives are under pressure to produce returns for shareholders often at any cost. Activist investors, who now manage some $174 billion in assets, have exploded onto the scene, shaking up boards and pushing for share repurchases, company breakups, or outright sales in order to get stock prices higher. But the trade-off of this focus on shareholder value is spending that benefits other stakeholders, like employees and customers, said Bill George, the former CEO of medical-device company Medtronic. Value has to be created for your customers and, in turn, your employees, George said in an interview with Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal. "If you do that," he says, "you'll have great value for your shareholders too." George, a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, blames the swing to put shareholders before anyone else on the distortion of money in the financial-services industry. George said: The real problem is that there's just too much money being made on Wall Street. Last year, the top 25 hedge fund managers made $500 million average and the top 2 made a billion seven. There's too high fees. The idea of getting 2% of a person's funds plus 20% of the upside and not sharing in the downside is leading to a lot of short term distortion in the market and unnecessary short term pressures on CEOs. Listen to the whole interview here: "The Price of Profits," our series with Marketplace, looks at what happens when profits become a company's product. For more, visit PriceOfProfits.org. NOW WATCH: Hugh Hefner's son reacts to the sale of the Playboy Mansion More From Business Insider More than a year after resigning as CEO of Participant Media, Jim Berk has made his next move. He is joining podcasting company PodcastOne as CEO. The company, which operates an advertising network for podcasts including The Adam Carolla Show and Freakonomics Radio, announced Thursday that with Berk's hire, PodcastOne founder Norm Pattiz will step down from the role of CEO but retain his position as executive chairman. "Jim has done tremendous work in transitioning companies to their next stage of growth, and with him joining the PodcastOne leadership team, our possibilities are endless," said Pattiz. Berk led Jeff Skoll's Participant for eight years before resigning in April 2015. Under his leadership, the company launched cable network Pivot and released several big films including An Inconvenient Truth and The Help. "It's exciting to enter this media space during a time of unprecedented expansion as consumer interest for the audience format in on-demand programming is experiencing rapid growth," said Berk. He joins the company as the podcasting industry has seen rapid expansion following the success of the first season of Serial. And Berk is not alone in making the move from Hollywood to podcasts. Former Fox TV executive Hernan Lopez launched podcast network Wondery earlier this year. Beverly Hills-based PodcastOne has an advertising network of more than 200 shows that saw 1.5 billion downloads in 2015. Read More: 'Awards Chatter' Podcast Seth Meyers ('Late Night With Seth Meyers') Voesendorf (Austria) (AFP) - The beer flowed and the oompah music boomed in Vienna Friday as France's Marine Le Pen, boosted by the prospect of a "Brexit", fired up a far-right rally of European far-right "patriots" in Austria. The elites of Europe "are scared that the United Kingdom is regaining its liberty, its freedom to trade with whom it pleases," the National Front leader told a flag-waving crowd of some 2,000 people. Introduced to cheers as "France's next president", she said: "We want all the peoples of Europe to take back these liberties. The will of the people has to be respected." Calling Europe's immigration policies "crazy", she called on the British "not to be swayed by the speeches of fear" on May 23 from the likes of EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker. Le Pen also said it would be "indecent" for either side in the debate in Britain to capitalise on Thursday's murder of British MP Jo Cox. The gathering was hosted by Austria's Freedom Party (FPOe), which almost won presidential elections in May and which is leading opinion polls ahead of the next scheduled elections in 2018. "We don't want Europe to be a carbon copy of the United States... We want a Europe of fatherlands," FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache told the beered-up, smoky meeting outside Vienna. "The new fascism comes from the left and from radical Islam," he roared to the audience in a conference centre, a huge glass pyramid, in a commercial zone in Voesendorf. The rally -- called the "Patriotic Spring" -- was a gathering of the Europe for Nations and Freedom alliance, the nine-country European parliamentary bloc that Le Pen chairs. It included Lorenzo Fontana of Italy's Northern League, Marcus Pretzell from Alternative for Germany (AfD), Gerolf Annemans from Belgium's Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) and former UK Independence Party (UKIP) member Janice Atkinson. Story continues - Populism - Populist parties across Europe -- and beyond -- have gained traction in recent years, with their alarm over immigration and attacks on the political "elite" resonating strongly with voters. In Austria, Norbert Hofer of the FPOe -- who welcomed Le Pen to Vienna with a kiss on her hand -- last month came close to being elected to the largely ceremonial but coveted post of president. The party is contesting the result. At an earlier press conference with Strache, Le Pen -- expected to make a strong run for French president in 2017 -- said the French had even more reason than the British to leave the EU. "France possibly has a thousand more reasons to want to leave the EU than the English," and all bloc members "need to question their relations with the EU," Le Pen said. The strength of the Brexit camp was a "strong sign" of a popular awakening, she said. "We want to spread this idea of Europe 'a la carte' that some countries have already attained, like Denmark... and Britain of course," she added. This was the only way "to ensure a prosperous and peaceful future" in a bloc riven by "confusion and chaos". She said that the EU elites wanted "nations to disappear to create a great uniform whole... unable to manage our own budgets, our economic policy and to decide who can come to our countries". "But the peoples cannot be got rid of that easily," she added. I am pleased to announce that the French attorneys, Ludovic Riviere and Michael Malka, were able to convince the Judge in Toulouse to release Freddie Gibbs on bail pending a final decision on the extradition request by the Austrian authorities. He will be released upon the deposit of $50,000 Euros. He will be required to turn in his passport and check in with authorities 3 times per week. We expect him to be released either today or tomorrow while the court decides what to do with the extradition request. Additionally, last weekend, I had the chance to fly to France and meet with Freddie and the attorneys from both France and Austria. After the meeting, and talking to Freddie it is really shocking these allegations were ever filed against him. They were brought months later with no scientific nor physical evidence against him. We are hoping that the Public Prosecutor in Austria sees this and decides not to file formal charges against him. If she does, Freddie will fight them with everything he has. He has worked too hard on his career and family to get where he is and is in complete shock over this false allegation. It is important to note that his fiancee has flown to France to support him. She has his back and knows he didnt do anything wrong. Paris (AFP) - Talks between France's labour minister and the head of the country's main union Friday failed to break a deadlock over labour market reforms which have led to months of anti-government protests. The two sides "did not find consensus," Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri said after meeting for an hour and a half with hardline CGT secretary general Philippe Martinez who has spearheaded the protests. "There are points of disagreement between the CGT and the government on basic things," Martinez said, for his part. "These disagreements were confirmed today." The head of the powerful union reiterated its demand that several key articles of the bill be withdrawn or "rewritten". El Khomri said the text bearing her name could be "enriched" but "without undermining its purpose." The Socialist government's reform is aimed at tackling France's entrenched 10-percent unemployment rate and widespread job insecurity. But critics say the legislation will fail to reduce joblessness, is too pro-business and threatens cherished workers' rights. Notably, the measures would make hiring and firing easier. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Tuesday for the latest protests against the bill, descending into the worst violence since the wave of demonstrations and strikes began in March. The unrest in Paris, which left 40 injured, prompted the government to threaten a ban on demonstrations, while the CGT faulted security forces for failing to quell the violence. Ten protesters were on Friday given prison terms ranging from four months behind bars to six-month suspended sentences. Martinez repeated a demand for the Senate to suspend debate on the bill in order to allow new negotiations to take place. The opposition-dominated Senate opened debate Monday on the bill, which bypassed the lower house last month when the government used a constitutional tool to push it through without a vote. Story continues The senators, who are expected to push for changes more favourable to employers, will wrap up their debate on June 24, with a vote set for four days later. The unions have already called new protests for June 23 and 28, and Martinez said Friday he had "no reason" to cancel them. If the two houses of parliament fail to agree on the legislation, the lower house will have the final say -- and Prime Minister Manuel Valls could again use the constitutional manoeuvre to ram the bill through. President Francois Hollande, who faces a re-election bid next April, had hoped for a signature reform to reverse his approval ratings, which are among the worst of a modern French leader. DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Fresh violence in northwest Central African Republic this week has killed several people and forced thousands from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, the United Nations said on Friday. The spate of attacks and reprisals took place in Ngaoundaye, about 500 km (300 miles) northwest of the capital, between groups backed by Christian militias and herders supported by Muslim fighters, said the U.N. peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA). Several people have been injured and killed in recent days, houses have been burned and looted, and thousands of people have been uprooted, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "This new spiral of violence will likely cause additional needs in CAR while the increasing insecurity is rendering the work of humanitarian actors even more challenging," Michel Yao, the country's humanitarian coordinator, said in a statement. Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters seized power, triggering reprisal attacks by Christian anti-balaka militias. A fifth of the population fled their homes due to violence and the country remains largely divided along religious lines and controlled by warlords. More than 400,000 people have been internally displaced, and some half-a-million have fled to neighbouring countries such as Chad, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, OCHA said. Aid access in the country is hindered by insecurity and violence, and there were more than a dozen attacks against aid workers last month, according to the U.N. agency. Medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) halted operations in the west of the country last month after a staff member was shot dead during an ambush on one of its convoys.[nL5N18G69J] MSF said more than two-thirds of the country's health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by fighting since 2013, while around 2.3 million people half of the population urgently need humanitarian aid, according to OCHA. President Faustin-Archange Touadera took office in March after elections aimed at drawing a line under the crisis, and observers hope his election will help end the country's unrest. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) Mumbai (AFP) - When Santosh Gaikwad, India's last-known practising taxidermist, first started stuffing animals 13 years ago he would keep dead birds in his family's freezer at home, much to his wife's consternation. Now, as the head of India's only taxidermy centre, he enjoys the use of two deep freezers large enough to hold a lion -- at the government-run workshop in Mumbai's national park. "I had no option but to keep the dead birds in the home freezer," Gaikwad told AFP, flanked by a snarling leopard, Bengal tiger and two contented-looking lionesses. "My wife was afraid because we didn't know how they had died. She thought food might get infected. So I wrapped them in two or three plastic bags, air-tight," he added. Back then, Gaikwad would take the birds from Mumbai's Bombay Veterinary College where he still works as a professor in anatomy department. Now he has built up such a reputation he receives a continuous supply of animals from state governments and pet owners. Taxidermy, popular in British colonial times, may conjure up images of Indian maharajas killing tigers and proudly displaying their stuffed corpses in their lavish palaces. But India's Wildlife Protection Act 1972 outlawed the hunting of wild animals and taxidermy trophies. Instead Gaikwad, 42, stuffs animals that have suffered a natural or accidental death and is inundated with requests to prepare animals for museums and for grieving pet lovers. It may seem a strange hobby to some but "there's a lot of demand" said Gaikwad, clad in a green surgical gown at the national taxidermy centre, opened in 2009 in Mumbai's lush Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Gaikwad, who is the only person authorised by the Indian government to stuff wild animals, explains that "taxidermy is the combination of five arts: "sculpture, painting, carpentry, cobbler, and anatomy". He skins the animal soon after death. Any remaining flesh is then carefully removed. Measurements are taken of the animal's body mass and a cast replica is prepared based on the original skeleton. Story continues - Stuffed Siberian tiger - The real skin is then placed on the mannequin and the finishing touches put in place -- glass eyes, perhaps whiskers and finally the stuffed creature is mounted. He says he has stuffed 13 big cats, including a Siberian tiger, a Himalayan black bear, more than 500 birds, including a Great Indian Bustard and at least 100 fish and reptiles. Gaikwad charges owners up to 3,000 rupees ($45) to stuff an exotic bird and between 10,000 and 18,000 rupees for a dog, depending on breed and size. In 2014, Mumbai resident Susmita Mallik paid him to stuff her large German Shepherd Bruno after it died of a heart attack. She said the dog was "like a child" to her. "I just couldn't think of losing him," she told AFP, adding that Bruno looks "exactly" the same as when he was alive. "He is in the living room. I can touch him and brush him. It makes us feel he is with us," the 43-year-old added. It takes Gaikwad around eight months to prepare a big cat as he has to balance his work with his responsibilities at the veterinary college. He's come a long way since his interest in the ancient art was piqued by a visit to the natural history section of Mumbai's main museum in 2003. "The animals were so realistic that I wanted to learn how to do it but nobody was teaching so I started by searching on the Internet," Gaikwad told AFP. "An assistant to a British taxidermist told me the procedure and from what I learnt from that person and Google I started to make incisions on birds." Those initial attempts were unsuccessful though. "Bird skin is very thin and often it would tear," he explained. - Mounting concerns - After mastering birds and fish, the former veterinarian moved on to cats and dogs before progressing to larger land mammals. Gaikwad says there is no single taxidermy course in India that accompanies all of the five disciplines, and claims to be the only one practising taxidermy on mammals. "There is no next generation. It's a worry," Parag Dhakate, an animal conservationist, told AFP. Gaikwad was upset when a devastating fire at India's natural history museum in New Delhi in April destroyed rare specimens of flora and fauna, lamenting the damage done as "a great loss to education". He sees his work as important to preserving knowledge of India's wildlife particularly if it's an endangered species. "These are national treasures. If we burn them then we cannot see these animals again and their beauty will have permanently disappeared. "Taxidermy is the optimal utilisation of that dead body. It's a rebirth. It's life after death." A defiant fist is raised at a vigil in Los Angeles for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images) The Orlando shooting has once again shone a spotlight on the LGBT community as the target of a terrible act of violence. Its also prompted intense debate over whether the attack was influenced by gunman Omar Mateens Muslim faith. In the aftermath of the shootings, some close to Mateen, including his ex-wife, have suggested that he may have questioned his own sexuality in the months and years before the attack. In general, mainstream Muslim teachings forbid homosexuality, although how this is interpreted varies. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Depending on nationality, generation, family upbringing and cultural influences, Islamic individuals and institutions fall along a wide spectrum, from welcoming and inclusive to a level of rejection that can be marked by a range of actions ranging from social sequestration to physical violence. Yahoo News spoke to three members of this small, relatively unseen community about the often painful paradox of being an LGBT Muslim in the United States. **** MALIK K. Malik K. (not his real name) was born and raised in Jordan by Palestinian parents. He says he started having feelings for men at a young age, but it wasnt until he was about 12, and gained access to the Internet, that he first learned the word gay. It would take another four years for Malik to accept that he was homosexual, but even then, coming out to his Muslim family wasnt really an option. So Malik kept his sexuality a secret until 2013, when, at 24, he was exposed. Someone found pictures of him on the gay dating app Grindr and posted them to Facebook. My life just stopped, Malik says, describing the response from his father and brothers as very aggressive. I had no family, no job, he says. I couldnt stay. So Malik contacted a friend who knew people in the United States and asked him where he should go. His friend put him in touch with someone who had an open room in San Francisco, and he left Jordan on a six-month visitors visa. He hasnt been back since. His family still doesnt even know where he is. Story continues Once in San Francisco, Malik learned that the United States offers asylum to gay people who face persecution in their home country. After a couple of months, he decided to apply for asylum and was approved. Hes now in the process of getting his green card. Malik identifies more as culturally Muslim than practicing. He doesnt always fast during Ramadan, but when hes around other Muslims who are fasting, he wont eat or drink water in front of them. Islam is not the most tolerant religion, but I still find its not a bad religion, he says. Its not what people think. Ever since the shooting in Orlando on Sunday, however, Malik says hes become very hesitant to say anything in defense of Islam, for fear of being associated with the gunman because of his religion. As a result, he says, he hasnt gone out all week, has avoided discussing the shooting with friends, and refrained from weighing in on Facebook debates, where, he says, hes read hateful comments about Islam from people who know him personally. Its not cool to be called faggot and terrorist at the same time, he said, referring to the deluge of hateful comments he has encountered on Facebook. Its very confusing. I cant get it out of my head. Malik also cant help but think about the fact that it was pure chance that landed him in one of the most liberal areas of the country. If, three years ago, my friend had found me a room in Orlando instead of San Francisco, I couldve been there that night, he says. I couldve been killed at Pulse. The night of the shooting, Malik says, I was out with my friends. We were drinking and having fun and dancing all night. This could happen anywhere. Malik still plans to go out and celebrate Pride in San Francisco this weekend, but now Im terrified. Its not going to be the same anymore, he says. People will be going out to support each other, but they will still be worried and keeping an eye open. It could happen anywhere, anytime. While as a gay man, Malik feels like a victim of the attack, hes also starting to feel alienated from the rest of the LGBT community because of his religion. In Jordan, I felt guilty for being gay, he says. Now I feel guilty for being Muslim and I didnt choose any of those. Even before the shooting in Orlando, Malik says the political rhetoric of the presidential election over the last year has made him feel increasingly anxious. Last year, I was so happy to be gay in a country that legalized gay marriage. But now, almost a year after the landmark Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, Malik says, I feel this country doesnt want me anymore. Now what? he wonders. Where should I go? Its very confusing. NAMIR NASSIR As a kid in Pakistan, Namir Nassir was kind of flamboyant. He loved music and dancing, and whether he was at home with his family in Karachi, or with his Muslim relatives in Los Angeles, where he moved at age 15 to attend high school, Nassir says, I was always the odd one out. I spent the first 19 years of my life being in the closet, feeling ashamed of who I was, says Nassir, now 35 and an actor. Then, during the summer after his sophomore year at University of California at Santa Barbara, he finally decided to come out. Nassir was visiting his family in Karachi, and his father was making fun of his newly dyed red hair. He said, Only fags do that. Are you a fag? Nassir recalls. On the spur of the moment, he decided to tell the truth. Nassir says his family disowned him for three months until his older sisters wedding. But although they agreed to make amends for the occasion, for the next 12 or 13 years, his relationship with his family remained strained. Every couple of years, under pressure from his sisters, Nassir says he would take it back to his father, insisting his homosexuality was just a phase. His father suggested electroshock therapy, sex with prostitutes, anything he could think of, Nassir says. Meanwhile, back in California after coming out, Nassir dropped out of college and moved to L.A. I wanted to experience what it was like to be gay, he says. After 19 years of repression, diving into gay life in Los Angeles was a shock to his senses and to his Muslim sensibilities. Do you know how hard it was for me to go to clubs and see white, gay culture? Men with their shirts off, beautiful bodies, drinking, smoking, doing drugs. Nassir says he was compelled to assimilate in order to be accepted by the community, but at the same time felt fetishized by other gay men because he was different. You dont understand the self-loathing, that comes with being gay and Muslim, he said. Or, he added, how deeply, deeply affected a Muslim man is by his religion from the day we are born. And how wrong it is to be gay, how completely and totally against the code of God it is to be gay. It messes with your mind, he says. Its really, really hard. It was a painful journey toward finding his identity as a Muslim gay man, one that he says he would not have been able to endure without his faith. Even though Ive been alone and lost friends and made friends and have family members I barely talk to anymore, throughout it all I have my faith, he says. I pray to God every day. Nassir believes that even though hes gay and has had sex sins in the eyes of Islam the fact that hes never drank alcohol or tried drugs, prays five times a day and fasts during Ramadan, has kept my soul pure. Nassir also credits his religion with allowing him to escape the fate of so many gay Muslim men who spend their lives in the closet, often with a wife and children. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones, he says. You live your life as a straight man, but all you want to do is be gay and be held by a man, and you see men holding hands and kissing and going to clubs and being happy. Its a terrible thing, because it eats away at your soul, he added. And the biggest problem is there is no one to talk to. In the wake of the recent tragedy in Orlando, Nassir says, now is the time for people who are gay and Muslims to speak up. I like that Anderson Cooper is getting teared up on TV, he says, but I want people to see that you can be someone like me and be gay and go to clubs and have sex and have fun, but I also dont drink or do drugs. There were a few years where Nassir and his sisters did not speak. Now, he says, We have an amazing relationship. As for his father, He acknowledges I am the way I am, but hes still really religious. Hes not going to be joining the Pride Parade anytime soon. RAFIQ Rafiq (not his real name) is a 35-year-old gay man who works in finance in New York. Hes also a practicing Muslim. Though most of his family and friends know hes gay, Rafiq asked that his real name be withheld, because he is not out at work. Rafiq was born and raised in the United States, the third of six children born to a Pakistani father and an American mother who converted to Islam. Rafiq said that marrying an American woman made his father seem rebellious by comparison to the rest of his family, but he still sought to impart Pakistani traditions and religious beliefs to his American children. Rafiq and his siblings were raised Muslim; they were taught to pray, learned Arabic, read the Quran, and went to the mosque. As a family, they didnt eat pork or drink alcohol, and they fasted during Ramadan. When his older brother and sister started dating in high school, Rafiq says, it caused a huge drama with his father, who did not believe in dating before marriage. His dads attitude toward homosexuality was just as traditional. I was closeted for a very long time, and didnt come out to my father for a very long time for fear of being kicked out of the house, he says. Rafiq made the deliberate decision to move out on his own as soon as he graduated from college, but knows how much harder things could have been if he had continued to live with his parents, as most Muslim kids are encouraged to do until theyre married. Ive met gay Muslim men who are married and have kids, and I totally get it it, because of the culture, Rafiq says. If everyone in your circle is strict Muslim, theyll never approve of it. They see it as a lifestyle. Based on the information that continues to emerge about Mateen including reports that the gunman had used gay dating apps, regularly visited Pulse nightclub and, according to his father, had recently become enraged at the sight of two men kissing in Miami Rafiq says, he wouldnt be surprised if the Orlando gunman was struggling with something similar. He may have had an inkling, he may have been questioning his sexuality, he may have been curious. You dont really know, Rafiq says. He may have actually been gay and just afraid of himself. When I first was curious, experimenting with being gay, the last thing I wanted was for someone to find out, he continued. When you are so close with your family and live with them, you lead these dual, secretive lives. In the case of Mateen, Rafiq says, I could totally see if he was living a double life and hiding this from them, if his family was superreligious and if they found out, they might have shunned him or made him feel like a bad person. Whatever Mateens sexuality, Rafiq said this tragedy highlights the need for more support for LGBT people who are having this conflict of religion. Rafiq has accumulated a number of gay Muslim friends over the years, but for most people, who are struggling with being Muslim and being gay, there arent a lot of outlets for you. You cant talk about it in the mosque. Its hard to find each other. If Mateen was in fact gay, Rafiq says, had he maybe had other gay Muslim friends to talk to about what he was going through, or if he had those resources, maybe that couldve helped him. Thats one thing I wonder, how that wouldve changed things if he had those outlets. Now Rafiq says his mother is totally cool with me being gay, and his siblings are fine with it, too though he still gets pressure from his older brother, who has recently become more devout, to conform and marry a woman. Before his fathers death from cancer this year, Rafiq said their relationship came a long way, but he never reached complete acceptance. He always accepted me as his son, but he wasnt going to accept the gay thing, he said. One of the most common misconceptions Rafiq encounters from non-Muslims is that he cant possibly be both gay and Muslim. In fact, Rafiq says he has many gay friends who were raised Muslim but no longer practice because, there are so many things in the religion that are contradictory to who we are especially if youre gay. He struggles with it himself, he says, Like, why am I bothering fasting right now for a religion that believes my people should be killed? Even today, he says, I would never go into a mosque and profess my sexuality, because its not something they would accept. I would not feel safe. But for Rafiq, being a Muslim is as much a part of his identity as being a gay man. So hes found a way to balance the two. Were taught that Allah is all-giving and all-merciful, and on the Day of Judgment, all sins can be forgiven, he says. Like Nassir, Rafiq figures that if I dont drink, I dont commit other sins, I dont kill others, I pray, I fast during Ramadan. If I follow everything right and do things properly, the only sin left would be the fact that Im gay. He realizes this rationale may not be accepted by other Muslims, but says, I dont know how I could embrace my religion any other way. Thats the only way that Ive been able to really justify it. ______ Related slideshows: Slideshow: Funerals and memorials for slain Orlando victims >>> Slideshow: Obama visits families of the Orlando massacre victims >>> Slideshow: Victims of the Florida nightclub shooting >>> Slideshow: Front page coverage of the Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: World reacts to Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: Shooting rampage at Florida nightclub >>> Detmold (Germany) (AFP) - A former SS guard was on Friday convicted by a German court for complicity in the mass murders at Auschwitz death camp, capping what is likely one of the last Holocaust trials. More than 70 years after World War II, Reinhold Hanning, 94, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment over his role at the Nazi-run camp in occupied Poland. "This trial is the very least that society can do to give... at least a semblance of justice, even 70 years after and even with a 94-year-old defendant," chief judge Anke Grudda said. "The entire complex Auschwitz was like a factory designed to kill people at an industrial level... You were one of those cogs" in the Nazi killing machine, she told the accused on convicting him as an accessory to murder in 170,000 cases. During the four-month trial, which involved witnesses giving harrowing accounts of the living hell they faced, prosecutors outlined how Hanning had watched over the selection of prisoners deemed fit for slave labour, and those sent to the gas chambers. They also accused him of knowing about the regular mass shootings and the systematic starvation of prisoners. For Holocaust survivors and inmates' descendants, the trial marked "a big, even though a late, step towards a just examination of the mass murders in Auschwitz". This is because it for the first time focused on "the division of labour in the collective mass murders at Auschwitz," the plaintiffs said in a joint statement. Unlike previous trials of officers who personally sent people to the gas chambers, this case covered the broader organisation of the extermination camp, where inmates were also starved to death or killed in summary executions. - 'A fair trial' - The verdict was welcomed by World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder. "Mr. Hanning got a fair trial, and todays verdict is very clear: He was complicit in mass murder. He was part of a merciless killing machine. Without the active participation of people like him, Auschwitz would not have been possible." Story continues Prosecutors had sought six years in prison on grounds that Hanning "contributed to the extermination aim of the camp", while his lawyers wanted an acquittal, saying he had not personally "killed, hit or abused" anyone. In April, Hanning himself broke his silence, speaking for the first time about his time at Auschwitz in court. Telling victims "I am sorry," he admitted to the court that he knew prisoners were being shot and gassed and that their bodies were burned at the camp. He admitted being "silent all my life" about the atrocities because he felt deep shame, and had never spoken a word about it to his wife, children or grandchildren. "No one in my family knew that I worked at Auschwitz. I simply could not talk about it. I was ashamed," said the white-haired, bespectacled widower, who ran a dairy after the war. "I deeply regret having listened to a criminal organisation that is responsible for the deaths of many innocent people, for the destruction of countless families, for the misery, distress and suffering on the part of victims and their relatives. "I am ashamed that I let this injustice happen and did nothing to prevent it," he told the court. - Few convictions over Auschwitz - More than one million European Jews were killed at Auschwitz. Yet, of the camp's 6,500 SS personnel who survived the war, fewer than 50 were ever convicted. Hanning's trial follows a high-profile case last year against Oskar Groening, dubbed the "Bookkeeper of Auschwitz". Groening was sentenced in July to four years in prison, even though he had previously been cleared by German authorities after lengthy criminal probes dating back to the 1970s. But the legal basis for prosecuting former Nazis changed in 2011 with Germany's landmark conviction of former death camp guard John Demjanjuk. He was sentenced not for atrocities he was known to have committed, but on the basis that he served at the Sobibor camp in occupied Poland -- for having been a cog in the Nazis' killing machine. Another case currently being heard by a German court is that of former SS medic Hubert Zafke, 95, who is charged with at least 3,681 counts of complicity in murder. Hearings have however been repeatedly postponed owing to the poor health of the defendant, raising questions on whether it can go ahead. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre's chief Nazi hunter, Efraim Zuroff, welcomed Friday's conviction but also called on German authorities to "do everything in their power to expedite the remaining cases". "The pursuit of justice for Holocaust victims deserves a maximum effort while those responsible for the crimes of the Third Reich can still be held accountable," he said. By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global oil majors Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) are putting small refineries on the auction block as they look to trim lower-margin assets in the face of headwinds from rising crude oil prices. Chevron, the second largest U.S. oil company, is soliciting interest in its Burnaby, British Columbia, refinery and gasoline stations, the company told Reuters. Shell is looking for buyers for its Martinez, California, refinery, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters. Shell declined to comment. These two companies, along with peers Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and BP Plc (BP.L), have sold more than a million barrels per day of U.S. refining capacity in the past three years, according to Stratas Advisors, a Houston-based consultancy. The world's five largest oil majors together still have enough U.S. capacity to refine about 4.7 million barrels per day. Refining profit margins have declined from highs seen in 2015, and the fear is that as crude prices recover from a two-year rout, refiners will be squeezed as the cost of oil rises but the price of gasoline does not keep pace. Selling the plants while margins are still reasonably high allows the majors to exit without a hit to their balance sheets. Chevron also told Reuters it has retained Rothschild & Co to market its 75 percent stake in a South Africa refinery. The fifth oil major, Paris-based Total SA (TOTF.PA), retained Lazard to sell a 50 percent stake in its sole U.S. refinery, but was unable to secure the price it desired, according to sources. Refining has remained a profitable sector during a two-year oil price rout, so these plants can fetch a relatively higher price than exploration and production assets. Chevron and Shell have the highest cash-flow deficits, said Lysle Brinker, director of equity research at IHS Energy, and so have the most motivation to sell. The two companies have been investing in other areas of their business - Shell plunked down $53 billion to buy BG Group earlier this year, while Chevron has spent heavily on large-scale liquefied natural gas projects. Story continues Theyre much more strapped for cash, and theyre accelerating the sale of assets that will get pretty decent prices," said Brinker. "A lot of the asset sales that the big guys have been selling are downstream and midstream, because those have been sought-after by private equity and others because theres more steady cash flow. These assets may prove to be a better fit for smaller buyers that focus on particular regions, such as the North American West Coast, or companies that concentrate on global storage and trading, but not oil production. SMALLER ASSETS ON BLOCK While the majors plan to continue to operate large, profitable refineries that are well integrated with their oil production assets, refineries outside of that footprint are likely to be sold, Brinker said. Chevron's downstream strategy has focused on running large scale refineries that can serve markets in the United States and Asia and on operating petrochemical plants that produce very profitable products. The refinery in British Columbia, however, refines light oil, rather than heavy crude from Canada's oil sands, and its products are distributed in a smaller region around British Columbia and down through Washington state. Selling smaller assets like that is likely something most companies are looking at - or should be - said Mark Routt, chief economist for the Americas with KBC Advanced Technologies in Houston. "Far better to sell it when it's good times than bad times," Routt said. "It's not as good as it was in '15, but its still good times." Chevron in April agreed to sell its 54,000 barrel-per-day Kapolei, Hawaii, refinery to a group backed by private equity, and Shell agreed in March to exit its Motiva Enterprises joint venture with Saudi Aramco. Shell is shedding a plant in Texas as a result of the dissolution of that venture. Chevron previously said it would sell its 75 percent stake in its South African unit, which includes a refinery in Cape Town. (Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York; Additional reporting by Ron Bousso in London; Editing by Bill Rigby) By Jessica Dye NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - A lawyer for General Motors on Friday asked a U.S. judge to bar "unprecedented" claims on behalf of millions of customers who say their vehicles lost value because the GM brand was damaged by dozens of recalls, including one for a faulty ignition switch. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said he expects to rule in the next few weeks on GM's motion to dismiss the proposed class actions, in which plaintiffs are seeking to recoup economic losses they say they suffered as a result of more than 70 recalls in 2014. Plaintiffs' lawyers have estimated the claims are worth as much as $10 billion. During Friday's hearing, Furman pressed both sides on whether plaintiffs were allowed to seek damages solely over the tarnishing of GM's brand, and not out-of-pocket costs or defect-related injuries. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Steve Berman, said the "avalanche of defects" and high-profile recalls had harmed GM's reputation as a safe and reliable manufacturer, meaning its customers would not be able to resell their vehicles for as much as when they bought them. GM's lawyer, Richard Godfrey, said plaintiffs' theory, if endorsed by the court, would expose companies to massive liability every time they conduct recalls, even for their other products without safety issues. "This is not opening the door, it is destroying the door frame," he said. Following its investigation into the defective ignition switch, GM conducted more than 70 recalls, including for parts unrelated to the ignition switch such as headlights and power doors. The company has paid $2 billion in criminal and civil penalties and settlements over the switch, which can slip out of place and cut power to air bags, steering and brake systems. The part has been linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths. The company has admitted that some employees knew about the issue for more than a decade before taking action. GM spokesman Jim Cain said on Friday that while the company is taking lessons from the 2014 recalls, "lawsuits like this one brought on behalf of people who haven't suffered any injury should be dismissed." The carmaker is also awaiting a ruling from a federal appeals court on whether it is shielded from certain claims by the terms of its 2009 bankruptcy. (Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Anthony Lin and Alan Crosby) The first time Will Potter encountered the FBI was on his very own doorstep. He says a pair of agents knocked on his door and pressed him for information on his animal-activist friends and threatened to put him on the domestic terrorism list if he didnt cooperate. Potter says he didnt snitch on his animal-activist friends. Ever since then, he adds, hes felt something creepy, intangible and possibly imagined: a sense of being followed and watched. The FBI did not respond to our request for comment or verify Potters version of the doorstep encounter. But today, Potter is an award-winning investigative journalist known for his reporting on government surveillance and secret prisons, right here in America. These Communications Management Units an appropriately Orwellian name sequester inmates within existing prison facilities. Theyre intended to severely restrict and monitor inmates communication, from letters and phone calls to emails, with the outside world. Potter, a TED and Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow, says hes the first journalist ever to venture inside one of these Little Guantanamos. Partly because of that, hes one of the most influential journalists in the field of surveillance, says Charles Eisendrath, director of the Knight-Wallace Fellowship program at the University of Michigan. Potter will be a professor there this fall. He watches the government and it watches him classic countersurveillance. In his TED talk, above, Potter describes how environmental activists, whistle blowers and other so-called domestic terrorists are jailed in these for their actions and, sometimes, their words. The first CMU was established in 2006, at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the confinement of prisoners of inspirational significance, not necessarily the worst terrorists or scariest bad guys. Potter was drawn in as he was covering the case of Daniel McGowan, a member of the Earth Liberation Front who in 2007 was convicted of arson, in part for burning down a lumber company, and sentenced to seven years. When McGowan was transferred to a CMU, Potter petitioned for a visit as a friend and not a journalist, he says and jumped down the rabbit hole. We as Americans have these blinders on, thinking things like this either happen in other countries or in other periods of history in this country, he says. Potter got his first byline at 16, when he started covering suburban city council meetings and the crime beat for his local paper in Texas his beeping pager forcing him to ditch small-town hangouts at the local Taco Bell. I found myself with a lot of the other smartasses, he says. That questioning culture had him hooked. But as he continued to pursue his journalism career, he teetered along the thin line between activism and journalism. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin chosen for its intellectual environment, punk-music scene and the tacos armed with a journalism degree and some experience working for the muckraking magazine the Texas Observer, Potter landed a reporting job at the Chicago Tribune. Even the FBI agrees that his work is well-written and compelling. But the big newspaper felt robotic and impersonal to him. He figured anyone could have written the obits and news briefs he scrawled on deadline. To feed the social justice-y part of his soul, Potter joined up with some animal activists and went door-to-door distributing leaflets. In the process, he says, they were arrested and released and shortly thereafter, those FBI agents showed up at his apartment. You read about the FBIs treatment of social movements and think if anyone is knocking, youre going to put two middle fingers in the air and walk off into the sunset, he says. But it rattled him. It became the start of a true obsession, he says. He took a short break from journalism to work for the ACLU, monitoring the expansion of the Patriot Act and the world of the FBI. Potter is intertwined in his work. He watches the government and it watches him classic countersurveillance. According to memos Potter has received via FOIA requests, FBI agents read his books, follow his work and show up at his talks at prestigious universities like UC Berkeley and Georgetown. The never-ending ambiguity between the personal and the professional has made his work resonate with others, but it also pains him. Potter has suffered anxiety and the D-word, finding distraction in learning how to fix up vintage Honda motorcycles, doing CrossFit or jamming out at punk-rock shows. Theres this idea in journalism that depression isnt something you should be worried about unless youre a war photographer, Potter says. Yet he finds a way to make dark jokes and brings levity to the gravity of this spooky field, Eisendrath says. To be sure, the seriousness is warranted. After all, hes operating as an independent journalist without the backing of a major news organization and its legal department. Its risky, Eisendrath says. But for Potter, his work confirms the power of education; when he writes and talks about his investigations, the fear subsides, he says. Even the FBI agrees that his work is well-written and compelling. Really. They said as much in the memos Potter acquired through his FOIA requests. Now when FBI agents show up to case his speaking events, he can crack a joke that maybe, just maybe, the agents arent free-speech spies at all theyre fanboys. The Little Guantanamos of the United States Related Articles Grace Wales Bonner has been named the LVMH Young Fashion Designer 2016' for her label Wales Bonner. The 25-year-old British designer wins 300,000 to take her budding label to the next level, as well as benefiting from a year-long support program from the luxury brand's team. "I feel quite emotional," the former Saint Martin's student told Relaxnews after the ceremony. But the graduate, remains focused on the year ahead. "I'm just going to work towards building out the show, I'm not going to let it change things too much, because I have a very specific vision of how I want things to work," she said. "I think the mentoring is going to be really helpful to me, and understanding how I can scale the business up and how I can bring people into the team." Wales Bonner, currently on its fourth season, was chosen by a star-studded jury including J.W. Anderson, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, Phoebe Philo and Riccardo Tisci. Delphine Arnault, Jean-Paul Claverie and Pierre-Yves Roussel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH Fashion Group, completed the line-up. The brand was selected for its elegant hybrid approach towards European and African cultures. The jury also awarded a special prize to young Canadian designer Vejas Kruszewski for his label Vejas. The creative will benefit from 150,000 of prize money, as well as a mentoring program. He hinted at his business plan for the next year, saying: "We're going to invest in developing footwear, and of course what really drives most brands financially is accessories." The third edition of the prestigious LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize was awarded by Lea Seydoux at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Wales Bonner follows London-based Portuguese brand Marques Almeida, which took home the title in 2015. A dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will take over an area of the ocean the size of Connecticut and there's "no progress" in finding a solution. A report from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium has a grim outlook for the ocean basin. An annual algae bloom that decays and expends oxygen from the water, killing any biodiversity in the region, is expected to cause a hypoxic zone (also called a dead zone) to expand almost three times larger than normal. A map revealing where the bulk of fertilizer runoff in the United States comes from. It's a manmade form of pollution disrupting the ocean that could have dire impacts. This year's dead zone should stretch about 6,800 square miles, and "no progress has been made" on the federal level in addressing the matter, the Louisiana researchers reported. The vast suffocation of ocean water in the Gulf of Mexico is an annual occurrence since the early 1970s thanks to mass-fertilizer runoff from industrial-scale meat production in the Midwest. The fertilizer used to create the United States' enormous corn crop supply drains into the Mississippi river just before blooming, then decaying, in the Gulf. "About 12 million people live in urban areas that border the Mississippi, and these areas constantly discharge treated sewage into rivers," NOAA wrote in a video explaining the dead zone. "However, the majority of the land in the Mississippi's watershed is farm land. Each spring as farmers fertilize their lands preparing for crop season, rain washes fertilizer off the land and into streams and rivers." The fertilizer contains enormous supplies of nutrients that feed phytoplankton growth, causing the massive blooms that result in dead zones. Gun-maker Smith & Wesson (SWHC) rose over 11% from Thursdays close after reporting a monster quarterly report. Revenue in the quarter grew 22% to $211 million. Earnings per share of $0.66 beat estimates of $0.54 and the company-guided range of $0.51-$0.53. This comes after a 7% rise on Monday following the Sunday shooting at an Orlando nightclub, which left 50 people dead and 53 wounded. One reason the stock may be surging is because analysts believe the outlook provided by management is conservative, given it hasnt accounted for a potential spike in demand that would come after the Orlando shooting. Basically, this guidance does not take into account any surge, any potential spike in consumer demand as a result of any of that, CFO Jeff Buchanan said. Basically, all we can do as a business is focused on the things we know, and delivering our and execute our strategy. So with regard to what happened, any impact on demand is unknown and therefore is not included in our guidance. Shares should benefit from not only a sizeable 4Q beat but also a view among investors that the solid guidance given on Thursday is beatable given what is assumed to be a surge in demand in coming months following the Orlando tragedy, Wedbush analyst James Hardiman said. The FBI will release its monthly background check data from its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in the beginning of July. Its seen as the best indicator of monthly gun sales. The recent tragic shooting in Orlando and subsequent gun control discussion are now expected to drive growth in background checks in the short-term, Hardiman said. The Orlando shooting adds to an already tragic list of gun violence over the past year that includes the Inland Regional Center for developmental disabilities in San Bernadino, California in December; a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado in November; the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June of last year. Story continues Event-driven sales The rally in Smith & Wesson shares reflect data showing strong gun demand after tragic events. The chart below highlights some of the most widely reported tragic events and the spike in gun background checks, which is a proxy for demand, following the violence. The largest month of growth for firearm background checks was January 2013, which saw an increase of more than 90%, according to Wedbush. This demand surge was prompted initially by the re-election of President Barack Obama, who had made tighter gun control legislation a part of his platform during the 2012 campaign and in the aftermath of the July 2012 shooting in Aurora, CO. The Newtown, CT tragedy a month after the November 2012 election further prompted an effort to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazine pistols. These events caused a flood into stores, but no ban materialized given lack of support in Congress. And when it seemed demand trickled off a bit, a handful of high-profile tragedies (beginning with the tragedy in Charleston, SC) hit the news in fairly quick succession, sparking a renewed interest by many to enact new gun regulations. The industry saw double-digit growth last summer. Data suggests, contrary to common sense, that Democratic presidents have been very good to the gun industry, at least in the short run, according to Wedbush securities. The drive? The National Rifle Association (NRA) has seized on regulatory comments that prey on gun advocates fear of governmental confiscation of guns. Yet, still, the likelihood of any actual gun legislation is exceedingly low, according to Wedbush. This should allow Smith & Wesson to continue to soar. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A hearing on the restraining order obtained by Amber Heard against Johnny Depp, in a divorce between the celebrity couple in which Heard has accused Depp of abuse, was called off on Thursday, a day before it was set to occur, court officials said. Heard was expected to testify at the hearing related to the restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, according to E! News and other media outlets. Instead, the next hearing in the divorce filed by Heard against Depp last month will occur on Aug. 2, court officials said in a statement. The restraining order is part of the divorce case. The delay allows Depp to gather more witnesses to defend himself against abuse allegations, while for Heard it allows the restraining order to remain in effect at least until the next hearing, said attorney Christopher Melcher, who previously served as chair of the state bar of California family law section, in a phone interview. It was not immediately clear which side moved to vacate the hearing set for Friday. Attorneys for Depp and Heard did not immediately return calls. There have been conflicting reports in the media about whether the two sides are moving toward a settlement in the divorce case. Depp's legal team had filed court papers seeking to prevent witnesses from testifying on behalf of Heard at the hearing on Friday, on grounds that the actress' legal team had not provided the names of those witnesses, according to a report on the website of People magazine. A judge on May 27 granted a temporary restraining order for Depp to stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from Heard and move out of the couple's shared condominium in downtown Los Angeles. The couple married in February 2015. Heard, 30, said in court filings that Depp, 53, was abusive to her throughout their marriage and that it culminated in an argument last month in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment. In a counter argument, Depp's lawyer said in court papers last month that Heard "is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Andrew Hay) June 17 marks the anniversary of one of the worst acts of hate violence against African-Americans, in at least a generation. Just days before the community of Charleston, South Carolina, began to remember the night when a lone gunman killed nine black worshippers at the Mother Emanuel AME Church, hatred struck again in the LGBTQ community in Orlando, Florida. The parallels between the acts of hatred run deep. Just like in Charleston, the shooter in Orlando entered a place of sanctuary and gunned down people when they were most unguarded and vulnerable. Just like in Charleston, the Orlando gunman had previously expressed hatred toward a historically marginalized minority group. And just like in Charleston, the bloodshed in Orlando drew international headlines and support from all corners of the world. Source: Mic/Getty Images But for one pastor in Charleston, this isn't just a time for a mere rehashing of grief and fear. "If all we do is sit around and sing songs and express our grief, this just becomes an empty exercise to assuage the guilt of other people," the Rev. Nelson Rivers III, pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina, said in a phone interview. "A year later, what we should be doing is announcing all the steps we've taken since the deaths." There have been some changes in South Carolina. After a contentious debate by lawmakers, the state removed a Confederate battle flag from statehouse grounds on July 10 . Formerly a symbol of Southern pride, the banner is widely seen as a symbol of racism and domestic terror. Yet despite several public calls to see the Charleston tragedy as evidence of a need for tougher gun control laws, national leaders still haven't taken action. The same seems to be true in the wake of Orlando. On Thursday, Democratic senators held a 15-hour filibuster until Republicans pledged to hold votes on measures that would expand federal background checks for gun buyers and prevent individuals on the U.S. terrorism watch list from buying guns, Reuters reported. But the measure is unlikely to pass in the GOP-controlled Senate. Story continues Nelson is vice president of religious affairs and external relations for the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. He will be participating in a handful of commemorative events in Charleston on Friday. Nelson will also travel to Orlando this weekend to meet with the Latino, Muslim and LGBTQ communities, he said. A year ago, Dylann Roof walked into Mother Emanuel while members met for bible study with their pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Roof killed the pastor and eight other worshippers, before he was arrested and jailed. He harbored white supremacist ideals, as evidenced by his website that contained racist rants and photo tributes to Confederate symbols. Roof faces the death penalty on federal murder charges and hate crime offenses. "I have to do it," Roof reportedly told the all-black church group before he opened fire. "You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go." The Rev. Nelson Rivers III, left, is pictured with Rev. Al Sharpton in North Charleston. N elson, who knew Pinckney and other Mother Emanuel victims personally, sai d previo us mass sho o tings "should have compelled us to action by now" on gun control. Like many others, in 2012, Nelson said he thought news that a lone gunman killed 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Con necticut, woul d spur legislative action. "People can dismiss what happened to the Emanuel Nine because it didn't happen to their mother, father, brother, sister or cousin," Nelson said. "When the children, church members and the people in that [Orlando] club become your brothers and sisters, then you become someone who gets in the arena to do something about it." For any middle and high school student, a top grade on a project for a history class is already impressive. Now imagine beating out students worldwide for those top marks. On Thursday, the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest, announced its 2016 national winners at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. Nearly 600,000 students from the U.S., its territories and select international schools abroad, submitted work related to the theme Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History at regional-level contests. But less than 1% of them (or nearly 3,000 students) were invited to present their essays, performances, documentaries or websites, at the finals that took place June 12-16. One of the first place prizes went to Amir Abou-Jaoude, 18, the Stanford-bound valedictorian of Henry Clay High School in Lexington, KY., who earned $1,000 and the title of National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar for his 2,500-word essay about the influence of Japanese woodblock prints on Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, such as Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Camille Pissarro and Mary Cassatt. Many of these painters were especially inspired by the Japanese artist Hokusai (Katsushika Hokusai), known for his famous Great Wave print from his 36 Views of Mount Fuji series. Monet remarked to Pissarro, something like Oh, this Hokusai wouldve made a great Impressionist, hes doing the same things were doing,'Abou-Jaoude says in a phone conversation with TIME. Picasso saw some of Cezannes paintings that were inspired by Hokusais prints and that inspired him to start working on cubism. So Japanese woodblock prints were not only crucial to the Impressionist [movement] but also crucial to the development of modern art. His papers title, A Pure Invention: Japan, Impressionism, and the West, 1853-1906, is a play on Oscar Wildes famous remark, The whole of Japan is a pure invention. Abou-Jaoude says, The Impressionists encountered this Japanese art after Japan opened to the West in 1853 after a period of isolation. Based on the woodblock prints, Japan represented this place where there was no industrial revolution, this pastoral wilderness, to the Impressionists and others in the West, but Abou-Jaoudes paper argues that they didnt realize how industrialized and militarized the country had become until the Russo-Japanese War of 1906. The Stanford-bound high school graduate decided to focus on Japanese woodblock prints after seeing the Art Institute of Chicagos collection. He was able to read Vincent Van Goghs letters to his art dealer brother Theo about such works, but a lot of the primary sources on this topic were in French and Japanese, so he had to stick to secondary sources, mostly research by art critics, art historians and art collectors. He also went to museums in Tennessee the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville and The Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga plus the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Growing up, Abou-Jaoude says his parents, dragged me to art museums for years and years to look at Impressionist masterpieces, and I used to not like to go because I didnt know what I was looking at, he says. But once I took AP Art History, I became grateful that I had seen all of that stuff already. It really helped. After wrapping up the Democratic nomination, focus has now shifted to whom Hillary Clinton will select as her vice presidential running mate ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July. The Wall Street Journal published Thursday a list of nine candidates reportedly being vetted by the Clinton campaign a list that includes senators, House members, cabinet secretaries and e r. But many of the candidates, while widely known in their home states or cities, are unknown to a national audience. Here's a look at some of the top the people on Clinton's potential VP shortlist. The progressive icon Source: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat and progressive star, is perhaps the best-known member on the list of candidates Clinton is reportedly vetting for the vice presidential slot. Her name is being mentioned more and more as a smart pick for Clinton in recent weeks. She's emerged as a top attack dog against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. And Democrats say her popularity among Sen. Bernie Sanders' left-leaning base could hasten the party's unity process after a protracted primary. Warren isn't swatting down the speculation, telling MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that she's qualified to step into the presidency if the need arises. And she fed into the speculation of her chances, after she met with Clinton in Washington, D.C. Warren does, however, come with downsides. Her progressive bonafides, while beneficial to courting Sanders supporters, could turn off right-of-center independents who are uncomfortable with Trump. It's a group Clinton hopes to woo against her unconventional opponent. And if the Clinton-Warren ticket won in the fall, the Republican governor of Massachusetts would appoint Warren's replacement. A special election would then follow, which Democrats would have a good shot at given Massachusetts' blue leanings. Some say it's not worth the risk to Democrats' chances of winning back Senate control. Democrats must net five seats in the fall to wrest control from Republicans a number that leaves little room for error. Story continues The swing-state senator Source: Andrew Harnik/AP Like Warren, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is well-liked among the progressive wing of the party. A popular figure in his own right in Ohio, Brown could help give Clinton a boost in his home state a crucial contest for any White House hopeful. Brown has served in some capacity as an elected official in Ohio since 1975 first as a state legislator, then secretary of state, member of Congress and senator since 2006. But similar to Warren's case, Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich would appoint Brown's successor in the Senate. And unlike Massachusetts, a subsequent special election would be a challenge for Democrats in a swing state like Ohio. Democrats often find it tougher to turn out their coalition of younger voters and minorities in non-presidential elections. The moderate Source: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Like Brown, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia also hails from a swing state, and could give Clinton a boost in a crucial contest in the fall. He's respected in the Senate, where he's seen as a serious legislator. And he's survived two tough elections, both to his current Senate seat in 2012, and as governor of Virginia seven years before that. Kaine is also a more moderate Democrat, who could help Clinton woo independents and Republicans disaffected by Trump. And Virginia's Democratic governor would appoint his replacement, which would ensure the seat stays in Democratic hands at least until a special election. Still, Kaine comes with other liabilities his biggest being his position on abortion. Kaine does not personally support abortion, due to his Catholic faith. To be sure, he is opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that granted women the right to legally terminate pregnancies. Still, his moral objection to abortion is a potential liability for Clinton, who's made reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign. The new generation Democrat Source: Julio Cortez/AP Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is also reportedly on Clinton's vetting list. The former Newark mayor and Senate newbie (he was elected to the Senate in a late 2013 special election) has a good story to tell. The African-American senator represents the party's diversity. And at 47, he's part of the younger generation of Democrats that could be set up for a future presidential run from a top position in the White House. He's also good at garnering positive headlines. While serving as mayor of Newark, a troubled city near New Jersey's border with New York, he once saved a woman from a burning house, and personally shoveled driveways of his constituents during a blizzard. Most recently, he was one of the most vocal members of Democrats' 14-hour filibuster to push for gun control in the wake of the shooting massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. But his propensity for the spotlight could also overshadow Clinton herself, who is notoriously press-averse. The anti-Trump Source: Eric Gay/AP Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has been rumored to be a potential Clinton vice presidential pick since the early days of the 2016 campaign. Democrats thought having the first person of Hispanic descent on the presidential ticket would draw Hispanic voters a critical voting bloc of the Democratic coalition to Clinton's side. And at only 41, Castro is in a good position to run for president in four or eight years. But with Republicans selecting Trump as their nominee, it's unlikely Clinton will need Castro to woo Hispanics. Trump has denigrated Mexicans on the campaign trail, bringing his disapproval rating among Hispanics to 89% in a new ABC News-Washington Post poll. From ELLE The film business is unusual in that nobody gets their start in the same way. Everyone's path is singular, and there is no one right way, only your own way. My personal start in film occurred because of an unlikely chance event in Tokyo, Japan in 1981. I was a modern dancer and choreographer in my mid-20s, having been sent to Tokyo to teach, choreograph, and perform. Modern dancers don't make a lot of money-it's a labor of love, so as I stood that day on the corner in busy Shibuya and wanted a cup of coffee in very expensive Tokyo, it was a big decision. There was a coffee shop on the right and one on the left. I don't remember why I picked the one on the right, maybe it had a more interesting awning or there was a plant outside, but that simple decision changed my life forever. The coffee shop was busy with no available tables, which is not unusual for Tokyo, and I noticed a Japanese gentleman who looked to be in his mid-70s who waved at me, offering me a seat at his table. This man spoke perfect English, and only later I found out he spoke 12 languages, had been Japan's top foreign war correspondent, a Buddhist monk, and currently happened to be head of cultural affairs for the Asahi Shimbun, the largest newspaper in Japan. We ended up talking for the rest of the afternoon, but what I recall most was that he said to me that "meeting was the beginning of parting." I replied that that was so very sad, but his response was that when you understand that this is not sad, you will know something very great. At the time, that sounded so wonderfully Japanese to me, and it was only much later that I began to understand its depth. Yutaka Tsuji and his wife became my Japanese mom and dad during my time in Japan. He was my teacher and mentor. Eventually he shared six stories that happened to him, and what they had in common was that they all happened on Christmas Eve, during different wars in different countries of the world, and were all about human connection. Story continues The stories were simple and profound, and I knew he had told me these stories for a reason, and I knew I had to pass them on. But how? Dance seemed too abstract, and I felt I actually had to tell the stories. They simply haunted me for years. Eventually, I applied to the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute, a program that I was completely unqualified for, as it's set up for women in the film business, but I wasn't in the film business. I applied anyway, and I unexpectedly got in. When I told some of the advisors the stories I wanted to make into a film-Yutaka Tsuji's stories-I was told to give up the idea if I ever wanted a job in Hollywood, that it was a recipe for disaster, as my film was going to be almost entirely in Japanese, had subtitles, flashbacks, and narration, and was a period piece set in World War II that had only one Caucasian character. But I didn't care, these were the stories I was compelled to tell. I made Tales of Meeting and Parting and it was, amazingly, nominated for an Academy Award for Short Film. This put me on my new path toward film and television. I love being a storyteller and feel lucky to have been able to tell very diverse kinds of stories on shows and films like Twin Peaks, The West Wing, Now and Then, Mad Men, Freaks and Geeks, Gilmore Girls, Ray Donovan, and in my current job as the Executive Producer/Director of Homeland. As things seem to come full circle, my earlier dance career has ended up being incredibly useful in terms of choreographing action sequences that hopefully have emotional resonance as well. Nothing is easy in the film business, and one needs a lot of tenacity, some kind of talent, a first chance and a little bit of luck. My luck was choosing the coffee shop on the right, as well as the generosity of some of the extraordinary directiors I learned from in the beginning of my career. The brilliant George Miller was the first filmmaker I ever met, and he was the one who told me Tsuji's stories were a film and allowed me to shadow him, my first time on a set. The extraordinary Steven Spielberg also allowed me to shadow him, ask him thousands of questions, and ultimately gave me my first job, on Amazing Stories So remember to follow your dream however crazy it seems, and tell the story you feel compelled to tell, no matter what anyone says, and then when you can, be generous and grab the hand of the next generation. * SFC given more power, CEO to sit on listing panel * Three month Consultation on proposals ends Sept. 19 * Proposal comes after investor frustration over current rules (Adds comment, context) By Michelle Price HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong proposed changes to its stock market listing regime on Friday, in a move that could curb the regulatory powers of the city's stock exchange and hand more authority to the securities watchdog in one of the world's top destinations for new share issues. The proposals come after investor criticism of possible conflicts of interest in the current framework where Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) acts as both the profit-driven market operator and regulator of initial public offerings (IPOs). HKEx has also clashed with regulator the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) over listing matters. In the 2013 run-up to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding's blockbuster listing, HKEx came out in support of Alibaba's so-called weighted voting rights while the SFC blocked the shares. Under the new proposals, two new committees will be created to develop and regulate listing policies in Hong Kong. HKEx's CEO will no longer sit on the listing committee while the SFC's CEO will sit on the newly created listing policy committee. The listing policy committee will steer overall policy on listing rules within the stock exchange while the listing function will continue to remain with HKEx. The proposals were published by SFC and HKEx in a consultation released on Friday that will run for three months. The new regulatory structure will help the exchange and SFC better spot and address problems in the market, including market manipulation, back door listings and the rise of shell companies, the SFC and HKEx said on Friday. "There are so many issues we are now facing, sometimes pricing manipulation, sometimes misconduct...to provide a one stop platform so everyone can holistically review everything together is a very good idea", said Brian Ho, executive director of corporate finance at the SFC. David Graham, chief regulatory officer and head of listing at HKEX said the current structure was not broken, but added the new structure, in removing the HKEx CEO from the listing committee "takes away the perception of the conflict around the commercial operations of HKEx." (Reporting by Michelle Price; Additional reporting by Elzio Barreto; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Elaine Hardcastle) By Stella Tsang and Tris Pan HONG KONG (Reuters) - More than 100 activists marched on China's liaison office in Hong Kong on Friday to protest against the detention of five booksellers after one of them recounted his ill-treatment by Chinese authorities. The disappearances had prompted fears that mainland Chinese authorities might be using tactics that erode the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997. Lam Wing-kee on Thursday told reporters he had been arrested and detained in China for more than eight months, and that one of his colleagues, Lee Bo, a British national, was abducted from Hong Kong by mainland Chinese authorities. The account contradicted China's official statements that its law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal in regard to the case. On Friday, demonstrators gathered at the liaison office, Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong, and protested against "cross-border abductions", saying the Hong Kong government had not done enough to investigate the case. The demonstrators also tossed over the front gate of the office several newspapers carrying front-page pictures of the booksellers, a petition letter and copies of books about Chinese President Xi Jinping, while a dozen police stood by. "Lam Wing-kee is really brave," said a protester who gave only his surname, Kwok. "I think after the speech, he is no longer able to go back to the mainland, or maybe mainland police will come for him." No officials of the liaison office were immediately available to comment. China's Foreign Ministry said it respected the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents and Lam's arrest was lawful. "Lam Wing-kee is a Chinese citizen," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. "He violated Chinese law while in China's interior. The relevant Chinese authorities of course have the right to handle it according to law." Hong Kong's acting leader, John Tsang, once again reiterated that it was illegal for any outside authorities to enforce laws in Hong Kong, but stopped short of saying what follow-up steps his government would take. "It is unacceptable to us," said Tsang, the city's financial secretary. All five of the men who went missing and later appeared in mainland Chinese custody worked at Causeway Bay Books, which had specialized in publishing and selling gossipy books about Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. It was returned to Chinese Communist Party rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" framework that guaranteed separate laws and freedoms not granted elsewhere in China for 50 years. Lam told a news conference he had been blindfolded, handcuffed and repeatedly interrogated in a small room where he was kept by himself, and barred from making calls to relatives or contacting a lawyer. He said he had been detained by a little known "Central Examination Group" of the Chinese Communist Party - a special task force that reports to senior Beijing leaders. "This means that he wasn't detained by rogue officials or local officials, but at the highest level," said William Nee, a China researcher of rights group Amnesty International. "This is a very explosive allegation and has the potential to really rock the authorities." One of the booksellers rejected Lam's statement on social media on Friday, however. Lee Bo, the British national, said on his Facebook page he had never told Lam he had been "forcibly taken away to China" and had never heard of the "Central Examination Group". Only one of the five, Swedish passport holder Gui Minhai, remains in detention in China. (Additional reporting by Stefanie McIntyre, Joyce Zhou, Sharon Shi, Twinnie Siu and Clare Baldwin in HONG KONG and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by James Pomfret and Clarence Fernandez) HSBC Holdings plcs HSBC American unit HSBC Finance Corporation has resolved a 14-year old class action lawsuit pertaining to events preceding the acquisition of Household International Inc. in 2003 by the London-based bank. The company will be paying $1.575 billion (1.11 billion) to settle the case. Owing to the settlement, HSBC is expected to record a pre-tax charge of roughly $585 million in the second quarter of 2016. Notably, the settlement is still subject to the court approval. Earlier, the company had disclosed that this lawsuit settlement could be for approximately $3.6 billion. HSBC spokesman Rob Sherman said in a statement, We are pleased to resolve this 14-year case that's based on events that took place before HSBC acquired Household. Following this settlement revelation, HSBC declined more than 2% on NYSE in the after-market trading. Backstory The case, filed in 2002, accused Household International and some of its top executives of misrepresenting statements regarding the companys lending practices and quality of loan portfolio. This led to financial results that showed overstated profits, which in turn inflated the companys share price. In Oct 2002, Household International had agreed to pay $484 million to settle allegations of using predatory lending practices in several U.S. states. Following this settlement, share price of Household International plunged over 50% from mid-2001 to Oct-2002. Thereafter, the companys shareholders filed this case. In 2009, a jury had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and HSBC was hit with $2.46 billion penalty in 2013. However, HSBC challenged the fine imposed on it and in May 2015, the company was granted partial relief by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Hence, a second trail was ordered. Notably, just a few days before the trail began, HSBC decided to settle the case. Lawsuit Resolved but Concerns Remain Though the settlement will be hurting HSBCs second quarter results, we believe that it removes a legal headwind. Over the last few years, the company has been paying billions of dollars in legal settlements for past business misconducts. HSBC has been striving hard to boost top line amid challenging operation backdrop. Driven by its cost savings and restructuring plans, the company has maintained its profitability. However, global growth concerns, feeble loan demand and stringent regulations are exerting pressure on the companys financials. Currently, HSBC carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked foreign banks include Barclays PLC BCS, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. ITUB and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM. All these 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 BARCLAY PLC-ADR (BCS): Free Stock Analysis Report BANCO ITAU -ADR (ITUB): Free Stock Analysis Report CDN IMPL BK (CM): Free Stock Analysis Report HSBC HOLDINGS (HSBC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Image Courtesy : Dhyan Foundation. 50 dogs were burnt alive in Chennai after being poisoned; some reports say the villagers wanted to do away with the dogs just because the dogs had supposedly injured grazing sheep and goats. Then there were reports of some residents of a building in Kolkata who hired men to kill dogs who frequented their building as they did not make a pleasant sight.There are many unbelievable cases of animal cruelty and killing like the case of a lady in Bengaluru who flung 8 puppies on a boulder to death just to teach their mother a lesson as she had delivered the puppies in a drain near the accused ladys gate! Sadly cases of animal cruelty abound in our land of ahimsa. Even the Government is encouraging culling of wild animals as they have the powers under Section 62 of the the ironically named Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 wherein certain animals can be declared as vermin and be permitted to be killed. This has enraged animal lovers and activists who believe that every animal has a right to live and contributes to the eco-system and has a role in the environment. Random killing and increasing the number of animals under the definition of a vermin is definitely not going down well with them. Isheita With Brownie a.k.a Leo! Even if one wants to feed strays, the resistance one has to face for a simple humane act is huge, though Indian Courts have ruled that animal lovers can feed strays and be offered protection in case of threat to their lives while doing so. Many years ago, I would see a stray dog eating paper near my house and was moved by its plight. One day I called out to the dog and it started following me and started frequenting my house for food, much to the chagrin of our insensitive neighbours who felt that the dog was a nuisance, despite the animal being extremely friendly and docile. I got the dog neutered and vaccinated but was pressurised to take the dog into my house since now that I had done all that, it was my dog. Also, some residents even a 70 year old woman and a middle-aged man almost broke the dogs leg with rods and stones and we nurtured it back to health while he lay in pain all day long. We were even threatened that the municipality would be called and the dog killed as it was a nuisance. Since we were moving cities, we were certain that the dog would not survive in the colony we lived in after we left due to extreme inexplicable hatred by some residents.Hence, we started scouring for people to adopt Brownie as we had named him and fortunately for us, we found a kind soul Isheita who took him in. But not every dog is as lucky. Strangely, more often than not, it is the so-called elite/educated class which shuns them and it is the roadside vendors, chai wala, or even beggars who despite not having much feed the strays and take care of them. Tejinder, an animal lover and activist from Dhyan Foundation, Bengaluru who has rescued all kinds of animals and even fostered many accident victim dogs says, Kindness and compassion towards animals sadly does not come naturally to people. They are seen more as a pain, as beings who would rather not be alive. The intolerance and insensitivity is seen to be believed. But there are those handful animal lovers who are working against all odds to ensure that animals are treated well and cruelty prevented. Though many cases are filed, sadly very few perpetrators are taken to task despite the laws. Killing of an animal is illegal and is an offence as defined under Section 11 of The Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals Act. It is a cognizable offence under Section 428 and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code. Merely having laws protecting strays is not enough, they should be more stringent and proper implementation is needed. Anurag also an animal activist says Torture is not restricted to strays, even some people with pets at home treat them cruelly and we have rescued many such animals from homes where they were tied up 24 hours, made to live in unhygienic conditions and confined to terraces come rain or sun, even physically abused and starved for days on end. Animal Birth Control Rules 2001 framed, under Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 states that only humane, legal and scientific ways are to be used to vaccinate and sterilized street dogs under Animal Birth Control Programme (ABC). Under this program, stray dogs are picked up, neutered, vaccinated against rabies and released in the place where they were picked up from. Anurag elaborates Every year different municipalities are allocated funds. Part of these funds should go to animal welfare including ABC surgery for dogs which costs Rs. 700-800 per dog. More often than not, municipalities find it easy to have dogs caught and either be killed or re-located to jungles. They hire contract killers and pay them between Rs.10-150 per dog. Many panchayats do mass poisoning of dogs. That is their way of keeping dog population in control. Dog carcasses are bought by many farmers to be used as manure for just Rs. 50-100. Once a dog bite happens in an area, often dogs of that area are beaten to death. Media is seen to cover of one side of the story with graphic pictures. They are never seen to educate people why dog bite happens. Anurag explains that dogs do not usually bite without provocation. They may bite when they perceive aggression on your part, such as a raised stick, or bending to pick a stone, or if you try to touch/catch them or in a bid to protect their owner, or their own territory, or their food/source of food. Mothers may bite to protect their young ones. Some tips on preventing dog bites: Do not run when you see a stray dog, or walk too fast. Do not stare at them. Just let them be theyll let you be. Worldwide statistics reveal that pet dogs are far more prone to biting than are strays. Dogs are classified as companion animals. They are usually friendly towards humans, and are almost always more scared of you than you are of them. Matthew Scully rightly said Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankinds capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they dont; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us. Mahatma Gandhi believed that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. It is time we treated our animals well. Saint-Etienne (France) (AFP) - Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky said Friday he would miss his country's final Group D game at Euro 2016 against Turkey on Tuesday because of a fresh hamstring injury. The midfielder added he was most probably out for the rest of the tournament too. The injury-prone 35-year-old fell on the pitch grabbing his hamstring while sprinting unmarked at the end of his team's 2-2 draw with Croatia, which was overshadowed by flares thrown onto the pitch by Croatian fans. "I felt well, I knew we needed a point so I forced it even when I had run out of steam," said Rosicky. "Unfortunately I paid for this." He added he would hardly play if the Czechs made it to the knock-out phase. "As you saw, I picked up the ball, I set out and got virtually knocked down -- but nobody even touched me." "It doesn't look good at all." Against Croatia, the Czechs came back from 2-0 down following a lacklustre 75 minutes. They equalised with a 94th minute penalty after the match was briefly interrupted to clear the flares from the pitch. The Czech Republic have a single point and need to beat Turkey if they want to stand a chance of reaching the last-16 phase. "The boys are due to play a wonderful match in which everything will be at stake. I'm sure I won't be there," Rosicky said. Rosicky played only 19 minutes for Arsenal last season because of injuries plaguing him since a Euro qualifier in Iceland in June 2015. His 10-year stint with the London side will come to an end in July as he wasn't offered a renewal to his contract. By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 (Reuters) - Ride-hailing companies Uber and Didi have brought many new dimensions to the startup industry, such as making billion-dollar-plus funding rounds routine. Now, they have added another to the list: sharing big investors who are backing both companies, even though they are fierce rivals. Uber, the leading ride service in the United States and much of the world, and Didi Chuxing, which claims 87 percent of the Chinese market for private vehicle ride-hailing, now share at least four investors: asset manager BlackRock, Chinese investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group, hedge fund Tiger Global and insurer China Life, according to investment records and sources familiar with the deals. "It's very unusual to allow the same parties to invest and get information rights of sworn mortal enemies," said Max Wolff, chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners. "But then again, it's also not common to raise $14 billion as a seven-year-old pre-IPO company." Uber has raised more than $13 billion in equity and debt financing since it started in 2009. Didi this week confirmed a $7.3 billion funding round, bringing total fundraising to more than $10 billion. The practice of backing competitors raises concerns about conflicts of interest, information sharing and whether one company may succeed at the other's expense, according to investors, academics and dealmakers. "I think it looks bad," said Rory McDonald, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who has done research on the topic. "These firms are still private, they are still growing and making strategic choices, and those choices are going to matter a whole lot." According to McDonald's research, companies that have a link to a competitor through a shared investor are on average less competitive and less innovative than if they did not have that tie. Uber said it does not have concerns about sharing investors with Didi and none of them had board seats or board observer seats, so they have less access to and control over the company. Story continues Didi declined to comment. The four investors came in at a later stage in the companies' lives, and likely will not have the influence and close relationships that early-stage venture capitalists would, people who are familiar with such deals say. And for funds such as BlackRock, investments are most often made in isolation by individual fund managmenet teams Startup investors generally try to avoid backing competing startups. But it happens on occasion: venture firm Andreessen Horowitz backed both photo-sharing startups Instagram and PicPlz. The firm later gave back its information access rights to Instagram and did not invest further. PicPlz eventually shut down. But as in the Andreessen Horowitz case, the conflict in venture capital often happens when a startup changes focus or creates a new product, months or years after the VC invested. What has raised alarms with the Uber and Didi investments is that the companies are already in conflict, and still investors are rushing headlong into both, say investors and industry experts. The four common investors are not betting on both companies to hedge one against the other, rather, they are putting the two together to get global coverage, said Paul Boyd, managing director at ClearPath Capital Partners, a wealth management company. The four common investors have funded Uber Global and not Uber China, a separate entity, according to a person familiar with the matter. Investors think Uber's future looks bright outside of China, but their backing of both companies signals Didi has the advantage in China, Boyd said. Regardless, the double dipping will likely create challenges for investors and the companies. Investors may be limited in their information rights and excluded from sensitive or competitive information, according to attorneys. Companies will have to worry about how much to share with investors who are also close with their biggest competitor. "Uber will not be comfortable allowing its investors to have carte blanche access to sensitive information where that information could find its way to Didi," said Nate Gallon, a partner at Hogan Lovells law firm. (Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York. Editing by Jonathan Webe and Andrew Hay) By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride-hailing companies Uber and Didi have brought many new dimensions to the startup industry, such as making billion-dollar-plus funding rounds routine. Now, they have added another to the list: sharing big investors who are backing both companies, even though they are fierce rivals. Uber, the leading ride service in the United States and much of the world, and Didi Chuxing, which claims 87 percent of the Chinese market for private vehicle ride-hailing, now share at least four investors: asset manager BlackRock, Chinese investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group, hedge fund Tiger Global and insurer China Life, according to investment records and sources familiar with the deals. "It's very unusual to allow the same parties to invest and get information rights of sworn mortal enemies," said Max Wolff, chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners. "But then again, it's also not common to raise $14 billion as a seven-year-old pre-IPO company." Uber has raised more than $13 billion in equity and debt financing since it started in 2009. Didi this week confirmed a $7.3 billion funding round, bringing total fundraising to more than $10 billion. The practice of backing competitors raises concerns about conflicts of interest, information sharing and whether one company may succeed at the other's expense, according to investors, academics and dealmakers. "I think it looks bad," said Rory McDonald, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who has done research on the topic. "These firms are still private, they are still growing and making strategic choices, and those choices are going to matter a whole lot." According to McDonald's research, companies that have a link to a competitor through a shared investor are on average less competitive and less innovative than if they did not have that tie. Uber said it does not have concerns about sharing investors with Didi and none of them had board seats or board observer seats, so they have less access to and control over the company. Story continues Didi declined to comment. The four investors came in at a later stage in the companies' lives, and likely will not have the influence and close relationships that early-stage venture capitalists would, people who are familiar with such deals say. And for funds such as BlackRock, investments are most often made in isolation by individual fund management teams Startup investors generally try to avoid backing competing startups. But it happens on occasion: venture firm Andreessen Horowitz backed both photo-sharing startups Instagram and PicPlz. The firm later gave back its information access rights to Instagram and did not invest further. PicPlz eventually shut down. But as in the Andreessen Horowitz case, the conflict in venture capital often happens when a startup changes focus or creates a new product, months or years after the VC invested. What has raised alarms with the Uber and Didi investments is that the companies are already in conflict, and still investors are rushing headlong into both, say investors and industry experts. The four common investors are not betting on both companies to hedge one against the other, rather, they are putting the two together to get global coverage, said Paul Boyd, managing director at ClearPath Capital Partners, a wealth management company. The four common investors have funded Uber Global and not Uber China, a separate entity, according to a person familiar with the matter. Investors think Uber's future looks bright outside of China, but their backing of both companies signals Didi has the advantage in China, Boyd said. Regardless, the double dipping will likely create challenges for investors and the companies. Investors may be limited in their information rights and excluded from sensitive or competitive information, according to attorneys. Companies will have to worry about how much to share with investors who are also close with their biggest competitor. "Uber will not be comfortable allowing its investors to have carte blanche access to sensitive information where that information could find its way to Didi," said Nate Gallon, a partner at Hogan Lovells law firm. (Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York. Editing by Jonathan Webe and Andrew Hay) (Corrects timing in first graf) By Joy Wiltermuth NEW YORK, June 17 (IFR) - Caliber Home Loans this week sold the first rated non-prime home loan securitization since the financial crisis, a US$137m mortgage bond deal that set an uneasy tone for the sector's reopening. The deal was a success with some market participants, who noted that demand outstripped supply by as much as six times on the deal's top class. But others, mindful of the lax controls in older-vintage residential mortgage deals, said the deal both expanded credit to riskier borrowers and cut back investor protections. "Our expectation was that as credit expands, governance would become better," said Dimitri Rabin, global RMBS and covered bond strategist at Loomis Sayles & Company. "Instead, I was surprised [the deal] expanded credit and was rated - and the quality of the governance had declined pretty substantially." Credit Suisse, sole bookrunner on the deal, declined to comment. Similar deals made up of mortgages to borrowers with less than stellar credit helped fuel the last crisis. Rabin and others pointed out that investor protections against loans going bad - a feature in other securitizations of prime quality home loans in recent years - had been cut back in the new deal. Despite the reduced protections, Ranieri Strategies managing partner Eric Kaplan said the deal nevertheless had been well executed. "The question is whether [this deal] or any other post-crisis deal's standards are sufficient to bring back the anchor investors necessary for a scalable market," he said. "Many investors say no, but fear that some will ultimately chase yield at the expense of standards." RMBS reform advocates, he said, hope this does not come to pass. FIRST RATINGS The new trade packaged loans from borrowers with an average FICO score of 701 and annual incomes averaging US$144,000. Caliber, owned by private equity firm Lone Star Funds, sold a couple of unrated securitizations of similar non-prime home loans to a few niche investors last year. Story continues But this was its first RMBS deal with ratings, garnering the imprimatur of Fitch Ratings and DBRS for the securitization of roughly 370 loans to riskier borrowers. "It's a positive that the rating agencies are somewhat re-engaging in this part of the mortgage market," said Jason Callan, head of structured products at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. The top US$89.424m A1 class of Single A rated notes priced at EDSF plus 160bp, or the narrow end of guidance of 160bp-170bp. The US$48.35m Triple B rated A2 class of 1.66-year notes priced as expected at EDSF plus 225bp. Despite the worries about sour loans, Fitch Ratings said in a call with market participants that the new deal included some protections that were improved from those in pre-crisis bonds. These include better operational and underwriting controls, such as the lender's promise to comply with the powerful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new "Ability to Repay" rule, Fitch analyst Suzanne Mistretta said. The rule prohibits lenders from originating higher-priced mortgages without factoring in a borrower's ability to make monthly payments. The deal also included a thick credit buffer, as its top-rated notes could withstand a sustained 30% drop in housing prices before seeing a loss, Fitch said. The issuance of home-loan securities away from agencies controlled by the US government has barely been sufficient to register on league tables. Only US$23bn of private RMBS has been issued year to date, according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch data, which showed half of the volume coming from resecuritizations of defaulted and re-performing old mortgages. "We want the market to come back," said Rabin at Loomis Sayles. " we are not sure if we could come back to market with a deal that has no documented relief from conflicts of interest." (Reporting by Joy Wiltermuth; Editing by Marc Carnegie and Natalie Harrison) Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi forces raised the national flag over the government compound in Fallujah on Friday, top commanders said, a breakthrough in the nearly four-week-old offensive against the Islamic State group's bastion. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went on state television to announce that his forces were in control of the city except for a few small pockets of jihadists. They met limited resistance from IS fighters, who were fleeing the city, the commanders told AFP, leaving the organisation on the brink of losing one of the most emblematic strongholds in its two-year-old "caliphate". It is the latest setback for the jihadists who have also lost territory in neighbouring Syria and in Libya in recent weeks. "We promised you the liberation of Fallujah and we retook it. Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours," Abadi said. Military commanders explained that the forces had raised the flag over the government compound in the centre of the city. "The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state's authority" in Fallujah, federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat told AFP. The overall commander of the operation, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, said that "Iraqi forces have now liberated 70 percent of the city". Significant parts of northern Fallujah, where thousands of civilians are believed to remain, have yet to be retaken. In December 2015, Abadi announced the liberation of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province where Fallujah lies, but it took several more weeks of fighting to establish full control. - 'Little resistance' - In the deserted, recently reconquered neighbourhoods of the insurgent bastion known in Iraq as the "City of Mosques", elite forces were consolidating positions, stocking up on food and weapons. Dozens of bodies of dead IS fighters were left to rot under blankets amid the rubble of homes destroyed by air strikes, rockets or controlled explosions of the hundreds of bombs the jihadists themselves laid across the city. Story continues Fallujah, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is one of IS's key historical bastions and its loss would leave Mosul as the only major Iraqi city under its control. The US-led coalition, which has carried out air strikes in support of the Fallujah operation, had initially favoured focusing efforts on recapturing Mosul. Abadi, who was facing huge political pressure over the reform of his own government when he declared the launch of the Fallujah operation, vowed Friday that Mosul was the next target. In the hours before the latest push into the heart of Fallujah, Iraqi forces retook several neighbourhoods in quick succession. "This operation was done with little resistance from Daesh," Saadi said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "They know, by experience, that a small number of IS fighters in urban terrain cannot stop an Iraqi security forces ground assault supported by coalition airstrikes," said Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. After months of military operations aimed at completely sealing off the city, IS had been expected to fight to the death in a protracted suicide holdout, but recent developments suggest the siege was porous. "There is a mass flight of Daesh to the west that explains this lack of resistance. There are only pockets of them left and we are hunting them down," Saadi said. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes since the operation began last month. - Aid groups overwhelmed - The first to escape IS rule were in rural outlying areas, in the early phase of the operation which saw a myriad different Iraqi forces seal the siege of the city. Residents of the city centre had been trapped in dire conditions for days, but recent advances have allowed large numbers to escape. IS "likely quickly discovered that they did not have the forces available to exert social control over the city and prevent civilians from fleeing once the assault into central Fallujah began," Martin said. The Norwegian Refugee Council, which runs camps for the displaced near Fallujah, said the sudden influx meant relief was drying up fast. "Thousands of civilians from Fallujah are right now heading towards displacement camps in a dramatic development that is overwhelming emergency aid provision and services," it said. With IS on the retreat in the city, a window has opened for civilians to leave but the journey remains dangerous, with several cases of fleeing civilians killed or wounded by roadside bombs. There were an estimated 50,000 people in the city when the operation began but it is unclear how many remain. Civilians have been used as human shields by IS, and those who managed to flee face the risk of sectarian-motivated abuse by elements of the pro-government forces. Fallujah is a Sunni Muslim city, and the involvement of Shiite militia groups in the operation had raised fears of sectarian revenge attacks. By Thaier al-Sudani and Stephen Kalin FALLUJA/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Friday entered the center of Falluja, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there. Government troops, supported by multiple air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured the municipal building, though the ultra-hardline militants still controlled a significant portion of Falluja, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives. Federal police raised the Iraqi state flag above the government building and continued pursuing insurgents, according to a military statement. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqi forces had taken back a portion of the city, although he added: "There's still some fighting to be done." Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory shortly after nightfall, as government forces continued pushing into parts of the city held by the militants. Security forces have "tightened their control inside the city and there are still some pockets that need to be cleansed in the coming hours," he said in a brief speech on state television. Troops could be seen coming under sniper fire earlier in the day as they entered a large mosque about 100 meters (300 feet) from the municipal building. Clashes also involved gun fire, artillery and aerial bombardment, sending clouds of smoke towards the sky above the city center. Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the military statement said. Sabah al-Numani, a CTS spokesman, said on state television that snipers were holed up inside the main hospital. Iraq launched a major operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, a bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against U.S. forces that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and Shi'ite-led governments that followed. The participation of Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias in the battle alongside the Iraqi army raised fears of sectarian killings, and authorities are already investigating allegations that militiamen executed dozens of Sunni men fleeing the city. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged pro-government fighters in a Friday sermon not to seek revenge against residents. There were no initial signs that Shi'ite militiamen had entered the city proper. Falluja was seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in Baghdad, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security in the capital. U.S. allies would prefer to concentrate on Islamic State-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city located in the far north of the country. Enemies of Islamic State have launched major offensives against the jihadists on other fronts, including a thrust by U.S.-backed forces against the city of Manbij in northern Syria. The attacks amount to the most sustained pressure on the group since it proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. MASS DISPLACEMENT Islamic State has begun allowing thousands of civilians trapped in central Falluja to escape and the sudden exodus has overwhelmed displacement camps already filled beyond capacity. More than 6,000 families left on Thursday alone, according to Falluja Mayor Issa al-Issawi, who fled following the IS seizure of city in January 2014. "We don't know how to deal with this large number of civilians," he told Reuters on Friday. The number of displaced people surpassed 68,000, according to the United Nations, which recently estimated Falluja's population at 90,000, only about a third of the total in 2010. Witnesses said Islamic State had announced via loudspeakers that residents could leave if they wanted. It was unclear why the group changed tack after clamping down on civilian movement only a few days ago. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has been providing aid to displaced people, said escapees reported a sudden retreat of IS fighters at key checkpoints inside Falluja that had allowed civilians to leave. "Aid services in the camps were already overstretched and this development will push us all to the limit," said NRC country director Nasr Muflahi. Islamic State, which by U.S. estimates has been ousted from almost half of the territory it seized when Iraqi forces partially collapsed in 2014, has used residents as human shields to slow the military's advance and help avoid air strikes. Addressing Falluja's residents, Prime Minister Abadi said in his speech: "We want there to be security and peace in this city for you to go back to live there." (Additional reporting by Saif Hameed in Baghdad, Phil Stewart in Washington and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Dominic Evans) Not everybody loves their job. But if youre bored at work it might not just be making you unhappy, but having a long-term effect on your brain. A new study from researchers at Florida State University suggests that a lack of stimulation in the workplace could a long-term cognitive effect on employees. And the same can be said for working in a dirty environment, the study found. Dr Joseph Gryzwacz, lead researcher on the study, said researchers have been divided in the past as to whether working in a dirty workplace or being stuck in an unstimulating environment takes the biggest toll on peoples brain health as they get older. But the new study suggests both can play a key role in employees cognitive wellbeing. Dr Gryzwacz and his team collected data from nearly 5,000 adults aged 32 to 84, looking at their workplaces and their ability to keep and use information they had learned. They also looked at their ability to complete tasks, manage time and pay attention, as well as any memory issues. The results showed that the more complex someones job is when it comes to learning new skills and taking on new challenges, the stronger their cognitive performance, especially for women, as they aged. Secondly, men and women who had jobs that exposed them to a dirty working environment saw a cognitive decline. (Pictures: Getty) Psychologists say that the brain is a muscle, while industrial hygienists point to chemicals in the work environment that may cause decline, said Dr Gryzwacz. There are real things in the workplace that can shape cognitive function: some that you can see or touch, and others you cant. We showed that both matter to cognitive health in adulthood. The practical issue here is cognitive decline associated with aging and the thought of, if you dont use it, you lose it. Designing jobs to ensure that all workers have some decision making ability may protect cognitive function later in life, but its also about cleaning up the workplace. The studys finding are published in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The fall of Fallujahs center to Iraqi government forces is a real loss to ISIS. The city 40 miles west of Baghdad embodies Sunni resistance in Iraq. It was the site of the first clash by ordinary Iraqis with U.S. soldiers, when Americans were basking in the glow of the invasion. It was also the first city to fall into the hands of Sunni extremists, and, after U.S. forces left the country, the first to fall to ISIS, way back in January 2014. If its fighters are driven from the Western neighborhoods still under ISIS control, its important on several levels, Douglas Ollivant, a former U.S. Army infantry officer and White House aide in charge of Iraq, told TIME. This is important in terms of Iraqi politicsFallujah was seen as a car bomb factory for Baghdad. And Im not on the ground there so I cant see whats happening, but it appears to be falling a heck of a lot faster than any of us anticipated. So maybe this mass strategy of encircling ISIS and making them fight on four different fronts may be working. The more territory ISIS loses, the better, because turf has translated to drawing power. In 2014, when ISIS was capturing territory at a rate that evoked the great Muslim expansion of 7th Century, its momentum was a tremendously powerful recruiting tool. But its been losing territory steadily for more than a year; Iraqi forces and Shiite militias took back Tikrit, then Ramadi, while Iraqi Kurds draw closer to Mosul. And that, along with Turkeys decision to finally clamp down on its long border with Syria, has severely affected recruitment. In April, U.S. officials said the stream of foreign fighters joining ISIS had been reduced to a trickle, from 2,000 a month a year earlier to just 200. Wages are down, with fighters paid just $50 a month, and electricity has been cut back in areas it holds, according to documents recovered from towns that ISIS fled. (The documents were assessed in A Caliphate Under Strain, published in April by the Combating Terrorism Center in West Point.) At the same time, ISIS is growing less and less popular among Muslims across the Middle East, polls show. A survey of Arab youth in 16 countries taken in January and February found 80% rejecting any possibility of support for ISIS , up sharply from 60% in 2015. Story continues The group still has 18,000 to 22,000 fighters inside Syria and Iraq, CIA director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday. And Brennan warned that as ISIS loses ground on the battlefield, it likely will step up its efforts both to plot terror attacks and inspire them abroad. The group claimed to have ordered the double-murder this week of a French officer and his companion outside Paris, and congratulated Omar Mateen for killing 49 people in Orlando in its name a day earlier. But shrinking territory and fundingmany young Sunni Muslims join ISIS for the moneyreally do help reduce the appeal of ISIS, which has developed into a movement. As Ollivant put it: Whats the point of being the Islamic State if theres no state? Osama bin Laden always argued that it was too early to set up a Caliphate, and claim dominion over the worlds 1.2 billion Muslims. Al-Qaeda was established to wage war on the West and slowly prepare the ground for the steps that ISIS hastened to after its successes in Iraq and Syria. If the group ever does lose those territories, Ollivant cautioned that Western governments may find themselves longing for the clarity of an enemy that waved a flag and operated in plain sight. Islamic Statewere actually pretty good at taking out states, Ollivant said, using the name the group uses for itself. Theyve been very very helpful in setting out target arrays for us. The problem is when they go back into the shadows. In the larger sense, all this does is make the hard-core jihadis go, Oh, al-Qaeda was right! And they go back to doing what they did before. By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A top Iraqi general said the army may permit Islamic State militants to flee the offensive on Falluja, but he expected most of them would fight to the end and predicted they faced an internal uprising in the northern city of Mosul. Troops recaptured Falluja's municipal building on Friday, although the ultra-hardline militants are still holed up in several districts and have left many streets and buildings laced with explosives. The military has made quick progress in the city, an hour's drive from Baghdad, prompting the exodus of more than 68,000 residents. Asked if government forces would allow militants a path out of the city to avoid intense clashes in built-up areas that could kill remaining civilians and destroy infrastructure, General Talib Shaghati Mshari al-Kenani said they would try. "But the Daesh terrorists in Falluja will detonate suicide bombs to kill innocent Iraqis, believing they will enter heaven by doing so," he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Kenani, who heads the Joint Operations Command waging Iraq's war against Islamic State in coordination with a U.S.-led coalition, was speaking at his Baghdad office inside a compound guarded by black-clad special forces commandos. In previous offensives, Iraqi forces have often left a way out for the insurgents to escape, but after losing nearly half the Iraqi territory they seized in 2014 and major transit routes including to neighboring Syria, their options are narrowing. Government troops launched a major operation with coalition air support on May 23 to retake Falluja, a bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against U.S. forces that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and later Shi'ite-led governments. The participation of Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias alongside the Iraqi army raised fears of sectarian killings, and authorities are already investigating allegations that militiamen executed dozens of Sunni men fleeing the city. Kenani said the military plan for operations inside Falluja proper did not include a role for the militias, grouped under a government umbrella called the Hashid Shaabi. He said the Hashid would likely not be needed either in the campaign for the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, a predominately Sunni city which Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has pledged to retake this year. "The tribal Hashid, local police and volunteers from the Sunni areas occupied by Daesh will help to hold land. No need for additional forces from outside the area," he said, in an apparent reference to Shi'ite militiamen. HOPES FOR MOSUL UPRISING Falluja is seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in the capital, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security, though U.S. allies would prefer to concentrate on Mosul. The army is pushing about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Mosul towards Qayara, where an airfield could serve as a staging ground for the future offensive, but progress has been faltering. Kenani said the military had information that residents inside Mosul, estimated at more than one million, were preparing to rise up against the insurgents and was in contact with them to synchronize such action with an external military assault. "Cooperation and coordination with Mosul residents will contribute in a big way to the armed forces in liberating the city from Daesh," he said, but gave no details. Groups inside Mosul have reportedly scrawled anti-Islamic State graffiti in public places and attacked militants at checkpoints, but there have not been widespread acts of resistance. Kenani, who is also commander of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) which has spearheaded battles against Islamic State for more than two years, said he expected special forces to remain in the vanguard against pockets of Islamist militants once the government regains control. "These sorts of operations which happen in densely populated areas don't require regular armed forces but rather special operations units which are small and adaptable." The roughly 10,000 members of CTS, established a decade ago with support from the U.S. forces, are considered the best-trained and -equipped fighters in Iraq. Kenani said they would be needed for the foreseeable future. (Reporting By Stephen Kalin) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel allowed hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers Friday, an official said, a week after revoking entry permits in response to a deadly attack. The 300 Palestinians are believed to be the first from the blockaded enclave to be granted entry to pray since Israel shut the border after Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightspot on June 8. That measure came during the first week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when tens of thousands of Palestinians visit Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. The permits issued for Friday were the regular weekly quota for worshippers at Al-Aqsa, said a spokeswoman for COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry unit which manages civilian affairs for Palestinians in the West Bank and liaises with Gaza. "Larger numbers were supposed to enter for Ramadan. That has been cancelled," she said. Israel imposed a tight air, sea and land blockade on Gaza in 2006, designed to prevent the Islamist Hamas movement that controls the territory from rearming. Around 53,000 Palestinians from the West Bank were also allowed into Jerusalem on Friday to pray at Al-Aqsa, the spokeswoman said. Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank had already been allowed to go there last week in an exception to the entry ban, she noted. The mosque compound, a frequent focal point of Palestinian-Israeli tensions, is revered by both Muslims and Jews, who refer to the site as the Temple Mount. The Tel Aviv attack was the deadliest in a wave of violence that began in October. One of the two attackers was arrested, while the other was shot and underwent surgery. Further details have been placed under a gag order by the Israeli authorities while the investigation continues. (Story corrects in fourth paragraph list compiler to William Reed Media, not Restaurant Magazine, in 13th paragraph, corrects to Sao Paulo, not San Paulo.) By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - Osteria Francescana ascended to the top of the annual ranking of world's best restaurants for its inventive twist on traditional Italian dishes, the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list released on Monday showed. The restaurant in Modena, Italy, which was runner-up on last year's list, switched the top spot with the 2015 winner El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain. "The chefs ambitious creations perfectly balance the demands of honoring heritage while embracing modernity," the list's organizers said of Osteria Francescana's chef-owner Massimo Bottura. The list, compiled by William Reed Media, was based the personal experiences of 972 chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and culinary experts, instead of a list of pre-determined criteria. The Best 50 list, which was launched in 2002, has gained prominence among chefs around the globe, rivaling the longstanding Michelin guides with its star system. Michelin assigned three stars, its highest rating, to Osteria Francescana and El Celler de Can Roca. "We did something epic," the 53-year-old Bottura told Reuters after the award ceremony held in New York City, the first time it was held outside of Britain. Another three-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York City was ranked third, moving up two spots from last year. Central in Lima, Peru held at No. 4 for a second year. Noma fell for a second year, down two places from the previous year to No. 5. The Copenhagen restaurant, known for its cutting-edge Nordic cuisine, held the best restaurant title in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Rounding out the top 10 were Mirazur in Menton, France; Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain; Narisawa in Tokyo; Steirereck, Vienna and Asador Etxebarri in Axpe, Spain. More than half of the restaurants in the top 50 are in Europe. Six are in the United States; six in South America and five in Asia. Three restaurants dropped off from last year's top 10. London's Dinner by Heston Blumenthal tumbled to No. 45, Gaggan in Bangkok slid to No. 23 and D.O.M. in Sao Paulo dipped to No. 11. Monday's ceremony also handed out individual chef awards. Pierre Herme was named world's top pastry chef, while Alain Passard, whose Paris restaurant Arpege landed on No. 19 on the latest list, was given the lifetime achievement prize. Dominique Crenn, who owns acclaimed Atelier Crenn and Petit Crenn in San Francisco, was recognized as the world's best female chef. The World's 50 Best Restaurants awards will be presented in Melbourne in 2017. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Michael Perry) Putting a smile on our faces! Jennifer Aniston went out to dinner with her hot, scruffy-looking hubby, Justin Theroux, on Thursday, June 16. The couple dined at The Smile in New York City. PHOTOS: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux's Love Timeline Earlier in the day, the buff actor was spotted showing off his muscles in a tank while biking around NYCs SoHo neighborhood. The Mothers Day actress, 47, and Leftovers star, 44, recently jetted off to the Bahamas for a romantic getaway. Despite recent reports that Aniston was sporting a baby bump on the beach, her rep told Us Weekly that Jennifer is not pregnant. The Cake star married Theroux during a hush-hush, star-studded ceremony in 2015 after a three-year engagement. The HBO star proposed to Aniston on his 41st birthday in August 2012. "Married life is so normal and fun and not much different," Aniston told Harper's Bazaar in March. "We felt married for so long. Im lucky because Justin is the funniest person I've met, and we make each other laugh. Laughter is one of the great keys to staying youthful." PHOTOS: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux's Matching Style Aniston also couldnt be more proud of her hubby, whose next role will be in the film adaptation of The Girl on the Train. "As they say in the business, 'He's on fire,'" Aniston told Harpers Bazaar. "I'm so proud of him." PHOTOS: Secret Celebrity Weddings Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics, and more delivered straight to your inbox! Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux continued their PDA-filled week in New York City on Thursday night. The Leftovers star held hands with his wife as they left the cozy restaurant, The Smile, and both Aniston, 46, and Theroux, 44, flashed their slight "smiles" upon exiting the eatery. WATCH: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Pack on the PDA During Romantic Getaway The A-list couple were also dressed in similar styles. Aniston donned an all-black outfit and a denim jacket, while Theroux wore a dark denim shirt and black pants, making them a perfect match. Splash News The two have returned to NYC following a romantic getaway in the Bahamas. In pics obtained by ET, the bikini-clad actress is seen sweetly kissing her shirtless hubby on the beach. While some tabloids speculated that Aniston was pregnant following the release of her vacation pics, her rep told ET that the rumors were completely false. WATCH: Jennifer Aniston Shows Off Toned Arms in Tank Top After Rep Denies Pregnancy Rumors "She is not pregnant. Shame on InTouch for making up the whole story, but this is not the first time they have done so," the Friends star's rep said on Wednesday. "What you see is her having just enjoyed a delicious big lunch and her feeling safe on private property." WATCH: Jennifer Aniston Sparks New Pregnancy Rumors in Bikini on Vacation With Husband Justin Theroux Related Articles Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are all about the romantic dates. The couple was spotted enjoying more quality time in N.Y.C. as they hit up The Smile in New York City on Thursday. Naturally, the two were all smiles as they left the Soho spot hand-in-hand. Aniston, 47, and Theroux, 44, dressed casually for their night out, with the actress wearing a black shirt and black pants while holding a denim jacket as she walked out. Her husband sported a gray, button-down shirt and black jeans. The sweet date is the second romantic outing for the couple this week. Aniston and Theroux were spotted out on Tuesday at Mercer Kitchen for lunch in Soho. WATCH: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Are Back from Their Sweet Vacation The intimate outings come just days after the couple returned from a romantic vacation in the Bahamas. A source previously told PEOPLE that the recent island getaway was an early anniversary trip for the couple. The two jetted off before Theroux prepares to leave for Australia for work on The Leftovers. Meanwhile, fans of the HBO show were treated to a shirtless photo of Theroux posted on the show's official Twitter account. The caption read: "#BTS with Justin Theroux on #TheLeftovers Season 3 set in Austin." (Reuters) - A black woman who joined protests at New Jersey's Kean University over racial conditions on college campuses was sentenced on Friday to 90 days in jail for making anonymous false threats against black students in an attempt to stoke protests, prosecutors said. Kayla McKelvey, 25, pleaded guilty in April to a single charge of creating a false public alarm after making the threats on social media, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. McKelvey was also sentenced to five years of probation and will be required to pay more than $82,000 in restitution among other conditions, the prosecutor's office said. Prosecutors said McKelvey was participating in a rally on racial issues on Nov. 17 and left the event early to post racist threats of violence on social media. "I will kill all the blacks tonight, tomorrow and any other day if they go to Kean University," a tweet read, prosecutors said. McKelvey then returned to the rally and tried to raise awareness of the fake threats, which prosecutors said prompted many students to not attend class in the following days and cost tens of thousands of dollars in additional security for the campus. An attorney for McKelvey could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. A Linked In account under McKelvey's name describes her as a past president of Kean's Pan African Student Union and a former homecoming queen at the school. Kean University, which sits about 10 miles southwest of Newark, is one of many universities where students staged demonstrations and walkouts last year in support of students at the University of Missouri, where the school president resigned after protests over his handling of racial issues. Shortly after those protests proliferated, several men across the country were charged with making actual threats on social media to kill black students. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) As the nation mourns after the mass shooting in Orlando on Sunday, touching stories of humanity continue to poke through the sadness, offering inspiration and comfort. That's exactly what happened on a JetBlue flight carrying the grandmother of one of the victims headed to the central Florida city on Tuesday. The story went viral when Kelly Davis Karas, a flight attendant on board, shared a post on Facebook revealing the touching compassion of passengers after they learned the older woman had lost her grandson, 20-year-old Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, in the attack. "Today my dear friend Melinda and I had the sad privilege of attending to his grandmother on our flight as she made her journey to Orlando to join her family during this unspeakable time," Karas wrote. "Knowing she was making this hard journey alone, JetBlue employees made sure to be at her side every step of the way." In an effort to make sure the woman was comfortable, the flight attendants offered her pillows, blankets and tissues for the duration of the flight. But the crew didn't stop there. Karas and the other attendant Melinda took it a step further, passing around pieces of paper to everyone on board so that they could sign their names as a kind gesture. "When we gathered them together to present them to her, we didn't have just a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned," she added. "Instead, we had page after page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support. There were even a couple of cash donations, and more than a few tears." JetBlue Passengers and Crew Mourn With Grandmother Traveling to Orlando After Grandson Was Killed in Massacre| Death, Murder, Shootings, Untimely Deaths, Real People Stories As the flight landed, Karas ended with a recently approved message from the airline: "JetBlue stands with Orlando," before witnessing the compassion continue as passengers prepared to deplane. Describing a moment that moved her to tears, Karas wrote that she watched as every person made an effort to say something to the grandmother before exiting the aircraft. "EVERY SINGLE PERSON STOPPED TO OFFER HER THEIR CONDOLENCES. Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her," Karas wrote. "But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process." Sunday's shooting in Orlando claimed 49 lives and injured 53 others after a gunman opened fire inside of Pulse nightclub. The shooter was killed at the scene. Luis, who went by "Omar," was a dancer and one of the youngest victims. He graduated from La Vergne High School in Tennessee last year. "He was such a caring, loving person. If you ever needed advice, he was that person," Daniel Suarez-Ortiz, who attended high school with Omar told PEOPLE. "He was just that person to go to for anything." TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japanese government bonds skidded on Friday, with yields soaring off record lows notched in the previous session and the superlong tenor bearing the brunt of the selling. The 20-year yield jumped 7.5 basis points to 0.170 after plumbing a record low 0.090 percent on Thursday. The 30-year yield rose 8.5 basis points to 0.230 percent, moving away from a record low 0.150 percent marked in the previous session. The 10-year JGB yield added 5.5 basis points to minus 0.150 percent. It had dropped to a record low of minus 0.210 percent on Thursday against a backdrop of growing fears that Britain could vote to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum. Campaigning for the vote was halted after a British member of parliament was shot and fatally wounded on Thursday. June 10-year futures ended down 0.48 point at 152.25. "We think JGBs were overbought, so we exited our position," said Tadashi Matsukawa, head of Japan fixed income at PineBridge Investments in Tokyo. "We might get back in, depending on what happens with Brexit, but JGBs themselves probably have already hit their near-term peak," he said. JGB prices accelerated their losses after poor demand at a "liquidity-enhancing" auction. Japan's Ministry of Finance regularly conducts these auctions of already-issued debt to improve market liquidity, but many investors were unwilling to buy at lofty price levels, market participants said. Tokyo stocks clawed back some of the ground they had lost on Thursday, which also undermined demand for bonds. The Nikkei stock index had shed 2 percent in the previous session after the Bank of Japan held monetary policy steady as expected at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. Earlier on Friday, Japan's government kept its assessment of the economy unchanged this month but warned that consumer prices are rising at a slower pace, casting more doubt on policymakers' three-year effort to shake off deflation. (Reporting by Tokyo market team; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) CONCORD, N.H. Eighty-eight Civil War flags, some tattered, some stained in blood and ripped by bullet holes, capture the attention of visitors to New Hampshire's State House. Since the 1860s, the banners have hung in the Hall of Flags at the state Capitol's front entrance. New Hampshire men once carried the flags as they marched into battle from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Flags from the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II and Vietnam joined the collection over the years, bringing it to more than 100 battle flags. "The old standards, pierced by shot and shell, dyed with the blood of our bravest and best, and hallowed by associations with the glorious fields and the noble dead, are priceless relics of the great contest," New Hampshire's adjutant general wrote in 1864, adding that the flags should be permanently displayed for all to see. But as time wears on, lawmakers and historians are debating the flags' futures: If left as they are, how long will they last? And what can be done to preserve them without removing them from public view? Statehouses, museums and libraries nationwide are grappling with similar questions as they seek to preserve historical relics. Maine moved flags from its Capitol to the state museum about a decade ago, placing the flags on special panels for preservation. Rhode Island is now exploring flag preservation and Connecticut recently completed a project. "Many states in our country have these collections, they've very challenging," said Gwen Spicer, a conservator who has restored flags across the country and created a preservation plan for New Hampshire's flags. But New Hampshire has been slow to act. A legislative historical committee scrapped Spicer's plan several months ago to sew the flags to netting to keep them from falling apart. Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper opposed it, and said he wants the Hall of Flags to remain as is until after the State House celebrates its bicentennial in 2019. He is skeptical of any plan that would remove the flags from the State House. His great, great grandfather marched in battle under two of the flags now on display. "That's pretty moving and pretty meaningful," Jasper said. Advocates for preservation say leaving the flags as they are could accelerate deterioration. State Rep. David Welch, a Republican, has served on a committee on flag preservation for two decades. Money was initially an issue; the latest proposal to put the flags on netting would cost $20,000 to $40,000 each, Spicer said. The sale of New Hampshire-themed bottles of vodka at state liquor stories brought in nearly $90,000 since 2013 and is expected to bring in about $70,000 more. Perhaps greater than money is the fear of potentially damaging the flags or changing the current display. The Hall of Flags is the first stop for thousands of New Hampshire fourth graders touring the State House each year, and lawmakers say seeing the real flags in their original condition make the lessons more compelling. "They see real blood stains on there, real smoke, real bullet holes, and then they hear the story and they're absolutely thrilled to see them," Welch said. But Spicer, the conservationist, cautions against doing nothing. She says the way the flags hang now creates stress on the old material, and that the silk and cotton will eventually deteriorate by exposure to light and temperatures. But more than that, Spicer says key historical facts are missing if the flags remain as they have been for more than a century. Removing the flag and spreading them out even if it means displaying them outside of the Statehouse could show new battle honors or other tidbits of information that tell a richer history. "Part of doing nothing, letting them fall to dust, is that there is no documentation of this collection," Spicer said. "We're not able to actually tell the full story that they have the potential to tell." Jo Cox, the 41-year-old Labour Party member of Parliament for Batley and Spen who was killed Thursday, was a rising star in British politics. The activist was elected to Parliament for the first time last year and quickly made a name for herself on matters such as immigration, Syrian refugees, and Britains membership in the European Union. Prior to that, she spent a decade working at Oxfam, the British aid agency, in various senior capacities in the U.K., U.S. and Brussels. Immediately before she was elected to Parliament in May 2015, she worked at the Freedom Fund, an anti-slavery organization, and at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to a biography on her website. Cox represented an area in which she was born and raisedand of which she was proudin Yorkshire, as can be seen in her maiden speech to Parliament. But that speech is notable not just for her touting of her constituencys typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages, but also for her reference to how diverse the area is. Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us. Cox also lauded her constituencys spirit of nonconformitya spirit she herself exhibited on several occasions as an MP. She was one of 36 lawmakers who nominated Jeremy Corbyn to be the Labour Party leader, but she voted instead for Liz Kendal, his rival, in the leadership election. She later said she regretted nominating Corbyn, who is now the partys leader. Last month, after the partys disappointing election results, she said: I dont think its time for a leadership challenge against Jeremy, but I do think Jeremy needs to personally recognize that this isnt good enough. Story continues Recommended: Why the Stanford Judge Gave Brock Turner Six Months Nor was Corbyn the only target of her criticism. She called David Cameron, the British prime minister, and President Obama a huge disappointment on Syria, where she favored ethical military action to end the civil war and bring President Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table. She also supported the U.K. admitting 3,000 child refugees from Syriaa controversial stand in a country where the issue of immigration is contentious. You can watch the full speech here. Heres an excerpt: I recognize that this is not easy, but tonight we are being asked to make a decision that transcends party politics. Any member who has seen the desperation and fear on the faces of children trapped in inhospitable camps across Europe must surely feel compelled to act. I urge them tonight to be brave and bold, and I applaud the honorable and learned member for Sleaford and North Hykeham [Stephen Phillips] for an incredibly principled, personal speech. In the shanty towns of Calais and Dunkirk, the aid workers I spent a decade with on the frontline as an aid worker myself, tell me that the children there face some of the most horrific circumstances in the world. Surely we have to do the right thing tonight and support the Dubs amendment. Cox was also a passionate supporter of Britains continued membership in the EU, and her Twitter feed over the last few days urged Britons to vote to remain in the referendum on June 23. She acknowledged that immigrationwhich supporters of the so-called Brexit cite as a major reason for wanting to leavewas a legitimate concern that didnt make someone a racist or xenophobic, but said it wasnt a good reason to leave the EU. Recommended: The Coming Air War Against Donald Trump Over half of all migrants to Britain come from outside the EU, she wrote, and the result of this referendum will do nothing to bring these numbers down. Cox was born in Batley, England, on June 22, 1974. The BBC reports she attended Heckmondwike Grammar School and became the first person in her family to go to college. She studied social and political studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge, from which she graduated in 1995. Heres more: After graduating, she worked as an adviser for the Labour MP Joan Walley and then Glenys (now Baroness) Kinnock. By the end of the 1990s she was head of campaigns for the pro-European pressure group Britain in Europe. She is survived by her husband, Brendan Cox, and their two children, Cuillin and Lejla. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Joey Feek's life and battle with cancer will soon hit the big screen. In addition to his blog posts that went viral documenting his wife's illness, Rory Feek had also been documenting his Joey's journey on video. The result is the documentary To Joey, With Love, in theaters for one night only on Sept. 20. Rory, who marked what would have been his 14th wedding anniversary to Joey on Wednesday, calls the film "my gift to her." The story begins a few weeks before their daughter Indiana was born in February of 2014 and runs through this past spring. Joey lost her battle with cancer on March 4, she was just 40-years-old. "Most people know Joey and I for the five months we spent in Indiana the beautiful, terrible days and weeks last fall and winter that we intimately shared through my blog posts," Rory wrote on his blog This Life I Live. "They got to see Joey die. To see her face death bravely and pass to the other side with honor. "But Iad like for people to have the chance to see my wife live. To see the incredible woman that she was before the doctors said there was nothing more they could do ... so they can better understand the amazing impact sheas had on me and everyone around her after she learned that the end was coming." Rory continued: "Joey didnat live to see her 41st birthday, but this September, just a week or so after her birthday on the 9th ... my wife will get the chance to live again. On a movie screen, her heart will start beating and her story will come to life once more and it will be my gift to her. And to our girls. And to our friends and family and all who loved her." John Kasich and two other prominent Republicans said on the one-year anniversary of Donald Trumps announcement speech that they wont endorse him for president. Kasich, who ran against Trump in the primary, was asked on MSNBC Thursday about the pledge he signed saying he would support the eventual nominee. Its painful, the Ohio governor said, NPR reports. Look Im sorry that this has happened. Well see where it ends up. Im not making any final decision yet, but at this point, I just cant do it. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told the Washington Post that not only would he not endorse Trump, he wont vote for him, either. I guess when I get behind the curtain Ill have to figure it out, he said of casting his ballot. Maybe write someone in. Im not sure. Hogan had endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the primary, who later went on to back Trump. Fred Upton, a fifteen-term Republican representative from Michigan, told the Detroit News that Trumps candidacy had gone off the track and that he is going to stay in [his] lane. Theres a lot of things that folks are not happy about with either of these two candidates, Upton said. Were running our own race, and dont look for me to endorse anyone in this race probably the rest of the year. John Stamos is staying in the Fox family. Following the cancellation of his short-lived Fox comedy Grandfathered, the network has cast the Full House favorite as a series regular in the second season of Scream Queens, Variety has learned. Stamos is a new addition to the A-list ensemble cast. Returning members from the original season are Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Billie Lourd, Niecy Nash and Glen Powell, who all will reprise their original characters. Scream Queens season 2 which returns on Tuesday, Sept. 20 will be set in a hospital, after season 1 of the Ryan Murphy horror-anthology series was set in a sorority house. Putting the same characters in a new setting for the fresh episodes, the hospital will be run by Dean Cathy Munsch (Curtis), who has moved on after abolishing the college Greek system and traveled the world in search of a new mission. (For detailed season 2 character descriptions, click here.) Stamos will play Dr. Brock Holt, the hospitals brilliant, but secretive, head surgeon. More new cast members will be announced at a later date. Scream Queens marks a reunion for Stamos and Murphy, following guest-starring spots in Glee and The New Normal. The horror-comedy hails from Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Stamos short-lived Grandfathered struggled to find an audience this past TV season, but he was get for Fox who developed the 2015-2016 family sitcom as a vehicle particularly for the star. Stamos is repped by WME. Related stories Fox Cancels 'The Grinder,' 'Grandfathered,' 'Bordertown' After First Seasons Evolving TV Ratings Yield Confusion Among Talent, Fans Over What's a Hit TV Land Icon Awards Celebrate Classics With John Stamos, Debbie Allen, Norman Lear 17 Jun - Jonas Gaffud, Philippine's beauty queen maker, is determined to give his best effort in preparing Miss Universe Philippines 2016, Maxine Medina, for this year's Miss Universe pageant. As reported on PEP News, Gaffud, who appeared at the press presentation of Miss Manila 2016 recently, shared that they are already informed about Medina's strength and weaknesses, and will prepare her well for the upcoming pageant. "I know that there are many issues about Medina's weakness in the Q&A portion, that she is not eloquent. If they know Maxine, they will know that she is an eloquent speaker. But when she's nervous, she finds it hard to speak. But we will prepare her for that," said Gaffud. Another thing about Medina that he will have to prepare is her walking. "I have to help her become more confidence in her walk," he said. Meanwhile, Gaffud, who attended the Miss USA pageant earlier alongside Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, where Miss District of Columbia Deshauna Barber was declared the winner, stated that Wurtzbach is currently busy with her AIDS awareness campaign. "She is attending seminars about AIDS for her talk at the United Nations in September. She doesn't want to speak about the subject without full knowledge, so she is learning all that she can," he said. Gaffud and his team, Aces and Queens, are responsible for training many of Philippine's beauty queens, including Megan Young (Miss World 2013), Ariella Arida (Miss Universe 2013 3rd Runner-up), Janine Tugonon (Miss Universe 2012-1st Runner-Up), as well as the current Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach. (Photo source: pep.ph) The 37th Durban Intl. Film Festival (DIFF) kicked off June 16 with a youthful and energetic doc that was warmly received on whats celebrated across the country as Youth Day. As South Africa commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, a series of student protests that were an emotional high-water mark of the anti-apartheid struggle, the festival opened with The Journeymen, a crowdpleaser by newcomer Sean Metelerkamp, who hit the road for seven months along with fellow photographers Wikus de Wet and Sipho Mpongo to shoot the documentary. Filmed on three chest-mounted GoPros that chronicled their epic, 15,000-mile road trip across the country in 2014, The Journeymen offered a candid snapshot of a nation at a crossroads, with South Africans from a diverse range of backgrounds looking back on two decades of post-apartheid democratic rule. Introducing the movie, acting festival director Peter Machen said, It shows us how far weve come, and how far we have to go in fulfilling Nelson Mandelas dream ofan equitable society. Machen struck a reflective chord early on, starting his speech by thanking all the brave souls whose work over nearly four decades have helped in bringing this mighty DIFF train into the station. It was a reminder that South Africas oldest film festival has faced its own struggles this year an old but powerful locomotive solemnly chugging uphill. For the organizers, the opening-night pageantry offered a chance to get beyond the embarrassing headlines of recent weeks, when a row involving the University of KwaZulu-Natal, whose Center for Creative Arts manages the festival, South African super-producer Anant Singh, whose Shepherds and Butchers was slated to bow this years proceedings, and fest manager Sarah Dawson put the fest in jeopardy. When manager Dawson abruptly resigned last month, citing differences with DIFF management over the selection process that tapped Shepherds for the opening night, Machen stepped in to seize the reins of a festival whose credibility was at stake. Story continues Addressing a controversy that spilled over into the headlines, Machen noted last night, We need to have dialogue, not shouting matches. Echoing the mood, newly appointed director of the Center for Creative Arts, David Maahlamela, channeled his inner Dickens, adding, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Yet for a festival born under the dark cloud of apartheid, when it offered a platform for controversial movies that were frequently banned by the government, DIFF continues to offer a bold voice for works from around the continent. This years edition will again have a strong local flavor, with nearly half of the 100 feature-length films screening in 15 venues across the city showcasing the works of African helmers. For South Africa, the fest will include 10 fiction features and 14 docs. Among the highlights will be director John Barkers political mockumentary Wonder Boy for President, starring South African comic Kagiso Lediga, which will have its world premiere June 17; and Tess, a hard-hitting drama about a 20-year-old prostitute in Cape Town whose life is torn apart by drug addiction and sexual violence. The fiction feature debut for Meg Rickards, whose doc 1994: The Bloody Miracle, won an audience award in Durban in 2014, it has its world premiere June 18. Alongside the screenings will be a wide-ranging industry program that showcases DIFFs important role in bolstering filmmaking around the continent. In addition to a series of workshops and panel discussions, the seventh annual Durban FilmMart will offer 19 projects from across Africa a chance to meet with potential financiers, co-producers and distributors. And the ninth edition of Talents Durban, in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, brings together 20 African filmmakers for a series of workshops, master classes, and networking opportunities with industry professionals. The 37th Durban Intl. Film Festival runs though June 26. Related stories South Africa Launches Black Filmmakers Fund Locations Africa Sets Goals for Luring Prod'n to Region Durban's Regional Film Commission Ups the Ante A Massachusetts probate judge has issued a series of questions in the lawsuit brought by Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and George S. Abrams over their removal as Trustees of the Sumner M. Redstone National Amusement Trust. The lawsuit was filed on May 23 after Dauman and Abrams were ousted from the entity that has voting control over Viacom and CBS. The complaint asserts that Shari Redstone is manipulating her father to take control - and is a piece of the massive litigation trail that explores Sumner Redstone's competency at age 93, which also includes Redstone's own lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court as well as actions in Delaware Chancery Court. As to the questions from Judge George Phelan, they can pretty much be boiled into two categories. The first and last question is a variation on the same topic: Does a Court have to find Sumner Redstone mentally incapacitated as a predicate to a finding of undue influence by Shari? If Sumner were not mentally incapacitated and had not been unduly influenced to do so by Shari, do the terms of the Trust authorize him to have removed the trustees for no reason? The questions shouldn't be taken as evidence of which way the judge is leaning in advance of a hearing on June 30, when he will decide whether to expedite Dauman's lawsuit. The defendants are arguing that Dauman and Abrams have no standing and that the dispute belongs in California anyway. It's jurisdiction and under what state's authority that comprise the bulk of the judge's questioning. Phelan also wants to know whether California or Massachusetts law applies to interpretations of the Trust including what constitutes mental incapacity, how each state defines such and how the language of the Trust as well as California vs. Massachusetts law deal with the issue of influence. Plus, he wants the parties to brief him on how other factors like administration of the Trust and Sumner's age and limitations impact where this dispute should play out. Read More: Viacom to Cover Philippe Dauman's Legal Bill in Sumner Redstone Lawsuit Judi Dench is set to take the British crown. Again. The Oscar winner will star as Queen Victoria in Working Title Film's Victoria and Abdul, with Stephen Frears set to direct. Focus Features will release domestically, and is co-financing in association with BBC Films. Universal is set to distribute internationally. Based on Shrabani Basu's book, Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant, and with a screenplay by Oscar-nominated writer Lee Hall, who won a Tony for Billy Elliot, the film will tell the true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's reign. Abdul Karim was a young Indian clerk who traveled from India to London to participate in Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1897. He soon found himself forging an unlikely and devoted alliance with the monarch, one that her household and inner circle attempted to destroy. Victoria gave Karim the name "the Munshi," often translated as "clerk" or "teacher," and appointed him her Indian Secretary along with other honors. He served during the final 15 years of her rule. The film will mark the second time Dench has played the historical figure (she was Academy Award nominated for her royal turn in 1997's Mrs. Brown), her third collaboration with Frears (she was nominated again for their last outing together, Philomena) and the director's fifth with Working Title. Victoria and Abdul was developed by Beeban Kidron and Lee Hall at Cross Street Films with BBC Films, and is being produced by Kidron, Academy Award nominee Tracey Seaward (The Queen) and Working Title's co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. "BBC Films is delighted to have supported Lee Hall's terrific script and extremely excited to be back in business with the winning combination that is Stephen Frears and Judi Dench," said Christine Langan, head of BBC Films and exec producer for Victoria and Abdul. Story continues Focus chairman Peter Kujawski commented: "It is a true privilege to collaborate with the great Stephen Frears and the legendary Judi Dench to tell this story of discovery, and it is always an event when Tim and Eric make a film that promises to move and delight audiences around the world." Victoria and Abdul is due to go into production this year for a 2017 release. The film announcement comes just as ITV and PBS ready their big-budget series Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman and focusing on the Queen's teenage years. The eight-part drama is due to launch in the U.K. later this year and on Masterpiece in 2017. Read more: 'Victoria' Teaser Unveiled by ITV Ahead of MIPTV Premiere dwave quantum computer Einstein called it spooky action at a distance. Thats because entanglement, a voodoo-like phenomenon in quantum physics linking particles that once interacted, seems to surpass the speed of light, violating the cosmic speed limit. Because of this, it doesnt fit in with Einstein's theory of relativity, so he concluded that it was too ludicrous to be real. But it is real, as physicists proved last year. And its actually going to be pretty useful, whether for a form of computing that is exponentially faster than what we have now, the creation of unbreakable codes and a more secure internet, or even for solving problems in chemistry and developing new drugs and materials. Now, quantum computing researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia have gotten even better at detecting this spooky phenomenon, which has big implications for the future of entanglement. Quantum cars Heres how entanglement works. Imagine your friend is holding two matchbox cars a green car and a yellow car, one in each hand. If he mixes them up behind his back, their information becomes entangled in a way if he unfolds his right hand and reveals the green car, you know that the yellow car must be in his left hand. Now imagine these are special cars quantum cars. Until your friend reveals one to you, they are undefined, shifting randomly between green and yellow with equal chances of being either color, Cosmos explains. But once you look at one car, the colors of the cars stop changing. If the car youre looking at has frozen at green then you know that the color of the other car must be yellow. So in a sense, the green car has affected the yellow car. And this can happen at any distance. If you have one friend standing in front of you with one car and another friend standing on, say, the moon with the other car, the cars are still entangled, instantaneously affecting each other. So having information about one particle in an entangled ensemble reveals an "unnatural" amount of information on the other, regardless of how many millions or billions of light years separate them, a press release writes. Story continues It allows us to look at one particle that interacted with another particle in the past and know what the other particles state is even if we cant read it because its on other side of universe, Alberto Peruzzo, a senior research fellow with RMIT University's School of Engineering and Director of RMIT's Quantum Photonics Laboratory, told Business Insider. When this is applied to computing, it allows for algorithms that are extremely fast far faster than any algorithms we can come up with using classical mechanics. Computing at warp speed Unlike traditional computers, which are binary and limited to just 0 and 1 (on or off), quantum computing uses particles that can exist in multiple dimensions, and can be 0, 1, 2, or more. This is called superposition. So much more information can be stored and transmitted, said Zixin Huang, a PhD student working on the experiment, in the press release. Quantum computing relies on entanglement between individual particles to store information. But theres a catch. In order to move forward with quantum computing, scientists have to find a way to make sure the particles in question are actually entangled. One of the problems we have today in the lab is that we need to certify that we have achieved entanglement in an experiment, Peruzzo said. When you have a higher number of particles in a quantum state, the dimensionality of system grows very fast. It quickly becomes very hard to actually find that this system is entangled. The recipe for entanglement The key ingredient to the new method is something called mutual information, which quantifies the amount of information obtained about one random variable through another random variable. The recipe is this: We take a two particle system, we calculate mutual information by doing measurements on each of these two particles, Peruzzo said. By comparing the mutual information to a threshold we can certify that we have entanglement. Although at the moment this method can only be used on bipartite (two particle) systems, the scientists are working on extending it to even more particles. They hope it will allow for simpler operations, cutting back the amount of measurements scientists have to make to determine if particles are, in fact, entangled. Other methods require a more sophisticated and complex approach, Peruzzo said. What we did in this work is show a very simple method that allows us to make faster progress in the lab. NOW WATCH: Physicists came up with a simple way you can outperform supercomputers at quantum physics More From Business Insider DECATUR Isabella Ledesma isn't even sure she's going to do choir in seventh grade. Yet she's one of 17 students helping out with a Superheroes to the Rescue day camp at St. Patrick School this week to help raise money for the junior high choir to take a trip to Cincinnati next spring. I'm kind of busy right now because my family is moving, but I like to help so (the adults) don't have so many kids to deal with, said Isabella, 11. Referring to the camper she's paired up with, 8-year-old Alister Kennedy, she said she tries to help him with ideas, but he has good ones, too. Isabella confided that she's only a little nervous that the boy's mom, Sara Kennedy, is one of her teachers at St. Patrick. Yet the third-grader seemed to be having a great time trimming aluminum foil from his Shield of Faith, then following Isabella's direction to press on the foil so that the cross underneath would stand out. It actually shows! Cool! Alister exclaimed. Billie Shay, music and technology teacher at St. Patrick, said the camp started with superheroes the children know, such as Superman, Captain America and Wonder Woman. The focus then shifted to real heroes in human history, such as the Roman Catholic saints and in the children's lives and what makes these people heroic. The four classrooms devoted to the camp are designed to bring all elements of STREAM education into play: science, technology, religion, engineering, art and math. In third-grade teacher Pam Martin-Hull's room, for example, the shield-making was based on Ephesians 6:16-17, which reads in part: take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one ... Fifth-grade teacher Nick Blackburn, meanwhile, had campers build superheroes after choosing materials and totaling the cost of each item in advance. You don't have any dollar limit, but I want you to use what you take, he said. Then kindergarten teacher Lara Vespa helped students make books about superheroes in their lives, and resource teacher Karen Layden led them playing games in the brain break room, involving physical and technological varieties. The large number of junior high volunteers meant that only a handful of the 21 campers in grades 2 through 5 had to share their counselor with another camper. Among the young volunteers doing double-duty were seventh-graders Bailey Nihiser and Sarah Keys, both 12. I like helping the kids so they can bring good stuff home to show their families, Sarah said. Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton arriving at the Royal Ascot. (Reuters/Andrew Boyers) Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton arriving at the Royal Ascot. (Reuters/Andrew Boyers) The Duchess of Cambridge proved to be the queen of effortless beauty once again when she stunned the crowd in her elegant Dolce and Gabbana ensemble at the Royal Ascot horse racing event. Kate Middleton arrived in a carriage with her husband Prince William to grace the event. Their little ones, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were not in sight. The annual race is popular for attracting attendees arriving in extravagant - and sometimes outrageous - hats. But Kate definitely pulled a show-stopper with her head gear without looking tacky. (Adds details, background) By Daniel Bases NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Kentucky Governor Matthew Bevin on Friday issued an executive order abolishing and immediately reorganizing the administration of the state's underfunded public pension system. The order abolishes the Kentucky Retirement Systems Board of Trustees and immediately creates the Kentucky Retirement Systems Board of Directors, which Bevin said would include more investment expertise among its expanded membership. "The additional members must have investment experience," the order said, adding that the goal is to also increase transparency and eliminate conflicts of interest, the order said. Kentucky's public pension plans are underfunded by at least $30 billion. In April, Bevin signed an executive order to remove the KRS board chairman. The current board, however, did not allow the governor's appointee to take up his position, saying the Republican governor exceeded his authority. The executive order issued on Friday expands to 10 from six the number of board members appointed by the governor. Under Bevin's order, he appointed John Farris as chairperson of the new board and David Eager to serve as vice chairperson. Their terms expire June 17, 2019. All of the current members of the board will retain their positions. (Reporting by Daniel Bases, editing by G Crosse) Kerry Washington at the White Houses United State of Women Summit on Tuesday. (Photo: AKM-GSI) Bringing an end to violence against women is no easy task, but Kerry Washington is up to the challenge. For the third year, the Scandal star who is pregnant with her second child is serving as ambassador for the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse campaign, which uses financial empowerment to break the cycle of domestic abuse. The 39-year-old actress spoke to Yahoo Celebrity about the cause, which is close to her heart, and how it brought her to Olivia Popes stomping grounds Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, where she spoke at the White Houses United State of Women Summit. Its such a rewarding partnership for me, explained Washington, who has said that she knows more than one person who was a victim of domestic violence. It takes two things that Im very passionate [about] one is womens empowerment and ending violence against women, and [the other is] fashion and by some miracle I get to work in these two spaces that are so fulfilling and important to me. The campaign focuses on educating women about financial abuse how victims cant break free from their abusers for monetary reasons. Its the No. 1 reason why women dont leave abusive relationships, and its the No. 1 reason why, even when they do leave, they go back, Washington explains. The Purple Purse campaign includes the #FreetoWalk short film, Americas Largest Prison Break, which you can watch here: In the celebrity world, the topic of domestic violence has been front and center in recent weeks following Johnny Depp and Amber Heards split. She has accused him of domestic violence, and has taken quite a hit for doing so. We asked Washington what can be done to end the culture of blaming the victim. When you brought up the idea of victim-blaming, it really reminded me of Confirmation and making that movie, she says, referring to the TV flick, which was out in April and saw Washington playing Anita Hill, who knew a little something about the topic. I think a big part of the culture and Joe Biden spoke about this at the summit, as did a lot of the speakers comes from our resistance to deal with the reality, our resistance to accept the truth of the abuses of power that go on in this world. Its important that victims know when they come forward that they are going to be heard, believed, and helped. Story continues She continued, Ending violence against women is no easy task though I think well get there because there are so many hardworking people going at the issue but being able to attack the problem in a way that is so concrete and specific. Knowing that a womans financial disempowerment is the No. 1 reason why she doesnt leave or why she goes back. Its like, Oh, if we empower women financially if we give them the education and the training and the resources to walk away then we can make a tangible difference that gives them enough distance to do the other work. So the more that we support survivors and empower victims to transform into survivors and affirm those stories and share those stories and break the silence, the more we will be confronted with the truth and may be less likely to shame out of fear. Earlier this week, Washington was a guest speaker at the White House United State of Women Summit, where she talked about ending domestic violence. The event brought her back together with President Obama, whom she has supported since his first presidential bid, and first lady Michelle Obama. Does rubbing elbows with American royalty ever start to feel normal? Kerry Washington and Usher campaigning for Barack Obama in 2008. (Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images) I dont think it ever gets normal, she replies. Were very close to them. I hold them in such high regard. Im definitely not as nervous as I was the first time although having known them since the campaign in 08, its a lot of time to be able to find a comfort zone with somebody. She adds, But I think even without their titles, when they leave office, Ill always hold them in a place of awe and reverence because I respect who they are as people, more than their titles even. I just respect them as human beings. Watch Washingtons speech at United State of Women Summit here: Vicky Dinges, the senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Allstate Insurance Company, tells Yahoo Celebrity, Kerry Washingtons passion for ending domestic violence and empowering women has been invaluable to Allstate Foundation Purple Purse. Learn more about the campaign here. The man suspected of murdering British Member of Parliament (MP) Jo Cox on Thursday was identified as Thomas Mair. The 52-year-old, locally known as Tom or Tommy, was arrested shortly after the attack in Birstall a market-town in West Yorkshire, where he has lived for most of his life. Cox was fatally attacked and shot outside her constituency surgery and was pronounced dead at 1.48pm. Police have not formally identified Mair as the suspect but they have searched Mairs semi-detached home and said they are not looking for any other suspects. Since the arrest, neighbors and relatives have described Mair as a quiet loner who needed treatment for mental illness. It has also emerged that Mair had connections with a number of far-right groups in the U.K. and the U.S. Far-right links: Mair communicated with U.S.-based neo-Nazi organization the National Alliance, and bought a manual on how to make a home-made gun from the group in 1999. The Southern Poverty Law Center produced invoices and receipts that showed that Thomas Mair from Batley, West Yorkshire, bought printed material on Chemistry of Powder & Explosives, Incendiaries, and the handbook Improvised Munitions Handbook, which describes how to build a pipe pistol using parts from any hardware store. Mair also purchased a illustrated handbook written by Adolf Hitler, Ich Kampfe, which was given to new members of the Nazi party in the 1940s. Mair was reported to be a subscriber to South African magazine, S. A. Patriot, which is published by the pro-apartheid group White Rhino Club. The Telegraph reports that a White Rhino Club blog post from Jan. 2006 described Mair as one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S. A. Patriot. It also describes the Patriots editorial stance as being opposed to expansionist Islam and multicultural societies. Story continues Two separate witnesses to the crime say the assailant shouted Britain First as he launched the attack. Britain First, a far-right political party and street defense organization, has denied any connection with Mair and condemned the killing of Cox. The quiet loner: Mair was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and lived in a semi-detached house on the Fieldheld estate in Birstell, a 15-minute walk from where Cox was killed. He lived in the house with his grandmother till her death in 1996, and has since lived alone. Mair is unmarried, childless and has been described by neighbors as quiet and a loner who volunteered to trim their hedges. His half-brother, Duane St Louis, whose father is West Indian, said that Mair once had a girlfriend, but his mate took her off him and he said he didnt want another one, reports the Guardian. St Louis, 41, was shocked to hear about the murder saying Mair would not hurt anyone and never displayed any signs of racism. Speaking to the Telegraph, local assembly line worker David Pickles said: He is just a bit of a loner who keeps himself to himself but always says hello. He seemed to like his own company but I would not say he was unfriendly he would always pass the time of day.I know he spent a lot of time in the library in town and liked to go on the computers there I dont know what he was looking up. History of mental illness: Mair has spoken about receiving psychotherapy and medication in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, where he says he began volunteering after attending a day centre for adults with mental health problems. All these problems are alleviated by doing voluntary work. Getting out of the house and meeting new people is a good thing, but more important in my view is doing physically demanding and useful labor, he said in the interview. Mair was photographed a year later in 2011, volunteering at a local park. Mairs other brother, Scott, 49, told reporters that his brother had a history of mental illness and has never expressed violent or political views. New reports indicate Omar Mateen was texting his wife, checking Facebook and writing posts about the Islamic State while committing the deadliest massacre in modern American history. According to CNN, Mateen wanted to see if Pulse nightclub, the gay bar he targeted in Sunday morning's attack and possibly frequented beforehand, was starting to trend on Facebook. Mateen also called on the United States and Russia to "stop bombing the Islamic State" on one of six accounts tied to the 29-year-old. "You kill innocent women and children by doing U.S. airstrikes," Mateen wrote, according to a letter Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson sent to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg asking for any data he can provide on the shooter. "Now taste the Islamic State vengeance." For much of his life, Omar Mateen gave clues he was capable of mayhem http://on.wsj.com/28IZD00 pic.twitter.com/xPn8JqSzWC https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClIhoduUkAAKZFt.jpg:large At 4 a.m. Eastern, he was texting his wife, Noor Salman, to see whether she had heard the news. She had repeatedly tried calling his cellphone, and sent him a text saying she loved him. CNN cited two "law enforcement officials" who indicated that evidence related to Salman's possible involvement will go before a grand jury. He then ended his online activity with a final message: "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the USA." Just a few weeks before the incident that left 50 dead, including Mateen, and another 53 wounded, Mateen was stopped from buying body armor and bulk ammunition, ABC News reported. The gun shop denied the sale and reported it to the FBI's local headquarters but without any way to follow up on Mateen (license plate, credit card or identifiable surveillance footage) they couldn't investigate the killer. When Mateen was told the store didn't carry the high-end armor he was looking for, employees reported he made a phone call from inside using a foreign language before hanging up and asking about purchasing bulk ammunition. Story continues "Mr. Omar Mateen is a degenerate." Muslim leaders at the #Orlando shooter's mosque fiercely condemn the attacks:https://amp.twimg.com/v/74c7e77a-6e62-482f-b105-22fca680698f ... H ic's original coverage of the shooting: At least 50 people are dead, including the killer, and 53 injured after a gunman entered Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire, first on patrons and staff and then on responding law enforcement personnel. Law enforcement sources told CBS News they have identified the suspect as Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen from Port St. Lucie, Florida, who was born to Afghan parents in 1986. The LA Times' Matt Pearce confirmed authorities had given the name to the paper's D.C. bureau as well. Orlando gunman tentatively identified as Omar Mateen, 29, a U.S. law enforcement officials tells my colleagues in our Washington bureau. In an interview with NBC News, the suspect's father, Mir Seddique, apologized and said the massacre had "nothing to do with religion." Instead, he said, the shooting may be tied to an incident several months ago, when Mateen became enraged upon seeing two men kissing in Miami. WATCH: Father of shooter in Orlando club tells NBC News: "We are apologizing for the whole incident"https://amp.twimg.com/v/a1f07521-0c53-4010-b539-d7bf433f0361 ... "At this point, this is an incident, as I can see it, we can certainly classify as a domestic terror incident," Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jerry Demings said, according to CBS News. Lauren Conrad may be happily married to William Tell, but that doesn't mean the two always see eye-to-eye. The 30-year-old Paper Crown designer is the cover girl for Redbook's July issue, and in her interview with the magazine, she gets candid on how her marriage to the lawyer has changed her everyday life. WATCH: 'The Hills' Cast Hints There Are 'Rumblings' About a Revival Redbook Conrad explains that her husband's opinions affect everything she does -- party planning included! "Now that I'm throwing parties with my husband, William, I have to keep in mind that he prefers -- how do I say this -- easier themes than what I've done in the past," she reveals. "He doesn't like to feel that he's asking friends to go out of their way. So now we do a birthday hoedown because everyone owns a pair of cutoffs and a plaid shirt. I'm learning how to compromise." Luckily, the former Hills star doesn't feel the need to be a perfectionist when it comes to event planning, which has helped Tell and his pals feel at ease at her festive, Pinterest-worthy fetes. WATCH: Lauren Conrad Admits It's 'Difficult' to Re-Watch 'The Hills' "I always try to make sure that the party I'm putting together isn't perfect," she adds. "Anything that looks too put-together is too fussy for me. If it feels fussy, then people might not be comfortable. A successful party is about comfort and making people feel welcome." Redbook Parties aside, Conrad and Tell -- who tied the knot in a rustic-chic wedding along the California coastline in September 2014 -- also find themselves debating over collectibles. "I have a collection of teacups I display in my dining room. My husband doesn't get why I love them so much," she dishes. "To be fair, I don't share his passion for guitars." "I mean, I guess I can understand why he might not see the beauty in a gorgeous, hand-painted teacup," she jokes. "We each have our own things, and that's healthy." Story continues RELATED: Lauren Conrad: I've Never Been 'Obsessed With the Idea of Marriage' Redbook Last August, the Celebrate author revealed other challenges when it comes to marriage in an honest article published on her blog. "You always want to be considerate of each other," she wrote at the time. "It's not just about you anymore." She also gushed over her 36-year-old hubby, saying, "My favorite thing about being married is knowing that I have a partner in life that I get to do so many wonderful things with." "Dreaming of the things we will do 20 years from now is so fun," she added. So, what's next for Conrad? Last month, she took to Instagram to tease a potential new TV project with MTV, the same network that made her a household name with Laguna Beach and The Hills. WATCH: Lauren Conrad Teases Potential New TV Project With MTV "Never thought I'd see the day," she captioned a photo of herself fixing a bridesmaid dress from her Paper Crown fashion line, while looking back at a cameraman. Interestingly, she tagged MTV in the snap. Hear more in the video below. Related Articles Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., in February. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) A Congresswoman who is sick and tired of drug testing welfare recipients has introduced a bill in Congress that would subject the rich to many of those same requirements. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., unveiled Thursday the Top 1% Accountability Act, which would require those claiming itemized deductions of more than $150,000 on their tax returns to submit to drug tests or file for less generous tax deductions. The proposal is a shot across the bow at Republican governors in states, including Moores home state of Wisconsin, that require the recipients of certain welfare benefit programs to be drug tested in order to remain eligible to receive assistance. As a strong advocate for social programs aimed at combating poverty, it deeply offends me that there is such a deep stigma surrounding those who depend on government benefits, especially as a former welfare recipient, Moore said in a statement. Sadly, Republicans across the country continue to implement discriminatory policies that criminalize the less fortunate and perpetuate false narratives about the most vulnerable among us. Moore, who represents Milwaukee, used welfare benefits to work herself out of poverty when she was younger and has said that her goal is to ensure others have the same opportunity. Im grateful for the taxpayers for [welfare], and I have given back tenfold, Moore told the Guardian. I think everyone should have that same opportunity. 15 states, including Florida, Michigan and North Carolina, have passed bills that require welfare recipients to submit to drug testing in an attempt to save money on those programs. Wisconsin, however, has gone further, requiring in its 2015 budget that recipients of the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) are tested for drug use, a move the federal government has said violates a provision banning states from imposing additional eligibility requirements on those programs. The state then sued, challenging that rule. Story continues SNAP, or the food stamps program, helps roughly 45 million Americans making $26,100 or less buy food. Benefits are loaded onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which is used to make purchases at most supermarkets or convenience stores. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and others have argued that the requirements save states money and ensure employers have a drug-free workforce to hire from. Employers across the state frequently tell me they have good-paying jobs available in high-demand fields, but need their workers to be drug-free, Walker said in a statement after the drug testing rule went into effect in November. These important entitlement reforms will help more people find family-supporting jobs, moving them from government dependence to true independence. But critics such as Moore argue that they demonize the poor and crack down on a problem that doesnt actually exist. Data from a program in Florida found that only 108 of 4,086 people, or 2.6 percent, tested positive for illicit drugs. And in Arizona, the first state to implement such a rule, only a single drug user was found out of more than 80,000 tested from 2009 to 2012. Moores bill comes as House Speaker Paul Ryan introduces a sweeping reform package for welfare programs in an effort to combat poverty. The proposal includes revamping the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, reforming unemployment insurance and requiring SNAP recipients to be actively searching for work to receive benefits. Ryan unveiled his plans at an event last week, which Moore said inspired the bill. When he stood in front of a drug treatment center and rolled out his anti-poverty initiative, pushing this narrative that poor people are drug addicts, that was the last straw, Moore said. DECATUR Making an omelet can be as easy as cracking eggs. I saw this in a video online, said D'Aunniah Powell, 17, a recent graduate of Eisenhower High School, who is headed to Millikin University in the fall to study biology. She's a counselor at Camp Connections, meeting at Hope Academy this summer, and taught a group of kids how to make omelets in muffin tins. First, the kids learned to crack eggs and carefully pour the contents into a bowl. She showed them how to stir them up and to not be afraid to stir vigorously so the yolks and whites would mix together. One child sprayed the paper muffin cups with olive oil, then they spooned eggs into the cups and added their desired toppings, choosing from tomato, cheese, mushrooms, green pepper or, as one child said, a little bit of everything. Camp Connections' theme this summer is making healthy choices, and what you eat is a big part of that, said Leslie Woolsey, the facilitator. They've already discussed snacks and tried healthy alternatives such as carrots dipped in ranch dressing instead of salty, fatty potato chips or hot fries. The adults did the chopping of the vegetables, with the kids watching closely as Woolsey, Powell and Millikin University student Ronesha Moore explained what they were doing. As Woolsey showed the youth how to slice vegetables, she warned them that knives are sharp and it takes practice to use one safely. Once the egg was in the muffin cups and the veggies added, the whole thing goes into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the egg is firm, Powell said. Braeden Apholone, 9, has some cooking experience, having made pizza and kettle chips, among other things, in previous camps. I like it, he said of the cooking process, and he doesn't even mind the cleanup chores. When Powell asked for a volunteer to do the dishes, his was the first hand in the air. Fellow camper Nadia Currie, 8, teased Braeden about the kettle chips. She remembers making them, too. They were nasty the first time, she said, and Braeden agreed, with a chuckle, that their first batch didn't turn out, but the second one did, he said. A lot of kids want to cook, but they just haven't had the experience of cooking, Woolsey said. We wanted to give them a hands-on experience. It's kind of hard to divide everything up with so many kids, but we're working and they're taking turns. General Motors announced last month that it would provide compensation to owners of their models of SUVs after admitting it had incorrectly calculated the fuel economy on the vehicles. But that apparently isn't enough for some GM owners who have filed a potential class action against the carmaker. The lawsuit [PDF], filed in a federal court in San Diego, accuses GM of deceptively marketing, and advertising some Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, or Buick Enclave vehicles by overstating the gas mileage since at least 2009. A California woman, who owns a 2016 Buick Enclave, alleges that she was enticed to purchase the vehicle through GM's advertisements that included supposedly exaggerated gas mileage. While GM admitted in May that it had overstated the gas mileage of the model year 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, or Buick Enclave, the new lawsuit claims that the same issues were found in additional model years, including those from 2009 to 2016. "All of the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave vehicles for model years 2009 to 2016 were represented to have the same inflated gas mileage," the suit states. "Yet all have substantially the same engines, weights, sizes and shapes and, thus, should achieve substantially identical gas mileage." Related Stories The suit alleges that GM has touted the inflated mileage in advertisements, its website, and in other materials for years, allowing the company to charge a premium for the vehicles. In one case, GM represented that the 2009 to 2011 Enclave had "better highway fuel economy than any other eight-passenger crossover." The company also heavily promoted the fuel economy of the Chevrolet Traverse, marketing it as a vehicle that achieves both power and fuel efficiency. Story continues As a result of the alleged unlawful conduct, "the class members have suffered harm in that they bought or leased vehicles they would not otherwise have bought or leased, or paid more for such vehicles than they otherwise would have." For example, the woman claims that prior to purchasing her Buick Enclave she was exposed to marketing materials, including GM's website, that touted the vehicle's mileage. "Plaintiff also discussed the vehicle's gas mileage with the dealer," the suit states. "Plaintiff acted in substantial part on material representations of GM regarding the fuel economy performance of the 2016 Buick Enclave, particularly when compared to other similar vehicles, when deciding whether to purchase the Enclave." The woman believes she was charged and paid a price premium for her vehicle based on the claim that it would achieve 17 miles per gallon in city driving, 24 mpg on highways, and a combined fuel economy of 19 mpg. "Had GM disclosed the accurate fuel economy of the 2016 Buick Enclave, Plaintiff in all reasonable probability would not have purchased the Enclave or would have paid less for it," the suit states. In all, the suit claims that owners of affected vehicles will spend approximately $300 more per year than expected because of the mileage exaggeration, or more than $2,400 during the minimum useful life of such vehicles. The lawsuit seeks to provide owners of affected vehicles with any proceeds obtained by GM as a result of the sale of the vehicles. We will oppose any effort by the plaintiffs bar to interfere with our effort to provide our customers the option to obtain timely compensation for our error, a spokesperson for GM says. Previously, GM alerted dealers that it would try to make it up to thousands of customers by providing them a prepaid gift card valued between $450 and $1,500 or an extended warranty. Under the program, which began on May 25, customers who purchased a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, or Buick Enclave can choose between a debit card or a 48-month/60,000-mile service protection plan that improves their existing factory warranty. Those who leased one of the affected vehicles will be offered a debit card. The value of the debit cards will be determined based on whether or not the vehicle was leased or owned, and what type of vehicle it is. We designed this reimbursement program to provide full and fair compensation in a simple, flexible and timely manner, a GM spokesman said at the time the compensation was announced, apologizing to customers for the misstated labels. 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. kraft-ufc USA TODAY Sports Despite repeated denials from Dana White, rumors of the UFC being sold are heating up by the day. On Wednesday, Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC brass was close to securing a $4 billion deal for the UFC, and today that intel has been verified by another reputable source. According to The Score, the two leading bidders for the UFC are currently the Dalian Wanda Group out of China and Willam Morris Endeavors. One of the investors for William Morris Endeavors, who will be throwing in $25-50 million, is none other than Patriots owner Bob Kraft. Yes, Bob Kraft can potentially be surrounded by Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. Weird. I wonder if Jon Jones is salty his potential new owner traded away his brother, Chandler Jones, to Arizona this last off-season? Now that more details are out, the main question regarding the sale is about the transfer of power from White and his crew to that of the winning bidder. Despite the general dissatisfaction surrounding how the UFC handles fighter pay and media, they know how to run a fight promotion. Theres a reason why everyone else has gone out of business while theyve thrived. So will Dana and the rest ride off into the sunset once everything clears escrow? Probably not. https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/743503803111006208 Of course, fighters are anxious to hear any solid news. I asked Donald Cerrone about rumors of potential UFC sale. His answer: "Hopefully Dana redoes my contract before he leaves." Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) June 16, 2016 (Via The Score) Los Angeles (AFP) - Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page has denied claims that he plagiarized "Stairway to Heaven," insisting the iconic anthem sounds more like a "Mary Poppins" song than the track he is accused of copying. The 72-year-old guitarist and band mate Robert Plant, 67, are being tried at a civil court in Los Angeles over accusations they poached the rock epic's opening bars from "Taurus," by long-defunct rock band Spirit. Page, who wore a black suit and his white hair in a ponytail, said his chord progression probably had more in common with "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from the 1964 film musical "Mary Poppins" than anything else. He told the eight-member jury that "Stairway" and the Disney number shared the same descending musical pattern, adding that the "chord sequence has been around forever." LA band Spirit, who enjoyed a niche following but never attained the superstardom of Zeppelin, have long claimed the melancholic guitar that opens "Stairway" was taken from the riff that builds after the first 45 seconds of "Taurus." Guitarist Randy Wolfe -- who went by the nickname Randy California -- never took legal action and drowned in Hawaii in 1997, but a lawsuit was filed by his trustee and friend Michael Skidmore. Zeppelin argue that the opening of "Stairway" -- a descending sequence mostly in A-minor -- has been used in music for centuries and that the lawsuit ignores the rest of the song. But expert witness Kevin Hanson said the opening chords of "Taurus" and the picked arpeggio intro to "Stairway" are a departure from the norm because the sequence resolves in the same unexpected way in both cases. "The rhythm is slightly different," the musician said, but added that the first five chords of both tunes were exactly the same. "To my ear they sound like one piece of music," he said. Zeppelin opened for Spirit when the hard British rockers -- Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and the since deceased John Bonham -- made their US debut on December 26, 1968 in Denver. Story continues But the surviving members have submitted testimony that they never had substantive interaction with Spirit or listened to 1967's "Taurus" before recording "Stairway" in December 1970 and January 1971. The lawsuit lists disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs, many of which were settled by giving the complainant a songwriting credit and royalties, including classics "Whole Lotta Love" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You." The defunct monthly business magazine Conde Nast Portfolio estimated in 2008 that "Stairway to Heaven" had made $562 million in publishing royalties and record sales, although California's trust would only be entitled to a share of profits dating back to 2011. The plaintiff's case resumes on Friday, with the defense side expected to begin after lunch. By Jonathan Stempel June 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge has ordered actor Leonardo DiCaprio to be deposed in a defamation lawsuit brought by a former Stratton Oakmont executive over his alleged depiction in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film "The Wolf of Wall Street." U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke in Central Islip, New York, on Thursday said DiCaprio must be made available for questioning, which was opposed by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures Corp, DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions and other defendants. The plaintiff, Andrew Greene, sued in 2014 for more than $50 million, claiming that he was defamed in the film through the portrayal by actor P.J. Byrne of a morally and ethically challenged character named Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff. Paramount has said Koskoff was a "composite character" inspired by multiple individuals, including Greene. DiCaprio, 41, played Jordan Belfort, a stock swindler who founded Stratton Oakmont and whose 2007 memoir was a basis for the film. Greene was a childhood friend of Belfort. In opposing a deposition, defense lawyers said DiCaprio did not write the screenplay, and that there was no claim he had any role in deciding whether alleged defamatory content should be included in or excluded from the film. Greene's lawyers said they had already questioned Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter, and that both testified that they met regularly with DiCaprio to discuss the "Wolf" script. Louis Petrich, a lawyer for the defendants, declined to comment. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including DiCaprio as best actor, Scorsese as best director and Winter for the screenplay, but did not win any. Locke's order does not say when DiCaprio will be questioned. The case is Greene v Paramount Pictures Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 14-01044. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler) Less than a week after the Orlando massacre left at least 50 people killed at a nightclub, the physical risks that LGBTQ people face in America are becoming abundantly clear. A New York Times analysis of data collected by the FBI shows just what that risk looks like in the U.S.: LGBTQ people are more likely to be targets of hate violence than any other minority group in the country. LGBTQ people are twice as likely become targets of hate violence than African-Americans and recently surpassed Jewish Americans as the most targeted minority group in the country, according to the analysis. Vigil for Orlando massacre victims in Texas. The numbers help put into perspective the debate among politicians about whether the Orlando massacre was a hate crime or an act of terrorism. The reality is that it could be both, but while American politicians are well-versed in denouncing acts of terror, the implications of hate crime of historic proportions is a reality that lawmakers aren't entirely equipped to deal with. "Sometimes officials make very strange calls when it comes to hate crimes," Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, said in an interview with Mic's Aaron Morrison after the Orlando massacre. "The reality is that most people's motives are very mixed up." He added: "We'll learn less about his motivation than we might have if he had survived the shooting." Memorial for victims of Orlando massacre. Admitting that the Orlando massacre was driven by homophobia, and that it's an extreme example of the violence LGBTQ people face in America, requires conservative politicians to acknowledge LGBTQ people's humanity, according to advocates. "We must understand this event as a consequence of the homophobia, biphobia and transphobia that permeates our everyday environments, such as workplaces, schools, and homes that we all have the responsibility to challenge," Emily Waters, research and education coordinator for the Anti-Violence Project, a national LGBTQ organization, said after the shootings. Story continues This week, Waters and AVP released a report that added even more context to anti-LGBTQ violence in America. In it, they found that anti-LGBTQ murders rose by 20% between 2014 and 2015, and that transgender women of color are twice as likely to be targeted than their white counterparts. "We need to challenge the anti-LGBTQ legislation that is popping up all over the country, and call out the inherent homophobia and transphobia in these bills that incites violence against LGBTQ people," Waters wrote in an email to Mic. "We need policies that promote non-discrimination, but it's important to be thoughtful in developing these policies to ensure that all of our diverse communities are centered." By Sujata Rao LONDON (Reuters) - Top decision makers at Libya's $67 billion sovereign wealth fund were "illiterate" in terms of investment with little knowledge of the derivatives instruments purchased on the advice of Goldman Sachs, an adviser to the fund told a court on Thursday. In a closely watched case in the City of London, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is attempting to claw back $1.2 billion from the U.S. investment bank from nine disputed trades carried out in 2008. The LIA argues that the U.S. bank took advantage of its financial naivety by first gaining its trust, then encouraging it to make risky and ultimately worthless investments. Goldman Sachs, which denies all the allegations, maintains that the trades in question "were not difficult to understand". It has pledged to defend itself against the LIA's claims, describing them as "without merit". Robert Miles, a lawyer acting for Goldman, noted while questioning a witness called by the LIA that Mohamed Husain Layas, the Libyan fund's now deceased executive director, had worked in banking for over 30 years, including a stint on the board of Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC). He said the Bank ABC statements showed the institution provided a series of complex financial products to clients and also traded such instruments, indicating Layas had been familiar with these products. But London-based financial consultant Ali Baruni, who advised the LIA between April and September 2007, described Layas as "illiterate in terms of investments". Baruni said he had resigned after the fund ignored his advice and invested in certain products recommended by Goldman Sachs. He resumed working with the LIA as a consultant in 2013, he told the court. His witness statement, seen by Reuters, shows he has held several banking and consultancy roles since 1978, including at Bankers Trust and the Saudi American Bank. Appearing as a witness for the LIA, Baruni told the court: "I have talked to Mr Layas about some investments, but not derivatives, investments in equities, fixed income and real estate and whatever and his level of sophistication on all of those was very basic." "I would be astonished if he had any understanding of derivatives," he added. Baruni said in his witness statement that by the autumn of 2007, the LIA's senior management had begun to place too much trust in Goldman Sachs, leading the fund executives to "behave in an unprofessional manner". Goldman Sachs says its relationship with the LIA was at all "material times an arm's length one" between banker and client. Miles said there was no evidence to say the LIA had been "financially illiterate" when it made the investments. "You have no basis for that, it's just advocacy," he told Baruni, noting that Hatim Gheriani, another LIA official who had led the alternative investment team and then became CIO, was an experienced banker whose career prior to the LIA included working at Commerzbank in London. Baruni replied that he had "never heard Mr Gheriani speak to me with any level of sophistication on derivatives, valuation of equities or almost any other field of investment". Gheriani whose LinkedIn page shows he worked at HSBC Middle East between 2010-2014 after his stint at the LIA, could not be reached for comment. Libya set up the LIA in 2006, aiming to invest reserves accumulated from oil revenues and to integrate its economy into the international financial system after years of sanctions. Abdulfatah Enaami, who was head of direct investments at the LIA between April 2008 and June 2012, took the witness stand after Baruni. Enaami, now employed by the state-run Libyan Foreign Bank told the court that meeting international bankers after sanctions on Libya were lifted had been a new experience for Libyan officials. He said the fund had been under the impression it would be buying direct shares in companies but had instead received "something else synthetic that we couldn't understand". "We were always relying on the trust and confidence that they would offer us the best product that they can offer," Enaami said. "We were not fully aware they would be selling no matter what...we discovered that afterwards." (Editing by Larry King and Hugh Lawson) In my day job as a geologist, I've been fortunate to be involved with a number of resource ventures over the years. I spend a lot of time in the wilderness looking for big mineral deposits and oil and gas fields. The thing is, most geologists are wildly optimistic -- almost romantically so. They're dreamers, and the idea of a big find keeps them going. But as an analyst, I know that in order to make truly outsized gains in this sector, you need to be selective. The junior resource business holds some of the greatest potential for wealth creation in any industry on the planet. Shareholders of small firms can easily reap hundreds or even thousands of percent returns in the event of a successful discovery by these companies. For example, October 2014 was an historic month for the natural resources sector. We witnessed an incredible event that underscored just how powerful wealth creation can be when it comes to finding, developing and producing commodities. I'm talking about the birth of a new mine. The operation in question is the Eleonore gold mine in Quebec, Canada. Eleonore's owner, Goldcorp (NYSE: GG), announced on October 2 that the mine had reached commercial production -- meaning it was pouring its first gold bars. The operation is expected to ramp up to between 250,000 and 280,000 ounces of output his year, making it one of the premier assets in Goldcorp's world-leading portfolio of mines. But the story of this major gold mine actually began long ago, at a time when few investors cared about the yellow metal. [More from StreetAuthority.com: A Double-Digit Yield That Just Keeps Growing] In the late 1990s a tiny exploration company called Virginia Mines set out to survey the remote wilderness of Quebec -- looking for major mineral discoveries in this proven, yet vast, terrain. Back in those days, Virginia Mines' exploration efforts garnered little attention. Gold was, after all, trading at just a few hundred dollars per ounce -- a 20-year low. The market was about as depressed as it could get. Story continues But for a start-up like Virginia, that was -- in some ways -- a good thing. The dire state of the gold industry meant there was little competition for projects. The company's foresighted management was therefore able to pick up a package of prospective properties across Quebec for little more than the cost of staking the land. The downtime in the gold market also meant there was little competition for funding to gold companies. To be sure, there weren't a lot of investors putting money into these kinds of mining ventures at the time. But a trickle of funding had started to appear -- as a handful of investors began to look at the gold market and think, "It can only get better from here." And it did -- in a big way. Starting in 2001 the gold price in fact went on a phenomenal run, rising to $1,000 per ounce by 2008 -- for a gain of nearly 300% in less than eight years. [More from StreetAuthority.com: If You're Wondering About Oil Prices, Read This] That rise in the metal price lifted all the stocks in the gold sector. But Virginia Mines was a standout during this time -- because it had set itself up perfectly during the preceding bottom in the market. You see, Virginia took the portfolio of exploration properties it picked up when no one was looking, and ran with them, making a major discovery at a then-unknown property -- Eleonore. On September 15, 2004, Virginia announced that it had found gold at Eleonore -- hitting a big swath of mineralization in drilling, consisting of 16 meters of core grading a muscular 18.85 grams of gold per metric ton -- one of the best drill intersections seen in North America in years at that time. Over the next two years, further work would show that the deposit contained four million ounces of mineable gold reserves -- making it a truly world-class discovery when compared with other deposits, which largely struggle to make it past a threshold of even one million ounces. With the gold market now in full swing, the big numbers at Eleonore caught the attention of some major players in the sector, including Goldcorp -- which, in December 2005, offered $420 million to buy out Virginia in order to gain control of the valuable deposit. The chart below shows the rewards that this success reaped for Virginia's shareholders. A stock that could have been had at under $1 at the bottom ended up being cashed out at nearly $16 over the course of a couple years. Today, Eleonore is continuing to create value -- now in form of cash flow for its current owners. [More from StreetAuthority.com: The Best Way To Handle Uncertainty In The Market] And here's the thing... these kinds of explosive growth opportunities can be found at any time in the commodity cycle. In August 2013, for example, I saw a disconnect between the share price and the underlying value of Ivanhoe (IVPAF) -- known as Ivanplats at the time -- an $800 million junior miner that few investors had never heard of. Four weeks after recommending the stock, I advised readers of my premium newsletter, Scarcity & Real Wealth, to take their profits, which amounted to a gain of 50%. More recently -- in September 2014, to be exact -- I advised my readers to cash in on Houston-based Oiltanking Partners (NYSE: OILT), a $4.5 billion energy storage and transportation company that was a $1.4 billion energy and storage company when I recommended it eight months earlier. The take? A cool 72.1% gain for those Scarcity & Real Wealth readers who got into and out of the stock when I recommended they do so. These are a testament to the value that can be won in the junior resources business -- even during the times that appear darkest for the industry. And right now, I'm finding some rare opportunities in the gold sector (and elsewhere) that are setting up for truly astounding gains. If you're interested, I invite you to click here. You'll be taken to a short page that tells you a little more about my newsletter, Scarcity & Real Wealth, and have the opportunity to receive two brand-new research reports just for joining me. Related Articles Young adult suspense writer Lois Duncan died on Wednesday, June 15. The author was 82. PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost Albuquerque-based private investigator Pat Caristo confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday, June 16, that Duncan died at her home near Sarasota, Florida. According to reports, her husband announced on Facebook that she had collapsed in their kitchen. The thriller writer published 50 titles, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was the basis for the 1997 blockbuster by the same title, and Emma Roberts Hotel for Dogs. Celebrity Health Scares Duncan, who taught journalism at the University of New Mexico, also penned Who Killed My Daughter? The nonfiction tome chronicled the writers search for answers in the case of her 18-year-old daughter Kaitlyn Arquettes 1989 murder. The college student, the youngest of Duncans five children, was shot as she drove home from a friends house in Albuquerque. Duncan is survived by her husband, Don, and their children Robin, Kerry, Brett and Donnie. PHOTOS: Best and Worst Movie Remakes Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox! Were LOLing at this GIF of the Queen scolding Prince William Were LOLing at this GIF of the Queen scolding Prince William Even princes arent immune to the watchful eyes of the Queen. Thats what Prince William taught us after he got a gentle scolding from the Queen last weekend, and its making the Internet LOL in the best way. A 100% perfect GIF has been circulating the Interwebz, courtesy of Twitter user Brandon McGinley. During Trooping the Colour a traditional ceremony marking the official birthday of the British sovereign the royal family appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony when this magical gif was captured. William can be seen crouching down to speak to his (adorable) son, Prince George, but the Queen wanted her grandson to stand up straight. And when the Queen tells you to do something, well, you do it even if you may be set to sit on the throne one day. Theres a reason shes the longest ruling monarch in Englands history, after all. Come for the queen scolding William, stay for the George facepalm. pic.twitter.com/etvmofiU5m Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) June 15, 2016 Poor Prince William looked a bit embarrassed and sheepish after that as he quickly rose up on his feet. Its OK, William we know we can disobey our grandmas, either. Plus, Prince George is so cute that its hard to not be distracted by him, so we *totally* get it. Thats not gonna stop us from laughing forever at this GIF on repeat though, TBH. The post Were LOLing at this GIF of the Queen scolding Prince William appeared first on HelloGiggles. Many investors like to look for momentum in stocks, but this can be very tough to define. There is great debate regarding which metrics are the best to focus on in this regard, and which are not really quality indicators of future performance. Fortunately, with our new style score system we have identified the key statistics to pay close attention to and thus which stocks might be the best for momentum investors in the near term. This method discovered several great candidates for momentum-oriented investors, but today lets focus in on Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. (ISLE) as this stock is looking especially impressive right now. And while there are numerous ways in which this company could be a great choice, we have highlighted three of the most vital reasons for ISLEs status as a solid momentum stock below: Short Term Price Change for Isle of Capri Casinos A great place to look for finding momentum stocks is by inspecting short term price activity. This can help to reflect the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand right now. It is especially useful to compare it to the industry as this can help investors pinpoint the top companies in a particular area. With a one week price change of 10.0% compared to an industry average of negative 0.2%, ISLE is certainly well-positioned in this regard. The stock is also looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the four week price change compares favorably with the industry at large as well. ISLE OF CAPRI Price ISLE OF CAPRI Price | ISLE OF CAPRI Quote Fiscal Year EPS Estimate Change for ISLE In addition to price performance, it is also important to take a look at earnings estimate changes for the full year. This can show if ISLE is poised to make a run based on fundamentals, or if the company is simply moving on speculation. Over the past month, the full year earnings estimate for ISLE has risen by 9.4%. On its own this is impressive, but consider that it also beats the industry average of 0.0% too. The trend is undeniably in Isle of Capri Casinoss favor right now, and it suggests that the momentum might be long lasting for this stock. Story continues ISLE Earnings Estimate Revisions Moving in the Right Direction While the great momentum factors outlined in the preceding paragraphs might be enough for some investors, we should also take into account broad earnings estimate revision trends. A nice path here can really help to show us a promising stock, and we have actually been seeing that with ISLE as of late too. Over the past two months, 3 earnings estimates have gone higher compared to none lower for the full year, while we are also seeing that 2 estimates have moved upwards with no downward revisions for the next year time frame too. These revisions have helped to boost the consensus estimate as two months ago ISLE was expected to post earnings of $1.25 per share for the full year, though today it looks to have EPS of $1.43 for the full year now, representing a solid increase which is something that should definitely be welcomed news to would-be investors. Bottom Line Given these factors, investors shouldnt be surprised to note that we have ISLE as a security with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Momentum Score of A. So if you are looking for a fresh pick that has potential to move in the right direction, definitely keep ISLE on your short list as this looks be a stock that is very well-positioned to soar 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 >> 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 ISLE OF CAPRI (ISLE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research After a couple of years of dismal showings, Latin America exchange-traded funds are roaring back in 2016. For example, the iShares S&P Latin America 40 Index (ETF) (NYSE: ILF) is higher by nearly 15 percent year-to-date. At the country level, the iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index Fund (NYSE: EPU) is one of this year's best-performing single-country ETFs, developed or emerging markets, with a gain of 47.4 percent. EPU is also one of the year's best-performing non-leveraged ETFs of any stripe. EPU and ILF are just two examples underscoring the LatAm ETF resurgence of 2016. Regional Performance Perhaps more than other regions of emerging markets, Latin America epitomizes the intersection of potential and peril. As ETFs have made scores of developing economies more accessible to advisers and investors, these users of ETFs have consistently heard about the potential of the Latin American investment thesis. Related Link: Right After MSCI Snub, A New A-Shares ETF Debuts They have also heard about the perils, many of which stem from the region being home to several of the most corrupt countries in the world. As Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is teaching investors, economic heft does insulate a country from corruption. In Latin America, the mix of economic size and corruption can producer dire investor outcomes. See Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. Looking Long Term Some market observers are enthusiastic about Latin America's long-term prospects. Consider the regions young population, expanding middle class, fast adoption of technology and relatively weak market competition conditions are ripe for change. If Latin America takes more steps to encourage innovation, it could be in the drivers rather than the passengers seat as things change. More inclusive growthand ultimately stronger economiescould be on the horizon, said BlackRock in a recent note. Weighing Risk Still, making a long-term bet with Latin America ETFs requires some tolerance for risk on investors' parts. ILF, which allocates over 82 percent of its weight to Brazil and Mexico, has a three-year standard deviation of almost 26 percent. By comparison, the same metric on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is 16.7 percent. Some of the region's single-country ETFs are even more volatile than ILF. Story continues For those willing to stomach the volatility, there are some data points that speak to the Latin America opportunity set. From the World Banks data, as of the end of 2014, about 50 percent of adults in Latin America didnt have a bank account. While that is down from 61 percent in 2011, the fact remains that too many people have no access to banking services or financing, added BlackRock. See more from Benzinga 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. June 16 (Reuters) - Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc has agreed not to sell its existing inventory of laminate flooring previously sourced from China, the U.S. consumer safety regulator said, as the flooring retailer looks to move beyond allegations the products contained excessive levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) also said that any sale or disposal of the left-over inventory of laminate flooring under scrutiny, which the company discontinued selling in May 2015, will be made only after getting the regulator's approval. Lumber Liquidators has been facing heat from regulators, customers and shareholders after CBS's "60 Minutes" alleged in March last year that the company sold flooring with dangerously high levels of formaldehyde. Following the report, the company suspended the sale of Chinese-made laminate flooring and said it would not sell about 22 million board feet of the flooring. In total, over 614,000 consumers across the United States have purchased the laminates between 2011 and 2015, according to the CPSC statement. "Today's announcement is not intended to cause consumers to pull up Chinese-made laminate flooring installed in their home," said the CPSC. The regulator instead asked customers to reach out to the company to participate in their testing program, to get free air-test kits. The settlement with CPSC removes another big headache for the company and comes a month after it reached a potential settlement to resolve a securities class action lawsuit brought by shareholders. Lumber Liquidators also spent millions settling with the California Air Resources Board as well as on lawsuits, apart from tightening its compliance policy on product sourcing and ramping up marketing efforts. Though the CPSC agreement does not involve any monetary settlement, the company has agreed to continue conducting testing programs for affected consumers. Lumber Liquidators' shares closed at $13.23 in after hours trading on Thursday. The stock has lost nearly three quarters of its value since the CBS report aired on March 1, 2015. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru) if this man were around now, he would be promoting the Makers. (Wikipedia.) The previous two installments in this series, The Tools Revolution and Agility, of course concentrated on the private businesses, large and small, and the entrepreneurs who have created and applied the tools that are changing manufacturing in a way parallel to what the internet era has done for (and to) the creation and dissemination of ideas. But just about every complex achievement has a complicated back story. In their recent book American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us To Forget What Made America Prosper, Jacob Hacker of Yale and Paul Pierson of Berkeley underscore what any honest look at economic history reveals. Namely, that the great eras of economic advancement, from England during the first modern industrial revolution, to the versions of that achievement in Germany and the United States and Japan, to the transformation of post-Mao China, have involved public efforts that promote, support, and encourage private economic innovation. Recommended: Why the Stanford Judge Gave Brock Turner Six Months In modern Chinas case, the governments major role for better (and worse) has been obvious. Similarly with the 20th century rise of Japan and Germany and England through its era of most rapid growth as well, for those who have actually read Wealth of Nations and know that it is something quite different from a libertarian tract. This is a case I tried to lay out in detail long ago in an Atlantic story called How the World Works, which is online. For now Ill skip the rest of the argument about how public/private interactions have been so much more fruitful than either alternative: pure statism, or entrepreneurs without the benefit of public investment (for instance, in medical sciences, agriculture, aerospace, info-tech in America), public education, public infrastructure, public rules of fair competition, and so forth. I direct you instead to the Hacker and Pierson book or to a musical you might have heard of, called Hamilton. Story continues Instead Im using the occasion of tomorrows kickoff of the National Maker Week, at the White House, to note some of the public ways in which city, state, and national institutions have been encouraging the private Ive mentioned and will describe in further installments. *** 1) From the White House. You can read about the Nation of Makers events that kick off on June 17 here. If the current administration were Republican, its support for small-scale entrepreneurs involved in tangible manufacturing would seem natural. Since the current administration is not Republican, I take its support as a sign that maybe God willing? we might actually have a case of agreement on practical economic advancement for Americans, beyond the normal national-level paralysis. Maybe? Please let me dream for a minute. The Week of Making kicks off on June 17 (White House) *** Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. * Higher biodiesel content to lift palm oil use to 709,000 T * Industry says consumption should increase to 1.3 mln T * Malaysia lagging behind Indonesia in biodiesel push By Emily Chow KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Reuters) - A new mandate in Malaysia to use more biodiesel will not create enough new demand to drain surplus output of crude palm oil (CPO) in the world's second-biggest producer as exports slow in coming months, planters say. Malaysia said in May it will increase the minimum biodiesel content for the transport sector to 10 percent from 7 percent. It will also introduce a 7 percent mandate for the industrial sector. The current low crude oil prices are expected to make it tougher for biodiesel to compete and government predictions of consumption are seen falling short to tackle the surplus. Both programmes, due to start this month, should increase Malaysia's annual domestic consumption of CPO to 709,000 tonnes, the government said. That would be a marginal increase from the current level of about 500,000 tonnes a year, say industry players. They think consumption should increase to 1.3 million tonnes to siphon off domestic stocks bound to rise in the coming months as export demand slows after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Malaysia's palm oil inventories fell 8.8 percent to 1.65 million tonnes at end-May, but are forecast to rise in the last quarter of the year as output sees seasonal gains. (MYPOMS-TPO) "The mandate won't see a significant impact because we are a small nation, unlike Indonesia," said Roy Lim, group plantations director of Malaysian palm oil firm Kuala Lumpur Kepong. NO INCENTIVE Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, requires a 20 percent blend of biodiesel into gasoil in 2016 to reduce its crude oil import bill, cut greenhouse gas emissions and create more palm oil demand. The nation consumed 1.05 million kilolitres of unblended subsidised biodiesel from January to May, said Dadan Kusdiana from Indonesia's CPO fund agency. Story continues Previous efforts by Malaysia to boost biodiesel use in the transport sector have had little success because of delayed implementation and weak enforcement. Low crude oil prices will also make it difficult for Malaysia to implement its new biodiesel programmes. With benchmark crude oil futures trading around $47 a barrel, traders say crude palm oil should be around 1,500 ringgit per tonne for biodiesel to be competitive. Benchmark palm oil stood at 2,436 ringgit ($594) a tonne at 0502 GMT on Friday. Still, palm has lost nearly 9 percent in the past two weeks as investors sold off on concerns over weaker exports ahead. "Implementation is going to be tough in this low crude oil price environment. Given the spread between palm oil and crude oil, we don't see an incentive for biodiesel producers," said David Ng, derivatives specialist at Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd. ($1 = 4.0990 ringgit) (Additional reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe in JAKARTA; Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.) Troubled Malaysian state investment vehicle 1MDB said Friday it plans a "robust response" to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund's move to seek $6.5 billion via international arbitration of a debt dispute. The Abu Dhabi fund, International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), said on Tuesday that it had submitted a request to the London Court of International Arbitration to intervene in the row. "1MDB will file a robust response to the RFA (request for arbitration)", 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, said in a brief statement. In April, 1MDB defaulted on $1.75 billion in company bonds that were co-guaranteed by IPIC after the Malaysian fund missed an interest payment of $50 million. The debt dispute centres on IPIC's accusation that 1MDB failed to pay back a $1 billion loan from the Abu Dhabi fund. 1MDB and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who launched the state-owned company in 2009, are battling allegations that billions of dollars were looted from it in complex overseas deals that are being investigated by authorities in several countries. 1MDB insists it repaid the IPIC loan, but the Abu Dhabi fund denies that. IPIC is refusing to guarantee the 1MDB bonds until the loan is repaid. Its arbitration request did not specify why it was seeking $6.5 billion. Both 1MDB and Najib vehemently deny wrongdoing. In April, a Malaysian parliamentary committee said at least $4.2 billion in questionable overseas money transfers were made by 1MDB. Najib was plunged into the crisis last year when it was revealed that $681 million in transfers were made to his personal bank accounts in 2013. He says they were "personal donations" from the Saudi royal family. In May, Swiss financial regulators approved the dissolution of Switzerland-based BSI Bank over "serious breaches" of money-laundering regulations in its dealings with 1MDB. Police have arrested a Long Island man after they found Nazi paraphernalia, a cache of weapons and bomb-making instructions in his home, authorities said. Law enforcement officials executing a search warrant on Thursday at the Mount Sinai home of Edward Perkowksi, 29, discovered an arsenal of weapons, including 14 knives, a .40-caliber Glock, six assault rifles, four rifles, 25 high-capacity magazines, a shotgun and a stun gun, Suffolk County police said. Cops said they also found $42,940 in cash, approximately four ounces of marijuana and about 26 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition in the home. "Todays search warrant might have prevented a deadly, violent incident, like the one we recently saw in Orlando, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini, said at a news conference in Yaphank. Police said they also seized a notebook that contained bomb making instructions, a cell phone, two computers, scales and Nazi paraphernalia. Read: Commuters Upset By Nazi Logos Plastered Across Subway Trains For Amazon Ad Campaign A framed photograph of Adolf Hitler, a book entitled White Power and flags and clothing displaying a swastika were among the items found in Perkowskis house, a police photo showed. To think that this was in the Town of Brookhaven is extremely disturbing, and the brave men and women of the department will stop at nothing to neutralize threats like this, Sini said of the items. Perkowksi was hit with a slew of charges, including eight counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of marijuana. His 25-year-old brother, Sean Perkowski, was arrested on an unrelated outstanding bench warrant, police said. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Edward Romaine said the home was infected with the "disease called hate," The New York Times reported. "And we want to stop hate in this country," he said. "Theres enough." Story continues Read: LA Pride Suspect Arrested With Car Full of Weapons Wanted on Molestation Charges: Prosecutors Neighbors were not surprised by the arrests, telling CBS2 they had been complaining about issues stemming from the home for years. This has been an ongoing problem, neighbor Brian Saltzer told the television station. I have contacted the police about the drug dealing and the violence and the weapons. They assaulted me. Resident John Leonard was shaken by what police discovered. Scares the hell out of me. I mean, that takes it to a whole new level its not just drugs, he told CBS2. I live two houses down, so bomb-making materials, instructions, whatever it might be, that just escalated this. Neighbors believed the home was in foreclosure and that the brothers were squatters. The Town of Brookhaven condemned the home for safety violations, police said. Edward Perkowski pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday. Bail was set at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond, officials said. His attorney told CBS2 his client hasnt done anything illegal and vowed to fight the charges 100 percent. His brother, who was wanted on a Port Jefferson village court bench warrant for public urination, paid a $50 fine. Watch: Officer Kills Himself After Posting Bail for Child Pornography Charges Related Articles: Paris (AFP) - A radicalised convert to Islam, suspected of planning to attack American and Russian tourists in France, was charged late Friday and placed in detention, a judicial source said. The 22-year-old man, arrested in the southern French city of Carcassonne on Monday after months under surveillance, has been charged with association with a terrorist group, the source said. He was carrying a knife and a small mallet when he was arrested, the source said, adding that the suspect suffered mental health problems and was believed to be planning an imminent attack against tourists. The charges come with France on high alert for terror threats as it hosts hundreds of thousands of foreign fans for the month-long Euro 2016 football championships. The country is still under a state of emergency following the jihadist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in November. On Monday, an extremist pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group knifed a policeman and his partner to death at their home in the Paris suburbs before he was killed in a police raid. The suspect arrested in Carcassonne comes from the southern French town of Lunel -- notorious for the number of residents who have left to wage jihad in Syria -- but had been living in the nearby Tarn region. The suspect told investigators after his arrest "he had spent a lot of time watching videos of the Islamic State group and jihadist sites, and that he was fascinated," the source said. The young man admitted he wanted to go to Syria but could not afford it, so was planning an attack on home soil "in the name of armed jihad", the source said. According to his lawyer Jocelyn Momasso Momasso, "he has explained that his motivations were essentially linked to international politics". He wanted to "avenge his brothers" who have fallen victim to air strikes by the international coalition targeting the IS group in Syria, the lawyer said. Hunter M. Park will face no jail time for threatening to "shoot every black person I see" during protests that roiled the University of Missouri's Columbia campus last year. Judge Kevin Crane of Boone County, Mo., sentenced the 20-year-old to three years suspended sentence and five years probation on Thursday, according to multiple reports. "Hunter is a good person who made a terrible mistake, posted some terrible stuff on the Internet," Park's attorney, Jeffrey Hilbrenner, told Reuters, "but, the Hunter I've gotten to know is a really good person." "I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see." Hunter M. Park In November, Park posted threats to the social media app Yik Yak that earned him a felony charge for making terrorist threats. These included, "I'm going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see," according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. Protesters at the University of Missouri "Some of you are alright. Don't go to campus tomorrow," he added in another post. "We're waiting for you at the parking lots," read a third, according to Reuters. "We will kill you." The threats were a response to student protests over a series of racist incidents on campus. The bulk of the protests lasted nearly two weeks and included a nine-day hunger strike by Mizzou graduate student Jonathan Butler. Tim Wolfe, the former president of the University of Missouri system, resigned amid accusations from students that he'd handled recent developments on campus inappropriately, including the appearance of racist graffiti in a dorm bathroom, racist and homophobic verbal attacks on the student body president and the erosion of graduate students health care coverage. Protesters at the University of Missouri Prosecutors initially recommended three years in prison for Park, but are okay with how things turned out. "We hoped for some incarceration," Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brouck Jacobs said, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune, "but the fact that he got a felony conviction over a suspended imposition of sentence is appropriate." By Kathryn Doyle One in 10 men and one in 20 women who travel internationally from Great Britain find new sexual partners abroad, according to two new studies. Sexually transmitted infection and HIV prevalence is higher in certain parts of the world, so some overseas partnerships may be riskier than others, said the lead author of one paper. When people travel from home they have the opportunity to meet new people and, depending on why they are traveling, may feel less constrained by social taboos controlling sexual expression, said Dr. Clare Tanton of the Research Department of Infection and Population Health at University College London. Tanton and colleagues analyzed responses to the British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles between 2010 and 2012. Of more than 15,000 adults living in Britain who responded, over 12,000 said they had at least one sexual partner within the previous five years. About 1,000 said they had sex with a new partner while traveling overseas. This was slightly more common for men and women under age 35, but even for those over age 35, one in 20 men and one in 40 women said they had hooked up abroad. We found that a similar proportion of people reported having had sex for the first time while overseas in our latest survey (carried out 2010-2012) as we found in the previous survey (carried out 1999-2001), Tanton said by email. In the more recent survey, those who had sex overseas tended to have more sexual partners total, and were less likely to use condoms in general and more likely to use drugs or alcohol than others. They were also more likely to have been to a sexual health clinic or have been tested for HIV in the past five years, according to the results in Sexually Transmitted Infections. Unfortunately we dont know what proportion of this sex while overseas was protected but other studies of travelers and STI clinic attendees suggest that a sizable proportion of it probably wasnt, Tanton said. Id like to see people think about buying and packing condoms in the same way they do for suntan lotion as part of their travel preparation. Only one third of men and 40 percent of women who reported a partner while overseas had been to a sexual health clinic in the past five years, so improvements can still be made, she said. One in four men who reported having a new non-UK-resident sex partner said they had paid for sex within the past five years. Another study in the same issue of the journal surveyed international backpackers visiting the islands of Thailand in 2013, more than half of whom were traveling without a sexual partner, and 40 percent of whom said they had sex with a new partner during the trip often another backpacker. Many of the travelers reported never or inconsistently using condoms, most often those from Britain or Sweden. The results demonstrate a mechanism by which disease may be spread from one population to another, said Christopher Lewis of the Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, at the University of Birmingham, who coauthored the second study. This is a particular concern as we see the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of gonorrhea in some parts of the world, and our worry is that gonorrhea may become an untreatable infection, he told Reuters Health by email. Unprotected sex can lead to unplanned pregnancy, HIV infection and infertility, he said. Consistent condom use is the most effective means of preventing the spread of disease during intercourse, Lewis said. We encourage all backpackers, irrespective of age and gender, to pack (and use!) condoms on their travels. Sex may be the main purpose of travel for some people who choose to travel to Thailand, said Dr. Alberto Matteelli, of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Clinic at the University of Brescia in Italy, who coauthored an editorial in the journal. There is nothing wrong with Thailand, Matteelli told Reuters Health by email. What is wrong is the business of sex that is built at the expenses of the dignity and life of many people including a significant proportion of adolescents. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/261R0ip, http://bit.ly/1Yy5FvS and http://bit.ly/1UdQcfl Sexually Transmitted Infections, online June 6, 2016. The men and women of the Orlando Police Department are receiving a collective pat on the back this week from their counterparts in Aurora, Colorado, who are familiar with the horrors of mass shootings. In a new video posted online, members of Aurora's police praise Orlando's officers in the wake of Sunday's mass shooting that killed 49 people and injured 53 inside a nightclub, the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. Among those giving praise in the video are Lt. Stephen Redfearn, who was among the first to respond in 2012 during a mass shooting inside a movie theater that killed 12 people. "We want you to know that whether you were one of the brave men and women who heroically rushed to the scene and saved countless lives or took fire while confronting the suspect, we stand with Orlando," Redfearn says in the clip. Police in Aurora decided to record the video message of support to assist the Orlando officers who'll be dealing with the trauma of Sunday's attack for years to come. Similar messages were created for Aurora's police force soon after the 2012 shooting spree. Patrol men and women as well as detectives, crime scene specialists and support staff appear in the video, which represents the entire 787-member department's response. 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. Aurora's Chief of Police, Nick Metz, says that upon learning of the violence inside Pulse, the members of his department "felt an enormous sense of sorrow for the Orlando community and a great sense of empathy and connection to the men and women of the Orlando Police Department." The Aurora officers collaborated on the video as a way of lending support to Orlando's cops, Metz explains in the clip. "It goes without saying that the Orlando Police Department stepped up," Metz says. "You all did an incredible job in protecting and saving lives that horrific night and for that, we salute you and we are incredibly proud to call you our brothers and sisters in blue." Officer Tomas Campagna adds: "We know what you're going through. And while at the moment it may seem hopeless, we know you're going to get through this as a community and as a police department." Aurora Policewoman Natasha Cabouet tells the camera that "even though we are separated by thousands of miles, we wear the same badge, the same uniform and share the same grief and sorrow." Aurora Police Commander Mike Dailey says the Colorado officers "are here for you and we grieve with you." The gunman in last Sunday's shooting, Omar Mateen, was killed during the attack. Next month, Aurora will mark the fourth anniversary of the theater shooting perpetrated by James Holmes. Last summer, jurors convicted Holmes following a lengthy trial during which police officers and others described the vicious attack. Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 12 murders and more than to 3,200 additional years for attempted murder and an explosives conviction. Over its three generations in production, the rugged Toyota Tacoma has proven to be an excellent base for creating off-road adventure vehicles, building upon a lineage of tough Toyota pickups stretching back decades. Most are reasonably inexpensive to build, though the keyword there is most however. This monstrous Toyota Tacoma cost a bit extra to engineertry $400,000. Then again, it did have to fend off some of the worlds harshest conditions at the South Pole. In 2011, this Toyota Tacoma journeyed a distance of 700 miles through Antarctica to reach the South Pole, in the process setting the Guinness World Record for the fastest overland journey to the pole, set in one day, 15 hours and 54 minutes. As it happens, the pickup is now up for sale, and it will cross the auction block at Barrett-Jacksons upcoming Northeast event. That trip across the auction block ought to be a tad bit easier than the voyage to the South Pole. According to the listing notes, the rugged Tacoma would have had to endure temperatures as cold as -89 degrees Celsius (about -128 degrees Fahrenheit). The 2011 expedition, which reportedly took years of planning, was led by explorer Jason De Carteret, engineer Kieron Bradley, and writer Jason Thomas. The trio couldnt have picked a much better shop to prep their Toyota Tacoma for the trip. Icelands Arctic Trucksthe world famous 44 up-fitters and the firm responsible for getting Top Gear to the North Poleworked their magic on the Tacoma, equipping it with everything needed to tackle the polar expedition. RELATED: Check Out the All-New 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Outside, its modifications are clearly evident. The double cab pickup now boasts a NATO Green vinyl wrap to protect its exterior, matched with gigantic 44-inch Mickey Thompson Icepack tires, a mammoth 330-gallon extended range fuel tank in the back, nine-ton winch mounted in the front stinger style bumper, as well as a full suspension overhaul, paired with air-locking ARB differentials. Story continues Inside, things are fairly standard issue, apart from the OMP WRC racing seats, Sabelt harnesses, and burly roll bar. The odometer? When this truck came up for sale early in 2015, it showed just 14,600 miles many of which were likely spent in extreme conditions. Now the pickup shows 14,600 miles. Under the hood, the Toyota four-wheel drive system and automatic transmission mate to a tough 4.0-liter V6, though now its equipped with a TRD supercharger, bumping power up to 380 hp. If its good enough to make it to the South Pole, it ought to be good enough to tackle your local trails Looking to make it your own? The rugged Toyota Tacoma will sell at no reserve on June 24th. RELATED: This Two-Wheel Land Cruiser Video is Beyond Crazy Photo Credit: Barrett-Jackson By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain said on Thursday that President Barack Obama was "directly responsible" for attacks on Americans like the one in Florida because of policies that contributed to the rise of the Islamic State. But the Arizona Republican later said he misspoke. McCain, who is in a tough re-election race, made the comments after reporters chased him down a marble stairway and into a hallway of the U.S. Capitol. They asked what he was hearing from constituents about gun control issues being debated in the Senate after Sunday's shooting rampage by a gunman who claimed allegiance to Islamic State militants. "I'm hearing a lot from my constituents about what happened and of course I am making them realize that Barack Obama is directly responsible for it," McCain said. "Because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures," McCain said. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies." After media reports began to appear about his comments, McCain, who lost the White House to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, posted a clarification on Twitter and then issued a statement that said he meant to blame Obama's policies, not the president personally. I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the president was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the president himself," McCain said in the statement. Forty-nine people died in the shooting in Orlando, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The gunman was U.S.-born Omar Mateen, 29, whose parents immigrated from Afghanistan. McCain, 79, faces multiple opponents in a Republican primary race in August, and some analysts say he is in danger of losing the Senate seat he has held for three decades. Earlier this week, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared to suggest Obama may have been complicit in the Orlando attacks. "Look, we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind," Trump told Fox News. "And the something else in mind you know, people can't believe it ... There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on." (Editing by Doina Chiacu and Tom Brown) The Film Follows a Group of Explorers that Discover a Large Enemy Warship in Space, Which Ultimately Leads to Disaster for Humankind LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 17, 2016 / Henry DeVries, a videographer that specializes in documentaries, feature films, and short films, recently announced that his latest project, MECA 3010, is now ready for production. Complete with gaming attributes, MECA 3010 is a short futuristic film that takes four explorers on a journey in which they find a strange rocket ship--the discovery of which ends up changing outer space. It is now centuries into the future, and the Federation of Planets has sent a reconnaissance ship on a mission to locate a special planet in the Milky Way galaxy. Four crewmembers--Captain Zeeroy, assistant Captain Raymoss, and Doctors Amberstone and Stefontroy--are five years into the mission and 500 light-years away from earth when they discover Corvenus, a planet in the Kepier-186f solar system. When the group enters the planet's orbit, they discover a large warship inscribed with Russian markings, which the doctors collect testing samples from. The unexpected occurs, and the crew finds themselves in a situation that will forever alter the universe. DeVries originally envisioned MECA 3010 as a feature film, but eventually made it into a short film. MECA 3010 is now ready for production, and to help with the project's costs, DeVries has taken his campaign to Kickstarter. He seeks the necessary funds to cover pre-production and filming costs, which include components such as set construction, special equipment, and props. In exchange for the public's support, DeVries is offering backers a wide variety of perks such as soundtracks, t-shirts, and the opportunity to be an extra in the film. Individuals interested in learning more about Henry DeVries and MECA 3010 can visit the project's Kickstarter page for additional information. About MECA 3010: Completed in 2015 as a short, MECA 3010 is a film that is now ready for production. Henry DeVries, the creator of the adventure, has the experience of over thirty documentaries, two feature-films, and a short-film under his belt. MECA 3010 has been his pet project: most of the film will be shot in his studio in Rockwood, Ontario, Canada, with actors and crew members from Toronto and surrounding areas. For more information, please visit https://goo.gl/7L1xG4. Story continues Contact: Timmy Gordon admin@rocketfactor.com (949) 555-2861 SOURCE: MECA 3010 The Real Housewives of Orange County has a new addition to the cast this season! To help prepare you for Monday's season 11 premiere, here are five things you need to know about the new Housewife, Kelly Dodd. 1. She was approached for the Bravo reality series previously. "I was approached three years ago for the show," Dodd told PEOPLE at the RHOC premiere party in Los Angeles on Thursday. Ultimately, "it wasnat a good time," admits Dodd. But now, she's joining the show with friend and RHOC cast member Meghan King Edmonds. "Meghan said last year was a blast. [She asked me]: 'Why don't you do it?' " explained Dodd. "And they approached me again, and I was like, 'Let's do it. What do I have to lose?' " RELATED VIDEO: Does Heather Dubrow Think Vicki Gunvalson's RHOC Friendships Can Be Saved? RHOC Friendships Can Be Saved?" data-ad-channel="peoplenow" data-ad-subchannel="peoplenowupclose" data-auto-play="no"> 2. Meghan told her to watch out for costar Vicki Gunvalson. "I told her to watch out for Vicki," Edmonds shared at the party. "And I told her, 'Be honest. Be yourself. Give everybody a fair chance.' " 3. She's steeled for drama. Teased Dodd: "I've had a really, really, really rough season," butting heads with " Shannon Beador big time. Heather [Dubrow] a little bit, and Tamra [Judge] a little bit," she admitted. And the ladies' trip to Ireland "got pretty gnarly," said Dodd, "It was a bunch of drama so things turned." 4. Her husband is a toy executive. "When they approached me again to do the show my family was like, 'Oh my God. Do it! Do it! Let's get all on board,' " said Dodd, who added that at first, her husband, Michael, was "kind of hesitant" when she decided to do the show. However, her daughter said, 'Oh mom! Do it!' " 5. She liked her first experience on reality television. "It's been so much fun. So exciting," said Dodd. "It's a world of something I never experienced and a a great time really." The Real Housewives of Orange County returns Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. This is Olli. Olli is a bus. But Ollis not just any bus, hes its a self-driving, fully-electric bus of the future, partially powered by the IBM Watson AI system and created by Phoenix-based Local Motors. Able to seat (or stand) 12 passengers, Olli is currently taking to the streets of Washington D.C., and will be hitting Miami-Dade County, Las Vegas, and Denmark by the end of the year. Power comes courtesy of an electric motor with a range of 32.4 miles in the city, and a top speed of just 12 mph. But speed and power isnt Ollis forte. Using IBM Watson, the bus is able to communicate naturally with its passengers, says the company. The IBM capabilities of Olli will help improve the passenger experience and allow natural interaction with the vehicle. RELATED: See More of the Local Motors Olli Bus Using four of Watsons API systemsSpeech to Text, Natural Language Classifier, Entity Extraction, and Text to Speechthe system is able to interact with passengers, and quickly track down any locations and information through cloud-based cognitive computing, like that new fro-yo place youve been dying to try. With a potential for huge success, Local Motors hopes to roll out even more Ollis in the future, and not just in the U.S. Berlin, Copenhagen, and Canberra are all on the short list to get their own Ollis as well. RELATED: See Photos of the Local Motors Rally Fighter By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - The city of Charleston came together on Friday for a memorial and other events to mark the first anniversary of the murders of nine members of a Bible study group in what prosecutors called a racially motivated hate crime. The events were made even more poignant coming less than a week after a gunman slaughtered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, marking the largest of many mass shootings in modern U.S. history. A stage at Charleston's TD Arena was fronted by banner portraits of each of the nine victims from the rampage at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, including its slain minister and state Senator Clementa Pinckney. Hymns were led by a 100-member choir and a minister prayed for the Charleston and Orlando victims, as well as for the soul of the accused church shooter, Dylann Roof. Roof, 22, could face the death penalty on state murder charges and federal hate crime charges. Roof is white, while his victims were African-American and the federal indictment against him said he acted out of racism. Wilhelmina Jones, 74, a retired hospital worker who helped out as an usher at Friday's service, said the massacre had united the local community. "When this tragedy happened to us last year, we came together as one," Jones said. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley showed the programs from nine funerals she has kept since last summer, and spoke about faith and each victim. She recalled how they welcomed Roof and prayed with him for an hour before they were killed. "Tywanza Sanders stood in front of his 87-year-old aunt and looked the murderer in the eye and said, 'You don't have to do this. We mean you no harm,'" Haley told the congregation. "I will always talk about these people who changed my life." As well as the memorial, events including Bible study sessions, a prayer breakfast, a "unity walk" and tree plantings will take place around Charleston. The church also will open its doors to religious leaders and elected officials from around the nation on Friday afternoon. Story continues The church has had many visitors in the past year, Emanuel's new pastor, the Reverend Dr. Betty Deas Clark, told Reuters during a recent Bible study meeting in the room where the massacre took place. "I believe we're moving forward ... Forgiveness is the message of the hour," Clark said. (Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Bill Trott and Bernard Orr) In a book about the French Revolution he was ghostwriting during the 1920s, Charles de Gaulle opined that some of the countrys generals had been stripped of prestige, often of life, sometimes of honor. As described in Julian Jacksons De Gaulle, Marshal Philippe Petain the champion of Verdun suggested the young captain move the part about life to the end of the sentence. Refusing to bow to the experienced soldiers advice, an uppity de Gaulle declared, It is an ascending gradation: prestige, life, honor. De Gaulle once held Petain in high regard some say his son, Philippe, had been named after the famed marechal. But this editorial quibble foreshadowed their future, as both men went on to rule France, be sentenced to death and trade labels of villain and hero. And Petain would be stripped of his honor, but spared his life, by his former charge. The marshal is a great man who died in 1925. Trouble is, he didnt know it. Charles de Gaulle Colonel Petain, as he was known in 1914, had never seen any action and was preparing to retire at the age of 58. But retirement wasnt in the cards thanks to World War I, during which this cautious military man built a reputation as a great field commander who would not attack until he had an overwhelming superiority, says Robert Paxton, a Columbia University professor emeritus and specialist in Vichy history. Known for vowing to hold Verdun at all costs famously saying, Ils ne passeront pas (They will not pass) he was awarded the marshals baton in 1918. He also developed a taste for leadership and accolades: One of his next roles was mobilizing French troops against the 1925 Rif rebellion in Morocco, a victory that earned him a series of political appointments in the 1930s. When German tanks started rolling toward France again, de Gaulle was neither well-known nor well-liked. Compared with the cautious Petain, de Gaulle had always been Bolshie and, like stereotypical millennials today, the young nationalist told his bosses just what he thought; he was, according to Paxton, ready to take risks on the battlefield. The future first president of the French Republic favored mechanized warfare and the use of specialized armored divisions in combat, rather than sticking with French doctrine, which dictated that tanks support infantry maneuvers. His efforts to repel German forces including the use of tanks at Montcornet in one of Frances few successes at holding off Hitlers troops got him promoted to brigadier general and, later, undersecretary of state for defense and war. De Gaulles objective was winning at any cost, a position that would once more pit him against his former boss. Story continues Better to be a Nazi province was the message from Petain to French Premier Paul Reynaud, Ian Crofton writes in Traitors & Turncoats, noting that the latter fancied joining efforts with Britain to combat Hitler, despite heavy French losses. Leadership squabbles led to Reynaud being out, Petain being in and negotiations for peace initiated with Germany, to the chagrin of de Gaulle and Reynaud. Petain signed an armistice on June 22, 1940, and once again he was hailed a hero for saving the nation from more bloodshed. Petains government moved to Vichy, where it controlled roughly 40 percent of France, with the rest left to German occupation. De Gaulle, meanwhile, moved to Britain, where he drummed up support for Free French Forces, starting with a Winston Churchillapproved BBC radio address to his countrymen. In response, Vichy sentenced de Gaulle to death for treason a high-ranking military leader with an equally high ranking atop Frances hit list. Petain was sure the war was over, Paxton says, while de Gaulle was sure it was not over. One was hailed a hero, the other a traitor, but all of that was about to change. Vichy became a collaborative hellhole known for deporting French Jews, and de Gaulle went on to rally support in Africa, raise troops and help lead the liberation of his country. [De Gaulles] bet was right, Paxton says. With France liberated in September 1944, Vichys elite were summoned to Germany, but Petain returned home to face charges of treason at a trial in the summer of 1945. His defense? If I could no longer be your sword, I wanted to be your shield. Still beloved by many, Petain was stripped of his military rank and sentenced to execution by firing squad. De Gaulle commuted the 89-year-olds sentence, freeing the old man to live out his final days on the Ile dYeu. The marshal is a great man who died in 1925. Trouble is, he didnt know it, de Gaulle said of his former mentors fall from grace. And indeed, as the younger man prospered from his good fortune and sound bet during World War II, he watched Frances once-great hero be stripped of his prestige and honor, but not quite his life. Related Articles A Rochester Hills, Michigan, Muslim group is encouraging its members to break their traditional Ramadan fast to donate blood to help victims of the Sunday shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center is hosting a prayer service Tuesday night. "We condemn this senseless and horrific act of violence in the strongest possible terms," said Dr. Mansoor Qureshi, president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's Metro Detroit chapter, according the Michigan Live. "Our hearts go out to the innocent victims and their families," Qureshi continued. "We stand in solidarity with them as their neighbors and brothers and sisters in peace. Islam teaches reverence for all human life. This is a time to pray and act to stop such senseless violence in our nation." Many Muslims traditionally abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours throughout the month of Ramadan. The month, which is based on the lunar calendar, rotates throughout the year; Ramadan 2016 began on Sunday, June 5. A decades-old ban that prevents gay men who have had sex with another man in the past year from giving blood is again causing controversy in the wake of the Orlando shooting. The F.D.A. maintains that its position is scientifically sound and in line with that of other countries, including Britain and Australia, though France dropped its ban on blood donations from gay men last year. This story originally appeared on money.com. A man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is suing the Transportation Security Administration for $506.85 after, he contends, long airport security lines caused him to miss a flight. Related: The Best Cell Phone Plans of 2016 Human Nikizad says he arrived two hours prior to departure for a flight bound from Minneapolis to Los Angeles but still had to wait more than 90 minutes to get through TSA security, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. As a result, he says, he had to purchase a new ticket. The $506.85 covers the cost of the new ticket, plus additional ground transportation expenses and a $75 court fee to file the lawsuit. I had to buy a ticket with another airline to be able to make my destination and meet my obligations, said Nikizad, a resident surgeon with the University of Minnesota, in his claim. Niizads complaint notes that despite a visit just eight days earlier from TSA head Peter Neffenger and a promise of improvement in security check times, the TSA had limited staff on duty and was using only one body scanner for the regular security line. Related: The One App You Should Check Before You Book Your Next Flight The TSA has come under fire in recent months as airport security lines have reached colossal levels, leading some travelers to abandon air travel plans altogether. While the TSA has implemented some fixes to long airport security lineslike the TSA PreCheck programairlines themselves have stepped up as well, with airlines pledging millions to help the beleaguered federal agency improve its notorious inefficiency. At its home airport in Atlanta, Delta paid to develop entirely newand substantially more efficientsecurity procedures that could become a model for fixing the TSA nationwide. Related: Best in Travel 2016 The case was first filed in Hannepin County District Court and transferred to federal court Friday. Its unclear how the complaint will fare at this stage, as there doesnt appear to be a clear legal precedent. Airport officials and attorneys representing TSA declined to comment to the Star-Tribune, though a TSA spokesperson told the paper that, regarding having a traveler sue the agency over a missed flight, I have never encountered anything similar. Related Articles Tokyo (AFP) - Mitsubishi Motors said Friday it will post a $480 million special loss for the current fiscal year to pay compensation to customers over years of cheating on fuel-economy tests. Mitsubishi first admitted in April it had been falsifying the tests, manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient than they were. Since the scandal emerged, its sales in Japan have slumped and the company last month said its president would resign. The scandal -- reported to cover almost every model sold in Japan since 1991 -- also includes mini-cars produced by Mitsubishi for Nissan as part of a joint venture. "We will post a special loss of 50 billion yen ($480 million)" for the year to March 2017, the automaker said in a statement, "as costs for payments to customers of our company and Nissan Motor". It has already booked 15 billion yen in payments to customers for the year ended in March. It was Nissan that first uncovered problems with the fuel economy data, but Mitsubishi has said the company had no part in the cheating. Yokohama-based Nissan last month threw a lifeline to Mitsubishi as it announced plans to buy a one-third stake in the crisis-hit automaker for $2.2 billion, forging an alliance that will challenge some of the world's biggest auto groups. For the past year to March, Mitsubishi posted a net loss of 72.6 billion yen and operating profit of 138.4 billion yen on sales of 2.27 trillion yen. Following the scandal, it has been slow to give a full-year earnings forecast for the current fiscal year, with the company now "estimating other (future) costs" related to the cheating, Mitsubishi said in the statement. By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Morocco has proposed allowing around 25 civilian staff to immediately return to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in disputed Western Sahara in a sign that tensions between Rabat and the U.N. may be easing, diplomatic sources said on Friday. Earlier this year, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara in 1975, when Rabat took it over from colonial power Spain. Infuriated by what it saw as a shift away from a neutral position, Morocco expelled dozens of U.N. staff working for the mission there known as MINURSO. The U.N. has been in talks with Morocco to end the dispute for months. U.N. diplomatic sources said on condition of anonymity that the discussions appeared to be producing some results, though they cautioned that nothing has been finalized or signed. "It's true that Morocco has offered to let some 25 staff back in though it's still all being negotiated," a source told Reuters. In April the U.N. Security Council extended MINURSO's mandate for another year and demanded urgent restoration of its full functionality. However, council diplomats and U.N. officials said discussions on restoring MINURSO's full functionality have been slow and difficult. The controversy over Ban's comment during a visit to refugee camps for Sahrawi people is Morocco's worst dispute with the United Nations since 1991, when the U.N. brokered a ceasefire to end a war over Western Sahara and established MINURSO. The diplomatic sources said both Morocco and the U.N. wanted their dispute to end. Morocco, they said, is keen to have Ban come to their country to attend a special high-level meeting on climate change in November. "If this thing is not resolved, I can't imagine the secretary-general attending," a U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Morocco's U.N. mission did not respond immediately to a request for comment. U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous briefed the 15-nation Security Council on Thursday on the MINURSO discussions. Several diplomats at that closed-door session told Reuters Ladsous spoke of positive momentum in the talks with Morocco. After Ban's remarks in March, Morocco demanded that 81 U.N. international civilian staff and three African Union staff leave the mission. It also ordered the closing of a MINRUSO military liaison office. The Sahrawi people's Polisario Front movement, which demands self-determination for Western Sahara, wants a referendum on independence for the disputed territory. Morocco says it will only grant autonomy. Before the reductions, MINURSO had nearly 500 military and civilian personnel. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Andrew Hay) Nobody likes to hear their car has failed its MOT. But a study of more than a million MOT results suggests youre far more likely to get this bad news if you live in Scotland than if youre in the south of England. Research by Automyze, the AAs car management website, found that car owners in Dundee have the highest MOT failure rate in the UK, with more than half of cars in the Scottish city failing their last MOT. Four out of the five UK towns and cities with the lowest MOT pass rates were in the West Country; with Truro (51.5%), Plymouth (51.3%), Exeter (50.5%) and Bath (49.5%), failing their last statutory roadworthiness check. In contrast, the Isle of Man had the highest pass rate in the UK with 71.8% of vehicles passing their last test at the first time. The research showed that seven out of 20 towns and cities with the highest MOT failure rates were in Scotland, with almost half of cars in Aberdeen and Perth failing their last MOT. Out of the 20 towns and cities with the lowest MOT failure rates, 18 were in the south east of England, including London and places in the commuter belt such as Twickenham, Harrow, Dartford, Sutton, Enfield, Croydon, Kingston and Ilford. (Pictures: Getty) Lucy Burnford, director of Automyze, said: There could be a number of reasons why MOT failure rates are higher in Dundee, from the length of time people own their cars to the types of vehicle they own. However, some basic checks could bring failure rates down and save both time and money. There are multiple reasons why vehicles fail their MOT but the most common are tyres, headlights and indicators, which can be so easily fixed before the statutory roadworthiness test. Birstall (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Campaigning for the EU referendum next week was suspended on Friday for a second day as the nation reeled from the murder of a popular pro-Europe MP at the height of a bitterly divisive debate. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker and pro-EU campaigner known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees, was killed on Thursday outside a library where she regularly met constituents in her home village of Birstall in northern England. Witnesses told local media the mother of two had been repeatedly shot and stabbed. A 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described by neighbours as a loner, there were indications that he had extreme right leanings. With just six days left before the historic vote, rival groups campaigning for Britain to leave or remain in the European Union ceased campaigning and politicians joined as one to condemn the killing. But some commentators questioned whether the murder could be linked to a campaign that has stoked high tension by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. The Times newspaper reported Friday that Cox, who became the first British MP to be murdered since 1990, had "had been harassed in a stream of messages over three months". Police were considering putting in place additional security, it said, adding there was no known link between the messages and Thursday's attack. Before Cox's murder, opinion polls were pointing to the likelihood that Britain would vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum, a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling. The pound rose with Asian stocks Friday after the previous day's selloff, as investors judged the tragedy increased the likelihood of the "Remain" side prevailing. - 'White nationalism' - US advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Mair, who had lived in the area for decades, was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. Story continues It said he had spent over $620 on reading material from the group, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. "Neighbours called him a 'loner' but he also has a long history with white nationalism," the Southern Poverty Law Center said. It added that Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told media the assailant used a gun of "old-fashioned" or "homemade" appearance. One witness of the attack, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told the Press Association that the gunman had shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack. "Britain First" is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group, but it denied any involvement. Dozens gathered outside Parliament in a vigil to remember Cox attended by Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, flanked by tearful party colleagues. "What's happened is beyond appalling. We are here in silent memory of her loss," Corbyn said as rain began to fall. "She was a fearless campaigner, and a voice for the voiceless. We feel shaken," said Fatima Ibrahim, 23, an activist with Avaaz. In the streets of Birstall, the scene of the attack was cordoned off and police could be seen examining a shoe and a handbag. Mourners left flowers nearby in tribute. - 'Fight the hatred' - In the wake of the attack, commentators questioned whether the tone of the EU referendum campaign had stirred up ugly currents. In the The Spectator, writer Alex Massie noted that the day had begun with the unveiling of a poster by the anti-EU UK Independent Party (UKIP) featuring a queue of migrants and refugees and the words "Breaking point". "The message was not very subtle: Vote Leave, Britain, or be overrun by brown people," Massie wrote. "When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don't be surprised if someone takes you at your word." US Secretary of State John Kerry describd the killing as "an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy". In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Cox's death was "frightful (and) dramatic" and said her thoughts were with the victim's family. Cox, whose first speech in parliament defended immigration and diversity, lived with her husband Brendan and their two children aged three and five, on a houseboat on the Thames. As the news of her death broke, Brendan issued a an impassioned appeal for unity against hatred. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now," he wrote. "One, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." London (AFP) - The murder of pro-European lawmaker Jo Cox will have a sobering effect on the final days of campaigning for Britain's EU referendum, analysts said Friday, as investors appeared more confident of a vote to "Remain". Campaigning for the June 23 vote has been suspended following Thursday's fatal attack on the opposition Labour MP in her constituency in northern England, bringing a heated and divisive race to an abrupt halt. "It has been a rather bitter campaign, with personality conflicts. It might calm people down in a more sober manner," Wyn Grant, professor of politics at Warwick University, told AFP. Opinion polls suggest the referendum is too close to call, although two new surveys published in the hours before Cox died suggested Britain was on course to end its 43-year membership of the European Union. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said the "Leave" campaign in particular may now have to tone down its rhetoric, which had taken a strong anti-establishment tone. "The argument is that the establishment says we can't leave," he told AFP, adding: "Attacking politicians won't be possible anymore." He said: "The 'Leave' side may have to be a little careful with their language." The Times newspaper concurred, noting: "That Ms Cox was a mother as well as a dedicated public servant means that attacks on the 'political class' or 'Westminster elites' are likely to be off limits." However, Curtice said the suspension of campaigning could also hurt the "Remain" side, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, which needs time to regain the lead. Both sides announced Friday that they would not hold any major events on Saturday, leaving them with just four days of campaigning left before a broadcast ban on polling day. "It is not to the advantage of 'Remain' as they need any hour available to convince the undecided," Curtice said. Story continues - Markets gain ground - In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged British politicians to moderate their language, warning: "The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect." London mayor Sadiq Khan, who is from the same party as Cox and also backs a "Remain" vote next week, said there was a need to "pause and reflect". "I hope between now and 10pm on Thursday (when the polls close) the campaign is conducted in a different environment than it has been conducted up until now," he told LBC radio. "We don't know the facts surrounding Jo's death. What we do know is there is a environment of hatred, of poison, of negativity, of cynicism." A writer for the Conservative-supporting Spectator magazine, blamed the "Leave" campaign for raising tensions. "When you encourage rage you cannot then feign surprise when people become enraged," wrote Alex Massie in an online article that quickly went viral. The prospect of Britain leaving the EU had weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling amid fears of the potential economic fall-out of a Brexit. But European and Asian stock markets rebounded strongly Friday and the pound was firmer, lifted in part by expectations that Britain will now stay in. "The suspension of campaigning for the UK EU referendum after the tragic death of Labour MP Jo Cox boosted risk appetite," said Nick Stamenkovic, an analyst at broker RIA Capital Markets. Brussels (AFP) - Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders on Friday said it would no longer take funds from the EU in protest at its "shameful" policies on the migration crisis, including a deal with Turkey. The charity, widely known by its French acronym MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres), received 56 million euros ($63 million) from European Union institutions and the 28 member states last year. "MSF announces today that we will no longer take funds from the EU and its member states in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people and their suffering back from European shores," the group said in a statement. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning MSF singled out the EU's deal with Turkey in March to stem the biggest flow of migrants into the continent since World War II, many of them from war-torn Syria. "This is really about Europe's refugee shame," Jerome Oberreit, international secretary general of MSF, told a press conference in Brussels. He accused member states of a "shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need." "The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger," Oberreit added. - 'Courageous and principled stand' - MSF has been heavily involved in caring for migrants in locations including the Greek island of Lesbos and the French port of Calais, as well as operating a boat called the Argos which saves lives in the Mediterranean. Under the Turkey deal, Ankara agreed to take back all migrants and refugees landing in the Greek islands who did not apply for asylum, and to crack down on people smuggling across the Aegean Sea. In exchange, the EU said it would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey for every Syrian that Ankara takes back from Greece. Story continues Turkey was meanwhile offered visa-free access, increased aid and speeded up EU accession talks if it met certain conditions, one of which was changing its anti-terror laws. MSF said 8,000 people including hundreds of unaccompanied minors had been left stranded in the Greek islands by the deal. The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, said it "takes note" of the MSF decision, stressing that it affected only just over one percent of the Commission's 1.5 billion euro annual aid budget. Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas rejected criticism of the Turkey deal, saying: "The Commission prefers the interpretation of our 28 member states, of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, which are closer to our analysis of the deal rather than the one that the MSF did today." Rights group Amnesty International hailed MSF's "courageous and principled stand". - 'We cannot accept funding' - MSF's Oberreit also criticised a proposal last week to make similar deals with African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries. He pointed out that potential partners included Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan, "four of the top 10 refugee-generating countries." "We cannot accept funding from the EU or the Member States while at the same time treating the victims of their polices. It's that simple," Oberreit added. MSF said it received 19 million euros from EU institutions and 37 million euros from member states in 2015, amounting to eight percent of its funding. It added that its activities are 90 percent privately funded. "We are looking for other funding channels," MSF migration expert Aurelie Ponthieu told the press conference. "We are not cutting down programmes." The charity said its medics had treated 200,000 men, women and children in the Mediterranean and in Europe in the last 18 months. It also received 6.8 million euros from Norway, which is not part of the EU. Europe has struggled to deal with a wave of more than one million refugees and migrants fleeing war and poverty in Syria, the wider Middle East and Africa since the start of 2015. Cannabis, Business, Expo, Marijuana The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on Thursday to allow banks to provide financial services to legal recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries, according to The Denver Post. Marijuana is still listed as a Schedule 1 substance by the federal government, so marijuana businesses in states where recreational use is legal, like Colorado, are forced to operate on an all-cash basis. The vote on Thursday approved an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, which provides annual funding for some government agencies, including the Treasury Department. A standalone bill aimed at fixing the marijuana industry's banking issue, with nearly identical language to the amendment, failed to reach any debate last year. It's not clear how the amendment will be received this year. "We've seen this all before," Jeff Foster, a co-founder of JANE, an express ordering kiosk for cannabis retailers, told Business Insider. "I hope that some progress is being made. But certainly what happened yesterday [the Senate's vote] was by no means a watershed moment." This isn't the first time the federal government has tried to give banks the green light to work with marijuana businesses. In February 2014, President Obama announced with the backing of the Treasury Department and the Justice Department that the federal government would not prosecute banks that dealt with money from legal marijuana dispensaries. Marijuana dispensaries were also supposedly allowed to get loans and set up credit and checking accounts with banks, just like any other retailer. None of this actually happened. Two years later, marijuana businesses still can't get loans, and customers can't even use credit cards to buy the product. For many banks, it's simply not worth the risk for banks to do business with marijuana dispensaries. Operating on an all-cash basis is a huge risk for marijuana businesses, who have been forced into a kind of a "gray market" says Foster. Story continues There's the issue of theft it's not uncommon for dispensaries to partner with armored car services to handle all the cash as well as issues with actually tracking the payments, and understanding how much money is actually being exchanged. That's not to mention that dispensaries are forced to pay both their employees and their taxes in cash. "Whether you are for or against legalization, you have to recognize that having marijuana businesses handling huge amounts of cash with nowhere to deposit the money is a public safety concern that Congress has to tackle," says Michael Collins, the deputy director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. It's likely that the marijuana industry's banking issues will take some time to fix. "Banks still regulate themselves," says Foster. "And the resistance to marijuana is mostly based on reputational risk. There's still a great stigma in the banking community around marijuana. It's palpable." NOW WATCH: Why this Instagram star withdrew $1.2 million in cash then deposited it the next day More From Business Insider London (AFP) - Jo Cox, the British lawmaker murdered on the streets of northern England, had complained to police earlier this year about "malicious communications" she received, police said Friday. A man was arrested in March and was cautioned by police, but he is not the man in custody for Thursday's attack, a statement from London's Metropolitan Police said. Witnesses said Cox, a 41-year-old with two children aged three and five, was repeatedly shot and stabbed in Thursday's assault in the Yorkshire village of Birstall. Her murder came one week before Britain holds a referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union, a vote which has sparked a divisive and bitter campaign. "Officers received an allegation of malicious communications from Jo Cox MP, and in March 2016 arrested a man in connection with the investigation," the police statement said. "The man subsequently accepted a police caution. The man who accepted the police caution is not the man in custody in West Yorkshire." The Times newspaper reported that police were considering putting in place additional security for Cox when she died. A 52-year-old man, named by British media as Thomas Mair, was arrested shortly after Cox was attacked. Neighbours told newspapers that he was a loner who had lived in the area for decades, but there were indications he had extreme right-wing leanings. LONDON (Reuters) - British MP Jo Cox, who was killed on Thursday, had previously contacted police after receiving "malicious communications" and they had arrested a man in connection with the investigation in March. Police said that the man they had arrested at that time was not the 52-year-old man who was being held in custody in West Yorkshire following his arrest close to the crime scene. "Officers received an allegation of malicious communications from Jo Cox MP, and in March 2016 arrested a man in connection with the investigation," police said. "The man subsequently accepted a police caution." Cox, a 41-lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate of Britain's European Union membership, died after she was shot and stabbed repeatedly by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first". Both sides in Britain's EU referendum suspended campaigning after the attack. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has opened a gastronomic exhibit that replicates dishes from some of the top Michelin-starred restaurants around the globe allowing visitors to embark on a culinary world tour without leaving the city. The vision of chef Corey Lee, who helms the triple Michelin-starred San Fran restaurant Benu, In Situ brings the cuisine of superstar chefs from France, the UK, Italy, Hong Kong, Denmark, Spain and Japan to diners at the recently opened museum. For the exhibit-restaurant, Lee worked with chefs to faithfully recreate each dish. Dishes were either chosen from a chef's existing repertoire, or created specially for the In Situ exhibit. The menu will rotate between chefs and restaurants according to seasonality. Opening the exhibit this week, for example, is a caramelized carrot soup from Nathan Myhrvold, author of Modernist Cuisine. Diners can also travel to Paris without leaving town and tuck into a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich filled with Saint-Nectaire cheese and black truffle, from Astrance restaurant. To cap off their meal, they can also sample the pastry wizardry of Dominique Ansel, who contributed his recipe for a sage smoked dark chocolate brownie. The concept is an interesting extension of an emerging trend in the world of haute gastronomy: restaurants and chefs swapping kitchens or hosting pop-ups around the world and breaking down the barriers of brick and mortar restaurants at fixed addresses. Overall, the list of participating chefs represents a powerhouse of some of the most influential cooks in the upper echelons of haute and trending gastronomy today. They include chefs Massimo Bottura, whose Italian restaurant Osteria Francescana was named the world's best restaurant this week; Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen; Albert Adria of Tickets in Barcelona; Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in Yountville; and Seiji Yamamoto of RyuGin in Osaka among dozens of others. The space can accommodate up to 70 guests and is open during lunch hours but will expand to dinner in the future. There are 600 children registered as suffering from restricted physical capability in Gyumri, Armenias second largest city. Of these, some 200 have cerebral palsy. During the past few years, a number of organizations have been created in Gyumri to assist children with disabilities. The Emili Aregak Day Care Center for Children & Youth with Multiple Disabilities is one of them. Anna doesnt have the means to take her two-year-old son Feliks to additional exercise treatment courses. The boy only attends physio-therapy classes that charge no fee. A special minivan picks up children and takes them to Aregak. Eight year-old Narek is the most silent in the bunch. After being placed in the wheelchair, the boy firmly gripped the wheels and started to ride up and down the halls, greeting everyone along the way. Twelve year-old Sevak says he never used a wheelchair at home. The only time he does is when he attends a once weekly therapy course at the Aregak Day Care Center. Otherwise, the boy, schooled at home, passes the time of day seated in the kitchen. Sevak only accessible outlet is the computer. Once a week, his good friend Davit visits. Margarita has recently signed up for computer classes. She wants to get a job after completing them. A Muslim faith school has accused Ofsted of racist conduct after the schools watchdog voiced concerns at the discovery of highly concerning extremist leaflets. Ofsteds latest report on the Darul Uloom Islamic High School said leaflets containing highly concerning and extremist views - including the suggestion that music, dancing and singing are acts of the devil - were found during its inspection. But the schoo, which caters for boys aged 11 to 16, has hit back at the watchdog, saying the leaflets were not found on its premises but at the back door of a mosque next door. (Picture: Google Street View) The independent school in Small Heath, Birmingham, claimed an Ofsted inspector refused to take off their shoes during the inspection and was extremely belligerent. In a statement issued in response to Ofsteds latest findings, the school said the leaflets had been dumped by a member of the public and had no association with the mosque or school. It said: Furthermore in regards to the inspection in question, the conduct of the Ofsted inspectors during this inspection were unacceptable and racist. Darul Uloom was subjected to a full Ofsted inspection last October when it was rated as inadequate. It then drew up an improvement action plan which was evaluated by inspectors in February. The latest Ofsted report on the school, published this week, said: Leaders and staff have had training in preventing extremism and radicalisation, and been given the latest Government safeguarding guidance. "However, the impact of this work has not rectified safeguarding weaknesses. "A large number of copies of a leaflet containing highly concerning and extremist views, such as Music, dancing and singing are acts of devil and prohibited, were discovered during the inspection. "The leaflets were found in areas shared by the school and adjoining mosque which are used by leaders and in areas used by the pupils from the school. saturn Recently, scientists using NASA's Cassini spacecraft noticed a strange ding in one of Saturn's rings. Saturn is sometimes called the "Jewel of the Solar System." With shimmering pinks, hues of gray, and a hint of brown, its rings resemble a fresco where nature is the painter, NASA writes. The rings are made of trillions of particles of dust, rock, and ice orbiting around the planet at different speeds up to thousands of miles per hour. The size of these particles can range from as small as a grain of sand to larger than a skyscraper. The rings, only about 30 to 300 feet thick, wrap around the planet for about 175,000 miles. The dent was found in Saturn's F ring its outermost discrete ring. The F ring just might be the most active ring in the solar system. Scientists can see its features changing over the course of a few hours. The disruption, NASA said, was probably caused by a small object embedded in the ring. John Weiss, a ring scientist in Washington state, told Fusion: There's good evidence that there's a lot of these sized bodies in the core of the ring itself, but you can't normally see them because they're covered by the dust cloud around them. But they're in there, and every so often move across the ring space and blow a bunch of those dust particles out. This one was traveling faster than [3 feet] per second. When the small object interacted with some of the stuff in the ring's core, it produced something that scientists sometimes refer to as a "jet." Astronomers think that these jets form thanks to the gravitational pull of Saturn's small, potato-shaped moon, Prometheus. It "acts as a cosmic shepherd, sculpting the F ring as it makes its orbit around Saturn," National Geographic writes. "But the moon's route isn't perfectly circular, and its uneven pull can create clumps inside the ring that then shoot out as jets." The collision itself actually happened pretty recently within a day or so of when this image was taken on April 8, Weiss said. In the two months since the picture was taken, "the wound has just about stitched itself back up," National Geographic writes. Story continues Weiss said: You get to expecting in planetary science for things to have happened millions of years ago, and you don't think to ever get to observe things actively happening. But that's the kind of funky thing with Saturn's rings. You can actually see evidence of things that happened yesterday, or the day before. NOW WATCH: Scientists can't explain these mysterious spots on one of Saturn's most remarkable moons More From Business Insider A NASA spacecraft's five-year trek to Jupiter is nearly over. The $1.1 billion Juno probe, which launched in August 2011 on a mission to investigate Jupiter's structure, composition and formation history, is scheduled to begin orbiting the gas giant on July 4. "We're just a couple of weeks from arriving at Jupiter," Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said during a news conference today (June 16). "It's been such a great journey, and I can't wait to get there." [Photos: NASA's Juno Mission to Jupiter] The excitement is tinged with anxiety, however. Juno will fire its main engine for 35 minutes on the evening of July 4, essentially slamming on the brakes to slow down enough to get captured by Jupiter's gravity. If something goes wrong during this crucial maneuver, the spacecraft will zoom right past the giant planet, mission team members said. "It's a one-shot deal. I mean, the whole thing's riding on this JOI Jupiter orbit insertion activity on July 4," Bolton said. "Somebody asked, 'When does the nail-biting start?' It's already started." If everything goes according to plan on July 4, Juno will be captured into a 53-day orbit. Additional engine burns will eventually get the probe into its elliptical, 14-day science orbit, during which Juno will get as close as 2,700 miles (4,350 kilometers) to Jupiter's cloud tops. Over the course of more than 30 orbits, Juno will use its nine science instruments to study the planet's composition, magnetic field and gravity field, among other things. (The instruments' core electronics, and Juno's flight computer, are tucked inside a 400-lb. [180 kilograms] titanium vault to shield them from the intense radiation environment at Jupiter.) The spacecraft's observations will reveal a great deal about how Jupiter formed and evolved information that should have broader applicability, Bolton said. Story continues "One of the primary goals of Juno is to learn the recipe for solar systems," he said. "It's not just our solar system, but how do you make the planets that we discover in other solar systems?" Jupiter was the first planet in Earth's solar system to form, "so it gives you that very first step in the recipe: What happened after the sun formed that allowed the planets to form?" Bolton said. The Juno mission is scheduled to end in February 2018, with an intentional death dive into Jupiter's thick atmosphere. The probe's fiery death is designed to make sure that Juno never contaminates any potential life-supporting worlds, such as Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa, NASA officials said. Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. Editor's Recommendations Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. By David Ingram and Andrew Chung (Reuters) - An advocacy group for crime victims will oversee the payout of some of the millions of dollars in donations raised for victims of a shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub in an effort to deliver aid as quickly as possible. As of Thursday afternoon, $5 million had been raised online for the victims by Equality Florida, a gay rights group that has decided to distribute the money through the National Compassion Fund, a unit of the nonprofit National Center for Victims of Crime. There are other private fundraising campaigns for the victims of the massacre, including campaigns to benefit specific individuals, but so far only Equality Florida has sought the Washington-based center's help in managing the money. The victim center's executive director Mai Fernandez said the fund planned to disburse emergency money after the authorities confirm an official list of those present during Sunday's massacre at Orlando's Pulse night club where a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others. Distributing money to the victims of mass shootings, terrorism and other major crimes can be a fraught process, raising thorny questions about the value of human life, how applications will be verified, who should be making the decisions and how quickly aid can reach those in need. While countries such as France, Italy and Spain have government-run funds that provide benefits to victims of acts of terrorism, the United States largely relies on a patchwork of state-level aid for crime victims and private fundraising efforts. The National Compassion Fund was set up in 2014 to help speed up and streamline the flow of private funds and coordinate efforts on a national level. The Orlando massacre is the fourth shooting for which the fund is collecting contributions. Victims and survivors could also be eligible for compensation from public funds. DOZENS OF CLAIMS The U.S. federal government helps states pay for crime-related expenses including funeral and burial services, medical treatment and mental health counseling. The Florida Attorney General's Office is processing dozens of claims through its victim compensation fund, a spokesman for the office said. The state could also receive money through a $50 million Anti terrorism Emergency Assistance Program, administered by the Office for Victims of Crime, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice. According to Florida law, state-distributed victim compensation that reimburses losses is capped at $25,000 or double that sum in case of a "catastrophic injury." It is too early to say how much in private aid the Orlando victims could receive in total, Fernandez said in a phone interview. "What we disperse is whatever the public gives us." The fund aims to disperse money within nine months and gives 100 percent of what it receives to victims minus fees charged for electronic donations, with administrative costs covered by separate fundraising, Fernandez said. For an attack last year in which a gunman fatally shot four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the fund says it received $467,335 from 556 donors. The bulk, $331,490, was paid to the estates of the five people killed, with smaller amounts going to those who were physically injured or psychologically traumatized, the fund says. The fund also collected donations for a 2014 shooting in Fort Hood, Texas, and the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, even though that attack took place in 2012 before the fund was created. The fund does not consider variable factors such as lost future income, so, for example, each person severely injured receives the same amount. Merging funds with similar missions is a good idea, said Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer who oversaw compensation funds for the Sept. 11 attacks and the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Feinberg is helping to advise the National Compassion Fund. "Having competing funds is a big mistake. The money gets distributed too widely. You don't have a centralized, single fund to maximize distributions," Feinberg said. The victims center approached Equality Florida, which found the offer of help attractive because the center does not charge for its services and provides one-on-one contact with victims, Ida Eskamani, Equality Florida's development officer, told Reuters. "It's sad that there is a need for such an organization." (Reporting by David Ingram and Andrew Chung in New York; Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Orlando, Florida, and Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Amy Stevens and Tomasz Janowski) Assuming a group of people support you is never really a great move just ask Donald Trump. This is a lesson beer maker Anheuser-Busch learned the hard way this week. A Native American tribe in North Carolina filed a federal lawsuit against the company for illegally using the tribe's logo and slogan in an ad campaign without their permission, the News & Observer reported. Oops. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina filed the lawsuit Tuesday morning, accusing the beer maker of using its "Heritage, Pride & Strength" slogan on banners hung in convenience stores advertising Budweiser and Bud Light. The banners also feature the Lumbee tribe's logo, a circle that is divided into four different colored quadrants. Lawyers for the tribe argued that the banners leave a "false impression of an affiliation between the tribe and Anheuser-Busch." Lumbee Tribe of NC sues #Anheuser-Busch for unapproved use of tribal trademark. http://bit.ly/1U8mmc4 pic.twitter.com/5yBIKOWM9S https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ck_mzzUWgAEYgVj.jpg:large The faux pas is especially gripping, considering the delicate relationship between Native American communities and alcohol. "Many members of the [Lumbee] tribe find offensive because alcohol abuse is often associated with Native American culture," the lawsuit stated. Native Americans are "five times more likely to die of alcohol-related causes than whites," PBS noted. And problems with alcohol abuse start at a young age, researchers at Colorado State University found. According to the study, 18.3% of eighth-graders in the Native American community and 19.4% of 10th-graders participate in binge drinking. Anheuser-Busch issued an apology to the tribe, placing the blame of the advertising mishap on the wholesaler distributing its beer, Fox News reported. Story continues "Our wholesalers often implement local marketing efforts on behalf of our brands," the apology reads. "The wholesaler responsible for these signs removed them shortly after a complaint was brought to its attention, and has since expressed its regrets. Anheuser-Busch respects the Lumbee Tribe and likewise regrets that this occurred." The advertising has been taken down, but there no word on whether the tribe plans to drop the lawsuit. If they do, someone else may take the opportunity in the name of patriotism to sue the beer maker for temporarily renaming Budweiser "America." NBCUniversal and Dish Network have put down their legal swords over the ad-skipping tech the satellite company introduced several years back and reached a carriage deal. The ad-skipping deal joins Foxs lawsuit ending agreement in February and the settlement CBS and Dish came to in December 2014. NBCUniversal and DISH Network have reached an agreement resulting in the dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over the AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime features, said a spokesperson for the Comcast owned company. The agreement will allow Dish subscribers to ad-skip a week after a show has initially aired. With NBCU providing no details, the deal also settles the retransmission contract clash between the two parties that Dish threatened to take to arbitration earlier this year. NBC, Fox, CBS and ABC all took their umbrage to court back in 2012 to stop the ad-skipping tech. Essentially, they alleged that the AutoHop technology infringed on its copyrights and breached the terms of their carriage deal with Dish. The No. 2 satellite company responded that the tech was a consumer-friendly change that merely automated the ad skipping that consumers already do with their remote controls and the nets should embrace the future. With motions and filings filling the courts, the matters simmered and were seemingly resolved as those carriage deals came up for renewal. NBCU and Dishs current carriage deal battle involves NBC and Telemundo stations the programmer owns in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami as well as pay TV services including USA, Syfy, Bravo, CNBC, and MSNBC. Dishs satellite service has about 13.4 million subscribers. Related stories More Trouble For 2016 Summer Olympics As Rio Media Warns Of "Total Collapse" Seth Meyers Offers Donald Trump Starring Role In New NBC Series 'Chicago President' FX Networks, CNN Worldwide Win 2016 PromaxBDA Awards Marketing Teams Of The Year Neil Patrick Harris had the sweetest birthday a person could hope for. The former How I Met Your Mother star, who turned 43 on Wednesday, kicked back at a low-key lunch with his husband, David Burtka, their 5-year-old twins, Harper and Gideon, and a special birthday cocktail. WATCH: Neil Patrick Harris' Family Wins Halloween with Epic Star Wars Costumes Burtka snapped a heartwarming pic of Harris and their cute kids enjoying the celebratory meal. The 41-year-old actor and chef captioned the photo, "Happy Birthday lunch with @nph I love eating my way through life with you! You complete me!!" WATCH: Neil Patrick Harris on the Key to a Successful Marriage: You Need to Talk It Out Harris and Burtka, who tied the knot in 2014 at a star-studded ceremony in Italy, welcomed their adorable twins via surrogate in October 2010, and have become one of the cutest celebrity families in Hollywood. Just last weekend, there was another cause for celebration for Harris and Burtka, when their twins graduated from pre-school. Check out the sweet message Harris shared to commemorate the occasion in the video blow. Related Articles A villager was shot dead in a remote mountainous area of Nepal and three others were injured in clashes over a rare and valuable fungus known as the "Himalayan Viagra" for its reputed aphrodisiac qualities, an official said Friday. Every year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yarchagumba, which grows on the body of a caterpillar. It can fetch huge sums in neighbouring China where it is used in herbal medicines, but is only found at certain elevations and for a few weeks a year. Officials in the western district of Mugu where the clash occurred said they had dispatched a police team on Wednesday after receiving reports of the clash, but they only arrived on Friday morning. "One person was killed while three others were injured when a gang of 10-12 looters shot indiscriminately in the area on Wednesday night," Mugu district chief Keshab Raj Sharma told AFP by phone. "Locals said the gang had stolen their collections." It is not the first time that violence has broken out over the yarchagumba harvest -- in 2009 seven people were brutally murdered in a fight over harvesting rights. Two years after, the court convicted 19 villagers over the case. Sharma said no medical teams had yet reached the spot. A rescue helicopter took off, but had been forced to turn back because of bad weather. Yarchagumba, which means "summer plant, winter insect" in Tibetan, is only found above 3,500 metres (11,550 feet) and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges itself in a caterpillar, slowly killing it. No definitive research has been published on the beneficial qualities of the fungus, but Chinese herbalists believe it boosts sexual performance. Boiled in water to make tea, or added to soups and stews, it is said to cure a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer. In recent years researchers have said supplies are declining, perhaps due to over-harvesting. Meeting today with Armenias Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchyan and an entourage of professionals from Armenia, NKR Prime Minister Arayik Haroutyunyan stated that the countrys future prospects for growth were inexorably tied to the development of education. If we are capable of ensuring development in the educational sector, we will have a flourishing country. Otherwise, well remain where we are, PM Haroutyunyan said. Haroutyunyan had invited Mkrtchyan and others to Stepanakert to discuss future prospects of the Shoushi Technological University and the education challenges the country faces. Yenagoa (Nigeria) (AFP) - Nigeria's military on Friday said they had arrested 19 suspected oil militants as they ramp up operations to stop pipeline attacks bringing the country's economy to a standstill. Troops thwarted an attempt to blow up a pipeline operated by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italy's Eni and arrested suspected pipeline vandals and oil thieves, it said in a statement. Three coordinators of "several pipeline bombings" were among those detained in operations conducted across the oil-producing southern states of Bayelsa and Delta, it added. "One of the arrested suspects, John Oboka -- aka Jamaica -- confessed to being part of the group that bombed the Nigerian Petroleum Developing Company (NPDC) crude oil pipeline at Escravos," said the statement. There was no indication as to whether those arrested were connected to the Niger Delta Avengers, the high-profile group that has claimed a series of attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure since February. The attacks have cut production to an estimated 1.6 million barrels per day, well below the expected 2.2 million bpd, heaping pressure on an economy hit by falling crude prices since mid-2014. Abuja has offered to talk with the Avengers but the militant group has denied reports it has met government representatives. "There is no ideal solution for the federal government, there are just hard and even harder choices to make," Dirk Steffen, maritime security director at Risk Intelligence in Denmark, told AFP. The security operations "bear the risk of alienating the population in the Delta", he said. "It can also encourage some armed groups to join the fight on the side of the Avengers to show solidarity." Oslo (AFP) - Norway announced plans Friday for its biggest military upgrade effort since the end of the Cold War, to bolster its defences against an "increasingly unpredictable" Russia. The Scandinavian country, a NATO member, plans new fighter jets and submarines to boost its ability to protect itself from its vast neighbour, with which it shares an Arctic border. Over 20 years Norway would boost its defence budget by 165 billion kroner (17.5 billion euros at current exchange rate), according to details of a military programming law presented by the government. "Unfortunately the geopolitical circumstances have changed significantly, in a bad way, in recent years," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a press conference in Oslo. "We have an increasingly unpredictable neighbour to the east which is strengthening its military capacity, and showing willingness to use military force as a political tool," she added. The military programming law aims to upgrade the army both by efforts on maintaining existing resources and buying new equipment. It foresees the purchase of 52 F-35 fighter jets and four submarines, as well as new naval surveillance planes to replace six ageing P-3 Orion aircraft. The extra expenditure will bring Norway's military budget up towards the 2.0 percent of GDP goal fixed by NATO, while not reaching it. Solberg said the country's current military might "is not adapted to the geopolitical situation," describing a "historic defence effort, the biggest since the end of the Cold War." But it is less than the 180 billion kroner sought last year by the armed forces chief Haakon Bruun-Hanssen. Before the military plans can be implemented the rightwing government has to get its proposals adopted in parliament where it is in a minority, and could therefore have to make amendments. Finland, meanwhile, said Friday in a security outlook that it "cannot exclude" the use of military force against its territory by neighbouring Russia. Story continues The country, which shares the European Union's longest border with Russia, has gradually stepped up its cooperation with NATO after Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014 and became involved in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini said Russia's actions constituted an "essential change" for Europe's security. "The security policy environment of Finland, a member of the western community, has transformed," the ministry wrote in its report, citing "a more tense security situation in Europe and the Baltic Sea region." "The use or threat of military force against Finland cannot be excluded," it added although Soini stressed that Finland does not consider Russia to pose a threat "at the moment". Finland -- which shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia -- was attacked by its powerful neighbour during World War II but has tried to maintain friendly relations with Moscow ever since. But tensions have grown around Finland, with Russian fighter jets buzzing around a US navy ship in the Baltic Sea in April and with NATO increasing its military presence and rehearsals in the area. "We make no secret of our negative attitude to the NATO policy of moving its military infrastructure closer to our border and involving other states in its military activities," Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Soini's recent visit to Moscow. While Finland is not actively planning to join the defence alliance, Soini said it intended to "maintain the possibility of allying itself militarily" if need be. O.J. Simpson is ready to settle paternity rumors concerning Khloe Kardashian, with hopes the reality star will visit him in at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada. According to the Daily Mail, the 68-year-old informed Jeffrey Felix, a former Lovelock prison guard, of his wishes. The rumor that wont die has found its way back into the mainstream, oddly on the same week of the ESPN special, O.J.: Made in America. Simpson is currently serving a lengthy 9 to 33-year sentence at Lovelock for an armed robbery assault from 2007. The rumor has been addressed by Khloe and her momager Kris Jenner during the peak years of the Kardashian kraze. For the seventh season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the family took part in a paternity test of their own to prove Khloe was Kris daughter. Kokos comedic approach on the Juice rumors was shortlived after Robert Kardashians other ex-wives claimed he disowned Khloe in private conversations. The audacity you have to mention my fathers name like this! Should be ashamed of urself! I let a lot of things slide but this one is really low YOU ARE DISGUSTING! (yes you know who YOU are.) the reality star tweeted in 2012. In the midst of the chaos, it has also been proved dozens of times that Khloe is indeed the daughter of Rober Kardashian in the form of legal documents and statements from the man himself. Simpson is willing to take the test under the condition Khloe will sit and shoot the breeze with him. If we learned anything during the Made In America series, its that O.J was surrounded by many who fed into his delusions. Looks like that notion has followed him behind bars, no? Sometimes the tragedy of gun violence defies logic. That was certainly the case in Oakland, California, where 16-year-old Reggina Jefferies was gunned down just hours after performing a beautiful dance routine at a funeral for two friends who'd drowned. 16yo Reggina Jefferies'mother shared this video of her daughter's last dance hrs b4 she was fatally shot #ktvupic.twitter.com/EWias0IJ8M Jefferies' mother, Onika Wilson, shared the video with Bay Area local news reporter Paul Chambers after the teen was shot and killed this week. "I called my daughter at 5:25 and asked her if she was okay, and she said, 'Yes,'" Wilson said in an interview with KTVU, before offering a tearful plea for justice in the case. "I got a phone call that my daughter had been shot at 5:36." A mother's tearful plea after her 16yo daughter Reggina Jefferies was fatally shot Tues. in #Oakland. #ktvu at 6:13pic.twitter.com/nXzqcKLCoP Here's KTVU's segment with Wilson. Gun violence in Oakland has been a deeply enmeshed problem for decades. The city has averaged 109 annual homicides since 1945, though those numbers have improved slightly in 2016, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. And while mass shootings like the ones in Orlando or Sandy Hook have prompted national discussion about the cause and effect of gun violence, experts say that in order to really tackle the problem, it's important to name the majority of its victims: young black people like Jeffries. "The nation's consciousness has been raised by the repeated acts of police brutality against blacks," the Brookings Institution wrote in its analysis of race and guns in 2015. "But the problem of public-space violenceseen in the extraordinary distress, trauma and pain many poor inner-city families experience following the killing of a family member or close relative also deserves our special attention." Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama condemned Friday the "heinous" murder of Jo Cox, as he offered condolences to the British lawmaker's widower and praised her "selfless service." Obama called Brendan Cox while traveling on the Air Force One presidential plane, a day after the MP was "brutally murdered," the White House said. Jo Cox was shot and killed in a ferocious attack in the northern English village of Birstall. Police are investigating the 52-year-old suspected attacker's mental health and far-right links. The US-based Southern Poverty Law Center said suspect Thomas Mair supported National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organization in the United States. It said Mair had bought reading material from the National Alliance, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. "President Obama offered his sincere condolences on behalf of the American people to Mr Cox and his two young children, as well as to her friends, colleagues and constituents," the White House statement said. "The president noted that the world is a better place because of her selfless service to others, and that there can be no justification for this heinous crime, which robbed a family, a community and a nation of a dedicated wife, mother and public servant." Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker who was campaigning for Britain to stay in the European Union and also spoke out for Syrian refugees, was killed just a few miles (kilometers) from where she was born. She was the first British MP to be murdered since Ian Gow was killed by Irish Republican Army paramilitaries in a car bomb in 1990. By Roberta Rampton CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK, N.M. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and his family escaped the blistering heat of the Chihuahuan Desert on Friday when they went through a maze of ancient caverns where the only sound was the drip-dripping from stalactites. The subterranean adventure was the first stop on a working vacation during which Obama will spend some time with his teenaged daughters while making the case for more spending on conservation and curbing climate change. It was just like any other family holiday, except the entourage of Secret Service agents, aides and press who follow Obama wherever he goes had to descend the 754 feet (230 m) on elevators in eight shifts. "How cool is this?" he said to the press in the dark, damp alien landscape of the "Big Room," the best known of the labyrinth of limestone caves that actor Will Rogers once called the Grand Canyon with a roof on it." The president is helping celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service while highlighting his plan to reduce climate-changing carbon emissions, which he sees as part of the legacy of his time in office. The White House has said the changing climate evidenced by droughts, increased flooding and wildfires and stronger storms has put national parks at risk. The Obamas were due to fly west later on Friday to the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite, the country's oldest national park and one of its most popular landmarks. Visits to national parks have surged due in part to lower gasoline prices. Still, roads, sewer systems and visitor centers in national parks are aging, and the government is grappling with a $11.5 billion backlog of maintenance projects. At Carlsbad, elevators broke down in 2015, though they seemed in good shape for the Obamas' descent. During his time in office, which will end on Jan. 20, 2017, Obama has added 20 sites to the national park system, protecting more than 265 million acres of public land and water and historic sites with new parks, monuments and restrictions for development, more than any other president. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said national park visits in 2016 were on pace to beat last year's record of 307 million. Tourists contributed an estimated $300 billion to the economy, supporting about 2 million jobs, she told reporters. She wants Congress to remember those numbers as it considers investments in public lands. Republicans have slammed Obama for adding sites at a time when the government does not have enough funding to look after existing ones. "To me, there is little point in conserving lands or allowing the federal government to acquire even more land if we are not going to take proper care of them," Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said last year. (Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Toni Reinhold) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince on Friday and the two are expected to discuss conflicts in the Middle East including the campaign against Islamic State, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, is on a visit to the United States aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil revenues. Friday's meeting will take place at the White House. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIL," as Islamic State is also known. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has resulted in large-scale civilian casualties, according to the United Nations and human rights groups. Reuters reported last week that the United Nations had removed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a child rights blacklist after intense pressure by Riyadh. Prince Mohammed, whose influence in Saudi governing councils appears to be growing rapidly, is being given wide access to Obama's administration. He met with Obama's National Economic Council at the White House on Thursday afternoon to discuss the plan the prince is championing to transform the Saudi economy by 2030. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker were among those present. "U.S. officials welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to economic reform and underscored the United States' desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program," the White House said in a statement after the meeting. Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defense minister, also is due to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon on Thursday. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Additional reporting by Eric Beech; Writing by Timothy Gardner and Warren Strobel; Editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman) CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK, N.M. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday spoke by phone with Brendan Cox, the husband of slain British Member of Parliament Jo Cox, the White House said. Obama, who is touring some Western U.S. national parks with his family, offered his sincere condolences to Cox on behalf of the American people during a phone call from Air Force One, the White House said. Jo Cox, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate of Britain's European Union membership, died on Thursday after she was shot and stabbed repeatedly by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first." (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech) Few days ago HayPost took part in New York-2016 world philately expo. The Armenian collection with stamps from 2013, 2014 and 2015, presented by HayPost, took the second place at the philately competition organized under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union within the framework of the expo. The collection consists from 29 stamps and Souvenir sheets, dedicated to the Armenian culture, history, the nature of Armenia, etc. The exhibition of HayPost in the great international philately expo of New York, organized once a decade, awoke high interest among the experts. Special attention was attached to the models of stamps and S-sheets dedicated to the Pope, developed and designed by the experts of HayPost. These stamps and S-sheets are already printed and shall be cancelled in a solemn ceremony during the visit of the Pope to Armenia. The expo counted with participants from more than 120 philately unions and organizations of different countries, National Operators of Postal Communication from more than fifty countries. This was the first time HayPost presented an individual pavilion in an exposition of such a high range, making Armenia more visible to the philately world. Two S-sheets, dedicated to New York-2016 expo and Rio-2016 Summer Olympics, were cancelled by HayPost during this event. HayPost CJSC HayPost Trust Management B.V. R By Timothy Gardner and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against Islamic State militants and the importance of a political transition in war-torn Syria, the White House said. Obama met with Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval office for about an hour. The deputy crown prince is visiting the United States to repair frayed relations and to promote a plan, known as Vision 2030, to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil exports. "The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL," the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The two talked about steps to support Iraqis "including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs," the White House said. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which according to the United Nations and human rights groups has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. Saudi Arabia is worried about closer relations between the United States and Iran, Riyadh's arch enemy, after a 2015 nuclear deal. Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political settlement of the Yemen conflict and support by the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the kingdom is a member, to address humanitarian needs and rebuild the country, the White House said. On Syria, Obama and the prince talked about the importance of supporting a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. The United States is working with international partners on what it calls a Syrian-led transition process facilitated by the United Nations, but so far there has been little progress. Over 50 diplomats at the U.S. State Department signed a memo, leaked on Thursday, that was critical of the Obama administration's Syria policy and called for targeted military strikes against Assad's government. Asked about the memo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, also in Washington, told reporters the kingdom had been arguing for a "more robust intervention" including airstrikes, a no-fly zone, and a no-drive zone, from the beginning of the five-year civil war. Obama does not see a military solution to the crisis in Syria, White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said. Both Washington and Riyadh are anticipating the release of classified pages of a U.S. report into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, that some U.S. lawmakers have alleged link Saudi government officials to the attacks. Jubeir said investigations show that the allegations "are not correct and they don't hold." (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Roberta Rampton aboard Air Force One; Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Andrew Hay) Shinola President Obama frequently brags about Detroit-based Shinola, claiming its watches, bicycles, and other goods assembled in the US are a symbol of a revival in American manufacturing. Unfortunately, the Federal Trade Commission seems to disagree with that characterization, and the company is now implementing a remedial action plan on recommendation from the FTC to avoid enforcement action. The letter the commission sent to Shinola's parent company, Bedrock Manufacturing, on June 16 detailed a prior FTC review of Shinola that "raised concerns that certain marketing materials overstated the extent to which certain Shinola ... products ... are 'made' or 'built' in the United States." The company is being forced to clarify its "Built in Detroit" slogan on all of its products and advertising copy, as the FTC says it could mislead customers to instead think they are purchasing a product made in the US. In order for a product to be claimed to be "made in the US," it must be assembled in the US from "all or virtually all" American parts. Shinola's slogan attempted to avoid this FTC requirement, and the company is not secretive about using foreign parts for the products assembled in the Motor City while listing all part sources on its website. Shinola obama The company has been criticized for touting American manufacturing while using mainly foreign parts to assemble. Notably, the company uses a Swiss- or Thai-manufactured movement for most of its watches, and in some cases, the parts used to assemble the watches were 100% from foreign sources. The FTC saw a potentially misleading difference between a "made in the US" claim, which the FTC polices, and Shinola's "Built in Detroit." The letter details the actions Shinola must implement and has implemented to remedy the situation, including: clarifying "Built in Detroit" in its website and all marketing and advertising materials; adding tags and materials detailing the sources of the parts used in products; redesigning watch-case backs to add "from Swiss and imported parts"; updating employee training manuals; and developing "enhanced policies and procedures, including additional legal review, to avoid future deception or mislabeling." Story continues The company must also stop using its "Where American is Made" slogan to describe itself, the FTC says. Shinola It's notable that the "made in the US" requirement is stricter than manufacturing claims in other countries. Switzerland, which is still arguably the watchmaking capital of the world, requires only that a watch's movement be Swiss-made and the watch cased and inspected in Switzerland to be called "Swiss made." For a movement to be Swiss, it needs to be made with 60% of its component's value from Switzerland. In a statement, Shinola's founder, Tom Kartsotis, said: We have always believed that Built in Detroit most accurately describes the watches (and jobs) that are being created in Detroit and will continue to mark our watches as "Built in Detroit." While the FTC did show us some flaws in our communication, we believe that we have genuinely tried to be completely transparent as to the origin (and mission) of our products from the outset. We are thankful to the FTC for helping us identify some areas of improvement within some of our communication, which we began adopting over the last year. Kartsotis criticized the inflexibility of the "made in the US" designation, saying that "the truth is that Shinola is and has been a leader in bringing as much of the manufacturing process back to the US as it can possibly achieve." Shinola "Many of the components and raw materials are simply not available in the US," Kartsotis said in the statement, implying that American supply chains are just not up to the standard to create a "made in the US" watch to the FTC's requirement. "We found it confusing that a car, for example, isnt held to the same standard as a watch," Kartsotis said. "Until a change in policy clarifies for the consumer what it truly means to be Made in the USA, Shinola will always strive to do as much as it can in America with the benefit of an American workforce." Shinola has carved a niche among consumers who are looking for a nice watch but aren't willing or able to shell out the coin required for a high-end Swiss brand like Rolex. Shinola CMO Bridget Russo told NewCo that the company generated $100 million in revenue in 2015, up from $20 million in 2013 and $60 million in 2014. Hodinkee first noted that "Built in Detroit" is already completely gone from Shinola's website, replaced with a much tamer "The first watches assembled at scale in the United States in decades." Read the full FTC letter here. Note: An earlier version of this article claimed Shinola was forced to drop it's "Built in Detroit" slogan completely, but the company will continue to use it while clarifying parts used in its products. NOW WATCH: Why this Instagram star withdrew $1.2 million in cash then deposited it the next day More From Business Insider London (AFP) - Defending champion Andy Murray survived a stern test from Kyle Edmund to reach the Queen's Club semi-finals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over the British wildcard on Friday. Murray will play Croatia's Marin Cilic in the last four on Saturday in a rematch of the 2013 final at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London. But the world number two had to dig deep to remain on course for a record fifth Queen's crown after a lacklustre first two sets against an inexperienced 21-year-old ranked 83 places below him. Canadian third seed Milos Raonic will face Australia's Bernard Tomic in the other semi-final. Murray defeated 2012 champion Cilic in the final three years ago but if the 29-year-old wants to repeat that he will have to improve significantly on his curiously limp performance against Edmund, who showed why he is regarded as Murray's likely successor as British number one with an inspired effort before being blown away in the deciding set. "I train with Kyle a lot so I know how good he is. He is big, strong and when he is on, he is very tough to play against," Murray said. "Kyle is the future of the game in this country. I have felt that in practice and I felt that in the match. "He served extremely well, but I tried to up my aggression at the start of the third set and thankfully it worked." Murray had waited 10 years to face a British opponent until he beat Aljaz Bedene in the second round on Thursday and just 24 hours later the top seed was taking on another compatriot in the promising Edmund. It was the first all-British Queen's Club quarter-final in the Open era and the first last eight showdown between two Brits on the ATP Tour since Tim Henman defeated Greg Rusedski in Adelaide in 2002. - Status quo - Murray took the first set despite being some way short of his best against Edmund, who appeared unperturbed by being unexpectedly awoken in the early hours of Friday to take delivery of a washing machine in his new flat. Story continues The Scot was on the ropes when Edmund took the second, but he hit back emphatically with a pair of early breaks to finally restore the status quo in the third set. Former US Open champion Cilic battled back to defeat American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 in the day's first quarter-final as the fifth seed advanced to the Queen's semi-finals for the third time. "I really enjoy playing here. Grass suits my game and when I'm in good form I can always play really well," Cilic said. "I'm looking forward to Saturday's match. It's going to be probably a little bit of a crowd against me, but I'm going to enjoy that." Raonic took advantage of Spanish sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut's busy scheduled to sweep into the last four with a 6-1, 6-4 victory. Bautista Agut had to finish the second set of his rain-delayed second-round win over Donald Young earlier on Friday and he looked drained as Raonic slammed down 19 aces and booked his first Queen's semi-final appearance in just 60 minutes on court. World number nine Raonic's run to the last four comes in the week he started working with American great John McEnroe as his coach. Standing between Raonic and his third ATP Tour final of 2016 is world number 22 Tomic. The 23-year-old will be in his first Queen's semi-final after beating Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-2. Tomic has been practising with Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt this week and the four-time Queen's champion's advice has clearly rubbed off during his best winning streak since February. By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped about 4 percent on Friday, as a weaker dollar and less anxiety about Britain's possible exit from the European Union encouraged investors to buy riskier assets. Brent more than recovered the losses of the previous day, when it slid 3.6 percent, yet crude futures still ended the week lower after daily declines from Monday through Thursday. Brent crude futures' front-month contract (LCOc1) settled up$1.98, or 4.2 percent, at $49.17 a barrel. The front-month in U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures (CLc1) rose $1.77, or 3.8 percent, to settle at $47.98. It fell $1.80 in the previous session. For the week, Brent was down nearly 3 percent and WTI dropped more than 2 percent. The dollar fell nearly half a percent on Friday, retreating from its two-week high on Thursday that had weighed on demand for greenback-denominated oil from the holders of the euro and other currencies. [FRX/] Britain mourned the death of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, a day after the vocal advocate for Britain remaining in the union was murdered. Her death threw the country's referendum on its EU membership next week into limbo. Oil prices rose in spite of data showing U.S. energy firms adding oil rigs for a third week in a row, suggesting higher production to come. Oil services firm Baker Hughes reported 9 rig additions this week, the same as the week before and after the 3 rigs in the previous week. [RIG/U] "People were looking for some trigger to sell the market down and the relatively small rise in oil rigs didn't provide it, so everyone who was short crude had to rush and cover," said Scott Shelton, broker at ICAP in Durham, North Carolina. "Also, volume was lighter than usual, so whatever trades done carried the day for the bulls." Volumes for Brent and WTI were just at around 200 million contracts each on Friday, versus the nearly 300 million on Thursday for both, Reuters data showed. Story continues Some analysts said with the UK's future in the EU still unknown until a vote next Thursday, oil could come under pressure again on fears of a Britain exit, or "Brexit". Julian Jessop, chief economist and head of commodities research at Capital Economics, told Reuters Global Oil Forum an U.K. exit could drive Brent to as low as $40. "It's mainly Brexit at the moment ... before people start to look at the more fundamental oil/commodity drivers again," Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro, said. (Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in LONDON; Editing by David Goodman and David Gregorio) Most auteurs prefer their starlets to be seen and not heard, but as any good writer or filmmaker knows, your actors only elevate the material on screen. With Olivia Wilde, Vinyl creators Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Terence Winter and Rich Cohen found a lynch-pin collaborator, who infused more blood and guts into her character Devon a 1970s free spirit femme and wife to rock label czar Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale)than possibly imagined. After playing all sides in an array of genres including TRON: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens, Rush and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Devon was a role that harnessed Wildes entire core, exposing the shades, hues and warts of a tortured spouse who has outgrown her time. Even though Vinyl didnt meet HBOs expectations with the network bailing on a second season after severing ties with Winter on the series, we cant forget the breathless on-screen chemistry between Wilde and Cannavale; a a counter-culture Taylor and Burton. In directing the pilot for Vinyl, Scorsese yearned for Devon to be something more than just the unhappy housewife to an unhinged, cocaine-addled music exec. Marty doesnt see his females as accessories to men, said Wilde. I found him to be an incredible feminist, treating his male and female characters equally. When Devon cops Richie after a guitar playing, drunken bender in their den at the end of the pilot, Wilde thought, I think theres more there. So, she pitched Scorsese something that wasnt in the script on the day of the shoot. I drank whiskey and spat in Bobby [Cannavale]s face, says Wilde, Marty walked up to me after and said, Now, shes somebody. Wilde forged a shorthand with Scorsese during an audition for The Wolf of Wall Street. She was up for the role of Leonardo DiCaprios wifeanother domestic damsel who endures a monstrous alpha male better-halfa part that went to Margot Robbie. It was during Wildes screen test that she found, Marty and I had good sense of communication. It was so thrilling to see how he works. Hes so clear about what hes looking for and open to what you present, which is rare [in a director]. And hes someone who is really observing and listening to the actor. As such, it comes as no surprise to hear that Wilde didnt have to read for the role of Devon. She was already a shoo-in. Story continues Wildes Devon on Vinyl is essentially the Factory girl that left Andy Warhols building. A promising fashionista photographer entrenched in the 70s Gotham party scene, shes an amalgamation of British Invasion songwriter-performer Marianne Faithfull and Factory gal Edie Sedgwick in regards to her art. She has this love for photography and an understanding of musicians, and is sensitive to the artists way, says Wilde, who also likens Devon to photographer Annie Leibovitz. Women today can only exist in an independent way because of the social revolution promoted by [women like] Devon. They found themselves to be part of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s, thus facing the consumerism of the 1970s, whereby they had to figure out a balance between living independently and the life of a mother. In some ways, Devon was the what-if spin on Sedgwick, who was estranged from Warhols circle and met a tragic fate at 28. What if Sedgwick accepted Bob Dylans invitation to move up to Woodstock, NY for a better career and life, leaving her debaucherous one at the Factory behind? Devons move to Greenwich, CT with Richie is a partial dramatization of that fantasy. For Devon, I wanted there to be a strong sense of where she came from. She was an artist who was energized by chaos and an experimental sense of adventure; someone who never fit in the norm of society. I knew from early on that there had to be a reason behind her shift; why Richie and her moved to Greenwich. There was a traumatic event that changed the course of her life, to make that sacrifice in episode six where shes pregnant with their first child and she loses it and their best friend in a car crash. In Cannavale, Wilde found a fellow actor who could emotionally flip on a dime, and tap into an icy rage; something she could draw from. Hes creative, loose and eager to play. That comes from his years working in the theater, says Wilde. Both actors were adamant that their connection onscreen had to be sublimely passionate. They could light each others fires, and yet were capable of destroying each other. While Richie battles a world thats falling apart around him through coke and booze (his depreciating record label, not to mention hes a suspect in a radio kingpins murder), Devon battles the mediocrity of suburbia and contends with her crazed man. Wilde credits Winters choice in making Richie a different type of guy from Tony Soprano: Richie cant bring himself to cheat on Devon, and thats something that separates him from other antiheroes. Richie and Devons conflict is different. The scene where Devon and Richie meet each other at the Velvet Underground for the first time, and make love in the bathroom, was a crucial moment for the actors in regards to establishing their footing with the duos intensity. No pun, it was the big bang scene when the two of them collide, explains Wilde. Bobby had a lot of patience in this scene, performing it with no self-consciousness or nervousness. We maintained a real awareness of what we were trying to tell in that moment. When most marriages fall apart, quite often the reasons for their unwinding were already there before they even realized it. Wilde and Cannavale wanted to play the reality of that. One flashback early on in the series showed Devon and Richie fighting soon after they arrived in Greenwich. He wanted another child; she yearned to work. Rather than play the scene in shouts, the actors expressed their intention to play the drama in a flirty, pillow talk type of way. It was one of the conversations early on in a marriage, where as a couple they didnt realize the truth the other was saying. Its when you dont hear what your spouse is telling you, when youre distracted by the haziness and newness of love, says the actress. Looking back on that scene, Wilde adds, Bobby was in touch with that and understood it with these characters, and we were able to create this beautiful scene. Related stories 'Mr. Robot' Star Martin Wallstrom On Personal Tragedy And The Pathology Of Tyrell Wellick John Oliver Dissects Brexit Vote, Warns Americans: "There Are No F***ing Do-overs" 'Game Of Thrones': Scores Are Settled And Chaos Reigns In Thrilling Season 6 Finale It's been one year since Dylann Roof entered a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and opened fire, killing nine people. It was an event that shook the nation, especially the black community, at its core and tipped off a national conversation about , , and in modern America. The massacre specifically sparked outrage for its racist motives Roof, it came out, considered himself a . A manifesto he penned before the attack, and which was discovered during the investigation, stated, "We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me." On the one-year anniversary of the Charleston church massacre, here's Mic's previous coverage from June 18, 2015, on the historical significance of Roof targeting the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church to carry out his killings of black people. Original story: On Wednesday night in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, authorities say a 21-year-old white man entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and gunned down nine black parishioners during a Bible study gathering. Officers tracked down and arrested the suspect, identified as Dylann Storm Roof, at a traffic stop in North Carolina before noon on Thursday, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen said during a press conference. Twelve hours earlier, Mullen was among the first public officials to describe the murders as a "hate crime." Roof, a native of Lexington, South Carolina, about two hours northwest of the Charleston coast, can be seen on surveillance video entering the church. But even as new details emerge about the suspect and his motives, we must also consider the historical significance attached to the scene of the crime a broader frame that includes a city and state with deep and, in some cases, abiding ties to the most violent chapters in American history. Story continues 1. The Emanuel AME Church is no ordinary house of worship. Source: David Goldman/AP Known as "Mother Emanuel," the church is the oldest African-American congregation in the South. During his remarks Thursday, President Barack Obama described it as a "sacred place in the history of Charleston, and in the history of America." Both Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, spoke there. "The Emanuel AME Church quite literally represents black freedom in Charleston." Parishioners first came together under its banner in 1816, according to the National Parks Service, which traces two remarkable centuries that saw the structure itself repeatedly attacked, destroyed and rebuilt. In 1821, cofounder Denmark Vesey began to a plan a slave revolt. But word spread and the church was destroyed, burned down as more than 35 "alleged participants" were executed. "The Emanuel AME Church quite literally represents black freedom in Charleston," Robert Greene II, a doctoral candidate at the University of South Carolina, told Mic early Thursday. "It was a hotbed for abolitionism and resistance to slavery." Between 1834, when black churches were banned, and 1865, congregants continued to hold services in secret or underground. "After the Civil War ends," Greene said, "Emanuel becomes a symbol of black political and social power in Charleston, to the point where even in the 20th century, during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, it's a place where black activists in Charleston often gathered." 2. The Confederate flag still flies in the state capitol. Source: Chris Hondros/Getty Images That divisive symbol of the Civil War South still hangs over the statehouse grounds in Columbia. South Carolina is one of a handful of Southern states which continue to insist on displaying the flag or allowing residents to ask for it to be printed on their license plates. (Coincidentally, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Texas could deny private citizens from ordering the design featured on personalized tags.) Even on Thursday with nine black men and women killed in an alleged hate crime just two hours away in Charleston the Confederate flag remained on display. 3. Charleston was a major slave-trading center before the Civil War. A 2011 New York Times report addressed the city's reluctance to memorialize its place as one of the largest slavery centers of the 18th century. "You're standing in the actual showroom, the place where traders sold and buyers bought American blacks who were born into slavery," reads a sign in the Old Slave Mart Museum, according to the New York Times. The exhibition wasn't completed and opened to the public until 2007. "The city was built on slave labor and, for nearly 200 years, thrived under a slave economy," author and columnist Brian Hicks wrote in the Charleston Post and Courier. By his count, nearly 10% of the 4 million slaves toiling in the U.S. by 1860 were located in South Carolina, and "about 40% of enslaved Africans brought into the country passed through Charleston Harbor." 4. There are no statewide hate crime laws in South Carolina. Nineteen known hate groups are currently operating across South Carolina, according to the latest count from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The state is one of only five across the country without its own hate crime law. In this case, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has already launched a federal investigation to run concurrently with South Carolina's criminal probe. In Charleston, though, there is little doubt as to the nature of what happened Wednesday night. "We believe this is a hate crime; that is how we are investigating it," police chief Mullen said just hours after the shooting. The alleged killer's decision to target the Emanuel congregation also pointed to more sinister intentions. "If [the alleged gunman] were to hit a church on a Wednesday night, this definitely be the most high-value target in Charleston," Greene told Mic. 5. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gives the state an "F" on gun laws. "Someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun," Obama said during his remarks Thursday afternoon. "This type of mass violence doesn't happen in other advanced countries." South Carolina is among the most permissive states in the country when it comes to the trade and possession of firearms. Early Thursday, Reuters quoted an uncle of Roof's saying the 21-year-old's father gave him a gun during a recent birthday. The uncle described the suspect as "adrift," but even if Roof turns out to have been suffering from a diagnosed psychiatric illness, he would not have been subject to a background check before receiving or purchasing a firearm. Source: Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence In 2010, the Center for American Progress reported "five gun murders for every 100,000 people" in South Carolina, about "39% higher than the national average." 6. Walter Scott was shot in the back and killed by a police officer in North Charleston. On April 4, former police Officer Michael Slager fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, as he attempted to run away during a traffic stop. But it wasn't until mobile phone video surfaced contradicting Slager's account that police began a proper investigation, which led to a murder charge days later and a formal indictment on June 8. In the aftermath of the killing, state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney became increasingly vocal in his calls for pending legislation that would require police wear body cameras while on patrol. Pinckney called on his colleagues in state government to embrace the legislation, not as a "golden ticket" or "end-all-fix-all," but a useful means "to paint a picture of what happens during a police stop." Pinckney, who was leading Thursday night's study session at the church, was among the shooting victims. "A lot of folks in North Charleston were not surprised by [the Scott shooting]," Greene told Mic on Thursday, "because it was an example of how race relations in Charleston have always been pretty rocky." aerie iskra ss16 5 Is this the end of Photoshop as we know it? Some companies are trying to get a bill passed that gets the Federal Trade Commission to put restrictions on the way images are altered in advertisements. It's called the Truth in Advertising Act of 2016. This act started as a pledge. It was first written in 2014 in partnership with the Brave Girls Alliance, but now, clothing company ModCloth is working virulently to make something happen. It was the first retailer to sign the pledge, and the company recently went to Washington, DC, to raise awareness for the bill. It's also launching a letter-writing campaign to help get the act moving. This bill would set up guidelines for airbrushing, but it wouldn't entirely eliminate the practice. It's a necessary evil that sometimes can eliminate a wrinkle in apparel, for instance. It would, however, force companies to refrain from "materially changing models in advertising in the same way you can't claim that a car can drive you 500 miles an hour and ... fly," ModCloth founder Susan Gregg Koger told Business Insider in a phone interview. She said: I'm not a politician, but I'm 31 years old ... I'm in the fashion industry. I understand what can go on behind the scenes with photo shoots and understand [that] even though we [ModCloth] don't materially alter images, I understand how it can work. But emotionally it's ... tough to be surrounded by advertising where you're seeing [an] unrealistic ideal of [how] beauty looks. I know that if I feel that way, then younger people feel that way as well. This is a conversation that's happening all around the world right now ... [and] there's been more and more ... research [that] shows that it is truly harmful ... particularly to young people, particularly to young women. Modcloth Politicians are on board, too. The bill is currently sponsored by Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Democratic Rep. Lois Capps of California, and Democratic Rep. Theodore E. Deutch of Florida. Story continues Ros-Lehtinen said in a press release: The Truth in Advertising Act is important for so many young women and men who face body image issues due to unrealistic depictions in advertisements. Young women and men are often trying to live up to an unattainable and unhealthy "ideal body" instead of a healthy body. All stakeholders should come together and find a solution that respects consumer health and well being while permitting creativity and artistic expression. Some companies have already omitted airbrushing from their campaigns. ModCloth has, and Aerie has arguably been leading the industry with its airbrush-free #AerieREAL campaign, too. NOW WATCH: Sports Illustrated's first curvy cover model says this simple routine changed her life More From Business Insider By Markar Melkonian Twenty-five years ago, Free Market Moseses in Yerevan announced that socialism was dead in word and in deed, forever and ever. In a country that the U.S. Strategic Air Command had targeted for nuclear strike by forwardly deployed bombers stationed in Turkey, demonstrators in Opera Square hoisted portraits of their Free Market hero, American President Ronald Reagan, the savior of the Captive Nations. Fast forward to 2016. Bitter regret now seizes the former Captive Nations, from Budapest to Belogorsk. In Armeniaa country that western pundits describe as a rare post-Soviet success storythe years since Freedom have plunged the majority into poverty, as the population has shrunk to less than three-quarters of its Soviet size. A USAID survey conducted in 1999 showed that 54% of the sample population preferred life in Soviet Armenia to life in Free Independent Armenia. Six years later, researchers at the United Nations calculated that, barring unforeseen events, Armenias population would drop by another 500,000 by 2050. (Arminfo, March 2, 2005) Meanwhile, a new generation ofdemocratic socialists has descended on what used to be Ronald Reagans front lawn. According to a YouGov survey earlier this year, 43% of Americans under thirty have a favorable view of socialism, while fewer than one-third have a favorable view of capitalism.(https://www.washingtonpost.com, 5 February, 2016) Of course, one could ask what the word socialism might mean to the young Americans surveyed. Whatever it might mean, though,some freemarketeers are worried: It is safe to say that billions of dollars have been spent over the past two decades promoting and educating the public on the benefits of capitalism and free markets, the pro-capitalist website breitbart.com noted shortly after the survey results were published, Yet, something has gone horribly wrong. What went horribly wrong, for young Americans in the bottom 99% at least, was capitalism. In America, the global showcase of capitalism, a new generation has come of age with a devastating recession,stagnant wages, poor job prospects, eroding benefits, crippling student loan debt, a declining middle class, and a huge and expanding gap between the super rich and the rest. It would be interesting to hear from Armenias old champions of The American Way--Levon Ter Petrosyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Paruyr Hairikyan, and all the rest of them. What do they have to say about developments in the United States of America, their model of Free Enterprise? Armenias majority--the poor, the under-employed, the unemployed, pensioners, displaced farmers, working class women, youth, and consumersthey dont have much to celebrate in their diminished and impoverished homeland. They have been provided with plenty of Free Enterprise indoctrination, but not much in the way of jobs, affordable housing, safe streets, legal redress, or decent schools. The champions of The American Way have gutted Armenias industrial infrastructure, lengthened the work week, lowered the legal working age, and massively privatized public property without compensating the dispossessed. They have logged out forests, poisoned rivers, polluted aquifers, and washed out swaths of topsoil. They have cut healthcare, slashed teachers salaries, and raised university tuition beyond what most families can afford. They have presided over escalating domestic abuse and driven women back into their traditional roles in the dark. Their Free Enterprise has caused wave after wave of emigration, produced tens of thousands of abandoned families, and emptied the countryside. They have rigged elections, pushed poor families out of their homes, neighborhoods, and farms, and allowed capitalist gangsters to get away with murder, literally. For everyone except a small minority at the top, much has gone horribly wrong in Free Independent Armenia. The capitalists, clearly, are waging class war, but it is a war that acompact, well-equipped capitalist army is waging against an unarmed, aimless, confused mass of workers who, so far,have not revealed the faintest most fleeting spark of awareness that they constitute a class under attack. Unless and until resistance rises from below, Armenias capitalist rulers will continue to drive the rest of the population into the ground like a tent stake. And this does not bode well for the nations future. There is reason for hope, though. The Dem.Em (I Oppose) protests two years ago against attempts to privatize the pension system achieved victory, however limited and revocable that victory may be. So also in the case of strong popular resistance to bus and electricity rate hikes. There are clear lessons here: it was only thanks to broad-based solidarity and direct action that workers, commuters, and consumers were able to push the ruling class back from its maximalist plans. Armenia, a country ravaged by capitalist rule, needs proactive unions. But where are they? The Confederation of Trade Unions has little influence in the private sector, where the worst abuses take place. When the owners ofthe privatized Kimprom and Nairit chemical plants get away with nonpayment of months of back wages to workers, they are loudly announcing that wage earners should not expect anything in the way of even the most basic workers rights in Armenia. The captains of industry are themselves teaching workers in Armenia that if they want a better future for their children and their fellow workers, then they had better get organized to fight along class lines.In other countries, workers facing such extreme abuses have occupied factories, mines, and offices and operated them in their own interest. Armenia has dozens of self-styled political parties, including a few one-man shops run by oligarchs, egomaniacs, and divinely anointed saviors. To the extent that these parties have any discernible platforms at all, they are indistinguishable: one party or another might be more or less hostile to Moscow, but they all pretty much accept without question the same assumptions of liberalism that have done so much harm over the course of the past three decades. There is a common feeling that elections are just a stage-managed spectacle involving back-room haggling, vote buying, and ballot stuffing. No wonder, then, that electoral politics arouses little excitement. The level of political debate in Armenia is worse than a joke. What we hear for the most part are the old free market fairy tales and jumbled-up NGO jargon, combined with a noxious mixture of nationalistic emotionalism, Turk-hate demagoguery, conspiracy theories, and Russo phobia. Thebest way to clear this fetid air and to raise the level of political debate in the country would be for young people to start educatingthemselves in Marxist theory. Among the dozens of nominal political parties in the country, there are several that call themselves socialist. But none of these parties have a record of fighting back in the class war that the oligarchs have been waging against Armenian workers. There are a couple of titular communist parties, too. But until now, even as events have prepared the ground for a popular reception, these parties have for some reason remainedinert. All of this underscores what more and more of our compatriots have been observing in recent years: the conditions exist for the emergence of a strong working class party in Armenia--but none has yet been forthcoming. The poor and disenfranchised majority needs a party of its own. They need a party of, by, and for wage earners, women, youth, pensioners, and consumers.They need a militant party of labora party organized to defend workers and to fight back in the class struggle that the plutocrats are waging against the rest of the country. Where is our communist party? Sitting on its hands, waiting for a sign from Moscow? The day is past due. Comrades, get to work! Markar Melkonian is a teacher and an author. His books include Richard Rortys Politics: Liberalism at the End of the American Century (1999), Marxism: A Post-Cold War Primer (Westview Press, 1996), and My Brothers Road (2005). From Road & Track I believe that any sufficiently enlightened future historian will look back at the present day as "The Shameless Era." We're all taught nowadays that shame is a bad thing. I'm not so sure. A lot of people in our past performed necessary tasks, as diverse as milking cows before dawn and rushing a Japanese machine-gun nest, out of a desire to avoid being shamed. Those days, as my future third wife Este Haim likes to say, are gone. We're all shameless nowadays. It's now totally acceptable for grown men to do the following things in public: dress up like giant furry creatures, cry over emotional issues, back down from fights, own "sports cars" with an automatic transmission. So now's the time to admit something shameful myself, and it goes a little something like this: For a long time, well into my twenties, I was a little fuzzy on how the internal combustion engine worked. Oh, sure, I could identify the four cycles of the Otto engine, and I could repeat various things that Patrick Bedard had written in Car and Driver, but I fundamentally misunderstood how and why engines made power. I thought that all fuel-injected cars were direct-injection. I didn't understand why restrictive exhausts robbed engines of power, and I really, really didn't understand how acoustic wavelengths affected that either. Nor could I readily tell you the difference between a traditional exhaust manifold and a header. I had no excuse for this. I'd worked in a parts department. I'd personally handled allthe parts that make up a gasoline engine. And I was a skilled bike mechanic,having worked in Schwinn dealerships since I was 14 years old andeventually owning my own mail-order bicycle shop in my late teens. I'd even fixeda few cars, including pulling cams out of a Fiat Spider and swapping gaskets. Ijust didn't really know exactly how everything worked under the hood. What I really needed was a kind of a Grand Unified Theory of Engine Performance that wouldgive me the foundation to understand and assimilate new information. I eventually found this G.U.T.E.P when I started working with an ECU tuner on a particularly junkykit car that I spent something like $41,000 on way back in 2001. It wassupposed to make 180 horsepower from a 2.0-liter Zetec; it actually made 89 atthe wheels. I wasn't the only person who got scammed by the "registeredassembler" of these vehicles, and eventually 10 or 11 of us got together andpaid somebody to retune our cars. I ended up with something like 137 hp at therear wheels thanks to that somebody. Story continues An engine is nothing but an air pump. This is what our aftermarket tuner told me, and what I'm telling you: An engine isnothing but an air pump. I'm sure you've heard that, but I want you toreally take a moment to understand it. The more air an engine can process, themore power it can make. This explains a few things right off the bat: why the 8.2-liter V10 in the Viper ACR makes more power than the .05-liter (50cc) engine in my son's TopKart. But it also explains why the 1.0-liter engine in a Kawasaki ZX-10 makes more power than the 2.0-liter engine in a Hyundai Elantra; the ZX-10 can rev to 14,500 rpm whilethe Elantra redlines at 6750. When they are both at redline, the ZX-10 isactually taking in more air every minute, because it's drawing in half as muchair more than twice as often. Increasing an engine's redline effectivelyincreases its displacement. How does changing the cam in a car increase power? Well, it can increase the durationthat the intake valves are open, enabling the cylinder to be more effectivelyfilled with air. It can also increase the duration that the exhaust valves areopen, getting more of the bad air out and increasing the vacuum effect of thenext intake stroke. Cold-air intakes draw cooler air from outside the engine compartment into the engine.Cold air is denser than hot air. That increases the effective displacement ofthe engine as well. (Disclaimer: Most cold-air intakes are pretty useless, inmy experience. They do make the car sound cool, however.) Ram-air intakeslightly pressurize the incoming air, which means that more air gets into theengine. The straighter an intake is, the better it works, because fast-flowingair doesn't like right-angle corners any more than motorcycles do. Superchargers and what we used to quaintly call turbo-superchargers (but now just callturbochargers) force more air into the engine. A 2.0-liter engine being boostedwith 1 bar of additional pressure is effectively a 4.0-liter engine. It's notquite that simple because boosted air is hot air, and hot air isn't as dense ascool air, but you get the idea. On the other side of that, restrictor plateskeep an engine from getting more than a certain amount of air, thus reducingthe power that an engine can make. You'll notice that I haven't talked about fuel yet. That's because the ratio of fuelto air in an engine is essentially fixed by science-it's called thestoichiometric ratio, and it is 14.7 parts of air to each part of fuel. Thatproper mix of fuel and air is the primary reason modern engines make so muchmore power than their pre-Millennial predecessors. Without computers andsensors, it's impossible to correctly provide the right amount of fuel at alltimes. Carburetors are not particularly good at that task. Fuel injectors arebetter, because they can be controlled by computers precisely. You can fuss with the air/fuel ratio a bit, leaning it out for quicker combustion. You canalso use extra fuel over and above the proper ratio to cool a turbochargedengine down a bit, a trick that is in the playbook of everybody who's evergotten 1000 horses out of a Nissan GT-R. By and large, however, the properamount of fuel supply is determined by the amount of air you can get into acylinder, not the other way 'round. So once you have a computer to do the mathand a fuel system that can fulfill all the requests, you've made all the extrapower you're going to make via that path and you're back to the primary task:getting more air in the engine. Using the engine-as-air-pump model, it's easy to understand the three major ways ofgetting more power. We can increase engine displacement, causing it to take inmore air in every revolution. We can increase the redline of the engine,allowing it to take in the same amount of air more often. Or we can pressurizethe engine, allowing it to fit more air into the cylinder each time. Each of these methods has its drawbacks. Large-displacement engines are heavy and bulky. Theyuse a lot of fuel, even at idle. High-revving engines are also high-stressengines, meaning you have to either accept a shorter lifespan (see: DOHC Neon,GM Quad 4) or use more expensive materials that can take the stress (see:Ferrari 458 Speciale, Yamaha R1). They're also short on torque at low revs,because they just aren't processing that much air. The aforementioned ZX-10might be stronger than an Elantra at redline, but if you're spinning bothengines at 2500 rpm, you're going to get a lot more power from the Hyundai.That's why Suzuki never sent us a GSX-R-engined Justy. (I think.) Turbocharging is the current belle of the ball everywhere you look. Turbocharging is the current belle of the ball everywhere you look. While I love old-school, mega-powerturbo engines like what you get in a McLaren 675LT or a Porsche GT2, I have toadmit that the current crop of low-pressure, low-revving, low-excitement turbosappearing everywhere from BMW to Volvo leave me cold. I think the reason for itis that computer-controlled turbos destroy that precise relationship betweenthrottle position, engine revs, and engine power that most of us have come to expectand enjoy. Modern turbo engines, like electric motors in automotiveapplications, feel strongest at low revs and fall apart on the right-side ofthe tachometer. The reason for that is simple: You can optimize a turbocharger to provide a whole bunch ofair eventually, as was the case in the old-school Porsche 930 Turbo, oryou can optimize it to provide a reasonably effective amount of extra airalmost immediately. The latter is how almost everybody does it now. No sir, Idon't like it. I wish I could explain why. Maybe it's because human beingsnaturally associate fast breathing with activity. We are naturally aspirated.Some of us have bigger lungs than others, but we all have to breath fast andhard in order to run a mile or row a boat. Humans are air pumps, too. Maybe that explains why, in my forties, I'm starting to feelmore nostalgic about Seventies cars. As a teenaged bike racer, I was like that458 Speciale, breathing hard and fast with big gulps. Now I'm like a '77Cutlass Supreme, revving low and slow on my way to the grocery store. I'mpretty shameless about that, I suppose. Born in Brooklyn but banished to Ohio, Jack Baruth has won races on four different kinds of bicycles and in seven different kinds of cars. Everything he writes should probably come with a trigger warning. His column, Avoidable Contact, runs twice a week. Hours before the fourth season was set to drop on Netflix, the Orange Is the New Black cast was in high spirits for its New York City premiere, which doubled as a reunion since their shoot six months ago. "I literally keep jumping all over the carpet because I want to hug my friends!" Jackie Cruz told The Hollywood Reporter outside the SVA Theatre in Chelsea on Thursday night. Jessica Pimentel echoed before the bash at the Top of the Standard, "Some of us don't even get to work with each other on set, and when we do, it's four in the morning and we're dirty and moody. Here, we're happy and laughing and looking our best, and we get to party all night." The upbeat mood of the ensemble cast in attendance - including Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Natasha Lyonne, Taryn Manning, Laverne Cox, Samira Wiley, Dascha Polanco, Lea DeLaria, Diane Guerrero, Laura Gomez, Vicky Jeudy, Nick Sandow, Michael Harney and more, as well as creator Jenji Kohan - is a stark contrast to the heavy topics they tackle onscreen, including the prison system's treatment of mental illness and timely issues like Black Lives Matter. Read More: 'Orange Is the New Black' Binge-Watching Guide: The Best Way to Devour Season 4 "Jenji Kohan is not just a fluffy, thoughtless, silly little girl who wants to write and get famous in Hollywood. This is one of the most provocative and inquisitive minds I've ever encountered, and she's going to legitimize her own imagination," reflected Kate Mulgrew. "She's going to force you to contend with these issues in a way that's going to rivet you, unsettle you and change you." Likewise, the creator and showrunner told the audience before screening the first episode, "I'm so excited to unleash this on the world and see how they react. We're already starting on season five and it's bananas." Yael Stone, Adrienne Moore, Alysia Reiner and more castmembers wore a silver ribbon in solidarity with the victims of the Orlando tragedy. "This week more than ever, we need these conversations," said Cindy Holland, vp original content, Netflix, in introducing the episode. "We need these tears and we need the laughter that the series can bring us." Story continues #OITNB premiere: @Lavernecox, Adrienne Moore, @YaelStone and Lea DeLaria rock their ribbons. #PrayforOrlando pic.twitter.com/pT2uXs5cAf - Ashley Lee (@cashleelee) June 16, 2016 Read More: 'Orange Is the New Black' to Tackle Black Lives Matter in Season 4 Despite such an emotional season and its untimely release, Uzo Aduba sees value in an optimistic perspective. "We have to celebrate - a bittersweet one, but one that honors the work and its pretty tough hurdles with as much heart, focus and commitment as we can," she told THR. "And more than anything, people will see current and topical issues rub up against creativity and artistry." For fans ready to binge the particularly dark season at midnight PT, Mulgrew shared insightful advice: "Take a deep breath and let it go, which is what we're cautioned to do before we give birth. Something like that is about to happen." Likewise, Samira Wiley warned with a big smile: "Get ready - with your tissues!" of courseeeeee the #OITNBPremiere party has slammin themed cocktails. pic.twitter.com/08FUKxF014 - Ashley Lee (@cashleelee) June 17, 2016 Season four of Orange Is the New Black dropped at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET on Netflix Friday, June 17. Follow THR's complete OITNB coverage, including interviews with the cast, here. See More: 'Orange Is the New Black' Cast Reunites for Emotional Season 4 Premiere For the fourth season of Orange Is the New Black, Spencer Kornhaber and Sophie Gilbert are discussing the series via recaps, taking turns to analyze one episode at a time. Spoilers abound; dont read further than youve watched. Episode Two, Power Suit Read the review of the previous episode here. Spencer, in your recap of episode one you noted the tonal whiplash of proceedings. I couldnt agree morethe way in which the episode ended, with Piper smugly parading through the prison to the tune of Papa Roachs Last Resort before the camera cut abruptly to Alex literally cutting someone into pieces, felt especially jarring. But its kind of refreshing to see a show that refuses to hew the conventions of any one particular genre, and it certainly makes OITNB feel more like the tragicomedy of the real world, where my Twitter feed at any one time is a hot mess of Donald Trump, mass shootings, and lemur gifs. Recommended: The Unbelievable Tale of Jesuss Wife To address your point about Cindys war with her Muslim bunkmate, my instinct after watching the second episode is that this season is going to be all about, if youll excuse the mixed metaphor, turning up the heat on Litchfields melting pot. When Piper first arrived in prison in season one, she was openly shocked by the ways in which racial dynamics played out in prison, with inmates mostly sticking within groups divided by color. Over the last three seasons, those divisions started to blur a little: Soso was adopted by Taystees crew, Black Cindy converted to Judaism, Normas short-lived cult attracted a diverse group of misguided followers. More Orange Is the New Black Oitnb IMDb But with the number of inmates suddenly doubling it was almost inevitable that fault lines would be reinforced, with the newbies seeking out alliances and the existing inmates looking to assert their dominance and the status quo. Not to mention having the extra pressure of several hundred women trying to coexist in a space thats way too small for them (under similar conditions, battery hens inevitably start pecking each other to death, as Soso pointed out). Story continues Caputos attempts to mollify the inmates in their new cramped quarters were predictably hilariousfree earplugs! breathing exercises! port-a-potties!but also a more menacing illustration of the banality of bureaucratic evil on display. These women arent women to the corporate types running their livestheyre heads in beds, worth $30,000 a year each to the shareholders making money off their increasingly unpleasant conditions and unpaid labor. Last season, the board running Litchfield at least had comic relief thanks to Mike Birbiglia. Now it seems increasingly sinister, with a roomful of people in expensive suits (Caputo among them) vying to find ever more inventive ways to capitalize on societys most vulnerable, from imprisoned women to veterans. Recommended: The Scholar Who Discovered the Jesus's Wife Fragment Now Says It's Likely a Fake The flashback this episode explored Ruizs life before prison: Shes the daughter of a Dominican drug dealer who took great pains to support his community, and she rejected that community when her father hit on one of her school friends, taking up with another dealer from a rival Mexican gang. On the one hand, these scenes showed how complicated heritage can be: Ruiz saw clearly that her father was just another criminal playing the same game as everyone else for all his talk about pride, but she also took revenge on a new inmate for beating up Blanca when loyalty required it. On the other, they offered some insight into Yadriel, Ruizs mostly nonverbal partner, who shocked everyone after his daughter was born in season two by chattering away at the baby. When it comes to thinking about the new inmates, Im a little concerned that having so many additional characters means less time for the old ones. Especially underserved right now is Taystee, who took over being the mother to Vees crew after Vee was finally shunned (before escaping, and being mowed down by Rosa). Not to mention Sophia still being locked up in SHU (thanks to the increasingly guilty Mendoza). But the show has definitely come to peace with sidelining Piper, to the extent where shes more comic relief now than a dramatic protagonist. With Piper, with Judy King, and with Caputo, Orange seems to be exploring how power and money are both illusory in nature and enormously significant when wielded over others. Yogas suspicion of Judys VIP setup was dismantled with a single cup of herbal tea; Caputos care for the inmates wellbeing seemed far less important than impressing a female board member with his new suit. And then theres Piper, bribing her new bunkmate to be her Secret Service protection to impress the new inmates and maintain her vastly inflated status as a badass. I think its fair to assume that none of this can last. Recommended: The New Nostalgia Best line: (Im going with two.) Yadriels summation that lifes pretty crazy, but at least you can get snacks, you know? And Maritzas, If I hadnt buried my feelings so deep that they only come up when I watch Stepmom, Id totally be tearing up right now. Questions: Is Maritza safe on van duty with the guard who raped Pennsatucky? What kind of mental trauma is Alex going to suffer from after murdering the guard sent to kill her? How long can the inmates last under current conditions before a riot breaks out? Is Judy supposed to be Martha Stewart or Paula Deen? Read the review of the next episode here. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Taylor Schilling If theres one hue you rarely see worn at an Orange Is the New Black party, its orange. Shocked? Dont be. It makes sense its too on-the-nose, too potentially corny and too much of an open call for fashion puns. Therefore, for last nights season four premiere at the SVA Theater in New York City, the stars wore a mix of looks, from bold reds to cool jumpsuits to pops of champagne sparkle. At the premiere, many of the shows stars proved that black, indeed, is actually still the new black, including Diane Guerrero (in Alexis) and Jackie Cruz (in DKNY). Taylor Schilling also opted for a one-shoulder black Osman look with a statement neckline. I never feel like Im in the cool kids club with clothes, so I just put on what I like, Schilling once told PEOPLE. And when it comes to wearing orange, its not high on her list. When asked if she would wear the citrus-y hue to the 2014 Emmys, she said absolutely not. Her exact words? Someone would have the right to throw eggs at me if I wore orange. Ouch. Natasha Lyonne Shades of blue were also popular, including Alysia Reiners two-piece look and Laura Prepons Nha Khanh tea-length number. Natasha Lyonne chose a statement navy with her Opening Ceremony dress featuring an extremely oversize ruffle, as well as accessories by Annie Costello Brown and Another Feather and Olgana Paris heels. She Instagrammed a shot of her ruffles and wrote, thanks @openingceremony. Thanks @openingceremony!! @semitransparent @kristingallegos @wessles @taranitup49 A photo posted by Natasha Lyonne (@nlyonne) on Jun 16, 2016 at 9:50pm PDT Its also worth noting nude and champagne looks turned heads, with Selenis Leyvas fringe Nicole Miller number and Karina Ortizs Jovani mini. Laverne Cox chose a top and bottom by Laquan Smith, and if the fabric of the top looks familiar, its because Serena Williams wore it as a slip dress earlier this week. Laverne Cox Red dominated, not only for Red (Kate Mulgrew) but also for Dascha Polanco (in Jovani), Jessica Pimentel (in KLS Kimora Lee Simmons) and Yael Stone (in Dion Lee). Story continues Dascha Polanco Meanwhile, Samira Wiley (in Milly) and Laura Gomez (in Veronica Beard) made a case for pants, in a jumpsuit and two-piece suit, respectively Laura Gomez and Uzo Adubas white Elizabeth Kennedy structured sheath was one of our favorites of the night. But, wheres Taystee, a.k.a. Danielle Brooks? The actress is currently starring in The Color Purple on Broadway, and therefore did not attend the red carpet event. However, she was ready for the after-party, posting an Instagram in a white dress captioned, You want me or nah? You want me or nah? @oitnb A photo posted by Danielle Brooks (@daniebb3) on Jun 16, 2016 at 9:22pm PDT Isnt the answer always yes? Which look did you like best? Tell us in the comments below! Sharon Clott Kanter Orange Is the New Black returns to Netflix on Friday, June 17, 2016. The cast gathered at the SVA theater in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016 to celebrate the show. These red carpet looks are much more glamorous than those prison jumpsuits, right? Taylor Schilling attends the Orange Is the New Black Season 4 premiere in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016, June 16, 2016. Laura Prepon attends the Orange Is the New Black Season 4 premiere in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Taryn Manning attends the Orange Is the New Black Season 4 premiere in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Laverne Cox attends the Orange Is the New Black Season 4 premiere in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Kate Mulgrew attends the Orange Is the New Black Season 4 premiere in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Orlando Bloom is partnering with China's Bliss Media on a new production venture. The newly formed entity, called BlissBloom Productions, will be jointly run by the actor and Bliss Media CEO Wei Han. Their first project will be the $30 million Shanghai-set action thriller Smart Chase: Fire & Earth, starring Bloom and directed by French filmmaker Julien Seri (Night Fare). Bloom has a huge following in China, where he is affectionately known as the "elf prince" (jingling wangzi), stemming from his Lord of the Rings role. The announcement was made Friday at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Smart Chase follows a down-and-out private security agent who gets ambushed while attempting to escort a valuable Chinese antique out of Shanghai. Shanghai-based Bliss Media has become an increasingly active player in projects traversing Chinese and international markets. The company, which has an office in Los Angeles, launched the $150 million Bliss-CODI Film & TV Investment Fund at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The fund is targeting international film and television equity investment, taking the Chinese distribution rights to the projects it backs. Bliss Media previously launched the Yoozoo Bliss Film Fund, a $100 million equity fund designed to finance 10 international productions and Chinese co-productions over five years. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) advised on the formation of both funds and represents the companies. Thus far, aside from Smart Chase, Bliss has invested in Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, starring Andrew Garfield; Pablo Larrain's Jackie, starring Natalie Portman; and is co-financing Michael Mann's Ferrari. Read More: China's Bliss Media Launches $150 Million Film and TV Fund In response to Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people, a Muslim group in Detroit held a prayer service Tuesday and is urging its members to break their Ramadan fast to donate blood, MLive reported. "We condemn this senseless and horrific act of violence in the strongest possible terms," Mansoor Qureshi, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's metro Detroit chapter president, told his members, according to MLive. "Our hearts go out to the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with them as their neighbors and brothers and sisters in peace. Islam teaches reverence for all human life. This is a time to pray and act to stop such senseless violence in our Source: Wilfredo Lee/AP Muslims of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center are among many Muslims who fast for the monthlong holy Islamic holiday Ramadan, which lasts from June 5 to July 5. The metro Detroit chapter weren't the only Muslims to donate blood for Orlando victims in the middle of Ramadan. The Council on American-Islamic Relations also urged Muslims to donate blood, the Cut reported. Muslim American Mahmoud ElAwadi posted this viral picture of himself donating blood on Sunday: "Yes I donated blood even though I can't eat or drink anything cause I'm fasting in our holy month Ramadan just like hundreds of other Muslims who donated today here in Orlando," he wrote. A school yearbook photo of Omar Mateen in 2001. (Photo: Martin County School District) STUART, Fla. Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateens troubled school days included an incident where he was charged with battery and another where a school official said he was suspended for cheering the Sept. 11 attacks two days after they took place. On Thursday, the Martin County School District released records showing Mateen was suspended 15 times when he attended junior high and high school from 1999 until 2003. At least two of those suspensions were the result of violent incidents. Mateens final suspension was on Sept. 13, 2001, and was issued by a school administrator named Evelyn Stettin. In a conversation with Yahoo News on Thursday, Stettin said Mateen was suspended for celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which occurred two days earlier. He was very pleased to see it happen, Stettin said of the attacks. We took him out of class, and we were trying to, you know, talk with him, and we had a school psych present, but basically he didnt show any remorse. Nothing. I mean he was pretty happy it happened. Stettin said school officials discussed Mateens reaction to the terrorist attacks with his parents. She suggested Mateens parents were unconcerned by the incident. We spoke to the parents and they didnt really do very much about it, lets put it that way, Stettin recounted. Multiple former classmates of Mateens told the Washington Post they also recalled his joyful reaction to Sept. 11. Stettin also said her son attended school with Mateen. She said her son thought Mateen was very weird. He stayed by himself a lot. He didnt do a lot of socializing, Stettin said of Mateen. Mateens disciplinary records show two of his suspensions were due to fighting with injury, which means they involved a violent incident. Those incidents occurred days apart on May 3 and May 9, 2001, at Martin County High School. On Thursday, the Florida Department of Corrections released dozens of records from Mateens brief employment as a prison guard when Mateen was 19. Those files include a letter where Mateen described one of the violent incidents at his high school in his own words. Story continues When he applied for the Department of Corrections job, Mateen had to explain a 2001 criminal charge for battery and disturbing a school function. In a one-page handwritten letter to prison officials, Mateen said he was charged following a May 2001 fight with another student in his math class at Martin High School. The letter, dated Sept. 26, 2006, says the disruption charge was later dismissed and that he received probation for the battery charge. It has been five years since the fight occurred and I have not gotten in any altercations ending up in physical contact, Mateen wrote. This was an experience of me growing up and I learned a big lesson from it. In the prison employment application, Mateen also admitted to experimenting with marijuana when he was in his early teens. Based on his academic records, Mateens youthful drug use may have gotten him in hot water at school. In addition to suspending Mateen for celebrating 9/11, the records show that Stettin, the school administrator, issued him a seven-day suspension on May 15, 2001. That suspension was identified as being for an unspecified rule violation that did not involve violence. Stettin told Yahoo News she didnt recall the specific details of that incident, but she said a suspension of that length is always a fight or drugs. According to records, Mateen worked as a correctional officer from October 2006 to April 2007 before being terminated for failing to obtain state licensing required for the job. Early Sunday morning, Mateen entered the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., where he killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen, 29, was killed in a shootout with police at the nightclub. Authorities are currently investigating the attack. Read Mateens handwritten letter about his May 2001 fight below. Related slideshows: Slideshow: Funerals and memorials for slain Orlando victims >>> Slideshow: Obama visits families of the Orlando massacre victims >>> Slideshow: Victims of the Florida nightclub shooting >>> Slideshow: Front page coverage of the Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: World reacts to Orlando mass shooting >>> Slideshow: Shooting rampage at Florida nightclub >>> From Cosmopolitan According to the Washington Post, the Senate Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to Facebook asking for their help in the investigation of Omar Mateen, the man who killed 49 people and injured 53 more at Orlando's gay nightclub Pulse on Sunday morning. The letter included some of what Mateen had written on Facebook recently (though it's unclear if they were posted statuses or private messages). "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state..I pledge my alliance to [Islamic State leader] abu bakr al Baghdadi ..may Allah accept me," he wrote. Followed by "The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west" and "You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic state vengeance." The New York Daily News reports Mateen searched Facebook for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting terms during the hours-long attack, presumably to see if the massacre was trending. The Committee letter also explains Mateen was tied to five different Facebook accounts and that he looked up the San Bernardino shooters December attack in May. Though Mateen reportedly pledged his allegiance to ISIS during the shooting, a CIA representative told The Guardian they've not been "able to uncover any link" between Mateen and the terrorist organization at this time. The FBI also confirmed Mateen was not in contact with or directed by ISIS before the attack. A GoFundMe for the victims, survivors, and their families has raised more than $4.7 million since Sunday. You can donate here. Follow Tess on Twitter. Orlando shooting victim Angel Colon, recovering at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, was reunited on Thursday, June 16, with a police officer who helped saved his life. Colon had described the events of the shooting to press on June 14, telling them he was shot three times in his left leg, and broke a bone in his right leg after he was trampled by people fleeing from the gunman. He spoke highly of a police officer who dragged him out to safety. Hospital officials identified the man as Eatonville Police Officer Omar Delgado, who is shown here visiting Colon on June 16. Credit: Orlando Regional Medical Center Employers in all 100 of the largest federally recognized metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) expect net payroll increases in the third quarter. The expected increases among employers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are the smallest, barely above zero. And they lag well behind employer expectations at the top of the list. Also, a third of employers in two MSAs expect positive payroll growth. According to a study by Manpower titled "United States Employment Outlook Q3": During Quarter 3 2016, 23 percent of U.S. employers surveyed expect payrolls to increase. Meanwhile, 5 percent of employers anticipate a decline in staffing levels and 71 percent expect no change in their hiring plans. ALSO READ: 50 McDonald's Menu Items With the Most Calories Also: For Quarter 3 2016, all 100 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States report positive Net Employment Outlooks. At the bottom of the list, expectations for net increases are only 1% among employers in New Orleans, and in Baton Rouge 2%. At the top of the list, 34% of employers in Albany expect payrolls to increase. The figure in Richmond is 33%. Expectations varied widely by sector: For the U.S. as a whole, employers in 12 of the 13 industry sectors report positive hiring prospects for Quarter 3 2016, based on seasonally adjusted data: Leisure & Hospitality (+23%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+20%), Transportation & Utilities (+19%), Professional & Business Services (+18%), Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (+14%), Construction (+13%), Education & Health Services (+13%), Information (+13%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+13%), Financial Activities (+12%), Government (+12%) and Other Services (+9%). Employers in the Mining sector expect payrolls to decline, reporting an Outlook of (-4%). ALSO READ: Why AMD Could Continue to Outperform NVIDIA and Intel Methodology: More than 11,000 interviews were conducted with employers within the United States, including all 50 states, the top 100 MSAs, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to measure hiring intentions between July and September 2016. The mix of industries within the survey follows the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) supersectors and is structured to be representative of the U.S. economy. All participants were asked, How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of September 2016 compared to the current quarter? Related Articles The winners of the annual Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list were announced last night in New York City, and claiming the No. 1 spot for the first time was Osteria Francescana, a tiny, 20-year-old spot in Modena, Italy, which clocked in at number two last year. Chef-owner Massimo Bottura is known for his whimsical takes on traditional Italian ingredients, with dishes like Five Stages of Parmigiano Reggiano, honoring the regions culinary heritage while displaying a notable artistic bent. We caught up with Bottura recently, and he named his 11 favorite restaurants in Italy for us. El Celler de Can Roca, last years winner, slipped a notch to second place, and the vaunted Noma, which hadnt been ranked below third since 2009, fell all the way to the fifth slot. New Yorks Eleven Madison Park rose to number three, also winning the Art of Hospitality Award. (We should mention that the restaurant put its hospitality on display by hosting an epic party after the awards, featuring Questlove on the decks, bar-dancing by some notable chefs, and phenomenal quantities of Perrier-Jouet and cocktails featuring spirits from The 86 Co.) Central, in Lima, Peru, maintained its number four position from last year. Other United States entries on the list are Alinea, in Chicago, at number 15; Le Bernardin, in New York City, at number 24; Saison, in San Francisco, a new entry at number 27; Estela, in New York, also a new entry at number 44; and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, outside New York City, at number 48. Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn and Petit Crenn in San Francisco was named the Worlds Best Female Chef. The complete list can be seen on the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants website. We offer our congratulations to all of the restaurants and chefs honored. (theworlds50best.com) More From Robbreport.com Abstract Art Gets a New Canvas, Thanks to Montblanc The Innovative Black Swan Yacht Concept Is a Dramatic Black Beauty Worlds Top French Chefs Gather to Celebrate French Cuisine Story continues 10 of the Worlds Top Chefs Help Mirazur Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary This Exclusive Retreat in Sri Lanka Is One of the Worlds Best Villa Rentals Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing Fast-Track a Hybrid Hypercar [BREAKING NEWS] Panama City (AFP) - The law firm at the center of the "Panama Papers" scandal says it expects the prosecution of a worker from its Geneva office detained on suspicion of stealing company documents. Mossack Fonseca said in a statement from its Panama headquarters that it had lodged complaints in several jurisdictions against people believed to be "involved in the theft of information that occurred in our company." That referred to the leak last year of a massive number of documents covering nearly four decades of business by the law firm, which specializes in setting up and managing offshore companies. Reports based on the purloined documents resulted in the "Panama Papers": revelations of how many leaders, politicians, celebrities and a few criminals around the world used entities started by Mossack Fonseca to stash assets. Though offshore companies are not in themselves illegal, they can be used to engage in illegal activities such as tax evasion or money laundering. Mossack Fonseca said in its statement it was "fully confident" that authorities in the various countries would "see through the corresponding (legal) processes in a transparent and effective manner." On Wednesday, Swiss authorities announced that an information technology employee for the law firm working in its Geneva office had been placed in provisional detention on suspicion of stealing confidential documents. The spokesman for the Geneva's prosecutor's office, Henri Della Casa, told AFP that "a criminal case has been opened... following a complaint by Mossack Fonseca." He declined to comment on whether an arrest had been made. News of the detention was first given by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which said it had no information on whether the arrested individual was the so-called "John Doe" who has claimed credit for the unprecedented "Panama Papers" leak. Mossack Fonseca said in April that the leak was the result of a hack that came from foreign servers. The parents of a 12-year-old black Texas girl who suffered serious rope burns around her neck during an overnight field trip are suing their daughters private school, claiming in a lawsuit filed this week that her white classmates injured her on purpose. In a lawsuit seeking $3 million filed Monday in Travis County against Live Oak Classical School and the owner of Germer Ranch, where the incident occurred, attorney Levi McCathern said the so-called attack was racially motivated. Sandy Rogely had enrolled her daughter referred to in the suit as "K.P." in the largely white private school in 2014, and though the girl initially flourished at the $7,000-a-year institute, she began having problems with other children in fall 2016, according to the lawsuit. K.P. began to come home with disturbing reports that her classmates did not accept her, would not talk with her, and even physically bullied her, the suit said. In two incidents described as physical bullying, K.P. was allegedly assaulted by one specific classmate. Read: House Speaker Paul Ryan Calls Donald Trump Judge Comments 'Racist' In one incident, the boy pushed K.P. to the ground in the cubby room, and in the other, he kicked, pushed, and shoved her during a class assignment when the teacher was not looking, McCathern wrote. Rogely said she immediately contacted the school, but her "pleas for help were met with deference to the Live Oak boy who bullied K.P." Then, during an end-of-year overnight class camping trip to Lawrence Germers ranch on April 28, K.P. and 21 other children came across a rope swing hanging from a tree while they explored the property. K.P. helped pull the seat of the swing back using a long rope and then watched as other children took turns on the swing, with her back to three boys, who are white, who were standing within arms length, the lawsuit said. In the group of boys was the same classmate who allegedly bullied her. Story continues During one swing, K.P. watched as some of the other kids pulled the pull-rope back, ready to swing another child. She watched the kids let the rope go, thinking this was just like every other turn. "However, she did not see what the boys behind her were doing, and the next thing K.P. knew, she felt the rope wrap around her neck and she was violently jerked to the ground with the pull-rope wrapped around her neck, the lawsuit said. Pictures of the swing and rope allegedly involved in the attack were included in the lawsuit. (Levi McCathern) The rope cut into her skin and left a severe and painful burn. K.P. looked up, and saw the three boys an arms length from where she was laying, it continued. None of the three boys, nor anyone else, helped her off the ground or helped remove the rope from her neck as they would have done if it had been an accident. The girl got up on her own, unwrapped the rope from her neck and found the school principal and another chaperone, who applied Vaseline to her neck and gave her Motrin, but K.P.s mother was never notified of the incident, the suit claims. The next day, Sandy waited in the parking lot to pick up K.P., and when she got in the car, Sandy thought K.P.s neck had been ripped open and stitched back together based on how the injury appeared. Rogely brought her daughter to the emergency room, where she was treated for severe rope burns around her neck. Read: Celebrity-Endorsed EOS Lip Balm Caused Women to Bleed, Lawsuit Claims Sandy recalls doctors commenting on the severity of the injury, the suit said. Police were called to the hospital and are investigating the incident. The lawsuit claims that no one from the school followed up with Rogely or K.P. that weekend to discuss what happened on the trip, nor did anyone explain why the girls mother wasnt notified of her injury. Sandy was terrified for her daughters safety, the document said. Live Oaks actions, and inactions, left K.P. with scars, both emotionally and physically. Sandy refused to allow her daughter to continue to be subject to this treatment, and she removed K.P. from Live Oak immediately. Since then, two separate families have come forward claiming they too took their children out of the school due to relentless bullying that went unaddressed by the school, the suit said. The suit claims negligence, gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the school. It claims premises liability against Germer, alleging that the swing on Germers land was unsafe and that he knew of the risk but did nothing to eliminate it. The suit asks for $3 million. I asked for $3 million, and there are a lot of reasons for it, McCathern told WacoTrib.com. I think part of it is to compensate the victim, part of it is trying to send a message that we have to protect these defenseless kids up at school, and I think part of it is to punish the school for not taking care of the kids and following through with responsibilities to notify parents when they have a student that is seriously injured. David Deaconson, a Waco attorney representing the school, told WacoTrib.com the incident was an accident and the school has since revised its parental notification protocol. My response would be that anyone can allege anything they want to in a petition, but that doesnt make it fact, he told the website. Live Oak will continue to rely on and stand behind the actual facts and that this was an accident. The Blaco County Sheriffs Offices investigation into the incident is ongoing. Watch: 17-Year-Old Girl Creates Moving Video to Speak Out Against Cyber Bullying Related Articles: Relatives slit the throat of a young mother who was pregnant with her second child after she married against their will in eastern Pakistan, officials said Friday, the latest in a spate of so-called "honour killings". Muqaddas Bibi, 22, married Taufiq Ahmed three years ago in defiance of her family, who considered a marriage for love -- rather than an arranged marriage -- shameful, police investigator Mohammad Arshad told AFP. Bibi's ties with her family were severed after the marriage, Arshad said, but her mother and brother allegedly approached her at a clinic where she was having a check-up on Thursday and convinced her to come home, saying they accepted her decision. Local police station chief Gohar Abbas said that when Bibi reached her parents' house, her father, brother and mother cut her throat with a knife and she died on the spot. Bibi had a 10-month old daughter and was seven months pregnant when she was killed, he added. Abbas said that her family fled from their house after the murder in the village of Buttaranwali, some 75 kilometres (46 miles) north of Punjab provincial capital Lahore. Police are hunting for them and have already detained another relative for inciting the killing, he said. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in conservative Muslim Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. Last week sixteen year-old Zeenat Bibi was killed in Lahore by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice in a case that sparked condemnation throughout the country. It was swiftly followed by another killing, of a couple in Lahore who married without their family's consent. On Sunday a young girl was killed by her brother for insisting on marrying the man of her choice in the city of Sialkot, also in Punjab. A film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary short in February. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" amid publicity for the film, "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", but as yet no fresh legislation has been tabled. Washington (AFP) - Pentagon chief Ashton Carter on Friday hit out at Russia for bombing US-backed forces in southern Syria who he said were fighting the Islamic State group, calling their actions "problematic." "This was an attack on forces, first of all, that were fighting ISIL. Obviously that's the first thing that's problematic about this Russian conduct," Carter told reporters, using an alternate acronym for the IS group. Carter admitted that perhaps Russian forces made a mistake when they conducted a series of air strikes on Thursday near al-Tanaf -- but said in that case, it highlighted poor intelligence on their side. "If it was their intention, it is the opposite of what they said they were going to do," he said. "If not, it says something about the quality of information upon which they make their strikes." On Thursday, a senior US defense official said that Russian aircraft had not been active in the al-Tanaf area on Syria's border with Iraq "for some time" and that there were "no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity." The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two US-backed fighters -- one Syrian and one Iraqi -- were killed in the strikes. The Syrian belonged a group of fighters from the New Syrian Army, trained by the British and the Americans in a coalition camp in Jordan, while the Iraqi was a tribal fighter, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia's defense ministry said late Thursday that it had not carried out any strikes targeting opposition forces included in the ceasefire, without mentioning Al-Tanaf. The United States and Russia have put in place a channel of communication so that they can ensure that their separate air campaigns in Syria do not result in any unsafe incidents. But Carter said the communications link "was not professionally used." "We are trying to clarify the facts and use that channel with the Russians to understand what went on," he said. Story continues The US military launched a $500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Syria's five-year war has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions. 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. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f119205%2fgettyimages-490771034_copy LONDON Miss Great Britain Zara Holland has been stripped of her title after being shown having sex on reality show Love Island earlier this week. Wednesday night's episode of the show which places 12 singletons on an island showed Holland having sex with fellow contestant Alex Bowen. SEE ALSO: Army officer captures Miss USA crown Holland who was crowned Miss Great Britain in September 2015 has had her title rescinded by the Miss Great Britain organisation. In a statement, the organisation said that it could no longer promote Holland as "a positive role model" after her conduct on the ITV2 show. We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title," the statement continued. But, not everyone agrees with the organisation's decision. People have taken to Twitter to express their fury that Holland has been "de-crowned." "This is just misogynistic what is shameful about having sex???" read one tweet. "Miss GB stripped of title for having sex... Absolute BS. Are we living in the dark ages?" read another. Some people said the move was outdated. Others felt that Holland's sexual freedom had been challenged. And others believed the move was sexist. By Mitra Taj LIMA (Reuters) - A Peruvian prosecutor said Thursday that late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and two Brazilian construction companies may have bankrolled President Ollanta Humala's campaigns before he took office in 2011. Prosecutor German Juarez has been investigating first lady Nadine Heredia, the co-founder and current president of Humala's party, for her possible involvement in undeclared campaign contributions. He asked a judge to bar her from leaving Peru. Humala has presidential immunity against investigation until five years after the end of his term on July 28. No charges have been filed. Roy Gates, Heredia's lawyer, said prosecutors had not identified any crimes linked to party finances to substantiate money-laundering suspicions. Juarez said an informant gave prosecutors a letter addressed to Humala signed by Chavez that mentions some $2 million in "investments" in Humala's first presidential bid in 2006. The letter has not yet been examined for authentication. "Burn any evidence, brother, for the good of us all. This is revolutionary, socialist aide," said the letter, as read by Juarez in a televised hearing. If authentic, it would show the lengths Chavez went to spread his so-called Bolivarian revolution across Latin America. Humala, a former radical military officer, once looked up to Chavez as a mentor. But in 2011, after losing the 2006 presidential election, Humala kept Chavez at a distance and won after campaigning in the more moderate style of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Humala has denied taking money from Chavez. Humala's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Heredia has said she has no intention of leaving Peru and is cooperating with investigators, whom she describes as under pressure from political foes. Another informant alleged that construction companies Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] and Grupo OAS, both tangled in a vast corruption scandal in neighboring Brazil, gave Humala and Heredia hundreds of thousands of dollars and paid the salary of an adviser close to Brazil's Workers Party to help with Humala's 2011 campaign, Juarez said. Odebrecht declined to comment and OAS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Odebrecht won a $5 billion natural gas pipeline contract during Humala's term after its sole competitor was disqualified from a public auction. The company has said the bidding process was fair. Brazilian police said earlier this year they were investigating potential bribes from Odebrecht to Humala. Both Humala and Odebrecht denied any wrongdoing at the time. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; additional Reporting By Marco Aquino) Peter Gabriel has released a new seven-minute song celebrating the late Muhammad Ali. In the track, titled "I'm Amazing," which he debuted Thursday, Gabriel sings "Look at me, look at me, can you see what I can do?" Gabriel sings. "'Cause I'm amazing." Sting, Peter Gabriel To Tour: Exclusive In a Facebook post, Gabriel explained that he wrote the song a few years ago and it was, in part, "inspired by Muhammad Ali's life and struggles." "At the time of his death, when so many people are celebrating his life and thinking about all he achieved, it seemed the right time to release it," he wrote. 5 Songs Inspired by Muhammad Ali Ali passed away June 3 due to "septic shock due to unspecified natural causes," according to his family. "I'm Amazing" is Gabriel's first release in nearly three years, following the track "Why Don't You Show Yourself" that was featured in the live concert album and film Back to Front: Live in London in 2013. Listen to it here: BRASILIA (Reuters) - The new chief executive of Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Thursday said the state-run oil company has received offers to buy a stake in its fuels-retailing unit BR Distribuidora SA in recent days, boosting plans to raise cash and cut debt. Pedro Parente did not say who made the offers or how much of the unit was being sold. He made the remarks to the GloboNews 24-hour cable network in his first TV interview since taking office June 1. Parente has said that Petrobras, as the company is known, must speed up a $14 billion divestment plan to shed fields, distribution systems, hydrocarbon processing units, power plants and other operations that offer lower returns than its core offshore oil and gas production business. Without the sales, he said, Petrobras will make little progress cutting its $130 billion debt, the largest in the oil industry. Nor will it be able to afford development of new discoveries that are among the world's largest. The government has earmarked royalties from those areas for health care and education and is counting on oil to boost industrial development. Parente said he has not discussed the sale of its stake in Braskem SA, Latin America's biggest petrochemical company, an asset many believe to be on offer. Petrobras is Braskem's No. 2 shareholder. Brazil's interim-President Michel Temer picked Parente to restore Petrobras' financial health in the face of a corruption scandal, debt and falling crude prices. Reviving investment at Petrobras, responsible for about 10 percent of Brazil's GDP, is key to Temer's goal of ending the country's deepest recession in decades. Parente also said an internal Petrobras probe of contract-fixing, bribery and political-kickbacks will continue with the full support of the board of directors. Few Petrobras employees were involved in diverting billions of dollars of investment to favored contractors, executives and politicians, he said. The vast majority are honest and free of blame in the conspiracy under investigation in Brazil, the United States and Europe, he added. Story continues Temer has himself been implicated in the scandal, a little more than a month after taking over from suspended-President Dilma Rousseff who now faces a Senate trial for allegedly breaking budget laws. In a plea-bargain agreement published by Brazilian prosecutors on Wednesday, the former head of a Petrobras' shipping and gas-pipeline unit said Temer asked him for cash from the scheme to finance an ally's political campaign. Rousseff was chairwoman of Petrobras' board for seven years when much of the criminal activity took place. Both Temer and Rousseff deny any involvement in the scandal. Two members of Temer's cabinet resigned in his first fortnight in office due to allegations they had tried to obstruct the Petrobras investigation. His tourism minister quit on Thursday after a new graft allegation. Parente reaffirmed support for a bill in Congress to drop the legal requirement that Petrobras lead and finance at least 30 percent of all new development in Brazil's most promising oil region, a move that would open the area to more foreign investment. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Writing by Jeb Blount; Editing by Sandra Maler, Andrew Hay and Michael Perry) BRASILIA (Reuters) - The new chief executive of Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Thursday said the state-run oil company has received offers to buy a stake in its fuels-retailing unit BR Distribuidora SA in recent days, boosting plans to raise cash and cut debt. Pedro Parente did not say who made the offers or how much of the unit was being sold. He made the remarks to the GloboNews 24-hour cable network in his first TV interview since taking office June 1. Parente has said that Petrobras, as the company is known, must speed up a $14 billion divestment plan to shed fields, distribution systems, hydrocarbon processing units, power plants and other operations that offer lower returns than its core offshore oil and gas production business. Without the sales, he said, Petrobras will make little progress cutting its $130 billion debt, the largest in the oil industry. Nor will it be able to afford development of new discoveries that are among the world's largest. The government has earmarked royalties from those areas for health care and education and is counting on oil to boost industrial development. Parente said he has not discussed the sale of its stake in Braskem SA, Latin America's biggest petrochemical company, an asset many believe to be on offer. Petrobras is Braskem's No. 2 shareholder. Brazil's interim-President Michel Temer picked Parente to restore Petrobras' financial health in the face of a corruption scandal, debt and falling crude prices. Reviving investment at Petrobras, responsible for about 10 percent of Brazil's GDP, is key to Temer's goal of ending the country's deepest recession in decades. Parente also said an internal Petrobras probe of contract-fixing, bribery and political-kickbacks will continue with the full support of the board of directors. Few Petrobras employees were involved in diverting billions of dollars of investment to favored contractors, executives and politicians, he said. Story continues The vast majority are honest and free of blame in the conspiracy under investigation in Brazil, the United States and Europe, he added. Temer has himself been implicated in the scandal, a little more than a month after taking over from suspended-President Dilma Rousseff who now faces a Senate trial for allegedly breaking budget laws. In a plea-bargain agreement published by Brazilian prosecutors on Wednesday, the former head of a Petrobras' shipping and gas-pipeline unit said Temer asked him for cash from the scheme to finance an ally's political campaign. Rousseff was chairwoman of Petrobras' board for seven years when much of the criminal activity took place. Both Temer and Rousseff deny any involvement in the scandal. Two members of Temer's cabinet resigned in his first fortnight in office due to allegations they had tried to obstruct the Petrobras investigation. His tourism minister quit on Thursday after a new graft allegation. Parente reaffirmed support for a bill in Congress to drop the legal requirement that Petrobras lead and finance at least 30 percent of all new development in Brazil's most promising oil region, a move that would open the area to more foreign investment. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Writing by Jeb Blount; Editing by Sandra Maler, Andrew Hay and Michael Perry) 'Slip and Fall' Injury May Sound Minor, But a Fall Can Cause Major Problems PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / June 17, 2016 / Philadelphia Slip & fall accidents are a leading cause of injuries that can cause lifelong physical disabilities, according to Philadelphia's accident lawyer Rand Spear. Rand Spear Philadelphia Slip and fall accident lawyer in a Google podcast says slip & fall cause more injuries than even motor vehicle accidents, reports Rand Spear, Philadelphia's accident lawyer, who spoke on a recent podcast on the topic. He represents those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey who are injured in slip and fall accidents. The National Flooring Safety Institute estimates that falls account for more than eight million emergency room visits in the U.S. each year. Fractured bones are a serious consequence of falls and more than 5% of those who fall suffer broken bones. Hip fractures are the most serious type of broken bone injury due to a fall. They lead to the greatest number of health problems and deaths. Older people are especially vulnerable to a hip fracture caused by a fall. 85% of Workers' Compensation claims are caused by employees slipping on the job. Rand Spear says many people are able to walk away from vehicle accidents but many are injured in slip and fall accidents. "Oftentimes the injuries are much more severe and that really is common sense. When you're in a motor vehicle you've got his big metal object around you to protect you. You're in a padded seat and you have a seat belt. But with a slip and fall there's really nothing to shield you, nothing to protect you," he says, "These are very serious accidents that have long-term lifelong consequences so you really have to be very careful if you are involved in any type of slip and fall accident." There could be many parties who may be held legally responsible for the injuries and harm done due to a slip and fall injury, depending on the facts of the accident, according to Spear. It could be, Story continues The landowner, A tenant whose lease states they are responsible for maintaining the property, or If the cause was ice, snow or a cracked sidewalk, it may be a maintenance or landscaping company responsible because they failed to remove snow or ice or keep the area safe. The facts of the accident are key to whether a legal claim may be successful or not. Spear says if necessary a staff member may take photos of the area where the accident happened. The accident victim or someone with the person could take photos at the time of the accident using a smartphone if necessary. They may show important evidence as to the condition of the area and if it was unsafe. If the condition was slippery due to the weather it's important to gather evidence as soon as possible so that your accident lawyer has as much ammunition as possible to prosecute your case. While gathering evidence is important Spear says, "Number one the most important thing is to get immediate medical attention if you really are injured. Get yourself checked out. You need to make sure everything's OK and you're in good shape. After that the next most important thing you want to do is to call an accident lawyer and tell them what happened." Spear offers a free consultation for those injured in slip and fall accidents. There's no charge to discuss the facts and you can find out what's involved with the legal process and what you need to do. "If you have photographs and witnesses someone from our office can really jump on the case and get a head start in order to fully represent you to the fullest extent of the law," Spear says. If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident in Pennsylvania or New Jersey contact Rand Spear for a free consultation. You will be able to discuss the accident, learn about the applicable laws and your best options for obtaining compensation for your injuries and damages. Call 888-373-4LAW immediately to schedule your free consultation. SOURCE: Rand Spear the Accident Lawyer via Submit Press Release 123 Vigil in Kathmandu Candles are lit around a sign that reads Pray for Orlando during a vigil in Kathmandu, Nepal, in memory of the victims of the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.. (Photo: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters) Candles are lit around a sign that reads Pray for Orlando during a vigil in Kathmandu, Nepal, in memory of the victims of the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. Iraqi soldiers gesture in the center of Fallujah, Iraq. According to the Associated Press, Iraqi special forces battled their way into the center of Fallujah, capturing a key neighborhood and a government complex from Islamic State group fighters. U.K. Member of Parliament Hilary Benn places flowers near the scene of the slaying of Member of Parliament Jo Cox, 41, who was shot and stabbed Thursday in Birstall, United Kingdom. These are just a few of the photos of the day for June 17, 2016. See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron will on Friday visit the northern English constituency of an opposition Labour member of parliament who was killed in a street attack on Thursday, his spokeswoman said. Cameron will join Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to pay his respects to Jo Cox, who died after being shot and stabbed on her way to a meeting with local residents. A spokesman for Cameron's Conservative Party said it would not contest the resulting election to select a new member of parliament for the seat of Batley and Spen, near Leeds. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison) Moscow (AFP) - Pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva said Friday she would challenge in court the IAAF decision to uphold Russia's suspension that would sideline Russian athletes from the Olympic Games in Rio. "This is a human rights violation. I will not remain silent, I will take measures," she told TASS news agency. "I will appeal to the human rights court," she said, without specifying in which court she planned to challenge the ruling. Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis has welcomed nine more Syrian asylum-seekers to Rome, two months after he flew another group back from Greece aboard his personal plane, the Vatican said Thursday. The latest group had also been living in a transit camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey. "A second group of nine refugees arrived in Rome yesterday (Wednesday)," a Vatican statement said. "The refugees, six adults and three children, are all Syrian citizens who were in the Kara Tepe refugee camp," it added. The pope in April brushed off criticism over the earlier group saying, "I didn't make a choice between Christians and Muslims. All refugees are children of God." They were selected by officials on the grounds that their paperwork was sufficiently in order to secure rapid agreement on their transfer from the Greek and Italian governments. The three families have since settled into life in Rome and started to learn Italian. Over 1.1 million people have crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece since the start of 2015, with hundreds drowning en route. Many of them are Syrians, fleeing the horrors of the country's war. Arrivals in Greece have drastically fallen over the past weeks after Turkey agreed to take back anyone denied asylum in return for billions in EU cash and other concessions. Human rights groups have criticised the arrangement. Pope Francis has previously condemned Western society for its indifference to refugees, making the cause of migrants trying to reach Europe one of the defining themes of his papacy. The violent agitation by the Jat community in Haryana in February this year brought to the fore the stark problems when an entire police and administrative machinery were brought to their knees by a protest called for by one of the states most powerful communities. The Jat community was protesting the lack of reservation in educational and employment. The Supreme Court, in Ram Singhs case, had struck down the Central Governments notification including Jats in the Central list of OBCs for the state of Haryana, Bihar. Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and two districts of Rajasthan. The Punjab and Haryana High Court also stayed reservation given to Jats under the OBC category for government jobs and educational institutions in Haryana. These protests have come in the wake of powerful communities such as the Patidars in Gujarat that are now agitating for reservation, despite not fulfilling the criteria of being historically disadvantaged. The youth in these communities, finding it increasingly difficult to get government jobs and opportunities, have resorted to violent agitations and mobilized effectively to make their voices heard. Map of the state of Haryana, where the Jat agitations took place, Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_Haryana_map.svg In a damning indictment of the states response to the agitation, the Prakash Singh Committee Report on the Role of Officers and Police Administration during the Jat Agitation criticised the state machinery for their callous attitude, and inability to bring the situation under control. The agitation came in the wake of deep divisions in the state as a result of this demand for reservation with calls for non-Jat communities to unite being mad e publicly by representatives of other communities in the state The agitation took a heavy toll with 30 people killed, more than 200 injured, and property worth 20,000 crores of damaged. Thirty educational institutions and 20 police chowkis were damaged. In unprecedented scenes canals that provided water to Delhi were targeted, schools and universities were attacked, and even the residence of the states finance minister was targeted two days in a row. Story continues While the Committees report does not mention any incidents of sexual violence, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is hearing a case related to the Jat agitation, has taken suo moto cognizance of allegations of sexual assault on the Delhi-Ambala highway. The Haryana government initially denied that incidents of sexual violence took place, but the state police have now filed gang rape charges in an FIR related to the case of an Australian national who was travelling on NH-1 on 21 February near Murthal when she was allegedly gangraped. Of the districts affected, Rohtak was the worst hit, and the Committee, while specifying incidents in Rohtak observed that the state seemed to have withered away in the district on 19 and 20 February. The members of the Prakash Singh Committee interviewed a large number of respondents from the police and public, and have recorded a detailed narrative of events, with a district wise break up of the statements recorded, and detailed recommendations on steps that need to be taken to prevent such a situation from arising. One of the disturbing observations of the Committee was the role of the police, which played a partisan role, looking away most of the time, and sometimes actively abiding the agitators. Diligent police officers wanting to take action were hindered by signals from their political superiors, who were reluctant to use force on the agitators. In damning statement, the Committee observed, The administration could not have been more inept, the police could not have been more derelict and collusive. These recommendations include training of police in anti-riot drills and ensuring that every district have at least one company of police specially trained to deal with riots. The Committee also recommended that Central forces such as the Border Security Force should not be called in on a routine basis to deal with civilian agitations in states, which the local police should be able to handle. The Committee also recommended that the army should be called in as a last resort in these situations. The Committee asked for strict action to be taken against those who disrupted traffic along national highways or important railway routes. Significantly, the Committee called for the enforcement of the F.S. Nariman Committees guidelines for liability for damages during riots that have been endorsed by the Supreme Court that. The Nariman Committee had recommended that a retired High Court judge or a sitting or retired District judge should be appointed a claims Commissioner to estimate damages and investigate liability in these situations. (In case of an event that spans two judges a Supreme Court judge would be appointed) Once a nexus between the event and the damage is established the damages would be calculated sing the principle of absolute liability. The actual perpetrators of the violence and the organizers of the event would share liability. Even if a fraction of these recommendations were implemented seriously, it would go a long way in acting as a deterrent against such violence, and would do justice to the amount of effort that has gone into this meticulous exercise. June 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Volkswagen plans to launch more than 30 all-electric cars by 2025 as the scandal-hit company repositions itself as a leading player in environmentally sustainable driving. (http://bit.ly/1YvJUg1) Lloyds has won a narrow victory over thousands of bondholders and will now not have to pay extra money to buy back their investments. The decision by the Supreme Court, which saves Lloyds about 1 billion pounds ($1.42 billion), has infuriated some of the savers and investors. (http://bit.ly/1YvJBlp) The Guardian The Bank of England has issued a fresh warning that a vote to leave the EU in next week's referendum risks knocking economic growth, pushing the pound sharply lower and sending shockwaves through the global economy. (http://bit.ly/1Q7F8Ea) The House of Commons energy and climate change committee's report, Low Carbon Network Infrastructure, has called for the National Grid to be stripped of its powers for balancing the energy system in Britain due to a potential conflict of interest. (http://bit.ly/1OteKUI) The Telegraph Barclays has branded accusations of fraud levelled by financier Amanda Staveley against the bank as "fundamentally misconceived", court documents show. (http://bit.ly/1W2gC8t) HSBC has agreed to pay more than 1 billion pounds ($1.42 billion), to settle a securities fraud class action that stemmed from the bank's takeover of a U.S. sub-prime lender more than a decade ago. (http://bit.ly/1XsxFBP) Sky News The Bank of England has issued a fresh warning on the economy ahead of the EU referendum, saying it is "increasingly probable" a Brexit would send the pound plunging further. (http://bit.ly/1YvGVnT) Downing Street is targeting company bosses who have previously remained neutral in the EU referendum campaign in an attempt to swell business support for 'Remain' in a final push ahead of next week's poll. (http://bit.ly/1YvIRwC) The Independent Past and current bosses of Unilever have voiced their support for the UK remaining in the EU ahead of the referendum on 23 June. (http://ind.pn/1YvIrXh) ($1 = 0.7033 pounds) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) June 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Oracle aims high in race to the cloud (http://bit.ly/1OtivJW) * UK $1.1bn stock fund withdrawals largest in a year (http://bit.ly/1OtiHc1) * MPs say National Grid should be broken up (http://bit.ly/1Otjk5l) * Redstones raise heat over Viacom with board shake-up (http://bit.ly/1OtiRjz) Overview - Larry Ellison, Co-founder and chairman of Oracle said that Oracle would be the first company to reach $10 billion in cloud revenues. - UK equities invested funds recorded a $1.1 billion of redemptions this week, as many investors are braced for the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. - MPs have said that the National Grid, the company that run's Britain's electricity system, should be broken up to transform the UK's energy supply. - Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone have moved to replace the five independent directors of the Viacom board, beginning a new saga in the fight for control of the media group that owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures. (Compiled by Sangameswaran S.; Editing by Sandra Maler) June 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Dozens of State Department officials protested this week against U.S. policy in Syria, signing an internal document calling for targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State. (http://on.wsj.com/1UZrXRy) - A two-year campaign by the United States and other countries to defeat Islamic State has failed to disrupt its capability to carry out terrorist attacks, CIA Director John Brennan said. (http://on.wsj.com/1UZryyt) - A lawmaker from the UK's main opposition Labour Party, Jo Cox, died Thursday after a brutal attack on the street in northern England, prompting a halt to official campaigning ahead of next week's referendum on EU membership. (http://on.wsj.com/1UZrKOa) - Sumner Redstone's National Amusements moved to replace five board members of Viacom Inc, deepening turmoil in the mogul's $40 billion media empire and setting up a likely legal battle over corporate governance. (http://on.wsj.com/1UZsinr) (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru) (Recasts with confirmation of alligator signs) By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Fla., June 16 (Reuters) - Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Story continues Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH ALLIGATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. The hotel's website - showing rooms starting at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can enjoy diversions such as "bask on the white-sand beach." (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla., and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Curtis Skinner, Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler) By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH ALLIGATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. The hotel's website - showing rooms starting at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can enjoy diversions such as "bask on the white-sand beach." (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla., and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Curtis Skinner, Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler) By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Story continues Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH ALLIGATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. The hotel's website - showing rooms starting at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can enjoy diversions such as "bask on the white-sand beach." (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla., and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Curtis Skinner, Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler) Angry protesters gathered in Hong Kong Friday after a city bookseller broke silence to reveal how he was blindfolded, interrogated and detained in China for eight months for trading titles critical of Beijing. In a surprise interview sure to infuriate Beijing, Lam Wing-kee late Thursday vowed to break bail, refusing to return to the mainland, and further defied Chinese authorities by blowing the lid on how he was detained on a visit to China and interrogated for months with no access to a lawyer or his family. Lam Wing-kee is one of five booksellers who published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians and disappeared at the end of last year in a case that drew international condemnation and heightened fears Beijing was tightening its grip on Hong Kong. All of the men resurfaced in mainland China where four of them, including Lam, are under investigation for importing banned books into China. Lam returned to Hong Kong Tuesday on bail and was due to go back Thursday but instead decided to remain and tell his story. A succession of political groups protested outside China's liaison office in Hong Kong Friday. Members of pro-democracy party Demosisto shouted "Defend the freedoms of Hong Kongers!" and plastered posters supporting Lam over the outside wall. Demosisto is calling for self-determination for semi-autonomous Hong Kong, as young campaigners seek more distance from Beijing amid fears of disappearing freedoms. Teenage activist Joshua Wong, one of the founders of the party, called Lam a hero. "Lam is the role model for Hong Kong people -- facing the suppression of the communist regime," Wong said. Rights group Amnesty International slammed China's treatment of the booksellers, saying Lam had confirmed what many had suspected. "It seems clear he, and most likely the others, were arbitrarily detained, ill-treated and forced to confess," said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong. Story continues - Suicide watch - Lam told how his confession, televised by Chinese state media in February, was scripted and directed and that he recited it out of fear of what would happen to him. In harrowing detail he explained how the toothbrush he was given in detention was tied by a thread which was held by a guard to prevent him from committing suicide by swallowing it. Fellow booksellers Lui Por and Cheung Chi-ping returned to Hong Kong in March on bail, but both were reported to have quickly gone back to the mainland at that time. Their colleague Lee Bo, who says he went to China of his own free will and is helping mainland authorities with their inquiries, has also been back and forth to Hong Kong. On his Facebook page Friday he asked reporters crowded outside his apartment block in the city to leave him alone. He also refuted Lam's claim that Lee had told him he had been taken to the mainland against his wishes. Lee's case caused the most outcry because he was the only bookseller who disappeared on Hong Kong soil, prompting allegations that Chinese enforcement agents were operating illegally in the city. The fifth man, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, remains in detention. inside out When Pixar recruited the psychologist Dacher Keltner to consult on the 2015 film "Inside Out," they were hoping Keltner would lend his expertise on human emotion. The film invites viewers on a journey inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, Riley, after she moves with her family to a new city; the emotions of joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger all take the form of animated characters. But Keltner, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, also studies power dynamics his new book is titled "The Power Paradox." And he couldn't help but scrutinize the way Pete Docter, the film's director, managed his team. When I spoke with Keltner recently, he told me that the award-winning film's success is largely attributable to Docter's leadership style specifically, his willingness to listen to other people's ideas. Keltner cited one moment in particular that illustrated Docter's openness to outside perspectives. The big question hanging over the Pixar team was whether Joy should band with Sadness or Fear to save Riley's personality. In his gut, Keltner said, Docter felt that Joy and Sadness should go together, but a group of senior executives were rooting for Fear. Instead of making a quick, unilateral decision, Keltner said Docter held "the intensest conversations" about the role of different emotions. At one point, Keltner walked around the Pixar campus with Docter and co-director Ronnie del Carmen, and the three were "just engaging in this really deep conversation about what is sadness and how does it differ from depression and what happens if young kids see this?" Meanwhile, Docter was gathering observations from his family and from other members of the Pixar team. Ultimately, he decided to choose Sadness to accompany Joy on the journey. inside out riley Story continues "It really struck me," Keltner told me, "just the openness of his inquiry into that decision. And I think that's one of the things we've learned about great leadership, is people who go around and really get the best ideas from the people around them to make these critical decisions" are the ones who succeed. In "The Power Paradox," Keltner writes that listening is a key way to practice empathy and that empathy is the surprising route to power and influence. He cites research suggesting that teams led by empathetic managers are more productive, innovative, and satisfied with their work. Moreover, Keltner writes that power comes from empowering others. He highlights Charles Darwin as a prime example: The scientist wrote hundreds of letters every year to individuals as varied as missionaries and neurologists, in order to collect ideas that he synthesized in his own writings. Ultimately, Keltner told me, "the more wisdom you get from more people, you're going to produce better things. And it's the task of the leader to go get that information." NOW WATCH: A Harvard psychologist says this is key to being more confident and powerful More From Business Insider There is another twist to the battle between homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc. PHM and the companys largest shareholder and founder, William J. Pulte. This time William J. Pulte has made public a letter that he sent to the board of directors of the company detailing the necessary qualifications that PulteGroups next chief executive officer (CEO) should possess. Pulte owns approximately 8.9% of stake in the company. PulteGroups long-time CEO, Richard Dugas, will retire as Chairman and CEO in May next year. Pulte believes that the CEO candidate should possess public homebuilding company CEO experience or at least 25 years of homebuilding and land acquisition experience. He believes the candidate should have relevant experience of managing multiple homebuilding operations in multiple U.S. markets, operating in a recessionary environment and building effective leadership teams at senior levels of an organization. PULTE GROUP ONC Price PULTE GROUP ONC Price | PULTE GROUP ONC Quote In a bid to expedite the search process, Pulte said that tangible results from the same should be available before July 31. Pulte also expressed interest in working constructively with the board to identify the next CEO. Pulte claimed that he received a letter from director Patrick O'Leary's in May inviting him to suggest candidates to succeed Mr. Dugas. The letter also informed him that the board has retained an executive search firm to assist in the CEO search process. However, the board, in an SEC filing, disclosed the letter sent by Patrick to Pulte. The letter clearly stated that the CEO search process would be confidential and Pultes role in the same was limited to the request for candidate names. In April, Pulte, made public a letter he had sent to the board that recommended the immediate removal of Dugas from the post of CEO and a change in the companys direction. Pulte expressed his displeasure over the companys announcement that Dugas will retire next year and requested the board to accelerate the process. Bill Pulte, his grandson, and another board member, Jim Grosfeld, criticized Dugas decision to move the companys headquarters to Atlanta as well as change its overall performance strategy. Story continues In another letter, Pulte demanded that lead independent director, James J. Postl, should resign immediately from all his positions in the company. In response, James J. Postl, issued an open letter to its shareholders stressing the boards strong support for Dugas and the companys value creation strategy which has produced significantly higher profitability and shareholder returns. Not paying heed to Pultes requests, shareholders overwhelmingly re-elected Mr. Dugas as chairman and chief executive, along with all 10 director nominees, at Pultes annual meeting in May. PulteGroup carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the construction sector are TopBuild Corp. BLD, Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. SSD and Installed Building Products, Inc. IBP. 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 SIMPSON MFG INC (SSD): Free Stock Analysis Report PULTE GROUP ONC (PHM): Free Stock Analysis Report TOPBUILD CORP (BLD): Free Stock Analysis Report INSTALLED BUILD (IBP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Saint Petersburg (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he was willing to reach out to Europe to mend relations shattered by the Ukraine crisis but insisted the West was responsible for the bad blood. Putin was making a pitch at Russia's major annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg to improve business ties with Europe, as Moscow desperately tries to breathe life into its recession-hit economy battered by Western sanctions. "European business wants and is ready to work with our country. European politicians need to reach out to business, to show wisdom, far-sightedness and flexibility," said Putin. "We remember how all this started. Russia did not initiate today's collapse," he added. "We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game." Russia's energy-driven economy is locked in its longest slump since Putin came to power over 16 years ago, caused by both Western sanctions and plunging oil prices. - Crimea sanctions renewed - As Putin was talking news emerged that the European Union had rolled over for another year sanctions adopted in response to Moscow's March 2014 annexation of Crimea, which prohibit the EU from doing business on the peninsula. Sources in Brussels say that broader economic sanctions over a pro-Russian uprising in east Ukraine that have hit Russia's financial sector could be extended by the EU as early as next week ahead of their expiration at the end of July. Russia in August 2014 introduced an embargo on a raft of food from the West in retaliation for the sanctions. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who sat next to Putin on the stage, came to the economic forum with a large delegation of businessmen. He pointed out that the spiral of tit-for-tat measures have hit European producers. "The sanctions and those put in place in reprisal negatively affect both Russian and European companies," he said in an interview with TASS news agency. "Both sides suffer." Story continues Speaking Thursday at the forum the head of the EU commission Jean-Claude Juncker warned Russia that the economic sanctions would not be dropped until Russia fully implemented a peace deal to end the conflict in east Ukraine that the West blames on Moscow. "The next step is clear: full implementation of the agreement -- no more, no less," Juncker told Russia's main economic forum ahead of a meeting with Putin. "This is the only way to begin our conversation and the only way to lift the economic sanctions that have been imposed." The Juncker-Putin meeting -- their first in Russia since the EU imposed sanctions -- had sparked Kremlin hopes it might signal the start of a return to business-as-usual with the bloc. Putin, who has previously insisted that the worst of Russia's economic crisis is over, said he was targeting a return to growth rates of "no lower than four percent". But Russia's gross domestic product shrank by some 3.7 percent last year and the IMF predicts its economy will contract by 1.5 percent this year before experiencing modest growth in 2017. It takes a special type of crazy to drive more than 3,000 miles in a single day. But since 1923, that's exactly what teams have done at France's annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. It's the oldest still-active auto competition of its kind. When it kicks off this weekend, 60 teams of three drivers will cover nearly 3,300 miles roughly the same distance from Seattle to the southern tip of mainland Florida testing the limits of science and sanity. All day. All night. Man versus machine. Despite the physical and technological challenges, the race format is fairly simple: Drive a car for 24 hours and complete as many laps as possible. The famed Circuit de la Sarthe a combination of permanent track connected to public streets is roughly 8.5 miles long. The 2015 winners went around it 395 times, marking the second-most laps in the race's history. That year, the drivers were behind the wheel of a high-tech, prototype Porsche (PAH3-DE), going an average speed of 140 miles per hour. This Saturday, at the start of the 84th running, the same three men won't be defending their title as a team. Porsche, however, will be defending its spot at the top of the podium. That's because for manufacturers, Le Mans is all about reputation. Back in the early automotive days, when humans could easily outlast their cars, automakers looked at this event as a way to earn bragging rights. They still do. Just ask the Germans. Over the past 20 years, 18 German-manufactured cars have won. Of those winners, 13 were Audi. The country's domination began in earnest in the mid-1970s. Before that, victories were largely celebrated by French, Italian and British automakers. However, there was a brief period in the 1960s when Ford (F) was the car to beat. In fact, starting in 1966, the American company won Le Mans four years in a row. Afterward, the automaker stopped competing altogether. Now, 50 years since that first historic victory, Ford is making its triumphant return to Le Mans. And picking up where it left off, one of its cars qualified for the pole position that is, in its class. It's Porsche that has the overall No.1 car at the start. Still, who really has the early bragging rights going into this year's race? Just ask the Germans. Each week, Jay Leno shares his thoughts about hot topics in the auto industry. Tune in to "Jay Leno's Garage" Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CNBC. Melrose Place continues to heat up as a must-shop destination in L.A. New York-based designer Rachel Comey has opened her eponymous brand's first West Coast boutique within spitting distance of cool canteen Alfred Coffee & Kitchen. The 2,600-square-foot, light-soaked space has a warm, earthy vibe with terra cotta-colored floors, poured concrete walls and wraparound wicker bench positioned across from a neat display of her highly-coveted shoes. (Rainbow fringed mules, anyone?) Comey, known for creating down-to-earth clothes with a twist, and embracing different textiles in her clothing and footwear, says she wanted "a mix of elements - some that feel crafty, others that feel industrial" in the space. There's also a hand-felted mural on the dressing room wall that could almost qualify as its own mini art exhibit. NOW OPEN: Inside the Rachel Comey store on Melrose Place. (Photo: Courtesy) Comey partnered with Brooklyn-based architect Elizabeth Roberts and San Francisco-based interior designer Charles de Lisle to achieve her dream space on the West Coast, much like she did for her 95 Crosby boutique in New York. The designer also worked with L.A.-based architect Linda Taalman. Comey tells Pret-a-Reporter she chose to open on Melrose Place "because there's a lot going on and I could relate to that. There's all these women designers on this street, too, which I really liked. It made me think that our customers might cross-over and appreciate each other's work. I thought that was nice - the community aspect." (The Row, Violet Grey, Irene Neuwirth, Zero + Maria Cornejo and Monique Lhuillier are among the boutiques lined up along the serene shopping stretch.) ON DISPLAY: Rachel Comey designs and a pair of shoes on display. (Photos: Courtesy) In celebration of the new store opening, Comey and Rashida Jones co-hosted a party Wednesday night attended by some of Hollywood's most self-assured style makers including Kim Gordon, Miranda July, Busy Philipps and Tracee Ellis Ross. Story continues Jones finds Comey's work "encapsulates cool, effortless urban girls. It's aspirational to me - I want to be the girl that she dresses." Lucky for Jones, she was wearing head-to-toe Comey during the soiree. Though it's hard to choose just one Comey piece worth obsessing over, the Parks and Recreation alum didn't skip a beat when sharing her favorite. "The Glinda jumpsuit is the best thing I own - I have it in two colors," she tells Pret-a-Reporter. "The fabric is just really good. It's flattering. The minute I put it on, I feel cool, elegant and I feel like I don't need to do anything else except maybe put on a pair of shoes that's worthy of it." Phillipps agrees, sharing, "She does these jumpsuits unbelievably well." But for Phillipps, her absolute favorite Comey item is a denim dress from last spring. "I wear it so frequently, " she says with a laugh, adding, "To me, it's the perfect denim dress." With so many strong, intelligent women already wearing Comey's clothes, we couldn't help but wonder if there were any other famous ladies that the designer would love to see in one of her creations. As Comey struggled to come up with a name, she called upon Ross for some advice. To which the Black-ish star suggested, "Helen Mirren or Charlotte Rampling." COMEY'S CREW: Tracee Ellis Ross (Photo: Getty Images for Rachel Comey) Rachel Comey, 8432 Melrose Place, 323-852-3152; rachelcomey.com Read More: Funny Is in Fashion: Carrie Brownstein Is Directing a Comedy Film for Kenzo These two Belgians have joined forces once again for the Raf Simons Fall-Winter 2016 campaign. In the same vein as the ad campaign for the Belgian designer's Spring-Summer 2016 men's collection, Willy Vanderperre's photos are in a two-part format, with a portrait on one side, and a silhouette on the other, the aim being to showcase the key looks of the Fall-Winter 2016 collection. This season, once again, the campaign is audacious and mysterious, with a somber backdrop. The photos were taken in the countryside, under a stormy sky, with light and shadows that create a slightly unsettling atmosphere. The model Luca Lemaire, another Belgian, has worked with Raf Simons before. He is at the heart of this campaign, striking poses which accentuate the enigmatic and alarming feel of the photos. He is seen from the back, straight on, close up, hidden under an oversized hood, and in one photo his eyes seem to be rolling into the back of his head. This Belgian designer and photographer have worked together many times. Willy Vanderperre has shot all of Raf Simons' ad campaigns since Fall-Winter 2013, and had previously worked with him in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Mick was a standout this pilot season, a lower-profile comedy from first-time creators, John Chernin and Dave Chernin, which came in surprisingly strong, becoming an instant frontrunner and landing one of the only two series berths Fox gave to its six comedy pilots. Part of the credit for the success of the pilot goes to the director, Randall Einhorn, who had worked with the Chernin brothers and Kaitlin Olson, cast as the lead in The Mick, on FXs Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia. At the time, he had no deal beyond the pilot because he was tied to ABCs The Muppets. But when that show was canceled and he became available, The Mick producer 20th TV jumped in to lock in Einhorn with a deal that will keep him on the show as director/executive producer, helming several more episodes of the comedys initial 13-episode order. Additionally, he will likelydirect another pilot for the studio next season. When John and Dave brought us their hilarious script for the pilot, we of course agreed that Randall should direct it, as theyd all done such brilliant work together on Its Always Sunny, said 20th TV president of creative affairs Jonnie Davis. He turned in a flawless pilot, which runs the gamut from big, physical set pieces to incredibly nuanced, comedic takes. We of course wanted to ensure hed continue as director/executive producer in series, but we also wanted to leave the door open for him to direct another pilot for us next year. Were thrilled he said yes. The Mick marks the third consecutive pilot directed by Einhorn to go the series, following Wilfred at FX and The Muppets at ABC. He also directed the opening episode of the second season of FXs Fargo. Einhorn executive produces The Mick alongside John Chernin, Dave Chernin, Nick Frenkel and Oly Obst of 3 Arts. Einhorn is repped by WME, Odenkirk Provissiero and Bloom Hergott. Related stories ABC And Fox Begin Signing Upfront Ad Deals Topping Rate Expectations Story continues Fox Sets Fall 2016 Premiere Dates, Goes For Traditional Rollout 'Empire' Co-Creator Danny Strong Inks Overall Deal With 20th Century Fox TV LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing shock across Britain and leading to the suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on the country's EU membership. Following is a summary of reaction: BRENDAN COX, JO'S HUSBAND "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people." "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON "We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart." "It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time." LABOUR PARTY LEADER JEREMY CORBYN "We've lost a wonderful woman, we've lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, we'll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve." "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve." "In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children." FINANCE MINISTER GEORGE OSBORNE "Jo fought to help the refugees from the Syrian civil war she gave a voice to those whose cry for help she felt was not being heard." "It changed attitudes and I know it contributed to a change in policy. She will never know how many lives she helped transform. Today, doing that job, she senselessly lost her own life." U.S. PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE HILLARY CLINTON "I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the world's oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honor Jo Cox -- by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together." GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL "The incident is terrible, dramatic and our thoughts are with the people affected the Labour lawmakers, the politicians. I don't want to connect this with the vote on Great Britain staying in the European Union." FRENCH PRIME MINISTER MANUEL VALLS "Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her it's our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that!" U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY "I join you in expressing my deep sorrow that a young parliamentarian, who obviously was a young woman of enormous talent, has been killed in the conduct of her duties with her constituency. It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy. And our thoughts are profoundly with the family her husband, her children and with all of the British people, who I know feel the loss profoundly." DUTCH FINANCE MINISTER JEROEN DIJSSELBLOEM, CHAIRMAN OF GROUP OF EURO ZONE FINANCE MINISTERS "The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics, and we hope that the British public ... can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week." DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS RASMUSSEN "My thoughts are with her family, her friends, and the British people. It was a true shock to me that a British politician was killed during the campaign." SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER NICOLA STURGEON "This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned." "She was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in Parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP." U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN MATTHEW BARZUN "We are heartbroken by the loss to her family and country of MP Jo Cox. My love and our love to them, in this time of unbearable grief." FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, WHO SURVIVED SHOOTING IN 2011 "Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife." MAX LAWSON OF CHARITY OXFAM, WHO WORKED CLOSELY WITH COX "Jo was a diminutive pocket rocket from the north. She was a ball of energy, always smiling, full of new ideas, of idealism, of passion. She gave so much to Oxfam." DAVID MILIBAND, FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY "People in need around the world have lost a tireless, effective and redoubtable champion today following the murder of Jo Cox MP. Her passionate advocacy, first of all working in NGOs and then in Parliament as an elected representative, on behalf of vulnerable and displaced people was a study in effective activism." JOHN CURTICE, POLLING EXPERT AND POLITICS PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE "It's fairly clear no one is quite sure what has happened. Until it's clear who was responsible and what their motivation was or it might have been, all it does is stop the campaign when the 'Remain' side probably would not want it to be stopped." MUJTABA RAHMAN, EUROPE PRACTICE HEAD AT EURASIA GROUP "This will hurt the momentum of the 'Leave' campaign, which has been gaining steadily in recent polls." "It will allow British Prime Minister David Cameron an opportunity to act like a statesman and retrieve the agenda, something he has lost over the last week. "If the incident is confirmed to have been motivated by Brexit, it will also reflect poorly on the more strident elements of the Vote Leave campaign, potentially swinging undecided voters toward 'Remain'." ALAN RUSKIN, GLOBAL CO-HEAD OF FX RESEARCH AT DEUTSCHE BANK "Certainly people are talking about the possibility that this does influence the Brexit vote in favor of 'Remain'. It is a tragic event all around. There is a sense, there is an immediate emotional reaction, but there is still a week before the referendum itself." "It definitely is seen as part of the story, the recovery of risk. Generally you are seeing so-called riskier assets recover. All the assets, whether equities, aussie/yen or sterling/yen are recovering. They are up on the perception of a higher probability of a 'Remain' vote." (Compiled by David Milliken, Andy Bruce and Estelle Shirbon, editing by Sarah Young) LONDON (Reuters) - Lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing shock across Britain and leading to the suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on the country's EU membership. [nL8N1991FN] Following is a summary of reaction: BRENDAN COX, JO'S HUSBAND "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON "We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart." "It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time." LABOUR PARTY LEADER JEREMY CORBYN "We've lost a wonderful woman, we've lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, we'll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve." "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve." "In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children." U.S. PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE HILLARY CLINTON "I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. "It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the world's oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honour Jo Cox -- by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together." GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL "The incident is terrible, dramatic and our thoughts are with the people affected the Labour lawmakers, the politicians. I don't want to connect this with the vote on Great Britain staying in the European Union. "I think the lesson must be that we have to treat each other with respect, even if we have different political views. "The exaggerations and radicalisation in some of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of this kind of respect. That is why all of us who value the democratic rules of the game know how important it is to be careful to set limits in choosing our words and in making our arguments, and to treat with respect those who think differently, who have different faiths, who live differently, and who love differently. Otherwise the radicalization will be difficult to stop." FRENCH PRIME MINISTER MANUEL VALLS "Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her it's our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that!" U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY "I join you in expressing my deep sorrow that a young parliamentarian, who obviously was a young woman of enormous talent, has been killed in the conduct of her duties with her constituency. It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy. And our thoughts are profoundly with the family her husband, her children and with all of the British people, who I know feel the loss profoundly." BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER GEORGE OSBORNE "Jo fought to help the refugees from the Syrian civil war she gave a voice to those whose cry for help she felt was not being heard." "It changed attitudes and I know it contributed to a change in policy. She will never know how many lives she helped transform. Today, doing that job, she senselessly lost her own life." DUTCH FINANCE MINISTER JEROEN DIJSSELBLOEM, CHAIRMAN OF GROUP OF EURO ZONE FINANCE MINISTERS "The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics and we hope that the British public ... can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week." DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS RASMUSSEN "My thoughts are with her family, her friends, and the British people. It was a true shock to me that a British politician was killed during the campaign." SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER NICOLA STURGEON "This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned." "She was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP." U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN MATTHEW BARZUN "We are heartbroken by the loss to her family and country of MP Jo Cox. My love and our love to them, in this time of unbearable grief." FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, WHO SURVIVED SHOOTING IN 2011 "Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife." MAX LAWSON OF CHARITY OXFAM, WHO WORKED CLOSELY WITH COX "Jo was a diminutive pocket rocket from the north. She was a ball of energy, always smiling, full of new ideas, of idealism, of passion. She gave so much to Oxfam." DAVID MILIBAND, FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY "People in need around the world have lost a tireless, effective and redoubtable champion today following the murder of Jo Cox MP. Her passionate advocacy, first of all working in NGOs and then in parliament as an elected representative, on behalf of vulnerable and displaced people was a study in effective activism." HENRIETTE REKER, MAYOR OF COLOGNE, WHO SURVIVED A POLITICALLY MOTIVATED STABBING LAST OCTOBER "The death of Jo Cox has really affected me. Xenophobic slogans inevitably lead to violence. "We all bear the responsibility that such a situation never happens again in Germany or Europe." JOHN CURTICE, POLLING EXPERT AND POLITICS PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE "It's fairly clear no one is quite sure what has happened. Until it's clear who was responsible and what their motivation was or it might have been, all it does is stop the campaign when the 'Remain' side probably would not want it to be stopped." MUJTABA RAHMAN, EUROPE PRACTICE HEAD AT EURASIA GROUP "This will hurt the momentum of the 'Leave' campaign, which has been gaining steadily in recent polls." "It will allow British Prime Minister David Cameron an opportunity to act like a statesman and retrieve the agenda, something he has lost over the last week. "If the incident is confirmed to have been motivated by Brexit, it will also reflect poorly on the more strident elements of the Vote Leave campaign, potentially swinging undecided voters towards 'Remain.'" ALAN RUSKIN, GLOBAL CO-HEAD OF FX RESEARCH AT DEUTSCHE BANK "Certainly people are talking about the possibility that this does influence the Brexit vote in favour of 'Remain'. It is a tragic event all around. There is a sense, there is an immediate emotional reaction, but there is still a week before the referendum itself." "It definitely is seen as part of the story, the recovery of risk. Generally you are seeing so-called riskier assets recover. All the assets, whether equities, aussie/yen or sterling/yen are recovering. They are up on the perception of a higher probability of a 'Remain' vote." (Compiled by David Milliken, Andy Bruce, Estelle Shirbon and Ana Nicolaci da Costa, editing by Susan Thomas) By Letitia Stein ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - From pulpits in Orlando and beyond, church leaders are reckoning with religious views often hostile to homosexuality after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub, with some wondering if they are contributing to breeding contempt. At a prayer service soon after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Reverend Joel Hunter confessed he did not know how to pray for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community targeted in the attack. "I have been searching my heart: is there anything I did that was complicit in that loss?" said Hunter, senior pastor at Northland, a nondenominational Christian church based in central Florida near Orlando, site of the Sunday morning shooting that also left 53 wounded. The show of support from church leaders, including denominations that reject homosexuality and same-sex marriage, raised hopes that the shooting could mark a turning point for acceptance of the gay community in religious circles. Authorities have described the massacre by 29-year-old Omar Mateen as both terrorism and a hate crime. But fears persist that the warm embrace could end after a few sermons. "Stand with the community when there isn't a crisis," said Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said faith-based leaders were talking openly about how to support the gay community for the first time, signaling to her "a transformational moment." Patty Sheehan, an openly gay city commissioner in Orlando, choked back tears standing alongside local Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders at a news conference held as churches planned burial services for victims. "They did not die in vain because of what is happening right now," Sheehan said. "If you are softening your hearts, and there has been a change of heart, thank you." The bishop of the Catholic diocese in St. Petersburg, Florida, two hours from Orlando, wrote a poignant blog post acknowledging that religion can lay the groundwork for the violence seen in Orlando. Story continues "Sadly, it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people," Bishop Robert Lynch said. 'WE APOLOGIZE' On Sunday, First Baptist Orlando Pastor David Uth plans to use his pulpit to remind his 19,000-member congregation that even if they do not agree with people's lifestyle, they should remember that God's love encompasses all. "We're the worst at really, genuinely loving like Jesus," he said of Baptists, calling it a church failure that gays and lesbians feel unwelcome in its pews. "That we own completely. We apologize." This week, the Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting passed a resolution rejecting same-sex marriage and transgender bathroom rights, even as it separately condemned the mass shooting in Orlando. The Reverend Terri Steed Pierce is senior pastor at Joy Metropolitan Community Church, which serves the gay community, about one mile away from the club where the shooting took place. She was incensed after being left off the roster of pastors at the service earlier this week that was attended by the region's top elected officials. "I'm a gay pastor of a gay church, and our people were the ones gunned down, and yet we werent invited to the table," she said. "We continue to be relegated to the margins, even in the faith community." The organizers of the event said it was hastily planned and Steed Pierce was not purposefully excluded. After a separate news event a day later, Steed Pierce said only one other religious leader came up to talk to her. He remarked that he was a sinner, too, she said. "I am stopping you right there," she said, recalling their conversation. "I am not sinning. I am being who God created me to be." (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Mary Milliken) (Adds offer sweetened, dissident shareholders, Nevsun approval, Nevsun CEO quote) By Nicole Mordant VANCOUVER, June 17 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Reservoir Minerals Inc, a small mining company with a large copper deposit in Serbia, voted in favor of a takeover by fellow Canadian miner Nevsun Resources Ltd, Reservoir's chairman said on Friday. More than two-thirds of Reservoir shareholders supported the friendly takeover deal, Reservoir Chairman Miles Thompson said at a special meeting of shareholders in Vancouver. The vote comes hours after Nevsun sweetened its bid for the mining exploration and development company by $75 million in cash, after a campaign by dissident shareholders. That is equal to an extra C$2 ($1.55) per Reservoir share. Reservoir and Nevsun, which owns a copper-zinc mine in Eritrea, had agreed on April 24 that Nevsun would buy Reservoir for about $365 million in cash and stock. Nevsun also gave Reservoir about $135 million in funding to help it buy out its partner from the upper portion of its flagship Timok copper project in eastern Serbia. The eleventh-hour sweetener comes after two Reservoir shareholders, China-based smelting company Shandong Xiangguang Group and Jing Bao, a China-based natural resources investment company, urged fellow shareholders to reject the Nevsun takeover bid, on the grounds it was too cheap. Shandong Xiangguang, its affiliates, and Jing Bao collectively own more than 14 percent of Reservoir's shares. Nevsun accused Jing Bao and Shandong Xiangguang, which last week made an unsolicited $130 million financing proposal to Reservoir, of trying to seize the Timok asset "for their own interests." Nevsun shareholders also voted in favor of the transaction in a separate vote on Friday. "We're looking forward to moving the Timok project into the development stage," said Nevsun Chief Executive Cliff Davis. ($1 = 1.2871 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Writing by Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Vicki Gunvalson is no stranger to drama, and fans can rest assured knowing that she's not holding back on the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County. While at the RHOC premiere party in Los Angeles on Thursday, Gunvalson told PEOPLE that yes, a lot happened in a year, but she's just focusing on being happy. "I'm happy," she began. "It's been almost a year since Brooks [Ayers] and I broke up, and a lot can happen in a year. I'm trying to mend my heart. I got my heart broken, but it was in God's timing you know I just believe that what is to be is to be, and it wasn't meant to be, so I'm at this new place and I'm happy. I'm really fortunate to have good people in my life right now. Really good people." Last season featured Ayers' controversial cancer diagnosis following his statement in November where he admitted to fabricating medical records to make it appear that he had been a patient at cancer hospital City of Hope. After the whole ordeal with Ayers, the reality star felt as if there was a target on her back when she returned for the new season. "When I was going through that I would have expected compassion, hugs, 'Whatever you're going through, Vic we're here for you. We love you,' " Gunvalson explained. "If that happened to them, one of their husbands or boyfriends was lying to them or not telling them the truth, I wouldn't get mad at them, I'd get mad at the person not them. So, it really was confusing to me and I was in a really dark place for a long time. I'm out of it. I'm good." "It took a lot of prayer, a lot of good friends that would be there for me that really said, 'You know what you're going to get through this. This is just a life lesson. It's a bump in the road. In the big picture life, nobody died,' " she added with a laugh. "I mean, what is everybody so worried about? It's my life. But we got through it. We're good now. It was hard. It was hard." Story continues The reality star did admit that it's never going to be the same within the group. "I don't think we're ever going to get through what I went through with them and what they went through with me last year, and be 100 percent okay," she said. "But I'm okay with it. I'm really okay with it and they're going to think what they want to think, and I'm going to think about them what I want to think, and I hope everyone's good and happy, and we work together basically. You know we are friends, and I am not in their business the way that they were in mine. I really don't care. They care a lot. I always think this, 'If they're not talking about you. You got something to worry about.' So they're talking about me, so I'm okay with it." If that whole ordeal wasn't hard enough, Gunvalson had to experience even more heartbreak when her mother died. "I just had a lot of losses last year," she said. "A lot of betrayal. Brooks betrayed me. The girls betrayed me. My mom left me. It was like, Who's left?" "I've cried more being on reality TV than I have my whole life, and I'm 54 years old so it's not easy," she added. "You got to really be tough and you got to take punches, but I've chosen not to read social media. I have a publicist that helps me, and he'll send me a lot of positive things, and I said, 'Don't show me any negative because if I read negative things I will then start thinking that about me or my circumstance.' " Go Angels! #perfectnight A photo posted by Vicki Gunvalson (@vickigunvalson) on May 21, 2016 at 8:04pm PDT Yet, Gunvalson remains upbeat and is focusing on her new relationship with Steve Chavez and making sure she doesn't let her daughter down by messing it up. "Briana loves Steve," she said. "She's really happy. She says, 'Mom don't mess this up.' And I'm like, 'Okay! I won't. I'll try not to!' " The Real Housewives of Orange County returns Monday at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. Ascot (United Kingdom) (AFP) - French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget took the Coronation Stakes for the second successive year on Friday at Royal Ascot as Qemah stormed to victory. Rouget, who holds the European record for winners trained with over 6,000 to his credit, said he had achieved a childhood dream in winning the Group One race for the best fillies over a mile in Europe. "To do the double is a childhood dream," said Rouget, who trained Ervedya to victory last year. "But I want more winners here because for me it is the best racing in the world." For jockey Gregory Benoist it was also a day of dreams being fulfilled as he rode a pearler of a race on the winner. "This is amazing for me, it's like a dream for me," said Benoist. "I can barely speak, there is too much emotion. "I will never forget this. The dream will remain in my head." His brilliance and joy was in stark contrast to that of Ryan Moore on the fancied Aidan O'Brien runner Alice Springs. Not for the first time in the past few weeks Moore left his mount with a huge gap to make up which was not helped when he was also behind a wall of horses in the finishing straight. Once clear of trouble Alice Springs made up a huge amount of ground but only good enough for third. Earlier Dougie Costello's decision to switch from riding over jumps to the flat paid off handsomely as the 34-year-old Irishman drove Quiet Reflection to an impressive win in the sprint the Group One Commonwealth Cup. It was a first Group One success in Britain for trainer Karl Burke whilst the syndicate that owns the filly -- who has lost just one of her seven starts -- celebrated in a wonderfully exuberant fashion which is not often witnessed in the rather conservative confines of the Royal meeting's winners enclosure. "I'm so lucky, it's been a long road," said a tearful Costello, who joins a select group of jockeys to have won Grade One races over jumps and Group Ones on the flat. Story continues "She is such a game mare. You want every ride to be like her," added Costello, who brought his two-year-old daughter up onto the podium to receive his trophy. Burke, who served a year's ban from the sport in 2009 for passing on information to an owner, said it was a huge moment for him to at last win a Group One on home turf. -- 74th Royal Ascot win -- Frankie Dettori rode another masterful race, to give trainer Michael Stoute his 74th Royal Ascot victory, in guiding Across The Stars to the King Edward VII Stakes, known as the 'Ascot Derby'. Stoute, most famously the trainer of the ill-fated Epsom Derby champion Shergar, said he wasn't aware he had drawn to within one of the all-time trainers record held by the legendary late Henry Cecil. "I haven't been consciously going for breaking the record," said the 70-year-old Barbados-born handler. "Henry was a great character and a great trainer and I thank God he had Frankel in the closing stages of his life when he was battling cancer." The opener provided O'Brien with his fourth winner of the meeting but not from the one he was expecting. Cuff his favourite was never at the races and it was Seamie Heffernan who took the honours on board Brave Anna in the Group Three Albany Stakes for two-year-olds. The winner was an extra special one as she is owned by Evie Stockwell, the mother of John Magnier, O'Brien's employer. "It's nice to ride out a winner for this lady because she is an important member of the team," said Heffernan, who was slapped with a nine day ban afterwards for using the whip 12 times in the final furlong. (Reuters) - U.S. Representative David Jolly ended his bid for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida on Friday, opening the way for Marco Rubio to seek re-election in an effort to help Republicans maintain control of the chamber. "Marco is saying he's getting in," Jolly, a fellow Republican who has been running to fill the seat for the past 10 months, said on CNN. Rubio dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Later Friday, Jolly, who represents the area around St. Petersburg and Clearwater, said he will run for re-election to his congressional seat. "Today I am asking my friends and neighbors to let me continue doing my job as a member of Congress," Jolly said in a news conference in Clearwater. He will likely face former Governor Charlie Crist, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 election. Rubio, who ended his presidential bid in March, said this week he was reconsidering running and may decide as early as this weekend. Representatives for Rubio declined to answer questions about his future plans. At the news conference, Jolly said he fully expects Rubio to run for re-election to the Senate. His spokesman Preston Rudie told Reuters the congressman "had no actual knowledge of a Rubio decision." Rubio's entry into the senate race would complicate Democrats' efforts to win back a majority in the Senate in the November election. Republicans won control of the Senate in the 2014 mid-term election and now hold 54 seats in the 100-seat chamber. Democrats have 44 seats and two independents are aligned with them. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have urged Rubio to run despite a pledge during his presidential campaign not to seek re-election. They cited polls showing he is the only Republican who can win the state. The deadline is June 24 for candidates to file with Florida election officials their intention to run for the Senate. The Republican primary election will be held on Aug. 30. (Reporting by Kouichi Shirayanagi and Richard Cowan; Editing by Susan Heavey and Jeffrey Benkoe) Washington (AFP) - Russia bombed US-backed fighters in southern Syria, according to a US official in Washington, who said the aggressive action by Moscow raises "serious concern." "Today, Russian aircraft conducted a series of air strikes near al-Tanf against Syrian Counter-ISIL forces that included individuals who have received US support," said the senior defense official, who requested anonymity. "Russian aircraft have not been active in this area of southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity," the official said. It was not known how many fighters were struck and the extent of casualties or which group they belonged to. The US military launched a $500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Much of the attention is being focused on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish coalition that has scored some significant gains against IS jihadists. The CIA has also been involved in training Syrian rebels, though the secretive agency has not officially provided any details of its efforts. The bombing would likely further strain already testy ties between Moscow and Washington on the Syrian issue. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions. We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again," the defense official said. Russia and the United States co-chair a 22-nation group that supports a UN-led process to end Syria's five-year civil war through a negotiated deal. Story continues On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to respect a fragile ceasefire, warning that Washington's patience was running out. World powers have failed to turn the cessation of hostilities, in effect since February 27, into a durable truce and Damascus has stepped up its military campaign against the Islamic State group and rebels, especially in the city of Aleppo. The United States has accused Russia of working to consolidate the regime of Assad, its ally, and continuing to attack the opposition. The five-year war has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia launched a second air strike on U.S.-backed Syrian fighters battling Islamic State, even after the U.S. military used emergency channels to ask Moscow to stop after the first strike, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. The official, who spoke to on condition of anonymity, said a small number of Syrian fighters were killed in Thursday's air strikes in southern Syria. The Pentagon has criticized the strike near al-Tanf, saying it raised concerns about Russian intentions in Syria and promising to bring up the matter with Russia. No Russia or Russian-backed Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time. "This was an attack on forces first of all that were fighting ISIL. And obviously that's the first thing that's problematic about this Russian conduct," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters, using an acronym for the radical group Islamic State. "The Russians initially said they were coming in to fight ISIL, and that's not what they did." Asked about the incident, the Kremlin said on Friday it was hard to distinguish between moderate and Islamist extremist rebels on the ground when it came to targeting air strikes in Syria because they were frequently fighting close to one another. Carter did not get into details about the sequence of events but told a news conference that "the channel that we have to communicate with them in instances like this wasn't professionally used." The incident underscored tensions with Russia and came as a leaked, internal State Department memo illustrated frustration within the U.S. government about America's handling of the war in Syria. More than 50 State Department diplomats signed the memo, which was critical of U.S. policy in Syria and called for military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE GAPS? Washington has refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State, accusing Russia of acting solely to prop up Assad's government. Moscow began air strikes in Syria last September. The United States has called on Assad to step down but has refrained from directly targeting his forces. Communication between the United States and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out separate bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground. Although no U.S. forces were in the area at the time of Thursday's strikes, the U.S. military activated the emergency communications channels with Moscow to tell Russia to stop striking the area, the official said. Some time passed after that communication but Russia carried out a subsequent strike, the U.S. official said. Carter suggested either Moscow struck the fighters intentionally or faced significant intelligence gaps. "If that was their intention (to strike forces battling Islamic State), then thats the opposite of what they said they were going to do," Carter said. "If not, then it says something about the quality of the information upon which they make airstrikes." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said warplanes had struck a meeting of U.S.-backed forces fighting against Islamic State in al-Tanf village, near the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq, killing two fighters and wounding four. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow; Editing by Bill Trott, Toni Reinhold) Russia Track and Field The global governing body for track and field has barred the Russian track and field team from the Summer Olympics in Rio because of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs and a lack of effort to clean up their athletes, according to The New York Times. Ultimately, the fate of the team will be determined by the International Olympic Committee. However, as The Times notes, the IOC typically defers to the governing bodies of individual sports. Russia has been banned from international competitions for the past seven months after the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Russia of what The Times describes as "an elaborate government-run doping program." There is some feeling that the IOC could still allow athletes who have never tested positive for the drugs to compete. However, whistleblowers have alleged that many of the steroid users have never tested positive, The Times reports. This would be the first time that an entire nation was barred from an Olympic sport because of doping. NOW WATCH: Golf legend Greg Normans advice for Jordan Spieth after his Masters meltdown More From Business Insider Washington (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Friday reiterated its call for air strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, after US diplomats broke ranks with the White House to push for robust action. Briefing journalists after talks at the White House, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom had long urged Washington to lead a military response to undermine Assad's control. At the Saudi Embassy, Jubeir noted that from the very start of the crisis, Riyadh had pushed for "a more robust policy, including air strikes, safe zones, a no fly zone, a no drive zone." He said Saudi Arabia wanted to arm Syria's "moderate opposition" with ground-to-air missiles and repeated an offer to deploy Saudi special forces in any US-led operation. Riyadh's position is not new: Saudi officials have long been discreetly critical of US President Barack Obama's cautious approach to the five-year-old conflict in Syria. But Jubeir was speaking after the US State Department was forced to confirm that many of its own diplomats had signed a cable on a "dissident channel" calling for more robust action in Syria. Obama is reluctant to see US forces drawn into another Middle East conflict, and many in Washington are concerned that weapons sent to the rebels fighting Assad could get into the hands of extremists. But a lengthy US and Russian led diplomatic initiative to persuade Assad and the opposition to begin talks on a political transition has yielded only the shakiest of ceasefires. UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince requested a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after the United Nations infuriated Riyadh by briefly blacklisting a Saudi-led coalition for killing children in Yemen, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday. Mohammed bin Salman is expected to be in New York next week for meetings with business leaders after a visit to the U.S. West Coast and has requested a meeting towards the end of the week, U.N. officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "An official request has come to the office of the secretary-general for a meeting with the deputy crown prince and as soon as we're able to confirm something we shall," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He added that the U.N. had not yet responded to a June 8 letter to Ban from Saudi U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen asking the United Nations to reveal details on the sources of information for its report on violations of child rights during armed conflicts. Dujarric said this week the United Nations would not disclose those sources. The U.N. report on children and armed conflict said the coalition, which began an air campaign in March 2015 to defeat Iran-allied Houthi rebels, was responsible for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in the conflict last year, killing 510 and wounding 667. Riyadh, a major U.N. donor, had threatened to cut off funding to a Palestinian aid program and other U.N. initiatives. Saudi Arabia denied using threats, although Ban himself confirmed the initial Reuters report. The coalition's removal from the blacklist prompted angry reactions from human rights groups including Human Right Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam, which accused Ban of caving to pressure from powerful countries. They said that Ban, in the final year of his second term, risked harming his legacy as U.N. chief. The Saudi-led coalition includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal and Sudan. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by James Dalgleish) By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the Zika virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organization said on Friday. A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. Zika has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy. On Thursday, U.S. health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely Zika virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to Zika.. WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared Zika a global public health emergency in February. "The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core," she said in a statement. The plan highlights several aspects of the Zika outbreak "that require a collaborative, global response," the WHO said. These include, the potential for further international spread of Zika given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas where Zika virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. Chan said "coherent funding mechanisms" were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global Zika response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. WHO, PAHO and other agencies say they need $121.9 million to implement the revised plan from now until December 2017. (Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Sonys comedy Rock That Body starring Scarlett Johansson is scheduled for release on June 23, 2017 when it will open against Paramounts Transformers: The Last Knight. Rock That Body is a raunchy comedy that follows a group of five friends who rent a beach house in Miami for a wild bachelorette party that goes off the rails. Jillian Bell, Kate McKinnon and Ilana Glazer also star. The film is directed by Lucia Aniello from a script she wrote with her writing partner Paul W. Downs. The two are also writers on Comedy Centrals Broad City and co-created the mini-series Time Traveling Bong along with Glazer. They are also currently involved in a project they describe as a female spinoff of the 21 Jump Street franchise. The script for Rock That Body appeared on the Black List in 2015. Sony picked up the project last year in an aggressive bidding war. Both Aniello and Downs will produce the film through their Paulilu banner. Matt Tolmach and Dave Becky will also produce. Johanssons 2014 action movie Lucy was a surprise hit with over $450 million in worldwide grosses. The four previous Transformers films, based on the Hasbro toy line, have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide for Paramount. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto will produce the latest iteration. Related stories Josh Duhamel Returning to 'Transformers' Franchise Fifth 'Transformers' Movie Gets Title Kate McKinnon, Ilana Glazer, Jillian Bell Join Scarlett Johansson Comedy 'Rock That Body' On Monday, Twitter went nuts when ScHoolboy Q presumably tweeted what everyone thought was his official album cover for his soon-to-be released Blank Face LP, featuring a blurred version of the infamously hilarious #CryingJordan meme. About a day later, the rapper tweeted the cover to the deluxe version with a blanked out face of The Donald. But, on Thursday afternoon, Q made an appearance on TMZ Live and squashed the rumors, confirming hes not using either cover for his album and that he was just trolling. The fact that people actually think that I would use that as my album cover is funny. So, I just actually trolled the people because soon as I put it up on my Twitter, everyone just said Schoolboy Qs album cover, Schoolboy Qs artwork, but they defeated the purpose of what I was doing. I have a concept behind it. The rapper said he was planning on putting out a series of covers, but people on social media didnt give him a chance to tweet the others before declaring the first two as real. People are so quick to jump on things, Q said. It was only out for two minutes, they didnt even give me a chance to post my next picture. I was literally getting ready to post my next picture and like four websites picked up on it. After the initial hype, Q says he called his managers at TDE to see if they could actually gain clearance to make the covers a real thing but they simply said, Nah. I doubt we can do that. They never attempted to reach out to Michael Jordan or Donald Trump. Qs Blank Face LP is set to drop (for real) on July 8. The rapper says he plans to discuss the albums concept in more detail after its release. He showed the official cover during TMZ Live and then tweeted it later with the caption OFFICIAL JULY 8TH. OFFICIAL JULY 8tH pic.twitter.com/exxCxblb12 ScHoolboy Q (@ScHoolBoyQ) June 16, 2016 (Via TMZ/Pitchfork) Supermassive black holes, the kind that sit at the center of most galaxies, sometimes shoot out streams of hot, ionized gas that get twisted and propelled by magnetic fields. These jets are so bright, they're often visible far across the universe from where they erupt. Black hole jets are hard to predict, though. Sometimes they shoot out and rip through the galaxy and out into intergalactic space, but other times they sputter and fizzle out. Artist's illustration of a black hole jet. Now, a team of astronomers have simulated black hole jets, and they might have an explanation for why some get snuffed out. The research could help us figure out how galaxies form around black holes. The astronomers realized that the fates of the jets are probably tied to the magnetic fields around the black hole. Jets with more stable magnetic fields are broader and have enough power to burst beyond the edges of the galaxy. If the magnetic fields inside the jets aren't stable, then the streams of gas narrow and eventually break, spilling a bubble of hot gas into the galaxy. "If I were to jump on top of a jet and fly with it, I would see the jet start to wiggle around because of a kink instability in the magnetic field," theoretical astrophysicist Alexander Tchekhovskoy said in a University of California, Berkeley, news release. "If this wiggling grows faster than it takes the gas to reach the tip, then the jet will fall apart. If the instability grows slower than it takes for gas to go from the base to the tip of the jet, then the jet will stay stable." Collapsed black hole jets heat up the whole galaxy. When that happens, the temperature spike stops more gas from falling into the black hole and essentially stunts its growth. So it seems collapsed jets help keep the size of supermassive black holes in check. More research may help us understand how jets influence the overall size of galaxies as well. Borreal Forest2 Climate change is expected to have a dramatic impact on ecosystems across the world, creating winners and losers: Some species are likely to survive in a warming climate, and some simply wont. A new study in Science examined more than 26,000 trees across an area the size of Spain (583,000 square kilometers) and found that boreal forests in far-northern latitudes may one day act as a climate refuge for black spruce, the foundational tree of the northwoods ecosystem and the most dominant species in these forests. Northern boreal forests make up nearly 30 percent of the planets forested area, and store about 20 percent of the earths carbon. In Canada, these boreal forests stretch over 10,000 continuous kilometers (over 6,200 miles), making them one of the worlds greatest remaining forests on the planet. They are home to a number of wildlife, including numerous migratory birds and 85 species of mammals, such as caribou, snowshoe hare, lynx, bears, and wolves. Canadas pulpwood industry is also concentrated in these boreal forests of Quebec and the country is a world leader in the production of paper and pulpwood products (such as household tissues.) During this century, the northwoods will experience some of the Earths largest increases in temperature, Loic D'Orangeville, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Universite du Quebec a Montreal and Indiana University, said in a press release. His study looked at data from tree ring analyses that revealed that these forests are sensitive to changes in both temperature and precipitation. A warming climate increases the amount of water boreal forests need to survive and, according to DOrangeville, it is possible that only part of North Americas boreal forest will have enough water to compensate for the increase in water demand. However, moving northwards, temperatures cool and evaporation diminishes. From their results, it looks like the 49th parallel (49 degrees north in latitude) will roughly delineate between the winners and the losers. Above the line, black spruce are going to benefit from the warming. Below, they won't. Story continues Borreal Forest4 The fate of this forest is important for both ecological and economic reasons," Neil Pederson, co-author and senior ecologist at the Harvard Forest, told Business Insider. "The Canadian government is already shifting forest management northwards in this region [because] they are recognizing that trees that are not economically viable today are likely going to become economically viable and important. Of course, predicting the future exactly is impossible, Pederson cautions. Some forests below the 49th parallel might be more resilient than expected and above the line, forests could be hit by unpredictable disasters, or black swans as he calls them, that could change their fate. The megafires of western Canada and Alaska this past year are examples of such unpredictable and potentially catastrophic events. Still, the study offers a note of hope, as identifying potential havens for biodiversity is important for planning for the economic and ecological future. Now, the next step for the research is to look at other species in these forests to see if their findings hold up. NOW WATCH: Here's what popular dog breeds looked like before and after 100 years of breeding More From Business Insider By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled on Friday that district courts cannot hear challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house administrative proceedings to pursue enforcement cases. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the fourth federal appeals court to rule for the SEC, which critics say can benefit from pursuing enforcement cases in-house because they offer procedural advantages that can make it easier to win. By a 3-0 vote, the appeals court threw out preliminary injunctions that had blocked the SEC from pursuing two cases. In one, the SEC accused Gray Financial Group Inc and two executives of steering public pension funds to invest in alternative investments they knew did not comply with Georgia law, enabling them to collect extra fees. The SEC, in the other case, alleged that the real estate developer Charles Hill committed insider trading. Lawyers representing the Gray defendants and Hill did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Targets who have challenged SEC in-house courts have argued that the appointment of SEC administrative law judges, and hurdles that can make it impossible for the president to remove them, make the proceedings unconstitutional. But in Friday's decision, Circuit Judge Jill Pryor said Congress intended to deprive federal district courts of jurisdiction over such claims. She nonetheless said "we are without doubt" that the Gray defendants, Hill and others in similar positions can receive meaningful judicial review of their claims. New York financier Lynn Tilton is among others to challenge the constitutionality of SEC in-house courts. A federal appeals court in New York rejected her challenge on June 1. The cases are Hill v SEC, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-12831; and Gray Financial Group v. SEC in the same court, No. 15-13738. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby) One of the many highlights of CMA Music Festival in Nashville every year is the fan club parties hosted by artists as a way to thank their most fervent supporters. For Chris Young, his fan-centric event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum last week was a chance to perform some of his hits and also pay tribute to a few of his musical inspirations. Keith Whitley's 10 Greatest Love Songs In addition to his own songs, including "Aw Naw," "Getting' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" and "Drinkin' Me Lonely," Young, flanked by an acoustic and electric guitar player, dusted off an unplugged take on ZZ Top's Eighties rocker "Sharp Dressed Man." He also revisited his country roots with a sweet rendition of "When You Say Nothing at All," which was first a hit for Keith Whitley in 1988, when Young himself was very young 3 years old. The second of five consecutive Number One hits for Whitley, who died of alcohol poisoning less than a year later, the tune penned by veteran writers Don Schlitz and Paul Overstreet would return to the top of the charts seven years later in a version by Alison Krauss. Her interpretation went on to be named CMA Single of the Year. Young is currently on tour and has recently announced the dates for his headlining fall trek. The I'm Comin' Over Tour with Cassadee Pope, plus Dustin Lynch and Dan + Shay on various dates, launches September 29th in Bakersfield, California. Related Hillary Clinton is for the children. On Thursday, the presumptive Democratic nominee took to Instagram, sharing a new campaign video in which she promotes her longstanding journey to help children across the globe. "For Hillary, one thing's never changed: Helping children has been a cause of her life, and it always will be," the video was captioned. "For Hillary, one thing's never changed: Helping children has been a cause of her life, and it always will be." A video posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Jun 16, 2016 at 1:24pm PDT The clip begins in 1950, showing a young Clinton playing on a front lawn before it fast forwards to her college graduation in 1973 and onto her political career, including her time in Arkansas in the eighties, her stint as First Lady starting in 1997 and her term as Secretary of State beginning in 2009. Throughout the video, a narrator details Clinton's achievements and efforts, including her education reform, fighting for healthcare for eight million kids and working to end trafficking. Just as Clinton's newest video emphasized her inspiring a new generation, she shared a letter from a young voter who detailed her plans to support Clinton, despite being too young to vote. "My grandpa is voting for you so he is taking my vote!" the child wrote in a letter to presumptive Democratic nominee. "I think you would make a good president because there has never been a girl president and I think you must have good laws in mind too!" A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Jun 16, 2016 at 6:42pm PDT Clinton's campaign has been on a winning streak since she claimed victory in a handful of Western states earlier this month, including California, and later took the Washington D.C. primary by a wide margin. Although she's already garnered the necessary amounts of delegates to be named the presumptive nominee, her rival, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, has vowed not to concede until the Democratic National Convention in July. Still, Clinton has received a handful of heavyweight endorsements as of late, including President Obama and Oprah Winfrey. "It's about time that we make that decision," Winfrey told Jimmy Kimmel. "Regardless of your politics, it's a seminal moment for women. What this says is, there is no ceiling, that ceiling just went boom! It says anything is possible when you be leader of the free world. I'm with her." Ben Fleischman, of Madison, who is disabled and receives supportive services, recycles office materials in this file photo in the City-County Building, with help from vocational trainer Gina Shea. Part detective, part health inspector and all loving parent -- that's how it feels when you're choosing a day care provider. Entrusting your child to someone else takes more than a leap of faith. It's about vetting backgrounds, bringing checklists, looking around, asking questions and not assuming that licensure guarantees quality. Below, experts -- including a parent who learned through hard experience -- help you sort out the process. [See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health.] All child care is not created equal, says Michelle McCready, chief of policy with Child Care Aware of America. To choose quality, safe and affordable day child care, she says, "We encourage parents to have a strong process in place." Start early, she suggests: During pregnancy is not too soon to begin looking at child care options. States and communities have varying availability, and some centers have waiting lists. Making a call to local experts is the next step. On Child Care Aware's website, plug in your ZIP code to find the child care agency serving your area. This free resource is "a great hidden secret" that many parents aren't aware of, McCready says. "They can walk you through the facts about child care and provide a list of child care options in your area that meet your needs," she says, whether you're looking for a family provider, a center or after-school care. You can also ask about child care subsidies, area licensing requirements and how to get information about complaints and licensing violations. Check Records Licensure and a mother's due diligence weren't enough to save Quale Johnson, who died Sept. 25, 2008, during his second day in day care. This week, LeVaughn Westbrook, his mother, testified at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on the implementation of a child care improvement law that she and many others have fought for since. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) of 2014 made sweeping changes to health, safety and educational requirements for child care providers and boosted funding for day care subsidies and staff education. It also increased transparency and parental access to information on individual providers. Story continues Because of CCDBG, states must open and offer easy electronic access to records including monitoring and inspection reports on individual providers; statistics on deaths, serious injuries and substantiated child abuse in child care settings; and licensing requirements, monitoring procedures, criminal background checks processes and criminal offenses that bar people from being child care providers. Safeguards such as these might have prevented her infant son's death, Westbrook believes. Now a social worker and mother of two in Fairfax, Virginia, she lost 2 1/2-month-old Quale after dropping him off with his family day care provider in DeKalb County, Georgia. Back then, even though Westbrook did all the right things, such as seeking licensed day care, visiting the provider in advance, interviewing the provider and watching how she interacted with other children, the tragedy still occurred. Even now, uncertainty remains around the circumstances of her son's death, which are detailed in an October 2009 follow-up story in the Flint Journal. Inadequate supervision by the provider, failure to abide by safe-sleep requirements and a lack of CPR and first aid certification were eventually uncovered after Westbrook kept insisting on answers. But she had no way of knowing about previous complaints against the provider or whether she or others in the home had a criminal background or were listed on a sex offender registry. Today, as a parent seeking child care, much of this information is at your fingertips. Before visiting a provider, click on your state to go through an online search for individual quality ratings, inspection reports and information on required background checks. Quality rankings and accreditation listings are more tools to help you find the best day care. The National Association for the Education of Young Children helps parents find high-quality child care programs that meet its standards. Visit With Purpose An in-person visit will give you a better sense if a program will work for you, McCready says. You're the eyes and ears on day-to-day activities such as sleep, eating and play. You may even want to come back another time or two. Pay attention to adult-to-child ratio. And ask: How many children are there for each adult? Day-care checklists give appropriate ratios depending on a child's age. Parents for Safe Child Care provides a checklist for choosing quality child care. (A variety of checklists are available online.) During the visit, ask about the caregiver's qualifications, training and early child education. Find out about first aid and safety: Is there a CPR-certified person on staff? "For infant care, specifically, are they trained in safe sleep practices and infant CPR?" McCready adds. And a very basic question: Who has access to the child? "We strongly promote anybody who's taking care of the child, or potentially could be left alone with the child, should have a comprehensive background check," she says. [See: How to Promote Safe Sleep for Your Infant.] Safe sleep is the top issue for infants in day care, says Dr. Danette Glassy, a primary care pediatrician at Mercer Island Pediatrics near Seattle. "Have the caregivers taken a training in safe sleep?" she asks. "Are the cribs the newest models and not recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission? Are [infants] always in sight, even while they're asleep?" Safety alone isn't enough. Infants need emotional and social support from providers to thrive. "If they're not really loving and responsive and creating good relationships with the babies, that sets them off on a trajectory that's not healthy down the road," Glassy says. Toddlers bring on another dimension of safety concerns. "What can they get into?" is the question, Glassy says. Parents should observe how providers store medicines and chemicals, and look for trouble spots where kids could climb and fall. Also, she says, "Is the outdoor equipment developmentally appropriate to young, exploring bodies, as opposed to the 4- and 5-year-olds?" [See: The 5 Latest Poison Control Threats Kids Face.] Day care food is another important area, so ask providers what they're feeding babies, toddlers and preschoolers. "Is it developmentally appropriate?" Glassy says. "Does it follow current guidelines on what we know is healthy nutrition?" Cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting and hand-washing are important components of day care safety, especially for infants. A baby under 6 weeks old with a high fever will almost certainly be hospitalized, Glassy says, even if the likely culprit is a cold. Worst-case scenarios for day care-related infections include meningitis, bacterial pneumonia and whooping cough, Glassy says. So you need to know whether all caregivers are fully immunized, she says. And it's OK to ask about other kids at the day care. "You bet," she says. "Your child is at risk if there are many children in that setting who aren't fully immunized." Infants under 6 months old who have not completed vaccinations and still can't receive a flu shot rely on others around them for protection. Listen to Your Heart After you've done your due diligence, you're ready to make your decision. And that includes going with your heart. "Parents should trust their instinct," Glassy says. "They know. They should trust that little inner voice." Once you've selected the best provider for your family's needs, McCready says, make sure to build a strong connection and maintain it. That, she says, means "ensuring that you're staying involved with that provider, and those communication channels are open." Lisa Esposito is a Patient Advice reporter at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at lesposito@usnews.com. Once you have chosen your online degree program, you may be uncertain about how to now ensure your success. You may not even know what steps to take next. Perhaps you are also worried about how you will manage your online studies while juggling everyday life. However, fear not. There are a few easy steps you can take to ensure you are prepared to start your online degree program. 1. Research and confirm credit requirements: Once you have determined the degree you want to pursue, it's important to know how many credits you'll need to complete it. Visit the online degree program's website and make an appointment to speak with an enrollment counselor and determine the required credits. If you are looking to transfer course credits, you should also research your existing credits to determine if any will count toward your online degree. For example, ASU Online, the online programs at Arizona State University, offers a transfer credit guide tool to help prospective students determine whether they can use their credits. [Discover these four steps to transfer online associate credits to a four-year online program.] Knowing the exact number of credits required to complete your degree will also help you estimate how much time you'll need to set aside to study for each course as well as when you'll graduate. Likewise, this will help you with time management once your coursework begins and give you a goal to aim for. 2. Explore financial aid and scholarship options: You should ensure that you are aware of the degree program's financial obligations before you enroll. Typically, students can receive financial support in the form of scholarships, grants, federal work study and loans. Knowing the type of degree and credits you need can help you determine many of the associated costs and the type of support that will be right for you. Almost any student can qualify for some form of financial aid regardless of income, so it's important to be aware of your options. Story continues [Find out how to decipher the true cost of your online degree.] Your school of choice may also offer interactive tools -- such as a cost calculator, budget worksheets and scholarship searches -- to help you prepare financially. And be sure to contact the school's financial aid office to learn more about your options and how to use these tools effectively. 3. Determine your access to student resources: Explore your access to student services and resources. Online students should have access to tools such as digital libraries, online tutoring, career services and academic advisors. Having these resources on hand will help you adjust to life as an online student and build a support system for information, advice and encouragement along the way. [Discover four tips for using support services as an online student.] Like many other students, you may know that you want to receive a college education and that an online program is the best fit for you, but you may need help ensuring you are well prepared to accomplish your goals and dreams. These simple steps will help set you up for success before you even begin your online degree program. Joe Chapman, director for online student services at Arizona State University, is responsible for supporting and retaining students at ASU Online. He holds a bachelor's degree in business marketing from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and has worked in online student services for more than 12 years. In response to Donald Trumps comments about Late Night with Seth Meyers, the comedian has made the presidential candidate an amazing offer. Claiming that hes heard a theory that Trump actually never wanted to be president of the United States and is just looking for ways to undermine his candidacy, Meyers said he came up with a way out for Trump. If you drop out of the presidential race any time between now and the beginning of the GOP convention on July 18, NBC will award you a 13-episode scripted series where you would play the president of the United States of America, Meyers said on Thursdays episode. Youd still get to be the president of the United States, but on TV. See Video: Seth Meyers Doubles Down on Donald Trump Ban Adding that Meyers has not run this by the network NBC added a disclaimer at the end of segment, stating the proposition was not real he offered Trump a premiere in January, just in time for the inauguration of the next president. This way, he said, the world can watch you be president with no real-world consequences! However, Meyers said Trump is still banned from Late Night. Also Read: Actually, Donald Trump, Seth Meyers' TV Ratings Are Pretty Good Meyers laid out his ban on Tuesday night, a protest of the GOP presidential candidates refusal to issue press credentials to the Washington Post. Trump laughed off his denied access on Wednesday, explaining he only does shows with good TV ratings anyway. He has begged me to do the show for the last two years, Trump said. I have told him emphatically no. I only like doing shows with good ratings, which as everybody knows, I only make better (by a lot). Watch Meyers offer above. Related stories from TheWrap: Anti-Donald Trump Protestor Bloodies Photographer With Rock Donald Trump Says 'Ask the Gays,' Gays Make Him Immediately Regret It on Twitter Donald Trump Yanks Press Credentials of 'Phony and Dishonest' Washington Post Diffa (Niger) (AFP) - Seven gendarmes have been killed in an attack on a refugee camp in Niger hosting civilians who have fled Boko Haram, security and humanitarian sources said Friday. Thursday's attack at the southeastern Nguagam camp, home to both internally displaced Nigeriens and refugees from across the border in Nigeria, came shortly after a major visit by lawmakers and UN personnel. "Seven gendarmes were killed. They were buried today," a humanitarian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. A security source confirmed the toll. "Three Boko Haram vehicles arrived in the area," El Hadj Kilibou, one of the camp's residents, told AFP. "They went to attack the position of the gendarmes, who abandoned their post. They took the vehicles and set fire to the gendarmes' camp," added Kilibou. "They were wearing gendarmes' uniforms and were onboard gendarme vehicles. I saw it with my own eyes. They said to me, 'Don't run, stay, we're not killing civilians.'" Kilibou fled a massive Boko Haram attack in the town of Bosso on June 3 that left 26 Nigerien and Nigerian soldiers dead as well as numerous civilians, prompting 50,000 people to flee. Humanitarian and security sources said the Islamist group had infiltrated the camp, just a few kilometres from the Nigerian border, in order to watch what is happening there. Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless in its quest to form a hardline Islamic state. Extending the attacks to neighbouring countries from their base in northern Nigeria, the group's ascendancy has prompted a regional military fightback from Niger, Chad and Cameroon. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government officials on temporary duty in Nicaragua were expelled this week, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, adding the action was "unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda" it seeks with Managua. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing that three officials had only recently arrived in Nicaragua when they were expelled on Tuesday. He did not elaborate on what they were doing in the Central American country. Nicaragua's government said that in an "unfortunate incident," it removed two U.S. officials from the country who were performing Customs security work tied to anti-terrorism, without the knowledge of local officials. It was not immediately clear why Nicaragua and the United States had different figures for the number of U.S. officials in the country. "Such treatment has the potential to negatively impact U.S. and Nicaraguan bilateral relations, particularly trade," Kirby told reporters when asked about the incident. "We've conveyed our strong displeasure," Kirby said, referring specifically to Francisco Campbell, Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States. In a letter distributed to the press, Campbell said the U.S. officials' anti-terrorism activities "were carried out without the knowledge or the proper coordination with Nicaraguan authorities, which is ... very delicate and sensitive." Nicaragua said it told the U.S. government "of the necessity to inform (them) about official missions that come to Nicaragua, and to coordinate their work." Kirby did not say whether Nicaragua's ambassador had been summoned to the State Department or the U.S. sentiments had been conveyed in some other manner. "We believe it was unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda that we seek with the government of Nicaragua," he said of the expulsion. (Reporting by David Alexander, Additional reporting by Ivan Castro in Managua; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney) A man with an apparent history of causing disturbances at the U.S. Capitol was shot Monday afternoon when he drew a gun inside the complexs visitor center, authorities said. Capitol police did not name the wounded suspect, who Chief Matthew Verderosa said was previously known to his officers. But ABC News and other news outlets identified him as Larry Dawson of Tennessee, who interrupted a House session last October by shouting that he was a prophet of God. **EDITORS NOTE: Suspect's face was slightly obscured digitally at the request of DC Fire and EMS Department.** WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28, 2016: Police and EMS personnel transport the person believed to be the gunman away from the shooting scene at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on March 28, 2016 in Washington, D.C. The lone gunman was shot by police and taken into custody and a female civilian was struck by bullet fragments and transported to the hospital. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) On Monday, Verderosa said, the man set off a metal detector before pulling a weapon from his clothing at about 2:40 p.m. At least one officer fired, striking the suspect. No officers were injured, but a bystander suffered minor wounds when she was hit by flying shrapnel. It has not been determined how many officers fired their weapons, the chief told reporters. Verderosa said investigators believe the man was acting alone and was not tied to a terrorist group. No reason to believe this is anything other than a criminal act, he said. The suspect was undergoing surgery at a Washington hospital late Monday afternoon. Verderosa said the mans condition wasnt immediately known. One weapon was recovered at the scene, Verderosa said. Slideshow: U.S. Capitol Visitor Center shooting>>> Mondays shooting sent dozens of Capitol staffers and visitors scrambling for cover. Diane Bilo of Cincinnati said her husband heard a single shot in the Capitol visitors center and a clip of bullets being fired. Bart Jansen (@ganjansen) March 28, 2016 The Capitol building and White House were locked down for more than an hour as more police responded to the scene. The chief confirmed that officers had located what they believe is the suspects vehicle. Investigators swarming this silver Dodge pickup in the Capitol parking lot. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/BN24wQLbxP Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) March 28, 2016 Though Congress is currently in recess, there were tens of thousands of people in Washington on Monday during a typically busy spring break and tourist season. An estimated 35,000 people were expected to visit the White House for its annual Easter Egg Roll. Shortly after the lockdown at the White House was lifted, several hundred tourists were seen moving freely outside the fence and taking selfies as if nothing had happened. Story continues The Capitol Visitor Center opened in 2008. It is located on the east end of the National Mall between the Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court. Capitol Visitor Center was constructed in response to shooting in Capitol that killed two police officers in 1998. carl hulse (@hillhulse) March 28, 2016 The U.S. Capitol Police have been on heightened alert since last weeks terror attacks in Brussels. There was an active-shooter drill at the Capitol earlier Monday. Gun laws in Washington are among the strictest in the nation. Until 2008, handguns were banned in the District, and until 2014, the carrying of open and concealed weapons was prohibited. (Open carry remains prohibited.) Yahoo News editor Dylan Stableford and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles). Related video: On Thursday, the Chicago Premium Outlets of Simon Property Group Inc. SPG celebrated its grand re-opening with the announcement of the entry of more top-notch retailers. In fact, this celebration marked the successful completion of an all-encompassing renovation of the 170-store center and this is likely to be accretive for the Indianapolis, IN-based retail real estate investment trust (REIT), going forward. In fact, last August, Chicago Premium Outlets witnessed massive expansion initiatives which significantly increased the centers retailer activities. Chicago Premium Outlets is the largest center in the Chicago market and with this latest renovation, it is fast turning into a prized center in Simon Propertys global portfolio, offering unmatched value for the shoppers. The new retailers which are slated to open this month include Versace, Forever 21 and performance shoe standout Salomon. Other prime retailers which are in the queue to open their shops at the center are Victorias Secret and its popular offshoot Pink, Restoration Hardware, shoemaker Geox Breathes, Steve Madden, Lands End, high-end childrens apparel brand Hanna Andersson and Bath & Body Works. Simon Property is engaged in acquiring, owning and leasing a diverse portfolio of shopping malls. The company reported first-quarter 2016 funds from operations (FFO) per share of $2.63, up from $2.28 in the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter was $2.54. Growth in operating income as well as new developments and expansions aided the results. SIMON PROPERTY Price SIMON PROPERTY Price | SIMON PROPERTY Quote Zacks Rank & Other Stocks Currently, Simon Property has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the retail REIT sector can consider stocks like Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. ROIC, Saul Centers Inc. BFS and Urban Edge Properties UE. Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SIMON PROPERTY (SPG): Free Stock Analysis Report SAUL CENTERS (BFS): Free Stock Analysis Report RETAIL OPPURTUN (ROIC): Free Stock Analysis Report URBAN EDGE PROP (UE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Middle Eastern destinations would soon overtake the city-state. Singapore is currently among the top three destinations for muslim travellers currently during the holy month of Ramadan, but its expected to cede this position in five years. According to the Ramadan Travel Report 2016 by MasterCard-CrescentRating, Singapore is projected to be the third most attractive destination for travel during Ramadan in the years from now to 2020, with Malaysia in the lead, followed by Indonesia. However, in the years following 2020, the report said Middle Eastern destinations are poised to become more attractive destinations. A total of 50 destinations across the globe were analyzed in the study and benchmarked across three criteria average daytime temperature, fasting duration and Global Muslim Travel Index 2016 scores over the next 15 years until 2030, the report said. From now until 2030, the report said Singapore will remain in the top 20 list for travel during Ramadan, due to the relative consistency in average daytime temperatures and fasting durations of these equatorial destinations. In the short term from now till 2020, Malaysia is predicted to take the overall lead, followed by Indonesia in second, and Singapore in third place, the report added. More From Singapore Business Review By Masayuki Kitano SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's exports unexpectedly jumped in May, helped by growth in non-electronic shipments such as gold and pharmaceuticals, although analysts remain pessimistic about the trade outlook amid persistently sluggish global demand. Non-oil domestic exports grew 11.6 percent in May from a year earlier, the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) said on Friday in a statement. That beat the median forecast of a 2.3 percent contraction in a Reuters poll. On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports in May expanded 16.8 percent, well above the median forecast of 2.6 percent growth. A rise in pharmaceuticals exports helped give a lift to May exports, but sustainable drivers of external demand are still lacking, said Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy for OCBC Bank. "It's a nice surprise, given all the gloom and doom out there. Full year, IE Singapore is looking for a contraction and so are we. So it's probably a blip, but it's still nice for now," Ling said. "One month is not going to change the story for the whole quarter, we suspect." Non-electronic NODX rose 19.0 percent in May from a year earlier. This was led by exports of pre-fabricated buildings, non-monetary gold and pharmaceuticals, IE Singapore said. Exports of non-monetary gold rose 436.7 percent from a year earlier, it added. Last month, Singapore slashed its exports forecasts for this year. IE Singapore saw non-oil domestic exports contracting 3.0-5.0 percent, compared with previous expectations of a 0.0-2.0 percent expansion. Exports to China, Singapore's top overseas market, fell 10.1 percent in May from a year earlier, after declining 7.4 percent in April. That came even as China's imports in May reported the smallest decline since they turned negative in November 2014, spurring some hopes of a pick-up in domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy. Shipments to the United States grew 9.1 percent last month on-year, compared with a 7.0 percent slide in April. Sales to Europe contracted 14.0 percent in May after gaining 20.6 percent in April. (Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sam Holmes) Solar panels could sprout on top of older Madison apartment buildings. The city could provide space for a large solar installation, or begin a pilot project using technology to store sun- or wind-derived energy for later use. Those proposals and more are part of a plan endorsed by the City Council last week to give tangible paths toward broader goals adopted five years ago. Were taking a big step with this work plan, said Raj Shukla, chairman of the Sustainable Madison Committee that chiseled the recommendations. We know this is not all going to happen next year, he said. This provides a road map for issues we would like to work on. The Energy and Carbon Work Plan approved this week follows the Madison Sustainability Plan the City Council approved in 2011. It called for reducing carbon-related pollution 80 percent by 2050; using renewable sources for 25 percent of the electricity, heat and transportation energy by 2025; and cutting energy use 50 percent by 2030. They were a lot of great ideas with very little by way of solid steps, Shukla said. Were very excited that the city of Madison is continuing to show clean energy leadership and putting some actionable steps behind commitments that they had previously made, said Tyler Huebner, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a renewable energy advocacy group. Shukla said one of the top recommendations is to create a city government position on sustainability. Its very easy for other priorities to trump environmental concerns. We believe that having an advocate in the city a high-level position would focus priorities, Shukla said. Another important step will be to see if the 2011 goals should be updated, he said. Science and technology have advanced since then (while) the severity of the challenges that we see have become more clear and more intense, Shukla said. Other proposals include: Start a PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program to help finance residential energy updates, as Milwaukee has for commercial properties, paid back through property taxes and spread over time. Develop a plan for LED city street lights. Analyze the cost of carbon-based pollution from city vehicles and buildings and how to offset it, as companies such as Microsoft and Disney do. Continue residential group purchases of solar units. Benchmarking will be an important aspect, said Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2. She noted the city already has plans for LED street lights on parts of the East Side. The lone no vote from the 20-member City Council came from Ald. David Ahrens, Dist. 15, the only council member on the Sustainable Madison Committee. Ahrens said the plan lacks substance, except for the PACE financing program, and the city has little authority over energy use by residents and businesses. Ahrens said he would like Madison to commit to installing another megawatt of solar power and to invest in more hybrid and electric buses. He said if a city sustainability staff member is added, the employee should focus on making city government buildings more energy efficient. Also this week, the city revived its MadiSUN Group Buy for Rooftop Solar, letting homeowners make joint purchases of solar units to hold down the cost, and offering low-interest loans through Summit Credit Union and the state Focus on Energy program. It is the first time the group buying program is being used since 2012. The city hesitated, said Madison facilities and sustainability manager Jeanne Hoffman, after Madison Gas & Electric proposed rate revisions in 2014 that would have decimated payments to solar-equipped households that send excess power to the grid. The provision was later scrapped. Working with MGE will be crucial for the city plans success, Shukla said. He said MGEs 2014 rate proposal, which also called for raising fixed monthly electric charges from $10.50 to $67 by 2017, did a lot of damage to MGEs reputation. The proposal was later amended, raising the monthly fixed charge to $19 instead. MGE, meanwhile, released its own Energy 2030 plan last November. It calls for using renewable sources for 25 percent of retail customers needs by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and encouraging energy efficiency. Shukla was not dismayed that MGE and the Sustainable Madison Committee devised separate plans rather than collaborating on a single proposal. MGEs scope of work goes beyond the city of Madison. Also, what the Sustainable Madison Committee wants to accomplish is not exclusively related to MGE, Shukla said. MGE registered in support of the citys work plan before the City Council. MGE staff are looking forward to working with city representatives to determine how we can partner and where we can advance common interests, Chairman and CEO Gary Wolter said in a statement. Shukla said he expects talks between the Sustainable Madison Committee and MGE to begin by early July. Shukla said attacking global warming is a matter of social and racial equity. The people who are most affected, fastest, by pollution and by global warming are typically the poorest, the most vulnerable and often, the brownest, he said. At the same time, he said, expanding green energy can provide jobs. His passion for the issue, though, stems from his young daughters, ages 3, 5 and 8, and how they might be affected by global warming. It is becoming more and more difficult to look them in the eye when I know what is coming from an ecological and possibly an economic standpoint, Shukla said. Diplomatic revolt. Over 50 U.S. diplomats have signed an internal State Department memo sharply critical of the Obama administrations Syria policy, in which they call for airstrikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The memo says Washingtons Syria policy has been overwhelmed by the continuing slaughter of civilians in Syria, and demands a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process. The memo, sent along an established dissent channel within State that allows officials to vent frustrations and suggest changes in policy, would flip the existing American policy on its head, and there is little sign that the White House is open to changing course. The current strategy calls for airstrikes against the Islamic State, while participating in negotiations with the regime and the Russians. Those talks, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed amid the continued bombing of civilian targets by Syrian and Russian aircraft. More than 400,000 people have been killed in fighting in Syria since 2011, and over 11 million have fled the country or are internally displaced, according to U.N. figures. JSOC takes control of drone program. Sort of. The CIA has seriously curtailed the number of drone strikes it has taken against militants this year, launching at most seven strikes, according to a new report. That puts the spy agency on course to take fewer shots from remotely piloted aircraft than in any year since 2007. But appearances may be somewhat deceiving. A new collaboration between the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) sees the CIA still flying plenty of intel-gathering drone missions to track down militants in Yemen and Pakistan, but handing the controls over the JSOC at the last minute to actually pull the trigger. Law professor Robert Chesney has some smart things to say about the new arrangement. Amid all this, president Obamas signature strike program continues to hit targets from Somalia to Yemen and Afghanistan, as FPs Dan De Luce and Paul McLeary recently pointed out. Story continues Russia vs. U.S.-backed rebels. In a sign of the confused situation on the ground in Syria, Russian warplanes hit U.S.-backed Syrian rebels near the town of al-Tanf in southern Syria Thursday. A senior defense official said that Russian aircraft had not been active in this area of Southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity. The official added that the bombing runs raise serious concern about Russian intentions. Syrian rebels captured the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq from the Islamic State in March. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the planes hit a meeting of U.S.-backed forces, killing two fighters and wounding four others. War talk. Theres a chance that Beijing would risk a military confrontation with the United States if it started dredging on a disputed shoal off the coast of the Philippines, retired U.S. Navy Adm. Dennis Blair said Thursday. But FPs Dan De Luce reports the admiral thinks in a clash with the United States and its allies, Beijing almost certainly would lose. If the Chinese push there, I think theres going to be trouble, said Blair, who once oversaw U.S. forces in the region as the former four-star head of Pacific Command. And its trouble that the United States and the Philippines are going to win because the military situation is set up that way. If it wanted to fight over the Scarborough Shoal, Chinas logistics lines would have to stretch for hundreds of miles over open ocean, something that would stress the countrys still-emerging military capabilities. Torture days are over. The head of the CIA John Brennan said Thursday his agency would never go back to torturing detainees, FPs Elias Groll writes. In response to a question from Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon spurred by presumptive Republican nominee for president Donald Trumps gleeful pro-torture stance, Brennan declared, I certainly, while I am director of CIA, have no intention of bringing such a program back and would not engage in EITs such as waterboarding and other things ever. Not Duffel Blog. Exciting news for the U.S. Army. On Thursday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley announced that soon soldiers will likely be able to roll up the sleeves on the Army Combat Uniform, just like Marines have been able to do for years. But hold on, young grunt. First therell be a 10-day pilot program at Fort Hood to make sure the plan is feasible. Thats right. A 10-day pilot program. To ensure that United States Army soldiers are capable of properly, and responsibly, rolling up their sleeves. Cant wait for the after action report on this. Good morning again from the Sitrep crew, thanks for clicking on through for 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 Meet Maj. Gen. Chang Dingqiu, the up and comer in Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) whom the South China Morning Post suggests could be tapped to lead the service one day. Chang, 49, is currently both Chinas youngest major general and the youngest deputy commander among Chinas theater commands, recently established along the lines of the Defense Departments unified combatant commands. The Post writes that current PLAAF chief is expected to retire next year, potentially paving the way for Changs ascension. NATO Russian hackers are on the march, but in the face of the threat, the New York Times declares NATO as essentially MIA on cyber. The Atlantic alliance has said that it can treat certain cyber attacks as events that would trigger its Article 5 collective defense provision. But its less clear what kinds of attacks could cause NATO to invoke Article 5 or what it plans to do to cope with breaches and attacks that fall short of it. Part of the problem, according to the Times, lies in the hesitance of more established NATO cyber powers like the U.S. and U.K. to share their secrets and tools with other members. Syria Israels top military intelligence officer says Syria is once again cranking out weapons to give to Hezbollah, according to IHS Janes. The Israeli Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi is thought to be referencing a Syrian version of Irans Fateh 110 short-range missile. Halevi also hinted that Israeli intelligence has managed to recruit a number of sources from within Hezbollah, saying, no military has had more intelligence than Israel currently has about the group. The war in Syria may have just gotten even more complicated as reports emerge of fighting within the Assad regimes coalition. The Jerusalem Post reports that Hezbollah troops and Syrian army forces briefly engaged in open warfare near Aleppo following a dispute about military strategy after Syrian forces wanted to withdraw from positions that the Lebanese terrorist group had taken heavy casualties capturing. Reports of the fighting, sourced to a Syrian news outlet, claimed that Syrian warplanes carried out three airstrikes against Hezbollah troops as part of the conflict. The Islamic State The Islamic State now has more recruits than al Qaeda had at the peak of its strength, says CIA director John Brennan. Brennan, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday, puts the Islamic States end-strength at 20,000, which the U.S.-led coalition has helped to shave down from 33,000 since last year. The CIA chief warned that the group may try to carry out more attacks similar to those in Brussels and Paris as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria. Brennan also pointed to the Islamic State in Libya as the groups most dangerous affiliate. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria, part of the groups Human Rights Council, has released a report saying the Islamic State has and continues to carry out acts of genocide against the Yazidi populations of Iraq and Syria. The report says that the jihadist group is still holding at least 3,200 Yazidi women and children in captivity. The Islamic State began committing atrocities against Yazidis in Iraq after it laid siege to civilians from the minority group hiding on Iraqs Mt. Sinjar. It has reserved some of its most horrific abuses against Yazidi women and girls, raping them and selling them into sexual slavery. Think tanked The Center for a New American Security has released its final report from the ISIS Study Group, a collection of national security officials it convened to study options for the next administration to take on the terrorist group. The report, Defeating the Islamic State: A Bottom-Up Approach, recommends that the U.S. put more emphasis on training and equipping Sunni Arab forces in Iraq and Syria to fight the Islamic State and use coercive military threats, to protect American-backed fighters from Russian and Assad regime attacks. It also calls for the next administration to remove artificial manpower limitations, restricting the number of U.S. forces involved in the fight against the jihadist group. Photo credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images Snapchat is putting its financial weight behind a new digital magazine called Real Life, which will focus on "essays, arguments, and narratives about living with technology." In a blog post, Snapchat researcher and Real Life editor-in-chief Nathan Jurgenson writes that the mag will publish one piece of writing each weekday, not one bit of it news, reviews or gossip. "It will be about how we live today and how our lives are mediated by devices," he explains. The publication launches June 27 on a dedicated website -- not on Snapchat itself -- though Jurgenson notes that "we may eventually expand to other mediums and formats as well." The project is being supported by Snapchat, which recently raised $1.8 billion in funding, and Jurgenson acknowledges "inherent complexities attached to being funded by a company in the field of what we're publishing about, sometimes critically." Jurgenson writes that Snapchat's financial support -- but not editorial influence -- means it can focus on the writing, and not page views and Facebook shares. The rest of the editorial staff includes senior editors Rob Horning, Alexandra Molotkow and Sarah Nicole Prickett, and managing editor Soraya King. A free launch event is planned on June 27 at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Real Life is me, @snpsnpsnp, @robhorning, @alexmolotkow, and @soraya_king. i wrote a thing about it here https://t.co/I5BIkGYRi6 - nathanjurgenson (@nathanjurgenson) June 16, 2016 v v v v excited to introduce REAL LIFE (the magazine!), launching June 27: https://t.co/unpXmt8pOn - Alexandra Molotkow (@alexmolotkow) June 16, 2016 ap677338237672 The day Snapchat brought in the bed was a weird day in the office. Next came the hangers in the closet with clothes on them and the pictures of random people on the walls. Before long, it looked like Snapchat had set up an apartment inside the office, a former employee told Business Insider. "It was like an IKEA set up, but nobody really slept there," the ex-Snapchatter said. Adding a bed wasn't just a new office perk. For the last 18 months, Snapchat has been inspected by the city of Los Angeles for its use of the Thornton Lofts apartment spaces, which the company uses as offices. The beds were hauled in ahead of an inspection by city officials, the former employee claims, to give the impression that someone was living there when really it was just more office space for Snapchat's growing staff to sprawl into. A Snapchat representative said that the company was in compliance with regulations, but declined to comment further on the matter or provide information about who lives in the units. Yet some of the neighbors were suspicious. According to case records obtained by Business Insider through a public-records request, Snapchat's office at 619 S. Ocean Front Walk came under inspection by the LA Department of Building and Safety starting in March 2015 after somebody complained that it was being converted into another use. The first complaint said that residents "believe that a commercial office/business use is being housed in the entire building, when part of it is supposed to be residential condo units." The second complaint was more direct and included the other office space it had been renting. "The 10 residential units in the combined projects at 619 and 701 Ocean Front Walk are being used by Snapchat Inc., primarily for office and not residential uses," alleged the complaint. Parking spaces that were supposed to be available to the community were also removed, according to the complaint. The friction with the neighbors and the unusual office arrangement provide a revealing window into the rapid growth at Snapchat, which has become one of the most popular apps among teens, even as its operations have remained closely guarded by the company's penchant for secrecy and its Los Angeles home base, hundreds of miles away from most of its internet rivals. Story continues When an inspector toured the property in May, escorted by a lawyer, he noted a kitchen, a shower, and a "bedroom with a bed and closet with clothing." Alongside it were "several docking stations for computers used for commercial services." Another case-management form notes that one condo included at least eight desks set up. The condo units appear to be zoned as "live-work" spaces, which means that Snapchat would be allowed to use the apartments for work. But the units must also have a resident, and it's unclear who is "living" in the Snapchat office. snapchat venice The furniture was added to make it look like someone was living there in compliance, according to the ex-Snapchatter, but no one ever did. Instead, the perk of working in one of these vacation-condo-style apartments meant that Snapchat employees would hit the beach and then shower off in the bathroom. For people working late or on odd shifts, there was a bed to nap on. The employees worked around the fake photos on the walls and ignored the hangers in the closets. On June 15, the inspector closed the case for the LA Department of Building and Safety and referred it to the Los Angeles housing department. Based in Venice, the $18 billion company has struggled to build its real-estate empire to match the pace of its growth. Snapchat built its campus by expanding into small office buildings throughout the eclectic neighborhood, instead of planting its roots in a corporate office park, as its rivals up in Silicon Valley have. That sprawl, though, has presented its challenges, as shown by the inspections spurred by worried neighbors. Its expansion hasn't slowed, though, and the company recently signed a contract to expand out of Venice by taking up space at the Santa Monica airport. NOW WATCH: Mark Cuban explains why downloading Snapchat is a huge mistake More From Business Insider Shares of Sohu.com Inc. SOHU tumbled to a 52-week low of $37.81 during yesterdays trading session. Shares of this China-based Internet portal, however, recovered marginally to close the trading session at $38.58. The company, yesterday, backed off from its earlier proposal of a $600 million equity and debt investment. In Dec 2015, the companys CEO, Charles Zhang had proposed the formation of a special purpose entity through which the group planned to repurchase shares and notes of the company. However, the company has now revealed that it will seek and consider alternative financing options for the company, which disappointed investors. But it is also important to note that the company has been going through tough times since it reported its first quarter 2016 results in April. Though the reported loss was lower than expected, sales declined year over year, thereby raising concerns for long-term growth. The companys business has been impacted by uncertain macroeconomic conditions in China, in addition to persisting sluggishness in its brand advertising business. Furthermore, the company has been cutting down its spending levels, which will make market share gain more difficult in the near term due to stiffening competition from peers. On the other hand, it is necessary for the company to continue investments in product development to drive growth, which will also weigh on its financials in the near term. Nonetheless, the companys strength in search, online video and mobile businesses is a positive. The online gaming business also has some decent growth potential. SOHU.COM INC Price and Consensus SOHU.COM INC Price and Consensus | SOHU.COM INC Quote Sohu has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. Better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space include Facebook, Inc. FB, EarthLink Holdings Corp. ELNK and CommVault Systems, Inc. CVLT , 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 SOHU.COM INC (SOHU): Free Stock Analysis Report EARTHLINK HLDGS (ELNK): Free Stock Analysis Report COMMVAULT SYSTM (CVLT): Free Stock Analysis Report FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A controversial scheme offering university scholarships to young South African women who remain virgins is unconstitutional, the Commission for Gender Equality ruled on Friday. The "maiden's bursaries" offered by a local mayor sparked a nationwide debate in January, with critics slamming the scheme's emphasis on virginity as outdated while traditionalists said it would help preserve African culture. On Friday, the gender commission said the program discriminated against women because male students were not subjected to the same tests. "Any funding by an organ of state based on a woman's sexuality perpetuates patriarchy and inequality in South Africa," it said in a statement. Rights groups applauded the ruling. "It is not the cultural practice that is the problem here; it is the allocation of state funds on the basis of girls sexuality that violates the constitutional protection to equality, dignity and privacy," said Sanja Bornman, an attorney with Lawyers for Human Rights. Recipients of the scholarships, which were offered only to women, were required to undergo virginity testing each time they returned home for holidays, and could lose their scholarships if it was determined that they had engaged in sexual activity. Dudu Mazibuko, the mayor who initiated the program, said in January it would help reduce teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV/Aids as well as widening job opportunities for women in her small municipality in KwaZulu Natal province. Mazibuko, a member of the ruling African National Congress, argued that there was already a strong culture of virginity testing in the poor eastern coastal province. But gender activists and some political parties condemned the practice, with the Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party describing it as "patriarchal and anti-women". (Reporting by Pete Vernon; Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa and Catherine Evans) Liverpool (AFP) - A single question was on the lips of the thousands of investors gathered in the city of Liverpool in northwest England this week: what will happen if Britain leaves the EU? From a small English milk producer to a large Indian employer, no fewer than 30,000 businessmen and women gathered for the International Festival for Business, the largest meeting of its kind in Britain. The UK will go to the polls on June 23 to settle the debate on its continued EU membership. The campaigns for and against were this week thrown into disarray after the killing of lawmaker Jo Cox just seven days before the vote. Polls have indicated growing support for leaving, days ahead of the referendum with markets reacting nervously. "The European referendum is clearly bringing a degree of uncertainty to business markets," said Ian McCarthy, director of the International Festival for Business. "Let's hope that when there is a decisive result toward the end of June, business can get back to what it does best which is developing products and services," he said. The vast exhibition hall on the banks of the River Mersey was buzzing with product presentations, conferences and private meetings, where organisers expect contracts worth 265 million ($374 million, 334 million euros) to be inked. But in every spare moment, talk turned to the potential fallout of an exit: whether Prime Minister David Cameron's gamble in calling the vote could imperil his political future; and whether a break with Brussels bureaucracy could be positive. "In case of a Brexit we would have the biggest recession in a generation, but we would survive," said Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycle, the maker of iconic folding bikes. "For my business I prefer to be in Europe but we would survive anyway, we would adapt." Anyone making predictions about what would happen however, is wasting time, he added. "You can't make figures in advance about the consequences because a Brexit would not happen overnight." Story continues International organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, have warned that Britain's economy will suffer if it leaves. - 'Alone and isolated' - Proudly showing off his antique sewing machine, master leather craftsman Keith Hanshaw said he was not afraid. From his studio in Huyton, in the suburbs of Liverpool, his small company The Leather Satchel exports bags as far as Japan and Australia. "In the short term, nothing good would come from a Brexit. But on a medium to long term, it could help to sign free-trade agreements," said Hanshaw, an affable company executive director with a neatly trimmed beard. Leaving the bloc would allow Britain to negotiate trade deals without having to take into account the diverse interests of the EU's 27 other members, he believes. Hanshaw is planning to vote in favour of Brexit, but admits that many of his employees are happy with the status quo. The economic redevelopment of Liverpool and much of post-industrial Britain is vulnerable to shocks. From the opening of the port city's first docks in 1715 to 1960 the city enjoyed two and a half centuries of prosperity. It was the starting point of goods destined for export around the British Empire, and a departure point for emigrants from Ireland and around Europe seeking a better life in the United States. The city experienced a steep decline after 1960, but has experienced a burgeoning revival in the last two decades. Its docks, once the foundation of the city's wealth that fell into obsolescence, have been regenerated as a cultural and tourist hub thanks to a share of the 1.5 billion in European funds that the city has received, according to local authorities. Work is underway to develop a new port, capable of accommodating the latest generation of container ships, due to open this year. "The Brexiters who demand that we should leave Europe quite simply tell you that the grass is greener on the other side," said Joe Anderson, mayor of Liverpool and a member of the centre-left Labour party. "My belief is that there would be desert on the other side and a lonely path for the UK left alone and isolated." Its hard to imagine America without the Statue of Liberty, but the icon of freedom didnt make its first full appearance in New York until June 17, 1885. libertyatnight400 Liberty at night. National Park Service. The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor to great fanfare that day, but to the surprise of no one familiar with the Statue project, its full public debut was put on hold for another year after a logistical problem cropped up: the statues mammoth pedestal didnt exist. Link: Like our Facebook page and share this with a friend! The project started in 1865 and it took 21 years for the Statue of Liberty to be conceived, built in pieces, shipped to America, and hoisted on its pedestal on Bedloes Island. Edouard de Laboulaye, a leading French intellectual and an expert on the U.S. Constitution, dreamed that the statue would inspire the French people to follow the example of the American people, including the late President Abraham Lincoln. Laboulaye also believed the 13th Amendment, which abolishing slavery in the U.S. in 1865, was proof that justice and liberty for all was possible. It took 10 years for Laboulaye to come up with plan for the Statue. He enlisted sculptor Auguste Bartholdi to design the monument and Bartholdi helped to raise 400,000 Francs in conjunction with the Franco-American Union. Bartholdi selected Bedloes Island as the spot for the Statue, and the plan included American fundraisers paying the pedestal, while the French said for the Statue. The arm holding the torch was completed in 1876 and shown at Philadelphias Centennial Exposition. It was then moved to Madison Square Park in New York City until 1882 to help with the fundraising. The Statue was built in Paris and presented by the Franco American Union to the United States Ambassador, Levi Morton, on July 4, 1884. The Statue was then taken apart, and sent to the United States aboard the French Navy ship, Isere. The Statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, well before the pedestal was completed. The next year, once the pedestal was finished, immigrant workers re-assembled the Statue, and on October 28, 1886, the Statue made its debut. Story continues About 1 million New Yorkers gathered for the ceremony, as Bartholdi released a French flag that covered the Statue of Libertys face. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, as a gift from France and a sign of mutual friendship. The 151-foot-tall Statue cost $250,000, paid for by the French. The pedestal, at 154 feet, cost $270,000 paid for by American sources. One thing missing from the Statute and pedestal was the famous plaque with a poem from Emma Lazarus. She wrote the sonnet as part of the fund raising effort , and it was added in 1903. Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she With silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Recent Historical Stories on Constitution Daily How Aaron Burr changed the Constitution How much do you know about the American flag? The history of legal challenges to the Pledge of Allegiance The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences moves forward today with notification to all branches of the finalists in the 2016 Board Of Governors election, in most cases four final contenders in each of the 17 branches. As Deadline was first to report exclusively on April 7, the Academy made a major sea change in the way these elections are conducted, for the first time opening up the contest to every one of the 6,000-plus voting members of the organization. Previously, it was generally a nominating committee within each branch that selected candidates to run for Board seats. Now, democracy has taken over, as the Academy encouraged all members to get involved, and many more did put their hat in the ring resulting in a vote from each branch for todays finalists. The Academy elects one-third of its Board each year, with winners serving three-year terms and eligible to run three times before being termed out for a year. Among notables on the list of candidates is the highest profile name, Steven Spielberg, who is running for Kathryn Bigelows seat in the Directors Branch (she is not going for re-election). Hell compete against John Badham, Thomas Carter and Lisa Cholodenko. Past President Hawk Koch, who may have eyes on running again for President when Cheryl Boone Isaacs presumed fourth term is up in 2017, is trying to return to the Boards Producers Branch just as he attempted in last years election. He faces incumbent and chair of the Foreign Language Committee Mark Johnson, Paula Wagner and Stephanie Allain, the latter one of the very few African Americans who made the cut despite the well-publicized diversity push by the Academy for more minority representation in the group. Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, whose new film Life, Animated is a must see for anyone who cares about great documentaries, is another African American in the running, competing against past Documentary Branch board members Michael Apted and Rob Epstein along with one of this years Doc Feature nominees Liz Garbus (What Happened Miss Simone?). Williams became the first African American director to actually win an Oscar in 2010 for his doc short Music By Prudence. In an effort to increase diversity on the Board, the Academys current BOG voted to create three new Governor positions which were announced recently that went to African American Reginald Hudlin, Latino Gregory Nava and Asian Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Its a good thing because this years group of candidates doesnt promise to make a significant difference in that regard although there continues to be a significant influx of female candidates which can only be counted as some nice progress on the Acads part. Story continues Mandatory Credit: Photo by Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock (5584910gl) Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Steven Spielberg 88th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, Los Angeles, America - 08 Feb 2016 If there was an effort to mirror this years Presidential election where the establishment appears to be on the ropes, at least in the primary process, the Academy isnt throwing out the incumbents at least not yet. Ten incumbents are back in the running for the Board including Ed Begley Jr. (Actors), John Bailey (Cinematographers), Judianna Makovsky (Costume Designers), Jan Pascale (Production Designers), Amy Pascal (Executives), Bill Corso (Makeup and Hair Stylists), Mark Johnson (producers), Nancy Utley (Public Relations), Jon Bloom (Short Films And Feature Animation) and Robin Swicord ( Writers). The latter is competing with past Governor James L. Brooks, James Schamus and Larry Karaszweski (who narrowly lost a seat last year to Billy Ray in a rare run-off). One of the most interesting races will be in the Public Relations branch where Fox Searchlight co-President Nancy Utley will be vying for a second three year term against former Board member and presidential candidate Rob Friedman , now co-Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. He could also be vying to return to the BOG with presidential ambitions next year. Both Utley and Friedman are former marketers who made their way into the PR branch with those credentials but now run major film companies. They will be vying with PR veteran Tony Angellotti (among other clients he is the consultant for Universal live action and Pixar/Disney animation awards campaigns) who could become a first-timer to the BOG after serving many years on the PR Executive Committee. Finally there is Bruce Feldman, a PR veteran who now consults as well as runs a specialty gift business, perhaps the most outspoken candidate of all. He has aggressively run for this position, spelling out on a platform specific things he would do, and sometimes vocally opposing Board actions in the past. In a way he is the Trump card in the PR race, an anti-establishment candidate looking to shake things up. By making it this far (there were reportedly over 40 contenders in the PR branch alone) he is proving that making a little noise can have an effect. It got Feldman all the way to this point. Voting among each branch for their new or returning Governor starts June 29 with ballots due on July 12. Final results will be announced on July 21. The election for Academy President where Boone Isaacs will be running for her fourth and final one-year term will be in August. Further, names of the first new batch of Academy members accepted since the organization launched an international search to significantly increase the numbers of minority and women members (following the latest #OscarsSoWhite controversy) is expected later this month. Related stories Steven Spielberg, Matt Charman And Marc Platt Reteam For Walter Cronkite Vietnam Pic John Williams' AFI Gala Had The Ultimate Hollywood Soundtrack 'The BFG': New Trailer & Poster For Steven Spielberg's Take On Roald Dahl Tale DODGEVILLE More than a dozen residents gathered in a sitting room at Upland Hills Health Nursing and Rehab Center patiently awaiting the arrival of a special guest. Sporting a Green Bay Packers jersey and scooting along in a custom wheelchair, Noah, a 2-year-old white bichon poodle mix with no eyes and deformed hind legs, entered the room. Residents faces lit up at the sight of him. Some silently outstretched their hands to pet him as he was brought near. Others held Noah like a baby, clutching him close to their chests. Nurses watching the interactions became teary as he was gently placed from lap to lap. Its the same everywhere Noah and his owner, Lisa Edge, go. For reasons that are at once obvious and mysterious, the severely disabled but determined little dog brings out emotional responses when Edge takes him to visit schools and nursing homes. The goal: To provide a lesson in accepting differences and bullying, a problem Edge, a former kindergarten teacher from Mineral Point, has dealt with firsthand. During their visit in Dodgeville, Noah was calm and even-keeled as residents and staff members took turns holding him. Some chuckled as Edge broke out his sunglasses and showed off the homemade skis she attaches to his wheelchair when he plays outside in the winter. Edge said her goal is to teach children to feel empathy for Noah, not sympathy. She said people often underestimate Noah because of his disabilities, but when he begins to move around and interact with people he quickly proves that his differences dont stop him from living a normal life. The students in Judy Benishs fifth-grade class in Mineral Point were in awe of Noah when he visited. The school has been putting a bigger focus on inclusiveness and empathy in recent years, but Benish said its important those ideas are reinforced. Its always good to have that reminder that not everybody is the same and that people are different, she said. Edge adopted Noah a little more than a year ago after he was rescued from a backyard breeder in California. He was nursed back to health by Saving K9 Lives Plus, a dog rescue organization in the Los Angeles area. In recognition of his anti-bullying mission, Noah has been named a semi-finalist in the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards. The national competition acknowledges the achievements of dogs and their owners. People can cast a vote once a day for their favorite dog until June 22 to determine the competitions finalists. Noah, whos competing in the emerging hero category, is one of 24 semi-finalists across eight categories. Other categories include rescue and therapy dogs. In addition to his wheelchair, Noah also wears a lightweight copper halo around his head to help sense his surroundings and keep him from bumping into objects. His participation in the Humane Association competition could help raise awareness about blind or disabled animals, many of which are abandoned or never adopted because owners dont know how to treat their disabilities, said Silvie Bordeaux, the creator of the halo. Bordeaux created the product, called Muffins Halo, four years ago when her own dog, Muffin, became blind due to cataracts. Edge owns four other disabled dogs Yorkies Lexi and Tater Tot, and Malteses Amazing Grace and Nicky. People often think it takes more work to care for disabled dogs, but Edge said that hasnt been the case for her. These are the dogs nobody wants, she said. Just because they look different doesnt mean theyre any less of a companion Of all of her animals, Noah demands the most attention, she said, because he likes to be held almost constantly. Hes just taught me a lot about life, she said. It doesnt matter what you look like, you can still bring joy and happiness and peace to people. These are the dogs nobody wants. Just because they look different doesnt mean theyre any less of a companion. Lisa Edge dog owner History is shaped by actors great and small. When most Americans hear about the destruction of slavery during the Civil War, they think of President Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation. But on the anniversary of Juneteenththe day former slaves in Texas celebrated emancipation, on June 19, 1865, when the Union Army reached themit is important to recall the central place of the enslaved themselves in the movement to abolish slavery. Thousands of slaves ran away to Union Army lines from the very start of the war and helped initiate the process of emancipation. They were simply doing what runaway slaves had done before the war: voting with their feet for freedom. Fugitive slaves radicalized abolition by their tactics, contributing to the growth of the Underground Railroad. While we are well acquainted today with the derring-do of Harriet Tubman, soon to adorn the front of the twenty-dollar bill, Tubman was not alone. Many abolitionists made running off slaves a quintessential form of abolitionist activism. In the years before the Civil War, former slaves gave abolition its most potent issuethe controversy over how the North would treat fugitive slavesand its most dynamic exponents, fugitive slave abolitionists. The black abolitionist Leonard Grimes was arrested and jailed in Virginia for assisting fugitive slaves. Grimes eventually moved to Boston where he pastored the Twelfth Baptist Church, which was known as the fugitive slave church because so many of his congregants were runaways. White abolitionists were also imprisoned for their fugitive slave activism. Charles Torrey died in a dank Maryland jail, Jonathan Walkers hand was branded with the initials SS for Slave Stealer in Florida and Calvin Fairbanks was released from a Kentucky jail only after the Civil War started. The abolitionist Laura Haviland confronted bloodhounds during one of her forays to the south. John Parker, a former Alabama slave, was perhaps one of the most daring conductors of the abolitionist underground along the Ohio River. Parkers narrative abounds with military terminology when he describes his escapades, which resembled tactics of guerilla warfare and insurgency. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Nothing united the different factions of the abolition movement better than the fugitive slaves desperate bid for freedom. Fugitive slaves abetted by abolitionist vigilance committees, antislavery lawyers and politicians moved the issue of abolition into northern state- and courthouses. Northern personal liberty lawsattempts to grant fugitives trial by jury and prevent the kidnapping of free blacks into slaverychallenged the extraterritoriality of southern slave codes and the fugitive slave clause of the Constitution. The preeminent abolitionist editor William Lloyd Garrison condemned the criminalization of blackness after the passage of the draconian Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which compelled Northern citizens to participate in the capture of fugitive slaves or anyone thought to be one. It could easily make every black person a suspected runaway and facilitated the kidnapping of free blacks, as in the now well-known case of Solomon Northup. As the fugitive slave abolitionist Jermain Loguen of Syracuse, N.Y., wrote, It outlaws me, and I outlaw it. The Underground Railroad arose in areas in the north that already had significant free black populations and abolition societies. These nodes of abolitionist activismBoston, Syracuse, Christiana and Oberlinbecame the sites of dramatic fugitive slave rebellions in the 1850s when abolitionists resisted the implementation of the fugitive slave law. The actions of fugitive slaves foretold the defection of runaway slaves into Union army lines. Self-emancipated slaves, as Garrison called them, also found their way into Indian territory, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, and even stowed away in ships all the way to Britain, making their freedom claims the stuff of international law and diplomacy. Long before the booming of guns, the enslaved and their allies were involved in a long-drawn out battle with slaveholders. The daring activism of fugitive slaves also revolutionized abolitionist discourse. Slave narratives came to constitute the movement literature of abolition. In detailing the horrors of slavery, whippings, family separations and backbreaking labor, they provided an effective riposte to the proslavery argument that painted a picture of benevolent slaveholders and contented slaves. It was recounting and writing a firsthand account of his experience in slavery that made the great black abolitionist Frederick Douglass a leading light of the movement. Slave narratives inspired popular antislavery novels such as Harriet Beecher Stowes runaway bestseller (pun intended), Uncle Toms Cabin. Stowe listed the narratives from which she had drawn material in her Key to Uncle Toms Cabin when slaveholders and critics challenged her portrayal of slavery. The abolition movement was an interracial radical social movement of disfranchised people, men and women, white and black, free and enslaved. Slave resistance lay at its heart. On this Juneteenth, it is important to recall that African Americans were not passive recipients of the gift of freedom but architects of their own liberation. The Long View Historians explain how the past informs the present Manisha Sinha is the author of The Slaves Cause: A History of Abolition and Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Calling all last minute shoppers! In case you forgot, Fathers Day is Sunday. But dont go into panic mode. We found a gift that even the pickiest dads will love. The best part? Its 30% off! PEOPLEs List co-host Jerry OConnell modeled the trendy gingham ZB Savoy bow tie while filming a recent episode (catch clip above!), and shared why the accessory will instantly upgrade any dads wardrobe. The tie is sold as a set alongside a pair of cuff links and a leather wallet stamped with SB Savoys cool monocle-wearing mascot. The ultimate gentlemans pack retails for $99, but were offering a 30% discount all weekend with the code PEOPLETV, which brings the gift set under $70. Plus, ZB Savoy will donate portion of the proceeds to the Prostate Cancer Foundation . Jerry O'Connell SB Savoy Bow Tie Thats not all. Everything on PEOPLE Shop is eligible for the same 30% discount with the code PEOPLETV. So in between all your beach time and barbecues this weekend, whip out your credit cards and treat yourself. What are you getting your dad for Fathers Day? Share Below! Brittany Talarico MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - France's hardline CGT union ended on Friday a strike that had paralyzed traffic for 26 days at the Fos Lavera oil terminals on the Mediterranean, the country's biggest oil hub, a management official at port operator Fluxel said. "Unloading resumed at the port at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Friday," the official told Reuters. More than 50 oil tankers and other vessels had been held up in the harbor near Marseille, unable to unload cargo, since CGT union members joined the nationwide rolling protest against a government labor reform on May 23. (Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Toni Reinhold) Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today: Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. WMS is a manufacturer of thermoplastic corrugated pipe, providing a comprehensive suite of water management products and drainage solutions. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 11.2% downward over the last 30 days. Advance Auto Parts Inc. AAP is a specialty retailer of automotive parts, accessories and maintenance items. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has declined 10.8% over the last 30 days. Ascena Retail Group Inc. ASNA operates as a national specialty retailer of apparel for women and girls. It has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings being revised 10% downward over the last 30 days. Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated CHCT is engaged in the acquisition of properties which are leased to hospitals, doctors, healthcare systems or other healthcare service providers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate revision for its current year earnings was a negative 6.7% over the last 30 days. Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD is an independent biopharmaceutical company that seeks to provide accelerated solutions for patients and the people who care for them. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has moved 1.5% lower over the last 30 days. View the entire Zacks Rank #5 List. 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 ADV DRAINAG SYS (WMS): Free Stock Analysis Report ADVANCE AUTO PT (AAP): Free Stock Analysis Report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report ASCENA RETAIL (ASNA): Free Stock Analysis Report COMM HLTHCR TR (CHCT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research David Bowie as the Goblin King in Labyrinth (Everett) All this week, were celebrating the great movies that hit screens 30 years ago in 1986. Go here to read more. It all begins with David Bowies right hand. When the rock star makes his dramatic entrance in Jim Hensons Labyrinth, playing the villainous goblin king Jareth, he comes bearing a gift for petulant teenager Sarah (Jennifer Connelly): a crystal ball that hovers and dances across his hand as if by magic. But its not magic its juggling. And its not Bowies hand at all, but the arm of master juggler Michael Moschen, crouching behind Bowie in every scene that involves Jareths gravity-defying crystals. Related: The Magic of the Goblin King: An Appreciation for David Bowie in Labyrinth Labyrinth premiered in theaters in June 1986; I first saw the film, in which Sarah must find her way through a perilous maze to rescue her kidnapped-by-goblins baby brother, when I was 8 years old. Ten years later, during my first week of college, my heart skipped a beat when I saw a student practicing Jareth-style ball manipulation outside the dining hall. It was called, I learned, contact juggling. And the most remarkable thing about it was that it looked just as magical in person as it did on film. Watch behind-the-scenes footage of juggler Michael Moschen juggling crystals for David Bowie on the set of Labyrinth (from the documentary Inside the Labyrinth). Thats the thing about the effects in Labyrinth: Theyre real. As the films puppeteer coordinator Brian Henson explains it to Yahoo Movies, In those days, all the movie magic happened in the camera the effect was really happening. That robot goblin as tall as a building? Actually a hydraulic puppet as tall as a building. The hole Connelly falls through, where shes caught by helping hands? The actress plummeted off a moving platform down a 40-foot shaft, lined with hundreds of rubber and actual hands. In the years after Star Wars created the modern special effects industry, but before computer-generated imagery began taking over, all the effects in fantasy, sci-fi, and horror films were created by makeup artists, puppeteers, and other filmmaking wizards. And Labyrinth, fueled by the boundless imagination and ingenuity of director Jim Henson, represents the peak of practical effects. Story continues An oddball coming-of-age narrative that combined dark fantasy elements, absurdist Monty Python humor, Bowie pop songs, and Muppets, Labyrinth wasnt a hit when it premiered in the summer of 1986. Reviews were extremely mixed, with some critics finding Labyrinth too dark or grotesque; while Time magazine praised Henson for out-Disneying Disney, the San Francisco Chronicle mocked his overbearing showcase of bizarre rubber duckies. The film did, however, develop a devoted following on VHS by 1980s kids like me, who have gone on to show it to our own children. Despite the current nostalgia for practical effects (see: the marketing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens), the virtues of Labyrinths special effects have gone largely unsung. I find this oversight baffling, especially because evidence of the Henson crews extraordinary work is so easy to find. Its all documented in the 1986 behind-the-scenes TV special Inside the Labyrinth, included on the Labyrinth DVD and Blu-ray (and easily viewable online: watch excerpts here). The hour-long documentary shows exactly how the crew constructed, among other marvels, an army of goblins riding dragon-like creatures and an MC Escher-inspired room of impossible staircases. When actors are on set, they appear immersed in the films world: Details that would now be added digitally, like dewdrops on a forest floor or a backdrop of the Labyrinth sprawling into the distance, were right there in living color. Its a childs wildest dream of what walking onto a movie set would be like. The creation and filming of the helping hands, from Inside the Labyrinth: Creating this rich visual world required a massive amount of pre-production work, as Brian Henson tells Yahoo Movies. In those days we would rehearse a long time, he explains. I dont even know what our rehearsal schedule was; probably 20 weeks. (Thats unthinkable in contemporary filmmaking, when special effects are largely accomplished after the actors finish shooting.) During those rehearsals, Henson worked with both his director father and Jim Hensons Creature Shop to ensure that the films dozens of puppet characters would perform on camera in exactly the way that they should. Every time we went into a set, we had to cut it to bits and ask, Where are the puppeteers going to be? Where are the wires going to be? How are we going to disguise the wires? How do we disguise the holes? he recalls. For big group scenes like Jareths chamber, where Bowie sings the song Dance Magic, Henson would spend over a week placing and drilling puppeteers, so that every five feet had action that was locked and rehearsed before the main camera crew came in. Further invisible work was required to control the puppet characters, most notably Hoggle, the grumpy goblin sidekick for whom Brian Henson provided a voice. The most complex animatronic puppet ever created at the time, Hoggle required one puppeteer inside his costume and four more (including Henson) to move his expressive face: two performing the mouth and jaw, and another two working the eyes and eyebrows, all using radio controls. After weeks of rehearsal, the Hoggle team worked in perfect harmony, and characters performance seems effortless. Youd never guess at all the heavy lifting going on behind the scenes. Though Labyrinth was a paragon of practical effects, it was also a pioneer of computer effects: The owl that swoops through the opening credits is one of the earliest examples of a CGI character on film. Jim Henson was a visionary who saw the potential of that technology before most filmmakers even dreamed of it. But much as I appreciate great digital effects, Ill never see a CG magic trick come to life before my eyes like those crystal balls did. If Id been on the set of Labyrinth, I could have chatted in real time with Hoggle or the worm who invites Sarah to tea. I think thats one reason I continue to find the film so bewitching: Its the record of a living, breathing world of creatures and magical effects, a one-of-a-kind artistic creation the likes of which we may never see again. Watch the Labyrinth trailer: Read more: Summer of 86: 'Stand by Me Takes on Life, Death, and One Epic Barf-o-Rama Summer of 86: The Terrifying Madness of Manhunter and Our First Introduction to an Infamous Serial Killer Summer of 86: Ferris Buellers Day Off Let John Hughes Graduate from Teen Movies With Honors Summer of 86: The Wild, Wacko Genre Mashup of Big Trouble in Little China Summer of 86: The Top Gun Music Editor Remembers How He Took Audiences Right Into the Danger Zone Summer of 86: Aliens and the Adrenaline Jolt of a Lifetime The offending fowl from Howard the Duck (Everett) All this week, were celebrating the great and not so great movies that hit screens 30 years ago in 1986. Go here to read more. The summer of 1986 had a huge amount to offer audiences, from seminal teen movie Stand By Me to the dark sci-fi horror of Aliens. But there was one film that even the most committed nostalgist would struggle to defend except in a so-bad-its-good kind of way, a movie that despite coming from minds behind Marvel Comics and Star Wars was gleefully slammed by critics and proved a giant financial disaster. That film, of course, was Howard the Duck. In 1984, with the original Star Wars trilogy complete, George Lucas left his position as president of Lucasfilm in order to focus on producing. For one of his first projects, he was keen to reteam with Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, two film-school buddies with whom hed collaborated on the scripts for American Graffiti and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They suggested tackling a Marvel Comics character called Howard the Duck. (Huyck and Katz would write the script together, Huyck would direct, and Katz produced with Lucas.) Created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik, Howard is an anthropomorphic bird from an alien planet. Though he first appeared in 1973, his own hit title debuted in 1976. The Howard comics frequently parodied or satirized not just the superhero world, but everything from film noir to the politics of the time. Cynical, wisecracking and often accompanied by his on-off girlfriend Beverly Switzler, he quickly became a cult favorite. Despite the impact Marvel had had on pop culture, by 1986, none of the companys comic-book characters had ever made it to the big screen. But Lucas was determined to try, with Universal jumping at the opportunity to back the film. On the DVD making-of documentary, Huyck and Katz indicate that the plan was originally to make an animated movie, but since Universal wanted the film much faster, Lucas agreed to live action. Story continues Lea Thompson and Howard (Everett) Huyck and Katzs script sees Howard (performed mostly by the three-and-a-half foot tall actor Ed Gale in a suit and voiced by Broadway musical actor Chip Zien, who was picked over the likes of Robin Williams and Jay Leno) magically transported from his home of Duckworld to Earth, where he saves pop star Beverly (Back to the Future star Lea Thompson) from a mugging using his trademark Quack-Fu martial art. With the aid of janitor/scientist Phil (Tim Robbins), they eventually discover that scientist Dr. Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones) is responsible for bringing Howard to Earth, only for Jenning to become possessed by the evil Dark Overlord of the Universe. Its loosely plotted stuff, but it was clear that Howard himself was meant to be the big draw. The problem was, the films marketing campaign oddly shied away from showing him: The poster showed only a ducks bill poking out of an egg because, Den Of Geek would later report, executives feared that audiences wouldnt pay money to see a film whose lead was a person in a duck suit. A lot of work was put into bringing Howard to life (we went through a huge R&D project finding the right feathers. A lot of us put in more than 100 hours a week, Industrial Light & Magics Charlie Bailey would later tell Wired). But the experimental technology caused the shoot to go wildly over schedule I wound up getting paid twice for that movie because of all the overtime, Robbins said earlier this year. Lea Thompson would later agree, telling the AV Club that the film took six months to shoot it was a gigantic movie, and everybody wanted that part. Universals marketing blitz as the Aug. 1 release date approached included a hotline where you could call and listen to a new recording of Howard every day (listen to some of them here), and a Budweiser tie-in. But still, Howards actual face was kept from audiences, even in the trailer. By the time it appeared, few were charmed. Howard is about as lovable as a dishwasher, wrote the Chicago Tribunes review. Most of the reviews were just as toxic (One Lame Duck, went the Los Angeles Times headline), and the film went on to take just $16 million domestically on a reported $36 million budget. Years later, Lucas would claim that hed read the tea leaves early on, telling a Tribeca Film Festival audience in 2015 I told the producer and writer its not gonna work You cant put a dwarf in a duck suit and make it work! And Tim Robbins agreed, telling Crave this year the duck was miscast I dont mean the people that were inside the suit, I mean the design. But looking back on the film, the effects are only the beginning of the films problems. For one, the anarchic energy of Gerbers original comics is nowhere to be found: Here, Howard comes across as a sort of washed-up insult comic a befeathered Rodney Dangerfield and hes a sour, unappealing figure to spend time with. (Also, his relationship with Bev mostly comes across as creepy.) Watch a trailer: Huyck and Katzs script feels torn between a sci-fi action adventure, a broadly comedic kids film, and a foul-mouthed (or fowl-mouthed?) adult comedy, with Howard leering after scantily clad women and beating up hoodlums. The result is a movie that feels like it doesnt appeal to anyone. Huyck hasnt directed since, and as legend (and the book The Battle of Brazil) has it, Universal executives Frank Price and Sidney Sheinberg had a fistfight over who was to blame. Price left the studio just six weeks later, the Variety headline reading Duck cooks Prices goose. Thompson, meanwhile, half-defends the film as an interesting movie, while admitting that it takes a lot of strength, a lot of perseverance to love Howard the Duck. Shes grateful to it, though, telling The Hollywood Reporter this week that shed initially turned down John Hughess Some Kind of Wonderful, only to accept the role when Howard tanked so badly. I wouldnt have done [it] if Howard wasnt such a bomb, Thompson said. The shoot for Some Kind of Wonderful brought another Howard into her life: Howard Deutch, the films director. Thompson and Deutch fell in love during the shoot and married in 1989 (their daughter Zoey costarred in Richard Linklaters Everybody Wants Some). Perhaps thats why Thompson recently reunited with her avian co-star: She recently made a cameo, in drawn form, in the eighth issue of the relaunched Howard the Duck comic series by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones, which sees Howard as a private eye in the Marvel universe, and has been a cult hit since it first appeared last year. Its further proof that you cant keep a good duck down. The 1986 movie might have been a decidedly inauspicious start for Marvel movies, but they would eventually learn their lessons, with 2008s Iron Man spawning an entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. And Howard wasnt left behind. In 2014, fans who waited through the credits of Marvel Studios megahit Guardians of the Galaxy were greeted with a surprise: The films post-credits scene sees Benicio Del Toros the Collector sharing the screen with a martini-sipping, CGI incarnation of Howard (voiced by Seth Green). I have a feeling that Marvels gonna redo it because of the technology they have today, George Lucas would say, not long after Guardians release. The wildly prolific studio hasnt announced any plans yet. But who knows where Howard will hatch next. Read more: Summer of 86: Stand by Me Takes on Life, Death, and One Epic Barf-o-Rama Summer of 86: The Terrifying Madness of Manhunter and Our First Introduction to an Infamous Serial Killer Summer of 86: Ferris Buellers Day Off Let John Hughes Graduate from Teen Movies With Honors Summer of 86: The Wild, Wacko Genre Mashup of Big Trouble in Little China Summer of 86: The Top Gun Music Editor Remembers How He Took Audiences Right Into the Danger Zone Dont feel guilty if youre confused by the twists in the battle for Viacom. The story has become complicated, and vitally important, in the month since lawyers for Sumner Redstone informed CEO Philippe Dauman that he had been jettisoned from the controlling shareholders inner circle. Theres a lot more at stake than Daumans career and reputation. Yesterday, Redstones camp moved to replace five Viacom board members, which could reshape the company. He also controls CBS. And the court cases from the dispute could affect governance practices across corporate America. We sorted through the issues shortly after Redstones camp declared war on Dauman. But after all thats taken place, this is a good time to take another look at where things stand: Q: Whos running Viacom? A: Dauman and the board are still in charge. But theyre mostly caretakers until the Delaware Chancery Court determines whether the National Amusements (NAI) board has the right to change Viacoms bylaws, directors, and management. Q: National Amusements? Doesnt Redstone own Viacom? A: Yes, but indirectly. He owns 80% of the privately held exhibition chain, which gives him the power to pick its board. NAI, in turn, owns 80% of the voting shares in Viacom and CBS. That gives it the power to pick their boards and write their bylaws. Q: What do you mean by voting shares? A: Viacom and CBS each have two classes of stock. The ones Redstone controls come with one vote apiece. The ones the public trades dont include voting rights. Q: Does that mean National Amusements can do whatever it wants with Viacom and CBS? A: Pretty much. Company bylaws spell out the theater chains authority. And a doctrine of corporate law called the business judgment rule gives people in power a lot of leeway. You cant use your voting control to steal, Charles Elson, Director of the University of Delawares John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, tells me. But if you have a different judgment about where the company should go, you win. Story continues In the end, he says, its not about the law. Its about the structure that created this company with two classes of stock. This is the reason why dual class stock should be banned as a financing tool, Elson says. Q: What happens if Redstones competent? A: Then its ballgame over. He can choose whos on his family trust, and how to vote his NAI shares. Q: If its that simple, then how can Dauman challenge Redstone? A: Dauman says Redstone, whos 93 and ailing, isnt really making the decisions. He allegedly has become incompetent, and is being manipulated by his daughter Shari, whos President of NAI and Vice Chair of Viacom and CBS. Q: Why would that matter? A: If Sumner is out of the picture, then his seven-member family trust controls his NAI holdings the source of his power. And if the trust is in charge, then several major decisions made in the last month were invalid, Dauman says. Q: What decisions? A: The battles began on May 20 when Redstones lawyers told Dauman and Viacom director George Abrams that theyd been kicked off of the family trust and the NAI board. Since then, NAI said it changed Viacoms bylaws in a way that could derail Daumans effort to sell a 49% stake in Paramount. And, yesterday, NAI said it will replace five Viacom directors, including Dauman. Q: Does Viacom still plan to sell a stake in Paramount? A: Dauman said hes closing in on a deal that would add $10 a share to Viacoms market value. But its hard to imagine anyone going through with it if Daumans authority is in doubt, and Redstone opposes. Q: Who will decide if Redstone is competent? A: Its not clear yet. Dauman and Abrams filed a court challenge in Massachusetts, where the family trust was created. The judge there said last week that hell decide by the end of this month whether to grant the duos request for an expedited trial as well as an independent examination of Redstone. Meanwhile Redstones team has asked a court in California, where he lives, to validate his ability to make his own decisions. That court threw out a challenge to his competence last month, but isnt scheduled to consider the new case until July. And now Viacom wants the Delaware Chancery Court to make a judgment about Redstones competence to determine whether NAI has the right to change its directors. Q: Why is Redstones competence relevant in the Chancery Court case? A: Viacom says its key to the decision to kick Dauman and Abrams off the family trust which set in motion a chain of events that should invalidate the decision to change Viacoms directors. Q: What does Redstones team say? A: It hasnt filed court papers yet. But it is expected to argue that the issue is not relevant. Even without Sumner, three of NAIs six directors supported the decision to replace Dauman and Abrams. And the issue in Delaware involves a vote by the NAI board, whose competence is not in question. Q: What makes Dauman believe that Redstone is incompetent and being manipulated? A: His team wants a court to order an independent examination to prove the point. And it says that there are a lot of reasons to be concerned. Dauman says Redstone seemed out of it when he last saw his boss in March. Since then Redstone has been silent on board conference calls, refused to meet with long time friends on the board, and seemed to be making decisions that are dramatically inconsistent with his past positions. Q: The guys 93 and ailing. He hasnt appeared in public since May 2015. A: Still, Dauman has the burden of proof. Q: What do Redstones people say? A: They say the old man is still in charge. They had a geriatric psychiatrist examine him and testify to his competence on two key days: May 20, when Redstones lawyers informed Dauman and Abrams that their client had kicked the duo off the trust and National Amusements board, and then May 24 when replacements were named. Q: Anything else? A: Redstone visited the Paramount lot on Friday. He sat in his van, but studio CEO Brad Grey came down to visit him. In an open letter to Redstone this week, Lead Independent Director Fredric Salerno pointedly said that his people staged a drive for you, with Shari to Paramount. Redstone made a similar visit on Tuesday to CBS, where CEO Les Moonves saw him for about 10 minutes, the Wall Street Journal reported. CBS would not confirm that the meeting took place. Q: A majority of the family trust voted to ratify the move to oust Dauman and Abrams. Doesnt that mean he loses no matter what a judge says about Redstones competence? A: The 12-page trust document hasnt been made public, although lawyers have quoted a few passages from it. So we dont know what it says about procedures to vote a trustee out. Q: How can Dauman stay on if a majority wants him off? A: Deadline disclosed early last year that the trust calls for a majority of members to be independent of the Redstone family. Whats more, if an independent member leaves, then other independent members get to choose a replacement. Dauman might be able to challenge the vote to replace him and Abrams as independent members on the grounds that it included votes from the Redstone family. Q: Lets say hes right and stays on the trust. Hed still be in the minority. A: True. But he may see an angle to turn the tables: Trustees must make decisions that benefit all five of Redstones grandchildren and succeeding generations. Dauman conceivably could challenge decisions that he believes fail that test or, more to the point, that he believes just help Shari and her part of the family. Q: That would be hard to prove. A: Heres where its noteworthy that Dauman has the support of the two daughters of Brent Redstone, Sumners long-estranged son. Theyre beneficiaries of the trust and fear that theyll be left in the cold if Shari controls the body. She and her son, Tyler Korff, are trustees, leaving Brents wing unrepresented. Keryn Redstone said that Shari and her three children have succeeded in reversing decades of my grandfathers careful estate planning and are poised to seize control of Viacom and CBS. Q: How about the NAI directors? They also voted to oust Dauman from their board and want to block a Paramount deal. A: Here, too, Dauman could argue that an effort to derail the deal is designed to mess with him not to serve the trusts beneficiaries. Wall Street liked the idea of selling the Paramount stake. Q: There are a lot of court cases. What are the odds that Dauman will survive? A: Not good considering that hed probably have to win every case. At the end of the day, his power came from Redstone. Dauman probably wont last long if thats gone and a majority of the trust and NAI board support Shari. Q: Could he win some love on Wall Street? A: Probably not, even though investors are notoriously fickle. Viacom shares have lost 31% of their value over the last year, and nearly half over the last two years. More telling: theyve appreciated nearly 20% since May 20 when the Redstone-Dauman fight began a period when the overall market was up just 1.3%. That suggests investors are eager to see a change. Q: What would happen if Dauman is forced out? A: We dont know. Many analysts believe Viacom would be better off if NAI merges it with CBS, putting CEO Les Moonves in charge. But Moonves may not want to take on channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET that mostly target young people an audience thats cooling to cable and warming to digital media. Yesterdays announcement by NAI that it would leave Daumans long-time colleague COO Tom Dooley on the board led to speculation about another possibility: He could take charge, if Daumans out, and provide stability at Viacom while a reconstituted board figures out what to do. Q: So whats Daumans end-game? A: Who knows? His camp says hes fighting for strong corporate governance that represents all shareholders, not just the Redstones, and a turn-around strategy that could bear fruit. Q: Is that plausible? A: Perhaps, but few believe it. Dauman owes his job to his close relationship with Redstone. Is he truly independent? I dont think so, Mark Rogers, CEO of corporate director recruitment firm BoardProspects.com says. And governance watchdogs hate its practices including the boards agreement to pay Dauman $54.1 million in 2015. Some of that was due to perks from a contract renewal. Still, it made him the countrys third highest paid CEO with a 22.1% raise in a year when Viacoms stock value declined 42.5%. Q: So is it all about money? A: Thats the more popular view, buttressed by this mornings disclosure that Viacom agreed to pay Daumans legal and PR bills for his fight to remain on the Redstone trust and NAI board. It also would be consistent with history. He worked out a great deal for himself in 1999 when Redstone had to jettison him, and Dooley, following Viacoms acquisition of CBS. The broadcasters boss at the time, Mel Karmazin, was signed to run Viacom and didnt want to worry that he might be undermined Redstones then-close friend. Dauman and Dooley left with severance of about $150 million apiece, plus stock options, before Redstone brought them back in 2006. Related stories Redstone Judge Seeks Opinions About "Undue Influence" And Jurisdiction Redstone Team Says There's "No Justification" For Viacom To Pay Dauman's Legal And PR Bills Dauman Wants Massachusetts Judge To Hurry Decision On Redstone Case Calling the injuries a Fitchburg man inflicted on his girlfriends son horrific, a Dane County judge sentenced the man to 20 years in prison Thursday for causing the boys child-abuse death. Baby Corey (Pulliam) was not your son, Circuit Judge David Flanagan told Corey Holly, 26, after Holly had repeatedly referred to the 2-month-old boy as his own son. He was the son of two other people. But Corey was an infant that you squeezed to death with your bare hands. The 20-year sentence will start after Holly finishes serving a six-year sentence he received after his parole for prior armed robbery convictions was revoked. Hollys lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Mario White, also called for a 20-year prison sentence, but said it should be served at the same time as the six-year sentence Holly received for the revocation, shortening the actual time he spends behind bars from 26 years to 20. After his release from prison, Holly will remain on extended supervision for another 20 years, the maximum possible time he could serve on supervision for the crime, keeping him under state supervision until he is 72 years old. In February, Holly pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide for the Feb. 23, 2015, death of Corey Pulliam, who was the son of his girlfriend, Susan Pulliam. A criminal complaint states that Holly told Fitchburg police he lost it and squeezed the boy because he would not stop crying. The boy died from blunt force trauma to the torso, including broken ribs and a lacerated liver. Holly initially told police he didnt know what happened to the boy, first saying he had slipped into a sink while being burped, but then he admitted squeezing the boy. In court Thursday, Holly apologized to Pulliam and her family, and said he was making no excuses for his actions. He was more expressive in a defense sentencing memorandum, in which he said he considered the boy to be his son. I do not go a day without thinking of my son and where we should be, he said in the memorandum. I cry when I think about my son. My only wish in life is to go back and been more patient with my son. I love him and will always love him no matter what. Pulliam, who is deaf, said in court through a sign language interpreter that she didnt want Holly to go to prison. I would like you to give him some probation instead of sending him to prison, she said. In the defense memorandum, Pulliam said she has forgiven Holly and wants to be with him because he helps me. He makes me happy, he helps me do better, Pulliam said in the memo. He is the one who helps me. With my family, I dont have that. But Maureen Roman, who is Pulliams aunt and is her legal guardian because of Pulliams cognitive and emotional disabilities, told Flanagan that Holly was physically and emotionally abusive toward Pulliam and was taking financial advantage of her. In a letter she wrote to Flanagan, she said that Holly had even listed the baby, whom Roman referred to as Baby Kenneth, as a dependent on his income tax form, a discovery made when she took Pulliam to an accountant to help her file her own income tax return. In court Thursday, Roman mourned the fact that the boy didnt make it to his first birthday. Do you know where he spent his first birthday? Roman asked. Six feet under ground in a black hole thats damp and cold. Do you have any idea what its like to stand before a childs grave? Or to pick out a babys casket? Brussels (AFP) - A Belgian man has been arrested and charged in connection with the Islamic State suicide bombings that killed 32 people in Brussels in March, prosecutors said late Friday. The 30-year-old, named as Youssef E.A, is one of several charged over the March 22 attacks that struck Brussels airport and a city metro station. The man has been charged with "participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempts to terrorist murders, as a perpetrator, co-perpetrator of accomplice", Belgium's federal prosecutor said. It added in a statement that several suspects linked to the bombings took part in a reconstruction Friday at an apartment in the Brussels suburb of Etterbeek. The flat is believed to have been "used as a safehouse" by the attackers and as the point of departure for the attack at Maalbeek metro station, the statement said. Osama Krayem, a Swede of Syrian origin who has been charged over both the Brussels bombings and November's jihadist attacks in Paris, took part in the reconstruction. He is suspected of buying the bags used for the Brussels suicide bombings. Caught on CCTV minutes before the metro bombing alongside suicide attacker Khalid El-Bakraoui, he decided not to go ahead with detonating his own device, according to his lawyer Vincent Lurquin. Brothers Smail and Ibrahim Farisi, 31 and 27 years old respectively, also assisted with the reconstruction. They are suspected of renting the flat to the attackers and cleaning it a day after the bombings. A 31-year-old man arrested in June, identified by prosecutors as "Ali E.H.A" and named by media as Ali El Haddad Asufi, has also been linked to the apartment and took part in the simulation. Bilal El Makhoukhi, a 27-year-old Brussels resident arrested in April, also took part, although his suspected role in the Belgium attacks is not clear. He was sentenced to five years in jail in 2014 after going on trial alongside several members of Sharia4Belgium, a group that sent jihadists to Syria. He is reported to have been injured fighting in the war-torn country. TAIPEI (Reuters) - Activists in Taiwan called on the island's largest industrial group, Formosa Plastics, to investigate recent mass fish deaths in Vietnam, near where the company has a steel plant. The deaths in April of fish in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province, where the Taiwan group's $10.6 billion steel plant is located, and three other provinces along a 200 km (125 miles) stretch of coast, sparked rare protests in Communist-ruled Vietnam. A preliminary Vietnamese investigation found no link between the plant and the mysterious fish deaths. Vietnam has invited experts from Germany, Japan, the United States and Israel to inspect the Ha Tinh site in an attempt to find the cause. They have yet to announce any findings. Echo Lin, an activist shareholder in one of the group's companies, said the company should investigate the disaster. "It is their responsibility to prove that they are innocent," Lin told reporters outside the annual meeting of Formosa Plastics Corp, the conglomerate's flagship firm. "That's why we ask them to conduct an investigation and clarify if it is not related to the company."A small group of protesters, including Vietnamese workers in Taiwan, rallied outside the hotel where the company held it meeting. Some held signs reading "I love the beach; ruining the environment is a sin". During the meeting, Lin, who is secretary-general of the Environmental Jurists Association in Taiwan, asked the company's senior management to investigate independently and disclose its findings. Formosa Plastics Corp Chairman Jason Lin told shareholders the group had asked to take part in the investigation being led by Vietnam and it was awaiting the international inspectors' findings. "Formosa Plastics Corp is only investing. We do not participate in its management," Lin said of the steel plant, adding that he could not speak on its behalf. Formosa's steel plant project is one of the largest foreign direct investments in Vietnam. The plant is 70 percent owned by companies in the Formosa Plastics group, while Taiwan's China Steel Corp controls 25 percent and Japan's JFE Steel Corp holds 5 percent. Taiwanese lawmakers have begun to take notice of the case on concern it may become a foreign relations problem as the new Taiwan government steps up efforts to deepen trade and economic ties with southeast Asia. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Robert Birsel) Paris (AFP) - It's what modern fairytales are made of. A classical violinist wracked with self-doubt takes a job teaching children in one of Brazil's most crime-ridden favelas, and ends up creating an orchestra with young delinquents and teenage mothers. Except the story behind "The Violin Teacher", a film which has been moving audiences to tears, is true. And the Latin American movements it is based on, which teach poor children how to play instruments after school, have been hailed as the future of classical music. Having seen his young actors drawn from a tough Sao Paulo slum learn to play Bach as he shot the film, director Sergio Machado is now evangelical about the city's Baccarelli Institute. "It is magical. What they do is fantastic," he told AFP in an interview by phone from Brazil. Machado's own 11-year-old son was so impressed by what he saw happening on set that he took up the violin himself. The institute, set up by musician Silvio Baccarelli in 1996 in the sprawling favela of Heliopolis, is "one of the most important cultural projects in Brazil", Machado said. - 'Playing themselves' - Inspired to some degree by Venezuela's El Sistema movement -- which has produced a long line of classical music prodigies from equally humble backgrounds including Gustavo Dudamel, now head of the Los Angeles Philharmonic -- it aims to give children a refuge from often chaotic and dangerous lives. Three thousand children a year pass through the institute, which has been championed by the Indian-born star conductor Zubin Mehta. Machado was initially sceptical about the method before being utterly won over. "The great conductor, Italian Claudio Abbado said that because of this and what El Sistema is doing, Latin America is the future of classical music. And he is right." The director said he didn't set out to make a sugary tearjerker that just played on the emotions but wanted to reflect the true reality of people's lives. Story continues "Yet there is hope. I wanted to do a film about people who are trying to change this really dark reality," he added. "All of the kids in the film are non-actors. They all came from that community and brought their own experience into the film and they are playing themselves. "There is one scene where a girl starts screaming about her life. That is real, she is talking about herself," he said. - Begged for a part - At first Machado wanted to cast a white actor as their inspirational teacher "because I was kind of thinking of myself". But Lazaro Ramos, one of Brazil's biggest stars, begged him to play the violinist, a gifted soloist who cracks during an audition for the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. "He wanted it so much. 'I have never begged for a part in my life', he told me. 'I need to do this, because it's my life. I come from places like this and this happened to me'." Just as in the film, a brilliant teacher spotted Ramos's talent and helped save him from the streets. Ramos "comes from a very, very tough situation", Machado said. "His mother died when he was very small, he has known hunger and the worst kind of problems and yet he became a star." That helped to bond him to the favela kids in the orchestra, Machado said. "He is what all these kids want to be. He understands them. They are what he was. We became very close." And with the exception of the final concert, when the institute's orchestra took up the relay, all the music in the film from rap to Strauss is played by the actors. "In a normal city the musicians come from the middle classes. Here they come from the common people, really the common people," said Brazil's most revered conductor Isaac Karabtchevsky, who loves to work at the institute. "I find it amazing that you can play Mahler with these children. I believe that God is there." "The Violin Teacher" is on release across much of Europe and Asia this summer. Personal items from the Manhattan Upper East Side estate of late comedienne Joan Rivers are set to be auctioned off with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Expectations are for the auction to bring in at least $1.5 million. The auction, conducted by Christies, includes everything from furniture to handbags, gowns and even jewelry from Rivers vast collection. Rivers daughter, Melissa, explained how she decided what to offer up for auction, and what to keep as mementos of her mothers life. The things that were most important to me were things that people wouldnt want in the auction. You know, things from her night stand, etc, Melissa said. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will go to benefit two charities. The first, Gods Love We Deliver, a New York-City based organization focused on providing meals to individuals too sick to shop or cook, and the second, Guide Dogs for The Blind. It seems fitting one of the more unique items on the auction block is a Tiffany dog bowl. Spike, whose name is engraved on the bowl, was one of Rivers beloved dogs. Christie's Deputy Chairman Jonathan Rendell explained the factors involved in deciding how to price Rivers belongings. With sales like this, we price them at what we think the market price is. We dont put in the celebrity factor. You cant really factor that in, but it always seems to have a huge effect, Rendell said. According to him, the item that could fetch the biggest price tag is a diamond brooch. I think that the big diamond brooch is something that people are really going to go for, Harry Winston, designed by Joan Rivers, its a very personal object for her, Rendell said. Related Articles Taraji P. Henson has some thoughts on female friendship and empowerment. "Don't take no shit," Henson, who owns the delicious role of Cookie Lyons on Empire, told People before accepting an award at the 2016 Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Awards in Los Angeles. "You know, know you have a voice. Know that your voice is important, and fight until it's heard." Later that day, Henson told the crowd: We're all we got, ladies. If we don't support each other, who will? We have a bad rap sometimes in this industry diva, difficult, catty. When all we're doing is, in those moments when you call us being difficult, we're fighting for what we deserve. Preach, Cookie! Preach. From Cosmopolitan One day after publishing steamy photos of Taylor Swift "snogging" with her rumored new boyfriend Tom Hiddleston, The Sun has revealed its account of exactly what went down in the weeks leading to Hiddleswift. According to the British tabloid, weeks after Taylor and Tom met during the week of the Met Gala in New York City (which included a pre-gala dinner at Anna Wintour's house), Taylor pulled the plug on her relationship with Calvin Harris. To top it off, one source tells The Sun that Taylor did it by phone (yes, the student has become the master, etc.) while Calvin was recovering from that car accident. There's also this from what The Sun calls "a well-placed source": Things had not been right between Calvin and Taylor for some time. She met Tom and was swept off her feet. He made it very clear how interested in her he was. They swapped numbers and got chatting. After Taylor ended things with Calvin, he sent her flowers and they agreed to meet up. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, the source cautions that "nothing happened before things were officially over with Calvin, but let's just say Taylor was hardly broken hearted." Oh. Man. Anyway, as with all things not coming directly from a celebrity or subject's mouth, do take all of this gently and with the finest grain of salt. Remember, another source told E! just a few weeks ago, when you were all recovering from the end of Tayvin, that Calvin was the one who ended things and not the other way around. And even though it's since been deleted, remember that time Calvin tweeted about how "the only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect?" Remember how Taylor even retweeted it? What a difference two whole weeks make! Follow Peggy on Twitter. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f118961%2fbully-1 The Internet doesn't like bullies. Neither does Tayla Sekhmet. That is why the 13-year-old from Dysart State High School in Queensland, Australia, alongside her mother Kali, created a petition on Change.org to get her school to do something about it. SEE ALSO: 4 myths that will change how you define bullying "I'm the most unpopular kid at school and people make my life a living hell," Tayla writes in the petition. "Every day people call me fatso, weirdo, ugly, freak, and tell me I should kill myself. I've been pushed to the ground, had people go through my bag, or break my scooter when I rode it to school. Even people in other grades who I don't know do these things to me too." The student claims that the school hasn't done anything to alleviate the situation, despite repeated complaints, calls and meetings. "I have told teachers many times, my mum has called the school, and I have had school meetings," she wrote. "None of this is helping. I've been told to just ignore these people, but I can't take it anymore. I don't know what else to do or where else to go for help." As of Friday morning, the petition, which launched on Monday, has collected more than 41,000 signatures. Tayla wrote that she would show the signatures to "my school and the Government to show them other people want to take a stand against bullying." A spokesperson from the Queensland Department of Education told Mashable Australia via email that bullying is "not tolerated" in their schools. "Any situation that threatens the safety and wellbeing of students and teachers is treated seriously, and dealt with as a matter of urgent priority," the spokesperson said. "The school has been working closely with the family for some time to resolve their concerns ... The principal is happy to meet with the family at any time if they have ongoing concerns." Story continues 'There needs to be a better policy' Kali told the Brisbane Times that Tayla has been bullied since she started at the school and that she understands not everyone has a great time at school, but the language being used by students is "full on." The petition also aims to help other victims of bullying. "There needs to be a better policy from the education department for dealing with bullying," Kali said. SEE ALSO: This text line is helping teens talk about mental health without saying a word In an update on the petition Friday, Kali wrote that her daughter Tayla "cried" upon reading the comments of support. "She couldn't believe that so many people could care about in her words 'a insignificant freak like me,'" Kali wrote. "I know that you are all random strangers on the internet and we will never meet, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for signing this petition, because you have changed my daughter's life forever." As politicians point fingers and sling accusations about what could have been done to prevent the shooting deaths of 49 people in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday morning, the limitations and power of the federal governments terrorist watch list system have come under sharp scrutiny. Wednesdays 15-hour filibuster by Senate Democrats came to a close early Thursday after GOP leaders agreed to permit votes on two amendments to an annual appropriations bill: one that would bar Americans included on the terrorist watch list from buying guns, and another that would mandate universal background checks all for gun buyers. Expanding the power of the watch list, which was created after 9/11 and is monitored by the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center, was also the focal point of remarks by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who suggested that a broader list might have prevented shooter Omar Mateen from purchasing the assault weapon plus the ammunition. Yet the breadth of the list in its current form has long attracted criticism, and litigation. I dont think that expanding the list does anything to make us safer, David C. Gomez, a retired FBI counterterrorism expert with nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience, told TakePart. Over time, it has become inefficient, if not problematic. The watch list is too easy to get on and too hard to get off. More than 1.5 million names were added to the master list, which includes numerous subsets such as the no-fly list, between 2009 and 2014, according to an Associated Press investigation. As of September 2014, the Terrorist Screening Center confirmed that at least 800,000 names were on the list. The broadest version of the database, called the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, included 1.1 million people as of December 2013. Being added to the listas Mateen was from 2013 to 2014, before being removed after an investigation proved inconclusivecan be far more than inconvenient. Story continues Inclusion on the list can mean any number of severe consequences, including invasive, lengthy detention at airports; no flying; additional screening time when you do fly; and invasive encounters from traffic stops to attempts to obtain government issued licenses, said Hugh Handeyside, a staff attorney with the ACLUs National Security Project. Thats to say nothing of the shame of being denigrated as a terrorism suspect. Yaseen Kadura, a U.S. citizen and Indiana resident of Libyan descent, knows firsthand the jeopardies that accompany being placed on the list. Kaduras cell phone was seized while he was interrogated at the border between Canada and Michigan after a vacation, and he was also prevented from traveling to Libya in 2012 because of his placement on the no-fly list. The medical student is one of five plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against multiple government agencies in April by the Council on American-Islamic Relations challenging the placement of Muslims on the terrorist watch list. Multiple other lawsuits have challenged the governments alleged practice of encouraging people on the list to become confidential informantsand, some allege, punishing them if they decline to cooperate. The FBI credits inclusion on the watch list in part for the apprehension of Jose Padilla at Chicagos OHare International Airport in 2002. Though Padilla was on the watch list, it was ultimately a tip from a detained al-Qaida operative, who alleged that Padilla had been directed to carry out an attack with a radiological bomb, that led to Padillas detention. He was held without charge by the military and later sued the U.S. governmenta case that ultimately failed. According to Gomez, the bloated lists inefficiency stems from the fact that multiple federal agencies can add people to it, and do so with different sets of criteria for nominating new additions to the database. The FBI, the CIA, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies all have the authority to propose new additions. All additions remain on the list unless the National Counterterrorism Center receives evidence that they should be removed. Government documents leaked to The Intercept in 2014 after being kept secret for years, which outline the guidelines for nominating people to the list, reveal that roughly half of the people in the database at the time had no connection to any known terrorist groups. People put them on the list for different investigative reasons, as opposed to strictly terrorism, said Gomez. The 166-page government guidelines illustrate just how low the threshold of proof for being added to the list is. A name may be added if there is merely a reasonable suspicion that the person may pose a threat, which, Handeyside notes, is a very low standard. Once a person is added to the list, only the nominating agency that put them there can remove themanother major sore spot for civil liberties advocates. The government is also not required to notify someone if they are on the watch listeven if they are denied the ability to board a planemaking it even more difficult, if not impossible, to challenge inclusion in the database. The guidance doesnt come close to giving people on the list a meaningful opportunity to contest their inclusion, said Handeyside. Broad lists of this sort are necessarily ineffective because they undermine the purpose of the system, which is to direct resources toward people who are actual threats. Take the Pledge: Dont Be Silent: Take the Pledge to Be an Ally for Racial Justice Related stories on TakePart: Counterterrorism Efforts and Human Rights at Odds in France, Experts Say When Terrorists Attack, Refugees Are Less Welcome FBI Aids Criminal Investigation Into Flint's Water Crisis Original article from TakePart A federal district court rejected Texass attempt to bar the federal government from resettling Syrian refugees in the state and dismissed the lawsuit on Wednesday. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission failed to state a plausible claim for relief or prove it could challenge the governments actions under existing law, federal district judge David Godbey ruled. Texas officials originally filed the lawsuit last December against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit agency that assists with refugee resettlement. The legal fight came amid a broader backlash by some states, largely led by Republican officials, to resettling Syrian refugees after the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the commission to suspend its cooperation with federal officials three days after the attacks. At the time, the agency also asked the court to halt the imminent arrival in Texas of a Syrian refugee family, but Godbey declined to intervene. Recommended: Why the Stanford Judge Gave Brock Turner Six Months In the lawsuit, Texas accused the federal government of violating the Refugee Act of 1980, which requires resettlement agencies to consult regularly with state governments before placing refugees in a state. While both agencies provided Texas with advance notice of resettlements, state officials asked their federal counterparts and the IRC for more specific information about individual refugees in the weeks leading up to the lawsuit. Godbey declined to address whether the federal government had actually violated the Refugee Acts consultation requirements. Instead, he ruled that Congress hadnt provided Texas or other states with the necessary legal means to challenge federal actions under the Act. Texas acknowledged Congress had provided no explicit mechanism, but argued the law implicitly included one. But this argument failed to convince Godbey, who cited the statutes history and structure to disprove it. Story continues His order also dismissed the commissions allegation that the IRC violated its contract with Texas by resettling refugees without proper communication. Texas argued the Refugee Act required the IRC to provide close cooperation and advance consultation. But that language is best read as advisory, Godbey wrote, contrasting its vague urgings with more explicit commands elsewhere in the Act. Texass defeat comes as other states continue to fight refugee resettlements in the courts. In March, the Obama administration asked a federal court to dismiss a similar lawsuit by Alabama. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam declined to veto legislation last month that would allow a lawsuit to go forward in that state. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. PLEASANT HILL, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 17, 2016 / Textmunication Holdings, Inc., (OTC: TXHD) ("Textmunication"), a Nevada corporation, announces First Quarter Results for the Three months ended March 31, 2016: Revenues were $88,410 for the March 2016 quarter versus $82,278 for the March 2015 quarter Aspire Consulting Group, which is 49% owned, had $250,000 in gross billings during the first quarter, resulting in $10,149 in distributions and $5,616 in Income from Investment in Equity Method Investee "The First quarter of 2016 was transformational to the business of Textmunication Holdings," said Wais Asefi, CEO. "During the first quarter, we accomplished two significant milestones: First, we partnered with significant enterprise software companies in the health and fitness industries and began to roll-out our services to their members. Second, we completed the acquisition of Aspire Consulting Group who had gross billings of $250,000 and distributed $10,149 to us as they expanded their partnerships." In the health and fitness industries, we have exclusive partnerships with the leaders in gym management software and salon software. Under those partnerships, we provide a sophisticated texting solution to notify their customers about billing, promotions and key information. We believe these partnerships will begin to impact our financial statements in the second quarter and on through the second half of the year. Aspire has added two significant partnerships in the past five months. They are actively bidding with their partners on significant government contracts, and as they continue to bid and win business, we believe Aspire will show significant traction in the upcoming quarters. Our net loss of $1.2 million was mainly non-cash expenses related to financing our business by borrowing money from investors who require us to convert their notes at a discount to the market price of our stock. In the first quarter, approximately $1.0 million of the $1.2 million loss was the non-cash charges associated with these notes. Story continues We have a plan to retire these notes, and it begins with our core business achieving cash flow positive status from operations. We are confident that we will achieve operational status by the end of the second quarter, at which point we will be able to either generate cash flow to repay the notes, or work through advisors to raise funds to consolidate and repay them. We do not believe it's in our shareholder's best interests to convert these notes and increase the number of shares outstanding. We believe our strategic partnerships are unique for a company of our size, and as we leverage our platform and relationships, we are excited about potential for our business. Note on forward looking statements: Certain statements that we make may constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information concerning future strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated savings, financial results (including expenses, earnings, liquidity, cash flow and capital expenditures), industry or market conditions, demand for and pricing of our products, acquisitions and divestitures, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory developments or general economic conditions. In addition, words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," and future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "could," "should," and "would," as well as any other statement that necessarily depends on future events, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, and they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although we make such statements based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. We caution investors not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements and urge you to carefully consider the risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Forms 10-Q, which are available on SEC's website at sec.gov. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement in the event it later turns out to be inaccurate, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Textmunication Holdings, Inc. Shareholder Relations Phone: 1-800-677-7003 Email: IR@Textmunication.com SOURCE: Textmunication Holdings, Inc. A Middleton man who was charged Friday with shooting two men near a South Park Street restaurant last month said he was defending himself after one of the men pulled a gun on him that jammed as he tried to fire it, according to a criminal complaint. Tyreese M. Howard, 23, told police he shot Nicholas Moore and Octavius Hooker, both 26, after Moore jumped out of a car with a gun in his hand and pulled the trigger several times but the gun didnt fire, according to the complaint, filed in Dane County Circuit Court. I thought I was dead, Howard told police, according to the complaint. But Howard, who was arrested Monday, said that after seeing Moores gun jam twice as Moore tried to fire it, Howard fired his own gun. (Expletive), I just shot. (Expletive), Howard told detectives, the complaint states. He said Moore was able to get his gun to fire once, but the shot missed Howard. Howard was jailed on $25,000 bail after appearing in court Friday. He will return to court next week for a preliminary hearing. Howard was charged with two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and six counts of criminal damage to property, along with obstructing police and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said police do not believe that Moore is related to Martez Moore and Kortney Moore, or that the shooting is related to a spate of gunfire deaths in April and May. Martez Moore, 30, was killed in the parking lot of a Far West Side tavern on April 19, and his brother, Kortney Moore, 28, is charged with shooting another man to death outside a convenience store on Rimrock Road on May 11. A friend of Martez and Kortney Moore, Darius Haynes, was killed on May 10. Both Moore and Hooker have been released from local hospitals, DeSpain said. According to the complaint: Police were called about 3 a.m. on May 22 to the area near La Hacienda restaurant, 515 S. Park St., where Moore was found shot and was taken to Meriter Hospital. Hooker was taken to UW Hospital. Moore sustained gunshot wounds to the upper part of each leg, to his hand and a graze wound to his head above his ear. Hooker was wounded in the femoral artery of his left leg. Six cars in the area were also damaged by gunfire. Later that day, a Rock County Sheriffs deputy called Madison police to report that a confidential informant there had contacted the sheriffs office and said he had been given a gun by someone involved in the Park Street shooting. The deputy recorded a call between the informant and Howard, in which the informant asked Howard if he wanted the informant to bury the gun, but Howard told him to hang onto it. Madison police contacted the informant directly, and he said that Howard had told him he fired the gun eight to 10 times that morning after being approached by Moore. The gun was a Glock 9mm handgun. Fired rounds collected from the shooting scene were taken to the state Crime Lab, along with the gun, and the lab found that the rounds had been fired by that gun. On Monday, officers in the 1100 block of Moorland Road spotted Howard, who saw police and started walking toward a building. He ran as officers told him to stop. A gun was found along the route of the chase. At first, Howard denied being involved in the shooting but then told Detective Daniel Nale that he would take it on the chin like a man and say what really happened. Back in 2014, lifestyle brand ModCloth, which specializes in body-inclusive retro-infused apparel, was the first and only retailer to sign the "Heroes Pledge for Advertisers," which promised to not augment the bodies of their models on its website or advertisements. Around the same time, American Eagle's loungewear offshoot Aerie similarly pledged to stop airbrushing images of their models. For both companies, the benefits have been huge, with Aerie reporting a double-digit increase in sales and ModCloth reporting only positive results, from their sales to their customers' reactions. "As a culture, we're choosing which media we consume," ModCloth's founder, Susan Koger said in an interview. "It's not all controlled from the top down like it used to be. We want to see true beauty. We want to see reality." Now, it's ModCloth yet again further progressing the anti-airbrushing debate and this time they're taking it all the way to Washington D.C. Politico's Frances Holuba, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen and Susan Koger On Thursday at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C., Koger and a number of fans of ModCloth and its mission met with the legislators behind the Truth in Advertising Act. The bill, which was first proposed in 2014, asks for the Federal Trade Commission to not only report the businesses that frequently alter images of people, but to develop a framework with which to deal with and regulate the advertisements that significantly change a person's image through image-altering techniques. Over the past few years, the bill has languished in Congress, largely because, as Koger puts it, it was deemed as not that important. When the bill was initially proposed, there was a rally on Capitol Hill, but nothing (and n) came of it. There was also a Change.org petition, which earned about 42,000 signatures while falling shy of its goal of 50,000. Rep. Lois Capps and Susan Koger "I think that it's easy for people to look at it and question how helpful would it be," Koger said. "People should know better. I could imagine that it's easy for our lawmakers to not be able to devote the time to make this happen. This conversation's continuing to happen around the world. As we , eventually I'm hoping we can take some action now." Story continues But for Koger, now is the time, especially given the response ModCloth, Aerie and the anti-digital alteration movement as a whole have given. The U.K. has at the very least addressed the movement on a larger, governmental level, with a bill proposed by British members of Parliament all the way back in 2009 that called to ban digital retouching in ads directed toward children altogether. While that bill basically disappeared, plenty of altered ads are swiftly banned by the Advertising Standards Authority each year in the U.K., including many for beauty products targeted toward young people. Meanwhile, magazines released in the United States are frequently called out for digitally augmenting the models on its pages. Over the course of the last few months Zendaya, Lena Dunham, Gigi Hadid, Kerry Washington and Victoria Beckham (among others) were all victims of being digitally altered by a magazine. All of this has gone down while many a study reveals just how harmful altering images is for young people, with a reported 78% of girls being unhappy with their bodies by age 17. To that end, Koger and the representatives who initially sponsored the bipartisan bill, including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), gathered on Thursday in hopes of, at the very least, Source: ModCloth "For me, it's raising awareness," Koger said. "Getting our community involved, showing that they can be a part of this and giving the representatives in Congress the sense that there is support in the fashion industry to see this come to a pass." Although she admits that the bill won't be easy to pass ( or even get a vote on, she's not letting that quell ModCloth's overall confidence with how the future of fashion and advertising is represented. "If anything, it's going to take a lot of voices. As a non-politician in this world, that's how I believe the system works," Koger said. "I think it will, and this fits along with lots of changes in how we consume media, and see true diversity. It'll hopefully allow men and women, as they're consuming advertising, That they're not enough." To ensure that as many voices are being heard as possible, ModCloth is encouraging fans of the bill and brand to write to Congress about their personal journeys with body acceptance. Then, Koger hopes Congress will be closer to understanding why it is so important for young people to feel comfortable in their bodies. "At ModCloth, ," she continued. "This legislation ." Reggie Yeo, 51, (left) with his nine-year-old son, Ivan Yeo at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (Photo: Reggie Yeo) By Erin Kimbrell and Sharlene Maria Sankaran Reggie Yeo, a 51-year-old single father, will be celebrating Fathers Day on Sunday (19 June) without the presence of someone who is close to his heart: his 13-year-old daughter, Hannah Yeo. The sales executives daughter has been spending time with her mother in Taiwan in the past few weeks. Yeo, who has custody of his daughter and nine-year-old son, Ivan Yeo, is among the Singaporean single fathers for whom Fathers Day is a poignant time to reflect on the challenges of raising their children. Yeo told Yahoo Singapore that it has been emotionally trying experience at times for him since he became a single father in 2010. On special occasions like Chinese New Year reunion dinners and Mothers Day, his children would often feel the absence of his ex-wife. From a young age, they started to ask why they didnt have a mother. So I have to guide them psychologically. Its a struggle to make sure I guide them properly and that they are not affected by our own (marriage) failures, said Yeo, who will be celebrating Fathers Day with his son and 77-year-old father. Coping with the cost of living The single fathers that Yahoo Singapore spoke to said that they find it challenging to balance between work and family. As such, Tom, who has been a single father for about 13 years, hoped for greater awareness and support from the government. I dont think the government even acknowledges that single fathers exist in Singapore, said the 51-year-old field service engineer. In response to queries by Yahoo Singapore, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said that there are no records available on the number of single fathers in Singapore. As the breadwinners, single fathers like 62-year-old Daniel often find it hard to cope with the rising costs of living and education. The taxi driver has been a single father for 15 years to his daughter, who is now 21 years old. Story continues In a normal family, there are two parents, you can either have dual income or one would be working while the other would to take care of the children. Once you take one away, problems will arise if they cannot find the support they need, said Daniel. For Koh Soon Kiang, a 46 year-old pilot who has two teenage sons, single parents have to learn how to manage their lifestyle expectations and curb their expenses. If you want to give a child everything, everything is expensive. I (simply) want my kids to grow up healthy and to have a lot of fun during their childhood years and understand the process of growing up, Koh said. Koh Soon Kiang, 46, (right) with his sons Dominique Koh, 17, (left) and Wesley Koh, 14 (centre). (Photo: Koh Soon Kiang) Single fathers can turn to voluntary welfare organisations, such as Family Service Centres, HELP Family Service Centre, and The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) for counseling and other assistance programmes. In an email to Yahoo Singapore, AWARE said it aims to promote more supportive and equitable policies and more welcoming attitudes towards single parents. Providing emotional support In the past, Koh and his ex-wife would assume separate roles of being the disciplinarian and mediator to their children. But the dynamics of parenting changed once Koh became a single father and he had to assume both roles. Many times, after I discipline or scold (my sons), I will calm myself down and talk to them nicely again to explain to them why I had to discipline them, Koh said. For Tom, his main challenges were to help his then seven-year-old daughter cope with the trauma of his ex-wife packing up and leaving their home, and her puberty in later years. Growing up, sometimes my daughter would need help with her girl issues. I was blessed that my mom and sisters were around when I needed their help, said Tom, whose daughter is now 20 years old. Koh is similarly grateful for the support from his family since he became a single father seven years ago. His parents take care of his sons whenever he goes on flight duty. Despite their struggles, the single fathers who were interviewed said that the joys of seeing their children grow up are immeasurable. Tom said, Seeing my daughter grow up to be a good person. Playing with her and making her laugh. Even being with her when she is sad. These are the joys of fatherhood. For Yeo, he cherished the little moments like meal times with his children. When they say I love you, with their little hands holding on to a cup of mashed potatoes, you can feel that their love for you is pure, he said. Yahoo Singapore wishes all fathers a Happy Fathers Day Thai police say they will again try to arrest Buddhist sect leader Phra Dhammajayo in the next coming days after thousands of his followers foiled their attempt Thursday by blocking the approach to his temple. The sect leader heads an organization described as having the character of a charismatic cult, with intense loyalty demanded of its 10 million followers, who have flocked to the movements outlandish headquarters, Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Phra Dhammajayo briefly achieved international notoriety in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reports, by making bizarre claims that Steve Jobs had been reincarnated as a warrior spirit and was dwelling in a heavenly palace. The 72-year-old is now wanted on charges of money laundering and the embezzlement of $14 million from a credit union allegations he vigorously denies. For weeks, he has refused to attend court to answer the charges, the Journal says, with his supporters claiming that he is medically unable to leave Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Buddhist monks are no stranger to controversy in Thailand with many scandals involving fast living, animal trafficking and rape rattling the publics perception of the countrys main religion. Much criticism has centered around Phra Dhammajayo, with scholars calling its practices unorthodox and misleading. According to the BBC, some say the sect has close political ties with former Primer Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by the military. [WSJ] From Esquire Hours before Bernie Sanders met with Barack Obama to discuss the future of the 2016 presidential race and what the next few months look like for the Democratic agenda, Thurston Moore was at home, in London, eagerly anticipating their conversation. Moore, together with Joyful Noise Recordings and the Bernie Sanders Campaign, has released "Feel It In Your Guts," a limited run flexi-disc that weaves excerpts from some of Sanders' most moving speeches together with a twelve-string acoustic movement composed by the noise statesman and Sonic Youth guitarist. "Feel It In Your Guts" is a thoughtful meditation and welcome listen at a time when headlines-and candidates-are screaming out buzz words and threatening overtures, and Moore is proud to "join hands" with Sanders and his campaign by lending his talent to this recording. "A recording like this is a gesture," he says. "Anyone who knows me is pretty much already pro-Bernie; I'm just adding to the patina of love." But it isn't just love that Moore is bringing to the intersection of music and politics. In a conversation about "Feel It In Your Guts," Moore-an American living overseas, who returns to the States for the occasional gig and teaching engagement-has been watching the brewing madness of the impending election from afar, and he has plenty to say about perspective and why he wanted to participate in this project in the first place. Below are Moore's thoughts on everything from the connection between Sanders and hip-hop to the importance of artists using their platforms to encourage awareness and effect change at a crucial time. On Donald Trump: "It's like Ronald McDonald running for President." November almost seems like a million years away, but it's almost around the corner when the country sort of shifts into this completely new paradigm. I'm kind of wanting to be there in November, but at the same time, I kind of enjoy having a bit of a distance. It seems like an interesting position to me, to be away from the USA and seeing the process as it moves forward and changes, from eight years of Obama into either a continuation of the Democratic party, which is what we all-which is what I-would like to see, and this kind of threat from this completely inane Republican party. It's like Ronald McDonald running for president. On Hillary Rodham Clinton's nomination: "I think it's disingenuous to say that it's time for the Bernie Sanders campaign to throw in the towel." [Hillary Clinton's presumptive nomination] was expected. It's always politics per usual. The fact that there's a revolution going on with Bernie Sanders' campaign, or at least wanting to instill a revolution in a global system, it's such a radical idea. The fact that it's gained so much momentum and been represented by such a large and vocal demographic, it's completely exciting. I wasn't really surprised by Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, which isn't really the case, completely, at this point. We still have until July 25. I think it's disingenuous to say that it's time for the Bernie Sanders campaign to throw in the towel. A lot of the campaign is about voicing something that's important to a very large and potent demographic of the United States of America. He needs to sort of minimize his campaign because it's not going to have the level of fun he's had the past few weeks. On Bernie Sanders' speeches: "I said, 'This person has zero chance of advancing this dialogue,' and I was wrong." I don't know Bernie Sanders personally. To me he seems a very consistent ideologue. If you look at any speech Bernie Sanders has given since the Ronald Reagan era, it's always been consistent with his ideology: It's always about focusing on the imbalance of power in the American economic society, and it's also the imbalance of power in society in regards to race, gender, and innateness as it improves through sociopolitics. That, to me, is the most important thing in his voice. He's always been consistent, and he's also a very sophisticated politician, and I think that's something we've all been recognizing in this last twelve months. I never knew of Bernie Sanders before last July, and it was from teaching at a progressive liberal university in Boulder, Colorado, called Naropa University, where I saw someone espousing the virtues of Bernie Sanders as a potential candidate. That was the first time I heard his name. I'm not somebody who is involved in the political world in any sort of celebrity kind of way. I was curious as to whom this outlier was working from the margins. I started listening to him, and I really got on board with what he was saying. I said, "This person has zero chance of advancing this dialogue," and I was wrong. I think everybody in the media was wrong about how things were going to progress, be it through Bernie Sanders' progression to attracting so much to his agenda, as it was for somebody like Donald Trump, who was just a wild card doofus on the Republican side. In retrospect, I think we'll see Barack Obama as one of the great presidents of our age, and the fact that, you know, this is kind of an American dynamic of wanting to replace him with someone who's so extremely the opposite of him by the name of Donald Trump, a real estate magnate with no political history. It's really interesting how divisive our society is as a people and who we are as a country. It's really interesting how divisive our society is as a people and who we are as a country. On the ideal presidential candidate: "It's not about guarantees and promises. It's about representation." I'm not an anti-Hillary person; I hear so many Bernie Bros talking about their animosity towards Hillary Clinton through her history of saying one thing and doing another. She's a professional politician, and an American politician. I totally understand what that is. It's not about guarantees and promises. It's about representation. It's about delegation. It's about having this kind of responsibility in how to delegate power in office to people that work for the good of the country. We certainly are not into the promotion of commerce through any kind of war industry. She is kind of hawkish, but I think she's hawkish with reservation. I really don't have too much issue with her in any real respect. It's such a world beyond me. I try to live within simple means. I prefer the language that I hear coming from Bernie Sanders than I do Hillary Clinton, but they're both of the Democratic Party, and I will vote Democratic. If Bernie Sanders decides to continue to run as an Independent or with the Green Party, I'll make up my mind at that point, but historically, that's always very sort of detrimental within a two-party system. On Trump's popularity: "The majority of the country, is it really sort of pro-fascism?" We really don't know who our neighbors are in that respect. The majority of the country, is it really sort of pro-fascism? If it is, it's time to sort of have a good debate here, because it's going to create a bit of a civil unrest in America, to put it lightly, if that's going to be the domineering factor of our country. I think I'm ready to sort of fight for the good fight. I'll be in the trenches. If it's something that does indeed happen, it's time to create that strong a voice and opposition to it. I think that Bernie Sanders' campaign is the strongest opposition to that. I think Hillary Clinton is more moneyed in opposition to that, and money is power in the United States, and we all understand that. Bernie Sanders, he's an activist and always has been. On "Feel It In Your Guts" as "this small, outsider way of demonstrating our respect towards this person who's always talking about respect." I'm sort of known as a fairly anachronistic noise guitarist. I could do some kind of feedback symphony or some kind of more radical noise guitar thing. I tried doing that; I just didn't feel right, and it's all about feeling. I put together some twelve-string guitar ideas I had. I sent them to the label, and they had a mix engineer put it together. I thought it sounded pretty cool. I didn't put so much on it; I thought it was something we were going to do that was just this small, outsider way of demonstrating our respect towards this person who's always talking about respect. It's all about humanitarian respect. I had sort of felt like maybe it's a little too weird for the campaign to put something like this out. But, no, they gave it the green light. The campaign had a lot of odds to plate besides greenlighting a seven-inch flexidisc of Bernie Sanders' excerpted speech while a twelve-string acoustic guitar plays. I don't think that was really big on their list. [Laughs] On music and politics: "I think musicians have a certain responsibility to use their public celebrity to represent what their stance is politically." Music is primarily a central art form. When I see music being used in politics, it's either a straightforward diatribe, or it's just being used as background sound, as soundtrack music. I think musicians have a certain responsibility to use their public celebrity to represent what their stance is politically. I really appreciate people like Patti Smith who come out and talk about these issues onstage. I don't think most musicians are very articulate in political dialogue so much, but I don't think most of the people in the public arena are articulate in any way. As we can see in the Trump campaign, most people respond to the simplicity of his truths: "I will win!" "I will take care of this!" That kind of language is very interesting to me because music doesn't have that kind of definition. Music is more of an abstract, more of an emotional language. Does music have a power to influence anything in politics? I don't think so, but I think a musician can. There are lots of sort of right wing, Trump-espousing musicians as well, probably. I wonder who they are. During the Bush campaign you would see a lot of pro-Bush, "Let's go kick some ass, America!"-kind of voices out there. I haven't seen so much pro-Trump music. What does Trump listen to? I think the music is evocative of the energy of the musician towards any kind of emotional factor, but it's the musician who makes whatever statements he wants to make. From Woman's Day A lethal combination of sweltering heat and child safety locks led to the death of a 3-year-old boy in Houston on Thursday. The boy was looking for a toy when he entered a car through an unlocked front door, according to CNN. He then climbed into the backseat of the car, which was parked near home, but couldn't open the door due to child protective locks, CNN said. He was trapped for 30 to 45 minutes before family members found him and immediately called 911 while starting CPR, according to Click2Houston. He died shortly after arriving at the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital. The nonprofit organization Kids and Cars found that on average, 37 children die each year in hot cars due to heatstroke and other heat-related deaths. Car temperatures can reach 110 degrees even if it's only in the 60s outside, according to USA Today. A child's body temperature raises three to five times faster than adults. Temperatures were as high as 100 degrees in the area when the tragedy occurred. A heat advisory is in place in the Houston area until Saturday. A police spokesperson said the death was a tragic accident and no charges will be filed as of now, the New York Daily News reports. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meets with supporters following a June 16 rally in Dallas. (Photo: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) DALLAS It was the nicest compliment Donald Trump had ever heard. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was in the middle of speaking at a boisterous rally here Thursday night when a woman interrupted the candidate, shouting from the crowd near the side of the stage that she loved his famous coif. Trump, who had been mocking the Obama administration for its handling of nuclear weapons negotiations with Iran, stopped dead in his tracks. She said, I love your hair. Thats the nicest thing anybody is going to say about me, the New York real estate mogul declared. It is my hair, he quickly added. Again thanking the woman, Trump seemed surprised and repeated her compliment. I love your hair, he said with a degree of marvel. And then Trump looked back toward the assembled press corps, whom he had mocked earlier as totally biased anddishonest. Did you get that on tape? Trump said. I hope you got that on tape because I want it for my children. It was moment of levity in a rally full of it as Trump gleefully marked his one-year anniversary of entering the presidential race and his unlikely rise to become the GOP nominee. Slideshow: Head of state: Hair of the Donald >>> Like most Trump events, the rally was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, but the candidate, apparently in a good mood, largely brushed them off at one point even thanking a man in a cowboy hat who flipped the candidate the bird as he was escorted out by security. I love cowboy hats. But I like Make America Great Again hats better, Trump said, referring to his campaign swag. Then suddenly, Trump was struck by inspiration: He told the crowd he would start making cowboy hats emblazoned with his campaign slogan, an idea that sparked wild cheers from the several-thousand-person strong audience. Thank you, protester! Trump called out. Trump spoke at a smaller-than-usual venue on Thursday: a ballroom at Gilleys, a Dallas offshoot of the country nightclub made famous by the film Urban Cowboy. It was a last-minute location decision after the campaign had trouble booking a venue elsewhere in the Dallas area. Two neighboring cities Grand Prairie and Irving reportedly declined to host rallies for the GOP candidate, citing logistical concerns. Story continues Trump apologized to supporters for the small venue but did highlight Gilleys history at one point randomly calling out that he wanted to ride that horse, an apparent reference to the clubs legendary mechanical bull. Wheres that horse? I want to go on the horse, Trump declared. Hey, you want to hit the papers tomorrow? Lets get that horse. Ill ride that horse. The problem is even if I make it, they will say I fell off the horse. At one point, Trump reminded voters that he had entered the race a year ago Thursday, and as he does at nearly every stop he talked up his litany of primary wins and all the Republican rivals he had vanquished, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But Trump did not namecheck Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a bitter rival who has yet to endorse him in the race. This is the one-year anniversary, Trump told supporters. Hopefully were going to make it a worthwhile year. A Monona man who prosecutors said dealt the heroin that killed a Waupun man in February and caused the near-fatal overdose of another was found guilty Thursday of first-degree reckless homicide and several other charges. Christopher T. Jenkins, 36, showed little reaction as Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds read the verdicts, reached by a jury of four men and eight women, after about three hours of deliberation Thursday. Jenkins was convicted of supplying the heroin that caused the death on Feb. 10 of Joshua M. Strate, 32, and an overdose that was nearly fatal to David J. Beloungy, 21. Strates body, along with Beloungy, who was breathing irregularly, was found in a van parked on Kong Road in the town of Pleasant Springs. The investigation quickly led to Wyatt Staff, 20, who lived about 800 yards from where the van was parked, and Staff led investigators to Jenkins. Along with first-degree reckless homicide, Jenkins was convicted of delivery of heroin and second-degree reckless endangerment. The homicide conviction carries up to 40 years of combined prison and extended supervision, while the endangerment conviction carries up to 10 years. The heroin delivery conviction is a 12-year felony. Jenkins was also convicted of a second heroin delivery charge for selling heroin the following night to Staff, who bought it under police control, and charges of heroin and marijuana possession. Jenkins will be sentenced in about two months. In closing arguments Thursday, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Moeser walked jurors through evidence that showed how Beloungy and Strate came to the Madison area early Feb. 10, looking for heroin from Staff, a friend of Beloungy. Staff called Jenkins and arranged a purchase at the Microtel motel on Madisons Far East Side. In the van, still at the Microtel parking lot, they used the heroin, and Beloungy and Strate both passed out. Staff, panicked and not knowing what to do, drove to Pleasant Springs, parked the van on Kong Road and walked home. Moeser said video surveillance at the motel and phone records all tied events together. But Jenkins lawyer, John Smerlinski, argued that the logistics are ridiculous, and that the evidence is uncertain at best. He argued that the heroin could have been purchased from another dealer that Staff called that night, but Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Blais, in a rebuttal argument, pointed out that there was only one call to the other dealer, against several made to Jenkins. Smerlinski said there was no way to tie a phone number in records to Jenkins because the phone was a burner phone, but prosecutors said other evidence tied the number to Jenkins. And Smerlinski asked jurors whether they should trust Staff, who left two friends to die in the cold. This is the character of the person that they want you to believe, he said. Blais responded that prosecutors dont get to pick their witnesses. Tupac : Trump Rapper Tupac Shakur once discussed Donald Trump in an extended rant on capitalism for a 1992 MTV interview that reportedly never aired. In the eight-minute interview which was the rapper's "first MTV interview as a solo artist," according to the video Shakur contrasts his underprivileged upbringing with the privileged world of "family heirlooms" and capitalist empires. "When you born, usually, you're born into a dynasty or an empire," Shakur said. "You're born, like, as a junior or following in your father's footsteps." Then, around the video's five-minute mark, he speaks about Donald Trump and his business: "You want to be successful you want to be like Trump? Gimme, gimme, gimme. Push, push, push. Step, step, step. Crush, crush, crush. That's how it all is. Nobody ever stops," Shakur said, describing what he sees as the selfish forces of capitalism. The video, which now has over a million views, was uploaded to YouTube in February 2010. According to The Hollywood Reporter, MTV was "unable to confirm whether the video ever aired" on the channel. Shakur would go on to have one of the most prolific careers in rap history in a span of five short years. He was shot and killed in Las Vegas 21 years ago, at the age of 25. Watch the interview below. NOW WATCH: 6 details you might have missed on the season 7 finale of 'Game of Thrones' More From Business Insider Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey's new prime minister on Friday stretched out a cautious hand of reconciliation to Turkey's regional foes, saying he wanted no permanent tensions with Black Sea and Mediterranean neighbours after serious ruptures with Egypt, Israel, Russia and Syria. Binali Yildirim, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took over the premiership in May from Ahmet Davutoglu who had spearheaded a policy of projecting Turkish power in the region. Some analysts have suggested that Davutoglu made way for Yildirim to allow a more reconciliatory foreign policy that would allow Turkey to mend bridges with its enemies and return to its former dictum of "zero problems" with neighbours. "Israel, Syria, Russia, Egypt... we cannot have permanent enmity with these countries which border the Black and Mediterranean Seas," Yildirim said in his first major interview with Turkish reporters, quoted by the Hurriyet daily. - 'See big picture' - Relations with Russia tumbled to post Cold War lows when Turkey on November 24 shot down a Russian warplane over the Syrian border. Moscow then blocked the sale of tours to Turkey, wrecking tourism in the south of the country where the industry was hugely dependent on Russian tourists. "We need to look at the big picture," said Yildirim. "There is no hostility between our peoples. It's possible to go back to the old days and take our relations even further." His comments come after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter this month to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin congratulating him on Russia's national day, the first such high level contact since the plane crisis. Russia has so far responded cooly, but pro-government daily Yeni Safak said Friday Turkey had prepared a nine step "roadmap" for normalising political and economic relations by September 1 and full ties by December 15. Previously tight relations between key NATO member Turkey and Israel were downgraded over the 2010 deadly storming by Israeli commandos of a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza, which left 10 Turkish activists dead. Story continues Yildirim said Turkish diplomats were working on a solution for normalisation, with the lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza the key condition. "I don't think the remaining period will be very long" until a result for normalisation is achieved, he said. Turkish press reports have suggested a breakthrough may come soon, with Ankara keen to wrap up the issue before the Turkish foreign ministry's powerful pointman on Israel, Feridun Sinirlioglu, takes up a new job in New York as Turkey's representative to the United Nations. - 'Turkey wants Egypt ties' - Relations with Egypt suffered a similar downturn after the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a close Ankara ally, and Erdogan has denounced President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as an "illegitimate tyrant". Yildirim said Ankara would never accept the 2013 "coup" but said "this should not be an obstacle in the commercial relations between our countries". "The development of relations is in the interest of the two peoples," he added. Reports have suggested that Turkey's increasingly close ally, fellow Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia, is keen to engineer a reconciliation between Cairo and Ankara. On the Syria conflict, Turkey has always called for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad and opposed attempts by Syrian Kurds to carve out an autonomous region. "The territorial integrity of Syria is important for us," Yildirim said. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Friday met US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara, telling him of Turkey's anxieties over the US support of Kurdish militias in Syria, foreign ministry sources said. Turkey however has denied suggestions it may be prepared to soften its position that Assad must depart immediately for there to be a solution in Syria. "Would you (as a refugee) be convinced to return to Syria if Assad is to stay and kill your family again? It's not feasible," a senior Turkish official said this week. By Gulsen Solaker and Ece Toksabay ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's government wants to remove hundreds of top judges and give President Tayyip Erdogan more say on appointments in a major overhaul it says will speed up courts, but opponents fear the move will undermine judicial independence. The government says the judicial review will allow it to weed out the followers of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Erdogan of attempting to topple him, and help streamline high courts bogged down by a backlog of cases.Critics say it is an attempt by Erdogan to cement control over the courts, which they say he already uses to intimidate opponents. Prosecutors have opened around 2,000 cases against people for insulting Erdogan since he became president in 2014, including journalists, cartoonists and teenagers. Under the draft law being debated in parliament, all 711 judges at two of the highest courts - the Council of State, which hears cases lodged by citizens against the government, and the Supreme Court of Appeals - will be removed. Some are expected to be reappointed, but it is unclear how many. Erdogan will then be able to appoint a quarter of the judges at the Council of State, allowing him to stack one of the country's most important legal bodies with his allies. "This will consolidate all power into one man's hand," Metin Feyzioglu, the head of Turkey's bar association, said in a statement, describing the planned changes as dangerous. The reform will more than halve the number of judges at both the Council of State and the Supreme Court of Appeals, with most cases instead being concluded at regional appeals courts. Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the aim was to end a crippling bottleneck in the court system, part of wider reforms he said were demanded by investors. "Justice right now is slow and clearly that is an issue for the business community," he said in an interview. "We have this system where millions of files end up at the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State, roughly 2 million files, which means justice certainly needs to be speeded up," he told Reuters, estimating 80 percent of cases would from now on be concluded at regional courts. GULENIST INFLUENCE Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has said he wants to erase the influence of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally accused of using his network of followers in the judiciary and other institutions to try to overthrow the government. The cleric, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denies the charges. "It is clear that some people in the judiciary have connections with Pennsylvania," Bozdag said late on Thursday at a meeting in parliament. "For them it's not important to follow the constitution or law because their loyalties lie elsewhere." Ankara considers the Gulen movement, which has millions of followers worldwide, a terrorist organization. The preacher and Erdogan had a public falling out in 2013 when police and prosecutors seen as sympathetic to Gulen opened a corruption investigation into Erdogan's inner circle. But opponents say the fight against Gulen is an excuse for Erdogan to tighten his grip. Seven TV stations were fined on Friday for broadcasting an opposition party meeting at which supporters chanted a slogan insulting Erdogan, while the head of the DISK labor union said on Twitter she was briefly detained also on accusations of insulting the president. "The government claims to be doing this to remove names close to Gulen, but the real aim is to set up their own cadre in high courts," said Ilhan Cihaner, a former prosecutor and a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party. "The current changes will allow the government to oust any judge whose decisions they don't like." (Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall, Orhan Coskun and Seda Sezer; Editing by David Dolan and Dominic Evans) It's the dreaded failure topic: "Describe a situation taken from your personal or professional life where you failed." MBA applicants often freak out when faced with this common admissions essay question because they fear that showing any weakness will torpedo their admissions chances. However, at one point or another, everyone faces adversity, failure or setbacks, whether at work or in life. Your response to these situations demonstrates your character, and business schools understand that failure represents a learning opportunity. This essay is your chance to demonstrate your maturity, flexibility and leadership qualities. Leaders aren't always successful; rather, they are willing to admit to failure and find motivation in their misfortune. [Learn about five key qualities of successful MBA applications.] So how do you tell the business school admissions committee how failure has truly affected you? First, start with some real introspection. It's important to use a failure that is emotionally important to you. Your failure should also be real and something that led you to gain some insight about yourself. The negative situation could have led to a transformative experience for your team, a positive opportunity for someone else or a chance for you to better understand another person through a team challenge. The admissions committee will easily see through an accomplishment that you frame as a failure; furthermore, that will not demonstrate your maturity or ability to grow. Think creatively about this aspect -- do your best to describe how you have changed your approach as a result of the failure. When brainstorming for this essay, think first about what you learned from the situation you plan to detail; then work backward to describe the circumstances and the initial challenge or hurdle. That will help you more optimistically view the whole situation. What did you learn from the experience and how did it impact your life or demonstrate a specific aspect of your character, goals or accomplishments? Story continues [Check out tips for writing a concise MBA admissions essay.] Think honestly about all the emotions you felt. As ugly as they may have been, be honest and write them down. From there, try to more eloquently describe your feelings in your essay. Remember, even the most difficult situations often lead to personal growth and likely have contributed to the individual you are today. For example, one of my clients was caught plagiarizing a term paper during college. He was very lucky the school did not expel him, but he did fail and have to repeat that course. This startling wakeup call became a valuable life lesson. It spurred him to join student government, help develop for the school policy guidelines on cheating and speak publically about his plagiarism experience and the importance of respecting intellectual property. When he applied for business school, his transformative experience resonated with the admissions committee and he ultimately attended one of the top-three MBA programs in the country. The key here is detailing not only your actions but also your feelings. Another client I worked with chose to write about her layoffs at three different companies over a five-year period. Although the layoffs had nothing to do with her job performance, each experience devastated her, and she struggled both financially and emotionally until she finally landed a position that allowed her to flourish. [Consider these four reasons for writing an optional business school application essay.] She turned those low moments into a powerful admissions essay of resilience and problem-solving. She showed how the experience ultimately taught her waysto better evaluate career opportunities. Demonstrating this type of humility and self-awareness made a positive impact on the admissions committee, and she ultimately attended the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania -- with a scholarship to boot. As you finalize this essay, focus on embracing the positive aspects of your past mistake and demonstrating the ways you have used the incident as an opportunity to learn and grow. This may just be the factor that makes your candidacy stand out amid a sea of so-called "perfect" applicants. (Adds comment from BC Lumber Trade Council, paragraphs 8-9) By David Ljunggren OTTAWA, June 17 (Reuters) - Talks between the United States and Canada on a long-running dispute over softwood lumber exports have bogged down amid "significant differences," the two nations said on Friday, potentially paving the way for a fresh round of lawsuits. U.S. producers complain that Canadian lumber is subsidized, and have in the past launched trade challenges that resulted in the United States imposing billion of dollars in tariffs. The most recent round of arguments ended with a 2006 deal that expired in October 2015. Both sides agreed to take no action for a year after that, but without a new treaty, U.S. firms have made clear they will file new damage claims. In March, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked officials to work out possible solutions and report back within 100 days. That deadline runs out on June 18. "Significant differences remain between us," said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland in a joint statement. "The United States and Canada have made significant advances in exploring the key issues and priorities ...(and) are committed to continuing negotiations." Reuters reported on June 10 that the talks were making little progress. Canadian officials say one challenge is that domestic producers are split over the best strategy. {nL1N1920GZ] BC Lumber Trade Council Chief Executive Susan Yurkovich said she believes an agreement can be reached that will provide certainty for lumber producers on both sides of the border. "However, if a reasonable agreement cannot be reached, we are also prepared to work alongside the Canadian government to defend the industry against any potential trade actions brought by the United States," Yurkovich said in a statement. Major Canadian lumber firms include Canfor Corp, West Fraser Timber Co, Interfor Corp and Resolute Forest Products Inc. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Diane Craft and Sandra Maler) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Steering and braking problems linked to two crashes and five injuries in 135,000 Toyota sport utility vehicles have prompted the opening of a federal investigation, a U.S. auto safety regulator said on Friday. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it has 135 complaints from 2001-2002 model year Toyota Sequoia SUV owners alleging incidents of unexpected vehicle stability control activations resulting in automatic braking of the left or right wheel and unexpected steering pull. A preliminary probe is the first step before NHTSA decides whether to demand a recall. Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight said the company is cooperating with NHTSA. Around half of the complaints said a faulty sensor was diagnosed as the cause of the problem, while other complaints report similar symptoms and driving conditions, NHTSA said. Most of the complaints reported an unexpected activation at highway speeds. Some reported the incident as feeling like a "jerk" to the steering wheel. In 2010, Toyota recalled 50,000 2003 Sequoia SUVs because the vehicle stability control system could activate at low speed for a few seconds during acceleration NHTSA had launched an investigation in 2008 into the issue and upgraded it in 2009. Toyota insisted at the time the issue wasn't a safety issue but agreed to recall the vehicles anyway. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Most of the 47 countries that pledged support to U.N. peacekeeping at a summit led by U.S. President Barack Obama have taken steps to lock in the commitments, according to a draft report seen by Reuters, but several of them - including Spain - are lagging. The U.S.-led push for more U.N. troop options comes amid allegations of misconduct and sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers in Central African Republic. Officials and diplomats said it was hoped surplus troops would allow the U.N. to exercise more discretion with its 16 current missions. The United Nations is using some of the new troops on offer as leverage to put pressure on poor-performing units, a U.N. diplomat said, citing the repatriation of hundreds of Democratic Republic of Congo troops from Central African Republic after sexual abuse accusations. The U.N. draft report on the status of the pledges made at Obama's September summit showed some of the support promised by 10 countries had already been deployed to U.N. missions in Mali, South Sudan, Congo and elsewhere. More than 40,000 troops and police, as well as helicopters, military engineering companies and field hospitals, were pledged during Obama's summit of world leaders at the United Nations in a bid to boost the capacity of peacekeeping. The draft report on the pledges will be given to member states but will not be made public, and could change before it is distributed, said a U.N. diplomat familiar with the report. "There is substantial progress but we want all countries to follow through as soon as possible," said a U.S. official on condition of anonymity. Spain had pledged troops, helicopters and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. "But they subsequently communicated to the U.N. that those were contingent on the U.N. selecting a Spaniard as force commander, at which the U.N. balked," a U.N. diplomat said. Another diplomat said Spain completely withdrew its pledge after the U.N. chose General Michael Beary of Ireland. Spain's U.N. mission declined comment. Uganda, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Norway, Spain, Brazil and Vietnam have not followed through on all or part of their pledges, said the U.N. draft report. U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford and Deputy British Chief of Defence Staff General Gordon Messenger will host a closed-door meeting on Friday at U.N. headquarters to assess progress on realizing the pledges. Washington pays for about 28 percent of the $8.2 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget. (Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau at United Nations; Editing by Matthew Lewis) KINSHASA (Reuters) - United Nations peacekeepers killed seven rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday as part of operations to tamp down rising inter-ethnic tensions in the area, the U.N. mission said on Friday. South African troops from the U.N. Force Intervention Brigade fired on members of a primarily Kobo and Nande militia after they tried to prevent aid workers giving out food to Hutu civilians in a displacement camp in the town of Buleusa in North Kivu province, mission spokesman Charles Bambara said. Eleven other militiamen were wounded while the rest fled, Bambara added. The U.N. troops suffered no casualties. The U.N. intervention in Buleusa follows a week of surging tensions between Hutus and the Kobo and Nande communities after rumors spread that members of the FDLR, a Hutu militia with officers implicated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, had infiltrated displaced persons camps. Nande and Kobo militiamen killed at least four Hutus and burned hundreds of their huts in Buleusa on Monday, according to Samuel Ntaota, a spokesman for the local Hutu community. Ethnic rivalries, foreign invasions and competition for mineral-rich land have stoked persistent conflict among eastern Congo's dozens of rebel groups over the last two decades, costing millions of lives. (Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Marine Pennetier and Mark Heinrich) TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy lifted a temporary drinking ban on its 18,600 sailors in Japan on Friday after a senior officer said personnel had shown they understand how alcohol-fueled bad behavior can damage relations with the Japanese community. The drinking ban was imposed 11 days ago after Japanese police arrested a U.S. sailor on the southern island of Okinawa for drink-driving following a car crash that injured two people. That incident came as U.S. forces were already trying to repair relations in Japan after an American civilian working for the military was arrested on suspicion of murdering of a 20-year-old Japanese woman and dumping her body. "The temporary restriction on alcohol was not intended to be a punishment, nor was it ever intended to be permanent," Rear Admiral Matthew Carter, commander of the U.S. Navy in Japan, said in a statement. "We took this pause to train and reflect on the dangers of alcohol abuse," he said. Sailors will be allowed to drink alcohol on U.S. bases there and in private residences outside, but not in off-base bars. Anger among Okinawa residents at the U.S. military presence threatens to derail the relocation the U.S. Marines' Futenma air base to a less populous part of the island, a plan agreed in 1995 after the rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by U.S. military personnel sparked huge demonstrations. Okinawa's governor and many residents want the Marines off the island. A demonstration against the U.S. presence planned for Sunday in the capital Naha could attract thousands of people. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Paul Tait) A private airplane landed at Reedsburg Municipal Airport early Friday at a speed too fast to stop and too slow to regain flight, causing it to go off the end of the runway and through an 8-foot chain-link fence. The plane crossed the street and stopped in a grassy area next to a grocery store, near the intersection of Zinga and Veterans drives, Reedsburg Police Chief Timothy Becker said. The single-prop plane was piloted by Donald G. Kargel, 72, of Stillwater, Minnesota, Becker said. He was trying to land, realized too late he was running out of runway and tried to accelerate but he was going too slow to pull up, said Becker. Neither Kargel nor his passenger, Mary J. Kargel, 70, was injured. Four fence posts and the fence were flattened, Becker said. Kargel, who has a valid pilots license, had landed a plane at the Reedsburg airport in the past, he said. The plane, with one wheel and landing gear broken off but wings intact, was towed back through the fence and onto the airport property. The U.S. will stay in the Black Sea says a U.S. Navy Secretary on Thursday, despite Russia warning that the patrolling U.S. destroyer undermines regional security. Speaking to Reuters, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says it is the U.S. Navys role to deter aggression and keep sea lanes open in the Black Sea basin, which bounded by Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and Turkey. Were going to be there, Mabus told Reuters of the Black Sea. Were going to deter. Thats the main reason were there to deter potential aggression. Romania and Turkey are going to push for for a bigger NATO presence in the Black Sea in response to increased Russian aggression in the region. They are expected to propose the joint initiative in a NATO summit in July. Russia has its own Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol and says it poses no threat to the security alliance [Reuters] By Steve Scherer ABOARD THE USS MASON (Reuters) - The United States will maintain its presence in the Black Sea despite a Russian warning that a U.S. destroyer patrolling there undermined regional security, the U.S. Navy Secretary said. The USS Porter entered the Black Sea this month, drawing heavy criticism from Moscow. Turkey and Romania are expected to push for a bigger NATO presence in the Black Sea at the NATO summit in Warsaw next month. Aboard the USS Mason, another U.S. destroyer, in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told Reuters that it was the U.S. Navy's job to deter aggression and keep sea lanes open. "We're going to be there," Mabus said of the Black Sea. "We're going to deter. That's the main reason we're there -- to deter potential aggression." Mabus spoke days after Russia criticized NATO discussions about a creating a permanent force in the Black Sea. "If a decision is made to create a permanent force, of course, it would be destabilizing, because this is not a NATO sea," Russian news agencies quoted senior Foreign Ministry official Andrei Kelin as saying. Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, has its own Black Sea Fleet based at Sevastopol. The NATO summit takes place as relations between Russia and the alliance are severely strained over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and in Syria. While Russia says it poses no threat to alliance, NATO is considering what to do to counter what it sees as growing Russian aggression. Mabus said the United States follows the rules of the Montreux Convention, which states that countries without a Black Sea coastline cannot keep their warships there for more than 21 days. NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria are all Black Sea Basin countries. Bulgaria appeared to buckle to Russian pressure on Thursday. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said he would not join a proposed NATO fleet in the Black Sea because it should be a place for holidays and tourists, not war. Also increasing tensions with Moscow is the U.S. Navy's deployment of two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean ahead the NATO summit as Washington seeks to balance an increase in Russian military activities in the Mediterranean. "We've been in the Mediterranean continuously for 70 years now, since World War Two," Mabus said. "We've been keeping the sea lanes open...It's what we do." (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Angus MacSwan) By Daniel Trotta POTTSVILLE, Pa. (Reuters) - Kate Lynn Blatt once lived as a woman at home but went to work in a battery factory as a man, a painful phase in her gender transition that would later propel her to the forefront of a constitutional battle for transgender rights in America. She decided to start over, interviewing as a woman for a new job with the outdoor equipment and apparel retail chain Cabela's Inc , landing it, and finally leaving her life as a male behind. A 6-year transition, starting from when she graduated high school, was finally over. "Oh my God, it was the most liberating thing I've ever experienced in my entire life," Blatt said in an interview in her hometown of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, about 90 miles (150 km) northwest of Philadelphia. "And then slam," she said, smacking a fist into her palm. "Employee discrimination." Blatt, now 35, is suing Cabela's for sex discrimination, saying she was subjected to all manner of humiliation by superiors and co-workers during the six months she worked as a seasonal stocker in 2006 and 2007. In a preview of the current controversy in the United States over which bathroom transgender people should use, Blatt claims she was denied use of the women's room. She was fired, she said, when Cabela's alleged she threatened a co-worker's child during an altercation at work, a claim Blatt denies. Cabela's, through a company spokesman, declined to comment. The lawsuit, brought by Blatt in 2014, also challenges a little-known clause in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) as discriminatory because it specifically excludes transgender people from protection. Cabela's has called on U.S. District Judge Joseph Leeson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to dismiss Blatt's claims under the ADA. The judge's ruling on that motion, the next step in the case, could come at any time. Blatt's lawyers, Neelima Vanguri and Brian Farrell of Philadelphia-based Sidney L. Gold & Associates, are asking the judge to rule that the clause of the ADA violates the U.S. Constitution because it denies equal protection for all under the law. Story continues The ADA was landmark legislation that expanded the rights of disabled people, but some exceptions were written into the law following a debate influenced by the late Jesse Helms, a Republican senator from North Carolina. The law says "disability" shall not include "transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders." Judges customarily avoid ruling on constitutional issues, preferring to settle disputes on narrower grounds. Even so, at a time of expanding transgender rights in America, the Blatt case directly challenges what her lawyers consider discrimination codified into law. TRANSGENDER IN AMERICA Blatt knew from her first memories that she was a girl, taking advantage of every Halloween to dress as a girl and wearing panties from age 10. In high school, before making her transition, Blatt only let a few trusted friends into her life. "Every person I met as a guy was another person I would have to come out to as transgender later, so I just avoided it," she said. For years she lived a dual life, but that became unmanageable. Her job in the battery factory required employees to shower on the premises after work because of their exposure to chemicals, and she was starting to grow breasts from the hormones she was taking, so she told co-workers she was now Kate. When a co-worker's husband learned of Blatt's transition and confronted her on the job site, she left, becoming free to live as Kate full-time. Blatt, a proud firearms owner, grew up hunting and fishing in rural Pennsylvania and soon felt at home working for Cabela's, which specializes in guns, outdoor equipment and apparel. The Cabela's where she worked in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, is a 250,000-square-foot (23,000-square-meter) amusement park of a store, decorated with big-game taxidermy, including an elephant, and an aquarium. All manner of outdoor shoes and gear are on sale, along with hundreds of models of guns and stacks of ammunition. But problems arose immediately. She was told she must use the men's room. Later she was directed to a gender-neutral restroom where families can change diapers. She also claims in her suit she was required to wear a tag calling her by her birth name James, even after she had legally changed her name and gender with the state of Pennsylvania. After Cabela's fired her, Blatt said she gave up on the workplace and started her own business fixing up old houses. NO LONGER A DISORDER Among transgender people, seeking justice for a "disability" is somewhat controversial. At the time the ADA was passed in 1990, transgender people were diagnosed with "gender identity disorder," which might have been covered under the law if it were not for the Helms-inspired exclusion. Being transgender today is no longer considered a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, but it can give rise to gender dysphoria, a type of anxiety that may require medical treatment and thus should also be covered by the ADA, transgender advocates say. While her case plays out, a transgender rights controversy has overtaken the United States. At least 18 states have anti-discrimination laws protecting transgender people, but officials in more than a dozen states are suing U.S. President Barack Obama's administration for directing public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. Federal appeals courts have generally sided with the White House, saying its interpretation of civil rights law to protect transgender people is acceptable, but it could be overturned by a future president. In the meantime transgender people, estimated at 0.3 percent of the population by a 2011 study conducted by Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, are fighting their own battles. "For the larger part of my childhood, I felt alone," Blatt said. "I had no idea there were other people. There's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people like me in this country, and I never knew it." (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Scott Malone and Diane Craft) KAMPALA (Reuters) - A soldier shot dead four women and three children in a barracks in Uganda's capital Kampala on Thursday, a military spokesman said. Sergeant Isaac Obua "has just gone bonkers" and was himself killed, military spokesman Paddy Ankunda said in a Twitter post. Another unidentified soldier told a local television station the killer, part of a medical team, had been trying to attack his wife under the "influence of alcohol and possibly marijuana". "Fortunately the wife escaped but those who were within proximity of the scene fell victim," the soldier said. In April 2014, a soldier in the western Ugandan district of Ntoroko killed 10 people, including five military colleagues, then shot himself, after quarrelling over a woman in a bar, local media reported. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Andrew Heavens) [Photo: Wynsor World of Shoes] With Fathers Day on the horizon, everyones talking about the perfect gift to present on Sunday, but one company has genuinely nailed the ideal gift that keeps on giving. Some may say just in time whilst dads may groan at the thought of receiving a pair of shoes, wait for it to help them get their groove on. Drum roll for the Dad Dancing Shoes, a new product launched by the shoe retailers Wynsors, with the intention to tackle one of the lifes formally inescapable embarrassments Dad Dancing." To help dads along the way to dance-floor success, these shoes come specially equipped with an electronic remote, for the occasion of dated dance moves being attempted. To avoid public embarrassment, families can take control of the remote just in time before the old-school moves are whipped out. *Phew* Mark Chalmers, Director at Wynsors World of Shoes, spoke of the benefits of the shoes: At Wynsors, we think theres absolutely nothing wrong with Dads out there who like to enjoy themselves on the dance-floor, but we wanted to offer some reassurance to families who are often left feeling a tad uneasy when the dancing becomes a little too enthusiastic. We think the Dad Dancing Shoes will help families find a compromise for future embarrassing situations. And to top that off, the Dad Dancing Shoes come with a 10-year cringe-free guarantee and if you need a last minute present for Sunday, you can buy your pair from the site. So, do these shoes sound like the present your dad needs? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK And if youre interested in blogging for us? Join our Yahoo Blogger Network! By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - The scale of withdrawals from UK equity funds was the second highest on record because of uncertainty over the June 23 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday. Worries that Britain, the world's fifth-largest economy, could decide to quit the EU in next week's vote have dominated markets this week and driven investors towards safe-haven assets such as gold and away from stocks. "June thus far has been all about the risk-off Brexit trade," BAML strategists wrote in a note to clients. While betting odds indicate that Britons will vote to stay in the EU, some recent opinion polls have put the "Leave" camp favouring Brexit as being in the lead. However, campaign activities were suspended late on Thursday, with Britain's politicians and public left in shock after a pro-EU lawmaker was fatally shot in the street. One poll set for publication on Friday was delayed until the weekend. BAML said the UK equity funds lost a net $1.1 billion, the biggest outflow in 13 months, in the week to June 15. The UK funds registered a record weekly outflow in the middle of last year when Britain's share market came under intense selling pressure on some poor UK economic data and uncertainty regarding Greece's debt situation. On a broader scale, European equity funds saw their 19th straight week of outflows, with $4.7 billion, the largest amount in seven weeks, leaving the funds. Precious metals continued to draw in risk-averse investors, BAML said. Global bond funds witnessed $1.2 billion of outflows, the first time in 11 weeks and the largest in five months, it said, adding that precious metals attracted $1.1 billion during the week to post inflows in 21 out of the previous 23 weeks. Prices of gold rose on Friday to trade near a two-year high. The precious metal is generally seen as a safe-haven asset and its appeal rises in difficult times. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Keith Weir) By Anjuli Davies LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit uncertainty has taken its toll on British dealmaking, with merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year at its lowest as a proportion of global activity since records began in 1980, Thomson Reuters data showed on Friday. British companies are preparing for the possibility of a so-called Brexit after the country votes in its June 23 referendum on European Union membership, with the prospect of a "Leave" vote coming into sharp focus. The value of M&A involving British companies has reached $57.6 billion so far this year, down 69 percent on the same period last year, representing the slowest year-to-date period since 2013, the data shows. That gives Britain a record low 4 percent of the global M&A total so far this year. At its peak in 2000, British M&A accounted for 18 percent of the worlwide total over a comparable time period. Inbound cross-border M&A in the UK has reached $43.8 billion so far this year, down 74 percent from a year ago. Investment banking fees paid by UK companies in the period total $1.9 billion, a 22 percent year-on-year decline and the slowest year-to-date fees figure since 2012. Capital markets fees, meanwhile, have dropped by 37 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since 2003. Worldwide M&A activity has fallen 20 percent to $1.44 trillion so far this year after hitting a record high in 2015. Oil prices, worries about slowing growth in China and Britain's looming Brexit referendum have all weighed on sentiment. European M&A of $295 billion this year is down 24 percent, while U.S. dealmaking is down 19 percent at $623 billion. (Editing by David Goodman) During my years working as a historian and especially since becoming the director of Ukrainian Institute of National Memory Ive often talked with journalists from various countries and publications who hold views different than my own. The more professional the journalist, the less he or she reveals his or her own personal opinions, and the more he or she tries to listen and then reflects truthfully the opinion of the person with whom he or she has spoken. Many of these journalists have asked questions that provoked discussion. The questions Josh Cohen posed for his Foreign Policy article (The Historian Whitewashing Ukraines Past, May 2), however, were not journalistic they were those of a prosecutor. After reading the first few lines of his initial email requesting comment from me on February 25, I already understood he was talking to me as if I were the accused. How would you respond to Western historians allegations that you or your staff has a willingness to ignore or even falsify historical documents? he asked. His other questions were similar in nature. Despite the angry, even accusatory, tone, I prepared detailed answers, and yet only fragments of my responses were printed in his article. This was not in order to present my point of view, but in order to prevent accusations that there was an absence of balance in his article an article in which multiple sources are quoted saying critical things about me and my work. The credibility of these sources, upon closer inspection, is questionable at best. It was through Jeffrey Burds, a professor of Russian and Soviet history at Northeastern University, that I not only found out about the so-called falsified and censored documents released in an 898-page book published by my staff, but that any of my colleagues had produced an 898-page book at all! At no point in the article does Burds name the book in which this supposed falsification took place. I was surprised by the words of Canadian historian Marco Carynnyk, who Cohen quoted in his article saying he had problems accessing the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) archive when I was director. Perhaps Cohen misunderstood, because I have a letter from Marco (who, I hope will forgive me for being forced to publish our private correspondence from 2010): You know, perhaps I do not agree with your evaluation of some aspects of Ukrainian history, Marco wrote in his email. But I will always be grateful to you for the fact that in the last year you gave me access to the SBU archives. And this was not preferential treatment. When I oversaw the SBU archives, people were ensured equal access for the first time ever. Cohen also quotes a Ukrainian historian named Stanislav Serhiyenko who laments the ways I could use a new law to restrict access to archives for research. I could not recall a historian with that name; thats because Serhiyenko is not a professional historian, but rather a left-wing student activist, who works with and is published in the pro-Russian publication Gazeta 2000. He has, however, done research in the SBU archives. When Serhiyenkos comments appeared in Cohens article the current director of the archives, Andriy Kohut, expressed surprise in a Facebook post on May 4: In contrast to Josh Cohens comments, he never complained to the archive staff about having access. Cohens article is full of factual mistakes and distortions. Streets were not, as he wrote, renamed after leaders of the OUN and UPA under President Viktor Yushchenko, or if they were, there was never any direct involvement from the then-president. Cohen asserts that I defended the soldiers of the Waffen SS Galicia division. There arent any examples of times I defended them; instead, I write about them as victims of war Ukrainians mobilized by hostile propaganda to fight for someone elses purpose. Finally, it was not the president who appointed me the director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory; rather this was done by a government decree. At the time of my appointment on March 25, 2014, Petro Poroshenko was not yet president. Therefore, to say he enlisted the support of nationalist forces is ridiculous. Moreover, I am not a member of any political party. The deeper the author gets into history, the more errors there are. With ease, he states unconfirmed figures: 70,000-100,000 Poles were killed by the UPA, he says. These were the figures quoted in political statements but there is no study based on sources, or, at the very least, reliable methodology that calculates these numbers. The origin of the figure of 35,000 Jews Cohen claims were killed by nationalists in western Ukraine is also unclear. Its one you cant find in the works of even those historians who are the most critical of the OUN. Furthermore, Cohen insists that the OUN took an active participation in the 1941 Jewish pogrom in Lviv. There are no OUN documents to suggest such an active participation of the organization during this time; while individual members of the OUN took part, the organization was more focused on announcing the June 30, 1941 Act of Restoring Ukrainian Independence. Also, while it is true that Ukrainians did take part in the killing of Jews in Ukraine during the Holocaust, the exact number is still unknown, and is certainly no greater than the number of other nationalities who also collaborated in the Holocaust with the Germans. OUN members also saved hundreds of Jews from German executioners one of them being Olena Viter, a Greek-Catholic nun and OUN member who has been honored by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. But aside from factual errors, and questionable sources, the bigger point is this: One of Cohens main arguments is that I am whitewashing Ukrainian history by including the Ukrainian liberation movement within Ukraines national historical narrative and ignoring its involvement in the Holocaust and the ethnic cleansing of Poles during the Second World War. He calls this revisionist history. I would disagree. During the Soviet period, the mention of the nationalists was automatically associated with Nazis (even though the two were not the same thing). Moreover, the Holocaust was almost completely Sovietized: that is, the emphasis was on how Soviet citizens were the real victims of the Holocaust, not Jews. In no way am I, or the Institute of National Memory, falsifying the narrative of the Holocaust especially when that narrative was all but forgot in mainstream Soviet Ukrainian history. If anything, the Institute has worked hard to place the Holocaust and its memory back into the Ukrainian national historical narrative by including it in public displays and discussions. Cohen also systematically ignores more than 10 years of history in which the Ukrainian nation was split between two larger countries, devastated by genocide, the Pacification, the Great Terror, repression and inter-ethnic strife. Yes, the OUN was a militant organization no historian denies that fact. But what Cohen is doing is denying the importance of the OUN to western Ukrainian history during the interwar period something he himself accuses me of doing with the memory of Red Army soldiers. Neither I, nor the Institute of National Memory, are denying the heroism of the Red Army during World War II; the many commemorations and remembrance celebrations that are included in the May 8-9 festivities throughout Ukraine are an indication of this. Red Army soldiers sat side-by-side last year with the veterans of the UPA and neither group had any problem with this. Cohen only had to glimpse at the YouTube footage of the 2015 Remembrance Day concert in Kiev to understand this. What Cohen has begun to grasp but only slightly is the overarching problem of Ukrainian history: Eastern Ukrainian history and western Ukrainian history were never identical, and one cannot please one group over another. If Ukrainian historians did what Cohen suggests, then western Ukrainian history would be left out of the national historical narrative (which is, in fact, what occurred in the Soviet Union). Therefore, while he claims that in Luhansk and the East, I am ignoring half the population, what he is suggesting is that we should ignore the other half. What I, and the Institute are working hard on doing, is advocating for a united national historical narrative in which all historical activities of all Ukrainians are mentioned nationalist, communist, and even those of the diaspora Ukrainians who fought in the Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy, in Monte Cassino, and in the Pacific Theatre. Cohen takes a very Soviet perspective on the history of Ukraine during World War II. Ukrainians did kill other nationalities; they also killed other Ukrainians, and other nationalities killed each other, and Ukrainians, in horrible ways. This period of Ukrainian history resists being simplified to black and white. For instance, while, the OUN and UPA did not collaborate with the Germans or the Soviets, there were occasional individual pacts of understanding among all three. Records even indicate that Red Army soldiers warned UPA units about incoming Soviet Secret police troops when the Ukrainian Front was pushing westward throughout Ukraine. The accusations that the OUN and UPA collaborated, and that they participated in the Holocaust and in ethnic cleansing are characteristic of Soviet historiography and propaganda. Its a narrative that is still supported by a number of researchers in the West to this day (including those referred to in Cohens article, like Carynnyk and Burds). But Cohen presents this as the only correct version of events, and thus, attempts to argue against their views, based on newly discovered documents becomes deplorable revisionism words that, for many readers in the West, have a clear association with Holocaust denial. What Cohen certainly does understand is the importance of the consolidation of Ukrainian democracy which requires the country to come to grips with the darker aspects of its past. But that can only be done if Ukrainians understand all sides of their national history not just the one-sided, Soviet-heavy version. Ukrainians need to come to terms with the complex historical experiences that took places during the Second World War on their territory experiences that differed between regions, and even between towns and within families. That is why it is important that Ukraines historians, no matter what topic they write about, should have the ability to write about it in a free and professional way (and enjoy the luxury of being openly criticized). The most important conclusion Cohen draws in his article is that I am restricting access to the archives in order to censor and promote my version of Ukrainian history. A number of researchers expressed concerns about this possibility prior to the introduction of the de-Sovietization law. A year has passed, however, and there have been no cases of restrictions on academic freedom or access. Thats because the law does not allow for this. In contrast, the number of users accessing the old KGB archives has significantly increased, including researchers from outside Ukraine, and the number of Ukrainian citizens gaining access to them has grown by almost 50 percent, according to archive data. The transfer of historical documents from the Security Services, the Foreign Intelligence Services, and the Ministry of Interior not only rids these agencies of the extra work, but it also allows for the documents to be processed by historians and archivists, instead of soldiers and officers. This transfer is an important element of the general democratic transformation of a post-totalitarian society. The International Council on Archives recommends, as best practices: Records produced or accumulated by former repressive bodies must be placed under the control of the new democratic authorities at the earliest opportunity and these authorities must assess the holdings in detail. The security bodies must ensure the transfer of selected files and documents either to the national archives, to the institutions dealing with compensation or reparation for victims of the repression and purging of former officials, or to the Truth Commissions. This was why special archival laws were adopted last year; our law is similar to ones that already operate in 11 post-communist countries in eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, among others). It is this very opening of communist secret service archives that is to act as the main guarantee against the state imposing one single view of the past. Furthermore, it helps serve as one of the guarantees of democratic development. This is why Ukraine chose to follow the examples of its neighbors after the Euromaidan. This process sits in contrast to the closed Russian archives (which were recently put under the direct control of Putin). These serve as the foundation for the rehabilitation of totalitarianism, and are being used for this purpose today. But this is quite another, more dangerous, story about the rewriting of the past and the use of archives, one to which Josh Cohen is not paying any attention. Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images A brief mention of privatizing cul-de-sacs to lessen the burden of strained road construction funding has sparked a debate in Fitchburg over whether the mayors comment was a conversation starter or a serious proposal. Mayor Steve Arnold made the suggestion in a May 20 cover letter for his proposed 2017-21 capital improvement plan, shortly after he criticized City Council members for cutting road resurfacing funding in the current budget. Annual funding for resurfacing projects had been around $850,000, but the council cut funding below $500,000 during 2016 budget deliberations last fall. Now, Arnold is seeking to restore funding to levels above the previous mark. I am well aware that the Council has little taste for immediately increasing this funding to a sustainable level (about $1.1 million per year to resurface every 30 years) and resurfacing the backlog over two to three years using borrowing over ten years, Arnold said in the letter. Without significant new funding, our roads will continue to get worse. Funding can be via the tax levy, changing policy to assess part of the cost to adjacent property owners, or new ideas not yet considered. We can also consider privatizing roads now maintained by the public, such as cul-de-sacs. None of these options are attractive, but we owe it to residents to honestly address this funding shortfall. While Arnold insists the drastic suggestion was a ploy to highlight the overall condition of Fitchburgs roads, his opponents on the City Council believe it was a legitimate pitch or a poorly conceived conversation starter at the very least. I think it was a serious proposal, said Ald. Jason Gonzalez, District 2, who accused Arnold of exaggerating the condition of Fitchburgs roads. I think hes not being honest when he says it wasnt a genuine idea he had. It caught everyone off-guard and I think it upset a lot of people. It wasnt a way to start a discussion on road funding. The spat is the latest example of the deep divisions that exist among Fitchburgs elected officials. Prior to his election as mayor last year, Arnold led a minority coalition of left-leaning City Council members against a more business and development-driven council majority and former Mayor Shawn Pfaff. The groups consistently sparred over plans for new fire stations and neighborhoods. As mayor, Arnold and his three council allies have continued to be out-voted on many local issues, so Arnold said hes resorting to using absurd proposals to try to gain cooperation from his opponents. Weve got about 124 miles of roads and if roads last for 30 years, we should be doing about 4 miles of road a year and were doing a lot less than that. What that means is, on average, the worst roads are getting worse and were just getting further and further behind, he said. If you dont want to spend the taxpayers money on this, what do you want to do instead? So, I throw out these obviously terrible ideas so they have some comparison of what their other options are. Gonzalez called it disingenuous for the mayor to suggest the council does not support road projects. He said council members want more data on road conditions from the citys public works department to assist in prioritizing spending on roads. I think you need to look at the specific roads and address the specific situation not just rebuild to rebuild, he said. Arnold wants the council to approve $950,000 in resurfacing funds for next year and increase that amount by $50,000 a year over the next four years. Fitchburgs five-year capital improvement plan will go the Plan Commission next week. Amendments from the council are due June 30, and the City Council will vote on the plan by late July. We can also consider privatizing roads now maintained by the public, such as cul-de-sacs. STEVE ARNOLD Fitchburg mayor New York (AFP) - US Ambassador Samantha Power and UN envoys from 16 countries gathered at a New York gay landmark Thursday to galvanize global efforts to advance LGBT rights after the Orlando attack. "We couldn't think of a more symbolic place after the monstrous attack in Orlando to come than this one," Power said at the Stonewall Inn, considered the birthplace of the American gay rights movement. The senior diplomats mostly from Europe and Latin America met to discuss new initiatives to promote the rights of sexual minorities following the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Florida. Power said the group of ambassadors is working "to ensure that there are far fewer no-go zones" for LGBT people worldwide and "far more safe spaces that don't get punctured." Forty-nine people were killed and 53 were injured at the Pulse nightclub in the early hours on Sunday when a gunman opened fire in the worst shooting in modern US history. The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned the Orlando attack, agreeing on a statement that for the first time mentioned the targeting of people on the basis of sexual orientation. French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who chairs the council this month, said "the struggle for the rights of LGBT people is vital. It is an essential struggle that we are waging on all fronts." Chilean Ambassador Cristian Barros Melet said the group of countries is pushing for a special expert on LGBT rights to be appointed and who would report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Dutch Ambassador Karel van Oosterom, a member of the so-called Core Group of countries on LGBT rights, called for a "worldwide global action to address this," and said "the Core Group will be instrumental to do that." The Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village was the scene of rioting in 1969 after gays rebelled against police raids and harassment at the bar. Homosexuality is illegal in some 77 countries worldwide. In five countries, it is punishable by the death penalty. Lesbos (Greece) (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said Saturday that the "detention" of migrants who have arrived in Greece since March should cease immediately, as he visited the frontline of the migration crisis engulfing Europe. He made the comments after visiting two camps on the Greek island of Lesbos, where some 3,400 migrants are being held while officials assess whether they can legitimately claim asylum. "Detention is not the answer, it should end immediately," said Ban, who held talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens earlier in the day. "I recognise the difficulties but the world has the wealth, the capacity and the duty to meet these challenges," he said on Lesbos, the entry point for hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in the EU last year. "These people have been through the worst," Ban added. "The people of Lesbos are showing the world the best -- you have opened your homes, hearts and wallets to support people in need." Under a controversial deal between the European Union and Turkey that came into force in March, failed asylum seekers face being sent back from the Greek islands to Turkey. More than 45,000 migrants are currently trapped on Greek territory, following not just the EU-Turkey deal but also a string of border closures in Balkan countries to the north. Most of the migrants are now in state-run camps that aid groups including the UN's refugee agency have labelled poorly-equipped and inappropriate for a long stay. Ban praised Greeks for showing "remarkable solidarity ... as Greece faces tremendous challenges of so many desperate people fleeing war and persecution". Greece's Aegean holiday islands have seen more than a million refugees and migrants arrive over the last year-and-a-half -- many of them Syrian refugees -- seeking new lives elsewhere in the EU. Lesbos alone accounted for around 500,000 arrivals in 2015, according to UN figures, as Europe battles its worst migration crisis since World War II. Story continues The EU-Turkey deal has drastically reduced the flow, but rights groups say this has come at the cost of human rights violations. On Friday, medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said it would no longer accept funding from the EU in protest at its "shameful" migration policies, including the Turkey deal. Since it came into force in March, more than 460 people have been sent back to Turkey, where critics say they face discrimination and possible danger. - 'Deeply distressed' - A relocation programme promising to move successful asylum claimants to other EU states has made little headway. "The international community must do more to resolve conflicts and address the factors causing so much suffering and upheaval," Ban said. "We must stand together against the border closures, barriers and bigotry and against the criminals and predators who traffic in human beings," the UN secretary-general added. "I call on the countries of Europe to respond with a human and human rights-based approach." At talks earlier Saturday hosted by Tsipras in Athens, the Greek leader gave Ban a life-jacket that was discarded, like thousands of others, by a migrant arriving on a flimsy boat from Turkey. "It's a symbolic gift, a life-saving tool for thousands of refugees who arrived in the Greek islands after crossing the Aegean Sea," Tsipras said as he presented the item to the UN chief. Ban put on the jacket, calling it an "important gift", but then quickly took it off as he thought of the thousands who never made ashore. The UN chief said he was "deeply distressed" by the large number of refugees who have lost their lives in crossing the Aegean as well as the Mediterranean route from north Africa. Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,500 people have died in the Mediterranean compared with 1,855 in the same period last year, according to the International Organization for Migration. By Malathi Nayak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Unions representing nearly 40,000 Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) workers ratified a new labor deal on Friday, the company said, ending a months-long dispute that had prompted a nearly 7-week employee strike. The new contract, effective immediately, will run until Aug. 3, 2019, Verizon said in a statement. Last month, a tentative deal was reached that included 1,400 new jobs and pay raises topping 10 percent. Since May 31, union members had been casting votes that were tallied by the unions. Workers including network technicians and customer service representatives in Verizon's Fios internet, telephone and television services units walked off the job on April 13 after contract talks reached an impasse. The action was called by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The previous contract expired in August, and healthcare coverage ran out at the end of April. Sticking points in contract negotiations had included job relocations, offshoring call-center jobs, pensions and healthcare coverage. Employees resumed work on June 1 after the tentative deal was reached. New York-based Verizon said it would add 1,300 call center jobs on the East Coast, and 100 new network technician jobs. It also agreed to withdraw proposed cuts to pensions and accident and disability benefits. The company won cost savings through changes in healthcare plans and limits on post-retirement health benefits. The strike will hurt second-quarter earnings and potentially cost up to 7 cents per share, Verizon's chief financial officer said earlier this month. Verizon and the two striking unions were in contract discussions with the help of the U.S. Department of Labor. In mid-May, U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez brought the parties back to the negotiating table. The strike, one of the largest in recent years in the United States, drew support from Democratic U.S. Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. (Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Diane Craft and Richard Chang) A United Kingdom writer Guy Hibbert has signed with UTA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned. He previously was with WME. The real-life interracial love story between the first president of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and his wife (Rosamund Pike), directed by Belle's Amma Asante, currently is in post-production. Hibbert is an executive producer on the film, as he was on the last project he penned, Gavin Hood's 2015 military drone drama Eye in the Sky, which starred Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. Hibbert's first feature, Five Minutes of Heaven, starring Liam Neeson, earned him the 2009 Sundance World Cinema Screenwriting Award as well as the BAFTA TV Award for best writer a year later. The British television veteran, who previously earned best single drama honors for No Child of Mine in 1998 and Omagh in 2005, was victorious again in the category in 2014 for Complicit. He also wrote and executive produced the BBC and Sundance TV's 2014 Chinese adoption miniseries One Child, starring Harry Potter's Katie Leung. Hibbert continues to be repped by the U.K.'s Independent Talent Group. Washington (AFP) - The United States killed six Al-Qaeda fighters last week in three separate air strikes in central Yemen, the military said Friday. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) "remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond," US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. "We remain committed to defeating AQAP and denying it safe haven regardless of its location." The United States, which considers AQAP the most dangerous Al-Qaeda branch, regularly conducts air strikes against the jihadist group in Yemen, mostly using drones. The first strike took place on June 8 in Al-Badya Governorate, killing two Al-Qaeda operatives and destroying their weapons-laden vehicle, CENTCOM said. A June 10 strike in Marib Governorate killed two fighters, while a June 12 strike in Shabwah Governorate killed two others. AQAP has several thousand "adherents and fighters" in Yemen, where it is "very active," CIA Director John Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. "There is an active effort underway to continue to dismantle and destroy that organization." There are also "several hundred" fighters loyal to the Islamic State group in Yemen, Brennan said. AQAP has taken advantage of the country's civil conflict between Huthi rebels and Yemeni government forces to expand its influence in the country's south and southeast. US soldiers had been deployed in Yemen until March 2015, when the last troops left the country in the face of a Huthi rebel advance. However, a "very small number" of US soldiers recently returned to the southern port of Mukalla, retaken from AQAP in April, the Pentagon confirmed last month. The US Navy launched two AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack aircraft to join Operation Inherent Resolve and the campaign against the Islamic State on Thursday, June 16. Two aircraft launched from assault ship USS Boxer in the Persian Gulf, while US Naval Forces Central Command ordered simultaneous action of combat planes from USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean. This marked the first time that the US Navy has launched strikes against the Islamic State from both the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Credit: YouTube/US Navy bikini atoll bravo marshall islands More than 60 years after the US dropped dozens of nuclear bombs on the Marshall Islands, residents of the tiny nation still may not be able to return. Radiation levels in some areas of the country are almost double what is deemed safe for human habitation, according to a new Columbia University study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Between 1946 and 1958, the US tested 67 nuclear weapons on the Marshall Islands, a chain of atolls in the Pacific Ocean with a population of just 52,000. The most famous test, the "Bravo shot," was dropped on Bikini Atoll in 1954 and was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Residents of the atoll were displaced, and today it remains uninhabited. The researchers discovered that radioactive materials on Bikini Atoll are producing 184 millirems of radiation a year almost double the safety standard of 100 set by the US and the Marshall Islands. Some parts of the region hit a whopping 639 millirems per year. Scientists had once predicted Bikini Atoll's radiation levels to be as low as 16 millirems a year, suggesting that the radiation has persisted far longer than previously imagined, according to Science News. There is a silver lining for the Marshallese: The other five islands analyzed in the study fell safely below the 100-millirems-per-year threshold. Marshall Islands The research could help clear the way for many displaced Marshallese to return home. Currently, almost half of the population lives in the main urban area of Majuro, and as rising shorelines threaten to submerge entire islands, the country is becoming increasingly overcrowded. American nuclear testing remains an unmistakable piece of the national psyche, and officials continue to fight for global nuclear disarmament. In March, the nation sued the UK, India, and Pakistan in a largely symbolic attempt to pressure them to dismantle their nuclear arsenals. Story continues Meanwhile, refugees and their descendants are finding homes in the US, particularly in the thriving Marshallese communities in Honolulu and Springdale, Arkansas. More testing needs to be done on the islands' food and water sources to determine whether they are safe for habitation, the scientists wrote. NOW WATCH: Bananas give you more radiation exposure than living next to a nuclear power plant More From Business Insider Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department has dropped plans to sue the former head of Countrywide Financial, a driver of the subprime mortgage debacle behind the 2008 financial crisis, his lawyer said Friday. Los Angeles attorney David Siegel told AFP that the Justice Department had informed him that Angelo Mozilo, who built and ran what became the country's largest mortgage issuer before the market collapsed in 2006, is no longer under investigation. "We are pleased and gratified with the news that the DOJ has closed its investigation without further litigation," Siegel said. The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue. With the Obama administration under pressure to punish bankers and mortgage companies responsible for the crisis that spurred the 2008-2009 Great Recession, two years ago the Justice Department opened a civil investigation into Mozilo's role at Countrywide. In the housing boom in the early 2000s, Countrywide issued and sold millions of mortgages to homebuyers. Many of those were low-quality loans that were fraudulently labeled good investments and packaged into securities that eventually failed, at a huge cost to investors. The 2014 Justice Department civil investigation into Mozilo's role was opened after a previous criminal probe was abandoned. Mozilo has not gon untouched by the fallout from the crisis. In 2010 he and others were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $67.5 million in fines and disgorged profits for related issues of substandard mortgages used in mortgage bonds. Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide in 2008, agreed in 2014 to pay $17 billion in fines, restitution and borrower relief over subprime mortgages issued by Countrywide and other units, and the damages homeowners suffered as a result to the market crash. Last month a US appeals court threw out a nearly $1.3 billion penalty against Bank of America, concluding the bank had not committed fraud amid the housing bust. A development partnership is planning to redevelop and preserve a prized Downtown block that holds the iconic Essen Haus restaurant, other establishments and the Hotel Ruby Marie. Robert Worm, who owns the site, is working with Kothe Real Estate Partners on preliminary plans for a project costing tens of millions of dollars that would demolish the Essen Haus and Come Back In. Those establishments with many interior fixtures preserved would continue in the new space, which also could include a new hotel, housing or commercial space and a parking structure. The concept would raze four duplexes from 110 to 118 S. Blair St. but fully preserve the Hotel Ruby Marie and Up North Bar at the corner of East Wilson and Blair streets. This is a gateway, Worm said during an interview at the Come Back In on Friday afternoon. I want this development to be meaningful to Madison. We want something that shows off Madison. Worm said hes still working out details of the partnership with Kothke Real Estate Partners of Madison. Company officials could not be reached Friday afternoon. Ald. Marsha Rummel, 6th District, who represents the area, said in an email newsletter that she is organizing a neighborhood meeting in coming weeks. She said any new development needs to respect the areas historic fabric. Its a site with a lot of development potential and it also has some hurdles because there are two historic districts involved and the national register district, she said. Worm, who turns 68 on Sunday and has owned the establishments since 1983, said he wants to have a conversation with the neighborhood as plans take shape. Weve been here 33 years, he said. Wed like to be here another 33 years. Wed like to have a new structure with the same Essen Haus character and ambiance. The proposal is the second attempt to redevelop the roughly two-acre property. In 2004, developers were seeking to buy the land from Worm and offered a 16-story mixed-use project that was withdrawn amid protests from residents and city officials. A scaled-back, eight-story redevelopment with condominiums, retail space and parking fell through in 2005. Its now time for a project that offers the best of the old and new, Worm said, noting that the existing establishments are energy inefficient, have old pipes and some electrical issues. The second floor above the Essen Haus is unusable, and five efficiency apartments above the Come Back In need renovation, he said. The four duplexes have no historic value and the 120-space surface parking lot is an inefficient land use, he said. I think we all knew that at some time there was going to be a large development on this property, he said. The historic building to be preserved, built in 1875, was renovated and reopened in September 2000 as the Hotel Ruby Marie named after Worms mother with 15 rooms and featuring the Lakeview Bakery and Deli and Germania Collectibles. The Up North Bar with its northern Wisconsin decor is also part of that structure. The current vision has the Essen Haus and Come Back In in a new building that would be three or four stories facing East Wilson Street, with the structure stepping up in height toward the center of the property. The main building could be up to 10 stories but would be roughly the height of the Cardinal Bar building to the west and MG&E building to the East, he said. The Downtown Plan allows six stories at the location, Rummels posting said. Worm said he would remove and store countless items of memorabilia including the famous hanging beer steins at the Essen Haus as well as brickwork and tin ceiling from the establishments and return many to the new facilities. The concept would allow rooftop dining with views of Lake Monona and modern touches like allowing diners to see the kitchen, he said. The developers would like a hotel with a national brand connected to the Hotel Ruby Marie, but are uncertain about the number of rooms, commercial space, or housing units to be proposed, Worm said. The parking structure could be above or below ground or some of both, he said. Jeff Vercauteren, president of Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., said its too early to predict neighborhood sentiment for the project, which partly lies in the First Settlement Historic District. Its a good opportunity to revitalize the corner, he said. If executed well, it could be a really good addition to the neighborhood. But Vercauteren noted some residents had concerns about a new six-story building at 330 E. Wilson St., also done by Kothke, and that height is likely to be an issue with the Worm-Kothke proposal. Worm is unsure when formal plans will be submitted to the city to trigger a formal review process, or when ground might be broken on the project. Orlando (AFP) - A top US lawmaker said Thursday authorities were probing the Facebook activity of the Orlando nightclub shooter, after an investigation found Omar Mateen made extremist posts during the massacre and searched for news of his attack. Ron Johnson, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg Wednesday asking the company to share specifics of five accounts apparently used by Mateen. Lawmakers are trying to determine if there are ways for intelligence and law enforcement communities to monitor social media platforms like Facebook "so that we can prevent these tragedies," Johnson told CNN on Thursday. "This is our job, to see what has happened in the past, what can we possibly do to prevent this from occurring in the future and how can we find bipartisan solutions," the Republican said. Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 in his shooting spree early Sunday at the Pulse gay nightclub in the Florida resort city of Orlando. Authorities have said he was apparently radicalized after watching jihadist propaganda online. In his letter to Zuckerberg, Johnson said Mateen apparently posted sometime during the attack that he was pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group's leader, and "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state." He also allegedly posted: "The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west" and "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa." Mateen also allegedly searched for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting," Johnson said. A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed the company has received the senator's letter, which asked Facebook to provide investigators with details of Mateen's Facebook accounts and activity. She said Facebook had not yet responded to the request but has been working with law enforcement from the outset of the investigation. Story continues Also Thursday, CNN reported that Mateen's wife suspected he was going to carry out an attack that night, even though he told her he was going out to see a friend. When the news of the shooting broke, 30-year-old Noor Mateen called him frantically, CNN said, citing unidentified sources. He didn't pick up, but texted her about 4 am asking if she had seen the news. She responded: "I love you," the report said. Authorities have refused to comment on reports that Mateen's wife would face charges over her alleged knowledge of Mateen's intentions to carry out an attack. Tokyo (AFP) - The US Navy said Friday it has loosened an alcohol ban on personnel in Japan 11 days after it was imposed following a drink-driving case on the southern island of Okinawa. The US Navy introduced the alcohol ban and restrictions on leaving base for sailors in Japan on June 6 after one was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated and injuring two people. The United States has been under intense pressure to rein in crime by its military and related personnel after a series of other incidents on Okinawa, including the suspected rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman. In a statement Friday, the navy said that all sailors in Japan -- including on Okinawa -- can now drink on base and in their off-base homes but those in Okinawa will remain under a stricter curfew, meaning they must return to base by midnight instead of 1 am for others. Sailors, however, are not permitted to drink at off-base bars or restaurants. "We are taking this latest step because our sailors have demonstrated that they understand the strategic impact of their performance on liberty," Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of the US 7th Fleet, said in the statement. On a visit to Japan last month, US President Barack Obama vowed improvements after a civilian base employee was arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder. Such incidents have long sparked protests on the strategic southern island crowded with US bases and have been an irritant in relations between Tokyo and Washington. US officials have grown increasingly concerned that the behaviour of its troops could jeopardise support among Japanese for their security relationship. Rear Admiral Matthew Carter, who commands the US Navy in Japan, stressed that out-of-control drinking threatened to harm ties. "We must all be on the lookout to step in before alcohol-related incidents jeopardise our relationship with Japan, he said. The decision to loosen the drinking regulations came a week after the navy said that sailors free to leave base, however they must submit details about their planned activities. Okinawans are planning a major rally Sunday in protest over the heavy US military presence and crimes by US personnel. The island was the site of a major World War II battle followed by a 27-year US occupation and pacifist sentiments run high. Shari Redstone had better have thick skin as she prepares for Viacoms court case to keep its board intact. Its likely to be a messy and embarrassing affair, with her cast as the villain, based on company filings today at Delawares Chancery Court. (Read them here and here.) Viacom wants to dig deeply into Sumner Redstones communications with his daughter whos President of National Amusements and Vice Chair of Viacom and CBS as well as the 93-year-olds decision-making ability, as part of its effort to go to trial within 100 days. Redstone-controlled National Amusements, which owns 80% of Viacoms voting shares, said today that it wants to replace five of Viacoms directors, including CEO Philippe Dauman. Viacom asked the court to keep the current board in place while it prepares for an expedited trial. The main argument is that the communication from Redstones lawyers on May 20 ousting Dauman and director George Abrams from two key positions in the moguls empire set in motion a chain of events that led directly to the flawed authorization by NAIs board to remove George Abrams, Philippe Dauman, Blythe McGarvie, Frederic Salerno and William Schwartz as directors on the Viacom Board. The filing adds that this was orchestrated by Redstones daughter, Shari which makes the removal effort invalid. Another Viacom court document colorfully says: Now, when Mr. Redstones physical and mental conditions have dramatically declined and he is unable to fend for himself, Shari has moved into his home, taken over his life, isolated him from contact with others, and purports to speak for him. In other words, unsatisfied with assets now worth more than $1 billion derived from gifts her father made to her over the years, Shari now seeks to become Mr. Redstones puppet master, pulling his strings behind the scenes to improperly seize control of Viacom. In doing so, Shari is attempting to use her fathers control to dismantle his own estate plan to serve her personal interests. Story continues It adds that her improper actions are creating significant uncertainty, impairing commercial and customer relationships and causing employee unrest. Among other things, she is intent on interfering with Viacoms efforts to explore a possible, very valuable transaction that could generate a minority investment in Paramount Pictures, together with commercial and strategic benefits. Lead Independent Director Frederic Salerno says that in a recent phone conversation, Shari indicated that if Mr. Salerno supported her efforts, she would not undertake to remove him. Mr. Salerno promptly informed Viacoms Governance and Nominating Committee about Sharis threat. Shari had the same conversation with and made the same proposal to another Viacom director. Related stories Redstone Team Says There's "No Justification" For Viacom To Pay Dauman's Legal And PR Bills Dauman Wants Massachusetts Judge To Hurry Decision On Redstone Case Sumner Redstone & The Battle For Viacom: What You Need To Know, Pt. 2 UPDATE, 2:28 PM: Heres Viacoms answer to those who object to its decision to pay CEO Philippe Daumans legal and PR bills in his effort to have controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone found incompetent: Blame Shari Redstone, the company Vice Chair who Dauman says is serving as a puppet master to her 93-year-old father. Dauman wants a Massachusetts court to find that she orchestrated an effort to have him and director George Abrams dumped from the family trust and the board of National Amusements, which controls Viacom. On the very day that notice went out, Viacom says, Shari and her representativesmade it obvious the issue is control of Viacom. It is certainly in the interests of all of Viacoms stockholders that the Massachusetts actions be pursued in order to preserve the independence of Viacoms board. PREVIOUS, 1:35 PM: Sumner Redstones camp is none too happy about Viacoms decision to pay the legal and PR expenses for CEO Philippe Daumans effort to remain on the controlling shareholders family trust and the board of National Amusements. Dauman and director George Abrams are diverting valuable corporate resources to a campaign to have Redstone, 93, declared incompetent, Redstone-controlled National Amusements says in a statement. There is no justification for Viacom to use company dollars for the cases. Thats especially relevant in light of Viacoms announcement that its fiscal third-quarter earnings will fall short of estimates. The need for strong, independent oversight of Viacom could not be more apparent. PREVIOUS, 4:02 AM: Viacom shareholders will pick up legal and PR expenses for CEO Philippe Dauman and director George Abramss efforts to maintain their positions on the Redstone family trust and the National Amusements board, the company disclosed this morning in an SEC filing. Story continues The company agreed on Monday to indemnify the execs for their courtroom battles in Massachusetts and California to demonstrate that controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone cannot manage his own affairs. Viacom will pay or promptly reimburse Dauman and Abrams for their costs and expenses including attorneys fees, expert witness fees and fees of public relations and other consultants, the filing says. The execs want the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court to overturn a move by Redstone or, they say, the people around him to oust them from key positions in his media empire. On May 20 they were told that he wants them off his family trust and the National Amusements board. The trust will control Redstones 80% stake in National Amusements when hes unable to do so. The theater chain owns 80% of the voting shares in Viacom and CBS. Dauman and Abrams say that the moves were invalid because Redstone is already incompetent and being manipulated by his daughter, Shari whos President of National Amusements and Vice Chair of Viacom and CBS. Redstones camp says hes still calling the shots. It asked a California Superior Court in Los Angeles to validate the Chairman Emeritus ability to dump Dauman and Abrams. Under the indemnification agreement, Dauman and Abrams will repay Viacom if a court finds that their decision to sue in Massachusetts breached their fiduciary duties or was not in the best interest of Viacom. Theyll also fork over any cash from any recoupment or other economic recovery of costs and expenses in the two cases. Related stories Redstone Judge Seeks Opinions About "Undue Influence" And Jurisdiction Dauman Wants Massachusetts Judge To Hurry Decision On Redstone Case Sumner Redstone & The Battle For Viacom: What You Need To Know, Pt. 2 By Jessica Toonkel (Reuters) - Viacom Inc disclosed on Friday it would foot the bill for embattled Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman's legal fight against controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone, even as Wall Street cheers the executive's potential departure. The disconnect demonstrates the complicated corporate governance challenge Viacom's board is facing in the battle for control of Redstone's $40 billion media empire, which includes CBS Corp and Viacom, investors and corporate governance experts said. "I don't think it's appropriate to use shareholder money for the suit," said Ben Strubel, a principal with Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based wealth manager Strubel Investment Management, which owns non-voting shares of Viacom. "I don't think it's appropriate to use shareholder money toward his compensation given the company's performance." Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount, has been struggling to turn around its ratings. Reflecting some of that weakness, the company's stock is down nearly 50 percent over the past two years. On Friday, Viacom said its third-quarter profit would fall well short of Wall Street expectations, citing a disappointing domestic box office haul from its latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and disruption stemming from all the controversy. Viacom's stock has risen about 15 percent since May 20, when Redstone removed Dauman and board member George Abrams from the seven-person trust that will ultimately control Redstone's media empire. About half of that rally came on Thursday when Redstone ousted Dauman and four others from the Viacom board. Viacom shares fell 1.4 percent to close at $44.42 on Friday. If a judge affirms the new slate of directors, they have the authority to overhaul Viacom management, which may include Dauman. If he is removed, he could potentially receive nearly $90 million in severance, according to compensation consultant Equilar. Still, Viacom's board, led by lead independent director Fred Salerno, has argued that 93-year-old Redstone, who they believe is being manipulated by his daughter Shari, is not the one making decisions in the best interest of all shareholders. Story continues On the very day that Mr. Redstones representatives acted to remove Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams, they made it clear the issue was about control of Viacom. It is clearly in the interests of all of Viacoms stockholders that the Massachusetts actions be pursued in order to preserve the independence of Viacoms board." The fight over control between Dauman and Redstone is playing out in courtrooms in Delaware, Massachusetts and California. In a May 23 lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, Dauman and Abrams are contesting their removal from Redstone's family trust and the board of National Amusements Inc, the holding company for Redstone's voting shares. The trust will control Redstone's stake after he dies or is declared mentally incompetent. National Amusements, in a statement on Friday, said there was "no justification" for Viacom's funding of the legal fight against Sumner Redstone. "The need for strong, independent oversight of Viacom could not be more apparent," the statement said. The fact that the company is funding a lawsuit from its CEO against its controlling shareholder points to the complexities of having a family run a multi-billion dollar company, said corporate governance consultant Francis Byrd. "It does appear to be unseemly but these are the sorts of complications you find with a controlled company where the family drama can easily bleed into the corporate operations," Byrd said. Naveen Sarma, a credit analyst with Standard & Poor's, said he would have preferred the board stay out of the power struggle. "We would rather they would have remained an observer but they have chosen to take sides," he said. The ratings agency last month lowered its corporate governance rating of Viacom from satisfactory to fair, due to the uncertainty engulfing the company. Standard & Poor's is watching whether the power struggle affects the company's operations, Sarma said. The company itself now acknowledges that the legal drama is hurting its bottom line. On Friday, Viacom said its third-quarter earnings will miss Wall Street estimates, marking the first time since October 2008 that it has put out such guidance. The company cited the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and a delay in completing an agreement with an unnamed streaming video provider. It also blamed the latter on "the recent and highly public governance controversy." The media company also said it expects domestic ad sales to decline about 4 percent in the third quarter ending June 30, an improvement from last quarter's decline of 5 percent. Viacom said it expects adjusted earnings of about $1.00 to $1.05 per share in the quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of $1.38 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Anna Driver in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Bernard Orr) A day after Sumner Redstone moved to fire CEO Philippe Dauman and four other directors from Viacom's board, the embattled media giant said Friday its fiscal third-quarter earnings will fall short of estimates. It was the first time since October 2008 that it has put out such guidance, Reuters said. The company also said it expects domestic sales to decline about 4 percent in the quarter, better than the last quarter's 5 percent drop. Its stock price was up nearly 1 percent late Friday morning, but later reversed and ended the session down 1.4 percent. The company issued its guidance a day after the board shakeup announcement. Dauman remains CEO for now of the $40 billion media giant and he and the four others will stay on the board until a Delaware court affirms the changes. After the board moves, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said Friday that Viacom's future looked brighter. "Coming change to Viacom's management removes a major overhang," they said in a note to clients, titled "A New Hope." RBC upgraded Viacom shares to sector perform from underperform and raised the price target on the share price to $45 from $34. "When we initiated coverage on Viacom with an Underperform rating, we felt that strategic and earnings risks existed, and embattled management was unlikely to change due to the controlling interest of National Amusements (NAI)," the analysts said, referring to Redstone's privately owned holding company. "A lot has changed on the management front, ... which we believe paves the way for his eventual removal." National Amusements owns 80 percent of Viacom shares . Questions have been raised about whether the 93-year-old Redstone is making his own decisions or whether he is sound enough to do so. Last month , a California judge dismissed a lawsuit questioning the media mogul's competency. Viacom's Class B shares have done well this year, trading nearly 8 percent higher, yet remain more than 33 percent lower over the past 12 months. Story continues VIAB 12-month chart Source: FactSet Disclosure: RBC makes a market in Viacom shares. Clarification: This story was revised to clarify that Dauman and the four other board members will remain as directors at least temporarily, pending a court decision. More From CNBC By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Video-sharing website Vimeo LLC cannot be held liable for copyright infringement for unknowingly hosting older music uploaded by its users, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday, dealing a blow to record labels seeking broader protections. In a victory for internet service providers, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York also held that the mere fact that Vimeo employees had viewed videos with copyrighted sound recordings was not enough to prove the company ignored red flags of infringement. The case, pursued by Capitol Records and Sony Corp units, was closely watched in Silicon Valley, with Vimeo's appeal drawing support from Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google, and other companies. "Today's ruling by the Second Circuit is a significant win for not just Vimeo, but all online platforms that empower creators to share content with the world," Michael Cheah, Vimeo's general counsel, said in a statement. The Recording Industry Association of America, the labels' trade group, said in a statement it was disappointed with the ruling, which it said came despite evidence showing Vimeo's company policy was to look the other way. "Now, more than ever, it is clear that Congress needs to act to fix a law enacted in the days of dial-up Internet connections," the group said. A lawyer for Capitol Records, a unit of Vivendi SA, and the Sony units declined to provide immediate comment. The case focused on the interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. The law protects internet service providers from liability when users upload copyrighted content while requiring them to remove the material if they receive notice or otherwise become aware of the infringement. The lawsuit, filed in 2009, alleged copyright infringement over music in 199 videos that Vimeo users had uploaded to the site. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in 2013 ruled Vimeo was protected under the DMCA safe harbor provisions with regard to 153 videos. But she held that the safe harbor was not applicable to recordings from before 1972, the year Congress first included them in the scope of federal copyright law. Pre-1972 recordings are protected by state law. She also said Vimeo could face trial over whether it had known of "red flags" that made infringement apparent. Thursday's ruling reversed those holdings. Writing for the three-judge panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Pierre Leval said that interpreting the act as leaving providers exposed to liability under state copyright laws would defeat Congress' intent. "Service providers would be compelled either to incur heavy costs of monitoring every posting to be sure it did not contain infringing pre-1972 recordings, or incurring potentially crushing liabilities under state copyright laws," he wrote. The case is Capitol Records LLC et al v. Vimeo LLC et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 14-1048. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Additional reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang and Peter Cooney) The European Union Competition Commission (EC) has decided to take a decision on the proposed joint venture (JV) between Vodafone Group Plc. VOD and Liberty Global Plc. LBTYA in the Netherlands on Jul 19, 2016. However, this deadline is provisional and can be extended if the regulatory authority wants to extensively investigate the potential impact of this JV on the competitiveness of the Netherlands market. In Feb 2016, British telecom giant Vodafone and Liberty Global - the largest cable MSO (multi service operator) in Europe decided to merge their Dutch operations to form a 50-50 JV. As per the agreement, Vodafone will pay 1 billion (approximately $1.12 billion) in cash to Liberty Global to bring the valuation of each of their local units on par. The two companies are expecting to achieve cost and revenue synergies of 3.5 billion (around $3.9 billion) after factoring in integration costs. The deal is expected to close by end-2016, subject to regulatory approval. Notably, last year, the two companies had been negotiating on a series of transactions including global asset swaps. However, the merger negotiations were abandoned after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on valuations. At the moment, Vodafone and Liberty Global are combining their Dutch businesses. Both the companies have declined to comment whether there is a possibility of the deal being extended to other markets in the future. Vodafone has a nationwide 4G LTE network in the Netherlands serving around 5.13 million mobile and about 73,000 fixed broadband subscribers. Meanwhile, Liberty Global, through its Ziggo subsidiary, serves approximately 4.1 million pay-TV subscribers in the country. Of the total, nearly 3.1 million customers also use Ziggos broadband service while 2.5 million customers use its voice service. It is worth mentioning here that Ziggo already has an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) agreement with Vodafone Netherlands. At present, Ziggo serves around 181,000 mobile customers in the country using Vodafones wireless network. In the event of the deal materializing, the combined Vodafone-Liberty Global entity will pose a formidable challenge to key players like Royal KPN NV and T-Mobile Netherlands of Deutsch Telekom in the country. Story continues Liberty Global is a leading cable MSO with presence in 12 European countries. Besides its triple-play (video, voice and fixed line broadband) services, the company now also offers mobile services. Apart from Ziggo in the Netherlands, Liberty Global offers wireless service in the UK post its Virgin Media acquisition. The company received the European Union regulatory nod to take over Belgian wireless operator BASE N.V. from Royal KPN N.V. Vodafone, on the other hand, is a global telecom operator offering wireless and wireline services). The company recently diversified its operations in the cable-TV space after the acquisitions of Kabel Deutschland in Germany and ONO in Spain. Therefore a combination of Vodafone and Liberty Global can offer quad-play wireless, wireline, voice and video services. Zacks Rank & Other Stocks Currently, Vodafone carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) while Liberty Global has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A couple of better-ranked stocks are NTT DoCoMo Inc. DCM and Cablevision Systems Corp. CVC, 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 CABLEVISION SYS (CVC): Free Stock Analysis Report LIBERTY GLBL-A (LBTYA): Free Stock Analysis Report NTT DOCOMO -ADR (DCM): Free Stock Analysis Report VODAFONE GP PLC (VOD): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Heres how members of Wisconsins congressional delegation voted on major issues this week. Note: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, did not vote. By custom, the speaker does not vote except in rare circumstances. HOUSE GUNS, EXPLOSIVES, TERRORIST WATCH LIST: Voting 236 for and 171 against, the House on Tuesday blocked a parliamentary tactic by Democrats designed to bring to the floor a bill (HR 1076) that would prohibit the sale of firearms or explosives to individuals on the Federal Bureau of Investigations Terrorist Watch List. The bill has been shelved in the GOP-controlled Judiciary Committee since February 2015. A yes vote opposed a procedural move by Democrats to bring gun legislation to the House floor. Voting yes: James Sensenbrenner, R-5th, Glenn Grothman, R-6th, Reid Ribble, R-8th Voting no: Mark Pocan, D-2nd, Ronald Kind, D-3rd, Gwen Moore, D-4th Not voting: Sean Duffy, R-7th IRS SCRUTINY OF POLITICAL MONEY: Voting 240 for and 182 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 5033) that would reduce Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of campaign-finance activity by nonprofit groups receiving tax-exempt status under Section 501(c) of the tax code. Opponents said it would expand the influence of anonymous funds in U.S. politics. A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it appeared likely to fail. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind $576 BILLION FOR U.S. MILITARY: Voting 282 for and 138 against, the House on Thursday passed a $575.7 billion military appropriations bill (HR 5293) for fiscal 2017 that includes $43 billion in emergency funding through April 2017 for fighting wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other combat zones. A yes vote was to send the bill (HR 5293) to conference with a similar Senate measure. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore USA PATRIOT ACT SURVEILLANCE: Voting 198 for and 222 against, the House on Thursday refused to prohibit the government from coercing companies to build security flaws into products such as cell phones that would facilitate searches by law enforcement agencies. A yes vote was to limit surveillance under the USA Patriot Act. Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy Voting no: Ribble BAN ON DREAMER ENLISTMENTS: Voting 210 for and 211 against, the House on Thursday refused to amend HR 5293 (above) to prohibit undocumented people known as dreamers from joining a Pentagon program that recruits specialists in areas such as linguistic skills. A yes vote was to bar Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals aliens from a certain Department of Defense program. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore CLIMATE CHANGE, MILITARY POLICIES: Voting 216 for and 205 against, the House on Thursday stripped HR 5293 (above) of funding to implement President Obamas January 2016 directive that the Department of Defense must identify and assess the impact of climate change on national security and build climate-related risk-management into their decisions. A yes vote was to defund the presidents climate-change directive. Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Ribble Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore SENATE $602 BILLION FOR U.S. MILITARY: The Senate on Tuesday passed, 85 for and 13 against, a $602 billion military policy bill for fiscal 2017. In part, the bill (S 2943) would authorize $59 billion in emergency spending for combat operations; $50 billion-plus for active-duty and retiree health care; $3.4 billion for Afghanistan Security Forces; $1.3 billion for efforts targeted at ISIS and $500 million in security assistance including arms for Ukraine. The bill would require women to register for the draft starting in 2018, prohibit another round of base closings and require the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison to remain open. A yes vote was to send the bill to conference with a similar House measure. Voting yes: Tammy Baldwin, D, Ron Johnson, R KEY VOTES AHEAD Next week, the House will take up the 2017 Internal Revenue Service budget, health savings accounts and a separation of powers bill, while the Senate will vote on several gun measures. Thomas Voting Reports Los Angeles (AFP) - He is the God of Gore, the Sultan of Splatter, the Emperor of Entrails -- and the brains behind some of the most iconic blood and guts set-pieces in film history. If you've seen something in a violent movie that made the blood drain from your face, there's a good chance that Oscar-winning Greg Nicotero provided the special effects. The 53-year-old and his partners have worked on more than 400 TV and film projects, from George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" in 1985 to last year's Quentin Tarantino splatter-fest "The Hateful Eight." Best known these days for his effects work and directing on AMC hit series "The Walking Dead," Nicotero's obsession with the macabre began back in 1975 with "Jaws." "I needed to know how they did it. When the movie came out I was obsessed with learning everything I could about how they built that shark," said the filmmaker, who was 12 when Steven Spielberg's tour de force hit theaters. Nicotero's effects have provided some of the iconic moments of modern cinema, from the "hobbling" scene in "Misery" (1990), when James Caan's ankles are shattered by a sledgehammer-wielding Kathy Bates, to the ear-slicing in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." "What makes that so memorable is that you don't see it on screen. The camera is on him, and then Mike Madsen goes in with the razor and then the camera pans away and Madsen enters the shot holding the ear," he says. "You don't see it, and I'll never forget Quentin telling me over and over again how many people objected to seeing it." - Barbecued sausage meat - A tour of Nicotero's workshop 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles is like dying and going to horror geek heaven. There are vampires, werewolves, giant piranhas, a huge shark suspended from the ceiling, a T-Rex head, a lifesize horse and models of aliens, monsters and ghouls of all kinds and their messed-up victims. Story continues In Nicotero's office, severed arms are propped up on a wooden cabinet while decapitated heads clutter the floor the way a stray box of paperclips or a paper coffee cup might in a normal workplace. And then there are the zombies -- dozens of them in various stages of decomposition. There are smashed heads with eaten-away faces, broken hands, cloudy eyeballs and dentures stacked neatly in drawers. The blood that pours from every gouge, slash and gunshot wound in Nicotero's universe is corn syrup and food coloring, while the human flesh is usually barbecued sausage meat. Nicotero grew up in Pittsburgh, where the legendary Romero and his special effects supremo Tom Savini were busy redefining the horror genre, having shocked the world with 1978's "Dawn of the Dead." "I grew up 30 minutes away from where they filmed 'Dawn of the Dead' and the cemetery from 'Night of the Living Dead' was 20 minutes from my house," says the father-of-two. After a chance meeting at a restaurant in Rome, Nicotero became friends with Romero and quit pre-med to manage the make-up effects department on "Day of the Dead," the third in the horror master's zombie trilogy. - Zombie boot camp - Within a year he had moved to Los Angeles where he rented a house with freelance make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Bob Kurtzman, and the three would eat pizza, drink beer and watch horror movies together. They channeled their shared interest into KNB EFX, a workshop that would grow into a 20,000 square foot base of operations northwest of LA, serving film and television productions all over the world. Nicotero won an Oscar in 2006 for his work on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and in 2010 Frank Darabont, his director on "The Green Mile," asked him to join a new TV series called "The Walking Dead." It quickly became the most-watched show in the history of cable television, and Nicotero graduated from special effects and co-executive producing to becoming its most prolific director. He has recently set his sights beyond the film and TV to theme parks, working on a walk-through "Walking Dead" attraction opening at Universal Studios on July 4. Nicotero has provided the make-up and special effects, as well as training for the attraction's 100 extras at a zombie boot camp showing them how to find "their inner walker." So having used rubber prosthetics, countless gallons of fake blood and some of the most talented artists in the business to murder, maim and maul in every way imaginable over three decades, is there anything that could possibly scare the God of Gore? "Spiders," he says instantly, without having to think about it. "But other than that, nothing." Bordeaux (AFP) - Jon Walters will miss the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2016 clash with Belgium on Saturday due to injury, manager Martin O'Neill confirmed. "Jon Walters is not going to be fit so we will have to make at least one change. We will have a look at it and decide on it tomorrow morning," said O'Neill at a press conference in Bordeaux on Friday. Stoke City forward Walters had been a serious doubt with an achilles problem that had been dogging him in the build-up to the tournament and forced him off in the second half of Monday's 1-1 draw with Sweden at the Stade de France. He did not train at the Irish squad's base in Versailles, near Paris, on Thursday. James McClean replaced Walters during the Sweden game and is a contender to start in the crucial Group E encounter with the Belgians. Ireland saw group rivals Italy clinch qualification for the last 16 by beating Sweden 1-0 in Toulouse on Friday. That result turned up the pressure ahead of the match in Bordeaux, in which O'Neill wants his side to reproduce their promising performance against Sweden. "I think from the way the team played they will draw great strength from that," he said, indicating that, Walters apart, the line-up may be unchanged at the impressive Matmut Atlantique stadium. "There have been a few days now (since the first game) and the main bulk of players who played most of that match have had time to rest up, and actually I think that game will have brought them on somewhat." Belgium have been heavily criticised for their display in losing 2-0 to the Italians in their opening match, but former Celtic manager O'Neill refused to be taken in by what he saw in Lyon from the likes of Premier League stars Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. "They are talented, very talented. They would maybe look at us and some of our players don't play at the level they play at week in and week out," he said. "Individually they are as talented as any side in the competition and if they went on to win (the tournament) it would not be a major surprise to me." To truly appreciate this amazingness, you need a little bit of set-up: Last weekend, the royals attended the Trooping the Colour parade -- where Princess Charlotte also made her first public appearance. There is video of the family, including Prince William and Queen Elizabeth in her lime green best, together on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Let's call this video "The Prequel": The Queen and the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace #TroopingtheColour #Queenat90https://t.co/vA2xcOkwWr The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 11, 2016 WATCH: Kate Middleton Looks Lovely in White Lace Dress for First Royal Ascot Appearance -- See the Pics! There are four frames, in particular, we need to discuss, clockwise from top left: BBC 1. Prince William directs his 2-year-old son, Prince George, to wave to the crowd. 2. Prince George does as told and waves to crowd at the palace. (Real cute wave.) 3. Prince William proceeds to crouch down to his son's level as he speaks with him. 4. Queen Elizabeth is like, "WTF?" Oh, wait. Here's one more frame: BBC SHE DID NOT COME TO PLAY WITH YOU. SHE CAME TO SLAY. And now, behold this GIF that keeps on giving: Come for the queen scolding William, stay for the George facepalm. pic.twitter.com/etvmofiU5m Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) June 15, 2016 Even baby Prince George was like *face palms*. WATCH: Kate Middleton Stuns in a Color-Block Dress for Queen Elizabeth's Birthday Party It's worth noting that the Duchess of Cambridge (see also: Kate Middleton) was not reprimanded when she bent down to speak with young George. Story continues Getty Images OK, Princess Charlotte, say goodbye! Getty Images Meanwhile, Prince William just made history as the first royal to land the cover of an LGBT magazine. Hear the anti-bullying message he sent to Attitude magazine in the video below. Related Articles Though vomiting, anorexia, lethargy and diarrhea may be common in newborn puppies, this Texas family may have saved their dog in the nick of time when they brought him into the hospital. Read: Family Discovers Furry Friend in Its Dishwasher: 'It Was Bizarre' When the family of four brought Thanos, a 4-month-old pit bull puppy, to the Cy-Fair Animal Hospital in Cyprus, it was clear he wasn't acting like himself. "His family adopted him not too long before that, but it was very obvious that he was a big part of the family and loved very much," said Dr. Michael Lavigne, a veterinarian in Animal Planet's The Vet Life. "It's really scary, he's like a member of our family," the father said in the clip. "We didn't know what was going to happen. The kids were worried. We're a family together." Lavigne told InsideEdition.com that he could immediately tell something was wrong: "Thanos was vomiting and not eating for several days when he was brought in on this visit. He was lethargic, and didn't want to play or do much of anything like he normally would. Even though Lavigne said these signs are not uncommon among puppies, the symptoms could point to many different problems. To stay on the safe side, Lavigne could then be seen in the Animal Planet clip taking Thanos for an x-ray, after the dog's young owners gave him a kiss goodbye. Though Lavigne wasn't able to distinguish what was stuck in his stomach, he was worried about an obstruction in the canine's intestine, and suspected it had already done some damage to Thanos' body. "Prior to surgery, it was still unclear how serious his case would actually turn out to be," he told InsideEdition.com. "Because of how long he had gone without eating, it was definitely time to go in surgically to explore. Waiting too long to go to surgery can sometimes be detrimental." Story continues They brought the pit bull puppy into surgery, where Lavigne can be heard in the clip discovering what was causing the puppy discomfort: "It looks like... is that a sock?" The toe was chewed out, and the sock already caused inflammation and bruising to Thanos' intestinal tract. But, Lavigne had good news the sock passed through his intestines, making it relatively straightforward to pull the sock out of colon. "Because I didn't end up having to open the intestines or stomach, the surgery was not as invasive or complicated, which resulted in a much quicker time for Thanos," Lavigne told InsideEdition.com. Read: Like Father Like Dog? Men Pose With Their Dogs In A Unique Father's Day Photoshoot Three months after the surgery, Lavigne was happy to report that the baby pit bull's prognosis was excellent: "Thanos is doing great now! He's growing a lot, and back to being a normal, playful puppy." He can be seen in the clip from The Vet Life back to his energetic old self, rolling around and playing with the rest of the family. For more stories like this, be sure to catch The Vet Life, premiering Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on Animal Planet. Watch: Meet the Warthog Piglet and Rottweiler Puppy That Became Best Friends After Being Rescued Related Articles: By Madeline Kennedy (Reuters Health) - Aerobic exercise four hours after a memorization task, but not exercise right afterwards, was linked to improved recall in a series of Dutch experiments. Newly-learned information turns into long-term knowledge through a process of stabilization and integration of memories, the study team writes in Current Biology. This requires certain brain chemicals that are also released during physical exercise, including dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and a growth factor called BDNF, they explain. The brain processes new memories for a while after learning. Physical exercise is able to improve these post-learning processes, senior author Guillen Fernandez, director of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, told Reuters Health by email. To explore when exercise would most improve learning, researchers recruited 72 participants and tasked them with learning to match a series of 90 locations with pictures over a 40-minute period. The participants were split into three groups: one group exercised immediately after learning, one group exercised four hours later and one group did not exercise at all. The exercise groups did interval training for 35 minutes on a stationary bike, including spurts at maximum intensity. Two days later, the participants returned to the lab to test how much of what theyd memorized they could recall. During the recall test, the each subject was in a MRI scanner so researchers could monitor activity in different areas of the brain. The group that had exercised four hours after learning remembered significantly more information on the follow-up test, while the immediate-exercise group did no better than the group that did not exercise. Activity in the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with forming memories, was very similar among people in the delayed-exercise group during the recall task, but less consistent in the other participants, the researchers note. They speculate that the consistency of activation in the hippocampus in the delayed-exercise group could indicate greater efficiency or coherence in the way the brain pulls up the memory and might relate to differences in memory strength. While strong memories will be remembered no matter what, Fernandez said, weaker memories that would normally be forgotten within a day may last longer if the brain releases more dopamine and norepinephrine. People looking to improve their learning should perform fairly intense exercise to make sure that enough of the critical brain chemicals are released, he said, but cautioned against taking this too far. Very intensive exercise might also have negative effects. The authors note that more research is needed to determine if exercise will help memories last beyond the two-day period they studied. They add that the type of memory may be important, and that procedural or body memory of activities like tying a shoe may be better helped by immediate exercise than other kinds of memories. Having a regular exercise routine may be helpful as well said Marc Roig, an assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal who studies the effect of cardiovascular exercise on memory. Several weeks of cardio exercise, such as jogging, can make the hippocampus larger and improve peoples memory, he told Reuters Health. The type of exercise may not be important, though, added Roig, who was not involved in the new study. Most studies have looked into aerobic exercise but recent data shows that resistance training and high intensity interval training may also be beneficial. When thinking about how to maximize your training regimen to improve/maintain memory do not ask yourself only what type of exercise, intensity or frequency is the best. Ask yourself when to train to achieve the best results, Roig said. SOURCE: bit.ly/1OsVDu4 Current Biology, June 16, 2016. cowboy boots america republican A handful of major US companies have reportedly suggested that they will not sponsor next month's Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Those corporations which include Wells Fargo, UPS, Ford, Motorola, JPMorgan Chase, and Walgreens have not explicitly said that the expected nomination of Donald Trump was a factor in their decisions, but each had been a sponsor for the 2012 convention in Tampa, Florida. The Bloomberg report notes that many of the companies say that they won't back the Democratic convention either. Large companies typically sponsor the conventions to help pump up their brands, even if they remain politically nonpartisan. The corporations are joining a growing list of prominent Republican politicians and donors that have declared they'll sit out of the convention, including former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and the Koch brothers, billionaire donors known for supporting conservative causes. RNC national committeeman James Dicke told Bloomberg that he's not worried: "Fundraising has slowed down, but we will get there and, so far, we've raised considerably more money than any other convention has ever raised." NOW WATCH: TRUMP SPOKESPERSON: Why the Republican party has 'miserably failed' More From Business Insider The Awaaz Foundation, in 2007, had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting that the measures taken by authorities on curbing noise pollution from sources such as traffic and construction, has been inadequate so far. The PIL will be coming up for hearing on Friday, June 17. While the Maharashtra state had commission noise barriers and demarcated silence zones, nothing much else has been done to curb the menace of noise pollution. With this years festivities yet to start, citizens and anti-noise crusaders are hoping that the state, and the rest of the country, will finally take some stringent measures to curb noise pollution. Indias noisiest cities: A real time continuous noise monitoring study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), earlier this year, has given Mumbai the dubious distinction of being the noisiest city in India. The metro is already listed as the third noisiest in the world. According to the report, the most number of safe noise level violations between the years 2011-14, were in Mumbai. While the noisiest spot in Mumbai was the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) headquarters at Sion Circle, monitoring stations installed at Vashi Hospital and Bandra also showed noise levels exceeding the prescribed limits by 100 per cent. Festivals, firecrackers, traffic, construction activities, loudspeakers, all add on to the din. While noise levels beyond 80 decibels is hazardous, areas in Mumbai such as Sion and Chembur recorded levels beyond 85 decibels. Lucknow came second, with Hazratganj, a major shopping centre situated in the heart of the city, the noisiest. Hyderabad came third, with the two commercial zones, of Abids and Punjagutta recording the highest noise levels. Delhi came fourth, with ITO recording the maximum noise level violations, while Chennai stood fifth, with Guindy recording the maximum violation. The cities of Bengaluru and Kolkata had the least number of violations. How noise pollution harms: Noise is measured in decibels. While we aree surrounded by different kinds of noises every day, it becomes undesirable when it crosses a certain level, and interferes with our sleep, conversation, ability to think clearly, and other daily activities. This is termed as noise pollution. While a normal conversation, or background music, is around 60 decibels, household appliances such as air conditioners and air coolers are around 60-68 decibels, a vacuum cleaner is 75 decibels, heavy traffic sounds are around 80-89 decibels and fire crackers and fire arms are around 150 decibels. Exposure to noise levels beyond 140 will cause ear pain and damage, however, any sounds above 85 decibels, in general, are harmful. Prolonged exposure to high decibel noises may lead to the following problems: Hearing impairment: Our ears are able to take certain levels of noise without getting damaged, but constant exposure to loud noises, or even a brief exposure to a very loud noise (120 decibels and above) can damage our ear drums and the highly sensitive hair cells that are located in the cochlea, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Cardiovascular problems: A study conducted by the School of Public Health at Imperial College London found that exposure to high decibel levels, such as aircraft noise, raises the risk of heart diseases by 20 per cent. Sleep related disorders: Constant exposure to loud noise can hamper our sleeping pattern, which then may lead to irritability, stress and other health issues associated with lack of sleep. Increased waist size: Researchers from the Karolinska University in Sweden conducted a four year study which found that the more people were exposed to loud traffic noise, the more their waist size increased. The study found that there was nearly a centimetre increase for every ten-decibel rise in the noise levels. After tracking 5,000 people exposed to plane noise for ten years, they found that the waistlines of people who were most exposed to aircraft noise, increased by 6 cms. Birth defects: Noise pollution also has a deadly effect on babies in the womb. Research has found that that for every six-decibel increase in traffic noise, there was a drop of 15g to 23g in birth weight. A Chinese study had found that exposure to high noise levels in the first trimester of pregnancy led to a greater risk of congenital anomalies. Stress: While low and soothing music helps reduce the stress levels, exposure to high levels of noise can lead to stress and anxiety, which may lead to hypertension, and increase the chance of heart attacks and strokes. Inability to work or think coherently: A study conducted by the Cornell University in New York, found that workers who were constantly exposed to office din from machinery, telephones and office chatter had higher levels of adrenaline in their urine than those who worked in quiet environments. Those working in an open environment were also less effective at puzzle solving, while those in the quiet group slept better and were less irritable. If you only read one thing: Just say the words. Bernie Sanders delivered his long-overdue concession speech late Thursday but couldnt bring himself to acknowledge hed been defeated by Hillary Clinton. Sanders said hed work with her to try to defeat Trump, but didnt officially declare the end of his campaign. But the delay wont matter muchhes already lost much of his influence at the Democratic convention, following Clintons strong finish in the primaries and the defection of some of his top supporters to the presumptive Democratic nominee. John McCain proclaimed Thursday that President Obama was directly responsible for the Orlando attack because of the failure to anticipate the rise of ISIS in Iraq. The stunning statement comes days after Trump seemed to insinuate the same about Obama, and reflects a coarsening of the nations political discourse in this campaign season. McCain, a noted defense hawk, is facing the toughest re-election fight of his careerand his 2010 fight had already shifted him rhetorically rightward. Notably, McCain was given an award for civility in public life just last week. The GOP struggle over how to deal with Donald Trump as their standard bearer is nowhere near resolved, with more lawmakers saying they wont or cant back himand some rescinding prior endorsements. There is almost nothing they can do to block Trump at this point, but as the party begins to contemplate its post-Trump future at the GOP convention, the notion that the establishment abandoned the nominee who won a plurality of the primary vote may only exacerbate the underlying roots of Trumps rise. The Trump supporter in Hillary Clintons hometown. George W. Bush stumps for Republicans down-ballot. And foreign policy experts reject Trumps conspiracy theory. Here are your must-reads: Must Reads Bernie Sanders Does Not Concede Democratic Nomination to Hillary Clinton TIMEs Sam Frizell on the end Story continues President Obama: Orlando Families Grief Is Beyond Description Renews gun control call after meeting with victims and first responders [TIME] Foreign Policy Experts Condemn Donald Trumps Remarks on ISIS Support Trump claim derided as conspiracy theory by experts, TIMEs Haley Sweetland Edwards reports 51 U.S. Diplomats Urge Strikes Against Assad in Syria Internal State Department memo calls for shift in U.S. policy [New York Times] Despite Trumps Calls for Action, Senate Gun Debate Headed Down Familiar Path Partisan bickering, followed by inaction [Washington Post] Trump, Clinton Money Awash in Conflicts of Interest U.S. ethics laws werent written to account for a commander in chief with such far-reaching interests. [Politico] Sound Off Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. Sen. John McCain to reporters on the Orlando attack You cant make this up sometimes. Speaker Paul Ryan responding to Donald Trumps call for top GOP leaders to be quiet Bits and Bites Eighth Grader Impersonates Presidential Candidates at Graduation [TIME] John McCain: President Obama Directly Responsible for Orlando Shooting [Associated Press] Paul Ryan on Donald Trump: You Cant Make This Up Sometimes [TIME] An Unlikely Savior Emerges to Help Endangered Republicans: George W. Bush [New York Times] Armitage to back Clinton over Trump [Politico] Shunned, Stared at, Still for Trump: The Holdout in Hillary Clintons Town [New York Times] WASHINGTON When in his 1964 GOP acceptance speech Barry Goldwater declared that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, a reporter sitting near journalist/historian Theodore White famously exclaimed: My God, hes going to run as Barry Goldwater! Six weeks into Donald Trumps general election campaign, Republicans are discovering that he indeed intends to run as Donald Trump. He has boasted he could turn presidential respectful, respectable, reticent, reserved bordering on boring at will. Apparently, he cant. GOP leaders who fell in line behind Trump after he clinched the nomination expected, or at least hoped, he would prove malleable, willing to adjust his more extreme positions and tactics to suit a broader electorate. Two problems. First, impulse control: Trump says what he actually feels, whatever comes into his head at any moment. Second, a certain logic: Trump won the primaries Sinatra-style, his way against the odds, the experts and the conventional rules. So why change now? You win the pennant, Trump explained, and now youre in the World Series you gonna change? Hence his response to the Orlando terror attack. Events such as these generally benefit the challenger politically because any misfortune that befalls the nation gets attributed, fairly or not, directly or indirectly, to the incumbent party (e.g., the 2008 financial collapse). And Hillary Clinton is running as the quasi-incumbent. The textbook response for the challenger, therefore, is to offer sympathy, give a general statement or two about the failure of the incumbents national security policy, then step back to let the resulting national fear and loathing, amplified by the media, take effect. Instead, Trump made himself the (political) story. First, he offered himself unseemly congratulations for his prescience about terrorism. (Hed predicted more would be coming. What a visionary.) Then he went beyond blaming the president for lack of will or wisdom in fighting terrorism, and darkly implied presidential sympathy for the enemy. Theres something going on, he charged. He then reiterated his ban on Muslim immigration. Why? Because thats what Trump does. And because it worked before. It was after last Decembers San Bernardino massacre that Trump first called for a Muslim ban. It earned him lots of opprobrium from GOP leaders and lots of support from GOP voters. He shot up in the polls, never to descend until he clinched. So why not do it again? Because the general election is a different game. Trump assumes the GOP electorate is representative of the national electorate. Its not. Take the Muslim ban. Sixty-eight percent of GOP voters support it. Only 38 percent of Democrats do. And there are about 7 million more Democrats in the country. (Independents are split 51-40 in favor.) The other major example of doing whats always worked is the ad hominem attack on big-dog opponents. It worked in the primaries. Trump went after one leading challenger after another, knocking them out sequentially. Hillary Clinton is a lousy campaigner but her machine is infinitely larger and more skilled than any of Trumps 16 GOP competitors. More riskily, Trump is now going toe-to-toe with a sitting president. Barack Obama is no Jeb Bush. Hes not low energy. Hes a skilled campaigner who clearly despises Trump and relishes the fight. And he carries the inestimable advantage of the gravitas automatically conferred by seven and a half years of incumbency. Moreover, he now enjoys an unusually high approval rating of around 53 percent. Trumps latest favorability is 29 percent (Washington Post-ABC News). Its no accident Trumps poll numbers are sliding. A month ago, when crowned as presumptive nominee, he jumped into a virtual tie with Clinton. The polls now have him losing by an average of six points, with some showing a nine- and 12-point deficit (Reuters/Ipsos and Bloomberg). This may turn out to be temporary, but it is a clear reflection of Trumps disastrous general election kickoff. His two-week expedition into racism in attacking the Indiana-born Mexican judge. His dabbling in conspiracy, from Ted Cruzs fathers supposed involvement in the Kennedy assassination to Vince Fosters (very fishy) suicide. All of which suggests, and cements, the image of a man who shoots from the hip and is prone to both wild theories and extreme policies. Reagan biographer Lou Cannon thinks the Goldwater anecdote is apocryphal. How could anyone (even a journalist) have thought Goldwater, who later admitted he always knew he would lose, was going to run as anything but his vintage, hard-core self? Same for Trump. Give him points for authenticity. Take away for electability. New Belgium Brewing Company employees 2013 Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Co. is one of the largest craft breweries in the country. Last year, it produced 914,063 barrels and brought in $225 million in annual revenue. If you ask Kim Jordan, the company's cofounder, former CEO, and current executive chair of the board, a key component to New Belgium's success has been the talented employees it's been able to attract and retain which is part of the reason why workers now own the entire company and workplace anniversaries are celebrated lavishly. Jordan No. 13 on the BI 100: The Creators began formally awarding stock to employees in 1995 after reading "The Great Game of Business," a book by management expert Jack Stack. She was inspired by Stack's urge to apply open-book management, the practice of full financial and business transparency within the company. "The inclination to have as flat a hierarchy as we could manage and a really trusting, transparent, engaged group of coworkers was really important to me," Jordan told Business Insider in a recent interview. By 2000, New Belgium officially transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a type of retirement plan that awards employees stock in the company to be distributed upon their exit. In January 2013, Jordan announced to more than 450 thrilled employees at the company's biannual retreat that she sold her remaining 59% stake to the ESOP. New employees are now awarded stock upon their one-year anniversary at New Belgium. Kim Jordan New Belgium Brewing Company The sale codified Jordan's commitment to the well-being of her employees. Unlike other iconic craft breweries like Dogfish Head and Lagunitas, which have sold stakes to outside investors, Jordan's sale to the ESOP represents a conscious effort to fight the wealth gap, avoid cuts and layoffs a buyer might have demanded, and keep her employees involved in the future of the company. Story continues Jordan called the practice of broadly shared equity "a form of honoring human capital and its contribution to a vibrant business milieu." Another way New Belgium honors human capital is through generous benefits. The company has a 93% retention rate and cheerily celebrates coworkers' anniversaries at the company. For instance, employees receive a branded fat-tire cruiser bike a tradition started in 1999 as a nod to the brewery's flagship beer at year one, a one-week trip to Belgium at year five, a $1,000 travel voucher at year 15, and a four-week paid sabbatical at years 10, 20, and 30. "Our purpose, the thing that guides us over the longest term, that we never really fully achieve, is to make our love and talent manifest," Jordan said. "It's not just about making sure people get lots of perks, it's about building a community." NOW WATCH: At Sam Adams, its OK to tell your boss f--- you More From Business Insider A cyber security firm hired by the Democratic National Committee announced on Monday that two groups affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for infiltrating the Democrats network and stealing a ream of confidential election-related information. Two days later, a hacker claiming to be acting as a lone wolf, who said he was unaffiliated with the Russians and called himself Guccifer 2.0, leaked what appeared to be a 200-page document consisting of largely unsurprising opposition research on Donald Trump. The leak called into question who, exactly, had been responsible for the hack on the Democratic headquarters. If it was really the Russians, as the DNCs cyber security firm, CrowdStrike, claimed, who was this Guccifer 2.0 figure? (The name harkens back to an actual Romanian lone wolf who hacked the Bush family, among others, and is now in a jail in Virginia.) Had the DNCs cyber team misattributed the breach to the wrong group? Had it failed to detect a different breach that had successfully stolen more confidential information? Then, on Thursday, a flurry of articles in the tech media threw a curve ball: Several cyber security experts suggested that perhaps Guccifer 2.0 was only claiming to be acting independently, in an elaborate effort to cast doubt on CrowdStrikes assertion that the Russians had been behind the breach. Meanwhile, to add further to the fog of cyberwarfare, Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump raised the possibility on Wednesday that the Democrats had pretended to hack their own network in an effort to leak negative stories on Trump to the press. Maybe they werent hacked; maybe they just want to get it out there, Trump mused in an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News. (That seems unlikely as the alleged oppo research on Trump released so far was mostly based on previously published articles voters could already find themselves on Google. The document featured chapters like Trump has no core and Trump is a liar.) Story continues In the shrill and contorted media environment of an election year, unraveling this tangle of finger-pointing could have serious political implications. If the hackers do indeed turn out to be Russian, its confirmation that a powerful foreign state is seeking to influence, or at least spy on, domestic U.S. politics. If the hackers turned out to be politically-motivated domestic actors, American votersnot to mention the Clinton and Trump campaignscould expect more potentially unsavory documents to surface before Election Day. For example, in addition to claiming responsibility for the DNC hack, the Guccifer 2.0 hacker also bragged about having access to documents from presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons State Department computer and to Democratic donors financial information. If those claims are trueand huge emphasis on that ifit could be a game-changer in an already-historical strange election year. Alternatively, if the hackers turn out to be random neerdowells out for a thrill, the immediately implications on U.S. electoral politics might be more limited, but raise disturbing questions about the security of all political communications. As of now, the question of who, exactly, is behind the DNC hack, as well as possibly related hacks on Republican political groups, and both Hillary Clinton and Trumps networks, remains a question mark. What top U.S. technologists know for sure is that at least two groups of hackers were willing to take a major riskand make a substantial investmentto access the DNCs network. Who is behind the attacks remains unclearand, unfortunately, a satisfying answer isnt likely to come any time soon. Attribution is incredibly difficultI wouldnt say impossible, but its very difficult, Nathaniel Gleicher, the head of cybersecurity strategy at Illumio, told TIME. Investigations like this do not wrap up quickly and often do not wrap up at all because its very hard to tell where they came from. Amit Yoran, the president of the cybersecurity firm RSA was also noncommittal on whether thered ever be a smoking gun. I think attribution is one of those topics that people like to rush to because it makes for sexier reportingyou want to make a meaningful story for non-technologists, he told TIME. Saying you know who was responsible makes for a very compelling story. But its also very hard to do well in the cyber domain, especially over a short period of time with a sophisticated actor. Gleicher, who served as director for cybersecurity policy on the National Security Council at the White House, added that this particular case might be especially tricky since the perpetrators were apparently hiding in the DNCs system for a long time. CrowdStrike, the cyber security firm hired by the DNC, reported that at least one of two groups of hackers that breached the DNCs network had been in the system since last summer. Because they were in there so long, its going to be very hard to unwind everything, to track back to reality, Gleicher said. Reg Harnish, the CEO of GreyCastle Security, a New York-based cybersecurity company, says hes doubtful that Crowdstrikes investigationand its determination that the Russians are to blameis the end of the story. Ive been personally involved in hundreds of these investigations, and you just dont end up in the same place where you began, he told TIME. This particular case, he said, is complicated by all the politicking going on. You have people being politically correct or outright lying, Harnish added. I think theres a lot of misinformation out there right now. Scott Borg, the head of the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, echoed the skepticism. Our best guess is that the second (and apparently less skillful) of the two intruders was not Russian intelligence, he told Politico on Thursday. We are also uncertain about the first group, he added. CrowdStrike said in a blog post Monday that there were two distinct breaches of the DNCs network. One group of hackers, which CrowdStrike called Cozy Bear, was in the network since summer 2015, and largely monitoring the DNCs email and chat communications. The other, which the firm named Fancy Bear, triggered alarm bells when it broke into the network in late April, targeting opposition research files on Trump, CrowdStrike said. In a statement sent to TIME, CrowdStrike defended its assessment that the DNC had been breached by hackers affiliated with the Russian intelligence community. CrowdStrike stands fully by its analysis and findings identifying two separate Russian intelligence-affiliated adversaries present in the DNC network in May 2016, the statement said. It then acknowledged Guccifer 2.0s claims to have accessed the DNCs network and said it was exploring the documents authenticity and origin. Regardless, these claims do nothing to lessen our findings relating to the Russian governments involvement, the CrowdStrike statement said. The DNC would not reply to several emails and voicemails from TIME asking whether the organization had notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation or another federal law enforcement agency. The FBI would neither confirm or deny that it was investigating the breach. A spokeswoman at CrowdStrike said she had not heard of the firm collaborating with any federal investigation. It would surprise me if they did not get international law enforcement or the intelligence community involved with this case, Yoran said. Its dealing with potentially extremely sensitive information that would have a great impact on U.S. policy. Stephen Elop Over the years, there's been a lot of anxiety over whether or not Microsoft should sell off business units like Xbox and Bing, seen as secondary to the tech titan's profitable Windows and Office businesses. And despite the Xbox's high level of brand recognition and popularity, Microsoft executives themselves haven't always stood up for the gaming business. If former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop had gotten the Microsoft CEO job, he reportedly would have sold off Xbox, and Bing search, too. Worse, in 2014, Bill Gates said that he would "absolutely" support then-new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella if he chose to sell off Xbox. Two months later, Nadella himself said that the Xbox was "non-core" to Microsoft's business. It's a good thing that Microsoft didn't go through with it, at any point. Because while it's definitely been a tumultous few years, the Xbox business is finally poised to help feed back into Microsoft's core business after all, even as the console converges with Windows 10. It won't be easy, but the payoffs include a big boost to Microsoft's efforts to get Windows 10 everywhere and bolster its own app store. Play Anywhere At this week's E3 gaming mega-event, Microsoft announced the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative. A whole slew of high-profile games, notably the highly-anticipated shooter "Gears of War 4," will be available on both Windows 10 and Xbox One. Buy a copy for one, get it free on the other, with synced-up save games. It's a good thing for consumers. There are only 20 million Xbox One consoles in the world, by analyst estimates, but there are 300 million-plus Windows 10 devices out there and counting. So if you have both, you get some extra flexibility. Even if all you have is the PC, though, then boom, there are a lot more great games coming. gears of war 4 xbox one Having more games on the Windows Store in Windows 10 is also a good thing for Microsoft, as it looks to beef up its its lagging app selection compared to the Apple App Store and Google Play Market. Story continues Games, needless to say, are popular on every platform at the time of writing, four of the top five highest-grossing games on the iPhone App Store are games (the fifth is Spotify, holding the #1 spot). Race to zero Games make app store operators a lot of money: Apple, Microsoft, and Google all take a 30% cut of app purchase prices and in-app purchases. But according to Statista, the average price of an app circa January 2016 is just $1.16, with the average price of a game a measly$0.57. But, and this is important, the MSRP on a new Xbox game on release day is $59.99, both in retail stores and digitally. Now, with more Xbox games slated to hit the Windows Store on Windows 10...well, 30% of $59.99 is just shy of $18. Furthermore, even big-budget, $59.99-at-launch games like "Rise of the Tomb Raider" are offering in-app purchases, of which Microsoft can take a cut. bill gates xbox Better yet for Microsoft, it publishes top game franchises like Halo, Forza Motorsport, and Gears of War, all of which are coming to Windows 10 in one form or another. That means they won't be showing up on competing PC platforms like the Mac, or rival consoles like the Sony PlayStation 4. It's an advantage that's hard to match, and it can bring gamers to Windows 10 while also monetizing them. Finally, Microsoft also offers Xbox Live Gold, a $59.99/year premium gaming service that enables online multiplayer gaming on the Xbox consoles, alongside other benefits. It slots right in to Microsoft's broader ambition to sell more subscriptions, notably seen in its success selling the Microsoft Office 365 productivity service. Selling the Xbox Live service to Windows 10 users will be tough, but not impossible the subscription also includes access to "free" games every month on the Xbox, and it's not hard to see how that could be expanded to PC owners. This isn't necessarily good news for everyone: Apple's App Store has seen some backlash over what Spotify calls the "Apple Tax," as developers resent the notion of giving App Store owners any portion of their hard-earned revenue. And it remains to be seen if gamers will embrace this blending of the Xbox and Windows 10 ecosystems. So it's a big, ambitious, risky bet. But the potential payoffs are huge, as Xbox games could both drive people towards Windows 10 and help Microsoft capitalize fully on the Windows Store. If Microsoft had sold Xbox off, it's a bet that wouldn't have even been possible. Oh, and about Bing: That worked out okay, too. Thanks in large part to Windows 10 and the Cortana digital assistant, Bing has finally become a profitable business. NOW WATCH: 5 hidden features to get the most out of your Xbox One More From Business Insider Amid lighthearted chatter about Cheetos-flavored popcorn and cinema seats that blast water in moviegoers' faces, a somewhat darker buzzword - OK, two buzzwords - circulated through Las Vegas during CinemaCon in April. Sean Parker's Screening Room concept overshadowed much of the conversation on the trade-show floor, and not in a good way: The plan to offer new releases to at-home viewers for $50 a go was received as one might expect from an industry already under fire from emerging technologies. Two months on, the chatter now moves across the Atlantic. Disney, Paramount, Universal, StudioCanal, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks Animation are set to show off upcoming wares later this month in Barcelona at CineEurope, the official convention of the International Union of Cinemas trade body, but the talk among European exhibitors likely will center on this new threat to their precarious traditional business model. While much of the vocal opposition to Screening Room's disregard for the theatrical window has been confined to Hollywood circles, European cinema owners could feel the punch harder, according to several executives. "In the U.S. there are vast parts of the country not heavily screened, where it might take one or two hours to get to the next theater, so it might have an advantage," says Martin Moszkowicz, head of TV and film at Constantin, Germany's largest movie producer and distributor, which also owns several multiplexes. "But in Germany this doesn't exist; there are screens everywhere, so it would be more damaging." Read More: Relativity Chief Dana Brunetti: Sean Parker's The Screening Room Doesn't Go Far Enough Jan Runge, CEO of the Brussels-based IUC, says the cinema landscape is far less consolidated throughout Europe, with a bigger tier of medium-sized companies and far more local theaters. "Day-and-date releases of films would hurt many of these smaller operators," he says. Story continues The frequency of cinemagoing also varies wildly. Whereas in the U.S. it is considered part of the weekly routine, Europeans are a decidedly more fickle bunch. "Here it's more eventized," says Moszkowicz, who cites a landscape of "incredible" free TV already pumping quality content into homes. "People go to movies less frequently, especially in Germany, and if they go it has to be something special." With considerably steeper ticket prices (the U.K. average is nearly $3 higher than the U.S. average, and in parts of Scandinavia tickets can top $15), any additional incentive for uncommitted cinemagoers to stay home could pummel the industry further. But naturally, not everyone is concerned. Curzon, one of the U.K.'s smaller cinema chains with 11 operated sites, launched its own VOD service in 2010 and has been at the vanguard of day-and-date releasing since, thanks to its own distribution arm. In April, it revealed plans for a curated SVOD platform with 100 to 200 titles - even as it continues to roll out physical theaters. Read More: MPAA Chief Agrees to Meet With Screening Room Execs Over $50 Home Movie Service "I wouldn't be spending millions of pounds on new cinemas if I thought it was cannibalizing our business," says Curzon Home Cinema director Philip Mordecai, who asserts Screening Room is "fantastic" and "well overdue." Mordecai, who is surprised others have not followed Curzon's digital model, says the chain plans to push its physical presence to 20 to 25 sites and about 70 screens. He believes a less-is-more approach to bricks-and-mortar theaters is key to his company's survival during a post-Screening Room era. "If you're Odeon or Vue or Cineworld in the U.K. and you've got thousands of screens each, and if more and more films go to being available day-and-date, then a large proportion of people who currently go to the cinema to see these new films won't have to and won't go," says Mordecai. "But I'm not trying to build 1,000 screens in the U.K." *** 3 Barcelona Bars Not to Miss Very much a nocturnal animal, Spain's most cosmopolitan city doesn't take kindly to those planning an early night. Once CineEurope's free bar dries up, sample the offerings at three of the city's finer cocktail establishments. Dry Martini 162-166 Aribau With world-class mixologists trained at a nearby cocktail "academy," this cozy, dark, wood-clad and exceedingly classy shrine to late-night drink is the famed flagship establishment of Javier de las Muelas, aka the High Priest of the Martini. Be sure not to miss the masterful concoction that gave the place its name. Solange 143 Aribau Formerly named Harry's Bar in honor of the Parisian legend, this slick golden-tinged lounge was taken over by noted mixologist family the Pernias in 2014 and renamed after Daniel Craig's first Bond girl in 2006's Casino Royale. Try the El Senorito, a Spanish take on 007's drink of choice that includes a dash of chocolate mole bitters. Bloody Mary 3 Ferrer de Blanes Lounge on a sofa and celebrate all things tomato juice, vodka and Worcestershire sauce in one of Barca's newer, hipper establishments. While the classic remains just that, take a chance and sample the clam juice-spiked Bloody Caesar, the Orient Express' sake-and-wasabi twist or the bourbon-soaked Bloody Kentucky. This story first appeared in the June 24 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Gliding through the sun-lit Greenhouse at Platform in Culver City, Tamara Mellon, co-founder of Jimmy Choo and founder of her namesake luxury label that filed for bankruptcy in December, almost blends in. Recently relocated to L.A., the 48-year-old is clad in a black dress she "just found at a vintage store," chatting with the crowd before a panel discussion with Katherine Power, co-author of "The Career Code" and CEO of Clique Media Group. Before the event, Mellon chatted with Pret-a-Reporter about her new start in L.A., the planned September re-launch of her Tamara Mellon brand (price points will be lower than before, but designs will still be sexy, strong and confident, and the business model will be direct-to-consumer), and advice she has for young women. Pret-a-Reporter: Is it scary to be starting over? Tamara Mellon: It's actually really exciting. This is the first time that I feel like I'm really going to be authentically me, and I have an amazing team now to help me execute it so, no it isn't scary, actually I'm more excited. Where did that decision come from to move to LA? I feel that there's a migration west. I feel like LA is at a tipping point right now, and it's having this real renaissance moment. The music world has transitioned west. The art world is exploding. Technology is exploding here. There are more startups than ever before, and I want to be on the tipping point of that. I want to be ahead of the curve of that. And so for creativity, for art, for fashion, for music, I want to be in that moment, which I think is really exciting in LA. How does LA style differ from New York style? Well, obviously LA has its own look, which is more casual. But, I think it's developing a look which is becoming global, and everyone is now looking at LA for their style inspiration, and that never used to be the case. It used to be New York, London, Paris, Milan, and LA now is really rising. Story continues Something that you've been talking about is that you're not going to adhere to "the fashion calendar." How does not adhering to the calendar benefit your business model, and do you think that viewpoint is catching on throughout the fashion industry? I think it's catching on. There's a huge conversation about 'buy now, wear now,' which is what I tried to do three years ago [with my fashion line]. And what that means is shortening the gap between showing the product and when the customer can buy it. So, we're going to be doing monthly fashion drops, so the customer can come to our website and she has something new and exciting to see every month. But at the same time, we're going to be selling timeless classics, which never go out of fashion. So, we all have things in our closet that we repeat-buy all the time, and we're going to have those available to her. Katherine Power is going to be joining you today. She was a pioneer in bringing a print-magazine feel to online, how can you relate to her in trying to be a pioneer in the luxury shoe industry, as she was a pioneer in her own sense? Well, we're pioneering, really, the next generation of luxury, and that's how I feel I kind of connect with her on that. Because we're also building this in a very different way, a lot of traditional fashion positions no longer exist in this business. We're looking for people to run an ecommerce site, data analysis, engineers. Whereas a traditional fashion business, you'd have people who did wholesale, and sales, so we're thinking about building the next generation of luxury and what that looks like. Can you give me a sense of your vision for the re-launch? You know, I think all women love shoes. I always say there are no demographics with us. So, it's really all women love shoes and that's what we want to be about, we want to be able to service women with this brand. It doesn't matter how old you are, what your income is, what you do, we want all women to come on board with this. Do you have any advice for women who want to start a career in the fashion industry? I would probably say, you know what I did, start at the bottom. I think it's really important to understand a business from the ground up, even though we're in a massive transitional phase of the industry, and the fashion industry will never operate again like it has done for the last 50 years. But I would say, no job is too small, learn from the ground up, and believe in what you're doing. Or be with a company that you really believe in. A recent investigative report by Dan ODonnell on WISN-AM (1130) shared a troubling scenario. Wisconsin teachers in some school districts are regularly being verbally and physically assaulted by students, and administrators are not confronting the growing problem. According to the report, teachers fear for their students and their own safety, and risk losing their jobs when they take a stand. Satisfying a social justice agenda has become more important than appropriate discipline in our schools. As a result, the education of all our students is diminished, and teachers have become pawns in a political game. Much study has been done on the subject of bullying in our schools and the toxic stress this places on students ability to learn. Lost in this important topic has been the growing problem of violence and threats against teachers. Our teachers are spending an increasing amount of their instructional time focusing on students who are disruptive in the classroom to the detriment of those who truly would like to learn. Just as it is unacceptable for a student to feel unsafe at school, it is equally unacceptable for a teacher to feel the same. Evidence in ODonnells report is serious and must be confronted. Appropriate staff training in early intervention, crisis management and application of discipline must be a component of addressing this growing problem. I agree with many experts who blame the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In a January 2014 letter, this agency encouraged schools to reexamine student disciplinary policies for racial or ethnic disparities. If circumstantial evidence supports that a school has suspended, expelled or applied basic discipline of students disproportionately on one racial or ethnic group over another, it could trigger a federal investigation, something no district wishes to endure. Except in the most extreme cases, schools have responded by reducing or eliminating suspensions and expulsions, rather than facing federal inquiries. Students know the rules arent being enforced, and they know school administrators are loathe to mete out appropriate punishment when federal dollars are at stake. The consequence is chaos in the classrooms. The pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice has empowered troubled students to be even more disruptive. It has traumatized teachers who are discouraged from taking strong action. It has diminished learning in the wider student body. The Legislature must act in the best interest of our teachers who want to teach, and students who want to learn. I will work with my legislative colleagues and education professionals to support our classroom teachers and encourage school administrators to deal with school violence directed at schools. It is unacceptable for any school district to turn its back on the safety of teachers and students. School safety is in the best interests of students, teachers and society. This discussion must transcend politics. Our children and teachers are too important to set this issue aside. From Cosmopolitan New details about Brock Turner's life pre-Stanford - and pre-sexual assault - have emerged, and it seems friends who knew him aren't incredibly surprised to find out about his crimes. According to an exclusive investigation by In Touch, featuring in this week's issue, the women's swim team at Stanford were wary of Turner (a member of the college's men's swim team) long before he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster last January. "Brock's arrest wasn't surprising to anyone on the team," an anonymous swim team insider told In Touch. "From the beginning, the women swimmers had found him very, very odd. Brock would make comments to the women such as 'I can see your t---s in that swimsuit." In an even more disturbing detail, In Touch's source says the women from the swim team tried to come forward during Turner's trial and tell the judge about some of the negative experiences they'd had with him. But those discussions and the possibility of sending letters to the judge were apparently halted. "There were rumblings that the women were pressured by Stanford officials not to do it since they hadn't witnessed any crime that Brock had committed," the source said. As uncovered by newly released court transcripts, Judge Aaron Persky's decision to issue a light sentence was based heavily on a series of positive character reference letters people wrote on Turner's behalf. At Stanford's graduation ceremony, held Sunday morning, students carried protest signs that read things like, "Stanford protects rapists," and "125 years of rape culture" (this year was Stanford's 125th anniversary as an institution). Jonathan Fiske, a graduating student who helped organize the graduation protest, told the Washington Post that he, and many other students, believe part of the reason Turner's sentence was so light is because Stanford didn't want a "big PR issue." "We're using momentum from this case to bring light to broader issues," Fiske told the Post. "It's a big PR issue. Stanford likes to keep this pristine image and sweep things under the rug." Story continues Several of the character reference letters written for Turner argue that he wasn't the sort of guy you would expect to drink heavily to the point of making bad decisions, like choosing to rape an unconscious woman in a secluded area outside of a party. One of those letters came from Turner's childhood friend, Leslie Rasmussen (who's since apologized for her letter, because in it, she blamed the victim and not Turner for his crime). In Rasmussen's letter, which we now know Persky based much of his judgment on, she writes that she couldn't have imagined Turner committing a crime like the one he was unanimously convicted of. "If I had to choose one kid I graduated with to be in the position Brock is, it would have never been him," she wrote. "Brock is not a monster." But according to details that emerged during the In Touch investigation, high school friends of Turner's aren't so surprised to find him in the position he's currently in (that of a convicted rapist). Mark Otto, who told In Touch he went to high school with Turner at Oakwood High School in Ohio, said the environment they grew up in is conducive to the sort of ignorance that might lead to the sort of behavior exhibited by Turner. "The thing about Oakwood, Ohio is that people live in a very sheltered bubble," Otto said. "There's a lot of ignorance, and no willingness to change or learn." Otto added that people in their hometown are more upset that Turner's swimming career is over than that he sexually assaulted a woman who couldn't consent to anything he was doing that night last January. "I think his white male privilege is giving him this lenient sentence, the whole situation is just surreal," one former classmate, who asked to remain anonymous, told In Touch. Several sources also told In Touch that the claims he made to his probation officer about not having a history of party going or drinking were lies. "In high school, Brock hung out with tons of kids who drank excessively," one former high school classmate told In Touch. "College was definitely not his first time experimenting with drugs or alcohol." The full In Touch investigation into Brock Turner's past is available now on newsstands, if you're interested in hearing what people who knew him in previous years have to say. But what matters most now is that Brock Turner is a convicted rapist and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life for his crimes. Follow Hannah on Twitter. Cook Out shake A Cook Out worker was fired after an interaction with Donald Trump supporters that had Trump fans calling for a boycott of the legendary fast-food chain. Last week, Shannon Riggs and her cousins were turned away from a Cook Out in Colonial Heights, Virginia, when they showed up in Donald Trump shirts and hats. According to WTVR, an employee yelled, "Hell no! I'm not serving them" after spotting the family in their Trump apparel. The group placed their order but didn't receive their food, so they eventually canceled their order and had their money refunded. "Once you witness [discrimination] firsthand, it's a totally different experience," Lauren Wolfrey, one family member, told WTVR. "I was in a state of shock." The incident prompted outrage on social media, with people calling for a boycott of the fast-food chain. Cook Out, Inc, huh? They won't be in business long expressing hatred for Trump backers. We're MOST of the country. https://t.co/poB3GRthA5 Smiley 4 America (@SCrankenhoofIII) June 14, 2016 Back of The Bus Policy: Cook Out Restaurant Employees Refuse to Serve Trump Supporters https://t.co/QeW0zrcmPr The bigoted Left#CNN GOP Michael (@Canine_Rights) June 14, 2016 RETWEET THIS: Never eat at @CookOut_ again. They refuse to serve Trump supporters: https://t.co/yEWtAUtL0Y The Kincannon Show (@kincannon_show) June 14, 2016 On the other hand, it also inspired some degree of amusement and support from people who agreed with the anti-Trump employee. Story continues Why I love Cook Out! People threaten a boycott after Cook Out rejected Trump supporters https://t.co/jkAfU0peBR via @BI_RetailNews Christine Kim (@chrisinkyung) June 17, 2016 In Virgina, Cook Out workers denied service to Trump paraphernalia-wearing customers, meaning you have another reason to get a milkshake now Chloe Zacher (@its_chlochlo) June 17, 2016 On Thursday, Cook Out released a statement saying that the employee who did not want to serve the Trump supporters was fired for rudeness. Here's the fast-food chain's full statement: In response to an incident that occurred June 10th at our Colonial Heights, VA location a customer was not denied service. However, a Cook Out employee did violate our policy on rudeness when taking a customer's order. The manager on duty immediately had someone else take the customer's order. After placing her order, we understand that the customer remained dissatisfied with her experience. The manager on duty apologized and granted the customer a refund when requested. The employee that was rude was immediately terminated per policy. This was an isolated action of a single person and does not represent the principles on which Cook Out operates. To deny anyone from eating at one of our restaurants would never cross our mind and of course, would be totally ludicrous. NOW WATCH: We tried Shake Shack's new Bacon CheddarShack burger here's the verdict More From Business Insider OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Parliament on Friday adopted a law allowing medically-assisted death for the terminally ill, brushing aside critics who wanted the legislation to cover people with degenerative diseases. After weeks of political wrangling, the upper Senate chamber voted in favor of a law which makes Canada one of the few nations where doctors can legally help sick people die. Some Senators complained the scope of the law - initially passed by the House of Commons elected chamber - was too narrow and should not be restricted to those facing imminent death. The law, drafted after Canada's Supreme Court last year overturned a ban on physician-assisted suicide, must receive formal approval from Governor General David Johnston, the acting head of state. That process is a formality. The Supreme Court ruling covered willing adults facing intolerable physical or psychological suffering from a severe and incurable medical condition. The Liberal government, though, narrowed the scope of the legislation to cover only those people whose death was reasonably foreseeable. Critics said this would condemn people with degenerative conditions like multiple sclerosis to unbearable suffering. Government officials say the new law is a first attempt to address a highly sensitive and controversial topic and could be broadened in years to come. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Jerry Lawler, known to WWE fans as The King, was arrested in Tennessee on Friday following an incident with his girlfriend, TheWrap has learned. Lawler and his girlriend, Lauryn McBride, were both taken into custody on charges of domestic assault a misdemeanor with each claiming the other had assaulted them. WWE came down swiftly on Lawler and suspended him indefinitely while an investigation is underway, according to their official website. Also Read: WWE Star Adam Rose Domestic Violence Case Dropped WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, and per our policy, Jerry Lawler has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest, the company said in a statement. Lawler has been with WWE since 1992, both as a color commentator and occasional wrestler. Prior to that, he established himself as a major draw in Memphis, where he was dubbed The King of Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. While Lawler is known to abstain from drinking and drugs, unlike many other wrestlers of his era, he has had run ins with the law in the past. In 1993, Lawler was arrested for statutory rape, but the charges were later dropped. He also allegedly tore up a ticket given to him by a Tennessee police officer and threw it back in the officers face in 1999. Related stories from TheWrap: WWE Signs Distribution Deal With China's PPTV WWE Star Luke Harper Cast in Horror Movie 'Mohawk' WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar Reveals His UFC 200 Opponent (Video) WWE wrestling legend Jerry The King Lawler and his girlfriend, Lauryn McBride, were both arrested in the early hours of Friday, June 17, after an argument turned violent. The pair are both facing domestic assault charges. PHOTOS: Stars at Court According to The Associated Press, 66-year-old Lawler and 27-year-old McBride were both booked into the Shelby County Jail around 1 a.m. Friday after police were called to Lawlers home in East Memphis, Tennessee. Lawler told police that McBride was intoxicated and had scratched him in the face, threw a candle at him and kicked him in the groin throughout the course of their argument. PHOTOS: Celebrity Mugshots McBride, on the other hand, alleged that Lawler had struck her in the head and pushed her against a stove, even pulling out an unloaded pistol at one point and telling her to kill herself with it, according to local site WREG Memphis. The wrestler claims that McBride was the one who brought the weapon out. The AP reports that police arrested both parties since they were unsure which of the two was the primary aggressor. Both have court appearances set for Monday. PHOTOS: Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2015 The WWE released a statement via Twitter on Friday, June 17, noting that #JerryLawler has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest. Lawler joined WWE in 1992 and has previously run for mayor of Memphis several times. Four or five days rest? Statistically it seems to be the difference between success and struggles for Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka will take the mound on five days rest Friday night when the New York Yankees continue their four-game series with the Minnesota Twins. Tanaka will be pitching on more than four days rest for the eighth time this season and the numbers show he performs better with the slightly more rest. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA when getting more than four days' rest. With four days in between starts, he is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA in six starts. Tanaka has made his last two starts on four days rest but an off-day Monday gave him the extra day. He allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels on June 6 but Saturday against Detroit, Tanaka allowed five runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Tanaka has attempted to downplay the rest issue by saying, "No, not necessarily" when asked about his comfort level with five days vs. four days in between starts. And manager Joe Girardi is tired of answering those questions. "I mean I'm sure there's something to it, but as a manager, when you're playing 40 out of 41 days, you can't have a six-man rotation, you just can't do it. Your roster would be all screwed up." There was little that went wrong for the Yankees in Thursday's series opening 4-1 victory that stopped a four-game losing streak. CC Sabathia pitched six gritty innings and Didi Gregorius hit a tiebreaking three-run home run off Fernando Abad in the seventh. The Twins lost 10 of their last 17 games since sweeping Seattle from May 27-29 and Thursday's loss was highlighted by failures to produce clutch hits. Minnesota stranded 10, went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position as its lone run came via an Eduardo Nunez single. And to demonstrate how poorly things have gone for the American League's worst team, Abad had not allowed a home run until Thursday and is one of the Twins performing well with a 1.16 ERA. Story continues "We just wanted to give him a chance to come in and face that part of the lineup," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "You're hoping for a strikeout but even a walk wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He tried to get ahead and (Gregorius) was ready." The Twins will hope left-hander Pat Dean will be ready to give the Yankees fits. New York has faced a left-handed starting pitcher 22 times and lost 14 of those games. Dean will be making his sixth start and the Twins hope it goes as well as Sunday when he allowed one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox. Minnesota won Dean's last start on a 10th-inning home run by Max Kepler and the one run was a career-low and the 6 1/3 innings was the second-longest start for the 27-year-old. Joe Mauer will likely be back in the lineup Friday for Minnesota after sitting out Thursday. Mauer has reached safely in 27 straight and if he reaches he will join Lenny Green (1961) and Hall of Famer Rod Carew (1977) as the only Twins to have two streaks of reaching safely in at least 28 games during a single season. yung-lean-factory Image via Yung Lean The fascinating life of Yung Lean continues to reveal itself through a series of new interviews. A week after telling stories of taking acid in Canada, the normally reserved Swedish rapper opened up about mental health, drug addiction, and family in an in-depth interview published with FADER today. He revealed that addictions to lean, Xanax, cocaine, and marijuana brought him to a very dark place that involved carrying a knife around and writing a book about nightmares of people turning into rats. This led to him checking into a mental hospital and eventually returning to his parents home in Sweden. While Yung Lean recovered and put the final touches on his latest album Warlord with producer Yung Gud, he decided to accept a job at a shampoo factory. Wed just stand there pressing buttons, he says of his time working on the assembly line. Wed put music in the speakers, dance around the factory. It was very nice. Its like Lou Reed. After he did some tours, he went home and worked in his dads factory. You cant always be on the top, you know? This humility falls in line with the relatively soft-spoken character weve come to expect from the 19-year-old rapper who told us in April, I dont wanna be a star. Related: Yung Lean: Digital Cover Story More from Pigeons & Planes For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 17, 2016 - Stocks in this weeks article include: B&G Foods Inc. (BGS), J. M. Smucker Company (SJM), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY), Pretium Resources Inc. (PVG) and FTI Consulting Inc. ( FCN). Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research: Combat Volatility with These 5 Low Beta Stocks For investors looking to cut their portfolio risk, low beat stocks are great. A lower level of market exposure means that losses will be minimized in case of a downturn. This is why an investor with a long-term horizon prefers to invest in stocks carrying lower risks. One of the most popular metrics used to measure such risk is beta. Understanding Beta Beta indicates the volatility of a particular stock with respect to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of stock price movement relative to the market (we are considering S&P 500 here). If a company has a beta of 1, it means that the volatility of the stock is the same as that of the S&P 500. In the same way, if the stocks beta is greater than 1 then it is more volatile compared to the market. Conversely, a beta below 1 signifies less volatility. Now, if a portfolios beta is 3, it is three times more volatile than the market. Hence, if the market is projected to give 20% return, the portfolio will then definitely contribute 60% return which is amazing. However, the opposite case also holds true. If the market slips 20% then the portfolio return plummets 60% which is surely a matter of concern. The Winning Strategy In our screening criteria we included beta in the range of 0 to 0.6 for short listing low risk stocks. But this cant be the only criterion for betting on stocks. The other parameters that need to be added to create a winning portfolio are: Percentage Change in Price in the Last 4 Weeks greater than zero: This ensures that the stocks saw positive price movement over the last one month. Average 20 Day Volume greater than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stocks are easily tradable. Price greater than or equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher. Zacks Rank equal to 1: Whether good market conditions or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of success. Here are five of the 11 stocks that qualified the screening: B&G Foods Inc. (BGS) is involved in manufacturing and distributing frozen and shelf-stable foods along with household products across U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with a positive average surprise of 5.67%. For 2016, B&G Foods earnings are projected to improve 38.8% year over year. The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America. J. M. Smucker has surpassed Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters with an average earnings beat of 19.93%. For the coming quarter, the companys earnings are expected to grow 29% over the prior-year quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company with focus on discovering, developing and delivering innovative treatments for serious diseases. It is to be noted that the company surpassed expectations in each the last four quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 27.67%. Bristol-Myers projected earnings growth for this year is impressive at 29.5% year over year. Pretium Resources Inc. (PVG) is involved in the exploitation and development of precious metal resources that include gold, silver, and copper deposits in the U.S. The company posted a positive average earnings surprise of 35.42% for the last four quarters. FTI Consulting Inc. (FCN) provides specialized consulting services across 26 foreign countries with a total headcount of more than 4,200 employees. In three of the last four quarters, the company posted positive earnings surprises with an average beat of 30.96%. Moreover, the companys year-over-year projected earnings growth rate for 2016 is 27.7%. You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge. The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out. Story continues Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today .. Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance . Zacks Restaurant Recommendations: In addition to dining at these special places, you can feast on their stock shares. A Zacks Special Report spotlights 5 recent IPOs to watch plus 2 stocks that offer immediate promise in a booming sector. Download it free Sign up now for your free trial today and start picking better stocks immediately. And with the backtesting feature, you can test your ideas to see how you can improve your trading in both up markets and down markets. Dont wait for the market to get better before you decide to do better. Start learning how to be a better trader today: https://at.zacks.com/?id=111 Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. About Screen of the Week Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112 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! Click here 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/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Contact: Jim Giaquinto Company: Zacks.com Phone: 312-265-9268 Email: pr@zacks.com Visit: www.Zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer . Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report B&G FOODS CL-A (BGS): Free Stock Analysis Report SMUCKER JM (SJM): Free Stock Analysis Report BRISTOL-MYERS (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report PRETIUM RES INC (PVG): Free Stock Analysis Report FTI CONSULTING (FCN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. While Donald Trump continues to bad-mouth trade deals and all things Mexican (or perceived to be), Gov. Scott Walker is shaking hands in Mexico City, Xochimilco and Guadalajara this week. Thats the difference between campaigning and governing. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has been playing off the fears of many Americans who worry an unpredictable and competitive global economy could undercut their employers and cost them their jobs. Walker, no longer a candidate for president, has returned to running state government full time. His duties this week include a trade mission to Mexico, where hes pursuing an important and much more realistic goal than Trumps talk of building a nearly 2,000-mile wall between the United States and Mexico. Walker hopes to help Wisconsin farmers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs sell more products to our longtime trading partners south of the border. More Wisconsin exports will mean more jobs here. And more commerce in both directions, while challenging for some industries, will improve the overall economies and standards of living in both countries. Free trade encourages higher productivity, which is key to raising Wisconsin incomes. Both nations get to sell more of the products and services theyre best at producing and providing. The GOP governor this week also touted Wisconsin as a great place for Mexican investment, which could help businesses expand. Trump, in sharp contrast, has treated Mexico as a problem, rather than an opportunity. Trump has claimed he can make Mexico pay for his fanciful wall. Good luck with that. Parts of the border are vast deserts. Trump also has insulted Mexican immigrants as rapists who bring drugs and crime here, and Trump recently claimed an Indiana-born judge was a Mexican and therefore biased against him in a court case. Walker didnt concentrate enough on expanding trade during his first term, so its good to see him pushing for greater exports now. Trump and Bernie Sanders, another populist running for president, though as a Democrat, have railed against trade deals. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has snubbed President Barack Obama, too, on his agreements with a dozen Pacific Rim nations and Europe. But Wisconsin has gained far more from trade deals than it has lost. Rather than killing jobs, trade has led to substantial growth in employment, output and incomes in Wisconsin, UW-Madison economics professor Noah Williams wrote this spring in Forbes magazine. Wisconsin has enjoyed tremendous growth in trade, Williams noted, particularly in higher-wage industries such as engine building. At the same time, consumers have saved money on lower-cost imports, such as sweaters. Wisconsin has a trade deficit in merchandise, the professor acknowledged. But our state has done very well at selling services abroad. More than one in five Wisconsin jobs are tied to trade. Mexico is Americas economic ally. Trumps wall, no matter how tall he imagines it would be, cant stop globalization in the digital age, which is lifting millions of people out of poverty. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL- March 23, 2015 Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV-Free Report), iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM-Free Report) and PowerShares DWA Momentum Portfolio (PDP-Free Report). Beat the Market with Momentum ETFs Everyone loves a winner and that applies to stocks as well. While the popular finance theory Random walk states that the past movement of the price of a stock cannot be used to predict its future movement, history shows that recent past performance can be a pretty good predictor of short-term future performance. (Read: 3 Biotech ETFs Crushing the Market in 2015) Momentum Effect Documented in Academic Studies It has been more than two decades since the academic discovery of "momentum effect" in stocks; Jegadeesh and Titman documented in 1993 that strategies which buy stocks that have performed well in the past and sell stocks that have performed poorly in the past generate significant positive returns over 3- to 12-month holding periods. The study further found that the profitability of these strategies is not due to their systematic risk or to delayed stock price reactions to common factors. The momentum effect was seen in almost all the markets studied and in time periods going back to more than 200 years. A study by AQR Capital Management, found that best momentum US stocks outperformed worst momentum ones by more than 10% a year between 1927 and 2010. Reasons for this outperformance are not difficult to understand. Enthusiastic investors love pouring money into high fliers, even ignoring fundamentals at times. (Read: 3 ETFs Surging at the Start of 2015) Price Momentum Driven by Earnings Momentum? Although momentum investing involves price action as the determinant of momentum, stock prices are mostly driven by earnings growthactual as well as expected. At Zacks, we strongly believe that earnings momentum drives stock prices. So, momentum stocks are usually stocks of companies that have been doing the right things and showing strong growth potential. Momentum as a Complement to Value On the face of it, value investing strategy looks virtually opposite of momentum since it involves purchase of healthy companies with solid fundamentals that have been ignored by investors. In fact, value and momentum strategies exhibit negative correlation and while momentum strategies work in shorter time periods, value strategies deliver returns over longer term. (Read: Bet on These Top Ranked Tech ETFs for Outperformance) A simple combination of these two strategies can be very effective in boosting portfolio returns while hedging risk (learn more about this strategy in my forthcoming article on the topic). ETF Options Available to Investors Momentum investing strategies have grown in popularity and there are a number of ETF choices available that provide a diversified, low-risk way to profit from these strategies. Below, we have discussed 3 popular choices in this space. First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (FV-Free Report) The investment approach of this ETF is primarily based on technical analysis, with a focus on relative strength. Relative Strength, in simple words, is used to measure a securitys price momentum relative to its peers. The relative strength analysis is conducted on a weekly basis and the index is accordingly rebalanced. FV is actually a fund of funds that consists of the top five ranked First Trust sector and industry ETFs as identified by their relative strength rankings. So instead of focusing on individual stocks, this ETF focuses on sectors whose price action is superior to others in the universe. Currently the fund has highest exposure to ETF following Biotech, Healthcare and Internet industries. The product is one of the most successful launches in 2014. It made its debut in March last year and has already managed to attract more than $2.5 billion in assets. It is slightly pricey due to its enhanced indexing approach, with an expense ratio of 95 basis points. So far it has more than justified its higher fee with a market crushing return of 25.9% over the past one year. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM-Free Report) This ETF seeks to track the performance of large- and mid-cap US stocks exhibiting relatively higher momentum characteristics. It was launched in 2013 and has managed to attract more than $600 million is assets so far. With an expense ratio of just 15 basis points, this is the cheapest option in the space. In terms of sector exposure, the ETF is tilted towards Healthcare sector (32% of the asset base), followed by IT (23%) and Consumer Discretionary (12%). Apple is currently the top holding of the fund, with Microsoft, Gilead Sciences, J&J and Amgen rounding out the top five. MTUM has returned 17.5% over the past 12 months compared to 15.5% return by the broader market SPY. PowerShares DWA Momentum Portfolio (PDP-Free Report) PDP is based on Dorsey Wright Technical Leaders index which selects 100 large- and mid-cap US stocks based on, among other factors, their performance relative to other stocks in the universe as also the relative performance of industry sectors and sub-sectors. The ETF is rebalanced quarterly. The ETF made its debut in 2007 and is now one of the most popular options in the space with $1.9 billion in AUM. It is however pricier compared with MTUM, with an expense ratio of 65 basis points. The product is heavily exposed to the Consumer Discretionary sector (28% of the asset base) followed by Healthcare (21%) and Industrials (17%). Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Apple and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals are the top three holdings currently. PDP has returned 17.6% over the past 12 months compared to 15.5% return by the broader market SPY during the same time frame. The Bottom Line These ETFs offer a great way to profit from the momentum strategy, which is based on the fact that winners over the past few months tend to continue to outperform in the short-run. Investors however need to remember that these strategies will tend to underperform during market corrections. At the same time, with a growing US economy and still accommodative monetary policy, I do not expect a severe correction in the stock market anytime soon. 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! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Get the full Report on FV FREE Get the full Report on MTUM FREE Get the full Report on PDP FREE Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZacksResearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. 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 FT-DORSEY WFFF (FV): ETF Research Reports ISHRS-MSCI US M (MTUM): ETF Research Reports PWRSH-DWA MO PO (PDP): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Washington (AFP) - The number of Zika infections appears to be increasing quickly in Puerto Rico, US health officials said Friday, sparking fears that thousands of pregnant women -- and their unborn children -- could be at risk. So far in the United States, Puerto Rico -- a US commonwealth in the Caribbean -- is the hardest-hit area, with nearly 1,400 cases reported. In the continental US, a total of 756 cases have been reported. Among pregnant women, 234 women in the continental US have shown lab evidence of Zika infection, with or without symptoms, and 189 others have been counted in the US territories including Puerto Rico. Tom Frieden, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the rise in infections in Puerto Rico could mean "in the coming months, it is possible that thousands of pregnant women" could be infected. "This could lead to dozens or hundreds of infants being born with microcephaly in the coming year," he told a teleconference with reporters. More than 60 countries and territories have been affected by the ongoing outbreak. Most of them are in Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The mosquito-borne Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly, leading babies to be born with unusually small heads and deformed brains. Frieden's projections were based on blood screenings done at donation centers in Puerto Rico. Of the 12,777 tests done from April 3 to June 11, 68 came back positive, or 0.5 percent. But for the week ending June 11, 1.1 percent of the samples tested positive for the virus. "Although the blood donors do not represent the general population, the increasing prevalence of blood donations that test positive for the virus likely reflects an overall increase in infection in the population at large," Frieden said. "If you look at the graph, you can see a steady line upward with the infection rate," he said. The blood test used in the United States to detect the virus was developed by Swiss drug giant Roche, and got Food and Drug Administration approval in late March. Story continues Frieden said it can only detect the virus if it is currently present in the blood, and cannot show past infections. On Thursday, US health officials said Zika has been linked to birth defects in the fetuses and babies of six women in the United States who were infected. Three of the women gave birth. The CDC plans to issue weekly updates on pregnancy outcomes for women infected with Zika. Experts warn that the continental United States will likely see an increase in cases as summer begins in the northern hemisphere. The virus, which usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms, can also trigger adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago: 1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey 1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest 1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania 1954: Virus found in Nigeria 1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa 196983: Zika found in equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan 2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia, first large outbreak on Pacific island of Yap 2012: Researchers identify two distinct lineages of the virus, African and Asian 201314: Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. Retrospective analysis shows possible link to birth defects and severe neurological complications in babies in French Polynesia March 2, 2015: Brazil reports illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states July 17: Brazil reports detection of neurological disorders in newborns associated with history of infection Oct. 5: Cape Verde has cases of illness with skin rash Oct. 22: Colombia confirms cases of Zika Oct. 30: Brazil reports increase in microcephaly, abnormally small heads, among newborns Nov. 11: Brazil declares public health emergency November 2015-January 2016: Cases reported in Suriname, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, French Guiana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Ecuador, Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Curacao, Jamaica Feb. 1: World Health Organization (WHO) declares public health emergency of international concern Feb. 2: First case of Zika transmission in United States; local health officials say likely contracted through sex, not mosquito bite Feb. 5: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says virus being actively transmitted in 30 countries, mostly in the Americas Feb. 8: U.S. President Barack Obama requests $1.8 billion to fight Zika Feb. 12: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika infections and 4,314 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 462 confirmed as microcephaly and 41 determined to be linked to virus Feb. 17: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika and 4,443 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 508 confirmed as microcephaly and most of those cases are linked to the virus. WHO seeks $56 million to fight Zika. Feb. 18: CDC adds Aruba and Bonaire to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 32. Feb. 23: CDC investigating 14 cases of possible sexual transmission of Zika. CDC also adds Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 34. Feb. 25: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases number more than 580 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly. Feb. 27: France detects first sexually transmitted case of Zika. Feb. 29: CDC adds St. Maarten, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 36. March 1: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 641 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,222 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 8: WHO advises pregnant women to avoid areas with Zika outbreak and said sexual transmission of the virus is "relatively common." March 9: CDC adds New Caledonia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 37. March 15: Cuba reports first case of Zika contracted in the country. March 16: Cape Verde identifies first case of microcephaly. March 18: CDC says during Jan. 1, 2015 to Feb. 26, 2016, 116 residents of the United States had evidence of recent Zika virus infection based on laboratory testing. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 863 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,268 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 19: CDC adds Cuba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 38. March 21: South Korea confirms first case of Zika. March 22: CDC adds Dominica to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 39. Bangladesh confirms first case of Zika virus. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 907 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,293 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 29: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 944 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil said the number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped slightly to 4,291. March 31: According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years. April 1: CDC adds Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 40. April 4: CDC adds Fiji to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 41. April 5: Vietnam reports first Zika infections. April 6: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,046 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 4,046. April 7: St. Lucia confirms first two cases of Zika, contracted locally. April 12: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,113 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 3,836. It was the second week in a row that the overall total figure fell. April 13: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. CDC adds St. Lucia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 42. April 14: Colombia confirms two microcephaly cases linked to Zinka. April 18: Peru reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. CDC adds Belize to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 43. April 19: Chilean authorities find Zika mosquito for first time in decades. April 25: Canada confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case. April 26: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly climbed to 1,198 from 1,168 in the week through April 23, but suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,710 from 3,741 a week ago. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2, the health ministry said, in its first national report on the epidemic. April 29: Puerto Rico reports first death related to Zika, according to the CDC. The country also confirmed 683 Zika cases, including 65 pregnant women, and five suspected cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome from Zika, the CDC reported. May 4: Panama confirms four microcephaly cases tied to Zika. May 6: Spain gets first case of Zika-related brain defect in a fetus. May 9: CDC adds Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthelemy and Peru to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 46. Honduras suspects first case of microcephaly in Zika patient. May 11: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly dropped to 1,326 in the week through May 7 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,433. May 12: CDC adds Grenada to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 47. May 13: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly. May 20: WHO says an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil. May 24: Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at 1,434 for the latest week to May 21. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257. May 26: CDC adds Argentina to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 48. June 9: WHO issues updated guidelines on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, including advising women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. June 14: El Salvador confirms first case of microcephaly linked to Zika. SOURCES: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by the Americas Desk) Washington (AFP) - Apple said Friday it continues to sell its iPhones in China pending an appeal of a ruling which said the smartphones violated a patent of a Chinese manufacturer. An Apple spokesman said in a statement to AFP that "iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China." "We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court," the statement said. A May 19 ruling said Apple violated design patents of Chinese maker Shenzhen Baili for its iPhone6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and would be barred from selling those models. The news comes with China an increasingly important market for Apple as it deals with a slowdown in global smartphone sales. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus infringe on a design patent, say regulators in China Regulators in China are ordering to stop selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones in Beijing due to a patent infringement, according to reports. The two phone models are said to infringe on an exterior design patent held by Chinese firm Shenzhen Baili for a smartphone called the 100C, The Wall Street Journal reports. Apple is filing an administrative litigation to reverse the ban, Engadget reports. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The order comes after Chinese regulators shut down Apples iBooks Store and iTunes Movie services in China, the companys second biggest market worldwide. In its earnings report from April, Apple also revealed that its revenue in China fell by 26%, worrying some investors. Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook said when speaking to CNBCs Jim Cramer that he could not be more optimistic about China. Google is facing accusations that it stole the technology behind one of its most intriguing moonshots, Project Loon. The project involves beaming internet down to remote areas from unmanned balloons circling the skies. A company called Space Data, which is also using balloons for the same purpose, filed a lawsuit against Google parent Alphabet, which alleges that Google execs violated a non-disclosure agreement and infringed two patents. DONT MISS: Foxconn employee says iPhone 7's most anticipated new feature was canceled Space Data was founded in 1997, the suit reveals, and in 2004 it started its balloon-based commercial internet project. Space Data has a license from the FCC that lets it provide narrowband personal communications services nationwide, and broadband spectrum licenses in remote and rural areas, ZDNet reports. The company serves Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Armed Services deployed on four continents. How does Google come into play? It turns out that in February 2008, a dozen Google execs including Larry Page and Sergey Brin visited Space Datas facilities in Arizona. There, the Google execs were given access to Space Datas sensitive information, which the company alleges Google used to power its own Project Loon project. "Space Data and Google engaged in extensive discussions about Space Data's business, including its technology, and its financial model, and Google was also given access to Space Data's balloon production line and network operation center where they saw a map of balloons in the sky and the wireless communications coverage Space Data was providing across 1/3 of the United States," the suit says. Space Data says that subsequent Google interviews with the press suggest that Google swiped Space Datas work. Google started its Project Loon operation in 2013, with internet balloons currently deployed in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The two parties inked a mutual confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement in 2007, before Googles visit. Story continues Related stories Android apps are officially available on Chrome OS New free tool lets you send Gmail attachments that self-destruct Android N is 'Namey McNameface' in latest Android N preview release More from BGR: How excited would you be if your iPhone looked like this? This article was originally published on BGR.com U.S. Health-Care Law Just Got Even More Confusing: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online today at Bloomberg View. Did politics figure in Gov. Wolfs pick for high court? Chris Brennan of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report. In Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet, Moral Vision and a True Believers Zeal. In todays edition of The New York Times, Adam Cohen has this review of Jeffrey Rosens new book, Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet. Judge tosses Dave Agemas suit after self-professed ex-Muslim terrorists speech shut down: John Agar of MLive.com had this report back in March 2015. Today, a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this decision on the resulting appeal. Blind man files discrimination suit over law school admission test: CNN.com had this report back in May 2011. Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued this ruling affirming a district courts dismissal of the lawsuit. Senate panel advances Schott to federal appeals court: Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article that begins, The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Wisconsin lawyer Donald Schott to fill the longest judicial vacancy of its kind. U.S. top court puts some limits on government fraud lawsuits: Lawrence Hurley of Reuters has this report. Veteran-owned businesses win at Supreme Court: Richard Wolf of USA Today has this report. And The Associated Press reports that Justices rule against VA in disabled vets contract dispute. Top Lawyers at 44 Companies Urge U.S. Senate to Consider Garland: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report. Kansas lawmakers to debate schools, lessening courts power: The Associated Press has a report that begins, Kansas legislators were discussing a short-term education funding fix Thursday to satisfy a state Supreme Court order while also debating longer-term proposals for curbing the courts power to force school finance changes. In Bashman news from China: The South China Morning Post reports that Uniformed officers in China bash man on the street for failing to produce his ID. This morning, SCOTUS defeated SCOTUSblog: This morning, for the first time in my experience, the web site of the U.S. Supreme Court provided access to a newly issued decision before the issuance of the decision was even mentioned on the opinions live blog of SCOTUSblog. For those of us who were wondering when the Court would finally make its own web site the preeminent source for learning first about newly issued rulings, that day seems to have arrived. By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride-hailing companies Uber and Didi have brought many new dimensions to the startup industry, such as making billion-dollar-plus funding rounds routine. Now, they have added another to the list: sharing big investors who are backing both companies, even though they are fierce rivals. Uber, the leading ride service in the United States and much of the world, and Didi Chuxing, which claims 87 percent of the Chinese market for private vehicle ride-hailing, now share at least four investors: asset manager BlackRock, Chinese investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group, hedge fund Tiger Global and insurer China Life, according to investment records and sources familiar with the deals. "It's very unusual to allow the same parties to invest and get information rights of sworn mortal enemies," said Max Wolff, chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners. "But then again, it's also not common to raise $14 billion as a seven-year-old pre-IPO company." Uber has raised more than $13 billion in equity and debt financing since it started in 2009. Didi this week confirmed a $7.3 billion funding round, bringing total fundraising to more than $10 billion. The practice of backing competitors raises concerns about conflicts of interest, information sharing and whether one company may succeed at the other's expense, according to investors, academics and dealmakers. "I think it looks bad," said Rory McDonald, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who has done research on the topic. "These firms are still private, they are still growing and making strategic choices, and those choices are going to matter a whole lot." According to McDonald's research, companies that have a link to a competitor through a shared investor are on average less competitive and less innovative than if they did not have that tie. Uber said it does not have concerns about sharing investors with Didi and none of them had board seats or board observer seats, so they have less access to and control over the company. Didi declined to comment. The four investors came in at a later stage in the companies' lives, and likely will not have the influence and close relationships that early-stage venture capitalists would, people who are familiar with such deals say. And for funds such as BlackRock, investments are most often made in isolation by individual fund management teams Startup investors generally try to avoid backing competing startups. But it happens on occasion: venture firm Andreessen Horowitz backed both photo-sharing startups Instagram and PicPlz. The firm later gave back its information access rights to Instagram and did not invest further. PicPlz eventually shut down. But as in the Andreessen Horowitz case, the conflict in venture capital often happens when a startup changes focus or creates a new product, months or years after the VC invested. What has raised alarms with the Uber and Didi investments is that the companies are already in conflict, and still investors are rushing headlong into both, say investors and industry experts. The four common investors are not betting on both companies to hedge one against the other, rather, they are putting the two together to get global coverage, said Paul Boyd, managing director at ClearPath Capital Partners, a wealth management company. The four common investors have funded Uber Global and not Uber China, a separate entity, according to a person familiar with the matter. Investors think Uber's future looks bright outside of China, but their backing of both companies signals Didi has the advantage in China, Boyd said. Regardless, the double dipping will likely create challenges for investors and the companies. Investors may be limited in their information rights and excluded from sensitive or competitive information, according to attorneys. Companies will have to worry about how much to share with investors who are also close with their biggest competitor. "Uber will not be comfortable allowing its investors to have carte blanche access to sensitive information where that information could find its way to Didi," said Nate Gallon, a partner at Hogan Lovells law firm. (Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York. Editing by Jonathan Webe and Andrew Hay) Whether it's suing Samsung over rounded corners, or being accused of plagiarism by the Android crowd, Apple and plagiarism seem to go hand-in-hand. Its latest copyright law is something a little different though. According to Engadget, a "random Chinese company" has accused Apple of aping the design of its 100C smartphone. At first glance, you can kind of see where it's coming from: the 100C looks vaguely like an iPhone 6, if you close your eyes, take a couple shots and squint real hard. DON'T MISS: Video shows us 50 new features that are hidden in iOS 10 This isn't a laughing matter either: Engadget reports that the Beijing Intellectual Property Office has ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in Beijing, because consumers wouldn't be able to tell the "minute differences" between the two handsets. The ban does not apply to Apple's newer iPhone models, so it's unclear what kind of impact the order might have on sales in the region. I don't understand Chinese, but I've spent three minutes playing my own game of spot-the-difference between my iPhone 6, and the photo of a 100C I found on the internet. Notable differences include: The 100C has capacitive buttons on the front, and no home button The flash is below the camera, not next to it The camera module doesn't stick out on the 100C The 100C runs a basterdized version of Android After buying a 100C, you still have an arm and a leg left Admittedly, a toddler that's never held a smartphone might struggle to tell the difference between the two devices, but the two devices are really just similar in the way that every smartphone is just a black rectangle of metal and glass. Apple is appealing the ruling, but given the spin-the-wheel nature of copyright protection in China, the winner will be anyone's guess. UPDATE: WSJ says sales are indeed halted. CNBC says sales are not halted. Fight. Related stories Story continues Apple will probably never release iMessage for Android Why it doesn't actually matter that Apple's iOS apps can't be deleted 9 new iOS 10 features Apple 'stole' from third-party apps More from BGR: See Mark Zuckerbergs hilarious Facebook Live Q&A with Jerry Seinfeld This article was originally published on BGR.com The FCC won a major victory over net neutrality this week, and the surprise wasnt so much that it prevailed but that its legal win was so sweeping. There had been some expectation, on Wall Street, on Capitol Hill and in the legal community, that the D.C. Circuit would chip away at some of the FCCs rules of the road for the internet. The FCC actions that looked to be under threat included extending the regulations to mobile carriers, and a general conduct rule which, in the words of FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, was meant to stop new and novel threats to the internet. But the judges upheld those actions, as well as the FCCs jurisdiction over interconnection, which has become a flashpoint in the broadband ecosystem after Netflix balked at being charged fees from some internet providers to carry its traffic. AT&T, one of the ISPs seeking to overturn the rules, has vowed to appeal. Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, like Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, are once again talking about legislation. And theres some sense that if Donald Trump were to become president, he would favor overturning to rules. So which is likely? An appeal. The many internet providers and telecom companies challenging the rules can either ask for a rehearing before the larger en banc panel of the D.C. Circuit, or they can appeal directly to the Supreme Court. The latter is where net neutrality may ultimately end up anyway, but the Supreme Court vacancy makes it less-than-certain that justices would jump at taking the case. Four justices must agree before a case is accepted for review. This case presents some issues on both sides, in terms of whether the court will take it, said Paul Werner, partner at Sheppard Mullin in Washington D.C., who puts that odds at 50-50 that the high court would grant review. Courts have shown more deference to agency actions, particularly when they are tasked with filling in gaps of ambiguous statutes. That actually was at issue in 2005, when the Supreme Court, in NCTA v. Brand X, ruled that the FCC was within its authority to classify cable broadband service as an information service, rather than a telecommunications service, which subjects Internet providers to more regulation. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent in the Brand X case, and found fault with the way the FCC classified cable modem as an information service. He even ridiculed it. Story continues That was a different time and a different FCC. The agency last year essentially did a switcheroo and reclassified broadband as a telecommunications service. That established a solid legal footing to impose robust rules requiring that internet providers treat all traffic equally, as courts have twice before gutted previous versions of the FCCs net neutrality rules . The net neutrality case also does not present a conflict between circuits another factor that can interest the justices. Working in favor of the court taking the case is that the stakes are so far reaching. This case does raise considerable issues of importance for the public and for the national economy, given that the policies at issue really do implicate the internet, which affects the everyday lives of Americans, Werner said. AT&T has indicated that it would appeal, and after the ruling the cable industry pointed to the partial dissent of Judge Stephen Williams. He agreed that the FCC could reclassify broadband as a common carrier, but wrote that the rules were in fact an unreasoned patchwork. Although he agreed with much of the majority opinion, he still found fault with the way that the agency justified their rules. Congressional action. Thune tried to forestall the FCCs action in 2015 with his own net neutrality legislation, which included a ban on blocking and throttling of internet content, as well as paid prioritization. That in and of itself was significant, but Democrats and the White House balked at provisions that stripped the FCC of some of its authority over broadband. Earlier this week, the Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation that exempts small internet providers from the net neutrality transparency requirements. But that legislation is a far cry from a more far ranging bill. Its hard to see that going very far in an election year, and even if it did, there is always the prospect of a veto from President Obama. He publicly endorsed reclassifying the internet in 2014 and the White House was lukewarm to the idea of legislation back then. The election. Hillary Clinton tweeted out support of the D.C. Circuits decision, writing that the ruling was a big win for consumers, innovation and freedom of expression on the internet. There has been a lot of speculation that, should she be elected, she would continue the policies of the current Democratic majority. Today's #NetNeutrality decision is a big win for consumers, innovation, and freedom of expression on the internet: https://t.co/FcXI66zHDF Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 14, 2016 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Trump hasnt said much about net neutrality it is not a top-tier issue, at least not yet. It got some mention in the Republican debates, but largely from references by Jeb Bush. Ted Cruz rather famously called it Obamacare for the internet. After Obama threw his support behind reclassification, Trump tweeted in 2014 that Obamas attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target conservative media. The appellate judges rejected arguments that the FCC rules violate the First Amendment, and the regulations themselves do not dictate content. Wall Street. The end of this story hasnt been written yet, research firm MoffettNathanson said in a blog post. They believe that the ruling could embolden the FCC to act on other issues, like a proposed new set of privacy rules for internet providers. They believe that the rules could even lead to oversight over pricing, even though agency officials say that such rate regulation is exempt. The end of the story hasnt been written, but is an end even in sight? After all, the net neutrality debate has been going on for more than a decade. The previous iteration of the FCC rules was challenged by Verizon, and the result was a court victory but a more stringent set of rules. John Mayo, professor of economics, business and public policy at Georgetown University, said that while industry enjoys operating in an environment of policy certainty, he says that questions still remain about the impact of having the net neutrality rules in place. I would argue that this creates regulatory uncertainty, he said. He believes that the high court may have an appetite for reviewing the actions of the commission in a slightly broader context, given that its legal authority is heavily reliant on the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Congress back then, he said, intended the internet to be subject to light regulation. Commissions will come and go depending on the administration, but if you give a regulatory authority more latitude from which to regulate, the economic truism is that it will regulate more, he said. Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner and champion of reclassification, thinks that its time to move on. He tweeted on Friday, Hey Big Cable/Telecom: You lost # netneutrality on EVERY count. Now spend your $ on better broadband not lobbyists. Hey Big Cable/Telecom: You lost #netneutrality on EVERY count. Now spend your $ on better broadband not lobbyists https://t.co/0Ykey2rzMn Michael Copps (@coppsm) June 17, 2016 Related stories Donald Trump Revels in Revoking Washington Post Credentials Appeals Court Upholds FCC's Net Neutrality Rules President Obama Says Orlando Attack Was 'Homegrown Extremism' Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f11966%2f18e1f7012be84784824499c62f581397 A crafty robot was able to escape the clutches of scientific research and make a dash for freedom outside a research lab in Perm, Russia on Tuesday. The robot, named Promobot, was being taught to move around on its own when a worker reportedly left a gate open. Promobot traveled about 164 feet, stopping in a nearby street when its battery ran out, the BBC reported. SEE ALSO: Jerk human beats up Boston Dynamics robot An alternative theory is that the robot was fed up with its human overlords and decided to end its life in protest by standing in traffic. Maybe it heard about the abusive conditions at Boston Dynamics. But some Russian media is skeptical, claiming that this was just a clever marketing stunt to garner attention for the humanoid robot. After all, the Promobot company did post a video of the incident to its YouTube channel. In the video, a police officer rolls up to the spot where the robot is blocking traffic, and a few moments later a man moves Promobot out of the street. Russian media reported that the robot was in the road for approximately 30 minutes before it was retrieved. According to the company, the robot is designed to talk to people, help them with navigation and answer questions. Bonus: Corgi butts in slow motion Liberals have used the State for progressive ends in the past. The Obama administrations recent decree to school districts on transgender bathroom rules advances the cultural Marxist agenda of destroying traditional America. The bipartisan internationalist cabal that now occupies our capital city has used the structural mechanisms of the State to practically give away our country and our birthright. So its high time that conservatives shed the idealism and get more serious about advancing our values when we control the apparatus of the State. Its been done in the past. Indeed, and ironically, that is the model that conservatives must embrace in the decades to come if they expect to actually roll back the progressive monolith. They have to both be persistent and play the long game as the progressives have done so successfully for a century as well as change tactics when necessary and use the State as a mechanism to achieve conservative ends. This may not appeal to the Randian idealism of many in the current conservative movement, but it is absolutely necessary to save the United States and Western Civilization. "L'Etat Pour Nous" - The State for Us. My French isnt that good. But even though the translation app may not be exactly right, the meaning is clear. We conservatives must take control of the State and once again use it for conservative ends. Consider the policies enacted by the Republican Congress and President Lincoln in the wake of the Southern secession. The Morrill Tariff raised rates to levels more in line with a policy that would protect American industry and workers from foreign competition. Is it any wonder that American industry came to lead all countries in many production categories by the turn of the century? Senator Justin Morrill did not just confine himself to tariffs though. He was responsible for the Morrill College Land Grant Act of 1862. As a poor boy from Vermont, he remembered how the lack of a more formal education affected his prospects. So this act set aside federal money and lands to be granted to the States to establish mainly agricultural colleges. The purpose was to further educate American citizens for the benefit of America. The same Republican Congress also passed the Homestead Act and the Transcontinental Railroad Act in 1862. Keep in mind at the time that Lincoln and his party were mainly against slavery because they wanted to protect the Western lands for settlement and development by poor and middle class white men. Recall that Lincoln, as a Congressman and Senatorial candidate, was a proponent of containment of slavery to existing areas, eventual emancipation of some kind, and then re-colonization of freedmen to Africa. These projects went back all the way to the Monroe Presidency. So, Lincoln was using the State to confer benefits on his fellow countrymen, as he defined them. Nonetheless, all of the aforementioned policies worked to help build our families and our nation. Ever watch Little House on the Prairie? All of the stories of the God-fearing Ingalls family and their struggles out West hammering out a life made possible by these policies are heart-warming and uplifting. I dont know of such an inspiring show today despite the cornucopia of on-demand choices. And yes, we also accepted immigrants at the time and were able to assimilate them in to the fabric of our nation partly because of their Judeo-Christian religious and cultural backgrounds but also because of the expanding domestic economy aided and abetted by the protectionist tariffs. Having a nice huge frontier to give economic opportunity to many of them also helped. But this era, like everything temporal, ended. Wealth and power got too concentrated and it went to some peoples heads and after World War I monetary policy was a major driver of the boom of the 1920s. When Depression struck, our country was at a crossroads. Would the deflationary forces overwhelm Americas middle class? Or would the State step in and help the middle class? It is interesting that this same philosophy of using the State to advance the interests of the majority of Americans was extended by the Democratic Party during the time of the New Deal. albeit with different tools. The Republican Party had run out of gas and was intellectually flaccid by the 1930s. But the new policies that fostered conservative family values included increased government spending, higher tax rates on the wealthy, and support for unions. Clearly these ideas are not what many today consider conservative in their means, but they clearly led to conservative ends. For those who disagree, please describe how the late 1940s thorough the 1960s were bad times for the American family? At that time, many large families could be supported on one income which allowed the other parent to stay home and raise respectable and morally upright children. Is it any wonder that so many of the Greatest Generation venerated FDR so much? And how were these policies bad for America in general? We had large corporations that were the envy of the world, we had trade surpluses, and we built out the infrastructure of our nation including the Interstate Highway System. We had enough wealth still to fund a massive space exploration program and put a man on the moon. Is it any wonder that Donald Trump is talking about finding ways to spend more money here on our crumbling bridges, roads, and airports? Maybe its because he grew up in this era and saw that it worked. Now, I am not advocating any of the above policies per se or on their own. Economic conditions change and policies need to change with it. Its one of the reasons President Reagans reduction of income taxes reinvigorated the economy in the 1980s. But Reagan was only a laissez-faire purist rhetorically. He also spent government money to boost the economy much of it on the military. He also utilized protectionist measures when appropriate including a measure that helped Harley-Davidson stay in business. Reagan used the State for US. It shouldnt be that novel on an idea the idea that our government looks out for Americans first. Its long past time that this approach become the norm again, or I fear we wont have a country left to sing an anthem to. Our last best hope is awaiting our support on November 8. CHICAGO - Illinois' Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) wants immigrants today to have a "more generous welcome" than his parents did when they came to the United States from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. In the decade of 1930-1939 the annual rate of migration to the United States averaged 1,800 people annually. In the decade of 1950-1959, by contrast, the Puerto Rican exodus was taking place at a rate of 43,000 persons a year. Gutierrez, one of Congress' most vocal and radical immigration amnesty supporters, said he will continue to fight for a "safe, legal and orderly" immigration system as he commemorated June as Immigration History Month. In the early 1960s, there was a legend about an elderly lady in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The town officials got special permission from the state to open the polls at a minute after midnight on Election Day so all the town voters could vote and the town would beat other towns to be the first in the nation to report results. Everyone had voted except for one older lady. Town officials and news media walked a few blocks from the polling place to her front door and apparently woke her up. The chief election judge said to her, "You are the only person in town who has not voted yet and we want to close the polls so we can report results." The annoyed woman, who shunned many town events, replied, "Sorry, I never vote, it only encourages them." and she then shut the door. While Civics teachers are horrified when voting participation is not high, Americans do have the right not to vote as well as the right to vote. Their reasons do not matter. Sometimes people skip voting because they don't follow politics or find it boring and they just don't care who wins. Civics teachers argue that nonvoters give more disproportionate power to those who do vote. Maybe yes and maybe no. When Mitt Romney ran against President Obama on November 6, 2012, voter turnout dropped from the 2008 level of 62.3 percent of eligible voters down to 57.5 percent in 2012. In spite of an increase in 8 million more eligible voters in 2012, voters declined from 131 million in 2008 to 126 million in 2012 and 93 million eligible Americans chose not to vote at all in 2012. Some people might not vote because they are too busy or don't dare. Others, like the lady in Dixville Notch might choose not to vote to protest the choices. Is the nonvoter's choice not to participate responsible? A Civics teacher would argue no but advocates of freedom might say yes because protesting is also a civic act. Some counties try to force 100 percent participation by eligible voters but the U.S. has never coerced people to vote against their wishes. To be honest, given the fact that many voters now are not as well informed as they should be on candidates and policies, maybe it is not a bad thing that millions choose not to vote. The problem of course is that someone will wind up winning and we all have to live with that choice. WASHINGTON - Washington GOP insiders are said to be "near panic mode" concerning Donald J. Trump's presidential bid against Hillary Clinton. The situation has gotten so bad that Trump told GOP insiders to "be quiet" this week. "You know, the Republicans, honestly folks, our leaders, our leaders have to get tougher. This is too tough to do it alone. But you know what, I think Im going to be forced to. I think I am going to be forced to, our leaders have to get a lot tougher, he began. Then with a bite, he said, "And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don't talk, please be quiet. The numbers aren't good. Within the past week, a Bloomberg poll showed Trump dropping 10 points from 47 to 37 with Clinton nearing the magical 50, with 49 percent and winning. The Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson is polling at nine percent. Tata Motors is in the process of ascertaining the extent of damage due to the incident. The Sanand plant, which has an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units, currently manufactures only two passenger car models of the company. (Photo: ANI) By India Today Web Desk: Tata Motors on Thursday said a fire broke out at a unit of one of its vendor partners in the company's Sanand manufacturing facility that rolls out Nano and the recently introduced hatchback Tiago models. "A fire broke out at the vendor park of M/S Supreme Treaves, our supplier of trim parts for the Nano. The fire is under control now and no injuries were reported," a Tata Motors spokesperson said. advertisement ALSO READ: Maruti Suzuki's Manesar and Gurgaon plants shut temporarily The company said it is in the process of ascertaining the extent of damage due to the incident. While there is no impact on production of Tiago, the company is still assessing whether Nano manufacturing will be affected, the spokesperson added. ALSO READ: Can Tata Tiago be a game changer for Tata Motors? The Sanand plant, which has an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units, currently manufactures only two passenger car models of the company. The plant was set up after Tata Motors was forced to withdraw the Nano project from its original site at Singur in West Bengal in October 2008 as it faced opposition from displaced farmers led by Trinamool Congress. ALSO READ: Tata Motors launches Tiago hatchback, priced at Rs 3.20 lakh A similar incident took place on May 31, when a fire broke out at the Subros India, Manesar, the biggest supplier of air conditioning systems to Maruti Suzuki. The accident affected Maruti Suzuki's production unit for almost a day and a half, resulting in a loss of around 10,000 units. --- ENDS --- The Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 presents an intriguing and aesthetically dynamic vision of the future of luxury mobility. This 'Vision Vehicle' is one of four announced by the BMW Group in Munich on 7 March 2016, as it launched its centenary celebrations. By India Today Web Desk: In a spectacular event at London's Roundhouse, the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 was presented. The car defines the future of luxury mobility. Codenamed 103EX, it is the marque's first ever pure 'Vision Vehicle'. The Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 presents an intriguing and aesthetically dynamic vision of the future of luxury mobility - a completely personal, effortless and autonomous Rolls-Royce experience, wrapped in a design that ensures a 'Grand Sanctuary' for its occupants, and a 'Grand Arrival'. advertisement ALSO READ: Rolls Royce Wraith 'Inspired by Music' comes to India The 103EX Concept uses a zero-emissions electric powertrain unlike the V12 motors of today. Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, "With the Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 we were mindful not to dwell on the past. We wanted to be as innovative as possible and at the same time transcend the design history of the marque." Brought to life by Rolls-Royce after many months of study and consultation with current patrons of the brand, the car represents their clearly expressed desire for an assurance that the marque's plans for the future of luxury personal mobility will continue to embody the key attributes that have made Rolls-Royce the preferred marque of the most discerning and powerful patrons in the world for over a Century. This 'Vision Vehicle' is one of four announced by the BMW Group in Munich on 7 March 2016, as it launched its centenary celebrations - THE NEXT 100 YEARS. In addition to being the centenary of the BMW Group, 2016 also represents a seminal moment in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The 28-inch wheels are each hand built from 65 individual pieces of aluminium. The 28-inch wheels are each hand built from 65 individual pieces of aluminium. ALSO READ: Maserati, Rolls Royce and Porsche now on Droom The centrepiece of the cabin is the beautiful sofa. The best seat in the house, it is an exquisite, futuristic interpretation of modern furniture design. Clothed in the most opulent fabrics, it gives the impression of floating within the cocoon of the cabin thanks to the artful use of lighting and modern materials. Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 The very size of the Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 announces the importance of its precious cargo. At 5.9 metres long and 1.6 metres high, it mirrors the perfect dimensions of today's Phantom Extended Wheelbase, whilst the ever constant Spirit of Ecstasy grows in stature, harking back to the regal Phantoms of the 1920s. Hand-crafted by the finest European glassmakers of today, she lights the way to the future of luxury. She is poised atop the re-imagined, yet still iconic, Pantheon grille with the red Double-R badge of an experimental Rolls-Royce. advertisement ALSO READ: Rolls-Royce Wraith Series II spotted testing There is no steering in the EX103's cabin, freeing up space for the passengers. The lower section is more dramatic in its design and in what it achieves. Draped in a silk-like 'Crystal Water' colour scheme, its surfacing achieves a lightness that belies the vehicle's size. This is automotive 'Haute Couture'. From whatever angle the Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100 is viewed, it seems to float, whether at rest or in motion. The newly liberated Pantheon grille is now the unencumbered prow of the Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100. It is the front of a fully enclosed and smooth-bottomed hull that echoes the form language of 1920's Rolls-Royces, with its 'boat-tail', and within which the entire accommodation area is located. For Rolls-Royce, the end of production of the seventh generation Phantom - considered by aficionados to be "the best car in the world" - represents the completion of the first phase of the Rolls-Royce brand's renaissance under BMW Group custodianship. The success of Phantom, Ghost, Wraith and now Dawn serves as the foundation for a new chapter. advertisement ALSO READ: Rolls-Royce celebrates second highest sales record in its 112-year history --- ENDS --- Delhi police said both the girls were released after a few hours of questioning. By Shuja-ul-Haq : Two Kashmiri girls pursuing MBBS in Bangladesh were detained at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport for carrying a bag with the word "bomb" written on it. The Delhi Police said both the girls were released after a few hours of questioning. Nothing suspicious found in their baggage, police said. However, parents claim that the girls haven't reached Srinagar yet. advertisement "They were detained. We got to know when one official at Srinagar airport made us speak to the girls who were detained at the Delhi airport. After that we have no contact with them", said Bilal Ahmad, father of one of the girls. He added, "We are scared we have no idea what happened with them in Delhi. We went to meet the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. They didn't allow us to enter the residence there." --- ENDS --- Sources in the Intelligence Bureau said that about 180 small ports and islands are on the hit list of terror organisations active in the region. The 26/11 attackers had used the sea route to sneak into Mumbai. By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: Intelligence agencies have warned the government about terror threat to port and small islands spread across the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. According to intelligence inputs, terrorists are on the look out for launching an attack similar to the 26/11 Mumbai attack on these vulnerable targets. Sources in the Intelligence Bureau said that about 180 small ports and islands are on the hit list of terror organisations active in the region. Militants may take advantage of slack security at these locations to strike, intelligence reports said. advertisement 26/11 Mumbai attack: Never seen photos of NSG operation HOME MINISTRY'S SECURITY MEETING Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting of Home Ministers, Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs) of coastal states and Union Territories in Mumbai. The meeting was convened to review the coastal security of the country. During the meeting, Rajnath Singh reviewed all aspects of security along the country's 7,516 km long coastline. He stressed upon the need to safeguard not only industrial, commercial establishments and strategic installations, but also the entire coastline from external threats through sea routes. 26/11 Mumbai attacks: Ex-Pakistan envoy to US Husain Haqqani's explosive revelations The Intelligence Bureau also tabled a report concerning the security audit of ports and islands. Following this report, the government has directed the concerned agencies to strictly implement the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for coastal security which were put in place after the November 26, 2008, Mumbai attacks. The 26/11 attackers had used the sea route to sneak into Mumbai. While 164 people were killed, over 300 were wounded in the commando operation-like terror attack. List of islands on terror radar. PORTS, ISLANDS ON TERROR HIT LIST Intelligence agencies have warned the government that over 180 ports in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala are on the terror hit list. Terrorists have also identified 30 such islands where they can strike. SHIPS MAY BE USED AS LAUNCHPADS Intelligence inputs received from terror groups have also revealed that militants may use Indian ships operating close to the coastal areas to launch an attack. Terrorists have also identified at least 10 small isolated islands which can be used to carry out their sinister plans. Also Read: 26/11 attacks: 'US intel agencies had evidence of ISI's hand in 2009' 26/11 Mumbai attacks: 35 questions answered by David Headley --- ENDS --- The gang of robbers first sedated the bizman's parents and then attacked and strangled him to death in Chhatarpur. By Tanishka Sharma: A 38-year-old businessman was strangled to death allegedly by a gang of robbers, who first sedated the victim's parents and attacked him at a farmhouse in south Delhi's Chhatarpur area in the wee hours of Thursday. SUSPECTS ARRESTED Five suspects have been arrested but the involvement of insiders could not be ruled out. According to a senior police official, the deceased Rohan Gupta was a divorcee and used to live with his parents in the farmhouse. He was exporter of hosiery items and had recently started dealing in auto mobile parts in Noida. advertisement Also read: Man brutally raped and killed Kerala student after fight with her over construction Hit-and-run case: How drunk student killed 2 with speeding car in West Delhi --- ENDS --- To prevent any untoward incident, an alert has been issued in Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Pathankot. By Manjeet Sehgal: Ahead of the release of Udta Punjab in theatres across the state today, security has been beefed up to prevent fringe elements from staging protests against the release. Several police teams have been deployed outside 51 theatres in Punjab and 9 theatres in Chandigarh, where four shows are likely to occur. To prevent any untoward incident, an alert has been issued in Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Pathankot. advertisement The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have appealed to the citizens to watch the movie, which is based on the existing drug problem in the state. Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh has requested the producers to provide him discs of the film to distribute among party workers and spread awareness. "Captain Amrinder Singh himself is keen to watch the film," said his Media Advisor, Vimal Sumbly. However, the ruling Akali Dal-BJP government is not ready acknowledge the menace in the state. On Thursday, a leaked version of the controversial film coursed through the internet, with over 70,000 uploaders squeezing it into dozens of torrent and live streaming websites and lakhs of people downloading it. This leak is expected to cause a huge loss to the producers. Also read: Pirates spoil Udta party --- ENDS --- "I would say caste is anti-national because it divides the nation.," the 82-year-old economist said. By PTI: Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen criticised the practice in India of branding people who don't "toe a certain line" as anti-national. Addressing a special event at the London School of Economics (LSE) to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit rights activist Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Sen said: "One issue that keeps coming up in India is people being branded as 'anti-national' for not toeing a certain line". advertisement "I would say caste is anti-national because it divides the nation. We want to be national, not anti-national, for which it is important to eliminate all divisions," the 82-year-old economist and philosopher said. Referring to Ambedkar, a former LSE student, as a "great social revolutionary and an intellectual powerhouse", he added: "It is through education we can truly bring about change in the world. That is the vision which Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us for a united nation." 'Dr Ambedkar's Relevance Today and in the Future' was organised by the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK) in collaboration with the Inequality and Poverty Research Programme, Department of Anthropology at the LSE and the India Observatory at the LSE to coincide with the centenary of Dr B R Ambedkar joining the LSE. The aim of the day-long conference was to bring together academics, economists, business leaders, equality champions, politicians and women leaders to highlight the relevance of Ambedkar's work on the economic and social reforms in India and beyond. "London holds a special place in the life of Babsaheb Ambedkar and his home at King Henry's Road will serve as memorial dedicated to social justice. He was a great intellectual, jurist, human rights champion who struggled against all odds in his goal of nation-building. The best way to honour him is to try and follow his ideals," said Dr Virander Paul, the deputy high commissioner of India to the UK. Ambedkar, referred to as the architect of the Indian Constitution, registered for a Master's degree and took courses in Geography and Political Ideas alongside Social Evolution and Social Theory and went on to complete a PhD thesis at LSE. The year 2016 marks the centenary of his first visit to LSE in 1916. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) US-based Amazon today said it has witnessed a 250 per cent year-on-year growth in bringing new sellers on board as it looks to tap into the booming ecommerce market in India. The company, which is making multi-billion dollar investments in India, has over 85,000 sellers on board. "We started with 100 sellers three years ago and now we have over 85,000 sellers growing at 250 per cent year-on-year and adding over 90,000 products a day," an Amazon India spokesperson said in an emailed statement. advertisement Amazon, which competes with the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal, has cut its commissions by 25-30 per cent across categories like mobile phones, PCs, electronic devices and personal care appliances. "We think these revised rates can significantly help sellers to perform even better and succeed in their business. In addition, we continue to innovate and offer best in class services such as Fulfilment by Amazon, Easy Ship, Seller Flex, etc to help them with fulfilment/logistics so that they can focus on their business," the Amazon spokesperson said. Flipkart, on the contrary, had recently increased its commissions across key segments and asked sellers to bear the costs of logistics in case of returns. Recently, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest USD 3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giants USD 2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments here to over USD 5 billion. The funds will be channelled towards enhancing customer and seller experience, Amazon India managing director Amit Agarwal had told PTI. "India is a key market for Amazon and we will work towards continuing to reduce operating costs for sellers backed by good logistics and fulfilment capabilities," he had added. PTI SR ADI ABK --- ENDS --- The party chief has issued a warning to its MPs for spending less time with the grassroots level workers of the party in a meeting in Allahabad. By Rakesh Upadhyay: Upset with complaints regarding its lawmakers playing truants from their constituencies, the BJP leadership has warned its MPs to spend quality time with the grassroots level workers of the party. The warning came at a meeting of BJP parliamentarians chaired by party chief Amit Shah in Allahabad. From the total of its 71 MPs from Uttar Pradesh, as many as 13 were reported absent at the meeting. advertisement VARUN SKIPS THE MEET Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi was among those not present, party sources said. A senior leader associated with the organisation, who requested not to be named, said that Gandhi should not have skipped Shah's meeting. NO MORE COMPLAINTS TO BE TOLERATED The BJP president, in his speech, warned that the party would not tolerate any more complaints about its MPs staying out of their constituencies for no valid reason. Party sources quoted him as having told the lawmakers that they would have to cut down on their travel to Delhi, Lucknow or to other parts of Uttar Pradesh. An MP report-card that Shah examined showed that at least 25 Lok Sabha members from the party had a below average record of attendance in their constituencies over the past 24 months. According to insiders, the BJP president reprimanded at least one such MP individually from eastern UP for his consistent absence from his borough. He warned the particular MP to stay put in his area for the next 21 days at least. The BJP leadership has also advised some of its lawmakers to regularly submit their travel and cell-phone details to organisation secretaries in order for them to keep a record of MPs' movements. Also read: BJP will rely only on Modi's image for UP election: Amit Shah Why Amit Shah thinks BJP will return in 2019 with a greater majority --- ENDS --- Wadia Bai Meghwar had married her cousin Suresh in a Karachi court on May 4, 2016. However, a few days later someone from an influential family of the area took Wadia from their home, promising to marry the couple in a traditional wedding but was instead forcibly married off to a 56-year-old man by her brother. Forced conversions have become routine in some parts of the country. (Photo: Reuters) By India Today Web Desk: In yet another case of kidnapping and forced conversion from Pakistan, a jirga (traditional assembly of leaders that makes decisions according to the teachings of Islam), forcefully remarried an already-married Hindu girl to an elderly man in Tharparkar district of Sindh province in Pakistan. Wadia Bai Meghwar had married her cousin Suresh in a Karachi court on May 4, 2016. However, a few days later someone from an influential family of the area took Wadia from their home, promising to marry the couple in a traditional wedding. But to Suresh's surprise, Wadia never returned to him and was instead forcibly married off to a 56-year-old man by her brother. advertisement Wadia's is not the only such case. Minority Hindus in Pakistan continue to suffer from forced conversions and discrimination with recent reports suggesting there is no end to their plight. PAST INCIDENTS In March 2016, Harya was kidnapped from her village in the Umerkot district of Pakistan's Sindh province. A week later, Harya was presented in a local civil court and was declared a Muslim and the wife of the man who had abducted her. In 2014, Dharmo Sochi was approached by a Muslim businessman demanding his Hindu daughter, Madhuri's, hand in marriage. The businessman, Jameel Solangi, allegedly threatened the family with abduction and murder unless they caved in. In 2012, a 14-year-old Hindu girl, who was kidnapped from Jacobabad city in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, has been forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man. CASE OF CONVERSIONS Although there are no confirmed statistics on forced conversions in the country, according to a report by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace in Pakistan published by Asian Human Rights Commission, at least 1,000 Pakistani girls are forced into Muslim marriages and made to convert to Islam annually. The report found that forced marriages usually follow a similar pattern: girls between the ages of 12 and 25 are abducted, made to convert to Islam, and then married to the abductor or an associate. If a complaint is filed, then "girls are held in custody by the abductors and suffer all kinds of abuse and violence". Even if the case is taken to court, the girls are threatened and pressurized by their husband and his family to declare that their conversion was voluntary. And so the case is closed. Victims are sexually abused, forced into prostitution, and suffer domestic abuse or even wind up in the human trafficking cycle. Such cases rarely end in the girls going back to their real families. From the moment the controversy begins, right up until the court hearing, the girls live with their kidnappers and suffer trauma and violence. These fragile girls are told that they "are now Muslims and that the punishment for apostasy is death". advertisement The ongoing issue has become so severe now that a significant number of Pakistani Hindus are forced to migrate to India. NEED FOR LAW Forced conversions have become a grave human rights concern in Pakistan. Recently, PTI lawmaker Lal Chand Malhi, serving as MNA on a minority seat, argued for the need to pass and implement legislation on forced conversions, reports the Express Tribune. Malhi, a parliamentarian from Umerkot, the only district in Pakistan where almost half the population is Hindu, has said that forced conversions have become routine in some parts of the country. He also pointed out that a significant portion of Pakistani Hindus belong to the lower castes and they neither have the means nor the influence to report cases of forced conversions. Highlighting the existence of this class barrier, Malhi said that cases of forced conversions often get reported only when the upper caste Hindus are the victims. UNREGISTERED HINDU MARRIAGES Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a leading Hindu parliamentarian in Pakistan has been pushing for a legislation against forced conversion of girls from the minority community on the pretext of marriage. And after decades of delay and inaction, the Hindu minority community in Pakistan now has a marriage law as a parliamentary panel has unanimously approved the Hindu Marriage Bill. advertisement The bill was passed in February 2016 by lawmakers in Sindh. Activists say that without such a law, Hindu women are targets for forced conversions, abduction and rape, and there is a lack of rights for widows. "The main issue faced by our community is forced conversions as the kidnapped girls ultimately submit to the key demand of the kidnappers - convert and marry a Muslim," he said. There are around eight million Hindus in the country of 180 million. Most of the Hindus reside in southern province of Sindh. According to the bill presented by Vankwani, all the Hindu marriages should be registered in the relevant district councils within 15 days and the marriage certificates must be attested by the pundit who solemnised the marriage, along with two witnesses. What remains heart wrenching is the lack of a concentrated effort to put a stop to this evil practice by the provincial and federal governments. This clearly exposes the government's indifference or bias amongst its own countrymen. --- ENDS --- advertisement By Mail Today: Days after union HRD minister Smriti Irani had an online brush off with Bihar education minister Ashok Chaudhary, who addressed her as "dear" in a tweet, the BJP leader poured her heart out in a passionate Facebook post talking about gender empowerment, breaking the glass ceiling and how successful women are treated. On Thursday, Irani posted a long write-up on Facebook, recounting her experiences as a woman politician and listing her accomplishments as a cabinet member. advertisement LETTER FROM AUNTY NATIONAL Irani, 40, who usually likes to take her opponents head on, ended the Facebook post with a sarcastic "Regards, Aunty National," a clear reference to the term used by the Congress to describe her during the recent JNU crisis where some students were jailed for allegedly raising anti-India slogans. The post, which went viral on the social media, received 7.4k likes, 881 comments and 3.6k shares. SPEAK UP OR YOU WILL LOSE OUT In her Facebook message, Irani talks about being a rebel and says women are usually asked to keep mum against attempts to humiliate them. "Why not respond? Why zip it? The standard answer such a question begets is, 'It is not worth it. Nuksaan tumhara hoga, ladke ka kuchh nahi bigadega (you will lose, not the boy)'," she raged. SMRITI IRANI'S RISE TO POWER She says she was a popular TV star, and now a politician who rose through the ranks by fighting for her rights and taking on Congress leader Kapil Sibal in Delhi's Chandni Chowk and later Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi parliamentary polls. She also talks about the strong reactions she received after being given the high profile HRD portfolio in 2014. "You represent your nation in the International Parliamentary Union, get unanimously elected to represent the Asia Pacific region, become part of the drafting committee on the Syrian crisis and yet some 'intellectual' says anpad, the minute you are given the opportunity to serve as HRD Minister," she said. Irani's Facebook post further talks about online trolls, inefficient colleagues ganging up "with other boys in the club" and points out that "the successful women always tell you that they continue to crack the whip." Recalling moments from her political life, she said, "And then politics happens. Not when you are a fading star, not when you are unemployed but when you are at the peak of your success. You are given the hard battles to fight, you accept (Chandini Chowk & Amethi were no cakewalk my friends). You work from the grassroots up. Serve as Youth Wing Vice-President in State, become State Secretary, 5 times National Executive Member, 2 times National Secretary and once the National President of Women's Wing." advertisement "You become possibly the youngest ever woman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, speak on issues ranging from the budget to women's security," said Irani. Also Read Oh dear! Smriti Irani in another Twitter fight, this time with Bihar education minister --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Jun 17 (PTI) Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Syed Muazzem Ali, today visited the city-based Administrative Staff College of Indias historic Bella Vista campus and and interacted with its Chairman K Padmanabhaiah and faculty members. "The most valuable asset of our country is manpower. We can properly utilise the manpower by imparting training at various levels at regular intervals. ASCI is imparting a good training module for Bangladeshs middle-level officers through a series of programmes," Ali said, according to a release from ASCI. advertisement "We will jointly make efforts to promote and strengthen the fraternal ties between our two institutions and two countries," he said. Padmanabhaiah, a 1961 batch IAS officer, said, "India and Bangladesh share a lot of common characteristics and Bangladesh is the leader in issues like micro finance. We can benefit from mutual cooperation." ASCI Director-General Prof Paramita Dasgupta and the Programme Director Prof M Chandrasekhar and Bangladesh High Commission Counsellor Jamal Uddin Ahmed were also present. ASCI had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Foreign Training Branch of the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA), Government of the Peoples Republic Bangladesh, to train their civil services officers in nine batches. "Out of the nine programmes, six are meant for the Deputy Secretary and equivalent level officers (middle-level, with 10-15 years of experience) and three are for the Joint Secretary and equivalent level officers (senior level, with 20 plus years of experience). We have already completed training for three batches so far," the Programme Director Prof M Chandrasekhar was quoted as saying in the release. PTI VVK NP --- ENDS --- Bengal's textile department has launched this initiative of introducing the baluchari sarees on mobile screens. By Soudhriti Bhabani: Good news for saree lovers, especially those who love the gorgeous colours and rich work of Bengal's famous baluchari sarees. Now these resplendent sarees will be available right on your mobile screen. You can check out various designs, colours and motifs and place an instant order just with a single click on your cellphone. Inspired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's vision to take Bengal's classic art forms to the global arena, the state textile department has devised an initiative to make baluchari saree available online. advertisement "We have started making Bengal's textiles available online through West Bengal Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd (Manjusha) and Tantuja so that people from all across the world have access to them. We have already received a decent response not only from domestic buyers but also from overseas - be it the UK, the US or Germany," minister of state for textile, West Bengal, Swapan Debnath told Mail Today. WHAT IS THE INITIATIVE AIMED AT? The initiative, Balucharisaree.in, was launched in collaboration with a private player, Brand Next, which has developed the mobile application and the online platform to sell the original product. It aims to popularise the dying artwork and create a direct interaction between Bengal's weavers and actual buyers, eliminating any middlemen. Debnath also said that the state has also started a pilot project to train Bengal's weavers at Burdwan's Dhatrigram and Nadia's Phulia. "We have brought experts weavers from Benaras for giving training to local weavers," he added. Murshidabad district and Bankura's Bishnupur in West Bengal are the only two places where authentic baluchari sarees are produced. It takes approximately a week to produce one such sari. Also read: Why the promising online Banarasi saree bazaar failed to click Digital India: Internet helps weavers create e-commerce portal --- ENDS --- Ram Singh Bahadur (18) had joined work recently and was harassing the victim (22) often. Recently, when no one was at home, Bahadur allegedly raped her and threatened her against revealing it to their employers. By Aravind Gowda: A Nepali man has been arrested by the Bengaluru police for raping a woman from Jharkhand at the home of a businessman. ACCUSED THREATENED VICTIM Ram Singh Bahadur (18) and the victim (22) were working at the home of a same businessman in the city. Bahadur had joined work recently and was harassing the victim often. Recently, when no one was at home, Bahadur allegedly raped her at knife-point and threatened her against revealing it to their employers. advertisement VICTIM FILED COMPLAINT Though the victim did not reveal the incident for a few days, later, she informed her employers. They filed a complaint with the police on the basis of which Bahadur was arrested. ALSO READ: 2 held for attempt to rape in Bangalore hospital --- ENDS --- By PTI: Medininagar (Jharkhand), June 16 (PTI) Hitting out at the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today alleged that the state has turned into, "maha jungle raj." "Bihar has turned from jungle raj to maha jungle raj," the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said at a press conference here. Union MoS for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh, who was also present at the press conference, alleged,"Goonda raj is prevailing in Bihar, while the state government is protesting the developmental works done by the Centre." PTI COR PVR PR NSD SNP --- ENDS --- advertisement By Rohit Kumar Singh: It appears that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may soon land in another controversy and that too in connection with another incident happened some 1000 kms from Delhi, in Bihar. The Intermediate Toppers Scam that rocked the country and pose innumerable questions over dubious colleges, fake mark sheets and how student became fake toppers. India Today is in possession of a letter written by Kejriwal to the Education Department of Bihar regarding a student of the dubious Bishun Rai College of Baccha Rai in Hajipur in 2015. Divya Prakash, who passed his exams in science stream last year, is yet to get his mark sheets and certificates from Bachcha Rai's college. advertisement BACCHA RAI SOUGHT RS 1 LAKH TO ISSUE CERTIFICATE Prakash's parents alleged that Rai sought a sum of Rs 1 lakh from them to issue their son's certificates. The family members of Prakash approached the Delhi CM last month after they were unable to find a solution to the situation. CM's office immediately wrote a letter to the Education department of Bihar to help the student get his certificates from Bishun Rai College. "We request the director of the education department to help Divya Prakash get his certificate," stated the letter from Kejriwal's office. It's been over a month after the letter was written, but Divya's issues have not been solved yet and his aim of becoming an engineer seems uncertain. Kejriwal's office wrote the letter on May 13. BIHAR EDUCATION MINISTER ASSURES HELP After receiving the letter, Bihar Education Minister Ashok Chowdhary promised to look into the matter and resolve the issue related to Baccha Rai's collage. Chowdhary added that he will be speaking to the chairman of Bihar School of Examination Board, Anand Kishore but also added that if Divya's case is also of a fake mark sheet then there could be trouble. "I will ask the Chairman of the Bihar School of Examination Board to look into the matter and resolve the problem of the student", said Ashok Chowdhary. Interestingly, the letter is also an indication of Rai's fame among the political circle. Despite the letter from Kejriwal's office, the Bihar government has failed to resolve Divya's problem. The letter to the Bihar government was written almost a fortnight before the scam broke. Also Read: Bihar topper scam: No one comes second at Baccha Rai's college --- ENDS --- By PTI: Bhubaneswar, Jun 17 (PTI) The ruling BJD in Odisha today staged demonstrations in all the districts to protest against fuel price hike on June 15 by the Centre. The BJP, on the other hand, attacked the state government for imposing high tax on petrol and diesel leading to price rise of essential commodities. Congress, meanwhile, held both the central and state governments responsible for the rise in the price of commodities including fuel. advertisement Members of BJD youth wing today demonstrated at the Collectors office in all 30 districts along with state capital and demanded roll-back of the increased fuel price. The Centre on Wednesday increased price of petrol and diesel by 5 paise and Rs 1.26 a litre respectively. In a statement, Odisha BJP general secretary P Harichandan claimed that BJDs protest was an eye wash to divert public attention from the chitfund scam where ruling party leaders have been exposed. Stating that the state government collects Rs 13.58 per litre of petrol and Rs 12.57 from per litre of diesel as tax , Harichandan demanded reduction in the tax in order to ease the people from price rise. "The Odisha government should take cue from the BJP ruled Goa where tax on fuel is minimal," Harichandan said. Meanwhile, OPCC president Prasad Harichandan asked the state government to reduce the rate of VAT on fuel and Centre to bring down the rate of cess, excise tax on petrol and diesel. PTI AAM NN SMJ LNS --- ENDS --- Sources in the BJP said the political resolution adopted at the executive meet included references to initiatives of the state and central governments for welfare of the people. By Rahul Noronha: A political resolution supporting reservations in promotions in government jobs for SCs and STs was presented and adopted by the BJP during the party's state executive meet at Rewa. The possibility of a cabinet reshuffle also marked the discussions at the two-day state executive meet that concluded on Friday even though there was no formal announcement of the same. advertisement Sources in the BJP said the political resolution adopted at the executive meet included references to initiatives of the state and central governments for welfare of the people. Besides this the political resolution also supported the CM's announcement a few days back when he said that the state government was committed to the idea of reservations in promotions and if need be a fresh law would be enacted to continue with the practice. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had on April 30 quashed the MP public services rules 2002 that provided for reservation in promotions for SC and ST employees in the service of the state government. On May 12, the state government appealed at the Supreme Court demanding that the state High Court's orders be stayed. The Supreme Court instead ordered that status quo be maintained. Sources said that there were murmurs of dissent within the BJP when the resolution was made to include reference to support reservations in promotions. A section of the leadership felt that a large section of employees were against it and would be counter productive for the BJP to push for reservations in promotions beyond a point. State BJP incharge and national vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe also addressed the delegates and said that ministers should remain in constant touch with party workers and warned of problems in case the gap between workers and office bearers widened in the party. --- ENDS --- "No Swimming" signs put up in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida after a 2-yerar-old boy was snatched and killed by an alligator. Lane Graves, a 2-year-old boy who was grabbed by an alligator in a lagoon at Walt Disney World. Orange County Sheriff's Department via social media/Handou (Reuters) By Reuters: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. 2-YEAR-OLD SNATCHED BY ALLIGATOR Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. advertisement The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. TRAUMA AND DROWNING CAUSED DEATH "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH ALLIGATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. advertisement Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. --- ENDS --- The documents reveal how DJB hired a Hyderabad-based consultant without the process of tenders in 2010. The water tanker service project was presented as a highly technical work since it required GPS fitted vehicles. The scam has set back the government-owned Delhi Jal Board by more than Rs 400 crore. (Picture for representation purpose) India Today has obtained a report that reveals murky details of the Rs 400-crore Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water tanker scam. The documents, a 130-pages long docket of board meeting details and tender documents, reveal how DJB hired a Hyderabad-based consultant without the process of tenders, and how another firm Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) too was hired at the same time without tender to monitor water tankers through GPS technology which was already in operation. This took place in 2010 under the then DJB chairperson Sheila Dikshit who was also the CM of Delhi. advertisement The scam has set back the government-owned Delhi Jal Board by more than Rs 400 crore. Documents state that Delhi Jal Board was misled by the DJB "Authorities and Management, Private consultant and Companies" under the patronage of the then chairperson. This investigation report, submitted by a 5-member probe committee constituted by AAP Minister Kapil Mishra in June 2015, puts the position of the former DJB chairperson under a cloud. Earlier today, Sheila Dikshit spoke exclusively to India Today , where she hit out at the AAP government, asking who AAP minister Kapil Mishra is and questioned the timing of his allegations. FACT SHEET: WATER TANKER SUPPLY PROJECT The DJB has been hiring water tankers since its inception. But under the Water Tanker Supply Service (WTSS) project, the service was presented as a highly technical work since it requires GPS fitted vehicles. A Hyderabad-based private consultant named National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) was engaged on a nomination basis without inviting tenders, despite having qualified engineers within DJB to undertake this task. NISG played a major role in this corruption scandal. The DJB in consultation NISG invited tenders five times to run the GPS-fitted water tanker service. But every time the rate for hiring a tanker for a guaranteed 1200 km per month running was hugely escalated in complicity with DJB officials. The bidding process In the first Bidding process, DJB invited tenders on March 9, 2010 to hire 450 GPS-enabled 3 Kilo liters (Kl) and 9 Kl capacity water tankers as well as for tracking 800 existing DJB tankers under "Water Tanker Distribution & Management system" (WTDMS) for its 8 zones for a period of seven years. But the process was abandoned abruptly and tender was discharged. In second Bidding process, tenders were invited on July 2, 2010 for a reduced number (105) of tankers for only two zones I and II. A fixed rate was guaranteed for 1,200 km per vehicle per month which translate to 40 km per day. Any additional kilometer per day was to be paid extra. Uncommon to the bidding practice, a company named SPML Infra Ltd offered the lowest bid, almost half of DJB's suggestive price of Rs 42,000. This was against the departmental suggestive cost of Rs79,557 for 3 Kl and Rs 50,400 against Rs 1,05,528 for 9 Kl water tanker per vehicle per month. Conspicuously, the suggestive cost worked out by the NISG was much higher than the cost of estimate and market price and above the prices at which DJB was hiring water tankers. Then the contract was awarded to SPML at the total cost of Rs 50.98 crore for seven years. This was approved by the Sub-Technical Committee, the Technical Committee, the Work Advisory Committee and the DJB Board. But suddenly within six weeks, DJB cancelled the award of work order and decided to reinvite bids. In the third attempt, tenders were invited on September 21, 2010 for three Zones - V, VII and VIII and SPML Infra was again the only bidder who bid for all three zones, quoting almost same price of Rs 46,200 against the departmental suggestive cost of Rs 79,557 for 3 Kl and Rs.55,080 against Rs 105,528 for 9 Kl water tanker per vehicle per month. The Work Advisory Committee approved the prices of the lowest bidder SPML at the total cost of Rs 168.30 crore for a seven year period. Again in board's next meeting on March 29, 2011, the board scrapped the tender. In the fourth attempt, tenders were invited on March 31, 2011, for same zones -V, VII and VIII, but this time another firm Ramkey Enviro Engineers Ltd was the only bidder, quoting a price much higher than what offered by SPML in previous two attempts - Rs 1,15,000/ for 3Kl and Rs 1,35,000 for 9 Kl at a fixed rate as guaranteed for 1200 km per vehicle per month. Interestingly the DJB suggestive cost was arbitrarily reduced to Rs75,249 (from Rs.79,557) for 3 Kl and Rs93,868 (from Rs.105,528) for 9 Kl per VMT per month. Ramkey prices were thoroughly evaluated and approved by the DJB's sub-technical committee, the technical committee, and the work advisory committee. The three committees then recommended the DJB for award of work at a negotiated rates of Rs 1,09,250 (or Rs 91 per km) for 3 Kl per VMT and Rs 1,28,250 (or Rs 107 per km) for 9 Kl at the total cost of Rs 357.57 crore for a seven year period. But tender was once again discharged and the Board decided to re-invite tenders. advertisement FINAL TENDERING PROCESS advertisement Lastly on December 28, 2011, tenders were invited for the fifth time. This time it was for five zones - I, II, V, VII & VIII. However this time, the conditions were further relaxed and undue advantages were given to companies or consortium. Finally the tender was awarded at an amount three times more than the first bidding process. advertisement SHEILA BACK IN HEADLINES Former Delhi chief minister and Congress Sheila Dikshit is suddenly back in the headlines after recent meetings with the Gandhi's and the AAP government in Delhi accusing her of the Rs 400-crore tanker scam that happened when she was in power in the capital. Yesterday, Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung cleared a probe against Dikshit in the alleged tanker scam after a complaint was sent to LG's office by Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra. "Why is this 'scam' coming out now? It is politically motivated (According to reports, she could be given Congress' top post in Punjab or be made CM candidate for Uttar Pradesh)," Dikshit said. She then spoke about the process regarding purchase of the tankers. "I didn't make the decision alone. IAS officers, MCD members, even some BJP memebers were part of the decision making." "The tankers they are accusing me of choosing are still going strong," she added. --- ENDS --- A huge lizard was seen loitering outside a house in Thailand, trying to make its way in. By India Today Web Desk: No, it's not a crocodile or an alligator. But it is the worst nightmare of a herpetophobiac. It is a lizard. Oh no, we're not fooling you. To be precise, this creature is a lizard species known as Komodo dragon, and it was seen lurking on the porch of a house in Thailand on Wednesday. The residents had the mental faculty to pull out their phones and film as the giant lizard tried to force its way into their home. Thus, we now have the pictures of Ms Godzilla 'Scares-a-lot' Lizard all over the social media. Source: Attanai Thaiyuanwong/ Facebook advertisement Attanai Thaiyuanwong, whose house the monster reptile was trying to invade , has also shared a live video on Facebook. Coconuts Bangkok reports that Ms Godzilla 'Scares-a-lot' Lizard is actually called Selena (ahem), and is said to be a frequent unwelcomed guest in the neighbourhood. Komodo dragon are usually found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, etc. Probably this one here is on a trip and needed a place to crash. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Government is exploring the feasibility of contract farming of pulses in African countries -- Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi -- as it looks for a long-term solution to domestic shortage and high prices. A delegation may visit Mozambique to examine the possibility of growing pulses through contract farming, a senior government official said today. advertisement "For long-term solutions of the pulses crisis, we are exploring the option of working with Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi. These countries grow tur and arhar similar to our domestic varieties. So, we are exploring this option," the official said. Stating that farming is unorganised in these countries and done at a very small scale, he said the government will explore the option to take land for contract farming with the involvement of private players. The other option could be offtake agreement with these countries. The official, however, acknowledged absence of sufficient infrastructure in these countries to raise output and facilitate imports, in which case India may have to offer help. "No decision has been taken so far. It is only at a discussion stage. These countries have no company or trading organisation for exports or to do contract farming," the official said. A delegation might visit Mozambique soon to explore these possibilities as well, he said. Production of pulses is estimated to have declined to 17.06 million tonnes in 2015-16 crop year (July-June) due to drought while domestic demand is around 23-24 million tonnes. The country imported about 5.5 million tonnes last fiscal, largely through private trade, but it was not enough to cool the skyrocketing prices, which have gone up to Rs 200 per kg in the retail market. PTI JTR MJH ARD --- ENDS --- By PTI: conference Panaji, Jun 16 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal today expressed his displeasure over non-participation of some states in the power conference underway at here, and has sought a report in this regard. "Please let me know why some of the states are not represented here. I presume if ministers have not come, their Secretaries must have come. But if Secretaries have also boycotted the meeting, submit a report to me," he told his Secretary after the inauguration of the two-day event. advertisement "If they (states) act like this, we will have to behave in similar way. Last time, I had made it abundantly clear that we have a lot of time to help and solve problems of the state but it will have to be two-way traffic, it cannot be one way. I am very keen to know the reason why few states could not come," the minister said. Goyal sought the details about the absent ministers, the Secretaries attendance from all the states, and reasons for their not being here. "Ministers from the North East have not been able to come. Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura.. If they have any specific problem then we will resolve it," the minister said. Referring to the conference held in Guwahati previously, Goyal said the meeting had sent a very strong signal that India will go to North East. "All of us from across the country assembled in North East and discussed the problem of India. It is for the first time in the history of India that a national conference of all power ministers, or for that instance of any ministers from any ministry, had ever met in North East," he said. "Last time I had mentioned about the importance of everybodys participation at the highest level. More so because this gives us the chance to learn from your experiences, to understand what is best for each state, what could be a better way to do it," the minister said. "It is probably the first time in so many years that you had a power ministers? conference religiously organised every six months. It is a matter of satisfaction that in last two years we have been able to maintain the discipline and sanctity of this forum which in some sense represents the team which is going to change the future of India. It is going to change the very basis of making India a superpower. "Not only for the sheer importance that electricity as a sector has in peoples lives but also for the fact that the world today is recognising that India is truly committed to making a difference to the life of poor," he said. PTI RPS DK SRY RYS --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: Mumbai, Jun 16 (PTI) BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy today said passage of the bill facilitating the Goods and Services Tax (GST), being hailed as the biggest indirect taxation reform, will "not benefit" the economy significantly. "I dont think GST is going to be a game-changer. If it comes, it is ok. If it doesnt come also it is ok," he said, speaking at the industry lobby Indian Merchant Chamber (IMC) here. advertisement "GST...it is not big deal for the Indian economy. There is a feeling that it will simplify the tax system, I have no objection to it," he said. It can be noted that the industry has been pegging an increase of upto 2 percentage points in the GDP growth just by the passage of this legislation which is stuck for many years now under two Union governments. Swamy also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had objected to the GST when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and now the Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalitha is objecting to it. "At one stage, when Mr Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister, he took objections and wrote a letter to the government," he said. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said earlier this week that most of the states barring Tamil Nadu have come on board on the long-pending Goods and Services Tax bill and expressed hope of pushing the legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session. PTI AA KRK KND BAS --- ENDS --- The operation is being conducted by the Army and the police. By India Today Web Desk: Two militants were killed in a fierce gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore area between security forces and terrorists, who were allegedly trapped inside a house. The operation is being conducted by the Army and the police. TRAPPED MILITANTS "Security forces on information about the presence of militants, surrounded a house in Chana mohalla locality today (Friday) morning," a senior police said. advertisement "As the security forces closed on the house, they came under heavy gunfire from hiding militants." "There are reports of two militants firing from inside the house," the official added. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Lucknow, Jun 17 (PTI) Sparring over Kairana "migration" intensified today with the ruling Samajwadi Party and Congress rubbishing reports of exodus and alleging that atmosphere was being vitiated by BJP which gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring back those who have shifted. Mounting pressure, state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya met Governor Ram Naik with the demand for a CBI probe into the "exodus" while presenting the report of a five-member party team that visited Kairana area in Shamli district for an on-the-spot assessment. advertisement BJP MLA Sangeet Som, an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, also took out a rally to highlight the issue. Countering it, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Atul Pradhan also took out a separate rally. Som gave a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to bring back those who had left Kairana, in an apparent bid to keep the issue alive ahead of Assembly polls in the state early next year. Almost around the same time, SP spokesman and senior Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav hurriedly convened a press conference to accuse BJP of "vitiating" the communal atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the polls. "There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders including Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as Assembly elections are near," he said. "Their only work is to orchestrate riots...they are the same people who masterminded Muzzafarnagar riots," he said, adding, "...be it Sangeet Som or anyone else, the state government will not let anyone to plan riots. We will collect proof against them and will expose them before media soon". In a similar refrain, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Pradip Mathur rubbished reports of migration from Kairana on communal lines and accused BJP of "poisoning" the atmosphere in the state to polarise votes before the polls. CPI-M leader Md Salim said a section of Kairanas population including both Hindus and Muslims have migrated from the UP town over years due to socio-economic issues and criminalisation and not because of communalisation and demanded that BJP apologise for its Hindu exodos claims. BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, attacked both SP and BJP, saying the yatras by the two parties smacks of an "understanding" between them to somehow vitiate the communal atmosphere for reaping political benefits by instigating riots. PTI ABN SAB SMI AKK --- ENDS --- The Indian Air Force is expected to procure 70 of these basic trainer jets, which can also carry weapons. By India Today Web Desk: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore today to witness the first test flight of Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), country's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, and the minister was impressed with the efforts of young HAL techies. Army and Air Force now possess world's best light combat helicopter The two-seater aircraft designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was flown by Group Captain C Subramaniam and Group Captain Venugopal for about 10 to 15 minutes at the HAL Airport. advertisement After the test flight at the HAL base, Parrikar got into the cockpit of the trainer jet to get a closer look of the aircraft. "I request them to bring it still earlier, by the beginning of 2018, so that they can go into serial production in 2018 itself," Parrikar said. "When I came here in March 2015, they had promised me within one year they will fly the aircraft. I am happy that they have kept the assurance," the Defence Minister added. #WATCH: Inaugural flight of India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, HTT-40 in Bengaluruhttps://t.co/Wm9GsvFZlc ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2016 ALL ABOUT HTT 40: Aimed at being used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services, HTT-40 had made its maiden flight after much delay on May 31. Officials said detailed design phase of HTT-40 was launched in August 2013 with HAL's internal funding and was completed in May 2015 and from there it has taken 12 months to fly the first prototype. Indian Air Force is expected to procure seventy HTT-40 aircraft. HAL has said that the programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018, and towards this the company will be manufacturing three prototypes and two static test specimens. Designed to meet the current demands of the Air force, there is also a provision to include weapons for the trainer aircraft. According to officials, the indigenous content on HTT-40 is close to 80 per cent with about 75 plus systems out of the total 90 on the aircraft sourced from local players and sister divisions of HAL. HTT-40 aircraft weighs about 2,800 kg and has Turbo Prop engine of 950 shp class. My congratulations to the brilliant young team of technocrats at HAL. #HTT40 pic.twitter.com/kEmGhht9zN Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) June 17, 2016 #MakeInIndia #HTT40 has 80% indigenous content with more than 40 Indian MSME vendors. Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) June 17, 2016 --- ENDS --- The three women, who are currently undergoing training at the Air Force Academy in Hakempet near Hyderabad, are the first batch of female pilots to be inducted in an IAF fighter squadron. The three women flying cadets (left to right) Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi. By Manjeet Negi: Flying cadets Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh are on the brink of creating history. The three women, who are currently undergoing training at the Air Force Academy in Hakempet near Hyderabad, are the first batch of female pilots to be inducted in an IAF fighter squadron. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will be at the Hakempet airbase tomorrow (June 18) for the passing out parade where he will officially announce the induction of the three women in the fighter stream. advertisement 10 amazing facts about IAF WHERE THEY COME FROM While Bhawana Kanth belongs to Begusarai in Bihar, Avani Chaturvedi is from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh and Mohana from Vadodara, Gujarat. Avani's father is an engineer and her brother is in the Army. Bhawana's father is employed with the Indian Oil Corporation. Mohana's father is a warrant officer in the IAF. Meet India's first three women fighter pilots RIGOUROUS TRAINING The three women have undergone rigorous training at the Hakempet base over the last six months. The cadets have undergone the mandatory 55 hours of flying on Stage I trainer - the Pilatus PC 7 basic trainer. After flying the Pilatus and Kiran jet trainers, these pilots will be flying the Hawk advanced trainer jets in the next phase of their training till 2017. They will then be seen in the advanced cockpits of Sukhoi and Tejas fighter jets of Indian Air Force. From India Today magazine: India's missing munitions "For me, it is like a dream come true. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot. As far as training is concerned, there was no difference when compared to our male colleagues. Be it physical fitness or mental robustness, the tests all were on the same level," said Mohana Singh. "We all are thrilled. It's the fighters who actually define the Air Force of any country," added Avani Chaturvedi. THE HISTORY While women pilots have been flying helicopters and transport aircraft since 1991 in the IAF, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who finally took the decision to allow women into fighter jet cockpits. In 2012, Flight Lieutenants Alka Shukla and MP Shumathi became the first female pilots to complete training on combat helicopters. In February, 2016, President Pranab Mukherjee had announced that women cadets will be allowed in combat roles in all three services. Also Read: Kiren Rijiju flies Sukhoi-30MKI, says an amazing experience like no other IAF's Mirage test lands on Yamuna Expressway as part of trials --- ENDS --- With nearly 53 per cent applications rejected this year, there is a big jump in the proportion of visas being denied in the last two years - 24 per cent in 2015 and 17 per cent in 2014. The rising number of declined visas has prompted the Indian High Commissioner to enquire from New Delhi about the reasons behind the rejections. By Abhishek Bhalla : Thousands of Pakistanis wanting to cross the border to meet their families are finding it difficult to come to India as every second visa application was rejected this year. The increasing proportion of declined visas has prompted Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to enquire from New Delhi the reasons for a large number of requests being turned down. advertisement With nearly 53 per cent applications rejected this year, there is a big jump in the proportion of visas being denied in the last two years - 24 per cent in 2015 and 17 per cent in 2014. REASON FOR REJECTING THE VISA In a recent communication to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Bambawale has raised concerns about the increasing proportion of visa applications being rejected. "I would be grateful if the reasons for the drastic increase in rejected visas can be ascertained and conveyed. If there is no plausible reason for drastic visa reductions then please do help in ensuring that the proportion rejected visas is retained," he wrote. Out of 33,191 applications received this year till May 31, 17,581 were rejected. The number of visas declined was 9,335 out of 38,557 applications in 2015 and in 2014, 8,910 visas were denied out of 50,338 applications. ALL BECAUSE OF PATHANKOT ATTACKS? Officials say following the attack on the Pathankot Air Force base by Pakistani terrorists, the increased hostilities between the two countries has had an impact on the bilateral relations. There have been several skirmishes on the border with Pakistani troops over the last two years. There has been an increase in intelligence inputs indicating that Pakistan-based terrorists could enter the country, leading to heightened scrutiny, sources said. Earlier this year in January, soon after the Pathankot attack, a group of nearly 75 pilgrims who wanted to visit a shrine near Agra were denied visa on procedural grounds. Citizens of both countries have families across the border and visit religious places in large numbers. Last month, Bambawale met the Home Secretary and the two discussed measures to speed up the visa process for Pakistanis. Not only has the number of rejections spiralled, thousands of applications are pending for long citing security clearance. Officials said expediting the lengthy visa procedure is on the cards but security concerns cannot be overlooked. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VISA AGREEMENT? In 2012, India and Pakistan signed a liberalised visa agreement that proposed a timebound approval to boost trade and people-to-people contact. While the visa rejections are on the rise, the Narendra Modi government is working at amendments in existing laws to ensure that the process for getting Indian citizenship for persecuted Hindus in Pakistan is made hassle-free. A Bill to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, is likely to be introduced during the Monsoon session of Parliament scheduled in July-August. advertisement Earlier the Narendra Modi government had rolled out an online system for Long-Term Visa applications that allowed Pakistan nationals to live in India for a period of five years. Within a year of assuming power, the 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. Also read India denies visas to 5 Pakistan diplomats for Kolkata World T20 match India to issue only 250 visas to Pakistan fans per match --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the death threat to a priest of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka by suspected militants claiming to be from the ISIS even as security at the complex has been beefed up. The Ramakrishna Mission received a threat letter on Wednesday which said the priest will be killed if he continues to preach his religion, amid a string of targeted murders across the country by suspected militants in the recent months. advertisement External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today that the Indian High Commission has taken up the issue with Bangladeshs Foreign Ministry and police. "High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and have been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka," Swarup said. He said police presence at the complex has been strengthened. Swarup said the First Secretary (Consular) in the High Commission visited the RK Mission this morning to review the security. The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission is a branch of the Belur Math in Kolkata. A police official in Dhaka yesterday had said the priest received the letter on Wednesday evening on a computer-composed IS letterhead with the perpetrator identifying himself as one AB Siddiqui. "Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You cant preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, youll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th," the officer quoted the letter as saying. The letter, he said, did not mention any month. Suspected Islamists have killed a number of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown since Friday. Bangladesh authorities have detained nearly 12,000 people in a nationwide crackdown to halt a spate of deadly attacks. Some of those arrested were linked with outlawed Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh. Though most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State or its affiliates and other similar extremist groups, the Bangladesh government has repeatedly dismissed the claims and said the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits linked to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. PTI MPB GSN --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) India and Thailand today decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. advertisement Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements - Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand - were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and Indias priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. (MORE) PTI SAP SRY ZMN SRY --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: From Abhishek Shukla Windhoek, Jun 17 (PTI) Indias public and private businesses are ready to invest in resource-rich Namibias mining sector using environment-friendly processes to back the countrys developmental goals, President Pranab Mukherjee said today. Addressing students of Namibia University of Science and Technology, Mukherjee said Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. advertisement "Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibias mining sector. Our public and private enterprises stand ready to join your endeavours in this direction," Mukherjee said. He recalled the old friendship between the two countries and cited Indias example which was earlier a food importer and later emerged as the worlds largest producer of wheat and rice for two years. "At the time of Indias independence, India, due to her weak agriculture sector, had to import food grains. However, soon enough, due to proper planning and synergy between science and public policy, the excellence of our scientists and the selfless toil of our farmers, our country saw a revolution in agricultural productivity," he said. He said in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, fruitful economic exchanges between India and Namibia underscore the much larger potential waiting to be realised. The President said an MoU has been signed on setting up a centre of excellence in IT in Namibia which will contribute to enhancing the capacity and skill levels of Namibian IT students and professionals. "We intend to commence the setting up of this centre as soon as possible, in consultation with the Government of Namibia," he said drawing huge applause. Mukherjee said during bilateral discourse, the areas that have been prioritised for collaboration between the two countries include human resource development, capacity building and educational and cultural exchanges. "In this context, I would like to mention Indias flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities as they could be successful models in Namibia as well," he said. The President said "India remains committed to partnering with Namibia as your people pursue their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Government of Namibias Vision 2030 and Harambee Prosperity Plan". PTI ABS KUN AKJ KUN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Dubai, Jun 17 (PTI) An Indian man has been allegedly killed when he resisted a robbery attempt by Omani nationals, following which six of them have been arrested. John Philip, a fuel station employee who hailed from Kerala, was found dead by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) on Wednesday. Philip had been missing since last Friday and police was searching for him since Saturday after a colleague reported him missing, the Times of Oman reported. advertisement "His body was found. He was murdered," a senior police official said, adding investigation is on. Money between OMR4,000 and OMR5,000 (over Rs 6,50,000) is missing from the station he used to work in, officials from the victims company said. According to the report, the CCTV cameras were found damaged following his disappearance and its cassettes are missing from the fuel station. Philip, who had been working in Oman for the last 13 years, is survived by his wife Binu and their two children. His relatives had approached the Kerala government and the Indian government to trace him. PTI CORR AMS PMS AMS --- ENDS --- The fifth instalment of popular film series is underway. And Harrison Ford will be back as Indiana Jones. Spielberg and Harrison Ford join hands for the fifth film in the series By India Today Web Desk: The fifth instalment of the popular Indiana Jones film series is underway. Steven Spielberg, the director of the popular film series, has recently assured that he won't do away with the title character played by Harrison Ford. "The one thing I will tell you is I'm not killing off Harrison at the end of it," Spielberg told the Hollywood Reporter. advertisement Spielberg added that he is pretty excited to direct the yet-untitled film. And the Jaws director also assured that the film will be 'straight down the pike for the fans'. Earlier, Harrison Ford told BBC that he wanted to act in another Indiana Jones movie but he wanted Spielberg to direct the film. The actor told BBC, "I've always thought there was an opportunity to do another. But I didn't want to do it without Steven. And I didn't want to do it without a really good script. And happily we're working on both." The last outing of Indiana Jones film series was Indiana Jones: Kingdom Of Crystal Skulls, which release on 2008. --- ENDS --- MH Ambareesh's failing health is said to be the reason for the Congress to consider removing him from the Cabinet while there were also questions over his contribution as a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. By Aravind Gowda: Karnataka's Housing Minister and veteran Kannada film actor MH Ambareesh, who is likely to be dropped from the Karnataka Cabinet for poor performance, today said that "Cabinet reshuffle did not matter to him anymore." NEVER ASKED TO BE IN THE CABINET, SAYS AMBAREESH "I never asked to be in the Cabinet. They made me a minister... They have the liberty of removing me from the Cabinet... I am happy either ways, as I have served the people for three years. I have never aspired for anything," said a visibly upset Ambareesh in his home-town Mandya. advertisement SIDDARAMAIAH AND AMBAREESH NOT ON GOOD TERMS Ambareesh's failing health is said to be the reason for the Congress to consider removing him from the Cabinet. There were also questions over his contribution as a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Siddaramaiah and Ambareesh are not on good terms since the last few days. AMBAREESH'S REMOVAL MAY UPSET VOKKALIGAS Speculations about his removal from the Cabinet have led to unrest in south Karnataka districts where the actor is popular. He represents the second biggest community - Vokkaligas - in Karnataka and the Congress intends to appoint someone younger in his place. ALSO READ: Karnataka: 2 ministers face action over sons' transactions --- ENDS --- Jo Cox was killed Thursday by a gun- and knife wielding attacker in her small-town constituency, one week before what would have been her 42nd birthday. Tributes for Labour Party MP Jo Cox, who was shot dead in the street in northern England, are displayed on Parliament Square in London, Britain, June 16, 2016. Photo: Reuters By AP: Jo Cox fought against poverty and discrimination in developing countries, worked in Parliament for a solution to the civil war in Syria and campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union. In charity work and politics, she took up causes across the globe, from some of the world's most dangerous countries to her home constituency in Yorkshire. COURAGE IN ABUNDANCE advertisement "I've been in some horrific situations where women have been raped repeatedly in Darfur. I've been with child soldiers who have been given Kalashnikovs and kill members of their own family in Uganda," the Labour Party lawmaker told the Yorkshire Post last December. "That's the thing that all of that experience gave me - if you ignore a problem it gets worse." Cox was killed Thursday by a gun- and knife wielding attacker in her small-town constituency, one week before what would have been her 42nd birthday. ADVOCATE OF THE REMAIN MOVEMENT A day earlier she had campaigned on the River Thames in London with her husband and two young children. Her husband, Brendan Cox, posted images on Twitter of the family in an inflatable dinghy, waving a flag supporting continued British EU membership ahead of the June 23 referendum. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Brendan Cox, said in a statement Thursday after her death was announced by police. Besides her career in politics, Jo Cox described herself on her personal website as an avid runner, cyclist and mountain climber. She was elected to the House of Commons last year as a Labour Party lawmaker representing the constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire. She divided her time between the family's houseboat on the Thames and a home in Batley and Spen. INVOLVEMENT IN FORMING POLICY AGAINST ISIS In Parliament she made finding a solution to the Syrian civil war a top priority. She was critical of Britain's reluctance to deepen its military involvement against Islamic State militants, but abstained in a vote on airstrikes because she said the plan didn't devote enough attention to stopping the "brutality" of President Bashar Assad. "I'm not against airstrikes in principle," she said. "In fact, as part of an integrated strategy for Syria they are almost certainly a necessary part. But airstrikes are a tactic not a strategy, and outside a strategy I fear they will fail." advertisement Cox grew up in West Yorkshire in a working class home. Her mother was a school secretary and her father worked in a toothpaste factory in Leeds. When she finished her studies at Cambridge in 1995, she was first in her family to graduate from a university. But she described her years at Cambridge as difficult, telling the Yorkshire Post that is where she realized that "where you were born matters." "I didn't really speak right or know the right people," she said. "I spent the summers packing toothpaste at a factory working where my dad worked and everyone else had gone on a gap year. To be honest my experience at Cambridge really knocked me for about five years." After university she spent a decade working in various roles for Oxfam, the British aid agency. She then joined Sarah Brown, the wife of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on a campaign to reduce the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth. She also worked with several other charities, including Save the Children, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the anti-slavery group The Freedom Fund. For four years she chaired the Labour Women's Network, a group campaigning for more women to run for political office. advertisement Cox initially backed Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership after Ed Miliband resigned. She later said she regretted that decision and instead voted for one of his opponents, Liz Kendall. Corbyn on Thursday praised Cox's record of public service and humanitarian work. "Jo Cox died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve," he said. "It is a profoundly important cause for us all." --- ENDS --- Three days after being asked to steady the Congress ship in Punjab, Kamal Nath steps down as the state in-charge in the face of a verbal assault from the Opposition. For almost the entire day on June 15, Congress Lok Sabha MP Kamal Nath was waiting patiently for party president Sonia Gandhi to return to Delhi from a personal visit. He had made up his mind to quit as general secretary in-charge of Punjab, a position he had been given only three days ago. The Congress veteran was "deeply hurt" by the smear campaign launched by Opposition parties linking him to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. At 7 p.m., not long after Sonia returned, Nath sent her his resignation. "The primary issue in Punjab today is drugs. I resigned because I did not want to offer an opportunity to our rivals to distract attention from the drugs issue," Nath told India Today. Just 24 hours before his resignation, the Congress general secretary, known for his meticulous planning, seemed to have embraced his new job with gusto. On June 14, he was seen immersed in an article written by Fareed Zakaria on the US presidential elections. As recent elections in India have been fought and won around personality cult, moving closer to the US presidential format, Nath was scouting for a few tips from the American experience. advertisement It's this ability to think differently and execute ideas effectively that had forced the Congress to fall back on the 69-year-old Nath, a nine-time Lok Sabha MP, to chalk out a strategy for Punjab. Congress insiders saw this as the return of the Chhindwara MP to the inner circle of the Nehru-Gandhi family. One of Sanjay Gandhi's closest friends, Nath was also Rajiv's trusted lieutenant. During the second edition of the UPA government, his cross-party acceptability made him Sonia's go-to man to manage allies and the Opposition. In the recent Rajya Sabha elections, Nath ensured victory for Congress candidate Vivek Tankha from Madhya Pradesh even though the party was short of one MLA. All he did was dial good friend Mayawati for help and she readily obliged. However, party circles have long been abuzz with murmurs that vice-president Rahul Gandhi does not particularly care for Nath's style of functioning. When he was not made leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha in 2014, Congress veterans saw it as a sign of Rahul's lack of trust in the Madhya Pradesh leader. Nath laughs off such speculation, saying he has always enjoyed a warm and cordial relationship with Rahul. Sources in Rahul's office also told India Today that Nath has remained one of his primary troubleshooters. He was, for instance, head of the committee that finalised the Congress candidates for the recent Assam assembly elections. "He will be an important cog when Rahul restructures the top order of the party," says a senior Congress leader. "His political experience and election management skills are indispensable." Among the big states headed for elections next year, the Congress sees a chance of making a comeback in Punjab, riding the supposed anti-incumbency against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Of course, the Aam Aadmi Party could put a spanner in the works. However, the reaction to Nath's appointment was something the Congress did not anticipate. Minutes after his name was announced on June 12, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted asking Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh to explain his stand on Kamal Nath, "who allegedly had a role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi". BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya also tweeted that the appointment amounted to rubbing salt into Sikh wounds. SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh accused the Nehru-Gandhis of honouring people accused in the anti-Sikh riots with plum posts. advertisement On June 13, Nath's phone kept ringing constantly, with mediapersons seeking his reaction to the verbal onslaught against him. He had an answer ready, along with hundreds of photocopies of the relevant bit of Justice Nanavati Commission report, which states: "In the absence of better evidence, it is not possible for the Commission to say that he had in any manner instigated the mob or that he (Nath) was involved in the attack on the Gurudwara." "It has been 32 years," says Nath, "but nobody raised my name ever. Even the BJP-appointed Nanavati Commission exonerated me. In 2005, the Akalis moved a debate in Parliament but they did not mention my name." Though there is no credible evidence directly against Nath in connection with the 1984 riots, some Congress leaders had feared from the start that the Opposition would try to use his name to discredit the Congress with the Sikh community in a perception battle in the run-up to the elections. These internal misgivings notwithstanding, Nath had the firm backing of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, and poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been hired by the Congress to manage the election campaigns in both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Kishor, in fact, was the first to suggest Nath's name to take charge of either of the two states. Nath, who was three batches junior to Amarinder at Doon School, shares a warm rapport with him. Kishor, too, had met Nath several times at his Delhi home before the latter was formally given charge of Punjab. On June 13, the two lengthy calls Nath received were from Amarinder and Kishor. advertisement If AICC sources are to be believed, the appointment of Nath along with Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has been given charge of UP, was the first step in the direction of the "major surgery" general secretary Digvijaya Singh has advocated. The recent setbacks in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have forced the Congress high command to rethink the process of appointing general secretaries in charge of the states. Backed by Rahul, several backroom men were given charge of states, breeding resentment in the state leadership. They have no electoral experience and failed miserably to control dissidence in the states. "Leaders such as Mohan Prakash, Madhusudan Mistry and C.P. Joshi don't have the aura, stature and connect to discipline errant state leaders," says a general secretary of the party. General secretaries of several other states will also be changed, he adds. "They could be good at background research, but political management is not just paperwork." advertisement But the surgery seems to have gone wrong even before Rahul Gandhi could hold the scalpel. Of course, Nath's role and relevance as a backroom negotiator is important but politics is also a battle of perception. In the electoral arena, a clean chit from a commission may not be enough as rhetoric has the power to swing public mood. If the Congress vice-president had factored in history of perception before Nath's appointment, he could have saved the party this embarrassment. Follow the writer on Twitter @KDscribe --- ENDS --- There have been rumours that Kareena Kapoor Khan is pregnant and is expecting her first child. In a recent interview, Kareena has neither confirmed nor denied the rumours related to her pregnancy. By India Today Web Desk: There have been rumours that Kareena Kapoor Khan is pregnant and is expecting her first child. Some reports have also suggested that the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor is three-and-half months pregnant. In a recent interview to Pinkvilla, Kareena has neither confirmed nor denied the rumours related to her pregnancy. ALSO READ: Kareena Kapoor Khan on pregnancy rumours - There is nothing to say about it advertisement Kareena said, "Everyone has to ask me if I am pregnant or not. It is amazing, everywhere I go, even normal people are asking me. I think it is fine you know, I honestly don't feel bad about it or I don't even judge people for making comments or saying things like may be, is she, is she not. Of course, I have never denied the fact that motherhood is a part of me. I don't want to be the PM or President of USA, I don't want to own the world but I definitely look forward to having a child." The Jab We Met actor added. "I am not giving a timeline. I am not saying yes or no, but you guys will know at the right time. I saw the video and I was like 'Was I? I was stiff, because I had been on a holiday'. Like I said, I look forward to it. I have always said, I will work after marriage. I got married and I am still working. Now I am saying I will still have a child and my work will never suffer." Rumours of Kareena's pregnancy started doing the rounds ever since she and Saif returned from their London vacation. Earlier, when Kareena's father Randhir Kapoor was asked about the same he seemed clueless but wished that the rumours were true. There were reports that she was spotted at a gynaecologist's clinic in Bandra last month and is planning to freeze her eggs. But Kareena laughed off all such reports and said if it's going to happen, it will be natural as she has no plans to freeze her eggs. On the work front, Kareena Kapoor Khan will next be seen in Rhea Kapoor's upcoming film. --- ENDS --- H S Mahadeva Prasad's son Ganesh Prasad is accused of carrying out granite quarry operations on government owned land in Chamarajanagara district and causing loss to state exchequer, while H C Mahadevappa's Sunil Bose has been served a notice by the court for abetting a government official to seek bribe. By Mail Today: Two powerful ministers in the Karnataka government and close aides of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are in trouble because of their sons' transactions, and they are likely to snowball into major controversies for the Congress. Minister for Cooperation H S Mahadeva Prasad's son Ganesh Prasad is accused of carrying out granite quarry operations on government owned land in Chamarajanagara district and causing loss to state exchequer. Minister for Public Works H C Mahadevappa's Sunil Bose has been served a notice by the court for abetting a government official to seek bribe in connection with a mining contract in Mysuru district. advertisement CLOSE AIDES OF SIDDARAMAIAH Both ministers are close friends of Siddaramaiah and had joined the Congress after quitting the Janata Dal (Secular). Mahadeva Prasad and Mahadevappa were part of the deal that Siddaramaiah struck to join the Congress in 2006. The two ministers enjoy tremendous clout within the party and hold powerful portfolios. "It is clear that the Congress is protecting the ministers and their sons. Siddaramaiah should seek their resignation for the involvement of their sons in illegal activities," alleged BJP leader Niranjan Kumar. THE CASE Former minister Ganesh Prasad is accused of operating a quarry by encroaching upon on 14 acres of government land. Prasad's partnership company has acquired a quarry lease for 4 acres adjoining the government land near Belachawadi in Chamarajanagar district. Mahadeva Prasad however denied any wrongdoing by his son, "These charges are politically motivated. Anybody can cross check documents with the government. Quarrying is going on in the said area for the last 30 years. My son is not involved in any kind of illegal quarrying," he maintained. In H C Mahadevappa's case, the 3rd Additional District Court of Mysuru has issued a notice to his son Sunil Bose for abetting an official (Alphonso) of the Department of Mines & Geology to collect bribe (Rs 1 lakh) from a mine owner in Mysuru district. The official was caught by the anti-corruption agency sleuths of the Lokayukta while accepting the bribe. In his statement to the Lokayukta, Alphonso has invoked the name of Sunil Bose. In their chargesheet, the Lokayukta police have named Sunil Bose as the second accused in the case. The court has sought an explanation from Sunil Bose on his involvement in the case. The transactions of the sons of both the ministers have come in handy for the BJP, which is trying to corner Siddaramaiah. In the past, Sunil Bose's name prominently featured in illegal sand mining case in Mysuru district. --- ENDS --- The local police said that Sadashiv Naik wrote an apology letter for uploading the picture of the CM. Subsequently, he deleted the picture on the advice of the police. By Aravind Gowda: The police have arrested a youth in Koppa in central Karnataka for allegedly uploading and circulating on his Facebook account an objectionable picture of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The picture depicts a dog urinating on Siddaramaiah and the youth has posted some comments on the same. Last month, the police had arrested another person for circulating the same picture on Whatsapp messenger. advertisement This time, Sadashiv T Naik, who had uploaded the picture on Facebook, was arrested on Wednesday on the basis of a complaint filed by Koppa Town Congress Committee President K N Ramesh Shetty. The local police said that Sadashiv Naik wrote an apology letter for uploading the picture of the CM. Subsequently, he deleted the picture on the advice of the police. Also read: Karnataka: Siddaramaiah heads to Delhi over Cabinet reshuffle --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) A Kashmiri girl coming from Bangladesh was today detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport here after security agencies received inputs that she had a paper slip with "carrying bomb" written on it in her bag. Officials said the incident took place when the girl and her three friends, bound for Srinagar, landed at the airport from Dhaka via Kolkata about 11:00 AM. advertisement They said security agencies at the airport were alerted by some staff that a paper slip stating "carrying bomb" was in the baggage of the girl. She was later detained and questioned by Delhi Police officials and central security agencies and the other three girls decided to stay put till their friend is cleared. Nothing untoward was detected during her questioning and it is suspected that someone attempted a mischief on her. "Delhi Police released her after few hours of questioning. However, between all this, the girls missed their connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi and will now take a flight tomorrow," an official said. Officials said all the girls are MBBS students of a college in Dhaka and residents of Rajbagh area of Srinagar. PTI SKL GVS ZMN GVS --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Return journey for a Kashmiri girl, a medical student in Bangladesh, turned horrible as she was detained at the Indira Gandhi Airport here today after security staff saw "carrying bomb" written on her check-in luggage. The girl, a resident of Rajbagh in Srinagar city, was taken for questioning after the security staff at the airport informed the police. She was travelling from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata. advertisement Officials said the incident took place when the girl and her three friends, bound for Srinagar, landed at the airport from Dhaka via Kolkata about 11:00 AM. She was questioned while security agencies carried out background check at Bangladesh and Srinagar. The girl was released after everything was found in order by the police, the officials said. The incident was flagged by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who took to Twitter and sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia kindly look into the matter of the detention of two Kashmiri girls at Delhi airport. Their parents are very concerned. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia Any assistance and information will be greatly appreciated by their families & loved ones. Thank you in anticipation," Omar tweeted. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia The grounds, as explained to me seem rather flimsy given that they flew from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata & then detained," he said in another tweet. The Home Minister promptly responded with the tweet "@abdullah_omar please send the details to pstohm@nic.in." Bilal Ahmad, the father of one of the girls, said that he attempted to seek the help of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti but was refused an audience with her. "There were four girls who were returning from Bangladesh. They flew from Dhaka to Kolkata and then to Delhi. Their luggage was checked and cleared at all the airports," Ahmad said in Srinagar. "After they were detained, the airport authorities or the police did not inform their families. We fear for their safety. We have only talked to them once so far," he said. The three other girls decided to stay put with their friend and did not board the flight to Srinagar and waited till she was released. "Delhi Police released her after a few hours of questioning. However, between all this, the girls missed their connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi and will now take a flight tomorrow," the official said. PTI SKL NES SSB SMN SMN --- ENDS --- advertisement The 11th edition of Poland's FilmAT saw Kerala Tourism bagging four awards for its campaigns. By India Today Web Desk: Most of us would agree with the fact that the state of Kerala is home to some of the most beautiful destinations in India. This southern state is known for picturesque beaches, lush green landscapes and the ever-charming backwaters. But who knew that Kerala Tourism would bag as many as four awards at the 11th edition of FilmAT, one of the biggest international film festivals dedicated to tourism, art and ecology, held in Poland every year. advertisement Kerala Tourism's Responsible Tourism initiative won three words under the Best Promotional Social Campaign, Protection of Nature, and Eco-Food categories respectively. The fourth award came across as a pleasant surprise. The tourism board's ad film titled, The Great Backwaters of Kerala won the award for Best Editing. This film portrays the life in and around the backwaters in a beautiful manner. Also watch: This new video showcases the best of Kerala in the most beautiful way "Winning four awards at such a prestigious festival is a significant achievement for Kerala. It speaks of our commitment towards utilising the state's potential for international tourism in a responsible manner--always with the best interests of the people and the environment at heart," said A.C. Moideen, Kerala Tourism Minister. The film was conceived and scripted by Stark Communications, Kerala Tourism's creative and brand management agency, and was directed by reputed Malayalam filmmaker Anwar Rasheed. The FilmAT festival is associated with the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) and its juries include Oscar winning filmmakers, international film award winners as well as specialists from Tourism, Arts and Culture and Ecology. Watch the film The Great Backwaters of Kerala here: --- ENDS --- By PTI: Mumbai, Jun 17 (PTI) Shares of Max Financial Services surged over 10 per cent today after HDFC Standard Life proposed to merge Max Life and the company with itself to create an entity with assets worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. After surging 19.99 per cent to Rs 514.40 -- its upper circuit limit -- on BSE, shares of the company finally ended at Rs 472.80, up 10.29 per cent. advertisement At NSE, shares of the company jumped 10.51 per cent to close at Rs 473.85. Following the sharp rally, the companys market valuation rose by Rs 1,179.84 crore to Rs 12,624.84 crore. On volume front, 9.09 lakh shares of the company were traded at BSE and over 82 lakh shares changed hands at NSE during the day. In what could be the biggest consolidation in the Indian insurance sector, HDFC Standard Life today proposed to merge Max Life and Max Financial Services with itself to create an entity with assets worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. Boards of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co, Max Life Insurance Company Ltd and Max Financial Services Ltd at their respective meetings held today, approved entering into a confidentiality, exclusivity and standstill agreement to evaluate a potential merger. They will explore "a merger of Max Life and Max Financial Services into HDFC Life by way of a scheme of arrangement", HDFC Ltd said in a statement. The total premium of the merged entity would be nearly Rs 26,000 crore and assets under management will top Rs 1 lakh crore. In the private life insurance space, only ICICI Prudential Life Insurance had reported AUM of Rs 1 lakh crore. Edinburgh-based Standard Life Plc holds 35 per cent stake in HDFC Life, in which HDFC owns 61.63 per cent. Max Life is a joint venture with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Max Financial owns 68 per cent stake in Max Life, while Mitsui Sumitomo owns 26 per cent. PTI SUM ABK --- ENDS --- The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has pointed out several "weaknesses" in the submitted dossier, on the arguments put forward for its identification as an outstanding "university." The International Council on Monuments and Sites has deferred the awarding of the World Heritage Site title on Nalanda Mahavihara pointing out several weaknesses in its submitted dossier. By Baishali Adak: In a potential embarrassment for India, an agency of the UNESCO that evaluates nominated 'World Heritage Sites' globally, has recommended the "deferring" of awarding the coveted title to Nalanda University. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has pointed out several "weaknesses" in the submitted dossier, on the arguments put forward for its identification as an outstanding "university." advertisement It, in fact, says that the 'state party' "needs to deepen its study of the (ancient site in Bihar)?in order to explicitly establish its importance?and authenticity." ICOMOS also seems to be uncomfortable with the project label, recommending it to be changed from the 'Excavated Remains of Nalanda Mahavihara' to 'The Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara.' The Ministry of Culture has not given up hope yet. Spokesperson of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Dr RS Fonia, told Mail Today, "We will convince the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO during its final decision-making session at Istanbul (Turkey) around July 15. The 'Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO,' who is based in Paris, will travel to the venue and present our case." "We are supplying suitable literature and films on the merits of Nalanda Mahavihara to the Permanent Representative, so that he/she can suitably advocate for its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site," Dr Fonia added. The 'Hill Forts of Rajasthan' also got through in this manner, he said. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and that of Culture are closely coordinating on this issue. NALANDA ENTERS THE LIST OF 'NOMINATED' WORLD HERITAGE SITES Nalanda became India's official entry on the list of 'World Heritage List Nominations' in 2015. This was under the category of 'Cultural Properties.' A 200-page dossier was handed over to UNESCO on January 28, 2015. An ICOMOS team led by Japanese expert Masaya Masui visited the ruins in Bargaon district of Bihar from August 25-30. It submitted its 'evaluation report' earlier this year. DOSSIER PROVIDES WEAK ARGUMENTS The report has expressed its 'dissatisfaction' on several counts. It says the dossier provides a 'weak' argument on Nalanda's superiority as a 'university' in its comparative analysis with old varsities in Paris and Bologna, Italy. It considers that "the condition of integrity of the nominated property has not been met." Boundaries should be drawn to include all areas and attributes which are direct tangible expressions of its 'Outstanding Universal Value.' Covering an area of 23 hectares, it includes the remains of the principle stupa, four chaityas, 11 viharas and a large number of shrines. The report also highlights that "development pressure is leading to densification of Nalanda's immediate surroundings." A 'buffer' strip, 30-400 meters wide, surrounds ancient Nalanda University, mostly consisting of agricultural fields and water bodies. advertisement Also Read This fort in Maharashtra might soon be a world heritage site Maha govt to seek UNESCO heritage site tag for forts --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Abhishek Shukla Windhoek, Jun 17 (PTI) Resource-rich Namibia has assured India that it will look into "legal ways" for supplying uranium for peaceful use of nuclear energy. Speaking at the banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said the country commends Indias commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. advertisement "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not possess any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it, we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded Indias proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the countrys role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. Mukherjee said, "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations." "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs -- created in the wake of the Second World War -- is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of todays changed world -- so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in todays globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. advertisement "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been -- and will continue to be -- a reliable partner in your endeavors in this direction," he said. PTI ABS MRJ CPS ASK AKJ ASK --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Abhishek Shukla Windhoek, Jun 17 (PTI) Resource-rich Nambia today assured that it will look into "legal ways" through which its uranium can be supplied to India for peaceful nuclear use. Speaking at the State Banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said Namibia commends Indias commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. advertisement "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not posses any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded Indias proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the countrys role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations," Mukherjee said. "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs - created in the wake of the Second World War - is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of todays changed world - so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in todays globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. advertisement "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been - and will continue to be - a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. PTI ABS MRJ --- ENDS --- By PTI: Washington, Jun 16 (PTI) News stories on Twitter that are recommended by friends trigger more clicks, according to the first independent study of news consumption on social media. Researchers at Columbia University in the US and the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) have found that reader referrals drove 61 per cent of the nearly 10 million clicks in a random sample of news stories posted on Twitter. advertisement Social media in 2014 overtook organic search as the top way people accessed content on the web, driving 30 per cent of all traffic. However, despite the social webs growing influence, relatively little is known about how people consume news on these proprietary platforms. Facebook and Twitter filter and personalise news for users and closely track the results, but because this data is fundamental to their advertising business very little is made public. The researchers collected all the open data they could find - the number of Twitters 280 million followers who potentially viewed and shared a news link shortened by the web app, Bit.ly, and how many clicks those links received. From the one per cent of tweets made public by Twitter, the researchers picked all URLs linked to five news outlets during a one-month period last year. The goal was to find out which stories in their sample of tweets would be shared and clicked on more: the less than 2 per cent of headlines news editors picked to promote from their official Twitter feed, or the headlines readers found on Twitter and shared themselves. Though far more readers viewed the links news outlets promoted directly on Twitter, the study found that most of what readers shared and read was crowd-curated. Eighty-two per cent of shares, and 61 per cent of clicks, of the tweets in the study sample referred to content readers found on their own. The findings suggest that people are quicker to share, than read, news discovered on Twitter. Though social networks commonly measure a storys popularity in shares, researchers found that 59 per cent of all links shared in their sample went unclicked, and presumably unread. "People are more willing to share an article than read it. This is typical of modern information consumption," said Arnaud Legout, a research scientist at INRIA. For those willing to read, the study finds that stories on Twitter have a relatively long shelf life. While more than 90 per cent of links in the study were shared within a few hours, most links were clicked on, and presumably read, much later; 70 per cent of clicks happened after the first hour, and a full 18 per cent happened in the second week, the study found. PTI MHN ABH --- ENDS --- advertisement The Micra CVT Automatic XL variant which was priced at Rs 6,53,252 will now be available at Rs 5,99,000, a reduction of Rs 54,252. The company claimed that the Micra CVT gives a mileage of 19.34 kmpl as per ARAI tests. By India Today Web Desk: Nissan on Friday slashed the prices of automatic transmission variant of its premium hatchback Micra in India by up to Rs 54,252 on the back of increased parts localisation. The Micra CVT Automatic XL variant which was priced at Rs 6,53,252 will now be available at Rs 5,99,000, a reduction of Rs 54,252. ALSO READ: Nissan bets on Datsun rediGO to crack small car market in India advertisement Similarly, the Micra Automatic CVT XV will now cost Rs 6,73,500 as against its earlier price of Rs 7,19,213 lakh, a drop of Rs 45,713 (all prices ex-showroom, New Delhi). Arun Malhotra, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India said, "As Micra is produced right here in India, we are able to better serve the market in terms of faster, more efficient delivery and improved localization levels. This allows us to pass on these benefits to our customers in the form of a revised, even more competitive price for our popular premium hatchback." ALSO READ: Nissan displays concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo in London The company claimed that the Micra CVT gives a mileage of 19.34 kmpl as per ARAI tests. Micra was the first locally produced Nissan model in India with production starting in 2010 at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant in Chennai. ALSO READ: Nissan GTR: King of the Monsters Apart from the Micra, the company sells models, including mid-sized sedan Sunny and SUV Terrano, among others under the Nissan brand while it sells three models GO, GO Plus and redi-GO under the Datsun brand. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 17 (PTI) US President Barack Obama today hosted Saudi Arabias powerful Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the White House and discussed situation in the Middle East. During the meeting, Obama expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabias contributions to the campaign against ISIL, the White House said in a readout of the meeting. advertisement "Reviewing recent Iraqi gains against ISIL, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed steps to support the Iraqi people, including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilisation needs," the White House said. "On Syria, they reaffirmed the importance of supporting the cessation of hostilities and a political transition away from Asad," it said. According to the White House, Obama and Mohammed agreed to build support for Libya?s Government of National Accord. With regard to Yemen, Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia?s commitment to concluding a political settlement of the conflict, the White House said. "More broadly, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed Iran?s destabilising activities and agreed to explore avenues that could lead to a de-escalation of tensions. They also discussed the important role Saudi Arabia can play in addressing extremist ideology," the White House said. In Washington DC for almost a week, the 30-year-old Deputy Crown Prince, who is considered by many as the future leader of Saudi Arabia, met almost the entire top leadership of the Obama administration including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. The White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said the visit serves to underscore the deep strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. "Mostly, its going to give us an opportunity to further discuss issues of mutual concern and cooperation, including the situations in Yemen and Syria, our campaign against ISIL, Saudi Arabias national transformation programme of reforming its economy -- so all of the issues that were discussed at the GCC Summit in April," he told reporters. On Monday, Kerry hosted an Iftar for the visiting leader. Prince Mohammed also met the leaders in the intelligence community. The Saudi Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Al-Saud said the visit will have a significant impact on the development of the joint interests of the two countries. He said that the timing of the visit was significant because it follows the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, an economic roadmap built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation. PTI LKJ NSA --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 17 (PTI) US President Barack Obama has nominated an Indian-origin diplomat as the next American ambassador to Malaysia. If confirmed by the Senate, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir would replace Joseph Y Yun as the next US ambassador to Malaysia. Nomination of Lakhdhir, a career member of the Foreign Service Class of Counselor who was Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2011 to 2015, was announced by the White House along with several other key administration appointments. advertisement "I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them," Obama said. Lakhdhir served as the US Consul General in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom from 2009 to 2011. She previously worked in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs as the Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia from 2007 to 2009 and as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2005 to 2006. From 2001 to 2005, she was a Political Officer at the US embassy in Beijing. From 2000 to 2001, she served as a Pearson Fellow in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee and the House Financial Services Committee, Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1991, Lakhdhir has also served as a Political Officer in Indonesia and as a Consular Officer in Saudi Arabia. She received a BA from Harvard College and an MS from the National War College. Kamlas father Noor Lakhdhir was born in Mumbai in mid 1920s. He received a scholarship to study at the University of California, Berkeley from where he graduated in 1952. He later moved to New York City. PTI LKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- BJP MP from Kairana - Hukum Singh has claimed that 346 families have deserted the village since 2014 By India Today Web Desk: Notwithstanding denials of any exodus of Hindus from Kairana town by the Uttar Pradesh government, BJP MLA Sangeet Som today gave a 15-day 'ultimatum' to the state for the return of those who migrated from the town. Meanwhile, his party has demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged Kairana migration. "We are giving an ultimatum to the state administration to bring back the people who left Kairana within 15 days, otherwise no one will be able to stop us," Som told reporters at Sardhana village near Kairana town in Shamli district. advertisement "If in 15 days they do not return we're warning that no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana or to any other place," Som, who is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, said. BJP HAD MADE A U-TURN ON KAIRANA BJP MP Hukum Singh had earlier claimed mass exodus of Hindu families from Kairana. On June 14, he stressed that the exodus was not a communal issue but of law and order. The BJP leader had told a TV channel that the people fled due to "threats and extortion by criminal elements belonging to a particular community". Meanwhile, the local administration prevented Som from entering Kairana for holding a protest march in the area. Prohibitory orders have been enforced across Shamli district and borders of Kairana sealed even as Som suspended his march to the restive town. "We are BJP workers and respect law and order. We are not moving ahead as Section 144 has been imposed by the administration but they will not be able to stop us if they fail to bring back the families which have migrated," Som asserted. SANGEET SOM'S NIRBHAY RALLY Som had started his 'Nirbhay' rally to Kairana from his house in Sardhana with thousands of followers but was stopped at the border of the town keeping in mind the situation. A rally by Samawadi Party, led by party leader Atul Pradhan, was also stopped some distance from Sardhana town limits. All entrances to Kairana have been sealed with the deployment of paramilitary forces with security officials keeping a watch on the situation. CBI PROBE INTO KAIRANA Meanwhile, a BJP delegation also met Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and gave him a memorandum demanding a CBI inquiry on the Kairana issue. With less than a year to go for the crucial Uttar Pradesh election, the explosive issue of Kairana is likely to be kept on slow boil by the BJP and other parties in the state. Also Read In Akhilesh Yadav's Uttar Pradesh, mobster forces Hindu exodus --- ENDS --- Marine Corps Times said he had been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service. By India Today Web Desk: A former US Marine sergeant of Indian origin, Imran Yousuf, has been hailed as a hero for saving scores of lives at a Florida night club when a terrorist went on a rampage killing 49 people. Yousuf posted on his Facebook page, "There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct.... While it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted." advertisement HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED When Yousuf, who was working as a bouncer at the Pulse night club, catering to the gay community in Orlando, Florida, heard the first gunshots, his military experience fighting in Afghanistan kicked in. As everyone in the packed night club froze in fear, he jumped up and at personal risk opened a back door allowing many people to escape. As panicked people streamed to the back of the hall, "I'm screaming 'Open the door! Open the door!' And no one is moving because they are scared," he told CBS News television. "There was only one choice...Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there." Yousuf said his quick action saved 60 to 70 lives. He cried as he said, "I wish I could have saved more to be honest. There are a lot of people that are dead" And Yousuf has been modest, brushing off praises or being hailed as a hero. According to the Marine Corps Times newspaper, Yousuf had left the Marine Corps just last month. His family emigrated from Guyana, where his ancestors had gone from India. He grew up in the town of Niskayuna and joined the Marine Corps soon after he finished high school at the age of 17 and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. His brother, Ameer Yousuf, said, "This was so unexpected but because of my brother's training in the Marine Corps, he was prepared and used strategies from that to do everything he did." Marine Corps Times said he had been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service. With Agency Inputs --- ENDS --- In a letter to the Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Senator Johnson said it is his understanding that Omar Mateen used Facebook before and during the attack to search for and post terrorism-related content. By Press Trust of India: The gunman who killed 49 people at a gay club in the US this week wrote a series of Facebook posts about the "filthy ways of the West" before and during the shooting rampage, a top US Senator has said and asked the founder of the social networking site to assist in the probe. Such an assertion by Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs came amidst reports that Mateen, 29, made as many as 16 phone calls, including three to 911 and one to a local television stations during the several hours of early Sunday morning when he carried out the deadliest shooting in American history. advertisement SENATOR WANTS ZUCKERBERG'S HELP In a letter to the Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Johnson said it is his understanding that Mateen used Facebook before and during the attack to search for and post terrorism-related content. "I appreciate Facebook s support of the law-enforcement investigation into this attack and previous attacks. While Facebook is not a target of the Committee's inquiry, I respectfully request your assistance with the Committee s inquiry," he said. Johnson said according to information obtained by his staff, five Facebook accounts were apparently associated with Omar Mateen. OMAR USED FACEBOOK SEARCH WHILE KILLING PEOPLE On June 12, 2016, Mateen apparently searched for 'Pulse Orlando' and 'Shooting'. Mateen also apparently posted "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic State...I pledge my alliance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi...may Allah accept me." He then posted "The real Muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the West" and "You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic State vengeance." In a final post, Mateen apparently wrote, "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the USA." In his letter on Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained and posted by Fox News, Johnson said his staff learned that in May 2016, Mateen used Facebook to search for information on the San Bernardino terrorists. On June 4, 2016, Mateen apparently searched 'Baghdadi Speech'. "My staff has also learned that Mateen apparently used Facebook to conduct frequent local law enforcement and FBI searches, including searching for specific law enforcement offices," Johnson said asking full support of Zuckerberg in its investigations. "I ask that you please provide all Facebook data on Mr Mateen's activities on his account and any affiliated Facebook accounts, including but not limited to activity logs, Facebook timeline information, Facebook messages, photos, and posts,"he said. Also read: Orlando gay club shooting: What we know so far Orlando shooter's wife knew of nightclub attack, could soon be charged Orlando shooting: Snapchat video captures the moment when gunman opened fire --- ENDS --- advertisement It was Admiral William McRaven's, the man who oversaw the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, personal "Wanted" Osama poster that was auctioned at a dinner in Houston. Osama Bin Laden poster signed by US Navy SEAL team auctioned for $100,000 in Houston (Pic: PTI) By PTI: US Navy SEAL Team 6 which carried out a raid in Pakistan to kill Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden auctioned a poster of him for $100,000 in Houston on Tuesday. Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, took over the chancellor's office at the University of Texas. It was his personal "Wanted" Osama poster that was auctioned at a dinner in Houston. advertisement "(The photo was a) reminder to all of us that we were looking for him from 2004," McRaven told the Houston Chronicle. "It is a $10 poster in a seemingly priceless frame," he said. Admiral McRaven had insisted on a proper burial for Laden. "As evil as he was, its all the more important to do the right thing," McRaven replied to thunderous applause. The event raised more than $840,000 for Texas Children's Cancer Center. Osama was killed in the US Navy SEALs raid on May 2, 2011. (With inputs from PTI) --- ENDS --- Pakistan's nuclear arsenal which is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it, consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads. The report comes in the wake of Pakistan lobbying at the Capitol Hill and before the US government in support of its membership to the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. (Picture for representation purpose. Wikipedia creative commons) By Press Trust of India: Pakistan's "full spectrum deterrence" nuclear doctrine and increasing fissile production capability have increased the risk of a nuclear conflict with India, a Congressional report has said amid Pakistan's efforts to drum up support for its NSG membership bid. "Islamabad's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called full spectrum deterrence have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal," the bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. advertisement NUCLEAR WARHEADS Pakistan's nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more, said the report Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons, authored by Paul K Kerr, analyst in non-proliferation, and Mary Beth Nikitin, specialist in non-proliferation. According to the copy of the report dated June 14, which was obtained by PTI, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress, which periodically prepares reports on issues of interest to American lawmakers for information purpose only and does not represent the official position of the US Congress. US SUPPORT TO PAKISTAN Running into 30 pages, the report comes in the wake of Pakistan lobbying at the Capitol Hill and before the US government in support of its membership to the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. Though noting that Pakistan in recent years has taken a number of steps to increase international confidence in the security of its nuclear arsenal, the CRS report observed that instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question. "Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan's nuclear complex. While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards," CRS said in its report meant for the lawmakers to take an informed decision. CRS said the current status of Pakistan's nuclear export network is unclear, although most official US reports indicate that, at the least, it has been damaged considerably. NSG MEMBERSHIP Referring to Pakistan's NSG membership application, the CRS said according to US law, the Obama Administration could apparently back Islamabad's NSG membership without congressional approval. In the past few weeks, top Pakistani leadership including its Ambassador to the US has been writing letters to lawmakers and meeting Government officials to push for its NSG bid. India's entry into NSG will break India-Pak nuclear balance Pakistan's new nuke threat: Why India has to worry --- ENDS --- advertisement Robert P George told American lawmakers during a Congressional hearing that Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence during the past year, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups. Prime Minster Narendra Modi has been targeted over the Dadri lynching case. By Press Trust of India: Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers. "A pluralistic democracy, in India today religious tolerance is deteriorating and religious freedom violations are increasing," Robert P George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at the Princeton University and a former chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. advertisement MINORITY COMMUNITIES HARASSED "Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence during the past year, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," George alleged in his testimony before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organisations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Members of the ruling BJP tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to inflame tensions further," he alleged. These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies have created a pervasive climate of impunity in which religious minority communities increasingly feel insecure with no recourse when religiously- motivated crimes occur, George told lawmakers yesterday. SCS, STs BARRED FROM ENTERING TEMPLE In his testimony, George said in the last year, "higher caste" individuals and local political leaders also prevented Hindus considered part of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Dalits) from entering religious temples. The national government or state governments also applied several laws to restrict religious conversion, cow slaughter, and foreign funding of NGOs, he said. Moreover, an Indian constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains to be Hindus contradicts international standards of freedom of religion or belief, George argued. India has been on USCIRF's Tier 2 since 2009. Given its negative trajectory, USCIRF will continue to monitor the situation closely during the year ahead to determine if India should be recommended to the State Department for designation as a Country of Particular Concern, George said. NO FOREIGN FUNDS FOR NGOs In his testimony, George alleged that civil society in particular non-governmental organisations receiving funds from overseas are facing difficulties. In April 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the licenses of nearly 9,000 charitable organisations, he noted. "For example, two NGOs, the Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which run conflict-resolution programmes and fight court cases stemming from the 2002 Gujarat riots, had their registrations revoked," he told lawmakers. Additionally, the US-based Ford Foundation, which partially funds the Sabrang Trust and CJP, was put on a "watch list" when the Ministry of Home Affairs accused it of "abetting communal disharmony", he said. advertisement ALSO READ: Why Gujarat riots victims, activists are calling the Gulberg massacre verdict dispappointing Only the rich and famous talk of intolerance, says Anupam Kher --- ENDS --- Seven diplomats, each with their own passionately driven mission, came together to discuss the trails and landmark revelations of LGBTI community over the period of time in India and outside, in a meeting in New Delhi. By Smita Sharma: As the Delhi skyline was painted in different shades of blue on Friday afternoon, diplomats from seven different missions came together to discuss the various shades of humanity. In the wake of the recent Orlando attack , where 49 people paid a price with their lives, simply for being gay, these diplomats discussed the history of LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender And/ Or Intersex) struggles and rights in their respective countries. advertisement They deliberated upon the chicken and egg situation- if culture and society should change first to accept the LGBT community or should laws be framed to pave the way for mindsets to be changed. They also hoped that the Indian Parliament would decriminalise gay sex and repeal section 377. Diplomats from Norway, UK, Spain, US, EU, Germany and Sweden emphasized that changes in Indian law on homosexuality must be brought about from inside and not outside. A Swedish Documentary that led to Debate First Secretary Industrial Affairs at the German Embassy, Bjrn Grzinger recalled that it was an influential documentary on gay life that first sparked the public debate in Germany in 1971. TV stations refused to carry the documentary, but it started discussions on gays rights. And in 1987 the first gay kiss was broadcasted in a German soap . He reminded that till 1994, homosexual sex was defined as a criminal offence by law, but things changed drastically in 2001." In 2001 with the passage of same sex civil union, mayor of Berlin came out and said 'I am gay'. That Became the catchphrase and opened up an opportunity for politicians as well as gays in other spheres to come out in the public, " Bjrn added. Germany introduced the same sex Union law in 2001 which grants almost same set of rights to same sex couples except joint adoption of a child. Public debate is ongoing in Germany and constitutional court is looking into lawsuits to allow homosexual couples the right to adopt a kid. La Movida liberalised gay rights in Spain Beatrix Lorenzo Didic, Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy spoke of her country's long battle for LGBT rights. Several arrests were made at the first gay pride march in Barcelona in 1977. And it was the La Movida or Movement of Liberalisation after the Franco regime in 1980's, when societal and legal transformation began for the erstwhile banned community . Eventually, in 2005, Spain was the third country in the world to accept same sex marriage . But Beatrix cautioned that gays and lesbians are still subjected to bullying in schools. Citing a study, she added that at least 34 percent of suicides in the country below the age of 17 was either because homosexuals couldn't accept reality or were subjected to bullying in school. The Spanish diplomat added that a landmark judgement was delivered by a higher court in Madrid when a lesbian couple were denied the public right to state funded medical insemination. advertisement The court ruled in favour of the couple and the hospital had to compensate for the discrimination. Though transphobia and hate crimes towards the LGBT community remains a challenge for its society . Harassed by first boss for being gay-EU diplomat Speaking to the young and old crowd assembled at the American Centre, some diplomats also cited their personal experiences of being discriminated against for coming out of the closet. Thibault Devanlay ,a French citizen and Counsellor Political affairs at the EU mission was harassed by his boss as he started his career at the environment ministry. There were charges fabricated against Thibault for having declared his open sexuality. But it were his 'straight' colleagues and the administration that fought for him much to his surprise. This even though LGBT rights were decriminalised in France 225 years ago in the 17th century. Thibault advocated against gender stereotypes of painting young boys in shades of blue with cars, and young girls in shades of pink with dogs. He cited Malta, a tiny island European nation , as one with one of the best same sex marriage law including rights to adoption. advertisement He hoped that things would change in India soon for the European delegation to fly rainbow flags here, like they do in some missions in other countries. Thibault is today encouraged by his Ambassador to make public appearance at seminars, conferences with his partner, except for where sentiments run otherwise. Showing the way-Norway Expressing his deepest condolence at the Orlando killings, Baard Hjelde, Head of Political Affairs at the Norwegian Embassy stressed that LGBT rights are human rights which apply to all and guides the country's national and international policy. Till 45 years ago, homosexuality was a crime in Norway. But changes to the legal framework and societal attitude were made in 1972 with the repealing of the criminal act that defined gay sex as offence. In 1981, Norway was the first country to legislate to prevent discrimination against the LGBT community. advertisement Norwegian Churches too, starting this year have begun blessing same sex couples. Another historic milestone was achieved on June 6 as the country legislated to allow self determination of gender identity. A Norwegian citizen can now change legal gender without any psychological counseling or medical checkup with just an email sent to concerned authorities. Churches blessing gay couples in Sweden Questions were raised about the role of faith and theology in homophobia and how to deal with religious institutions. Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Embassy Daniel Wolvn cited an example from his country where the church took unprecedented step and said we are all for love . However, it was not imposed upon Individual priests to comply with. Churches themselves would help gay couples find a willing priest to solemnise their wedding. "Swedish society today is more clairvoyant and liberal, especially with the church liberalising its approach," Daniel added. From Eye Machine Horror to an Inclusive Canada At a time when Republican Presidential Front runner Donald Trump has chosen to whip up anti-Islamic sentiments with divisive rhetoric following the Orlando killings, Canada is spreading the message of the strength of diversity for social, economic well being. Jess Dutton, Canadian Deputy High Commissioner called the Pulse nightclub shootout an "attack on all of us, attack on our way of life and friends in LGBT community". It was in 2005 that Canada gave the green signal to same sex marriage. In the decades preceding that, hatred was so deeply rooted that National police would gauge suspected homosexuals through the interpretation of their pictures shown in an eye machine and if one were gay, they would be kicked out of public service. Jess recalled the 1965 case where a man called Everett George Clippert came out in public and accepted he had been indulging in gay sex for more than two decades. He was arrested, prosecuted and declared as a sexual offender in 1967, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court. It was then that erstwhile Prime Minister , father of current PM Justin Trudeau, formulated the law to decriminalise homosexuality. The law was eventually passed in 1969 and Edward Clippert walked out of prison later in 1971. Transformation begins at home-UK For the United Kingdom though, till the early 90's, the LGBT community was barred from diplomatic service as there would be no security clearance provided to them. But as things turned around in 1994 with the change in laws, diplomacy changed too . Today, the UK boasts of openly gay and lesbian ambassadors, and even having had an entirely homosexual mission some years back. Deputy High Commissioner,Dr Alexander Evans said the UK today has 35 LGBTI member of parliaments - the highest in the world, with 14 conservatives, 14 Labour Party MPs, and 7 Scottish National Party members out of closet. "Being Bisexual in London in 1920's or 30's, was better than in 50's or 60's. So what goes forward can go backward," cautioned Alexander asking for the movement to be not taken for granted. Orlando drives home need for Dialogue In December of 2010 with the abolishment of 'don't ask-don't tell', the doors to military service were finally opened for LGBT community in the world's oldest democracy. DCM at the American Embassy, Michael Pelletier emphasised that the horrific Orlando killings drove home the significance of open dialogue on homosexuality, specially in a country like India. The United States legalised same sex marriage in 2015 . " Every country advances in its own way based on different priorities. For change to be resilient and long lasting, the change has to come out of society and be rooted in society ," he added. Repeal 377, No special rights, only human rights for LGBTI Earlier in the day, 28 foreign missions in the country released a joint statement to celebrate the Commitment of their Country to Full Equality for all Human Beings Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. The joint communique noted the Indian supreme court's landmark judgement of April 2014 granting transgender people legal recognition and access to "all rights under the law". However at the American Centre deliberations, diplomats emphasised that transgender rights and section 377 rulings are not coherent and co-existent. And they hoped that section 377 would be repealed soon. Diplomats of these various missions are in touch with parties including the BJP and its lawmakers and other discreet contacts to understand the ground situation and take up issues in bilateral dialogues on transforming LGBT rights in India. They stressed that LGBTI community is not demanding special rights, they are only seeking human rights that everyone deserves and hoped that rainbow flags would soon dot the Indian skies. Also read:Tracing the history of Section 377, SC's final call to cast aside the punitive law --- ENDS --- In its application Bilal has asked for NIA chargsheet to be discarded saying that there is enough evidence against Sadhvi and others to be prosecuted. By Mustafa Shaikh: Special NIA court allowed Nisar Bilal, victim in 2008 Malegaon blast case, to become an intervener in the bail pleas filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Pravin Takkalki. Though the demand to make Maharashtra ATS a party in the case was rejected by the court. Questions have been raised by Bilal about the veracity of supplementary chargesheet filled by NIA. In its application Bilal has asked for NIA chargsheet to be discarded saying that there is enough evidence against Sadhvi and others to be prosecuted. advertisement "We will make are submissions to oppose the bail of accused no 1 Sandhvi Pragyasinh," said Bilal's lawyer, Abdul Wahad Khan. "It's premature to reveal on what grounds we will oppose the bail, but we can assure that there is enough material to prosecute the accused. Bail and discharge are farfetched things." According to Khan, their application was allowed, given the willingness of the prosecution to discharge the accused. "During the arguments SPP was asked whether they feel the accused should get bail and he replied in affirmative after which I think court gave us consideration to make submission during the bail plea," added Khan. "ATS investigation is termed to be fabricated by the accused. So as natural principal of justice we felt that ATS should be given a hearing on the matter. The court was of the opinion that all ATS documents are in court so there is no need to grant them a say," said Khan. --- ENDS --- It's hard, if not impossible, to grow and flourish under a banyan tree. The Kapoor brothers, Shashi and Shammi, had two gigantic figures looming over them. Father Prithviraj Kapoor had dominated the theatre scene for decades before his two boys grew up, having shone in silent cinema equally, before starring in India's first talkie, Alam Ara. Then there was sibling Raj Kapoor-older than Shammi by seven years and Shashi by 14-who had perched himself at the top, with his much-loved star persona of the tramp, and as a solid boss of RK Studio. Not surprisingly, Shammi, when he started out, was written off by audiences and the film industry alike as a boring, goody two shoes "Raj Kapoor clone", with 18 box-office flops in a row. advertisement Much as the Bombay film industry is reviled for being nepotistic, it is actually replete with stories of famous star-sons and star-siblings failing to make it. The Kapoor brothers are notable exceptions simply because each of them grew sideways as smaller plants from under the banyan, coming out of the shadows to find their place under the sun. As far as family trees go, Shammi's stylised urban hero was more a natural extension of Dev Anand's. It is not a coincidence that his breakthrough hits- Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Junglee- were movies Dev had first turned down. The movie projection of Shammi as a mirror image of his off-screen persona-goofy, funny, full of restless energy and an unabashed Casanova-was something his new wife Geeta Bali helped him draw out, both in the choice of films and roles. Was Shammi merely an actor? No. Rauf Ahmed's biography calls him Bollywood's 'Game Changer' and through this painstakingly detailed biography, you can adequately sense why. The term Bollywood, with its connotations of the romantic musical genre, owes its origins to Shammi from the swinging '60s. As do some of the typically 'Bollywood' films-starring Amitabh Bachchan (in the '70s), Aamir/Salman/Shah Rukh Khan (in the '90s) to Ranbir Kapoor (post-millennial)-thereafter. What did Shammi get so right? The script, as he admits, was roughly the same-boy likes girl, who doesn't respond to him first but eventually gives in, which is when the villain steps in. It was really about the music. Shammi collaborated closely with his friend Jai (of the composer duo Shankar-Jaikishen); and Mohammed Rafi, his playback voice. And man, he knew his music. Most don't know, for instance, that Shammi had composed the lilting Amitabh song Neela aasman so gaya from Silsila (1981) a decade before. That's not all. Shammi took a personal interest in song visuals and choreographed his own tracks. He saw dance as an uninhibited physical expression of music rather than a series of well-planned steps. There is a wonderful episode in the book of the cast and crew of Junglee trooping from Bombay to Pahalgam (in Kashmir) and Kufri (near Shimla) looking for 12 inches of snow to shoot a song. When they reached the final location, no one knew what Shammi was going to do. Neither did Shammi. The next morning he slid down the snow-peak screaming "Yahoo", a moment frozen in movie history. advertisement Shashi, in contrast, seems to be the understated sibling. If being third in a line of hugely popular brothers wasn't hard enough, he was also the less aggressive, genteel half of 'Shashitabh'-the 'angry young man' Amitabh Bachchan's foil in the '70s (in Trishul, Deewar, Kaala Patthar, Shaan?). Shashi (inarguably the handsomest Kapoor) was a major star in his own right. But more significantly, he pursued an alternative career in relatively minimalist movies aimed at both international and locally more discerning audiences. Aseem Chhabra's account neatly divides Shashi's career into three phases. His Merchant Ivory and other international productions, which even picked up top gongs, at Berlin (Heat and Dust) or Venice (Siddhartha). As the overworked mainstream superstar in cookie-cutter mode, often doing "really bad movies", he would show up at multiple shoots the same day, remembering neither his own lines nor the film's inconsequential storylines, a trait that prompted Raj Kapoor to label him "taxi". But, the book also looks closely at Shashi's work as filmmaker, where he persistently strived to break free from the mainstream clutter, producing Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Vijeta-gems, all of them. advertisement Shammi, we learn from Rauf's biography, was a hunter (literally and figuratively), an inveterate traveller and an impulsive man, prone to occasional bouts of arrogance. Shashi used to call him "Santa Claus", in an obvious reference to his generosity as brother. Shashi, we gauge from Chhabra's monograph, was very much a Santa figure too-a benevolent businessman or producer, who'd throw open 5-star hotel rooms, passing on his hard-earned money to pamper his 'art-house' cast and crew, making losses all through. Both come across as very Punjabi, 'dildar', larger-than-life figures, which is a big part of their charm, making you want to meet and know them better. Sometimes (and this is a lament as a Mumbai journalist), before you know it, people turn into books. Sadly, Shammi is no more, and Shashi is not keeping well. If journalism is its first draft, then history, you can tell through these two accounts, is going to remember them very fondly, alongside their towering brother Raj Kapoor, for their distinctly unique contribution to films. Chhabra's severely slim volume, in that sense, is a marvellously produced/packaged/edited tribute. But Rauf's is a better book. For one, because it is almost wholly in the voice of the subject. The author spends hours talking to Shammi-"first in the family after Papaji (Prithviraj) to pass matric and enter college"-reminiscing about his glory days. advertisement Shammi is devastatingly candid about his emotional highs and lows, relationships and breakups. The book goes deeper to examine his rollickingly promiscuous rock-star life. Many of these anecdotes, at least ones relating to film shoots and professional collaborations, could hugely enliven Annu Kapoor's radio pravachans on Bollywood. In fact, there is even a germ of a script in there that can only be titled 'Rockstar'. That was ironically the movie where we saw grand old man Shammi on screen for the last time. --- ENDS --- The new poster of Shivaay looks similar to the first look poster of the film in which Ajay was seen hanging down a cliff. By India Today Web Desk: Ajay Devgn, who is donning the director's hat for the upcoming film Shivaay, introduced the lead lady of the film. He took to Twitter to share a poster of the debutant actor from the film. Here's presenting the ravishing @sayyeshaa Welcome her as she joins the journey of Shivaay. pic.twitter.com/a9okxhlhoX Shivaay (@ShivaayTheFilm) June 16, 2016 advertisement Though making her debut in Hindi, Sayyeeshaa, the grand niece of veteran actor Saira Banu, is not new to acting. She has already acted in a Telugu film alongside Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni. In the poster, Sayyeeshaa face is creatively placed between two hills. Ajay is standing on one of the cliffs, and Sayyeesha is on the other. The new poster also looks similar to the first look poster of the film in which Ajay was seen hanging down a cliff. Produced by Ajay Devgn, the film has been shot in various places including Bulgaria, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. Shivaaya will hit the screens on October 28 (Diwali). --- ENDS --- Officials explained that the farmhouses if put to commercial use attract four times of the property tax and if rented out the property tax levied is twice. By Sneha Agrawal: The farmhouses in South Delhi will soon face penalty for evading the payment of property tax. The civic agency surveyed 1,900 farmhouses of which 1,400 have not paid the property tax. These farmhouses owe amount varying from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore. NOTICES ISSUED Around 1,140 farmhouses in the jurisdiction of South Delhi Municipal Corporation have been issued notices and the process of auctioning 100 of the attached farmhouses has been initiated. The survey was carried out in Chhattarpur, Ghitorni, Western Green, Rajokri, Mahabalipuram Greens, Asola, Aya Nagar, Kapashera, Pushpanjali, Sohlapur, Bhatal, Chhawla, Dera Mandi, Bhatti, Gadaipur. advertisement MORE FARMHOUSES EVADING TAXES TO FACE THE WRATH "We are forming more teams to unearth the evasion of property tax by the farmhouse owners in all the areas where they have been constructed. The property tax is also applied on the vacant land belonging to the farmhouses and would not be considered as the agricultural land. During the survey, our officials unearthed the false claims of the farmhouse owners about the land being put to agricultural use. These lands are bought for investments and left as it is," Ram Mohan Singh, Additional Commissioner, SDMC said. HOW MUCH OF TAX ARE THESE FARMHOUSE OWNERS AVOIDING? The official explained that the farmhouses if put to commercial use attract four times of the property tax and if rented out the property tax levied is twice. The properties attached are valued approximately Rs 5 crore each. Many of the farmhouse owners have constructed huge structures and spend substantial amount in their maintenance but do not pay the property tax. "Around 40-45 farmhouses as per the survey have been rented out to the diplomats and the owners have paid less than the required amount. We get around six percent of the revenue from the farmhouses," said Singh. Also read: 1,140 farmhouse owners issued notice for tax evasion: SDMC --- ENDS --- You'd probably hate us for this, but the colour that is an absolute NO for your own good might just be the one you're obsessed with. By India Today Web Desk: Do you feel dull and cranky without the presence of a significant, unpleasant stimuli? Well, the reason could be "down there". No, we're not talking about anything we're not 'supposed' to be talking about--this, in fact, is about your whole being. According to colour-response analyst Anjel OBryant, the hue of your underwear plays a significant role in the way you feel. advertisement Daily Mail UK quotes OBryant saying, "Every colour vibrates, all at different levels. It doesn't matter if you can seen them or not, it goes through your skin, over your whole body and into your brain." Also Read: This Indian has created an underwear for women on their period There is no denying the fact that a new, fresh and sexy pair of underwear has the power to make you feel really, really good about yourself, but according to OBryant, these seemingly inconsequential things have more to them than just being an essential piece of clothing. Throwing light on why exactly the colour of your underwear is important, OBryant says that a person's "base chakra is around your lower stomach area, near the line where your underwear would sit." Reiterating on the importance of colour vibrations, let us also tell you the particular coloured underwear that you should absolutely not wear if you want the colour vibrations to be positive. Also Read: Why the advertising world is obsessed with 'perfect' women, thigh gaps, and Kylie Jenner's lips You'd probably hate us for this, but the colour that faces a strict no-no by OBryant is--black. Yes, the same colour that dominates your bedroom lingerie shopping. "Black isn't the sexiest colour underwear, it cancels the energy. It was just a thing people told us to sell underwear, but from a scientific point of view, it's not the case; it's not good for your energy levels," OBryant tells Daily Mail UK. But don't worry, we also have a shade card of the underwear that are actually going to keep your mood rather nice. The best colour for women is reportedly, ultra-marine blue, whereas for men, it is navy blue. Happy underwear shopping! --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Sushant Singh Rajput has been in news more for his personal life than his professional choices. After his break-up with longtime girlfriend Ankita Lokhande, there were rumours of him dating his Raabta co-star Kriti Sanon. While the two remained tight-lipped about their relationship status, their pictures from the film sets in Budapest had a different story to tell. advertisement ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput returns to Instagram, shares a wrap-up selfie with Kriti Sanon ALSO READ: There is a spark in our chemistry, says Kriti Sanon In fact, the PK actor's recent selfie with Kriti on Instagram set many tongues wagging. For the uninitiated, a few weeks ago, Sushant had deleted his Instagram account post his split with Ankita to keep away from the prying eyes of media and fans. And his comeback selfie on Insatgram with his Raabta co-star only added fuel to the fire. If BollywoodLife is to be believed, these are not just rumours. According to the website, there is more than just friendship between Sushant and Kriti. And the rumoured lovebirds would soon make their relationship official. In fact, a source close to Raabta was quoted as telling the website, "Kriti has also been going around telling everyone how she is in her happiest phase right now." Sushant and Kriti met on the sets of Dinesh Vijan's Raabta and the two instantly connected. The Dilwale actor in an earlier interview with PTI had revealed that there is some spark in their chemistry. "There was something special, something you can't describe in words. There was a connect, a spark, some chemistry between me and Sushant even though that was the first time we met," she said. Sushant and Kriti have wrapped up the Budapest schedule of Raabta and are back in Mumbai. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic Riad Kamel Abbas today called on Union minister Kiren Rijiju and discussed the prevailing situation in the Gulf country and how to fight ISIS and "Islamic radicalisation". During the 20-minute meeting, Abbas briefed Rijiju about the present situation in Syria where ISIS has been holding a large area. advertisement "The Ambassador called for a joint effort of major nations to eradicate ISIS and Islamic radicalisation," Rijiju told PTI. The Ambassador has sought Indias greater participation in fight against the terror group, the Minister of State for Home said. PTI ACB SMN --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Jun 17 (PTI) The conversion to Islam of a 14- year-old girl from Kalasha community, Pakistans smallest religious minority, has sparked clashes between majority Muslims and a few thousand remaining members of the animist tribe. Nestled in the picturesque Chitral valley, the Kalasha people, who follow an ancient animistic religion and number only around 3,000, had claimed that the teenage girl was lured to convert to Islam. advertisement However, a district official today said that the girl has recorded her statement before the court that she converted out of her own free will. Yesterday, clashes were reported between Muslims and the Kalasha people after the girl returned back to her family amid reports that she was lured and coerced to convert to Islam. According to eye witnesses, a mob of few hundred Muslim men attacked a house in the Kalash tribes valley of Bumburate in the northern district of Chitral after the girl returned and police had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. Chitral Deputy Commissioner Usama Waraich said that the situation was now under control and the issue has been resolved as both local Muslims and Kalasha people have agreed to respect the girls decision. However, some elders of the Kalasha community still claim that the girl was forcefully converted and demand an impartial probe into the matter. Kalasha people mostly live in Bamburate, Birir and Rambur regions of Chitral, a northern district in the troubled Khyber-Pukhtunkwa province. The closely-knit community with its distinctive language, colourful dresses, songs and dances and elaborate rituals, has long been an anomaly in the Muslim-majority Pakistan and are under increased threat from militants who want to convert them to Islam. Local legends also connect Kalasha people to the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great, who passed this area in 326 BC during Alexanders India campaign. Some of the soldiers settled in the cold climes of the scenic Chitral valley after Alexander abruptly ended his India campaign and decided to return back to Greece, local folk-lore say. PTI SH SUA AKJ SUA --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI) Thailand today called for speeding up negotiations for conclusion of a free trade agreement with India by focussing on simpler things, saying the pact should be a "win-win situation" for both. "We are currently negotiating an FTA. We need to work faster on this. I would like this to be a win-win situation for both sides," Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said while addressing an industry event. advertisement According to him, the two countries must move ahead on the FTA by focussing on simpler things and sorting them out. He also said there are almost 30 agreements that have been signed between India and Thailand, but there is a need to implement this with vigour and added that focus should be on taking action. At a meeting of joint forum here, business leaders from both sides set a target of USD 16 billion bilateral trade by 2021. The Thailand Prime Minister expressed his willingness to give Indian private sector incentives and waive obstacles, adding that the country would like India to invest in sectors like auto parts, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, among others. Chan-o-cha has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders discussed issues of "mutual interest and concern" along with Thai-Indian and Thai-Asean issues. It was agreed that Thailand and India would begin talks and establish a free trade agreement (FTA) by 2010. Both the countries initially agreed to enact an early harvest scheme (EHS), meaning agreements on one or more topics must be concluded before the scheduled completion of a multi-issue round. The agreement specified tariff reductions under the EHS for 82 items, including fruits, processed food products, gems and jewellery, iron and steel products, auto parts, electronic goods and electric appliances. Tariffs on these products were eliminated on September 1 of 2006. India and Thailand have also agreed to support the ASEAN-India FTA and the negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by this year. MORE PTI RSN ARD --- ENDS --- Dhaval Gori, once a sea cadet, admits that there was a time when he felt pretty hateful towards Pakistan. "It wasn't until later that I realised that soldiers were losing lives on both the sides and that the actual solution was peace. And I began thinking of how I could contribute to this," reveals Gori. Curiosity about opinions from the other side led the 25-year-old to begin connecting with Pakistani youth online. Bhavesh Hagwane (left) and Dhaval Gori. Soon he had friends from Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi who he is still in touch with through WhatsApp or Facebook. "I realised how different the reality was from what we had been imagining," says Gori, who currently works as a project manager at a logistics company. The young man and his friend Bhavesh Hagwane connected with poets, journalists, and fellow travel junkies from Pakistan, who helped change their perspective. advertisement "It occurred to us that since we loved travelling, why not make the trip and meet our counterparts across the border, face to face," says Gori. That was how their project Ride for Peace was initiated, but it soon grew into a much more ambitious plan to cover 22,000 km in seven months. Hagwane, Gori and their friend Arun Bhat intend to leave in August and over the first five months, ride across the country and interview a thousand people in the hinterlands to discuss their views on Pakistan. If all goes well, they will cross the border to Pakistan and do the same over two months. Doing the epic journey on a bike is an essential part of their plan. "Biking symbolises freedom, independence. Riding a bike allows you to stay connected with nature as well as the people you encounter on the way," explains Gori. The boys plan to document their journey and produce a film on their return. But he lays emphasis on how their project is different from other such initiatives. "Usually it is the people of the metropolises that are asked about their opinion. We want to find out what rural India and Pakistan think of each other. We want to talk to those who have absolutely no political connections with Pakistan." he adds. From Mumbai the trio plans to visit Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Jammu, Himachal-the Seven Sisters. The challenge will be to replicate this all-encompassing journey in Pakistan. "We have asked the Pakistani embassy for an easy passage through the cities we're planning to cover. They have been very supportive and we have reasons to remain positive," says Gori. --- ENDS --- Pakistan authorities claim that Afghanistan security forces open fired indiscriminately, injuring civilians in the attack on Sunday. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border has been closed for all types of traffic since Sunday after the clashes. Hundreds of cargo trucks and loading vans are still stranded. By Kaswar Klasra: Four days after skirmishes between armed forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan at Torkham border killed two people - including a major of the Pakistan army and an Afghan soldier - the two sides agreed to solve dispute through dialogue. WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED? Clashes started on Sunday at the Torkham border following Pakistan's attempt to erect a huge gate on Pakistan-Afghanistan border. According to Pakistani authorities, Afghan security forces opened indiscriminate firing at the Pakistani side, which resulted into the death of a major of the Pakistan army. advertisement This charge, however, has been denied by Afghanistan. Some civilians also received bullet injuries. Pakistan army retaliated with full force and killed an Afghan soldier and injured many. The skirmishes continued till Tuesday afternoon, which prompted two sides to deploy more troops at the border, backed with heavy weapons. Late in the evening on Tuesday, the two sides decided to end dispute through dialogue. The meeting lasted for several hours. It was attended by the military and civilian officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to eye-witnesses, the firing stopped on Wednesday but the situation is still tense at the border. On Thursday, spokesperson of foreign office told reporters that firing has stopped at the border. "Pakistan and Afghanistan are engaged in talks to defuse tension along Torkham border," Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, told reporters in Islamabad. He added that Pakistan's border management efforts are part of counter-terrorism actions. EFFECTIVE BORDER MANAGEMENT REQUIRED, SAYS SARTAJ AZIZ Later on Thursday, advisor on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said that Pakistan believes that effective border management is the key to enhancing security and checking infiltration of terrorists along Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In a policy statement in the National Assembly on Thursday, he said it is vital for combating terrorism. The advisor reaffirmed the government's commitment to complete construction work at Torkham as this is part of the plan to strengthen border controls and regulate movements across border. Sartaj Aziz told members of Pakistan's lower house that effective border management is vital for enhancing security of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is also important for combating threat of terrorism as unregulated movement provides opportunity for infiltration of terrorists and smugglers across the border, which is not in the interest of the two countries. Also read: US appeals Afghanistan and Pakistan to calm tensions How terrorists posing as Afghan medical tourists almost hit Delhi --- ENDS --- Known for heritage sites and a beautiful coastline, this country has been named as the best tourism destination this year. The Angkor Wat is popular among tourists from all parts of the world. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Guyon Moree/Creative Commons By India Today Web Desk: At times, choosing a destination for your holiday becomes a difficult task. You have got your leaves approved, got your budget in place, but simply not able to pick one from so many places to go. After all, the world is there in front of you. But what if somebody told you about a country that has been named the best destination in the world this year? Makes things easy for you, doesn't it? advertisement Also read: Top 10 international destinations Indians are flocking to this summer Cambodia has been as the World Best Tourism Destination for 2016. Home of the famous Angkor Wat, the title has been conferred by The European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT). 30 countries participated in this prestigious annual competition, wherein Cambodia presented its report for the competition under the title 'Cambodia: The Land of Magic-The Place Where Gods And Kings Build the World!'. Cambodia took the top spot in awards owing to its rich cultural and historical legacy and outstanding natural beauty. "Cambodia is a perfectly safe and outstanding destination that will forever mark your heart," said Professor Anton Caragea, president of the Bucharest-headquartered ECTT, which consists of 28 European countries as members. Although Cambodia is a place full of surprises, the country is known among travellers for two UNESCO World Heritage Sites--the 12th century Angkor Wat in Siem Reap province and the other is the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple in Preah Vihear province. Besides, the country is gifted with a 450-km long pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part. The country attracted some 4.8 million foreign tourists in 2015, earning gross revenue of more than $3 billion, according to the Ministry of Tourism. (With inputs from IANS) --- ENDS --- A copy of the movie that makers of Udta Punjab submitted to the CBFC was leaked online. To download or not to download is the question. We tell you why not to! By Vivek Surendran: Piracy, in simplest terms, refers to the act of duplicating copyrighted content without the permission/authorisation from the rights holder. A Censor Board copy of Director Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, starring Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh, and produced by director Anurag Kashyap and Phantom Films, was leaked online two days ago, and the movie released nationwide today. All those who worked hard to make this movie, and then fought against the ruthless cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification, pleaded with people to not download the movie from torrent sites. advertisement Anurag Kashyap, in a Facebook post, said he has never downloaded a movie illegally from the internet. He confessed that he occasionally watched downloaded movies borrowed from friends but ensured that he found a way to pay for them later. You can read his post here: Anurag's claim that he never downloaded a movie from torrents irked some on social media, with some even calling him a hypocrite, like this guy (to which Kashyap replied)... ...and some had good things to say about Kashyap's movies, even reassuring the filmmaker that they will watch it only from the theatres. This is not the first time a movie's Censor Board copy got leaked. Last year, a Malayalam movie - Premam - starring Nivin Pauly and directed by Alphone Puthren, suffered the same fate. People watched the leaked copy on their laptops and phones before the film got released. It's altogether a different matter that the movie went on to become one of the most commercially successful movies in the history of Malayalam cinema. Is borrowing and watching a pirated film legal? The whole debate on piracy and downloading movies, music, software and games from the internet has one major argument - "we didn't download it ourselves, just borrowed it from a friend who did" - and there's a general misconception from where this stems. The misconception that "downloading" copyrighted content without authorisation of the rights holder is the crime and not consuming it. Wrong! You can be booked for being complicit. From helping someone commit a crime, to not informing authorities despite being aware of a possible 'crime', to profiting from a crime committed by someone else - is all illegal and punishable. What does Indian law say? Section 65A (J) of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 20l2, says "Any person who circumvents an effective technological measure applied for the purpose of protecting any of the rights conferred by this Act, with the intention of infringing on such rights, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend up to two years and shall also be liable to fine." Yes, imprisonment up to two years and a fine on top of it. Why are torrents illegal? Torrents are not very different from FTP (File Transfer Protocol) where users upload data on to a server and others can download it from them. Problem arises only when commercial copyrighted content is redistributed through this channel without proper authorisation. advertisement Anurag Kashyap said, "I have found a way to pay for them later, by buying them on DVD" in his Facebook post. Many mocked this as well. In another instance in the Malayalam film industry, director/producer Aashiq Abu got a message in his Facebook inbox where a fan, who saw his latest production - Maheshinte Prathikaram - by downloading it from a Torrent website, wanted to pay for the movie. The message said he had paid $20 dollars to watch another Malayalam movie - Leela - that was released online and that he was forced to download a copy of Maheshinte Prathikaram as it wasn't releasing in Canada where he lived and asked for Abu's bank account details. Abu shared this on his Facebook wall, thanking the fan. What this essentially means is that when we download films illegally, we take out a chunk of money that the filmmaker was going to earn if you had gone to watch it in a hall. advertisement Do the right thing. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved new regulations for Deemed Universities as per which there will be no bar on the number of off-campus centres such institutions may set up, though quality has to be assured. The new guidelines also gives a time bar of seven months for the UGC and HRD ministry to take for processing applications for setting up new centres. advertisement According to the new guidelines for Deemed Universities which was announced today by HRD minister Smriti Irani at a Press Conference, it has also been decided that Universities will not be able to charge more than Rs 10,000 at the time of counselling. "Capitation fee will not be allowed," she added. There have been complaints of students being asked to pay full fees which they had to struggle to recover in case they did not want to join. The new guidelines, Irani said, encourages transparency and focus on quality. She said there is no cap on the number of off-campus centres an institution may set up but quality has to be of the highest order. She added that to encourage transparency, it has been decided that the visits of expert committees for inspection to such institutions will be videotaped and put on the website within 24 hours. In another departure from the previous guidelines, the new guidelines allow the persons who establish a Deemed University to occupy the post of Chancellor or Pro Chancellor. Deemed Universities have also been given more freedom in opening new departments related to core areas, for which they now dont have to immediately seek the permission of the regulator. The new regulations also allow setting up of off-campus centres abroad but for that additional permission of the MHA and MEA would be needed. When asked about the existing cases of unpermitted off-campus centres by some institutions, Irani said they may be looked at in the light of the new guidelines. A statement released today said that after receiving them from the UGC, the HRD ministry has concurred with the recommendations for notification. According to the timelines assigned for different stages for processing of applications - information seeking by UGC (2 months), submission of reports by the Expert committee (3 months) and approval and advice of UGC (1.5 months) and Government decision (2 months). PTI ADS RG RG --- ENDS --- British Premier David Cameron confirmed Britains backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi on Thursday. By PTI: British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's "firm support" for Indias NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading clubs crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britains backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi on Thursday. advertisement UK TO SUPPORT INDIA'S APPLICATION A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." "The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support India's application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity," the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. US ASKS NSG MEMBERS TO SUPPORT INDIA India's case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support India's bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. CHINA OPPOSES INDIA'S NSG BID China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. advertisement ALSO READ: India 'inching closer' to NSG membership: Chinese state media --- ENDS --- The pope, who has come under fire before for making spontaneous comments about doctrinal matters, was speaking at a question-and-answer session with priests, nuns and parish workers on Thursday night in a Rome basilica. By Reuters: Pope Francis has said the "great majority" of Catholic marriages being celebrated today are invalid because couples do not fully realise it is a lifetime commitment, drawing sharp criticism from Church conservatives. The pope, who has come under fire before for making spontaneous comments about doctrinal matters, was speaking at a question-and-answer session with priests, nuns and parish workers on Thursday night in a Rome basilica. advertisement "We are living in a provisional culture," Francis said in response to a man who spoke of "the crisis of marriage" and asked how the Church could better prepare young couples. "Because of this, a great majority of our sacramental marriages are null because they (the couple) say 'yes, for the rest of my life' but they don't know what they are saying because they have a different culture," Francis said. In the Vatican's transcript issued on Friday morning his words were changed to read "some" instead of "a great majority". A Vatican spokesman said the pope's off-the-cuff remarks are sometimes edited after consulting with him or among aides. Critics appeared to take the pope's words as a suggestion that most Catholics do not take their marriage vows seriously. Ross Douthat, the conservative Catholic writer and New York Times columnist, said in one of his some 20 tweets on the subject that Francis had made "an extraordinary, irresponsible and ridiculous claim". "PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT SACRAMENT IS" Matthew Schmitz, editor at the conservative First Things Catholic magazine, called the pope "wrong and irresponsible". Edward Peters, a U.S. canon lawyer who has been an adviser to the Vatican, wrote that the pope's words were "very bad" because they could spur couples in difficult marriages to "give up now" instead of trying to overcome problems. The Catholic Church teaches that a marriage can be ended only by death or an annulment -- a Church ruling it was not valid in the first place because it lacked prerequisites such as free will and psychological maturity. "The crisis of marriage is due to the fact that people don't know what the sacrament is, the beauty of the sacrament, they don't know that it is indissoluble, that it is for your entire life," the pope said. "There are girls and boys who have purity and a great love, but they are few," he said, adding that many young people had a materialistic and superficial approach to their wedding day, such as an obsession with choosing the right gown, the right church and the right restaurant. He said the Church needed better marriage preparation programmes. advertisement Conservatives also chided Francis for saying at the same meeting that priests should not pressure couples who were co-habitating if they were not ready to get married. He said the priests should "let fidelity ripen". Francis has been taken to task for unscripted comments before. Last year, he had to clarify remarks in which he said Catholics should not feel they have to breed "like rabbits" because of the Church's birth control ban. Also read: Pope washes feet of Muslim, Hindu migrants, says 'we are brothers' --- ENDS --- Military strikes against the Assad government would represent a major change in the Obama administration's longstanding policy of not taking sides in the Syrian civil war. By Reuters: More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of US policy in Syria, calling for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the country's civil war. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by 51 mid- to high-level State Department officers involved with advising on Syria policy. It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. advertisement WHAT DOES THE "DISSENT CHANNEL CABLE" SAY The cable calls for "targeted military strikes" against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the cease-fire brokered earlier this year, the Journal reported, citing copies of the cable it had seen. OBAMA'S POLICY ON SYRIA Military strikes against the Assad government would represent a major change in the Obama administration's longstanding policy of not taking sides in the Syrian civil war. One US official, who did not sign the cable but has read it, told Reuters the White House remained opposed to deeper American military involvement in the Syrian conflict. The official said the cable was unlikely to alter that, or shift Obama's focus from the battle against the persistent and spreading threat posed by the Islamic State militant group. WHY 50 DIPLOMATS WANT AN AIRSTRIKE A second source who has read the cable said it reflected the views of US officials who have worked on Syria, some of them for years, and who believe the Obama administration's policy is ineffective. "In a nutshell, the group would like to see a military option put forward to put some pressure ... on the regime," said the second source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The cable discussed the possibility of air strikes but made no mention of adding US ground troops to Syria. The United States is believed to have roughly 300 US special operations forces in Syria carrying out a counter-terrorism mission against Islamic State militants but not targeting the Assad government. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan told a congressional hearing on Thursday that Assad was in a stronger position than he was a year ago, bolstered by Russian air strikes against moderate opposition. Brennan also said Islamic State's "terrorism capacity and global reach" have not been reduced. DISSENT CHANNEL AND THE NEXT STEP The names on the memo are almost all mid-level officials - many of them career diplomats - who have been involved in the administration's Syria policy over the past five years, at home or abroad, the New York Times said. advertisement While dissent cables are not unusual, the number of signatures on this document is extremely large, if not unprecedented, according to the Times. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in an email. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently, and I am not going to comment on the contents." Kirby said the "Dissent Channel" was an official forum that allows State Department employees to express alternative views. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Jun 17 (PTI) The US has ruled out mediation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and asked the two countries to work together to deescalate tensions at the Torkham border crossing where deadly clashes this week have killed two Afghan and one Pakistani border guard and wounded 20 on both sides. "We are obviously very concerned by the border clashes, particularly around the Torkham crossing. We want both sides to ratchet down the violence and begin a dialogue to try to reduce the tensions, keep the crossing open, and have it done peaceably," the State Department Spokesman, John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. advertisement Underlining that the US believes that the right approach is an Afghan-led reconciliation process, he said, "We continue to support (Afghan) President (Ashraf) Ghani as he continues to try to get that process back on track. Now what effect the border clashes are having on reconciliation, I dont know." "I havent seen any practical effect of it to date. These clashes have only just popped up in recent days. But that aside, we still want to see the reconciliation process move forward," Kirby said as he ruled out the US jumping in as a mediator between the two countries. "We have not taken a mediation role, and we have talked about this before. This is an Afghan-led process. We obviously support it and we want to see it succeed.We have expressed that support privately and publicly. But this is President Ghanis initiative; he?s taking it on. We know he wants to get it back on track and we fully support him in that effort, but this is not for the United States mediating between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. The US, he said, wants Afghanistan and Pakistan to work through these differences bilaterally, which they can do because they have done it in the past. "This isn?t the first time that we have seen clashes even at that crossing, and they have been able to work through it in the past and we are absolutely confident that, with moral courage on both sides, they can continue to work through it," he said. Observing that the US does not want to see this kind of violence between the two sides, Kirby said there are plenty of shared threats and common challenges between Afghanistan and Pakistan and plenty of reasons for them to look for ways to work together. "They have made some progress in terms of cooperation across that border and communication and in counterterrorism efforts," he said. "So nobody likes to see the clashes and the violence that we have seen to date, but its too soon to say, well, just because theres been some of this, that the whole reconciliation process should be just thrown out the window, or that the differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan are irreconcilable and therefore not worth continuing to pursue dialogue and cooperation. We are just not there yet," Kirby said. advertisement Torkham, a usually busy crossing, has remained closed because of continuing tensions. Pakistan alleged that "unprovoked" firing was started by Afghanistans security forces when construction work began on a new gate on the Pakistani side. Last month, the border crossing was sealed for several days over the construction of the gate, causing hardships to thousands of people who cross it every day. Afghan government does not recognise the border, which is also known as Durand Line, and it opposes permanent structure. PTI LKJ PMS --- ENDS --- The US which has been pusing for India's NSG membership has now urged members of the group to help in the same. By Press Trust of India: The US has urged members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to support India's membership into the elite grouping. "The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, which I think is next week," State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "I'm not going to get ahead of how that's going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where it's going to go, but we've made clear that we support the application," Kirby said in response to a question. advertisement US IN FAVOUR OF INDIA'S NSG MEMBERSHIP During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Barack Obama welcomed India's application to the 48-member grouping. The US has been pushing for India's NSG membership. Earlier, ahead of a meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of India's bid, saying they should "agree not to block consensus on Indian admission". A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG Plenary later this month. India, though not a member, enjoys the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules for its atomic cooperation deal with the US.ALSO READ | India 'inching closer' to NSG membership: Chinese state media --- ENDS --- Speaking exclusively to India Today, Sheila Dikshit hit out at the AAP government, asking who AAP minister Kapil Mishra is and questioned the timing of his allegations. By India Today Web Desk: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress Sheila Dikshit is suddenly back in the headlines after recent meetings with the Gandhi's and the AAP government in Delhi accusing her of the Rs 400-crore tanker scam that happened when she was in power in the capital. Yesterday, Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung cleared a probe against Dikshit in the alleged tanker scam after a complaint was sent to LG's office by Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra. advertisement Speaking exclusively to India Today, Dikshit today hit out at the AAP government, asking who AAP minister Kapil Mishra is and questioned the timing of his allegations. "What are the allegations? There were no allegations earlier. Now who is this Mishra, I do not know," she said. My Report exposing corrpution by Shiela Dixit has been forwarded to ACB; Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 16, 2016 Shiela Dixit should be behind the bars now for corruption. The only barrier between Shiela and Tihar is her agents in BJP. 1/2; Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 16, 2016 POLITICAL MOTIVATION "Why is this 'scam' coming out now? It is politically motivated (According to reports, she could be given Congress' top post in Punjab or be made CM candidate for Uttar Pradesh )," Dikshit said. She then spoke about the process regarding purchase of the tankers. "I didn't make the decision alone. IAS officers, MCD members, even some BJP memebers were part of the decision making." "The tankers they are accusing me of choosing are still going strong," she added. --- ENDS --- Wand Labs, which builds messaging technology for apps, was brought to life by an IIT-Delhi alumnus Vishal Sharma in 2013. By Indo-Asian News Service: With an aim to strengthen its position in the emerging era of conversational intelligence using artificial intelligence (AI), software giant Microsoft has acquired a California-based messaging app founded by an Indian. Wand Labs, which builds messaging technology for apps, was brought to life by an IIT-Delhi alumnus Vishal Sharma in 2013. With Sharma, an experienced leader and entrepreneur in the field of search and knowledge, Wand Labs has already been developing in areas specific to "Conversation as a Platform". advertisement "This acquisition accelerates our vision and strategy for Conversation as a Platform, which Satya Nadella introduced at our 'Build 2016' conference in March," said David Ku, Corporate Vice President, Information Platform Group (Microsoft) in a blog post. "Wand Labs' technology and talent will strengthen our position in the emerging era of conversational intelligence, where we bring together the power of human language with advanced machine intelligence, connecting people to knowledge, information, services and other people in more relevant and natural ways," he added. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Also Read: Microsoft enters legal weed business The move builds on and extends the power of the Bing, Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere. The Wand team's expertise around semantic ontologies, services mapping, third-party developer integration and conversational interfaces make them a great fit to join the Bing engineering and platform team, especially with the work we're doing in the area of intelligent agents and chat bots, Ku noted. According to Microsoft, Vishal is a unique talent and a well-respected thought leader in this area. "We are confident that he and his team can make significant contributions to our innovation of Bing intelligence in this new era of Conversation as a Platform. I am excited to welcome Vishal and the Wand Labs team to Microsoft," Ku added. --- ENDS --- The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC led a $24 million Series B funding in Andela, a startup that trains and recruits software developers in Africa. By Reuters: Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy venture has made its first major investment, leading a funding round in a startup that trains and recruits software developers in Africa. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC, created by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, led a $24 million Series B funding in Andela, the startup said on Thursday. Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures, was also part of the funding round. advertisement Andela selects the top 1 per cent of tech talent from Africa, trains them and places them in engineering organizations. The startup, which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed by its Nigeria and Kenya offices, will use the funds to expand to a third African country by the end of 2016. "We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela's mission is to close that gap," Zuckerberg said in a statement. When the philanthropy initiative was launched in late 2015, Zuckerberg said he would put in 99 per cent of his Facebook shares. The initiative is structured as a limited liability company. This means, unlike a traditional charitable or philanthropic foundation, the venture can make political donations, lobby lawmakers, invest in businesses and recoup any profits from those investments. Zuckerberg has also signed the Giving Pledge, which invites the world's wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes over their lifetime or in their will. --- 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. But the Iranian officials comments were delivered around the same time that 270 members of the European Parliament released a statement urging Germany and all other European Union countries to take the opposite course and avoid expanded relations with the Islamic Republic at least until certain conditions are met. The statement, whose lead author Gerard Deprez is the chairman of the Friend of a Free Iran parliamentary committee, emphasized the situation of human rights, which some say have deteriorated even further since the election of President Hassan Rouhani, regarded by certain Western policymakers as a moderate. As reported by the International Business Times, it pointed out that since he took office in 2013, the rate of executions has risen to a 27-year high, and the Islamic Republic has continued to execute juvenile offenders and hold numerous political prisoners, including journalists. The statement went on to urge Western powers to make any expanded political or trade relations conditional upon the improvement of Irans overall human rights record and the immediate halt of executions. Other Western lawmakers have criticized recent trade agreements on the basis of their potential to material contribute to Irans ongoing abuses, not just in its domestic environment but also in the broader Middle East. That is to say that many of Irans critics explicitly reject Zarifs notion that investment in Iran will contribute to peace and stability in the region. Rather, they tend to blame Iranian Shiite influence for the increasingly sectarian nature of various regional conflicts, thereby contributing to recruitment for groups like ISIS. These perceived dangers can be expected to continue holding back European companies and banks from investing in the Islamic Republic. Some concerns in this regard are purely practical, as the persistence of Iran-sponsored regional conflicts makes for a notably less stable business environment. But other reports on investor wariness have indicated that some relevant concerns deal solely with the reputational consequences of investing in the worlds foremost sponsor of terrorism. There is certainly a great deal of overlap between these two factors, as well. Irans traditional sponsorship of terrorism is a major part of the reason why the US State Department considers the entire Iranian financial system to be of primary money laundering concern. And on Thursday, The Tower reported that an executive with HSBC had declared that the international banking institution would not invest in Iran as long as there remained a pronounced risk of financial crime. And this disincentive is made greater by the fact that in spite of relief from nuclear-related sanctions, Iran remains subject to US sanctions on its terrorist financing and human rights abuses. Furthermore, there are indications that the Islamic Republic and its state-affiliated businesses have no intention of making it more difficult for would-be Western investors to avoid the targets of these sanctions. A thorough assessment of the current prospects for investment in Iran was published by Oil Price on Wednesday and it indicated that forthcoming Iranian rules for foreign investors may still require at least one domestic proxy, and that any such institution is very likely to be connected to the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Divisions of the IRGC are involved both in the repression of dissent within the Islamic Republic and the financing of terrorism or prosecution of military interventions in foreign territory. These practical and reputation constraints on European investor interest have helped to prevent the Islamic Republic from restoring its pre-sanctions levels of oil exports and general trading volume with European countries. And Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Zarif and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have complained bitterly about the US preventing Iran from receiving the full scope of its expected financial benefits under the nuclear agreement. Yet in spite of existing US sanctions and persistent wariness among European investors, Irans post-sanctions recovery has actually been significantly faster than many analysts anticipated, according to a number of recent reports. The Tower indicates that Irans economic growth was estimated at three percent during the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year. And that growth has continued since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was implemented in January. A CNN Money report that was also published on Thursday specified that the International Energy Agency had estimated Irans May oil output at 3.64 million barrels per day, putting it remarkably close to the roughly four million barrel peak prior to the imposition of sanctions. Meanwhile, waterborne exports have risen to 2.6 million barrels per day. Bloomberg declares outright that the latest statistics have defied expectations. Yet all of these sources also agree that the long-term sustainability of Irans recovery will be a much more difficult proposition, especially if Iran continues to avoid the compromises that are probably necessary for it to encourage investor interest. The Tower indicates that analysts believe Irans growth will stabilize around four or four and a half percent in about five years, but only if the Islamic Republic makes relevant economic reforms. These reforms will be necessary for Irans stated goals, which CNN gives as the attraction of at least 70 billion dollars in foreign investment and the expansion of oil exports to about 4.8 million barrels per day by 2021. In the short term, the Iranians anticipate that at least 200 million dollars of investment will be necessary just to reach pre-sanctions levels. The CNN report adds that the prospects for such investment are diminishing as Iran drags its feet over new contracts, likely signaling that the IRGC is anxious over the prospect of losing part of the Iranian market to foreign infiltrators. Perhaps because of the resulting sluggish pace of investment, the International Energy Agency doesnt foresee Iran exceeding even four million barrels per day of oil output before 2021. Wednesdays Oil Price analysis seems to not only happily embrace this conclusion, but also to recommend that European governments and businesses retain their wariness about reentering the Iranian market. Anticipating Zarifs urging for closer cooperation between Iran and Germany, the article accuses the Rouhani administration of trying to attract investment in order to perpetuate the Iranian systems inherent corruption, which both contributes to human rights abuses and undermines the transparency in business with foreign investors. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has said that the human rights situation is only getting worse with nearly 1,000 executions last year. Irans situation not only affects the country itself but the wider middle eastern region and indeed the world. They are a major source for terrorist activity, sending spies to Saudi Arabia and propping up the Bashar Assad in the Syrian Civil War. They have also continued to test ballistic missiles in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. The economic and social situation has also deteriorated in the three years since Rouhani took office with rising levels of unemployment, especially among women. The rally is an annual event attended by Iranians, their supporters, senior politicians, human rights activists, religious leaders and womens rights activists from Europe, the United States and Islamic countries. [June 16, 2016] Harland Clarke Digital Named a Top Trusted Website in OTA's 2016 Online Trust Honor Roll for Fifth Straight Year Harland Clarke Digital today announced it has been named to the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) 2016 Online Trust Honor Roll for demonstrating commitment to leadership in best practices in security, privacy and consumer protection. This is the fifth consecutive year Harland Clarke Digital has received this designation. "Harland Clarke has a strong history serving as a valued provider and source of strategic online expertise, helping clients successfully navigate the changing digital landscape," said Dan Singleton, President and CEO, Harland Clarke. "It's an honor to be recognized by the OTA for our work in ensuring the security, privacy and integrity of our clients' data. This recognition demonstrates the importance Harland Clarke places on ensuring the trustworthiness of online information." According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 781 data breaches in 2015, compromising 169,068,505 records containing personally identifiable information. A study by IBM found the average cost of a data breach is $3.8 million, representing a 23 percent increase since 2013. OTA, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with industry leaders t enhance online trust, completed comprehensive audits analyzing nearly 1,000 domains and privacy policies, including approximately 100,000 web pages and more than 500 million emails for this report. The composite analysis included nearly 50 metrics focusing on 1) site & server security, 2) domain, brand, email and consumer protection and 3) privacy policy and practices. In addition to the in-depth analysis of their web sites, Domain Name Systems (DNS), outbound emails, and public records were analyzed for recent data breach incidents and FTC (News - Alert) settlements. Key sectors audited include the Internet Retailer Top 500, FDIC 100, Top 100 Consumer Services, Top 100 Media / Content sites, as well as OTA members and consumer-facing U.S. government sites. "For the Internet to thrive, users must trust their information will be secure and their privacy will be respected," said Craig Spiezle, CEO and Executive Director of OTA. "Businesses have a responsibility to take a holistic view of security and privacy through continuous monitoring of processes, practices and policies, so users feel confident trust is well placed. Harland Clarke's leadership with their clients and industry in these areas are critical to the prosperity and innovation of online services." Now in its eighth year, the Online Trust Audit and Honor Roll is a comprehensive, independent online trust benchmark study. Started in 2008 as an effort to drive adoption of best practices, its objectives are to 1) recognize leadership and commitment to best practices which aid in the protection of online trust and confidence in online services, 2) enable businesses to enhance their security, data protection and privacy practices, 3) move from compliance to stewardship, demonstrating support of meaningful self-regulation, and 4) promote security & privacy as part of a company's brand promise and value proposition. To review the full 2016 Honor Roll report, please download a free copy at: https://otalliance.org/HonorRoll. A live webinar briefing is being held on June 28: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/2197260013273562371. ABOUT The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) is a non-profit with the mission to enhance online trust and user empowerment while promoting innovation and the vitality of the Internet. Its goal is to help educate businesses, policy makers and stakeholders while developing and advancing best practices and tools to enhance the protection of users' security, privacy and identity. OTA supports collaborative public-private partnerships, benchmark reporting, and meaningful self-regulation and data stewardship. Its members and supporters include leaders spanning the public policy, technology, ecommerce, social networking, mobile, email and interactive marketing, financial, service provider, government agency and industry organization sectors. https://otalliance.org About Harland Clarke Harland Clarke (www.harlandclarke.com) is a leading provider of integrated payment solutions, multi-channel marketing services, operational support and retail products. By delivering data-driven solutions through its superior analytical capabilities, it empowers nearly 12,500 financial and commercial clients and 3.5 million SMB customers to cultivate, retain and acquire new business. Harland Clarke is a catalyst for growth and has earned the trust of clients ranging in size from major financial institutions and corporate brands to small businesses and individual consumers. Client focus has earned the company a reputation for exceptional quality, performance excellence and superior customer service. Harland Clarke is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160616006197/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 16, 2016] Technavio Announces Top Seven Vendors in the Global Keyboard Market Until 2020 Technavio has announced the top seven leading vendors for the global keyboard market in their latest research report. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenues generated from sales [both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket] of keyboards (both wired and wireless). Request sample report: http://bit.ly/24BU4vu "OEMs in the global keyboard market are continually adding new features to their products, resulting in regular launches of innovative products in the market. The performance and applications of keyboards are constantly increasing with these advances. With advances in technologies, computing keyboards are becoming stronger, more powerful, and appealing than before," said Sunil Kumar Singh, one of Technavio's lead analysts for computing devices. "The futuristic TransluSense keyboard has cameras and infrared light that are projected on an object like glass to help the user give input to the PC. Luminae, the manufacturer of TransluSense keyboard, is still working on some bugs and will get it released during the forecast period. Tobii REX is a gaze interaction device that is used to map eye-movement on the screen cursor positioning. This device can eliminate the need to scroll down while reading. This device is attached to the monitor and connected via a USB," added Sunil. Top seven leading vendors in the global keyboard market: Dell (News - Alert) Dell manufactures and provides a wide range of computers and related products to its customers worldwide. It is involved in sale of personal computers, servers and networking products, storage systems, mobility products, software and peripherals, and services. The company serves consumers and businesses in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. HP HP is the world's second largest PC provider. The major offerings of the company include PCs, imaging and printing devices, enterprise IT infrastructure solutions, and related services. It also provides outsourcing services, technology support and maintenance, and consulting services. The company designs solutions for Security, Mobile and Big Data sectors by leveraging diversity of its offerings, and strength and capabilities of its individual business units. The company conducts its business operationsthrough seven segments: personal systems, printing, enterprise group, enterprise services, software, HP financial services, and corporate investments. Logitech (News - Alert) The company holds 47% of the market share. The company has the following listed strategies in the pipeline to compete in the market: Reducing complexity in existing products by developing new innovative products Focusing on the markets in China, South America, and some parts of Europe to generate revenue Providing products and services to video and audio solutions and enterprise markets Generating demand for complimentary peripherals in emerging markets and increasing the use of these peripherals with tablets and mobile devices Pursuing a multi-architecture and multi-operating system strategy with the Android (News - Alert) and Chrome OS in tablets and notebooks Microsoft Microsoft was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, US. Microsoft (News - Alert) develops, licenses, and supports software products and services; and designs and sells hardware worldwide. The company's Windows & Windows Live division provides PC operating systems that comprises Windows 7 operating system, Windows Live suite of applications and Web services, and PC hardware products. Its Server and Tools division delivers Windows Server operating systems, Windows Azure; Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Azure, Windows Intune, Windows Embedded, Visual Studio, Silverlight, system center products, Microsoft consulting services, and product support services. ASUSTeK Computer The company is headquartered in Taipei City, Taiwan and was founded in 1990. It is involved in developing, designing, manufacturing, sale, and repair of computers, consumer electronics, and communication products. It has operations in Taiwan, China, Singapore, the US, Europe, and internationally. Kinesis The company was founded in 1991, and it is based in Bothell, Washington. It produces and markets keyboards and computer-related ergonomic office products. It provides laptop ergonomics, ergonomic office chairs, keyboards, ergonomic pointing devices, foot switches, low-force numeric keypads, workstation accessories, and connectivity devices. It also offers office seating products and keyboard trays. Targus The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Anaheim, California, US. The company offers mobile computing cases and accessories. It provides laptop backpacks, laptop messenger bags, laptop sleeves, mice, PDA or handheld accessories, camera bags, CD or DVD albums, and laptop backpacks and bags. It also offers accessories such as cables, cooling, docking stations, drives, hubs, keyboards, keypads, power inverters and accessories, locks, power adapters and connectors, presenters, privacy screens, replacement parts, and stands. The company provides its products to the corporate, government, and education sectors. Browse related reports: Global PC Peripherals Market 2015-2019 Market Research Global Digital Keyboard Market 2016-2020 Global Gaming Peripheral 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/20160616005046/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 17, 2016] Industrial IoT Market Worth 151.01 Billion USD by 2020 PUNE, India, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report " Industrial IoT Market by Technology (Sensors, RFID, Industrial Robotics, 3D Printing, DCS, Condition Monitoring, Smart Meter, Autonomous Haulage System, Yield Monitors, Guidance & Steering, GPS/GNSS), Software, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020", published by MarketsandMarkets, the IIoT market is expected to reach USD 151.01 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 8.03% between 2015 and 2020. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 71 market data Tables and 62 Figures spread through 164 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Industrial IoT Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/industrial-internet-of-things-market-129733727.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization On this report. Factors which are driving the IIoT market include technological advancements in semiconductor and electronics, evolution of cloud computing technologies, standardization of IPv6, and support from governments all over the world. Manufacturing sector held the largest share of the IIoT market The manufacturing sector is witnessing a transformation through the implementation of the smart factory concept and factory automation technologies. Government initiatives such as Industrie 4.0 in Germany and Plan Industriel in France are expected to drive the IIoT solutions in Europe. Moreover, leading manufacturing countries such as the U.S., China, and India are expected to further expand their manufacturing industries and deploy smart manufacturing technologies to increase this sector's contribution to their national GDPs. The market for the networking technology is expected to grow at a high CAGR Machine-to-machine connectivity through wireless or wired networks forms the base for IIoT. The rising adoption of IIoT is expected to boost the market for networking technologies, especially wireless networks. These networks not only provide mobility to the equipment but also offer greater scalability and ease of integration to the network. APAC expected to hld the largest market share and witness rapid growth during the forecast period APAC is a leading manufacturing hub and held the largest market share for Industrial IoT Market in 2014. It is also expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period owing to the growing adoption of IIoT solutions across the manufacturing, mining, healthcare, and energy & power sectors. Within APAC, China held the largest market share for IIoT, whereas India is expected to grow at the highest CAGR among all the major markets. The major companies in the IIoT market include General Electric (U.S.), Cisco Inc. (U.S.), Intel Corporation (U.S.), Rockwell Automation (U.S.), ARM Holdings plc. (U.K.), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany), Honeywell International, Inc. (U.S.), Dassault Systemes SA (France), Huawei Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Zebra Technologies (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), and Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany) among others. Ask For PDF Brochure: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=129733727 This research report categorizes the global IIoT market on the basis of industry vertical, technology, software, and region. This report describes the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges with respect to the IIoT market. The Porter's five forces analysis has been included in the report with a description of each of its forces and their respective impact on the IIoT market. Browse Related Reports Smart Factory Market By Technology (PLM, MES, Industrial Automation), Applications (Automotive, Electrical and Electronics, Materials and Mining, Food And Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, & Others), & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-factory-market-1227.html Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market by Technology (SCADA, PLC & RTU, DCS, MES, HMI, and Safety), Component (Industrial Robot, MACHINE Vision, Valve, Control Device, and Field Instrument), Industry, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/factory-industrial-automation-sme-smb-market-541.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is world's 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 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 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MATTOON -- Angie and Ben Goebel still struggle with the loss of their 3-month-old daughter Maggie five years ago. The couple never imagined tragedy would strike when the childs baby sitter laid her down for a nap one morning. We received a frantic call saying she wasnt breathing and they had called 911, Mrs. Goebel said. By the time the family reached the hospital emergency department, their baby girl was gone. Maggie had rolled over into some soft bedding while napping in a PackN Play and suffocated, Goebel explained. It was a horrible accident. In the years that have followed this tragedy, the Newton mother has made it one of her life missions to educate others on safe infant sleep practices. I just want to educate everybody so theres not another family that has to go through what weve gone through, she said. The Goebel family recently donated more than 100 HALO Sleep Sacks to be given to parents enrolled in Oh! Baby childbirth classes at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Since 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics and First Candle/SIDS Alliance suggest the use of a wearable blanket, like the HALO Sleep Sack, instead of a loose blanket to help keep a baby warm. Loose blankets in the crib can pose a significant risk as they can cover a babys face and interfere with breathing. Goebel will also be on hand to talk with expectant parents about safe infant sleep practices at the 2016 Bumps, Burps and Giggles Baby Fair on June 26 at Sarah Bush Lincoln. The event is being held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education. It is free and open to the public. While the Goebels had two other children, ages 7 and 4 at the time of Maggies death, they had never used sleep sacks before. Many parents are unaware that having a blanket in the crib poses a significant risk, SBL Perinatal Educator & Lactation Consultant Pam Hood, RN, said. Infant sleep sacks are closed, zipped, blanket-like sleepers, which allow the baby to have a warmer and safer sleep environment. We are extremely grateful to Angie and her family for providing these sleep sacks to new parents. The couple was extremely cautious when their son, Grant, was born in 2013 and used sleep sacks until he was a year and a half old. In addition to the Sarah Bush Lincoln donation, the Goebels have donated hundreds of sleep sacks to hospitals, health departments and individual families in Effingham, Jasper and Richland counties in the past four years. My goal is to make sure that everyone is well educated, Goebel said. The family also has donated funds for Safe Sitter classes at the Jasper County Health Department; conducted safe sleep seminars for SIDS training for daycare providers, parents, grandparents, etc.; and provided Angel Care monitors to local families, along with contributions to other agencies. The Goebels raise funds to support their safe sleep initiative by hosting the Footprints in Memory of Maggie 5K Run/Walk & Toddler Trot at Sam Parr State Park in Newton each year. The fifth annual event will take place on Aug. 27. The race begins at 8 a.m., with registration starting at 7 a.m. For more information about the race or for a registration form, email Goebel at bnagoebel@gmail.com. The mission they wanted to accomplish was clear from the beginning: to raise awareness and support of SIDS by educating families, providing resources for new parents and promoting dialogue about SIDS and safe sleep practices. It has helped us heal and allowed us to help spread the word about safe infant sleep practices, Goebel said. The couple has been overwhelmed by the support, raising from $4,000 to $5,000 each year. We are open to suggestions on how to reach more people with education and resources, she said. WASHINGTON, D.C. (JG-TC) -- Charleston resident and local Jefferson Award winner Skyler James was honored during the national ceremony for the awards Thursday night. James, who received a local Jefferson Award for her work on baby abandonment, was one of five recipients of the organization's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award. On her Facebook page, James expressed gratitude to several people, including those who nominated her and supported her selection for the local Jefferson Award. "This experience has been so humbling for me to see how many amazing people there are out in our country that are serving and helping others," she said. "Everyone that I have met has motivated me to do more to honor them." James was abandoned in a cemetery in Champaign shortly after she was born but was found and rescued by a firefighter. Her personal experience led her to take part in a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to preventing baby abandonment. She's also served as an advocate for Safe Haven laws, which allow parents to leave a new baby with a staff member at any hospital, fire station, police station or emergency medical service provider. James is currently a communication major studying at Concordia University in Chicago. The Onassis Award is named in honor of the former first lady who was one of the Jefferson Awards' founders. CHARLESTON (JG-TC) -- A sewage problem at the Charleston Wal-Mart store has been remedied and the store is again selling food items, a Coles County Health Department official said Thursday. The department received a report Wednesday morning that sewage was coming out of the floor drain in one of the store's restrooms, according to Gloria Spear, the department's environmental health director. A health department inspector went to the store and verified the situation, Spear said. The department then suspended the store's permit to sell some food items, mostly those that require refrigeration, she explained. However, store managers opted to stop sales of all food items, including those not covered by the health department permit, Spear said. The sewage problem was fixed and the department reinstated the store's permit Wednesday afternoon, she said. Health department officials couldn't be reached when the situation first became known on Wednesday. At that time, a Wal-Mart representative said only that the problem had been addressed. MATTOON -- Two local Rotarians recently traveled through the soaring Carpathian Mountains, sailed down the Danube River, and visited "Dracula's Castle" in Transylvania. Ken Hutchens and Kelly Pierce visited these sites during a Rotary International Group Study Exchange to Romania. Their group also got to go behind the scenes at a bakery, a university and other workplaces in Romania, plus social service projects supported by Rotary. "You definitely get to see a different side of the country," said Piece, who is a financial aid officer at Lake Land College. Team members of this group that toured Romania from May 6 to 30 are scheduled to give a presentation about their experiences during the Mattoon Rotary Club meeting at noon Monday at Pagliacci's. Hutchens, who was team leader for the trip, said Rotary clubs were banned in Romania during World War II and subsequent Communist rule, but returned to this Eastern European nation in 1993. He said there are now about 120 clubs with 3,200 members in Romania, which is the size of Illinois and Indiana together. "They are really very young. Some of the clubs are less than 10 years old," Hutchens said. "We were very impressed by how active their groups are, how many things they are doing in their communities." Hutchens, who is a Mattoon minister, said Romania has lagged behind other former Communist countries in Eastern Europe in developing, but is catching up through its membership in the European Union and Western investment. Still, Hutchens said farmers cutting hay with hand tools, carts pulled by horses, and sheep tended by shepherds remain common sights in the countryside. He said their small convoy of vehicles with the Rotary group had to stop and wait on few occasions for goats and other livestock to cross the road. "It is kind of like stepping back in history in some ways," Hutchens said. Romania's long history is visible throughout this country. Hutchens said their Rotary group saw pre-Roman and Roman ruins, castles and monasteries, and Communist-era architecture. Pierce said she particularly enjoyed visiting Bran Castle, commonly called "Dracula's Castle." This site is one of a few castles associated with Vlad Tepes, the historical figure who served as the inspiration for the fictional Dracula. She noted that it was a "dark and stormy day" when their group stopped at "Dracula's Castle." The Rotary group saw Romania's natural history, as well. Pierce said the Carpathian Mountains are beautiful. Hutchens added that they cruised on the Danube River and through its narrowest point -- the Iron Gate. He said they also saw Romania's forests, which are home to bears, wolves and recently reintroduced European bison. While in Romania, the group's itinerary also include visits to social service projects supported by Rotary. They toured an orphanage that is funded with the help of proceeds from a nearby farm, and a site that provides housing for unwed mothers and abused wives. "We were amazed by how active those groups are and what they do on a shoe string. They really do a lot," Hutchens said. Their Rotary group also included Champaign area residents Sandra Calderon, John Decker, and Shandra Summerville. Pierce said she encourages other community members who are interested in international travel and learning about other cultures to consider going on a Rotary International Group Student Exchange trip if the opportunity is available to them. "They should definitely apply because it's a once in a lifetime experience," Pierce said. Your digital subscription includes access to all content on our agricultural websites across the nation. Access unlimited content and the digital versions of our print editions - This Week's Paper. MATTOON (JG-TC) -- Investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying a man who is suspected of allegedly passing counterfeit $100 bills at several Mattoon businesses Thursday evening. A Mattoon Police Department press release described the suspect as a black male who is approximately 20 years of age and has a smaller, thin build. He wore a black T-shirt, jeans, and a Chicago White Sox ball cap. The suspect was driving a white Chrysler 200 or 300M, with Indiana plates. Anyone with information regarding this suspect is asked to contact Coles County Crimestoppers at Colescountycrimestoppers.org, text crime leads to 274637, or contact the Mattoon Police Department at 217-235-5451 or via Facebook. Callers never have to provide their name and can qualify for cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those whom commit crimes in Coles County. Dheepan opens with bodies of those killed in Sri Lankas civil war being burned, then moves to a woman in a refugee camp trying to find an orphaned child. Teamed with a Tamil Tiger fighter, who throws his uniform on the flaming pyre, the woman and the girl become part of a family escaping Sri Lanka for France using passports of the dead. So begins director Jacques Audiards tense immigrant story that finds the family plunged into a confusing new world, where they struggle to communicate, take any available job and, eventually, find themselves caught up in an environment as dangerous as the one they fled. Dheepan, the name on his passport, is played by Antonythasan Jesuthasan, a former Tamil soldier in real life who is now a poet and activist. A powerful natural actor, Jesuthasan conveys Dheepans determination to build a new life in Paris, his growing affection for Yalini (Kalieaswari Srinivasan) and 9-year-old Illayaal (Claudine Vinasithamby) and his war-honed survival skills rooted in the trauma of seeing his family killed. Moving into public housing on the outskirts of the city, Dheepan becomes the caretaker for one of the two rundown apartment buildings, trying to sort mail in a language he cant read and to avoid a section of the building when its occupants are there. Yalini, who wants to go to England to join her family, takes a job in the building across the way, cooking and caring for an elderly man, while Illayaal enrolls in school, initially struggling but soon learning the language, assimilating far faster than the adults. Audiard tells that portion of the story with acute observation, showing the European immigrant life in particularly timely fashion, given the wave of refugees flooding the continent. Then, the nature of those who have taken over the forbidden part of the building becomes clear to Dheepan -- theyre part of a drug gang -- and a relative of the the old man turns up at his place. That sends the picture into a crime drama/revenge thriller realm. The critical consensus about Dheepan is that the turn to crime wasnt necessary, the film having accomplished much in depicting the immigrant story. But it is, in fact, key to Audiards tale, reflecting not only how Dheepans past determines his future but the reality of the insecurity and often violence in underclass/immigrant life. Another fine depiction of outsiders from Audiard, who made The Prophet and Rust and Bone, Dheepan" won the Palme d'Or at last years Cannes Film Festival, evidence of the films powerful, resonant story of immigrants that couldnt be more relevant here or in Europe. . Stephen Ragga Marley learned a lifetime lesson when he was just a little boy. The teacher -- his father, the legendary Bob Marley. Ive been on stage with my dad, Marley said. Ive been on stage with him in Zimbabwe. We used to run on stage, me and Ziggy, during Exodus. He said If youre going to be on my stage, youre going to have to do it seriously. You guys have to choreograph a little dance. We learned performing is an art. You have to take it serious. It is going up there and having fun. But youre presenting this music, this movement. It has to be presented with the highest quality. Ziggy Marley clearly learned the same lesson. He demonstrated that Saturday at the Bourbon Theatre, delivering a superb show with his nine-member ensemble. Stephen Marley will be on that stage Tuesday, the brothers bringing their versions of reggae to Lincoln within two weeks of each other. Saturday, Ziggy performed about half the songs on his just-released, self-titled sixth solo album. Stephen will bring in new material as well, songs from Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life, his follow-up to his 2011 Grammy winner Revelation Part I: The Root of Life. Part II is set to be released in July. The three songs available before the album release feature Jamaican dancehall stars and rapper Waka Flocka Flame, directly making the connection between reggae and hip-hop, an observation with which Marley concurs. Of course, most definitely it is -- how the two musics come together comfortably is another testimony of that as well, he said. That connection is also a way for Marley to keep the music he grew up playing contemporary and relevant. Im a servant of the music, yes, Marley said. Part of what I do is definitely pushing the music forward -- in whatever way. Im happy to push the music forward. One of the new pieces is the powerful Ghetto Boy. Featuring Jamaican dancehall stars Bounty Killer and COBRA, the song addresses gun violence, telling the story of the titles ghetto boy given a pistol when he was young -- my gun became my toy, Marley sings. Thats just a part of me, he said of Ghetto Boy. Its just another song. Its not like I sat down and said 'I want to write a song about Im depicting whats going on, subconsciously as well as consciously, if you understand what I mean. Subconsciously, things Im seeing are coming out in the lyrics. Integrity and morals ... It comes out in our music. As he talked, Marley repeatedly referred to reggae as music and as a movement. Asked what that movement was, he replied: God is at the heart of what were trying to present. God, love, equality, justice. We are servants of the most high. That is why, then, there are positives messages of unity and social uplift throughout the music? Yes, my brother, very much so, Marley said. We need the social message of uplift for people. We the people are the only ones who can do it. We need to uplift, to go through the struggle, so we can exist together as one. Its hard. But very much so, its needed at this time because of the social consciousness melded into this. That message, of course, has been present since Bob Marley broke into worldwide consciousness in 1973. It resonated again last week at the Bourbon with Ziggys onstage comments, his new song We Are The People, and, most notably, during the performance of Bobs One Love that had the sold-out crowd singing with Ziggy and the band on the chorus -- One love, one heart / Let's get together and feel all right." Stephen Marley was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1972, but by a couple of months old, I was in Jamaica, he said. He cant remember not having an instrument in his hands. By 7 years old, I definitely was jamming, he said. Instruments were always around us. Both sides of our family were definitely musical. My mothers father was a great saxophonist. He had his little piano and instruments around. And my dad and his crew, they had the bass, drums, guitars all set up ... I was a born musician. We play everything. I play saxophone, I play flute, I play every little thing. At 7, Stephen, whose Ragga nickname comes from ragamuffin, joined Ziggy, whose real name is David, and his older sisters Sharon and Cedella in The Melody Makers. The family group took its name from the British pop newspaper, debuting with Children Playing in the Streets, a song Bob wrote for his children and the children of the world. In 1981, 9-year-old Stephen and 12-year-old Ziggy performed at their fathers funeral. Four years later, the renamed Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers released their debut album. In 1988, came Conscious Party, the hit Tomorrows People and the first of three best reggae album Grammys for the group. The next year came One Bright Day, the hit Look Whos Dancin (which Ziggy performed last week) and another Grammy. The last Grammy for the Melody Makers came for 1997s Fallen is Babylon. Stephens released his solo debut Mind Control in 2007, taking the best reggae album Grammy, the same award hed win for 2009s Mind Control (Acoustic)" and 2011s Revelation Part 1. He also produced a pair of albums for Damien Jr. Gong Marley, the youngest of Bob Marleys sons, Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock that took best reggae album Grammys, bringing Stephens total to eight, by far the most in the history of the category. Producing, Stephen said, is little different than writing and recording songs. Its creating music, man, he said. We love to create music. We love that new inspiration. You get the new inspiration and fall in line with it. We love that part of it. What you call producing, its creating music. We love that. And we love coming to the cities and towns and playing the music, taking it from the inspiration to life. Tuesday Marley will do just that, bringing a show thats made up of songs from not my whole career, but definitely, my solo career from Mind Control on. He promises the show will be Magic ... Come and get a good vibe. These shows are magic. Velma (Stroh) Schroeder, 94, of Lincoln passed away on June 15, 2016. She was born on a farm near Blue Hill on May 20, 1922, to Harvey and Katherine (Benker) Stroh. She graduated from Blue Hill High School and attended the Nebraska State Teachers College in Kearney. She taught rural school in Webster County for six years. She married Elmer Schroeder on Dec. 30, 1945, upon his return from World War II service, at which time they moved to Lincoln. Velma was employed at the American Bus Lines regional office for five years. She then worked as a secretary at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, retiring after 22 years of service. She was a longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lincoln, where she was active in many areas. She also was a volunteer at Lincoln General Hospital. She enjoyed her family, reading, sewing and card games. In later years, she enjoyed activities at The Legacy retirement community, 5600 Pioneers Blvd., where she made her home. Velma was a devoted mother and grandmother. She is survived by her daughter, Susan Seacrest (husband Gary); grandchildren, Logan Seacrest (friend Elizabeth Hertzler), Tyler Seacrest (wife Debbie) and Kelly Seacrest (husband Peter Stegen); sister, Arvie Doerr (husband Howard); sister-in-law, Lorraine Stroh; and nieces and nephews. Velma was preceded in death by her parents, husband Elmer and three brothers, Vernon, Alvin and Leonard Stroh. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 18 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 724 S. 12th St., Lincoln. Prior private interment. Memorials: Tabitha Foundation (hospice), 4720 Randolph St., Lincoln, NE 68506. Condolences online at Roperandsons.com. A former Hastings police officer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of soliciting more than $20,000 in donations for medical bills he didn't have. Jerry Esch created a GoFundMe account for himself in November, saying he had cancer. It was deleted Friday. This is the hardest thing for me to do, he wrote. I would rather help someone else but in this time I need yours. In his 2,000-word plea for help, Esch said he found a wart on his right toe in April 2009 and tried to remove it, then went to a doctor and was told it was melanoma. After a long battle, he wrote, his right leg had to be amputated. He also said he'd gotten divorced and put medical expenses and medication on credit cards he needed to pay. In seven months, Esch raised $21,000 of his $27,000 goal. Between November and December, he deposited $17,691.57 of that into his personal checking account, according to court documents. Hastings Police Chief Pete Kortum said the department learned about the request and asked the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate. He said statements Esch made were inconsistent with the city's insurance plan. Patrol Trooper Ryan Phinney wrote in an arrest warrant that Esch's insurance records indicated he had no out-of-network services and no denied claims in 2015. Records also said all fees for $18,000 in medication were paid except for Eschs $50 copay, Phinney wrote. The trooper examined Eschs credit card records and said a maximum $3,286.45 in potential medical expenses was charged between January 2013 and December 2015. Each of the cards had a balance of $27,000, but only $653 in expenses went to medical bills, Phinney wrote. The arrest warrant says Esch used the money raised through the online account to pay off personal loans, his divorce attorney and credit card debt not related to medical expenses. Kortum said Esch worked for the police department from December 2005 to February. Beyond that, he said, the issue is a personnel matter and he could not comment further. Esch is out of jail on a $5,000 bond. Lincoln police are looking for a man who robbed a Taco John's just before 8:30 Friday morning. The man went to the restaurant at 3301 N. 27th St. with a stun gun and demanded money, Officer Katie Flood said. He left with some cash and got into a red pickup with Nebraska plate TZZ828, Flood said. Police are investigating whether the robbery is connected to a similar incident at a Kwik Shop on Thursday, when a man went into the store at 5900 Fremont St. just after 1 p.m., grabbed the clerk and demanded she open the register, then took cash and ran out of the building. The clerk told police the robber acted as if he had a weapon but did not display one. No one was injured in either robbery. Hong Kong Market, 1228 N. 27th St. Raw personal food stored with customer ready-to-eat foods. Lychees fruit stored directly in contact of surface where raw meat being prepared, discarded. Work surface not cleaned/sanitized after preparing raw meat. Reheating pork rolls from processor in warming box for less than one hour, removed and reheated to safe temp. Items in warmer at unsafe temp for four hours, discarded. Rice cakes at unsafe temp for one hour, adjust cooler temps. Numerous items lacking date labels in coolers, repeat. "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life." -- Frank Sinatra, as Maj. Bennett Marco "His brain has not only been washed, as they say ... It has been dry-cleaned." -- Khigh Dhiegh, as Dr. Yen Lo These lines from the 1962 classic film "The Manchurian Candidate" came to mind after I listened to President Obama's endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The president said, "I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office." Really? She would be equal to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and himself? Notice President Obama didn't say she is "more qualified," because that would diminish him and when it comes to narcissism, Obama and the Clintons make Donald Trump look like a shrinking violet. In his effusive praise of Hillary Clinton, the president did not mention any specific accomplishments that might qualify her for the office. That is because there are none. There is a lot of symbolism, of course, but no substantive results as secretary of state, an unremarkable single term as a senator from New York, and eight years as first lady when, in 1993, she couldn't get the Clintons' health reform legislation through a majority Democratic Congress. There is, however, a long list of dubious and possibly criminal "achievements." Besides the questions surrounding Clinton's use of a private server and whether secret government documents were compromised and possibly hacked by America's adversaries, there is another issue the major media have completely ignored. It involves an institution known as Laureate Education, the parent company of Walden University, an online, for-profit school, which in its practices, critics of Trump University might say sounds like the allegations made against that school. Several students at Walden claimed to have been repeatedly delayed and given added costs as they tried to obtain their degrees, leaving them in considerable debt. A lawsuit was filed by the students, but a spokesperson for Walden told me the suits were "resolved" and the students have re-enrolled. Bill Clinton was paid an obscene $16.5 million between 2010 and 2014 to serve as an honorary chancellor for Laureate International Universities. With the Clintons, the money tree never ceases bearing fruit. Are people seeking to buy influence with this amount of cash, or do they just like Bill and Hillary? The major media mainly ignore such things because they function largely as an auxiliary to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. This and many other things from what conservative critics call "the Clinton crime foundation" ought to be red meat for Donald Trump. He should ask why the media are engaging in a near total blackout of Laureate Education and the enormous flow of money to the Clintons and their foundation from governments, institutions and individuals. Speaking of qualifications, perhaps no president, or presidential candidate, has been bought and paid for more than Hillary Clinton. She comes to this contest not with a long list of accomplishments, but with a trail of "receipts" and IOUs. If she becomes president, donors might reasonably be expected to collect on their investment. Speaking in 2013, a few weeks after children were slaughtered in their classrooms in Newtown, Connecticut, and just after President Barack Obama's second inauguration, National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre laid out the frightening challenge that Obama's presidency posed to gun owners. "He wants to put every private, personal transaction under the thumb of the federal government, and he wants to keep all those names in a massive federal registry," LaPierre said. "There are only two reasons for that federal list of gun owners -- to tax them or take them." Just seven months away from the end of his second term, Obama still has not proposed, much less implemented, a federal gun registry. But LaPierre is in the gun business, not the honesty business. A diabolical slippery slope that begins with criminal background checks and snowballs from there into gun registration, confiscation and, finally, totalitarian tyranny is one of LaPierre's favorite tropes. And in honor of the election calendar, the dangerous peaks of Mount Obama are rapidly transforming into the slippery slopes of Mount Hillary. LaPierre relies on his formidable imagination to summon pictures of a gun-registration dystopia. Yet he needn't. A real-world example exists -- in a remote, godforsaken Pacific atoll where every glint of human spirit is crushed. The natives call it "Hawaii." Basically every functioning, non-antique firearm in Hawaii is required to be registered with local police. The registration requires the names of the manufacturer and importer, model, type of action, caliber or gauge, serial number and the source from which the firearm was obtained, including the name and address of the prior owner. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence: "All registration data that would identify the individual registering the firearm by name or address are confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone, except if required by a law enforcement agency for the lawful performance of its duties or as may be required by order of a court." In other words, the information is confidential until, maybe, it's not. Awaiting Hawaii Gov. David Ige's, D, signature are two bills passed by the legislature that would further strengthen the state's gun laws. One adds "harassment by stalking and sexual assault" to the list of offenses that disqualify one from gun possession, based on research linking domestic violence and gun violence. The other "authorizes county police departments to enroll firearms applicants and individuals who are registering their firearms into a criminal record monitoring service used to alert police when an owner of a firearm is arrested for a criminal offense anywhere in the country." Presuming the second bill becomes law (Ige has a few weeks yet to act), Hawaii gun owners will have their names added to a federal data base in addition to their state data base. Here's a bold prediction: If the bill is signed, life in Hawaii will go on pretty much as it has. Indeed, life will go on in a slightly safer, healthier fashion than it does elsewhere in the U.S. In 2015 Hawaii had the fewest gun deaths per capita of the 50 states. Is gun registration the cause of Hawaii's safer society? Gun violence is too complex to depend on a single factor. But there is an encouraging correlation between stronger gun laws and lower rates of gun death. And unlike other states with relatively strong laws, such as California and New York, Hawaii is far removed from neighbors with slipshod laws written by NRA lobbyists. It's easy to run guns from Arizona to California, or from Florida to New York. It's a lot less easy to send them to Hawaii (although similarly remote Alaska, with weak laws, turns out to be a surprisingly robust source of guns used in crimes in other states). As the Orlando shootings inspire a renewed, and painfully familiar, debate over gun laws, Americans will no doubt be treated to much rhetoric about the slippery slope that sends rudimentary regulation skidding perilously down into totalitarianism. Unless Hawaii is your idea of hell on Earth, you can very safely ignore the hysteria. WASHINGTON -- From Shanghai to Paris to Moscow, the world has been watching to see how the U.S. election is affected by the latest terrorist bloodbath on our soil, this time in the shadow of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Newspapers in those cities and in many others focused attention on the mass murder of 49 revelers in a gay, Orlando nightclub and what might be expected from either a President Donald Trump or a President Hillary Clinton. It escaped no one that the latest horror would become a factor in the campaign. Nothing, not even the sorrows of the bereaved, takes a backseat to political opportunity. While Clinton spoke against anti-Muslim rhetoric, Trump leapt into the darkness with all four feet, snarling at President Obama's lack of passion in addressing the Orlando slaughter and condemning him for refusing to use the words "radical Islamic terrorism" in identifying the enemy. These charges are familiar enough, but this time Trump went a step further, suggesting that Obama resign from office and, conspiratorially, that there's more going on than we know. Defaulting to his customary template, Trump shifted responsibility for these thoughts to "people." "Look, we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind," Trump said Monday on Fox News. "And the something else in mind -- you know, people can't believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on." And who are these people who can't believe "it"? Trump's Twitter followers? The tiny voices in his head? For certain, they're not The Washington Post journalists whom Trump now has barred from his campaign events. Why? Because the Post accurately reported Trump's words, noting the obvious implication that the president of the United States was somehow in league with the terrorists. Maybe it's only the "people" thinking this, but Trump's modus operandi is well known by now. His book, tedious even to Dick and Jane, is wide open. In a normal world, Trump would be booed off the stage. Instead, he is applauded (by some) for adding the Post to his list of journalistic organs denied access to his campaign. The applause is disheartening, and is evidence that newspapers are little understood or appreciated. This is owing in part to a few notorious fabricators, who were duly punished, as well as a vast array of alternative news sources. But mostly to blame for the demonization of the media broadly are faux news media outlets, Republicans and their cohorts. For decades now, conservative news sources, many of which are aggregators dependent upon the mainstream media for their bread and butter, have joined radio hosts in blasting traditional news sources. Kill the messenger is their operating principle. Republicans who benefit from this portrayal of the media tender their silence in errant gratitude. The fact is, Trump hasn't needed any help in exposing his prevarications, exaggerations and just plain awful behavior. His words and deeds speak for themselves. Thus, the idea that there's some sort of anti-Trump cabal in the Post newsroom is nonsense. And picking a side between a bombastic fabulist like Trump and one of the most-respected editors in the country, Marty Baron, shouldn't cut any fresh furrows in anyone's brow. That is, not if one values the First Amendment, because you can be sure that Trump does not. Already, he has said he wants to "open up" libel laws so that people like him can more easily sue newspapers. This isn't only unlikely to happen but would prove otherwise problematic for Trump. Among other criteria, libel law requires evidence of defamation of character, the implicit presumption of which would seem to inoculate the accused in Trump's case. More troubling in the long term is Trump's apparent assumption that he can block a free press -- much as tyrants, potentates and dictators throughout history have done. Undoubtedly, a state news agency would suit him fine -- all the news Good Citizens are fit to read. Our allies and enemies, meanwhile, will have noted that a possible president Trump, who used the deaths of innocents to essentially indict President Obama of colluding with terrorists, would do all in his power to undermine the oldest democracy in the world. It is hard to sell freedom when at least a sizable portion of the country promoting it seems no longer to understand what it means. The citys plan to hire a consultant to plan a new central library is a puzzler. Has a new groundswell of support for the project, which has an estimated cost of $40 million to $50 million, somehow escaped public attention? The library project has been in the citys capital improvement program since 2006-07. This spring the project showed up as a project planned for 2017-18, with a funding plan that assumes $8 million in donations and a $42 million general obligation bond that would require voter approval. The size of the proposed bond is enough to get anyones attention. For comparison, the bond issue placed before voters for the Pinnacle Bank Arena was a mere $25 million. And now the city has asked prospective developers to indicate if they are interested in planning the library and providing information on their experience, staffing and costs. The firm that is selected will come up with a plan for a new library and an estimate of costs. Lincoln residents have been talking about building a new central library for years. A 2003 study said the city had outgrown the Bennett Martin building at 14th and N Streets. A 2012 study recommended that the city either renovate Pershing Center for use as a library or raze Pershing and build a new library on the site. But when Mayor Chris Beutler asked for proposals to redevelop the Pershing Center site, he ultimately rejected them because they were too expensive. One of those proposals, at a cost of $33 million, came from the Lincoln Library Board. Another developer also included a new library in its proposal, which called for the city to commit to a 30-year lease at $2.5 million a year. Last year the Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities proposed a Pershing Market with booths for Nebraska-grown food, restaurants, a greenhouse and loft apartments. The idea failed to get traction. The Lincoln Independent Business Association wants the Pershing block sold to private developers so it can go on the tax rolls. But the city would have lost money on a proposal from a developer in 2012, which required the city to cover the costs of tearing down Pershing. In short, history offers little reason for optimism that Pershing Center is a prime redevelopment opportunity. Admittedly, the alternative of leaving Pershing Center dark and empty for years may be the worst plan of all. But if the library board and the Beutler administration expect to convince voters to approve a $42 million bond, theyve got a big job on their hands. Maybe they could start by explaining why its a good idea to hire a consultant now to draw up new plans. Nebraska Corrections Director Scott Frakes was breathing a sigh of relief Thursday morning when he addressed the Legislature's Department of Correctional Services Investigative Committee. He was relieved that both escapees from Lincoln Correctional Center were in custody in Tecumseh in what he called the state prison system's most secure cells. "That makes this a much better day for me," he said. "It's not a perfect day, but it's a much better day." A critical incident review of how Timothy Clausen, 52, and Armon Dixon, 37, escaped Friday morning in a laundry truck will be led by two experts from the Virginia Department of Corrections who were to arrive in Lincoln Thursday afternoon. Warden Rodney Younce and Assistant Warden Anthony Scott were loaned to Nebraska by Virginia Corrections Director Harold Clarke, who led Nebraska's department from 1990 to 2005. Younce and Scott and six Nebraska staff members will look at the factors leading up to the escape, response by staff and overall security practices at Lincoln Correctional Center. Clarke worked in Nebraska with Lincoln Correctional Center Warden Mario Peart, who has been reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation into the Friday escapes. The review by Clarke's two men from Virginia, along with a review by Nebraska Inspector General for Corrections Doug Koebernick, should get to all the facts, Frakes said Thursday. Commenting on the emergency count system used Friday to figure out who had escaped, Frakes said there's potential to tighten it up. "But just think about what we accomplished in accounting for 2,600, minus two individuals, on a Friday afternoon when there were people all across the community in work release and other settings," he said. The breakdown in security at the prison started with Clausen and Dixon getting into a part of the prison where they were not supposed to be, and then more failures followed. "If any of those pieces worked, likely we would not have had an escape," he said. In addition to Peart, two LCC employees have been moved into alternate positions while the escapes are investigated. "We have addressed those issues at this point to make sure that they're not in a position where they could repeat that action," Frakes said. The 2016-2017 Lincoln Southwest Emeralds Dance Team earned a number of awards at a Universal Dance Alliance (UDA) summer camp in Panama City, Florida, June 6-9. Seniors Natalie Hillman, Kelsey Ronspies, Chloe Ubben, Devony Votava and Claire Wolford, and junior Bailey Nelson were honored as All-Americans. The Emeralds earned a superior trophy and scored 2nd place overall for their home routine, "Rhythm is a Dancer." The Emeralds were awarded superior ribbons and earned the Full Out award for creativity and effort in their team routine. Emeralds co-captain Natalie Hillman and Emeralds performance captain Claire Wolford received the "Pin It Forward" award for their hard work, class, and positive attitude. Natalie and Claire were also asked to join UDA staff. The Emeralds were awarded a Spirit Stick each day of camp and were chosen by the UDA staff for the Super Spirit Stick the first night of camp. The Emeralds finished camp with a bid to nationals. Hildegard Center for the Arts (HCFA) has been awarded a grant of $4,356 by the Nebraska Arts Council to support the project Triumph of a Man Called Standing Bear, for a 12-month period beginning July 1. Nebraska Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Wise said: Hildegard Center for the Arts does an outstanding job of providing arts activities in Lincoln and the surrounding area. It is through fine organizations like this that Nebraskas children receive a better education in the arts, and the quality of life is improved for all Nebraskans. With the help of sponsoring partner Southeast Community College Division of Humanities, HCFAs project Triumph of a Man Called Standing Bear will bring to the stage the compelling commissioned work by Emmy award-winning Chickasaw classical composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate to share with the world the timeless story of Ponca Chief Standing Bear. In the landmark Omaha trial of 1879, the famous Ponca Chief issued a stirring plea on behalf of the nations first residents. Titled Standing Bear: A Ponca Indian Cantata, the commissioned work (25-minute cantata) will include many of Standing Bears own words in English as well as the Ponca language, a combination rarely found in traditional classical vocal literature. The world premier of the cantata is Nov. 4, 7 p.m., at the Lied Centers Carson Theater. The premiere performance will feature the Rangbrook Ensemble, a professional string sextet, critically acclaimed pianist Dr. Ken Hoppmann and Native American opera baritone Grant Youngblood. Guest presenters will be announced soon. A pre-reception with composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate, will be held at 5 p.m. that evening at the Great Plains Art Museum, UNL, in conjunction with the museums Contemporary Indigeneity Art Exhibition. In additional to the Nebraska Arts Council, other project sponsors include the Southeast Community College Division of Humanities, the Great Plains Art Museum University of Nebraska and The Ethel S. Abbott Charitable Foundation. RACINE The Racine City Attorneys Office requested more time Thursday to make absolutely certain the city wont be able to collect on an $800,000 loan from the 1990s. My office is looking at it a little bit further and we would request deferral until the next regular loan board meeting to give us an opportunity to get some additional information and present it to the committee and the council, ultimately, Assistant City Attorney Nicole Larsen said. Larsen submitted her request for deferral at a special meeting of the Loan Board of Review Thursday. The city announced Wednesday in a release that outside counsel had advised that the loan would not be collectible because the debtor, Main-Lake LLC., former owner of 419-425 Main St., had dissolved. According to Larsen, the deferral will give the city attorneys office a chance to closely examine the parties involved in the loan. We wanted to get a little bit more detail on the corporate entities involved and their structures and just make sure that there is nothing to go after, she said. Larsen affirmed the recommendation of the citys consulting attorney Elaine Ekes, but said the city wanted to make absolutely sure before writing off an amount of money city staff found concerning. We just want to look into that a little bit further, she said. Im sure its fine. Im sure were good to go on that. A possible target for additional review could be Main-Lake, LLCs parent company, The Alexander Company, Inc., Larsen said. According to the release, no parent agreement with Alexander was in place at the time of the loan, and the city did not take out a second mortgage on the property, which is standard practice today but wasnt back then. Were just going to do a whole analysis, Larsen said. See who was all involved, look at all of the member parties of the LLC. and corporations and go from there. The Loan Board is scheduled to meet next on July 14 at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave., Room 307. If the Loan Board moves the write-off forward at its next meeting, the issue will come up for discussion at the July 19 City Council meeting. RACINE The Racine Public Library Board continued to move its redesign project forward Thursday. The Library Board unanimously voted to approve the Ad-Hoc Building and Grounds Committees June 6 recommendation to explore pricing options and feasibility for a third floor and curved outdoor patio. The board now awaits price estimates from Product Architecture + Design, the firm designing the renovations, which should come back sometime in early July. They said 30 days, Library Board President Melissa Kaprelian-Becker said. Thats why we gave them the design so that they knew what to come back with. The library is also working with Library Strategies, a consulting group based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, to conduct a feasibility study within Racine. The consulting group, along with a 7-10 person feasibility committee that will include Library Board member, will determine the level of financial support in the community, according to Library Director Jessica MacPhail. MacPhail added that Library Strategies will present their findings to the Foundation Board, whose members will advise the Libary Board whether to move forward with a capital campaign. Kaprelian-Becker is pleased that the board is thinking about the librarys future. As board members, we cant just be in the moment, she said. We have to be visionaries for the future. And that future vision, which Kaprelian-Becker says extends for decades, is bolstered by the redesign plans. Im excited because I think its going in the right direction for our vision of the far out future, she said. WATERFORD Kayaks paddled down the Fox River running through the Village of Waterford Thursday evening as Village President Tom Roanhouse announced the development of the approximately 220-mile Fox River Water Trail. The announcement came during the dedication, ribbon cutting and official opening of four new canoe/kayak boat launches designed to allow for safe and easy access to and from the river. According to Roanhouse the water trail will be approximately 220 miles in length, starting in Waukesha County and ending in Ottawa, Illinois, where the Fox River meets the Illinois River. Angie Tornes from the Rivers and Trails Program with the National Park Service will be working with and advising the Fox River Ecosystem Partnership as they work to develop the trail. Tornes describes a water trail as a series of sites to access the water. She said they aim to make the sites and waterways safe, legal and sustainable and ultimately provide a continuous trip for the paddler. Tornes said an important aspect of water trails is they are community-driven and sustainable. Kenosha and Illinois both have water trails they have developed, but Tornes said the goal of the Fox River Water Trail is to take existing water trails, add new trails and combine them to form one large continuous water trail. As the Village of Waterford and other communities along the Fox River work to develop the water trail, they will also be working towards federal recognition from the National Park Service as a national water trail. If the Fox River Water Trail meets all the required criteria it would become the 20th water trail in the U.S. and would only be the fourth trail to cross state lines. For kayakers like Waterford resident Jim Schneider, the development of a 220-mile water trail is exciting. Schneider said part of the water trail benefit is that distances between enter and exit point are measured, allowing him and other kayakers to plan trips in advance. All information regarding the water trail, including maps, distances and points of interest, will be available online. Its like a GPS, said Schneider. It allows you to plan a road trip, a water trip. MADISON Wisconsins wolf population has reached a record high of nearly 900 animals, state wildlife officials announced Thursday. Figures from the Department of Natural Resources over-winter monitoring show between 866 and 897 wolves are roaming the state, up 16 percent from last years count of 746 to 771 animals. The current population could be even higher; volunteer trackers counted wolves during the winter, when the population reaches its lowest point before pups are born. Most of the wolves between 838 and 869 animals belong to 222 packs concentrated mostly across the northern third of the state. About 30 packs were located in a swath of west-central Wisconsin running roughly from Chippewa to Marquette counties. Monitoring efforts last year detected 208 packs. Dave MacFarland, a DNR large carnivore specialist, said the agency doesnt have a good idea of how many wolves the state can sustain. Thousands of wolves once roamed Wisconsin before the state was settled in the 1830s. By 1960, hunters had wiped out the entire wolf population. In the 1970s, wolves from Minnesota began moving into the state and the population grew rapidly in the 1990s. As of 2011, as many as 824 wolves roamed the state, creating concerns among farmers that the animals were destroying their livestock. The DNR created a management plan calling for 350 animals statewide but could do nothing since the wolves were under federal regulation. President Barack Obamas administration removed Great Lakes wolves from the endangered species list in 2012, allowing Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota to take over management. Republican legislators moved quickly to establish a hunting season, and three were held, much to the chagrin of animal rights advocates who insisted the population was still too fragile to support hunting. The DNR was considering raising its population goal before a federal judge placed Great Lakes wolves back on the endangered species list in 2014, ending wolf trapping and hunting and preventing farmers from killing wolves that attack their animals. Since then, deer hunters have complained that wolves are thinning the northern herd, leading to anemic deer hunts in that region. So far this year, the DNR has counted 23 confirmed or probable wolf attacks on livestock, hunting dogs and pets. There were 78 confirmed or probable wolf attacks on livestock, hunting dogs and pets in 2015, and 53 in 2014. Karen Gefvert, governmental relations director for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said the growing wolf population presents a graver threat to livestock, especially since farmers cant legally kill problem wolves while theyre on the federal endangered list. Its going to be dangerous, she said. We have a really big problem. A spokesman for the Conservation Congress, an influential group of sportsmen who advise the DNR on policy, didnt immediately return an email seeking comment. Melissa Smith, executive director of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf, said the new population numbers show wolves can thrive in Wisconsin. Fewer than 100 depredations last year is hardly cause for alarm, she said. We should commend the state management efforts the DNR and wildlife services are making in absence of lethal control, she said. The farm bureaus Gefvert countered that the depredation numbers dont account for wolf attacks that leave behind no evidence. Former President George W. Bush is emerging from the political wilderness to help Republican senators facing tough re-elections this fall, including U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh, The New York Times reports. The report suggests Donald Trumps role as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee may be influencing Bush, who has stayed far from the limelight since leaving office in January 2009. Bush is moving to aid vulnerable (GOP) senators, including several whose re-election campaigns have been made more difficult by Donald J. Trumps presence at the top of the ticket, the report says. It says Bush is deeply bothered by Mr. Trumps campaign message, especially his derogatory remarks about Muslims and immigrants. Bush already has held fundraisers for GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, the report said. In addition to Johnson who faces whats widely viewed as a stiff re-election challenge from Democrat Russ Feingold of Middleton Bush is expected to aid Republican Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rob Portman of Ohio. The report does not say when and where the fundraising events will be held. Johnsons campaign declined to comment on the report. At the event with McCain, Bush reportedly stressed the importance of preserving the Republican-held Senate as a check and balance on the White House, suggesting that such a check was needed regardless of whether the next president is Trump or presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The Times also reported that Johnson said he was looking forward to his reception with Mr. Bush. All the Bushes are people of integrity, Johnson said, according to the Times. 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. A bundle of questions Poet Sarita Tiwaris poetry collection Prashna haru ko Karkhana (The Factory of Questions) was discussed amid a programme in Ghorahi. A pipe dream Recent amendment to the law allowing the use of kidneys from a clinically dead patient is a step in the right direction Advocate arrested on fraud charge The Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) on Thursday arrested an advocate on charge of fraud. Boko Haram shoot dead 18 women at funeral in northern Nigeria Boko Haram militants have shot dead 18 women at a funeral in Nigeria's northeast, rampaging through a village, setting houses on fire and shooting at random, witnesses and local government officials said on Friday. Constitution Implementation: Cabinet approves roadmap to hold 3 elections in 18 months The Cabinet on Thursday approved a roadmap for the implementation of the constitution, aiming to hold three electionslocal, state assembly and federal parliamentin the next 18 months. Customs extend opening hours Nepali and Indian customs offices on the either side of the Birgunj-Raxaul border point have extended opening hours by an hour a day in a bid to ease traffic congestion on the border. Driven to despair Forty-seven-year-old Rani Jom Tamang was walking in front of her makeshift shelter like a lost soul. She is still struggling to come to terms with the double tragedies she suffered last year. Education bill to help resolve issues in school education: Minister Pokharel Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel on Friday said that the education bill, made to amend the Education Act-2028 that is awaiting authentication by the President, after its approval from the Legislature-Parliament would help resolve problems in school education. Europe migrant crisis: Charity rejects EU funds over migration policy Medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says it will no longer take funds from the European Union in protest at its migration policy. Giant crab horde gathers in Australia A horde of giant spider crabs has amassed in waters near the Australian city of Melbourne. Girl kills self after getting low grades in SLC An 18-year-old girl committed suicide after getting low grades in School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations in Bajhang district on Thursday. Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years. Govt to complete three responsibilities: Minister Rai Minister for Information and Communications Sherdhan Rai has said that the incumbent government will accomplish major three responsibilities: election of local, federal and central bodies, implementation of the constitution and completion of the reconstruction projects. Gujarat riots: India court jails 11 for life over Gulbarg massacre A court in India has sentenced 11 people to life in prison for their roles in a notorious massacre during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. IS conflict: Iraqi forces 'retake Falluja city hall' Iraqi government forces have retaken the main government compound in the city of Falluja from Islamic State (IS) militants, a top commander has said. Jo Cox death: Tributes paid in memory of killed Labour MP Tributes have been paid around the world to Labour MP Jo Cox, who died after being shot and stabbed. LPG bottlers warn of halting supply Bottlers have warned of halting the supply of cooking gas if the government implements its decision to ban Himalayan Petrochemicals (HP Gas) from importing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Microsoft to help track legalised marijuana sales Microsoft has teamed up with California-based technology start-up Kind Financial, which helps businesses and government agencies track sales of legalised marijuana "from seed to sale". Nepal-India officials discuss border pillars Nepal and India border security officials held discussion regarding the achievements made so far by the border pillars field survey team and discussed the bilateral border management issues, said Chitwan Chief District Officer Binod Prakash Singh. NHRC probes into gang-rape The National Human Rights Commission has started probe into the gang-rape of a speech-impaired woman allegedly by security personnel at Shivaraj Municipality in Kapilvastu district. One dead, six injured in truck collision A person died on the spot and six others were injured when two trucks collided at Naya Belahani stretch of the East-West Highway in Nawalparasi. Orlando shooting: Obama condemns LGBT discrimination Discrimination against LGBT people must be tackled at home and abroad, President Obama has said after meeting relatives of Orlando attack victims. Pakistan woman arrested over 'acid attack' on man A woman in Pakistan has been arrested after allegedly throwing acid on a man who had refused to marry her. Petroleum is passe Those who insist that fossil fuels are required for development are living in the past Pilgrims jam road to Kailash despite weather warnings Hotels on the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa road are packed with Indian tourists bound for Kailash Manasarovar in China despite a travel advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to avoid the route due to weather conditions. Punish them The security agencies must take rape cases seriously, more so when accused are within Rapist sent to jail for nine years The District Court Ilam has sentenced a jail-term of nine years and six months to Suman Rai, 25, of Shantidanda-5 who was on remand for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl. Salman Khan is original bodybuilder of the industry: Aamir Khan Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who surprised his fans by unveiling his muscular look for Dangal earlier this week, on Thursday said he is a fan of his "Andaz Apna Apna" co-star Salman Khan's physique, and considers him as the "original bodybuilder of the industry". Sanghiya Gathabandhans relay hunger strike enters 11th day The relay hunger strike being staged by agitating Sanghiya Gathabandhanan alliance of 29 Madhesi and Janajati partiesentered 11th day on Friday. Syria conflict: US diplomats press for strikes against Assad Dozens of US State Department officials have signed an internal memo protesting against US policy in Syria and calling for targeted military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government. Team works to harness wind power A Spanish team is in Mustang district to materialise Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis dream to generate electricity from the wind. The rejected brides of Rupandehi Sima Harijan was only twelve when she got married eight years ago. She belongs to one of many communities, in Rupandehi district, that still practice child marriage. Transitional Justice: TRC extends deadline for filing complaints The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has extended the deadline by one month to register complaints related to conflict-era cases. Two arrested for intimidation and extortion Two persons were arrested from Bhadrapur of Jhapa for their alleged involvement in threatening medical operators and taking money from them. 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 Kenya: A volunteer teacher has been jailed for 90 years after he was found guilty of sodomising nine pupils at a school in Gathiru village, Muranga County. 23 year old John Gichia Mugi, has been charged with nine counts of sodomy and will serve 10 years for each. He was found guilty by Resident Magistrate Jesse Masiga of sexually assaulting nine pupils at the school where he taught on diverse dates between January and May 2014. The scandal rocked the school in Muranga after one of the learners reported sodomy cases to a parent. During the trial, pupils aged between 13 and 16 testified how the teacher had been regaling them with love stories and touching their private parts when they went to bed. He had been accommodated in a room next to the pupils dormitories and had more access to the learners. When the sodomy incidents were revealed in 2014, the Teachers Service Commission demoted the schools headmaster for failure to report the matter and attempt to shield the teacher from prosecution. G2 Research has a new .308 Trident round designed for fast, humane kills without total destruction of meat. The Trident features a precision CNC 150-grain solid copper bullet that opens up to an inch in diameter without the meat-destroying hydrostatic (gelatinous) shock you get from an over-done magnum through and through bullet, according to a press release. With tested penetration of 17 to 20+ inches, the .308 Trident will easily get to the vitals of any big game in North America, and the killing power is enhanced by the incredible expansion it delivers with its three cutting copper petals. The Trident retails for $56.99 for a box of 20. A private U.S. intelligence firm has released a report looking into a military strike scenario against North Korea's nuclear facilities, inviting angry reaction from the communist nation. In a five-part report titled, "Removing the Nuclear Threat," the information firm Stratfor detailed possible military means for a strike and possible responses from the North. Pyongyang has bristled at the report, saying Wednesday that it shows a surprise preemptive attack and armed invasion are in "the full-dress process of examination and preparation." The North also warned it will further bolster its nuclear capabilities. The Stratfor report said B-2 bombers and F-22 fighters would "form the backbone of any anti-nuclear operations." "The North Koreans have a dense and interlocked air defense network, but the force is obsolete and largely incapable of adequately defending against or even detecting full-spectrum stealth aircraft such as the U.S. B-2 bomber and F-22 tactical fighter," the report said. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Rain showers this morning with some sunshine during the afternoon hours. High 49F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low 32F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. AUBURN Jim Pepple began serving on the DeKalb County Plan Commission in October 1967 and never stopped until Wednesday evening. Pepple, 82, of rural Waterloo, cast his last votes for the commission on two routine, noncontroversial petitions. Then, to his surprise, a retirement party began in the meeting room on the second floor of the courthouse in Auburn. Colleagues honored Pepple for his 48-plus years of service with an inscribed watch and a cake. Several of his relatives, including his wife, Judy, looked on from the gallery. Pepple recalled that former county Surveyor Arnold Milks recruited him to serve on the Plan Commission. As if that werent enough, Pepple joined the county Board of Zoning Appeals six years later and served 42 years in that capacity. Pepple said he had seen a lot of things happen in those years. The biggest controversy, he recalled, involved a proposed television transmission tower that ultimately was rejected. The Plan Commission moved its meeting to the DeKalb High School gymnasium to accommodate the crowd that came to debate the TV tower. SDI was big. That was a big showdown, Pepple said about the decision to allow Steel Dynamics Inc. to build a steel mini-mill southwest of Butler. A proposed fox farm also stirred emotions before it was turned down. We tried to please everybody and be fair, Pepple said, adding, I hold no grudges. He had said he enjoyed working alongside his colleagues on the Plan Commission over the years. I have never yet seen anybody say anything snide about anybody in here, he said. We just have a lot of fun. Longtime Plan Commission attorney David Kruse makes it easy for us, Pepple added. DeKalb County commissioners will read a resolution honoring Pepples long service Monday at 9 a.m. in the courthouse rotunda. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. is seeking to broaden its corporate footprint on paths that may lead to expansion into non-insurance products and services, the company announced Thursday. To do that, the Madison-based American Family, the nations 13th-largest mutual property/casualty insurance group meaning it belongs to its customers wants to convert to a mutual holding company, a move that the company says will provide more flexibility to pursue customer-driven initiatives. The plan has been filed with the states Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for review and approval. It also requires the approval of American Family Mutual Insurance Co.s 4 million policyholders. The proposed change would allow the company to meet customer needs in an age of automated cars, smart homes and other advanced technologies, Chairman Jack Salzwedel said in a statement. Policyholders of American Family Mutual Insurance Co. would exchange their membership rights for similar membership rights in the mutual holding company, American Family said. Some membership rights would also be extended to policyholders of other American Family group subsidiaries, preserving what the company called the concept of mutuality. Any such change would not affect existing insurance policies, the company said. The board of directors and officers of a holding company would be the same as the current board and officers of American Family Mutual Insurance Co., and they would not get additional compensation, stock or benefits from the change. In addition, this would allow some subsidiaries to be formally re-domiciled in Wisconsin, for regulatory purposes, said Ken Muth, company spokesman. Promising no change in traditional, existing insurance policies, the company in a statement said the insurance company would become a stock subsidiary of the holding company. Dave Holman, American Familys chief strategy officer, said we are not selling stock, which would in any case require regulatory and policyholder approval. Holman said a tentative timeline would put the proposal up for policyholder approval by late November, following review and back-and-forth with the OCI. We provide a proposed plan, they can review and make suggestions on how to modify. We have had some preliminary discussion with (OCI) and have filed most of what they are looking for, Holman said. He said the idea for the change came via discussions within the board of directors, not as a reaction to a particular event or prospective purchase, for example. We looked at it as a possibility as early as 2012, he said, with the primary impetus being we wanted to enhance our status and preserve a strong mutual member base. If the company changes to a mutual holding company, American Family Mutual Insurance Co. becomes a subsidiary of that company, he explained. American Family today has a number of stock subsidiaries that underwrite other property and casualty products. The move to a holding company would expand the companys ability to acquire consumer products adjacent to insurance, such as smoke alarms for houses, for example, he said. Already American Family has made investments in what Holman described as strategic reconnaissance, or small investments in a variety of small technology companies, start-ups. They might include a way to connect auto-owners with mechanics, Wi-Fi opportunities, noise monitors and the like. American Family-brand products are sold in 19 states. Moving to a mutual holding company does not historically come without potential for disagreement. One UW-Madison insurance expert was willing to point out positives and negatives of the strategy in general, not specifically to the American Family plan. Peter Carstensen, emeritus professor of law, said forming a holding company makes diversifying the company easier and allows the mutual to make acquisitions, he said. The question, he said, is how good are they at figuring out what other product lines they may want to be in? The risk to the individual insured is that the company makes some bad investment decisions and jeopardizes the value of the company. On the good side, currently the industry is getting moderately strong supervision from insurance commissioners. They have been bitten enough by bad investments, and even though they are acting as good administrators, they tend to be very industry-supportive. Another risk of setting up a holding company, he said, is that you create a self-perpetuating oligarchy ... with little chance of an inside check on decisions. The point is, except for the (regulators) looking over their shoulders, nobody is there to question what is going on. Muth, of American Family, noted that there will be many opportunities for policyholders and others to examine the companys proposal. American Family in 2015 had assets of $21.5 billion, equity of $7.4 billion and revenue of $8.1 billion. It had $93.6 billion in life insurance in force. The company contracts with 3,100 independent agents and employs about 7,900 people. Traditional Chinese medicine is welcomed after a practitioner joins medical team sent to South Sudan A visit to a Chinese acupuncturist has opened a whole new world of medicine for Issa Justin, a young South Sudanese man who is both a patient and medical student in Juba, capital of the world's newest nation. Justin, 28, a second-year student in clinical medicine at Juba Teaching Hospital, sought treatment for a severe case of facial pain and paralysis, first trying more conventional therapies, but without success. Ding Xiangming trains locals and imparts knowledge and skills about acupuncture. He says that in South Sudan it is not easy to disseminate TCM knowledge. Gong Yidong / For China Daily Then he went to see Ding Xiangming at the hospital's Physiotherapy Department. Ding is from China's Anhui province and specializes in Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion, the burning of a small amount of mugwort herb on the skin to stimulate an acupuncture point. Together with 12 other doctors, Ding arrived in Juba in late February to replace the third Chinese medical team sent to the country. Beijing began to send medical teams to the country after South Sudan won independence from Sudan in a referendum in 2011 after years of fighting. It was the first time that a traditional Chinese medicine doctor was added to the team, with an aim to diversify medical services to the patients. In December, Justin says he developed facial paralysis as he was brushing his teeth on a Sunday morning. All of a sudden, he had trouble rinsing his mouth with water. Pain started to shoot through the right side of his face, extending to the ear and the mouth. His eyes became swollen so much that he had trouble closing them, he says, and he had trouble eating. Tears ran down his eyes as he chewed his food. Even the way he talked changed. "The pain lingered. I felt like my face was being burned by fire," Justin says. Justin sought conventional physiotherapy at the department, including faradic stimulation - applying a small amount of electric current - and facial massage. The treatment lasted for four months, but there was no substantial improvement. In April, he decided to see Ding and started undergoing a daily, 30-minute therapeutic session every morning. "Before then, I had heard of the word 'acupuncture', but I had no idea how it works." He says that to his surprise, the "magic Chinese needles" took effect in a week's time. Needles were applied to a few major points on his face. "I was feeling the flow of blood around the facial areas where the needles entered, as if water were running along the channels," he says. By the end of the first week, Justin was able to fully close his eyes. After a month's treatment, he was once again able to laugh and talk with ease. He was pleased with the results, and advised one of his friends to take her daughter Sarah to be treated by Ding. The 8-year-old girl had symptoms similar to Justin's. Acupuncture and moxibustion are not only applicable to facial paralysis or acute pain. Ding says most of the chronic pain cases seen at the physiotherapy department are treatable with the most common therapeutic methods he uses on a daily basis. These methods include needles, moxibustion and cupping, which is using cups to create suction on the skin for the purpose of mobilizing blood flow to promote healing. Lower back pain is one type of chronic pain that is common among many South Sudanese. Instead of firm mattresses, many South Sudanese use nylon string beds that do not provide good support for the spine, says Jimmy Onge Owun, a South Sudanese physiotherapist at the department. The extended rainy season, from April to November, also contributes to many pain symptoms, Ding says. Trauma and accident cases that require rehabilitation also are common at this, the largest public hospital in South Sudan, where civil war continued after independence. "Acupuncture and moxibustion can play a significant role in one's physical recovery," Ding says. Every day, Ding sees nearly 30 patients with a wide range of illnesses, including back pain, knee pain and strokes. Justin Lukudu, a 52-year-old agricultural specialist from the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Agriculture, had a stroke last year that affected his right side. His brother recommended he see Ding. "I feel that the blood in my body is opened every time the needles are inserted into my body." Aside from regular acupuncture and moxibustion, Ding says he treats him with "fire needles," or heated needles, to enhance the therapeutic effect. Lukudu says it is still difficult for him to raise his right arm as high as he'd like, but he is feeling better after a couple of sessions. It is not, however, easy to disseminate TCM knowledge to South Sudanese patients, Ding says. Although South Sudan is rich in traditional medicinal plants, conventional biomedical treatment still dominates at hospitals and clinics, leaving limited space for alternative treatments. For many, TCM or acupuncture is something unheard of or associated with pain. Even for those who have attended medical school, acupuncture is not considered a primary medical approach by physicians. Onge recalls his days at Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, when Chinese acupuncture was briefly mentioned by a Swedish lecturer in class. Onge was trained as an occupational therapist with six years' professional experience in physiotherapy. But after having witnessed with his own eyes the improvement of patients treated by Ding, Onge says he is convinced of the effectiveness of acupuncture, especially its pain-relieving effects. Acupuncture and moxibustion are also cost-effective and resource-friendly, Onge says. Like all the governmental organizations and businesses affected by South Sudan's power shortages, Juba Teaching Hospital experiences repeated power outrages day and night, making it barely possible to use electronic physiotherapy equipment like infrared rays. In these cases, moxibustion can effectively serve as a source of heat. "This is a way of critical thinking," Onge says. In March, Onge started to observe and assist in Ding's clinical practice. Under the system of apprenticeship in traditional Chinese medicine, Ding became Onge's shifu (teacher) and imparted knowledge and skills. Later, a couple of interns from St. Mary's Medical School also joined in. Under Ding, they studied the basic theory behind acupuncture and moxibustion, such as jingluo (channels and collaterals) and yinyang (positive energy/negative energy). They also learned how to apply needles to specific sites where qi (vital energy) and blood are transported to the body's surface. "It resembles running water. If you stimulate the nerves, qi and blood will travel smoothly in the channel systems of the body, reaching a state where yin is balanced and yang is firm, and a coordinated spirit is guaranteed," Ding says. The efforts have paid off. Onge has successfully treated a patient with severe back pain by integrating muscle exercise with Chinese acupuncture. The pain had disappeared by the time the patient completed nine sessions. Still, more work and time is needed before acupuncture is widely accepted by South Sudanese patients. Su Guiping, head of the Chinese medical team, says he hopes to secure an independent treatment room on the premises of Juba Teaching Hospital so that more needy patients can have access to acupuncture and moxibustion. Ding also notes that physical treatment also involves mental care. Ding says he observes Hippocrates' oath "to cure sometimes, to treat often and to comfort always" as part of his medical ethics. "South Sudan has been ravaged by civil wars for too long. You need to go beyond diseases and treat the patients with dignity, care and respect. This is an invaluable lesson of traditional Chinese medicine." For China Daily A bill introduced in Congress this week would offer tax incentives for farmers to invest in technology that turns manure into energy. The measure would extend the use of energy tax credits to anaerobic digesters and other systems that convert manure into methane gas. The 30 percent credit would be on par with what is now offered for solar energy systems. Bill sponsor Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said its a commonsense way to help farmers reduce their energy costs and manage waste. Kind noted Wisconsins dairy industry generates more than $88 billion in economic activity and 413,500 jobs. There are eight Republicans among the bills 13 co-sponsors, including Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota has also signed on. A judge Friday sentenced a Holmen woman who ranked high in a drug trafficking enterprise to five years in prison. Melissa Ozleplebici, 25, is one of 17 tied to the methamphetamine ring that operated between the Twin Cities and the La Crosse region for a decade before authorities interrupted it in October. Authorities estimate those involved moved hundreds of pounds of meth manufactured by Mexican drug cartels throughout the area. Ozleplebici, who already is serving a prison sentence for possessing meth, also will serve three years on extended supervision under the sentence imposed by La Crosse County Circuit Judge Scott Horne. Until you make a decision to separate from the drug community, you will remain a danger to the public, he said. Ozleplebici, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit delivery of meth, sold $400 worth of meth at a time, said Tom Johnson, coordinator of the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group. She had a high level position in this enterprise, he said. Since 2014, Ozleplebici relished the role of a drug dealer, said La Crosse County Deputy District Attorney Brian Barton, who argued for a four-year prison sentence. She stated in text messages that it was nice to support other peoples habits and was on supervision at the time of her arrest. If Ms. Ozleplebici was not stopped at the time that she was, I think she would have been one of the main players, he said. Ozleplebici was an addict ingesting 3.5 grams of meth daily and used by higher-level players in the conspiracy to push drugs into the community, said her attorney, Sean ONeill, who argued for probation to allow her access to treatment in the community. She was a part of this but she wasnt a part of the top tier, the inner circle, he said. She was a major step down. Ozleplebici apologized for victimizing her community and asked the judge to consider that shes a mother missing her daughter grow up. I dont think more prison time will do anything but hinder my progress, she said. At its beginning, Christianity was an illegal religion hiding in secret gatherings. Today, it has legal status with grand houses of worship and uninhibited public marketing for membership. Recently, due to the rise of a more secular culture, some Christian congregations are complaining that they are under siege by the government. The history of Christianity is filled with examples of persecution, not only by various governments, but also by other religions. Instead of suffering in silence, as was once the norm, some Christians are hoping to gain public sympathy by portraying themselves as victims of bullying. The charge of being under siege should take into account that most politicians curry the favor of these claimants for personal advantage. For instance, the former presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came to the public defense of Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who refused to grant marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in 2015. A claim was made that she even met with the Pope. Keep in mind that public schools are not an extension of the church, where prayer is the norm. The Ten Commandments are a religious document. Christian marriage is described by the Apostles. While it would be nice if non-Christians would be guided by Christian doctrine, the answer is in evangelism rather than congressional interference. Christians need to understand that they will always be a minority and will win the culture war" by sharing the gospel, not by forced legislation. Exact Sciences stock may be on the rise after a federal panel upgraded the status of its colon cancer screening test, but some say it may be premature to bet the farm on the company. This week the U.S. Prevention Services Task Force put the Madison-based tech company's colon cancer screening test, Cologuard, on par with other tests, and the company enjoyed a surge as investors bet that more doctors will recommend the test in the future, and that more insurers will reimburse for it. "We expect this will have material impact on reimbursement discussions as the Affordable Care Act requires all 'A' rated screening tests to be covered without co-pay," noted Brian Weinstein, an analyst at investment bank William Blair, according to the science news site Genomeweb. The stock leaped nearly 60 percent in three days of trading this week, closing at $11.24 a share on Thursday. It was only eight months ago that Exact Sciences saw its fortunes, and stock value, plunge on news that the Prevention Services Task Force omitted the test from its list of recommended screening methods. That cut the companys stock price nearly in half the day the report was issued. So does the task force's new assessment mean a change in Exact Science's fortunes? Some suggest that investors have reason to pause. Overall, new guidelines offer investors a reason why they can consider owning Exact Sciences, but before investors hit the buy button, they should remember that the company is losing a lot of money, Todd Campbell, owner of E.B. Capital Markets,writes in The Motley Fool. Exiting the first quarter, expenses were running at an annualized $216 million pace, so even with sales more than doubling this year, there's still no telling when Exact Sciences will turn a profit. Jan Walk and Erica Layon of Benchmark write that the task force may have removed language referring to Cologuard as an alternative to more established screening methods, but they dont think the change is meaningful. To us, the recommendation has not changed, though the way it is formatted in the report has, they write. They add, As we have said in the past if the current recommendation stands (and it seems to us that it has more than it has changed), we do not expect to see an uptick in adoption that might be expected if it had. Campbell does note, however, that demand for colon cancer screening is increasing, and that bodes well for the market for the test. Since baby boomers are turning 65 at a pace of 10,000 people per day, there's clearly a significant addressable market opportunity for Cologuard. Exact Sciences was slated last fall to anchor the Judge Doyle Square project, an endeavor that involved substantial public money. After the nosedive, which came only a week after the deal was announced, the company pulled out, leaving the massive long-awaited downtown development project once again in limbo. But even at $18.35 the price of Exact Science stock before Octobers meltdown the stock was already in decline. Three months earlier it had been at $32.85. But in February, when Exact Sciences was seeing its stock prices hit bottom, financial planner Kirk Spano sung its praises in Market Watch. Cologuard, Spano wrote, is poised capture the market from its main competitor, the fecal immunochemical test, which has to be administered every year, as opposed to every three years for Cologuard. "The test will also be available in Europe later this year or next, as well as in Canada," Spano wrote. "Ultimately, a next-generation test will be available for Asia with a genetic detection marker for stomach cancer due to that disease being a problem there. The company also has multiple other products in development which could be brought to market by Exact, sold, licensed for royalties or partnered on." Tomah Memorial Hospital is looking for public input regarding the planned construction of a new hospital on the citys south side. CEO Phil Stuart said a public survey is available for area residents to share input on services and features for the estimated $72 million project planned for construction on a 40-acre site located on Tomahs south side adjacent to Interstate 90 along Gopher Avenue. The hospital board has already selected BWBR of Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the projects architectural firm, and Market & Johnson, headquartered in Eau Claire, as the general contractor. Stuart said plans still call for a proposed groundbreaking of the new facility in August 2017, but hinted the date could be moved up earlier in the year. The input from the public will be helpful as we continue on this journey, said Stuart. The six-question survey will allow the public to list services they currently use while sharing insights on future health care needs. He said questions also ask the public to list some services and features they would like to see in the new facility. Stuart said the survey will be available on the hospitals website at tomahhospital.org through July 5. In May 2014, Tomah Memorial purchased the 40-acre parcel of land from Norman and Evelyn Randall. Since that time, Stuart said officials have been working through the project, including meetings with construction and engineering representatives, stakeholders, health care providers, local city and school officials. Stuart said hospital officials continue to have discussions with representatives from Gundersen Health System and Mayo Health System regarding joint use of a medical office building and with YMCA of La Crosse officials pertaining to a proposed community / wellness facility planned for the campus. The hospitals foundation has already begun work with a firm looking into fundraising for the community/wellness facility. A proposed site design calls for a 130,000 square-foot hospital, 80,000 square-foot medical office building and 50,000 square-foot community/wellness facility. Stuart said designs also include room for future expansion for all three facilities on the site including a possible assisted living facility. There still are a lot of moving parts in this project with time frames built into the planning that would allow us to put it on hold at any time, Stuart said. Stuart said construction of the project could take up to two years. He added that no future plans have been made for the existing hospital at 321 Butts Ave. Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier The board earmarked $1.54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the dredge, designed to keep channels open and supply sand to nourish eroding beaches up and down the York County coast and beyond. Today we are visiting a vast and remote park in the state of Alaska. The park is bigger than the country of Switzerland. It is six times the size of Yellowstone. In fact, it is the largest national park in America. Its name is Wrangell-St. Elias. Do not worry if you have not heard of Americas biggest national park. Most Americans do not know its name. But Wrangell-St. Elias contains some of North Americas largest glaciers and volcanoes. It also is home to nine of the highest mountains in America. The park extends more than 5.3 million hectares. Four mountain ranges come together here, including the Wrangell Mountains and the St. Elias Mountains. The Wrangell Mountains cover much of the park. They were formed over the last 5 million years from volcanic activity. The St. Elias Mountains stretch into Canadas Yukon Territory. The Chugach Mountains cover the southern part of the park. The Alaskan Mountain Range forms some of the huge parks northern boundary. The mountain landscape is wild. Much of it is also difficult to reach. Private companies offer flightseeing tours on planes and helicopters. From high above, visitors witness Wrangell-St. Eliass beauty. A world of water Rivers and glaciers help tell the story of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. These rivers, with names like Copper, Chitina, Chisana, and Chitistone, come from the parks many glaciers. They wind through land carved out by other huge glaciers long ago. The Copper, the largest river of them all, flows into the Gulf of Alaska. Other rivers take a more dramatic path. The Chitistone River becomes Chitistone Falls, a 91-meter-tall waterfall that drops over a steep wall. Glaciers cover almost 13,000 square kilometers of the park. In summer months the parks rivers carry their meltwater. It is filled with tiny pieces of sand, stone and other materials. A buildup of this sediment forces the rivers to flow through new channels. This causes the riverbeds to twist and turn. From up above, these rivers can look like braided hair. One of the parks most striking places is the Hubbard Glacier. It is the longest tidewater glacier in North America. A tidewater glacier is one that begins in a mountain valley and flows all the way to a body of water. The Hubbard Glacier is 120 kilometers long and nearly 10 kilometers wide. It begins on the 6,000-meter-tall Mount Logan in Canadas Yukon Territory. It ends in the waters of a place called Disenchantment Bay. Hubbard was named in 1890 after Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society. The massive glacier is only getting bigger. Unlike most glaciers, Hubbard is thickening and extending. Other glaciers face melting caused by increasing temperatures. But experts say Hubbard reacts in an opposite way to climate change. As the Earths temperature rises, the area around Wrangell-St. Elias gets more snow and rain. Scientists say this snow and rain is what permits the glacier to grow. Sometimes, very fast growth causes huge pieces of ice to break apart from the glacier. Scientists call this calving. The ice creates a thunderous sound as it breaks and falls into the water. Hubbard Glaciers size, beauty, and calving activity have made it popular with park visitors. Large boats travel through Disenchantment Bay, taking passengers close to the glacier. Wrangell-St. Elias system of glaciers and rivers help support animal life in the park. The parks Dall sheep may be the most famous animal residents. Alaskas Dall sheep are the worlds northernmost wild sheep population. About 13,000 Dall sheep live within the parks borders. Visitors can look for their white bodies and huge brown horns near rocky mountainsides. Visitors might also see black bears, brown bears, moose and caribou. Caribou are large North American reindeer with huge, wide antlers. Along the coast seals and sea lions lie in the ice and splash in the water. Visiting the park Wrangell-St. Elias became a national park in 1980. The parks main visitors center is about 300 kilometers east of Anchorage. The long drive to get to the park is an adventure itself. The trip includes roadside views of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and lakes. Its distant location makes it one of America's least-visited national parks. About 75,000 people visit Wrangell-St. Elias each year. By comparison, parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone get about 3 million visitors each year. Visitors can experience the parks pristine nature as well as its historical areas. The Athabascan people lived in the area thousands of years ago. The park includes sites of their villages and hunting areas. The park also has many historical structures and buildings. The National Park Service says the structures represent periods of exploration, mining and transportation. One historical place is called Kennecott Mill Town. The picturesque town tells a story of westward expansion and discovery. Miners processed nearly $200 million worth of copper at Kennecott Mines between 1911 and 1938. Many of the buildings that remain in the town have been empty for 60 years. Some are in disrepair. The National Park Service works with the local community to restore and preserve them. Some visitors stay at Kennecott during their trip to Wrangell-St. Elias. The family-owned Kennecott Glacier Lodge provides beautiful views of the surrounding glacial mountains. It also gives visitors a chance to try exciting outdoor activities like glacier hiking or ice climbing. Some visitors choose to sleep in the wild outdoors. Private campsites are located in many areas of the park. Some visitors set out on long hikes in the parks backcountry area. Whatever way you visit, the immense and untouched beauty of Wrangell St. Elias National Park is guaranteed to awe. I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Ashley Thompson. Ashley Thompson wrote this report, with materials from the National Park Service. Caty Weaver was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story vast -adj. very great in size, amount, or extent remote - adj. far away from other people, houses, cities, etc. range - n. a series of mountains or hills in a line boundary - n. something (such as a river or fence) that shows where an area ends and another area begins landscape -n. an area of land that has a certain quality or appearance dramatic - adj. sudden and extreme twist - v. to bend or turn (something) in order to change its shape braided - adj. formed with three or more parts woven together thunderous -adj. making a loud noise like the sound of thun antlers -n. the horn of a deer or similar animal pristine -adj. not changed by people : left in its natural state picturesque -adj. very pretty or charming preserve -v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition awe -v. to fill someone with a strong feeling of wonder or respect Some victims of the mass shooting in the United States are being buried this weekend. Forty-nine people were shot to death Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The gunman, Omar Mateen, also was killed. More than 50 other people were wounded. About 300 people were inside the Pulse nightclub at the time of the attack. Mateen exchanged gunfire with a security guard, entered the building and then took hostages, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said. About three hours later, law enforcement officials sent in a special police team to rescue the hostages. Officers shot and killed Mateen. Police say he had an assault rifle and a handgun. During the early morning hours, Mateen used Facebook to search the terms Pulse Orlando and shooting from inside the nightclub. In earlier Facebook posts, he expressed support for Islamic State (IS) group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and called for an end to U.S. and Russian bombings of IS positions. Mateen was born in New York and was a U.S. citizen. His parents are from Afghanistan. The gunman had worked as a security guard since 2007. A federal agent said he bought at least two guns legally in the week before the attack. The Federal Bureau of Investigation questioned him earlier after reports that he had made comments in support for the Islamic State. FBI Director James Comey told reporters on Monday federal agents had questioned Mateen in 2013 and 2014. Investigators also followed him and had studied his communications and contacts. But officials took no action against him because the FBI did not find any evidence of criminal activity. Comey said Mateen had strong indications of radicalization and may have been inspired by foreign terrorist organizations. But he added that the FBI has so far found no evidence the Orlando gunman was assisted or supported by any foreign terror groups. FBI officials say Mateens wife had some knowledge of his plans to attack the nightclub. One investigator said Noor Zahi Salman went with her husband on a reconnaissance mission to the nightclub between June 5th and 9th. Law enforcement officials told reporters that Salman warned her husband not to carry out the attack as he left for Orlando last Saturday. Salman was born in the United States to Palestinian parents. She was Mateens second wife and the mother of their 3-year-old son. On Monday, the Islamic State called Omar Mateen one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America. However, the group did not make any claim of responsibility for the nightclub attack. Mateens father, Seddique Mateen, told NBC News that he did not believe the attack was connected to religion. He suggested it was more likely an act of homophobia. He said his son had expressed deep anger when he saw two men kissing recently. President Barack Obama went to Orlando Thursday and met with some of the wounded and with the families of those who were killed. He also spoke with some of the police officers who helped end the shooting, emergency medical workers and doctors who treated the wounded. Obama repeated his earlier statements that the attack was both an act of terrorism and an act of hate. This was an attack on the LGBT community. Americans were targeted because were a country that has learned to welcome everyone -- no matter who you are or who you love. Obama added that that the government would be relentless against terrorist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida. We are going to destroy them. We are going to disrupt their networks and their financing and the flow of fighters in and out of war theaters. Were going to disrupt their propaganda that poisons so many minds around the world. I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise. VOANews.com reported on the events in Orlando. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted their reporting for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story gay adj. sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex nightclub n. a place that is open at night, has music, dancing, or a show and usually serves food and alcoholic drinks reconnaissance adj. activity in which information is gathered about people or a place mission n. a task or job that someone is given to do caliphate n. the area ruled by a caliph, a religious leader homophobia n. hatred or abuse of homosexuals kiss v. to touch (someone) with your lips as a greeting or as a way of showing love or sexual attraction LGBT expression/acronym Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender relentless adj. continuing without becoming weaker, less severe, etc.; remaining determined U.S. President Barack Obama visited Orlando Thursday to meet with survivors and family members affected by the worst mass shooting in American history. Obama met privately with relatives at Amway Center, a stadium not far from the gay nightclub where a lone gunman opened fire early Sunday, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. Vice President Joe Biden also traveled to Orlando. In remarks after the meetings, Obama said the families are feeling grief beyond description. Today the Vice President and I told them on behalf of the American people, that our hearts are broken, too, and that we stand with you and that we are here for you. Obama said it was difficult for him to console family members after a violent tragedy. So today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents. And they asked Why does this keep happening? And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage. They dont care about the politics, neither do I. Obama repeated his earlier statements that the Orlando attack was both an act of terrorism, and an act of hate. This was an attack on the LGBT community. Americans were targeted because were a country that has learned to welcome everyone no matter who you are or who you love. Obama also pledged that the government would be relentless against terrorist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida. We are going to destroy them. We are going to disrupt their networks and their financing, and the flow of fighters in and out of war theaters. Were going to disrupt their propaganda that poisons so many minds around the world. But he noted that both the Orlando attack and the San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people were lone wolf attacks without direct involvement from foreign terror groups. He added that these kinds of attacks will take more than good military tactics and intelligence to prevent. Obama and Biden also visited survivors of the attack. Officials said Thursday that 23 people remain hospitalized six of them in critical condition. They also met with and thanked local law enforcement, first-responders and medical teams who treated the victims. The two men laid flowers at a memorial for victims outside the citys Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The area - filled with flowers, balloons, photos and tributes - was the site of a candlelight vigil Monday attended by thousands. Gunman posted on Facebook during attack As authorities continue to investigate the gunman, Omar Mateen, new information was released about his social media activity before and during the attack. Mateen used Facebook to search the terms Pulse Orlando and shooting from inside the nightclub, according to Chairman Ron Johnson of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Apparently he searched to see how much publicity the attack was generating. In Facebook posts, the killer also pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and called for an end to U.S. and Russian bombings of the militants. You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes now taste the Islamic state vengeance, Mateen wrote, according to the letter. In a final post, he also warned of more U.S. attacks in coming days. The information is contained in a letter Johnson sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in which his committee requests all available data on the gunman. Johnson said at least five Facebook accounts were associated with Mateen. The letter said the committee found Mateen also used Facebook in May to search for information on the killers in the San Bernardino mass shooting. In addition, committee staff members found information that he used Facebook to conduct frequent local law enforcement and FBI searches, including searching for specific law enforcement offices. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from Chris Hannas of VOA with additional reports from the Associated Press and Reuters. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story grief n. deep sorrow carnage n. the killing of a large number of people relentless adj. constant, unending first responders n. people designated to respond quickly to emergency situations lone wolf n. a person who acts alone, such as a terrorist allegiance n. have loyalty to a person, country or group solidarity n. unity in feeling or actions vengeance n. act of doing something hurtful to someone in response to some harm or injury We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page We present the short story "The Count and the Wedding Guest," by O. Henry. The story was originally adapted and recorded by the U.S. Department of State. Andy Donovan had his dinner each evening in the house on Second Avenue where he lived in a furnished room. One evening at dinner he met a new guest, a young lady, Miss Conway. Miss Conway was small and quiet. She was wearing a plain brown dress. She seemed interested in very little except her dinner, and her dinner did not interest her very much. She looked up at Mr. Donovan and spoke his name, and then began to eat again. Mr. Donovan had a smile that everyone liked. He smiled at her and then thought no more about her. Two weeks later, Andy was sitting outside the house enjoying the cool evening. He heard a movement behind him. He turned his head, and-and could not turn it back again. Coming out of the door was Miss Conway. She was wearing a night-black dress of soft, thin cloth. Her hat was black. She was putting black gloves on her hand. There was no white and no color anywhere about her. All black. Someone in her family had died. Mr. Donovan was certain about that. Her rich golden hair lay soft and thick at the back of her neck. Her face was not really pretty, but her large gray eyes made it almost beautiful. She looked up into the sky with an expression of sadness. All black, readers. Think of her. All black, and that golden hair, and looking sadly far away. Mr. Donovan suddenly decided to think about Miss Conway. He stood up. Its a fine, clear evening, Miss Conway, he said. It is to them with the heart to enjoy it, Mr. Donovan, said Miss Conway. She took a deep slow breath. I hope no oneno one of your familyhas died? Death has taken, said Miss Conway, not one of my family, but one whoI must not speak of my troubles to you, Mr. Donovan. Why not, Miss Conway? Perhaps I could understand. Miss Conway smiled a little. And oh, her face was sadder than when she was not smiling. Laugh and the world laughs with you, she said. But the world is not interested in sadness. I have learned that, Mr. Donovan. I have no friends in this city. But you have been kind to me. Thank you for it. He had done nothing except offer her the salt at dinner. Its not easy to be alone in New York, said Mr. Donovan. But when New York is friendly, its very friendly. Shall we take a little walk in the park? It might be good for you. Thanks, Mr. Donovan. I would enjoy it. But I dont want my sadness to make you sad. They went through the open gates of the park and found a quiet seat. We were going to be married soon, said Miss Conway. He was a real Count. He had land and a big house in Italy. Count Fernando Mazzini was his name. My father didnt want me to marry him. Once we ran away to get married, and my father followed and took me home. I was afraid they were going to fight. But then my father agreed. Fernando went to Italy to make everything ready for me. My fathers very proud. Fernando wanted to give me several thousand dollars for new clothes, and my father said no. When Fernando went away, I came to the city. I work in a shop. Three days ago I had a letter from Italy. It said that Fernando had been killed. Thats why Im wearing black. My heart has died, Mr. Donovan, with Fernando. I cannot take interest in anyone. I should not keep you from your friends who can smile and enjoy things with you. Shall we walk back to the house? Now, readers, if a girl tells a man her heart has died, he wants to make it live again. Im very sorry, said Mr. Donovan. No, we wont walk back to the house yet. And dont say you have no friends in this city, Miss Conway. Im your friend, and I want you to believe that. I have his picture here, said Miss Conway. I wear it on a chain around my neck. I never showed it to anyone, but I will show it to you, Mr. Donovan. I believe you to be a true friend. Mr. Donovan looked for a long time and with much interest at the picture. The face of Count Mazzini commanded interest. It was wise, brightthe face of a strong, happy man who could be a leader of other men. I have a larger picture in my room, said Miss Conway. When we return, I will show you that. I have nothing more to help me remember Fernando. But he will always live in my heart. I am sure of that. Mr. Donovan decided that he wanted to take the Counts place in Miss Conways heart. He did not seem to think he could fail. He would be friendly. He would keep smiling. When they returned to the house, she ran to her room and brought down the larger picture of the Count. Mr. Donovan looked at it. No one could have guessed what he was thinking. He gave me this on the night he left for Italy, said Miss Conway. A fine-looking man, said Mr. Donovan warmly. Miss Conway, will you go to Coney Island with me next Sunday afternoon? A month later they told the other guests in the house on Second Avenue that they were going to be married. Miss Conway continued to wear black. A week later the two sat on the same seat in the park. Donovan had had a sad face all day. He was so quiet tonight that Miss Conway had to ask him why. Whats wrong tonight, Andy? Nothing, Maggie. You never were like this before. What is it? Its nothing much, Maggie. Yes, it is; and I want to know. Is it some other girl? Why dont you go to her, if you want her? Take your arm away. I will tell you then, said Andy, wisely. But you will not understand. Have you heard about Mike Sullivan? Everyone calls him Big Mike Sullivan. Ive never heard about him, said Maggie. Who is he? He is the most important man in New York. He is a mile high and as broad as the East River. If you say anything bad about Big Mike, a million men will be ready to fight you. Big Mike is a friend of mine. I am only a little man. But Mike is as good a friend to a little man as he is to a big man. I met him today by chance, and what do you think he did? He came up to me to shake my hand. I told him I was going to be married in two weeks. Andy, says he, I will come to the wedding. That is what he said to me, and he always does what he says. You dont understand it, Maggie, but I want to have Big Mike Sullivan at our wedding. It would make me very proud. Then why dont you ask him to come? said Maggie. Theres a reason why I cant, said Andy, sadly. Dont ask me the reason, for I cant tell you. But cant you smile at me? said Maggie. Maggie, said Andy, after a few minutes, do you love me as much as you loved Count Mazzini? He waited a long time, but Maggie did not reply. And then, suddenly, she put her head against his shoulder and began to cry. She held his arm, and her tears wet the black dress. Maggie, Maggie, said Andy, forgetting his own trouble. Tell me about it. Andy, said Maggie. What I told you was not true, and there never was any Count. There never was a man in love with me. All the other girls had men in love with them. And Andy, I look good in blackyou know I do. So I went to a shop where I could buy that picture. And that story about the Countnone of it was true. I said he had died because I wanted to wear black. And no one can love me, because I didnt tell the truth. I never liked anyone but you. And thats all. But Andy did not move away. Instead, his arm pulled her nearer to him. She looked up and saw that he was smiling. Do youdo you still love me, Andy? Sure, said Andy. You have made everything fine, Maggie. I hoped you would do it, before the wedding day. Good girl! Andy, said Maggie, after a little time, did you believe all that story about the Count? No, not very much, said Andy. Because that is Big Mike Sullivans picture that you are wearing on the chain around your neck. Download activities to help you understand this story here. Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Is it always best to be honest with the people you care about? Do innocent lies exits? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story avenue n. a wide street glove(s) n. a covering for the hand that has separate parts for each finger neck n. the part of the body between the head and the shoulders park n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise count n. a nobleman in some European countries who has a high rank similar to a British earl shop n. a building or room where goods and services are sold chain n. a series of usually metal links or rings that are connected to each other in a line and used for supporting heavy things, for holding things together or for decoration guess(ed) v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it wedding n. a ceremony at which two people are married to each other A group of State Department diplomats has criticized U.S. policy in Syria and called for urgent action to end the countrys civil war. The criticism came in a memo signed by 51 mid- to high-level diplomats involved in U.S. Syria policy. It calls for targeted airstrikes against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. A draft of the memo was obtained by The New York Times. State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed the memo is real and said the State Department is reviewing it. It came from a State Department Dissent Channel that allows employees and officials to express disagreements with U.S. policies. The channel is a way for individuals to give their opinions without fear of retaliation from superiors. Robert Ford served as U.S. Ambassador to Syria until 2014. He said, In my experience dating back to 1985 in the Department of State, I have never heard of a dissent channel message that had 10 signatures much less one that had 50. Ford, now working as an analyst at the Middle East Institute, added that President Barack Obama is unlikely to change his Syria policy. The memo says Syrian government forces have consistently violated ceasefire agreements. Such violations will keep making it difficult to reach a political settlement to end the war, it adds. Syrias civil war began five years ago when rebel groups were formed to battle government forces. More than 500,000 people have been killed in the fighting and six million Syrians were displaced. The memo asks the Obama administration to begin a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons to directly fight against the Syrian army. The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the memo reads. The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges. Until now, the Obama administrations policy in Syria has mainly been limited to aiding rebels fighting against Russian-backed forces loyal to Assad. U.S. airstrikes have also targeted Islamic State fighters. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he had not yet seen the memo. But he said he agrees with the process of giving employees a chance to openly express their views. Im Bryan Lynn. Joshua Fatzick reported this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. Hai Do 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 memo n. a written message retaliation n. striking back against someone for a harmful action superior n. a person presiding over someone else judicious adj. having or showing good judgement rationale n. the reason or explanation for something status quo n. the current situation or the way things are now KEARNEY City planners are set to review the most recent revision of the 2016 Comprehensive Development Plan at their regular meeting Friday morning. The plan should cover vital issues such as housing, transportation and land appropriation, Stan Dart, Kearney Planning Commission vice-chairperson, said. A good plan looks to the future and says, What do we anticipate? Dart said. During the review which was tabled in April Dart explained that city planners are looking to see major elements of the community receive fair and comprehensive coverage. Housing is a major issue the city faces. Theres not enough housing to meet the demand of growth, Dart said. Though advancements are being made such as with the large apartment complexes being built near 56th Street, there still are too few lower-priced homes and many higher-priced homes. How land will be appropriated for that is important. Dart said movement through the community and industrial, manufacturing and commercial activity are other important factors to plan for. A good plan provides an adequate resource for future industrial and manufacturing activities without a conflict with residential, public use and commercial (areas). He named the development of the new Kearney High School and Central Community College along west 11th Street and the area near the upcoming Central Nebraska Veterans Home at 56th Street and Antelope Avenue as examples. What will Kearney look like in 10 to 15 years? How do we maintain transportation? Our boundaries are expanding, commission Chair Jim Ganz Jr. said. As the city limits expands, what goes into those expansion areas? Ganz explained that the now-227-page document is required by state law and analyzes current land use in terms of where the city should go. If youre going to have zoning and land-use planning, you need to have a plan. Its required by law so cities cant go about doing things in a random, unorganized fashion. There needs to be a plan that is accepted by the community, Dart said. The plan goes through revisions every 10 to 15 years. The last plan was approved in 2003. Dart said people should take part in the sessions and provide input for the plan. Meetings are open to the public. If people want the opportunity to discuss the plan and see what is intended ... all we can do is recommend and the public is welcome to comment, he said. The commission meets at 9 a.m. the third Friday of every month in the council chambers at city hall at 18 E. 22nd St. Copies of the 2016 Comprehensive Development Plan draft are available at the Development Services Department and Kearney Public Library or on the city website. Also on the agenda: n The commission will review city code amendments recommended by staff. Seven codes are up for scrutiny and requiring clarification, according to city documents. n City planners will consider requests for rezoning and preliminary and final platting from Stephen and Amy Schweitzer at 5205 Bison Road. The owners are requesting to rezone the Schweitzer Subdivision from agricultural district to rural residential district. The requests are for an existing rural residence located outside of city lim Phishing, skimming and surfing have one thing in common: identity theft. Ryan Sothan, outreach coordinator with the attorney general's Consumer Protection and Anti-Trust Division, spoke about these dangers to about 15 people Tuesday at the Hamilton County Senior Center. Sothan said identity theft is currently, and has been for 16 years, the nation's No. 1 consumer complaint. "Identity theft has moved itself into the mainstream," he said about more people being at risk. "It's no longer a question of if, but when." Sothan said people ages 50 to 59 are the most targeted group of people for identity theft because they usually have more disposable income. "What they're going after is that Social Security number," he said about thieves. Sothan said if they have that, they basically have all of your information. Identity thieves will try to get W-2 information to file a person's tax return before the person can. This would result in the person getting an error letter when filing their taxes because the thief already was falsely paid the tax refund. He said tax identity theft is very common, but not the only way thieves benefit. Phishing, which can be someone calling and impersonating a company, such as the Internal Revenue Service, is another way identities can be stolen. He said the IRS will never call someone. Everything is done on paper. So if someone calls from the IRS, it is a scam. "If you don't originate the call, be on guard," Sothan said. Skimming, which is using a device to swipe credit cards to steal information, is another method of identity theft that people should look out for. He said skimming is common in restaurants. Servers can hold a small device in their hand and swipe the card as they take it to pay your food bill. "These are professional criminals now," Sothan said. Surfing, which involves people peeking over shoulders while others are online banking or shopping, is another method Sothan mentioned. He said identity theives are often people we know or have crossed paths with before. Andrea Allen of Aurora had her identity stolen twice, once by someone she knew. The woman who stole her information opened up utility accounts in her name because she was trying to get an apartment. "It was a mess," Allen said of her identity theft case. She said she had to re-do everything, including closing and opening up new utility and checking accounts. Allen learned new things to look out for by going to the workshop Thursday. "I didn't realize they could get so much information," she said about the thieves and the different methods with which they steal identities. The other time Allen was a victim of identity theft was when her purse was stolen at a restaurant. She said she called her credit card company right away to cancel the cards. But within the 20 minutes of driving home from the restaurant and calling the police, the thief had already made a plethora of purchases. Since then, she has carried her purse tightly and is always vigilant. "I think everyone needs to wake up and pay attention," Allen said about identity theft. Though Sothan talked about identity theft dangers, such as using unsecured Wi-Fi for online banking, he said people shouldn't constantly worry. He just wants Nebraskans to be skeptical and stand up for themselves when they sense something suspicious. "You have to live your life," he said. Sothan said preventive measures, such as shredding important documents and blocking telemarketers from calling, can be taken. But if someone is a victim of identity theft, he or she should tell someone. "Identity theft is not a crime at all until you report it," he said. The fast-draw and bull riding were ready to go as Dustys Wild West Town opened Thursday. The saloon girl, RaLynn Starr, was ready to serve up some cold sarsaparilla. Lisa Harness of Hershey brought her grandchildren, Joseph Brown and Xacha Pano, out to see what was going on. We just came out to see what was here, Harness said. We didnt know what would be here and they said they were going to have a lot of things for kids to do. [Joseph] is disappointed because he cant shoot a gun. The fast-draw booth has an age requirement of 10, and Joseph was just a tad under. We watched them getting the horses ready and they told Joseph he was going to be able to ride a horse, Harness said. Were looking forward to that and were going on the carriage ride. Dwane and Linda Johson of North Platte came out to see the town with their granddaughters, Heather and Rachel. Heather liked the corn crib as she climbed in and played among the kernels. The Wild West Town was such a popular event last year that they expanded its schedule this year, said David Fudge, executive director of NEBRASKAland Days. We decided to have the town both weekends, Fudge said. In order to do that, we moved it over to the Scouts Rest Ranch. The entrance is next to the Dusty Trails riding stables. A Native American tepee welcomes the visitors to the town. This is the second year and its basically set up to be kind of a rendition of an old western town with some of the activities, said Allison ONeill, volunteer. We have the sharpshooter, the saloon where theyre selling a sarsaparilla and stuff like that. There is also a petting zoo, short and long wagon rides, the Sheriffs Office and horseback riding. Also appearing is the Rhinestone Roper, Dan Mink. He will perform a 45-minute show tonight at 6 and 8 p.m. and Saturday at 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m. The town is open at 5 p.m. tonight and Saturday, and also Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 23-25. New federal regulations concerning overtime pay were the subject of a seminar Thursday sponsored by the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and Central Nebraska Human Resource Management Association. The seminar addressed recent changes to the Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act. These changes will update overtime regulations and extend overtime pay protection to hourly workers. More than 50 people attended the seminar led by Tanya Hansen, a partner with Leininger, Smith, Johnson, Baack, Placzek, and Allen Law Firm, where she specializes in employment litigation. Jessica Hendricks, director of workforce and community development for the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, said the seminar was a topic that their members "were really concerned about." "It is going to have a huge impact on our chamber partners, so we thought we needed to do something for them with an educational seminar so they can get ready for Dec. 1, when all of this goes into effect," Hendricks said. On May 18, the Obama administration announced the publication of the Department of Labor's final rule updating overtime regulations, which will automatically extend overtime pay protections to more than 4 million workers within the first year of implementation. After Obama directed the department in 2014 to update the regulations, defining which white collar workers are protected by the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime standards, it received more than 270,000 comments from a variety of interested stakeholders that were used to shape the final rule. Hansen said 2004 was the last time the federal government set a standard for the level of salary at which workers are exempt from overtime protection. "Now, not only are they increasing it, but they are going to index it so that in every three years we are going to see a salary increase as a minimum salary, which is one of the tests to see if someone is an exempt employee," she said. Two separate provisions There are two different provisions, Hansen said. First is the salary standard for full-time salary workers. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Hansen said, there is a "multitude of different types of job that have an exemption." For example, there's an exemption for truck drivers. But that exemption is not included with the new salary increases. "This is only for the white collar workers," she said. "That is your executive, administrative and professional." That standard salary level is at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, currently the South ($913 per week; $47,476 annually for a full-year worker). The second provision is for highly compensated employees. The new rule sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($134,004). Also, the new rule establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at these percentiles and to ensure that they continue to provide useful and effective tests for exemption. The final rule also amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level. "You have to look at what is the salary," Hansen said. "If you pay someone daily, they are not going to fall within this exemption." She said the other thing to look at is "whether or not you are even a covered entity or the employee is a covered employee." Hansen said what didn't change in the new set of rules is the provision involving the needs test. "What people really need to focus on is, does that employee fall within the exemption based upon what they do and not their job title or job description," she said. Hansen said she wanted the people attending the seminar to understand that "you can't just look at the salary and say, I pay somebody enough,' but you really have to look at whether they fit within one of the exemptions." "A lot of businesses will say, This person is a manager and they are automatically exempted and I don't have to pay them overtime,'" she said. "That is not the test. There are very specific rules." The other thing that Hansen emphasized is that if someone is salaried, that doesn't mean that person is an exempted employee. "You can pay someone a salary and they can still be a non-exempted employee," she said. "You will still have to pay them overtime and follow other provisions of the Fair Labor Standard Act." A big change Across the nation, Hansen said, the government is estimating that 4.2 million workers who were previously exempted are now going to be non-exempt. "You are going to see a real change in how businesses are looking at their employees. whether they are exempted or non-exempted, which is a conversation that businesses needed to have anyway because they were using that because they were paying a salary they were automatically exempted and they were not really looking at the job the person was doing," she said. But Hansen said employers have a lot of options concerning the new rules. "There is really a lot of leeway within the regulations on how you can handle this," she said. For example, an office manager who works 40 hours a week and who has never worked more than 40 hours a week in that job but now falls under the salary test, "you can probably pay her the same salary and probably not pay overtime because she is working 40 hours a week. There is no change you are going to have to make, assuming she falls within the exemption." Hansen said the new rules will force employers "to take a more critical look at their employees." The initial increase to the standard salary level, from $455 to $913 per week, and HCE total annual compensation requirement, from $100,000 to $134,004 per year, will be effective on Dec. 1. Future automatic updates to those thresholds will occur every three years, beginning on Jan. 1, 2020. Brenda Sutherland, human resources director for Bosselman Administrative Services, said there are many things to consider when choosing the path of exempt or non-exempt. "HR (human resources) professionals will need to assist their employers in analyzing the big picture, which focuses on the different facets of the financial impact such as potential turnover, managing overtime, what the competition in the marketplace is doing and so on," Sutherland said. "Now is the time to evaluate all options in order to make a decision that is in the best interest of the organization. We're fortunate to have the opportunity to further our education on this topic so that we are prepared for the changes to come." On Thursday evening, a 147-square-foot chunk of American journalism history a piece of art that is at once global, quintessentially New York City and oh-so-Omaha began its second life inside the lobby of our public library. OK, you ready? asked Bruce Frasier as he glanced at two women and a man, the daughters and grandson of famed Nebraska artist Eugene Kingman, who stood holding cords connected to a sheet covering the mural. A crowd of 150 people crammed into the W.?Dale Clark library lobby counted down from 10. Pull it down! Frasier yelled. Pull it down they did, exposing a mural Kingman began painting in the basement of the Joslyn Art Museum nearly 70 years ago, a mural that hung in the lobby of the most powerful newspaper in the world for four decades before it went to storage, and a mural that will now call Omahas main library home for decades more. I hope we can agree that this is the right place for it, said Maureen McCann Waldron, the driving force behind the murals return to Omaha. The public unveiling Thursday marks the end of a two-year effort to return the mural to its former glory, an effort that took $65,000 in donations and months of work from Nebraskas top art conservator. Its also the end of a much longer story, the story of Eugene Kingman painting a mural in the basement of the Joslyn Art Museum and then taking it to Manhattan, where for four decades in hung in the lobby of the New York Times. The rich and famous and powerful passed this mural on their way to see the Times editorial board. Maybe Eisenhower. Maybe Kennedy. Maybe Reagan. Iconic journalists, grammar-loving copy editors and countless thousands of other ink-stained wretches looked up at this mural every workday. Judging by the murals condition before it was restored, these wretches smoked a whole lot of cigarettes right beneath it, too. Now, 68 years after it left, the mural is back. Its back mostly because Maureen McCann Waldron, who just happens to reside in Eugene Kingmans old Omaha home, decided that Omaha is where it needed to be. I thought, Thats going to take a lot of mojo, said Elizabeth Kingman, Eugenes daughter, at the Thursday unveiling ceremony. And it turns out that Mojo is Maureens nickname. So I took that as a sign. The twisting, turning story of Kingmans mural began in 1948, when he was commissioned by then-New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger to paint the piece. Kingman had already achieved some fame, having painted national parks for the federal government, exhibited work in Paris and painted large murals in several U.S. post offices before being named the director of the Joslyn, a position he held for 22 years. Today, pieces of Kingmans work hang in the U.S. Department of the Interior. But this mural would be one of his most high-profile works, because when it was done in November of 48 they hung it the Times lobby for presidents and lowly reporters alike to see. The mural, signed by both Kingman and friend Richard Edes Harrison, one of the nations most famed cartographers, is an insight into a different time in American journalism. Its a globe, a view of the Earth from space, an image meant to show the Times worldwide influence and signify postwar optimism. It is hopeful. Its muscular. Its a tad cocky. The two lines of poetry the Times publisher chose for the mural appear in retrospect like an homage to daily journalism, to a time before the Internet and the 24/7 news cycle, when news was delivered to your front door exactly one time per day. Every day is a fresh beginning, it says. Every morn is the world made new. I was there on the day in 2014 when the mural returned to Omaha in the back of a cherry-red Ford pickup truck, and so I can tell you: It no longer looked fresh or new. The New York Times had taken it down in the late 1980s, and it had sat rolled in storage for a quarter-century, creasing and cracking in the dark. It was the Kingman daughters who got the piece out of storage and convinced current Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. to give it to them. But it was Waldron who got it to Omaha. She first suggested doing so to Elizabeth Kingman during a chance phone conversation years ago Waldron originally phoned Kingman because she wanted to learn more about the mural Eugene Kingman painted down the staircase in the house where she now lives. She convinced the Joslyn Castle Trust to accept the artwork. She formed a committee she dubbed W.O.M. thats Women of the Mural. And then they set about raising the funds to get the mural restored. It came from more than 100 donors, including Sulzberger, the Times current publisher. As the donations came in, Kenneth Be, head of paintings conservation at the Nebraska Historical Societys Gerald Ford Conservation Center, got to work. He cleaned off the decades of cigarette smoke, exposing the murals vibrant blue and emerald colors underneath the dirty yellows and murky greens. He retouched the cracked areas. He and Vonnda Shaw, a fellow Ford conservator, relined the mural and put it on a new, custom-built canvas and stretcher so it can be easily moved in the future. And they covered it with a Plexiglas shield to protect it from grubby kid fingers at the library. As the restoration neared completion, the Women of the Mural had settled on the W. Dale Clark Library as its new home. They liked the library because its free and because thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds walk through the lobby every year. They extracted a promise from Omaha Library Director Laura Marlane, a promise Marlane repeated Thursday night: The library will take the mural along if and when it moves. On Tuesday morning, Be and his team installed the mural so it faces west in the librarys main lobby. After several nervous minutes, and much fretting about whether it was too big, the mural was up on the wall, with roughly a half-inch to spare on each side. It couldnt have fit any more perfectly than it does, Be says. It fits in another way, library employees say, pointing to those lines of poetry: Every day is a fresh beginning. Every morn is the world made new. Maybe those lines were meant to describe a journalistic behemoth in the mid-20th century. But they also perfectly describe the mission of the Omaha Public Library in the 21st a belief that free access to a nearly unlimited amount of information can open up any Omahans world. These two lines encompass everything we stand for, says Emily Getzschman, the librarys marketing manager. When they put it up, I got chills. For the foreseeable future, when you enter the W. Dale Clark Library from the west, you will see a mural of the globe, a view from space painted a decade before the first satellite actually entered orbit. Maybe JFK saw this mural. Undoubtedly the Times night cops reporter smoked a Marlboro underneath it. And now you can look up at it, too. Just dont try to light up or anything. LINCOLN Investigators working to solve the cold-case homicide of a 68-year old Beatrice woman had three people under arrest and one big problem. None of the suspects in custody by March 1989 matched the Type B blood the killer had left on Helen Wilsons bedsheets and nightgown. It was the elephant in the room, according to Richard Smith, who was the Gage County attorney in 1989. So the prosecutor wrote a memo directing the sheriff to cast wider nets and conduct more interviews. On the county attorneys list was an informant with so little credibility that Smith acknowledged he would not have called him to testify in court. But that source gave investigators a name that led to three more arrests. The prosecutors actions prompted tough questions Thursday from an attorney representing Joseph White and five other wrongfully convicted people the Beatrice Six who are trying to win a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gage County and its investigators. You arrest before you inves tigate is that what youre saying? asked attorney Jeff Patterson. No, thats not what Im saying, Smith said. You presumed Joe White was guilty? Patterson asked. You and I both know, counselor, theres no presumption of guilt, Smith said. Even though Smith played a central role in the Beatrice Six case, he is not a defendant in the trial underway in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. The law provides prosecutors with absolute immunity in their official capacities, so the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has previously ruled that Smith is not liable for damages. Nonetheless, the plaintiffs put Smith on the stand in an effort to support their argument that authorities conducted a shockingly reckless investigation, manufactured evidence or engaged in a conspiracy. Those allegations have been denied by the defendants: Gage County, deputies Burt Searcey and Wayne Price, and the estate of the late Sheriff Jerry DeWitt. The trial is focused on what investigators did in 1989. Nearly 20 years later, DNA testing of crime scene blood and semen failed to match any of the six people whod collectively served more than 70 years in prison. Instead, the results matched Bruce Allen Smith, an Oklahoma man whod once lived in Beatrice and had passed through town on the night of Wilsons death. He died in 1992. Smith is expected to return to the witness stand today as the trial enters its 10th day. The informant the county attorney wanted interviewed in 1989 was Clifford Shelden. The name Shelden gave up as a participant in the Wilson rape and homicide was his own wife, Debra Shelden. When sheriffs deputies interviewed Debra Shelden, she initially told them she was in the Wilson apartment along with White, Ada JoAnn Taylor and Thomas Winslow. It seemed to matter little to investigators that her description of how the assault and rape of Wilson occurred conflicted with the crime scene evidence. I think thats pretty good investigating, Smith said Thursday. You pick something up and you go run it down. But the investigators still had a problem, because Sheldens blood type was AB. She also had a history of mental illness and was vulnerable to suggestion. After meeting with a sheriffs psychologist, who tried to help her recover repressed memories, Shelden said a man by the name of James Dean also participated in the crime. Hours later, deputies arrested Dean, although his name had not surfaced as a suspect in four years of previous investigation. Still no Type B blood. Was there any effort at all to investigate Debbies statement before James Dean was arrested? Patterson asked. The arrest warrant was prepared, and the judge said, Go get him,? Smith responded. In the meantime, Shelden gave authorities yet another name: Kathy Gonzalez finally, someone with a potentially matching blood type. Patterson asked Smith whether he ever tried to corroborate information the lead sheriffs investigator put in his arrest warrant affidavits. I dont do investigations of my investigators, said Smith, now a private attorney in Beatrice. Patterson also questioned Smith about the belief among some Beatrice police that the sheriffs investigators had arrested the wrong people. Smith acknowledged that the police chief had shared that opinion with him sometime after the first three arrests. Smith said he tried to stay out of the conflict between the two departments but told the investigators on both sides to put it in writing. I want to know if we have something that shows these people didnt do it, Smith said. In the end, Smith obtained six felony convictions and a life prison sentence for White. Whites conviction has since been overturned and the five others were officially pardoned by the State of Nebraska. The Huawei Matebook is a 2-in-1 tablet with a 12 inch, 2160 x 1440 pixel display, an Intel Core M Skylake processor, and a starting price of $699 although that price doesnt include the optional keyboard cover and digital pen accessories Huawei will offer. Huawei unveiled the tablet in February, and now the company is getting ready to launch it in North America. Huawei is holding a press event on June 20th, but I got a chance to spend a few minutes with the tablet a little early at an event in New York City. Update: Huawei has announced that the tablet will be available starting July 11th. Its already up for pre-order from the Microsoft Store. While I didnt have time to give the tablet a thorough test (it didnt even have an internet connection), it certainly has a very nice looking display which looks pretty good from all angles (although the lighting at this event made it hard to get a really good photo of the glossy screen that wasnt shrouded in glare). The Huawei Matebook has a fanless design, measures 0.27 inches thick and weighs 1.4 pounds. Its light enough to hold comfortably in one hand, although the 12 inch screen is large enough to make me think Id be most likely to put the Matebook on my lap when using it to surf the web, play games, or watch videos. The optional magnetic keyboard cover is also pretty thin and doesnt add much bulk to the tablet. You can fold the back of the cover into a triangle and use it as a stand for the tablet, allowing you to use the Matebook like a laptop assuming your definition of a laptop is something that you use on a desk or table. Itd probably flop around a bit if you tried to place it on your lap. The keyboard is spillproof and features full-sized keys that have just (barely) enough travel to make me think I could get used to typing on it after a while. Huawei will also offer an optional Mate Pen with 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity for writing or drawing. The pen can also be used as a presentation clicker or laser pointer. Unfortunately I didnt have a chance to see the pen. The tablet has stereo speakers on the top, a USB Type-C port on the side (which is used for charging or for connecting peripherals), and a fingerprint scanner located between the volume buttons. Theres also a headset jack. The $699 entry-level model has an Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Huawei will also offer models with up to a Core m7 chip, up to 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Prices are expected to range from $699 to $1599, depending on the configuration. The notification light on your smartphone can probably flash to let you know when youve received a message. But Samsung seems to be working on a new notification light that takes things to another level. Its called Smart Glow, and its ring that circles the rear camera that can glow in different colors for different circumstances. Samsung hasnt officially announced Smart Glow yet, but leaked documents for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy J2 smartphone explain how it will work. In addition to letting you know about calls, messages, and other notifications, the Smart Glow light can alert you when the battery is low or when youre running out of storage space on your phone. You can also use a Selfie Assist option to snap self portraits with your phones rear camera: the phone will beep and the Smart Glow light will turn blue to let you know that your face is detected and then Samsungs camera app will automatically snap a photo two second later. Samsung lets users choose which alerts will be displayed on the Smart Glow ring and select which colors to associate with each event. via SamMobile Udta Punjab is best watched with the family. Oh, wait, this is meant to be a joke. The film has so many cuss words that you would be tempted to believe you are sitting through a recital of the rants of sanskari Indian trolls. I started counting at the beginning and then quickly realised counting stars on a clear night would be easier! There is every variety of them in the film, giving us a glimpse of the lingua franca of Indian streets. There are the inevitable ones about mothers, sisters, delivered in trademark Punjabi style where the ''d" becomes silent. Almost every part of human anatomy gets an honourable mention, especially when Satish Kaushik, who comes up with a lively, colorful performance, is talking. If you can tolerate the film's language and I see no reason why you can't, since it is an honest replication of how India talks these days Udta Punjab will grow on you. And you would come out thinking, what the hell was Pahlaj Nihalani smoking when he wanted it mercilessly butchered. It is the job of professional critics to dissect the film. But, I can tell you two things about Udta Punjab that put it at the vanguard of brave new cinema. One, it takes creative liberties with almost every filmy stereotype characters, the use of music, language and idiom of the narrative. And two, it mixes the dark and the comical with effortless ease. Even in tense, violent situations where blood and vomit are splattered all across the screen, the film's director and writer come up with something so absurd and comical that you can't help applauding their genius. So, was Nihalani justified in blocking the film's release with his insistence on cuts? Does it show Punjab in bad light? It is beyond understanding why Punjab's image should have become the censor board's concern, why a film portraying an endemic social menace should have been subjected to so much scrutiny, its path lined with so many roadblocks? In the past, we have had series of films showing Bihar's ugly underbelly--its Apaharan (kidnapping) industry, malign polity (Shool) and corrupt cops (Gangajal). Most of them were released without too much brouhaha. Udta Punjab is a grim portrayal of how Punjab's life, politics and policing have come to revolve around drugs. The film's director doesn't mince words in pointing out how a cartel of politicians, peddlers and police is inundating Punjab with cheap poison. It chronicles the journey of Punjab's youth from the famed gabru, a word that once conjured images of barrel-chested men toiling for hours in the fields after polishing off piles of paranthas with butter and lassi, to a 'fuddu' (Idiot that is what Shahid Kapoor calls himself) sold on drugs and a vacuous life. Udta Punjab says it the way it sees it: fields littered with syringes, amlis (addicts) lying around stoned in dilapidated structures, a mafia that has cops and politicians on its payrolls, a society that has almost every household battling with the menace and hospital beds lined with patients choking on their own blood and vomit. But isn't that the purpose of cinema--to reveal a problem in its full monstrosity, shock the viewer and provoke a reaction and corrective response? Like Trainspotting, which is the benchmark for almost dope-crime films, Udta Punjab too doesn't glorify addiction. It is a journey into the dark, wild, dangerous lowlife in the labyrinths of Punjab and adequately warns and scares the viewer against the dreadful denouement that awaits every addict. Several years ago, when Oliver Stone had made an eponymous film on the life of popular rock band The Doors, its biggest criticism was that it made Jim Morrison's life look like an unending party from hell. "He wanders out of the suns glare, a curly haired Southern California beach boy with a cute pout and a notebook full of poetry. He picks up a beer, he smokes a joint, and then life goes on fast-forward as he gobbles up drugs and booze with both hands, while betraying his friends and making life miserable for anyone who loves him. By the age of 27 he is dead. Watching the movie is like being stuck in a bar with an obnoxious drunk, when youre not drinking," critic Roger Ebert wrote. Udta Punjab doesn't have that problem. When you walk out of the theatre, you leave with a revulsion for drugs, love for its characters, a growing concern for Punjab, and, counting the cuss words. It's a sort of cat and mouse game that Amazon is playing with Flipkart. In May, the global giant's Indian arm had increased the referral rates it charges on sellers on its platform to 9 percent, prompting Flipkart too to announced similar steps. Until then, Flipkart, the largest e-commerce platform in India was not charging any payment fees to its seller. However, when it announced payment fees, it was reported to be slightly higher than its competitors at Rs 15-Rs 30 per order depending on price of goods of sellers, reported Times of India. The increase in sellers charges on Flipkart, after Amazon's move earlier, was to be effective three days from now. Snapdeal, the other major e-commerce player, had then in fact cut its commission to sellers in a bid to buoy up its sales. Amazon, however, has now gone ahead and slashed its sellers fees on smartphones and software by up to 7 percent. This would be effective from today (June 17) and would be applicable to a few categories such as electronics, personal computers, mobile devices, tablets, video games, video games consoles, music, musical instruments, educational and non-educational software, personal appliances, music. This was conveyed in an email to its sellers, reported the Economic Times. What this reduction in sellers fees means is that sellers will now be able to pass on the reduced fees to consumers, thus benefiting the latter. Amazon has not reduced the commission on lifestyle, apparel, fashion, home improvement and a few other categories. Feeling the heat of the dominance of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and US-based eBay on small items such as phone acccessories, Amazon had reduced its shipping costs on these items in the US, reported Business Standard. What will happen next? Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon are the largest players in the e-commerce space and compete closely with each other though Amazon leads the pack. In 2014-15, all three players had reported a combined loss of Rs 7,000 crore. Amazon is rapidly extending its scope and usurping rapidly the space that the other two had. Flipkart and Snapdeal, though numero unos as home-grown players in the e-commerce market are not at all profitable. Also, with the investors tightening their purse strings and funding narrowing down, they are on a tight leash. Meanwhile, Amazon India is getting funds from its US parent, with its chief Jeff Bezos announcing this month he has earmarked $3 billion more for operations here. Including the incremental amount, the company's total investment in the country will be $5 billion. "...The investment will go towards enhancing our customer and seller experience, as we have done over the past three years," Amazon India managing director Amit Agarwal had said in an interview. With this latest move, Amazon expects its business in India to be its leading market overtaking its other foreign markets like Japan, Germany and UK. Where will that leave Flipkart and Snapdeal? More importantly, will Flipkart be forced to roll back its intended payment fees on sellers due three days from now? Interesting times indeed in the Indian e-commerce. New Delhi: Indian auto component industry is expected to grow in the range of 10-12 percent in the current fiscal on hopes of above-normal monsoon and recovery in the domestic automobile market, according to industry body ACMA. In the last fiscal, the auto component industry's turnover grew by 8.8 percent to Rs 2.55 lakh crore as against Rs 2.34 lakh crore in 2014-15. "In the first two months of this fiscal trends have been positive. With prospects of a good monsoon, we expect the growth during this fiscal to be better then the previous one. "Last year, we grew by 8-9 percent and we expect to grow in the range of 10-12 percent this fiscal," Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) President Arvind Balaji told reporters here. The global markets continue to be slow but the domestic industry is showing signs of recovery, he added. Commenting on the last fiscal, Balaji said: "Despite a challenging year, the auto component industry has registered a satisfactory growth of 8.8 percent. Further, while overall exports from India witnessed a decline of 9.58 percent, the Indian auto component exports grew by 3.5 percent." Exports grew to Rs 70,900 crore last fiscal from Rs 68,500 crore in 2014-15. Europe accounted for 36 percent of the total exports followed by Asia and North America, 25 percent each. Shipments to Central America and North America increased by 30 percent and 3 percent, respectively, over the 2014-15 fiscal. The key export items included engine parts, transmission parts, brake system, body parts, exhaust systems and turbochargers. On imports, Balaji said China continued to be major country from where components are imported to India. "Yes, it is a challenge. There (in China), the government supports exports and we are also talking to our government to provide us a level playing field in terms of trade policy," he added. Last fiscal, the component industry invested in the range of Rs 2,700-Rs 4,000 crore compared with Rs 2,000-Rs 2,800 crore in 2014-15. "The enhancement in investment can be attributed to better business prospects owing to improving market sentiments," ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta said. New Delhi: It has been almost 48 hours since the New Civil Aviation Policy was cleared by the Cabinet but the incumbent airlines have maintained a deafening silence over its pronouncements. The dilution of the 5/20 rule, which now allows any new airline to begin international operations as soon as it has a fleet of 20 aircraft without waiting for five years, is surely a key irritant for IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir. These airlines have never kept their vehement opposition to any change in the 5/20 rule a secret and have, in fact, lobbied hard against any change under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA). The 5/20 rule was brought in allegedly at the insistence of one powerful full service airline years ago, so that this airline got immunity from competition from desi competitors on lucrative international routes. Now, when all airlines except GoAir fly abroad after having suffered the five-year domestic operations' condition, they are wary of the might of respected international players like Singapore Airlines, which is a 49% partner in Vistara, and would surely help the new airline's international spread. International operations are lucrative for airlines since they enable better sweating of assets (utilisation of aircraft) and enable airlines to pick up cheaper jet fuel from abroad. Take the case of Jet Airways, which earns over half its revenues from international operations and may face the maximum impact from 5/20 dilution a few years down the line. Anyway, Indian carriers only account for a third of international passenger traffic from India, it is the foreign carriers which rule this segment. The 5/20 dilution may not change this immediately but will surely impact overseas plans and earnings of Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet some months hence. It is perhaps a blessing in disguise for the government that the incumbents have maintained a determined silence over the policy instead of criticising it outright. It is clear that Civil Aviation Secretary R N Coubey met chiefs of all airlines early on Wednesday, apprising them about contents of the policy and seeking their cooperation in interactions with the media about the provisions, hours before it was to be taken up by the Union Cabinet. During the press briefing the same evening on the policy, all these people were duly invited to attend but except the top honchos of Vistara and AirAsia India, no airline chief was sighted at the briefing. While it would have been prudent for the government to do away with the regressive 5/20 provision entirely, it has chosen the middle path, trying to please all. Not only are the incumbents miffed, even the two Tata airlines, Vistara and AirAsia India, have been lukewarm in their response. Global aviation consultancy CAPA and several sector experts have criticised this middle-of-the-path approach to 5/20. CAPA says 5/20 rule moving to 0/20 is an "unfortunate compromise. It will not help new carriers like Vistara and Air Asia significantly and India will continue to be a foreign airline driven international traffic regime. Fast tracking expansion by Air Asia and Vistara will not be feasible since the initial capitalisation has been exhausted, operations continue to be loss-making and fast tracking will mean more cash burn." A source corroborated this saying Vistara will ramp up fleet from 11 to 20 in probably another 18 months so it will be close to three years from inception when the airline actually becomes eligible for overseas flights. AirAsia India, which has only six aircraft now and has been facing funding issues in the past, could well take longer to reach the 20-fleet mark. It is widely expected that the incumbent airlines are currently evaluating options and could well drag the policy to the courts. Not just with the partial removal of 5/20, this middle path approach is also evident in several other provisions of the policy like a gradual opening up of the Indian skies and confining this to countries beyond 5000 km radius. This is actually a non-starter, since India already has an open skies policy with the United States and the UK (with the exception of Heathrow and EU airlines have not been using much of the flights' quota available. What would have been a game changer? Open skies with countries like Singapore, Turkey, Gulf nations which fall within the 5000 km radius. This is where the demand lies. On another important issue too, the government developed cold feet: raising the FDI cap in airlines from 49% at present. The draft policy had mentioned that 49% could well become above 50% in some years but the final policy document skirts the issue completely as there has been vehement opposition to this clause too from some airlines. Remember, the FIA also exercised about the alleged violation of 'substantial ownership and effective control' clause by AirAsia India and has raised the matter in the courts. The bottomilne is, India's incumbent airlines do not want competition either on international routes or on domestic ones through new airlines springing up. Last but not the least, the Regional Connectivity Policy (RCS) has also not gone down well with the industry. Except for Air India, which is government owned and has to toe the official line, and perhaps SpiceJet, no other scheduled airline may be keen to add a new type of aircraft to its fleet - RCS needs small aircraft. Choubey said after unveiling the policy that many manufacturers of small aircraft have been in touch about the RCS scheme and that states will surely partner the centre in getting more flights into smaller cities, the practicality of these measures remains to be seen. Another point of view is the new non-scheduled operators with smaller aircraft may be attracted to the unserved airports which are the fulcrum of RCS. Already, CAPA has frowned upon the Rs 2,500 fare cap per hour of flying, saying the cost of operations could be over Rs 8,000 for airlines, taking overheads into account. This business of capping fares to enable the aam aadmi to fly may also need some tweaking for RCS operations to become viable. In the end, the flyer on trunk routes will have to bear the brunt of government's socialist ideas since some sort of cess on domestic tickets (on flights not on RCS routes) is being worked out. This means flying becomes somewhat more expensive for you and me. Given the unhappiness of the industry and even the flyer on major domestic routes over provisions of the Civil Aviation Policy, one wonders if the please-all approach of the government is the right one. India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world but still, only a minuscule proportion of its population flies. Proposals like RCS are thoughtful but lack practical clarity, other aspects of the policy also need some tweaking. The government should have taken a bold first step towards correcting the imbalances plaguing India's civil aviation sector. It has already thrown up its hands on rationalising taxation on ATF - which is highly taxed and makes the operating environment in India high cost. Through a series of investigative reports, Firstpost told you the story of how Bank of Baroda (BoB) reckoned three of its regular account holders as guarantors to a loan to Vijay Mallyas now defaulted airline, Kingfisher. One of the guarantors was a farmer in Uttar Pradesh, the second a security guard and the third a vegetable vendor (both from Mumbai). The efforts seem to have paid off, at least partially. After days of stony silence, BoB has said its senior officers have met the aggrieved customer and apologised for the inconvenience. The bank also said it would compensate the customer if need be. Heres the full text of their brief email response: The accounts under reference were erroneously lien marked by the Bank, owing to similarity of personal details and select credentials with the guarantors of Kingfisher Airlines. However, on realizing this, the Bank initiated prompt action to rectify the error. "The Bank also wishes to clarify that the customers under reference were not the guarantors for the loans provided to Kingfisher Airlines. "The Senior Officials of the Bank have called on the aggrieved customer and have regretted for the inconvenience caused on account of this unintentional error. The Bank will also compensate him for the monetary loss, if any. For those who arent familiar with the story, here is the gist. BoB is one of the banks in the 17-lender consortium which gave loans worth Rs 7000 crore to the now defunct airline of Vijay Mallya when the bird was still in the skies (it was grounded in October, 2012). But in December last year, BoB froze the accounts of three of its regular retail customers Manmohan Singh and two other persons named Subhash R Gupta in Mumbai, mistaking them as Mallyas guarantors to BoBs Rs 550 crore loan. This, the bank said, happened due to the similarity in their names with two gentlemen (Manmohan Singh Kapur and Subhash R Gupte) who used to be on the board of Kingfisher till two years ago. You can read the earlier stories here: Part 1 - BoB mistook farmer, security guard for Kingfisher directors! Part 2 - BoB freezes a/c with Rs 93 in quest for Rs 550 crore! Part 3 - Bank of Baroda freezes a/c of vegetable vendor! Part 4 - BoB doesn't even know who guaranteed Vijay Mallya's loan of Rs 550 crore! Welcome though it is, the banks response does not address the issues fully. Firstly, from the emailed statement it appears that BoB is referring only to one customer, the Pilibhit farmer Manmohan Singh, who suffered monetary loss after his account was frozen. Firstpost visited Singh at his Pilibhit home to ascertain if this was indeed true. The bank has informed us through their lawyer that the extra interest we had to pay on the loan because the account was frozen would be waived, he said. But at the same time we have been requested to take withdraw the defamation case which we filed against the bank. Singh served a legal notice to the bank's Mumbai branch and the branch in Pilibhit, charging them with defamation and demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh within 30 days. Singh added: While the bank has agreed to waive off the loan they should also give us monetary compensation for all the problems that we had to face because of their irresponsible behavior Rampal Gangwar, lawyer of Manmohan Singh told Firstpost: While bank authorities have woken up after six months, all they want to do is to waive off the loan. But my client had to sell his crop (sugarcane) at a much lower price as his accounts were frozen and he needed money. He suffered much of financial loss and mental agony and he should be compensated for this. Bank of Baroda is silent on the other two customers who did not suffer any apparent monetary loss. It did not also specify whether it would reach out to these two customers Subhash Ramdulare Gupta, vegetable vendor in Khar Mumbai and Subhash R Gupta, security guard, Vile Parle, Mumbai. When Firstpost called the two Guptas, they were unwilling to pursue the matter, insisting that the absence of monetary loss gave them little cause to take it up with the bank. However, the fact that these two customers did not suffer monetary loss does not mitigate the banks culpability in freezing their accounts without their knowledge. For this stealth attack on the rights and privileges of a customer the bank has needs to not just to apologise to them as well but make a demonstrable good will gesture to win their trust back. Secondly, and more importantly, BoB has maintained that what happened in this particular case was an office goof up or technical error by some of their officials who handled the recovery process and action on the guarantors accounts. But the brunt of the Firstpost investigative series is not to magnify an office error by a bank, but to highlight the larger systemic problems it symptomises. Two key questions come up here: One, how foolproof are the systems and processes in place for a large, reputed bank like BoB , to handle the sanction and recovery process of a high value loan (Rs 550 crore in this case). We all know how the 17-bank consortium has pathetically failed to take early action on Mallya. The Rs 9,000 crore Kingfisher loan (with accrued interest amount) became NPA (non-performing asset) on 2012, not in last December. But, sadly, that was when banks woke up to the problem (mind you, after four years of the loan turning NPA) with the seriousness the issue warrants. And when they did, this is what happened if we take BoB as an example. How could the bank get the names of its guarantors to such a large loan wrong in the first place? Both Kapur and Gupte (the original directors on the Kingfisher board), confirmed to Firstpost over phone they were never guarantors to the Kingfisher loan and do not even have accounts with the bank. Then how did these names figure in BoBs radar in the first place? Two, this is the worse part. Even in identifying the wrong guarantors, the bank failed miserably. Before freezing the accounts of three of its regular customers, the bank didnt bother to inform them or at least verify they are indeed the right people. The due diligence process failed at all levels, straight from the head office to the branch offices. This raises a serious question of how safe are the bank accounts of millions of customers. Remember, these three accounts had vey low balances (in one case Rs 93). One of the Guptas, the security guard, operated this account only to avail Prime Ministers Suraksha Bima Yojana, the mass insurance scheme with Rs 12 premium. Just one look at their account history or their KYC details would have revealed that these customers are no way linked to Vijay Mallya or Kingfisher. The good part is that, after we highlighted this issue, BoB at least agreed to apologise to the customer and even compensate for monetary losses. (We are trying to ascertain from the three persons if the bank officials indeed visited them expressed regrets.) But, the story doesnt end here. So, the larger question still remains. How was such a large loan given without even knowing the KYC details of the guarantors. Firstposts enquiries in this respect will continue to question the basic systemic issues in how banks lend public money to corporates. New Delhi: Government has imposed 20 percent customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply and check prices which are ruling high at Rs 40/kg. The move comes at a time when prices have surged sharply in various commodities including tomato, wheat and pulses. "To keep the domestic prices of sugar under check, the government has decided to impose export duty of 20 percent on the export of raw sugar, white or refined sugar," the Finance Ministry said in a release. A decision has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), it said. The duty has been imposed to restrict exports following sharp rise in global prices. The duty is, however, lower than 25 percent proposed by the Food Ministry. India, the world's second largest sugar producer after Brazil, has exported 1.6 million tonnes of sugar so far in the 2015-16 marketing year (October-September). Further exports are unlikely to take place with this decision. With retail sugar prices soaring to around Rs 40/kg from Rs 30/kg six months ago, the government has taken various steps to contain prices including withdrawal of export-linked production subsidy and imposition of stock limits on traders. Last week, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan had announced that his ministry has proposed to "levy 25 percent custom duty on export of sugar" to keep exports under control. "Global sugar prices are rising and therefore traders may increase the export of sugar to make profit," he had said. Industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) did not offer any comments immediately. However, a senior industry official welcomed the decision in view of tight demand-supply situation expected in the next 2016-17 marketing year starting October. With imposition of export duty, the official said that exports have become unviable. An increase of 50 percent in global sugar prices in last three months due to disruption in supply from Brazil had made exports viable. The country's sugar production is estimated to decline to 25 million tonnes in 2015-16, as against 28.3 million tonnes last year. The annual domestic demand is pegged at 26 million tonnes. Moreover, the government has forecast further decline in output in next year at 23-24 million tonnes. However, it has maintained that there would be no shortage as the country would have the opening stock of 7 million tonnes at the start of the next marketing year, taking total availability to 30-31 million tonnes. New Delhi: US-based Amazon said it has witnessed a 250 percent year-on-year growth in bringing new sellers on board as it looks to tap into the booming ecommerce market in India. The company, which is making multi-billion dollar investments in India, has over 85,000 sellers on board. "We started with 100 sellers three years ago and now we have over 85,000 sellers growing at 250 percent year-on-year and adding over 90,000 products a day," an Amazon India spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Amazon, which competes with the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal, has cut its commissions by 25-30 percent across categories like mobile phones, PCs, electronic devices and personal care appliances. "We think these revised rates can significantly help sellers to perform even better and succeed in their business. In addition, we continue to innovate and offer best in class services such as Fulfilment by Amazon, Easy Ship, Seller Flex, etc to help them with fulfilment/logistics so that they can focus on their business," the Amazon spokesperson said. Flipkart, on the contrary, had recently increased its commissions across key segments and asked sellers to bear the costs of logistics in case of returns. Recently, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest $3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giant's $2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments here to over $5 billion. The funds will be channelled towards enhancing customer and seller experience, Amazon India managing director Amit Agarwal said. "India is a key market for Amazon and we will work towards continuing to reduce operating costs for sellers backed by good logistics and fulfilment capabilities," he had added. India ranks highest among a few Asian countries in cyber bullying with 53 percent currently utilizing the internet between the ages of 8 to 17 and have faced some form of online bullying more than once. This is in contrast to a sizeable 49 percent children who face cyber bullying in Bangladesh, 33 percent in Thailand and only one in 4 children in Malaysia, according to the Norton Cyber security Insights Report by Norton by Symantec. Cyberbullying refers to electronic communication used for the purpose of bullying. In the latter half of 2015, Intel Security released its Teens, Tweens and Technology Study 2015, which revealed that 81 percent of Indian children between the age of 8 and 16 were active on social media networks and of these 22 percent reported being bullied online. This was the highest when compared to Australia, USA and Singapore being part of the survey. What children will post today on social media networks will come to haunt them in the future is a fear that most Indian parents share. They fear cyber bullying is more evident than physical bullying. According to the Norton Cyber Security Insights Report by Symantec, close to one in two parents believe their children are safer from bullies on a playground than online. By 2017, 134 million children in India will be online, giving them access to a information and knowledge. Compared to the global average, Indian parents are 20 percent more likely to limit their childs online activities. A sizeable 49 percent of school students in Bangladesh have experienced either being bullied or disturbed online, by the same person both online and offline or have actually engaged in bullying others online. The same percentage said they submitted to at least one form of peer pressure. Bangladesh has a lower percentage than India with regard to cyber bullying simply because less than half of school students choose to confide in parents and teachers when faced with online issues. Internet usage by schoolchildren in all states in Malaysia is more than 90 percent on average. Though one in four report have experienced cyber bullying, a 2015 study revealed that the majority of Malaysian schoolchildren are aware that such behaviours can be identified and reported. In the face of online threats by peers, most Malaysian children are likely to adopt a privacy setting or blocking strategies, and are aware of the channels to report to teachers or relevant authorities. Nonetheless, there is a high likelihood that many youngsters will keep quiet and hope the cyber bullying will stop, rather than consult a trusted adult. Malaysian students also ranked highly in terms of being aware of what constitutes socially acceptable behaviors on the internet and are open to following online rules set by parents. Overall, 67 percent said they felt able to improve or solve any cyberbullying problems themselves or with adult help. This higher percentage could be attributed to consistent efforts to increase internet safety awareness among Malaysian school students, including DiGis CyberSAFE programme. Overall, 33 percent of Thai school students have experienced either being bullied or disturbed online, being bullied by the same person both online and offline or they have actually engaged in the act of bullying others online. Additionally, 35 percent of Thai students have said they succumbed to at least one form of peer pressure such as being encouraged to visit unsuitable websites or use bad language online. Of the Thai students encountering cyberbullying and online peer pressure, 59 percent responded said that they felt capable of resolving such issues by themselves or with adult guidance. Notable was the level of students in Thailand who said when faced with online issues that they do not know how to solve alone: 55 percent said they were likely to approach their parents, far higher than Bangladesh at 38 percent saying they would consult their guardians. By frequently consulting with parents, children can better navigate the challenges of interactions online. Telenor India has come out with safety norms for parents so as to be able to protect children from cyber bullying. These include limiting the time children spend online, to keep talking to children and learn new technology from and with them, getting children to share their favorite websites with them. Set rules, critique content and openly communicate with kids. Keeping kids safe means setting guidelines and having critical and non judgmental discussions about internet behavior, a company press release said. Kochi: Cochin Shipyard on Friday delivered the Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Aryaman, to Indian Coast Guard 95 days ahead of the contractual schedule. It is the 18th vessel in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels under construction for the Indian Coast Guard. The Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance was signed between Suresh Babu NV, Director (Operations), CSL and Commanding Officer (Designate) of the vessel Cmdt Neeraj Singh in the presence of senior officials of ICG and CSL. The vessel will be operated from the Coast Guard Station at Kochi, a CSL release said in Kochi. "These vessels help in securing the Nation's Coasts by patrolling within the Exclusive Economic Zone and Coastal Patrol, carrying out anti-smuggling, anti-piracy and search and rescue operations, and for fisheries protection and monitoring," it said. They also have a secondary role of providing a communication link, and escort coastal convoys, in times of hostilities and war, it said. The CSL said this financial year, it has delivered seven Fast patrol Vessels to the Indian Coast Guard and a Buoy Tender Vessel to Department of Lighthouses and Lightships. PTI A Long March 4B rocket carrying a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite "Ziyuan III 02" and two NewSat satellites from Uruguay blasts off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, May 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING - After six decades of aerospace development, it is high time for China to embrace the new era of space economy, participants at a forum agreed Thursday. During the first China Space Economic Forum, in Beijing on Thursday, government officials, aerospace scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs exchanged views on China's space economy developments. While addressing the forum, Tian Yulong, chief engineer of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, noted that much of China's space technology and infrastructure achievements were ready for commercial use-oriented development. Official data shows that, currently, more than 2,000 kinds of aerospace technology in China are being used in various industries, and 880 kinds of new materials have been developed based on aerospace technology in recent years. The government is accelerating cooperation with the military, discussing plans to share military space resources with enterprises to ensure government investment better benefits the public, said Tian, who is also general-secretary of China National Space Administration. Concurring with Tian, Yu Dengyun from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation added that China must push ahead with further development of aerospace technology. China has announced it will complete aerospace projects currently underway by around 2020, including manned space programs, lunar probes, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and the Gaofen observation satellite program. A Mars exploration program is scheduled to begin around 2020. Satellite applications should be central to space economic development in China at present, and the country must strengthen its commercial use of domestic remote sensing satellites and provide better services to the public, said Yu. Attendees of the forum agreed that China initiatives including "Internet Plus," "China Manufacturing 2025" and the "Belt and Road" initiative have driven development of China's space economy. Moreover, a law on aerospace has been listed in China's legislation plan, and the central government has signed over 100 aerospace cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries, which will provide a favorable environment for space economic development in the country, Tian said. Mathura: A local court on Thursday refused to accept the police's claim that Jawahar Bagh encroachers leader Ram Vriksha Yadav is dead and ordered a DNA test of his viscera and to match it with his family members' DNA sample. "Find out the whereabouts of the family of Ram Vriksha and ensure DNA test of his viscera in the presence of Chief Medical Officer Mathura," Ninth Additional District Judge V S Tripathi ordered Highway Police Station SHO Subodh Yadav. Tripathi did not accept the SHO's contention that Ram Vriksha Yadav is dead as his body has been identified by one Har Nath. "Identification by only family members or relatives can be accepted. Find out the whereabout of family members of Ram Vriksha and then ensure DNA test," he said. The Magistrate passed the order during a hearing in a 2011 case in which Ram Vriksha was an accused and a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. The prosecution of the case Suresh Chandra Dubey said that on 10 March, 2011, Ram Vriksha and his associates had a scuffle with employees at Baba Jai Gurudeo petrol Pump since they were not selling him petrol at 40 litres per rupee. An FIR was registered against Ram Vriksha and his associates at Highway police station in the case. Since Ram Vriksha and his associates did not turn up in the court in the case, non bailable warrant was issued against them. The SHO on Thursday submitted in the court that since Ram Vriksha is no more, the case may be dropped. However, the magistrate refused to accept it and ordered DNA sample matching. Delhis cabinet minister Gopal Rai resigned from his post as transport minister citing health reasons on 14 June. On the same day late evening, the Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) MLA and parliamentary secretary Alka Lamba was sacked from the post of partys spokesperson for her statement on Rai, which was considered as a deviation from party line. These back-to-back incidents brought the AAP-led Delhi government in the spotlight; especially on the issue of the premium bus service. The entire attention got focussed on Rai because it was he as the transport minister commissioned the controversial project. Whats the controversy all about? The controversy is about the premium bus service. The Delhi government during the second phase of the odd-even scheme in April had announced that the premium bus service would be made operational from mid-June. Registrations for the same were to be started on 1 June. But the scheme could not be launched because Delhis Lt Governor Najeeb Jung did not give his assent to the service and asked the transport minister to review it. It is alleged that Rai gave the green signal to the scheme, bypassing the L-G office. Reportedly, several violations have taken place in the process. Resultantly, the ambitious scheme of AAP-government has taken the shape of a scam. Premium bus service scheme: Its an App-based premium bus scheme similar to cab services like Ola and Uber. The Delhi government worked on an app linked to an aggregator, whose job was to link people with buses and ensure a safe passage. The buses would run on a fixed schedule, the seats would be numbered, no extra passengers would be taken on board, the bus would have to run even if there wasnt a minimum number on a route and fines were to be imposed if the conditions werent met. Its similar to a chartered bus and the booking for it could be on phone. Why did Rai step down? Gopal Rai stepped down citing health reasons, as he has recently had a surgery. But, as per the sources (including Alka Lamba), he resigned from the post of transport minister as he had been at the focal point of the project. Lamba had told the media that Gopal Rai had been relieved of his portfolio so that the AAP governments premium bus scheme could be investigated by the Anti-Corruption Branch in a free and fair manner. She came under fire for this statement of hers. AAP supporters may disagree, but its true that Rai didnt resign from transport department only on health grounds. He continues to be the minister for employment, development, labour, general administration and, irrigation and flood control. Hes also on the radar of Delhis anti-corruption branch, which is investigating the case. What went wrong? -There are allegations against Rai that he allegedly bypassed the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jungs office by giving the AAP governments ambitious app-based premium bus service scheme a green signal. No prior approval was sought before the launch of the scheme. The scheme was notified by the AAP-government on 20 May. -After stepping down, Rai had voluntarily presented himself before ACB Chief MK Meena. Later he claimed that the probe agency was "totally clueless" with respect to substantiating the graft charges in the scheme. -According to sources, the ACB in its initial report has mentioned that the AAP governments notification is based on deliberate misinterpretation of certain clauses of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Clauses M & N of Section 66 refer to exceptions under the Act in the case of emergency-like situation). There was no emergency situation when the notification was issued. -Contrary to government norms, where the secretary of a department (in this case the Transport department) presents a Cabinet note, in this case it was Rai who had prepared the note. -As per the norm, the draft proposal for a scheme (like this premium bus scheme project) is supposed to be put on the public domain for public feedback; but in this case it wasnt done. -Sources said that transport department officials raised concerns over the proposed implementation of the scheme, but they remained unheard. -In the notification, the government statedthe L-G of the NCR is pleased to notify, but the fact is that it had no approval of L-G. It was incorrect, a source said. Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation A complaint was filed with the ACB by BJP legislator Vijender Gupta, alleging that the Delhi government has favoured an aggregator and no norms had been followed. Following it, the agency started probing on the alleged scam and has prepared an initial report which is related to the contract awarded for the premium bus service project. It is looking into the allegations of favouritism underlying the notification of a policy to enable app-based premium buses in the national capital to extend benefits to a Gurugram -based private operator. The ACB has questioned Rai on the issue and its expected that it would go for a second round. The agency will also question others related to the implementation of the project. There are charges of corruption and it is a fact that Lieutenant Governors permission was not taken, but the notification claims that permission was takenAAP governments transport policy allegedly was tailor-made to benefit one operator, all stakeholders were not consulted, ACB chief, MK Meena had reportedly said. In limbo As the scheme has now got embroiled into a controversy and ACB investigating the case, this ambitious project of Kejriwal government, which could have been beneficial for Delhi public, is in limbo. A special court on Friday convicted 11 perpetrators to life imprisonment, 12 others to seven years and one more to ten years in jail, in the 14 year old Gulbarg society massacre case. 69 people along with Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the communal violence, that took place on 28 February, 2002 in Gujarat post the Godhra riots. As the court ruled out death sentence for the convicts, wife of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, Zakia Jafri, who has been actively fighting for justice for the last 14 years, says she is not satisfied with the SIT verdict. They brutally killed Ehsan Jafri, stripped him, chopped off his limbs and burnt him alive in the street...this is the punishment? Why this selective sentencing? They should have all got life imprisonment," said Zakia Jafri, as reported by NDTV. I am not satisfied, I am not happy. I will have to consult my lawyers again, this is not justice: Zakia Jafri #GulbargVerdict ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2016 Zakia Jafri: After so many people died, that's all the court could decide? just 12 guilty? I will have to fight this pic.twitter.com/Jr4VDp3fCh ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2016 They brutally killd Ehsan Jafri, this is quantum of sentence?They should have all got life imprisonment: Zakia Jafri pic.twitter.com/QrvcBRnAEy ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2016 When on 2 June 2016, the SIT court had acquitted 36 and convicted 24 out of all the 66 accused, Zakia Jafri had said that all those accused should have been given punishment for what they did and what they did not. "I know it all and as I have seen the massacre. I expected all to be convicted...how they killed people, how they made them homeless, I saw it myself. I can't dare to ask for capital punishment but maximum punishment should be given. They should be given life imprisonment so they could know the pain of staying away from their family and children," Zakia had said after the verdict was pronounced on 2 June, 2016. Back in 2013, Zakia had filed a petition, challenging SIT's clean chit to Modi, alleging that SIT had covered up the crimes and misled the court. In her long fight for justice, Zakia was joined by social activist Teesta Setalvad, who had been fighting for victims of the Gulbarg massacre and was fighting cases for them. New Delhi: India and Thailand on Friday decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, Indiais particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offences and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later on Friday. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues or greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. Chandigarh: On 13th day of their fresh pro-quota stir, some Jat leaders, accompanied by Khap representatives, held talks with the Haryana government on Friday and demanded withdrawal of "false cases" registered against youths in connection with the February stir and adequate compensation for the relatives of those who had died. Among the participants in the talks at Panchkula were Sube Singh Samain, Sarv Khap Jat Panchayat spokesperson, its senior leader Nafe Singh Nain, Tek Chand Kandela of the Kandela Khap and Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan. State Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's political advisor Jagdish Chopra, talked to them from the government side. The main demand raised in the meeting was release of "innocent youths" arrested during February stir and adequate compensation and job to next of kin of those who lost their lives in the recent stir. Dhankar told the leaders the government is fighting against the High Court stay on reservation granted by it and assured their other demands would be considered in a "sympathetic manner". All India Jat Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS), which is spearheading the stir, has been invited for talks with state government representatives in Delhi on Saturday. "We are meeting them in Delhi Saturday," AIJASS president Yashpal Malik said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said this is a "social issue and it should not be politicised". Khattar, who was in Rohtak on Friday, said as the reservation issue is under the consideration of the court, all would have to unitedly plea to make it reach the desired conclusion. However, it is the responsibility of the government to get it resolved, he added. The state on Friday remained peaceful and no untoward incident was reported, officials said. In 2010, Inaam Hussain, a 19-year-old boy, was standing outside his fathers shop in Srinagars uptown when a police vehicle whizzed through the dusty road and abruptly stopped, while the cops jumped out to catch the boys who threw stones on the police during the months-long protests against the series of killings in Kashmir. The stone pelters, who had assembled in the main market area, gave the slip. Enraged over missing the catch, the cops chased the other bystanders, including Inaam. In a hurry, Inaam entered the compound of a nearby mosque to save himself from possibly being thrashed and arrested by the angry cops, but failed as he tried to climb over a wall to the other side of the mosque. Inaam was caught and booked under the black law called Public Safety Act (PSA), within hours of his arrest. Inaam spent the next few months in Kot Balwal Jail in the Udhampur district of Jammu region. It took his family months to get his PSA quashed and subsequently release him from jail. Since then, he attends court regularly in relation to the other charges he was booked for. Years later, Inaam was offered a job in compensation for the land taken by the Indian Railways, which required him to obtain an NOC from the police, before he could join the service. Since there was a case pending against him in the police station, he had to pay a hefty amount as bribe to get the clearance certificate from the police for his job. All thanks to the draconian Public Safety Act. Like Inaam, hundreds of boys in Kashmir share a similar story. The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday revealed that it had arrested a total of 133 people under the provisions of PSA in the last one year, out of which 53 people are still languishing in different jails in the state. A total of 133 persons were arrested under the provisions of PSA and other Acts in 2015. Out of these, 80 people have been released or deported while 53 are still in jails. Three of the PSA detainees have been taken to the jails outside the state, the government said in the state Assembly, on Friday. The figures reveal how the state deals with the dissenters with an iron hand, according to a human rights activist. The government also said it has arrested around 800 people in Kashmir in 2015; Srinagar topped the list with 337 arrests. Since January 2015 and January 2016, a total of 799 people across Kashmir were arrested. All except one person have been released, the government said. The government said that 337 people were arrested in Srinagar, 122 in Shopian, 15 in Budgam, 22 in Ganderbal, 70 in Baramulla, 34 in Kupwara, 13 in Kulgam, 10 in Bandipora, and 86 in Pulwama, in the last one year. Earlier in the month, the government said 199 youngsters were arrested in north Kashmirs Palhallan village in the last nine years. Jammu and Kashmir spends an amount of Rs 18.34 crore annually on prisoners in different jails. It is pertinent to mention that Hurriyat leader Masarat Alam has been slapped with 32 PSAs over the years. Similarly, hundreds of youngsters have been arrested under PSA, since the mass uprising in Kashmir in 2008. The human rights group, Amnesty International, has termed the Public Safety Act as a lawless law and has advocated for its scrapping. In a recent report, Amnesty said that an estimated 8,000-20,000 people have been detained under the PSA since 1991 in Kashmir. Amnesty in its report said: Research has showed that the implementation of the PSA is often arbitrary and abusive, with many of those being held having committed no recognisably criminal acts. The PSAs vague and over-broad provisions facilitate a range of human rights violations in practice. The Vice-President Hamid Ansari has, in November 2014, said that the use of laws such as PSA to commit human rights violations, reflect poorly on the state and its agents. The human rights organisations and civil society groups have been calling for the scrapping of this law under which a person can be detained for up to two years in jail without any trial. Despite facing harsh criticism, the Jammu and Kashmir government continues to put hundreds of people in jail under PSA. Ahmedabad: Rejecting the theory of a conspiracy behind the Gulbarg Society massacre here during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the special SIT court on said there was no evidence to support it. "There was absolutely no pre-planned conspiracy to butcher or kill members of the minority community, more particularly at Gulbarg society," special judge PB Desai said in the order. "The evidence...with regard to the elements of criminal conspiracy is extremely flimsy," it said. The court sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case related to the massacre where 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive on 28 February, 2002. The court awarded a 10-year jail term to one accused while 12 others were given a seven-year sentence. Testimony of one of the witnesses that Kapil Munna, an accused, told him that he was going to attend a meeting where the murder of Muslims would be planned was "uninspiring and downright ridiculous," the judge said. According to this witness, Munna told him this between 9 and 10 a.m on 28 February, while other witnesses had said the violence had begun at around 9 a.m itself, the court noted. The prosecution had also referred to a visit by the senior police officers including the then police commissioner P C Pandey and joint commissioner of police M K Tandon to the Gulbarg Society before the incident to assure the residents that there would be proper police security. The police officers stayed away when the carnage began, which supported the theory of criminal conspiracy involving high- ranking government officials, political leaders and police, said the prosecution. Chennai: A 68-year-old man died while watching the Hollywood horror movie The Conjuring 2 at a cinema hall in Tamil Nadu, late on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred during the night show at Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas in Tiruvannamalai town. G Ram Mohan, a native of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, suffered chest pain and fainted towards the climax of the movie. H Prasad, who was accompanying Mohan, took him to a nearby hospital but he died even before reaching the hospital. The doctors asked Prasad to take the body to Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital for autopsy, but he did not reach there. He was believed to have left for Kadapa along with the body. Police launched an investigation and approached their counterparts in Andhra to trace the body. The duo had reportedly gone to Tiruvannamalai on a business trip. Mumbai: In an apparent snub to BJP ahead of the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena has not invited its ally for its 50th anniversary celebrations on Sunday. "We have not invited the BJP because it is an internal celebration of our party which is aimed at gearing up our party workers. Recently, BJP held its National Executive meet in Allahabad for which none of its allies were invited. Similarly, every party has its own celebrations, meetings which is only for its members," Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told PTI. When asked if the move is an indication to the BJP that the party may decide to go solo in the upcoming BMC polls, she said, "Our mission for the BMC election is 100 per cent Sena. Every party would want to win an election. The Sena has always been at the helm of affairs in the state and has never required anybody's support to grow which has not been the case with the BJP." Reacting to the development, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, "It is their internal programme thus their choice on who has to be invited. We only wish them good luck." Opposition parties, meanwhile, have taken an opportunity to take a dig at the saffron allies, saying their internal bickering will only add to their misfortunes in the upcoming BMC polls. "Both the BJP and the Sena know their chances of retaining power in BMC are negligible owing to the massive corruption that has taken place in their tenure. The slugfest between both parties will be an added advantage for the Opposition parties," NCP legislator Kiran Pawaskar said. Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria said, "from the time of formation of government, both parties' postures have been that of one-upmanship. Alliance has to be followed in letter and spirit. People of the state should have the confidence in them. Bickering on petty issues is irrelevant to the people. However, if Sena wants to sit on opposition benches they are most welcome." The Sena will be staging a grand mega event on 19 June at Goregaon East's NSE grounds showcasing its 50 years of political journey that has been shaped by the contribution of late party chief Balasaheb Thackeray and family. New Delhi: A 92-year-old 'bed ridden' man, convicted in a 1980 honour killing case, will finally have to go to jail with the Supreme Court on Friday refusing to grant him any exemption from surrendering before the police to undergo the life term awarded to him. The vacation bench of justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and L Nageswara Rao dismissed his application seeking exemption from surrendering on health grounds before the police as directed by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. The High Court had on 24 February upheld the conviction and life sentence awarded to Putti, a Uttar Pradesh resident, and had directed him to surrender before the police. The convict has also appealed against the High Court order through advocate Deepesh Dwivedi and termed the verdict as "unreasoned" and "erroneous" given without considering his plight of old age. Putti is the cousin brother of co-accused Phekka and Sanehi, the co-accused in the case who had expired during the pendency of appeal before the High Court. They had murdered one Nanhakku on 22 August, 1980. According to prosecution, about nine months before the incident Sohan, brother of Nanhakku had eloped with the married daughter of Phekka, due to which Snehi and Putti had nursed a grudge against Nanhakku and others. The trial court on 28 May, 1982 had convicted Phekka, Snehi and Putti for offences under section 302 (murder)/34 (common intention) of IPC and awarded life term to them. All the three convicts had appealed against the trial court order in the High Court, during which Phekka and Snehi expired. After nearly 34 years, the High Court on 24 February, 2016, upheld the conviction and sentence and dismissed the appeals. In a bid to discredit former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, dozens of myths are being propagated to make him look like a half-wit, whose policies and ideology somehow deprived India of its deserved status of a global superpower and pegged the country back by several years. Add to this list another fantastic claim: John F Kennedy offered India nukes on a platter but Nehru rejected it. And that Nehru spurned offers for India's permanent inclusion in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Writing for Firstpost, Prakash Nanda argues: "... a majority of Indians do not know that but for Nehru, India would have been a permanent member of the UNSC, a legitimate nuclear power and a leading global power in the 1950s." Nehru and UNSC That Nehru deprived India of a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is standard spiel of the anti-Nehru camp. But, it ignores several key facts. The UNSC was formed in 1945 and its composition has not altered even once since then. In 1945, when seats on UNSC were being allotted, India was not even an Independent country. To add to Indian woes, whatever claims India made for seeking entry into the elite council were opposed by British PM Winston Churchill. Was India offered a membership after that? In September 1955, Nehru categorically denied getting any offer in Parliament. He made this statement, in reply to a short notice question in the Lok Sabha on 27 September by Dr JN Parekh whether India had refused a seat informally offered to her in the Security Council. The prime minister said: "There has been no offer, formal or informal, of this kind. Some vague references have appeared in the press about it, which have no foundation in fact. The composition of the Security Council is prescribed by the UN Charter, according to which certain specified nations have permanent seats. No change or addition can be made to this without an amendment of the Charter. There is, therefore, no question of a seat being offered and India declining it. Our declared policy is to support the admission of all nations qualified for UN membership.'' It has been almost 50 years since Nehru died. If, as his critics argue, Nehru was not keen on the UNSC membership, what have his successors, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, achieved in these years? The problem with the UNSC is that altering its composition takes a lot. First, it entails an amendment in the UN Charter, which can be done only with the support of two-third of its general members and the support of the big five in the UNSC. And second, India is not the only country with a strong claim. Germany, Japan, Brazil and many other developing countries have also been lobbying for a seat on the UNSC table. To assume that all these impediments could have been swept aside if Nehru would have said yes is wishful simplification of the complex problem. Nehru, Kennedy and Nukes Nanda claims India could have become a nuclear power if he had accepted Kennedy's offer to handhold our way into the elite club. His argument is based on former foreign secretary MK Rasgotra's assertion that Kennedy offered India help in developing nuclear bombs, but the Indian PM turned down a handwritten letter in which the offer was made. Rasgotra was the Indian foreign secretary in the Rajiv Gandhi government, a good 20 years after Nehru's death. Facts. Though Nehru was a vocal proponent of non-alignment and a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi's ahimsa doctrine, India always kept the nuclear option. In April 1948, within a year of Independence, India passed the Atomic Energy Act that led to the creation of Indian Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). At that time Nehru said: "We must develop this atomic energy quite apart from war indeed I think we must develop it for the purpose of using it for peaceful purposes. Of course, if we are compelled as a nation to use it for other purposes, possibly no pious sentiments of any of us will stop the nation from using it that way." (Weapons of Peace, Raj Chengappa, HarperCollins Publishers India, pg 79) It is clear that Nehru was keen that India pursue nuclear research and keep its options open for future deployment in war. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that Homi Bhabha was once just a year from testing a nuclear device during Nehru's tenure. But, it is also true that he asked Bhabha to keep the programme in abeyance. The key question here is this: Did the US under Kennedy try to help India fastrack the bomb to counter China? Several experts argue that Kennedy's secretary of state Dean Rusk toyed with the idea of helping India develop nukes to keep China under control. But, in his book, India's Nuclear Bomb, The Impact on Global Proliferation, strategic affairs expert George Perkovitch writes the idea was never implemented. The US home department found seven problems with the strategy of extending covert support to India's nuclear programme and ultimately rejected it saying it was not convinced that the US should depart from its stated policy of opposition to extension of nuclear capabilities. The truth is, during Kennedy's tenure, the US was tilting more towards Pakistan than India. George Perkovitch writes in India's Nuclear Bomb, in 1961, when US Vice-President Lyndon Johnson visited the two countries, he preferred the Pakistani dictator Ayub Khan. On several occasions, the US tried to leverage its position to force India to accept a settlement on Kashmir to appease Pakistan. But, Nehru maintained a measured distance from the US, much to the chagrin of the superpower. Apart from assuming, without proffering credible evidence, that nukes were offered on a platter to Nehru, the former PM's critics, of course, make the mistake of arguing that an entry into the club would have been the shortest route to super powerdom and global hegemony. For sobering thoughts, they need only to look at Pakistan, an ally of the US much before the Kennedy era. New Delhi: Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday rubbished as "politically motivated" allegations linking her to the Rs 400-crore water tanker scam, a day after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung ordered a probe into it by Delhi government's Anti Corruption Branch. The Congress veteran also questioned the timing of the probe saying it was ordered when preparations for crucial polls in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were picking up momentum. She also suggested that Jung may have been under political pressure to order a probe into the case pointing out that he was sitting on so many other recommendations of the AAP government. "The allegations are politically motivated. It was not my decision to procure the water tankers. It was a collective decision by a board comprising DJB CEO, engineers and experts. A BJP MLA and two municipal councillors were also part of the decision making process," Dikshit said. Questioning timing of the probe, she told PTI, "it makes it clear that a motivated campaign is being launched against me". There was speculation that Dikshit may be made the Congress' chief ministerial face for next year's assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh or may be given a major role in the party's campaign for assembly polls in Punjab. "I do not remember the details of the procurement process. But I can confidently say that a transparent process was followed. The allegations were totally baseless," she said. A report of a fact-finding panel on the alleged 400-crore water tanker scam linking Dikshit was Thursday forwarded to anti-graft agency ACB by Jung for further investigation. The report by a committee of the Delhi Jal Board was sent to Jung by the AAP government for probe by either CBI or Delhi's Anti Corruption Branch following persistent demand by the city BJP leader Vijender Gupta. Water Minister Kapil Mishra Friday said BJP was trying protect the former Delhi CM and that he has given "all evidences" against her in the scam to Jung. "I have given all the evidences against her. Now, it is up to the BJP government to take action and put her into jail," said Mishra. ACB chief MK Meena said all aspects of the case including whether the AAP government was sitting over the file relating to the case will be probed. Mishra on 12 June had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jung recommending either CBI or ACB probe against Dikshit in connection with alleged water tanker scam. "LG has forwarded the committee's report to the ACB for appropriate action in the matter. He has also forwarded Gupta's complaint that the Delhi chief minister suppressed the report of the fact-finding committee for 11 months," a government source said. Last week, the AAP government had made the committee's report public after Gupta demanded from Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly to do the same. The position of a woman spokesperson in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is highly precarious despite the strong national visibility it provides. It may look coincidental, but the incident of MLA Alka Lamba losing her job as party spokesperson is not the first of its kind in AAP. Prior to this, there were two others Shazia Ilmi and Atishi Marlena who were media favourties and had a similar fate. The reasons might be different, but the final result is same for all the spokespersons, especially the women members who face the wrath of AAP's top leadership. Lamba faced the music for apparently goofing up a statement on Gopal Rai's stepping down from the post of transport minister. Much before Lamba, it was Shazia Ilmi AAP's former national executive member, now with the BJP who was the first spokesperson of the party. It was in the formative days of the party and she was the only woman voice of the party on prime time panel discussions of news channels. Ilmi became the second best known face of AAP after Kejriwal with whom she had worked closely since the Jan Lokpal agitation days. But she gradually disappeared too, only to be replaced by her male counterparts. Finally, she resigned in May 2014 alleging 'absence of internal democracy'. "There is no space for women at the top level of the decision-making process within the party, which is in fact controlled by a select few male members," Ilmi had told this correspondent after her resignation in an exclusive interview with Firstpost. After throwing out Yogendra Yadav as the chief spokesperson, the party constituted a team of 21 spokespersons in April 2015. A conspicuous absence from the new team was Marlena, the partys best known female spokesperson on television after Shazia Ilmi. Marlena had replaced Ilmi after the latters exit from AAP. She had to lose her job as party spokesperson in 2015. Her sacking from the post was linked to her closeness to the Yadav-Bhushan camp, which somehow got revealed through a letter. Those who claim to be closely related to the party, including its former members, claim that there's no space for women in any important position in the organisation at the top. During its formative period, the AAP had emphasised on giving power to women members in the party in a democratic manner. But later-on during elections, the party witnessed a major discontent amongst the latter, leading to the exit of prominent faces like Ilmi and Madhu Bhaduri among others. After her exit from the party, former National Executive member of AAP and a retired diplomat, Madhu Bhaduri had told this correspondent, "About how the AAP treats its women members, and as far as I am concerned the Party made sure that I was denied the right of a member of the National Council of AAP to move a resolution in the meeting of the council and was actually heckled and forced out of the hall." Bhaduri had objected to former minister Somnath Bharti's midnight raid against Ugandan women at Khirki extension in New Delhi and tried to raise the issue in party's meeting. The space that was occupied by Shazia, Arishi and Alka is again vacant. So who's next? Bengaluru: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the increased number of terrorist encounters show that the country's intelligence has "increased" and counter terrorist network is "tightening". "More encounters means - we are neutralising more, our intelligence has increased, our counter terrorist network is now tightening up," he told reporters in Bengaluru. He said, "If you see the ratio of security forces martyrdom... To terrorists deaths (it) is now in the favour of the security forces at the rate of 1:4.3/4.4." The number of terrorists' neutralised was more than 50 now, whereas only 12 security forces personnel had lost their lives. Stating that the loss of security forces should further reduce, he said "our efforts are towards it." Parrikar was responding to a question on whether the increased number of terror encounters was because of increased vigil or more attempts of infiltration. The defence minister was in Bengaluru to witness the inaugural flight of India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) designed and developed by HAL. A militant was killed was on Friday in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Sopore in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Pointing out that most incidents of terror infiltration and encounters take place before winter, Parrikar said either they were not noted earlier or probably they were not taken "very seriously". Claiming that the country used to lose almost a soldier for a terrorist, Parrikar said "now you see yesterday's report. Four terrorists on the border trying to infiltrate were killed. In three days, two attempts have been neutralised." Four militants and a soldier were killed as the Army on Friday foiled an infiltration bid, the second such attempt in three days, in Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control in Kashmir. Calling incidents of Chinese incursion on the Indian side of the border as "transgression", Parrikar said "these things happen because of some historical problem between countries on perceived Line of Control." He said, "Whenever they have transgressed we have either stopped them and asked them to go back or raised the issue with them. But I can tell you the overall transgression that means violation of our line of control perception has reduced a lot compared to earlier." "This is mainly because we have increased the number of interaction points at the border at senior and local commander level," the defence minister said. "They interact with each other to clarify and the issues are sorted out. So the number has come down," he said. Parrikar said even in the latest incident, we "pushed" them back and had a meeting with them and clarified the issue. "It is almost an annual ritual that happens, but we push them back every time such attempts are made," he said. In another incident of Chinese incursion, about 250 China's Peoples Liberation Army soldiers had entered Arunachal Pradesh's east district of Kameng last week. The "temporary transgression" by the Chinese patrolling party took place in Yangste, East Kameng district on June 9. However the Chinese soldiers went back within hours. PTI Lucknow: The BJP on Friday demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged Hindu migration in Kairana and charged the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh with giving protection to criminals from a "particular community" inciting terror there. BJP UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, who led a delegation to Governor Ram Naik, later told reporters that he has apprised the Governor of the "real situation" in Kairana in Shamli district of western UP. "The party has submitted a memorandum to the Governor apprising him of the real situation there and demanding a CBI inquiry," Maurya said. "The report of our (BJP's) probe team which visited Kairana was also submitted to the Governor," he added. The convenor of the probe team, Suresh Khanna, and Kairana MP Hukum Singh, who had first raised the issue of migration, were also present. They described the situation in Kairana as "much more serious than being projected", adding that a CBI probe is the need of the hour. The Governor has assured the BJP delegation of taking up the matter with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. He has also assured to send a copy of the memorandum to the President, they said. The BJP leaders alleged that criminals like Mukim Lala and Furkan enjoyed the patronage of the SP and thus, were running their extortion network from jail. These criminals have been accused of unleashing a reign of terror in Kairana that led to the Hindu migration, they added. Claiming that the list of migrants submitted by him was a correct account, Hukum Singh maintained that the migration was linked to crime and patronage to criminals from a "particular community". "There are large number of Muslims in Kairana and hence, some political parties are out to give it a communal colour," Singh, who has been elected to the Assembly seven times from Kairana, said. Citing incidents related to murder of traders for 'rangdari' and families migrating from there due to terror, the BJP leaders demanded adequate compensation, rehabilitation and full security for the migrants. A 33-year-old man ended up dead when a fight over an "objectional" caricature of Congress president Sonia Gandhi turned into a fullblown battle in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur. Reports said one group was led by Congress municipal councillor Jatin Raj and another by advocate Prashant Naik. Naik was injured in the clashes, as well. Six others got injured, five of them seriously, in the clash between two camps in the early hours of Thursday over the photo which was allegedly circulated in a WhatsApp group, police told PTI. Prashant Naik allegedly posted a photo in the WhatsApp group, which showed Sonia "washing utensils" with a satirical caption saying (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has reduced Congress President to such a position, CSP Balsavar told PTI. Area city superintendent of police Inderjeet Balsavar told the media that Umesh Verma alias Guddu, who sustained injuries in the clash, succumbed to his wounds at a hospital. he was undergoing treatment. According to Jatin Raj's group, knives were freely used by the rival group inside the Vijay Nagar Police station where they went to lodge a complaint a charge denied by the policemen on site, who had to call their colleagues from other police stations to discipline the two groups after they turned violent. Raj has created a group named 'Vijay Nagar Friends' on WhatsApp for people to stay connected in his locality. The two groups gathered at Ahimsa Chowk little after 12 pm on Tuesday and a heated argument took place between them over the caricature of Sonia. In the meantime, acting on a tip-off the police reached the spot and asked them to come to police station to sort out their differences, the CSP said. When the two groups reached police station, an alleged altercation took place between them and one Umesh Verma was stabbed, who was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, alleged Animesh, a member of the Congress corporator group. He demanded police should make public the footage of CCTV camera at the police station to bring out the truth. CSP Balsavar said to bring situation under control, police resorted to cane charge but denied that violence took place inside the police station. The violence took place when the groups were en route to the police station, the CSP said. Advocate Naik said people of both the groups have been booked and further investigations are on. With inputs from PTI Lucknow: Newly-appointed Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday exhorted party leaders and workers to go "all-out" in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections in the state. Addressing party workers and leaders at the UPCC headquarters, the former Union Minister urged them for all-out preparations as "very little time" is left for the elections, vice-chairman of the communications department of UPCC Maroof Khan said. Azad also asked those eyeing party candidature in the polls to work "full time" among the people and stay in constant touch with them, Khan added. Azad said his first priority is to ensure that the party's ground-level workers get acceptance among the people as also to ensure representation to all in the elections by striking a "caste balance". The senior Congress leader told workers that the upcoming elections will be "most vital" for the party as it will contest the polls to form the government, Khan said. Besides the party's office-bearers, in-charges of various departments, cells and frontal organisations, Azad also met the office-bearers of Lucknow division and discussed the prevailing political scenario in the state with them. He will meet the office-bearers of the western districts in New Delhi on Saturday, Khan added. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has fielded its full official machinery to "defame" Aam Aadmi Party, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged. Kejriwal, who has been on a tweeting spree since the President's refusal to sign the bill on Parliamentary Secretaries, mocked the BJP government saying its output is zero while people are appreciating AAP. "People are comparing the Modi government to AAP government. Modi government's output is zero while AAP's work is superhit. "Modiji has put full official machinery behind the AAP government to defame it. He is doing it to defame people who are doing good work to hide his failure in bringing good days," Kejriwal tweeted. AAP has said Congress and BJP have "no moral right" to question it on the issue of parliamentary secretaries going by their own antecedents. Panama City: The law firm at the center of the "Panama Papers" scandal said Thursday it expected the prosecution of a worker from its Geneva office detained on suspicion of stealing company documents. Mossack Fonseca said in a statement from its Panama headquarters that it had lodged complaints in several jurisdictions against people believed to be "involved in the theft of information that occurred in our company." That referred to the leak last year of a massive number of documents covering nearly four decades of business by the law firm, which specializes in setting up and managing offshore companies. Reports based on the purloined documents resulted in the "Panama Papers": revelations of how many leaders, politicians, celebrities and a few criminals around the world used entities started by Mossack Fonseca to stash assets. Though offshore companies are not in themselves illegal, they can be used to engage in illegal activities such as tax evasion or money laundering. Mossack Fonseca said in its statement it was "fully confident" that authorities in the various countries would "see through the corresponding (legal) processes in a transparent and effective manner." On Wednesday, Swiss authorities announced that an information technology employee for the law firm working in its Geneva office had been placed in provisional detention on suspicion of stealing confidential documents. The spokesman for the Geneva's prosecutor's office, Henri Della Casa, told AFP that "a criminal case has been opened... following a complaint by Mossack Fonseca." He declined to comment on whether an arrest had been made. News of the detention was first given by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which said it had no information on whether the arrested individual was the so-called "John Doe" who has claimed credit for the unprecedented "Panama Papers" leak. Mossack Fonseca said in April that the leak was the result of a hack that came from foreign servers. Burlington: Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Thursday in an address to his supporters that he will work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party, adding that his "political revolution" must continue and ensure the defeat of Republican Donald Trump. Sanders said in a capstone livestream address to his political followers that the major task they face is to "make certain" Trump is defeated. The Vermont senator said he plans to begin his role in that process "in a very short period of time." "But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become," Sanders said, pointing to his 1,900 delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Sanders spoke from his Vermont hometown a week after Clinton secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to become the presumptive nominee. He did not concede the race, nor did he refer to Clinton as the likely nominee, instead offering a lengthy list of policy proposals he hopes to see approved by the party. The two rivals met Tuesday night at a Washington, DC, hotel to discuss policy goals and future plans. Sanders said that while it is "no secret" that he and Clinton have "strong disagreements on some very important issues," it was "also true that our views are quite close on others." He said he looked forward to additional talks between the two campaigns to ensure that his supporters' voices are heard and the convention adopts "the most progressive platform" in the party's history. Sanders said he anticipated working with Clinton "to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors." The speech which could be Sanders' final address before the summer convention was viewed by more than 200,000 people, according to the campaign. It sought to shape his legacy as a one-time "fringe" candidate who generated a massive following through sprawling rallies and threatened Clinton for the nomination. Looking ahead to the convention, Sanders said the party must support a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, pay equity for women, a ban on the sale and distribution of assault weapons and a defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Sanders thanked his supporters for providing more than $200 million in donations, most in increments of $27, and rattled off what they had accomplished: 1.5 million people who attended his rallies and town meetings and more than 75 million phone calls from volunteers "urging their fellow citizens into action." He encouraged his followers to consider running for political office up and down the ballot as a way to prevent Republicans from controlling state and local government. And he made clear that he intends to leave his imprint on the fall campaign and beyond. "We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future," he said. Kano, Nigeria: Twenty-four people were killed when Boko Haram fighters opened fire on mourners, a local community leader said Friday, in the second attack in northeast Nigeria this week after a relative lull. The attack happened at about 8 pm local time in Kuda village near the town of Gulak, in Adamawa state, according to Maina Ularamu, a former local government chairman in nearby Madagali. Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar, based in the state capital Yola, 255 kilometres away, confirmed the attack. But he gave a lower death toll of 18 and said "many others were injured". Ularamu said the attack occurred during a "mourning celebration" to mark the death of a local community leader. "They came on motorcycles and opened fire on the crowd, killing 24. Most of the victims were women. They looted food supplies and burnt homes and they left almost an hour later," he told AFP. "Gulak has been liberated from Boko Haram but the gunmen still live in villages nearby. They attack mostly to loot food supplies. Our people who fled their homes to escape Boko Haram attacks have been returning because they can't live in the camps. But now they are facing threats from Boko Haram who launch nocturnal attacks." Boko Haram threatened to overrun Adamawa state in 2014, sweeping down from their Sambisa Forest stronghold which lies just across the border in Borno state to Mubi, 80 kilometres south of Gulak. The rampage, which left bridges and homes destroyed on the only road south to Yola, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes to flee into camps and host communities in the state capital. Boko Haram was driven out of the state by a military counter-offensive that began in January 2015 and since there has been a relative calm despite sporadic attacks in the north of the state. The last attack in Adamawa was on January 9, when seven people were killed and two others injured in a raid on Madagali. Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a market in Madagali on 28 December, killing 30, just days after President Muhammadu Buhari declared the Islamists "technically" defeated. There has been a noticeable fall in attacks since the turn of the year and the military claims the Islamic State affiliate is severely weakened and pushed into border areas around Lake Chad. But yesterday's attack is an indication that the rebels, who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, are not routed, and still have the capacity to strike. The army in late April began an assault on Sambisa Forest, which is believed to have pushed out remaining fighters. Tokyo: An association of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has criticised US President Barack Obama's speech last month during a historic visit to Hiroshima, saying he failed to mention US responsibility for the bombing. Obama, as the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, paid moving tribute to victims in the western city, where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on 6 August 1945. The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards. A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan three days later. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted he would not revisit decisions made by then president Harry Truman at the close of the brutal war. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations said in a resolution adopted on Thursday at its general meeting that Obama described the bombing in his speech as if it had been "a natural phenomenon", according to Jiji Press. The phrase "death fell from the sky" that he used to evoke the horror was an expression to avoid the responsibility of the United States in having dropped the bomb, said the resolution. Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of the group and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, also said Obama's conversations with survivors during his trip were very short. "You cannot fully understand their experience by listening to them for five minutes," he said. "We hope he can make a visit again." Obama's brief conversations included an unexpected embrace with a survivor in one of the visit's most memorable moments. According to the Asahi newspaper, Tanaka criticised the president's visit to an accompanying museum at the memorial site as also being too short. New Delhi: India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the death threat to a priest of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka by suspected militants claiming to be from the Islamic State even as security at the complex has been beefed up. The Ramakrishna Mission received a threat letter on Wednesday which said the priest will be killed if he continues to preach his religion, amid a string of targeted murders across the country by suspected militants in the recent months. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Friday that the Indian High Commission has taken up the issue with Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry and police. "High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and have been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka," Swarup said. He said police presence at the complex has been strengthened. Swarup said the First Secretary (Consular) in the High Commission visited the RK Mission this morning to review the security. The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission is a branch of the Belur Math in Kolkata. A police official in Dhaka yesterday had said the priest received the letter on Wednesday evening on a computer-composed IS letterhead with the perpetrator identifying himself as one AB Siddiqui. "Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You can't preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, you'll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th," the officer quoted the letter as saying. The letter, he said, did not mention any month. Suspected Islamists have killed a number of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown since Friday. Bangladesh authorities have detained nearly 12,000 people in a nationwide crackdown to halt a spate of deadly attacks. Some of those arrested were linked with outlawed Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh. Though most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State or its affiliates and other similar extremist groups, the Bangladesh government has repeatedly dismissed the claims and said the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits linked to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. A pro-European Union British lawmaker was killed in a shock daylight street attack on Thursday, halting campaigning for the referendum on Britain's membership in the bloc just a week before the crucial vote. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old mother-of-two from the opposition Labour Party, was shot in the face while lying on the ground by a lone attacker in the village of Birstall in northern England, according to witnesses quoted by local media. Cafe owner Clarke Rothwell told the Press Association the gunman was shouting "put Britain first". "He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her," he said. Cox, who was also reportedly stabbed, is the first British MP to be killed in office since Ian Gow was killed by a car bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army in 1990. "He shot this lady once and then he shot her again... leant over shot her once more in the face area," Rothwell told the BBC, referring to the attacker. Police said a 52-year-old man had been arrested and a firearm had been recovered from the scene. Cox, a former aid worker, was only elected to parliament last year but had already made her name campaigning for the government to do more to help Syrian refugees and for Britain to stay in the EU. 'Great, campaigning MP' The attacker was named by British media as local man Tommy Mair, with neighbours quoted as saying he was a "loner" who kept to himself. The Southern Poverty Law Center said he was a supporter of a neo-Nazi group based in the United States and had what it called a long history with white nationalism. "According to records obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center Mair was a dedicated supporter of the National Alliance (NA), the once premier neo-Nazi organization in the United States, for decades," the US-based legal advocacy group said on its website. The group said he had spent more than $620 on reading material from the National Alliance, a group which called for the creation of an all-white homeland and eradication of Jewish people. The accused gunman's brother, Scott Mair, told the Daily Telegraph that Tommy had suffered from mental illness but received treatment. "I am struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not violent and is not all that political," Scott Mair said. "He has a history of mental illness, but he has had help." In the wake of the attack, commentators questioned whether the tone of the EU referendum campaign had been too divisive, pointing in particular to the focus on immigration. Alex Massie, writing in the Spectator magazine, blamed the "Leave" campaign for raising tensions, saying: "When you encourage rage you cannot then feign surprise when people become enraged". "When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don't be surprised if someone takes you at your word," he wrote. 'Hatred' is no solution After the attack, pro- and anti-Brexit groups said they were suspending all campaigning for Thursday and Friday ahead of the June 23 EU membership referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron cancelled a planned rally during a historic but controversial visit to Gibraltar as part of his campaign for Britain to remain in the EU. Over parliament, the British flag flew at half-mast, while nearby Cox's Labour party colleagues gathered in a vigil for the MP. "Hatred will never solve problems," party leader Jeremy Corbyn said at the commemoration. In Birstall, local residents laid flowers near the scene of the attack as police forensic officers were seen examining a shoe and a handbag in a cordoned-off area. The attack halted a frantic day of campaigning, as two new opinion polls indicated that more Britons now want to leave the EU than want to stay. If they prove correct, Britain would become the first state in the nearly six-decade history of the bloc to leave. A new survey by Ipsos Mori showed support for leaving the EU now stands at 53 percent compared to 47 percent for those who want to stay in, excluding undecided voters. Another new poll by Survation put "Leave" ahead by 52-48, excluding undecided voters. Polling expert John Curtice said the race was now too close to call, telling the BBC: "I think we no longer have a favourite in this referendum." VIENNA Cheered on by thousands of flag-waving Austrians, the leaders of Europe's biggest far-right parties railed on Friday against the European Union and Islam and urged Britons to free themselves from what they called heartless EU technocrats. The rally on the outskirts of Vienna brought together an array of anti-immigration, anti-EU parties that have unsettled a European political establishment still struggling to get a grip on a historic refugee crisis and years of economic weakness. The parties had earlier pledged more cooperation at a meeting hosted by Heinz-Christian Strache, whose Freedom Party (FPO) came within a whisker of winning the Austrian presidency last month and is now challenging the result. Attendees included Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front, and politicians from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Northern League of Italy. "The fear-mongering of people like (Jean-Claude) Juncker and (Martin) Schulz cannot sway us," Le Pen told a crowd of about 2,000 at the pyramid-shaped convention centre, referring to the heads of the European Commission and European Parliament. "They are worried that Britain might win back its freedom," she added, to cheers. "We want Britons to set themselves free." Speaking after her, Strache accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of causing "irreparable damage" to Europe by opening German borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war in the Middle East. "We are not against Europe as our opponents are always saying. We want another Europe, a better Europe, one of nations, values, culture and identity," Strache said. "The new fascism comes from the left and from radical Islam." EUROPE A LA CARTE Held under the slogan "Patriotic Spring -- Cooperation for Peace, Security and Prosperity in Europe", the gathering aimed to strengthen ties between like-minded parties whose nationalist tendencies have hampered close collaboration in the past. At a morning news conference in the Austrian parliament Strache and Le Pen expressed hope that Britain's June 23 vote on whether to remain a member of the European Union would give their cause new momentum. "I support the referendum in the United Kingdom because I want all the countries in the EU to have this choice," Le Pen said. "But even if we don't get Brexit, it will present a huge new problem for the European Union which has pledged to give Britain special rights if it stays that other countries won't have. So this could be the beginning of Europe a la carte." Populist, anti-immigration parties are on the rise across Europe as high unemployment and austerity, the arrival of record numbers of refugees, and recent militant attacks in France and Belgium deepen voter disillusionment with traditional parties. The mood is mirrored in the United States, where Donald Trump has confounded the political establishment by crushing rivals for the Republican presidential nomination with rhetoric that has been widely denounced as racist and divisive. Le Pen is expected to make it into a second-round run-off for the French presidency next year. In neighbouring Germany, where far-right parties have struggled to gain traction in the post-war era, the AfD has won double-digit support in a string of state elections and seems poised to enter the Bundestag in Berlin next year. AfD leader Frauke Petry joined Strache last week for a symbolic trip to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, and her partner, AfD politician Marcus Pretzell, joined the gathering in Vienna. "Patriots love what Germany once was, what Germany could be. But they cry when they look at the current state of their country," Pretzell told the crowd. (Editing by Catherine Evans) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: US President Barack Obama has warned that horrific mass shooting incidents like the recent one in Orlando will continue to occur unless tougher gun control laws are adopted. "We can't anticipate or catch every single deranged person that may wish to do harm to his neighbours, or his friends, or his coworkers, or strangers. But we can do something about the amount of damage that they do," Obama told reporters. "Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons - and they can do so legally," Obama said. Obama along with Vice President Joe Biden met yesterday victims and families of the weekend's mass shooting in which a self-radicalised Afghan-origin youth pledging allegiance to the Islamic State killed 49 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. Another 53 were injured during the shooting that took place in the wee hours of Sunday. "This debate needs to change. It's outgrown the old political stalemates. The notion that the answer to this tragedy would be to make sure that more people in a nightclub are similarly armed to the killer defies common sense. Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense," Obama said. "And if we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this - because we'll be choosing to allow them to happen. We will have said, we don't care enough to do something about it," Obama added. Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump has said that the casualties could have been far less if people were allowed to carry guns. Obama has been seeking tougher gun control laws that make its difficult for people to purchase such weapons of mass casualties. The strong gun lobby assisted by a Republican-controlled Congress is preventing Obama to accomplish his goal of a tough gun control laws. "Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, why does this keep happening? And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage," he said. In his presidency Obama has made seven such trips to meet families and victims of a mass shooting. Hoping that Senators would "rise to the moment and do the right thing", Obama said he is pleased that the Senate will hold votes on preventing individuals with possible terrorist ties from buying guns, including assault weapons. "I've said this before - we will not be able to stop every tragedy. We can't wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world. But we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if we're smart," Obama said. Republican Senator from Florida Marco Rubio also accompanied Obama and Biden in their meeting. "They don't care about the politics. Neither do I. Neither does Joe. And neither should any parent out there who's thinking about their kids being not in the wrong place, but in places where kids are supposed to be," Obama said. The gunman has been identified by Omar Mateen, 29. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the mass shooting as an act of terror. In a 911 call during the attack, Mateen pledged allegiance to Islamic State and its leader. Obama said the US-led coalition is determined to defeat Islamic State. "We will continue to be relentless against terrorist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda. We are going to destroy them. We are going to disrupt their networks, and their financing, and the flow of fighters in and out of war theaters. We're going to disrupt their propaganda that poisons so many minds around the world," he said. "We're going to do all that. Our resolve is clear. But given the fact that the last two terrorist attacks on our soil - Orlando and San Bernardino - were homegrown, carried out it appears not by external plotters, not by vast networks or sophisticated cells, but by deranged individuals warped by the hateful propaganda that they had seen over the Internet, then we're going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring," Obama said. It's going to take more than just our military, Obama asserted. "It's going to require more than just our intelligence teams. As good as they are, as dedicated as they are, as focused as they are, if you have lone wolf attacks like this, hatched in the minds of a disturbed person, then we're going to have to take different kinds of steps in order to prevent something like this from happening," he said. CHARLESTON, S.C. The city of Charleston came together on Friday for a memorial and other events to mark the first anniversary of the murders of nine members of a Bible study group in what prosecutors called a racially motivated hate crime. The events were made even more poignant coming less than a week after a gunman slaughtered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, marking the largest of many mass shootings in modern U.S. history. A stage at Charleston's TD Arena was fronted by banner portraits of each of the nine victims from the rampage at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, including its slain minister and state Senator Clementa Pinckney. Hymns were led by a 100-member choir and a minister prayed for the Charleston and Orlando victims, as well as for the soul of the accused church shooter, Dylann Roof. Roof, 22, could face the death penalty on state murder charges and federal hate crime charges. Roof is white, while his victims were African-American and the federal indictment against him said he acted out of racism. Wilhelmina Jones, 74, a retired hospital worker who helped out as an usher at Friday's service, said the massacre had united the local community. "When this tragedy happened to us last year, we came together as one," Jones said. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley showed the programs from nine funerals she has kept since last summer, and spoke about faith and each victim. She recalled how they welcomed Roof and prayed with him for an hour before they were killed. "Tywanza Sanders stood in front of his 87-year-old aunt and looked the murderer in the eye and said, 'You don't have to do this. We mean you no harm,'" Haley told the congregation. "I will always talk about these people who changed my life." As well as the memorial, events including Bible study sessions, a prayer breakfast, a "unity walk" and tree plantings will take place around Charleston. The church also will open its doors to religious leaders and elected officials from around the nation on Friday afternoon. The church has had many visitors in the past year, Emanuel's new pastor, the Reverend Dr. Betty Deas Clark, told Reuters during a recent Bible study meeting in the room where the massacre took place. "I believe we're moving forward ... Forgiveness is the message of the hour," Clark said. (Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Bill Trott and Bernard Orr) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: Republican Sen John McCain said on Thursday that President Barack Obama is "directly responsible" for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president's watch. McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, made the comment Thursday while Obama was in Orlando visiting with the families of those killed in Sunday's attack and some of the survivors. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq," a visibly angry McCain told reporters in the Capitol as the Senate debated a spending bill. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies," McCain said. The gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and injured more than 50 in the attack at a gay nightclub. The 29-year-old Muslim born in New York made calls during the attack saying he was a supporter of the Islamic State. But he also spoke about an affiliate of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, both of which are Islamic State enemies. In the aftermath of the shooting, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused Obama of putting US enemies ahead of Americans. Trump also has suggested that Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements. Democrats criticised Trump and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from his remarks. McCain is seeking a sixth Senate term from Arizona and is locked in a tight race. Questioned on his startling assertion, McCain repeated it: "Directly responsible. Because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It's a matter of record, so he is directly responsible." However, McCain later sought to clarify his comments, saying over Twitter: "To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama's national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself." Democrats quickly pounced on McCain's criticism. Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev, said McCain's "unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump." Washington: US President Barack Obama hosts youthful Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Friday, underscoring his guest's meteoric rise and increasingly pivotal role in strained US-Saudi ties. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama would meet the 30-year-old deputy crown prince, who has become the driving force behind economic reform and a more activist Saudi foreign policy. King Salman's son, who is his country's defense minister, has met the very biggest of Washington's big hitters during a week-long visit. He held talks with the CIA director, the secretaries of state, defence and treasury, as well as leading members of Congress. The White House said Prince Mohammed's meeting with Obama will take place in the Oval Office a rare honour for a non-head of state, one not afforded to the Dalai Lama earlier in the week. Little is certain about the inner workings of the House of Saud, but the prince's high public profile has led many to speculate that he could be the next on the throne, rather than designated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. "He is notionally number three in the hierarchy, but effectively he's number one," said Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute, a think tank focused on the Middle East. "The King prefers his son and wants his son to be king," said Henderson. For the White House, Mohammed bin Salman is a relative unknown, while Mohammed bin Nayef as interior minister has been the go-to royal on counter-terrorism for years. Prince Mohammed "wants to be known on the US side," said Gregory Gause, head of the international affairs department at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service. "It's an effort by him to be recognised." The meeting comes as ties between the US and Saudi Arabia have been strained over how to approach Riyadh's arch-enemy Iran, the war in Yemen and the seemingly imminent release of a dossier about Saudi Arabian links to the 11 September, 2001 attacks. High on the agenda will be Prince Mohammed's efforts to overhaul Saudi Arabia's state-dominated and oil-dependent economy, bringing in the private sector and creating jobs for the country's young population. "Given their huge investment in education over the last decade, if they are not able to move away from a state-run economy and develop a private sector, you are not going to have the jobs that young people need to have hope," said former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith. Amid disagreements over the US nuclear deal with Iran, economic reform appears to be a much-needed issue that could bring Riyadh and Washington together. Obama's White House has repeatedly argued that Saudi Arabia's most pressing security task is internal reform to put the autocratic state on a more stable and sustainable footing. Effectively reforming the economy is likely to require the easing of tough rules on female participation in the workplace. After Prince Mohammed met top US economic policymakers on Wednesday, including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, the White House "underscored the United States' desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program." WASHINGTON President Barack Obama and the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against Islamic State militants and the importance of a political transition in war-torn Syria, the White House said. Obama met with Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, in the Oval office for about an hour. The deputy crown prince is visiting the United States to restore frayed relations and to promote a plan, known as Vision 2030, to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil exports. "The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL," the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The two talked about steps to support Iraqis "including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs," the White House said. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which according to the United Nations and human rights groups has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political settlement of the conflict and support by the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the kingdom is a member, to address humanitarian needs and rebuild Yemen, the White House said. On Syria, Obama and the prince talked about the importance of supporting a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. The United States is working with international partners on what it calls a Syrian-led transition process facilitated by the United Nations, but so far there has been little progress. More than 50 diplomats at the U.S. State Department signed a memo, leaked on Thursday, that was critical of the Obama administration's Syria policy and called for targeted military strikes against Assad's government. Asked about the memo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who was also in Washington on Friday, told reporters the kingdom had been arguing for a "more robust intervention" including airstrikes, a no-fly zone, and a no-drive zone, from the beginning of the five-year civil war. Jubeir said the deputy crown prince had briefed U.S. officials on his plan to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy and to move to cleaner forms of energy. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Roberta Rampton aboard Air Force One; Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Toni Reinhold) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Vatican City: Pope Francis has welcomed nine more Syrian asylum-seekers to Rome, two months after he flew another group back from Greece aboard his personal plane, the Vatican said Thursday. The latest group had also been living in a transit camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey. "A second group of nine refugees arrived in Rome yesterday (Wednesday)," a Vatican statement said. "The refugees, six adults and three children, are all Syrian citizens who were in the Kara Tepe refugee camp," it added. The pope in April brushed off criticism over the earlier group saying, "I didn't make a choice between Christians and Muslims. All refugees are children of God." They were selected by officials on the grounds that their paperwork was sufficiently in order to secure rapid agreement on their transfer from the Greek and Italian governments. The three families have since settled into life in Rome and started to learn Italian. Over 1.1 million people have crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece since the start of 2015, with hundreds drowning en route. Many of them are Syrians, fleeing the horrors of the country's war. Arrivals in Greece have drastically fallen over the past weeks after Turkey agreed to take back anyone denied asylum in return for billions in EU cash and other concessions. Human rights groups have criticised the arrangement. Pope Francis has previously condemned Western society for its indifference to refugees, making the cause of migrants trying to reach Europe one of the defining themes of his papacy. Windhoek: Describing Namibia a beacon of hope and motivation, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said India will provide "any assistance" that the country may require in improving its socio-economic objectives. Addressing the Joint Session Parliament of Namibia on Thursday, Mukherjee, who is first Indian Head of State to visit the country since 1995, said India would also be happy to partner with Namibia in the implementation of "Vision 2030" through inclusive development and capacity building. "Both our nations seek to address complex governance issues in our own ways. But it will be through empowerment of the disempowered - and by ensuring that in the 'Harambee house', no section is excluded, that we will succeed," he said. Recalling strong ties between Namibia and India, Mukherjee said his visit takes place at a time of excellent bilateral relations between the two countries. "India believed that her own independence was incomplete so long as her brethren in Africa continued to suffer oppression by foreign masters. India was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders and people of Namibia in their liberation struggle," he said. Mukherjee said India-Namibia relationship has been built on the firm foundation of mutual trust and understanding. "Our two nations are bound by our common experience of colonial rule and the struggle of our people for freedom," he said. The President said the first-ever SWAPO (South-West Africa People's Organisation) Embassy abroad was established in New Delhi in 1986 and it was this move by India that started the chain of diplomatic recognition by other countries and the inevitability of Namibia's independence. Mukherjee said it is the people of Namibia, their unity and their efforts that have made Namibia what it is today: a beacon of hope and motivation, not only in the African continent but in the world. "It is a bright spot in the realm of democracy and rule of law; a nation progressing rapidly on the path of development and contributing to peace and stability in Africa and beyond," he said. "We appreciate the vision of President (Hage) Geingob in introducing the 'Harambee Prosperity Plan'. India stands ready to extend any assistance that Namibia may require for achieving the 'Harambee Prosperity Plan's socio-economic objectives. India would also be happy to partner with Namibia in the implementation of 'Vision 2030' through inclusive development and capacity building," he said. The President said founding President and Father of the Namibian Nation, Sam Nujoma, and a respected Leader of the SWAPO Party is greatly admired in India as a world leader and friend of the Indians. "India had conferred upon him the prestigious Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for Disarmament and Development for the year 1990 in recognition of his outstanding contribution in leading the people of Namibia to freedom," he said. The President said true to his legacy, Namibia is, today, a shining example of a nation that has repeatedly ensured a trouble-free and peaceful transfer of power from one elected Government to another. "Namibia has, once again, proven that a vibrant democratic system offers the best possible ecosystem for inclusive development and growth. Namibia's commitment to democracy and the success of her national reconciliation programme has made her a role model for Africa. We, in India, admire Namibia's transformation into a vibrant, peaceful and fast progressing nation," he said. Mukherjee said India, admires the contribution of the Namibian Parliament in promoting inclusive political dialogue and spearheading Namibia's developmental agenda. Namibia is one of the few societies in the world that has realised the goal of an equitable gender balance. "India firmly believes that it is through investing in its youth that a nation can enhance its capacity to forge ahead towards progress and growth," he said. The President said India remains committed to a strong development partnership with Namibia in the South-South framework. "We will continue to extend all possible assistance in human resource development and capacity building in Namibia. India's expertise in IT and digital technologies, agriculture and dairy development can be utilized to further cement our economic partnership," he said. Mukherjee said India looks forward to more students and officials from Namibia coming to India, availing the scholarships and training programmes offered by the Indian Government. "As Africa rises again to reclaim its rightful place in the comity of nations, India welcomes the growing role of Namibia in driving the prosperity of this region and the continent," he said. For the world and the United Kingdom, in particular, he is Prince William, the second in line to the British throne. But that does not spare him from being scolded by grandmom Queen Elizabeth. According to the Daily Mail, the Queen reportedly scolded her grandson for not standing up while the airforce jets were flying past during a military parade. He was seen crouching to tend to his son George. The hilarious moment took place during the Trooping the Colour ceremony which was held to mark the 90th birthday of the Queen on 2 June. Trooping the Colour is an old military tradition in Britain to mark the sovereign's birthday. In pictures, she is seen tapping William's arms, indicating her displeasure. When just tapping his arm did not seem to work, she is reported to have said, " Stand up, William". He is then seen standing up quickly to avoid any embarrassment, TIME noted. A GIF capturing the moment has gone viral. It clearly shows that no matter who William may be or become in future the Queen is the ultimate boss! Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday expressed regret that an Islamic cleric, who once said AIDS was a fitting punishment for being a homosexual, was invited to a government-hosted dinner. Speaking on Australian radio on Friday, Turnbull condemned divisive remarks made by Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman, national president of the Australian National Imams Council, who was invited to the dinner which signified the beginning of Ramadan, Xinhua news agency reported. The cleric has previously been on record to say that homosexuality is an "evil act" which brings with it "evil disease", and Turnbull said that if he had known of such remarks, Suleiman would have been taken off the invite list. "If I had been aware he had made those remarks about homosexuals and gay people, he would not have been invited," Turnbull said. Government spokesman, Mathias Cormann echoed the prime minister's views, saying that Turnbull did not personally invite Suleiman, rather, he would have been part of a broader invite to the Imam Council. "As soon as (Turnbull) did become aware, he absolutely condemned the (comments)," Cormann told Sky News on Friday. Following the revelations, Suleiman released a statement regretting his choice of words in the past, and revoked his views that gays should be punished for their sexuality. "I have previously noted passages in the holy Quran which do not support homosexuality," he said. "However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encouragement that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way." The Iftar dinner hosted by Turnbull is thought to be the first by an Australian prime minister, while Turnbull also took the opportunity to praise the contribution of Australian Muslims for promoting unity in the community. Washington: Russia has bombed US-backed fighters in southern Syria, according to a US official in Washington, who said the aggressive action by Moscow raises "serious concern." "Today, Russian aircraft conducted a series of air strikes near al-Tanf against Syrian Counter-ISIL forces that included individuals who have received US support," said the senior defence official on Thursday, who requested anonymity. "Russian aircraft have not been active in this area of southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity," the official said. It was not known how many fighters were struck and the extent of casualties or which group they belonged to. The US military launched a $500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight ISIS jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Much of the attention is being focused on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish coalition that has scored some significant gains against IS jihadists. The CIA has also been involved in training Syrian rebels, though the secretive agency has not officially provided any details of its efforts. The bombing would likely further strain already testy ties between Moscow and Washington on the Syrian issue. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions. We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again," the defence official said. Russia and the United States co-chair a 22-nation group that supports a UN-led process to end Syria's five-year civil war through a negotiated deal. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to respect a fragile ceasefire, warning that Washington's patience was running out. World powers have failed to turn the cessation of hostilities, in effect since 27 February, into a durable truce and Damascus has stepped up its military campaign against the Islamic State group and rebels, especially in the city of Aleppo. The US has accused Russia of working to consolidate the regime of Assad, its ally, and continuing to attack the opposition. WASHINGTON Republican lawmakers should follow their conscience on whether to support Donald Trump in November's presidential election, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said in an interview, reflecting the party's unease over its White House candidate. "The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that," the Republicans' most senior elected official said in excerpts released on Friday of an NBC interview set to air on Sunday. Some Republican leaders and lawmakers in the House of Representatives are struggling to get behind the New York businessman, who last month became the party's presumptive nominee for the Nov. 8 election. After an initial delay, Ryan has said he will back Trump but he has also acknowledged deep differences with him. He denounced as textbook racism Trump's criticism of a Mexican-American judge and has also criticized Trump's proposal - reiterated after the massacre of 49 people in a gay bar in Orlando on Sunday - to temporarily bar Muslims from the United States. As Republicans seek to keep control of both chambers of Congress, Trump's comments on such issues have also worried some lawmakers concerned about their own election prospects, particularly in close races. All 247 House Republican seats are up for grabs in the election. Trump, who has welcomed support from Ryan, this week fired back at Republican leaders, telling them to stop speaking out against him or else risk him potentially running "by myself." Ryan said earlier this week at his weekly press conference that he does not plan to withdraw his support of Trump, although they disagree on some key issues. "I feel as a responsibility institutionally as the speaker of the House that I should not be leading some chasm in the middle of our party. Because you know what I know that'll do? That'll definitely knock us out of the White House," Ryan said in the interview for NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Trump's embrace this week of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and potential gun control measures, in contrast to general Republican orthodoxy have also thrown conservative lawmakers. Still, Republican leaders have to reconcile their unease with the fact that primary Republican voters opted for Trump. He has never held elected office before but won more than enough delegates to secure the party's nomination at the Republican convention in July. (Writing by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Meg Garner; Editing by Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Birstall: Campaigning for Britain's EU referendum next week was suspended on Friday for a second day as the nation reeled from the murder of a popular pro-Europe MP at the height of a bitterly divisive debate. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker and pro-EU campaigner known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees, was killed on Thursday outside a library where she regularly met constituents in her home village of Birstall in northern England. Witnesses told local media the petite mother of two had been repeatedly shot and stabbed. A 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described by neighbours as a loner, there were indications that he had extreme right leanings. With just six days left before the historic vote, rival groups campaigning for Britain to leave or remain in the European Union ceased campaigning and politicians joined as one to condemn the killing. But some commentators questioned whether the murder could be linked to a campaign that has stoked high tension by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. The Times newspaper reported Friday that Cox, who became the first British MP to be murdered since 1990, had "had been harassed in a stream of messages over three months". Police were considering putting in place additional security, it said, adding there was no known link between the messages and Thursday's attack. Before Cox's murder, opinion polls were pointing to the likelihood that Britain would vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum, a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling. The pound rose with Asian stocks Friday after the previous day's selloff, as investors judged the tragedy increased the likelihood of the "Remain" side prevailing. 'White nationalism' US advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Mair, who had lived in the area for decades, was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. It said he had spent over $620 on reading material from the group, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. "Neighbours called him a 'loner' but he also has a long history with white nationalism," the Southern Poverty Law Center said. It added that Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told British media the assailant used a gun of "old-fashioned" or "homemade" appearance. One witness of the attack, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told the Press Association that the gunman had shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack. "Britain First" is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group, but it denied any involvement. Dozens gathered outside the Houses of Parliament in a vigil to remember Cox attended by Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, flanked by tearful party colleagues. "What's happened is beyond appalling. We are here in silent memory of her loss," Corbyn said as rain began to fall. "She was a fearless campaigner, and a voice for the voiceless. We feel shaken," said Fatima Ibrahim, 23, an activist with Avaaz. In the streets of Birstall, the scene of the attack was cordoned off and police could be seen examining a shoe and a handbag. Mourners left flowers nearby in tribute. 'Fight the hatred' In the wake of the attack, commentators questioned whether the tone of the EU referendum campaign had stirred up ugly currents. In the conservative magazine The Spectator, writer Alex Massie noted that the day had begun with the unveiling of a poster by the anti-EU UK Independent Party (UKIP) featuring a queue of migrants and refugees and the words "Breaking point". "The message was not very subtle: Vote Leave, Britain, or be overrun by brown people," Massie wrote. "When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don't be surprised if someone takes you at your word." US Secretary of State John Kerry describd the killing as "an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy". In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Cox's death was "frightful (and) dramatic" and said her thoughts were with the victim's family. Cox, whose first speech in parliament defended immigration and diversity, lived with her husband Brendan and their two children aged three and five, on a houseboat on the Thames. As the news of her death broke, Brendan issued a an impassioned appeal for unity against hatred. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now," he wrote. "One, that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." Washington: The US has ruled out mediation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and asked the two countries to work together to deescalate tensions at the Torkham border crossing where deadly clashes this week have killed two Afghan and one Pakistani border guard and wounded 20 on both sides. "We are obviously very concerned by the border clashes, particularly around the Torkham crossing. We want both sides to ratchet down the violence and begin a dialogue to try to reduce the tensions, keep the crossing open, and have it done peaceably," the State Department Spokesman, John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Underlining that the US believes that the right approach is an Afghan-led reconciliation process, he said, "We continue to support (Afghan) President (Ashraf) Ghani as he continues to try to get that process back on track. Now what effect the border clashes are having on reconciliation, I don't know." "I haven't seen any practical effect of it to date. These clashes have only just popped up in recent days. But that aside, we still want to see the reconciliation process move forward," Kirby said as he ruled out the US jumping in as a mediator between the two countries. "We have not taken a mediation role, and we have talked about this before. This is an Afghan-led process. We obviously support it and we want to see it succeed. We have expressed that support privately and publicly. But this is President Ghani's initiative; hes taking it on. We know he wants to get it back on track and we fully support him in that effort, but this is not for the United States mediating between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. The US, he said, wants Afghanistan and Pakistan to work through these differences bilaterally, which they can do because they have done it in the past. "This isnt the first time that we have seen clashes even at that crossing, and they have been able to work through it in the past and we are absolutely confident that, with moral courage on both sides, they can continue to work through it," he said. Observing that the US does not want to see this kind of violence between the two sides, Kirby said there are plenty of shared threats and common challenges between Afghanistan and Pakistan and plenty of reasons for them to look for ways to work together. "They have made some progress in terms of cooperation across that border and communication and in counterterrorism efforts," he said. "So nobody likes to see the clashes and the violence that we have seen to date, but it's too soon to say, well, just because there's been some of this, that the whole reconciliation process should be just thrown out the window, or that the differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan are irreconcilable and therefore not worth continuing to pursue dialogue and cooperation. We are just not there yet," Kirby said. Torkham, a usually busy crossing, has remained closed because of continuing tensions. Pakistan alleged that "unprovoked" firing was started by Afghanistan's security forces when construction work began on a new gate on the Pakistani side. Last month, the border crossing was sealed for several days over the construction of the gate, causing hardships to thousands of people who cross it every day. Afghan government does not recognise the border, which is also known as Durand Line, and it opposes permanent structure. Washington: The US has urged members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to support India's membership into the elite grouping. "The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, which I think is next week," State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday. "I'm not going to get ahead of how that's going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where it's going to go, but we've made clear that we support the application," Kirby said in response to a question. During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Barack Obama welcomed India's application to the 48-member grouping. The US has been pushing for India's NSG membership. Earlier, ahead of a meeting here US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of India's bid, saying they should "agree not to block consensus on Indian admission". A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG Plenary later this month. India, though not a member, enjoys the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules for its atomic cooperation deal with the US. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. The US support has come a day after China's official media expressed concern about India's entry, saying it will "shake" the strategic balance in South Asia and make India a "legitimate" nuclear power. Washington: A group of US diplomats have used a State Department channel for dissident views to criticise President Barack Obama's Syria policy, a spokesman confirmed Thursday. The official would not discuss the contents of the cable, but the New York Times and Wall Street Journal said the dissenters call for US strikes against the Syrian regime. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby told AFP. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently," he added. The department's "Dissent Channel" allows diplomats who disagree with an official policy line to register their concerns with senior staff without fear of retribution. Kirby said US Secretary of State John Kerry "values and respects" the device, but would not be drawn on whether he believes this specific complaint has merit. According to the New York Times, which said it had seen a draft of the memo, the diplomats call for the US military to directly target Bashar al-Assad's regime. US forces are engaged in Syria but are assisting local militias to fight the Islamic State jihadist group, not confronting Assad's Russian and Iranian-backed forces. The memo, according to the Times, calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" in other words cruise missiles, drones and perhaps direct US air strikes. With only seven months left in office and a clear aversion to getting bogged down in Middle East conflicts, Obama has shown little appetite for such action. But the administration's alternative policy to work with Russia to secure a ceasefire in Syria's civil war and talks on a political transition has made little headway. The Journal report said the memo was signed by 51 mid- to high-level senior State Department officials. Windhoek: Resource-rich Namibia on Friday assured that it will look into "legal ways" through which its uranium can be supplied to India for peaceful nuclear use. Speaking at the State Banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said Namibia commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not posses any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations," Mukherjee said. "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs created in the wake of the Second World War is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world - so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been and will continue to be a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. The number of migrants arriving in Italy from North Africa more than doubled from April to May, according to the latest figures from the European Union. EU officials say the sharp rise was not caused by the closure of the route further east through Greece and the Balkans, but rather by an increase in migrants traveling from across Africa. Henry Ridgwell reports. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday visited Norways extreme north, viewing areas where climate change has melted ice and opened new sea lanes. Trailed by staff and journalists in small Zodiac-type inflatable boats, Kerry and Norways foreign minister motored in an Arctic research vessel from a research station in Ny-Alesund, the worlds northernmost civilian settlement, across the iceberg strewn Kongsifjorden (Kings Bay Fjord) to the Blomstrand Glacier. The glacier has receded significantly in the past 25 years to 30 years, with summer temperatures now 8 degrees and 11 degrees higher than they were, according to Jan-Gunnar Winther, the director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, who guided Kerry and Foreign Minister Borge Brende. Its stunning, Kerry said. This is the center of change within the center of change. As Americas top diplomat, Kerry has made the health of oceans and combating the effects of climate change a priority, and he will host an international conference on oceans in September. Were not on the pace we need to be to reverse the effects of climate change, Kerry said. He called for renewed efforts to move away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. Even where there is awareness, the steps that people are taking are not big enough fast enough, Kerry said. We have a huge distance to travel. Kerry was to travel to Denmark today and stop at icecaps in Greenland the next day. AP HAILEY | Blaine County school trustee Carole Freund submitted her resignation Wednesday, citing health problems. In a letter to school board chairman Shawn Bennion, she wrote: It is with deep regret that I announce my resignation from the Blaine County School District Board of Trustees. The health issues I am currently experiencing make it impossible for me to continue. The zone 3 declaration of vacancy will be announced at the regularly scheduled board meeting July 12. At that time, trustees will review the process and timeline outlined in Idaho Code to appoint a new trustee. Zone three boundaries include the areas south of Deer Creek Road, west of the Big Wood River and north of Colorado Gulch Road/Croy Creek Road/Camp Creek Road (including Northridge, Northstar, Old Cutters, Curtis subdivision, Deerfield, Broadford Highlands and Della View). TWIN FALLS Guns are no longer allowed in one of Twin Falls best-known restaurants. Signs have recently gone up at the Depot Grill telling patrons not to bring firearms or other weapons inside. The owner and general manager of the Depot Grill both say they own guns, hunt and support the Second Amendment, and have no problem with concealed carry. But they also say theres no reason to display a weapon in a family restaurant. The issue illustrates how businesses shift their policies on guns as laws and societal norms are rapidly changing. Most chain stores in Twin Falls bar shoppers from carrying weapons in their stores, but its unusual to find a locally owned shop with a no-gun policy. Especially one as widely known and storied as the Depot Grill, which for generations has captured the ethos of Twin Falls. Steve Sorans family has owned the Depot since 1917, and as he spoke Thursday morning, he was pretty sure several customers had concealed carry permits. Its no big issue, he said. The restaurant is adopting an out-of-sight, out-of-mind policy. Employees wont ask if youre carrying, so long as customers keep their guns concealed. What Soran takes issue with, however, is people carrying guns openly in their eatery. We just dont want to see them parading around in a family-style restaurant, said General Manager Don Olson. Openly carrying a handgun is legal in Idaho for anyone who can legally own a gun. Concealed carry within city limits still requires a permit for the next two weeks, but this requirement goes away when a law passed this year takes effect on July 1. Business owners, however, have the right to forbid guns on their property. For years, the Depot has attracted an eclectic mix of customers. Its not unusual to see grizzled cowboys eating breakfast at the bar near young professionals, local clubs meeting for lunch or families finishing supper ahead of the late-night bar crowd. So why the signs now? Soran and Olson didnt go into details Thursday, but according to Lance Earl, a conservative political activist and firearms instructor from the Pocatello area who is starting a chapter of his pro-gun rights and gun training group AmendTwo in the Magic Valley, the policy stems from a recent confrontation between two Depot patrons who were legally and quietly open carrying sidearms and two cowboys who began to taunt these men until things got a bit heated. Earl had planned to hold the AmendTwo meetings at the Depot, which he no longer will. He made clear in his blog entry on his Dally Post website about the dust-up that while he respects Sorans right to do what he wants on his own property, he disagrees with the decision. It was the cowboys that were out of line, Earl wrote. It is those who legally and peacefully exercised a God-given right who are now asked to leave or surrender that right. Someone who carries a gun and refuses to leave when told by the management or owner could be charged with trespassing, although confrontations over this that rise to the level of police involvement seem to be rare here. City spokesman Joshua Palmer said he looked up police calls of this nature last fall, due to a rally supporting permitless carry at which some people carried handguns openly, and found only three complaints over the preceding year, two of which were cases where a customer at a business, not the owner, called police about someone carrying a gun. And Twin Falls County Sheriffs spokeswoman Lori Stewart said none of the gun-related calls her office has handled so far this year involved someone carrying a gun at a business where it was forbidden. Soran and Olson said they have gotten both positive and negative feedback from customers on the policy. The comments on Earls blog are similarly a mix, with some lauding the Depot and others saying they wont eat there anymore due to the policy. Olson wrote in a comment on Earls blog that the Depot, which is open 24 hours a day, is a popular stop after the bars close, and one thing we were taught growing up with guns is, alcohol and guns dont mix! Olson wrote they had never had a problem with people with a concealed carry permit, but that the new law allows every 19-year-old Billy the Kid wannabe the legal right to pack a gun anywhere he wishes and in a family restaurant we didnt feel it necessary. As a business owner we feel it our responsibility to protect our staff and our patrons, he wrote. Our philosophy is still out-of-sight, out-of-mind, dont ask dont tell, but dont flaunt it! TWIN FALLS Noxious weeds like thistle, dandelion and puncture vine begin to grow and reseed themselves around this time of year, and the city of Twin Falls is asking for the publics help to prevent the spread of invasive weeds. Property owners and renters are responsible for controlling weeds from their property line to the center of the street or alley, and this includes parking or curbing areas adjacent to their property as well as any trees or overhanging vegetation that encroaches on public or private property, city officials said Thursday. City code requires owners, tenants or occupants of private property to cut and remove the weeds and grass and clean and remove rubbish as often as needed to keep the property neat, and to prevent weeds from seeding. Invasive weeds are not only an eyesore and a burden to neighbors, but they also threaten the health and safety of the community, said code-enforcement officer Sean Standley. Most weeds will choke out native and even non- native landscaping, and some are toxic to people and pets. City officials said their first priority is to educate and assist property owners, but if property owners refuse to correct the issue, the city will fine them $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second and $300 for all violations thereafter. Most of the people we speak with are simply unaware that they have an issue with invasive weeds until a neighbor or other resident reports it to us, Standley said. When we respond to the report, the property owner is usually quick to address the problem. Ways property owners and tenants can control invasive weeds include: removing all weeds, including the roots, and disposing of them in garbage bags on trash pickup days; mowing lawns and fields regularly; using an herbicide to kill and prevent the growth of noxious weeds (there are organic ones that are safe and effective); and removing weeds in cracks or seams in sidewalks, curbs and alleys. Also, rental property owners should monitor their properties frequently. Residents with questions can call the Code Enforcement Department at 208-735-7278 or email sstandley@tfid.org. TWIN FALLS New concerns about Islam and refugees are being raised in Twin Falls in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in the nations history. Less than two days after an American-born son of Afghan immigrants murdered 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, four of the five people who spoke at a City Council meeting this week characterized refugees as a problem or called for more information to be released about a sexual assault that is alleged to have been committed by underage refugees. The comments, some of which called for religious or racial profiling by city police, were met with unusually strong condemnation by some city leaders. To be honest, as an American I hope thats not happening, because I think that infringes on everyones freedoms, Mayor Shawn Barigar said. Criticism of refugees is nothing new in Twin Falls, especially since last spring when reports said Syrians could be among about 300 refugees to be resettled in Twin Falls this year. But the local anti-refugee movement lost considerable momentum in April when a ballot proposal to close the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center failed to gain even a quarter of the signatures required to put it before voters. On Monday, a small group of residents opposed to refugee resettlement and Islam turned its attention to the City Council, which allows an open-comment period where anyone can speak. Much of their time was spent disparaging Muslims and asking for more information about an alleged sexual assault, the details of which havent confirmed by authorities. I think that theres a method of cover-up here in the community, said Terrence Edwards of Jerome. I think it starts with the police department. I think they have their mouth zipped closed. The medias not getting in on it. Edwards said there would be blowback from the community if the Council doesnt do something. ISIS is here, he said. The Muslim Brotherhood is here. Theres been violations already occurred by Muslims here. Authorities say there is no evidence of an Islamic State presence in Twin Falls, or radical extremism. Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said Wednesday that the rape case in question is under investigation and may involve juveniles. No one has been charged. Police Chief Craig Kingsbury wouldnt provide any information about the case. These types of cases we just cant comment on, he said. The Twin Falls refugee resettlement program is run by the federal government and administered locally through CSI; the city has no authority over the program. Critics of it have focused heavily on the risk of Islamic terrorists coming in, especially among those fleeing the Syrian civil war. No Syrian refugees have been resettled in Twin Falls this year, Refugee Center Director Zeze Rwasama said recently. Nolan Stroup asked what the City Council has been doing to make people who are worried about refugees feel safer. They should be profiling, he said. It works. If the last two mass shootings have been committed by Muslims, why arent we profiling Muslims? Those questions echo statements by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has continued to call for a ban on non-citizen Muslims entering the United States and profiling of American mosques, even as other Republican leaders have repudiated Trump over his comments. Julie Ruf is with the local chapter of Act for America, a conservative national security-focused organization involved in promoting anti-Shariah law bills in some states. The group has been accused by critics of being anti-Muslim. She read the Council a list of refugee-related questions and called for some sort of public forum or dialogue where people could express their views and get their questions answered. Councilman Don Hall and Barigar both said they were unaware of the alleged rape in question. Barigar said he would reply to peoples questions but was cool to the idea of scheduling a public forum. If you all would like to request time on the agenda to have a discussion about specific factual items, Im happy to schedule that, he said. If you want to come to this meeting and talk about your beliefs about Islam and have it be a rehash of the conversation we had in here several months ago, I dont know that theres any productive part of that discussion. The refugee issue came before the Council in February, when it voted to appoint a city liaison to a pro-refugee group. Several people, including ones who testified Monday, spoke against the program then. In September, the Times-News hosted a public forum that included panelists who oversee refugee resettlement for the U.S. State Department, as well as local city and college officials who answered questions posed by the audience of 700. On Monday, before the Council moved on to its regular business, Councilman Chris Talkington said were all children of refugees, immigrants, in some form or fashion. The despicable scum in Orlando that killed 50 people was an American citizen, Talkington said. He was a sick American, OK? Yes, his parents were refugees, but you know what? My parents were refugees from Ireland after the potato famine. Im sure glad you guys werent around testifying against my relatives for that time, OK? WENDELL | The driver of a sedan was taken to a Boise hospital by air ambulance Friday after he ran a stop sign in Gooding County and crashed with two semitrailers on Idaho Highway 46, police said. The crash, first reported at 12:05 p.m., was called in as a possible fatality crash, according to police scanner traffic, though when emergency responders arrived they reported no deaths but said one man was severely injured. A Ford Taurus driving east on 3600 South caused the crash when it ran a stop sign at the highway intersection, ISP said. A northbound semi struck the Taurus first, then a southbound semi hit the car before it came to a rest in the southbound lanes. Air St. Lukes was dispatched to the scene and flew the Tauruss driver to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. Investigators are still trying to confirm his identity. Both semi drivers Jess Skoglund, 40, of Landers, Calif., and Robert Riese, 66, of Twin Falls were wearing their seat belts and were not injured. Its unknown if the driver of the Taurus was wearing a seat belt. Sheriffs deputies from Gooding and Twin Falls counties and police from Buhl responded to the crash along with fire crews and paramedics from Gooding Ambulance, Wendell Fire and the Wendell Quick Response Unit. All lanes were blocked for about four hours, and ISP is still investigating. KIMBERLY Despite losing its tax levy election in the May, the Rock Creek Rural Fire Protection District will, in November, take a third shot at what amounts to a $512,000 increase. The district says it needs the funds to hire more firefighters to keep up with the growing number of calls and homes in the district. The districts levy rate has remained unchanged since its 1992 inception. If approved, the levy would increase from .00115 to .002, which works out to another $5 per month on a $150,000 home with a homeowners exemption. Idaho caps fire district levies at .0024. The district first put the levy increase on the ballot last November and it failed 611 to 634. In May, the vote was much closer to passing 1115 to 636 but failed by 3 percent. The measure needs a 67 percent super majority for approval. Chief Jason Keller said he was encouraged by the near miss at the polls. Even though it didnt pass, we got the message out and people understand the need, Keller said. The district has three fire stations: a manned station at Kimberly and unmanned stations at Hansen and Murtaugh. With a shrinking volunteer pool, Keller wants to increase the workforce over time from four full-time firefighters/emergency medical technicians and 22 volunteers to 21 firefighters total, which would let them cover the district full time in three shifts. The fire district spans roughly from 3300 East, just east of Chobani, to 5000 East, between Murtaugh and Milner, and north to south from the Snake River to Magic Mountain. The crews, which include EMTs, responded to 800 calls in 2015. And, Keller said, We are well on track to hit 900 this year. TWIN FALLS Local schoolchildren were motivated to get moving, a food pantry will be able to refrigerate perishable items, and a wife learned how to care for her dying husband so he could stay at home. These are just a few of the things St. Lukes Magic Valley supported through its Community Health Improvement Fund grant. The hospital donated $267,000 among 30 organizations between October 2015 and April of this year. Recipients were recognized at a luncheon on Thursday. The grant money is being used to help further St. Lukes Magic Valleys mission of improving community health. We know we cant do that alone, said Mike Fenello, administrator for St. Lukes Magic Valley. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley will use the $4,000 it received in April toward its Triple Play program in Buhl. Fitness and health is something thats always been a pillar of what we do, said Executive Director Lindsey Westburg. The club also received money last fall for its Twin Falls programs. Carol Hill, a physical education teacher at I.B. Perrine Elementary, said she used the grant money to start a walking program for schoolchildren. We only have P.E. once a week for our kids, she said. To get them involved in a regular fitness program at recess, Hill knew shed need incentives. She was thankful for receiving grant money to get the program up and running. The school was one of six first-time recipients. John Shine with Jerome Food Ministry said the nonprofit has been struggling with a need for refrigeration, since much of its donated food is perishable. The money the ministry received will be used to build a walk-in cooler. Jeanette Roe, site-financial director for the Twin Falls Senior Center, said the Twin Falls Senior Citizens Federation received money to assist with providing meals for people who barely dont meet the eligibility requirements for whatever reason. We are just absolutely bursting at the seams, she said, adding that the center is serving about 185 meals a day. Hospice Visions told the stories of some patients who were helped by the program, including a wife who received education to care for her husband. Community Council of Idaho Migrant and Seasonal Head Start used its funds to purchase a vision-screening system. It screens both eyes in about 30 seconds, said Amanda Flores, health services specialist. Other programs that received funding included those that will provide sex education for young adults, and assistance for mental and behavioral health, grieving children, refugees, the poor and the disabled. The total grant amount given increases a little each year, Fenello said. Organizations submit requests for the amount of money they would like to receive, and a grant committee reviews and awards the requests twice yearly. Each program must be in line with the hospitals mission, within various focus areas. People expressed a lot of gratitude for us being there, Fenello said. The Community Health Improvement Fund was created by Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in 1998. St. Lukes Magic Valley agreed to continue the community benefit program, and has distributed more than $2.2 million since 2006. The first round of applications for 2017 will be sent out in August. Updated June 20 with a corrected grant recipient name. Tuesday, in a remarkable display of arrogance and tone-deaf rhetoric, President Obama, in an angry rant about why he doesn't use the phrase "radical Islam," asked the question, "What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change?" And although he called the whole issue a "political distraction," his question deserves a serious answer. Frankly, at this stage, it is alarming that the answer is not obvious to the president and those around him. The difference is that calling these terrorists what they are -- radical Islamists -- would be reassuring to those Americans who have doubts about Obama's proficiency as commander in chief. By using the phrase, it would help build confidence that he actually understands the problem and therefore has a viable plan to defeat the enemy. After all, he is the one who used the term "jayvee team" to describe the Islamic State. He is the one who declared Iraq "sovereign, stable and self-reliant." He is the one who announced an absurd withdrawal date from Afghanistan. He is the one who took six years to declare the Ft. Hood shooting a terrorist attack and not an incident of "workplace violence." So to be clear, using the phrase "radical Islam" isn't about trying to make the Islamic State "less committed to trying to kill Americans." Mr. President, it is not about the Islamic State, it's about you. Your specific refusal to use the term rattles Americans and increases doubts about your grasp of the threat that the Islamic State presents. Islam has a problem, and Obama needs to say so. He needs to help the world come together and work this out -- and admitting the problem out loud is an essential step. Obama's enablers like to boast that our Nobel Peace Prize-winning president ended two wars. The fact is, this president has neither won nor ended any wars. At the end of his eight years in office, the United States will be facing more grinding conflicts than existed when he won the presidency. Donald Trump, for all his faults, has forced Hillary Clinton to cross the threshold and acknowledge the obvious, that "radical Islam" is a dangerous threat to our country. Trump-speak has become an infection in the political discourse, but he should not be used as a straw man for Obama to hide behind. Somehow pretending that this is about Trump, or that he is the only one who cares about using clear labels to describe our national security threats, is disingenuous. Again, this is not about Trump, or Republicans, or about a military strategy to defeat the Islamic State. This is about the president being honest with the American people and assuring them that he understands the threats against us. The massacre of partygoers at Pulse, a gay club in Orlando, took me back to the late summer of 2005, when an African American woman, wearing a tight headscarf over her staff uniform, stormed out of the kitchen and into a conference room at an Atlanta Holiday Inn, shouting: Youre all going to burn in hell! I froze. Around me were about 50 brave souls from Al-Fatiha, a gay American Muslim organization, many of them young men secretly at the organizations annual conference while their parents attended a meeting of the conservative Islamic Society of North America. That weekend, I prayed shoulder to shoulder with thema gay man leading us in prayer, a transgender Muslim beside me. Im a straight Muslim feminist, but, like my friends at Al-Fatiha, Im a criminal, too, in the view of many Islamic clerics today. My crime under conservative sharia law: giving birth to a baby boy 13 years ago while single. A strict strand of Islamic law metes out an unforgiving approach to straight sex outside of marriage, called zina, and gay sex, called liwat when it involves men, from the Biblical and Koranic story of Lot. As leaders of American Muslim groups rush to condemn the carnage in Orlando, it is important to note the persistence of these sex laws in Islam and to support Muslim reformers trying to repeal them. We are never going to see a real cultural shift in the Muslim mind-set about sex and homosexuality until we call out and repeal these scarlet-letter sex laws, and instead choose an interpretation of Islam that values compassion, privacy, acceptance and love over judgment and bigotry. Just one day after the Orlando, Florida, massacre, a Dutch woman in Qatar was convicted of the crime of illicit sexfor coming forward with the complaint that she had been raped. Several years ago, a Norwegian woman faced similar charges in the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the Islamic State is throwing men accused of homosexuality off rooftops, and the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia have executed gay men. Of the 57 states that belong to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a quasi-United Nations for countries with large Muslim populations, at least 23 have zina laws and 38 criminalize consensual adult same-sex, according to data from human rights groups and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. These governments are promoting an interpretation of political Islam, or Islamism, that feeds this culture of punishment for even consensual sex. Puritanical Islamic sex laws feature a hierarchy of punishment, based on the Koran and the sunnah, or sayings and traditions of the prophet Muhammad, of stoning to death for those who are married and have sex outside of their marriages and 100 stripes, or lashes, for premarital sex. The punishments are even worse for gays. Influential Saudi cleric Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid, following the rigid interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism or Salafism, condemns zina as a crime and calls homosexuality the most abhorrent of deeds, calling for execution of homosexuals, from having them burned with fire, stoned to death and thrown down from a high place then have stones thrown at them. As in the West, cultural attitudes are closely intertwined with legislation. Babies born out of wedlock, gay sex, transgender relationships and other forms of allegedly illegal sex are shamed, stigmatized or punishedwhether by court of law or by vigilante justice, as we saw in Orlando last weekend. As I see pictures of the fresh-faced partygoers at Pulse, their lives cut short by the homophobia that reflects Islamic scarlet-letter laws, I remember nights at gay clubs everywhere from Manhattan to my hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia. Early last year, at Vice Versa, on an alley off High Street in downtown Morgantown, I sat off-stage with my niece and my mother, Sajida Nomani, who had to wear a full face veil growing up in India in a conservative Muslim family, to protect her from the threat of zina. Strobe lights flashing around us, we cheered the transgender beauty queens competing in the Miss Vice Versa Large and Lovely contest. It was my mothers first time in a gay club. In a symbol of our efforts to take back our Muslim religion from the apostles of intolerance, it wont be our last. Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury is on a mission to clean up Twin Falls, literally. Hes asked the City Council to pass an ordinance that would allow city staff to remove graffiti on private property if the property owner doesnt paint over it. The request was put on hold at this weeks Council meeting when representatives balked at a line in the ordinance that would require homeowners to pay for the cleanup. The Council seems split over the punitive part of the ordinance. Don Hall worried asking homeowners to pay to remove the graffiti amounted to punishing someone whod already been victimized. Chris Talkington, though, asked Kingsbury not to remove the fine from the ordinance as the police chief works to redraft the proposal this week. The ordinance, he said, must have some teeth. Kingsbury says the focus of the ordinance isnt about the fines; its about curbing gang activity in Twin Falls. The graffiti is being used to advertise for the gangs and recruit new members, he said. Not to mention it makes the city look terrible. The chief, who took over the department after a long stint as Nampas police chief, says hes modeled his ordinance on one already in place in his former city. If it worked in Nampa, surely it can work in Twin Falls. While we have concerns about government interfering on private property, its worth noting that the city already does when it comes to the weed ordinance. Under that rule, the city can cut someones overgrown lawn and bill the person for the trouble. City officials would be wise to consider that ordinance as a model for a graffiti rule as they work toward a solution. The city simply must have more tools available to help fight gang activity, and a graffiti ordinance makes good sense. Gang-related graffiti, after all, poses a much more serious threat than weeds. Dont think gangs are a problem in southern Idaho? Think again. Gangs here often dont fit the stereotypical mold. Gang-related homicides are rare, and gangs rarely stake out territory that leads to turf wars. Instead, police say, gangs control drug activity and organize burglaries to help finance their organizations. Prison gangs, in particular, are a problem in southern Idaho. On the outside, gangs use graffiti to establish their presence. While we support the effort to combat gang activity, we also caution the city to hold up its end of the bargain. If the city plans to ask residents to pay for graffiti cleanup on private property, it must make darn sure its doing its part to remove graffiti quickly from public property, especially city-owned parks. A worker adjusts Chinese and Serbian flags for the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade, Serbia, June 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] President Xi Jinping has started an eight-day trip to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan on Friday, and the visit is expected to boost cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiatives proposed by China. The delegation's flight took off at 10 am from Beijing. It is scheduled to arrive in Belgrade in the afternoon. The president will pay state visits to the three countries and attend a meeting. In an article published on Thursday by Politika, a daily Serbian newspaper, Xi proposed more cooperation on major projects with Serbia, saying that China wants to share development opportunities and achievements with Serbia. The two countries should increase bilateral trade and investment to benefit people in both nations, Xi said. Describing Serbia as an "eternal friend and sincere partner" of China, he highlighted the bilateral friendship that dates to the 1950s when China established diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia. During the trip, Xi will attend signing ceremonies for cooperation documents in the three countries, all of which are along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative, according to China's foreign ministers. Liu Zuokui, an expert at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that promoting bilateral cooperation with Serbia and Poland will play a positive role in propelling China-Central and East Europe (CEE) relations. Denis Depoux, deputy president of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for Asia, said that the growth of CEE has provided lots of business opportunities for Chinese companies, and the Chinese investments into CEE will enhance the overall relationship between Beijing and Europe. "Central and East Europe play a crucial role within Europe as it is an integral part of the continent and also for its stability. CEE is experiencing higher growth than the rest of Europe," he said. The Islamic State terror group is committing genocide against Yazidis that amounts to crimes against humanity and war crimes, a United Nations-mandated human rights inquiry reported Thursday. The report titled They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes against the Yazidis focuses on violations committed against Yazidis inside Syria, where the investigation commission found that thousands of women and girls are still being held captive and abused, often as slaves. Genocide has occurred and is ongoing, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, emphasized. ISIS has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man that it has captured to the most horrific of atrocities, he said in a press statement issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR.) The Commission also examined how the terrorist group forcibly transferred Yazidis into Syria after launching its attacks on northern Iraqs Sinjar region on 3 August 2014. The information that was collected documents evidence of intent and criminal liability of ISISs military commanders, fighters, religious and ideological leaders, wherever they are located, the Commission said. ISIS has sought to erase the Yazidis through killings; sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm, the report says. The document also notes the infliction of conditions of life that bring about a slow death; the imposition of measures to prevent Yazidi children from being born, including forced conversion of adults, the separation of Yazidi men and women, and mental trauma. The report also denounces the transfer of Yazidi children from their own families and placing them with ISIS fighters, thereby cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community, the report states. The United Arab Emirates announced that its forces have done their job in Yemen and that Yemen now needs a political solution to reach a lasting peace. The UAE military has played its part to the fullest and Yemen now needs a political solution to find a lasting peace, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Wednesday, reported e-journal the National. The official who was giving a lecture in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, discussed the difficult choice the UAE made to become involved in the war in Yemen. And in a tweet summarizing Anwar Gargashs remarks, Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said: Our standpoint is clear: war is over for our troops. We are monitoring political arrangements, empowering Yemenis in liberated areas. In his lecture on The Coalition and the Yemen Crisis: The Necessary Decision, Gargash expressed disappointment at the results of peace talks, saying after 50 discouraging days of Yemeni peace talks in Kuwait, there is no unified vision for the future. There are alarming signs that the south wants to defect and that radicalism is on the rise. Other obstacles Yemen faces include the rise of Al Qaeda with the support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the minister was quoted by the National as saying. The lecturer who criticized Iranian influence for fueling sectarian divisions in the region and exporting chaos, said war was never the choice but it was the only solution after exhausting all other outcomes. After he applauded the efforts and accomplishments of the UAE Armed Forces in Yemen, part of the Saudi-led coalition, he said the coalition had clear goals that resulted in more achievable victories when compared with other conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of Yemeni land is now under the control of the legitimate government, he said adding that although the UAE would help to rebuild Yemen, and ultimately, building Yemen is the role of the Yemenis. Washington has underscored its desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its economic reform program that it deemed ambitious. This came in the meeting Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, who currently on a visit to the United States, held with the U.S. National Economic Council. The U.S. officials attending the meeting welcomed Saudi Arabias commitment to economic reform and underscored the United States desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program, says a statement posted on the White House web page. Both sides agreed on the importance of economic diversification, expanding private sector employment opportunities, renewable and natural gas development, and the beneficial role U.S. companies could play in implementing Saudi reform objectives, the statement says. The United States and Saudi Arabia intend to build on these conversations in the coming months, consistent with the strong partnership between our countries and the mutual benefit in further deepening our economic ties, it adds. The Deputy Crown Prince, who started his visit to Washington on Monday, met with several other U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Talks with Kerry reviewed the strong and enduring relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and discussed a broad range of regional issues, including Yemen, Syria, Libya, and countering terrorism. They also discussed the Kingdoms plans to transform its economy through its National Transformation Program. The two men expressed their shared commitment to continue their cooperation in combatting the spread of violent extremism, both regionally and internationally. The meeting with Ashton Carter discussed means to promote the military relations and cooperation existing between the two countries. It also reviewed latest regional developments, mainly in the Middle East, and endeavors exerted to combat terrorism and other issues of common interest. In a person with Alzheimer's, harmful amyloid beta clusters (red) build up among neurons (green) in a memory-related area of the brain. Credit: Photo/Strittmatter Laboratory, Yale University USC researchers announced Tuesday they will test a promising drug aimed at preventing or delaying the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The international study, jointly managed by the USC Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) and Janssen Research & Development, will test Janssen's BACE inhibitors in people who are currently showing no symptoms. The investigational drug aims to block an enzyme involved in the generation of the amyloid peptide, a toxic molecule believed to play an essential role in causing Alzheimer's. "We are now looking at the stage of Alzheimer's that precedes even mild symptoms," said Paul Aisen, founding director of USC ATRI and professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "It is our view that drugs such as BACE inhibitors may be most effective at the earliest stages of the disease." USC ATRI's role in the study is funded by a new contract with Janssen. USC ATRI, located in San Diego, and Janssen will provide joint oversight for the study; in addition, ATRI will manage study activities at sites in the United States and Canada. Study sites in other countries will be managed by Quintiles. "There is a lot of optimism that research may be ushering in a new era in Alzheimer's drug development," said Gary Romano, head of Alzheimer's clinical development at Janssen. "We may be able to treat the disease using interventions before it becomes advanced, much like you treat high cholesterol to mitigate the risk of heart attacks." Trial details This is a phase 2/3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, multicenter study in people across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia who have evidence of brain amyloid accumulation but are asymptomatic. The trial will recruit individuals who show no outward symptoms and are 60 or older. They will then be tested for amyloid accumulation in the brain and, if positive, will be invited to participate in the study. The study will assess cognitive performance, along with other measures related to Alzheimer's, over time. The study will employ a framework created by USC ATRI investigators for testing drugs at the earliest stages of the disease when treatment would be most effective by attacking the driving molecules before substantial damage to the brain has occurred. It will enroll more than 1,600 people worldwide, including 660 participants at 75 sites in North America who have not experienced any clinical signs of Alzheimer's. Aisen and Reisa Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment at Harvard Medical School, will be the co-principal investigators of the research. Explore further Diabetes drug could influence brain activity in Alzheimer's More information: More details about the study can be found at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Trials website. More details about the study can be found at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Trials website. clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02569398 In this Feb. 24, 2016 file photo, workers from the Puerto Rico Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention review Zika-related data collected by the island's health department and the CDC in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Friday, June 17, 2016, Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC, is warning that dozens or hundreds of babies in Puerto Rico could develop severe birth defects because of the virus, based on how an outbreak is playing out there. (AP Photo/Danica Coto) Dozens or hundreds of babies in Puerto Rico could develop severe birth defects because of Zika, based on how an outbreak is playing out there, a top U.S. health official said Friday. The island territory has been screening blood donations for the virus since April. Last month's results suggest there's been a rapid increase in infections, and officials expect cases to increase through the summer. "In the coming months, it's possible that thousands of pregnant women in Puerto Rico could become infected," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to a CDC calculation, that could lead to dozens or hundreds of infants being born in the coming years with microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which a baby's skull is much smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. Other infants may develop other, more subtle birth defects as well, Frieden said. The Zika virusspread mainly by a tropical mosquitocauses only a mild illness, at worst, in most people. But infection during pregnancy can cause fetal deaths and potentially devastating birth defects. Puerto Rico is part of a Zika epidemic that has been sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean. The U.S. territory has more than 1,700 cases, including 191 in pregnant women. Last month, Puerto Rican health officials reported their first case of Zika-linked microcephaly. Since April, blood donations in Puerto Rico have been checked for the Zika virus. Donations that test positive are pulled from the blood supply and there have been no reports of Zika infection in U.S. states or territories through blood transfusion. The same mosquito spreading the virus in Puerto Rico is found in the southern part of the U.S. There's no evidence bugs have been spreading the virus in the mainland yet. All the cases reported in the U.S. have been connected to travel to outbreak areas. More information: CDC report: CDC report: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index.html 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)Laparoscopic nephrectomy can be safely performed as outpatient surgery in select patients, according to a study published in the June issue of The Journal of Urology. Nessn H. Azawi, from the University of Southern in Odense, Denmark, and colleagues conducted a prospective, multicenter descriptive study involving 50 patients (70 percent males) with renal cancer. The authors examined the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic nephrectomy as outpatient surgery, with postoperative follow-up at 30 days. The researchers found that 92 percent of the patients (46 patients) were discharged home within the first six hours after surgery. Four of the patients could not be discharged as a result of wrong medication, fatigue, and intestinal injury in two, one, and one patient, respectively. There was no readmission among the 46 patients discharged early. Antibiotic treatment achieved good results without rehospitalization for two patients with wound infection. "Laparoscopic nephrectomy may be performed as outpatient surgery in carefully selected patients who meet inclusion criteria, representing greater than 40 percent of candidates for the surgery," the authors write. "Our study demonstrates that outpatient nephrectomy may be done safely and does not require hospital readmission." Explore further Continued aspirin treatment safe with partial nephrectomy Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. A Nicaraguan sugar cane worker stays hydrated with a portable water pack. Credit: Courtesy Anthony Nardone On the sugar cane plantations of Central America, young men are dying in alarming numbers from a kidney condition whose causes are not fully understood. In some Nicaraguan towns, as many of 70 percent of men are afflicted with a form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that is relatively uncommon worldwide but prevalent among industrial agricultural workers. The only known treatment options are dialysis or kidney transplants which few farmworkers can access or afford. Researchers are looking for the root cause of the disease a leading cause of death among young men in Nicaragua's agricultural lowlands but UC San Francisco graduate student Anthony Nardone isn't waiting for answers. Earlier this year, Nardone launched a program to help sugar cane workers protect their kidneys by staying hydrated during long hours spent toiling in the fields. Nardone, who will graduate this summer with a master's degree in global health, was doing research and volunteer work in Nicaragua, and was moved by the plight of the sugar cane workers. Men labor in the sun 12 hours, six days a week, for up to six months at a time. They are paid based on how much they cut. "There's no incentive to take water breaks because you don't get paid for it," Nardone said. "Workers get dehydrated working in the field and over time that damages their kidneys." Anthony Nardone presented his portable water project as part of the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative. Credit: Anthony Nardone He hit upon the idea of distributing a simple, portable device that could help men stay hydrated while working. While drinking more water alone may not solve the illness, it can reduce stress on the kidneys both for those suffering and those at risk. Nardone solicited CamelBak, manufacturer of a drinking water backpack, for donations, and set up a pilot program to distribute the water packs to Nicaraguan fieldworkers. He is now working to expand the program with help from the La Isla Foundation, an organization named after a small Nicaraguan municipality where a majority of deaths in men between 20 and 50 years old are due to this unusual form of CKD. The foundation is looking to create a device similar to the CamelBak, but which will be cheaper to produce and can keep water and the wearer cool during a full day in the sun. Promoting infant and maternal health The water pack project isn't the first heath hack Nardone has come up with. He began working in global health as a volunteer and clinic manager with Project Limon, an effort to provide infant and women's health services to a small town in Nicaragua, a three-hour bus ride from regular medical care. Clinic staff launched a campaign to promote breastfeeding, which was viewed by many local women as low-status compared to using formula. Many women who gave up breastfeeding would water formula down to save money, which could cause infants to become malnourished. At a health clinic in Limon, Nicaragua, Nardone helped women access basic care. Credit: Anthony Nardone As part of a drive to increase breastfeeding, Nardone solicited donations of breast pumps from friends and acquaintances in the U.S., and gave them out as a way to enable women to continue to nurse their babies after they returned to work. Working short- and long-term to advance public health For his global health research, Nardone is looking at adults in Northern Chile to see if obesity together with exposure to high levels of arsenic in the drinking water increase the risk of lung damage. After receiving his master's degree this summer, he plans to go on to medical school. Ultimately, he hopes his work will help him address the broader health, economic and environmental disparities that contribute to the high incidence of CKD and other diseases. But for now, he is eager to promote interventions that can improve people's health in the near term. "What's special about this is that it's simple," he said. "These men are not going to stop working, and they're not going to be able to quickly negotiate for better conditions. I just want to help them in some way." Explore further Mysterious disease may be tied to climate change, researcher says The World Health Organization said Friday that $122 million (108 million euros) is needed to fund an 18-month anti-Zika battle plan that will focus on women of child-bearing age. The mosquito-borne virus has recently been linked to serious birth defects including shrunken heads in newborns and neurological disorders having previously been thought to cause just flu-like symptoms. The ongoing outbreak has affected more than 60 countries. Brazil remains the hardest-hit country, with Rio de Janeiro set to host the Olympics in less than two months. WHO director general Margaret Chan said that the organisation's new Zika Strategic Response Plan reflects the rapidly growing amount of new information available about the virus. "The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core," Chan said in a statement. Funding needs have risen significantly since the first $56 million plan was announced in February, when only 23 countries and health organisations needed Zika-related support, Chan said. Since then the virus has spread while near conclusive evidence has emerged linking it to the congenital defect microcephalyan abnormally small headand neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. Priorities for the new response include contingency planning in case Zika spreads further as well as sexual and reproductive counselling for people who may want to delay pregnancy. WHO has urged pregnant women to avoid travel to Zika-affected areas. Explore further Zika linked to birth defects in six US cases 2016 AFP (HealthDay)Among the 54 million Hispanic adults living in the United States, Puerto Ricans fare the worst when it comes to physical and mental ills, a new review finds. Not only were Puerto Ricans more likely to be in worse health than non-Hispanic Americans, but they "were also generally more likely to have poorer health compared with other Hispanic subgroups," concluded a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new report is based on 2010-2014 data from a major federal government survey of Americans' health. A team led by Jacqueline Lucas, of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), looked at the health of four Hispanic subgroups: Puerto Ricans, and Americans of Cuban, Mexican or Central or South American descent. Overall, Hispanic adults as a group tended to report "fair or poor health" more often than their non-Hispanic American peers, at about 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively. But significant differences emerged when the CDC team looked at specific subgroups of Hispanic Americans. Puerto Ricans appeared to have the worst health. Just over 19 percent of Puerto Ricans surveyed said they were in fair-to-poor health. That number dropped to 17 percent of Mexican-Americans, 15 percent of Cuban-Americans, and 12 percent of those of Central and South American descent, the study found. The percentage of Puerto Ricans who had battled multiple chronic conditions ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma or arthritiswas also much higher. For example, while about 17 percent of survey respondents of Central or South American descent said they had multiple conditions, that figure rose to more than 27 percent for Puerto Ricans, the findings showed. Puerto Ricans were also more likely to say that health issues had curtailed their ability to work, compared with people from other Hispanic subgroups. Mental health issues were also higher for Puerto Ricans: 6 percent said they had experienced some form of "serious psychological distress" over the past month, compared to 3 percent of Central or South American adults. According to Lucas and her colleagues, the findings underline the fact that U.S. Hispanics aren't just one groupespecially when it comes to health. "Although the Hispanic population in the United States may share a common language, there is considerable variation among subgroups" when it comes to culture, economics and even their attitudes toward seeking out health care, the researchers wrote. The findings were reported June 16 in an NCHS Data Brief. Explore further Stark Medicare Advantage disparities present in Puerto Rico More information: Find out more at the Find out more at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Annette Taddeo filed the paperwork today to qualify for Congressional District 26 in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties her campaign announced today. Taddeo will face former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia who lost reelection to Carlos Curbelo, a Republican, in 2014. It's possible that Curbelo will face a primary challenger too. Taddeo paid the $10,440 fee to qualify. In May, internal polls on the Democratic side showed Garcia in the lead but a sizable chunk of the voters were undecided in the swing district. Taddeo overhauled her campaign staff last month -- her new spokesman Omer Farooque started today. Taddeo has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Emily's List. The five-day qualifying period starts Monday. The primary is Aug. 30th but voters will start casting ballots by absentee in July. This post has been updated to reflect that Taddeo qualified by paying the fee. @JeremySWallace Even with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio weighing getting back into the U.S. Senate campaign, Carlos Beruff continues to press ahead, releasing a new television ad set to air next week. Beruff's campaign has already said publicly if Rubio gets into the race, Beruff is staying in and prepared to run against him in the Aug. 30 primary contest. "Carlos Beruff has travelled to all 67 counties in Florida, and the people of Florida have made one thing abundantly clear: they value real world experience more than political experience," said Chris Hartline, a spokesman for Beruff. "Theyre sick of career politicians and power-brokers in Washington who care about one thing: holding on to power. But the voters of Florida will not obey them. They dont get to pick our candidates." @alextdaugherty South Florida reps Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both Republicans, issued a statement opposing an amendment that would prohibit defense funds for being used on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individuals in the military. The amendment, sponsored by Paul Gosar (R-AZ), would keep undocumented individuals who arrived in the United States during childhood from serving in the military. "These DACA individuals often possess critical language, medical, and technical skills needed by our military to accomplish their mission," Curbelo and Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. "These young men and women are making a sacrifice for our country - the only country many of them have ever known." The amendment failed by one vote and 30 Republicans joined the Democrats in voting against it for a 210-211 final tally. Its time that we stop playing politics with the Defense Authorization and ensure that a provision meant to allow military readiness isnt hijacked in order to provide backdoor amnesty to DACA aliens," Gosar said in a statement. "Sadly, open border advocates have once again put politics ahead of the needs of our men and women in uniform in attempting to enact President Obamas lawless immigration agenda." The full text of Curbelo's and Ros-Lehtinen's statement is below: Dear Colleague: Today the House will vote on an amendment offered by Rep. Gosar (AZ) to H.R. 5293, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, FY17. The Gosar Amendment #26 prohibits funds from being used by H.R. 5293 to enlist DACA individuals in the military through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MANVI) program. We believe that this amendment does nothing to make our country safer. Its important to note that the Department of Defense is already allowing a small number of immigrants under the Presidents DACA executive orders to serve our country through the MANVI program. The Defense Secretary has the authority to fill critical needs in our military, regardless of how the individual may have arrived in the U.S. These DACA individuals often possess critical language, medical, and technical skills needed by our military to accomplish their mission. These young men and women are making a sacrifice for our country - the only country many of them have ever known. The FY17 Defense Appropriations bill being debated this week should be used to address the programs supporting the brave men and women who keep our country safe; not to take tools away from the Defense Secretary. The young men and women targeted by the Gosar Amendment were brought to our great country very early in life, often by no choice of their own. They have grown up in our neighborhoods and attended the same schools as our own children. For most of these young people, the United States is the only country they have ever called home. They love our country and many of them are serving it honorably. We emphatically urge a NO vote on this amendment in order to continue providing the Defense Secretary the authority to make our armed forces as strong as possible. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27) State Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Cutler Bay, says he is staying put to run in District 40 and won't switch to run for the district where Sen. Gwen Margolis recently dropped out. Margolis dropped out last week after she dismissed some of her Democratic opponents as "Haitians." That set off a flurry of speculation about who else would jump in to the race although there were already five other Democratic candidates competing when Margolis was in the race. Former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns announced Wednesday that he is running for the District 38 seat. The other candidates are small business owner Anis Blemur, former state Rep. Philip Brutus, teacher Don Festge, lawyer Jason Pizzo and state Rep. Daphne Campbell. From Bullard's press release: While there has been much speculation about my future Senate seat plans, I wanted to take this opportunity to reiterate my commitment to the South Dade community (in the newly drawn District 40). I have had the pleasure of serving as both Representative and Senator in this District for many years and could not think of a more rewarding area to have the privilege of continuing to serve. While I greatly appreciate those who have reached out to encourage me to move to a different District, the people here know that I have always been and will continue to be a fighter who has always stood up and stood for them." "Unlike other candidates and/or potential candidates, my level of commitment to District 40 spans more than 30 years. I've gone to elementary school in this District, graduated high school in this District, and I continue to work in this District. The people of District 40 have a clear choice in August and November as to who they choose to represent District 40. It is my hope they would choose someone who has always been here and not someone who merely shows up tomorrow. Home is where my heart is and home is where my heart has always been." Following the Orlando shooting, Donald Trump delivered a forceful but rambling speech on terrorism and immigration. In the speech, Trump repeated his call for banning Muslims from entering the United States, rebuked President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for their perceived weaknesses, and emphasized his foresight. The speech was panned on the left and right . While the lasting impact of Trumps comments on the election remains to be seen, they provide insight into the basis of Trumps controversial and racially charged proposals. While some of his points were accurate, many were off base, some wildly so. Heres PolitiFacts guide to 23 claims in Trumps pivotal terrorism speech, which he delivered June 13 in New Hampshire. Both U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her primary challenger Tim Canova will be at the Florida Leadership Blue Gala Saturday in Hollywood. Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair, will speak at the event where New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is the keynote speaker. The event is a chance for Canova, a Hollywood resident and Nova Southeastern University law professor, to spread his message among party activists. This is the first time Wasserman Schultz of Weston has faced a primary challenge since she first won the seat since 2004. They are competing in a liberal district that largely lies in Broward and dips into northern Miami-Dade County. Here are four key things we dont know about the Debbie Wasserman Schultz vs Tim Canova primary: 1. What the polls show There have been no public polls or internal polls released so far. A poll in the district would answer questions about Canovas name recognition and if Wasserman Schultz is vulnerable on any particular issues -- such as her position in favor of the Iran deal -- or with any segment of the Democratic primary electorate. 2. How much local voters care about Wasserman Schultzs woes as DNC chair The main thing that Wasserman Schultz has taken hits for in the media for months is her leadership of the Democratic National Committee. Bernie Sanders and his supporters have slammed her for months, calling for her ouster and accusing her of favoring Hillary Clinton, which she denies. But district voters may care more about her positions on issues such as favoring abortion and gay rights, equal pay for women and her record fighting Republicans than they do about her party leadership. Plus, her district voted for Clinton over Sanders 68-31 percent in the March 15th primary so the criticism by the Sanders folks may not mean much. 3. What Wasserman Schultzs stance on medical marijuana will mean for the race Wasserman Schultz opposed the medical marijuana amendment in 2014 which was supported by 58 percent of Florida voters, two points shy of the threshold to amend the state constitution. Her opposition angered Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan who funded the amendment last time and again for this year. Morgan has threatened to form a PAC in an effort to defeat Wasserman Schultz but he told the Herald he is waiting for a poll to emerge before making a decision about investing in the race (see no. 1 above). Wasserman Schultz has said she is evaluating the 2016 amendment but she could avoid taking a stance until after the Aug. 30th primary since the amendment is on the November ballot. Although many Broward voters disagree with her opposition to the 2014 amendment, will they punish her for that? 4. How many of Canovas donors live in the district Canovas $2 million fundraising haul between January and mid-June is impressive for a first-time candidate. A good portion of that was fueled by Sanders saying on national TV in May that he is backing Canova. But its unclear how much of that money comes from voters who live in the district. A Center for Responsive Politics analysis of Canovas donations through March -- so based on about one-quarter of his haul now -- showed that the majority of his donations over $200 came from outside of Florida. But the vast majority of his donations come from small donations and campaigns dont have to report where those donors live. Theres nothing wrong or unusual about out of district donations and money is money when it comes to funding ads on TV, print, radio and mailers. But it means we dont know how many of these donors can vote for Canova Aug. 30. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio will be mulling his future this weekend as he decides whether or not to run for reelection. While campaigning for president, he repeatedly said he would either be in the White House or a private citizen in January 2017. When he dropped out in March, he initially stuck to his line about becoming a private citizen however there were signs in recent weeks that he was leaving open the possibility of running again. When the Miami Herald asked Rubio in May if he would run if his friend Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera didn't ultimately run, Rubio dismissed that as a hypothetical and wouldn't elaborate. Now the Democrats are pouncing with video clips showing multiple times that Rubio said he wouldn't run for reelection. Here is one from American Bridge: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a video attack Rubio for missed votes and claiming he wouldn't run for reelection while running for president: I got to hold a human brain, 17-year-old Shaelyn Townsend said. Its not as gruesome as it seems. Townsend, of Thompson Falls, is one of 24 high school juniors and seniors from around Montana who participated in the MedStart Camp in Missoula this week. MedStart, which gives high school juniors and seniors hands-on experiences in health care, ran Sunday through Thursday. The camp targets rural, minority, low-income and first-generation college-bound students. Camps are also held in Montana, Billings, Miles City, Great Falls and Helena. Students write and essay and provide a teacher recommendation to get into the program, said Martha Robertson, the program coordinator with the Western Montana Area Health Education Center. On Wednesday, students spent the day shadowing two jobs, one in the field they are considering pursuing and one they wouldnt expect. Introducing the students to other parts of the medical field helps them find things they never knew they wanted to do, Robertson said. Robertson said 94 percent of the students who participate in the program go to college. After job shadowing, the group joined med student Sren Estvold on a scavenger in downtown Missoula to answer the question What is public health? Estvold, who also works for the Health Promotion Division of the Missoula County Health Department, helped them identify no-smoking signs, bicycle lanes and a person doing yoga in the park. Other activities include practicing using syringes, earning CPR and AED certifications, exploring other fields of science, and learning about financial aid and money management. The students at Missoulas camp come from all over the state, including Libby, Frazer, Havre and Thompson Falls. Jess Knoll, a student at Pacific University and a second-year resident assistant with MedStart, was part of the program when she was a junior in high school. MedStart helped her decide she wanted to pursue public health. Its helping the kids and answering questions about careers they want to go into, Knoll said. Campers' fees are paid for by GEAR-Up, a federal program that awards financial assistance to students, Madison Shennum, 15, of Havre, said. The GEAR-Up scholarship pays for the full tuition of MedStart and travel stipend for the students. We dont have to pay for any of it, Shennum said. This is the seventh year that MedStart has been in Missoula. The Dennis Washington Foundation and the Charlotte Martin Foundation funds the camp, including its activities. Huckleberries to Weyerhauser to renewing an agreement with Montana to allow continued public access on the timber companys lands in this state, which it purchased from Plum Creek last year. The one-year agreement continues a decades-long tradition of public access to some 880,000 privately owned acres in Montana. Chokecherries to the Chinese tourist who left a boardwalk in Yellowstone National Park to collect water from Mammoth Hot Springs little more than a week after another man left a boardwalk at Norris Geyser Basin, fell into a hot spring and died. That incident occurred just days after a teenager fell into an Upper Geyser Basin pool and was badly burned. And lets not forget three Canadian men who recently trampled the fragile thermal features around the Grand Prismatic Spring after leaving the boardwalk. The Chinese man has been given a $1,000 fine a small price to pay compared to the damage he could have caused to himself and to the unique geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park. Huckleberries to Boeing for recognizing the engineering and technical expertise at S&K Global Solutions, a company headquartered in Polson on the Flathead Indian Reservation and owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The company counts about 160 people in six locations, and recently learned that it has been awarded a subcontract worth at least $50 million. Boeing awarded a total $200 million in subcontracts to small business to complete work for NASA and the International Space Station. Chokecherries to the person or persons who left a French bulldog in a hot car in the parking lot at Sams Club in Billings. The dog died on June 3, a day when temperatures reached 80 degrees. Billings Animal Control is investigating, and companion animal advocates across Montana are reminding pet owners to make other arrangements for their dogs rather than leave them in a vehicle on a hot day. Huckleberries to U.S. Sen. Steve Daines for seeing the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 passed by Congress and headed for the presidents desk. Daines was one of five cosponsors of the bill, which reauthorizes the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration through fiscal year 2019, and allows the administration to hire much-needed pipeline inspectors and analysts, among other important safety measures. The bill combines provisions of bills from the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with aspects of the SAFE PIPES Act, which Daines introduced last November. I had to read this Associated Press article a number of times to understand the perspective given on the issue of bringing refugees to Missoula. I saw little perspective of both sides. There was ample negative information given about the segment of people who want cautious consideration given to a process of bringing people to a new place. Here is my assessment: 1. All opponents of swift absorption of Syrian refugees are unsympathetic and racist; 2. All opponents of swift absorption of Syrian refugees are rude; 3. All opponents of swift absorption of Syrian refugees are fear-driven haters. I want to say these things are untrue of 99 percent of us opponents. Remember, these horrible opponents are your neighbors. The fact that this article painted such an ugly, untrue picture of many of your neighbors should infuriate you as much as it did me. I was finishing writing this response Sunday morning when I turned on the TV and heard the horrible news of the misguided Muslim American who thought gunning down innocent people was a way to find glory for ISIS. Yes, we opponents are fear-driven. And for good reason: Fort Hood, Chattanooga, Oklahoma, San Bernardino and Orlando. We are against hate. Hate is bad, but we are not stupid. There are other ways our government and the very generous people of the United States can help these people flee their countries. The article did get one thing right. We feel we have no way to be heard and it is frustrating. Kelly Maier, Missoula Among other places, Shia LaBeouf was spotted at Five Guys in Missoula last night. He arrived last night after spending time in Helena on a hitchhiking performance art project in conjunction with Vice magazine. More background from the Independent Record here: *** HELENA - Most hitchhikers passing through Helena probably dont get much notice, but actor Shia LaBeouf was different. Perhaps best known for his role in Transformers, the former Disney Channel child star stopped at Bad Bettys Barbecue Thursday as part of his Take Me Anywhere hitchhiking project held in the name of art. The first thing he said was, I heard this was the best barbecue in the state. And I didnt argue with him, said Bad Bettys Barbecue owner Calvin Richards, who learned the celebrity planned to stop in just moments before his arrival. During LaBeoufs visit, staff members gave him a tour of the restaurant and explained plans for the indoor seating area thats currently under construction. They also took him into the kitchen, where he put on an apron for a photo, and they gave him a Bad Bettys shirt that he graciously accepted even though it was several sizes too large. He was super genuine with everything, Richards said, adding that the actor was happy to take photos with people in the restaurant. And while Richards says he was able to keep his cool during LaBeoufs visit, he admitted some of his employees were certainly a little star struck. Its not every day that you have something like that happen, he said. It was definitely surreal. Richards said LaBeouf ordered the three-meat sampler with brisket, tri-tip, smoked bratwurst, beans and coleslaw. And he seemed to be happy with his choice. He was raving about all of it, Richards said. The first thing he said was, Oh man, those beans. Along with artists Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner, LaBeouf has partnered with Vice News, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado and the Finnish Institute in London for the hitchhiking project. The three have been Tweeting their coordinates and inviting people to take them anywhere as part of their road trip, which the Boulder Museum says is symbolic of a collective yearning to seek out beauty and truth within a corrupt nation. Their journey can be tracked in real time at takemeanywhere.vice.com. KALISPELL A Kalispell man whose body was found in a creek near Creston was stabbed to death after reportedly taking drugs and money from a woman with whom he had been staying, prosecutors said. Melisa Crone, 29, reportedly wanted revenge against Wade Allen Rautio, 35, for the theft. Co-defendant Robert Matthew Wittal also was angry at him and sought Crone's approval to "commit an act of violence" against Rautio, Flathead County prosecutors said. On the day of the murder, Crone called Wittal to tell him that Rautio had arrived at her house, court records said. According to prosecutors, David Toman drove Rautio, Wittal and Christopher Hansen to an area off Foothills Road near Creston where Wittal stabbed Rautio multiple times. Hansen reportedly punched Rautio and provided a second knife after Wittal lost the first one. Wittal then stabbed Rautio in the neck, court records said. Authorities received a report Monday that a homicide took place over Memorial Day weekend near Creston. They found Rautio's body that day under a log in Brown Creek. Wittal was charged Wednesday with deliberate homicide during an appearance in Justice Court. His bail was set at $500,000. Crone, Hansen and Toman were charged Friday with accountability to deliberate homicide. Bail was set at $100,000 each. None have entered pleas. All four are scheduled to be arraigned June 30 in District Court. Wittal has requested a public defender. Justice Court officials did not immediately return a phone call seeking to learn whether the others had attorneys who might wish to comment on the case. Aaberg writes music that connects a global audience to the sweeping landscape of the West. By translating Montanas farms, ranches and native cultures into musical concepts, hes forged a unique keyboard style that paints an audible portrait of our home state. Held in one of southwest Montanas most intimate concert settings high above Georgetown Lake, St. Timothys is located at 2285 Southern Cross Road in Georgetown. Tickets purchased at the door will be $25. Tickets purchased online or through our outlets are $20 for adults and $15 for 18 and younger. When purchasing tickets online, your PayPal receipt is your ticket. Please print the receipt and bring it with you to the concert to gain entrance. There is a perceived right to protest and thereby a perceived right to subvert the friendly, open process of democracy that gives everybody a chance. Recent violence at the Nevada Democratic Convention finds party officials saying that this misbehavior could easily go on to the national convention. No matter who you are, you need the Democratic Party to function at its best. Our unique nation requires both parties in order to survive. Violence could happen among Republicans as easily as it has among Democrats. Political activism south of the U.S. border sometimes turns into guerrilla warfare with wholesale murder. This is one of hundreds of reasons why Americans need the freedom to discuss. If we like our political system with its earnest attempts to hear and to satisfy the wishes of every citizen, then caution about any immigration seems justified. A Montana group recently began asking unresponsive officials for particulars on allowing Middle Eastern refugees into the U.S. Inquiry was going nowhere and ugly activism emerged trying to prevent any discussion of refugee issues. Inquiring citizens were called anti-refugee, haters and racists. At this point people wanting information stood up as graciously as they knew how and asked for a stand-down. On the other side, one of the pro-immigration leaders, Jameel Chaudhry, a peacemaker of high order, promptly honored that request and asked activists to stop protesting, to be honest and to stop calling names. The confrontations halted immediately and dialog is opening. Thanks, Jameel. You made it safe to ask questions again. In order to preserve that reopening dialog with its friendly atmosphere and to keep America considerate of all its citizens, we need to listen carefully to every side of every argument. More than that, we must convince others that we really are listening and that we are doing so with respect. Friendly discussion has served Americans well for some 240 years. Ours is not a perfect system but seems superior to any other. If you know of something better, be sure to discuss it on the Opinion page of this newspaper. Here are some questions that want discussion: Why was refugee immigration from the Middle East established without citizen input? The original prediction was 10,000 refugees to Montana every year. How was the number lowered to 100 and what keeps it from going back to 10,000 per year? Are the proposed hosts long-term citizens or are they recent refugees from the same Middle Eastern sadness? As long as we are getting 100 refugees per year how can we (graciously) help them assimilate? Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that the U.S. accepts more than twice as many refugees as all other nations combined. Then, without notice, the figure was changed to more immigrants than all other nations combined Then that statement disappeared entirely and was only available as a quote from a lesser officer. Is there one government officer who will give stable answers that are trustworthy? How can we maintain friendly dialog on this tough issue and get needed answers? Is there an effective way to ask members of Congress Jon Tester, Steve Daines and Ryan Zinke to establish precise, long-term numbers on refugees and/or immigrants to be admitted? In the meantime, thanks for taking part in this top-notch nation. -- John H. "Jack" Wiegman of Missoula is a retired broadcaster, engineer and industrialist. Wiegman's voice has been heard worldwide on ABC and CNN, and he has been honored by United Press International, the Idaho Press Club and Montana's Midland Empire Advertising Club. Flag Day provided us the opportunity to reflect upon many positive things in our nation. But it also gave us the chance to reflect upon how much our democracy has been going downhill on a slide greased by political money. Much of the polarization and dysfunction of the federal government comes from money in politics and elections. The pernicious influence of excessive money has also begun to invade Montanas electoral processes. The root cause of big moneys dominance of politics was the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision that enshrined corporations as people/citizens and guaranteed them the right to spend their funds to unduly influence American elections. That Supreme Court decision was used to eviscerate Montanas firewall against such excesses -- The Corrupt Practices Act of 1912. That Act was an initiative placed on the ballot and passed by the people of Montana, designed to curb the corruption of the infamous Montana Copper Kings, who had been buying elections and power. The Corrupt Practices Act declared that corporations may not make an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party. For 100 years, the Corrupt Practices Act protected our elections. Then in 2012, Montana reaffirmed the essence of the Corrupt Practices prohibitions in another initiative passed by 75% of the voters. It provided that: Rights under the U.S. Constitution are the rights of human beings, not corporations, Money is property, not speech, and There should be a level playing field in campaign spending that allows all individuals, regardless of wealth, to express their views to one another and their government. For over 100 years, though often rough and tumble, our elections have had been essentially free of corruption. Big, outside money did not, by and large, play a role in here. However, since Citizens United, advocates of big money power both inside and outside of Montana are using Citizens United to rip apart any constraints and big money is starting to taint our elections. Citizens United may well be the worst Supreme Court decision since the Dred Scott case in 1857, which affirmed slavery in the US, seeing those human beings as chattel to be used, abused, traded or sold. Interestingly, Dred Scott ruled that enslaved black humans were not legally people, while Citizens United ruled that corporations were people. The Dred Scott decision was overturned by addition of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, which took until 1865 and 1868 respectively. Short of a Supreme Court reversal, the legal and political path to getting rid of Citizens United may also have to be a Constitutional Amendment. Thats a tough row to hoe (passage by 2/3 of each house of Congress and ratification by of the states), but it may well be the only way to insure for the long-haul that people who participate in our elections are real human beings, not faceless corporate entities. On Thursday, June 23rd at 7:00 PM at the UM Law School in Missoula folks will gather together to address how we can get started. A forum called Building to Overturn Citizens United How We Pass the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution will feature two prominent leaders: Jeff Clements (of American Promise and Free Speech for People) and Montanas own retired Supreme Court Justice Jim Nelson, (Board member of Free Speech for People and Advisory Board member for American Promise) who has become a national leader on this important issue. Fair elections are not a partisan issue. Montanans of all stripes independents, Libertarians, Republicans and Democrats - want fair elections, free of the corrupting influence of big money and campaign money from corporations. As a well-known Democratic leader and a long-time Republican elected official, we are helping host this event. Join the effort, so that what Montanans have passed into law can become the law across the entire country. Lets pass a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to reverse Citizens United and remove the pernicious influence of excessive money in our election processes. -- Evan Barrett, Democrat of Butte, has spent the last 46 years at the top level of Montana economic development, government, politics and education. -- Bob Brown, Republican of Whitefish, is a former Montana Secretary of State, State Senate President and 28-year legislator. Montanas top political regulator on Thursday found the embattled Cascade County Republican Central Committee violated state campaign finance law when it filed late reports and failed to disclose all of its expenditures. A 14-page decision issued by Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl found the committee now embroiled in a trio of pre-primary lawsuits and campaign finance complaints neglected to report the cost of state fair campaign booths and advertisements it provided to some GOP candidates as well as the value of tickets handed out to a statewide fundraising dinner. The Montana legislature has declared the importance of transparency through electronic filing whereby campaign finance information and data is easily and promptly made available to the public, Motl wrote in the decision. There is no legitimate reason for the Central Committee to fail to file electronically when so many other candidates and committees have cooperated and complied with Montana law. The first-term commissioner, appointed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, took no action on other allegations raised in separate March and May complaints against the committee, including charges that it made false statements on a campaign filing and, by apparently favoring some Great Falls-area Republican candidates over others, failed to function as a political committee under state law. The committee has been locked in a much-publicized leadership dispute between hardline Republican statehouse hopefuls and a more moderate faction of office seekers, a feud that culminated in state Senate candidate J.C. Kantorowiczs widely-reported remark that a bullet might prevent his primary opponent from attending the Montana GOP delegate convention. Kantorowicz lost by a wide margin in his June 7 primary fight against Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls. Great Falls Rep. Wendy McKamey, one of those candidates the complaint alleged was opposed by the committee, also prevailed in her race against Rep. Randy Pinocci, R-Sun River. Thursdays administrative ruling found the committee engaged in selective actions in supporting Cascade County Republicans but that such actions were protected by the partys association interest or speech rights. Motl has used similar reasoning to defend a so-called "loophole" that allows candidates to benefit from unlimited, potentially special interest-funded "personal services" provided by party committees. He expects the committee will negotiate and pay a fine to settle the matter out of court. Most rulings issued by Motl are resolved through a settlement, though his office has litigated a handful of high-profile campaign finance cases against a host of conservative politicians and dark money groups. A Montana District Court judge on Friday is expected to settle the penalty phase of one such case against state Rep. Art Wittich, who could be removed from office after a jury in April determined he underpaid for campaign services. WAPELLO, Iowa A Burlington man was killed Thursday morning after striking a deer about two miles south of Wapello. According to a press release from the Louisa County Sheriff's Department, Jason M. Robinson, 28, Burlington, was northbound on Highway 61 just south of the J Avenue intersection when a deer entered the roadway. The impact caused him to lose control of his 2006 Chevrolet Impala. Robinson's car left the road, rolled coming to rest on its top in a ditch adjacent to J Avenue near Highway 61. Authorities were notified about a vehicle on its top at approximately 10:50 a.m. Thursday. Robinson sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the press release. The sheriff's department and Iowa State Patrol conducted the investigation. the Wapello Fire department, Wapello Ambulance Service and Wapello Police Department assisted at the scene. MUSCATINE, Iowa The city uses 15 percent recycled material for asphalt overlay projects, and the Muscatine City Council accepted a bid for the 2016 project at the City Council meeting Thursday. Illowa Investment, Inc., was awarded the bid at $630,803.64. The city had $845,790.69 budgeted for the project. Randy Howell, the street maintenance supervisor for Muscatine, said he prefers to use the recycled material for the lower tier, with pure asphalt for the top inch and a half. "We've been doing this for about the last eight years," Howell said. As outlined in the budget sessions held earlier in the year, the project will span over a mile and a half of city roads. Howell said the price reduction was due to the cost of asphalt going down $10 per ton, and a reduction in cost of the modification of manholes. "We're very fortunate," he said. A professional services agreement for an Iowa Department of Natural Resources mandated wastewater treatment nutrient study was also approved. Stanley Consultants will handle the project, which will examine what can be done about the nitrogen and phosphorus discharge from the Water Pollution Control Plant. Jon Koch, the director of the Water Pollution Control Plant, said the DNR will negotiate with the city to decide the best method to reduce the phosphorus and nitrogen. "We have a really open dialogue with that," Koch said. The Council also approved a public hearing to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 7, on proposed zoning changes for the property that was formerly Garfield School. The property owners are requesting to rezone the 7.41 acre parcel from R-3 Single Family Residential to S-2 Institutional Office and M-1 Light Industrial. The property was purchased by Muscatine Downtown Investors, owned by Tom and Ann Meeker, and after property renovations are completed, Optimae Life Services is expected to move into the building. In other business, Council approved: An amendment to an option and lease agreement with Castle Towers 05 LLC for the cell tower at Greenwood Cemetery. The amendment will provide six new five year extensions with the final extension expiring Oct. 14, 2055. An ambulance fee schedule, which will become effective July 1. Hazmat agreements with the Muscatine Fire Department, which covers Muscatine, Louisa, Keokuk, Henry, and Washington Counties for hazmat services. The compensation will change to $.25 per capita, increasing total revenue to $26,623, a more than $15,000 increase. The bid for a new dump truck for Public works from Truck Country of Davenport. The bid for the 2016 street striping contract from Weikert Contracting of Ackley. JACKSONVILLE, Florida Swisher International, Inc. has announced the promotion of Cherie Boruff Lee to the position of Vice President of Creative and Consumer Engagement. Swisher International is a leader in the tobacco business, accounting for one-third of the nations cigar sales and is famous for their flagship brand, Swisher Sweets, the number one selling cigarillo in the US. After graduating from Westmer High School in Joy, Illinois, Cherie completed undergraduate and graduate degrees from Illinois State University. Previous to her employment at Swisher International, Lee taught at the university level and held the position of Executive Director for Cy DeCosse, Inc. in Minneapolis, developing creative and brand strategies for numerous consumer products companies. Cherie Boruff Lee is the daughter of Ann Moffitt Boruff and Merle Boruff (deceased) of Buffalo Prairie, Illinois. Cherie often says she inherited much of her ambition and motivation from her Mother and is grateful for her guidance and mentorship over the years. She married Dr. Michael Lee in 1978 and they spend their time in Jacksonville and at their Koi fish farm and retreat near the Suwannee River in Florida. MUSCATINE, Iowa Each term, Muscatine Community College recognizes students who have achieved outstanding academic success. If they have completed six or more credit hours during a term with a 4.0 GPA, they are named to the Presidents List. The administration, faculty and staff of MCC congratulate these hard working students. MUSCATINE, Iowa Exploration of other cultures means fun abounds for Muscatine middle school students. Jill Goldesberry, the camp director with the Stanley Foundation, said Investigation U., a nine day, free camp open to West and Central middle school students, was begun in 2010 to provide students with new experiences and cultural knowledge. Students investigated the community and the world through activities, and heard from Muscatine residents from Italy, Brazil, South Africa, and India. "We want to teach them not just to tolerate, but to appreciate other cultures," Goldesberry said. On Friday, Ajay Sreekanth, who works at HNI, introduced the students to different aspects of Indian culture with the assistance of his mom, Slevarani, and sister, Ashika, who were visiting from India. He said he hoped the presentations would help the students expand their world view, especially because the world is becoming more globalized as many people travel and interact with other cultures on social media. "It's very important for the students, from an early age, to understand different cultures," he said. Ashika Sreekanth said that her world view was expanded and became more complex when she moved to India, and said she wanted to help her brother teach the students, and maybe inspire them to explore in the future. "It's very important that people are open minded, have different views, everyone comes from different walks of life so it's important for people to learn about different experiences and what's going on in the world," she said. The students went to a roller skating rink, cleaned up the path RAGBRAI riders will take in Muscatine, and visited the Science Center in Des Moines during this year's exploration at Investigation U. Goldesberry said the program targets middle school students because they can sometimes be left out of summer programming. "And people are starting to ask them, and they are starting to ask, where they fit into the world, they're very inquisitive," she said. Caylie McConnaha, an eighth-grader at Central Middle School, said this was her second year in the program, and she loves all the new experiences the program has given her. "It's super cool, we do a little bit of everything," she said. Students said they enjoyed making friends from other middle schools, and Kate Eads, an eighth-grader at West Middle School, said listening to speakers from other countries taught her that even if music or food is different, people are not. "They're just like you," Eads said. The free program had 38 students this year, and although Goldesberry said the goal of the program is to have 35 students to maintain a good teacher to student ratio, turning students away has never been easy. While students learn about other cultures, they are also learning about the community they live in, because, Goldesberry said, those cultures are already in Muscatine. "The world is here," she said. MUSCATINE, Iowa The next public engagement meeting for the Mississippi Drive Corridor Project will be 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 21 at the Riverview Center, 110 Harbor Drive. The meeting will serve as the introduction of preliminary plans for the project that were created by the engineering team based on community input and polling at the last two meetings. The public is encouraged to attend. MUSCATINE, Iowa A vacant lumberyard is getting new life and returning to business with new ownership. A crew of managers who tout years of expertise plan to make the operation successful by offering better service and quality than any lumberyard in the area. Their mission is to be the first source for the community and contractors. Muscatine Lumber will open Monday, June 20, at 1700 Grandview Ave., the former home of Builders World Lumber and Home Care. The building has been empty about four years. We bought it around the first of the year and spent three months getting the place back into shape. It was in bad repair, said Norm Nicol, Letts, president and C.E.O., who introduced himself as the window washer and check signer. A new roof, interior remodeling and lots of clean up took place before the nearly three-acre property could be stocked with inventory. Some work is still underway and the future will include showrooms, a contractor conference room and in-house engineering. Nicol said he hand-picked the Fab 5 group of vice presidents of the company who will one day be the owners and operators. Vice Presidents Jesse Register, Josh Gingerich, Sergio Patino, Tom Barker and Danny Goodale all have backgrounds that can benefit the operations of the business. Their single most important aspect to me is their people skills, said Nicol. Secondly, they have the work history and work ethic to be successful. The crew has taken to each other and become close friends and have matching values and ambitions for the success of Muscatine Lumber. We are here to be the best. We will offer quick turnaround, exactly what they need, fast delivery and quality products, said Goodale, 30, Atalissa, who has 12 years experience in construction and retail. Patino, 39, Muscatine, worked for 15 years at Menards and was a top sales representative. We want to make things as easy as possible for the customer. Time is money and we dont want to waste time, Patino said. Register, 42, Grandview, brings years of construction, maintenance and technical skills while Barker, 34, also from Grandview, has 12 years of heavy equipment experience and six years in construction. Gingerich, 31, West Liberty, poured lots of concrete before and during college, but his more than eight years of banking experience will be valuable to the companys office. According to the Muscatine Area Geographic Information Consortium (MAGIC) online parcel report, the retail building and most of the storage structures were built in 1962. In May of 2014, MidAmerica National Bank took over the deed from Builders World, which had purchased the property for $800,0000 in 2004. In December 2015 the building was purchased by PAL Holding LLC for $210,000. Nicol said Muscatine Lumber will operate from 6:30 a.m. 5 p.m. Monday Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and be closed on Sunday. Muscatine Lumber will offer a full line of lumber and hardware including nuts and bolts, power tools, drywall, siding, windows and kitchens. They also have a boom truck to deliver shingles and can set the stacks on the customers roof. We plan to win business by being the best. You will be able to come in and ask for help, and you will get it, Nicol said. This is one of a series of essays on contemporary environmental controversies. These issues may well define how or whether we can continue to live and improve our well being on this cosmic speck called Earth. Prior to the Civil War, prior to the industrial revolution, prior to climate change debate, slave labor provided much of the energy for the production of food, fiber, and goods throughout the southern half of the nation. Enslaved human beings were seen as absolutely essential to drive the economy and maintain a comfortable standard of living for everyone else. Moreover, balance sheets of those engaged in commerce were totally dominated by two assets; land and slaves. Economic historian Gavin Wright estimated slaves represented nearly half of the wealth of the South just prior to the Civil War. It is no wonder that abolition became the lightening rod that it was. Some 400,000 slaveholders would be required to give up a major portion of their wealth with little, if any, financial recourse. It took a devastating conflict and the death of 620,000 Americans to settle the issue. The country is, to this day, feeling the effects of that terrible war. The end of the Civil War also signaled the rise of the fossil fuel energy economy. The subsequent one hundred fifty years have seen unprecedented economic prosperity. We have all benefitted from the widespread availability and the phenomenally low cost of coal, oil and natural gas. We have replaced dependence on slave labor energy with our current dependence on fossil fuel resources. Today, coal, oil and natural gas make up the wealth of many individuals, corporations, and nations. Investors, pension funds, the likes of ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabia and similar entities around the world all calculate part of their asset value in terms of the fossil fuel resources on their books. The total value of world fuel reserves is difficult, if not impossible to calculate with specificity. Fluctuating energy prices, new discoveries, and the truthfulness of reported reserves all contribute to the uncertainty of a finite number. However, estimates as high as $20 trillion are common. We cannot consume anywhere close to this amount of carbon fuels and maintain a habitable planet. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to rise and contribute to the climate change impacts. The Carbon Tracker, a group of economic and environmental analysts, has looked at the amount of carbon-based fuels we can burn. To keep worldwide temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius, some eighty percent of known, provable, extractable reserves must be left in the ground. Thus the dilemma and the parallel to pre-Civil War slavery. How can the ExxonMobils, Saudi Arabias and others be persuaded to forfeit up to eighty percent of their wealth with no compensatory mechanism in place? The problem will only worsen as entities continue to put billions of dollars each year into exploration for more reserves to place on their books. This is not to suggest that war is on the horizon or required to keep climate change in check. A moral imperative comparable to slavery does not yet exist in the climate change debate. However, enormous real, complex economic issues are present. Thoughtful analysis and targeted actions are required to loosen the shackles and allow us to move toward a carbon free future. Larry Koehrsen is a long-time resident of Muscatine. He brings his engineering background to current studies of environmental issues and especially all things related to climate change. Comments to koehrsenl@gmail.com. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Actress Sun Li and Donald Duck. [Photo/Xinhua] Opening ceremony of Shanghai Disney Resort kicked off on the evening of June 15. Sun Li, the ambassador for the theme park, said she was very excited that the park is finally opening. "My favorite Disney character is Donald Duck. I was so excited when I saw him dressed in a Chinese silk jacket on the red carpet that I asked him to pose for a photo with me." When asked about how she felt about the Resort, Sun said it was magnificent. "Some rides are adventurous, others adorable. I never get enough of Winnie the Pooh and merry-go-round." But one day is too short to have a blast. "I haven't tried other fun rides or watched the musical The Lion King. Maybe next time," Sun added. Sun said she exchanged views on Disney with her two kids at home, also devoted Disney fans. "We love all characters Disney created, even the villains. They are not scary-looking, quite the contrary, they are kinda endearing," Sun said. Actress Sun Li and Donald Duck. [Photo/Xinhua] "I live in Shanghai so it's convenient for me to go to Disney Resort. Both my kids are old enough to eat adult food. If your kids are babies, here are nursery rooms and strollers for rent. Kiosks are everywhere for you to buy water and snacks. Healthy food and free water are also available. Rest assured. Everything is taken care of." Clearly, Sun thought highly of the service in the park. Regarding the differences between Shanghai Disney Resort and Disney parks elsewhere, Sun said Shanghai Disney is big enough to be a resort and not just an amusement park. "One of my friends said food here was served in a large portion, covering almost all Shanghai delicacies. Coupled with those shopping malls, it is practically an integrated resort." As a celebrity mom, she has spent some quality time with her kids in the park. "Kids don't sleep in Disneyland," She said. "My son took no nap at a Disneyland abroad. This took me by surprise because he once slept two hours in a noisy outlet in New York. He is a different man in the park. My daughter is also the case, alive and kicking. Disneyland seems to resonate with kids in a magic way." Related: Disney's Shanghai park poised to lure millions Angel Colon was saying his goodbyes around 2 a.m. Sunday, June 12, inside Pulse nightclub. A great night of "smiles and laughter" was about to end, but not in the way anyone inside the club could have ever imagined. Pulse survivor Angel Colon met the police officer who dragged him to safety Officer Omar Delgado to Colon: "I'm so glad you're alive, man." Colon was shot several times in the left leg, the hand and the hip WEEKEND VIGIL: Downtown Orlando memorial, candlelight procession to Lake Eola FULL COVERAGE: Victim profiles, interactive timeline in our special section on the Pulse shooting Fast forward a few days, and Colon was saying hello. This time from inside his room at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Colon, the 26-year-old from Polk County who was shot several times in his left leg, hand and hip, was saying hi to the Eatonville Police officer who dragged him to safety during the horrific early morning hours as bullets flew inside Pulse in the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history. Colon, as well as surgeons and nurses, spoke Tuesday from inside Orlando Regional Medical Center. Colon described the night in great detail: "I fell down. I got trampled over," he said. "I tried to get back up, but everyone started running everywhere. I got trampled over and I shattered and broke my bones on my left leg. By this time, I couldn't walk at all. All I could do is just lay down there while everyone was just running on top of me trying to get to where they had to be." Colon said he then looked up and saw a police officer, who dragged him across Orange Avenue to a nearby Wendy's. Colon said Tuesday he wished he could remember the police officer's name. Well, the police officer remembered Colon. "My name is Officer Omar Delgado. I'm one of the ones that helped you get out of harm's way, man. I need a big hug from you, man," the Eatonville Police officer said as he walked around the corner and saw Colon for the first time since Sunday. "I'm so glad you're alive, man." It was a moment Colon said he wasn't sure he would ever experience, especially in the early mornings hours Sunday. "When I first saw him, I was face down, laying down on the floor," Colon said. "I could only move my arms and my head, so I just saw him and his glasses and I was like, 'Help me, please.'" Delgado said he heard about Colon from a coworker. He said he hadn't watched any of the coverage after the shooting until the coworker called him to tell him the guy he dragged out of the club was on TV. Surrounded by Colon's family inside the hospital room, Delgado said it was a moment that will stay with him forever. "It was amazing," Delgado said. "It was a feeling you just can't describe, can't put into words knowing that you helped save someone. People try to help save people all the time, but in that situation, it was unreal." HONOLULU Researchers in Hawaii have discovered three probable new species of fish while on an expedition in the protected waters of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. In a statement released Wednesday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said divers collected two previously unknown species of fish and filmed a third. NOAA's Randall Kosaki, the expedition's chief scientist, said the team collected the first specimens of male Hawaiian pigfish about 300 feet below the surface. The scientists also observed significant coral mortality in the region that was the result of a mass bleaching event in 2014. Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology researcher John Burns said a 2015 trip found about 90 percent of the coral around Lisianski Island had died. This year, the team found that dead coral was covered in a green algae bloom. WASHINGTON Hillary Clinton on Thursday won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the nations largest labor federation, in another sign of her consolidation of the Democratic party heading into next months convention. The AFL-CIOs general board voted to endorse Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a move that some had expected after Clinton secured enough support among delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values, said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a statement. Throughout the campaign, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice. Clinton won the endorsements of many of the AFL-CIOs largest members in the past year, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers, paving the way for the AFL-CIO to back her campaign. While Sanders list of union endorsements is shorter, he had the support of a vocal group of rank-and-file union members who were drawn to his opposition to past trade deals and calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage. Sanders support within labor circles contributed in part to the AFL-CIOs decision to withhold its endorsement during the primaries. But labor leaders have been coalescing around Clinton. In a speech this week to his members, the president of the Communications Workers of America, which endorsed Sanders, said it was time to get behind Clinton. Bernie is not going to be the nominee. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be, said Chris Shelton, CWAs president, adding and whatever you think of Secretary Clinton ... she is the candidate who is running against Donald Trump. The labor federation represents 12.5 million members and is a potent force in Democratic politics and voter turnout. Union leaders have been gearing up for a general election showdown against Republican Donald Trump, whom they portray as a threat to working families but fared well among blue-collar voters during the GOP primaries. This election offers a stark choice between an unstoppable champion for working families and an unstable charlatan who made his fortune scamming them, said Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME and the chair of the AFL-CIO political committee. Labors role in the debate over foreign trade could be crucial in the fall campaign. Trump has denounced stupid trade deals that hurt U.S. workers, a message that could have resonance in labor-heavy Rust Belt states that have been in the Democratic column in past elections such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. A San Diego environmental advocate who mired the city of Calistoga in years of expensive litigation over water issues is now turning his attention to St. Helena. Water Audit California, which lists Grant Reynolds as a director, filed a claim with the city of St. Helena on May 19 alleging that the city has failed to meet its bypass requirements to protect fish habitat downstream of Bell Canyon Reservoir, which the city operates under a state permit. The claim threatens legal action unless the city agrees to the following demands within 50 days: comply with the bypass requirements identified in the claim, stop diverting water to the reservoir between April 16 and Nov. 14, post online the dams daily operational data and water flows, pledge to install flow monitoring equipment by November, and undertake a stream and fish study to determine bypass levels that would be adequate to protect fish downstream. (Water Audit) is looking for reservoirs that stand out as not being operated in accordance with the law, Reynolds said Wednesday in a phone interview. And St. Helenas reservoir appears to be one of those. The St. Helena City Council will discuss the claim in closed session at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 16, at City Hall. The city is carefully evaluating the claim asserted by Water Audit California, and will respond appropriately in due course, Mayor Alan Galbraith said Tuesday in a statement. The claim alleges that the city failed to install monitoring equipment that it was directed to install nearly 40 years ago at Bell Canyon dam, which was built on Bell Creek in the late 1950s. According to the claim, the State Water Resources Control Board determined in 2001 that the city was violating its bypass requirements, and admonished the city in the early 2010s for exceeding its diversion limits at the dam. Although the claimant has made specific and repeated inquiry, the City has produced no documents that indicate that the City has any present intension to perform the necessary monitoring improvements, perform a stream and fish study, or reform its dam operations to the needs of the public trust and the 1989 Orders of the trustee agency, the claim states. The claim accuses the city of routinely violating its minimum bypass requirements, which dictate how much water must be diverted into the creek during each rainy season and prohibit any water from being diverted into the reservoir between April 16 and Nov. 14. The claim points to stream surveys conducted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife showing that a species of rainbow trout that the state and federal governments consider threatened used to spawn downstream. But after the dam was built, the downstream population of that fish dwindled over the years, until a 1990 survey found none at all. Reynolds is well-known in Calistoga, where city officials have accused him of entangling the city in prolonged, expensive and unfounded litigation. In February the Calistoga City Council lamented the roughly $1.5 million the city had spent defending itself from water-related litigation filed by Reynolds, his attorney William McKinnon of Grass Valley, and Debbie OGorman of Calistoga. Reynolds said one of those cases, involving OGormans water rights, is still pending in Napa Superior Court. On Wednesday, Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning said he and Calistoga City Manager Dylan Feik are reaching out to their counterparts in St. Helena to offer first our condolences and second our assistance. What I can say from our experience is be prepared for a very long and very expensive process, and dont expect it to be always based in logic or reason, Canning said. A 2011 profile in The Weekly Calistogan recounted Reynolds colorful life story, which he said included stints in surfboard manufacturing and international marijuana smuggling. Reynolds financial mentor in the surfboard business was Frank Hickerson, whose son Matt lives in Calistoga. Matt Hickerson and Debbie OGorman engaged in a legal dispute with the city of Calistoga, alleging that a 1939 water agreement with OGormans family gave them the rights to the water at Calistogas Kimball Dam. As a fly fisherman, Reynolds said he was moved by old photos of steelhead that used to be found downstream of the dam. He got involved in the couples lawsuit in 2009, and the allegations grew in scope, claiming that Calistoga had failed to bypass enough water into Kimball Creek toward spawning grounds for salmon and trout. My primary focus was to do something for the fish, he said. In a separate lawsuit, Reynolds accused Calistoga of improperly spending Measure A flood control funds on a water storage tank. Calistoga eventually did agree to bypass more water into Kimball Creek, but claimed it was in response to pressure from the state, not Reynolds litigation. However, a judge ruled that there was a causal relationship between the citys actions and Reynolds litigation, and ordered the city to pay $575,203 in legal fees to McKinnon, who had represented Reynolds in some of his cases. McKinnon had originally asked for up to $2.8 million. The same judge later scolded McKinnon for trying to collect on the judgment last June by illegally filing a writ of execution on the citys checking account at WestAmerica Bank at Calistoga, resulting in a fund transfer that left the city with only 1 cent in its account. The funds were transferred back to the city, which ultimately paid McKinnon $555,767, the amount of the original judgment minus almost $20,000 the city had spent on legal fees related to the bank transfer. Reynolds claim against St. Helena states that Water Audit will seek reasonable attorney fees and costs if litigation becomes necessary. Reynolds said McKinnon represents Water Audit. According to the California secretary of states website, Water Audit California was incorporated in March, with a Sacramento address. Reynolds and the claim describe Water Audit as a public benefit corporation. According to Reynolds, Water Audit has just gotten off the ground in the last few months, but has already made inquiries with probably a couple hundred dam operators throughout the state. What we want to do is protect the environment, and one of the ways to do that is to make people, including municipal corporations, obey the law as it pertains to the environment, Reynolds said. A protracted lawsuit would present another financial challenge for St. Helena, which is already struggling to pay for everyday city operations and has a long list of unfunded capital projects. The 2016-2017 budget approved by the City Council on Tuesday sets aside $247,037 for litigation. A Napa couple took advantage of a new city law in hopes of putting up vacationers inside their home. But homeowner association rules governing their house have stepped in their way as have city planners. In the latest neighbor dispute over in-home innkeeping, the Planning Commission on Thursday supported an appeal to block Ricardo and Angela Graf from hosting tourists at their two-story house in north Napa. The couple had applied for one of 54 licenses to legally offer rooms for 30 days or fewer under a program created in December, and gained city approval in April. But their homes location on Serendipity Way within the Riva Reserve a development where homeowner rules prohibit short-term rentals opened the Grafs to an appeal filed May 5 by two other Napans, Doris Pick and Laurie Tobias. The conflict exposed an apparent blind spot in Napas new in-home hosting ordinance, which is meant to capture some of the room-tax revenue that is collected by hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns, but rarely by residents hosting tourists through Airbnb and similar home-sharing websites. While the law requires prospect hosts to receive home inspections and collect room taxes, it is silent on whether the city will approve permits over a homeowner groups objections. Though planning staff saw no obligation for the city to enforce a private contract, three of the commissioners chose to defer to the Riva Reserves rules and pull back the Grafs hosting license. (Michael Murray dissented and Gordon Huether was absent.) Paul Kelley discounted fears of increased traffic, noise and crime risks shared by Tobias and Pick in letters to the city, but also sought to avoid a clash between homeowner rules and city law. (Neither the Grafs nor their opponents attended the meeting.) Everyone signed the same set of documents when they moved into that development, he said. I didnt think traffic and crime were really issues here, but its a real glitch (in the law) that didnt really get thought through. Maybe this case will help fix that glitch. More troubling to Commissioner Beth Painter was vagueness in the business plan the Grafs shared with the city, stating they hoped to make rooms available to tourists for at least 31 days at a stretch the minimum lease required to avoid permits but have different guests stay only two to three days at a time. Its not fair to the community or the homeowners to send such mixed messages about regulating short-term stays, she said. Its like (the Grafs) are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. Later Thursday, planners had to cope with another neighbor conflict over vacation stays this one a dispute over offering an entire Elm Street house, not just a bedroom, to tourists. Commissioners allowed the prospective buyer of the 1,600-square-foot Old Town home to also inherit the vacation rental license of its previous owner, one of 41 whole-house permits the city granted in 2009. The transfer was at least the fourth granted by Napa since a rule change last year tied such rental rights to a property rather than its resident, allowing buyers to rent out the same homes. But the sale by Nancy Bender to Chris Young, a local developer, triggered an appeal by neighbor Nancy Caffo, who complained of noise, drinking, cursing and other misbehavior by visitors to the heavily residential neighborhood south of Fuller Park. This mini-motel has no desk clerk, no monitor to check on the deportment of its guests, Caffo said of the home, whose permit allows up to eight paying visitors at a time two for each of its three bedrooms plus two other customers. How many of you folks would want to live next to a non-hosted vacation property, depriving you of the enjoyment of your own home? she asked commissioners. Despite Caffos worries, the commission denied her appeal on a 3-1 vote (with Paul Kelley dissenting). But the decision to let vacation rentals continue was less an endorsement than a reluctance to block hosting rights without a long trail of city violations. Despite agreeing that the Elm Street home has operated, in my view, successfully as a vacation rental, Painter suggested lowering the allowed number of guests from eight due to its small size. But Peter Spoerl, deputy city attorney, cautioned such a move would not likely survive a challenge from the homeowner. Before a barrel of beer can be brewed, before the first visitors step inside, the Borreo Buildings transformation into Napas next gastropub is beginning with details as subtle as the grout that knits its aged stone blocks together. Despite nearly 140 years of wear and tear, 15 years of vacancy and damage from the 2014 earthquake, Stone Brewing of San Diego considered the Borreos bones strong enough to house a restaurant and tasting room. But first, architects, engineers and construction workers have come to the work site at Soscol Avenue and Third Street to begin restoring and shoring up the 1877 structure, a process expected to last through the end of the year. Stone, one of the countrys most popular producers of microbrewed beer, plans to open its taproom and eatery in the first quarter of 2017. Workers shrouded the 9,600-square-foot building with steel-and-web scaffolding early last week, then started the first phase of renovation, said the project manager, George Nielson of G.D. Nielson Construction Inc. Early tasks include seismic strengthening and exterior work such as the cleaning, painting and sealing of the stone finish. The second stage will include installation of utilities, replacement of existing windows and doors, and the cutting of additional west-facing doors overlooking the Napa River and a new patio along the water, according to architect Sarah Marshall of Napa Design Partners. Afterward, workers will use the third phase to install the brewery, commercial kitchen and a tasting bar, Marshall said Wednesday. First-stage repairs should cost about $340,000, according to Nielson, who had no immediate cost estimates for the remainder of the project. Although the Napa quake dislodged some stone blocks and required the re-grouting of others, steel reinforcement beams the city added in the 2000s appear to have helped the Borreo endure relatively unscathed, the architect said during a brief tour of the building. Unlike other downtown venues such as the former Merrills drug store building which will keep only its terracotta facade in its transformation into the Archer hotel the Borreo will emerge from its revival substantially close to its historic form with the exception of the west-facing patio, according to Marshall. The great thing is, we heard that Stone likes to keep it industrial and simple with simple materials and letting the historic parts of the building shine through, she said of the renovation. According to Marshall, bringing the Borreo back to its older form will include details like reproducing the original windows strengthened by steel lintels and reshaping outer archways that had been widened to let vehicles enter during the buildings earlier life as a car dealership. Stones brewing equipment will be installed at the north end of the ground floor, with the restaurant kitchen at the opposite end. Overhead-opening glass doors on the west will lead guests toward the new patio, occupying a side of the Borreo that originally was concealed by adjoining buildings that have since been torn down. The restaurants dining room will take up two-thirds of the upper floor, and a mechanical platform will be added to the roof to support a new climate-control system. Stone, which opened in 1996 and maintains its main brewery in Escondido, is the nations 10th-largest craft brewer by volume and ranks 15th when mainstream giants such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors are taken into account, according to the Brewers Association trade group. It is one of the handful of craft beer makers mounting major expansions across the U.S. and into overseas markets, with a brewery under construction in Richmond, Virginia and another planned for Berlin, Germany. The Borreo Building is owned by West Pueblo Partners, which bought the Italian Renaissance-style edifice from the city after gaining approval in January for its brewery and restaurant plans. The purchase was sealed after years of false starts, including abortive plans to create offices for the city Community Resources Department and the Land Trust of Napa County. A tiny parking lot beside the Borreo will be converted into a drop-off zone for customers and delivery trucks, leaving visitors either to park at downtown garages, or walk or take taxis from nearby hotels. New pavement, seating and flagpoles may become some of the ingredients for a more inviting park at the southern tip of Yountville. But the mayor finds one element wanting in the recipe an easily visible tribute to the service members for whom Veterans Memorial Park is named. Staff and council members in the Upvalley town are nearing an agreement to overhaul the green space at California Drive and Washington Street, which once formed a corner of the Veterans Home of California. Budgeted at $350,000, the makeover would include a landscaped entryway with the U.S., California and POW/MIA flags on display, as well as amphitheater-style seating for musical performances and the replacement of deteriorated pavement. In a Town Council discussion about the parks future, however, Mayor John Dunbar asked for assurances the site can be a shrine and not just a convenience, urging the town to come up with sculpture or other public art to match the parks name. When (this plan) was originally brought to us, we saw a picture of a granite slab that represented the military branches, he told council members earlier this month. Id like to see our version of that somewhere, because this is Veterans Memorial Park. This is not just a park at the south end of town. Located south of the belt of fine restaurants and wine tasting rooms along Washington Street, Veterans Memorial Park is the first landmark seen by thousands of vacationers as they enter the tourist enclave from Highway 29. The property originally belonged to the state-run Veterans Home to the west, but was isolated from the rest of the campus by the construction of Highway 29 starting in the late 1950s, according to Joe Tagliaboschi, town public works director. In recent years, the town has added bocce courts, benches, restrooms and drinking fountains and improved pathways at the site, which each summer hosts about a half-dozen small-scale music concerts. Town plans call for a new surface to replace existing pavers at the parks north end to improve safety and wheelchair access. To more comfortably host audiences for the town Music in the Park program, officials also seek to create bench-like seating rows for about 120 spectators in addition to standing room, said Samantha Holland, Yountville parks and recreation director. Closest to the California-Washington crossing, and only yards from the Highway 29 interchange, will be a new entry area adorned with ornamental plants. Two flagpoles would flank the entrance, with the Stars and Stripes and black POW/MIA standard on one pole and the California bear flag on the other. Earlier proposals for the park included the medallions of the various service agencies, but Yountville dropped the idea because the use of those symbols would require Department of Defense approval and add delays to the project, Tagliaboschi said. Im really disappointed to see the loss of the representation of the branches of service, said Dunbar at the Town Councils June 7 meeting. Id like to see that returned in some capacity. Instead, tributes to the military could take the form of town commissions to sculptors and artists. Holland said the veterans park should have room to display at least two, and possibly three, public artworks, for which the town can specify military themes. The mayor also suggested a park concept weaving the theme of service more intimately with the grounds akin to the Roots of Peace Grove at the nearby Veterans Home, which includes redwoods symbolizing the wars in which U.S. troops have fought from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. I know you can be creative, said Dunbar. Were going to significant effort and expense for this. After a 30-day recruiting period, Yountville is slated to choose a bidder and have the parks renovation begin in late September or early October, with a completion target of Jan. 1, Tagliaboschi said. Napa Valley may produce only a small percent of Americas wine, but it has a huge reputation. That was demonstrated when Matthias Fekl, the French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism, and Promotion of French Nationals Abroad, visited Napa Valley on June 8 to discuss topics in the field of globalization and free trade. The trade minister, who had never been to California, stopped here with his staff on his way to Washington, D.C. for talks about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. Fekl initiated the visit to see firsthand who we are, what we are about and what we are fighting for. At Silverado Vineyards, he met with members of the Napa Valley Vintners including President/CEO Linda Reiff and government relations director Rex Stults plus board members including Susan Boswell of Chateau Boswell Winery, Pat Stotesbery of Ladera Vineyards and Russ Weis, general manager of Silverado Vineyards. Reiff outlined how Napa Valley has earned the reputation for producing wines of the highest quality, which inspired copycats who exploited the Napa Valley name on bottles of wine that are not from here. Aside from being unfair to Napa Valley wineries and growers, its obviously misleading to consumers. She outlined Broncos misuse of the Napa Valley name as well as parts of the valley like Rutherford, which was finally solved with a state law, as well as Chinese and even European deception. As a result, the Napa Valley Vintners group spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year just to protect the name from misuse. This has included initiating geographic indication status from the E.U., the first non-European region to be recognized, and agreements with many other countries. She also emphasized that the Vintners want us to be fair, too. She noted that no Napa Valley sparkling wine producers call their wines California champagne anymore, though some are grandfathered in and other California producers do. Interestingly, some California producers who do, like Korbel, Gallos Barefoot Bubbly and Constellation Brands Cooks, market their wines in Canada successfully without the false nomenclature. Reiff admitted that some Napa producers still call their sweet dessert wines Port but she says theyre trying to find an alternative and get them to stop that practice. She also said that it is time for the U.S. government to respect and protect all wine-making place names, whether it is Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley or Chablis, by ending the misuse of these famous geographic names, such as Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy, Port, etc., perhaps phasing them out over a five- or 10-year period. The French are also trying to outlaw use of many French terms traditionally used in the wine business such as chateau and clos. But, of course, English speakers have borrowed French words at least since William of Normandy beat English King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. However, the French representatives noted something few here seemed to know, that some of these terms, like chateau have specific meanings, especially in Bordeaux, somewhat like estate, or made from owned vines, here. They did suggest that it might be reasonable to expand the term to wines made from nearby vines or a region, though thats not likely to satisfy the many wineries with chateau in their names and no geographic sense. After the formal talks, the French and Napa Valley representatives enjoyed an elegant lunch prepared by chef Sarah Scott with Silverado wines on the patio overlooking Napa Valley. One wine was an excellent 2012 Solo cabernet leading one French official to ask whether Napa wines can age like those in Bordeaux. This motivated Silverado general manager Russ Weis to pull out a 1997 cabernet. It was refined and elegant, a bit surprising in a hot year when many winemakers made highly extracted high alcohol wines that havent aged so well. Just as the group had agreed not to discuss Donald Trump, however, no one put the French on the spot by asking them how they liked the wines. Many did have seconds, however. Armenian News-NEWS.am spoke with Greek Ambassador Ioannis Taghis, who is completing his diplomatic mission in Armenia next month. Mr. Ambassador, what is the current state of the Greek economy, particularly in the tourism sector? Is the [economic] crisis behind? What development dynamics is being observed today? Tourism became a stimulus so that the Greek economy develops after the years of the crisis. The crisis created a very difficult situation for the countrys economy, but tourism contributed so that the economy fills in some gaps and restores quite quickly and effectively. The tourism appeal of Greece is growing every year, and the country's economy is directly dependent on investments in the tourism sector. In this sense, the year 2015 was unprecedented in terms of tourism business income, plus the opening of new jobs. In which domains does Greece cooperate with Armenia? Will there be new cooperation platforms and domains in the future? Cooperation is carried out in the tourism sector itself. There are several Armenian travel agencies that organize trips to Greece. They mostly travel to Greece, but through various [travel] agencies, tourists also come from Greece to Armenia. The flow of tourists from Armenia to Greece is growing every year. The number of Armenian citizens applying to the embassy of this country to get a visa is also increasing. It is noteworthy that Armenia likewise has started to enjoy popularity among Greek tourists, as an ancient Christian country. I should add that there is collaboration on other domains, too. For example, aluminum is imported from Greece to Armenia. Since we mentioned tourism, which sights have you visited in Armenia? I was in Erebuni Museum, which I liked very much. I think that the ancient temples here can attract not only me, but Greek tourists visiting Armenia. Given that the two peoples are very close to each other with history, spirit, it will be very interesting for the Greeks to interact with Armenians, along with sightseeing. Can some works of art from Greece, lets say from the new museum in Acropolis, be brought to Armenia for display? The works of art are not limited to the Acropolis Museum alone; many works are in other museums. But it is difficult to relocate such works of art, which have great historical value; this is connected with quite expensive insurance services. But I can say that an archaeologist-lecturer from Greece is scheduled to visit Armenia soon, for two-day lectures at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. I should also note that Armenia likewise has a lot of things to display from the viewpoint of arts, which are of great historical value. The term of your diplomatic mission [in Armenia] will end next month. What will you remember from Armenia? What will you take with you? And will you come back later, at least as a tourist? I will remember that my work here went very smoothly. We have implemented numerous cooperation projects with Armenians. I will come back, if I can, to cooperate again. And if there is no such opportunity, [I will return] also as a tourist. It is easy to work with Armenians because they have a lot in common with Greeks. First of all, we have a similar history. We are also alike in the way of living, some traditions. The upcoming meeting of Armenia , Azerbaijan, and Russia is directed against the OSCE Minsk Group 's efforts. Those are the consequences of Russias, one of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries, recent active policy, said an MP of Karabakh Armen Sargsyan to NEWS.am. The MP has no expectations from the meeting for several reasons. "First, it is difficult to achieve results immediately after the events of April. Second, one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, Russia, began to act more actively. It is natural, since Russia has more claims to the Caucasus as opposed to France and the United States. That is why Russia has become more active, but I do not think that the meeting will have much success , "said Armen Sargsyan. According to the MP, a success will be registered only in case of installing equipment that will show what party first fires a shot. He reminded that that statement was made by the Armenian President, who expected the negotiations to be resumed afterwards . "But in the last 23 years the Azerbaijani side says one thing, but does the opposite. Azerbaijan speaks about a peaceful settlement, but the Azerbaijani President states that even Yerevan is a land of Azerbaijan. In other words, their approach is not serious. Today Azerbaijan has no will to solve the issue of Karabakh, "said Armen Sargsyan. The Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on June 20 will hold separate meetings on Karabakh with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, followed by a trilateral meeting. Commander of Lithuanian Armed Forces against transfer of howitzers and air defense systems to Ukraine Armenian Finance Ministry gives outlook on economic activity and debt ratio Minister: Rehabilitation works after Azerbaijani Armed Forces' invasion continue About 230 kilometers of roads are being built and repaired in Syunik Bloomberg: Europe has more gas than it can use Pashinyan says he would like to sign Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal before end of year 168.am: President of Artsakh leaves for Russian capital Armenia's Pashinyan: I will attend trilateral meeting in Sochi Bloomberg: China's budget deficit since beginning of year approached record trillion dollars PM: There is expectation that CSTO will adopt roadmap to restore Armenias territorial integrity Pope receives Armenian FM Armenia ruling party convention to be closed to media Dollar falls, euro rises in Armenia Kremlin: Russia has information that Ukraine is preparing terrorist attack using 'dirty bomb' Governor underscores EU envoy to Armenias efforts in returning of Shirak Province POWs (PHOTOS) Putin: US is using Ukraine as battering ram against Russia, CSTO, and CIS Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak leaves Russia Russian military practices massive nuclear strike in response to nuclear attack of adversary Germany restricts visas for Iranian passport holders Belarus Foreign Minister visits Iran Iran expands sanctions against EU Zatulin says it is necessary to discuss relations between Russia and Armenia at different levels Ardshinbank is the only company from Armenia with assigned ratings from the big three credit rating agencies Armenia Security Council chief receives OSCE needs assessment mission members Kremlin comments on deployment of American division in Romania Iltalehti: draft bill on Finland's membership in NATO allows deployment of nuclear weapons Kremlin informs about preparation for Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan leaders meeting Armenia envoy briefs Costa Rica president on South Caucasus situation Legislature head on chances of Armenia leaving CSTO: There is very little time left for us to make decision Mercedes confirms intention to leave Russia Armenia parliament speaker: No document on table Air-raid alarm sirens to be installed in Estonia Armenia legislature head: PM will go to Sochi on October 31, meet with Russia, Azerbaijan presidents US State Department: Armenia, Azerbaijan should decide whether Putin's invitation would be useful to them US transfers to Ukraine first 2 NASAMS complexes Armenia National Assembly speaker: Phrase about signing peace treaty by years end is tacit deadline Armenia parliament speaker: We have 240 casualties as result of Azerbaijan attack Armenia FM in Vatican, meets with Substitute for Holy See Secretariat of State for General Affairs Israel president gives US intel on Iran UAVs in Ukraine Copper prices are rising World oil prices falling Armenia MPs approve several changes to laws FM: Armenia has never lost its belief in humanity despite facing many challenges, calamities Canada embassy to soon be opened in Armenia Biden: Russia would be making serious mistake to use tactical nuclear weapon Margarita Simonyan says she is banned from entering Armenia Newspaper: Artsakh Public Council establishment causes concern in political arena First sneakers for horses created in US India fines Google for $113 million Mass dedicated to peace in Armenia is celebrated at Vatican Saudi Arabia decides to be more mature guy in its quarrel with US Biden says Russia would make 'serious mistake' if it deploys tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine Ukrainian media report on Dnipro rocket attack 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 New Serbian government plans to invest 12 billion euros in energy projects 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 A Levada-Centera Russian independent, non-governmental polling and sociological research organizationsurvey shows that 70 percent of Russians know about the first major clashes that occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh in early April, ever since 1994. As per the Russian respondents of this survey, the initiator of these hostilities in Karabakh is first of all the US and NATO countries (23%), Azerbaijan (19%), Turkey (15%), and Armenia (4%), according to Kommersant newspaper of Russia. According to polls, however, solely 11 percent of the Russians follow the respective events. A total of 67 percent of the respondents favor none of the sides, 15 percent supports the Armenian side, whereas 4 percentthe Azerbaijani. In addition, the Russians are not ready to engage in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. To the question on whom should Russia support in this conflict, 66 percent responded no one, 11 percent believes that it would be right to support the Armenian side, whereas 3 percentthe Azerbaijani side. A total of 29 percent of the respondents have a rather positive view toward deploying Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh, whereas 12 percent has a very negative opinion in this regard. In addition, 40 percent of the Russian citizens find it difficult to answer as to which countrys part Nagorno-Karabakh should be. A total of 6 percent believes it should be a part of Azerbaijan, 11 percentof Armenia, but 44 percent believes that Nagorno-Karabakh should be independent. Azerbaijan is once again violating the human rights and fundamental freedoms at a state level by impeding European journalists right to free movement and freedom of speech, the statement disseminated by the European Friend of Armenia (EuFoA) reads. According to the statement, this has not only become a usual practice for Azerbaijan, but has also turned into a subject of boasting in media. This time the spokesperson for the Azerbaijani MFA announced that the Moldavian TV7 channel journalist Lyuba Maksim was sacked this May for visiting Karabakh and preparing a story about the country. The European Friend of Armenia (EuFoA) Brussels-based NGO expresses deep concern in connection with the incident, urging the international human rights organizations to take respective measures, EuFoA statement reads. The representatives of the organization also provided certain explanations on the incident. In their words, the Moldavian Tv7 journalist Lyuba Maksim arrived in Karabakh together with the operator at the invitation of EuFoA, this having been agreed with the TV company administration. But now EuFoA is concerned about the fact that the TV7 administration, which knew about the place and purpose of the journalists visit, sacked their worker, entering into bargain with the criminal regime of Azerbaijan, and thereby calling into question the level of freedom of press in Moldavia. By this step the Azerbaijani side is once again trying to limit the attempts to present information on Karabakh in the international platform, seeking to sow fear among Moldavian and foreign journalists, thereby excluding their future visits to Karabakh, the statement reads. EuFoA is going to present this incident in high international platforms and human rights organization in order to restore the violated rights of the journalist and impose sanctions on the criminal regime of Azerbaijan. YEREVAN. - Officers of the Border Service (BS) of the Federal Security Service (FSS) of the Russian Federation in Armenia have detained an Angola citizen, who illegally crossed the Armenian-Turkish border. On June 15, the trespasser sailed over the border Araks river, crossed the alarm complex using special knowledge, and moved several dozens of meters along the border, trying to cover up traces, FSS BS press-service reports. Soon the trespasser attempted to go deeper into the territory of Armenia. Upon seeing the stranger, the locals operatively informed the border guard station about him. Consequently, the man was detained and handed over to the Russian border guards in Yervandahsat village. The preliminary questioning revealed that the detainee is a Angola citizen born in 1982, and that he wanted to reach Angola via Armenia. On the same day, the border trespasser was handed over to the officers of the National Security Service of Armenia, who will check out his identity and look into the circumstances behind this offense The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is launching a negotiation process on developing trade and economic relations with China. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Tigran Sargsyan, said the aforementioned at a round-table discussion entitled EAEU and Trade Partners: Single Economic Space in the framework of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), EAEU press-service reports. Upon the initiative of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the presidents of EAEU member-states announced 2016 as a year of deepening relations with third countries and economic unions. During the discussion, Sargsyan informed the discussion participants about the signing of a memorandum with Singapore and launch of dialogue with that country this May. The round-table discussion was attended by Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC Tatyana Valovaya, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Christian Friis Bach, President of the Eurasian Development Bank Dmitry Pankin, President of the European Business Association, etc. Cal State Fullerton will join a statewide effort led by San Francisco State University to expand college access for formerly incarcerated individuals. CSUF is one of seven California State University campuses including Bakersfield, Fresno, Pomona, Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego that will establish programs modeled after SF States Project Rebound. Established in 1967 by the late John Irwin, a formerly incarcerated individual who became a SF State sociology professor and internationally recognized advocate for prisoners rights, the program helps those who have spent time in jail or prison earn college degrees, drastically reducing the likelihood they will return to incarceration. The expansion is funded through a $500,000 Renewing Communities grant from The Opportunity Institute. As an institution that embraces academic excellence and respects and supports diverse scholars and students from all backgrounds, California State University, Fullerton looks forward to welcoming students who are seeking a second chance through higher education, said Mildred Garcia, president of Cal State Fullerton. I am proud to partner with San Francisco State and our other CSU sister campuses in supporting this historically underserved population, and confident Project Rebound adds to our legacy of purveying equitable access to higher education for all those who seek it. Supported by several University departments, Project Rebound offers special admissions for men and women who may not normally qualify for acceptance. Cal State Fullertons three-year pilot program will include a staff of formerly incarcerated individuals who have achieved academic success; and offer financial support for Project Rebound students in the form of textbook stipends, transportation and meal vouchers; and offer financial aid, academic advising, and assistance with housing, employment and legal aid. CSUF plans to enroll its first Project Rebound students in spring 2017. However, prospective students can contact the program office in Room 230 of the Humanities-Social Sciences Building as early as July and begin the application process in August, said Brady Heiner, assistant professor of philosophy, who is overseeing the programs launch on campus. The search for CSUFs program coordinator begins this summer, with the hope of finding formerly incarcerated candidates. The coordinator will start in the fall, Heiner said. Many currently and formerly incarcerated Californians have the interest, aptitude, and ambition for university education, but have in recent history had no access or support to actualize that ambition, he said. CSU Project Rebound aims to create that access and support to make higher education a reality for these individuals. And by supporting such students, Rebound will play a part in building stronger, safer communities. The data bears out the dramatic impact a college education can have on the formerly incarcerated. California has historically suffered from one of the highest recidivism rates in the nation, with up to two-thirds of those released from prison returning within a few years. But for those who participate in college programs, the odds of doing so are reduced by 51 percent, according to a RAND study on correction education. In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, the number of Project Rebound students who returned to prison was just 3 percent. At SF State, more than 90 percent of Project Rebound students eventually graduate, and at a faster rate than the overall student population, according to Jason Bell, the programs director. Bell spent nine years in prison and earned his bachelors and masters degrees at SF State through the program. When a person leaves prison, theyre often told, Just go out there and do the right thing, Bell said. But how do you accomplish that if you dont have places to help you do whats considered the right thing? Education is definitely one of those places, and Project Rebound has been a pioneer in making sure those leaving the criminal justice system have access. According to Project Rebound Data Specialist and program alum Airto Morales, expanding that access is critical because many of those just released from prison cannot travel outside a specified area and therefore cannot come to San Francisco to study without violating their parole. Morales himself spent 10 years in prison before earning both his bachelors and masters degrees from SF State with the help of Project Rebound. When you come to a university, which is a huge place, after living on a prison yard for so many years, to be able to walk into an office and know that there is someone who understands what youre going through helps a lot, Morales said. Bell will spend the next year getting Project Rebound programs at each of the other CSU campuses off the ground, establishing program leaders at each site and setting up a pipeline of students to be enrolled the following year. Im really excited, and I just want to get to work, Bell said. I want to prove to people how important this is, to the state and to the nation. The Renewing Communities initiative is also funding six other pilot programs. The initiative is supported by nine state and national foundations, including The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, Roy & Patricia Disney Family Foundation, ECMC Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Rosenberg Foundation. Media Contacts: Cerise Valenzuela Metzger, 657-278-3708 Chi-Chung Keung, 657-278-8487 Jonathan Morales, San Francisco State University, 415-338-1743 23:23 Delhi University's prestigious St Stephen's College on Saturday announced the first cut-off list for the 2016-17 academic session with the highest requirement being for English honours at 99 per cent even as the institution saw a dip in the number of applications this year. The cut-off for admission to the college remained almost similar to that of the previous year. The college had last year received a record 32,100 applications but this year only 23,500 have been received for the 400 seats. The cut-off for a seat in the Stephen's English Honours class works out to 99 per cent for Commerce, 98 per cent for Science and 97.50 per cent for humanities, the highest for the subjects on offer at the college. For Economics, the cut-off is 98.25 per cent for commerce students, 97.25 per cent for science and 96.75 per cent for humanities. For History, BA Programme, Mathematics, Sanskrit and Philosophy, the cut-offs are 98, 97, 96.50, 80 and 97 per cent respectively. Last year too, the highest cut-off was for English at 99 per cent. However, the cut-offs for BA programme, Economics and Maths have actually dropped for certain streams this year. Stephen's being a minority institution follows a schedule and procedure for admission which is different from other Delhi University colleges. But for the first time, the college was asked to join the centralised registration process and hence those applying to St Stephen's had to register on DU's admission portal first. HYDERABAD: India's biggest data centre will come up in Hyderabad, Telangana Information Technology Minister K. T. Rama Rao announced on Wednesday. He told reporters that the state government is trying to find an anchor for the data centre campus. The state will also unveil in next three months four supportive sectoral policies - cyber security, data analytics, data centre and open data. KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said the centre was planned in view of the global trend of countries keeping data generated in their respective territories with themselves. The minister said he already held talks with few companies in the US. A meeting will be held soon in Delhi. "We are hopeful of finding an anchor soon," he added. He said if the data centre comes up, vertical and horizontal integration will throw up many opportunities. "The centre will require hardware manufacturing like servers. It will also contribute to sectors cyber security and data analytics," he said. KTR also announced that VLSI design centre would also be set up in Hyderabad this year. This will be first such facility in the country. AMD has agreed to be a partner in VLSI design centre. He said they were holding talks with various companies. All major companies are expected to be part of this unique centre. Read Also: Working on IoT Platform: Tata Teleservices Reliance Jio Takes 6th Spot On Data Usage SIU honored for its support of international students by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale has earned national recognition for the care and support it provides to international students. SIU is a recipient of the 2016 LASPAU University Award, presented by the Harvard University-affiliated organization for the assistance SIU has given to LASPAU-administered scholarship grantees. Cheryl Barnett, international recruitment coordinator for SIUs Center for International Education, accepted the award on behalf of the university on June 2 during the annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, in Denver, Colo. The Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU) is an education networking organization that awards and administers Fulbright Program grants and other prestigious scholarships to individuals form Latin America and the Caribbean who are pursuing graduate study in the United States. The organization works with more than 1,000 institutions and thousands of individuals in 34 countries. We value your commitment in supporting exceptional educational opportunities to our grantees and for going above and beyond our expectations, Angelica Natera, executive director of LASPAU, wrote when announcing SIU is a 2016 award recipient. SIU has worked with LASPAU for at least 35 years, according to Elaine Conrad, community and educational programs coordinator for the Center for International Education, and Ratna Sinha, assistant dean of the Graduate School. Through LASPAU, numerous Fulbright students and prestigious scholarship students pursued their graduate degrees at SIU, including seven who attended SIU in the spring, Barnett said. SIU welcomed 37 LASPAU students between 2011 and 2015. My own department has benefited from a long series of outstanding LASPAU graduate students for decades, noted Susan Ford, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of anthropology. The mutual benefits for the students, SIU and their home countries are manifest and it is a wonderful honor for all at SIU who work with LASPAU students to receive this award. The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is an international educational exchange program created to facilitate cultural exchanges and encourage mutual understanding between people from the United States and other countries. The program awards grants for students, scholars, teachers and professionals to participate in graduate studies, advanced research or teaching within universities and elementary and secondary schools. Working with LASPAU and Fulbright grantees has greatly impacted my own research and teaching program here at SIU Carbondale, Andrew Carver, interim director of the Center for International Education and professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said. Like many faculty and graduate students at SIU, I have developed life-long collaborations with LASPAU and Fulbright Program grantees from around the world. These opportunities for academic and cultural exchange make SIU a unique resource for the entire region. SIUs Graduate School, Center for International Education and International Friends Club work together with LASPAU and LASPAU students. The International Friends Club (IFC), which is affiliated with the Center for International Education, was created in 1981 to provide activities and support for the universitys international students and scholars. The clubs members are faculty, staff, students and dedicated community members from around the region who volunteer their time and energy. The group has more than a dozen programs including the Host Family Program, English in Action and Language Exchange, the Loan Closet, the weekly International Coffee Hour and the International Womens Support Group. LASPAU noted ongoing and recent actions of the university and its International Friends Group as reasons SIU was chosen for the honor. One example of the support for international students took place this spring when a LASPAU student at SIU suffered a stroke. The Emergency Response Team is an IFC program created to assist international students in emergency situations such as that. A club member spent many hours at the hospital with the student as well as staying in contact with family members, transporting them to and from the hospital and keeping SIU officials informed of the students progress. Conrad visited with the student as well and acted as a liaison with LASPAU during the recovery period. Conrad said the club member went above and beyond to assist the student and his family and LASPAU recognized the university and its affiliated organizations and their members for providing such support and care for international students. We are very honored to receive this prestigious award and we look forward to continuing our support for these bright and beautiful minds, Sinha said. From farmer to feminist, hacker, judge, surfer, scientist, geologist, and community organizermeet the people who dared to think and act differently in the Division of Social Sciences Second Annual Summer Reading List. Rebels and Visionaries is the theme for 2016, inspired from the divisions Dream is Still Alive video. We asked students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the social sciences to share a book about an inspiring person or a provocative idea, a social movement or an influential leader. Who questioned authority? Who pioneered a bold concept? Who sought social, political, economic, or environmental change? The suggestions form a rich collection that crosses disciplines and spans decades. Chancellor George Blumenthal recommended Go East Young Man (Random House, 1974), the memoir of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas pre-judicial life. Sheldon Kamieniecki, dean of the Division of Social Sciences and a professor in the environmental studies department suggests Rachel Carsons Silent Spring (Houghton Mifflin, 1962), one of the first books to raise awareness about environmental problems to a wider public. Others recommendations include recent Pulitzer prize winner Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, by alum and now New Yorker writer, William Finnegan (Cowell, '74, English literature) and Saving Capitalism by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich,who spoke to the UC Santa Cruz community earlier this year about politics and capitalism. Distinguished UC Santa Cruz professor Bettina Apthekers memoir, Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech and Became A Feminist Rebel was also suggested for its relevance today. Additional suggestions acknowledge the previous generation that helped inspire the next. "When I was a graduate student, I didnt have any female scientist role models, so I have always enjoyed reading accounts of the different paths women have taken to succeed in science, says Karen Holl, professor of environmental studies about her recommendation, Lab Girl (Penguin Random House, 2016) by Hope Jahren. Other notable figures on the list include grassroots community organizer Fred Ross, internet activist Aaron Swartz, and critical pedagogy advocate Paulo Freire. You can see all the recommendations on the Division of Social Sciences website:http://socialsciences.ucsc.edu/reading/2016.html UF alum shows $10 million worth of appreciation Joseph Hernandez's investment creates an endowment to support the chemistry department A son of Cuban immigrants who has three University of Florida degrees has invested $10 million in his alma mater to enhance UFs chemistry department so future chemists and other alumni will be better positioned to explore solutions to societys greatest challenges. New York entrepreneur Joseph Hernandezs gift creates an endowment that will forever provide funds for classroom, research and student support. Hernandez, 43, is the youngest donor in UFs history to make a gift this large. A new campus chemistry building is under construction and will be named Joseph Hernandez Hall in recognition of his generosity. The 110,000-square-foot building is expected to open within a year. The University of Florida changed my life. Im grateful for the knowledge I obtained there and for the great memories that have shaped my life, Hernandez said. Im forever indebted to this great institution and hope my minor gesture helps future students and the faculty who will change those students lives. UFs chemistry department is one of the nations leaders in granting doctoral and bachelors degrees. The new chemistry building, along with Hernandezs gift, will further enable the university to provide students with a world-class educational experience so they are better prepared for careers in health, the sciences and other fields. Joes investment in UFs chemistry department will touch the lives of thousands of students each year, UF President Kent Fuchs said. It will also enable faculty to be more effective educators while achieving even greater excellence in research. David Richardson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which is home to UFs chemistry department, said Hernandezs gift is transformational. Joe's gift will seed innovation and accelerate the entrepreneurial spirit within the department of chemistry, Richardson said. Joe is a model for the application of broad scientific knowledge in business, and he is the kind of UF graduate students can emulate as they look to their futures. This endowment will vastly increase the departments momentum as it seeks to build national leadership in research and teaching. Joes generous support will be pivotal in helping UF achieve its aspiration and its goals. Hernandez earned a UF bachelors degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1996 and a pair of masters degrees two years later, one in business administration and the other in medical sciences. He is a serial biotech entrepreneur whose lifes work is improving medical care. His expertise is in diagnostic and therapeutic industries, and he is founder of numerous health-related companies, among them Microlin Bio and Sydys Corp. to treat cancer, Ember Therapeutics for regenerative medicines and Prolias Technologies for genetic cytology. The key task for Russia's recently restructured state development bank, Vnesheconombank VEB, will be supporting long-term projects in the high-tech sector, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.Putin also told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia links its future with openness to the world.REUTERS RSD PR1745 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-790977.Xml Actor Jesse Eisenberg is all praise for his "Now You See Me 2" co-star Daniel Radcliffe, saying he is "wonderful" in the film. Directed by Jon M. Chu, "Now You See Me 2", a sequel to the 2013 film "Now You See Me", also stars Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Lizzy Caplan and Morgan Freeman among others. "I think people are going to be really surprised by how wonderful Daniel is in the movie -- not because they don't know that he is wonderful, but because the character is so different," Eisenberg said in a statement. "He really plays that guy who is this kind of conniving and also a charming villain. He is a guy who seems to love himself, but in private is insecure and angry," he added. Distributed in India by PVR Pictures, "Now You See Me 2" will release on Friday. --IANS ank/rb ( 158 Words) 2016-06-17-04:20:03 (IANS) Police said here today sleuths of Government Railway Police (GRP), on the basis of a tip-off, conducted a raid in a bogey of Balia -Sealdah express at Barauni station, leading to seizure of liquor and firearms. "A total of 18 bottles of IMFL, three pistols and one rifle were recovered from the bogey during the search operation," police said, adding that no one travelling in the bogey claimed to be the owner of the seized consignment." Raids were being carried out to nab the criminals involved in smuggling of firearms and liquor, police stated. UNI XC KKS AD PY AS1548 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-788709.Xml Soon after the House assembled for the day, Speaker P Dhanapal read out a condolence motion mourning the death of Seenivel, who was elected from Tiruparankundram constituency in Madurai in the May 16 Assembly elections. He won the polls by more than 20,000 votes defeating his DMK rival M Maniramaran. However, Seenivel suffered a stroke and was admitted to a private hospital in Madurai. He died on May 25, a couple of hours before the newly elected members took oath as MLAs in the State Assembly. After adopting the condolence resolution, the members of the House observed a two minutes silence as a mark of respect to the departed soul. The House also made obituary references in respect of five former members, who died recently. Later, the Speaker adjourned the House to June 20, when the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address would be taken up for discussions. The first session of the 15th Legislative Assembly would conclude on June 23.UNI GV CNR Rss1050 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-790145.Xml A militant was killed in an encounter with security forces at Sopore in Baramulla district today, official sources said. They said that on a tip-off, security forces and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police launched a joint search operation at Bomai in Sopore. However, when the security forces were sealing the area, militants hiding there opened fire which was returned ensuing a fierce encounter. So far, one militant has been killed, they said, adding that the operation was on as there could be more militants in the area.UNI BAS SB 1000 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-790097.Xml Pronouncing the quantum of sentence for the 24 convicts in the Gulberg society massacre, a special SIT court in Ahmadabad on Friday awarded life-imprisonment to 11 accused, seven-year jail term to 12 others and a 10-year prison term for another guilty in this case. The case pertains to the massacre of 69 people, including former Congress lawmaker Ehsan Jafri, during communal riots in Gujarat on February 28, 2002. During the hearing earlier, the defence said the eight witnesses have not been able to recognize the convicts, adding minimum punishment should be given on this basis. Appearing for the accused, Rajkot-based senior lawyer Abhay Bharadwaj had earlier said that they should be given a chance to reform themselves as they don't have past criminal records. The prosecution had sought nothing less than death sentence or jail term till death for all convicts while the defence lawyers contested that the incident was spontaneous and there were enough provocations for it. Six accused had died during the trial. Of the 24 convicted today, 11 have been charged with murder, while 13 others have been convicted for lesser offences. VHP leader Atul Vaidya is among the 24 convicted in this case. Gulberg society case is one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT. (ANI) The Uttar Pradesh Government has sent its report to the Centre over Kairana exodus row late last night. According to official sources, the two page report, by the Shamli district administration gives details of 346 families, which have allegedly been moved out owing to 'bad law and order' situation'. Sources here said today that the report was made after going thorough verification and the statusof these families. As per the report 67 families left Kairana more than 10 years ago while 179 families left thetown 4-5 years ago. Likewise, 73 families have left Kairana during the past three years owing to personal reasons like education, business or health care. Altogether 16 people mentioned on the list are dead and families of three of deceased still resides in Kairana while 7 names were found to be repeated (duplicated), the sources said. The report said 5 families were not native of Kairana but they were in fact government employees who were posted there. 27 families still live in Kairana and three families left the town because of extortion demands by criminals. However strict action was taken by police in these cases, the government stated in thereport. Remaining families enlisted in the report are said to have moved out owning reasons ofeducation, health and business related needs. On the other hand, the 9-member BJP probe team led by legislature party leader Suresh Khanna that had visited the town was scheduled to meet Governor Ram Naik here later in the day to submit its report. The team toured four villages of Kairana and Kandhla and the adjoining urban areas. Theother members of the team are party's chief whip in the assembly Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, BJP MPs Satypal Singh, Raghav Lakhanpal, Dr Bhola Singh, Satish Gautam, Dharamendra Kashyap and former UP DGP Brij Lal. Meanwhile, Meerut and Shamli district authorities have banned padyatras to be takenout by BJP and SP leaders to protest 'exodus' and press for their demands. While BJP MLA Sangeet Som had announced to bring out a Nirbhaya padyatra from Meerut to Sardhana, the SP leaders had planned to counter it by holding Sadhbhavanayatra in the region. Authorities said, prohibition order under section 144 of the CrPC have been clamped in the area and all the political yatras have been banned.UNI MB SS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-790303.Xml The Academy informed that the rich cultural heritage of India, specially Manipur, will be presented during the three days in different places of Congo. The troupe had performed in January at the Surien International Folklore Festival,Thailand, which was highly appreciated by the audience. The tour will be sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). UNI NS AD SB RK1159 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-790138.Xml Criminals shot dead an engineer when he resisted their robbery bid in Bhojipura area of the district here. Superintendent of Police (City) Sameer Saurabh said here today that Civil Engineer Rajeev Gangwar alias Raju(25) was coming along with his sister Vidya and her husband on two motorcycles after consulting at doctor at Sriram Murti Medical College last night. They were stopped by some criminals at Bilva roundabout and tried to snatch of Vidya's purse. When Rajeev opposed, the criminals fired on him and fled. He died on the spot. The deceased had recently left the job in Noida and was preparing for Civil Sevices.UNI MB SB RK1215 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-790200.Xml The scheme will provide financial assurance and technical knowhow to the sick distribution companies and make them come of out of inherent financial losses. According to official sources here, the MOUs were signed in presence of Union Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar and Union Energy Secretary Upendra Thripathiand attended by Jawed Akthar, MD KPTCL, G V Balaram, MD KREDL, Chikkanajappa MD MESCOM, Mahadeva MD GESCOM, Kumar MD MESCOM and Ms Khubhoo Goyal Choudhury MD HESCOM. The MoUs were signed during the ongoing State Power Ministers Conference at Goa.UNI MSP CNR 1347 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-790324.Xml India and Thailand today agreed to deepen their Defence cooperation, including the maritime engagements after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide raging bilateral talks with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-O-Cha. The two sides also inked two agreements, including the one to promote cultural exchanges. In a joint media briefing, Mr Modi announced the introduction of double entry e-visa for Thai nationals to facilitate their visit to Buddhist Circuit in both India and the neighbouring Nepal. Talking about the cultural connect between the two countries, Mr Modi said, "From the Legend of Rama to the Wisdom of Buddha, our ties are founded on a shared cultural heritage." Under the closer Defence partnership, the two sides agreed to share expertise and experiences; greater staff exchanges and more exercises; Cooperation on counter-piracy on seas; deeper engagement in naval patrolling; and building linkages in the field of Defence research and development and production.More UNI MK SW RJ 1436 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-790445.Xml In order to ensure adequate availability of water in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh government had ordered reconstruction of 100 extinct ponds under the scheme 'Samajwadi Jal Sanchay Yojana', PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said here today.The state government has made a record by completing task of digging of 100 ponds in 40 days in Bundelkhand region. It will have storage power of 60 mcm of water, Mr Yadav claimed.This will improvise the situation of entire Bundelkhand, which is undergoing a severe drought situation. Both the Chief Minister and the Irrigation Minister were concerned about water scarcity in Bundelkhand, he added.Rajendra Singh, a well-known water conservationist from Alwar district, Rajasthan praised the state government's work, the Minister claimed. Mr Singh, also known as "waterman of India," had won the Stockholm Water Prize, known as "the Nobel Prize for water", in 2015, he added.UNI XC-MB JW RJ 1511 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-790472.Xml The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the eviction of more than 700 Khasis from their ancestral land at Nahar Punji of Srimangal Upazila in Moulvi Bazar in Bangladesh. The notice issued by the Dhaka district administration on June 2 directed the Khasi people to leave Nahar Punji village within June 12 alleging that they have occupied government land illegally. The notice read that the authorities will launch a special drive along with law enforcers if the residents failed to move from the village within the deadline. "All these Khasi people are in great fear, and are passing each moment with distress and worries of eviction after learning about the notice," the KHNAM said in a letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to take up the matter at the earliest with the Bangladesh government. The KHNAM said these people have been living in their ancestral land for over 75 years and have been paying taxes. It added that for safety and security of the Khasi people it is necessary to negotiate for the transfer of these land occupied by the Khasi people to India, through the Land Boundary Agreement.UNI RRK AD SW RJ NS1511 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-790374.Xml Electronic company Centum Electronics today announced its acquisition of Adetel Group of France. Adetel specializes in design, development and industrialization of embedded electronic systems fordefence, aerospace, industrial, transportation, medical and energy sectors. The company will hold 51 per cent controlling stake in Adetel Group. Apparao Mallavarapu, Chairman and Managing Director, Centum Electronics, said "We are pleased to announce an agreement to acquire majority stake in Adetel. The acquisition now makes the company one of the forerunners in the market, enhancing its already expanding growth and performance.'' ''Adetel brings in excellent services and an established customer base. This would be a pioneer step into entering new markets, giving us enormous opportunities since we have a very unique proposition of design and hightech manufacturing capabilities. This is also in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Make in India initiative," he added. Francois Sebes, CEO, Adetel, said, "I firmly believe that the strengthening of the capital base with a recognized Indian group such as centum is a great opportunity for the development and growth of Adetel Group. I can see several major industrial interests, first of all the presentation of an integrated vertical offer in our company's core business markets including Aeronautics, Defence, Medical, Transport and Industrial.''The new partnership translates to greater international presence for the group, both in terms of operations and scale for its products, technologies and competencies. The group can leverage on the high technology capabilities and creativity of Adetel along with the cost competitiveness of India and Centum in particular to increase their market share in global markets.Mr Apparao added, "This acquisition is a result of perfect synergies between two companies, ensuring greater value creation for our customers. We can now accelerate growth, fill product portfolio gaps, improve our market position, benefit from the use of even more advanced technology and of course, establish a wider, more international presence in operations and sales with facilities in France, Canada, US and Morocco." UNI RN SW RJ 1705 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-790765.Xml : Seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiaite immediate efforts tofind a ''permanent and pragmatic workable'' solution to the livelihood of Tamil Nadu fisher-folkthe State Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa sought his intervention to secure the release of 24fishermen and 93 fishing boats in the custody of Island nation. Bringing to the notice of the Prime Minister about the latest detention of three fishermen along with a mechanised fishing boat from Kottaiopattinam fishing-base in Pudukottai districtat Kanakesanthurai in Sri Lanka on June 15, Ms Jayalalithaa in a letter to Mr Modi said the root-cause of the menace is the ''ill-advised Indo-Sri Lankan agreements of 1974 and 1976, which unconstitutionally ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka''. The Chief Minister said she had challenged the legal validity of the agreements beforethe Supreme Court on her personal capacity and subsequently the Tamil Nadu Government hadto implead itself. The case was still pending before the Apex Court, she reasoned. The AIADMK general-secretary also said in her letter that the Lankan authorities are wantonly shunning aside the traditional and historic rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen to eke out their livelihood from fishing in the traditional waters of Palk Bay. It smacks of sheer arrogance on their part, she alleged. Ms Jayalalithaa said it was indeed painful to note that the Lankan Government was nowadopting a strategy of detaining boats for a pretty long time. The prolonged detention and idling of fishing-craft without care, makes them unworthy for further sailing, thus causing immense loss and untold misery to the already beleagured fishermen, whose pathetic plights are compounding, as the day progresses gradually, she rued. The Chief Minister urged the Centre to initiate measures soon to find a permanent and pragmatic workable solution to the survival of fishermen. Ms Jayalalithaa also averred that in her letter to Mr Modi, she had requested his personal intervention in the matter and had also earnestly appealed to him to ensure that the Ministry of External Affairs renders more than adequate justice to the already maligned fishermen with aplomb at the earliest.UNI CNR KVV ADB 1655 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-790791.Xml Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led the peaceful protests from the Jamia masjid, where he addressed the Friday congregation. However, immediately after he left for home, youths tried to march towards the main chowk, raising pro freedom slogans. Security forces and state police personnel deployed in strength stopped the demonstrators at Khawaja Chowk and did not allowed them to move forward. The protestors pelted stones on security forces, disrupting traffic movement and vehicles were diverted through other routes. Security forces later burst teargas shells to disperse the agitators, who were pelting stones from narrow lanes and bylanes. Stone pelting incidents were reported from other area of the down town and SeK.UNI BAS ASM RJ RK1620 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-790659.Xml Dindayal Meena was going to his field to inspect his crops on the bank of Parvati river when a group of miscreants opened fire at him injuring him critically this morning. Meena was admitted to primary health centre in Baroda bus and as his condition was deteriorating, he was referred to Rajasthan's Kota for further treatment. Meena's kin lodged a complaint against five people of the village for committing the crime.UNI XC-BDG SDR RJ AS1732 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-790871.Xml News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-10-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. State Councilor Yang Jiechi meets with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Dmitry Fedorovich Mezentsev in Beijing on Dec 29. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/CHINA DAILY] China's Belt and Road Initiative has prompted broad interest not only at the official level but also among analysts and experts. The central question that many are discussing about this initiative is: "What does it mean in economic, cultural and especially geopolitical terms?" Indeed, is it just a declaration of intent or an actual, concrete and practical project? The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on June 23 and 24 will probably be an important opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping to re-articulate the Belt and Road Initiative and give it a more realistic shape, especially because the SCO summit will take place in the context of increasing geopolitical contradictions on the one hand and the active reformatting and accommodation of Central Asian and Eurasian spaces on the other. The Belt and Road Initiative is a long-term and ambitious strategy so is the Russian strategy of creating the Eurasian Economic Union. And the two projects are supposed to be conjugated. Those who analyze Russian and Chinese thrust for pivotal role in Central Asia often consider if Russia can provide security arrangements for the region and China can support economic development. Such a perception, however, looks quite simplistic and superficial. According to widespread and stereotypical perceptions Russia-led arrangements imply Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization and China-led arrangements imply SCO and the Belt and Road Initiative. That's why the statements about the possibility of conjugation of these two sets of arrangements look, so far, vague. The SCO's agenda, hitherto primarily focused on Central Asia, will obviously become broader with the inclusion of India and Pakistan. This would complicate the situation of the SCO's existing Central Asian members and could become an excessive burden both for these states and the organization itself. Uzbekistan's president has said the SCO is likely to be joined by two nuclear powers that are in permanent conflict. Besides, not all SCO conventions and agreements adopted within the organization are implemented in full, especially in the realm of confidence measures and military activity in the border areas. New entrants to the SCO are even more sensitive to such issues. Puducherry administration will get 283 seats as its quota of MBBS seats from the private medical colleges here this year.This is ten seats more compared to the 273 last year, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao told a press conference here tonight. Mr Rao said the issue was settled at the fourth round of talks between the government and medical college representatives. Previously, the seats allotted were 263 and 264 and it was 273 in 2015-16. He said the issue of allotment of PG seats were also discussed. However, this year the PG classes were already started and the colleges agreed to consider from next year, he added. To a question,the minister said the demand was 50 per cent seats.But no deemed university is giving any seats to the government anywhere in the country and it was in Puducherry only that seats were being allotted for the government.Of the seven private medical colleges here, four are deemed universities,he added.The Lt Governor and health minister had expressed satisfaction on getting 283 seats, Mr Rao said, adding that the 273 last year was out of 1050 seats and this year it is out of 1000 seats since 50 seats were reduced at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences here. He also said that the fishermen of the four regions were sanctioned grants for the ban on fishing period besides old age pension for April and May.The money will be transferred to their accounts on Monday and Tuesday and the exchequer will incur an expenses of Rs 13.2 crore, he said. He said while the ban period in Puducherry and Karaikal regions was for 47 days, it was for 61 days in Yanam region and hence Puducherry and Karaikal fishermen will get Rs 4,000 and those in Yanam will get Rs.5500.The dredging work of the estuary here would commence before August,he said adding that the tender process is on.UNI PAB CJ RSA 2309 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-791610.Xml State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), a responsible Corporate Organisation for the growth and needs of the society, has involved a wide range of Social Service activities both in rural and urban areas to serve the community at large. As part of Corporate Social Responsibility, State Bank of Hyderabad here today donated 500 Free Parking Boards for Four wheeler, Two Wheeler and Auto Parking to Hyderabad Traffic Police for installing the same at various locations in Hyderabad to reduce the traffic congestion to the great extent. The inaugural event of donation of free parking boards to Hyderabad Traffic Police by SBH held at Traffic Police Training Institute here. Speaking on the occasion, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Jitender stated that the Traffic Police has come up with the proposal of free parking places in Hyderabad and SBH has come forward to support the initiative of Hyderabad Traffic Police by donating 500 free parking boards to Traffic Police in twin cities ( Hyderabad and Secunderabad ) to make the Hyderabad city a better place in the country to live in and also to bring awareness among the public. UNI KNR CJ RSA 2320 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-791616.Xml The Head Constable Annadurai and police constable Muthupandi, attached to Mamsapuram police station waylaid the advocate M.Rakkappan under the guise of investigating him in connection with a case on the Srivilliputhur-Mamsapuram road, this evening. An altercation erupted between the cops and the advocate. At one stage, the cops assaulted the advocate and fled. Rakkappan immediately went to Mamsapuram police station to lodge a complaint, but however it was alleged that the police refused to accept his complaint. A group of lawyers rushed to the police station and staged a dharna demanding the police to register case against the two erring police men for assaulting Rakkappan. On the intervention of senior police officials, the advocates withdraw their protest. Police have filed a FIR against two police men and are searching them. UNI GSM CJ RSA 2310 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-791655.Xml Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today said his government would design "model projects" to encourage local entrepreneurs to promote investment in the state. Briefing reporters after chairing a Single Window Agency (SWA) meeting, Dr Sangma said there would be a model of projects prepared by the department, who will be assigning the responsibility to Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and make the projects available in different scales. "Agro-forestry, food processing, hospitality and manufacturing sectors have been identified as priority sectors not only from viability aspect but also from capability of generating more employment for local people," he said. "We will also provide support through MIDC for a simpler credit flow and develop business summits exclusively to promote local entrepreneurs and create platform for them to have interface with potential investors from outside" the Chief Minister added. Dr Sangma said that the State government has been participating in a number of business summits and a number of proposals have been received by the Department of Commerce & Industries for investment in different parts of the State. "The trend of these investment proposals have been indicative of preferred destination and all the proposals received so far indicate Ri Bhoi district as a preferred destination, followed by East Khasi Hills and both Jaintia and West Garo Hills districts being third preferred destinations," he informed. Dr Sangma said that the Single Window Agency meeting culminated with a suggestion to the Department to encourage the State's own potential entrepreneurs. "Over the years local entrepreneurs and businessmen have been trying to diversify their investment and there is a need to reach out to those potential businessmen and entrepreneurs who are residents of the State and encourage them to look at diverse areas for investment", he said. As such the Department along with Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has been directed to create an enabling environment to our potential entrepreneurs to look at industrial sector in diverse fields, starting from small and medium enterprises and eventually large-scale industries by partnering with various other potential investors from outside the State, he added. As per its evaluation, the main challenge identified was that the local potential entrepreneurs need to have various options available before them for investment as new start up model projects which will give complete reflection of viability, attractiveness of such available opportunities, based on which they can decide on their investment options. The Single Window Agency examined all the proposals that were placed before it by the Department of Commerce & Industries and based on their recommendation all the proposals have been approved for providing Single Window clearance, accept two proposals that the department was asked to study further on how it would have impact on existing investment that has been approved or which are already in the pipeline. Out of the 15 proposals for investment, eight proposals were for Ri Bhoi district, three for East Khasi Hills, two for East Jaintia Hills and only one each for West Garo Hills and West Jaintia Hills. Some of the proposals approved for Single Window clearance in Ri Bhoi districts include M/S Sriram Fasteners, for manufacturing of bolts and nuts, barbed wires, etc, M/S Meghalaya Polymers, an existing plant for manufacture of plastic water tanks "Meghatex" and M/S Megha Cashew Pvt. Ltd in Byrnihat. UNI RRK CJ RSA 2327 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-791685.Xml A 22 year old girl, who was travelling by the Gorakhpur Express towards Mumbai, was pushed out of the express train by a man who forcibly entered the ladies bogie the railway police said today. The badly injured girl has been admitted to a hospital at Kalyan the police said and added that the alleged accused has been arrested and remanded to police custody upto June 20. PI Datta Vable of the Dombivili police station told this correspondent that the victim and her mother yesterday boarded the train at Nashik and were coming towards Thane. Another lady with her children was also travelling in the same bogie. At Kalyan station, her husband Dinesh Yadav tried to enter the ladies compartment which was opposed by the ladies who were in the bogie. Upon this he got annoyed and when the train started and was between Thakurli and Dombivili he pushed out the victim Rekha Navle who fell down from the running train and received injuries. As the train was not very fast she was not very seriously and was rushed to the Kalyan hospital by those in the train. The accused was nabbed by the others ladies in compartment and was handed over to the Dombivili police who arrested him and presented him in the court today for a remand. Meanwhile the Thane Guardian minister Eknath Shinde and Kalyan Dombivili Mayor Rajendra Devlekar enquired about the victim and assured all possible medical assistance to her.UNI XR CJ RSA RAI2305 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-791692.Xml The NATO alliance agreed to hold onto its broad geographic layout of bases in Afghanistan, a move that could make it easier for the United States to keep more troops there as Kabul struggles with a resurgent Taliban threat.President Barack Obama has planned to slash the number of US forces in Afghanistan from about 9,800 to 5,500 before he leaves office in 2017, despite calls from former commanders and envoys to halt the drawdown.NATO defence ministers gathered in Brussels signaled a willingness to stay, with Britain's Michael Fallon yesterday saying flatly at a news conference: "This is the wrong time to walk away from Afghanistan."He warned that any collapse of the country would send thousands more migrants heading to Europe at a time when the continent already faces uncontrolled migration flows.Fallon said US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the ministers during closed-door talks that US troop levels were again being reviewed.Carter declined to confirm that at a news conference, saying it was "not a topic of discussion." He said Obama would be willing to consider security conditions in Afghanistan and their impact on force levels later in the year."I expect he will do that again as the year goes on," Carter said.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Carter did not tell NATO allies during the closed-door discussions that troop levels were being reexamined.Obama has shown a willingness in the past to alter his plans in Afghanistan and last week approved giving the US military greater ability to accompany and enable Afghan forces in offensive operations, including carrying out air strikes.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said several nations on Wednesday committed to a troop presence next year in Afghanistan, underscoring a theme likely to figure prominently at next month's NATO summit in Warsaw."With a regional presence, we will continue to advise, train and assist the Afghan national forces because we are very committed to continuing to support Afghans," Stoltenberg said.The United States contributes 6,800 troops to NATO's training mission in Afghanistan, which will fall to 3,400 under the current plan, a senior NATO diplomat told a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity. Washington also carries out a unilateral counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.NATO's so-called hub-and-spoke model for troops training and advising Afghan forces extends well beyond the capital Kabul to allow an international military presence at regional hubs. But NATO policymakers had been examining whether it was possible to keep those posts open, even as force levels fall."I believe we'll have sufficient resources, and our military commanders have told us we'll have sufficient resources, to stay in the basic posture," the NATO diplomat said.The diplomat also said NATO leaders are expected to agree to some 5 billion dollars in funding to sustain Afghan security forces at the current levels through 2020.The current NATO commitment to fund the Afghan security forces extends through 2017.The funding is based on maintaining a goal of 352,000 Afghan soldiers and police. The official roster includes about 320,000 members of the security forces, a US military commander said earlier this week. REUTERS PS 0528 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-788088.Xml Mr Karzai said "Islamabad wants no bilateral trade and no access to Central Asia for India which is unacceptable to Afghanistan", Mr Karzai said. ''India wants to truly befriend Afghanistan and we want Pakistan to do the same'', a report in daily Dawn based on Mr Karzai's interview to BBC Urdu service, quoted the former premier as saying. Mr Karzai claimed that India is helping Afghanistan build its infrastructure and health facilities and has "filled Afghanistan with money despite being a poor country". He said, Pakistan should also become a part of the regional coalition that comprises Afghanistan, India and Iran, but "Pakistan's condition is that Afghanistan should not have contacts with India". "If this issue is resolved, our relations with Pakistan will improve rapidly," he said. On terrorism, Mr Karzai reiterated this is a menace which has affected people of both Pakistan and Afghanistan but "we (Afghans) think they have found safe havens and are getting aid from Pakistan". "When this will stop, Pakistan too will see peace," said Mr Karzai, who ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014.UNI XC SV SS 1354 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0103-790201.Xml President Pranab Mukherjee is today wrapping up his three-day first state visit to Namibia. Mr Mukherjee got strong assurance from President Hage Geingob for honouring the 2009 agreement for supply of uranium to India, stuck due to reservation from the African Union and requirements of a regional nuclear non-proliferation regime. During the visit, India also announced a generous assistance package for the West African country, which it was the first to recognise as an independent country after having supported its anti-aparthied movement and struggle for independence for decades. President Geingob said he will look into the legal ways to exempt India from Uranium trade restriction imposed on it by the Pelindaba treaty. The two leaders made a strong call for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) by inclusion of India and Africa, saying that these regions with over 2 billion people could no more remain unrepresented in the world body. They also underscored the need of the collective global efforts to fight terrorism. The results of the visit, which were prominently taken note of by the national media here, also included a boost in the defence cooperation and economic cooperation. Both the leaders said that the visit had put Indo-Namibian ties on a new trajectory. An MoU for training of Namibian defence personnel by the Indian Army's Signals department was also signed. India has offered to Namibia, assistance in the acquisition of defence equipment. Besides, Nambia has invited Indian industries for mining uranium and other mineral resources. The country has announced doubling of scholarship to Namibians under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation(ITEC) programme from 100 to 200. Besides, it has also announced 1,000 tonnes of rice for Namibia's drought-hit areas and 100 tonnes of medicines, including the much-needed f Anti-Retro Virals(ARVs). The package also includes 20,000 dollars for the Indira Gandhi Clinic. India also told Namibia that it was ready to help it in its sustainable development mission by assisting in setting up solar power projects. Meanwhile, India will soon be sending its technical team to Namibia to explain to its government how the nuclear fuel supply trade still could take place with India, as it had happened in case of several other treaties without any compromise on concern over nuclear proliferation. It will explain to Namibian authorities the technical and economic details arrangements with other countries which could be replicated with Namibia too. President Mukherjee during his visit also conveyed to Namibian leadership that India was looking forward to working closely with them in their common effort to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and in addressing other important global issues. In an interview to national Namibian daily New Era, he said,''I am confident the future will bring an upward growth trajectory in our ties. Many complementaries clearly exist. I am certain we can generate a win-win partnership in several new areas.'' The President in his banquet speech last night said India had focused on human resource development, capacity building, cultural exchanges and closer cooperation in the education and defence sectors,and it believed that its flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities could be workable models in Namibia. During the visit, during which he spoke at various for a, including a joint session of Namibian Parliament, university and business association, the President made frequent reference to India's support to the Namibian struggle for Independence. ''Our two nations, though separated by the Indian Ocean, are united by our common experience of colonial rule and struggle for freedom. India believed that her own independence in 1947 remained incomplete so long as her brethren in Africa continued to be oppressed by foreign masters. India stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of this country in their freedom movement, '' he said. He said India shared Namibia's suffering in the past and it will be an equal partner in its quest for new aspirations. He told the Namibian newspaper 'New Era' editor that India and Africa were at present among the world's fastest growing regions and were considered the two bright spots in the current global economic scenario. ''Our development partnership goes beyond the strategic concerns. This partnership does not look at the African region from the narrow lens of Africa's abundant mineral wealth,'' he said.UNI NAZ JW RJ 1443 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-790434.Xml A Russian serviceman has died after his convoy in Syria was attacked, the Russian Defence Ministry told local media today, saying he was the tenth Russian soldier to lose his life in the Kremlin's campaign there.The ministry was cited as saying that Mikhail Shirokopoyas, who had been sent to Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria for three months in April, had been wounded in Aleppo province last month when a column of vehicles he was escorting was shot at.He had been flown to a military hospital in Moscow for treatment, but had died on June 7, it was quoted as saying.The total official death toll among Russia's military is now ten, but only nine of those were combat deaths. One serviceman committed suicide at the Hmeymim air base in October, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.Shirokopoyas was reported to have been posthumously given an award and to have already been buried in his native Amur region in Russia's Far East.In mid-March, President Vladimir Putin ordered the bulk of Russia's contingent in Syria to withdraw, but Moscow has continued its active support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and, according to some analysts, honed its military capabilities to better help the Syrian army.REUTERS RSD NS1503 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-790502.Xml US health regulators are under increasing pressure to remove restrictions keeping most gay and bisexual men from donating blood, but experts say any change would require years of research to guarantee the safety of the blood supply.The US Food and Drug Administration enacted a lifetime ban for gay and bisexual men in the 1980s to protect against transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.The agency reduced the ban in December to a 12-month wait since a man's last sexual encounter with another man.Following Sunday's mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, more than a dozen Democratic Party lawmakers called on the FDA to move toward lifting the ban altogether. They argued that it wrongly discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, rather than determining whether a donor's actual behavior puts them at risk of HIV.Their call came after members of the gay community tried to donate blood in the aftermath of the Orlando attack but were turned away based on their recent sexual history."We're still in an inherently contradictory posture of straight men who are having unsafe sex with multiple partners being allowed to give blood. A gay man in a 30-year monogamous relationship, who practices safe sex, is not," Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who serves as vice chair of the congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, told Reuters.The FDA maintains there is not enough scientific evidence to remove the restrictions."We empathize with those who might wish to donate, but reiterate that at this time no one who needs blood is doing without it," spokeswoman Tara Goodin said in a statement. "That being said, the FDA is committed to continuing to reevaluate its blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available."Blood supply experts say the FDA will need to determine whether the move to a one-year waiting period for gay and bisexual men made the blood supply less, more or just as safe.That effort will take several years, and only then would the agency be able to consider relaxing its restrictions further, said Brian Custer, who has led a number of studies on the nation's blood supply and is associate director of the Blood Systems Research Institute BSRI in San Francisco.Removing the waiting period altogether would also likely require a large-scale study that tested blood samples of people who would be banned under current criteria, said Dr. Michael Busch, a co-director of BSRI. Busch helped discover in the 1980s that HIV could be transmitted through blood transfusions."Those are difficult to design and execute," he said.EXISTING RISKHIV disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men. While only about 4 percent of US men have sex with other men, they represent about two-thirds of the country's new infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.All blood donated in the United States is screened for HIV, as well as other transmissible diseases such as Hepatitis C and syphilis. Blood supply experts note that such testing cannot detect HIV within the earliest window of exposure, nine to 14 days.In the past 12 years, as many as six people have been infected with HIV through blood transfusion in the United States, according to Dr. Richard Benjamin, a former chief medical officer of the American Red Cross."That risk is always going to be there. People who donate blood within two weeks of exposure always will be missed by testing," said Benjamin, now an executive at Cerus Corp, whose technology kills pathogens in blood plasma and blood platelets.One study by FDA researchers published in January suggested that dropping all donor restrictions on men who have sex with men would result in 31 more units of HIV-infected blood being missed by screening tests and entering the blood supply each year. Nearly 16 million blood donations are collected in the United States each year, according to the American Red Cross.Groups representing the nation's largest blood centers, including the American Red Cross and America's Blood Centers, said they support the FDA's current rules, which are in line with policies in the UK, France, Australia and the Netherlands."Policy at this level moves at a slower pace than people would prefer, but it is years, not decades away," said Custer, one of the blood supply experts, referring to the FDA.REUTERS RSD NS1543 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-790611.Xml Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox today after a man wielding a gun and knife killed the 41-year-old in an attack that has thrown a June 23 referendum on European Union membership into limbo.Cox, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed in her own constituency near Leeds in northern England by a man who witnesses said had shouted "Britain first".She was pronounced dead just over 48 minutes later by a doctor working with a paramedic crew trying to save her life. A 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm were recovered.The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended in the EU referendum, the tone of which has become increasingly angry and bitter and included personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy.Though the motives of the killer were not immediately clear, some suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave.Police said they were not in a position to discuss the motive of the attack."Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Cox's husband, Brendan, said."She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her."A US civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center SPLC, based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance NA dating back to 1999.The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley, from the NA's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said.FLAGS AT HALF-MASTBritain's Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth's London residence Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, where Prime Minister David Cameron has his official residence.In Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church.Some people, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, dozens of white candles lay beside bunches of flowers and a message board upon which people had written their condolences."You can't kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred."Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two young children aged three and five.Beside flowers at the murder scene in Birstall, a message read: "Fascists feed on fear."British politicians paid tribute to Cox and expressed shock at the killing, as did leaders across Europe and the world.Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on US President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy."We have lost a great star," said Cameron, who called the referendum. "She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news."Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the attack "terrible" but added that she didn't want to link it to the EU referendum.WHO KILLED COXMedia reports, citing witnesses, said the attacker had shouted out "Britain first", the name of a right-wing nationalist group that describes itself on its website as "a patriotic political party and street defence organisation".The deputy leader of the group, Jayda Fransen, distanced it from the attack, which she described as "absolutely disgusting".West Yorkshire's elected Police and Crime Commissioner said "our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact".The killer was named by media as Thomas Mair.Family members, including his brother, said that Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported."He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying."I am struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don't even know who he votes for."Neighbours were quoted by media as describing a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds.Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army IRA exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990.Colleagues expressed shock and disbelief at the death of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate who spent a decade working for aid agency Oxfam and promoted women's issues."We've lost a wonderful woman, we've lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a televised statement. "As we mourn her memory, we'll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve."REUTERS RSD NS1552 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-790638.Xml The Human Rights Watch has urged Bangladesh government to stop arbitrarily arresting people without proper evidence of a crime, after authorities launched countrywide mass crackdown in the wake of rising attacks in the region. The HRW suggested that the Bangladesh authorities should investigate attacks on secular writers, gay rights activists, and religious minorities, and identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Security forces between June 10 -16, have reportedly arrested over 11,000 in connection with a spate of murders of bloggers with secular or atheist leanings, non-Muslims, members of the LGBT community, and other progressive or liberal thinkers. "After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladesh's security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the 'usual suspects' instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations," the daily star quoted Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch as saying. "The government has an obligation to put an end to these murders and hold the perpetrators to account, but it must do so through proper procedures set out in its own criminal code as well as in international law," he added. The human rights group said the detained should either be charged on the basis of credible evidence of criminal activities and brought immediately before a judge, or be immediately released. More than 50 people have been killed in the country, often through machete attacks and these killings were subsequently claimed by IS or Ansar al-Islam, a Bangladeshi militant group linked to Al-Qaeda, but their involvement has not been established. The government, however, denies the presence of both groups in the country. (ANI) "It's what we do. May it never change," Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said today, describing how lawmakers across Britain will go ahead and hold local "surgeries" the day after a colleague was killed just before hers.Holding a surgery, a one-to-one meeting much like when a patient consults a doctor, is the bedrock of British politics - a chance for lawmakers to meet, listen to and advise the people who elected them, in an informal atmosphere.But with informality comes vulnerability.In Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police patrol the entrances, corridors and halls. In their home electoral districts, or constituencies, more often than not, there is no security.Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland's devolved government, said on Twitter that she, like dozens of others, would go ahead and hold a surgery today, "with heavy hearts", after Jo Cox, a lawmaker from Britain's main opposition Labour Party, was shot and stabbed in her northern English electoral district.But several lawmakers cancelled their meetings, giving only phone numbers for people to call.Cox's killing - in daylight on a street just as she arrived at a local library where she was due to hold a surgery - has sent shockwaves through Britain.The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990.But while murders are rare, attacks and threats at surgeries and offices are, if not commonplace, increasing. Just last week, Conservative lawmaker Gavin Barwell, told local media he had been threatened by a man with a knife at his office.VIRTUE OF DEMOCRACYTalking about the circumstances of Cox's death to an audience of businessmen, Conservative finance minister George Osborne called the "everyday accessibility" of lawmakers "one of the virtues of our parliamentary democracy"."It's what makes the way we govern ourselves very different from many others," Osborne said late on Thursday after tearing up a speech in which he was expected to press his warnings of a hit to the economy if Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum next week."To be an effective representative, all of us who are MPs engage with their communities, talk to everyone and anyone, hold constituency surgeries and must be prepared to stand up and argue publicly for what we believe."But those arguments can see tempers flare, especially when they pit lawmakers against the voters who elected them.Cox had complained to police after receiving "malicious communications" and a man was arrested and later released with a caution in connection with the investigation in March.Last month, Labour lawmaker Jess Phillips said she may quit Twitter after she was sent more than 600 messages in one night about raping her after she had taken part in a campaign to end sexist bullying on line. Other female lawmakers have complained of abuse on social media.Today, Britain's Labour Party said police had questioned a man over an abusive phone call to Ben Bradshaw, a lawmaker in southwestern England. It did not say what the call was about.A report published earlier this year in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology recommended more protection for lawmakers after finding nearly one in five of the 239 lawmakers who responded said they had been attacked or experienced an attempted attack.Fifty-three per cent said they had been stalked or harassed.Some lawmakers, in the report, described their constituents getting frustrated when they could not solve their problems, cases when locals developed fixations on them and also times when people tried to influence voting by issuing threats."One MP (member of parliament) described how she had to get her husband to go out and look down the street before she could go out of the front door," it said after experiencing "intrusive behaviour"."She had panic attacks several times a day, even in the House of Commons, leading to a 'mad way of life'."But while there are calls for better security for lawmakers, many said they had little option but to stick by their commitment to meet their electorates."I plan to keep to all my engagements today, including my surgery," Labour lawmaker Jonathan Reynolds said on Twitter. "I will ensure there is security present however."REUTERS RSD PR1815 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-791059.Xml Britain's parliament will be recalled on Monday to allow lawmakers to pay tribute to slain legislator Jo Cox, the leader of her party Jeremy Corbyn said.He was speaking today alongside Prime Minister David Cameron near the spot in northern England where the 41-year-old Cox was shot dead yesterday.Parliament has not been sitting since yesterday, to allow lawmakers to campaign ahead of a referendum on EU membership on June 23. REUTERS SDR BL1850 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-791192.Xml Ten people with Turkish and Kurdish backgrounds went on trial in Germany today accused of belonging to a left-wing militant group in Turkey, a case defence lawyers say is politically motivated.The nine men and one woman face charges of organising propaganda events, raising funds and recruiting for the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML), founded in 1972 and listed among a dozen active militant groups in Turkey.Defence lawyers say the trial panders to President Tayyip Erdogan, whose relations with Germany are under strain after the German parliament labelled the 1915 mass killings of Armenians an act of genocide. The lawyers have told German media that a large part of the files presented in court were supplied by Turkish authorities."It looks like a job on orders from Erdogan," Peer Stolle, who is representing two of the defendants, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper of Munich, where the trial was being held.Left-wing activists chanted "Long live international solidarity" and held up colourful banners outside the court building as the defendants arrived.Turkey has said it is discussing countermeasures since the ruling on the Armenian killings and that it threatens the friendship between them just as Chancellor Angela Merkel is relying on Ankara to stem the flow of migrants to Europe.Germany's federal prosecutor says the main defendant, known as Muslum E., was the leader of the foreign branch of TKP/ML from 2004 and helped raise about 560,000 dollars in funds annually for the group.Muslum E. shouted political slogans and pumped his fist in the air as he entered the courtroom. Spectators in the public gallery cheered and applauded the defendants.The other nine are accused of being members of the leadership committee and procuring money, as well as organising propaganda events. They are also accused of recruiting new members and organising a military training camp in Iraq.A spokeswoman for the higher regional court in Munich said the defendants were not charged with committing acts of terror directly but rather with being members of the TKP/ML."So they are alleged to have voted on organisational matters as well as the execution of said attacks," she told Reuters TV.The group were arrested between April and November 2015, in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland.Describing the TKP/ML's activities, the prosecutor said in a January indictment: "The group has carried out numerous attacks with firearms and explosives and committed arson which caused many people to be killed or injured."The trial is due to run until October 28. REUTERS RSD PR1915 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-791346.Xml Russian President Vladimir Putin said today he agreed with US proposals to incorporate parts of the opposition into the current Syrian government, saying President Bashar al-Assad accepted there was a need for a political process.The comments advance Russia's position on Syria and follow a statement by UN Envoy Staffan de Mistura, who warned earlier this month there would not be another round of peace talks until officials on all sides agreed on the parameters for a political transition deal ahead of an August 1 deadline."The US proposal is absolutely acceptable. We must think about the possibilities of incorporating representatives of the opposition into the active ruling structure," Putin told the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum."For example into the government. We must think what rights that government will have. But here we shouldn't go too far, we must act based on today's realities."Putin said the most important thing for Syria was not for Assad to retake every inch of territory as he has pledged (though Putin said territorial gains were also important) but for overall faith in the authorities to be restored.Putin said it was inevitable Syria would collapse if things continued as they were, saying that would be the worst-case scenario. REUTERS RSD BL1949 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-791435.Xml BRUSSELS, Feb. 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- British Prime MinisterDavid Cameronaddresses a press conference at the end of an extraordinary two-day EU summit at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, Feb.19, 2016. European leaders on Friday night reached a deal on British Prime Minister David Cameron's reforms after marathon talks, President of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted. (Xinhua file photo/Ye Pingfan) HELSINKI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said here Thursday the European Union (EU) would no doubt survive if Britain were to exit from the 28-member bloc, but the price would be high. Tusk said preparations had been made for the alternative, but he was unwilling to provide any concrete details as to what actions the EU would take. Tusk talked to journalists at a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. Later on Thursday he also met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Referring to the recent opinion polls carried out in the UK, Tusk said it was "not easy to be optimistic" the vote would be to remain in the EU, but the view of the UK people must be respected. Tusk said that besides the economic impact, political and geopolitical repercussions would be unpredictable at a time when there is a major need for unity. Tusk said European history had shown that unity means strength. He defined an exit of the UK as a danger for both Britain and the whole western community. Related: Britain should stay in Europe for prosperity and security: Bill Clinton by Larry Neild LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton intervened Thursday in the British referendum debate on separation from the European Union, urging Britons to vote June 23 to remain within the EU. He made his call in Thursday edition of the London-based weekly current affairs publication, the New Statesman. Full story Britain could hand NHS extra 145 mln USD a week if it quits EU: UK Justice Secretary by Larry Neild LONDON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Britain's cash-strapped National Health Service (NHS) could be handed an extra 100 million pounds (145.15 million U.S. dollars) every week, if the June 23 referendum decides the country should quit the EU, leading Brexit campaigner and Justice Secretary Michael Gove claimed Saturday. LONDON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- British Labor MP Jo Cox has died after she was shot and stabbed in Birstall, West Yorkshire, Sky News reported on Thursday. The 41-year-old politician was also kicked and left lying bleeding on the pavement in Birstall following the attack, an eyewitness was quoted by the broadcaster as saying. A 52-year-old man has been arrested in the area following the attack, and he has been named locally as Tommy Mair, according to Sky News. West Yorkshire Police said they were notified of an incident on Market Street, Birstall, where a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries. The shooting is believed to have taken place as Cox came out of the town's library where she had been meeting constituents. Eyewitness Hichem Ben Abdallah was quoted by Sky News as saying that a "very brave" bystander tried to stop a man who pulled out a gun and shot her twice and also assaulted her. Police presence in the area has been increased as a reassurance to the community, the police added. WINDHOEK, June 16 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 youth signed a petition Thursday against the proposed construction of a new parliament in Namibia. The youth drawn from all the 14 regions of the country marched from into Windhoek central business district in the morning from the high density suburb of Katutura. Although the demonstration was peaceful, the youth leaders from the Affirmative Repositioning movement refused to hand over the petition to the clerk of parliament and demanded that the Speaker Peter Katjavivi should come instead. One of the youth leaders Job Amupanda declared the march a success. The issue of the new parliament whose cost is estimated to be about 2.2 billion Namibian dollars (142 million U.S dollars) has been criticized by various people with the National Planning Commission saying that the cost appears to have been inflated. In 2013 when the government announced plans to build the new parliament, the cost was estimated at 700 million Namibian dollars (45 million U.S. dollars) but three years later, it is 2.2 billion Namibian dollars(142 million U.S dollars). President Hage Geingob in May 2016 also ordered his vice president, prime minister and the Speaker of Parliament to look into the cost. It is not clear at the present whether the three have done assessing how the cost sprung from 700 million Namibian dollars (45 million U.S. dollars) to 2.2 billion(142 million U.S dollars). Enditem ZAGREB, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Croatian parliament on Thursday passed a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic and his government. Deputies cast 125 votes in favor of no-confidence, and 15 votes against, while two abstained. The no-confidence motion was put forward by the biggest party in the ruling coalition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) last week and received support from the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which wanted to topple the government and hold an early election. The HDZ said it would start working on a government reshuffle after the vote. On Wednesday, HDZ's president and First Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko announced his resignation after being embroiled in conflict-of-interest charges vis-a-vis Croatian oil firm INA. The HDZ has named Zdravko Maric, the current finance minister from the party, as the candidate for the prime minister-designate. According to Croatian laws, if the government is voted out and no one wins support from 76 parliament members of the 151-seat parliament to form a new one within 30 days, the president must call an early election. Related: Croatian main ruling party files no-confidence motion against PM ZAGREB, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Croatian main ruling party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on Tuesday filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic. The motion listed six reasons for the attempted impeachment, such as not keeping his promises of dealing with the economy, social issues and creating jobs. Full story Croatian former PM Sanader on trial again on alleged corruption ZAGREB, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Zagreb county court on Monday started to retry corruption charge against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader over Fimi Media case. TRIPOLI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Ten Libyan presidential guards were killed on Thursday when an IS suicide bomb attack hit a police station located in the outskirts of Sirte, media office of the presidential guards announced. The attack took place at dawn in the nearby town of Abo-Gren, the office said on its official Facebook page. The government forces also announced that the IS launched two car bomb attacks on Thursday, but the two bombs exploded before hitting the troops. The government forces have been engaged in a violent war in the city of Sirte, some 450 km east the capital Tripoli, since May, which have killed and injured hundreds of the government forces. The presidential guards are formed by the UN-backed unity government to fight against the IS. The media office of the presidential guards said that they have controlled most of the city. The terrorist group has launched seven suicide bomb attacks on the government forces since Sunday. Sirte, the hometown of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi, was dominated by the IS for over a year. Enditem BEIJING, May 4, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun (R) meets with South African Police Minister Nathi Nhleko in Beijing, capital of China, May 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A tripartite meeting involving the African Union (AU), China and the U.S. has deliberated on the cooperation towards the operationalization of the African Center for Disease Control (CDC). The tripartite meeting was held on Thursday at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, whereby it emphasized on the need to further strengthen cooperation to early operationalization of the Africa CDC. Zhang Xiangchen, deputy international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), has exchanged views with Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, AU Commissioner of Social Affairs, and Kary Hintz-Tate, Deputy Chief of U.S Mission to AU, on ways of strengthening cooperation to jointly establishing the Africa CDC. The meeting was to implement the consensus reached between China and U.S. during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to U.S. in September, 2015, whereby the two sides plan to cooperate with AU and its members in establishing Africa CDC. It was also set to implement the concrete outcomes of the 2016 China-U.S. Annual Development Cooperation Meeting to jointly support the establishment of Africa CDC. The meeting emphasized that the establishment of Africa CDC should be dominated by Africa, and China and U.S. would provide support of infrastructure and capacity building. They provide assistance to Africa CDC in infrastructure construction, equipment, information system, expertise, and professional training while sharing also their experiences in CDC establishment and operation management. The meeting also underlined that China and U.S. should strengthen coordination and consultation to finalize the detailed cooperation plan on Africa CDC to earlier realization of the initiative, and which in turn will have significant contribution to Africa's public health activities. In his remarks on the occasion, the AU Commissioner has commended China and the U.S. for their continued support to the realization of Africa CDC. "Allow me to seize this single opportunity to express the gratitude of the Commission to the People's Republic of China and to the United States of America for their permanent support for the operationalization of the Africa CDC following your unprecedented valuable assistance in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa in 2014 - 2015. The African Union commission continues to be proud of this collaboration," said the commissioner. "As China and the U.S. are aware of Africa's pains, struggles and trials in lifting the continent's people from the quagmire of infectious and other diseases, the AU Commission welcomes this partnership and hopes that this will enable us to accelerate our efforts of building and rebuilding health systems and enhanced disease surveillance and response," he noted. Both the Chinese and the U.S. officials have expressed the commitment of their respective countries to continued support towards the operationalization of Africa CDC. China and U.S. have signed their respective bilateral cooperation MoUs on Africa CDC with AU, and have sent their expert teams for such preparatory work as the site selection for Africa CDC and its regional collaboration centers. From February to April this year, public health experts from China and U.S. conducted joint professional training in Ethiopia for nine trainees from the Africa CDC. It was in January 2015 that the AU Assembly officially passed the decision for the establishment of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Related: Ethiopia, China ink partnership MoU for Africa Information Super Highway project ADDIS ABABA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia and China on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for their partnership on a project dubbed Africa Information Super Highway, a project for cooperation between China and Africa in information and communication technology (ICT). The MoU will enable the two countries to carry out joint activities under the framework of the Africa Information Super Highway for the East African region and beyond. Full story China, South Africa pledge law enforcement cooperation BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun met with South African Police Minister Nathi Nhleko on Wednesday, with both parties pledging more law enforcement cooperation. Calling for more cooperation in fighting transnational crime, Guo said he hoped that China and South Africa will continue to take measures to protect the security and legal interests of their citizens and institutes. Full story China keen to support Africa's capacity building in geoinformation ADDIS ABABA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China is keen to bolster its cooperation with Africa in the area of surveying, mapping and geo-information technology, Li Pendge, Deputy Head of China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said. DUBAI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led Arab coalition is on the way to "deliver its core goals," and up to the Yemenis to reach an inclusive political deal between the disputing parties, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said Thursday in Abu Dhabi. In a series of tweets on his Twitter account quoted by the UAE state news agency WAM, Anwar Al-Gargash said the UAE will continue to play its role with Saudi Arabia "until the end of the war," without hinting at a time horizon. The UAE is part of a Saudi-led military coalition comprising nine Arab states to support Yemen's "legitimate" government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia and forces controlled by former president Ali Abduallah Saleh. The coalition has been bombing on a daily basis the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi group across Yemen since March 26, when President Hadi fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh to take refuge. Gargash said goals of the operations in Yemen were "crystal clear and well-defined which contributed to its success: to bring the Yemen crisis back on the political track, to restore the legitimate government of Yemen, and to counter the Iranian interference in the region." He added "now it is the responsibility of the Yemeni people and factions to build channels of communication and agree on a political solution regarding the state and its institutions." Enditem HONG KONG, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Daniel R. Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Institute of International Law (APIIL), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Hong Kong, south China, June 16, 2016. Hong Kong legal organization Asia Pacific Institute of International Law has queried the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague to deal with an arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines against China over the South China Sea disputes, citing the factual and legal errors of the case. Daniel R. Fung told Xinhua on Thursday that such an arbitration involving sovereignty issues should not be handled by PCA under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On June 6, 2016, the APIIL submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on the arbitration initiated by the Philippines to the tribunal. The brief was endorsed by several solicitors and legal experts from China's Hong Kong, Britain and Australia. (Xinhua/Provided by APIIL) HONG KONG, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A Hong Kong legal organization has queried the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague to deal with an arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines against China over the South China Sea disputes, citing the factual and legal errors of the case. Daniel R. Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Institute of International Law (APIIL), told Xinhua on Thursday that such an arbitration involving sovereignty issues should not be handled by PCA under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On June 6, 2016, the APIIL submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on the arbitration initiated by the Philippines to the tribunal. The brief was endorsed by several solicitors and legal experts from China's Hong Kong, Britain and Australia. Citing a lot of international cases, the legal document addresses two key issues: jurisdiction of PCA to determine the Philippines' 15 submissions of the arbitration and justiciability of the issues raised in the submissions. Fung, a renowned senior counsel in China's Hong Kong, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday that PCA has obviously overlooked the two issues. Fung said the South China Sea disputes should be handled through diplomatic and political negotiations rather than an arbitration, especially they should not be handled under the UNCLOS. "As friend of the court, our motivation to intervene is to maintain the perfection of the International Law system and the perfection of the arbitration tribunal which is one of the instruments of the system," Fung said. "We are unwilling to see the international law system being jeopardized or its reputation being damaged," he said. According to Fung, PCA has the responsibility to respond to the amicus curiae brief and the APIIL has requested an oral argument at PCA. However, PCA has not responded to the brief. The Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration proceedings to the Hague-based PCA against China over the South China Sea disputes in 2013. PCA ruled in 2015 that it has the jurisdiction over the case, taking up seven of the 15 submissions made by Manila. The Chinese government has reiterated its non-acceptance and non-participation stance in the case. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement issued on June 8 that China has all along stood for peacefully settling territorial and maritime delimitation disputes through negotiations with states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with the International law. On issues concerning territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation, China never accepts any recourse to third party settlement, or any means of dispute settlement that is imposed on it, the statement said. An amicus curiae (literally, friend of the court) is someone as a third party to a case and offers information that bears on the case but who has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. This may take the form of legal opinion or testimony and is a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case. GENEVA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A latest report by a UN commission warned that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is committing genocide against Yazidis, an ethnically Kurdish religious community or an ethno-religious group indigenous to northern Mesopotamia. The report, "They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis", was issued Thursday by the independent international Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic in Geneva. "Genocide has occurred and is ongoing", emphasised Paulo Pinheiro, chairperson of the commission, adding that "ISIS has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man that it has captured to the most horrific of atrocities." As per the Commission's mandate, the report focuses on violations committed against Yazidis inside Syria, where thousands of women and girls are still being held captive and abused, often as slaves. "ISIS has sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm," the report warned. It added that ISIS also has taken measures to prevent Yazidi children from being born, including forced conversion of adults, the separation of Yazidi men and women, and the transfer of Yazidi children from their own families and placing them with ISIS fighters so as to cut them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community. "ISIS separated Yazidi men and boys over 12 from the rest of their families, and killed those who refused to convert, in order to destroy their identity as Yazidis," the report noted. According to the report, women and children often witnessed these killings before being forcibly transferred to locations in Iraq, and thereafter to Syria, where the majority of captives remain. Thousands of women and girls, some as young as nine, have been sold in slave markets in the Syrian governorates of Raqqah, Aleppo, Homs, Hasakah and Dayr Az-Zawr, the report said, adding that ISIS and its fighters usually hold them both in sexual slavery and in slavery, with Yazidi women and girls being constantly sold or gifted between fighters. One woman, who estimated she had been sold 15 times, was cited by the Commission that "It is hard to remember all those who bought me". The report noted that ISIS, which considers the Yazidis to be infidels, has publicly cited the Yazidis' faith as the basis for an attack in August of 2014 and its subsequent abuse of them. Saying that its findings are based on interviews with survivors, religious leaders, smugglers, activists, lawyers, medical personnel, and journalists, as well as extensive documentary material, the UN Commission urged that more must be done to assure the protection of this religious minority in the Middle East, and the funding of care, including psycho-social and financial support, for victims of this genocide. Enditem COPENHAGEN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Three amateur archaeologists have made an unique finding of the largest ever treasure of Viking gold in Denmark, it was reported here Thursday. A total of seven bangles, six gold and one silver, dating back to around the year 900, have been found in a field in Vejen Municipality on the Danish island of Jutland, the National Museum of Denmark said in a press statement released on Thursday. With a combined weight of around 900 grams, the finding is the largest ever discovery of Viking gold in Denmark. "We really felt that we had found the gold at the end of the rainbow when we found the first bangle, but as there appeared more, it was almost unreal," said Marie Aagaard Larsen, who together with her husband Christian Nedergaard Dreioee and their friend Poul Noergaard Pedersen made the discovery. Peter Pentz, a Viking expert at the National Museum, believed that it is a unique treasure as "to find one of these bangles is major, so it is very special to find seven." "The Viking Age is actually silver age' when it comes to the discovery of a treasure. The vast majority of treasure contained only silver. If there was gold, it was always a small part, not like here, the majority," Pentz said. He added that the bangles could have been used by a Viking leader to form alliances or to reward his faithful followers. According to Lars Grundvad, curator of Soenderskov Museum, the seven new-found bangles are associated with a 67-gram gold chain which was found in the same area back in 1911. "One of the gold bangles was made in the so-called Jelling style, so was the gold chain from 1911. And when they are found in the same field, I think they may well be part of the same treasure trove," said Grundvad. Soenderskov Museum plans to display the finding before it is sent to the National Museum in Copenhagen for further study. Enditem by Mahmoud Fouly CAIRO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Every morning on working days in Egypt, streets, bus stations, passenger microbuses, female carriages of the underground metro and others are full of women setting out to work in a male-dominant community that ironically prefers housewives to working women. According to an official survey, made by the Egyptian Cabinet's Public Opinion Poll Center in 2010 and re-released in 2016, 87 percent of males and 78 percent of females in the most populous Arab country prefer a housewife to a working woman provided the family's economic condition is good. "I prefer my wife to stay at home and not to work outside. Generally, for a wife to stay at home is way better due to the degrading manners nowadays and the disrespect among people, which make a husband worried about his wife's work place," said Ashraf Ibrahim, a 36-year-old married man with kids, in a bus station in Giza province near the capital Cairo. Ibrahim still believes that woman's work is useful provided she works in a safe environment "such as a school teacher, a nurse at a hospital, etc." However, Hany Victor, a pharmacist, has a completely different point of view, as he believes a woman has the right to work and not only be a housewife. "Why did she have education? If a woman is educated, cultured and civilized, why does she have to stay at home?" The survey says that 95 percent of males and 98 percent of females see that it is important for a woman to complete high school education, yet the percentage goes down when it comes to university education as 80 percent of males and 88 percent of females believe a woman should be highly educated. "My mother was an employee and she raised us all as educated children. A woman's duty is not restricted to kitchen and bed. This is humiliating! A woman has equal rights with a man and she has the right to establish herself," the pharmacist in his 30s told Xinhua. According to the polls, the majority of Egyptian males reject hiring a woman in a male-oriented job such as a mayor or a marriage official. Also 71 percent of males and 43 percent of females refuse a woman to be a head of state. "This reflects a state of schizophrenia in a country where women constitute to 30 percent of the official workforce and 70 percent in the non-official sector. Almost every home in Egypt has a working woman," Nehad Abol-Komsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR), told Xinhua. The top Egyptian feminist argued that Egyptians are theoretically against working women but the reality on the ground is different, adding the schizophrenia is represented in a pressuring reality that pushes the society forward and at the same time groups of factors pulls it backward, including old, inherited perception of women. "Women would not mind relaxing at home, but there are no guarantees for a jobless woman's financial rights if she is divorced. What would a woman do if her husband died in a society that does not provide any rights or guarantees?" said Abol-Komsan. The ECWR chief added she will not blame this on a "male-dominant" society because there are women who fiercely fight against women's rights, reminding that 78 percent of females prefer a housewife to a working woman. Clara, a 20-year-old student, was standing with her college mates at the entrance gate of Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, near Qasr Aini Hospital in downtown Cairo, when she talked about her future wishes businesswise. "I have future ambitions and I wish one day I would work at a renowned advertising company," Clara told Xinhua, arguing there should be no difference between men and women since a woman gets her education and that the survey reflects "backwardness and the narrow-mindedness of the Egyptian male-dominant society." However, Hala Yassin, a female teacher in her late 40s, said that if a married woman's work will affect her home duties, staying at home is better for her. "I have been working as a teacher for 22 year, during which I made some balance between work and home to fulfill my duties on both sides," Yassin told Xinhua, pointing out that the law helped her as when the kids were young she worked half the time and got half the salary, taking care of home and still maintaining her position at work. An old taxi driver at one of the busy main streets in downtown Cairo said that his generation learned from their grandparents that it's best to marry a woman who stays at home rather than a working woman. "A working wife deals with male colleagues and her husband's mind is always concerned about her. She also works for long hours in return for little money," Ali Abdullah, the 60-year-old taxi driver told Xinhua. Academically, sociology professor Ali Hassan of Ain Shams University believes that the survey is accurate and its interpretation is simple, as work conditions for women in developing countries are so difficult. "In poor societies, those children who did not have the chance of their mothers' sacrifices by staying at home are mostly the street children, the drug addicts, the visitors of psychiatric clinics, those leading miserable lives, etc.," the professor told Xinhua. He explained that poverty, ignorance and other aspects of backward society pressure a family to face life by letting part of the family out to bring life necessities and keep another part at home. "If the financial return is weak, staying at home is better," Professor Hassan argued, "A woman at home is a kind of security for her children as children of a working woman are socially more subjected to deviation, drug addiction and vagrancy." Enditem ORLANDO, June 14, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken with mobile phone on June 13, 2016 shows customers selecting gun at a shop in Orlando, the United States. The American society has been buzzing with measures to prevent further gun-related violence in the United States, after a shooting spree in an Orlando nightclub left 49 dead and 53 wounded on Sunday. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) ORLANDO, the United States, June 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday again urged Republican-controlled Congress to pass stricter gun control laws during his visit to Orlando in the wake of the country's deadliest mass shooting incident. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. history since 9/11 in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," said Obama. Following the 2012 school mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 26 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama presided over more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform U.S. gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. "If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings," Obama told BBC in an interview in July, 2015. Related: Obama to mourn victims of Orlando shooting Thursday WASHINGTON, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Monday announced that President Barack Obama will visit Orlando, Florida on Thursday to mourn the victims killed in the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. "On Thursday, the president will travel to Orlando, Florida to pay his respects to victims' families, and stand in solidarity with the community as they embark on their recovery," said a White House statement. Full story U.S. loose gun control policy slammed on social media after Orlando attack WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- An outpour of anger toward the lax U.S. gun control policy was witnessed on social media after a shooting spree in an Orlando nightclub left 50 dead and 53 wounded on Sunday. "When will the USA learn & introduce tighter gun control? How many more have to needlessly die?" A twitter user named Dave Nelson lashed out. Full story Los Angeles Mayor appeals to gun control LOS ANGELES, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Thursday urged to make legislation on gun control to prevent gun violence, adding that the deadly shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) should serve as a reminder. MILAN, Italy, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were injured in an explosion probably caused by gas leak at an Asian restaurant in northern Italy on Thursday, local media reported. The explosion occurred in the late afternoon at restaurant "Zuma", located in center of the city of Bologna, according to Rai state television. The first floor of the building collapsed, smashing three windows and injuring seven restaurant employees, of them one in serious condition, Rai reported. A firefighter who rushed to the spot was also slightly injured, according to ANSA news agency. A local website run by Chinese residents in Italy said the restaurant was run by Chinese nationals. The explosion was probably caused by a gas leak, according to local prosecutor Valter Giovannini. He underlined, however, that "every hypothesis was premature." According to ANSA sources, around 15 people from the Philippines were working inside the restaurant when the blast occurred around half an hour before its opening. Several residents told the local press they were impressed by the blast which sounded like an earthquake. Some of them added there had been smelling gas in the area hours before the blast occurred. Investigators were reportedly working to ascertain possible responsibilities. Enditem ORLANDO, the United States, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The shooting massacre at a nightclub on Sunday in Orlando, Florida was the 176th mass shooting which happened in the United States in the past 168 days so far in 2016, according to the group Mass Shooting Tracker. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which defines the "mass shooting" as an incident where four or more people are killed in one case, the Tracker broadens the definition of the "mass shooting" to include all incidents involving four or more people being shot but not necessarily killed. By that criteria, the Tracker reports after collecting data from news reports around the nation that the shooting carnage at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub, which left 50 dead, including the gunman, was the 176th mass shooting so far this year. According to the Tracker, as of Tuesday, six more mass shootings occurred in the wake of Orlando nightclub massacre. At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the history since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. So far, federal investigators had found no clear evidence that Mateen had been in touch with any terrorist groups before the attack. However, according to Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey, the authorities were "highly confident" that Mateen had been radicalized online. Just like his previous reactions after similar mass shooting incidents in the past, U.S. President Barack Obama this time again stressed the importance of passing stricter gun control laws on every public appearances in the wake of the incident. His latest response came on Thursday during his visit to families of victims and survivors in Orlando, Florida. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," he added. According to federal investigators, Mateen earlier this month legally purchased an assault rifle and a handgun, with which he appeared to launch his mass killing without external instruction. Though assault-style weapons were banned in 1994, the U.S. Congress refused to renew the ban when the prohibition expired in 2004. Gun-rights advocates argued that rifles of any type were scarcely used in homicides in the country. Following the 2012 school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 28 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama has been confronted with more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform U.S. gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. "If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings," Obama told BBC in July, 2015. Photo taken with mobile phone on June 13, 2016 shows a customer looking on an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at a shop in Orlando, the United States. (Xinhua/file photo) ORLANDO, the United States, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The shooting massacre at a nightclub on Sunday in Orlando, Florida was the 176th mass shooting which happened in the United States in the past 168 days so far in 2016, according to the group Mass Shooting Tracker. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which defines the "mass shooting" as an incident where four or more people are killed in one case, the Tracker broadens the definition of the "mass shooting" to include all incidents involving four or more people being shot but not necessarily killed. By that criteria, the Tracker reports after collecting data from news reports around the nation that the shooting carnage at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub, which left 50 dead, including the gunman, was the 176th mass shooting so far this year. According to the Tracker, as of Tuesday, six more mass shootings occurred in the wake of Orlando nightclub massacre. At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the history since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. So far, federal investigators had found no clear evidence that Mateen had been in touch with any terrorist groups before the attack. However, according to Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey, the authorities were "highly confident" that Mateen had been radicalized online. Just like his previous reactions after similar mass shooting incidents in the past, U.S. President Barack Obama this time again stressed the importance of passing stricter gun control laws on every public appearances in the wake of the incident. His latest response came on Thursday during his visit to families of victims and survivors in Orlando, Florida. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," he added. According to federal investigators, Mateen earlier this month legally purchased an assault rifle and a handgun, with which he appeared to launch his mass killing without external instruction. Though assault-style weapons were banned in 1994, the U.S. Congress refused to renew the ban when the prohibition expired in 2004. Gun-rights advocates argued that rifles of any type were scarcely used in homicides in the country. Following the 2012 school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 28 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama has been confronted with more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform U.S. gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. ORLANDO, the United States, June 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday again urged Republican-controlled Congress to pass stricter gun control laws during his visit to Orlando in the wake of the country's deadliest mass shooting incident. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. history since 9/11 in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," said Obama. Following the 2012 school mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 26 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama presided over more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform U.S. gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. The shooting massacre was the 176th mass shooting which happened in the United States in the past 168 days so far in 2016, according to the group Mass Shooting Tracker. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which defines the "mass shooting" as an incident where four or more people are killed in one case, the Tracker broadens the definition of the "mass shooting" to include all incidents involving four or more people being shot but not necessarily killed. By that criteria, the Tracker reports after collecting data from news reports around the nation that the shooting carnage at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub, which left 50 dead, including the gunman, was the 176th mass shooting so far this year. According to the Tracker, as of Tuesday, six more mass shootings occurred in the wake of Orlando nightclub massacre. So far, federal investigators had found no clear evidence that Mateen had been in touch with any terrorist groups before the attack. However, according to Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey, the authorities were "highly confident" that Mateen had been radicalized online. Just like his previous reactions after similar mass shooting incidents in the past, U.S. President Barack Obama this time again stressed the importance of passing stricter gun control laws on every public appearance in the wake of the incident. by Luis Alberto Sierra G. PANAMA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The president of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), Gabriela Rivadeneira, said Thursday that countries in the region needed to share legislative experiences in order to strike a balance between economic growth and human development. In an interview with Xinhua, Rivadeneira said such proposals already existed in the region to allow parliaments to collaborate on preventing poverty, but that the Parlatino would begin a two-month campaign to study how such exchanges could work. The lawmaker, who was attending a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) forum on Latin America and the Caribbean this week in Panama City, said this would allow countries to choose between models espousing accumulation or redistribution of wealth. Furthermore, she added, such collaboration would allow countries to address critical issues, such as women's needs and gender equality. Rivadeneira said the Parlatino helped the Organization of American States (OAS) craft a series of gender-focused policies that it encouraged member states to codify into law. The Parlatino has also made a commitment to UN Women that all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will adopt laws, promoting gender equality and the entry of more women into the workforce. Cuba, Bolivia and Ecuador are currently leaders in this area, with around 40 percent of their parliaments being made up of women, for example. Rivadeneira also highlighted recent UNDP recommendations for the region, with the UN body calling for action on child education and nutrition, to promote social justice and reduce inequality. If countries pass public policies benefiting women, children and the elderly, she said, the region should be able to improve its reputation as the continent with the second largest inequality rate. "However, state policies must be backed up by the population...so that the government can never retreat on its social commitments, the people must demand the same," Rivadeneira noted. UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy in Mali on Thursday urged the relevant Malian parties to make peace and reconciliation "a reality" in the West African country as key challenges to implement Mali's peace and reconciliation agreement remained. In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), made the statement one year after the Malian government and armed groups signed the accord. "Quite clearly, neither the signatories nor the national mediation team are satisfied with the slow pace of implementation," he said. "This slow pace is difficult to understand and it is undermining the whole process, particularly the setting up of joint patrols." Since 2012, Mali had sunk into a instability, with crisis hitting its northern region. Presenting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report on major developments in Mali since the end of March, the UN envoy said that although the peace agreement was a package, for some time now, the process had been reduced to discussions about the establishment of an interim administration, which had been slow to occur. But he said that he was pleased with the compromise reached earlier this week, on the sidelines of the ninth session of the Agreement Monitoring Committee. MINUSMA remained fully engaged and was ready to use its good offices to help support immediate implementation of the interim authorities. "However, it is obviously clear that it is incumbent upon the parties (to) honor their commitments. It is for them to make the Peace Agreement and reconciliation a reality," the envoy said. Since the 15-nation Security Council's visit to Mali in early March, the situation on the ground had been troubling, with security having deteriorated in the past weeks. "Since its deployment in 2013, MINUSMA has faced the deadliest threats of any United Nations mission ever deployed," he said, recalling that 19 peacekeepers had died following terrorist attacks between February and May 2016, 12 of them in May. The Mission had lost a total of 26, plus a United Nations contractor, when counting deaths due to accidents and disease. The numbers were even more distressing when one added losses resulting from the Barkhane operation and those among Mali's security, defence and civil forces. "Enough is enough," he said. "We cannot continue to accept the unacceptable." Most of the deaths could have been avoided if the peacekeeping contingents involved had been better equipped, particularly with armoured vehicles. The May 29 attack on a MINUSMA convoy illustrated the terrorist threat in central and southern Mali, the envoy said, warning that the trend could spread and should not be forgotten. Despite scepticism, however, there are signs of hope that the situation had improved since 2012, Annadif said. Since the signing of the peace accord, all signatories to the ceasefire had demonstrated unwavering compliance and made dialogue a priority. Moreover, efforts are under way to establish a sound juridical and institutional framework, he said, describing the May 18 draft agreement to create a council on security-sector reform, under the prime minister's office, and the adoption of a decree establishing a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration commission as significant steps forward. Meanwhile, he also told the Security Council that eight cantonment sites had been set up to allow the disarmament process to begin, noting that the integration of former combatants and the management of violent extremism were also positive steps. Annadif stressed the importance of reinforcing trust and confidence among the signatory parties, pointing out that the lack of effective control on the ground by other parties in the north had led to a spike in terrorism, organized crime, banditry and intercommunal tensions. The slower the peace accord's implementation, the more likely the peace process would capsize, he said, underlining that MINUSMA's future mandate should take those challenges into account. In light of the deadly attacks, the recommendations of the strategic review called for strengthening MINUSMA's personnel and air capacity in order to save lives, he said, adding that authorizing proactive operations would ensure that the Mission could fulfil its responsibilities and protect its staff. It could not do so alone, however. The situation in Mali impacted the whole West Africa, he said, adding that recent attacks in Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso demonstrated the fluidity of terrorist groups and the interdependence of states in the struggle against terrorism. "I remain an optimist, a moderate one though," he said, while emphasizing that the status quo played into the hands of the enemies of peace. "The worst is behind us, but we must not forget that time is against us," he said. WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday, while confirming the Orlando "lone wolf" shooter had no direct links to the extreme group. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warning the group may infiltrate refugees into western nations. ISIL is another acronym for the group. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," said the spy chief. According to Brennan, the IS has lost "large stretches" of territory in Iraq and Syria but still has about 18,000 to 22,00 fighters there and its branch in Libya is "probably the most developed and the most dangerous," echoing concerns that Libya's close proximity to Europe is a problem. He testified to the Congress that the IS has between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Libya, plus some 7,000 in Nigeria and hundreds more in Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, "as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," said Brennan. As for the Orlando shooting which left 50 dead including the shooter Omar Mateen on Sunday, Brennan said the current investigation has not been able to uncover any direct link between Mateen and a foreign terrorist organization. However, "lone wolf" attackers who are inspired by but not under the direct control of terror groups represent "an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community," he noted. The CIA is sharing intelligence with the FBI to help identify potential lone-wolf attackers, but the CIA's responsibility is to gather information about operations overseas, he added. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are expected to receive classified briefings from intelligence agencies once they officially become the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, as expected, in July. This file photo taken on February 9, 2016 shows CIADirector John Brennan testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to America and its allies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (AFP/File PHOTO) WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday, while confirming the Orlando "lone wolf" shooter had no direct links to the extreme group. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warning the group may infiltrate refugees into western nations. ISIL is another acronym for the group. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," said the spy chief. According to Brennan, the IS has lost "large stretches" of territory in Iraq and Syria but still has about 18,000 to 22,00 fighters there and its branch in Libya is "probably the most developed and the most dangerous," echoing concerns that Libya's close proximity to Europe is a problem. He testified to the Congress that the IS has between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Libya, plus some 7,000 in Nigeria and hundreds more in Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, "as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," said Brennan. As for the Orlando shooting which left 50 dead including the shooter Omar Mateen on Sunday, Brennan said the current investigation has not been able to uncover any direct link between Mateen and a foreign terrorist organization. However, "lone wolf" attackers who are inspired by but not under the direct control of terror groups represent "an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community," he noted. The CIA is sharing intelligence with the FBI to help identify potential lone-wolf attackers, but the CIA's responsibility is to gather information about operations overseas, he added. CANBERRA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Friday launched an investigation into the "abhorrent" treatment of Australian cattle in Vietnam, while live exports are set to be suspended after shocking footage has emerged of cattle being cruelly and slowly clubbed to death. A report which aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) 19:30 program on Thursday night revealed footage of Australian cows being inhumanely treated and killed in Vietnamese abattoirs, with many being struck with sledgehammers several times before they are finally killed. On Friday, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull labeled the footage "deeply disturbing," while Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australia will suspend cattle trade with Vietnam while an investigation was being carried out. "Immediately when we found out about this we went straight into action," Joyce said on Friday. "The Department of Agriculture has been working closely with the industry, the abattoir has been suspended from receiving cattle, we are investigating this process but further action needs to take place and will take place." Meanwhile Alison Penfold, Chief Executive of the Australian Livestock Exporters' Council (ALEC), said the footage aired on the ABC was some of the "most sickening" she had ever seen. "Australian livestock exporters agree sledgehammering is an abhorrent inhumane practice that has no place in a modern society and must be stamped out." The Department of Agriculture released a statement following the 19:30 report which confirmed that Australia would be reviewing its Vietnamese supply chains to ensure all animals were treated and killed humanely. "The department's first priority is to ensure the humane handling of all animals exported from Australia," the statement said. "The department is requiring exporters to review all systems, processes and facilities in their Vietnam supply chains. "To date, four exporters have notified the department that they are suspending exports to some of their facilities in Vietnam while they review their arrangements." CANBERRA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday expressed regret that an Islamic preacher, who once said AIDS was a fitting punishment for being a homosexual, was invited to a government-hosted dinner overnight. Speaking on Australian radio on Friday, Turnbull condemned divisive remarks made by Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman, national president of the Australian National Imams Council, who was invited to the dinner which signified the beginning of Ramadan. The sheikh has previously been on record to say that homosexuality is an "evil act" which brings with it "evil disease," and Turnbull said that if he had known of such remarks, Al-Suleiman would have been taken off the invite list. "If I had been aware he had made those remarks about homosexuals and gay people, he would not have been invited," Turnbull said. Spokesperson for the government, Mathias Cormann echoed the prime minister's views, saying that Turnbull did not personally invited the sheikh, rather, he would have been part of a broader invite to the Imam Council. "As soon as (Turnbull) did become aware, he absolutely condemned the (comments)," Cormann told Sky News on Friday. Following the revelations, the sheikh released a statement regretting his choice of words in the past, and revoked his views that gays should be punished for their sexuality. "I have previously noted passages in the holy Quran which do not support homosexuality," Al-Suleiman said. "However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encouragement that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way." The Iftar dinner hosted by Turnbull is thought to be the first by an Australian prime minister, while Turnbull also took the opportunity to praise the contribution of Australian Muslims for promoting unity in the community. Turnbull labeled Australia as the "most successful multicultural society in the world" while he was "honored" by the attendance of the 75 guests. Leaders participating in the 2015 G7 summit take a group photo at the Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, on June 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Zhu Sheng) BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- In the wake of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, widespread doubt has reemerged over whether the exclusive club of industrialized countries remains relevant in today's world. Here's a selection of pointed comments on the septipartite grouping. Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, on April 12, 2016 "Why do we have to go to the G7, where the United States is in charge and other countries assent? There is a united front against Russia there. We should think how to transform the group. I think, it is necessary to invite China to 'Big Seven' because without China the group doesn't look very convincing. ... In current position Russia doesn't need to be part of the G7." Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German foreign minister, on April 10, 2016 "It turns out that none of the major international conflicts can be solved without Russia. We will see in a year if Russia maintains this constructive role and then there will certainly be a debate within the G7, when Russia's return is possible and which conditions must be met." Lu Kang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, on April 11, 2016 "If the G7 wants to continue playing a major role in the world, it should take an attitude of seeking truth from facts to handle the issues the international community is most concerned with at the moment. If the G7 is taken hostage by the selfish interests of certain countries, then this probably won't be beneficial to the G7's influence, role and future development." Lorenzo Fioramonti, professor of political economy at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, on June 30, 2015 "Forget the G7, the world needs a new alliance to lead it in the 21st century." Larry Elliott, economics editor at British newspaper The Guardian, on June 7, 2015. "The G7 is a moribund institution and has been for the past decade. As an instrument of the internationalism it was set up to pursue, it is hopeless. It should be scrapped. " QUITO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador is speeding up rebuilding work in the areas affected by the magnitude-7.8 earthquake on April 16, while the state of emergency has been renewed. Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa announced Thursday through an executive decree that his government has renewed the state of emergency for another 30 days in the states of Esmeraldas, Manabi, Santa Elena, Los Rios, Guayas and Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas. The decree grants emergency powers to authorities, especially the army and police, to coordinate efforts in preventing risks and improving the conditions caused by the earthquake. Sixty days have passed since the fatal earthquake, the worst in the South American country in 70 years that has killed 668 people, injured 4,859 and displaced around 80,000. Correa said that 398 machines and 419 dumper trucks are currently working in the affected areas. "The process being carried out is gigantic," said the president. Rebuilding the affected areas will cost some 3.344 billion U.S. dollars, according to the National Secretariat for Planning and Development. The Ecuadoran government will cover three quarters of the costs, and the rest will come from the private sector. The April earthquake has demolished around 29,000 houses and public buildings, destroyed 875 schools and 51 medical centers, and damaged 83 km of roads. Vice President Jorge Glas, head of the Reconstruction and Recovery Committee, said "rebuilding is a challenge that demands all our effort." While rebuilding is going on, thousands of earthquake victims are spending their daily lives in the official shelters of tents donated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and China. These shelters have basic facilities, including sleeping mats, kitchen sets and some security services. However, there are hundreds of victims still living in improvised, unofficial shelters which are just primitive plastic tents. MACAO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- About 134 more items originated from Macao will be exported to China's mainland with zero-tariff from July 1 this year, Macao Economic Services said in a press release Friday. Under the framework of the Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) implemented in 2004, the new varieties of goods with Macao origin to be on zero-tariff list include foods, textiles, printing materials, horologe and pens. It is noted that the products made of raw materials provided by the Portuguese-speaking countries will be regarded as Macao origin. Analysis believed that more foreign investment will start manufacturing business here and take advantage of tariff-free policy to exploit the mainland market. Statistic showed that the value of Macao's zero-tariff exports to the mainland reached 707 million Macanese patacas (88.47 million U.S. dollars) since 2004, with tax abatement amounting to 53.43 million patacas. WASHINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Americans' confidence in banks remains low, at 27 percent, eight years after the U.S. economy took a nosedive, found a Gallup poll released Thursday. The current percentage of adults who say they have confidence in banks is just half of what it was in 2004, when 53 percent expressed confidence in the institution. The record high was 60 percent in 1979. About half of Americans expressed confidence in banks in most polls in the 1980s, but confidence suffered in the early 1990s after the Savings and Loan crisis, a major financial crisis, with confidence ranging from 30 percent to 37 percent. But by the late '90s, confidence improved, ranging from 40 percent to 44 percent. Confidence in banks gained in the early 2000s, reaching a majority level by 2004. It then fell to 32 percent in June 2008 after the recession began but before the October 2008 financial crisis. By June 2009, just 22 percent of Americans had confidence in banks, Gallup found. The June 1-5 poll comes at a time when the fallout of the 2008 economic calamity, in which Americans lost trillions of dollars in household wealth, still dogs the economy, and millions of Americans continue to struggle to make ends meet. The fallout from the 2008 financial crisis continues to affect Americans' views of the banking industry. Despite some signs of economic recovery, views of the economy's overall health remain negative, and most Americans are not willing to express confidence in banks, Gallup found. Regaining Americans' trust in recent years appears to be difficult for the banking industry, and it is unclear when, or if, Americans' confidence in banks will be restored to what it was a decade ago, Gallup said. HAVANA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and the United States will strengthen cooperation in the areas of hydrography and geodesy, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said Thursday. After four days of talks, representatives from the two countries identified specific actions to improve coordination in making nautical charts, monitoring and forecasting tides and streams, as well as modernizing geodetic networks and spatial frameworks, the ministry said in a statement. This was the third meeting between Cuban and American specialists in the field of hydrography and geodesy. In November 2015 and March 2016, the two countries signed two memorandums of understanding for protecting marine, coastal resources and improving the safety of maritime navigation. The rescue team shows the steel bar removed from the man's body after emergency treatment. JINAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A man has miraculously escaped death after a 1.5-meter-long steel bar pierced through his body two days ago in east China's Shandong Province. The emergency treatment lasted seven hours and he woke up on Thursday, according to doctors at the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University in Jinan, the provincial capital. The 46-year-old construction worker, surnamed Zhang, fell off a five-meter high place in an under-construction building in Jinan around 3:00 pm on Tuesday and landed right on top of a steel bar. The bar, 15 millimeters in diameter, went through his privates and came out through his head. The steel bar goes through his privates and comes out through his head. After firefighters cut the bar, the man was sent to the hospital conscious but in critical condition. Examination showed the steel bar was near many critical parts, including his skull, trachea, heart, carotid artery and liver. "The case is very rare, and the rescue process was indescribable," said Sang Xiguang, head of emergency surgery department, who was in charge of the rescue mission. Doctors operate on the man. Doctors from nine departments worked together with firefighters to try saving the man's life. The surgeons opened the man's skull, chest and abdomen at the same time, and removed the bar slowly. It took more than seven hours to finish the removal. At 1:00 am on Wednesday, the man was wheeled out of the operating room and transferred to intensive care unit. "Luckily the bar barely touched his critical organs," said Zhang Yuan, attending doctor of neurosurgery department, "But the wound was so large that he might not have made it if he was in poor health." "It was emergent and we had to decide what to do first," he said, "One wrong move, and we would fail." "We were all soaked in sweat when we walked out of the operating room," Sang said, "We have stood for more than seven hours. We were all exhausted." Doctors operate on the man. The man is in stable condition, doctors said, but whether the miracle would last depends on the coming two weeks as postoperative infection may pose a big threat. The crisis may last for half a month as it takes three to five days for symptoms of abdominal infection and two weeks for intracranial infection to appear. "We would try our best to help him recover," said Sang. (All photos are from the hospital.) HANOI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Wreckage of a CASA aircraft of Vietnam with nine people aboard which lost contact Thursday while carrying out rescue mission in waters off northern Vietnam has been recovered on Friday. The wreckage, including debris of tire, seat, bag and personal belongings, among others, has been retrieved around Bach Long Vi water area in Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city (some 90 km east of capital Hanoi), the country's Ministry of Defense said on its website on Friday. Competent authorities have confirmed that these items are from the missing CASA aircraft, which was carrying out searching mission for the SU-30 fighter jet which went missing Tuesday morning. The CASA aircraft lost contact when it was flying over Bach Long Vi water area, according to Vietnam's National Committee for Search and Rescue. Earlier on Tuesday morning, a Russian-made SU-30 fighter jet of Vietnam air forces with two pilots aboard disappeared from radar screen while carrying out a training mission offshore Vietnam's central Nghe An province, some 260 km south of capital Hanoi. One of the SU-30's two pilots was rescued by local fishermen on Wednesday while the other pilot remains missing. WELLINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand military personnel are to join a major cyber attack exercise for countries of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-gathering network, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said Friday. Sixteen NZDF personnel would join about 2,000 personnel from the Five Eyes nations -- New Zealand, the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia -- in fending off simulated cyber attacks as part of a training exercise hosted by the U.S. from June 17 to 30. Major General Tim Gall, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said Exercise Cyber Flag 16, being held at a U.S. Department of Defense facility in Suffolk, Virginia, would involve systems that simulated the allied information networks and adversary networks. The teams would respond to the cyber attacks as a coalition, allowing participants to practice interoperability and defence, Gall said in a statement. "Although we are all using the same tools to defend our respective networks, it will be great to learn how other countries are using those tools to defend their systems," he said. Earlier this month, the New Zealand government released a Defence White Paper outlining military spending valued at 20 billion NZ dollars (14.08 billion U.S. dollars) over the next 15 years. The investment in new capabilities included cyber support capabilities to improve protection of NZDF information networks. WELLINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Three Romanian men have been arrested in New Zealand in connection with a scam involving European credit cards, the New Zealand Police said Friday. The men, aged from their late 20s to early 40s, were allegedly involved in a sophisticated scam to fraudulently withdraw cash using skimmed credit cards from automatic teller machines in Auckland. The men, who would appear in Auckland District Court over the weekend, arrived in New Zealand in April, Detective Senior Sergeant Iain Chapman said in a statement. "It appears the men have allegedly been operating as an organized crime group," said Chapman. "We were alerted to the scam when banks noticed a significant amount of money being withdrawn," he said. "Once it was realized that fraud was occurring, some quick work and cooperation between the banks and Police led to the quick apprehension of three males allegedly involved." Daniel R. Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Institute of International Law (APIIL), speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Hong Kong, south China, June 16, 2016. (Xinhua Photo Provided by APIIL) HONG KONG, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A Hong Kong legal organization has queried the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague to deal with an arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines against China over the South China Sea disputes, citing the factual and legal errors of the case. Daniel R. Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Institute of International Law (APIIL), told Xinhua on Thursday that such an arbitration involving sovereignty issues should not be handled by PCA under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On June 6, 2016, the APIIL submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on the arbitration initiated by the Philippines to the tribunal. The brief was endorsed by several solicitors and legal experts from China's Hong Kong, Britain and Australia. Citing a lot of international cases, the legal document addresses two key issues: jurisdiction of PCA to determine the Philippines' 15 submissions of the arbitration and justiciability of the issues raised in the submissions. Fung, a renowned senior counsel in China's Hong Kong, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday that PCA has obviously overlooked the two issues. Fung said the South China Sea disputes should be handled through diplomatic and political negotiations rather than an arbitration, especially they should not be handled under the UNCLOS. "As friend of the court, our motivation to intervene is to maintain the perfection of the International Law system and the perfection of the arbitration tribunal which is one of the instruments of the system," Fung said. "We are unwilling to see the international law system being jeopardized or its reputation being damaged," he said. According to Fung, PCA has the responsibility to respond to the amicus curiae brief and the APIIL has requested an oral argument at PCA. However, PCA has not responded to the brief. The Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration proceedings to the Hague-based PCA against China over the South China Sea disputes in 2013. PCA ruled in 2015 that it has the jurisdiction over the case, taking up seven of the 15 submissions made by Manila. The Chinese government has reiterated its non-acceptance and non-participation stance in the case. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement issued on June 8 that China has all along stood for peacefully settling territorial and maritime delimitation disputes through negotiations with states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with the International law. On issues concerning territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation, China never accepts any recourse to third party settlement, or any means of dispute settlement that is imposed on it, the statement said. An amicus curiae (literally, friend of the court) is someone as a third party to a case and offers information that bears on the case but who has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. This may take the form of legal opinion or testimony and is a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case. File photo taken on April 29, 2016 shows a boat moves on the sea near Zhaoshu Island of Qilianyu Islands in Sansha City, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua Photo by Yang Guanyu) WELLINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A government-led delegation of New Zealand's Maori businesses will be seeking to drum up trade in South Korea and Japan next week. It would be New Zealand's first trade mission to South Korea since a free trade agreement between the two countries entered into force in December last year, mission leader Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said Friday. The Maori economy, valued at 42 billion NZ dollars (29.58 billion U.S. dollars), had huge potential to boost New Zealand's prosperity, Flavell said in a statement. "We led a similar trip to China last year, which was very successful, so it's good to be extending the initiative to South Korea and Japan," Flavell said. "These countries offer large markets with sophisticated consumers who want the sort of products Maori excel at delivering. This includes high-value seafood, honey and bee products, as well as tourism opportunities," he said. "While Maori businesses already have trading links with these countries, this cultural and trade mission is focused on strengthening those ties and initiating new links that put relationships first, before getting down to business." The delegation included 12 Maori business leaders from tourism, fishing, forestry, food and beverage, and nutraceuticals sectors. SYDNEY, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), will launch a study into the car retail industry, following a rise in complaints. ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement on Friday that agencies continued to receive a high volume of complaints from consumers about defects with vehicles from a range of manufacturers. "These complaints reveal that many consumers are having difficulty enforcing their consumer guarantee rights, which are in addition to the warranties provided by manufacturers," Sims said. "A new car is a significant purchase for consumers and more than 1 million new cars are sold in Australia each year." Consumer group CHOICE welcomed the announcement. "We particularly welcome the focus on misleading and deceptive conduct at the point of sale, including when it comes to claims about performance and fuel efficiency," Sarah Agar from CHOICE said. "Fuel costs are consistently reported as one of the biggest cost-of-living concerns for Australian households." A draft report by the ACCC is expected to be released in March 2017. COLOMBO, June 17 (Xinhua) - The European Union ban imposed on Sri Lankan fish exports has been lifted, the Sri Lankan Government Information Department said on Friday. Director Government Information Dr. Ranga Kalanssoriya said that the ban has been lifted after a recent high-level discussion held to decide on the lifting of the EU fish ban imposed on Sri Lanka. EU announced the ban in October 2014, due to Sri Lanka's failure to prevent local fishermen from violating international fisheries laws and human rights issues. Sri Lanka's seafood exports were severely hit and continued to decline since the ban took effect. Sri Lanka is one of the largest exporters to the EU of high value fishery products such as swordfish and tuna. According to the EU Commission, Sri Lanka exported 7,400 tones of fish worth 74 million euros (94 million U.S. dollars) in 2013 and over 5,000 tones of fisheries products earning 9,103 million Sri Lankan rupees (62.99 million dollars) in 2014 to the EU countries respectively. by Xinhua Writers Han Jianjun, Wang Huijuan SMEDEREVO, Serbia, June 17 (Xinhua) -- "After the Chinese group bought our Smederevo steel mill, the factory regained life. Now we are not afraid of losing jobs and hopeful of the future," Novica Jovanovic, a 51-year old veteran told Xinhua. In the Smederevo steel mill, which was founded in 1913 and once labeled "the pride of Serbia" for its outstanding profit, Xinhua journalists witnessed a busy and orderly scene. In the reception hall, the national flags of Serbia and China are hung side by side on the wall while further inside the factory, machines are growling, various technical vehicles are running and workers are busy operating. The present of the steel mill is quite a contrast to the past. It went bankrupt in 2003 before it was sold to U.S. Steel for 23 million U.S. dollars. Serbia bought it back in 2012 when the U.S. investor withdrew, but since then the company's 5,000 workers had been sent on paid leave until April 2013 when the furnaces of the steel mill started operating again with limited capacity. Then Chinese HeSteel Group (HBIS) bought the factory for 46 million euros (51.6 million dollars). The natives called the smoke produced by the furnaces "the smoke of hope" because it meant the normality of production, and regular work and payment for the workers, said Nikola, a safety mechanic. HBIS has promised to employ all workers in the factory and invest in technical improvement and market expansion. According to data provided by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, export of steel last year from Serbia was worth 325 million dollars, but Ljubisa Obradovic, an official of the Chamber of Commerce, believed this to improve significantly with the arrival of HeSteel. "The arrival of HeSteel to Serbia opens huge potentials in metal-electro industry and mining in the sense that the level of production will double in comparison to the current state," Obradovic said. Slobodanka Susa, director of the Serbian Association of the Steel Industry, echoed by saying that HeSteel's purchase of Smederevo steel mill is a win-win deal. "It is very important for Serbia's economic development that Smederevo steel mill can continue production. Meanwhile the deal makes the steel production go to the European market more easily," Susa explained. For regional development, this purchase is a good example within the frame of China's Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Central and Eastern European (CEE) cooperation, which integrates Chinese capital, technology and Serbian work force and steel producing experience, Susa added. "Chinese people are old friends of Serbian people," said Jovanovic. The veteran with 30 years of working experience in Smederevo steel mill said he believes that the factory's future will be as bright as the cooperative relations between Serbia and China. BISHKEK, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan fully supports China's initiative on building the Silk Road Economic Belt, Prime Minister Sooronbai Zheenbekov said. Cooperation with China is a priority of Kyrgyz foreign policy and the Kyrgyz side fully supports the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping on building the Silk Road Economic Belt and hopes to expand cooperation within the framework of the initiative, the prime minister said while meeting with Chinese Ambassador Qi Dayu on Thursday. Zheenbekov also stressed the importance of resuming the work of an expert group on implementing a series of connectivity projects between Kyrgyzstan and China, including a railway project. "The country's leadership attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations with China. The two countries have active interaction on the development of trade and economic cooperation," he said. Kyrgyzstan is ready to make all efforts to deepen relations with China, said Zheenbekov. Zheenbekov will visit China in late June to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and to attend the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, north China. PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A China-Cambodia joint venture has announced a plan to build a 230-million-U.S. dollar cement factory in northwestern Cambodia's Battambang province next month, the Phnom Penh Post reported on Friday. Battambang Conch Cement Company - a joint venture between Chinese firm Conch International Holdings (HK) and local cement company Battambang KT Cement Company - will break ground next month in Rattanak Mondul district, said Vinh Hour, director of Battambang Conch Cement. He said the new cement plant is expected to begin operation in December 2017 and will have a capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year. "We will be the fourth cement company to supply the market," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "And when the supply increases in the market, the price of cement will decrease." According to Hour, Cambodia's annual demand for cement has reached 8 million tonnes, while the existing three cement plants in Kampot province can only supply about half of this amount. The remainder is imported from Asian suppliers. Battambang Conch Cement has applied for an industrial mining licence to use limestone from a nearby mountain in the district for its production, he said. Hort Pheng, director of industrial affairs at the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, said the ministry has approved five cement factories to date - three of which are in southwestern Kampot province and already supply the market. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Commerce Ministry said Friday that the rapid increase in outbound investment was normal, dismissing concerns that such gains would intensify capital outflows. Concerns have been raised that increased foreign exchange demand along with surges in outbound investment added pressure to foreign exchange reserves and international payments. "We are studying whether this will pose any risk and if we need to take targeted measures," spokesperson Shen Danyang said at a news briefing. China's outbound investment would exceed foreign direct investment in the country this year, Shen said. In the first five months of this year, outbound direct investment surged 61.9 percent year on year to 479.3 billion yuan (74 billion U.S. dollars), while foreign direct investment into the country rose only 3.8 percent to 343.6 billion yuan. Related: China's outbound direct investment surges in Jan.- May BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies continued to invest big in the overseas market in the first five months of the year, official data showed on Wednesday. China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) rose 61.9 percent from a year earlier to 479 billion yuan (74 billion U.S. dollars) in January-May period, the Ministry of Commerce said on its website. Full story SYDNEY, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia is optimistic negotiations for a bilateral trade treaty with India will be concluded within the next few months despite going over a self imposed conclusion deadline. Australia and India missed the January 2016 deadline set by the two nations leaders in 2014 as Australia looks to gain tariff reductions for agriculture and services exports, while India seeks better access for auto parts, textiles and fresh fruit. Australian former trade minister, now Special Envoy for Trade, Andrew Robb, said on Friday that the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement could be concluded within two months following the Australian election on July 2 "It is very close, we have done most of the work," Robb told a conference marking the anniversary of the China-Australia FTA signing at the University of New South Wales. Robb said the delay was from resourcing issues at "the right level" on India's side due to competing priorities as it undergoes enormous social and economic change. "India is heading in the same direction as China, but 10 to 15 years behind," Robb said. "If we could sit down with the list of 25 areas, which are generally political decisions ... we could clean (the FTA negotiations) up in two months," he added. "After the (Australian) election, we'll have a discussion with the Indian government and put that proposition to them." The ninth round of negotiations took place in New Delhi in mid-September last year, addressing key issues of market access for goods and services, technical barriers to trade, legal and institutional matters and dispute settlement. BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a historic visit to Serbia on Friday, in a trip that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said "sends a strong signal that China values its friendship with Serbia." The visit, a testimony to the time-tested and trusted friendship between the two sides, shows that "China seriously considers Serbia as its great partner," said Nikolic. Serbia was the first Central and Eastern European (CEE) country to forge a strategic partnership with China. In September last year, Nikolic, along with a group of Serbian troops, came to China for the commemoration activities for the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, also known as World War II (WWII). It was the first time that foreign troops had been invited to participate in China's military parade. Hosting Nikolic in Beijing, Xi recalled that China and Serbia made tremendous sacrifices in WWII and made great contributions to the eventual defeat of the Fascist forces in Asia and Europe. In the future, it is still their common objective and sacred mission to jointly safeguard the hard-won world peace, Xi said. Speaking highly of China's role in promoting world peace and development, Nikolic said China's rise is a blessing for the world, and hailed the Chinese people's pursuit of freedom and equality. "Grudges in the past should not hinder international cooperation at present, thus all participants of WWII, including Japan and Germany, should attend China's commemorative activities to prevent historical tragedies from happening again," the president said. The two countries' firm support for each other on issues concerning their core interests demonstrates the nature of their strategic partnership, said China's ambassador to Serbia, Li Manchang. "China and Serbia have built such a relationship on the basis of equality and mutual trust, which has helped safeguard global equality and justice and is a model for China-CEE cooperation," Li said. Xi's ongoing trip to Serbia and later Poland, which follows his first visit to the region in March this year, highlights the importance of the CEE countries in China's foreign policy. "This kind of family visit-style tours to traditionally friendly countries will further enhance mutual trust between China and its destination countries," said Chen Yurong, a scholar with the China Institute of International Studies. Serbia was one of the first nations to embrace China's Belt and Road Initiative. Working on reindustrialization of the nation, Serbia will benefit from increased Chinese investment and the expanding connectivity across the continent. "The arrival of the Chinese president is a signal to Chinese investors and business people, as well as Serbian businessmen, that new and wider opportunities are about to be created for various kinds of economic cooperation," said Jurij Bajec, a professor at the Faculty of Economics of Belgrade University and a special adviser at the Economics Institute. Investors from other countries will "also see in the visit some kind of a guarantee that new, big business ventures will start in Serbia, and will consider coming to Serbia too for their own interest," Bajec said. Serbia is the European chair of infrastructure construction within the China-CEE cooperation framework, also known as the 16+1 mechanism. With an abundant manufacturing capacity, China can support local production in CEE countries in win-win cooperation between the two sides, said Wang Yiwei, head of the European Union Research Center at China's Renmin University. China and Serbia have been working on transportation and energy projects, and are mulling major projects involving industrial parks, highways, ports and power stations. Their cooperation has been designed from a structural and long-term point of view, and complements each other's economic strengths. China's HeSteel Group (HBIS) inked a 51.8-million-U.S.-dollar deal to buy Serbia's sole steel mill in April, guaranteeing the 5,000 jobs for the current employees in the Smederevo steel mill. "We are confident that we will turn the steel mill in Smederevo into a modern complex, with advanced technology, equipment, a raised level of environmental protection and good working conditions. Our aim will be to turn Smederevo into one of the most competitive steel mills in Europe," said HBIS President Yu Yong. The Serbian part of the Serbia-Hungary railway, a flagship project between China and the two countries, was started in December last year. Addressing a ceremony for the start of the project, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic thanked both the Chinese and Serbian teams for their arduous efforts to push ahead the Hungary-Serbia railway, calling it "another breakthrough in pragmatic cooperation between Serbia and China." The Serbia-Hungary railway brings Serbia closer to the central regions of Europe, and will help transform Serbia into a regional pivot of transportation and logistics, Vucic said, adding that his country is ready to work with China to ensure the opening of the Serbia-Hungary railway in 2018. Successful cooperation as such includes the Belgrade bridge over the Danube and the Kostolac power station. Construction on a Chinese car parts factory with joint investment from both countries and a projected employment of 1,400 people also began in Belgrade's suburbs in April. Joint projects by China and Serbia over recent years have been expanding from transportation to various fields such as energy, steel, communication and finance, with cooperation models upgraded from loans to investment and joint ventures, said the Chinese ambassador. The China-Serbia friendship, marked by common memories like the 1972 movie "Walter Defends Sarajevo," has become -- in the Serbian president's words -- "as strong as the Great Wall." Related: Full text of Chinese president's signed article on Serbian newspaper BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping published a signed article on leading Serbian newspaper Politika under the title of "Enduring Friendship and True Partnership" on Thursday ahead of his state visit to the Balkan country. The full text of the article, also carried by the Tanjug news agency, is as follows. Full Story Spotlight: Xi's upcoming trip to CEE countries, Central Asia to boost Belt & Road Initiative BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming trip to Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE) and Central Asia from June 17 to 24 is expected to significantly boost the Belt and Road Initiative. One of the exhibition halls of the 60th Consumer Goods Forum Annual Global Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, June 16,2016. (Xinhua/Gaoyuan) CAPE TOWN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The 60th Consumer Goods Forum Annual Global Summit kicked off on Wednesday in Cape Town, with a call to end forced labour and modern day slavery by promoting human rights and decent working conditions throughout the world. The three-day summit is meant to discuss and agree on steps and actions that need to be taken to develop, sustain and grow the consumer goods industry in the era of a digital revolution that is compelling all of role players to rethink the choices that consumers continue to make. The summit brings manufacturers and retailers together to realise that they have a critical role to play in improving the health and wellness of consumers, employees, their families and the communities they serve. Members of the Forum employ nearly 10 million people worldwide with an estimated 90 million roles along the value chain. In his opening speech, South African Deputy President Cyril Ramophosa said this is an ethical and values-driven organization that is pioneering ground-breaking programs to reduce food wastage. "We certainly cannot afford, as I have come to learn, to live in a world where approximately one-third of all food is lost or wasted while more than 800 million people are undernourished," Ramaphosa said. This global summit, he said, offers an excellent platform for industry leaders and entrepreneurs to share experiences on the modern consumer and how his or her needs can better be attended to. "It is an opportunity for collaboration and refining of digital strategies to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by a world that is more connected, dynamic and fluctuating," he said. At a time of persistent difficulty in the global economy, consumer-focused businesses must be responsive to the financial pressures under which consumers find themselves, said Ramaphosa. He said there is growing consensus on the continent that Africa must replace the current system of exporting commodities and raw materials with a continental legislative and policy architecture and infrastructure. "This must be premised on interdependence, interconnectivity and intra-trade across our continent," said Ramaphosa. CANBERRA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China has been consistent in seeking a peaceful and negotiated solution to the South China Sea disputes, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye said in an article published Friday in one of Australia's top newspapers. In the article carried by The West Australian, Cheng wrote the issue of the South China Sea has attracted a lot of recent attention. "Though this is a complicated issue concerning territorial sovereignty, China remains committed to a negotiated solution." "China's indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters has long been established," the article said. "As the first to discover the islands, China has exercised sovereign jurisdiction over them through various means." "During World War II, Japan illegally seized some parts of the islands. After the war, China recovered those islands in accordance with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. For several decades afterwards, it was widely acknowledged by the international community that the South China Sea islands belong to China." The ambassador explained in the article the root cause of South China Sea disputes, which originated in the 1970s when some countries around the South China Sea began to occupy illegally part of China's Nansha islands and reefs. "In the interests of peace and stability in the region, China has exercised the utmost restraint," he said. While adhering to its position of upholding sovereignty over the islands, China put forward the proposal of "shelving differences and engaging in common development." China has had active discussions with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries for an effective way to manage the disputes. With concerted efforts, China and the 10 ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002. In the DOC, all relevant parties undertook to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by countries directly concerned. In September 2013, China and ASEAN countries launched consultations for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and they have made significant progress. "During the recent Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting, China and ASEAN countries, by reaffirming their commitment to a full, effective and comprehensive implementation of the DOC, agreed to advance the process of COC consultations with a view to reaching an early conclusion based on consensus." "It is China's consistent policy to settle territorial and maritime entitlement disputes through negotiations and consultations. In this spirit, China has solved boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 land neighbors in the past decades, with about 20,000 km of borderlines delineated." In addition, China and Vietnam have set the maritime boundary in the Beibu Gulf. "These remarkable achievements fully demonstrate that bilateral negotiations and consultations are an effective means to solve territorial disputes. The Chinese government will continue to adopt this approach," he said in the article. Cheng said in the mid-1990s, China and the Philippines reached a clear agreement on settling their disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation. This has been reaffirmed in many other bilateral documents since then, including the joint statement the two countries issued in September 2011. However, "in total disregard of this agreement," the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration against China on the South China Sea dispute in early 2013. "Such a move again goes against the provisions of the DOC. China has every right not to accept or participate in the arbitration. In spite of all this, the door of dialogue is always open. China is committed to resolving the disputes through negotiation with the Philippines." "The South China Sea is an important shipping lane. As the largest country around the South China Sea and the world's biggest trading nation in goods, China has a high stake in the South China Sea with 80 percent of its total trade traversing the area. Peace and stability in the South China Sea are critical to China." "It stands ready to work with other parties concerned to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea which all countries are entitled to in accordance with international law." "On the other hand, China remains firmly opposed to any provocative acts to ratchet up tension under the cover of navigation freedom," Cheng said in the article. MOSCOW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia's position on the possible exit of Britain from the European Union (EU) depends on whether it will weaken the EU or not, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said. "We need a strong partner, and Europe is our key partner in the world," Dvorkovich said in an interview with TV network Bloomberg aired on Friday. If Brexit will weaken the EU, then Russia is "not in favor of it," he said. "Weak partners are not usually good partners, not safe partners.Therefore, Russia needs Europe to remain strong." However, it is a choice eventually up to the British people and nobody should intervene, added the deputy prime minister. Dvorkovich also said that Russian's position on Brexit has nothing to do with the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western powers led by the United States. The sanctions are counterproductive for everyone. The sooner the sanctions are revoked, the better it is for both Russia and the Western economies, he said. XIAMEN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- After Wu Zhanbang, a young Chinese mainland entrepreneur finishes pitching his startup to the Taiwanese audience, David Chia, head of the visiting delegation, asks him how old he is. Wu's answer "22" is met by a huge round of applause. A group of 20 Taiwanese youngsters are visiting the First Maker, a startup incubator in Jimei Software Park in the southeastern city of Xiamen from Wednesday to Friday. Here, many entrepreneurs, like Wu, are fresh college graduates. The visit is part of many exchange activities linked to the Straits Forum, the largest annual event across the Taiwan Strait highlighting people-to-people exchanges, which ends Friday. Each delegate is paired with a startup based at First Maker. Alan Yeh, 40, from Taiwan's southern city Tainan, is working with Zheng Yang, CEO of e-commerce firm Quality Youth. Alan, who works in marketing, is impressed that Zheng is also 22 years old. "I had a very clear objective back in college, so I prepared myself throughout my studies," says Zheng, a graduate from Jimei University just miles away from the software park. Zheng tells Alan that his company exports mainland goods through foreign e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, and Lazada, an online shopping platform in Southeast Asia. "The mainland has a lot of good products, hence, huge business opportunities," Zheng tells Alan, unwrapping a box of goods to be shipped abroad, and handing Alan a diving mask that can be hooked up to a GoPro camera. Most of Zheng's orders are from the United States, and his company, which only launched last year, began to turn a profit this year, according to him. Alan says he has heard about the fast growth of the Internet industry on the mainland, and he wants to see it with his own eyes. He is impressed with the support startups on the mainland receive. David says the support offered to young entrepreneurs is very important, because startups can hardly break even in the first few years, but when rent is factored out, aspirant entrepreneurs are more likely to explore their ideas. Mina Yi, 33, another visitor from Taiwan, photographs every wall hanging at the First Maker office during the guided tour. The hangings feature mainland business icons including Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of qq.com, as well as Steve Jobs of Apple. "The visit has been very helpful, because I also want to start up my own e-commerce business, and seeing how it is done on the mainland is inspiring," Mina said. "I have heard a mainland friend talking about the situation on the mainland. Seeing it myself makes me anxious that given the speed of progress here, we may not be able to catch up," Mina says with a chuckle. Alan says experiencing the mainland firsthand is much better than learning from the media. BAGHDAD, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Friday took control of the government compound in the Islamic State (IS)-held city of Fallujah in the country's western province of Anbar, after days of battles against IS militants inside the southern part of the city, security sources said. "The troops managed in the morning to free the government compound and raised the Iraqi flag on its main building in the central part of Fallujah," Raid Shakir Jawdat, the Commander of the Federal Police, said in a press release. The recapture of the government compound came after the troops freed the districts of Nazal, Jubail and Resala, in addition to the industrial area in the southern part of the city, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The latest advance is the result of fierce clashes during the past few days, which forced many of the extremist militants to flee the city, the source said. The battles continued in the day to free northern district of the city with some IS militants still fighting in some areas, the source added. The liberation of the southern part of the city enabled more than 30,000 people who were trapped by the battles to leave their homes to safer areas outside the city, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on May 23 the launch of a major offensive to claim Fallujah and surrounding towns and areas. Government troops and allied militias have currently been fighting for months to reclaim key cities and towns in Anbar from IS militants, who attempted to advance toward Baghdad after seizing most of Anbar province. Iraq has been witnessing a wave of violence since the IS controlled parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. A member of Iraqi government forces walks next to an armoured vehicle during an operation, backed by air support from the US-led coalition, in Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood to retake the area from the Islamic State (IS) group on June 15, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP) BAGHDAD, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Friday took control of the government compound in the Islamic State (IS)-held city of Fallujah in the country's western province of Anbar, after days of battles against IS militants inside the southern part of the city, security sources said. "The troops managed in the morning to free the government compound and raised the Iraqi flag on its main building in the central part of Fallujah," Raid Shakir Jawdat, the Commander of the Federal Police, said in a press release. The recapture of the government compound came after the troops freed the districts of Nazal, Jubail and Resala, in addition to the industrial area in the southern part of the city, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The latest advance is the result of fierce clashes during the past few days, which forced many of the extremist militants to flee the city, the source said. The battles continued in the day to free northern district of the city with some IS militants still fighting in some areas, the source added. The liberation of the southern part of the city enabled more than 30,000 people who were trapped by the battles to leave their homes to safer areas outside the city, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on May 23 the launch of a major offensive to claim Fallujah and surrounding towns and areas. Government troops and allied militias have currently been fighting for months to reclaim key cities and towns in Anbar from IS militants, who attempted to advance toward Baghdad after seizing most of Anbar province. Iraq has been witnessing a wave of violence since the IS controlled parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. JINAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The so-called teapot refineries of east China's Shandong Province imported 7.488 million tonnes of crude oil in the first quarter of this year, Xinhua learned exclusively from local authorities. Of China's 91.1 million tonnes of imported crude in the first quarter, 8.2 percent went to Shandong's teapots. Statistics of the teapots' crude imports are compiled quarterly, so numbers since March are not yet available, according to an official with Shandong Economic and Information Technology Committee (ETIC), who declined to be named. The coastal province boasts more than 70 percent of Chinese teapots' refining capacity and revenue, according to exclusive data shared with Xinhua. Their international impact only began to be felt toward the end of last year, however, when the central government issued them with import quotas. Last year, 18 Shandong teapots applied for permission to import 64.42 million tonnes of crude annually, ETIC said. As of May this year, 11 have secured 41.43 million tonnes, with the remaining applications, for 22.99 million tonnes, awaiting approval. Eleven additional Shandong teapots are preparing to apply, too, ETIC said. Should all the applications be approved, Shandong teapots' potential crude imports could account for almost a fifth of that of the whole country, as customs data showed China imported 335.5 million tonnes last year. OUT OF HINTERLAND It was not long ago that these same teapots were struggling with crude shortages, as China's oil market is dominated by state-owned giants such as CNPC and Sinopec. The giants, whose businesses span from extraction, refining to retailing, have been for years reluctant to "feed" smaller, independent rivals with crude. "The biggest difference between us and a state-owned refinery is that we never know when or from whom our next 'meal' will come," said Li Bo, a former Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Corp. employee who is now general manager of Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co., both in Zibo City. As a result, Shandong teapots' capacity utilization rate for 2013 was 36.4 percent, whereas state-owned refineries were running at over 80 percent, according to ETIC numbers. Breakthrough has been made to narrow the gap as local teapots gained import quotas, which ETIC officials described as an effective step in China's ongoing supply-side reforms. Wonfull Petrochemical was granted an import quota of over 4 million tonnes earlier this year, and the news was significant, Li said. "Tears poured down employees' faces. We used to think we were second-class citizens, but now we are on equal footings," Li said. Shandong teapots were granted quotas in late 2015, and rushed to import crude, but last year's total imports -- 7.37 million tonnes -- were "below expectations," according to the ETIC, because of "highly fluctuating prices and the teapots' lack of buying experience." EXPLORING WONDERLAND With steady, quality imports, the teapots are already reaping handsome rewards -- and profits. The eleven teapots that have been granted quotas, registered a 20.9 percent growth of revenue and 622 percent growth of profits in the January-March period. "We used to run at 30 to 40 percent capacity, but now we are near full production," said Wei Yudong, deputy general manager of Lihuayi Group Co. Ltd., which has been allowed to import 3.5 million tonnes a year. Leading the teapots' imports is Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group, which imported 2.258 million tonnes in the first quarter, according to ETIC. As imports limits are poised to loosen, the province is championing a new platform -- the China Independent Oil Refiners Purchasing Alliance -- to seek lower prices from the international market. Fourteen teapots, including 11 within Shandong, have joined the alliance, said ETIC, adding that, "We will actively support the alliance in unified negotiations and purchasing based upon uniform pricing, so as to bolster bargaining power and promote the interests of the teapots and the industry." Teapots, including Lihuayi, Dongying Qirun Chemical Co. Ltd., and Dongying Yatong Petrochemical Co. Ltd., will channel billions of yuan to improve their petrochemical processing capabilities, company executives told Xinhua. HOUSTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. must stop people with "hate in their hearts" from entering the country, in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Orlando of Florida. "We have to stop people with hate in their hearts from coming into our country," Trump said in front of a rally with about 3,500 supporters in the northern Texas city of Dallas, the first leg of his two-day Texas tour that will also bring him to Houston on Friday. According to the local English daily newspaper The Dallas Morning News, Trump said that he would protect the United States against terrorism by controlling the flow of immigrants into the country. Speaking of the June 12 terror attack in Orlando of Florida that left 49 people dead and 53 others injured, along with other similar incidents, Trump said the murders were born out of disrespect for America. "It is weakness on behalf of our leadership. People don't respect our country anymore," Trump said, "They are going to respect you, folks. Things are going to change." "You saw what one sleazebag can do. No more," he added. Trump also talked about building a wall along the country's southern border with neighboring Mexico and protecting gun rights. Attacking his rival, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump said he was so looking forward to the debate with what he called "crooked Hillary." Hillary would abolish the second amendment (of the Constitution that allows U.S. citizens to own a gun) and raise taxes, he warned. Meanwhile, Dallas police maintained a major presence while hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the rally to protest against Trump's visit. This is Trump's first campaign in Texas since he clinched the Republican Party's nomination one year ago. PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Siem Reap Provincial Court sentenced an elderly British man to 18 months in prison on Friday for sexually abusing three underage boys. Roy Sheppard, 77, was convicted of "Indecent Act" of Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation against three underage boys between 12 and 16 years old, said a statement issued by child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), which assisted the police in a probe leading to the arrest and conviction. The court also ordered his deportation from Cambodia after he served his jail term and fined him 1,000 U.S. dollars in compensation to each of the victims. Sheppard was arrested by Siem Reap Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile protection police in October last year after receiving complaints from the parents of the victims. Later, he was released on bail by the court for health reason. APLE's program director Vando Khoem applauded the verdict against Sheppard and urged the authorities to bring him to serve his sentence. Cambodia launched an anti-pedophile operation in 2003 in a bid to end its reputation as a haven for child sex offenders. Since then, dozens of foreigners have been imprisoned for child sex crimes. ATHENS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Greece's national broadcaster ERT and the Chinese Guangxi Television Station unveiled a cooperation project on Thursday evening to air a series of documentaries on Guangxi, an autonomous region in southwest China. Starting from June 20, ERT will broadcast on a daily basis a total of seven documentaries, produced by Guangxi Television and featuring the breath-taking landscape of the region, its people and rich cultural heritage. During a ceremony in Athens on Thursday evening, senior officials from both sides announced the cooperation project. "We hope this will be the first step in productive cooperation with Chinese television stations," said Panagiotis Tsolias, director of corporate communication at ERT. "We believe that Guangxi can have a pioneering role in China-Greece friendly exchanges and that it can become an important bridge and can play an active role in the Belt and Road Initiative," said Zou Xiaoli, Chinese Ambassador to Greece. The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Chinese leaders, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt that links China with Europe through central and western Asia by inland routes, and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road connecting China with southeast Asia, Africa and Europe by sea routes. HANOI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expected Vietnam's economic growth of 6.7 percent in 2016, staying unchanged compared to 2015, despite downside risk due to ongoing severe drought, said the ADB in a press release on Friday. The country's economic growth is projected to stand at 6.5 percent in 2017, said the press release issued during a two-day visit of ADB President Takehiko Nakao to Vietnam. Meanwhile, in late 2015, Vietnam's National Assembly targeted the country's economic growth to be 6.7 percent in 2016. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in early June said his country's economic growth is expected to hit around 6.8 percent in 2017. Concerning climate change, Vietnam has become increasingly vulnerable to climate change-related extreme events such as droughts and flooding that severely affect agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said the ADB. Recently, ADB has approved 3 million U.S. dollars in granting assistance to support relief efforts in the wake of the drought and salt water intrusion in Vietnam's South Central, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions. UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Thursday concluded a three-day meeting on the disabled persons with determination to never leave them behind in the global drive for sustainable development. Bringing together hundreds of disability advocates and government delegates, the 9th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) constituted one of the largest and most diverse international meetings on disability in the world. The main focus of the Parties to the CRPD, which kicked off on Tuesday at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, is to implement the new Sustainable Development Goals for all persons with disabilities During the event, U.N. officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft highlighted the critical role which the disabilities play as invaluable partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. "Let us work together for a world of opportunity and dignity for all, a future of inclusion, one in which we all gain by leaving no one behind," the U.N. secretary general told the conference. The Chinese delegation to the three-day U.N. conference was headed by Wu Haitao, the deputy Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations. The Vice Chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDFP), Jia Yong, took the floor at the general debate of the U.N. event and shed light on how the Chinese government has taken great efforts to promote the rights and well-being of the people with disabilities in his country. The annual U.N. conference also examined the implementation of the binding agreement adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2006 to reaffirm that the one billion persons with disabilities -- 15 percent of the world's population -- must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Indian troops Friday killed two militants in a fierce gunfight in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said. The gunfight broke out at Bomai village of Sopore area, around 56 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Today two militants were killed in a firefight at Bomai village near Sopore town," Col. N N Joshi told Xinhua. "The gunfight was triggered after joint contingents of Indian army and police cordoned off the area following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants." Indian army or police have not suffered any casualty in the standoff, police said. While the gunfight was going on, clashes broke out in the village. Local youth threw stones and brickbats at the government forces, who retaliated by firing tear smoke shells and warning shots. Joshi said the identity of slain militants was being ascertained. However, reports said the two have been identified as local cadres of Hizbul Mujahideen, the region's indigenous militant outfit. Locals said the house from where militants were firing on police and army positions has been severely damaged. On Thursday, four militants and an Indian military trooper were killed in a gunfight in Tangdhar area of the frontier Kupwara district. Indian military said the militants were gunned down while trying to infiltrate into Indian-controlled Kashmir. Militant groups are engaged in a guerrilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. KINGSTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Jamaican government has decided to use Chinese concessional loans to upgrade the road network on the island, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Thursday. The arrangement has been finalized with the Export-Import Bank of China (China EximBank), which will provide most of the funds, to construct a road network in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country, the prime minister told a press conference in Jamaica House. Holness said that the projects will cost 384 million U.S. dollars. The Jamaican government will raise 57 million dollars while the rest will be provided by the China Eximbank as a loan. Works in the southeastern end of the island will cover construction of a toll-free four-lane highway and renovation of some old roads, Holness said. For the southwestern section, the prime minister said the toll road Highway 2000 will be extended from May Pen, Clarendon Parish in the south to Mandeville, Manchester Parish in the midwest of the country. "This plan makes access, gives a better road, reduces cost and still achieves the objectives that we want it to," he said. The prime minister said the national project to build out the road network is in keeping with the government's philosophy that all public expenditure must make economic sense and utilize a cost-effective strategy of implementation. Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Niu Qingbao told Xinhua that the Chinese government is committed to providing concessional loans to fund the Caribbean countries' infrastructure and other development projects. "We hope assistance from China will help Jamaica and other Caribbean countries stick to their development agenda, boost the economic prosperity, and most importantly, benefit all people here," Niu said. COLOMBO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka said on Friday that the local fisheries industry is to be modernized with lifting of a ban by the European Union (EU) on fisheries products from Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a statement Norwegian assistance has been sought to modernize the fisheries industry. The prime minister appreciated the role played by the Foreign Ministry, Fisheries Ministry and others to lift the ban on fisheries products from Sri Lanka to the EU. The European Commission this week formally lifted the ban on fisheries products from Sri Lanka and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the fishermen can now begin exporting fisheries products to EU countries. In April the European Commission said after a lengthy dialogue process Sri Lanka has successfully reformed its fisheries governance system. Sri Lanka was issued with a yellow card in 2012 and banned by the Council in February 2015. This was the result of a long-standing failure to address serious shortcomings in the implementation of control measures, a lack of deterrent sanctions, as well as the failure to comply with international and regional fisheries rules. Sri Lanka has subsequently amended its legal framework, strengthened sanctions and improved its fleet control. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq's second city, Mosul, in July, 2014. (SIPA File Photo) MOSCOW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State (IS), was wounded in a recent anti-terror campaign, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday, citing Syria's ambassador to Moscow. "There is no exact information with regard to his (al-Baghdadi) death, but I do know for sure that he was wounded," ambassador Riyad Haddad was quoted as saying without elaboration. Earlier this week, there have been reports citing various sources that the IS leader was allegedly killed in a U.S.-led airstrike in Syria. CAIRO, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- This undated photo provided by Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry shows a black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane. The second black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane has been retrieved, Egyptian investigators said on Friday. (Xinhua) CAIRO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Technical Investigation committee for EgyptAir's A320 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea last month has received the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) from Egypt's general prosecution, the committee said in a statement on Friday. The committee said the two data recorders will be handed over to the Central Department for Aircraft Accident at the Ministry of Civil Aviation to start analysing them in order to unload their data. Earlier in the day, the committee announced that the second black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane has been retrieved by Lethbridge John vessel which was rented by the Egyptian government to take part in the search operations. The aircraft's first black box, cockpit voice recorder, was recovered on Thursday. "The analysis of data may take several weeks; if the memory units at both recorders are in good condition, then the unloading process will start right away at the labs of the Central Department for Aircraft Investigation," the committee's press release said. Whereas, the committee explained, if there is a minor damage at both or either of them, the damage will be repaired locally. However, the committee said the repair process will be conducted abroad under the supervision of the Investigation Committee if the damage is major. The Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board. Later, the Egyptian military announced it found personal belongings of the victims and small pieces of the plane's wreckage in the Mediterranean Sea 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria. This file photo taken on May 19, 2016 shows an Egyptair Airbus A330 from Cairo taxiing at the Roissy-Charles De Gaulle airport near Paris after its landing a few hours after the MS804 Egyptair flight crashed into the Mediterranean. (Xinhua/AFP) CAIRO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The second black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane has been retrieved, Egyptian investigators said on Friday. "Lethbridge John vessel, rented by the Egyptian government to take part in the search, has retrieved the second black box, flight data recorder of the crashed EgyptAir flight A320," the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said in a statement. The Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board. Later, the Egyptian military announced it found personal belongings of the victims and small pieces of the plane's wreckage in the Mediterranean Sea 290 km north of the coastal city of Alexandria. The recorder, which gathers information about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane, was "retrieved in several pieces," the committee added. The aircraft's first black box, cockpit voice recorder, was recovered on Thursday. The Egyptian investigation committee said preparations were underway to transfer the two flight black boxes to Alexandria where they will be received by an official from the prosecutor general's office and investigators. A crew member takes part in a fire drill on China's largest and most advanced patrol vessel Haixun 01 on the South China Sea, April 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) by Fei Liena, Hao Weiwei BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea proves to be a tranquil sea with inherent freedom of navigation, but some countries, with ulterior motives, have launched publicity campaigns to deliberately play up the South China Sea issue in support of their hegemonist military moves. Let's first take a look at an example. In February, Western media started to hype up China's missile deployment in South China Sea's Xisha area. On Feb. 16, the U.S. Fox News network reported that China deployed HQ-9 anti-aircraft missiles on Xisha's Yongxing Island. On Feb 17, U.S. secretary of state, White House spokesman and commander of the Pacific Command all criticized China for what they called "militarization" in the South China Sea. On the same day, the Japanese government also expressed "grave concern" over China's action. Afterwards, the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies released a set of satellite photos, claiming China was setting up high frequency radar facilities on the South China Sea, echoing the so-called "China threat" claim. In Western media's reports on the South China Sea issue, China has often been described as a restless empire "bullying" smaller countries, "militarizing" in the South China Sea, sabotaging "freedom of navigation", challenging international law, and seeking hegemony in the Asia Pacific region. The farce, led by the U.S. and supported by its allies, was intentioned to make China the scapegoat for the tense situation in the South China Sea region. Uncle Sam and its friends are good at staging biased media publicity campaigns, confusing different concepts and applying double standards. They often choose to ignore the fact that the Philippines and other countries have illegally occupied Chinese islands in the South China Sea and deployed radar facilities, planes, artillery pieces and missiles there. Yet, they tag "militarization" on China for doing lawful construction work on its own islands. When asked whether sending large U.S. naval ships and military planes to the region means militarization at a press briefing, U.S. State Department spokesperson Mark Toner gave a funny answer by saying the practice was "basically freedom of navigation." Western media publicity campaigns' prejudice against China on the South China Sea issue originates from their presumption of guilt on China -- Everything China does in the South China Sea must have been wrong. This logic reminds people of the so-called "power's original sin". Concluding from their own history of expansion, Western countries take it for granted that once China becomes powerful, it will surely dominate. According to Zheng Yongnian, director of East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, the U.S. has misjudged China's intention and role in the Asia Pacific region on the basis of its own history of expansion and power politics rather than China's diplomatic performance in the region. The increasingly obvious trend is that the U.S. has been mobilizing political, economic, military and diplomatic resources to "come back to the Asia Pacific", and to contain China. Among the U.S. manoeuvres, staging a biased publicity campaign on the South China Sea issue is a clever trick with low input and substantial returns. By employing the South China Sea issue, U.S. politicians intended to humiliate and attack China and force China to make some "difficult choices" to concede. However, their wishful thinking of using publicity campaigns to press China to compromise and concede on fundamental issues such as territorial integrity is nothing but a pipe dream. A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe. Time will reveal China's goodwill and endeavor to promote peaceful development of the Asia Pacific region. Meanwhile, some countries' ulterior motive will also be brought to light in time. Related: Executive Summary: The Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines Is Null and Void BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- On 10 June 2016, the Chinese Society of International Law (CSIL) released a paper entitled The Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines Is Null and Void. The executive summary of the paper is as follows: On 22 January 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration with respect to certain issues in the South China Sea ( "Arbitration" ). China has maintained its solemn position that it would neither accept nor participate in the Arbitration, having stated that the tribunal constituted at the unilateral request of the Philippines ( "Arbitral Tribunal" or "Tribunal" ) manifestly has no jurisdiction. Full story Chinese Society of International Law releases paper on South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Society of International Law (CSIL) on Friday releases a paper under the title the Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines is Null and Void, supporting the Chinese Government's position of neither accepting nor participating in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines. From a legal point of view, the CSIL criticizes on errors the Arbitral Tribunal makes in its award on jurisdiction, and demonstrates that both this award and the pending award on merits are null and void. Full story Spotlight: Experts say China's stance on South China Sea arbitration fully justified BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' unilateral move to bring a maritime dispute with China to an international tribunal won't help resolve the problem and the right way forward is to seek settlement through bilateral talks, several foreign experts told Xinhua in recent interviews. While expressing support for China's position of non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitration of the China-Philippine dispute over islands in the South China Sea, they said that Manila's arbitration act runs against the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reneges on its previous promises. Full story Interview: Manila intensifies tension in South China Sea -- former diplomat MANILA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government has been behind the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, a former diplomat of the country told Xinhua on Wednesday. Alberto Encomienda, former secretary-general of Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said: "China has been for the negotiations all along, but from the beginning we are not." Full story How to Bridge the Divide Over the South China Sea The differences between China and the U.S. over the South China Sea issue have become a matter of concern and even anxiety. But some of the perceptions in the U.S. and elsewhere about Chinas policy and intentions in the area are misplaced. A pressing task is to understand the facts and Chinas intentions correctly so as to avoid real danger and consequences as a result of misinterpretation and miscalculation. Full Story China urges Philippines to immediately cease arbitral proceedings BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday again urged the Philippines to stop its arbitral proceedings and return to the right track of settling relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China. KATHMANDU, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (R) and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai hold the book entitled "Sixty Years of Dynamic Partnership" during its launching ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, June 17, 2016. The book documents all major developments in Nepal-China relations since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955. (Xinhua) KATHMANDU, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said Friday that Nepal-China relations have been moving ahead on the basis of mutual respect and understanding. Oli made the remarks here at the launch ceremony of a book entitled Sixty Years of Dynamic Partnership. The book documents all major developments in Nepal-China relations since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955. The Nepali prime minister said Nepal-China relations have always been cordial and trouble-free over the past 60 years. Recalling his visit to China in March this year, Oli said his visit has lifted the bilateral relationship to a new height. "Reaching our bilateral relationship to a new height means that the status of Nepal has also been enhanced in the international arena following this visit," he added. Oli expressed confidence that the relations between Nepal and China will be further enhanced in the days to come. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai said on the occasion that China-Nepal relations have always remained cordial and friendly based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. "We saw a new chapter in our dynamic partnership when Prime Minister Oli paid a successful and historic visit to China in March this year," the ambassador said. President of Nepal-China Society, Prem Kumari Pant, said the book will help readers understand more about Nepal-China relations and help consolidate friendly ties between the two countries. Hiranya Lal Shrestha, a former Nepali diplomat and author of the book, stressed the importance of enhancing connectivity between the two countries to further promote age-old cordial ties. NAY PYI TAW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- French Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday France will provide 200 million euros (266 million U.S. dollars) in development aid to Myanmar. Ayrault told a joint press conference with his Myanmar counterpart Aung San Suu Kyi that France's assistance has already been in place in Myanmar with its aid doubled for the youths of the country. The French Development Agency (AFD) is also involved in Myanmar's development process, especially in urban planning, energy and health sectors, he said, adding that the number of French companies investing in Myanmar is also increasing. The French minister stressed that the Mayor Office of Paris is ready to help Myanmar concerning with urban planning. Ayrault arrived in the Myanmar capital on a three-day visit on Thursday. His trip is the first by a French government representative since the new government took office in April. The French minister also met with President U Htin Kyaw. NAY PYI TAW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and Germany vowed Friday to cooperate for Myanmar's economic growth, sources with the President office said. The pledge came as Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw met with visiting German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Muller in Nay Pyi Taw. The pair also discussed vocational training, provision of technology and financing for local small- and medium-sized enterprises, and transfer of modern technology for agriculture, among others. The German minister extended an invitation to U Htin Kyaw to visit Germany. Germany stood at 28th in Myanmar's investors line-up with 21.1 million U.S. dollars. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's trips to central and eastern Europe (CEE) this month will elevate ties between the 16 CEE countries and China, paving the way for successful projects under the "Belt and Road" framework. Xi is scheduled to visit Serbia and Poland from June 17 to 21. He will then travel to Uzbekistan and attend the 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent. This is the Chinese president's second trip to the CEE in less than three months. Even for Xi, whose globetrotting has already taken him to five continents in a little more than three years, such frequent visits to one single region are rare. "This demonstrates the value China attaches to the '16+1' cooperation and to the collaboration between China and Europe in a more general sense," said Liu Zuokui, a CEE expert with the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Xi visited the Czech Republic in late March this year. It was Xi's first trip to the CEE as China's top leader, and the first by a Chinese president ever to that European country. Many saw the March trip as part of Xi's efforts to refine his new diplomacy push. Before March, Xi had already traveled to some 40 countries in the capacity of China's president, with CEE nations being an exception. Still more saw it as a sign of closer links between China and the CEE, and the Serbian and Polish tours are set to strengthen that bond, they say. "China and CEE countries share traditional friendship, which naturally draws the two sides closer and drives them forward in terms of cooperation," Liu said. Serbia was the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China, while Poland is China's largest trading partner in the CEE region. Promoting bilateral cooperation with Serbia and Poland will "play an exemplary and positive role in propelling China-CEE relations," Liu said, adding that Xi's tours will bring China-CEE ties to a whole new level, he said. Chen Xin, head of the economics division under the CASS Institute of European Studies, meanwhile, put Xi's CEE visits in the broader context of the still-warming Sino-European ties. It has been 13 years since China and the European Union established a comprehensive strategic partnership. Despite some "recurring frictions", the two sides have successfully worked together in the face of the international financial crisis to advance global governance reform, stepped up communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, and contributed significantly to world peace, development and cooperation. Economic links between China and Europe are perhaps the strongest glue holding the two sides together. China is now the EU's second largest trading partner behind the United States, and the EU is China's biggest trading partner. According to Chinese customs figures, China's trade of goods with EU totaled 3.51 trillion yuan (533 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015. But zooming in on China-CEE trade, the picture is less appealing. Trade between China and CEE countries stood at 56.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. That figure is only about one tenth of the current China-EU trade. "We have not fully tapped into the huge market potentials China and CEE countries hold," Liu Zuokui said. Hopefully, CEE is catching up. Although two-way trade is relatively low at the moment, the growth rate is impressive. In 2010, China-CEE trade was only valued at 44 billion U.S. dollars. Earlier reports said China has plans to double its trade with the region by 2019. "It signals a shift toward a more balanced approach in China's engagement with Europe," Chen Xin said. Both Liu and Chen went on to note that Xi's visits will boost the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative. "Serbia and Poland have considerable regional influence. Their support to the initiative is thus crucial to the proposed Belt and Road projects," Chen said. This sentiment was echoed by Liu. According to Liu, Serbia plays a key role in projects such as the China-Europe land-sea express passage, designed to strengthen connectivity and scale up trade between China and Europe, whereas Poland could serve as an important hub along the Silk Road Economic Belt. So far, more than a dozen Chinese cities have launched regular freight train services linking them to Europe, and nearly all train rails pass through Poland, the eastern gateway to the European Union. "Serbia and Poland hold the key to the vision of interconnectivity between Asia and Europe," Liu said. BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Friday for a state visit to Serbia as China seeks to carry forward traditional friendship and step up economic engagement with Serbia. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Serbia in 32 years, and also Xi's second trip to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in less than three months. During his ongoing visit, Xi will meet his counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic, and other Serbian political leaders for discussions on bilateral relations, the Belt and Road Initiative and China-CEE cooperation, as well as global and regional hot-spot issues of common concern. A number of cooperation deals covering economy, trade, industrial capacity and finance are expected to be inked. Related: China, Serbia sign currency swap deal BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank signed a currency swap deal worth 1.5 billion yuan (228 million U.S. dollars) with its Serbian counterpart on Friday to boost bilateral economic cooperation. The pact, inked with the National Bank of Serbia, will last three years and can be extended if the two sides agree, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced. Full story Spotlight: Xi's visit to further lift Great Wall-like China-Serbia friendship BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a historic visit to Serbia on Friday, in a trip that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said "sends a strong signal that China values its friendship with Serbia." The visit, a testimony to the time-tested and trusted friendship between the two sides, shows that "China seriously considers Serbia as its great partner," said Nikolic. Full story Xinhua Insight: Xi's successive CEE trips to usher in golden age for ties BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's trips to central and eastern Europe (CEE) this month will elevate ties between the 16 CEE countries and China, paving the way for successful projects under the "Belt and Road" framework. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Volkswagen China will recall 147,955 vehicles due to fuse defects, China's quality watchdog said on Friday. The recall involves 2004-2012 Touran produced between July 2, 2004 and Dec.28, 2012, according to a statement from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The fuse of the front light of these vehicles may not function properly in high temperatures and pose safety risks, according to the statement. The recall will start from June 24 and the carmaker will fix the defective parts for free. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan met with a Japanese delegation led by Yoshifumi Hibako, former chief of staff of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces on Friday afternoon. Chang said China-Japan relationships are complicated and fragile, and it will be a long and arduous task to bring bilateral ties back on track. He urged the Japanese side to learn lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development and do more to improve bilateral ties. Yoshifumi Hibako said improvement in Japan-China ties is important to both countries and regional stability, and the members of the delegation are willing to play a positive role. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, on Friday voiced strong dissatisfaction after some U.S. lawmakers met with the Dalai Lama in Washington. "The meeting went against the U.S. commitment that Tibet is a part of Chinese territory and it does not support 'Tibet independence'," said a statement issued by the NPC's Foreign Affairs Committee. The meeting also breached basic norms of international relations and constituted a severe interference in China's internal affairs, the statement said. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and some lawmakers met with Dalai Lama in Washington on June 14. BEIJING, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (R, front) shakes hands with staff members of Shenyang Machine Tool Co., Ltd. in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 16, 2016. During a visit to Liaoning Province from June 16 to 17, Zhang urged local governments in China's northeastern region to revitalize the old industrial base. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Friday urged local governments in China's northeastern region to revitalize the old industrial base. Zhang made the remarks during a two-day visit to Liaoning Province. The northeast region plays a significant part in the country's overall development, the vice premier said at a meeting Friday with officials from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The region should pursue innovation-driven development and accelerate the development of new industries, he said. Local governments should transform their functions, streamline administration and delegate power to lower levels to create a sound business environment, Zhang said. Efforts should also be made to introduce, cultivate and retain talented people to provide sufficient intelligence during the revitalization, he said. Local governments should also build livable environment and improve people's lives to give all people access to the fruit of the country's development, Zhang said. In April, the State Council unveiled a guideline for rejuvenating the northeast rustbelt region through more reforms and economic restructuring. The northeast, including Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, was among the first regions in China to become industrialized. Its traditional industries include steel, automobile, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing and petroleum refining. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A former judicial official faces charges relating to bribery taking and possession of ammunition, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Friday. Liang Zhenlin, former deputy head of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's department of justice, will stand trial on counts of dereliction of duty; accepting a large amount of money or goods in exchange for benefits for others; and possession of ammunition, according to the SPP. The SPP also revealed that prosecutors in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are investigating Zhang Yu, an official who was once in charge of the research of the history of the Communist Party of China in Inner Mongolia, over allegations of embezzlement. Hong Jianping, former deputy mayor of Wuhu City, Anhui Province, was arrested for suspected bribery taking, it said. LAGOS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents have killed 18 people in Kuda-Kaya village of Madagali area in restive northeast Nigeria's Adamawa State, local police authority said Friday. The attack occurred around 10 p.m. local time on Thursday night, Othman Abubakar, the state police spokesperson told Xinhua in Yola, the state capital. Abubakar also confirmed the arrest of a Boko Haram suspect by the Police in Gombi area of the state. "We are still investigating the suspect to ascertain whether he is among the wanted Boko Haram leaders," Abubakar said. BERLIN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- German economists said their country's economy in this year would grow faster than they initially thought, but a possible withdraw of UK from the European Union would risk the economy's future momentum. On Friday, RWI economic institute in Essen raised its forecast for German 2016 growth from 1.4 percent to 1.7 percent, citing strong private consumption, residential investment and government spending. "Domestic demand remains the driving force of the German economic growth," said RWI chief economist Roland Doehrn in a statement. According to the institute, employment would continue to rise and the German government was expected to spend more on accommodating and integrating refugees. RWI joined other leading economic think tanks in Germany which predicted the German economy to grow at a faster pace. Earlier this week, Berlin-based DIW and Munich-based Ifo institute also raised their growth forecast slightly. "The first quarter of 2016 was better than expected. The moderate upturn in the German economy that started in 2014 is entering the second half. It may even run into extra time," said Ifo economist Timo Wollmershaeuser. In the first quarter of 2016, the German gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.7 percent, more than twice the growth in the last quarter of 2015. Industrial production rose by 1.8 percent quarter on quarter. Sentiment of consumers and business both remained brightened. The German government also expect the economy to grow by 1.7 percent in the current year. However, many economists warned that the German economy would suffer significant loss if Britain chooses to leave the EU in a referendum next week. "The biggest risk at the moment is Brexit," said Ifo President Clemens Fuest on Thursday. According to Ifo's analysis, Brexit would cost the German economy up to 3 percent of GDP in the long term. Great Britain was Germany's fifth biggest trading partner in 2015 with a total foreign trade volume of 127.5 billion euros (about 143.5 billion U.S. dollars). "If the British people choose to leave the EU, that will cost the German economy in this year already," said DIW's chief economist Ferdinand Fichtner. According to the institute, Brexit will cost German exports about 15 billion euros in 2017, while other indirect effects, such as financial market turmoil, declining foreign investment and rising tariffs, are difficult to estimate. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Dongfeng Honda will recall more than one million vehicles due to defective airbags, China's quality watchdog said on Friday. The recall, set to begin on July 31, affects 533,350 CR-V models manufactured between April 12, 2006 and Jan. 12, 2012, 456,581 Civic sedans produced between Aug. 2, 2005 and Aug. 19, 2011, 48,309 Spirior vehicles made between Sept. 18, 2009 and Nov. 15, 2011, and 684 imported Civic Hybrid cars manufactured between March 19, 2007 and Oct. 5, 2010, according to a statement from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Fragments might fly out from airbags of the affected cars when airbags are deployed, posing safety risks, the statement said. Dongfeng Hongda promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace defective parts free of charge. BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday refuted the accusation that a Chinese vessel had intruded into Japan's territorial waters, saying the navigation was completely in line with international law. "The Chinese Navy vessel did not invade Japan's territorial waters," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing. Hua made the remarks in response to reports saying a Chinese warship sailed through the Tokara Strait, located between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Japan's defense minister accused China of not informing Japan in advance that the military ship would enter Japanese waters. Hua said, according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), vessels have the right to pass through a strait used for international navigation. The Tokara Strait is such a strait. Thus, the Chinese vessel's navigation was fully in line with the UNCLOS. Hua also reminded the Japanese side that the right of passage through a strait used for international navigation should not be confused with the right of innocent passage in territorial waters. "We hope that Japanese media or officials from the government would refer to international law before making some remarks," Hua said. Earlier on Friday, China's Defense Ministry said, "We have noticed relevant reports by Japanese media and we really can't understand why Japan repeatedly exaggerates the legitimate activities of Chinese warships recently." BEIJING/TANGSHAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday the Chinese government encourages the provinces and cities of China and the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to synergize each other's advantage and participate in the 16+1 cooperation in areas including production capacity, trade and intercommunication. Li made the remarks in a letter congratulating a meeting in Tangshan of Hebei Province, where delegates from more than 15 Chinese provinces and 50 states of CEE countries gathered to discuss cooperation at local level. China supports the localities playing a bigger role in the further opening up of China, Li said, adding that he hopes discussion at the meeting will inject new vitality to the 16+1 cooperation. Leaders from the CEE countries, including Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Montenegro's Deputy Prime Minister Petar Ivanovic, echoed Li saying the 16+1 cooperation and the meeting of local leaders served as important platforms to promote the bilateral political mutual trust, corporate cooperation and regional exchanges. They also voiced willingness to continue to join in the 16+1 cooperation in areas including localities, energy, infrastructure, technology innovation, youth, higher education and tourism. JAKARTA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government on Friday hailed the European Union (EU)'s move to revoke its ban against three Indonesian airlines from serving flights to EU countries. "The decision to revoke the flight ban reflected the achievement of diplomacy coupled with Indonesia's efforts to address flight safety in the country's aviation service," a statement released by the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry said, adding that the decision showed EU's trust in the Indonesian authorities and airlines. The EU on Thursday revoked its flight ban against three Indonesian airlines namely Citilink, Lion Air and Batik Air from serving flights to any EU countries. The EU had, in 2009 and 2011, lifted similar ban on several Indonesian airlines, namely Garuda Indonesia, Airfast Indonesia, Indonesia Air Asia and Ekspres Transportasi Antarbenua. GAZA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Ismail Haneya, the deputy chief of Islamic Hamas movement, warned on Friday of increasing and speeding up the Arabs' normalization with Israel. Haneya told prayers at one of Gaza mosques that all Arab and regional peace initiatives will fail due to "the impossible Israeli terms and having the Likud Party the ruling party of Israel." "Even Oslo peace accords (the transitional peace treaties reached between Israel and the PLO) had failed after 23 years. All these treaties and initiatives had failed to help gaining the Palestinian rights," said Haneya. Hamas movement, which opposes the peace process and refuses to recognize Israel, has been ruling the Gaza Strip since it had taken the coastal enclave by force in 2007 and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas security forces. "The Arabs have always been linking the normalization with the Israeli occupation with the success of the signed peace agreements, but unfortunately normalization became a priority without having successful deals," said Haneya. He insisted that the choice of achieving peaceful settlement with Israel "has failed," adding that "it is necessary to unify the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic positions and set up a strategy to confront the policy of concessions." Last direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in April 2014 after it went on for nine months and were sponsored by the United States due to deep differences on settlement, borders and security issues. Meanwhile, Hanan Ashrawi, the official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a press statement that resolving the Palestinian cause can't be made by bilateral negotiations, but through a multi-international track. "This track has to be based on international laws and the principle of the two-state solution," said Ashrawi, who called for succeeding the French peace initiative and the idea of holding international conference for peace. BELGRADE, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan are greeted by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and his wife upon their arrival at the airport of Belgrade, Serbia, June 17, 2016. Xi started a state visit to Serbia Friday.(Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Friday for a state visit to Serbia as China seeks to carry forward traditional friendship and step up economic engagement with Serbia. Serbia sent fighter jets to escort Xi's plane when it entered the country's airspace. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and his wife, Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at the airport. Serbian children presented bread and salt to Xi and Peng for them to taste, a Serbian tradition to show respect and friendship to distinguished guests. The couple also received flowers and watched the performance of traditional Serbian folk dance, Kolo. "The traditional friendship between our two countries and peoples has stood the historical test amid the changes of the international landscape and our respective national conditions, and become even stronger," the Chinese president said in a written speech delivered at the airport. Xi noted the accelerated progress in bilateral ties especially since the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and Serbia in 2009. The Chinese president also hailed the mutual political trust and the fruitful cooperation in such fields as energy, transportation infrastructure construction and agriculture over recent years. "China stands ready to work with Serbia to keep the momentum and push our relations and practical cooperation to a higher level, thus creating a new situation for our mutually beneficial cooperation and common development," he said. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Serbia in 32 years, and Xi's second trip -- following one to the Czech Republic in March -- to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in less than three months. During his stay in Serbia, Xi will meet Nikolic and other Serbian political leaders for discussions on bilateral relations, the Belt and Road Initiative and China-CEE cooperation, as well as global and regional hot-spot issues of common concern. A number of cooperation deals covering economy, trade, industrial capacity and finance are expected to be inked. In a demonstration of China's willingness to consolidate political mutual trust and expand practical cooperation with CEE countries, Xi will travel from Serbia to Poland for a state visit. China and Serbia share a time-honored traditional friendship. In 2009, Serbia became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China. Nikolic paid a state visit to China in 2013. Last year, he went to Beijing again to attend the commemorative activities marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Serbia also dispatched a formation to participate in China's V-Day military parade on Sept. 3, 2015. Two-way trade grew by 2.3 percent year on year to 550 million U.S. dollars in 2015, according to Chinese customs. Also last year, Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly promote the connectivity-based Belt and Road Initiative during the fourth leaders' meeting of China and 16 CEE countries, which was held in Suzhou, China. The initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. China and Serbia have strengthened cooperation on infrastructure construction and investment over recent years. Serbia's sole steel mill in the city of Smederevo, which had experienced difficulties in operation, was bought by China's HeSteel Group (HBIS) for 46 million euros (51.6 million U.S. dollars) in April this year. HBIS plans to invest at least 300 million euros (337.6 million dollars) in the steel mill and turn it into one of the most competitive in Europe. The Chinese company has promised to employ all 5,000 workers of the factory. On the cultural front, Yugoslavian films had a considerable influence among the Chinese people. Last month, a widespread nostalgia was sparked across China by the death of 83-year-old actor Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, who is popular among the older generation in China for his role of Walter from the 1972 movie "Walter Defends Sarajevo." "The Chinese president's visit is of historic significance for the two countries to cement traditional friendship, deepen political mutual trust and chart the course for practical cooperation," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Haixing told reporters ahead of Xi's visit. After Serbia and Poland, the Chinese president will travel to Uzbekistan for a state visit as well as the 16th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Tashkent. Related: China, Serbia sign currency swap deal BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank signed a currency swap deal worth 1.5 billion yuan (228 million U.S. dollars) with its Serbian counterpart on Friday to boost bilateral economic cooperation. The pact, inked with the National Bank of Serbia, will last three years and can be extended if the two sides agree, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced. Full story Spotlight: Xi's visit to further lift Great Wall-like China-Serbia friendship BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a historic visit to Serbia on Friday, in a trip that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said "sends a strong signal that China values its friendship with Serbia." The visit, a testimony to the time-tested and trusted friendship between the two sides, shows that "China seriously considers Serbia as its great partner," said Nikolic. Full story Xinhua Insight: Xi's successive CEE trips to usher in golden age for ties BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's trips to central and eastern Europe (CEE) this month will elevate ties between the 16 CEE countries and China, paving the way for successful projects under the "Belt and Road" framework. NAIROBI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Economic experts on Friday cautioned Kenya over its rising public debt levels. Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) National Chairman Fernandes Barasa told a budget forum in Nairobi that as at September 2015, the public debt stock stood at 29.4 billion U.S. dollars. "This means that Kenya's public debt is rapidly increasing given that it was 17.2 billion dollars in September 2012," Barasa said during the National Budget Review Seminar. Kenya's public debt comprises of 15.5 billion dollars as foreign debts and 13.9 billion dollars as domestic debts. Barasa said that the National Treasury should adhere to fiscal responsibility principles in the management of public resources. "This can be achieved by ensuring that over the medium term, the national government's borrowings shall be used only for the purpose of financing development expenditure and not for recurrent expenditure," he said. In addition, the institute recommends that all public debt and obligations should be maintained at a sustainable level as approved by the parliament. Barasa noted that Kenya should implement the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) proposed guidelines in order to strengthen the quality of the country's public debt management which will help to reduce vulnerability to domestic and external shocks. Last week, Kenya's National treasury proposed a 23 billion dollar budget for the 2016/2017 up from the previous year's 20 billion dollars budget. The accountancy body said that growth in the national budget requires a focused assessment for realism and the ability of the country to raise the commensurate revenue to fund the budget. The 2016 budget statement also outlined the government intention to raise revenues of 15 billion dollars which is equivalent to 20.3 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "This projection was underpinned by policy interventions to broaden the tax base as well as enhance of the revenue administration," Barasa said. KOLKATA, India, June 17 (Xinhua) -- India recorded total tea production of 1.233 billion kg during fiscal year 2015-16, the highest ever recorded by the country so far, said officials Friday. As compared to 2014-15, the total tea production registered an increase of 35.96 million kg which is 3 percent more than last year. A Tea Board of India statement stated that Indian tea achieved another record during the fiscal year when it registered export of 232.92 million kg. Increase of tea exports were registered mainly to Russia, Iran, Germany, Pakistan, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Poland. The increase in production of tea was mainly attributable to north India plantations, while South India's production declined due to adverse climatic conditions and labor issues. KATHMANDU, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's currency notes have been printed by a Chinese company for the first time, a Nepalese central bank official said on Friday. The Chinese state-owned company, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM), has printed Nepal's new 100-rupee notes which have been brought into circulation from June 12. "Although we have had currency coins minted in China in the past, it is the first time that any Chinese company printed our currency notes," Chintamani Siwakoti, deputy governor at Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of Nepal, told Xinhua. The Chinese company got a contract of printing 210 million pieces of Rs100 denominated notes. "We have got delivery of 30 million pieces of notes so far," said Siwakoti. "Our team is departing on Sunday to receive another lot of notes with quantity of 30 million pieces." Due to the limited storage capacity of Nepal's central bank, it takes delivery of currency notes in different installments and it usually takes around three to six months for complete delivery, according to NRB officials. "The new notes printed in China have higher quality compared to old ones and are brighter too," said Siwakoti. It was also less costly for Nepal's central bank to print notes in China with additional features, compared to the cost of printing of the same denominated notes in another country in 2012, the official said. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness delivers an inaugural speech during his swearing-in ceremony at King's House in Kingston March 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhu Qingxiang) KINGSTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Jamaican government has decided to use Chinese concessional loans to upgrade the road network on the island, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Thursday. The arrangement has been finalized with the Export-Import Bank of China (China EximBank), which will provide most of the funds, to construct a road network in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country, the prime minister told a press conference in Jamaica House. Holness said that the projects will cost 384 million U.S. dollars. The Jamaican government will raise 57 million dollars while the rest will be provided by the China Eximbank as a loan. Works in the southeastern end of the island will cover construction of a toll-free four-lane highway and renovation of some old roads, Holness said. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness (2nd R) and Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Niu Qingbao (2nd L) attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony as part of the opening ceremony of the North-South Highway in Caymanas, Jamaica, on March 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhu Qingxiang) For the southwestern section, the prime minister said the toll road Highway 2000 will be extended from May Pen, Clarendon Parish in the south to Mandeville, Manchester Parish in the midwest of the country. "This plan makes access, gives a better road, reduces cost and still achieves the objectives that we want it to," he said. The prime minister said the national project to build out the road network is in keeping with the government's philosophy that all public expenditure must make economic sense and utilize a cost-effective strategy of implementation. Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Niu Qingbao told Xinhua that the Chinese government is committed to providing concessional loans to fund the Caribbean countries' infrastructure and other development projects. "We hope assistance from China will help Jamaica and other Caribbean countries stick to their development agenda, boost the economic prosperity, and most importantly, benefit all people here," Niu said. There have been no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the recent looting in Venezuela, China's Foreign Ministry revealed on Friday. The Chinese embassy in Venezuela has asked the Venezuelan government to protect the safety and property of the Chinese citizens, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a daily news conference. People in the Venezuelan city of Cumana looted supermarkets and shops including some owned by Chinese people on Tuesday, and the police arrived to restore order, said the Chinese Embassy in Venezuela on its website. The South American country is experiencing a severe economic crisis due to plunging oil prices. The Chinese embassy in Venezuela issued an alert on Tuesday, warning the Chinese people in Cumana to avoid going outdoors when it's not necessary, and avoid going to regions where there is unrest. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua said: "As a country friendly to Venezuela, China hopes the Venezuelan government and people can deal with the problem properly. We hope the lawful rights and interests of the Chinese citizens will be effectively safeguarded." "China attaches great importance to the development of the China-Venezuelan ties, and hopes to keep on exchanges and cooperation with Venezuela in various fields based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win," she said. TIRANA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Albanian Minister of Urban Development Eglantina Gjermeni and her Czech counterpart Karla Slechtova on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding between the two ministries in the field of urban development and housing, the Albanian Telegraphic Agency reported. After the signing ceremony, Gjermeni thanked Slechtova for the support the Czech Republic has provided to Albania in the European Union accession process. "The support of Visegrad countries, and of Czech Republic in particular which holds the rotating presidency, enabled the establishment of the Western Balkans Investment Fund in Tirana. The Ministry of Urban Development has applied with this investment fund for implementation of a project in the field of social housing," stated Gjermeni. For her part, Slechtova appreciated the work by the Albanian Ministry of Urban Development in the field of planning and housing in Albania. She pledged increased assistance through provision of expertise. The staff will immediately start working on an agenda of activities to implement the memorandum. The project comprises construction of social housing in municipalities of the country such as Tirana, Kavaja, Kruja, Shkozet and Durres. This project will provide housing to as many as 1,000 families in need. The Albanian Ministry of Urban Development is working with the Council of Europe Development Bank to ensure co-financing for implementation of this project. By Nemanja Cabric and Han Jianjun CENEJ, Serbia, June XX (Xinhua) -- In the village of Cenej some 100 km from Belgrade, a team of one of the best artistic foundries in Serbia created a monumental sculpture of Confucius. The 1.65-meter-tall bronze sculpture, to be 3.2-meter tall when placed on a base, is the 20-year-old unrealized work of the late master of Serbian sculpting Jovan Soldatovic. Aleksandar Stanisic, owner of Stanisic Artistic Foundry, said the sculpture was cast from a negative created by the company from an original plaster model by Soldatovic. The model was not well preserved due to the fact that it was kept some 20 years in an inadequate space. In order to begin with production of this bronze statue, the foundry had to repair the model with the assistance of 70-year-old contemporary sculptor Andreja Vasiljevic, a student, assistant and a colleague of Soldatovic. "For the Stanisic artistic foundry, this is an important and significant project," Aleksandar Stanisic said. "China is a truly friendly country to Serbia." Miodrag Stanisic, father of Aleksandar Stanisic, recalled the Association of China-Serbia friendship back in the 1990s began the initiative with Soldatovic to create a sculpture of Confucius. In 1997 and 1998, a plaster model was made. Soldatovic died in 2005 and then President of the China-Serbia Nikola Radosevic also died, leaving the statue unfinished. The project was reactivated recently under the support of the Chinese Embassy to Serbia. It was a painstaking work for Vasiljevic who tried his best to imitate the work of his teacher Soldatovic as the plaster model was in a poor situation with missing parts and cracks. Vasiljevic said that he observed Soldatovic as he created first sketches for his Confucius statue back in 1997 so it was not a problem for him to achieve effects that Soldatovic would want. "This process needed to be done in short time, and knowing what the figure of Confucius means for philosophy, the main focus in this last phase was to stick to the original intention of Soldatovic, and that the sculpture would be cast in bronze in the way he imagined it," said Vasiljevic. Vasiljevic recalled that Soldatovic drew his inspiration about Confucius from a translated book of the master's thoughts from his friend Radosevic. Soldatovic also exchanged lots of ideas with Radosevic on China and Confucius philosophy. Vasiljevic said he was glad and released to finish the statue. "I am very proud that I can contribute the friendly relationship between China and Serbia," he said. EDINBURGH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday that politicians have been "inspired to rededicate" themselves to public service following British Labour member of parliament (MP) Jo Cox's death. Speaking at a meeting of the British-Irish Council held in Glasgow, Sturgeon paid tribute to Cox who was gunned down and stabbed in broad daylight outside a public library in Birstall, Yorkshire on Thursday. "As politicians we all value and are deeply committed to the openness and accessibility of elected representatives to the people we serve," she noted at the meeting, which was also attended by British Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell, and Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny. Devolved administrations of Wales and Northern Ireland and the Governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man were also present at the meeting, with one of the main topics of discussion being social inclusion and approaches being taken by the eight member administrations. Both sides in Britain's referendum battle over European Union (EU) membership halted their campaign Thursday afternoon after the death of Cox, a supporter of the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, and all campaigning were also cancelled on Friday. Flags were flying at half mast at the Scottish Parliament and on Scottish government buildings as a mark of respect to Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two. British Prime Minister David Cameron and British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday condemned the killing and laid flowers in tribute to Cox in her West Yorkshire constituency. A 52-year-old man named locally as Tommy Mair was arrested following the attack, said West Yorkshire Police. Britain will hold a referendum on June 23 to decide whether it should remain in the EU. A majority of Scots will back a vote for Britain to stay in the EU, poll results showed. ABUJA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The police in Nigeria's northeastern state of Adamawa on Friday confirmed the arrest of a man suspected to be a top member of Boko Haram and said investigation was underway to determine his atrocities with the militant group. The unnamed suspect was arrested in Gombi town, while trying to make some withdrawal at an Automated Teller Machine, the police said. Othman Mohammed, the Adamawa State police spokesman, told Xinhua investigation was being carried out to ascertain if the suspect was on the state list of wanted Boko Haram members. Boko Haram has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly in northeastern Nigeria, since it launched its campaign of violence in 2009. The Nigerian army and other local security agencies have made tremendous progress in the fight against the terror group in the past year, retaking most of the areas previously under insurgents' control. BRUSSELS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China and the EU should consider the year 2020 as a deadline to conclude China-EU FTA talks, Chi Fulin, president of the think tank China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD), said in an interview with Xinhua. Chi said the next few years till 2020 is not only the window phase for China's economic transformation, but is also a key period for the EU's economic recovery and sustainable growth. "Taking the year of 2020 as the time node, China and EU can become a huge market for deepened economic cooperation," he said. Although China is currently faced with pressure from economic slowdown, new trends, new structures and new engines for economic transformation are emerging, which is creating important and historic opportunities for much wider and deeper economic and trade cooperation between China and EU, Chi said. He said with administrative and market monopoly in the service sector being eliminated, private capital may well become the major force for the development of the service sector. "Service markets such as education, medical care, healthcare and others will be opened up to the outside world in a manageable manager," said Chi. He believed that establishing an integrated huge market for China and EU to continuously deepen their cooperation will have great impacts not only on China's economic transformation, but also on EU's economic recovery and sustainable development. On one hand, China needs to learn EU's advanced technology and management expertise to develop its own modern service industries. While on the other, as EU has on the whole entered the post-industrial era, it possesses unique advantages with advanced technology and mature management expertise both in producer service sectors and in consumer service sectors, he explained. Regarding the challenges and difficulties ahead, Chi cited an old Chinese saying: "One cannot risk big things for the sake of small ones." It cannot be neglected that many technical issues are standing in the way of deepening cooperation between China and EU. To further deepen economic and trade cooperation, China and EU have to seize new opportunities and aim at a wider landscape, he added. CIRD in Hainan province and the Brussels-based Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), have both published their own research reports recently proposing that China and the EU take decisive actions in further realizing their trade potential. "CEPS and CIRD already share a number of same ideas, I strongly suggest that the leaders of both sides consider a timetable of talks at their upcoming meeting in Beijing next month and I propose that we should consider year 2020 as a deadline to conclude talks," Chi said. Chi's institute and the CEPS organized a one-day seminar in Brussels on Thursday. ACCRA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Military High Command in Ghana has denied reports that a soldier who escaped while being taken through disciplinary processes had ties with the Islamic State (ISIS). A release issued by Lt. Col. Eric Aggrey-Quarshie, Director of Public Relations for the Ghana Armed Forces, said here late Thursday that social media posts about the issue were not authentic and must be disregarded. "Private Bawa Abdul Rahman was scheduled to appear on an interview at the General Headquarters a few days ago in respect of a disciplinary matter which came up after a field exercise some months ago," it said. "He however absconded and remains Absent Without Leave (AWOL). His scheduled interview was not in relation to any possible links with ISIS but purely a disciplinary hearing," the statement emphasized. The outcome of background checks and fact finding after the social media posts, the statement said, could not establish any such links between the 26-year-old soldier with ISIS. "The Ghana Armed Forces therefore notified all media houses that the social media post, the source of which it is still investigating, is not authentic and therefore must desist from further publication and broadcast as the information therein is not correct," it said. Enditem DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 30,000 Tanzanian youth will benefit from a new World Bank supported skills improvement program, the bank said in a statement on Friday. The Education and Skills for Productive Jobs Program for Results was approved on Thursday by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors, said the statement. The program was being financed by 120 million US dollars under the World Bank's International Development Association and aligns with Tanzania's new Five Year Development Plan (2016-2021) which centers on industrialization, and emphasizes addressing skills gaps as a critical lever to achieving its goals. The statement said the program will promote the expansion and the quality of skills development opportunities in key economic sectors in the east African country. The program was in line with Tanzania's new National Skills Development Strategy which seeks to increase the supply of skills for industries with high potential for growth and job creation in the country. The statement said 30,000 targeted beneficiaries of the program will include trainees enrolled in university, technical, vocational and alternative training programs in six key economic sectors. It mentioned the six economic sectors as tourism and hospitality; agriculture, agribusiness and agro-processing; transport and logistics; construction; information and communications technology and energy. "Employer participation and labor market relevance of skills development form key elements of the program," said the statement. "The improvement of human capital by helping address the skills gap is critical for the attainment of the country's goal to become an industrialized economy, create income opportunities and reduce poverty," said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi and Somalia. It is estimated that one million young people leave the education system and enter the Tanzanian labor market annually. With the country continuing on its current stable economic growth trajectory, it is expected that the bulk of employment opportunities for these youth will be generated by the private sector. Enditem BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China has sent several warships, coastguard vessels and rescue ships to help Vietnam search for the missing Vietnamese aircraft and crew in waters of the Beibu Gulf between Vietnam's northern coastline and China's Hainan Island. China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, at the request of Vietnam, sent two rescue vessels Thursday night to search for a missing fighter jet, a coastguard plane and their crews, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. On Friday, China Coast Guard and the Chinese navy sent three coastguard vessels and four warships to help in the search. According to media report, a Russian-made SU-30 fighter jet of the Vietnam Air Forces disappeared from radar screens Tuesday in waters of the Beibu Gulf. Contact with one pilot of the plane was lost. Later on Thursday afternoon, a Vietnamese coastguard plane with nine people aboard went missing while searching for the lost fighter. "The Chinese side attaches great importance to the request for help from Vietnam," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, adding China has mobilized forces of various kinds to conduct all-out search and rescue operations. "We hope the missing aircraft and crew members could be found as early as possible," said Hua. ARUSHA, Tanzania, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania is coming up with a new strategy to plug all loopholes that allow infiltration of illegal immigrants into the country, east Africa's second largest economy and the twelfth largest in Africa. The new strategy came in the wake of increasing crimes in the country. Tanzania's Home Affairs' deputy minister, Hamad Yusuf Masauni said in capital Dodoma that in the strategy a number of security organs will be involved instead of leaving the task of dealing with immigrants with the Immigration Department. He said that all security organs will be involved in the new move as the influx of illegal immigrants has increased the number of infiltration of weapons from outside Tanzania. "The increasing number of immigrants has been fueling criminal acts in the country. That's why we're determined to completely control this challenge," Masauni said. According to the minister, Tanzania has discovered nearly 300 entry points which are being used by illegal immigrants to get into the east African nation. "We're looking for financial resources to deploy security officials in those notorious areas for the illegal entry of migrants," he said. All Tanzania's security organs, the minister said were informed on the new strategy, which also will involve local communities. The country early this year started an operation to expel foreigners using illegal working permits, especially teachers, from neighbouring countries. Immigration office confirmed that at least 350 foreigners in Dar es Salaam alone were working without legal documents. Many private schools hire English teachers from neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Uganda. Enditem MADRID, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The regional government in the Spanish province of Valencia confirmed on Friday almost 3,000 hectares of woodland had been destroyed by four wildfires in the region over the past 48 hours. Over 130 firefighters have been combating the flames with the help of aircraft and helicopters. However, 1,535 hectares had been burned close to the town of Bolbaite, 1,224 near Carcaixent, 31.5 hectares at Beinfairo de las Valls and 18.5 in Terrateig, said vice-president of the regional government, Monica Oltra. Fires in Beinfairo de las Valls and Terrateig have been brought under control by emergency services. As many as 250 children were evacuated from a school in the town of Sagunto due to the fire in Beinfairo de las Valls, as a precaution against the smoke. The fires also led to the evacuation of a hospital in Carcaixent on Thursday night. Meanwhile, around 150 residents of two housing estates were also advised to leave their homes on account of the encroaching flames. Several houses were reported to have been destroyed by the flames, but there are no reports of injuries, although one person needed treatment for smoke inhalation. Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia regional government, commented on Friday he expected 2016 to be "complicated" in terms of wildfires, reminding people that it was totally prohibited to light either barbecues or to burn brush in forest regions for the duration of the summer. BEIJING, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka in Beijing, capital of China, June 17, 2016. Sobotka is here to attend the third meeting between local leaders of China and CEE and the second China-CEE health ministers' forum. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Friday met here with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, pledging to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation between China and central and eastern Europe (CEE) countries. During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Li told Sobotka China is willing to cement political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas with the Czech Republic in the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits. China especially wants to accelerate bilateral cooperation in the areas of civilian nuclear power and high-speed rail as a way to boost mutual investment, Li said. He also called for enhanced financial, manufacturing and third-party market cooperation and discussion of issuing RMB bonds in the Czech Republic, and intensifying exchanges on health and tourism and between local areas. Sobotka, who is here to attend the third meeting between local leaders of China and CEE and the second China-CEE health ministers' forum, hailed the fast development and sound cooperation between the two countries. The prime minister, who has visited China twice in the past six months, said that bilateral ties have reached a new high during the period of time. China and the Czech Republic forged a strategic partnership in March during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country. On the issue of the Surrogate Country approach, Li said China has fully honored its promises made when it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) 15 years ago with enormous efforts. He called on the EU and other economies to carry out their obligations on Article 15 of the protocol on China's accession to the WTO as scheduled. In accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China joined the WTO in 2001, the Surrogate Country approach expires on December 11, 2016. The China-EU trade disputes should be properly addressed via consultation and dialogue, said Li, adding that the issue of carrying out obligations should not be linked with other issues. He encouraged the Czech Republic to do more work on this as an EU member, help to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment, jointly oppose trade protectionism so as to benefit both peoples. Sobotka said the Czech Republic understands the importance of EU honoring its obligations on Article 15 of the protocol on China's accession to the WTO, supporting early settlement of the issue. On the 16+1 cooperation, Li spoke highly of the Czech Republic's active support and participation. Stressing that the China-CEE cooperation and China-EU cooperation supplement and promote each other, Li said he hopes that the Czech Republic, as an important partner of China in the EU and the CEE region, could work with China to consolidate and enhance China-EU ties and Chine-CEE cooperation and promote more outcomes from the China-EU summit and China-CEE summit later this year. Sobotka said his country is ready to enhance cooperation with China in the areas including aviation and finance, fully support 16+1 cooperation and development of ties between China and Europe and strive to build a financial and transportation hub between CEE countries and China. He also expressed the desire to host a China-CEE summit in the Czech Republic. BELGRADE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping elaborating on prospects for future relations between China and Serbia has aroused expectation for a new stage in cooperation between the two countries. Xi published a signed article on leading Serbian newspaper Politika under the title of "Enduring Friendship and True Partnership" on Thursday, ahead of his state visit to the Balkan country. The article, also carried by the Tanjug news agency, retrospected on the traditional friendship of more than six decades between China and Serbia and their ties marked by long-term mutual trust, support and win-win cooperation. Commenting on Xi's article, Dusan Janjic, a Serbian political expert with the Forum for Ethnic Relations, said China has been consistent in its policy on Serbia. "It is especially important when great ones respect small ones. This is also true for Serbia," he said. The reforms taking place in China in the past few decades show that China has always given priorities to economic development, he said, adding that this is quite enlightening for Serbia. "It is a great opportunity to cooperate with China," said the expert. Serbia is "located on a strategically important traffic junction," said Ivona Ladjevic, a researcher with the Institute for International Policy and Economy in Serbia. Ladjevic said investment from China is important for Serbia, adding she hopes that in the future more companies from China will invest in the Serbian industry. China and Serbia share a time-honored traditional friendship. In 2009, Serbia became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China. Two-way trade grew by 2.3 percent year on year to 550 million U.S. dollars in 2015, according to Chinese customs. Last year, Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly promote the connectivity-based Belt and Road Initiative during the fourth leaders' meeting of China and 16 CEE countries, which was held in Suzhou, China. The initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. Upon his arrival in Belgrade on Friday, the Chinese president, in a written speech, hailed the mutual political trust and the fruitful cooperation in such fields as energy, transportation infrastructure construction and agriculture over recent years. Ladjevic appreciated that Xi comes with a big delegation that gathers a significant number of businessmen from both private and state owned companies. "I expect that we will discuss the issue of investment in agriculture, because Serbia is significant and is very interested in this area," she said. Ladjevic pointed out that Serbia provides China with an important connection with Europe. "Having in mind the connection that Serbia can offer in the capacity of a country that wishes to join EU -- China, through Serbia, can connect itself with the EU in another way," she said. Xi arrived in Belgrade Friday for a state visit to Serbia. He will also visit Poland and Uzbekistan, where he is expected to attend the 16th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State. BEIJING, June 17, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the World Day to Combat Desertification Global Observance and the "Belt & Road" Joint Action High-level Dialogue in Beijing, capital of China, June 17, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Friday that combating desertification is a shared responsibility that requires efforts from all countries. As a nation confronted with severe challenges from desertification, China has taken effective measures to contain the spread of desertification, Wang said in his keynote speech when attending an activity featuring the fight against desertification. The country will strengthen its efforts to preserve the environment and strive to build a beautiful China, he continued. There is also a pressing need for countries along the Belt and Road to combat desertification, Wang said, while calling for deeper cooperation between related countries and international organizations. He said China will continue to increase its input to help developing nations cope with desertification, thereby safeguarding the world's ecological security and promoting sustainable development. Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) met with president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in St.Petersburg, on June 16, 2016. (Sputnik Photo) ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the European Union (EU) to forget about political differences with Moscow and join the broader Eurasia partnership. "We bear no grudge, and we are ready to meet our European partners halfway," Putin said at a plenary session during the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "This undoubtedly cannot be a one-way street," he said in a call for efforts from both sides for rapprochement. Relations between Russia and the EU soured after the latter joined the United States in imposing several rounds of sanctions on Russia over its takeover of Crimea and involvement in the Ukraine crisis since 2014. While reiterating Russia's long-held position that Moscow is not the initiator of the strained ties, Putin voiced his hope for the EU, one of Russia's key trade and economic partner, to join the project of the big Eurasian partnership, which he said would involve China, India, Pakistan, Iran and countries of the Commonwealth of Independent states of the former Soviet Union, as well as other interested states and organizations. Putin said one of the first steps for implementing this project would be the official start of negotiations on creating a comprehensive trade and economic partnership in Eurasia between the Eurasian Economic Union and China. "This project is undoubtedly open to Europe. And I believe such interaction can be mutually beneficial," he said. With regard to Moscow's ties with the West, which has been at its lowest point ever since the end of the Cold War, Putin said global confrontation should not be the basis for the development of international relations. "Neither Moscow or anybody else want a new Cold War," he said. The Russian leader urged Washington not to exert pressure on the EU in its cooperation with Russia, while vowing that the Kremlin is ready to work with any U.S. president to be elected. Facing a NATO that has been keeping up pressure on Russia and stepping up military build-up near its borders, Putin regretted that Moscow's stances that it is not threatening anyone around were "completely slighted." LUSAKA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's electoral body on Friday warned that it will be forced to suspend campaigns in the run up to the August polls if violence continues. The electoral body has also said it will disqualify any political party or candidate in breach of the electoral code of conduct. Clashes between supporters of incumbent President Edgar Lungu and main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has marred campaigns ahead of the August 11 polls. "The ECZ has noted with dismay the rising violence and intolerance that has characterized the campaigns. The ECZ is warning all parties to refrain from violence or it will suspend all campaigns," said Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Public Relations Manager Cris Akufuna. He told reporters during a press briefing that the country's electoral law gives the electoral body powers to suspend all political party campaigns if parties continued to engage in violence and that the electoral body was also empowered to suspend any political party which breaches the electoral code of conduct. Zambia will hold presidential, parliamentary and local government polls on August 11 amid concerns over rising violence, which has resulted in some deaths. Enditem KAMPALA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday donated medical supplies to Uganda in a bid to strengthen efforts in health service delivery. Chun Maoming, an official at the Chinese embassy here handed over the drugs, medical apparatus and instruments to the ministry of health through the Uganda-China Friendship Hospital in the capital Kampala. Chun said whenever China sends a medical team to Uganda, it has to donate medical supplies to Uganda annually. Jacinto Amandua, the Commissioner Clinical Services at the ministry of health, who received the supplies said they will help to treat the increasing numbers of patients at the 100-bed hospital that China donated in 2012. Over the last several decades China has been sending medical teams to Uganda in order to boost the country's health care. "China and Uganda have maintained a long-term cooperation in the medical field which greatly improved the medical and health condition of Uganda and strengthened the bilateral relations," said Chun. The first Chinese medical team arrived in Uganda in 1983 and since then, over 160 medical experts in different specialties ranging from Urologists, gynecologists, orthopedics among others have served in the country. The 17th team arrived in the country late last month. The 16th team treated more than 30,000 patients in the past two years, according to embassy figures. The team also carried out five free medical activities in different parts of the country. Enditem FALLUJAH, Iraq, June 16, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Two Iraqi army soldiers walk near a building destroyed in battles in Shuhada district in southern Fallujah, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on June 16, 2016, after the army retakes the district from the Islamic State(IS). (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) BAGHDAD, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Friday substantial victory against the Islamic State (IS) militants in Fallujah in the western province of Anbar, the state-run Iraqiya TV reported. "Our troops have fulfilled their promise and freed the city of Fallujah," Abadi addressed the nation on the state-run Iraqiya television. "Fallujah has returned to the homeland and our forces took control of the heart of the city," Abadi said. Earlier in the day, the security forces managed to free the government compound and raised the Iraqi flag on its main building in the central part of Fallujah. The recapture of the government compound came after the troops freed the districts of Nazal, Jubail and Resala, in addition to the industrial area in the southern part of the city, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to Raid Shakir Jawdat, the Commander of the Federal Police. The latest advance in Fallujah was the result of fierce clashes during the past few days, which forced many of the extremist militants to flee the city, a provincial source said. The battles continued in the day to free the northern part of the city with some IS militants still fighting in some areas, the source added. Abadi also promised that the security forces will soon start their advance toward the northern city of Mosul to free it from the largest IS stronghold in Iraq. "We congratulate all Iraqis on this victory, and (another) victory is close, very close with God willing in Mosul to drive out the last IS militant from the land of Iraq," Abadi said in his address. In his address, Abadi promised thousands of displaced families from Fallujah and the surrounding towns and villages that they will come back to their homes soon after defeating IS militants by the Iraqi security forces. "This is your city and you will return to it with God willing," Abadi said. The Prime Minister announced on May 23 the launch of a major offensive to claim Fallujah and surrounding towns and areas. Government troops and allied militias have currently been fighting for months to reclaim key cities and towns in Anbar from IS militants, who attempted to advance toward Baghdad after seizing most of Anbar province. Iraq has been witnessing a wave of violence since the IS controlled parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. LIVERPOOL, June 17 (Xinhua) -- British companies need to do more to build trading links with China and ASEAN countries in what is a "continent of opportunities", a seminar here Friday was told by an international trade expert. Clive Drinkwater, regional director of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), was speaking to Xinhua after a session at the International Festival of Business (IFB) in Liverpool. He was one of the moderators at a day-long session on the UK's Place in the Asian Century. Organised by the UK-ASEAN Business Council, China-Britain Business Council and UK India Business Council, the event brought together delegations from China and other parts of Asia as well as British companies eager to expand into ASEAN countries. MP Richard Graham, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, opened the event which was also address by Lai Bo, China's deputy consul general in Manchester who described the current climate as the "golden era for China-UK relations". Drinkwater, who was based in China for 10 years, said the event in Liverpool was about the connectivity between ASEAN countries like China and Britain. He said: "It's a continent of opportunity. Are we missing a trick by not being in China and other parts of Asia? I lived there for 10 years in the 1990s and the constant problem for me is that I don't think British companies are there enough." "I see IFB as a good start, in the first week we have had 10,000 visitors and we are welcoming 100 overseas delegations, many of them from China," he added. Enditem UNITED NATIONS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Top UN officials on Friday called for more world efforts to combat desertification and restore land resources as nearly 800 million people are chronically undernourished as a direct consequence of land degradation, declining soil, fertility, unsustainable water use, drought and biodiversity loss. The desertification requires solutions to helping communities increase resilience to climate change, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message to mark the World Day to Combat Desertification, whose theme this year is "Protect Earth. Restore land. Engage people." "The livelihoods and well-being of hundreds of millions of people are at stake," Ban said. Ranking among the greatest environmental challenges of the current times, desertification is a phenomenon that refers to the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by human activities - including unsustainable farming, mining, overgazing and clear-cutting of land, and by climate change. The World Day, observed annually on June 17, is intended to promote public awareness of the issues of desertification and drought, and the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification. "Over the next 25 years, land degradation could reduce global food productivity by as much as 12 percent, leading to a 30-percent increase in world food prices," he said. In his message, the UN chief noted more than 50 percent of agricultural land is moderately or severely degraded, with 12 million hectares lost to production each year. "Desertification, land degradation, drought and climate change are interconnected," he said. "As a result of land degradation and climate change, the severity and frequency of droughts have been increasing, along with floods and extreme temperatures." The secretary-general emphasized that without a long-term solution, desertification and land degradation will not only affect food supply but lead to increased migration and threaten the stability of many nations and regions. "This is why world leaders made land degradation neutrality one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he said. "That means rehabilitating at least 12 million hectares of degraded land a year." One important approach towards achieving that goal is sustainable, climate-smart agriculture, Ban said. That will help communities build resilience to climate change, while also supporting mitigation by taking carbon from the atmosphere and putting it back in the soil. "The transition to sustainable agriculture will also alleviate poverty and generate employment, especially among the world's poorest. By 2050, it could create some 200 million jobs across the entire food production system," said the secretary-general. "On this Day, I urge cooperation among all actors to help achieve land degradation neutrality as part of a broader effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and build a future of dignity and opportunity for all," he said. In a separate message to mark the Day, Irina Bokova, the director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), underscored that desertification is a threat to both arid and non-arid regions, where land over-exploitation, including intensive farming, forest exploitation for fuel and timber and overgrazing have turned fertile soils into sterile land. "Extreme weather events -- like droughts, winds, floods and climate disruptions -- are amplifying the effects and adding new causes to the degradation cycle," said Bokova. "The stakes are high -- this is why the goal of achieving land degradation neutrality is so important," she said. "This is set out in Target 15.3 of the new Sustainable Development Goals, to maintain and even improve the amount of healthy and productive land resources." Bokova highlighted that the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme, International Hydrological Programme and Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development are working to engage people in sustainable land management practices and agro-forestry, in developing green economies, in consuming responsibly, and in restoring ecosystems. "Desertification is not always irreversible. Land restoration is the ultimate tool, and UNESCO is determined to do everything to restore our ecosystems, as was featured during the World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, held in Lima, in March 2016," Bokova said. "Desertification is a global threat that requires global action -- this must start with each of us, with our deeper engagement to protecting our planet for all to share," she added. For her part, the executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Monique Barbut, said that land degradation neutrality should be a top policy goal for every nation that values freedom and choice. "Conserving land and restoring that which is degraded back to health is not a benefit that only flows to the billions of people who eke out a living directly from the land," Barbut said. "It is a vote to safeguard our own freedoms of choice, and those of our children. It is also a moral standard against which we may well be judged by history," she added. Meanwhile, she also noted that the inclination to degrade new land instead of fixing and re-using the land that is already degraded means that future generations cannot benefit from the same resources. "The rights we claim to enjoy these land resources come with a heavy moral obligation to manage them well. More so, as we may be, literally, the last generation that can significantly slow down the accelerated loss of the land resources left," Barbut said. "This generation -- our generation -- has the time, human, knowledge and financial means to reverse these trends, and restore a vast amount of the degraded lands," she said. "But we must work together." LA PAZ, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's government-owned oil company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) and the Russian natural gas company Gazprom signed a framework agreement on Friday to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of three potential oil reserves in the South American country. Guillermo Acha, the president of YPFB, said from Russia, via a telephone interview with Bolivian media, that the important agreement was signed during the International Economic Forum 2016 in Saint Petersburg. The agreement will allow the companies to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential in the Bolivian Amazonian regions of Vitiacua, La Ceiba and Madidi. According YPFB, Vitiacua is located between the eastern department of Santa Cruz and the southern department of Chuquisaca with an area of 73,875 hectares (738.75 square km) while La Ceiba covers 47,500 hectares (475 square km) and is located in the southern department of Tarija. Madidi has the largest area with 690,000 hectares (690 square km) and is located in the western department of La Paz. On Feb. 18, 2016, Gazprom, YPFB and Bolivia's Hydrocarbons and Energy Ministry signed an action plan in order to implement the cooperation agreements. The plan included a joint search to implement new projects in the field of exploring, producing and transporting hydrocarbons. It also includes signing the study agreements, which aim to evaluate hydrocarbon potential in areas with suspected oil reserves in favor of YPFB. These studies will be carried out under the conditions established in the study agreements specific to each of the mentioned areas. It is estimated that in the event of a commercial discovery, an additional 370 million U.S. dollars could be invested in order to develop the areas. According to Acha, these study agreements and the future contracts for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons make up a series of measures that YPFB is promoting in priority areas such as exploration. Enditem By Luan Xiang BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhuanet) It is a common mistake to judge a childs artwork based on its resemblance to whats real, simply because in the world of imagination, sky doesnt necessarily have to be blue, nor rose red. Inside the imaginary world of a child, the sky could totally be peachy-pink, and goldfish could be flying over the seven seas. Volcanoes would erupt but in colors and candies instead of lava and flames, and of course a snowman could sing and dance, and we could all have a picnic on the brightest ray of moonlight. All they need is a little guidance and advice on how to bring out the mad, mad, mad and fun -- world inside, using the proper instruments and the right tones. So believed Diandian, Daidai and the rest of the faculty at the Childrens Art Studio Yishu. Every child is unique. We are not here to force the children to imitate a model drawing, definitely not, said Diandian, who said to be wholeheartedly in opposition to such traditional methodology of art education. We are more like friends. The kids trust us to share their imagination and we help them concrete on the image on the canvas, she explained in laughter, struggling to escape from the tickling hands of some young pupils who had stayed to play after the class was over. And the joyous ticklers told me, Diandian was nothing like the stern-faced teachers at their kindergartens or schools who would tell them what to do and what not. Miss Diandian is my best friend! I like coming here to draw! Diandian is my favorite person of the world! screamed the young kids, oblivious of how comments like the last one could embarrass their mommy standing right by their side. The first few students of the studio Yishu came following Diandian from the big franchise where she used to teach, and more and more came following word of mouth. Some were brought by the parents ambitious for their children to become the next Picasso, and others came escaping from other torturing talent training courses their parents had paid for. And they all stayed because they loved doing the art they were allowed to do here. HOW TO DRAW A CLOWN When a young child is obligated by his or her parents to a class, usually against the kids will, you can expect a resisting attitude, said Diandian. So I would sit down with the child, to have a heart-to-heart chat like a peer, getting to know each other, his or her likes and dislikes, interests, curiosities, fears... As we chat away, the little one would feel relaxed and begin to share the fascinating things born in his or her imagination. By the end of the chitchat, the child would be eager to draw the fruits of imagination, and would most likely to cheer a hearty Yes yes yes! when the teacher asked, Would you like it if we made a drawing of that? Sometimes it could also be reading a book together, watching a cartoon film, or going out to see an art exhibition, etc. For example, one of the classes began with the kids watching a short film about a nice uncle who would dress up like a clown everyday to visit a childrens hospital, where he would perform magic tricks to entertain the hospitalized (probably very bored) little patients. Six-year-old Yaoyao loved the movie and was so psyched to watch the magic that he said he wanted to be a magician clown himself! But when asked to draw how he would look, the young artist hesitated and responded shyly: I dont know how to draw a clown just like the one we saw. Diandian told him it wouldnt matter whether the drawing looked similar or not to the real person, and together they watched the movie once again. Only this time Diandian guided him to observe what turned the nice uncle into a clown I know! I know! Its the red nose! And the paint on his face! Yaoyao said in an excitement no less than when Archimedes had the moment of Eureka. So happy was the kid that he began to paint his own face with red and white colors Dont worry, my dear readers, it was non poisonous paint and began to create magic tricks of his own with the brush. And without a second of doubt, he began to draw on the canvas the clown he had in his head: someone whose face was painted white, eyes and nose bright red, and with a painting brush in one of his hand! And he added a purple bow-tie under the clowns chin, because he was wearing the same one. As for the background, the young artist divided the blanket into different, fun-looking patterns and painted them in a varied hue of refreshing, lively colors. According to Yaoyao, that was how the hospital walls should be colored, so the patients who had to stay there would not feel too bored! Just like that, a beautiful piece was created, in the mind and hands of a child. And it was one and only in the whole wide world. DASHUAIS WORLD Dashuai is four years old. He was always a sweet, gentle, perfect boy of very few words. His mom discovered his love for drawing, and would love to provide the adequate assistance for the hobby to grow, but for a long time she found herself debating over the pros and the cons if she were to send the young boy to study arts. Especially after she heard a story about a coworkers talented, award-winning son giving up on drawing after spending one summer in an art camp where all he was asked to do was to imitate in sketch. One thing she would not want to see was to let the traditional method of imitation ruin the innocence of a young mind and the precious creativity of a child. I didnt expect him to become an artist, the young mother told me, I only had hoped that he could do something he seemed to enjoy and have a little bit of childhood. To her great surprise, the 4-year-old demonstrated an imagination so vivid and great confidence in presenting it in brave colors and bold strokes that had been unknown to her. More surprising were the ingenious stories taking place in the quiet young boys little head, where so many things were going on with so many strange and charming characters, in an imaginary land of wonders that Dashuai had not been able to share with the world outside. I had no idea that there were so many stories inside my sons little head, the mother admitted. It really surprised me. Honestly, I was impressed. And now we have found the bridge to bring out that powerful imagination, with painting, said Diandian. Dashuai used to doodle without using any color, or he would only use one color to draw. Diandian helped him find the right tone to tinge the ambiance, to express different feelings, to integrate colors into his world of imagination. Dashuais works have become more and more brilliant, with a generous application of colors, and he has become more and more extroverted, talkative and willing to share his stories. He seems very happy when he draws, the boys mom told me, smiling. ZHIDAO THE PRODIGY Okay, this might sound ridiculous, but when you look at these paintings, you probably would find it hard to believe that they were not done by some renowned modern masters. And it would probably be even harder to believe that these were works of a 3-year-old child. Zhidao, aged 3, first picked up a colored pen and doodled on the corners of his moms books, and he was already able to explain to her what were those lines, squares and triangles that he drew: A toothless crocodile (because he ate too many candies and did not floss), Mommys sewing machine (and she was apparently making clothes for a pet half-polar-bear-half-elephant), and a one-eyed space pirate on his super awesome inter-galactic boat. Despite the Daddys joking verdict on the baby boy being of his blood thus he would not possess many of those artist genes, Zhidao came to Yishu as the youngest disciple. The teachers patiently listened to the cute rambles of the young child, and shared with him their knowledge on the warm colors, which could make feel uplifted, excited, happy, and the cold tones that could calm us down, cool the heat and quiet the noises. No matter what Daddy joked about, Zhidaos amazing drawings probably spoke louder. TEACHERS NOTE As a business, so far the studio has not been making great profits, but Diandian and Daidai said, it was not all about the money. We would like to share our love for art with everybody else, and we are proud to protect the priceless creativity of the children, said Diandian on the last train homeward, exhausted after a whole days classes. We can share our experience and knowledge with the children, help them learn how to observe, strengthen their sensitivity to beauty, added Daidai. It will be a valuable gift from which they will benefit for a lifetime. Diandian, when you grow really, really old and cannot teach any more, I will take charge to run the studio for you, because I will be all grown up then, one of the young students once told his teacher and friend. For us, that was the best reward we could ever have expected, laughed the two girls. They told me that, whatever the future holds, they would work hard to realize their dream, and remain optimistic, playful and childlike. That was a promise! Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, speaks at the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, June 17, 2016. (Xinhuanet/Qian Yi) Representatives from Chinese media organizations attend the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, June 17, 2016. (Xinhuanet/Qian Yi) A dozen leaders of Chinese and Serbian media organizations attend the China-Serbia Media Dialogue in Belgrade, June 17, 2016. (Photo source: chinadaily.com.cn) Serbian media organizations expressed their willingness to deepen cooperation with their Chinese counterparts, as relations between the two countries are being upgraded thanks to President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the country. Serbian news agency, newspaper, TV station and website representatives made the remarks on Friday at the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, the country's capital. A dozen Chinese and Serbian news bosses attended the event. Xi left Beijing on Friday for state visits to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan. Participants at the forum said Xi's visit will have a great impact on the social and economic development of both countries. Serbian news agency, newspaper, TV station and website representatives attend the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, June 17, 2016. (Xinhuanet/Qian Yi) Bojan Brkic Zamenik, deputy editor-in-chief at the Radio Television of Serbia news desk, said his organization planned to deploy several hundred journalists to cover President Xi's visit thoroughly. "I would love to see more exchanges and cooperation with Chinese news organizations," he said, adding that his organization would sign a cooperation agreement with China Radio International on Saturday. Ljiljana Smajlovic, editor-in-chief of Politika and the president of the Serbian Journalists' Association, said Serbian journalists harbored friendly feelings towards China, and that the Serbian people had a growing interest in the country. A dozen leaders of Chinese and Serbian media organizations attend the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, June 17, 2016. (Xinhuanet/Qian Yi) Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, said news organizations had the responsibility of pushing forward the relations between the two countries. "I was delighted to see Serbian media covered many important issues including China's Belt and Road Initiative," he said. Guo said compared with the cooperation in other fields, the collaboration between media organizations from two countries had much room to be improved. "Participants proposed a lot of good ideas at this forum, including content exchange and joint interviews," he said. "I hope all good ideas could be realized." (Source: Chinadaily.com.cn) FCB CEO: Were ready to take up the slack They have all been saying that it is the private sector in all its variations which has to come forward to create products and services for the internal economy and with the possibilities of taking those products outside to the wider world. As another event this year promoted, we need to be globally competitive and we need to compete globally. Darbasie was speaking yesterday at the launch of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerces 2016 Champions of Business. The actual induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 12 at Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. Chairman of the Champions of Business Steering Committee and Chamber Director, Jean Pierre Du Coudray, said the call for nominations for the TT Chamber Business Hall of Fame and the First Citizens Internationally Known, TT Owned Company of the Year awards was issued last Wednesday (June 8) and continues until next Friday (June 24). Forms, along with criteria information, are available on the Chambers website, social media pages, and from the TT Chamber Secretariat. C hampions of Business, now in its 12th year, was initially called the Business Hall of Fame but was re-branded by the Chamber to encompass the expansion of the categories within which the nominees are adjudicated. Du Coudray said the Chamber was pleased yesterday to have First Citizens partner with us for 2016 on the First Citizens Internationally Known, TT Owned Company of the Year. He also noted that a critical dimension of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the judging panels review of how nominees contribute to the general uplift of society and the people through their corporate social responsibility activities (CSR) and engagement. We believe that the concept of giving back is not only a noble one but one that ought not be undervalued in its potential to create positive change in our country, Du Coudray declared. WASA worker held for bomb threat Officers saw the suspect going to a nearby grocery in the company of colleagues. The man of was taken into custody and up to press time, was being quizzed yesterday by Sgt Pitt in connection with a phone call made to the E999 Command Centre on Corpus Christie in which a man told the E999 dispatcher that a bomb had been planted at the Trincity Mall. Another Arouca man was initially detained for the bomb threat but was released two days later after claiming he lent his phone to a man to make a call while they were all liming. Officers seized video footage from a bar where the phone call was made and also interviewed several persons Two held in tyre-slashing According to reports, Permanent Secretary Clint Ramcharan parked his vehicle in the car park on the ground floor of the Ministry of Works and Transport compound at the corner of London and Richmond streets in Port-of-Spain, at about 10 am on Wednesday. He returned at about 6 pm and discovered the left rear tyre slashed. Minister of Works and Transport Fitzgerald Hinds was alerted about the incident and the police were called in. A party of officers led by ASP Ajith Persad and including Cpl Anthony Williams and PC ONeil Lightbourne went to the ministry compound where they carried out enquiries. Newsday understands that CCTV footage was viewed and ministry employees interviewed. This led to the arrest of the two men, one said to be a foreman and the other a driver. They are due to appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate today. Two murders in South Dead is Navin Ramdhan, 36 of Mohess Road, Debe. Ramdhan was beaten repeatedly to the head with a piece of iron. Up to late yesterday a 33-year-old suspect remained at large. According to police, at about 3.30 pm, Ramdhan was liming with friends a short distance from his home at Panoo Trace when he and a man began arguing. Reports are that the man walked away and later returned with a piece of iron which he used to beat Ramdhan. Investigators said Ramdhan collapsed and his attacker fled the scene. The bleeding man was rushed to the Siparia Health Facility where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy yesterday revealed Ramdhan died from blunt force trauma to the head consistent with injuries caused by multiple blows to the head. When Newsday visited the familys home at Mohess Road yesterday, family members were in tears. Ramdhans sister Alana, 51, said she could not understand why someone would want to kill her brother. They were friends, they always limed together so I am really confused as to why he would kill his friend. No one deserves to die in such manner. My brothers head was bashed in, the weeping sister explained. Alana told Newsday when she received a phone call that her brother was involved in an altercation with another man, she did not know he would have been killed. I thought it was a small fight, but when I reached the health facility, I was told by doctors that my brother was dead. I still cant believe it. She said that eyewitnesses claimed the suspect confronted her brother while he was returning home. They had an argument and then my brother was walking back home and this man went for a piece of iron and beat him to death. When we reached on the scene all we saw was the iron in a pool of blood. My brother was already in the ambulance, she said. Ramdhans tearful mother Chando,75, said she hopes to get justice for her son death. I just want justice and the man who did this horrible crime to pay for what he did. He killed my son, the emotional woman cried. In an unrelated incident, Southern Division Homicide police officers are investigating the murder of 27- year old Mark Richardson of La Romaine. Reports are that at about 6.45 am yesterday, residents were alerted to the sounds of gunshots along Coffee Street in San Fernando. Richardsons bullet-riddled body was found along the roadway. An autopsy was expected to be performed at the Forensic Science Centre yesterday. Reports are that Richardson was originally from La Romaine and recently moved to San Fernando. Spanish speaking women arrested in Chaguanas Police said some of those held were undocumented and were turned over to the immigration authorities as investigations continue. Among the 15 illegal immigrants, were women from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. There were also persons from Jamaica and St Vincent. During the exercise that ended around 10 am yesterday and stretched across the entire Central Division, police also recovered a 9 mm pistol in Caroni district. Other persons were arrested on outstanding warrants. The exercise was spearheaded by ASP Sokah and included Supt Paul, officers of the Chaguanas CID, Central Division Task Force, Guard and Emergency Branch and other agencies Prisons chief dismisses plot to kill inmate Speaking to reporters after the opening ceremony of the Inmates 7th Annual Art Exhibition at Long Circular Mall, Stewart said, anyone could get up one morning and make an allegation, do you know how many allegations we hear about Rajaee Ali? Do we have a big hurrah when there is a threat to officers lives? All of a sudden this is so important on the agenda, he said. He said prison officers remain committed to the protection of society and reduction of crime by all means necessary. We are here to care for all, we are committed to the protection of society and the reduction of crime by all means necessary and that is where our focus is, he said. Rajaee Ali is currently before the courts for the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal Officers recover firearms, ammunition and marijuana According to a media release from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) yesterday, a party of officers led by Acting Inspector Gokool, Sergeant Steel and Corporal Solomon, recovered the firearms and the marijuana while performing exercises, however no one was arrested. During the operation which lasted from 9.00 am to 11.15 pm, three persons were arrested for charges including possession of marijuana and loitering. The report also revealed that in an unrelated incident on Tuesday, officers of the Eastern Division Task Force and the Toco Police Station while conducting an exercise in the Toco area, seized 3.18 kilogrammes of marijuana with an estimated street value of $47,700. A 29-year-old Arima man was arrested and charged with possession of the narcotic. ESC to honour Noel at drum festival A special award will also be given to his family in recognition and appreciation of his contribution to keeping the tradition of drumming alive in the Yoruba Village and TT communities. The Keeper of the Tradition Award is presented annually to someone who has worked diligently to preserve and develop African art forms and traditions. The presentation will be part of the annual Yoruba Village Drum Festival being hosted by the ESC on June 18, from 2 pm to 8 pm at the Yoruba Village Square, Piccadilly Street and Old St Joseph Road, Port-of- Spain. The festival is one of the major events of the Pan African Festival in commemoration of Emancipation 2016, it is also a tribute to fathers and an opportunity to present awards to a young male and female of the community for his/her achievement of excellence, in commemoration of the United Nations International Day of the African Child. The tribute to Noel is based on his accomplishments and efforts to preserve African drumming and other art forms. He was a master drummer and percussionist who brought life to any instrument he played, making him one of the best musicians in TT , the release said. Noel started drumming at nine years in 1969 with the Jean Coggins- Simmons Dance Group. He went on to play with groups in the Prime Ministers Best Village Trophy Competition. He also played with dance groups, steel orchestras and worked with various calypsonians at the Revue and Kaiso House and performed throughout the Caribbean and in England, Canada and France. Noel was trained under the late Andrew Beddoe, Sam Phills (Baga) and Jeffrey Beddoe and he shared that knowledge with his group, Natural Expressions, based in New York and tutored many others groups. The festival has been held at the Yoruba Village for many years in recognition of the large Yoruba- speaking population which resided there since the 19th century. The Yoruba people came to Portof- Spain after being kidnapped by British, France and Spanish plunderers, following the abolition of the slave trade. They came mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Togo but today the only semblance of the towns history and existence is the Yoruba Village Square located opposite the old Besson Street Police Station. Among the traditions retained and passed on by the Yoruba was the gift of drumming. The drums were used as a call to prayer, for help and a call for celebration but the colonists felt threatened by the sound of the drum and laws were passed to ban the playing of the drum. Nevertheless, drum playing was retained and transferred from generation to generation and this year, the participants will show off their talents, calling for unity, brotherhood, peace and consciousness in the Yoruba Village, which we know today as the communities of Morvant, Laventille, Belmont and Gonzales. Among the drumming groups to perform at the festival are, Wasafoli, St James Police Youth Club, Frontline, Egbe Omo Oni Isese, Freeport Sea Scouts, St James Cultural Artisans, Belan Drummers, UWI Afrikan Society, Sogren Trace Laventille Enhancement Organisation, groups from Tobago and others. Performing acts also include Brother Book, Oba Dread, Wolde Dawit, Curious Ringo, Prince Cardinal, Mc Meo and Knocker and the Black Beat International Band. UWI Principal: Guilty students will pay As well, if they are found guilty of breaking the rules of the university and bringing it into disrepute, they will be subjected to the universitys disciplinary measures, he added. Asked whether students had made complaints to the administration about being blackmailed to give nude photos of themselves or would have expressed concerns about it, Sankat told Newsday yesterday, I know absolutely nothing about it, adding he only got wind of the incident by watching news on television on Wednesday evening . I have heard nothing about it formally, he said. Let the police do their job. If our students are guilty they will feel the brunt of the law. While at this time there are only allegations, Sankat said, I am really disappointed, shocked and disgusted that these images would bring our female students into disrepute. A number of female students in the Medical Sciences Faculty of the UWI St Augustine campus have had nude photos posted to an online pornography site. Some of the students allege that male students are involved in the sale of these photos, unlawfully sourced, to the porn site and circulation among friends and on social media without their (the female students) knowledge . Guild President condemns nude photos leak Peters urged students to think about their future before consenting to having such pictures taken of them. I strongly condemn anything that may tarnish a persons character or image. That is a breach of ones trust and it violates ones personal life and these actions have devastating consequences on students. I would encourage them to discontinue any sort of action relating to that because they have their whole lives ahead of them, and what you do now will have serious implications in the future. Peters added that he has not seen the photographs or the list of names attached and therefore could not be certain that any of the females who appeared in the leak were in fact current students of the university, however, he said the Guild is prepared to provide counselling and emotional support for any students affected by the incident. The Guild at any point in time stands ready to assist students in whatever way, whether through financial or emotional support, there is stuff in place to help students. Guild is prepared to assist any students who feel the need to do these things to obtain money. We encourage young women and even men to discontinue from such actions which may tarnish their reputation for years to come. . Imbert sends condolences on murder of UK MP I have never heard of such a thing, in my 24 years, of an elected MP being shot and stabbed, Imbert said. But at this stage the facts are not yet fully established. If this incident has to do with her work, then I think all MPs need to heighten their sense of awareness. But we should not jump to conclusions. Imbert is also a member of the House Committee which reviews matters such as security. A 2014 review of Parliament resulted in greater security measures at Constituency offices, but it is unclear if MPs are satisfied with these changes. According to a report tabled in Parliament in 2015, entitled Constituency Relations of the Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago An Assessment Report, MPs have in the past asked for, and received, more security for their offices. The report stated that in a survey, 26 out 41 MPs requested the provision of electronic doors, cameras, unarmed and armed security. Four MPs noted that they would not like to have any security measures implemented in their Constituency offices. Most of the remaining 22 MPs requested cameras and electronic doors at their Constituency offices, while 13 MPs requested unarmed security and 10 MPs called for armed security. As a result of the findings of the survey, the Office of the Parliament recommended and implemented immediate deployment of security staff in or in front of the critical constituency offices, the report discloses. UNC Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial yesterday called for greater security for MPs. It should be reviewed as MPs have a high-risk job, Ramdial said. Senators too, it is understood, do not have security. UNC Senator Khadijah Ameen said MPs are as much at risk as ordinary citizens and should, in her personal view, not be in any more favourable or worse position. Independent Senator David Small said of the UK murder, It was really shocking to hear and it will raise some level of discussion of the level of security. (See Page 27A) Carmona, Mustapha meet on Las Alturas It is understood the meeting took place at Presidents House and that it was held to discuss a request for an extension of time for the inquiry to finish its work. It is currently due to end on June 30. The evidence hearings ended in April but it is also understood the inquiry is yet to submit a final report. The inquiry was first due to come to an end since June 2015. This was later extended by Carmona to March, by way of a notice dated February, then to June. The other members of the inquiry are Dr Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell. However, one party to the inquiry, China Jiangsu International Corporation, has launched legal action against the inquiry, arguing that it could not be made a party to the proceedings. On Wednesday, president of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Richie Sookhai, told a fraud awareness event, To date no one has been held accountable and recently we saw a commission of inquiry into the Las Alturas project ending. He added, Trinidad and Tobago should be awarded for having the most investigations and commissions of inquiry which amount to nothing in the end. A spokesman at Presidents House had no word yesterday on if the inquiry would be extended. It is understood the matter is for the Cabinet. Kumar agrees with Garcia on GATE wastage Its absolutely necessary, Kumar said yesterday. The Chambers been one of the voices, for a few years now, calling for the GATE programme to be reviewed... We cannot continue to fund 100 percent of education expenses. We fully support the need to give everyone an opportunity to an education but at the same time, we also believe that the individual has a responsibility for their education. Kumar was responding to Garcias comments two days ago (June 15) that a task force appointed to review the Government Assistance for Tertiary Education (GATE) has found that a large amount of wastage, due in part to many participating students choosing to engage in other activities such as liming. GATE was introduced by the Peoples National Movement (PNM) administration in 2004 to cover 100 percent of tuition fees at the undergraduate level and 50 percent at the post graduate level. This past March, a task force team was appointed and began reviewing the programme. Garcia on Wednesday reiterated that Government spent approximately $650 million to fund the GATE programme for 2016. Speaking with reporters yesterday following the media launch of the Chambers Champions of Business awards 2016, Kumar suggested GATE be modified so theres a 50-50 contribution by Government and students alike. Whether its a 50-50 (contribution) and you get a loan for the balance, just as you see in other countries. When everything is given freely, as we have tended to go within the last few administrations, then the individual doesnt feel that theyve put anything into it. Youve got to have, not just sweat from studying but youve got to invest with your funds also, Kumar argued. Ex Bwee employees urged to accept ex-gratia payment A source close to the issue explained that the offer of the ex-gratia payment has been reopened several times over the years with no greater success in having it accepted by minority shareholders or former BWIA employees. However,this final offer is being made as Government is seeking to wind up BWIA and is expected to complete the process within the coming year. Once the company is wound up, there will be no further opportunity for collection of the ex-gratia payment. Following the decision to shut down BWIA, the government had a valuation done which concluded that the airlines shares were worthless. However, the government decided to offer an ex-gratia payment of 20 cents per share to minority shareholders and employees who were shareholders through a pension plan holding just over 15 percent of the airlines shares in trust for the employees. BWIA workers would later make a case for compensation from the Government, complaining that the shares were never transferred to them and so they never had any opportunity to sell them while BWIA was listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange and its shares available for trading. BWIA was privatised in 1995 and the Government became a minority shareholder with 49 percent of the stock and 15 percent being put in trust in a pension plan for employees. Many of the shareholders rejected the 20 cents per share offer, believing that more was due to them. Former addicts testify before JSC Responding to a question by Parliamentary Secretary in the National Security Ministry, Glenda Jennings Smith, Dexter Cole said he was told by a peer in school that the illegal narcotic would bring up his grades and help him study better. Now 47 and employed as a chef at the Piparo Empowerment Centre, where he was rehabilitated, Cole said he has experienced a restoration which turned his life around for the better. He told JSC members he would not have gone down the road of substance abuse had he known about its evils. Cole urged young people not to bow to the influence of peer pressure and to educate themselves about making proper life choices. Caroline James, a counsellor with the Living Water Community, was moved to tears as she related her tale as a substance abuser to the JSC. Saying she adopted a criminal mentality to survive on the streets, James said she came from a broken home and never had anyone to warn her about the evils of drug addiction. She also said she was sexually abused and all she had to rely on to get better was her higher power. James said she was now 100 percent better and today in her new role she is giving back what she receives. She said a lot more needed to be done about women who are socially displaced and the first step was to talk about the problem. Santa Rosa residents against relocation of high risk prisoners Sources revealed that there are over ten high risk prisoners at the Centre. One of them is a witness in the Dana Seetahal murder trial. Also at the facility is a prisoner who recently escaped from St Anns hospital as well as prisoners serving life sentences. A prison officer who contacted Newsday said that he and his colleagues are fearful for their safety because the arrangements in place at the facility for these classification of prisoners are inadequate. He added that the facility is fenced with galvanised sheets and prisoners are housed in containers. According to reports, there are three sections in the facility and up until yesterday there was a manpower shortage at this prison. Officers also claimed that there is an infestation of rats, snakes and mosquitos. Residents said yesterday that they will be seeking a meeting with Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon and if there is no favourable response to their concerns, there will be protests. Some residents even asked to be relocated adding that the value of their homes has been devalued because of the close proximity to the prison facility. No one wants to live here especially with high risk prisoners being housed there and we want our concerns addressed immediately because we are fearful that at some point, if there is a prison break at that facility, our lives will be at risk, said the disgruntled residents yesterday. They added that they were not consulted before the area was transformed into a prison facility and pointed out that even after consultation, no mention was made to them that high risk prisoners would be housed there. Newsday understands that the high risk prisoners were placed at the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre due to security reasons. Newsday also understands that prison officers had complained to senior officers about alleged threats which resulted in the prisoners being moved to the ECRC. Efforts to reach Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart on the matter proved futile. Govt moving on cyber crime law Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young gave this assurance to reporters at yesterdays post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, Portof- Spain. Youngs assurance came against the backdrop of nude photos of women and children reportedly being posted on the Internet. And on Tuesday, Hafeez Ali resigned as a government senator after being blackmailed by a woman from North America who posted nude videos of him on YouTube. Young said that on Wednesday Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi led the first round of public consultation by this Government with respect to cyber crime legislation. Explaining this is connected to data protection legislation, the minister said, This is something we are actively moving towards. We have the amendments being drafted. Indicating that Government will be bringing cyber crime legislation to Parliament as quickly as possible, Young said law enforcement agencies have indicated that the continued publication and exchange of these things are criminal acts. In this context, he said, we would expect the law enforcement agencies to act appropriately and in particular the Cyber Crime Unit of the TT Police Service. Kallco terminated from Maracas project The project will be restarted next week under the supervision of the National Infastructure Development Company (Nidco). Government will seek to recover any money overpaid to Kallco on this project and will carefully determine the legitimacy of debts to contractor incurred by its Peoples Partnership (PP) predecessor before any payment is made. Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Stuart Young and Finance Minister Colm Imbert made these pronouncements at yesterdays post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair. At the launch of the $120 million project last July, then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar boasted the PP reduced the cost of the project from an alleged $179 million cost under the Peoples National Movement (PNM) in 2007. Young indicated Kallco was terminated from the project a month and a half ago by CISL based on legal advice. Referring to Cudjoes earlier comment that the mobilisation fee paid to Kallco was to the tune of $20 million, Young observed, It was found in this instance that an abnormally large sum was paid for mobilisation. Indicating that a value for money audit is underway, Young stated, Parallel to this, the necessary movements forward are taking place. The Government is moving expeditiously to complete the project. He explained the $20 million paid to Kallco has now been ringfenced. Young added, The lawyers are looking at that now to see how we may recover, if in fact there has been any overpayment to the contractor has been terminated. He said the matter may go to arbitration but this does not mean Government would not necessarily incur any additional expenditure as a result. The Government will be making claims against any contractor that it terminates, Young said. Indicating that every contract is a separate contract, Young said the new contractual arrangements for the project, will have nothing to do with other contracts that Nidco will have ongoing with other entities. Cudjoe said Nidco will supervise the project, which will be split into three packages. She explained that the Works Ministrys PURE unit will deal with road and drainage works at Maracas Beach in one package. Nidco will deal with vending booths and buildings in the second package and the sewerage and water treatment plant at the beach in the third package. Cudjoe said these contracts wil be awarded within the next week so that immediate remedial work can be done at the beach. She stated in the meantime, PURE and the Water and Sewerage Authority have been treating with issues at Maracas Beach Govt scraps armoured vehicles acquisition The process of procuring six vehicles began in 2014 under the former Peoples Partnership government. On September 10, 2014, four firms were invited to submit tenders. On October 20, 2014, three of the four firms submitted tenders. In May of 2015, a Special Evaluation Committee visited one of these companies in Israel to evaluate its vehicles. However, the process was reviewed and the committee recommended that the ministry reopen the tender. Last October, the ministry, after a review of the matter, said, The ministry continues to treat with the acquisition ... but only in accordance with the proper tendering and procurement guidelines set out by Governments regulations. However, Dillon yesterday disclosed the procurement process had been stopped altogether for the time being and the issue would only be taken back up if a need arose. The minister said there had been problems with the initial procurement. He also noted changed economic conditions. Dillon said that armoured vehicles would not be appropriate in areas of this country where there are dense populations. There are other methods that can be used, he said. You do not need to get an armoured vehicle just to storm a building. While the minister said the vehicles would not be pursued at the current time, they were not altogether ruled out but would only be acquired if a need arises. Padarath: Rowleys address bizarre Rowleys language was nothing short of crass and disrespectful to high office holders in this country, Padarath said in a media statement. He said he was deeply concerned that the Prime Ministers behaviour can affect the international image of this country. Is the Prime Minister cracking under pressure? Padarath asked. Meanwhile, UNC chairman David Lee questioned once more the imposition of import duties on chemicals used for agricultural products. I call on Government to stop playing musical chairs with the lives and welfare of our nations citizens, Lee said. As a Government they have a constitutional responsibility to undertake all policies that protect, develop and better the lives of our citizens. In the same way they have found resources to complete the Brian Lara Stadium, Red House project and Soca on the Seas, I demand on behalf of our population, especially our nations children, that resources be allocated to the opening of the Childrens Hospital in Couva, the UWI campus in Debe, as well as the completion of all schools under construction. What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames news Somali man opens fire, takes hostages, in Texas Walmart Burying the lede the suspect, a current or former Walmart employee, was said to be a Somalian man wearing khaki pants, KFDA-TV reports. (Article by Pamela Geller, republished from https://pamelageller.com/2016/06/somali-muslim-opens-fire-takes-hostages-at-wal-mart-in-texas.html/) Police said in a press release at 12:25 local time that no victims had been found inside the building and there is no ongoing shooting at this moment. It is not known if anyone was wounded elsewhere. The initial call was for a suspect who was actively shooting inside the store, according to police radio dispatches. SWAT team shoots suspect who took hostages at Amarillo, Texas Walmart, FOX News, June 16,2015 Published June 14, 2016 FoxNews.com DEVELOPING: A SWAT team shot and apparently killed a suspect who took hostages at a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas Tuesday afternoon, police announced, adding that all hostages were safe. Nearly an hour after city officials reported an active shooter incident, police said they had entered the Walmart and there was no ongoing shooting. We do consider this a work-place violence situation at this point, the Randall County Sheriffs Office told Fox News. One store employee told KFDA the gunman earlier released a worker and the store manager but was still inside the Walmart. Witnesses told KVII an employee took another employee hostage. Police said they were looking for a Somali man wearing khaki pants, KFDA added. Officers reportedly were evacuating shoppers from the west side of the store in the Texas Panhandle. Jeff Nunn, the president of a nearby bank, told the Amarillo Globe-News that helicopters and roughly 20 police and emergency vehicles rushed to the store. His bank and a day care center reportedly went on lockdown. Police closed nearby streets off I-27. Please avoid the area so that officers can focus on the scene and not traffic, the Amarillo Police Dept. said in a statement. Read more at: https://pamelageller.com/2016/06/somali-muslim-opens-fire-takes-hostages-at-wal-mart-in-texas.html/ Submit a correction >> Speaker Ryan lays out national security agenda for GOP that differs in many areas from positions held by Trump (NationalSecurity.news) Did House Speaker Paul Ryan just pick another fight with his partys presumptive presidential nominee, just days after Senate Republicans urged him to go easier on Donald J. Trump, at least in public? On Friday, Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, laid out his partys national security vision for the fall elections, and in many ways it differs from Trumps policy positions. As reported by The Washington Post, for example, Trump has proposed building a wall along the U.S. southwest border something that was authorized via legislation in 2006 but was defunded by Democrats after they won control of the House that year and getting Mexico to pay for it. But Ryans blueprint states that we need more than just fencing to keep illegal aliens, illegal weapons and drugs and terrorists from crossing into the U.S. Also, Trump has said that NATO is out-of-date and thus obsolete, but Ryans plan urges modernizing and solidifying NATO, even as it calls for prodding member nations to spend more on their own defense so the alliance does not fall into disrepair, or worse, irrelevance (this is a major Trump complaint as well). Where Trump has suggested it might be time to help arm allies like Japan and South Korea with nuclear weapons as a counter to an atomic-armed North Korea and increasingly aggressive China, Ryan has suggested efforts to shore up or defense arrangements so the U.S. can bring together those nations, while staying clear of mentioning nukes. The document does not mention Trump by name, but it is nevertheless the final product of a foreign policy agenda that Ryan, as Speaker, began developing as part of his Better Way agenda project so that Republicans would have a proactive plan to run on in November. As for Trump, Ryan sais he believes the eventual nominee will help us make [the agenda] a reality when he endorsed Trump a week ago. Along with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Ryan and other House committee chairmen who formed the GOPs national security task force presented the proposal formally at the Council on Foreign Relations last week as a necessary shift away from President Obamas policies. Its not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us, Ryan said, according to the Post. I think this is a direct result of the presidents foreign policy. That said, GOP leaders added they hope Trump will read the proposals and give them some serious consideration, especially in areas where they disagree with him. This is a document that we hope the nominee will read and take attention to, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said, in response to reporters question about Trumps statements on banning Muslims. There are ways to properly vet and protect threats from coming into the United States without just a swath of a ban against any race or religion coming into the United States. The 20-page national security proposal is the second installment of the agenda project, which House Republicans intend to roll out between now and the July 18 GOP convention, the Post reported. There are some agreements with Trump contained in the proposal, however, including its frank statement that the West and the United States is being threatened by radical Islamism. We are at war with Islamist terrorists, the report argues, concluding that thus we must act like we are fighting a war. But the war will not be won with bullets and bombs alone, the authors argue. It will be won by the force of our ideas. Also, like Trump, the document is universally critical of Obamas foreign policy priorities and performance. While Trump has also called for building up the U.S. military which is being by years of deployments and plagued by equipment wear and tear, as well as budget cuts that both the White House and Congress are responsible for the authors of the proposal have also said that in order to retain a credible threat against potential enemies, more must be done to bolster military capabilities, to prevent greater dangers in the future In another proposal that appeared to mirror Trump, the document promotes accelerating economic growth through foreign aid but also stresses that there is no right to foreign aid, and that it is best when countries help themselves. More: NationalSecurity.news is part of the USA Features Media network. Check out ALL our daily headlines here. Submit a correction >> Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs the meeting of Coastal States and UTs Mumbai, Fri, 17 Jun 2016 NI Wire The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting of Home Ministers, Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs) of Coastal States and Union Territories in Mumbai yesterday. The meeting has been convened to review the coastal security of India. During the meeting, Shri Rajnath Singh reviewed all aspects of security along the country's 7,516 km long coastline. The Minister stressed upon the need to safeguard not only industrial, commercial establishments and strategic installations, but also the entire coastline from external threats through sea routes. He said that steps have been initiated post 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, wherein Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is designated as the authority responsible for coastal security in territorial waters including areas to be patrolled by coastal police. Indian Navy is responsible for overall maritime security including coastal security and offshore security. Indian coasts are guarded by a 3-tier system of State Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy. Shri Rajnath Singh said that the ICG conducts coastal security exercises involving all stakeholders in all coastal states/UTs biannually to validate these Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for functioning of coastal police stations and also ICG promulgates these SOPs for coordination among various agencies on coastal security issues. The Minister said that the coastline has been further secured by the creation of chain of static sensors and Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers along the Indian Coast and Radars operated by the ICG at 45 locations while 38 more Radars are planned to be installed for gapless surveillance of the coastline. Shri Rajnath Singh also said that the MHA has issued Guidelines to the coastal states/UTs in regard to security of non-major ports. Further, he informed that for training of coastal police, in-principle approval has been accorded for setting up of National Marine Police Training Institute in Gujarat and State Marine Police Training Centres in the Police Training Academies of States and Union Territories. In order to track illegal movement, registration of fishing vessels has been made compulsory and for sensitizing fishermen on safety issues, community interaction programmes are conducted by Indian Coast Guard. The Minister said that consequent upon implementation of these important initiatives, our coasts are far more secure now. To strengthen the monitoring and coordination mechanism for the entire gamut of coastal security, the Government has set up an institutional mechanism at the State and the District level, and has strengthened the MHA level Steering Committee at the National Level for review of coastal security, he added. Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted the issues of maritime terrorism and its economic implications. He also invited suggestions from the Coastal States/UTs for the Phase-III of the Coastal Security Scheme to be implemented in next five years. The Minister said that with the active cooperation of all the State Governments & Union Territories and with the efforts of the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and other Ministries as well as agencies like the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and the Coastal Police, coastal security will continue to improve and our entire coastline will be fully secured from any threat from the sea. During the meeting, the Coastal Security Scheme managed by the Government of India with an objective of strengthening the infrastructure of Coastal States/ UTs for coastal patrolling and surveillance, was also discussed. Under the scheme, assistance is given to all Coastal States and Union Territories to set up coastal police stations, check posts, outposts and construction of jetties for berthing of police boats. Presently, the Phase II of this Scheme is in progress. There were discussions on expeditious implementation of coastal security scheme, institutional set up in States/UTs to review coastal security, constitution of State Maritime Boards, security of non-major ports and single point mooring, coastal mapping, security of islands, distribution of Biometric Identity Cards and Card Readers, colour coding of boats, monitoring of fish landing points and crossing of International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) by fishermen. Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra suggested that marine policing being a specialized job, a Central Marine Police Force be created to protect sea, coast, ports and vital institutions. He also suggested that all landing points and non major ports should be brought under tech based e-surveillance. Both these suggestions were supported by some States and UTs. Shri Rajnath Singh said that the Centre will seriously consider to create a coastal police as a Central Armed Police Force based on the suggestions received from Coastal States/UTs. It was also decided that for tracking the movement of fishermen to the sea and back, an integrated computerized system/tech based e-surveillance will be implemented with States & UTs and the Central Government will help in that direction. The Indian Coast Guard and the Coastal States and UTs gave the presentations on the steps being taken by them for ensuring coastal security and their requirements as well as suggestions for strengthening it further. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, Lt.General (Rtd) A.K. Singh, Lt. Governor A& N Island, Shri M.O.H.F. Shahjahan, Minister for Revenue, Puducherry, Dr. G. Parmeshwar, Home Minister, Karnataka, Shri. Rajnibhai Patel, MoS(Home), Gujarat, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, Union Home Secretary, Smt. Naini Jayaseelan, Secretary, ISCS, Shri Susheel Kumar, Secretary (Border Management), MHA, Chief Secretaries of Maharashtra, Goa and A&N, DGPs of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal & Gujarat and other officers from MHA, participating Ministries and States/UTs attended the meeting. Source: PIB The Latest Revelation Shows another Incidence of Tughlaqi Darbar of Topi Sarkar: Meenakshi Lekhi New Delhi, Fri, 17 Jun 2016 NI Wire KEJRIWAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO TELL PEOPLE WHY IT HAS SHOWN THE HASTE TO BRING PREMIUM APP BUS SERVICE VIOLATING MOTOR VEHICLE ACT, HIGH COURT DIRECTIVE WITH NO RESTRICTION ON THE NUMBER OF ROUTES TO BE PLIED & RATES TO BE CHARGED - MEENAKSHI LEKHI New Delhi, 17th June: BJP National Spokesperson MP Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi today at a Press Conference said that by approving the App based Bus Service Delhi Government has violated many mandatory provisions of Law and has deliberately chosen not to consult the Law & Finance Department due to its corrupt practice & malafide intentions. The latest revelation on App based Bus Service shows another incidence of Tughlaqi Darbar of Topi Sarkar. Smt. Lekhi said that it is shocking that the Lt. Governor has till date given no permission to introduce the Premium App Bus Service but the Kejriwal Government on 20th May brought out a notification saying that the Lt. Governor has approved the App Bus Service. This by itself is a criminal offence. Smt. Lekhi said that BJPs Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Shri Vijender Gupta has already filed a complaint in this matter with Delhi Governments Anti Corruption Branch. It is being alleged that the Kejriwal Government is going all out to favour a Gurugram based App Bus aggregator. She said that while trying to rush through approvals for this App based Bus Service the Government of Delhi has violated the Motor Vehicle Act 1988. She said that Government of Delhi has tried to rush through invoking emergency provisions under clause (n) of sub-section (3) of Section 66 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988 which allows such Bus service for a short duration under extraordinary circumstances such as strike by normal operators or a national calamity. In the present case the Kejriwal Government has brought it for an indefinite period. She said even the Honble Delhi High Court had in an order dated 5th September, 2013 directed that before introduction of any new cluster bus service in Delhi the proposal should be placed before the court but Kejriwal Government choose to ignore even the court directives. Smt. Lekhi said that it appears that the note of the Delhi Governments proposed Premium App Bus Service has been prepared by some individual corporate aggregator as it has come to our knowledge that during the meeting called by Delhi Government on this issue but for one all other aggregators opposed the scheme citing the Motor Vehicle Act 1988. To top it all the right to determine fare has been relinquished to the shuttle operator. It has also come out that rather than the then Minister Gopal Rai or Transport Department Officials the note which the AAP Government has presented is more or less same as the one prepared by Shri Ashish Khetan of Delhi Dialogue Commission. It is important to mention here that Minister Gopal Rai has quit from the Transport Department while Shri Ashish Khetan has surprisingly gone on a leave even as his brain child scheme is under scanner. Smt. Lekhi said that we would wish to know from the Kejriwal Government that why they did not even find it important to take prior approval of their own Finance & Law Departments. This new app based service would have a long term impact on state based Delhi Transport Corporation but the opinion of DTC was not even sought. She said that time and again we have seen the Chief Minister of Delhi raising acquisitions on app based cab services, their numbers on road and their surge pricing etc. but the same Chief Minister is prepared to allow the App based Bus Service on roads without any restriction on number of buses, number of bus routes or surge pricing. It seems Delhi is in for worst days then the city saw when the Blue Line or Red Lines were feared as killer lines. The uncontrolled Bus service reminds me of Nirbhaya case. She said that as per norms a draft proposal needed to have been put in public domain for such a scheme but even that was avoided in the present case. Smt. Lekhi said that as a citizen, as a law maker I really feel concerned that how can a State Government allow such callousness as an incompetent authority issuing a notification in a matter which can pose grave threat to the lives of lakhs of people who may use such transport. Smt. Lekhi said that today during peak hours hundreds of Chartered Bus Services run by individual bus owners operate in Delhi and with this new App based Bus Service they are likely to go out of business. The Chief Minister Kejriwal needs to tell us how the Government will ensure their livelihood in future. Share Tweet Recently I posted an article on a subject that is near and dear to mobile operators, customer acquisition and retention. It related to the publication by Next Generation Community host Nokia (News - Alert) of its 10th in a series of reports titled appropriately, Nokia 2016 Acquisition and Retention Study. It was noted that there were several categories that make the report a very useful resource. In fact, this week Nokia has published the details on the part of the series of this report dealing with Drivers of Customer Retention. And once, again, there is a lot to evaluate in the findings. As Nokia research found, there are four major drivers of customer retention: Source (News - Alert): Nokia 2016 Acquisition and Retention, Drivers of Customer Retention As mentioned in the previous article, what is clearly noteworthy in looking at the year-over-year comparisons is that while cost and billing remain the dominant concerns of mobile service customers in determining which provider they would like to use, the rapid ascent of customer care along with the service and device portfolio should be considered as calls for action. What is surprising as the decline of network quality as a driver which is likely attributable to quality being perceived as being related somewhat to network coverage as well and thanks to competition in virtually every market globally differentiation between services on this score is likely to be perceived as being almost a level playing field. That said, customer care is worth a shout out here. As the report explains, customer care as a category is comprised of three aspects: Self Care Request & Complaint Handling General Customer Service Each holds varying degrees of significance across the mature and transition markets described in the report, but as can be seen from the graphic, globally Request & Complaint Handling and General Customer Service, play the most significant roles in driving the overall importance. In speaking with Josh Aroner, Vice President, Applications & Analytics Marketing, Nokia about the series in general and about customer care, he explained that: Customers want greater transparency in billing and bundling, they want their problems handled by skilled professionals quickly and satisfactorily, and they want their services to be personalized and their care customized to meet their needs. He added that service providers should understand from the research that, The experience is everything and service providers have unique opportunities to leverage providing great experiences. He noted that this relates to all aspects of the customer experience and not just when they are interacting based on the need to resolve a problem. Aroner also observed that one of the reasons service providers are uniquely positioned to attract and retain customers, even in a world where there is now OTT competition along with competition from traditional providers, is that companies have usage data and other information directly related to the entire customer journey. This information when properly shared and analyzed can enable service providers to create and sustain differentiated value. I added, and Aroner agreed, that the emergence of concerns over security is also a nice way for service providers to create what used to be called, stickiness. Next up in the series will be, Trends in New Sign-ups. Edited by Maurice Nagle China is in talks with the Ukraine to finish a half built second copy of the Antonov cargo plane. It would likely cost about $300 million to complete the plane. The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Soviet Unions Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (710 short tons). The Antonov An-225, initially developed for the task of transporting the Buran spaceplane, was an enlargement of the successful Antonov An-124. The first and only An-225 was completed in 1988 Partially built second Antonov 225 The only existing Antonov 225 Ukraines Antonov Airlines operates seven An-124s, as well as the massive An-225, the largest cargo plane in the world. Antonov was looking to convert the An-124 into using western avionics and engines. Antonov has helped Chinas Shaanxi Aircraft Company to produce a much improved version of the Y-8 called the Y-9, which can carry 20 tons of cargo. In addition, China held discussions with Antonov regarding the possible co-production of the 150-ton capacity An-124 Ruslan, which exceeds the 120-ton capacity of the US C-5 transport. China plans to build more than 1,000 heavy strategic transport aircraft. In January, the China Daily reported that the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force was preparing to develop a new fleet of stealth fighters and heavy transport aircraft. The latter, the Xian Y-20 transport, was in particularly high demand, given Beijings lack of a fast and reliable platform to deliver arms and soldiers over long distances. Heavy transport aircraft are critical to extend the operational range of Chinas airforce. They can be used for mid-air refueling. It will also allow for rapid deployment of troops and tanks to different locations. SOURCEs- Global security, wikipedia, Foxtrot alpha, Milnavigator Wall Street Journal's Daisuke Wakabayashi recently Tweeted, "Apple says appealing order to stop selling phones in Beijing". The Chinese intellectual property office ruled that Apple and its Chinese distributor and retailer, Zhongfu Telecom, infringed the patent of Baili Electronics, which is suing Apple over the exterior design of its 100C smartphone, Forbes reports. The city's intellectual property regulator has ruled that the design of the two phones is overly similar to another phone, the 100C, made by the Chinese company Shenzhen Baili. However, CNBC reported that Apple has appealed the ruling and the iPhone models continued to be on sale in China, citing persons familiar with the situation. Check out the image of the 100c and tell us if you see any Apple iPhone 6 in it. Sales of Apple phones in China slipped in the first quarter and were a significant contributor to Apple's financial reverse, also revealed in April. The Beijing's government move to ban the sell of iPhone 6 devices follows a prior decision by the Chinese government to shut down Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies services. In 2012 it paid out in a settlement over the use of the name iPad. Earlier this year, Apple lost a trademark battle to exclusively own the rights to the "iPhone" brand in China. Bird and Bird partner and IP specialist Ted Chwu said that Apple has a number of legal options open to it. "Today I just want to add mine", Obama said". Clinton turned over some 30,000 emails to State Department officials after she stepped down from the job in 2013. Obama endorsed Clinton in a web video Thursday. Obama carried that state in both general elections when he ran for president. Clinton has repeatedly said she chose "not to keep" some 30,000 emails her lawyers deemed personal, which has been widely interpreted as meaning she deleted the personal emails. "I want to get this on the table, and get it on the table early: Hillary Clinton won", Warren said in her interview with Maddow. "Obama's endorsement comes after a hard fought Democratic primary season, in which Clinton struggled against leftist rival Bernie Sanders". His speeches demanding income equality and an end to the strong influence of wealthy donors and special interests in Washington have helped energize supporters. Trump's own party leaders have disavowed his rhetoric against Mexicans, Muslims, women and other groups. More pragmatic Sanderistas are pressing him to leverage his new-found political clout to shift the party to the left. For many, Clinton - a former first lady, secretary of state and USA senator - is the epitome of a political establishment that has failed the people. He said the real-estate mogul "would be a disaster" for the US. Hillary Clinton has made a bid to win the support of the Democrats' progressive wing. "I look forward to meeting with [Clinton] in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump", Sanders told reporters after the meeting with Obama. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., down the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2016. In what appeared to be an attempt to gently ease Sanders toward giving up his campaign, Obama met the democratic socialist for about an hour in the White House, laughing warmly as they walked into the Oval Office. Warren, who is likely to hit the campaign trail for Clinton this fall, said Democrats - after a lengthy primary - were battle-tested and ready for November. In an interview on MSNBC, Warren was asked by Rachel Maddow: "If you were asked to be Secretary Clinton's running mate, do you believe you could do it?" After a almost weeklong search for a venue, the Trump operation found a DFW home at the Southside Ballroom, otherwise known as the big room at the Gilley's complex in the Cedars. The ballroom holds about 4,500 if it's stuffed to maximum capacity. Update 5:22 Supporters and protesters are making their way to Gilley's in the Cedars about 90 minutes from the start of the event. Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, will hold a rally at 7 p.m. Thursday at Gilley's South Side Ballroom in Dallas. To that end, police are asking businesses in downtown Dallas to help out by sending their employees home early, encouraging everyone to vacate the downtown area by 3 p.m., in anticipation of major traffic delays and for safety reasons. Domingo Garcia, the main protest organizer, stated Wednesday, "we will give Trump a warm, hot Texas welcome". "The protest will be peaceful and non-violent", said Peter Johnson with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). "This is about America and what the Statue of Liberty stands for and American values", Garcia said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. In addition to the white shirts, organizers asked participants to bring American flags, not the Mexican flags that appeared at Trump rallies in the past. Another local activist Carlos Quintanilla has been posting details on his Facebook page. Trump is attending a private campaign fundraiser in Dallas in addition to the rally, which could prove hard considering he's alienated the establishment, said TCU political scientist Jim Riddlesperger. These detours will remain in place until the streets are reopened, DART said. Not so coincidentally, Dallas Police officers on Wednesday morning underwent training at Fair Park for dealing with demonstrators or potential rioters. "We are in the election year", Dallas police Deputy Chief Jeff Cotner told media in an interview broadcast on Periscope. "The Dallas Police Department is committed to protecting every person's right to free speech and to assemble peaceably". The statement went on to warn, however, that "there will be no tolerance for individuals who engage in criminal activity or attempt to incite violence or civil disorder". Wahid said the whales began stranding themselves during high tide Wednesday on the coast of Pesisir village in Probolinggo district in the province of East Java. Pilot whales are part of the oceanic dolphin family although their behaviours are closer to that of larger whales. Of the 32 whales that washed up at Pesisir Beach on the coast of Probolinggo in East Java, eight were dead and 24 were rescued and returned to sea. A boy clings on the fin of a dead whale. Rescuers pull dead whales ashore in Probolinggo. There are multiple theories about how the whales ended up beached. Despite a mammoth rescue operation which initially succeeded in moving numerous whales back out to sea, some of the animals beached again overnight and died in an estuary at Probolinggo, East Java province. Head of the East Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) Ayu Dewi Utari said that as of noon on Thursday, nine of the pilot whales had died due to lack of oxygen. Residents said whales were rarely seen in the area. According to The Jakarta Post another five of the stranded whales are expected to perish. At first, there were just one or two whales swimming near the shore, and the nature of whales is that if they are sick, they will come near the shore.... Indonesian environmental activists and local fishermen help a disoriented short-finned pilot whale. "When the tide fell all of them were trapped". A team of veterinarians from the University of Airlangga, Surabaya, have been dispatched to remove the dead whales and perform an autopsy to reveal the cause of their deaths. Omar Mateen, the gunman who fatally shot 49 people at a Orlando night club early Sunday, appeared in a documentary about the 2010 BP oil spill as a security guard complaining about the cleanup efforts. The encounter is captured via hidden camera. The documentary, The Big Fix, won a coveted spot at Cannes Film Festival in 2012. In the clip, Mateen is seen wearing his security uniform and standing guard near a beach where workers are cleaning up oil that has washed on shore after the BP oil spill. No one gives a sh*t here. He went on to say that the clean-up crew was just hoping for "more oil to- come out" so that they'll have jobs. "(Be)cause once people get laid off here it's going to suck for them. "They want more disaster to happen 'cause that's where their moneymaking is", Mateen testified to the reporter. He worked for G4S, one of the world's largest private security firms, when the documentary was filmed; Mateen was a security guard with G4S from 2007 until the time of the shooting. "Because that's where their money making is", he added in the roughly 40-second clip. An American of Afghan descent, Mateen is believed to have been radicalised online. The nightclub attack in Orlando that left 49 victims dead was initially described by some news organizations as the deadliest mass shooting in USA history. Meanwhile, an FBI source said Mateen's ex-wife, Noor, told federal investigators she tried to stop her husband from committing the attack. "I'm at my wits' end", said Senator Chris Murphy of CT, where a 2012 school shooting left 20 children dead, as he began his hours-long takeover with other Democrats. "I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns", Trump said in a tweet. Sen. Chris Murphy of CT said on Twitter that he was prepared to "talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can". "My legs are a little bit rubbery, but my heart is strong this morning, because I know that we made a difference yesterday", Murphy said Thursday. Despite the recent tragedy, nothing suggests enough Republicans are willing to loosen their grip on their beloved Second Amendment to pass the bill now - but that isn't stopping their rivals across the aisle from trying. 'Donald Trump, like the Republicans, he's talking the talk but he ain't walking the walk, ' the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, Chuck Schumer, told a news conference. Add your voice to Hillary Clinton's and mine to demand Congress take immediate action to make our communities safer from gun violence. In April 2007, Congress passed a law to strengthen the instant background check system after a gunman at Virginia Tech was able to purchase his weapons because his mental health history was not in the instant background check database. Rev. Sharon Risher, Risher, a clinical trauma chaplain in Dallas, who lost her mother Ethel Lance and two cousins in the racially-motivated shooting at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, N.C., in 2015, is embraced by Sen. Murphy won a hard-fought contest for the seat vacated by former Sen. The Senate has already voted both down in December after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Senate Democrats also secure a vote on expanding background checks to private gun sales, something Clark opposes as well. Anyone on a terror watchlist who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing. That wouldn't have blocked Mateen from buying a gun, however, since he'd been pulled from the watch list. Under her bill, the government could also halt a gun purchase if the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a reasonable belief that the individual will use the firearm to commit terrorism. This time, Toomey's partner is a vocal gun-control advocate who has dedicated millions to lobbying, polling and advocating for gun control. In a statement, the NRA said it was happy to meet with Trump and reiterated its support for Cornyn's bill. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other Republicans argue that Feinstein's bill would deny due process to people who may be on the terror list erroneously. Cornyn did not sound overly hopeful of reaching compromise with Feinstein. "But we're not going to presume somebody's guilty and deny them due process of law, we're going to require the government to show some evidence and to provide for a constitutional process, that's where we differ". "Every senator now has to say whether they're for terrorists getting guns or against terrorists getting guns". Reid was already a stalwart Democratic leader in the Senate by that point and did not appear headed for any presidential contests, but the filibuster and other fights against Bush appointees helped cement his image as a scrapper in the trenches along his way to becoming the Senate's top Democrat. They turned up the pressure on Republicans, and challenged them to vote against proposals they said had widespread support in national polls. Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his five-nation tour, including to the United States, Congress said that 'not a single new idea came out of his U.S. visit'. Reports from Vienna had it that with the United States pushing its case, India's bid for membership of the 48-member grouping has received positive indications from most of the member countries but China was still playing the spoiler by persisting with its opposition. Earlier this week, Switzerland also agreed to support India's bid for membership made last month, after winning a waiver in 2008 allowing it to trade in commercial nuclear technology. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that it had launched a high-power campaign aimed at "engaging all members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group" in the run-up to the extraordinary plenary that NSG will host in Vienna on June 9. Mexico's president said on Wednesday his country supports India's membership bid, but one Vienna-based diplomat said it still opposed the idea of it joining under conditions that did not apply equally to all. While China has raised the issue of non-NPT members joining the NSG, India has no intention to polarise the 48-member body and believes Beijing will come around to supporting its membership claim, sources said. "India is also pursuing membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, but certainly, if Pakistan wants to pursue that, that's something for all the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to consider", he added. NSG members include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States. The group is to hold another meeting in Seoul on June 24. He dedicated much of the speech to the importance of fighting terrorism, thanking Congress for USA support after a Pakistan-based military group's rampage in Mumbai killed 166 people in 2008. Both groups would give India greater access to research and technology, but China has so far blocked Indias accession to the NSG. "By bringing India on board, it's a slap in the face of the entire non-proliferation regime", said a diplomatic source. "China, if anything, is hardening (its position)", another diplomat said. Pakistan has been lobbying hard with members of the NSG to scuttle India's membership to NSG. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. He said that bilateral relations with India and Pakistan were separate and stand on their own merits, and so it's not prudent for the U.S.to view its security cooperation in the region in kind of a zero-sum game - or zero-sum terms. Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed Britain's support for India's application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. But on the other hand, in an article written in the state-run Global Times, it was written that China would support India entry in the forty-eight limited members club but only if India plays by rules. He said he would not speculate on whether India would attain the NSG membership but hastened to add that Washington had made it clear that it supported India's admission into the grouping. He also said that he had recently approached many countries, including Russia, Mexico, South Korea and New Zealand, to gain their support on Islamabad's viewpoint that there should be a criteria-based approach while deciding about inclusion of any country to the NSG. Experts argue that even if its membership bid is rejected at the meeting in Seoul, India's inclusion in the elite nuclear club is just a matter of time. The article also expressed concerns that its all-weather friend Pakistan will be left behind because "entry into the NSG will make it (India) a "legitimate nuclear power". State Department Spokesman asked members to back India's application when it comes up at NSG plenary in Seoul. "As a result, Pakistan's strategic interests will be threatened, which will in turn shake the strategic balance in South Asia, and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region", it said. "However, as a country that has signed neither the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) nor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), India is not yet qualified for accession into the NSG", it said. "If the group forms such a uniform criteria, then Pakistan has stronger credentials for NSG membership than India", Aziz said. Aziz thanked Turkey for its stand that the application of both Pakistan and India should be considered simultaneously. Last week, the foreign ministry's UN Desk held a briefing in Islamabad for diplomatic missions of NSG-member countries to put forward its argument against India's membership and to push for its own entry to the elite group. Earlier, Aziz had said that Pakistan's scientists and experts were monitoring and evaluating the strategic threats that Indian nuclear doctrine posed to his country's national security. So the question is, if any non-signatory of the treaty wants to join the group, under what condition can it be accepted? "Once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken". "I take this opportunity to make clear that I remain committed to making peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors". Israel has criticised the initiative, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying earlier this week: "The path to peace is not via global conferences that attempt to force a settlement, that make the Palestinian demands more extreme and in the process distance peace". "We must seek a situation in which the countries of the region are convinced of the importance of progress in the peace process", Sissi said during a pre-recorded interview broadcast on Egyptian news channels to mark his second anniversary as president. After a meeting that included U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday, Kerry told reporters he would possibly be open to holding an global conference later this year with Israeli and Palestinian representatives in attendance, but cautioned that the talks are just getting started, and that such a meeting is far from set in stone. "Our initiative aims to give them guarantees that peace will be solid, lasting and under worldwide supervision". "We're not here to propose any kind of specific agenda", a senior State Department official said. Fayrouz Sharqawi, a long-term resident of Jerusalem originally from Nazareth, a Palestinian city in northern Israel, and coordinator at Grassroots Jerusalem, an NGO that promotes alternative tourism in the city, also believes France has little to offer. A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians must include the countries of the region. Ayrault said nations should start working by the end of June on measures to create the "framework and support" for direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. In a communique issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the participants said they had met to "reaffirm their support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict". He told the gathering that their initiative aims at giving them guarantees that the peace will be solid, sustainable and under global supervision. Palestinian leaders said afterwards that the meeting was a "very significant step" on the path to peace. Speaking after the meeting, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel Al Jubeir, rejected this idea, saying the Arab peace initiative already contained "all the elements for a final settlement". There is no scheduled participation, however, from representatives of either Israel or the Palestinians. At the same meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned that hopes of a two-state solution were in "serious danger", with Israelis and Palestinians "getting further away each day". Israel continues to build settlements in the occupied West Bank, and Palestinians have taken to low-grade attacks on Israeli security officials - usually in the form of knife attacks that often result in the attacker being shot dead by security officers. The Palestinians have been pushing for a multinational mediator for future talks to replace the USA, which is seen by the Palestinians and Europeans as too close to Israel. Global pressure has been building since the U.N. General Assembly recognized a state of Palestine in 2012, though one does not exist in reality without a negotiated agreement with Israel. "At the same time, the Palestinian leadership must unequivocally combat violence and incitement, including by clearly condemning all acts of terror". Israel formally outlawed Islamic State in 2014 and negotiated the repatriation for trial of several Arab citizens who had joined or tried to join the insurgents via Turkey or Jordan. Marine recruit Christina Wauchope waits with other female recruits to fire on the rifle range during boot camp at MCRD Parris Island, S.C., on February 25, 2013. The bill is still far from being signed into law. The latest draft provision was stripped out of a bill passed by the House, meaning the two versions of the bill would still need to be reconciled in committee. During his first campaign for president, Obama promised to close the detention facility at Guantanamo, which he has called a recruiting tool for extremist groups. CNN reports the bill "still needs to go through a reconciliation process with a different House version of the legislation" before it can be enacted. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a military veteran opposed to women serving in combat, proposed the draft amendment during mark-up, to make a point. It would not have prevented women from combat, but would require the Pentagon to study the issue. After the vote, chair of the Armed Services Committee John McCain and Republican Senator said he was disappointed it didn't contain a plan that would have helped Afghans who worked to move to the US. And as The Two-Way noted earlier this year, top leaders from the Army and Marines have testified before Congress that they, too, think women should register. If the NDAA passes the House and the president's desk, women who turn 18 in 2018 or later will be required to do this as well. In unveiling the Selective Service amendment last month, Lee said forcing women to register for the draft would be a dramatic change not only for the armed forces but culturally as well. In a potential area of contention, the Senate bill includes a provision that would require women to register for the draft. "The idea that we should forcibly conscript young girls into combat, to my mind, makes little or no sense", Cruz said. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017 passed the Senate 85-13, with support from both of Alabama 's USA senators, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions. The bill was voted in favor by at least 85 members, and contains various controversial amendments that the Obama administration objected. The problems began last week when Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, demanded a vote on his provision that would prevent the USA government from indefinitely detaining U.S. citizens arrested on American soil for being sympathetic to terrorist groups. "Our allies question our resolve, they question our allegiances and more importantly, our adversaries don't think we're serious", said Speaker Ryan. Yeah. I've spoken very clearly about it. "Well, I think a Muslim ban does promote radicalization". Trump, a wealthy celebrity businessman, became the Republicans' presumptive nominee for the November 8 presidential election last month after seeing off 16 rivals in a largely self-funded primary campaign. "He's not yet the nominee". They just want Donald Trump to quit being quite so vulgar. Senator Marco Rubio said Tuesday that if he speaks at the GOP convention in July, he will not be speaking on Trump's behalf. Kasich told Fox News' Bill Hemmer Thursday. I just watched the leader of a white nationalist organization gleefully report how Donald Trump has helped their cause. "It looks like its gotten worse". The cover was tweeted out Tuesday night by the Daily News. But aides cautioned it was not a sign that it was not a sign he was fundamentally changing how he campaigns. She has been outspoken in her criticism of the presumptive Republican nominee in recent months, often using Twitter to unleash social media rants against him. And it did diverge from the billionaire businessman on some key issues. "I will not stand idly by listening to a person attacking the integrity of a judge due to their ethnicity", Labrador, an Idaho Republican, said at a monthly news conference he holds with a group of his fellow conservatives in the House of Representatives. Though the GOP is already torn, many believe booting Trump is politically unrealistic because it would deepen the party's rifts and is probably impossible anyway. They also do not back Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from the US for an indefinite time. If that happens, he said, the delegation's vote will reflect the results of the February 1 caucuses. But Thornberry advised that any commander in chief "abide by the law" and predicted members of the military would not violate any legal restrictions. The list includes at least one former candidate who has yet to endorse Trump, but who he said will eventually "come over to my side". A considerable number of them will vote for Hillary Clinton; some conservatives and Republicans will refuse to vote for Trump. "Since he has the 1,237 votes he needs to be the nominee", she said. Trump and his team prided themselves on winning the primaries with a bare-bones staff and a modest budget. "I don't know if that will all translate over into the general election". Trump has doubled down on the comments about Curiel, who is the presiding judge in lawsuits filed against him by former students of his Trump University. "We didn't ask for assurances". Mead says Trump's policies would be better for Wyoming and the West. "He called me right back, and I could hear I think Melania and his whole family say 'you gotta get up on stage", and the world was waiting for him on live TV. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Alabama Sen. Of the various policy areas, national security may be among the easiest to dovetail with the Trump campaign, Nunes suggested. He said he and Ryan staffers have been meeting with Trump campaign aides, "so there are no surprises" with them on the release of the document. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's rival in the Democratic race. Trump's comments were widely criticized as racist, with Ryan calling them "the textbook definition of a racist comment". Politicians need to meet the businesspeople halfway, and show wisdom, foresight and flexibility. Discussions at the forum would provide guidance and consensus for Russian and global economic development, and give impetus to all-round worldwide cooperation, Putin said. He said Russian Federation doesn't need a new Cold War and that the country's policy is "aimed at cooperation". "It is vital that we work together in our search for additional drivers of development", Putin said in a greeting read at the opening ceremony of the three-day forum. "We don't bear grudges and we are willing to meet our European partners halfway - this, however, must not be a one-way street", he added. Zakaria said later he was reading from a translation of an Interfax news report. President Vladimir Putin says Russian Federation respects the United States as the world's only superpower, but won't accept US interference in its home affairs. "She probably has her own view of U.S". Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says that Britain will suffer the most if voters chose to leave the European Union, but voiced confidence that they will decide to stay. Putin criticized the West for ignoring Russia's legitimate interests. Putin also criticized NATO's expansion, warning there would be consequences if the alliance continued what he said was its one-sided policy against Russian Federation. Petersburg International Economic Forum is underway in Russian Federation. Mr Putin had a meeting with the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday and other worldwide executives, telling them that Russian Federation is open to Western investment despite the strained ties with the West. Despite addressing mainly a Russian audience at the Kremlin's flagship economic event of the year, Juncker kept his usual blunt tone to describe EU-Russia relations. European Union regulators yesterday (11 August) began a product-by-product impact analysis of a Russian ban on European Union food imports announced in retaliation for Western sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The EU now also has other sanctions targeting Russia more directly, limiting access for Russian companies to Western capital markets, banning arms trade and limiting access to sensitive oil-industry technologies. It also has slapped asset freezes and travel restrictions on 146 people and 37 entities. Both Ban and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke of "building bridges" even as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Moscow continued exchanging barbs this week. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has praised Russian Federation for helping to resolve conflict in Libya. Violence in eastern Ukraine is intensifying and Russian-backed rebels have moved heavy weaponry back to the front line, worldwide monitors warned on Saturday (13 February). His words echoed the statement from Putin, who said that Ukraine has failed to approve legislation on a special status for the east to honor its end of the deal. In a preview of the previously announced non-stop flights from Los Angeles and NY to Singapore planned for 2018, the new non-stop SFO-Singapore service will be operated on a daily basis from October 23, 2016 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Along with adding the San Francisco service, Singapore Airlines announced Wednesday that it will end its San Francisco-Seoul-Singapore daily flight and instead fly from Los Angeles to Singapore via Seoul. United's Singapore-San Francisco flight uses a Boeing Co. Earlier this year United Airlines launched direct flights between San Francisco and Singapore, which marked the first direct link from between the USA and the Lion City since SIA suspended its LA and Newark services in 2013. The carrier halted direct flights to Los Angeles and NY in November 2013 as costs surged from using four-engine A340s on the all business-class services. To date, the 13,600km journey between Singapore and San Francisco is Singapore Airlines' furthest destination. Flights will depart Singapore in the morning, also arriving in San Francisco in the morning to enable onward connections to other destinations. The airline had axed a near 19-hour trip to NY and direct flights to Los Angeles in 2013 due to high fuel prices and weak demand. The LAX flights will both use 777-300ERs with first class, business class, premium economy and economy seating. SIA has plans to restart nonstop flights to NY and Los Angeles when it takes delivery of longer range A350-900ULRs. It has seven A350- 900ULRs on order, which will allow even longer flights - to both Los Angeles and NY. This new Singapore-Seoul-LA service will also commence on 23 October 2016, and will operate alongside the existing daily Singapore-Tokyo Narita-LA routing. United and Singapore, both Star Alliance members, are seeking approval to launch a codesharing partnership. Also in October, the airline will launch nonstop flights from San Francisco to Singapore. "Our customers have been asking us to offer more USA services and we are pleased to be able to do so". A now available flight travels from LAX to Tokyo to Singapore. "Our customers have been asking us to offer more USA services and we are pleased to be able to do so", said SIA's senior vice-president for marketing planning, Ms Lee Wen Fen. Senior vice-president of market development for Changi Airport Group Lim Ching Kiat said SIA's moves "augment Changi Airport's position as the preferred gateway between South-east Asia and the US". The airline operates three weekly flights to Sao Paulo via Barcelona. Meanwhile, SIA said it will suspend services to Sao Paulo in Brazil from Oct 20, as a result of the "sustained weak performance of the route". Services between Singapore and Barcelona will be unaffected. Prime Minister General Prayut is accompanied by his spouse, Associate Professor Naraporn Chan-o-cha and a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders. Gen Prayut, who is making the visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be given a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow morning after which he will go to Rajghat to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi. "We have prioritised the completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway", Modi said. Post the event the, Thai PM will meet Vice President Shri M Hamid Ansari. Chan-o-Cha is also expected to deliver a speech at the business event hosted by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM on Friday. The Thai PM will visit Bodh Gaya, a major place of pilgrimage for Buddhists in Gaya before returning to Thailand on June 18. To commemorate 70 years of relations with Thailand, Modi said there would be a Festival of Thailand in India and a Festival of India in Thailand. About 10 lakh Indian tourists visit Thailand every year while about one lakh tourists from Thailand come to India. Earlier, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra paid a state visit to India in January 2012 and was the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations. The bilateral talks will concern deeper relations between the two countries. trade and investment, defence, security and tourism will be on the top agenda. Both the countries will strengthen their cooperation to combat terrorism, boost maritime security, defense ties and trade. Thailand has shown interest in joint ventures in defence production and procurement of defence platforms from India. Aside from the Chad vs Jordan clash, fans can likewise expect some big surprises in "The Bachelorette" Season 12 Episode 5. The Bachelorette 2016 spoilers tease that Jojo Fletcher knows fiance Jordan Rodgers is a cheater and she is totally okay with it. Jojo Fletcher is either the most gullible Bachelorette ever, or the rumors were true and she is a total gold-digger and could care less if her rumored victor is faithful or not. For starters, his ex-girlfriend Brittany Farrar called Jordan out as a cheater on Instagram right after his first episode aired. The International Business Times also reports that JoJo will have a pretty rough time on Monday as she will also be the target of gossip and rumors. "Brittany told JoJo that Jordan wasn't a great boyfriend", an insider told Us magazine. To be honest, we're just excited to watch Chad shove more food in his mouth for two hours... So JoJo will ask Jordan about the cheating rumors during a date in Uruguay on The Bachelorette. "Jordan cops to flirting with other women, but he denies he was unfaithful", the source tells Us Weekly. Now it's been revealed that JoJo actually met Jordan's ex in Dallas before the show began filming, and her words were far from flattering. The first source says that Fletcher "feels like she's the one courting him". And he only went on The Bachelorette to get famous or be the next Bachelor. However, JoJo nixed those rumors: "A week before this whole thing started I think his name got leaked, and it was kind of all over the Internet, so, you know, it's like "Jordan Rodgers, brother of Aaron" - so that's what I knew going into it". Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has again called for restricting immigration from certain countries, arguing that it is the only way to prevent more terrorist attacks like Sunday's Orlando nightclub massacre. But at least one, celebrity Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, rescinded his apparent backing of Trump following the billionaire real estate magnate's remarks. The congressman, who has not endorsed Trump, said that while it's fair to criticize aspects of Obama's approach to combatting terrorism, "I part company with those then who want to get into these conspiracy theories". At the end of his eight years in office, the United States will be facing more grinding conflicts than existed when he won the presidency. Trump has since repeated the proposal in television appearances. They're not bad people. Republican leaders were also shocked by this declarations and, to everybody's surprise, the spoke out against their party's nominee, but Trump continued with his idea, tweeting an article from Breitbart, a right news wing site, according to The Telegraph. "The fear that many feel today can not be superseded by a rush to demonize and marginalize other Americans of a different faith", the statement read. "Islamic terrorism problem", he said. But some of these same critics are standing by him. "It's not in keeping with the American tradition of tolerance". Asked during the presser whether he had any confidence in Trump to respect the separation of powers, especially after the candidate told critical Republicans to "just please be quiet" and "don't talk," Ryan evaded the thrust of the question as gracefully as possible. In May, Boteach published a column on The Times of Israel website calling Trump "the right candidate for the Presidency over Hillary". "I'm waiting to see if at this point there's going to be a Damascus Road experience, a dramatic change", Mr Kasich told Yahoo News. He said the column was not an endorsement. I dare Trump to hold this same standard to mass murderers like Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and say he was in America only because we allowed the Irish to come here. But I will not vote for an egomaniacal authoritarian. Ryan said there is "a lot of common ground on a lot of things" between him and Trump. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday he did not think a ban on the entry of Muslims was in United States interests. Mr. Trump may have calculated that a suddenly anxious electorate would be more receptive to his campaign of fear and prejudice, emotions he immediately attempted to inflame. This is the latest incident where Donald Trump and his campaign have made clear his disregard for freedom of the press. While the post drew criticism, Trump has said he received "tens of thousands" of notes praising his foresight. Malik Mujahid, a Chicago area imam, said Trump is using a general sense of fear and insecurity stemming from the San Bernardino attacks last December and the Orlando shootings to stoke Islamophobia in the hope of rallying his supporters. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. The rehabilitation program of the medina and 27 monuments and historic sites in the ancient city of Fez, founded by Idriss II in the 7th century, is almost over. Under the program launched in 2013, twenty-six monuments and historical sites have already been renovated for a total amount of about $30 million (MAD285.50 Million.) King Mohammed VI, who is keen on preserving the architectural style and characteristics of the medina of Fez, listed by the UNESCO in 1981 as World Heritage, visited on Wednesday a number of the refurbished sites and monuments. Some of these sites and monuments are dating back to the tenth and eleventh centuries, like the Sebbaghine Souk and Terrafine Bridge, built during the Zenete era. The Sovereign also toured several refurbished madrasas (schools) built under the Merinid Dynasty in the Thirteenth century, des foundouks (inns) and Dar Al Mouaqqit, a tower used to monitor the astronomical map that was built during the reign of Merinid Sultan Abu Inan. He equally visited Hammam bin Abbad, a public bath built in the Fourteenth century, the Khrachfiyine bridge, dating back to the Eleventh century, and the Sidi Bounafae and Boutouil fortresses, built under the Saadi Dynasty during the 16th century as well as leather tanneries, some dating back to the Ninth century. The Fez medina rehabilitation program also deals with the refurbishment of some 4000 buildings that threaten to collapse and the restoration of the medina streets. The shops located along the circuits taken by visitors and tourists were fitted with traditional awnings, over 80 iron gates were replaced with cedar wood doors, and some 155 doors were renovated. Besides beautifying the median of fez, all these rehabilitation works contribute to the preservation of Moroccan craft skills. Tunisias powerful labor union UGTT Wednesday underlined its rejection of President Essebsis invitation to join the future unity government currently under discussion. The UGTT said in a statement that as a union it is not its role to join any government. The UGTT decision was made after a board meeting discussed President Caid Essebsis call for the formation of a unity government including all the countrys forces. Tunisia has been facing political, economic and instability since the 2011 revolution that ousted the former dictator Ben Ali. President Essebsi argued, earlier this month in an interview, that to overcome current difficult situation the country needs a unity government to address security, corruption, unemployment challenges that have damaged the countrys economic and political situation. The UGTT, though smashing the Presidents hopes, reiterated its commitment to actively endorse the elaboration of profitable visions for the country but on a comprehensive basis and on a constructive and responsible dialogue. The union bashed political parties claiming more portfolios in the coming unity government on the basis of results of the vote. The UGTT indicated that the claims contradict the presidents initiative to form a unity government and a mutual project. The UGTT is part f of Tunisian Quartet which won the 2015 Peace Noble Price. The White House has confirmed that First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Morocco on June 28 and 29. The visit, which is part of the Let Girls Learn initiative, will take place after a visit to Liberia. She will highlight during her trip in these two African countries the US Governments work to help adolescent girls go to school and stay in school, says the White house in a statement. In Morocco, the First Lady will be joined by actress Meryl Streep, also an advocate for girls education, and Indian actress Freida Pinto and will participate in a conversation with adolescent girls moderated by CNNs Isha Sesay. The discussion will focus on the challenges many girls in the region face in getting a quality education. The First Ladys visit will also highlight commitments made by the U.S. Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and USAID in partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco to help adolescent girls in Morocco go to school and stay in school, the White House statement says. After her trip in Marrakesh, Michelle Obama will fly to Madrid to speak to girls and young women about the power of education and urge them to do their part to help girls worldwide fulfill their promise. She will share with the audience the stories of girls she has met in Liberia and Morocco and her prior travels and highlight new commitments to support Let Girls Learn. While in Spain, the First Lady will also meet with Queen Letizia. At the United State of Women Summit held on June 14 in Washington, Michelle Obama Announced more than $20 Million in new commitments to the U.S. Governments Let Girls Learn Initiative. The new contributions came in response to the First Ladys call upon organizations around the country to support adolescent girls education, in order to provide the more than 62 million girls around the world who are out of school with the opportunity to attain an education. Prior press reports had said the First Lady will be accompanied by daughters Malia and Sasha. Et tu, dozens of delegates? Photo: Branden Camp/Getty Images Donald Trumps first few weeks as the Republican standard-bearer could have gone better, what with the whole making statements that the Partys Speaker has to acknowledge fit the textbook definition of racism thing. And all those revelations about his (so-called) universitys predatory practices. And the exposes on his companys habit of stiffing contractors and screwing over creditors. And his decision to reframe the general election as a referendum on religious discrimination. And, above all, his stubborn refusal to raise money or hire more staff or build field operations (in states he can actually win) or, really, put together any kind of campaign at all. So it makes sense that some GOP politicians and media personalities are having second thoughts. But theres not really much those elites can do to keep the Trump train from leaving Cleveland with the nomination in tow. The only thing that could still realize the ambitions of the #NeverTrump movement would be a mutiny among the majority of the conventions 2,400 delegates. On Friday, the Washington Post reported there are literally dozens who are planning to take up that fight. The campaign kicked off Thursday night, with a conference call between 30 delegates from 15 states. According to the Post, the group has already recruited regional coordinators in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and Washington. Many of these delegates are former Ted Cruz supporters, but theyd be happy to nominate anyone (who hates taxes and abortion) other than the mogul. This literally is an Anybody but Trump movement, Kendal Unruh, a Colorado delegate and the coups leader. Nobody has any idea who is going to step in and be the nominee, but were not worried about that. Were just doing that job to make sure that hes not the face of our party. Trump replied, in effect, Im your face whether you like it or not. I have tremendous support and get the biggest crowds by far and any such move would not only be totally illegal but also a rebuke of the millions of people who feel so strongly about what I am saying, Trump wrote in a statement to the Post. People that I defeated soundly in the primaries will do anything to get a second shot but there is no mechanism for it to happen. In truth, overthrowing Trump at the convention would be totally legal and there is a mechanism for it to happen. A majority of delegates on the conventions rules committee could vote to unbind all delegates, which is to say, allow all delegates to vote as they wish on the first ballot. This proposal would then have to be approved by a majority of all convention delegates. A slight variation on this same basic maneuver would be to insert a conscience clause into the convention rules. This would effectively unbind delegates, but would require them to pledge that their violation of their states will was not motivated by political preference, but my moral obligation. On Friday, Speaker Paul Ryan revealed that he would not pressure House members to follow his lead and endorse the nominee. The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something thats contrary to their conscience, Ryan told NBCs Chuck Todd a phrasing that could give courage to dissident delegates. Nonetheless, a coup would be a profound logistical and political challenge. The Republican National Committee has yet to release a list of the thousands of delegates and alternates headed for Cleveland, stymieing the rebels recruitment efforts. And RNC chairmen Reince Priebus has insisted that delegates must represent the will of their states voters on the first ballot. And any Trump delegate that tries to switch sides risks facing the wrath of Roger Stone. But the opposition forces wont go down without a fight. This isnt going to go away, Iowa delegate Cecil Stinemetz, told the Post. Trump or others might say that these are just little groups who wont do anything and itll fizz out thats not going to happen. Trump just continues to embarrass himself and his party and this is not going to let up. California delegate Tobias Funke was even more defiant. Diplomats to Obama: Do more. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/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, American ambassadors turn on their boss, John McCain takes everything back, and a grieving family sues Google. Heres the rundown for Friday, June 17. WEATHER The already overheated United States will get even hotter today and through the weekend. It will be hot pretty much everywhere except, notably, northern California and the Northwest but temperatures in the Southwest will truly be horrifying and potentially dangerous, topping out at 120 in Phoenix over the weekend. New York City will also be very warm, but temperatures shouldnt go much above 80. [Weather.com] FRONT PAGE More Than 50 U.S. Diplomats Urge Airstrikes in Syria More than 50 American diplomats working at the State Department signed onto a letter criticizing President Obama directly and saying the White House should change its policy in Syria. The letter called for American airstrikes and military operations against the embattled government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad if he continued to break internationally recognized cease-fire agreements. The memo was filed in the State Departments dissent channel, and although such memos are not uncommon, the number of signatures on this one is unheard of. [NYT] EARLY AND OFTEN Slaying of U.K. Lawmaker Shocks World, Draws Clintons Response Hillary Clinton responded yesterday to the brutal slaying of U.K. Parliament Member Jo Cox, who was murdered by someone who allegedly espoused anti-immigration British nationalist sentiments. Hillary Clinton condemned the murder in no uncertain terms, calling it a violent act of political intolerance, and said that the U.K. and the United States must stand united against hatred and violence. Gabby Giffords, who herself was shot in 2011, said she was sickened by the murder and described Cox as a rising star, mother, and wife. [Politico] CIA Chief Reminds Americans That ISIS Is Still Capable of Terror As If We Had Forgotten Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan spoke yesterday to remind Americans that ISIS is still capable of carrying out terrorist attacks despite years of military and non-military action taken by the U.S. government. Brennan said ISIS was capable of carrying out terrorist attacks directly, as well as influencing others to carry out attacks through its radicalizing presence online. [WSJ] Huckabee, If Israel Jumped Off a Bridge, Would You? Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee who would like you to know that he can play the bass came out in favor of Donald Trumps anti-Muslim immigration policies, pointing out that theyre not so different from those of Americas most steadfast ally, Israel. Speaking on an Israeli radio show, Huckabee explained: Muslims dont just get to come into Israel without some clearance. In fact, I am not sure that they are allowed to immigrate here at all. So when everybody acts like Oh what Trump has said is so amazing, its not that amazing in Israel. Perhaps Huckabee would do well to find a different poster child for his brand of second-wave compassionate conservatism. [Politico] John McCain Must Have Amazing Calves From All This Backpedaling John McCain has released a statement saying he misspoke when he implied that President Obama was directly responsible for the shooting in Orlando. What he said was: I am making [my constituents] realize that Barack Obama is directly responsible for it. What he meant to say was that were all responsible as lawmakers and public figures for contributing to a pervasive atmosphere of Islamophobia, homophobia, vilifying difference, and encouraging the use of violence, in general, and guns, in particular, as a way to air grievances and solve problems. Wait, no, of course he didnt say that. What he said was, I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the president himself. [Reuters] THE STREET, THE VALLEY Just in Time for That Weekend Road Trip: Oil Prices Are Up Oil prices rose yesterday Brent crude futures were up 38 cents their first rise in seven days. The horrible reason for the rise was the postponement of the Brexit vote following the murder of Jo Cox, a U.K. lawmaker, on Thursday. [Reuters] A $420 Million Deal to Save Face Cosmetics company Revlon has announced it will buy rival Elizabeth Arden for $420 million in cash balllerrrr in a bid to grow its presence in the skincare marketplace. Both companies have been struggling of late and hope this acquisition will turn back the hands of time, as the products they peddle are meant to. [WSJ] Paris Terror Victims Father Sues Google, Facebook, and Twitter California design student Nohemi Gonzalez was killed in the Paris terror attack in November. Now her family has filed suit in San Francisco against Google, Facebook, and Twitter, claiming the three companies knowingly allowed terrorists to open accounts, spread terror, and recruit people to their cause, thereby providing material support to terrorists and violating the Anti-Terrorism Act. A similar suit was recently thrown out. [The Guardian] Microsofts New Billion-Dollar Idea: Remember Drug Wars on the TI-83? Hippy Bill Gates has been waiting his whole life for this: Microsoft has announced that its working on software for the increasingly legal marijuana industry. In partnership with Californian marijuana startup Kind, Microsoft will develop software for governments struggling to track legal marijuana in their states. [The Verge] MEDIA BUBBLE Grammys Now Just Letting Anyone In The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences the group behind the Grammy Awards announced yesterday that they would change their eligibility standards to reflect a world dominated by streaming. Now it will accept for consideration music only released on a streaming service, even if it is never released for traditional download or in any physical format. So everyone send them your SoundClouds. [NYT] Redstone Antics Should Hold You Over Until Game of Thrones on Sunday The long-simmering tension between Viacoms major shareholder Sumner Redstone or the people manipulating him and his companys board has finally bubbled over as Redstone unilaterally removed five of Viacoms directors, including its outspoken CEO Philippe Dauman. All five will remain in their posts until a Delaware court can approve the changes. [Reuters] Backchannel Heads to Conde Nast Widely respected tech blog Backchannel announced yesterday that it would be moving to Conde Nast where it would publish under the Wired Media Group, the home of other similar publications such as WIRED and Ars Technica. Prolific tech journalist Jessi Hempel will also come onboard as the head of the editorial department. [Backchannel] PHOTO OP Obama and Biden Pay Their Respects in Orlando They dont care about the politics, Obama said. And neither do I, and neither does Joe. Obama in Orlando: 'Those families could be our families' https://t.co/cnQrLYPXcH pic.twitter.com/lkRDlTXLUC Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) June 16, 2016 MORNING MEME The Shade That Lit Up the Internet That dude is lucky to be alive. OTHER LOCAL NEWS Birds Give Minnesotans the Finger Theres no solution yet in the East Grand Forks severed-fingers case, in which a six-year-old child found two severed fingers on a picnic table at his familys campsite. The current theory is that the fingers mightve belonged to a man from two towns over who blew up his hand with a firework last year and that they were carried to the campsite by birds with a very dark sense of humor. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press] Hunger Affects Judgment Two mightily stupid EMTs from Newarks University Hospital are out of a job today after they livestreamed themselves ignoring a call for assistance while waiting in line at a White Castle drive-through. This is so wrong on so many levels everyone knows only In-N-Out is worth killing for. [CBS] HAPPENING TODAY Obama to Meet With High-Ranking Saudi Official President Obama will meet with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia today at the White House. The influential statesman is in town to promote his kingdoms move away from its dependence on oil, to discuss plans to combat ISIS, and to help improve the increasingly frayed relationship between the two countries. [Reuters] Today Could Be a Historic Day for Track and Field Olympic officials are meeting today to determine whether the Russian track and field team will be disqualified from taking place in this summers Olympics after its rampant systematic cheating was exposed last year. [LA Times] Great News for States With Legal Weed Have you been wanting to try virtual reality but cant afford an Oculus Rift? Well, starting today you can head down to GameStop or Best Buy, where PlayStations new VR system will be up and running for eager customers to try. It wouldnt be the first time we threw up in a Best Buy! [Endgadget] Photo: Facebook Orlando shooter Omar Mateen exchanged text messages with his wife during last Sundays massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub, CNN has learned from a law-enforcement official. Noor Salman, Mateens second wife, has avoided the press since the incident, and not much is known about her or her relationship with her husband. Earlier this week, it came to light that she might have known about his plans to attack the club and tried to talk him out of it, but she stopped short of alerting authorities. She also was reportedly with Mateen when he purchased the weapons and ammunition used in the attack, in which Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53, before being shot dead by law enforcement. CNN reports that around 4 a.m. on the night of the attack, about two hours after Mateen had entered the club, he sent his wife a text message to ask if she had seen the news. She responded with a text saying she loved him, and she also made several unanswered calls to his phone during Mateens standoff with police. Mateen also went on Facebook during the attack, the Associated Press reports, citing a letter from Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Ron Johnson released Wednesday. The gunman had at least five Facebook accounts and made a series of posts both during and shortly before Sundays deadly attack, in which he wrote, The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west, and warned that in the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa. He also reportedly used Facebook during the attack to search for Pulse Orlando and Shooting, according to the letter. The Senate committee has asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help authorities uncover the full scope of the shooters online activities. A few more details have emerged about Salman in recent days the AP reports that she and Mateen were married in 2011 near her hometown of Rodeo, California, and had a son who is now three years old. The 30-year-old Salman was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents of Palestinian origin, who were naturalized in 1984. Salmans family still lives in northern California; a neighbor described her to the AP as friendly but sheltered, and said Mateen was her second husband after her first, an arranged marriage, didnt work out. Mateen had also been married previously: to Sitora Yusufiy in 2009. Unlike Salman, Yusufiy has been forthcoming with the press, describing Mateen as mentally unstable and telling reporters that he had abused her during their brief marriage. Meanwhile, CNN also reports that employees of a Florida gun store had contacted authorities about Mateen last month after he tried to buy body armor and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Robert Abell, the owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, said his employees had become suspicious and called the FBI, but did not know the prospective customers name so couldnt identify him. Federal officials told CNN they had no record of any such call. Of all the crazy things Donald Trump has said, what upset Karl Rove was his disrespect for expensive ad campaigns. Photo: Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images There are obviously a lot of Republicans who are publicly and privately upset with how Donald Trump is handling the transition from primary to general-election candidate. Most of them are unhappy with his aggressive support for religious and ethnic profiling and his modeling of prejudice in the Gonzalo Curiel incident. Leave it to Karl Rove to get mad at Trump for how hes running his campaign, not what hes saying. Specifically, Rove is furious that Trump has disrespected the importance of paid media in presidential campaigns. As someone who has devoted his career to raising and spending megabucks for mostly negative political ads from the day he left the White House, Rove probably regarded Trumps contempt for this part of politics as blasphemy. So, the Boy Genius repaired to the LOsservatore Romano of the devotees of the green god of political money, The Wall Street Journal, asking Trump to repent. Mr. Trump believes that fundraising and TV advertising are overrated. I just dont think I need nearly as much money as other people, he told Bloomberg. I get so many invitations to be on television. But consider a hypothetical: Say Hillary Clinton runs a week of TV spots in Tampa/St. Petersburg, a key media market in Florida, and Mr. Trump counters by appearing on cable shows. Counting only adults, 314,000 viewers might see a Clinton ad during 60 Minutes on Sunday, according to Nielsen data. Nearly 190,000 would see one during Dancing With the Stars on Monday; 248,000 during NCIS on Tuesday; and 120,000 during Hawaii Five-0 on Friday. Mr. Trumps appearances on Fox News would reach only a fraction of those numbers: 82,000 adults for a segment on The OReilly Factor and 61,000 for one on The Kelly File. An appearance on CNNs best-viewed evening program would reach 33,000. So the moral is clear: Raise the money, run the ads, amen. But Rove has more heresy to root out. Hes also upset that Trump is offloading the ground game to the RNC. Team Clinton, he warns, is prepared to outgun anything the national party can do unless the nominee raises some serious jack to help pay to keep up with the donkeys. And so: Mr. Trumps decisions to forgo ads, abandon his self-funding pledge and accept a big financial deficit, and turn the ground game over to the RNC are unprecedented challenges to conventional wisdom. In 21 weeks, we will know if they were smart bets. It should be noted that Trumps belief that paid media and money generally are overrated in presidential (as opposed to down-ballot) general elections (as opposed to primaries) is shared by many political scientists, thanks to the massive earned media presidential candidates receive. Because nobodys ever been better at the earned media game than Trump, its hardly surprising he figures that might be his best asset. But if hes right, theres not much of a role in national politics for people like Karl Rove, is there? And that would be blasphemy for sure. Bernie Sanders still has a couple of tricks up his sleeve if he chooses to play them. Photo: Matt McClain-Pool/Getty Images Bernie Sanderss late fade in the Democratic primaries (a bad loss in New Jersey and a surprisingly large loss in California), compounded by the quick defection of a few prominent supporters (e.g., Senator Jeff Merkley), is leading some observers to speculate that hes already lost his leverage over the Democratic convention. If he cannot credibly threaten Clintons nomination, and has already signaled he will strongly support the nominee in the general election, why should Team Hillary pay him more than lip service? Hasnt she already leaned in his ideological direction enough, to the theoretical peril of her ultimate prospects? But there are two points of leverage Sanders still maintains. First is the possibility that well-chosen Sanders platform demands could command enough support from Clinton delegates to force them onto the nominee. That could lead to media reports of HRC losing control of the convention. In past conventions for both parties, such contingencies have sometimes led the putative nominee to concede to platform demands in order to avoid any public loss of face. This time it could significantly help Sanders to put his stamp on the party platform, one of his original campaign objectives. The second leverage point is far more general but nonetheless important: the threat of dissension and unpleasantness that could materially undermine the conventions value as a projection of Clintons message and of Democratic unity. Bored media attendees will naturally be trolling in Philadelphia for stories of unhappy Sanders supporters exhibiting their displeasure at the proceedings and the inevitable minimization of Bernies role in the party and the general-election campaign. An aggressive exercise of discipline by Sanders and his campaign is the only thing that could more or less eliminate that risk. So under-the-radar-screen negotiations will focus on mere appearances as much as the heavy substance of the platform and actually more, since the images of the convention will linger long after any arguments over carbon taxes versus regulation have been forgotten. So no wonder Sanders is arguing his campaign has a purpose now that hes no longer pretending to have the ability to prevent Clintons nomination. And his leverage may be enhanced by the fact that a 75-year-old U.S. senator probably cannot be bought off with future political considerations. Perhaps the Sanders campaign is about the future of the Democratic Party. But for Sanders himself, the future is now. Bernie Sanders just wont quit. Photo: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton met face-to-face for the first time in months. Their positive meeting, which was supposed to last an hour, stretched toward two as they sat in a hotel near the Capitol and, according to nearly identical statements released by their campaigns, talked through the issues. Sanderss consecutive meetings with President Obama and Clinton the first of which came just after Clinton officially clinched the Democratic nomination have been seen as a sign that the Vermont senator is ready to bury the hatchet and work to unite the Democratic party against Donald Trump. And, in a speech on Thursday, Sanders confirmed that defeating the presumptive GOP nominee (or, as some have called him, Cheeto Jesus) is now his top priority. Sanders indicated that he would work with Clinton to shape the most progressive platform in history, but stopped just short of actually conceding to Clinton. The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated, and defeated badly, he told supporters during a live webcast on Thursday night. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. With that, he devoted a few more seconds to Trump-bashing: After centuries of racism, sexism, and discrimination of all forms in our country we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign. We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, Muslims, women, and African-Americans. We cannot have a president who, in the midst of so much income and wealth inequality, wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very rich. We cannot have a president who, despite all of the scientific evidence, believes that climate change is a hoax. But, he said, his campaign is about more than that: Its about co-operating with Clinton to fundamentally change the Democratic party. I look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors: a party that has the courage to take on Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil-fuel industry, and the other powerful special interests that dominate our political and economic life, he said. He also called his and Clintons views quite close on some issues a phrase that could hint at an endorsement down the line. So hes willing to work with Clinton, it seems, but hes not ready to fold just yet. Of the 23 minutes he spent addressing supporters, only a few were spent discussing hypothetical party unity. This is the only section in Sanders' remarks that refers to HRC. No endorsement here. pic.twitter.com/m9mdEzUVYN Monica Alba (@albamonica) June 17, 2016 The rest of his speech was dedicated to rehashing his campaign platform: increasing the federal minimum wage, eliminating student debt, and creating an economy that works for all of us, not just the one percent. But he also took the opportunity to encourage his allies to run for office on a local level, saying the Democratic party should have a 50-state strategy and should open its doors and welcome into its ranks working people and young people, i.e. the people his campaign mobilized. .@BernieSanders goes off script of prepared remarks for a second: "We need new blood in the political process and you are that new blood." Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 17, 2016 And although he didnt say it directly, Sanders seems to be counting on the influence of those supporters to buoy him all the way to the Democratic convention. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become, he said. And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia where we will have more than 1,900 delegates. Well, this much is clear: hard to do a better job of dragging out a double digit loss than this Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) June 17, 2016 In short, as the Washington Post points out, Sanderss speech had all the hallmarks of a concession speech minus the concession. He has evidently abandoned his plan to win the nomination by swaying superdelegates in his favor, but Sanders seems to think theres something to be gained by keeping his gasping campaign alive for another month. Which is all well and good, but when Donald Trump praises you, it might be a sign youre doing something wrong. Hi. Would I have your vote? Photo: Seth Wenig/AP Mayor Bill de Blasio is facing at least a half-dozen federal, state, and local investigations into his fundraising, accompanied by ugly headlines and the lowest approval ratings of his tenure. Last weeks arrest of Norman Seabrook, the powerful head of the citys corrections officers union, on federal corruption charges in a case involving a de Blasio fundraiser, only crystallized what more and more New York Democrats are starting to believe: With next years election looming on the horizon, the progressive mayor is becoming vulnerable to a primary challenge. While a few prominent local politicians are toying with the idea, its City Comptroller Scott Stringer who seems to be getting the most serious about taking on de Blasio. He held a fundraiser on Tuesday night and is quietly assembling a campaign team. Elected to his citywide post in 2013, Stringer has talked up the possibility of challenging de Blasio to several Democrats over the last two months, and his chief of staff has approached at least one veteran Democratic operative about signing on to a potential bid next year. Stringer sees that de Blasio is weaker and more vulnerable than ever before because of the multiple scandals facing City Hall, said a party insider familiar with Stringers thinking. Thats why its no surprise Stringers political team is reaching out to consultants and operatives to gauge their interest about a 2017 mayoral bid. A range of Democratic sources who are aware of Stringers plans say he is the most hungry among a group of potential challengers that also includes Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Stringer has more than $1 million in his campaign account, according to the latest filings. De Blasio has about $890,000 in his 2017 account, and may not be able raise cash as readily as a typical incumbent, given his investigatory woes. (Still, he is set to hold a slew of fundraisers over the next few months.) At first glance, Stringer, 56, doesnt seem like de Blasios most obvious primary challenger. Hes liberal, but lacks an overarching policy vision. During his eight-year tenure as Manhattan borough president, he was known for his wonkish attention to community boards and transit. Like his ambitious predecessors in the comptrollers office, he has antagonized the mayor; but Stringer hasnt brought the kind of political flair to it that, say, John Liu did. However, Stringer has gotten into the mix of officials scrutinizing de Blasios conduct, having opened an inquiry into a dubious, City Hallapproved Lower East Side land deal that may turn a former facility for AIDS patients into luxury condominiums. You think you can take me? Photo: Rob Bennett/Mayoral Photography Office Chatter in Stringers orbit intensified after a May 24 Quinnipiac University poll showed de Blasio with a dismal 41-percent approval rating, the lowest of his tenure. In a head-to-head matchup with Stringer, de Blasio only led 3736 percent. The bad news for the comptroller was de Blasios commanding 5324 percent lead among the Democrats who will decide the primary outcome but this didnt tamp down any talk about what an aggressive campaign against a damaged de Blasio would look like. Stringers allies say a road map to defeating de Blasio begins with winning over as many disenchanted whites as possible, particularly affluent Democrats in Brownstone Brooklyn and the Upper West Side. Stringer, an Upper West Sider, can likely do this. To get traction in vote-rich, predominantly black neighborhoods in central Brooklyn and southeast Queens, Stringer would need to harness dissatisfaction with de Blasios record on police reform and housing. While stop-and-frisks have drastically declined under de Blasio, many minority activists feel he hasnt done enough to hold NYPD officers accountable for killing unarmed black men. De Blasios affordable-housing plan, while ambitious, will rezone large swaths of the city and possibly hasten gentrification in East New York and around Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Stringer has been a fierce critic of de Blasios housing policies, but has yet to make his mark on policing. Those close to Stringer imagine a campaign crafted around an image of a Democrat who can get things done, a liberal reformer who touts that he is corruption-free. De Blasio once dismissed the idea of being a pothole mayor and took jaunts to Iowa to burnish his liberal credentials; Stringer, a former state assemblyman, would promise to be less aloof. Aides have already speculated about promoting Stringers Washington Heights roots and the little-known fact that he grew up with a Puerto Rican stepfather. At the moment, Stringer probably simmers with more City Hall ambition than Diaz or Jeffries. Diaz genuinely enjoys being Bronx borough president and could mount a serious mayoral bid in 2021 when de Blasio will be term-limited out of office, or even run for comptroller if Stringer challenges de Blasio. Jeffries is a top Hillary Clinton surrogate with an interest in climbing the Washington, D.C., ladder. Stringer was running for mayor in 2013 until a crowded field and sagging poll numbers forced him to take the consolation prize of city comptroller. He only kept it after surprising many political observers by besting Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor known for his burning intellect, in a vicious primary. This doesnt mean Stringer will ultimately take the plunge. Those who know the comptroller say he is waiting to see how the various investigations into de Blasios fundraising for State Senate candidates, his interactions with anti-horse carriage donors, and an alleged straw-donor scheme play out and whether the mayors poll numbers take a further hit. Stringers the most politically active guy of the group looking to run next year, said Bradley Tusk, who managed Michael Bloombergs 2009 reelection bid. He probably occupies the right space in that he is liberal enough that he wont be off-putting to labor and he can win business support. Tusk, who is unaffiliated with Stringer and has made it known he wants de Blasio dethroned, released a poll last week that showed de Blasio in an effective tie with Stringer, leading 4140 percent. Tusk is also working with the Patrolmens Benevolent Association to find a candidate to run against the mayor. The PBA has met with Stringer and Diaz in the past two weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal. (The Journals Josh Dawsey also first reported the Stringer fundraiser on Tuesday night.) One advantage Stringer has over Diaz and Jeffries is a large orbit of loyalists in the public and private sector that has been privately compared to a Ready for Hillary operation. They include Audrey Gelman, his former press secretary; Micah Lasher, attorney general Eric Schneidermans former chief of staff and a candidate for State Senate on the Upper West Side; Amy Rutkin, Rep. Jerry Nadlers chief of staff; and Camille Joseph, deputy comptroller for public affairs and Anthony Weiners former campaign manager. Any 2017 bid would also likely involve Anson Kaye, a Hillary Clinton ad-maker and top strategist on Stringers comptroller campaign. At the center of it all, theres Sascha Owen, Stringers current chief of staff and former campaign manager. Speaking louder with his actions. Photo: Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images There are real risks to running against de Blasio, and he still could draw no significant Democratic challengers. As an incumbent, he boasts higher name recognition than Stringer, and he remains close to the powerful labor unions who determine the course of many municipal elections. Unless de Blasio is gravely weakened, his labor allies are unlikely to defect and will unite against Stringer. The stakes are high if Stringer were to challenge de Blasio next year and lose, hed be out of a job and a pariah in de Blasios New York. Mayor de Blasio expanded pre-K for every 4-year-old and raised wages for tens of thousands of workers. Crime is at record lows, jobs are at a second high, and New York City is building affordable housing at a record pace, said Dan Levitan, a spokesperson for de Blasio. Those are the results he will be judged on, and that is what his reelection campaign will be about. A spokesperson for Stringer declined to comment. Photo: Billy Farrell/BFA.com Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons and Possessor of Lengthy Honorifics, is one of TVs larger-than-life characters. Yet offscreen, actress Emilia Clarke has positioned herself as one of Hollywoods most relatable celebs, at least in one sense. Specifically: by talking about dudes and their junk. In her media appearances, Clarke has reliably championed male nudity on Game of Thrones, gushed about her celebrity crushes, and generally displayed a thirst appropriate to a life spent wandering the parched Dothraki sea. Lets take a look. She has praised Khal Drogos nether regions: Asked about Game of Thrones lack of male nudity, Clarke clarified that at least one person did get to see Khal Drogos dong. I saw [actor Jason Momoas] member, but it was covered in a pink fluffy sock, Clarke explained coyly in an interview with Glamour. Showing it would make people feel bad. Its too fabulous. And Daarios: Plus we all got to see Daarios butt, remember? Id like to bring your memory back to Mr. Michiel Huisman and I copulating for the first time, she added. Which began with me saying, Take off your clothes, and then you got to see his perfect bottom. But shes also pro-dad-bod: Clarke may date warriors onscreen, but that doesnt mean she only likes men with Dothraki six packs. Speaking to People, Clarke said her ideal guy is super smart, can make me laugh, [and] has, like, a dad bod. I dont need no six-pack. Like, I aint kicking it out of bed for sure, but every character Ive been with has been too perfect. She has no problem with a little platonic PDA: She isnt afraid of sharing her celebrity crushes on Instagram: In an interview with Moviefone, Jai Courtney asked Clarke what Sarah Connor (her Terminator character) and Daenerys would do on a girls night out, to which Clarke responded: Ryan Gosling might be there, just cause I think they probably would both think he was really hot. When Courtney suggested a menage a trois might be in the offing, Clarke was intrigued. Why not? she said. Im just throwing that one out there. If he wants to pick it up at any point, Im fine with that. There was also this charming Friends fangirl moment: She loves Leonardo DiCaprio, of course: On multiple occasions, Clarke has expressed adulation for her first crush, Leonardo DiCaprio. I would love to play Jane Bond, the actress told the Daily Star. My ultimate leading man would be Leonardo DiCaprio. No doubt about it. Asked by People on another occasion why shes still single, the actress riffed: If Leonardo DiCaprio decides to stop dating supermodels! (Unlikely, but we admire her idealism.) She engages in recreational boy-watching: Clarke may not be on Tinder, but that doesnt mean shes not above scouting for guys IRL. Sometimes, I just come here and stare at all the pretty boys, Clarke told the L.A. Times while people-watching at trendy Los Angeles restaurant Gjusta. Everyones pretty, and everyones looking at each other, but the food is so good that I just cannot help it. Shes not shy about initiating threesomes: Hot tip: Nothing gets Clarke in the mood for a threesome like Dothraki pet names. Someone took a fantasy in my head and played it in real life, Clarke told Harpers Bazaar of a fortuitous run-in with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. I was at a Golden Globes after-party and Channing f**cking Tatum came up to me, and his stunning missus, Jenna. And they said, We call each other moon of my life and my sun and stars and all that. And I was like, I cannot contain this. Please, can we all have something sexual together? Youre both beautiful, even just a hug. An shes an equal-opportunity objectifier: Speaking about Julia Roberts in Stepmom to Us Weekly, Clarke gushed: You just see her cry, and she just gets this little crease, and thats it. Beautiful tears fall from her beautiful face. Shes so hot, its ridiculous. She has been on a crusade to free the penis: Clarkes campaign for junk equality was ultimately successful, if anticlimactic. And, finally, her ideal endings for Game of Thrones usually involve penis: Who needs ice and fire when you can have dong shots? I want to see Daenerys and her three dragons share the throne, she told Glamour. And bring back all the pretty boys, get them to take their trousers down, and be like, Im now the queen of everything! Id like close-ups of all the boys penises, please. We applaud the sentiment, Khaleesi. Designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla bring artistic sensibilities to everything they touch. Known in India and beyond for their work in both interior design and fashion, the two have produced intricate Indian couture since meeting in Mumbai in 1986. The book India Fantastique Fashion, out June 28 from Thames & Hudson, chronicles their mesmerizing designs. It is the art of captivatingly blending the traditional with the contemporary that Abu and Sandeep have perfected, Nita M. Ambani writes in the books preface. The two designers were part of Indias fashion scene long before they met. At 19, Jani worked 12-hour shifts in a garage designing Bollywood outfits, while Khosla studied art both at home with his mother and at the Doon School in Kapurthala. When Jani and Khosla crossed paths they instantly clicked, creating designs that delicately walk the line between traditional and modern Indian styles, all with a forward-thinking aesthetic. Click ahead to see shoots as dramatic as they are glamorous a mosaic-like textured dress in the middle of a surreal desert, golden sheaths on beach-side cliffs, and sunflowers blooming between geometric bead embroidery. Young and The Restless star Greg Rikaart and husband Robert Sudduth welcome a baby boy: https://t.co/bYLAZDISBB pic.twitter.com/iY9xKKuGNP E! News (@enews) June 14, 2016 - Greg Rikaart and his husband Robert Sudduth have welcomed their first child together! - The 39-year-old The Young and the Restless actor shared a photo on Instagram of himself and Robert with their newborn son Montgomery Argo Rikaart-Sudduth. Monte was born via surrogate on Sunday (June 12) at 5:01pm in Roseville, California. We fight hate, fear, bigotry, homophobia and injustice in the world with love, intellect and enlightenment. In the truest and most pure definitions of the latter words, it is with full hearts that Rob and I take great pride in introducing our son, Montgomery Argo Rikaart-Sudduth, he captioned the photo on Instagram. He was born in Roseville, CA at 5:01pm on 6/12/16. He is light and love and magic. Monte, Rob, myself and Marcela, our trooper of a surrogate, are all doing fantastic. lm need their own twitters because when they complain about clubs/companies on the official little mix Twitter likes this it seems really off putting and unprofessional Reply Thread Link I will have to agree with you on that one. I love them but yeah. Reply Parent Thread Link I think the reason why they don't have individual accounts is because Jesy would never make one. Or if she did, she would never use it. That's why they prefer just sharing one account. Reply Parent Thread Link Who cares if one doesn't have one. Why would that affect the others getting one? And if they're not going to their own then they need to stop using the official group one for personal petty drama Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Is it really their loss? I mean, if you are an asshole and then rant, should the company defend themselves or. .. ? Reply Thread Link you should read their fans replies. "they're fucking little mix, you should treat them as queens." and according to their local ontd fans, those girls are in the same fame-level as the spice girls, so yeah Reply Parent Thread Link I find the reviews for the club because I've checked Yelp as well as facebook. With Yelp, I can see all of the reviews and find out very quickly if someone is real or just being an asshole in life. Reply Parent Thread Link i mean ur the same way w/ 5H so is it rly any better tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link have you ever seen stan replies ever in your entire life jw Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Most of the reviews of the club say that the staff is always rude, but harmoz keep doing the most and involving themselves on drama that has nothing to do with their faves. How sad Reply Thread Link i don't get how establishments like that think they're god like. in vegas the high profile clubs are nice but the shithole standard in los angeles are fucking rude. Reply Parent Thread Link As a company, if you get dragged in public, and even if it wasn't your fault, you apologize because the customer is always right. That's like a rule. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This is so fucking true Reply Parent Thread Link i'm just reporting the facts bb, why so rude Reply Parent Thread Expand Link mte. such Bitter Betties :) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link LOL, I hate 5H but this stan war is over, and 5H won. Nobody cares about little mixture. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link they all need their own twitters, an official group twitter is usually just for promo stuff and the occasional fan interaction right? Reply Thread Link Yeah it makes it more confusing cause Jade is saying she had her ID. Reply Parent Thread Link i don't get how they've been a group for 5 years and still don't have individual twitter accounts. this wouldn't even be a big deal if she tweeted this from her own account but now it just looks petty imo. keep your main band account for general music info and complain on your personal accounts Reply Thread Link They used to have personal accounts. Reply Parent Thread Link i guess their label or smth made the decision to shut them down? weird move from a pr perspective. either way they need to bring back those personal accounts then Reply Parent Thread Expand Link urgh it's so embarrassing when celebs do this. and from the band's account too, yikes. Reply Thread Link But regular people do it everyday. It just gets attention when a celeb does it. Reply Parent Thread Link I wonder why Reply Parent Thread Link Thanks, Detective Obvious. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think sending a private message would have been more appropriate. Calling out a club publicly because they wouldn't let you in is just tacky. Reply Parent Thread Link my boss would do this from the company twitter account. it was always so embarrassing. Reply Parent Thread Link If it was something that happened to her then why she used the band official account? that is nagl at all, it looks petty and is dumb. And I don't care about LM or 5H or any stan war, but this looks so unprofessional. Reply Thread Link Because the group's account is the girls' account. They don't have individual accounts. All of them share that one and just sign the tweets so people know who tweeted it. Reply Parent Thread Link Then they shouldn't use it as a personal account, it's something that happened to her only, not the band, it is dumb and petty, just create a twitter account and that's it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol who gives a shit honestly, my friend went to that club once and said the staff are rude as fuck and that was waaay before this so nothing changed since then so maybe now something will :p Reply Parent Thread Link I bet that club owner is a 5K Harmony Stan Reply Thread Link they look so dumb for this Reply Thread Link Just let it go. A club not letting you in isn't reason to trash them on social media. It's so tacky and unprofessional. Reply Thread Link I think they actually went in but not all of them because Jade said that she paid entry and drinks. OP didn't include all of the tweets. Reply Parent Thread Link apparently, they went in but were trying to skip the queue and acted rude Edited at 2016-06-17 08:32 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link post is missing Jade replys. anyway, I get being frustraded with something but dont tweet like that. but it is not the first time it has happened. so I dont think they will change it. just mad Jade didnt follow me in her spree. Reply Thread Link post is missing Jade replys. lol u know why that is Reply Parent Thread Link seems like you can't read bb Reply Parent Thread Link they stay the worst Reply Thread Link Lmao, the doorhost there is a sweethart but will read you to filth if you make trouble.. They must have really pissed her off! Reply Thread Link It was Jackson right? I just read on Nyx facebook that she quit or got fired Reply Parent Thread Link Whaaaat? You're fucking me? Nooo Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Being the bigger person sucks so much, especially for women. We are so easily labeled 'crazy' if we are anything but above it all Reply Thread Link Exactly. When a woman doesnt comply with what a man wants, she's told she's crazy or being a bitch. Reply Parent Thread Link I hate being the bigger person but it's usually a scenario of "if I'm not, no one will" It actually surprises me. Reply Parent Thread Link I think this is sadly often the case in scenarios with men and women. Like if they woman is not the mature one, then the man won't be either. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link thhhhiisss Reply Parent Thread Link Right lmao. I think the expectation for women to be naturally more logical/more mature/more anything is just an excuse so men don't have to. We're either dumber than them or smarter than them and either way they always manage to win in those situations Reply Parent Thread Link I was casually hooking up with this one guy who was in my group of mutual friends and he told everybody I was crazy among other things. I only had minimal contact with this person too. I deleted him off Facebook b/c he was talking shit about me behind my back and EVERY time he saw me after that he would harass me about unfriending him saying how weird it was...and my response was always "you don't even like me, you constantly talk shit, why do you care?" He was the unstable one lol. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This! Me and my dad are at a standstill because even though he did wrong I'm supposed to say sorry apparently. It's been that way forever until March when I said enough is enough. I haven't spoken to him since. But he keeps posting on his FB I'm crazy and unreasonable. Edited at 2016-06-17 07:42 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link or if you're a woc, they'll say you're violent, even if you never raised your voice, just defending ourselves is seen as violent. Reply Parent Thread Link I overheard 2 assholes at my gym talking about women the other day, and they were talking about those stupid graphs that go from like the crazier she is the hotter or whatever and they were talking about how hard it is to find a good girl who is independent and ambitious etc etc. and they're two low life losers, like the delusion, omg. Edited at 2016-06-17 07:56 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was always taught by my parents to be the "bigger person" and apologize, even if I wasn't wrong. That's some shit I had to finally I had to tell them stfu about. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yeah then if youre above it all youre a heartless bitch. theres no winning. Reply Parent Thread Link This is so true and annoys me so much that I've reached the stage where I'd rather be treated like I'm a crazy heartless bitch rather than be accommodating anymore. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link For us women sometimes we do have to be the bigger person in that scenario because ya know women are smarter and were more logical. So I feel like thats exactly what I did. And it worked. She's obviously just turning the stereotype around, but I'm sure someone will find this to be misandry. Reply Thread Link hasnt jennifer been seen out co-parenting with ben since the split so she seems to be doing just fine making it work. Reply Thread Link hate when that happens with lipstick Reply Thread Link my very first thought Reply Parent Thread Link I didn't know she had a friendly divorce. I thought wiz was saying shit about her but maybe I imagined it. Reply Thread Link Not in the beginning of their split. Iirc he made claims that their son was in an unfit environment. I Remember him saying there was dog shit all over her house that she refused to pick up. Lmao Other than that they seem to be doing well now. I know they spend holidays together as a family. Reply Parent Thread Link i thought that part was sarcasm Reply Parent Thread Link lol love the subtle shade to wiz Reply Thread Link Omg. I had never read that before but that's so fucking funny. Aren't amber Tamblyn and amber rose friends now too? Reply Parent Thread Link lol I remember this! Splits on your unibrow lmao Reply Parent Thread Link I agree sis Reply Thread Link tbh I'm kinda tired of women having to always be the "bigger person", the more mature, the more forgiving and understanding one. Reply Thread Link mmmmmmm Reply Parent Thread Link Do you mean "Mmmhmmm" are you eating something REALLY tasty? Reply Parent Thread Link Lmaoo i can see the scene of him saying that and im cracking up Reply Parent Thread Link Wait wasn't their divorce a bit messy tho? Reply Thread Link yes Reply Parent Thread Link people still care about Amber??...oh Reply Thread Link Oregon transportation officials are now calling for a halt of Union Pacific trains after a derailment on the third of June. Eleven cars from a 96-car train owned by Union Pacific that was hauling crude oil along the border of Oregon and Washington derailed, causing one of the cars to catch fire. The Oregon Department of Transportation raised its concerns on Thursday to the Oregon Transportation Commission, in reference to this specific type of traincrude-oil-onlywhich is heavier than others and might be putting greater strain on the lag bolts that connect the rails and tracks. The Oregon Department of Transportation is requesting a moratorium on the train. Union Pacific has blamed the accident on the failure of the bolts. At the time, the residents of Mosier were evacuated and 42,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the Columbia River. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Administrator Hal Gard said that the bolts in question were rusted on both ends and had been sheared off before the incident. Tom Fuller, the director of communications for ODOT said that without the bolts in place, the parallel rails could be pushed farther apart by the weight of the trains, which could cause a derailment. Fuller also said that the movement of the oil inside of the tanks may be a contributing factor as the oil shifts when the train is on a curve. Crude-oil-only trains have been going through that particular section of the Columbia River Gorge for about two years, and transportation officials and state investigators are concerned that because the trains are heavier and shorter, they may be putting more pressure on the tracks, leading to broken bolts. Related: Expect Much Higher Oil Prices As The Cycle Comes To An End Fuller added that his agency and Union-Pacific tested the tracks for flaws, and those tests did not uncover any broken bolts. With that in mind, Fuller expressed concern that it is not known where else the bolts may have been used. Since the incident, Union-Pacific has increased the frequency of its inspections. By Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: This week, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services reportedly seized 64 kilograms of gold that were to be smuggled to another country; and arrested seven people connected to the smuggling network. Two of those arrested were from another country. Last year General Mohammed Atta of the NISS said that smuggling gold has become a public security problem, and that additional security directives were in place to stop the movement of gold without the proper government permission. Ahmed Mohammed Sadiq al-Karouri, the Sundanese Minister of Minerals, said the government has virtually no control over the majority of the gold produced by independent miners. Al-Karouri cited a lack of gold laboratory services as a mitigating factor that has contributed to god smuggling, and vowed to curb the smuggling problem. The Ministry of Minerals told the Sudanese Parliament in June 2014 that 75 percent of the nations gold production is smuggled. Al-Karouri told the Sudanese Parliament on Tuesday that the nations gold revenues had reached over 900 million dollars in the first quarter of 2016. He claimed that gold production for the first quarter hit 22.3 tonnes, generating some 903.13 million dollars. Related: Bribery, Corruption And Changing Contracts: Oil Investment In Iran The nation plans to produce approximately 100 tonnes of gold this year. Approximately 70 percent of the Sudans gold production last year was in the River Nile State. In April, the Ministry of Metals reported that Sudans gold production was up by 3 percent from the prior year. Sudan expects to become the number two gold producer on the African continent this year, and number 9 in the world. Last year, South Africa held the number one slot on the continent and was ranked seventh in the world. Ghana was number two in Africa and number 10 globally. Sudan was number three in Africa and ranked 17 in the world. By Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: What's in a restaurant? In this series, we ask chefs around the city to describe their restaurants in their own words and recommend three dishes that embody the best of what they offer. In this edition, we talk with Chef Christian Schroeder of Black Sheep in Walker's Point. Black Sheep 216 S. 2nd St. (414) 750-7298 blacksheepmke.com "In a nutshell, Black Sheep is a special place in my eyes," says Schroeder. "That bleeds through in everything from the decor to the concept and plays out in the way we try to treat our employees and customers. When it comes to food, its an open slate. We really try to showcase fun, creative things including inspiration from places like France, Italy, Morocco and Asia while keeping them relatable. Its also a place where the menu changes on a regular basis, so we can really offer customers who are here two or three times a week something new and different." "With new ownership in place for almost a year now, weve really worked to give Black Sheep a brand new identity as a destination with some of the best food in the city. Making the restaurant more food-forward has been one of the goals, and as the new chef, Im really aspiring to take that to a new level and show people what we can do on the culinary side of things." 1. Country fried duck testes Fried duck testes, huckleberry barbecue sauce, Cool Ranch Dorito onion rings ($11) "This is a dish that Ive been wanting to do for a long time. Its a cool dish in terms of the fact that it brings fun and relate-ability to a dish that some people might not envision wanting to eat. "The flavor is mild and a bit milky with a nice texture, and the breading is really crisp and spicy, so that adds another layer of texture to the dish. Its paired with a barbecue sauce that uses red huckleberries from the Pacific Northwest. Its sweet and tart with a little bit of kick on the back end." 2. Roasted cauliflower Roasted cauliflower, cumin, beluga lentil puree, caramelized onion, mango, micro cilantro ($14). "This entree is really pretty simple. Im a pretty carnivorous eater myself, but spring and summer is the time that I switch things up and eat more vegetables. For me, its about taking a humble vegetable and just making it really, really delicious. The flavors conjure visions of India. Theres sweetness and caramelization from the cauliflower and the mangoes. And the curry brings in more complex flavors that really play on the sweetness. The micro cilantro on the dish is from Big City Greens, and it really ties everything together with a nice bright kick. And its vegetables, but this dish is substantial enough to really satisfy even a big guy like me. 3. Gnudi Housemade gnudi, Pecorino Romano, morel mushroom, asparagus, everlasting pea, cream poached garlic puree ($24) "Gnudi means 'nude' in Italian really a reference to it being devoid of potato like a gnocchi might have. Theyre little dumplings with thyme, chevre, lemon, pecorino romano and various aromatics. This is another vegetarian dish that really showcases some of the best that spring has to offer. "Its really spring on a plate with the asparagus and morels. The garlic is poached in cream, so theres no bite and it really ties things together." Fun fact: Black Sheeps dinnerware (some of which is pictured) is created by local artist Jessie Voss of Pottery by Jessie in Mukwonago. Watch for select pieces available for purchase at Black Sheep in the coming weeks. Ray Lewis, retired Philly police officer, promises a future to believe in (Image by Rena Grasso) Details DMCA On the eve of The Peoples' Summit in Chicago (June 17-19) and as Democracy Spring plans next steps, I want, in the spirit if constructive criticism, to express concerns about the "political revolution." I was one of the 450 arrested on day one, April 11, of Democracy Spring. "Was it worth it?" I was asked, - three travel days, arrest, the fine, the risks (my last arrest at the Seneca Fall Women's Peace Encampment in 1981 was a harrowing experience)? Yes, however. Yes, because we the peoples' march to the Capitol was a mega B-12 shot to my spirit even as it awakened me to the alienating, isolating impact of the collective mental atmosphere we breathe, the polite expressions of stupefying denial: overnight the temperature drops 50 degrees, in the blink of an eye spring turns to winter, burgeoning tulips encased in 6 inches of wet snow,--"well, that's New England for you!"; brief political dialogues bloated with ill-informed opinions, rag-tags of undigested facts and media sound bites. Conversations with friends bewilder; relationships are strained. Those from whom I assumed respect for fact, reason, and independent thought stun me with their suspension of disbelief: clingers to Hillary Clinton, refusing to examine her politics, or to acknowledge her corruption. Then the spurious, fatuous gender "politics": voting for Hillary because she's a woman, gutting the social and economic justice core of feminism, travestying the radical goals of the women's movement. Most depressing is the moral aphasia at the core of this vitiated and debased collective consciousness. The stunning numbers of wealth equality evoke no empathy, nor any for civilians killed and maimed in our regime change wars. Atrocities accumulate and fall into a moral vacuum: 17 innocents in a drone strike a month ago; a Doctors without Borders' hospital bombed; more revelations yesterday on our torture practices. People acknowledge these with glazed eyes, show no moral revulsion, expressing no sense of responsibility even as they think their government based in (their) the peoples' will. No wonder our culture is peopled with zombie hordes. So, was it worth it? Yes... Because the "people united" lifted the weight of alienation, countered political apathy, affirmed our ability to will and to act. I met others who inspired hope: the woman from rural Oregon who, spurred by her respect for the hunger-striking suffragists, travelled alone to DC and civil disobedience; the couple who decided that civil disobedience was the most meaningful way to celebrate a 50th anniversary; a woman from Chicago who came to represent her disabled friend; two friends from Maryland arrested for the first time because the America they had promised their children was disappeared. Retired Philadelphia policeman, Ray Lewis, promising a future to believe in (picture above). Also, the posters animated the public space with the energizing power of naming: We Bailed out the Banks and All We Got is this Lousy Plutocracy; Disgusted into Action; Please Help: Need Funds to Buy my Own Congressperson; asserting the peoples' desire for Schools not Prisons. Yet for all these positives, my reservations, beginning with objectives and strategies. "Getting Money out of Government" is a complex issue, long-term and many dimensional. Organizers connected this to "four bills on the floor,"- without specificity, history, rationale, or ultimately evaluation. To this day, I don't know the names of these bills or the reason for their selection (versus Citizens United or a host of other options). Organizers claimed success with similar vagueness: 100 Senators supported these bills. Who? Did we influence them? How? A movement needs clear, shared purpose and outcomes. Success, too, was reported for a second objective, compelling media attention. But, yes, Democracy Now and Free Speech TV, etc. recognized our action, and that's important to the choir. However, the mass media gave no meaningful coverage to Democracy Spring. MSNBC scrolled numbers and phrases at the bottom the screen, Maddow dribbled a few words; the Times and Post scribbled a paragraph. But surely we know that these illusions of inclusion are pacifying ploys? I think Democracy Spring reflected naivete about the fourth estate, and how more insidious and powerful it has become since the 1960s. Vietnam taught the media moguls the dangers of coverage. Bernie's ideas were too threatening; their marginalization of him, in my mind, constitutes voter suppression as blatantly as did the AP announcement of Clinton's victory in California. Similarly, they won't cover our protests; they won't legitimatize dissent. This stark recognition must become a center-piece to our movement strategy. Through technology and government deregulation of the media, the wealthy few command enormous influence over the American mind. Yet no revolution can succeed without the people, so strategize to compel attention, yes, but more realistically counteract its powers to deceive and to render invisible, creatively and craftily, go over, under, and through the media veils to reach people outside our choirs. Yet over 150 miles of opportunity to educate and inform people from Philadelphia to DC, two march participants could recall no materials for distribution, and I saw none in DC. Even civil disobedience suffered from a blurred focus and diffuse action. We sat on the Capitol's steps and disobeyed the police bark to move. We stopped no Congressperson; disrupted no proceedings. It was very well managed. In fact, the police shared their pride in instituting a new bureaucratic procedure to process us. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). by Rep. Gail Whitsett The House Interim Committee on Revenue and the Senate Interim Committee on Finance and Revenue held a joint meeting at the state capitol in Salem on Friday, June 3 to hear about the states latest revenue forecast. I made the trip from Klamath Falls to attend the meeting, as I am a member of the House committee. Two representatives of Oregons Office of Economic Analysis informed us of the latest trends relating to employment, the amount of money flowing into state government coffers and other relevant matters. According to the PowerPoint presentation provided by the analysts, the states economy is adding around 5,000 jobs per month. That is 3,000 more per month than they said is needed to keep up with population growth. One of the analysts characterized our economy as being at full throttle for employment, but acknowledged that the labor market is still tight and that the levels of workforce participation are still lower than they would be in a fully health economy. That is an important distinction, as the employment rate is not always an accurate representation of the labor market. It does not include persons who are out of work who did not qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, or whose benefits have expired. Likewise, the unemployment rate does not count persons who have dropped out of the labor force and have quit looking for work. The state has regained around two-thirds of the manufacturing jobs it lost during the Great Recession, which began in 2008 with the collapse of the national housing market. While jobs in the construction, natural resources and manufacturing sectors have grown at rates above the national average in Oregon, the analysts stated that growth in those sectors is expected to slow down over the next five years. According to the analysts, manufacturers of metal materials are downsizing their operations. This is a troubling trend, especially in the Portland metropolitan area, where that industry represents a significant portion of manufacturing activity. Much of the economic growth in Oregon has occurred in the more densely populated urban areas like Portland, so any slowdown there will have adverse effects on many of the rural areas that have yet to experience any kind of widespread economic recovery. Further layoffs are also expected to take place in the durable goods and high tech sectors, with around 2000 of them already having recently happened in the Portland areas tech manufacturing industry. While the states food processing and beer brewing industries are projected to stay strong, the analysts cautioned that exports are plunging severely, which can be a troubling sign of things to come. Another drag on Oregons economy continues to be the high cost of housing, especially in the urban areas. Vacancy rates have been lower than the national average almost every year for decades now. Unfortunately, the supply of available housing remains very low, and new housing starts have simply not kept up with the growing demand stemming from population influxes of residents from other states. More information can be found in this summary of the forecast, which was put together by the non-partisan Legislative Revenue Office. Key findings include the fact that taxable personal income has fallen by almost half a billion dollars from the previous revenue forecast in March. And even though taxpayers received income tax kickers this year for the first time since the start of the recession, another is not currently projected for 2017. To watch archived footage of the meeting where the forecast was presented, click here. The next revenue forecast is scheduled to take place September 14. Representative Gail Whitsett is the Republican state representative representing House District 56 Klamath Falls Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates recently said he would donate 100,000 chickens to countries with high poverty levels, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and including Bolivia. However, Bolivia's development minister, Cesar Cocarico, told reporters in La Paz on Wednesday... No can do! The country respectfully declined the offer and advised Bill Gates to read up on the country's thriving poultry sector. He told reporters: How can he think we are living 500 years ago, in the middle of the jungle not knowing how to produce?". "Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia." Bolivia produces 197 million chickens annually and has the capacity to export 36 million, the local poultry producing association said. Source: The Guardian 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 Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), has denied the arrests of four British men, one German and two Ghanaians in a United Kingdom (UK) international law operation resulting in the seizure of a ton of narcotic drugs valued at 80 million in an Accra villa. According to a statement copied Peacefmonline.com, a publication dated June 3, 2016, and posted on Ghanaweb, as well as other media platforms about the arrests, were false. The statement signed by Col E.W.K Nibo, said that the secretariat, had established that the same story was published by peacefmonline.com on December 17, 2011. He revealed that, investigations have uncovered no new arrests as reported by Ghanaweb on June 3, 2016, supporting strongly that Ghanaweb merely recycled an old story. Read below the full statement: The attention of the national Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has been drawn to a publication on Ghanaweb dated June 3, 2016, with the above headline in which the media platform reported the arrest of four British men, one German and two Ghanaians in UK international law operation resulting in the seizure of a ton of drug in a raid on a villa in the suburbs of Accra. The story was sourced from liberianobserver.com but Ghanaweb attributed it to a Ghana Daily Mail newspaper. According to the publication, the interception of the cocaine worth Eighty Million Pounds (80 million) that was destined for the Streets of UK was imported into Ghana and the suspects were arrested when they attempted to export the drug to the UK. It has been established that this same story was published by peacefmonline on December 17, 2011. Investigations have uncovered no new arrests as reported by Ghanaweb on June 3, 2016 supporting strongly that Ghanaweb merely recycled an old story. It is noteworthy that the June 3, version provides no names of the suspects and date of arrest. COLWK NIBO (Rtd) Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of Ghanas parliament are fearing for their lives following the gruesome murder of Jo Cox, 41, a Labour MP in Britain, Class91.3FMs parliamentary correspondent, Ekow Annan, has reported. On Thursday June 16, Police in Britain confirmed the death of the Labour MP for Batley and Spen. She was left bleeding on the ground by her attacker. It would be recalled that a similar incident occurred in Ghana when the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, JB Danquah-Adu, was attacked and murdered in his home at Shiashie in Accra. The growing insecurity of lawmakers, even in advanced countries, has prompted MPs in Ghana to demand tighter security from the state. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, MP for Efutu, led the demand for tighter security for MPs on Friday June 17 on the floor of parliament. This Member of Parliament [Jo Cox] in an advanced country was going about her parliamentary work and an extremist attacked her, shot her, and stabbed her. Mr Speaker, we are members of parliament, who are about to begin our campaign. I am taking this opportunity and relying on this sad occasion to plead with the Business Committee to, as urgently as possible, programme the Ministry for the Interior to come to this house for the necessary assurances as to how we are going to be protected. He added: If I go to Winneba and an extremist decides to attack me, are we going to be giving tribute upon tributes? We need our protection. Source: Classfmonline 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 "Ban the Box" legislation seeks to open doors to employment for people with criminal records by barring employers from asking about records on employment applications. More than 20 states and over 100 municipalities have passed such laws in recent years, some of which govern private employers. But a major new study released today by researchers at the University of Michigan and Princeton University points to a serious unintended consequence of these laws: While they may indeed improve the prospects of people with records, this gain comes at the cost of encouraging a substantial increase in racial discrimination by employers. "This consequence is clearly unintendedin fact, Ban the Box is often presented as a strategy for increasing black men's access to employment," said Sonja Starr, professor of law at the U-M Law School. "Unfortunately, we think our results strongly suggest that when it comes to this goal, it has backfired." Starr and co-author Amanda Agan, an economist at Princeton, conducted a large-scale field experiment. Over the course of a year, the authors (and their large team of U-M student research assistants) sent nearly 15,000 fictitious online job applications to entry-level, low-skill positions in New York City and New Jersey, varying the applicants' race and criminal record. The applications were sent in black/white pairs in two waves before and after each jurisdiction's adoption of Ban the Box. Agan and Starr first found support for the basic premise of Ban the Box: when companies ask about them, criminal records are a substantial obstacle to employment. Applicants without records received 63 percent more callbacks than similar applicants without records. Agan and Starr found high rates of compliance with Ban the Box, meaning that the law effectively removes this obstacleat least at the earliest stages of the hiring process, which is what Ban the Box seeks to affect. But the law has a serious downside: It appears to dramatically increase racial discrimination by affected employers. When employers asked about criminal records, Agan and Starr found that white applicants had a relatively slight advantage: they received about 7 percent more callbacks than equally qualified black applicants. After Ban the Box was adopted, this gap ballooned to 45 percent. This change was not seen among employers whose applications were unaffected by the law because they never asked about records in the first place. The researchers theorize that the reason relates to a phenomenon known as "statistical discrimination." If employers don't have information about criminal records, they are more likely to rely on their assumptionsincluding race-based assumptions. Specifically, employers may assume that black applicants have criminal records (even when they don't), and that white applicants do not. "Our results don't necessarily definitively argue against Ban the Box," Starr said. "It clearly has benefits for people with records, and policymakers might decide that those benefits are important enough to justify the law. But our results are very worrisome in terms of the effects for black male applicants, especially those without criminal records." "When you take criminal record information away, some employers seem to simply assume that black men are likely to have criminal pasts," Agan said. "So black men without conviction records, who won't be able to reveal that fact to employers, may be the ones who bear the costs of Ban the Box. This is especially troubling because black male unemployment levels are already more than twice the national average." Explore further Race and gender may not affect employer interest in resumes More information: Agan, Amanda Y. and Starr, Sonja B., Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Statistical Discrimination: A Field Experiment (June 14, 2016). U of Michigan Law & Econ Research Paper No. 16-012. Available at SSRN: Agan, Amanda Y. and Starr, Sonja B., Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Statistical Discrimination: A Field Experiment (June 14, 2016). U of Michigan Law & Econ Research Paper No. 16-012. Available at SSRN: ssrn.com/abstract=2795795 Credit: Airbus DS GmbH 2015 The shining face of the Mercury Magnetosphere Orbiter, Japan's contribution to the BepiColombo mission to the Solar System's innermost planet. The octagonal spacecraft is seen here at ESA's test centre in the Netherlands, where it is being tested alongside the other elements of this dual-spacecraft mission. During cruise, it will sit above ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter at the top of the BepiColombo stack, to be launched in April 2018. The Mercury Transfer Module will deliver them to Mercury using highly efficient electric propulsion. While ESA's craft will go into a 480 x 1500 km mapping orbit around Mercury, Japan's will enter a highly elliptical 590 x 11 640 km orbit to study the planet's environment and its magnetic field. The two spacecraft employ differing strategies to cope with the temperatures in excess of 350C involved in operating around the closest world to the Sun. Japan's octagonal orbiter will spin 15 times per minute to distribute heat evenly across its surface. But since it cannot spin during BepiColombo's seven-year journey from Earth, it will be protected within the Magnetospheric Orbiter Sunshield. ESA's orbiter, meanwhile, will maintain a steady attitude, covered with high-temperature insulation with a deep space-facing radiator behind protective louvres that will dump waste heat into space. Explore further Image: Unboxing Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter flight model The manufacture of ceramic tiles in the EU generates around 3 million tones of waste each year. LIFECERAM is a European-funded project led by the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC-UJI) that addresses this issue. Right on schedule, LIFECERAM has achieved its goal of zero waste in the manufacture of ceramic paving through the design of a sustainable manufacturing process whereby elements of the final paving product incorporate the waste generated in other parts of the process. This new product is designed for use in urban paving. Led by the Instituto de Tecnologia Ceramica of the Universitat Jaime I of Castellon (UJI), the consortium also includes the Spanish Association of Ceramic Tile and Paving Manufacturers (ASCER) and three Spanish ceramics companies: KEROS Ceramica, S.L., VERNIS, S.A. and CHUMILLAS-TARONGI, S.L. Co-funded under LIFE+, the European Union's only financial instrument dedicated to the promotion of innovative technologies that support the environment, nature conservation and climate action, these results have been three years in the making. The new process takes waste from the ceramics manufacture process, such as green and fired scraps, glaze sludge and dust from the kiln filters, and turns them into a 100% recycled urban paving product. Presented last month at ASCER headquarters, the main conclusions from the project is that sustainable urban paving is indeed possible. Javier Garcia, research leader at the ITC, further explained that, not only is it possible, "the composition of the new material closely matches the relative proportions in which the different ceramic waste products [the aforementioned scraps, sludges and dusts] are generated. Adding that "we have achieved the porosity, mechanical resistance and environmental properties we set out to, and the end product can be processed at existing industrial instalations, meaning no changes to proceses or equipment at ceramics plants are necessary." Explore further Breakthrough achieved in ceramics 3D printing technology Spraying hexanal formula on mango trees. Credit: Vijay Kutty/IDRC Bananas, mangoes and papayas: these tender tropical fruits are in high demand in export markets and an important livelihood source for producers. But freshness is key because these fruits spoil quickly and damage easily. The challenge is especially daunting where refrigeration is lacking. Estimates suggest that up to 40% of produce in tropical countries is lost in post-harvest handling. Breakthrough research by Canadian, Indian and Sri Lankan partners points to a promising innovation: nanotech applications of a natural plant extract called hexanal can be used to delay fruit ripening. Hexanal inhibits a plant enzyme that is responsible for breaking cell membranes during a fruit's ripening process. In initial research in India and Sri Lanka, scientists used a hexanal-impregnated formula to test the product on mangoes. Spraying orchards with a low concentration of the compound slowed fruit ripening by three weeks. The team is also developing "smart packaging" systems, made from materials such as banana fibre, that slowly release hexanal to extend storage life after fruit is harvested. These applications can boost farmers' incomes. "Let's say a mango farmer sprays half or one third of the orchard with the formulation," explains Jay Subramanian, a professor at Canada's University of Guelph. "He gets that same mango production but spread out over a three- to four-week window instead of just one week, which causes a major rush and a glut in the market, leading to low prices." In field trials, farmers were able to earn up to 15% more for their crop. Once harvested, the sprayed mangoes remained fresh for up to 26 days in cold storage and 17 days at room temperature. Researchers at the University of Guelph, India's Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Sri Lanka's Industrial Technology Institute are building on this early success. Under a second phase of funding through the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, a joint initiative of Canada's International Development Research Centre and Global Affairs Canada, they are taking their investigations beyond Asia. Together with institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago, they are looking at hexanal applications with other fruits under different growing conditions. The research teams are testing a variety of sprays, coatings and packaging on bananas, citrus, papayas and even some Canadian tender fruits and berries. Each fruit presents its own unique challenges, such as ripening along different timelines, requiring fine-tuning of the application process. Biosafety testing shows promise. Already approved as a food additive in the United States, hexanal leaves no harmful residues. "It's a very natural compound," says Dr Subramanian. "In our academic research we have found that if you spray or dip the fruit with it, within 48 hours it's all gone; you can't find even a trace using a microscope." A range of new materials is being developed, including wraps containing electro-spun or sprayed nanoparticles infused with hexanal for slow release of hexanal vapours. While exploring ways to delay ripening and improve shelf life, scientists are looking for opportunities to commercialise these technologies so they can be scaled up. The aim is to ensure the technology has a global reach and benefits low-income farmers, not just large producers. Explore further Scientists identify way to 'sniff' ripeness of mangos Provided by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Though much progress has been made toward gender equality, news coverage of female politicians typically follows gendered lines that often disregards women's competence in political affairs, a University of Texas at Arlington assistant communication professor has found. Dustin Harp, an expert in gender and media studies, examines the issue in "Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Hearing Coverage: Political Competence, Authenticity, and the Persistence of the Double Bind," which appears online in the June issue of Women's Studies in Communication. News coverage of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is well studied concerning women in U.S. politics. In her timely paper, Harp investigated the ways in which gender played a role in the more recent discourse. The findings suggest that though this news media coverage shows some improvement in how Clinton was covered compared with previous research regarding representations of female politicians, the conversations still employ stereotypical feminine frames, including questioning Clinton's proficiency as a leader. "Because of gender stereotypes, women are expected to act in particular ways that often place them in a double bind," Harp said. "The double bind is an either/or situation where a person has one or the other option but where both options penalize the person. "One of these binds, femininity/competency is particularly tough for women politicians because to be feminine is seen as less powerful, which is clearly not good for a leader. At the same time to be a competent woman is problematic for many people who see that as unfeminine. So in this case the woman is criticized either way." On January 23, 2013, Clinton executed one of her last significant duties as secretary of state when she testified at the congressional committee hearings regarding the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans died in the attack. Both of the committees before which Clinton testified were made up primarily of men. News coverage hinted at a new double bind pitting competence against authenticity, whereas Clinton's emotional displays during the hearing were regarded as either a lack of control that undermined her capability or an insincere show of emotion to escape blame for the situation. "Media coverage of the hearings is a particularly interesting site for analysis," said Harp. "Not only was this an event in which a female politician participated in a heavily male-dominated setting, but also Clinton's performance was at the core of the political event. The juxtaposition of gender and politics, televised for all to see, is especially noteworthy." Harp undertook the new study with Ingrid Bachmann, assistant professor of communications at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and Jaime Loke, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oklahoma. The three researchers also co-authored "Where are the Women? The Presence of Female Columnists in U.S. Opinion Pages," in the June 2014 issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. For their new study, the team examined 93 articles and commentary from the eight most heavily visited U.S. news websites from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4, 2013. The news sites included CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, the Huffington Post, Fox News, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. News aggregators, such as Google News, and non-U.S. outlets, such as BBC News were excluded. News websites were examined as there has been a significant readership decline in traditional daily newspapers and the overall news market has grown as a result of the availability of online coverage. Harp's study found that Clinton often is presented as a competent political figure, but also that her emotions are referenced in gendered ways. A Los Angeles Times story, for example, explained that at one point "Clinton's voice broke." USA Today highlighted both that she "was near tears as she talked" and that "she erupted in anger." A Washington Post commentary described Clinton as "blowing her lid." These descriptions are in line with past research findings that show how women's emotions are the focus of much attention, whereas men's emotional displays are scrutinized or mocked only when the reaction is deemed exaggerated or in violation of traditional masculinity, the paper found. One example of a man showing emotion that was later documented by the media includes former Speaker of the House John Boehner's tearful episodes during important interviews and political events. However, for women, the study found that being emotional was described as a part of who they are. For men, it is a trait that is demonstrated only sporadically, a peculiarity that is not a part of being male. The two emotions most prominent in news websites' coverage of Clinton during the Benghazi hearing were anger and sadness. The findings are in line with analysis of previous studies that have shown news coverage of female politicians is often sex stereotypical to the extent that the media function to undermine or even dismiss women politicians. "We found that when Clinton did show her humanity with an emotional display, either her capability was compromised by a show of weakness or her display was considered part of a calculated ploy," Harp said. One of the senators at the Benghazi hearings complained to CNN that Clinton "used an emotional trump card" to avoid his questions, and a column on Fox News argued that the display had been strategically timed. Because she has often been considered hard and lacking warmth, in ways hindering her likeability, had Clinton not choked up when talking about the victims of the Benghazi attacks she would have arguably been criticized for being too cold and unsympathetic. This scenario perfectly illustrates the double bind's no-win situation, Harp noted in the study. Elisabeth Cawthon, interim dean of the UTA College of Liberal Arts, said Harp's study is an example of excellence in research into the human condition, a core theme of the University's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact. "Dr. Harp's work adds greatly to the ongoing, greater discussion about women in leadership, language used to define them, how these women are perceived in society, and the media's role in perpetuating or dispelling stereotypes about them," Cawthon said. "As more women enter higher-profile arenas, including the political sphere, studies such as this one can serve as a guide for those who have an impact on deciding what it means to be feminine or masculine, and regarding issues of gender equality." Cawthon added that the research is especially timely considering Clinton's historic bid to become the first woman president of the United States. Harp joined UTA in 2011 and has focused her research on issues of power and voice in the public sphere. She has published work on women and marginalized groups, journalism, and digital and social media. Harp also recently examined media coverage of the 2013 filibuster by former state Sen. Wendy Davis to block an abortion-restricting bill in the Texas Legislature. The move became a political exhibition and symbolized dominant gender values and norms. "The Spectacle of Politics: Wendy Davis, Abortion, and Pink Shoes in the Texas 'Fillybuster," is published online in the April 2016 issue of Journal of Gender Studies. Explore further Researcher examines lack of female opinion columnists in the US More information: Dustin Harp et al, Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Hearing Coverage: Political Competence, Authenticity, and the Persistence of the Double Bind, Women's Studies in Communication (2016). Dustin Harp et al, Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Hearing Coverage: Political Competence, Authenticity, and the Persistence of the Double Bind,(2016). DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2016.1171267 Credit: Tiago Fioreze / Wikipedia (Phys.org)A pair of researchers has found evidence that suggests that large marine animals are still being threatened by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) despite international regulations forbidding their use. In their paper published in the journal Science, Paul Jepson with the Zoological Society of London and Robin Law with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, both in the U.K. outline which animals are most at risk and from which types of pollutants. They also make some suggestions regarding ways to reduce the problem. Over the past half century, environmental scientists have identified several types of POPs that have proven detrimental to wildlifePCBs, DDT, etc., and governments have then taken action to stop their use. But, Jepson and Law claim, because of the long persistence of the chemicals and because some countries have not banned the substances, many of the animals that live at the top of the food chain are still at serious risk. POPs are dangerous to marine animals because they still exist in products that were made decades ago, in landfills and in small bits of material that exist in the ocean. Fish eat small amounts of material that have POPs in it and they are then in turn eaten by a bigger fish, which are in turn eaten perhaps by a shark or killer whale. Those POPs then build up in those larger animals because of the huge amounts of fish they consume and because their bodies do not get rid of them. Some, such as Orcas inadvertently feed POPs to their offspring via their milk. Serious study of the impact of POPs on large marine animals has not been conducted, the research pair point out, and because of that it is not clear how much harm they are causing, though there is one impact that is believed to be common in all animals that ingest POPsthey become less fertile. Jepson and Law note that Orcas, the animal that consistently has the most POPs in its body, have been declining in numbers for many years. It is possible, they suggest, that many are no longer able to reproduce, especially those that live close to shorelines high in POP concentrations, such as the US and European coasts. They suggest that studies be conducted to learn the true impact of POPs on large marine animals, to learn the source of current POP emissions into the seas and that mitigation policies be put into place to reduce the amounts of the chemicals that continue to make their way into the world's oceans. Explore further Study finds toxic pollutants in fish across the world's oceans More information: P. D. Jepson et al. Persistent pollutants, persistent threats, Science (2016). Journal information: Science P. D. Jepson et al. Persistent pollutants, persistent threats,(2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf9075 2016 Phys.org VENICE, FL(Marketwired Jun 16, 2016) Advanced Credit Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: ACRT) has issued the following update on the companys business and information objectives going forward in the second quarter of 2016. Advanced Credit Technologies, Inc. is pleased to announce it has agreed in principal to have Toronto based Zoompass (www.zoompass.com) facilitate its financial services processing for its various verticals, and to also include the TurnScor Pre-Paid Card. As the market expands and diversifies, prepaid card products are increasingly in demand by both the unbanked as well as the more seasoned banked population. This increased activity is demanding considerable attention from financial institutions, which are benefitting by making these cards more attractive to consumers. According to a recent study from Mercator Advisory Group, Inc., consumers loaded $276.7 billion onto prepaid cards last year and the organization predicts that number to exceed $568.4 billion by 2016. That makes it the fastest-growing non-cash method of payment in the United States. (Find Point-Of-Sale Resources, White Papers, Case studies, Software for Retailers ) The explosive growth in this part of the financial services arena is why partnering with Zoompass, a leading global financial services company and developer of one of the leading white label mobile wallet solutions in the market today, creates such a powerful combination. Zoompasss ability to offer products in all the channels opens up significant opportunities, such as payroll cards, student university cards, travel cards, and affinity cards makes them a natural fit with our marketing goals, said Chris Jackson CEO of Advanced Credit. Chris Jackson further stated, Partnering with a company like Zoompass gives us the flexibility we need in the market place, the resources to go global, and still give customers the personal touch. This is one of the hallmarks of our company, stated Rob Lee, CEO, Zoompass Inc. We pride ourselves on going the extra mile for customers and clients alike, and were really excited to help Advanced Credit Technologies, Inc. get their cards into the market place. This is a growing space and our virtual wallet truly compliments the card program. Were extremely motivated to get these programs launched to start deriving revenues for both companies. About Zoompass Zoompass Inc. is a leading financial services technology company with a unique place in the Fintech space as both a technology platform provider and physical prepaid card provider. Zoompass provides businesses and government complete program management services for a wide range of open loop Visa and MasterCard prepaid and virtual card accounts. Zoompass enables businesses to provide their customers with a number of open loop card choices including, gift cards, incentive cards, check replacement cards and online virtual card accounts. The company also provides advanced mobile technology, enabling businesses to provide their customers with a white label mobile wallet solution, like Zoompass, with the ability to manage their card balances, bill pay, transfer funds and perform card to card money transfers in real time using their mobile devices. For more information about Zoompass, visit www.zoompass.com. Safe Harbor: From time to time, the Company may issue news releases that 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, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material may contain statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. For those statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statement provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any amendments thereto. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions, or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. BOSTON, MA(Marketwired Jun 16, 2016) Cayan today announced a new addition to its executive team, Rachel Trueblood, who joins as senior vice president of marketing. Rachel, who is a retail industry veteran, is responsible for leading the companys marketing strategy and overseeing its execution to drive the companys overall success. Rachel joins Cayan at a time of expansive growth both domestically and internationally having just completed two build outs of their Boston headquarters and a brand new office space in Belfast, Ireland. As the mobile payments industry continues to expand, Rachels marketing leadership experience in the retail industry will be integral to Cayans continued development and success. (Find Point-Of-Sale Resources, White Papers, Case studies, Software for Retailers ) Rachel is taking the helm of Cayans marketing team at a pivotal time, said Henry Helgeson, CEO and co-founder of Cayan. As Cayan continues to adapt, evolve and lead the way innovating within the payments industry, Rachels marketing expertise is exactly what we need to continue differentiating ourselves. Rachel joins Cayan from Staples, where she held various roles during her tenure including head of marketing for Staples UK division and leading Staples global internal agency, brand and media teams. Most recently, Rachel led the strategic initiatives team, which, amongst other areas, included overseeing Staples private label credit portfolios, mobile payments, gift cards and developing and launching Staples Business Loans. At Cayan, Rachel will be leading a team of 20 marketing professionals, including an internal creative and web development team, channel marketing, lead generation, product marketing, brand management, digital and social media, and marketing communications teams. Its a privilege to work alongside some of the most innovative, forward-thinking individuals Boston has to offer, said Rachel. One of our greatest challenges as a company is to put the stake in the ground as leaders in this rapidly changing industry. Im greatly looking forward to bringing my marketing experience to the table in order to help accomplish that goal. Rachel received her Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. About Cayan Cayan is the leading provider of payment technologies that give businesses a competitive advantage. From simple and reliable payment processing, to fully integrated, multi-channel customer engagement platforms, Cayan is continuously developing new ways for businesses to unlock the power of payments. Headquartered in Boston, the company has multiple offices in the United States and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Cayan is one of the worlds fastest growing payment companies. For more information, visit www.cayan.com. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Green Party congressional candidate Matt Funiciello will speak to Old North Church Patriots, a tea party group in Lewis County. "It should be interesting, should't it?" Funiciello said, referring to his appearance at a meeting at 7 p.m. Friday at Fellowship Bible Church in Lyons Falls. "About a month ago they sent me out an e-mail and they followed up with a phone call. A gentleman who organizes the group said they are interested in having all the (congressional) candidates in to talk with them," Funiciello in a telephone interview on Thursday. Funciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls, is running in the 21st Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Democratic candidate Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County. "It's not a fundraiser. It's not rubber chicken," Funiciello said. "It's talking to people who are not in agreement with the two (major) parties." Funciello said the Green Party has some common issues with the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) party movement. "We have some issues differences between the tea party and the Green Party, for sure," he said. "But the overarching ideas that we want corporate money out of politics and that we want government that spends less of the money that we have are the same." While he is in the area on Friday, Funiciello and his campaign team will be filming endorsement and issues videos in the western part of the district. "We're releasing a new website next week," he said. "We're trying to get a new look fashioned out for all of that will allow it to be very informative and video oriented." This is Funiciello's second campaign trip in recent weeks to the western part of the district. This is the latest in a series of posts about the suffrage movement in Warren and Washington counties. The heading in The Post-Star on June 15, 1916 read, Suffrage Talk Over the Telephone. Mrs. Elmer J. West of Glens Falls and Mrs. Frank P. Deering of San Francisco participated in a coast-to-coast telephone call that chambers of commerce in the two cities arranged. I am so glad that you are going to have another campaign for woman suffrage in New York in 1917. I am sure it will be your last one, Deering said. Suffrage had become accepted in California, as evidenced by no one attempting to repeal it, she said. Since we have initiative and referendum in California, were even a small number of men and women dissatisfied with the way woman suffrage works, it would be very easy to start the recall, she said. The value of suffrage is not only because of the better legislation and law enforcement which results, women voluntarily working and voting for measures they are particularly interested in, she said, but to the effect on the women themselves. Deering said suffrage resulted in increased dialogue between spouses. I heard several men say that they now were forced to inform themselves on public issues because of the interest of their wives and daughters, she said. The article can be viewed in the microfilm collection at Crandall Public Library. Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series. FORT ANN An inmate at Washington Correctional Facility was arrested Wednesday for allegedly displaying his genitalia and masturbating during a meeting with a female parole officer in the prison. Lionel L. Alleyne II, 35, was charged with public lewdness, a misdemeanor, after an investigation by State Police, authorities said. The charge was filed after troopers were called to the prison when a parole officer reported that Alleyne exposed himself while the two were meeting to discuss his upcoming release from prison. She was the only person in the room with him, and told police that he had his hands in his pants for a period of time before unzipping them and exposing himself, and she was concerned he was going to sexually assault her, according to State Police. Alleyne was meeting with the parole officer because he is due to be released from prison on Tuesday, having served the full four years of a 4-year prison term for a 2012 felony drug conviction in Warren County Court. Alleyne was jailed after pleading guilty to possessing 43 grams of crack cocaine in Glens Falls in June 2012. He was a resident of New York City at the time, and police said he was in Warren County to sell drugs. He also had nearly $4,000 in cash that he forfeited. Despite the arrest days before his scheduled release, the arrest may not have much of an effect on his parole next week. Alleyne will have served all of his sentence as of Tuesday, and can only be held past that date if he doesnt have a suitable residence to which to go or other post-prison requirements arent met. If the arrest came after his release, he could be accused of violating parole and jailed again. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision would not comment Friday on the matter, saying the situation remained under investigation. She said he is scheduled to be released Tuesday. Records released by the agency show that he had 11 disciplinary violations while in prison, although no prior sexual incidents were listed. QUEENSBURY Making small lifestyle changes can make a big difference to the environment. Whether it is using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic, growing your own vegetables or using public transportation, small steps can reduce an individuals carbon footprint and create momentum, according to Stephen Danna, dean of SUNY Plattsburghs Queensbury campus at SUNY Adirondack. If we feel like were doing something, were more likely to do other things, he said Friday at the colleges second annual climate change conference, called North Country Climate Reality: Inspiration, Common Ground and Action. About 80 people attended the daylong event, which was a partnership between SUNY Plattsburgh and Green Mountain College and featured workshops, presentations and music. The goal of the conference is to inspire people to take action. People broke into small groups to discuss what they do to help the environment and what more they could do. Tim Ellifritz of North Creek said he uses wood heating and dries his clothes outside when it is warm. But he needs a car to get to work and to haul around music equipment for the band he is in. Ellifritz said sometimes he feels social pressure to have the latest and greatest electronic gadgets. Living a simpler, environmentally friendly lifestyle can go against the grain. Youve got to be the first person to do it a lot of times, he said. Simon James of Poultney, Vermont, lives by the slogan: reduce, reuse and recycle. He walks or bikes to get places. I buy locally grown food as much as possible, which is a huge carbon footprint reducer, he said. James is a student at Green Mountain College with a dual major in philosophy and environmental engineering and ecology. William Pierce of Plattsburgh said he would like to bike more, but it is not often practical. What would be a 2- to 3-minute drive for me would be a 20-minute walk, he said. The conference featured some special guests, including Michelle McCauley, professor of psychology at Middlebury College, and her husband, artist Kevin Kite, who created an environmentally themed web comic called Hurry Up Please Its Time. They showed off several of their cartoons including one that showed two lobsters in a pot with one saying to the other: I can take the heat. Its the humidity that kills me and another with the sun saying to the Earth Fire code regulations prevent us from seating any more people on planet Earth. McCauley said they try to use humor to get the message across. We hope this type of work will invite people into the conversations. We hope we can get people to take a pause and think differently, she said. They also try to cut through some of the scientific jargon. Sometimes people get confused when they listen to scientists and hear them speaking in probabilities, not 100 percent certainties. What the laypeople hear is: You dont know. And if you dont know, why should I change anything? she said. People also heard some environmentally themed music from groups such as Juxtapoze, an Adirondacks-based trio. Mother Earth is screaming for our help. Can you hear it? The time is now for us to be compelled to help the planet. We have got to change, sang Vinnie Leddick. The group also features Ellifritz and Michelle Howland. Sponsors for the event included Solution Generation, Apex Solar Power and New York State United Teachers. Conference organizers plan a mid-year event to monitor progress people are making on their goals. Kathy Braico of Queensbury, a retired pediatrician and a conference attendee, said climate change is a serious threat. I really think this is incredibly important and everything that we can do to help mitigate global warming and improve the environment is crucial, she said. Spring is coming sooner. Summers are hotter. Winters are less wintry. Braico said her family owns a plug-in electric car and buys energy from a renewable energy provider. Paul Sheehan, also of Queensbury, said he is looking into using solar energy. I have children and grandchildren. I want to do what I can, he said. Hudson Headwaters Health Network is establishing a new traveling dental program. We should be starting in the fall, said Trip Shannon, chief development officer of Hudson Headwaters. Dental hygientists will provide cleanings, screenings and education at elementary schools and Head Start programs in Warren, Washington and Essex counties, for students through the fifth grade. Hudson Headwaters will bill Medicaid or private dental insurance, if the family has coverage, but will not charge the family for any expenses not covered. No family member of a patient is going to get a bill, Shannon said. The federal Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced a $525,000 grant for the program, of which $350,000 will be allocated in the first year. It is preventative and educational in nature, although it will also provide cleanings and flouride and sealant programs, Shannon said. Patients who need additional dental work will be referred to dental practices in the area. The first school districts covered will be Glens Falls, Queensbury and Warrensburg in Warren County; Hudson Falls and Fort Edward in Washington County; and Ticonderoga, Moriah and St. Marys elementary school in Essex County; along with Head Start sites in all three counties. Hudson Headwaters did an analysis of school districts with the greatest concentration of families on Medicaid, based on the health networks patient data. Other school districts might be added in the future. When school is not in session, the program will travel to health centers in the Hudson Headwaters chain. Modern compact equipment makes it easier and less costly to operate a traveling program than with specially equipped recreational vehicle dental vans of the past, Shannon said. This equipment all folds up. You throw it in the back of a Subaru hatchback or something, and you drive to the school, he said. About a year ago, the state enacted a law that allows dental hygienists to work without a dentist being present, so long as the hygienist is managed by a dentist. Hudson Headwaters will add jobs to staff the program. Were clearly going to have to hire a couple of hygienists and possibly dental assistants. And there also will be a program coordinator, he said. A complex plan costing more than $30,000 has finally been set up to make sure people arrested in Washington County have legal representation at their arraignment. The system is the result of a settlement in the Hurrell-Harring lawsuit against the state. The state agreed to provide lawyers at indigent suspects first court appearance, at which bail can be set. But getting public defenders to all of those appearances wasnt easy. The problem was that people need to be arraigned who are arrested in the middle of the night on felony and some misdemeanor charges often in drug, DWI or domestic abuse cases. Judges are on call to handle those arraignments, but lawyers are not. For now, assistant district attorneys and public defenders will be on call every night in case someone is charged with a crime. Those who are not released with an appearance ticket must have representation when they meet the judge who will set the conditions for their release. Generally, they are released on bail. But by this fall, those who need to see a judge before release will likely be brought to Washington County Jail for the night. The Senate and Assembly passed legislation allowing Washington and Essex counties to create holding cells at their jails. Suspects will wait there until the next regularly scheduled court session. The legislation is awaiting the governors signature. Assuming he signs it, the countys plan must then be approved by the state Commission of Correction, county attorney Roger Wickes said. It will still take a couple months, he said. Some of those who are currently being called in the middle of the night are counting down the days. Salem Supervisor Seth Pitts said his town justice was called at 1:30 a.m. recently to arraign a man arrested in Hudson Falls. They called five other justices in the middle of the night. No one would answer their phones, Pitts said. So the man was driven to Salem. Representatives from the District Attorneys Office and the Public Defenders Office also had to make the trek. When everyone was finally present, the justice was able to hold the brief arraignment. The on-call arrangement will cost the county and the state about $900 each, every week, until the holding cell at the jail is approved. And thats just for Washington County. The county is paying for the assistant district attorneys, while New York Office of Indigent Legal Services covers the on-call payments to public defenders. Each employee gets paid $100 per week day and $200 per weekend day or holiday on call, retroactive to May 16. The state is also covering the increased costs at the public defenders office, where one part-time defender will become full-time. Only the public defenders were required in the settlement, but county officials said prosecutors must be there as well. Hurrell-Harring changed everything, said county Budget Officer and Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell. Prosecutors can choose not to show up, based on the particulars of the case. They dont have to be there at every single one, said Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff. The county is covering its portion of the costs with funds from forfeited bail. Once the holding cell is approved, costs will decrease but the inconvenience to those arrested may be higher. Suspects will have to wait for hours, and if they are arrested just before a holiday, they may have to wait more than a day for arraignment. FORT EDWARD Christmas could be canceled for every Washington County supervisor under the proposed ethics law. The supervisors debated the law at Fridays Board of Supervisors meeting before tabling it and sending it back to the Government Operations Committee. At issue was the laws ban on all gifts worth more than $75. Supervisors could not accept such a gift, and neither could their children or spouse. Supervisors were torn between banning all gifts, at any price, or allowing any gift for their family members. Personally, we shouldnt be accepting anything, said White Creek Supervisor Robert Shay. I would just do away with the $75. But Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff said legislators families shouldnt have to skip all gifts. Youve got Christmas, birthdays. People get gifts all the time, he said. As for a ban on expensive gifts, he said that might not be reasonable either. So my daughters fictitious boyfriend gives her an engagement ring thats $5,000 at Christmas, he said, offering an example of a gift that would not be allowed under the rules. At what point does this become unworkable? The rules appear to cover both sides of the issue. In the law, supervisors and their families cant accept gifts valued at more than $75, but if they do, they must disclose the gift in a written annual report, said county attorney Roger Wickes. The idea is you do the disclosures and everyones cards are on the table, he said. Then others can look through the gift disclosures and see whether anyone appeared unduly influenced by voting in certain ways that benefited the gift-giver, he added. Theres a possibility of a gift thats not a gift, he said. The rationale behind the ban on family members receiving gifts is that the supervisor could be indirectly influenced, Wickes explained. The idea is, Im not going to give Legislator A $1,000, Im going to give it to his wife or his kid, Wickes said. But he acknowledged that the ethics rules were designed to respond to ways in which people had misused loopholes before. Those who want to follow the spirit of the law should simply consider whether any gift is a conflict of interest, he said. Those who dont want to follow the law can find ways around it. It doesnt make you honest, he said. WEST GLENS FALLS Thomas Tracy doesnt look for much glory. But he came away with plenty Friday morning, when the Hudson Valley Volunteer Firemans Association awarded him its Joseph F. Kelly Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award at the West Glens Falls Fire Department, as part of the associations annual convention. The award is given to longtime active firefighters who also devote time to other community organizations. Tracy, who serves with the South Glens Falls Fire Department, has been an active firefighter for 64 years and is his departments longest-serving and oldest active member. Flanked by an honor guard and trailed by a line of uniformed firefighters, Tracy walked to the front of the ceremony room to accept his award as a standing ovation rippled through the audience. He took the trophy, a miniature metal firefighters helmet, murmuring a quiet appreciation. The onlookers wanted a speech, but he gave them only a humble thank you. It was enough to earn him thunderous applause anyway. Im overwhelmed, he said after the ceremony, the trophy in his lap. Many generations Tracys 64-year career has been both the product of and the inspiration for a generations-old family affair with volunteer firefighting. The 80-year-old officially joined the South Glens Falls department when he was 18 years old though he let slip after the ceremony that he really began two years prior, maybe off the books when his father, Paul, was chief. Tracy himself later served in that role and as assistant chief. Serving alongside his father proved good for bonding, he said, sitting in a bright red 1945 firetruck, before which his department had just gathered for a group photo. Hed rode on that very truck years ago while it was still in active service. Tracys son, Tim, joined in his early 20s when his father was chief, mirroring the experience of his father and grandfather. He served for about a decade. He missed a lot of dinners, Tim said of his father. My mom would have the dinner on the table, and then the pager would go off and hed have to leave. But the interruptions were worth it. A lot of time youre saving peoples lives and their property, he said. Tracys uncle and cousins were volunteers, too. His uncle, Walt Sparky Tracy, died in the line of duty decades ago. Kayla Tracy Arnold, Tracys granddaughter, spent the first half of her life in her grandparents home, constantly exposed to firefighting. Tracy was her only male role model growing up, she said. Im ridiculously proud, she said of her grandfathers honor. I wouldnt want anyone else to be my grandfather. She hopes her 1-year-old son, Royce Thomas Arnold whose middle name is meant to carry on his great-grandfathers continues the firefighting tradition in the future. Outside the fire station that day, he was fixated on the 1945 truck; his shirt read, Grandmas Lil Chief. Father figure Nicholas Quinn, assistant chief at South Glens Falls, was excited to see Tracy take home the award, especially because of the impact he has had on scores of firefighters there. Hes a father, grandfather-type figure to all of us, he said, adding later, We couldnt be more excited to celebrate this with him. Quinn said Tracy offers all kinds of advice to those coming up through the ranks for life, for training anything he knows he can pass on. He said Tracy, while not as active on calls as he used to be, still does jobs that need to be done. We dont need to put him to work, he said. He puts himself to work. Like his mentor, Quinn joined the service when he was just 16 years old. Hes been around firefighters, and Tracy, for most of his adult life. There are few firefighters in the region from Kingston to Lake Placid and beyond who dont know Tracy, the assistant chief said. Hes just so involved, he said. Hes touching so many peoples lives by just talking to them. Tracy has served on the departments board of directors and, along with being assistant chief and chief, has served as a safety officer and captain. He contributed to the creation of the junior firefighters program for children, the water rescue team in 1985 and an apprentice firefighter program for ages 16 to 18. He has also held positions with the Hudson Mohawk Volunteer Firefighters Association Convention Committee, the Hudson Valley Volunteer Firemans Association Convention Committee and the Saratoga County Fire Officers Association. While Quinn said the community might not realize the full extent of Tracys involvement, hes sure theyre thankful for it. Either way, firefighting is often a thankless job. And we like to keep it that way, he said. Its in your heart Tracy said he has far too many memories to pluck out just a few to remember. But as for why hes done all hes done, his answer was simple and easy. I just appreciate helping them, he said, referring to people in his community. The veteran firefighter, who also earned an award that morning for bringing the most new members into the association, had equally simple advice for young people thinking about becoming volunteer firefighters, as he did so long ago. Its in your heart, he said. Its something you gotta love. 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 Ahiakpor said the impounded 40 foot containers are currently undergoing due processes to compel the owners to pay their duties with penalty. The state is waiting for them [owners of the trucks] to come up and just that two [trucks], the duty liability, including penalty is GHC750, 000. I am waiting for them, they will put in their declarations and then we can collect GHC750, 000, he said. He added: The spare parts too if I should estimate it, if I do not expect to get anything less than 20, 000 out of that operation. Ahiakpor said smuggling of items to avoid paying tax is a regular occurrence in Kumasi. What they were carrying is high duty and that is what is going on in Kumasi now. [They will not] smuggling. Habits and whatever they say die hard, he said. Speaking during the Conference which was under the theme Setting the Standards for the Future The Role of the Natural Resources Professional, Lawrence Omari-Mensah, President & Executive Secretary of WAIMM, said, ''the Mineral and Petroleum Industry of Africa is one of the largest in the world, and West Africa is gradually becoming the hub of Mining and Petroleum Industry in Africa ; Interestingly, Minerals, Oil and Gas exploration and subsequent exploitation remain key to the development of most countries in West Africa. Delivering his opening address, Dr. Toni Aubynn, CEO of the Minerals Commission of Ghana said, The mining age is a critical stage of an industrial revolution and we must not destroy when we mine '. He went further to state that, perhaps we need to adopt the concept of optimization and maximization. Dr. Aubynn expressed the need to move away from ounces and bullions saying, We need to have effective use of Talent. He subsequently argued for the state to influence the cost of operations of miners, emphasizing, that it is important and crucial. On exploration, the CEO of the Minerals Commission of Ghana stated that, stakeholders must look critically at the cost of producing and exploration adding that Small Scale mining has been the Bane in the industry. The cost of illegal mining is a shared responsibility. He was of the view that Ghana should reclassify Small Scale Mining more to Medium Scale. Finally, he hinted that, soon there will be the Digitization of Mining Licenses. This is when Small Scale Miners can apply for mining licenses on the internet and monitor the status of the application online without travelling all the way to the capital (Accra). He advised politicians to be bold and condemn activities of galamsey operators, and desist from supporting such operations despite being in an election year. According to the actor who has also played roles as fetish priest, member of council of elders, among others, even if a movie is tragic, a bit of comic relief is necessary. God has blessed me with creativity. No other person has strived to create comic relief. Thats too bad. Why should we lament because we are watching a tragedy? A tragedy can have a comic relief. I saw many years ago that the writers were not putting comic relief in the scripts so I decided to create it so that even if youre watching somebody who has been poisoned or killed in whatever way, youll have cause still to laugh, he noted. Asked if he has been having nightmares after playing dangerous roles in movies, Chiwetalu Agu answered, I pity anybody who does this business without first of all calling on God. He mentioned that they never shoot scenes at live shrines; rather, they set up theirs for fear of any repercussions. The case is however different when there is a church scene. When I play a native doctor, we dont use live shrines. Its not good to use live shrines. People might have worshipped there and the spirit must have engraved that place so why should you not use your common sense? he said. According to Hammer, he likes grooming talents because they are ready to listen and will welcome his criticisms, some of which may be harsh. However, artistes who have already tasted stardom may find such criticisms unfortunate and derogatory. I always bring them from the ground and build them. I dont want to work with superstars because they come into the studio with their egos. They come with girls. I will disgrace you. If you are rapping and not doing it well, I will tell you right in the face. I will diss you. So they dont want to risk that. If you are a star, when its time for you to go to the studio, forget about your stardom. Leave it behind. That is very difficult for them to do, he said on Joy FMs Cosmopolitan Mix. According to Van Vicker, Dr Clarice Ford-Kulah has been his manager and that is the only relationship that exists between them. She is my manager and we have partnered on a number of projects in terms of movies and for me she has become more of a family than just a manager because I mean we go beyond just manager because she knows my family, she visits, she knows my sister, she knows my mum so she is more of a family than just a manager I can tell you it is outright untrue and like she puts it, it was a nonsense allegation or nonsense accusation. For me, I can say clearly it is absolutely untrue, Van Vicker told Hitz FM. My wife will deny the accusations and claim to be Van Vicker's Manager and Business partner, thats what she always says, its all a cover up, and Ive caught them at a hotel twice, Dr Kulah said. Dr Clarice Ford-Kulah in a statement described the accusation as nonsense. In response to the recent rumors trending on the internet concerning Van Vicker and me, none of it is true. Neither Van nor I would do such a thing. We both have families that we love and care about dearly. Van and I have worked together professionally and as a family for over five years and have never encountered such nonsense accusations, her statement read. My husband has security issues due to an accident that has completely interrupted his life. He has been harassing all of my male friends, including pastors, ministers, and deacons for years and I chose to ignore, she added. When Van Vicker was asked during the interview if he knew the husband of his manager, he said, I dont know him, well I met him once and that is it. Although Dr Bartum Kulah has threatened to release pictures as evidence, Van Vicker is sure the pictures will be ordinary ones since he has had no affair with his manager. The suspects, Nikolay Petev Nedyalkov, 24, and Petar Petrov Yardanov, 33, are believed to have been living in Ghana for some years. The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police Mr. Prosper Agblor, told journalists that the police began investigations following reports from affected banks that some of their customers have been complaining about a series of unauthorised ATM withdrawals from their accounts using the Gh-link platform. Mr Agblor said while investigations were ongoing, a member of the staff of Prudential Bank alerted the bank to an unauthorised withdrawal of GH140 from his account through an ATM at the banks head office about 4:30 p.m. on June 6, 2016. He said the police went to the scene and examined a CCTV footage, which revealed a fair young man on a motorbike suspected to be behind the unauthorised withdrawal. A search was mounted for him and was subsequently arrested two hours later when he was spotted on his motorbike at the Prudential Bank head office ATM. Items retrieved from the suspect and his accomplice included 24 ATM cards suspected to have been cloned, four pink sticker sheets with numbers written on them suspected to be the corresponding pin codes of the ATM cards and six ATM printout receipts with amounts between GH140 and GH280. The body was flown in an Airforce MI17 Helicopter from Airforce base in Accra to Busunu. Janaza prayers led by Alhaji Nuhu Kamagtey, Gonja Community Imam of Accra were said at the tarmac of the Airforce base before takeoff. The deceased popularly known as Hajia died on Tuesday night in Accra. The President had earlier that day started his accounting to the people tour in the Greater Accra region. He called it off afterwards to mourn with his family. The cause of death is not readily known but Pulse News understands that the deceased who was popularly known as Hajia was very old and could barely move. Hajia will be buried today according to Muslim tradition. President John Dramani Mahama after the death expressed profound sadness at the death of his mother. In a message to his mother on his official Twitter account, President Mahama said, "...Fare thee well "Mami". I'll forever miss your gentle dignity." Meanwhile other high personalities both home and abroad have expressed their sympathy and support to the president. ...There is a saying in our custom that you go before the gods three times. Thus, when you go before them the third time, they will never fail you. This is because on the two previous occasions, the gods were putting you to the test to determine whether you have faith and patience to be entrusted with what you are requesting for. The chief said this when the 2016 presidential candidate called on him at his palace in Agona Kwanyako, in the Agona East constituency, at the commencement of a 5-day campaign tour of the Central Region on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Nana Ampim Darko V added that whoever is heading for a battle must not be seen to be wavering. With the kind of support I have seen today for you, from residents of Kwanyako and from NPP members, I am sure it will end in success for you. The chief however cautioned political leaders to abstain from the use of intemperate language ahead of the November polls. In a press release, the company gave reasons for choosing this location, adding that the new plant will be the companys "most resource-efficient production location worldwide." Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on June 16, 2016, the board of Management member for Production, Oliver Zipse, said, "all of the BMW Groups knowledge and capabilities will be on show at our new location in Mexico. The production system being established there will be a leader in productivity and sustainability, thanks to the use of innovative technologies. I am delighted to launch this ground-breaking BMW Group plant on its way. This new plant, comprising of body shop, paint shop and assembly, is where BMWs best-selling model series, the BMW 3 Series Sedan, will be produced. 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! In the letter, he praised the law enforcement officers, who showed braveness and handled their jobs responsibly during the attack. The prince wrote, "I wanted to write and express my most sincere condolences to the people of Orlando after the horrific attack on the Pulse nightclub on Sunday," "Having just spent time in Orlando I know what a warm and welcoming community it is. In spite of this senseless act, I have no doubt that the love and friendship of your city will remain strong." "I would also like to pass on my deepest admiration to the law enforcement officers who attended the nightclub during the attack for their extraordinary bravery and professionalism." "Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones at this most difficult of times. You are all in our prayers as you face the days and weeks ahead." The shooting, which has been met with worldwide condemnation, happened on Sunday, June 12, 2016. Da Viva, textile sponsor for AFWN 2016 will sponsor the brands set to show their latest collections at the event set for 1st-3rd July 2016 at the Eko Hotel & Suites. Details: Date - 1st-3rd July 2016. Venue -The Eko Hotel & Suites Friday 1st July 2016 Conference - 9am.Positioning Nigeria As a Production Hub FREE ENTRY Saturday 2nd July 2016 EXHIBITION - 12 noon - FREE ENTRY 1st show- 1PM N3000 entry 2nd show- 4PM N3000 entry 3rd show- 8PM N3000 entry Sunday 3rd July 1st Show Nigerias Next Top Designer Grand Finale -1 pm - FREE ENTRY 2nd Show AFWN Fashion Gala Night 6 pm - VIP TICKETS & VIP TABLES ONLY Contact: Info@africafashionweeknigeria.com for purchase/registration details. About Nipo Skin is a Fashion Brand that operates in the city of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The brand has been in existence for almost a decade and has over these years grown to become one of the leading brands in high fashion for men and women in all parts of the country. The brand mirrors Ghanas growing diversity and genuinely appeals to a myriad of demographics. Today the brand seeks to serve the fashion needs of men and women of all colours, ages and incomes, all over the world and Nipo Skin has been able to achieve this by exporting Bespoke Pieces to its clients abroad. offers a world of sophistication, comfort and class too both men and women that makes them feel confident and in tune with the changing trends in the ever so dynamic Fashion Industry. With a passion for intricate cuts and details in construction, recognizes the need to provide interesting artistic fashionable pieces for every individual that wants to stay in tune with their sense of style and comfort. The brand has worked on many platforms, styling various celebrities and pageant queens: Some of which include Miss Maliaka 2010 and 2011 and the Head Designer of Face of Independence Hall, KNUST from 2013 to 2016. The brand has showcased its various collections in the past on various runway events in country including the KNUST Fashion Week and Kumasi Fashion Week. About ASAKEOGE pronounced (A-SHA- KE-O-GE). Asake is the founders native name and Oge means Fashion in her native Yoruba language. The London based brand, was founded by Oluyomi Asake Agoro from Nigeria, West Africa. The idea was borne in March 2009 at the London Metropolitan Fashion and Dance Charity Show when she was invited to come up with a collection for the fundraiser. Officially launched with the Afrolosophy collection in spring 2010, ASAKEOGE had a clear vision, to design and produce garments that women of all shapes and sizes would love to wear. Specializing in custom-made womenswear with a passion for bold colours and prints borne from her roots and guided by a strong British tailoring influence, ASAKEOGE designs and produces limited edition ready to wear and one-off garments for the fashion forward woman. Each garment is tailored with attention to detail and emphasis on the feminine silhouette. The ethos of the label is individuality and uniqueness, its a brand for pace setters not fashion followers. The Out Of Africa couture collection features exotic African animals and scenery hand painted with jewel embellishments while the ready to wear collection features cutting edge designs in bold prints and tailored silhouettes while a made to measure services is available for occasion and everyday wear 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! It was gathered that Mohammed who is a friend of the girl's mother, dipped his fingers into her private part before using his penis to sexually assault her. The little girl narrated how Mohammed molested her and giving her two N500 notes. The girl identified as Dupe, told policemen that the suspect actually defiled her. When he came to our house, my mother was not in. He closed the door. He knelt down. I was standing. He put his fingers into me. I screamed. He used his hands to cover my mouth. He gave me money. He gave me two N500 notes and told me not to tell my mummy, Dupe said. The girls mother, Kubura, said that she found out the assault after discovering that her daughter was bleeding and when she asked her what could have caused it, she revealed that Mohammed defiled her when she had gone to the market. The mother reported the matter to the police and when Mohammed was arrested by detectives attached to the Lagos State Police Command, he denied ever touching the girl. According to him, he is the girl's mothers lover and that the woman framed him because he refused to give her some money she requested for. However, Kubura, debunked Mohammeds claim that they were lovers, saying he was only her customer who used to come to her shop to buy herbs. Mohammed is not my lover. He is only my customer and buys herbs from me. I know him. I used to prepare herbal medicine for him. But Im not his lover. I didnt ask him for any money. On the day he raped my daughter, I went out, leaving Dupe with her older siblings. The oldest among them is 20 years. I returned home around 2pm and found Dupe was sleeping. I asked her what was wrong with her. She said she wasnt feeling well. She said a man gave her money. She said the man asked her where her mother was, she told him that her mum wasnt around. He then took her to a back door. She said he put his fingers into her and later his manhood. He told her not to tell anyone. When I found her in bed, she was bleeding. I initially thought it happened at school. I went to school, but they said it wasnt at school. The State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who narrated the incident to newsmen, said: They have threatened to disown him if he disobeys them and go ahead with the marriage. Some 57% of Pulse Nigeria Poll readers are of the belief that couples who do not practice the same religion tend to have problems. A respondent, Richard Akinyemi, has these words for Kamal: "What do you mean by inheritance? landed properties or shares in company. The education given to you is the best inheritance you can ever get from your parents. But try to prevail over them through dialogue, reason being that parents wield a level of power over their children. It is better to seek their consent to avoid problems that may come the way of your expected family through extended family spiritual influences." Read Kamal's letter here: "My name is Kamal and I am from the Northern part of the country. I am from a very strong Islamic home with my parents being staunch Moslems though they are not the types that discriminate against other religions. Right from my childhood, they encouraged me and my siblings to see every human beings as the same, created by the same Allah. We grew up with this knowledge and most of my friends from school were Christians. I mixed with them and while in secondary school, I had the opportunity of attending church services with them. After my university education, I was posted to Port Harcourt for my youth service scheme and that was where I met and fell in love with Chinyere. We so much in love that we agreed to get married despite the fact that we are from different tribes and religion. When I visited her home town in Enugu, her parents were skeptical at first but after i assured them that I had good intentions towards their daughter, they accepted me. But trouble loomed for us when I took her home to introduce to my parents. When my parents found out that she is an Igbo lady and a Christian, they told me in clear terms that I cannot marry her. In fact, my father vowed to disown me if I disobey his words and get married to Chinyere. He has even gone ahead to arrange with his friend for me to marry his daughter, someone I do not love and can never see myself getting married to her. I love Chinyere so much and I will rather disobey my parents and lose my inheritance rather than lose her. What do you think I should do in this situation? Kamal." The teaser for the day was: How Nigeria voted: Yes, couples practicing different religions will always have issues - 57% No, religion should not matter in a marriage - 43% The suspect was nabbed by community members on Thursday while attempting to abduct the child and handed over to the police. According to a resident, Maduegbunam was first taken to the palace of the traditional ruler of the area, the Oni-Ijanikin, who invited the police and handed her over to the law enforcement officers from the Ijanikin Division of the State Police Command. Buhari, represented by Sen. Binta Garba, made the call at the graduation ceremony of the Girls in ICT Connect, an advocacy and empowerment outreach to teenage girls organised by Nobleteens. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training had the theme`` Expanding Horizon and Changing Attitude . ``All depends on how you make use of the training given to you. ``We were told that ICT can create wealth, as we can sell and buy with ICT and most programmes revolve within the sector ``The girl-child should see herself as a blessing and not a curse. She is intelligent, focused and has the zeal of a go-getter and an achiever, and this is something the nation should be proud of. ``I believe in the girl-child, I believe in the mother and the children, that is why we have a pet project for the girl-child education and the Future Assured, she said. The wife of the President however said there were challenges as nothing comes easy in life. ``But the most important thing is for the girls to remain focused. ``So, all of you are children who will make the country proud and make things work. She commended the organisers of the programme for bringing out the talent in the children. Speaking also, Prof Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice-Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the ICT sector needed more women to fill up existing gap. ``According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the sector will hire 1.7 million people in the coming years. Of this, how many are women? Represented by Mr Tony Ojobo, NCCs Director of Communications, Danbatta said It was imperative for women to utilise and harness the inherent power in the ICT sector to their advantage. He said women would, in order to do that, have to access the services ICT offers, as well as opportunities. ``The implication of this for women is enormous and this includes gender equality and diversity. ``ICT also will serve as an important tool for inculcating quality and break the gender barriers, provide the girl-child equal opportunity to go to school, equal opportunity to learn and equal opportunity for growth and development. ``The future is ICT and ICT is the future as it opens a new world of working interactions, creativity and innovations for the girl child with the evolution of smart devices, social media and being globally connected to the world. Danbatta added that the NCC was taking the initiative of ensuring that more women and girls were involved in ICT. He however urged girls to close the gap by expanding their horizon and changing their attitude towards ICT, challenging them to ``use it to make an impact on their generation and Nigeria as a nation. NAN reports that the training began on Monday with 50 girls trained on different ICT applications. Lawal made the statement in Abuja on Thursday at a workshop organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC). The theme of the workshop was: ``Role of professionals in the fight against corruption. Lawal, represented by the Director, Nigerian National Volunteer Services, Mr Tor Tsavsar, said the role of lawyers and some compromised judges was injurious to the anti-corruption campaign. He said some lawyers offered services to indicted individuals and deployed delay tactics to frustrate the campaign. Lawal urged professionals to see themselves as stakeholders in the campaign. ``If the country must move forward and attain the needed development, stakeholders must rise up to the task to rid the country of such problem. ``From recent revelations, corruption is usually aided and facilitated by conniving civil servants and professionals in the public and private sectors. ``It is no news that most stolen funds are laundered through our banks and other offshore entities that are owned and managed by professionals. ``A recent case of the Panama Papers scandals is an example of how politicians, criminals and rogue industries were assisted by professionals to launder stolen funds. ``It is equally regrettable that some of the professionals do not stop at aiding, abetting and facilitating the stealing of public funds, but go further to offer direct and indirect support to indicted officials to beat the law. ``The retinue of frivolous interlocutory applications, which are pursued up to the apex court, while action on substantive matters are stayed, are common examples of how professional lawyers frustrate the fight against corruption, he said. He said the efforts of the government to reflate the economy, build infrastructure, create employment and provide social services would remain a mirage if corruption persisted. ``The fight against corruption can only be fought and won when every Nigerian, particularly our professional lawyers, accountants, auditors, engineers, etcetera rise above petty considerations and genuinely support the efforts of the government, Lawal said. The Chairman of PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay, condemned professionals who aided corruption. Sagay said the Federal Government was looking at ways of ensuring that those who aided fraud and corruption were prosecuted. He said the workshop was intended to seek the support of professional bodies and draw their attention to their responsibilities in this regard. Sagay said as part of strategy to enlist professionals support, PACAC met with Christian Association of Nigeria, the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and others to play their role in the fight against corruption. Sagay said religious bodies were carried along with the intention of evolving ways of ensuring that religious injunctions against corruption, fraud and impunity were highlighted and emphasised. Mr Femi Falana (SAN), an activist, urged the anti-graft agencies to look beyond public officers and politically exposed individuals to include professionals, drug dealers and human traffickers in their activities. ``In the very many cases of politically exposed persons who have been charged with corruption, fraud and money laundering, a number of lawyers, accountants, bankers, estate agents have been indicted. Even though such professionals were not prosecuted in the past, not a few have been charged to court for aiding and abetting the commission of money laundering offences. ``The other relevant professional bodies have seen the wisdom in sensitising their members to fight the scourge of money laundering and terrorism financing. `The Nigerian Bar Association has continued to insist that lawyers are immune from the prosecution under the Money Laundering Act, Falana said. He said the country found itself in a pitiable economic state largely because funds meant for social programmes were mindlessly laundered by those entrusted with public offices. Falana suggested that professionals who offered services to aid money laundering be made to face the full wrath of the law. The PACAC Executive Secretary, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, said efforts were on to isolate professionals who contributed to money laundering and corruption. According to Owasanoye, professionals who know that their clients are thieves and are not interested in exposing them, but share from the proceeds will be penalised. Abubakar who spoke when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, said the military always carry out a documentation called profiling. ``When you suspect and arrest; you have to do what we call profiling and this profiling takes a lot of time; it is a documentation of its own. ``Because lives are involved, we do not want to treat anybody wrongly, we ensure that appropriate steps are put in place to ensure we verify. ``You know they are allegations, so you need to treat it with all confidentiality because it is not good to bring out a person as an insurgent and later the person turns out not to be. He said that anybody confirmed to be guilty is handed over to the appropriate authority. Abubakar said that the military was in the last phase of the war against the Boko Haram insurgents, adding that an operation called operation `Crack Down was designed to clear and mop up remnants of the insurgents. ``What remains is just a matter of time; those who think that they can still go on will meet their own waterloo. ``I feel all of them should come out and embrace peace, though so many of them have surrendered; some of them have confessed that what they are doing is nothing to write home about. ``They said they cannot withstand the joint operation of the military against them and for that they have no option but to surrender. Abubarka made this known when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum on Thursday in Abuja. ``Nigeria being a signatory to UN conventions, we have to comply fully with that portion of convention. ``Even if you arrest or capture an enemy or prisoner of war, by international law, you are to treat him with all human dignity; you must do that, as long as you are a signatory to UN convention. ``We evolved a policy by the defence headquarter and that operation is called operation Safe Corridor. ``Operation safe corridor is an operation trying to rehabilitate, reintegrate, empower and de-radicalise those, who surrender and those, who are captured. ``It is not in any way amnesty. We are trying to comply fully with international best global practices and that is why we came up with that. ``The Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin with other service chief agreed to this and they came up with this, which is the first of its kind since the terror of Boko Haram. ``And very soon, we will have a camp somewhere in the North- East where they will be kept for empowering and reintegrating and de-radicalising them. However, he said that the military was not in any way relaxing in finding out the sponsors of boko haram. ``We are not in any way relaxing in finding out those who are sponsoring but those who are really active in the insurgency are our first target. ``The recruitment style of this insurgency is extremely worrisome; we are doing all we can to ensure that we block them though programmes that we have evolved. ``It has gone a long way in making them to surrender. Abubakar said that the military in 2015 came up with security operation that targeted the insurgency. He said following the operation, a lot of boko haram members surrendered when they knew they would not be killed if they did so. He said that insurgency was something that was unpredictable, boundless and transitional. The director said that the military also came up with another operation called ``Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta. He said the operation was aimed at ensuring total peace in the area. He said that the military was re-strategising to ensure that it curbed the menace in the Niger Delta without inflicting pains on innocent masses. He called on any aggrieved persons to channel their grievances though the right source and not through violence. He said that everyone from the Niger Delta was in support of the activities of the militants. According to Abubakar, all citizens are expected to have civic responsibility, and no nation can move forward through persistent violence. This was disclosed by Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman via a statement. It reads: Today, Thursday 17th June 2016, troops of Sector 5, 27 Task Force Brigade, 3 Division, in conjunction Civilian JTF from Maiduguri arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Ibrahim Jagwal, aged 38 at Gishiwa Dabua area of Potiskum, Yobe State. The suspected terrorist who turned out to be the Ameer of the Boko Haram Terrorists at Tumbin Gini, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State, also led the team to Garejin Audu in Potiskum, where another terror suspect, Audu Ahmadu, (alias Condemned) aged 45 years, was arrested same day. Preliminary investigation confirms that Audu Ahmadu is a Boko Haram Engineer who specializes in repairs of automobiles for the Boko Haram terrorists group. It was further confirmed he was at the garage to repair 2 vehicles. The vehicles were recovered by the team, while the suspects have been taken into custody for onward movement to Joint Interrogation Centre. In a related development, troops of 156 Task Force Battalion, 29 Task Force Brigade carried out clearance patrol yesterday. The patrol team came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists near Abalam, South West of Alagarno forest. The team engaged the terrorists who fled due superior fire power. The troops pursued them and discovered that they left behind 7 men, 13 women and 27 children that were held hostage at Gemri village. The patrol team also recovered 4 Dane Guns, 3 Bows and 5 packs of arrows containing 114 arrows. The attack took place at about 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Thursday in the village of Kuda in Adamawa State. Resident Moses Kwagh told Reuters that people waited until three hours after the attack and had then counted 18 women's bodies. Some women were still missing, he said. State lawmaker Emmanuel Tsamdu told Reuters: "I am yet to get the details on how it happened and the real number of people killed. I have sent hunters to go to the area and get me the details because people are afraid to go to the village." Kuda is close to the Sambisa Forest, a vast colonial-era game reserve where Boko Harammilitants hide in secluded camps to avoid the Nigerian military. The village was attacked byBoko Haram militants in February. Under President Muhammadu Buhari's command and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most of the territory seized by Boko Haram, but the group still regularly stages guerrilla attacks. Dabiri-Erewa said this at a dialogue session on International Trade Relations and the Nigerian Economy, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Thursday in Lagos. Dabiri-Erewa said that trust was inevitable between countries as a leveler for stimulating trade and investment. According to her, the negative perception about the countrys entrepreneurs being termed as corrupt had affected trade relationship between Nigerians and some of their foreign counterparts. ``We need to support the government's fight against corruption. It is a war that must be won because if we do not win that war we cannot talk about investment in the country, she said. Similarly, the Consul General of Germany, said, "We need to create trust in our dealings. ``It is not the current economic issues that are the problem as there are many Germans interested in investing in Nigeria to boost its trade. ``We need to find major and reliable partners to forge relationship with to improve our trade with Nigeria, Herbert said. He said that international trade relations was low in Nigeria because of its monolithic economy and urged the government to diversify the economy to boost trade. Herbert added that the government should be consistent with its policies and develop infrastructure to attract more investments into the country. Mr Fillippo Amato, Head of Trade and Economic, European Union Delegation to Nigeria and West Africa, said that Nigeria could boost its non-oil exports to EU by complying with international standards. He said that strong commitment and coordination between the private and public sectors would assist the country to achieve compliance on international best practices. The Consul General of Switzerland, Mr Yves Nicolet, said that Nigeria was his countrys second largest trading partner after South Africa. He said that there were several untapped resources in Nigeria and his government was interested in deepening trade ties between both countries. The President of LCCI, Mrs Nike Akande, said that trade policy matters were very critical for the advancement of any economy. ``This is because no country is fully self-sufficient in everything. This is why it is important for our trade policy to be consistent, transparent and sustainable, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Akande as saying. Akande said that the country had become an investment hub for many investors from around the world, based on the rich multicultural heritage of the country. According to her, returns on investments in Nigeria are high compared to what was obtainable in other parts of the continent. She, however, said that for the country to leverage on its trade relations, there was need to strengthen its competitiveness by creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. Mr Rotimi Ogunleye, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, said that the country needed to exploit its trading relationship with various countries to boost its trade volume. A statement by the Head of corporate communication of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka on Thursday in Lagos said that the sea time experience would lead to the issuance of Certificates of Competency. Peterside, who received 100 cadets of the scheme (NSDP) who graduated from the University of Perpetual Help, Philippines, congratulated the cadets for successfully concluding their studies and returning home without any case of misconduct. The director-general commended the graduates for being good ambassadors of Nigeria. He assured them that modalities had been put in place to ensure that they have access to the necessary sea time experience that will make them complete seafarers. ``I must commend you all for being good ambassadors of Nigeria by not involving yourselves in any untoward act while in the Philippines, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes him as saying. Peterside said, ``As a responsible Agency, we will complete what we started by making sure that you all get the required sea time that will make you professionals in your chosen career. The director-general said that the agencys was committed toward growing human and infrastructure capacity for the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime industry. Speaking in an interview with Premium Times, Obanikoro described the EFCC's claims as a charade that is being hatched by the ruling party, All Progressive Congress. "The whole world would now see their charade for what it is. It is even good for everyone to know the truth, including those who are sympathisers to the All Progressives Congress. "Because, in Nigeria, youre either on this side or the other side. But this American system is unbiased. Theyre neither for me nor for them. So, let them bring the tissue of lies that they have put together and submit everything to serious judicial scrutiny and let us see whether it will fly. I am inviting them to do that," he said. He further said, "I am telling you and I am appealing to all Nigerians to also join me in asking them to seek my extradition." The lawyer also revealed that he has some serious objections to various provisions and sections of the bill. Falana said Instead of addressing the challenges encountered in dealing with the menace of money laundering, the federal government has submitted the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2016. In view of the serious objections to certain provisions of the proposed Bill by the EFCC, the National Assembly is urged to conduct a public hearing with a view to ensuring that the limited success recorded in the fight against money laundering is not sacrificed on account of expediency. The money laundering bill stipulates that financial and non-financial institutions found guilty of the crime, will pay N25m and N10m respectively. It also states that anybody found guilty of money laundering will serve a jail term of not less than seven years. Vanguard reports that the bill describes someone who has committed money laundering as a person who knows, ought reasonably to have known or suspects that property has a criminal origin, commits an offence if he conceals, disguises, converts, transfers or removes the property from Nigeria. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a ceremony for the inauguration of the guideline. Fashola noted that the harmonisation of the two had become necessary to embed the document into the National Building Code as its energy efficiency component. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BEEG was produced through a collaboration of the ministry with German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). The project when implemented would tackle challenges of renewable energy and energy efficiency in buildings. ``Getting to uninterrupted energy would require some life style changes especially by citizens and that is why this document, the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline for Nigeria will become most important. ``Not just for us and professionals, Architects, Designers of houses but also as a tool for education to hopefully be replicated and propagated in our educational institutions. ``And as we finalise the National Building Code it is my hope that we will find a very suitable and appropriate place to embed this document into our countrys National Building Code. Fashola noted that the BEEG would be utilised by professionals in the building sector to ensure energy efficiency. He said the present insufficient energy (electricity) supply was a major bane to socio-economic development of the country which challenged the ministry to pursue all sources to achieve increments. According to him, the challenge is not limited to Nigeria alone, which had prompted the head of ECOWAS governments to renew their commitments in 2013. According to him, the commitment was geared towards the provision and access to sustainable energy service in the region. Fashola said that the body also resolved to scale up issues of energy efficiency in building in the ECOWAS sub region. These he said was through the adoption of ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP) as well as ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP). The minister explained that reduction in energy usage could translate into reduction of burning of fossil-fuel in energy generation which in turn could mitigate on depletion of ozone layer and its implication. In his speech, Hon. Mustapha Shehuri Minster of State, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing noted that 70 per cent of the energy generated in the country was consumed in buildings. He urged professionals in built environment to key into the newly inaugurated guideline. Shehuri further noted that when energy consumption was reduced in buildings, more energy would be made available for other sectors of the economy. Mr Michael Zenner, German Ambassador to Nigeria said his countrys focus in Nigeria since 2002, had been on economic and energy sustainability, agricultural and educational development among others. He said that Germany started cooperating with Nigeria in renewable energy and energy efficiency since 2013 through a joint funding of projects through the EU cooperation. A case in point is that of three members of the House of Representatives who were recently accused of improper conduct while on an official trip to the United States of America. The trios antics were reported to House of Reps Speaker, Yakubu Dogara by US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle via a letter dated June 9, 2016. The letter read: The U.S. Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel where the representatives stayed, alleging the representatives engaged in the following behaviour: Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex. While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative Gololo. Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes. The U.S. Mission took pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland. The conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a shadow on Nigerias National Assembly, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and to the American hosts impression of Nigeria as a whole. In addition, most of the members of this group reacted very negatively to my deputy when she brought this matter to their attention, further calling into question their judgement and commitment to the goals of the International Visitor Leadership Programme. The US government was apparently just issuing a warning to the legislators but instead of reacting responsibly, they started to deny and threaten legal action. This is an affront on the National Assembly and Nigeria, it appears they have ulterior motives. We are not going to take this lightly; we will take legal actions against the US government. It is a dent on our image, Gbillah said in response to the claims. Gololo also expressed outrage while announcing his position as a honourable member representing a hallowed institution and his integrity as a husband and father. The unfortunate truth however, is that these lawmakers are most likely guilty. The US would not make such heavy accusations without concrete evidence to back them up. Gbillah is saying the US has ulterior motives, like what? Why would they randomly choose three legislators, out of ten who made the trip, to frame? What could the US possibly stand to gain by making false accusations? It's unbelievable that the legislators couldn't even restrain themselves while on official assignment. This shows that they're so used to behaving badly that they don't see anything wrong with it any more. Its also easy to believe that theyre guilty because Nigerias lawmakers have made a reputation of behaving badly. From brawls in the hallowed chamber, to unguarded statements being uttered with reckless abandon, to honourable legislators scaling gates and chasing each other around, they have proven to be a dishonourable bunch. This is beside the fact that they make tons of money for doing almost nothing and even believe that they are entitled to a lions share of the nations resources despite being grossly unworthy of it. Nigerias legislators do not deserve to be called Honourables. You dont become something because youre called by the name, it is exhibiting the necessary character in the first place that qualifies you for the name in question. Our legislators are known for their unbelievable and inexcusable allowances, their extravagant lifestyles, their penchant to get down and dirty if the need be and so on. They are definitely not known for their honour. The bombers were said to have been shot dead in Maiduguri, the state capital on Friday, June 17, 2016, according to Sahara Reporters. They were reportedly heading to the Kusari area of the town to detonate their explosives when they were killed. Our elders sighted them in our community roaming around, so they called them and tried to know their identities because their faces were strange to us. Instead, they started running, and we pursued them, shot and killed them. There were IEDs wrapped on their bodies that did not yet explode, a CJTF member, Massa Umaru, said. We thank Allah for saving us from the evil men that had wanted to wreak havoc on residents of Maiduguri. It could have been deadly if they hit their target, he added. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos shortly after their arrival that Nigerians were inhumanly treated in Libya. NAN reports that the returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Swiss Government and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya. Mr Tunde Ayinde, an architect, said that he went to Libya in search of greener pasture but unfortunately, he fell sick and was hospitalised. Ayinde said when he could not pay for his hospital bill; he was thrown out of the hospital. I was arrested by their security agents and remanded in prison for three months just because I asked one of the officers to assist me by showing me the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli when I could not afford to pay my bill. I was subjected to series of inhuman treatment in their prison until they put me among Nigerians who were being assisted back home by IOM. I am a Pastor, I came to Libya to look for money to buy land and build own church but the suffering here is too much, he said. He urged the government to help Nigerians in Libya by providing plane to evacuate them, adding that many of them were stranded. Another returnee, George Okumbor said he regretted going to the country. Okumbor said he was happy to be back in the country, adding that many innocent Nigerians who were in search of job were languishing in prisons. He urged the government to stop Nigerians from going to Libya because they were treating them like animals. Ms Aisha Salawu, a female returnee said they went through Kano and walked on foot to Libya. Salawu, who travelled to Libya in February, said that she worked as a cleaner in a hospital. She said she was arrested by a security officer on her way to her working place. Salawu said that since then she had been languishing in prison, adding while she was in prison she was being beaten daily. She appealed to federal government to send immigration officers to Kano and Seme borders in order to prevent Nigerians from travelling to foreign countries illegally. The Chairman of the NLC in the state, Mr Waheed Olojede, told newsmen in Ibadan that government failed to meet the terms of agreement with the labour leadership. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a peace parley held on Wednesday between the labour leadership and government was inconclusive. Workers led by the national leadership of the NLC had on June 6 declared an indefinite strike over their unpaid six months salaries. The workers also rejected governments controversial education initiative to involve private participation in the management of public secondary schools while also demanding the withdrawal of all charges against the labour leaders in a court of law. Olojede on Thursday disclosed that the meeting held on Wednesday with the governor was not conclusive in resolving the disagreement between government and labour. He said government had agreed to put on hold the proposed controversial education policy , noting that a 14-man committee would be saddled with the responsibility of ratifying the recommendations. ``The committee will comprise seven representatives from each party, excluding the chairman that will come from government side, he said. Olojede, however, said that the leadership of labour insisted on the continuation of the ongoing strike action because government did not meet the demand on payment of outstanding salaries. ``We have requested that government pays at least two months of the six months outstanding salaries but government said it cannot pay due to paucity of fund, he said. He said that since the government was not ready to accede to the demand, there was no way workers in the state could go back to work. Meanwhile, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Lekan Balogun, has appealed to the state government and labour to embrace dialogue in the settlement of the impasse. Dudafa is charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Taiwo Ebenezer who is also known as Olugbenga Isaiah on 23 counts bordering on N5.1 billion fraud. They were arraigned before Justice Mohammed Idris. On Wednesday, Justice Idris adjourned the case till June 20 for ruling on the accused's bail application, after listening to arguments from counsel. When the case was called, counsel to the accused, Mr Gbenga Oyewole argued that his client was entitled to bail as provided by the 1999 Constitution. Citing a plethora of authorities, the lawyer insisted that his client will attend court to defend the case if granted bail. He argued further that his client had stayed in custody of the EFCC for 60 days and prayed the court to be liberal in granting the bail. Counsel to the second accused, Mr Sunday Abumere aligned himself with Oyewoles submission. However, the prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo vehemently opposed the application for bail on the grounds that the accused were most likely to evade trial if granted bail. He submitted that there were intelligence report to the effect that the accused persons would jump bail if granted, and urged the court to dismiss the application for bail. Justice Idris fixed June 20 for ruling, while the accused are to remain in prison custody. Some of the companies allegedly used in committing the alleged offences includes Seagate Property Development & Investment Ltd, Avalon Global Property Development Company Ltd, Iwejuo Joseph Nna and Pluto LUTO Property. Others are Investment Company Ltd, Iwejuo Joseph Nna and Rotate Interlink Services Ltd. The accused were alleged to have concealed proceeds of a crime in the sum of over N5 billion, contrary to the provisions of the money laundering prohibition act, 2012. Gwani who represents the people of Kaura constituency in Kaduna State, said the people of Southern Kaduna are farmers and not cattle rearers. He also questioned the Governors decision to establish a grazing reserve, adding that programs that promote farming should be implemented in the area, The lawmaker said If that is the case then the people are major stakeholders in land matters in their territory hence government needs to consider or take into consideration the interest of the people and their community when it comes to land usage. Gwani also said though the constitution vested the ownership and control of the land to the state government, the land use act chapter 202 states that the land is held in trust for the people. He added that As a lawmaker and a major stakeholder in Kaduna State, I was not consulted by the governor on the issue at stake in order to make my view and that of my people to inform the governor the position of my people. The lawmaker also said he was against the establishment of the grazing reserve, because of the threat it poses to the security of the area. The militants sent out a tweet that they had blown up the pipeline which is located in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state. Vanguard reports that Mani said the blast was caused by a leakage in the gas pipeline, adding that some engineers came from Port-Harcourt to resolve the issue. The Akwa-Ibom state police boss also assured residents to go about their normal businesses. Mani also told newsmen that the state is safe and there was no cause for alarm. The undefinedthe Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) for issuing an ultimatum to some Governors in the South-East to release the Biafra agitators in police custody. Oil prices jumped to the highest level in eight months, due to ongoing undefinedand strong Chinese oil demand data. Daily Post reports that the chairman of the group, Edward Ekpoko also called on the government to yield. He said Politicians, including an ex-governor of Delta State and militants have continued to use this neglect to blackmail the Federal Government as a reason for the renewed crisis. But who is to be held responsible. Politicians, especially some governors (both serving and former) and their cronies from the Niger Delta are hands in glove with the militants and are openly and secretly advocating dialogue with them so as to (through them) have criminal charges against them dropped. The militants are well known to some of them (governors) to the knowledge of Niger Deltans. Government should keep them under watch. Let us get it right: who are the Avengers? Tompolo has denied them, but do we believe him when they want his account de-frozen? MEND has denied them, they are used by those who created them. To dialogue with them is tantamount to open discussion with corrupt politicians from the region that have forced the pathetic conditions of life that now pervade the Niger Delta. All they want is to bargain themselves from investigation and trial, he added. The militant group issued a statement titled: Niger Delta struggle is not for political thugs. The groups spokesman, Brig. Gen Mudoch Agbinibo who signed the statement said "We are watching with keen interest the unwholesome activities of the political thugs and agents of APC to undermine the Niger Delta struggle in the likes of Mr. Ayiri and gangs. "Few days ago, he and his group was parading, regrouping, rebranding and re-arming defunct Ex-MEND and settled Militants leaders discussing pipelines, oil and gas facilities contract in Edo State Government house. Today he and his co-travelers are in delta state Government house, the Itsekiri Militants leader with community leaders and unfortunately branding them as representatives of Niger Delta Avengers for self-gain and political survivals. "We condemn its entirety the continuous linking of the Niger Delta Avengers to any meeting in Delta State Government in Asaba with Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. "We have never missed words in telling the whole listening world that the Niger Delta Avengers will not be part any dialogue deal that will not bring about the peace of our time; but we want a peace with honour as such we could not be a party to any meeting with the likes of Ayiri Emami and his co- travelers that that are ready to kill and trade for the interest of pipeline, oil and gas facilities contract from the Government to bloat their pockets and urge fantasies ." Ita-Giwa said she opted to be part of the negotiating team, so peace can return to the troubled region. She also said the resettlement of the people of Bakassi should also be part of the negotiations. Adding that Recently, my attention has been drawn to a widespread report in the national dailies that I have agreed to serve in dialogue team with the Federal Government. The Senator also said I was, however, contacted by a representative of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta asking if I will be part of an initiative to find ways to end the ongoing attacks through dialogue towards restoring peace in the region. In my response, I said that I will consider serving if the Federal Government is willing to engage in discussions with credible Nigerians that have genuine interest and sympathy for the people of the region. The spokesman of the military team, Col Isa Ado also revealed that it foiled an attempt by militants to destroy a pipeline belonging to Agip. Ado said On same day, troops in continuation of its raid on suspected pipeline vandals camps carried out cordon and search operation in Oporoma Community of Delta. Ten suspected pipeline vandals were arrested during the operation, one pistol, 195 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 14 handheld radio set, 30 detonating cords and several phones with SIM cards were recovered. He also added that Those behind this heinous act of bombing of critical installations in the region are warned to have a rethink and tow the line of peace by adopting a legitimate means to address their grievances instead of taking the law into their hands. We must embrace and support the laudable and bold initiative by the government to dialogue for peace and development, and call on the communities to guide their youths against acts capable of sabotaging the economy of the nation. For today, June 10, 2016 THE PUNCHNEWSPAPER Sex scandal: US govt cancels three Reps visas, Dogara orders probe The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday, directed the investigation of three members of the House for an alleged sex scandal. The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, confirmed this in Abuja just as investigations had shown that the United States Embassy had cancelled the visas of the affected members. Namdas explained that the leadership of the House decided to investigate the alleged sex scandal following a formal complaint made by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle. READ MORE Nine die in Lagos crash, mob burns truck Tragedy struck at the University of Lagos Waterfront end of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State, on Wednesday after a Mazda bus with number plate, AKD 292 XL, rammed into a stationary truck. No fewer than nine people, including the bus driver, reportedly died on the spot. Three other passengers, who sustained serious injuries, were said to have been taken to the Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada. READ MORE Buhari extends stay in London, returns Sunday President Muhammadu Buhari will not return to Nigeria from London, where he is spending his 10-day medical vacation, until Sunday. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday shortly before the commencement of a meeting of the National Economic Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buharis 10-day vacation expired on Wednesday. READ MORE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GUARDIAN PDP governors insist Sheriff is out, supporters fight with machetes The battle for the control of the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became fiercer yesterday. Two groups of protesting youths were locked in a physical battle during which machetes, sticks and other dangerous weapons were freely deployed. Meanwhile, the PDP has told a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt that its former acting national chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, was validly removed by the legally constituted May 21, 2016 national convention of the party in Port Harcourt. READ MORE Naira in steady rally, gains 15k on new forex regime Nigerias currency, the naira, yesterday continued to gain more value against foreign currencies a day after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the details of the flexible policy for the management of the foreign exchange in the country. Checks among Bureaux de Change ( BDCs) operators in Abuja indicated that the naira gained 15 kobo and 17 kobo respectively between Wednesday and yesterday following the apprehension and latter release of the details of the policy which restricted the market to a single window, thereby blocking opportunities for easy round- tripping and arbitrage by speculators . Ahead of the takeoff of the interbank operations under the new regime of flexible exchange rate policy, there are indications that the naira float will terminate at N300 per dollar beginning from Monday. READ MORE Why power supply cant improve Faced with militants near-unrestrained successes in blowing up gas facilities in the Niger Delta, the Federal Governments plan to add another 2000 megawatts (MW) by July may not be realised. The Guardian learnt that militants have destroyed 23 gas pipelines across the Niger Delta states since they renewed attacks on national assets from February 14 to date. Indeed, the shortage of gas supply to about 25 thermal stations in the country has critically impacted on power generation levels and further crippled power supply to consumers. READ MORE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD NEWSPAPER Bloodbath: 11 gunned down as cult killings resurface in Rivers At least 11 people were Wednesday gunned down at Omoku town, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, ONELGA, of Rivers State by suspected cultists, who invaded the area. It was learnt that two people, including a popular medical doctor in the area, Dr. Erike, were kidnapped by the invaders during the raid. There has been series of killings in Omoku following the battle between two rival cult groups in the area, the Icelanders and the new Greenlanders. READ MORE FirstBank, Zenith, UBA, GTB okay as FX dealers As banks begin to settle into the dynamics of the flexible foreign exchange regime, which will take effect from Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is set to name the lead players in the foreign exchange market today. The lead players would be known as Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers, FXPD. Though CBNs guidelines indicated that about eight or 10 banks would be registered as FXPD, Vanguard investigations showed that only about four banks are fully qualified, considering their audited financial positions as at end of 2015 and first quarter of 2016. READ MORE Jonathan falls short of $5m Mo Ibrahim Prize Former President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to win the prestigious $5 million Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meeting a key criterion. The announcement was made on Thursday that no former African leader met the requirements for the 2015 version of the yearly award following a meeting of the independent Prize Committee chaired by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim. READ MORE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NATION NEWSPAPER N42b fraud: EFCC holds ex-Customs chief Dikko Former Customs chief Abdullahi Inde Dikko is being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was yesterday quizzed over an alleged N42billion fraud. Besides, the EFCC has traced how about N2.6billion was withdrawn from Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) coffers and remitted into the accounts of some companies floated by a former Assistant Comptroller General who served under Dikko. Dikko was yesterday grilled on the sources of funds with which he allegedly acquired a N2 billion mansion at 1, Audu Ogbe Street, Jabi, Abuja. READ MORE Naira, Capital Market firm up The flexible exchange rate policy the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Wednesday has received massive support. It is due to go into effect on Monday. The Naira and trading at the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) firmed up yesterday in response to the policy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), among others, hailed the policy. Lagos lawyer Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) supported the policy which he believes will bring naira back to its deserved value in addition to making foreign exchange available for those who need it. READ MORE Buhari back on Sunday, says Osinbajo Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said that President Muhammadu Buhari will return to Nigeria on Sunday. Buhari had taken 10 days medical vacation to treat an ear infection in London. The vacation expired on Wednesday and the President was supposed to resume yesterday based on the letter communicated to the National Assembly before he traveled out. But speaking with State House correspondents before the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting began at the Presidential Villa, Abuja In a recent interview with Premium Times, Obanikoro said he would not honour any form of invitation from the anti-graft body saying it will be a part of the country's charade as perpetuated by the ruling party, All Progressive Congress. ALSO READ: Obanikoro reportedly consults lawyers over EFCC raid on Ikoyi home "Let me tell you, I will not honour any invitation from the EFCC and neither would I allow my children to be part of that charade. Having gone to my house without inviting me or inviting my children. They subjected my grandkids, my teenage kids, my wife and daughter-in-law to this kind of embarrassment, it is evident that I cannot get any fair hearing from them," the former Senator said in his interview. Speaking on why his sons are out of the country, Obanikoro said, "Now, talking about my sons. Let me tell you, Jide went for a course in Hollandlet me tell you, I want them to come to America, I am repeating myself so that the two of us can have serious judicial scrutiny. Jide went to Holland for a course in fish farming. But it is convenient for the EFCC to go to a beer parlour shop and be speculating. You cannot say people should not go and improve themselves when they have interest. "Gbolahan also has a very good reason to be out of the country. Gbolahan has a valid explanation and a genuine and honest reason to be in America. But from what were seeing now, we can tell that were in deep political trouble with the government of the day," he said. Oyo-Ita said this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board and a Chinese Housing Developing Company, China Nantong Sanjian Construction Group. She described the occasion as a landmark event in the life of Nigeria's public service and to her, because it provided her another opportunity to promote the welfare of public servants. She said that though owning a house was fundamental to every individual, it had remained ``a dream unfulfilled to most public servants. The Head of Service added that the housing demand in the country had continued to rise significantly with the deficit also widening. She, therefore, said that the time was ripe for Nigeria to benefit from its contributions to the African Development Bank as a member of the African Union. This, Oyo-Ita said, was to assist Nigerians who had yet to own a dwelling place, to do so. She further added that it was in recognition of this, that government made the housing sector a key focus in the change agenda, with a target of providing 500, 000 housing units. According to her, the significant allocation to the housing sector in the 2016 budget under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing is a testimony to this commitment. She, however, maintained that addressing the mortgage needs of Federal Government employees would not only motivate them, but would go a long way in reducing perceived corrupt practices. She expressed optimism that developing the housing sector would help stimulate economic growth as well as create jobs in the economy. ``Indeed housing construction is one of the indices for gauging the pulse of most development and developing economies.'' In his remarks, Mr Tee Ching Song, the Vice General Manager of the company, said the company was ready to share its experiences with Nigerians. He gave an assurance that his company would deliver the most quality and affordable houses to Nigerian public servants. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the company was nominated by Shelter Afrique, a UN agency. Dr Hanatu Fika, who signed the MoU on behalf of the Board, said that the houses, when completed, would be allocated to only genuine public servants. The legislators were identified as Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) and Mark Gbillah (Benue). The cancellation of the visas was made public by Gbillah in a letter written to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, according to Punch. The letter, dated June 16, 2016, reads: "Without conclusive evidence of any sort or contact with any of the accused individuals, the US State Department and US Embassy in Nigeria have less than six days after your letter to the Speaker, gone ahead to revoke the US visas of the accused individuals based on hearsay from the employees of the hotel in Cleveland." "Affected individuals received correspondence from the US Embassy on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, indicating the denial of their US visas and requesting that they bring their passports with the current US visa to the Embassy." Entwistle had brought the incident to the notice of House of Reps Speaker, Yakubu Dogara via a letter written on June 9. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said it would launch a forex interbank trading window that will be purely market-driven beginning from Monday, June 20, 2016. According to him, there will only be one exchange rate and the Apex bank will intervene in the market as the need arises. This move has attracted reactions from Nigerians in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Omotola Jide, an Economist described the move as the best thing that would happen to the economy. He believes the decision would ultimately stimulate the domestic economy. "What the government has done is that it has succeeded in opening the Naira to real trading, creating more investors confidence, better volatility and liquidity. This will surely place Nigeria's economy ahead of that of most African economies. "Contrary to what most people think, when you let the market determine the value of the naira, it would make Nigerian products cheaper and competing imports more expensive. On the long run, the move will stimulate the domestic economy," he said. Similarly, Ayo Teriba, an Economist Associate said the action will make the domestic economy more competitive. He however urged the federal government to lift the ban on the 41 items on the prohibition list. "The move to a market determined exchange rate is a welcomed development. However, If you say its a market-driven economy, why do you exclude particular items? "It is an exchange not a situation where people part with naira value. We hope that sooner than later, the CBN will do away with the prohibition list and let the market freely work," he said. Meanwhile, Rahama Dahiru, the CEO of Rahama Dahiru Bureau de Change expressed concerns that the move may throw him and his colleagues out of business. "They just want to promote black market where the Naira will be devalued beyond everybody's imagination. It will not help the market. Will the CBN select just ten from the thousands of us or what? Or is it a move to throw the rest of us out of the market? My advice to the government is to allow competition in the market so the economy can grow," he said. We reviewed all that have been going on in the party, especially since Monday. You are all witnesses to the thuggery that took place. Actually, those who remember how Boko Haram was born that is how it started, Makarfi said according to ThisDay. How thugs were brought into Abuja and some people force themselves into the secretariat, in the process documents and some property belonging to be party cannot be accounted for. This cannot be without some supports from some quarters, definitely not from PDP. We are calling upon security agencies especially that at this period of our nascent democracy with all the difficulties we are having in this country, peace must be allowed to reign. Any illegal action by any party member, no matter how highly placed, must be checkmated, he added. Izunaso said this at the inauguration of the Election and Election Appeal Committees in Abuja. ''There are 2,873 delegates expected to vote at the primary that will be contested by 12 aspirants. "We have the ward delegates comprising 12 persons per ward multiplied by 192 wards in Edo state. ''We also have local government delegates, 26 persons per local government multiplied by 18 local governments. ''Also, there are the state executive delegates, 35, and statutory delegates, 66, totaling 2,873 delegates in all.'' Inaugurating the committees, the APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Mr Segun Oni, charged the committee members to be diligent in the discharge of their duties. The seven-member Election Committee is chaired by Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari. Other members are Rep. Andrew Uchendu (Secretary), Rep. Yusuf Maianguwa, Dr Tunde Esan, Alhaji Shuaibu Musa, Alhaji Ibrahim Soja and Mr Amara Iwuanyanwu. The three-member Election Appeal Committee is chaired by Mr Opeyemi Bamidele while members are Alhaji Mustapha Salisu and Mrs Ekwy Onyido. In his acceptance, Chairman of the Election Committee said he had no preferred candidate and the committee would ensure justice and fairness to all the contestants. He said: ''I want to also assure you that we will do our best and produce the best and we hope that there will be no work for the Appeals Committee. ''We are going to do a thorough job. I also want to use this opportunity to assure that we will do justice to all. ''We have no preferred candidate, we have no friends and what we will be doing in Edo, we will be doing for APC, for Nigeria and for the Edo people. ''What is most important is that we have gone through this process. I have had a bitter experience of this process and I know how a party can lose election through an unfair and unjust primary. ''It has happened in my state and in so many states. This is a very critical and important assignment considering the number of candidates and the strength of our party and that of the opposition in the state. ''That will make us do what is right for the people of Edo state and for APC as a political party. ''I am assuring you that what will come out of this exercise will be a result that can stand in any court of law because you cannot rule out the possibility of somebody going on appeal.'' Also speaking at the inauguration, Chairman of the Appeal Committee, expressed confidence that there would be no reason for appeal after the primary. ''I want to thank the leadership of our party for the opportunity to also add value in our own little way. ''The constitution of our country is very clear and in cases that has been decided by Election Petition Tribunals, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court is very clear that before any aspirant can come to court, you must not only explore, but must have exhausted the internal mechanism available within the party of trying to protest or complain before coming to the court room. ''It is in that regard that we see the assignment given to us by the party as a very sensitive one.'' It would be recalled that 12 aspirants, 11 males and 1 female, collected the APC Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the Edo state governorship election. They are Mr Blessing Agbomhere; Maj.- Gen. Charles Airhiavbere; Prof. Fredrick Amadasun; Rep. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula; Mr Austin Emuan and Mr Peter Esele. Others are Mr Kenneth Imansuangbon; Mr Godwin Obaseki; Mrs Agbarha Justina; Mr Christopher Ogiemwonyi; Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor and the incumbent deputy governor Mr Pius Odubu. All candidates were successfully screened by the Chibudum Nwuche-led seven-member Committee. The former governor made the comments during an interview with Punch on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Excerpts below: Buhari has not demonstrated that he is serious about using dialogue to resolve the various ethnic tension. This government does not care about dialogue. The Presidents military background and approach are affecting his performance. Former President Musa YarAdua understood the importance of dialogue which enabled him to put a halt to militancy in the Niger Delta. But what do we have now? Tension and agitation in different parts of the country. Dialogue is the only way to resolve the Biafra agitation in the South-East, the Niger Delta Avengers and the Boko Haram violence. The APC does not deserve a second term. The PDP is not also a better option. We need another credible alternative Buhari created enemies for his government when he excluded the South-East from his kitchen cabinet. The kitchen cabinet is the closest to the President. The cabinet is even more superior to the main cabinet which comprises the ministers. The exclusion of the South-East from his cabinet gave rise to the agitation for Biafra. The solution is the return to a state-economy rather than a privatised economy which is not helping the country. There is unemployment, poor power supply, tension across the geopolitical zones and poverty. Fayose made the analogy in explaining why he withdrew his support for Sheriff despite initially backing the latters emergence as PDP Chairman. Without doubt, I did not beg him but I supported his coming. And when you act within ambits of time the information you have at a given time, I am not someone that will say I did not support Sheriff, he said on Thursday, June 16, 2016 after a meeting of PDP leaders in Abuja, ThisDay reports. But when you want to marry a woman, on the wedding day they tell you that the woman has HIV, will you still remain in the marriage? I am out of it, he added. Sheriff was removed from the chairmanship position during the PDPs National Convention on May 21, 2016. Fayose was one of the few PDP members who supported Sheriffs emergence despite claims that the latter had links to Boko Haram. His [Sheriffs] emergence at this time is the best thing in the present circumstance and those aggrieved should sheath their sword and deploy their time and resources into fighting the All Progressives Congress (APC) instead of their own party," the governor said on February 22, via a statement released by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka. I therefore call on all my admirers and believers in my dogged fight for the revival of our party to support our new chairman, whom I believe has the required capacity to reposition the party, the governor added. Sheriff later thanked Fayose for his support and revealed that it was the governor who made him chairman of the PDP. I never planned to be the PDP Chairman but God used people like Fayose and other Nigerians to make me the chairman (of the party), Sheriff said on March 17. I was sleeping in my room when Fayose called me from Port Harcourt and said I was going to be the new National Chairman. For me, it was a miracle, he added. When Pulse.ng arrived the Wadata Plaza, the mob, mostly young males between the ages of 18 and 25 were seen armed with sticks, stones and cutlasses. "Sheriff must go!""Sheriff is our choice!" They said singing different songs and chanting party slogans. Upon investigation, it was discovered they were supporters of immediate past chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and the Caretaker Committee chairman, Ahmed Makarfi. "These people have been here since Monday. After Makarfi left here on Tuesday, his supporters locked the gates to the building and handed over the keys to the chairman of the Board of Trustees. In the night, Sheriff's people came and destroyed the locks," a source told our correspondent. The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the protesters have been receiving a daily payment of N1500. "As you can see, these politicians are just taking advantage of these boys. Their thugs will just get these boys who don't have jobs to do, pay them N1500 everyday for them to waste away here. If you come here later, you will see them drinking and smoking their lives away," he said. Attempts to speak with the protesters was unsuccessful as they could barely speak in English language. However, Chibuike Nwachukwu who identified himself as the PDP youth leader is of the view that Sheriff was hired by the APC to destroy the PDP. He however denied allegations that he hired the crowd to drum support for Makarfi. "We are not in support of Sheriff or Makarfi but we are here to protect the party which is the platform we have as future leaders. "We were here till all the national working committee members left and we locked the building and handed the key over to the BoT chairman. In the evening, Sheriff's group reinforced themselves, came back and destroyed the locks. "All we want is that Sheriff should leave PDP alone if he cannot maintain peace. How can we Edo and Ondo elections coming up. How can we win these election with this crisis? We believe that Sheriff was hired by the APC to destroy our party," he said angrily. A security operative who has been on ground to maintain law and order at the premises stated that Wale Oladipo and Deji Adeyanju (both Sherrif's supporters) narrowly escaped death on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. He said both men drove out in Oladipo's car through the gate of the neighbouring Sky Memorial Complex to avoid encounters with the irate crowd. Adeyaju was said to have abandoned his Toyota Camry with registration number Lagos - APP 767CK in the premises. "We had to intervene, else they would have destroyed Deji's car" he said. Okojie said Nigeria needs a leader who will unite the country and not divide it. He said If President Buhari wants to make a quick turn back, he should take his inaugural speech and the All Progressive Congress, APC, manifesto, study them and then start afresh. At this stage of my life, I can only advise and admonish our policy makers, especially in the education sector, that are now battling with the lives of innocent children, to allow education to flourish; for if education does not flourish, our country cannot flourish. You have already seen it in some parts of the country. We have seen it in some of our childrens behaviours. Leadership spoke with a few parents who shared their feelings of relief. One said she felt better after the news as he had been thinking of how she would transport her two girls to Ibadan, Oyo State to write the examination. Now, there is nothing like that again. I will have rest of mind now that my girls will be admitted into higher institutions of their choice without much hassle. Take a look at it, candidates suffer a lot because of the risk attached to the exam. Many of the candidates travel from Lagos to Benin and other parts of the country, while parents sponsor both the feeding and transportation. The economic situation in the country is also biting hard on the less-privileged people in the society, which is why most parents do appreciate the scrapping of the examination, she said. Another parent and chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi explained that students who worked hard to pass the UTME do not need the added stress of another test. If we all believe in JAMB as an organization that is capable of organising examinations into tertiary institutions in the country, why should we now set up another set of examinations in the universities? he asked. Ogunyemi accused some of the tertiary institutions of using post-UTME as money making venture, saying the best they could have done was to screen the credentials of the candidates and also confirm their WASSCE and NECO results. Once that is done, I think the child should just be offered admission without any other examinations, he added. The institution was shut down on April 11 following a violent students protest which took place on the same day. The protest by UNIPORTs students led to the death of a final year male student in the Faculty of Management Sciences, who was shot by one of the policemen who came to clear the barricades on the ever-busy East-West Road, where the students were expressing their displeasure over lack of potable water and regular electricity, among others, on campus, with many students also injured and valuable property worth millions of naira either vandalised or destroyed by the students and hoodlums, who later hijacked the protest. The UNIPORTs calendar indicated that all full-time students would arrive on campus on June 19, with the first semester examinations to be between June 20 and July 16 (4 weeks), while the students would proceed on break between July 18 and July 23 and the second semester would commence on July 24. ALSO READ: Senate shut down varsity due to violent protest Second semester lectures will be between July 25 and October 14 (12 weeks). UNIPORT also fixed August 17 for extra-ordinary meeting of Senate, to consider first semester (2015/2016) results, while the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) would be between July and December, 2016. ALSO READ: Police shoots one dead as students protest rages on The Federal Government-owned higher institution also fixed October 10 to 15 for Students Union Week, involving cultural activities and professional exhibitions. ALSO READ:Nigerian event planners share craziest things that ruin the special day 1.) Weather Having a bad weather on your wedding day is a complete nightmare and moreso to the wedding planner who perhaps have to make quick changes in a short time. Open door weddings are mostly affected by rain or snow and ceremonies under the large tents, a very windy day could ruin it all. Wedding planners are advised to check out weather reports before and after setting dates and locations. 2.) Crowd Management This is a major problem for most Nigerian weddings. "I call Nigerian weddings organized chaos," Kate Diaz of Wedding Concepts, South Africa says. A Nigerian brides hardly know the exact number of people attending her wedding and even when she does, more attend anyways. A wedding planner has to make sure everyone of fed and drinks even if the number surpasses the estimated crowd. ALSO READ: 7 tips on how to be the best Wedding Planner in Nigeria 3.) Vendors Wedding planners claim these people are the most difficult, second to the bride to deal with. They are hardly certain about the demand and supply process so you have to make sure you are on their necks to make sure the wedding goes as planned. Planners have to communicate with vendors always towards the wedding and make sure they are on time with their supplies. 4.) Budget Coming up with a budget for a wedding is stressful and involves constant meetings with the bride, bride's mother or whoever the "wedding influencer' is. Planners find it difficult to deal with low-budgets especially if what's expected of them is way higher. 5.) Lack of Trust A wedding planner has to win the trust of his/her client in order to make h/her job easier. When your client doesn't trust the planner, coming up with a budget is even more difficult. The bride sometimes chooses to make deals with the vendors herself instead of allowing her planner do so. Mistakes are easily done. Respect for time gets ruined etc. 6.) Payment The rebels are notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping children for use as fighters. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the LRA's messianic leader, Joseph Kony, and other senior commanders. The rebels struck on Monday, snatching three people in the morning and forcing them to carry their goods before releasing them in the evening, said Ghislain Kolengo, prefect of Haut Mbomou region. "Very early (on Tuesday), they attacked Kadjema village and kidnapped 17 people who are still in captivity. I hope that our forces in the area and the Ugandans will find these people and bring them back," Kolengo told Reuters. The population then fled the town, he said. The LRA is from northern Uganda but was driven out by a military offensive a decade ago. Today, its fighters roam a poorly policed area straddling the borders between Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. All three countries have faced their own conflicts and Uganda, another regional neighbour, said last week it planned to withdraw by the end of the year its troops involved in an operation to hunt down LRA rebels. The LRA has been weakened but its fighters still attack civilians. It has abducted nearly 350 this year, according to the LRA Crisis Tracker, which documents rebel attacks. The first clash happened on Sunday and led to the deaths of seven Seleka members who were leading cattle through the town en route for Cameroon. The former rebels took revenge, killing six civilians, said the commander, who declined to be named. Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when the predominantly Muslim Seleka seized power, triggering reprisals by "anti-balaka" Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south. The statement signed by Mr Celestine Ogugua, Head of Media, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims commission (NCPC), and made available to newsmen Thursday in Abuja, said that Goren made the pledge when he paid a courtesy visit to the NCPC boss, Rev. Tor Uja. It said that the diplomat informed Uja that the reason for his visit was to have an introductory meeting to strengthen the cooperation. The statement quoted the ambassador as saying that he would have a meeting with all consular officers in NCPC and the Israeli Embassy, on how to fast track visa issuance to pilgrims. It stated that the acting ambassador also welcomed the agricultural initiatives being canvassed by NCPC, in which youths on pilgrimage would have the opportunity of learning from Israel's rich experience. It said that he assured NCPCs boss that the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with the State of Israel would be given accelerated push through the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aviation. According to the statement, Uja informed the ambassador that he recently had fruitful discussions with officials of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on pilgrimage issues, especially on visa. ``We have the leaders of the pilgrimage movement in Nigeria and they should be given one year visa. ``This will help in the organisation of pilgrimage if visas are issued to last for at least one year. It said that NCPC boss also urged the Israeli authorities to step up the issue of direct flight from Nigeria to Israel. ``We believe that if the BASA agreement is activated, it will reduce the long hours on board. As if anyone needs another reason to wear flip flops in the hot desert sun, today if you do at a local business you can help out a good cause. As if anyone needs another reason to wear flip flops in the hot desert sun, today if you do at a local business you can help out a good cause. From 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. today at Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 1541 E. Highway 372 you can get a 24-ounce Jetty Punch smoothie free for wearing flip flops as part of their National Flip Flop Day campaign. Although the smoothie wont cost you anything, donations are being accepted to help out Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine is an organization out of Maine that provides healthy, happy camping experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses. This is the tenth year Tropical Smoothie has been holding its National Flip Flop Day initiative, and their efforts have raised $3.7 million in that time. National Flip Flop Day is the single most important day of the year to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, said Jennie Hong, senior director of Brand Marketing and Strategy for Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Were planning for 2016 to be one of our most successful yet in terms of giving back to children in need. Weve seen firsthand how much Camp Sunshine means to the kids and families who attend and we want to provide that opportunity to as many people as possible. This year the goal is to raise $1 million and donations will be accepted at all Tropical Smoothie Cafes throughout the month of June. A donation between one dollar and four dollars will receive a paper flip flop that the donor can write their name on and is to be hung inside the business. If a donation between five dollars and nine dollars is made, the person will receive a flip flop key fob, which will entitle the holder to receive 30 percent off at feelzgood.com, an all-natural flip flop company. If someone donates $10, they will receive a limited edition, reusable mug featuring artwork designed by a previous camper. Camp Sunshine is a year-round retreat located in Casco, Maine, 30 miles from Portland on Sebago Lake. The camp has provided hope, and support to over 43,500 individuals from 48 states and 23 countries. Camp Sunshine is currently the only full-time facility in the nation whose sole purpose is to provide a relaxing break for the whole family of a child with a life-threatening illness. The program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups are also offered for families who have lost a child to an illness. For more information, visit the website at www.CampSunshine.orgor call 207-655-3800. Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Now that the dust has settled and James Oscarson won the Republican nomination for Nevada State Assembly District 36, his opponent in Novembers general election, famed brothel owner Dennis Hof, is ready to challenge the incumbent. Now that the dust has settled and James Oscarson won the Republican nomination for Nevada State Assembly District 36, his opponent in Novembers general election, famed brothel owner Dennis Hof, is ready to challenge the incumbent. Oscarson, a two-term assemblyman, eked out a win over Tina Trenner in Tuesdays primary election, besting her by just 133 votes overall, despite outspending her by $120,709 during their campaigns. Trenner took the vote in Nye County as she received 1,586 votes (49.98 percent) to Oscarsons 1,348 votes (42.48 percent) and Hof sees that as a sign that the voters are ready for a change. I think that the public has shown they want him out because he voted to raise taxes, said Hof, who is running as a Libertarian. He lied to us, he told Ed Goedhart, he told me, he told everybody, I wont raise taxes. Then he voted for the largest tax increase in Nevada history, the commerce tax. The package Hof mentioned is Gov. Brian Sandovals $1.4 billion package of new and extended taxes, including a business gross receipts commerce tax imposed on revenue of $4 million or more. Oscarson was one of 13 Republican members to vote for the bill. With the primary race being so close, Hof believes that the voters that went against Oscarson this week will follow suit in November in his favor, along with members of the other political parties. Its a whole nother ball game now. Nearly half the Republicans voted for Trenner and those half are going to vote for me, Hof said. So Im going to get nearly half of the Republican votes, Im going to get all the Libertarian votes and Im going to get all the Democratic votes. Before the primary election Hof said he and Trenner came to a mutual backing agreement. I told her that I would support her if she won and that I would back out of the race, because our job is to fire James Oscarson, Hof said. Also, she committed to supporting me if she lost. Ed Goedhart is supporting me, Jim Marsh is supporting me, and Trenner is supporting me, because they dont want James Oscarson in office at all. Trenner said that she is behind Hof and would be with anyone who was opposing Oscarson. Anybody but the tax monster, Trenner said. Besides the tax issue, Hof believes his history in the business world will give him an advantage over Oscarson in their race. Im a businessman, I get it, he said. Running the state of Nevada is no different than running my multiple businesses, gift shops, gas stations, brothels, restaurants. Its just more zeros at the end. I know how to run a business, James doesnt. James knows how to take special interest money, hes real good at it. Im supporting real Nevada, not rural Nevada, real Nevada and they get my message. I am one of them. Trenner said that Hof stands a solid chance against Oscarson, as she said she likely could have taken the nomination if it wasnt for the vast difference in campaign spending. I just didnt have enough money to reach enough people, she said. I would think Hof does With just over five months left until the general election in November, Hof said he is gearing up his campaign. Were putting it all together right now, were getting the billboards and billboard trucks ready, the mailouts, Hof said. We are getting ready to go. Bottom line is, Oscarson needs to go. Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter. Winners of various races that spanned across Nye County and well beyond its boundaries on Tuesday shared their post-victory comments with the Pahrump Valley Times in the aftermath of the contest. Winners of various races that spanned across Nye County and well beyond its boundaries on Tuesday shared their post-victory comments with the Pahrump Valley Times in the aftermath of the contest. The results of Nevadas primary election for Nye County began trickling in close to midnight on Tuesday after they were held up by a technical issue. A late-night election watch party at Nye County Republican Headquarters brought a group of people who patiently waited for results. District III incumbent Commissioner Donna Cox was declared the winner of the contentious race shortly after 11 p.m. to the loud cheers of those gathered at Nye County Republican Headquarters. Cox captured 34.3 percent with 258 votes, while her nearest opponent, Leo Blundo, got close to 29 percent with 217 votes. We are back in business, Cox said following the announcement of her victory. District I incumbent Commissioner Lorinda Wichman defeated her primary opponent, Scott Mattox, winning her fourth term on the commission board. Wichman, of Round Mountain, thanked supporters and contributors to her campaign in an email statement. It wouldnt be worth doing if I didnt have you to do it for and with, she said about her supporters. My last term will be strong or stronger than the previous two. Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Chairman John Koenig cruised to an easy victory in District II with over 56 percent of the vote. The nearest runner-up, former Pahrump Town Board member Amy Riches was in a second distant place with 17.6 percent. Im extremely happy that people picked me, Koenig said in a phone interview. Im the best person qualified for the job, I have experience and the background, and Ill be ready on day one. Koenig said he will work closely with outgoing incumbent Commissioner Frank Carbone to stay up-to-date on everything going on. In Novembers general election, Koenig will square off against a Democrat, former Pahrump Town Board Chairman Harley Kulkin. Wichman and Cox will not have an opponent on the November ballot. Nevada Assembly District 36 incumbent Assemblyman James Oscarson eked out a close victory with 46.5 percent over his main rival, first-time candidate Tina Trenner, who captured 43 percent. Im honored and humbled to have won yesterdays Republican primary. As we knew from the outset, this was going to be a very tough race, Oscarson said in an email statement to the Pahrump Valley Times. I cannot express enough gratitude for the supporters who stuck by me during the past many months. It was a joy to work with you and to get to know so many of the wonderful people who call District 36 home. Trenner, an opponent of the tax package that was supported by Oscarson, won Nye County with 50 percent of the vote against Oscarsons 43 percent. Oscarson however had a decisive victory in Clark County with 58 percent over Trenners 24 percent. In Lincoln County, also part of the vast Assembly District 36, Oscarson won almost 59 percent to Trenners 26 percent. In his statement, Oscarson also paid respects to Trenner and his other opponent, Rusty Stanberry. They worked tirelessly and their supporters should be proud of their efforts. I hope to work with them in the coming months as we seek to unify the party for the general election, he said. Oscarson will face brothel owner Dennis Hof in the general election in November. Hof filed for the race as a Libertarian. Nevada State Senator Ruben Kihuen emerged as a winner from the heated congressional race in Nevadas Congressional District 4. Kihuen, a Democrat, soundly beat his two top in-party rivals, former Assemblywoman Lucy Flores and philanthropist Susie Lee. Kihuen received 40 percent of the vote across various counties that encompass Nevadas Congressional District 4. Flores got 25.6 percent of the vote and Lee got 21 percent. In Nye County, Lee however was slightly ahead of Kihuen. She received 31 percent of the vote against Kihuens 29.5 percent of the vote. I am humbled by tonights victory, Kihuen said in a statement on Tuesday. Our campaign resonated with thousands of Nevadans who are working hard every day to achieve the American dream and they deserve representation that will fight for their values and their families. Our campaign was a true team effort and I want to express my deepest thanks to our team all of the volunteers, contributors, friends and family who made tonight possible. In November, Kihuen will compete against incumbent Congressman Cresent Hardy, who is seeking his second term. Hardy, a Republican, defeated his in-party challenger Mike Monroe on Tuesday. Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Joe Heck also clinched decisive victories Tuesday night. In November, the two will compete for the highly-coveted seat of outgoing U.S. Senator Harry Reid. Cortez Masto got close to 73 percent in Nye County and over 80 percent statewide, while Heck captured 60 percent in Nye County and 65 percent across the state. Both released statements following their Tuesday wins. This primary was about one thing: selecting the best person to beat Harry Reids hand-picked successor in November. Im grateful for the strong showing of support from Republicans around the state and will carry the momentum of tonight into the general election, Heck said. I am extremely thankful to all the Nevadans who supported me to be their next U.S. senator and voted in this primary. Voting is a reminder of the values of freedom and democracy upon which America was founded and I commend all those who participated in the primary election. I also commend all the candidates who decided to make a difference by running for office this year, Cortez Masto said. The general election is on Nov. 8. Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77 Oh, the poor, maligned AR-15. The American media seem to keep thick files full of disinformation on this assault rifle available for instant use. Anti-AR-15 filler went up on the web and out on the airwaves before law enforcement had even named Omar Matteen as the perpetrator of the June 12 attack on The Pulse, a nightclub serving Orlando, Floridas LGBTQ community. Here are a few problems with that filler. Problem #1: Contra early speculation, the weapon Matteen used in his killing spree wasnt an AR-15. Police initially described it as an AR-15-type assault rifle. Now were told it was a different weapon, the Sig Sauer MCX. Problem #2: Some media outlets continue to propagate the myth that the AR in AR-15 stands for assault rifle. It actually stands for Armalite, the company that first produced the gun. Problem #3: Speaking of which, the term assault rifle isnt exactly meaningless, but it doesnt mean what you probably think it means. All it means is that a weapon looks ugly and scary and therefore makes a nice juicy target for demagogues. The expired 1994-2004 US assault weapons ban was about cosmetic features bayonet lugs, flash suppressors, pistol grips and so forth not about the performance characteristics of the weapons it applied to. Problem #4: In point of fact, as scary as it might look, the AR-15 is actually a fairly under-powered weapon for killing people. Most rifles for hunting large American game animals shoot bullets in the .270 to .308 caliber range. The AR-15 fires a .223 bullet, just a little bigger than the .22 that most rural American 12-year-olds used to hunt rabbits and squirrels with. Thats one reason the US military likes the M-16, its version of the AR-15 kill an enemy soldier, his buddies keep fighting; wound an enemy soldier, two of his buddies stop fighting to help him out. Problem #5: Theres nothing new, high-tech or unusual about the AR-15. Semi-automatic rifles rifles which fire one bullet each time the trigger is pulled and automatically reload themselves have been around for more than a century, and the AR-15 itself for nearly 60 years. If someone tries to tell you that the AR-15 is an automatic weapon or a machine gun, theyre just flat wrong. No amount of blaming the AR-15 (or the Sig Sauer MCX) for the Orlando attack will make the gun responsible for the attack. The shooter is to blame for the attack. No amount of fear-mongering about the AR-15 or any other weapon will make victim disarmament what its supporters call gun control legislation either moral or practical. More than 100 million Americans own more than 300 million guns and are going to keep them. Too bad a few of them werent at The Pulse on Sunday. Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida. A 34-year-old Davenport man has been arrested after he allegedly attacked a woman with the intention of sexually abusing her, Davenport police said. John Peter Benavidez, 34, of 912 W. 3rd St., Apt. 2, is charged with one count of assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse, a Class D felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of up to five years. The incident occurred at 6:30 a.m. Thursday as the woman was walking in the area of the 2300 block of 3rd Street. According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police detective Aric Robinson, officers were conducting surveillance when the crime was committed. The woman was injured in the attack, and the assault was carried out with intent to commit sexual abuse, Robinson said in his affidavit. Benavidez also was charged with crimes of interfering with officials acts after he ran from officers and allegedly fought with one of the officers, causing a small cut to the officers hands. Benavidez was also charged with misdemeanor drug possession after officers found a baggy in his pants pocket that contained used marijuana cigarettes. Benavidez was being held Thursday night in the Scott County Jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond. A $20,000 cash-only bond was set Friday for a Davenport man accused of pointing a gun at a man and firing at his car. Terrill LC Austin, 32, faces charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and possession of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Austin will be back in court Tuesday. The incident happened at 1:13 a.m. May 23 in the 5600 block of Gaines Street. According to an arrest affidavit filed Friday by Davenport police in support of the criminal complaint: Austin pointed a firearm at the man, who was in the drivers seat of a passenger vehicle. The two had gotten into an argument several hours earlier. The man said he heard two clicks from the firearm and saw Austin back away from the vehicle. During the incident, the rear passenger side door was struck. The man was able to drive away from the scene. Several residents reported that they heard at least one gunshot. A bullet fragment was recovered from inside the rear passenger door interior panel of the mans vehicle. The man picked Austin as the shooter when shown a photo lineup, according to the affidavit. Austin was convicted of felony drug charges in Scott County in 2002, 2005 and 2011, which prohibits him from possessing a firearm, according to police. The East Moline Police Department is warning the public about a possible home repair scam. Police said Thursday that they want to talk to one suspect, Steve Vega, 39, of Florida. Vega is allegedly operating a door-to-door asphalt seal coating business known as Jet Black, according to police. East Moline police received a complaint on Tuesday from a senior citizen that Vega charged an exorbitant rate to complete a residential seal coating job. Further investigation with reputable area asphalt companies found Jet Black charged them more than four times the normal rate for seal coating a residential driveway, according to police. Vega may be traveling with another man named Andy and driving a white Dodge Ram pick-up truck. Vega is not an authorized employee of the Florida Jet Black organization, according to police. Police say homeowners should be cautious in dealing with door-to-door salespeople with no local connections. Homeowners should be concerned if a contractor demands cash payment or full payment before work is completed. Always ask contractors for references and proof of insurance, always get written estimates and never sign contracts with blank spaces or something that you dont understand. Never pay more for work after completion of the project if you have previously agreed on a price in writing. A 21-year-old woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a Rock Island teen in April will make her first court appearance Saturday morning at the Rock Island County Justice Center. Chelsea M. Raker is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aiding a fugitive. Bond on the warrants was set at $1 million. Raker was arrested May 28 in Chatham County, Georgia. Local law enforcement worked with a national transport service to pick up Raker in Savannah, Georgia, earlier this week, Rock Island County States Attorney John McGehee said. As of 4:30 p.m., she was not in the Rock Island County Jail. Raker and co-defendant Kire G. Carr, 17, of Rock Island, are charged in the shooting death of 15-year-old Jescie J. Armstrong. Police were dispatched just before 2 p.m. April 27 to the 500 block of 20th Avenue after receiving a report of shots fired inside a home. Officers found Armstrong with a gunshot wound to the head inside the residence. He later died at Trinity Rock Island. Prosecutors believe Armstrong was shot while Carr and Raker were committing an armed robbery. Prosecutors claim that after the shooting, Raker drove Carr from the scene and out of Rock Island County. Carr, who is believed to have pulled the trigger, was arrested April 28 in Columbus, Ohio, by the U.S. Marshals Service. Marshals said Carr and a female accomplice, later identified as Raker, were involved in a dispute with several others that led to the shooting of Armstrong. The marshals said Carr was staying in Columbus briefly and had plans to flee to coastal Georgia. McGehee has said Raker was with Carr in Columbus at some point but was not there when he was arrested. A Columbus address was listed for Raker in court documents. Alex Dziagwa has worked seven months at Family Resources in Davenport and in that time, he has seen his share of domestic violence issues. People hear and read about domestic violence, but it is a worse problem than most people realize, Dziagwa said. Dziagwa spoke after joining about 50 other people Thursday at Rock Islands Schwiebert Riverfront Park for the fifth annual Flowers on the River event hosted by the Elephant Club. The Elephant Club is a group of men who want to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence and how it affects families. Events like this one help bring awareness to the issue, Dziagwa said. Beginning with a prayer, the event included a poignant skit by members of the Davenport Central High School drama group that showed how domestic violence begins and escalates. It starts at home, said Tad Birditt, a member of the Elephant Club. It starts when the family unit breaks down. It starts when there is no proper role model for the boys. Were trying to promote proper role models, Birditt said. We need more dads. The Elephant Club currently is comprised of volunteers, but on July 1, it will become a funded program of Family Resources. Nisha Ladlee, community relations manager for Family Resources said that on May 10 the Crime Victims Assistance Division of the Iowa Attorney Generals Office awarded a grant of $142,255 to support the work of the Elephant Club. The grant will allow Family Resources to hire two Engaging Male Advocates who will work with the current volunteers of the Elephant Club as well as provide direct services to boys and men who are victims-survivors of violent crimes. During the ceremony, the names of those killed in domestic violence incidents were read while men placed red carnations in the Mississippi River. Rock Island Police Chief Jeff VenHuizen said that domestic abuse continues to be an underreported crime. Too often we dont get called until its too late, VenHuizen said. The problem, he said, comes down to having a strong moral compass. It means people, especially children, need good, strong role models who are doing what is right, he added. But when a victim comes forward, that person needs a strong support network to get through it, he said. We can never do enough to help victims and spread the word about domestic violence, VenHuizen said. Children dressed in shorts and T-shirts clattered down a set of stairs at Madison Elementary School in Davenport and made a beeline for the cafeteria table. On the lunch menu: walking tacos, with meat and/or beans, lettuce, cheese and taco sauce, supplemented with fresh apple wedges and milk. This food site is one of about 44 in the Quad-Cities, all set up to feed children who normally would get nutritious and tasty meals during the school day but might miss out in the summer. This time of year, the sites are in schools, parks, churches and other locations as officials seek to provide quick and nutritious meals to places where the children are found. At Madison, the Davenport Community School District operates a program for about 100 children. Some are from the neighborhood; others are in special programs held at the elementary school. It's much easier when the students can eat breakfast and lunch in the school, said Kelly Dugan, a fourth-grade teacher at Madison. It's also efficiently operated. "They will get 60 kids through the line in 10 minutes," she said. "It runs very smoothly here." All summer programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, which funnels the money through agencies such as the Iowa Department of Education. This allows Davenport, for example, to offer the program for eight weeks every summer, on Mondays through Thursdays, except for the July 4 holiday. "Summer is a critical time for children's academic and physical well-being," said Kent Heinen, with the Food and Nutrition service in Davenport and who coordinates the summer program. The meals are open to all children and teens, 18 years old and younger, and the big problem is that not enough children in that age range realize they can eat for free, Heinen said. "It's come one, come all," he said, but some youths still don't realize they are very welcome. Still, there were 60,000 summer meals served in the 23 Community Cafe sites operated by the Davenport program last year, and Heinen hopes that number will grow by 5 percent this year. By comparison, 38,000 meals were served in the summer of 2007. "This fits a niche for kids who don't always receive a full and nutritious meal during the day," Heinen said. Mike Miller agrees with Heinen on the need to get the word out to local families. Miller is president and chief executive of River Bend Foodbank, which has a hand in more than 40 summer meal sites around the Quad-Cities. Some are operated by partner agencies, and some are independent of the food bank. The big issue is that, while all a child has to do is show up to get fed, only one-sixth of the children on the free and reduced-cost lunch program take advantage of the summer food program, Miller said. In general, Miller said one in five children are "food insecure" in the Quad-Cities, which means they do not have access to enough food for a healthy and active lifestyle. The two pig-tailed daughters of Kennesha McGowan, Davenport, do know about the summer food effort. "I like the program," McGowan said, adding that her children have been in it since they attended Buchanan Elementary School in Davenport. Back in the Madison school lunchroom, the "lunch ladies" Michelle Cirian and Crystal Bowman distributed the tacos. Cirian works at Adams Elementary School during the school year while Bowman normally is at Davenport West High School. The two appreciate the slower pace of lunch in the summertime. "The kids here are all calm and polite," Cirian said. A decision on whether to allow a psychiatric hospital to be built in the Quad-Cities has once again been delayed, but the company seeking permission to build the facility said Friday it is sticking with its plan. Iowa's State Health Facilities Council has canceled its July meetings, where Strategic Behavioral Health was hoping to gain approval to build a 72-bed hospital in Bettendorf. Amy Skinner of Okoboji, a member of the council, resigned in May, and another member will miss the meeting because of a medical issue, said Rebecca Swift, who manages the certificate of need program at the Iowa Department of Public Health. Such certificates are required, by state law, for new health care facilities. Four members are required at a meeting to achieve a quorum. This is the third time the Memphis company will have been stymied in its attempt to get state permission to build. Last fall, when it was first scheduled to go before the council, a member of the five-member board couldn't make the meeting, so Strategic decided to wait until February. Then, at that meeting in Ankeny, there were only four members present again, and they deadlocked 2-2 on the question, meaning that permission could not be granted. Strategic president Jim Shaheen said Friday that the firm will continue its attempts to build here. "We remain committed to building the facility. Just have to wait until the next meeting," Shaheen said in an email. The psychiatric hospital proposal has been a point of controversy in the Quad-Cities for more than a year now. The area's two largest hospitals, Genesis Health System and UnityPoint Trinity, argue Strategic's plans would undermine their own behavioral health services. Strategic claims the area has been and continues to be underserved and that the market can accommodate all the providers. The health facilities council members are appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad. A spokesman, Ben Hammes, said Friday the administration hopes to have a replacement soon. "But we are going to take our time to make sure we have the right person," he said. Hammes added that he anticipates a new meeting may be scheduled for September, and the administration hopes to have a new member appointed by then. The governor has been critical of the certificate of need process. In March, he said in the Quad-Cities that the process originated as a way to prevent duplication in health care spending but had evolved into a way to stifle competition in some cases. Skinner's departure does open up an opportunity for Strategic Behavioral Health. She voted against allowing the psychiatric hospital to be built. Bob Lundin, the council chair and a former Trinity executive, also voted against the application. Lundin disclosed his affiliation with Trinity before the vote, and there were no objections to his taking part. The two who voted in favor of building the psychiatric hospital were Roger Thomas of Elkader and Roberta Chambers of Corydon. Connie Schmett of Clive did not attend the February meeting. Strategic is proposing the $14 million facility be built at Golden Valley Drive and Tanglefoot Lane in Bettendorf. Hy-Vee stores in the Quad-Cities and Clinton are sponsoring their eighth Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities and what will be the first flight carrying all Vietnam veterans. The grocery chain and Honor Flight officials announced the special flight at a news conference Friday at the Bettendorf Hy-Vee store. Hy-Vee officials also presented the local Honor Flight chapter with a $50,000 donation. "We want all the veterans to know how truly thankful we are for their service and sacrifice," said Mark Streit, a Davenport store director. "It is our privilege to sponsor this first full Vietnam veteran Honor Flight and properly recognize them for their sacrifices." The Sept. 15 flight will carry about 100 local Vietnam War and Vietnam-era veterans from the Quad-City International Airport to Washington, D.C. They will spend the day touring memorials to U.S. wars. The schedule will include additional time at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The flight will include about 60 guardians and Honor Flight staff. Streit said Hy-Vee also will sponsor a pre-flight dinner to acquaint the veterans and guardians. "This pre-flight dinner is unique to our Honor Flights," he said, adding that the dinner also gives Hy-Vee employees a chance to thank the veterans for their service. Steve Garrington, Honor Flight's hub director, said the organization expanded the flights to Vietnam veterans about a year ago. "Now there is enough applications to do a whole Vietnam veteran flight. It doesn't mean we are stopping taking the other vets," said Garrington, a Vietnam-era Army veteran. "If there are Korean or World War II veterans out there, we still would like to take them." The flight will be led by Honor Flight board members Mike Haney, a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran, and Dave Woods, a Vietnam Army veteran. Haney said Honor Flights were opened up to Vietnam veterans "because we saw we could not fill the planes with World War II and Korean veterans." In fact, the latest flight last month had only three World War II veterans, 33 Korean-era veterans and the balance Vietnam vets, he said. Vietnam veterans Greg Paulline of Davenport and John Lavelle of Bettendorf, who attended the announcement, were pleased to see an all-Vietnam veteran flight. "We certainly want to follow in the footsteps of the Korean and World War II veterans," said Paulline, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776. The two men, who have been guardians on previous flights, said younger veterans returning from service now are finding a more positive reception, in part, because of efforts of Vietnam veterans. Lavelle said the vets want to make sure "nobody has to come home to what we did." During the news conference, Streit said, "We could not have made these flights possible without the support of our sponsors, employees and community." He publicly thanked these partners: Pepsi, Sara Lee, the Quad-City Times, Bernatello's, Snapple, Budweiser, Coors Light, Kitchen Cooked, Mama Bosso, Prairie Farms and Frito-Lay. Three years after charges of clergy abuse were brought against him, the Rev. John Stack has been cleared by the Vatican and will work again in the Diocese of Davenport. The findings were announced Friday by Deacon David Montgomery, the diocese's spokesman. Stack was accused in 2013 of inappropriately touching minors in the 1980s. The charge was reported to the Scott County Attorney's Office, the process the diocese now uses in abuse cases. Stack was removed from his ministry at Mercy Medical Center in Clinton while the investigation went forward. Bishop Martin Amos petitioned the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, requesting that Stack's case be brought to trial before three judges, none of whom is from the Davenport diocese. The charges against Stack were found to be "not proven," without a finding of innocence or guilt. On appeal, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith concurred with the three judges' "not proven" decision. Amos will reassign Stack to duties in the diocese, but he has not done so as yet, Montgomery said. Stack first served at Holy Family in Davenport as a parochial vicar from 1988 to 1990. He has served as the chaplain at the Clinton hospital since 1994 and has served in various roles in churches in Keokuk, East Pleasant Plain, Richland, Clinton, Camanche, Lost Nation, Toronto, Oxford Junction, Sugar Creek, DeWitt, Charlotte and Grand Mound. Hatchet throwing, spinning and campfire cooking are three old-time skills you can see demonstrated Saturday and Sunday during the fourth annual Pioneer Days at the Colonel Davenport House on Arsenal Island. Hours are 10 a.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults 12 years and older, $8 for active military and seniors (65 years and older), and free for those 11 years and under. Admission includes a tour of the Colonel Davenport House, which dates to 1832. The event features an overnight encampment of fur trader re-enactors, called a Buckskinners' Rendezvous, with pioneer portrayers demonstrating hatchet and knife throwing and craft demonstrators doing wood-working, chair caning, spinning, basket weaving, quilting, rope making and campfire cooking. Kid's games and activities also are offered. Historian Gena Schantz of Davenport will speak at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday about the history of the Colonel Davenport House, and Maryan Wherry of Orion, Illinois, will speak at 2 p.m. Sunday about the women of the Davenport family. Old-time music specialist Wesley Wells will play guitar and violin each afternoon. On display will be selected items from the Fort Armstrong time capsule, buried as part of the fort's 150th anniversary in 1966 and recently opened as part of the 200th anniversary. Food available for purchase will include sandwiches, sides and drinks from Dickeys BBQ, plus homemade ice cream and popcorn. This event is part of Quad-Cities Museum Week, which begins Saturday and continues through June with more than 20 participating local museums. People wanting to attend Pioneer Days are asked to enter the island through the Moline gate. A current U.S. picture ID is required for people older than 16. On Saturday, African-Americans celebrate Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the announcement of the ending of slavery in our country, two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is time to celebrate the rich history and accomplishments of Black Americans in our country. Though the road to equality and justice has been arduous and the journey is not yet complete, weve still come far as a nation. The election and reelection of President Obama is a testament to that. Still, our community knows that there is a lot of work to do. That is why we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines this election as Americans look to build on the progress of our first black president. Its important that we elect a candidate who will build on President Obamas accomplishments instead of tearing them down. Hillary Clinton believes that were stronger together. She has been committed to civil rights for the past 40 years and has worked her entire life to expand economic opportunity and social justice. When she began her career after graduating law school, Hillary didnt join a big law firm in Washington or New York. Instead, she went to work for the Childrens Defense Fund, where she investigated why African American teenagers were being held in adult prisons. She helped create the Childrens Health Insurance Program, which covers 8 million kids. And as a U.S. senator, she introduced legislation to provide much-needed resources and educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. These actions speak to her concern for the underserved, and her commitment to fighting for marginalized communities. Donald Trump, on the other hand, will tear this country apart and do serious harm to our security and economy. He opposes raising the minimum wage and has even suggested that wages are too high. He opposes equal pay for women, has demonized immigrants, and has repeatedly questioned President Obamas patriotism and legitimacy. Hes promised to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. And he even failed to rebuke the Ku Klux Klanand call it the terrorist organization that it iswhen one of its leaders endorsed him for president. Donald Trump has shown us time and again that he is unfit and unqualified to be president. We got an early look at his erratic and hateful candidacy in Iowa, so weve known longer than most just how dangerous a Donald Trump presidency would be for our community, state, and nation. We need to come together and stand for the fundamental values that our country stands for. Its up to us to continue the journey down the long road toward the more perfect union promised in our constitution. Juneteenth celebrates that promise and serves as a reminder of the continued journey ahead to ensure everyone has equal rights, equal protection, and the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential. This November we have the opportunity to stand up to Donald Trump and stand with a candidate who will fight for us. Hillary Clinton believes the economy should work for everyone not just those at the top, we should work with our allies to keep us safe, and that we are a better people when we respect each other and lift each other up. As president, Hillary Clinton would build a future that brings us together instead of pulling us apart. It's been the work of her life and it's why I believe we need her in the White House. When it's time to cast my ballot this fall, I'm with her. Illinois might continue its march toward modernity, but the federal government remains mired in the past. It's time federal officials end the ridiculous barriers to medical marijuana research inhibiting needed knowledge on the widely used plant. Gov. Bruce Rauner, this month, rightly pivoted away from his general distaste for the state's medical marijuana pilot program. Rauner is expected to sign legislation that would extend the state's trial pot program through July 2020. It's a welcome move, especially since a pilot program is intended as a test run. Sure, Illinois's medical pot law, arguably the most rigid in the nation, has been on the books since 2014. But it collected dust for more than a year. At a practical level, growers didn't begin cultivating their crops until November. The 2017 sunset, frankly, just wasn't enough time to gauge much of anything. The real import of Rauner's tacit approval exists in Washington's vacuum. Initial indications say pot could provide relief and comfort for any number of ailments: Cancer, spinal injuries, glaucoma -- all of which are eligible for marijuana treatment, under Illinois law. Proponents are touting marijuana's supposed therapeutic qualities for those afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD debate has especially split the medical and scientific communities, with vaunted organizations such as American Psychiatric Association vehemently opposed. It's just the newest ailment wrapped into the marijuana debate. More research is needed, opponents say. Agreed. So get to it, researchers. Wait. They can't. In 2015, only one research institution, the University of Mississippi, possessed a Drug Enforcement Administration license to grow and research marijuana, according to a letter drafted last year by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. The DEA's Schedule I classification, the same level given to heroin, makes viable legal research almost impossible, by stating the plant has "No medicinal use." President Barack Obama's administration is hamstringing necessary fact finding in a time when facts are what's most required. And, in the process, many a medical provider won't prescribe marijuana due to fears of federal reprisal. Congress, too, has dodged the pot issue, even as legalization efforts grow throughout the country. In fact, the House, last year, threatened to toss Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser in jail after her city voted to legalize recreational pot use. The congressional dawdling means the growing pot business -- wholly legal, under state law -- is often barred from banking, credit and other necessary activities. Federal officials, both Republican and Democrat, are ducking a sociological wave, one fueled by failed drug policy, racial inequality and spiking prison budgets. It's apparent that pot has a place in the pantheon of medical treatments, directly counter to the DEA's classification. And it's obvious that the pot debate will continue, in spite of the incessant issue-dodging in Washington. Ohio Gov John Kasich last week signed legislation approving a medicinal program in his state. Half the states now offer medicinal or recreational programs. Like Kasich, Rauner has come around. Adding two more years to the program makes sense since it has only existed, in a practical sense, for a few months. But the future of pot in Illinois, and throughout the country, is too often rooted in anecdote instead of peer-reviewed research. Facts become increasingly important as the marijuana debate evolves from medicinal to recreational, an obvious eventuality. It won't change until federal officials get out of the way and allow scientists to do their jobs. SPRINGFIELD Ballots won't be cast for more than four months, but three southern Illinois Democrats seeking re-election to the General Assembly are already facing a blitz of negative TV and internet ads, robocalls and email blasts from the Illinois Republican Party. Sen. Gary Forby of Benton and Reps. John Bradley of Marion and Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg have become prime targets for the GOP as it tries to cut into Democratic super-majorities in the House and Senate. The overarching message is that the trio of lawmakers are "double-talking politicians" who are more loyal to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, than to voters in their districts. "In southern Illinois, they say they're for us," the narrator says in a TV ad released Wednesday. "Then they go to Springfield and do Madigan's bidding." Likewise, a robocall that started Tuesday says, "Together, Mike Madigan, Gary Forby and John Bradley are holding the state budget hostage to force a massive tax hike with no reforms and increase our state debt by billions." Much of the criticism focuses on the lawmakers' support for a budget plan from House Democrats that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration says is $7.5 billion out of balance. The plan was approved in the House before the May 31 close of the spring legislative session but was rejected in the Senate. The GOP launched its online campaign in the waning days of the spring session and took to the airwaves and phone lines in southern Illinois this month. While campaign spending disclosures for the current period won't be available until next month, contracts on file with the Federal Communications Commission show that the House Republican Organization is spending more than $36,000 weekly this month running 86 ads each week on WSIL-TV alone. Records indicate that the ads are scheduled to continue through next week. The spending comes after Rauner's campaign fund last month gave $5 million to the state GOP, which in turn gave $2 million to the House Republican Organization. The Illinois Republican Party "is focused on winnable races throughout the state and is actively engaged in close to two dozen races," spokesman Aaron DeGroot wrote in an email. "Southern Illinoisans are highly engaged right now because Gary Forby, John Bradley and Brandon Phelps are holding the budget hostage out of their loyalty to Mike Madigan," DeGroot wrote. "It's more important than ever for Southern Illinoisans to know that Forby, Bradley and Phelps are putting Chicago Political Boss Mike Madigan's tax-spend-and-borrow agenda ahead of funding for downstate schools and prisons." But David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said the ads and calls may be too much too soon. "There's a real risk of voter fatigue here," Yepsen said. "Voters don't have a lot of patience with politicians anyway. I don't think any party has got high ground in that debate in Springfield. There's just a general 'plague on both your houses' from voters." The strategy of tying Democratic lawmakers to Madigan has been tried many times before without much success, he said. "Mike Madigan's not very popular down here, but neither is Bruce Rauner," Yepsen said. "Plus, Bradley, Phelps, Gary Forby, they're known to a lot of people. They've been in office a long time. These caricatures are not the people that many voters know personally." Phelps, who faces a challenge from Jason Kasiar of Eldorado, said that's the message he's been getting from voters as he campaigns door to door. "Actually, those ads are kind of helping me because the governor's very unpopular in my district," he said. "He's very unpopular." Phelps said his constituents know he has a record of working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to protect their interests. Like Phelps, Forby said he doesn't think the criticisms will play with voters back home in his race against Dale Fowler of Harrisburg. "I don't think tying me to Madigan works," Forby said Wednesday, when he was at the Capitol for a meeting of a bipartisan group of lawmakers negotiating a budget compromise. "I've been in here for a long time. I'm my own guy, and I'm voting my district." Bradley, who is facing Dave Severin of Benton, couldn't be reached for comment. In addition to running the risk of turning off voters, the attacks might make it harder for the parties to reach a compromise on the budget, Yepsen said, adding that the same is true for harsh statements from Democrats against the governor and his allies. "All this rhetoric flying back and forth, I think it makes it very difficult to sit down and to trust an adversary in a negotiation," he said. DES MOINES A former law clerk for Merrick Garland, the judge nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, was in Iowa this week to make the case that Garlands nomination should receive a hearing in the U.S. Senate. Eric Berger, an associate dean and law professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, visited Iowa as a guest of the progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa. Berger clerked for Garland in 2003 and 2004, while Garland served as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Garlands nomination has not received a hearing in the Senate, where Republicans in control of the chamber have said the Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by the next president, after this falls presidential election. Iowas longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds hearings on Supreme Court nominees. Grassley has joined with Senate leadership, saying that the decision is not an indictment of Garland but that he thinks voters should have a say in the nomination by who they choose to be president. Democrats have hammered on the Supreme Court vacancy as they seek to unseat Grassley, who is up for re-election this fall. Grassley, who has served in Congress since 1981, is being challenged by former Iowa lieutenant governor and agriculture secretary Patty Judge. Im calling on Sen. Grassley to hold hearings and schedule a vote (on Garlands nomination), Berger said. The people deserve an opportunity to go through the process. Berger praised Garland, calling him meticulous, analytical and thorough, and a judge who does not let political ideology interfere with his rulings. He will be incredibly nonpartisan. He wont let his personal politics filter into it, Berger said. To that extent, he is a very special judge. Berger said if Republicans stand their ground through the election, he hopes the next president especially if it is Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will consider Garland for the Supreme Court vacancy. Berger said his preference, however would be for Senate Republicans, including Grassley, to agree to start the nomination process now. I think (Garland) is exactly the kind of person we should have on the Supreme Court, Berger said. He has all the qualities you would want in a judge. PIERRE | Secretary of State Shantel Krebs plans a review of South Dakotas campaign finance reporting laws, according to her public information officer. Jason Williams said Krebs intends to convene a summer subcommittee with representatives from the Legislature, the state Board of Elections and the business community. Proposed changes will be presented at the October meeting of Board of Elections. She wants the review to ensure that the public and candidates have access to information that clearly identifies who is funding political committees when the information is most relevant, Williams said. The full review of campaign finance laws would also help to make them more straightforward and easy to understand for candidates, he added. The announcement of the Krebs plan came in the wake of a newspaper report last weekend detailing some of the secretive practices during the June 7 primary campaigns. One of the shortcomings identified is that a legislative candidates committee isnt required to file a year-end report for non-election years, such as 2015. If the candidate doesnt have a primary election, a pre-primary report isnt required either. If the candidate didnt run this year, two years would pass between reports. Those time gaps noticeably came into play this year. Several current legislators made independent expenditures on behalf of legislative candidates who had primaries or made contributions to those candidates committees for their primary campaigns. The sources of the money for the independent expenditures and the donations from legislators campaign committees werent publicly disclosed, however, because the legislators didnt have primaries and hadnt filed a report since the end of their 2014 campaigns. The governor also used his campaign committee to make contributions to some legislative candidates with primaries. Because he isnt up for election this year, he also didnt have to file a pre-primary finance report. Jason Huber and Dylan Goetsch were honored as the Belle Fourche Police Department officers of the year at Saturday's department open house. The open house drew about 200 people through the late morning and early afternoon to visit with officers over a hot dog lunch, bring children to the South Dakota Masons' Child Identification Program and see how the department has a continuing training program for officers. Along with Huber and Goetsch, the noon program headed by Chief Scott Jones also included a community service award for a person working in conjunction with officers on projects to help others in the community. Cheri Tripp of Budget Appliance received the award resulting from two instances of helping community members who had been seen by officers during their on and off duty time. One was person who had brought concerns to others and needed help with food and medication. A second instance was a family that had no furniture or proper winter clothing for the children. Jones said Tripp took the lead in helping police get beds for the family, "and she went out and personally collected coats." She also helped the department with their kids and tots program last year. The two officers of the year are relatively new to Belle Fourche, Jones said, but both quickly became part of the community, "serving the community at every level." He said, "They're both good assets to the Belle Fourche Police Department and to the community as a whole." One example of on-duty efforts came on an ambulance call for aid to a male who was not breathing. The two arrived at the scene and immediately began CPR and lifesaving tactics and continued until medical staff arrived. Jones said hospital staff told him that it was a miracle that the man survived, and that his survival could be directly attributed to the officers' actions. The police chief also offered a wrap-up of department activity for 2015 and the first half of 2016. There were just over 9,000 calls for service in 2015, and 613 that were sufficiently serious to bring a full case report. From Jan. 1 through June 1, there were 3,600 calls for service, and 316 full case reports. Drugs remain a major problem for police, Jones said. There were 56 drug cases with possession charges in the second half of 2015, he said, and 32 in the first half of 2016. More than 100 pounds of marijuana was seized, and in major cases an additional $64,000 in cash was seized. Jones said that the total value of drugs seized by police were sold by the gram, the street value would have been $1,641,400. The Masons' South Dakota Child Identification Program (SD-CHIP) took DNA, photos and other information on more than 20 children at the police headquarters. The program gives the full identification to parents in case of a child lost to abduction or other circumstances. Jones said the department was pleased to host the Masons and the families who came to have their children's' identification materials generated in the event a child becomes missing. "Everything we do is about people," Jones said. The Masons' program means that in the event a child is missing, parents can give law enforcement immediate identification material on the child that can offer a leap ahead for police in their recovery efforts. "Hats off to our local guys who took their Saturday to help make the community a better place," he said. While Jones was full of praise for the uniformed officer staff that now is at full authorized strength, he also credited Mardi Reeves both for organizing the open house and other police activities. "She's not an administration assistant, she's the glue that keeps things together," he said. She also functions as evidence technician for investigations. "The department would not function without her around, Jones said. In an effort to alleviate congestion at the Sturgis liquor store during the annual motorcycle rally, the Sturgis City Council has approved an ordinance allowing the towns grocery stores to sell liquor. Applications for the special event liquor license were first made available Wednesday. Grocery Mart co-owner Marcia Johnston said she planned to pick up an application so the store on Junction Avenue could sell liquor during the special-event period from Aug. 1 to Aug. 15. Under the ordinance, the grocery store must have a sponsoring nonprofit group. Johnston said Grocery Mart would be working with Sturgis Rally Charities. She is on the board of directors of the group, which offers annual grants to other local nonprofits, such as the Sturgis Area Arts Council, Meade County Senior Citizens Center and the Rural Meade Ambulance Service. Cost of the license is $100 per day, with a 15-day maximum. Also, 10 percent of the sales of liquor under the special events license will be split between the city and the nonprofit. Heres how it works: The grocery store buys the liquor. From its invoices, the grocery store will pay out 10 percent, part will go to the city and part will go to the charity. Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie said the retailer determines how the money is split between the city and the charity. If, for instance, the retailer earmarks the entire 10 percent for the charity and zero percent for the city, their application probably wont fly with the city council. But, Ainslie wouldnt reveal what percentage would suffice for the city council. Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen said people need to remember that this years special event liquor license is an experiment. Were trying to see if this makes sense, he said. Johnston also sees this year as a test run. She has some experience in liquor sales, previously operating a liquor store in Colorado. That gives me a little bit of knowledge, she said. Before buying into Grocery Mart in Sturgis, Marcia and Dan Johnston owned Johnstons Hardware in Sturgis. Grocery Mart currently has licenses for off-sale wine and beer. Owners recently revamped the front of their store to establish an expansive wine selection and added beer coolers. Its going to be a little bit of a juggling act, Johnston said of adding the liquor. Johnston, a former city council member, says she knows the city has experienced issues during the rally with frustrated patrons at the city-owned liquor store. There are so many people in the liquor store, and it becomes hard for them to get everybody served, she said. Another issue has been the lack of parking at the city liquor store on Lazelle Street. Johnston says she knows how important it is to the citys bottom line. She believes allowing established retail outlets to offer liquor during the rally will work better than the satellite locations the city has tried in the past two years. And it will reduce frustrations of local customers. We do get a lot of people through here who do ask where our liquor is located, because they are used to seeing it in a grocery store, she said. When rally patrons are told they have to go into the mouth of the dragon near the intersection of Lazelle and Junction to buy at the city liquor store, they often vow to go elsewhere, including Rapid City, Johnston said. Most of them dont want to go through all the crowds and the traffic, she said. Mayor Carstensen said having liquor sales at the grocery stores and at the city-owned liquor store will help residents and the city. If someone just buys from Grocery Mart and doesnt go to the liquor store, we are still going to see a benefit on that, he said. We will be able to reach more people, but we wont have the overhead we had with the annexes. That will fall on the retailers. PIERRE | Julie Mathiesen of Sturgis resigned from the state Board of Education recently because of South Dakotas new law requiring disclosures of possible financial conflicts. The law applies to members of state boards and commissions and to people who work in leadership posts in public education. Mathiesen is the first state appointee to step down before the new law takes effect July 1. She is director for the Technology In Education (TIE) organization that assists schools throughout South Dakota. The Legislature approved the new conflicts law in response to the alleged financial crimes involving personnel for Mid-Central Educational Cooperative at Platte and the GEAR UP program for Native American high school students. Criminal charges are pending against the cooperatives former director Dan Guericke, of White Lake; the GEAR UPs programs former director Stacy Phelps, of Rapid City; and a former assistant business manager, Stephanie Hubers of Geddes. State boards and commissions specifically covered by the new law have received briefings in recent months about its effects and the waiver process that is allowed. Gov. Dennis Daugaard originally appointed Mathiesen to the state board in 2011, in part because of her work at TIE and her experience as a high school teacher in art and biology. He later reappointed her to another term. Mathiesen cited the new law in the letter of resignation she submitted with regret to the governor. I stand by my belief that my position on the BOE is not in conflict with my work in education because the board does not approve or oversee contracts, she wrote. However, recent legislative action and the associated reporting measures will create a situation that could be distracting to the work of BOE as well as to my employer, she continued. Mathiesen made clear the state board reaches policy decisions and none of the financial information affecting her has been secret. Im a proponent of open government and transparency and all the state contracts associated with my employer, which is a political subdivision of the state, are readily available on open.sd.gov, she wrote. In addition to contracts with the state, my employer frequently engages in contracts to support professional learning in school districts, which are also political subdivisions of the state. Last year, after the six members of the Scott and Nicole Westerhuis family were shot to death at their home, the governor accepted the resignation of Phelps from the state board. Phelps originally was appointed to the board by then-Gov. Mike Rounds and Daugaard reappointed Phelps in 2011 at the same time he chose Mathiesen for the board. Daugaard said Phelps continued service on the board could appear to be a conflict. That was before state Attorney General Marty Jackley filed criminal charges against Phelps, Guericke and Hubers. Scott and Nicole Westerhuis were the business manager and an assistant business manager for Mid Central. They also worked directly with Phelps in several other businesses they formed together and for two nonprofit organizations that handled GEAR UP funding. Jackley said the state investigation into the deaths indicated Scott Westerhuis shot to death his wife and their four children before lighting their house on fire and shooting himself. The Westerhuis couple is believed to have funneled many thousands of dollars away from GEAR UP. The financial investigation is continuing. The Westerhuis deaths came less than 24 hours after state Education Secretary Melody Schopp notified Guericke she wasnt renewing the GEAR UP management contract with Mid-Central. A state audit previously determined Schopps department didnt adequately supervise spending under the GEAR UP contract. Two of the people specifically identified in the audit for failing to document work were Rick Melmer, a former state secretary of education, and Keith Moore, a former head of the state office of Native American education and a former director for the federal Bureau of Indian Education. The cooperatives board has since voted to shut down the organization in 2017. To replace Mathiesen, Daugaard appointed Kay Schallenkamp of Spearfish. She is the retired president of Black Hills State University. The governor understood Julies decision, because the new law would be very complicated to comply with in her situation, even without any direct conflicts, said Tony Venhuizen, the governors chief of staff who specifically oversees the state Department of Education. He was sorry to see her resign, however, because she is an education leader in this state and has been an excellent board member, Venhuizen said. Mathiesen resigned just months before her term would have expired Dec. 31, 2016. Schallenkamp is appointed to serve the remainder of that term. Two other board members terms expire Dec. 31, 2016: Kelly Duncan of Aberdeen is dean of education at Northern State University. Her consulting business previously received contracts through Mid-Central and participated in a paid review of the GEAR UP program during the past year. Scott Herman of Mission, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe leader whom the governor appointed to fill the vacancy left by Phelps resignation in 2015. The state Board of Education meets Monday morning in Pierre. Federal representatives seeking suggestions for improving the Indian Health Service heard repeatedly Thursday the problems start with their bosses in Congress. Money talks, said Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier, who complained all the legislation is meaningless without funding the promises for better healthcare. The U.S. Committee on Indian Affairs held a town hall open forum in Rapid City to review Senate Bill 2953 dubbed the IHS Accountability Act. Sponsors Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. seek to overhaul the national care network for tribal members. In recent years, federal investigators have revealed a series of horror stories within IHS-run hospitals in the Great Plains. Cases include an unattended pregnant woman giving birth on a dirty bathroom floor and patients dying due to lack of proper medical treatment. Several of the 150 people at the forum shared stories about their IHS experiences. One woman said she was repeatedly misdiagnosed after suffering a serious worksite injury. A man lamented the dismal life-expectancy of men on the largely impoverished Rosebud reservation. Frazier expressed utter distrust of the IHS. He said many employees of the federal agency repeatedly lie to him and his constituents. He accused IHS workers of breaking federal laws by not providing the medical care guaranteed to Native people under federal treaties. These are federal laws, Frazier told the town hall panel led by T. Michael Andrews, the chief counsel of the Indian Affairs committee. If an Indian breaks a federal law, he gets locked up. If an IHS employee breaks a federal law, he gets promoted. And thats a fact. Andrews assured the crowd their information will have a significant impact on the IHS Accountability Act, which he characterized as a work in progress. Thune and Barrasso staff members with Andrews fielded citizen questions about physician retention and preventative care and complaints about substandard healthcare being provided in some IHS hospitals. Frazier criticized the bill for not containing provisions regarding methamphetamine addiction and suicide, two problems that loom large over Native American public health. Though it addresses a range of issues, the bills main thrust is making it easier to hold IHS employees accountable for their actions while protecting those employees who report malfeasance. State Rep. Elizabeth May of Kyle said while the bill makes some positive changes, it doesnt move the dial enough on what she sees as the core problem. This is a treaty obligation, and it is not being met. Period. End of discussion, May said. We need to find a plan for how were going to meet that treaty obligation. Winona Stabler, a former IHS hospital director, and Wounded Knee district representative Collins CJ Clifford of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council echoed Fraziers healthcare funding concerns. Congress needs to fund IHS 100 percent, Stabler said. The crowd consensus seemed to conclude that the IHS Accountability Act is just a start and more than one bill will be need to resolve complex problems plaguing Native American health care. The panel will continue to gather public testimony about the IHS Accountability Act during a field hearing at 10:30 a.m. today in the Rapid City Central High School Auditorium, 433 Mount Rushmore Road. Barrasso, Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Congresswoman Kristi Noem will be present, as will a series of invited witnesses. Those who cannot attend the field hearing can send their written testimony to testimony@indian.senate.gov. WASHINGTON | Donald Trump's ban of Washington Post journalists has left other news outlets with a stark choice: your ratings or your responsibility as journalists in a free society? Trump's announcement that he is barring Post journalists from his events follows similar bans he put on reporters from Politico, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Foreign Policy, Fusion, Univision, Mother Jones, the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Des Moines Register and the Daily Beast. Trump goons have been known to kick out undesirable reporters at Trump events. For those journalists and media executives who still don't share the view of Post Executive Editor Martin Baron that Trump's action "is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press," it won't be long before Trump comes for you, too. Earlier this year, Trump said he would "open up" libel laws in other words, dispense with the First Amendment to make it easier for him to sue news outlets. He has suggested that, if president, he would use antitrust laws to harass Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns the Post. And longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone has proposed that a President Trump seek retribution against CNN: "Turn off their FCC license." This goes beyond even Nixonian hostility. Before Trump events, all journalists blacklisted or not must apply for permission to attend. They are then notified if their applications have been approved. But there is, happily, a just and appropriate response to Trump's blacklist: a Trump blackout. I don't mean an outright ban of Trump coverage. That would be shirking our civic responsibility. But I suggest an end to the uncritical, free publicity that propelled him to the GOP nomination: No more live, wall-to-wall coverage of Trump's rallies and events; this sort of "coverage," particularly by cable news outlets, has been a huge in-kind contribution to Trump. No more Trump call-ins to TV shows; this enables him to plant falsehoods with little risk of follow-up. Rigorous use of real-time fact-checking, pointing out Trump's falsehoods in the stories in which they're reported. That's not injecting opinion it's stating fact. Beyond that, news organizations should demand that the Republican National Committee, at next month's convention, reinstate and credential all media outlets that Trump has banned. Does the RNC want to join Trump in opposing a free press? Politicians have long tried to freeze out critical reporters and news organizations by refusing to return phone calls or denying them questions at news conferences; I got that treatment covering George W. Bush's White House. But this is fundamentally different: If Trump were to behave this way in office, he could choose which journalists and outlets would be admitted to the White House briefing room, participate in the press pool or join presidential events. A push-back against Trump's authoritarian actions could work, because Trump relies almost entirely on free media attention. He lacks a traditional campaign apparatus with the ability to target and mobilize voters with advertising and field organizing. Trump won the nomination using what the British call the "dead cat" tactic: Throw a dead cat on the table, and that's what people will talk about. Trump kept hurling cats, thereby staying a step ahead of the media watchdogs. In a report out Monday, Harvard University's Shorenstein Center found that eight top news outlets gave Trump the equivalent of $55 million of free advertising last year and about two-thirds of Trump coverage was positive. Taking the news media as a whole, the center said the claim that Trump's media coverage was worth $2 billion in ads "might well be correct." Shorenstein's Thomas Patterson suggests a "corrective" response by the media to Trump's blacklist. "Too many journalists are hung up on the old balance of 'he said, she said' and are silent about putting their finger on the scale and saying which viewpoint has the larger weight" of truth, he told me. "One would hope that would change." That has begun to change in the past month. The focus has shifted from Trump's dead cats to serious probing of Trump's past, falsehoods and racial politics. Nobody has done this better than my colleagues at the Post, which is the real reason for Trump's blacklisting. Covering Trump will be more difficult if Post reporters are denied seats on the Trump press charter and news conferences and access to Trump rallies. But their coverage will be as vigorous as before. The question is whether other news organizations will recognize that Trump's ban is a call to conscience for all who believe in a free press. When serious crimes occur on Montana Indian reservations, the news is often suppressed by the multiple agencies responsible for assisting victims, investigating and bringing perpetrators to justice. Lack of public information makes such crimes all the more outrageous. Its as if the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal government leadership are saying: If we dont talk about it, the problem will go away. This attitude is corrosive to public trust. Crime affects the community, not just the individual who was injured. If an attack on a neighbor, or a schoolmate is hushed up, what confidence can other families have that they will be safe or that an attack on them would be thoroughly investigated? These worries are top of mind now with bits of information trickling out of the Crow Reservation about an unnamed woman being severely burned in April. No official law enforcement or other governmental official will confirm even the most basic facts of what happened to this woman. The FBI has refused to provide any information, except for this statement made in response to Gazette calls: The victim is being treated from her injuries. The FBI and the BIA continue to conduct a joint investigation. We cannot release any further information due to the ongoing nature of the case. A spokeswoman for Montana U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter declined comment. State Rep. Carolyn Pease Lopez, a Crow tribal member, is correct in saying that information being kept from the public makes it seem like the federal government believes life has less value on the reservation. State Rep. Kelly McCarthy, of Billings, said hes gotten the same silent treatment as tribal members and the press. Federal agencies dont return his calls about issues on Montanas Indian reservations. McCarthy told a Gazette reporter that federal authorities may believe they dont need to share information with a state official. The result of this lack of communication is to minimize the appearance of crime on Montana Indian reservations and to keep citizens in the dark about efforts (or lack of effort) to prevent violence and to bring offenders to justice. The story of a woman found severely burned somewhere between Lodge Grass and Busby two months ago is the latest, terrible example of the deafening silence from authorities responsible for protecting people on Montana reservations. The leaders of both the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the Crow Tribe have publicly called attention to drug-related crime in their communities, largely fueled by methamphetamine trafficking. The stories of the victims of violence drug-related or not should be part of raising community awareness of that crime. All of us must demand protection for our neighbors wherever they live in Montana. We are particularly disappointed that U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter hasnt spoken up. As Montanas top federal law enforcement officer, Cotter should set the tone for public information. We call on Cotter to establish policies that will keep communities informed on a timely basis. The U.S. attorneys office has initiatives for cooperation with Montana tribal justice systems. Public cooperation is a key factor in success of such initiatives, and cooperation wont happen without public trust. There are sometimes situations in which facts may jeopardize a case if publicly revealed before an arrest. But to keep the community in the dark on all facts of a serious crime for days, weeks, even months erodes trust. Ex-construction boss at Vostochny Cosmodrome to stay under house arrest MOSCOW, June 17 (RAPSI) - The Primorsky Territory Court in Vladivostok has extended the house arrest of former chief executive of TMK (Pacific Bridge Building Company), a contractor in the Vostochny Cosmodrome project, Viktor Grebnev who stands charged with embezzlement, until August 20, RIA Novosti reported on Friday. According to investigators, from 2012 to the fall of 2014, Grebnev knowingly signed contracts of guarantee that were unprofitable for TMK, thereby embezzling over 288 million rubles ($4.4 million). He also signed several contracts that caused TMK over 130 million rubles ($1.9 million) in losses. In February, the Commercial Court of the Primorsky Territory declared Grebnev bankrupt. Earlier, TMK said it failed to pay 96 million rubles ($1.5 million) in wages to workers because of the alleged embezzlement. Investigators claim that Grebnev used the money to buy yachts and a mansion. In February 2015, the Federal Service of Labor and Employment revealed the failure to distribute over 30.5 million rubles ($462,000) to 1,262 TMK employees working at the cosmodrome. Also, in December 2014, the company was ordered to pay over 61 million rubles ($925,400) of the debt to its staff. The construction of the space center, due to become Russia's main launch site, began in 2012. The facility is planned to be completed in 2016. Aeroflot subsidiary demands over $15.3 mln from Transaero MOSCOW, June 17 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has registered two lawsuits filed by Aeroflots subsidiary against Transaero Airline, demanding more than one billion rubles ($15.3 mln), RAPSI learned in the court on Friday. Two lawsuits were filed with the court on June 16. On June 9, Aeroflot filed a lawsuit seeking 429 million rubles ($6.6 million) from Transaero. Also, on June 20 the Thirteenth Court of Appeals is going to review an appeal by Transaero against the St. Petersburg Commercial Court ruling to include 5.3 billion rubles ($66.2 mln) debt to Aeroflot in the creditors demands list. On January 25, the Moscow Commercial Court ruled in favor of Aeroflot in a lawsuit against Transaero, ordering the defendant to pay about 2.85 billion rubles ($35.6 mln) it owes to the competitor. On December 7, the Moscow Commercial Court granted the first lawsuit filed by Aeroflot against Transaero and ordered the latter to pay 5.3 billion rubles ($66.2 mln). Transaero found itself unable to pay its debts estimating 250 billion rubles ($3.5 billion). Government-approved plan of transferring 75% of companys shares to Aeroflot failed. Its problems resulted in a large number of flight cancels and delays. In October, Sberbank and Alfa Bank filed bankruptcy petitions against the troubled airline. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region initiated a bankruptcy procedure against Transaero on December 16. Russian citizen fined $530 for calls to terrorism via WhatsApp MOSCOW, June 17 (RAPSI) - The North Caucasus District Military Court has imposed a fine of 35,000 rubles ($530) on Dagestan resident Eyzanat Gadzhimuradova for terrorist propaganda and calls for terrorist activity via WhatsApp Messenger, RIA Novosti reported on Friday. Gadzhimuradova, born in 1997, has been found guilty under the Criminal Codes Articles on public calls for terrorist activity or justification of terrorism and incitement of hatred or enmity as well as violation of human dignity. Investigators believe that Gadzhimuradova has joined the group called Demand knowledge in the mobile application WhatsApp where she repeatedly published text messages containing calls for recognizing terrorism as true ideology. The messages had negative views of unbelievers and law-enforcement officers. According to the court representative, Gadzhimuradova has pleaded guilty to the charges. Nemtsov murder case defendant Eskerkhanov turns to ECHR MOSCOW, June 17 (RAPSI) - Temerlan Eskerkhanov who stands charged with murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), RIA Novosti reported on Friday. Eskerkhanov claims in the complaint that Russian authorities violated his rights to effective investigation and effective remedy. He also insisted that he had been beaten during his arrest. Earlier, the suspected killer of Nemtsov Zaur Dadayev turned to the ECHR over alleged torture. Moreover, the daughter of the murdered politician, Zhanna Nemtsova, lodged an application with the ECHR complaining against inefficient investigation. Nemtsov was murdered in central Moscow on the night of February 28. In the 1990s, the politician held a number of high-ranking posts in the Russian Government. In the 2000s, he joined the opposition. Pretrial investigation into the case has been completed. Zaur Dadayev, brothers Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Temerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhayev have been charged with contract murder and illegal acquisition, carrying and keeping of weapons. Alleged organizers of the murder still remain under investigation. Ruslan Mukhudinov, a former officer in Chechen Interior Ministry and alleged mastermind of the murder have been placed on the international wanted list. BILLINGS U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., endorsed Hillary Clinton for the president Friday, becoming the Montana's first statewide elected official to do so. "Hillary is the most qualified person on the ballot to unite our nation at a time when dangerous rhetoric threatens to divide us. I look forward to working with her to create jobs, strengthen the middle class, keep our country safe, and invest in education and infrastructure so we can move our nation forward," Tester said in a morning announcement. "I want to thank Bernie (Sanders) for running a strong grassroots campaign, energizing young folks, and talking about important issues facing our nation. Now it's time for us to come together to win up and down the ballot this November." Tester told the Billings Gazette earlier this week that he was withholding his endorsement until Democratic primary candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, made an announcement about his campaign. Sanders met with Clinton earlier this week and Thursday announced that he would help Clinton fight Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Sanders didn't suspend his campaign or endorse Clinton, who secured enough delegates June 7 to win the race. Clinton lost the June 7 Montana Democratic primary to Sanders, who won 51 percent of the vote. Clinton took 44 percent. Four percent of Democratic voters chose neither candidate. Tester is a Democratic superdelegate, as is Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. Bullock and the Democrats' other statewide elected officials haven't endorsed Clinton. Last week, Bullock's office deferred the question about his endorsement to his re-election campaign team. Bullock campaign spokesman Jason Pitt said Bullock's presidential endorsement hadn't come up, but he would ask the governor. In May, Democrats were quick to pressure statewide elected Republicans endorsing Trump. U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., endorsed Trump shortly after Trump won the delegates needed to win the GOP presidential nomination. Zinke's election challenger, Denise Juneau, hasn't endorsed anyone. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has said he supports not electing Hillary Clinton. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has not endorsed a presidential candidate. Two Montana superdelegates followed Tester's Clinton endorsement with their own. Democratic Party Chairman Jim Larson and Vice Chairwoman Jacquie Helt now publicly support the presumptive nominee. discussion in PARLiAMNT NATO is the highlight of Montenegrin independence Deputies of the Parliament of Montenegro today continued their discussion on the resolution on support for NATO membership. Parliament should declare on the document today. Draft resolution, submitted by the deputies of the Democratic Party of Socialists, the Positive Montenegro, the Social Democrats, the Liberal Party and minority parties. Luigj Skrelja from the DPS said that NATO membership is a guarantee that a country has a stable area for the foreign investments. "Therefore, every country has the prerequisites for rapid economic development. The expansion of NATO is response of democratic world to the challenges of the new age," he said in Parliament. The deputy of the SDP, Draginja Vuksanovic is confident that Montenegro will join NATO. "Montenegro has to join NATO. I believe that this resolution, which was once in Parliament, perhaps should not be here again, unless there was an intention to activate new divisions. I believe that the intention of those divisions was not to think about deciding on this in a referendum, because this will not be decided in a referendum, " said Vuksanovic. She pointed out that the deputies were representatives of the people, stating that nevertheless every citizen has the right to believe in something. "I do not want to intervene into someone's attitude. However, I want to say to those who are against NATO membership, that joining the alliance puts a crown on independent Montenegro. Then finally, after many centuries, the boundaries of Montenegro will be firmly established and preserved. There will be no place for the old or new ideologies, warmongering policies, wars for peace and there will be no place for corruption and crime", Vuksanovic is convinced. Milos Konatar of the Civic Movement URA said that they absolutely support Montenegro's membership in NATO, saying that there is nothing controversial about it. "Our position is that this is the best framework for Montenegro and its citizens. However, what is disputed is that today we are talking about this resolution, and we have already discussed it less than a year ago. The DF deputy, Predrag Bulatovic, ironically said that NATO is a democratic institution which, he said, was responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million people, while independent deputy, Jelisava Kalezic, stressed that NATO was a "well-organized multinational company that seeks new buildingsites. The DF's deputy Janko Vucinic said that if our country joined NATO without a referendum, "half of Montenegro will get out in front of the Parliament, Government and other institutions." Then youll have to get out in front of the nation and no fences, stun grenades, tear gas, no rubber bullets will not save you in this case," he said. Star Tribune - Obituary Eleanor Zelliot Zelliot, Eleanor October 7, 1926 - June 5, 2016 Eleanor Mae Zelliot was born October 7, 1926, in Des Moines, IA, to parents Ernest Zelliot and Minnie Hadley Zelliot. Growing up, Eleanor and her family, including her older sister Carolyn Zelliot, lived in Des Moines, Boston and Denver. From a young age, Eleanor was eager to explore the world around her. A passionate learner, she earned a BA in 1948 from William Penn College, an MA in history in 1949 from Bryn Mawr College, and, two decades later, a PhD in South Asian regional studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969. That same year, Eleanor came to Northfield, MN, where she taught history at Carleton College from 1969 until her retirement in 1997 as the Laird Bell Professor of History emerita. While at Carleton, she inspired hundreds of undergraduate students to think and write about the history of South and Southeast Asia, and to make the most of the rich intellectual and cultural opportunities available to them in India. Generations of students fell in love with the country through her classes, learning to cook and eat Indian food at her house, experiencing Indian culture through the many events she organized, or traveling with her to Pune, India. She developed the ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) India Studies Program in Pune, leading the program four times. A prominent writer who specialized in the history of India, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, women of Asia, Untouchables, and global social movements, Eleanor was considered one of the foremost international experts on the history of the Dalits (Untouchables) of India and their leader, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and, as the first American scholar to pursue a doctorate on Ambedkars work, is today considered a pioneer in the field. Eleanors historical work on Ambedkar, on the Buddhist conversion of the Dalits for which he was largely responsible, and on the subsequent cultural and literary movements "changed the paradigm" in the study of South Asia. Eleanor was the author or co-author of numerous books and articles, including "Ambedkars World: The Making of Babasaheb and the Dalit Movement" (considered an essential document for researchers and students of the Dalit movement), "From Untouchable to Dalit: Essays on the Ambedkar Movement," "The Experience of Hinduism: Essays on Religion in Maharashtra," "Untouchable Saints: An Indian Phenomenon," "An Anthology of Dalit Literature," and many others. Although she claimed she didnt "do religion," she wrote beautifully about the saint-poets of Maharashtra, as well as the importance of Buddhism in the lives of the Dalits. Among her many honors were three American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowships (1963, 1975, 2000), a Fulbright Fellowship (1997), and the 1999 AAS Award for Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies, noted for her dedication to teaching and ground-breaking scholarship about Asia. Additionally, she served on the executive committees of the Minnesota Consortium for South Asia, the American Institute of Indian Studies, the American Association of Asian Studies, and ASIANetwork. Eleanors strong dedication to social justice was certainly influenced by her lifelong commitment to the Friends (Quakers), through whom she first became a writer, editor, teacher, and went on Quaker mission trips to India in 1952 and the Soviet Union in 1955. It was on that first trek to India that she discovered her love for the country, impressed by Indias complex, colorful and open society. That journey would lead to a lifelong passion and academic pursuit. Eleanor generously gave of her time and attention to her students, colleagues, and friends around the world, offering love, advice, and often a bit of wry humor. She traveled widely, including well into retirement, and continued to write up until her last year. She enjoyed reading, especially mysteries and detective stories, and made a point of keeping up on current events. Eleanor loved her home on the banks of the Cannon River, which she designed to take full advantage of the many flowers and birds and other wildlife that surrounded her, and to provide a retreat for all who visited. Eleanor died June 5, 2016, at her home in Randolph, MN, surrounded by loving friends and family. She was 89 years old. Eleanor is survived by two nephews, Donald Piburn of Grand Junction, CO, and Marvin Piburn of Hudson, IA; a niece, Carol Thonen of Wichita, KS; their families, and many close friends near and far. Memorial services for Eleanor will be held on Friday, June 17, at 9 am in the Carleton College Skinner Memorial Chapel and on Saturday, June 18, at 2 pm at the Cannon Valley Friends Meeting House (512 Washington St., Northfield). Gifts in memory of Eleanor may be made to the Cannon Valley Friends Meeting House or the Eleanor Zelliot Memorial Fund at Carleton College. Published on June 11, 2016 o o o Gail Omvedts article on Eleanor Zelliot in Marathi language daily Loksatta o o o Economic Times, June 11, 2016 Eleanor Zelliot, Dr. Ambedkaras greatest follower by Raja Sekhar Vundru As India and the world celebrated Ambedkaras 125th birth anniversary year, Ambedkar scholar Eleanor Zelliot, 89, passed away on June 6 in the US. After Ambedkaras death in 1956, Zelliot came to India in 1963 as a young historian working on her doctoral thesis on Ambedkar and his movement. Zelliot was professor of history at Carleton College, Minnesota, but her home was Ambedkaras world and India. In 1969, when she submitted her PhD at University of Pennsylvania, she was the first scholar to complete a doctoral thesis on Ambedkar. She initially intended to write a political biography of the social reformer and politician. But she went on to study the factors which produced Ambedkar and discovered the way he in turn changed history. At the time when Zelliot took up studying Ambedkar, most historians were busy with the Indian national movement, the British Raj or the 1857 mutiny. Since then, she never refused arequest from any academic institution, journal or encyclopedia to write on Ambedkar and the Dalit movement. Over the next 26 years, she consistently introduced Ambedkar to western academia so that every scholarly work on caste and politics, religion and politics, Indian political thought and leadership included Ambedkar. During this period and later, she encouraged scores of scholars from the US and Europe to work on Ambedkar. In 2000, French scholar Christophe Jaffrelot became the first European to produce a work on Ambedkar in French a Dr Ambedkar: Leader of Untouchables and Father of the Indian Constitution. Understanding the very idea of Ambedkar is the greatest contribution of Zelliot. She studied his leadership, his American experience and its influence on him. By 1972, Zelliot pioneered scholarship on the Dalit movement by diligently analysing and comparing the leadership of Gandhi and Ambedkar. She understood how the Mahars learnt to use the political means to empower themselves and how Buddhism and politics went together. Studying Ambedkaras leadership she defined the guiding principles which the Dalit leader consistently followed: only Dalits can understand their problems, only Dalits should lead their movement, and education and politics are means to equality. Reading Zelliot will grant us the multi-dimensional perspective that is required of Ambedkar, who, today, has become the singular rallying point for Dalits. According to the scholar, Ambedkar, along with Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, shaped 20th century India, which, in turn, has shaped the India we live in today. Zelliotas contribution to scholarship, however, goes beyond Ambedkar. She studied the Bhakti saints, women saint-poets and untouchable saints and introduced these historical trends and occurrences for modern historical study. She kept up with the latest happenings in the Dalit movement that included the workings of the Dalit Panthers and Dalit Sahitya and everything in between. Zelliot worked on Marathi Dalit literature and joined hands with writer Mulk Raj Anand to produce An Anthology of Dalit Literature in 1992. Most of the Dalit Marathi poetry was translated by her in collaboration with AK Ramanujan, Jayant Karve, Gail Omvedt, Sukhadeo Thorat and Vimal Thorat. Eleanoras and Karveas translation of Keshav Meshramas Marathi poem, aOne Day I Cursed That Mother-Fucker Goda is chilling: aOne day I cursed that mother-fucker god/ he just laughed shamelessly/ my neighbour a a born-to-pen Brahman a was shocked.a As well as Namdeo Dhasalas powerful poem: aWhile I was writing this/three oaclock struck/ though I want to have a drink/ I donat feel like drinking./ I only want to sleep peacefully/and tomorrow see no varnas.a Zelliot felt that aothers will find [Dalit] poetry as filled with life, as meaningful, as wonderfully and sorrowfully human as I do.a She was reluctant about publishing her doctoral thesis, as she felt that its title, aDr Ambedkar and the Mahar Movementa, was too restrictive for such an emancipatory movement. But it was finally published in 2004. Her seminal work, published in 1992, is From Untouchable to Dalit: Essays on Ambedkaras Movement. Without reading this book, understanding Ambedkar is incomplete. If one wants to understand what India is today, one has to understand Ambedkar. And no one has studied and understood Ambedkar so well than Eleanor Zelliot. (The writer is an IAS officer) Venezuelas diplomats to the United Nations do not hide their alignment with the separatist thesis of the Polisario in the Western Sahara conflict opposing them to Morocco. A sharp verbal altercation opposed Moroccos ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, and the representative of Venezuela, Rafael Ramirez, about the presence of a Polisario delegate at a debate on the Moroccan Sahara issue, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, reports Spanish news agency EFE. Moroccos representation to the UN had already had a run-in with Venezuelan diplomats about the presence of the Polisario delegate. The Moroccan ambassador had then succeeded to convince the Chinese presidency of the Security Council to ban the Polisario delegate, Ahmed Bukhari, from attending a meeting of the Security Council fifteen members on the Sahara issue. Again on Wednesday, a new row broke out between the Moroccan and the Venezuelan representatives during the debate on the Western Sahara issue held at the level of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) currently chaired by Venezuela. Venezuela has been recognizing the ghostly Sahrawi republic SADR since 1982 and openly supports the Polisarios separatist claims and its representative to the UN wanted to give the floor to the Polisario delegate at the debate that is normally attended only by the States duly recognized by the United Nations. Reacting to the Venezuelan ambassadors position, the Moroccan diplomat, Omar Hilale, strongly disputed the legitimacy of the Polisario delegate to speak on behalf of the Sahrawis living in Moroccan territory and the Fourth Committees decision, under the chairmanship of Venezuela, to present him as the local representative of Laayoune, said EFE. The Moroccan diplomat accused his Venezuelan counterpart of trying to impose his views to the other members of the committee and do at the UN what is being done in Caracas. Venezuela applies dictatorial rules as does its president, said the Moroccan ambassador, alluding to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros obsession to cling to power although his United Socialist Party lost the December 2015 legislative polls. In his response, the Venezuelan ambassador imputed what he called Moroccos aggressiveness to the support it receives from some Security Council powers, including France. As the Moroccan ambassador refused that the Polisario delegate takes the floor, the Venezuelan diplomat and Chairman of the Committee, Rafael Ramirez, suspended the meeting, which had been adjourned the previous day at the request of Morocco. SNc Channels: Search About Salem-News.com Jun-16-2016 18:46 TweetFollow @OregonNews No Charges Against Teen in Death of Jeffery Holly The intoxicated man had a long history of domestic abuse, and threatened multiple times that he was going to kill the teen. Police officials at the scene on Friday, April 15. Photo: Keizer Police Department (KEIZER, Ore.) - No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the April 15th stabbing death of 45-year old Jeffery Holly, which occurred on Brooks Avenue in Keizer, Oregon. After a thorough review, the Marion County District Attorney's office has decided that the involved 16-year-old was justified in using deadly physical force against Holly. As part of the investigation, police interviewed friends and family members of both the deceased and the youth, as well as neighbors who lived near the home on Brooks. They further uncovered prior police reports of prior contact at the residence, assessed the physical evidence at the scene of the incident, and engaged in an extensive interview with the involved youth. The investigation revealed that Jeffrey Holly had been in a relationship with Marci Gindlesperger, the involved youth's mother, since 2014. Neighbors reported numerous calls to police because of domestic violence and fighting at the house between Holly and Gindlesperber. Police records verify repeated contact with the deceased at the Brooks address due to reports of domestic violence, the most recent of which occurring in February 2016, and resulted in the responding officer issuing a temporary emergency protective order against Holly. That order expired seven days later when Ms. Gindlesperger chose not to seek a restraining order from the Circuit Court. Gindlesperger, however, did tell Holly that he was not to be at the house on Brooks when she was not present. Holly repeatedly made known his disdain for the involved youth. On multiple previous occasions, Holly told the involved youth as well as other people that he was going to kill the involved youth. On April 15, 2016 at approximately 8:15 pm, an intoxicated Holly arrived at the Brooks address while the involved youth was home alone and Gindlesperger was at work. The involved youth sent messages to both Gindlesperger, and his sister telling them that Holly was intoxicated and at the house, and asking to be picked up from the Brooks address. Police dispatch records indicate that at about 8:40 PM, the involved youth's sister called 911 to report she was told Holly was at the Brooks address, that the involved youth was afraid of Holly, and that she believed there was a restraining order prohibiting Holly from having contact with the involved youth. The involved youth told police he retreated into his bedroom, closed the door, and remained there while Holly repeatedly called him derogatory names and challenged him to come out of the room. Holly eventually forced his way into the involved youth's bedroom and began to put his hands on the involved youth. Holly proceeded to push the involved youth and told him that he better get used to the fact that he and Gindlesperger were going to be together. The involved youth, who was 5' 9" tall and weighed 116 pounds, was now blocked from leaving the small bedroom by Holly, who was 6'0" tall and weighed 200 pounds. The involved youth armed himself with a knife for protection and asked Holly to let him leave the house and wait to be picked up. Holly advanced again and was in close proximity to another one of the involved youth's knives which he kept on his dresser. The involved youth told police he believed that Holly was going to grab one of the knives. As Holly continued to advance on the involved youth, the involved youth stabbed Holly multiple times. An autopsy conducted by the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office concluded that Holly was stabbed 7 times and he died as a result of those wounds After Holly collapsed in the involved youth's bedroom, the involved youth ran to a neighbor's house asking for someone to come to the house and provide medical assistance to Holly. Police Dispatch records confirm a 911 call from the neighbor at 8:37 PM. When officers arrived at the Brooks address, the involved youth told responding officers that he had stabbed Holly. The involved youth was cooperative with police investigators and gave them a statement about what had occurred that night. The physical evidence at the scene was consistent with the involved youth's recitation of events. Under Oregon Law, a person may use deadly force against another person if the person reasonably believes that a person is using or about to use unlawful deadly force against a person. _________________________________________ Crime | Fatal | Oregon | Most Commented on Articles for June 15, 2016 | Articles for June 16, 2016 | Articles for June 17, 2016 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. Multiple planes land, refuel and turn around at the Santa Maria Airport to fight the Sherpa Fire. The large DC-10 can hold nearly 12,000 gallons of fire retardant, it has to refill in Santa Maria because the airport is only one of three in California that can support the massive plane. As featured on Sherpa fires 'eye in the sky' coordinates air attack effort The air response effort for the Sherpa fire occurs at an altitude of roughly 5,500 feet, whe Highway 101 has reopened in both directions and Amtrak has been approved to run in the area of El Capitan Canyon and Refugio State Beach after Win races. Its what Edgar Prado does. All to the tune of 6,900 to be exact. And the Hall of Famer posted that 69th hundred win. right here at Pimlico, in true Edgar Prado fashion as he came from off-the-pace with longshot Dance With Gio beating the field and paying $19.20 to boot to win the 1 1/16-mile turf claiming in the 2nd on Thursday at Old Hilltop. His 6,900th win coming right here at the historic home of the Preakness in Baltimore some 33 years after his first trip to the winners circle in his native Peru. Pimlico. His old stomping grounds where with Edgar now, everything old is new again. And this blogger asks, How lucky are we that the legendary rider who first made a name for himself as a top notch jock right here at Pimlico and Laurel Park in the 90s has decided to once again return to Marylands jockey colony? This blogger's answer, Very Lucky! Were talking about thoroughbred racings winningest active jockey (with the retirement this week of all-time leader Russell Baze) racing right here in our own backyard. Edgar Prado, one of just 17 jockeys to win 6,000 or more races and closing in on an even more elite group as only seven riders have reached the 7,000 mark. Edgar Prado, at his best be it in a Triple Crown race on Saturday in May or a $20,000 claimer on a Thursday in June. Edgar Prado, winner of the Kentucky Derby, 2 Belmonts and 4 Breeders Cup races. Edgar Prado, whose fast action in the face of disaster in the 2006 Preakness was credited with saving the life of Barbaro, his Derby-winning mount from 2 weeks earlier, who he pulled-up in front of the main grandstand at Pimlico and helped remain calm after the colt suffered a horrific ankle injury. A special jockey-horse relationship that he chronicled in his best-selling memoir My Guy Barbaro, And how about the many great horses, like Barbaro, whose owners and trainers have trusted with Edgar Prado over the years. Can you say Round Pond, Run Happy, Scat Daddy, Silver Train, Folklore, Lemon Drop Kid, Saint Liam, Lost in the Fog and Funny Cide.to name a few. And how about his pair of long shot Belmont wins. In 2002, riding Sarava to victory at 70-to-1 odds, denying War Emblem the Triple Crown and two years later, when he won the Belmont with 36-to-1 long shot Birdstone, spoiling the Smarty Party for fans of Triple Crown hopeful Smarty Jones. Edgar Prado, 3 times the nations leading jockey. Edgar Prado, an Eclipse Award winner in 2006. And Edgar Prado, 6 times the leading jockey in Marylands jockey colony. Edgar Prado, with all those accolades aside, who lucky for us is still a jockeys jockey who thankfully has decided to return here to race once again in our own backyard. And here's a good tip. You better get out to Pimlico right away. If you dont, its a good bet youll probably miss his 6,901st win! 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). "States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2016" | Main | "'Loss' Revisited: A Guarded Defense of the Centerpiece of the Federal Economic Crime Sentencing Guideline" This new Vox commentary authored by Sharon Risher explains a notable person's notable perspective on forgiveness and the death penalty in a notable capital case. The piece is headlined "My mom was killed in the Charleston shooting. Executing Dylann Roof wont bring her back." Here are excerpts: Ethel Lance, my mother, was killed on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, along with my cousins Susie Jackson and Tywanza Sanders, and six other people at Charlestons Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. It appears to have been a racially motivated massacre plotted by a 21-year-old white man.... A mere 48 hours after the church shooting, millions of Americans watched my sister, Nadine Collier, stand in front of our mothers accused killer and forgive him at his bond hearing. The media ran with the forgiveness narrative, praising the ability of the victims families for their graciousness and faith. I didnt forgive Dylann Roof. And I still dont forgive him. After I saw my sister address the nation, I thought, This girl has to be crazy! Whos going to forgive him so quickly? I was hurt that people thought Nadines views reflected the views of the Lance family and the thoughts of all of the Charleston nines loved ones. Dont get me wrong. I disagreed with Nadine, but I respected her opinion shes my sister, and she has a right to her own emotions and grieving process. Still, after the shooting, there were several articles that exploited our different ways of grieving. They pitted us against each other in the midst of a horrific tragedy. I understand that the people of Charleston, and of America as a whole, latched onto the overwhelming message of forgiveness as a coping mechanism. But the focus on quick forgiveness and the pivot to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse washed away the severity of the larger issues at hand that the accused killer, because of his hatred of black people, could be so stirred by white supremacist ideology that he would go into that church to kill my momma and all the others. The man accused of killing my mother did not show any remorse. Why should I feel the need to forgive him when he has not asked for forgiveness? I know God commands us to forgive, but there is no time stamp forgiveness is a journey that you allow yourself to feel because someone has wronged you.... In the months since the shooting, I received a handwritten letter from Lucia McBath, whose son Jordan Davis was killed in 2012 from gun violence. Lucia sent her condolences and told me to reach out to her if I needed to. On a whim, I did. From there, I became involved with gun control advocacy, rallying for national gun control organizations.... Despite the anger I am still coping with from my mothers death, I dont believe in the death penalty, even for the man who killed her. Thats my conviction because of my faith. Ive said the same thing all along I dont believe as human beings that we should take away someones life just because we have the power to do so. God is the only person, the only being who decides our fate. Still, I will let the judicial system do what they choose. The Department of Justice announced last month that it will seek the death penalty against the shooter. Whatever the outcome, I will not protest. This is how my faith carries me. I dont walk in fear. I dont think about Dylann Roof. All I want to do is do what God has planned out for me. If I can stop one person from experiencing the pain myself and my family and all the families experienced post-Charleston, then I have done my part. Reynaldo Gonzalez, the father of Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez who was killed in November's terrorist attacks in Paris, is now suing Facebook, Twitter, and Google for the roles they played in allowing ISIS for allowing extremist propaganda and recruitment videos to be spread on the internet. The lawsuit, as CNet reports, filed Tuesday in US District Court in the Northern District of California, contends that both Twitter and Facebook, and Google-owned YouTube, "knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS to use their social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits." The suit further asserts that the growth of ISIS in the last several years wouldn't have been possible without these internet tools, and that they amount to "material support" to the terrorism organization. The grieving father may or may not have a case, as the Associated Press reports. While Facebook and Twitter make efforts to quash the accounts of extremists and those spouting hate speech when they are flagged, and while social media companies have generally been exempt from liability for the things posted by their users, this suit goes further to suggest that the platform themselves enabled ISIS more than any single post or tweet and that Google/YouTube provided material support by paying out ad revenue to those who posted popular recruitment videos. Both Facebook and Twitter issued statements saying the suit is without merit, with Twitter saying, "[We have] teams around the world actively investigating reports of rule violations, identifying violating conduct, and working with law enforcement entities when appropriate." And Google issued the following statement via CNet: Our hearts go out to the victims of terrorism and their families everywhere. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, YouTube has a strong track record of taking swift action against terrorist content. We have clear policies prohibiting terrorist recruitment and content intending to incite violence and quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged by our users. We also terminate accounts run by terrorist organizations or those that repeatedly violate our policies. Interestingly, Sen. Dianne Feinstein also pointed a finger at Facebook in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, and Facebook also seems to have played at least a small role in the Orlando attack that killed 49 people Sunday, with a New York Times report today that shooter Omar Mateen was posting to the site amid the attack, even searching for references to the attack while it was taking place. In separate posts, Mateen reportedly wrote, "Now taste the Islamic state vengeance, and denounced the filthy ways of the west," and "You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes. Now taste the Islamic state vengeance. He also promised there would be more ISIS attacks in the US in the coming days. Previously: Cal State Long Beach Student Killed In Paris Attacks Dianne Feinstein Is Kind Of Blaming Facebook For Not Warning Of San Bernardino Attack Local Couple On Paris Honeymoon Were Dining Two Blocks From Bataclan Concert Hall During Attack "Paypal mafia" tech billionaire and Facebook board member Peter Thiel was awfully secretive about funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the media company Gawker (over, it would appear, an article drawing attention to Thiel's seemingly open-secret sexuality). By contrast, Thiel has made much less of a secret of his support of Donald Trump, for whom he is a pledged delegate. Now, Gawker asks, has Thiel once again attempted to silence their news outlet, now on his favorite subject? Could this be his latest act of so-called "philanthropy?" Read on. In a devastating and lengthy investigation that published the same day as news of Thiel's involvement in the suit against Gawker broke, Ashley Feinberg, a writer for Gawker, asked perspicaciously: "Is Donald Trumps Hair a $60,000 Weave?" Well, is it? In the piece, she points (very convincingly, if I may say so) to the idea that Trump's strange coiffure is "a little-known, patented hair restoration treatment called a 'microcylinder intervention.'" Her main piece of evidence is circumstantial but persuasive: The fact that a company performing the procedure operated from the "private floor reserved for Donald Trumps own office." Allegations that Trump's hairdo is, in fact a cotton candy hairspray labyrinth" led to backlash from none other than Thiel's lawyer in the Hogan case against Gawker, Charles J. Harder. Of that, Gawker writes that "Harders demands included the immediate removal of the story from Gawker, a public apology, the preservation of 'all physical and electronic documents, materials and data in your possession related' to the story, and, notably, that we reveal our sources." Gawker points out that Thiel's fingerprints aren't necessarily on this case, and this, they write, is part of the issue. It's "a savvy strategy for a publicity-averse billionaire. By refusing to disclose which other lawsuits his money has touched, Thiel is able to publicly embrace PR victories (such as the Hogan case ) while distancing himself from litigation that would expose him to criticism." Data wizard and future forecaster Nate Silver's prediction? This stinks. Previously, he's implied Facebook should drop Thiel from its board. Reminder: this asshole, who's bankrolling lawsuits against journalists reporting on Trump, is on Facebook's board.https://t.co/t9WIX695iP Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 14, 2016 Previously: Will Peter Thiel's Secret Funding Of Gawker Lawsuit Jeopardize His Facebook Board Seat? Silicon Valley Billionaire Peter Thiel Secretly Funded Hulk Hogan V. Gawker Suit Peter Thiel Calls Funding Hulk Hogan v. Gawker Lawsuit 'Philanthropic' In what will come as a surprise to no one, it turns out that fancy tech shuttle or no, the employees of Facebook are pretty sick of the commute to the Menlo Park company's headquarters. The Business Times picked up a report by industry journal The Information noting that Facebook employees really want the company to open a San Francisco office. Mark Zuckerberg, however, will apparently have none of it. "One of the most consistently high-ranking requests Facebook employees make in an annual survey gauging their happiness is for an office in San Francisco, reducing the commute to Menlo Park for city residents, former employees said," reports The Information. "It has come up at several all-hands meetings in the past year. At one recent meeting, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that he believes employees should be clustered together and near the executive team for cultural reasons, according to people who were present at the meeting." Not all tech companies agree with this logic, a fact which is perhaps best exemplified by San Francisco-based Uber's 2015 purchase of the former Sears building in Oakland. According to The Information, Uber views this move as a recruiting tool Facebook engineers that are sick of commuting from SF or the East Bay to Menlo Park could work for Uber and drastically cut their commute time. As to the simpler, more straightforward idea of moving closer to work? Some tech workers, like all those people living in vans on the Google campus, have taken this idea to an extreme. Others observe that finding housing is super tough in Silicon Valley, and still others would just rather live in SF and can you blame them? If things keep going the way they are currently, Facebook may be forced to rethink its policy Zuck-approved or not if it wants to continue to recruit top talent. And Facebook may indeed be starting to crack the company is currently listing five job openings in San Francisco. However, those are all for the company's VR system Oculus Rift, and do not appear to be part of a larger move to SF fact which, for most employees, is probably annoying. "Uber's expansion may fuel simmering employee dissatisfaction at Facebook," concludes The Information, "where complaints about the 30-mile traffic-clogged commute have persisted despite the company's unwillingness to rethink the issue." Related: More Facebook Employees Commuting By Car And Some Blame Tech Shuttle Regulations The family of Luis Gongora, the homeless man shot and killed by SFPD in April of this year, is preparing to file a civil suit against the city. KRON4 reports that civil rights attorney John Burris is representing Gongora's family, and Burris and the family intend to hold a press conference at City Hall today to announce the forthcoming legal action. In less than 30 seconds the involved SFPD officers violated their training and common sense by provoking a needless confrontation and ignoring the alternatives to deescalate the situation," writes Burris in a press release announcing the filing of a Claim, the first step in a civil suit, against the city. "Tragically, as a result of their recklessness, Mr. Gongora lost his life." Police say that on April 7 officers went to a homeless encampment on Shotwell Street near 19th after being alerted by the Homeless Outreach Team that there was a person in the area wife a knife. Upon arrival, police allege Gongora waved a kitchen knife around and charged them despite repeated verbal demands that he drop the weapon. This version of events has been disputed by at least eight witnesses, all of who say Gongora, 45, posed no threat to officers and did not charge. Partial video of the shooting emerged showing officers firing on Gongora within 30 seconds of exciting their squad cars. "[SFPD] officers fired a total of 7 bullets and at least 4 shotgun propelled bean bags at Mr. Gongora," writes Burris. "Many of the gun shots and bean bag rounds struck Mr. Gongora on his right flank indicating Gongora was not standing erect but was either falling down or lying prone when the Officers used deadly force against him. Witness accounts also suggest Mr. Gongora no longer possessed the knife after the first bean bag round struck him in his rear flank." This case sparked a group of protesters, dubbed the Frisco Five, to stage a 17-day hunger strike calling for the firing of then SFPD Chief Greg Suhr. Shur, of course, was later forced to resign by Mayor Ed Lee following the shooting death of an apparently unarmed black woman in the Bayview. Previously: From Rodney King To Oscar Grant To Mario Woods, Oakland Attorney John Burris On Taking Cases That Change Police Departments All previous coverage of Luis Gongora on SFist. An investigation into the alleged trafficking of an underage sex worker by members of the Oakland Police Department, perhaps with the knowledge of their superiors, has expanded to include a look at the San Francisco Police Department, an investigator with the Alameda County District Attorney's office, and another Oakland Police employee. The widening scandal has already lead to the removal of Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent and deepened to implicate more officers as Whent's would-be replacement, BART Police's Deputy Chief Ben Fairow, was quickly removed in turn by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for reasons that remain somewhat unclear. KRON 4 reports that the now 18-year-old dispatcher's daughter being referred to in the press as Celeste Guap claims to have had sex with "like 2 [officers] from SF," one of whom was a former OPD officer, though in both cases after she came of age. We are aware of the investigation [of Oakland Police] and are conducting a review to determine if any of our members had any inappropriate contact with the victim. SFPD media relations tells KRON 4. Additionally, as KRON 4 also reports, an investigator from the Alameda County District Attorneys Office Rick Orozco, who is himself a former OPD officer, has been placed on leave once it came to light he had been sexting, if not having sex with, Guap. Their digital but explicit relationship began while she was still a minor, Guap says. In the recent past, Guap alleged she's had assignations with dozens of police officers, sometimes in exchange for tip-offs to stings and de facto protection from arrest for her sex work. It's also been alleged that she had sex with at least three Oakland police officers while she was underage as well as more officers from the Richmond Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Department (however, those deputies have reportedly been cleared of wrongdoing). "I think cops are fine." Guap reportedly said of the subject. "Theyre cute and all, but its like one less officer thats gonna arrest me." Much of the scandal involving Guap appears to have come to light under tragic circumstances: Through the suicide note of an Oakland Police Officer, Brendan O'Brien. Guap claims she was rescued as a 17-year-old girl by O'Brien from a pimp, and claims she began dating and having a sexual relationship with him while underage. O'Brien's wife appears to have killed herself a year earlier (January 2014), though her death was initially investigated as a homicide in which O'Brien was questioned. O'Brien then took his own life last September. Importantly, it's also alleged that former Police Chief Whent's wife knew of O'Brien's relationship with Guap, implicating him and perhaps providing grounds for his removal. Meanwhile, the Chronicle reported yesterday that another Oakland Police Department employee is now under investigation in the scandal, while CBSSF had news that another still is on leave and under investigation for possible wrongdoing that's unrelated to the scandal. KRON4 reports furthermore that Mayor Schaaf has called for a new investigation into police criminal misconduct, one to be conducted by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. Today, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth announced that at their request, the Alameda County District Attorneys Office will be handling an investigation into alleged criminal misconduct by a member of the Oakland Police Department (OPD)," or so mayoral spokesperson Erica Derryck wrote in a press release circulated yesterday. "This investigation is separate and unrelated to the ongoing investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by members of OPD. We are still not at liberty to discuss details of any ongoing investigation without risking compromise of the investigation and potentially jeopardizing our efforts to hold wrongdoers accountable," Derryck went on. "However, given the current climate we felt it necessary to make this announcement. This is an effort to reassure the public that we are taking swift action to address every instance of misconduct. Oakland residents and the good men and women in the Oakland Police Department who nobly serve this community deserve nothing less. Previously: Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent Resigns Amidst Officer Sex Scandal Oakland Police Sex Scandal Blows Up Further With Details From Formerly Underage Prostitute Oakland Police Sex Scandal Deepens With More East Bay Officers Implicated, Interim Oakland Chief Fired Why Was The Interim Oakland Police Chief Canned So Quickly? Screenings Sloan Community Blood Drive, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Community Hall, 423 Evans St. Schedule an appointment at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call 800-287-4903. Free blood pressure screenings, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at Countryside Senior Living, front lobby. No appointment necessary. Programs/Self-Help Groups Al-Anon Information Center, call 255-6724. Al-Anon and Alateen, meetings locally. For times, dates and locations of area meetings, call 255-6724. Alcoholics Anonymous, beginners information, call 252-1333. Arc of Woodbury County, serving the mentally challenged, 5:15 p.m. meeting, second Monday of the month at Mid-Step Services, 4303 Stone Ave. For families and interested persons. Child Care Resource and Referral, provides resources, education and advocacy for children, parents, and child care providers. Assists in child care needs. For more information, call 712-277-1180. Co-Dependence Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at First Lutheran Church, Fireside Room. Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA), 10 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. Compassionate Friends, 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of each month (third Thursday in November and second Sunday December) in Mercy Medical Center's Leiter Room. For families who have lost children. Contact Nancy Webb 712-212-4032 or Don Mulder 712-541-5512. Children of Divorce, to help children cope with the challenges of parental separation or divorce. Call 712-279-2373 for more information. Clinics Siouxland District Health immunization clinics, call for appointment, 712-279-6119 or 1-800-587-3005. Information Family and Addictive Illness series, for more information, call 234-2300. Iowa Fathers, 6 to 8 p.m. fourth Tuesday of each month at Hope Lutheran Church, Education Building, 218 W. 18th St., South Sioux City, Neb. Support group to help single, divorcing and divorced parents residing in the state of Iowa. Mercy Pathways Outpatient Program, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on the third floor, Mercy's Central Medical Building, 801 Fifth St., Suite 360. Provides hope, help, opportunity to connect through group therapy for individuals experiencing personal, relationship, psychiatric issues. For more information, call 712-279-5991. Narcotics Anonymous, meetings daily, various times, dates and locations. For more information, call 712-279-0733. Overeaters Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays at Floyd Valley Hospital, Lower Level, 714 Lincoln St. NE, Le Mars, Iowa; 1 p.m. Tuesdays at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive; 6 p.m. Tuesdays at St. John's Lutheran Church, 402 Lane Ave., Storm Lake; 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Church of the Nazarene, 226 N. Main St., Viborg, S.D.; 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays at Newman Center, 320 E. Cherry St., Vermillion, S.D.; 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. A 12-step recovery program for people who have problems with food and weight. No fees. St. Lukes Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on fifth floor of St. Luke's, located at 2720 Stone Park Blvd. Offers several levels of outpatient care including partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and group therapy. This program provides support and integrated treatment to individuals experiencing personal or relationship issues as a result of their mental illness. For more information and admission criteria, call 712-279-3906. Sobriety By Faith, 8:30 a.m. Saturdays at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For more information, call James Mothershead at 712-577-9715. The Link-Recovery and Freedom, at PMA Building, 6000 Gordon Drive; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday workshop, and Christian 12-step meeting 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. For all ages. Call Dee at 389-7432. Women in Recovery, meets monthly at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For details, call 712-255-4623. Tarahouse Meditation Center, 8 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6:30 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, all at 3112 Rebecca St. Three easy 10-minute sessions in small group; beginners welcome. For more information, call 490-6410. Blood pressure and blood sugar screening, 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays in the lobby at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Free to public. Support Groups Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Hawkeye Club basement, 420 Jones St. For more information, call 277-5935. Celebrate Recovery, Bible-based 12-step recovery group. Thursdays at 6:30 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive. Daycare provided. 712-490-3343. PFLAG of Siouxland, (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), 7 p.m., fourth Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November. St. Mark ELCA Church, 5200 Glenn Ave., in the upstairs meeting area. 712-258-3116. Singles widowed and divorced, all ages, 4 p.m., Sundays. McDonald's at Sixth Street and Lewis Boulevard. 712-252-2675. HIV/AIDS Support Group, meets weekly. For more information, call Darla or Teri at Siouxland Community Health Center, 712-252-2477 or 888-371-1965. La Leche League of Siouxland, breastfeeding support group meets every third Thursday at 11 a.m. at Morningside Lutheran Church. Children are welcome. For more information, call Mary at 712-546-7280 or Jacquie at 712-255-2998. Living Each Day Cancer Support Group, 7-8 p.m. second Thursday of the month, Floyd Valley Hospital, Conference Center Room 2, Le Mars, Iowa. Open to all cancer patients, cancer survivors and family members. No charge. Pre-register by calling 712-546-3441 or 800-642-6074, ext. 441. Mom and Baby Support Group, 10-11 a.m. last Monday of the month at the Orange City (Iowa) Hospital, lower level. For new moms and babies. 712-737-5260. Tri-State Sober Project, 12-step meeting, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Friendship Community Church, 305 Sergeant Square Drive, Sergeant Bluff. 6-7 p.m., Thursdays, Transitional Services of Iowa, 1221 Pierce St., Sioux City. Doug's Donors Support Group, information for organ donors and recipients, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 5:15-6:30 p.m. second and fourth Thursdays of the month at Mercy Cafeteria Woodbury Room. 712-277-1050. Divorce Care, noon Sundays starting Jan. 10; GriefShare, 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 12; Single & Parenting, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays starting Jan. 14; all at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814. Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, 1:30-3:30 p.m. first Saturday of the month at the CNOS, Dakota Dunes. For anyone with MS and/or their families. Call Janet Limoges at 605-217-2726 prior to attending. NAMI Siouxland, (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Support Group meets 6:30 p.m., second Tuesday of the month at Friendship House, 1101 Court St. For individuals and family members dealing with mental illness. 712-255-4209. New Life Life Support Group, 3:30 p.m. every Saturday at 2929 W. Fourth St. Spiritual 12-step program. For more information, call Donald at 712-574-1744 or James at 712-255-7624. Post Polio Support Group, 11 a.m. first Thursday of the month at Perkins Restaurant by Menards. 712-490-8213. Relationship Support Group, 7 p.m. Fridays at Marketplace Mall. For more information, call 239-3129. Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Individual and Support Groups. For more information, call CSADV in Sioux City at 712-258-7233; Plymouth County at 712-546-6764; Monona County at 712-423-3443. Advocacy and support available 24 hours a day at 1-800-982-7233. All services free of charge and confidential. Sickle Cell Disease Support Group, 11 a.m. third Saturday of each month at St. Luke's Hospital, meeting room 1. For patients, their family and any concerned member. Call La'Keshia Rainey at 712-203-2019 for more information. Sioux City Association of the Deaf, 7 p.m. third Saturday of the month at Morningside Church of Christ, 5015 Garretson Ave. Regular meeting, September-May; no meeting, June, July, August and December. Siouxland Autism Support Group, second Thursday of the month at Northwest Area Education Agency, 1520 Morningside Ave. For more information, call Julie Case at 712-490-8939. Siouxland Epilepsy Support Group, 5 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at Prestwick Apartment Clubhouse, 4230 Hickory Lane. For anyone diagnosed with seizures or epilepsy and family or friends. For more information, call Steve at 274-6927. Siouxland IC support group, meets quarterly in Sioux City. For patients struggling with interstital cystitis. For more information, call Jacque Dundas 316-641-9766. Siouxland Informational Group for the Blind, 2-5 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Northern Hills Retirement Community, 4002 Teton Trace. For more information, call 712-266-8926 or 258-8151. Grief support group, 5:30-7:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 5 for 13 weeks (may join at any time), Crescent Park United Methodist Church, 2826 Myrtle St., Sioux City. Scott, 712-899-6315. Siouxland Ostomy Association, 2 p.m. first Sunday of each month (except September, which will be second Sunday; and no meetings June, July, August), in Room 300 at Mercy Medical Center, 801 Fifth St. For more information, call Dick Lindblom at 251-2453. Siouxland Parkinson Disease Support Group, 1 p.m. fourth Monday of the month at Siouxland Center for Active Generations, 313 Cook St. For more information, call at Jack Scherrman at 712-277-9337. Sojourners, support group for families of persons with life-threatening illness, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Room 416. For more information, call Marjorie Jarvill at 402-241-8637. South Sioux City Weight Support Group, 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at St. Paul United Methodist Church, South Sioux City. For more information, call 494-1401 or 494-2133. Disabilities Resource Center of Siouxland, 520 Nebraska St., Suite 101: Women's Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Wednesday of the month; LGBT Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Friday of the month; Adult ADHD, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; Advocacy Group, 1:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month. For more information, call 712-255-1065. Take Off Pounds Sensibly, group meetings various times, days and locations in Siouxland. For information on the chapter in your area, call 1-800-932-TOPS. Voice Disorder Support Group, meets as needed at Mercy Medical Center, Buena Vista Room. 712-279-2686. Women's Peer Support Group, in Wayne and South Sioux City, Neb., for those who have experienced domestic abuse. For more information, call the Wayne office at 402-375-4633 or 1-800-440-4633; in South Sioux City, call 402-494-7592. Help and support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Services free and confidential. Woodbury County D.M.D.A., noon-2 p.m. first Saturday of the month at Country Friendship Acres, 4501 West St.; 7-8 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at 515 Court St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at 441 W. Third St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at 409 W. Third St. in the Community Room. Support group for people with disabilities and mental disorders. Natural Mamas in Siouxland, 1 p.m., third Tuesday of each month in the Garretson room of the Morningside Public Library. All ages of children are welcome to come with moms. For sharing natural living tips, recipes, natural remedies and health, homemaking, mothering, etc. For more information, call 402-913-0038 or visit their Facebook page. A Step Beyond support group, 3:30 p.m. second Tuesday of the month, except for August, November and December when it meets at 5:30 p.m. (no meeting in January) at the Christy-Smith Resource Center, 1819 Morningside Ave. For more information, call 712-276-7319. Divorce care, 5 p.m., Sundays. Fireside room, Morningside Lutheran Church, 700 South Martha St. Gamblers Anonymous meetings, 4 p.m. Thursdays at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd.; 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Morningside Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesdays, St. John Lutheran Church. 712-277-2901. Art therapy support group, 5:30 p.m. second Thursday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Registration required, call 252-9387. After Breast Cancer Support Group, 5:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call Brenda, 252-9370. After Prostate Cancer Support Group, 5:15 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call 252-9426. Alzheimer's Association, Big Sioux Chapter Support Group, 2 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; 4 p.m. third Tuesday of the month (under age 65) at 201 Pierce St., Suite 110 (Famous Dave's building); and 6 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the Barnes and Noble Cafe. For more information, call Emily Lord at 712-279-5802. Christy-Smith Funeral Homes of Sioux City, extensive grief library at the Morningside location. Open to the public during weekday hours. For more information, call 276-7319. Chronic Pain/Chronic Illness Support Group, 7:30 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month in the lower level of the Orange City Hospital. For more information, call 712-737-5260. Connections Area Agency on Aging, and Mercy Medical Centers Older Adult Services Welcome to Medicare, 1:30-4 p.m., the first Friday of every month at Connections Area Agency on Aging, 2301 Pierce St. To pre-register, or for more information, contact Connections Area Agency on Aging at 712-279-6900. The title pretty much captures the challenge: Preparing for the Unimaginable. Its the name of a new handbook crafted to help police departments prepare for, and recover from, what the National Alliance on Mental Illness calls mass casualty events. In this era of mass shootings, the guide offers sobering recommendations on how to safeguard the mental health of police officers and others who must rush to scenes of carnage. The table of contents includes headings such as Tips for helping officers to heal and Assign a mental health incident commander. The guide, released in May, also contains intimate, first-person accounts of law enforcement officers who describe how they struggled to overcome traumatic events. They recount nightmares, cold sweats, feelings of helplessness. One night, it hit me: This job is not for me, wrote Sgt. Mark DiBona, a deputy sheriff in central Florida. DiBona, who had already been feeling stressed at work, one night tried to resuscitate a baby who wasnt breathing. The boy died, and DiBona was overwhelmed by guilt, convinced he could have done more to save the child. After the funeral, he couldnt shake the memory of the little body in his arms and relived other awful images from his career bloody crashes, victims of sexual abuse, friends who died in the line of duty. Im falling really fast, he wrote of that troubling time. I tried to fight the thoughts, but I felt like I was drowning. I attempted suicide twice that night. The National Alliance on Mental Illness developed the guide at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice and Michael Kehoe, then chief of police in Newtown, Conn., site of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Along with the letters by law enforcement personnel is an extraordinary account by Kehoes wife, Lori. Unflinching and at times painful to read, the letter recounts how she and her husband weathered the tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults, and how the couple finally began to heal. Here are excerpts from her letter. On the day of the shooting, Dec. 14, 2012: I did not expect Mike to come home that night. After all, they had cots at the police department; they had uniforms and showers. When he did arrive home at midnight, he talked and talked until he passed out in the middle of a sentence. At 6:00 a.m., he was out the door. I offered to answer phones or e-mail. His answer was, No, I got it covered. I offered to make him breakfast, and the answer which became a common phrase in our home was, No, I got it covered. It was rare that he needed me for anything. This became the schedule: 6:00 a.m. to midnight. On fears for the officers: Each night it was necessary for Mike to decompress, and I saw it as my job to be available and to listen and do whatever he needed. He would continue to literally fall asleep talking. When Mike started yelling in his sleep, I could tell he was reliving the incident. This schedule lasted for about four months, and it became extremely isolating. Mike does not get upset. He is always cool, calm and collected. He doesnt bounce off the walls. A few weeks after the shooting, he came home and was pacing and absolutely agitated beyond agitated. He was concerned about his officers committing suicide. He expressed his concerns, and we came up with options for him to execute the next day. I was always the sounding board, bringing whatever common sense I could muster to the table. On not knowing where to turn for help: Those were the days when I would wonder, whom do you call for answers? After all, isnt there always someone to call for help in life? When you got a flat tire, you call your dad. If your cake wont rise, you call your mom. I realized there is no one to call when 20 children get blown away in your town. Youre watching your partner struggle with all these questions and no answers. On her husbands changing behavior: He was suddenly in control of everything. All of a sudden, he was telling me what to do and when. It was bizarre from a man who never gave orders at home. Then I realized he needed to be in control, to maintain order. He was spending his days making rapid-fire decisions continuously for weeks on end. Finally in August (nine months after the shooting), Mike came home and said, I got to something on my desk today that was on my desk before Dec. 14. I thought to myself, Its August, and the trauma is finally over. On how the shooting affected her: A year after the shooting, I was mentally and emotionally not functioning, almost to the point of not getting out of bed. And even though Im a nurse, I didnt know about trauma I didnt know what trauma could do to a person or that there was such a thing as PTSD by association. I was so angry. I was mad at everyone and everything. I was depressed beyond belief, alone and isolated. Lori Kehoe eventually received treatment at a trauma center in California and wrote about the experience: They taught me that the trauma actually changes your brain you can see it on an MRI. In addition to five full days of intervention and counseling, they did a physical treatment on me called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Its designed to reduce the emotion that goes with the thoughts about the traumatic experience. It was extremely effective. The treatment was necessary, and it changed my life. I absolutely came back a new woman, and I got better and better after treatment. Today, were good. DAKOTA CITY | Construction bids for a new fire station in Dakota City have come in higher than expected, leaving officials looking into their options to finance the project and save money. Of the six bids received for the station by its June 1 bidding deadline, five of the base bids were between $2.3 million and $2.6 million, with a sixth bid of $3.38 million. Dakota City Administrator Alyssa Silhacek said the community was hoping for bids in the $1.9 million range. The $1.9 million included funds generated from the half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November 2014. Silhacek said officials began to realize bids would come in higher when they viewed the bids for the Homer and Emerson, Nebraska, fire stations, which also came in over budget. "Their bids were opened prior to ours, so we had some kind of indication that it might be high," she said. Silhacek said the city is currently in negotiations with Nelson Construction of Sioux City, which offered a base bid of $2,342,345. That amount drops to around $2.2 million if not all the bid's alternates are included, Silhacek said. Nelson's project timeline would be 240 calendar days. She said officials are looking into additional funding, as well as working with their architect, M+ Architects of Sioux City, to explore their options. "We're looking at value engineering and negotiating with the contractor, as well as some of their subs to see if there are changes that we could make," she said. Silhacek said she hopes to have further information for the city's July 7 council meeting. She said any decision to sign a contract would have to pass the city council and the Dakota Covington Rural Fire Protection district board. Dakota City fire chief Clint Rasmussen said he remains optimistic that the project will move forward soon. "We feel confident that this building, this fire station, will be a go," he said. "We just need to fine-tune everything to get it done." The new building, which will be built at the intersection of 21st and Walnut streets in Dakota City, will replace the city's current station, which was built in the 1950s. Rasmussen said the building will give the department more room for its larger fire trucks and equipment, as well as give it room for future expansion. CHARTER OAK, Iowa | A car that Charles and Ann Quandt won in Charter Oak in 1949 returns to Charter Oak on Saturday for the 11 a.m. quasquicentennial parade, a 19-block monstrosity that features 17 units from the Abu-Bekr Shrine and a surprise grand marshal. A surprise marshal? "We're announcing the grand marshal the morning of the parade," said Joanne Sachau, one of the many volunteers involved in the three-day gala, which starts today with a 3:30 p.m. opening ceremony at Memorial Walkway. Parade registration begins at 8 a.m. Saturday on the east side of the grain elevator scale house. There is no preregistration. The grand marshal was to ride in a 1949 Chrysler Royal Silver Anniversary Edition heading west from Webster City, Iowa, where it is kept by owner Jeff Kluver, a bank vice president who worked with his siblings to find, purchase and restore the car, one their grandparents, the late Charles and Ann Quandt won at the Charter Oak Fair in 1949. Instead, the two surviving Quandt children, Dorothy Quandt Kluver, of Carroll, Iowa, and Jim Quandt, of Westside, Iowa, will ride in the 1949 Chrysler, which will be driven by Jeff Kluver's brother, Jerry Kluver, of Ankeny. "The car has 71,000 miles on it," said Jeff Kluver, noting that it is owned by the four brothers and four sisters in his immediate family. Charles Quandt paid 10 cents per spin for a chance to win the car in 1949. On his sixth spin (think "Wheel of Fortune"), the wheel landed on the space noted "Car." Quandt was then given a ticket for a drawing among the spin winners. He scribbled Ann's name on the ticket, even though she didn't drive. Ann Quandt's name was drawn and the couple enjoyed their green Chrysler Royal for the next 32 years, when Charles sold it for $450 to relatives at Bancroft, Iowa. "Randy Kluver, my double-cousin, drove this car in Charter Oak's centennial celebration in 1991," Jeff Kluver recalled. "After that, it was out of sight, out of mind." It wasn't until a Quandt family reunion at Charter Oak several years ago that Jeff Kluver's interest in the old car spiked. He looked at a picture of his grandparents and wondered what became of their lucky green Chrysler. "Our dad died of a heart attack in 1965, at age 49," Jeff Kluver said. "So, naturally, we were really close to our grandparents. And so many of us remember getting a ride in that Chrysler." Jeff Kluver made some calls and learned the old car had blown its motor. It was sitting in a grove on a farm near Bancroft. "I called the widow of the man who bought it from my grandpa," Jeff Kluver said. "She told me the car was sitting in her farm field. She was just getting ready to move to town and she didn't even want any money for it." Jeff and Jerry Kluver gave her $450 for it anyway. They hauled the vehicle to Webster City, restored the engine and gave it some tender loving care. Jeff Kluver built a garage just for his car, giving his family's Royal some royal treatment. "The paint and glass are original," he said. "It's got all the original upholstery." Grandpa Quandt's pipe remains in the glove compartment, where it sat when the car was sold in 1981. The key to unlock the trunk still works, even though it is permanently stuck in the keyhole. While Raymond Kluver died in 1949, his wife, Marcella Kluver, lived to age 93, one of 10 Quandt children and a mother to eight herself. She died in 2013. "Our mother would have loved to see this car and the story," Jeff Kluver said. "And she would have been front and center for the parade and the celebration this weekend in Charter Oak." Her two remaining siblings will be, as will several of her children. And, thankfully, so will the "60-cent" Chrysler her mother won in 1949, even though she didn't drive. STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Rembrandt, Iowa, man is facing charges after authorities said he attempted to inappropriately touch a 12-year-old female on two separate occasions. According to a news release from the Storm Lake Police Department, police received a call at 5:39 p.m. Thursday to the 1400 block of North Seneca Street in reference to a sexual assault. Upon arrival, police met with a 12-year-old female who alleged that Win Dak, 43, of Rembrandt, had attempted to sexually assault her while at home alone with her. Dak is a friend of her family, the release said. Dak was at the residence upon the police's arrival and was arrested. A further investigation found Dak had inappropriately touched the victim in a separate incident in January of 2015, the release said. Dak has been charged with lascivious acts with a child and indecent acts with a child. He is being held in the Buena Vista County Jail on $5,000 bond. Storm Lake Police was assisted by the Sexual Assault Response Team. SIOUX CITY | Prosecutors have dropped charges against a Sioux City man who had been accused of taking part in a home invasion. Keegan Ingram, 19, had been charged in Woodbury County District Court with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree theft in connection with a Jan. 25 home invasion in the 4300 block of Springfield Street. On Thursday, Assistant Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis filed a motion to dismiss the charges, saying that further investigation needed to be done to determine Ingram's whereabouts that day and the days before and after the incident. District Judge Patrick Tott dismissed the case Friday. Ingram was one of three men arrested in the case. Court documents said Ingram, Tykell Robinson and Deloyd Fields forced their way inside the home. Ingram was accused of pointing a gun at residents inside the home and helping take an AR-15 rifle, ammunition and electronics. Fields, 38, and Robinson, 19, both of Sioux City, have pleaded not guilty to several charges and await trial. SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City teen was arrested after he stole a Coca-Cola delivery truck while the driver was inside making a delivery Monday morning. Eliot Stowe, 18, took the $15,000 truck that was parked outside 410 Pierce St., and proceeded to drive to a construction site in the Dakota Dunes. Stowe began giving away $1,000 in merchandise from the vehicle, the court documents said. Stowe then reentered Sioux City in the vehicle and fled on foot when Sioux City Police attempted to stop him. Upon arrest, he was found with prescription pills that were not in his name. Stowe has been charged with first degree theft, possession of drugs, reckless driving, failure to obey a traffic sign, driving without a license and eluding arrest. He is being held at the Woodbury County Jail, and has a bond amount set at $21,900. SIOUX CITY | The UnityPoint Health St. Lukes power has been fully restored after a problem in an underground cable during the day on Friday. However, the hospital was only accepting labor and delivery patients until it resumes normal operations at 7 a.m. Saturday, the hospital said Friday evening. Other patients seeking medical attention were still being diverted and encouraged to go to Mercy Medical Center or the nearest health care facility. Ashton Newman, media relations representative for MidAmerican Energy, said the outage started around 10:30 a.m. and was confined to the hospital. According to an earlier new release, the hospital's "priority areas" were being powered by backup generators. SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City woman was taken to Mercy Medical Center -- Sioux City for smoke inhalation Friday morning after a fire at her house claimed the lives of two pets. According to a Sioux City Fire Rescue news release, at 6:10 a.m. Friday, firefighters responded to a structure fire at a single-family home at 2106 Jennings Street. Upon arrival, fire was visible from the front of the structure. The female occupant of the home had been alerted to the fire by a pet dog and had exited prior to the firefighters' arrival. She suffered from smoke inhalation and was transported to Mercy Medical Center -- Sioux City by Siouxland Paramedics, the release said. Her condition is unknown. The house sustained significant fire damage to the porch, as well as smoke damage throughout, the release said. Several pets were in the home at the time of the fire, and one dog and one bird died, the release said. Authorities determined the fire had been caused by improper use of electrical extension cords on the porch. Carlos Villarreals case shows why so many veterans and politicians have choice words for the Veterans Choice program run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The disabled Marine veteran from Hobart, Ind., tried for months to get an open MRI to assess nerve damage from a mortar attack in in Iraq. The Jesse Brown VA Medical Center on Chicagos West Side, where he normally gets his health care needs met, doesnt have an open MRI machine. Villarreal, 31, said he is claustrophobic as a result of his post-traumatic stress disorder. That makes him a perfect example of why the Veterans Choice Act was passed. Unfortunately, hes also the perfect example of how poorly implementation has gone. The idea behind the Veterans Choice Act is to allow veterans to get health care locally if the nearest VA center either cant provide the care soon enough or, as in Villarreals case, doesnt have the necessary facilities to provide that care. Villarreal finally got the MRI he needed, but only by stopping in at a VA medical center while he was on vacation in Puerto Rico that had an open MRI. I got it done in less than a day, he said while headed to the Chicago VA hospital recently. His quest to get the MRI began last July. He spent hours on the phone trying to schedule the test. It was like being in customer service purgatory, descending toward hell. The Veterans Choice program was set up quickly in response to VA waits that were so horrific that dozens of veterans in Phoenix had died while waiting for care. Congress was furious, and impatient. The resulting Veterans Choice program set up by the Northwest Indiana vendor, Health Net Federal Service, is not robust. The vendor said it is hiring additional customer service representatives, signing up more health care providers and taking other steps to improve access to care for veterans. U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., has been vocal about this issue. He recently co-sponsored the Veterans First Act, which is aimed at streamlining payment and provider signup processes under the Veterans Choice program. Meanwhile, Region veterans dont have the easy access they need and deserve. Villarreal said he was so impressed with the VA hospital in Puerto Rico he has considered moving there. The VA said 83 percent of veterans were able to make same-day appointments at the VA Caribbean Health Care hospital in Puerto Rico compared to 54 percent at Jesse Brown. Patient satisfaction ratings reflect that difference; theyre 10 percent to 30 percent higher in Puerto Rico than in Chicago. Its a travesty when a veteran has to go to Puerto Rico to get a test done, because the VA isnt able to provide local care for a disabled Marine. The Veterans Choice program must be improved to offer more alternatives for local veterans. The Times of Northwest Indiana AKRON, Iowa | Cindy Appley is one of the first people patients encounter when they walk through the doors of the Akron Mercy Medical Clinic. Appley, who has worked at the rural clinic as a patient service representative for nearly 14 years, does everything she can to put patients first from the moment they arrive in the waiting room. "I interact with patients all day long," she said. "My primary job is checking them in, getting their insurance correct and dealing with the new Medicaid MCOs." From the sick small child to the adult battling drug addiction, Appley said every single patient is important and that being kind is the key to making them feel welcome, comfortable and cared for. "When they come in, I want them to know that I like them, so I smile and let them know that they've come to the right place," she said. "If I can tease them a little just to get them to smile and to crack a little bit of the shell, I think I've done my part." Appley was one of nine individuals selected by the American College of Physicians for a citizen jury to aid in the drafting of clinical guidelines. She traveled to Philadelphia to attend the two-day event on June 7 and 8. "It's becoming more important that patients be a part of their own health care, especially with the cost involved. It's becoming more and more expensive -- the cost of insurance, the cost of drugs," said Appley, whom Dr. Cynthia Wolff encouraged to apply for the citizen jury. The jurors came from all walks of life. Appley said they worked with the underprivileged and the elderly, had lung cancer and served as patient advocates. "The part that I could bring was that I represent rural health care," she explained. "I think as a patient here and as a 60-year-old woman, I represent a vast area that is underserved. As an area, we have to travel quite a ways. We don't have the specialists that are just miles away." ACP's goal is to provide clinicians with recommendations based on the best available evidence, to inform clinicians when there is no evidence and to help clinicians deliver the best health care possible. The ACP has been producing clinical guidelines since 1981. The ACP's clinical practice guidelines, guidance statements and best practice advice papers are produced through a team made up of clinical policy staff, the Clinical Guidelines Committee (CGC) -- internists with expertise in primary care, health care administration and medical and health services research -- and expert scientific collaborators. This team assembles to review clinical literature on a specified topic, to identify the best scientific paper and to analyze, reformulate and present information so health care providers can determine the usefulness of diagnostic tests, procedures and treatments. "It's very intriguing and so important the work that they do," Appley said. On June 7, Appley and the other citizen jurors attended training to help them understand what would take place during the meeting of the ACP. She got a crash course in evidence-based medicine. Later on, Appley found herself sitting at desk with a microphone in front of her, she said she felt like she was about to testify before Congress. She listened as various physicians, members of the CGC, presented evidence on a topic she can't disclose. The ACP has addressed and re-addressed clinical practice guidelines for depression, insomnia, end of life care, screening for cancer and many other topics. "There's so much information for physicians. There's just hundreds of papers that doctors cannot go through, so (the ACP) gathers these papers. They go through incredible sorting processes," Appley said. "That to me was so amazing that they read it and they based that particular problem on that information that they had gathered from many sources." Appley said a discussion ensued among the 15 committee members to make sure the recommendations said exactly what they're supposed to say. She said jurors had a chance to chime in. She said one patient expressed that doctors don't know how much drugs cost. She said another juror helped the CGC re-focus on the recommendation when they got sidetracked. "One gal brought up another point and she kept bringing it back because they weren't coming back to what she thought was important," she said. "She kept at it until they heard her. It was an important point." Appley said she's waiting to see how the citizen jury's role in the process will play out over the next year. She said she'll participate in email exchanges and phone conversations with doctors and other jurors. "I think it's going to be a learning year; and I think we as patient citizens are going to be seen more and more on the practical side," she said. "Maybe together we can do something to help make things more clear." 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 Danelle McClanahan is the associate vice president of the Institutional Equity and Diversity Office at the College of Southern Maryland. LA PLATA, Md. (June 16, 2016)Danelle McClanahan has a vision for the future of College of Southern Maryland. In that vision, the diversity of the faculty is reflective of the diverse student demographics, and the college expands and enhances strategic programs that contribute to increasing the rate of success of all students, fosters inclusion, increases access and successfully promotes students' global preparedness.McClanahan, who brings to her new role as CSM's associate vice president of Institutional Equity and Diversity Office more than 11 years of experience in various fields of diversity, said she sees that CSM has already made great strides in creating an environment that is inclusive of all ethnicities."Diversity is woven into the fabric of CSM through numerous initiatives such as the Men of Excellence and various outreach to the community for engagement such as the Diversity Institute and the Charles County Mediation Center," she said. "Moreover, CSM has a generously diverse student population35 percent of our full-time students in the spring semester alone were racially diverse and research shows that by 2027, nationally, 49 percent of high school seniors will be students of color, so we can only expect an increase in diverse college students. Hence, it is our responsibility to lead in inclusive excellence and expand and enhance our investment in diversity inclusive practices."McClanahan looks forward to considering ways to bring diversity into all aspects of student life. "The research shows that students benefit from an inclusive environment and curriculum in preparing them for the globalized society," she said. "I envision collaborating with the faculty to connect programs with the curriculum, and thereby better prepare students for a more globalized society."McClanahan said one main focus for her will be to not only recruit and retain African American men at the college, but to see them through to graduation. "The persistence rates for African American males are statistically low nationwide, and we need to improve that outcome," she said.Previously, McClanahan served as director of diversity/ombudsperson at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania where she was charged with ensuring the university complied with Titles IV, VI, VII and IX. Along with investigating discrimination and harassment claims by faculty and students, McClanahan coordinated projects to build and maintain a safe and open campus environment.In 2007, while at East Stroudsburg, McClanahan spent a month in China co-supervising 13 students at Shenyang Normal University. The students were able to experience firsthand emergence in Mandarin and the Chinese culture.For McClanahan, creating an inclusive environment is a necessity for a college environment. "Will Smith, recently, profoundly recognized the value and potential of diverse groups by stating 'diversity is the American superpower.' Diversity indeed is a superpower opportunity that necessitates proactive and strategically planned investment. It is our responsibility to go beyond our traditional reach and act upon this opportunity by instituting expansive, intentional and comprehensive recruitment, retention and persistence efforts that create and maintain an inclusive environment for the diverse student population," McClanahan said.McClanahan's career in higher education began with her bachelor's degree in psychology from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and her master's degree in counseling from the University of Scranton. She is currently an EdD candidate in educational leadership and management at Capella University.For information about programs offered through the Diversity Institute at the College of Southern Maryland, visit CSM online at http://www.csmd.edu/community/institutes/diversity-institute/index.html. LEONARDTOWN, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme. (June 17, 2016)The Leonardtown Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following incident and arrest reports.SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT JUNE 17: The Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint tonight, June 17 in St. Mary's County. This event will focus on both drug and/or alcohol impaired drivers in the hope of reducing the impact of impaired drivers and impaired related crashes. Drivers are reminded there are many alternatives to driving buzzed or under the influence. Call a friend, relative, or a cab. Please, don't drink and drive.HOME INVASION, ASSAULT, VIOLATION OF PROTECTIVE ORDER: On Sunday, May 11, Tpr. Manning responded to the 25000 block of Mcintosh Road for a reported disturbance with a subject with a knife. Investigation revealed that, had forced entry through the front door of a residence, grabbed a female victim, and attempted to stab her. Mr. Stamey then assaulted a male victim before fleeing the residence. The victim obtained a Protective Order and an arrest warrant was issued, charging Mr. Stamey with First Degree Assault, Home Invasion, and Assault Second Degree.On Saturday, May 30, Tpr. Geyer responded to the residence for the report of a suspect in violation of a Protection Order. Investigation revealed that Mr. Stamey had arrived at the residence, entered through the front door, and fled as Tpr. Geyer arrived. A second arrest warrant was issued for Violation of Protective Order.On June 6 at 4:05pm, TFC Ruth responded to the 42000 block of Keith Court for an unrelated report. Contact was made with Mr. Stamey and both warrants were confirmed. Mr. Stamey was placed under arrest and served with the Arrest Warrants. He was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-018507 and 16-MSP-021510)ASSAULT: On Saturday, May 28, TFC Krenik responded to the 46000 block of Seabiscuit Lane for a reported domestic assault. Investigation revealed that, had assaulted a male victim. Ms. Semidey was placed under arrest and charged with Assault Second Degree. She was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-021292)RESISTING ARREST: On Sunday, June 5, Tpr. Coppedge initiated a traffic stop on a white truck on Route 5 at Golden Beach Road for a minor traffic violation. Investigation revealed that the driver,, was Driving on a Suspended License. As Tpr. Coppedge was placing Mr. Martin under arrest, a brief struggle ensued. Mr. Martin was transported to the St Mary's County Detention Center and charged with Resisting Arrest and traffic violations. He was held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-022503)CDS: On Wednesday, June 8, Tpr. Mulhearn responded to the 22000 block of Point Lookout Road for a reported disturbance. One of the suspects was located walking down Chestnut Ridge Road at Route 5. The suspect originally gave Tpr. Mulhearn a false name, however Tpr. Mulhearn was able to identify the suspect as. Investigation revealed that Mr. Moore had two active bench warrants, and Mr. Moore was placed under arrest. A search incident to arrest revealed an Asp Baton, a knife, and two prescription pill containers containing suspected Oxycodone, Clonazepam, Amphetamine, Dextroamphetamine, and Alprazolam. Mr. Moore was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center, served with both warrants, and charged with False Statement to a Peace Officer, Conceal: Dangerous Weapon, Possess CDS: Not Marijuana, and Possess CDS: Paraphernalia. He was held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner's Office. (16-MSP-022867) Samuel Sherrod Green, 22, of Chesapeake Beach. PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (June 17, 2016)Police in Calvert Co. have determined that the early morning shooting in the area of Tranquil Court, Prince Frederick, yesterday stemmed from a domestic issue with the suspect's girlfriend and an associate.On Thursday, June 16, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the Calvert Control Center received calls for gunshots being heard in the area of 213 Tranquil Court. Sheriff's Office patrol units responded to the area in reference to the firearms complaint. Upon arrival at the address, contact was made with the occupants of the residence. The occupants said that six gun shots had been fired from the back of the residence which went through the window and then into the ceiling. The trajectory of the shots indicated they had been fired from the ground level at the rear of the residence.The scene was secured, interviews were conducted, crime lab responded and Detective Quinn assumed the investigation. A suspect was subsequently developed.On Thursday, at approximately 6:00 p.m., members of the sheriff's office located the suspect at a residence on Paris Oaks Road. Police say the man jumped out of a window of the residence as Special Operations Team and Criminal Investigation Bureau members arrived on scene. A short foot chase ensued and the suspect was taken into custody.The suspect was identified as Samuel Sherrod Green, a 22-year-old black male of Chesapeake Beach.Police say the homeowner on Paris Oaks Road gave consent to search the residence. A handgun loaded with the same type of ammunition as the shell casings that were found on Tranquil Court was located.Detective Quinn charged Green with two counts of first degree assault, reckless endangerment, and multiple other felony charges. Green was also served with two outstanding warrants from previous incidents. Green was transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he awaited his hearing before a District Court Commissioner. People of faith gathered Thursday evening at Sunshine Cathedral to remember the victims of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history that left 49, mostly LGBT Latino men dead. It what was called a liturgical response to the mass shooting in Orlando, pastors and parishioners offered prayers for remembrance and healing. Names of the 49 victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre were read, bells were sounded and candles lit. There is a lot of emotional turmoil in the minds and hearts of our people, said Deacon Ed Huckemeyer, who participated in the hour long service which featured music from soloists and prayer readings from religious leaders. Sunshine Cathedral, located in southwest Fort Lauderdale, offers a sanctuary for people to practice any faith. Rev. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Senior Minister, explained his cathedral is welcoming of all. During the service Watkins posed a difficult question to those in the pews. How do we pray for a murderer?, Watkins asked. How God, are we to pray for someone who hurt so many? Watkins, a gay man, acknowledged the need to seek a higher power. We simply feel the impulse to pray, said Watkins, dressed in a white robe and speaking from the chancel where the Gay Mens Chorus of South Florida often performs. Somehow from this tortured mess, healing can occur. Let a miracle emerge because of this, he said. Following the reading of the victims names, soloist Tara Sperry performed composer Stephen Sondheims No One Is Alone. After the service, Sperry told SFGN she was overwhelmed with emotions. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones, said Sperry, the cathedrals soprano section leader. Ceremonies like the one Sunshine Cathedral offered Thursday are extremely important, said Sperry, a lesbian. This is a safe space where people can feel accepted and there is absolutely no judgment, Sperry said. When approached after the ceremony by reporters about his offering of prayers for the gunman, Watkins said, Jesus did it. We are instructed to pray for our enemies. For more photos check out our Facebook gallery here. A decade after the Stonewall riots and a generation before marriage equality began to take hold in Massachusetts, the epicenter of the gay civil rights movement was right here in South Florida. The documentary, The Day It Snowed in Miami, which premiered on WPBT2 on Monday, June 13, explores the battles, set off in 1977 by a groundbreaking human rights ordinance passed by the Miami-Dade county commission. At the time, opponents promised it would never pass until hell froze over. The next day, Jan. 19, South Florida received its first and only recorded snowfall. Independent filmmaker Joe Cardona was just a boy, but he vividly remembers the controversy the anti-discrimination bill stoked. I was not very old, but I was old enough to know what was going on and the commotion really stuck with me, Cardona recalled. Evangelical activist Anita Bryant, the spokesperson for the states citrus industry, took up the cause, rallying voters to overturn the ordinance, a victory that would hold for 21 years. But, the history doesnt end there, as just two years later President Ronald Reagan was elected and the AIDS crisis began to take hold in South Florida. Within a decade, South Beach emerged as a leading destination for LGBT residents and tourists. In 1997, another initiative lost by just two votes, only to pass in 1998 and be affirmed by county voters in 2002. Obviously Stonewall has its place, but were talking apples and oranges, said Cardona. The revolution was fought here. It was very heatedpersonalwithin families. The film project got its start two years ago, just as the marriage equality movement began to gain momentum. Cardona, who is also an op-ed columnist for the Miami Herald, has many close LGBT friends and colleagues, and had considered the topic after collaborating with the newspaper and WPBT2 on an Emmy-winning documentary about the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Its an amazing Miami story, he explained, that certainly has national ramifications. This is the civil rights movement of the day. Because of the transient community in South Florida, he realized many of his friends didnt realize the historic role the region played. There was this amazing disconnect, Cardona said. The filmmaker turned to Herald LGBT beat reporter Steve Rothaus, his walking encyclopedia, pillar of the community and producer, as well as executive producers Shed Boren and Nancy San Martin, to get the project completed while simultaneously juggling two other films. They are the best team in the business, he said. The film premieres this week on a local PBS affiliate, but by summer, Cardona expects it to be picked up by other stations across the country. Its a story of perseverance and the struggle for equality and it resonates, he added. The Day It Snowed in Miami will air Monday, June 20 at 10 p.m. Four days after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, more than a hundred South Florida residents joined forces at a vigil and rally to honor the 49 victims of the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The gathering began at Hagen Park before the crowd walked down Wilton Drive to end at Java Boys. The crowd was made up of men, women, gay, straight, blacks, whites and Latinos of all ages. They sang, chanted and called for justice and unity. As part of the LGBT community and as a Latino, I feel its my responsibility to show solidarity, said Michael Reyes of Coral Springs. There are LGBT Muslims as well. I am here to support this intersectional gathering. Groups ranging from the Broward Greens to Al-Awda South Florida (Palestine Right to Return Coalition) to Peoples Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR) were among the array of activists in attendance. Organizers planned the event to be equal parts vigil and rally. Attendees were adamant that the Orlando massacre not be used to justify further violence and hatred against LGBT people or used to propagate more anti-Muslim rhetoric. I dont believe all Muslims are terrorists, said Sir Diego of North Miami Beach. Everyone, including Muslims need to stand up and speak out against this senseless violence. The shooting victims and their families were also remembered during a candlelight vigil. Most of the victims were LGBT and Latin. The shock and horror of the shooting and the heartbreaking loss were on everyones agenda. Im here, first and foremost, to memorialize those whom weve lost to honor their memory, said Father Rich Vitale of Holy Angels Catholic Community. Im also here to be a part of my community and show support for those who are mourning. If Im in any way, capable of being part of that healing process, thats a blessing. And Im here for myself too, to experience the support of my community. While some people came for healing, others came to be heard. Politics were in the air as well. I represent an organization which has supported gay rights for more than 30 years, said Jason Dilan of the Green Party of Broward County. Were completely devastated by this tragedy. I am a bisexual Latino. Im here to speak from my personal experience. As an organization, we really feel that we needed to be here. Michael Chase Fox, of the White Rose Society of the Palm Beaches made his way through the crowd spreading the word of his organization. Our goal is to fight the ever-growing word of hate, he said. That includes the campaign of Donald Trump to the anti-immigrant groups attacking those fleeing tyranny. We plan to visit mosques in Broward and Palm Beach Counties this week. We understand the Orlando shooter does not represent Islam. For more photos check out our Facebook gallery here. (CNN) President Barack Obama said Thursday that grief-filled parents in Orlando pleaded with him to take steps preventing the kind of gun violence that took their children. But he acknowledged, exasperatedly, that he could offer them few promises. "Our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or even just a disturbed individual to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons, and they can do so legally," Obama said after meeting with families who lost loved ones in the Orlando nightclub shooting that took place Sunday. "I held and hugged grieving family members and parents and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?' And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage," Obama said. "They don't care about the politics. Neither do I." The role of consoler in chief was a repeat assignment for Obama, was has now traveled to 10 American cities -- including four in the last year -- scarred by mass shooting events. In Orlando, he met at a downtown arena with both families of victims and survivors of the terrorist attack, many of whom suffered serious injuries but emerged from the massacre alive. Prior to their meeting with families and survivors, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden spoke to local law enforcement officials to thank them for their actions in responding to the attack at Pulse nightclub, according to the White House. Afterward, the President and Vice President met with the owners and staff of Pulse who were working when the attack occurred. Two members of the staff were killed. The President met with the groups in private. But he did emerge afterward to lay a bouquet composed of 49 roses, one for each of the attack's victims. It was a familiar tableau for Obama, who has said the moments spent consoling families in mourning have been some of the most wrenching of his presidency. In his remarks in Orlando, however, Obama offered little solace to Americans who fear similar attacks could be carried out in their own communities. "We can't anticipate or catch every single deranged person that may wish to do harm to his neighbors or his friends or co-workers or strangers," Obama said. "Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons and they can do so legally." Obama said politicians who oppose strengthen gun control laws should meet with families of gun violence victims. "Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families," Obama said. Obama said the motives of the Orlando shooter, U.S.-born Muslim Omar Mateen, were different than the killers who shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School and a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. "But the instruments of death were so similar," he said. The Orlando slaughter is unique from previous mass shootings both in the scale of the tragedy -- the death toll of 49 makes it the worst mass shooting in U.S. history -- and the killer's ties to global terror. Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS but didn't appear to be directed by the organization, according to U.S. officials. Obama said that even as his military and intelligence agencies wage battle against ISIS, additional changes are required to secure the homeland. "If you have lone wolf attacks like this, hatched in the minds of a disturbed person, then we're going to have to take different steps in order to prevent something like this from happening," Obama said. Sunday's attack targeted a gay nightclub, with many of the victims gay and Latino. That has further escalated the debate following the shooting, which struck on a series of charged political and cultural flash-points of Obama-era America. Obama said on Thursday the crime was an "attack on the LGBT community," using an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. And he called for a collective affirmation of basic U.S. values in the wake of the attack. "If there was ever a moment for all of us to reflect and reaffirm our most basic beliefs that everybody counts and everybody has dignity, now's the time," he said. "It's a good time for all of to us reflect on how we treat each other and to insist on respect and equality for every human being." Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a former 2016 GOP presidential candidate, accompanied Obama on his flight to Orlando in a demonstration of the President's interest to "show solidarity," according to the White House. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, greeted Obama at airport, as did several other local officials. Obama called the governor Wednesday. When Obama arrived, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer presented him with a black T-shirt emblazoned with a rainbow-colored heart and the words #OrlandoUnited. Hours later, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said he had watched Obama and criticized him at his rally in Dallas, Texas. "We have tragedy after tragedy, and it's a tough situation. But he's largely, to a large extent, he's blaming guns," Trump said. "And I'm going to save your Second Amendment, folks." Back in Washington, however, lawmakers paused in efforts to pass gun control legislation, something the Obama administration has backed and the President spoke to in the wake of the Orlando shooting. A senior Democratic aide told CNN that votes will most likely happen next week, and they are looking at two Democratic amendments concerning the terror watch list and background checks as well as two GOP amendments. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told CNN that the Senate will hold a series of votes on gun amendments Monday. Hours before Obama's plane touched down in Orlando, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy ended his high profile, 14-hour filibuster calling for votes on gun control legislation. Republican leaders in Congress have stood by their stance that gun control is not the key to fighting homegrown terror threats, but their party's presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he planned to meet with the NRA to discuss "not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns." On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed back against the Democrats' efforts on guns, saying of possible changes to the way the terror watch list works that, "if we do this wrong, like the President is proposing, we can actually blow our ongoing terrorist investigations. So, we want to get this right, so that we don't undermine terrorist investigations." And one senior Republican, Arizona Sen. John McCain, pointed to Middle East policy as opposed to gun control as driving the threat that culminated in the Orlando shooting. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures -- utter failures," McCain told reporters on Capitol Hill. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies." McCain said later he "misspoke," using a statement to clarify that it was not the President himself who was "personally responsible," but his "security decisions." CNN's Betsy Klein, Deirdre Walsh and Theodore Schleifer contributed to this report. Extrasolar planets ESO An international team of astronomers have found that there are far more planets of the hot Jupiter type than expected in a cluster of stars called Messier 67. This surprising result was obtained using a number of telescopes and instruments, among them the HARPS spectrograph at ESOs La Silla Observatory in Chile. The denser environment in a cluster will cause more frequent interactions between planets and nearby stars, which may explain the excess of hot Jupiters. A Chilean, Brazilian and European team led by Roberto Saglia at the Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, in Garching, Germany, and Luca Pasquini at ESO, has spent several years collecting high-precision measurements of 88 stars in Messier 67 [1]. This open star cluster is about the same age as the Sun and it is thought that the Solar System arose in a similarly dense environment [2]. The team used HARPS, along with other instruments [3], to look for the signatures of giant planets on short-period orbits, hoping to see the tell-tale wobble of a star caused by the presence of a massive object in a close orbit, a kind of planet known as a hot Jupiters. This hot Jupiter signature has now been found for a total of three stars in the cluster alongside earlier evidence for several other planets. A hot Jupiter is a giant exoplanet with a mass of more than about a third of Jupiters mass. They are hot because they are orbiting close to their parent stars, as indicated by an orbital period (their year) that is less than ten days in duration. That is very different from the Jupiter we are familiar with in our own Solar System, which has a year lasting around 12 Earth- years and is much colder than the Earth [4]. We want to use an open star cluster as laboratory to explore the properties of exoplanets and theories of planet formation, explains Roberto Saglia. Here we have not only many stars possibly hosting planets, but also a dense environment, in which they must have formed. The study found that hot Jupiters are more common around stars in Messier 67 than is the case for stars outside of clusters. This is really a striking result, marvels Anna Brucalassi, who carried out the analysis. The new results mean that there are hot Jupiters around some 5% of the Messier 67 stars studied far more than in comparable studies of stars not in clusters, where the rate is more like 1%. Astronomers think it highly unlikely that these exotic giants actually formed where we now find them, as conditions so close to the parent star would not initially have been suitable for the formation of Jupiter-like planets. Rather, it is thought that they formed further out, as Jupiter probably did, and then moved closer to the parent star. What were once distant, cold, giant planets are now a good deal hotter. The question then is: what caused them to migrate inwards towards the star? There are a number of possible answers to that question, but the authors conclude that this is most likely the result of close encounters with neighbouring stars, or even with the planets in neighbouring solar systems, and that the immediate environment around a solar system can have a significant impact on how it evolves. In a cluster like Messier 67, where stars are much closer together than the average, such encounters would be much more common, which would explain the larger numbers of hot Jupiters found there. Co-author and co-lead Luca Pasquini from ESO looks back on the remarkable recent history of studying planets in clusters: No hot Jupiters at all had been detected in open clusters until a few years ago. In three years the paradigm has shifted from a total absence of such planets to an excess! Notes [1] Some of the original sample of 88 were found to be binary stars, or unsuitable for other reasons for this study. This new paper concentrates on a sub-group of 66 stars. [2] Although the cluster Messier 67 is still holding together, the cluster that may have surrounded the Sun in its early years would have dissipated long ago, leaving the Sun on its own. [3] Spectra from the High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/het/het.html) in Texas, USA, were also used, as well as from the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute Provence, in France. [4] The first exoplanet found around a star similar to the Sun, 51 Pegasi b, was also a hot Jupiter. This was a surprise at the time, as many astronomers had assumed that other planetary systems would probably be like the Solar System and have their more massive planets further from the parent star. More information This research was presented in a paper entitled Search for giant planets in M67 III: excess of Hot Jupiters in dense open clusters, by A. Brucalassi et al., to appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The team consists of: A. Brucalassi (Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany; University Observatory Munich, Germany), L. Pasquini (ESO, Garching, Germany), R. Saglia (Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany; University Observatory Munich, Germany), M.T. Ruiz (Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile), P. Bonifacio (GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Univ. Paris Diderot, Meudon, France), I. Leao (ESO, Garching, Germany; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), B.L. Canto Martins (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), J.R. de Medeiros (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), L. R. Bedin (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Padova, Italy) , K. Biazzo (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Catania, Catania, Italy), C. Melo (ESO, Santiago, Chile), C. Lovis (Observatoire de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland) and S. Randich (INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the worlds most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the worlds most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the worlds largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become the worlds biggest eye on the sky. This Earth observation image of the southern Mediterranean area was taken by the crew of Expedition 47 aboard the International Space Station. The image looks from the coastline of Greece (bottom left) across the Ionian sea to the bottom "heel" of Italy. The tip of the toe reaches toward Sicily. Credit: NASA. NASA Three Expedition 47 crew members are preparing to go home early Saturday morning. Three other station residents will stay behind beginning Expedition 48 on the International Space Station. Veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko will command the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft that will take him and astronauts Tim Kopra and Tim Peake back to Earth. The trio are due to land Saturday at 5:14 a.m. EDT in Kazakhstan completing 186 days in space. NASA TV will cover the undocking and landing activities beginning Friday at 10:15 p.m. Before Expedition 47 says goodbye, Commander Tim Kopra will hand over the station command to Flight Engineer Jeff Williams. The traditional Change of Command ceremony will take place Friday at 9:15 a.m. and be televised live on NASA TV. Expedition 48 will officially begin the moment the Soyuz spacecraft carrying the Expedition 47 crew undocks from the Rassvet module. Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin will continue station operations awaiting a new trio of crew members due to launch July 7 and arrive two days later. On-Orbit Status Report Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) Run 3: The crew executed the final of three crew initiated experiment runs by using onboard AMO software to complete the autonomous deactivation and activation of an Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) ER7. The AMO investigation tests advanced software and operational concepts to determine how crew members on the ISS can automate spacecraft system with less involvement from the ground support staff. Microbiome Potable Water Collection: The crew completed a water sample collection from the Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) prior to the weekly PWD beverage adapter cleaning. The sample and supporting materials will be stowed in preparation for ambient return. Microbiome investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individuals microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the human body at any given time). Packed Bed Reactor Experiment (PBRE) Water Release Inspection and Lab Video Setup: The crew inspected and cleaned the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Work Volume (WV) for water released from the PBRE vent hose. They also set up video camcorder for over-the-shoulder view of the MSG high definition (HD) monitor for the ground to view the water separator. The PBRE is used to study the behavior of gases and liquids when they flow simultaneously through a column filled with fixed porous media. The porous media or packing can be made of different shapes and materials and are used widely in chemical engineering as a means to enhance the contact between two immiscible fluid phases (e.g., liquid-gas, water-oil, etc.). Human Research Program (HRP) Collections: The crew collected and stowed saliva samples in the Minus Eighty-degree Freezer for ISS (MELFI). These sample collections will be used to support the HRP: Biochem Profile, Repository, and Cardio Ox investigations. Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations: The crew recorded and submitted a walk-through video documenting observations of an area or activity providing insight related to human factors and habitability. The Habitability investigation collects observations about the relationship between crew members and their environment on the International Space Station. Observations during the 1-year mission, as well as 6-month missions, can help spacecraft designers understand how much habitable volume is required, and whether a missions duration impacts how much space crew members need. Fine Motor Skills: A series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet were completed for the Fine Motor Skills investigation. This investigation is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. External TV Camera Group (ETVCG) Bulb Remove & Replace (R&R): The crew R&Rd the primary light bulb in the ETVCG Light that was brought inside on EVA 28 in preparation for an upcoming EVA. During checkout post R&R, it was found that the electrical leads were connected to the wrong sockets, which upon power-up, created a short. The 6A fuse in the Maintenance Work Area (MWA) power strip failed due to the overcurrent from the short and was replaced, however, it was still unsuccessful. The crew replaced the MWA power strip with a spare unit and the light successfully powered up. Teams are continuing to investigate. Water Mist Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFE) Deploy: The crew successfully deployed six Water Mist PFEs and attached the cue cards on the exterior of the Portable Emergency Provisions (PEP) lockers. This completes deployment of the Water Mist PFEs. Emergency Roles & Responsibilities Review: In preparation for 3-crew operations, the 46S crew reviewed responsibilities in an emergency situation. Some topics covered were Commander responsibilities, crew accountability, accessing the escape vehicle and communication and coordination not only with each other but ground teams as well. Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPS) Inspection: The crew completed this regularly scheduled maintenance to verify that Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFE), Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBA) and Pre-Breathe masks are free of damage, are functional and ready for use. Todays Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. HRF. Samples Collection and Preparation for Stowage HRF. Insertion of Samples into MELFI OCT Hardware Setup PK4. Copying Data from the Hard Drive Crew Departure Preparation for Return to Earth FINEMOTR. Assistance during the Experiment Installation of an emergency water mist fire extinguisher Preparation of personal items for return EXPRS3. Laptop Hard Drive R&R IMS Conference (S-band) EXPRS3. CLS 10 Laptop Booting Assistance during the LBNP Training / r/g 2532 MELF2. Ice Bricks Installation into MELFI LBNP Training (FINAL) r/g 2532 SEISMOPROGNOZ. Data Transfer from ???? Hard Drive (start) r/g 2224 Optical Coherence Tomography (???) Subject Optical Coherence Tomography (???) Operator ER3. Insertion of an SNFM DVD into the Laptop [Aborted] Transfer of Cargo to Progress 431 (DC1) for Disposal. IMS Update / r/g 2435, 2512 AMO2. ER7 Deactivation AMO2. Status Monitoring BIOME. Water Samples Collection AMO2. ER7 Activation OCT Hardware Restow Hardware Unstow for ETVCG Maintenance Food Labeling Personal Medical Kits Packing Sanitary and Hygiene Monitoring (collection of samples from surfaces) r/g 2555 Prepack of USOS Hardware for Transfer into Soyuz Sanitary and Hygiene Monitoring (collection of samples from operators) r/g 2555 PK4. Filling the Chamber with Cleaning Gas / See OPTIMIS Viewer for procedure HABIT. Software Update On MCC Go Deinstallation of ??251?1? (???2?3) #1417726325 and ??? Memory Device #1417726934 AMO2. Status Monitoring SEISMOPROGNOZ. Data Transfer from ???? Hard Drive (end). Archiving (start) r/g 2224 Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFEs) and Portable Breathing Apparatus (PBAs) Inspection Video Greetings / r/g 2557 ??? Maintenance Crew Departure Preparation for Return to Earth ESA. Weekly Crew Conference Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review Transfer of Cargo into Soyuz 719 for Return / r/g 2529 Cleaning of USOS CQ Nets and Filters External Television Camera Group (ETVCG) Bulb R&R FENIKS. Bioekologiya Kits Deinstallation and Transfer to Soyuz / r/g 2542 Reconfiguration of the Ethernet Cable for SM WAP Configuration File Loading Video Hardware Setup in LAB Monitoring of the Habitation Microbial Status / r/g 2554 HRF. Hardware Setup for Blood Samples Collection ER3. Ejection of an SNFM DVD from the Laptop [Aborted] Cleaning of the SSC Server Fans Fundoscope. Fundoscope Setup IMS Delta File Prep Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth PK4. Filling the Chamber with Gas Fundoscope. Vision Exam Fundoscope. Fundoscope Teardown and Stowage PK4. Hardware Deactivation Completed Task List Items iPAD cert update [Active] Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. AMO support Nominal ground commanding Three-Day Look Ahead: Friday, 06/17: Change of Command, Handhold Experiment Platform attach, MSL sample cartridge exchange Saturday, 06/18: 45S undock/landing Sunday, 06/19: Crew off duty QUICK ISS Status Environmental Control Group: Component Status Elektron On Vozdukh Manual [???] 1 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1) Off [???] 2 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2) On Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Standby Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Idle Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Standby Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Off Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Full Up ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Security situation in Egyptian airports remains on the same level, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said Friday. "There has been no information on the resumption of the tourist flow to Egypt yet, unfortunately, the situation remains the same, and to give some promise to citizens, would mean to put them in dangerous conditions," Golodets told RIA Novosti in an interview. Russia, along with several other countries, including the United Kingdom, suspended flights to Egypt over safety concerns after an Airbus A321 crashed en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, killing all 224 people on board after an explosive device detonation. US strategy in Afghanistan under both Presidents George W. Bush and Obama had been disastrously weakened by the corruption and incompetence of the state system and army that both administrations had established and supported in Kabul, Waters said. Such problems had been deeply embedded in US nation-building efforts around the world for more than half a century, Waters recalled. "It's odd how our opponents' armies in the Third World whether Communist in the 1960s and 1970s or Islamist today have the will to fight and win while our allies generally prefer to command from bars in their capital city while stealing their soldiers' salaries and rations," he observed. Kings College Department of War Studies Professor John Bew said the new US policy in Afghanistan applied the same combination of air power and ground support elements the United States was already using in Iraq and Syria. "As much as anything, it shows the entrenchment of the new way of war," Bew stated. Bew also maintained that Obama remained determined to prop up threatened allied governments in Afghanistan and as well as in Iraq and Libya. "For what it's worth, it gives a bit of a lie to the idea of American retreat or unwillingness to prop up the world order," he pointed out. The redeployment of the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower and its supporting carrier group from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean should be seen as part of the same determination to maintain current US force and deterrence levels, Bew concluded. The certainty regarding the outcome of the upcoming summit comes from G7 leaders and EU high-ranking officials, including Juncker, who have reiterated that the full implementation of the Minsk deal on Ukrainian reconciliation is the only way that the economic sanctions against Moscow would be lifted. "The leaders of Europe have consistently said that the only path to lifting the sanctions on Russia is the full implementation of Minsk 2," Richard Nephew, a program director at Columbia University, affirmed to Sputnik. Nevertheless, the approaching sanctions renewal date may be the last time they are prolonged before they are eased or completely removed, as they have proved to have had a negligible effect on Russias economy, which shrank by four percent in 2015 mainly due to slumping oil prices. "One of CEPS studies shows that sanctions had little impact on trade in goods between the EU and Russia. The slowdown in trade in goods can be attributed mainly to low oil prices and not sanctions," Kostanyan said. Moreover, the World Bank recently upgraded its forecast for GDP growth in Russia in 2016 by 0.7 percent as well as revising upwards its forecast for 2017 by 0.3 percent, expecting the Russian economy to reach 1.4 percent growth in 2017. Russia Extends Food Embargo Until the End of 2017 On Thursday, Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukaev said that the ministry was preparing documents on extending food import restrictions until the end of 2017 with the list of countries and goods remaining mostly unchanged. However, the proposal ordered by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev back in May is unlikely to have any impact on EU leaders possibly coming to a consensus on gradually lifting the anti-Russia sanctions by the time of their next review after another six-month period has elapsed, according to experts. "Russias retaliatory measures will not affect the EU sanctions. Yet, Russia's implementation of Minsk 2 will be decisive," Kostanyan stressed. During his speech at the SPIEF, Juncker said that he liked being in St.Petersburg despite some disapproval among western politicians, stressing the need to revive dialogue with Russia. Violent incidents involving chopsticks are not as uncommon in the region as one would think. In 2008, an inmate in Fuchu Prison killed himself by breaking a chopstick and stabbing the back of his head with the sharp end. In March, a 23-year-old Chinese woman, Tang Tang, accidentally swallowed a chopstick while using it to induce vomiting. Doctors had to remove it surgically, Huanqiu.com reported. Chopsticks, which were originally made of bamboo or wood, have been used as traditional ancient cooking and eating utensils throughout East Asia for more than six thousand years. They were first used by the Chinese and soon spread to countries such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and others. In recent months, Pyongyang has criticized the United States and South Korea over massive war games held near the North Korean border as being "dress rehearsal for a full-scale invasion." North Korea has responded with a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests while moving to reinstitute the Yongbyon nuclear weapons facility. The DPRK also claims it has successfully achieved nuclear miniaturization, creating an atomic warhead small enough to be delivered by an intercontinental ballistic missile. Pyongyang also claims to be nearing targeted ballistic missile capabilities to carry out a nuclear launch against the United States. While South Korea has described recent tests as failures, defense analysts suspect that the North Korean missile tests are designed to look like failures by focusing on specific ballistic missile capacities in order to mask the programs advanced development. BEIJING (Sputnik) On Thursday, the Japanese Foreign Ministry filed a complaint to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo after a Chinese intelligence ship reportedly came close to the country's territorial waters for the second time in the past two days. According to local media, the Chinese warship entered an area outside Japan's territorial waters near the Kitadaito Island. The Dongdiao-class vessel left the co-called contiguous zone approximately an hour later. "We have seen relevant reports by the Japanese media; the Chinese warship was sailing the waters near Japan during its normal navigation which is fully in accordance with the relevant principles of international law. We are puzzled by the recent repeated unfounded speculation against the legitimate actions of the Chinese warship," the Chinese Defense Ministry said. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) China is expected to pick a clearing bank for all yuan exchange operations in Russia in order to make it easier to place temporarily free yuans. "An agreement on an offshore center with China is going through stages of signing. I think it will be over as early as this month," Bank of Russias Sergey Shvetsov told reporters in St. Petersburg. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The search plane lost contact with command near the Bach Long Vi island, a small island in the Gulf of Tonkin that is located halfway between mainland Vietnam and Chinas Hainan island, on Thursday, the Thanh Nien Daily said, referring to the Vietnamese National Committee for Search and Rescue. At the time of disappearance, the plane was searching for a missing pilot from a Su-30MK2 fighter jet which crashed on Tuesday, According to the media outlet, referring to Forecasting Hydro-meteorological Observatory for northeast region, rain showers and thunderstorms gripped Bach Long Vi area at the time of the plane's disappearance from radars. The two-seater aircraft, which was designed and developed by the state-owned manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), completed the flight at the company's airport. India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar attended the base to witness the HTT-40 flight, which lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. He expressed his admiration for the HAL technician team. After the flight, Parrikar got into the cockpit of the trainer jet to get a closer look at it. My congratulations to the brilliant young team of technocrats at HAL. #HTT40 pic.twitter.com/kEmGhht9zN Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) 17 2016 . #MakeInIndia #HTT40 has 80% indigenous content with more than 40 Indian MSME vendors. Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) 17 2016 . Officials said the detailed design phase of the HTT-40, which HAL completed using its own funding, was launched in August 2013 and finished in May 2015. The first prototype of the trainer jet was rolled out on February 2, 2016; it completed its first test flight on May 31. NEW DELHI (Sputnik) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Thailand's visiting Prime Minister condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and resolved to work together in building a new global strategy for combating terrorists. Both leaders acknowledged the increasing threat from nontraditional security arenas and agreed to enhance substantive cooperation to address the issue. "We are both aware that the rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both our societies. And we also recognize that our close security partnership would help us to secure our peoples from these threats. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting with Thailand's Prime Minister. Modi further added that, "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking." The Home Ministry cites internal security as the main reason for the stringent curbs in issuing visas. Indian intelligence agencies issued a report after the Pathankot attack stating that Pakistan based terrorists could enter into India, leading to increased scrutiny of visa applications. Rejection of visas for security concerns has compounded the problems of those Pakistani citizens who have families in India and many of them also visit India for religious purposes. Apart from Pakistani citizens, increased instances of visa denials have raised concerns in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also. Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad had written a letter to the Indian Home Secretary asking for the reasons for the frequent visa rejections. What is more interesting is that the Indian Home Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs have different views on this issue. While the Ministry of External Affairs supports a liberalized visa regime to strengthen people-to-people contact between the two countries, the Home Ministry is in favor of fewer visas for Pakistani citizens due to security concerns. Whatever the real reason, it has become yet another irritant in India-Pakistan relations. VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) The total amount of declared investments of companies based in the Vladivostok free port area has surpassed $1.5 billion, the Far-East Development Corporation reports. "In the period that the free port law has been active, the Far-East Development corporation has signed agreements with 39 companies that will create over 16,000 jobs in Primorsky Territory," the corporation said. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation establishing the Vladivostok Free Port on July 13, 2015. The law, which came into force on October 12, 2015, allows for the establishment of special regulation procedures for certain industries in Vladivostok, as well as in over a dozen municipalities of the Primorsky Territory. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Minsk has been in talks with Moscow since the start of the year in a bid to clinch a gas price reduction from the current $142 to about $73 per 1,000 cubic meters. "We still do not understand why we should go along with a lower price," Dvorkovich told the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday. "One of the talks participants from the Russian side said there could be no business as usual, but we will have to deal with it, we need to find points of convergence between Russian and EU interests," Peskov said, adding, "it is a hard and long process." Russias ties with Europe deteriorated in 2014 when the European Union along with the United States and some other nations imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing it of meddling in the Ukrainian crisis, a claim which Moscow has repeatedly denied. Italy seeks to build up economic partnership with Russia in particular in the leather sector, Carlo Calenda told Sputnik. "We have 340 projects of investment [into the Russian economy]. The problem is concentration on Moscow and St.Petersburg. We were discussing today about the leather sector. The manufacturing process is very difficult, but you [Russia] have instead the raw material, you are not exporting very much, so this is the perfect partnership we can create, bringing companies that are able to compete and create a value chain, using your raw materials. This is just one example of a project that has been proposed and submitted to the Italian companies," Calenda told Sputnik on the sidelines of the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Italy has so far proposed some 340 projects of investment into the Russian economy, according to the minister. "We will work until the end of the year in order to better qualify these [investment] projects. In 2017, we will be focused on bringing companies in the various sectors and various Russian regions. The objective is to increase the number of our medium-size enterprises here, but especially to go deeper to Russia," Calenda told Sputnik on the sidelines of the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). MOSCOW (Sputnik)Poland hopes to resume exports to the Russian market in the short term, Poland's Deputy Development Minister Radoslaw Domagalski said Friday. "I hope that we will return to the market and that this return will happen sooner than in the long-term prospect. There are a lot of areas where we can deepen cooperation, including construction materials and chemicals," Domagalski said, as quoted by TVN broadcaster, adding that Poland also wants to expand food and foodstuff exports. The Polish official, participating in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, cited low price as advantage of Polish exports over products from Western Europe. Philippe Pegorier, head of Alstom in Russia, told Sputnik that the concept of establishing a free trade zone between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union "remains a positive element for resolving a crisis" between the two organizations. "It would help resolve the political crisis, as well as to improve conditions for attracting investments to the Eurasian Economic Union. It would also allow the Eurasian Economic Commission to benefit from the EU experience in establishing such an economic union. I believe that investors completely endorse the creation of such a free trade zone," Pegorier said. He also pointed out that the fact that this year's forum was attended by European Commission representatives, including President Jean-Claude Juncker and Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, hints at changes in the 'political' climate. The study, which is set to be completed by 2018 with a budget of 1.3 million euros, will determine whether or not there is any need to build an undersea tunnel that would span the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. Possible technical solutions, alternatives and the project's potential environmental impact are to be examined. The EU Central Baltic Program will provide 75 percent of the outlay, whereas Finland and Estonia will jointly finance the rest. For years, Helsinki and Tallinn have cherished the over-adventurous project, which would eliminate the need for the present-day ferries as long as the EU would be willing to provide most of the estimated 13 billion euros in funding. Today, about eight million ferry journeys are made every year. The Helsinki-Tallinn ferries are a widespread tourist attraction, a popular 'booze cruise' for Finns and part of a weekly commute for thousands of Estonians working in the Finnish metropolitan area. Remarkably, in 2009, the EU refused to finance a similar feasibility study, while later allocating 100,000 euros in 2015. According to earlier estimates by Finnish national broadcaster Yle, the grandiose scheme includes a 80-kilometer-long tunnel, which would stretch from Finland's Pasila railway station in Helsinki to Ulemiste district on the outskirts of Tallinn. The proposed tunnel would have a daily capacity of 25,000 passengers and offer 36-euro trips lasting about half an hour. In February, Moscow and Cairo signed a memorandum on the delivery of 4 SSJ100 planes to Egypt's Air Leisure charter airline. The deal includes an option for six more aircraft. On February 3, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia and Egypt are discussing a possible delivery of up to 40 SSJ100 to the EgyptAir airline. In May, the Russian trade minister said that the number of Sukhoi Superjet liners to be supplied to Egypt directly depends on the resumption of air traffic between the two countries. Russia and several other countries suspended flights to and from Egypt last fall after a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai desert on October 31 while flying from the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg killing all 224 people on board. Militants affiliated with the Daesh terror group, outlawed in Russia, claimed responsibility for what they said was a bomb attack. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a short-haul aircraft with a range of 4,400 kilometers (2,730 miles) and a capacity of 98 passengers. The jet had its first flight in 2008 and began flying on commercial routes in 2011. "All his life President Hugo Chavez was a staunch proponent of a multipolar world model, instead of the bipolar system that was being forced upon us. And this is exactly why he always advocated improving relations with Russia, Belarus and the BRICS nations," Gordils added. He also remarked that the events that transpired in the global economy, following the financial crisis of 2008, made it clear that reliance on large international financial institutions may not be a very good idea. "Capitalist countries managed to turn a systemic crisis into business and actually profit from it. Therefore the periphery countries should create their own financial institutions," Gordils said. Meanwhile, Andres Arauz, Ecuadorean Minister of Science and Human Talent, said that Russia is both an irreplaceable commercial and geostrategic partner to Ecuador, and that the anti-Russian sanctions became a "boon" for his country in terms of deepening relations with Moscow. "Russia has always been our key economic partner. Of course the sanctions basically became a boon to us. And we also intend to begin cooperation [with Russia] on several major long-term projects," he said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is an annual event that invariably draws the attention of major companies across the world. This year the forum was attended by a number of prominent dignitaries, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a host of executives from the world's leading companies. "Most of the businessmen expect a positive dynamic during the second half of the year. This forum is very important for us due to a high concentration of business representatives," he explained. Harald Schwager, member of the BASF board of directors, was also quite optimistic regarding his companys prospects in Russia. "During the recent years there was a significant agricultural boom which in turn increases our own chances at booming. And Russia, with its vast swathes of fertile soil, is a very lucrative prospect for us," he said. German political scientist Alexander Rahr also pointed out that the anti-Russian sanctions are becoming a growing concern for the European business circles, and that the European politicians are no longer able to ignore the pressure to do away with these punitive measures. "Europeans should get together and finally determine which principles exactly the sanctions policy is based upon. We need to return to realpolitik. The voice of reason is gradually becoming more and more prevalent in the relations between Russia and the EU," Rahr said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is an annual event that invariably draws the attention of major companies across the world. This year the forum was attended by a number of prominent dignitaries, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a host of executives from the world's leading companies. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The 41-year-old was reportedly attacked in the street as she held a regular constituency surgery, according to The Guardian newspaper. The murder suspect, a man with allegedly mental health issues, was detained soon after. "What's happened is beyond appalling" Jeremy Corbyn, flanked by tearful Labour colleagues, at vigil for Jo Cox pic.twitter.com/zoSsQoYuvS Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) 16 June 2016 "Jo Cox died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy," Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote, saying it was a "horrific murder." About the murder of Jo Cox, its incredibly sad, and wrong. Will hope this tragedy is not used as a political tool. Thoughts with her family. Graham W Phillips (@GrahamWP_UK) 17 June 2016 A spontaneous rally was held late Thursday outside the UK parliament in London, with hundreds paying tribute to the deceased mother-of-two. More people, including Corbyns former leadership rival Yvette Cooper, came to the parish church of St. Peters in Coxs home town Birstall. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Fifty-five members of the Senate voted in favor of the law on anti-terrorist operations, while 28 voted against, with three abstaining from the vote, local PAP news agency said. The law was passed without any amendments added. The lower chamber of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, approved the new anti-terrorism draft law on June 10. A British vote to abandon the EU could boost the clout of member countries which are calling for an end to the economic sanctions Brussels previously slapped on Russia, Bertelsmann Foundation expert Stefani Weiss told the Belgian news network RTBF The interview came as UK citizens prepare to decide whether or not their country should stay in the European Union on June 23. Bertelsmann Foundation is Germany's largest private fund dealing with pressing public problems. "There is a risk that those who enthusiastically do not support the sanctions will become stronger without Britain," Weiss said. The Out' campaign also put their efforts on hold. The assailant was reported to have shouted "Britain first", the name of one of the most radical pro-Brexit groups. While the financial risks accompanying a Brexit scenario are rife, as noted by the Bank of England (BOE) on Thursday, maintaining the status quo, as advocated by the In' campaigners, would be the most appropriate for most of the UK's establishment. However, the 'Out' campaign is finding support mostly amongst the frustrated, dismayed and occasionally dispossessed English working class, which has suffered from the negative spillovers of the expansion of the financial sector and services, as well as the declining global competitiveness of the UK's traditional industries like iron and steel, and shipbuilding, among other things. Is there a possibility that the MP Cox assassination might snowball into full-scale class warfare, between groups struggling for their vision of the future of the British economy and governance? Although this is hardly the case, an escalation in violent political radicalism might be a possibility. The 'Out' campaign's de facto leaders, Nigel Farage, head of the UK Independence Party (Ukip), and Boris Johnson, former mayor of London, both voiced their sympathy for the Cox family and made it clear that political violence is inappropriate. Deeply saddened to hear that Jo Cox has died. Sincerest condolences to her family. Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) 16 June 2016 "Sad & shocked to hear of Jo Cox's death. Appalling a MP should lose her life simply doing her best for constituents. Thoughts w/ Jo's family," Boris Johnson wrote. Sad & shocked to hear of Jo Cox's death. Appalling a MP should lose her life simply doing her best for constituents. Thoughts w/ Jo's family Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) 16 June 2016 Johnson is widely speculated as the most likely candidate for the PM office should the Brexit occur. Despite a heavy backlash over the incident among the In' supporters on social media (with some users going as far as to claim that there is "blood on the hands" of the Brexit supporters in general), both Johnson and Farage are determined to act within the framework of the existing political procedures. They aren't revolutionary leaders, explicitly or covertly. However, the hazard of politically-motivated violence possibly escalating is now prominently obvious and such a hazard emanates from smaller and less public organizations, which almost lack any representation in the UK's official political landscape. Britain First, the far-right political group whose name the assailant invoked as he took MP Cox's life, iis reported to have training camps in remote and secluded regions of the UK. Although it denies such allegations, Britain First and other similar groups, which are small in number but adamant in their conviction that direct action is a method of achieving their goals, might indeed take political violence to a new level. The question is whether a wider group would become more accepting of the more direct methods advocated by the extremists. The most appropriate assessment would be to say that the MP Cox assassination makes things complicated for both the In' and Out' supporters. The entailing controversy puts everyone under suspicion of possible involvement, undermining the overall level of mutual trust in the UK's politics. Opinions on Brexit are still divided, indicating, however, the UK is leaning to vote Out'. "Until this morning I would have said to you that on the balance of probabilities, Remain' were the favorites," John Curtice, Glasgow-based Strathclyde University's professor of politics said as reported by the BBC. "We no longer have a favorite in this referendum. There has to be a serious possibility that we will vote Leave."' However, BOE's Monetary Policy Committee warned the Brexit would severely disrupt the UK's economy. "The outcome of the referendum continues to be the largest immediate risk facing UK financial markets, and possibly also global financial markets," the BOE's Monetary Policy Committee said. A Brexit scenario would have "adverse spillovers to the global economy" through "financial market and confidence channels," they added. MP Jo Cox' Labour Party generally supported the Stay' campaign. MP Cox herself was leaning In' as well, as indicated by her recent statements, yet, she also voiced moderate concerns regarding immigration. "Immigration is a legitimate concern, but it's not a good reason to leave the EU," MP Cox told the Yorkshire Post on June 10. When an infamous Bosnian jihadist landed at Malmo airport on Monday, he was immediately detained by border police after it was established that he had been refused entrance to France. But hardly had the man uttered the word "asylum," when the deportation was interrupted by the Migration Board, Swedish Radio reported. However, following severe criticism from many security experts, the man was surprisingly refused asylum and scheduled for deportation, which runs contrary to Sweden's well-known leniency towards hardened criminals. The 46-year-old man is currently sitting in custody, awaiting his deportation. "Obviously, he had no grounds for asylum," Fredrik Bengtsson, press officer at the Swedish Migration Board, told the newspaper Sydsvenskan. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Frances ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy called on Russia and the European Union on Thursday to scrap mutual sanctions, but said Moscow should reach out first. Russia banned EU food exports in 2014 after Europe slapped it with economic restrictions. "I dont know if it would be wise to take such charitable action as lifting countermeasures," Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Putin was informed about Sarkozys proposal, Peskov said, adding there was no official response from the president. ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) In mid-March, Brussels and Ankara agreed on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. "We see that Europe is now changing its policy with its Turkey-EU deal, and it looks like their only interest is to stop people coming to Europe. For us this is an anti-humanitarian policy, because what Europe is doing is externalizing its borders into Turkey, and soon it is seeking to make deals with African countries, to make the borders of Europe in other countries," Meinie Nicolai said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Labour MP Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed multiple times after a constituency meeting in West Yorkshire. The murder may become a turning point in the Brexit campaign and provide the UK vote on continued EU membership with an unexpected denouement. Remarkably, the Swedish vote on the euro in 2003 was tarnished by the murder of then Foreign Minister Anna Lindh of the Social Democrat Party, which was carried out in a similar way and under similar circumstances. Anna Lindh was stabbed to death on September 13, 2003, in the final stretch of the pro-euro campaign, preceding a referendum on joining the Eurozone. The murderer was a young man named Mijailo Mijailovic. Born in Sweden to Serb parents, Mijailovic was still troubled by the Yugoslav civil war, where Lindh had definite and anti-nationalist views. Despite the fact that the murder of Anna Lindh never was classified as a political act, Mijailovic admitted he felt hatred for all politicians, Swedish and Serbian alike. These amendments allow NATO rapid response teams to enter Poland not only in critical cases, but in peacetime. According to the amended law, the president of Poland, at the request of the Minister of Defense and the prior consent of the Prime Minister, may authorize the stationing of foreign troops (mainly NATO and EU) in Poland as part of the strengthening of the Polish armed forces in peacetime. The head of the Russias State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) Committee on defense, former black sea fleet commander Vladimir Komoedov has described the move as an attempt to please some third countries and a complete neglect of Warsaws own interests. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The business tycoon, who invested more than $1 billion in the United Kingdom, added that it would be harder for British business to raise funds for projects and to recruit skillful employees from continental Europe after Brexit. "While ultimately a matter for the British people to decide, it is clear to me that if Britain chooses to be outside of Europe, it will be a significantly less attractive place to do business and to invest," Gates said in an open letter to The Times newspaper. Gates' statement came after opinion polls showed on Thursday a six-point lead of Brexit supporters. Voters across the United Kingdom will take part in a referendum on June 23 to decide whether or not the country should stay in the European Union. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) The next EU heads of state summit is set to be held at the end of June. "It's up to [European Council] President [Donald] Tusk to decide. It is very important to have a broad discussion on Russia and Russia-EU relations. It is not scheduled for the upcoming EU summit, but may take place in the fall," the source said. Moscow's relations with the West deteriorated in 2014 over the Ukrainian crisis, when the European Union along with the United States and some other countries imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing it of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs, a claim Moscow has repeatedly denied. MOSCOW (Sputnik)The OSCE will conduct exercises involving 200 migration experts over two years which are aimed at suppressing of human smuggling, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Friday in a statement. "The OSCE is bringing together all relevant frontline actors from the countries of origin, transit and destination along migration routes, in an innovative, reality-based simulation exercise to enhance their capacity to investigate crime and develop effective referral mechanisms for identifying victims," OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said. The OSCE training sessions will simulate the illegal smuggling of migrants and refugees to Europe, including scenarios of abuse. At some point, for reasons that the study has not ascertained yet, the plankton changed, becoming more variable throughout the years, and upsetting the poor foraminifera. What the study shows, according to Dr McClymont, is that "something happening on the ocean surface can impact things happening below, under 1000 meters of water. That's exactly what happened there." Beyond that, the study is a cautionary tale on how everything in our oceans is deeply intertwined. And, although foraminifera's doom was not spelt by variations in temperature, that does not mean that global warming could not cause a similar catastrophe in the near future. "We know that global warming and changes in carbon dioxide have impacted plankton greatly, and according to the International Panel on Climate Change some species of fitoplancton have started migrating," Dr McClymont told Sputnik. "The real issue is: if plankton does change, our result shows that you might have an impact deep down, on the seafloor." "And organisms living on the seafloor are parts of complex ecosystems, they affect how easily organic materials are cycled through the ocean," she added. "Such a change would have great repercussions on the whole oceanic ecosystem." ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik)Russia does not give the United Kingdom any grounds to believe that it would support it leaving the European Union, but a Brexit may improve Moscow-London relations, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the European Union told Sputnik on Friday. "Some may think so, but there are no grounds for this," Chizhov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), when asked why London thought Moscow backed Brexit. If the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union, Russia would form relations with it as a country that is not a member of the bloc, according to Chizhov. During a ceremony to honor his late fellow police officers, a French police officer refused to shake hands with his country's socialist President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the radio station RTL reported. The incident occurred after a ceremonial speech honoring two policemen who had been killed by a gunman. President Hollande passed along a row of police officers who were present at the ceremony, shaking hands with them. One of them suddenly refused to offer his hand to the president, and continued to stand still. While Copenhagen is welcoming US Secretary of State John Kerry with pomp, the pollster Megafon has conducted a survey on behalf of the channel TV2 and newspaper Politiken, yielding baffling results. Forty percent of Danes believe that a close association with the United States contributes to a greater risk of terrorism inside Denmark. However, 64 percent of the Danes polled concede that a close relationship with the US is vital for the nation's security and prosperity. Terror researcher Carsten Bagge Laustsen of Aarhus University brushed his compatriots' fear aside as unnecessary alarmism, yet admitted that their apprehension may be partially justified. "Anti-Americanist sentiment is high in the Middle East, and is even higher among the Middle Eastern Islamic terrorist organizations, so once you become associated with the American warfare, the attitude towards Denmark is adversely affected," Carsten Bagge Laustsen told TV2. "For a terrorist who resides or has roots in Denmark, it is quite obvious that the Danish participation in the war may be used as a pretext for legitimizing' a terrorist attack," he said. A group of German artists have urged the German government to allow thousands of refugees to fly to Germany, and come up with a controversial protest in order to put pressure on the government, Sputnik Germany reported on Thursday. The "Center for Political Beauty" pressure group is collecting donations from the public to pay for 100 refugees to fly to Germany from Turkey on June 28. The group calls their initiative "Devour the Refugee" because of a controversial twist: they are also seeking to recruit refugee volunteers to be eaten alive by a lion in a square in Berlin, in the event that the government refuses to support their campaign. Between 1981 and 1971, seven MPs have been murdered. Three MPs were killed by the Irish Republican Army. Another MP was murdered by an affiliate to the Black Beret Cadre a small militant Bermudian Black Power group. And another MP was killed by the Irish National Liberation Party two more were assassinated by members of the Ulster Defense Association (UDA). In The Line of Political Duty There have been two attempted murders on MPs since 1990. In 2000, Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones was stabbed and his assistant killed by a man wielding a Samurai sword while the Cheltenham MP held his weekly surgery. @jimsciutto @Emmabarnett Tho Nigel Jones MP couldve been killed by samurai sword attack in 2000, assistant tragically killed at same time Katy Riddle (@KatyMarketFresh) June 16, 2016 In 2010, Labour MP Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach by a student during a constituency surgery in Newham, London. In 2010 Stephen Timms MP was attacked while at work in his constituency surgery. Thankfully he survived Please no more attacks Annie (@AnnieCricket) June 16, 2016 Following the killing of Jo Cox as she went about her political duties, politicians have been advised to contact police about their security following the murder of their colleague. But many MPs showed their defiance by attending their constituency advice surgeries, traditionally held on a Friday. My response to the senseless and heartbreaking murder of Jo is to do my job today. My care home visits and surgery will go ahead as planned. Owen Smith (@OwenSmith_MP) June 17, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn shared a platform with Conservative leader David Cameron to pay tribute to Cox and announced that parliament would be recalled on Monday 20 June, "on behalf of everybody who values democracy, free speech and the right of political expression." "She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. It is an attack on democracy.it is the well of hatred that killed her," Corbyn said. MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova A large Eurasian partnership project proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin will put the regional economy on top, member of the Pakistani parliament Mian Abdul Mannan told Sputnik Friday, adding that the project should be led by Russia. Earlier on Friday, speaking at the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin proposed to create a large Eurasian partnership between the Eurasian Economic Union and countries including India, Iran, Pakistan, as well as members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. "In my opinion, Russia should lead this project because the people in the region are fed up with the US policy. Putin is the most suited leader to lead this process. It is an excellent time to joint hands and form a new economic bloc for this entire region. This is a way to put the Eurasian economy on the top," Mian Abdul Mannan said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia prefers to have a strong Europe to cooperate with, as such a partner is less likely to be manipulated by outside forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "You want me to say what Russia's stance is on this, whether Russia want to talk to a strong Europe or a weak one. Russia certainly wants to talks to a strong Europe, because having dialogue with a weak partner is not worth it. One can always expect that someone else will somehow pressure him and all agreements and joint plans will be ruined. While a strong partner will never allow something like that to be done. I think that we should respect the choice of the British people, regardless of what it will be. We just have to wait a few days and see what happens," the president said," Putin said in a response to a question regarding the upcoming UK referendum on the United Kingdom's membership in the European Union. Experts disagree on the impact that a UK exit will have on the European Union, with some arguing that Europe will consolidate and other arguing that the bloc will disintegrate, Putin added, noting that he will not express his personal opinion on the matter. On Friday Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade on a three-day visit to Serbia, after which he will visit Poland and Uzbekistan. According to reports, Serbia and China will sign around 20 agreements during the President's visit. These include an agreement about the modernization of the Belgrade-Budapest train line, and China's proposed investment of 17 million euros in infrastructure and development projects involving Chinese firms. Aleksandar Jankovic, the Serbian government's Director of the Department for Asia, Australia and the Pacific, told Sputnik that Serbia and China are important strategic partners. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to express his opinion Friday about possible British leaving the European Union saying it is a matter of UK and EU affairs. "That is absolutely not our problem, that is an issue of British people. I have my personal opinion but I cannot answer in advance, I cannot speak about the results [of the referendum] and nobody knows that," he said, adding that it is improper to link Russia to all issues including those, which Russia has nothing to do with. Voters across the United Kingdom will take part in a referendum on June 23 to decide whether or not the country should exit the European Union. "For months MSF has spoken out about a shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need," Jerome Oberreit, International Secretary General of MSF, added. "Europes attempt to outsource migration control is having a domino effect, with closed borders stretching all the way back to Syria. People increasingly have nowhere to turn." MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) June 17, 2016 The EU also recently announced plans to send billions of euros in aid to African and Middle Eastern countries to help stop the flow of migrants. In exchange, countries agreed to welcome back migrants who are deported from Europe. France Timmerman, part of the European Commission that presented the plan, said the initiative would "use a mix of positive and negative incentives to reward those third countries willing to cooperate effectively with us and to ensure that there are consequences for those who do not." MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group is preparing to resume its armed struggle if peace negotiations with the government do not materialize. "We have extensive information that they are prepared to return to war and urban warfare, which is more devastating than the rural war. That's a reality and I know it, that is why it is so important that we reach an agreement," Santos said on Thursday, as quoted by the RCN broadcaster. The Colombian government and FARC have been engaged in peace talks since November 2012 and have reached a number of important agreements including on landmine removal, land reform, transitional justice and an end to illegal drug trafficking. According to the Libyan government, Goldman Sachs bankers used bribes, lavish gifts, and prostitutes to lock in contracts that turned out disastrous for the African nation. The trial, which begins this week in London, has made headlines, as many of the bank's top officials rotated into and out of influential government jobs, including managing partner Timothy Geithner, who was appointed Secretary of the Treasury under US President Barack Obama. Russ Baker, editor in chief of WhoWhatWhy news, covered Libya at the time of the 2011 NATO bombing. Speaking to Radio Sputnik's Loud and Clear, he explains that there's plenty of evidence the intervention was all about the money from the beginning. "Gaddafi was one of the few leaders in the Arab world that really was independentHe not only was encouraging all of the Arab countries to try to work together to generate political power on the world scene, but he also [encouraged] African countriesto take full ownership of their own natural wealth," Baker tells host Brian Becker. BLAGOVESHCHENSK (Sputnik) Mikhail Shirokopoyas, 35, was lethally injured in Aleppo in May and airlifted to a Moscow military hospital where he succumbed to his wounds on June 7. He was posthumously awarded a medal for valor. "He left for Syria for three months in mid-April," his wife told RIA Novosti. "I asked him to decline but he said an order was an order." Shirokopoyas previously served on two contracts at air bases in Russias Far East as a second-in-command platoon sergeant. He was given a military honors burial on June 11. He is survived by a wife and a 13-year-old daughter. ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Last week, media reports emerged claiming that Baghdadi was killed in a US airstrike. Pentagon and the Iraqi army denied these claims. "There is no clear information on his killing, but I definitely know that he was wounded. But this does not matter, as in near future not only him, but also other IS [Daesh] members will be killed," he said. The ambassador added that a meeting of Syrian and Russian defense ministers is currently being planned: "The Syrian government has been ready for the next round of talks in Geneva for a long time, as soon as [UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan] de Mistura announces them. We are waiting," the official said. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups. A Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeymim groups have been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on Syrian reconciliation. The situation in and around Fallujah, situated only some 50 kilometers west of the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad is appalling. Residents are being forced to eat unsuitable food and animal fodder and drink raw river water to survive. Those attempting to escape run the risk of being maimed or shot dead by Daesh snipers, the Norwegian Refugee Council's mission in Iraq reported. Fallujah was conquered by terrorists in January 2014 and has been under siege by the Iraqi army and Shiite militias for months. Now, a famine threatens to cost even more lives in the surrounding area's refugee camps. "Our food supply is sufficient for two days only, and the situation is acute," Karl Schembri of the NRC in Iraq told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. "We will soon run out of both water and food. Also, we have an extreme shortage of medicine," Schembri said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian anti-terrorism operation in Syria is complicated by difficulties in separating the moderate opposition from the Nusra Front terrorist group, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. "Our Aerospace Forces' operation continues in Syria. It is no secret that the fact that the continued mixing and soldering of the so-called opposition and al-Nusra remains a significant problem, this really complicates the counterterrorism [work]," Peskov told reporters. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Earlier in the day, local media reported that the Iraqi security forces took under their control the center of Fallujah. "Daesh militants in Fallujah are now concentrated in the area of Dzulani in the north of the city. The operation may be completed during two to three days," the commander of the operation, Brig. Gen. Abdelwahab Saadi, said as quoted by the Sky News Arabia. Saadi added there were not many civilians in the city. MOSCOW (Sputnik)The internal memo signed by some 50 US diplomats, a draft of which was obtained by The New York Times from a US State Department official on Thursday, calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons," against Assad forces. "All these statements are games that we have already seen in the past. This is the way to put pressure on the Russians. They are saying: Look, we have the opposition that demands actions against Assad and calls on the government to change the current political position toward the Syrian regime, so you [the Russians] need to work with us [the current US administration] and we need to move fast," the source said. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to president Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure after revelations that Israeli taxpayers footed a bill of over 6.7 million shekels ($1.73 million) after his trip to the 70 Session of the UN General Assembly in New York last fall, including $1,600 spent on hairstyling. The information came to light following a lengthy legal challenge to the Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Office from lawyer Shahar Ben-Meir, who petitioned the Jerusalem District Court under the Freedom of Information Law, the Haaretz newspaper reported. Netanyahu and his wife visited New York between September 29 and October 4 2015, and the bills were paid by the Israeli consulate and the Israeli mission to the UN. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US-led coalition against the Daesh carried out 10 airstrikes on Thursday near the Syrian city of Manbij destroying terrorists tactical units and fighting positions, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release. Near Manbij, 10 strikes struck nine separate Daesh tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, three Daesh vehicles, and an Daesh mortar system," CENTCOM stated on Friday. In the beginning of June, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States, have begun an offensive on Manbij to free the city from terrorists. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US proposal to consider a possibility of incorporating representatives of the opposition into the Syrian government is "absolutely reasonable." "We are now in the dialogue process between the opposition and the government as we agreed and want to make a coalition with the government, to make a wider government that will include the Syrian opposition forces and the Syrian current government that should represent all Syrian people. This will ensure safety for the Syrian political structure and can accelerate the current war against terrorism. It is a very good idea," Ahmad said. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups. The central provision of the treaty is the ban on the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. This makes it illegal in every country that joins the Convention for anyone to use cluster munitions or engage in any production or trade of the weapon. Other weapons that have been banned in this way include antipersonnel landmines, as well as biological and chemical weapons. When human rights campaign group Amnesty International discovered in early June that the UK had sold cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia, it also became apparent that Britain continues to partake in stockpiling and investing in companies that produce the weapons. In addition to this, on Thursday (June 16), it was announced that the US House of Representatives approved the sales of more cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia despite an international ban on the controversial munitions. Amnesty has documented use of several types of US-made cluster bombs in current Yemen war https://t.co/qMbsAmanNT https://t.co/rHcDvvYduL amnestypress (@amnestypress) June 16, 2016 A key campaigner against the use of cluster munitions is Firoz Alizada, Campaigns and Communications Manager for the CMC. The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and its members in 100 countries have been raising awareness of the devastating impacts of cluster bombs, advocating for a ban, as well as monitoring states' activities and efforts towards the implementation of Convention. Firoz Alizada, Campaigns and Communications Manager for CMC, believes that the use of cluster munitions in war is extremely harmful and that financial institutions funding the companies that make them is completely wrong. "Cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons that kill and maim civilians, including children. They have been used Syria and also in Yemen since March 2015, especially the CBU-105s Sensor Fuzed Weapon type of cluster munition, which is manufactured by Textron. It is unacceptable that financial institutions such as JP Morgan and Bank of America and all other financial institutions continue to fund cluster munitions producers of this horrendous weapon that maim civilians," Alizada told Sputnik. Alizada has also called on these companies and governments to put an end to investment in the production of cluster bombs and on all governments that haven't joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, to join as soon as possible. The UK is fuelling the deadly conflict in #Yemen through reckless arms sales to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition: https://t.co/hcROhVhF6D Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) June 11, 2016 When asked about thematization behind the finance, Firoz Alizada believes it is simply down to money. "Well, the aim of financial institutions is usually to make profit; it is probably this same goal that leads these companies to invest in cluster munitions producers. They put their own profit over harms or consequences their investments might cause," Alizada told Sputnik. As conflict in the Yemen continues and thousands of civilians face injury and death due to cluster munitions, CMC as many other NGOs believes that the international community can not and should not ignore what is happening. Some ten states in total have adopted legislation that prohibits (forms of) investments in cluster munitions: Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Samoa, Spain and Switzerland. But will others eventually follow suit? However Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and State Department official, is one of those in the US who believes that with the right planning and substantial military support NATO could carry out an intervention. "My solution is that we have to have an international coalition led by NATO, with regional states to resolve the situation with the Assad government, ISIS and the al-Nusra Front. I don't think just attacking Assad is the solution." "What was done in Libya was half-hearted," the US expert believes. "This is where the phrase 'leading from behind' came for the US. It was mostly a bombing campaign, run by the British and the French. You may remember that they bombed so much they ran out of bombs." WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US military conducted three airstrikes in central Yemen on June 8-12 that eliminated six al-Qaeda operatives and injured one other, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release on Friday. "A strike June 8 in al Badya Governorate resulted in the deaths of two al-Qa'ida operatives along with the destruction of their vehicle loaded with weapons," the release stated. "Another strike conducted June 10 in Marib Governorate killed two al-Qaeda operatives." CENTCOM added that another strike in Shabwah Governorate on June 12 killed two more terrorists, while injuring another. That deal has wavered in recent weeks following the Turkish governments crackdown on both the media and dissent, including advancing a constitutional amendment that will allow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to prosecute all opposition lawmakers from the Kurdish HDP Party under the countrys anti-terrorism laws. This move toward totalitarianism follows Turkeys aggressive decision to shoot down a Russian warplane. The Erdogan government has also faced accusations of being engaged in illegal arms and oil trade with Daesh militants, stoking the flames of war. British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that Turkey may not be ready for inclusion in the European Union, and the EU has soured on the idea of offering visa-free travel to Turkish citizens. Erdogan responded by threatening to unleash a new wave of migrants onto Europes mainland. Now the military alliance of 28 nations is looking to strip Ankara of their greatest bargaining chip by blockading migrant sea smuggling from Turkey. "Ansar Beit al-Maqdis emerged from the chaos in Egypt under Morsi. It has now declared itself the ISIS [Daesh] branch in the Sinai," Macgregor noted. The terror group was seeking to repeat previous Islamic State gains in other countries and was escalating its assaults on long-established international peacekeeping forces between Israel and Egypt in the Sinai, Macgregor observed. "They have already attacked the Sinai task force that guards the border between Egypt and Israel," he recalled. So far, the Egyptian army had proved unable to destroy the group or roll it back, Macgregor said. "The problem is the inability of Egyptian ground forces to systematically annihilate the group in the Sinai," he stated. The US military continued to support Egypt, but was not engaging Ansar Beit al-Maqdis directly, Macgregor added. "We can and are doing much to help them, but we cannot intervene on Egypt's sovereign territory with our ground forces to eliminate this home grown Sunni Islamist organization," he concluded. Doug Macgregor holds a doctoral degree in international relations from the US Military Academy at West Point. He commanded in the Battle of 73 Easting, a decisive tank fight during the 1991 Gulf War. The first proposal, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Program (GBSD), will forge ahead this summer. The GBSD aims to replace the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a more precision targeted system that officials believe will be able to penetrate anti-ballistic missile shields. The US Air Force intends to outfit existing missile silos with new weapons to minimize program expenditures. The second program, the Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) seeks to produce a new nuclear-armed cruise missile. Initial development is scheduled to begin in a matter of weeks. The LRSO would replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM), which is slated to be phased out beginning in 2030. Rocket and mortar attacks were the second-largest cause of death for US soldiers in Iraq, prompting the defense contractor to develop the MHTK weapon to shield personnel at a fraction of the cost. The US Army, however, backed away from the acquisition late in the process, citing the reduction in US troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The MHTK weapon features a miniaturized missile that is 27 inches long, two inches in diameter and weighs 5 pounds at launch. The missile contains no active warhead, but instead uses kinetic energy to take out a target. One launcher can fit 36 miniaturized missiles and two launchers are able to fit in the back of a flatbed truck, providing portability to the rocket and mortar shield. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US Army is raising an almost two-thirds of a billion dollar building at Fort Meade, Maryland, the headquarters of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), the US Department of Defense announced. "Clark Construction Group [of] Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded a $616.3 million contract options to design and build a multi-story office building," the announcement said on Friday. Work on the project will be performed at Fort Meade, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of August 11, 2020, the Defense Department noted. TOKYO (Sputnik) Hatoyama visited Crimea last year, despite certain resistance from the Western world. "I decided to go and felt that the environment on the peninsula was absolutely peaceful. And having seen proof of real facts on the peninsula and I would like to pass these facts on to the Japanese community, to people around the world," Hatoyama said during a Friday meeting with Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, who is on a visit to Tokyo. Hatoyama stressed that he will strive to contribute to the development of cultural exchanges between Russia and Japan. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) The issue of Western anti-Russia sanctions is not on the agenda of Russian President Vladimir Putins upcoming visit to Finland, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "The Russian side traditionally does not raise the issue of sanctions. This issue is not on our agendaRussia was not the initiator of this situationWe will not raise this issue [during Putins visit to Finland]," Peskov told journalists in St. Petersburg on Friday. Putin's visit to Finland is planned for the summer of 2016, although the exact dates have not been set yet, according to Peskov. MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to Peskov, there are still "some disputes" present to date. "There is a common understanding that there is no alternative to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. This is the first point. There also exists an understanding that a failure in the [agreement's] implementation is absolutely unacceptable because the Minsk agreements cannot remain on paper, this is not possible. Therefore, there is a common understanding a pledge that the work will continue," Peskov told reporters. In February 2015, Kiev forces and eastern Ukraine's pro-independence militia signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk after talks of the Normandy Four countries, comprising Russia, Germany, Ukraine and France. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, as well as constitutional reforms which would give a special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A number of bilateral meetings between Vladimir Putin and foreign states' leaders was planned on the sidelines of the summit, according to the press service. "On June 23-24, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a meeting of the council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders in Tashkent, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the creation of this organization," the statement reads. The sanctions target imports from the peninsula and investment there, among other measures. Crimea seceded from Ukraine to rejoin Russia in March 2014 following a referendum in which over 96 percent of voters supported the move. The West labeled the vote an illegal "annexation." Moscow has stated that the referendum fully complied with international law. Western countries, as well as Japan, have imposed sanctions targeting Russia's banking, energy and defense sectors after Crimea's reunification with Russia. ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) The Russian President addressed the Economic Forum guests with a question considering NATO expansion: "For some reason, NATO infrastructure must constantly be expanded and moved closer to the Russian borders. Did this emerge yesterday? Now they are accepting Montenegro. Who is threatening Montenegro? Therefore, this is complete disregard towards our position in everything," Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He also called Washingtons unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty an issue. Regardless of the tensions that continue to simmer over the South China Sea, Washington has seemingly softened its stance towards Beijing; experts believe that such a shift could be explained by an upcoming change of leadership both in the United States and China. An opinion piece written by former Assistant US Army Attache in Beijing Ben Lowsen for The Diplomat is yet another example of the apparent thaw in relations between the countries. "Modern China's emergence onto the global stage brings with it both concern and hope: concern for how the world will accommodate an emerging great power and hope that a great civilization will enrich every aspect of global exchange," Lowsen writes. Saudi Arabia has always sponsored both Republican and Democratic Parties of America and the kingdom also provides with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clintons campaign in the US presidential elections despite the fact that some influential forces within the country dont have a positive look toward supporting the candidate because she is a woman, the agencys report quoted Prince Mohammed as saying. The article explained that it is illegal in the US for presidential candidates to accept funding from foreign governments, but Saudi Arabia and Clinton are no strangers to exchanging favors. The Clinton Foundation, which is chaired by both Hillary and her husband Bill Clinton, disclosed in 2008 that it had accepted up to US$25 million from the Saudi Kingdom in the same year. Other foreign governments who have reportedly donated money to the Clintons include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica, which together donated around US$20 million. However later this week the Middle East Eye reported that Jordan's official news agency said on Tuesday that it was hacked when, over the weekend, a story briefly appeared on its website. "We need a Schengen area for American tanks," former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosaw Sikorski said back in October 2015. The idea was echoed by Elisabeth Braw of the Atlantic Council in her June opinion piece for Foreign Affairs. "NATO's member states are willing to defend one another, and they have the troops and the equipment to do so. But quickly getting those troops and equipment to their destination is a different matter altogether. In some new NATO member states, bridges and railroads are simply not suitable for large troop movements. But one thing frustrates commanders even more: the arduous process of getting permission to move troops across borders," she wrote. Therefore, the bloc desperately needs a "military Schengen" zone in Europe, Braw argued. "With a military Schengen in place, NATO troops and equipment would be able to cross NATO borders to their destination the same way EU citizens do: without having to show permits," she underscored. However, it is not the first time that US policymakers have appeared to be completely divorced from reality. Much in the same vein the State Department officials decided to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya several years ago, claiming that "it would bolster democratic-minded forces there and result in a model moderate, representative government in the country." "We all know how fantasy-based foreign policy works out. The examples are too numerous," McAdams emphasizes. Interestingly enough, back in November 2015 former British chief of the defense staff General Sir David Richards called upon the British government to accept the fact that Bashar al-Assad's army is the only credible force that could fight Daesh and that by ousting Assad NATO forces would trigger chaos in Syria. Moreover, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey shared a similar stance. Back in 2013 "a highly classified assessment, put together by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then led by General Martin Dempsey, forecast that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to chaos and, potentially, to Syria's takeover by jihadi extremists, much as was then happening in Libya," Seymour Hersh wrote in his article for London Review of Books in January 2016. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) The United Nations should serve as a platform for the international talks on economic cooperation, due to its neutral nature, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Christian Friis Bach told Sputnik. "I offer the United Nations as a neutral and non-politicized platform to now create a dialogue on how we can strengthen the economic integration. This is very very needed," Bach said. Bach also stressed that he had "no opinion on the current sanctions, but that in the long run sanctions and new barriers is not the right way for Europe". WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US Department of State has no plans to make public an internal memo calling for the United States to take military action against Syrian President Bashar Assads government, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing on Friday. "Theres no plans to make it public," Kirby stated when asked when the State Department would release the dissent letter. Furthermore, Kirby said there will be no investigation as to how the letter ended up in the public domain. "We are now engaging together with the government of Belarus in the process where we will hopefully facilitates dialogue between the different countries and the different unions to create closer cooperation and integration," he said, noting that Minsk has taken an initiative of acting as a bridge between the European Union and the EEU. "We [UNECE] have to create now a new framework, a new foundation for integrations where we will be open and transparent, and where countries can say we want to be part of or work closer with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. We do not want to choose sides, we do not want to be only part of one or the other, but have transparent and open trade regime that can facilitate growth and peaceful coexistence," Bach said Christian Friis Bach also noted that EEU should be open for integration of any country that does not want to "choose sides". "As you know, there are countries in our region thatdo not want to choose this side or that side, but want to be part of an open transparent integration. I hope that the EEU will shape its future in a way that will make it open and transparent and reach out to other unions and other countries in the region," Bach said According to Bach, UNECE works closely with the EEA commission trying to help countries break down barriers between them in order to shape a stronger EEU. "Eurasian Economic Union is a promising integration effort between some of the countries in the region," the UNECE official added. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Russia and Ukraine will resume their normal gas cooperation after Kiev realizes that it has no monopoly on gas transit to Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. " if Ukraine realizes that it does not have monopoly on gas transit, the blackmail by some officials in that country over these deliveries will stop and we will return to a normal business cooperation," Putin said at a meeting with heads of international news agencies on Friday. According to Putin, Russia is not refusing to transport gas through Ukraine completely, though the main issue is the volume of gas and its distribution. Although we had the split of Christianity in 1054, we did not have formation of separate identities until the beginning of the 20th century according to my research.To a certain extent, the process of westernisation seems to have started about then; countries like Japan and Turkey changed markedly and became westernised. Another development was the rise of America. With the rise of U.S. power and America becoming the world hegemon, one needed a geographical concept that would encompass not just north-western Europe but a much wider arc of European society. The concept of the West is not just western-based, Professor Bonnett points out. In a country like Russia, there was a huge debate between the westernisers and the slavophiles, throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, a time when talk about the West was simply not taking place in cities like London or Paris. Professor Bonnett mentions that we have retreated over the past couple of decades into a bipolar world. For a while it seemed like we were going to have a much more multi-polar, diverse world, with different models, but partly because the other competing models of civilisation appear so defensive, westernisation seems to be coming back.At the end of the 20th century, people thought that it is all over now, the West is in decline, it is the Asian century and so on. It may be the Asian century in terms of economics, but in terms of civilisational models, and cultural influence I think that westernisation has come back with a vengeance. As President Francois Hollande refuses to back down in the face of a wave of strikes and unrest against his anti-labor law, he threatens to ban demonstrations citing the threat of terrorism. Will such a move backfire and ignite even more militant working class action? Was Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat killed? His widow believes so, and today a judgement is due in a French court on her challenge to have the investigation re-opened. Becker is joined by Dr. Ghada Talhami from Lake Forrest College to look at what the evidence suggests about Arafat's death and the road the Palestinian struggle has traveled since he passed away in 2004. Have activists in Los Angeles been getting arrested simply for criticizing the police at their commission meetings? Progressive organizations fighting police brutality say yes, and are galvanizing support for the seven activists who have been arrested since last fall. Joining Becker to discuss the movement against police brutality and spying in Los Angeles is Hamid Khan, campaign coordinator of the Stop LAPD Spying Network. Rosenberg, who recently retired as head of the Task Force on Global Health, explains the history of what is now known as the 'Dickey Amendment', which effectively served to end all federal research on guns. He describes his initial confrontations with then US Rep. Jay Dickey (R-AR), who has since, ironically enough, become a friend and ally, and why still-absent federal research funding is so important to helping curb the nation's extraordinary gun violence epidemic. "The NRA had been attacking us [the CDC] for years, because they thought that to allow research to be done might not be good for gun sales. And so they developed a zero tolerance policy," Rosenberg tells me. "They told their members that it's either-or, black and white, take your choice. Either you can do the research or you can keep your guns. But they said you can't do both. And if you allow the research, we will all lose all of our guns." The showdown with GOPers doing the bidding of the NRA at the time, he says, came not long after CDC-funded research found that "having a gun in the home - not only did it not protect you, but it increased the risk that someone in your family would be shot and killed with a gun, not by 5 or 6 or 20 percent, not by 80 or 90 percent, but more than 200 percent." Rosenberg explains his fascinating history with former Congressman Dickey, how federal research is not actually "banned" to this day (despite reporting to the contrary), why it is still not carried out nonetheless, and what he describes as the four "basic scientific questions" that federal research could help answer. Namely: "Who gets shot, how many people?"; "What are the causes" of gun death and injury and "what increases and decreases the risk"?; What could "work to prevent it"?; and, "once you find things that work, how do you put them into legislation and craft a policy that will both keep us safe and protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners"? It's an eye-opening and important discussion that I hope you'll take some time to listen to and share. And, finally, at the end of the show, as your gift, you'll be rewarded with a much-overdue laugh, courtesy of Al Franken. Enjoy! You can find Brad's previous editions here. And tune in to Radio Sputnik one hour a day, five days a week. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia has the right to deploy military units wherever it wants within its own borders and this does not pose a threat to neighboring countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. "We don't accept these allegations, as you know, we don't agree with them. As for us deploying or military units one place or the other, it is the sovereign right of Russia to freely move our forces on the entire territory of our country. These movements are in no way threatening our neighbors," Peskov told reporters. Several days before, President Putin ordered a snap inspection of the combat readiness of the Russian armed forces, which is set to last until June 22. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Greek island of Crete on June 16-26 was set to host the council, after more than 50 years of preparations. A number of churches, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church, have refused to participate in the council as the procedure and documents of the council have not been worked out properly yet. "I believe that with the presence of good will the meeting in Crete would become an important step to overcome existing disagreements. It may contribute to preparations to that Holy and Great Council that would unite all local autocephalous churches without exception," the patriarch said in a statement sent to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and other participants of the council. On Monday, the Russian Orthodox Church said that its Holy Synod met for an extraordinary session after which it offered to postpone the council to a later date because several Orthodox churches had refused to partake and it was expecting a response from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It took the Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov 31 minutes to run a five-kilometer event, in a race that was held within the framework of the 2016 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), according to the Russian news website Gazeta.ru A total of 255 people, including German Gref (head of Sberbank, Russia's largest bank) and head of Match TV Tina Kandelaki, took part in the SPIEF race which kicked off near St.Isaac's Cathedral in the city's center at 06:30 Moscow time on Friday. The race was won by Dmitry Razumov, chief executive of the Russian investment company ONEXIM Group. "SPIEF Race 2016: Forum participants & journalists take part in St Petersburg fun run" YouTube https://t.co/wIJFav7Byp Journalist JP (@bushi_jp) 17 2016 . Earlier, Peskov said that winning the race does not matter for him, and that the dream of the overwhelming majority of those attending the 2016 SPIEF race was "to exchange suit and shoes for sneakers and sportswear." ST.PETERSBURG (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova The Russian natural gas could play a major role in the global transition to the green energy future by replacing higher-emitting coal, the head of the World Energy Council told Sputnik Friday. "It is clear that we will have a fossil-fuel base for quite some time, "Dr Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the UN- accredited global energy body, predicted. "From the Russian prospective, gas is going to play a very critical role and is a big business opportunity." Lower-carbon natural gas is largely viewed as a "bridge" between greenhouse gas emitting coal and renewables, such as solar and wind power. As the role of coal begins to dwindle in line with the 2015 Paris climate conference commitments, the role of gas becomes "not less important but more," Dr Frei said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A total of ten militants were killed in a special police operation in Russia's Dagestan over the past 24 hours, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee said Friday. "As a result of series of operational and combat activities carried out by special units of the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry, nine active members of the so-called Suleiman-Stalskiy bandit group, as well as Hasan Abdullayev [Abu Yasir], the leader of the bandit underground of the southern Dagestan, were killed," the Committee said in a statement. Earlier in the day, it was reported that three officers from special police units and an FSB officer were killed in clashes with militants in Dagestan. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas will visit Israel from June 18 to June 22 to examine cybersecurity cooperation and other topics important to the two nations, the Department of Homeland Security announced in a press release on Friday. Mayorkas will "meet with Israeli counterparts to discuss a range of homeland security-related issues, including cybersecurity, law enforcement cooperation, and aviation security," the release explained. Mayorkas will also deliver remarks at the 6th Annual Cybersecurity Conference during Cyber Week 2016 in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, the release noted. In May, this group was able to get their Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 bill passed. The bill stated the Center would be important because: "(1) Foreign governments, including the Governments of the Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of China, use disinformation and other propaganda tools to undermine the national security objectives of the United States and key allies and partners; (2) The Russian Federation, in particular, has conducted sophisticated and large-scale disinformation campaigns that have sought to have a destabilizing effect on United States allies and interests;" It continued, stating that one the Centers 9 main functions would be: "Identifying current and emerging trends in foreign propaganda and disinformation, including the use of print, broadcast, online and social media, support for third-party outlets such as think tanks, political parties, and nongovernmental organizations, and the use of covert or clandestine special operators and agents to influence targeted populations and governments in order to coordinate and shape the development of tactics, techniques, and procedures to expose and refute foreign misinformation and disinformation and proactively promote fact-based narratives and policies to audiences outside the United States." Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), also one of the 12 lawmakers, said the Center is needed since the American government lacks the singular control of the media that Russia has. "President [Vladimir] Putins complete domination of media in Russia, strict messaging and obfuscated campaigns in neighboring countries all serve to change public perception and ultimately the facts on the ground," he said. On February 27, a US-Russia brokered ceasefire came into force in Syria. Terrorist groups such as Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh), as well as Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russia and a range of other states, are not part of the deal. Russia recognizes Assad as the legitimate authority in Syria, stressing that the Syrian people should be free to choose their leadership without outside intervention. The United States and some of its allies have been supporting the so-called moderate Syrian opposition since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, urging Assad to resign. In 2015, the Pentagon embarked on a failed $500 million mission to train and equip Syrian rebels. The failure of the 2015 program led the Pentagon to loosen requirements for Syrian rebels, opening the pool of recruits to leaders of armed groups that have sought to overthrow the Assad government. As Palma stepped on the native soil, he was immediately arrested for "his probable responsibility" for two murders, the Mexican officials said. The drug lord was allegedly behind the assassination of a deputy police chief and his companion in the western Mexican state of Nayarit. "We are in the process of carrying out an exhaustive review, checking all the prosecutors' offices," Attorney General Arely Gomez of Mexico said. He was placed in the same maximum-security jail near Mexico City that his former associate, drug lord El Chapo, escaped from in 2015. The notorious criminal escaped in grand style, through a tunnel on a motorcycle, only to be re-arrested in January of this year. Last week, a soldier guarding El Chapo was found dead from a blow to the back of the neck, according to the BBC, which added that 300 soldiers had been sent to the prison where El Chapo is being held to prevent him from escaping again. Meanwhile, by handing Palma over to Mexico, Washington hopes to accelerate the extradition of El Chapo to the US. MOSCOW (Sputnik) US Secretary of State John Kerry called a letter signed by dozens of US diplomats, urging Washington to carry out military action against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad "an important statement," media reported on Friday. On Thursday, The New York Times reported receiving a draft of an internal diplomatic memo, which was signed by over 50 mid-level US diplomats involved in Washington's Syria policy to some degree within the last several years, urged the US government to carry out a sensible amount of "stand-off and air weapons" deployment against Syrian government forces. "It's an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I willhave a chance to meet with people when I get back," Kerry told the Reuters news agency. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Jailed Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko lost his grinding teeth and cannot consume solid food, the pilot's wife, Victoria Yaroshenko, said on Friday. "The prison doctor who deprived my husband of his last teeth said that deciding on whether to make or not to make implants is not within his competence. He only said that Russian authorities must talk to the prison authorities and ask them to take Konstantin to a private clinic to carry out an operation. And looking at US prices, implanting one tooth costs around $900. We do not have enough for an entire jaw, but we will try to save up at least some money so he eat," Yaroshenko said in an interview with Russia's Izvestia newspaper. According to the pilot, he has been provided with a wax jaw that is unsuitable to eat with. KIEV (Sputnik) Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during his visit to the United States has discussed with US Sen. John McCain the situation in eastern Ukraine and the Kiev army modernization issues, according to a statement published on the Ukrainian government's website on Friday. "Volodymyr Groysman emphasized the Ukrainian army and its arms needed to be modernized. He also informed the Senator about the situation in Donbas. In turn, Senator McCain reaffirmed his support for Ukraine on its way of reform implementation and condemned Russian aggression," the statement read. Earlier in the week, Groysman met with leaders of the US House of Representatives, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, who promised to bring a $150-million security assistance package for Ukraine to a vote. Vice President Joe Biden also held talks with the head of Ukraine's government. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US Republicans tend to view the nightclub shooting in the city of Orlando primarily as an act of Islamic terrorism, while Democrats are more likely to consider the massacre a case of domestic gun violence, a new poll revealed on Friday. About 79 percent of Republicans surveyed blamed terrorism for the deadly attack, while 60 percent of Democrats blamed the accessibility of guns for the massacre, according to a Gallup poll. "Democrats' interpretation of the Orlando shooting may be influenced by Democratic leaders' calls for stricter gun laws in recent days," a press release accompanying the poll explained. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US Navy is substantially growing its fleet and working with military partners to strengthen its global presence, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said during a visit to the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in the Mediterranean Sea. During Mabus visit to the carrier group on Thursday, the US guided-missile destroyer Mason conducted a refueling exercise with the Italian Navys Flotta Verde. "We're where we need to be and when we need to be there. We're growing our fleet and we're doing it pretty dramatically 308 ships by 2021," Mabus stated. "We're going to have that presence." WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US Department of State is reviewing a draft dissident cable written by a group of its employees that urged the United States to take military action against forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, department spokesperson John Kirby told Sputnik on Friday. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," Kirby stated. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently, and I am not going to comment on the contents." The internal memo, a draft of which was obtained by The New York Times from a State Department official on Thursday, calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" against Assad forces. Davis noted that the United States is "really good" about assisting others in the prosecution of leaders who engage in human rights violations. "I hope at some point that there will be accountability for what we did, because we cant just ignore it and pretend it didnt happen," he stated. In addition to failing to prosecute individuals involved in the US torture program, neither President Barack Obama nor his predecessor George W. Bush have allowed a torture case to be heard before a US federal court. In 2010, the Obama administration struck down an attempted lawsuit involving CIAs detention and rendition program, under which terrorist suspects were tortured, arguing the program involves state secrets and cannot be decided by the courts. The US government also refused to hear the case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar who was interdicted in 2002 in New York City and sent to Syria to be tortured for one year under the CIA's rendition and detention program. Davis resigned from the military in 2008 for reasons that included his objection to torture and injustice at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He was later fired from a US government job for penning an opinion piece criticizing what he called the "double standard" of justice of Guantanamo military tribunals. In 2014 the US Senate Intelligence Committee released the summary of its investigation into the CIAs rendition and detention program, concluding that the United States had engaged in torture during the early years of the War on Terror. Under the program, which lasted from 2001 through 2007, terror suspects were brought into US custody and sent to sites in more than 50 countries for interrogation. Among the most well-known detention site is detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners were subject to torture. Eugene Stoners family, including his surviving children and adult grandchildren, had never publicly weighed in on the heated debate over the weapon but have finally done so under the condition of anonymity. The family adamantly asserts that Stoner, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 74, never intended for his invention to be sold to civilians. Despite his fondness for hunting and skeet shooting, he never used the gun for sport, and did not even own one himself. "Our father, Eugene Stoner, designed the AR-15 and subsequent M-16 as a military weapon to give our soldiers an advantage over the AK-47," one of the Stoners said in a statement to NBC News. "He died long before any mass shootings occurred. But, we do think he would have been horrified and sickened as anyone, if not more by these events." Referring to the deployment of two US Navy aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean ahead of the NATO Summit in Warsaw next month, Mabus added that the Pentagon plays an important role in maritime security. "Weve been in the Mediterranean continuously for 70 years now, since World War II," he said. "Weve been keeping the sea lanes openIts what we do." With its own Black Sea Fleet operating out of Sevastopol, Russia views these maneuvers as the latest example of NATOs eastward expansion. The alliance plans to station four new battalions in the Baltics and Poland, and has installed a new missile defense system in the region. Any permanent stationing of a US warship in the waterway would be a violation of the Montreux Convention, which states that countries without a Black Sea coastline cannot keep military ships in the region for more than 21 days. The United States has successfully prosecuted numerous of terrorism cases in federal court, Davis noted, citing the successful trials of al-Qaeda conspirator, Ahmed Ghailani, and al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Ladens son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith. "This whole notion that you hear a lot of politicians say we cant bring terrorists into our backyard, we have done it dozens and dozens of times and it has been successful," Davis observed. After taking office in 2009, Obama vowed to close down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and end the military commissions. He later changed his position on the commissions and currently faces legal opposition from the US Congress in his efforts to transfer the remaining 80 Guantanamo detainees. A number of US lawmakers have opposed ending the military commissions arguing that terrorism suspects would be afforded undeserved legal rights in US courts, or testimony given in court could jeopardize national security or state secrets. Davis resigned from his post as chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay in 2007 after the Bush administration called for the use of information obtained during torture as evidence against terrorism suspects. He was later terminated from a government job for penning an opinion piece criticizing what he called the "double standard" of justice of Guantanamo military tribunals. Reports indicate that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir informed the United Nations that if the truth about Riyadhs war crimes against children in Yemen was not redacted, the country would move to eliminate as much as $500 million in annual funding for UN programs. He also threatened to coordinate with Arab allies. This is not the first time that the Saudi Foreign Minister has resorted to extortion to prevent embarrassing truths to come to light. In April, Adel al-Jubeir informed Washington that Riyadh would move to dump $750 billion in US Treasury bonds if legislation was passed that allowed the family members of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. United Nations researchers had previously determined that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen should be included under the "parties that kill or maim children" and "parties that engage in attacks on schools and/or hospitals" after uncovering evidence that 60% of the 785 child deaths and 1,168 child injuries in the conflict were attributed to Riyadhs bombing attacks. Many of these attacks involved weapons provided by the United States. RIGA (Sputnik) Phillips said he came to Latvia via Lithuania and made a report in the southeastern Latvian city of Daugavpils. The journalist stressed that he plans to continue making footage in Latvia and will return to the country despite his recent deportation. In March, Latvian law enforcement detained Phillips who tried to cover a march in Riga commemorating former members of the Latvian Legion of the Waffen SS. Prior to being arrested, Phillips, who previously contributed reports for the RT broadcaster, publicly condemned fascism. On March 16, the UK journalist was deported to Russia and was banned from entering Latvia for three years. "As the exercises unfold during the next days, we should see some training and mobilization of units also close to NATO territory, with displays of modern weaponry all covered by the media," he added. But, equally importantly, the exercise fits into the broader program of training of the Russian armed forces and its security apparatus. In previous years, the focus has been mostly on the higher-readiness land units, air force and nuclear forces. So it makes sense to the Russians to broaden the scope to include large numbers of the reservists, train usage of pre-positioned equipment, as well as protection of crucial infrastructure inside the country against internal unrest or sabotage. But I would keep calm and not read it as preparation for World War III," the analyst concluded. The practice of having unannounced inspections of combat readiness was revived after Sergei Shoigu took the defense minister's office in 2012. In February, the Russian president ordered snap inspections of the countrys Central Military District. During the inspections, the troops were carrying out various drills to test their combat readiness. The checks also assessed the airborne forces' readiness for long-distance missions and landing in unfamiliar terrain. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Moscow hopes that the United States and its partners will avoid repeating old mistakes and not seek a military solution to the Syrian crisis, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Friday. "We would like to hope that the mistakes that have been made in the past, including by the United States and all the illegal coalitions both in Iraq and elsewhere, with forceful overthrows, with a complete lack of professionalism in conflict resolution approaches that they will not be forgotten," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to president Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups. "Russian officials hope this year's forum marks a turnaround in Russia's relations with Europe. The organizers say they also expect some of the chief executives of big multinational companies, who stayed away in 2014 and 2015, will come back this year," the newspaper said. The Financial Times also noted the probable extension of the anti-Russian sanctions, but said that "the mood is shifting and the staying power of the EU is increasingly uncertain." "If violence in eastern Ukraine does not flare up later this year, diplomats expect a more meaningful review of policy, which would begin to lift or loosen some measures," the newspaper added. For its part, the French newspaper Le Monde touted Juncker's visit to the 2016 SPIEF as a "political success". The newspaper also referred to the ever-increasing activity of those who call for lifting the sanctions. The Wall Street Journal in turn noted that against the backdrop of tense relations between Moscow and Washington, Juncker's visit "comes at a delicate moment," given that the EU is due to decide on the extension of economic sanctions against Russia during its summit in late June. "European officials say Russia will almost certainly stay in the penalty box, but Juncker said last month he hoped to use the trip to build bridges on economic issues," The Wall Street Journal said. In addition, the newspaper recalled that relations between Putin and Juncker "stretch back almost two decades from when he was Luxembourg's longtime Prime Minister." ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is very likely to issue first bonds denominated in Russian rubles later in 2016, Kundapur Vaman Kamath, the President of the New Development Bank (NDB), told Sputnik on Friday. Earlier in June, NDB officials said the bank would issue first yuan-denominated bonds, and was considering the release in Indian Rupee. "Absolutely, it will happen indeed. We may agree on the first ruble-issue hopefully later this year. It is possible. It is too early to say how big these bonds can be. But in the last two days I understood that there is a clear opportunity for that, and I think we will arrive at it soon," Kamath said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) when asked whether the NDB was also considering issuing ruble-denominated bonds. BEIJING (Sputnik) The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday called on the United States to adhere to international human rights conventions after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released documents on its former Detention and Interrogation program. "We saw the corresponding reports. To be honest, I am shocked by the details the documents contain. The relevant sides should respect the Geneva convention [on human rights] and other international conventions and guarantee prisoners' basic rights," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a press briefing. On Tuesday, CIA released some 50 declassified documents on its former "Detention and Interrogation" program in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). According to ACLU, the documents "underscore the cruelty of the methods the agency used in its secret, overseas black sites" under the Bush administration. CAIRO (Sputnik)The flight data recorder from EgyptAir's flight MS804, which crashed en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19, has been recovered, the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said Friday. "After the success in retrieving the cockpit voice recorder of the doomed A320; John Lethbridge, the vessel contracted by the Egyptian Government; has managed to retrieve the second black box which is the flight data recorder," the committee said in a progress report. The two black boxes are being transported to Alexandria, where they will be handed over to the investigation committee and the general prosecution. Rodzyanko said that one of his hopes for the conference is that politicians will follow the example of business, and forge closer international relations. He related that in 2013 when he was first elected president of the Chamber of Commerce. At the time, Washington officials told him that they, in fact, wanted to do more business with Russia. "They said, 'we don't do enough business with Russia, we should do more business with Russia,'" Rodzyanko said. "The more business we do, the more stable our relationship." According to Rodzyanko, Washington did not put pressure on businesses not to attend the forum in recent years, but rather focused their pressure on key high-ranking individuals. "I'll make a distinction, there was never pressure for businesses not to come, there was quite distinct pressure for very senior US-based executives not to come, and that was in the first year when the White House and the State Department were involved in making phone calls." "That said, there are some senior executives who are here but keeping a relatively low profile and having their meetings in private," he revealed. Looking ahead to the US presidential elections later this year, Rodzyanko said that a Republican victory appears more likely than a Democratic one to bring a greater chance of improving relations between the US and Russia. "Judging from the rhetoric of the campaign, which often doesn't translate to reality, there is more of a chance for change on the Republican side than the Democratic side." Sitao Xu, Chief Economist and Partner with Deloitte China, told Radio Sputnik that the forum provides an opportunity for Russia to build on its economic links with China, where infrastructure investment is recognized as key to economic growth. "If China can offer any lessons to other countries, (they are that) China, as you know, takes infrastructure investment very seriously. That's very much long-term thinking, because you are saying infrastructure is a precondition for economic growth." "I'm not saying infrastructure will be the solution for everything, but the experience so far in China is (that) you need to get started by having good infrastructure and (that) even means the current generation may suffer in terms of financial returns, because you do this for future generations." "That's actually what China is trying to replicate in other places, so clearly Russia may want to take advantage of this opportunity. I also think (that) from Russia's perspective it's important to understand what China has to go through." Sitao Xu said that one of the tenets of China's future economic growth is "taking the environment seriously," in order to enable sustainable growth. This new view of economics has implications for industry across the world, including in Russia. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News quoted the country's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci as saying that Ankara has no regrets about having shot down a Russian bomber last year, but that the country feels "sad about the result." "The killing of the Russian pilot with the downing of the jet is an extremely sad issue. It's an issue that we are sad about. We don't feel regret, but we are sad," Zeybekci said. At the same time, he said that "we are guessing that they should also be sad about the intentional violation of Turkish airspace," in a clear reference to Russia. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Karzai had a series of meetings in the Russian Foreign Ministry earlier on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. "We also discussed the possibility of intelligence data exchangeMy visit here was very successful and productive," Karzai told reporters. He also expressed hope that Afghani and Russian presidents would be able to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation organization summit in Tashkent on June 23-24. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik)Russia counts on US efforts to convince the Syrian opposition to hold a constructive dialogue with the authorities in Damascus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "We very much hope that our partners, first of all, the US partners, will work in appropriate way with its allies who support [the Syrian] opposition in order to convince this opposition to hold a constructive and joint work with the Syrian authorities," Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Putin added that the Syrian reconciliation issue had been discussed recently in detail with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. According to Putin, the sides stated that the Syrian crisis should have been solved under strict international control, the UN control, in particular. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) took note of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Friday decision to no longer seek EU funding amid its dangerous migration policies, UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told Sputnik. Earlier on Friday, MSF said that they would no longer accept funding from the European Union member states amid the blocs approach to the migration crisis. "We take note of MSFs decision. While not being a party to the EU Turkey Statement, UNHCR has been consistently calling for a holistic and comprehensive response to the European refugee situation that puts solidarity and responsibility sharing between States and protection for refugees at its center," Spindler said. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russia's space corporation Roscosmos is considering the possibility of signing a new contract with NASA on delivery of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2019, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said Friday. "The US companies are developing spaceships to deliver astronauts to the ISSbut delays are likely in my opinion," Komarov said in an interview aired by Business FM radio. "If such situation arises, we will be ready to conclude new contracts to ensure the delivery of astronauts to the ISS," he emphasized. MOSCOW (Sputnik)The UK and Russian companies, both small and big, have lots of investment opportunities for doing business in the United Kingdom, and in Russia, director of Russo-British Chamber of Commerce told Sputnik on Friday. "There are big opportunities on both sides, whether that be represented by SMEs or big companies. And by facilitating the dialogue we can help these opportunities to flourish," Alan Thompson said. He noted that Russian regions show interest in exporting their items to the United Kingdom. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russia's space agency Roscosmos and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) will sign an agreement to create a joint satellite constellation for remote earth sensing later in the day, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said Friday. "Today, we are signing an agreement with the Italian Space Agency on creating a new generation remote earth sensing satellite constellation," Komarov told the Russian Rossiya 24 television channel. The agreement should become an important contribution to international cooperation and technological development, he added. MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russia and Italy signed contracts worth 1.3 billion euros (about $1.5 bln) at the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum and will continue working on strengthening bilateral economic cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "Personal participation by Mr. Renzi in this event ensured high level of representation by Italian business circles. Overall, contracts worth 1.3 billion euros were signed with Italian companies at the forum," Putin said at a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi in St. Petersburg. Putin stressed that both countries would prioritize concrete steps aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties despite current difficulties. A mixture of police corruption and a lack of firm legislation also leads to the victimization of young boys. "There is a gap and ambiguity in the laws of Afghanistan regarding bacha bazi and the existing laws do not address the problem sufficiently. Many of the perpetrators have connections with the security organs and by using power and giving bribes they get exempted from punishment," reads a 2014 report from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) The report also said that this abuse can have lifelong effects on its victims. "The victims of bacha bazi suffer from serious psychological trauma as they often get raped. Such victims suffer from stress and a sort of distrust, hopelessness and pessimistic feeling. Bacha bazi results in fear among the children and a feeling of revenge and hostility develop in their mind." Charu Lata Hogg, a director of the London-based charity Child Soldiers International, said that bacha bazi is a cyclical problem. "We have heard anecdotal reports that many grow up to keep their own bachas, perpetuating the revolving door of abuse." she said. "In the absence of any services to recover or rehabilitate boys who are caught in this horrendous abuse, its hard to know what happens to these children." ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he believes nations should welcome as many migrants as they can afford supporting. "A country needs to take in only the amount of foreigners that it is able to adapt to local conditions of the labor market and adapt to the local language and cultural traditions," Putin said at a meeting with heads of international news agencies. Owner and breeder Tom Hill discussed 2016 Pepsi North America Cup starter Racing Hill with Trot Insider at the post draw on Tuesday, June 14. The $1 million final will be contested on Saturday, June 18 at Mohawk Racetrack. The Roll With Joe-Chasing Ideals colt regrouped from a brief break in stride in the stretch and finished third in the fastest of two eliminations behind runner-up Lyons Snyder and 1:49.1 winner Betting Line. Racing Hill drew post six and will be driven by Brett Miller, with trainer Tony Alagna making a shoeing change from steel to aluminum for the final, a race that's definitely high on the Hamilton, Ont.-based owner's personal bucket list. "It's one of the races I would really like to win...probably the race I would like to win. I came second with Art Colony in 2009. He finished second off the seven-hole. So we drew the six-hole, which is one better, so I'm hoping we [finish] one better this time." To view the entries for Saturday's card at Mohawk or a free program for Mohawks Saturday card, courtesy of TrackIT, click on one of the following links: Saturday Entries -- Saturday Program Pages. The Pepsi North America Cup is the centerpiece of Mohawks fantastic Saturday card of racing that will also feature the $438,000 final of the Fan Hanover Stakes (which will showcase three-year-old pacing fillies), the $370,000 final of the Roses Are Red (pacing mares), the $267,000 final of the Armbro Flight (trotting mares), the $268,000 final of the Goodtimes Stakes (three-year-old trotting colts), and the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup (invitational pacers). TSN2 will televise the Cup final live on Saturday. First-race post time for Mohawks Saturday card of racing is 6:30 p.m. The NA Cup has been slotted as Race 12 on the 15-dash card and has an approximate post time of 10:40 p.m. Mohawk will offer three Pick-4 wagers Saturday, including an All Stakes Pick-4 with a $100,000 guaranteed pool, comprising Races 9 through 12 and featuring the Roses Are Red, Mohawk Gold Cup, Fan Hanover and Pepsi North America Cup. Doug McNair will be making his North America Cup driving debut and trainer Casie Coleman will be looking for her second Cup triumph when they send out Ontario Sired pacers Magnum J and morning line favourite Betting Line, respectively, in the $1 million race. Casie Coleman said she isnt the least surprised there are two Ontario Sired horses in Saturdays (June 18) $1 million Pepsi North America Cup at Mohawk Racetrack, including her trainee Betting Line, the 5-2 morning line favourite, and Magnum J trained by Gregg McNair. Weve got great stallions, weve got great broodmares. Weve got a really good program, Coleman said of the Ontario Sires Stakes program. Here we are with two Ontario Sired horses in the final of the $1 million North America Cup - two out of 10 with all those Somebeachsomewheres and other American sires that are very, very expensive...Hopefully, they show themselves well and people are wanting to buy Ontario Sired more. Betting Line, a son of Bettors Delight out of Heathers Western, won the faster of the two NA Cup eliminations on Saturday, June 11 with a 1:49.1 victory that was three-quarters-of-a-length better than Lyons Snyder. Winning the elimination gave Coleman the right to pick her post for the final. She selected the post three on behalf of driver David Miller and her fellow owners Ross Warriner, Christine Calhoun and Mac Nichol, all from Ontario. They purchased Betting Line for $60,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sales Companys 2014 yearling sale in Harrisburg, PA. Coleman, a resident of Cambridge, Ont., won the 2010 Pepsi North America Cup with Sportswriter, now a leading stallion in Ontario that stands at Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry, Ont. Im lucky enough that Ive been in enough of these big races now that its just another race, she said when asked about the pressure a trainer feels the week of a big race. Obviously, its a million-dollar race, so its a big one and we want to make sure we dont mess anything up, but its the same daily routine that we always go through. Coleman said Betting Line, the winner of his Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Final a year ago, is primed and ready for Saturdays $1 million final. He had a really good week, she said Thursday. I trained him on Tuesday a couple of trips. He trained great and I went into the vet after he trained and everything looked really good. Blood was good and hes sharp, sound and healthy. Everything seems A1 right now. Magnum J will have a tougher assignment for the father-son training and driving team of Gregg and Doug McNair of Guelph, Ont. The son of Big Jim out of Jamirotoy will start from post 10 in the 10-horse field. Doug will be making his North America Cup driving debut. First or last its going to be a good experience, Doug said. Even though the pressures off having the outside post, Doug said he would rather have had the pressure of having the one or two or three hole...than to have to come from the outside. But, I guess, its only where youre starting from. Magnum J was purchased for $10,000 by Gregg McNair and Hanover, Ont. residents Tony Lawrence and William Brown at the 2014 Forest City Yearling Sale in London, Ont. In 2015, the gelding won one of the premier events for Ontario Sired horses when he captured the $200,000 Battle of Waterloo at Grand River Raceway in Elora, Ont. The pacer was saddled with the seven-hole in that race and Doug said Magnum J has been particularly unlucky with post positions. In Magnum Js last two starts, Doug has had to craft money-winning trips from far outside starting spots. Magnum J was fourth in his $75,000 Somebeachsomewhere division at Mohawk on June 4 from the 10-hole. A week ago, he started in the closed from eighth at the top of the stretch to be fourth in his $50,000 NA Cup elimination. He couldnt race any better than he did the last two starts. He came home in :25.4 one day and he was probably six, seven wide in the stretch. Then last week he came home in :26.2 into a big, strong headwind, Doug said. As for working out a winning strategy in the $1 million final, Doug said hell have to see how things unfold off the gate. He can leave as fast as you want him to leave, but going for a million dollars you know they wont leave you alone on the front end. Everything is different behind the gate. It would be nice to get away at the back and have them go big fractions, but sometimes thats not the way it goes either. Play it by ear and hopefully we get lucky, he said. Its just a bad post. Hes as good as any horse in there, I think. Regardless, Doug said hes determined to make his first NA Cup drive a good experience. Ive got a bunch of my buddies coming out to watch. I still have a lot of high school buddies around. They dont understand racing, but theyll have fun being there. The race is on TSN2 and (Magnum J) is in the race. Youve got no shot if youre not in it. Its the 10-hole, but its better than being also eligible. Doug said hes also looking forward to driving Ontario Sired four-year-old pacing mare Solar Sister (Mach ThreeCabrini Hanover) in the $370,000 Roses Are Red final for owners and breeders David Willmot of King City and Clay Horner of Toronto, Ont. Solar Sister won her Roses Are Red elimination on Saturday (June 11). Shes been really good, but thats a tough race. Theres some good mares in there, but I got lucky and won it last year (with Lady Shadow) so it would be nice two years in a row, Doug said. As for Coleman, she said she is relishing Betting Lines success even more after deciding to downsize her stable. Right now these smaller numbers are working for me. Im actually making more money on my bottom line with smaller numbers. Its a lot less stress, less staff, fewer owners and fewer horses. Im really enjoying how Im doing it now, she said, adding she will enjoy herself even more if Betting Line wins the big one on Saturday. Now he just needs the trip to work out and well see if we can get out picture taken, she said. To view the entries for Saturday's card at Mohawk or a free program for Mohawks Saturday card, courtesy of TrackIT, click on one of the following links: Saturday Entries -- Saturday Program Pages. The Pepsi North America Cup is the centerpiece of Mohawks fantastic Saturday card of racing that will also feature the $438,000 final of the Fan Hanover Stakes (which will showcase three-year-old pacing fillies), the $370,000 final of the Roses Are Red (pacing mares), the $267,000 final of the Armbro Flight (trotting mares), the $268,000 final of the Goodtimes Stakes (three-year-old trotting colts), and the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup (invitational pacers). TSN2 will televise the Cup final live on Saturday. First-race post time for Mohawks Saturday card of racing is 6:30 p.m. The NA Cup has been slotted as Race 12 on the 15-dash card and has an approximate post time of 10:40 p.m. Mohawk will offer three Pick-4 wagers Saturday, including an All Stakes Pick-4 with a $100,000 guaranteed pool, comprising Races 9 through 12 and featuring the Roses Are Red, Mohawk Gold Cup, Fan Hanover and Pepsi North America Cup. (with files from Ontario Racing) If you will in the Clinton Raceway area this Sunday and are looking for something exciting to do for Fathers Day, the track will be hosting a thrilling card of live racing that will includes two Racing Under Saddle races. In 2014, Clinton held the first wagering race for Racing Under Saddle in the history of North American history. RUS Ontario is pleased to return to Clinton for the 2016 season. There will be a field of six trotters in Race 2 and Race 8 on Sunday. Alex Marion, who is RUS Ontario's sole licensed male rider, will make his 2016 debut on Sunday and will compete in both of the races. Five of the six horses that are scheduled to head behind the gate in Race 2 will be doing so for the first time under saddle. Cali Magoo (Post 5) will be making his first start in three seasons of under saddle racing for John Braid and rider Marit Valstad. Race 8 will feature the return of Southwind Alice and rider Evelyn Harmes. The duo was victorious over Kawartha Downs on June 4. Massive Muscles, Gracies Harmony and Santo Domingo will be back to challenge the Dave Dowling trainee. Newcomer Amigo Loco will also compete for trainer Tiffany Stein and Alex Marion after an impressive qualifier win over Grand River Raceway. Riders will be present for meet and greets with race fans immediately following Race 2 and Race 8. Seaforth Public School will also be back Sunday for another great on-track fundraiser, Kids Day at the Races. A BBQ, auction, 50/50 draw and bake sale will be in the stands. The card of racing will kick off with a 1:30 p.m. first-race post time. Free parking and admission, fun, games and many prizes between the 10 races will surely make for a fun family friendly atmosphere this Sunday! To view the harness racing entries for Sunday at Clinton, click the following link: Sunday Entries Clinton Raceway. (With files from RUS Ontario) New Homeland Security Records Reveal Top Officials Were Exempted from Strict Ban Placed on Web-Based Personal Email Accounts Despite Heightened Security Concerns The records were obtained in response to a February 2016 The Judicial Watch WASHINGTON, June 16, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Judicial Watch today announced it obtained 693 pages of Department of Homeland Security records revealing that Secretary Jeh Johnson and 28 other agency officials used government computers to access personal web-based email accounts despite an agency-wide ban due to heightened security concerns. The documents also reveal that Homeland Security officials misled Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) when Perry specifically asked whether personal accounts were being used for official government business.The records were obtained in response to a February 2016 court order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia following a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit ( Judicial Watch v. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:15-cv-01772)).The Judicial Watch lawsuit was filed in October 2015 after the Department of Homeland Security failed to comply with a July 2015 FOIA request seeking the following: All requests (in any form) submitted by senior DHS officials for waivers to use personal Web-based email accounts on government-owned computers. Copies of all waivers granted to senior DHS officials to use personal Web-based email accounts on government-owned computers. Judicial Watch sought the documents following a Bloomberg News report revealing that 29 high-level Homeland Security officials, including Johnson, obtained exemptions from a February 2014 agency-wide ban on the use of web-based email systems due to increased security concerns. The waivers were granted despite security officials' warning of the risks of malicious attacks and data exfiltration from webmail use. Included among the records is a February 19, 2014 memorandum from security officials at the Department of Homeland Security strongly warning: "According to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, access to webmail using DHS networks is responsible for almost half of all attempts to compromise DHS network security." The memo explains that webmail use resulted in 14 Trojan-Horse attacks in August 2013 and 25 attacks in December 2013 on Homeland Security computer networks. As a result, in the same memo, Department of Homeland Security officials imposed a total ban on employee use of web-based email systems: New restrictions are being implemented that will no longer allow employee access to personal webmail sites from government computers [Emphasis added]. This action is being taken to strengthen cybersecurity and enhance protection of the Departments computer networks. Effective tonight, access to webmail sites like AOL, Hotmail, Comcast, Gmail, Yahoo, and other email services will be prohibited. The records reveal that despite this strict prohibition, Johnson was given an exemption from the ban on the first day of its implementation simply because he liked to check his personal email from the office everyday... MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/new-homeland-security-records-reveal-top-officials-exempted-strict-ban-placed-web-based-personal-email-accounts-despite-heightened-security-concerns Dr. Bill Bennett to be Honored with Family Research Council's Vision and Leadership Award Contact: J.P. Duffy or Alice Chao, 866-FRC-NEWS or 866-372-6397; both with Family Research Council; media@frc.org WASHINGTON, June 17, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- This week, Family Research Council announced plans to honor Dr. Bill Bennett, former Secretary of the Department of Education in the Reagan administration, Drug Czar, best-selling author, host of the top-rated radio show "Morning in America," with the Vision and Leadership Award to be given during this year's Values Voter Summit on September 9-11, 2016 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council, released the following statement: "Bill Bennett is beloved for a lot of things -- the wisdom of his best-selling books, the warm intellect he brought to mornings across America, the common sense policies that he championed under Presidents Reagan and Bush, and the voice of reason he spoke into divided political classes. For all that he has done as a national leader, broadcaster, author, speaker, and friend, FRC is proud to award Dr. Bennett with FRC's Vision and Leadership Award at a special Gala Dinner on September 10 in Washington, D.C. The gala dinner will cap off the 11th annual Values Voter Summit, which is a fitting tribute to a man who has been a highlight of every VVS he's participated in," concluded Perkins. Other confirmed Summit speakers include: Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), Lt. Col. Oliver North, Dr. James Dobson, Governor Matt Bevin (R-Ky.), Al Robertson, Fox News' Todd Starnes, the Benham Brothers, Erick Erickson, Star Parker, and many more. To find out more about the Values Voter Summit, please visit: valuesvotersummit.org To request media credentials for this year's Values Voter Summit, please email media@frc.org. BOZEMAN, Mont. Two decades ago, rainbow trout in the upper Madison River were struggling. Whirling disease had been found in the stream, caused by a microorganism that latches onto fish. Brown trout aren't affected by it, but rainbow trout are, and numbers of adult rainbows dwindled. In one section of the river, estimates of adult rainbows those larger than 14 inches fell to fewer than 150 a mile. That was about the time Tim Weiss, a fisheries technician with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, started working on the Madison. A little more than two decades later, the density of adult rainbow trout in that river has changed dramatically. "Back then, it was hard to find rainbows over 14 inches," Weiss said. "And now, they're all over the river." The number of rainbow trout in the river has once again reached eye-level with the number of browns in the river. The encouraging numbers allowed the department to loosen some fishing regulations on the stream, allowing more year-round opportunity for anglers. FWP fisheries biologist Dave Moser said the rebound is something to celebrate. "Populations in the Madison are doing well," Moser said. "And people are catching fish." In 1994, near the peak of the disease outbreak, FWP estimated there were about 142 adult rainbow trout per mile in the Pine Butte section of the upper Madison, about three miles of river upstream of Lyons Bridge. In 2014, the estimate had climbed to 807 adults per mile, even higher than the 1988 estimate of 748. Last year's was 662. Per mile estimates for rainbows of all ages came in at 1,943 in 2015. The numbers for observed deformities related to whirling disease has decreased as well, from 10 percent a half decade ago to about 2 percent now. Biologists and anglers alike are thrilled with the data, but it doesn't mean they are completely out of the woods. Whirling disease is known to be in about 150 rivers and streams across the state, and the tiny organisms that infect fish don't just go away. They can remain in the stream for decades, and perhaps even longer. "They are going to persist at a low level forever," Moser said. So there is a chance that the rainbows in the Madison River could be hit by the disease again, but Moser and Weiss are fairly confident the fish have found some way to beat it. They just can't pinpoint how. Moser said it could be that rainbows are spawning in areas where the organisms causing the disease are less prevalent. The trout also could have developed some sort of adaptation that makes them more resistant to the disease. Bruce Farling, the executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited, said a trout's susceptibility to infection has a lot to do with when and where it spawns each year. "It's often a matter of timing or life history," Farling said. He added that fish surviving today are likely descendants of those that survived the outbreaks in the 1990s, which would mean how those fish live is already resistant to the disease. Moser said that another possibility is the stress level of the trout. Fish that are tired or living in extremely warm water may be more susceptible to infection. "In the fish disease world, when an animal is stressed, that's generally when the disease has the most impact," Moser said. They have some help with that. Hebgen Dam is a regulating force for the upper Madison, often meaning the temperatures stay low there while other rivers heat up. In late summer, FWP places "hoot owl" restrictions nighttime and afternoon fishing closures on some streams because water temperatures near intolerable levels. The upper Madison is rarely one of the streams that see those restrictions. Moser said they have concerns that high temperatures may become a problem in the future, but for now, things are looking good for those fish. "I don't think they are stressed," he said. "I think they are doing well." Anglers, too, are enjoying themselves. Weiss said they've heard plenty of positive reports from folks fishing the stream. Fish larger than 14 inches are likely between 3 and 4 years old. They are the ones anglers like to catch, and Weiss said those fish are getting caught. "Anglers are reporting catching more large rainbows," he said. ARIEL PacifiCorp says it will prepare rough estimates by mid-July regarding rebuilding or abandoning salmon acclimation ponds damaged by winter flooding in the Muddy River and Clear Creek in the upper North Fork of the Lewis River watershed. For 2016, the 38,000 young spring chinook salmon that would have spent a few weeks in the ponds before release in the fall will be put directly into the Muddy River and Clear Creek, plus a functioning acclimation tank near the mouth of Crab Creek, streamflows permitting. Restoration of spring chinook, coho and winter steelhead in the upper North Fork of the Lewis River is part of the 2008 federal license for PacifiCorp to operate Merwin, Yale and Swift dams. Flooding in mid-December tore up the ponds, which are side channels with water control structures in the two streams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Ruth Tracy of the Forest Service said the December flooding was the highest since 1996. I knew these ponds would face flooding, said Frank Shrier, principal scientist for PacifiCorp. I didnt know theyd be destroyed. The Muddy River pond is in the worst shape. A water intake system that was along the edge of the river and is connected to a 2-foot-diameter pipe to carry Muddy River water approximately 1,300 feet to the side channel now is in the middle of the river It stands there like a monolith, said Shrier. Tracy said the Muddy River is a candidate for inclusion in the national wild and scenic river system. As such, a large water intake structure in the middle of the stream is not allowed. There are a lot of challenges here if youre thinking youre going to reconstruct, she said. Members of the Lewis River Aquatic Coordination Committee took a tour of the Muddy River and Clear Creek ponds last week. PacifiCorp has declined repeatedly to say how much the two ponds cost to construct. The Lewis River committee includes officials of PacifiCorp, plus representatives from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, state and federal fish agencies, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, Cowlitz PUD and others involved with salmon and steelhead restoration in the upper watershed. My preference is just to abandon the Muddy, Shrier said. Its got too many problems, including the water quality. Too high of levels of iron in the pond compromised salmon rearing even before the flood. Aaron Roberts of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said the Muddy River pond was impressive when it was built. It looked like it was going to work, he said. The Clear Creek channel was filled in by cobble and other rock. The side channel still exists, but is shallow now and dry part of the year. I never thought wed get this kind of deposition, Shrier said. PacifiCorp officials said the Clear Creek channel would be cheaper to fix than the Muddy River channel, but still would cost more than $100,000. Id be more inclined to put money in this channel, Shrier said about Clear Creek. Its less onerous than to try to make the Muddy work. A 20-year-old Vancouver man was sentenced Thursday to nearly 13 years in prison for first-degree child rape and possession of child porn. Jordan Wayne Pittman was arrested in May 2015 after he was accused of raping and taking nude photos of a then 7-year-old female family member at a Woodland home, according to police records. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of slightly more than 160 months (13.3 years). Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Michael Evans gave Pittman 155 months to life. However, he denied Pittmans request to be admitted into the Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative program, under which offenders may get supervised, outpatient treatment to reduce prison time. Evans said Pittman did not qualify for the option after the victims guardian said Pittman had no remorse. A tearful Pittman apologized for his actions during his sentencing. I am extremely sorry for what I did, he said. It was terrible in all ways, and Im taking full responsibility for my disgraceful actions that I have done. I would hope that the family would eventually be able to forgive me, and if you cant, I understand. The victims guardian said the little girl, now 8, suffers panic attacks as a result of the abuse. In the last year, the guardian said, the girls grades have suffered dramatically and she refuses to play on the playground with other kids. He has robbed (the girl) of her innocence at 7 years old, she told Evans. (She) has suffered in so many ways. She struggles on a daily basis. At times, she convinces herself that she is seeing Jordan driving down our street and has a panic attack. She said she suspects the girl will grow to become a very challenged individual, and trust issues will be just one of the many issues she will suffer from. The girl was not at Thursdays sentencing, but Johnson relayed a message from her: I dont like ... Jordan anymore. I hate Jordan. A pre-sentence investigation by the Department of Corrections described Pittman as a loner who came from a household split by domestic violence. According to the report, he did nothing but play video games and watch TV and porn. Pittman admitted to his evaluators that if his victim and her sister (a witness to the assaults) had not reported the rape, he would have continued to sexually abuse them. hidden Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy venture has made its first major investment, leading a funding round in a startup that trains and recruits software developers in Africa. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC, created by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, led a $24 million Series B funding in Andela, the startup said on Thursday.Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures, was also part of the funding round. Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures, was also part of the funding round. Andela selects the top 1 percent of tech talent from Africa, trains them and places them in engineering organizations. The startup, which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed by its Nigeria and Kenya offices, will use the funds to expand to a third African country by the end of 2016."We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but "We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela's mission is to close that gap," Zuckerberg said in a statement. When the philanthropy initiative was launched in late 2015, Zuckerberg said he would put in 99 percent of his Facebook shares. The initiative is structured as a limited liability company. This means, unlike a traditional charitable or philanthropic foundation, the venture can make political donations, lobby lawmakers, invest in businesses and recoup any profits from those investments. Zuckerberg has also signed the Giving Pledge, which invites the world's wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes over their lifetime or in their will. Reuters tech2 News Staff There is no doubt that Indias a movie-mad country and Google knows that. You can now search for Bollywood content on Google and the results will be context-sensitive. If you, for example, ask Google the name of a movie that was shot at your location, itll throw up a card to tell you that. You can also look for Bollywood movies starring two of your favourite actors, plan a road-trip around movie trivia and more. Bollywood makes us believe that anything is possible. Watch, The Hero - A Bollywood Story #GoogleAtTheMovies https://t.co/azqpXBZmlG Google India (@GoogleIndia) June 16, 2016 This is different from regular search in that the results are context-sensitive and Google says that the results will also include image-rich answers. Google claims that 1 in 10 searches on mobile in India are Bollywood-related queries and Google intends to serve this audience the best way they can. "Google has a long history of building products for India, and we wanted to make sure that when these millions of Indian cinema fans pick up their phone and ask Google about their favourite films, actors or songs, they get a delightful, local experience," says Sapna Chadha, marketing head for Google India The update was announced at a media event hosted by Karan Johar himself. Also showcased was a short film that highlighted the search update in typical Bollywood fashion. The film is titled "The Hero" and it's definitely worth checking out. It's only 6 minutes, after all. tech2 News Staff Space Data Corporation has demanded a jury trial for patent rights infringement by Google and Alphabet accusing the companies of stealing their balloon based communication technologies. The technologies in question are Space Data Corporation's SkySat and SkySite systems which use weather balloons to carry radio transceivers 60,000 and 100,000 feet in the air. Apparently, a cluster of just 70 of these high altitude balloons can provide complete wireless coverage to the continental united states for voice as well as data services. In the case filing, Space Data Corporation alleges that Google representatives stole confidential information and trade secrets to use in its Project Loon. 10 Google representatives, including co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had met with Space Data Corporation executives in 2007 and 2008. These meetings were covered with a non disclosure agreement. Space Data alleges that this NDA was violated and Google used the information it had on the implementation of Space Data Corporation technology to proceed with development of Project Loon. Negotiations of a partnership between Google and Space Data Corporation apparently failed at that time, reports The Stack. The case filed by Space Data Corporation shows a comparison between a patent granted to Space Data Corporation, and a schematic for Project Loon on Google's web site. The filing also carries photos of Google co-founders launching Space Data Corporations balloons during their visit to the Space Data Corporation facility. Google was apparently given access to Space Data Corporation's production line and network operation center. The original PDF document of the original filing can be accessed here. tech2 News Staff Hackers are sending text messages posing as technology services to scare people into sending them the authentication code that can compromise their accounts. The attackers require a password to attempt the attack, but this can be extracted from one of the leaked databases of usernames and passwords. https://twitter.com/maccaw/status/739232334541524992 First the hacker sends a message like the one above. This scares the targets into thinking that they have received an alert from the official source about an attempt to get into their accounts. The message is very close in wording to the actual message you get when there has been such an attempt on your account, but the number will be unknown. Instead of asking users to enter in the 2FA (2 factor authentication) code to gain access to the account, the message asks for the 2FA code to temporarily lock the account. Then, the attackers feed in the username and password. At this point, the actual two factor authentication kicks in, and sends a 2FA code to the mobile device associated with the account. The right thing to do for the user is to ignore all the messages at this point. The login attempt will not be authorised. However, if the target sends the 2FA code to the attacker, then the hacker gets access to the target's email. This is a social engineering attack. The attacks were reported by Business Insider. There are two ways to secure yourself from such attacks. First, do not reply to any message unless you are logging in. Second, and most importantly, no legitimate support staff will ask you for your 2FA code. Also, 2FA codes are for granting access to an account, not denying access. hidden Australia's political leaders are gearing up for the first ever online election debate hosted by social media giant Facebook and one of the country's largest media organisation, News Corp Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will battle it out live from 6 p.m. on Friday night in Sydney, which will be streamed via Facebook live, Xinhua news agency reported. Questions submitted by the public will be put to both leaders. News.com.au Managing Director Julian Delany said in a statement that this debate will be different to anything seen before. "It is a chance for millions of Australians to not just watch the debate, but to actively participate by asking questions and giving their instant reactions," Delany said. Managing Director of Facebook in Australia and New Zealand Stephen Scheeler encouraged all Australians to get involved. "We want to connect as many Australians as possible to one of the most important aspects of any election campaign -- a leadership debate," Scheeler said. Australia will head to the polls on July 2. This comes immediately after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg conducted his first live Q&A. IANS hidden Thailand's telecoms regulator and Central Bank said on Friday they had agreed steps to improve cyber security for electronic transactions via mobile phones as the country pursues a goal to become a cashless society. A finger print scan will be among the measures to be introduced to protect mobile users from scams, and it should be ready for service in December, Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the regulator, told a news conference. The regulator National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission will also examine the service fees that telecoms operators charge customers to ensure fair treatment, he said. Thailand has about 10 million mobile banking users out of the 67 million population and the number is expected to rise after a strong growth of average 73 percent annually in the past 5 years, Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said. The cooperation will support the country's electronic payment policy after the central bank and Thai commercial banks announced on Wednesday a plan to offer a new money-transfer system, PromptPay, Veerathai said. PromptPay, previously known as AnyID scheme, is seen as the first stage to transfer Thailand into a cashless society. It will enable people to use national ID or mobile phone numbers for payments to buy goods and money transfers, and it will open for registration on July 15 before services start on October 31. The launch of super high-speed fourth-generation mobile services is the main driver pushing up growth in mobile banking and electronic commerce in Thailand, Takorn said. Thailand, the second-largest smartphone market in Southeast Asia, has imported more than 77 million smartphones since 3G services were launched by operators in 2013, Takorn said. The country, which has about 103 million active mobile numbers, is expected to import 16 million to 17 million smartphones in 2016, lower than about 20 million last year, as the market is becoming saturated as many Thais have more than one mobile phone, he said. Reuters tech2 News Staff Microsofts latest Insider Preview for the lucky minority in the Fast Ring brings a with it a whole slew of improvements and updates. The latest Insider Preview build, numbered 14367, has already started rolling out. Here are some key highlights from the preview: Handwriting support The latest build brings support for handwriting recognition in 23 languages on PC and mobile. These languages include Malay, Swahili, Xhosa, Chinese and more. Sadly, there doesnt seem to be Hindi support just yet. Visual feedback Now, youll be able to take a screenshot and submit feedback simultaneously. The preview builds are for testing after all. Hitting Win + F will take a screenshot of your PC and open the feedback hub. You can then choose whether or not you want to submit that feedback. Windows 10 Mobile users can use the Vol. Down + Power button to achieve the same. A fresh start Since youll be reinstalling Windows very frequently on the Insider track, the new build will give you an in-built tool to completely wipe and reinstall Windows. The Settings window already has an option to do this, but the new tool is apparently much simpler to use. Miscellaneous improvements A number of issues have also been fixed. Cross-device notifications have been fixed, as has emoji support. Microsoft has also added on/off indicators in the Quick Actions panel. Windows Mobile also sees a whole slew of improvements and tweaks. Notably, theres now improved support for high DPI screens and the Quick Actions panel. The Kids Corner feature has been kicked out of Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft suggests that the few of you who actually use it can try the App Corner option. The list of changes is huge and if youre interested, you can peruse through them here. Members of Microsoft's Insider Fast Ring are the first members of the public to receive beta versions of Microsoft's software. These members have been explicitly approved by Microsoft's own internal Ring of testers. Nimish Sawant Microsoft's purchase of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion has restarted the speculation about the future of Twitter. According to an article in The New York Times, speculations on the Wall Street are strong that Twitter needs to find a suitable match in forms of a larger corporation, to avoid the risk of being taken over by other competitors (read: Facebook and Google). Let's not forget that there have been attempts by other Silicon Valley giants to buy Twitter. Facebook was rumoured to buy it in 2008 and then rumoured to make another attempt again in 2015. Google has been rumoured to buy Twitter as well. Based on these speculations, Twitter stock has risen up by 17 percent which pushed up the market cap of Twitter to $11.5 billion. So who should Twitter go with? Ideally, I would like it if Twitter stayed independent and fought its own battle. But let us suspend that thought for a moment and do our own speculations. Alphabet + Twitter = Social network win Going by the article, Alphabet + Twitter would make perfect sense, if all Twitter is looking for is scale. Twitter mixed with Google+ could ideally be the text + images cocktail, that could potentially increase user engagement. Google+, although is not really on the same pedestal as other social networking giants, still has some really good play when it comes to a photo-heavy social network. Specially now with the new Collections feature. Also its Community section is quite good if you're nerdy about topics, but of course that's notches below something like a Reddit. Adding the fact that Twitter will most likely be operating as an independent company within Alphabet, it just seems like a very complementary setup. Google has tried and burned its hands with Buzz, which was a Twitter clone. Also way back in 2009, Google had released Wave a real-time communications platform - which was a bit too confusing and rather, too early for its time in 2009. Wave also had the bots functionality, for instance. Twitter and Google+ do have the potential to transform into a Wave part 2. It may sound random at the moment, but I'm sure Google engineers who worked on Wave wouldn't mind giving it a rejig with a real-time communications platform such as Twitter provided those engineers are still there in Google in the first place. Cable companies, really? I was amused to see US Cable companies such as Verizon and Comcast, being speculated to buy Twitter. Sure, it makes sense for a content company, but outside of US, do these cable companies really have any pull to shoot up the number of active users? A fact on which the speculative talks of a sale are predicated? I don't think so. At the most, the reach and engagement in the US would shoot up with the cable companies, but we all know that US is not the future growth market for Twitter. That spurt in numbers will only come from South East Asia and Africa. Microsoft? just no! The idea of Microsoft buying Twitter, frankly seems scary. There have been discussions concerning Microsoft's position in the consumer market. We have seen how ineffective it has been when it comes to scaling Windows Phone OS in general and Windows phones in particular. It's last big push for Windows 10 Mobile OS in the form of Lumia 950/950XL hasn't really seen much traction. It's no wonder then that as of May 2016, Windows Phone OS market share is at a dismal 2.57 percent. Microsoft also has MSN which is more of a news aggregator than a place where news breaks something that is Twitter's strong aspect. Unless Twitter has a solid business play, beyond its current Promotions and business platforms, the incentive for Microsoft to acquire it, isn't that strong. Plus, let's face it, how much of active Twitter user base is the enterprise crowd? LinkedIn made sense for Microsoft, Twitter does not, in its current state. Apple? Apple hasn't been known to make huge social media acquisitions, and I don't see that changing. Apple is investing in Apple News as a one stop shop for news. With its latest iOS update, it seems to be going more on the path of Flipboard, providing rich layouts and is even starting magazine and newspaper subscriptions for the same. Twitter in its real-time chaotic form provides little incentive to Apple. Add the fact that if Twitter is indeed up for acquisition by Apple, it will obviously have to let go of its current form and fit into the Apple mould of things. There is really no question of it operating as a separate entity once inside the Apple stable. No easy way to say this, but Apple acquiring Twitter would be the death of Twitter as we know it. Snapchat partnership If there is one media company, that is really giving Facebook some competition and has the younger crowd hooked on it, then it has to be Snapchat. This Evan Spiegel founded ephemeral app is a rage amongst the teenage crowd and is slowly but surely attracting the attention of advertisers as well. In fact, in the US, Snapchat is projected to have more active users than Twitter or Pinterest by the end of the year. According to Statista, by April 2016, Snapchat has 200 million users as compared to Twitter's 320 million users. Mind you, unlike Twitter, Snapchat is a mobile-only app. It may certainly seem preposterous to suggest that Snapchat would consider to buy Twitter, or vice versa. But imagine a sort of partnership between the two that could be a potential win. Snapchat has engagement, Twitter has a much broader reach. At the moment, the only way to share snapstories is either via downloading the story and uploading it as a Twitter video / YouTube video post. Or you can share your snapcode and have people follow you on Snapchat. But imagine a world where snapstories could be played inline, inside a tweet with a sort of snapcode play into it. It kills two birds with one stone engagement on Twitter rises, Snapchat's reach increases. Both networks taking advantage of each others' strong areas. So those were our speculation on the 'Twitter acquisition speculations'. Let us know your thoughts or who you feel Twitter should go with, if it is indeed planning to head in that direction. Sony has been struggling to keep up in the smartphone business for the past couple of years now, but that hasnt stopped the company from launching a new flagship year on year. It hasnt shown anything radical in the market as of yet, probably one of the reasons why their sales have gone down. This year the company announced a new series ditching the three-year old Z series for the X. The new Xperia X was showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year along with its powerful brother the Xperia X Performance. While the X Performance is only arriving in limited regions, the Xperia X was announced in India for a hefty price of Rs 48,999. Does this kind of pricing justify what Sony offers? Here is our review of the smartphone. Design and build: 7.5/10 The Xperia X looks similar to previous generation of Xperia Z5 smartphones having a rectangular design with slightly rounded edges. Its a clean and aesthetically pleasing device. The X brings back the 5-inch form factor and this time you get a 2.5D scratch-resistant curved glass covering the entire face of the smartphone. This is a small change but it adds a punch to your touchscreen experience especially when you are swiping edge-to-edge. Above the display there is an earpiece slot which also houses one of the two loudspeakers and a notification LED. There is also the 13MP front camera, and the usual set of sensors. Below the display there is similar slot for the second loudspeaker. The NFC chip is on the top front this time which seems like an odd positioning, to which Sony says it was just a design choice and for convenience. A metal frame holds the device together with a frosted finish. The right edge houses the fingerprint scanner which is also the power button, the volume rocker keys and a dedicated camera shutter button. The left edge houses a hybrid SIM card slot, at the bottom there is a microUSB port and at the top you get the standard 3.5mm audio jack as well as a microphone for video recording. The back is plastic with a matte finish which feels really nice. The 23MP rear camera sits on the top left corner as usual with the LED flash below. The camera does bulge out ever so slightly, but it isn't any sort of a distraction in the design flow. Sony always brings a sense of high-quality to its smartphone designs and has always relied on a simple yet well polished approach. The Xperia X is definitely premium when it comes to looks and build quality. The only negative here is that the company has dropped the water and dust proof features which was always a USP for Sony. Features: 6/10 For the first time Sony has chosen not to go for a premium SoC on its flagship and has rather gone for slightly less powerful one. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 which is a six-core processor with two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 cores and the remaining 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores backed up with an Adreno 510 GPU. This is the same processor that powers the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 which is selling for a mere Rs 9,999. In the memory department you get 3GB of RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded further by using the second SIM card slot. Rest of the features include a 5-inch full HD display, a 23MP rear camera, a 13MP front camera and a 2,620 mAh battery. On the connectivity front, you get 4G LTE and VoLTE support, dual SIM capability, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, Wi-fi, FM Radio, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS and USB OTG. The smartphone runs on the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow update with a very light UI on top. On paper, the Xperia X sounds more of mid-segment smartphone rather than a premium flagship. The company has put in beefier hardware on the Xperia X Performance, which sadly is not going to arrive in India. Display: 7.5/10 The display combines all of Sonys technologies including Bravia, Triluminos, and X-Reality display in a 5-inch IPS LCD offering a 1080p resolution. While it sounds all good, it doesnt match up with other flagships at this price point offering a 2K resolution display like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or the HTC 10. Sony had launched the ridiculous 4K display equipped Xperia Z5 Premium last year, but its seems that Sony is taking a safer bet and focusing on quality rather than going big on resolution, and hey, a 1080p display always consumes less battery. Even though you don't get high pixel density or AMLOED technology, the display still manages to impress. It offers really accurate colours and the saturation of colours is amazing. The white balance is slightly towards the blues but nothing still feels balanced. The phone also comes with some algorithms that enhance pictures and videos by default and via the X-Reality mode, which has been around for sometime now. There is also a Super-vivid mode that utilises the X-Reality mode and boosts the contrast and colours. While these modes do improve the overall quality of your media on the smartphone, it can get deceptive when you actually transfer images to your PC. Sunlight legibility is pretty good and we really liked the auto-brightness sensor as it gradually increased or decreased brightness that too very consistently. Software: 7/10 The Xperia X runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow making it the first Xperia phone to launch with the this update. There is a light UI on top but the system does take up a lot of storage. You get some peppy wallpapers, some themes and some useful settings around the homescreen. The UI doesn't slow down at any point of time and the overall experience is very snappy. In terms of pre-installed apps, there are many including a few games. Sony says that they can be removed without any issues, but when we tried uninstalling, we ended up disabling most of them rather than completely removing them. The quick settings, apps switcher and menus are very close to stock which is nice. Sony has added a new Smart cleaning feature that automatically cleans up the cache of apps you don't use very often, of course you can always switch it off and do it manually. Then you have the usual battery management modes and also a backup feature directly integrated into the system backup settings and can backup your applications, contacts, messages, phone settings to a Sony online account or on your storage. Performance: 7/10 The Xperia X runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor which is a very good chipset and it proved its capability on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, but it clearly doesn't make any sense on a flagship priced at Rs 48,999. Thankfully it provides a good performance package. The 3GB of RAM helps in efficient multitasking and the Adreno 510 GPU is also great at churning performance for heavy games like Asphalt 8: Airborne or Dead Trigger 2. Every task such as checking your email, skimming through Facebook, clicking a picture or two were all managed really well. The overall performance felt quite apt for a mid-ranger, but with that kind of pricing, it is nowhere near a flagship smartphone. Heating is managed well most of the times, but using the camera extensively does make the smartphone go warm. It even sends out a warning message in the camera app saying that some features might not work as the phone is heating up. Even the benchmarks proved to be very similar to what we saw on the Redmi Note 3. In terms of call quality, we faced a minor glitch where the microphone would randomly stop working for a few seconds, or completely shutdown when you pick a call. That is probably a faulty unit that we got and are currently testing another unit to check the issue. We will update accordingly if we notice any changes. We were impressed by the audio quality on the smartphone as Sony has crammed in a number of settings for the audiophile. Even the dual speakers are pretty good although not the best in class. Camera: 7.5/10 Sony is currently one of the biggest manufacturers of smartphone camera sensors, yet the company hasn't managed to make us go wow. This time the company has used a new 23MP rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a 24mm wide angle lens. There is also phase detection autofocus, an LED flash and a 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS image sensor. The front camera is also an upgrade featuring a 13 MP 1/3-inch Exmor RS sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and a 22mm wide angle lens. Sony has stressed on the speed of the camera and has added a Predictive Hybrid Autofocus system that allows you to tap on your subject once and track its movement with correct focus. This works well when you have moving subjects but isn't very well polished. Then there is the option to instantly take a picture by just pressing the dedicated camera key even when the phone is locked in just 0.6 seconds. We tested this feature and it did work as the company claimed but there were times that we were left images that were not correctly exposed, defeating the whole purpose, but still a nice feature to have. The camera app is fairly simple and allows you to switch between, auto, manual and video modes and a special section for some pre-installed modes like Sweep Panorama, Slow-motion video, Face in picture, Sound Photo and more. The camera has a lot of potential and offers one of the highest resolutions on smartphones today. It can produce some good looking pictures with close to natural colours although a bit undersaturated. But yet again it suffers what all the previous cameras on Sony smartphones have suffered, mediocre noise reduction. Details seem to be missing when there is less or low light. The Superior auto mode wasn't very efficient and we ended up shooting more on the manual mode, even though we could only adjust the white balance, exposure compensation and ISO. Sony has also removed 4K video recording which is quite a bummer as almost every flagship and even budget smartphones offer UHD video recording. Still, 1080p videos look really good and sharp with focusing hitting the right spots. The front camera can squeeze in a lot of pixels and Sony claims that the sensor can handle low light very well. Selfies look pretty good but some of them taken indoors weren't as crisp as outdoors. The front camera can also shoot 1080p videos which is again fairly good but nothing very compelling. Battery: 7.5/10 Sony has incorporated a 2,620mAh battery on the Xperia X. For a such a capacity, one would expect less than a days worth of charge, but surprisingly it goes on all day if you are a casual user. Heavy usage did consume almost all of the battery by evening but you get some nice and efficient battery saving modes. Apart from offering Quick Charge 2.0 for fast charging, the handset also comes with a Qnovo battery which is claimed offer a longer life, much better than a conventional Lithium battery. Verdict and Price in India The Sony Xperia X was announced at Rs 48,999 and is currently selling for about Rs 46,000 on Amazon.in. Now there has been a quick drop in the price, but it is still a very high amount. The smartphone is very well made and offers a sturdy performance package but not for the price that Sony is asking. A smartphone like this should not go beyond Rs 20,000 considering the fact that you don't get a high-end chipset and a camera which is fast but not the best in quality. If you want a similar performance package, you should save your money and buy a Redmi Note 3 which starts at just Rs 9,999. A much powerful Samsung Galaxy S7 is currently available for Rs 46,000 which is a much better flagship than the Xperia X. Sony should've brought in the Xperia X Performance at this price point and maybe, just maybe it would've reclaimed some of its glory. By selling smartphones at a premium price, the company is just losing out on more consumers. Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison. Moudud finds int`l conspiracy behind secret killings He calls for national unity to deal with militancy Dhaka, June 17 (UNB) - BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Friday alleged that international plotters are patronising militancy and recent target killings in Bangladesh as it lacks democracy. Speaking at a discussion, he also alleged that the government is not sincere in curbing militancy. Militants and extremists have emerged as there is no democracy in the country theres no doubt that an international conspiracy is behind the militancy here, he said. Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad, a pro-BNP body of professionals, organised the discussion marking the shutdown of all newspapers, except four ones, on June 16, 1975. Moudud said the government will not be able to tackle terrorism and militancy unless democracy is restored. The militancy can be controlled if a democratic, accountable and representative government is established through a fair election. He also said the government should take steps for forging a national unity in the country to effectively deal with militancy. BNP will respond positively if the government seeks its help in this regard. Raising doubt about the governments sincerity to eliminate militancy, the BNP leader said, The government is says it is showing zero tolerance to militancy. Nearly 27 killing incidents took place by extremists, but the government cant start the trial of any of the incident. He said the then Awami League government in 1975 had established one-party Baksal rule by formally removing democracy from the country s constitution. But, the current situation is much horrible that that time as a one-party rule has been now restored keeping democracy only in the charter. Moudud alleged that the government has committed a grave political crime by depriving the countrys people of exercising their right to franchise in the 10th parliamentary, city corporation, municipality and union parishad elections. How a heroic Marine's military training helped him save dozens from Orlando gunman The Washington Post : When the terrifying blasts of rapid gunfire filled an Orlando nightclub early Sunday, many clubgoers panicked or froze. Amid the swirl of sensory overload, their response was overwhelmingly typical of people under threat. In an emergency situation - as any first responder can attest - a victim's first challenge is overriding the paralysis brought on by extreme fear and confusion. Imran Yousuf, a bouncer at the Pulse nightclub, had an advantage. A Marine who had served in Afghanistan, Yousuf was able to use his training to quickly identify the impending threat and remain clear-headed as people died around him, according to the Marine Corps Times. Because of the 24-year-old's decisive actions, he is being credited with saving dozens of lives. He told CBS News that he knew something was horribly wrong as soon as he heard the familiar crack of gunfire. It was then, he said, that his training took over. "The initial one was three or four" shots, said Yousuf, a former sergeant who left the Marine Corps last month. "That was a shock. Three or four shots go off, and you could tell it was a high-caliber [weapon]. Everyone froze. I'm here in the back, and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine-pack everyone." Yousuf told CBS that he knew there was a door behind the panicked crowd, but people were too overwhelmed to unlatch it. "And I'm screaming, 'Open the door! Open the door!' " Yousuf said. "And no one is moving because they are scared." If they did not act, they could be targeted by the gunman, who could have appeared at any moment. They were a few feet from relative safety. Yousuf told CBS that there was "only one choice." "Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance of getting shot and saving everyone else, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there." It was a simple act of heroism, but it may have been one of the most decisive actions that took place that morning. Asked how many people left through that exit, Yousuf told CBS that he estimated as many as 60 or 70. "As soon as people found that door was open, they kept pouring out, and after that we just ran," he said. Yousuf served in the Marine Corps from June 2010 to May 2016 as an engineer equipment electrical systems technician, according to service records obtained by The Washington Post. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and most recently was assigned to the 3rd Marine Logistics Group. His military awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Yousuf did not credit a particular type of training with steeling his nerves during the attack or helping him identify the rifle in close quarters. During his general deployment time frame, Marines typically underwent pre-deployment training in Twentynine Palms, Calif., where they received what was known as Enhanced Mojave Viper training. The website MilitaryNewcomers.com described the experience as "the most realistic, live-fire training exercise in the Marine Corps." "The units are presented with facilities, role players and scenarios that closely replicate the environment to which they will deploy," the site said. During the same period, Marines training to deploy abroad were prepared for the possibility of an insider attack by Afghan forces. Such training may have borne some resemblance to the surprise attack in Orlando, although Yousuf hasn't said as much. What he has said, according to the Times, is that he "just reacted." "There are a lot of people naming me a hero, and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct," he wrote Monday on Facebook, according to the Times. During his interview with CBS, he went a step further, wishing he could have done more during the attack. "I wish I could have saved more, to be honest," he said. "There are a lot of people that are dead. There are a lot of people that are dead." Russia strikes US-backed rebels in Syria US diplomats demand military strike against Assad Photo shows Russian Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircrafts taking off from Hmeimim military base in Latakia province. Reuters, Washington : Russia warplanes struck at rebels battling Islamic State militants, including forces backed by the United States, in southern Syria on Thursday, a senior U.S. defense official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, criticized the Russian air strikes near al-Tanf and said no Russia or Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," the official said. "We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again.?" British-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes had struck a meeting of U.S.-backed forces fighting against Islamic State in al-Tanf village, near the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq, killing two fighters and wounding four others. It said it was unclear whose planes had carried out the attack, however. Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States has called on Assad to step down. Communication between the U.S. and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out rival bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground. Meanwhile, dozens of State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates U.S. military action to pressure Syria's government into accepting a cease-fire and engaging in peace talks, officials said Thursday. The position is at odds with U.S. policy. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by about 50 mostly mid-level department officials who deal with U.S. policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. It expresses clear frustration with America's inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obama's reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorized strikes against the Islamic State and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria. While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria's leader out of power. A series of partial cease-fires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and since has been classified, said officials who weren't authorized to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document Thursday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said the document called for "targeted air strikes." The Times quoted a section urging a "judicious use of stand-off and air weapons" to advance the U.S. diplomatic effort led by Secretary of State John Kerry. "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," the Times quoted the document as saying. "The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges." State Department spokesman John Kirby said the department was reviewing the cable, which arrived via a "vehicle in place to allow State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues." Some sentiments expressed in the cable mirror arguments Kerry has made in internal administration debates. Kerry, a forceful advocate of Obama's initial plan to launch airstrikes after Assad's use of chemical weapons, reversed course after the president opted against them. He has complained privately that White House resistance to more intervention has hurt efforts to persuade Russia, in particular, to take a tougher tone with Assad. Kerry, speaking to reporters in Copenhagen Friday, said "I haven't had a chance to see it yet (the cable) but I agree with the process. But it's a great process. It gives people a chance to express their views." "I think it's an important statement," he said, "and I respect the process very, very much." 135 Naval forces leave for Lebanon from Ctg Members of Bangladesh Naval Forces seen boarding the UN Special Plane at Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport on Thursday night en-route to Beirut. Chittagong Bureau : Some 135 members of Bangladesh Navy left Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport en-route to Lebanon in a UN special plane on Thursday night to join the UN Peace Keeping Mission Chief Staff officer of Chitt agong Naval Command Capt.AKMM Sherafullah gave farewell reception to the naval members at the airport in presence of the senior officials of BNS Isha Khan, a release of BN said. Contingent commander of BN in UN Peace mission Capt Mirsza Mamunur Rashid told the journalists that six teams of Bangladesh Navy discharged responsibilities in Mideterian sea for last 6 years successfully under the mission and this is 7th team of BN to Mediterian sea. He said naval ships of six countries of the world are working in the mediterian sea and two frigates of Bangladesh Navy discharging assignments with reputations. He also disclosed that more 135 crews of BN are expected to leave the country for Lebanon on June 22 next. He sought blessings from the people irrespective of caste and creed to complete the mission successfully. Mentionable that following the untired efforts of the prime Minister Sk.Hasina , two BN war ships viz.BNS Osman and BNS Madumati joined the Lebanon peace keeping mission in 2010 which later returned in Bangladesh after 4 years replacing by another two BN vessels BNS Ali Haider and BNS Nirmul, BN release said. Review by no means is a re-hearing of the appeal Appellate Division : (Civil) Md Muzammel Hossain CJ Surendra Kumar Sinha J Md Abdul Wahhab Miah J AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury J Judgment April 28th, 2014 Abdul Mazid (Md) Sarker and 8 others .....Petitioner vs Bangladesh and others....... ........ Respondents Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972 Article 105 Review by no means is a re-hearing of the appeal. It is not permissible to embark upon a reiteration of the same contentions as were advanced at the time of hearing of the leave petitions...(17) Bangladesh Bank vs Md Abdul Mannan, 46 DLR (AD) 1: Lt. Col. Nawabzada Muhammad Amir Khan vs Controller of Estate Duty, Government of Pakistan, PLD 1962 SC 335 = 13 DLR (SC) 105; Secretary Ministry of Finance vs Md Masdar Hossain 21 BLD (AD) 126 = 52 DLR (AD) 82 & 7 BLC (AD) 92 and Tarique Rahman vs Bangladesh 63 DLR (AD) 162 ref. Rafique-ul-Huq, Senior Advocate with Qumrul Islam Siddique, Advocate instructed by Nurul Islam Chowdhury, Advocate-on-Record--For the Petitioner (In all the Review Petitions). Shamim Khaled Ahmed Senior Advocate instructed by Sufia Khatun, Advocate-on- Record-For the Respondents (In all the Review Petitions). Judgment Md Muzammel Hossain CJ : These Civil Review Petitions, taken up for hearing analogously, are directed against the impugned judgment and order dated 26-7-2009 passed by this Division in Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal Nos. 1309, 1310 and 1317-24 of 2008 heard analogouly and disposed with observation affirming the judgment and order dated 23-3-2008 passed by the Administrative Appellate Tribunal in AAT Appeal Nos, 39 of 2006, 36 of 2006, 32 of 2006, 33 of 2006, 37 of 2006, 40 of 2006, 41 of 2006, 34 of 2006, 37 of 2006 and 35 of 2006 respectively and reversing the judgment and order dated 31-1-2006 passed by the Administrative Tribunal in AT Case Nos.147 of 2005 (New) and 136 of 2004 (old), 144 of 2005 (New) and 133 of 2004 (Old), 140 of 2005 (New) and 129 of 2004 (Old), 141 of 2005 (New) and 130 of 2004 (Old), 145 of 2005 (New) and 134 of 2004 (Old), 148 of 2005 (New) and 137 of 2004 (Old), 149 of 2005 (New) and 138 of 2004 (Old), 142 of 2005 (New) and 131/2004 (Old), 145/2005 (New) and 134/2004 (Old), and 143/2005 (New) and 132 of 2004 (Old) respectively allowing the cases of the petitioners and declaring their termination from service as illegal. 2. The facts, leading to the filing of these civil review petitions in a nutshell, are that the petitioners were Note/Coin Examiner, MLSS., Electric helper, Clerk-cum-typist who had been appointed in their respective service in Bangladesh Bank on different dates and confirmed in their respective posts and as per their claim they have been serving with satisfaction of the concerned authority. On 28-10-2003 at about 2-00 PM some staff of the Bangladesh Bank forcibly entering into the chamber of the Chairman of Bangladesh Bank demanded some illegal facilities and abused the Governor of Bangladesh Bank. In consequence of which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged, with the Motijheel Police Station on the same date. The General Manager, Human Resources Department, Bangladesh Bank on 30-10-2003 proposed to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank for termination of the services of the petitioners from Bangladesh Bank pursuant to Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Service Regulations, 2003 stating inter alia, that the occurrence took place on 28-10-2003 and the Deputy Governor and the Governor of Bangladesh accepted and signed the said proposal. Thereafter, the Joint Manager of Bangladesh Bank, Motijheel Branch, issued an order dated 30-10-2003 with the approval of the authority for termination of the services of each of the petitioners. The petitioners preferred appeals against the order dated 30-10-2003 before the Governor of Bangladesh Bank who did not reply to it. Finding no other way, the petitioners filed individual cases before the Administrative Tribunal for setting aside the order dated 30-10-2003. The Administrative Tribunal No-3, Dhaka by the judgment and order dated 3-1-2006 passed in AT Case Nos. 147 of 2005 (New) and 136 of 2004 (old) and 9 (Nine) other AT cases as mentioned above allowed the cases of the petitioners and declared their termination from service as illegal. Against the said judgment and order passed by the Administrative Tribunal the respondents of the instant petitions filed appeals being AAT Appeal Nos. 39 of 2006 and 9 (Nine) other AAT appeals as mentioned above before the Administrative Appellate Tribunal, Dhaka who by a common judgment and order dated 23-3-2008 allowed the appeals and set aside the judgment and order passed by the Administrative Tribunal in all AT cases filed by the petitioners. 3. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment and order of the Administrative Appellate Tribunal, the petitioners filed Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal Nos. 1309, 1310 and 1317-1324 of 2008 before this Division. This Division by its judgment and order dated 26-7-2009 disposed of all these leave petitions affirming the judgment and order of the Administrative Appellate Tribunal with observation and direction upon the authority of Bangladesh Bank to the effect that if any situation occurs in future in any appropriate case, the authority shall, with all fairness, take appropriate legal steps against the employees for ends of justice instead of resorting to the shortcut provisions of Rule 13(ii) of the Regulations, 2003. 4. Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 26-7-2009 passed by this Division, the review petitioners filed these instant petitions for review before this Division. 5. While the hearing of the review petition was going on the petitioner Md Abdul Mazid Sarker in Civil Review Petition No. 103 of 2013 submitted an Additional Paper Book with the leave of the Court in which petitioner presented the already discussed facts importing new circumstances. In the Additional Paper Book the petitioner stated that they were the members of Registered Trade Union of Bangladesh Bank having its Registration No. B-1898. The said Trade Union had been elected as the Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) for the employees of Bangladesh Bank. In exercise of their legal rights and duty in the nature of a trustee, the Officers of the CBA Trade Union had to issue a notice under section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 to the employer by letter under Memo m~I bs Rvs Ks ms/41/2003 dated 27-10-2003 raising some demands and speaking about grievances to the authority. Demands so raised was not received positively by the then Governor of Bangladesh Bank rather it was received with grudge and vindictive attitude. Out of the said grudge and decision of victimization on 29-10-2003 Mr Mostaq Aziz, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Bank, Head Office, Dhaka lodged a false FIR with the Motijheel Police Station which was later registered as GR No.4392 of 2003 under sections 143/447/448/341/ 186/189/506 of the Penal Code against the Officers of the CBA Trade Union in Dhaka. On 30-10-2003 the Manager, HRD. Head Office of Bangladesh Bank prepared a note to the effect that on 28-10-2003 some employees and officers uttered some unmannerly language to the Governor for which 10 persons should be terminated from the service of Bangladesh Bank under Regulation 13. On the basis of that note 10 persons including the petitioners were terminated by letter dated 30-10-2003. Amongst those 10 persons, 7 were the President, Executive President, Head Quarters, Vice-President, Secretary, Finance Secretary and Assistant, Finance Secretary of, the CBA Trade Union. 6. The petitioner also submitted that, at the time of preparing the application tiled before the Administrative Tribunal, the petitioner told everything to his learned Advocate but the learned Advocate refused to make these statements before the Administrative Tribunal saying that the Administrative Tribunal would not consider victimization for trade union activities and labour laws are not considered by the Administrative Tribunal. 7. Mr Rafique-ul Huq, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioners submits that the cases of the petitioners are not cases of 'termination simpliciter' because as many as 10 employees were terminated thus these were cases of 'termination enmasse. He submits that in the latest judgment dated 8-11-2009 in Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal Nos. 578-614 of 2009 this Division has affirmed the judgment of the High Court Division dated 11-1-2009 wherein the High Court Division had declared termination of 46 Biman Employees as illegal, void and without lawful authority and that all the Biman employees were terminated in purported exercise of power under Regulation 52(1) of the Bangladesh Biman Employees Service Regulations, 1979, which has also empowered the Biman to terminate the service of a permanent employee by giving 3 months notice or in lieu thereof by payment of 3 months pay. The learned Senior 'Advocate also refers to the case of Bangladesh, Bank vs Md Abdul Mannan reported in 46 DLR (AD), 1 in support of his arguf!1ent and submits, that while passing the impugned judgment this Division had failed to consider the above mentioned decision of this Division exactly on the same point and that this Division had committed serious error which had led to miscarriage of justice., He contends that this Court had also failed to: consider, that termination of a permanent employee with 1 month pay, in lieu of 1 month notice is opposed to Public Policy and the principle of "Audi Alteram Partem" and the petitioners had not only been condemned unheard but they had been also denied the procedural safeguards of the provision of the Article 135 of the Constitution. He finally submits that review of a judgment is permissible to do complete justice if this Division fails to consider a previous decision exactly on the similar point and, as such, this Division should set aside the impugned judgment and order considering the decision of the above referred case and thereby allow these petitions. 8. Mr Shamim Khaled Ahmed, the learned Senior Advocate for the respondents, supporting the impugned judgment and order, of this Division, submits that the petitioners, miserably failed to make out any case for, review of the impugned judgment and order and all the points raised in this review petitions were addressed and well answered in the impugned judgment and order by this Division in these leave petitioners and therefore, there is nothing left to be reconsidered in these review petitions and, as such, these review petitions are liable to be dismissed. 9. We have heard the learned Advocates for both the parties and perused the Civil Revision Petitions, impugned judgment and order dated 26-7-2009 passed by this Division disposing of the Civil Petitions for Leave to Appeal and all other connected papers on record. 10. In the instant cases we have to decide whether the petitioners have made out their cases for review and whether services of the review petitioners were terminated or dismissed by invoking Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003. The Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations of 2003 is the guiding principle in respect of service of the employees of Bangladesh Bank. Regulation 13 of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 provides for termination of service. Regulation 13(ii) reads as under: "(II) The Bank may determine the service of any employee by calling upon him to resign or otherwise, after the expiry of the period of his probation on giving him three months, notice or pay in lieu thereof if he is an Assistant Director and above, and on giving him one month's notice or pay in lieu thereof if he is an employee of any other class/category. The power to determine the service of an employee shall be exercised by the Governor with the prior approval of the Board in the case of an Assistant Director and above and by the General Manager of an office or branch with the approval of the Governor in the case of other employees". 11. Regulation 13(ii) provides that the appropriate Bank Authority may determine the service of any employee after giving him one month's notice or pay in lieu thereof. In the instant case this Division while disposing of the leave petitions with observation rightly noticed that the Administrative Appellate Tribunal found that the General Manager of Bangladesh Bank being the appropriate authority of the petitioners for termination of their service, terminated their service by order dated 30-10-2003; that the order of termination signed by the Joint Manager (Admn-1) is a mere communicating order as the order was proposed and given by the General Manager with the approval of the Governor and others; that the heading of the order of termination of service is written in BangIa as OeiLvIO and within bracket the words "termination of service" were written and the said letters were issued pursuant to Regulation No.13(ii) and erroneously the word OeiLvIO was written in BangIa in the order instead of OPvKzixP~ZO and that the Administrative Tribunal wrongly allowed the cases of the petitioners declaring the order dated. 13-10-2003 passed by the respondent null and void and without jurisdiction on the ground that the petitioners were not terminated from their service but they were dismissed from their service in the garb of Regulation 13(ii) though under Regulation 44(i)(g) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 the respondent Bank was empowered to dismiss the petitioners from their service after giving them oppol1unity of being heard as per provision of Article 135(2) of the Constitution. It is to be noted that all the orders of termination of services of the petitioners were in identical terms. In this context it is pertinent to quote in verbatim the order dated 30-10-2003 of termination of service of the petitioner in Civil Review Petition No. 105 of 2010 which reads as under: ???????? ?????? ??????, ????? ????????? ?? ????? ??? ......?????????????? ???????? ??????? ??-???????? ? ???/???? ????? ? ?? ???????, ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ??????????? (??????????? ?? ???????) ? ???? ??? ????? ??????, ?????-?? ???? ??????? ??????????? ???????????? ???? ?????? ?????-?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??????, (?????? ????? ???? ?? ???????-??) ?? ?????????? ???? ????? ??????????, ???? ?? ??(??) ????? ? (??) ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????? (??????????? ?? ???????) ??? ???? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ????????/- (??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????????? (???????-?) 12. On perusal of the memos dated 30-10-2003 it appears that the petitioners service was terminated by invoking Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 but in the aforesaid letter of termination the word OeiLvIO was written though Regulation No. 13(ii) and termination of service was clearly stated in the letter of termination under consideration. We have found that Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 consists of 4 parts. Part-I is the General Part which contains amongst others definitions, employment of temporary staff, appointments, probation, reversion, termination of service, retirement and re-employment and record of service. Part II contains discipline. Part-III contains punishment. In this Part Regulation 44 provides for penalties, 45 provides for inquiry and punishment and 46 enumerates the provisions of appeal and Part IV contains miscellaneous matters like salary, leave, medical attendance, allowances etc. 13. From the scheme and the contents of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 it appears that two different provisions namely, Regulation 13 provides for termination of service contained in Part 1 of the Regulations and Regulation 44(1)(f) provides for removal from service and Regulation 44(1)(g) provides for dismissal from service contained in Part III of tile Regulations. In the instant case the services of the petitioners were terminated vide memos dated 30-10-2003 by invoking Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003. It seems that mistakenly the word OeiLvIO was written in the order of termination of service instead of the correct word ??????????? But in the subject matter of the order the expressions ???????? ??????????? (Termination of service)" were correctly written. Mere using the word OeiLvIO mistakenly in the order of termination of service will not make the same "dismissal" because the respondent Bangladesh Bank Authority specifically invoked Regulation 13(ii) in terminating the services of the petitioners with one month's notice. From a careful reading of Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003 it appears that the Appropriate Bank Authority may determine the service of an employee after giving him one month's notice or pay in lieu thereof. (To be continued) The power to determine the service of an employee below the rank of Assistant Director who are classified as "other employees" shall be exercised by the General Manager of an office or Branch with the approval of the Governor of the Bank. In the instant case this Division rightly found that the General Manager made a proposal to the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank for the termination of the services of the petitioners pursuant to Regulation 13 (ii) of the Regulations, 2003. Accordingly, the General Manager terminated the services of the petitioners with the approval of the Governor. Regulation 13 (ii) does not provide for dismissal of the employee and it does not contain any stigma or, punishment against the petitioners. Therefore, this Division in the leave petitions having considered all aspects of the matter disposed of them with observation holding that the Administrative Appellate Tribunal rightly allowed the appeals after setting aside the judgment and order passed by the Administrative Tribunal. We are of the view that the services of the petitioners were rightly terminated by invoking the Regulation 13(ii) of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003. 14. While speaking about the scope of review the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case of Lt. Col. Nawabzada Muhammad Amir Khan vs Controller of Estate Duty, Government of Pakistan, reported in PLD 1962 SC 335 = 13 DLR (SC) 105 observed as under: "To permit a review on the ground of incorrectness would amount to granting the Court the jurisdiction to hear appeals against its own judgments or perhaps a jurisdiction to one Bench of the Court to hear appeals against other Benches; and that surely is not the scope of review jurisdiction. No mistake in a considered conclusion, whatever the extent of that mistake, can be a ground for the exercise of review jurisdiction." 15. In the case of Secretary Ministry of Finance vs Md Masdar Hossain reported in 21 BLD (AD) 126 at page 131 para 12 = 7 BLC (AD) 92 this Division reiterated the principle as under: "a review is by no means an appeal in disguise whereby an erroneous decision is reheard and corrected. A review lies where an error apparent on the face of the record exists. It is not a re-hearing of the main appeal. Review is not intended to empower the Court to correct a mistaken view of law, if any, taken in the main judgment. It is only a clerical mistake or mistake apparent on the face of the record that can be corrected by the leave but it does not include the correction of any erroneous view of law taken by the Court." 16. I n the case of Tarique Rahman vs Bangladesh reported in 63 DLR (AD) 162 at page 172 para 23 in which two of us was party, whi Ie expounding the grounds of review we observed as under: "In order to review a judgment there must be an error apparent on the face of the record and that this error is so apparent and manifest and clear that no court of law would permit such an error to remain on the record. We arc therefore convinced to reach to the conclusion that the error must not only be apparent it must also have a material bearing on the face of the case". (n disposing of the Civil Petitions for Leave to Appeal we already considered the same grounds which have been advanced before us in these civil review petitions. 17. In these civil review petitions we do not find any substance in the submissions of Mr Rafique-ul-Huq, the learned Advocate for the petitioners rather we find substance in the submissions of Mr Shamim Khaled Ahmed, the learned Advocate appearing for the respondents to the effect that the grounds taken in the review petitions are in real terms the same grounds which were already considered and repelled in the judgment and order passed by this Division in the above leave petitions. This Division consistently held that review by no means is are-hearing of the appeal. We are, therefore, of the view that in all these civil review petitions the grounds urged by the petitioners are nothing but the grounds taken into consideration and repelled in the leave Petitions. It is therefore not permissible to embark upon a reiteration of the same contentions as were advanced at the time of hearing of the leave petitions. 18. From the above discussions and findings we are of the opinion that there is no error apparent on the face of the record to interfere in the impugned judgment and order passed by this Division in the above leave petitions. There is no legal ground in these civil review petitions for review of the impugned judgment and order passed by this Division in the civil petitions for leave to appeal. Accordingly, all these civil review petitions are dismissed. Transgender getting skill dev training in Rajshahi BSS, Rajshahi : Transgender people have started getting skill development training here for improving their living and livelihood condition. Department of Social Service (DSS) organized a 50-daylong training for them in its regional training centre in Rajshahi city yesterday. On the occasion, the department hosted an inaugural session in conference hall of Deputy Commissioner. Deputy Commissioner Kazi Ashraf Uddin addressed the session as chief guest with Rubina Yeasmin, Deputy Director of DSS, in the chair. Social worker Shaheen Akhter Rainy and Paba Upazila Social Service Officer Kazi Abu Taher also spoke. The discussants stressed the need for ensuring fundamental rights especially the health, social and legal rights of the transgender people for uplifting their living and livelihood condition. The society, as a whole, should come forward with a positive attitude toward the extreme socially excluded people for their coexistence in society with decent livelihood. Chief Guest Kazi Ashraf Uddin said the present government is very much positive towards solving the problems of the hijra community. He urged the people to change their attitude towards the transgender people and demanded quota for them in education and job sectors. He said general people have a very narrow mindset regarding genderless people and they should change their mentality. The training will help the extremely excluded population free from being subjected to repression, discrimination and negligence in every spheres of their life. Oppressed Minority Society formed a human chain in front of Jatiya Press Club on Friday in protest against repression on Hindu people all over the country. Elvin, Badhon, Prashun work with Hasan Jahangir in Eid play Sheikh Arif Bulbon :On the occasion of coming Eid-ul-Fitr, noted play director and actor Hasan Jahangir has made a special play titled Prothom Valolaga. Maruf Rehman wrote story of the play. Shooting of the play was wrapped up in the citys Eskaton area last week. For the first time, three Lux stars - Tasnuva Elvin, Azmeri Haque Badhon and Prashun Azad - worked with Hasan Jahangir in the play.While talking about the play actor and director Hasan Jahangir told this correspondent, It is really a nice story. My role in the play is Ishan. Younger sister of Badhon, Prashun loves Ishan. But without Prashuns concern engagement between Badhon and Ishan took place silently. On the other hand, Prashun's cousin Elvin also started to love Ishan. Complexity raised and the story of the play gets momentum.At first, I wanted to make the play by a director. Later I thought though I acted in an important role so that I could give its direction. For this reason, I made the play sincerely and cordially. Badhon, Prashun and Elvin acted really well in the play, Hasan Jahangir added.Badhon shared her feelings by this way, Due to its story I agreed to work in the play. I believe viewers will enjoy the play.Prashun Azad said, It is really an exceptional story based play. Viewers always want to watch different story. It is like that.Elvin said, For the first time, I worked under Hasan Jahangir Bhais direction. He works sincerely. I am very much optimistic about the play.Hasan Jahangir also informed that the play will be aired on RTV in Eid-ul-Fitr. He is also engaged with making plays on the occasion of coming Eid. Badhon has already finished several works in this regard. Amirul Islam Aruns Chokrojal and Anjan Aichs Eid serial BPL are mentionable of those works. On the other hand, Prashun has already finished shooting of Shahriar Nazim Joys play Chander Moto Meye.Meanwhile, as a newcomer, Elvin will be seen in several numbers of plays in Eid. Orlando families to bury victims Friday US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers for the victims of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub at a memorial in Orlando, Florida. Reuters, Orlando : Families of some of the 49 people killed in a massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub will mourn and bury their dead on Friday, a day after President Barack Obama met survivors and said the United States must act to control gun violence. Funerals are expected to be held over the next two weeks. Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25, like many of the victims of the Pulse club mass shooting, was from Puerto Rico. He is to be buried on Friday, according to the Newcomer Funeral Home, a day after more than 150 friends and family mourned him at a wake. Obama, who traveled to Orlando on Thursday and met survivors and families of those who died, told reporters: "I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?'." He urged Congress to pass measures to make it harder to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the semi-automatic rifle used in the attack on Sunday. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in Orlando after a U.S.-born gunman claiming allegiance to various Islamist militant groups carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. During the shooting rampage the gunman, Omar Mateen, exchanged text messages with his wife, CNN reported on Thursday, as well as posting on Facebook and placing a phone call to a television station. Police killed Mateen, 29, a U.S. citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants. Obama, who has visited mass shooting victims' families in towns from San Bernardino, California, to Newtown, Connecticut, since becoming president, laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but U.S. officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. A married couple also claiming allegiance to Islamic State shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. On Thursday, more than 300 people, including Florida Governor Rick Scott, attended the viewing for Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, who was born in Dorado, Puerto Rico. He was 36 when he was killed during a night of dancing to celebrate a friend's new house. His husband had stayed home that night in the couple's apartment. "He was in a Snapchat video that's out there, dancing away, so we know he had some fun before the madness," said his cousin, Orlando Gonzalez. Twenty-three of the 53 wounded remained hospitalized, six in critical condition, according to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. CNN reported, citing a law enforcement official it did not identify, that Mateen exchanged text messages with his wife, Noor Salman, during the three hours he was holed up in a bathroom inside the nightclub. Salman is under investigation to find out whether she knew about Mateen's plans ahead of time. Tanners to file appeal Staff Reporter : Tannery industry owners will file an appeal with Supreme Court against the High Court Order that asked them to pay Tk 50,000 as compensation per day for damaging the environment in city's Hazaribagh area. According to the order, the owners of 154 tanneries will have to deposit the money with the state exchequer from the date of receiving copies of the HC order until relocation of their factories to Savar Tannery Industrial Estate from Hazaribagh. The HC passed the order upon a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh. "We will file an appeal with the Supreme Court against the HC order," Shaheen Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), told The New Nation on Friday. The appeal will be filed after getting the HC order, he added. Shaheen Ahmed said: It is not possible to shift all the tanneries to Savar immediately. We need at least six more months for the purpose. "A lot of works have to be done before shifting the tanneries to Savar. So, we need the time to complete the relocation," he said. General Secretary of BTA Sakhawat Ullah on Friday said, "We will lodge an appeal with Supreme Court soon seeking stay on the order." Echoing the same view with BTA President, Sakhawat Ullah said, "We'll need at least 5-6 months more to shift the tanneries completely." "It'll be possible to shift only 50 to 60 tanneries out of 155 to the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate within July, and the remaining others by December," he said. The tanners had missed more than a dozen deadlines for shifting their factories to Savar over the last one decade. The latest deadline for tannery relocation set by the government expired on March 31 this year. "Tanners have missed the deadline because they are yet to complete construction of their factory buildings," said Sakhawat Ullah. He, however, said that tanners will not waste any time to relocate their factories to Savar once they completed construction of factory buildings there. Sources said, some 21,000 cubic metres of untreated toxic waste are released every day from the Hazaribagh tanneries into the Buriganga River, posing a serious threat to environment as well as human and animal health. To mitigate the risk, the government earlier initiated the process to shift tanneries from the city's Hazaribagh area to Savar setting up a special zone for tannery industry. Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), a state-run agency is implementing the tannery estate project, for 152 industrial units in Savar. Of those, 148 units are now under-construction, according to BSCIC officials. 2 held with 14kg gold at HSIA Staff Reporter : The Customs Authorities seized gold bars and ornaments weighing 14 kgs from two siblings at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the city on Friday. Acting on a tip off, the Customs Officials arrested the two brothers -- Mamun Khan, 39, and Murad Khan, 30, and recovered the gold bars and ornaments from their possession, said Rezaul Karim, chief of preventive team of Dhaka Customs. Rezaul, also the Assistant Commissioner of Dhaka Customs House, said as soon as the two brothers arrived at HSIA at 12:30pm by a flight of Tiger Airlines from Singapore, they detained them and searched the body. "The gold bars and ornaments were hidden in specially made belts warped around the two brothers' waists, he said, adding the market price of the seized gold bars and ornaments is estimated around Tk 7.50 crore. The recovered gold would be deposited with the Bangladesh Bank. A case has been filed with the Airport Police Station in this connection. Bernicat leads BD business team UNB, Dhaka : A delegation of prominent Bangladeshi businesspeople will attend a three-day "SelectUSA Investment Summit-2016" that begins in Washington on Sunday to learn about business opportunities in the United States. The delegation will learn from some of the "best minds" in business and government about the opportunities that exist for their companies, said US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat in a video message who left for Washington on Thursday night along with the delegation. The business delegation will engage in matchmaking with different economic and development professionals, companies and business people around the United States, she said. "I am pleased to personally lead a delegation of prominent Bangladeshi businesspeople to the 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington," Bernicat said. She said they are delighted to reciprocate the warm hospitality that Bangladesh has extended to the US companies in Bangladesh. Bernicat said, the US government is helping Bangladeshi companies access the United States market and the opportunities that lie throughout the USA. However, it could not be known who are in the business delegation. US President Barack Obama, who hosts the Investment Summit, will deliver the keynote address on June 20 (Monday). This year's Summit theme is "The Innovation Advantage" and will showcase investment opportunities from every corner of the United States for global investors. The Summit is the highest-profile event that promotes foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to bring together companies from all over the world, economic development organisations from every corner of the nation, others working to facilitate investment in the United States, and high-level government officials. Participants can find the practical tools, information and connections they need to move investments forward. The Summit will begin with an optional add-on Summit Academy that addresses the basics of investing in the United States and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). India takes up with BD The Indian Express :India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the death threat to a priest of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka by suspected militants claiming to be from the ISIS even as security at the complex has been beefed up.The Ramakrishna Mission received a threat letter on Wednesday which said the priest will be killed if he continues to preach his religion, amid astring of targeted murders across the country by suspected militants in the recent months. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Friday that the Indian High Commission has taken up the issue with Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry and police."High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and have been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka," Swarup said. He said police presence at the complex has been strengthened.Swarup said the First Secretary (Consular) in the High Commission visited the RK Mission yesterday morning to review the security. The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission is a branch of the Belur Math in Kolkata.A police official in Dhaka yesterday had said the priest received the letter on Wednesday evening on a computer-composed IS letterhead with the perpetrator identifying himself as one AB Siddiqui."Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You can't preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, you'll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th," the officer quoted the letter as saying.The letter, he said, did not mention any month. Suspected Islamists have killed a number of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown since Friday. Bangladesh authorities have detained nearly 12,000 people in a nationwide crackdown to halt a spate of deadly attacks. Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn unite in tributes BBC Online :David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn have united to condemn the killing of MP Jo Cox as an "attack on democracy".Speaking alongside the prime minister in Mrs Cox's West Yorkshire constituency, Labour leader Mr Corbyn said Parliament would be recalled on Monday, and labelled the attack "an act of hatred".Mrs Cox, 41, was shot and stabbed in the street as she headed to a scheduled constituency surgery on Thursday.A 52-year-old man has been arrested. The visit came as the Conservatives, Lib Dems and UKIP all announced they would not contest the by-election resulting from her death.Joined by Commons Chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn and Commons Speaker John Bercow, the prime minister and the Labour leader bowed their heads as they laid bouquets in Birstall.Mr Corbyn said he had asked for Parliament to be recalled to enable politicians to pay tribute to the Labour MP "on behalf of everybody in this country who values democracy... free from the kind of brutality that Jo suffered." He added: "Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her."It's a tragedy beyond tragedy what happened yesterday. "In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society, we will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech."Vote Leave and Remain have both suspended campaigning in the EU referendum in light of the attack.Mr Cameron said: "Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities. "If we truly want to honour Jo, then what we should do is recognise that her values - service, community, tolerance - the values she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and years to come."The 52-year-old arrested man, named locally as Tommy Mair, remains in custody.Witness Ben Abdullah, who was working at a cafe next to the scene of the attack, said he saw "a river of people" coming down the street "screaming and shouting". Mr Abdullah said he heard several shots and saw Mrs Cox on the floor "in a very bad state". Politicians have been warned to review their security in the wake of the attack and a reminder of safety guidance has been sent out to MPs, said a government spokesman.West Yorkshire Police have so far refused to discuss the possible motive behind the killing.On Thursday, hundreds of people of all faiths packed into Saint Peter's Church in Birstall for a service of remembrance a while a vigil was also held outside Parliament.Mrs Cox is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a string of politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups. She was married to campaigner Brendan Cox, and had two young children, with the family dividing its time between its constituency home and a river boat on the Thames.He said in a statement: "Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full."Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people." Stop mass arbitrary arrests soon Staff Reporter : Bangladesh authorities should immediately stop arbitrarily arresting people without proper evidence of a crime, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday. HRW, a US-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, came up with the statement following the arrest of several thousand people in the week-long police drive across the country. In the statement, it said Bangladesh authorities should investigate attacks on secular writers, gay rights activists and religious minorities, and identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Between June 10 and 16, 2016, security forces have reportedly arrested over 11,000 people in connection with a spate of murders of bloggers with secular or atheist leanings, non-Muslims, members of the LGBT community, and other progressive or liberal thinkers. Those detained should either be charged on the basis of credible evidence of criminal activities and brought immediately before a judge, or be immediately released, the HRW said. "After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladesh's security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the 'usual suspects' instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations," said Brad Adams, Asia Director of the Organisation. "The government has an obligation to put an end to these murders and hold the perpetrators to account, but it must do so through proper procedures set out in its own criminal code as well as in international law." The wave of targeted killings of bloggers, secularists, and religious minorities began in 2013 and has escalated in recent months. To date, more than 50 have been killed, often through machete attacks in public spaces. Many of these killings have subsequently been claimed by IS or Ansar al-Islam, a Bangladeshi militant group linked to al-Qaeda, but their involvement has not been established. The government denies the presence of both groups in the country. The authorities were initially slow to respond to these murders, making only a handful of arrests in a few cases. In several of these cases, HRW found that police detained those arrested weeks before they formally accused them of murder, failing to inform their families of their locations or provide access to legal counsel. However, following the high profile murders of two gay rights activists on April 25, 2016, and the wife of a senior police officer responsible for counter terrorism operations on June 5, the government announced a new crackdown on extremists to bring an end to these killings, and the mass arrests began. The killings of bloggers and others who allegedly do not conform to Islamist principles began in 2013 and, following a brief respite in 2014, resumed in 2015, continuing unabated until today. The initial "machete attacks" were largely against bloggers writing publicly about secularist or atheist principles, but later expanded to target members of religious minority groups, professors and students, publishers, and most recently LGBT rights activists. The government's initial reaction involved both condemning the killings but also urging those targeted to censor their writing or curtail their activities. In 2013, the authorities prosecuted four bloggers for "offending religious sentiments." In 2015, following the murder of prominent blogger Niladri Chatterjee Niloy, Bangladesh's Inspector General of Police warned bloggers that "hurting religious sentiments is a crime," rather than protecting the right of free expression. Police sources stated that of the more than 11,000 rounded up on this drive, only about 145 are confirmed members of militant organisations. Membership of an organisation is not sufficient evidence to link individuals to these crimes, it said in the news release. Media reports claim that some of those detained are being made to pay bribes to secure their release, a familiar pattern in Bangladesh. For instance, in one case reported to HRW in the present roundup, police detained a youth, beat him up in custody, and then demanded a 100,000 taka (US$1,270) bribe, threatening otherwise to list him as a suspected fundamentalist. Given the well documented history of impunity for torture and other custodial abuse in Bangladesh, there is a real risk of harm during detention and interrogation. HRW has documented torture and custodial abuse of those detained by Bangladeshi security forces, including that of one of its own consultants in 2008. A 2012 HRW report documented the mass arrests, torture, and custodial deaths of those suspected of involvement in a 2009 mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles. Subsequent investigations by Human Rights Watch before and after the violent elections in January 2014 documented arbitrary and illegal arrests, leading in some cases to disappearances and deaths. The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has promised a climate of zero tolerance for torture and impunity, the HRW noted. "The mass arrest of thousands upon thousands within the course of a few days is a familiar scene in Bangladesh, but does little to inspire confidence either that these ghastly killings will stop or that due process will be followed," Adams said. "The authorities need to conduct focused investigations in order to find those responsible for planning and carrying out the wave of killings that has so outraged the world," it added. Don`t make ISIL global: Our crisis is our creation Editorial Desk :The United States is interested in exploring the option of armed Bangladeshi private security personnel ensuring security of US officials in Dhaka. The US, which is worried about the safety and security of its officials in Bangladesh, following the brutal murder of its staff Xulhaz Mannan, will raise the issue of deploying private security forces in the upcoming fifth Partnership Dialogue between the two countries scheduled in Washington on June 23-25, as per reports of a local daily. We do not want to see wrong kind of cooperation to grow between Bangladesh and the US. On ISIL, the US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat in Bangladesh the other day said that terrorism is a global threat, therefore its presence is global and there is no need to talk about where an organisation is or is not. "ISIL has global reach and can be everywhere thanks to the internet," she said, adding that the two governments have agreed that it is a global threat and they have to work on it globally and jointly.The US Ambassador here should know that ISIL has no existence in Bangladesh and our terrorism is our creation. We expect high ranking US government officials to make proper assessment of the situation. Our situation is not an immediate threat to the world, but Bangladesh is sliding into a crisis of terrible violence and human rights violations which must be contained politically. Don't make ways for outside terrorists to come into Bangladesh. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a Salafi jihadist militant group that follows an Islamic fundamentalist, Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. Although it was formed in 1999, it took over 12 years for the group to establish itself - and that too, because it was associated with Syrian rebels who were fighting to free their country from the tyranny of President Bashar al-Assad. Despite world plans of domination - as detailed in a map in 2014 -- after over two years it still remains in control of parts of Syria and Iraq - with populations of over 2.8 million people. It is wrong to treat them as having a world reach. Whatever these terrorists claim, their power base is war and chaos fuelled, willingly or not, by global powers in the Middle East. Most Muslim leaders do not treat them as Muslims - they are brutal terrorists with no respect for Islam. They do not practice Islam. They are a greater threat to the Muslims, doing greater harm to Islam. They grew up in cruel war torn conditions of the Middle East and they should be buried in the Middle East. They have killed more Muslims, raped Muslim women and given Islam a bad name. We firmly believe that the Western countries must not play into the hands of enemies of Islam. President Obama is very right that the West must not make Muslims feel that the West hates them. The ISIL and other extremist groups using Islam are being encouraged to be a force by enemies of Islam. They are exploiting some genuine grievances the Muslims have against the Western countries for their blind support for Israel and allowing Israeli government to treat the Muslims of Palestine and Gaza brutally as a colonial power. It is a grave mistake for the Western countries not to understand that the government of Israel has become power-drunk for being too much pampered. The West must pursue forcefully to reach the Palestinian solution. IS is not a global threat though they want to be seen like one and claim credit for any act of terrorism taking place anywhere. Their claims of smuggling over 5000 fighters in Europe with the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in 2015 and 2016 were proven to be false - indeed their real organisational capability seems to be to make ghastly videos of inhuman executions. Most importantly Muslim leaders must be engaged more visibly and more unitedly behind the Western move to finish IS and likes of IS in the Middle East.But do not support state terrorism by way of fighting imaginary global terrorism. That will mean supporting state terrorism for the rise of new dictators in countries struggling for democracy. We repeat that the cruel activities do not make ISIS a global threat and conclude by quoting from the statement of an eminent former US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan W Mozena as he remarked: "A moderate, tolerant, democratic country, Bangladesh, the world's seventh most populous country and third largest Muslim majority country, is a viable alternative to violent extremism in a troubled region of the world." "The record companies know that I have not had any part of TPB for ages, still suing," Sunde wrote. "Bullying is the new black." One of the founders of notorious file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been ordered to pay a fine worth nearly US$400,000 to several major record labels after their content was shared illegally via the platform.The penalty has been imposed on The Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde by a court in Helsinki, Finland.Interestingly, Sunde, who already left the notorious file sharing site in 2009, said on Twitter that he lost the court case he did not even know about.The court case was brought by the Finnish divisions of Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI, accusing the Pirate Bay of illegally sharing the music of 60 of their artists through its service.The artists mentioned in the brief included "" according to the local outlet Digitoday However, the recording division did not accuse Sunde of direct infringement; rather it accused Sunde of his involvement in the Pirate Bay that indirectly made him responsible for infringements.The Helsinki District Court ordered the 37-year-old to pay $395,000 (350,000 Euros) to the record labels.Sunde did not appear in the court to defend himself, so the Finnish Court handed down a default judgment.Sunde is now ordered to pay the full amount and costs of nearly $62,000 (55,000 Euros) to the local branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).Besides, the judge also threatened a fine of 1 Million Euros if the pirated content continues to be shared through The Pirate Bay website, though it is still not clear that how Sunde is supposed to do anything about the sharing of content on the site since he has no association with the service.As TorrentFreak notes , Sunde and other co-founders of the Pirate Bay, including Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm, also owes large sums of money to other copyright holders as a result of various court judgments over the years.However, so far, none of those penalties have been "satisfied," and it is likely that this penalty will also go unpaid. Louisiana House and Senate leaders reached a deal Thursday for handling the budget bill that will spend the tax dollars raised during the special legislative session. Louisiana House and Senate leaders reached a deal Thursday for handling the budget bill that will spend the tax dollars raised during the special legislative session, ending a logjam that had created tension between the two sides. Lawmakers in the House agreed to stop stalling the measure and intend to schedule it for a Monday hearing. Without the bill, any dollars raised couldn't be spent to stop health and education program cuts next year. But until Thursday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Cameron Henry hadn't even filed the budget measure for consideration. House leaders had said they didn't want to craft a plan to spend new tax dollars until the state's income forecasting panel, the Revenue Estimating Conference, formally recognizes the money as available for spending. They gave up on that idea amid pushback from the Senate. Senate leaders say formal recognition of the tax dollars can happen after the special session ends and before the July 1 start of the new budget year. "The (Legislative) Fiscal Office is advising us all through the process. I don't know why we can't use those numbers like we have done forever," said Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego. Henry, R-Metairie, gave in and said he doesn't expect the estimating panel to meet until after the legislative session ends next week. "In an ideal world, I think it's prudent for us to have the Revenue Estimating Conference meeting. I don't think time really allows for that at this point," Henry said. No tax bills from the special session have reached final legislative passage or been signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards so the income estimating panel has nothing to forecast for spending yet. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, said if the House waited on an updated income forecast reflecting tax bills that haven't passed, "they'll be waiting a long time." He described Henry's initial plan to wait as "ludicrous." "I don't know what they were thinking," LaFleur said Thursday. A meeting between House Speaker Taylor Barras, Alario, Henry and LaFleur ended talk of needing a Revenue Estimating Conference meeting before session ends. And Henry filed the budget bill. "Everybody's working together well," Henry said. "I don't expect much drama." The House and Senate haven't reached a deal yet on taxes, so Henry said the House will work with the $220 million or so the House has agreed to raise so far. Edwards has asked for $600 million to stave off cuts to the safety-net hospitals that care for the poor, the TOPS college tuition program, K-12 education, public safety programs and college campuses. Senate leaders want to raise $450 million. The special session must end June 23. IND L!VE offers highlights of the many live music events taking place around Acadiana this weekend. ACOUSTIC SHOWCASE WITH CORY LANDRY AND SAL MELANCON Thursday, June 16 Grouse Room Doors: 6 p.m. This acoustic showcase is shaping up to be one of our most entertaining shows yet! If you like great musicianship and great voices, then this show is for you! Cory Landry (three37 band) and his pal Sal Melancon, III are collaborating to showcase this "dueling acoustic" set. One of kind show. PUDGE + NEAT + ROZWELL KID + WOOZY Thursday, June 16 Feed & Seed Doors: 8 p.m. Feed N Seed welcomes indie and punk bands Pudge, Neat, Rozwell Kid, and Woozy! TERRY AND THE ZYDECO BAD BOYS Thursday, June 16 Blue Moon Saloon Doors: 9:30 p.m. Founded in 2001 and hailing from Duson, Louisiana, Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys play a traditional style of zydeco with a touch of Funk. BANTAM FOXES + THE SHAKE BACKS + RANDOM ANIMALS WITH BLAKE PUJOL Friday, June 17 Feed & Seed Doors: 8 p.m. Admission: $10 Join Feed & Seed for Bantam Foxes new EP release of Gold Record. FOREST HUVAL + TEE CHAOUI TRIO Friday, June 17 Blue Moon Saloon Doors: 9:30 p.m. Forest Huval is an intrepid upcoming musician with a voyagers soul. A native of Cecilia, Louisiana, Forest was influenced by legendary cajun musician. His soulful vocals along with his effortless accordion and intense fiddle playing can get any crowd up and dancing. The young accordionist and fiddle player continues to hone his melodic craft with a reverence for master works and respectful nudge to the edges in original efforts. Forest aspires on working diligently to keep the true authentic style of cajun music alive both within and beyond Louisiana. THREE37 BAND Friday, June 17 Grouse Room Doors: 10 p.m. Enjoy high energy, uptemp, groove making songs with Three37 at the Grouse Room. DOWNTOWN COUNTRY FESTIVAL Saturday, June 18 Parc International Doors: 3 p.m. Admission: $25, $20 in advance Be a part of the FIRST ever Downtown Country Music Festival in Lafayette, and share your passion for country music. Frank Foster, Lainey Wilson, The Gillis Silo, Alex Smit, and Clay Cormier and The Highway Boys are among the best and most talented country music artists that will be celebrating country music the right way. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the The Acadiana Affiliate of Susan G. Komen. This event will be the beginning of something great, so don't let your friends tell you about it. FEUFOLLET + CEDRIC WATSON & BIJOU CREOLE Saturday, June 18 Feed & Seed Doors: 8 p.m. Admission: $10 Join Feed & Seed for a night of dancing with Feufollet and Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole. Photo by Daniel Sanda ZYDECO RADIO Saturday, June 18 Grouse Room Doors: 10 p.m. Join us the 3rd Saturday of every month for our Zydeco Night featuring Zydeco Radio! Once a pro-slavery denomination aligned with the Confederacy, the SBC voted to condemn the familiar battle flag of the Confederate States of America. On Tuesday, Flag Day, leadership of the second largest Christian denomination in the United States voted overwhelmingly to reject the Confederate flag. Once a pro-slavery denomination aligned with the Confederacy, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to condemn the familiar battle flag of the Confederate States of America in a movement sparked by a black SBC pastor from Arlington, Texas, in the weeks after the massacre of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, SC. The resolution reads: We call our brothers and sisters in Christ to discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole Body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters. Founded in 1845, the SBC is the second largest Christian denomination in America behind Catholicism. While SBC resolutions are not binding for member churches, the membership typically falls in line with leadership directives. The denomination originated in a split in the U.S. Baptist church over issues related to slavery in the run-up to the Civil War. According to Wikipedia: Slavery in the 19th century became the most critical moral issue dividing Baptists in the United States. Struggling to gain a foothold in the South, after the American Revolution, the next generation of Baptist preachers accommodated themselves to the leadership of southern society. Rather than challenging the gentry on slavery and urging manumission (as did the Quakers and Methodists), they began to interpret the Bible as supporting the practice of slavery and encouraged good paternalistic practices by slaveholders. They preached to slaves to accept their places and obey their masters. In the two decades after the Revolution during the Second Great Awakening, Baptist preachers abandoned their pleas that slaves be manumitted. After first attracting yeomen farmers and common planters, in the nineteenth century, the Baptists began to attract major planters among the elite. While the Baptists welcomed slaves and free blacks as members, whites controlled leadership of the churches, their preaching supported slavery, and blacks were usually segregated in seating. Read more at nola.com. 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. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: A Carbondale man has been arrested for the third time in the past 14 months for drug-related offenses. Jermaine Archer, 22, of Carbondale was arrested at about 11 p.m. June 9, when a Carbondale Police officer made a traffic stop on East Willow Street, the department said Friday in a news release. During the stop, officers found Archer to be in possession of suspected cocaine, heroin and cannabis. He was later charged with possession and delivery of a controlled substance, possession of cannabis and resisting a peace officer. He was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail. In May, Archer was arrested after a traffic stop revealed he had an expired drivers license. Further investigation found Archer was in possession of cocaine. He was charged with possession of cocaine less than 15 grams and possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver and driving on an expired license. According to Judici.com, the case is awaiting a preliminary hearing on June 30. In April 2015, police responded to the 500 block of South Ash Street for a report of shots fired. During that investigation, officers identified Archer as a suspect and found that he was in possession of a controlled substance and a stolen firearm. Archer was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen firearm, aggravated discharge of firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. According to Judici court records, Archer pleaded guilty a charge of possession with intent to deliver in November, and was placed on probation for two years. BENTON The Franklin Hospital District Board of Directors held a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss pending litigation put forth by the hospitals former chief of medical staff. The breach of contract lawsuit, filed in April on behalf of Morthland College Health Services LLC, is expected to be dismissed during a Friday morning hearing by the Franklin County Circuit Clerk. Franklin Hospital Chief Operating Officer Derek Johnson said the purpose of the closed session meeting was to receive an update on the motion for dismissal of the lawsuit. Attorney Peter Popit of Troutt, Popit & Warner provided legal representation. MCHSs five-year contract with the hospital began in September 2013 and was terminated Feb. 1 with a six-month notice to discontinue hospitalist and medical services on July 31. Dr. Tim Morthland, the founding president of West Frankfort-based Morthland College, served as hospitalist under the agreement. The suit alleges that Franklin Hospital Chief Executive Officer Hervey Davis made false and misleading statements to the board in order to induce them into terminating the contract early. Morthland filed a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit three days after announcing his intention to build a $40 million hospital in Franklin County, with or without the participation of the Franklin Hospital board. Chairman Brent Young said the board has been too busy with the lawsuit to discuss Morthlands proposal for the new hospital. The proposal is not currently on the agenda for the boards next meeting, which is slated for Tuesday, June 28, Johnson said. The hearing to dismiss the lawsuit is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday. Last week, State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, was recognized as recipient of the 2016 Legislative Service Award from the Illinois Press Association. Dennis DeRossett, president and CEO of the IPA, said the award was given to acknowledge Bradley for his work as a sponsor presiding over the legislation that created www.publicnoticeillinois.com, a website that collects government notices from the state and assists citizens interested in local, county and state government. Public Notices are vital to open government, DeRossett said. Just as important is the third-party verification of notices that newspapers provide. This website is an extension of services already provided by newspapers, and thanks to Representative Bradley, weve been able to do this for the public at no cost to taxpayers. Additionally, DeRossett commended Bradley for providing citizens with access to an open and honest government. Accountability and transparency have always been high priorities for the IPA and over the years, John has proven he is absolutely committed to keeping government open and honest, he said. CARBONDALE Alex Leandro Carraminana La Rosa passed away Thursday, June 2, 2016, due to a tragic accident. Alex was born May 27, 1991, in Providence, Rhode Island. He had been living in Carbondale with his father who is a professor at Southern Illinois University. Alex is survived by his sister Arlenn and his parents, Myrna and Rodrigo, and many, many uncles, aunts, cousins and nephews and nieces in Chile. Alex and his family moved to Oak Park in 1994. He attended, Lincoln School, Gwendoline Brooks and OPRFHS. Alex loved skate boarding, snowboarding, camping and traveling, what he did intensely with his family. He was thinking to return to Triton College in the fall of this year. Alex most likely will be remembered as an easy going and a sweet boy, one of his teachers at OPRFHS said I really loved Alex so much, he was one of my favorite students of all time and I can see him smiling right now. His family will be celebrating Alexs life at noon Sunday, June 19, in West Central SDA Church, followed by a potluck, at 1154 Wisconsin Ave, in Oak Park. This is open to anyone that would like to celebrate his life. Thumbs down to well, us. Illinois residents complain about their representatives and their governor and the impasse that they have created. But the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform points out that only 39 percent of this falls races for the legislature will be contested. 96 of the 158 available seats have already been decided. In California, a state that has term limits, 79 percent of November legislative contests will be contested. Thumbs up to Shawnee Alliance in Carterville for their tireless work to connect seniors with services and protect older adults and people with disabilities from abuse and neglect. The so-called "golden years" are not so golden for everyone. Some people grow old alone, or with family and caregivers that exploit them. Consider making your good deed for the week popping in on an elderly neighbor. And if you see, hear or suspect something suspicious, reach out to Shawnee Alliance. Their case managers are well-versed in complex family dynamics, and are trained in looking into these matters with sensitivity. Thumbs down to the thus-far unoriginal, uninspiring campaigns of Republican statehouse challengers Jason Kasiar and Dave Severin. Kasiar, of Eldorado, is challenging Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg; and Severin is challenging Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion. Its not uncommon for the newspaper to receive back-to-back emailed statements from challenges Kasiar and Severin slamming their opponents for something going on in Springfield, and tying their opponents to House Speaker Mike Madigan. The problem is the messages sound so canned, and so unlike the way the candidates actually speak, that its hard to take them seriously. And they come from the same email address, one belonging to Aaron DeGroot, whose LinkedIn account says he is the downstate press secretary for the Illinois Republican Party. So much for our hope for independent voices of reason on the campaign trail. Thumbs up to Pinckneyville Community Hospital board and administrator Randall Dauby for moving closer to making a final decision about what to do with the old hospital building at 101 W. Walnut St. and auctioning surplus items from the old building. The old building was left vacant when the new hospital building opened at 5383 Illinois 154, just east of Pinckneyville, on Sept. 28. Thumbs down to the Pinckneyville City Council for considering utility shutoff as an option for residents who do not clean up their properties or pay fines associated with violating nuisance ordinances already on the books. Often this type of overreaching occurs because enforcement of current laws is sporadic. Creating harsher punishments for nuisances rarely works. Six health centers in South Carolina will receive almost $2.3 million to increase access to integrated oral health care services and improve oral health outcomes, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced Thursday. Family Health Centers in Orangeburg will receive $525,000. Nationwide, nearly $156 million in funding was provided to support 420 health centers in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This funding enables health centers to expand integrated oral health care services and increase the number of patients served. Health centers across the country will be able to increase their oral health service capacity by hiring approximately 1,600 new dentists, dental hygienists, assistants, aides and technicians to treat nearly 785,000 new patients. On June 14, 2016, Ms. Betty Jean Stoudemire Slusher passed away, 11 days short of her 83rd birthday. Ms. Betty was a loving and devoted mother and friend to her children, other family members and friends. Ms. Betty was loved and respected by many in her community and state. She served on the Town Council in South Congaree in her younger years. Ms. Betty was forced to bear heartache when her husband, Ralph Stoudemire Sr. was brutally murdered in 1977 at his SOC Station in South Congaree, leaving a widow and four children. Ms. Betty, even in her pain, was determined that the killers of her husband would be brought to justice. That fight lasted twenty years. On January 8, 1999 Ms. Betty became a Palmetto Lady by being awarded the Order of the Palmetto by former Governor David Beasley for her friendship to the people of the state of South Carolina. She was also recognized for her protection of the SC Bill of Rights. Ms. Betty was a true advocate for victims rights. She served on the board for the SC Victims Advocacy for Domestic Violence. She also became involved with helping other victims families by leading them through the court system, attending parole hearings, and in any other manner needed. Ms. Betty was awarded numerous awards by the State of SC pertaining to her volunteer work for victims and victims rights. Ms. Betty was a successful small business woman and owner, as well as a long term employee of the K-Mart Corporation. She was recognized many times for her customer satisfaction. Several years after her husbands death, Ms. Betty met and married another wonderful man, Mr. Bruce Slusher. He truly loved her because he stood right by her side during all the struggles for Ralph and the other victims she fought for. This became a way of life for the two of them. Ms. Betty was very well known by those at the State House and other public officials. She had a powerful voice that carried a long way toward righting wrongs. Ms. Betty was also of Native American heritage. She was very proud of this. She did the research necessary to identify her tribe, Beaver Creek Nation. She brought that information to the attention of officials at the State House to have this tribe recognized by the state of SC. Her Indian name was Voice of Thunderstorm, very well deserved. During her marriage to Ralph Stoudemire, they had four children, Sherill Duraski (Ed), Gerald Stoudemire (Peggy), Ralph Stoudemire (Bari) and Marion Stoudemire (Kim). Ms. Betty had an adopted son, B. J. Slusher (Brandy); two sisters, Ann Adams of Elloree and Vernelle Walling of St. Matthews; brother, Steve Walling of Orangeburg. She had 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; friends, Margaret Boone and Valerie Lever and her loving companion and pet "Precious Slusher". She was predeceased by her first husband, Ralph Stoudemire and second husband, Bruce Slusher. Ms. Betty was a long time member of Ebenezer Pentecostal Holiness Church, 501 Church Street, West Columbia, SC 29172. Donations may be made to the churchs Mission Fund. A visitation will be held from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Friday, June 17, 2016, at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, West Columbia Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 18, 2016 at Ebenezer Pentecostal Holiness Church. His friends wanted to know: Why are you going to South Carolina State? But Leroy Jones Jr. knew he was at a special place. I never lost faith. I kept praying, the senior said. On Thursday, the faith of Jones and other students paid off when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it withdrew the universitys probation. S.C. State is fully accredited, as before, but this time with no qualifiers. Now all I can see is South Carolina State going up. All I can see is it going up, he said. Jones was one of a group of students, alumni, employees and public officials who filled the steps of Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium to hear the official announcement about S.C. States accreditation. Were on the right track and things are only going to get better, Interim President Dr. W. Franklin Evans said. It was a time of thanks, as Evans thanked the employees who stood by the institution and worked to retain and recruit students. He thanked the trustees, alumni, S.C. General Assembly, city, county, Gov. Nikki Haley and others. Also, Im grateful to students who never wavered, he said. Evans also thanked God, saying, He touched some hearts. I hope we removed all doubt South Carolina State University is the place to be, he said. Kimberly Greene, a student and university fundraiser, has seen first-hand the support S.C. State has received. Giving grew from $2 million during the last budget year to $4 million so far this budget year. She called it the best year for donations in 18 years. Greene said Thursdays announcement was great for the university and the city. S.C. State is Orangeburg and Orangeburg is S.C. State, she said. The announcement led to relief among everyone who loves the university. Ulysses Jarvis family came to S.C. State during the 1800s to help build the school and send its children there. He calls it home with a capital H. Im glad we were able to come out of the muck and the mire, he said. While Jarvis believes lawmakers have been negligent toward S.C. State since its inception, he is grateful that the General Assembly has stepped up, as well as the board, which was designed to do so, the faculty, citizens of the community and alumni. I trust that the governing powers of this state would give credence to the history and futuristic outlook of this institution, he said. Annette Zimmerman, who earned her bachelors and masters from S.C. State, came out to the announcement so she could be part of the celebration. While she was concerned about the probation, she was sure it could be lifted. Having the probation lifted shows the institution is moving in the right direction. I think this is going to help with an increase in enrollment, she said. Two millennia after Jesus is said to have performed his miracles in the Galilee, a modern miracle has occurred in the region now known as Northern Israel. Cynthia Levinson's book "Watch Out For Flying Kids!" (Peachtree Publishers, 2015) chronicles how two youth circuses, one in Israel and one in America, joined forces to accomplish what many believed was impossible -- Arabs and Jews rising out of the ashes of conflict to work together for the common good. The Galilee Circus was founded by Rabbi Marc Rosenstein, who sought a vehicle for resolving conflict between Palestinians and Jews in the aftermath of the second intifada. "From the start, when nine Jewish and sixteen Arab kids signed up," Levinson writes, "the mission of the Galilee Circus was to bring together young people who would otherwise never meet or get to know one another." Over 6,000 miles away in St. Louis, Jessica Hentoff -- Nat's daughter and Nick's sister -- had founded a circus performance troupe called the St. Louis Arches, composed of kids from diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The St. Louis Arches later became part of Circus Harmony, a nonprofit Jessica founded in 2001 to use circus arts to inspire social change. Out of 700 kids who took classes at Circus Harmony in 2012, only 10 were good enough to become Arches. In 2007 the St. Louis Arches traveled to Israel, where they partnered with members of the Galilee Circus to form the Galilee Arches. The group performed in Arab and Jewish villages throughout the Galilee, an adventure captured in the 2010 documentary "Circus Kids." The St. Louis Arches visited Galilee again in 2012 and 2014, while the Arab and Jewish members of the Galilee Arches traveled to St. Louis to perform in 2008 and 2012. They will be returning to St. Louis this August. "When you see them together, you are struck by their abilities -- their abilities to juggle, balance and fly through the air," Jessica wrote in a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, requesting that he approve visas for the kids' first visit in 2007. "(B)ut more importantly, you are struck by their abilities to trust, to work together and to give to others." Levinson juxtaposes the experiences of the kids from Israel with those from America, observing that while the kids in the St. Louis Arches come from mostly black or mostly white neighborhoods, the Galilee kids come from mostly Arab or mostly Jewish villages. Her book profiles the individual kids in the Galilee Arches and follows them over a 10-year period through the rocket attacks of the second war in Lebanon, tribal violence in Arab villages, gang violence in St. Louis and the Ferguson protests of 2014. "Circus is about expressing how we're capable of extraordinary things," Marc Miller, the managing director of the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, told Levinson. "That is circus at its core -- to illustrate that things that do not look possible ... are very possible." Which is how a bunch of kids who love circus came to love one another and, in the process, do a better job of bringing a hope for peace to the Middle East than a generation of politicians and negotiators. "Circus will not bring peace to the Middle East," the website of the Galilee Circus concedes. "But it can help to make dialogue possible by reducing fears, lowering barriers and building trust. It can provide a model of a shared loyalty that transcends ethnic identities. It can teach the art of taking risks for the common good. It can demonstrate, to a wide audience, that what appears to be impossible is indeed possible." ----- Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. He is a member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow. Nick Hentoff is a criminal defense attorney in New York who has worked as a judicial clerk for a U.S. district court judge. Donald Trumps assault on the free press further erodes public confidence in the media particularly newspapers. The Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday added The Washington Post to the list of media being banned from his campaign events. He said The Post did not accurately report what he said Monday in accusing President Barack Obama of complicity in the Orlando terrorist killings. Never mind that the newspaper reported what the presumptive GOP nominee said. His piling on reinforces the idea among Trump supporters and others that The Post is a liberal newspaper that dislikes Trump and uses its reporting to undermine his candidacy. Trump is adding to the confusion about media particularly newspapers that persists in America today. Because news and opinion have become so homogenized with the prevalence of talk radio, TV commentary and the onslaught of information on social media disguised as news, the public believes all media have forsaken objectivity. Newspapers, long the medium to which people have looked for the most objective reporting, have suffered in the present environment. According to a recent Gallup Poll, more than half of Americans maintain at least some confidence in newspapers as a U.S. institution, but the percentage expressing high confidence has dwindled to 20 percent. The percentage with low confidence is now close to twice that rate. The findings reflect a downturn in confidence among all age and political party groups to the point that young adults and Democrats, who once expressed solidly positive confidence in newspapers, are now neutral or net negative. Gallup states: The publics mood over the past 16 years has been something of a whirlpool, pulling most major U.S. institutions underwater, but newspapers appear to be faring a bit worse than average. The rise of digital media could be a factor in the trust Americans place in a traditionally print medium such as newspapers, but perhaps more importantly, newspapers are suffering from the broader decline Gallup sees in Americans trust in the mass media in general. Trump is taking advantage of the decline in trust and in the process undermining the very freedoms he professes to cherish, openly leading his supporters to believe that as president he would act in authoritative fashion to rein in the press. The American Society of News Editors said of Trumps decision regarding The Post: Candidate Trumps move to sanction coverage of his drive to win the presidency is an unprecedented dismissal of the 1st Amendment freedoms essential to our democracy. The public is best served when a fearless, unfettered and independent press is present at all campaign events, speeches and political forums. We urge the Republican Party to return to its historical support for openness and transparency and call on both the party and its presumptive nominee to reverse course on these undemocratic sanctions and attempts at censorship. In the meantime, we encourage news outlets to ignore, reject and oppose all unconstitutional restrictions that any party, candidate or government official attempts to impose. Newspapers will persevere and survive. It is essential that the mission of so-called print journalists remain, regardless of the many ways in which their work in reporting information objectively is presented in the modern era. The wisdom of Americans will prevail. From oldest to youngest, they will sort through todays maze of information and determine what is news and what is not. And as they do, the efforts of professionals committed to the principles of journalism, whether with newspapers or other media, will win the day. Colin Williams, DPP, explained that there is no immediate likelihood that murder accused Veron Primus would be extradited to the USA. by Dayle Da Silva Should evidence in the United States support the theory that murder accused Veron Primus is responsible for the death of Chanel Petro-Nixon, a US National, it is unlikely that he will be extradited with any immediacy. According to the Director of Public Prosecution Colin Williams, under the Fugitive Offenders Act, in circumstances where an individual is charged and is expected to stand trial, or has already been convicted and is currently serving a sentence, then the Governor General may refuse to honour a warrant for the individuals arrest/extradition. "They can always bring a charge of murder and they can make a request for extradition, Williams told THE VINCENTIAN. However, persons are generally not extradited when charges are pending in the requested state, Williams explained. The 29-year-old Vermont resident was charged in April with the November 2015 murder of real-estate agent Sharleen Greaves. Evidence pointing to Primus involvement in the death of Greaves surfaced while he was being investigated for his alleged abduction of Mewanah Hadaway. Hadaway claimed to have been held against her will in the basement of Primuss home in Vermont, from January 1 until her release on April 15. Primus also became a person of interest to law enforcement authorities in New York who had linked him to the death of honours student Petro-Nixon back in 2006, while Primus was a resident of the United States. The 16-year-olds body was discovered in a garbage bin along a sidewalk in Brooklyn, NY. It was later revealed that she was strangled. NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce addresses press conference in the company of law enforcement authorities, officials and relatives of Chanel Petro-Nixon, with enlarged photo of Petro-Nixon displayed. Inset:Veron Primus was indicted for the 2008 murder of Chanel Petro-Nixon. Brooklyn, New York District Attorney Ken Thompson on Wednesday announced the indictment of long-sought Vincentian suspect, Veron Primus, in the June 2006 murder of a Brooklyn high school student . Vermont native Primus, 29, who had resided in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn before his deportation, was indicted on one count of second-degree murder of former classmate Chanel Petro-Nixon, 16. Petro-Nixon had lived in Brooklyns Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Thompson said Primus will be arraigned following his extradition from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where he is currently detained on another matter. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted. According to the investigation, Petro-Nixon was last seen alive on Fathers Day, Sunday, June 18, 2006, when she left her parents Bedford-Stuyvesant home to visit with a friend. Thompson said Petro-Nixon had stated that she would be meeting Primus. She still hadnt returned home the next day and was reported missing, Thompson said. He said that, three days later, Petro-Nixons body was found in a trash bag on Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights. "Ten years ago, a promising young womans life was tragically taken, leaving her family and the community searching for answers, the Brooklyn District Attorney told reporters. "My office remained steadfast in our search for justice; and, with this indictment, we will ensure that the defendant is brought back to Brooklyn and held accountable for the death of Chanel Petro-Nixon. "In our business a terrible business investigating homicides rarely do we witness true evil in anybody, said the New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Detectives, Robert Boyce. "Here, we witnessed it in this case. New York law enforcement authorities say they are trying to extradite Primus from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, after he was deported there last year. After allegedly strangling Petro-Nixon in 2006, Primus, a few years later, was arrested for allegedly raping a woman and subsequently convicted of assault, reported amNewYork on Wednesday. He served around four years in prison, and was deported in 2015, said the paper, adding that, while in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Primus reportedly stabbed a real estate agent to death. He then apparently kidnapped a young woman and kept her for three months in a "mountain home before she was rescued, amNewYork said. According to New Yorks television station WPIX11, Mewanah Hadaway told investigators that Primus locked her in a wooden enclosure for three months. The station said Hadaway was dating Primus last summer "and told detectives he showed her a 2006 news clipping from the Petro-Nixon case. WPIX11 said Crime Watch Daily flew PIX11s Mary Murphy to St. Vincent and the Grenadines "to get the back story. The station said Murphy interviewed the former captive. To date, WPIX11 said Primus has been charged with one murder in St. Vincent and the Grenadines the November 2015 fatal stabbing of real estate agent, Sharleen Greaves. "Its a bittersweet day today for the family, said Petro-Nixons mother, Lucita Petro-Nixon, at Wednesdays press conference. "Finally, at least we can see a light at the end of the tunnel it took 10 years. Thompson said a rally, with Chanels family members, will be held on Saturday in front of 212 Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn, where the students body was found, calling for witnesses to come forward. "Chanels family never stopped searching for answers, this community never stopped searching for the truth, the district attorney said. "It is important for us that we bring Primus back to Brooklyn to face justice. See Page 28. by Gloriah Chad Stapleton, an eleven-year-old student of the St. Marys Roman Catholic School, placed 7th for boys and 10th overall at the recently administered CPEA examination. He told THE VINCENTIAN that this placement came as an absolute surprise. "I didnt expect to place in the top ten. I expected the top fifty, he said, "now I feel ecstatic, excited. Right now, there are many persons wishing they were Chad! His position was achieved as a result of his grades, which were: Language Arts, 92%; Mathematics, 94%; and Science, 94%. He said that he took extra classes after school, worked past papers, read additional Science and Health books, studied hard, and trusted in God to accomplish the feat. He gave early words of advice to upcoming students. "Work hard, he affirmed, "you cannot be lazy, but you cant study too hard either. You do not want to be too tired on the day of the exams. He encouraged that they should take the School-based Assessment seriously as it helps students to better understand the external assessment. Although Chads class teacher Mrs. Claudia Windsor described him as the best writer in the Grade 6 class, he called Mathematics his favourite subject. He explained that his interest is heightened because he is highly enthused by doing computations with the four mathematical operations. He says that he intends to use Mathematics in his future career as he plans to become a computer programmer. Chad, who is the son of Giselle Myers and Bennie Stapleton, will attend the St. Vincent Grammar School where he hopes to maintain his CPEA grades throughout his secondary schooling. Left:Stephen Lashley made no bones about denouncing dancehall for inciting violence and misbehaviour. (Photo Credit: Barbados Today) Right:The sign that was hung and then removed at the Clifton Hill Beach Hotel in Trinidad. (Photo Credit: Jamaica STAR) Dancehall music continues to be the focus of attention, with its detractors claiming that the genre incites violence. The most recent high ranking Caribbean personality to join the fray was the Barbados Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley. Lashley called for a ban on the popular genre, claiming that "it incites violence and promotes reckless behaviour. The Barbados media quoted Lashley as saying, "I am indeed very concerned about the escalation of gun violence, and, in particular, the escalation of violent acts that have claimed the lives of so many persons already this year. He added, "I am equally concerned about the impact of certain types of dancehall music and videos, the impact that this is having on the minds of our citizens, especially our young people. I take this opportunity this evening to call on each and every one of us to take a stand on this reckless behaviour. Lashleys denouncing of the genre of Jamaican origin, came on the heels of a ban on the music at a London nightclub (March 2016) and at the Clifton Hill Beach Hotel in Trinidad and Tobago (though the ban at that hotel has since been rescinded). But the Ministers claims did not go unnoticed. Several industry insiders coming out in support of the genre, stating that dancehall music cannot be blamed for societal ills. Dancehall artiste Razor B, for example, stated that there are other genres of music that also influence people negatively. "Dancehall is an intricate part of our Caribbean culture just like calypso and soca which have also come under attack over the years for their explicit content, so unless the minister is also planning on banning those along with hip-hop, etc., his efforts will be futile. In my opinion, this is just a politician playing politics, he told THE STAR newspaper of Jamaica. Veteran Jamaican producer Gussie Clarke told the same Jamaican newspaper that the ministers statements were irresponsible, as dancehall music alone cannot be blamed for the violence occurring in that country. "Music has positive and negative connotations. It can incite violence, it can evoke love, patriotism, camaraderie, he explained. "Music can influence both negatively and positively, but it cannot do that on its own. It is the people who determine how the music affects them, so it is a people problem and not necessarily a music problem. Some Jamaican insiders also viewed the latest comment by a Minister of Government as furthering a perceived CARICOM plot against Jamaicans, as has been seen with the difficulties they experience travelling through the rest of the Caribbean. (See accompanying article on this page.) (Source: Barbados Today & Trinidad Guardian) Participants in the U.S. State Departments IVLP program pose with U.S. Ambassador Linda Taglialatela (centre) before their departure to Washington, D.C. A group of librarians and archivists from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, including Donna Mason-McLean, the Librarian at the National Public Library in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is currently in the United States as participants in a U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP). The 21-day proramme, which commenced on June 13, is, according to a release from the US Embassy in Barbados, is designed to enhance participants knowledge and understanding of policies, best practices, and challenges for improving awareness and protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). In addition to Ms. Mason-McClean, other particpants are drawn from Antigua and Barbuda (2), Barbados (2), Dominica (1), Grenada (1) and St. Kitts and Nevis (2). This professional exchange program is titled Librarians and Archivists as Defenders of Intellectual Property Rights. Through meetings and discussions with public and private sector professionals in the United States, participants will explore a broad range of IPR issues, including copyrights, patents, and trademarks. In addition, they will examine the implementation and enforcement of IPR legislation. The role and impact of non-governmental organizations on IPR will also be explored, and the role of libraries in providing critical services and expanding access to intellectual property will be emphasized. The program will begin in Washington, D.C., and will include travel to Dallas, Texas, and Orlando, Florida, before concluding in Manchester, New Hampshire. The IVLP is the Department of States premier, professional exchange program. The program brings together emerging leaders in their respective professions to learn how U.S. experts in that profession operate and to share best practices with the other program participants who hail from the same region and across the globe. (Source: US Embassy, Barbados) Nikianna Williams, Miss SVG 2016, said thanks to and interacted with her many supporters and well-wishers. A number of persons were last Friday, June 11th given the opportunity to interact with Miss SVG 2016 Nikianna Williams, thanks to her sponsors, telecommunications company FLOW. A motorcade, organised by FLOW, took Miss Williams through Kingstown to greet and thank her many well-wishers and supporters. After the motorcade, Williams proceeded to FLOWs Halifax Street location where she took time to take selfies and talk to adoring fans. According to Senior Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager at FLOW Nikala Williams, Friday afternoon was a celebration of Williams and FLOWs big win at the 2016 Miss SVG Pageant, held at Carnival City, Victoria Park, on Saturday June 4th. Said Nikala, "Miss FLOW, Nikianna Williams, is the very first Miss FLOW because we always had a Miss LIME, so we wanted to celebrate her win and give her the opportunity to say thanks to the people and recognize the persons who supported her, Nikala said. The motorcade was deemed to be such a huge success that indications are that FLOW is considering repeating it so that even more persons can interact with Nikianna. "It went absolutely wonderful. Lots of persons came out onto the streets. A lot of persons wanted to say congratulations to her and never got to do so. I think that was something we might want to do again because we saw the streets lined with hundreds of persons, Nikala proffered. Officials of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment have confirmed that as of June 14, there was one pregnant women among twenty-eight laboratory-confirmed cases of the Zika virus/infection in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The necessary care and monitoring of the pregnant patient and her unborn baby is in place, health officials said. The twenty-eight confirmed cases represent an increase of some twenty cases and Public health officials have disclosed that of the twenty new cases, fifteen (15) have come from Bequia, one each from Lodge Village, Indian Bay and Layou and two of unknown addresses. To date, 108 serum samples have been sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for ZIKA testing. The Ministry of Health, in a release this week, stated that it has further intensified ongoing efforts, and will continue to focus surveillance and response activities on addressing the rising number of cases. The Ministry also noted that this development was anticipated, given the onset of the rainy season, and urged the public to continue to take the necessary steps to protect themselves. Symptoms of Zika virus include fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyes and vomiting. When they do emerge, the symptoms mirror the flu. Zika virus disease is a mosquito-borne disease. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are considered the main vectors. Eleven-year-old Emma Rouse of Golden Vale has given her parents much to smile about . Emma, a student at the Sugar Mill Academy, recorded 96% in Mathematics, 84 % in Language and 95% in Science, placing her in a tie of 1st for girls and 5th overall, with her classmate, Danielle Wright. She is the daughter of Samantha Minors- Rouse, Registrar at the St. Vincent Community College and Father, Iron Rouse, a Teacher at the Campden Park Technical Institute. The affable lass said she was aiming for a top ten place , but was very surprised that she placed 5th overall. The news of her success was relayed to her by the schools Principal. "I was so surprised, I started to scream and I started to cry, and I get up and hug everybody around me, said Rouse, on her reaction to the good news. The news was relayed to her parents in advance of Emma knowing and she said her mother started to cry for joy and "Daddy was really proud of me as well. Like her classmates, Emma sacrificed her time "on electronics, and participated in before class and after lunch learning sessions, prior to the exams. She found time, though, to be an active member of the La Garcia Dance Company. Students desirous of doing well in their exams need "to work hard, sacrifice, but maintain the extracurricular activities since it is an outlet to relieve stress, Emma advised. The young scholar has her eyes set on becoming a Dancer or a Teacher in the future, but her immediate plan is to travel to Canada for the holidays. She expressed thanks to her parents and to her teachers for their support and encouragement. (KH) Left:Allen Chastanet and his UWP never expected to win by such a wide margin. Right:Dr. Kenny Anthony and the SLP never expected to lose. by Earl Bousquet Editors Note: Earl Bousquet is a veteran St. Lucian-born Caribbean journalist with over three decades of ongoing experience in newspaper, radio and television in St. Lucia, Grenada and Guyana. He is a a former Press Secretary to Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony . We are pleased to present this view of the recent elections in St. Lucia, provided exclusively for overseas publication to THE VINCENTIAN. There may be lessons in it for us. Saint Lucia General Elections 2016 has quickly come and gone, leaving astounding results, with several pretty and ugly nuances. Once again, voters on the island have confounded the rest of the Caribbean and the world with yet another unexpected result. Take the following five examples: 1. Just as in the two previous elections in 2006 and 2011, voters returned another 11-6 verdict. 2. The opposition United Workers Party (UWP) expected to win, but not by such a margin. The ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) though, never expected to lose. 3. It was sure that one of the two major parties (SLP and UWP) would have broken the 8-8 tie in the number of elections each won since Independence in 1979, but no one was sure which one. 4. It was not expected the two polls cited by the two major parties By CADRES and Don Anderson, respectively would have ended-up poles apart. But they did, one predicting the results would be too close to call, the other predicting the direct reverse of the end result. 5. Similarly, Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony was not expected to concede defeat the way he did and so early. But he surprisingly bowed out gracefully even before the vote count ended, announcing he does not intend to serve as the incoming Leader of the Opposition, or to continue as SLP Leader, thus opening the way for quick succession. He will only serve as MP for Vieux Fort South, where he was elected for a fifth consecutive time. The debate will continue as to what went wrong for Labour, and/or where and when what went well for the UWP. But in the end, the majority has spoken and their message was clear. The change is now here, so what is the road ahead? I offer ten signposts: 1. Like every new government, the new administration will face the same old problems and people will still want all they had expected from the previous Government. 2. The new administration will have to adjust quickly to the new economic and social reality before applying its promised new economic medicine. 3. More jobs will be expected. (Both party-sponsored polls in fact indicated the Number One priority of all voters is Employment.) 4. There will be anxiety about the Value Added Tax (VAT), the National Initiative to Create Employment (NICE), the Short Term Employment Program (STEP) and other similar Social Programs. 5. There will also be some anxiety and expectation about continuation of the Free Laptops program for students, Bursaries for Parents and Public Assistance for the most needy and vulnerable. 6. Voters will also look forward for all contained in the 5-Plus-5 Packages designed to Keep Saint Lucia Alive. 7. The political parties will all now have to go back to the drawing board. 8. The new administration will have the usual 100 Days to stamp itself into office and do what it has said it will do with the likes of the IMPACS Report. 9. The new Government will also have all of five years to bring the change the majority voted for. And 10. Saint Lucians now have another opportunity to press for all the electoral and constitutional changes so many called for during the campaign. It would be to the benefit of all too, if, now that the election campaign dust has settled, the next 100 days could also be like 100 Days of Solitude. Indeed, during the next three months, lessons can be learned by all, about all aspects of this just-concluded national electoral experience. So what about me? I am as humbled by the result as all who also voted like me on Monday. But I havent taken it as bad as many others I have spoken to. (Or, maybe not yet) Indeed, all Labour supporters were previously quite humbled by the rejection of the SLP in the 2006 General Elections when things were better and the party was booted out. So much so, that I pledged forever, thereafter, to try my best never to allow complacency to get the better of me. Since then, I have been very careful never to count Labour chickens before they are hatched. I warned in the two weeks before Monday that polls are mere guides not to be depended on absolutely. I also warned that no election is ever won until the last vote is counted. In the end, it was reaffirmed that Saint Lucians continue to vote for mainly for party and not according to how they feel about government policies. I take nothing back from anything I said or wrote leading to the election, at home or abroad. I still wish the result was the opposite, but that is still just a wish. Instead, like everyone else, I have to respect the expressed will of the people and move on. So what will I do? I will observe my One Hundred Days of Solitude, ending this page and starting a next chapter. New times always bring new challenges, each of which also brings new opportunities. Saint Lucia still being a land of opportunities; I invite fellow citizens to continue drafting and writing the next chapter of our common history. I ask that we ensure we did not vote for new problems of old, or more of the same. But then, I also know we will never know until the next time comes to ask and answer ourselves. Between now and then, however, as I have also always pointed out after each of the 17 general elections since 1979, we should never ever forget, to always remember, that we always get the government we voted for! Luzette King moved to disassociate the frontline protestors from the actions of one Absult Sky Juice Richards. Left: Luzette King being bodily removed from a protest position on January 6, 2016. No violent and threatening behaviour will be tolerated in the area in front of the Electoral Office, where protest action is ongoing. So says Luzette King, host of the radio progamme Global Highlights and political activist. She was at the time reacting to a story that appeared in the press last week. In last Fridays edition of THE VINCENTIAN, it was reported that a resident of Victoria Village, Absult Sky Juice Richards, was charged and appeared in the Magistrates Court to answer charges of using indecent and threatening language against the Supervisor of Elections, Sylvia Findlay. King called in to the New Democratic Partys Monday New Times radio programme, to inform the public that Richards was not part of the protest action. "I know that the Unity Labour Party (ULP) and their cohorts will want to see the end of the frontline (protest in front of the Electoral Office), King said. She continued, "It was reported that someone was charged for threatening the Supervisor of Elections. I want to tell everybody listening and hope that it sends a message across, that sort of conduct is not tolerated on the frontline. According to King, she has since found out that the man went to the electoral office to conduct some business, and while she did not know the details of what occurred inside, he became irate. "But he was not a part of the frontline; if he was, I would have told him please either leave and go do his stuff, or stay there and stop it, adding that nobody on the protest line then knew Richards. "I want to tell the world that we are not here to threaten anybodys life, she said. Monday was day number 183 since supporters of the New Democratic Party (NDP) have been staging a protest outside the Electoral Office, claiming that the general elections of December 09, 2015 were not free and fair. In related news, a matter before the court involving King has been further adjourned to August 8. King, who was to have her day at the Serious Offences Court to answer to a charge of inconveniencing the public On Monday, requested the adjournment, explaining that her legal counsel was not able to attend Mondays hearing because of involvement in other matters, in other jurisdictions. The prosecution supported the request for the adjournment, saying that they were in the process of seeking further direction on the issue. The matters involving other protestors who were also arrested and charged along with King, were adjourned to July 25. King has been at the forefront of the ongoing protest action by supporters of the New Democratic Party. The charge against her arose from an incident on January 6, 2016 when law enforcement officers moved to remove the protestors from in front of the electoral office, to a distance some 200 feet away from the area where they (protestors) had gathered. She was charged with causing inconvenience "to the public in the exercise of common rights, to wit, sitting in the public road, hindering the free flow of traffic, the result of her refusing to move. (DD) Left:Prime Minister Andrew Holness will welcome Dr. Rowley to Jamaica where the latter is expected to address Jamaicans directly. (Photo Credit: caricom.org) Right:Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is assured that the Jamaicans do not think that his country has a policy of discrimination against them. (Photo Credit: i995FM) The ongoing immigration and manufacturing dispute between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will be addressed at the highest level of government . Indications are that Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, will visit Jamaica "in the not-too-distant future, for further talks with his Jamaica counterpart, Andrew Holness, as well as to "put (the issue) to bed by the voice of T&T speaking directly to the people of Jamaica. Rowley told media personnel on his return from Havana, Cuba, where he attended a recent ACS Summit, that he and PM Holness had discussed the impasses when they met in Cuba. Noting that there is a sentiment being fuelled in Jamaica that their nationals are not welcome in T&T, Dr. Rowley said that he addressed the matter directly with Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness while in Cuba. "The Jamaican Prime Minister and I agreed that the time has come that this matter be put to bed by the voice of T&T speaking directly to the people of Jamaica. I propose to do so myself, Rowley said. He confirmed that before he left for the ACS, Holness had asked for a meeting in Havana to discuss the dispute. He said while in Cuba, he had an extensive meeting with Holness, his Foreign Minister and the Attorney General. The Jamaicans, according to Rowley, accepted T&Ts position "that theres no policy of discrimination against Jamaicans in T&T. He said he also reminded them that there are Jamaican nationals who are doing the right things here in T&T as students, workers taking on jobs and the bond between T&T and Jamaica is very strong. Describing the dispute as unproductive and negative, Rowley said it would not be tolerated, especially by those who think they can prosper by "the fanning of these flames. (Trinidad Guardian) Left:Dillon Ollivierre becomes the second youngest Vincentian to receive a Queens Young Leader Award. Right:Vincentian poet Dillon Ollivierre (seated 3rd from left) celebrated National Poetry Day at the Paradise Primary School in Bequia. (Credit: Radiograndines.com) Vincentian Dillon Ollivierre is among eight young persons from the Commonwealth Caribbean who will be presented by Her Majesty The Queen with this years Young Leaders Award . The Queens Young Leader Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. The eight will receive their awards at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London on Thursday 23rd June. Ollivierre, a Bequia native, is the second Vincentian recipient of the prestigious award, following on Kenville Horne, a reporter with THE VINCENTIAN and Director of a sports-based programme, who was among the inaugural group of recipients in 2015. The young man has for the last few years been using poetry as a tool to address social issues. He considers himself "a voice for the youths and uses his poetry "to relate, educate and motivate young people. Currently a teacher at the Bequia Seventh Day Adventist Primary School, he is a Director of Rise Up Bequia Inc., a registered non-profit organization which focuses on building and strengthening core ideas and practices of sustainable community development, education, agency and outreach. "To be selected as a Queens Young Leader is a proud moment not only for me but for all patriotic Vincentians. I hope my achievement can serve as a testimony to all Vincentian youth that nothing is too hard to attain in life. With the right attitude anything is achievable, the Bequia native posted on his Facebook page. "Im very excited, it will surely be an eye opener. I have the opportunity to meet influential young men and women and to be in the presence of Her Majesty, he added. Ollivierre left the state on Thursday for what is termed a residential week, during which he and the other awardees, before receiving their Queens Young Leaders Award at Buckingham Palace, will visit 10 Downing Street and the UK headquarters of global social networking company Twitter, and meet with senior executives at the BBC World Service. They will also meet the Commonwealth Secretary General, take part in workshops at the University of Cambridge, have meetings with UK business leaders, and visit projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the UK. According to a release from the UK High Commissioner in Barbados, this years Award winners are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and improving the lives of people with disabilities. (KH) A 17-year-old Vincentian high school student in Brooklyn, New York, last Saturday night took the first runner-up spot in the Miss New York Continental Cultural Pageant at George Wingate High School Auditorium, Brooklyn. Miss St. Vincent, Yeshi Francis of South Rivers, was edged out of the crown by Miss Georgetown -Guyana, Shary Solomon, 22, in the keenly-contested event that featured five other beauties, including Franciss compatriot Miss Grenadines (St. Vincent) Raphaelia Leamy, 21, who was voted Miss Congeniality. Francis, who graduates later this month from Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Services, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, competed in her first pageant, organized by the Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Cultural Group, Inc. (CACG). CACG was founded and is headed by Yvonne Peters, of Pauls Avenue, Kingstown. "I feel good, Francis told THE VINCENTIAN in an exclusive, post-pageant interview. "I was actually surprised. "At first, I was so scared to do it [compete in the pageant], added Francis, who migrated to New York 10 years ago and plans to attend La Guardia Community College, City University of New York, in Queens, New York in the fall. She said she has her eyes set on becoming a registered nurse. "My family they encouraged me, continued Francis, who lives in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn with her mom, Lukesh Hackshaw, also of South Rivers. For evening wear, Francis wore a light pink gown. She danced in an all-in-one, orange Olympic jump suit, with sheer wrap, with the name St. Vincent imprinted at the back. She danced to Allez by St. Lucian soca artiste Teddyson John for her talent. Her Interview question, posed by Master of Ceremonies Atiba Williams, of Lower Kingstown, was: How would you feel if a transgender won the pageant over a natural born woman? "Its not how the person looks on the outside; its how they feel on the inside, Francis responded in part. All contestants also competed in swimwear. The others were: Miss Barbados Drena Akuetaire, 20, second runner-up; Miss Guyana Aliyah James, 17; Miss Haiti Anaise Guillet, 19; and Miss New York Stantel Trapp, 21. "Ill like to thank my mom, my aunt Avette (Hackshaw, of South Rivers) and the rest of the family who came out to support me, said Francis, disclosing that another aunt, Kathy-Ann Dublin, also of South Rivers, had urged her to compete in the pageant. EDITORS NOTE: This article was first published in THE VINCENTIAN, February 22, 1991. Recent developments with respect to the Oaths by Officials Amendment Bill here, make this piece as instructive today as it would have been when it was first published, and demonstrates clearly a thinking (then) that was way ahead of its time. In the propaganda campaign leading up to Independence, much stress was placed on the glory of self-determination and the honour to be derived from Vincentians representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the forums of the world. Eleven years of independence have gone, and all forms of celebration have been indulged in there was the visit by president Kaunda of Zambia (perhaps for the purpose of imposing him on St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a role model); there were acrobatics by Chinese Troupes and a great deal of other window-dressing shows; but there has been little or nothing done to bring the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines a deep feeling of pride in themselves as the prime components of the nation. From the date of independence to now, several governments have assumed office and have wielded great power; but so engrossed have been the political leaders in establishing themselves on power bases, that the least of their effort was put into matters designed to eradicate the colonial status of the people. No government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has attempted or even pretended (notwithstanding their overwhelming majority in the House) to initiate amendment of the Saint Vincent Constitution Order 1979 for the purpose of upgrading such provisions as are inimical to the spirit of self-determination and genuine independence. Section 19 of the Saint Vincent Constitution Order 1979 provides that there shall be a Governor General who shall be appointed by Her Majesty and who shall be Her Majestys representative in St. Vincent. In keeping with this, it is laid down at Section 21 of the Constitution Order, that the Governor General should take and subscribe the oath of allegiance and the oath of office. In dealing with the House of Assembly, the Constitution Order sets out that every member of the House (including duly elected representatives) should take and subscribe the oath of allegiance. The Oath of Allegiance made by the House of Assembly on March 23rd, 1989, and promulgated by S.R.O No. 16 of 1989, is:- "I do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, according to law. So help me God. Whatever may be the demerits of retaining the Monarchy as Head of State there can be little objection to a Governor General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who is appointed by Her Majesty and who is Her Majestys representative in St. Vincent, taking and subscribing an oath of allegiance to her Majesty. However, against the background of independence and even considering that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second is alleged to be the richest woman in the world (with a daily income said to be in excess of three million dollars not EC dollars), it is difficult to readily reconcile why Representatives of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, duly elected by the people to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, duly elected by the people to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly, should take and subscribe an oath which totally excludes a pledge of loyalty to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Clem Iton - February 10th, 1991. A 12- year-old Arnos Vale resident has tied with her classmate, Emma Rouse, as the top female performer in the 2015/16 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) exam . Danielle Wright, daughter of Fitzaudy Wright, Country Manager at the Bank of Nova Scotia, and retired Doctor, Nicole Wright, both Jamaicans, has helped to put the Sugar Mill Academy in the spotlight once again, as one of the top performing schools in the CPEA exams. Fitzaudy scored 92% for Mathematics, 90% Language and Science 96%, to place 1st for girls and 5th overall, the same position as her classmate Emma Rouse. "I am very proud of myself. I screamed and I cried, said Wright, when asked about her reaction to the news of her success. Recapping the moment she was told about her accomplishment, Wright said she was called into the Principals office last Tuesday, at which point the result slip was handed to her. She said she was surprised by the result. "I was aiming for top 10, but I didnt expect to come this high, said the young scholar, adding that her parents were very proud of her accomplishment. In order to prepare for her exams, Fitzaudy had to sacrifice the time she spent on her electronic device, and play time. She described the CPEA exam as manageable. Interestingly, having entered the Academy at Grade 6, the young lady did not have a writing portfolio from Grade 5, which was required to add to the overall marks of the CPEA examination. "So she had to do the extra of getting all her writing pieces to meet the standard of the writing portfolio, her class teacher Hazel Agard explained. Like her classmate Emma Rouse, Fitzaudy is a member of La Gracia Dance Company and aspires to be either a dancer or a doctor. She is expecting to take a trip back to her native Jamaica where she hopes to celebrate with family and friends. (KH) 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. World number-one steelmaker ArcelorMittal is preparing to shed about 10 per cent of its 17,200 strong workforce in France through the sale of two subsidiaries, according to a report in Le Figaro newspaper. The report said the two units for sale are Solustil, which makes steel for car bodies, and WireSolutions, which makes fencing wire and nails. It said parts of loss-making Solustil may be acquired by affiliated Italian groups Cellino and CLN, while a buyer for WireSolutions may be announced on July 7, with US fund Oaktree a leading contender. The Amsterdam-listed company, which employs 210,000 people worldwide, could not be immediately reached for comment. Reuters US President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince on Friday and the two are expected to discuss conflicts in the Middle East including the campaign against Islamic State, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, is on a visit to the US aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil revenues. Friday's meeting will take place at the White House. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIL," as Islamic State is also known. Prince Mohammed, whose influence in Saudi governing councils appears to be growing rapidly, is being given wide access to Obama's administration. He met with Obama's National Economic Council at the White House on Thursday afternoon to discuss the plan the prince is championing to transform the Saudi economy by 2030. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker were among those present. "US officials welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to economic reform and underscored the US desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program," the White House said in a statement after the meeting. Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defense minister, also is due to meet US Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon on Thursday. Reuters Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co chief executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." - Reuters Schools Study group June 23 The June edition of the Werner Wildlife Museums Wildlife Study Group will feature two separate topics on Thursday, June 23. At noon, the topic will be The Bear Necessities. Participants will learn to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear, why the fur of a polar bear really isnt white, and more. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own bear stories and share with host India Hayford, museum assistant, and others. At 7 p.m.. the topic will be Raptors and Wind Turbines. Museum assistant Eileen Lemm will discuss the dangers that wind turbine technology poses to raptors and how those dangers can be mitigated along with the challenges facing scientists as they work on mitigation solutions. The Wildlife Study Group meets monthly in the Wyoming Room at the Werner Wildlife Museum, located at 405 E. 15th Street. Anyone interested in learning about wildlife in the inter-mountain west and who would like to meet others who share their interests are welcome. For more information, contact the museum at 235-2108. Enrolling at Calvary Academy Calvary Academy is accepting registrations for the 2016-2017 school year, for grades K-12. Calvary Academy, a ministry of Calvary Baptist church, provides a quality education with Christ at the center and the Bible as the foundation. The A Beka curriculum is used for most subjects, focusing on foundational skills such as phonics, reading, comprehension, spelling, grammar, writing skills, math facts, and problem solving. Cursive writing and penmanship are also emphasized. For more information, please call 266-5417. New class on women and food A new class that will look at the complex interplay of food and the construction of identities and social structures will be offered for the fall semester online through Casper College. Taught by Gender Studies Program Director Georgia Wheatley, Women and Food (WMST 2020 N1) is for anyone interested in the intersection of culinary history, social history cultural history, and women's history, Wheatley said. Both historical and social analysis along with memoir and fiction will be used to explore a variety of issues. To register or for more information contact Wheatley at wheatley@caspercollege.edu or enrollment services at 268-2611. The 2016 fall semester will begin on Monday, Aug. 22. Respiratory program earns distinction The Casper College Respiratory Therapy program has been chosen by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care to receive the Distinguished RRT (registered respiratory therapist) Credentialing Success Award at the American Association for Respiratory Cares Summer Forum in late June. Programs awarded were required to: have three or more years of outcomes data; hold accreditation without a progress report; document RRT credentialing success of 90 percent or above; and meet or exceed established CoARC thresholds for certified respiratory therapist credentialing success, attrition and positive (job) placement. Apply for Early Head Start Early Head Start, a United Way agency, serving pregnant women and children birth to age 3, is accepting applications for the 2016-2017 program year. There are three programs: a home-based option with weekly home visits and twice a month Discovery Groups, a 2:2 center-based option with two home visits a month and two Discovery Groups a week, and a 2:2 option with wraparound childcare that accepts DFS. Please call one of our centers at 2659562 or 473-5848 for more information or an application, or visit our website at www.wyomingchild.org or a center. Head Start applications Head Start is currently accepting applications for the 2016-2017 school year. Head Start is a free, quality preschool program that prepares children for school. Applications are available at 301 W. B St. in Casper. Head Start is a United Way agency. Call 577-1864. University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols sudden move Wednesday to declare a financial crisis will create a quicker, and easier, way to eliminate programs. Nichols received approval from UWs board of trustees to declare a crisis in response to the almost $41 million reduction in funding the school must face in the next two years due to declining tax revenue and legislative cuts. The cost of a new financial reporting system brings the total cut closer to $50 million. Nichols budget plan for the current fiscal year was also approved by the board Wednesday. It will eliminate 70 vacant positions and reduce spending by about $19 million. The plan will standardize teaching time, reduce temporary faculty posts and incentivize early retirement. However, those first steps will not solve the universitys shortfall. And the financial crisis declaration sets the stage for more substantive changes at the university. We have managed to avoid program cuts and layoffs in the fiscal year that begins next month, Nichols said. But those types of reductions will be unavoidable in the following year. UW faculty were taken aback by the decision, particularly to avoid the typical requirement of going before the faculty senate, but some said they respect her willingness to include professors, staff and students in a review committee. Crisis mode Nichols declaration establishes the Financial Crisis Advisory Committee, whose primary job is to advise the president on how to slash programs, and save money. The committee will have representatives from faculty, staff and students and meet throughout the summer. With the Crisis Committees input, the president will draft a financial crisis plan for board approval in October. The University of Wyomings rules for eliminating programs require a number of steps, including approval by the faculty senate. But the rule cant serve its purpose in the current climate of financial insecurity, Nichols said in a statement. That regulation is not intended to be used as a means of addressing a substantial reduction in University revenues, Nichols explained in a letter to the campus community Thursday. It is intended as a methodology to evaluate the wisdom of continuing an academic program in a financial climate that is far different than the one the University now faces. Still, the move to declare a crisis this week surprised some, like Scott Shaw, chairman of the UW Faculty Senate. It was not listed on the agenda for the Trustees meeting, nor was it presented in the 182 pages of report materials that were provided prior to the meeting, Shaw said in an email. We learned about it during the meeting, like everyone else, and the Faculty Senate is working diligently to assess what it means, and to meet the current demands of the situation. It isnt just the financial crisis declaration that has faculty and staff scrambling. Standardizing teaching time, for example, is a short-term solution that will mean less time for UW faculty to work on research and other assignments, risking valuable grant money, Shaw said. Further, it may not make up for all the eliminated positions, he added. The losses so far have been random, not strategically selected, he said. So even if all the remaining professors teach more courses, it wont necessarily fill all the current needs for certain core classes. Transparency Some view Nichols choice to declare a financial crisis as a responsible decision, with clear benefits. There is also some leeway granted to the new president, who has only been on the job a matter of months. Convening this Committee will give the faculty, staff, and students a voice in the processes of budget planning from this point forward, Shaw said. Over the past few weeks, things have been happening very rapidly. Including more opinions from faculty, staff, and students is bound to improve the process, as we move forward. Nichols has said she is committed to a transparent presidency, particularly in regard to eliminating or consolidating programs. She appears to be honoring her word, said Donal OToole, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences. There is a fair amount of sympathy with Nichols, he said. No honeymoon period, she is just straight into the trenches. In 27 years at UW, the professor has never seen cuts this severe, he said. If this is not a financial emergency, I dont know what is, he said. (The financial crisis declaration) really should not be a surprise to the campus community. On Thursday the president released a letter explaining the difficult situation that led to the declaration and citing the regulations she is abiding by in the process. Nichols cautioned those who fear a more serious declaration down the road, called financial exigency, which allows the university to eliminate tenured professors. The declaration of a financial crisis is different than a recommendation to declare financial exigency, she said. The declaration of the former does not mean that the latter is a foregone conclusion far from it. Looking ahead Nichols acknowledged in a statement that the severity of the cuts and the likelihood of programs being cut had thrashed morale at the school. Declaring a financial crisis is a step that, by its nature, is unlikely to improve morale, she said. But, as I will continue to emphasize, refocusing our efforts over the next two years will place UW in a far more favorable position for the future. That is the reason I accepted the position of president, and I remain committed to that as we move forward. The president will hold another meeting on the financial crisis at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. The members of the Crisis Committee will likely be announced at that time, and will hold their first meeting June 28. CHEYENNE Leaders of the Cheyenne community gathered Thursday to honor the victims of the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting. A few hundred people gathered in downtown Cheyenne to remember the lives of the 49 people who were shot and killed at the gay nightclub on Sunday. Multiple churches and religions sent an official representative to speak at the Cheyenne vigil, including Presbyterians, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Episcopalians and Unitarian Universalists. At the vigil, people spoke about peace and acceptance, as well as the need for protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many speakers addressed the struggles the LGBT community faces. At the end of the vigil, the names of the 49 victims were read aloud, with the crowd repeating their names. Theres a big difference between being able to speak the Crow language and being able to teach it. But, for a language used by a dwindling number of people in the roughly 13,000-member tribe, there arent many teaching resources. The Crow Summer Institute helps fill that void. Ive learned more from this than I have from anything else, said Roanne Hill, a Crow language and culture teacher at St. Labre High School. The techniques that we use here, I feel like are much more efficient. The institute, organized by the Crow Language Consortium, Little Big Horn College and The Language Conservancy, a nonprofit that works to save endangered languages, is in its fourth year. Hill grew up speaking Crow and didnt learn English until age 5. Thats not typical for todays Crow youth; a 2012 study commissioned by the tribe showed that only 3 percent of preschoolers were fluent, while 14 percent had limited fluency. Tylis Bad Bear is a success story, both for language learners and the institute. He wasnt taught Crow at a young age, but learned the language over time and felt comfortable speaking it more by eighth grade. He graduated from Hardin High School in 2011. A student of previous years institutes, he was tabbed to teach an intensive beginners Crow language class being offered for the first time this year. He previously taught at St. Labres immersion preschool and taught Crow language at Crow Agency Elementary. We dont have all the English letters, he told his class Wednesday morning. But the Crow Language does have additional vowels like Uu and Oo. Which version of a noun is used is often dictated by whether its describing a relationship with a person. There are masculine and feminine versions, and changes for situations. For example, Dasaake describes a girls dad, as spoken by a third party. Diluupxe is a boys father in the same tense. Basaake is my dad, as spoken by a female, while biluupxe is my dad, as spoken by a male. To address their father, a female says basaakaa. A male says axxe. It depends on what kind of context youre using, Bad Bear said. At one point, a Native American student asked why she doesnt hear people using the formal address tense. Its because nobodys speaking Crow, Bad Bear said. Thats why we dont hear it. A patient and accepting approach to teaching is crucial, he said. For a while, Crow Indians who didnt speak Crow faced a shaming approach by language teachers. We damaged a good-sized generation by saying, You should know this. If youre a Crow, you should already know this, he said. Its all about teaching, not preaching. The institute began at Sitting Bull College in North Dakota, but moved to Little Big Horn College last year. Many (teachers) came through school when (Crow) wasnt part of the curriculum, said Janine Pease, an instructor and administrator at Little Bighorn College. They are here to sharpen their skills. Theyre almost all teaching multiple grades. Participants also help record audio for a new Crow app, and the Language Conservancy is working to adapt materials used to teach Lakota for teaching Crow. With the growth of immersion preschools has come greater demand for speakers of Native languages, especially those with teacher training. I didnt think learning the language in third and fourth-grade would put me here, teaching this language, Bad Bear said. Some 27 years ago, desiring to become a fiction writer, I applied to a program at University of California at Davis. I had met some of its writers and professors and thought we were a match; hence, I was pleased when the Department of English welcomed me into its graduate program. It was a disaster. The tenured writers were openly hostile to newbie writers, the department shenanigans an outright obstacle to learning. With the support of the dean of graduate studies I managed to complete an MA in English but was forever disabused of fiction writing, even fiction reading, though Sunil Yapa would be a recent exception. Last year, Princetons website published research that confirmed what some of us have long suspected: Average citizens, even mass-based interest groups, have little or no independent influence on our countrys politics. Even where a plurality exists across party lines, the median public interest holds no sway in policy making. Despite the trappings and tradition of a representative democracy, the truth is, those are just theatrics, writes one commentator. He cites the Iraq War, the 2008 criminally caused economy crash, the rise of the Kochs, the most obstructive Congress in history, Citizens United. Even without the rigors of research, these fuel the urgency of the issue. If Bayer gets its way and buys Monsanto, writes another commentator, that merger from hell will make the new corporation the biggest seed and pesticide company in the world, with almost total control of our food supply. At the center of Bayer and Monsantos corporate agribusiness model is the indiscriminate, widespread use of chemicals linked to the massive global bee die-off and a new era of sterile crops soaked in dangerous pesticides. These issues are acted out in Sunil Yapas Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. The book is social commentary dressed as fiction. The cover describes Yapa as the biracial son of a Sri Lankan father and a mother from Montana. His introductory sketch of Victor, a 19-year-old globetrotter peddling weed at a protest rally, could be a younger version of the author. We meet him again in the closing pages, a victim of police beatings. In between, Yapas Sri Lanka seeks entry into the World Trade Organization. Its November 1999 in Seattle, where police prepare for a visit from then-president Bill Clinton to a meeting of economic leaders from 135 countries, including a Sri Lankan delegate with his WTO mission. Fifty thousand demonstrators have locked themselves together with chains and PVC pipe. They protest the jobs lost to American manufacturing; they bullhorn about workers in the fields of California who wash their babies in ditchwater, work horrible hours and get paid next to nothing; they attest to rainforest decimation for plantations of banana trees and oil palms, workers soaked in pesticides; they point fingers at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the WTO. In a bus full of protesters on the way to jail, the dissenters speak to the Sri Lankan of United Auto Workers, of unfair American corn subsidies that decimated the Mexican economy, of habitat destruction. They talked calmly, knowledgeably about the WTO, about Monsanto, about pharmaceutical companies who wanted to stop the manufacturing of generic AIDS drugs in Africa which were saving millions of lives ... [and] ... Third World debt. Did you know, they said, Nigerians pay more every year on the interest on their debt than they do on education and health? Monsanto, they point out, is marketing itself as an agricultural company, selling seed that makes plants that dont reproduce seeds; consequently, third-world farmers must buy new seed from Monsanto every year. The Sri Lankan minister, though reminded that his islands export thus far has been our daughters. We send our daughters to the Middle East where they work as maids, has the duty to believe in the system. When he makes it to the meeting, however, he is told hell be conferring with an aide rather than with Clinton. Hell be forced to stipulate away all your state enterprises ... your water and electricity and communication ... There will be no entry into the WTO for Sri Lanka, nor any free trade agreement with the U.S., unless you enact some serious reforms ... your grossly overfunded health and education will have to go. Apart from commentary that highlights a democracy being subsumed by global power, Yapas most disturbing passages contain descriptions of police brutality, even as protesters remain convinced they will persuade peaceably. The writing is visceral, its images horrifying. Sunil Yapa is no beach reading. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Latinos make up 14 percent of Rhode Island's population but hold only 4 percent of the seats in the General Assembly. An analysis of demographic data by The Associated Press found that Rhode Island is one of the top 10 states for Hispanic underrepresentation in state legislatures. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials says there are five Latino state lawmakers in Rhode Island, with four of them in the House of Representatives. There are 113 state lawmakers in total. Juan Pichardo, a Democrat from Providence, is the sole Latino state senator despite Latinos being the largest group in five of the state's 38 Senate districts. Pichardo said the lack of representation can affect policy. As an example, the lawmaker pointed to stalled legislation that would have granted driver's licenses to immigrants in the country illegally. But he's also hopeful about the political progress he's seen since his family moved from the Dominican Republic in the 1970s. "I see more people stepping up," Pichardo said. "I see some of the Latino organizations cultivating new leadership." Of the 75 seats in the state House of Representatives, Latinos are the largest group in nine House districts. Six of those districts have Latino majorities. The district with the largest Latino majority represented by a non-Latino legislator is the one held by Democratic Rep. John Carnevale, vice chairman of the powerful House Finance Committee. An investigative report by WPRI-TV this week questioned whether Carnevale even lives in the district after revealing he owns a house in another district that he failed to disclose in ethics filings since taking office in 2009. After TV cameras repeatedly captured him and his vehicles at the undisclosed Johnston house, Carnevale amended his filings but insisted his residency is at the two-family Providence home where he's registered to vote. Democratic state Rep. Carlos Tobon said it took him years to build enough electoral support to make him the first Latino lawmaker from Pawtucket. Interstate 95 bisects his racially and ethnically diverse district, and he said winning elections meant bridging a minority neighborhood of many Latino and African newcomers with a relatively wealthier neighborhood of white homeowners of mostly Italian and Portuguese descent. A Rhode Island native, the 34-year-old Colombian-American said his parents' generation now sees him as helping to give immigrant communities a voice in state politics. "As the population continues to grow, we're going to see a natural progression of their involvement," Tobon said. Rhode Island's overrepresentation of non-Latino white lawmakers is not as extreme as many other states, partly because the proportion of black lawmakers in the General Assembly is close to the proportion of the state's population that is black. Ten state lawmakers from both chambers are in the Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus. There are no Asian-American lawmakers, but the state's Asian population is low just over 3 percent. Providence Democratic Rep. Grace Diaz, vice chairwoman of the Black and Latino Caucus, said her concern is less about the number of Latino legislators and more about how well constituents are being represented on issues affecting the economy and education. "It's more that we don't have the power," she said. ___ This story has been corrected to show there are 113 state lawmakers, not 114. Tucson International Airport has reached an agreement with the ride-hailing service Uber to allow passengers to use the service at the airport, a day after announcing a similar deal with Uber rival Lyft. Uber will now be allowed to pick up arriving passengers at TIA through the companys mobile app. Official Uber pick-ups began immediately following Thursday evenings announcement, after Lyft began service earlier Thursday, the airport said. As with Lyft, Uber will be able to pick up passengers from the same designated area next to TIAs rental car facility, east of baggage claim near the shuttle stop for off-site car rental firms. Signs point the way to the Uber and Lyft pickup area. Uber will provide service at TIA under the same terms as the airports deal with Lyft, paying $2 for each pickup and dropoff, together roughly comparable to the $4 taxis pay for airport pickups, airport spokeswoman Jessie Butler said. Uber immediately posted that a $2 airport surcharge will apply to all pickups and drops; Lyft says on its website that airport fees vary. Both service contracts with Tucson International Airport run through Jan. 31, 2017, when they will be revisited, Butler said. This is kind of a trial run, to see how it works out, she said, adding that other ride-sharing services would have to negotiate individual contracts along the same lines as Uber and Lyft. Uber, Lyft and similar transportation network companies arrange rides, typically via smartphone apps, allowing customers to submit trip requests that are then routed to drivers who use their own cars. Uber serves 475 cities in more than 70 countries; Lyft now operates in more than 200 U.S. cities. Both companies are based in San Francisco. Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services are set to begin service at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday. PHOENIX The newest state utility regulator is blasting Chairman Doug Little for sidelining a discussion of whether Arizona Public Service should be forced to use some of the money it has from ratepayers to reduce peak energy demand through battery storage. The Arizona Corporation Commissions Andy Tobin told Capitol Media Services that all he wanted was to discuss at a meeting this week the idea of requiring APS to look at things like storing energy in batteries. He said that would go a long way toward addressing the bid by APS and other utilities to impose new demand charges on customers on top of what they already pay for electricity. But Tobin said when he refused a request by APS to table the issue, the utility went to Little. And the chairman admitted he used his authority to yank the item from the agenda. Little would not consent to be interviewed, instead issuing a statement blasting Tobins idea, saying it could result in substantial additional costs to ratepayers if not properly implemented. We cannot shoot from the hip on important policy matters like this, his statement read. And Little said it would have locked APS into programs to shift energy use away from peak periods for five years without regard to whether they were cost effective or not. But Tobin said what Little has done, at APS behest, is short-circuit any discussion. It makes me mad, he said. I wasnt very pleased we couldnt even have the conversation. Central to all this is the bid by utilities to change how residential customers are billed. They now pay a base fee for being connected to the grid, with a charge based on usage. What APS is proposing and other utilities are considering is adding a demand factor, with the bill based in part on the highest demand. So a customer whose air conditioner, dryer and pool pump all kicked on at the same time could face a much larger bill for the entire month, even if he or she kept overall energy use low. APS has a demand-side management plan, using ratepayer dollars for things like rebates for customers to buy programmable thermostats and more efficient air conditioners. But Tobin said the company has nearly $26 million in demand-side funds sitting idle. So he proposed spending $4 million of that on incentives to reduce energy consumption during demand periods, including energy storage. Little acknowledged at the meeting that APS had asked him to pull the item, saying utility officials were concerned they did not have the time to review Tobins proposal, which had been introduced just the day before. But the chairman said he had intended to do that even without APS input, saying what Tobin wanted had sweeping implications. Tobin, however, countered that APS had given commissioners only a week to review the utilitys plans. Anyway, he said, there was no reason not to explore the issue. It would have been nice to have the conversation, he said. And he chided APS for wanting to change the rates to reduce peak demand while not really doing anything about it like proposing a storage pilot program. Why didnt they come up with the idea? he said. Little is not the only problem. Commissioner Bob Stump weighed in with his own prepared statement saying Tobin should begin focusing on good-faith consensus-building, as opposed to confrontation, as we work together on issues we all agree are critical to Arizonas future. Stump, too, would not consent to an interview. But Tobin said what Stump essentially wants is a discussion of the issue behind the scenes, away from the public. Having withdrawn it entirely I think was a mistake for the chairman, he said. And then for them to tell me that Im not a team player? Tobin continued. What does that tell you? Do they want to just coordinate this not in public? APS insists its not necessarily opposed to some kind of energy storage, calling it in a statement an increasingly promising element in the delivery of electric service. Company spokesman Jim McDonald said APS already is looking at energy storage, both at the residential and the grid level. And he said APS intends to work with the commission as they consider the issue. There is a political side to all of this. APS has refused to confirm or deny that it funneled money into the 2014 campaign to elect Little and Tom Forese through one of two dark money organizations that were spending heavily to influence that election. OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) In the mid-1990s, Ryan Nevins was a student of English instructor and Starved Rock storyteller Bill Myers in classes at Ottawa High School. Nevins, who became a high school English teacher himself and became personal friends with his former teacher over the years, gave Myers credit as his inspiration for his career in education. Following Nevins' untimely death as fate would have it Myers, who retired from teaching full time at OHS and Marquette Academy years ago, accepted the school's request of becoming Nevins' long-term substitute taking over the English classes of his former student. Months before his death from cancer April 8 at the age of 38 in an interview for a news article about his mentor Nevins explained his long relationship with his former instructor. "Myers' passion and his love of literature helped me decide to go into teaching and teaching English," Nevins said. "In fact, my personal philosophy (of classroom instruction) is based on his style and approach of teaching. These days, my friendship with Bill remains important to me, because I have always looked up to him not only as a great teacher, but always as a leader." Myers stepped in. "I was deeply honored to be asked to take over Ryan's classes, but, at the same time, was heartsick at the circumstances," Myers said. "I felt the tremendous responsibility to carry the flag forward for such a great person, husband, father and teacher." Myers said Nevins' students quickly became his students. "We finished lessons on 'Romeo and Juliet' and had other assignments for the weeks I was here such as essay writing, poetry and interpretive homework," Myers said. "I also shoved grammar down my kids' throats while I was there, because they needed it." Recalling speaking at Nevins' funeral in April, Myers said, "I picked a piece from Edgar Lee Masters' 'Spoon River Anthology' about a dead man named George Gray speaking from his grave who had wasted his life away being afraid to live life. "Ryan was never afraid. He lived his life to the fullest at home, at work, at play. He put real meaning in the few years he had in life. "The last time I saw Ryan was during a lunch we shared last fall. During our conversation, I remember how he pounded on the table and said 'Damn it. We only get one chance to live a life. You got to live it.' I will never forget that." Myers said taking on the classes was physically and emotionally draining for him. "But, as we went along, the students and I felt like Ryan was with us each and every day during our studies. I hope I did some good for him. I believe I did." In the classroom that once belonged to Nevins after Myers took over students quickly saw the similarities between the two teachers. The two teachers were dynamic instructors who push their passion for literature and life onto their classes. "It was awesome to be in Mr. Nevins' class," said freshman Molly Harris. "He always made his lessons fun in a learning environment. In many ways, Mr. Myers, when he became our teacher, kept the memory of Mr. Nevins alive." Classmate Kekoa Gross, 15, agreed. "Mr. Myers was in a tough spot replacing Mr. Nevins," Gross said. "Like Mr. Nevins, Mr. Myers taught us not only about English and literature, but also how to live our lives. Mr. Nevins, like Mr. Myers, was a great guy." ___ Source: The (Ottawa) Times, PANTANO SWEPT BY EPIDEMIC OF NEW MALADY County Authorities Act Quickly to Arrest Spread to Tucson; Mortality Rate High Among Children; Inquest Today An epidemic of some disease which county authorities have not yet been able to identify, is raging at Pantano, having claimed five victims, all children, within a few days, according to information brought to the city yesterday. In order to stem, if possible, the further spread of the disease at Pantano and to prevent its communication to other parts of the county and the state, Dr. Schnabel and Sheriff Forbes, under orders from the county board of health, left yesterday afternoon at 4 oclock for Pantano, with instructions to clean up the place. The mortality rate of the disease is exceedingly high and it is apparently highly contagious. County authorities received word yesterday that another had been added to the death list, a child, making a total, it is said, of five deaths since the first appearance of the disease several days ago. The epidemic spread from a camp of Southern Pacific railroad section employees and their families. The majority of them, it is said, came recently from Mexico and, it is believed, brought the disease over the border. When news of the epidemic was brought to the city yesterday, Dr. Schnabel went to Pantano and reported to County Attorney Hilzinger upon his return. While he was unable to identify the disease from his casual observation yesterday, he said he was satisfied that it was caused by bad sanitation, the camp being in an extremely filthy condition. Chairman Estill, of the county board of health, being out of the city, County Attorney Hilzinger called a meeting of the board, at which the epidemic was discussed. It was decided to have made a thorough clean-up of the camp and to take stringent methods of preventing the spread of the disease to other parts of the county. Accordingly, Dr. Schnabel and Sheriff Forbes were instructed to go to Pantano and institute a clean-up campaign. An inquest will be held in the case of the child who died yesterday, in order to determine the nature of the disease and its causes. Sheriff Forbes and Doctor Schnabel returned to the city last night. The sheriff said that the total of deaths, so far as they could ascertain, might be as high as eight. Doctor Schnabel now believes that the deaths have been caused by acute bronchitis caused by exposure while the children were recuperating from whooping cough. At Pantano the nights are very cool, and it is believed that lack of sufficient covering made the victims an early prey to bronchitis. It would be easy to get confused by the minor scandal involving Pima County Supervisor Ally Millers office and conclude that its all about a young staffer who screwed up, then compounded his error by lying. That did happen, but its not the point. As you know if you follow local politics, Timothy DesJarlais finally acknowledged over the weekend that he had created a news website called the Arizona Daily Herald. One of his first acts after anonymously creating the website, he now acknowledges, was to use a pseudonym to ask other supervisor candidates about Millers road-repair plan, announced May 14. That amounted to trickery a county supervisors employee posing as a journalist, pressing her rivals for their views on her plan. The obvious question was whether Miller had put DesJarlais up to it. The answer, so far, is we dont know. But we can still come to some conclusions because of the way the story unfolded after the Tucson Sentinel, Tucson Weekly and I separately broke the news May 19. Miller chose to treat the story as a trumped-up attack on her by a local news media that despises her. Rather than suspending judgment and seeking clarification, she chose to believe her young staffers outlandish explanation and claim the stories were part of a conspiracy against her. That was bad judgment her bad judgment. She compounded the bad judgment by reporting the incident to the FBI and encouraging DesJarlais to do so as well, something that puts him in jeopardy of a criminal charge for false reporting. It was never clear what she thought the crime was she claimed that somebody else had assumed DesJarlais online pseudonym, Jim Falken, in an effort to smear her by creating this minor scandal. That made no sense then or now. But when you are an elected official with a persecution complex, you can apparently convince yourself and your avid supporters of about anything. Miller went further. When DesJarlais, in a panic, spit out the name John Dalton as the person whom he believed was responsible for the Arizona Daily Herald conspiracy, Miller again swallowed the lie whole. She posted an oblique accusation on the Facebook page of a local Republican activist named John Dalton: Yes I have reported this to the FBI cybercrimes Unit. We have the name of the individual who did this and HE will be brought to justice. I reported the individual by NAME. She added, Nice try! Miller wasnt the only one who used bad judgment in this situation, though. Her band of supporters in the local alternative media in Tucson, that means a handful of conservative outlets bought her version whole. Chris DeSimone and Joe Higgins of KVOI 1030-AM, James T. Harris of KQTH 104.1 FM, and Lori Hunnicutt, who runs the Arizona Daily Independent blog, all enabled Miller by supporting her bad judgment. A true friend and supporter of Miller, in this situation, would have tried to persuade her to take a colder, more rational look at the facts. But they didnt. Check out this bizarre sentence by Hunnicutt, discussing DesJarlais after his confession: While his actions may lead to an indictment, those who should be indicted by the public are the journalists, who used their barrels of ink to drown a 19 year old and ignore the powers-that-be. The key question with this affair never was whether DesJarlais did something wrong, though he has opened himself to scrutiny by filing to run for Marana school board. It was always Millers behavior. We wont know until we go through public records whether Miller had anything to do with the original creation of the Arizona Daily Herald. I suspect she did not. But we do know she and her supporters exercised bad judgment by instinctively believing DesJarlais, reporting the incident as a crime, believing in an anti-Miller conspiracy and lashing out at those who questioned him. They were wrong. DesJarlais can be forgiven for making a 19-year-olds mistakes and I hope nobody pursues legal action against him. He has resigned and apologized sincerely to Miller and Dalton. Miller? Before Dalton left town Thursday, he had heard nothing from this grown-up elected official who accused him publicly of wrongdoing. Bad judgment. directly responsible On Thursday, Sen. John McCain repeatedly accused President Obama of being directly responsible for Sundays massacre at a nightclub in Orlando. It was an extreme accusation because it suggested, through the use of the word directly, that Obama was somehow involved in the attack. In the age of Donald Trump, that implication is not so surprising, but its still beyond the bounds of traditional political discussion. Maybe more interesting is what he meant. McCain explained later that Obamas policies have led to the rise of the Islamic State group, which inspired the killer Sunday. Its a defensible argument, for sure. But in making it, McCain does something many of us do, but still should avoid: Prematurely concluding what the killers motivation was. From the reporting thats happened so far, it appears not only that the Islamic State was a likely factor, but so was the killers failed attempt at a police career, hatred of gays, mental instability, easy access to firearms, and, most provocatively, his own possible repressed homosexuality. It seems we tend to pick the explanation that bolsters our own political perspective. Sad to see McCain do that too, but not surprising in an election year. But we repeat ourselves Democrats Tom Chabin and Bill Mundell are mounting what could be a strong challenge to the Republicans on the Arizona Corporation Commission. The revelation last week that the FBI is questioning people about the 2014 commission election bolsters their argument that change is needed. What doesnt bolster their argument? Their answers to a candidate questionnaire from the Arizona Investment Council, a group of utility investors who support infrastructure spending. Unlike the Republican candidates, the two Democrats answered identically to almost every question. For example, this was Question 4: Are you in favor of competition in retail electricity markets in Arizona? Why or why not? Both Chabin and Mundell answered: I would listen fairly and objectively to the arguments presented by the parties. My decision will be based on the facts and evidence presented. I get running as a slate, but that doesnt mean youre twins. Pima County health officials have reported the first confirmed local case of the Zika virus. The infected person contracted the virus while traveling outside the United States to various places in the Caribbean, the Pima County Health Department said in a news release Friday. The person returned to Pima County and has recovered from all Zika-related symptoms, the county said. No additional Zika cases have been identified. "This individual is no longer at risk of transmitting the virus and officials are confident this person was infected while traveling," the news release said. Mosquito bites spread the Zika virus, which causes fever, rash, joint pain, and red or swollen eyes, the county said. The illness is typically mild and symptoms last for a few days. Arizona is home to one of the Aedes species of mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday three cases of babies born in the United States with birth defects related to the Zika virus. All of the mothers were infected while traveling in Latin America or the Caribbean. The World Health Organization said the virus also can be spread through sexual contact. The virus also causes Guillain-Barre syndrome, which the WHO described as a rare condition in which the immune system attacks nerves. Most people fully recover from the syndrome, but in about one-fourth of cases the virus affects chest muscles and makes breathing difficult. As soon as we knew this person was at risk for Zika, we took the necessary steps to inform the individual on how to prevent mosquito bites, Pima County Health Department Director Francisco Garcia said in the news release. The health department said officials have increased mosquito trapping, surveillance and testing throughout the county. While travel related cases like this one are reminders that we should take steps to protect ourselves at home and during travel, the risk of having a person become infected with Zika virus while here in Pima County remains low, Garcia said. Officials urged county residents to decrease the threat of mosquito-borne diseases by using mosquito repellent, wearing pants and loose-fitting, light-colored, long-sleeve shirts. Residents should remove objects from their yards that collect water and dump standing water. Residents also should protect themselves with mosquito repellent and appropriate clothing while traveling and contact their healthcare provider if they feel ill upon their return to Pima County. The deadly week for pedestrians and motorists continued in the Tucson area. Officials said a driver was killed in a crash Thursday afternoon on the northwest side, a pedestrian was struck and killed late Thursday in midtown and a man who suffered critical injuries after being hit by an SUV earlier in the month has died. This brings to eight the number of motorists and pedestrians who have died since Monday night on Tucson-area streets. Driver facing charges The driver of a car that struck and killed a pedestrian has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, Tucson police said Friday. Authorities also identified the pedestrian as Kevin Ryan Ugg, 48, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. Officers were called at 11 p.m. Thursday to an accident involving a pedestrian on East Grant Road near North Mountain Avenue. Tucson Fire personnel were rendering aid to the pedestrian, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives learned that the man was crossing the eastbound lanes of traffic on Grant when he was struck by a 2012 Dodge Challenger that was eastbound in the center lane, said Dugan. The pedestrian was not crossing in a crosswalk, police said. Detectives determined the driver of the car was impaired, police said. Byron Omar Calderon, 36, was arrested and booked into the Pima County jail on one count of manslaughter. Police said speed was not a factor in the crash. There have been 26-traffic related deaths in Tucson this year, including seven pedestrians, police said. That's compared to 25 deaths this time last year. Pedestrian dies from injuries A man who was struck by an SUV two weeks ago died Thursday from his injuries, police said. The man was identified as Michael Gary Edminster, 50, said Dugan. The incident happened on the city's north side in the 2000 block of East Prince Road shortly before 8:30 p.m. The neighborhood is near North Campbell Avenue. Traffic detectives determined that a 2001 BMW SUV was traveling west on Prince. Edminster, who was not in a crosswalk, ran across the road from south to north and was struck by the vehicle, Dugan said. The driver of the SUV remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. No citations will be issued, Dugan said. In 2015, Arizona traffic fatals were 895; Pima County were 91, data shows. Driver dies when car hits pole A man was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Tucson's northwest side Thursday afternoon. The man was identified as Lawrence Junco, 73, said Deputy Courtney Rodriguez, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman. At 4:30 p.m., deputies responded to the crash at West Overton Road and North La Cholla Boulevard after 911-callers reported the incident, said Rodriguez. Deputies found the car had crashed into a traffic signal pole. Junco was wearing a seat belt and was the only occupant in the car. Traffic detectives were working to determine what caused the crash, Rodriguez said. PHOENIX The Arizona Supreme Court this morning upheld the conviction and nine death sentences imposed against Mark Goudeau, the "Baseline Killer.'' In a 76-page opinion, the justices rejected a series of claims by Goudeau's attorneys that there were errors in the trial, in which he was convicted on killing nine people during a series of crimes that terrorized the Phoenix area about 10 years ago. That included questions about the legality of one of the search warrants as well as the fact that the police used all of the DNA it had in testing, leaving none for Goudeau's legal team. Potentially most significant, Justice John Pelander, writing for the unanimous court, rebuffed Goudeau's claim he was entitled to separate trials for the different slayings, rapes and robberies. Jurors in 2011 found Mark Goudeau, then 47, guilty of the nine murders and 58 other charges, including kidnapping and rape. They sentenced him to death on each of the nine murder counts. According to Goudeau, jurors might have been swayed by the sheer number of charges and the mountain of evidence, finding him guilty even in cases where the evidence was weak. Pelander, however, said the only disputed issue in the case was the identity of who committed the murders and assaults. He said that made it relevant for jurors to have all of the evidence of all of the crimes. SHOW LOW Fire lines were holding Thursday in the fight against a wildfire threatening several communities with thousands of residents in east-central Arizona. The winds werent as bad, and the backburns did exactly what we wanted them to do, Navajo County Sheriff KC Clark said at a late afternoon news conference. The blaze still was burning about a mile from locations that would trigger mandatory evacuations. But if we get through today, I think well be all right, Clark said. Fire officials feared a repeat of Wednesday, when the fire broke out around noon 12 miles south of Show Low. Wind gusts of 35 mph pushed the fire burning brush and ponderosa pine to 1.5 square miles within three hours and nearly 4 square miles by 5 p.m. Residents in five communities were put on pre-evacuation alert. But authorities said winds were lighter Thursday. About 600 personnel were on the ground battling the flames as successful controlled burns helped slow the head of the fire at its northeast point. We really worked it hard. Lots of burnout operations, fire operations chief Rocky Gilbert said. We didnt have any of the fire going over lines that we didnt want it to. The blaze has charred about 12.5 square miles, including thousands of acres that were set on fire by firefighters to deprive the fire of fuel. Air tankers were dropping retardant and water to stop the flames from spreading. Residents have been urged to prepare go kits with essential belongings such as medications, make arrangements for pets and put green tags on their doors or mailboxes so authorities know homes have been evacuated. Areas under pre-evacuation advisories included Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside. Only a few homes were evacuated. The fires cause was under investigation. A 20-mile stretch of U.S. 60 remained closed. Kim Reabe was among the Linden residents preparing for possible evacuations. Some people had already left to avoid being caught in a traffic jam later, she said. Its terrifying to have to evacuate. ... People dont want to have to deal with that, Reabe said. She said smoke from the fire caused her to cough even inside her home. She also reported long lines at grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies. The region is popular with visitors seeking to avoid heat in Arizonas desert cities. PHOENIX Gov. Doug Ducey wants a federal judge to block or at least narrow efforts by lawyers for the Tohono Oodham Nation to question his staffers in the legal fight over the Glendale casino. Attorneys for the governor have told U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell the tribe is not entitled to some of the information it is seeking. They say some of it is protected by attorney-client privilege. The governors legal team also said there is no right for the tribe to delve into internal discussions that took place within the Governors Office, even if it did not involve legal advice. And Duceys lawyers warned Campbell that allowing tribal attorneys to look into such matters would set a bad precedent. Any disclosure of internal discussions regarding the subpoena topics would have a chilling effect on future deliberations within the state executive branch, the governors lawyers said. The executive branch and especially the Governors Office frequently have to make difficult decisions that affect state funding, public safety, and relations with various tribes located within Arizona, they continued. As a result, the executive branch must have the ability to openly discuss options and weigh recommendations without fear these internal communications become public for unnecessary scrutiny. At a hearing Friday, Campbell said he wants to get legal briefs from the tribes attorneys on why they think theyre entitled to delve into these areas. He gave them until the end of the month to respond. In the interim, tribal lawyers will be able to question two former state employees on Wednesday: Steve Hart, who previously served as director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, and Mike Bielicki, who was an aide to Gov. Jane Hull when she was negotiating new gaming compacts with the Oodham and other tribes. The move comes as the tribe is seeking to persuade Campbell to effectively order state Gaming Director Daniel Bergin to allow it to have full-scale Class III gaming at its new Glendale casino. Bergin has refused, contending the tribe effectively committed fraud more than a decade ago as voters were being asked to approve new gaming compacts. He said the tribe concealed its plans for the Glendale casino from state officials and the public even as voters were being told that approving the compacts would mean no new casinos in the Phoenix area. With the lawsuit unresolved, the tribe opened the facility as a Class II casino with devices that look like slot machines but operate electronically like interconnected bingo games. Those are not subject to state regulation. The tribe, however, wants not only full-blown slots but also games like blackjack and poker, which require state approval. Among the questions tribal attorneys want to ask are the basis for any belief by the governor at the time of the 2002 public vote that there would be no expansion of gaming in the area. Help India! Accuse Indian Government of Implicitly Justifying the Murder of Congolese National and Attacks on Africans in India, Demand Action Support TwoCircles By M Ghazali Khan Britains South Asian and African Caribbean organisations have strongly condemned the murder of a Congolese national, Masonda Kitanda Oliver, in Delhi last month and have called upon the government to stop such hate spate against Africans in India. We in Britain are horrified and dismayed at these recent developments, says an angry and terse letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and signed by ten different organisations representing South Asians and Africans in the UK. Not only do Indians and other South Asians living in Britain face racism and racist violence, but there is a long history of people of African and South Asian origin working together in solidarity to confront and challenge British racism. It reads. Highlighting the history of racism against Africans in India the letter goes on, Racial prejudice against Africans has, of course, been endemic in Indian society for many years linked to historically embedded supremacist ideologies of both caste and colonialism. However, with the rise of your party to power and the total impunity given by the BJP government to Hindu supremacist gangs to harass, abuse and kill Muslims, Christians and Dalits, as well as those who racially attack people from the North-East of India, racism against Africans has also escalated. It adds, Africans face a constant barrage of racism. Everyday experiences include being taunted on the street with overt racist slurs, denied accommodation by landlords and being stereotyped as drug-dealers, if they are men and sex-workers (if they are women). In addition, there have been brutal attacks and murders and sexual violence. In February this year in a vicious attack in Bangalore, a mob assaulted a Tanzanian student, partially stripped her, and set her car on fire. The letter accuses the Indian Government not only of inaction but trivializing and implicitly justifying the attacks and says, Far from condemning these attacks and murders, members of your government and party have trivialised them, denied or deflected their racist nature, or even implicitly justified them. For example V.K. Singh, Minister for External Affairs in your government, claimed that the press were blowing up [a] minor scuffle as [an] attack, your foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, declared that the attacks were criminal acts, but were not racial and Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma commented that Africa is unsafe too. The attempt of the government to reframe these attacks as criminal acts rather than racially motivated hate crimes allows the Indian Government to try to safeguard its economic interests in Africa whilst denying the racist ideology deeply embedded in your own party and administration, clearly demonstrated when the Tourism Minister in Goa (a state ruled by your party), Dilip Parulekar, commented with overt racism that Nigerians make trouble in India and ought to be deported. Organisations signing the condemnation have also supported African diplomats in their call to boycott the Africa Day celebrations and have urged the Prime Minister to (1) take steps to ensure that immediate action is taken to bring those responsible for the recent racist attacks including those politicians indulging in racist hate-speeches like Dilip Parulekar to justice, (2) that the survivors and the families of the victims are provided with all possible support and assistance by your government and (3) that the government of India takes immediate steps for the development and systematic implementation of policies which aim to confront and eradicate racism in India at all levels as a matter of the utmost urgency. Human Rights organization South Asia Solidarity Group has also uploaded the letter on internet as a petition and have asked UK residents to sign it. The full text of the letter is as follows: Dear Prime Minister Modi, We the undersigned strongly condemn the horrific killing of Masonda Kitanda Oliver and the spate of violent attacks on African nationals living in India. Our deepest sympathies and solidarity are with the families of the victims. In the last two years, there has been an enormous rise in racist violence against Africans in India. Racial prejudice against Africans has, of course, been endemic in Indian society for many years linked to historically embedded supremacist ideologies of both caste and colonialism. However, with the rise of your party to power and the total impunity given by the BJP government to Hindu supremacist gangs to harass, abuse and kill Muslims, Christians and Dalits, as well as those who racially attack people from the North-East of India, racism against Africans has also escalated. Africans face a constant barrage of racism. Everyday experiences include being taunted on the street with overt racist slurs, denied accommodation by landlords and being stereotyped as drug-dealers, if they are men and sex-workers if they are women. In addition, there have been brutal attacks and murders and sexual violence. In February this year in a vicious attack in Bangalore, a mob assaulted a Tanzanian student, partially stripped her, and set her car on fire. We would like particularly to highlight the events of the last month in Delhi. On May 20, 24 year-old Congolese teacher Masunda Kitanda Oliver, was bludgeoned to death. This was followed within days by a brutal attack on Nigerian priest Kenneth Igbinosa as he returned home with his wife and four-month-old son, and attacks on four separate groups of Africans also in the capital. Far from condemning these attacks and murders, members of your government and party have trivialised them, denied or deflected their racist nature, or even implicitly justified them. For example V.K. Singh, Minister for External Affairs in your government, claimed that the press were blowing up [a] minor scuffle as [an] attack, your foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, declared that the attacks were criminal acts, but were not racial and tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma commented that Africa is unsafe too, The attempt of the government to reframe these attacks as criminal acts rather than racially motivated hate crimes allows the Indian Government to try to safeguard its economic interests in Africa whilst denying the racist ideology deeply embedded in your own party and administration, clearly demonstrated when the Tourism minister in Goa (a state ruled by your party), Dilip Parulekar, commented with overt racism that Nigerians make trouble in India and ought to be deported. We support the decision of the African diplomatic community to boycott the Africa Day celebrations over the killings and Eritrean ambassador Alem Tsehage Woldemarians demand that the problem of racism and Afro-phobia in India be addressed by the Indian Government. We in Britain are horrified and dismayed at these recent developments. Not only do Indians and other South Asians living in Britain face racism and racist violence, but there is a long history of people of African and South Asian origin working together in solidarity to confront and challenge British racism. We demand (1) that you ensure that immediate action is taken to bring those responsible for the recent racist attacks including those politicians indulging in racist hate-speech like Dilip Parulekar to justice, (2) that the survivors and the families of the victims are provided with all possible support and assistance by your government and (3) that the government of India takes immediate steps for the development and systematic implementation of policies which aim to confront and eradicate racism in India at all levels as a matter of the utmost urgency. Hana Sandhu, South Asia Solidarity Group Explo Nani-Kofi, Kilombo Centre for Civil Society and African Self-Determination, Ghana and London Asad Rehman, Newham Monitoring Project Esther Stanford-Xosei, Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe Naeem Malik, South Asian Alliance Jendayi Serwah, Global Afrikan Peoples Parliament (GAPP). Nirmala Rajasingam, Freedom Without Fear Platform Sara Calloway, Women of Colour Global Womens Strike Cristel, Black Womens Rape Action project Wretched of the Earth Collective Help India! By Amit Kumar, Twocircles.net Churachandpur, Manipur: It would not be an exaggeration to say that in Manipur, the dominant political discourse you hear depends on your location. In the valley regions, this discourse is almost completely dominated, and some would say, hegemonised, by the Meiteis. This also explains why the support for passing the three controversial bills has triggered wide-spread protests in the region of Imphal and Thoubal. However, a two-hour ride into the interiors of the state show a drastic change in how the bills introduced by the Manipur government are perceived. Here, the only form of reaction to these Bills is that of complete protest; against passing them. In Churachandpur, you are unlikely to find a person who agrees with the Meiteis; the tribals of this region have been at the centre of protests against these Bills, and understandably so. Support TwoCircles File photo of protests in Churachandpur last September after nine people died in police firing. In fact, the day these Bills were passed, violence erupted in almost all hill districts of Manipur and angry protesters attacked the houses of local MLAs. Over the next two days, 9 people were killed in Churachandpur by security forces including a 10 year old during wide-spread protests. The town is yet to bury its martyrs and there bodies remain kept in the district hospital. The three Bills: The Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (Seventh) Amendment Bill 2015 (MLRLR Bill 2015), The Protection of Manipur People Bill, 2015 and The Manipur Shops and Establishments Act (Second) Amendment Bill 2015, are being presented by the Government of Manipur as a solution to long pending demand for implementation of Inner Line Permit system by the Meitei organizations to protect them from the high rate of influx of outsiders. The Inner Line Permit is a special permit required to enter certain restricted areas in the country, and currently such a system exists in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) has been spearheading the movement for legislation to protect the indigenous population from migrants. But in Churachanpur, Tamenglong, Senapati, Chandel and Ukhrulthe five hill districts of Manipurthere has been a strong movement against the three bills, spearheaded by Joint Action Committee against Anti-Tribal Bills, also known as JAC. The JAC is of the opinion that these Bills are another attempt by the Valley people to undermine the status of the tribal regions, which have been ignored when it comes to development. Speaking to Twocircles.net, Mangchinkhup, chief convener of the JAC, said these Bills are the result of over three decades of demands from the valley people. As early as 1980, the All Manipur Students Union demanded an Inner Line Permit, he said. The JAC, he added, has never been against Inner Line Permit, and that the ILP issue is being used as a convenient diversionary tactic by the valley people. Had it been only about Inner Line permit issue, we had no issues. But these Bills are much more than that, he added. For tribals, letting go of land is not an option To begin with, the tribals point out that despite being categorised as Scheduled Tribes, they have been denied the sixth schedule. The Constitution of India refers tribal areas within the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura & Mizoram, as those areas specified in Parts I, II, IIA & III of the table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule. But somehow, the tribal regions of Manipur were never included in the list. Sixth schedule is our right, which has been denied to us for all these years. But instead of addressing this issue, the Manipur government wants us to forget that we are tribals, Mangchinkhup adds. To understand Mangchinkhups point, it is important to look Manipurs demography. While the valley regions four districtsImphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishnupuroccupy 10% of the states total area, these four districts, according to Census 2011 data, are home to just over 60% of the states population. On the contrary, the five hill districts, which cover about 90% of the states area, have only 40% of the population. Over the years, with the rise in construction activities, land has become a premium product in the valley region. Add to that, the increase in the Meyang (outsiders) population, and the result has been a growing pressure from the Meiteis and their leadership to both protect the Valley and open the hill regions to the valley people. And according to the JAC, it is this policy that is at the centre of these Bills; not the ILP. The lack of land in the valley is a result of government policies. Over the past decades, all development projects like small-scale industries, colleges, universities and hospitals have been built in the valley region. Bar one hospital, we are yet to see any development from the state. It is the Church that has established schools, colleges and hospitals in this region, Mangchinkhup adds. One of the bills set the definition for Manipur domicile: Persons of Manipur whose names are in the National Register of Citizens, 1951, Census Report 1951 and Village Directory of 1951 and their descendants who have contributed to the collective social, cultural and economic life of Manipur. This clause is the bone of contention. We all know what the level of literacy in the tribal hills was in 1951. Who kept registers at the time? We are told that officers prepared reports sitting in Imphal. Also, it is not clear what they mean by to have contributed to the social and cultural life of Manipur? This will leave out many of us tribals, says an agitated Mangchinkhup. He points to another law which loosens the regime restricting the Meiteis from buying lands in the hills. The valley people are trying to equate themselves with us and are trying to seek the scheduled caste status, he says. Even the districts name comes from the name of a Meitei king from the 19th century. For the locals, the place is still known as Lamka. It is about our identity, our territory. All we have is our land. If this is also taken away from us, what do we have left?, asks Benjamin Vualnam, an alumnus of TISS, Mumbai who came back home after his Masters in 2013. An important reason behind the deep mistrust among the hill and valley residents is also because of the cultural differences. While all the valley districts have more than 60% Hindu population, in districts like Churachandpur, Christians constitute over 90% of the population. Also, the Zomi and Chin tribes of the region are culturally much closer to the Mizos compared with the Meiteis. We understand and identify with Mizos a lot more than the Meiteis, says Vualnam. The tribal regions invoked a ten-day economic blockade to press for their demands, even as their agitation in Delhi was brutally beaten up outside Manipur Bhawan earlier this month. The tribal delegation had been protesting against the arrival of a delegation from various political parties of Manipur seeking the President of Indias nod for the Bills. Although the President rejected one of the three Bills, the tribals know that the state government is unlikely to give up on their demands. The same can be said for the tribals. Help India! By Sadiq Zafar for TwoCircles.net It is claimed that the exodus is happening in Kairana of Shamli district since the communal inferno of Muzaffarnagar during September 2013. The anti-Muslim violence which became centric to the division of society on communal lines made way for the right wing political party, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to win 71 out of 80 seats from Uttar Pradesh (UP) during the 2014 Parliamentary elections. Support TwoCircles So, it can be said, as per the claims of the BJPs political representatives from the region that things were not going well in the polarized society of western UP at least from the past two years, as per the election campaigns and slogans. In these two years the political party, BJP is ruling the nation and the political representative, parliamentarian of the region at the national stage is from the very political party. How can they be so insensitive to the cause of the people constituting their own vote bank for which they claim that they can die? If the exodus be the truth, then it is asked that for these two years the BJP didnt raise any voice in the parliament, media or in the sate against such a horrifying situation. Was that not the responsibility of an MP as a political representative of the region to diffuse any such situation, in order to achieve communal harmony and peace, only if he wanted to? Since theyre crying a foul play, my question to the BJP is that why did they keep mum on such a grave situation and didnt work with the District Magistrate to establish a peace committee for the region and work with both the communities in order to improve the ground condition. Though they claim the state is working as perpetrator of peace, was that not their own responsibility to lead a fact finding team since the initiation of this claimed exodus and bring this issue to the notice of the August house. The communal riot of Muzaffarnagar may be a reason to many polarized movements in the western part of the province. Ghettoization happens when communal tension arouses, the way it happened after the Advani led demolition of Babri Masjid. Demolition of Babri Masjid and riots that followed it played a vital role in surfacing up of segregated neighborhoods on the urban map of India resulting in the formation of ghettos in the urban morphology. Even if the exodus happened, which is not a healthy sign of a developing nation, segregation leads to fanaticism and kills the interactive space within different communities of the society. Why is the issue being raised at the time when the state of Uttar Pradesh is going for election earlier next year? Why should it not be seen as the issue to gain political escalations and the seat of power in the coming provincial elections? And I wonder what exactly did they do to stop the migration when the BJP got aware of this movement in Kairana? The region which gave a school of thought to the music industry should not suffer from the political stiff of the right and the rest, but it should be ensured that the peace of the region should be maintained. We should always remember that the strength of our nation lies in pluralistic and diverse society, which is also the beauty of the Indian culture and its democracy. Aaj ki raat bahut garam hawa chalti hai Aaj ki raat na neend aayegi Hum sub uthein, main bhi uthun, tum bhi utho Koi khidki isi deewar mein khul jayegi Kaifi Azmi [A Delhi-based architect and urban planner, Sadiq Zafar is the author of Sustainable Development of Yamuna Floodplain, Delhi which is available with Barnes & Noble.] Help India! By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net Kozhikode: Palakkad may be a favourite among tourist destinations in Kerala, with its numerous waterfalls, forts and temples. But one young filmmaker, Sudevan Peringode, a resident of Palakkad, has been trying to put the district on a cinematic map with a twist: every movie that Sudevan has made until now, including his latest upcoming project, is funded by ordinary citizens. And this, despite the fact that none of his movies have stars; but instead feature citizens from all walks of life. Support TwoCircles Sudevan Peringod The idea of looking towards crowdfunding is not new, especially in Kerala. People who follow Malayalam cinema would remember John Abraham, the Malayali film maker who rebelled against the establishment by redefining the ways of filmmaking and leading a nomadic life. The genius left his mark in the history of Malayalam cinema by starting a peoples cinema movement, a form of independent filmmaking through his Odessa Collective in 1980s. Spectators, who contributed him amounts they could spare, were the stakeholders of his films, some of which were later listed among the top Indian films. Three decades later, Sudevan is set to look towards the crowd of cinema buffs again as he attempts to make a three-hour portmanteau movie comprising five short films under the collective Pace Trust by raising fund of Rs 15 lakh from people. Sudevan is now calling up on the film lovers to be stakeholders of strong alternative films after successfully bringing out five finely crafted films, Varoo (Come), Planning, Randu (Two), Thattumborathappan and Crime No. 89. Unlike John Abraham and his companions, who wandered seeking funds from everyone, Sudevan accepts contributions from those who love his films. We collect money from those who like our movies. There might be people, who dont like my style of filmmaking. They have the right to know about what they are spending for, Sudevan says. Pace Production, the first form of Pace Trust, developed into an entity in 2004 while a group of film lovers joined their hands for a novel cause, peoples film. Varoo and Planning, the first film made by a handy cam in 2004 and 2008, brought this collective attention and few awards after being exhibited in some of the film festivals. Poster of first film Varoo Pace Productions tale is an unprecedented one as it was started as a five-member group of common men, who were without film background. Their love towards movies brought the team, which comprised artists, school teachers and coolies, together and led towards a novel movement. In short, not only does Sudevan depend on people to contribute financially, he also depends on the crowd for providing him with actors. The first film was made with a budget of Rs 5,000, which was collected from the members while collection reached Rs 8,000 in 2006 for the second film Planning. We needed Rs 20,000 for the third film and we were unable to meet the expenses with our income. The well wishers, who loved our movies came in helping us, Sudevan said. Sudevan says that raising funds was not an easy affair. We have to convey them significance of our movies and give an ear to their responses, he adds. Randu and Thattumporathappan, the third and fourth movies by Pace Production, were awaited a better turn as they won several awards and accolades from film lovers across the state. Thattumporathappan, which dealt with the spiritual cults and beliefs, was exhibited at around 200 venues across Kerala while 2,500 DVDs of these films were sent to film lovers who contributed financially to the collective. In 2011, when the collective started to receive money from various parts of the globe, Pace Production was formed as a trust named Pace Trust. It was need of the hour to make it a trust in order to keep our functions and transactions transparent, Sudevan said. Poster of film Randu In 2013, CR No. 89, one of the finest Malayalam films in recent times was brought out by the group spending Rs 7 lakh, contributed by the well wishers and fans. To add to the pleasure of the collective, CR No.89 won the Kerala State Award for Best Film and Best Second Actor in 2013 and the NETPAC Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). No wonder then, Sudevans attempts have earned him a lot of praise from the film makers in Kerala. Peoples film movement or independent film movement is getting strong ground in Kerala and Sudevan is an important part of it. The new culture helps filmmakers to bring out more artistic film and get rid of the compulsions of the commercial interests, says film director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, who is part of the independent film movement through making his feature film Ozhivu Divasathe Kali (An Off Day Game). In this kind of film making, directors need not compromise the quality as marketing is not a concern for them at all, he adds. Sudevans films continue the legacy of John Abraham while it comes to extend strong resistance against the establishment and social decay. Characters in my films are nameless. Names represent castes, he says. Quoting Sree Narayana Guru, the great social reformer in Kerala, Sudevan says dont say and dont ask caste. The professional artist who used to work as a painter to earn a livelihood, Sudevan is now fully engaged in materialising the dream of making a package of short films. We have completed one of the four short films using the money in hand. We will make it as campaigns, aimed at finding out the rest of the amount, are evoking a good response, he adds. Related: TCN Positive page Help India! By A Mirsab, TwoCircles.net, Pune: June 2, 2014 was a hot day in Pune with mercury reaching 39C. This ended up being the hottest day of June that year. The heat was further raised by members of right-wing Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) who went on a violent rampage in the city. Ostensibly they were disturbed at some derogatory images of Shivaji and Bal Thackeray uploaded to the facebook. Support TwoCircles 28-year old Mohsin Shaikh, who was IT manager at a local company, was caught by the Hindutva mob when he stepped out of the Masjid at Hadapsar in Pune. Hadapsar is the industrial hub of Pune with offices of some of the big multi-nationals present there. This tiny area has three Special Economic Zones: Magarpatta city, Amanora parktown and Fursungi IT Park (SP Infocity). [R to L] Adv. Hafeez Qazi, Ujwal Nikam, Zahid Khan (President of Action Committee) and Azhar Tamboli Only a week after Narendra Modi took oath as a Prime Minister in New Delhi, members of Hindu Rashtra Sena went on a violent rampage in Pune and killed Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh. A young lad with smiling face and future plans he was looking forward to planning his wedding after the upcoming Ramadan. Neither the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan visited the family of Shaikh and gave stern statement that violence on the basis of religion will not be tolerated. However the then Congress-led Maharashtra Government acted sternly against these extremists and 22 members of HRS were arrested including its chief Dhananjay Desai. Two years down, apart from five two juveniles and three others rest of the accused continue to remain in jail after their several bail applications were rejected by Punes Session Court and Bombay High Court. The juveniles were granted bail after two months of their arrest in August 2014 and three other accused Shubnam Dattatrey Barade (19), Mahesh Maruti Khot(24) and Abhishek Chavan (29) all residents of Kalepadal near Hadapsar were granted bail by Bombay High Court in April 2016. While granted bail, the high court imposed severe conditions on the accused. On Tuesday, a special court in Pune rejected bail plea of Dhananjay Desai for the third time. The court also rejected his discharge application citing evidences against him establishing his role in the criminal conspiracy behind the killing of Mohsin. Considering the gravity of case, the Maharashtra state had appointed Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam in this case. However, Sadiq Shaikh, father of Mohsin Shaikh too appointed a lawyer Hafeez Qazi as an intervener in the case who remains present during every hearing of the matter. Explaining why he appointed a lawyer in the case, Sadiq Shaikh tells TwoCircles.net, My advocate keeps a close watch in the case and informs me about proceedings. I want to make sure perpetrators of Mohsins murder are not granted bail or the case is not weakened against them and therefore I have intervened in the case from the start. He is not happy with the delay in trial and wants speedy justice. He says, FortTwo years they have been arrested but charges have not been framed against the accused. Justice will only be done when they are put to harshest punishment. Talking about the delay in the matter, Advocate Qazi told TwoCircles.net, The delay caused in the framing of charges is not intentional. Prosecution has drafted charges but it is not able to frame it because accused keeps filing discharge applications before court and as a procedure unless court decides discharge pleas, it cannot frame charges. Now that all discharge applications are rejected by court, we can expect court to soon frame charges and start trial, he adds. Azhar Tamboli, a social activist in Pune accompanies advocate Qazi in court on behalf of Sadiq Shaikh and facilitates between them for providing documents and other information. I saw Sadiq Shaikh making rounds of Pune for hearing of the matter. In order to provide him some relief from travelling, I voluntarily attend every hearing and inform him of every proceedings, Tamboli told TwoCirlces.net. Tamboli had played an important role in taking care of Mubin, brother of Mohsin. Mohsin was beaten to death before Mubins eyes by the accused. Overcome with emotions Mubin was shouting, abusing and crying at the Noble Hospital where Mohsin was declared dead on the night of June 2, 2014. Related: Three Ramadans without Mohsin Shaikh, a mother recalls memories of her son Chinese-American artist Ken Jan Woo recognized for giving new life to Medieval style of church art Of the long list of awards and nominations he's received for his artistic endeavors, Chinese-American painter Ken Jan Woo believes the Artist Achievement Award he got on June 11 from Union City, New Jersey, is the most special. Presented every summer, the Union City Artist Awards honor the most talented and dedicated artists from all disciplines who have contributed to the local artistic fabric, according to the organizers. Only a five-minute drive to downtown Manhattan, Union City is a place many world renowned actors, musicians, artists and Broadway celebrities call home. Chinese-American painter Ken Jan Woo works on the St Crysostom panel at the Church of Our Savior in New York City. photos provided to china daily "This award is very special to the art world in New York," Woo said, adding the event is a celebration of the many contributions that artists have made and continue to make to the local culture. "It was based on my accumulated work and contributions to the community," he said. "I've been in Union City for 10 years. This award was a big honor for me because I am based in Union City. I am proud to be recognized in the city where I work." Among his many accomplishments, Woo's involvement as a muralist in the project at the Church of Our Savior at Park Avenue and 38th Street in New York City, completed in 2009, won him much recognition, including the Best Renovation of the Year and a Gold Leaf Award. "The Artist Achievement Award was primarily for the work done at the church," said Woo. After winning the bid on the church project among seven international artists, Woo used a traditional process - wood treated with animal glue, 10 coatings of gesso, a coat of red clay, then gilding and paint of oil tempera - to produce seven devotional icons highlighted by a 24-foot-tall Byzantine image of Christ. Ken Jan Woo poses for a picture with Lucio Fernandez, commissioner of public affairs, after receiving the Artist Achievement Award on June 11 from Union City, New Jersey. "I like public works," Woo said, "you're not cooped up painting every day in isolation." The three-phase project took six years to complete and was funded by the Vatican, the church and private donations. The installation of Woo's large-scale paintings required scaffolding, electric lifts and other high-tech equipment. A teacher at Berkeley College in New York, Woo was commissioned to paint Pope John Paul II's coronation portrait and had his work previewed last June at New York University's Catholic Center. "I am currently working on many murals for the Toronto Oratory Church in Toronto Canada. This project will include eight large murals all with 23-karat gold gilding," Woo said, adding that many of his commissioned projects come from word of mouth. Born in Shanghai to an artist mother, Woo moved to the US when he was four. He studied art in Florence, Italy, in 1995 and continued in master's programs at the New York of Academy of Art and Central Academy of Art in Beijing from 2002 to 2004. junechang@chinadailyusa.com China's economy to grow 6.5% this year: Allianz economist Updated: 2016-06-17 11:22 By Yu Xiaoming(chinadaily.com.cn) Michael Heise, Chief Economist the Alliance SE, in the ZDF Talk show Maybrit Illner, April 28, 2016. [Photo/IC] A senior Allianz economist has expressed optimism about China's economy and predicted the country will deliver a 6.5 percent annual growth this year. Generally speaking, China's economy is not doing as badly as some have said, Michael Heise, Chief Economist of Allianz Dresdner Economic Research, said during an exclusive interview with Shanghai Securities News. Heise has always paid attention to China as the country is now settling into a "new normal" of lower growth rates. "This year, China's GDP growth will slow to 6.5 percent from 6.9 percent last year," he predicted. The country is in a transition from an investment- and export-led growth model to one powered by consumption. This transition cannot be accomplished in one step, he said. "Given the policy tools that the government and the central bank could use, we predicted that China will ensure a stable economic growth and avert a sharp slowdown." "In addition, the trend of personal consumption gives us more confidence in China's short-term prospects, meanwhile, the market sentiment is still positive." When talking about China's insurance market, he said that last year China ranked third in terms of written premiums, only behind the United States and Japan. "We predict China's insurance industry will see double-digit growth during the next ten years, with an average growth of 12 percent." China will overtake Japan to become the second-largest insurance market in five years, he added. Former senior legislator stands trial for graft Updated: 2016-06-16 16:10 (Xinhua) BEIJING -- Bai Enpei, a former senior official with the top legislature, on Thursday stood trial on two counts of corruption-related charges. Bai, formerly deputy head of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the National People's Congress, was accused of taking advantage of his various official posts and other perks associated with his posts from 2000 to 2013 to seek benefits -- in regard of project construction, real estate development, obtaining mining rights and personal promotions -- for 17 companies and individuals. In exchange, he personally, or through his wife, accepted bribes worth over 246 million yuan ($37.4 million). Also, prosecutors allege, the assets and expenditure of the Bai family significantly exceeded their legal income and Bai was unable to specify the sources of his assets, which constitutes another suspected criminal violation. The People's Procuratorate of Anyang City in central China's Henan Province filed the two charges with Anyang Intermediate People's Court. In his final statement, Bai accepted the charges and showed repentance. Over 60 people, including legal and political representatives, journalists and members of the public, attended the hearing. The court ruling will be announced at a later date. Government agencies, SOEs required to hear more from legal counsels Updated: 2016-06-16 21:43 (Xinhua) BEIJING -- China's central government has ordered all central ministerial agencies, governments and Communist Party committees above the country-level and state-owned enterprises (SOE) to adopt a legal counsel system before 2017, a major step to promote rule of law. Such legal counsels, either hired from outside or converted from the previous public office lawyers within the government, will play a bigger role in government functions and SOE operations, according to a guideline released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council. Government and Party organizations are urged to hear the opinions of legal counsels before deliberations or making major decisions, involve them in the process of decision-making, formulation of major government policies and intra-Party rules, and the handling of some legal cases and emergency situations, said the guideline. They are also expected to participate in negotiations involving government or Party organizations and deal with other legal matters. Legal counsels at SOEs will take part in the formulation of board rules, help review operational decisions and contracts and provide legal opinions on major moves, such as mergers and acquisitions, reorganization, going public and intellectual property protection. The document is a follow-up to a decision released after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which said, "We will establish a universal system of legal counsel." Global reach targeted in Beidou drive Updated: 2016-06-17 02:25 By Zhao Lei(China Daily) More international recognition expected for China's homegrown satellite navigation system China is striving to promote its domestically developed Beidou Navigation Satellite System to more international organizations to boost the space network's overseas expansion, project officials said on Thursday. The Beidou system's standards have been ratified by the International Maritime Organization for nautical operations, following the United States' GPS and Russia's Glonass, Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, said at a news conference in Beijing. "We are pressing forward with recognition of the Beidou system by organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and 3rd Generation Partnership Project," Ren said. This partnership project groups regional telecommunications organizations seeking to enhance the standardization of mobile communications. At the news conference, hosted by the State Council Information Office, a white paper was released, elaborating on the current situation and development plan for the Beidou system. The document is the first of its kind published by China on the global navigation satellite system. Hu Kaihong, a spokesman for the information office, said China hopes to build a Beidou system benefiting not only the country but also the world. He said the nation is committed to providing a consistent, stable and reliable service to users worldwide. Wang Li, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office's International Cooperation Research Center, told China Daily the International Civil Aviation Organization has begun standardization procedures for the Beidou system to enable it to be adopted by airlines for flight navigation. Triplets' struggle brings out the best in others Updated: 2016-06-17 08:19 By Zhou Huiying In Harbin(China Daily) As the weather warms, Liu Xing is welcoming more and more customers to her grilled oyster stall at a night market in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. "During the past two months, I have been able to earn about 300 yuan ($46) a day," said the 28-year-old. But the money that flows in is only a fraction of what she needs for the treatment of her 4-year-old triplets. Liu's daughters, who were born in 2012 in Bei'an, a county 340 kms from Harbin, initially brought great happiness to the family. But the happiness turned to worry when the girls were diagnosed with cerebral palsy when they were 17 months old. Doctors said at the time they would not be able to walk because of the disorder, which affects a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Liu was comforted by the doctors' assertion that the girls were expected to have normal intelligence and language ability. "The doctors told us that, after treatment, it would be highly possible that the girls would be able to recover the ability to walk normally. But the treatment would cost at least 600,000 yuan, which was an astronomical number for us," the young mother said. But the family didn't give up. Although they had moved to Yantai in Shandong province after the triplet's birth, they decided to move to Harbin in order to see doctors at better hospitals. The couple set about scraping together the money they needed for the triplets' treatment by doing odd jobs at first and then by opening their grilled oyster stall in May 2015. Liu said more people began to know the family's story after it was reported in local media, and since then, many people have tried to help. She said they were offered the stall at the busy market without needing to pay any administrative fees. And the boss of the seafood market where they buy their oysters offered them a much lower price. But what touches the couple the most is the kindness of strangers who drop by their stall with money or who send cash without leaving their names. "Some people have told me that they have come to the stall from far away especially to buy our oysters, and some people have left money without even taking any oysters away," Liu said. "So far, we have received nearly 300,000 yuan in donations." Last year, the couple took the triplets to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, where they received two rounds of treatment at a local hospital. "Every round of treatment costs about 180,000 yuan, and the daily rehabilitation services cost about 9,000 yuan a month," Liu told China Daily. But she said the treatment has led to a great improvement and the triplets can now walk slowly with the help of orthopedic shoes. Even though the couple has a heavy burden to shoulder, the smiles never vanish from their faces. "We don't know how many difficulties we will have to face in the future, but we will never give up," Liu said. zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn Liu Xing with her three daughters at their home in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.Wang Song / Xinhua (China Daily 06/17/2016 page7) Rural teacher donates everything to students in need Updated: 2016-06-17 16:14 By Ma Chi(chinadaily.com.cn) Jiang Guozhen passed away in hospital on June 15, 2016. [Photo/thepaper.cn] A rural teacher who donated everything he had to help students in need died on Thursday. Jiang Guozhen was born in Jiangjia village in East China's Jiangxi province in 1930. He was a veteran and a government official before being assigned to work at a rural primary school in 1953 due to acute shortage of rural teachers. During his 30 years of teaching career, Jiang donated more than 400,000 yuan ($60,720) to students facing financial problems. The sum included most of his salary, the pension, and money he earned from farming and scavenging. When he died on Thursday, only 1.36 yuan were left in his bank card. With no offspring, Jiang led an extremely simple life. He usually ate only sweet potato and wore worn-out clothes. He did not even spend money on his run-down house - and the house later collapsed. After he was saved from the rubbles, Jiang moved into an elderly care home. Because of his efforts to help students, Jiang was honored the Outstanding Communist Party Member and Most Beautiful Rural Teacher, and nominated for National Moral Model. He was hospitalized in March for nasopharnyx cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the upper part of the throat behind the nose. In the hospital, he told the staff to stop giving him injections because they were too expensive. On April 21, Jiang signed to donate his cornea to people in need. "I am a Party member. When the country needs me, I will devote my life to it," said Jiang on his death bed. Partnership with CEE in context of Belt and Road Updated: 2016-06-17 08:03 By Liu Ming(China Daily) The press conference of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of China and Central and Eastern European Countries on Promoting Trade and Economic Cooperation is held in Ningbo, June 9, 2016. [Photo by Guo Rong/chinadaily.com.cn] President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan has attracted special attention because China's top leader has not been a frequent visitor to these countries. This is also Xi's first visit to the Western Balkans, his second to Central Europe within three months and his fourth to Central Asia. These diplomatic arrangements, therefore, reflect China's determination to boost its comprehensive cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries and Central Asian countries in the context of its Belt and Road Initiative, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. They also show, from China's perspective, the significance of Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan in the regions. In 2012, China proposed a new type of cooperation framework with Central and Eastern European countries (China-CEEC) to develop a comprehensive relationship with 16 CEE countries, including Serbia and Poland, which became strategic partners of China in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Since then, the Serbia and Poland, despite the changes in governments, have provided strong political support to the 16+1 cooperation framework as well as the Belt and Road Initiative. There is obviously a political consensus in the two countries on the need to deepen cooperation with China. The most recent evidence of this was seen in March when the lower house of the Polish Parliament (or Sejm) unanimously ratified an agreement for Warsaw to participate in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which made Poland officially the first and only founding member of the AIIB in Central and Eastern Europe. Thank you China and welcome President Xi Updated: 2016-06-17 08:19 By DUSAN PROROKOVIC(China Daily) Chinese President Xi Jinping (9th L) poses for a group photo with leaders attending the 4th Summit of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 26, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping's visit to Belgrade is a big event. Unlike some other Central and Eastern European countries, Serbia is not a European Union member. Because of a dispute with Brussels on the issue of Kosovo's status, maybe it never will be. Although Serbia has signed trade agreements with the EU, political tensions between Belgrade and Brussels persist. China has become the largest single investor in Serbia. And the geographical position of the country has made it critical to the realization of Belt and Road Initiative strategy of China. Chinese investors are no longer present only in the sectors of infrastructure and energy. In April, HeSteel bought the only steel factory in Serbia, and memorandums on further cooperation in the information technology and agriculture sectors were signed. Serbia is the only European country that has started negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union on a free trade agreement. This is significant for Serbian agriculture, which is increasingly turning toward the Russian market. For Chinese investors, this may be an additional motive. Despite not having a big territory, Serbia still occupies an ideal position for duty-free export of all that is produced within its territory. For the new strategic positioning of Serbia, China is in the long run probably the most important partner. Initiative cannot be separated from SCO Updated: 2016-06-17 08:31 By Farhod Toplipov(China Daily) State Councilor Yang Jiechi meets with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Dmitry Fedorovich Mezentsev in Beijing on Dec 29. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/CHINA DAILY] China's Belt and Road Initiative has prompted broad interest not only at the official level but also among analysts and experts. The central question that many are discussing about this initiative is: "What does it mean in economic, cultural and especially geopolitical terms?" Indeed, is it just a declaration of intent or an actual, concrete and practical project? The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on June 23 and 24 will probably be an important opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping to re-articulate the Belt and Road Initiative and give it a more realistic shape, especially because the SCO summit will take place in the context of increasing geopolitical contradictions on the one hand and the active reformatting and accommodation of Central Asian and Eurasian spaces on the other. The Belt and Road Initiative is a long-term and ambitious strategy so is the Russian strategy of creating the Eurasian Economic Union. And the two projects are supposed to be conjugated. Those who analyze Russian and Chinese thrust for pivotal role in Central Asia often consider if Russia can provide security arrangements for the region and China can support economic development. Such a perception, however, looks quite simplistic and superficial. According to widespread and stereotypical perceptions Russia-led arrangements imply Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization and China-led arrangements imply SCO and the Belt and Road Initiative. That's why the statements about the possibility of conjugation of these two sets of arrangements look, so far, vague. The SCO's agenda, hitherto primarily focused on Central Asia, will obviously become broader with the inclusion of India and Pakistan. This would complicate the situation of the SCO's existing Central Asian members and could become an excessive burden both for these states and the organization itself. Uzbekistan's president has said the SCO is likely to be joined by two nuclear powers that are in permanent conflict. Besides, not all SCO conventions and agreements adopted within the organization are implemented in full, especially in the realm of confidence measures and military activity in the border areas. New entrants to the SCO are even more sensitive to such issues. Visit could open up new vistas for Poland Updated: 2016-06-17 08:35 By Katarzyna Anna Nawrot(China Daily) LI FENG/CHINA DAILY Despite numerous achievements over the past two decadesincluding the establishment of the 16+1 dialogue (16 Central and Eastern European countries plus China), increasing mutual trade and investment flows, direct train connection between Chengdu and the Polish city of odzzzthere still exist bottlenecks in the shape of increasing trade deficits for Poland, asymmetry in bilateral flow of investment and Polish entrepreneurs' struggle to enter China's huge market. Notable efforts have been made by the Polish administration in the last few years, including taking measures to boost trade and investment, but they haven't necessarily borne tangible results. The trade volume between Poland and China, according to European Union statistics, reached $16.53 billion in 2015, four times more than in 2004 and over 30 times more than in the early 1990s. However, China's exports to Poland accounted for the lion's share of the trade, about $14.5 billion, with Poland exporting only about $2 billion worth of goods to China. The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Poland is thus noteworthy. It means that the recent change in Polish government didn't entirely turn away Warsaw from the East because China is regarded as Poland's strategic partner both in economic and political terms. This also shows Poland understands the importance of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Poland holds the strategic position in this regard. It seems the shortest land trade routes linking the West and the East, and further the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas go through Polish territory, which constitutes a merging platform for Eurasia. China, US talk negative list for treaty Updated: 2016-06-17 10:59 By Chen Weihua In Washington(China Daily USA) Secretary Lew says pathway to BIT could be in sight before year's end Chinese and US negotiating teams are talking in Washington this week about a revised negative list for a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), although the agreement looks unlikely to be concluded during the remaining seven months of the Obama administration. Jack Lew, the US secretary of treasury, said on Thursday that a sufficiently ambitious negative list - where only exceptions to the treaty are specified - from China could open a pathway to additional progress before the end of the year. "Up till this last round, the negative list that we've seen has not been sufficiently ambitious to open enough of the economy for the BIT to have a successful path forward," he said in a talk at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Thursday. He said he doesn't want to comment on something that is very much a work in progress, noting the talk had been going on over the past 24 hours. "But they certainly led us to expect that the list will be the basis for working together going forward, even though it wouldn't be the final end result. I hope that's the case when our experts go through the list and report back," he said. Lew hopes the Chinese take advantage of the remaining seven months of the Obama administration, noting an upcoming September meeting between President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on the sidelines of the G20 summit. He noted that leaders' meetings are very useful deadlines to focus attention, but said, "I can't sit here and warrant that it will be successful." Derek Scissors, resident scholar at AEI, believes there is no chance for the BIT to pass the US Congress during Obama's remaining months in office. Most experts believe that the top priority for the US government is to make a last-ditch effort to push the Congress to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries that does not include China. Scissors noted that the environment in the US now is very protectionist, and the immediate priority for the next administration will be domestic issues rather than any international agenda. He agreed that the Chinese side should be negotiating in good faith. "But you don't want to give away everything to this administration because the new administration wants to put its own stamp on it," he said. The US business community has long hoped that a BIT would help open up more of the vast China market. Many in China hope it will provide better protection to the growing Chinese investment in the US, especially with regard to the controversial CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) reviews. Some Chinese also believe a BIT would help push forward necessary economic reforms in China. China and the US are also facing a potential battle this year. While the Chinese government believes its 2001 WTO accession agreement means that it will automatically enjoy market economy status by the end of this year, Lew said, its not automatic and will be reviewed and determined by the Department of Commerce. I said to my counterparts in China that the further you go on a reform agenda, the more likely you are going to succeed, he said. By refusing to recognize Chinas market economy status, the US would be able to impose arbitrary anti-dumping duties on Chinese exports, disadvantaging Chinese exporters. Lew applauded the many achievements in US-China economic relations during the Obama administration. US exports to China have roughly doubled since early 2009, much faster than in any other region of the world. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com Part of The 1/4 Mile art piece created by Robert Rauschenberg. The exhibition will run till Aug 21. li jing / china daily In 1985 American artist Robert Rauschenberg traveled to Beijing to held a solo exhibition, ROCI China, at the institution now known as the National Art Museum of China. More than three decades on, his work has returned to the Chinese capital for a second major show. Rauschenberg in China, a retrospective of the late artists work, opened at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art on June 12 and runs until Aug 21. Reviewing Rauschenberg is equivalent to reviewing the development of Chinese contemporary art, said art critic Li Xianting. In the 1980s, he said, Chinas exposure to Western art was limited to reproductions in catalogues, and the understanding of art was largely confined to academic painting, sculpture and printmaking. In contrast, Rauschenbergs enthusiasm for popular culture and rejection of the seriousness of abstract expressionists led him to concentrate primarily on collage and embrace materials traditionally outside the reach of artists. He would cover a canvas with house paint, or ink the wheel of a car and use it to create a drawing on paper. The 1985 exhibition received more than 300,000 visitors over three weeks. He brought great excitement and stimulation to Chinese contemporary art, especially to nonartists, Li recalled. He challenged Chinese audiences that stuff like that could be called art. Contemporary artist Li Xinjian added that Rauschenbergs work inspired an emerging generation of Chinese artists that would later come to be known as the 85 new wave. Visiting the retrospective exhibition now, you find he is very different from 30 years ago, he said. Rauschenberg in China at UCCA is the first major exhibition since the artists death in Florida in 2008. Among the works on display is The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece, which is regarded as one of his most important creations. Stretching 305 meters and made up of 190 parts, the piece was completed over a period of 17 years, from 1981 to 1998, and reflects the major themes throughout his career, from his white paintings, combines, cardboards and gluts to collages composed with found images as well as the artists own photographs. There are also some Chinese elements, such as the inclusion of photos he took while in the Tibet autonomous region. David White, one of the exhibitions two curators and the artists former long-time assistant, said, It is a very journalistic record of Rauschenbergs involvement with the world, in all kinds of material. He described the artist as outgoing, upbeat and generous, adding, It shows in his art (in terms of) the openness and welcoming of all kinds of experiences. Susan Davidson, his fellow curator, recalled the artist as a terrific cook: He cooked like he painted; he just kept adding more materials. Rauschenberg kept adding and revising The 1/4 Mile over the years. The first major display for the work was in 1987 when it went on show for a year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Yet the artist continuously added more material, and in keeping with his ideology of nonintention the work has been presented in various configurations over the years. UCCA director Philip Tinari said the exhibition marks the first time the full piece has gone on show since 1999, when it appeared at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. In addition to The 1/4 Mile, visitors can also see Study for Chinese Summerhall, two portfolios of images taken during Rauschenbergs first trip to China in the summer of 1982. These rare images were made as studies for the 30-meter scroll-like work, which was also one of the centerpieces of the ROCI China show. On show are also documents and archived material from the 1985 exhibition. Rauschenbergs interactions with China started in 1982 when he made a trip to one of the worlds oldest paper mills in Jingxian, Anhui province, to collaborate on an art project. That trip resulted in his 1985 exhibitions in Beijing and Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. It also inspired him to found the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange, a serial project of international exhibitions held between 1984 and 1991 in countries including Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Japan, Cuba, the then-Soviet Union, Germany and Malaysia. The series culminated in a retrospective at the National Gallery in Washington in 1991. lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn Analysts: 'Leave' vote bad for trade relations Updated: 2016-06-16 07:55 By Angus Mcneice In London(China Daily) Opinion polls show the two sides neck and neck in the run-up to next week's referendum Britain's trade relations with China, celebrated as a key part of a golden era during President Xi Jinping's state visit in October, are likely to be affected if Britons vote to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23. Analysts and policy experts contacted by China Daily believe the UK would be at a disadvantage in any trade negotiations in the event of a "leave" vote. Attention here is already focusing on the effects of the referendum's result, which will be known early on June 24, including what it would mean for the so-called golden age heralded by Xi and British Prime Minister David Cameron. China has cautiously implied it would favor the status quo. On his visit in October, Xi reportedly indicated to Cameron that China would prefer the UK to remain in the EU - a position later confirmed in a Foreign Ministry statement. Last month, Yao Ling, deputy director of a research center under China's Ministry of Commerce, warned that those investing in Britain as a way into the EU would see the "bridgehead curtailed" if the country exits the EU. In May, Ipsos MORI surveyed 667 international businesses with operations in Britain. Of the 26 Chinese businesses included, 29 percent said a Brexit (a name coined by the British media) would have a very negative impact on their company's future investment decisions, 21 percent said the impact would be fairly negative, 39 percent said it would have no effect and 11 percent did not know. Not one company said it expected a very positive or fairly positive effect. Opinion polls show the two sides neck and neck in the run-up to the vote, although bookmakers are giving odds favoring a vote to remain in the EU. Already, the campaign by the Remain group, headed by Cameron, and Vote Leave supporters, headed by former London mayor Boris Johnson has become increasingly bitter. Many political observers believe Johnson is using the campaign to boost his chances of taking over from Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party. Britain faces a general election in 2020 and Cameron has previously said he would not serve a third term. British politicians linked to the Leave campaign predict that a United Kingdom unencumbered by EU bureaucracy would allow bilateral relations to flourish. Chinese investment has flooded into Britain over the past decade, and UK exports to China have more than doubled since 2010. Cameron led a business delegation to China in 2013 when he spoke of lifting the "bamboo curtain" of European trade barriers to China. Xi's visit heralded deals worth 40 billion pounds ($57 billion). As of November, the last set of official figures available, UK exports to China were worth 18.7 billion pounds, with Chinese imports running at 38.3 billion pounds. Although Britain had a surplus with China in the services sector, this was countered by a deficit in the trade of goods. Both sides offer competing narratives on what will happen to the Britain and China's "special relationship" should the public vote to leave the EU. The line from the Leave camp is that Britain would greatly benefit from a bilateral free trade agreement with China, something the European Commission has so far been unable to reach. John Zai, founder and CEO of Cocoon Networks, a China-funded private equity company in London, is among the Chinese businessmen who said they believe the idea of Britain leaving the EU is bad. He said it would harm the prospects for Chinese investment in European companies. Cocoon's business includes buying equity stakes in European businesses that market their activities through London-based networks to attract international investors. "This process may become more difficult if London stops being seen as the deal negotiation center for mergers and acquisition activity for European firms," Zai said. In addition, he adds, the lack of a free flow of resources between Europe and Britain will reduce the UK's competitiveness, which in turn would make British firms less attractive as equity investment targets for Chinese companies. Others hold a different view. "I think we would do a good deal with China in a relatively short amount of time," said Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a legislator who is chair of the Conservative Friends of the Chinese. "Rather than EU bureaucracy getting in the way, I think our trade with China is likely to go from strength to strength. "I actually think it would be both in China's interests and the UK's interest if we came out of the EU. We should do a trade deal that suits both of us, and suits our businesses." Clifton-Brown points to China and Britain working together to establish London as the biggest trading center outside Beijing for renminbi as an example of the kind of moves Britain would be able to make as a standalone nation. "This had nothing whatsoever to do with the EU," he said. "If we can do colossal deals like that, there is no reason why we shouldn't go on doing other deals." Andy Clayton, chief executive of LNP China, which helps companies do business with China, said if Britain were to leave the EU, then the country would have to rely on financial services as its most potent leveraging tool. "The disparities (between the British and Chinese economies) are on several levels, and within that lay both an opportunity and a challenge," he said, explaining that negotiations would inevitably be one-sided. "Typically, the nature of FTAs is that they reflect the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two economies, and I think the opportunity for Britain is to somehow leverage our position in the financial services." Those who support the Remain campaign, however, fear that China's interest in Britain would cool, as the Chinese seek out an alternate gateway into the European single market. "We'd be immeasurably weakened," said Lord Clement-Jones, a Liberal Democrat peer and deputy chair or the All Party Parliamentary China Group. "There's an element of suspended disbelief - the idea that we're going to leave a trading bloc of 500 million people is a little bit incredible as far as (the Chinese) are concerned. They think of us as being firmly rooted in the EU. They talk about Europe a heck of the lot of the time, not about Britain." Philippe Le Corre, a policy analyst in China-Europe relations and a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, echoed this sentiment: "The UK market is just not big enough or interesting enough for China. What is interesting for China is the whole of the EU." Fredrik Erixon, an economist and former adviser to China's commerce and finance ministries, said the idea that Britain would be able to leverage market access reforms in China in any trade agreement as a standalone nation is a "naive proposition". "The opportunities are scarce (in the event of a leave vote). What I recommend if (Britain) did leave is to become the Hong Kong of Europe," he said. "To deregulate, cut taxes ruthlessly, cut spending ruthlessly, take away not just regulations that come from the EU, but all regulations that have been generated domestically, and use that as an opportunity to change the composition of policy in the country." Jiang Jiaxi, a senior partner with Jursino Law Group in Beijing, said Chinese businesses would prefer Britain to remain in the EU, to allow them to benefit from using the country as a bridge for their products and services to enter the European market. Cecily Liu contributed to this story. angus@mail.chinadailyuk.com EU remain supporters take a selfie at the launch of a 'Labour In' poster in London, on June 6.Neil Hall / Reuters (China Daily 06/16/2016 page10) A thriving kind of Chinatown, Chicago has Updated: 2016-06-17 10:44 By Willtam Hennelly in New York and Jian Ping in Chicago(China Daily USA) The city's second Chinatown has endured on the South Side since 1912, and with a new public library and strong civic sociations, the neighborhood shows no signs of fading, Willtam Hennelly in New York and Jian Ping in Chicago report. To Soo Lon Moy, it was only natural that Chicago have a museum that celebrated the Chinese immigrant experience in the US Midwest. "We have Chinese-American museums on the East Coast and on the West Coast. We're the only one to tell the immigration story in the Midwest," said Moy, the interim executive director of the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC) and its board chairwoman. Moy, who said her surname is prominent in Chicago but rare in China, witnessed life in the neighborhood for decades as a bilingual teacher. She was born in the Taishan region of Guangdong province, but Moy has the unmistakably earnest accent of the Windy City. She spent some time as a child in Hong Kong before the family relocated in stages to Chicago. The museum opened to the public on May 21, 2005. After a devastating fire in September 2008, the source of which Moy said was undetermined, the museum was closed for a gut renovation and reopened in 2010. The museum is located on West 23rd Street, in a building that was formerly the Quong Yick Co grocery store. It is named for Raymond B and Jean T. Lee Center. Lee is a local neighborhood leader and successful businessman who moved to Chinatown in 1950. He also helped build the popular Chinatown Square, an outdoor mall that opened in 1993, "Make sure, when you walk down Wentworth, to turn left, not right. Because right is a (non-Chinese) neighborhood, and they pick on us. Go left and that's China, basically," Lee said, in describing the first advice he received in the neighborhood, according to a 2013 Chicago Tribune story. Lee once lived with his father on the third floor of the current museum building when it was a grocery, the paper said. "Raymond Lee bought the building for $660,000 and gave it to the museum with the stipulation that we open in one year. We opened in May 2005 with the first exhibition, Paper Sons!" Moy exclaimed. "And the rest is history." Moy told how a group of young people from the neighborhood were trained to conduct an excavation of what is now the museum's parking lot. "We were afraid that they may have unearthed something that Al Capone left," she joked. "They found coins, pottery, pork bones, so we had an exhibition about that." "We're very small potatoes compared to the Field Museum. In fact, my husband and I are docents for the Terracotta Warriors exhibit (at the Field until January 2017)," where Moy is a volunteer. "I've been to Xi'an, and we were in the pits where the excavation (of the Terracotta Soldiers) was," Moy told China Daily. The museum is a mainstay in a neighborhood that saw its population increase 24 percent between 2000 and 2010. Asians make up nearly 90 percent of Chinatown's population, according to 2010 US Census data. Between 2009 and 2013, the Bridgeport neighborhood's Asian-American population grew from 26 percent to 35 percent; McKinley Park's went from under 8 percent to 17 percent, according to an analysis of Census data, the Chicago Tribune reported. The heart of Chicago Chinatown sits between West Cermak Road and South Wentworth Avenue on the South Side. Formed in 1912, it is considered the United States' second-oldest Chinatown after San Francisco's. The current Chinatown emerged after the original Chinatown on the South Loop, which dated to the 1860s, literally picked up and moved due to rising rents and discrimination. In an effort to escape anti-Chinese violence on the West Coast, the first Chinese began arriving in Chicago in 1869 after the Transcontinental Railroad was built. They settled along Clark Street between Van Buren and Harrison streets. In 1912, the Chinese living in that area began moving south to Armour Square. Besides rents and discrimination, historians have argued that a high non-Chinese crime rate and disagreements between the two associations ("tongs") in the community, the Hip Sing Tong and the On Leong Tong, were behind the migration. The move was led by the On Leong Merchants Association, which in 1912 constructed a building on Cermak Avenue that would house 15 stores, 30 apartments and the association headquarters. "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods. Chinatown has somehow survived," Darryl Tom, the president of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, told China Daily. The Chinese-American Museum of Chicago in Chinatown opened in 2005 but had to close after a fi re in 2008. The museum reopened in 2010. David K.Lee Tom said the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce represents "roughly around 300 different organizations in the Chicago Chinatown commercial district. We have 180 members 60 to 70 restaurants. Ten banks, a few grocery stores, a few shops. "My grandfather came to Chicago in about 1910," said Tom, at a time when most of the immigrants were Cantonese-speaking. But that is changing. Tom also noted that the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana has the largest overseas Chinese student population in the US. "You can tell by the restaurants that opened up, used to be mostly Cantonese. Now it's a mix, more Northern style." One restaurant that hasn't changed is Won Kow (pictured) on Wentoworth. Won Kow was built in 1928 by a restaurateur also named Moy. As the Tribune described it: "Guardian lions, also known as fu dogs, are carved into the building's facade. But nowadays, a dragon perched atop a nearby lamppost looks as if it's taunting them with a red ball." The restaurant has changed hands twice, says proprietor David Hoy, whose family took it over in 1991. Longtime customers still favor the chow mein and chop suey. Peter Huey, Hoy's uncle, worked at the restaurant as a waiter not long after he came to the US in 1950. Legend has it that Capone liked to sit at a table in the restaurant's far northwest corner, Hoy said. In 2015, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning released its Chinatown Community Vision Plan to preserve Chinatown's cultural identity by improving public education and senior care, bolstering transit infrastructure and creating more parks. The 112-page report, the result of a survey (in English and Chinese) of 1,300 residents, detailed eight areas of focus for improving Chinatown: safety, transportation and circulation, residential community, economic development, education and workforce, parks and public spaces, future development and long-term capacity building. In August, the city opened a two-story, $19.1 million branch of the Chicago Public Library (see story below) on South Wentworth. Chinatown is proud of Ping Tom Memorial Park on the banks of the Chicago River. The 17-acre park is named in memory of a Chinatown businessman who pushed for the park's dedication. Chinatown had lost its only parks in 1962, with the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway. In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel officially opened the Ping Tom Memorial Park Fieldhouse, a 30,000 square-foot facility with a gymnasium, natatorium, fitness center, and meeting rooms. That same year, the park also saw the opening of the first of three boathouses on the Chicago River. "The Park District fieldhouse, the story behind that is back when the Dan Ryan Expressway was built in the 1960s, there used to be a park and a fieldhouse that was used by Chinatown residents. Since then, the community has asked for a new fieldhouse." When Chinatown Square, a two-story outdoor mall, was built, the community was astir about the possibility of gentrification, Bernie Wong, the president of Chinese-American Service League, told the Tribune. "But I still don't see gentrification; it's mostly Chinese," Wong said. "And it's not just about having a Chinese neighbor. In Chinatown, you belong to organizations. You belong to social groups." Moy, who as a teacher instructed Cantonese-speaking students, said that later in her tenure (after Nixon's 1972 trip, she joked) "we had Chinese students who came from Brazil and Burma Chinese communities". And she began hearing more dialects: Mandarin, Fujianese, Shanghaiese, Taiwanese. Despite any political differences some of the immigrants may have had, Moy said that in Chinatown there is now "big national pride over how much progress" China has made on the world stage. Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com Should I stay, or should I go? Updated: 2016-06-17 23:20 (China Daily USA) Students gather at the launch of the "Brighter Future In" campaign bus at Exeter University in Devon. Prime Minister David Cameron attends the activity. Dan Kitwood / for China Daily Britain's trade relations with China, celebrated as a key part of a golden era during President Xi Jinping's state visit in October, are likely to be affected if Britons vote to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23. Analysts and policy experts contacted by China Daily believe the United Kingdom would be at a disadvantage in any trade negotiations in the event of a "leave" vote. Attention here is already focusing on the effects of the referendum's result, which will be known early on June 24, London time, including what it would mean for the so-called golden age heralded by Prime Minister David Cameron and President Xi. China has cautiously implied it would favor the status quo. On his visit in October, Xi reportedly indicated to Cameron that China would prefer the UK to remain in the EU a position later confirmed in a Foreign Ministry statement. Last month, Yao Ling, deputy director of a research center under China's Ministry of Commerce, warned in a ministry-run paper that those investing in Britain as a way into the EU would see the "bridgehead curtailed" if the country exits the EU. In May, Ipsos MORI surveyed 667 international businesses with operations in Britain. Of the 26 Chinese businesses included, 29 percent said a Brexit (a name coined by the British media) would have a very negative impact on their company's future investment decisions, 21 percent said the impact would be fairly negative, 39 percent said it would have no effect and 11 percent did not know. Not one company said it expected a very positive or fairly positive effect. Opinion polls show the two sides neck and neck in the run-up to the vote, although bookmakers are giving odds favoring a vote to remain in the EU. Already, the campaign by the Remain group, headed by Cameron, and Vote Leave supporters, headed by a government minister, a former cabinet minister and, crucially, former London mayor Boris Johnson, has become increasingly bitter. Many political observers believe Johnson is using the campaign to boost his chances of taking over from Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party. Britain faces a general election in 2020 and Cameron has previously said he would not serve a third term. Goings on(Houston) Updated: 2016-06-17 10:44 (China Daily USA) Chinatown safety talk - Houston, Tx Community activist JJ Clemence addresses the crowd at the Asian Community and Police Town Hall on June 11 in Houston to discuss safety issues in Chinatown. More than 20 police officers, including two assistant chiefs from the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office, attended the event. More than 10 individual officers and civic leaders discussed common sense safety tips before a short Q&A session was started. May Zhou / China Daily Fighting crime - Houston, Tx Many police officers and community members attended the Asian Community and Police Town Hall out of concern for recent robbery and burglary cases in Chinatown. May Zhou / China Daily Emperors' treasure - Houston, Tx Nancy Li (left), board chairwoman of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association; Valerie Greiner (center), senior development officer of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH); and MFAH curatorial assistant Beatrice Chan talk about the upcoming exhibit Emperors' Treasure: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei in Houston on Monday. The exhibit, scheduled to begin in October at MFAH, will showcase more than 160 pieces of art from collections of the Chinese emperors. Greiner said that the MFAH hopes to raise sufficient funds to let the public enjoy the exhibition free of charge and has solicited help from the Chinese community. May Zhou / China Daily Artful support - Houston, Tx Anne Chao (center), MFAH trustee and a professor at Rice University, speaks about the Emperors' Treasure exhibition. Chao, along with Nancy Li and Kenneth Li (second from left), chairman of Chinese Community Center and Southwest Management District,organized the meeting to support the artwork. A steering committee for fundraising was formed at the meeting. May Zhou / China Daily Goings on(San Francisco) Updated: 2016-06-17 10:44 (China Daily USA) Emperors' Treasures - San Francisco Chuan-hsing Ho (center), deputy director of the Taipei National Palace Museum, introduces to the media an ink painting from the Ming Dynasty at the media preview of the exhibition Emperors' Treasures at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on June 15. The exhibition, on display from June 17 to Sept 18, presents more than 150 Chinese imperial artworks from the Taipei National Palace Museum. Zhizhi Cen / China Daily Ancient tea time - San Francisco Yu Pei-Chin (front), chief curator of the Antiquities Department of the Taipei National Palace Museum, describes a cup and saucer set that belonged to Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty at the media preview for the exhibition Emperors' Treasures at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on June 15. Zhizhi Cen / China Daily Vase of glory - San Francisco A vase with a revolving core and eight-trigram design from the Qing Dynasty reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795), is one of artworks on display at the exhibition Emperors Treasure. Provided To China Daily Looks edible - San Francisco A meat-shaped stone from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The stone is made of jasper, and the stand is gold. The item is on display at the exhibition Emperor's Treasure. Provided To China Daily Qianlong's poem - San Francisco A vase with the Emperor Qianlong's poem carved on the base, a high-fired ceramic with celadon glaze from the Northern Song dynasty (960-1126), is one of the artworks on display at the exhibition Emperor's Treasure. Provided To China Daily No Chinese casualties in recent rioting and looting in Venezuela Updated: 2016-06-18 00:07 By Wang Qingyun(chinadaily.com.cn) There have been no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the recent looting in Venezuela, China's Foreign Ministry revealed on Friday. The Chinese embassy in Venezuela has asked the Venezuelan government to protect the safety and property of the Chinese citizens, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a daily news conference. People in the Venezuelan city of Cumana looted supermarkets and shops including some owned by Chinese people on Tuesday, and the police arrived to restore order, said the Chinese Embassy in Venezuela on its website. The South American country is experiencing a severe economic crisis due to plunging oil prices. The Chinese embassy in Venezuela issued an alert on Tuesday, warning the Chinese people in Cumana to avoid going outdoors when it's not necessary, and avoid going to regions where there is unrest. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua said: "As a country friendly to Venezuela, China hopes the Venezuelan government and people can deal with the problem properly. We hope the lawful rights and interests of the Chinese citizens will be effectively safeguarded." "China attaches great importance to the development of the China-Venezuelan ties, and hopes to keep on exchanges and cooperation with Venezuela in various fields based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win," she said. Arbitration tribunal's jurisdiction challenged Updated: 2016-06-18 01:51 By LUIS LIU in Hong Kong and Zhang Yunbi in Beijing (China Daily) Daniel R. Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Institute of International Law (APIIL) receives interview by Xinhua June 16, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] An international group of legal experts and lawyers have signed a legal opinion document questioning an arbitration tribunal's jurisdiction in a case filed against China by the Philippines. They have also voiced concern over the suitability of the tribunal to handle such an issue without considering the historical and political context, according to Hong Kong barrister Daniel Fung Wah-kin. "We hope to protect the integrity and reputation of the tribunal and the whole international law system," Fung said. In 2013, the Philippines unilaterally filed compulsory arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea challenging China's sovereignty in the area. Beijing has refused to be part of the arbitration and says the tribunal has no jurisdiction, while Manila has showed no indication of returning to bilateral negotiations. Others signing the document include Tony Carty, a British scholar and professor of international law at Tsinghua University, and Natalie Klein, professor and dean of Macquarie Law School in Sydney. Fung said they are awaiting a reply from the tribunal and have asked for an opportunity to present the case orally. Although the full text of the document has not been released to the media, its main point is that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over sovereignty disputes and maritime delimitation, as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not issue such judgments. Huang Yao, dean of the School of Law at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said the tribunal has imposed its jurisdiction but has no legitimacy. Fung said that as Chinese people have had links to the islands in the South China Sea for more than 2,000 years, the tribunal should carry out adequate research into the country's rights and interests before making any judgment. "These questions should be settled by diplomatic negotiations in treaty form," Fung said. Kuen-chen Fu, dean of the South China Sea Institute at Xiamen University, said the tribunal should take the document for reference, but it has no obligation to accept it. Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn 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. HCM CITY By voluntarily providing information about their products, food producers can win consumers trust, thus enhancing their competitiveness, a seminar heard in HCM City yesterday. Speaking at the seminar on Aligning Efforts to Ensure Transparency and Traceability in National Food Supply Chains, Vu The Thanh, a food safety expert, said for most consumers transparent information about food from the input to the production stage is extremely important. The information should then be verified by Government management agencies, he said. He also suggested that food producers should provide warning labels (for example, the product could cause allergies to certain users) as is the case in many countries. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, chairwoman of the advocacy committee for the establishment of Food Transparency Association, said unsafe food is still widespread in the market, directly affecting peoples health. The use of plant protection chemicals in farming, antibiotics in animal breeding and preservatives in foodstuffs is still common, and authorised agencies seem unable to control it, she said. What is safe to eat and drink remains a concern for many people, she said. The ratio of producers meeting food safety and hygiene standards is low, she said. Many companies have invested in producing safe food products, but consumers do not trust them because the inspection and certification system has problems, she said. Achieving safe food certification is only half the work, and the other half consists of building trust, market education, PR and marketing, and all these responsibilities fall on the shoulders of food producers. Stand-alone farmers and producers do not have sufficient resources and even certified safe food producers cannot survive without support from the market, she said. Safe food producers need to collaborate to communicate, promote and market their products to win consumers trust, she said. The Food Transparency Association would link up responsible players in the food production chain for the benefit of society and the environment, she said. Nguyen Phuoc Trung, director of the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the Food Transparency Association is necessary to bring food producers and traders together for building a safe food industry and improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese products, especially at a time of deeper integration. The city would increase inspections and deal severely with violations related to food production, processing and trading, he said. - VNS Bilateral trade relations between Viet Nam and Romania still falls short of potential, a business conference heard yesterday in the capital. VNA/VNS Photo HA NOI Bilateral trade relations between Viet Nam and Romania still falls short of potential, a business conference heard yesterday in the capital. Nguyen Quang Vinh, the deputy general secretary of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), blamed the unsatisfactory performance on inadequate information about each nations enterprises, as well as on difficulties in customs and payment which firms from the two nations encounter. The two governments plan new practical measures to increase future two-way trade, Vinh told the Viet Nam-Romania Business Forum. Vlad Vasiliu, the Romanian State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment, said businesses from his country want investment opportunities in electronics, electrics, telecommunications, information technology, agriculture, gas and petroleum in Viet Nam. Romania wants more Vietnamese investments in multiple fields, according to Oana Bizgan, Counsellor for the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business Environment Relations of Romania. Bizgans commented at a similar business forum on Wednesday in HCM City. Romania welcomes domestic and foreign investments and encourages enterprises to shift towards high-tech industries, Bizgan said. As the Eastern gateway to Europe, Romania is an appealing destination for foreign investors. Its advantages over other EU countries include lower labour costs and preferential tariff policies, she said. Two-way trade between the countries reached US$170 million in 2015, with approximately $102 million from Vietnamese exports. Trade reached a modest $16 million over the past four months. Viet Nam shipped mainly coffee, seafood, clothing, footwear, electronics products and computers to Romania and imported wheat flour, machines and chemicals from the partner. Bilateral trade has not yet reached its full potential, so business communities should hold more joint trade promotion events and co-operate to complement each other, suggested Vo Tan Thanh, director of VCCIs HCM City branch. VNS President Tran ai Quang visits Unnalom pagoda during his visit to Cambodia. VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang PHNOM PENH President Tran ai Quang and his encourage concluded their two-day State visit to Cambodia yesterday afternoon. In the morning the President paid courtesy calls on the Great Supreme Patriarch of Mohanikaya sect Tep Vong at Unnalom pagoda and the Great Supreme Patriarch of Dhammayuttika sect Bour Kry at Say Pope pagoda. He expressed his belief that with Tep Vong at the helm, Cambodia s Buddhism would increasingly flourish, and with his role and prestige, the host would make more positive contributions to the solidarity, friendship and neighborliness between Viet Nam and Cambodia . Tep Vong welcomed the visit, which was expected to tighten bilateral friendship and cooperation. Meeting Bour Kry, the Vietnamese leader affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people would do their best to nurture the traditional friendship between the two nations. He hoped that Bour Kry would continue educating Buddhists and the Cambodian people about the tradition of bilateral ties. The host, for his part, said Cambodian Buddhists wished for peace, prosperity and development for Cambodia and Viet Nam , and for Southeast Asia in general. Also in the morning, Quang held a meeting with representatives of Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia . Speaking at the event, the State leader spoke highly of the role of Vietnamese investors and the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia (AVIC), saying that successful joint projects in trade, investment and tourism have increased the State budget and created more jobs in Cambodia , thereby contributing to the bilateral co-operation. The Vietnamese Party, State and Government would continue devising strategies and adopting effective measures to facilitate long-term business operations in Cambodia and encourage Vietnamese investment in the neighboring country, along the the principle of equality and mutual benefit, he said. He also urged Vietnamese firms to improve their business efficiency in Cambodia , abide by the host countrys law and contribute to its social welfare. According to the AVIC, Viet Nam has invested US$3.2 billion in 172 projects in Cambodia, becoming the fifth largest investor in the country, mostly in the fields of finance-banking, energy, mining, agro-forestry and telecommunications. Vietnamese tourist arrivals to Cambodia have grown and Viet Nam has been among the top sources of visitors to the country over the past five years. The President also presented a $1 million vocational training school to Prey Veng province. A joint statement was issued at the end of the visit. The full text of the joint statement can be read at vietnamnews.vn. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on Viet Nam and Thailand to redouble their efforts in order to bring bilateral trade to US$20 billion in 2020. At a reception for Thai Deputy Prime Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn in Ha Noi yesterday the Vietnamese Government leader suggested the two countries, as the worlds biggest rice exporters, partner with each other to keep rice prices beneficial to their farmers. A boost should be given to collaboration in trade and investment, he said, citing opportunities awaiting Thai investors after Viet Nam engages in many new-generation free trade agreements. Besides, Viet Nam boasts abundant and skillful labour resources that can meet Thailands demands, he added. The leader also proposed the two countries collaborate on culture, national defence and security while strengthening bilateral ties in people-to-people diplomacy. Praising the co-operation between Viet Nam and Thailand in regional and international forums, Prime Minister Phuc urged the two countries to team up with other affected nations and international organisations in the sustainable and effective management and use of Mekong River water resources. More joint efforts should be focused on the actualisation of an action programme to realise the strategic partnership for 2014-2018 as well as agreements reached at Viet Nam-Thailand Joint Cabinet Retreats, the host said. For his part, the Thai Deputy Prime Minister voiced his wish that the Vietnamese Government will create more optimal conditions for Thai businesses in the country. The Thai Government encourages local investors to run long-term and sustainable operations in Viet Nam, he said. The guest conveyed Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ochas invitation to the Vietnamese Prime Minister Phuc to pay a visit to Thailand in a bid to consolidate bilateral ties and partake in a number of activities making the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries (August 6, 1976). Yesterday, the Thai Deputy Prime Minister met with his counterpart Vu uc am, during which they shared the view that Viet Nam and Thailand hold substantial potential for co-operation in economy, trade and investment that can bring bilateral trade to $20 billion. They agreed on the need for the two countries to reach a plan on tourism co-operation for 2016-18 soon and foster their partnership in education. Host and guest consented to continue co-operating with other ASEAN member countries in order to maintain the intra-bloc solidarity and carry forward the ten-member groups central role and common voice on regional and international issues. The same day, Thanasak Patimaprakorn was welcomed by National Assembly Vice Chairman o Ba Ty, who thanked the Thai Government and people for their $100,000 aid package donated to Viet Nams southern provinces stricken by drought and saltwater intrusion. Ty said he wished that the two countries will maintain the exchange of delegations at all levels, effectively implement their co-operation mechanisms and agreements, pay more heed to the role played by each countrys legislative body and step up co-operation between their parliamentarians. The Thai Deputy Prime Minister pledged to make all-out efforts in order to consolidate and strengthen collaboration between the two nations across all fields. His official visit to Viet Nam lasts from June 16-19. VNS HCM CITY Better links between industries and educational institutions are needed to enhance the employability of graduates in a more competitive globalised environment, said deputy minister of education and training, Bui Van Ga. Ga spoke at a two-day global education dialogue that began yesterday in HCM City. Viet Nam has nearly 450 colleges and universities, some of them long-standing and well-known in the country with noted achievements, he said. However, student employability remains a problem. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) student assessment test ranks Viet Nam in the top 10 countries globally, "but we still get complaints from industries about the employability of graduates. So graduates need further training by industries to be employable, Ga said. Leaders of tertiary institutions are aware of the need for better university-industry links, curricula design and professional programmes. However, university-industry partnerships have progressed slowly, Ga said. Industry contributions to human resource training and student internships are still minimal. Many industries believe that such training is solely the responsibility of universities. It is necessary to change the point of view about university-industry links to improve the quality of human resource training, he said. Ga said that through the two-day dialogue, the Government could develop better policies to encourage such links with universities. Dialogue can also promote bilateral co-operation in education and training between Viet Nam and the UK, and make significant contributions to the reform of the educational system in Viet Nam. Professor Werner Hofer, dean of research at Newcastle University, said We need to laser-focus on specific R&D leadership areas and where there are gaps in global R&D clustering. Innovation hubs for commercial problem-solving should be developed, he said, adding that they create a regional innovation voice for national and international engagement with key corporate innovation leaders. Vivienne Stern, director of the UKs Higher Education International Unit, said that universities across the world are facing the challenge of how to prepare graduates for highly competitive globalised job markets. To meet this challenge, institutions are adapting curricula, working directly with industry to provide professional experience and exploring new models of research as well as the creation of dedicated facilities allowing students and academic staff to explore the commercial potential of their work. The dialogue was one of the activities under the Joint Statement on Higher Education Co-operation between the Ministry of Education and Training of Viet Nam, the British Council Viet Nam and the UK Higher Education International Unit signed in London in September, 2015. The dialogue attracted 130 delegates, including government officials, industry and higher education leaders, researchers and practitioners from the UK, Viet Nam and ASEAN countries. VNS Viet Nam could improve migrants access to public services and employment by reducing the time and number of requirements needed for residents to get a household registration certificate. Photo plo.vn HA NOI Viet Nam could improve migrants access to public services and employment by reducing the time and number of requirements needed for residents to get a household registration certificate, according to a report released yesterday. The report, which was implemented by the World Bank and Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, said the gap in the access to services and employment between those who owned permanent and temporary household registration certificates must be narrowed. At least 5.6 million people in five cities and provinces, including Ha Noi, HCM City, a Nang, Binh Duong and ak Nong, did not have permanent registration certificates at the time of the study. Most of them were facing difficulties accessing public schools, buying health insurance or even registering motorcycles. Vu Hoang Linh, economist with the poverty and equity global practice of the World Bank, said that those who failed to get permanent certificates faced job discrimination in public agencies and companies. Their children were less likely to be in school than those with permanent registration certificates. They also faced limited access to health care services. Achim Fock, the World Banks Acting Country Director for Viet Nam, said the study showed that the household registration system had created inequities in the opportunities for Vietnamese citizens. Reform was necessary to assure that migrants had the same opportuninities to access to schools, health care and employment in the public sector. It would encourage people to move to cities and support the nations economic growth, he said. ang Nguyen Anh, deputy director of the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, said the certificate system was no longer relevant for managing and controlling Vietnamese society. It should be replaced by a more scientific and modern tool to make peoples lives easier and more inclusive, he said. Household registration certificates began 50 years ago as a tool for public security and migration control. Few countries - including Viet Nam, China and the former Soviet Union countries - maintain the system that is linked to social services. Most countries in the world have a system to register living places, but they are not linked to the access of local services. VNS HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue has urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to buy salt to help salt producers, especially in areas with significant salt storage. The direction of the deputy prime minister was sent yesterday to the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Industry and Trade and Finance, as well as to the State Bank of Vietnam and the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation. The Vietnam Northern Food Corporation, which is in charge of salt purchases, will use the public funds from the mother company. The purchase of salt will follow market prices to help salt producers gain a profit. The corporation will take responsibility for purchasing salt and repaying the public funds used after the purchase is complete. The corporation was asked to report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development if any difficulties arose. The Ministry of Industry and Trade was assigned to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to supervise the salt purchase in various localities. It also encouraged enterprises to consume domestic-produced salt if it meets requirements for chemical production and its price is not excessive compared to imported salt. VNS BINH THUAN Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has suspended titanium mining operations, after an embankment was breached surrounding waste reservoirs at Ham Thuan Nam Districts Thuan Quy Commune. The mine is operated by by Tan Quang Cuong Trading Co. Ltd in in the central province of Binh Thuan. Ha further requested the General department of Geology and Mineral of Viet Nam to coordinate with the Environment Administration to determine the cause, as well as solutions to problems caused by the spill of waste into the environment. If the company was found to have allowed violations or improperly managed waste control, it would be subject to having its mining licences withdrawn, in accordance with government regulations, Ha said. Further, the General department of Geology and Mineral of Viet Nam has asked the southern department for Control of Mining activities to work with the southern environment department and Binh Thuan Provinces natural resource and environment department to identify the cause, as well as whether regulations were followed in mining operations and in protecting the surrounding environment at Nhum Stream titanium mine. These agencies were expected to submit a report to the General Department of Geology and Mineral of Viet Nam before June 20. Yesterday morning, hundreds of cubic metres of water and sand spilled out onto the street, along with spillovers at tourists sites, after the nearly 3,000 sq.m wide embankment was partially breached. The incident has affected the Hieu Nam Tourist Complex and local households, due to the thick sludge which flowed into the area. Also, pollution was said to have reached Thuan Quy beach, causing sea waters to turn red. VNS HA NOI Vietnam News Agency in general and Viet Nam News in particular need to continue to renew news reporting and management methods, improve quality and accomplish the missions assigned by the Party and the State, making contributions to maintaining peace and stability, and fostering international integration while realising the 12th Party Resolution. Uong Chu Luu, National Assembly Vice Chairman made the statement while attending the 25th anniversary celebrations on June 17, 2016, of Viet Nam News, the first and only English language daily in Viet Nam. On this date, 25 years ago, the Vietnam News Agency published its first edition of Viet Nam News, with four black-and-white printed pages. The number of pages was later increased to eight, and there are currently 28 coloured, printed pages. Seven years later, in 1998, the online version, Viet Nam News Online, was launched, marking a new development for the newspaper in the digital age. Terry Hartney, a veteran Australian journalist, who has followed Viet Nam News progress for more than 20 years, said, In the journalism systems of the world and the region, Viet Nam News is always considered the voice of Viet Nam on diplomacy, business, economic development and social issues that reflect the countrys non-stop movement. With the weekly Sunday Viet Nam News, launched in 1992; monthly Outlook magazine, offered from 2004 to 2015; and online financial and business hub bizhub.vn, launched in 2012, Viet Nam News has provided detailed information from different angles and in-depth, comprehensive analyses of major issues in the countrys development process. Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam HE Hugh Borrowman said, As an expatriate living in Viet Nam, I have found the Viet Nam News to be a most useful source of information, covering major political, socio-economic, cultural and business events in English and making news easily accessible for non-Vietnamese speakers. In particular, I welcome Viet Nam News efforts to share the perspectives of different people, from government officials to experts to ordinary people and even Expat Corner, which shares stories of the work and lives of foreigners in Viet Nam. Camilla Bjelkas, cultural officer of the Swedish Embassy in Viet Nam, said, I have a look in the Viet Nam News every morning when I arrive at the office. And as a cultural officer for the Swedish Embassy, the articles on different cultural events or personalities are important for me. It gives me a better understanding of the local culture and also provides ideas for possible collaborations. For me, this section could be much bigger and could include more interviews with contemporary artists, musicians, designers, etc., along with the more established material. So if I were to suggest some improvements, I would focus on whats happening within the country, news that is hard for foreigners to find anywhere else if you dont speak Vietnamese, she said. Nguyen Lam Giang, HELVETAS director, said Viet Nam News information was carefully selected and covered the policies and viewpoints of Viet Nams professional agencies in the fastest and shortest ways, helping non-governmental organisations learn the facts about Viet Nam. It is the official source of information that leaders and officials of HELVETAS Viet Nam use in discussions with colleagues at our headquarters in Switzerland and to determine orientation and strategies for key projects in Viet Nam, she said. Viet Nam News Editor-in-Chief Trinh Thanh Thuy said Viet Nam News was proud to have accomplished its mission as a newspaper providing external information services and having earned the trust of the Party, the State and the readers over the past 25 years. In the coming period, besides maintaining the print edition, we at editorial will stay up to date on new trends in journalism and continue to be a reliable and comprehensive source of news on Viet Nam, bridging Viet Nam and the international community. The newspaper must produce more high quality and diversified news products of an international level to meet the increasingly high demand for news on Viet Nam in other nations within the context of global integration, she highlighted. Viet Nam News Agency aims to strengthen Viet Nam News position as the nations most influential English language daily, Nguyen uc Loi, Party Central Committee member and the Viet Nam News Agency General Director said. Pham Van Linh, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Committees Commission for Publicity and Education, affirmed that external information services in general, including from the external information service of Viet Nam News Agency, had made important contributions towards maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development; protecting national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity; and fostering and expanding friendly cooperation between Viet Nam and other countries, thus enhancing the nations international integration. - VNS by Phuoc Buu In early December 2010, Vietnamese tra fish (basa fish) made headlines when the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) placed it on its red list, which names produce that is farmed under unhygienic conditions or traded illegally. The red label on Vietnamese basa fillets meant that WWFs suggestion to refrain from consuming the product could affect the lives of millions of farmers, workers and traders in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, where basa fish farms and processing factories are based. At that time, local newspapers printed many stories in favour of protecting the product, stating that WWFs red labelling was unfair. I read most of them and questioned whether Vietnamese basa fillet consumers in other countries could read these articles and others published in Vietnamese. I then decided that Viet Nam News, the countrys leading English newspaper, should serve as a pioneer in proving the unfairness suffered by the basa fish industry. But at that time, I was only a junior reporter, and I doubted I would be assigned such a challenging story. However, when the newsrooms head asked for a volunteer to investigate the issue on a three- or four-day field trip, I raised my hand first. I then left the meeting in a hurry to pack at home, leaving behind the surprised, sceptical faces of my seniors. The accusations reported in newspapers helped me collect information for counter arguments, in which I planned to show that fish farms met hygienic requirements, including a clean farming environment, hygienic processing factories and proper waste treatment. The second point was that Viet Nams breeding system no longer relied on fish naturally-sourced from Tonle Sap, which meant the industry did not harm nature. Without any contacts, I hopped on a bus and first stopped at the Cai Be Breeding Centre in Tien Giang Province near HCM City. Later, I travelled to the adjacent ong Thap and spent the rest of the day working with the Department of Fishery Protection. I ended the first day with an empty stomach and headache from the 38 degree Celsius heat. My second day was consumed by visits to fish farms around ong Thap and a return trip to Tan Hong District, 60km from the municipal city, to visit some prominent fish farms and processing factories. The second day ended at Vam Cong ferry station for the last return trip at 9pm. I said goodbye to the young lady from the Department of Fishery Protection, who lent me her motorbike and guided me around the area. After reaching the opposite river bank and walking in the dark for almost a kilometre, I took a motorbike taxi, which passed me off to another driver. The second driver left me in the dark with his motorbike as he disappeared into the bushes without a word for almost 20 minutes. I feared he would return with some weapon to rob my brand new Canon 60D, but luckily, he returned tiredly saying he suddenly saw a snake and tried to catch it. I finally arrived at a hotel in An Giangs Long Xuyen City with funny memories. The next morning was tough. The dean of the environment faculty at An Giang University refused me, suspecting I had bad motives. However, a female lecturer confidentially showed me the process to treat wastewater using water orchids at a fish farm where she supervised the hygiene and environment. I then took a bus back to HCM City with a big question in mind: "Why did the dean get irritated with me when I was trying to do a good thing?" I spent the next two days in HCM Citys newsroom developing the story, with several long pauses to sleep on the floor. The air conditioner felt cool, although I was coming down with a fever. On December 15, 2010 when Viet Nam News published my story in the morning newspaper, I was in the hospital with a fever and stomach inflammation. But it was still a great day because it was the first time my byline appeared on Viet Nam News front page. In addition, I learned that a WWF official arrived in Viet Nam that day and read my story, prompting him to visit the Mekong Delta and ultimately concluded that basa fish should be removed from WWFs red list. Right person, right time. The sense of fulfilment gained from this story inspired following trips. I believe that in journalism, visiting a place to see, hear, feel and investigate always makes a better story. VNS By Le Quynh Anh In 2011, as a budding reporter who had just started a career at the Viet Nam News, I was lucky enough to have a life-changing field trip out to the East Sea. I remember I received this assignment on a cold January and Tet was just around the corner. Whereas people were excited to come home for the biggest holiday, I was enthused with my first sea voyage to visit the two islands off the central coast of Viet Nam. Any journalist would yearn for opportunities to visit far-flung places to fill his/her notebooks with eye-opening, awe-inspring stories weaved from in-person interviews and close-up observations on the scence. This trip offered more than such a thrill, it was a privilege. Not every Vietnamese citizen can board a Viet Nam Navy ship but I was among the few who were granted such honour. Along with other six journalist fellows, I boarded the HQ-628 patrol ship and embarked on a four-day trip with the crew to sail thousands of nautical miles on the waters off the central coast of Viet Nam. The ship was making an annual tradition of delivering the gifts and the festive spirits from the mainland to soldiers and habitants on Con Co and Ly Son islands ahead of Tet holiday. No sooner had I boarded the 60-metre ship than I started wandering around the ship deck to marvel at the great view of an expanding ocean. My excitement quickly dissipated, however, as soon as the sea sickness kicked in. As callow as I could ever be, I did the exact thing to aggravate the queasiness which was to do a lot of moving instead of laying still. As the ship got further away from the shore and encountered strong tidal currents with accompany winds, the sea sickness engulfed me. My stomach quickly became empty due to excessive vomiting, and I literally threw up bile. Yet there was no escape since surrounding us was the vast black sea; I wished that I could just die. We finally got close to Con Co Island by the noon of the second day. The moment we were ashore, all of us felt like we were born again. Without rest, we embarked on a 4-kilometre hike on a muddy trail to tour around this island. We quickly regained our heartiness as we savored the vast greenery that welcomed us. As a secluded island where access to it was very limited even until today there has been no commercial transport routes connecting the island with mainland Con Co has preserved the primitive conditions of a young volcanic island. It is a biodiversity hotbed, home to a diverse tropical maritime ecosystem featuring unique black coral reefs. When we visited, this 2.3-square-kilometre island was in the making as this once-military station was designated as an administrative district starting from 2004. Scattering around were numerous construction sites to build roads and schools. The primary school which was under construction during our visit came into operation just last year. As I had just completed an article on tapping into the potential of renewable energy, it was close to a deja vu to see with my own eyes how the smart islanders put this idea into actions. Dozens of solar panels had been installed to power the whole island. We were warmly received by soldiers who stationed there and the habitants who were among the first to settle down here. As we shared meals with them, we talked at length of the hardships they were facing to humanize an island. They seemed not to mind the rudimentary living conditions as much as the sense of isolation from the rest of the community. That was why they often looked forward to visits by entourages like ours. They were loath to part us on the harbour, and a soldier was kind enough to offer me a few small tips to combat sea sickness. These advices worked like a charm or at least I thought they did. In the second leg of the trip when we spent another night on board before reaching Ly Son Island, I did not vomit for once (phew). Contrast to the tranquility of Con Co, Ly Son was full of life. It is home to a large fishery fleet, where fishing has been the main livelihood for the islanders for centuries. Interestingly, the island carries with it a burial tradition like no other. Islanders maintained a practice of building a special type of graves for those whose bodies were forever lost to the sea. The shore-facing tomb included a model of a human being whose components were made of different materials: clay for skin, white mulberry branches for skeleton and egg for stomach, alluvial soil for liver among others. A veteran necromancer would be trusted with building such an intricate model and conducting a solemn ceremony to guide the lost soul back home. In the modern time, these graves are dedicated to unfortunate local fishers who could not make it home from a fatal voyage. I was fortunate to sit down with Vo Van Toai, among the very last necromancers still alive on the island. In a thick, hard-to-decipher accent, he explained this tradition traced back to the Nguyen Dynasty from the 18th century. Under the Kings order, each year the island would choose the strongest warriors under the leadership of a Commander to sail the ocean and protect the sovereignty of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago. Many brave soldiers died at sea while on duty. To commemorate their sacrifice and help these heroes rest in peace, members of their families started building such type of graves. More and more graves filled the island as generation after generation of islanders crossed the sea to defend the Paracels. Legend has it that there were years where none of the troop came back and all of the graves were for them. Elsewhere in the island, one also could find other evidence of relics of such heroic crusades by the Kings men of Ly Son Island. My impression was that the whole island was a living testimony to the indisputable sovereignty of Viet Nam over the Paracels which was totally taken by force by the Chinese in 1974. As I listened to all these stories, I could not help but wonder how difficult for a reporter to get all the richness and evocative details without actually being on the field. I was very fortunate that the editorial board at this newspaper always encouraged me and other reporters to take on challenging field trips. Such trips not only provide us with materials for great stories but also enrich our perspectives to become a better journalist and in general a better person. Take this particular trip for example. I came back, I became physically stronger and, felt a bigger love for my home country with its magnificent scenic beauty and its patriotic people who serve this country selflessly. VNS Indias plan to lease farm land in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi to grow pulses for domestic consumers is not the first such project and all such attempt in the past have not yielded desired results due to high cost of investment, poor law and order and inadequate infrastructure. Amid the media reports which emerged last week and claimed that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US airstrike, Damascus's envoy to Moscow on Friday said, "I definitely know that he was wounded". Ambassador Riyad Haddad told Sputnik magazine that there was no clear information on his killing. However, he asserted that in near future not only Baghdadi, but also other Islamic State members will be killed. The ambassador added, a meeting of Syrian and Russian defence ministers was currently being planned. "Indeed, one minister should visit the other, the place and the date are not known yet, but we have such plans," he informed. Earlier this year, various reports emerged about Baghdadi's injuries and death. In April, US Department of Defence announced that Baghdadi was alive, and was travelling between Syria and Iraq. Chinas total borrowings were more than double its gross domestic product (GDP) last year, a government economist said, warning that debt linkages between the state and industry could be fatal for the worlds second largest . The countrys debt has ballooned as Beijing has made getting credit cheap and easy in an effort to stimulate slowing growth, unleashing a massive debt-fuelled spending binge. While the stimulus may help the country post better growth numbers in the near term, analysts say the rebound might be short-lived. Chinas borrowings hit 168.48 trillion yuan ($25.6 trillion) at the end of last year, equivalent to 249 per cent of the economys GDP, Li Yang, a senior researcher with a top government think tank, the Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told reporters yesterday. The number, while enormous, is still lower than some outside estimates. Consulting firm the McKinsey Group has said that the countrys total debt was likely as high as $28 trillion by mid-2014. CASS, in a report last year, said Chinas debt amounted to 150.03 trillion yuan at the end of 2014, according to previous Chinese media reports. The most worrying risks lie in the non-financial corporate sector, where the debt-to-GDP ratio was estimated at 156 per cent, including liabilities of local government financing vehicles, Li said. Many of the companies in question are state-owned firms that borrowed heavily from government-backed banks and so problems with the sector could ultimately trigger systemic risks in the economy, he said. DRAGON IN TROUBLE Chinas borrowings hit 168 trn ($25.6 trn) at the end of last year, equivalent to 249% of the economys GDP McKinsey Group said countrys total debt as high as $28 trn by mid-2014 Most worrying risks lie in the non-financial corporate sector, where the debt-to-GDP ratio was estimated at 156% Problem will also affect state coffers because Chinese banks are closely linked to the government The Peoples Bank of has announced that new loans extended by banks jumped to 985.5 bn last month, up from 555.6 bn in April The gravity of Chinas non-financial corporate (debt) is that if problems occur with it, Chinas financial system will have problems immediately, Li said. He added that the problem will also affect state coffers because Chinese banks are closely linked to the government. Its a fatal issue in . Because of such a link, it is probably more urgent for China than other countries to resolve the debt problem, he said. Speaking earlier this week, David Lipton, first deputy managing director with the Monetary Fund, also singled out Chinas corporate borrowing as a major concern, warning that addressing the issue is imperative to avoid serious problems down the road. Despite the concerns, China is having difficulty kicking its credit addiction. On Wednesday, the Peoples Bank of China announced that new loans extended by banks jumped to 985.5 billion yuan last month, up from 555.6 billion yuan in April. Abandoned the families: Kean lashes Labors first budget NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has slammed the Albanese Government for failing to provide families with cost of living support amid soaring inflation and electricity prices. Isnt sufficient: Experts reply to Chalmers bold housing crisis solution Jim Chalmers has announced a historic national Housing Accord which will see one million homes built over five years - but experts are not convinced the "bold" plan is enough to address the housing crisis. Fill up now: Petrol prices set to soar Motorists in major cities have been warned to "fill up" as soon as possible as Australians face several surging costs following the Albanese Government's first budget overnight. Police saddle up for return of crowds at Melbourne Cup Victoria Police sent a message to racegoers as cops prepare for hundreds of thousands of punters to descend upon Melbourne for the race that stops the nation. CEDAR FALLS Like many, Andrew Bouska learned about the killings of 49 people at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub soon after the attack. Unlike most Northeast Iowans, however, Bouska heard about it from his friends. Most of my friends who meet in Orlando are of Latin descent, so they not only were familiar with the club, but also knew more of the victims, Bouska, of Cedar Falls, said. So I was already living it through them, which was very sad. But the news was about to get worse. Grieving the community he lost in Orlando on Tuesday evening, Bouska couldnt sleep. So he was watching videos on YouTube when he hit upon a tribute to victims, whose names were being read by CNNs Anderson Cooper. A name Bouska recognized was first. Edward Sotomayor, Jr., Cooper says in the video, choking back emotion. He worked at a travel agency that catered to the gay community. His family says he was witty, charming and that he always left things better than he found them. Bouska realized his friend a friend he had seen just days earlier on a trip to Orlando was among the dead. I was shocked I didnt believe it, Bouska said. I had to rewind the video. I was already starting the healing process from the devastation overall, and then I was hit with, Oh, by the way, one of YOUR friends was there too. It was painful. But Bouska doesnt regret finding out. Had I not watched the video, I might not have known until longer after the fact. Or tried to contact him only to find out the worst, he said. Bouska and Sotomayor met in Orlando in 2012 while seated next to each other on a bus. They hit it off, kept in touch and hung out each summer in Orlando. Most of the influential people in my life Ive met simply because I was randomly in the right place at the right moment, Bouska said. Edward was no exception. He was the type of person others were drawn to. Witty, charming, a natural comedian, the center of attention, but someone who would help a total stranger. In fact, Bouska said, Sotomayor had helped friends in Pulse get to safety and was killed in the process of doing so. The world needs more people like him, he said. Bouska last hung out with Sotomayor at One Magical Weekend, a four-day LGBT celebration at Walt Disney World, the weekend before the shooting. That weekend is probably what I look forward to the most each year. Its a celebration of life and of diversity, Bouska said. Everyone celebrates gays, straights. We were all doing just that, being with our friends, enjoying life and being alive. Its sad that no one knew what was about to happen. But, Bouska said, hes glad he had that final time with Sotomayor. Even thought there were many individuals who were closer to him than I was, I can certainly feel the emptiness that everyone has now, he said. He said he will continue his Orlando trips in the summer with other Orlando friends. If we dont continue to celebrate life, then the Orlando victims died in vain and the gunman wins, he said. The terrorists only want to divide us and bring us down, and all they do is unify us and make us stronger. WEST UNION -- A person in the United States illegally now also faces serious charges of sexually abusing a young girl. Pedro Candido, 41, was arrested Wednesday in West Union, according to the Fayette County Sheriff's Office. He is charged with second-degree sexual abuse and with third-degree sexual abuse, which are both felonies. According to the sheriff's office, the investigation revealed Candido "performed multiple sexual acts upon an 11 year-old female and again upon the same female at the age of 12." Authorities described the investigation as "intense." Candido was taken to the Fayette County Jail and is being held on a no bond warrant. The sheriffs office also worked with the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, determining Candido is in the United States illegally. A hold was placed on Candido through ICE. The Iowa Department of Human Services is working with the girl and her family. If convicted, Candido could face up to 75 years in prison, be required to register as a sex offender and be deported. WATERLOO A Waterloo woman police and firefighters were searching for along Black Hawk Creek was found and arrested on an unrelated charge Thursday. Waterloo Police and Waterloo Fire and Rescue searched a large portion of Black Hawk Creek Wednesday night and Thursday morning for Kelly Lee Marie Schake, 36, who was tubing on the creek. Schake and another person were on the water together when the man she was with lost sight of her. He called police shortly after 10 p.m. Police and fire personnel were unsure if she was still in the water. They suspended the search due to darkness. They posted police at the vehicles the pair used for the float at Ranchero Road and at Hope Martin Park. Searchers did find items along the creek during the search. However, witnesses said they saw Schake emerge from the creek. Waterloo Police Capt. Dave Mohlis said the search was continued as a precaution while officers tried to locate the woman in town. We didnt know whether she went back into the creek or not, Mohlis said. Schake was located Thursday afternoon and taken into custody on an unrelated charge. Mohlis said numerous officers over multiple shifts assisted in the search, along with Waterloo Fire Rescue personnel. WATERLOO Each day, each dollar, each lap around the course brings us one step closer. Organizers and participants in the annual Black Hawk County American Cancer Society Relay for Life want nothing less than to see the day when the disease no longer threatens lives or cuts them short. So they walked Friday at Hawkeye Community College. They supported one another. They raised money. Even if you put in $1, at least you put something in to fight it, said Carole Lindecrantz, a participant and volunteer fundraiser. Dawn Belbis and Kim Brustkern are captains of Team Pink Elephants. The group honors Tim Brustkern Jr., Belbis brother and Kim Brustkerns cousin-in-law. Tim Brustkern died of cancer five years ago. The Pink Elephants Tims favorite animal and his mother Sandys favorite color formed the next year. After he passed away we came, saw it because we had never been here and decided we needed to get a team together, Belbis said. Belbis describes the relay as an amazing event and is particularly impressed with the unity on display. Everybody just supports everybody else. You just feel a bond with everyone. ... It just brings people togther, she added. About 25 Pink Elephants participated this year. Each is one of Tim Brustkerns friends or a family member, according to Belbis, including her 14-year-old daughter, Chloe. She enjoys the relay even as she thinks about her late uncle. Its just really fun, and ... you feel closer to him, Chloe Belbis said. Based on Lindecrantz experience, such stories are familiar. Everybody Ive ever known has had a relative or somebody theyve known with cancer, she said. It touches every family and every person. In her case, both parents died because of cancer. Lindecrantz and Gwen Timmerman were co-captains this year of Team Tyson, which is supported by Tyson Fresh Meats employees like herself. Lindecrantz is a registered nurse and has been with the company 16 years. During that time, she participated in 14 relays. Its something I always believed in and should help out with, Lindecrantz said. Zach Engbrecht, president of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society at Hawkeye, volunteered Friday, too. He spent part of his time in the information booth near the walking course. Cancer is definitely something that impacts a lot of peoples lives, he said. Including his own. His father, Jarvis Engrecht, had lymphoma but has been in remission for several years. He beat it, Zach Engbrecht said. Linda Allen, president of Hawkeye Community College, welcomed participants during an opening ceremony. She said she hoped the venue on campus would serve as a place for everyone to remember loved ones, celebrate survivors and most importantly to fight back against cancer. Black Hawk County has hosted a Relay for Life for more than 20 years, according to Tammy Schoonover, a community manager for the American Cancer Society. The event endures, she said, because cancer hasnt gone away. Its touched so many people. The relay also represents a meaningful way to publicly honor and remember friends and family, Schoonover said. Theres one day when you can keep their memories alive, she said. As the relay began, Schoonover said the event had already generated $118,000. The goal is $200,000. We have a saying: Fundraising isnt all we do, but everything we do depends on fundraising, Schoonover said. The event is today, but cancer doesnt end today. So the fundraising cant end today, she added. Kate Kastli, captain of Dream Team, opened the relay with about $1,700. She expected the figure to grow, however. Like many of the groups assembled Friday afternoon and evening on campus, Kastli and Dream Team got together initially because of one persons struggle. Kastlis inspiration was from a college friend, Kara Luett, who was diagnosed ahead of the 2001 relay. She was alive when the relay happened but she was too sick to come, Kastli said. And then she actually passed away that next year. The Dream Team camp featured banners listing loved ones now missing: Our Fallen Stars. Unfortunately weve had to add names every year of people weve lost, Kastli said. Since 2015, their group has put on 10 additional names. Dream Teams list now honors 52 people. This is why we do this, so hopefully we wont have to add names, so that somebody else doesnt have a sign with 52 names on it, Kastli said. President Obama is determined to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. But his administrations refusal to reveal pertinent information about detainees may thwart whatever slim opportunity he has to convince Congress to do so. In March, Paul Lewis, the senior Department of Defense official responsible for overseeing Guantanamo, told members of Congress detainees released during the George W. Bush administration had killed Americans overseas. No specifics were publicly provided. Last week, the Washington Post reported 12 former detainees had killed six Americans, including a female aid worker in 2008. Nine of those former detainees are believed dead or in foreign custody. According to U.S. intelligence, about 30 percent of released detainees are suspected or confirmed of re-engaging in militancy nearly 21 percent of those released by the Bush administration and about 4.5 percent of the 158 released by the Obama administration. The National Counterterrorism Center did provide the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a memo, the Post stated, naming the suspected former detainees, describing the attacks and information about, but not the names of, the victims. Because many of these incidents were large-scale firefights in a war zone, we cannot always distinguish whether Americans were killed by the former detainees or by others in the same fight, the Post was told. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said even her staff lacked the security clearance to read the NCTC memo. One Republican aide called it grossly overclassified. There appears to be a consistent and concerted effort by the administration to prevent Americans from knowing the truth regarding the terrorist activities and affiliations of past and present Guantanamo detainees, Ayotte wrote Obama, requesting the names of U.S. and NATO personnel killed by former detainees. The secrecy began with the Bush administration, which refused to list the names of detainees until required by a 2006 Freedom of Information Act ruling. Most of what else is known about Guantanamo comes from document dumps by fugitive former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden and defense attorneys. The prison on the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay was established during the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan that overthrew the Taliban government. The Bush administration transported 779 enemy combatants of various nationalities as well as al-Qaida-linked terrorists to the prison in southeastern Cuba. An estimated 80 prisoners are still there, including 14 high-value detainees. Five men are on trial for organizing the 9/11 attacks, while three others have been convicted for it. Thirty have been cleared for transfers into custody their homelands. The remaining prisoners will be prosecuted or held indefinitely as law of war detainees until the war on terrorism ends. Some could be sent overseas for prosecution, including Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, a Kenyan accused of plotting attacks in Mombasa in November 2002 against an Israeli-owned hotel, killing 13, and an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner. As a budgetary matter, it costs $450 million annually to operate the prison. The Obama administration estimates it would cost between $290 million and $475 million to prepare a U.S facility and transfer detainees. Three to five years down the road, it cites $335 million in net savings over 10 years and up to $1.7 billion in net savings over 20 years. Congress, which has blocked attempts to move the prisoners to the United States, is expected to extend its ban this month. The clock has struck midnight and the American people have won, said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who opposes moving detainees to prisons in his state. The president needs to admit that. It is unlikely the president will resort to an executive order that would prove politically unpopular prior to the general election. However, considering the promise he made to close Guantanamo within a year after his election in 2008, a post-election decision is not out of the question. Returning Guantanamo to Cuba wont be happening. During the presidents trip to Cuba earlier this year, the administration stated it has no intention at present to change the lease. Doing so would create a political firestorm. The Castro government protested the U.S. took the land by force in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, but a treaty giving the U.S. control of Guantanamo was signed in 1903 and reaffirmed in 1934. However, the secrecy continuing to shroud nearly every aspect of the Guantanamo prison and detainees present and past needs to be lifted. If former prisoners have recommitted to a war against Americans and the West, the public has a right to know. Hearst Center to show Potter film CEDAR FALLS The Hearst Center will screen Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mae Latta Hall, part of a project to show all the Harry Potter films this summer. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. The Hearsts film series is sponsored by Far Reach. Beyond Pink sets Tuesday meeting CEDAR FALLS The Beyond Pink TEAM will host its next Meet, Mingle and Learn event Tuesday at the Cedar Valley Unitarian Universalists building, 3912 Cedar Heights Drive. Cindy Harris, BPT member, will present on her approach to using natural products while cleaning. The free event is open to women living with any type of cancer diagnosis. Activities are planned from 4:30 to 7 p.m., but the presentation will be from 6 to 6:45 p.m. There will be light refreshments available. For more information, call Gabbi DeWitt at 292-2225 or Dee Hughes at 235-3179, or go to www.cedarvalleybreastcancer.org. KidsFit events will be offered WATERLOO Hy-Vee KidsFit Five-Week Challenge will be offered from 11 a.m. to noon every Thursday, June 23 through July 21, at all Waterloo and Cedar Falls Hy-Vee stores. Children can try a new healthy food and earn prizes each week. Registration is not required. Joint camp will be held June 27 WATERLOO Covenant Clinic Orthopedic Surgery will host its monthly Total Joint Replacement Camp at 6 p.m. June 27 in the West Dining Room at Sartori Memorial Hospital. The program includes a brief presentation from joint replacement experts who work in areas including nursing, discharge planning, and therapy. The seminar is free, and patients can call 272-7200 for more information. Music workshop set at Wartburg WAVERLY The Northeast Area Music Teachers Association will host the 2016 Pedagogy Workshop at Wartburg College on June 27-28. Guest clinician will be Nancy Bachus, an Eastman School of Music grad. She will present four sessions, including Teaching Stylistic Differences, The Technique behind Intermediate Repertoire, Pedaling with Style and a master class. Dr. Ted Reuter from Wartburg College will present The Development of Classical Style and A Technical Approach to Classical Elegance. Dr. Jason Sifford will discuss The Art of Lyricism and a session on new music. Contact dbuseman@mchsi.com for additional registration information. Appreciation day at C.F. market CEDAR FALLS The Cedar Falls Farmers Market will have its June Customer Appreciation Day from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. There will be free doughnut holes, coffee, lemonade and ice water while supplies last. Vendors with offer early summer vegetables, flower and vegetable plants plus fresh bouquets, fresh baked goods, along with eggs, meat, honey, popcorn, pottery, jewelry, cosmetics, hot food and more. The market is located on West Third and Clay streets by Overman Park and is open every Saturday morning through October. Starting in June, Iowa Farmers Market Nutrition checks will be accepted by certified vendors. Vets grill-out set in Waterloo WATERLOO The Black Hawk County Veteran Affairs Commission will hold its last grill out for homeless vets 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 29 at Lincoln Park. The event is open to any veteran. Hicks Place will provide food and Tysons is donating 40 pounds of taco meat for walking tacos and hot dogs. Attendees are invited to bring veterans from nursing homes, service organizations and elsewhere. Councilmen to host town hall WATERLOO At-large City Council Members Steve Schmitt, Tom Lind and Second Ward Councilman Bruce Jacobs have scheduled another budget town hall meeting 1 to 3 p.m. June 26 at Law Court Theatre, Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St. The public will be invited to provice ideas and feedback regarding the budgets of specific City of Waterloo departments at this meeting, the Central Garage and Code Enforcement/Legal. Department heads from the aforementioned areas will be invited to attend as well. All Waterloo residents are welcome to attend. CORE meets in Washburn WASHBURN The annual meeting of the Waterloo Chapter of CORE will meet at 1 p.m. June 26 at the Moose Lodge in Washburn. There will be election of officers, a discussion of health care changes, and time for questions and answers from those in attendance. Come with any concerns, and the board will try to answer them. Soft skills are sometimes overlooked in broader conversations about employee training, but they are one of the biggest assets for an organization. Soft skills are the intangible traits that guide how you interact with others: leadership, communication, customer relations, conflict resolution and collaboration. Strong soft skills are important to the professional success and reputation of employers and their employees, especially in todays connected society. Today, the customer experience can go viral, said Dr. Celina Peerman, an organizational behavior specialist with The Peerman Group. With fierce competition and customers who have more options we have to be able to distinguish ourselves. Among the business and industry training offered at Hawkeye Community College, I have seen requests for customer service training increase the most in the past year. Companies large and small are finding employees have the technical skills for the work, but need additional soft skills training to increase productivity and enhance consumer experience. A recent survey by Talent Q showed nine out of 10 employers believe employees with soft skills are increasingly important in the world of globalization. Yet in a 2014 survey by the Hay Group, a majority of employers believe entry-level employees arent prepared with the soft skills they need for todays global economy. When a consumer has a positive customer experience they might tell one person. When someone has a negative experience they might tell 10 people at least thats the way it used to be. In the age of social media and 24/7 connectivity, that number has multiplied almost infinitely. We really dont often talk about the good experiences as much, but we are more likely to post about the negative, Dr. Peerman said. It can multiply quickly. Smart business leaders are looking not just at how employees interact with customers, but how they interact with each other. Building strong communication skills is important for all levels of an organization, from entry-level employees to seasoned management. At Geater Machining and Manufacturing Co. in Independence, Hawkeye Community College provided effective communication training for frontline employees. It improved awareness and decreased misunderstandings due to poor communication skills, said Char Bantz, human resources coordinator. It was also beneficial for handling unexpected issues between internal and external customers. Soft skills are important across industries and at all levels in an organization. Understanding the role strong communication and customer service skills play is crucial to a companys success in a global marketplace. For more information on customer service, soft skills, leadership and other customized training for your business, contact Hawkeye Business and Community Education at 296-4223 or visit www.hawkeyecollege.edu/business-and-community. By The Associated Press Jun. 17, 2016 | 05:51 AM | PADUCAH, KY The Ohio River's annual cleanup day takes place this Saturday along its shores in six states.The River Sweep covers more than 3,000 miles of riverbank from its origin in Pittsburgh to its end in Cairo, Illinois. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission organizes the event, which saw 100,000 pounds of trash collected last year at 149 sites.McCracken County volunteers will gather at the Paducah riverfront at 8:00 am. You can call 270-908-4545 to find out more.Livingston County will meet at the Smithland waterfront at 8am. You can call 270-928-2168 for information.Ballard County volunteers will begin at the Wickliffe riverfront starting at 7:00 am. Call 270-335-8000.In southern Illinois, crews will be working out of Massac County at the Fort Massac boat ramp, as well as the Brookport and Joppa riverfronts.Other southern Illinois work sites include Pulaski County and Fisherman's Bluff at Olmsted, at Golconda in Pope County, Cave-In-Rock State Park, the Elizabethtown riverfront, Rosiclare City Park, and Fort Defiance in Cairo.For more information on the Ohio River event, click the link below. On the Net: past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (9) Jun 18 (8) Jun 15 (9) Jun 13 (13) Jun 11 (11) Jun 09 (19) Jun 06 (10) Jun 04 (10) Jun 03 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (5) May 30 (5) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (7) May 26 (6) May 25 (4) May 23 (6) May 22 (6) May 21 (4) May 20 (7) May 19 (9) May 18 (4) May 17 (6) May 16 (5) May 15 (7) May 14 (3) May 13 (3) May 12 (9) May 10 (3) May 09 (7) May 08 (4) May 07 (3) May 06 (5) May 05 (8) May 03 (9) May 02 (1) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (5) Apr 28 (4) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (4) Apr 24 (8) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (5) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (1) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (5) Apr 14 (2) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (2) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (3) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (2) Apr 03 (3) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (7) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (6) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (10) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (5) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (5) Mar 17 (4) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (7) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (8) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (12) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (8) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (8) Feb 28 (7) Feb 27 (5) Feb 26 (6) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (6) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (1) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (2) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (6) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (6) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (2) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (1) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (8) Jan 30 (2) Jan 29 (4) Jan 28 (1) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (4) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (2) Jan 20 (2) Jan 19 (3) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (2) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (6) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 05 (5) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (1) Dec 31 (5) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (5) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (2) Dec 17 (1) Dec 16 (4) Dec 15 (2) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (5) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (2) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (4) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (1) Dec 04 (5) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (5) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (5) Nov 29 (10) Nov 28 (6) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (3) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (6) Nov 19 (2) Nov 18 (5) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (2) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (4) Nov 10 (5) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (5) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (9) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (6) Oct 22 (4) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (4) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (2) Oct 13 (4) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (5) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (1) Oct 06 (10) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (1) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (6) Sep 26 (5) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (6) Sep 23 (5) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (6) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (5) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (5) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (4) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (4) Sep 06 (8) Sep 05 (6) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (5) Aug 31 (8) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (6) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (1) Aug 26 (4) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (7) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (4) Aug 21 (4) Aug 20 (7) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (8) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (2) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (4) Aug 08 (8) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (8) Jul 31 (1) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (2) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (10) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (5) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (2) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (1) Jul 16 (10) Jul 14 (7) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (7) Jul 10 (5) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (4) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (7) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (2) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (5) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (6) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 18 (2) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (4) Jun 15 (3) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (2) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (8) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (10) Jun 05 (14) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (6) Jun 02 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (7) May 30 (2) May 29 (7) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (4) May 25 (5) May 24 (4) May 23 (5) May 22 (5) May 21 (5) May 20 (3) May 19 (10) May 18 (6) May 17 (3) May 16 (6) May 15 (2) May 14 (3) May 13 (5) May 11 (1) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (4) May 07 (2) May 06 (4) May 05 (6) May 04 (5) May 03 (5) May 02 (1) May 01 (6) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (7) Apr 28 (8) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (14) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (1) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (1) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (1) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (2) Apr 08 (4) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (6) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (2) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (9) Mar 26 (4) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (9) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (6) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (13) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (6) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (5) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (9) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (9) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (10) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (2) Feb 03 (8) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (5) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (7) Jan 26 (8) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (6) Jan 23 (5) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (6) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (12) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (8) Jan 12 (6) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (7) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (9) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (8) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (4) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (5) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (1) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (10) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (12) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (6) Dec 08 (7) Dec 07 (12) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (13) Dec 04 (6) Dec 02 (8) Dec 01 (8) Nov 30 (6) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (4) Nov 26 (8) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (11) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (7) Nov 17 (6) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (5) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (4) Nov 09 (14) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (5) Nov 04 (11) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (10) Nov 01 (8) Oct 31 (12) Oct 30 (5) Oct 29 (5) Oct 28 (5) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (13) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (8) Oct 22 (5) Oct 21 (11) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (10) Oct 12 (11) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (10) Oct 09 (7) Oct 08 (5) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (14) Oct 04 (9) Oct 03 (12) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (9) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (7) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (10) Sep 21 (12) Sep 20 (12) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (11) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (8) Sep 11 (6) Sep 10 (10) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (9) Sep 07 (8) Sep 06 (11) Sep 05 (2) Sep 04 (8) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (9) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (4) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (2) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (6) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (6) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (3) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (7) Aug 06 (7) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (11) Aug 02 (6) Aug 01 (9) Jul 31 (11) Jul 28 (7) Jul 27 (11) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (1) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (2) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (7) Jul 15 (4) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (5) Jul 06 (6) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (3) Jun 30 (8) Jun 29 (5) Jun 28 (6) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (1) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (7) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (4) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (6) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (7) Jun 05 (5) Jun 04 (7) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (9) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (8) May 30 (7) May 29 (5) May 28 (5) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (4) May 24 (3) May 23 (5) May 22 (2) May 21 (3) May 20 (7) May 19 (11) May 18 (1) May 17 (7) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (4) May 11 (11) May 10 (2) May 09 (6) May 08 (6) May 07 (2) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (5) May 03 (8) May 02 (4) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (13) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (5) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (2) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (9) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (2) Apr 19 (2) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (6) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (2) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (6) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (7) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (9) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (4) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (6) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (8) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (6) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (4) Mar 12 (6) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (5) Feb 28 (3) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (9) Feb 24 (11) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (7) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (6) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (2) Feb 12 (5) Feb 11 (5) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (10) Feb 08 (9) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (2) Feb 05 (9) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (7) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (6) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (7) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (14) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (10) Jan 18 (11) Jan 17 (9) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (10) Jan 06 (8) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (5) Jan 01 (14) Dec 30 (13) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (5) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (7) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (5) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (9) Dec 16 (8) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (5) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (17) Dec 09 (8) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (10) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (7) Nov 30 (9) Nov 29 (6) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (15) Nov 24 (7) Nov 23 (15) Nov 22 (9) Nov 21 (6) Nov 20 (11) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (13) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (7) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (13) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (4) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (8) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (8) Nov 01 (6) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (15) Oct 26 (10) Oct 25 (10) Oct 24 (13) Oct 23 (9) Oct 21 (8) Oct 20 (13) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (8) Oct 16 (14) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (13) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (15) Oct 07 (7) Oct 06 (11) Oct 05 (18) Oct 04 (14) Oct 03 (1) Oct 02 (10) Sep 30 (11) Sep 29 (11) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (15) Sep 26 (7) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (17) Sep 20 (20) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (11) Sep 16 (10) Sep 15 (12) Sep 14 (9) Sep 13 (12) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (8) Sep 09 (9) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (13) Sep 06 (15) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (10) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (12) Aug 31 (14) Aug 30 (14) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (8) Aug 27 (9) Aug 26 (12) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (5) Aug 20 (6) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (11) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (5) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (4) Aug 02 (5) Aug 01 (5) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (5) Jul 29 (9) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (8) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (6) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (6) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (5) Jul 18 (15) Jul 15 (14) Jul 14 (5) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (12) Jul 11 (8) Jul 10 (3) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (10) Jul 05 (4) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (10) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (2) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (7) Jun 20 (3) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (11) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (14) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (8) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (11) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (16) Jun 03 (8) Jun 02 (12) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (7) May 30 (15) May 28 (7) May 27 (5) May 26 (21) May 25 (14) May 24 (10) May 23 (7) May 22 (8) May 21 (11) May 20 (5) May 19 (4) May 18 (10) May 17 (11) May 16 (5) May 15 (6) May 14 (7) May 13 (12) May 12 (10) May 11 (7) May 10 (13) May 09 (4) May 08 (7) May 07 (3) May 06 (6) May 05 (9) May 04 (14) May 03 (7) May 02 (10) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (8) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (14) Apr 22 (16) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (16) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (10) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (11) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (8) Apr 10 (12) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (13) Apr 07 (9) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (15) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (15) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (11) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (10) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (12) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (8) Mar 24 (7) Mar 23 (15) Mar 22 (17) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (8) Mar 19 (4) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (19) Mar 15 (13) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (20) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (13) Mar 08 (13) Mar 07 (7) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (16) Mar 02 (16) Mar 01 (13) Feb 29 (8) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (16) Feb 26 (10) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (12) Feb 23 (14) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (12) Feb 18 (12) Feb 17 (11) Feb 16 (8) Feb 15 (9) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (10) Feb 12 (11) Feb 11 (13) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (13) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (19) Jan 31 (21) Jan 29 (11) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (13) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (2) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (13) Jan 21 (11) Jan 20 (9) Jan 19 (13) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (11) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (13) Jan 13 (9) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (5) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (7) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (7) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (8) Jan 01 (5) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (9) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (1) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (6) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (13) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (10) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (11) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (4) Dec 12 (9) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (10) Dec 08 (13) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (8) Dec 04 (11) Dec 03 (12) Dec 02 (16) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (11) Nov 28 (15) Nov 27 (16) Nov 26 (11) Nov 25 (9) Nov 24 (13) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (1) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (10) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (10) Nov 13 (14) Nov 12 (8) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (12) Nov 05 (17) Nov 04 (12) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (12) Oct 31 (11) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (10) Oct 28 (18) Oct 27 (16) Oct 26 (11) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (12) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (12) Oct 20 (17) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (15) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (10) Oct 14 (16) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (12) Oct 09 (21) Oct 08 (22) Oct 07 (19) Oct 06 (18) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (17) Oct 03 (13) Oct 02 (14) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (14) Sep 29 (15) Sep 28 (12) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (15) Sep 25 (13) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (10) Sep 22 (12) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (4) Sep 19 (12) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (16) Sep 16 (21) Sep 15 (14) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (10) Sep 11 (16) Sep 10 (7) Sep 09 (8) Sep 08 (10) Sep 07 (7) Sep 06 (5) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (9) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (4) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (1) Aug 28 (10) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (14) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (3) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (13) Aug 20 (9) Aug 19 (13) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (8) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (12) Aug 11 (9) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (14) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (1) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (6) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (2) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (6) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (6) Jul 23 (5) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (5) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (5) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (9) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (1) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (13) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (7) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (9) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (3) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (7) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (11) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (2) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (8) Jun 03 (9) Jun 02 (6) Jun 01 (4) May 30 (7) May 29 (9) May 28 (13) May 26 (8) May 25 (5) May 24 (2) May 23 (8) May 22 (9) May 21 (7) May 20 (4) May 19 (6) May 18 (7) May 17 (8) May 15 (9) May 14 (5) May 13 (8) May 12 (6) May 11 (6) May 09 (7) May 08 (6) May 07 (11) May 06 (7) May 05 (4) May 04 (11) May 03 (5) May 02 (4) May 01 (9) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (9) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (10) Apr 22 (8) Apr 21 (9) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (4) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (6) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (6) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (4) Apr 08 (5) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (2) Apr 05 (2) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (7) Apr 02 (7) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (1) Mar 28 (2) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (2) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (4) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (6) Mar 20 (9) Mar 19 (9) Mar 18 (8) Mar 17 (9) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (11) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (12) Mar 11 (9) Mar 10 (12) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (5) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (11) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (8) Feb 27 (9) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (8) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (10) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (7) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (2) Feb 14 (8) Feb 13 (12) Feb 12 (8) Feb 11 (10) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (2) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (4) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (12) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (8) Jan 26 (13) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (12) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (10) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (11) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (4) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (3) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (8) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (9) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (10) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (10) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (9) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (10) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (1) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (9) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (7) Nov 25 (12) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (6) Nov 18 (10) Nov 17 (12) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (5) Nov 14 (12) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (7) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (6) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (9) Nov 03 (6) Nov 02 (14) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (9) Oct 27 (3) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (8) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (4) Oct 20 (2) Oct 19 (11) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (7) Oct 15 (7) Oct 14 (8) Oct 13 (5) Oct 12 (8) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (5) Oct 09 (11) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (8) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (10) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (7) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (5) Sep 27 (8) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (11) Sep 24 (15) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (4) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (10) Sep 17 (10) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (8) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (7) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (7) Sep 02 (7) Sep 01 (2) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (1) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (5) Aug 27 (4) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (9) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (12) Aug 19 (8) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (8) Aug 11 (7) Aug 10 (12) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (6) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (4) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (12) Jul 29 (4) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (8) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (8) Jul 20 (6) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (8) Jul 17 (2) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (9) Jul 13 (10) Jul 11 (9) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (7) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (7) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (15) Jun 26 (10) Jun 25 (9) Jun 24 (16) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (12) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (6) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (5) Jun 13 (13) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (14) Jun 10 (3) Jun 09 (2) Jun 08 (2) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (16) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (18) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (8) May 31 (3) May 30 (6) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (6) May 23 (4) May 22 (8) May 21 (5) May 20 (6) May 19 (2) May 18 (9) May 17 (1) May 16 (5) May 15 (5) May 14 (7) May 13 (7) May 12 (7) May 11 (4) May 10 (4) May 09 (5) May 08 (10) May 07 (4) May 06 (13) May 05 (4) May 04 (10) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (9) Apr 29 (6) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (9) Apr 24 (7) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (10) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (7) Apr 14 (11) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (9) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (6) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (10) Apr 03 (9) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (4) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (8) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (8) Mar 22 (7) Mar 21 (14) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (11) Mar 17 (12) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (8) Mar 14 (13) Mar 13 (8) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (8) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (3) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (15) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (12) Mar 02 (20) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (11) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (14) Feb 23 (5) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (8) Feb 16 (11) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (7) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (6) Feb 07 (5) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (2) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (3) Jan 26 (2) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (7) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (5) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (7) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (5) Jan 13 (4) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (3) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (1) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (2) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 27 (1) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (4) Dec 24 (8) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (1) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (7) Dec 09 (5) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (9) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (2) Dec 01 (8) Nov 29 (5) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (5) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (5) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (12) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (4) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (12) Nov 11 (6) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (9) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (4) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (4) Oct 29 (11) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (7) Oct 26 (7) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (7) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (2) Oct 21 (7) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (7) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (20) Oct 10 (2) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (21) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (34) Oct 04 (24) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (7) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (5) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (5) Sep 26 (6) Sep 25 (5) Sep 24 (2) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (4) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (9) Sep 19 (11) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (6) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (11) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (6) Sep 06 (10) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (5) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (8) Aug 31 (5) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (7) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (8) Aug 19 (4) Aug 18 (2) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (7) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (4) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (4) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (6) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (7) Jul 23 (10) Jul 22 (8) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (7) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (10) Jul 16 (11) Jul 15 (5) Jul 13 (5) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (12) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (8) Jul 03 (10) Jul 02 (12) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (23) Jun 27 (18) Jun 26 (12) Jun 25 (14) Jun 24 (15) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (15) Jun 20 (9) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (11) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (6) Jun 15 (6) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (5) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (9) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (2) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (3) May 30 (5) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (2) May 25 (8) May 24 (7) May 23 (6) May 22 (9) May 21 (6) May 20 (5) May 19 (6) May 18 (9) May 17 (10) May 16 (11) May 15 (5) May 14 (11) May 13 (6) May 12 (7) May 11 (7) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (10) May 07 (8) May 06 (11) May 05 (5) May 04 (9) May 03 (3) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (5) Apr 29 (8) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (10) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (10) Apr 16 (8) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (11) Apr 11 (6) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (9) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (2) Apr 02 (6) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (3) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (3) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (5) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (9) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (10) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (2) Mar 10 (1) Mar 09 (6) Mar 08 (4) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (6) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (9) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (4) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (2) Feb 17 (1) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (6) Feb 14 (5) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (7) Feb 11 (2) Feb 10 (2) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (5) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (9) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (3) Feb 02 (10) Feb 01 (9) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (5) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (5) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (3) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (8) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (1) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (1) Jan 10 (3) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (2) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (4) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (8) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (5) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (6) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (5) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (8) Dec 10 (5) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (4) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (7) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (7) Dec 02 (1) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (2) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (16) Nov 27 (7) Nov 26 (5) Nov 25 (2) Nov 24 (6) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (15) Nov 19 (8) Nov 18 (2) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (5) Nov 08 (8) Nov 07 (9) Nov 06 (9) Nov 05 (1) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (8) Nov 02 (6) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (8) Oct 24 (4) Oct 23 (1) Oct 22 (6) Oct 21 (1) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (10) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (15) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (7) Oct 10 (1) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (3) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (5) Oct 04 (3) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (6) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (8) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (8) Sep 24 (8) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (9) Sep 20 (7) Sep 19 (8) Sep 18 (4) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (7) Sep 12 (7) Sep 11 (9) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (10) Sep 08 (4) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (15) Sep 04 (5) Sep 03 (4) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (7) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (11) Aug 27 (2) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (15) Aug 24 (6) Aug 23 (8) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (7) Aug 19 (2) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (9) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (5) Aug 08 (7) Aug 07 (9) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (11) Jul 30 (4) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (5) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (6) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (8) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (14) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (4) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (5) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (6) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (8) Jun 25 (3) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (14) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (4) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (12) Jun 15 (12) Jun 14 (10) Jun 13 (10) Jun 12 (9) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (12) Jun 09 (4) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (12) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (4) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (3) May 25 (5) May 24 (9) May 23 (16) May 22 (12) May 21 (11) May 20 (7) May 19 (10) May 18 (8) May 17 (8) May 16 (10) May 15 (8) May 14 (5) May 13 (1) May 12 (6) May 11 (9) May 10 (9) May 09 (10) May 08 (9) May 07 (6) May 06 (5) May 05 (7) May 04 (10) May 03 (7) May 02 (9) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (12) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (4) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (4) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (9) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (2) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (10) Apr 14 (7) Apr 13 (5) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (7) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (8) Apr 05 (8) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (6) Apr 02 (4) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (11) Mar 30 (12) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (6) Mar 24 (9) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (12) Mar 20 (14) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (8) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (12) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (8) Feb 29 (11) Feb 28 (5) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (13) Feb 25 (10) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (10) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (18) Feb 20 (6) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (5) Feb 16 (9) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (8) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (10) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (12) Jan 30 (7) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (7) Jan 27 (12) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (11) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (6) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (12) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (6) Jan 17 (11) Jan 16 (9) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (9) Jan 10 (10) Jan 09 (5) Jan 08 (10) Jan 07 (5) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (10) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (7) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (9) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (8) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (1) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (6) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (13) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (7) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (7) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (9) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (7) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (8) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (10) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (10) Nov 20 (4) Nov 19 (4) Nov 18 (8) Nov 17 (9) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (12) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (7) Nov 07 (8) Nov 06 (10) Nov 05 (8) Nov 04 (7) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (11) Nov 01 (10) Oct 31 (5) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (8) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (5) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (11) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (7) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (9) Oct 14 (7) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (8) Oct 09 (9) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (12) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (13) Oct 04 (11) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (5) Oct 01 (14) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (12) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (7) Sep 25 (10) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (8) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (7) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (14) Sep 16 (7) Sep 15 (11) Sep 14 (13) Sep 13 (11) Sep 12 (9) Sep 11 (5) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (13) Sep 08 (11) Sep 07 (11) Sep 06 (16) Sep 05 (1) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (8) Sep 01 (7) Aug 31 (1) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (2) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (5) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (7) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (5) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (10) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (5) Aug 06 (12) Aug 05 (5) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (13) Jul 28 (10) Jul 27 (6) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (12) Jul 22 (14) Jul 21 (6) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (12) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (6) Jul 15 (8) Jul 14 (15) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (6) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (6) Jul 07 (9) Jul 06 (15) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (10) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (11) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (11) Jun 24 (9) Jun 23 (10) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (8) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (5) Jun 18 (15) Jun 17 (8) Jun 16 (13) Jun 15 (15) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (6) Jun 12 (15) Jun 11 (7) Jun 10 (7) Jun 09 (18) Jun 08 (20) Jun 07 (17) Jun 06 (9) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (12) Jun 03 (13) Jun 02 (14) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (13) May 30 (8) May 29 (6) May 28 (8) May 27 (17) May 26 (8) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (9) May 22 (4) May 21 (4) May 20 (11) May 19 (14) May 18 (6) May 17 (10) May 16 (4) May 15 (5) May 14 (28) May 12 (9) May 11 (17) May 10 (15) May 09 (12) May 08 (5) May 07 (4) May 06 (10) May 05 (8) May 04 (10) May 03 (5) May 02 (6) May 01 (8) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (12) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (5) Apr 22 (10) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (13) Apr 19 (11) Apr 18 (11) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (11) Apr 14 (17) Apr 13 (6) Apr 12 (16) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (1) Apr 09 (18) Apr 08 (14) Apr 07 (6) Apr 06 (10) Apr 05 (21) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (13) Apr 01 (8) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (11) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (10) Mar 23 (12) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (8) Mar 20 (4) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (9) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (2) Mar 12 (14) Mar 11 (13) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (17) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (7) Mar 05 (13) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (14) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (18) Feb 28 (8) Feb 27 (2) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (13) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (13) Feb 22 (12) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (16) Feb 18 (17) Feb 17 (15) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (15) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (8) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (15) Feb 10 (11) Feb 09 (13) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (6) Feb 05 (15) Feb 04 (15) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (14) Feb 01 (15) Jan 31 (11) Jan 30 (9) Jan 29 (19) Jan 28 (9) Jan 27 (9) Jan 26 (16) Jan 25 (19) Jan 24 (17) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (15) Jan 21 (9) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (12) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (14) Jan 12 (11) Jan 11 (13) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (20) Jan 07 (11) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (14) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (14) Dec 30 (15) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (10) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (11) Dec 24 (9) Dec 23 (9) Dec 22 (15) Dec 21 (12) Dec 20 (11) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (6) Dec 16 (12) Dec 15 (14) Dec 14 (11) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (17) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (12) Dec 07 (16) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (5) Dec 04 (12) Dec 03 (15) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (12) Nov 30 (16) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (13) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (15) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (4) Nov 20 (8) Nov 19 (9) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (9) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (10) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (7) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (14) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (13) Nov 01 (9) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (18) Oct 28 (13) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (12) Oct 25 (14) Oct 24 (20) Oct 22 (18) Oct 21 (18) Oct 20 (19) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (18) Oct 15 (8) Oct 14 (11) Oct 13 (9) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (27) Oct 08 (14) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (10) Oct 03 (6) Oct 02 (9) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (13) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (9) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (14) Sep 24 (4) Sep 23 (14) Sep 22 (20) Sep 21 (11) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (14) Sep 17 (8) Sep 16 (17) Sep 15 (6) Sep 14 (11) Sep 13 (9) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (14) Sep 09 (12) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (9) Sep 04 (20) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (16) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (13) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (11) Aug 25 (10) Aug 24 (14) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (13) Aug 21 (10) Aug 20 (13) Aug 19 (15) Aug 18 (8) Aug 17 (10) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (11) Aug 13 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (10) Aug 10 (17) Aug 09 (6) Aug 08 (13) Aug 07 (11) Aug 06 (13) Aug 05 (11) Aug 04 (11) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (10) Jul 30 (21) Jul 29 (14) Jul 28 (13) Jul 27 (16) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (15) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (15) Jul 21 (19) Jul 20 (17) Jul 19 (9) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (26) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (20) Jul 14 (16) Jul 13 (19) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (13) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (16) Jul 05 (9) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (15) Jul 02 (11) Jul 01 (14) Jun 30 (13) Jun 29 (19) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (9) Jun 26 (16) Jun 25 (22) Jun 24 (17) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (15) Jun 21 (14) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (17) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (10) Jun 16 (17) Jun 15 (13) Jun 14 (14) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (13) Jun 11 (15) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (10) Jun 08 (23) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (20) Jun 05 (10) Jun 04 (11) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (21) Jun 01 (14) May 31 (10) May 30 (14) May 29 (8) May 28 (23) May 27 (20) May 26 (16) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (10) May 22 (18) May 21 (14) May 20 (12) May 19 (18) May 18 (14) May 17 (13) May 16 (4) May 15 (7) May 14 (16) May 13 (13) May 12 (8) May 11 (18) May 10 (8) May 09 (7) May 08 (13) May 07 (11) May 06 (15) May 05 (18) May 04 (17) May 03 (7) May 02 (5) May 01 (11) Apr 30 (19) Apr 29 (21) Apr 28 (18) Apr 27 (16) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (20) Apr 22 (23) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (16) Apr 19 (13) Apr 18 (6) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (16) Apr 15 (18) Apr 14 (13) Apr 13 (14) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (14) Apr 08 (12) Apr 07 (18) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (11) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (16) Mar 31 (16) Mar 30 (22) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (19) Mar 26 (31) Mar 25 (25) Mar 24 (26) Mar 23 (27) Mar 22 (22) Mar 21 (22) Mar 20 (13) Mar 19 (21) Mar 18 (20) Mar 17 (24) Mar 16 (18) Mar 15 (9) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (29) Mar 12 (15) Mar 11 (11) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (20) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (6) Mar 06 (21) Mar 05 (22) Mar 04 (19) Mar 03 (9) Mar 02 (20) Mar 01 (11) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (27) Feb 26 (15) Feb 25 (18) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (19) Feb 22 (24) Feb 21 (10) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (25) Feb 18 (16) Feb 17 (19) Feb 16 (23) Feb 15 (8) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (16) Feb 11 (12) Feb 10 (18) Feb 09 (12) Feb 08 (14) Feb 07 (8) Feb 06 (27) Feb 05 (28) Feb 04 (24) Feb 03 (17) Feb 02 (20) Feb 01 (23) Jan 31 (16) Jan 30 (20) Jan 29 (26) Jan 28 (17) Jan 27 (21) Jan 26 (24) Jan 25 (16) Jan 24 (14) Jan 23 (16) Jan 22 (17) Jan 21 (19) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (17) Jan 18 (13) Jan 17 (14) Jan 16 (10) Jan 15 (21) Jan 14 (16) Jan 13 (19) Jan 12 (30) Jan 11 (14) Jan 10 (11) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (23) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (21) Jan 05 (15) Jan 04 (18) Jan 03 (9) Jan 02 (12) Jan 01 (15) Dec 31 (18) Dec 30 (7) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (6) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (28) Dec 23 (12) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (17) Dec 20 (19) Dec 19 (19) Dec 18 (22) Dec 17 (24) Dec 16 (17) Dec 15 (29) Dec 14 (22) Dec 13 (12) Dec 12 (22) Dec 11 (24) Dec 10 (25) Dec 09 (18) Dec 08 (15) Dec 07 (21) Dec 06 (24) Dec 05 (30) Dec 04 (28) Dec 03 (26) Dec 02 (22) Dec 01 (33) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (9) Nov 28 (18) Nov 27 (25) Nov 26 (17) Nov 25 (23) Nov 24 (27) Nov 23 (12) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (15) Nov 20 (23) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (24) Nov 17 (21) Nov 16 (20) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (15) Nov 13 (27) Nov 12 (23) Nov 11 (19) Nov 10 (21) Nov 09 (13) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (16) Nov 06 (32) Nov 05 (24) Nov 04 (20) Nov 03 (29) Nov 02 (12) Nov 01 (15) Oct 31 (20) Oct 30 (22) Oct 29 (27) Oct 28 (20) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (21) Oct 25 (15) Oct 24 (23) Oct 23 (26) Oct 22 (27) Oct 21 (28) Oct 20 (24) Oct 19 (13) Oct 18 (9) Oct 17 (30) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (20) Oct 14 (14) Oct 13 (17) Oct 12 (16) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (19) Oct 09 (22) Oct 08 (16) Oct 07 (18) Oct 06 (23) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (15) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (22) Sep 30 (25) Sep 29 (20) Sep 28 (17) Sep 27 (13) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (15) Sep 24 (24) Sep 23 (23) Sep 22 (18) Sep 21 (20) Sep 20 (11) Sep 19 (24) Sep 18 (25) Sep 17 (25) Sep 16 (19) Sep 15 (21) Sep 14 (15) Sep 13 (10) Sep 12 (23) Sep 11 (23) Sep 10 (25) Sep 09 (25) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (17) Sep 05 (14) Sep 04 (24) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (19) Aug 31 (20) Aug 30 (11) Aug 29 (24) Aug 28 (24) Aug 27 (16) Aug 26 (26) Aug 25 (21) Aug 24 (15) Aug 23 (19) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (25) Aug 20 (27) Aug 19 (19) Aug 18 (24) Aug 17 (14) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (15) Aug 14 (16) Aug 13 (21) Aug 12 (30) Aug 11 (19) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (12) Aug 08 (17) Aug 07 (21) Aug 06 (26) Aug 05 (23) Aug 04 (21) Aug 03 (12) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (19) Jul 31 (21) Jul 30 (25) Jul 29 (29) Jul 28 (23) Jul 27 (17) Jul 26 (11) Jul 25 (21) Jul 24 (14) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (19) Jul 21 (15) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (10) Jul 18 (15) Jul 17 (22) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (21) Jul 14 (20) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (29) Jul 10 (19) Jul 09 (17) Jul 08 (26) Jul 07 (21) Jul 06 (18) Jul 05 (14) Jul 04 (20) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (24) Jul 01 (23) Jun 30 (23) Jun 29 (18) Jun 28 (16) Jun 27 (16) Jun 26 (17) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (32) Jun 23 (29) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (17) Jun 20 (25) Jun 19 (28) Jun 18 (19) Jun 17 (25) Jun 16 (23) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (14) Jun 12 (22) Jun 11 (19) Jun 10 (17) Jun 09 (15) Jun 08 (16) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (29) Jun 05 (27) Jun 04 (24) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (22) Jun 01 (13) May 31 (9) May 30 (26) May 29 (19) May 28 (15) May 27 (15) May 26 (23) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (24) May 22 (13) May 21 (21) May 20 (18) May 19 (16) May 18 (7) May 17 (12) May 16 (25) May 15 (24) May 14 (23) May 13 (19) May 12 (17) May 11 (8) May 10 (6) May 09 (14) May 08 (21) May 07 (26) May 06 (14) May 05 (14) May 04 (3) May 03 (3) May 02 (24) May 01 (13) Apr 30 (15) Apr 29 (24) Apr 28 (24) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (13) Apr 24 (27) Apr 23 (15) Apr 22 (21) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (17) Apr 19 (8) Apr 18 (20) Apr 17 (27) Apr 16 (27) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (8) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (22) Apr 09 (15) Apr 08 (15) Apr 07 (17) Apr 06 (14) Apr 05 (5) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (19) Mar 31 (25) Mar 30 (13) Mar 29 (9) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (23) Mar 26 (22) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (25) Mar 23 (16) Mar 22 (13) Mar 21 (24) Mar 20 (27) Mar 19 (20) Mar 18 (24) Mar 17 (17) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (20) Mar 13 (28) Mar 12 (30) Mar 11 (20) Mar 10 (21) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (8) Mar 07 (17) Mar 06 (20) Mar 05 (19) Mar 04 (15) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (12) Feb 28 (16) Feb 27 (17) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (23) Feb 24 (15) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (10) Feb 21 (24) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (24) Feb 18 (19) Feb 17 (27) Feb 16 (13) Feb 15 (11) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (13) Feb 12 (13) Feb 11 (21) Feb 10 (16) Feb 09 (15) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (17) Feb 06 (21) Feb 05 (17) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (23) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (8) Jan 31 (17) Jan 30 (22) Jan 29 (23) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (24) Jan 26 (12) Jan 25 (9) Jan 24 (12) Jan 23 (19) Jan 22 (19) Jan 21 (14) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (12) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (20) Jan 16 (14) Jan 15 (23) Jan 14 (8) Jan 13 (20) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (18) Jan 09 (11) Jan 08 (18) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (12) Jan 05 (12) Jan 04 (11) Jan 03 (10) Jan 02 (9) Jan 01 (9) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (13) Dec 26 (15) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (8) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (14) Dec 19 (17) Dec 18 (14) Dec 17 (14) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (9) Dec 14 (9) Dec 13 (11) Dec 12 (16) Dec 11 (18) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (24) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (19) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (26) Dec 04 (15) Dec 03 (20) Dec 02 (17) Dec 01 (11) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (18) Nov 28 (21) Nov 27 (10) Nov 26 (22) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (18) Nov 21 (9) Nov 20 (17) Nov 19 (16) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (21) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (20) Nov 12 (16) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (9) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (15) Nov 06 (18) Nov 05 (19) Nov 04 (16) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (17) Oct 31 (17) Oct 30 (21) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (16) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (16) Oct 24 (18) Oct 23 (14) Oct 22 (17) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (6) Oct 19 (8) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (12) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (19) Oct 14 (15) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (10) Oct 10 (23) Oct 09 (13) Oct 08 (15) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (13) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (16) Oct 03 (17) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (20) Sep 30 (17) Sep 29 (9) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (14) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (19) Sep 24 (13) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (5) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (21) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (20) Sep 16 (16) Sep 15 (10) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (18) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (24) Sep 10 (17) Sep 09 (16) Sep 08 (16) Sep 07 (10) Sep 06 (20) Sep 05 (13) Sep 04 (23) Sep 03 (14) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (11) Aug 31 (11) Aug 30 (13) Aug 29 (18) Aug 28 (14) Aug 27 (21) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (8) Aug 24 (10) Aug 23 (17) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (14) Aug 20 (20) Aug 19 (20) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (9) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (12) Aug 14 (14) Aug 13 (19) Aug 12 (14) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (12) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (18) Aug 07 (16) Aug 06 (16) Aug 05 (20) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (12) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (16) Jul 30 (16) Jul 29 (11) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (9) Jul 26 (17) Jul 25 (20) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (11) Jul 22 (18) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (14) Jul 18 (11) Jul 17 (15) Jul 16 (12) Jul 15 (10) Jul 14 (8) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (17) Jul 11 (18) Jul 10 (16) Jul 09 (13) Jul 08 (10) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (8) Jul 05 (16) Jul 04 (14) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (13) Jul 01 (16) Jun 30 (19) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (19) Jun 27 (21) Jun 26 (27) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (23) Jun 23 (12) Jun 22 (9) Jun 21 (18) Jun 20 (15) Jun 19 (24) Jun 18 (21) Jun 17 (13) Jun 16 (9) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (18) Jun 13 (24) Jun 12 (18) Jun 11 (23) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (24) Jun 08 (27) Jun 07 (5) Jun 06 (25) Jun 05 (30) Jun 04 (23) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (16) Jun 01 (17) May 31 (18) May 30 (19) May 29 (17) May 28 (23) May 27 (15) May 26 (10) May 25 (19) May 24 (16) May 23 (16) May 22 (27) May 21 (20) May 20 (26) May 19 (6) May 18 (8) May 17 (20) May 16 (8) May 15 (18) May 14 (5) May 13 (21) May 12 (9) May 11 (8) May 10 (12) May 09 (18) May 08 (11) May 07 (27) May 06 (12) May 05 (16) May 04 (19) May 03 (14) May 02 (18) May 01 (18) Apr 30 (25) Apr 29 (27) Apr 28 (11) Apr 27 (10) Apr 26 (18) Apr 25 (10) Apr 24 (29) Apr 23 (29) Apr 22 (14) Apr 21 (15) Apr 20 (20) Apr 19 (22) Apr 18 (16) Apr 17 (32) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (21) Apr 13 (15) Apr 12 (13) Apr 11 (14) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (20) Apr 08 (36) Apr 07 (22) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (28) Apr 04 (20) Apr 03 (29) Apr 02 (32) Apr 01 (18) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (15) Mar 28 (22) Mar 27 (24) Mar 26 (17) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (13) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (15) Mar 20 (18) Mar 19 (19) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (10) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (18) Mar 14 (24) Mar 13 (18) Mar 12 (18) Mar 11 (17) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (18) Mar 07 (25) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (16) Mar 04 (22) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (23) Feb 29 (19) Feb 28 (25) Feb 27 (26) Feb 26 (23) Feb 25 (12) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (15) Feb 22 (26) Feb 21 (31) Feb 20 (12) Feb 19 (21) Feb 18 (15) Feb 17 (10) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (19) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (20) Feb 11 (9) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (28) Feb 08 (20) Feb 07 (22) Feb 06 (20) Feb 05 (19) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (16) Feb 02 (28) Feb 01 (37) Jan 31 (27) Jan 30 (31) Jan 29 (18) Jan 28 (14) Jan 27 (10) Jan 26 (18) Jan 25 (26) Jan 24 (34) Jan 23 (21) Jan 22 (21) Jan 21 (18) Jan 20 (18) Jan 19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) A very good example of what I pay for food is milk. I just bought 5 milks at 29 rubles per liter. That is give or take, 44 cents per liter and that equates to .44 X 3.8 liters per gallon = $1.672 per gallon. I then looked at the government information in America of prices just for milk Milk price America.gov : Then I looked at other items (look it all up yourself at the link below! I do not make this stuff up) http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ap Link in case the download fails Bread for me in Russia 18 rubles per loaf = 27 cents in dollars. Price per gov. = $1.40 in America Eggs 39 rubles per 10 = 3.9 rubles per egg. 6 cents per egg. America 17 to 20 cents an egg Bananas I paid 57 rubles for a kilo. America pays 57 cents for a pound. Big difference for a kilo is 2.2 pounds Whole chicken I pay 79 rubles a kilo. America is paying $1.60 per pound. Once again kilo is much heavier than a pound I could go on all day, but with the few exceptions, I pay much less than I would in America for basic foods You should question things around you! Why does a country under heavy illegal sanctions and under massive attacks financially, still doing better than America for her people? Why does Russia now lead the world in wheat exports? Why is Russia becoming pork independent? Beef independent? Chicken independent? Why is Russia looking over her shoulder and watching the recession recede away? Why can Russia crank up internal production, but America keeps sending its life blood out the door? You should ask, Why? Why is all this happening and all you hear is about how terrible things are in Russia? * * * * * * * * * * Tidbit 1: Yes, things as food cost more in Russia, but then they cost more for everyone in the world. Tidbit 2: Illegal Sanctions backfired and yet the EU and the USA keep them going as if they are doing any good The sanctions are doing a good thing; they are killing the host * * * * * * * * * * Remember how terrible the west attacked verbally, media wise and even politically Russia about the Olympics a few years ago? Well it all is happening to Brazil and the shameless media, politicians and lies are abound from the western world. Hate is such a terrible thing to live life with I wish Sveta and I could go, but it is so far away and so expensive to travel that far. Money is tight, but we were able to go to the Paralympics here in Russia and that was a trip of a lifetime It is going to be wonderful for Brazil. They have fought a huge battle against the west, just like Russia did and China before that, with their Olympics. The only thing I will say to Brazil is, Watch your back! The west is gunning for you! * * * * * * * * * * The winds of power in the world are changing The old powers are slipping and they are scared. This is normal in the world, but never has the old powers had so much technology at their disposal. When I look at the advancements made since even the Vietnam war; I sometimes stop and pray that if there is a God, may he step in and stop what is brewing, like a volcano just about to erupt. I look around me and hope that if at anytime we need someone bigger than us to say NO! It is now! God is as big as it comes in my eyes! WtR There are two Olympics that I care about and it is not the Summer Olympics nor the Winter Olympics. I have very little desire to watch the regular Olympics and that is how I have been for my whole life. Now in the same mode of mind, but in a different way of my thinking, I am a avid supporter of the Paralympics and the Special Olympics! I believe that the true spirit of the Olympics can be found in the Special and Paralympics. I watched the money being lavished upon the elite over regular Olympics and realized that it was all just a political merry-go-round I use to have many certificates of appreciation from the Special and Paralympic committees in the past, because I went out of my way to offer, give and supply as many services as I could afford and asked nothing in return. I did my best to stay out of the limelight and keep a low profile, as that is just the way I am. They the committees made sure that I was embarrassed with presentations and such, but a jealous ex-wife burned all my appreciation certificates and destroyed two actually gold medals associated with the Special Olympics (No they were real facsimile medals, but not what the athletes would get!) I remember the look on peoples faces as I would deliver free basic meals, as in meals on wheels to the Special Olympics and I sat down and had very good insightful conversations with Paralympics athletes. I also got to experience the unique abilities of the mentally handicap and learned that I myself had the messed up thinkings, not them. I guess there was some perks about being the boss and spending my money the way I decided. I do know that funding for the lessor of the Olympics is pathetic at best, I knew this and I helped with what I could do. I was in foodservice and hence I could effect the bellies of the athletes I am talking about this right now, because the Paralympics are now getting ready to start in Russia. Now while my favorite are the Intellectually Challenged Special Olympics, but I will take the Paralympics as a backup any day I guess I should have said what Olympics many years ago, that Sveta and I would go to. Sveta agrees and we will go to the Paralympics this year. It is starting at the end of this week and will last one week exactly. We have tickets to see several events and we are excited to see the facilities and changes that happened to Sochi. Though knowing me, I will be a little upset as I loved Sochi the way it was and from what I am seeing, there have been big changes Tickets for events in the Sochi Paralympics are few and basically sold out across the board, right now. I suspect that some tickets will pop up right before the events, but as it is looking, hotels are sold out and tickets are sold out. That makes me smile So while we enjoyed the Sochi Olympics on the computer screen, we will enjoy one of the best Olympics, in person Now that is just how I feel and I was amazed that my little sweetie Sveta, feels the same way Post by Kyle Keeton Windows to Russia 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. If youre going to play roulette, for example, then you probably dont want a casino with a minimum bet of less than $2.50 or even lower than that. The players used to play the game slot online in the land based casinos in the past time. But now with time after the invention of the online casinos players play the game slot online. Online platform provide the players with the convenience in playing and even better winning. Even after keeping a good percentage of the profits, they distribute good funds to players. How many games do they offer? There are lots of different types of games to choose from. Roulette, blackjack and poker are some of the most popular options, but you might find slots, video pokers, video bingo and others as well. You can usually filter these games down to only show the ones that interest you best, so make sure that your list isnt too long! Is there a bonus offer? 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. Now that youve got an idea of what to look for when choosing an online casino, heres some tips for making the right choice It really comes down to personal preference. No two people are exactly alike, so everyone has an opinion on what they like and dislike about each casino. That said, here are some things to consider in order to narrow down your choices Popularity. Check out reviews, forums and Facebook pages to see what other people think of the casino. Also, ask around at work or friends houses who they would recommend to you. You could always take a look at the casinos website too, to see what kind of information they provide about themselves. Reputation. Find out what the general public thinks about the casino. Check out any customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Amazon and Google Play to find out more. As far as gaming goes, you can also check out the Better Business Bureau to see whether there have been any complaints against the casino. Security. Make sure the casino uses SSL encryption to secure its transactions, meaning that your private data stays safe during transactions. Other than that, look for security seals on the site itself and verify that theyre legitimate. You can also check out the casinos privacy policy to see how they handle confidential information. Payment methods. Its good to have multiple payment options available, especially if you plan to play frequently. Its also nice to find a casino that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. If youre worried about safety, you can always opt for a credit card or PayPal instead. With all those criteria in mind, heres our top picks Betway: Betway is a relatively new UK casino offering online gambling to residents of the United Kingdom and European Union. They offer hundreds of games across both land based and digital platforms, with plenty of top software providers like Net Entertainment, Microgaming and Yggdrasil Gaming Network. With a generous welcome offer that gives players 100% up to 100, you really cant go wrong with Betway. Coral Casino: Coral Casino is operated by the same company that runs the famous Caribbean casino, Grand Reef. Like many casinos, Coral Casino offers a wide variety of games, including plenty of video slots and table games. New players can benefit from a huge 100% match bonus up to 1000, while existing customers enjoy 25% cash back on deposits made within 48 hours of opening an account. Ladbrokes Casino: Ladbrokes Casino is owned by the same company as the famous bookmaker that started life in 1921. With more than 500 games from leading software providers such as Amaya, NetEnt and Microgaming, you wont be disappointed by the quality of the games here. New players get a 200% match bonus up to 500, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. Paddy Power Casino: Paddy Power is another Irish-owned casino that operates throughout Europe. Not only does Paddy Power Casino offer traditional casino games like blackjack, roulette and slots, but it also provides a full range of sports betting, including football, tennis, boxing and horse racing. New players can receive a massive 100% match bonus up to 200, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. William Hill Casino: William Hill Casino is one of the biggest names in the industry, operating in Europe, Asia and North America. Founded in 1984, this online casino has more than 400 games to choose from, including slots and table games, with a wide array of software providers like WagerLogic, Big Time Gaming and Rival. Bonus: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Register Now Betway: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Claim Now Coral Casino: 25% Cash Back on Deposits Claim Now Ladbrokes Casino: 35% Cash Back on First 3 Deposits Claim Now Paddy Power Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now William Hill Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now If youre interested in trying out an online casino but arent quite ready to commit to one, why not try out one of the many no deposit casinos weve reviewed? You can test drive various casinos completely risk-free, so you can feel confident about your choice before you make a single penny deposit. Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir? Canl Bahis Nedir? Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir. Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir. Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr. Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr? Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr? Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. 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. The beautiful Central American country of Costa Rica is to hold a Ironman 70.3 race in June 2017. The inaugural event will take place on Sunday, June 18, 2017, in Playa del Coco, Guanacaste, located on the Pacific Coast. Advertisement With its beautiful natural landscape and indigenous flora and fauna, Costa Rica is the ideal place to host an Ironman 70.3 race, said Wilber Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Miami Tri Events and Colombia Tri Events and licensee of this new race. We are confident that this event will become a classic as participants cross the finish line in a stunning location that will let them know their effort was worthwhile. The triathlon begins with a 1.9km one-loop swim in the Gulf of Papagayo, while riding the 90 km two-loop bike course through the regions lush vegetation, will give participants the chance to see monkeys and iguanas, if they take their eyes off the road. The 21 km (13.1 mile) run course takes place between palm trees with an ocean view and brings athletes to the finish line in breathtaking Playa del Coco, Guanacaste. It is a great honour to welcome athletes and their families from around the world to our country, said Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica. This is an opportunity for everyone to come together and enjoy the race with thousands of supporting spectators. Costa Ricas lavish rainforests, beautiful beaches on the Pacific Ocean and endless biodiversity make it the perfect destination race, expressed Edwin Vargas, Vice President of Colombia Tri Events. Athletes will be greeted by a country that values ecotourism with such energy, they will feel the appreciation for nature, local society and culture immediately. Advertisement Related 3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month. Jun 17, 2016 | By Benedict In an interview with British newspaper the Daily Mirror, US presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan has warned that weaponized 3D printed drones could be used by terrorists. Istvan, leader of the Transhumanist Party, entered the presidential race to raise awareness about transhumanist politics. Which 2016 US presidential candidate has the most outlandish ideas? For many people, the answer is obviousand it isnt Hillary Clinton. One man, however, is doing his best to compete with Donald J. Trump in the crazy stakes. That man is Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, an American writer and philosopher running for presidency as leader of the Transhumanist Party, a group of people who believe that technology could let humans live forever. But while technology could, according to Istvan and his followers, potentially eradicate death, it could also be used for more troublesome purposes such as terrorism. Unfortunately for us, that technology includes our beloved 3D printing, which Istvan believes could accelerate the development of DIY weaponry. In a recent interview with the Daily Mirror, a British tabloid newspaper, the presidential hopeful warned that 3D printed drone armies pose a serious threat to national security. You can 3D-print 100 drones for about $30,000 or $40,000, Istvan said. That means at least half of adult Americans can come up with the money to create a drone army. Its really easy to arm these dronesyou go to Walmart, you buy a bullet, you put the bullet in and you can shoot it pretty easily. While the idea of a drone army is not, in itself, so farfetchedthe Pentagon recently released footage of its own 3D printed drone swarm launched from fighter jetsIstvan perhaps undermines his argument by suggesting that drones could be loaded up with buckets of acid to pour on unsuspecting enemies. It's not just drones carrying bullets, he cautioned. The risks posed by 3D printing probably arent severe enough to warrant governmental action against printer manufacturers, but Istvan does make another argument concerning another, more deadly form of technology: guns. The transhumanist believes that American gun laws need to be changed to prevent the kind of tragedies which already occur on an all-too-frequent basis in the States, and which could soon occur on an even larger scale. When they wrote the constitution they were writing with quill pens and they were talking about single-shot guns, Istvan said. They were not talking about drones that can fire multiple bullets at once at crowds and have hundreds of them swarming. The US presidential candidate made headlines last year when he began driving the Immortality Bus, a converted single-decker bus shaped and painted like a coffin, while on the campaign trail. The self-acknowledged publicity stunt was intended to raise awareness of transhumanist beliefs; an outcome that Istvan hopes to build upon in the lead-up to the election. We really need a legal and a governmental organizationmaybe even a brand new institutionto deal with how fast and how far science and technology is developing in the United States," Istvan said. Because people just dont realize that there are multiple ways of using technology to harm citizens, and without some type of increased security measures, were going to have tragedies happen. While Istvan does not believe he has a chance of actually winning the election, he hopes that his involvement will spark debate on issues of technology and weaponry. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Donald wrote at 6/20/2016 6:44:36 PM:"US presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan" ... The candidate for people who think the Libertarian party doesn't have enough crazy. Jun 17, 2016 | By Tess As weve seen, time and time again, 3D printing has offered trainees and professionals in the medical field an advanced and tactile way of interacting with surgical plans and models. 3D printed plastic organs, bones, and anatomies have helped surgeons and doctors prepare for complex procedures, and have helped doctors in training to become better acquainted with the human body. San Draw, Inc., a 3D printing solutions company, is hoping to further 3D printings capability to help medical education through its innovative new 3D printing system, FAM. FAM, which stands for Full-color, Adjustable hardness, and Multi-material 3D printing, is a system developed by San Draws founders, Gary Chang and Michael Lu, two graduates from Stanford University. The innovative 3D printing system is designed to create multi-color models out of silicone, a flexible and tactile material that can be made to resemble skin and other organic materials, perfect for educating medical students, patients, and even more. As the company told 3Ders, Medical education often depends on diagrams and whats found in books. However, students and patients want something that they can hold in their hands to truly understand the shape and function. This is where FAM Technology can make a considerable impact. As mentioned, FAM technology, which draws from CMYK inkjet printing, is capable of 3D printing in full color. Because the 3D printer uses silicone, which it solidifies from liquid to solid form, thus not necessitating melting the material, the machine can also print at different hardnesses. This is achieved by adjusting the models internal stucture, and by changing the type of silicone. As the company points out, this last feature is not achievable with FDM 3D printing technologies, which cannot have different hardnesses even with varying infill densities. San Draws FAM 3D printer has a relatively large print volume of 300 x 200 x 150 mm, and is capable of combining different types of silicone material into a single print. And while the technology has broad applications across a number of fields, San Draws central focus has been on the medical industry because of the advantages 3D printing in silicone can offer it. The company has even stated that they hope to one day introduce 3D printed silicone implants. San Draw recently presented its FAM 3D printing technology at CES Asia, which was held in Shanghai this past May. There, the company demonstrated their silicone 3D printing, and presented the benefits their technology could have for the medical community, by allowing for life-like and malleable surgical and training models. While their 3D printing system is not on the market, the company is offering its technology as a service. Posted in 3D Printing Technology Maybe you also like: Peter E. Gordon in The Nation: In February 1966, the historian Gershom Scholem dashed off a few lines to alert his friend Theodor Adorno of his travel plans. Ill arrive Wednesday in Frankfurt, where Ill touch down at the Park Hotel, he wrote. Please arrange with the Marxist heavens, just in case you dont maintain diplomatic relations with the resident of the other heaven, for sunshine on March 16th. For myself I prefer to rely on the old angel. The collected correspondence between Scholem and Adorno, recently issued by the prestigious German publishing house Suhrkamp Verlag, doesnt record the meteorological conditions for the middle of March 1966. Nor do we know whose deity might have proved more responsive. Men of extraordinary erudition and critical acumen, Scholem and Adorno could never truly overcome their philosophical and political differences, though in retrospect its clear that both men epitomized a shared style of Central European intelligence, fusing irony with utopian conviction, that emerged in the years before the mid-century catastrophe. Born in 1897, Gershom (originally Gerhard) Scholem was raised in a well-acculturated German-Jewish family in Berlin. Early in life, he committed himself to the Zionist cause, and by 1923 hed immigrated to Palestine, where he assumed a post at the newly established Hebrew University of Jerusalem and forged an entirely new field of historical inquiry into the esoteric and half-forgotten texts of the Kabbalah. Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund-Adorno was born in 1903 (the Adorno is from his mothers Catholic Corsican side) and was raised in Frankfurt, where he divided his time between philosophy and music. Eventually, he would join intellectuals like Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, and Leo Lowenthal to develop the subtle style of neo-Marxist social philosophy known as critical theory. The two wouldnt meet in person until 1938, at the New York home of the socialist theologian Paul Tillich, who had once served as Adornos academic adviser. More here. As you'd expect, DeGeneres has the funny bits down pat, particularly Dory's rambling monologues. Thanks to her memory lapses, these usually take several detours, only to wind up at a destination thoroughly unrelated to the original subject. But it's in Dory's quieter moments that DeGeneres breathes a soul into her little blue character: Speaking barely above a whisper, she alternately registers wonder, trepidation and, occasionally, heartbreaking sorrow. Robin Williams, for his turn as Aladdin's genie, should have become the first voice actor nominated for an Oscar. For her work in Finding Dory, DeGeneres deserves the same consideration. As the title implies, there's a certain organic repetition to the plot of Finding Dory. In the first film, a tiny clownfish was the target of the search, led by his frantic father, Marlin voiced then, as now, by Albert Brooks. Helping him was Dory, a bit of comic relief who ended up stealing the show. Now Dory swims off in search of the parents she can only dimly remember, challenging Nemo and Marlin to keep up with her impulsive misadventures. Each star brings a different kind of energy to his part, but the film's most compelling moments come when the intellectual action screeches to a halt and someone reads a bit of Wolfe's writing out loud. For these passages, screenwriter Logan wisely lets Wolfe's authorial voice commandeer the proceedings. It requires no stretch of the imagination to believe the first such recitations of Wolfe's raw work were, to the literary-minded, equivalent to the revelation of sacred scripture. At one point, Perkins starts to agonize about his role as syntactical surgeon: "That's what we editors lose sleep over, you know," he sighs. "Are we really making your books better, or just making them different?" Nicole Kidman, her eyes aflame, nearly sets the screen on fire as Wolfe's antagonist-benefactor-jilted lover Aline Bernstein, a married stage designer who first brings the writer to Perkins' attention. Both she and Linney break your heart a bit as their characters come to realize they have been, for the moment at least, consigned to the colophons of their men's life stories. The guys, to be sure, pay a price. But only one of them learns a lesson. Writers and their editors know too well how easily artistic aspirations can end up dashed on the rocks of opposition or, worse, indifference. But that's not something easily conveyed to outsiders, who tend to view aesthetic calamities as small potatoes in a world where people, you know, starve. The genius of Genius is its patience in building its case. The film's climactic moment is signified by nothing more than Perkins finally removing that stupid hat. And yet we catch our breath when it happens. For two hours we've explored the power of the written word, and in an instant a minor gesture adds a visual exclamation point. Words, pictures it doesn't matter. Genius proves that in the right hands, either one can sneak up and swallow you whole. Bill Newcott is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media. WHAT DOES FORGIVENESS LOOK LIKE? It's in the eyes of some of those who lost loved ones a year ago at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Dylann Roof, 22, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, is accused of turning a .45-caliber handgun on a Bible study gathering. On that awful day June 17, 2015 the killer not only took nine lives; he silenced a poet, stole two great-grandmothers and destroyed a couple's future. An outpouring of bitterness and hatred might have been expected from those left behind. Instead, at Roof's first court hearing, many said they'd forgiven him. A year later, Emanuel has been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, the place still echoes with sadness but listen to those voices, and look into those eyes. In an effort to find others in the same situation, Dowd joined the National At-Home Dad Network and organized a group of local fathers who gather weekly for playground meet-ups and "pancakes and play sets" in a member's home. "Guys have to seek out those communities," he says, adding with a laugh, "and as much as we spend time talking about discipline and other child issues, we also talk about movies and beer." Another millennial dad, Simon Isaacs, also sees big changes in the way younger men approach parenting. When the New Yorker and his wife were expecting their first child, both jumped online looking for parenting websites. What Isaacs found was that the web was dominated by more than 4 million blogs for moms but very few for dads. So in typical millennial entrepreneurial fashion, he and a business partner launched the website Fatherly in April 2015. Fatherly bills itself as a practical lifestyle guide, with articles ranging from books on potty training to iconic road-trip vacations. The site has been a huge success, according to Isaacs. "We found that men are far more engaged in their families than ever before and really want to break that glass ceiling at home." Isaacs, 35, the father of a 15-month-old daughter, notes that a popular topic is dads and daughters. "Millennial dads are looking for ways to support young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes," he says. What surprised him and other editors was the popularity of the "2 Minute Therapy" column, which deals with couples' relationship issues. "Dual-income couples have very ambitious desires when it comes to both home and career, and that presents challenges to their relationships," he says. WASHINGTON For Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, getting to that Unity, New Hampshire, moment might take some time. Thats where Clinton joined rival Barack Obama in 2008 for a splashy endorsement the two rivals had literally split the vote in the town in the primary. But now, more than a week after Clinton clinched the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders has still not called Clinton the presumptive nominee, has not conceded the race and people close to both campaigns say a formal endorsement is not imminent. That has some Democrats agitated. The sooner Bernie Sanders comes on board and activates his supporters, the easier it will be to drive the message, said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a Clinton supporter. If were fiddling over the party platform, were tripping over dollars to pick up pennies. The potential is having a governing majority next year. To me, that is going to bring about more gain than a tweak to the party platform. Sanders has indicated the coming weeks could give him his best opportunity to get Clintons imprimatur on a number of policy positions and election reforms that formed the basis of his insurgent campaign. Their face-to-face meeting at a Washington hotel on Tuesday night was an initial step in the process, in the shadow of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Eight years ago, it took Clinton about three weeks before she joined Obama in the joint event in New Hampshire. Asked during a Tuesday news conference when he would endorse Clinton, Sanders demurred, telling reporters that his fight had always been about transforming America. It is standing up for working people. It is fighting for a progressive agenda which serves the needs of working people and not powerful corporate interests. Sanders was speaking to his supporters Thursday in an online address from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. He was expected to talk about the future of the political revolution he has helped create during the past year. He was not expected to end his presidential bid. Following Tuesdays final primary in the District of Columbia, Clinton and Sanders are trying to piece together a truce that will allow the Vermont senators supporters to unite around the former secretary of state and ensure that Sanders message about an economy rigged against American workers, and big money in politics, is carried into the general election and beyond. Many Democrats, including some of Sanders supporters, want a public endorsement of Clinton to present a united front against Republican nominee-in-waiting Donald Trump. My preference is sooner rather than later. Its pretty clear that Hillary is the nominee, said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., on the timing of a Sanders endorsement. Welch, who attended a meeting at the senators home last weekend, said acknowledging that Clinton will be the partys standard-bearer might strengthen Sanders position in negotiating policy commitments and electoral changes. Theres heartbreak in politics when you work as hard as you do and you come up short. Yes there will be disappointment but weve got to work through it, he said. Sanders often says he cannot simply snap my fingers and make his millions of supporters, many of them millennials, march in line behind Clinton. And some Sanders supporters still hold Clinton in low esteem. Sanders mere mention of her name at rallies often elicited boos from the crowd and a quick endorsement might make them feel as if he simply capitulated to Clinton without getting anything in return. For his part, Sanders has outlined a wish list of sorts. During Tuesdays news conference before the Clinton meeting, he said the Democratic National Committee needs new leadership. His campaigns latest public critique of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the partys chair, called for the elimination of superdelegates. He also advocated for a progressive platform that would cement his policy positions on curtailing the role of Wall Street in the economy and campaigns, free tuition at public colleges and universities and taking bold steps to curb climate change. What were going to see is an ongoing conversation between the two campaigns. There is a huge win-win opportunity, said Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Sanders endorsee. Clintons upcoming schedule and moves could send Sanders the message that she gets his concerns. In an interview Wednesday with USA Today, Clinton said if Congress fails to act, she would ask the Treasury Department to use its regulatory authority to eliminate the so-called carried interest loophole allowing hedge-fund managers to pay a lower tax rate than other taxpayers. Thats a move that would be welcomed by Sanders loyalists. Clinton is expected to present her economic vision for the nation next week in Ohio, giving her a platform to address one of Sanders prime concerns: That the economy has largely benefited the wealthiest Americans as the nation has recovered from the recession. Banking regulations and tax policies, Sanders says, make it more difficult to working families to get ahead. But so far, she hasnt committed to making any concessions to her former rival at least not publicly. Im not going to get into the specifics on the platform, she told The Associated Press in an interview last week. The discussions about that are just getting underway and we have a lot to talk about. __ On Twitter follow Ken Thomas at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC and Lisa Lerer at https://twitter.com/llerer Its a lucky day for Dad this Sunday, June 19, at several area casinos, with lots to eat and money to win. Celebrate Fathers Day at Thunder Road Steakhouse & Cantina inside Route 66 Casino Hotel. The steakhouse will be offering a duo of bone-in rib-eye and crab legs on Sunday for $34.99. And all month long, Thunder Road will be offering a sizzling New York strip and lobster special for $19.99. Eat and be merry when live local bands take the stage at 9 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. This June, Route 66 is all revved up with its Race in to Win promotion. Get your chance to win a 2016 Ford Mustang during this June promotion. Mustang qualifier drawings begin at 5 p.m. Saturdays. Earn entries each time you accrue 10 points while playing your favorite games using your Ultimate Rewards Club card. Ultimate Rewards Club members also can receive more chances to win with weekly bonus entry multipliers and during Friday slot tournaments. Friday slot tournaments run hourly from noon to 10 p.m. Visit rt66casino.com. THE DOWNS RACETRACK & CASINO: Fill Dads belly with a special Fathers Day prix fixe menu featuring a salad course, appetizer, main course and dessert display, as well as a bloody mary, margarita or mimosa, all for $39 per person. For the salad course, choose jumbo poached prawns on grilled romaine or seared barbecue duck breast over Napa cabbage. Move on to an appetizer of crab and jalapeno popper wrapped in bacon or lamb lollypops. The main course selections are New York strip and eggs or risotto of the sea made with scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels and saffron or filet Benedict. Visit, facebook.com/thecrownroomatthedowns. ISLETA RESORT & CASINO: Isleta Resort & Casino and its sister nonsmoking casino, Palace West, will celebrate Fathers Day with a gift giveaway starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. All male guests will receive a cooler when they earn 50 points playing their favorite games using their Eagle Players Club cards. Visit any promotional kiosk to receive a voucher to be redeemed at the gift redemption area. Head over to the bingo hall for Fathers Play Free day on Sunday from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Buy-in is $5 all-you-can-play and pays $500. All male guests receive free admission buy-in. Men who buy an additional $5 pack receive a free Fathers Day dauber. Kick off summer with the Slam Into Summer Slot Tournament from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 18. Earn 100 points playing slots, tables, poker or bingo and visit any promotional kiosk to print your entry ticket. Visit, isleta.com. SKY CITY CASINO HOTEL: The Hukawa Restaurant, inside Sky City Casino Hotel on Acoma Pueblo, will be serving Fathers Day brunch and dinner buffets on Sunday. Brunch will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and feature honey-glazed pit ham, omelettes and more. Brunch is $12.99 for adults and $7.49 for children. Dinner will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. and include slow braised honey-mustard pork cushion, cilantro and lime marinated tilapia fillets and a variety of sides. Dinner is $15.99 for adults and $8.49 for children. Also on Sunday, Sky City will be giving away $5,000 total cash during its Fathers Day Toolbox drawings. Two winners will be selected each hour from 4 to 9 p.m. to win between $250 and $1,000 cash. Guests receive an entry with every 40 points they earn playing their favorite Sky City games. Visit skycity.com. Opening the vast world of arts to children who might never have the opportunity is the mission of Vintage Albuquerque. We support multiple beneficiaries every year because we want to support arts education to kids all over the state in a variety of different art mediums because those can be life-changing, life-altering experiences, said Steve Wedeen, board member and past event chairman for Vintage Albuquerque. I know personally, and a lot of people involved in our organization have had some kind of child pivotal moment, whether theyve been exposed to theater or whether theyve been exposed to music or visual arts or dance or whatever thats just opened their eyes to whats possible in the world. It changes things. Vintage Albuquerque, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, raises money by hosting events featuring fine wines from around the country and the world, as well as fine cuisine. This years event begins Wednesday, June 22, and runs through Sunday, June 26. Each year, Vintage Albuquerque puts on a number of events, including an opening-night gala, grand tasting and several wine dinners throughout Albuquerque. Through the years, Vintage Albuquerque has developed an impressive reputation in the wine community not only for the money it has raised for childrens art programs but for its impressive list of honorary chairs. This years honorary chair is Californias Wagner Family of Wine, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and is known for founding the prestigious Caymus Vineyards in Napa Valley. Winemaking itself is an art, Wedeen said. People who are winemakers are making really good wines. Its agricultural, but its a passion and kind of expressive practice. We looked at it at the standpoint, from the fact at 25 years were really hitting this point that now were hitting multiple generations and also were expanding. Weve really put a lot of effort this year to expand our reach in terms of multiple generations of people that come. Theyre setting up programs within Vintage Albuquerque to attract millennials and younger people who really love wine or want to know more about wine. Great arts span generations. We have an honorary chair who is now three generations of winemakers. Proceeds from the events will benefit childrens programs provided by the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program, Art in the School, New Mexico Jazz Workshop, National Dance Institute of New Mexico and the New Mexico Philharmonic. We seek to best transform the lives of children who without our gift they live lives without the enlightenment and creativity that the arts can expire, Wedeen quoted Vintage Albuquerques mission statement. Our goal is to benefit New Mexico schoolchildren through their exposure to arts of every and any kind. We intend for our donations to provide transformational experiences for the children served. We expect our donations to have a significant impact on children, not only to make them better and measurably happier but to make our world better in return. Making movies about writers is risky business: Theres next to nothing cinematic about someone tapping away on a keyboard, then staring into the distance to think. And its just as disastrous when an ambitious filmmaker tries to liven things up by confecting a dramatic piece of business to demonstrate the writers plight, the most ludicrous example being Jane Fondas Lillian Hellman throwing her typewriter out a window in a bout of writerly pique. Genius, Michael Grandages stalwart if staid bio-pic about literary editor Maxwell Perkins and author Thomas Wolfe, largely sidesteps the Scylla and Charybdis of inertia and burlesque through which any film about an artist must pass. Anchored by a quietly sympathetic performance by Colin Firth the most reliable actor on the planet when it comes to personifying diffidence and moral rectitude this attractive, ultimately affecting portrait of friendship and creative collaboration may lack the dynamism and fire of the work it celebrates, but it provides an absorbing account of a relationship that, although obscure to most viewers, radically reshaped the American literary landscape of the 20th century. Based on A. Scott Bergs 1978 biography of Perkins, Genius begins in 1929, when the editor was working at Scribners, where he had already discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. As the movie opens, Perkins is quickly and ruthlessly crossing out sentences in red pencil when an associate dumps a 1,100-page manuscript on his desk. Perkins begins to read and, in the graceful montage that ensues, keeps reading, through his commute home to Connecticut, through greeting his wife, Louise (Laura Linney), and five daughters, and practically through dinner, during which he forgets to take off his hat. Thats a very long paragraph, one of the Perkins girls observes, reading over her fathers shoulder. It started four pages ago, he replies in his laconic New England drawl. So begins the literary bromance between Perkins puritanical, concise, self-effacing and conservative and Thomas Wolfe, the garrulous, expansive, self-sabotaging wunderkind from North Carolina, portrayed with puppyish overeagerness by Jude Law. Temperamental opposites who have an almost telepathic mutual understanding, the two would collaborate on that first manuscript (which would become Look Homeward, Angel) and Wolfes only best-seller, Of Time and the River, an even more unwieldy continuation of his autobiographical oeuvre that arrives at Perkinss office in crates. One of the finest, funniest scenes in Genius chronicles how Perkins attempted to tame the ungovernable, word-drunk beast that Wolfe has created, goading the writer into paring a florid love scene into a brief, sharply observed few sentences that stand out in unadorned relief to the great, rolling mountains of prose around it. Genius, adapted for the screen by John Logan, suffers from some common afflictions of the bookish bio-pic. Grandage, a fixture of the London theater scene making his film-directing debut here, often makes the proceedings feel more like a play than a movie, a stageyness that extends to Laws often teary, declamatory delivery. Nods to the Depression that forms the backdrop to Genius feel perfunctory and patronizing. Whats happening to our country, Max? Wolfe asks balefully as the two pass a soup line. The arrival of Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) and Hemingway (Dominic West) resembles a dutiful tableau-vivant pageant of Great Authors Through History. For all that, though, Genius possesses an autumnal beauty both in its visuals and a lovely, Coplandesque musical score by Adam Cork that feels appropriate to the melancholic spirit of the story. (Its a foregone conclusion that Wolfe, the impatient enfant terrible and aesthetic sensualist, cant help but break the heart of the supposedly less passionate man who makes his success possible.) In addition to Firths sensitive, foursquare portrayal of Perkins, Genius is made much more interesting by Nicole Kidman, who as Wolfes married lover and patron, Aline Bernstein, throws out stinging shards of competition, rage and jealousy. She thoroughly dominates one of the films finest scenes, when Bernstein confronts Wolfe over the devastating emotional cost of his casual, self-involved cruelties. When Kidman starred in The Hours several years ago, sales of Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway spiked. One can only hope the same holds true for this Wolfe, whose lambent, sonorous prose weaves through the film like the river that served as the authors most cherished metaphor. Genius may be a bit stodgy and safe, but it tells a story of beauty as it plays out in an improbably fruitful friendship, and as its discovered within vast expanses of raw language by a craftsman who was arguably an artist in his own right. As a character observes, the world needs poets but poets need editors, a truth that the best poets know in their bones and the best editors never abuse. Wolfes prodigious gifts notwithstanding, theres no doubt to whom the title of Genius refers, in a film that proves its case with the taste, restraint and fundamental decency of the man himself. Genius RATED: PG-13 (for mature thematic elements and suggestive material) WHEN: Opens today WHERE: Century 14 Downtown, High Ridge, DeVargas 6 (Santa Fe) Childhood and, in fact, the very act of being human involve a certain level of loneliness. The great news is, you can make money off it. For close to 80 years, if you go by Disneys Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs making history in 1937, all sorts and achievement levels of feature animation have preyed upon the fears, insecurities and isolating circumstances of growing up. The best Pixar features, like those pre- and post-digital from Pixars parent company, Disney, have exploited that loneliness brilliantly, and the lesser Pixars have tried to do the same. Finding Dory, the satisfying follow-up to the 2003 smash Finding Nemo, amplifies the defining characteristic short-term memory loss of the blue tang fish voiced, then and now, with subtle warmth and unerring comic timing by Ellen DeGeneres. What began as comic gold, with a delicate, bittersweet undercurrent, is now a sensitively handled disability. Flashbacks to Dorys childhood (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton voice Dorys parents) reveal her barely recalled family life as a truly enviable and loving one. Finding Dory, which more accurately would be titled Nemo and Marlin Help Dory Find Her Folks, manages to raise its newly central characters emotional stakes without wiping out the comedy altogether. If the movies good, not great, well, there it is. This would be an apt time to remember Pixars track record when it comes to providing stockholder-friendly sequels to its properties. Besides Toy Story 2 and, to a lesser degree, 3, Finding Dory is the only Pixar sequel to qualitatively justify its existence as a movie. Cars 2 and Monsters University are best considered karmic payback for the glorious Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up getting made in the first place. Finding Dory takes place a year after Finding Nemo. Dory fin-twists, gently, Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) into aiding her in her search for the parents she only periodically recalls. The quest takes the trio to the coast of California and the Marine Life Institute, based visually on the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There, Dory meets her newest comrades. They include the misanthropic but redeemable septopus (octopus minus one tentacle) named Hank, voiced by Ed ONeill, whose mission in life is not to leave captivity but to stay in it. Beluga whale Bailey (Ty Burrell) and whale shark Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) join forces, and theyre pleasant comic company. Andrew Stanton co-directed, with Angus MacLane, and co-wrote, with Victoria Strouse. The visual personality of the movie is fantastically vivid and bright, the story itself, less so. I think Stanton and company erred in confining so much of the action to the marine institute and on dry land. Theres a typically complex and inventive action climax for a Pixar project, this one all around the hills and highways of what appears to be the coastal Bay Area. The open ocean is the reward for Dory, along with reuniting with her parents, and I felt slightly jerked around in getting to the reward part. Still, and this is a big still: Were a long way from the contrivances of a Cars 2 or Monsters University. Will we ever again hit the Pixar heights of the early 21st century? Who knows? And technically, its still early in the century. This weekend is all about Mabel Dodge Luhan up in Taos with a symposium on her influence on American Moderns in the West, tied in with an art exhibit at the Harwood Musem, 238 Ledoux St. You can hear a panel of speakers 1-4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Taos Center for the Arts ($18, 575-758-4677), see Leslie Harrell Dillens one-woman play portraying Mabel 7-9 p.m. today in Arthur Bell Auditorium ($12), and hear a community dialogue about Anglo patronage and cultural influences on Hispano society in Taos from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, also in the auditorium (free with museum admission). You can get the full rundown at mabeldodgeluhan.org. FANTASE: In case you havent been getting enough light shows, art installations, performances and such at the Currents International New Media Festival in the Railyard, head on down to Fantase Fest 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday in DeVargas Park along the Santa Fe River. Local bands will play on two stages and food trucks will keep your tummy full through the night. A skate jam will keep the younger folks rolling, while a wall will stand ready for graffiti art. Dont forget to check out the latest exhibit in Axle Contemporarys rolling gallery, which will be parked nearby. And the only thing you have to pay for is the food or other vendor offerings. SOUTHERN LOWRIDERS: With lowrider culture filling exhibits at two downtown museums, author Denise Chavez will add to the mix with her talk about whats going low and slow closer to the Mexico border. Born and raised in Las Cruces, Chavez will give a view of the lowrider scene there at 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium at the New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Ave. The event is free with museum admission, which is free to New Mexico residents on Sundays. APACHE HEART: Basketry, micaceous pottery and beadwork all are on display in a new exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, located on Museum Hill. Stop by and take a look at Jicarilla: Home Near the Heart of the World, which will be on display through April 16, 2017. It was put together in cooperation with the Jicarilla Apache Nation, its Arts and Crafts and Archives departments, and the Center of Southwest Studies at Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colo. More than 80 objects trace the tribes history from the mid-19th century to the present. There are two different ways to approach the new art exhibit at Art House. You could ponder deep philosophical questions about whether independent intelligence can exist at all in computers and, in the reverse, whether humans are simply biological machines responding to coding embedded in their genes. Or you can just have a hoot playing with the interactive artworks or watching images morph or unfold, depicting things such as a day in the life of a fracking sinkhole or a rural Kansas barn, or the real-time labor of setting a fencepost. Then again, maybe you can just gaze upon a breathtaking still image by photographer Stephen Wilkes compressing in one scene all the animals visiting a watering hole in Serengeti National Park in one day. You can do it all and more during a visit to Mouse in the Machine: Nature in the Age of Digital Art, the latest exhibition with an opening 5-7 p.m. Saturday at the Art House, 213 Delgado St., a project of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation. The overall theme of the show, explained gallery staffer Kathleen Richards, plays with the Ghost in the Machine concept, which represents philosophers concept of mind-body duality that there was some separate part of us, a soul, running our personal show. Mouse is subbed in for ghost, though, to bring up the image of a computer mouse issuing directions. And the nature in the subtitle can refer to our own human natures or the global life on many levels that surrounds us in the environment. Thus, you can look at the natural world through the language of the digital world, as Richards put it, by seeing how Wilkes extracted a single image from 2,200 photographs taken over 26 hours at the watering hole. The profusion of animal life over time shows the centrality of that spot to the natural world that might not be as evident in activity there at any single point in time. Or Nam June Paik in TV Fish (2000) contrasts the languid glides of actual goldfish in an aquarium with TV images behind it of rapidly shifting, chopped-up images that also occasionally flash with fish. It makes you wonder if the real fish will have a nervous breakdown from the constant stimuli, although they seemed serene enough on a recent visit. It also sets a new standard for maintenance for an art work Richards said, yes, she has to clean the tanks and feed the fish. Harold Cohen made a machine and algorithm to create and print out its own art, which he then colored. So, Richards asked, is the computer simply responding to its programming, or is there an element of learning and choice in how it puts together the images? Is the computer or the algorithm making the artistic choices? she said. The element of computer choice also comes into question with Rafael Lozano-Hemmers Please Empty Your Pockets (2000). This interactive piece can become addictive. It calls for the viewer to drop a small item on an airline security-type conveyer belt. The item is recorded in the system and then depicted in a one-of-a-kind image with an assortment of other items from some 600,000 in the virtual inventory. The artist often works with the idea of the growing amount of surveillance in our world and the question of what happens to those images, Richards said. A couple of pieces included audience participation: one in which people chose to participate, another that caught them unawares. The latter can be seen in Jim Campbells Grand Central Station N. 3 (2009). Campbell is a technical genius who developed the high-resolution color computer chip, according to Richards, but then went in the reverse direction with this artwork by recording commuter movement through the station in very few pixels, giving the resulting image a soft, black-and-white appearance of abstraction. On the other hand, Daniel Canogars Rise/Times Square, July 2014 invited people to crawl across a long, horizontal green screen, then projected the images onto buildings around the square. The outlines of some 1,200 participants scaling the massive structures remind Richards of King Kong scaling the Empire State Building. In the version at Art House, the human outlines, sometimes in neon colors and other times simple white on black, crawl up a rectangular surface, sometimes clumping, sometimes alone, sometimes racing, sometimes slow. It feels not like a horde of humanity, but of the joy of humanity working together, human beings moving in concert with each other, Richards said. Thats countered by another work she finds somewhat disturbing: Alan Raths Wall Eye I (1997) shows a roving eye looking, blinking, almost as if theres a human inside the box of wires, trying to escape from the machine. Then again, the notes on the piece say the artist was contemplating why people tend to construct robots with human-like expressive characteristics. Theres much more, including Daniel Rozins Mirror No. 12 (2013) that expresses what its camera sees in real time and space, presenting viewers in impressionistic strokes that make you want to gyrate and change position to generate new visual interpretations. The exhibit will be on display through next spring. You might want to stop by more than once, since many of the moving images change over time and may present a different view each time you stop by. If you go WHAT: Mouse in the Machine: Nature in the Age of Digital Art WHEN: Opening reception 5-7 p.m. Saturday, runs through spring 2017 WHERE: Art House, 231 Delgado St. GALLERY HOURS: Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. COST: Free In decades past, cinephiles would eagerly anticipate the latest releases from European filmmakers who were expanding the boundaries and defying conventions of how to tell a story on the big screen. Then, theyd cluster in coffee shops, bars or film clubs to debate and analyze the new techniques. Thats something of the feeling Jason Silverman says hes trying to recreate with the Auteurs series at the Center for Contemporary Arts Cinematheque albeit in a retro sort of way. Some approaches that were groundbreaking when the films in the series were released might be old hat today. People want to experience that, what its like to see it on the big screen, said Silverman, Cinematheque director. Its exciting. Now in its third year, the Auteurs series started as part of the Summer Film Institute at St. Johns College, where students studied legendary directors and their films, many of which were screened at the CCA. This year, St. Johns is not offering Film Institute screenings for the public, but the previous ones were so popular, Silverman said he decided to put together his own program. People loved it more than we anticipated, he said. The program theme centers on newly restored films, although two of the offerings have not been restored. One of them never was released in the United States because of certain rights issues, but now is being made available through a newly discovered 35mm print. A half-dozen cities will be playing this very rare print, Silverman said of Ossessione, a 1943 film by Italian director Luchino Visconti. After showing in Santa Fe and a few other U.S. locations, it will head back to a vault in Rome, he added. This film was a landmark for Italian neorealist style a somewhat gritty cinema of the streets that involves hand-held cameras with an in the moment feel, he said. And the story may be familiar to Americans its based on James M. Cains novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. That story of a drifter and the wife of a cafe owner plotting murder was made into films in the United States in both 1946 and 1981. Writer and producer Kirk Ellis, whom Silverman calls one of the worlds greatest introducers of films of any genre, will offer opening remarks for the Ossessione screening. Opera lovers will get a cinematic preview to Samuel Barbers Vanessa on this summers Santa Fe Opera program through Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergmans Thirst. James Robinson, stage director for Vanessa, will introduce Bergmans film, and tell how it influenced his design and direction for the opera. He will give an idea of how opera and cinema connect, Silverman said. He calls Thirst an idiosyncratic melodrama, but not one that follows the obvious plot lines in the American style of that genre. Its filled with surprises, Silverman said. The story is told in a mystical fashion; its also incredibly beautiful to look at. It follows a couples travels across post-war Europe, the people they encounter and their growing separation. People call it his first masterpiece, Silverman said. Others would debate that. The series opened last week with Jean Cocteaus Beauty and the Beast, a film that uses magical effects back before the days when computers could make anything look real on screen. Jean Cocteau was a very visionary director, very inventive. He played with reality and was very imaginative, Silverman said. This Saturdays film is Thin Blue Line, a documentary by Errol Morris that shattered everyones idea of what a documentary should be like. Rather than outlining a staid set of facts in examining a person convicted of killing a Dallas police officer, the 1981 film uses controversial re-enactments to throw the viewer in the middle of a thriller. There is no voice-of-God narrative, Silverman said. Youre immersed in it as if its a piece of fiction. Now, its a pretty standard way of fact-based story-telling, he added. Paul Barnes, who edited this film and was an early editing partner with Ken Burns, will introduce it. Silverman himself, who co-directed a documentary on African filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, will introduce Black Girl, Sembenes first feature film. It focuses on a Senegalese woman who goes to work for a French couple who end up taking her to France, where she feels isolated and degraded. Its partly a story about victimization, but also about self-empowerment in a way, Silverman said. It has parallels in the continued French power in the African country at the time, even after it won its independence, and also in Sembenes struggle to make a film with no money and very little in the way of equipment. And its the first time that an African story was told by an African filmmaker, instead of the European viewpoint usually applied to such tales, he said. The series ends with Jean-Luc Godards 1964 crime caper Band of Outsiders. It follows and is somewhat similar to Breathless, Godards better known film, but Silverman said it shows a little more refinement in its storytelling. This example of French New Wave features Anna Karina, with whom Godard had an ongoing actor/director relationship. It includes a dash through the Louvre and a dance scene that may have inspired a similar one in Pulp Fiction, Silverman said. He bends time he jumps us around from moment to moment, he said of Godards jump-cut technique. It bends and breaks the rules. THE AUTEURS: a series of classic films THE LINEUP: Thin Blue Line, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Black Girl, 7:30 p.m. June 25 Osessione, 7 p.m. July 2 Thirst, 7 p.m. July 9 Band of Outsiders, 7:30 p.m. July 16 WHERE: CCA Cinematheque, 1050 Old Pecos Trail COST: $7.50-$10.50 per film; $36-$46 series pass Many coal-supporting Westerners cheered when the Supreme Court halted the federal governments implementation of its Clean Power Plan, pending judicial review. But even though the attorneys general of Colorado, Wyoming and other states might succeed in gutting the Clean Power Plan, they can never do what they really want to do: They cannot return the world to the 1990s. Low-sulphur, high-Btu coal from the Powder River Basin and other Western coalfields was king back then. Now, the science of climate change has become too compelling, the risks too worrisome and the ultimate costs too great. If you parse most criticism of the Clean Power Plan, it sounds like this: Technological innovation reached its peak after World War II, when we developed large power plants fired by burning coal. The electricity produced was cheap and we still need it as a reliable base nationwide. Really? Have we as a species completely run out of new ideas? The challenge for the mostly Republican critics in coal-rich Western states is to come up with a better path forward than the Clean Power Plan if we hope to solve the problem of a planet increasingly out of whack. One market-based solution is to put a price on carbon emissions. Because the problem is not the actual coal, natural gas or other carbon sources. The problem is the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere whenever we burn these fuels. Right now, there is no charge for using the sky as one giant dumping ground. But take bald tires and old stoves to a landfill, and you will be assessed a dumping fee. Similarly, we need to establish an atmospheric dumping fee. The atmospheric dumping we currently allow has accelerated at a stunning rate. We added 35 parts per million of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere during the first two centuries of the Industrial Revolution and, just in my lifetime, weve added 85 ppm more. That puts us at 400 ppm. Within 15 to 20 years, well be at 450 ppm. That threshold may make us warmer; it could also torque the climate in unpredictable ways, like a washing machine thrown out of balance. Nobody really knows. Climate science still has gaps and unanswered questions. Like all of human knowledge, it is a work in progress. Brad Mead was dead-on when he analyzed the state of our knowledge in Wyomings Jackson Hole News&Guide this way: Any scientific theory that encompasses the complexity of weather and climate on a global scale is bound to have teething problems. Mead, an attorney and the brother of Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, cited University of Wyoming research on methods of carbon sequestration. But the technology is only part of the problem. The marketplace needs motivation to make whatever process researchers develop economically viable. If there is no cost to the industries that create the pollution, there is no incentive to innovate. So far, sequestration technology looks hopelessly expensive. Perhaps it always will be, though at one time the same argument was made about solar panels. Lets let the marketplace figure it out, setting a price on this risky pollution. Where would this tax revenue go? Some, such as the advocacy group Citizens Climate Lobby, argue for a revenue-neutral carbon fee. They would return revenues to the public, eliminating the argument that a carbon fee would only grow the size of government. Economists say the tax needs to be high enough to instigate change. It also should be phased in gradually, to avoid causing economic heartburn. Others argue for more intense research on solving climate change perhaps a federally funded approach similar in scope to the Manhattan Project. Bill Gates thinks the risks that climate change poses to U.S. interests are so high that we need to triple the federal budget currently allocated to research and development. Wouldnt it be splendid if the Republican Party produced a leader who could broker the necessary compromises to put a morally justified price on carbon? Critics of the Clean Power Plan argue that it will, by itself, do little to tame global emissions. Theyre technically correct, yet I believe theyre too pessimistic. If you have any belief in American exceptionalism, you should have faith in the ability of the United States to set a persuasive example for the rest of the world. Meanwhile, our in-limbo Clean Power Plan addresses emissions from only the electric sector, or just 31 percent of total U.S. emissions. We need more comprehensive action. Let the Clean Power Plans critics propose their own robust solution to the clear danger of global warming. Let those who rail against regulations frame a market response that will work. It should start with a price on carbon. Allen Best is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an opinion service of High Country News (hcn.org). He lives in the Denver area and publishes an e-zine called Mountain Town News. A District Court judge has come down on the side of transparency and accountability in the corruption case of former state Sen. Phil Griego ordering most of the Senate ethics investigation records be produced at a preliminary hearing next month. Judge Brett Loveless of Albuquerque on Monday ruled the Legislative Council Service, the Legislatures administrative arm, has no constitutional privilege to refuse to produce the records. (Loveless did rule some correspondence between the ethics panel and its lawyer can remain secret under the attorney-client relationship.) Griego, a Democrat from San Miguel County, is accused of bribery and other charges in connection with using his position in the Senate to make money on the sale of a historic state building in Santa Fe. He pocketed a sweet $50,000 brokers fee for monitoring the deal. In March 2015 he resigned from the Senate rather than face possible discipline as a result of the Senate ethics investigation into his role. The state Attorney Generals Office, which is prosecuting the case, had subpoenaed the records, but the council service objected, arguing the agency is duty-bound to preserve and protect the independence and integrity of the Legislature. While the judge rejected those arguments, he has not yet ruled on a similar but separate council service motion to prevent lawmakers and legislative staff members from testifying, or at least to limit the scope of their testimony, in the criminal case set for a preliminary hearing July 5. The LCS argument is that making legislators testify would violate an immunity provision in the state Constitution. Article 4, Section 13 reads: Members of the legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace not be questioned in any other place for any speech or debate or for any vote cast in either house. AG Hector Balderas, whose office has indicated it intends to call nine lawmakers and at least four legislative staffers, has another view: As public servants we have an obligation to taxpayers and the citizens of New Mexico to be transparent and accountable, and the Legislative Council Services attempt to assert a blanket privilege on behalf of all legislators in this matter is obstructive to the administration of justice and the transparency that all New Mexicans deserve. The LCS efforts to shield records and block testimony certainly raise the questions of what do lawmakers have to hide? Are they trying to shield Griego from possible prison? Spare the Legislature from further embarrassment? Will a picture emerge showing lawmakers should have known about this and acted sooner? If convicted of all 10 counts, Griego, who has pleaded not guilty, could face up to 28 years in prison and more than $40,000 in fines. Balderas is right: The public deserves to have the complete case tried in the sunshine, Griego deserves his day in court, and a legislative agency shouldnt prevent alleged criminal activity from being vetted by the justice system. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. VERMEJO PARK RANCH With towering, snow-draped mountains scratching the sky at nearly 13,000 feet framing one end of a valley and rolling green meadows serving as a backdrop at the other, Casa Grande was unveiled Wednesday and opened for business following a four-year, multi-million-dollar renovation project. The centerpiece of Ted Turners 590,000-acre ranch, Casa Grande created as a mansion in the early 1900s will serve as upscale guest quarters for those who wish to commune with nature on a grand scale. The costs are on something of a grand scale, as well, as room rates for two at Casa Grande start at $850 (including all meals) per night, although there are other, less expensive rooms available at the Vermejo. The opening of the 25,000-square-foot Casa Grande coincides with last years creation of Ted Turner Expeditions as the media mogul has thrown open his three New Mexico ranches, covering about one million acres not to mention his other properties across the country to sportsmen, adventurers and ecotourists. Casa Grande is a national treasure set amidst the national treasure that is Americas West, Turner said. By opening this mansion to global travelers, I invite visitors to explore our American heritage and assist in its preservation. Seven bedrooms are sprinkled across the opulent, stone-faced mansion, built by Chicago businessman and former Vermejo Park owner William H. Bartlett. The structure also houses a billiards room, library, plant-filled atrium and a ballroom complete with a grand piano. Of course, this project would not have been possible without the support of Ted Turner and his vision for the ranches, Gus Holm, ranch manager, said at Vermejo Park. Weve not only preserved a piece of the Vermejo with the Casa Grande, but also sustained the Vermejo going into the future. At this point in his life, Turner said, it was time to start letting other people enjoy some of what he has been fortunate to own. I have too many places to enjoy them all myself, he said to reporters here. So thats the reason Im going to rent them out a little bit so they can be utilized. This has really been a wonderful experience, and it gives me something to live for beside cable television. Turner, founder of cable television stations CNN, TBS and TNT, bought the Vermejo ranch in 1996, but the 106-year-old Casa Grande was in need of modernization. It was built between 1907 and 1909 by prominent architect Joseph Lyman Sisbee, a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright. The renovation began four years ago at the insistence of Mark Kossler, general manager of Turner Ranches, Holm said. Mark was the person who had the vision and the drive to start this project, he said. We would not all be standing here in front of this incredible building, celebrating its return to its former glory, without Mark Kossler. The plan was to modernize the building while also retaining its original Victorian charm in order to make it a special experience for anyone using it, said Jeff Mokotoff, chief administrative officer of Turner Enterprises. During Teds ownership of Vermejo, Casa Grande had been used by Ted, his family and guests as a private getaway, and was not generally open to the public, he said. But we realized to appeal to the ecotourism guest that we were seeking to attract, we wanted to have a property that would act as a crown jewel for our overarching brand. The ranch has long served as a playground for the wealthy. For instance, in the 1920s, notable luminaries such as Cecil B. deMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and even President Herbert Hoover each paid an annual $1,000 fee for the rights to use the ranch to hunt and fish. The Great Depression signaled the end of that enterprise and it passed through various owners until 1960 when Casa Grande got its first facelift. The Pennzoil Co. soon bought the property, holding it until selling it to Turner for a reported $80 million. (The New Mexico state government had passed on buying Vermejo Park in the 1970s for $26 million). With more than 50 years since its last renovation, Casa Grande needed significant work, particularly in the area of heating and cooling, electrical and plumbing. So, when Casa Grande was undergoing restoration and renovation for Ted and his family, Ted agreed to allow us to bring Casa Grande into our greater vision of ecotourism on Teds properties, Mokotoff said. So now the lineup of activities at Vermejo includes ecotours that can be as short as three hours or many, many hours as visitors keep on the lookout for bobcats, black bears, wild turkeys, raptors, elk, feral horses and, of course, bison, of which some 1,700 head roam on the ranch. The ecotours can also encounter desolate homesteads, Native American ruins and 100-year-old charcoal kilns that still carry the burning odor. Theres mountain biking, not only on the 2,000 miles of dirt roads that crisscross the ranch, but also on rugged trails through the hills and mountains. Hiking is plentiful and challenging, with numerous high-country peaks and fish-stocked lakes. Skeet and clay pigeon shooting both enthrall visitors, as does the archery range with targets shaped like animals. Mokotoff tried to put the immensity of Turners holdings in New Mexico and the West into perspective. Over the course of the last two decades, Ted has acquired over two million acres of land in the western United States, he said. Two million acres is more than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. And those two states have more than two million people living in their borders. We have a couple of hundred people living in there. So visiting the Vermejo is akin to having a private national park. The smallest of Teds three ranches in New Mexico is 150,000 acres, which is the same size as Zion, he said. Zion sees approximately 3.5 million visitors a year. Vermejo will see a couple of thousand, with a nearly certain chance of seeing more wildlife than you would have at the very best national parks. Ted wishes to share his complete love of nature, wildlife and discovery in order to help all generations develop a keen appreciation and awareness of our earth and what it has to offer. And, just as importantly, a shared responsibility for the well-being of our environment. It comes down to conservation and being stewards of the land, Holm said. Our mission statement is to manage Turner land in an economically sustainable and environmentally sensible manner with an emphasis on native species and habitat, he said. Many people believe this statement is contradictory. One cant be done without negative impact on the other. But we at Team Turner view this mission statement as complementary and interconnected. Sort of a yin and yang, for everything must be in balance. Santa Fe police detective Tony Trujillo thumbs through a black three-ring binder filled with pages of information about unresolved Santa Fe murder cases dating back decades. Marie Vicki Griego. She was found in a vacant field behind where the Taco Bell is now on Cerrillos Road. Shed been strangled, he said, flipping ahead to another section of the binder. Tamara Britton. Her remains have not been found yet, he said, flipping ahead again. Teal Pittington. Her remains were found off Old Las Vegas Highway. Her bra was found around her neck. Whats interesting about that one is she was a roommate of Tamaras at one time. Most of the cold cases victims are women, but not all of them. Earlier this week, the Santa Fe Police Department sent out a media release saying it was seeking the publics help with the 1987 murder of Patricio Pacheco, who was bludgeoned to death with a carpenters claw hammer at his apartment on Agua Fria Street. SFPD issued the release on Sunday, believed to be the 29th anniversary of Pachecos death. Were trying to get the word out, said Trujillo, who is working the cold cases with Detective Jimmie Montoya. We believe theres still somebody out there who has information. Through the physical evidence we have and people coming forward with information, whether its something about Mr. Pacheco or the people he associated with, we can find out who his killer was. Key to the effort are the advances that have been made in forensic DNA analysis since many of these murders occurred. Its all about DNA, Trujillo said. Back then, they didnt think about handling evidence with DNA in mind. It wasnt until the late 1980s and early 1990s that DNA profiling became practice. At the time of the Pacheco murder, ABO blood typing collected from saliva was common. That method, however, serves only to narrow the list of possible suspects and is not nearly as precise as DNA matching, which renders a profile as unique as a fingerprint. Trujillo said some persons of interest in the Pacheco case submitted saliva samples back then and some hair samples were taken. The hair was used to try to match hair found at the crime scene back then. Now, DNA profiles can be extracted from hair. And DNA has since been lifted from the murder weapon, a hammer found on the floor of the apartment. Mr. Pachecos DNA was found on the working end of the hammer and unknown DNA was found on the handle, the detective said. There is a profile there. Were not saying its the suspects, but it is something to work with. Trujillo wont name any suspects in this or other cases. We dont want to identify any of them. After all these years, they may think they have gotten away with it, he said. The same holds true for rapists. Earlier this year, New Mexico lawmakers and the governor approved additional funding to help clear a backlog of more than 5,400 so-called rape kits which may include specimens containing DNA samples dating back to the 1980s. About 350 of those rape kits are from Santa Fe victims, Trujillo said. The likely perpetrator could be identified by comparing DNA samples with those already entered into a national database. Pacheco likely knew killer Newspaper articles in the days following the murder describe Pacheco as a quiet man who kept to himself. He especially enjoyed taking his nieces and nephews out to eat or for ice cream. Everybody liked him. He was really a likeable guy, his sister-in-law, Theresa Pacheco, told the Journal at the time. Known as Bito, Pacheco was 40 when he was killed. He worked at the family-owned Owl Liquor Store much of the time, but labored at other jobs here and there. Hed also check in with his mother on a daily basis. He watered the lawn of her home on Kathryn Place on Thursday night. When he didnt show up Friday or Saturday, his mother grew concerned and asked one of her other children to check on him. They found the door to Pachecos apartment slightly open and Pacheco slumped on the couch, barefoot, in front of the television set. We believe he knew his assailant and that it was someone he trusted. The scene dictates that, Trujillo said. It looked like Pacheco had spent a relaxing evening at home hanging out with a friend or two. There was a six-pack of empty Budweisers on the kitchen counter, more cans on the dining room table and a few at his feet. Chances are they got pretty intoxicated, the detective said. Accessing the scene, Trujillo said Pacheco may not have seen it coming. He apparently was watching TV. He may have dozed off and someone came up from behind, Trujillo speculated. The hammer used to strike Pacheco in the head was found on the floor of the apartment. While the crime scene says a lot and theres physical evidence, to be honest, we dont know a motive, Trujillo said. Pachecos wallet wasnt taken and it doesnt appear anything else was missing. There was a vague suggestion that Pacheco might have had a safe in the house, but that couldnt be substantiated. Though its not mentioned in the newspaper articles, Trujillo said Pacheco was gay. Could that have been a motive? Could it have been a hate crime? Could be, he said. Gone, but not forgotten While Trujillo believes the cold cases in his binder are solvable, not all of them can be prosecuted. New Mexico doesnt have a statute of limitations in first-degree murder cases, but it hasnt always been that way. The statute of limitations used to be 15 years but, when the law changed, it made any murder committed after July 1, 1982, free from limitations. But murders committed before that date can no longer be prosecuted. That means Vicki Marie Griegos killer may have already gotten away with murder. She was killed four years before the law went into effect. But Trujillo points out that knowing the answer to the question of Who killed my loved one? could at least provide some sense of closure or resolve for the victims families. It may be that some of the killers have already been caught or are dead. Trujillo suspects that David Bruce Morton, now serving life sentences for killing two Santa Fe women Janet Benoit in 1983 and Teri Lynn Mulvaney in 1984 may have been a serial killer. I suspect him in about four others, he said, Pittingtons death being one of them. Unfortunately, we never got DNA from the victims. In 1988, the Journal ran a story under the headline Unsolved Murders Stir Serial Killer Theories. Benoit, Mulvaney and three other women in Trujillos binder Pittington, Griego and Susan LaPorte are mentioned as possible victims of a repeat murderer. A sidebar to the article speculates that Kenneth Ray Luna, who hanged himself in a Sandoval County jail in 1986, may have killed multiple women in Utah and New Mexico. He confessed to killing two women in New Mexico and was identified by a Utah woman as the man who beat and raped her and left her for dead. But Trujillo said a serial killer couldnt have committed all the murders in the cold cases binder. And lacking DNA evidence in some of the cases, he and Montoya are doing what they can to solve them. Theyve laid a fresh set of eyes on the case files, consulted with former SFPD detectives who handled the cases to try to gain insight and went back to talk to people who were interviewed during the initial investigation. But he admits they need more help. We dont have a homicide division. We all have a regular case load and, when we get an opportunity, we come back and open the files, he said. These are cases we never threw into a box and forgot about. Do you have any information? The Santa Fe Police Department is seeking help from the public to help crack several unsolved murder cases. In addition to the case involving the 1987 killing of Patricio Pacheco, police are seeking information in the following cases: Vickie Griego, 25, was raped, beaten and strangled with her own belt after leaving a party around midnight on July 8, 1978. Her nude body was discovered five days later near her scattered clothing in a field off Calle Cielo. Tamara Britton, 24 when she was reported missing on Aug. 8, 1984. She was a sales person at West Coast Sound, located on Cerrillos at the time of her disappearance, and simply disappeared. Interestingly, she was a former roommate of Teal Pittington, who went missing a week later. Teal Pittington, 18, was last seen alive on Aug. 15, 1984 in the parking lot of a Cerrillos Road variety store. Her remains were discovered a month later in a culvert about a mile south of the New Mexico Girls Ranch on U.S. 285 south of Lamy. Investigators say she was strangled with her own bra. Susan LaPorte, 25, of Boston, was visiting a friend in Santa Fe when she was strangled Dec. 4, 1985. She had borrowed her friends car to go find a quiet place in which to read. A jogger found her body on a dirt road near what is now The Lodge across from the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Diedra Young, 25, was a paralegal and part-time ski instructor who was found dead inside a home on Galisteo that had been deliberately set on fire on Jan. 8, 1998. Annie Tapia, 72, was found dead inside Rockin TP Lounge, a Cerrillos Road bar she owned, in March 1995. She had been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Larry Roybal, 74, was found dead in his Don Diego Avenue home by a family member June 15, 2014. The more information we have from people who saw Mr. Roybal or any suspicious activity in the area could provide the piece of the puzzle we need, a police spokeswoman said two days after the crime. No matter how many pieces of the puzzle we already have, we need those pieces to fit together in order to make an arrest. In a nondescript warehouse/studio space off Santa Fes Siler Road, thousands of portraits of euthanized dogs are stored, including a group of giant 8-foot-by-8-foot pictures that cover walls from top to bottom. Mark Barone, who painted the dogs over four years, and Marina Dervan want a museum to show off the massive collection 5,500 dog pictures to wake up people about the loss of dogs that end up in shelters, to cultivate compassion, and generate money for dog rescue operations and no-kill shelters. And they want someone to provide the museum for them. Dervan said the couple is hoping for a philanthropist who would come in and say, Hey, I get the vision. I want to be part of this, and make this a reality. Their nonprofit Act of Dog Museum of Compassion project began in Santa Fe about five years ago after Barone and Dervan had moved here from St. Louis. Barones dog of 22 years had died and Dervan researched dog adoption, and started finding out what was happening in the shelter system. Her rough estimate of the number of shelter dogs killed in a day in the United States came to 5,500, the inspiration for the number of paintings Barone has made. The original plan was to sell the paintings all on 12-inch-by-12-inch panels, except for 11 wall-sized works representing special cases or issues to raise $20 million for dog rescue. But they later shifted their goal to a museum that could provide ongoing revenue for animal rescue operations and a place for education efforts. Dervan says that, back in 2011, they got no help with the idea from Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Dervan said she approached Santa Fe city officials, although Debra Garcia y Griego, director of the city Arts Commission, said this week she knew of no contact concerning the Act of Dog idea. I dont think anyone thought we would really do it, said Barone. He started painting the dogs in the small kitchen of a Canyon Road house where Dervan was homesitting. From this little kitchen, I only had 60 done, he said. Dervan said they made contact with 30 other cities and got positive feedback before the couple decamped to Louisville, where they were given studio space in the private Mellwood Arts Center and low-cost housing. The guy in Louisville stepped up and we had to go, said Barone. He said he worked 1,400 days straight on the paintings. We took a half day off for Thanksgiving and half day for Christmas, he said. I estimated it would take two years, and its taken me four, Barone said. The resulting paintings, he said, taken together are bigger than the Vaticans Sistine Chapel. You know, it took Michelangelo four years, and it took me four years but he had help. The paintings were from photos of dogs that couldnt be saved, provided by rescue groups through Facebook, Dervan said. It was just non-stop on Facebook after she built an audience there, she said. The project has attracted news media attention from People magazine, the Huffington Post and CNNs Headline News, and Barone said magazines in Greece and Italy have also taken note. Barone said he never wanted to just be a machine cranking out paintings. Well into the project, preparing panels for painting got to be like (the movie) Groundhog Day after a while, he said. But he says he ended up connecting with all the dogs. Once I started an individual painting, I got into each one of them, he said. About 1,000 of the paintings were damaged and will have to be redone because of a roof collapse caused by a snowstorm at the Louisville location, Barone said. He showed tall, paper-wrapped stacks of bundles in the back of the studio that he said include both the good and damaged dog paintings. Barone has left five of the small paintings undone so that they can be completed in front of cameras for a public television documentary the couple says in the works. There was some interest in a museum in Louisville, and the couple also checked out Jacksonville, Fla., but their dream was to come back to Santa Fe for the project, they said. Art and animal lovers here New Mexico we know theyre animal lovers, we know theyre art lovers, so hopefully someone with the means to help us really brings this vision to life, because its really going to help the community, Dervan said. But she said theyll go somewhere else if a supporter comes through. Were just attached to the outcome of savings lives and getting this done, she said. Barone has experience in using art as a community and economic development tool as part of a successful project in Paducah, Ky., that used incentives in the early 2000s to attract artists from around the country to what had been the rundown Lowertown neighborhood. That project won urban planning awards, and positive press from the likes of ABC News, NPR and major newspapers. Barone and Dervan say their museum would bring in tourists and provide educational programs in purpose-driven art for school children. They have a website that now offers T-shirts and prints that they say should start generating enough revenue to provide donations for rescue groups by the end of this year. Dervan said Barones dog art was inspired by the Holocaust Museum and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. begging the question of why theyve chosen to focus on animals instead of people. There are already so many charities working with children around the world and adults around the world in need, and the huge difference is human beings are not being killed on a daily basis, said Dervan. Their lives are not being taken away for no good reason and animals do not have a voice. We support all those other groups, said Barone. But he and Dervan followed their affinity and passion to try to help save dogs, he said. He noted that dogs are being used to help people with PTSD and in other therapies for humans. Dervan added: Were trying to develop something that gets to the core of the issue. Whatever is going on in the world, whether were killing animals, killing children, starvation, whatever it is, it comes back to the core thing, which is compassion. Youve got to cultivate compassion. Barone said: We see it as a very integrated thing. Dervan and Barone have not established a relationship with the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, a respected community institution which a spokesman said euthanizes only animals proven to be dangerous or who are in pain despite measures, including surgery, that try to save them. No animals are killed for lack of space. As many as 97 percent of animals that end up at the shelter annually have been saved, the spokesman said. Dervan said the shelter is doing an amazing job these days, and that she and Barone want to build an inclusive platform. She said saving dogs depends on rescue groups and animal fostering programs that free up shelter and rescue space for more dogs. The real crazy Act of Dog, Inc., has filed public financial statements required of nonprofits. In 2011, it reported $11,409 in contributions; the total was $39,000 in 2012, most of it reported as being from Barone himself. For 2013 and 2014, Act of Dog filed simpler forms saying its gross receipts are normally less than $50,000. One of the forms reports $12.4 million in assets a rough estimate of the value of Barones paintings, the couple said. I wish it was cash, said Barone. Barone said the project has so far been funded mainly through his retirement savings. When a reporter opined that creating 5,500 paintings was kind of crazy, Dervan responded, We think the real crazy is that 5,500 dogs are killed every day. Thats the real crazy, right? LAS CRUCES The retrial of a former Santa Fe County sheriffs deputy accused of killing a fellow deputy in 2014 has been scheduled for Nov. 28. Last week, jurors told a Las Cruces judge that they couldnt reach a decision in the Tai Chan case after nearly 14 hours of deliberations. Chan had been charged with first-degree murder in fellow deputy Jeremy Martins death. The judge scheduled the November trial on Tuesday, but Chans defense attorney John Day said prosecutors have indicated they are working to push the trail to early next year, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported. Day said he would not be opposed to moving the trial to after the holiday season and that it makes sense to not have witnesses traveling during the holidays. Prosecutors with the District Attorneys Office did not confirm that they are seeking to delay the trial, instead saying in a statement that both the defense and the prosecution have agreed to address their concerns about starting the 10-day trial the Monday after Thanksgiving. Chan and Martin had dropped off prisoners in Arizona and were staying the night at a Las Cruces hotel in October 2014 when shots were fired, killing Martin. Prosecutors said Chan deliberately shot multiple times at Martin as Martin tried to escape down a hotel hallway. Chans lawyers argued that Martin had been the aggressor in the argument leading up to the shooting and Chan opened fire in self-defense. Day said regardless of any decision to delay the trial, he will be ready for Nov. 28. We believe we still have a strong case for self-defense, he said, the facts of the case remain the same. The facts dont change. The District Attorneys Office declined Wednesday to comment on how prosecutors would present their case. Of all the ways to assess two presidential candidates, proclaiming which one youd most like to have a beer with is among the most superficial. But replies to the question do reveal something about how we view a candidates relatability, or even likability, and those are important if intangible qualities. Rasmussen Reports, a conservative-leaning national polling firm, recently asked 1,000 voters whom they would rather drink a beer with: Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton. The national telephone and online poll found that voters, especially men, would rather have a beer with Trump. Forty-five percent of likely U.S. voters would prefer to have a beer with Trump. Thirty-seven percent would rather sip suds with Clinton. Eighteen percent were undecided. But when Rasmussen Reports asked the same voters whom they would rather invite home to dinner, Clinton nearly pulled even. Forty-two percent of respondents said theyd prefer to invite Trump home to dinner and 41 percent chose Clinton. Seventeen percent were not sure, according to Rasmussen. For what its worth, Trump has said he doesnt drink alcohol, so the chance of drinking a real beer with him would seem especially slim. POOR TASTE? A pair of email solicitations from Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., to her supporters this month asked them to sign a petition demanding that the Republican-controlled Congress renew the assault weapons ban that expired in 2014. But the letters also contained information about how to donate to Lujan Grishams re-election campaign, a fundraising tactic that some in the past have decried as unseemly. One letter, which referenced the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which left more than 20 dead in 2012, contained an electronic contribute button at the bottom that when clicked led to a donation page, in addition to a separate button that asked for names and email addresses that would be added to a petition. The congresswomans email referencing the Orlando shootings this week contained an electronic button to sign the petition, with contribution information but no button below it. A spokesman for Lujan Grisham said inclusion of the contribute button the Sandy Hook email was a mistake. The campaign should have removed the donate button because the e-mail clearly was not intended as a solicitation, said Gilbert Gallegos. If you read the substance of the message, it was a substantive and appropriate call to action in support of efforts to reduce gun violence in American communities. A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is in charge of recruiting and promoting Republican candidates, declined to comment on Lujan Grishams emails. Republicans have been criticized in the past for fundraising appeals that referenced the Benghazi disaster that led to the deaths of four Americans in a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya in 2012. JOHNSON ON CNN: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnsons presidential campaign is going prime time. CNN announced this week that Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld, will participate in a town hall meeting on the national network at 9 p.m. Wednesday. The format, aired live and hosted by Chris Cuomo, will allow voters to ask questions of Johnson and Weld, a former Massachusetts governor. Johnson, who is mounting his second bid for president, has long complained about a lack of media coverage for his campaigns. He contends that more extensive coverage would give him a better chance to reach a 15 percent polling threshold required for inclusion in the presidential debates. Michael Coleman: mcoleman@abqjournal.com A former top western New Mexico county official fired after her third drunken driving arrest just two days into a new job was wrongfully terminated because the countys drug and alcohol policy conflicts with state law, according to a new federal lawsuit. In court papers filed last week in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, an attorney for former interim Cibola County manager Rheganne Vaughn said the 2014 drunken driving arrest happened outside of work and did not impair her ability to complete her job duties. Vaughn was arrested in Grants after a State Police officer spotted her car swerving in and out of a driving lane, police records said. Authorities said she failed a sobriety test and was charged with aggravated drunken driving. Vaughn, then 46, had just been named interim county manager after serving as the countys chief operations officer for a year. Two weeks after the arrest, Cibola County commissioners unanimously voted to fire Vaughn for violating the countys drug and alcohol policy. But the lawsuit said that county policy for employees conflicted with state law since its arbitrary and capricious for a New Mexico public employer to terminate one public employee for a DWI arrest that is unrelated to the employees work duties. Cibola County manager Tony Boyd said he couldnt comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages from Cibola County for breach of contract and violating Vaughns due process. Court records showed that Vaughn was later convicted of aggravated drunken driving, stemming from her 2014 arrest. Records also showed that Vaughn pleaded no contest for driving under the influence in 2011 following an arrest in Deming. The Deming Headlight reported that Vaughn was overseeing the Luna Countys DWI Prevention Program at the time of her arrest. A 2006 drunken driving charge against Vaughn was dismissed. AUSTIN, Texas Texas cant keep out Syrian refugees, a federal judge has ruled, dismissing concerns state Republican leaders sounded over hidden extremists following the Paris attacks and revived this week by Donald Trump following the nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida. Texas was the first state to sue the Obama administration over resettlements, though nearly 30 states vowed to ban Syrian refugees after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris killed 130 people. But U.S. District Judge David Godbey threw out the lawsuit in an order signed Wednesday, ruling that Texas had no authority over resettlements that are handled by the federal government. Similar challenges by other states have also sputtered: Indianas attempts to bar state agencies from helping Syrian refugees have been blocked by a federal judge, and the Obama administration is seeking dismissal of an Alabama lawsuit that is nearly identical to the one filed in Texas. This ruling is a strong rebuke of unconstitutional efforts to block refugee resettlement. It sends the clear message to other states that such attempts are not only un-American, they are contrary to the law and will fail in court, said Cecilia Wang of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented a nonprofit resettlement organization in the Texas case. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state is now considering its options. I am disappointed with the courts determination that Texas cannot hold the federal government accountable to consult with us before resettling refugees here, Paxton said. The Obama administration says refugee vetting is rigorous and can take up to two years. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate who has renewed his call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants following the Orlando shooting, supporters at Wednesday in Atlanta that the United States is taking in thousands of refugees when they dont think like us and we dont know who the hell they are. CIA Director John Brennan told a Senate intelligence committee Thursday that the agency has found no connection between the Orlando gunman, who was an American-raised Muslim and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State on Facebook and during a 911 call, and any foreign terrorist organization. Godbey, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, had previously knocked Texas for offering largely speculative hearsay about extremists possibly infiltrating Syrian refugees. In Indiana, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has said Gov. Mike Pences order denying state help to Syrian refugees clearly discriminates against refugees from the war-torn country. ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Former University of New Mexico top lobbyist Marc Saavedra, who left one UNM position and backed out of another amid controversy over DWI issues, has been hired as executive director of the New Mexico Council of University Presidents. The son of a former longtime state legislator, Saavedra beat out two other finalists to land the $115,000-a-year job for the organization, which counts six of the states seven universities as members. The University of New Mexico withdrew from the organization earlier this year. Saavedras start date for the job is July 1. Saavedra resigned from his high-profile job as UNMs government affairs director in 2014 after being arrested and charged with his third DWI, and he pulled the plug on a $50,000 consulting contract with UNM Health Sciences Center last summer after it drew criticism from some community members and scrutiny from the UNM Board of Regents. At the time, he was still on probation for his most recent DWI case. Court records show he wrapped up probation last fall, having met all obligations. In an interview Thursday, Saavedra said he was approached regarding the vacant executive director position and believes it will be a good fit. Im really moving forward with my life and not looking back, Saavedra told the Journal. I feel like Im in a great place. Joseph Shepard, president of Western New Mexico University and vice chairman of the Council of University Presidents, said Thursday that the council was aware of Saavedras drunken driving record when it decided to hire him as executive director. New Mexico State University President Garrey Carruthers, chairman of the Council of University Presidents, was traveling out of state and could not be reached for comment Thursday. Shepard said the organization recognizes Saavedras personal background has not been exemplary, but his professional background has been. We looked at that, and we felt everyone deserves another chance, he added. We think (Saavedra) is solid. Out of all the candidates, he had by far the most policy and technical experience. He also said that Saavedras one-year contract will be evaluated next year and that any additional run-ins with the law on Saavedras part will not be tolerated. If he slips back into the behaviors of the past, well get rid of him, Shepard said. The two other finalists were Paul Aguilar, a deputy Cabinet secretary in the Public Education Department, and Vicente Vargas, state director in New Mexico State Universitys Office of Government Relations. As executive director of the Council of University Presidents, Saavedra will be in charge of working with state agencies, testifying on legislation at the Roundhouse and advising university presidents on funding-related issues, according to a formal job description. He was hired to fill a vacancy created when longtime council Executive Director David Lepre retired recently. Saavedras salary will actually be less than his predecessors Lepre had been making $179,000 per year and will likely come from a mix of public funds and university endowment dollars, Shepard said. Saavedra is the son of former Rep. Henry Kiki Saavedra, an Albuquerque Democrat who served in the Legislature from 1977 through 2014 and served as chairman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. During Marc Saavedras tenure as director of UNMs office of Community and Government Affairs, he signed a Last Chance Agreement with the university after his second DWI arrest in 2006. He then resigned after being arrested on another DWI charge in July 2014. Saavedra also faced a criminal summons for a separate 2014 incident, after he reportedly failed to pay about $28 for a taxi ride and fled the scene. Charges were later dismissed in that case. Previously, Saavedra had worked as a court administrator for Bernalillo County Metro Court and as a budget analyst for the Albuquerque-based 2nd Judicial District. UNM and the council Meanwhile, the decision to hire Saavedra as the Council of University Presidents director comes after UNMs withdrawal from the group this spring. UNM spokeswoman Dianne Anderson said that the university will continue to collaborate with the council and New Mexicos other universities, but that the decision to withdraw was prompted by an ongoing budget crunch. Each university pays a fee to be a member. While we have had a productive and collegial experience over the years as part of this organization, UNM is currently trying to cut costs in every possible manner and is scrutinizing all expenses and external funding commitments, Anderson said in an email Thursday. Despite his past ties with UNM, Saavedra said he doesnt believe the universitys decision to back out from the Council of University Presidents will make for an awkward situation. I hope to work with UNM, and I hope they will work with the (other) university presidents, he said. Saavedra cited state budget belt-tightening and the solvency of the legislative lottery scholarship program set to lose a temporary funding infusion next year as likely priorities in his new position. FARMINGTON Business owners, technology workers, school district personnel and others learned about cyber security and safety as part of the inaugural CyberCon FourCorners today at San Juan College. College President Toni Pendergrass said the event was being held because technology remains a part of everyday living, and access to electronic devices continues to increase, resulting in data breaches and data security issues. According to estimates by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the number of electronic devices connected to the Internet will triple by 2020, she said. Its our goal over the two days to bring awareness about cyber security and to provide all of you with tools, that youll be able to protect yourself both personally and professionally, Pendergrass said. The increase in technology and Internet use has led to more employment opportunities, including those based in the cyber security field. In response, the college is working to expand the number of students earning credentials in information technology and security programs, she said. Bill Hall, the FBI agent in charge of the Farmington field office, provided an overview of the bureaus efforts to combat cyber threats as part of his keynote address. With Internet use being the norm, the FBI continues to combat cyber threats that exist nationally and globally, but threats and intrusions are becoming more sophisticated, he said. The intrusions are becoming as complex as the equipment we work off of and we work with, Hall said. Companies can be threatened by adversaries or insiders distributing information, colleges are targeted for their research work, individuals are singled out for identity theft and children are fixed on by predators, he added. Among the threats faced by businesses are ransom ware and distortion ware, both of which involve the use of malware to lock a computers hard drive. The perpetrator then demands a ransom in order to grant access, Hall said. To date, terrorists have not used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber attack, but we cannot underestimate the intent, he said. One way the bureau is addressing the issue is by using the investigatory authority of its cyber crime division and examining cyber threats by partnering with other federal agencies. Each of the 56 field divisions in the FBI has a cyber division that specializes in cyber crime, Hall said. Agents also undergo annual training regarding cyber threats and attacks, he added. The FBI also accepts complaints about Internet crimes at its website, ic3.gov. Hall reiterated the need for students to study computer technology, computer forensics and surveillance technology, then seek employment that addresses cyber crimes. Shawn Shay, director of technology for the Aztec Municipal School District, was attending the conference to learn about emerging threats and to collaborate with peers. This is the first time weve had anything security related in this area, and I wanted to see what its about and see if it addresses any of our needs in the district, Shay said. He said it is important to learn about threats because the district has student data, and an attack to steal information could occur. We want to make sure were protecting them the best we can, Shay said. The conference continues from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Quality Center for Business at San Juan College, 5101 College Blvd. Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636. 2016 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ DUBAI, United Arab Emirates In the wake of the Orlando killings this week, Hillary Clinton had harsh words for Americas Gulf allies, criticizing them for funding institutions that radicalize young Muslims. It is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee told an Ohio crowd. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path toward extremism. These were not the kind of incendiary political comments common for her Republican rival Donald Trump no proposed bans, no generalizations, no stereotypes. But they did provide a window into how a President Clinton might approach the combustible, complex Middle East: polite but harsh truth-telling, with specifics, delivered as if among friends. Tellingly, the comments were received without protest from most regional leaders who consider the messenger as much as the message. However, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in Washington on Friday that his government has tight control over charitable giving and has designated entities and individuals suspected of terror finance. He also said that its unfair to point a finger at Saudi Arabia if a mosque that it funded years ago begins advocating intolerance and violence. From her time as first lady to her globe-hopping travel as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Clinton has formed first-name relationships in the region. That helps in a region largely dominated by the decades-long reigns. Such continuity can offer comfort and even open minds to criticism. Shes very personal, unlike Obama, said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at United Arab Emirates University. They value the strategic relationship, but they value more the personal approach. Yet in all of it, shes learned the limits of American power in a region rich in history but impoverished by multiple wars and conflicts. Heres a look at some issues that will arise in the Middle East for Clinton if she wins in November: ___ FIRST LADY AS DIPLOMAT Even as first lady, Clinton traveled to more than 80 countries with her husband and on her own, helping promote U.S. policy and causes such as supporting the rights of women and children. In March 1999, Clinton stretched a 15-minute meeting with Egypts then-President Hosni Mubarak into an hour, pushing an autocratic but important U.S. ally on her concerns about the rights of the countrys minority Coptic Christians. She toured Israel and the Palestinian territories as first lady several times, once causing a stir by suggesting in 1998 well before it was U.S. policy that a genuinely independent Palestinian state would be in the long-term interests of the Middle East. In 1999 she unnerved Israelis when, after embracing Yasser Arafats wife Suha, she listened without protest as her Palestinian counterpart alleged that Israel used poison gas against Palestinians. Her subsequent efforts to criticize the allegations unsubstantiated and hotly denied didnt cool an angry Israeli reaction and blistering headlines in New York tabloids ahead of her U.S. Senate run. As president, she would come under growing pressure to step into the Israeli-Palestinian morass, though each presidency following her own husband has seen diminishing returns in pushing peace talks. ___ HAWKISHNESS ON 9/11 AND IRAQ The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks took place during Clintons first year as a U.S. senator. She arrived to the scene of the World Trade Center the next day wearing a mask as dust still hung in the air over lower Manhattan. She called the attack an act of war an early signal of her hawkishness on defense. She then voted in 2002 to grant President George W. Bush the broad authority to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein, calling it the hardest decision Ive ever had to make. That vote came up repeatedly in her failed 2008 campaign against Obama, who campaigned on and later pulled all American troops out of Iraq and has been raised by her opponents again in the campaign over the past months. Many in the Middle East do not regret Saddams ouster and regional allies allowed U.S. bases in their country to support the war. But many also now fear the Islamic State group, which rose in the chaos of Syrias civil war and Iraqs security vacuum. Clinton also this week used the term radical Islamism in discussing the Orlando shooting, a phrase generally avoided by Obama and used often by Republicans, who criticize those who dont. However, Clinton stressed the need to reach out to all Muslims to defeat this threat, which is so evil and has got to be denounced by everyone, regardless of religion. ___ ARAB SPRING EMBERS Clinton travelled nearly a million miles to 112 countries as secretary of state. While part of an Obama administration effort to pivot U.S. diplomatic attention to Asia, Clinton found herself entangled in the Mideast on her first weeks in the job with the Gaza War that ended in 2009. The traditional order of U.S. allies and enemies in the region quickly found itself upended by the Arab Spring. In her autobiography Hard Choices, Clinton recounts walking through Cairos Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of Egypts Arab Spring uprising. Her realpolitik conclusions after that put her at odds with a more idealistic Obama White House. I came away worried that they would end up handing the country to the Muslim Brotherhood or the military by default, which in the end is exactly what happened, she wrote. Soon the United States, having abandoned Mubarak, found itself blamed by many Egyptians for the rise of the Brotherhood, whose year in power ended in another military takeover. As president, she would have to decide whether to embrace Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi an authoritarian battling a deadly Islamic State insurgency. ___ INTERVENTIONISM AND THE LIMITS OF POWER Clinton has grown into an interventionist, backing the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and finding herself arguing in vain for the U.S. to arm moderate rebels in Syrias civil war, a conflict that still rages today. In Libya, she supported removing dictator Moammar Gadhafi but the results are mixed at best. The country is still an active war zone where rival governments and militias battle. A U.S. ambassador and others were killed on Clintons watch, sparking a series of Congressional investigations. Even on the tiny island of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet, Clinton was unable to stop Saudi and Emirati forces from crushing a protest by the nations Shiite majority. As president, she will have to balance Americas relations with its Sunni allies the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations with its emerging rapprochement with Shiite power Iran. The Gulfs distrust of last years nuclear deal with Iran will loom large in any Clinton presidency, testing her ability to balance priorities, leverage relationships and manage crises in one of the most explosive corners of the world. She already knows the challenge as she once wrote: Trying to drive change in the Middle East could feel like banging your head against a brick wall. ___ Gambrell, an Associated Press reporter since 2006, has covered the Middle East from Cairo and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 2013. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap and find his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jon-gambrell . Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report from Washington. An AP Analysis A tanker drops retardant on the Dog Head Fire in the Manzano Mountains on Thursday. (Greg Sorber/Albuquerque Journal) Fire retardant dropped by air tankers marks the trees near homes as the Dog Head Fire burns on Thursday near Chilili. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal) Gov. Susana Martinez surveys the Dog Head Fire in the Manzano Mountains from a Black Hawk helicopter Thursday evening. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal) Gov. Susana Martinez updates reporters on the Dog Head Fire, which grew to more than 12,000 acres Thursday. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal) Velma and Orlando Gurule of Chilili, right, sit with their extended family in the gym of the El Vicino Community Center in Tijeras on Thursday. All of them were evacuated from their homes Wednesday to escape the Dog Head Fire. (Greg Sorber/Albuquerque Journal) East Mountains residents leave their homes as the Dog Head Fire burns Thursday. (Greg Sorber/Albuquerque Journal) Gov. Susana Martinez watches the Dog Head Fire from a Black Hawk helicopter Thursday. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal) The Dog Head Fire spread to 2,000 acres Wednesday night as crews fought to keep it away from towns and structures. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Chilili and Escabosa. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) A resident along Para Road drives away from the Dog Head Fire in the Manzano Mountains on Wednesday afternoon. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Janice Farrington waits for her husband to finish gathering their belongings as the couple evacuates Chilili as the Dog Head Fire approaches. The fire has charred an estimated 2,000 acres in the Manzano Mountains. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Residents of Chilili watch the Dog Head Fire near N.M. 337 on Wednesday afternoon. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Joe Gutierrez of Chilili watches the Dog Head Fire from his car, parked off of N.M. 337 on Wednesday afternoon. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) The Dog Head Fire burns as seen from the town of Tajique, near the Manzano Mountains on Wednesday. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Ryan Steffens, a Tajique artist, uses binoculars to get a better view of a forest fire near Fourth of July Campground in the Manzano Mountains on Tuesday. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) A fire burning in the Manzano Mountains is seen from the Albuquerque International Sunport on Tuesday afternoon. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) A tanker drops fire retardant on a forest fire near the Fourth of July Campground in the Manzano Mountains on Tuesday. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) The ruins of a structure destroyed by the Doghead Fire smolder in the Monzano Mountains. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 17 Next TIJERAS Several hundred people whose homes, animals and ways of life are threatened by the Dog Head Fire heard Gov. Susana Martinez promise during a public meeting here Friday to commit more resources to help them through their ordeal. Martinez told anxious Manzano Mountain area residents, jammed into the Roosevelt Middle School gym, that she has ordered more New Mexico National Guardsmen to provide security for neighborhoods that have been or may be evacuated, and that she would look into the possibility of making the fairgrounds at Expo New Mexico available to accept animals being removed from the path of the 26-square-mile fire. By late Friday, the fire that started Tuesday six miles northwest of Tajique in Torrance County had burned 17,000 acres, destroyed two dozen homes and more than 20 other structures, and forced scores of people to leave their homes. Authorities early Friday afternoon announced that Bernalillo County sheriffs deputies had removed residents from an area extending from the junction of N.M. 217 and 337 south to the county line. Much of the concern expressed at Fridays meeting centered over confusion about which areas were under mandatory evacuation orders and which were voluntary. Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson offered some advice on that issue. I would not recommend staying anywhere near that 217/337 intersection, Johnson told the crowd. Lighter winds early Friday did help crews hold fire lines and limit the growth of the blaze to about an additional 1,000 acres. Rich Nieto, incident commander, said crews had been focusing on the northwest corner of the fire. The 337 road is what weve been trying to hold, and weve been doing a pretty good job so far, Nieto said. But that doesnt mean the fire is giving in. It remains uncontained and Fire Information Officer Denise Ottaviano said the fire, which shifted east Friday, is still extremely active. Officials are concerned that strong winds expected from the south on Sunday will push the fire north. Close to 700 firefighters are now battling the fire, assisted by air tankers and helicopters that on Friday dropped retardant and water on the fires eastern edge, the side of the fire closest to the small community of Chilili, near where the homes and other buildings destroyed by the fire are located. Sen. Ted Barela, R-Estancia, whose district is in the fire area, was at Fridays meeting in Tijeras. Earlier in the day, Barela said previous fires have burned in the dense forests in his district, but the Dog Head Fire is the first he can remember coming close to established communities. Barela surveyed fire damage earlier this week with a State Police escort. The fire has definitely been no respecter of anything, he said. This fire is impacting many people, both directly and indirectly. People are hopeful and theyre working hard at taking care of their property. U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., visited the incident command center and area communities affected by the fire on Friday, stops that included thanking firefighters from Hotshot crews and listening to the heartbreaking stories from some of the families evacuated from their homes. She also expressed her appreciation for the hard work of fire managers and the volunteers helping families at shelters. Please keep all of these people, including the dozens of evacuees, in your thoughts and prayers, Lujan Grisham said on social media. Journal staff writers Dan Boyd and Ollie Reed Jr. contributed to this report. DENVER A wildfire on Fort Carson has burned at least 900 acres and is about 60 percent contained. The Fort Carson fire is contributing to smoke and haze across parts of Colorado, along with smoke from large fires in New Mexico and Arizona. According to KRDO-TV (http://tinyurl.com/znhhvqv ), the fire on Fort Carson is burning in the middle of a training range. Officials say it was likely caused by lightning. No injuries have been reported and there is currently no threat to buildings. ___ Information from: KRDO-TV, http://www.krdo.com/ PALO ALTO, Calif. After a jury convicted a California man of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a fatal drunken driving crash, Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail and ordered him to undergo random alcohol testing. The judge sentenced Frank Guerrero to three years in prison for robbing another man. In both cases, Persky followed the sentencing recommendation of the Santa Clara County Probation Department. An Associated Press review of his rulings shows that Persky has adhered to the same practice in every trial where the probation office made a recommendation since he began presiding over a Palo Alto criminal court in 2015. That includes the sexual assault conviction of former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who got six months in jail and was ordered to register as a sex offender for life. Prosecutors had sought a six-year sentence. The light sentence given to Turner, and Perskys reasoning for it, touched off intense debate over whether he handled the case properly and drew widespread calls for the judges removal. On Tuesday, the local district attorney blocked Persky from hearing a new sexual assault case and said he is considering blocking all sexual assault cases that get assigned to Perskys court. Santa Clara County DA Jeff Rosen said he lacked confidence that the judge could fairly participate in the new case. But Rosen said he does not support removing Persky from the bench. The judges supporters describe him as a smart jurist who listens to all parties, including the probation department, and who is open to sparing first-time offenders lengthy prison sentences when hes convinced counseling and court monitoring can help them get back on track. Persky has many progressive ideas, said Gary Goodman, who is in charge of the Palo Alto public defenders office and has more than a dozen cases pending before Persky. But critics say Perskys handling of the Stanford case makes him unfit for the bench. They insist he has the authority to ignore the probation departments recommendation and that the sentence he gave to Turner marginalizes campus sexual assault and may deter future victims from reporting attacks. It is ignorance, said Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who is a friend of Turners victim. The AP reviewed court records for 20 criminal cases in which Persky has issued sentences, including all seven trials he presided over, since January 2015. The probation department issued sentencing recommendations after five jury verdicts of guilty. One defendant was convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving, and the probation department did not make a recommendation. A seventh trial ended in acquittal. Cheryl Stevens, a lawyer in the Santa Clara county counsels office, said the probation department is responsible for providing the court with a neutral recommendation for sentencing of a defendant. Echoing findings in Turners probation report, Persky said on June 3 that Turners youth, character references, lack of a criminal record and, to a lesser extent, the role alcohol played in the assault pointed toward a short jail sentence rather than a longer prison term. Turner also has to register as a sex offender for life. The sentence, coupled with Turners fathers plea for leniency because his son had already paid a steep price for 20 minutes of action, thrust the case into the national debate over campus sexual assault. Until getting assigned the Turner case, Persky and his Palo Alto court attracted little outside attention. Compared to the chaotic Hall of Justice 20 miles south in San Jose, the Palo Alto courts quietly handle a steady stream of suburban Silicon Valley crimes that rarely make headlines. But the Turner case changed that. Even before Turner was sentenced, the case drew more attention than any other Persky has handled since arriving in Palo Alto. Because of the poor state of Santa Clara Countys technology, accessing Perskys cases is virtually impossible for the public. The Palo Alto court clerks office isnt equipped with a computer for public use, and it maintains only Perskys current, daily calendar. The year before the governor appointed him, Persky lost an election to a fellow prosecutor in the Santa Clara district attorneys office for an open slot on the bench. As a prosecutor, Persky worked to keep sexually violent predators confined to mental hospitals after they served their prison terms, among other duties. On the bench, Persky has served in family court and civil court and had a good reputation as a fair-minded and smart judge. He earned two Stanford degrees, including a masters in international relations, and captained the schools lacrosse team as an undergraduate. He graduated from the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. In the Stanford case, the judge was blasted for going too easy on a well-heeled, white defendant. But a review of Perskys other rulings gives no indication of racial bias in the cases where a defendants race is listed in court papers. Persky sentenced a Tongan man to four months in jail for stealing $10,000 from an elderly couple fading into dementia he was hired to care for. The man was also ordered to get counseling for compulsive gambling. Michael Lee Simpson, 32 and white, faced life in prison for raping a stranger when he pleaded guilty in exchange for a nearly 31-year sentence. Persky told Simpsons public defender he would not approve a sentence any lower. He also sentenced Kristoffer Bowen, 44 and white, to seven years in prison for pistol whipping a friend he met on his previous stint in prison. Then theres the case of Rachel Garcia, a Latina charged with misdemeanor theft who insisted on a trial. During jury selection last week, several potential jurors told Persky they couldnt serve in his courtroom because of the Turner sentence. Persky dismissed the critics, seated 14 jurors and alternates and started the trial on June 10. It was the first trial he has presided over since Turners, and it ended abruptly Monday when Persky tossed out the case before giving it to the jury, ruling that the prosecutor had not proved Garcia guilty. Its the kind of move supporters would characterize as a sign of Perskys strength rather than letting a weak case go to a jury he intervened. The district attorney described it as puzzling. Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal Santiago Romero-Amayas car was acting up Wednesday evening. So after fiddling with it for awhile, he grabbed the keys to his daughters brand new Jeep Patriot and headed to AutoZone near Coors and Rio Bravo. He told me he was going to be right back, his daughter Karina Romero said Friday. The 64-year-old, who worked making mouldings for the past 24 years, didnt even make it into the store. Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office deputies say a self-proclaimed Westside Bloods gang member demanded the Jeep and then shot and killed Romero-Amaya in the AutoZone parking lot, taking off with the car. Deputies believe the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Ronald Delfino, then held up a Northwest Albuquerque McDonalds, robbing it at gunpoint. He only spent a couple hours on the run before Albuquerque Police Department officers saw him near West Central. They and sheriffs deputies started chasing him near Central and Unser. Sheriffs deputies say he fired at least one shot at officers, and deputies and officers opened fire on him. At some point, the Jeep caught on fire, and Delfino was pronounced dead at the scene. Delfino only has one adult conviction for misdemeanor DWI, but his run-ins with police date back to 2009, according to police records. In October 2009, when Delfino was 15, he and off-duty APD officer Earl Nagy got into a road rage fight that ended with shots fired by both parties, according to Journal archives. Both Nagys wife and Delfino were struck with bullets but were not seriously wounded. Delfino faced numerous charges, but the outcome of that case was not immediately available Friday. In 2013, Delfino was caught with a friend in a stolen truck and charged for it, but the case was later dismissed. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DWI in September 2014, and he had a warrant out for his arrest for another misdemeanor DWI in 2014, according to court records. BCSO spokeswoman Felicia Romero on Friday sent out a lengthy summary of Delfinos arrests, but not convictions, which included multiple photos, apparently taken off of Delfinos Facebook page, that show him throwing gang signs. In that document, Felicia Romero said he went by the moniker Lil Never Skared. Deputies have not said how exactly he died, though Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said he would believe Delfino was struck by police and deputies gunfire. An Albuquerque police officer was struck in his bulletproof vest with a bullet, and another APD officer tore his Achilles tendon while trying to throw out a spike belt. Both were released from the hospital early Thursday. Karina Romero, who just graduated from Rio Grande High School, said she would like to thank the officers who were injured for their efforts in stopping Delfino. Romero-Amaya leaves behind his wife, two daughters and two grandchildren. She said her family is still in shock. Were devastated, she said. We only have each other now. HOUSTON Legendary investigator Johnny Bonds, hero of the 1983 book The Cop Who Wouldnt Quit, can rest for another five years. The man he helped put in prison twice, once for a triple murder and then again for money laundering, has again been denied parole, Bonds said week. If theres ever been a guy who deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison, its him, the retired detective told the Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1RXsrWF ). He was speaking of Walter Waldhauser, one of Houstons most notorious criminals. Hes one of the smartest people Ive ever known. I never saw anybody work so hard to get over on people, Bonds said. Waldhauser confessed in 1981 to his role in one of Houstons most infamous murder cases in exchange for a 30-year prison sentence. Nine years later, Waldhauser was released on parole and changed his name to Michael Lee Davis. He eventually moved to Dallas and started running financial scams. A decade after his release, he was sentenced to 60 years for money laundering on evidence that he stole more than $5 million. Because it was a nonviolent crime, Waldhauser came up for parole just seven years later. That year, Bonds marshaled forces to convince the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny release and put it off for five years. Bonds did it again in 2011. And earlier this year, he began a similar campaign by reaching out to his long list of friends and contacts to write letters protesting release. That effort proved successful last week when the parole board again refused to set Waldhauser free, and postponed the next decision until 2021. Bonds was vacationing in rural Arkansas when he got the news. Ive got another five years that I dont have to worry about the SOB being on the streets, he said with a laugh. My goal is to outlive him. Waldhauser is 63. Bonds, now 68, retired from the Harris County District Attorneys Office in 2008 after 40 years in law enforcement. His legacy became inextricably linked with Waldhausers fate after the detective spent two years unraveling the 1979 murders of John and Diana Wanstrath and their 14-month-old son, Kevin. Bonds was able to show the slayings were intentional killings orchestrated by Diana Wanstraths adopted brother, not a murder-suicide as originally thought. He also showed that the adopted brother, Markham Duff-Smith, had hired triggerman Allen Wayne Janecka to kill the family for inheritance money. Duff-Smith and Janecka both landed on death row and have been executed for their roles. Bonds was also able to prove that Waldhauser was involved in Diana Wanstraths mothers death, which was ruled a suicide five years earlier. Waldhauser, who confessed, acted as the middleman who hired and paid Janecka in both incidents. The saga became the book The Cop Who Wouldnt Quit by Rick Nelson, which cemented Bonds place in Houstons crime lore. ___ Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com Editors note: This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Houston Chronicle. PHOENIX Supporters of Donald Trump plan to offer protection to fellow backers as dissenters work to keep protests peaceful when the Republican presidential candidate makes a return visit to Phoenix this weekend. The presumptive GOP nominee is expected to speak to roughly 14,500 people in sweltering heat Saturday afternoon at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. During Trumps last Arizona visit to metropolitan Phoenix, activists blocked the only major roads leading to the event site about 3 miles away. Three protesters were arrested. A volunteer group calling itself Lions Guard Arizona is planning to ward off any rowdy protesters by escorting rally attendees to and from their vehicles. We cant tell anybody else what to do and were not there to intimidate them or get them going, said Cindy Perrin, the groups spokeswoman. Some may also be carrying concealed weapons. Perrin said she expects as many as several hundred volunteers. Most are veterans or former police officers. Firearms wont be permitted in the arena for security purposes but there are no rules for the surrounding grounds. Whoever carries normally and wants to carry, theyre going to carry, Perrin said. We are not going to have any open-carry. A former police officer, Perrin, of Fountain Hills, said her group will reach out to law enforcement if there is any trouble. They will only intervene if someone is physically threatened. Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Damon Cecil said the state police agency cannot predict what will happen before, during and after the rally but is prepared. DPS has reached out to groups that may be involved with protests and encouraged them to be peaceful. With most of those groups, Cecil said, we have talked to their leadership and got assurances that their protests are going to be peaceful we do expect that they are going to police themselves. We are prepared for any type of contingency. Peace was the consensus among a coalition of Hispanic advocacy groups announcing a planned Saturday demonstration at a nearby park. The protest, however, is scheduled to end around 1 p.m., when doors to the Trump event open. Representatives from all of them discouraged against acting out with violence. Please understand that the rest of the community also has its right to get its message out in a peaceful non-violent way. Respect the dignity of our cause, said Roberto Reveles, founding president of Somos America. Carmen Cornejo, an advocate for young immigrants granted deferred deportation status by the Obama administration, wants young Hispanics to respond to political rhetoric by peacefully protesting and mobilizing voters. Do not respond to the provocation. Its incendiary, Cornejo said. Its meant to provoke and enrage people into a violent response. Perrin said she started the group after incidents at Trump rallies in Albuquerque, New Mexico and San Jose, California. (The protesters) are exercising their First Amendment and thats fine, Perrin said. But when you start getting into the physical aspect of it throwing eggs, spitting and hurting people its just not going happen. ___ Associated Press writer Paul Davenport contributed to this report. ___ Follow Terry Tang at https://twitter.com/ttangAP ACAs library of educational tools help members improve their business practices. ACA also holds the most popular industry conferences and offers credentialing for collectors, attorneys, and more. ACAs Training Zone subscription gives agencies access to almost all of our education for one low cost. Princeton, N.J.-based Top 100 Firm WithumSmith+Brown has struck a deal to become a NetSuite solution provider. Firm partners Tom Durkee and Lena Combs, who manage Withums vacation ownership division, plan to immediately begin introducing resort clients to San Mateo, Calif.-based NetSuites enterprise resource planning system and cloud-based business management software. Withum aims to use NetSuite expand upon its current accounting and consulting service offerings and meet the rising demand for cloud enterprise resource management and e-commerce solutions among its clients and prospective customers. Withum will provide implementation, customization and support services for NetSuites cloud business management suite to new and existing clients. NetSuite will be a natural fit, delivering significant value for not only our small to mid-sized resort companies and [homeowners associations], but will also greatly benefit major, multi-site clients, Durkee in a statement. We are proud to reinforce our commitment to meeting the changing business needs of our customers by adding this forward-thinking product. Withums business philosophy is to offer clients far more than just traditional tax and accounting services, Combs added in a statement. The NetSuite solution provider program will offer clients 21st century tools with which to streamline and retool their business practices. IndiaMART, India's largest online marketplace that connects buyers with suppliers, announces an exclusive digital campaign #CarryTheLegacy, celebrating the occasion of Fathers Day. The campaign is a reflection of successive generations carrying on their fathers legacy and inheriting the responsibilities of their business from the Head of the Family. Treading that line of thought, the company has collaborated with Bang in the Middle to launch the campaign via a one minute short film that is intended to celebrate and acknowledge every father who works hard to ensure a better future for his children. The short film thoughtfully captures the sincerity and commitment of fathers across India, who built successful businesses on their own terms and proudly hands over the reins of their enterprise to the next generation. The scenes profoundly establish a fathers affection towards his children through those popular Hari, Mehta, or Aziz & sons/daughters signboards. Showcasing the father-child bond, the video depicts how these duos work together to build a greater enterprise which carries their family name. Shot across various brick and mortar marketplaces, the campaign hopes to strike a chord with the audience and make them realize the importance of their father in their lives. Commenting on this campaign, Sumit Bedi, VP Marketing, IndiaMart said, Bearing in mind that almost 90% businesses in India are family owned, one can only imagine the hard work and labor that one goes through in setting up a business and earn reputation to their names in the society. People trust these businesses because of that name on the door and that name is more than just a business brand its a legacy, passed down from one generation to the other. Its what a father hopes for his heir to inherit and then build on. With this as a background, we decided to launch this unique campaign to celebrate these fathers, who have conquered the world through sheer hard work and dedication. Adding his bit, Anirban Sen, Executive Creative Director, BITM said, Whatever a father acquires in his life, it is always for his children. The same goes for whatever he builds and creates. Be it a home or business, the vision is always passing these down to his kids. Since we generally see signboards relaying names such as Mehta and Sons, Aggarwal and Sons, Singh and Sons everywhere, it gave us an idea to create a campaign that would make a nice, moving testimony of a fathers hard work and dedication being passed down through generations. The video release marks the launch of a digital campaign which is scheduled to be launched this Friday, i.e., 17th June 2016 and will run across multiple social network and online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Additionally, IndiaMART will also unveil interesting contests and activities to amplify this initiative. Josy Paul, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India, has his hands full over the next three days as a Jury member for Glass Lions at 2016 Cannes Lions Festival. Not only that, he will also be doing a Masterclass at the Festival. Paul set up BBDO in India from the backseat of his car in 2008 along with his partner Ajai Jhala. The agency pioneered the idea of brand movements with the belief that India needs more Acts Not Ads. Josy is ranked among the most influential people in Indian advertising according to The Economic Times. Paul and his team have won almost every inaugural Lion at Cannes Lions. The Glass Lion Grand Prix for P&G's Whisper Touch The Pickle. The Glass Lion Gold for P&G's Ariel Share The Load. The Black Lion for Creative Effectiveness for Gillette Women Against Lazy Stubble. Josy was one of the main speakers at Cannes Lions in 2012 and 2014. He was also Campaign Magazine's 'Creative Person of the Year' in 2015 for India and South Asia. In March this year, Josy was awarded Creative Agency Head of the Year at the IAA Leadership Awards. As for his Cannes, heres Josy Paul in his own words... What I plan to do For three days Ill be locked in a room doing jury duty for Glass Lions, then another day I am doing a Masterclass, and I am also speaking on stage on what happened at the Glass Lions. For four days I am fully locked blocked, so I am looking at what I can do in the last three days, and with clients there, theres a bit of networking lunch and dinners. So given all that, I am still negotiating my way, but because I am in the Glass Lion jury, I have a registration for the whole week. So, I am definitely going to sit quietly, alone and listen to people. This is really a pilgrimage, and so nobody is a jury anymore as I had said, you cant be a jury, you cant be a guru everything is a learning programme right now for me because things are changing so fast, you can only react with your gut, you can only react with how you feel about the idea based on your idea muscle. All of us have an idea muscle and when you see something, the idea muscle acts up its an intuitive muscle. And for me, thats how I am responding. My body reacts, my heart reacts, so I dont analyse things much when it comes to judging. Confidence in Indias performance I never thought last year would be bad, I always thought last year would be good, but it looked like something different was happening in Cannes. Like that line from the Havells ad hawa badal raha hai and I feel that this year, the hawa is blowing in our direction, because if you look at a lot of the work they seem to be fresh for the jury because they are a lot of cultural nuances and local nuances. These are the things that the jury today seem to like and you would have seen that with the way how we performed last year with something so remote and integral to India like Whisper Touch the Pickle, which you could never tell that any jury would understand, but they understood it and they gave it award after award. Clearly, the mood it about sharing. Cannes and the advertising fraternity I think Cannes is a cultural exchange programme, its a creative exchange programme. It is to re-energise yourself, open your mind, its about forgetting your past. I think its about everyone who says this is how you should do this; they should be able to come back and say I am so happy that I went to Cannes. I always thought this is the only way things are to be done, but now I know I can also do it this way and that sort of progressive, open mindset will help the individual, the brand, the agency and the advertisers. And therefore, I think its a good place to be. Making the difference on the battlefield Living by the motto That others may live Air Force pararescue specialists ensure that they are trained to the highest standards to conduct personnel recovery operations. It is these highly skilled individuals that provide the only dedicated U.S. personnel recovery assets in Afghanistan. Recently Airmen from the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron conducted a joint mass casualty and extrication exercise with U.S. Army Task Force Chosen to increase interoperability with each other and demonstrate theater personnel recovery capabilities. Realistic training and making the combat situations as realistic as possible is going to make the difference on the battlefield, said Lt. Col. Russell Cook, 83rd ERQ commander. Realistic training is key. In the realistic training situation Airmen acted as injured patients. There were Airmen spread across the grounds of the site including those stuck inside damaged vehicles. Airmen from the 83rd ERQS and Soldiers from Task Force Chosen responded to the scene and immediately began the work to identify injuries and extract patients. The teams used a variety of tools including saws and the Jaws of Life in order to safely extract injured patients from the vehicles. The goal is to get the patient out as quickly and safely as possible in order to save their life. The reason we do these exercises is because there is only a certain amount of time before a patient could go south on you, said 1st Lt. Nicholas Adagio, 83rd ERQS Combat Rescue Officer. Trying to get the best extrication techniques possible out there and train to the highest standards is best for our isolated personnel. These realistic scenarios ensure that Air Force pararescue teams are ready at moments notice to execute a variety of personnel recovery operations in the differing terrain environments throughout Afghanistan. We train to this every single day and we are the most capable response force for personnel recovery, said Adagio. Canadian exercise trains new generation of Dobbins C-130 warfighters More than 70 Airmen from the 94th Airlift Wing recently took part in Maple Flag 49, an annual international air exercise, at 4 Wing Cold Lake in Alberta. Each year, allied forces from around the world seek to prepare their service members for tactical global operations. They came together from May 30-June 10 for air-to-air, air-to-surface and close air support operations in a simulated combat environment. Participating for the third time, the wing sought to invest its resources into its future fighting force. Lt. Col. Thomas Moffatt, the 700th Airlift Squadron director of operations and 94th AW Maple Flag mission commander, designed a detailed plan to meet that objective. Our objective is to provide Air Force Reserve Command with combat ready aircrew members, Moffatt said. A unique way we approach Maple Flag is that we put our up and coming pilots in positions of authority. They serve as aircraft commanders. The more experienced aircrew members serve as planners and mentors, providing guidance to the less experienced. This helps us to develop skilled tactical warfighters. From the aircraft commanders, co-pilots, planning cells, and maintenance personnel to aircrew life support, all first-time exercise attendees took advantage of the experience passed on from veteran Maple Flag participants. The unique thing about Maple Flag is that it offers us control of our scenarios, so we can give our aircrews the training they need, said Capt. Jamie Atkinson, a 700th AS C-130 Hercules pilot and aircraft commander. It allowed us to work with different weapon systems, as well as air and ground forces from different countries. From a planner's perspective, the challenge was learning how to integrate these different weapon systems and tactics while being able to put together an effective mission plan, he added. For the aircrews flying the missions, we had to make sure we were meeting our objectives, while flying in an environment that was always changing due to enemy threats, weather or other sources. Since their first Maple Flag exercise in 2013, 94th AW members have taken the opportunity to participate whenever their schedule allows. The timeline for this annual exercise works great for us because it gives us a year on to participate, and a year off to fulfill our deployment obligation, Moffatt said. Its a win for both the 94th AW and AFRC. Although Maple Flag 47 in 2014 was a big operation for AFRC with eight C-130s participating from various wings, there were significant changes this year for Maple Flag 49. According to Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Vuri Mokievsky-Zubok, the Maple Flag deputy lead planner, exercise 47 was reduced due to real-world commitments. The normal NATO fighter aircraft did not participate, reducing the scenarios to transport aircraft only. This year, Canadian, French, German and Belgium fighter aircraft were present. Tactical aircraft participation included air-to-air refueling aircraft, airborne warning and control systems, long-range patrol aircraft, tactical helicopters and C-130s from the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. We had a record number of participants this year, Mokievsky-Zubok said. We hope to get even more for Maple Flag 50. Aircrews from the 94th AW flew two rotations per day, one four-ship formation in the morning, teaming up with members of the Kentucky Air National Guard, and a two-ship formation in the afternoon from the Edmonton International Airport in Alberta. Early morning missions were comprised of paratrooper and equipment airdrops, and then it was off to the 4,478-square-mile air weapons range at the Air Force Tactical Training Center in Cold Lake. The range was very challenging, Atkinson said. It gave us the opportunity to fully employ our tactics in a low-level training environment. On our local low-level routes at home station, we have restrictions on how low we can fly due to the populated areas in Atlanta. We were able to fly a true low-level while in the range at Cold Lake. According to the squadron aviation resource manager, aircrews logged 101 flying hours and performed 54 sorties in simulated combat missions. This is by far the best training exercise Ive ever experienced, Atkinson said. A lot (of) real-world training was provided with each mission flown. The ongoing tussle between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and BJP at the centre was followed with a new scam. Recently, AAP was attacked over the appointment of 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries, there after they trained its guns at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for shielding former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over the alleged 400 crore water tanker scam. A political war of words erupted soon after between the BJP and AAP. Both traded charges of trying to cover up the scam. AAP leader Dilip Pandey accused BJP of being an ally of the Congress Party. Three days after the AAP government announced it had sent the report of a fact-finding committee on water tankers distribution management systems scam to the Lieutenant Governor and the Centre, so the report has been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) for investigation. Trouble mounted for the former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit when a report of a fact-finding panel on the alleged 400-crore water tanker scam linking her, was forwarded to anti-graft agency Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) by Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for further investigation. The report by a committee of the Delhi Jal Board was sent to Jung by the AAP government for probe by either CBI or Delhis ACB following persistent demand by the city BJP leader Vijender Gupta. Jung has also forwarded to ACB a complaint filed with him by Gupta accusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of suppressing the committees report into the tanker scam for 11 months. Last week, the AAP Government had made the committees report public after Gupta demanded from Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly to do the same, as he filed three different FIRs against the people involved in this scam including Madam Dikshit. He alleged instead of cancelling tenders issued by the previous government, the AAP government chose to continue with the wrongdoers, thereby perpetuating the crime. AAP hit back alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to protect Sheila Dikshit. As the anti-corruption bureau and CBI come directly under him what stopped him from acting against Sheila Dikshit for so long? The tanker scam relates to allegations that cropped up between 2008 and 2011, the Congress government led by Sheila Dikshit bypassed the rules and caused losses worth crores while awarding tenders for water tankers at much higher rates to undeserving companies. Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for three straight terms between from 1998 to 2013. Her meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi sparked speculation that she could be fielded by the party as its chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held next year. Sheila Dikshit said the allegations being levelled against her are politically motivated. She said she is absolutely clean, all due procedures were followed, also dared AAP and BJP government to find out the facts before targeting her. Even today, those tankers are being used. It was for the service of the people of Delhi. Where does the question of scam come into picture? The decisions regarding Jal board were taken collectively, including the CEOs, BJP members, MCD members. Everyone took the decision collectively. And why was the report sent to the ACB, only the Lieutenant Governor and Kejriwal should answer this. The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) will probe the former Delhi chief minister for her alleged role in the water tanker scam. Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party Government had in June last year constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the irregularities in hiring some 385 stainless steel water tankers by the Delhi Jal Board in 2012 during the Congress rule. Many times, AAP and BJP just alleged Congress and its leaders for corruption but none of them ever acted against these charges or dared to file an FIR or gone against any leader. No one knows when and how this war of words will come into practical and action will be taken against culprits, be it Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra or Sheila Dikshit, Aam Aadmi party and Narendra Modi randomly attacked them but never took any action against the alleged crime that they mentioned in their public speeches. Now, the time has come where these leaders are hardly taken seriously by people or anyone is buying the corruption allegations against Congress. Maybe this foolishness of present government gives fair chance to Congress in upcoming elections. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) Dozens of state department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates US military action to pressure Syrias government into accepting a ceasefire and engaging in peace talks a position that is at odds with US policy. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 mostly mid-level state department officials who deal with US policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. Many of them are career officers in the foreign service who have been involved in Syria policy over the past several years. It expresses clear frustration with Americas inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obamas reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorised strikes against the Islamic State and other US-designated terror groups in Syria. While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syrias leader out of power. A series of partial ceasefires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. Dissent document calls for targeted air strikes The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and since has been classified, said officials who werent authorised to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document on Thursday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said the document called for targeted air strikes. The Times quoted a section urging a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons to advance the US diplomatic effort led by secretary of state John Kerry. The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the Times quoted the document as saying. The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges. State department spokesman John Kirby said the department is reviewing the cable, which arrived via a vehicle in place to allow state department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues. The dissent channel mechanism, which allows officials to offer alternative views on foreign policy without fear of retaliation, was established during the Vietnam War in the 1960s so that senior officials of the state department could access alternative policy views. Sources familiar with the memo said officials had been discussing sending it for some time but they finally decided to move forward because negotiations with Russia over a political transition in Syria have all but collapsed and the fragile ceasefire continues to disintegrate, CNN reported. Grade: F June 15, 2016, Portland (OR) Mercury: Step Aside, Lord of the Rings. Vaxxed Is the Fantasy Epic of Our Age By Erik Henriksen For here we come to the crux of Vaxxedthe part that, along with footage of teary-eyed parents and slow-mo close-ups of screaming babies, takes up much of the tale's runtime. Boasting secretly recorded conversations with CDC scientist William Thompson (whose own findings, too, were discreditedthough this also isn't mentioned), Vaxxed accuses the nefarious CDC of destroying research that proved a link between autism and vaccines, particularly in African American boys. And since no fantasy is complete without a prophecy, Vaxxed offers that, too: Warning of "complete catastrophe," Vaxxed vows that if we keep vaccinating children, the Dark Age of 2032 will mark the epoch in which half of all children bornincluding 80 percent of all boyswill be autistic. Erik Henriksen had an article about Vaxxed on June 8, 2016. (It was also received an F.) The grade of F here should stand for fraud on the part of the Portland Mercury. Reporter Henriksen was unmoved by what he saw in Vaxxed. Doctors, scientists and legislators in the film raising serious concerns about an agency with vast money ties to the industry they regulate werent worth mentioning. Henriksen wasnt troubled by officials with oversight over themselves. Instead, he devoted most of time to attacking Dr. Wakefield. Dr. William Thompsons admissions about the destruction research findings on the MMR vaccine were talked about in ONE SENTENCE. Henriksen ridiculed the story of fraud and corruption that is the message in Vaxxed. Its all just science fiction that the CDC is accused of covering up an autism risk for African American boys. All the autism everywhere that no one can explain, along with terrifying predictions of future rates, mean nothing. Theres nothing anyone could tell this person that would cause him to question any aspect of vaccine safety claims. Henriksen simply doesnt care. His job is to convince people Vaxxed isnt worth seeing. And of course, in the manner of all good propaganda pieces, theres no place for comments. Grade F June 14, 2016, Williamette Week (Portland OR): The Documentary Says Vaccinating Your Kids Will Make Them Autistic--"Vaxxed" is wack By James Helmsworth It's totally reasonable to believe in widespread government cover-ups. The U.S. government spies on you through your computer and phone, the Chicago police department ran a secret torture chamber, and public officials in our own city knowingly allowed our kids to drink polluted water. If all of these are trueand they areis it so crazy to think the Centers for Disease Control could be covering up vaccines' ability to cause autism? I listened to Wakefield's argument. ...Using sound bites from autism journalists, activists and parents of autistic people, and a few shorthand notes from a CDC meeting schedule, it posits that the CDC suppressed evidence the MMR vaccine causes autism in order to retain funding from Big Pharma. Helmsworth is one more frightening example of journalists so bereft in ethics and a sense of duty that they can sit through "Vaxxed" and be totally untroubled by any aspect of the film. Sure, there have been government cover-ups in the past, but that could never happen when it comes to vaccines. Helmsworth has only to think back to March when the story of Michigan officials allowing lead in drinking water in Flint came to light. This is Helmsworth's description of "Vaxxed"..."[I]t posits that the CDC suppressed evidence the MMR vaccine causes autism in order to retain funding from Big Pharma." Helmsworth joined in the cover-up by carefully NOT mentioning any of the doctors, scientists, and elected officials appearing in "Vaxxed" who challenged the safety claims of the CDC and called for major reform of this agency. Helmsworth's "review" was really nothing about the film. Instead, he trashed Andrew Wakefield, and he explain that vaccines don't really make that much money for pharma in the first place, so no one would have an incentive to cover up findings. Missing was any mention of the specific study findings that were destroyed, including the 240 percent greater risk in African American boys who received the MMR before 36 months of age. Missing too were the recorded comments by Dr. Thompson where he described an agency regularly engaging in malfeasance and where "senior people just do completely unethical, vile things and no one holds them accountable." Helmsworth did point out that the parental accounts of vaccine injury, which he described as "a teary-eyed anecdote about how a kid started showing signs of autism after getting a vaccine," while "moving," was nothing more than coincidence. This is the mindset of almost all of mainstream media. They're not going to look into this because it couldn't possibly be true. It just can't be. Grade: A June 13, 2016, Edmond (OK) Sun: Makers of the movie Vaxxed visit Oklahoma City Amidst the overwhelming response to the movie, producers, Del Bigtree and Polly Tommey, as well as director Dr. Andrew Wakefield, attended a Q&A dinner in Bricktown Wednesday evening, with over 140 Oklahomans in attendance. Doctors and legislators joined the crowd that turned out to learn more about the CDC cover-up from ones most familiar with the story. The reporter here described what was said during the Q and A with Del, Polly, and Andy. The unnamed reporter quoted Andrew Wakefield and talked about the push to have Dr. William Thompson testify before Congress. While there was no Vaxxed trailer included, it was authentic coverage. Grade: F June 13, 2016, OregonLive.com: Does controversial film 'Vaxxed' fan vaccination fears with discredited science? By Grant Butler "Vaxxed" contends there's a link between vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella when administered to children under age 2 and autism. The film also explores whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knew about the connection and destroyed evidence from scientific studies. Butler cleverly avoids any mention of a CDC researcher turned whistleblower who revealed a criminal cover-up of data implicating the MMR with autism. He also hides the fact that it involved African American boys. Earlier Vaxxed reviews in the press. NOTE: Thanks to attendee Levi Quackenboss for blogging about this meeting at the Quackenboss site: I wasnt going to write this blog until next week but my flight landed and clearly all of you are standing by to hear how today went, so I am sitting down the minute I walked into my house to update you. This is going to be quick and dirty because its late and I havent slept after flying into and out of DC today and yesterday. The background is that a few months ago I approached Tami Canal, the founder of March Against Monsanto (MAM), to strike a deal: if I gave her the link to watch Vaxxed before just about anyone else in the country, she would write a review of it and promote it on Facebook. Because of an incoming link to my blog earlier in the year I realized her position on vaccines for the first time and the fact that the anti-GMO group isnt united with the vaccine freedom group boggled my mind. Weve got to get it together. Long story short, she accepted. Vaxxed lit a fire in her and I put her in contact with people who advocate on the federal level. As kismet would have it, Tami is a constituent of Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (OGR) the committee charged with investigating the CDC Whistleblower hot potato. Because MAM has over a million followers, she was able to get a meeting with her Congressman and a half dozen of us convened in Representative Chaffetzs office this afternoon without him knowing who was coming. Surprise! We brought Del Bigtree, one of the producers of Vaxxed, with us. Read more at Levi's site: Here's a video of Del Bigtree of VaXxed with March Against Monsanto founder Tami Canal. Del speaks about the disconnect among many liberals and progressives: they can see the duplicity, lying and corporate greed in Monsanto and our food supply and American health but have not opened their eyes to the parallel world of pharma, government interference and vaccine injury. Below is a video from Facebook live of Del at Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz's office to call for a subpeona of Dr. William Thompson and hearings on the CDC whistle blower. Thank you to Del, as ever. The Assyrian Center of Learning Destroyed By ISIS in Iraq When ISIS fighters detonated explosives inside the gate of the Temple of Nabu at Nimrud earlier this month, they destroyed more than a reconstructed ancient temple. They attacked one of the Assyrian empire's greatest centers of learning. The temple was originally constructed by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ruled from 883--859 BC) to stand alongside the new palace he had built for himself on top of the citadel at Nimrud (this palace was also destroyed by ISIS last year). The patron god of writing and scribes, Nabu was originally worshipped in the southern Mesopotamian city of Borsippa where he was venerated as the son of the chief Babylonian god Marduk. Ashurnasirpal acknowledged the cultural debt by naming the new temple Ezida, meaning 'the true house', the same name given to the temple of Nabu in Borsippa. Little remains of Ashurnasirpal's temple, for the later king Adad-Nirari III (ruled 811--783 BC) carried out a massive project to rebuild the temple in 798 BC. The new temple featured two equal-sized sanctuaries for Nabu and his divine consort Tashmetum. The main entrance, known as the Fish Gate, was flanked by two gold-plated statues of mermen who represented the mythical Seven Sages who had brought knowledge to the earth in primeval times. Inside the gates the temple of Nabu functioned as a centre of learning and scholarship, as evidenced by a library, which British excavators uncovered there in the 1950s. The names appended to documents in the archives reveal that families of scholars worked at the temple for generations, passing their profession from father to son. One of the tablets from the Temple of Nabu in Nimrud, which features Neo-Assyrian cuneiform side by side with attempts at reconstructing older cuneiform signs. P. 208 of Nimrud: An Assyrian Imperial City Revealed, by Joan Oates. What forms did their scholarship take? Out of around 300 tablets found in the library 30 per cent concerned the interpretation of omens. Lunar and solar eclipses as well as astronomical observations of the stars, moon, and Venus were all thought to contain messages from the gods. Other texts explain the meanings of deformed births, or the patterns made by crawling ants or flocks of birds. Still others contained illustrated instructions for how to read the livers of slaughtered animals. Scholars from the temple routinely wrote to the royal court to keep the king informed of the latest omens. Another 30 per cent were incantation texts, usually related to medical issues. It was hoped that ritual repetition of the formulas could cure various conditions such as epilepsy, toothaches, and baldness. Possibly more useful was a catalogue of medicinal plants also found in the library. The rest of the tablets include a list of proverbs, prayers to various gods, and inscriptions prepared by the scribes to record the official histories of the Assyrian kings. Screenshot from ISIS video showing the destroyed 'mermen' statues of the seven sages at the Fish Gate, Temple of Nabu, Nimrud, Iraq. Possibly the most fascinating documents from the temple archive are several tablets featuring charts which show cuneiform signs from the scribe's own time alongside attempts to reconstruct the earliest cuneiform signs used two thousand years earlier. The signs do not closely resemble what we know of the earliest cuneiform, but it was an admirable effort and one that showed a serious attempt by the scribes to understand their own past. An ISIS video showed footage of the Fish Gate at the Temple of Nabu in Nimrud, along with the 'mermen' statues representing the Seven Sages that flanked the entrance. Day-to-day life in the temple often featured mundane tasks and petty bureaucratic disputes. One letter speaks of the growth of fungus in the inner courtyard and in some of the storehouses and attempts by the priests to remove it. Another letter to the king complained that a priest named Pulu was making unauthorised changes to the temple furnishings and modifying some of the rituals. 'No one can do [anything]; there is an order to remain silent', wrote the traditionally-minded complainant, adding 'But they have changed the old rites!' Another letter, possibly from the same author, found fault with an upcoming ceremony involving a visit to the temple by a statue of the goddess Ishtar because 'it is not ancient -- your father introduced it.' A screenshot from the ISIS video showing the Temple of Nabu prior to being destroyed. The tablets from the Nabu Temple archive are now housed in the British Museum in London and the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The mermen which once guarded the entrance to the temple were still standing there, albeit broken and missing their gold plating, when ISIS blew up the Fish Gate. Video footage shows broken pieces of the statues lying amongst the rubble. The symbolic significance of destroying the entrance to what was once a center of ancient learning is obvious. June 16, 2016 Abbas Araghchi, whose official title is deputy minister for legal and international affairs at Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is more signficiantly one of Iran's senior nuclear negotiators. While Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif played the lead role in the nuclear talks and received the majority of media coverage, Araghchi and his American and European counterparts played important roles in bringing about the landmark nuclear deal. The English-speaking diplomat, who holds a doctorate from the University of Kent in Britain, has a well-known record as a diplomat in Iran's Foreign Ministry dating back 20 years. However, in a recent interview with an Iranian magazine, a former commander from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has introduced a controversial and unverified new aspect to Araghchi's background. According to Javad Mansouri, one of the first commanders of the IRGC, Araghchi is a member of the IRGC's elite Quds Force, which is headed by Gen. Qasem Soleimani and is tasked with military operations outside Iran's borders. Mansouri made the claim in an interview with Iranian magazine Ramz-e-Obour (Password). Mansouri also said that Iran's ambassadors to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are also members of the Quds Force. According to Mehr News, an "informed source" in the Foreign Ministry denied Mansouri's allegations and called them "baseless and far from reality." That Iran's ambassadors to countries where Iran has a significant military presence would be members of the Quds Force is not necessarily surprising. But that one of Iran's top diplomats would be a member of an organization that is sanctioned by the United States and Europe, and whose members are restricted from travel to certain countries, has caught even some Iranian media outlets by surprise. Reformist newspaper Ghanoon condemned Mansouri's comments on Araghchi in an articled headlined, "They targeted Zarif's wings." The Ghanoon article wrote that conservative critics of Zarif, Araghchi and deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi have consistently tried to derail one of the best diplomatic teams since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The article continued that these efforts have hit a dead end, but now Mansouri's allegations, in a magazine opposed to the administration, pose a danger to the country. Given Mansouri's comments, Iran's enemies will use these "false claims" and foreign delegations may request that Araghchi no longer be involved in ongoing negotiations over the implementation of the nuclear deal. Araghchi himself has not responded to the allegations. He was accompanying Zarif and other members of Iran's nuclear negotiation team to Norway and Germany when the story broke. While in Norway, Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly met for over an hour behind closed doors. Hossein Jaberi Ansari, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said that while the two discussed the issues of Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the primary focus of the meeting was negotiations on the nuclear deal. Takht-Ravanchi, along with Araghchi, also met with European Union deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid to discuss the remaining financial and banking restrictions on Iran. After years of very assertive US Treasury Department sanctions against countries that conducted business with Iran, along with remaining US sanctions on Tehran, investors and banks in Europe that seek to do business in Iran are still nervous. Some have speculated that the continued banking obstacles over the nuclear deal could even possibly cause the nuclear deal to unravel. June 17, 2016 WASHINGTON Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, at meetings in Oslo, Norway, this week, signaled that he has more authority on the Syria file than he has had until now, and that Iran may be prepared to show more flexibility to advance a political solution, sources who met with him there told Al-Monitor. The apparent shift in Iran's Syria policymaking comes as the Obama administration is facing internal criticism of its Syria policy, in the form of a dissent cable signed by some 50 State Department officers urging the United States to conduct airstrikes against the Assad regime in order to pressure it to make serious concessions at stalled political transition talks with the opposition in Geneva. The memo, first reported by The New York Times June 16, calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US-led diplomatic process." The internal pressure in both Tehran and Washington to shift course to accelerate a political settlement in Syria comes as Zarif met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum June 15, to discuss implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the situation in Syria. "What [Zarif] seemed to be signaling was that he has more authority on the Syria file than he has had until now," a US nongovernmental source who met with Zarif on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. "He seemed to suggest that Iran is prepared to show more flexibility on how fast that question [of Assad] is dealt with and how." "The Syrian crisis can be only resolved politically, and a solution to the Syrian crisis will not be achieved through military means," Zarif said in a joint press conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende on June 13, Iran's Press TV reported. "I have said all along that there will be no solution if we focus on any individual, because it is a zero-sum question that will inevitably lead to stalemate and deadlock," Zarif told Al-Monitor by email June 16, when asked about what suggestions for advancing a Syrian political resolution he proposed. "The answer is to focus on institutional dispersion of power and the future form of governance, through which you may be able to reduce or even eliminate the centrality of the role of any individual or ethnicity," Zarif continued. "It is very clear that the cessation of hostilities is frayed and at risk, and that it is critical for a genuine cessation to be put in place," Kerry told the Oslo Forum of his discussions with Zarif about Syria June 15. "And Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite. In fact, it is very limited now with respect to whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable." "So, this is a critical moment, and we are working very, very hard to see if we can in the next, literally, week or two come to an agreement that has the capacity to more fully implement a cease-fire across the country and deliver humanitarian access in a way that then provides for a genuine opportunity to bring people to the table and start talking about a transition," Kerry said. "But I do believe the conversation I had with Zarif indicates to me possibilities for how this could be achieved," Kerry said. "And my hope is that we will open up some political space to try to resolve one of the most complex international challenges the community has faced in at least a generation." The observation that Zarif appeared to be taking a larger role in Tehran's Syria policymaking with a renewed focus on a political solution came shortly after Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) announced that SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani had been appointed Irans senior coordinator for political, military and security affairs with Syria and Russia, reportedly the first time that position has existed. The announcement of Shamkhanis appointment came after the Russian, Iranian and Syrian defense ministers held a somewhat unusual meeting in Tehran on June 9, after which Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan announced support for a Syria cease-fire that does "not result in the strengthening of terrorists in this country." "It is necessary that inter-Syrian dialogue replace 'war and bloodletting' in the country," Shamkhani said after meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in Tehran June 10, Tehran Times reported. Shamkhani's appointment and putting the Syria file into the Iran interagency process may signal Tehran's deciding that a political solution in Syria may better serve its interests than extended conflict. "The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has so far been the main controller of events in Syria, but after this post, politics may have more influence," Al Jazeera's Tehran Bureau Chief Abdul Qader Fayez told the Middle East Monitor. The shift in Iran to seeking a political resolution on Syria comes as the Obama administration faces unprecedented internal criticism from State Department officers to toughen the US stance against Assad in order to accelerate a political resolution to the five-year-old Syrian civil war that has killed an estimated 400,000 people. Former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said the dissent cable was unprecedented for the number of people who had signed on, and for showing broad consensus that the current US policy focused on combating the Islamic State was failing. "It is remarkable that they have 50 signatures," Ford told Al-Monitor in an interview June 17. "I never heard of a dissent memo with so many signatures, and that tells me that there is a broad consensus that the current policy is failing and will continue to fail." "There is broad consensus that there needs to be a new approach that involves pressure on the Assad government," Ford, now a fellow at the Middle East Institute, continued. "That suggests to me there is a kind of menu that includes limited US strikes, more assistance to the opposition, but all with the goal of getting concessions from the Syrian government so that you can get to a political deal." "There is broad consensus that the administration focus now on the Islamic State in Syria is not going to deliver a sustainable solution to the Islamic State challenge in Syria because it will not convince enough Syrian Sunni Arabs to fight the Islamic State when they themselves view Bashar al-Assad as a bigger problem than the Islamic State," Ford said. Regarding a possible shift in Iran on Syria, Ford noted that Iran has been taking a lot of casualties in Syria, and that could be a sensitive point to motivate such a shift, but he would not expect a sudden change in their red lines on Assad. "The Iranians are taking a lot of casualties in Syria," Ford said. "And even if the casualties are overstated there must be a reason that the Iranians are mobilizing Afghan refugees and Iraqi Shia rather than Iranians. Clearly they are sensitive about casualties." "But I would not presume that they are going to do a 180 very quickly," Ford said. "It could be the Iranians are more sobered by the difficulty in Syria, and [are] sort of rethinking. But the Iranians are the world's best negotiators, and they have strategic patience the Americans can only dream about. So I would not look for a radical abrupt change." Meanwhile, State Department spokesman John Kirby, fielding numerous questions about the issue at the June 17 press briefing, confirmed the internal dissent channel memo on Syria, which he thought had been sent June 16, but he declined to discuss its contents and said its authors had chosen to make it classified. It is "unusual" for such a dissent to have so many signatures, Kirby said, adding no one can be satisfied with the status quo on Syria, and Kerry welcomed dissenting views. June 17, 2016 BAGHDAD The archaeological sites of Ur, Eridu and Uruk as well as the Iraqi marshlands are under consideration for UNESCO's World Heritage List. The decision will be made at the World Heritage Committee meeting to be held July 10-20 in Turkey, where the UNESCO member states will vote on adding new sites to World List. In anticipation of the event, President Fouad Masoum formed a committee on May 19, headed by presidential adviser Qahtan al-Jubouri. Its members include Deputy Culture Minister Qais Hussein Rashid, Deputy Environment Minister Jassim, adviser to the foreign minister Ihsan al-Awadi, and the provincial council heads of Maysan, Muthanna, Basra and Dhi Qar. On June 1, the committee announced its program to pursue this matter and work toward getting the Iraqi marshlands on the World Heritage List. On May 19, Jubouri issued a statement saying, The inclusion of the marshlands and historic cities in the World Heritage List will ensure water quotas and international protection for these marshlands and historic cities and will contribute to activating tourism. The marshlands face drought as desertification plagues the country. The water level of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers has fallen due to damming by Turkey and Iran on the rivers and their tributaries. Iraq's wetlands, known as the Mesopotamian marshlands, are located in the areas surrounding the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in the provinces of Basra, Maysan and Dhi Qar in southern Iraq. Eridu, Ur and Uruk are archaeological sites dating back to the Sumerian civilization. Faleh al-Khozai, a parliament member for Basra province on the parliamentary committee for tourism and antiquities, told Al-Monitor, The archaeological sites in southern Iraq and the marshlands deserve to be part of the World Heritage List. They date back to the great Sumerian civilization, which gave mankind many scientific discoveries and innovations. These sites are unparalleled attractive tourist areas. He went on, Achieving this goal would give these sites many privileges. Their inclusion in the World Heritage List would turn them into international sites and promote tourism activity as a source of income for the country, which will revive the economic situation. This may provide these cities with international protection from wars and acts of terrorism. Khozai added, By including these sites on the World Heritage List, UNESCO would prohibit, under international conventions, any harmful changes or sabotage of these sites. Regarding the marshlands, any future attempt to drain them or damage them would be deemed a violation of international conventions. It should be noted that inclusion on the World Heritage List means that archaeological and heritage sites would be managed by UNESCO, which will preserve the sites and provide them with financial aid under the World Heritage Convention signed in 1972 by 189 countries. On the odds of success, Khozai said, The World Heritage Committee will likely vote in favor of Iraq, given that these sites meet all of the necessary conditions to be inscribed on this list. They are natural, historical and cultural sites. They are a magnet for tourism and they need international care. Hamid al-Ghazi, head of the provincial council of Dhi Qar, where a large part of the marshlands area is located, said in a June 2 statement that so far, 20 out of 195 member states support the inclusion of the Iraqi archaeological sites and marshlands on the World Heritage List and will vote in favor of Iraq at the World Heritage Committee meeting. The statement went on to say that an official invitation was sent to the charge d'affaires of the Holy See to Iraq Monsignor George Panamthundil, the French ambassador to Iraq, and more than 20 other ambassadors to visit the archaeological city of Ur and the Dhi Qar marshes with the Iraqi foreign minister and a delegation from the presidency and the concerned ministries. On June 2, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri issued a statement stressing that the inclusion of the Iraqi marshlands on the World Heritage List is a national cause. The legislative power will intensify efforts and address official requests to UNESCO to include the marshlands to the World Heritage List, he said. In parallel, other Iraqi governmental bodies and nongovernmental organizations are busy with media activities and campaigns to support the inclusion of the Iraqi sites and marshlands in the World Heritage List. Laith Shubbar, the head of the Development Center for Energy and Water, told Al-Monitor, The center created a media campaign using the hashtag #YourVoteForYourNation to support the marshlands and is now organizing art activities and events for this purpose. He added, These events include a 1,000-meter painting that will be the longest painting in the world, drawn by children and calling for supporting the inclusion of the marshlands on the World Heritage List. He pointed out that French Ambassador Marc Baretti toured the marshlands May 31 as part of a campaign event, suggesting that his country may support the campaign to have it listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Iraqi antiquities are being plundered in smuggling operations and have been vulnerable to sabotage and terrorism after Saddam Husseins fall in 2003, after which the Iraqi antiquities museum was looted along with various archaeological sites in an environment of security chaos and governmental neglect. These sites continue to lack proper maintenance and protection. The economic blockade imposed on Iraq by the United Nations in the 1990s halted the archaeological exploration of dozens of ancient cities in Mesopotamia dating back to the Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations. June 17, 2016 BAGHDAD Factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Units have taken part in the operations to liberate Fallujah launched on May 23 in support of the Iraqi security forces. However, some of the forces fighting under the group's umbrella have well-known relations with Iran through the Quds Force and its commander Qasem Soleimani, who has been in Iraq since the Islamic State (IS) took over the city of Mosul June 10, 2014. Some of the Iraqi Sunni forces have been against the participation of the Popular Mobilization Units in the battle to liberate Fallujah, protesting that the militia would commit human rights violations as it had done last year in the city of Tikrit in the Salahuddin province. Although this rejection might be based on sectarian concerns, there have been reports and evidence of these violations. Iraqi activists posted videos online showing the group's forces attacking civilians in Fallujah. A video posted by Sunni activists on YouTube showed a man wearing a military uniform beating a group of civilians with a rod, commanding them to proclaim that the people of Fallujah are cowards. Another video shows a group of civilian men in distress, some of them bloodied and lying on the ground, perhaps unconscious. Then members of the Popular Mobilization Units accuse them of being affiliated with IS before attacking them. In a TV report broadcast on the Saudi al-Arabiya TV on June 6, a Fallujah resident in his 60s said he was part of a group taken by the Popular Mobilization Units by car from the Karma district to Saqlawiyah and beaten. Saad al-Hadithi, spokesman for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, told Al-Monitor, The prime minister ordered that arrest warrants be issued for those accused of committing abuses against civilians in the battle for Fallujah and for them to be prevented from fighting, regardless of who they are, and referred for investigation. At present, some perpetrators of violations are being investigated. Hadithi added, The Iraqi government has no interest in committing human rights violations. On the contrary, any violation would affect its reputation and the course of the battle in general. Ever since the battle to liberate Fallujah began, the prime minister has emphasized that the troops will enter Fallujah as liberators, not aggressors. The Iraqi forces could have regained Fallujah in a short period of time, but they put the safety of civilians above all, and this is why they are progressing slowly. In a report published June 9, Human Rights Watch noted, The announced investigation into allegations of abuse of civilians around Fallujah by Iraqi government forces is a test for the governments ability to hold abusive forces accountable. Judicial officials should conduct this investigation transparently and impartially, assess command responsibility and ensure protection for victims and witnesses. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Popular Mobilization Units spokesman Karim al-Nuri protested this narrative, saying, The violations the media reported and accused the Popular Mobilization Units of committing have not been verified yet, because there are certain parties who want to show the Popular Mobilization Units in a bad light. He added, We, the Popular Mobilization Units, are keen on keeping civilians safe, and there are pictures and video clips that show how [humane] we are in dealing with civilians and treating them as our brothers and our families. But the media highlights things that do not exist and broadcasts fabricated pictures and videos. Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty Internationals researcher on Iraq, told Al-Monitor, Amnesty International's concerns are based on information and testimonies of individuals who have managed to escape from Fallujah and the surrounding areas since May 23, including local officials, analysts, activists and former detainees. Eltahawy added, According to the testimonies, fighters with the Popular Mobilization Units mistreated hundreds of men from Saqlawiyah after they arrested them on June 2, and many of the detained who were transferred to the district of Fallujah suffered from fractures, bruises and burns as a result of the beatings that the detaining forces subjected them to. On June 13, Suhaib al-Rawi, the governor of Anbar, announced the recommendations of a committee he formed to investigate the actions attributed to the group against those fleeing the Fallujah areas. According to Rawi, the committee called on the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Abadi, and the head of the Popular Mobilization Units body, Faleh al-Fayad, to put an end to the activities of Popular Mobilization Units factions in al-Masuliyyah [the area around Fallujah], where crimes took place, and to get those factions out of there. The committee stressed the need to ask Prime Minister Abadi to intervene personally to reveal the fate of the missing people who were displaced from Saqlawiyah" and said, "These total 643 civilians, while 49 others were killed while attempting to flee Saqlawiyah. On June 5, Abadi said in a press statement broadcast by the semi-official Al-Iraqiya TV, I admit that there are mistakes that occurred, as the combatants who took part in the Fallujah battles have different backgrounds. He went on, We are against any violations, and we stressed to the security agencies the need to respect human rights and the dignity of civilians. The abuses against civilians were not systematic, but we will neither remain silent about them nor cover for anyone who made them. The violations during in the battle for Fallujah may be far from the last of their kind, as large numbers of fighters in the Iraqi security forces and the troops supporting these forces are untrained to deal with civilians in conflict zones. They also tend to view all the Fallujah residents as IS members, a prejudice that has encouraged some pro-government fighters to attack them. June 17, 2016 Mayors from northern Israel met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata in Ramallah on May 31. As reported in Al-Monitor, the gathering was organized and coordinated by the Committee for Interaction with Israel, headed by Mohammed Madani. At that meeting, which took place almost concurrently as Avigdor Libermans swearing-in as defense minister, Abbas surprised the participants when he said he was willing to meet with Liberman. The mayor of Maalot, Shlomo Bohbot, one of the Israeli organizers of the meeting, encouraged Abbas, telling him that Liberman is a far more pragmatic person than he is portrayed in the media. Is Liberman really pragmatic? On June 15, Liberman ordered the revocation of Madanis entry permit into Israel on the grounds that he had promoted subversion in Israel, attempted to intervene in its internal affairs and had even tried to establish a political party. The revocation of Madanis entry permit means the muzzling of the committee that was created at the instruction of Abbas to establish a dialogue with Israeli society and convey the message that the Palestinian Authority seeks peace and does not engage in incitement and warmongering, as the Netanyahu government depicts it. I would be very glad to meet with our minister of defense, who has good intentions, in order to convince him that if we really want peace, dialogue is the way to get there, Bohbot told Al-Monitor in response to Libermans order. I know one thing, Bohbot added. If you close up a hole, water will get through another way. The decision [by Liberman] will force those who are interested in holding a dialogue [with the Palestinians] to do so abroad. So why not do it in Israel? All Ive said assumes that we [in Israel] want to make peace. If we dont want to, its a different story. Bohbot also related that some members of the Knesset and mayors hold meetings with Palestinians abroad out of fear or embarrassment. Ayelet Harel of the Women Wage Peace movement told Al-Monitor that she had met with members of Madanis committee a number of times. In all of the conversations I attended, she said, the committee members presented the audience with the Palestinian narrative for solving the conflict. There is someone to talk to today. Harel further said that in response to the recent wave of terror, her movement is organizing a womens march for peace to go throughout the country calling on the government to advance a diplomatic process. According to her, members of the Palestinian committee relayed a message to Palestinian women that even though we are an Israeli organization, our initiative is welcome and advised them to participate in the peace march. I cant seem to understand why Israel is trying to damage the activity of the committee, said Harel. The interaction committee was created in December 2012, after Palestine was granted nonmember observer state status at the United Nations. After the Netanyahu government portrayed the Palestinians' application to the United Nations as a hostile act, the Palestinian leadership sought to convey a conciliatory message to Israelis by means of the committee. Abbas extended a hand of peace to the Israel public, and the application to the United Nations was made after he became convinced that the Netanyahu government was not interested in holding a diplomatic process. The man chosen to head the committee was Madani. In an interview with Gal Berger on Kol Israel in February 2014, Madani related that he had been chosen for the post because of his support for dialogue with Israelis since the 1970s. In those days, he was close to Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, and it was forbidden to say the word peace. Madani said that his family fled from the village of Kafr Sabt, in the Lower Galilee, to Lebanon in 1948. His brother was killed in a battle with the Haganah, and when his father found his sons body, he had a heart attack and died. Despite this difficult family story that we have carried all these years, I am a peace-seeking man, he said at the time. This week, following the revocation of his entry permit to Israel, Madani told Al-Monitor that Abbas had called to offer him encouragement. Madani stated, Despite the obstacles Israel is trying to put up, Abbas told me, we have to continue conveying the message to the Israeli public that we want peace. If talk of peace and of building a better future for our children and for Israeli children is a threat, what can I add? What threat do we pose to the State of Israel? Madani adamantly denies the claim that he tried to establish a political party in Israel. We have never thought of, never planned and never tried to establish a party in Israel, he said. We even oppose the militant voices of some Israeli Arabs, members of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. When the recent wave of terror broke out, we told them, This isnt your concern. Youre Israeli Arabs, what does this have to do with you? Dont get involved. Madani emphasized that all the meetings between Palestinians and Israelis had been open. Nothing was done in secret or under cover of darkness, he said. Since the committee was created, its members were invited to meet with mayors, at academic institutions, at kibbutzim and house parties. We talk peace and say that Mahmoud Abbas is interested in peace with 1967 borders. Israelis dont know this, and we want them to know it. Weve met Israelis from all sectors right wing and left wing, religious and secular, and even new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, whom Liberman purports to represent [as head of Yisrael Beitenu, a party that includes many such immigrants]. In these meetings, we discovered that the Israeli public knows absolutely nothing about the Palestinians, who live only 40 minutes from Tel Aviv. According to Madani, what is said in the meetings between Palestinians and Israelis is passed on to the Israeli security establishment. In view of Libermans order, it is doubtful whether these voices of peace will reach the public in Israel. A senior source at the Defense Ministry made the case to journalists that, in addition to the revocation of Madani's entry permit, that is the primary obstacle to peace. Indeed, there is a new atmosphere at the Defense Ministry in the spirit of Defense Minister Liberman. June 16, 2016 RAMALLAH, West Bank Violence against Palestinian women is being reported more frequently, and women there are fighting back but in a nonviolent way. One obstacle in the battle has been a lack of accurate statistics with which to influence politicians and increase public awareness. Now the Ministry of Womens Affairs plans to establish the National Observatory on Violence Against Women. The ministry will collaborate with the Ministries of Social Affairs and Health, the police and a number of civil society institutions. The observatory, which is expected to see the light in one year, will collect and document cases of violence against women to gauge the gravity and extent of the problem. The data will be analyzed to help develop public policies to confront the situation. "The idea stems from the ministrys main purpose to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women," Amin Assi, general director of planning and policy in the Ministry of Womens Affairs, told Al-Monitor. "The idea was born during a conference [on developing a national strategy to combat violence] organized by the ministry in 2007, but languished until it was recently brought up again. The Jerusalem-based Italian Cooperation Development Unit for the Palestinian territories is providing 250,000 euros (almost $280,000) for the effort. The observatory will help form a clear picture of violence against women based on figures and facts in order to develop national policies to deal with such violations and to provide guidance and assistance, Assi said. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics last survey on violence, in 2011, about 37% of women who had been married were subjected to violence at the hands of their husbands. Of those, 58.6% had been verbally and mentally abused at least once; 55.1% had been subjected to economic violence; 54.8% to social violence; 23.5% to physical violence; and 11.8% to sexual violence. Moreover, 65.3% of abused women preferred to remain silent about violence, while not more than 0.7% of them were referred to institutions or centers for social counseling. Establishing such an observatory will affirm that Palestinian women are being subjected to violence on a large scale, especially since some officials deny this widespread phenomenon," said Jalal Khoder, legal adviser to the Sawa Organization for combating violence against women and children, which has offices in Ramallah and Jerusalem. She told Al-Monitor, "The evidence and information that will be documented by the observatory will serve as a powerful and compelling tool for decision-makers to make changes in laws and policies to protect women. Commenting on the degree of violence against women as documented by Sawa, Khoder said, We cannot gauge exactly the scale of violence in the country. However, the [known] number of abused women is rising as they have more available means today to voice their views, such as centers and institutions that document cases of abuse, provide assistance and guidance as well as hotlines to receive complaints. This is seen as breaking social traditions [that say] abuse and violence ought to be kept secrets in the family, while we are seeking to involve the public opinion. The observatory will also document cases of violence by Israeli soldiers against women, providing accurate and scientific statistics, said Amal Khreisheh, general director of the Palestinian Working Women Society. Israeli soldiers practice direct forms of violence against women by storming into their houses, arresting and killing them. This is not to mention the violence against men who are beaten and arrested in front of their families, Khreisheh told Al-Monitor. Having accurate information on violence against women will allow us to build up support to pressure Israel at the international level. At the regional level, we could use such information to launch a systemic advocacy campaign to place pressure on decision-makers to amend laws and policies and ensure protection for women, she added. Despite the importance of establishing the observatory, its advocates know that providing statistics is not enough to stop the phenomenon of violence. There is an urgent need to change outdated laws and align them with the international conventions in which Palestine has taken part, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 2009. Even then, laws aren't always enough. One of the main challenges facing women in Palestine is the enormous gap between some of the legal texts and the reality of what is happening with women," Khreisheh said. "Although some legal and constitutional texts stress womens equality, this is not reflected in their rights in reality. This is in addition to the fact that many laws need to be amended such as the personal status law and the Jordanian Penal Code of 1960, which are still in force" in the West Bank. Legal expert Gandhi Amin also believes laws must be updated and enforced. The lawyer told Al-Monitor, Palestinian criminal and penal legislation should be harmonized with international agreements so as to criminalize acts according to a clear constitutional text. This means that violence against women ought to become a criminal offense described in the law, which has yet to happen. Commenting on the most prominent laws that need to be amended to limit violence against women, Amin said, The Penal Code needs extensive amendments to include modern penal policy and to rescind old text. The family protection act ought to be passed, while the criminal procedure code ought to be amended. The legal dilemma lies in the Jordanian Penal Code of 1960. Even when it is enforced, the code does not refer to the Palestinian Basic Law, which stipulates, Personal freedom is a natural right, shall be guaranteed and may not be violated. Experts say the penal code reinforces the subordination of women, treats them as individuals unable to make decisions and denies them their right of choice and the right to self-determination. President Mahmoud Abbas instructed the government on March 6, 2014, to form a legal committee to comprehensively review all materials in various legislation that discriminate against women, and to introduce the necessary legal amendments, which have yet to be implemented. June 16, 2016 For the first time since the Syrian military intervention in Lebanon in 1976, a civilian at the Syrian Jdeidet Yabous border crossing can note the presence of Lebanese politicians going to Damascus. For 40 years, Syrian authorities designated a special line at the crossing for prominent Lebanese figures who are friends of the regime. This was known as the military line. Over all those years, those lucky ones, such as ministers, parliamentarians, politicians, party leaders and figures close to Syrian officials, were given recommendation cards to use this special line and avoid the hassle of standing at Syrian General Security centers or waiting for entry and exit papers. This was the case right up through late May. However, the scene was different June 1, as several Lebanese politicians took the civilian line. A Syrian taxi driver told Al-Monitor, A new measure was introduced by the Syrians a few days ago. The military line is now completely closed, and it has become imperative for everyone to take the formal crossing without exception. In Damascus, life seems almost normal. Even the staccato bursts of missile and artillery shells have become quite common for Damascenes. Al-Monitor visited a Syrian parliament member, who insisted on remaining anonymous, at his house in Damascus to discuss the latest developments in Syria. Al-Monitors first question was about the nearby sound of missiles. With a smile, the host confirmed that the sound was coming from Daraya, a suburb only 5 miles away. "People have become accustomed to such sounds. They can even know if a missile is falling down or being launched. These sounds have stopped affecting them. He added, Our military [the Syrian regime army] has made a series of incursions on several fronts in Ghouta," another nearby suburban area. "The Syrian army and its allies are dealing fatal blows to the opposition gunmen. But the Syrian authorities in Damascus are dealing with the front under advisement, as the decision-making process is now subject to certain priorities. Where shall we strike and where shall we restore the land? He did not mention what priorities he was referring to. This pushes one to question whether these priorities are subject to the so-called concept of useful Syria, whose idea is that Syrian authorities seek to liberate the most desirable parts of Syrian territory, in the west, while overlooking the fact that other areas are still controlled by gunmen. The Syrian parliamentarian, who is very close to the decision-making circles in Damascus, said this was not true. We are determined to restore the Syrian territory entirely. Our troops are still in Deir ez-Zor [in the east] to date and this is sufficient evidence. The battle has moved to Raqqa now. But around Damascus, we are keen to reduce [the numbers of] our army and we want to start with the liberation of areas that are more strategic than others. On the way to the office of a Syrian government official, Al-Monitor asked the parliament member about the disappearance of the "military line" at the border. "It was closed based on the direct instructions of the presidential palace," he replied. "New measures have been taken since the identification of the people behind the series of bombings that hit the Syrian coast in Tartus on May 23. One of the terrorists had a recommendation card from a Lebanese politician close to Damascus to take the military line." Asked if this means that a security breach took place, he rushed to say that the issue was "individual and limited." "But the seriousness of the crime led to the issuance of the new regulations. What happened is not normal. The media reported more than 100 people killed in the Tartus bombings, but there is talk among Syrian officials about 400 people dead and twice as many wounded, he said. At the office of the Syrian government official, who also requested that his name not be mentioned, the discussion went directly to political issues. The official briefly summarized the Syrian situation by saying, We have gone beyond the stage of discussing the fate of the regime or tackling the regime members. Today, we are [in] a battle to define the regimes form, its work mechanisms and its way of dealing with the Syrian people and with Syria [itself]. Some are speaking of a federation and a decentralized system, among other forms, like Kurds, Russians and even [President] Bashar al-Assad himself. This is what is being discussed today. The rest is behind us. Regarding the leak of the so-called Russian draft of a new Syrian Constitution, the Syrian government official did not deny the existence of such a draft. We have made some comments on this draft. The pluralism mentioned therein is secured under the local administration law in Syria and is therefore constitutionally guaranteed. Therefore, there is no need for any [changes] in this regard, he added. It is noteworthy that the draft constitution prepared by Russia was leaked May 24 and received negative criticism from many Syrian journalists. This pushed Syrian authorities to issue official denials. But the official who met with Al-Monitor did not deny that there is a draft. As to whether the Russian draft was made in coordination with the Iranians, or whether the competition between Moscow and Tehran over their role in Damascus became evident, the official replied, There is no competition at all. There may be some misunderstandings or poor coordination at times like when the Russians and the Americans declared a truce in February and the Iranians were not aware of it but the three of us have met and discussed things. We [Syrians] have full confidence in both allies [Iran and Russia]. Therefore, we are facilitating the relationship between the two and giving them all the information we have. There is no problem at all at this level. To a question about what is impeding an actual solution, he answered, I think the only problem remaining is with Turkey, depending on what Ankara's leaders want and the influence they aspire to have, be it in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere. For their part, the Saudi and Qatari risks in terms of armament and financing of [the opposition] have dramatically receded. The only threat remaining is [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who is still playing with fire in neighboring [countries]. But we are aware that he is as much of a problem for Washington and Moscow as he is for us, so we are reassured, the government official replied. At the door of his office, the official remembered a critical point. He said, The Syrian pound exchange rate to the US dollar fell by about 30% today [June 4], as our monetary authorities do not intervene in the exchange market. This is a very positive sign. The improvement of the Syrian pound exchange rate increases its purchasing power for Syrians living in Syria, as it leads to a price decrease and an upgrade in living conditions. On my way back from Damascus to Beirut, I saw a Syrian policeman running radar under the hot sun along the desert road. The surrounding areas are controlled by armed terrorists, yet the policeman was issuing tickets to drivers speeding to or from Damascus to escape an ambush or shooting. This was such a surreal scene, but at the same time it showed that the Syrian state is still functional at some level. June 17, 2016 Russia and Turkey are extending gestures to one another in hopes of strengthening ties, but there are many factors at play: their opposing goals in the Syrian war, Black Sea politics and not a small sticking point Russia is still waiting for an apology and restitution for Turkey's downing of its jet last year. The Russian Institute for Strategic Relations (RISS), founded by President Vladimir Putin, on June 2 hosted representatives of the Ankara Policy Center. On the meeting room table was a bottle of RISS whisky with the brand name Strategy. This was the table prepared to assist in the normalization of Russian-Turkish relations. RISS paid all the expenses of the Turkish team. Both sides reported the meeting's outcome to their national leaders. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, sent a letter of congratulations to Putin on the occasion of Russia's independence day (June 12) with the message, I hope relations between Turkey and Russia will reach the levels they deserve. To manage this sensitive process, Erdogan transferred Turkeys ambassador to Brazil, Huseyin Dirioz, who has NATO and Middle East experience, to Moscow. Dirioz, who once served as deputy secretary-general of NATO, also was ambassador to Jordan and worked as director-general of Middle East affairs in Turkey's Foreign Ministry. Another gesture by Erdogan was to invite Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Ankara, to an iftar meal (to break the day's Ramadan fast) with other foreign diplomats. While these steps were being taken to forge a new beginning with Russia, Turkey-supported groups lost all their positions on northern Syrias Turkmen Mountain, which has long been extolled in Turkey's ruling party circles as an Ottoman legacy. Russian-Turkish relations first began to sour in October and November when Russia attacked the groups on Turkmen Mountain. Turkey reacted to these operations strongly, claiming, Turkmens are being massacred. On Nov. 24, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on charges that it violated Turkish air space. Turkey-supported groups on the ground then shot and killed the Russian pilot who had bailed out and landed in their midst. In recent days, the Syrian army recaptured many villages that were controlled by opposition groups. With its recent advances, the Syrian army is now about 1 mile from Turkeys borders in the Bayir-Bucak Turkmen region. Izzet Sohta, who is in charge of military affairs in the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, told Al-Monitor, Isa Pinar, Karaman and Hayat have been lost. We still control Yamadi, Sallur and Jip Toros, but the situation is extremely critical. We dont have the means to confront the weapons used by a superpower. In the Bayir-Bucak region, opposition groups fighting the Syrian army include Salafist-Jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Party and the 2nd Coastal Division of Turkmens. Abdurrahman Mustafa, former chairman of the Turkmen Assembly, also confirmed that the Turkmens lost some critical positions, but noted they have taken some of these areas back through counterattacks. The struggle is not over. The Turkish government says that it is behind Turkmens. But as you know, the crisis has now become international and what Turkey can do is limited, he told Al-Monitor. Ankaras policy of reducing the Turkmens to a useful card to play against the Syrian regime has thus collapsed. The loss of Turkmen Mountain coincided with the moves to restore Ankara-Moscow relations. While Turkeys Islamist and nationalist circles are loudly protesting the loss of Turkmen Mountain, which is our honor and dignity, Russia continues to support the Syrian army, but now is more discreet in its pronouncements. Erdogans desperation and silence over the loss of Turkmen Mountain appears to be the cost of improving relations with Moscow. Nevertheless, neither Erdogans congratulatory letter to Putin nor his iftar invitation to the Russian ambassador was enough to open a new page in relations with Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Erdogans letter was a protocol message and Russia is still demanding an apology and compensation for the downed jet. Despite Ankara's gestures and Moscow's softer tone, it is not yet possible to talk of a meaningful dialogue between the two sides. The Syrian war and the crisis that erupted from the downed jet proved that Turkish-Russian relations are not based on solid foundations and go beyond Russian tourists, Russian brides in Turkey, commercial links and the work of Turkish contractors in the Russian construction sector. This was the conclusion of the June 2 meeting in Moscow attended by former diplomats, intelligence personnel and experts. Barbaros Binicioglu, Istanbul's representative of the Ankara Policy Center, noted that participants at the meeting stressed the need for comprehensive cooperation and dialogue in both official and unofficial sectors. Business leaders want Turkey and Russia to restore relations. Turkeys tense relations with the United States and the European Union also contribute to the pressure for better ties between Ankara and Moscow. But Russians are not happy with Ankaras call for NATO to play a bigger role in the Black Sea. In Moscow, Al-Monitors contacts noted that they feel such a move threatens the Montreux Treaty, which regulates navigation through Turkeys straits. Though Turkey wants to repair its relations with Russia, such controversial moves obstruct true restoration of a healthy dialogue. Binicioglu shared the outcome of the Moscow meeting with Al-Monitor: Everyone is keen to develop relations with Turkey, but the diplomatic channels are not operating as desired. They all think something has to be done, hence the Moscow meeting. A second such gathering will be in Turkey. In this framework we signed a cooperation agreement in Moscow and conveyed our suggestions to President Erdogan." He continued, "Russians submitted their report to Putin. They believe that the shooting down of their plane was a provocation by the West, and Turkey did not do it intentionally. But Ankaras owning up to the incident, its declaration that it would do it again and the killing of a live pilot caused serious reactions. This is how Russians see it. If the crisis had been managed wisely and not exploited to impress the public opinion, the situation would not have come to this point. But we were all aware Turk-Russian relations are fragile, hence the need to reassess them. Despite massive strategic projects such as the Akkuyu nuclear power station, Blue Stream natural gas pipeline and Turkish Stream pipeline, Turkish-Russian relations are devoid of strategic wisdom. Another negative element is the lack of mutual confidence and the Turkish governments vacillating moves in its approach to diverse blocs. June 17, 2016 The latest battle between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the outlawed Gulen movement is being fought in universities. The government is seizing universities many with tens of thousands of students enrolled operated by Gulen movement foundations and has appointed trustees to run them with the intention of either turning them into public universities or closing them down. At the May 26 meeting of the National Security Council, Erdogan declared that the council has officially registered the Gulen movement as the Fethullah Terror Organization (FETO). Until now, scores of businessmen, journalists and police officials, including members of their senior ranks, have been detained in what were called "operations against parallel state structures." Now, such anti-Gulen actions will be taken based on "combating terror organizations." But several legal experts have warned that charging people under a terrorist designation without a judicial decision would contravene the law and the constitution. Sami Selcuk, honorary president of the Court of Appeals and a law professor at Bilkent University, said only a court can determine that a group is a terror organization, and then such a ruling has to be ratified by the Court of Appeals. Neither the National Security Council nor the national parliament can reach such a conclusion and so advise or instruct the judiciary, he said. Until the massive bribery and corruption investigations of 2013, Erdogan and the Gulen movement were close allies. Erdogan believed the Gulen movement was behind the corruption allegations, which implicated some government ministers and even Erdogan's family. What did we ever deny to you? he asked, and labeled them first as coup plotters and then a terror organization. In this new phase, after seizing a variety of companies and media organizations, the government has launched an operation to seize 17 universities belonging to the movement. The Higher Education Board has made changes in its bylaws related to private foundation universities and paved the way for their seizure. New regulations say, If a foundation is directly involved in actions against the integrity of the state or in supporting such actions, then such foundation-owned universities can be seized, closed or turned over to a state university in that province. Under such allegations, a court appoints a trustee to run the foundation that owns the university. The school's administration automatically becomes subject to the trustee's control. Istanbuls Fatih University, which was established in 1996 and has graduated thousands since then, this month became the latest university to be seized. The Gulen movement-affiliated foundation that operated the Mevlana University in Konya, the hometown of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, was also put under a trustee. The most controversial takeover happened at Halic University of Istanbul, which was seized in May. University Chairman Mansur Topcuoglu reacted sharply to the decision to turn Halic over to Istanbul University. In a press conference, Topcuoglu labeled the Higher Education Board as a gang that has personal interests in universities and said the decision to take over Halic University was illegal. A year ago in Izmir, police raided the Turkish Doctors Foundation, and its affiliated Sifa hospital and university were also seized based on charges of providing financing to FETO/parallel structure terror organizations. In Kayseri, Meliksah University and the Burc Foundation, which managed it, were raided by police in September. Prominent businessman Memduh Boydak, who was president of the foundation and the university, was detained. Boydak, who also was a board member of the powerful TUSIAD, the Turkish Industry and Business Association, resigned from the association. Boydak Holding, with 41 companies and 14,000 employees, is one of the country's major corporations. Now that the National Security Council has officially declared the Gulen movement a terrorist organization, the government is expected to step up seizures of universities and companies. The ruling Justice and Development Party government, which also amended the bylaws of the Court of Appeals and Council of State, the two highest courts of the land, is also taking steps to protect the government-appointed trustees against prosecution. The government has determined that trustees appointed to universities cannot be taken to court to be held accountable for their actions. Meanwhile, Karatay University, owned by the pro-government Chamber of Commerce of Konya, announced the forthcoming opening of a new faculty for the 2016-17 academic year. Selcuk Ozturk, chairman of Karatay University, said the Islamic economy, finance and banking faculty will be the first of its kind in the world and will contribute significantly to training acutely needed workers. Ozturk said that, worldwide, there are 40 universities offering graduate degrees in Islamic finance and economy, but none at the undergraduate level. Ozturk said this is extremely important for Turkey, as Islamic-compliant banking is rapidly growing. There are reports that in addition to Islamic banking, the Islamic-compliant insurance market is also developing rapidly in Turkey. So far, 1.5 million people have bought Islamic insurance policies and their premiums have reached $300 million. Interest-free Islamic investment insurance called Solidarity is also gaining popularity, though it was only introduced recently. In addition to 1.5 million policyholders, 525,000 people have joined the interest-free personal retirement system, thus bringing the total number of people opting for Islamic insurance to more than 2 million. General Electric's refrigeration plant in Decatur is officially under new ownership. The company formally sold its GE Appliances business this month to Haier, a subsidiary of Qingdao Haier Co. in China. The $5.6 billion sale is expected to generate an after-tax gain of approximately $0.20 per share. The division's headquarters will remain in Louisville, Ky., under the current management team. The Decatur facility, which employs about 1,200 workers, will remain unchanged. "There is no impact on Decatur or any of our facilities due to the sale," said GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman. GE, which worked with legal adviser Sidley Austin LLP, announced in September 2014 it would sell its Appliances business to Swedish company Electrolux for $3.3 billion. The company later pulled out of the deal for undisclosed reasons. GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said the agreement with Haier is "another step in the company's portfolio transformation" as it works to become a leading Digital Industry company. "By successfully acquiring Alstom's power and grid assets, splitting off Synchrony Financial and by continuing to execute the GE Capital exit strategy ahead of plan, the team is making GE a simpler, more competitive company," he said. Haier said it will donate $100,000 to help people prepare for manufacturing careers. The money will fund a new Manufacturing Workforce Pipeline Development Accelerator within the nonprofit Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education. 36 more of the saddest country songs By Ike Morgan | @ikemorgan This time, you made the call. Several days ago I published 21 of the saddest country music songs in history. It was a great list, no matter what you said about me. It's understandable that many of y'all were not impressed by what was left off the list. After all, there are more than a few tear-jerker country songs out there. The great songwriters are going to get us all with hardcore, real-life stuff -- and we all have different life experiences. Here are 36 more of the saddest songs in country music history -- some of the ones suggested by AL.com readers on the site, on our Facebook page and to me personally. Don't Edit The Grand Tour (George Jones) Don't Edit Give My Love to Rose (Johnny Cash) Don't Edit The Greatest Man I Never Knew (Reba McEntire) Don't Edit Don't Take the Girl (Tim McGraw) Don't Edit Don't Edit Misery and Gin (Merle Haggard) Don't Edit I Don't Call Him Daddy (Doug Supernaw) Don't Edit Go Rest High on That Mountain (Vince Gill) We went with the video of Gill and Patty Loveless singing the song at the George Jones tribute at the Grand Ole Opry. It's probably one of the most emotional moments on that hallowed stage, and the country great has a difficult time getting through the song. Don't Edit Whiskey Lullaby (Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss) Don't Edit That's My Job (Conway Twitty) Don't Edit Don't Edit Where've You Been? (Kathy Mattea) Don't Edit I'd Be Better Off in a Pine Box (Doug Stone) Don't Edit Is It Raining at Your House? (Vern Gosdin) Don't Edit Farewell Party (Gene Watson) Don't Edit When I Call Your Name (Vince Gill) Don't Edit Don't Edit Dress Blues (Jason Isbell) Don't Edit Sissy's Song (Alan Jackson) Don't Edit Till Each Tear You Cry Becomes a Rose (Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan) Don't Edit Old Violin (Johnny Paycheck) Don't Edit Over You (Miranda Lambert) Don't Edit Don't Edit The Door (George Jones) Don't Edit Devil in the Bottle (T.G. Shepherd) Don't Edit Wildwood Flower (The Carter Family) Don't Edit I'm Not Lisa (Jessi Colter) Don't Edit Alyssa Lies (Jason Michael Carroll) Don't Edit Don't Edit Green, Green Grass of Home (Porter Wagoner) Where exactly is the green, green grass of home? Depends on who's listening, of course. But songwriter Curly Putnam was born in Jackson County, Alabama. Don't Edit Old Shep (Red Foley) He had me at "I wish that they'd shoot me instead." Don't Edit Roses for Mama (Red Sovine) Red doesn't hold back. Don't Edit Long Way Home (Hayes Carll) Real country ain't dead. It's just hiding somewhere away from your radio. Don't Edit Temporary Home (Carrie Underwood) Don't Edit Don't Edit The Ballad of Ira Hayes (Johnny Cash) Don't Edit Daddy's Wildwood Flower (Ralph Stanley) Don't Edit You're Gonna Miss This (Trace Atkins) Don't Edit Captain and the Kid (Jimmy Buffett) A song about his grandfather growing old. "His world had gone from sailing ships to raking Mom's backyard." Don't Edit She's Got You (Patsy Cline) Don't Edit Don't Edit Love, Me (Collin Raye) Don't Edit I Dreamed About Mama Last Night (Luke the Drifter) Hank Williams' alter ego, Luke the Drifter, was his good conscience -- but he still lived in a dark place. Don't Edit More country music Now see our list: 21 of the saddest country songs 7 country music verses that were dropped, added or changed The most 'outlaw' songs ever recorded 12 Guy Clark songs you should know One inspirational home is about to bring some national attention to the metro Birmingham area. Once open, 20,000 people are estimated to tour the 2016 Southern Living Idea House located in the town of Mt Laurel, a master-planned community on the edge of Birmingham. Southern Living has built or renovated idea houses from the ground up for more than 20 years. The Birmingham-based magazine is one of Time Inc.'s brands and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Their idea houses showcase traditional design and beautiful landscaping that evokes Southern charm. Elegantly styled interiors, tall windows and ceilings, and you guessed it, wide and inviting front porches abound. Those features are true of the 2016 Idea House designed by Birmingham architect Bill Ingram. He worked with Town Builders, Inc. to construct it. Landscape architect David Brush created the home's eye-catching curb appeal with plants from the Southern Living Plant Collection. (You have a chance to win those plants here.) Inside, designers Amy Berry, Ashley Gilbreath, Lauren Liess, Margaret Kirkland and Mark D. Sikes, created modern spaces that were inspired by past issues of the magazine. Each of their designs represent a decade of the magazine's history. Added bonus, if you like the look of shiplap, you'll love this house. We can't show you the inside until after Southern Living publishes their own feature on the home. However, you can grab a sneak peek by checking out the Instagram pages of the designers linked above. Can't wait to see? The Idea House is located at 10 Nolen St, Birmingham, Ala, 35242, and will be open to the public from June 25th through December 18th, 2016. During that time, you can tour the home from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Once inside, you're free to tour the home and volunteers will be inside to answer any questions. You can find a planning guide for your visit here. Pro tip: Stick around and check out Mt Laurel's idyllic town center after the tour. Admission is $15 at the door. Tickets are not available to purchase online in advance. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Children's of Alabama and the Mt Laurel Public Library. The town of Mt Laurel is a Southern Living Inspired Community, which means that it is part of a collection of residential developments that exemplify the Southern Living lifestyle. Hayley Barber was crowned Miss Alabama on June 11, 2016. Miss Alabama Hayley Barber, who was crowned on June 11, has set her sights on being crowned Miss America on Sept. 11 in Atlantic City. But even if that doesn't happen, she's got a bigger vision that she'll pursue. The 2012 graduate of Pelham High School is a senior marketing major at UAB. She'll have to take a year off from school to fulfill her duties as Miss Alabama. When she graduates, she wants to continue her education. "I hope to immediately go into optometry school for another four years and potentially own my own private practice one day," Barber said. "I'd love to open a pediatric optometry practice." That ties into her Miss Alabama platform, Sight for Small Eyes. "I encourage eye examinations at a young age and then I raise funds for children with low vision," Barber said. "I've written a curriculum called three tips for healthy vision that's sent to Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Alabama state elementary schools. I've written a bill that would require comprehensive eye examinations at a young age before entering kindergarten in Alabama. I have raised money for Sight Savers America, a non-profit in Pelham. I raised money for a device called a CCTV, it's a closed-circuit television, for children with low vision. That would help them to read for the first time, put on makeup. I've seen them help little girls see their mother's face for the first time." Barber, 22, wears glasses while she's driving or when she's in class. Now that she's going to be in the public eye, she plans to get contact lenses soon. Pastor's daughter Barber's father, the Rev. Mark Barber, grew up in Sylacauga and has been the senior pastor of Hillview Baptist Church in Forestdale since 2008. "We do have faith and we practice our faith," Mark Barber said. "We love everyone and judge no one. Being a pastor's daughter gave Hayley a taste of the scrutiny she'll face as Miss Alabama. "I pretty much knew what it was like to be on at a young age because I was having to greet people throughout the church," she said. Before settling in Pelham, her father had traveled extensively in his ministry. "We've lived in five different states, I think by the time I was 10 years old," she said. "I had to be ready to move if my dad felt like he wanted to start a new church or grow a new church. I learned at a young age to make connections pretty quickly and to be okay with whatever was thrown my way." She was the youngest of three children and was born in Augusta, Ga., although the family was living in South Carolina at the time. Before Pelham High School, she attended Chelsea public schools. Her mother, Karon, grew up in Decatur, and now works as an accounting clerk in Vestavia Hills. "They're great parents," Hayley said. "They really devoted a lot of their lives to helping me be happy in whatever I pursue." Earning scholarships Since her older brother, Daniel, and sister, Lauren Ross, were in college at the same time, she needed to earn some scholarship money to help pay for college. She earned $13,800 from the Miss Alabama Pageant this year, including $10,000 for winning. It was her fifth year competing in Miss Alabama. She earned $65,000 total. "I will graduate debt-free from UAB," Barber said. "I definitely would not have been able to attend college if not for that scholarship money." Yet Barber never viewed herself as a pageant contestant. "I'm not a pageant girl," she said. "I never really liked to get dressed up and wear makeup." But that's only part of it, she said. "You grow so much through speaking to people, making those sort of contacts, but also devoting yourself to service," Barber said. Part of her duties as a Miss Alabama contestant and winner include raising funds for the Children's Miracle Network. "I raised $32,600 this year alone, and I've raised over $55,000 total," she said. Barber's first public appearance after winning the crown at Samford University was in her hometown for Pelham's observance of Flag Day. She'll attend Miss America orientation in July and make dozens of public appearances all over the state on the way to competing in the Miss America Pageant in September. "She's got a servant's heart," Mark Barber said of his daughter. "That's what's most important. If you're going to be in a place of influence, a title holder, you've got to have a servant's heart. You've got to do it with the right heart, be a blessing and encouragement to somebody." Anniston police are seeking a man who has been missing since Sunday. Police said Michael Keith Thompson, 43, may be headed to Panama City Beach, Fla. He is described as standing 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 350 pounds. He was last seen June 12 in Anniston. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department's investigative division at (256) 240-4075. A Clay County man was arrested Wednesday after Gadsden police solicited help through the media in a theft investigation. Sgt. John Hallman said a Calhoun County Sheriff's deputy spotted a vehicle pulling a trailer which was suspected in the theft of lawn equipment. A vehicle and trailer were involved in the theft of approximately $32,000 in lawn equipment from a business in the 600 block of West Meighan Boulevard early Tuesday. The vehicle appeared on surveillance images to be a 2000's model dark maroon colored Dodge Durango. The deputy had seen media reports about the theft. "The piece of lawn equipment was confirmed to be part of the equipment stolen in our case," Hallman said. Jonathan Lewis Jennings, 25, is in the Calhoun County Jail on charges of first degree property theft and third degree criminal mischief. An Alabama appeals court on Friday ordered a Jefferson County judge to vacate her rulings earlier this year that declared the state's capital punishment sentencing scheme unconstitutional. In its order the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals says the state's capital sentencing scheme is constitutional and told Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Tracie Todd to vacate her March 3 order in the pending capital murder cases of four men that says otherwise. The Alabama Attorney General's Office had filed four petitions for a writ of mandamus asking the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to direct Todd to vacate her orders and allow the state to decide whether to seek imposition of the death penalty in those cases if it decides. The cases involve Kenneth Eugene Billups, Stanley Brent Chapman, Terrell Corey McMullin, and Benjamin Todd Acton who were all indicted for various counts of capital murder. Chapman and McMullin are charged in the same case and the others in separate cases. Before their trials, the men each filed a motion to bar imposition of the death penalty in their cases and to hold Alabama's capital-sentencing scheme unconstitutional based on the United States Supreme Court's decision in January declaring Florida's death sentencing system unconstitutional. Todd agreed and declared the capital murder sentencing law unconstitutional in a 28-page order. "The Alabama capital sentencing scheme fails to provide special procedural safeguards to minimize the obvious influence of partisan politics or the potential for unlawful bias in the judiciary," Todd stated in her ruling. "As a result, the death penalty in Alabama is being imposed in a "wholly arbitrary and capricious" manner." The Court of Criminal Appeals, however, said Friday that the state's capital sentencing law is constitutional. "Alabama's capital-sentencing scheme is constitutional under (U.S. Supreme Court rulings) Apprendi, Ring, and Hurst, and the circuit court (Todd) erred in holding otherwise and prohibiting the State from seeking the death penalty in capital-murder prosecutions," the appeals court opinion on Friday states. The Alabama Attorney General's Office established the prerequisites for the appeals court to issue an order to Todd telling her to vacate her opinion, the appeals court stated in its order. "Therefore, the circuit court (Todd) is directed to set aside its order holding Alabama's capital-sentencing scheme unconstitutional and to allow the State to seek the death penalty in capital-murder prosecutions if it chooses to do so. The appeals court ruled that under Alabama's capital-sentencing scheme a capital murder defendant "is not eligible for the death penalty unless the jury unanimously finds beyond a reasonable doubt, either during the guilt phase or during the penalty phase of the trial, that at least one of the aggravating circumstances ... exists." The court noted that Florida's law, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in January as unconstitutional, was conditioned on a first-degree-murder defendant's eligibility for the death penalty based on a finding by the trial judge, rather than the jury, that an aggravating circumstance existed. The appeals court also criticized the fact that the Attorney General was not given a the required notice that a state law was being challenged as unconstitutional and that Todd then didn't allow an assistant AG to speak at the hearing she held before making her ruling. Todd also had pre-written her ruling before the hearing, the court stated. Judges Mike Joiner and Liles Burke concurred with the majority although they differed on some points in separate opinions. Both Joiner and Burke criticized Todd's order. Todd's order "contains sparse analysis on the application of Hurst to Alabama's capital-sentencing scheme," Burke wrote. "The majority of the order is devoted to the trial court's opinions regarding partisan politics, the effects of an elected judiciary, court funding, and the propriety of the death penalty in general," Burke states. "Additionally, the trial court extensively cites secondary sources, including materials from "Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty" as well as from the Web site of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization whose attorneys are representing the defendants in this very proceeding." "In reviewing the materials that were filed with this Court, I find no mention of these issues," Burke writes. "Thus, I question whether the trial court's (Todd's) ultimate conclusion is based on its analysis of Hurst or on the trial judge's personal opinions regarding Alabama's death penalty." Alabama's attorney general reacted to the ruling early Friday night. "Today's decision by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is the first case to affirm under Hurst that Alabama's capital sentencing is constitutional," Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange stated in a Friday evening press release. "The Appeals Court vacated the Jefferson County Court's March order and thereby held that Alabama can continue to seek the death penalty in capital murder prosecutions." It's unclear, however, how Friday's ruling might affect recent orders by the U.S. Supreme Court telling the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider the appeals of three Alabama death row inmates in light of the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year striking down Florida's capital punishment scheme. An Arkansas man is jailed in Shelby County on charges of human trafficking. The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force on Thursday took 25-year-old Alexander Jackson into custody. Task force commander Lt. Clay Hammac said Jackson's arrest stemmed from an undercover operation in North Shelby County focusing on prostitution and drug activity. During the course of that investigation, he said, multiple females were identified as being involved with prostitution. Those women have been referred to community-based organizations to help them escape their current situations, Hammac said. Alexander is being held in the Shelby County Jail with bond set at $100,000. According to court records, the charge against Jackson involves the interstate transportation of prostitutes. Records show he has six prior arrests, including breaking and entering a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, manufacturing a controlled substance - for which he was sentenced to eight years in prison - and promoting prostitution. In seeking the $100,000 bond, authorities noted that Jackson has no ties to Alabama and has expressed plans to return to Arkansas. "These investigations are heartbreaking at times. Our goal is not to put these young ladies in jail, but to help them escape the situation that each of them currently find themselves in,'' Hammac said. "However, we will always relentlessly pursue and arrest the individuals who attempt force others into this lifestyle in an attempt to profit from it." Birmingham police radios will observe a moment of silence today in remembrance of three officers killed 12 years ago today in a hail of gunfire at an Ensley drug house. Officers Carlos Owen, Robert Bennett and Harley Chisholm died in a hail of gunfire at an Ensley drug house on what would become the deadliest day in Birmingham police history. Officer Michael Collins, now a sergeant, was wounded, but survived the attack. He spoke with AL.com in 2014 about his struggles, and his healing. Today's moment of silence will be held at 1:25 p.m. "This day is an extremely sad reminder of the tragic loss of life of three of Birmingham's Finest,'' said Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper. "These days are especially tough on the families who still miss their loved ones and understandably, it's a void that can never be filled. During a time where it's so easy to criticize our law enforcement officers, we are reminded of the risks and their selfless service." Multiple current and former officers are posting their own memories on social media. "Twelve years ago today my life changed,'' wrote Sgt. Dean Pesnell. "That day will never be forgotten. The love my Heavenly Father as He carried others and me through this will never be forgotten. RIP Curlyk, RoboCop and Tarheel. Heroes." A 2004 police radio transmission recorded Bennett saying at 1:24:34 p.m. that day, "They're going out the front. " Two seconds later, at 1:24:36 p.m., the first "shots fired" call was dispatched, followed by a second at 1:24:40 p.m. At 1:25:20 p.m., Collins radioed his "double aught, double aught" emergency call for assistance, the most drastic request an officer can make for backup. Bennett died on the ground in the front of the apartment. Chisholm and Owen died on the kitchen floor of the small, dingy apartment. Chisholm, 40, known as "RoboCop," was remembered as a decorated ex-Marine who was tough on criminals and devoted to public service. He knew, his supervisors said, when to police from the heart and when to police by the book. He was, they said, a hard-charger with a heart as big as a mountain. Bennett, 33, was likened to a knight -- loyal, courageous, courteous and generous. At his funeral, he was described as a "giant of a man" and a "hero." He left behind a wife and a 4-year-old daughter. Owen, 58, a highly-decorated, 27-year veteran of the department and a former president of the Fraternal Order of Police, was well-known in the Ensley area he patrolled for years. He was affectionately known for his once-permed hair and admired for his uncanny ability to catch bad guys. He was called a "soldier of the city" and "a rare breed." He was a husband, father and grandfather who was set to soon retire. Funerals for the officers were held the following week, as was a citywide memorial service held at Fair Park Arena. The officers' police cruisers sat outside the arena during the service, their blue lights flashing. Owen's son, Greg Owen, spoke there. "Do not let these deaths defeat you, let these deaths strengthen your resolve,'' he said. "These fallen officers would want you to get back out there. Although we will miss these fallen officers very much, they did not die in vain." Here is what police, city and state officials said following the officers' slayings: -Capt. Hollis Crutchfield, then-commander of the West Precinct: "We have saluted you with our hands and our hearts. We now charge each other to carry on. With our arms wrapped around Officer Michael Collins, we will carry on." - Former Gov. Bob Riley: "These men sacrificed everything they had for people they did not know. They did it for all the right reasons so that each one of us can go to sleep tonight and not worry about our safety. -Former Attorney General Troy King: "I can tell you these officers were the kind of men that I'm glad my kids had to look to as an example. The kind of example we should hold up again, and again and again." -Former Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid: "We pledge to you that we will work to make our public safety officials, both police and fire in the largest city in Alabama, the highest paid in Alabama." -Former Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn, who sang a cappella a verse from "I Am Determined to Walk with Jesus": "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." A federal jury on Friday found former Birmingham Health Care CEO Jonathan Dunning guilty on 98 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. The 12 jurors, made up of nine women and three men, began deliberating Tuesday afternoon. Dunning was acquitted on another 14 counts. A sentencing date has not yet been set, but U.S. District Court Judge David Proctor said it would be held in about 90 days. Meanwhile, Dunning remains free on bond but is being restricted to travel only within north Alabama unless given permission by the U.S. Probation office. The maximum prison penalty for conspiracy is five years, for wire fraud and money laundering the maximum is 20 years, and for bank fraud, 30 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. "We are pleased with the jury's verdict," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews-Johnson. "It is clear they spent time and considered all the evidence presented." "We also think the verdict sends a message to those entrusted with millions of dollars meant for the community and that that power should not be abused or subjected to personal whim or greed," Matthews-Johnson said. Dunning and his attorneys declined comment after the verdict. Jurors found Dunning guilty on 62 counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and 33 counts of money laundering. Jurors found him not guilty on six wire fraud counts, one bank fraud count, and seven money laundering counts. The jury also found Dunning guilty on one conspiracy count, finding that he conspired with another person to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. The trial began May 24 with jury selection before Washington D.C.-based U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, who was specially appointed to hear the case. More than 50 witnesses appeared. Dunning did not testify. Rothstein left to go back to Washington D.C. after the jurors began their deliberations. Proctor was assigned to take juror questions, in consultation with Rothstein, and to take the verdict. Prosecutors alleged that Dunning, the former nonprofit CEO of both BHC and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health Inc. (CACH) in Tuskegee, diverted to his own companies' millions of dollars in federal grant money meant for treating the poor and homeless at BHC and CACH. The prosecutors say Dunning continued to profit from the two agencies, even after he stepped down as CEO in 2008, by setting up companies to contract with BHC for services, including billing, management consulting, and for lease agreements with BHC on buildings. BHC and CACH were among 1,400 federally-funded community health centers nationwide. BHC in January changed its name to Alabama Regional Medical Services. Problems were first reported by AL.com and the Birmingham News in 2012 when it was revealed that CACH and BHC paid more than $2 million to Dunning's private companies for contracting service, including while Dunning was CEO of the companies Dunning's defense was that there is nothing wrong with BHC contracting out services or renting buildings, even with a former employee. Dunning's attorneys also pointed to two others for theft from BHC and CACH - Terri Mollica, who formerly was Chief Financial Officer over both groups, and former bookkeeper Sheila Parker. Mollica pleaded guilty last year in a plea deal with federal prosecutors related to fraud against the government related to illegally obtaining $1.7 million as her part in diverting $11 million from BHC and CACH. Mollica, who has yet to be sentenced on the charges, asserted her Fifth Amendment right not to testify at Dunning's trial. Parker and her son pleaded guilty to charges related to the theft of $116,000 from CACH. The money was used to buy personal items such as electronic fish finders, truck tires, cell phones and an adult website membership. The two also face charges related to failing to file tax returns. Sheila Parker testified for the prosecution at the trial. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Atwood and John B. Ward also prosecuted the case. Attorneys Bill Athanas, William H. Thomas Jr., and Charles Walton Prueter represented Dunning. The FBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Following the verdict a joint statement was issued Friday by U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson. "Dunning relentlessly stole taxpayer dollars that were meant to provide critical medical care to the poor and homeless in Birmingham," Vance said. "His shameless devotion to purchasing luxury items like a Jaguar for himself, while leaving to suffer the people he committed to serve, is deplorable." she said. "I applaud the commitment of the agents of the FBI, IRS and HHS, and the prosecution team in my office, who all worked long hours to unsnarl the tangle of companies, contracts, real estate and financial dealings that Dunning used in an unsuccessful effort to conceal his criminal conduct," Vance said. Stanton stated: "Mr. Dunning took money intended to help the less fortunate in our area and used it for his own personal bank account -- actions that are simply inexcusable and hard to comprehend. I am extremely proud of the work on this case, and I want to personally thank the agents and prosecutors for their tireless efforts in bringing Dunning to justice." Hyman-Pillot said the guilty verdict is a victory for the American public. "Jonathan Dunning used taxpayer funds from Birmingham Healthcare to enrich himself. As a result, he built his fortune on a foundation of greed and deceit. IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners exposed every layer of financial fraud Jonathan Dunning attempted to conceal. Today, justice has been served," she said. Jackson said the jury's verdict "speaks volumes." "Stealing federal money meant to treat the poor and homeless will not be tolerated," Jackson stated. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the vulnerable beneficiaries of these taxpayer-funded programs from greed-fueled schemes." AL.com reporter Mike Oliver contributed to this story Updated at 11 a.m. June 17 with additional information and comments Okinawa, Japan On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in what could become the largest anti-American military base rally in more than two decades on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The recent alleged rape and killing of a 20-year-old Japanese woman by Kenneth Shinzato, a 32-year-old civilian employee of the Okinawa-based US Kadena Air Base, has reignited decades-long resentment among locals towards the heavy American military presence and partly towards their own central government in Tokyo. The sentiment dates back to more than seven decades ago, when 150,000 Okinawans around one quarter of the islands population at the time were killed in the fierce Battle of Okinawa, as the US tried to build a bridgehead to attack Japans mainland towards the end of World War II. Ever since, America has kept their bases, Moriteru Arasaki, a professor emeritus of history at Okinawa University, told Al Jazeera. Over the 70 years of history, peoples anti-base sentiment has been built up, added Arasaki, pointing out to the repeated crimes committed by US military personnel and employees based on the island. Voices of Okinawa: Standing against a US military base Even after Okinawas reversion to Japanese sovereignty in 1972, which ended 27 years of US administrative rule, as much as one fifth of Okinawas main island has been host to more than half of the 50,000 US troops stationed across Japan Okinawa accounts for less than 1 percent of land mass of the entire country. In the wake of a 1995 rally of some 85,000 people, triggered by the gang rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by three American servicemen, Washington and Tokyo announced the relocation plan of the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated Ginowan to the relatively less crowded area of Henoko in the northern part of the island. Yet, subsequent crimes [have] made Okinawans now more determined, so as to oppose any US military presence in Okinawa, said Hiroji Yamashiro, of the Okinawa Peace Movement Center, which has been organising a daily protest at the Henoko base construction site. Very angry When I visited Henoko on Friday, more than 100 people were defying the scorching hot and humid weather to stage their 712th-day protest against the base construction. With a semi-permanent protest camp set up just outside the base, the participants make speeches, chant slogans and occasionally attempt to block the entry and exit of vehicles out of the base. READ MORE: Japan protests alleged rape by US sailor With the growing anti-American base sentiment, a sense of betrayal towards Tokyo is also conspicuous, Yamashiro told Al Jazeera. Okinawa people are very angry at the Japanese government for putting so much of a burden on us and most of the Japanese people who ignore our situation. This sentiment was re-confirmed in the outcome of the 48-seat prefecture assembly election earlier this month, in which candidates backing Governor Takeshi Onagas efforts to block construction of the Henoko base formed a majority with 27 seats. Onaga, elected as a governor on the back of a strident anti-base campaign in 2014, has been in a head-to-head clash with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Sundays planned rally will be the climax of all the oppositions over many years. So, their demand will be stronger than ever, Arasaki said, adding that for the first time in such a rally protesters would be calling for the complete withdrawal of the US bases. However, such a demand is highly unlikely to be accommodated both by Tokyo and Washington Okinawa is located in a strategic location in the face of an increasingly assertive China in the East China Sea. To counter the rise of China, the US has adopted a policy to pivot to Asia and Tokyo and Washington know very well that they need each other, as seen in the ever-closer Japan-US alliance. How a small shelter in the Netherlands is helping Syrian refugees to integrate into the community. Amsterdam, Netherlands I just wanted to show that it could be done, says Lian Priemus. The Dutch woman is sitting in the office of the shelter for Syrian refugees that she set up with a group of volunteers from her neighbourhood. The small shelter, in the middle of Amsterdam, houses about 30 people. In the room beside the office, a language lesson is in full flow and voices can be heard repeating sentences in Dutch. In the kitchen downstairs a family from Aleppo is preparing the evening meal for the entire shelter. The smell of Syrian home cooking drifts through the building. Theres a fierce competition going on between between Aleppans and Damascans about whose cuisine is the best, Lian says, laughing. The result is that we always eat very well here. Mohammed, a young electrical engineer from Aleppo, walks into the office to say hello. He says he is happy to live in the shelter, but that he is going through a difficult time. My wife is still in Aleppo and I am very worried about her. I feel guilty for being here. Lian listens as he talks about the situation in his home town. Refugee shelters in the Netherlands usually house hundreds of people and are often located far from residential areas, which means refugees dont get the chance to immediately start integrating into society, Lian explains. She launched this project to see if things could be done differently. The people in our shelter live in the middle of the city. This means that as soon as they arrive, they can get to know their Dutch neighbours, and their Dutch neighbours get to know them. This is so important for mutual understanding. People from all over Amsterdam came to bring stuff Fifty-year-old Lian normally works as a television director and had never been involved with refugees until September 2015, when she saw a message on Facebook: a large group of Syrian refugees had arrived at the Amsterdam central train station and they were hungry. Together with her 16-year-old daughter, she went to the station with fruit and bottles of water. It was the first time I came face to face with the refugee crisis, she says. Suddenly I met the people who had been in those rubber boats I had seen on the news. It made a deep impression on me. That night she decided to start working as a volunteer in the emergency shelter for refugees in Amsterdam. The people that arrived were totally exhausted. I would play with the children so the parents could sleep. Within two days she found herself coordinating the volunteer work and set up a Facebook group to ask for things the refugees needed, such as warm clothes and toiletries. READ MORE: The Syrian refugees of Gaza She made friends with several Syrians and kept in touch with them when they moved to the Heumensoord emergency centre, near the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Conditions in the camp, which is now closed, were bad. Lian says her Syrian friends had to live in tents with no privacy and couldnt sleep because of the continuous noise. They lived in constant insecurity, she says, with no idea when the process of being granted asylum might start. I saw people who had arrived full of hope and optimism become depressed, she recalls. So she invited her friends to stay at her house during the weekend so that they could sleep and relax. And at some point I started thinking: if I could find an empty building in the neighbourhood, I could offer this opportunity to more refugees. Together with a group of volunteers from her neighbourhood, called Gastvrij Oost (Hospitable East), she found a housing corporation that was willing to put an empty office building at their disposal. They then convinced the district council to support the project. Thats how we started, unaware of the enormous task we had taken upon ourselves, Lian says. With financial help from the housing corporation and the district council, volunteers and refugees turned the office into a shelter. It was furnished with donations from people responding to Lians Facebook messages. It was incredible, she says. People from all over Amsterdam came to bring stuff. Some brought couches, cupboards and beds. Others helped to hang the curtains or brought home-made cookies. But not all locals were happy with the plan, so the group organised meetings during which the refugees could introduce themselves to residents of the neighbourhood. These people were mainly afraid, because they didnt know what to expect, Lian explains. During the information meetings they could speak directly with the refugees and they could see this man is also a father, just like me. I am glad to be living in this shelter now The shelter opened in February. The residents are all Syrians. But, Lian says: They are a diverse group: Sunni and Alevi Muslims and Christians. But they are really committed to make this work. They said, If we cant make this work, there will never be peace in Syria.' Among them are a tailor, a musician, a pharmacist and an architect. Their portraits hang on the wall in the communal living room, which is furnished with bright red arm chairs, a colourful rug and a flatscreen television all gifts. READ MORE: The Syrian cheese-maker of Bavaria Ammar, 36, lives with his family in the shelters largest room. Using curtains, he has created a cosy bedroom for his sons, aged five and eight. The youngest is sleeping, the oldest is playing the keyboard. Ammar used to be a tailor before the war forced him to flee his home town, Aleppo. I am glad to be living in this shelter now, he says. In Heumensoord we were going crazy. We were living with three families in one room. The children couldnt go to school, they had no place to play, the food was bad. Here we can cook for ourselves and we have a huge room for ourselves. Hanan is a 37-year-old lawyer from Damascus and was one of the first to move into the shelter. Now that I live here, I feel that my life is becoming normal again, she says. I am learning Dutch, I work out and soon my two children will come over to Holland. They are living with my mother in Lebanon and I miss them so much. The shelter is run by the refugees themselves. There is a schedule for household tasks such as cleaning, buying groceries and cooking. Four volunteers from the neighbourhood support them, managing the finances and fixing technical problems in the building. They also help the refugees look for work, internships or schooling. Theres a circle of additional volunteers who help occasionally: people with a medical background who accompany them when they need to see a doctor; a hairdresser who cuts their hair for free; and locals who offer Dutch conversation lessons. READ MORE: Welcome to Syrian Berlin In regular emergency asylum centres in the Netherlands, refugees are not allowed to cook for themselves, they have no privacy, they can hardly mix with locals, Lian explains. In our shelter they can lead as normal a life as possible. Its the small scale of the shelter that makes this possible. Five hundred refugees in an asylum centre on the outskirts of town remain anonymous to the local residents. But 30 refugees in the neighbourhood become real people, because you can get to know them. I really believe in this approach. A second chance The shelter is only a temporary solution: once the residents are granted asylum they leave to live in a flat of their own. We thought people would want to live in their own flat as soon as possible. But not everybody is so eager. They say it feels like one big family here, Lian says. That doesnt mean there are never problems. Sometimes there are conflicts. And often its about the schedule for cleaning and cooking, Lian says. And now that they can finally relax, there is the psychological space to fully realise what has happened to them. Thats hard. So sometimes people are irritable. But they support each other. Its comforting to live with people who understand what youre going through. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Ammar and his wife Eman are serving todays meal: tabouleh, chicken with potatoes and lentil soup. There is a red and white checkered tablecloth on the table. A young girl rides her small bicycle into the kitchen. On the wall is a list for people who want to take swimming lessons. Really very important when you live in the Netherlands, it reads. Its been a second job for me to set up this shelter, Lian reflects. There have been moments when I thought What have I gotten myself into? Its such a big responsibility. But its been worth it. I have witnessed these people, who lost so much, regain their lives. The privatisation of Chinas SOEs is about much more than just reducing capacity in coal and steel. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit: Theyre all great American cities. But they have all seen better days. There are endless debates over what turned the United States industrial heartland into a post-industrial rust belt, but most people agree that some kind of transition was inevitable. The US simply doesnt need hundreds of millions of tonnes a year of cheap steel any more. Neither does China. China is the Saudi Arabia of steel, and then some. China produces half the worlds steel, up from a third only 10 years ago. Chinas steel output is nearly eight times that of Japan, its nearest competitor. But Chinas steel industry is highly fragmented. Its largest producer, Hebei Iron and Steel, accounts for about 6 percent of the countrys output. Compare that with Japan, where the largest steel producer, Nippon Steel, accounts for more than 40 percent. China is chock-full of small, inefficient steel companies. The problem is that they are only small by Chinese standards. Nearly two million people work for Chinas state-owned steelmakers, not counting all the other jobs that directly or indirectly depend on steel. The government plans to fire half a million of them, plus another 1.3 million coal miners. Layoffs in other industries are anticipated as well as government moves to privatise thousands of inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The government-sponsored consolidation of Chinas steel industry has hit hardest in heavily industrialised Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing. The proximity of Hebei to the capital has given foreign journalists easy access to its sights and stories of post-industrial apocalypse. Industrial downsizing really began to bite in Hebei province in 2015. But it didnt start there. The Dongbei model The Chinese governments programme of privatisations accompanied by mass layoffs began a decade ago in northeast Chinas little-visited Dongbei region. The Dongbei literally Eastnorth was post-war Chinas manufacturing heartland. It consists of the three provinces to the north and east of Beijing and Hebei. Historically known as Manchuria, the region was occupied by Japan from 1931 to 1945. Many of its industries date to this era and were redeveloped with Soviet help in the 1950s. Now that stability - if not necessarily economic growth - has returned, China seems ready to roll it out to the rest of the country in 2016. Privatisations are at the top of the agenda. by The three provinces of the Dongbei Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were once major consumers of the steel produced just to the south in Hebei province. Liaoning has been a centre of electrical equipment manufacturing since the Japanese occupation. Communist Chinas first indigenous car manufacturer, First Auto Works, was set up with Soviet help in Jilins provincial capital Changchun in 1953. Heilongjiang sits atop the Daqing oilfield Chinas largest and is the home of many petrochemical plants. All these heavy industries used to be state-owned. No more. Most of the Dongbeis large SOEs were privatised between 1997 and 2005. They werent so much sold off to private investors as simply given away. Perceived as hopelessly inefficient, many were sold for the nominal price of one yuan. OPINION: The rise of everyday freedoms in China The Dongbei privatisation wave began in Liaoning after a 1997 visit from former premier Zhu Rongji. A bastion of state ownership, Liaonings capital city Shenyang became famous as the birthplace of thousands of red capitalists former government officials turned factory owners. Most of Heilongjians leading SOEs were sold to private investors in 2004. Then in 2005 the Chinese government sold off 816 SOEs in Jilin province in just one year. China has experienced many waves of SOE reform since its 1978 opening to the world, but the Dongbei wave is the one that most resembles the 1990s sell-offs in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, when communist bureaucrats became billionaire oligarchs overnight. Rolling out reforms The national rollout of the Dongbei model of SOE reform was put on hold amid worries of industrial collapse when the 2008 global financial crisis hit China. Now that stability if not necessarily economic growth has returned, China seems ready to roll it out to the rest of the country in 2016. Privatisations are at the top of the agenda. OPINION: Is the yuan safe? Though ordinary workers may have much to lose from SOE reform, top managers in places such as Guangzhou and Shanghai are chomping at the bit for the opportunity to take over their companies. In Hebei and the Dongbei provinces, SOE reform has been all about cutting losses. In central and southern China, its all about capturing gains. Chinas profitable non-financial SOEs are reputed to be sitting on massive piles of undistributed profits. Considering that these firms are government-owned and government-controlled, they have been remarkably dividend-averse. Though the central government has demanded higher dividend pay-outs in recent years, these have not necessarily been forthcoming. The privatisation of Chinas SOEs is about much more than just reducing capacity in coal and steel. As China makes the transition from rapid growth to a new normal, easy profits are becoming harder to find. Privatisations offer a secure way to make big money in a slowing economy. Well-connected managers who are also high party members will reap the benefits. And it will be the ordinary workers who will pay the price. Salvatore Babones is a comparative sociologist at the University of Sydney. He is a specialist in global economic structure. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Gunmen on motorbikes attack village near Madagali in Adamawa state, killing mourners and setting houses on fire. Boko Haram fighters have killed at least 18 people at a funeral in northeast Nigeria, residents and a police official have said. The attackers shot at mourners and set houses on fire after arriving on motorbikes in the village of Kuda near Madagali town in Adamawa state on Thursday evening, witnesses said. At least 10 people were injured in the incident, one witness told the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. Resident Moses Kwagh told the Reuters news agency that people waited until three hours after the attack and then counted 18 womens bodies. Some women were still missing, he said. When we said that Boko Haram is still in this place, some people sit in Abuja and claim that there is no more Boko Haram but see what has happened, Kwagh said. READ MORE: Can Boko Haram be defeated? Othman Abubakar, a police spokesman, said on Friday that the number of dead could rise. State lawmaker Emmanuel Tsamdu told Reuters: I have yet to get the details on how it happened and the real number of people killed. I have sent hunters to the area to get me the details because people are afraid to go to the village. Kuda is close to the Sambisa Forest, a vast colonial-era game reserve where Boko Haram fighters hide in secluded camps to avoid the Nigerian military. The village was previously attacked by Boko Haram in February. READ MORE: Muhammadu Buhari I havent failed against Boko Haram Under President Muhammadu Buharis command and aided by Nigerias neighbours, the army has recaptured most of the territory seized by Boko Haram, but the armed group still regularly stages attacks. Recent attacks in southeastern Niger bordering Nigeria killed more than 20 soldiers and displaced tens of thousands, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in the region. Boko Haram pledged support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) last year. The Nigeria-based groups nearly seven-year-old violence has killed about 20,000 people, forced more than two million from their homes and spread into neighbouring countries. Henrique Alves denies claims but quits as tourism minister after ex-Petrobas executive says he got $400,000 in bribes. Brazils tourism minister has resigned, less than two months before the country hosts the Olympics. With the resignation of Henrique Alves on Thursday, the government of interim President Michel Temer has lost its third minister in a month to a probe of state oil company Petrobras. The resignation followed an investigation into alleged bribery on the part of Transpetro, a Petrobras subsidiary. The Listening Post: Brazil Behind the Dilma Rousseff impeachment story A day earlier, Sergio Machado, previously a Petrobras executive and a former senator from Temers party, alleged in a plea bargain testimony that Alves received more than $400,000 in bribes. Denying the accusation, Alves announced on Twitter that the contributions were made to his campaigns through official channels and were declared to election authorities. In his letter of resignation, Alves said:, I dont want to create awkwardness or any kind of difficulty for the government. Alves resignation, so close to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, adds to the upheaval at the tourism ministry due to the constant change of ministers and secretaries that was caused by Brazils political crisis. Machados testimony also linked Temer to campaign funds sought from corruption schemes at Petrobas. Temer said it was irresponsible, ridiculous, mendacious and criminal to suggest, as Machado did, that he had sought campaign funds for his party from the corruption scheme, the first direct link implicating Temer in the scandal. We will not tolerate affirmations of that nature, Temer said in a hastily scheduled public address. The Listening Post: Brazils Petrobras scandal Dilma Rousseffs Watergate? A foolish suggestion like that can confound the governments work. But I want to affirm that nothing will hinder our desire, mission and aim of doing what the president must do right now. A fiscal reform that proposed a 20-year constitutional cap on public spending was revealed on the same day, but the plea bargain testimony with its bribery allegations was the main headline in Thursdays newspapers. The accusations provide more fodder for suspended President Dilma Rousseff and her allies, who accuse Temer and his party of mounting the impeachment process against her in order to distract from their own roles in the corruption scandal. Rousseff faces a trial in the Senate on unrelated charges of breaking budget rules. If she is convicted in mid-August, as many analysts still expect, Rousseff will be permanently removed from office and Temer would serve out her mandate until the 2018 elections. British PM and opposition leader in rare show of solidarity come together to pay respects to murdered pro-EU campaigner. British Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn have jointly paid tribute to the slain Labour MP Jo Cox, and have called for greater tolerance in public debate. Cameron and Corbyn laid bouquets on Friday in the northern village of Birstall, where Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, was shot dead a day earlier. Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities, Cameron said. With only a week until a referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU, which has split the country in two and sparked fiery debate on both sides, Cameron said it was time to stand back. Killing of MP Jo Cox halts Brexit campaigning in UK Many commentators have questioned whether the killing could be linked to the referendum, which has stoked tensions by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. Its an attack on democracy what happened yesterday. Its the well of hatred that killed her, Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said. Both sides have halted campaigning as a mark of respect with only a week to go until the knife-edge vote on June 23. Cox, a former aid worker and pro-EU campaigner, was an advocate for Syrian refugees. Police arrested a 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, in connection with the murder. US advocacy group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that Mair, who had lived in Birstall for decades, was a dedicated supporter of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. The advocacy group said he had spent over $620 on reading material from the National Alliance, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. The group also said Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told British media the attacker used a gun which appeared old-fashioned or home-made. However, Al Jazeeras Barnaby Phillips, reporting from Birstall, said his neighbours told him Mair was a soft-mannered man who expressed no interest in politics. If there were any dark corners, they were extremely well-hidden, Phillips said. He enjoyed his voluntary work teaching English to foreigners who settled in this area. Violence blamed on move by troops to prevent former M23 fighters from leaving camp for demobilised rebels in southeast. At least nine people have reportedly been killed in clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after government soldiers prevented former rebels from leaving a camp for demobilised militia groups. The fighting erupted on Wednesday at a camp in Kamina, in the countrys southeast, that houses ex-fighters from the Rwandan-backed M23 group. The M23 fighters belong to the minority Tutsi ethnic group and are closely tied to the Tutsi in neighbouring Rwanda. They have participated in rebellions against DRC President Joseph Kabila in 2012 and 2013. International human rights groups say the M23 has been responsible for widespread war crimes. Q&A: Who are DR Congos M23 rebels? Reuters news agency quoted Lambert Mende, a government spokesman, as acknowledging the two groups had clashed but also saying that the soldiers had not killed anyone. Protesters killed one camp officer with a machete, Mende said. One of the ex-fighters said that government troops killed 10 of the demoblised fighters and that the demonstration they held to demand their return home had been peaceful. According to the Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace, a human rights NGO in Kinshasa, six former fighters and three soldiers were killed. Rights groups have criticised humanitarian conditions in the countrys camps for demobilised fighters, where reports of starvation and disease are rampant. The DRCs east has been unstable for two decades. The region suffered two wars between 1996 and 2003, in which nine African countries were involved and millions were left dead. Fears of another eruption of violence are on the rise in the DRC as the country enters a contentious election period, during which Kabila will attempt to hold on to power for a third term. Thousands took to the streets last month in nationwide protests against Kabila. The protests broke out when the countrys Constitutional Court ruled that the president could remain in a caretaker capacity beyond the expiry of his second term in December. Opposition groups have accused Kabila of seeking to delay the poll in attempt to extend his mandate for another term. Memo signed by 52 State Department officials says targeted military strikes necessary to stop Assads truce violations. More than 50 US diplomats have signed an internal document critical of the governments policy in Syria and calling for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assads government. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 mid to high-level State Department officials involved in advising on Syria policy. The document calls for targeted military air strikes against Assads government, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story first on Thursday, citing copies of the cable. US President Barack Obama has thus far authorised strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other US-designated armed groups in Syria. READ MORE: Syrias Civil War explained Military strikes against the Syrian government, however, would mean a major shift in the Obama administrations reluctance to intervene directly in catalysing regime change. The US has stationed about 300 special operations forces on the ground in Syria, training moderate Syrian rebel groups and targeting ISIL but not the Assad government. Officials said the cable is unlikely to alter Obamas current policy on Syria, as the White House remains opposed to deeper US military involvement in the conflict, Reuters news agency reported. The US diplomats document was revealed on the same day that John Brennan, the CIA director, told a congressional hearing that Assad is in a stronger position than he was a year ago, thanks to Russian air strikes. Brennan said on Thursday that ISIL, also known as ISIS, remains formidable and resilient despite the US-led international coalitions efforts to defeat it militarily, adding that the group has tens of thousands of fighters around the world far more than al-Qaeda had at its height. Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach, he said. In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda. Meanwhile, on the ground fighting continues unabated in several parts of Syria. Government air strikes At least seven people have been killed in government air strikes on rebel-held areas in Syrias northern city of Aleppo in recent days, according to a monitoring group. About 70 fighters were also reportedly killed in battles around the city, the group said. The attacks came just hours after Russia declared a two-day ceasefire in Aleppo. Elsewhere, Russian fighter jets continued to strike Syrian rebels some backed by the US near al-Tanf, in southern Syria. READ MORE: Opinion The death of the Syrian peace process Al Jazeeras Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington DC, said these air strikes raise serious concern in Washington about Russias intentions. We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again, a US official told Reuters. The US has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against ISIL ever since Russia launched its campaign of air strikes in September 2015, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Assad. The US has called on Assad to step down. The leaders of Europes biggest far-right parties have gathered in Austrias capital, Vienna, to join forces against the European Union, radical Islam and asylum seekers. Hainz-Christian Strache, the leader of Austrias Freedom Party, warned refugees on Friday that Europe was ready to send them packing as he addressed a cheering crowd of about 2,000 people gathered at a convention centre. We will save you on the high seas, Strache said. But we will send you back to the harbour where you started out. He accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of causing irreparable damage to Europe by opening German borders to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers fleeing war in the Middle East. We are not against Europe as our opponents are always saying. We want another Europe, a better Europe, one of nations, values, culture and identity, Strache said. The new fascism comes from the left and from radical Islam. READ MORE: Welcome to the world of Europes far-right Marine Le Pen of Frances National Front expressed hope that Britains June 23 vote on whether to remain a member of the European Union would give their cause new momentum. I support the referendum in the United Kingdom because I want all the countries in the EU to have this choice, Le Pen said. But even if we dont get Brexit, it will present a huge new problem for the European Union which has pledged to give Britain special rights if it stays that other countries wont have. So this could be the beginning of Europe a la carte. Al Jazeeras Jonah Hull, reporting from Vienna, said it was no coincidence that the gathering was taking place in Austria. This was a country that just a month ago came within an electoral whisper of being the first country since the Second World War to elect a far-right head of state, he said. Held under the slogan Patriotic Spring Cooperation for Peace, Security and Prosperity in Europe, the gathering also included politicians from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Northern League of Italy among others. READ MORE: Right-wing nationalism and scapegoating migrants Populist, anti-immigration parties are on the rise across Europe as high unemployment and austerity, the arrival of record numbers of refugees, and recent attacks in France and Belgium deepen voter disillusionment with traditional parties. In neighbouring Germany, where far-right parties have struggled to gain traction in the post-war era, the AfD has won double-digit support in a string of state elections and seems poised to enter the German parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin next year. One of the five who went missing last year reveals he and a colleague were abducted and held by mainland authorities. One of five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing in mysterious circumstances last year has said he had been held for more than eight months by Chinese authorities. Lam Wing-kee announced on Thursday that he was arrested in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and that his colleague, Lee Bo, who went missing from Hong Kong in December, had also been abducted. Following months of speculation about the circumstances surrounding the disappearances, Lam called a surprise press conference just two days after being released. Lam said he was taken on a 14-hour train journey to the eastern city of Ningbo following his arrest. There, he was kept in a small room by himself, and repeatedly interrogated about the selling of banned books on the mainland. Causeway Bay Books, the store at which the five men worked, had specialised in publishing and selling gossipy books about Chinas leaders, including President Xi Jinping. At the time I was terrified I didnt know how theyd treat me, he said in Hong Kong. I couldnt believe this was happening. If I myself, being the least vulnerable among the five booksellers, remained silent, Hong Kong would become hopeless. It took me much courage and two sleepless nights to consider, but I decided to share the whole story with you, and tell the whole world that this incident is not only about myself or the bookstore, its about the core values that Hong Kong people need to safeguard. Suspicions about China The disappearances have prompted fears that mainland Chinese authorities may be using tactics that erode the one country, two systems formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997. Al Jazeera Florence Looi, reporting from Beijing, said that despite China saying none of its officials were involved in the abductions, there were always suspicions that Chinese officials were involved. What Lam has said has once again heightened fears of Chinas interference in Hong Kongs affairs despite promising it a high degree of autonomy when it took back the former British colony in 1997, she said. READ MORE: Opinion Hong Kong and China: A special relationship Two of the five abducted are foreign passport holders, and there are fears that Chiina is overreaching its legal rights. Four of the men Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam gave details of their alleged offences to Chinas Phoenix Television in February, saying they had been detained for illegal book trading in mainland China. But Lam said this interview had been scripted by Chinese agents and that he had been forced to say what they demanded. Concerted operation Amnesty International, the UK-based rights group, said in a statement that Lam had exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese authorities to go after the booksellers. Lam said he was barred from calling his family or contacting a lawyer during his detention, while being monitored 24 hours a day. He was later transferred to Shaoguan, a city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The Hong Kong government said in a statement that the police were reaching out to Lam and would take appropriate action. Chinese authorities have declined to clarify key details of the disappearances but have said previously that law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal. Wang Chaoye, an official of Chinas main representative office in Hong Kong, declined to comment on Lams testimony when contacted by Reuters news agency. Conviction comes 14 years after religious violence that judge described as one of the darkest days of civil society. An Indian court has handed down life sentences to 11 people over the massacre of dozens of Muslims in western Gujarat state in 2002, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the states chief minister. The court also sentenced on Friday another 12 suspects to seven years in jail, over the murder of 69 Muslims, who were hacked and burnt to death in a residential complex in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, among them women and children. Modi the Messiah Another was given a 10-year term for rioting and arson. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, arguing that those targeted were all innocent people. Judge P B Desai on Friday described the religious violence as one of the darkest days of civil society in Gujarat and urged the government not to commute, shorten or otherwise alter the sentences. He had earlier ruled that the massacre at the Gulbarg Society complex was a spontaneous attack, rejecting claims of a pre-planned conspiracy against Muslims. Why 2002 Gujarat riots still matter The massacre at the Gulbarg Society housing complex was one of the single worst losses of life in the week-long violence, which left more than 1,000 people dead. Several Muslim families had taken shelter in the complex when it was stormed by a mob angered by the deaths of Hindus in a train fire. Zakia Jafri, whose husband was killed in the massacre and who has campaigned for those responsible to be brought to justice, said the sentences were too lenient. After all the horrible things they did to so many people, they still gave such flimsy sentences, Jaffri told reporters. Government officials convicted More than 100 people have already been convicted over the riots, including one of Modis former state ministers who was jailed for instigating some of the killings. The issue has long dogged Modi, who was accused of turning a blind eye to the violence as head of Gujarat state. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2012 by a Supreme Court-ordered investigation. 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 one of Indias worst incidents of religious violence since independence from Britain and partition in 1947. Haider al-Abadi says security forces have retaken most of Fallujah and only small pockets of ISIL remain within city. Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says Iraqi forces have retaken most of Fallujah from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as clearing operations are under way to flush out the armed groups remaining fighters in the city. The government lost control of Fallujah in 2014, months before ISIL, also known as ISIS, took Iraqs second largest city, Mosul, and swept across large parts of the country. We promised you the liberation of Fallujah and we retook it. Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours, Abadi said on Friday in a brief address on state TV. Fallujah has returned to the nation and Mosul is the next battle, Abadi also said on Twitter. Daesh will be defeated, he added, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL. PM Al-Abadi: Fallujah has returned to the nation and Mosul is the next battle, Daesh will be defeated pic.twitter.com/rNhHKMfYfF Haider Al-Abadi (@HaiderAlAbadi) June 17, 2016 Earlier on Friday, Iraqi forces said they had entered the centre of Fallujah, nearly four weeks after the start of a US-backed offensive to retake the city 50km west of the capital, Baghdad. The counterterrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah, the operations overall commander, Lieutenant-General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, told the AFP news agency. The Iraqi flag is now raised on top of the building, symbolising government control. Commanders said their forces had met limited resistance from ISIL fighters during the push into the city centre. This is a very significant development, said Al Jazeeras Omar Al Saleh, who has reported extensively on the conflict in Iraq. It is a big moral boost for Iraqi soldiers. Matthew Henman, from the Janes Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, said that even with the breakthrough, it would take much longer to completely get rid of ISIL in Fallujah, and prevent future attacks. He also said that if the fight over Fallujah wraps us quickly, then more troops would be realigned to help the government push against ISIL in Mosul. Government troops and Shia units known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces are leading the campaign to retake the Sunni city from ISIL. They are supported by US-led coalition air strikes. Al Jazeeras Saleh said the death toll from the fighting so far is based on estimates by medical sources from the city of Fallujah. They say it is in the hundreds, he said. READ MORE: Militias take turns to torture civilians in Fallujah Although the Iraqi government previously said it had a particular strategy to establish safe corridors for civilians in the city centre to leave, many have been reluctant to go for fear of how they may be treated by the Shia units. Thousands have fled the city and its surrounding areas since the military offensive was launched on May 23, but the UN said that tens of thousands are still inside the city last week, the UN said up to 90,000 people were believed to be inside Fallujah, in a significant revision of a previous estimate of 50,000. Many escaping the fighting have been detained and kept at detention facilities, with reports of abuse and violations by government forces and Shia fighters. The UN says detention facilities lack basic services, including medicine and food. The humanitarian crisis in Iraq has been dubbed one of the worlds worst by the UN. Since the beginning of the present conflict in 2014, more than 3.4 million people have been internally displaced and 2.6 million have fled Iraq. Officers say suspects possible far-right links are a priority line of inquiry as UK leaders pay tribute to murdered MP. UK police investigating the murder of opposition MP Jo Cox have said the suspects possible far-right links are a priority line of inquiry for detectives. Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, was shot dead on Thursday in the northern village of Birstall, near the city of Leeds. The suspect, named by British media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested near the scene in connection with the killing of the Labour MP. Police said counter-terrorism officers are also involved in the investigation into the attack which occurred as Cox arrived for a meeting with constituents. West Yorkshire Police Temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins said police were also looking into the suspects link to mental health services. We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right-wing extremism which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo, Collins added in a statement. Its the well of hatred that killed her The murder of Cox, a pro-EU advocate, has left Britain in shock and campaigning for the June 23 referendum on European Union membership has been suspended as a mark of respect. Earlier on Friday, British Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn jointly paid tribute to the slain MP, and called for greater tolerance in public debate. Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities, Cameron said from Birstall, where he and Corbyn laid bouquets at the scene where Cox was shot. With only a week until a referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU, which has split the country in two and sparked fiery debate on both sides, Cameron said it was time to stand back. READ MORE: Killing of MP Jo Cox halts Brexit campaigning in UK Many commentators have questioned whether the killing could be linked to the referendum, which has stoked tensions by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her. Its an attack on democracy what happened yesterday. Its the well of hatred that killed her, Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said. Cox, a former aid worker, was an advocate for Syrian refugees. US advocacy group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that Mair, who had lived in Birstall for decades, was a dedicated supporter of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. The advocacy group said he had spent over $620 on reading material from the National Alliance, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. The group also said Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told British media the attacker used a gun which appeared old-fashioned or home-made. However, Al Jazeeras Barnaby Phillips, reporting from Birstall, said Mairs neighbours told him the suspect was a soft-mannered man who expressed no interest in politics. If there were any dark corners, they were extremely well-hidden, Phillips said. He enjoyed his voluntary work teaching English to foreigners who settled in this area. Campaigning for June 23 referendum suspended after pro-EU campaigner Jo Cox, 41, is shot dead in northern England. Campaigning for Britains EU referendum scheduled for next week has been suspended for a second day as the nation reels from the murder of a popular pro-Europe MP. On Thursday, Jo Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker and pro-EU campaigner known for her advocacy on behalf of Syrian refugees, was killed outside a library where she regularly met constituents in her home village of Birstall, in northern England. Witnesses told local media that the Labour MP had been repeatedly shot and stabbed. Following the attack, both sides in Britains June 23 referendum on leaving or staying within the EU said they were suspending their campaigns, while David Cameron, the prime minister, pulled out of a planned rally in Gibraltar. The Stronger in Europe camp said it was suspending all campaigning for Thursday and Friday, while a spokesperson for the rival Vote Leave group, which is backing the so-called Brexit, said their battle bus was returning to headquarters. READ MORE: British opposition MP Jo Cox dies after being shot Thursdays murder overshadowed a by-election victory by Coxs opposition Labour Party on Friday morning in the London district of Tooting. Given the horrific events of today and the shocking death of Jo Cox, I do not intend to make a speech, the newly elected MP Rosena Allin-Khan told a subdued counting centre. Jos death reminds us that our democracy is precious but fragile, we must never forget to cherish it. Earlier on Thursday, dozens gathered outside the Houses of Parliament in a vigil to remember Cox, including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was flanked by tearful party colleagues. Whats happened is beyond appalling. We are here in silent memory of her loss, said Corbyn. She was a fearless campaigner, and a voice for the voiceless. We feel shaken, said Fatima Ibrahim, 23, an activist with Avaaz. On the quaint streets of Birstall, the scene of the attack was cordoned off and police could be seen examining a shoe and a handbag. Mourners left flowers nearby in tribute. Police said an investigation was under way to determine the motive of the murder, the first killing of an MP since Ian Gow was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army in 1990. Far-right connections There were some indications that the man named by British media as the attacker, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, may have had extreme right-wing leanings. One witness, cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, told the UKs Press Association that the attacker had shouted Put Britain first! repeatedly during the attack. Britain First is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group, which released a statement after the attack saying it was obviously not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort. READ MORE: Poor reporting, media illiteracy fuel Islamophobia in UK Mairs brother, Scott Mair, told The Daily Telegraph that Thomas is not violent and is not all that political. He has a history of mental illness, but he has had help, Scott Mair said. Following the attack, commentators have questioned whether the tone of the EU referendum campaign had stirred up ugly currents. Before the suspension of the campaign, polls had indicated the result of the referendum could be on a knife-edge following an uptick in support for the pro-Leave side. READ MORE: Muslims face worsening environment of hate in UK As the news of Coxs death broke, her husband Brendan issued an impassioned appeal for unity against hatred. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, he wrote. One, that our precious children are bathed in love and, two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Students from underprivileged backgrounds suffer as universities continue to teach courses in French rather than Arabic. Rabat, Morocco When Widad Houmaid, 20, earned good marks in high school, she decided to enrol in a biology class at Hassan II University in Casablanca. There was only one problem; Moroccan university professors teach science in French. Houmaid, a graduate of Moroccan public schools where maths and science are taught in Arabic, does not speak French. She is now struggling in her biology class. You have to speak French to get the professors respect, and to get their attention, she said. Moroccan science professors, she added, are failing their Arabic-speaking students. For help, Houmaid relies on YouTube videos like this one in which a science course on thermodynamics is taught in Arabic. READ MORE: Moroccos teachers battle urban-rural education divide The language debate in Moroccan education dates back to the 1980s, when public schools switched from French, the teaching language established since Morocco was under French colonial rule, to Arabic. I did 12 years in Arabic, three years of French, and now I have to go back to teaching people in Arabic. You need to have 'Google translate' in your head. by Ait El-Maati, teacher Despite the switch at school level, Arabic did not become the teaching language at universities, particularly for maths or science. This was mainly due to a shortage of qualified teachers who spoke Arabic. The switch was not without hurdles. According to Mohamed Melouk, a professor of research methodology and curriculum development at Mohammed V University in Rabat, the abrupt switch from French to Arabic caused problems for pupils. Students can work with any mathematical formulas, they can break down any computers or computer programme. But in terms of communication, the mastery of language, they are still poor, said Melouk. If you give them the means, the instruments to communicate, they would go further. Last December, Rachid Belmokhtar, the national education minister, made a controversial proposal to a go back to French for the teaching of maths, science, and physics studies in secondary schools. The move was vetoed by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, whose moderate Islamist political party strongly supports continuing teaching in Arabic. However, Belmokhtars proposal, which got the backing of the Moroccan King Mohammed VI, was approved in February by a council of ministers. Accordingly, the switch back to French for maths and science will be implemented over the next 15 years. Mohammed Ait El-Maati, 22, studied geology in Mohammed V University and is training to be a high school science teacher at Centre Pedagogique Regional, or CPR, a teacher-training school in Rabat. He recalls having trouble understanding the lectures and had to translate terminology from Arabic to French. But Ait El-Maati gradually figured it out and excelled in school. Now, in yet one more language reversal, he will be using Arabic once again to teach in high school since the new decision will not be effective before 2030. I did 12 years in Arabic, three years of French, and now I have to go back to teaching people in Arabic. You need to have Google translate in your head, said Ait El-Maati, laughing. I dont have problems teaching students, but I only have a problem understanding this system. Why are they doing this? Moroccan education officials blame students language difficulties on big class sizes and teachers who lack skills. According to a UNESCO report published in 2015, during the period from 2011-2014, the average student/class ratio for primary level was around 28-29 students per class. It has been increasing steadily at university level from 33 in 2001 to 38.4 in 2014. In Morocco, more than 1,600 hours of French is offered [through high school] so students should be good in French, Lahcen Daoudi, the minister of higher education, scientific research and training, told Al Jazeera. That is not a problem of hours of language learning, it is a problem of quality of work that is put in. Two years ago, the Faculty of Science at Mohammed V University in Rabat started offering a beginner French class for students lagging behind in the language. Many students need the help, according to Asmaa Badhadi, 18, who is studying journalism at Institut Superieur de lInformation et de la Communication in Rabat. The test made for students who dont speak good French was so easy. It was like choosing la maison or le maison, but people still didnt pass the test, said Badhadi. Nationwide, there were about 185,000 students enrolled in science programmes, according to government figures. But 85 percent of the students at the University of Hassan II Mohammedia the countrys most prestigious engineering school said they struggle to be fluent enough in French to succeed in their studies, according to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Research & Method in Education. A quarter said they have a lot of trouble understanding the French language, and 60 percent reported some problems with understanding the language. Only 5 percent of all Moroccans obtain university degrees and one reason, university professors say, are challenges with language proficiency. There are a lot of people who, after the first week, drop out of university because of this issue, said Nabila Guennouni, a second-year student in the computer science department at Hassan II University. Wealthier parents have the privilege to enrol their children in private primary schools, that grants them much more exposure to the French language. In private schools, science and maths are taught both in Arabic and French, and French as a language class is taught from first grade. In public schools, however, students start learning French in fourth grade. You mess with the linguistic policy, you create a private system Whats the rationale behind this policy? said Nabil Belkabir, the cofounder of UECSE a student-led movement to improve education. Complicating matters even further is a new government plan to give English a larger place in education. English will now be introduced starting in the fourth grade. I think it would be better if the whole system was in English for scientific studies, said Oumayma El-Jahsani, an engineering student at CPGE Moulay Youssef, a school in Rabat. Because even after you study in French, when you do research, sometimes you find books only in English. According to Ben Saga, the director of the information and orientation division of the higher education ministry, the priority now is to have English language in higher level education, especially for PhDs and masters students. It is very important for us to have this for scientific research, since the majority of it is in English, he told Al Jazeera. Our PhD students find it difficult to have direct access to scientific research in the world if we only have Arabic or French. So for us, it is very important to have this. Many Moroccan students say they like the new English language requirement, as they view fluency in the English language as an advantage, not only in school but also in the job market. English will be helpful for all because its easy and we can work with it, said Nassim El Garni, a third-year mathematics and computer science student at Mohammed V university Others arent so sure, seeing it as merely the continuation of the problems that have arisen with making French so necessary. Is it possible for a country to develop if it speaks the language of another country or if it not capable of speaking its own language? asks Hamza Alioua, spokesman for the UECSE and a second-year student at the Hassan II University. Jennifer Kwon spent several months in Morocco as part of an SIT Study Abroad programme. This story was produced in association with Round Earth Media which is reclaiming international news. Soukaina El Ouaai contributed reporting. Reinhold Hanning jailed for five years for his role in killing of 170,000 people in one of the last holocaust trials. A German court has convicted a former SS guard for complicity in the mass murders at the Nazi-run Auschwitz death camp, capping what is expected to be one of the last Holocaust trials. The accused is sentenced to five years jail for accessory to murder in 170,000 cases, the court ruled on Friday, in the case of 94-year old Reinhold Hanning. The court said Hanning was aware that in Auschwitz, innocent people were murdered every day in gas chambers. An estimated 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz, and 90 percent of those killed were Jews. Auschwitzs conspiracy of silence Hanning showed no reaction as the judge, Anke Grudda, read her justification for the verdict and sentence. You were in Auschwitz for two and a half years, performed an important function You were part of a criminal organisation and took part in criminal activity in Auschwitz, she said. Several elderly Auschwitz survivors testified at the trial about their own experiences, and were among 58 survivors or their families who joined the process as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. It is a just verdict, but he should say more, tell the truth for the young people, said Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin. Shamed He is an old man and probably wont have to go to jail, but he should say what happened at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was like something the world has never seen. During his four-month trial, Hanning admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that he was aware Jews were being killed but did nothing to try to stop it. Hanning said during his trial that he volunteered for the armed wing of the Nazi party, called the SS, at age 18. He served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944 but said he was not involved in the killings in the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Despite his age, Hanning seemed alert during the four-month trial, paying attention to testimony and occasionally walking into the courtroom on his own, though usually using a wheelchair. Though there is no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp to operate, and thus could be tried for accessory to murder. An unverified letter alleged Chavez and Brazilian construction companies funded Ollanta Humalas campaign in 2006. A Peruvian prosecutor has said that the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and two Brazilian construction companies may have bankrolled Perus President Ollanta Humalas campaign before taking office in 2011. An informant gave prosecutors a letter mentioning around $2m in investments in Humalas first presidential bid a decade ago, which was signed by Chavez and addressed to Humala. The letter has not yet been authenticated. Burn any evidence, brother, for the good of us all. This is revolutionary, socialist aide, said the letter, as read by prosecutor German Juarez in a televised hearing on Thursday. Perus election: Media, money and manipulation Juarez is in the process of investigating first lady Nadine Heredia for possible involvement in undeclared campaign contributions. She has also been barred from leaving Peru. No charges have been filed yet, according to Heredias lawyer. After losing the 2006 presidential elections, Humala distanced himself from Chavez during his successful 2011 campaign. Humala has denied taking any money from Chavez. Another informant alleged that construction companies Odebrecht SA and Grupo OAS, both tangled in a vast corruption scandal in neighbouring Brazil, gave Humala and Heredia hundreds of thousands of dollars. They also paid the salary of an adviser close to Brazils Workers Party to help with Humalas 2011 campaign, Juarez said. University scholarships for female South African students who stay virgins are unconstitutional, a government commission has ruled, after a local municipality introduced the scheme earlier this year. In late January, the uThukela municipality, in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), awarded maidens bursaries to 16 students on condition they refrained from sex until they graduated. Virginity is not intrinsic to the task of studying. by Commission for Gender Equality An investigation by the Commission for Gender Equality concluded on Friday that the study grants were unlawful. The commission said that a bursary contingent on a female students virginity is fundamentally discriminatory. It goes against the ethos of the constitutional provisions in relation to dignity, equality and discrimination. One of the scholarship conditions was that during their holidays the students would be subjected to supposed virginity tests traditionally conducted by elderly women. The tests have been severely criticised by rights groups and dismissed by medical experts. Virginity is not intrinsic to the task of studying, the commission added, giving the municipality 60 days to respond to its recommendation that the scholarship scheme should be closed. The size of the grants varies, but can be worth several thousand dollars a year. Heavy criticism Municipality mayor Dudu Mazibuko told the AFP news agency in March that the scholarships were an effective way to curb the spread of HIV and control teenage pregnancies. But womens rights activists have condemned the initiative, arguing that not only it undermined civil liberties, but was also counter-productive and short-sighted in the larger struggle against HIV/AIDS in the country. Sisonke Msimang, a policy development and advocacy consultant for the Sonke Gender Justice project in Johannesburg, told Al Jazeera in January that the scholarship was a terrible idea [that] had so many layers of ridiculousness. Being sexually active and seeking an education have nothing to do with each other, Msimang said. South Africa is home to 6.4 million HIV positive people, the highest in the world. In 2014, medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said 25.2 percent of KZNs adult population was HIV positive, compared to the national average of 17.9 percent. Women in KZN were also disproportionately affected by the virus, MSF said. Organisers describe ban as a flagrant violation of the constitution and say they will take legal action. Authorities in the Turkish city of Istanbul have banned an annual gay pride march planned for later this month, citing security and public order fears. The ban, which was angrily denounced by the Istanbul pride organisers, came after ultra-nationalist and conservative groups said they would not allow degenerates to hold such events on Turkish soil. The Istanbul governors office said in a statement on Friday that the June 26 march had been banned out of concern for public order and safeguarding security. The order means anyone taking part in the parade in defiance of the authorities risks facing intervention by the security forces. READ MORE: Water cannon used to disperse Istanbul gay pride parade In recent days, hardline groups had vowed to do what is necessary to stop Istanbuls gay pride march. Dear state officials, do not make us deal with these. Either you do what is needed or we will do it, Kursat Mican, Istanbuls head of Alperen Hearths, the youth group loyal to the far-nationalist Great Union Party, told reporters. Until 2015, the gay pride march had been held on 12 occasions largely without incident, growing into the largest such event in a Muslim country with thousands taking part in a celebration of diversity. Last year, however, the parade was banned by the governorship hours before the event. Soon after, it was shut down through police intervention for the first time in its 13-year history. Flagrant violation The organisers of the march, in a statement on their Facebook page, denounced Fridays ban as a flagrant violation of the constitution and the law. They said that the event had until 2015 been held on the last Sunday of June every year since 2003 to raise our voices against the violations experienced throughout the year and express our demands for equality, freedom and legal status. The marchs organisers also accused the governors office of failing in its duty to protect the rights of citizens to exercise their rights and vowed to launch legal proceedings. Activists are planning a week of events from this weekend culminating in a gay pride march on June 26 that traditionally follows Istanbuls famed shopping street Istiklal Caddesi and finishes in Taksim Square. However, Turkey has been hit by a string of attacks this year, including a deadly suicide bombing on Istiklal itself that killed three Israelis and an Iranian and was blamed on armed groups. Like last year, the march is also scheduled to take place during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey throughout the period of the modern republic and was also legalised in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-19th century. But gays in Turkey regularly complain of harassment and abuse in a largely conservative Muslim society where open displays of same sex love are strongly frowned upon. US Congress urged to make it harder for people to buy weapons like the one used in Sundays killings in Florida gay bar. US President Barack Obama has met the survivors of Sundays mass shooting at a gay bar in Florida and relatives of the 49 people killed there and said that the United States must act to control gun violence and fight what he called homegrown terrorism. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Orlando on Thursday, four days after a US-born gunman claiming allegiance to various armed groups carried out the deadliest mass shooting in recent memory. I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, Why does this keep happening?, Obama said. He urged Congress to pass measures to make it harder to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the semi-automatic rifle used in the attack at the Pulse nightclub. INSIDE STORY Orlando shooting: Who defines terrorism? Im pleased to hear that the senate will hold votes on preventing individuals with possible terrorist ties from buying guns, he said. Obama, who has visited mass shooting victims families in towns from San Bernardino, California, to Newtown, Connecticut, since he has been president, later laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the nightclub. Al Jazeeras Patty Culhane, reporting from Orlando, said: After each mass shooting, there has been talk that the US Congress could impose some restrictions on guns only to see them fail. But, supporters of gun control hope that the fact that there have been so many mass murders, this time will be different. Contentious issue The Senate leadership has promised that there will be votes on two bills: one to expand background checks on all gun sales, the other to ban people on the no-fly list from buying a gun. But it is not clear the bills have the votes to pass. Furthermore, Paul Ryan, the leader of the opposition Republicans and Speaker of the House of Representatives, said he has reservations. As the FBI director just told us the other day, and I think he said it publicly as well, if we do this wrong like the president is proposing, we could actually blow our ongoing terrorist investigations, he said. So we want to get this right. However, our correspondent said that many of the people she had spoken to did not think that the tragedy would lead to any change at all in gun laws. The president has warned if Congress doesnt act, there will be another massacre, she said. Well find out early next week when the Senate takes up the issue. Attack revelations It was reported on Thursday that during the shooting rampage, the attacker, Omar Mateen, exchanged text messages with his wife, posted on Facebook and placed a phone call to a television station. Police killed Mateen, 29, a US citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants. READ MORE: Outpouring of love in Orlando The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the Orlando attack but US officials have said that they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. John Brennan, CIAs director, told a US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday that the agency had not been able to uncover any direct link between Mateen and fighters abroad. A married couple also claiming allegiance to ISIL, also known as ISIS, shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. Temperatures approach record June highs around the Four Corner States, with at least 400 homes and businesses evacuated. Wildfires are burning in four US states as temperatures are threatening record highs, with mass evacuations having taken place in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. A blaze known as the Dog Head fire broke out in rural New Mexico on Wednesday, around 50km southeast of Albuquerque. Torrance County Sheriff, Heath White said his office was evacuating about 200 people. The fire has burned through timber in central parts of the state, pushing smoke towards cities more than 160km away as flames continued to spread. Meanwhile, 400 homes and businesses have been evacuated in southern California as hot and windy weather feeds the flames. Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer David Zaniboni said the main concern was keeping everyone safe from the encroaching flames. We want to get this fire out. We have wind and high temperatures expected, Zaniboni said. With wind and low humidity, its a recipe for disaster when it comes to wildfires so we want to get on this thing as fast as we can. The Sherpa Fire, as its called, is located along the Pacific coast. Two state beaches and some ranch land have been evacuated, and the 101 Freeway had to be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Arizona has suffered likewise. It was reported that Navajo County officials issued pre-evacuation orders as the Cedar Creek Fire approaches Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, McNary, Fort Apache and the Hon-Dah communities. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings across the southwestern states, including California, Nevada and Arizona. It has predicted temperatures around 48C in the coming days in Phoenix. The all-time June record stands at 50C, set on June 26, 1990. We ask OECD chief Angel Gurria, and Swiss Sen. Andrea Caroni debates expert Dylan Matthews on Universal Basic Income. As UK citizens prepare to vote next week on whether to remain part of the European Union, what impact will a potential Brexit have on the global economy? In this weeks UpFront, we ask Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, about the EU referendum and the OECDs 2016 Economic Survey on the US economy. This interview was recorded prior to the killing of British MP Jo Cox. In the Reality Check, we look at how economic sanctions often cause more harm than good. And in the Arena, we debate the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income with Swiss Senator Andrea Caroni and expert Dylan Matthews. OECD chief: Brexit is bad from every single angle As Britons decide whether to stay or leave the European Union, those outside of the UK are asking what a potential Brexit would mean not only for the UK, but also the global economy. The OECD has warned of the consequences of a potential British departure from the EU, saying the UK economy would suffer a major negative shock, resulting in an economic fallout for other countries within the OECD. In this weeks Headliner, Mehdi Hasan speaks to OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria about what a potential Brexit would mean for the world economy. Frankly, its bad from every single angle, Gurria says, Everybodys looking at it from different angles and the one common thread is its negative, its negative, its negative, its negative. Gurria also believes that a Brexit would have a knock-on effect in Europe and in the world. The OECD secretary-general also discusses inequality and a new economic survey on the US economy. The US is moving along, it should stay the course, but that it has a number of very important challenges, mostly having to do with productivity, Gurria says. Editors note: This interview was recorded prior to the tragic killing of British opposition MP Jo Cox. Reality Check: Economic sanctions can kill too As far back as ancient Greece, governments have tried to stop their enemies and bring about change via blockades, embargoes and even economic sanctions. While there are times when such sanctions have worked and do work, studies have shown that the majority of sanctions are unsuccessful in their intended purpose and sometimes cause great harm to those affected. In this weeks Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan looks at how most sanctions do more harm than good. Is it time for Universal Basic Income? What if the government gave every citizen a minimum cash payment, paid right to their bank account every month? Thats the premise behind Universal Basic Income, or UBI. Earlier this month, voters in Switzerland overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have provided a universal basic income grant to all. However, other countries such as Canada, the UK and Namibia are considering similar measures. Proponents of UBI say such income would help with rising unemployment and fight inequality and poverty, but opponents argue that the initiative would encourage people to quit their jobs and in turn, would have a negative impact on the economy. In this weeks Arena, Andrea Caroni, senator and vice president of Switzerlands Free Democratic Party who campaigned against Universal Basic Income, debates with Dylan Matthews, a journalist at Vox, who has written extensively in favour of UBI. Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook. 2005 .. AR's Editor Joe Shea Talks About Elections On Iranian TV Bear Stearns Saved By Fed As Lehman Bros. Falters; Major Bank Failure Looms Over Wall Street, Sends Markets Into 200-Pt. Dive Lie Upon Lie Five Years Into the Iraq War The Administration Still Churns Out Lies by Randolph Holhut A Small Tragedy Even at 90, As Friends Turn Cool She Knows the Show Must Go On by Joyce Marcel I'll Take Me Imagine John Wayne or Arnold In Heels, Silk and a Girdle by Elizabeth Andrews Sen. Nelson Calls For New Fla. Primary; Gov Crist Backs 'Do-Over' Who'll Win? Ask Spock Spock.com Engine Predicts Winners By Site Searches; It Can be Wrong by Jay Bhatti Chatting Up The Cat God Gave Me Dominion Over Him But I Think He's a Non-Believer by Constance Daley Death of a Thug The Life and Horrors of Suharto by Andreas Harsono ___________________________ This Just In Sierra Club: McCain Ducked All 15 Key Votes On Green Laws (AR) A Work By AR's T.S. Kerrigan Is Chosen As 'Best Poem' By Wordpress Site Murder At Mile 63 The Deadly Assault and Bush Administration Cover-Up by S. Eben Kirkesby and Andreas Harsono 5427 14th St. West, Bradenton, FL 34207 $6.99 Fish Fridays! Manatee Co.'s Only 24-Hr. FREE Wi-Fi Paid Advertisement On Native Ground AFTER 5 YEARS, WE'RE STILL LIED TO ABOUT IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Next week is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And it is likely that sometime in the next couple of weeks, the 4,000th American soldier will die in Iraq. [MORE] Momentum OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - It's 1931, and a 14-year-old girl is standing alone on a stage. She's small and lively with dark curly hair, widespread hazel eyes, slender wrists and an open, eager face filled with the wonder of performing. Her name is Rose, and one day she will be my mother. But now she is performing an Eugene O'Neill monologue called "Before Breakfast" for a ladies' club in a wealthy suburb of Long Island. [MORE] One Woman's World COMFORTABLE WITH MYSELF by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I'm not sure but I think I may be socially incorrect. [MORE] On Native Ground ENOUGH FOR A WAR, NOT FOR A PEOPLE by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, the National Governors Assn. met in Washington, D.C. One of the tasks the NGA had on its agenda was to ask President Bush to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects as a way to stimulate the economy. He rejected their pleas out of hand, claiming that infrastructure projects wouldn't offer any short-term economic boost. [MORE] Brasch Words BEWARE THE SELF-REVERENTIAL PRESS by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Shortly before the primary votes this past week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter called Sen. Barack Obama's surge to the Democratic nomination "inevitable." It also called for Hillary Clinton to "start her campaign for Senate majority leader." [MORE] Constance A CONVERSATION WITH MY CAT Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Normally, when the cat starts his evening rant of meowing continuously until he makes his point, I just take it as long as I can, pick him up, and put him in the garage for the night. He doesn't want to go, but the meowing stops and I don't care if he likes it or not. [MORE] Momentum OUT OF STRUGGLE, ART by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center. [MORE] Campaign 2008 HOW TO PREDICT SUPER TUESDAY II WINNERS? ONLINE SEARCH by Jay Bhatti NEW YORK, March 4, 2008, 7:00PM ET -- With the outcomes of the Texas, Vermont, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries to be decided tonight, how possible is it that online searching can predict who will win tonight's primaries? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T VOTE; IT ENCOURAGES THEM by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Call me angry and disgusted but don't call me un-American because I won't be voting come November. [MORE] On Native Ground BUSH AND THE KEYBOARD COMMANDOS by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the days tick down toward the eventual departure of President George W. Bush from the White House, it's a hopeful sign that most Americans are no longer moved by his Administration's constant exploitation of terrorism for political gain. [MORE] Momentum WHICH AMERICA DO YOU LIVE IN? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's a little confusing. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] On Native Ground FIDEL RETIRES: NOW THE COLD WAR IS REALLY OVER by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Maybe now, we can finally say the Cold War is over. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] One Woman's World POLITICS IS NO PARTY by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Are you having a hard time focusing your eyes? Do you have faint red spots all over your body? Is there a ringing in your ears and do you see wavy lines when you look at your television set? Do your hands shake when you try to hold a cup of coffee? And have you recently been forgetting what day of the week it is - or what year? [MORE] Make My Day FOR BETTER OR WORSE ... A LOT WORSE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse." [MORE] Constance YOU CALL THESE RIGHTS? by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- When you express an opinion you hope to persuade others to your point of view. It doesn't always happen but still, opinion writers try. [MORE] Momentum THE BRIDGE WOMAN by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. [MORE] On Native Ground OBAMA AND MY GENERATION by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. [MORE] The Willies: WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." [MORE] Reporting: Panama PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES Mark Scheinbaum PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. [MORE] Brasch Words TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. [MORE] Make My Day THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1 [MORE] Momentum THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. [MORE] The Willies AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT! by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. [MORE] Constance CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. [MORE] Reporting: Florida SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. [MORE] One Woman's World PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. [MORE] On Native Ground VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. [MORE] Make My Day REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. [MORE] The Willies FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. [MORE] Momentum SUPER TUESDAY BLUES by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. [MORE] The Willies ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. [MORE] Campaign 2008 AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. [MORE] One Woman's World STAND BY YOUR WOMAN by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. [MORE] An AR Special SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF by Ahmar Mustikhan WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? [MORE] Momentum TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. [MORE] On Native Ground IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. - In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. [MORE] Campaign 2008 CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. [MORE] The Willies WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. [MORE] Passings: Suharto DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG by Andreas Harsono JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suhartos house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos residence on Cendana Street. [MORE] Constance I REMEMBER YOU by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. [MORE] Receiving Wide Coverage Round 2: Right now, the score is MetLife: 1, FSOC: 0. But the government is looking to even the odds. MetLife won a major victory in federal district court this spring when a judge threw out its "systemically important" label, ruling that the Financial Stability Oversight Council fell short in proving that the insurer deserved the designation. The government appealed the decision in April, and regulators filed their first detailed brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Thursday night. The council, which is represented by the Justice Department, called the lower court judge's ruling "profoundly mistaken." For those keeping tabs, MetLife is represented in the case by Eugene Scalia, son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, and he has racked up quite a slate of wins against financial regulators over the past decade. Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters Wall Street Journal Making lemonade: Falling interest rates have one "potential bright spot" -- borrowers are purchasing new homes and refinancing in higher numbers than expected. But low interest rates are still a problem for banks, especially those with lots of long-term loans and mortgage-backed securities. Bottleneck approaching: Visa and MasterCard said they'll speed up the certification process for merchants adopting chip-reading technology for credit cards. Persona non grata: Stealing Federal Reserve secrets will get you barred from the banking industry and sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rohit Bansal, formerly of Goldman Sachs, learned that lesson the hard way. FASB finally done: Accounting standards-setters have completed their long-brewing rule that will require banks to record anticipated losses faster on loans gone bad. Financial Times Warm fuzzies: Impact investing which focuses on monetary returns as well as social or environmental good is hot, hot, hot these days with everyone from Pope Francis to John D. Rockefeller's heirs getting involved. When it comes to results, your mileage may vary. Case closed: HSBC has agreed to a record $1.6 billion settlement in a shareholder lawsuit involving the purchase of U.S. subprime lender Household International before the meltdown. The acquisition has a reputation for being "one of the most misconceived of the pre-crisis era." Elsewhere DAO hack: The Decentralized Autonomous Organization, which controls millions of dollars of the digital currency Ethereum, suffered what appears to be a devastating attack early Friday morning. Later, one cryptocurrency news site reported that the hack had been fixed. F is for 'formal complaint': CNBC obtained a list of more than 180 phrases that will get an internal email flagged by the Goldman Sachs compliance department. Standard expletives apply, as do some goodies like "formal complaint," "don't worry about the losses" and "sure bet." Saber-rattling: Heads of some of the financial services trade groups are praising a plan by House Republicans that would repeal a cap on debit card fees paid by merchants. Their op-ed appears in The Hill. As JPMorgan Chase gears up for the launch of the merchant-friendly Chase Pay wallet, it's taking the opportunity to freshen its approach to P-to-P mobile payments. Additionally, the bank's Early Warning/clearXchange P-to-P venture is gathering more momentum, giving Chase another reason to tweak its QuickPay service to make it easier to enroll, setup contacts and handle payments. "Customers made $20 billion in P-to-P transactions through Chase QuickPay last year more than double what any fintech company reported. Mobile and digital usage is growing among all our demographics," said Gavin Michael, head of Digital for JPMorgan Chase, in an email to PaymentsSource. Through an update that's expected to be complete by the end of June, consumers will be able to enroll in Chase QuickPay through the Chase Mobile app instead of having to go online and enroll in a browser. The new process is designed to accommodate the 75% of QuickPay transactions that are already done through the Chase Mobile app. Also, the screens and flows will be streamlined and made more intuitive. Consumers will be able to choose directly from their phone contacts, rather than punching in the information, and will be able to see images of their recipients if they are already saved in their contact list. Additionally, QuickPay settings will be added to the My Setting page in the Chase Mobile app. Chase is making these updates to address a fast-growing digital market, and the move toward real-time transfers on the clearXchange network, a bank-led consortium that includes Bank of America, U.S. Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other institutions. Bank of America and U.S. Bank have announced real-time functionality for person-to-person payments on clearXchange, with most of the initiative's remaining participants expected to follow suit in the next few days. Chase has not made a formal announcement, but went live with real-time person-to-person transfers on the network on Monday. "Real-time P-to-P is rolling out to other clearXchange banks in the near future this will represent 60% of all U.S. consumers with mobile banking apps," Michael said. The QuickPay enhancements were designed specifically for Chase. Early Warning's members typically develop their own digital payments initiatives that can be used along with clearXchange, which allows account transfers to be directed to a recipient's email or mobile phone number. Chase anticipates a large addressable market. More than 70 million Americans currently make mobile P-to-P payments and that is projected to reach to 125 million by 2020, up 78% from today, the bank said. And Chase P-to-P volume continues to grow customers made $20 billion in P-to-P transactions through Chase QuickPay last year. The bank is on track to have 40% year-over-year growth around Chase QuickPay. Early Warning did not comment by deadline for this story. As other member banks announce real-time P-to-P functionality, it enhances the venture's quest to take the lead in the development of faster payments processing in the U.S. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference in New York, Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry said many of the "larger banks" will "recommit" to the future of Early Warning's clearXchange. "It is a bank-to-bank, very easy to use, at least from our perspective, generally free way for person-to-person payments to happen in real time," Shrewsberry said. "I don't know why anybody would use any other way to do it, frankly, if the bank was offering it for free, because I'm safe, I'm secure, it's easy, I'm there." There are several payment providers with significant scale that are positioning themselves to be the preferred platform for faster payments, including FIS, most debit networks and ACH providers, said Tim Sloane, vice president of innovation at Mercator Advisory Group. "Each participant has a different existing constituency and each have different technical and business problems in making the conversion to anything like real time," Sloane said. "Of course the major sticking point is unlikely to be problems in the network; the major challenge will be associated with the banks that receive and send real-time payments since most implement account management technology [core systems] that are incapable of operating in real time." Pricing will be interesting to watch, said Sarah Grotta, director of the debit advisory service at Mercator. "Consumers say they are willing to pay for P-to-P, but with non-FI solutions in market offering services for free, that's an uphill battle," Grotta said. U.S. Bank charges $6.95 for real-time payments, though the bank did suggest it was flexible to adapt to the actions of the other banks. "The three banks that [are] going to be out in the next few days" on clearXchange. "Likely they'll come out free and if they do then we'll back down. I'll be disappointed and I'll be a martyr about it, because I'll take the opportunity for us to, as a banking industry, to have value-based processing and capability," said Richard Davis, U.S. Bancorp's chairman and CEO, at the Morgan Stanley event in New York. Kristin Broughton contributed to this story. WASHINGTON At first blush, the image of Sen. Elizabeth Warren as Hillary Clinton's vice president might be enough to send bankers fleeing to the hills. The Massachusetts Democrat has proven to be a powerful force in advancing Wall Street reform, including successfully creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If she were just one step from the White House, her power and prestige would presumably grow. Or would it? Some argue that as vice president, Warren would have less influence than as a top member of the Senate Banking Committee. While she'd be more visible as vice president, she may also have to toe the line in a Clinton presidency. "She might well be more constrained," said Mark Calabria, director of financial studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. "You cannot just go your own way as VP." To be sure, it's still unclear if Clinton would pick Warren as a running mate or if Warren would accept an offer if it were made. Moreover, it's by no means clear whether a Clinton-Warren ticket would prevail against the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Yet the pressure for Clinton to choose Warren is growing. Several progressive groups have argued that selecting the former Harvard law professor is a way to bolster support among progressives, many of whom backed Clinton's rival in the primaries, Sen. Bernie Sanders. "The most strategic way for Hillary Clinton to unite Democrats and fend off Donald Trump's attempts to woo general election voters is to keep the volume high on big progressive ideas," Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in a press release Friday. "These big ideas should be reflected in the vice presidential pick and the Democratic platform as well." In the latest Bloomberg Politics national poll, more than a third of likely voters backing Clinton said she should pick Warren. But the question remains if that happens and Clinton were to win the presidency would that be good or bad for bankers? It ultimately comes down to how Clinton and Warren would choose to define the vice presidential role. Oftentimes, vice presidents are marginalized and relatively unimportant unless they are needed in an emergency. But in recent years with Vice President Joe Biden and former Vice President Dick Cheney the role has proven very influential. Some progressives believe Warren would only accept the nomination in return for holding some power. "Given Sen. Warren's record on financial reform I think that if she were asked to be the vice president, it would almost have to be an ask focused on having her lead fights for greater accountability for Wall Street and to ensure the financial system works for everyone and not just the big banks," said Neil Sroka, communications director for the Democratic political action committee Democracy for America. A spokesperson for Warren declined to comment. Nominations As vice president, Warren could also have an outsized role in helping to select personnel, including the heads of the federal regulators when their terms expire. "Warren could attempt to manage the personnel vetting in a much, much deeper level than anything we have seen since Dick Cheney during the first term of the most recent Bush administration," said Brandon Barford, a partner at Beacon Policy Advisors. Of course, Warren will have a role in a theoretical Clinton administration's personnel choices even if she isn't vice president. From her perch on the Banking Committee, Warren can rally other Democratic senators to oppose any administration appointee she sees as insufficiently committed to financial reform. Warren took a lead role in opposing the nomination of Antonio Weiss to a spot in President Obama's Treasury because she viewed him as too close to Wall Street. Still, as vice president, she could have even more of a say. "Getting her way, in terms of getting the people who she thinks are 'the right people,' confirmed as regulators is enormously important," Barford said. But others cast doubt on how influential Warren would be compared to others inside Clinton's inner circle. "I would anticipate at this point in the cycle former Secretary of state Clinton has an idea of who she wants to slide where," said Ed Groshans, an analyst at Height Securities. "Warren can have some input into that process, but I would anticipate that Hillary Clinton's team already has a list of names for each significant role that they want to tap to fill those shoes." Dodd-Frank At the same time, some observers argued that making changes to the Dodd-Frank Act would be easier if Warren were no longer in the Senate. "There are enough senators on the Democrat and Republican sides who are more moderate in enabling legislation to get through," Groshans said. "If Sen. Warren were to be vice president, I think we would see movement" on a reform bill. But a Democratic financial services lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity said the battle lines have already been drawn on Dodd-Frank, with or without Warren in the Senate. Still, other items might be easier to move with her in a different role. "It's a question of what is the next thing?" the lobbyist said. "Without her in the Senate I think there is a possibility where you could see senators work more cooperatively to address a problem that doesn't do any harm to Dodd-Frank." And it's unclear if Warren would be able to better advance her own agenda as vice president. "Elizabeth Warren would have more press coverage if she was running as the VP, but I look to the practical impact of powers of the vice presidency and they are limited," said Isaac Boltanksy, a policy analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading. The Clinton Question The larger issue hanging over all of this is whether Clinton even wants to pick Warren. It's notable that Warren did not endorse Clinton or Sanders during their primary battle and is already working hard to defeat Trump. Warren and Trump have engaged in several fights over Twitter during the past few weeks. Warren also hails from a state with a Republican governor. If she were to win as vice president, her temporary replacement would undoubtedly be a member of the GOP, something that could theoretically affect the balance of power in the Senate. And many suggest Clinton isn't too keen on Warren. "Does she want somebody who could potentially upstage her?" the lobbyist asked. "Do you really want your vice president to get a bigger applause than the president?" Still, Clinton may look at the poll numbers versus Trump and decide she needs to shore up support among progressives. "There is no person, including the Democratic nominee for president, who has more influence over Democratic voters and activists than Elizabeth Warren," the lobbyist said. Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the target of a new TV ad campaign that alleges he is courting potential donors for a run as governor of Ohio by enacting a plan that would benefit trial lawyers. The ads appear to be the work of Lincoln Strategy Group, a political strategy firm based in Phoenix, which has been tied to allegations of voter fraud and accused of sending its operatives to public events featuring Cordray. In one TV ad, Cordray's face is superimposed on a cartoon body surrounded by bags of money while a narrator states: "Running for office is extremely expensive, so Richard is using his immense power at the CFPB to make a new regulation that will massively benefit Richard's biggest potential donors." The ad is referring to the CFPB's May proposal to restrict the use of arbitration clauses. Some firms have portrayed the plan, which would allow consumers to bring class-action lawsuits against banks, credit card companies and other financial firms, as a giveaway to plaintiff's attorneys. The ads generally seek to undermine the credibility of the agency and portray Cordray as using his role to further his political ambitions. Cordray's five-year term ends in mid-2018 and he is barred from campaigning for office while he serves as the CFPB's director. Cordray, 57, has never said that he plans to run for governor of Ohio when current Gov. John Kasich's term expires in 2018. But there has been speculation that Cordray is considered a possible Democratic candidate. "Director Cordray is solely focused on his work leading the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," said CFPB spokesman Sam Gilford. The ads are ostensibly the work of a group calling itself Protect America's Consumers and are running this month in Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The group says on its website that the "advertising blitz will expose the rotten activities of the CFPB." Yet digging deeper into the group yields connections to another Republican political organization. A search of the domain names found its website is owned by Dan Centinello, an executive vice president at Lincoln Strategy Group, a political strategy firm in Phoenix. Centinello worked on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, among others, according to his bio on the firm's website. Nathan Sproul, the founder of Lincoln Strategy Group, was accused in 2012 of submitting possible fraudulent voter registration forms in Florida when he worked for Romney's presidential campaign (the group was then known as Strategic Allied Consulting). Multiple calls to Lincoln Strategy Group were not returned. There is some evidence that executives at Lincoln attempted to confront Cordray directly. During a May 5 field hearing on the arbitration proposal in Albuquerque, an audience member identified as Chuck Bowman asked Cordray if the plan was tied to his political ambitions. Consumer advocates, including Karl Frisch, an executive director at the progressive group Allied Progress, say Bowman is, in fact, Chuck Coolidge, a principal of Lincoln Strategy Group. Judging from a review of video of the hearing and Coolidge's social media accounts, Coolidge bears a striking resemblance to Bowman. "Director Cordray, wouldn't you agree with some of your panelists that this arbitration rule would increase class actions and pad the pockets of trial lawyers?" asked the bearded man at the hearing. "I would like to ask the governor if he plans on renouncing trial lawyer support for attorney general races or governor's race in Ohio." Steve Gates, who is listed as a spokesman for Protect America's Consumers, could not be reached for comment. Protect America's Consumers is listed as a 501(c)(4) organization, though it is not registered with the Internal Revenue Service, based on a search of exempt groups. 501(c)(4) nonprofits must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare and are prohibited from engaging in political activity, according to IRS guidelines. However, an exempt group can set up shop and start functioning while it is waiting for exempt status or even before it has applied for exemption. Gates said in a press release on the group's website that the response to the ad campaign "to save the CFPB through reform has been hugely positive." "Americans demand that people who are in charge of huge sums of their money answer to the people they elect," he said. "This is why America works." Frisch, the Democratic strategist, has sought to rebut the allegations of Protect America's Consumers by creating his own opposing website. Frisch said the founders of Protect America's Consumers are political operatives who have created campaigns for the coal industry and voter registration. "If you think about what their current effort is, this is a dark-money group that is attacking the head of a federal agency for a campaign [for Ohio governor] that doesn't exist on donors that don't exist," Frisch said. "They're throwing everything they can at a wall and hoping something sticks." Other TV ads allege that the CFPB's headquarters in Washington cost more than a Las Vegas casino, a longtime claim of GOP lawmakers based on a revamping of the agency's building after it took it over from the now-defunct Office of Thrift Supervision. (Cordray has said the building was a "dump" badly in need of repair, a view shared by many who visited it prior to its remodeling.) The ads also say the bureau faces dozens of discrimination complaints by female and minority employees. Last year, American Banker reported that there was a spike in employee bias complaints against the bureau. I have a pet peeve against all attempts to rewrite history that goes well beyond the usual disdain for those who speciously boast of 20/20 hindsight. Thus as soon as I read that the American born shooter in the Orlando nightclub incident* was 29, I knew what to expect in our current political environment. Age 29 means the individual's parents came to America from Afghanistan sometime before mid-1987. Many people seem to have forgotten some basic facts from that period. Others are disregarding what they do know because it is not helpful to their current political goals. Consider that in 1986, most Americans saw the Mujahedeen not as religious fanatics but as an army of Davids taking on the invading USSR Goliath with the assistance of US made Stinger missiles instead of a slingshot and rocks. Nor was this view confined to conservatives. Remember "Gunga Dan" Rather's trip to Afghanistan during which he shed all his self-proclaimed journalistic objectivity to go on a raid with the Mujahedeen? Consider that in 1986 the idea that the Mujahedeen would in a few years lead to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS was nowhere to be found. Indeed, the watershed events in 1979, the overthrow of the Shah and the seizure of the Grand Mosque tended to be seen by many as aberrations when, in fact, they marked the start of a strong counterrevolution to the decades of secularization by governments across the region that had looked to western style socialism as the model for the future of the region, Consider that in 1986 some Americans were still dismayed by the Carter administration's reluctance to admit the deposed Shah of Iran, except briefly for medical treatment, after he was overthrown. Perhaps even more Americans were embarrassed at how we had abandoned allies in Southeast Asia a few years before that. Stories about refugees attempting to flee Vietnam in overcrowded and unsafe boats were in and out of the news all through the late 70s and the 1980s. Resettling those who had suffered Communist persecution because of their interactions with Americans plus finding home for the many illegitimate children of US Servicemen was widely considered a debt of honor. By the mid-1980s, some 50% of the Afghan population was displaced by what had become for the United Sates a surrogate war with the USSR. Assisting those people was seen as an extension of such debts. That there was a vast gulf between the affluent, Western-educated and often secularized Persians allied with the Shah and the fundamentalist Afghani tribesmen was not seen as a consideration. After all, many of the refugees from American wars in Southeast Asia were also poor, uneducated and unfamiliar with urban life. Consider that in 1986, most international actions, including international terrorism, were still being analyzed through the lens of the Cold War. The consensus on that was the Soviet Union might collapse and Germany reunify in another 30 to 40 years or so. Of course, the smart money in 1986 was also on how a progression of septuagenarian "western style" reformers -- Yuri Andropov. Konstantin Chernenko and Andrei Gromyko -- into Soviet leadership should be taken as a sign the Soviet ship of state knew it had to correct its course. Can sinking beneath the waves in five years be considered a course correction? Consider also that in 1986, it could be difficult and was extremely expensive to make a phone call to the capital cities of much of the third world from the West, never mind smaller cities and towns. Snail mail could take weeks. Only a few people on the cutting edge of technology understood there were about to be great changes in international communications capability. Because wireless systems are cheaper to build than landlines, communication abilities in lesser developed nations have exploded while services such as Skype have brought the costs down. Today, an immigrant from halfway around the world can call, e-mail or text home every day as well as stay in touch through the social media. Immigrants can also stream news from back home, download movies, videos and books from their native lands and even shop for native groceries on-line. Each wave of immigration has produced a handful of alienated members in the second generation, One key difference from the past is that communication developments since 1986 make it much easier for terrorists to locate and recruit their preferred cannon fodder -- disaffected, unstable, angry, violence prone young people seeking either redemption or glory. I often imagine what might have happened had the anarchists of the late 19th and early 20th century had Internet capabilities. In 2016 a lot of people on the political right who regularly decry the way the political left loves to rewrite history in pursuit of current political goals seem to be falling to the same urge. In their desire to score political points on the war on terror they are overlooking that only the Almighty Himself knew in 1986 what a yet to be born second generation Afghan Americans might do in 2016, and then only if the theological concepts of double predestination are, indeed, part of the Almighty's grand plan. I worry that the United States in 2016 bears an uncomfortable similarity to the Soviet Union in 1986. The list of nations that have been restored to greatness under a gerontocracy is short. Yet the names being considered for leadership in today's America are of the same age as the Soviet leaders back in 1986. Those Soviet leaders were fixated on aggrandizement and ignored the real reasons for the internal economic stagnation inside their nation. They also affected a false sense of prescience that is rife among our current Presidential candidates. While our candidates talk about hot button issues like Islamic terrorism and immigration, and play to an increasingly polarized population, there is one uncomfortable fact that is being almost completely overlooked. Due to the falling birth rates/family formation among the young and the retirement of the Boomer generation, there is now only 2.1 workers for every person collecting Social Security. That cannot be sustained. *Since many mass murderers actively seek notoriety, I try to deny it to them by not using their names but only identifying information. There is a quick and easy way to ease what Americans say is their growing anxiety over a Trump, Sanders, or Clinton presidency. Just give Americans the option to recall via a national referendum any future sitting president they clearly believe is taking the country in a wrong or dangerous direction or consistently violating the Constitutional limits on his or her power. This is hardly a revolutionary idea. Californians in 2003 recalled their unpopular governor Grey Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger in his place. Just this last March New Jersey newspapers urged state voters to remove Governor Christie for purportedly neglecting his gubernatorial duties. Congress does have the constitutional authority to remove a president, but only if the president is found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors via the woefully cumbersome and ineffective impeachment process. In 1951 US Senator Robert Hendrickson (R,NJ) proposed a constitutional amendment establishing a presidential recall. Currently sitting in House and Senate committees is a petition submitted by former legislative aide Gregory D. Watson of Austin, Texas calling for an amendment establishing a procedure by which voters can remove a president by means of a nationwide recall election. A presidential recall option would serve as a powerful counterbalance to an office gradually morphing into the autocracy our founders warned against. Historians point out that most presidents since Truman have engaged in wars in the Middle East, Kosovo and Vietnam without the Congressional approval the Constitution specifically demands. In 2014, President Obama announced he would circumvent the new Republican House and Senate majorities anticipated opposition to his immigration and gun control initiatives through constitutionally questionable executive actions using his pen and phone. The Wall Street Journals Kimberly Strassel worries that President Trump would succumb to the Obama Power Temptation to not only legislate via executive action but also direct government agencies to intimidate the political opposition much as the IRS did against the Tea Party a few years ago. Attorney General Loretta Lynch hinted the White House might use the RICO Act, created to fight mobsters, to silence critics of the administrations climate change stance. Karl Rove claims a President Hillary Clinton would ratify this new post-constitutional order by using unilateral executive power to raise taxes, change healthcare policy, and grant citizenship to those living in the US illegally if Congress refuses to act. Is it any wonder 69 percent of Americans told Gallup they think big government is the biggest threat to their future? The presidential recall option will transform our citizens from voters who select a president every four years and hope for the best into political watchdogs proactively monitoring the actions of presidents and the huge administrative apparatus implementing their directives to insure they are lawfully performing their duties at maximum efficiency. Senator Hendrickson's recall plan called for a national vote held on a single day to retain or remove the sitting president whenever two-thirds of the state legislatures petition for such a vote. If the nation votes out the sitting president, the Speaker of the House would complete the recalled presidents term. In the California system voters choose the sitting governors replacement from a slate of candidates at the same time they are actually voting on whether or not to remove the current governor. Working out the recalls details is childs play compared to the job of getting adopted the constitutional amendment that would create the Presidential Recall Option. Two-thirds of the House and Senate must approve the amendment and send it on to the states in the hope that three-quarters of the state legislatures ratify the amendment. Polling agencies should begin the process by asking Americans if they would favor the Presidential Recall Option. If Americans overwhelmingly support such an amendment, Congress will probably not resist its creation, especially if the amendment exempts the then-sitting president from a recall vote. (A 2013 Harvard University Institute of Politics survey found that 52 percent of young Americans would vote to recall the sitting president, Barack Obama.) Our 2016 presidential hopefuls can demonstrate their earnest desire to make government more accountable by enthusiastically endorsing in their campaign speeches and the debates the creation of a Presidential Recall Option. Clearly, it is time that Americans engage in a national conversation about this important new means of empowering all citizens and enhancing our democracy. Sociologist/Futurist Michael G. Zey, Ph.D, books include Seizing the Future, Ageless Nation, and the forthcoming Envisioning America's Future. He is a Professor at Montclair State University's School of Business. His website is www.zey.com. It seems that the gig economy has even reached the precincts of the terrorism industry. Maybe ISIS should be called Terror 3.0, if one considers the progression of modern terrorism from the bad old days of the 1960s and 1970s. The likes of the Irish Republican Army, the Baader-Meinhof Group, and the FALN might be defined as Terror 1.0. The IRA and its 60s brethren used age-old terror tactics, setting off bombs from a safe distance and generally kidnapping and killing their victims discreetly in order to avoid capture. Then we saw al Qaeda innovate by adding the suicidal perpetrator factor, flying airplanes into buildings to inflict mass casualties. The latest contribution by the demonic murderers intent on making a political (or religious) point is facile use of the Internet and social media to spawn actions by lone wolves. Thus, ISIS might be considered the third iteration in post-World War II terrorism. ISIS (or ISIL, the variant our president bizarrely prefers) seems to have adopted a business model consonant with the times. Joining the likes of Uber, Airbnb, and Zipcar, the entrepreneurial jihadists are simply keeping up with their more productive peers in the West who actually create useful stuff. And why not? The Uber and Airbnb inventors build efficiencies into the services they provide by utilizing the incredible power of the Internet, smart phones and other communications devices. Shouldnt the dealers of death and mayhem exploit those same efficiencies? Whatis.com defines a gig economy as an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. What an apt description of todays Islamic terrorists. What is a more short-term engagement and temporary position than a suicide-embracing martyr in the cause of Allah willing to inflict horrific casualties on soft targets in the West (and, for that matter, everywhere else)? It seems that the Omar Mateens and Syed Rizwan Farooks of the world -- so-called homegrown terrorists -- are the natural byproduct of this new independent economy. So lets call their brand gig terrorism. It is interesting to note that both Mateen and Farook reportedly met their mates online. And in both cases (although at this point it is only alleged in the case of Mateens wife) these spouses were complicit to one degree or another in their husbands murderous plots. These purportedly self-radicalized terrorists use the Internet to satisfy even the romantic needs in their lives. Uber often makes the point that it is not a taxi company, but rather a technology company that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions between people needing a taxi service and people able to provide that service. Uber simply furnishes the software to make those direct interactions possible. The companys current valuation of over $60 billion after only five years of existence points up the tremendous value it created in the efficiencies it has produced. In much the same way, ISIS provides the infrastructure, or spiritual software, one might say, to animate disaffected youths far away from Iraq or Syria to exact Allahs revenge on infidels. ISIS does not need to micromanage their actions, just as a taxi company does not need to closely oversee the Uber drivers services. But are these really lone wolves in the new terror paradigm? No more than Uber drivers are lone wolves. While commenting on President Obamas recent speech about the mass shooting in Orlando, in which Obama characterized Mateens actions as resulting from the influence of the Internet, former Ambassador John Bolton astutely observed to Fox News that terms like self-radicalization and lone wolf falsely connote a sort of spontaneous combustion. They imply that a homegrown terrorist is a normal human being one day and then suddenly and inexplicably becomes a violent, psychotic killer the next, with no outside direction or overarching ideology influencing them. Bolton points out that Obama ascribing this lone wolf label to Mateen so soon after the attack and long before the FBI has had adequate time to gather evidence, seems to be an effort by Obama to divorce Mateens actions from the larger global Islamic ideology. Of course, this effort to immunize Islam from the violence perpetrated in its name is folly. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear will think Obama a fool for trying. Or hopelessly naive. Or even nefarious. It is just such efforts to deflect from the truth about the global jihad being waged by sizable elements of the Islamic umma that has given such political opportunity to Donald Trump. What even his detractors will admit is that Trumps popularity has largely been fueled by his willingness to call it like he sees it. The American people have suffered through seven and a half years of being lied to about everything from healthcare options and costs under ObamaCare, to data about an allegedly roaring economy, to the supposed benefits of uncontrolled borders and an influx of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. Now Obama tries to convince us that Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam, and that Omar Mateen was not directed by outside forces. We have had enough. We are thirsting for the truth, and Donald Trump, in his own inimitable style, is offering buckets of it. These homegrown terrorists may be independent operators in the new gig terror environment, but they are still agents of the same ideology that has been waging war against us at an accelerating rate since the Iranians overran our embassy in 1979. If President Trump assumes office, he will need to find a way to deal with these homegrown terrorists. He might consider consulting with the new titans of our sharing economy for recommendations on how to limit the appeal of gig terrorism. William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government and private sector for 30 years. Presently he is a Senior Investigator for Judicial Watch,Inc. Though the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids it, Barack Obama seems to be running for a third term as President of the United States. In his address on June 14, 2016 the president concentrated more on a fiery attack on Donald Trump than on the external enemy to the United States and the civilized world, the forces of Radical Islam. a phrase he still refuses to name. By criticizing Trump rather than directly condemning and correctly naming an enemy whose claim to legitimacy is based on that religious extremism associated with Radical Islam, President Obama has made Trump a more plausible presidential candidate than he is to many U.S. citizens, who otherwise find him unacceptable. Whats in a name? That which we call Radical Islam (RI) would stink as sourly as if the phrase was not used. This is not a war over words, or a semantic problem, but a question of ideological religious belief. The use of words RI will not really alienate any government, group, or individual prepared and willing to fight Islamist terrorism. Josh Earnest, White House spokesperson has explained that the president has become frustrated by talking points critical of him. But critics are right on this issue of Islamist jihadist terrorism. No sensible person paints the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world with a broad brush or implies that the democratic countries of the world are at war with their religion. There should not be a call for discrimination against Muslims because of their faith. But the crucial point in the issue is the religious component of current terrorist activities and threats. There is no magic in the phrase Radical Islam as President Obama suggested and the label in itself achieves nothing, and does not deter terrorism. Nevertheless, it is the correct description of the enemy, those who justify their terrorism through proclamation of adhering to or claiming to be implementing their extremist form of Islam. It is open to discussion as to whether there is a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, but it is essential to grasp two essential points. As Bernard Lewis argued One is the universality of religion as a factor in the lives of the Muslim peoples, and the other is its centrality. There has been considerable discussion among scholars and commentators on the rationale of the terrorists. Are they radical extremists who have little religious affiliation but who use the religion of Islam to justify their murders, or are they individuals acting in the name of and on behalf of their version of Islam? Perhaps the most perceptive statement on this perplexing issue comes from Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi in the UK, in his book Not in Gods Name, Sacks argues When terrorist or military groups invoke holy war, define their battle as a struggle against Satan, condemn unbelievers to death and commit murder while declaring God is great, to deny that they are acting on religious motives is absurd. The recent incidents in the U.S. and France illustrate the sagacity of Sacks comment. Action on the basis of religious motives has two facets. One is the well-planned organized attack by religiously ideological terrorists of which ISIS and the Caliphate State and al Qaeda stand out amid the multitude of other Islamist groups. They are acting out of a conscious struggle against Western nations and societies that their religion has decreed are immoral. The other is an operation by a lone wolf or members of a small group with little serious knowledge of Islam even if they are observant. They claim to act in the name of or on behalf of their religion, even if they are really propelled by a search for a cause to give them a personal identity or to justify their innate hatred. Communism, socialism, nationalism no longer inspire the true believer, but Islam is at hand to fight against Western imperialism, gays, Jews, and Israel. All the Muslim terrorists, like those who acted on 9/11 in the U.S., claim they are acting on behalf of the true faith and against enemies of Islam. This was true of Mohammed Merah, who attacked the Jewish school in Toulouse. France on March 2012, and was linked with al-Qaeda. The murderers on January 7, 2015 of 17 at Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and at the Jewish supermarket, were avenging the Prophet Muhammad. The killers of 130 killed and hundreds injured in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, 2015 acted in conjunction with ISIS. Now again in June 13, 2016, at Magnanville, about 35 miles from Paris, a 25-year-old French-born Muslim Larossi Abball killed two political officers, one the deputy head of a police station who was stabbed to death and the other his 36-year-old partner, who had her throat slit in front of their 3-year-old son. The killer declared in a video that Allah was the greatest, and pledged allegiance to the ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al Bagdadi. Abball was answering the call to kill infidels at home with their families. The nightmare in France is not over. On June 14, 2016 a Muslim man with psychiatric problems stabbed a 19-year-old woman in Rennes, France, telling police he had heard voices ordering him to make a sacrifice for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that began on June 6. The U.S. has suffered by the incidents in San Bernardino on December 1, 2015 and the attack on June 12, 2016 on the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The two killers in San Bernardino were home grown terrorists who posted a pledge to ISIS. The attack on Orlando, with 49 dead and 53 injured is the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. The act of hatred in Orlando by the 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a New York-born Afghan-American, was inspired by Islamist radicalism. The term radical extremism is important because it stresses the motivation behind the deed and planning of murderous acts, and a version of religious beliefs and culture that seeks to destroy Western civilization. Understandably, the term may disturb political leftists who remain unaware of the existential challenge to their values and culture. But it is a reminder that the struggle against Islamist jihadism has to be fought. The real task should be finding the most effective ways to wage that struggle. On the heels of the terrible Orlando terrorist attack came another tragic, albeit predictable, assault: the obligatory vilification of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Indeed, before officials could even confirm the final death toll at Pulse, cries erupted from celebrities, politicians, and left-wing activists alike for tighter restrictions on Americans ability to access firearms. These so-called appeals to reason ran the gamut of hysteria, from incoherent rants against the National Rifle Association/Republicans/white males, to one Huffington Post author demanding that we ban every single gun within U.S. borders until we get our f*cking problems figured out. I have never understood this approach. For starters, the logic falls flat -- the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history happened in gun-free zones, and I am unsure why more laws will deter mass murderers (who are particularly adept at ignoring laws). Nor is it clear if tighter gun laws will actually solve the problem of gun violence; studies designed to answer this question, in addition to their predilection for bias, are usually oversimplified and conflicting. Perhaps most confounding is how gun control advocates view firearm ownership itself. Specifically, they tend to forget the authority for individual rights to firearms is constitutionally enshrined in twenty-seven words: 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. (Note: In fairness, some argue there is no individual right to own a firearm, and instead insist that the Second Amendment is only a guarantee to a collective defense administered by each citizens state via the well regulated Militia. That interpretation, in my opinion, is dubious -- why would the Framers guarantee a states ability to defend itself against the federal government, only to then grant the federal president power over the same Militias in Article 2?). Take, for example, the recent decision in Peruta v. City of San Diego out of the Ninth Circuit, which held there is no Second Amendment right to carry a concealed weapon in public. The case dealt with a California law requiring concealed-carry applicants to provide a particularized reason as to why they needed to carry a concealed weapon. The statute stood as a part of a much larger, more invasive regulatory scheme, including a prohibition on carrying loaded firearms on the person or in a vehicle in any public place or on any public street, as well as a prohibition on carrying unloaded handguns openly on the person in a public place or street. Imagine, for a moment, if the same restrictions were placed upon the First Amendment. What if Americans had to provide a particularized reason before publishing an article, or saying a prayer in public? What if there was a cap as to how many words a newspaper could print, as is the case with limiting ammunition and magazine capacity? What if citizens were subject to a background check prior to organizing a peaceful demonstration? Some might argue the Second Amendment is different; that an armed citizenry, if unchecked, would lead to a spike in violence and loss of life. This may be true, but pointing to a risk of harm as justification to suspend constitutional rights is patently un-American, even by liberals' standards. When the National Security Agencys PRISM program came to light, did the left forsake the Fourth Amendment in favor of the extra security provided by the surveillance state? As the blood dried in Paris following the attack on Charlie Hebdo, did the left question the legitimacy of the First Amendment and censor our art, speech, and culture to avoid provoking the Islamic State? Did the left deny Yaser Esam Hamdi due process of law and the right to an impartial tribunal under the Fifth Amendment solely because his being free risked threatening American safety? Of course not. Such constitutional guarantees were viewed as unyielding and uncompromising. Americans understood, without question, that the blessings of the constitutions provisions form the bedrock of American exceptionalism, and required no explanation or defense. Why, then, is the Second Amendment treated so differently? Why does the left narrowly interpret the words shall not be infringed into virtual meaninglessness (as the Ninth Circuit did) but, in Roe v. Wade, broadly define life, liberty, or property to encompass the outright murder of unborn children? How can the left consider commerce among the several States to include crops planted, grown, harvested, and consumed on a single family farm, as was the case in Wickard v. Filburn, but then contend the right to keep and bear arms contemplates not even a right to possess a firearm? For reasons beyond my understanding, today's liberals remain fixated -- indeed, obsessed -- with arbitrarily singling out and destroying the one constitutional guarantee that is perhaps the most valuable: an assured means to defend against tyranny. Currently, millions of people on social media are cautioning Muslims and members of the LGBT community not to see one another as enemies, lest we undermine our values as a free and open society. They may not realize it, but included in those values is the sanctity of the Second Amendment. Like every other constitutional guarantee, the individual right to keep and bear arms is a mainstay in our republican form of government. And like the Second Amendment, when other constitutional freedoms are vigorously enforced, the result can be sometimes heartbreaking and unfair. That is, however, the cost of living in a truly free society, and we owe it to the victims and their families in Orlando, as well as every other place guns have killed, not to betray this simple truth. Thomas Wheatley is a law student at the Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Va. Email him at tnwheatley@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @TNWheatley. Washington Times: You cant make this up sometimes, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said at a press briefing Thursday on Capitol Hill. Mr. Trumps admonition came after several weeks of chiding from fellow Republicans who decried his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., and who said his attacks on a federal judges ethnicity were unbecoming. Mr. Ryan had called it the textbook definition of a racist comment. The Republicans, honestly, folks, our leaders, our leaders have to get tougher. This is too tough to do it alone. But you know what? I think Im going to be forced to. I think Im going to be forced to, Mr. Trump said on Wednesday. Our leaders have to get a lot tougher. And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Dont talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet to the leaders. Because they have to get tougher. They have to get sharper. They have to get smarter. We have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself. Ill do very well, Mr. Trump insisted. GOP observers said Mr. Trump is playing with fire. Most people respond better to charm and subtle persuasion than they do to threats, and most victories are won by team efforts versus lone wolves, said Fred Malek, a White House veteran who serves as finance chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Trump certainly knows this from his success in business, and why would he think its different in politics? Mr. Malek said voters want Mr. Trump to step up and be an inclusive leader. But the maverick candidate began his campaign on the other side of the spectrum, accusing Mexico of sending rapists and other bad elements of its society to the U.S. His approach appeared to work in the GOP primary, with his criticism of fellow politicians as stupid and all talk, no action earning him fans from alienated conservatives and moderates alike. That has led to an uneasy relationship with the Republican National Committee, as well as GOP lawmakers nationally whove had meltdowns over his brash brand of politics, concerned that he is tarnishing the party and its chance of retaining control of Congress in the November election. This week Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Richard Armitage, who served as deputy secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, announced they were jumping ship and couldnt support Mr. Trump. We all know that Barack Obama was nominally a lawyer at some point in his past not a good one, by anyone's account, but he was one. Assume for the moment that Barack Obama had as his client The Muslim Brotherhood, or CAIR, or Hamas, or any one of dozens of organizations dedicated to taking down the United States. Could he possibly have done a more effective job of hiding his client's actions or intentions while they went about conducting criminal operations unmolested as he has for seven years? Could he have been more successful at misdirecting and obfuscating and lying about their intentions and deeds than he has already been? Though not every lawyer shares a client's philosophy, the zeal with which an attorney does his job can sometimes be proportionate to his identity with the client's goals and objectives. The president certainly is a zealous fellow when it comes to radical Islam. We know he won't call it "radical Islam," claiming that that is a distraction or a talking point. Perhaps the real reason is that he doesn't believe that what the Islamists he supports are doing is radical at all. Maybe the actual issue is that he believes in and supports their efforts to infiltrate and subvert the United States. That would explain an awful lot, wouldn't it? For seven years, we have heard how the president "doesn't get it" and is in over his head, is naive, and countless other excuses. None of this has ever been the problem. He gets it. He simply gets it with regard to his own agenda, his own end game. It's the American people who continue not to get it. The president is in bed with the enemy. It is ironic that so many of those who are angry that the president won't say "radical Islam" themselves won't openly say that he is and always has been the patron of radical Islamists, and he protects them for that reason. Until we admit this, and see him for what he is and what he has been doing consistently and with determination, we enable him to succeed. The president points to his limited efforts to eradicate certain violent Muslims through drone strikes and minimal military operations, as if this proves he is "one of us" and is working to protect the United States. Muslims attack other Muslims all the time, but they are all still Muslims. If the president chooses to assist certain factions he favors against certain others, this is hardly being done to protect the United States. If that were his objective, he wouldn't be freeing a significant number of homicidal Muslims as well, who are back on the job killing Americans. He is barely lifting a finger militarily or internationally, regardless of what he says. However, he is moving heaven and earth domestically, where the actual invasion and conquest is actively going on. People who recognize that we have seen increasing levels of terroristic violence across the country committed in the name of Islam by its perpetrators want the president to name the threat for the simple reason that his failure to do so, when viewed with all the other things he has done to protect and promote Islamists to weaken our military, our national government, and our security, tells them that he is in league with them and that he will not betray them while he repeatedly betrays us. He refuses to identify them because he is their strongest supporter and their most steadfast protector. His unwillingness to admit that there is any Islamic component at all to the terror, even when the terrorists say it happily, tells us that he is willfully misdirecting us from the truth, even when that ensures that more Americans will die. Throughout this week, we have seen news reports of FBI analysts, whose work was to connect the dots, having their files erased of all Muslim suspects who were actively plotting against us. We have heard of how the FBI's hands were tied, and the new rules required that they drop their surveillance of Muslim suspects against whom concrete evidence had not yet been found and how those suspects went on to commit mass murder, including this week in Orlando. We have heard how employers and neighbors of Muslims who engaged in terrorism here were afraid of saying anything against the terrorists because they were Muslim, including both Orlando and San Bernardino. Our government has vowed to punish those who express legitimate fears about Muslims behaving suspiciously, which the government deems Islamophobia rather than domestic or national security. That is, our government has vowed to punish Americans who have the audacity to object to their own destruction. How would any of this be different if we had an openly Muslim president and a pro-Muslim, pro-sharia government? None of this is new, and it continues to be the policy of this administration right up to the last couple of days, when the Department of Homeland Security has come out with new prohibitions on words that might offend those who most want to destroy this country. Words like "jihad" and "sharia" are banned by government fascists who control speech and thought. There was a simultaneous story this week about a 25-year-old Syrian immigrant, Laila Alawa, who is one of 15 members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council Subcommittee on Countering Violent Extremism and who is rabidly anti-American and an anti-white racist. She seems fine with Islamic violent extremism, declaring that 9/11 changed the world for good. It is the committee on which she serves that advocated censoring those words that might offend Muslims. Those who work within this administration to harm the United States in the name of Islam have been serving at the president's pleasure, or with his blessing. If that were not true, he would purge the government of all such anti-American and pro-Islamist enemies of the country. He doesn't. Their numbers grow steadily. This is his administration. These are his surrogates. They are the vehicle by which his policies, his goals, and his beliefs are being put into effect. He is one of them. There is no other explanation for them populating our government at every level, but particularly the highest ones. Those who most vehemently represent the president's views are rewarded with the opportunity to destroy this country from within, along with complete immunity from punishment or retribution for expressing their desire to do just that. Naturally, an armed citizenry is a substantial obstacle to our overthrow. It is for this president and his party members a rather happy coincidence, therefore, that we have just experienced both an Islamic victory on our soil, about which the president has vowed to do absolutely nothing, and the use of a gun, about which the president has vowed to do everything in his power. It is at times like this that his priorities and goals converge and are laid open to be seen unmistakably. Americans must pay the price for what was done to them. It is our rights, but not those of the invaders and traitors, that must be slashed. It's time we admit the obvious. Radical Islam isn't radical to this president. It's simply a means to an end. Our end. This doesnt happen very often: the head of the CIA making a fool of his president. But that is what happened yesterday as CIA Director John Brennan testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Less than 48 hours before his testimony, President Obama had tried to soothe the nations concerns in the wake of the Orlando jihad massacre, as IBD summarizes: Obamas remarks came after a meeting with his National Security Council, during which he spent a significant amount of time detailing all the many successes his strategy is having against the Islamic State (which Obama calls ISIL instead of ISIS), progress that he thinks is being obscured by recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. committed in the name of ISIS. Here are the relevant parts of Obamas statement. We are making significant progress. ... This campaign at this stage is firing on all cylinders. ... ISIL is under more pressure than ever before. ISIL continues to lose key leaders. ... ISIL continues to lose ground in Iraq. ... ISIL continues to lose ground in Syria as well. As ISIL continues to lose territory, it also continues to lose the money that is its lifeblood. ... ISIL is now effectively cut off from the international financial system. ISILs ranks are shrinking as well. Their morale is sinking. ... The flow of foreign fighters -- including from America to Syria and Iraq -- has plummeted. In fact, our intelligence community now assesses that the ranks of ISIL fighters have been reduced to the lowest levels in more than 2-1/2 years. Obama went on to say that lone actors, like the Orlando terrorist, or small cells of terrorists are very hard to detect and very hard to prevent. And the best way to deal with this threat, he went on to argue, is with stricter gun-control laws. Perhaps his startling honesty contradicting this pabulum was because Brennan was under oath. Or perhaps it was because with just over half a year left of the Obama presidency, Brennan is thinking ahead to his own legacy, and putting some distance between himself and the terror debacle brewing with ISIS planning even bigger strikes and our security apparatus hampered by political correctness that shuts down following leads involving Islam (as in the case of the many warnings received about Omar Mateen). Whatever the reason, Brennan did not mince words (full text here): Damien Paletta and Alan Cuillison hit the high points of the testimony in the Wall Street Journal: Unfortunately, despite all our progress against [Islamic State] on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach, Mr. Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee. (snip) The groups foreign branches and global networks can help preserve its capability for terrorism regardless of events in Iraq and Syria, Mr. Brennan said. In fact, as the pressure mounts on [Islamic State], we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda. He said so-called lone-wolf attackers are an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community, citing Mr. Mateens attack in Orlando as an example. Acting on the inspiration of Islamic State but without its direction, such attackers can case a target and prepare an assault without triggering any of those traditional signatures that we might see when a foreign terrorist group sends its members on a mission, Mr. Brennan said. Those individual actors, either acting alone or in concert with some cohortsit really presents a serious challenge, he added. Whatever the reasons for Brennans honesty in debunking his bosss claims, the nation is left with a commander in chief who does not want to see or act on the obvious threats we face. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, himself a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (in 1984 for his anti-apartheid activism), has nominated a mass murderer of Jews for the honor he holds. Long known as an anti-Israel activist, Archbishop Tutu has proposed a moral monster of a terrorist, Marwan Barghouti the architect of scores of terror bombings of Israeli civilians in the Second Intifada. Israel National News reports: South African archbishop and prominent anti-Israel campaigner Desmond Tutu has joined other activists in nominating imprisoned Palestinian arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti for the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu tabled the nomination in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Monday - cited by Al Arabiya - in which he hailed the Fatah-Tanzim commander as a symbol of the "struggle for freedom, [which] constitutes a clear signal of support for the realization of the Palestinian peoples inalienable rights, including to self-determination." (snip) In his letter, Tutu characterized Barghouti's actions as fighting "for freedom and peace," and - even more ironically - hailed the mass-murderer as "an active advocate and defender of democracy and human rights, include women's rights, and of pluralism, both religious and political, in a region and a world that desperately needs such advocates. Barghouti is currently serving 5 life terms for his role in mass murder of innocent Israelis. No doubt this move by Tutu is intended to build pressure for his release, unrepentant though he is. Of course, the Nobel Peace Prize has already been disgraced by its award to Yasser Arafat in 1994, another murderous monster. But at least that prize had a shred of rationale to it, because it was jointly award to Shimon Perez and Yitzhak Rabin as well, for their efforts at peace talks. Barghuoti has no such leavening. Tutu is a disgrace. But there can be no assurance that the Nobel Committee will not add to his disgrace with their own, and award a prize. Hat tip: Clarice Feldman During the debate about the Iran deal a year ago, one of Obama's/Kerry's arguments ran essentially as follows. Sanctions were no longer sustainable. European companies were so eager to do business with Iran that their governments would drop the sanctions anyway. America's unilateral sanctions wouldn't be able to dam the roaring torrent of upcoming business activity with Iran. The U.S. dollar would collapse as the world's reserve currency, and the world economic order as we know it would come to a screeching, catastrophic end. Fast-forward to the present: Secretary Kerry is no longer busy warning us that "sanctions dont just sting in one direction ... [rather, t]hey also impose costs on those who forego the commercial opportunities in order to abide by them. ... [Other countries] will not join us if were demanding even greater sacrifices and threatening their businesses and banks because of a choice we made and they opposed." Rather, he frantically flies to European capitals, tearfully begging companies there to start doing business with Iran and not to worry about non-nuclear sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran. He humbly prostrates himself before Iran's foreign minister, assuring him that the Obama administration does everything in its power to get Iran all the business it wants (and he's sure right about that!). How did it come to this? Obama's and Kerry's dire warnings of the inrush of European business into Iran, and of futility of U.S.-only sanctions, did not materialize. In fact, European companies are eyeing with caution the remaining sanctions and are in no rush to invest in Iranian projects. So Kerry and Obama deliberately lied, or else they deluded themselves. Either way, they now need a way out and they seek it by making their false prophecies come true. It is understandable that politicians lie and engage in spin. They cannot abide the thought that they were proven wrong. But there are different ways to save face. It is one thing to invent excuses out of thin air. Yet aiding, abetting, and strengthening the enemy, as done by Obama and Kerry, so as to prove that their warnings of Iran's insurmountable diplomatic and economic strength made capitulation to Iranian demands necessary and inevitable is a different thing entirely. It is a face-saving step too far. Stepping out of reality into the rapidly expanding landfill of polling data biased against Donald Trump reveals what a disaster is taking place when it comes to surveying the public's actual opinion -- rather than the desired liberal narrative -- about the 2016 general election. Public Policy Polling (PPP) has released yet another state poll on the Trump versus Hillary Clinton match-up, this time for Virginia . Yesterday's article examined a range of PPP's state-level polling data in the Trump v. Clinton cage match, revealing some apparently serious liberal bias. The Virginia poll just adds to the concerns. The proverbial "tell" in these types of data sets is how respondents answered the question regarding their presidential vote in 2012. If the poll is representative of the public, the relative percentages of Obama 2012 versus Romney 2012 voters surveyed should approximate -- within reason -- how the state in question actually voted in 2012. But if there are significant deviations between the poll's composition and the 2012 results, the cause either needs to be fully explained by the pollster, or we default to the assumption of a bias. PPP's Virginia poll, representing "one of the most important swing states in the country," claims the following: The Presidential race in Virginia is pretty tight. Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump 42-39, with Libertarian Gary Johnson at 6% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 2%. In a head to head contest Clinton's lead remains 3 points at 48/45. Clinton's benefiting from Democrats in Virginia (83/8) being more unified around her than Republicans (76/5) are around Trump. But with independents Trump's up 42/29. When asked who they voted for in the last presidential election, 50% of respondents said Obama while just 41% said Romney, for a 9% Obama (read: liberal) edge. But Obama only won the state by 3.9% in 2012 , meaning there appears to be at least a 5% liberal bias in the survey composition. Remove that bias favoring the Democratic candidate, and Clinton's lead disappears -- leaving Trump likely leading by 2% or more in Virginia, depending on the potential presence of other compounding biases in the poll. Then there is the latest edition of Reuter's Polling Explorer from June 14, supposedly showing Clinton up by 8.5% over Trump, 39.1% to 30.6%. But of the 1,481 respondents, 642 (43.3%) are Democrats, 493 (33.3%) are Republicans, and 206 (13.9%) are Independents, with 138 (9.3%) "members of another party." A 10% bias of Democrats over Republicans is 9% above the past two-month average of actual party affiliations. Remove that liberal bias, and now the race is a statistical tie. Even worse, when asked who they voted for in 2012, 582 (39.3%) said Obama and just 355 (24.0%) said Romney. Thus, since the national results in 2012 only had Obama ahead of Romney in the popular vote by 3.9%, we conclude this suggests a 11.4% liberal bias in the survey composition. Based on this built-in bias, it appears Trump may actually be ahead of Clinton by nearly 3% at the national level once the bias is corrected for. Finally, there is a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday -- and conducted June 11-15 -- that claims Clinton is up 9% over Trump in the head-to-head. No demographic data was released with the poll, which should raise a red flag. With what information we can tease out of the information provided, significant flaws are apparent. Based on the data for "All Adult Americans" surveyed on issues such as the major problems facing the nation, as well as Obama's approval rating and whether the nation is headed on the right track or not, it is clear that the ratio of Democrats:Republicans in the poll was a remarkably high 2:1! For interested readers, the general math behind such calculations is described in my previous article . Moving on to the head-to-head match-up among registered voters, solving the available polling data with a 3-equation system solver reveals that the Trump versus Clinton poll appears to be comprised of about 46% Democrats and 36% Republicans, for a 10% Democrat bias. Yet again, remove the clear bias, and Clinton's lead is gone. This isn't surprising, given the source. Serious concerns have been raised previously over the possible political motivations behind liberal bias in Ipsos polling. Overall, in all polls seen to date at the state or national levels, systematic liberal bias is clear. In some cases, Democrats are being polled at apparent 2:1 ratios over Republicans, and in all situations, once the polling bias is removed, so is any Clinton lead. Almost exactly a century ago at the great naval battle at Jutland, David Beatty said There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today after two of his battleships exploded under German gunnery and incompetent seamanship by his sailors. Well, there seems to be something wrong with our bloody newspapers today as well. The New York Times runs an editorial on The NRAs Complicity in Terrorism, but the Orlando mass murderer Omar Mateen isnt a member of the NRA. He is a member of the Democratic Party, who voted for Obama twice, and worked as a subcontract security man for Homeland Security under Obama appointee Jeh Johnson. The New York Times professes total confusion as to Mateens motivation, while the same day Senator Charles Johnson, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, described how Mateen had made over 16 calls in the four hours after the shooting inside The Pulse, while the police outside were presumably trying to decide who ordered the pepperoni and who the anchovies on their pizza while victims bled to death inside. Several of Matteens calls were specifically pledging his loyalty and service to ISIS, speaking to law enforcement at 911, and he made several postings of the same pledge to ISIS on his five accounts on Facebook. Meanwhile The Wall Street Journal helpfully offers what it calls a primer headlined Assault Weapons Explained. Such a feature could have been most useful with all the intentional confusion in terminology introduced by progressive politicians if their reporter had the least idea what he was talking about. I tried to help the Journal with a Letter to the Editor: I am the former Commanding Officer of the Army Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft Irwin CA. That is our National Training Center. We know a little bit about explaining various weapons. First your reporter: The guns generally identified as assault weapons are semiautomatic rifles that operate on the same principles as semiautomatic handguns. If he means generally identified by those with political agenda including opponents of the 2nd Amendment from Obama to Clinton etc., and almost every media figure around including your reporter, well yes. But weapons experts totally disagree. Its so elementary even a primer should get it right. Assault weapons are weapons that allow automatic fire, which specifically the AR 15 is disabled to prevent. Hence the AR 15 is not an assault weapon. It sure LOOKS scary though. And in an age in which Orwellian redefinition of reality by the artful redefinition of words has become an art form for politicians and media people, what does it all matter anyway? As a working journalist, sometimes published in your paper, I can assure you it matters to those of us of the old school. Does it still matter to you? I didnt get an answer and they didnt run the Letter, but they did run a whole editorial presumably to clarify the previous mixup. This got it wrong again. So I sent them this: You got the description of the weapon used in Orlando wrong in the Assault Weapons Explained news primer. Now you got it wrong on the Editorial Page. In an Editorial today called An Assault Rifle Education It says: there are 10 million AR 15 rifles like the one used in Orlando. The Washington Post said 2 days ago: The gun the Orlando shooter used was a Sig Sauer MCX, not an AR-15. And that is The Wall Street Journal not some Extreme Left house organ like The New York Times. Perhaps that explains the remarkable study by the Poynter Institute showing a huge and continuing fall off in newspaper circulation. Newspaper declines accelerate, latest Pew Research finds, other sectors healthier The 13th annual Pew Research State of the News Media Report documents another year of alarming declines for newspapers the worst since the 2008-2009 recession. Other sectors did much better, with revenues actually growing robustly both for cable channels (up 10 percent) and network news (up 6 percent for evening shows and 14 percent for mornings). Cobbling together newspaper data that is less current and available than it once was, Pew estimates that the industry lost 7 percent of daily circulation in 2015 and 8 percent of ad revenues. Which makes perfect sense to me. What good is a newspaper if what it contains on the statistically biggest shooting of Americans by a murderer in history is dead wrong, and has to be corrected to even make sense of it? Newspapers were where all the wild reporting and rumor mongering used to go to die. One could expect to find early TV and radio reports inaccurate and be relieved to find good summaries and time lines in the paper. Now thatThe Washington Post actually carries in a lede: President Obama said in an interview that future instability stemming from climate change can lead to dangerous ideologies. Im even afraid to trust the weather forecast. As a former executive at The New York Times Company in another century, another millennium and another world, I have a stronger obligation to good journalism. Let them die. There isnt enough decent reporting left in them to be worth resuscitation. Time to find new ways with new media. And at this point we dont have much choice More than 50 mid and high level State Department officials have signed a "dissent channel cable" urging the Obama administration to change its Syria policy and start taking military action against President Assad's forces in order to affect regime change. A dissent channel cable is a confidential State Department forum for employees to express opposing views. While this is not unuisual, the number of officials and the strong criticism of White House policy is unprecedented. Wall Street Journal: The complaint filed by the State Department officials wasnt unusual, current and former U.S. officials said, but the number of diplomats actively opposing a major White House position was. Its embarrassing for the administration to have so many rank-and-file members break on Syria, said a former State Department official who worked on Middle East policy. These officials said dissent on Syria policy has been almost a constant since civil war broke out there in 2011. But much of the debate was contained to the top levels of the Obama administration. The recent letter marked a move by the heart of the bureaucracy, which is largely apolitical, to break from the White House. The internal cable may be an attempt to shape the foreign policy outlook of the next administration, the official familiar with the document said. President Barack Obama has balked at taking military action against Mr. Assad, while Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has promised a more hawkish stance toward the Syrian leader. Republican candidate Donald Trump has said he would hit Islamic State hard but has also said he would be prepared to work with Russia in Syria. The cable warns that the U.S. is losing prospective allies among Syrias majority Sunni population in its fight against the Sunni extremist group Islamic State while the regime continues to bomb and starve them. Mr. Assad and his inner circle are Alawite, a small Shiite-linked Muslim sect and a minority in Syria. In Syrias multisided war, the regime, Islamic State and an array of opposition rebel groups are all battling each other. Failure to stem Assads flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as Daesh, even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield, the cable reads, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Although Islamic State is losing ground to multiple, U.S.-backed offensives in Syria, Iraq and Libya, Western diplomats say they worry the group has embedded itself so deeply in the population that it will be a major influence for years to come, eventually going underground as its quasi-army is defeated. One can understand the frustration of being forced to continue supporting a policy that has clearly failed. But how does overthrowing Assad bring us closer to defeating ISIS? The many factions in the Syrian civil war fighting Assad will be even more difficult to unite to form a "transitional government" than the parties in Libya. And Libya is now a failed state with no government to speak of and ISIS running wild. Why would the diplomats expect anything differently in Syria? US attacks on Assad would risk conflict with Russia. Would it be worth that risk to overtrhow Assad? Even if the US-backed and other "moderate" rebels would unite to join the fight, why would Russia stand idly by and allow their number one client in the region to fall? Iran is supplying most of the ground forces for Assad via Hezb'allah. Going to war with the Lebanese terrorist group would almost certainly mean attempts to carry out mass casualty terror attacks on US soil. These diplomats are privy to information not available to the public, so for them to call for such a radical change in policy could mean that the rebels are nearing the end of their ability to resist and desperately need air support. Russian bombing has been severe and, while killing a lot of civilians, also takes out rebel positions. As the rebels weaken, Assad's forces advance. This is especially true in Aleppo which is mostly held by the rebels but is being systematically razed to the ground by bombings and shellings. The fall of Aleppo would be a huge blow to the rebellion and American prestige. But Obama seems paralyzed and won't act. Feeble attempts to step up the bombing campaign against ISIS have had no impact on their strength. A military victory by Assad over the rebels with Iran's and Russian support would only strengthen both in the region. But it would be a pyrrhic victory. Assad would rule over a pile of rubble that used to be a country. And with half the population displaced by the war, there won't be many people left to rebuild it. President Obama has had the Stars and Stripes lowered 66 times since 2009, exceeding George W. Bush's 58 and Bill Clinton's 50 times of ordering the flag to be lowered. Obama has ordered the flag to be lowered more times than any president in history. This traditional symbolism of significant death in America may be serving a small psychological role in the big picture of destroying the Republic. The supreme American military commander is prowling the bounds of treason and/or dissociative mental disorder in his refusal to name our sworn, lethal enemies and fight back against them. However, he has a history of special willingness to literally bring down the symbol of the American pride he disavows and the exceptionalism he denies. Notwithstanding a history of anti-military bias, the new sensitive guy in the White House seems comfortable emotionally symbolizing the accelerating ease with which Islamic terrorists kill Americans, as he touchingly mourns and feels our pain and multifariously works to make us less safe. The lowered flag placates an emotional need created by the vast project to terminate our bordered constitutional republic: 1) demilitarization and paralysis in response to Islamic terrorism; 2) opening borders legal and illegal to Islamics who, according to the CIA, will commit terrorist attacks; 3) disarming loyal Americans to make them more and more defenseless. Somehow, it took the president five days to order the lowering of the flag for five Tennessee military service members who were also killed by an ISIS-linked terrorist named Muhammad Abdulaziz. The honor was granted only after an outcry from the American people. Despite his penchant for lowering the red, white, and blue, the denier-in-chief has been reluctant to do so for fallen military. In the president's imagination, historical America has already been defeated. All that is left is her comeuppance. This is well served by bringing in aliens who will not defend the Constitution, and by paying reparations to the world in the currency of American blood. For the president, Old Glory need never fly again except at half-staff, and every day is a funeral for America. Thirteen state GOP attorneys general have sent a letter to the Democratic AG's who are investigating ExxonMobile for fraud in climate change research, telling them that if minimizing the danger of climate change is fraud, so is exaggerating the peril. They threaten to prosecute climate alarmists for making spectacular claims of disaster that have not materialized. Washington Times: If Democratic attorneys general can pursue climate change skeptics for fraud, then also at risk of prosecution are climate alarmists whose predictions of global doom have failed to materialize. The cuts both ways argument was among those raised by 13 Republican attorneys general in a letter urging their Democratic counterparts to stop using their law enforcement power against fossil fuel companies and others that challenge the climate change catastrophe narrative. "Consider carefully the legal precedent and threat to free speech, said the state prosecutors in their letter this week, headed by Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. If it is possible to minimize the risks of climate change, then the same goes for exaggeration, said the letter. If minimization is fraud, exaggeration is fraud. The letter comes as Exxon Mobil fights off subpoenas by two prosecutors Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude E. Walker for decades worth of climate-related documents and communications with academics, universities and free-market think tanks. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and California Attorney General Kamala Harris have also reportedly launched probes. The 17 attorneys general 16 Democrats and one independent announced at a March 29 press conference that they had formed a coalition, AGs United for Clean Power. We think this effort by our colleagues to police the global warming debate through the power of the subpoena is a grave mistake, said the letter. The name of the coalition itself shows that the attorneys general have taken the unusual step of aligning themselves with the competition of their investigative targets, namely the solar and wind energy. If the focus is fraud, such alignment by law enforcement sends the dangerous signal that companies in certain segments of the energy market need not worry about their misrepresentations, said the GOP letter. Democrats have denied that the effort violates Exxons free-speech rights. Schneiderman spokesman Eric Soufer said in a statement that, The law is clear: the First Amendment does not give any corporation the right to commit fraud. We learned that the drug that killed Prince is a favorite of Mexican cartels. I don't mean that they consume it or pass it on to their families. They like it because we consume it, as we read in the New York Times: The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States and immensely profitable, American officials say. Law enforcement and border authorities in the United States warn that Mexican cartels are using their own labs to produce the drug, fentanyl, as well as receiving shipments from China. Then the cartels distribute the substance through their vast smuggling networks to meet rising Americandemand for opiates and pharmaceuticals. It is really the next migration of the cartels in terms of making profit, said Jack Riley, acting deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. This goes to the heart of the marketing genius of the cartels. They saw this coming. Marketing genius? These cartels know supply and demand better than we do. What can we do? The wall is a start because it would close the easy routes into Arizona. It would force the cartels to send their shipments by air or into Texas by the Gulf of Mexico. It would increase the risk for the cartels. At the same time, supply always finds demand, specially when the supplier is making so much money. After all, why do you think that El Chapo is so rich? He became wealthy supplying our demand for all of these drugs. We could militarize portions of the border, specially the wide open routes currently used. I have always supported that because it establishes the fact that we are serious about the matter. In fact, a military presence may be more significant than the wall. We could start another campaign to point out the risks of consumption and Prince's death could become the face of that campaign. Last, but not least, It would be nice to have a president who connects the recreational use of illegal drugs with border violence and kids showing up at the border. Or someone who can remind the user that he or she is funding the mindless killing south of the border or the destruction of small countries like Guatemala. In the meantime, the cartels will continue to be marketing geniuses because they supply our demand for this stuff! P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. Donald Trump said this week that if the GOP doesn't "man up" and support everything he says, he will freeze out the RNC and run his campaign alone. Trump was angry that so many Republicans condemned his attack on the Hispanic judge and publicly opposed his ban on Muslim immigration. He said Republicans should either support him or "keep quiet." Washington Times: You cant make this up sometimes, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said at a press briefing Thursday on Capitol Hill. Mr. Trumps admonition came after several weeks of chiding from fellow Republicans who decried his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., and who said his attacks on a federal judges ethnicity were unbecoming. Mr. Ryan had called it the textbook definition of a racist comment. The Republicans, honestly, folks, our leaders, our leaders have to get tougher. This is too tough to do it alone. But you know what? I think Im going to be forced to. I think Im going to be forced to, Mr. Trump said on Wednesday. Our leaders have to get a lot tougher. And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Dont talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet to the leaders. Because they have to get tougher. They have to get sharper. They have to get smarter. We have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself. Ill do very well, Mr. Trump insisted. GOP observers said Mr. Trump is playing with fire. Most people respond better to charm and subtle persuasion than they do to threats, and most victories are won by team efforts versus lone wolves, said Fred Malek, a White House veteran who serves as finance chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Trump certainly knows this from his success in business, and why would he think its different in politics? Mr. Malek said voters want Mr. Trump to step up and be an inclusive leader. But the maverick candidate began his campaign on the other side of the spectrum, accusing Mexico of sending rapists and other bad elements of its society to the U.S. His approach appeared to work in the GOP primary, with his criticism of fellow politicians as stupid and all talk, no action earning him fans from alienated conservatives and moderates alike. That has led to an uneasy relationship with the Republican National Committee, as well as GOP lawmakers nationally whove had meltdowns over his brash brand of politics, concerned that he is tarnishing the party and its chance of retaining control of Congress in the November election. This week Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Richard Armitage, who served as deputy secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, announced they were jumping ship and couldnt support Mr. Trump. Trump is in his own universe when it comes to his toxic, bigoted comments. He believes that the "stronger" his insults, the more support he will get. But he doesn't realize, or care much, that Republican politicians have to exist in a different universe - the real world where making racist comments actually has a downside. He can't expect support for his outbursts, nor can he expect GOP politicians to "keep quiet" when silence, to many voters, means assent. As big as the disaster that is looming in November for Trump and the GOP, it would be nothing compared to what would happen if Trump booted the party from his campaign. Already underfunded with little organization, he would be buried by the Democrats in a disaster unprecedented in American political history. With every major issue or event, the media and the pols scramble for the words to frame the story in terms they see as beneficial to their point of view. Unvarnished truth is generally cast aside because it doesn't lead the listener to the desired conclusion. This process of shaping the story to fit the agenda is called " crafting the narrative ". Obama's narrative on terrorism is to remove any reference to Islam. Never mind that almost every incident of terrorism is inspired by and executed (no pun intended) by followers of Islam. Hillary's narrative on illegally receiving and sending classified information via her unsecured, personal email server is "none of the emails were marked 'classified'." Never mind that classified material is always marked either "CONFIDENTIAL", "SECRET", "TOP SECRET", or with the special designations that go with material that is more sensitive than top secret. So it is true that the material she received and sent did not carry the specific word "CLASSIFIED " as a marking. She has created a "narrative" to cover her butt while fully intending to conceal the truth. The recent horrific slaughter of innocents in the Orlando nightclub has the "narrative" generators in full action mode. The liberals are calling the Orlando massacre a result of insufficient gun control. The Obama sycophants are scrubbing any reference to Islamic terrorism out of any releases given to the press. The Fort Hood shooting narrative was that it was "workplace violence". No reference to Islam until years later. The narrative on the IRS targeting of conservative groups was just "the sloppy work of low-level agents". And so it goes. On and on the truth is shaded and obscured to fit the agenda for the moment. Judge Andrew Napolitano wrote a recent article on how citizens face severe penalties when being less than truthful to the government, but, the government is free to lie to Americans with only the ballot box to sanction the liars. What will it take for us to get consistent and reliable truth from those in power? I, for one, am weary of "narratives" that package the issues of the day. We deserve better -- but I don't know how to go about getting it. Maybe we should adopt a narrative of "throw the bums out" and get some term limits to ensure they go. No one uses Tommy guns anymore. Today's thugs sling lead at one another with their plastic wonder-guns across playgrounds and parks, with poor accuracy and less style. Desperados, the demented, and the depraved appear to have settled on the ubiquitous black rifle as their favorite fashion firearm. Even Chicago, America's Free Fire Zone, hasn't seen anyone mowed down with the fabled Chicago Typewriter in decades. It is a puzzlement. After all, the Tommy is an all-American weapon, an iconic symbol of American independence and ingenuity. General Thompson intended it to sweep trenches clear of enemy soldiers, but the Germans, rather inconsiderately, threw in the towel before development work was complete. Yet the general persevered, in due course bringing forth the Thompson Model 1919: genuine American walnut and intricately tooled, highly polished steel. Able to carry up to 100 rounds of .45 ammunition and spit them out at the rate of 600 per minute (1,200 in early models). One hundred lumps of lead just less than half an inch in diameter loosed in a few seconds an outlaw's dream weapon. As the saying goes, the Thompson made the '20s roar. Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger, used it (ineptly), as did Bonnie and Clyde (although Clyde favored the much more powerful BAR); "Baby Face" Nelson; and, of course "Machine Gun" Kelly. It starred in the Kansas City Massacre (which left a two-bit thug and the officers transporting him dead), failed to kill Capone at his headquarters in the Hawthorne Hotel (ten cars, a Tommy in every car, and still they missed him), and helped make Capone boss of Chicago with the St.. Valentine's Day Massacre. Service in World War II, Korea, and even Vietnam cemented its reputation as a pre-eminent man-stopper, the weapon any savvy warrior would chose for vicious close-quarters combat. It even had its own television show: the exuberantly violent Untouchables. (The Thompson was the star; Robert Stack and Co. were just there to carry it around.) It had looks. It had power. It had fame, and it was style. It has disappeared, abandoned for a contraption of plastic and alloy that fires a round only half the size of the .45. Have the 'bangers and jihadists lost their minds? The grim truth is that the Thompson, like its contemporaries the BAR and the Lewis gun, is a one-dimensional firearm. It was designed to end violent confrontations swiftly and decisively. It is an instrument of war and of law enforcement, with few benefits to offer the civilian shooter. It's not a hunting rifle (although a WWII vet once told me how he used one to hunt deer in Germany), and a .45 pistol is more convenient for personal defense. In addition, the Thompson is heavy, high-maintenance, expensive, and rare. Military surplus models, being true sub-machine guns, are also subject to special licensing requirements and hefty fees. Like the Scotch Capone once smuggled in from Canada, the Thompson is not for those with faint hearts or thin wallets. In many ways, today's black rifle, or, to use its proper name, the modern sporting rifle (MSR), is the antithesis of the Thompson. It is lightweight, requires only moderate maintenance, and can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable price. It is capable of exquisite accuracy and is almost infinitely flexible. Adjustable stocks allow the rifle to be lengthened or shortened according to the size of the shooter or the situation. Changing to a different caliber means changing out the barrel and some internal parts rather than buying a whole new rifle. Indeed, an MSR can be configured to hunt most anything in North America, from paper targets to prairie dogs to wild boar to deer and elk. (I don't know whether anyone hunts bear with an MSR.) Needless to say, it can also stop a home invasion cold. Perhaps most importantly, pulling the trigger fires just one bullet, rather than the torrent a Thompson would unleash. Yes, pulling the trigger rapidly will fire the rifle rapidly, but rapid fire is seldom accurate fire. Few of us have the skills of Ed McGivern, who could empty a revolver in less than a second and hit the target with each shot. Rather like the musket of our Revolutionary forbears, the MSR performs two basic functions reliably and well. It can put food on the table and defend home and hearth. While Google and Apple have been battling it out on the operating system front for years, more recently, the battle has changed somewhat. Android and iOS are still in competition for your smartphone, but Google and Apple are now also in competition for other and newer devices like your watch and even your TV. Over the last year or two both Google and Apple have brought to market devices which run a TV-tweaked version of their respective operating systems. For Google, this is Android TV and for Apple, this is tvOS. While Google was first to market with their Android TV debut device, the Nexus Player, a recent report out of Apteligent notes that on the face of it, the tvOS-running Apple TV is winning the first rounds of this latest battle. At least in terms of usage, as based on Apteligents monitoring of the two platforms during May, Apple TV owners use their devices twice as much as Android TV consumers use their devices. Interestingly, when you dig further into the results, as Apteligent has, the levels of usage is not so clear-cut. It seems that while Apple TV owners use their devices far more on weekends (with an increase of roughly 30% compared to the weekday levels of usage) than Android TV, it seems Android TV owners are using their devices more consistently throughout the weekdays and weekends. One of the reasons Apteligent suggests for the more consistent levels of use by Android TV owners, is that a number of Android TV devices are actual TV sets which come with the platform built-in. An aspect Apteligent suggests leads to a more consistent, ongoing experience for its users. As a result, Apteligent also expect the levels of usage between the two platforms to become less as time goes on and as more manufacturers come to adopt Android TV as an interface for their sets. Advertisement Another possible reason as to why Android TV device owners could be more consistently using their devices might actually be the stability of the apps. According to the Apteligent findings, Android TV apps are about twice as stable as Android apps for smartphones and tablets. Apteligent notes that the crash rate during May for Android TV apps was as low as 1.5-percent. Which is considerably lower than the 3-percent Apteligent attributes to apps crashes for smartphones and tablets running on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) during the same period. As such, the Apteligent findings do suggest that Android TV apps are more stable than their mobile counterparts and further suggests that one of the reasons for this, is that Android TV devices do not have to deal with certain connectivity issues, like switching from Wi-Fi to a cellular signal. Although, one of the more controversial aspects of the report is that Apteligent draws on the removal of the Nexus Player as further evidence that Googles focus is increasingly leaning more towards OEMs built-in TV options, like those on offer from Sony, Sharp, RCA and so on, instead of their own endorsed standalone options. Of course, this is quite similar to the way in which the mobile side of Android operates and yet Google does still proceed with releasing Nexus smartphones. Not to mention, there is also new standalone units coming in from third-party manufacturers as well. Whether it is the case that Google is less interested in a Nexus-branded Android TV set remains to be seen, although with no current Nexus Android TV device on the market, clearer indications of whether Apteligents suggestion is true or not will come through when Google does announce its Nexus lineup for 2016 later in the year. Before Lenovo announced the new Moto Z and Moto Z Force at their event last week in San Francisco, there were a number of leaks about the two devices. One of those leaks was in regards to the Moto Mods, and it was a camera module built by Hasselblad. As we now know, that camera module was not officially announced at Lenovo Tech World. Although we did have a few other Moto Mods announced that were made with other companies. Like Incipios offGRID 2200mAh battery pack, and the JBL Moto Mod that adds a speaker to the back of the Moto Z. Now, Hasselblad has just sent out invites to a June 22nd event, where they may announce this new Moto Mod. The picture on the invite shows what appears to be a Moto Mod camera module, which is leading everyone to think that is what we may see next week. The invite shows the outline of a camera, which could be a typical camera, but it could also be this rumored and leaked Moto Mod. The leak that we saw before Lenovo Tech World of this Hasselblad Moto Mod did feature a dedicated shutter button as well as a full-sized flash. However it did not look as high-quality as what this teaser is showing us. Advertisement For those that may be unaware of Hasselblad, they are a company out of Sweden that manufacturers medium-format cameras. They also make photographic equipment and image scanners, although they are a bit less popular in that area. Hasselblad is known best for their classic medium-format cameras that they have producing since World War II, which ended in 1945. Hasselblad could put together a pretty awesome camera for the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, and itd be something that most photographers would be excited about. Although the price would likely be much higher than the Moto Mod prices weve already seen which range from $50 to $200. Making it a tough sell for Lenovo and Motorola. The Moto Z and Moto Z Force are due to launch on Verizon this summer, with the Moto Z heading to Motorolas website and other retailers in September. Verizon Wireless has started rolling out the June security update for Samsungs Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+, both of which were launched late last year by the South Korean consumer electronics giant. According to the information provided by big red, the incoming update will optimize device performance, resolve known issues and apply the latest security patches on the two devices. While the new software for the Note 5 comes with software version MMB29K.N920VVZW2BPF2, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ will see a bump to software version MMB29K.G928VVZW2BPF2 after the installation of the latest update. Verizon has not released a detailed changelog for the incoming update, but says that it gives you the most up to date Android. Thankfully for users though, earlier in the month, Samsung had posted a few more details regarding its June security patch. According to that particular announcement, the companys latest update incorporates all patches up to the June 2016 Google Security Bulletin, alongside nine vulnerabilities and security holes that are patched up by Samsung itself. So all said and done, users of the two smartphones will at least be happy to know that their devices are now secured with the latest security patches available. Users of the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ should also know that neither Samsung nor Verizon have said anything about any new features being rolled out as part of the latest update. Advertisement Its heartening to see smartphone vendors taking the issue of security comparatively more seriously these days, what with cyber-security becoming an increasingly important issue among netizens worldwide. Earlier this month, Verizon had actually rolled out the June security update for Samsungs latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge, both of which were unveiled back in February at the Mobile World Congress trade show in the Spanish city of Barcelona. While Samsung hasnt always been credited with being the fastest off the blocks in rolling out updates to its devices, the company is one of the very few OEMs alongside the likes of Sony, LG and HTC to have officially announced that it will follow Googles monthly security update schedule. Xiaomi has been one of the most active smartphone manufacturing companies this year. This company has not only introduced quite a few smartphones, but theyve also released some smart gadgets as well. Xiaomi had introduced devices like the Mi 5 (their flagship), Mi Max, Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3, Redmi 3 Pro, etc. The company had also introduced the Mi Band 2 fitness tracker, and their first drone, the Mi Drone. Having that in mind, the Android-based MIUI 8 OS had also been introduced earlier this year, along with the Mi Max phablet. The MIUI 8 is a significant step up from MIUI 7, which is always good to hear, and consumers are looking forward to a stable version of Xiaomis newest OS. Now, were not here to talk about MIUI 8 in specific, but rather MIUI in general. The OS has been criticized in China for its advertising policy, let us elaborate on that. MIUI basically shows ads, yes, thats right, youll get to see ads in Xiaomis OS, but its not as bad as you think, not even by a long shot, but it seems like it is bothering people. Now, Xiaomis CEO, Lei Jun, was answering questions live yesterday, and has answered a couple of questions regarding MIUI ads. The companys CEO basically said that users dont hate advertising, they just hate annoying kind of ads, which is kind of true. Lei Jun has also mentioned that MIUI 8 comes with a lot less ads, which is something to look forward to. Advertisement Now, you have to keep in mind that Xiaomi doesnt exactly earn a lot of cash from the smartphone business, their devices are quite affordable, even the more expensive ones, so advertising in the OS itself might be Xiaomis way to compensate for that. It is weird to see ads in an OS though, thats for sure, and quite a few people certainly have a problem with that, though it seems like MIUI 8 will ease up on the ads, so maybe thats a way to silence critics, at least to an extent. The stable build of Xiaomis newest OS is expected to arrive soon (its in beta currently), stay tuned for more info. Every year, the three largest tech companies (Microsoft, Google and Apple) hold their developer conferences typically all at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, although Google opted to return to Mountain View this year. Apple was the last to hold their developer conference this year, which kicked off this past Monday. Their keynote was jam-packed with all sorts of announcements, although no hardware debuted at the keynote. Google, on the other hand, held their developer conference last month. During their keynote, they announced a slew of updates and new products too. While they did unveil some new hardware, they didnt actually make it available, or even show it in person to the press that was there. Now that we have both Google and Apples developer conferences for 2016 under our belt, whos was better? Lets break it down and find out. Well start with the desktop platform. For Apple, they announced that Mac OS X was being renamed to macOS to coincide with their other platforms. They also detailed the next version of the desktop OS, which is named Sierra. Apple brought in a ton of new features with Sierra which is available as a developer preview now with the public beta starting next month. Most of the features that Apple announced only really affects those that use a Mac and an iPhone, like Universal Copy and Paste. A cool feature, which allows you to copy something from your iPhone and then paste it on your mac, or vice versa. Pretty cool, actually. What did Google announce for Chrome OS? Not much. The only real announcement from Google I/O in regards to Chrome OS was actually the fact that Google Play is coming. Which means that about a million Android apps are making their way to Chrome OS. Its a pretty big deal, and its going to make Chrome OS a much better platform overall. Advertisement Then theres Android vs iOS. Google actually announced Android N fairly early, as far back as March. But they did detail quite a few changes to Android N that werent already mentioned. Android N is in beta form now and will be available in Q3. Weve covered Android N extensively already, but some of the bigger features include multi-window support, revamped notifications, keyboard themes, better performance and new emojis. Just to name a few of the features in Android N. With iOS 10, which Apple showed off this week, we got a lot of features that Android has actually had for quite some time. Apple revamped the lock screen, allowing you to see your notifications on the lock screen now. They are also putting out an updated iMessage, which has a lot of features from Allo which Google debuted at Google I/O last month. Siri also got enhanced, we got a new Apple Music app and much more. Over on the TV side of things, Google was actually pretty quiet. The only real announcement from Google I/O was actually the Xiaomi Mi Box which will be launching at some point this year, and running on Android TV. Apple, on the other hand, put out a few changes to tvOS which runs on the Apple TV, but they were mostly small ones. Arguably the biggest was Single Sign-On. If youve ever used an app like WatchESPN where you need to login through your cable provider, you know how much of a hassle that can be when using the app on a Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV set-top box. Now thats all changed. You just sign into your cable provider once and its all set for every other app on the Apple TV. Its a small feature, but definitely one that is going to be popular. Advertisement Then theres the wrist. Google announced Android Wear 2.0 at Google I/O, which brings a ton of new features. With Android Wear 2.0, Google brought standalone apps to your wrist, as well as basically an entire redesign of the interface. But there was also handwriting. So you can easily handwrite a message onto your wrist. Google also got a bit more into fitness this time around with Google Fit. Apple announced basically the same things for watchOS 3 and the Apple Watch. So the Apple Watch is getting handwriting later this year with watchOS 3. Additionally, Apple announced the ability to unlock your Mac from wearing your Apple Watch. Sounds a whole lot like the Smart Unlock the Android has had for almost two years now. Like Google, Apple also is improving the fitness features of their watch in watchOS 3. In respect to all of the developers and engineers at both Google and Apple, these updates and changes are in no way small. But they both just seemed like me too. Especially when it came to the smartwatch front. Where Android Wear 2.0 and watchOS 3 seemed to be basically the same, aside from different terminology used on each platform. Admittedly, Apple did do quite a bit more when it comes to the living room, but well likely see more out of Android TV later this year with the Nexus hardware announcement. iOS also added a ton of features that Android has had for quite some time. However, when it comes to the desktop, Apple definitely has Google beat. Where macOS is definitely much more advanced than Chrome OS even before Google I/O and WWDC took place this year and it also is seeing a much bigger update. Sure Android apps coming to Chrome OS is still a big deal, but its just apps, really. Advertisement So who had the better developer conference? Thats tough to say. Each ecosystem got plenty of updates that are going to keep their users happy. But since this is an Android site, well have to side with Google here. The one thing that Google had over Apple, is Google Assistant. Sure Siri saw a few updates come its way at WWDC, but Google Assistant is still so much further ahead than Siri in almost every aspect. Additionally, the Google Home product that Google unveiled is an area that Apple basically skipped out on, at WWDC although that may get announced with new hardware later this year. While Apples WWDC did seem like it featured a bunch of me too updates to their platforms, it was still a pretty big conference for them. Google had a bunch of those updates too though. Nothing that either company announced was particularly new. It just goes to show that the tech industry has hit a plateau, and no company really knows where to go next. Virtual Reality seems to be the next big thing, and its something else that Apple also skipped out on entirely. However, Apples mantra isnt to be first, but to release a new product when they feel its ready and when they feel the market is ready for it. Take a look at the iPhone or iPad, they werent the first smartphones or tablets, but were arguably one of the best in those categories (remember the T-Mobile G1, aka the first Android smartphone, launched a year later) when they launched. Advertisement Neither developer conference was really all that spectacular, but they had something for everyone. Its important to remember that these are developer conferences, so the majority of the announcements here are going to be geared towards developers. Hence the reason why we havent seen much in terms of hardware at WWDC or Google I/O in the past few years. Even Microsofts BUILD has been pretty quiet, in terms of hardware. Its a place where these companies update all of their platforms and release developer previews. Having said that, the battle between Android N and iOS 10 coming later this year, is definitely going to be an interesting one, with new Nexus hardware and iPhones coming as well. Last week we discussed whether it was worth upgrading from the OnePlus 2 (after upgrading already from the OnePlus One) to the OnePlus 3. At the time, the latest OnePlus installment had yet to be announced, so much of the details of the latest device had yet to be confirmed. That has all changed now though as OnePlus has lifted the curtain on the OnePlus 3. And to be quite honest, it looks to be a pretty nice smartphone. On paper, the OnePlus 3 comes touting pretty much the best-in-class specs. There is a whopping 6GB RAM included, as is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. Storage is set at 64GB, although there is no option to expand. Fast charging is included by way of Dash Charge (which sounds more like a detergent than anything else). There is also a 16-megapixel rear camera, as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and the prodigal OnePlus son has returned, NFC. So on paper, this is a powerhouse smartphone. It is not really a 2017 flagship killer and thankfully OnePlus has not touted anything of the kind this year, but for right now, it is a spec contender. One which can stand among the best smartphones of 2016 and does even outclass one or two in certain departments. However, and this is a big however, on paper is a very small part of providing a good service/product to consumers. While most of the spec battles and comparisons will be fully in favor of the OnePlus 3, when it comes to after-sales, OnePlus is anything but a performer. In fact, this is what fueled much of the talk last week on whether it was worth upgrading to the OnePlus 3. After all, there was never any doubt that OnePlus would cram all the specs under the sun into the OnePlus 3, but that is not always enough. Both the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2 did the same thing and offer consumers a spec-heavy smartphone at an affordable price. However, after owning both the One and 2 and using them solidly as a daily driver, the best advice that can be offered to anyone thinking of switching over to OnePlus for the first time, is beware the aftercare. Specifically, beware of updates. Advertisement This is and has always been a major hurdle for OnePlus. At the time of launch, the OnePlus One came with the added benefit of having Cyanogen OS installed by default. This meant the device came with software which was extremely user-centric. An approach which effectively guaranteed a stable and excellent software experience, as well as routine and regular updates. Although before the OnePlus Ones life cycle ended, Cyanogen and OnePlus unceremoniously fell out and as a result, OnePlus Ones coming off the production line started to emerge running on the companys own recently (at the time) developed OxygenOS. And there is where the real update issues began to surface. From this point on and following the initial OxygenOS roll out, updates were very random and certainly not routine. This all occurred during the time in which Lollipop was beginning to roll out through other manufacturers. As a result, owners of the OnePlus One will remember they had to wait quite a significant time before Lollipop did arrive on their Ones. Although, when it came to Lollipop, OnePlus was pretty much in line with Cyanogen with Android 5.0-based versions of both OxygenOS and Cyanogen OS rolling out around the same time. To be clear, this was not exactly a timely roll out as both Cyanogen OS and OxygenOS were rather late to the Lollipop game, with their updates arriving April 2015 which was a year and a month after the One had been announced (April 2014), ten months after the One became available (June 2015) and six months after Lollipop had been introduced (October 2014). Advertisement Of course at the time, OnePlus was let off any major criticism as OxygenOS was a new operating system and one which was largely understood to be a product of what was essentially a skeleton development crew (by comparison). As such, once the OnePlus 2 was announced, it was naturally assumed update cycles would be greatly improved with the second-generation device. However, they were not. If anything the update cycle seemed to be as bad, if not worse with the OnePlus 2. This was a smartphone which was first announced in July 2015 (note three months after the One received Lollipop) and one which became available (sort of, as it was invite-only) in August of 2015 and naturally, running on Lollipop. By this time, Marshmallow had already been introduced at Google I/O in May and this was followed by the full unveil in September and the code being uploaded to AOSP in October. From this point on, the race to Marshmallow began with a number of manufacturers in December all beginning to tout their various OTA ETA dates. OnePlus was no exception with the company stating they would release Marshmallow for the OnePlus 2 within three months (of the December date). Which put the ETA at and around March 2016. Fast forward to March and on literally the final day of the month OnePlus did make a build of Marshmallow available, but this was defined as an experiment build, a community build and one which had to be sideloaded by the user. So while OnePlus at the time, claimed this was just in time (clearly referring to their earlier promise), the reality is that it was not what was promised. There was no final version, no OTA and those who opted to wait for the official, final and OTA version had to wait until June of this year. Which was eleven months after the unveil (July 2015), ten months after the phone became available (again, in a limited invite capacity), thirteen months after Marshmallow was first debuted at Google I/O, nine months after Marshmallow was formally introduced, eight months after Marshmallow hit AOSP and six months after the OnePlus announced a three month ETA. Coincidentally (or not), one week before the release of the OnePlus 3. Advertisement Now it is clear that OnePlus product (hardware) cycles are shortening, as the 2 became available in August and the 3 is now available in June, but the software update cycles are not, which could be seen as a clear indication of where their priorities lie. They can bring a whole new smartphone to market in a shorter turnaround time (good for them), but cannot turnaround a major update in a timely manner (not good for device owners). While the 2 and the 3 both took about six months to roll out their next major software updates, the time-frame between the One receiving Lollipop and the 2 being released was three months. In contrast, the time-frame between the 2 receiving Marshmallow and the 3 being released was one week. Which does clearly indicate an emphasis being placed on the hardware aspect of the business. Which in truth, should not be the case. At this point, OnePlus needs to start focusing more on the software side of things and ensuring that its already-established customer-base is getting as good of a product after purchase, as they do at the point of purchase. Things are a little different this year though. In addition to the 3 becoming available to buy earlier in the year (June compared to August), the next Android flavor, Android N has also become available earlier. The developer previews have been rolling out for months now (and the latest of which rolled out this week) and it is largely expected that the final release of N and the OEM-ready version will be available very soon, certainly earlier in the calendar year than it has been over the last couple of years. Advertisement This does almost guarantee that the OnePlus 3 will likely receive its update long before April-June of next year (or when the OnePlus 4 comes through), but so will every other manufacturer device. The issue OnePlus will face is whether they can provide the update in a quicker turnaround phase than in previous years. Most OEMs will likely be looking to have Android N either rolled out or in the process of rolling out before the close of 2016 and based on prior experience with OnePlus, it seems highly unlikely they will be able to match those times. This is in spite of OxygenOS being one of the most lightweight and stock-like versions of Android currently on the market. So while many will currently be in the process of deciding on whether to buy the OnePlus 3, the one unspoken aspect during the launch that should be taken into consideration is updates. It is very easy to offer a great product at the point of purchase and OnePlus does offer great products for sale, but as the market becomes more saturated with viable (and affordable options), manufacturers do need to start finding new ways to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. Companies like LG and Motorola have gone the modular route while Samsung has gone the Edge route and HTC has gone the VR route, OnePlus does not have any of these USPs. In fact, if OnePlus does not pick up the update pace this time around, then they could actually negatively differentiate themselves from the pack, as a company who is too slow at providing major updates. A differentiation which has already started to take effect with some consumers. Now is the time for OnePlus to change that perception before it does begin to stick. If you need any further details on OnePlus updates, just ask a OnePlus X owner how they are enjoying Marshmallow. Theyre not. Vernees latest smartphone, the Thor which is a 4G smartphone, has been turning quite a few heads. This smartphone is priced at $99, but the specs that are included are not in that price range. Were looking at specs that you would expect from a smartphone around 3-4 times that price. The Vernee Thor is also a somewhat small smartphone, foregoing the typical larger is better mantra that most smartphone makers have been using lately. But the big question is, does the Vernee Thor stack up? Is it worth $99? Well lets find out in our review. Specs Advertisement When talking about specs, were looking at a smartphone with a 5-inch 1280 x 720 resolution display. This is powered by MediaTeks MT6753 processor, which is an octa-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 SoC and that is paired with the Mali-T720 GPU. Vernee has also tossed in 3GB of RAM along with 16GB of storage. However there is a micro SD card slot, allowing you to expand storage to about 128GB. Camera-wise, were looking at a 13-megapixel camera around back which features an f/2.0 aperture, LED Flash and can shoot video at 30 frames per second. The front-facing camera is a 5-megapixel shooter. Dimensions for the Vernee Thor are 70.3mm x 142mm x 7.9mm, and it weighs in at about 140g. Vernee sells the Thor in both black and gray colors. We have two SIM card slots here, both are micro SIM. As far as band support, the Vernee Thor supports: Advertisement GSM 900/1800/1900 WCDMA 900/2100 LTE 800/1800/2100/2600 Advertisement When it comes to software, the Vernee Thor is running stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow. There are a few added in features, but for the most part it is stock Android. Of course, well talk more about that in the software section of this review. The Thor also includes proximity, light, accelerometer, and fingerprint sensors. Along with GPS and A-GPS for location tracking. For WiFi connectivity we have 802.11 b/g/n. In the Box Advertisement Inside the box, Vernee packs the Thor right on top, so its the first thing that you see. When I first opened the box, the first thing I thought was that it looked a lot like the Nexus 5, if you gave it a fingerprint sensor. It even has that soft-touch plastic back. Beneath the Thor lays the packet of paperwork, as well as the micro USB to USB Type-A cable and wall adapter. There is no SIM ejection tool included because the back cover pops off of the Vernee Thor which allows you to access the SIM card slots and micro SD card slot. However the battery is still non-removable. Display Advertisement As mentioned, this is a 5-inch 720p or HD display here, its an IPS display so it does get nice and bright. While outside, and in direct sunlight, the display on the Thor was still very visible. Of course, you did need to turn the display all the way up, but you kinda expect that when it comes to being outside in direct sunlight. The Thors display does also get pretty dim. Making it great for using in dark rooms without damaging your eyes. This is a 720p display, but remember that it is also just 5-inches diagonal. Which means it is still pretty pixel dense. We werent able to see individual pixels in day-to-day use, however if you look hard enough, youll definitely see them. The blacks in the display are actually fairly dark, but still not as dark as an AMOLED panel would provide. The colors are pretty accurate, and Vernee gives you the option to adjust the display to your liking. In the settings you can choose from a few different modes including Standard, Vivid, and User Mode. Now User Mode allows you to adjust just about every aspect of the display to your liking. While the display looks good, the digitizer could use some work. For the most part it was pretty good. However, we did notice while playing Stack, that sometimes there is a delay between when you touch the display and the device actually recognizing it. It is still pretty quick, but it is noticeable in games like that. For the most part, we didnt experience any issues though. We did have a few issues in typing, however that was likely due to the phone being much smaller than most other smartphones, and just takes a little bit to get used to. Advertisement Hardware & Build Quality For a smartphone that costs just $99, you dont really expect a whole lot from it. But Vernee has done a great job at giving us a decently built device at a crazy low price. The Vernee Thor is a pretty small device, coming with a 5-inch display and pretty small bezels as well. They also included a fingerprint scanner on the back, something you dont see often with these $99 smartphones. The frame is plastic, but it is the soft-touch plastic material, which is good for a few reasons. One, and probably the most important reason, is that it gives you some extra grip for holding onto the device. It also doesnt leave many fingerprints on the back. Finally, it keeps the cost down for Vernee, allowing them to add better internal specs. Which is what theyve done. Advertisement The back of the device is removable, which you will find the dual SIM card slots and micro SD card slot beneath it. Unfortunately, the battery is not-removable. But that shouldnt be an issue anyways, as the battery is still quite good and lasts quite a while. On the back side, you have your 13-megapixel camera with LED flash below it. And below that is the fingerprint sensor. The speaker is also on the back, toward the bottom of the smartphone. On the right-hand side, we have a volume rocker and power button with the 3.5mm headphone jack up top and the micro USB port on the bottom. Now with the back being removable, this does make the Vernee Thor feel a bit cheap. Seeing as the back is flimsy, which is quite common for removable backs, but that also means that when you hold the device in certain ways, you can hear it creak a bit. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it will turn some people off. Vernee has taken to using three capacitive buttons on the front. The home button is a square and is in the middle with a button on either side indicated by a dot. Unfortunately, these cannot be remapped, so your menu button is on the left side and back is on the right. You access recents by long-pressing the Home button. Where the two capacitive buttons on either side of the home button are not labeled as either menu or back buttons, it would be nice for Vernee to allow us to remap these to our liking. For instance, Id rather have the back button on the left side and the right button be the recents button. The build quality is not what you would expect from something that is competing with the Galaxy S7, HTC 10, Meizu PRO 6, or Xiaomi Mi 5. But the Vernee Thor is not competing with those. Coming in at a much lower price tag, the Vernee Thors build quality is actually fairly decent. Of course it has its quirks, but so does every other smartphone out there. Fingerprint Reader Vernee did put a fingerprint reader on the back of this smartphone, and they probably shouldnt have. The fingerprint reader is really pretty bad. More often than not, I have to resort to using the pattern to unlock the device, as it doesnt recognize my finger about 9 out of 10 times. Thats a stark difference from the other fingerprint scanners weve used, like the Meizu PRO 6, Leagoo Shark 1 and many others. While the Thor is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and does support the Fingerprint API, its much more of a hassle than its worth. Now this could be fixed, or at least made a bit better, with a software update, but right now, its hard to tell. Performance Powering the Vernee Thor, we have a MediaTek MT6753 processor, which is a 1.3GHz octa-core processor. Its a fairly popular processor among cheaper Android handsets like the Vernee Thor. And that is due to how well it actually works. The MT6753 here is paired with the Mali-T720 GPU along with 3GB of RAM, which gives the Thor some pretty respectable performance, overall. Obviously this isnt going to compare to anything running the Snapdragon 810 or Snapdragon 820 from Qualcomm, but then again, I wouldnt expect it too. While using the Vernee Thor, everything seemed to be nice and snappy. There werent any noticeable slowdowns at all, throughout the system. And with 3GB of RAM there is definitely enough space to keep all of your favorite apps and games open without the smartphone needing to reopen it when you want to jump back into that app. Inside, there is 16GB of storage by default. Now out of the box, youll have around 11GB of storage that you can actually use. Thats pretty common for smartphones with 16GB of internal storage. Dont forget that there is a micro SD card slot available as well, for expanding this storage. And since it is running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, we also have Adoptable storage available. Benchmarks When it comes to benchmarks, the Vernee Thor didnt give us any real surprises. We ran Geekbench 3, AnTuTu and 3D Mark on the Vernee Thor, and the scores were pretty predictable. Thats actually a good thing, as it shows that there isnt anything funny going on behind the scenes (like cheating in benchmarks). You can see the results below. Network & Phone Calls Typically, we put in a T-Mobile US SIM card into the phone that we are testing. We did that with the Vernee Thor, but for some reason it wouldnt connect to the network at all (not even the voice network). Based on the bands the Thor supports, we should get 2G on T-Mobile. But since the phone wouldnt recognize the SIM card at all, we spent most of the review period without a SIM card inside. Thus we were unable to test phone calls as well as data speeds. However, we were able to make some calls over WiFi (using Google Voice through Hangouts), and the experience was basically what youd expect. Sound & Speakers The speaker on the Thor is on the back of the phone. Typically this placement means that the speaker wont be as good as youd hope. When holding the device in your hand, the sound can get a bit muffled. The same thing happens when you place it down on a table or desk. The speaker, on the bright side, is pretty loud. Now this speaker isnt going to compete with the speaker found on the HTC 10 or even the Samsung Galaxy S7. But it is quite good. There are a few settings that are available for enhancing the sound from both the speaker and the headphone jack, here on the Vernee Thor. We have BesAudEnh which enhances the audio for the earphone or headphone jack. Then we have the BesLoudness for boosting the volume of the speaker. Finally we have BesSurround which offers two modes, Music Mode and Movie Mode. During our review process, we had BesLoudness enabled and BesSurround set to Music Mode. Our experience with the speaker has been quite good. Not only is the speaker nice and loud, but the mids are nice and clear as well as the lows having plenty of bass. Great for those that love bass-heavy music. Battery Life Keep in mind that our battery life experience as well as benchmarks were done without a SIM card inside, as well as on WiFi only the entire time. Having said that, battery life appeared to be pretty good. We werent able to kill the phone in a full day, and could easily squeak out about 4 hours of on screen time if we really tried. We consistently got between 2 and 3 hours of on screen time each day. Which was pretty decent. It would likely be different if it were connected to a network. Having said that, we did run PC Mark on the Vernee Thor as a battery benchmark. And the Vernee Thor did really well. Putting up better times than most of the phones weve recently reviewed. Including the HTC 10, Creo Mark 1, Meizu PRO 6 and a few others. Thats something that we definitely like to see. Theres no fast charging technology included here. Which means the Thor does charge a bit slower, but that isnt necessarily a deal breaker though. Seeing as the Thor does have a somewhat small battery, rated at 2800mAh capacity. It doesnt take long to charge it from 0 to 100%. Software In terms of software, what we have here on the Vernee Thor is pretty minimal. Vernee is running a mostly stock Android experience here for their users. And thats something we are definitely a fan of. The Thor is running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, which is currently the latest version of Android. Theres really just a couple of apps pre-installed on the Thor, aside from the typical apps and Google apps that are always there. These include a Backup & Restore app, which as the name says, allows you to backup and restore your content pretty easily. The other app is the FM Radio. By plugging in a pair of headphones, youll be able to listen to your local FM radio stations. This is a feature that is very popular in emerging markets, which is where the Thor is targeting. Vernee has also included a Turbo Download mode. Allowing you to use both your WiFi network and mobile network to get the fastest speed possible for downloading files and such. Its a simple, but very useful feature. Keep in mind that because this is using both your mobile network and WiFi network, that you may incur data charges if you dont have an unlimited data plan. We also have the ability to schedule when the phone will turn off and back on. This way you can have the phone turn off at night when youre asleep and let it boot back up in the morning before you wake up. The reason why rebooting your smartphone is a big deal, is because it can make things faster. So if you ever notice that your smartphone is slowing down, just do a simple reboot and youll likely notice a difference. While Vernee did essentially just take AOSP and slap it onto the Thor here, thats not necessarily a bad thing. It does appear that Vernee did do some work with the software here, as it does feel quite optimized. The overall experience on the Thor is very fast. Animations are nice and fast likely due to different settings in the Developer Settings as well as switching between apps. The entire OS feels very fast. Something we are always happy to report, especially on lower-end smartphones such as the Vernee Thor. Camera On the back of the Vernee Thor, we have a 13-megapixel shooter with an aperture of f/2.0. This is fairly good in terms of specs for a smartphone that costs just $99. The real question is about how well the processing of the pictures are. And fortunately, this is another box that the Thor checks. Many of the pictures we took with the Vernee Thor during our time with it, came out quite nice. The Thor does well outside, and even in direct sunlight, it doesnt appear to blow some objects out, like other smartphone cameras do in its class. When it comes to low-light and indoor pictures, the camera still works quite well. Its not going to stack up to what you get out of the LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7 or the HTC 10, but for what youre paying for, its actually really good. As far as the camera UI goes, were looking at a pretty minimal UI. On the right side there is your shutter as well as record button for video. Theres also your settings on the left side of the record and shutter buttons and gallery on the right. Its pretty simple, making it easy for anyone to use. Especially important given the target audience of the Vernee Thor here. The Good The price of $99 Size, being a 5-inch smartphone its small but not too small Build quality Camera The Bad No support for US Carriers (this is pretty much expected, given that it is a smartphone out of China, but still needs to be mentioned). Fingerprint sensor is almost useless. Capacitive buttons are not customizable. Final Thoughts The Vernee Thor isnt the smartphone for everyone, but it is a smartphone that will do just about anything you need it too without paying an arm and a leg for it. There are a few issues with the Thor here, but most of them arent deal breakers aside from the Fingerprint scanner issue. Hopefully Vernee can fix that issue up in a future software update or two (we did get one during our review process, but it didnt change how accurate the fingerprint sensor was). Should You Buy the Vernee Thor? I would say that you should buy the Vernee Thor if you arent a hardcore user. If you just need a phone that can check your email, use to browse Facebook, Twitter, etc., and even play a few games. Then this is a good smartphone to pick up. But if youre looking for an alternative to a flagship smartphone that costs around $600+, youre going to be disappointed. Samsung has, for years now, always had one important trick up their sleeves when it comes to smartphones and tablets; Super AMOLED displays. Ever since the original Galaxy S burst on to the scene way back in 2010, Samsung has used their Super AMOLED displays to great effect in their smartphones and more recently in their Android tablets. Being able to produce such a key component for your own devices of course gives any company an advantage in their particular field, but Samsung doesnt just produce AMOLED panels for their own devices, but for other companies as well. Now, a recent report has surfaced giving Samsung 30 percent market share in the small and medium active mode organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display market. This new report comes from IHS which puts Samsung Electronics at 30.6 percent market share where sales were concerned and that Samsungs displays accounted for 14.4 percent of the global total. That 30.6 percent figure was trailed by Japan Display at 17.1 percent, LG Display with 12.9 percent and Japans SHARP with 8.9 percent and Taiwans AUO wth 4.9 percent. New World Electronics, BOE and Innolux completed the list with less than 5 percent market share apiece. The Chinese market appears to be what has spurred on Samsungs growth in this sector, which grew 20.2 percent year-on-year netting to South Korean giant $2.96 Billion in sales of displays alone. In terms of quantity however, Samsung managed to ship 90.15 Million units during Q1 2016, a jump of 60.16 percent over the previous year during the same period. Advertisement Despite the fact that the user-facing products from Samsung are mostly smartphones and TV sets, Samsung makes a lot of money from their component business, not only by creating their own components but also or other manufacturers around the world. Samsung has even started to sell their curved AMOLED displays out to Chinese companies such as Vivo, which might seem risky, but again still puts lots of money in Samsungs pocket. Regardless, these new figures will no doubt be music to Samsungs ears and as the firm becomes better and better at creating their flexible AMOLED displays, theyll be able to ship more units and, in the long run, make more money. This years election in the United States has easily been one of the most divisive and uproarious in the countrys history. It comes amid outright turbulence in the face of multiple tragedies that have been sparking political battles left and right on every issue from encryption to gun control to racism to gay rights to animals and everything in between. Naturally, amid all of this, everybody whos anybody has either chosen a side on issues or been assigned a side by the mass media. Accusations and allegations are flowing just as easily as pretty words and money, even in the tech world. One company in particular, a very large one that wields a lot of influence, is refusing to choose a side. Google is no stranger to political and societal hot-button issues, but they rarely take a side or take a stand. Although theyve stood with victims of tragedy and stood up for gay rights before, there is one thing Google will not stand for, and thats allowing themselves to appear biased in an election. With Bernie Sanders out, the decision for America comes down to Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. While there are a fair number of people who see them both as unworthy of a vote, they both also have legions of followers and supporters, deep pockets and tons of influence and power. None of that seems to impress Google much; according to Eric Schmidt, the company will not be choosing a side this year or any other year. Advertisement Politics can be a very serious issue. Media giants get involved, propaganda spreads far and wide and, at times, death threats even fly about. There are more than a few obvious reasons that Google wants no part of this vicious process. The company at large tends to stick to its liberal roots on the issues, but has a policy not to take sides in issues like elections. Eric Schmidt said it best, summing everything up quite nicely; I can say with certainty were going to take a position on equality, diversity, equal treatment of people, fairness, gay rights, on other matters the company will probably not take a position. For the most part, Google keeps their nose out of the political system, but their employees have no such restrictions or obligations. Individual Google and Alphabet employees tend to be some of the biggest political contributors, despite their employer refusing to take sides in the myriad of debates. If Google was to choose a side, it could attract bad press or influence the system, but employees are only one person, no matter how much they may be getting paid or what their role may be. While some may claim that Google uses their employees as a drone army of sorts to support their own political interests, there is no solid proof at this time that such a thing is happening; as far as anybody knows, Googles employees political and activism decisions are entirely their own. While Google mostly tries to stay neutral, hot button issues such as human rights often draws their attention. Both explicitly through talks, donations and other efforts, and implicitly through their services, Google stands up on the issues they believe in, such as humanitarian laws against discrimination, as well as gun control. The internet behemoths great weight normally helps them to get things accomplished that a grassroots effort or smaller companies could never quite match. They also have the option, of course, of using their wide reach to kick off sweeping social change at the touch of a button. A while back, it was reported that Xiaomi is the number one brand in China, beating out stiff competition from the likes of Honor (which is a subsidiary of Huawei), Letv and even Silicon valley based Apple. However, a new report has surfaced on the highly popular Chinese micro blogging website Sina Weibo. The report reveals the top 10 most popular smartphones in China and the data is based on a survey done on consumers. Taking the number one spot on the list is no other than Xiaomis Mi 5. A little bit on the Mi 5, it comes with a 5.15 inch full HD display and packs the Snapdragon 820 chipset and the base model is coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of UFS 2.0 internal storage. It also comes with a 16MP rear camera that is equipped with 4-axis OIS and a 4MP front facing camera plus a fingerprint scanner on the front. It is also the first Xiaomi device to feature a USB Type- C charging port. However, the Mi 5 is not the only Xiaomi handset to make it into the list as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Xiaomis new phablet, the Mi Max are also listed. The Redmi Note 3 is currently the 2nd most popular smartphone in China while the 6.44 inch Mi Max took the number eight spot. Most of the devices in the list are from China-based companies such as Meizu which has its Meizu MX 5 in the list, OPPO with its OPPO R9 taking the last spot in the list and other Chinese brands such as 360 which isnt widely known in the international market. Advertisement The only non-Chinese smartphone to make it into the list is the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The device from Korean-based Samsung comes in at number five in the list. The list compiled is bound to change from time to time as China is an ever growing smartphone market, with new smartphones being launched every week. This so happens as China is the largest smartphone market in the world at the moment and its user base is expected to reach 563.3 million users by the end of this year. Xiaomi is, next to Huawei, Chinas largest smartphone manufacturer, at least in terms of market share. This company has been selling quite a few devices in China over the last couple of years, and theyve introduced a number of smartphones this year already, including four mid-range Redmi-branded devices, the Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3, Redmi 3 Pro and Redmi 3s. In addition to this, Xiaomi had also introduced the Mi 5 flagship, and the Mi Max phablet. Having that in mind, were here to talk more about the companys Redmi devices, read on. The Redmi series of smartphones is Xiaomis most popular line of smartphones, in terms of sales at the very least. These are usually Xiaomis most affordable devices, and are selling like hotcakes. Lei Jun has actually released some interesting data when it comes to Redmi smartphone, the companys CEO said that the company sold almost 110 million Redmi phones to this date, and the first Redmi device was announced back in July 2013. So, they basically managed to sell almost 110 million Redmi devices in under 3 years, which is quite impressive. Xiaomi has introduced nine variants of their Redmi devices to this date, not counting the Pro variants. So, the company basically sold 12 million units of each of those models, on average, which is quite an impressive number to say the least. Advertisement So, why are Redmi phones so successful? Well, theyre incredibly affordable and offer really solid specs and build despite that. Lets take the latest Redmi phone as an example, the Redmi 3s. This device comes with a 5-inch 720p display, 2GB / 3GB of RAM and 16GB / 32GB of native storage. The device is fueled by the Snapdragon 430 64-bit octa-core SoC, and a 13-megapixel camera is also included here. The phone is made out of metal, and a 4,000mAh battery is also a part of this package, same as the fingerprint scanner. Now, you get all this for only $106 or $136 in China (depending on the variant), which is quite affordable no matter which way we look at it. That is basically it, Xiaomis Redmi series has been on fire as far as sales go, and it will be interesting to see what will the numbers look like at the end of this year. Transfer balls: Manchester United turn to Mkhitaryan, Arsenal chase Gotze Transfer balls: Are Arsenal buying Mario Gotze? The Sun says the Gunners are in for the German international. The paper tells its readers: Arsenal are lining up a sensational 27million move for Bayern Munich outcast Mario Gotze according to reports in Germany. The Sun says Arsenal did prefer Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but hes rejected them and told Dortmund he has his heart set on Manchester United. The Sun cites its source for that as the BBC. The story appears to have some legs. Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke tells Bild the Armenian would not be extending his contract which ends next summer: Dortmund chief executive Hanz-Joachim Watzke said: We have been negotiating with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months for him to extend his contract with us. Now we know that it is not extended, it was never our commitment that Mkhitaryan may leave us prematurely. We have intensely discussed the question of an early transfer in all club bodies and came to the conclusion that Mkhitaryan will stay in Dortmund next season. No deal has been done. And, in any case, it was earlier this month the Sun told readers that Man United werent interested in the Dortmund man: Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is looking to wrap up a quick deal for Borussia Dortmunds 25million-rated Armenia midfielder. Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are also keen on Mkhitaryan, 27. As Mkhitaryans agent calls Old Trafford, Arsenal turn to Gotze. The Sun continues: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is desperate to be reunited with former Dortmund man Gotze at Anfield, but it appears the Gunners have now stolen a march on them. The Suns story contains not a single link to any of the reports it mentions. And there are other reports that Gotzes current club, Bayern Munich, are keen to get shot of him and will not include him on their roster for next seasons Champions League squad. Helpfully on the Bayern Munich website, theres a statement on Gotze: FC Bayern Munchen has demanded that various media sources cease and desist from reporting false claims. It has been reported that FC Bayern has threatened Mario Gotze by stating he would not be nominated to play in the Champions League if he remains at the club. FC Bayern Munchen AG chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented: This is complete fiction. It remains the case that we will resolutely defend ourselves against all false or even malicious reporting using all legal means available to us. Such are the facts. Anorak Posted: 17th, June 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Cagliari, June 17 - A group of some 50 refugees from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia have set up a farming cooperative in Sardinia, officials said Friday. The refugees are all former farmers who fled war and land seizures in their home countries, ending up in Italy. Their cooperative is named Warwii (Farmland) and they are growing vegetables, strawberries, and olives on abandoned land near the northeastern Sardinian village of Muros, population just over 800, after authorities granted them use of the land for six years. "We don't want to go about asking for money or charity," Warwii representative Cheikh Diankha told ANSA. "We know how to work the land and when this possibility was offered to us we jumped at it". The coop - which came about thanks to the Movida project for immigrant integration - also means a chance to learn new techniques in view of a return home when conditions permit, Diankha added. Movida has involved local chambers of commerce and Coldiretti national farmers' association in its integration efforts. On Saturday, July 11, a team of Alibi staffers joined forces to host a photobooth and raffle at Albuquerque PRIDE! We were able to raise over $150 for the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico thanks to the generous donations of festival-goers, many of whom are featured in these pictures. It was a day full of rainbows, glitter, giant man-sized butterflies and the shared purpose of supporting everyone to be exactly who they are. Many thanks to everyone who stopped by. See you next year! (ANSA) - Brussels, June 17 - The European Union will cooperate with countries in Africa's Sahel region to stop asylum seeker deaths in the Sahara Desert, EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini said after meeting with the Sahel G5 group of nations Friday. The Sahel lies between the Sahara Desert to the north, the Sudanian Savanna to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Red Sea to the east. The Sahel G5 is made up of Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. "There is a shared concern with the Sahel over security and the management of borders with Libya," Mogherini said. "For us, supporting cooperation with border countries to the south of Libya - such as Chad, which has experiences to share - is fundamental". Mogherini added "the Sahel is an area of both origin and transit of migration flows... (and) putting an end to the loss of life in both the Mediterranean and the desert is a responsibility and a humanitarian duty we all share". The EU is fielding a new "regionalized support" policy in the coming months, Mogherini said. Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat said he hoped "Europe will become more active in its support" because the situation in the region is "extremely grave" given that Islamist terrorist groups have run rife in Burkina Faso and Mali, while Nigeria's brutal Boko Haram fundamentalist militia has made incursions into Chad. Also on Friday, Mogherini said she will preside over a meeting between Libya and Niger over management of Libya's southern borders. The EU foreign minister spoke after a group of five men, nine women, and twenty children died of thirst after they were abandoned by migrant traffickers in the Sahara Desert. (ANSA) - St Petersburg, June 17 - Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday that Italy is working to restore relations between the EU and Russia that were badly damaged by the Ukraine crisis. "We are working to build bridges," Renzi said in St Petersburg. "This is Italy's objective. Italy thinks dialogue is needed, not closure. "That's why today is important because we think that the reasons that bring us together and more than the ones that divide us". Renzi was speaking during a visit to a worksite of Italian firm Astaldi in the Russian city after having a private visit to the Hermitage museum. The premier is set to address the St Petersburg Business Forum later on Friday and have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Renzi said that the Italian delegation he is leading will have signed deals worth over a billion euros by the end of the day. "Today we will sign agreements for over one billion euros," he said. "Legitimate agreements within the framework on the sanctions (imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis) because we respect the rules". The deals between Italian and Russian firms will be signed in the presence of Putin. ROME - A preview screening of a review of Mediterranean short films called "A premiere Vue" was held in Rome on Thursday evening as part of the 22nd edition of Tiber Island's outdoor cinema Isola del Cinema. The exhibition is sponsored by the Permanent Conference of Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM), UNINETTUNO International Telematic University, and three cinema and television schools in Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia associated with COPEAM. The project aims to promote debut works from young directors in the three countries. The short films screened during the preview were also the subject of the first episode of a show titled 'A premiere Vue', dedicated to the students' work and broadcast on UNINETTUNO's satellite and web-based educational channel. The films shown were: The Lament of the Goldfish, written and directed by Oubaid Ayari (ESAC - Tunisia); Sagar, written and directed by Pape Abdoulaye Seck (ESAV - Marrakesh/Senegal); and Ktir Kbir, written and directed by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya (ALBA - Lebanon). Speakers during the preview evening included UNINETTUNO Rector Maria Amata Garito, Tunisian Ambassador to Italy Naceur Mestiri, and COPEAM Deputy Secretary-General Paola Parri, along with representatives from the three partner institutions. A debate on Mediterranean cinema followed the screenings. Moderated by Italian director Claudio Giovannesi, who presented his film "Flower" at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the debate also included Algerian director and screenwriter Rachid Benhadj. In confirmation of its effort to promote young talents from the southern shores, COPEAM is collaborating with RAI Cinema, which will host a selection of the best short films made by students of the three schools on its web platform RAI Cinema Channel. RABAT - Two people risk six months in prison in Morocco for breaking the Ramadan fast. The young men were caught in Gueliz in the centre of Marrakech and now face prosecution under article 222 of the criminal code banning Muslims from daytime eating or drinking during the Holy Month except when urgently necessary. A few days ago a young woman required emergency treatment in the Moroccan tourist capital after being beaten by her companions for lighting a cigarette in a gambling hall. The fact that gambling is also forbidden by Islam appeared to be irrelevant. In Zagora on the edge of the desert, where temperatures reach 40 degrees, two informal traders were arrested for drinking a sip of water in public. They now face trial along with an office worker in Rabat who was beaten up and reported by colleagues for smoking a cigarette during a work break. Syria: sources, Aleppo bombing wounds reporter, cameraman Shelling continues on the Turkish border of conflict zones (ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JUNE 17 - A Syrian journalist and a cameraman were seriously injured in Aleppo overnight during a government bombing on the area outside the government's control, according to journalistic sources in the northern Syrian city. The sources said reporter Hadi Abdallah and cameraman Khaled Issa were transported to the Turkish border to be treated. Abdallah is known for his positions in support of the armed anti-regime revolt, and since 2011 he has followed the events in the country from various fronts. Meanwhile, fighting continues on multiple fronts. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that in the province of Damascus the ceasefire has been violated four times in the past 24 hours. Moscow accuses units of Jaysh al-Islam of having opened fire with heavy artillery on Syrian troop posts in Jobar and Haush Al-Hayat and twice on the village of Harasta Al-Basal. And at least two mortar shellings, shot from conflict zones in northern Syria, reached the Turkish border province of Kilis, according to the site Yeni Sefak, which said there weren't any wounded. The town of Yayladagi was hit. The Turkish Army responded to the fire according to the rules of engagement, as it always has in cases of this kind. Similar attacks against Kilis have been repeated frequently in recent months, killing 21 and wounding more than 80 people since January.(ANSAmed). Turkey: Gay Pride banned in Istanbul, 'security reasons' After nationalist group threats. In 2015 dispersed by police (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JUNE 17 - Turkish authorities on Friday banned the Gay Pride march in Istanbul scheduled for Sunday, June 26. The decision was taken by the local governor for reasons of "security" and to "safeguard public order". In recent days, some nationalist groups had threatened action against the march if it wasn't banned. Last year Istanbul's Gay Pride, in its 14th edition, was dispersed by police following a ban announced a few hours before its scheduled start. (ANSAmed). BRUSSELS - The European Union will cooperate with countries in Africa's Sahel region to stop asylum seeker deaths in the Sahara Desert, EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini said after meeting with the Sahel G5 group of nations Friday. The Sahel lies between the Sahara Desert to the north, the Sudanian Savanna to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Red Sea to the east. The Sahel G5 is made up of Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. "There is a shared concern with the Sahel over security and the management of borders with Libya," Mogherini said. "For us, supporting cooperation with border countries to the south of Libya - such as Chad, which has experiences to share - is fundamental". Mogherini added "the Sahel is an area of both origin and transit of migration flows... (and) putting an end to the loss of life in both the Mediterranean and the desert is a responsibility and a humanitarian duty we all share". The EU is fielding a new "regionalized support" policy in the coming months, Mogherini said. Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat said he hoped "Europe will become more active in its support" because the situation in the region is "extremely grave" given that Islamist terrorist groups have run rife in Burkina Faso and Mali, while Nigeria's brutal Boko Haram fundamentalist militia has made incursions into Chad. Mogherini presided over a meeting between Libya and Niger over management of Libya's southern borders. The EU foreign minister spoke after a group of five men, nine women, and twenty children died of thirst after they were abandoned by migrant traffickers in the Sahara Desert. Migrants: MSF 'not our partner in Turkey', EU says Humanitarian aid will not be affected by funding decision (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, JUNE 17 - The medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is not an implementing partner for humanitarian aid in Turkey and nor has it requested funding for its activities in Turkey so its decision to no longer accept funds from the European Union and member states "will not affect humanitarian activities on behalf of refugees in Turkey", European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Friday. "The Commission takes note of MSF's decision to suspend requests for funding from EU institutions or member states," Schinas continued. "The Commission has been told that the decision will have no impact on MSF projects funded by the EU in other parts of the world. Last year European Commission support for MSF accounted for around 1% of its humanitarian aid budget, roughly 15 million euros against a total of 1.5 billion euros," he said. "As regards the question of the legality of the EU-Turkey deal, the Commission prefers the interpretations given by our 28 member states, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, which are closer to our analysis of the agreement than the interpretation made by MSF today," Schinas concluded. PARIS - The medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) will no longer accept funds from the European Union and its member states in protest against their "shameful" migration policies, International Secretary General Jerome Oberreit said Friday. The organisation intends to distance itself particularly from the deal reached with Turkey three months ago, which has led to a de facto closure of the Balkan route to migrants seeking refuge in Europe. The decison takes effect immediately and applies to MSF projects worldwide. However, it does not affect the Italian chapter of MSF, which does not receive any institutional funding. "Once again, Europe's main focus is not on how well people will be protected, but on how efficiently they are kept away," said Oberreit. The NGO claims the EU-Turkey deal sets a dangerous precedent for other countries hosting refugees, as demonstrated by last week's proposal to replicate the pact in a further 16 Middle Eastern and African countries through the so-called European Compact. "We are calling on European governments to shift priorities - rather than maximising the number of people they can push back, they must maximise the number they welcome and protect," Oberreit continued. "The EU-Turkey pact was presented as a humanitarian response and this is what we reject because in reality it is an anti-humanitarian response," MSF migration advisor Aurelie Ponthieu said. Globally 92% of MSF's funds come from private donations. In 2015 the NGO received 19 million euros from the EU and 27 million euros from member states. "I am sure we will manage to continue our projects with other forms of funding," Oberreit said. "We have funds set aside to be used in emergencies and we are working to build new partnerships in future." TUNIS - The leaders of Tunisia's four government coalition partners (Nidaa Tounes, Ennhadha, Union Patriotique Libre and Afek Tounes) have decided to withdraw their support for the current premier Habib Essid and ask him to resign. The decision was taken late Thursday night following a meeting at Nidaa Tounes headquarters. The initiative comes in the context of discussions relating to a proposal launched by President of the Republic Beji Caid Essebsi on June 2 to create a government of national unity to tackle the urgent issues facing the country and enact reforms needed for modernisation. There are now several possible political scenarios, including a vote of no confidence in parliament. Premier Essid in fact said at one point that he would be prepared to resign in the interests of the country, only then to retract his statement. 'Naples Charter', business and social responsibility in Med Signed declaration for sustainable development model in the area (ANSAmed) - NAPLES, JUNE 17 - "We're starting from Naples to relaunch unitary work for a path of sustainable growth that sees the Mediterranean as the protagonist of a development model that holds together the demands of business and their social responsibility," said Georges Dassis, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) at the 4th edition of the Mediterranean Fair on Shared Social Responsibility in Naples. "It's a job that must be done together with national States, to face the great question of migrants and refugees in the poorer countries," Dassis said. During the expo, in fact, participants signed the "Naples Charter", a programmatic declaration to connect business and shared social responsibility. The charter will be the foundation of the proposal for the constitution of the Mediterranean Social Responsibility Forum, a platform for exchange, promotion and consistent programming with direction from the European Commission and the EESC. "The union between businesses, unions, and social associations that we represent will be a determining factor for new policies in the European Union. A change that the Naples Charter launched here will be important for the future of the Mediterranean," Dassis said. Sergio Piazzi, secretary-general of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), said, "The support of the Naples Charter by Mediterranean parliaments aims to reshape the near future of the countries that face our sea. Important challenges await us, and Naples has all the characteristics to be a strategic place in the redefinition of a model of sustainable development that must concretely ensure business and labour". The fair's president, Raffaella Papa, said the objective of the scenarios, strategies and determining tools is "to create a culture of sustainability that goes beyond just philanthropic features to activate real processes that determine a capacity to conduct responsible business".(ANSAmed). 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. 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 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan participated in the opening of the annual DigiTech business forum. The forum is held under the patronage of the PM by the Union of IT enterprises. This event, which is being organized for the 9th time, is an important platform for presenting technological achievements, discovering new entrepreneurial and investment opportunities, contributing to cooperation and exchanging experience. The IT sector is one of the most rapidly developing sectors in Armenia. Significant progress has been achieved over the past years, Abrahamyan said. This years forum will focus on IT solutions for military industry and cyber security. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Liquidating the regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria can make the region plunge into chaos and will not help in the fight against terrorism, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on June 17, reports TASS. "In any case, calls for overthrowing authorities in other countries can hardly be welcomed in Moscow. Moreover, liquidating a regime will hardly facilitate successful progress in the fight against terrorism. It can make the region plunge in total chaos," Peskov said. Earlier The Wall Street Journal reported that dozens of State Department officials this week protested against U.S. policy in Syria, signing an internal document that calls for targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 State Department officers involved with advising on Syria policy in various capacities, according to an official familiar with the document. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a copy of the cable, which repeatedly calls for targeted military strikes against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the ceasefire brokered earlier this year. The State Department acknowledged the existence of the cable, which is a formal, confidential diplomatic communication, but didn't comment on its contents until top officials had a chance to review it. YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2016) on Friday to restore relations between Russia and the European Union, TASS reports. The Russian president said at a SPIEF-2016 plenary session that Russia was ready to meet Europe halfway but this was not one-way traffic. "As the recent meetings with representatives of the German and French business circles have shown, European business wants and is ready to cooperate with our country," Putin said. "Politicians need to meet business halfway, display wisdom, far sightedness and flexibility. We need to return trust in Russian-European relations and restore the level of interaction," the Russian leader said. Russia was not the initiator of a rupture of relations with the EU, Putin said. "But, as the saying goes, we harbor no grudge and are ready to meet our partners halfway but this cannot be one-way street," Putin said. European countries could join the project of the Greater Eurasian partnership, Putin said. As the Russian leader noted, some European partners "are talking about uneasy decisions for Europe during talks on establishing the trans-Atlantic partnership." "It is evident that Europe has huge potential and the stake on only one regional association clearly narrows its possibilities. In this situation, it is difficult to maintain a balance and keep the room for a maneuver advantageous for Europe," Putin said. Best Finance Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Finance 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 Education Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Education 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 Arts & Entertainment Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Arts & Entertainment category? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. With our newly released Redes DVD, PostClassical Ensemble completes its Naxos quartet of classic 1930s films with freshly recorded soundtracks. The scores for these four films the others are The Plow that Broke the Plains, The River, and The City are among the most distinguished ever composed for film. The composers are Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland, and Silvestre Revueltas. What is more remarkable, all four films are music-driven to a degree rarely approachable today. While sound films, The Plow, The River, and The City are famous documentaries shot without sound. This is because in the thirties sound equipment was not readily portable in the field. No ambient sound was added. Rather, the three soundtracks comprise formidably original symphonic music and sonorous blank verse narration, sans dialogue. The result is a unique but short-lived high-art genre. Redes was mainly shot without sound. Most of the ambient sound and dialogue were added later. But the films iconic sequences were without exception shot without sound, and no dialogue or ambient sound were ever added. All four films feature powerful and powerfully autonomous music tracks. The music does not merely mimic the action. Nor does it merely drive the narrative trajectory. Rather, it acquires a rare degree of autonomy. When at the end of The Plow a sad parade of cars escapes failed farms victimized by a legendary drought, Thomson supplies an ironic habanera. Coplands Sunday Traffic sequence, in The City, juxtaposes a massive traffic jam with an ebullient accelerating march. For the childs funeral in Redes, Revueltas composes a self-sufficient dirge based on a minor-key leitmotif he triumphantly reprises in the major at the films close a signature of redemption for the oppressed fishermen whose plight the film exposes. Significantly, these are not films to which music was added after they were shot and edited. Pare Lorentz recut The Plow upon receiving Thomsons startlingly original score. For The River, Thomson was part of the creative team from the start. The same was true of Copland with regard to The City. In the case of Redes, Revueltas began work on his music before seeing any rushes. Its not surprising that this unsettled Paul Strand, the films legendary cinematographer. Revueltas also had the final say after Strand and the films directors Fred Zinnemann and Emilio Gomez Muriel were no longer around. It would be hard to imagine a film project that more empowered its composer. It bears mentioning that the four films influenced one another. Pare Lorentz directed both The Plow and The River, and wrote a script outline for The City. Paul Strand shot Redes and was one of four cinematographers for The Plow. Willard Van Dyke took part in The River and The City both. Aaron Copland reviewed Redes for The New York Times and we can infer that both Redes and the two Lorentz films inspired his work on The City. Copland was then off to Hollywood, where he scored five films and won an Academy Award. But none of those film scores nearly attains the caliber or impact of his music for The City. In fact, after 1940 with the full advent of sound and of more mobile outdoor sound equipment little comparable to The Plow, The River, The City, or Redes was ever again likely to materialize. I can think of rare exceptions, such as Ken Russells amazing 1983 film version of Holsts The Planets, in which not a single image is planetary. But that, too, is a silent film with music an anomaly. Naxos plans eventually to package PostClassical Ensembles DVDs as a single boxed set memorializing a landmark effort in the history of music and the moving image. All the latest Ashbourne news. Ashbourne is an historic market town in Derbyshire. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it is known as the 'Gateway to Dovedale' and the 'Gateway to the Peak District'. Ashbourne is famous for the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which has been played since at least 1667, although its origins may date back centuries earlier. Ashbourne became a Fairtrade town in March 2005. The popular Tissington Trail, which follows the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, starts on the edge of town. Keep up to date with the latest news from the town by signing up for our newsletter. President Nazarbayev announces tighter security laws to prevent "the spread of radical ideas". At attack in Aktobe on 5 June killed 18 people. Baptist pastor and former Soviet prisoner of conscience Yegor Prokopenko is fined for leading an Illegal meeting prayer. Astana (AsiaNews/Agencies) An 89-year-old, former Soviet prisoner of conscience has been fined by Kazakh authorities for holding an illegal meeting prayer. Yegor Prokopenko, head of the Council of Baptist Churches in Zyryanovsk (eastern Kazakhstan), was caught red-handed on 22 May in his own home celebrating Sunday Mass. Videotaped by police, he was fined 212,000 tenge (US$ 625), almost three months of an average worker's wage. This comes as Kazakh authorities intensify their crackdown on religions following a 5 June terror attack in Aktobe that killed 18 people, which might be connected to Islamic radicalism. Reacting to the attack, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave his government two months to tighten security legislation. Existing laws adopted in 2011 ban meetings by unauthorised religious groups, the distribution of religious literature, or talking to others about religion unless one is registered as a missionary with the authorities. These laws violate human rights as recognised by the international community and have been repeatedly criticised by rights groups. Since December 2014, 32 people are known to have been convicted for exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief. A few days ago, the police fined two Protestants who attended a prayer meeting. The owner of an Atyrau gift shop was fined for offering for sale four copies of the Quran without a state licence. In December 2015, the authorities sentenced a Seventh Day Adventist man to two years in a labour camp for allegedly inciting religious hatred. His real crime was to have converted from Islam. Galym Shoikin, the head of the Culture and Sport Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee, said the recruitment of religious radicals "takes place not in mosques but at such illegal meetings. We must study how it is possible to restrict this." The Council of Baptist Churches refuses in principle to ask permission from the authorities to carry out its activities and encourages its members not to pay the fines imposed by the police. Often believers are detained for a while and their assets seized. Prokopenko, wo served a total of six and a half years in a Soviet prison, was fined three times by Kazakh authorities for exercising his right to freedom of religion. Message of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for Ramadan. Faced with so many victims of conflict and violence "it is vital that all work together to assist those in need, regardless of their ethnicity or their religious beliefs." Vatican City (AsiaNews) - In the face of so many victims of conflict and violence "it is vital that all work together to assist those in need, regardless of their ethnicity or their religious beliefs. When to achieve this goal Christians and Muslims unite their efforts, they we heed an important command in our respective religions and show forth Gods mercy, thus offering a more credible witness, individually and communally, to our beliefs". This is the focus of a message released on the occasion of Ramadan - this year starting around June 6 - and for the final feast of' Id al-Fitr, which falls towards July 5, from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on the theme : Christians and Muslims: beneficiaries and instruments of divine mercy. The document, signed by the president, card. Jean-Louis Tauran, and secretary of the dicastery, Mgr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, states that " A theme that is close to the hearts of Muslims and Christians alike is mercy. We know that Christianity and Islam both believe in a merciful God, who shows his mercy and compassion towards all his creatures, in particular the human family. He created us out of an immense love. He is merciful in caring for each of us, bestowing upon us the gifts we need for our daily life, such as food, shelter and security. Gods mercy is manifested in a particular way, however, through the pardon of our faults; hence he is the one who pardons (al-Ghafir), but the one who pardons much and always (al-Ghafour)". "To underscore the importance of mercy, His Holiness Pope Francis declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy to be celebrated from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In this regard he said: Here is the reason for the Jubilee: because this is the time for mercy. It is the favorable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone, everyone, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation (Homily, 11 April 2015). Your pilgrimage (hajj) to the Holy places, mainly Mecca and Medina, is surely a special time for you to experience Gods mercy. In fact, among the well-known aspirations addressed to Muslim pilgrims is: I wish you a blessed pilgrimage, praiseworthy efforts and the pardon of your sins. Making a pilgrimage to obtain Gods pardon for sins, both for the living and dead, is truly a salient custom practice among believers". " We, Christians and Muslims, are called to do our best to imitate God. He, the Merciful, asks us to be merciful and compassionate towards others, especially those who are in any kind of need. So too he calls us to be forgiving of one another. When we gaze upon humanity today, we are saddened to see so many victims of conflicts and violence here we think in particular of the elderly, and children and women, especially those who fall prey to human trafficking and the many people who suffer from poverty, illness, natural disasters and unemployment. We cannot close our eyes to these realities, or turn away from these sufferings. It is true that situation are often very complex and that their solution exceeds our capacities. It is vital, therefore, that all work together in assisting those in need. It is a source of great hope when we experience or hear of Muslims and Christians joining hands to help the needy. When we do join hands, we heed an important command in our respective religions and show forth Gods mercy, thus offering a more credible witness, individually and communally, to our beliefs. May the Merciful and Almighty God help us to walk always along the path of goodness and compassion!". by Melani Manel Perera Gnarath Pradeepaya (Lamp of Wisdom) is one of Asias oldest papers. Published weekly, it carries news about economics, politics, and social issues as they relate to the Church. Readers like it because it focuses on human affairs. Founded in 1866 by a layman, today it is owned by the Archdiocese of Colombo. Colombo (AsiaNews) Catholics and others celebrated the 150th anniversary of Gnarath Pradeepaya (Lamp of Wisdom), Sri Lankas first Catholic paper in Sinhalese and one of Asias oldest publciations. At the beginning, the paper was a simple four-page newsletter announcing Catholic Church events. Now it is a 24-page weekly, in colour, with a circulation of 30,000. Since Sri Lankan Catholic families are large, with four to six children, this can mean a much larger readership. John Fernando, a layman, founded the paper in 1866 with a staff of eight lay people and a priest. After about 20 years, the Archdiocese of Colombo bought him out. For 150 years, the paper could be picked up each Friday at parish churches or on newsstands around the country. Recently, circulation has increased by almost 50 per cent, a sign of the great interest for the universal Church. "When I arrived last year, 195 copies were sold a week. Now its 300, said Reka Denipitiya, who sells the paper in St Mary Parish in Jael (a suburb north of Colombo). This means that readers like the content and the news," she told AsiaNews. The paper focuses on the Church in all its aspects economics, politics, social issues with a clear editorial line. News are evaluated from a faith perspective. There are many articles and news related to human affairs, current issues and the pope, said Tharanga Nonis, a Catholic entrepreneur. This is what gets people to buy Gnarath Pradeepaya." Sunny Fernando has been distributing the paper for 45 years in Moratuwa (south of the capital). "When there were no modern media, the paper cost less 20 cents and was very useful in keeping people informed and educating Catholics." The papers classified pages include funeral announcements as well as personal ads by people looking for a partner. Niluka Silva found her soulmate through the paper. Born Buddhist, she began reading the weekly, converted, and eventually found a personal ad that attracted her. However, for Sunny Fernando, the paper is not just death and wedding announcements. It provides a different way to view the country, which is predominantly Buddhist. Out of a population of 21 million, 70 per cent is Buddhist, about 10 per cent is Muslim, and 7 per cent is Christian. Part of the Saudi coalition, the leaders of the UAE are about to leave the battlefield. In 15 months the Emirates have suffered at least 80 dead. Foreign Minister says the time has come for "political agreements" and to strengthen the Yemenis "in the liberated areas." But much of the country is still under the control of the Houthi rebels. Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are ready to withdraw their troops from the conflict in Yemen. After 15 months and at least 80 deaths, the leaders of the Gulf nation, part of the Saudi led Arab coalition, have stated that - for them - the war "is over". A government minister made the official announcement which was then retweeted by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, remains in the hands of the Houthi rebels. Supported by Iran, the local Shia militias were the declared target of the Saudi coalition. However, months of intense fighting and human rights violations - including the UN charge, later retracted, of provoking the massacre of civilians, especially children they have not even scratched the rebel resistance. Rather, the attacks have caused an escalation of violence and confusion, contributing to the advance of jihadist groups that have committed serious crimes and massacres, such as the assault on the hospice managed by religious sisters in Aden in the south. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs said that "our standpoint today is clear -- war is over for our troops, we're monitoring political arrangements (and) empowering Yemenis in liberated areas. His intervention took place in the context of a meeting with foreign ambassadors and senior officials, including Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The latter is also deputy supreme commander of the Armed Forces; the intervention in Yemen is the first outside of national boundaries in the history of the country. Since January 2015, Yemen has been the scene of a bloody civil war pitting the countrys Sunni leadership, backed by Saudi Arabia, against Shia Houthi rebels, close to Iran. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against the rebels in an attempt to free the capital For Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, who are allied to forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are militarily supported by Iran, a charge the latter angrily rejects. Groups linked to al Qaeda and jihadist militias linked to the Islamic State group are active in the country, which adds to the spiral of violence and terror. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) sources at least 6,400 people have been killed, although some sources say the real number is nearly 10 thousand and 16 thousand wounded. The United Nations, which has promoted peace talks in Kuwait so far without any results, warns there is a strong risk of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Yemen. The dispute involves Iranian assets frozen by the US, which the US Supreme Court said can be used to compensate US citizens harmed by Iranian-sponsored terrorism in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Tehran rejects the claim, saying that the confiscation violates a 1955 US-Iranian friendship treaty. Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) Iran has filed a lawsuit against the United States at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest UN judicial body, over seized Iranian assets. The US Supreme Court ruled that US$ 2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American victims of terror attacks blamed on Tehran. Iran argues that Iran and Iranian state-owned companies are entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of the US courts. Hence, the US action constitutes a violation by the Government of the United States of America of the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights between Iran and the United States of America which was signed in Tehran on 15 August 1955 and entered into force on 16 June 1957. The US Supreme Court blocked frozen Iranian assets in April to be paid out to survivors and relatives of those killed in attacks blamed on the Islamic republic. These included the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. The decision affects more than 1,000 Americans. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced late Wednesday that "Iran has officially lodged a complaint with the international court and we will pursue our case until we get a result." "The American courts have illegally decided that these funds must be given to Americans and the families of victims killed in Lebanon," he said, quoted by Iranian media. "It remains unclear what these Americans were doing in Lebanon, and how this affair concerns Iran." After years of embargo, Iran obtained a partial easing of Western economic sanctions in exchange for an agreement on its controversial atomic programme. Iranian authorities say it is for civilian purposes, but others, like Israel, believe it designed to build a nuclear bomb. Despite the agreement, the United States has kept in place a range of sanctions against Irans ballistic missile programme, as well as over its military support for Shia groups in the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syrias Alawi-controlled government and Yemens Houthi rebels. European banks with US branches have been slow to pick up business opportunities in Iran, fearful of US law. Washington has banned the use of the US dollar with Iran, preventing new deals. This has helped Irans right-wing faction, and undermined moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis reform programme. In Tuesday's filing, Iran rejects the US designation as a major state sponsor of terrorism. For Rouhani, Iran and Iranian state-owned companies are entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of the US courts. What is more, Tehran wants back the money the Americans stole. The UN court, which recently marked its 70th anniversary, will now have to decide whether it has jurisdiction in the case. Here's How Sex Work Can Improve Your Neighborhood Trending News: Why A Local Brothel Could Be A Good Thing (Really) Why Is This Important? Long Story Short Long Story Because we always knew prostitution would have a happy ending.The sex industry has always been perceived as dirty, but what if having a brothel in your neighborhood is a good thing? New research suggests that might be the case. What would you do if a brothel moved next door? For a lot of people it would involve taking down license plates, letterbox dropping the neighborhood and calling the police. Sex workers dont make good neighbors. Or so were told. But what if thats not the case? A story on The Conversation penned by Emily Cooper, a lecturer in human geography at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, and Paul Maginn, an associate professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Western Australia, asked exactly that question: what if sex work is actually good for your neighborhood? And they answered it with some hard research that cuts through the stigmatization of sex work. RELATED: Is Paying For It Always Wrong? In particular it references studies from the UK that highlight how the presence of sex workers can generate positive outcomes in the community. Research by Sarah Kingston of Lancaster University shows how sex workers and their clients provide passive surveillance against criminal activities and will report crimes. And thats before you take in the positive economic impacts special massage parlors have shown remarkable resilience in the face of recession. Elsewhere, Coopers own research focused on massage parlors in the residential communities of Blackpool, a seaside town northwest of Manchester. Conducting 53 in-depth interviews with locals over an 18 month period, Cooper found that the sex parlors were an object of affectionate curiosity, while the 24 hour presence engendered a feeling of security. Its these sorts of findings that skewer the common narrative that the sex industry is something that attracts only criminality. And its a narrative that only serves to alienate sex workers. Very few residents in Coopers study explicitly stated that they would like to see the sex industry removed. Of course, Coopers story brings everything back to the importance of legalizing sex work. Criminalizing anything of course drives it underground, while countless studies have illustrated that legalization provides protection and better protection. Read the entire Conversation story here. Own The Conversation : Do such results have any chance of getting traction? The stigma associated with sex work seems too great.: In that case, I'll be applying for a small business loan.: Atlanta's sex trade was worth an eye opening $290 million in 2007 alone. The recent flurry of US firms increasing salaries for associates, which began with hikes of 12.5 per cent hikes at Cravath Swaine & Moore, has not gone down well with some clients.Bank of America is one such client, which according to the Wall Street Journal, has written to a number of law firms on its roster to advise that while it respects the firms rights to make their own business decisions it not expect to bear the costs.The bank is not the only client concerned that it may be hit with higher fees in order to fund lawyers pay hikes. CorpCounsel.com quotes Lilly Hughes, GC of Public Storage: "As rates percolate, this might give more opportunity to smaller regional and mid-size firms.The large US law firms say that they need to increase pay for associates in order to attract and retain the best talent but clients, already keen to reduce costs, may decide to take on more work in-house or pass work to smaller firms as a result.International law firm Clyde & Co has been named the best law firm for transport, shipping and maritime law by the 2016 Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Awards. The event took place in Shanghai on Tuesday. Hogan Lovells has launched a new app to help businesses navigate the legal landscape in Indonesia.How to Indo is accessible on iPhone and Android devices and includes information on M&A, financing arrangements, restructuring and disputes.The app is available free from the relevant app stores.A UK parliamentary investigation into the path to the failure of retailer BHS has been told that Olswang gave credibility to the eventual new owners when it was sold last year.The retailer, sold by Top Shop chief Sir Philip Green, was bought for 1 by Retail Acquisitions but has since gone into administration with a large hole in the firms pension fund.Green told MPs that the involvement of Olswang reassured him that the buyers owner Dominic Chappell in particular were credible.Other firms involved in the deal include Linklaters , Nabarro and Eversheds which have all given evidence to the enquiry. According to Jack Delosa, founder of entrepreneur educational institute The Entourage, employers can promote innovation through intrapreneurs: workers who take full ownership of their role and responsibilities while thinking creatively about their function and the value they bring to the firm. A traditional employee comes to work, watches the clock, gets their pay and is relatively disengaged, he said. An intrapreneur comes to work because they believe in the vision of what the organisation is trying to achieve. They come to work because they care about their customers or if theyre in HR they care about the people in the organisation. This group of workers can even share some of the risk-taking characteristics of entrepreneurs, Delosa added, although this may be limited by the structure of the organisation. There are certain political dynamics in play in any existing corporation so for me intrapreneurship is not necessarily about thinking like an entrepreneur its thinking more innovatively about your role. Although intrapreneurs have a tendency to want to try new things without requiring prior data to back up their decision, they will need to do this within the guidelines of the organisation. This type of attitude is vital to bring innovation into a firm, Delosa said. However, most organisations will fail to achieve this because they use analogical reasoning: the belief that something will work in the future because it has worked in the past. The true entrepreneur and intrapreneur will instead use principle reasoning, examining what is true today and then expanding on those foundations. Elon Musk is one such example, he noted. Rather than looking at what was in place yesterday as a perimeter for whats possible tomorrow, people such as Elon Musk look at what was achieved yesterday and build out from that point. This doesnt mean making wild uncalculated guesses about the future, Delosa added. Great innovation is often the result of both good and bad judgment from the past which you only learn through experience. To foster this kind of creativity, Delosa said that firms can back up new ideas with praise and rewards. When you give people permission to think creatively and to behave creatively and truly back it up thats when you start to see creativity flowing. If employees do make a mistake, dont jump down their throats but recognise this as an essential step along the path to learning more and innovating within the firm, he added. LYNNE HAULTAIN Hi, Im Lynne Haultain and welcome to Up Close. We talk about science as revealing and describing the immutable laws of nature, and the laws of men, the structures of our societies, and the frame through which we judge and rule. But what's the interplay between science and law? How do they influence each other and where and when do they compete or come into conflict? According to our guest in this episode, the relationship between them tests certainty, judgement, and progress in very revealing ways. Sheila Jasanoff is the Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a leading thinker and writer on science and law. She's in Melbourne as a guest of the Melbourne Law School. Sheila, welcome. SHEILA JASANOFF Thank you very much, Lynne. I'm happy to be here. LYNNE HAULTAIN Lovely to have you. Well, let's talk about this interplay between science and law. In a number of your writings, you have teased out a number of strands around this interplay. But let's talk about initially, the way in which science and law are characterised, and how they confer power and create influence both in... By Mike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University Michael Lee (Flinders University & South Australian Museum), CC BY-NC-ND One of the enduring controversies in evolution is why snakes evolved their long, limbless bodies. The prevailing theory is that they evolved from lizards and are really just an extreme type of legless lizard. And as many long-bodied lizards are burrowers, there is a widespread view that snakes developed their serpentine bodies underground. But a study of a primordial four-legged fossil snake published this week suggests it was aquatic. This suggests snakes lost their legs and elongated their bodies underwater, for eel-like swimming, before crawling ashore aeons later. The fossil in question is one of the most exquisite and controversial fossils of modern times. Dubbed Tetrapodophis (meaning four-legged snake), it lived alongside the dinosaurs in what is now Brazil, about 120 million years ago. Amazingly, almost every single bone is preserved in this tiny worm-sized fossil, including four small but perfectly-formed legs. What the fossil says This little creature was previously thought to be a burrower, and indeed looks a bit like a worm. But the study by our team suggests it has the wrong body shape for digging: the tail is too long and the legs too delicate. Conversely, Tetrapodophis possesses a range of adaptations characteristic of aquatic animals, including seals, sea turtles and ancient sea-lizards such as mosasaurs and dolichosaurs. Many wrist and ankle elements were made of cartilage rather than bone, and the limb joints were poorly developed. Such weak limbs are often found in aquatic animals where buoyancy helps with support. The hands and feet were also surprisingly flipper-like, with a thickened first digit strengthening the leading edge like the front edge of an aeroplane wing or turtle flipper. Alessandro Palci and Michael Lee (Flinders University & South Australian Museum) A sea serpent Tetrapodophis therefore has many hallmarks of marine habits. It wasnt a little earthworm, but rather a Lilliputian sea serpent. Intriguingly, there are other archaic fossil snakes that are unequivocally marine, such as the two-legged Pachyrhachis with its paddle-shaped rear end. And a recent reptile evolutionary tree proposes that the nearest relatives of snakes are not burrowing legless lizards, but the ancient sea lizards discussed above. This kinship is supported by aquatic adaptations that we found shared by Tetrapodophis, Pachyrhachis and sea lizards. All of this is consistent with the view that snakes evolved from aquatic lizards, losing their legs and elongating their bodies for eel-like swimming. This idea was more widely touted in the past but had recently fallen out of favour. But there remain some important potential difficulties with the aquatic theory. Today, snakes are tremendously successful on all continents except Antarctica. If the earliest snakes were marine, how and why did they struggle ashore? There are also some other primitive snakes that were unquestionably terrestrial, such as Najash from Argentina, which also still has two little legs. The mangrove sea snakes from north-east Australia might solve this mystery. These modern snakes are not closely related to the archaic fossil marine snakes, yet their lifestyles might have been very similar. Mangrove sea snakes inhabit the intertidal zone and are equally adept crawling on land and swimming in the ocean, so if the first snakes had similar habits, a permanent shift into land (or into the water) would have been relatively easy. This ecological plasticity would explain why many early snakes appear to be terrestrial and many others aquatic. It might also explain why Tetrapodophis has some worm-like traits, and some sea serpent traits, leading to debates about where it lived. A controversial single specimen The ongoing interest in Tetrapodophis raises other important issues. There is only a single specimen of this potential link between lizards and snakes, making it priceless and utterly unique. The fossil deposits where it was found have been scoured extensively for decades, so it is unlikely another one will surface anytime soon. Its thus far more important than Archaeopteryx, the famous dinosaur-bird intermediate, which is known from 11 specimens. Yet, the provenance and curation of this most important fossil remains highly problematic. While Tetrapodophis was being studied, it resided in the Burgermeister-Muller-Museum in Germany, but documents to demonstrate that it was legally exported from Brazil have not been forthcoming. The specimen is also privately owned and only on loan to that museum. While there has been a firm promise that it will be available in perpetuity for scientific study, enforcing this might be challenging, and it could easily disappear back into a private collection at any time. It is widely conceded that science is facing a reproducibility crisis. For scientific studies to be verifiable (i.e. repeatable by others), there should be open access to the primary data upon which those claims are based. For palaeontologists, this means fossils especially pivotal ones must be available for all scientists to examine in perpetuity, enabling independent confirmation (or refutation) of published observations. This is best achieved by making sure all studied fossils are owned and curated by a recognised museum. It is worrying that a fossil that is arguably ten times more important than Archaeopteryx could someday easily vanish from science without a trace. Mike Lee receives research funding from The Australian Research Council Alessandro Palci receives funding from an ARC grant. Originally published in The Conversation. Hey everyone. I am new here. Hope all are doing good. Happy to see many people around me and I like to make new connections too.. Will meet you all soon. 1. Unemployed Sponsor I was made redundant from my employer last month. This was not based on my performance at all as I got my PR from their sponsorship as well (I worked for them about 3.5 years under RSMS visa). It's just how the market is out there and I'm actively looking for a job but if any of you is job hunting should know that it's really competitive out there. So as a sponsor, I have a duty to support my husband and I have disclosed that I got savings to support my husband while I'm looking for job in my Stat Declaration. But I'm not too sure if that would be sufficient. 2. Cancellation of Student Visa There is work restriction on Student Visa and I'm unemployed. After loding Partner Visa, my husband hadn't had enough money to even pay his tuition fee or cancellation fee for his erolment. The college he goes to charges cancellation fee for the full amount of tuition fee and $100 late payment penalty fee applies every week. So we had to cancle his student visa and go on to BVE then obtain work permit. We attended DIBP yesterday, apparently, this has to be all in wirting so we did send them an email with form 1008 attached. Hi all,This is my first post after weeks and weeks of browsing number of posts here. I'm in WA.So, we lodged 820 - Partner Visa application via online. I'm PR and my husband is Korean Citizenship and he's currently on Student Visa Subclass 572. We uploaded most of docs to the application.QuestionsI was wondering if any of you had been in a same or similar situation with me and been granted for a visa? Please give me some tips as to how you handled this?I appreciate for your adivce in advnace. A rival to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the GT Rs 4.0-litre V8 is expected to develop around 580hp; will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The hotly anticipated Mercedes-AMG GT R has been officially teased ahead of its world debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this June. The offical teaser comes after images of the GTR were leaked online. When it eventually goes on sale internationally, the new two-seater is expected to be a key rival to Mercedes' Stuttgart neighbour Porsche and its highly rated 911 GT3 RS. It'll be built on the same assembly line as the GT and GT S at the carmaker's Sindelfingen factory in Germany. Four dimly lit photos reveal that the new model's design will be an evolution of the already muscular exterior of the regular GT. Images of the test mules seen internationally indicate that the car will receive a number of functional aerodynamic upgrades aimed at improving airflow to and from the engine bay, as well as increasing the downforce acting on the front and rear axles for improved stability and cornering speeds. The car will also be lighter than its less powerful siblings with the car expected to make use of carbonfibre components in areas such as the bonnet, rear wing and boot lid. Although the GT R is yet to undergo certification at the hands of the German Transport Authority, AMG insiders hint that the weight of the car has dropped by almost 60kg, suggesting it will hit the scales at around 1,520kg in production trim. By comparison, the smaller but less powerful 911 GT3 RS has a kerb weight of 1,420kg. The weight-saving touches will continue inside, with the GT R to receive a lightly reworked version of the standard GT S dashboard and manually operated seats, among other changes. Mercedes-AMGs latest model will be powered by a more heavily tuned version of the GT and GT S twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine. New performance-enhancing features will include a revised inlet manifold, extra boost pressure and a more free-flowing titanium exhaust system. This is expected to boost output to around 580hp. Mercedes will follow-up the hardcore AMG GT R with an even more powerful version under the companys Black Series sometime next year and a roadster body style sometime in 2018 to complete the five model line-up. kWh NHTSA Instead of making the plug-in hybrid powertrain more efficient or increasing the capacity of the battery, the Japanese manufacturer has rewritten the rulebook by introducing a solar roof option for the Toyota Prius PHV (a.k.a. the Toyota Prius Prime in the United States). Ladies and gents that love eco-friendly runabouts, please put your hands together for the worlds first production vehicle equipped with a solar roof.Oh wait, scrap that. If my mind serves me well, the third-generation Toyota Prius also offered a solar roof option. It was rubbish, though, because the sole purpose of its photovoltaic cells was to power the ventilation fan while the car is stationary. This time around, the solar roof is a bit more multilateral.The reason why its more than just the sum of its parts is that the solar panels integrated into the roof also feed the usual suspects that gorge on electricity, including the lights and the 8.8battery pack.Sadly, there is no official info at the moment on how the solar roof improves driving range. All I can tell you is that the Japan-spec 2016 Toyota Prius PHV can travel up to 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) on a full charge. Another thing I can tell you is that efficiency goes up by up to 10 % when the solar roof option is ticked from the list.The 2016 Toyota Prius PHV with the solar roof will go on sale in Japan and Europe later in the year. As for the United States, I am the bearer of bad news. Because the photovoltaic cells are laid on reinforced glass sheeting, the solar roof wouldnt pass the rollover crash test of the. These being said, it isnt known when or if Toyota will switch to laminated glass sometime in the future. If it wont, then thats that. CDI In America, they usually put big V8 engines in their professional drift machines. But over in Scandinavia, they do things a little differently.Meet team Black Smoke Racing. Some of you might be acquainted with them already, since they've been drifting old Mercs for a really long time. Their latest project looks like a C63 AMG Black with a locomotive engine. But the build is as interesting as the sideways capacity of the car.Speaking of which, we highly recommend that you watch the two videos below. It's no wonder that hundreds of Finns gathered in an empty parking lot in the middle of the forest just to check out Black Smoke Racing.Getting back to the build, we have to mention that this C-Class wagon is not actually a C63 Black Series, and is in fact based on the S203 generation model. The 2001 Mercedes has been equipped with all the cosmetic parts from the W204 Black Edition Coupe body kit.You have to admire all the work they put into the car so that you would be fooled into thinking it's a 2012 C-Class facelift. We wouldn't have noticed anything were it not for the curvature of the back end, which doesn't match the angular taillights.As for the engine, it doesn't belong to the C-Class either. It's an OM648, the 3.2-liter inline-6 that used to be offered on the 2002 to 2005 E320 CDI and S320of those same years. It's made from cast iron and is pretty much indestructible.Mods include custom pistons, custom injectors, Holset Hx50 Billet + Holset HE221W Billet. The transmission consists of a TEXracing T101 4-speed manual. Besides that, Cameron is also the gentleman who decided to let the British public determine whether out of the EU is better or not for the UK in a referendum that will be held on June 23. Its funny when you think that Cameron believes that its right to remain in the EU, yet he is the first prime minister of the United Kingdom to veto a treaty of the European Union.The In/Out referendum, however, is much more important than a European treaty designed to preserve the euro. With the referendum, the PM puts his money where his mouth is. More to the point, Cameron and his government will come crashing down if the men and women of Britain want out.This isnt the only consequence (or benefit, depending on which side youre on) well see if Britain steps out. But this is autoevolution. Here, international politics are eyewash. However, something caught our eye. That something is a picture that popped in my Facebook newsfeed, an image featuring David Cameron and two gentlemen you might be acquainted with: Jeremy Clarkson and James May.The post reads: Chatting to Jeremy Clarkson and James May . We all agree Britain is stronger in - vote Remain on 23rd June. Cameron isnt BSing, you know. The former Top Gear head honcho, the chap with the wooly hair who shouts when hes driving sideways, is known for its pro-EU view on the matter. Jeremys rallying call to remain in the EU strikes the chord of more people than David Cameron has supporters, if Im honest.James [May] and I only agree on three things, which is that sandwich spread is delicious, that the old Subaru Legacy Outback was a good car that we should stay in Europe, declared the former BBC asset. The Tory leader, on the other hand, made a blunder of the meet-up, mentioning something about Top Gear . Happily, however, the UK prime minister shrugged off the embarrassing moment like a pro. Still, the men and women who will vote on June 23 will have the last laugh, not David, not Jeremy, nor James.Where is Richard Hammond? Is he in with the Out crowd or something? We're here to give you a pair of pixel manipulations coming from Carwow (they've came up with a larger selection), which show what could happen if the Circuit de la Sarthe would be the land of our dreams.Since Porsche seems ready to dominate the LMP1 category for the second year in a row during this weekend's race, we'll start with the brilliant 918-917K mashup you can find below.Perhaps the strangest part about this Zuffenhausen melange comes from the difference between its two parts. We'll remind you the 917 allowed Porsche to grab its first overall victory on the French track, back in 1970 and 1971. Nevertheless, the version we "have" here is the Kurzheck evolution of the original (you can just add a "K" at the end of the numeric designation), which stands for short tail.On the other hand, the 918 Spyder hasn't even received a motorsport incarnation. That's even stranger when you consider that the LaFerrari has become the FXX K, while the McLaren P1 was gifted with a GTR version, one that many owners enjoy giving the road legal treatment As for the second Le Mans rendering we have here, it's impossible to say "Le Mans" without thinking of Mazda 's thunder strike soundtrack 787B. And since the Japanese automaker is reviving the Wankel engine, the RX-Vision concept being used in the process was the natural choice.Sure, contraptions such as the ones mentioned above would have to race in the LMGTE class, but this would only amplify the spectacle below LPM1 level. But such a need is another story for another time. We're talking about the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, which takes us to Switzerland. As you know, this is a country that can easily give you the impression you were wrong to believe money don't grow on trees.Case in point with the Ferrari dealership in this video, which, at the time when the footage was recorded, saw no less than ten LaFerraris sharing a room. To put things another way, we're dealing with 9,500 hybrid hp (metric system aficionados should make that 9,630 PS). Oh, and let's not forget the not-so-hybrid horses around the LaFs, as they're not exactly slow either.So, why are these Maranello halo cars stored in such a manner? Well, not all LaFerrari owners like to hoon their machines all day long. After all, these gas-electric Prancing Horses need serious maintenance. For instance, if you don't drive yours for more than a week, you'll have to charge it. Sure, the LaF is not a plug-in hybrid, but you wouldn't want to find out the costs associated with the servicing operations that follow a flat battery moment in such a hypercar.And certain owners can go to great lengths in order to make sure they don't cross that electron juice line, as shown by the Paris street charging moment we recently showed you.Those who also prefer other go-fast brands shouldn't fret. This clip also includes all sorts of other high-velocity machines, from a full carbon Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, to a McLaren 675 Longtail dressed in an eye-catching hue dubbed Napier Green. To put things bluntly, your ten minutes will be time well spent. Photo of Hyundai Tucson courtesy of Hyundai. Hyundai Motor Co. is recalling 81,000 2016 model-year Tucson compact SUVs because of faulty secondary hood latches, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. The recall covers vehicles manufactured from May 19, 2015 to March 14 of this year. If the primary hood latch has been released, and the vehicle is driven, the secondary hood latch may not adequately secure the hood to prevent it from opening while the vehicle is in motion, NHTSA said on its website. This condition increases the risk of a crash. Hyundai dealers will replace the secondary hood latch, free of charge, to address the problem. The recall is expected to begin July 15. Vehicle owners can reach Hyundai customer service at (855) 371-9460. Hyundais number for this recall is 145. The Air Force is investigating the nighttime collision of two F-16s over Jefferson County, Georgia on June 7. Both pilots, from the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard, ejected safely and were found shortly after the accident. Crews were dispatched to look for the wreckage of the fighters in the dense woods underlying the Bulldog Military Operations Area. One jet was found early on, while it took until the following afternoon to find the wreckage of the second. The collision occurred about 9:15 p.m. There were no injuries on the ground. During a detailed press conference, officials asked area residents to report finding debris from the aircraft, but to refrain from touching anything. The main wreckage is in a couple-hundred-square-yard area, but we are finding wreckage as far as three miles away, the wing commander said in an Augusta Chronicle report. It will take until we find it. I dont have a guess two days, two weeks. We are prepared for the long haul. The pilots, instructors with combat experience, were flying routine but complex training maneuvers with night vision goggles, officials said during the press conference. EgyptAir Flight 804s cockpit voice recorder has been found and is being delivered to investigators following Wednesdays finding of the airliners wreckage in the Mediterranean. A salvage team working off a ship had to take tedious steps to retrieve the recorder as it had been damaged in the crash. The vessels equipment was able to salvage the part that contains the memory unit, which is considered the most important part of the recording device, officials said in a Reuters report. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it will join Egyptian and French investigators in the probe, according to Reuters. Two vessels are still searching for the flight data recorder, which is expected to emit signals until around June 24. The Airbus A320 dropped from radar en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board on May 19. Search teams have found debris in the search area and picked up signals from the recorders on June 1. It took until this week to find the main wreckage of the jet as the ocean floor is about 12,000 feet deep in some areas. The mission of awwwards is to create the biggest community of web designers and developers on the Internet, as well as our platform, we also host conferences all over the world in iconic cities, where attendees can see inspiring talks from leading fi 17 June 2016 11:12 (UTC+04:00) Armenian armed forces have 23 times violated the ceasefire with Azerbaijan on the line of contact over the past 24 hours, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reported on June 17. Armenian armed forces stationed in the Dovegh and Barekamavan villages of Armenia's Noyemberyan district opened fire at the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Kemerli and Gaymagli villages of the Gazakh district. Azerbaijani positions, located in the Aghdam village of the Tovuz district underwent fire from the positions located in the Mosesgeh village of Armenia's Berd district. Moreover, Azerbaijani positions underwent fire from the positions located near the Chilaburt village of the Terter district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz village of the Fizuli district and from the nameless heights in Goranboy and 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Anita Rodriguez, painter and adobe plasterer from Taos, will be at Page One Books at 3pm on Sunday, June 19, to talk about and sign her memoir of stories and recipes, Coyota in the Kitchen: A Memoir of New and Old Mexico. The book is described as such: "This book of stories and recipes introduces two eccentric families that would never have eaten together, let alone exchanged recipes, but for the improbable marriage of the author's parents: a nuevo mexicano from Taos and a painter who came from Texas to New Mexico to study art. Recalling the good and the terrible cooks in her family, Anita Rodriguez also shares the complications of navigating a safe path among contradictory cultural perspectives. She takes us from the mountain villages of New Mexico in the 1940s to sipping mint juleps on the porch of a mansion in the South, and also on a prolonged pilgrimage to Mexico and back again to New Mexico. Accompanied by Rodriguez's vibrant paintingsincluding scenes of people eating on fiesta nights and plastering an adobe churchCoyota in the Kitchen shows how food reflects the complicated family histories that shape our lives." Rodriguez is an award-winning painter who is also widely known as an enjarradora, or plasterer and finisher of adobe buildings. Her family on her father's side goes back 10 generations in her beloved Taos valley. Her art training began in childhood, and she eventually went to Colorado College for formal training. She lives in Taos. 17 June 2016 11:32 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The European Union can give a mandate to Azerbaijan in the autumn of 2016 to start the talks on the new strategic partnership agreement. Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev told reporters, noting that currently, the discussions on the new agreement continue between the two parties in a positive vein. Mammad-Guliyev also pointed out that Azerbaijan and the representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) expect to hold a meeting in Geneva in early July. "All the documents have been submitted to the WTO office and we are waiting for an answer," he said. "If such a meeting is held, Russia and Saudi Arabia can also join it." Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are continuing, new meetings are planned at the level of the EU committees and subcommittees, the deputy foreign minister emphasized. Azerbaijan has become a country of direct priority to the EUs strategy in its wider neighborhood since the last enlargement of the European Union in 2007. Although over the past year, the bilateral relations between the two sides saw tense period, still Azerbaijan affects Europes interests, mainly in a regional energy strategy. The cooperation of Azerbaijan with the European Union is very unique due to the already existing relations and good economic opportunities. The EU and Azerbaijan could cover the areas where they have overlapping interests, particularly energy trade. In geostrategic terms, Azerbaijan is set to see its importance due to the perspective role to act as a bridge between Europe and Asia. Currently, the bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of the partnership and cooperation agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 12:06 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Baku hosted an event dedicated to the 90th birthday of the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Elizabeth II on June 16. British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Carol Crofts, addressing the event, emphasized the dynamically developing relations between the two countries in all spheres. She underlined that the UK is the biggest investor in Azerbaijan. Touching upon the issue of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the ambassador also pointed out that the UK government hopes for its peaceful settlement. Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev in his turn congratulated the Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday. "The UK is Azerbaijan's main partner in the spheres of economy and energy, he said, noting that the total volume of the UK investments in Azerbaijan amounts to $20 billion. Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister expressed hope that the relations between the two countries will develop in the non-oil sector as well. Mammad-Guliyev also voiced gratitude to the UK for its support to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The UK can use its influence to move the process of the conflict's settlement forward, he said adding :"We hope the UK will play a more active role in this issue." Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning queen on September 9, 2015, after she exceeded the reign of Queen Victoria which had lasted from June 20, 1837 to January 22, 1901. The queen took to the throne on February 6, 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI. The UK and Azerbaijan enjoy cooperation in different spheres such as education, trade, tourism, ICT, as well as other infrastructure and transit projects. The cooperation in energy sector is currently the primary factor of the bilateral economic relations between the two countries. Azerbaijan cooperates with the United Kingdom in the field of exploration and transportation of oil and natural gas from the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. BP as a leading oil company which has launched its operations in Azerbaijan in 1992 participates in the main production sharing agreements such as the Contract of Century (Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli) and the Shah Deniz project. Turnover between the UK and Azerbaijan totaled $169.5 million in January-April 2016, some $166.9 million of which falls to a share of imports from the UK. The United Kingdom is considered to be the largest foreign direct investor in Azerbaijan followed by the U.S. and Japan. The United Kingdom recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 26 December 1991. The diplomatic relations between two countries were established on 11 March 1992. The British Embassy was opened in Baku in September 1993 and the Azerbaijani Embassy in London in January 1994. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 13:15 (UTC+04:00) The president made the remark as he received Senator of the Kingdom of Belgium, chairperson of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur on human rights in Azerbaijan Alain Destexhe in Baku on June 17, Azertac reported. The head of state expressed his confidence that the race would be interesting for visitors and create good opportunities for them to better familiarize themselves with the country and get more information about development processes in Azerbaijan. Destexhe congratulated the head of state on the start of Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe in Azerbaijan. Emphasizing the increasing interest in Formula 1 races around the world, Alain Destexhe said his country would also host the European Grand Prix. He said he visited Azerbaijan to monitor the repeat parliamentary elections in Constituency No. 90 in Agdash. Baku today hosts F1 competition for the first time with the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe. The all-new Baku City Circuit promises to be the fastest street track the sport has ever seen, and while drivers have thus far only been able to walk and drive it on simulators, one thing is clear - it promises to be a race like no other. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 17:39 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that Azerbaijani Armed Forces will conduct land and maritime tactical exercises on June 19-24. The exercises will be held in the framework of the training plan for 2016. Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov will lead the military exercises involving about 25,000 military personnel, more than 300 tanks and armored vehicles, 100 rockets and artillery units, up to 40 units of military aircraft and more than 30 air defense systems. Moreover, Navy ships and special units will also participate in the exercises. The training will take place in the polygons on the frontline area and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Furthermore, the Navy Forces will practice in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The main objectives of the exercise will be improving of commanding skills over military units and subjects, increasing the level of operational coordination and cooperation between combat elements in complex military environment. New technological tools and weapons of Azerbaijani Armed Forces will be widely used during the exercise days, also live firing will be performed. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 11:45 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Latvia proposes Azerbaijan to consider the possibility of cooperating in environmentally friendly technologies, food industry, pharmaceuticals and health tourism. Latvia's Transport Minister Uldis Augulis made this remark during the 6th meeting of Azerbaijan-Latvia intergovernmental commission on economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation in Riga. The minister noted that Azerbaijan is an important economic partner of Latvia. The priority areas of cooperation between the two countries, according to the Latvian minister, include joint investment projects, increasing the volume trade turnover, effective use of international transportation corridors, communication in the spheres of education, agriculture, construction, tourism and health. He pointed out that Azerbaijan is an important partner of Latvia in the spheres of transit and logistics in South Caucasus. Latvia, in turn, is an important transportation artery and an integral part of the new Silk Road and the North-South transportation corridor. Azerbaijan's Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov, for his part, said that the relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia are expanding, noting that the cooperation with Latvia, which is a member of the European Union, is important for us. Mammadov emphasized that the socio-political situation in Azerbaijan creates favorable conditions for attracting foreign investments and opens great opportunities for cooperation with Latvia's state and private structures. Following the discussions, the two sides signed the final protocol. The document said that the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia are based on the principles of mutual respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the two countries. The document said that the import, export and sale of goods and services produced on Azerbaijan's occupied territories, including in Nagorno-Karabakh, on Latvian markets, as well as any economic activity of Latvian companies on those territories is illegal, according to the international law and Azerbaijan's law. The products manufactured on Azerbaijan's occupied territories won't be allowed to be delivered to Latvia without receiving a certificate from Azerbaijan's relevant structures. Azerbaijan-Latvia relations are developing yearly and reciprocal visits play huge role in taking bilateral relations forward. Latvia recognized Azerbaijans independence in 1992. Bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1994 and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Latvia began to function in 2005, and the Latvian Embassy in Azerbaijan was opened a year later. Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with Latvia within regional organizations, including the Union of the Baltic States. Latvia considers Azerbaijan to be Europes main source for energy resources in the Black Sea-Caspian region. Azerbaijan-Latvia trade turnover amounted to $2.04 million in January-March 2016, this is 5.9 percent more than in the same period of 2015, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. Starting this May direct flights between the two countries have been launched, thus promoting and improving relationship between the two counties. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 17:19 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Azerbaijan will host the 7th Azerbaijani-Russian interregional forum this December. This decision was made at the meeting of Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev with his Russian counterpart Alexey Ulyukaev in Moscow. During the meeting, Mustafayev said Russia has invested $3 billion in Azerbaijans economy so far, adding that Azerbaijans investments in the Russian economy exceeded $1 billion. Azerbaijan and Russia signed more than 170 documents, including over 50 in the economic sector. Currently, almost 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan. The minister also noted that Azerbaijan and Russia have great potential for the development of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, machine building, pharmaceutics and others. Mustafayev spoke about the strategic decisions made by the Azerbaijani president to develop entrepreneurship, about various projects implemented in the country, and Azerbaijans sustainable economic development. Speaking about the regional ties, the minister noted the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main threat for the development of the regional cooperation. Armenia keeps under occupation 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, ignoring the UN Security Council's four resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied lands. Ulyukaev, in turn, noted the importance of effective using of the existing opportunities for the development of bilateral relations. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to almost $739.8 million in January-May 2016, $609.6 million of which accounted for the import of Russian products, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Azerbaijan and Russia are tied by firmly based ties, which were officially established in 1992. The Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation is completely based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. The cultural relations between the two countries are also highly evaluated. Russia and Azerbaijan established an active and productive dialogue on many important issues in the foreign economic and political agenda. The southern neighbor is one of the largest importers of Azerbaijani agro-products. The country exports fruits, vegetables and melons to Russia. After the deterioration of relations with Turkey, Russias demand in Azerbaijani agro-products increased. Azerbaijan has entered the top 3 suppliers of agricultural products to Russia among the CIS countries, after Moscow imposed anti-Turkish sanctions. -- -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 09:34 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku held its next meeting at educational museum under the Azerbaijani Education Ministry, Trend Life reported. The main topics of the meeting were the role of museums in the education of youth, as well as experience of Russian and Azerbaijani teachers. Director of the Museum Lala Bayramova led participants on a tour of the museum. Particular interest was given to a section dedicated to educator Aleksey Chernayev - the author of the first Azerbaijani manual "Native speech". Aleksey Chernayevskiy was an outstanding Russian and Azerbaijani teacher. The school No. 1 in Gobustan bears the name of prominent teacher. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 10:47 (UTC+04:00) "Baku City Circuit looks to be an unusual track and so far simulations have had to be done using surveyor's maps rather than detailed track scans," said Chief Technical Officer at Williams Pat Symonds as he was interviewed by the official website of Baku City Circuit. "Perhaps the most notable feature of the 6km anticlockwise street circuit is the flat out section from turn 16, through the start-finish line and up to turn one, where we expect cars to be reaching speeds in excess of 320kph. The first sector consists of a number of 90-degree turns before the start of the second sector with a series of relatively sharp corners in quick succession from turns seven to 12," he said. "The circuit then opens up to finish sector two before another 90-degree left-hander leading on to a long straight. It's too far ahead for accurate weather forecasts, but normally in June maximum temperatures are in the mid-high 20s with the record highest average temperature for this month being 39C. Statistically we expect dryer weather than we see in Bahrain in April, with a total of 8mm rain for the whole of the month of June and only two days of wet weather being the norm. In Formula One we always enjoy a challenge and even in these days of sophisticated simulations a new circuit such as Baku will always throw up some surprises. It's our job to get on top of the unexpected and rapidly learn the nuances of this new track," he added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 12:15 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The Indian embassy in Baku and the Art of Living in Azerbaijan have announced an Open Air Yoga Session in Baku on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga 2016. The event is organized with the support of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Administration of the State historical-architectural reserve Icheri Sheher. All are coordinately invited to join the Yoga Session by the Art of Living, Baku to celebrate the 2nd International Day of Yoga at 78 Kichik Qala, Icheri Sheher on 21 June 2016 at 6.15 pm. The yoga mats are limited. You may like to bring along your own mat, the message reads. The interested are asked to confirm participation at Telephone No: 012-5646354, 012-5646344 or by sending an email to [email protected] Yoga is a 5,000 year old Indian physical, mental and spiritual practice. The word "Yoga "means union of the individual consciousness or soul with the Universal Consciousness or Spirit. The international Yoga Day is celebrated annually on June 21 and was declared to be internationally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN Address suggested the date of June 21, as it is the longest day of the year in Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 10:30 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva The Southern Gas Corridor project will be implemented according to the schedule and will be finalized in 2019. The statement was made by Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev during an interview with Italy's AGI news agency. Aliyev noted that first gas to Turkey will arrive in 2019 and to Italy in 2020. A lot will depend on the speed of solving some issues in Albania, Greece and Italy, he said, adding that a lot of permits and construction licenses have to be obtained. Energy Minister went on saying that gas reserves of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field, which is the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor, are enough for both domestic consumption and for exports. Europe is the most reliable market for Azerbaijani gas, Aliyev said by reminding that the European Commission, in turn, wants to diversify the sources and routes of gas supply. He further underlined that the Southern Gas Corridor will create about 40,000 jobs. Ten billion cubic meters of gas will be transported via the Southern Gas Corridor annually, and the supply will increase to 16 billion cubic meters, six billion cubic meters of which will be supplied to Turkey, Aliyev added. Azerbaijan has enough promising gas fields along with the Shah Deniz field, according to the minister. For instance, reserves of the Absheron field reach 400 billion cubic meters. If the gas supplies to Europe are successful at the first stage, then Azerbaijan will increase the volume by using the countrys other fields, he noted. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It will stretch from Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea to Europe by passing through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy. The SGC is comprised of three main pipelines. The existing South Caucasus pipeline will be expanded with a new parallel pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia. In addition, with the construction of Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic routes, the pipeline network will be further expanded to the EU. The SGC is one of the biggest construction projects of our times with a value of $40 billion. The realization of this pipeline project will contribute to enhancing the EUs energy security and diversification of its gas supply routes. In addition, it will boost gas competition in the European market. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 17:28 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Export agreement on the Russian Gazproms gas supply to Georgia will not have any influence on the fuel supplies of Azerbaijans SOCAR Company, Trend quoted Mahir Mammadov, director general of SOCAR Energy Georgias as saying. Gazprom and Georgias Gazko+ Company signed a contract for commercial supplies of Russian gas to Georgia on June 16. The volume of gas in the second half of the year is expected to be at the level of 100 million cubic meters. The contract is effective from July 1 through December 31, 2016. Mammadov underlined that the agreement will not affect SOCARs supplies as the effective agreement between Azerbaijan and Georgia covers the period till 2030 and specifies the volumes. The volume of annual export of gas which is extracted from Azerbaijan oilfields by own resources without the participation of foreign companies to Georgia amounts to 2 billion cubic meters. Moreover, Georgia annually gets 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas extracted on offshore Shah Deniz field. SOCAR is deeply involved in the energy market in the neighboring South Caucasus republic. SOCAR Energy Georgia was established in 2006. The company's activity includes retail and bulk selling of fuel in Georgia, importing of petroleum and liquid gas, construction of oil terminals and warehouses. The network of petrol stations of SOCAR Georgia Petroleum, a daughter company of SOCAR Georgia Petroleum has been expanding increasingly both in Tbilisi and all regions of Georgia. The first petrol station of the company was opened on April 25, 2008. Currently 144 stations (105 Petrol stations (20 combined CNG and Petrol), 8 CNG and 1 LPG) are operating in the country. 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. The company invests billions of dollars annually in transportation infrastructures and is involved in projects designed to increase Europe's energy security through diversification of natural gas. Azerbaijan has long been one of Georgias largest trade partners, with trade turnover between the two countries reaching $1.35 billion in 2014. Azerbaijan mainly exports petroleum, petroleum oils and gases, gypsum, anhydrite, plaster and other products to Georgia. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 10:58 (UTC+04:00) Iran purchased 61 percent of its totally imported goods during the first two months of current fiscal year (March 20-May 20) from five countries - China, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Turkey and South Korea. China was the main exporter of goods to Iran in the mentioned period. Beijing's exports accounted for 21.4 percent of Iran's total imports in terms of value. Iran imported $1.175 billion worth of goods from China during the 2-month period, according to the latest statistics released by Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI). China exports to Iran witnessed a fall of 20 percent in terms of value, according to the report. Iran also imported $1 billion worth of goods from the UAE (39 percent fall), which marks 18.3 percent of Iran's total imports' value. Russia, Turkey and South Korea exported $420 million, $396 million, and $347 million worth of goods respectively to Tehran. Iran's imports from Russia recorded a huge rise by 494 percent year on year. South Korea exports to Iran indicated a decrease by 40 percent, meanwhile imports from Turkey registered a fall by 23 percent. Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and Italy were also European countries which took place among top exporters of goods to Tehran in the first two months of current fiscal year. Germany was the sixth top goods exporter to Iran with $292 million worth of exports (indicating an increase by 15 percent), followed by India($280 million, 31 percent fall), Switzerland ($251 million worth of goods, 27 percent fall), Netherlands ($145 million, 93 percent increase), and Italy ($141 million, two percent increase). Iran imported $5.5 billion worth of goods during the first two months of its current fiscal year (March 20-May 20), which indicates a 13.5 percent decline, compared to the same period of preceding year. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 11:36 (UTC+04:00) Turkey intends to normalize the relations with Russia by mid-August 2016, the Haber7 newspaper reported June 17 citing diplomatic sources. Ankara doesn't need mediators for this purpose, said the report. The newspaper said that according to the road map worked out by Turkey on normalizing the relations with Russia, Turkish officials will take part in all official events to be held in Russia by mid-August. The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the incident with Russian SU-24 bomber. Following the incident, Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on taking measures for ensuring the country's national security and special economic measures against Turkey. Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day. In his letter to Putin, Erdogan said he wishes the Russian-Turkish relations to reach a "deserved level". --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 14:59 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Russia and Iran could reach an official agreement on the transition to the mutual payment in local currencies. The statement was made by Hossein Yaghoubi Miab, General Director of International Cooperation Department of Irans Central Bank on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 16, reported Ria Novosti. Shifting trading to local currencies aims at reducing the dependence of both countries on the U.S. dollar. Iranian Central Bank has already proposed the relevant mechanism to the Russian Central Bank regarding how to make the best use of the national currencies in mutual payments. Now, Russian side is studying the proposal and will provide their assessment on it. Once, the Russian side agrees, the central banks of the two countries will conclude an agreement, he said by emphasizing that it is expected to take place soon. Miab further said that Moscow is looking forward for signing this deal, as soon as they finalize studying the proposal submitted by Iran. In its turn, Iran also aspires to this agreement, Miab said by stressing that both countries will benefit from this deal as it means lower currency risks. Economic and political relations between Russia and Iran date back centuries. Their ties cover fields such as trade, energy sector, military, agriculture, telecommunications, transportation, nuclear and many others. Currently, the two countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields including nanotechnologies, power plants and other new investment projects. Russia exported $420 million worth of goods to Tehran during the first two months of current Iranian fiscal year (March 20-May 20). Iran's imports from Russia recorded a huge rise by 494 percent year on year. Tehran and Moscow has identical positions on some regional issues including the ongoing crisis in Syria. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 17:04 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Iranian oil sector is attractive for many foreign companies which plan investing in Iranian oil industry in the near future. Shell and Total have already begun purchasing Iranian oil. In the meantime, Total, Shell and Wintershall are holding intense negotiations with the Iranian government about investing in the Iranian oil production. Also, Gazprom is in talks with the Iranian government on the same issue. The statement was made by Behrooz Abdolvand, Managing Director of German Consulting company DESB GmbH focusing on Iranian energy market and an expert on the Caspian region to Trend news agency on June 16. Abdolvand noted that besides the mentioned companies other international oil majors are also interested in making investments in Iranian oil fields. Iran ranked fourth in the world in terms of proven oil reserves, which amounted to 21.7 billion tons at the beginning of 2016, according to BPs latest statistics. Managing Director believes that current low oil prices will not prevent foreign oil companies from investing in Iran. Against the background of the crisis in Nigeria and the sharp decrease of oil production in Canada foreign investors will invest in the Iranian oil sector, because of the comparatively low production costs there, he noted, adding that OPEC is currently reducing overcapacities of 100,000 barrels per day and by end of 2016 it is planned to reduce overcapacities of another 60,000 barrels per day. The expert expects Iran to continue increasing its oil production in the future. Iran has the capability to increase its production in a short period of time by 4.5 million barrels per day, and another 2 million barrels per day is also possible in case that the necessary investment is made, he said by emphasizing that the countrys overall production capacity could be boosted by 6.5 million barrels per day. In April 2016, the country reached the pre-sanctions level of oil production, whilst in May, oil production in Iran grew by more than 89,000 barrels per day - up to 3.562 million barrels per day, according to OPECs monthly report. Iran will reach the pre-sanctions volume of oil production at 4 million barrels per day by July and to pre-sanctions export levels of 2.2 million barrels in one or two months or by the end of the summer, according to the countrys officials. Lifting western sanctions opened new opportunities for Iran to revitalize its long stagnated energy industry. Recently, Hungarian MOL Group also requested to import 30,000- 40,000 barrels of light crude from Iran, reported Mehr news agency on June 16. However, the country is not ready to ship light crude to Hungary at the moment. Earlier in June, BP also expressed willingness to invest in development of certain Iranian oil fields. France, Britain, Spain and Italy were traditional customers of the Iranian crude before western sanctions were imposed. Nevertheless, in the post-JCPOA period, a number of East European countries also have made proposals to purchase oil from Iran on the basis of spot or long-term contracts. Iran's crude oil sales to Europe are expected to surpass 300,000 barrels per day once the all contracts that the Islamic Republic recently signed with international companies come into force. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 16:50 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Turkey will build an industrial zone in Iran in accordance with the MoU signed between Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA). The Turkish side is ready to facilitate the presence of Turkish investors in Iran, said Mohsen Jalalpour, Head of ICCIMA on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Mehr news agency reported. The initial investment for the industrial zone will amount to $10 billion, he said, adding that the Turkish investment will be accompanied by technology transfer. Iran has proposed seven locations to Turkey, according to Ali Yazdani, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade. The Turkish side will visit these sites in the near future and develop the design and infrastructure of the industrial zone. Currently, there are seven free trade-industrial zones and many special economic zones in Iran, which act as a tool to attract foreign direct investment and promote non-oil exports of the country. These zones enjoy custom and tax exemptions over inflow and outflow of goods and commodities and many other privileges. Yazdani emphasized that the envisaged industrial zone will be active in various fields including industry, textile and food products. The realization of the project on industrial park will serve to enhance economic cooperation between Iran and Turkey. The two countries enjoy very close trade and economic relations. In 2012, the trade between them amounted to $21.9 billion. Nevertheless, due to the western sanctions, this figure fell below 10 billion in 2015. Now, banking and financial transactions have become much easier as most of the sanctions against Iran were softened. Turkish officials recently announced that Turkey plans to triple trade with Iran to $30 billion in the coming years. Additionally, Turkey is not rich with hydrocarbon reserves and imports large amount of natural gas from Iran. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 June 2016 16:29 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Azerbaijani government plans to apply Tax Free system for the incoming visitors taking into account the rise in tourist flow to the country. The testing of the system has already been launched. Relevant documents have been submitted for approval, and currently this system is in the test mode, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes told Trend on June 17. To use the Tax Free system in Azerbaijan, the value of goods purchased at one electronic invoice shall not be less than 300 manats ($200) including the value added tax (VAT). The goods should be exported from the country within 90 days of the date of purchase. VAT payment is returned back only in this back. The VAT rate for all goods is set at 18 percent in Azerbaijan. Thus, 20 percent of VAT amount will be deducted as the payment for services, and the other 80 percent will be refunded to the applicant. To benefit the Tax Free service it is necessary to shop Tax-Free goods at specific Tax Free shops. Then, passport is to be produced for filling an electronic tax invoice. The signed and stamped tax invoice will include the amount of the paid VAT and its last return date. When leaving the country, a visitor should present to airport customs his electronic tax invoice together with passport. In the end, the customs tax invoice should be presented to an authorized bank. The refund can be made both in cash and non-cash (after 10 days) way. Overall, approximately 52,000 people benefit each day from Tax Free shopping around the world. Tax Free shopping services are available from more than 320,000 stores in 52 countries worldwide. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The winner of Mono equipments Dec-A-Doughnut Competition is coffee shop owner Berris Evans from Pontypridd, South Wales. Launched on the silver anniversary of National Doughnut Week, Monos Dec-A-Doughnut is in aid of The Childrens Trust. The competition wanted professional and amateur bakers to design a doughnut. Judges were looking at overall design, creativity, colours & textures and originality. Evans owns coffee shop Caffi Cariad in Pontypridd. She said: My childhood memories of doughnuts were having them at the beach freshly cooked in front of you, so a beach scene was my inspiration. The bikini top was made from traditional jam doughnuts, the boat from a finger doughnut, the flip-flops were made by slicing a finger doughnut through the middle and the floats were covered mini-doughnuts. The judges felt Evans entry completely captured the true essence of the competition by demonstrating great creativity, skill, humour and imagination in a beautifully executed and colourful design. Evans was presented with a Teddy Bear Mixer by Mono sales executive Christian Trubey. The supermarket chain threw away the equivalent of 119m meals last year, with bread and sandwiches among the most commonly discarded items. Tesco dumped approximately 59,400 tonnes (t) of food in the last year. Fresh bread, fruit and pre-packaged sandwiches are the items thrown away most. Food waste from Britains biggest supermarket increased last year to 59,400t, the equivalent of 119m meals. The rise seen by Tesco came despite a series of initiatives to tackle the problem, including donating huge quantities to food banks. The figure is a 4% increase on 2015 the supermarkets beers, wines & spirits aisles and bakeries were blamed for the rise. The amount wasted was the equivalent of one in every 100 food products sold by Tesco during the last financial year. Chief executive Dave Lewis said: When I arrived at Tesco, we were the only UK retail company to publish our food waste data. What the data shows is that its clear where we need to focus our efforts nearly three years after we announced it, we are still the only UK retailer publishing our data. Last week a 12-strong bakery team at Tesco, Chester formed a syndicate and scooped 1m between them. Homeowner's Associations and What you Should Know Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Most real estate searching undertaken by people interested in having a primary or second home in Puerto Vallarta (or Nayarit), tends to center around the size of the home, number of bedrooms, the neighborhood, and of course, the price. When something is finally found that fulfills the criteria, few, unfortunately, bother to include an investigation regarding how the homeowner's association (HOA) functions. But they should. They don't because many people are not familiar with what a HOA is and what its responsibilities may entail. The single-family dwelling is still the most common form of home ownership in the U.S. and Canada, where HOAs are not, in most cases, necessary. But in Puerto Vallarta the condominium is king and the preferred form of secondary home or vacation ownership. Why? They are easy to take care of, to lock-up and leave during the summers, maintenance fees are less, matter of fact, the overall cost is usually much less. But the other side of condo living is you are now sharing your home, or at least your common areas and perhaps a wall, floor and/or ceiling, with others. There needs to be a system in place to ensure common areas are well maintained and paid for, that everyone respects the rules in place and the privacy of the other owners. The mechanism for this is the homeowner's association. Before anyone makes an offer on a property it very much would be worth their while to investigate the HOA, to ensure the condominium project is being run efficiently, properly, and in compliance with state condo laws. If there are problems, it's better to find out beforehand rather than later on. Unfortunately, the information isn't always easy to come by. The listing real estate agent can assist with this by organizing a meeting with the property manager or administrator, and perhaps one of the board members may be available to talk to you. Perhaps I should have prefaced this by saying there are always going to be some problems going on within the HOA - it is the nature of the beast. So don't go looking for a perfect scenario. What you mostly want to do is confirm ahead of time what you are getting involved with and then decide if you're okay with it. Here's some sample questions you could consider asking: Is there a good administrative system in place? Is there a manager or administration company you can talk to about the building? You should ask to see a copy of the property by-laws (regimen de condominios) to better understand what the rules are for owners. Is there a board and do they meet regularly, taking minutes of the meetings? How are common expenses billed and charged? Is the electricity billed separately for each unit? How are fees billed (annually, quarterly, monthly), and is everyone paying their fees regularly? Are there any problems/disagreements or even legal issues internally or with the past developer? You can get a pretty good idea of how well the HOA is being managed by just walking around the property and checking how well everything is being maintained. Poor maintenance and condition of the building probably means poor management and a weak board and HOA. Garry Musgrave has written a couple of books about condominium HOAs in Jalisco and about condominium law, and he writes, Garry has written book about condominium HOAs you can purchase on Amazon.com. It makes a very good guide for anyone involved with HOAs, and set you in the right direction for properly setting up your condo regimen. And what if you have already bought and now discover there are problems with your HOA? Well, remember, as I wrote above, there will always be some problems, what's important is the severity of the problems. First, you should educate yourself about what best policies are for the operation of a HOA. Ask questions, both to the administrator and board, but perhaps other people at other developments who have ample experience in the operation of HOAs. Secondly, consider getting involved yourself by serving on the board. The worst guy at the annual general assembly is usually the one who loves to complain but never bothers to help out by serving on the board. It's my opinion that if you haven't served, you really don't deserve to complain much. If you want something to be done, then perhaps you have to do it yourself by getting involved. Other points to keep in mind: If you have a weak administrator, you need to have a strong board. But that will mean board members putting in a lot more time than they may want to, or should. It can also lead to board members having too much control. Prime candidates for this are successful retired corporate-types who are used to running their own company, but don't have the company anymore, so they take over the homeowner's association! If you have a strong administrator you'll have to pay more, but it will make the job of the board much easier. In my opinion this is how it should be done, with the board just providing direction and oversight. Unfortunately, for small projects, this often is challenging. Checks and balances. You have to have systems in place to ensure that the administrator, management and board are doing their jobs properly. The administrator and accountant shouldn't work for the same firm - as they need to audit one another. Do all you can to avoid lawsuits. Usually the only one's to win are the lawyers. People can get very hot-headed, for some reason, when it comes to HOAs. It's a little like road-rage, but now inside the condominium structure. Owners have to understand that they have no choice, they are neighbors and are stuck living near and with one another. So the nicer you can be to each other, the higher the degree of success and compliance you'll have regarding HOA matters. A poorly run HOA can take away from the pleasure of owning, put some owners against others. Your best bet is to get a great administrator who can keep people in line and ensure that day-to-day operations are done correctly. Advertiser Disclosure We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. The Camping World Stadium will remain a Pulse night club advocacy center through Wednesday. Family Assistance Center will stay open through Wednesday 94 familes have been helped so far City encourages those who need help to call the hotline During a news conference Friday, Mayor Buddy Dyer encouraged those in need to visit the stadium this weekend while they still have so many providers in one facility simultaneously. But then late Friday afternoon, the city of Orlando announced the center would stay open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day. The city opened the family assistance center on Wednesday, following the nightclub shooting that killed 49 and injured more than 50. Since the center opened, 125 families, some 370 people have been helped through various agencies. The goal is to provide free services for victims of the attack, their families, Pulse employees and those who were there, along with first responders. So far, 200 free airline tickets have been provided, and 85 compensation claims have been made for assistance with funeral arraignments, burials and medical claims. "If you know a friend or a family member who was affected please encourage them to come down and seek help. All of our services are confidential. This is a supportive and safe environment for everyone and anyone." Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. Services provided at the center are confidential, and the media is not allowed in. Dyer encouraged anyone who did not feel comfortable coming to the center to call the family assistance hotline at (407) 246-4357. Although they will be open through Sunday, they ask if anyone else needs assistance, even transporting family from across the country or from Puerto Rico, to please come by for help. The stadium will be open Saturday, June 18 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and again Sunday, June 19 from noon to 8 p.m. Millions of dollars in donations are coming in for the OneOrlando Fund to help victims and their families. "We're trying to figure out the best way to get direct support to the victims and their families and not the go-betweeners," said Dyer. The city has reached out to the man behind the OneBoston fund, who will visit Orlando to provide city leaders with some direction. Dyer stressed that officials are trying to be as transparent as possible when it comes to the money raised through the fund. A section of Greenwood Cemetery has been designated a memorial site. Some of the victims of the Pulse shooting will be buried there. "We have offered a section of Greenwood Cemetery, which the city owns, to any of the families that would like to have their loved one buried here in Orlando, said Dyer. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also promised to help the families. They visited with the families Thursday during a trip to Orlando. They also thanked the first responders and had a message for the Orlando community. There is compassion, and empathy and decency and most of all there is love, said Obama. Thats the Orlando weve seen in recent days and thats the America we have seen. Let me clarify for those with any creeping suspicions: Roy G. Biv is/was not a real person. The name is a rather misleading arrangement of letters that stands for the colors of the rainbow . Dont be ashamed if this is news to you. If youre like me, the acronym has been seared into your brain since childhood, and you may or may not have made a fool of yourself in the workplace after exclaiming what an interesting guy Mr. Biv was. Even though he wasnt a real dude, Roy G. Biv has made a significant impact on the way artists approach their work. Artists Jamie Brunson, Robert Townsend and Fausto Fernandez will display their colorful creations on Friday, June 24, at the Roy G. Biv Opening Reception at the Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe. They use color as their visual language to communicate directly through our senses, experimenting with oil paint, watercolor, collage techniques and more. All ages are welcome to this free event. (Monica Schmitt) Jamie Brunson, Robert Townsend and Fausto Fernandez use color as the visual language of artistic ecstasy with watercolors, oil paint, collage techniques and more. Runs through 7/10. The artists in Turner Carrolls Roy G. Biv exhibition all use color as the visual language of artistic ecstasy. Fernandez, a Mexican artist now living in the U.S., places layer upon layer of color, embellishing his paintings with diamond dust glitter, to magnify and reflect the chromatic effect. Undeniably influenced by the festive use of color in Mexican culture, he collages colorful flowers; draws energetic lines with crayon, and his works emerge as a triumph of colorful beauty. Fernandezs works were recently featured in the touring museum exhibition, Beauty Reigns: Baroque Sensibilities in Contemporary Art. Likewise, Townsend uses explosive color and celebratory themes in his hyper-realistic watercolors. Candy and lollipops, polka dots, and modernist analog clocks, all express the child-like excitement of color. Townsends colorful pop works are included in top museum collections such as the Getty Museum and the Frederick Weisman Art Foundation in California. Brunson is more of a pure colorist, and she uses deep hues and bold shapes to achieve meditative transcendence. Brunson has received numerous art residencies, and her works are included in the American Embassy in Doha, Qatar, and museums throughout the U.S. These three artists, like artists since the beginning of time, use the universal language of color to communicate directly through our senses, on the most powerful level. A Port Arthur police officer charged with DWI following an off-duty single-vehicle crash in April has been accepted into a pre-trial diversion program, allowing him to avoid a conviction if he meets the conditions of a probation-like agreement, a prosecutor said. The program has been offered to dozens of first-time drunken drivers in Jefferson County since early 2015, first assistant DA Pat Knauth said. It is not extended to people who have a previous criminal conviction, and suspects must also sign a confession that can be used against them in any subsequent drunken-driving arrests, Knauth said. Texas DPS State Highway 105 between Batson and Moss Hill, west of Sour Lake in Liberty County, has reopened, after a three-vehicle wreck resulted in the death two people, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Stephanie Davis. Luke Jordan Harpole, 32, of Cleveland, and a 7-year-old boy were pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Cody Parish. They were both passengers in a white Ford F150 pickup truck involved in the crash. The driver of the Ford, Jarod Lawrence Johnson, 40, of Cleveland, was flown by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston with serious injuries. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After questioning a trial judge's decision to allow Crystal Boyett's 2015 manslaughter trial to move forward without having a physician determine her competency, justices on Beaumont's Ninth Court of Appeals must decide whether to set aside her conviction. Boyett, 42, of Kirbyville, was convicted in April 2015 and sentenced to 20 years in the killing of two Lumberton sisters and an unborn baby in a February 2014 car crash. She filed an appeal this past December. In the appeal, Boyett claims that Hardin County District Judge Steve Thomas did not ensure she was competent to stand trial. Boyett's attorney James P. Spencer II argued on Thursday that a licensed physician should have been appointed to make a medical determination of Boyett's mental ability. "My concern here is the (trial) judge's role," Justice Hollis Horton said during the hearing. "The judge has a responsibility to make sure people being tried are competent to stand trial." Three days into her 2015 criminal trial, Boyett's attorney, Glen Crocker, requested an emergency competency hearing, claiming his client was mentally unfit to understand the charges against her. An informal hearing, which Thomas presided over, convened outside of the jury's presence. Charlotte Bush, Boyett's sister, testified that Boyett suffers from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. Boyett was involuntarily committed to a Louisiana psychiatric hospital, where she spent two weeks in 2013, Bush testified. A family friend also testified that Boyett's mental illness manifested in odd physical behaviors, like "ticking noises" she made during the trial. Justice Charles Kreger said on Thursday a low threshold exists to raise competency issues, which includes whether a defendant has the ability to consult with an attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and if the defendant has a rational and factual understanding of the court proceedings. According to state law, a defendant is presumed competent to stand trial unless proved otherwise "by a preponderance of the evidence." Bruce A. Hoffer, an assistant district attorney in Hardin County, dismissed Boyett's competency claims Thursday as "trial strategy." Hoffer said Boyett's attorneys never presented an expert witness at the informal hearing, therefore failing to meet the burden of proof that she was not competent to stand trial. In her appeal, Boyett, who has been in a state prison in Central Texas since last April, also asserted that her constitutional right to testify on her behalf was violated when Crocker prevented her from addressing the jury. Spencer said Crocker faced "a cruel dilemma" in deciding not to allow Boyett to testify. Crocker believed Boyett to be incompetent, making it his ethical obligation to prevent her from taking the stand, according to Spencer. Another point raised on appeal during Thursday's hearing was whether Boyett should have been granted a continuance because Hardin County prosecutors allegedly waited until less than three weeks before trial to produce 4,200 pages of medical records, which Spencer said contained information that could have cast doubt on Boyett's culpability. According to court testimony, Boyett was driving over 120 mph on Feb. 3, 2014, when she crashed her red Camaro into the back of a small SUV carrying Connely Sterling Burns, 20; her unborn son, Tyson; her 15-year-old sister, Courtney Sterling; and the girls' mother. The two sisters and the baby were killed in the collision. The girls' mother, Dawn Sterling, was severely injured and missed her daughters' funeral. Michael Sterling, the girls' father, was present at Thursday's hearing, but declined to comment until after the judges rule on Boyett's appeal. Boyett was not in court on Thursday. BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Before Orion heads to Mars, the NASA spacecraft has made a pit stop in downtown Houston. The space agencys next signature spacecraft arrived for an exhibition at Comicpalooza on Wednesday morning. The Orion mock-up is being developed to one day take humans to Mars. In the meanwhile, the vehicle showed up at Comicpalooza to give space junkies a close-up look at the design. READ MORE: 10 things to know before you go to Comicpalooza But even if you miss Orion at the festival, you might catch the 22,000-pound spacecraft traversing the citys busy highways. NASA touted the models arrival at Comicpalooza by documenting the journey from the Johnson Space Center to the George R. Brown Convention Center. The hefty saucer-shaped vehicle was lugged by an 18-wheeler onto I-45 to its final destination downtown. NASA live-tweeted the modules trip with the hashtag #SpotOrion. The spacecraft arrived safely, seeming to avoid any of the usual traffic jams, at about 9:30 a.m. Check out Orions road trip to downtown Houston in the gallery above. The CDC reported three infants born in the United States had Zika-related birth defects, according to The Hill. Here are four takeaways: 1. The CDC also reported three other cases in which women had miscarriages or terminated pregnancies with infants who had birth defects, which Zika caused. 2. Last month, the CDC reported the first case where a baby was born with Zika-related birth defects. 3. Every reported case has involved a mother contracting the virus abroad, according to the Associated Press. 4. However, the Associated Press cautioned there could be cases of people contracting Zika in the continental United States this summer. More articles on quality & infection control: Muhammad Ali dies from septic shock 4 things to know about the infection that killed the legendary boxer Legislators voice concern over 'unstoppable superbug' making its way into US: 5 notes Physicians, healthcare executives weigh in on value-based care 6 survey findings Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA, of Aurora-based University of Colorado School of Medicine, shares his experience developing medical student entrepreneurial education programs, according to Physician's Money Digest. Here are five things to know: 1. Dr. Meyers noted most medical students lack an entrepreneurial mindset. 2. Medical school's demanding schedule often doesn't leave room for non-clinical subjects. 3. Dr. Meyers advised medical student entrepreneurship should involve "networks, resources, mentors, experimental learning and industry-academic knowledge exchange." 4. Faculty members expect proof of concept for any experimental ideas medical students propose. 5. Dr. Meyers said biomedical or clinical innovation and entrepreneurship education will not be a mandatory part of medical school, so entrepreneurial medical students will have to go the extra mile. Recent articles: 10 of the best stories on ASC leadership in 2016 so far Employed vs. self-employed: Who has higher job satisfaction levels? 6 survey findings FastMed, TouchCare partner on telemedicine services: 5 points Pioneer Community Hospital of Scott in Oneida, Tenn., will close its doors on June 26 at 8 a.m., WBIR reported. The hospital, which is part of Magee, Miss.-based Pioneer Health Services, is the only one in Scott County. Hospital CEO Tony Taylor notified the state earlier this month about a potential closure. The announcement comes on the heels Pioneer Health Services filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. Pioneer owns hospitals in Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia. It acquired Scott County Hospital in March 2013 after the hospital's first closure in 2012. Mr. Taylor predicted the facility would close this month if the State Survey Agency could not help survey the surgery department, which Mr. Taylor said would garner the revenue needed to stay open, according to WBIR. Steve Leeds, PharmD, a hospital employee, said all 100 employees including Mr. Taylor found out about the closure on Thursday, and many of their questions were left unanswered. "First thing I thought of was tell me this isn't happening again," Dr. Leeds told WBIR. "I've worked at the hospital here for 30 plus years. If the hospital closes there will be patients dying, and we want to keep the hospital open just for that reason alone." The closest hospital Jamestown (Tenn.) RegionalMedicalCenter is 39 miles away, WBIR reported. More articles on healthcare finance: Viewpoint: Declining charity care levels drive concerns about hospital 340B eligibility 5 health systems with strong finances White House announces state budgets for opioid abuse treatment Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, S.C., has named Bradley S. Talbert CEO, The Herald reports. Here are four things to know about Mr. Talbert. 1. He succeeds Bill Masterton, who took a job at a teaching hospital in Louisiana. 2. Mr. Talbert joins PMC from Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville, S.C., where he has served as CEO. PMC and CCH are both part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. 3. Previously, he was market vice president of business development and COO of Tenet's Hilton Head Hospital in Hilton Head Island, S.C. 4. Mr. Talbert earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., and a master's degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. More articles on executive moves: New CEO tapped for West Virginia University Health System: 5 things to know 9 latest hospital, health system CEO moves UVA Medical Center names new COO: 4 things to know Cuba has a successful healthcare model with quality, access and outcomes better than the majority of counties around the world. In fact Cuba considers healthcare one of their major exports; Cuba exports approximately $8B of professional services carried out by its physicians and nurses each year, with 37,000 professionals working in 77 countries. Now that Cuba is opening to Americans, a recent trip offered an exciting opportunity to better understand how they've created such a successful model. This week review of their healthcare system was eye-opening and demonstrated some ways in which Cuba has developed this model of care. What is interesting is that Cuba's success in healthcare seems less about them creating a better delivery model for care but more about developing a model that creates better adherence to basic standards of care. The delivery model is efficient but the adherence is more impressive. Here are some examples: 1. Segmentation of assets and labor. The structure of the health system builds upon the base level of primary care, with primary care physicians or family doctors distributed within the neighborhoods. The next level is the polyclinic, which coordinates the majority of outpatient specialty activity. The third level is single specialty tertiary hospital locations, which are distributed in the major cities. This segmentation model may promote more customized care for the population but doesn't seem to take advantage of scale economies, particularly in the tertiary hospitals, which is important for clinical and financial performance. Organizing the population by acuity and disease outweighs the clinical and financial benefits of consolidation. This balance is likely the opposite in most US markets. 2. Access. With over 67 physicians per 100,000 population, Cuba has the best access to physicians. The physicians, particularly family doctors, are located in neighborhoods, living within a mile or less of their patient base. The physicians know the families, friends, behaviors and risk factors for their neighborhoods. While access to physicians is impressive, there were accounts of family doctors entering homes unannounced to observe health and environmental factors of their "patients". These unannounced visits, while common in Cuba, may not be as welcome in the US given privacy requirements of our population. 3. Behavioral adherence. Because of communism, Cuba has complete control over the behavioral and health standards it places on its populations. Cuba unequivocally follows basic clinical care guidelines for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. For example, Cuba's immunization coverage for measles is 99%, compared to the US average of 91% and the world average of 84%. When there's an outbreak, the system quickly moves into homes and the work place to tend to health, behavior and environmental needs (e.g. water, sanitation, cleanliness). It is unlikely the US can move toward more direct control over its population's behaviors given our democratic republic heritage. That said, there is precedence in the US for regulating health precursors, such as pollution, smoking and car safety. Is it unrealistic to assume that one day calorie, exercise and gun violence will fall under similar regulations? 4. Government control. The Cuban government controls the supply of healthcare services by organizing the medical training and deployment of physicians and providers across the country and the demand for services through paying for the access to and use of services for the population. This model allows an orchestrated balance of supply and demand. When there are shortages or surpluses on either side of the supply/demand equation, the government can use its power to affect a more optimal balance. Given the complexity of the US health system, it is unlikely we achieve this orchestrated balance. It is more likely as the trade restraints are lessened, Cuba moves more toward the US model of consumerism and choice for both supply and demand of services. These and other attributes have helped Cuba develop an impressive model of healthcare, in which a small country, isolated from much of the world. As Cuba opens its doors, it will be interesting to see how the healthcare system remains strong, given other opportunities for trade. Perhaps Cuba becomes a healthcare destination, perhaps Cuba builds upon its professional services export model, perhaps Cuba accelerates its investments in research and innovation. Regardless of the approach, I am hopeful that Cuba continues its journey developing the best care model for adherence and outcomes known throughout the world and we can continue to learn from them. 1 Frist, B. Cuba's Most Valuable Export: Its Healthcare Expertise. Forbes. June 8, 2015. 2 Source: World Health Statistics 2015, World Health Organization The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump released his "Healthcare Reform to Make America Great Again" plan March 2, calling for less government oversight of healthcare and letting the free market sort out costs. Here are 15 things to know about Mr. Trump's healthcare reform plan: 1. Mr. Trump intends to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Trump wants to completely eradicate the healthcare reform law, particularly its individual mandate that requires all individuals above a specific economic threshold to purchase health insurance. Though he has previously supported the ACA provision requiring payers to cover people with pre-existing conditions, he did not mention this in his March proposal. "Our healthcare is a horror show," Mr. Trump said at the sixth Republican debate in January. "Obamacare, we're going to repeal it and replace it." 2. His plan will leave 24 million Americans uninsured. Upon repeal of the ACA, 24 million people will lose healthcare coverage by 2021, more than doubling the number of uninsured Americans, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation analysis. His proposed replacement initiatives only cover 5 percent of all the individuals who would lose coverage. 3. CRFB predicts high costs to repeal and replace the ACA. An estimated $550 billion over the course of 10 years would be required for Mr. Trump to repeal and replace the ACA. When taking into account effects on the economy, the price tag changes to $330 billion, according to a bipartisan Committee for Responsible Federal Budget analysis. 4. He wants to convert Medicaid to a block grant program. A block grant program would involve the federal government allotting each state a fixed amount of yearly funding, according to CRFB's fiscal report analysis. The analysis states the grants could save or cost the government money, depending on their size, which Mr. Trump has not disclosed. 5. He wants to allow insurers to sell plans across state lines. He proposes that by "allowing full competition in this market, insurance costs will go down and consumer satisfaction will go up." 6. Mr. Trump wants to make insurance premiums tax deductible. Mr. Trump argues since businesses are able to deduct payments for insurance premiums from their taxes, individuals should also be able to take those exemptions. "As we allow the free market to provide insurance coverage opportunities to companies and individuals, we must also make sure that no one slips through the cracks simply because they cannot afford insurance," Mr. Trump's plan reads. 7. He thinks healthcare is a universal right. According to a Politico article, Mr. Trump has frequently said all Americans should receive access to healthcare, and the government should make sure no one is "dying on the streets." His belief in universal healthcare conflicts with his wish to eliminate the ACA mandate requiring all individuals above a certain economic threshold to purchase health insurance. 8. He intends to establish health saving accounts. Mr. Trump wants to grant Americans the option to contribute to tax-free health saving accounts, making them a part of an individual's estate. This means individuals would not be penalized for transferring assets to heirs or to other family members. 9. He will require price transparency from insurers. "Individuals should be able to shop to find the best prices for procedures, exams or any other medical-related procedure," his plan reads. Mr. Trump especially wants physicians, clinics and hospitals to provide transparent information. No other details are provided in his health reform plan as to how he hopes to accomplish this. 10. Mr. Trump wants to remove barriers for international pharmaceutical companies wishing to enter the U.S. market. If international pharmaceutical companies offer reliable, safe and cheaper products, Mr. Trump thinks Americans should have the option to purchase them. "Though the pharmaceutical industry is in the private sector, drug companies provide a public service," his plan reads. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has proposed similar ideas. 11. He wants stricter laws on providing care to undocumented immigrants. Mr. Trump says enforcing immigration laws and cutting fraud will lift economic pressures off Americans. Stricter immigration laws would assist job creation and reduce the amount of people on Medicaid, his plan states. 12. Mr. Trump sees a need to reform mental health programs. In his plan, he states America needs to reform its mental health programs and institutions. "Families, without the ability to get the information needed to help those who are ailing, are too often not given the tools to help their loved ones," his plan reads. His plan also states Congress is developing "promising" reforms that should receive bipartisan support. 13. He said other reform could be considered. If other plans present lower costs, more certainty and financial security for Americans, Mr. Trump said in his health reform plan he will consider them. 14. Critics of Mr. Trump's plan say it is simply another Republican healthcare proposal. "The fact that his healthcare 'plan' is clearly cribbed from worn-out and false GOP talking points proves that Trump is just another Republican politician who wants to take healthcare away from millions of Americans without offering any substantive alternative," Democratic National Committee Communications Director Luis Miranda said in a statement, according to Reuters. 15. The GOP is not sold on Mr. Trump's plan. Republicans are hung up on Mr. Trump's inconsistencies in terms of healthcare policy, making them doubt the assumed Republican nominee, according to The Hill. For example, Mr. Trump promised to insure all Americans, but his plan does not state any overarching expansions. He has also said he wants to protect patients with pre-existing conditions, but does not mention it in his plan. Woodbury, N.J.-based Inspira Health Network could lay off 67 employees next month due to a pending partnership venture, The Daily Journal reports. Denver-based DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners, is slated to join Inspira Health Network in southern New Jersey. Under the deal, DaVita will gain majority ownership of three Inspira dialysis centers in Vineland, Millville and Bridgeton, N.J. This pending partnership means dialysis service personnel in Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland could lose their jobs by Aug. 10, according to the report, which cites notices filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The state notified 67 Inspira employees this month. Inspira spokesman Greg Potter told The Daily Journal Inspira is looking to offer new positions to the affected employees. "We are working to place them within our joint venture with DaVita," Mr. Potter told the publication. "We anticipate that we'll have placements for all these employees. We're looking to keep them with us." More articles on leadership and management: Via Christi to eliminate 70 positions, add 80 more 5 tips for managing, strengthening resilience Study finds company share prices suffer when female CEO appointments are publicized here's why Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week. 1. Orlando Health's response to America's deadliest shooting at nightclub Forty-nine people were killed and 53 were injured in a shooting at Pulse, an Orlando, Fla.-based LGBT nightclub early Sunday morning. A SWAT team killed the gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, at the scene. Orlando Health, a six-hopsital system with two affiliated hospitals, led the emergency response. 2. MedPAC issues June report to Congress The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission released its June 2016 report on Medicare payment policy to Congress, in which it gives a status report on the Medicare Advantage and Part D drug programs. 3. CMS' proposed rule for hospitals: Reduce antibiotic use or exit Medicare On Monday, CMS released a proposed rule change to its Conditions of Participation which would, among other changes, require hospitals to implement antibiotic stewardship programs in order to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. 4. Brigham and Women's nurses set date for strike The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents 3,300 nurses at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital, voted Monday to authorize a one-day strike, The Boston Globe reports. 5. Accidental Zika infection at Pittsburgh lab A lab worker from the University of Pittsburgh accidentally stuck herself with a needle while working with the Zika virus, resulting in what appears to be the first known Zika infection occurring in a laboratory, according to The New York Times. 6. NYC budget includes $700M boost for public hospitals New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council agreed on an $82.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2017, and the biggest new spending item is a $700 million funding boost for the city's public hospital system, according to Bloomberg. 7. 2 hospital EMTs resign after live-stream shows them ignore 911 call Two emergency medical technicians employed by UniversityHospital in Newark, N.J., live-streamed a fast food run to WhiteCastle, which showed them ignoring an emergency call while waiting for their food, according to a News 12 report. The incident occurred on June 9. They have since resigned. 8. Scientists identify superbug in Rio Olympic water venues As if concerns regarding the safety of traveling to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics weren't high enough due to the Zika virus outbreak, two new unpublished academic studies suggest there may also be a dangerous drug-resistant "super bacteria" in the city's beach water and lagoon where various events are to be held, Reuters reports. 9. Ascension Wisconsin to close hospital Ascension Wisconsin, part of St. Louis-based Ascension, will close 30-bed Wheaton Franciscan-Midwest Spine and Orthopedic Hospital and Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Wauwatosa on July 8. Employees at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital in Elko and union members picketed Thursday over staffing issues, according to an Elko Daily Free Press report. The workers, represented by SEIU Nevada, were protesting for safe staffing practices for themselves and the community they serve. They claim the emergency department is understaffed. They also want the community to join in the coalition to solidify solutions, including political solutions at the upcoming state legislature where they will advocate for safe staffing ratios, according to the report. In a statement, NNRH said it respects SEIU Nevada's right to assemble. However, because it is in active negotiations with the union and must respect the confidentiality of the bargaining process, it declined to comment on Thursday's demonstration, according to the report. The hospital further stated there have been eight meetings between itself and the union since January, including two this week. More articles on workforce and labor management: Sacred Heart physicians reach tentative labor agreement, cancel picket Hundreds of nurses apply to work in Minnesota as Allina strike looms Dartmouth contract with New Hampshire Hospital set to expire: 5 things to know Aetna Better Health of Nebraska is fighting the state in court after officials denied Aetna's bid to share in a $1 billion contract covering some 230,000 long-term Medicaid recipients, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. In a complaint filed Tuesday in the Lancaster County District Court, Aetna asked the decision be overturned on the grounds that one of the insurers, Tampa, Fla.-based WellCare, is less established and unqualified based on its current legal issues in other states and outsourcing to India. Additionally, Aetna claims the state's decision process violated the law and was flawed, since two reviewers were unfamiliar with Medicaid and the review process was too short. The decision "jeopardized the state of Nebraska's ability to satisfy the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of its most vulnerable citizens," Aetna's attorneys told the Lincoln Journal Star. A share in the contract would make Aetna plans accessible to Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program recipients under Heritage Health, Nebraska's new managed care program. The plan aims to cover approximately 230,000 recipients under single plans as opposed to separate physical and behavioral health plans. State officials disagreed with Aetna's arguments, saying officials impartially chose which insurers would be best for Nebraskans. WellCare provided a statement regarding Nebraska's decision, saying the payer "has more than 30 years of experience in coordinating managed care for low-income children and families, the disabled and seniors. In recent years, it has become standard practice for unsuccessful bidders to protest the results of large procurements. The state of Nebraska conducted a fair bidding process, and we expect this to be validated in court. We remain focused on preparing to serve Nebraskas most vulnerable citizens and on being a transparent and accountable partner to the state." Six insurers applied and three were chosen. Aetna controls plans for more than 100,000 Medicaid participants in Nebraska and has been in the state for five years. This article has been updated with a statement provided by WellCare. The previous version did not have WellCare's statement. The following insurers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent. 1. With $25M raised, digital insurer League plans to expand in Seattle, beyond Digital health insurance provider League expanded its footprint in North America after receiving $25 million in its first round of investor funding. 2. Cigna opens 24/7 hotline in wake of Orlando shooting Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna opened a 24/7 telephone help line to anyone affected by the shooting at Orlando, Fla.-based LGBT nightclub Pulse. 3. Aetna recognizes 2 employees who died in Orlando shooting Hartford, Conn.-based Aenta responded to the deaths of two of its employees and a third employee who was wounded in a shooting at Orlando, Fla.-based LGBT nightclub Pulse. 4. Premier Health hospitals no longer in CareSource's Just4Me network Dayton, Ohio-based CareSource dropped Dayton-based Premier Health from its Just4Me health plans, effective Aug. 1. 5. Memorial Hermann Health System, UnitedHealthcare launch ACO Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System and health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare formed an accountable care organization. 6. John Hancock to raise long-term healthcare policy rates 20% Boston-based John Hancock Financial confirmed its hiking rates for plans covering individuals' in-home and nursing home care by about 20 percent. 7. UnitedHealthcare to reimburse kidney donors' travel expenses UnitedHealthcare said it will pay up to $5,000 to kidney transplant donors for lodging and travel expenses, effective January 2017. 8. SAG and AFTRA to merge health plans Hollywood-based Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists plan to merge their two healthcare plans to cover more than 65,000 members. 9. BCBS of Tennessee cautions customers of phone scam BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee enrollees, beware: You might be the subject of a phone scam. The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorizations for two in-vitro devices that diagnose the Zika virus. Cypress-Calif.-based Focus Diagnostics and Hamburg, Germany-based Altona Diagnostics requested the authorizations on behalf of their in-vitro diagnostic devices. As a result of Zika's threat to the public health and national security, the Department of Health and Human Services felt circumstances justified the authorizations. HHS also granted the authorization because there are no approved alternative diagnostic devices for Zika currently available. The authorization allows for Altona's RealStar Zika Virus RT-PCR Kit and Focus' Zika Virus RNA Qualitative Real-Time RT-PCR test to be used for individuals showing clinical signs and symptoms of Zika, along with individuals who have recently traveled or had a history of residence in a geographic region known to have active Zika virus transmission. While both devices detect RNA from Zika in the blood, Altona's device can also diagnose through urine samples. More articles on supply chain: Medtronic inks deal with Canary Health, enters pre-diabetes market FDA strengthens warnings for two diabetes medications: 4 things to know FDA finalizes symbols for device labels Dr. John Hurlbert, of University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, plans to start a new spine program at the University of Arizona in Tucson, according to Calgary Herald. Here are five things to know: 1. Dr. Hurlbert commented he's moving to the United States to start a similar spine program to the one he co-founded at the University of Calgary in 1997. 2. Dr. Hurlbert commented the University of Arizona offers great opportunities for teaching and research. 3. He served as the University of Calgary spine program's first spine surgeon. 4. By heading to the United States, he said he will leave room for another surgeon at the beginning of his or her career to rise up the ranks at University of Calgary. 5. The University of Calgary's spine program now includes 11 spine surgeons and 15 neurosurgeons. London, Ontario, Canada-based Ortech Systems launched phiDB lite, a patient-reported outcomes platform. Here are five things to know: 1. The platform will help orthopedic surgeons gather patient-reported outcomes within two weeks. 2. With the platform, practices will be able to compare providers as well as show patients their progress. 3. Practices can also leverage the platform to include patient-reported outcomes in their bundled payment reports. 4. Ortech created the platform in response to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommending providers across all specialties obtain patient-reported outcomes. 5. The phiDB lite package includes: Outcome questions that match AAOS-recommended criteria Online clinic module capturing patient-reported outcomes data Self-serve module collecting patient-reported outcomes data from patients Automated patient-reported outcomes status report Automated site benchmark reports Implementation within two weeks of approval "Deciding what to measure used to be a hurdle for orthopedic practices. Now that AAOS has provided guidelines on what to measure, orthopedic practices are assured their data will support quality improvement," said Michael Barr, vice president of Ortech Systems. "This was Ortech's cue to streamline PROMs collection, so any practice can operationalize quickly." Brexit could lead to disruption of trade links, re-introduction of customs controls and loss of millions of pounds in aid funding which would impact the economy and affect security, it has been claimed Brexit could have serious economic and political implications for Northern Ireland, the Republic, and Anglo-Irish relations, according to a new report. The disruption of trade links, re-introduction of customs controls and loss of millions of pounds in aid funding would impact the economy and affect security, it was claimed. British Influence, which published the report, said: These are issues that have only been considered on the periphery of the referendum debate until very recently, and yet represent some of the most serious, considering the potential effects Brexit could have on the peace process and north-south cooperation. Those who argue for the UK to leave the EU have for the most part dismissed the Irish dimension of Brexit as either irrelevant or inconsequential a worryingly passive stance. Considering the seriousness with which people on both sides of the Irish border are taking the possibility of the UK voting to leave, Brexit advocates need rapidly to reconsider that stance and begin providing answers for these legitimate concerns. According to the think tank, the economic consequences for Northern Ireland include an exposed economy left isolated from its second biggest market and more reliant on a poorer and preoccupied UK. The potential loss of foreign direct investment, which has seen some 800 international companies set up in the region, was also highlighted, as were claims the business community could be disadvantaged. The ending of the European Arrest Warrant may also make it more difficult to extradite terror suspects, while the loss of crucial EU funding for cross-border projects could disrupt the peace process, the report said. British Influence additionally argued that a vote to leave the EU could have ramifications south of the border, where the economy is still recovering from the downturn. A Brexit could be the kind of shock that causes real difficulties, the report said. While both countries would continue to trade, the volume presently 30% of Irelands imports, totalling some 27.86bn was likely to be impacted, the group claimed. Agriculture prices may also be forced down, as the UK would no longer be subject to the Common Agricultural Policy. And there could also be consequences for broader relations between the UK and Ireland, which have improved immeasurably in recent years, partly down to mutual membership of the EU. The report said: No doubt the British and Irish Governments would seek to maintain their current strong relationship, and it is to be hoped that they would succeed. But Britain and Ireland would have chosen profoundly different paths, and there would be no guarantees that the current relations would remain as they are. The report came after former Irish president Mary McAleese warned a Leave vote would cause turmoil and radically alter relations between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Ms McAleese also claimed Irelands peace and prosperity would be in danger if Britain voted to leave the European Union next week. Canadian-owned Bambardier received certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency that its CS100 model met safety requirements Bombardier has won regulatory approval from the US and European aviation authorities for its CS100 passenger jets. The CSeries planes, which are part-made in Belfast, are scheduled to have their first commercial flight next month. The Canadian-owned plane and train-maker received certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency that its CS100 model met safety requirements. That certification is needed before the newly developed aircraft can enter operation. Bombardier, which employs more than 5,000 staff here, secured a deal in April to sell 75 of the CS100 jets to Delta Airlines, with the potential for a further 50 orders. However, it revealed in February that the company was cutting 1,080 jobs in Belfast over the next two years. Earlier this month, IAG boss Willie Walsh told the Belfast Telegraph he was having discussions with Bombardier boss Alain Bellemere about buying a number of the planes. At the International Air Transport Association AGM in Dublin, he said other orders, including deals with Delta Airlines and Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS, were also encouraging. This week, Belfast City Airport boss Brian Ambrose said the CSeries passenger jets could open up a direct route from the city to the east coast of America and the Middle East. The narrow-body passenger planes are fuel-efficient and potentially give small airports greater reach across the world. The news came after former Bombardier Northern Ireland chief executive Sir Roy McNulty said the "worst is over" for the manufacturer and insisted it would weather a storm of job cuts and losses. Bombardier in Belfast, officially known as Short Brothers plc, recently announced a pre-tax loss of $339m (235.6m), which it said had wiped out profits made over the past 10 years. The south coastal town of Hove is the top hotspot for young professionals buying homes across England and Wales, a report has found. Didsbury in Manchester, Clifton in Bristol, central Cardiff, Jesmond in Newcastle, Sheffield and Reading were also among the most desirable places for professionals aged between 25 and 44 years old to buy a property, according to Lloyds Bank. Lloyds said that for the second year in a row, the BN3 postcode, which covers Hove, was identified as the most popular place for young professionals to buy a home. The BN1 postcode in Brighton was also on the list of hotspots. Brighton and Hove have particular attractions for the young and ambitious, with a diverse population as well as the availability of independent shops, bars, restaurants, music venues and commuter links to London, the report said. Looking across the country, the postcode of CF24 in Cardiff, which includes Cathays, Roath and Splott, was named as the top hotspot for young professionals in Wales. In the north west of England, the postcode of M20, covering leafy Didsbury, with its boutiques and bars, was the top place to attract well-heeled younger workers. The postcode of BS8, covering Clifton, with its grand Georgian and Victorian architecture nestled close to Bristol city centre, was named as the south west's top hotspot for young professionals. Lloyds' review looked at Land Registry house sales in the year to February 2016 and also used analysis of different sectors of the population by marketing consultancy CACI to make the findings. Lloyds Bank mortgage director Mike Songer said: "Young professionals tend to have a professional or university qualification, are in well paid jobs and enjoy an urban lifestyle without the hustle and bustle of living in the city centre. "Our research shows that aspiring young urbanites choose to settle in areas which give them the best of both worlds - attractive suburbs offering good amenities and quality of life, which are within easy reach of a larger city centre - and in many cases they are prepared to pay a premium to live there." The young professional hotspots list was also crammed with areas of London, including Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Battersea, Streatham, Fulham, Putney, Hampstead, Paddington, Brixton and Tooting. The three most expensive areas for young professionals all command an average house price in excess of 1 million - Hampstead, where the average price is 1,318,492; Paddington, where it is 1,220,198; and Fulham, with a typical home there costing 1,088,131. Mr Songer continued: "With a third of London's population in the 25 to 44 age group it is not surprising many of the most popular areas with this group are in the capital." The research also found young professionals face paying a premium to live in their desired area - paying 88,000 more typically for a home in the postal district hotspots than a property in the wider town or city where they are located. But among the exceptions is BN3 - the most popular postal district in the survey, where the average house price is 33,972 lower than in the whole of Hove. In other areas of London the price premium is considerably larger. In the W4 district of Chiswick, for example, the average house price of 866,492 is 390,388 higher than in local area district of Hounslow. And in the N1 area of Islington houses are trading at an average premium of 267,891 compared with the Islington borough generally. Even outside London young professionals face hefty prices for a home in the most popular areas. In Didsbury, homes trade at a premium of 106,383 compared with Manchester generally. In Clifton, the average house price of 397,599 is 132,163 higher than in Bristol generally. Fired up: Gods of Egypt looks the part but fails to deliver Benevolent King Osiris (Bryan Brown) is poised to crown his self-doubting son, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), the new ruler of Egypt in front of an adoring throng, including his wife Isis (Rachael Blake) and Horus' lover, Hathor (Elodie Yung), the goddess of love. At the last minute, Osiris' jealous brother Set (Gerard Butler) gatecrashes the ceremony, murders the old king and seizes the throne. "Behold the fate of those who stand in my way," bellows Set, who demands that gods and mortals bow before him. Horus attempts to avenge his father, but Set is too powerful and rips out his nephew's eyes. Humble pickpocket Bek (Brenton Thwaites) and slave girl sweetheart Zaya (Courtney Eaton) set forth to overthrow Set by stealing back Horus' peepers. The plan goes tragically awry and Bek enters into a dangerous pact with Horus to complete his mission, aided by the rightful king's grandfather, Ra (Geoffrey Rush), who shoots fiery bolts from his watchtower in the heavens. Gods Of Egypt is a morass of oiled pecs, posturing and tiresome showdowns between exiled heroes and otherworldly creatures. The Oscar winner is believed to have accepted an invitation to visit Social Bite, a sandwich shop that feeds, trains and employs homeless people Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to follow in the footsteps of George Clooney and visit a Scottish social enterprise cafe later this year. The Oscar winner is believed to have accepted an invitation to travel to Edinburgh in support of Social Bite, a sandwich shop that feeds, trains and employs local homeless people. The Hollywood star will also speak at the Scottish Business Awards during his first visit to Scotland. Clooney paid a visit to Social Bite last November and launched an appeal to help homeless people and fund an aid convoy carrying food and clothing to travel to refugee camps across Europe. It received so many donations that Social Bite said surplus funds would ensure free hot meals and drinks can be provided to the homeless community in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen for a year. Fans lined Rose street in the Scottish capital last year to welcome Clooney who took time to chat to the crowd and posed for selfies with Social Bite staff before speaking at the Scottish Business Awards. Founded by Josh Littlejohn, around a quarter of the staff at the social enterprise have previously been homeless. DiCaprio, who won an Oscar for his role in The Revenant, is also an environmental campaigner and charity activist. Miss Great Britain, Zara Holland, is taking part in the new series of Love Island Miss Great Britain Zara Holland has been stripped of her title after having sex on ITV2 show Love Island Miss Great Britain Zara Holland has been stripped of her title after having sex on ITV2 show Love Island. Miss Great Britain Zara Holland has been stripped of her title after having sex on ITV2 show Love Island. Former Miss Great Britain Zara Holland will remain on ITV2's Love Island despite being stripped of her crown, ITV has said. Holland was "de-crowned" by Miss Great Britain after scenes showing the 20-year-old having sex were broadcast on Wednesday. ITV said Holland, from North Ferriby in Yorkshire, was told about the development off camera. "She is now back in the villa and has chosen to remain in the show," a spokesman said. He added: "With new participants going in and out of the villa we didn't feel it was fair for Zara to hear the news from a third party." Love Island presenter Caroline Flack criticised the decision to strip Holland of her title. She tweeted: "Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl. What even is 'Miss GB'? Are we living in the dark ages?" Holland has expressed regret over her antics with 24-year-old scaffolder Alex Bowen. In Thursday's episode, she said: "You know when you're in the moment and it just happens. That's really not like me at all. Why couldn't we have just gone to sleep?" Bowen is the former boyfriend of Loose Women star Vicky Pattison, the winner of I'm A Celebrity in 2015. The Miss Great Britain organisation said the move was taken with "deep regret". Its statement added: "We pride ourselves on promoting the positivity of pageants in modern society and this includes the promotion of a strong, positive female role model in our winners. "The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. "We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title." The organisation tweeted a message to further explain its position. "To be clear, we have no problem at all with sex - it is perfectly natural," they said. "We simply can't condone what happened on national TV." Holland will be replaced for the remainder of the year by runner-up Deone Robertson, who had been crowned Miss North Lanarkshire. The organisation said it will meet Holland on her return to the UK from the Love Island house in Majorca "to fully explain our decision and will wish her the very best going forward". The premise and purpose of Love Island is for the contestants to find romance, and the show has been performing well in the ratings. Salma Hayek makes no secret of the fact she felt great empathy for her latest incarnation, a woman pining to become pregnant in new fantasy-horror Tale Of Tales. "My character is obsessed with being a mother. She's having trouble having children and she's deeply sad and lonely because of this, and I could empathise with her because I didn't have my child until I was 41," says the Mexican-born actress, who is mum to eight-year-old Valentina (her husband of seven years, billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, also has three other children). "I understand the fear she was going through: is this going to be a possibility for me in my life or not?" The movie's directed by the acclaimed Italian film-maker Matteo Garrone, whose previous credits include The Embalmer, First Love and TV series Gomorrah, but Tale Of Tales marks his first English language film. "Anything he proposed I would've done and I will do in the future. I feel so lucky I got to work with him," says Hayek, in that melodic, husky voice. "I have a lot of Italian friends who are actors and it was always the ongoing joke that he usually gives the leading roles to real people, he doesn't work with actors. "It was everybody's dream to work with Matteo, so they were very jealous," adds the star, looking conservatively glamorous in a black cardigan over a dress strewn with small swans. Her character, Queen of Longtrellis, is so determined to have a child that she follows the advice of a sorcerer and devours the heart of a sea monster. "When I read that scene, I thought this is not even going to make it to the film," recalls Hayek, laughing. "I don't know how Matteo managed to do something that is so grotesque yet elegant at the same time, and emotional. "Every take we would do, he would say, 'Okay, now I want you to do this with desperation, now with love. Do it with hope, with sadness'. I didn't know there were so many ways to eat a heart." The film is inspired by the fairy tales of Giambattista Basile, an Italian academic, courtier and soldier whose work comprised more than 50 stories, weaving the sublime with the shocking, and influenced the Brothers Grimm. "The book it was based on was written in the 17th century, but all the conflicts of the characters are very relevant today and Matteo just takes it to the grotesque and the unimaginable, both psychologically and visually," continues Hayek. Garrone, who also co-wrote the screenplay, has noted that choosing which tales to include, followed an "invisible thread". "It involves three stories about women, each at a different stage in life," notes the 47-year-old director. "But what struck us even more was the capacity of these tales to capture some contemporary obsessions: the powerful desire for youth and beauty, the obsession of a mother who would do anything to have a son, and the violence that a girl must deal with to become an adult." Hayek agrees: "It's incredible that this author was writing about the obsession with keeping beauty and plastic surgery back then. All the conflicts for women are very relevant today. So even though it's a period piece, it feels very modern." Given the actress' flawless complexion, it would appear she's found the secret to eternal youth. She looks 35 but turns 50 in September. "I'm actually very excited about it," she exclaims. "Turning 30 was kind of shocking. I really liked turning 40 and now I'm super-excited about turning 50. "When I was younger, I thought it was scary - you think you're done with your life by 50, but I'm very fulfilled with what I've done in 50 years." Raised in an affluent family in the oil rich coastal city of Coatzacoalcos, Hayek was sent to school in the US, before returning to Mexico to study at university. In her early 20s, she was cast in the title role in the popular telenovela Teresa, eventually moving to Los Angeles to pursue her career in 1991. Following bit parts, she landed her big break in Robert Rodriguez's Desperado, opposite Antonio Banderas, in 1995. Rodriguez also cast Hayek in From Dusk Till Dawn, alongside George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino the following year - and she hasn't stopped since, with over 60 acting credits to her name. "I'm very happy. I feel so energetic and I'm very excited to discover that I still have so much curiosity and so many things to look forward to in my life. "My life turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be when I was 20, so I think it's a really exciting time," states the star, who executive-produced the hit US TV series Ugly Betty and spent almost a decade bringing her passion project Frida to the big screen. The biopic earned multiple award nods, including a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Hayek, who's currently filming The Hitman's Bodyguard, while two new movies, the adult animation Sausage Party and comedy Drunk Parents are in the offing. She's also looking to produce more - "we have something in development with Amazon, but let's see if it makes it to the screen, because sometimes you develop and it doesn't make it through" - but despite her success, it's surprising to hear that she doesn't actually relish the process. "I really don't like producing," Hayek reveals with a shrug. "But I think it's important to do it, so I'm continuing on that path." First Minister Arlene Foster today urges readers of the Belfast Telegraph to vote Leave in the EU referendum "to take back control of our future". The DUP leader said her belief that a Leave vote in next Thursday's run-off was correct had grown throughout the course of the campaign. >>Read: Arlene Foster writes exclusively for the Belfast Telegraph<< Writing in today's Belfast Telegraph, Mrs Foster said that as a believer in devolution, "decisions should be as close to the people as possible". She also claimed the EU was instead pulling power and decision-making away from people - and that Northern Ireland would be able to make more decisions of its own if it was outside the EU. "A return of powers would not simply flow to London but to Belfast, too," she wrote. The First Minister, who first indicated she was pro-Brexit in February, said EU law had acted against Northern Ireland's interests. She claimed the Azores ruling - which means Stormont must pay for tax cuts through reductions to Northern Ireland's block grant from Westminster - had made it more difficult to devolve corporation tax. She also said "EU rules for ports" will hurt Belfast Harbour. British port authorities lobbied earlier this year for the rejection of the EU Port Services Regulation due to fears that it would harm their business and workers. The regulation introduced rules on the transparency of public funding and the market access of port services. But the First Minister said: "It was opposed by our government and our MEPs. It is happening anyway." She said that Northern Ireland "has done better" from EU money than other UK nations but said the country was now receiving less than it had in the past. And she said the trading benefits of being in the European Union were now "more of a promise than a reality." And the former Enterprise Minister said her experience in that position had encouraged her to believe that Northern Ireland businesses could go after opportunities in the future. She hit out at what she called the "scare stories" of the Leave campaign and said its treatment of Northern Ireland had filled her with "deep frustration". "What has angered me the most has been the purported threats to our peace," she said. William, Duke of Cambridge looks on as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, signs a book of condolence at the US Embassy in London yesterday morning Crowds gather at Belfast City Hall to remember those who died in the Orlando massacre Crowds gather at Belfast City Hall to remember those who died in the Orlando massacre A row erupted after members of a council were accused of being reluctant to pen a letter of condolence for the victims of the Orlando massacre. Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was asked to write to the US Consulate to express its sympathies over the mass shooting in a gay nightclub. The argument started after several councillors said the letter should not be written until guidance was taken on the circumstances in which expressions of sympathy should be made. After deferring the decision for 24 hours, the council eventually agreed to send the letter to the US Consulate on the basis that a protocol was drawn up to deal with future requests. Independent councillor Josephine Deehan, who had requested a letter of condolence be sent, said she was "dismayed at the reluctance of some councillors to send this letter". "A number of members said, 'We can't just be writing letters willy-nilly'," she explained. "I felt some responses were very insensitive. "I am grateful that the letter is now going to be sent, but I am puzzled and very upset that a simple suggestion to send a letter of condolence could become so controversial." Ms Deehan added she was also unhappy with the decision to draw up a protocol for sending letters of condolence. "I don't want to subscribe to some hierarchy of atrocity," she said. "We have suffered from acts of atrocity right here in Omagh and, of course, right across Northern Ireland. "I just wanted the people of Orlando to know that we were thinking of them. "Sometimes, you have to exercise good judgment and assess each situation as it arises. "It is crazy that red tape is going to get in the way of common humanity." UUP councillor Victor Warrington said that the Orlando massacre, which saw 49 people shot dead at the gay nightclub, was a tragedy, but that "tragedies happened every day". He insisted his comments were not insensitive and that he was merely pointing out that the council did not send out letters of condolence to "every tragedy in the world". "I wasn't opposed to a letter being sent," he said. "I was just suggesting that council protocol be checked because there are tragedies every day of the week. I was seeking clarification." DUP councillor Raymond Farrell told the Impartial Reporter newspaper: "Where do we draw the line with this? We are hearing of massacres, of mass murders taking place in different places around the world. Do we go down the route of writing to everybody who has suffered?" In a statement, the council said that widespread sympathy was expressed for the people of Orlando during the discussion on the matter. In November, the council sent a letter of condolence to France following the Paris terror attacks without debate. A well-known Ballymena loyalist who once tried to burn down a Catholic church has admitted possessing 67 Viagra tablets he bought over the internet. Darren Gilmore, from Francis Street in the Harryville area of the Co Antrim town, yesterday appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court, where a defence barrister said the tablets used to treat erectile dysfunction were for his client's own use. District Judge Des Perry told the 40-year-old loyalist that he should be aware of the risks of obtaining such tablets over the internet from "some Canadian chemist". Gilmore pleaded guilty to possessing Viagra without a prescription and which had been imported in contravention of the Medicines Act. He also pleaded guilty to possessing herbal cannabis and amphetamine, commonly known as speed, on the same date - September 8 of last year. The defendant was given an absolute discharge on the Viagra charge and was fined a total of 250 on the other charges. Defence barrister Stephen Law said his client's offending had "considerably tailed off". Gilmore's criminal record includes intent to supply drugs. He was also jailed for an attack on The Church of Our Lady in Harryville in the 1990s. The incident saw loyalists picket the chapel which they said was in response to the Orange Order being banned from marching through the mainly nationalist village of Dunloy nearby. In 2014, Gilmore blamed the UDA for an early morning arson attack that targeted his home on Francis Street. Gilmore, his partner, and their three children managed to escape injury after he was able to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. At the time, he said he believed the UDA had a "vendetta" against him. First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness, First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones and Senator Ian Gorst, Chief Minister of the Government of Jersey Political leaders from across the British Isles are to hold talks in Glasgow today. While the 26th meeting of the British-Irish Council will discuss issues surrounding social inclusion, the summit is being held with less than a week to go until the UK's membership of the European Union is decided. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly warned that a vote to quit the EU against the wishes of voters north of the border could spark a second independence referendum. While polls in Scotland consistently show a majority in favour of remaining in Europe, across the UK several polls have put the Leave campaign ahead. Ms Sturgeon will host the summit, with politicians from the UK and Irish governments, the devolved administrations from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and leaders from Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man all due to take part. The British-Irish Council was established in 1999 as part of the devolution process in a bid to promote " positive, practical relationships among the people of the islands and to provide a forum for consultation and co-operation". Plans are well under way for Northern Ireland's first joint faith school. The Belfast Telegraph revealed last year that senior clerics from all the major churches had been in negotiations to create a new category of school that would be mixed in terms of religious intake but preserve a faith ethos. Now it has emerged that two small primary schools in Co Londonderry will come together to form the first joint faith school in Northern Ireland. Desertmartin Primary and nearby Knocknagin Primary intend to merge under the joint management of the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Ireland. Parents of pupils of both schools are currently being consulted about the proposal. Clerics from the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations told Stormont's Education Committee in February 2015 that joint faith schools will be a new type of school founded on a common Christian principle. Rev Trevor Gribben said the Transferors' Representative Council - which comprises clergy from the three main Protestant churches - said then that they had received expressions of interest from a number of schools about becoming mixed denominational. He did not wish to name any schools but gave the example of a village where both a controlled and a maintained primary school had become unviable in terms of numbers. Knocknagin Primary currently has 53 pupils, while Desertmartin has 23 pupils. Both schools have worked closely together on shared education projects for 10 years and have taught classes jointly in the past. The clergy behind the negotiations had been inspired by a school in Liverpool, Hope Academy, which was formed in 2011 by merging Catholic and Anglican schools. It is a joint faith school sponsored by Liverpool Hope University, the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. The main categories of schools in Northern Ireland are currently the controlled sector, the Catholic maintained schools, integrated schools and Irish medium schools. Jim Clarke, the chief executive of CCMS, said that they were "committed to pursuing the concept of joint faith schools and were very supportive of the project in Knocknagin and Desertmartin". Dr Peter Hamill, from the Church of Ireland Board of Education, has been assisting the schools. "The churches want to preserve high-quality education," he said. "They see that can be done very well in a faith ethos, where Christian values are being maintained." From left to right, Jonny Irwin, Gary Dempster, Kenny Armstrong, Gary McKeown and Nigel McKeown posing for a photo on Mont Blanc (Alex Garrett/PA) A group of intrepid Northern Ireland supporters swapped the sun-kissed beaches of the French Riviera for the highest mountain in the Alps. The five Ballymena friends took a cable car up Mont Blanc en route from Nice to Lyon. They braved snow at the formidable peak - and were rewarded with spectacular views when the weather lifted. Jonny Irwin said: "Suddenly it just cleared and the view was absolutely tremendous. It was a beautiful place. "Everybody else was lying on the beach and we wanted to do something a bit different." He said somebody died the day before gliding off the mountain. They arrived at the top following a knee-trembling climb in a near-blizzard. But the weather changed and Mr Irwin declared: "It was a fantastic experience." The disgraced student PSNI officers caught cheating in their police exams should have been sacked on the spot, a member of the Policing Board has said. More than 50 trainee police officers have received written warnings and ordered to restart their training after they were caught sharing and memorising exam questions ahead of assessment. The revelations have caused massive embarrassment to the PSNI. Chief Constable George Hamilton has been criticised by members of the Policing Board for his handling of the scandal. They claimed the sanctions imposed by the PSNI were "inadequate". Mr Hamilton insisted, however, that he had acted in "good faith and with integrity" and that his actions "have been proportionate and appropriate in all the circumstances." The scandal was uncovered following a complaint from a whistleblower just hours before a squad of student officers were due to graduate from the PSNI's training college at Garnerville last week. Just 20 members of the squad were allowed to graduate the following day. The other 18 have been ordered back to week one of training. A second squad, due to graduate in July, was also caught up in the scandal with all but two of its members back-squadded to week one. In total, 54 officers were given a written warning and ordered to restart training. During a special meeting of the Policing Board yesterday to discuss the scandal, board members told the Chief Constable that the sanctions imposed on the cheating officers were inadequate. Some members insisted that the students should have been dismissed from the recruitment process altogether. Other board members criticised the decision to allow last week's graduation to proceed before a full investigation had been carried out. "If there is evidence that someone has cheated then they should not be police officers," said Policing Board member Ross Hussey. The UUP man added: "You join the police to be a law abiding member of society with integrity. If you have cheated in your examinations to become a police officer then you should not progress". Policing Board chairwoman Anne Connolly said members consider this "to be a very serious matter which has caused reputational damage to the PSNI." "The integrity of officers is not negotiable and public confidence in the PSNI relies on officers acting with the highest levels of professionalism in all that they do at all times," she added. Mr Hamilton said that when he became aware of the cheating allegations he considered all the information available to him, "including the early and fulsome acceptance of responsibility by the students concerned, while acknowledging the negative impact their behaviour was likely to have on community confidence." "I concluded that the student officers had, at best, demonstrated extremely poor judgment and their behaviour was a breach of the student officers' Code of Ethics. As Chief Constable I am deeply disappointed by the actions of those student officers who have acted in a way that is not in keeping with the standards I expect from aspiring police officers," he said. The Chief Constable said the behaviour and ethical standards of those involved will be closely monitored. "I stand by my own judgment on this matter and fully appreciate the views and concerns expressed by the Policing Board." A review of the examination process within the police training college will be undertaken. Judge Corinne Philpott was described as a 'trailblazer' Tributes have been paid to Northern Ireland's first female County Court judge who has died at the age of 62. Judge Corinne Philpott QC, the Deputy Recorder of Belfast, died on Thursday evening. Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, the region's most senior judge, said she had paved the way for others. Sir Declan said: " Judge Philpott was a dedicated and passionate member of the judiciary in Northern Ireland. "She was a trailblazer." A former Queen's University graduate, Judge Philpott was called to the Bar in December 1977 and took silk in December 1993. She was a Deputy County Court judge from 1993 until April 1998 when she became the first woman in the jurisdiction to be appointed a County Court judge. She was also Recorder of Londonderry for six years from 2002 until 2008 and was made Deputy Recorder of Belfast four years ago. Sir Declan added: "She was the first female County Court judge in Northern Ireland, and the second female to take silk in this jurisdiction. "She was compassionate to those who came before her and had an innate sense of justice and fairness. "Her wit, hard work and dedication to the courts, justice and the most vulnerable people in society will leave a huge void. "We will all miss her terribly." Irish fans are gathering in Bordeaux ahead of their side's clash with Belgium on Saturday A man who left Ireland when he was nine and dreamed of playing for the Republic is in France for Euro 2016 as part of his 60th birthday celebrations. Columb Starrett, who lives in Bicester in Oxfordshire, left Holywood in County Down with his family more than 50 years ago. When asked if he will be cheering for Wales against England, he said: "Yeah, no two ways." He joined English and Welsh fans in a very wet fan zone in Bordeaux for the sides' big match. Mr Starrett turns 60 in October, and he told the Press Association: "I wanted to be with the Irish fans watching the Euros. This is the start of the celebrations. "I've always wanted to play for Ireland. I think if I'd stayed in Ireland I'd have been playing for Ireland. That was my ambition." His nephew Phil Starrett, 49, who lives in Souldern in Oxfordshire, is also backing the Republic. "I'm Irish. That's why I've got the Irish jersey on," he said. Phil Starrett, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Germany, added: "I'm here with my uncle celebrating his 60th birthday watching the mighty green army and having the craic." Irish fans are pouring into wine capital Bordeaux ahead of their side's game against Belgium on Saturday. Friends and family of a 20-year-old student who was stabbed to death in the street have marched against knife and gang crime in his memory. Trainee electrician Lewis Elwin was stabbed in the back in Tooting, south London, in front of horrified parents picking up their children from school. Scores of mourners gathered in Penwortham Road, where Mr Elwin was killed, on Friday to take part in a march before his funeral. They carried anti-knife and gang placards and wore T-shirts bearing his name and picture as they walked along the street behind the funeral procession. Mayor of Wandsworth Richard Field and Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who was elected Tooting MP in the early hours of Friday, both joined the protest. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who lives nearby, also attended the funeral at St Boniface Church, Tooting. Mr Elwin's older brother, Byron Douglas-Letts, said: "Lewis was loved by so many people. "This (protest) is what needs to happen as a community. "Youths need to be given something to do, give them something to be passionate about and a job they can be passionate about." He added: "Lewis was very, very determined and aspirational. He was a loving, caring guy. "Sometimes he made wrong decisions but that doesn't mean he should lose his life." He added: "We have all been young before and understand how difficult it is finding yourself but you're not alone and there are opportunities." Mr Elwin was training to become an electrician at college. "I'm a qualified electrician and he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his big brother," Mr Douglas-Letts added. Mr Elwin's coffin was carried in a white horse-drawn carriage covered in flowers. Floral tributes, photographs and messages carpeted the pavement where he died on April 18. Family friend Nina Petrie said: "Young people please put down your guns, please put down your knives - life is for living. "Gangs are not your family - gangs are prison and death." Another friend Noel Williams said: "I think it's important to remember Lewis for his inspirations and where he wanted to go in life. "He was a young man trying to change himself for the better." A 19-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder and police have appealed for any witnesses to come forward. Anyone with information can call police on 020 8721 4005, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. The charity is offering a reward of 10,000 for information leading to the conviction of the killer or killers. Politicians from Northern Ireland have paid tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox. DUP MP Nigel Dodds - who was the target of an IRA attack in a Belfast hospital 20 years ago - described it as "truly shocking and horrific". "We know only too well the kinds of dangers faced by public representatives and therefore we can sympathise more strongly, knowing how family, friends and the community feel at this terrible time," he said. The mood in Westminster yesterday was "very dark" the MP explained. "Everybody's devastated, they can't take it," he said. Ms Cox is the first MP to be murdered in office since 1990, when Ian Gow became the last to die at the hands of republican terror groups. He was killed by an IRA car bomb at his Sussex home. Sir Anthony Berry MP died in the 1984 IRA bombing of the Tory conference at Brighton's Grand Hotel. The IRA also claimed the life of Ulster Unionist MP Robert Bradford, shot dead aged 40 in a community centre in 1981. Expand Close Jo Cox PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jo Cox The INLA also murdered Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Airey Neave, whose car was blown up at Westminster in 1979. Mr Dodds said yesterday's attack had brought back memories of when the IRA opened fire on the children's ward where he was visiting his sick son in the Royal Hospital. "It's hard to believe that 20 years have passed - it seems like yesterday," he added. "Jo Cox was someone who was full of life and energy, who was just new into Westminster and had a great career in front of her. To see that all just taken away in seconds in this attack is just appalling." SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: "The shadow of violence has once again been cast over democracy. But it is the spirit, the passion and the unimpeachable character of people like Jo and her husband, Brendan, that makes us stronger than those who carry out this kind of brutality." UUP MP Danny Kinahan said: "Whilst any of us who go forward into elected politics recognise that often we will be at the receiving end of frustration and abuse, nobody, including MPs, should be subjected to violence." Expand Expand Previous Next Close Jo Cox during a House of Lords versus House of Commons tug of war this year PA Police at the scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where the Labour MP was shot and stabbed PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jo Cox during a House of Lords versus House of Commons tug of war this year And Lagan Valley DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, said: "I remember the day the Rev Robert Bradford was murdered, and the shock and devastation that inflicted on his family." Mr Donaldson, who himself was the target of a murder plot, added: "This murder is an assault on democracy in the UK, which we must all stand together to resist." Revellers at London's Pride festival have been warned to be extra vigilant in the wake of the Orlando club massacre. Members of the LGBT business community met with police chiefs to discuss security issues after the gay nightclub shooting in Florida ahead of the parade on June 25. Lone gunman Omar Mateen, 29, left 49 people dead and dozens of others wounded in the massacre at Pulse in the Florida city on Sunday. Met Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the threat level has not risen since the "shocking" attack but warned people to stay alert. "The public should take reasonable caution," he added. "There will be more people, it is more likely people will come out to show solidarity, to show they are not scared and we would encourage that. "We have looked at the intelligence and there is nothing to say that there is someone out there wanting to attack London or the Pride march." Michael Salter, chairman of Pride, said a "huge" number of people are expected to attend this year's festivities to show solidarity with the LGBT community. "I think people are feeling a great sense of unity and solidarity with other LGBT people across the world," he added. "Londoners want to make sure they are even more out and proud, which is why Pride is so important. "There's a determination that people should be able to live as their true selves. "People shouldn't have to change their lives because they are worried about a promotion at work, bullying at school or violence in the streets." He added: "I'm hoping that there will be huge numbers of people coming to the events - not just to pay their respects to the Orlando victims but for LGBT community in the UK." Jeremy Joseph, owner of London gay clubs G-A-Y and Heaven, described the shooting as "my worst nightmare come true". "It's been the most surreal week of our lives. Waking up on Sunday morning, my biggest nightmare had come true," he said. "As a venue we were always told that there will be an attack, so it's a question of not if but when. "It doesn't matter that it happened in Orlando, it's that it's happened." He added: "We also have to think about the fear there is in London of something like this happening here - people do need reassuring." Candles laid at a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP (centre) attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Candles laid at a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Candles laid at a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire A vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire A vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (centre) and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale attend a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends a vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire A vigil in George Square, Glasgow, for the Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday June 17, 2016. See PA story POLICE MP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire Vigils have been held across the UK in memory of Labour MP Jo Cox as people were urged to honour her legacy by building a world with "more love and less hate". Former Labour leader Ed Miliband was among those to lay flowers in Parliament Square where people including Ukip leader Nigel Farage and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gathered to remember the 41-year-old. Several hundred people, including Commons Speaker John Bercow and Labour former deputy leader Harriet Harman, paused in reflection near the Houses of Parliament, where Mrs Cox had worked as an MP since being elected in May last year. Speaking to those gathered, Mr Miliband said: "We remember her as a fighter for justice in everything that she did. We remember her as somebody who showed no fear in the face of danger, and we remember her too as somebody of the greatest warmth, the greatest generosity and the greatest compassion." He added: "Let us pledge to honour her memory every day by building a world where there is more love and less hate." Around 300 people including local MP Stephen Kinnock gathered in Castle Square, Aberavon, Wales to remember Mrs Cox. Vigils have also been held in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Addressing the crowd in George Square, Glasgow, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale paid tribute to someone she said was "the very definition of a moral crusade, wrapped up in humour and love". A vigil is due to be held in Belfast at midday on Sunday outside the City Hall, the Labour Party in Northern Ireland said. Roy Sheppard has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in Cambodia A 77-year-old British man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in Cambodia for sexually abusing three boys. Roy Sheppard was sentenced by a provincial court in the north-eastern province of Siem Reap for indecent acts committed against three boys aged 12 to 16 years old. Action Pour Les Enfants, a non-governmental organisation that combats the sexual exploitation of children, said Sheppard was arrested in October after complaints were received from the boys' parents. It said it was unclear if he would serve his sentence, since he was at large after being released on bail for health reasons. Poverty and poor law enforcement have made Cambodia a magnet for foreign paedophiles, but the government has cracked down on sex offenders in the past decade. Sheppard was also ordered to pay a total of 12 million riel (2,000) in compensation to the three victims and be deported from Cambodia after he finishes his sentence, Action Pour Les Enfants said. The European Union has extended some of its sanctions targeting Russia over its annexation of the Crimean peninsula for another year. For two years, the 28-nation EU has imposed ever more punitive measures on Russia to protest what it calls "the illegal annexation of Crimea and deliberate destabilisation of Ukraine". The sanctions target imports from the peninsula and investment there, among other measures. The announcement came one day after EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. After the EU first imposed sanctions two years ago, Moscow retaliated by banning imports of meat, vegetable and dairy products from the EU, a blow to many of the bloc's members. Mr Putin called on European leaders to improve ties with his country despite the sanctions. Speaking at Russia's top economic conference Mr Putin said the European Union should "show flexibility" and consider the interests of EU investors who want to do business with Russia. Western leaders and company executives went to Russia's St Petersburg Economic Forum this year after a two-year break. Mr Putin had a meeting with the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday and other international executives, telling them that Russia is open to Western investment despite the strained ties with the West. Mr Putin said Russia does not need a new Cold War and that the country's policy is "aimed at cooperation and search for compromise". He criticised the West for ignoring Russia's legitimate interests. He said there is no reason for Nato's continued expansion, and noted that the US-led Nato missile defence plans pose a threat to Russia. He said the missile defence programme is continuing despite the disappearance of the Iranian nuclear threat, which had been named as the main reason for it. Mr Putin added that the Western policy of unilateral actions will undermine global stability. He called for searching for a balance of interests to strengthen international security. He repeated his accusations that the West had been backing a forceful ousting of Ukraine's former Moscow-friendly president. He insisted that Russia's annexation of Crimea was rooted in what he described as a coup in Ukraine. The murder of Labour MP Jo Cox is all the more shocking because of its apparently random nature and, at this early stage, the lack of any potential motive. The hard-working MP was shot and stabbed in broad daylight outside a constituency surgery in west Yorkshire. A 52-year-old local man, described by some as a loner, was arrested soon afterwards. Mrs Cox's husband, Brendan, has urged people to unite to fight the hatred that killed her. Self-evidently, it was a hate crime, but what sparked that hate or what caused her attacker to do this is not immediately clear. She is the first MP to be killed since the IRA murder of Ian Gow, but before that there were a number of other MPs killed by republicans, including Airey Neave, Sir Anthony Berry and the Rev Robert Bradford. These were political killings in the strict sense of the word, being part of the IRA campaign to terrorise the British establishment in pursuit of its aim to create an united Ireland by force. In that respect those murders were more understandable - though equally heinous - than that of Mrs Cox. The fact that she was a woman and a mother-of-two only adds to the horror of her death. Quite rightly, politicians have laid aside their differences and even halted campaigning on the EU referendum in reaction to the murder. The death of an MP in this manner is an attack on everyone and society as a whole. We elect MPs as our voices in Parliament and place on them the burden of legislating for almost every facet of our everyday lives. Parliamentary democracy is one of the cornerstones of life in the UK - some might even argue that it is the keystone. It offers the freedom of expression to all who hold lawful beliefs and empowers the public to decide who should be the Government of the day based on the policies the parties put before the electorate. Jo Cox was a fervent believer in democracy and the power of parliamentarians to help ordinary people, not just in the UK, but wherever aid was needed. She worked with charities in such diverse places as Darfur, Afghanistan and Uganda, and the horrors she witnessed there influenced her career. Her death may make other MPs consider additional security measures when going about their work and should harden our resolve to have zero tolerance for those who kill for whatever reason. Next Thursday, the United Kingdom will make an historic decision about its future. I have listened to the arguments on all sides of the debate and have reached the conclusion that the right answer is to vote to leave the EU and to take back control of our future. It is a conclusion I have arrived at after full and careful consideration. It is a step I believe to be right, and I want to set out why I have reached this decision. Firstly, there is the matter of the democratic principle. I am a devolutionist and believe decisions should be as close to the people as possible. The European Union is pulling power and decision-making further away. A return of powers would not simply flow to London, but to Belfast, too. I believe in accountability. The decision-makers should have to answer to their voters. The unelected European Commission plays the central and decisive role in EU policy and law-making. European Court rulings can have far-reaching consequences for us. The process of getting agreement between 28 countries and the use of qualified majority voting has given us a cumbersome process in which our interests can be - and often are - harmed. This is not theory. Take just the most recent example - the new EU rules for ports. This will harm Belfast Harbour and jobs. It was opposed by our Government and our MEPs. It is happening anyway. The European Court of Justice Azores ruling was a practical barrier to achieving the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland. These decisions - made by others for us - affect our futures in ways we cannot see and cannot alter, because we are not in control. When criticism is made, you either get denial, or an easy assurance that "it can be reformed, some day". However, those who present themselves as reformers have no timetable, no allies, no track record of success, no agreed proposals and no strategy to achieve it. Meanwhile, those who want to push towards a new superstate have already produced their plans and want to create more common institutions, like an EU army. The golden opportunity to change was refused in the recent renegotiation. Secondly, we have the matter of costs and benefits. The UK as a whole has been a net contributor. The difference between what we pay in and get back has quadrupled in the last four years. In the past, Northern Ireland has done better, but three matters need to be considered. What we receive has been declining. For example, in 2014/15, we received 433m for agriculture and structural funds. In 2015/16, this fell to 321m - a drop of 112m, or 25%. As the UK is a net contributor, it may have had an EU label when it came here, but it was still ultimately UK money. In the short and medium-term, the costs will continue to rise. The EU mid-term review of its budget has been held back until after our referendum. Why? Most likely because, with an overspend of 24bn and a migration crisis still to deal with, the EU will need even more money. The UK would be expected to pay at least 2bn to fill the financial black hole. Alternatively, it will cut the existing budgets. In future, five new countries are queuing to join the EU and, as they do, the costs will increase and budget move more eastwards. The primary benefits of our membership of the EU are presented as trade. It was sold to people as a common market, rather than a common state. However, this has become more of a promise than the reality. The UK has a huge trade deficit with the EU. Globally, the EU is falling behind. The only continent with worse growth than continental Europe is Antarctica. The EU is not just holding us back, but many other countries, through its waste, bureaucracy and the straitjacket of the single currency. Thirdly, I see the opportunities. Many commentators have asked how, as a former economy minister, I support voting to leave? It is because of my experiences that I believe it is the right choice. I have been across the world and I have seen the opportunities that are out there for the taking. I have seen Northern Ireland businesses take them up. This fills me with confidence and the will to go after them. I have also seen how power flowing down works best. The last Assembly produced its best-ever jobs record. This was not a coincidence. We were given the powers and we did something with them. This is how it will be for the UK. Our economic success in the future will be driven by what we do when the powers and monies flow back to us. I intend to use any powers and monies that flow to Northern Ireland to benefit us all. This is why I am convinced that taking control of our future is the way forward for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. I must admit my resolve in this has grown and grown as the EU referendum campaign has developed. The Remain campaign as a whole, and how it has treated Northern Ireland in particular, has been the source of deep frustration on my part. The Remain campaign has spread so many scare stories that I could fill every page of the Belfast Telegraph in response. However, what has angered me the most has been the purported threats to our peace because that is what it is - our peace. It is not the possession of one party, one government, or one campaign. What has driven the process forward has been about the primacy of the ballot box. Our constitutional future will be decided only by the ballot box. With devolution, people in Northern Ireland have more power over their elected representatives than ever before, and we now have both a Government and an Opposition. This referendum holds true to that principle. Finally, there is one threat to our peace process and one threat alone: those paramilitary organisations that remain intent on killing. They are a threat that our security forces deserve our praise and support for combating each and every day. It is deeply offensive to present the people of Northern Ireland as ready to return to violence in the blink of an eye - especially over a democratic vote. I know, I trust and I wholeheartedly believe we are better than that, and those who have made such claims should know better, as well. I believe in the people of Northern Ireland. I believe in the businesses of Northern Ireland. I believe in what can they can achieve. This is why I reject the absurd predictions and exaggerated threats. This is why I look to our future and the opportunities after June 23. This is why I am asking you to vote Leave. Bangladesh police on Friday ended a week-long security crackdown amid bitter complaints that due process had been thrown aside. The operation has been finished; our police force arrested 194 militants in the current spell. Besides, we have arrested a big number of criminals across the country, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told BenarNews on Friday. A police statement on Wednesday said over 11,000 suspects had been arrested in the crackdown thus far. Police stopped releasing overall figures thereafter. The operation was launched June 10 following the brutal murder of the wife a counter-terrorism police officer in Chittagong. Suspected militants have hacked to death at least 36 people in Bangladesh, including bloggers, secularists, LGBT activists, teachers and members of minority religious groups since February 2013, and Bangladesh has come under international criticism for failing to prevent or solve those murders. On Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement urging Bangladesh authorities to focus on investigating the killings. After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladeshs security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the usual suspects instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations, said Brad Adams, HRWs Asia director. The government has an obligation to put an end to these murders and hold the perpetrators to account, but it must do so through proper procedures set out in its own criminal code as well as in international law. We have not arrested a single innocent person Meanwhile, opposition leaders claimed thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) members had been arrested in the sweep. BNP Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi put the number at 3,000, according to media reports. The police have resorted to its old practice of arresting the leaders and activists of the opposition parties in the pretext of detaining the real criminals. Most of the people arrested in the drive are innocent opposition political workers and common people, Mahbubur Rahman, a member of the BNPs standing committee, told BenarNews. Khan rejected the allegations. We have not arrested a single innocent person. All the people arrested are either wanted in cases or have criminal records, he said. He said the 194 arrested militants were from banned groups such as Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Hizbut Tahrir, Ansarullah Bangla Team, and Allahar Dal. On Friday, he added, police picked up two former aides of JMBs notorious Bangla Bhai from the port city of Chittagong. They were identified as Zulfiqar Ali, 40, and Md Alauddin, 31. Siddiqul Islam, also known as Bangla Bhai, established a reign of terror in the greater Rajshahi area, openly executing people and the hanging them upside down. He was executed in March 2007 for terror attacks in different parts of the country. Professor Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, told BenarNews that police should not call people criminals unless they had been found guilty in court. Unless someone is convicted in court, she or he must not be branded as criminals, he said. He said he had visited the overcrowded Dhaka central jail on Thursday and found conditions there inhuman. An Indian man hides his face as he is escorted by security personnel to be sentenced for his role in the 2002 massacre in Gujarat, June 17, 2016. The families of 69 Muslims massacred in northwest Indias Gujarat state during one of the worst religious riots more than 14 years ago plan to challenge the sentences handed down Friday against 24 Hindus. Eleven men were sentenced to life in prison, one was handed a 10-year jail term while 12 were jailed for seven years for the killings in Gulbarg Society, a Muslim residential pocket in state capital Ahmedabad, on Feb. 28, 2002. The prosecutor and attorneys representing victims families had asked the court for death sentences or life imprisonment for the 24 men who were convicted on June 2, the same day 36 others were found not guilty. Standing by the sentencings, the court said: They are not a menace to society, the accused can be reformed. The victims families plan to appeal to the High Court to get stronger sentences. I am absolutely not satisfied, Imtiyaz Pathan, who witnessed the killings of 10 family members in the attack, told BenarNews after the sentences were announced. Life sentences for the 11 were expected, but the punishment to the other 13 convicted of rioting is too little, he said. The massacre in Gulbarg Society, a complex of about 30 bungalows and 10 apartment blocks, was one of the single worst losses of life in the week-long riots which left more than 1,000 people dead. The families of those killed claim members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that ruled the state were conspirators in the attack that came a day after a mob set fire to a train loaded with Hindu pilgrims, killing 59 people. Current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarats chief minister, was accused of complicity during the riots, but was acquitted in 2013 due to lack of evidence. Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress party leader Ehsan Jafri, who was hacked and burned to death while he tried to reason with the mob, also expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, saying, Life sentence should have been awarded to all the accused, not some of them. Jafri, who saw her husband being killed, is fighting the last legal battle against Modi and 59 senior policemen over negligence of duty in relation to the riots. Jafris son, Tanvir, said although the sentencing did bring about some sense of closure, it remained to be seen why many of the accused were acquitted and some of those convicted given lighter sentences. We are going to appeal the judgment. There have been several oversights, he told BenarNews, adding that he was shocked that the court did not see evidence that the attack on Gulbarg Society was part of a conspiracy. How is it possible that all the people in a mob of around 100 people were acting alone? The very fact that there was no one to stop them from killing Muslims proves that a bigger conspiracy was afoot, he said. The office of the police commissioner is a stones-throw away from Gulbarg Society. Just minutes before the attack, the commissioner had visited Gulbarg Society and assured my father that help was on its way. But despite several phone calls, not a single policeman came to help us while we were being attacked, he said. Activists shout slogans as they are confronted by police during a protest outside Kerala House in New Delhi following the rape and killing of a student in the southern Indian state of Kerala, May 4, 2016. A day after police in south Indias Kerala state claimed a major breakthrough with the arrest of a migrant laborer in the brutal rape and killing of a lower-caste woman on April 28, a court on Friday sent the accused to 14 days judicial custody. A Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Kerala police arrested Ameerul Islam late Thursday, two days after taking him into custody for questioning and ending a nationwide manhunt that lasted nearly 50 days. Police said Islam, 23, a native of northeast Indias Assam state who was picked up in the neighboring Tamil Nadu state, confessed to killing the 30-year-old Dalit law student who was found dead by her mother at their home in Keralas Perumbavoor town. Reacting to news of the arrest, the victims mother, Rajeshwari, said Islam should be hanged. He should be dealt with in the manner in which he assaulted my daughter, and after that he should be hanged to death. Not a single woman in the country should ever be made to undergo what my daughter underwent, Rajeshwari told Indo-Asian News Service. The historically marginalized Dalit community, which forms the lowest rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy, continues to be subject to violent attacks in India. The badly mutilated body of the woman, whose name is being withheld as it is illegal to name victims of sexual crimes in India, bore 38 injury marks including less than 10 stab wounds and her intestines had been gutted, according to the post mortem report. The incident triggered outrage across India for its stark resemblance to the infamous gang-rape and killing of a paramedical student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012. The accused was working as a daily laborer in Perumbavoor for about seven months, and lived 200 meters from the victims house. On April 28, he had an altercation with the victim, following which he raped and murdered her under the influence of alcohol and then fled the state, a police official who was not authorized to talk to the media told BenarNews on condition of anonymity. Suspect kept moving The official said nabbing Islam was not an easy task. We analyzed as many as 2.5 million phone calls during our search for the suspect. We were tracking all phone calls made in the region in the last five days running up to the crime, he said. P.N. Unnirajan, the districts superintendent of police, said the suspect did not stay in one place. The accused boarded a train to Assam the next morning. From there, he moved to West Bengal and then to Tamil Nadu, all the while monitoring the developments (in Kerala), Unnirajan told The Hindu. It was [because of] an extensive probe that the accused was tracked down and finally taken into custody, Additional Director General of Police B. Sandhya told reporters, adding that the police are collecting more evidence to strengthen the case against Islam. Sandhya said the DNA samples from the victims nail clippings and saliva matched the suspects. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). Personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung konnen auch Videoempfehlungen, eine individuelle YouTube-Startseite und individuelle Werbung enthalten, die auf fruheren Aktivitaten wie auf YouTube angesehenen Videos und Suchanfragen auf YouTube beruhen. Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten. Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen. A new procedure developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) may revolutionize the culturing of adult stem cells. In their report that has been published online prior to its appearance in the August 6 issue of Cell Stem Cell, the team describes generating and expanding airway stem cells from the sorts of tissue samples collected during routine treatment of lung disorders. The overall approach appears applicable to several other tissue types, including skin and the linings of the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts. "This new methodology opens up new avenues for research in any airway disease, such as asthma or COPD," says Jayaraj Rajagopal, MD, of the MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, senior author of the report. "While in the past we could only expand stem cells for a few generations, now we have the ability to generate enough cells to last multiple laboratories for years of experiments. Our system is also very simple, avoiding the complexities of former culture systems and making it more accessible to many labs." Many hypotheses had been suggested to explain the limited ability to maintain stem cells in culture - including a loss of the telomeres that protect the end of chromosomes and cellular senescence, a form of aging that puts a halt to growth. Rajagopal's team focused on a cellular signaling pathway known to regulate cell growth and the critical process of differentiation, in which cells become more specialized and lose their ability to give rise to other types of cells. Activated by proteins such as TGF- and bone morphogenic protein (BMP), the pathway transmits signals to the nucleus by means of intracellular proteins called SMADs. The researchers investigated whether inhibiting SMAD pathways could foster the expansion of cultured adult stem cells by preventing differentiating. In a series of experiments, they first confirmed that both TGF-/BMP and SMAD signaling were active in differentiated cells but not in adult stem cells. After showing that blocking SMAD signaling could prevent the differentiation of airway stem cells from mice, they found that blocking both TGF- and BMP pathways allowed the expansion of many generations of airway stem cells. They were able to generate human airway stem cells from samples taken during bronchoscopy, a procedure routinely used for diagnosing or monitoring airway disorders. Remarkably, the investigators were also successful in generating and maintain airway stem cells from some samples of sputum, the fluid expelled from the respiratory tract during a cough. "If we could find ways to induce cough samples containing larger numbers of stem cells, our technique would represent the least invasive way to obtain any stem cell from any organ, and if we could improve the procedure to yield stem cell cultures from 100 percent of sputum samples, we could acquire samples to study lung disease in the laboratory with less invasiveness than a blood draw," says Rajagopal. "We also found that the same methodology works for many tissues of the body - from the skin to the esophagus to mammary glands. Many of these organ tissues cannot currently be cultured, so it remains to be seen whether scientists in these areas will be able to grow stem cells from samples acquired from other minimally invasive procedures, including the collection of secretions. If all this becomes possible, it would represent a big step forward for personalized medical approaches to disease," he says. An associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Rajagopal elaborates that the ability to maintain and expand populations of adult stem cells will improve the modeling of disease processes, allow screening of potential therapeutic drugs with cells derived from individual patients, and enable the creation of human "knockout/knockin" cellular models using the powerful CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. "In many diseases - lung diseases in particular - the mouse is a very poor model of human disease, so this ability really opens up new horizons to apply human genetics to human lung cells and disease models." He adds that this technology should improve the safety of stem-cell-based therapies by removing the risk of contaminants introduced by mouse cells that are traditionally used to support airway stem cells in culture. While the new procedure maintains the function of adult stem cells through many generations, eventually they do begin to deteriorate, which makes reducing or even eliminating this loss of function is an important next goal. "We have lots of ideas and collaborations in place to try and sort out ways to make these cells nearly perfect," Rajagopal says. "The problem may be genetic or epigenetic, and the MGH has considerable expertise in both of these areas of investigation." Source: Massachusetts General Hospital Youth unemployment remains one of the most significant challenges facing South Africa, with young people three times more likely to be unemployed than their elder counterparts. The latest youth unemployment and health report from Statistics South Africa revealed that of the 19,7 million young people in the country, only 6,2 million were employed. While most sectors do not have enough jobs available to fill the demand of young job seekers, others struggle to find workers qualified for the jobs they do need to fill. Furthermore, in a low-income economy such as South Africa, many cannot afford the time to upskill through tertiary institutions due to the pressing need to provide for themselves and their families. The South African government has identified the tourism and hospitality sector as a major creator of jobs and has encouraged young citizens to consider a career in tourism. As of July 2015, the government has even put into place various training and skills development programmes to enable young people to enter the tourism industry. Educate24 is an online portal that offers courses on a wide variety of subjects across all the major industries, and included is Introduction to Customer Service. The course is designed to explain the importance and benefits of good customer service, how to determine what customers needs and expectations are and how to deal with unhappy customers. The course is written simply and clearly, to suit the needs of people at any skill level. It can be done in just six weeks, or less, depending on the pace of the student. It is also affordable so people from different economic backgrounds stand to benefit. For employees or job seekers in hospitality, having a proven soft skill such as customer service is invaluable. Not only will learning such skills help make job seekers more employable but showing the initiative to acquire a qualification despite a possible lack of opportunities in the formal tertiary education sector, can make the difference when a potential employer is flooded with CVs. South Africas hospitality sector is poised for significant growth over the next few years due to the growing tourism numbers. Despite economic uncertainty, PricewaterhouseCoopers released statistics that said the total number of foreign visitors to South Africa is steadily rising each year. In addition to the growing number of opportunities, the hospitality industry is also well-resourced to offer meaningful work and career development opportunities to employees. There are many entry-level jobs available with plenty of room to grow professionally and personally. For young South Africans unsure of which industry to join, or how to move further up their career ladders, online courses such as Educate24s Customer Service course, is a solid way to ensure they are a step ahead and are able to show a skill set that makes them the ideal candidate. With South Africa's Cannes Lions judges already settled in the French Riviera's glitziest city (or flying their way in as you read this), we caught up with them all for a final check-in before judging gets underway, on what they're most looking forward to from the world's largest gathering of global advertising professionals. The eight day-long Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is regarded as an annual highlight on the calendar of creatives the world over. Heres what our nine-strong South African judging contingent is most looking forward to They want it all Emma Carpenter is creative director at Accenture Interactive South Africa. As a first-timer to Cannes, shes looking forward to absolutely everything, particularly the mobile-related events, as well as the first day of meeting the other jury members, the press conference and of course the awards ceremonies. Shes hoping for a complete sensory overload of creative inspiration. Nathan Reddy, chief creative officer and founder of Grid Worldwide Branding and Design, loves the feeling of being in Cannes, as he always comes back home feeling like he can take on the world creatively, so hell be looking for a mix of a few things to twist his brain again. Sunset in Cannes. Manjik 123RF.com Suhana Gordhan creative director at FCB Africa and member of the Loeries board, is looking forward to every aspect of Cannes Lions and is already experiencing massive FOMO before it starts, as she sees Cannes as a place for overstimulation. Its a giant jellybean bowl of inspiring people with great stories to tell. Shes looking forward to being totally immersed, and some of the speakers on her must-see list are: Will Smith; directors Alejandro Inarritu and Oliver Stone; David Copperfield; CNN anchor and host Anderson Cooper; Brian Chesky cofounder and CEO of Airbnb; David Droga; FCBs own global chief creative officer, Susan Credle; and Facebook Africas Nunu Ntshingila. Marc Taback, CEO of Initiative Media South Africa, is also looking forward to talks by Anderson Cooper, David Copperfield, Gwyneth Paltrow and Will Smith. That Iggy Pop celeb swagger Rob McLennan, creative founding partner of King James II says that sadly hell miss most of the talks as the film jury is the last to stop judging during the seminar week, but he says, Id cut off parts of myself to see Iggy Pop. Eoin Welsh, chief creative officer of Havas Worldwide Johannesburg agrees with McLennan on that Iggy Pop FOMO. Jonathan Beggs, chief creative officer for Saatchi & Saatchi, shares the sentiments that the most amazing presentations at Cannes are often not by ad people, which is why hes looking forward to hearing about innovation from the people and companies who are at the cutting edge, as well as seeing what the big agencies, networks, media owners and clients have to say. Thats why hell definitely catch Kate Stanners (Saatchi & Saatchi Global ECD) and the networks New Directors Showcase but youll also find him in the queue for Iggy as well as Brian Eno, Alejandro Inarritu, Spike, Will, and Gwyneth. The judging and the young 'uns Thats where the celeb hype ends, with Fran Luckin, chief creative officer of Grey Africa, looking forward to the judging process most of all. She loves judging and deems it the best way to experience Cannes, as she gets to meet some of the worlds top creative people and sit with them for five days talking about ideas, learning so much. Jenny Glover, executive creative director for TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris, is not a fan of the big celebrity talks either. She prefers to snoop around the talks that happen in the smaller rooms, as there are always incredible speakers sharing great ideas, without the flash or sweaty queues and has watched a few of her personal heroes in these informal sessions. Thats why, like Beggs, she always goes to the new directors showcase, because its an excellent way to see emerging talent and view experimental film styles. She adds that Cannes affords you the best overview of the global industry, so she tries to see not just the winning work, but also as much of the shortlisted work as possible. Little wonder those of us not attending are positively green with envy, but fear not as following the happenings on Biz is the next best thing to being live in Cannes. Click here for the full Cannes Lions content programme and watch this space for exclusive insights as the 2016 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity unfolds. Mrs Cray, the digital inspiration assistant for the creative community, is to be revealed at Cannes Lions by Pl-atform. The new automated tool aims to inspire creatives during brainstorms, expanding people's thinking by making it easier for them to come up with ideas. It will be showcased at the Lions Innovations start up village on Tuesday 21 June. The concept started out less than two years ago as a board game when Pl-atform was asked to devise a way to train junior staff at other agencies to make them more creative. The board game helped originate marketing ideas that brands invested $2m in and Mrs Cray is the digital embodiment of the highly successful game. Mrs Cray uses unprecedented algorithmic data management and visualisation to revolutionise the way in which the creative community can discover images, words, places, objects, technologies and emotions when exploring creative briefs. The tool uses speech recognition, instantly processing and understanding the needs of its users through several artificially intelligent methods. Mrs Cray will then crawl the internets greatest APIs to seek out data in galleries, books, social media, museums to deliver a single board of inspiration. The inspiration assistants in-built learning processes mean that Mrs Cray will evolve and learn over time, always improving to meet the needs of the creative community. Founder, Ravi Ruparel comments, We arent aiming to replace anything or anyone in the industry, just assist it with new tools. Mrs Crays combination of speech recognition, natural language processing, APIs and machine learning algorithms simply display images with links to assist during the creative process. It is quite incredible that in 99% of brainstorms in meeting rooms that the most advanced piece of technology is a coloured pen. There arent many sites that you can literally just talk to! Creative assistant, Sophie Finch adds, The tool allows your brain to do less unnecessary thinking and more creative thinking. Concerning neuroscience, the easier you can make it to focus on the connections, as opposed to working out what should be on the board, the better the idea you will come up with. Having some creative assistance should lead to a better idea. At Cannes, a visit to Mrs Cray could inspire creatives in less than five minutes to make 2016 insanely powerful for their brands. In addition to a web-accessed service, the team has developed a prototype Mrs Cray box that will connect directly to your meeting room screen and display ever changing content to provide inspiration based on the conversations taking place. Register your interest at www.mrscray.com or to view, click here. For more: Steinhoff confirmed on Wednesday it is the mystery buyer of a controlling stake in UK retailer Poundland. The Financial Times reported Poundlands shares jumped 23.7% to 195.8 pence on Tuesday after traders were tipped off that Investec handled a single off-market trade of 40.9-million shares at 195p apiece, a premium on the 155p it was trading at on the London Stock Exchange. Warburg Pincus, Poundlands 15.3% shareholder, which floated the retailer two years ago at 300p a share, was rumoured to have been the seller. But Poundlands board was said to be in the dark as to the identity of the buyer. The Financial Times speculated that Steinhoff or Brait would be the likely buyers. Steinhoff, which recently moved its primary listing to Frankfurt Stock Exchange after acquiring Pep Stores from Brait, has a market capitalisation of about 20bn and employs 105,000 people. Poundland has been seen as a natural fit for retail tycoon Christo Wieses plans to expand Pep into the UK. "The board of Steinhoff notes the recent share price movement in the share price of Poundland and confirms that it is considering a possible offer for the entire issued share capital of Poundland," the furniture retailer said in its statement. "This announcement has been made without the consent of Poundland. A further announcement will be made when appropriate in due course." Under the London Stock Exchanges rules, Steinhoff has until 5pm on July 13 to announce a firm intention to buy out Poundlands minority shareholders. Steinhoff International, after revealing itself as the mystery buyer of a sizeable stake in UK retailer Poundland, had by Thursday snapped up 23% of the discount store chain. Outgoing Poundland CEO Jim McCarthy poses for a photograph in a store in London, the UK.Picture: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth That again set the scene for a spirited bid for a European retailer Steinhoffs third in six months and only two weeks after it gave up on Frances Darty. The South African furniture conglomerate, in a race to expand offshore, is mulling an all-cash offer for Poundland. On Wednesday, Steinhoff confirmed it was the secret buyer of a 15.3% stake sold by private equity group Warburg Pincus in Poundland, adding that it was keen on a takeover. However, it said it was acting without the consent of Poundland, suggesting talks had been far from agreeable. "They are essentially making a hostile bid," said Wayne McCurrie of Momentum Asset Management. "It does not look like (Poundlands) management is supporting their bid so they are buying in the open market," he said. On Wednesday, Poundlands management told shareholders not to take any action. Steinhoff played a similar card in its pursuit of electronics retailer Darty, bagging up a 20.4% stake in a few weeks after months of pursuit against rival Fnac which eventually won over the Darty board. In March Steinhoff also walked away from a face-off with UK retailer Sainsburys for Home Retail Group, owned by catalogue retailer Argos. McCurrie said it showed maturity that Steinhoff did not overpay for the businesses, despite the muscle they stood to gain in the competitive retail space, which is being threatened by online shopping. Steinhoff already has a strong presence in Europe where it generates almost 60% of its revenue. Its international brands include Conforama and UK-based Harveys, Bensons for Beds and Cargo. A full buyout of Poundland would give Steinhoff 900 new discount stores across Britain, Ireland and Spain after Poundland bought the 99p chain. Competing in the discount space would be familiar terrain for the group which bought Pepkor from now Steinhoff chairman Christo Wiese for R62.8bn in 2014. On Thursday Poundland reported underlying pretax profit of 37.8m in the year to March from 43.7m in 2014-15. Profits were hurt by poor Christmas trading and a spike in costs relating to its 55m acquisition of the store chain. Outgoing Poundland CEO Jim McCarthy was mum on the Steinhoff interest. The timing of Steinhoffs potential bid was interesting, Chris Gilmour, analyst at Absa Wealth and Investments said. It was less than two weeks before the Brexit vote on June 23, which will determine whether the UK will stay in the EU. "This may make the consideration for Poundland a little bit cheaper," Gilmour said. Steinhoff chairman Wiese understood the discount market well, he said, having previously owned Poundstretcher, a value retail chain. Poundstretcher, however, struggled to keep up with larger rivals Poundland and B&M and Wiese sold it around 2009. On Wednesday, Wiese told Reuters that he fully supported Steinhoffs bid and that he believed Poundland would be a "good fit". With Reuters Customers still prefer to shop in bricks-and-mortar stores in SA, but this pattern of consumption is being disrupted and reconfigured by the internet. Innovations in the information and communication technology (ICT) space, as well as the accessibility of cellphones and data, are forcing businesses to be more dynamic and fluid when catering to their customers. Speaking at the Consumer Goods Forum conference in Cape Town this week, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said new technologies and social media were affording more freedom and greater power to customers all over the country. Ramaphosa said ICT allowed for the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs, who could compete with well-known businesses, some of which have been slow when it comes to the uptake of technology. "At a time of persistent difficulty in the global economy as well as our own, consumer-focused businesses must be responsive to the financial pressures under which consumers find themselves. But, we also know that times such as these also produce new opportunities that arise from often deep-seated changes in consumer behaviour," he said. "Ultimately, it is about remembering that informed, satisfied consumers are the most important stakeholders in any enterprise," Ramaphosa said. Few well-established domestic companies in the fashion retail sector have an interactive web offering or an online store. New entrants have seen a gap in consumers looking for the convenience of online shopping. Web-based fashion retailers that now dominate online include Superbalist, Zando and Spree. All three were launched after 2012. The share of internet users in SA who plan to make purchases online is nearly twice as high as the share of those who already buy over the internet, according to a report prepared by Research and Markets. In 2016, e-commerce sales in SA are predicted by several sources to grow at a double-digit rate and break the threshold of 1% of total retail sales. While only about half of SAs population has internet access, and just one-third of internet users made purchases online in 2015, the demand for online shopping services is growing, the report shows. The perception that emerging markets are no longer a source of future growth for retailers is a dangerous retail myth that needs to be dispelled, global consumer insights company Nielsen told the world's top consumer goods companies' CEOs at The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) earlier this week. Emerging markets are large and growing, and their consumer purchasing power is growing faster than in developed markets. Your CFOs might not like this advice, but now is a good time for global retailers to invest in emerging markets like South Africa, where the weak rand is favourable for investment, said Steve Matthesen, global president of retail of Nielsen. Citing Nielsen research, including results from the companys latest global retail study, which was released globally this week, Matthesen said the reality was that global retail growth was slowing, but that emerging markets on average were growing twice as fast as developed markets in the retail space. According to WorldBank World Development Indicator data in 2014, consumer purchasing power was growing by 7% in sub-Saharan Africa compared to 3% in North America. Regardless of spending power, consumers around the world are looking for more than just a good bargain. Nielsens new retail study finds the current global trend for consumers across both emerging and established markets is for consumers to factor in food freshness and quality, convenience and stock availability before looking at price. Population attributes Matthesen said the positive prospects for retail growth in emerging markets were driven by a number of population attributes, including that they are younger, more urban, and relatively wealthier. Currently, 24% of consumers in emerging markets are millennials, two-thirds will live in urban areas by 2020, and 3.2 billion will be middle class by 2050. The populations in the emerging markets, including India, China and Africa, were also growing faster than in more developed economies in Latin America, The Caribbean, North America, and Europe. Young people in these markets often moved directly to mobile, many never having owned a desktop computer, therefore retailers would be wise to consider developing mobile shopping platforms, he said. Matthesen cautioned global retailers against rushing into emerging markets with only a short- to medium-term plan. A consistent long-term perspective is required and you cant wait for economies are good before you enter - you need to get involved upfront and think ahead about how you will target complexities in these economies. For instance, you cant simply go in and market the lowest priced goods to all consumers. In countries such as India or South Africa, with vast income inequality, you have to think equally about catering to low-income and high-income consumers. Another myth Matthesen said another myth that prevailed was that consumers preferred bigger stores, but, globally, there was a trend towards smaller and more convenient stores and online shopping for certain products that are well suited to e-commerce, such as baby goods. Matthesen said that conventional wisdom dictated that consumers wanted large stores to find everything in one trip, and that it was more efficient for retailers and yielded advantages in economics. But, the reality is that lots of people are just buying for dinner that night, moving towards fresh food away from preservatives, which implies more frequent shopping at smaller stores. Especially in emerging economies, not everyone has a car or food storage and fridge space. Globally, he said, shoppers now make 2.5 trips per week for fresh produce. Even in the US, large stores are being outpaced by smaller stores and the size of stores is dropping. The 60th annual Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit is taking place in Cape Town this week and ends today, 17 June. Scores of CEOs of both global and local fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are joining the Global Summit the first of its kind on the African continent to debate issues such as sustainability, food safety and security and global environmental practices. Read more at www.theconsumergoodsforum.com and www.tcgfsummit.com. In the second part of the conversation with Lonmin CEO, Ben Magara, he gets back to basics with a look at sustainability, safety and what the future holds for the platinum industry. With the share price and the company reputation battered by the combination of the Marikana events, the severe downturn in the commodity cycle and the six-month industry strike in 2014, there were few options open to Magara. The company couldnt spend its way out of the problem. Everybody had to sacrifice something: the unions had to concede to the loss of 6,000 jobs, senior managers were retrenched and directors had to take a haircut on their fees. Ben Magara chatting to Caroline Digby from the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry. Safety Safety is a priority. Emotion rushes to his face when he speaks of the horror of his first day as a young team leader when the man leading the shift before him was killed only metres away from him by a roof collapse. The determination not to see people die under his leadership has driven him ever since. Perhaps that is one of his strengths. His own life experience as a child growing up in a rural area without appropriate infrastructure, means he understands where his workers come from. He is able to imagine himself in the inhumane living conditions of the old hostels or the shacks that many turned to in post-apartheid years and find them wanting and a cause for action. He participates actively in collaborative industry initiatives such as the Courageous Conversations process and the tripartite safety initiatives, which have lead to a dramatic fall in the fatal injury rates. But, one can still hear the deep regret in his voice when he acknowledges that even now neither Lonmin nor the industry has achieved zero harm. The collaboration on safety is, he says, an example of what could be done to drive greater collaboration in addressing the big social challenges in the mining belt. The reality he says is that the R1bn a year the industry spends on social and labour plans in that area has to be brought back to defend the mining licence or risk losing it so sub-optimum outcomes are frequently the result. Community engagement Lonmin has made changes including the creation of employee share option schemes (ESOPs) and a community shareholding with the Bapo Ba Mogale, who now hold a material 2.2% of the stock. While this might sound insignificant to those outside the industry, he points out that this is worth many millions of dollars. US not Zim, he quips. The problem is that in current circumstances the company cannot pay dividends so the trust and belief in the companys future value has to be built. He meets with that community as he would with all other material shareholders and explains the quarterly results, the progress and the future outlook. While they wait for the return of profitability and a flow of dividends, procurement options with benefits flowing back to the community have been opened up. Questioned about the success of past community funding initiatives, he admits that some have seen significant amounts of money disappear without impact. On the failure to implement past plans for housing he points to the fact that this cyclical industry has to learn to save during the good times to smooth out the inevitable downturns. Critical to ongoing success is that stakeholder engagement teams understand the mining process and experience the conditions, he says. But, it is also critical that line management understand the expectations of communities, participate occasionally in engagement sessions and offer suggestions when it is the impact of mining processes that are under discussion. On migrant labour, housing and water affairs On the issue of migrant labour Ben acknowledges the challenges, but insists that the solution is not simply to stop employing people from distant places as that would have a significant economic impact on the Eastern Cape and Lesotho and other labour-sending areas. In the 50km zone around the mine, the company has stepped up its focus on addressing the societal issues. The remaining single sex hostels were converted and upgraded. A partnership was created with government whereby the mine provided land and government provided cash to create new housing not a mining compound, but a place where miners could live side by side with workers from other sectors of the economy. Asked about the challenge of mining in South Africas arid North-West Province, Magara talks about ensuring that grey water and water captured in the rock dams on their properties can be repurposed for industrial use. If it comes to a war over who will use the drinking quality water, the community will win every time, he says. Does platinum have a future? With the need to curb emissions caused by growing populations that want transport into the future, it is only the PGMs that can provide effective catalysts capable of delivering good performance at high temperatures. With that in mind and the growing use of fuel cells in energy generation he is confident that there is both the market and the resource to last a long time. Magara lights up when questioned about Lonmins turnaround: "I am very pleased with the positive momentum because results matter, a profitable and thriving business is essential for sustainability and employment of future generations and should create shared value for all stakeholders". Its clear that for him most things start with respect; respect for his own deeply held beliefs and value systems; respect for all of the people who work for and with him; and, respect for the stakeholders around them. He cant change the past or wave a magic wand to recreate the platinum pot at the end of the rainbow of pre-Marikana days, but Ben Magara shows up with passion and purpose and a desire to contribute to a different future. If you missed the first part of Ben Magara's conversation, click here. Southern Africa offers the best mining investment opportunities, where Botswana is the easiest place to do business, and West Africa has the easiest access, according to panellists at a discussion at The Junior Indaba held in Johannesburg recently. And despite the commodity downturn, exploration in some parts of the continent are continuing, they say. South Africa is still in the mix, says John Murphy, managing director, The Mineral Corporation. South Africa and Southern Africa are well endowed, relatively unexplored and offer limited cover. Panel member, Wickus Botha, Africa mining & metals leader, Ernst & Young, agrees. Clients have not stopped calling us about new projects in South Africa and Africa, and this is because assets have become available now that the majors are concentrating on their core business only. Funding and regulation However, he says, while the interest is there, the closure rate is not great. The real barrier is funding, and then overcoming a backlog of conceptualised deals and closing them quickly. Another key obstacle is the uncertain regulatory environment in which the country currently finds itself. Exploration is taking place in our neighbouring states because clients see an open and enabling regulatory regime that is responsibly managed, says Botha, for whom West Africa is another favourite because it is easy to access. Murphy explains that it is also necessary to understand that the exploration process is extraordinarily long-winded, where the systems processes, people, environment, infrastructure and the right regulatory environment have to be nurtured. Stable environment To generate the investment for exploration, the environment needs to be stable. If we are to attract investment, we need a transparent and consistent regulation - and that is governments job, says John Bristow, chief operating officer, Incubex Minerals. For him, Botswana is the cleanest and easiest place in work in Southern Africa at the moment. While South Africa has so much untapped potential, a good stable environment is needed for the sector - junior or major. The mineral tender system in this country is dismal and it can take 18 months to process." Time ripe for junior miners Generally, in Africa, now is the best time to get into the junior mining market, says Botha. Currently less than one percent of the majors revenue is from this region. Africa is dominated by the juniors because they know how to operate in Africa. Murphy adds to this, saying that the more the majors back away from exploration, the sooner they will exit the industry as it is a key factor in the economic development of the sector and region. If exploration falls away, then soon we will all be junior miners. Technology and disruption The panel also discussed the impact of technology on the industry. In the next five to 10 years technology will disrupt and fundamentally change the industry. Look at what technology has done to other industries and how it is changing society, says Botha citing the often-cited examples of Uber and Airbnb. Consumption patterns will change are changing, and society will have less need for bulk commodities, as a result of technologies such as 3D printing, which is changing the world. Sacha Backes, senior investment officer:mining, International Finance Corporation agrees with him. It is imperative that we talk about technology and disruption. Will we find an Uber technology that takes the iron ore out of the ground? And if so, when in a decade or sooner? However, he is of the opinion that the future of mining remains in infrastructure and big cross-border projects. I do not foresee technology making a difference here. Barloworld's commitment to youth development is reflected in all aspects of the business. The company is involved in several youth development initiatives in South Africa. The Rural Education Access Programme (REAP), supported by Barloworld, grants bursaries to young people from low-income families enabling them access to a quality tertiary education. 1. Supporting Enactus innovative model for youth entrepreneurship Through Enactus South Africa, Barloworld is committed to fuelling the spirit of entrepreneurship in young people. Enactus is a competition where young leaders come together to share and showcase their innovations with others from around the world. These are initiatives to tackle socio-economic challenges in their communities. Rural Education Access Programme (REAP) helps young people from poor rural communities to access tertiary education. Through REAP Barloworld provides assistance to students from poor rural areas to access varsity education and also lobbies government institutions such as the National Skills Fund (NSF) and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to provide bursaries and student loans to needy students. Barloworlds Training Outside Public Practice (TOPP) programme is an alternative route for chartered accounting students to qualify as chartered accountants. This practical programme builds the skills of future leaders and addresses the current shortage of skills in our country. Graduates of the TOPP programme often take up permanent jobs in the company. Teachers are the lifeblood of a good education system. Barloworlds partnership with TEACH SA encourages teaching graduates to volunteer two years of their time to teaching in poor performing schools, focusing on English, maths, science and technology. TEACH SA aims to improve the standard of education in the country. Barloworld supports the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academys initiatives to improve the quality of maths and science teaching and learning in Gauteng schools. This is done through Saturday school classes and in-service training programmes. Barloworld is one of the organisations that LEAP has partnered with to improve the academic performance of learners in six non-paying school fees schools in Jane Furse, Ga-Rankuwa, Diepsloot, Alexandra, Langa, Gugulethu, Delft, Philippi and Crossroads. 6. Rewarding young talent with bursaries Barloworlds efforts to facilitate access to tertiary education are aimed at empowering individuals, breaking cycles of poverty, addressing the skills shortage and contributing to country competiveness, leading ultimately to economic growth and development. Barloworld offers bursaries on an annual basis to students from previously-disadvantaged backgrounds. Barloworld Equipment runs a graduate training programme for artisans and use simulated machines as part of the training at their world-class training academy in Isando. Frankfurt, Germany: Embattled auto giant Volkswagen unveiled on Thursday plans to launch more than 30 all-electric models by 2025 as it seeks to reposition itself as a leading player in environmentally sustainable modes of transport. Norsk Elbilforening (Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association) via Wikimedia Commons VW, currently entangled in a global engine-rigging pollution scandal, said in a statement that it plans to launch "more than 30 fully electric models" by 2025, which would account for annual sales of between two and three million vehicles or 20-25 percent of the group's global sales. A strategic re-think Presenting what he described as the "key building blocks in the new group strategy," chief executive Matthias Mueller said VW aimed to "transform its core automotive business or, to put it another way, make a fundamental realignment in readiness for the new age of mobility." VW would focus on "the most attractive and fastest-growing market segments," he said. "Special emphasis will be placed on e-mobility. The group is planning a broad-based initiative in this area: it intends to launch more than 30 purely battery-powered electric vehicles over the next ten years," he said. VW, which has so far not been particularly active in the electric car sector, estimated that such vehicles "could then account for around a quarter of the global passenger car market." The strategic re-think has become necessary in the wake of VW's deepest-ever crisis after it came to light last September that it had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide. It has already set aside 16.2 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in provisions to cover the potential costs of the scandal. But experts believe the total cost could come out much higher. Size is not the goal VW, which owns 12 brands in all, ranging from Volkswagen to Audi and from Porsche to SEAT, has abandoned its long-cherished goal of becoming the world's biggest car manufacturer, ahead of Toyota. "Size is not a goal in itself," said CEO Mueller, who was parachuted in to steer the group out of crisis, actively distancing himself from the philosophy of his predecessor Martin Winterkorn. Ride-hailing division Another part of VW's "Strategy 2025" would be to set up a brand new "cross-brand mobility solutions business," Mueller announced. The new division would "develop and acquire offerings tailored to customer requirements - centering on and starting with ride-hailing, ie. on-demand mobility services." Volkswagen already secured its first foothold in the ride-hailing segment at the end of May, when it invested in a strategic partnership with on-demand mobility company Gett, it said. "In a rapidly expanding market, Volkswagen's aim is for the new mobility solutions business unit to generate sales revenue in the billions by 2025," with the overall market for such services forecast to be around 35 billion euros, Mueller said. VW gearing itself for profitable growth In order to be able to finance such ambitions, VW aimed to "gear itself systematically to generating profitable growth," which meant improving efficiency and profitability, the CEO continued. "Over the coming years, we will do all we can to continuously create value for our shareholders based on a solid financial position," said finance chief Frank Witter. VW said that its operating return on sales stood at 6.0 percent in 2015 and that "the aim is an increase to between seven and eight percent by 2025." Mueller said VW planned to "realign" its components business, which currently accounts for around 67,000 employees at 26 locations worldwide. "The relevant activities are to be systematically combined across all brands and strategically realigned," he said. VW also planned to become a "global champion" in the commercial vehicles business, where it owns the Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands. Investors still sceptical But analysts at DZ Bank said they remained sceptical. They estimated that VW would have to achieve efficiency improvements of up to eight billion euros in order to attain its profitability goals. "The details are still missing," the analysts wrote in a note to investors. "The announced steps need time to become visible in VW's reporting. Without any additional details on planned measures as well as on Dieselgate, we stick to our sceptical view on VW," they concluded. Investors also seemed unconvinced and VW shares were among the biggest losers on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Thursday, shedding 2.5 percent, while the overall market was down by 1.1 percent. Source: AFP Cloud computing technologies and services in South Africa have gained popularity over the past few years. Local businesses are using cloud services because maintaining their own infrastructure is costly, and they hope to boost efficiency, lower costs and simplify their technology investments. A substantial number of these local businesses, however, are storing sensitive information relating to clients, employees or the business itself, as well as using it for day-to-day operations. This is particularly true of businesses involved in industries such as finance, healthcare and retail, as they house highly confidential customer data, and can face huge penalties should this data be compromised. Public disclosure in the event of a breach is now a legal requirement, which could result in lost revenues as well as customer confidence, says spokesperson from MWR Infosecurity. Incorporating security into business models This creates an environment where you could seriously see companies losing business if they are repeatedly compromised. As a result, most businesses will (hopefully) be forced to consider and incorporate security into their business model. However, lack of awareness of security issues is probably a major contributor to why businesses dont take security as seriously as they should. From what Ive seen, security is not necessarily a major concern in South Africa and the few companies that do try to take it into account just dont have an adequate background to address security properly, explains the spokesperson. He says this could result in them focusing on the wrong things; the high-profile attacks that litter the headlines, and not the real threats themselves. You may find that they simply assume that a cloud provider would take care of security without ever checking up on that, or assuming that there is no way a third party would be able to manage security better than they do. However, if a South African company ever wants to compete in the international market, theyll be judged according to the same standards as foreign businesses and that means they need to give the same attention to security, he adds. Almost like mobile security Security of cloud infrastructure is also a concern because it is being shared with other users. I read an article a while ago about ransomware encrypting a companys entire system which resided mostly on the cloud. If you are sharing infrastructure with someone else, you need to secure your host because you dont want their problems to become yours. Alternatively, another client for the same cloud provider may be malicious, at which point an insecure cloud service could be something of a gold mine. He believes cloud security is almost like mobile security, its one of those things that get a lot of media attention in the form of cloud security is important but without a real exploration of what cloud security is. Much in the same way as mobile security, if you look at the Verizon Data Breach Report or similar, this is just how companies are now getting breached. Companies are still getting compromised through users and their workstations. Until the world at large starts focusing on how organisations are really getting compromised, we will keep throwing money at blinkenboxes that solve problems we dont have. In terms of securing the cloud, he advises to consider actual security, not merely regulations, though they may help drive the minimum standard. He also believes that technical issues would probably be a major concern, including: One interesting theme took centre stage during panel discussions at the recently concluded World Economic Forum on Africa in Rwanda: that what the continent needs as much as roads, dams, power plants, is a way to embrace technology and infuse digital transformation in all sectors. Gordon Graylish It was interesting because when questions such as how can we diversify our economies and how can we improve efficiency or how do we prepare our young generations to have jobs were asked, the answer from a lot of different players including politicians, think tanks, investment organisations and the private sector was the same: embrace the third industrial revolution - the digital transformation revolution. With a 350-million strong middle and upper class currently expected to jump to 430-million by 2020, in a 1.3-billion continent by that time, the private and public sector strongly concurred that technology will have a significant impact in modernising African governments - in effect creating what I call the next-generation governments. Its encouraging that this revolution is already being stirred in small offices and houses across Africa that have wholly embraced mobile communications. Thanks to Kenyas pioneering M-Pesa, Africa is leading the mobile money revolution and this has already had a noticeable impact on the continent in expanding financial inclusivity. Internet of Things But mobile technology alone is not enough. The next logical step should be to harness technology for industrialisation, agriculture and social transformation. The world is entering one of the most exciting eras of technology. Everyday objects are becoming part of an integrated system of smart devices that are changing the way we live. Opportunities are endless in smart energy power grids, smart cities, smart agriculture, building secure government services and developing a vibrant globally competitive technology industry. Beyond getting more people connected to the internet, making things smart and connected in Africa will allow governments to create opportunities that enhance productivity, improve service delivery, support real-time decision-making, solve critical societal problems, and deliver innovative user experiences. These opportunities have the ability to fuel GDP, create new jobs, and boost economies. I was encouraged to see that the political will to use ICT for economic and social growth abounds in Africa. For instance, over the last decade, Kenya has experienced substantial growth in the ICT sector that is now worth Sh138bn in GDP. In addition, Kenyas public service outlets, Huduma Centres, anchored on e-government, have increased efficiency and even won Kenya a United Nations award. The Rwanda government on the other hand saw a 20% increase in VAT collections from 2014 to 2015 after introducing e-fiscal devices, while the Nigerian government saved more than $1bn through the introduction of digital IDs for public servants. Data gathering, analysis As governments continue to use ICT, they will gather a lot of data, and in the modern world, data is the new oil. The next big thing will be for governments to analyse this data, which will then help in detecting trends, increasing efficiency, reducing costing and, as it were, opening new business opportunities in transportation, power supply, agriculture, social welfare or even security provision. The private sector is ready to help governments digitise operations. Indeed, there are already efforts towards this. Smart Africa, the African Development Bank and Intel Corporation, for instance, are finalising a Digital Government Blueprint. This is a framework that will provide guidance and systematic steps for governments to tap the power of ICT and build digital infrastructure that will help transform how they operate and deliver services to their citizens. With such a blueprint, there is no room for guess work. It will enable governments to develop a national ICT policy aligned to the national priorities of the country and provide a measurable plan to enable everyone to participate in the digital economy and reap its benefits. The best starting point is automating internal government, whether external services or internal operations. Second is developing an electronic ID system at the national level, which provides the foundation for securing identities, protecting privacy, and enabling trusted e-services. Cashless societies The other critical area is having an interactive government portal with an open application programme interface (API). Here, a government can partner with the private sector to develop additional secure services through an open API. The government should then create cashless societies through digital payments to reduce the cost of doing business and increase revenues by having visibility of all transactions. The Nairobi County Government in Kenya has successfully digitised payments for parking and licences. This has not only increased collections, but also reduced physical interactions that encourage corruption. Last, but not least, are e-government services like e-tax, licenses and registrations, e-parking, smart city services, digital signatures, and more. The e-government portal will provide high quality, timely and accurate data and services in a secure yet transparent and accountable manner. It was not surprising that the recent AfDB annual general meeting in Lusaka would also amplify ICT. In fact, the African Development Bank and World Bank Africa have changed their priorities to transformation through ICT, as a catalyst of economic growth, sustainability and equality and created special funds to invest in the digital transformation of Africa. AfDB announced a $5bn fund focused on opening opportunities for 50-million young people in Africa through skills development and job creation in agriculture, industry and ICT sectors. With the current political goodwill, I believe a smart Africa can be achieved by harnessing the ICT revolution. Samsung Electronics said on Thursday, 16 June, it had agreed to buy US cloud computing company Joyent - the latest in a series of start-up acquisitions aimed at strengthening the South Korean giant's software capacity. The purchase of the San Francisco-based firm would provide Samsung with its own cloud platform to support its main mobile business and connect with Samsung household appliances such as TVs, refrigerators and air conditioners, a company statement said. Samsung did not disclose the value of the deal, which remains subject to customary closing conditions. It would be Samsung's third recent acquisition of a US startup, following that of mobile payment tech firm LoopPay last year and, in 2014, of SmartThings which connects and controls home appliances via mobile handsets. Samsung has been searching for ways to boost profits as growth in the global smartphone market slows, and has been actively pursuing tech startups, including those in the artificial intelligence field. Almost all Samsung's mobile handsets are powered by Google's Android software and past efforts to develop and promote its own software platform have largely fizzled out. Source: AFP Vodacom must pay half the money it will give to Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate into a trust account pending the outcome of arbitration, the High Court in Pretoria ruled on Tuesday, 14 June. Discussions between the cellular giant and Makate over remuneration for his idea are continuing and an amount has not yet been agreed on. A date has to be determined for arbitration amid a dispute over the sharing of the Vodacom payout. In May, Christiaan Schoeman and a company, Raining Men Trade, approached Vodacom, wanting it to set aside half the payout. They turned to the high court in June to prevent the money from being paid into the account of Umika Gopichund attorneys, whom Makate had nominated to hold the Vodacom payout. Schoeman and Raining Men Trade also wanted the right to decide who would represent Makate in discussions with Vodacom. Schoeman and other investors, including his former wife, Wilma, through Raining Men Trade, paid Makate's legal fees in the fight with Vodacom. Schoeman said on Tuesday outside court that he and other funders paid R2.9m towards Makate's bill. "We're seeking to recoup our share of the profits." Makate in his affidavit denies signing an agreement with Raining Men and that he would share half of the payout, implying the funders were demanding more than 50% of the payout. He said he had signed a contract with a company called Black Rock. However, he said he cancelled the funding arrangement and claimed Schoeman fully accepted this cancellation. Makate had developed "serious concerns" about the identity of his funders, and their ability to pay the legal costs and indemnify him in the event of an adverse costs order. Pretoria High Court Judge Neil Tuchten on Tuesday ordered that "50% of any payment" made to Makate by Vodacom be held in the Umika Gopichund Attorneys trust account. He also ruled that Makate held the right to elect his representative in talks with Vodacom. Nazeer Cassim, senior counsel for Schoeman and Raining Men Trade, had argued in court that the Gopichund law firm was established in May "and it would appear that UG Attorneys is a special purpose vehicle created at the instance of Makate to hold the funds in trust". Gilbert Marcus, senior counsel for Makate, argued that Schoeman's application had been "absolutely stillborn at its inception" and attempted to vary the Constitutional Court order. In April the apex court ruled that Vodacom must negotiate with Makate within 30 days and pay him for using the Please Call Me idea, which allows cellphone users without airtime to send an SMS requesting a call back from another user. Source: Business Day The world is a big old place and sometimes one of the biggest travelling challenges can actually be deciding where to venture to next. When you're choosing between the Caribbean coastline of Belize, the lush tropical lands of South East Asia or the cosmopolitan pull of East Coast America, which one do you pick? Yet, for us, theres always something about Europe. Call us old school, but that winning formula of bedazzling Mediterranean coastlines, vintage Hollywood glamour meets hipster chic cities and food thats so good it makes you want to cry yourself to sleep when you cant eat it anymore, kind of gets us every time. Europe just does something to you, it gives you a feeling, like this is the kind of travel experience youve always been searching for. Call us philosophical, but a trip to Europe really does change who you are as a person, and we can prove it Youll see cultures and traditions youve never experienced before With approximately 50 countries that make up the continent, thats a whole lot of different cultures to get your head around, each one with its own beliefs and traditions. Did you know that, for example, the locals of Budapest take to the Szechenyi Baths each day for a friendly game of chess, or that the residents of Ashbourne, a small market town in Derbyshire, England, celebrate Shrovetide every Pancake Day an annual game of rugby that takes over the town and pits the Northern vs Southern residents against one another? From the 24 hour ravers of Berlin to the matriarchal mothers of Italy, each country is entirely different from the next, and only by travelling and immersing yourself fully into each culture can you truly appreciate just how varied and incredible Europe really is. Youll taste food that will blow your mind You seriously havent lived until youve eaten a bona fide, home-cooked pizza from Italy, tiny and tasty Dutch pofferjes, Spanish tapas or Hungarian goulash. Literally, the list of European dishes is endless, and again it comes back to the fact that each country within Europe is so completely different to the next. Leave the weight worries at home and just go forth and eat taste everything, from the glorious to the gruesome and all thats in between, then wash it all down with a rejuvenating aperol spritz or cheap but delicious French plonk. Youll hear a whole load of new languages Cmon, admit it, everyone wishes they could speak another language theres just something so innately attractive about someone speaking a tongue that isnt your own. And whilst a trip to Europe isnt going to suddenly make you a bilingual whizz kid, it will make you more sensitive to other languages, and even pick up a few key words and phrases along the way. The golden key to doing this? Actually make an effort. Everyone knows the Europeans have killer English language skills, but they will respect you so much more as a visitor to their countries if you actually make the effort to speak to them in their mother tongues, irrespective of how terrible you sound. And in doing this, you, in turn, become more receptive to new languages. So go on, challenge yourself, if nothing else youll pick up a few new words along the way. Your definition of old will be redefined Were not just talking old, like 500 years old, were talking oooolllllllddddd, as in thousands of years old. The Pantheon, the Acropolis, the Colosseum, Stonehenge, The Pyramids (okay, so in Africa, but close to Europe) all these buildings are literally steeped in history, and give you a sudden and very clear insight into what life was like back in the (very old) day. Suddenly you get an appreciation for our modern-day world and luxuries, and at the same time realise how very transient and quickly we each exist on this planet. Deep thoughts aside, these ancient and monumental structures and just fundamentally cool; they make history come alive, and they make you wonder with amazement how such complex structures were built without modern-day advancements like electricity or transport. Your ocean goals will reach new heights If youre travelling from a country like Australia, youre naturally going to be a little sceptical in believing Europe can offer ocean magnificence in the same scale as youre used to. But oh how Europe will surprise you! Take it from someone whos travelled extensively the colour of the water in the Greek Islands and the clarity and beauty of the Adriatic coast of Croatia, is like nothing youve ever seen before. Dont underestimate the power of the Mediterranean and the quality of Europes beaches, they are quite honestly spectacular the kind of beauty and ocean colour you dream about on a rainy afternoon wishing for escapism. Youll walk straight into a real-life movie set If youre a sucker for all things cinema, or HBO for that matter, you wont have reason to complain. Europes cities have provided real-life movie sets for some of the silver screens biggest blockbusters a whole heap of the Bond movies, The Bourne Ultimatum, the Harry Potter franchise, every Richard Curtis film ever (think Notting Hill, Love Actually), The Godfather the list goes on, and on, and on. And how can you forget Croatia and its now-legendary relationship to Game of Thrones? Just walking along the city walls of Dubrovnik gives you tingles, for all the right reasons. Youll meet people with incredible stories to tell Behind every face is a story, some good, some bad, some unbelievable. War, progression, the ever-fluctuating economy all these factors are contributing players to Europes story, and, in turn, form part of the story of Europes residents. Take the time to speak to locals and listen to what they have to say listen to the stories recounted from when the wall fell in Berlin, when the Croatian War of Independence finally ended, the continuing temperamental nature of the Greek economy, and get to know the real history of Europe, as told by the people who lived through, and continue to live through, these significant events. What will amaze you the most is the resilient nature of the human race, and the ability to find peace and happiness despite the greatest of adversities. Youll have experiences you cant get anywhere else in the world Where else in the world can you haggle for goods in the bazaars of Istanbul, get lost amongst the vines on a wine-tasting tour in Florence, spend lazy days on deck cruising the azure waters of the Greek Islands or soak up the apres vibes after a hard day hitting the snowy slopes of Austria, all within a few hours flying of one another? Europe offers the kind of unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences you cant get anywhere else in the world the kind of experiences youll reminisce about when youre old and grey, storytelling to your grandchildren. Because you never know what opportunity it could lead to Travel is so much more than just getting on a plane, exploring a few different countries then returning home. If you see it as an opportunity, its one of the biggest things you can do in your life, which can have the biggest influence on you and your path in so many different ways. You could fall madly in love, you could meet your best friend for life, you could get chatting to a local, get offered a job and stay forever, or come across a project that piques your interest and end up volunteering for the next few months. Travel is what you make it, and if you see your trip to Europe as an opportunity, thats exactly what it will be. Let Europe open your eyes, fill your heart and leave you with memories that will last a lifetime. Corny as heck, but you know its true .. This article first appeared on Contiki six-two Toyota recently teamed up with the Department of Health and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to run a series of activations at busy taxi ranks, facilitated by Primedia Outdoor. With an MC and DJ on site to whip up excitement, Toyota reached out to taxi owners, drivers, mechanics and association members, to build and enhance brand awareness while promoting health and wellbeing. The activation sought to promote the Toyota Sesfikiles quality, durability and reliability, and emphasised the benefits and importance of using genuine Toyota parts. It also steered potential new clients to consultants from Toyota Financial Services and Toyota dealer networks. To drive home the message that Toyota cares about their customers wellbeing, the brand teamed up with the Department of Health and ILO to encourage taxi owners and drivers, as well as the ranks commuters, to have a health screening performed on site. The Department of Health and ILO provided free services from blood pressure and glucose testing, through to screening for HIV and TB, with confidential test results and counselling. Many taxi drivers wake up at 4am and end work at 8pm, seven days a week so they have no time to consult a clinic, points out Sizwe Mahlangu, National Taxi Operations Manager for Toyota South Africa. During one-on-one sessions with Toyota representatives, individual taxi drivers, owners and mechanics were able to get accurate information and voice their own feedback, ensuring that they felt valued by the brand. Giveaways of branded t-shirts and key-holders brought more people to the activation area and left them with a tangible reminder of Toyota. The activations were held at fourteen busy ranks across the country. The events were very successful, on two counts, says Mr Mahlangu. From a business perspective, we were able to engage closely with our core customers, giving us the chance to correct a lot of false notions and ideas around our vehicles and services. It was useful to hear what people were saying about our products on the ground. And then from a health perspective, many people were given access to important health services. The Department of Health was very happy with the number of people reached, particularly given the stigma that still accompanies HIV testing. Toyota, the Department of Health and the ILO rolled out a particularly worthwhile series of activations, and we are proud to have played a supporting role, says Peter Lindstrom, Sales Executive for Primedia Outdoor. WASHINGTON: The grim news for newspapers: digital is doing little to rescue them from their deepening woes. Reeling from weak circulation and ad revenue, the traditional newspaper world faces an ugly picture while social media and tech firms benefit from the shift to digital, a Pew Research Center study released on Wednesday found. Average weekday newspaper circulation - print and digital combined - fell seven percent in 2015, the greatest decline since 2010, Pew's annual "State of the News Media" report found. Although digital circulation gained a slight two percent, that amounted to just 22 percent of total circulation, and online subscriptions have done little for the overall revenue picture, Pew said. It found that total 2015 advertising revenue among publicly traded newspaper companies declined almost eight percent, reflecting weakness in digital as well as print. To make matters worse, newspaper newsroom employment fell 10 percent last year, the biggest drop since 2009, the researchers found. "Newspapers had a near recession-level year," Pew researcher Jesse Holcomb said. Major tech companies are reaping most of the revenues from online news, Pew found. "There is money being made on the web, but news organizations have not been the primary beneficiaries," the report said. Total digital advertising spending grew 20 percent last year to around $60bn, a higher growth rate than in 2013 and 2014, Pew said. "But compared with a year ago, even more of the digital ad revenue pie - 65 percent - is now swallowed up by just five tech companies," the report said, naming Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Twitter. "Increasingly, the data suggest that the impact these technology companies are having on the business of journalism goes far beyond the financial side to the very core elements of the news industry itself." Facebook took in some 30 percent of digital display ad revenue last year, or $8bn, according to Pew. Google accounted for 16 percent. Some news publishers still make profits "but it's a mixed picture," while a handful of digital companies "are sucking up the oxygen," Holcomb said. Part of the reason for the revenue shift is due to how people discover news - often by happenstance on social networks or by searching online - the researcher added. "Our relationship with news is in a state of change," he said. "Most people who say they get news on a platform like Facebook are not necessarily looking for news, news is just one of the things they stumble across." Since the Newspaper Association of America stopped reporting revenue figures for the newspaper industry as a whole in 2013, Pew tracked data from the seven publicly traded newspaper groups, which owned some 300 dailies at the end of last year. The data accurately tracks the sector even though a majority of newspapers are privately held, the research firm said. The picture was more nuanced elsewhere in the media industry. Some digital news startups appear to be generating revenues and profits, although data has been spotty, Holcomb said. "Even among these promising digital news startups, there is a feeling of uncertainty," he said. "The market hasn't become clear nor has the business model," he added. "These companies are still experimenting, they are still pivoting. There are some superstars, but it's not entirely clear if there is a wider path to profitability." Those digital news operators include BuzzFeed, Vox Media and Business Insider. Although several have raised capital from investors, as private firms they are not required to report financial results. In television, network broadcasters increased ad revenue by six percent in the evening and 14 percent in the morning. Cable news channels were projected to increase their revenues by 10 percent and experience profit gains, Pew said. It also found radio remains an important news source for around 25 percent of Americans, and is getting some help from digital technologies and podcasts. But overall radio revenues were flat in 2015, with a three percent decline in traditional AM/FM spot advertising offset by gains in digital and off-air advertising, the report said. Source: AFP There are many reasons to invest in Africa and even more reasons to believe in Africa, international delegates were told at the Consumer Goods Forum global summit in Cape Town, 15-17 June 2016. The global CEOs of Coca-Cola, Nestle, Tesco, Walmart, Pepkor, Pick n Pay and many other luminaries, were present to discuss the disruption that digital has brought to the retail supply chain, as well as food security and investment in Africa. Image by 123RF A surprise visit was made by South African deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who dropped into the conference unannounced and was quickly slotted into the programme. Ramaphosa spoke about Africa as the next growth pioneer in the world, noting that Africa was an enormous market, containing seven out of 10 of the fastest growing economies in the world. Africa is open for business, Ramaphosa emphasised to the CGF summit delegates, many from Europe, Asia, the United States and South America, with a sprinkling from Africa. 800 delegates from over 365 companies from 40 countries made the trip to Cape Town for the 60th annual CGF summit, held in Africa for the first time. Complex continent Ramaphosa continued: Africa is a complex continent. There are great opportunities Africa is not only rising, but it is a continent that is consuming and will be consuming more and more as the years go by. He emphasised that Africa needs to replace its current system of exporting commodities. We have all realised that we have to move to changing that system and exporting finished goods, open up manufacturing Ramaphosa was accompanied by keynote speaker, Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola. Kent was extremely bullish on Africa and encouraged retailers and manufacturers to take a long view of the continent. His presentation was aptly entitled: Reasons to believe in Africa: The rise of the bright continent. Kent highlighted all his reasons to believe in Africas bright promise: Rising life expectancy. Growing GDP and Africas middle class. Childhood mortality rates down: malaria deaths down by more than 60% since 2000; HIV-Aids mother to child transmission being eradiated. Armed conflict and death down. Africa is leveraging mobile. Africas start-up community is expanding. Better governance has led to better outcomes. Billions are being invested in infrastructure. Sound monetary policies mean acute poverty has declined. 80% school enrolment. Small improvements in Africa are yielding exponential results, Kent said. Technology will help transform society, especially education Africa has thousands of flourishing entrepreneurs. Commodity prices are lower, but they are not here to stay. They will improve. Nothing is ever a straight line. Africa optimist Africa has 1.1 billion people, 14% of the worlds population and speaks 2000 languages, but suffers from bad press which tends to focus on the rich menu of poverty, corrupt leaders and abuse, said Pepkor chairman, Christo Wiese, whose Shoprite Group has made successful inroads into Africa and who describes himself as an Africa optimist. The media dont always have the resources to offer a broader perspective with context, so readers are left with certain perceptions that imply a backward continent, Wiese said. This wonderful, continent of contrasts has many positives to admire and gives us hope for the future, he said, setting context for international delegates: Many outsiders with limited exposure to Africa, see it as a single, amorphous land mass. It is not a country, it is a continent. A complicated quilt of 54 countries with a complicated history in various stages of development. It is the second largest continent after Asia. You can fit China, India, the US, Argentina and the whole of Europe into Africa and still have space left. It is enormously rich in natural resources. The population of 1.2 billion people is expected to grow to 4 billion by the end of the Century (making up 36% of the expected 11 billion global population in rest of the world). In fact, 80% plus of worlds population will live in Africa and Asia, demographers tell us. You must make a clear distinction between the continents potential and realities when planning on doing business in Africa. Africa is a continent in transition. We are still moving to creating a business environment that may be taken for granted in other parts of the world. Africa is expected to have the worlds largest working population by 2034. Africa is urbanising at a fast rate. This urbanisation will lead to a rapid growth in consumption by both households and businesses in more advanced economies. Wiese said Africa would have to overcome significant infrastructural shortcomings as it was dwarfed by a lack of sustainable electricity supply, but that billions of dollars were being invested in energy projects to increase sustainable electricity supply. What had not improved, was the endless red tape and bureaucracy, graft and corruption. We need to eliminate entrenched corruption. He also said less than 20% of all African trade was intra-African as Africa simply does not trade with each other. Wiese said retailers and manufacturers needed to take a long term view if they wanted to do business in Africa and urged investors to also invest in improving African business and communities, not just merely repatriate the profits to their home country, as there is a constant outflow of capital from the country. His advice for other business leaders and investors: Select with care the countries you want to do business with. Do thorough research and chose those countries with a positive development outlook. Make very sure that Africa is where you want to be, the rewards will be great, but so will the risk. You need staying power if you want to be successful on this continent. Things change. Commodity markets suffer, but the drought will end, things will flourish again, Wiese said. Coke has invested $130 billion start-up capital investment in Africa. We can make a difference. Kent explained that Coca-Cola is a founding investor (along with Airbus and Richard Branson) in a company to provide low orbit satellites to provide 4G internet to anyone with a small antennae, specifically, schools in Africa. Access to technology will transform the continent. This is what Kent believes can work in Africa: Believe and invest. Scale what works. Leverage core capabilities. Seek out complimentary partners. Innovate relentlessly to overcome challenges. The IGD Retail Analysis, Insight presentation, June 2016, entitled: The future of grocery retailing in sub-Saharan Africa, was released at the summit. In one table, the report outlined how retailers and suppliers could take advantage of opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. Everyone should be setting the vision for the future and what transformation should look like. This needs to be designed in a way that will work responsively whatever transpires, the report stated. To get to this future, IGD listed five points: The region will integrate more. Economic growth will create opportunities for cooperation, as African nations are encouraged to trade on the continent, and not just internationally. One solution is the free trade area proposed between SADC (SA Development Community) in Southern Africa and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African and the East African Community. Such cooperation could drive imports by an average of 60% by 2020, says IGD. Income growth and an emerging consumer market. Africas emerging middle class is the subject of controversy as the true size was debated at the CGF summit this week. At issue is whether size and spending power correlate. Any growth in spending power from this influential sector, will help drive volume and value growth in the longer term, IGD emphasised. Fast-paced urbanisation. While rapid urbanisation will put a strain on infrastructure and resources in African cities, the opportunities it will create, will hopefully outweigh the negatives. Young and growing populations. The fact that Africa is the continent with the youngest population in the world (World Bank: Africas median age will be 25.4 years in 2050), provides long term growth opportunities, in an aspirant consumer base and a ready workforce. Increasingly connected consumer base. There are shining examples of innovation in Africa, driven by technology development. IGD explains: A corollary of rising internet penetration rates, mobile phone ownership and regional travel is that Africans are increasingly connected to global trends. This is encouraging consumers to become more aspirational, brand-conscious and loyal to those brands they like. Wiese concluded his presentation with an apt African quotation (D. Montano, 1985), about doing business on the continent: It doesnt matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you had better be running. After 22 months of rehabilitation work, IOM has handed over to local authorities the rehabilitated market in the Ngebengewe district of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Image by 123RF The market is located at an important intersection between a mostly Muslim enclave and the mixed (Christian and Muslim) 5th district. This area has seen some of the fiercest fighting since December 2013. Reopening the market is important to both communities as it symbolises a return to normalcy and security in the area. Madame Solange, representing female vendors at the market said: We have been waiting for this day for months. This market is really important for us women. We live here in the neighborhood and grow our produce here. Going to other markets to sell our goods is expensive and dangerous. Going to other markets to buy food has also been difficult. People from all communities use our market it is a space where they can meet and chat. It will be great to also have our market functioning normally. Hopefully, many of our neighbours will see this as a sign of peace and decide to come home. The market rehabilitation is part of IOMs European Union-funded Community Stabilization Programme. The project was chosen by the community and the rehabilitation, albeit often interrupted by insecurity in the area, was carried out through on-the-job training programmes by local young people. Over 300 young people participated in the rehabilitation and gained experience as carpenters, brick-makers and in general construction. The Community Stabilization Programme has been running since March 2014 and will continue in areas outside Bangui until August 2017. The last wave of flood rendered over 1000 people from 12 villages under Thandwe township homeless in south Arakan, said a government official. One monastery, two Dhama halls, one shrine temple and a primary school building along with 45 residential houses from Ray Kauk village under Thandwe township were washed away by the flood water. Similarly another affected village named Parite reported the complete damage of 111 residential houses (out of total 115 in the village). The severely affected villages including Shwe Lay, Pauk Taw, Chaung Gon, Aouk Netmaw, Ray Kout, Parite, Su Boke,Bura Maw, Chin Dwin are situated on the bank of Tahtay Chaung creek. The excessive water flow in the creek inundated the villages causing massive landslides and damages of crops & domestic animals. An affected villager claimed that the flood situation worsened because of a government sponsored hydropower project, which is under construction for some time on the Tahtay Chaung creek. Late report narrates that 8 houses in Ganan Daung village under Ann Township were collapsed due to the landslide on 10 June. Similarly, in Kyauk Khout village under Minbya township, 34 houses were destroyed by tornado, rendering 100 villagers homeless. The affected villagers are demanding urgent reliefs as well as shelter-homes in the State. They also asked the authority to start preparatory works for the coming months, where more rains as well as another few waves of flood may emerge. Dengue places enormous costs on countries in Southeast social, economic and human. It is estimated that of the 2.5 billion people at risk of getting dengue, more than half, 1.8 billion, live in the Asia Pacific region. In a public statement released to promote awareness and to combat the deadly mosquito borne virus, organisers said that ASEAN countries planned a range of activities. The Philippines will revitalize the 4 oclock habit, a Department of Health campaign inciting community members to search and destroy mosquito breeding places every day at 4:00 p.m. Vietnam plans to hold it 3rd ASEAN Dengue Day In Hanoi, on June 14, focusing on The Hanoi Call for Action on Combating Dengue. An official ceremony will take place on June 15, with a parade through the streets of Hanoi. Malaysia, plans to launch an educational video and copies to be distributed to schools, a number of seminars and public information sessions on prevention and disease will also be held. Singapore, Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) and National Environment Agency (NEA) has exhibitions in public hospitals to highlight the dangers of dengue fever. A scientific seminar and symposium will also be held to share research information. Ms Aya Tabata, the director of the Stop Dengue, Protect your Family campaign said in an earlier interview with Karen News estimates by Thailands Public Health Ministry had documented that 141 people had died and as many as 141,375 cases of dengue fever were recorded for 2015. Ms Tabata said public awareness campaigns played a crucial part in the control of dengue. If people are made aware of what they have to do and when they need to do it and can understand the information it can have a massive impact on curbing the mosquitoes breeding. As part of the ASEAN Dengue Day awareness activities, Thailand will organize a competition in partnership with the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Country-wide, Thai school children will be asked to submit drawings linked to dengue, prevention, disease and education. Indonesia has plans to target primary healthcare doctors in a scientific education meeting and will also be involving communities in educational sessions and competitions to demonstrate their role in the fight against dengue. Ms Tabata warned that school students are a high risk group. Research shows that school students are a high risk group. Thailands Ministry of Healths Department of Disease Control found that as of July 27, 2015 39,597 people had been diagnosed by a Thai hospital with dengue fever. The MoH statistics found that almost one in two of those infected were school students, a staggering 42.8% in 2015. According to the matriculation examination results for the 2015-16 academic year announced on 11th of June, only 17 out of 86 students from migrant schools based in Mae Sot had passed. The poor results have raised questions among migrant teachers about the existing matriculation system as they say it has become too challenging for migrant students. U Naing Naing Tun, secretary of the Burmese Migrant Teachers Association told Karen News that they are concerned about the system as the pass rate is also dropping at a national level. The passing percentage of the matriculation results for the whole country has dropped. In my opinion, the matriculation system needs to be reviewed. Students from the border area are not familiar with the education system in Burma, this matriculation exam is a challenge for them. In the current academic year, 86 students from Hsa Thoo Lei and Thwe Thit high schools in Mae Sot took the exam in the Myawaddy examination centre. Naw Paw Ray, chairperson of the Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee (BMWEC) said. Last year, the passing percentage of the matriculation results was 28%. But this year results drops to 22% and students who also received distinctions also decreased. Out of 86 students, 12 from Hsa Thoo Lei School and 5 from Thwe Thit School, a total of only 17 students passed the matriculation exam. In 2014-2015 academic year, 125 students from migrant schools took the exam and 33 students passed the exam. Since 2012-2013 academic year migrant schools have started to join the government examination center back in Burma. Only 8 students passed the exam in 2012-2013. In 2013-2014 academic year 126 students took the exam and 36 students passed, according to BMWEC. Naw Paw Rey said that the exam results havent improved and students also have less interest in the exam. According to the matriculation results announced by Ministry of Education for the whole year, the passing rate for this year stands at 29.92%, a drop from 37.60% last year. The primary reasons behind Bop Htaw Education Empowerment Programs, or Bop Htaws, move back to Burma are the donors preference to support programs within Burma, the convenience of student travel during rainy season and the broad opportunities for students to participate in hands-on training through other organizations. Our Bop Htaw school aims to train students to become qualified teachers with critical thinking skills. We also provide English skills such as level four and up to advanced level. If the students chose to study such skills in Rangoon city, it would be very expensive. Therefore, I think it is a great opportunity for them to study here because they do not have to spend much money but they are trained under a well-developed curriculum and hands-on training, said Mi Pone Han, the program coordinator of Bop Htaws second-year program. The program began in 2000 and runs over two years. The program requires the applicants to hold a high school completion level from state-run schools or MNEC run schools. The applicants from Mon teacher groups must have carried out teaching at respective schools for 3 years. The second-year Post-Ten program started its 2016-2017 academic year on June 1, at its new location in Thanbyuzayat Town. We have acquired English, teaching and critical thinking skills. We can now improve the students English here. We can also teach efficiently because we have been provided with teaching training, said Lawe Nyan, a former student of Bop Htaw. The students that have completed the program have gained employment at Mon National schools, at the MNEC, whilst some are working at Bop Htaw. Bop Htaw has graduated about 300 teachers and over 100 of them are teaching. Many are studying abroad with scholarships or working for NGOs and private companies. The program caters for 15 schoolgirls and 8 school boys. It is easier for us to travel since the school has moved here. After we finish the second year, we will teach at respective schools as teachers. Then, we will apply for scholarships and study abroad, said Mi Layih Gakho, a second-year student, at the Bop Htaw. Childs Dream supports the major budget requirements for the 2016-17 two year study program. Previously, in first year, the students have been required to study at Bop Htaw in Nyisar, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled-area. The second year saw the students study in Sangkhlaburi Town, Thai-Burma border. MNEC has 138 schools, including Bop Htaw Empowerment Program, 3 high schools, 16 middle schools and 89 primary schools. The decision to ban the film was met with ridicule by the Prince Sao Kya Seng's nephew, Khun Tun Oo, a prominent Shan politician and former political prisoner. The story focuses on Sargent who became the princess of Hsipaw also known as the Mahadhevi Dhusandi and her marriage with the prince who was jailed when General Ne Win launched a coup d'etat in 1962. As the film, which is the first to explore the events surrounding Burma's 1962 coup, shows Sao Kya Seng disappeared after his arrest under circumstances that have never been fully explained. Government officials have deemed that the themes explored in the film are too sensitive, this despite the fact that more then 50 years have elapsed since Sao Kya Seng's arrest. They blocked the film from being screened as part of this week's Myanmar Human Rights Film Festival. An official from the Ministry of Information's (MOI) 15-member film review committee told the AFP news agency that screening the film could cause difficulties. In an interview with the BBC Thida Tin, the deputy chairman of MOI's film review committee, said: "We were worried and afraid that unnecessary problems could arise because of this [film] while we are working on achieving national reconciliation." He went on to claim that the film was banned for the sake of "national unity and also the stability of the country and of our people". These claims did not sit well with Sao Kya Seng's nephew, Khun Tun Oo, a prominent Shan politician and leader of the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD). He said: Its irrational that this film will destroy unity. This film is based on a true story. He added: The person portrayed in the film is still missing. No one knows whether he is dead or alive. He left his daughters when one daughter was only 5 and another was only 7. Its unreasonable that the film will damage unity. It is just an individual right. Thus, it means there are no rights. Has there been any national unity? If there has not, how can this film destroy unity? Mon Mon Myat, one of the Myanmar Human Rights Film Festival directors, explained in a speech on the festival's opening night that the festival had been started in 2013 to show the situation in the country. She said: A film festival is a measurement of our current political situation. Through this film festival, we can show to what extent [what] we can do and how much media freedom we have obtained. We have obtained human rights to a certain extent in our country. But, in reality, there are still rules and limitations concerning the military and the religion, She concluded by saying: I want to express my sadness in not being allowed to screen this film. The air-conditioned units feature a living room with a flat-screen TV, a kitchen with a dishwasher and a microwave, a washing machine, a safety deposit box, and a private bathroom with a hairdryer and free toiletries. A fridge, an oven and stovetop are also provided, as well as a kettle and a coffee machine. The size of the place was excellent - it was like being at home. The location is also perfect, with a beautiful park and the water across the street and the beach and another park only a block away. Stores, restaurants are within minutes. It could not have been more convenient. Show more Show less Located in Boston, 5.6 km from JFK Presidential Library & Museum, The Ashmont Guest House provides accommodation with a bar, free private parking, a shared lounge and a garden. Located around 8.2 km from Boston South Station, the guest house with free WiFi is also 8.5 km away from Boston Convention Exhibitors Center. The property is allergy-free and is situated 8 km from Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Beautiful place, very cozy and clean. We more than appreciated the a/c since it was so hot outside. Hosts we noce and quick to answer out questions. Show more Show less Each review score is between 1-10. To get the overall score that you see, we add up all the review scores weve received and divide that total by the number of review scores weve received. In addition, guests can give separate subscores in crucial areas, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money and free Wi-Fi. Note that guests submit their subscores and their overall scores independently, so theres no direct link between them. You can review an Accommodation that you booked through our Platform if you stayed there or if you arrived at the property but didnt actually stay there. To edit a review youve already submitted, please contact our Customer Service team. We have people and automated systems that specialise in detecting fake reviews submitted to our Platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible. Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate. Ideally, we would publish every review we receive, whether positive or negative. However, we wont display any review that includes or refers to (among other things): Politically sensitive comments Promotional content Illegal activities Personal or sensitive information (e.g. emails, phone numbers or credit card info) Swear words, sexual references, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, or references to violence Spam and fake content Animal cruelty Impersonation (e.g. if the writer is claiming to be someone else) Any violation of our review guidelines. To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out, and we may stop showing reviews once theyre 36 months old or if the Accommodation has a change of ownership. An Accommodation may choose to reply to a review. When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones will be at the top, subject to a few other factors (what language a review is in, whether its just a rating or contains comments as well, etc.). If you like, you can sort and/or filter them (by time of year, review score, etc.). We sometimes show external review scores from other well-known travel websites. We make it clear when weve done this. Guidelines and standards for Reviews These guidelines and standards aim to keep the content on Booking.com relevant and family-friendly without limiting expression of strong opinions. They are also applicable regardless of the sentiment of the comment. Contributions should be travel related. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please dont include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning Booking.coms services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams. Contributions should be appropriate for a global audience. Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Comments and media that include 'hate speech', discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, and the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted. All content should be genuine and unique to the guest. Reviews are most valuable when they are original and unbiased. Your contribution should be yours. Booking.com property partners should not post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. Attempts to bring down the rating of a competitor by submitting a negative review will not be tolerated. Respect the privacy of others. Booking.com will make an effort to obscure email addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details. The opinions expressed in contributions are those of Booking.com customers and properties and not of Booking.com. Booking.com does not accept responsibility or liability for any reviews or responses. Booking.com is a distributor (without any obligation to verify) and not a publisher of these comments and responses. By default, reviews are sorted based on the date of the review and on additional criteria to display the most relevant reviews, including but not limited to: your language, reviews with text, and non-anonymous reviews. Additional sorting options may be available (by type of traveller, by score, etc.). Translations disclaimer This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) today this week commemorated the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2016). The commemorations were held at the Kweneng village of Thamaga on Friday under the theme: ICT (Information and Communication Technology) entrepreneurship for social impact. The theme is in line with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)s work in unlocking the potential of ICTs for young innovators and entrepreneurs; a statement from the BIH reads. The theme also encompasses start-ups and technology hubs as drivers of innovative and practical solutions for catalysing progress in achieving international sustainable development goals. As part of the commemorations, BIH hosted a three-day innovation, Business and technology workshop for schools and SMEs in Thamaga. The company mobilized clients of its technology entrepreneurship development programme First Steps Venture Centre (FSVC) to form part of the workshop, a statement from the Botswana Innovation Hub reads. In addition, Botswana Innovation Hub registered company ConceroTel sponsored provision of WIFI for the duration of the event. The company is also expected to provide a size month mentorship to Thamaga Youth who are providing Internet services in the village. Meanwhile another BIH registered company IT-IQ has sponsored at Internet Computing fundamental training course for primary school teachers at Thamaga and surrounding areas. ICT is one of BIHs focus sectors and participation is the WTISD 2016 advances the companys mandate of fostering entrepreneurship and technology transfer to develop star up companies and add value to existing ones. BENGALURU (PTI): The inaugural flight of India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), would be undertaken in Bangalore on Friday and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar would witness it. The inaugural flight of HTT-40, designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, is likely to take place at 09.15 AM at the HAL Airport in Bangalore. The sortie is expected to take place for about 25 to 30 minutes, HAL officials told PTI. Aimed at being used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services, HTT-40 had made its maiden flight after much delay on May 31. Officials said detailed design phase of HTT-40 was launched in August 2013 with HAL's internal funding and was completed in May 2015 and from there it has taken 12 months to fly the first prototype. Indian Air Force is expected to procure seventy HTT-40 aircraft. HAL has said that the programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018, and towards this the company will be manufacturing three prototypes and two static test specimens. Designed to meet the current demands of the Air force, there is also a provision to include weapons for the trainer aircraft. According to officials, the indigenous content on HTT-40 is close to 80 per cent with about 75 plus systems out of the total 90 on the aircraft sourced from local players and sister divisions of HAL. HTT-40 aircraft weighs about 2,800 kg and has Turbo Prop engine of 950 hp class. ROME (BNS): Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has bagged a contract to build seven new surface ships for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces. The contract for four corvettes, one Landing Platform Deck (LPD) and two Off-shore Patrol Vessels (OPV) is worth around 4 billion euros ($4.47 billion), the shipbuilder announced on June 16. While Fincantieri will be the prime contractor, defence conglomerate Leonardo-Finmeccanica will supply the shipbuilder with the latest generation of naval systems, including combat system, and sensors for the seven new vessels. "Leonardo will be responsible for the integrated supply of the new naval units' combat system, main radars and on-board sensors and defence sub-systems, including 76/62 medium calibre and 30mm small calibre weapon systems, the anti-torpedo protection system, the Thesan mine avoidance sonar and, in cooperation with MBDA, the missile system," the company said. The supply also includes long-term, integrated logistics support activities, it added. Qatar will deploy the new naval ships for maritime surveillance and patrolling duties in territorial waters and in the exclusive economic zone. Construction of the ships will begin in 2018. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Crown attorney has asked that a man who burst into a First Nation gaming centre with a gun and fired a shot toward an employee receive six years in prison. Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup pointed to a number of on-reserve gaming centre robberies in recent years and the need for a sentence that would deter other potential robbers. Gaming centres have large amounts of cash and little security, he said. They might as well have a red and white bulls-eye painted on them, Lonstrup said in Brandon provincial court. Sentencing began on Thursday for William Eagle, 22, whod previously pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm and disguise with intent to commit crime. Lonstrup described how Eagle and two other suspects entered the gaming centre at the Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation shortly after midnight on June 17, 2014. In court, Lonstrup played a video that showed Eagle following the two other suspects into the VLT room while holding a shotgun which he then pointed at the unarmed security guard. In response, the guard put up his hands and fled out of another door and down a hallway. Eagle followed, all the while pointing the gun at the guard, then fired a shot toward the retreating man. Eagle had told the guard not to move, or hed be shot. The guard later shared what hed thought at that moment. He heard the discharge the first thing that went through his head was that he knew he was working and supporting his family. He didnt know who would do that if he was gone, Lonstrup said. However, Eagle intentionally shot toward the floor near the guard, which is backed up by the fact that wadding and pellets were found on the carpet. A woman had also fled out through the door prior to the guard. Meanwhile, Lonstrup said, the two other suspects one armed with a knife went to the cashier office where they grabbed $2,480 cash, cigarettes and an envelope. The cash and envelope were hidden in a spot known only to employees, highlighting the fact that Eagle was a former gaming centre employee with inside knowledge. All three suspects had worn disguises, and blue rubber medical gloves to presumably avoid leaving fingerprints. But in the end, it was the gloves that led to the arrest of Eagle and a co-accused. A person doing yard work found the discarded gloves months later, and the DNA of Eagle and another suspect were lifted from them. Eagle has sent 316 days in remand, and Lonstrup agreed that 474 days credit (1.5 to one) could be deducted from the six years in prison he proposed. Defence lawyer Bob Harrison asked that the minimum four-year sentence be imposed, minus remand time, for his client, who has no prior criminal record. Judge John Combs has reserved his decision and plans to deliver it next Thursday. Cassidy Eagle is charged with robbery with a firearm, wearing a disguise to commit crime and carrying a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He has a court date on Friday. ihitchen@brandonsun.com Twitter: @IanHitchen Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Even the most hardened politicians succumbed to the pain of global tragedy this week. Hit first by the shooting in Orlando on Sunday, then by the beheading of another Canadian hostage in the Philippines on Monday, and by the slaying of a British MP on Thursday, Parliament Hill reeled with shock and outrage. The business of Parliament kept a frantic pace, however, driven by the governments wish to pass the assisted dying bill as soon as possible. The bill spent the week caught between the will of the House and the new-found determination of the Senate. Less noticeable were several moves to rejig policy in a way that could affect everyday lives in Canada. Here are three ways politics mattered this week: PENSION PROBLEMS: Federal and provincial finance officials have been burning the candle at both ends this week in the hopes of finding a compromise that would see the federal Liberals keep an election promise to expand the Canada Pension Plan. The federal goal, as vaguely outlined in speeches and documents, is to substantially increase the retirement payout to the next generation of middle-class retirees. Fewer people will be covered by private plans, and those who are covered will often have less generous benefits than todays retirees. But theres an open question about whether governments need to step into the breach. The price of an expanded CPP is higher premiums for employers and employees today. Some provinces have yet to be convinced that the higher price is worth paying right now, especially since there will be a political backlash from small business as well as conservatives who would rather see individuals take control of their own personal finances. Maybe after the federal and provincial finance ministers hash it out Monday in Vancouver, the public will see some hard numbers and be better able to engage in an informed debate about whether our retirement savings our adequate and if not, whether an expanded CPP is the best solution. GIRL POWER: MPs of all stripes voted 225-74 to slightly change the words to the national anthem this week so that it would be gender neutral. But that wasnt the biggest move MPs made to reflect the role of women in public life. The Status of Women committee had all-party support for its recommendation to subject every single government initiative to a gender-based analysis before it gets the green light. The committee wants legislation that would make the analysis mandatory. Minister Patty Hajdu seems open to the idea. The implications for regular people could be big or small, depending on how seriously the government takes the idea. With the governments plan to spend $60-billion on infrastructure, for example, how would a gender analysis affect a program that would normally create jobs that overwhelmingly go to men? Committee member and Liberal MP Sean Fraser says a gender analysis would encourage the government to improve training for women in the skilled trades. But what would happen if instead of shaping women to fit the program, the government shaped the program to fit women? CANADIANS ON THE TELLY: The government, via the CRTC, has put in place its first policy building block to rescue local news. The broadcast regulator will require private English-language TV stations to air at least seven hours of local news every week double that for big-city stations in Toronto and Vancouver. French-language stations will need to carry five hours of local news. Where will the money come from? Mainly from shuffling around parts of existing pots of money already put into community programming by the networks. Big companies such as Bell, Rogers and Quebecor can take some of the $156 million currently spent on community programming for local news production instead on condition they keep all their stations open. Independent stations will see what is new money to them, but comes from the existing community fund. The CRTC order is only the first piece of the puzzle the government is working on. It sees a crisis in local news, not just in television but in print and digital media as well, and is actively looking for solutions on all fronts. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Romanias prime minister says hes hopeful the visa spat between his country and Canada will be resolved soon because otherwise, his country may not support the Canada-EU free trade deal. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos discussed the biggest ongoing irritant between Canada and the European Union in an interview with The Canadian Press this week during his visit to Ottawa. Ciolos said he emerged from talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confident the travel restriction can be lifted in the coming months. But if that doesnt happen, Ciolos said his country wont be able to support the trade deal, known as CETA. Romania will have difficulty to support an agreement that creates this negative discrimination for its citizens, Ciolos said in an interview at the Romanian embassy. Based on the discussions I have had with Prime Minister Trudeau, I am confident we can together find a solution in order to avoid this. Canada imposed a visa requirement on Romania and Bulgaria, but the EU insists on visa-free travel for all 28 of its member countries and has repeatedly pointed to its September 2014 joint declaration with Canada affirming that. It does not appear likely that Romania or Bulgaria could block final ratification of the trade deal, but the issue remains a formidable speed bump in the long-running saga to finalize the pact, which has been seven years in the making. We think that Romania is ready, technically speaking, to comply with all the expectations in this direction, Ciolos said. I hope that in the next months we will be able to find a solution in order to give to Romania the political possibility to fully support CETA. Even if Romania and Bulgaria oppose the free trade deal, it is still expected to win approval of the European Parliament, which would mean as much as 90-per-cent of the deal would come into force under what is known as provisional implementation. Ciolos said he wants to see CETA in place because he helped negotiate it as the EUs former commissioner for agriculture. So you can imagine that personally as prime minister of a EU member state, I want to be able to support this agreement together with others, he said. Marie-Anne Coninsx, the European Unions ambassador to Canada, has also linked the free trade deal to the visa situation. She has called the visa an irritant which should not be there and has said it is regrettable the problem could not have been solved sooner. EU and Canadian politicians have said they expect CETA to come into force sometime in early 2017. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is concerned about the ballooning cost of housing in Vancouver but must ensure that any action it takes doesnt harm markets elsewhere in the country. Speaking before a housing roundtable attended by local members of Parliament, developers and experts on Friday, Trudeau said the federal government has to be very, very thoughtful about approaching the affordability challenge in a way that allows Vancouver to continue to flourish. Theres no question that concerted, thoughtful effort is going to be needed to address the situation but we have to be very wary of unintended consequences. He said he has been speaking with British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and local mayors about solutions, and asked for suggestions about where he should be nudging provincial and municipal governments to take direct action. Trudeau did not comment after the closed-door roundtable, but Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray said the meeting is a strong signal that the prime minister is seizing the issue. He committed to taking action when we figure out what makes sense from all we heard, but he also was very clear about the urgency of the situation. She said Trudeau heard from 25 people with a range of perspectives, including those who represent homeless and low-income people, developers with ideas on increasing supply and others who believe tax policy must be overhauled. Tom Davidoff, director of the University of British Columbias Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, said the free market wants to build denser housing in Vancouver, but zoning policies too often limit land use to single-family homes, which are unaffordable for most Canadians. Its an outrageous abuse of power that provides a giant subsidy to rich guys who dont make a living here, he said referring to foreign buyers. The problem is that local homeowners love the status quo and politicians are terrified of them. The federal government could pressure mayors by tying transit funding to density, or by forbidding cities from having such restrictive zoning, Davidoff suggested. He said many in the meeting expressed concern that Canada has become a destination for wealthy foreigners to launder money through real estate. Providing bargain-basement taxes for rich people who dont live in the country is nuts, he added. I think the prime minister heard that loud and clear, he said. I really do expect federal action both on taxes and on land use. Andy Yan, acting director of Simon Fraser Universitys City Program, said he hopes Trudeau got the message that housing prices have risen while incomes have stayed flat in Vancouver. One of the most powerful things he did was begin to listen. I think thats one of the first steps, to actually understand the problem before coming up with solutions, Yan said. Speaking earlier Friday on CBC Radio, Trudeau said overseas money is playing a role in fuelling superheated markets such as Vancouver, where the average price of a single-family detached home is $1.5 million. Trudeau said officials are examining Australias decision to tax homes owned by foreigners, but warns federal measures to curb offshore ownership in Vancouver or Toronto could harm other regions of the country where overseas investment can be beneficial. How do we make sure we are helping people (in Vancouver) in exactly the right and targeted way? Trudeau said. That is where the kind of collaboration we havent had for 10 years between the federal government and different orders of government is so important to work on together. Most Vancouver homeowners know the inflated housing market must be stabilized because the current trajectory doesnt have any good outcomes, he said. But any action must not completely devalue people whose retirements and equity are tied to their homes, the prime minister said. Trudeau also toured a new Microsoft development centre in downtown Vancouver with Clark and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson on Friday. Robertson said afterwards that the province must take the lead on addressing real estate issues. But he said the federal government can take action, including creating incentives to build more rental housing, social housing and co-ops. Robertson said any measures to deal with the housing affordability crisis could take years to have an effect, but that Vancouver needs decisions soon. Were seeing, certainly, a response from the federal government to the urgency, he said. Im hopeful, given the attention theyre paying to us now, that were going to see some movement. Follow @ellekane on Twitter. Already have an account? Log in here LAVAL, Que. - Valeant Pharmaceuticals says it will expand its Canadian manufacturing and export capacity by spending a total of $27.5 million on plants in Manitoba and Quebec. 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 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY The senior psychiatrist with the Canadian Armed Forces says strides have been made in reducing the stigma of mental illness in the military but some soldiers still suffer in silence. Col. Rakesh Jetly, whos also mental-health adviser to the surgeon general, says one of the positive legacies from Canadas role in Afghanistan could be the militarys rethinking of how it deals with mental-health issues. Jetly said depression rates in the Canadian military are a little higher than in the general population at about eight per cent. But the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder has doubled to 5.4 per cent from 2.7 per cent in 2002 an increase 100 per cent attributable to the Afghan war. Col. Rakesh Jetly, the chief psychiatrist for the Canadian Forces, does an interview on PTSD and the health of Canadian soldiers in Calgary, Thursday, June 16, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Graveland Jetly said the majority of military personnel can now see a mental-health professional within a day in a crisis situation and a psychiatrist in less than a month, while for many Canadians it can take up to nine months. The system by no means is perfect, but its pretty, darn good, Jetly said in an interview. He also said theres overwhelming data that shows military members who have a mental illness, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, are much more likely than a civilian to seek care. Were more resourced than any town or community in Canada. Im always careful when I say that the point is Canada has too little. But despite more ready access, there are soldiers who still wont seek help, Jetly said. I think that tough guy, suck-it-up kind of culture has changed, but self-stigma is still an issue. Some people who can be kind and caring about a colleague may not afford themselves that same kindness. Jetly also cautions that its not just active military personnel who may be struggling with their mental health. Theres this stereotype of this big, strong, strapping soldier whos kicking down doors. There are people who do that, but when we look at PTSD, its not about this big guy whos dangerous and running amok, he said. You might have female nurses that were in the (hospital) exposed to people who have been blown up. Theres clerks (who work) in the morgue. It can be many, many people. Jetly believes Canadian society is at a point where mental illness can be demystified and treated like any other illness. But he acknowledges that for military personnel, coming forward could still have an impact on their careers. One of the biggest barriers to care is what is it going to do to my career? You cant guarantee that its not going to impact your career. You cant guarantee bad knees, migraines or a bad disc problem isnt going to affect your career either. Research released by National Defence last year showed that soldiers with mental-health conditions, especially those with Afghan war illnesses, are far more likely to be declared unfit for military service. Almost 70 per cent of them can expect to be mustered out within 10 years of deployment. The conclusion came from a review of medical files belonging to more than 30,000 troops who deployed as part of the nearly 12-year Afghan campaign. Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/06/2016 (2323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER A British Columbia First Nation has launched a court challenge to overturn the National Energy Boards recommendation that the federal cabinet approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The Squamish Nation, whose traditional territories span a large swath of B.C.s south coast, filed an application for judicial review on Thursday in Vancouvers Federal Court of Appeal. It seeks to quash the NEBs decision and refer it back for reconsideration. The nation asserted in the documents that the NEB had an obligation to determine whether the Canadian government discharged its duty to consult and, if necessary, accommodate the band. Ottawa needs to hear loud and clear that they cant just run roughshod over aboriginal rights and title. That era has come and gone, said Chief Ian Campbell in an interview. Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada, wants to triple the capacity of its existing pipeline from oilsands near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., to 890,000 barrels a day. The NEB undertook a two-year review that heard from 35 indigenous groups and 400 interveners before issuing its report and positive recommendation, subject to 157 conditions, in May. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government has delayed its final decision on the $6.8-billion project until December to allow for additional indigenous consultation. The Squamish Nation said its traditional territory covers 6,732 square kilometres, including parts of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster and all of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Whistler and Squamish. These boundaries encompass Howe Sound, Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The nation said in the court documents that the project would include a substantial expansion of infrastructure and shipping in these areas, including a new pipeline along a new route to a terminal in Burnaby and a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet. It said Trans Mountain did not consult with the Squamish Nation in any way about the location of the project in its traditional territories. Campbell said the potential for a spill from increased tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet poses a grave risk to his bands traditional fishing and marine activities. Not enough research has been done on the behaviour of diluted bitumen spills, he added. A spokeswoman for Trans Mountain, the only named respondent, said the company is currently reviewing the notice of application. The NEB confirms in its report that Trans Mountain has met the expectations with regards to Aboriginal consultation and there is sufficient evidence about the fate and behaviour of oil, said Ali Hounsell in a statement. Ultimately, the NEB weighed all the evidence and recommended the federal government approve the expansion. The Squamish Nation granted conditional approval to a liquefied natural gas project in Howe Sound in October. The agreement means Woodfibre LNG must meet a number of environmental and cultural conditions issued by the First Nation. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver has also mounted a court case arguing the energy boards process of reviewing Trans Mountain was unlawful. The board streamlined the process to meet time limits set by the previous Conservative government and ditched oral cross-examination in favour of written questions and answers. The NEB was unable to comment Thursday. It has previously said that the evidence was thoroughly tested and the projects impact on aboriginal interests was carefully considered. Should the project proceed, Trans Mountain would be required to continue its consultation with potentially affected indigenous groups throughout the life of the project. Follow @ellekane on Twitter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Foam chickens. Backpacks. Lip balm. Cufflinks. Baby bibs. Fake tattoos. The list reads like a bad yard sale but its actually just a few of the promotional items on offer from various government of Canada departments and agencies. Conservative Arnold Viersen, the rookie Alberta MP for Peace River-Westlock, requested a comprehensive breakdown of promotional materials through an order paper question in the House of Commons. A woman takes a photograph while holding a Canadian flag during a citizenship ceremony in Vancouver, B.C., on July 1, 2009. The Immigration department spent $36,300 on some 330,000 Canadian flags, more than enough for every single immigrant to the country in 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck The response this week in both official languages weighed in at 199 pages, headlined by Heritage Canadas $1 million spent between Nov. 4, 2015, when the new Liberal government took office, and April 22 of this year. The Heritage booty includes three million temporary tattoos, four million pins and 1.5 million paper flags. Farm Credit Canada, a self-sustaining Crown corporation that returns an annual dividend to Ottawa, spent $644,000 on promotional items that ranged from spongy stress-ball chickens, pigs and cows to winter jackets, barbecue sets and pocket knives. Spokesman Trevor Sutter said agri-business has been booming and credit competition intense in recent years, and promotional items are just part of the farm finance game. He also noted the Crown corporation earns back about 17 per cent of the cost of promotional goods through discounted sales to employees and partners. Considering its tourism marketing mandate, Destination Canada was a relative promotional piker, spending just $168,622 the biggest single item being $31,000 on calendars for 2016. And most government departments either spent nothing at all or a tiny fraction of the big players. Viersens office said the MP hadnt yet fully digested the order paper response and wasnt prepared to comment Thursday. Heres a breakdown of some of the more notable listed items: Lips are sealed at the Canadian Security Establishment with their promotional lip balm (500 units, $810), while 300 CSE Rubik cubes keep wits sharp, a bargain at $2,445. For nervous nukes, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission spent $1,509 on Nuclear Watchdog fidget toy dogs and $420 on colour-changing mood pens. What else could bring tears of gratitude to a librarians eye than Library and Archives Canadas 4,000 promotional eye glass wipes? Health Canada bought 644 baby bibs to help promote immunization. The Immigration department spent $36,300 on some 330,000 Canadian flags, more than enough for every single immigrant to the country in 2016. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions spent $20,400 on 425 Fugitive backpacks for a clean getaway. Among the $149,328 in promotional items purchased by the diplomats at Global Affairs Canada were neck ties, cuff links and tie tacks but also Canada-logo temporary tattoos, perhaps for a bit of street cred. Finance Canada spent $427 on promotional cuff links for 12 male ministers attending a finance ministers meeting, and $23.38 on a brooch for the lone female minister. Cathy Bennett, Newfoundland and Labradors finance minister, might want to check the math on that one as it appears she received just 66 cents on the mens dollar. Follow @BCheadle on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Canadians suffering intolerably from non-terminal medical conditions can no longer seek medical assistance to end their lives, thanks to a restrictive new federal law enacted Friday shortly after appointed senators bowed to the will of the elected government. Bill C-14 was given royal assent less than two hours after senators voted 44-28 to accept the controversial legislation, which limits the right to assisted dying to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The Senate had amended the bill to include those who arent terminally ill, but the Commons voted Thursday to reject the change. Rather than kill the bill outright or insist on the amendment and bounce it back to the Commons once again, a majority of senators gave up Friday and accepted the governments version of the bill. I am convinced the government is making a serious and cruel mistake by taking away the right to medically assisted dying from a group of patients, those who are not terminally ill and yet suffering terribly, said newly appointed independent Sen. Andre Pratte. But the government will answer to the people for that error and hopefully in the not too distant future the courts will remedy that mistake I believe we have worked well and done all that we could to warn the government of its error. Some other senators, who are morally opposed to assisted dying and would have preferred an even more restrictive law, also voted for the bill in the belief that a law governing assisted death is better than no law at all. Non-terminally ill Canadians have had the right to an assisted death since February, when the Supreme Court gave the government an additional four months to craft a new law in response to its landmark Carter decision a year earlier that struck down the ban on assisted dying. In the interim, the court allowed those who met the eligibility criteria laid out in Carter to seek judicial approval for medical help in ending their lives. In Carter, the Supreme Court directed that medical assistance in dying should be available to clearly consenting, competent adults with grievous and irremediable medical conditions that are causing enduring suffering that they find intolerable. The Trudeau government has taken a much more restrictive approach in C-14, which allows assisted dying only for 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. People facing years of excruciating suffering won the right to assistance in dying in the Carter decision, said Josh Paterson, executive director the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, a plaintiff in the Carter case. The governments bill will trap patients in intolerable suffering and takes away their hard-won charter right to choose assistance in dying. Independent Liberal Sen. Serge Joyal, who authored the amendment to delete the near-death proviso, tried one last time Friday to remedy what he sees as a fatal flaw that will eventually lead to the legislation being struck down as unconstitutional. He moved an amendment that would have seen the bill enacted except for the reasonably foreseeable death provision, which would have been suspended until such time as the Supreme Court ruled on its constitutionality. That amendment was defeated by a vote of 42-28, with three abstentions. Nevertheless, numerous senators continued to urge the government to refer the bill to the top court, to test whether its restrictive eligibility criteria complies with the charter of rights and the Carter decision. Clearly, this bill will be challenged, said Conservative Senate leader Claude Carignan, arguing that its immoral to force grievously ill individuals to launch expensive court challenges that could take years before theyre resolved by the Supreme Court. If the federal government doesnt take it upon itself to test the constitutionality of the new law, independent Liberal Sen. Terry Mercer argued that some desperately ill individual and his or her family will have to go through hell and likely go broke to determine if they have the right to an assisted death. Weve done that to them today, he said. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has repeatedly rejected referring the bill to the Supreme Court. And in a joint statement Friday with Health Minister Jane Philpott, she reiterated her contention that C-14 is consistent with the charter of rights. The legislation strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable, the ministers said. It gives dying patients who are suffering intolerably while in decline on a path toward death the choice of a medically assisted death. The Canadian Medical Association, which has strongly supported C-14, said it was pleased that historic federal legislation on medical aid in dying is now in place. Already have an account? Log in here HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's population is the highest it has ever been, with Ottawa attributing the increase mainly to new immigrants, including Syrian refugees. 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 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EDMONTON The federal government is cutting Alberta an initial cheque for about $300 million to help pay for firefighting costs and support to evacuees following the destructive wildfire in Fort McMurray. Veterans Affairs Minister and Alberta MP Kent Hehr said the advance payment from the federal-provincial disaster assistance agreement will be in Albertas hands by early July. This is the quickest turnaround ever getting money out the door to support the rebuild of a community that has been affected in the way that Fort McMurray has, Hehr said Friday after a meeting of federal and provincial ministers in Edmonton. The money is just a first instalment, said Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larrivee. At this point, in terms of what is eligible, we expect (the total) will be in the range of $615 million. There likely will be some unexpected expenses along the way, she said. I want to thank the federal government for their tremendously swift response and support and for their commitment today to expedite the advance payment. Hehr said the payment is based on a preliminary audit of damage caused by the fire. Alberta has already said that the cost of fighting the blaze and fixing the damage will run into the billions of dollars. Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said many of Albertas costs will be 90 per cent covered by Ottawa. He added some expenses such as the environmental cleanup of contaminated ash and debris are still being tallied and the total assistance under the program could go higher. It will take some time to calculate the damages caused and then, under the formula, the way in which the costs are apportioned, he said. Whatever is required to be paid under the formula will in fact be paid. Nor will the assistance program be the provinces only source of federal funds, Goodale said. There are other government initiatives, in terms of what Services Canada will do, what the employment department will do, what infrastructure can do and so forth, all in addition. There will be a whole range of other government departments federally and provincially involved in this process to bring the maximum relief effort possible. The federal government is also providing $90 million to match relief donations made to the Red Cross in May. Alberta is spending $30 million to match donations made in the province. The two governments are now working together with the Red Cross to figure out the best use for those matched funds. The fire was burning away from Fort McMurray when high winds on May 3 caused it to make an abrupt about-face and race towards the city. More than 80,000 people had to leave their homes as the flames cut through several neighbourhoods. About one-tenth of the citys buildings were destroyed. Residents started returning earlier this month. Many found their homes still standing, but others were faced with a wasteland of ash and toxic debris. Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FREDERICTON An Ontario-based company that pays people to donate blood plasma a practice banned in two provinces is set to make New Brunswick its next centre of operation, fuelling an ongoing ethical debate. Canadian Plasma Resources is looking to western and Atlantic provinces, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, after legislation in Ontario shuttered their two clinics in Toronto in 2014. Paid plasma donations are also not allowed in Quebec. Company CEO Barzin Bahardoust said at least 80 per cent of plasma protein products in Canada are imported from jurisdictions that compensate plasma donors. So to me the compensation is not really an ethical question as long as the donor is informed and consents and the patients that receive these products are aware of where they are coming from and how they are manufactured, he said. Donors can give plasma once a week, and Canadian Plasma Resources gives them either a charitable tax receipt or a reloadable gift card in the amount of $25. But the issue of paying people for their donation raises an ethical question and is stirring some strong opposition. The idea of commodifying a part of a person in this way is quite repugnant, said David Coon, leader of the New Brunswick Green party. Coon supports maintaining a voluntary system of blood and plasma donation through Canadian Blood Services. The same holds for organs, tissue, for sperm, for eggs and this would be a dramatic departure from that if New Brunswick permits this to go ahead. Both Ontario and Quebec have outlawed it and for good reasons in my opinion, he said. New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau said he welcomes a Canadian Plasma Resources clinic as long as it meets all the regulations set by Health Canada. There are other provinces, Manitoba allows paid blood plasma clinics as does Saskatchewan and there are other provinces in discussion with Canadian Plasma Resources as well, Boudreau said. Coon wants the issue debated in the legislature, but Boudreau said theres no need for that. There is no law in New Brunswick that prevents itWe currently purchase plasma that was paid for in the U.S. I find it a little hypocritical if were saying we cant pay Canadians to collect plasma, but we can pay Americans to collect plasma, he said. But Francoise Baylis, a professor and Canada Research Chair in bioethics and philosophy at Dalhousie University in Halifax said there are many, including the World Health Organization and the Krever Commissions report on Canadas blood system that would disagree with Boudreaus stance. Is this same government prepared to start paying people to donate their organs because we have lots of Canadians that could benefit from organs, same as we have lots of Canadians who would benefit from blood and plasma? Where do you want to draw the line? Baylis asked. I am a defender of the altruistic system and I would not support the payment for anything whether it be sperm, eggs, blood, plasma, etc. The World Health Organization has argued for 100 per cent voluntary, non-remunerated donations by 2020. Why would Canada be pulling in the opposite direction? Baylis said. In 2014, Deb Matthews, who was Ontarios health minister at the time, said legislation to prohibit paid donations was intended to preserve the integrity of the provinces voluntary blood and plasma donation system. Blood plasma is the yellowish fluid that remains after red and white blood cells and platelets are removed. Fresh plasma is used for transfusions while processed plasma is turned into a variety of pharmaceutical products. Plasma collected in Canada is sent to the United States for processing and then purchased back from American companies as end products. Canadian Plasma Resources now has a clinic in operation in Saskatoon. Bahardoust said a New Brunswick clinic, likely in Moncton, would have 30 donation beds and create 40 full-time jobs. Bahardoust said he has not asked for any financial assistance from New Brunswick, but has been dealing with Opportunities New Brunswick which often provides payroll rebates for new jobs created. We are hoping that we will qualify, but nothing has been finalized at the moment, he said. Bahardoust said once a site is selected it should take about six months to get it ready and get approval from Health Canada. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. LANGLEY, B.C. When air cadet Richard Knopp was helping to build a replica World War One biplane with other volunteers, he imagined what it was like to sit in the pilots seat 100 years ago. Knopp learned to fly a modern aircraft last summer and the 18-year-old realized his predecessors cockpit was much more narrow and lacked a glass shield, leaving the pilots with nothing but goggles for protection. Its hard to imagine doing that. You stick your head out the window of the car and you feel that (air), then imagine going twice as fast and 3,000 feet up. Hows the wind up there going to feel? he reflected while gazing at the biplane inside a Langley, B.C., airplane hangar. A flight museum in Langley, B.C., unveiled a replica of a First World War fighter plane on Friday June 17, 2016, with plans for it to soar over Vimy Ridge on the infamous battle's 100th anniversary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tamsyn Burgmann It was like seeing history come alive. Knopp joined other volunteers Friday for the unveiling of one of two replicas they constructed as part of a World War One commemoration project called Wings of Courage. A squadron of former Canadian military pilots is planning to fly the biplanes over the Vimy Memorial in France next year, on the infamous battles 100th anniversary. The pilots are honouring Canadas heroism and loss in a bloody clash that saw more than 10,000 Canadians killed or wounded in April 1917. We want Canadians to pay close attention to the sacrifices that were made 100 years ago, said Tim Joyce, president of Sound Venture Productions, which partnered on the project with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. It was funded in part by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage. We have a whole generation of Canadians who have no living memory of the First World War. Our project is aimed at creating a legacy to resound through generations from here on in. The primary role of the fighter pilot during World War One was to protect reconnaissance planes passing over enemy lines to collect intelligence for maps, he said. Joyce announced that the groups were gifting the fully functioning replica 1916 Sopwith Pup biplanes to the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley. A large garage door lifted slowly to the skirl of bagpipes, revealing the red-and-green painted craft to a small crowd of enthusiasts. Two separate small planes soared above the tiny airfield in celebration. About 20 adults and six teenaged Royal Canadian Air Cadets are still constructing the Pups, named Phyllis and Betty after two sisters of Joe Fall, one of the historic fighter pilots. They are replicas of the planes that the pilot from Nanaimo, B.C., flew when he was recorded as shooting down 36 planes during the war. The story that we got was the pilot was always accused of being a womanizer, and of course he went along with the story and wouldnt admit they were his sisters, lead builder Ray Fessenden said with a chuckle. Fessenden, a helicopter mechanic, said it took a lot of time and head scratching to build the copies, because the team began with only a very basic structure obtained in Missouri. Parts, including aluminum tubing and sheet metal, were trucked to B.C. last November, he said. The originals were mostly made of wood and the design itself was simple, he noted. Fessenden, 72, said he plans to travel to Vimy next year if his health holds up. Ill just be happy to see these things flying. Its the satisfaction of being a Canadian, he said. These were flown by Canadian pilots and I look at the sacrifice that was made in that area in World War One. I think, Would I want to be there? Absolutely not. So (Ill feel satisfaction) just in recognition of those guys who were there. Follow @TamsynBurgmann on Twitter Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Last week was Festival Mondial de la biere in Montreal and being the beer geek I am, I went. Some of you are saying, But Cody, youve written about your trips to Montreal several times already! Yeah, I have but this time its all about the festival. My original intent was to showcase the top beers at Mondial that you can find in Manitoba, but honestly, Central Citys Red Racer IPA doesnt need any more publicity at this point. Its almost always sold out at local Liquor Marts and vendors, and not only that, the Red Racer we get in Manitoba is several months fresher than the stuff they get in Quebec. Mondial de la biere is one of the largest beer festivals in the world, with an attendance of more than 100,000 each year. This year the festival happened to be going on during Montreal Formula One Grand Prix, so I really wouldnt be surprised if attendance soared past 150,000. Mondial had special imported beers from as far away as Brazil and local beers from local brewpubs as close by as a few blocks down the street. Some of the non-Quebec breweries that made an appearance at the festival include Beaus Brewing out of Ottawa, Bomber Brewing out of Vancouver, Rogue Ales out of Oregon and a good amount of Labatt/Molson subsidiaries such as Labatts Goose Island and Mill Street as well as Molsons Mad Jack, Creemore Springs, Granville Island and Rickards. To me, it was the Quebec variety of beers that lured me in. While Unibroue no longer makes an appearance, Quebecs super popular breweries Trou du Diable, Dieu du Ciel, Brasserie Dunham and Les Trois Mousquetaires all had hopping beer stations with very long lines. But once you paid $4 in tickets to get a four-ounce sample of a Belgian style saison, India Pale Ale or cask barley wine, its just all worth it. What made it even better is that two great friends actually had their own beers being sampled at the event. My buddy Alex, who took me on a craft beer trip all over southern Quebec on Saturday, collaborated with the new brewpub Brasserie Harricana to create a rich, hop forward double IPA simply called 42 easily one of the top beers of the festival for me. It was floral, with lots of fresh pine and citrus notes, very reminiscent of a West Coast style IPA One of my other friends, David, a popular beer podcaster/blogger in Montreal, has his beer La King Cogne Rye IPA on tap at a Quebec Oktoberfest booth. David recently wrote an article in Quebecs go-to beer magazine Bieres et Plaisirs discussing the top beers hes had in his life. He said Half Pints Le Temps Noir was the best outside of Quebec beer he ever had in his life all thanks to me, as I introduced it to him three years ago. My absolutely favourite beers and treats I had at Mondial has to be the Barleywine Germanique Cask by Les Trois Mousquetaires, a delicious, creamy, raisin/dark fruit sweetness of a barley wine that just loves to tingle your palate and belly at the exact same time. Saint-Maurice by Trou du Diable was an amazing saison that ended up being a great refresher between beers, a bit carbonated, fairly light yet citrusy and tasty. Theres far too many beers from Brasserie Dunham to list that I fell in love with, but their Lassemblage No. 1 and No Tahoma Farmhouse Saison were frequently sampled by me. Aside from food, Mondial de la biere also had a great selection of food carts and stands ranging from gourmet pretzels, bison sausage, fresh cheese, barbecue, fresh baguettes and, of course, poutine! On the weekend Mondial also hosted Master Class seminars featuring people in the brewing industry discussing their craft, how craft beer has changed and even how wild and experimental strains of yeast are becoming more popular in the industry. The main seminar I went to was about finding the right hops in times of hop shortages by Brett Porter, the brewmaster of Goose Island Brewing. One thing I learned is that if you are home brewer or have a brewery/brewpub, become friends with the local hop farmers because theyre always wanting to produce hops that the brewers absolutely want, even the experimental varieties. To me, Montreal has a true beer culture but Winnipeg is quickly developing a craft beer scene that will influence a smaller craft beer scene here in Brandon eventually. Next weekend, June 24-25, Flatlanders Beer Festival is taking place in Winnipeg at the MTS Centre. The most exciting thing about Flatlanders this year is that all the new breweries that are opening up this summer are going to be using the beer festival to showcase the beers that they will be brewing once Winnipeg City Hall gives them the green light. Those new breweries include Barn Hammer, Nonsuch, One Great City and Torque. Barn Hammer is the only brewery of the four that is now brewing beer at their brewery site, while the others are still doing test batches. Ive had the pleasure of sampling early batches of Barn Hammer and Torque beers in the past and we are in for a real treat. Festival tickets range from $39.95 and $49.95 and can be purchased at Winnipeg Liquor Marts or through Ticketmaster. Finally, Coast to Coaster has been a huge success this year, to the point that some beers disappeared off the Liquor Mart shelves only a day or two after the event launched. If your local mart doesnt have the beer in stock anymore, I recommend checking out the Keystone Motor Inn or Victoria Inn vendors in Brandon, as well as the grocery stores in Austin, Carberry and Onanole. Cody Lobreau is a Canadian beer blogger who reviews every beer he can get his hands on as he believes that he should try every beer twice to get an understanding if its truly good or bad. BeerCrank.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/06/2016 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. I finally made it to the Prairie Firehouse for lunch a couple of weeks ago. And the waiting was on purpose, as I usually like to give any new place a few months to sort out the inevitable kinks that occur during the opening days of its existence. Anyway, Id heard mostly good things, and the reports grew increasingly more positive as time progressed. So when a friend suggested lunch out, I said, Sure. Lets go to the Firehouse. And am I ever glad we did! I was impressed by the inventive options on the food menu, and how very seriously they took my severe sesame and nut allergies, with the server reporting back about three times before we got things squared away as to what I was and wasnt going to be able to have and how theyd accommodate me. That, in and of itself, would have prompted me to go back, which I did just three days later with my mom. But what was extra impressive was the wine list. A wonderful selection of some of my favourite beverages and the prices were so reasonable. I was amazed! With that lunch, which was a delicious red pepper pesto chicken panini, I had a glass of the Trivento Golden Reserve Chardonnay from Chile (a lovely Chard Id not tried before but which I very much enjoyed). A nine-ounce glass was $13, which is pretty standard. But its when I got looking at the bottle prices that I was more than pleasantly surprised. You see, the Trivento sells for $19.99 at the Liquor Mart. And the Firehouse price for a bottle of the stuff was $34. And thats terrific especially when many places sell wine at more than double, sometimes even triple, the shelf price. Ive both lamented and lambasted proprietors many times for gouging their customers on wine, a sentiment shared by many of my wine-writing colleagues across the country. Anyway, it wasnt only the Trivento that was, in my opinion, a bargain. The subtle and elegant Quails Gate Chasselas, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris blend from the Okanagan wasnt available by the glass, but it, too, was $34 a bottle. It sells at the Liquor Mart for $18.99. And so it went. Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $38 at the Firehouse, $22.99 at the Liquor Mart. The Post House Black Mail Merlot $34 at the Firehouse, $18.73 at the Liquor Mart. Frescobaldi Nippozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina $35 at the Firehouse, $19.99 at the Liquor Mart. The beautiful Meiomi Pinot Noir, $41 Firehouse, $25.99 Liquor Mart. Francis Ford Coppola Directors Cut Zinfandel, $51 Firehouse, $35.99 Liquor Mart. And to my delight, the Sophora Sparkling Rose, $35 Firehouse, $19.99 Liquor Mart. There were many more wines to choose from, but you get the idea. Basically, owner/operator Anna Dumas has added about $15 to her cost for the wine. And that, in my experience, is a rarity. This impressive wine list is absolutely delightful, and will prompt me to make regular trips to Firehouse to enjoy their spacious deck during the summer months. It was created, with plenty of input from Dumas, by Westmans only sommelier, Kate Wagner Zeke, whos my good friend weve known each other since we were 11 years old! Dumas, who has completed her Level 1 sommelier training, said her pricing was an honest attempt to make a profit but to not to rip off her customers while doing so. I did some research on corkage fees in Brandon and noticed that if you bring in your own (wine), its $20, so I thought if I went $5 under that, then it would make it even more appealing to people and encourage them to try new wines, Dumas said. And that was kind of my motivation behind it. The more I can encourage people in Brandon to drink good wine, the happier I am. And anything we offer by the glass, we offer people samples of as well so that they can taste it ahead of time and make sure theyre happy with the glass, so that were not pouring them a glass of wine theyre not going to drink or not be happy with or be upset with us because we poured it for them. Dumas is also allowing people to bring in their own wine for a $15 corkage fee, although with the fabulous selection she has, thats not going to be necessary very often. Im more than happy to accommodate Id never say no to a guest and I want to make every experience that they have at the Firehouse to be unique and fun and enjoyable, she said. And if that means bringing their own wine, then Im fine with that. To be fair, The Dock on Princess also has a reasonable wine selection at a fair markup, and The Dock supports the BYOW program, too. As well, its corkage fee is $15, although Dumas is right in that most other establishments at the few places that allow patrons to bring their own wine seem to charge a $20 corkage fee. But again, I urge you to try her selection, because its truly diverse and wonderful. And this is kind of a good news/bad news tidbit: Im in love with the current food menu I had a beautiful creamy seafood linguini when I visited there with my mother and am obviously crazy about the wine list. But Dumas plans to change up her establishments food, cocktail and wine offerings every six months May 1 and Nov. 1 to keep things fresh and innovative. Its going to be like a new restaurant every six months, she said. Anyway, for me, Prairie Firehouse has become THE place in town for wine. Congratulations to Dumas and her crew for providing an inventive and inviting experience. Ill see you again soon. Diane Nelson is a longtime journalist and former Sun staffer who really likes wine. A lot. vinelines.ca Twitter: @vinelinesbdn Let Me Tell You is a new bespoke podcast series from Hosts Daniel McConnell and Paul Hosford take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments in recent Irish political history from the unique perspective of one of the key players involved. The northside of Cork city was in mourning today after the tragic death of a young Mayfield woman in the Canaries writes Audrey Ellard Walsh. Named locally as Ramona Fagan, the 22-year-old woman from Ballinderry Park had travelled to the holiday island of Tenerife with a friend earlier this week. The facebook page of a young Cork woman who died in a holiday tragedy in Spain has been flooded with messages of sympathy and sadness. The 21-year-old from Mayfield in Cork died when she fell from a balcony in Tenerife on Wednesday. She was on holiday with friends. It is believed her body will be repatriated in the coming days. The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the family. Her distraught friends took to social media to pay tribute to her, with one describing her as a gorgeous young girl with a contagious smile, while another said she was a sweet, beautiful and genuine girl. Meanwhile, Garda Ombudsman Commissioner Kieran Fitzgerald (pictured) remains in a coma in a Spanish hospital this morning. Mr Fitzgerald, who is a native of Glin in Co Limerick, fell from a wall onto rocks in northern Spain last week and was placed in a medically-induced coma. It is understood he sailed with friends from Dublin to Galicia where he was to meet up with his wife Evelyn - the couple had planned to walk part of the famous Camino de Santiago. But soon after he arrived in Spain, he is said to have felt faint before sitting down on a low wall where he lost his balance and fell onto rocks damaging his spine. He had surgery at a La Coruna hospital, but its understood complications arose. A former RTE reporter, he was named News and Current Affairs Journalist of the Year in 1999. He was appointed to GSOC in December 2011. His family are keeping a bedside vigil at his hospital in La Coruna. Update 5.30pm Gardai are treating "very seriously" a hoax bomb threat which was made at the offices of Limerick radio station, Limerick's Live 95fm, Friday afternoon, a senior garda has said writes David Raleigh. The threat was made in a telephone call to the Dock Road studios, around 2pm. Gardai were alerted to the building and carried out a search of the offices and studios. All employees of the company were evacuated as a safety precaution. "There was a call made to the studios alleging there was a bomb in the building and we asked everyone to evacuate while we carried out a search," said Superintendent Derek Smart, Henry Street garda station. "We are taking this very seriously," Supt Smart added. A number of hoax bomb threats have been made in the city in the past month, including at a bank and a school. They followed a series of hoax alerts across Ireland and England last May. Speaking at the time, Superintendent Smart warned anyone making hoax calls were in fact committing a serous crime. "It wastes valuable Garda resources and time," he said. "It also puts the people working in see buildings under severe stress and strain." He promised Garda would "do everything in our power" to apprehend the hoax callers. Earlier Gardai are investigating a bomb threat at the offices of Limerick radio station, Limerick's Live 95fm writes David Raleigh. The threat was made in a telephone call to the Dock Road studios, around 2pm this afternoon. Gardai were alerted and are currently carrying out a search of the building. All employees of the company have been evacuated as a safety precaution. "There was a call made to the studios alleging there was a bomb in the building and we have asked everyone to evacuate while we carry out a search," a Garda spokesman said. A number of hoax bomb threats have been made in the city in the past month, including at a bank and a school. They followed a series of hoax alerts across Ireland and England last May. By Elaine Loughlin, Political Reporter Taoiseach Enda Kenny has promised he will prioritise extending voting rights to Irish people living abroad. Speaking at the Irish World Heritage Centre in Manchester this morning Mr Kenny again expressed condolences to the family of murdered British Labour MP Jo Cox. Its appropriate to pay tribute to the life and times of Jo Cox who was murdered on the street in West Yorkshire, a mother of two young children going about her business as any councillor or MP or public representative would do and to be shot down and taken away from her family and children is an appalling crime, Mr Kenny said. He said he would not be campaigning on Brexit as a mark of respect. However, he told members of the Irish community in Manchester that the government is now looking at giving a vote in the presidential elections to Irish emigrants. One of the priorities that I have asked the minister to look at and hopefully to be able to implement is the situation as far as emigrant voting is concerned in presidential elections. This is an issue that has been around for a very long time but there have been quite sophisticated advances made in terms of voting from abroad and we need to set out a terms of reference as to the conditions that would apply in terms of who should be eligible to vote. That will be a priority for the Minister for the Diaspora, Mr Kenny said adding that he would be seeking the input from Irish living abroad on the issue. He said: We will work towards assisting emigrant communities and situations abroad from Ireland in England, in America, in Australia and other areas. That means that we want to work in a closer way with the emigrant communities in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Scotland and so on. A man in his early 50s is due before the Special Criminal Court this afternoon, after being arrested yesterday in Central Dublin, as part of an ongoing operation targeting dissident republican activity. He was detained at Irishtown Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Rosslare Harbour RNLI launched last night to four young men attempting a record-breaking row off the UK coast after they requested assistance in worsening weather conditions. They were brought to safety by Rosslare Harbour RNLI in a call out that lasted over six hours as the all-weather lifeboat towed the 24-foot rowing boat out of the channel and back to the safety of Rosslare harbour. The four young rowers have had to set aside their record attempt after setting off from Tower in London 10 days ago to row around the UK coast. After leaving London they came up through Bristol channel and out into the open sea. However the weather was worsening last night and they found themselves battling the elements 22 miles off the Irish coast. Conditions were fresh with a north north-westerly wind gusting 25 knots. It was then hey made the decision to contact the Coast Guard and request help. Volunteer lifeboat crew at Rosslare Harbour RNLI received the call at 6.15pm and launched in minutes. When on scene an hour later they checked if the young men were okay before establishing a tow and bringing the craft back slowly so as not to part the tow to the safety of Rosslare Harbour. The tow took six hours. The four rowers are currently being looked after in Rosslare before they decide on their next move. Commenting on the call out Rosslare RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager David Maloney said: "This call out was a good example of people recognising the importance of calling for help early when they realise they may be getting into difficulty. "The group were dealing with worsening weather conditions and a changing tide which was taking them further from where they needed to be, all while they were mid-channel on a record attempt." "If they had waited until things got worse and help was not close enough, it could have ended very differently. I have no doubt they will achieve any records they set their mind to in future." Medical aid charity Doctors Without Borders has said it will no longer seek European Union funding in protest against the EU's migrant deal with Turkey. Doctors Without Borders' secretary general Jerome Oberreit said the organisation "will no longer request funds from the EU and its member states". Investigators have started analysing the cockpit voice recorder from an EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea last month, killing all 66 people on board. An official said on Friday that the so-called "black box" arrived in Cairo from the crash site overnight. LAHORE: To improve the distribution of provincial resources and bring transparency to the budgeting process, the... LAGOS: More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to... Canberra is taking over Foxtel's series production. First it was through the city itself in political thriller Secret City, and now it's through the talent in new show The Kettering Incident. The eight-part mystery thriller tells the story of Anna Macy, played by Elizabeth Debicki, who leaves her home town at 14 shortly after her best friend disappears. Matthew LeNevez and Henry Nixon in Foxtel's The Kettering Incident. Credit:Showcase She returns 15 years later, and theories and rumours still persist about what happened to the girl, from Anna killing her to alien abduction. While the show is set in Tasmania, the main men are played by Matthew Le Nevez, well-known for playing Dr Patrick Reid on Offspring, and Henry Nixon who both spent their school years in Canberra. Police are calling for witnesses to a crash that injured an elderly man in Canberra's south on Thursday morning. Officers said two cars collided at the intersection of Drakeford Drive and O'Halloran Circuit in Kambah about 10am. Police are seeking witnesses to a crash in Kambah on Thursday morning. Paramedics later transported a 79-year-old man to hospital. Anyone who saw the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers website at www.act.crimestoppers.com.au. "Your days are numbered." Those are the words a Tuggeranong man charged with threatening to kill allegedly uttered after telling his partner had already paid for her funeral. The man, 51, allegedly grew angry and began to make a series of threats when he returned home to the woman and their young child after he had a few drinks with a colleague last Friday night, court documents said. He became agitated when he couldn't find his reading glasses, accusing the woman of having someone at the home while he was out. The man allegedly called her a slut and told her: "You're nothing but a two-dollar whore." Canberra's overstretched youth mental health service has been without a federal funding increase for four years, a committee has heard. Headspace is trying to stretch existing resources to cope with an rising demand for its services. Demand for the service has grown by 10 per cent each year, and is receiving 160 to 200 referrals each month Disturbingly, at-risk young people are facing a wait time of up to eight weeks to get proper help in some cases. Despite the increasing demand, Headspace has not had a funding increase since 2012 from the federal government. Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner has become the latest global banking leader to warn about the potential fallout if UK voters decide to leave the European Union. A yes vote next week to so-called Brexit would be an "economic disaster for the UK and a political disaster for the EU," Achleitner said at a dinner on Wednesday in New York hosted by the American Council on Germany. During his speech, he drew a contrast between public opinion polls, which point to a vote to leave the EU, and gambling odds, which reflect a preference to remain politically and economically attached to the continent. Achleitner also lamented the growing strains of populism in the US and Europe and the regulatory pressures, which he said are preventing many European banks from making loans and stimulating economic activity. But he reserved his strongest words for the Brexit vote. "London bookies and the betting industry are still in the 'remain' camp," he said. "I hope they're right, because if it works the other way, it's an economic disaster for the UK and a political disaster for the EU." The Australian Securities Exchange on Friday took the rare step of rejecting an initial public offer, telling loss-making music streaming company Guvera it would not accept its shares. In a statement on Friday, the ASX said it "exercised its discretion to refuse admission, based on material contained in Guvera's application for admission". It said the specific reasons for the refusal were confidential. Blocked: The ASX has nixed Guvera co-founders Claes Loberg and Darren Herft's IPO plan. Credit:Wayne Taylor Guvera said in a statement it was reviewing its legal options and obligations and would offer more information to the market when it was more informed. It also said that the ASX has offered a meeting next week to discuss its decision. The music streaming company, which competes with Apple, Spotify and Pandora Media, said on June 1 that it planned to raise up to $100 million selling shares to bankroll an ambitious expansion in developing markets. As state after state has legalised marijuana in one way or another, big names in corporate America have stayed away entirely. Marijuana, after all, is still illegal, according to the federal government. But Microsoft is breaking the corporate taboo on pot this week by announcing a partnership to begin offering software that tracks marijuana plants from "seed to sale", as the pot industry puts it. Microsoft has teamed up with LA start-up Kind to offer software that tracks marijuana plants from "seed to sale". The software - a new product in Microsoft's cloud computing business - is meant to help states that have legalised the medical or recreational use of marijuana keep tabs on sales and commerce, ensuring that they remain in the daylight of legality. But until now, even that boring part of the pot world was too controversial for mainstream companies. It is apparent now, though, that the legalisation train is not slowing down: this US autumn, at least five states, including the biggest of them all, California, will vote on whether to legalise marijuana for recreational use. Thirty-five billion dollars. $35,000,000,000. Nine zeroes. That's how much Microsoft has paid, in Australian dollars, for the social networking site LinkedIn. Yes, LinkedIn the site that clogs up your inbox with those nagging requests to approve connections, and then when you ignore them, it sends an even more nagging follow-up. The site that once tricked a friend of mine into spamming her entire contact list, meaning that the networking she accomplished was a series of grovelling apology notes. The site packed with more crude self-promotion than a morning with Kyle and Jackie O. Even LinkedIn's slogan, "Connect to opportunity", is nauseating. But it's now worth so much that if everybody in Australia tipped in $1000, we'd still be $10 billion short. If you haven't used LinkedIn, imagine Facebook if every user had their boss looking over their shoulder the entire time, so that instead of sharing amusing distractions, they instead raved about their passion for generating shareholder value. The approach helps to identify more accurately the economically optimal setback line both now and in the future once climate change-related impacts such as rising sea-levels are taken into account. Rosh Ranasinghe, a former NSW coastal engineer, has studied the state's beaches for more than 15 years including the frequently hit Collaroy-Narrabeen stretch to develop new risk maps that can put a dollar-value per square metre of exposed properties. As coastal councils brace for another hammering of their beaches over the weekend, new research methods are emerging that could help local communities assess the threats from beach erosion. "To avoid millions of dollars of damage in the coming years, I would strongly recommend that coastal risk and [optimal setback lines] be determined urgently for at least the 15 identified hotspots in NSW," Professor Ranasinghe, now with the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Dutch city of Delft, said. (See below for his estimate of the most at-risk sites in Collaroy-Narrabeen.) Works at Collaroy beach earlier this month to shore up the collapsed foreshore after the recent east coast low. Credit:Peter Rae The setback line marks the region beyond which the risk of damage faced by any property is too great to justify the economic gain the property might potentially provide, he said. By extension, the formula would Indicate which protective measures, such as a new seawall, would be justified if their expected return exceeded their cost. Professor Ranasinghe said his modelling is being applied to places such as Kenya and Sri Lanka. Apart from Sydney's northern beaches, he recommends Stockton, The Entrance and Byron Bay be priority sites. A spokeswoman for Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the government's new coastal management bill including the upcoming State Environmental Planning Policy that would trigger the act addresses issues raised by the new modelling. Liberal MPs pay the company $2500 a year in taxpayer allowances for use of its voter-monitoring software. Parakeelia in turn has transferred large amounts, exceeding $1 million over three years, into party accounts, giving rise to accusations the party is profiteering from public money. Mr Shorten sharpened his attack on questions about the Liberal party's relationship to a software company that it owns, Parakeelia Pty Ltd. Bill Shorten has accused Malcolm Turnbull of "using Senator Sinodinos' defence" over the Parakeelia scandal, claiming it was "inconceivable" that Mr Turnbull, as Liberal Party treasurer, did not know about profits from the controversial software firm. Mr Shorten said it was "inconceivable" that Mr Turnbull, who businessman Ron Walker says was slated to succeed him in the company and as Liberal Party Treasurer in 2002, didn't know the arrangements between the party and the software firm. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says it is inconceivable that Malcolm Turnbull did not know about the Parakeelia arrangments when he was Liberal Party treasurer. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Now Mr Turnbull became the treasurer of the Liberal Party. It is inconceivable that when you are the national treasurer of the Liberal Party but somehow you don't know anything about this as far back as 2002? It is inconceivable," Mr Shorten said. "How on Earth can the Treasurer of the Liberal Party be banking profits from a company that the Liberal Party owns and you don't know what's going on? "It sounds like Prime Minister Turnbull is using Senator Sinodinos's defence: 'I may have been the treasurer, I just didn't know what was going on'." More than 220,000 Australians cast ballots in the first three days of early voting for the federal election, well above the 183,000 who voted in the first week of pre-polling for the 2013 election. Experts and the Australian Electoral Commission expect up to a third of voters could avoid polling places on July 2, but early voters will be asked which eligibility criteria they meet in order to vote early. Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers told a briefing at Parliament House on Friday that the 2016 poll would be one of the largest peacetime events in the nation's history, with 5 million NSW ballot papers to be counted in a single location. In a debate that was considerably punchier than the first two, at times turning testy, Mr Shorten said an Australian plebiscite on same-sex marriage could produce an upswell of homophobia. Mr Shorten made the remarks in the third federal election debate, in which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull gave the strongest sign yet a re-elected Coalition would once again try to deregulate university fees . Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has linked the planned plebiscite on same-sex marriage to the Orlando massacre and the murder of British MP Jo Cox, suggesting the campaign could "give haters the chance to come out from under the rock". "I don't believe that people's relationships and love for each other need to be submitted to a public opinion poll. And I think that we've seen two terrible events in the past week that show that hate and extremism does exist in modern societies," Mr Shorten said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten makes a stern point during the Facebook debate in Sydney. Credit:Andrew Meares "I don't want to give the haters a chance to come out from underneath the rock and make life harder to LGBTI people or their families, to somehow question the legitimacy of their relationship." Asked by the moderator Joe Hildebrand whether he really thought that an Orlando level of hate could come out of an Australian plebiscite campaign, Mr Shorten did not downplay his previous remarks but said he did not understand why "kids whose parents are LGBTI should have to go to school and see stupid posters on the walls, or be subjected to taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns". Mr Turnbull, who supports same-sex marriage, has inherited from his predecessor Tony Abbott - who opposes it - a policy to hold a plebiscite rather than have Parliament decide the matter. Mr Shorten has pledged to introduce a bill for the Parliament to vote on within the first 100 days of a Labor government. An Australian study has found there is one trait which drastically increases a boy's chance of having close female relationships. According to a study by the Australian Catholic University's Institute of Positive Psychology and Education, teenage boys who possess high levels of empathy are 1.8 times more likely to have close female friendships than their peers with low levels of empathy. An Australian study has shown empathetic boys are more likely to have close female friendships. Credit:Getty Images The study, which was published in the Journal of Personality, involved almost 2,000 Year 10 students across 16 high schools. Participants were asked to rate their own empathy level through responding to a series of statements such as "when someone is feeling down, I can usually understand how they feel", and "I can often understand how people are feeling even before they tell me". Worse, the study finds that these sort of blind peer-to-peer shares are really important in determining what news gets circulated and what just fades off the public radar. So your thoughtless retweets, and those of your friends, are actually shaping our shared political and cultural agendas. Now, as if it needed further proof, the satirical headline's been validated once again: According to a new study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute, 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it. 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it. Credit:Stocksy Nearly 46,000 people shared the post, some of them quite earnestly - an inadvertent example, perhaps, of life imitating comedy. On June 4, the satirical news site the Science Post published a block of "lorem ipsum" text under a frightening headline: "Study: 70% of Facebook users only read the headline of science stories before commenting." "People are more willing to share an article than read it," study co-author Arnaud Legout said in a statement. "This is typical of modern information consumption. People form an opinion based on a summary, or a summary of summaries, without making the effort to go deeper." To verify that depressing piece of conventional internet wisdom, Legout and his co-authors collected two data sets: the first, on all tweets containing Bit.ly-shortened links to five major news sources during a one-month period last summer; the second, on all of the clicks attached to that set of shortened links, as logged by Bit.ly, during the same period. After cleaning and collating that data, the researchers basically found themselves with a map to how news goes viral on Twitter. And that map showed, pretty clearly, that "viral" news is widely shared - but not necessarily, you know, read. (I'm really only typing this sentence for 4 in 10 people in the audience.) The researchers made a few other telling observations, as well: Most clicks to news stories, they found, were made on links shared by regular Twitter users, and not the media organisation itself. The links that users clicked were much older than we generally assume - some had been published for several days, in fact But most interesting, for our purposes, is this habit of sharing without clicking - a habit that, when you think about it, explains so much of the oft-demoralising cesspool that is internet culture. Among the many phenomena we'd tentatively attribute, in large part, to the trend: the rise of sharebait (nee clickbait) and the general BuzzFeedification of traditional media; the internet hoax-industrial complex, which only seems to be growing stronger; and the utter lack of intelligent online discourse around any remotely complicated, controversial topic. This year, ELTHAM College, an Early Learning to Year 12 school in the green wedge of Melbourne's outer north-east, initiated "Think ELTHAM", a program for young people in Grades 4-8 who live anywhere in Melbourne. Students were invited to the college to learn a new skill taught by ELTHAM College students who are in Years 7-12. Principal Simon Le Plastrier says the program, which will run again in 2017, is "a part of our commitment to the local community, and our desire to provide further learning opportunities for our young people". Principal Simon Le Plastrier believes schools have a responsibility to encourage students to be good people. Each year level at the college offers unique curriculum choices, such as its Year 9 program in which students spend four days a week at a city campus. During this time, students undertake a range of experiences and tours designed, in part, to expose them to urban environmental and community issues. The development of life skills is promoted in a safe and supportive environment and close bonds form between teachers and students. Steve Dunn, the former deputy chief executive of the NSW maritime authority, told the Supreme Court on Friday Mr Obeid called him "immediately before" he took on the job at the agency in August 2007. A former top bureaucrat has told Eddie Obeid's criminal trial the then state Labor MP did not reveal his family had an interest in two Circular Quay cafes when lobbying him about the plight of harbourside tenants. Mr Dunn said his memory was "fairly sketchy" but Mr Obeid had also made phone contact "within days" of him starting in the role. The pair had met each other while Mr Dunn was the director-general of the fisheries department and Mr Obeid was the minister. Mr Obeid, 72, is accused of wilful misconduct for failing to reveal to Mr Dunn his family had an interest in two cafes on wharves four and five at Circular Quay when lobbying Mr Dunn about the retail leases in 2007. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Crown has suggested Mr Dunn was "primed to be receptive" to Mr Obeid because the pair had a rapport. The court has heard tenants on the wharves were seeking a renewal of their leases without competing in a public tender. A Queensland MP has called for further protections for domestic violence victims after one of his constituents was sued by her former partner for telling her story. Rob Pyne used a private member's statement in the early hours of Friday morning to highlight the case of Susan Prince, who performed in a social theatre piece based on the real stories of more than a dozen victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. Rob Pyne. Credit:Chris Hyde While promoting the play, which was partially funded by Arts Queensland and regional councils and toured across 17 regional Queensland towns including Mr Pyne's electorate of Cairns, Mr Pyne said Ms Prince commented in an interview that she "related to her character as she had an abusive husband". "This man, whom Susan divorced in 1983, is now taking Ms Prince to District court for defamation," Mr Pyne said. In 2011, the PNG supreme court ordered him to stand down in favour of Michael Somare, an order with which he simply refused to comply. But ONeill also possessed his own reasons for signing the deal. Australia remains [PNG]s most important international partner, it explains, providing an estimated US$460m in development assistance for 2013-2014. Australia provided an additional $556.7m this financial year to support the Manus Island detention center. IN ITS report for 2015, Human Rights Watch lists the financial inducements offered by the Australian government to make the Manus Island deal happen. The agreement with Australia, the regional power, thus provided him with international legitimacy. By promising to deliver refugee resettlement (a plan that was, right from the outset, unpopular in PNG, ONeill made himself indispensable to Canberra, on the basis of the he-might-be-a-son-of-a-bitch-but-hes-our-son-of-a-bitch principle so beloved of US presidents). There was no secret about what that meant. A few days after shaking Rudds hand, ONeill boasted that hed achieved what he called a realignment of Australian aid in PNG. Since then, Professor Jason Sharman, a money laundering expert at Griffith University, has repeatedly warned that Canberra has privileged the maintenance of the detention centre over the fight against corruption. The government sends signals, he told the Guardian, often reflecting media attention, as to what it wants investigated. Various people have flagged PNG corruption proceeds in Australia as a problem, not least elements of the PNG government and law enforcement as well as the AFP and Austrac, but the Australian government under both Labor and the Coalition has chosen not to investigate, and recently Manus has been a big reason for inaction. Two years ago, anti-corruption police issued a warrant to arrest the prime minister over a million-dollar fraud involving the company Paraka Lawyers. ONeill responded by disbanding the corruption taskforce and installing his own handpicked police chief. Last weeks student demonstration was part of an anti-corruption campaign, seeking to force ONeill to comply with basic democratic principles. But the vicious brutality of the PNG police has a context, too and, again, the links to Australia are telling. The Manus Island deal entailed a contingent of Australian Federal Police officers training the Royal PNG Constabulary (RPNGC). In late 2015, an AFP whistleblower told the ABC that the Australian government was turning a blind eye to the corruption and police involvement in extra-judicial killings, for fear that the detention centre might be closed. The RPNGC were essentially murdering people, raping people, burning villages down, he said. Hed seen local police commit horrific crimes, he explained, but his reports had been ignored by his superiors. What we soon noticed was that anything that painted the government of PNG with corruption, or the RPNGC with their brutality, murder and rape was being sanitised, he said. The AFP said it had reviewed reports from the officer and hadnt found any matters requiring further action. Its not simply that successive Australian governments, keen to keep the Manus deal alive, do not want to antagonise the PNG government. Its worse than that. In the final analysis, the Australian facility on Manus Island relies on coercion to keep asylum seekers detained. Thats why, ever since it opened, it has built a relationship with the most notorious of the PNG police units. In 2013, for instance, Rory Callinan reported: Papua New Guineas most thuggish paramilitary police unit allegedly responsible for rapes, murders and other serious human rights abuses is being discreetly funded by the Australian Immigration Department to secure the Manus Island asylum seeker detention centre. The Mobile Squad officers, who just last month beat a local man to death on the island, are receiving a special living-away allowance of about $100 a day from funding provided by the department. In February 2014, when detainees began to protest, the Mobile Squad played an important role in quelling the demonstration. As Human Rights Watch explains: During the incident, many detainees sustained injuries and one detainee was beaten to death. Police allegedly entered firing their guns when violence broke out inside the facility. This is not an anomaly. Rather, its an illustration of how an Australian program thats only possible because of the weaknesses of a post-colonial society continues to exacerbate those weaknesses. Think, for instance, of the secrecy endemic in the refugee policy. On Tuesday, Mathias Cormann boasted that barring journalists from the detention centres was a necessary element of the programs success. What effect does that have on a country like PNG where, as Freedom House says, press freedom has been eroding in recent years? Or what about the rule of the law? After the supreme court ruled the detention centre to be illegal, ONeill agreed that it should be closed a welcome adherence to the separation of powers by a politician with a dubious record of obeying such rulings. But, as Daniel Flitton recently wrote, the Turnbull government looks to have persuaded PNG to keep the camp open until after the Australian election. In other words, in the context of the struggle taking place between students risking their lives to uphold democratic principles and a regime willing to flout the courts, the Turnbull government has persuaded PNG to delay implementation of a supreme court ruling. You can read the full text of this important article here The conventional wisdom in Washington was that the court would agree to let some of the rules slide, but not all. Analysts predicted that the three judges in the case David Tatel, Sri Srinivasan and Stephen Williams would throw out an attempt by the FCC to apply its rules to cellphone data as well as regular, fixed home broadband. But in the end, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit granted even those provisions. Remind me again what these rules are for and what they look like? In a nutshell, they're aimed at making sure the internet stays an open platform and that cable and telecom companies can't use their position in the marketplace to unfairly benefit themselves and shut down competition. More specifically, the rules come in several parts. The first part contains a series of total bans on certain kinds of tactics things like blocking or slowing down the websites you're trying to reach while favouring the sites that a telco may own or have a commercial relationship with. These flatly aren't allowed under what the FCC calls its "bright-line rules". Then there's a provision that allows the FCC to investigate suspicious ISP activity, under what it calls a "general conduct standard". Essentially, if the agency thinks a certain practice may run afoul of the rules, it can go after it on a case-by-case basis. There's a part of the regulation that tries to extend these expectations to mobile phone carriers, which we've already briefly discussed. And underpinning it all, making it the case's biggest point of controversy, is the decision to regulate ISPs like legacy phone companies. Without this one move, all the rest of it comes falling down, because it's this provision that legally enables the FCC to put the other rules in writing. How did the industry try to attack the rules? And what did the court say in response? This is where it starts to get challenging, but we'll tackle this together. In order to start regulating ISPs like phone companies, the FCC had to announce that it was doing so. It basically said, "Hey, for a long time we've treated you as one kind of business, which we call an 'information service'. Now, in order to stick you with these new consumer-protection requirements, we're going to start calling you a 'telecom service'." Each kind of business lives under different rules, but the ISPs liked living under the old rules, so they tried to fight the decision to reclassify them. The industry claimed that internet access was really an "information service" because of all the features that providers tacked on to the pipe carrying your web traffic. This includes things like free email addresses, web portals and the like. ISPs and their supporters argued the FCC didn't do enough to justify its regulations. And, they said, in writing such sweeping regulations the FCC went beyond what Congress had allowed it to do when the agency was first created. A few other FCC opponents said the rules represented a First Amendment violation, basically because internet providers make "speech" when they decide how to carry internet traffic over their networks. And they also claimed the regulations would put a chill on ISPs' investment in network upgrades, resulting in a worse experience for consumers. The court decided not to take up the last of these arguments, saying it was beyond its responsibility, focusing instead on the first few. It said the FCC had the power to change how it wanted to classify different industries. And it gave a pass to the FCC's analysis that explained why the rules were necessary, using a legal doctrine known as 'Chevron' that typically affords "expert" agencies a degree of leeway. You said many people thought the rules for mobile carriers were going to be thrown out. What happened? Suppose the court had upheld the part we were just talking about reclassifying internet providers but rejected the FCC's attempt to extend the rules to mobile carriers. We'd be living in a very interesting world. Your internet usage on your PC and laptop would be covered by net neutrality, but the mobile data on your smartphone or tablet would not. And more and more people are shifting to mobile meaning that this divergence in regulation would become increasingly apparent. That's not what will happen now. The court ruled that the FCC can indeed apply the same rules to mobile phone carriers as to providers of cable internet, creating a single regime across different technologies. ISPs had argued that mobile internet access is fundamentally different from wired internet access. It belongs, they said, in a special category under FCC rules that gets them out of having to obey the reclassification affecting wired internet providers. The court disagreed, essentially saying mobile data does fall into the same category as regular, fixed internet. What happened to the First Amendment argument? The First Amendment challenge to the FCC goes something like this: in carrying speech-like content over their networks such as videos or blog posts, ISPs can be said to be "speaking" when they agree to transmit that content. Any rules that infringe on their ability to do that amounts to an attack on free speech. What's more, ISPs sometimes make editorial decisions about what content to provide to consumers, which makes them a bit like newspapers. The court disagreed. Telephone networks carry other people's speech, but that by itself doesn't make phone companies First Amendment "speakers", the judges ruled. And, it said, newspapers are different from internet providers in that newspapers are constrained in what they can fit on the page, whereas internet providers aren't limited in "the range of potential content they can make available to subscribers". Even if an ISP really did decide to "curate" the sites a customer could see on the internet, the court said, it wouldn't, by definition, be an internet provider anymore because a true internet provider gives users access to all points on the web. A 22-year-old man has been charged and placed behind bars following the alleged abduction of a two-year-old girl in Dandenong North on Friday. Police received reports that a girl had been taken from her mother, while they were on Carlton Road about 8.50am. A man is being questioned over the alleged abduction of a two-year-old girl in Dandenong North. "The person who took the child, a 22-year-old man, is believed to be the child's father," Victoria Police spokeswoman Natalie Webster said. Ms Webster said the man left the area with the child in a white Holden station wagon. "The vehicle was sighted in Murrumbeena and a pursuit was then initiated," she said. "Police continued to follow the car. However, it had a minor collision and got stuck in traffic on Malvern Road, Malvern East, about 11.30am." Ms Webster said police arrested the man, of no fixed address, and the child was recovered safe and well. He was interviewed by detectives and charged on Saturday afternoon with offences including evading police, reckless conduct, threats to kill, theft of a motor vehicle and dangerous driving. A man who stabbed the mother of four of his children to death in broad daylight offered to plead guilty to her murder, but on one crucial condition that prosecutors drop evidence he was the one with the knife. As Craig McDermott, 40, sat stony-faced in the Supreme Court dock on Friday, his lawyer called on Justice Jane Dixon to consider the"meaningful" offer his client made before his trial, as a sign he accepted responsibility for Fiona Warzywoda's death. Fiona Warzywoda, who was murdered by former partner Craig McDermott. McDermott's offer can now be reported after a jury last month found him guilty of murdering Ms Warzywoda, 33, outside a Sunshine shopping centre at lunchtime on April 16, 2014 the day after a court denied him access to the four children they had together. Defence counsel John Desmond told the court on Friday his client had been prepared to plead guilty to murder had prosecutors conceded he did not have the knife when he first confronted his ex-partner. Before his dismembered limbs began floating to the surface of the Maribyrnong River last year, few people outside Brendan Bernard's circle had heard of him. The 32-year-old Melbourne man's short life had been marked by hardship, and he had struggled with drug addiction and periodic homelessness. But on Friday there were cries of glee in the Victorian Supreme Court as Mr Bernard's housemate, Matthew David Brennan, and two other men, Con Spaliaras and Edward Lionel "Nippy" Hill, were found guilty of Mr Bernard's murder. A woman wept, and family members embraced as the jury announced its unanimous verdict. While the high tides off the coast Bali have subsided in recent days, tourists have been warned to stay alert at beaches and seaside tourist venues with more big waves expected next week. After WAtoday this week published terrifying footage of giant waves hitting popular coastal venues on the island, tourists from Western Australia made contact to tell about the frightening scenes they encountered. The dangerous tides damaged buildings in the southern region and left two tourists dead in Sanur. The unusual spring tide left renowned restaurant The Rock Bar at Ayana Resort deserted and damaged, while patrons at Ku De Ta, the most popular hub for Australians partying in Seminyak, were repeatedly sprayed with water from massive waves during one onslaught last week. Pregnant women are being advised to consider postponing travel to Indonesia with the Australian government updating its travel advice to warn the country is experiencing sporadic transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The virus has been linked to a surge of microcephaly - a devastating birth defect that has seen thousands of babies in Brazil born with unusually small heads and often severely compromised. On its smart traveller website, the Australian government says it advises all travellers to Indonesia to protect themselves from mosquitoes. London: British Prime Minister David Cameron's high-stakes decision to let the British public decide whether the country stays in the European Union looks increasingly like a bad bet, with his party veering into civil war, the polls pointing toward an exit and the Conservative leader's job appearing ever more precarious. Just a week before Britain votes, the prime minister's hope of settling once and for all the country's long-simmering European question with a resounding vote to stay in the EU may be out of reach. Surveys show the country is almost exactly divided, with momentum in recent days for "out." If Britain does vote to leave - a scenario popularly known as Brexit - analysts say that Cameron would probably be forced to resign, perhaps within hours of the result. Hong Kong bookseller disappearances spark widespread anger and alarm Beijing: One of the five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing late last year has provided an explosive account of his detention and mistreatment by Chinese authorities in the case widely regarded as the most serious violation of Hong Kong's autonomy by Beijing since its handover from British rule. In a gripping press conference on Thursday, two days after his return to the city, Lam Wing-kee described an ordeal which included being accosted by 11 people after he crossed the mainland border into the southern city of Shenzhen in October, being blindfolded on a cross-country train ride to coastal Ningbo, and coming under sustained interrogation while being held incommunicado in a small room for months. "I was handcuffed and my eyes were covered," Mr Lam said of the train ride. "It took about 13 or 14 hours. I noticed I was taken to Ningbo because I glimpsed the station when we got off the train." First, in what seems like politics as usual, Mr O'Neill has been able to ensure that the one body that can dislodge him more or less instantly has remained supine. But what if something else is going on? Is it possible that Mr O'Neill's current problems with allegations of corruption are a mere sideshow and not the main game? THOSE of us who have watched events play out in Papua New Guinea over the last several months have, I suspect, believed that we were observing politics as usual in the land of the unexpected. The members of parliament who ought, by any normal standards of behaviour, to have tossed him out of office have remained resolutely fixated on the contents of the trough in which their snouts are busily snuffling up public money. At least one member has been honest enough to admit that as long as they can carry on in this way Mr O'Neill will remain essentially impregnable. Just to double down on keeping his parliamentary base under firm control, formal sittings have been suspended and will not resume until it becomes constitutionally impossible to remove Mr O'Neill in the run up to the next scheduled election. Second, the Royal PNG Constabulary has been effectively neutralised by the judicious appointment of a sympathetic Commissioner who, in turn, has been able to play on existing divisions within the force to disrupt and disable those honest officers who are still trying to pursue the corruption allegations against Mr O'Neill. The recent shooting of university students is symptomatic of an ill disciplined force more intent on neutralising a perceived threat to public order than to preserving the democratic right of citizens to protest against political actions they dislike. Third, if recent reports are to be believed, the PNG Defence Force is quietly being infiltrated by large numbers of recruits whose primary allegiance may not necessarily be to an abstract concept like the nation state of PNG but to a much more real and tangible entity, being their highland homeland and, of course, its leaders. If this is actually happening, then it must be with the knowledge and consent of those doing the recruiting and this, one might reasonably infer, could not happen without the senior officers knowing about it. Such a strategy in relation to the composition of the Defence Force could prove to be a master stroke in the long run. It is a tried and tested approach in Africa, where ensuring that the military has strong tribal links to the political leadership ensures that the army, at a minimum, remains neutral in any political conflict. At best, it gives an entrenched regime an armed group of enforcers to suppress dissent and keep social order. Having the army composed primarily of wantoks overcomes one of the principal problems with trying to exert control over such a diverse country as PNG, because it allows the government to reliably project military power across the country. Potential opponents remain divided along traditional lines while the army is a unified, disciplined force whose members have a vested interest in maintaining the political status quo. Fourth, with effective control of the public service, police and army in its hands, the government is able to ignore or otherwise sideline the judiciary. Basically, a court can issue whatever orders it likes to no real effect if the coercive arms of government choose not to enforce them. There have already been allegations that some judicial officers may be compromised. If this is true, then the task of ensuring their acquiescence to the government's will becomes so much easier. It is therefore possible that Mr O'Neill is actually pursuing a much more sophisticated strategy to entrench himself and his cronies in power than any of us may have previously imagined. If so, he is simply using the well proven African model for subverting critical state institutions and disempowering potential political opponents. There is the appearance of democracy where none actually exists. Of course, critics might well say that I am quite delusional and seeing a Machiavellian conspiracy and plotting at a level of sophistication that simply cannot exist in PNG. Despite this, I think that the scenario I have outlined is at least plausible. The veracity or otherwise of my speculations will become evident over the next 12 to 18 months. For what it is worth, my prediction is that Mr O'Neill and his closest parliamentary supporters will be easily returned at the next election and he will once again become prime minister, creating a government based upon mutual self interest and, perhaps, some judicious blackmail as well. Far too many people in positions of power and influence are now far too compromised to be able to plausibly resist either inducements or threats. As the police say, once you are bought you stay bought. If I am right, PNG will fall under the control of a cabal of mostly highlander MP's, whose primary allegiance will be to the pre-eminent "big man", whose judicious distribution of the perquisites of high office will ensure that they and others remain firmly under his influence if not outright control. Of course, their wantoks will prosper, while the others languish, but this is truly the Melanesian Way. I hope to be proved completely wrong, but fear that I will not be. In an address on state-run Iraqiya television, Mr Abadi said security forces had fulfilled their promise by returning the city "to the homeland", adding that "pockets" of resistance remained. Thousands of civilians fled across the Euphrates River as Iraqi forces raised the national flag over the government complex in Fallujah and seized complete control of other key buildings including the hospital. Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has proclaimed victory over the Islamic State in Fallujah after a day of rapid advances that drove militants from the city centre on Friday, the most significant development in a four-week offensive to retake the city. "They are in control of a portion of the city," US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters at the Pentagon. "It's too early to say all of the city." Iraqi security forces celebrate in central Fallujah, Iraq, after fighting against the Islamic State militants. Credit:AP Fallujah's fall to the Islamic State in late 2013 marked the start of the group's rise in Iraq. Its ability to keep hold of the city, around 65 kilometres to the west of the capital, Baghdad, has been seen as a major test of the Islamic State's staying power. At the same time, the city's recapture is critical for a government trying to reassert territorial sovereignty and launch an offensive on the jihadist group in Mosul, to the north. "While the capture of Fallujah would inflict a heavy blow on Islamic State, it is quite early to declare a victory there," said Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist at the Economic Policy Research Foundation in Ankara, Turkey. "The battle to retake larger Mosul will be even more difficult, and could prove to be a real challenge." The offensive against Fallujah began on May 22, and while much of the fighting in surrounding villages was carried out by Shiite militias with Iranian military advisers, the assault on the city itself fell to Iraqi government forces backed by air support from the U.S. and allies. St Petersburg: President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he accepted the United States was still the world's only superpower, saying he was ready to work with whoever won the White House. Mr Putin's comments follow a rocky period in US-Russia relations, which have been undermined by disagreements over issues such as Ukraine and Syria. The Russian president reiterated criticism of what he said was the misguided role of the United States in Ukraine's affairs and said he did not want to be told how to live by Americans. He opposed what he cast as US efforts to prevent Russia repairing its relations with the European Union. Latest News Westpac joins Home Guarantee Scheme Help for home buyers starts mid-2023 CBA-owned stockbroker acknowledges court decision relating to systemic compliance failures A total remediation of $6.5 million has been paid to affected customers Banning trail commissions would have dire consequences on the mortgage broking industry, brokers have proclaimed, with some admitting they would consider leaving the sector.Kim Hall, director of Smart & Simple Mortgage and Finance Consulting on NSWs Central Coast, who attended the FBAA National Tour yesterday, told Australian Broker she is concerned by Steve Westons caution that trail commissions could be banned under ASICs remuneration review. Especially because she doesnt believe upfront commission will be adjusted as a result.At present, broker remuneration is a mix of upfront commission and trail commission. Abolishing trail commission would essentially be a cut to total remuneration, as I dont believe there is any proposal on the table to increase upfront commissions to compensate for the amount of trail that would be lost if it were banned, Hall said.I think its fair to say that an overall cut to remuneration would be a concern for anyone regardless of which industry theyre in.Mardee Thomas, mortgage broker at 1st Street Home Loans in Sydney said axing trail commissions would have harmful effects on consumer outcomes.I think the biggest issue will be that it will promote mortgage churning, whereby brokers will move a client from one lender to another for the purpose of obtaining additional remuneration, with little-to-no regard for what is in the clients best interests, she told Australian Broker.But because of this, however, Thomas said she doesnt believe ASIC will ban trail.According to Hall, there is a false perception that trail commission is income for nothing.Unfortunately there is a perception that trail is money for nothing, its not, its deferred remuneration paid on a monthly basis for continuing to look after that client on an ongoing basis.Good brokers invest a lot into the ongoing client relationship, they are often at the clients beck and call well after the loan settles, and they also invest a lot into their business to continually improve the client experience.Hall told Australian Broker she would even consider leaving the industry if there were any drastic changes recommended by the review.Depending on the actual outcome of the review, exiting is a possibility if the numbers no longer stack up. But thats the same as any industry; people do not stay in business if its no longer viable, she said.Thomas told Australian Broker that she would consider adopting a fee-for-service model to remain in the industry.I definitely wouldnt consider leaving the industry as I really enjoy what I do and work with a wonderful group of people, though I believe we would then have to implement a fee-for-service for our clients requirements regarding ongoing support. A judge has ruled that a New York man fatally poisoned more than a decade ago by his wife will not have to stay buried in a plot she owned and is poised to be buried in after she died in prison over the weekend. Authorities say 48-year-old former Weedsport resident Stacey Castor died Saturday morning. She was convicted of killing her husband with antifreeze and trying to kill her daughter in a similar fashion. Castor was serving 51 years to life in a state prison when she died. Stacey Castor was convicted in Onondaga County Court in 2009 of killing her second husband, David Castor, in August 2005 and trying to kill her daughter, Ashley Wallace, with an overdose of prescription drugs and vodka in September 2007. Castor was never charged in the death of her first husband, Michael Wallace, but Onondaga County prosecutors introduced evidence that she poisoned him, too, as they built their case against her in the death of her second husband. Michael Wallace, 38, was thought to have died from a heart attack on Jan. 11, 2000 in Weedsport. But after the death of David Castor, investigators in Cayuga County exhumed the body of Michael Wallace and ruled his death a homicide caused by ingesting ethylene glycol. A state Supreme Court justice ruled Wednesday that the family of her husband, David Castor, can move his body from his Owasco plot to another plot in Clay, near Syracuse. The ruling also allows his gravestone to be destroyed, which memorializes him as "Husband of Stacey R." Wallace is also buried at the same cemetery in a plot Stacy Castor owned. latest news October 3, 2022 Dee Gambit Hundreds if not thousands of new and returning TV shows and movies are released every month your options of what to watch are endless. Variety, they say is ... In 1707, England and Scotland put aside their quarrels and, along with Wales, were united as a new nation called Great Britain. Britain began to focus on building its colonies, and New York saw great growth over the next century. The city of New York began the 1700s with 4,983 residents. By 1790, it would have nearly seven times that many people. Meanwhile, more European settlers were coming to the southern parts of New York, along the Delaware and Hudson and on the shores of the Mohawk River. Most of the people who came to the colony were settlers looking for a new life in the New World, but many were not. The Dutch had allowed slavery, but now the British actively encouraged it, and thousands of Africans were kidnapped into slavery and brought to New York by traders. By the middle of the century, a third of the people who came to the colony were African slaves, and they made up a quarter of those living in the city of New York and the surrounding area. Another group, however, came to escape slavery: The Tuscarora, people from the Carolinas related to the Iroquois, had been in a war with European settlers there. Many were killed, but many others were captured and sold to the plantations in the islands of the Caribbean as slaves. In 1722, a large group of Tuscarora came to the Longhouse asking for help and a safe place to live. The Iroquois welcomed them, and the Five Nations became the Six Nations. The Tuscarora were called The Little Brothers of the Cayuga and made a town for themselves between the lands of the Oneida and the Onondaga. During the 1700s, European-style homes began to be built in the Iroquois towns, as the longhouses slowly disappeared, along with the old technologies and old ways of dressing. Before the old ways were gone, however, the Iroquois finally had the chance to unite with their British brothers of the Covenant Chain against their old enemies. In 1754, the two nations united against the French and Algonquin and, when the French and Indian War ended seven years later, France had been defeated and Canada, too, was a colony of Great Britain. The next war, however, had an unhappy ending for the Longhouse. When the American colonies revolted against Britain, the Iroquois were divided over which side to support, or whether to stay out of it entirely. After the French and Indian War, the Iroquois had made an agreement with the British government, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, which placed a line just east of the Finger Lakes region. The eastern side was British and the western side was Iroquois. But settlers ignored the line and built farms on Iroquois land. There was serious fighting between Indians and Europeans, though most took place west of New York. The British promised the Iroquois, that, if they helped them win or didnt fight at all, the treaty would be kept when the Revolution was over. The Patriots made the same promise. Some Iroquois came in on the British side, others sided with the Patriots and many stayed neutral. But, when the war ended, the United States rewarded the veterans of its own army with land, and, in New York, that land, the Military Tract, was two million acres taken from the middle of the Longhouse. The Onondaga and Cayuga were given reservations in the middle of the Tract, but most of that, too, was later taken from them. But, if most of the land that made up the Longhouse is gone, the People of the Longhouse are still here, and each of the Six Nations has its own government that makes agreements with New York State and the U.S. government. And wherever land has changed hands, the names that remain provide clues to our history. Our state was named for the Duke of York, and its capital for the Duke of Albany, and towns with names like Kingston also show the influence of England on our history. And if a town was settled by the Dutch, it, too, may have been named for a prominent political figure like Peter Stuyvesant, or for the people who settled it, like the van Rensselaers, or for a place back in Holland like Amsterdam, Breuckelen or Haarlem. But often, settlers kept the Iroquois and Algonquin names by which those places had been known for thousands of years. There are also many towns, especially in the Mohawk and Genesee Valleys and out to the Niagara Frontier, that have Iroquois names because they were towns of the Longhouse, like the Mohawk village of Canajoharie or the Seneca town called Cheektowaga. Newer towns with newer names have stories to tell as well, and it doesnt take much digging to find out that there have been far more than four nations involved in building New York into what it is today. Its not all history, either: People still come to New York today, just as they did 400 years ago, from other countries and other lands. As youve read, there have often been difficulties and broken promises as new people have come to this region over the past four centuries. People were not perfect then, and they are still not perfect today. But among the stories of quarrels and misunderstandings, there are also stories of welcoming, and of people working together to do their best. That is history. The story of the future is yet to be told. Research News UB, VCAMP partner to accelerate health care software startups By JULIE MOLENDA The Buffalo Institute for Genomics and Data Analytics (BIG) at UB is partnering with VCAMP, a private venture fund-backed digital health accelerator, to form a lean startup health care software venture accelerator that will assist in the universitys regional economic development efforts. This partnership is a great example of how UB can leverage its extensive resources world-class faculty, specialized facilities and equipment, and well-trained students to support the new startups in our community, says Christina Orsi, associate vice president in UBs Office of Economic Development. Its about much faster, responsible access, adds David Thiemecke, managing director of VCAMP. The partnership streamlines processes for startups to engage with world-class resources in Buffalo at a much earlier stage. With BIG as a partner, health care, safety and wellness software startups can build on tomorrows tools and expertise, says Brian McIlroy, BIG executive director. BIG will offer in-kind packages that include leading-edge capabilities and consulting services, secure high-performance computing, storage, visualization, networking and health care data that will improve the companies growth potential. VCAMP plans to recruit five to 10 pre-seed-stage health care, safety and wellness startups per year to Buffalo for a 14-week accelerator program to determine the validity of their software products. VCAMP provides a new way for our communitys health care delivery system to solve problems and innovate, Thiemecke says. Successful pilot outcomes complete a key step in the life of young, high-growth companies before they begin to scale. The accelerator program also will create UB-sponsored opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student internships and expert mentoring, bringing the startup culture deep within the UB experience. This partnership builds on UBs support of entrepreneur activity by offering students hands-on experience with startups and making New York State Hot Spot or STARTUP NY tax incentives available to the VCAMP companies. This is one of many exciting new partnerships UB is forming to accelerate the growth of technology startups, Orsi says. Interested startups, investors, mentors and corporate partners can contact VCAMP at info@vcamp.co or visit its website. VIP Polymers is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Burkitt as its new marketing manager. With previous experience in the automotive, and more recently the building industry with Ridgeons, Mr Burkitt brings experience of a sector that is a highlighted area of growth for the company, notably with the VIPSeal range of flexible couplings. Mr Burkitt said: VIP Polymers is a highly respected brand within the pipeline, tunnel and rail industries both in the UK and overseas. Ive been very impressed with the manufacturing facilities at the Huntingdon site and Im looking forward to working on building the brand across the various product ranges. The Welsh government needs to urgently engage with the construction sector regarding how the UK-wide apprenticeship levy will be invested back into training and skills in Wales, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru. Responding to a statement from the Minister for Skills and Science on apprenticeships, Ifan Glyn, director of FMB Cymru, said: The Welsh Labour government committed to a 100,000 apprenticeship target over this Assembly term, which is a laudable ambition that recognises the need for more skilled workers in Wales. Whats key about this ambitious figure is that quantity does not come at the cost of quality, which means providing proper funding for apprenticeships. Unfortunately, the Welsh construction sector is in limbo over how much financial support there will be for training over the next five years, as the Welsh government is still unclear about how much funding it will receive from Westminster as a result of the UK-wide apprenticeship levy. Though this owes much to the manner in which the UK government has imposed this new levy, there is urgent need for a commitment from Welsh government that funding levels will at the very least be maintained, as the current situation is creating the kind of atmosphere which businesses hate most one of uncertainty. Mr Glyn asked for assurances from the Welsh government that every penny received through the new apprenticeship levy is funnelled back into funding training, so that the industry can secure the high quality apprenticeships that it needs. He reported that SMEs are concerned that if the level of funding on offer from Westminster is less than anticipated, the quality of training will be sacrificed in order to maintain numbers. Higher taxes, trash pickup? Many special questions await voters Nov. 8 They're sometimes easy to miss, but many South Jersey communities have special questions before voters on their Nov. 8 ballots. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office has identified the victim in a deadly crash in the town of Skaneateles. Deputies said 81-year-old William Blewett, of Skaneateles, was killed Wednesday after his truck struck a utility pole on New Seneca Turnpike. Blewett was driving a dump truck westbound on New Seneca Turnpike between Lucinda Drive and Knightsbridge Road at around 12:06 p.m. when the truck left the road, struck a culvert and became airborne, investigators said. According to the sheriff's office, Blewett was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash is under investigation. US-based on Friday said it had witnessed a 250 per cent year-on-year growth in bringing new sellers on board, as it looks to tap into the booming e-commerce market in India. The company, which is making multi-billion dollar investments in India, has about 85,000 sellers on board. We started with 100 sellers three years ago and now we have about 85,000 sellers growing at 250 per cent year-on-year and adding nearly 90,000 products a day, an India spokesperson stated. Amazon, which competes with the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal, has cut its commissions by 25-30 per cent across categories such as mobile phones, PCs, electronic devices and personal care appliances. We think these revised rates can significantly help sellers to perform even better and succeed in their business. In addition, we continue to innovate and offer best in class services such as Fulfilment by Amazon, Easy Ship, Seller Flex, etc, to help them with fulfilment/logistics, so that they can focus on their business, the spokesperson said. Flipkart, on the contrary, had recently increased its commissions across key segments and asked sellers to bear the costs of logistics in case of returns. Recently, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest $3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giants $2-billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments here to over $5 billion. The funds will be channelled towards enhancing customer and seller experience, Amazon India managing director Amit Agarwal had told PTI. India is a key market for Amazon and we will work towards continuing to reduce operating costs for sellers backed by good logistics and fulfilment capabilities, he had added. Indian exports of automobile components declined in 2015-16, after five years of growth, down 3.7 per cent to $10.8 billion against $11.2 bn in FY15, when these grew 10 per cent. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. A consortium of Indian state-owned oil firms, including Oil India (OIL), Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petro Resources (BPRL), has signed a final sale-purchase agreement (SPA) with Russias national oil company Rosneft to acquire 23.9 per cent stake in its subsidiary, JSC Vankorneft, that operates the Vankor oil field in East Siberia. The Centre on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to quickly auction the Rs 6,000-crore of assets attached as part of the probe into payments scam-hit National Spot Exchange (NSEL), to refund the investors. Bengaluru-based online income tax returns filing service has raised $12 million in series A funding led by Ravi Adusumalli of SAIF Partners. The company plans to utilise the funds to hire top tier engineering talent from Silicon Valley as it looks to build out its product portfolio. wants to hire 100 engineers and put in place a leadership team as it plans to expand its services beyond helping people file their income tax returns. It will soon roll out products for consumer and business taxation, tax savings and Investments. Binny Bansal, chief executive officer of Flipkart, has brought back key hand as head of categories, as he looks to strengthen his leadership team and fend off an attack from rival Amazon. WASHINGTON These weeks were destined to be the last chance for Brexit, as the days dwindle down to the historic June 23 British referendum on leaving the European Union. The fierce arguments pro and con have been mutually mustered; the strident voices on both sides are now even more strident; and the rest of Europe is looking at "this royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle," with all the understanding George Washington might have drummed up for Benedict Arnold. Those who are FOR Britain's exit from the E.U. that "bureaulith" of Brussels that, in its formative years, was the butt of many jokes including being accused of insisting that condoms be of uniform size (the Italians complained they weren't large enough) essentially are arguing for Britain's "sovereignty." Not for them to forget that their little islands once constituted an empire on whose shores the sun never set! The anti-Brexit forces, not surprisingly, are English bankers, industrialists and most of the diplomats. This is no longer 1940, they argue, when Britain "stood alone." In today's world, every nation stands alone only at enormous risk. As the Financial Times editorialized this week: "The gains from pooling sovereignty speak for themselves. Britain joined the E.U. as the 'sick man of Europe.' Now its economic performance is among the best." Too bad, of course, that so much of the public conversation this week has not had to do with Brexit. Too bad that our airwaves have been dominated by still another horrific slaughter of innocents in America, this one in Orlando. Too bad -- because this new self-inflicted tragedy knocked Brexit off the front pages just when readers needed most to understand it, but also because Orlando had NOTHING at all to do with Brexit. Yet, I now find myself begging to disagree with myself. (I often do.) For when I think more deeply, I realize that Brexit and Orlando are actually two RELATED problems. Ones, moreover, that we foolish humans ignore at our peril. Think of this wisdom-challenged relationship in terms of two outstanding questions. First, why did 29-year-old Omar Mateen sweep into an LGBT club in the early morning hours of June 12, shooting like a madman and killing 49 innocent people? While mental instability and an inordinate hatred of outlier groups surely are part of the explanation, the fact that he was of Afghan heritage and at least claimed before he died that he identified with ISIS and Osama bin Laden should not be ignored. He was born in America, of Afghan refugees. But please note that his Afghan-born father, Seddique Mateen, only hours before the "Saturday Night Slaughter," posted a video on Facebook called "Provisional Government of Afghanistan." In it, Dad was dressed in Afghan army fatigues and pretending to be the Afghan president, ordering the police and intelligence to immediately arrest almost the entire American-approved government and get rid of them. The play's the thing. Second, what does all of this have to do with the fact that the British vote on whether to remain in the E.U. may sever Britain from the organization of 28 European member-states begun with great patience and wondrous hope after World War II? E.U. secretaries-general have told me repeatedly when I have visited Brussels headquarters: "The E.U. means there will be no more wars within Europe. It will be impossible with so many economic and financial ties between nations." Only one catch: Even though Britain, in its present agreement with the E.U., chose NOT to take part in the controversial Schengen agreement, by which national borders are abolished and people move freely from one nation to another, it still is being overwhelmed by immigrants, drawn by its blooming economy, by metropole London and by still-superior English laws and institutions. The problem is that Britain has thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Omar Mateens. The north of England smaller cities like Birmingham and Rotherham is overwhelmed by Pakistanis. If policies are to be judged by the empirical evidence we have at hand, then the story here is not a pretty one. British newspapers are finally telling the story of the 1,400-or-so English teenagers groomed, beaten, raped and sold as sex slaves, many by Pakistani immigrants. The events of last New Year's Eve in Cologne are also engraved in most European and British minds now. That was the night when refugees kindly taken in by Germany assaulted, raped and robbed hundreds of women in the very shadow of the city's sacred cathedral. It never stops: In the next step, Muslim "educators" are trying to take over schools in the north of England where they can have only Muslim education. Even in America, little-known, but dangerous new carriers of the radical Islamic thematic keep suddenly appearing, as out of nowhere. In Orlando itself, The Washington Times reported, radical Islamic scholar Sheikh Farrokh Sekaleshfar spoke earlier this year at the Husseini Islamic Center. In a 2013 speech he urged that gay people should be killed, according to Islamic law. "Death is the sentence," he reportedly said that day. "We know. There's nothing to be embarrassed about this. Death is the sentence. ... Out of compassion, let's get rid of them now." And, of course, there are the Omar Mateens, with his automatic gun, and of course, his dad, all dressed up and no place to go. There is no question from all the polls and surveys, from all the interviews and politicians, from the extreme hatreds involved that uncontrolled immigration, particularly when it involves cultures with institutions as different as Christianity's and Islam's, is at the root of both the Brexit fears and many of the repeated gun attacks in America. Is Britain going to leave, or is it going to stay? Is America going to take charge of its out-of-control immigration and its sick gun mania, or is it going to keep killing itself? A California-based start-up founded by an IIT-Delhi alumnus has been acquired by information technology giant . The firm, Wand Labs, develops messaging technology for applications. It was founded in 2013 by Vishal Sharma, who earlier was vice-president, products, at Google. The terms of the acquisition have not been revealed. It takes a step ahead in strengthening its position in combining the power of human language with advanced machines. This acquisition accelerates our vision and strategy for Conversation as a Platform, which Satya Nadella introduced at our Build 2016 conference, David Ku, corporate vice-president, information platform group, Microsoft, said. India-born chief executive officer (CEO) Nadella, during the Build conference in March, told thousands of developers that he envisages a technological future where computer software can learn human language enabling natural conversations with people. Wand Labs founder Sharma said it was an exciting time to be working in the area of semantics and conversation which Nadella has termed as the core of the future. Microsoft executive Ku said Wand Labs technology and talent would strengthen Microsofts position in the emerging era of conversational intelligence where we bring together the power of human language with advanced machine intelligence, connecting people to knowledge, information, services and other people in more relevant and natural ways. Describing Sharma as an experienced leader and entrepreneur in the field of search and knowledge, Ku said, Wands expertise around services mapping, third-party developer integration and conversational interfaces makes it a great fit to join the Bing engineering and platform team. One of the ways of reviving Nokia's beleagured factory in Tamil Nadu could be the Centre allowing defreezing of the factory by arriving at some conclusion on the income tax dispute, says a senior Tamil Nadu government official. Kolkata-based Infrastructure today completed its share swap deal with BNP Paribas, whereby Equipment Finance would become a 100% subsidiary of Infrastructure and BNP Paribas would acquire 5% stake in Srei Infrastructure. The company had announced the deal in December 2015. Amid demands from shareholders for bonus shares from Tata Groups crown jewel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Friday saw one investor asking for sikkas a play on rival Infosys chief Vishal Sikka. Mistry, who brushed aside concerns that a lot of volatility prevailing in world markets could impact TCS, replied with a smile to each suggestion from shareholders at the companys annual general meeting, but gave only the customary answer the board will consider. The $110 billion, salt-to-software Tata Group derives half its revenues from outside India. Amid worries about volatile financial markets, the Tata group chairman also expressed hope that the rupee would remain stable on the back of the countrys improving macroeconomic fundamentals. The Indian economy is doing well and our current account balances are well. At least, I look forward to a stable rupee going into the future. We cant say exactly what will happen, he said. Many shareholders expressed concern over management compensation, while specifically pointing to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer N Chandrasekarans nearly Rs 36-crore package, nearly 460 times the median remuneration. The board is totally cognisant of the benchmark salary structure within the industry and has applied those. We think we have applied them appropriately, Mistry said. Several shareholders also asked for issuance of bonus shares while referring to the low amount of capital funds as compared to the cash balances and reminding the management about the approaching golden jubilee (50th year) of the firm. One of them even invoked the name of rival Infosys chief executive and asked for a few sikkas (meaning coins) from the company. Mistry said smilingly the board will consider such suggestions. He acknowledged that there is a lot of volatility in the world and Tata Sons largest company by profits, TCS, has multiple income streams spread across geographies and verticals to take care of the same. Calling Brexit exit of Britain from the European Union (EU) as an important question, Mistry declined to answer specifically about its impact. A referendum is due this month in the UK to decide whether Britain stays in the EU or not. Mistry further said he does not see any impact on the company's operations in Tamil Nadu as a result of the state government's decision to allow IT employees to unionise. On the USD 940 million claim by US-based Epic Systems alleging theft of trade secrets, Mistry said believes it has not misused any intellectual property of the American firm and is currently awaiting a judgement. Replying to a question on the lower provision despite the suit, Mistry said, "In the opinion of the company's legal counsel, the jury award is not binding, and it's currently assessed on the low possibility of the event." He sees the UK-based Diligenta, TCS' bet to expand in the insurance business, as having a good future from the long term perspective. JSW Steel, on Friday, said a US district court has released its subsidiary USA INC (JSWUSA) from any further liability to MM Steel in return for a payment of $54.8 million (around Rs 368 crore). "On June 16, 2016, the district court entered an order releasing USA INC from any further liability to MM Steel under the judgement in return for a payment of $5,48,52,478.24," said in a BSE filing. It further said: "This payment has been made and JSWUSA intends to seek review of the Fifth Circuit's decision by filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which if successful, could result in the refund of part or all of the funds paid to satisfy the judgement." In December 2015, a district court in the US had asked a JSW Steel subsidiary to pay a $156 million (Rs 1,040 crore) fine, as it confirmed an earlier ruling by a jury in an antitrust case filed by a local steel distributor. MM Steel had sued its competing distributors and steel manufacturers, including JSW Steel, in 2012, claiming that its rivals had conspired to deprive it of supplies and that the manufacturers had knowingly joined the plot, the court document showed. MM pulled the shutters down on its business in 2013. Shares of JSW Steel were trading 0.10% lower at Rs 1,404 apiece on the BSE. After witnessing a slowdown in the last few years, there are signs of revival for Indian auto-component industry. German auto component and service major will reinforce its supplier base in the Indian market. The company aims to to reach 100 million euros worth of export from India by 2017. This was announced on the occasion of the India Supplier Day. At present, is exporting to the tune of 35 million euros from India. To achieve this goal, ZF has initiated the campaign Wind of Change. has withdrawn the order to relocate the office of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to LNJP Hospital campus following protest by the faculty of Maulana Azad Medical College, associated hospitals and an umbrella body of doctors. "As mentioned in email dated June 11, no insult of the learnt members of the faculty was intended vide the aforementioned order and no attempt to decapitate the institution was ever conceived," said . "The faculty of Maulana Azad Medical College have wrongly interpreted the said order and are considering that it would lead to interference in day to day working of medical professionals." "In view of aforesaid, the order dated May 31 stands withdrawn with immediate effect," said a fresh order issued to this effect. Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital is governed under the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC). As per the old order, the office of the DGHS was proposed to be moved to the building block of LNJP in which its Medical Superintendent's office is located. The faculty of MAMC, associated hospitals along with representatives of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) had objected to the decision and had written to Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung in this regard. Sentences of life imprisonment were given on Friday to 11 people in the Society massacre case during the ethnic violence in Gujarat of 2002. The court also sentenced 12 to seven years in jail; one man got 10 years. WASHINGTON The federal government does not have accurate data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and guessing is no longer good enough at a time when LGBT issues are grabbing headlines, lawmakers said this week. If youre not on paper, youre invisible when it comes to the federal government, said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-California. He was speaking in support of a bill, sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, that would require that the government let people voluntarily designate their sexual orientation or gender status on federal forms that collect demographic. Grijalva and Becerra were joined Thursday by about 20 other lawmakers and by Laverne Cox, the transgender actress who plays a transgender inmate in the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. We know that it is not always safe to identify as LGBT, Cox said. But she noted that the bill would only allow identification, not require it, and that it includes language mandating confidentiality for individuals who do identify themselves to the government. People can confidentially disclose whether they are LGBT, Cox said. I think thats a very important aspect of this legislation that people should know about, so that we should be safe, we can just get data to tell a more inclusive picture of who we are. The LGBT Data Inclusion Act would require that any federal agency that collects information through a survey that includes demographic data reported by an individual or reported by a person for a household as in the Census would allow people to include their LGBT status on the form. It also requires that any government report using that demographic data include sexual orientation and gender identity information. A Census Bureau official said Friday that the agency does not take a position on legislation. But advocates said having that data could help LGBT individuals in everything from education policy to workforce development. In a time where many Americans are still struggling economically, the data that we do have suggest that LGBT people are more vulnerable to poverty, said Laura Durso, senior director at the Center for American Progress, during a briefing on the bill earlier this month. But we really dont know the best ways to serve the community and what the contours of what the economic insecurity looks like, she said. These types of data would help make sure that the economic recovery is working for everyone. Durso said the bill is important because you really dont count if you?re not counted a sentiment echoed by many of the speakers at Thursdays event in the shadow of the Capitol. Seems to me we ought to show up on a census, said Rep. Sean Maloney, D-New York, who is gay. The bill has 80 cosponsors in the House, including Arizona Democratic Reps. Kyrsten Sinema and Ruben Gallego, and supporters are hopeful that it will pass if not in this Congress, then in a future one. This legislation is so simple, Becerra said. It simply says, Lets just keep tabs of all of our different communities, so that when we make decisions in an institution like this where policy is so important we know were making it based on the right information, he said. Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar said on Friday that the increased number of terrorist encounters show that the country's intelligence has "increased" and counter terrorist network is "tightening". "More encounters means we are neutralising more, our intelligence has increased, our counter terrorist network is now tightening up," he told reporters here. He said, "If you see the ratio of security forces martyrdom... To terrorists deaths (it) is now in the favour of the security forces at the rate of 1:4.3/4.4." The number of terrorists' neutralised was more than 50 now, whereas only 12 security forces personnel had lost their lives. Stating that the loss of security forces should further reduce, he said "our efforts are towards it." Parrikar was responding to a question on whether the increased number of terror encounters was because of increased vigil or more attempts of infiltration. The Defence Minister was here to witness the inaugural flight of India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) designed and developed by HAL here. A militant was killed on Friday in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Sopore in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Pointing out that most incidents of terror infiltration and encounters take place before winter, Parikkar said either they were not noted earlier or probably they were not taken "very seriously". Claiming that the country used to lose almost a soldier for a terrorist, Parrikar said "now you see yesterday's report. Four terrorists on the border trying to infiltrate were killed. In three days, two attempts have been neutralised." Four militants and a soldier were killed as the Army, on Thursday, foiled an infiltration bid, the second such attempt in three days, in Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control in Kashmir. The University of Mumbai (MU) will declare results of the Third Year Bachelor of Arts (TYBA) examination on June 20, 2016. It will be available on the official website of the varsity, mu.ac.in, most likely in the afternoon. Asserting that a diversified commercial engagement between India and Thailand would greatly benefit both the economies, Prime Minister on Friday said ample avenues for manufacturing and investment exist between both nations, which can pave way for regional economic prosperity. Addressing a joint statement with his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha, Prime Minister Modi said trade and commerce flows are an important lifeline of the interdependent world and raised the pitch for business stakeholders to take lead in tapping the emerging business opportunities in both countries. "Excellency and I agree that a more diversified commercial engagement between us would not only benefit both our economies. It would also enable greater regional economic prosperity. In this context, we welcome the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later on Friday," he said. "Alongside trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration," he added. Prime Minister Modi called for an early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement and dubbed it as a 'shared priority' between India and Thailand. "Prime Minister and I are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between our economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. We have, therefore, prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway; and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between our three countries," he said. The Prime Minister said connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development, asserting that improving access to Southeast Asia from India's Northeastern States would benefit people of both the countries. "Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties. It also brings our people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation. Next year, to commemorate the seventy years of establishment of our diplomatic relations, we will celebrate Festival of India in Thailand, and Festival of Thailand in India. This year, India is also celebrating 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the architect of Indian Constitution," Prime Minister Modi said. Prime Minister Modi also extended an invitation to Thailand's Crown Prince Royal Highness Vajiralongkorn to India. "India has always deeply appreciated the warmth and affection of the Royal Family of Thailand for India. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has been a frequent and very welcome visitor to India," Prime Minister Modi said. "We look forward to welcoming her in India again later this year. We also look forward to the honour of receiving His Royal Highness Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in India at his earliest convenience," he added. The Thai Prime Minister earlier met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Accompanied by his deputy, five senior ministers and a 46 -member business delegation, the Thai Prime Minister arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a three-day visit aimed at reviewing bilateral relations. The Thai Prime Minister, who was received by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on his arrival, is visiting the country on the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. Uttar Pradesh chief Nirmal Khatri is reportedly unhappy with party high command's decision to drop him on charges of non-performance. The Congress, which has suffered a setback in the recently held state assembly polls, is making all efforts to ensure that it improves its tally in Uttar Pradesh this time. According to sources, Khatri is upset after being informed that he would be replaced by a new chief in the coming days. Khatri earlier skipped the party's meeting presided over by Ghulam Navi Azad in Lucknow citing health issues. Reports suggest that grand old party is likely to appoint former union minister Jitin Prasada as the new Uttar Pradesh chief. The electorally important Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in 2017 and the move is being done with the aim to woo Muslims and Brahmin voters in the state. Prasada, known to be a good organisational leader, is close to vice-president Rahul Gandhi. President Pranab Mukherjee, who is currently on a two-day state visit to Namibia, on Friday paid homage and tribute to Namibia's martyrs at "The Heroes' Acre", the official war memorial of the country. Escorted by soldiers of the Namibian armed forces and accompanying Namibian dignitaries, the President placed a wreath at the base of the war memorial. The visiting dignitary and his accompanying delegation observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect for the heroes of Namibia's independence struggle. Officials also briefed the Indian president on the historicity and significance of the war memorial. Thereafter, the Indian delegation left the venue and headed towards the venue where the president would address the business community. Built less than 10 kilometers outside Namibian capital Windhoek, Heroes' Acre was opened to the public for the first time on August 26, 2002 and according to official sources here, operates for the purpose of fostering a spirit of patriotism and nationalism, and to pass on the legacy to the future generations of Namibia. The Heroes' Acre monument is situated south of Windhoek on the B1 road to Rehoboth. It is built as a symmetric polygon with a marble obelisk and a bronze statue of the Unknown Soldier at its centre. The site contains parade grounds and a grandstand for 5000 people. It is the burial site of 174 tombs, not all of which are occupied. When it was first opened, nine heroes and heroines were identified. For each of them, a tombstone with a name and a picture has been erected, although they are not buried here. The nine heroes are: Kahimemua Nguvauva (1850-1896), chief of the Ovambanderu, was wounded May 1896 in the Battle of Sturmfeld and after his surrender executed by the Germans. Nehale Lya Mpingana (died 1908), king of Ondonga, defeated the settlers of the Dorsland Trek in 1886, and German colonial forces at Fort Namutoni in 1904. Samuel Maharero (1856-1923), paramount chief of the Herero people, led the uprisings against German colonialism that resulted in the Herero and Namaqua War of 1904-1907. Hendrik Witbooi (1830-1905), king of the Nama people and fighter against the colonial oppression of the German Empire in German South-West Africa. Jacob Morenga (1875-1907), successor of Hendrik Witbooi as Nama Chief, used the fortress of Khauxanas to wage a guerrilla war against the Schutztruppe of Imperial Germany. Mandume Ya Ndemufayo (1894-1917), last king of the Kwanyama, led his people into battles with British, Portuguese, and South African colonial forces. Lipumbu Ya Tshilongo (1875-1959), King of the Uukwambi and strong nationalist, resisted European cultural influence exercised via the establishment of mission stations and administrative outposts. Anna Mungunda (1910s-1959), protester against the forced eviction from Windhoek's Old Location in 1959. Set the car of a high-ranking administrator alight and was shot dead in response. Hosea Kutako (1870-1970), paramount chief of the Herero and petitioner to the United Nations for an independent Namibia. In later years, several additional people have been declared national heroes, and buried here. These are: Dimo Hamaambo (1932-2002), commander in the People's Liberation Army of Namibia Maxton Joseph Mutongulume (1932-2004), founding member of the Ovamboland People's Congress and long-term SWAPO functionary and Central Committee member Markus Kooper (1918-2005), petitioner to the United Nations Mose Penaani Tjitendero (1943-2006), first speaker of National Assembly Richard Kapelwa Kabajani (1943-2007), former cabinet minister and ambassador to Cuba John Pandeni (1950-2008), prisoner of Robben Island and later Namibian Minister Peter Tsheehama (1941-2010), People's Liberation Army of Namibia commander and chief of Namibian Intelligence John ya Otto Nankudhu (1933-2011), People's Liberation Army of Namibia commander and Robben Island inmate Frederick Matongo (1946 or 1947-2013) lieutenant colonel of the Namibian Defence Force, early participant of the Namibian War of Independence Andrew Intamba (1947-2014), first director of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service, and Namibian ambassador to Egypt Gerson Veii (1939-2015), the first opposition party member (SWANU) to be accorded a heroes' burial Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea, was given a Namibian Dollar 60 million contract to build the 732-acre monument. The contract was awarded without any competitive tendering process, and eventually, the construction cost doubled. Namibia's corruption watchdog Insight Namibia is on record as criticising this non-transparent process. The statue of the Unknown Soldier resembles the physical features of Sam Nujoma, Namibia's founding president. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the negotiations to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets were "on path of coming to conclusion." Both sides hoped to wrap up the strategic order during French President Francois Hollande's visit for the Republic Day celebrations in January this year, but bargaining on price stalled a final result. "When we have waited for 15-16 years. I think we are now on path of coming to conclusion," Parrikar told reporters in the Bengaluru after witnessing the inaugural flight session of indigenously built aircraft Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT 40). HTT-40 is a new basic training aircraft developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. Parrikar said the two sides were yet to arrive at a decision on pricing. "It's a big purchase we have to be careful and every 0.1% savings itself is a hundreds of crores. So let the exercise be done with some patience," he said. Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the troubled Rafale procurement last year, ordering government-to-government talks after commercial negotiations with Dassault had collapsed. The leaders agreed to scale back an original plan to buy 126 Rafale planes to just 36 in fly-away condition to meet the Indian Air Force's urgent needs as it faces an assertive China and long-time foe Pakistan. A special court remanded to NIA custody till June 23 of Mohsin Sheikh, who had left him his home in suburban Malwani, allegedly to join . Sheikh and two others had gone missing in December last year after another youth Ayaz Sultan's disappearance in October. Sultan had reportedly reached Syria and joined . Sheikh was arrested from Delhi in February by the local police and the case was transferred to NIA. A case was registered in Mumbai NIA against Sheikh and the local court issued production warrant against him, after which he was brought from Delhi. In the court, NIA said that Sheik was involved in instigating and influencing Muslim youths in suburban Malwani in Mumbai on the instructions of a Syria-based handler. NIA also said that he provided logistical support to another accused Rizwan during his Mumbai visit, arranged accommodation and SIM card. The remand application said that Moshin visited Hubli in Karnataka, Hyderabad and Chennai. He also took two persons with intention to make them join jihadi organisations in India having affiliations to . The court accepting the NIA's request remanded him to the agency custody for eight days. While Delhi continues trying to lobby those opposing this country's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), its American counterpart called on all its members to support our entry. The department of electronics and information technology (DeitY), government of India today gave its final approval for setting up of a greenfield within the Infovally complex, a dedicated IT hub, on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar. Join in a unique Southwest tradition at the annual Juneteenth celebration. The Coconino County African American Advisory Council, Southside Community Association and NAUs Goldn Brown Jacks are hosting the free public event Saturday from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Murdoch Community Center, 203 W. Brannen Ave. The purpose of Juneteenth is to commemorate the late communication of the 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all enslaved persons inside of Confederate states (all states on the rebellion). In some parts of the Southwest, the news didn't arrive until June of 1865. This family-friendly event will feature activities and vendors, along with musical and educational performances that illustrate the growth and development of the black experience. When we celebrate American freedom dating back to July 1776, we should be mindful of how not everyone was able to do so up until June 1865. While times have changed since, the history remains constant. Here, with Juneteenth, we have a golden opportunity to embrace the past to better understand our future within the larger northern Arizona community, said NAU Ethnic Studies Assistant Professor, Dr. Frederick Gooding, Jr., co-founder of the NAU Goldn Brown Jacks. Grand Canyon Association to host open house at Desert View Watchtower The Grand Canyon Association will host an open house Fathers Day weekend at the Desert View Watchtower, where visitors can take a look back in the past and learn about the iconic structure located at the eastern end of Grand Canyon National Park. The open house will be from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19. Theres no charge to attend the open house, but the cost to enter Grand Canyon National Park is $30 per vehicle. Famed architect Mary Colter designed the Desert View Watchtower in 1932 to introduce the depths of native culture to the traveler. Today, the Desert View Watchtower is a gathering place for American Indians to gather for public cultural demonstrations, celebrations and other events. The Desert View Watchtower is one of 20 national park projects currently competing in a contest sponsored by National Geographic to award $2 million dollars in historic preservation funds. To learn more, visit VoteYourPark.org. The weekend will include cultural demonstrations by five American Indian artists including Zuni fetish carver Waldo Davis, Hopi basket weaver Iva Honyestewa, Hopi carver Edward Honyestewa, Navajo sandcast jeweler Patrick Yellowhorse and Hopi weaver Donald Dawahongnewa. There will be a Grand Canyon Association photo booth Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Also Saturday will be a living history program with park ranger Marie Malo on Desert View Watchtower architect Mary Colter from 10-11 a.m. and again from 1-2 p.m. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (left) shakes hands with Thailand Prime Ministers wife Naraporn Chan-o-cha (right) at a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as PM Narendra Modi looks on, in New Delhi on Friday | PTI BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said passage of the Bill facilitating the goods and services tax (GST), being hailed as the biggest indirect taxation reform, will "not benefit" the economy significantly. "I don't think is going to be a game-changer. If it comes, it is ok. If it doesn't come also it is ok," he said, speaking at the industry lobby Indian Merchant Chamber here. " ... It is not big deal for the Indian economy. There is a feeling that it will simplify the tax system, I have no objection to it," he said. It can be noted that the industry has been pegging an increase of upto 2 percentage points in the GDP growth just by the passage of this legislation, which has been stuck for many years now under two Union governments. Swamy also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had objected to the when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, and now the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha is objecting to it. "At one stage, when Mr Narendra Modi was the chief minister, he took objections and wrote a letter to the government," he said. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said earlier this week that most of the states barring Tamil Nadu have come on board on the long-pending GST Bill and expressed hope of pushing the legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session. A US-based think tank today said the Bangladesh-India Maitree project could effectively end up in a financial mess. The coal-based power plant proposed to be built near the city of Khulna, close to the Sundarbans mangrove forest, is a joint venture between India and Bangladeshs state-owned entities. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said electricity produced from the project would cost 32 per cent more than the average electricity in Bangladesh, assuming an average plant load factor (PLF) of 80 per cent. This despite the project being heavily subsidized, "exposing investors, taxpayers and consumers to high risk and is a potential stranded asset in the making". A senior executive associated with the project, however, said the Indian government was not subsidising the project in any form. It was only providing loan through to promote Indian investment in Bangladesh, he said. The state government has identified 240 acres of land for a downstream aluminium park proposed by Vedanta Ltd. The downstream park is coming up close the site of Vedanta's aluminium smelting facility at Jharsuguda. Vedanta had proposed to establish the park at the 'Make in India' week held in February this year. This state-of-the-art plug-and-produce aluminium park will be set up across 240 acres of land, providing an exclusive ecosystem for industries dependent on as well as manufacturing aluminium conductors, extrusions, castings, foils, powder and paste. The Reserve Bank on Friday simplified the process of registration of new NBFCS by reducing the application form and the checklist of documents from the existing set of 45 documents to about eight. This has been done to make the process of registration of new Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) "smoother and hassle free", said. "Secondly, from now onwards, there would be two different types of applications for non-deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-ND) based on Sources of Funds and Customer Interface," it added. The processing of cases for Type I - NBFC-ND applicants would be on fast track mode. As these companies will not have access to public fund and will not have customer interface, they will be subjected to less intensive scrutiny/due diligence. These companies will be prohibited from accessing public funds and having customer interface. In case these companies intend to avail public fund or intend to have customer interface in the future, they are required to take approval from . further advised that the checklists mentioned by it are indicative and not exhaustive. "Reserve Bank, may, if necessary, call for any further documents to satisfy itself on the eligibility of the company seeking registration as NBFC," the central bank said in a statement. In the event of the RBI calling for further documents in addition to those mentioned in the checklist, the applicant company must respond within a stipulated time of one month. The changes in the registration process of NBFCs is in line with the announcement made in the First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2016-17. Two employee associations, with strength of around 3.5 lakh bank staff, will go for an all India strike on July 13. The staff, belonging to All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), is protesting against the Centres decision to merge associate with State Bank of India (SBI). The Department-related Parliament Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will visit Bengaluru, Chennai and Bhopal beginning 20th June, 2016. The committee consisting of 28 MPs will be chaired by Dr E. M. S. Natchiappan. . . During the visit, the Committee will hold meeting with the representatives of recognised political parties and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state on implementation of Model Code of Conduct for Political Parties during General Elections. The members will also meet the representatives of State Governments, State Public Service Commission and Administrative Training Institute and Indian Institute of Management in the respective states, on the subject of appointment of advisors/experts in Government establishments. . . During visit to Bengaluru, the committee will visit the National Law School of India University and hold interaction with Christ University School of Law, Law Academies, Law firms including State Judicial Academy, Bar Council of Karnataka and University Law College, Bangalore University on Promotion of Legal Education and Research under the Advocates Act, 1961". The Committee will also hold meeting with State Bank of Mysore, Vijaya Bank, Aeronautical Development Establishment, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and National Small Industries Corporation on the Status of implementation of Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act". . . In Chennai, the committee will visit the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University and hold discussions on Promotion of Legal Education and Research ". The committee will also hold meeting with representatives of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Indian Overseas Bank, Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI), National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Airports Authority of India on the Status of implementation of Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act". . . During its visit to Bhopal, the committee will hold discussion with Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL), Northern Coalfields Limited, National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), Metallurgical & Engineering Consultants (MECON Limited), Bharat Coking Coal Limited and Oriental Insurance Company Ltd on the Status of implementation of Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act". The committee will also visit the National Judicial Academy of India, Bhopal and hold interaction on Promotion of Legal Education and Research. . . The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited St Petersburg, Russia from 16-17 June 2016 to represent India at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). SPIEF is the leading economic event of Russia, drawing participation of important political leaders and some of the largest companies and global business leaders. . . The hallmark of the visit was the signing of a Sales Purchase Agreement for acquisition of 23.9 per cent stake in Vankor oil block by an Indian Consortium of Oil India Ltd., Indian Oil and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd.( subsidiary of BPCL) with ROSNEFT. This follows acquisition of 15 per cent stake in Vankor by OVL for which all formalities were completed on 31st May 2016. The signing of agreement was witnessed by Sh Pradhan and his Russian counterpart Mr Alexander Novak. . . On the first day of his visit (16 June), Sh Pradhan had meetings with Mr Igor Sechin, President of Rosneft, Mr Leonid Mikhelson, CEO of Novatek and Mr Alexey Miller CEO of Gazprom, the leading Russian oil and gas companies. He discussed broadening India-Russia cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. The Minister briefed the CEOs on governments recent policy announcements and investment opportunities in the hydrocarbon sector, including on the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy and Small Discovered fields bidding round. . . At the SPIEF, Sh Pradhan participated in the Panel discussion on New Global Petroleum Market Realities along with Russian and Venezuelan Energy Minister. The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Daniel Yergin, who is considered a leading authority on energy, geopolitics and the global economy, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Sh Pradhan elaborated on emerging investment opportunities in the exploration and production sector. CEOs of global oil majors appreciated recent reforms in Indian hydrocarbon sector. . . On the second day of his visit to St Petersburg (17 June), Sh Pradhan had meetings with Mr Alenxander Novak, Minister for Energy of Russia, Mr Alexander Dyukov, CEO of Gazpromneft. Both ministers discussed the entire gamut of oil and gas relations between India-Russia and expressed satisfaction on the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the hydrocarbon sector. Both Ministers agreed that cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector was one of the key areas of the time tested and Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. They expressed happiness on the conclusion of all formalities relating to the acquisition of 15% stake by ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) in Vankorneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft of Russia. Both Ministers also discussed on further deepening the engagement, including two way investments in the sector. Sh Pradhan briefed his Russian counterpart on the issues related to Mineral Extraction Tax being contemplated by the Russian government and its effects on Indian investments. He also invited Rosneft, Gazprom and other Russian companies to invest in Indian hydrocarbon sector, including in the recently launched auction of Small Discovered Fields. . . KidsCare coverage has been restored for Arizona children who do not qualify for AHCCCS, Arizonas Medicaid program. Children whose household income is between 133 percent and 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit now have access to full Medicaid benefits for a minimal monthly premium. This means children in a family of four could qualify with an annual household income up to $48,600. Since July 26, all North Country HealthCare locations have been providing free, bilingual enrollment assistance for families and parents applying for KidsCare. Coverage will begin on Sept. 1. AHCCCS estimates approximately 30,000 Arizona children may be eligible to enroll in KidsCare coverage. A child can be eligible for KidsCare, even if he or she is already enrolled in another health insurance plan. Contact a certified application counselor at North Country HealthCare for more information. KidsCare offers the full array of AHCCCS benefits, including dental care. Eligible children will receive coverage through health plans contracted with the AHCCCS Administration. Parents insuring their children with KidsCare pay a minimal monthly premium depending on their household income. Monthly premiums can range from $10 for one child in a household at the lower income range, up to $70 for multiple children in households at the upper income range. Applications can be submitted online at healthearizonaplus.gov. In each of the communities it serves, North Country HealthCare has certified application counselors on hand to assist with completing online applications. To schedule a free enrollment appointment, call 522-9580 or 453-9596. North Country HealthCare serves nearly 50,000 people throughout northern Arizona, 20,000 who reside in Flagstaff and the surrounding area. North Country HealthCare accepts Medicare, AHCCCS, commercial insurance and offers a sliding fee scale based on income and family size. For more information, visit northcountryhealthcare.org A Yellow fever Vaccination facility was inaugurated by Smt Dr. Megha Pravin Khobragade, DADG (IH), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India in the presence of Shri S. Anantha Chandra Bose, Chairman and Shri S. Natarajan, Deputy Chairman, V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust at the premises of Port Health Organisation, World Trade Avenue, Port Estate. . . Shri S. Anantha Chandra Bose, Chairman, V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in his special address thanked the officials concerned from Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for considering the request of the Port and establishing the facility within a short period. He further stated that the new facility would add a feather to the cap to the service requirements of EXIM community. Smt Dr. Megha Pravin Khobragade, DADG (IH), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, in her address stated that Tuticorin is the 35th centre in the country to provide Yellow fever Vaccination facility and would pave way to save money and time to the intending travellers from this part of the state. . . The Port Health Organisation has scheduled the vaccination for every Tuesday i.e from 11.00 AM to 1.00 PM. The charges for vaccination & issue of certificate would be Rs.300 per person. Intending travellers can avail the facility by registering themselves through; . . Email : photuticorin@gmail.com . Phone : 0461-2353341 . Fax : 0461-2353314 . Mobile : 98654-36526 . The above details have been provided by V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust. . . A few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine Judge Jed S Rakoff and Roomy Khan, a government informant, as speakers at the same conference. The democratic socialist will not abandon the US presidential race and will participate at the Democratic Party convention in July to get his message across, trying to influence the presumptive party candidate Hillary Clinton as well as the party. In a video, the Vermont senator, who no longer has a mathematical chance to win the nomination, pushes the party and his rival Hillary Clinton to adopt his progressive agenda, Efe reported. He also promised to take his agenda to the Democratic National convention in Philadelphia in July. Sanders, who met Clinton at a Washington DC hotel recently, vowed to "work" with each other in the coming weeks. He said defeating the presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump "cannot be our only goal", but the Democrats must continue "our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become." "And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25," the Democratic self-proclaimed socialist said. He also spoke of Clinton as a partner and said he hoped to work with former Secretary of State in the coming weeks to ensure that the Democratic Party takes over the "most progressive platform in its history", and that Democrats will fight for it. "My hope is that when future historians look back to the 2016 campaign and describe how our country moved forward, they will note that, to a significant degree, that effort began with the political revolution of 2016," he concluded. Sanders then thanked his supporters, mostly students, pensioners, the unemployed and low-paid workers, as well as a "few" Democrat politicians who took his side. The Democratic National Convention, where Clinton is poised to be officially elected, will take place from July 25 to 28 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a few days after the Republican National Convention on July 18 to 21, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio, where Trump will presumably be elected. In the wake of US President Barack Obama's meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama, has urged Washington to refrain from interfering in Beijing's domestic affairs including Tibet-related issues. Stating that the 14th Dalai Lama was not a purely religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti- separatist activities under the guise of religion, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang Lu said, "Tibet affairs are China's domestic affairs and no foreign country has the right to interfere", reports Xinhua. Lu added the meeting between Obama and Dalai Lama goes against the US acknowledgement that Tibet is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and its rejection of "Tibet independence" and anti- separatist activities. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson further said such a meeting harms China-US mutual trust and cooperation and interferes in Beijing's internal affairs. Reportedly, Obama emphasised his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions during the meeting. Firefighters have struggled to contain infernos across the western United States as experts warned that drought-striken should prepare for an unusually intense wildfire season. Forest fires are a fact of life in much of but have become far worse because of bone-dry conditions, with the Golden State gripped in its fifth year of drought. A fire in the Los Padres National Forest had expanded to two square miles (five square kilometers) yesterday, making it the "largest since 2009" in the area, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Information Center told AFP. Strong winds were hampering efforts to contain the blaze, and the operation was expected to be hindered further by near-record temperatures over the weekend in the southern half of . Los Padres, which begins about two hours drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles, is popular with hikers and campers, and evacuation orders were issued in at-risk parts of the forest. Sections of Highway 101, which links northern and southern California, were temporarily closed while oil giant ExxonMobil evacuated its refinery in Las Flores Canyon. Another fire further north burned about four square miles and caused road closures, also threatening buildings, although there were no reports of injuries. Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for public information organisation Calfire, said America's most populous state could see its worst fire season on record this year. Meanwhile, a blaze in Warren Creek, in the northwestern state of Alaska, was raging across eight square miles of a Native American reserve, while four fires were burning up more than 40 square miles in Arizona and New Mexico. Last month, fires near Los Angeles pushed 5,000 people out of their homes in the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb which is home to many celebrities including members of the Kardashian family. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) said the southwestern United States could expect "above normal levels of significant fire potential" through at least early July. "The highest potential will be over Southern California during the first part of the summer as the past rainy season only brought 50 to 70% of normal rainfall," it said on its website. "As the summer progresses, above normal significant fire potential area will expand northward to include much of the Sierras and the central coast region." Wildfires in the western United States made 2015 the country's most devastating year since at least 1960. More than 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares), an area greater than the size of Denmark had been burned by the end of summer, according to data from the NIFC. The Bangladeshi authorities should investigate attacks on secular writers and but must stop arbitrarily arresting people without proper evidence of a crime, Human Rights Watch said on Friday. Between June 10 and 16, security forces have reportedly arrested over 11,000 people in connection with a spate of murders of bloggers with secular or atheist leanings, non-Muslims, members of the LGBT community and other progressive or liberal thinkers. Those detained should either be charged on the basis of credible evidence of criminal activities and brought immediately before a judge, or be immediately released, Human Rights Watch said. "After a slow and complacent response to these horrific attacks, Bangladesh's security forces are falling back on old habits and rounding up the 'usual suspects' instead of doing the hard work of carrying out proper investigations," the rights body said. "The government has an obligation to put an end to these murders and hold the perpetrators to account, but it must do so through proper procedures set out in its own criminal code as well as in law." The wave of targeted killings of bloggers, secularists, and religious minorities began in 2013 and has escalated in recent months. To date, more than 50 have been killed, often through machete attacks in public spaces. Many of these killings have subsequently been claimed by Daesh (ISIS) or Ansar al-Islam, a Bangladeshi militant group linked to Al Qaeda, but their involvement has not been established. The government denies the presence of both groups in the country. Resource-rich on Friday assured that it will look into "legal ways" through which its uranium can be supplied to India for peaceful nuclear use. Speaking at the State Banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not posses any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with . Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations," Mukherjee said. "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs created in the wake of the Second World War is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been and will continue to be a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. Friends and family members of victims of nightclub shooting outside the Orlando Police headquarters on Sunday | Photo: Reuters Republican Sen John McCain said that President Barack Obama is "directly responsible" for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president's watch. McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, made the comment on Thursday while Obama was in Orlando visiting with the families of those killed in Sunday's attack and some of the survivors. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq," a visibly angry McCain told reporters in the Capitol as the Senate debated a spending bill. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies," McCain said. The gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and injured more than 50 in the attack at a gay nightclub. The 29-year-old Muslim born in New York made calls during the attack saying he was a supporter of the Islamic State. But he also spoke about an affiliate of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, both of which are IS enemies. In the aftermath of the shooting, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused Obama of putting US enemies ahead of Americans. Trump also has suggested that Obama himself might sympathise with radical elements. Democrats criticised Trump and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from his remarks. McCain is seeking a sixth Senate term from Arizona and is locked in a tight race. Questioned on his startling assertion, McCain repeated it: "Directly responsible. Because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It's a matter of record, so he is directly responsible." However, McCain later sought to clarify his comments, saying over Twitter: "To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama's national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself." Democrats quickly pounced on McCain's criticism. Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev, said McCain's "unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump.onald Trump. President Barack Obama arrived in Orlando, where he will console loved ones devastated by a shooting rampage that has fueled America's culture wars and a fresh push for gun controls. Air Force One touched down shortly before 1:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) in Florida, where Obama will call for national unity and meet families whose lives have been ripped apart by a tragedy of national proportions. The massacre of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub last Sunday was the deadliest mass shooting in the history of a country that is depressingly familiar with such events. Another 53 people were wounded. "This will be, I think, an emotional trip," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. In a rare symbolic show of bipartisanship, Obama arrived with Republican one-time presidential hopeful Marco Rubio and was greeted on the tarmac by Republican Florida governor Rick Scott and Vice President Joe Biden. Obama and Biden are slated to meet emergency medical crews and hospital staff who laboured to save lives in the chaotic hours after the massacre by gunman Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim American of Afghan descent. Mateen was killed in a police raid, but his motivation and how he came to possess an special forces assault rifle remain deeply contentious. Mateen pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group in a 911 call during the attack. The IS group then claimed responsibility for the shooting, and FBI agents believe that Mateen was radicalised by following extremist propaganda online. That has prompted Republicans to call for tougher counterterrorism measures and for the Obama administration to do more to fight the Islamic State group. The White House says coalition forces and allies are making gains against the group's strongholds in Syria, Iraq and Libya. But Republican arguments were given credence by Obama's own CIA director John Brennan, who warned the group retains the ability to conduct attacks around the world. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," he told senior US lawmakers. A desire to expose her students to medical anthropology in action inspired Northern Arizona University professor Lisa Hardy to partner with the Poore Clinic to give her class some real-world experience while also giving back to the community. I think one of the most important things that can happen in education is for students to understand the link between theory and how people put it into practice, she said. Hardy, who teaches medical anthropology at the university, said she was very excited to collaborate with the Poore Clinic over the last semester, and said they have a wonderful mission as the only free clinic in Flagstaff to serve the uninsured. The students talked in class about behavior, social justice, inequality and policy, Hardy said. This gave students an opportunity to experience and be exposed to what professionals do in the field. Hardy divided her class into three groups for research projects surrounding the clinic. One group focused on recruiting medical professional volunteers for the all-volunteer clinic staff, another focused on securing donors and the third group focused on data collection about patients at the clinic. Hardy said the upperclassmen and graduate level class came up with ideas to help the clinic with efficiency, including creating a brochure that outlines the requirements for volunteering as a medical professional, as well as an increase in the clinics social media marketing strategy. Hardy said in the past her class has also worked with North Country HealthCare for exposure to the healthcare field. I always have a lot of gratitude for the organizations that partner with us because it does take their time and their energy, and what they give to the students is really important, Hardy said. Eric Walden, the Poore Clinics executive director, and Peter Weiser, the clinics board president, spoke to Hardys class about the clinic and what they do in the community for medical inequities. We want to support higher education and secondary education at all levels, Walden said. We have an opportunity at the clinic to make an impact on the lives of students here. Walden said he had not received the full results from the class study, but he said clinic leaders plan to carefully consider any suggestions made to improve the clinics presence in the community. Walden said some of his interest in the project from the beginning was to support Hardy in her efforts to expose her students to medical anthropology in the real world. She makes sincere attempts to create projects that not only benefit her students, but potentially the clinic as well, he said. Kevin Shaw, a graduate student in the class, said the project gave him an opportunity to conduct a research design and analysis in a short period of time that would actually have implications in the community. As graduate students we learn a lot of theory and methodology that we might not immediately apply, he said. Its really exciting that things we study can really benefit organizations like the Poore Clinic or the patients who receive services from the Poore Clinic. Shaw said his group worked on finding ways to increase recruitment of dentists and dental professionals to volunteer at the clinic. He said ideas his group came up with included finding ways to recognize those who do volunteer, as well as streamlining the volunteer application process that many potential volunteers thought would be cumbersome. Shaw said he and his group interviewed people who already volunteered about what they enjoyed about working at the clinic and what they found challenging in order to suggest improvements for the clinic. Shaw said he learned many dentists who do volunteer enjoy the increased gratitude from the patients, as well as getting to practice the type of dentistry they might enjoy most. Breanna West, an undergraduate student in the class, said the project and the class had such an effect on her, she decided to change her plans from becoming a doctor to becoming a medical anthropologist to advocate for health equity. I want to help more people gain access to healthcare, which I believe is a fundamental human right, she said. West was in the group analyzing donations and how the clinic receives charitable donations from the community. West said most of the clinics funding comes from grants and one large fundraiser. Wests group said the clinic could benefit from an increased social media and digital presence, including an easy way to donate online. West said many people are skeptical of charitable organizations, so she said a way the class wanted to increase giving to the clinic was to show online exactly where donated money goes and what improvements are directly from community donations. West said she had also done volunteer work in Peru, but was moved by the project enough to begin volunteering at the clinic as well. Im a student in this very wealthy country, but as I was sitting in the clinic there were dozens of people in the same boat as people in Peru, she said. West said she plans to graduate from NAU in December and apply to the anthropology graduate program to continue her work with medical inequity. Former Afghan president has said Pakistan, which is not in favour of good relations between India and Afghanistan, wants "no bilateral trade and access to Central Asia for India." Karzai told BBC Urdu in an interview on Thursday that Pakistan should also become a part of the regional coalition between Afghanistan, India and Iran, but added Islamabad's condition is that Kabul should not have contacts with New Delhi, reports the Dawn. He added this will also help in improving the relationship between Kabul and Islamabad. The former president said that India wants be a true friend to Afghanistan and is helping the country to build its infrastructure and health facilities. Karzai also said that Pakistan should stop dictating about Kabul's friendship with New Delhi and respect the fact that Afghanistan is a sovereign country. He also called upon Pakistan to jointly fight terrorism, which is presently a menace for both countries. The law firm at the centre of the "Panama Papers" scandal has said it expected the prosecution of a worker from its Geneva office detained on suspicion of stealing company documents. Mossack Fonseca yesterday said in a statement from its Panama headquarters that it had lodged complaints in several jurisdictions against people believed to be "involved in the theft of information that occurred in our company". That referred to the leak last year of a massive number of documents covering nearly four decades of business by the law firm, which specialises in setting up and managing offshore companies. Reports based on the purloined documents resulted in the "Panama Papers": revelations of how many leaders, politicians, celebrities and a few criminals around the world used entities started by Mossack Fonseca to stash assets. Though offshore companies are not in themselves illegal, they can be used to engage in illegal activities such as tax evasion or money laundering. Mossack Fonseca said in its statement it was "fully confident" that authorities in the various countries would "see through the corresponding (legal) processes in a transparent and effective manner". On Wednesday, Swiss authorities announced that an information technology employee for the law firm working in its Geneva office had been placed in provisional detention on suspicion of stealing confidential documents. The spokesman for the Geneva's prosecutor's office, Henri Della Casa, told AFP that "a criminal case has been opened... following a complaint by Mossack Fonseca". He declined to comment on whether an arrest had been made. News of the detention was first given by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, which said it had no information on whether the arrested individual was the so-called "John Doe" who has claimed credit for the unprecedented "Panama Papers" leak. Mossack Fonseca said in April that the leak was the result of a hack that came from foreign servers. Russian President signed the decree calling for the elections to the State Duma (lower house) to be held on September 18, Kremlin said. While the date of the elections was already known, the presidential decree is meant to officially launch the electoral process for the renewal of the Duma, composed of 450 deputies, Efe news reported. Initially the elections were scheduled for December 4, but the Duma itself decided in July 2015 to advance them to September 18, to coincide with municipal and regional elections to be held on the same day. The Duma's decision was endorsed by the constitutional court. Campaigning for Britain's EU referendum next week was suspended on Friday for a second day as the nation reeled from the murder of a popular pro-Europe MP at the height of a bitterly divisive debate. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old former aid worker and pro-EU campaigner known for her advocacy for Syrian refugees, was killed on Thursday outside a library where she regularly met constituents in her home village of Birstall in northern England. Witnesses told local media the petite mother of two had been repeatedly shot and stabbed. A 52-year-old man, named by media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested. Described by neighbours as a loner, there were indications that he had extreme right leanings. With just six days left before the historic vote, rival groups campaigning for Britain to leave or remain in the European Union ceased campaigning and politicians joined as one to condemn the killing. But some commentators questioned whether the murder could be linked to a campaign that has stoked high tension by touching on issues of national identity and immigration. The Times newspaper reported, on Friday, that Cox, who became the first British MP to be murdered since 1990, had "had been harassed in a stream of messages over three months". Police were considering putting in place additional security, it said, adding there was no known link between the messages and Thursday's attack. Before Cox's murder, opinion polls were pointing to the likelihood that Britain would vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum, a prospect that weighed on financial markets and sent the pound tumbling. The pound rose with Asian stocks today after the previous day's selloff, as investors judged the tragedy increased the likelihood of the "Remain" side prevailing. US advocacy group the Southern Poverty Law Centre reported that Mair, who had lived in the area for decades, was a "dedicated supporter" of National Alliance, once the primary neo-Nazi organisation in the United States. It said he had spent over $620 on reading material from the group, which advocated the creation of an all-white homeland and the eradication of Jewish people. "Neighbours called him a 'loner' but he also has a long history with white nationalism," the Southern Poverty Law Centre said. It added that Mair had purchased a handbook with instructions on how to make a gun, noting that witnesses told British media the assailant used a gun of "old-fashioned" or "homemade" appearance. Pakistan and Afghanistan are still unable to completely resolve the gate conflict even after five days since the incident took place. A Pakistani official said, on Thursday, that an agreement had been reached after Afghan envoy Dr Omar Zakhilwal met with Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Zubair Mehmood Hayat. The official added that Afghanistan would under this agreement end hostilities and allow continuation of work on erection of the gate, reports Dawn. Post this agreement, Pakistan will also allow resumption of cross-border traffic at . The Afghan ambassador, however, said in a statement that resumption of construction work was contrary to the agreement reached at the meeting though he accepted the confirmation of a ceasefire. "Much to my disappointment it was presented as if it was agreed to in our meeting yesterday (to restart the construction work). Something that clearly was not, otherwise there would have been no need for our agreement to resolve this through talks expeditiously and amicably," Zakhilwal said. He instead claimed that the meeting concluded with an agreement on an immediate ceasefire and drawing down forces to de-escalate tensions. It was also agreed upon that a conversation at the leadership level is necessary to resolve the issue through talks and that the construction work would be halted to avoid any further incident. The envoy also threatened to quit and return to his home country if the construction work was not stopped. Hitting back at the ambassador's statement, an official accused him of twisting facts and creating confusion. Three UN human rights experts have called on India to repeal a law restricting NGOs' access to crucial foreign funding, saying its provisions are increasingly being used to "silence" groups that are critical of government's policies. "We are alarmed that Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) provisions are being used more and more to silence organisations involved in advocating civil, political, economic, social, environmental or cultural priorities, which may differ from those backed by the government," said UN Special Rapporteurs on Human rights defenders Michel Forst on freedom of expression David Kaye and on freedom of association Maina Kiai in their call to "repeal" to the FCRA. The three experts called on India to repeal the FCRA, which is been increasingly used to obstruct civil society's access to foreign funding, and fails to comply with human rights norms and standards. Despite detailed evidence provided by Lawyers Collective to rebut all allegations and prove that all foreign contributions were spent and accounted for in line with FCRA, the suspension was still applied, the UN human rights experts said in a statement issued from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. "We are alarmed by reports that the suspension was politically motivated and was aimed at intimidating, illegitimising and silencing Lawyers Collective for their litigation and criticism of the Government's policies," the experts said, noting that the NGO is known for its public interest litigation and advocacy in defence of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of Indian society. The experts' call comes as India's Home Affairs Ministry suspended earlier in June for six months the registration of the non-governmental organisation Lawyers Collective, under the FCRA. The suspension was imposed on the basis of allegations that its founders, human rights lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, violated the act provisions by using foreign funding for purposes other than intended, the statement said. Earlier on Thursday, the Home Ministry issued an order saying that the central government has cancelled the permanent registration of Sabrang Trust run by civil rights activist Teesta Stelvad and her husband Javed Anand with immediate effect, it said. The government had also suspended the registration of Greenpeace India under the FCRA for six months earlier in April 2015, it added. "Human rights defenders and civil society must have the ability to do their important job without being subjected to increased limitations on their access to foreign funding and the undue suspension of their registration on the basis of burdensome administrative requirements imposed to those organisations in receipt of foreign funds," the statement said. "We strongly urge the Government to reverse its decision and embrace the invaluable contribution of the two prominent human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in India," the experts said. "We encourage the authorities to ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society, which play a critical role in holding the Government to account and buttressing the Indian democracy," they said. The UN experts noted the "outstanding national and profile" as human rights lawyers of Jaising, a former member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Grover, who was the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health from 2008 to 2014. The statement said FCRA's "broad and vague" terms such as "political nature", "economic interest of the State" or "public interest" are "overly broad, do not conform to a prescribed aim, and are not a proportionate responses to the purported goal of the restriction". The Syrian opposition should be encouraged to participate in government work to help a dialogue that can lead to new elections being held in the country, Russia's President said today. Speaking to Russia's top economic forum, Putin said that creating a new government that will have the trust of most of Syria's population is key to ending the five-year conflict. He said that this goal can only be achieved through drafting a new constitution and holding new elections. Putin said that Syrian President Bashar Assad, who visited Moscow last year, has pledged to help achieve that. "There is nothing more democratic than elections," Putin said. The Russian leader said he expects the US to work with its allies in the region to encourage the Syrian opposition to engage in a constructive dialogue with the government. "It's necessary to think about incorporating some opposition representatives in the existing government structures," he said. Earlier today, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly warned Washington against striking Assad's forces, saying it would fuel turmoil across the entire region. An attempt to topple Assad's government "wouldn't help a successful fight against terrorism and could plunge the region into total chaos," Peskov said. He made the statement while asked to comment about an internal document in which dozens of US State Department employees called for military action against Assad's forces. President Barack Obama called for regime change in Syria early on in the five-year conflict, but so far has only authorized strikes against the Islamic State group and other US-designated terror groups in Syria. Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since last September, helping Assad's forces regain some ground. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said that the calls for a military action against Assad "can't but worry any reasonable person." "Who would bear responsibility for that?" he asked. Getting a new client on board for mutual fund (MF) investments is in itself an achievement. Asking for a separate cheque for advice offered is a bit much to expect, says Ashutosh Pandey, a Dhanbad-based independent financial advisor (IFA). Nick Cannon insists that his latest release 'Divorce Papers' is just a "creative way" to vent out his "frustrations with the media, the naysayers, myself and ultimately with the voices in my head." Talking about the latest freestyle rap, the 35-year-old rapper said that his purpose for creating 'Divorce Papers' was neither to feed "the tabloid chatter" nor to "diffuse it". The 'Gigolo' hit-maker further said that though he had apprehensions about releasing the freestyle rap, he later felt "it was necessary to clear the air and set the record straight once and for all." Speaking on his relationship with former wife Mariah Carey, Cannon reassured that he is happy for her and for all her new endeavors. "I sincerely hope the media doesn't once again try to manipulate my words or my purpose for releasing this song," E!Online quoted Cannon as saying. Cannon's freestyle is an emotional diary of his life and chronicles everything from disappointment with the media's coverage of his divorce and to his kids Monroe and Moroccan. Pronouncing the quantum of sentence for the 24 convicts in the Gulberg society massacre, a special SIT court in Ahmadabad on Friday awarded life-imprisonment to 11 accused, seven-year jail term to 12 others and a 10-year prison term for another guilty in this case. The case pertains to the massacre of 69 people, including former Congress lawmaker Ehsan Jafri, during communal riots in Gujarat on February 28, 2002. During the hearing earlier, the defence said the eight witnesses have not been able to recognize the convicts, adding minimum punishment should be given on this basis. Appearing for the accused, Rajkot-based senior lawyer Abhay Bharadwaj had earlier said that they should be given a chance to reform themselves as they don't have past criminal records. The prosecution had sought nothing less than death sentence or jail term till death for all convicts while the defence lawyers contested that the incident was spontaneous and there were enough provocations for it. Six accused had died during the trial. Of the 24 convicted today, 11 have been charged with murder, while 13 others have been convicted for lesser offences. VHP leader Atul Vaidya is among the 24 convicted in this case. Gulberg society case is one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed in an encounter with Maoist rebels in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Friday morning. The gunshots were fired from both two sides in Patharchhapra forest area of Giridih district. Last month, from Latehar area of Jharkhand CRPF had seized 59 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of 1 kg each along with 50 m of codex wire in Bikra forest area at the cusp of Herhanj and Manika police stations. The rebels have operated for decades across a wide swath of central and eastern parts of the country and have grown in strength during recent times. They have killed police and politicians and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in an insurgency that has left hundereds dead in the last three-or-so decades. The accused in the brutal rape and murder of Dalit student Jisha, was sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the Perumbavoor Court today. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said earlier today that the investigation team has received full information about the accused, who is reportedly a migrant labourer from Assam. "The police are questioning him, we will soon get his version of the events that led to the murder. Kerala was waiting to catch hold of Jisha's killer. This is definitely a feather in the cap of Kerala Police," he said in a series of tweets. The Police also reportedly recovered the knife he used to murder Jisha. According to reports, Kochi Police reports state that DNA test has confirmed that Ameerul Islam, is indeed Jisha's killer. Speaking to media, ADGP B. Sandhya said that the arrest of the culprit has been recorded. "He won't be produced before media as an identification parade is due. Preparation of remand report evidence gathering, medical examination and other formalities will follow," she said. The Kerala High Court had last week rejected the plea for a CBI probe into the case, stating that the new SIT had been set up in the case The 29-year-old law student was brutally raped and murdered on April 28, in which her body sustained at least 30 injuries, including on her private parts. The rape garnered major attention as it was during the state polls, in which the opposition took on the UPF Government for showing a lackadaisical attitude towards the probe into the matter. Reports suggest that Pakistan benefitted the most in the death of Afghan Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in an airstrike by the U.S. forces in Balochistan province last month. An article published in The Diplomat cites several instances to state that Pakistan is the biggest beneficiary of Mullah Mansour's death. Though Pakistan is widely believed to be supporting the Afghan Taliban movement by providing them with weapons, money, training and sanctuaries, reports suggest that Islamabad wanted get rid of Mansour. Reports state that there was a fall out between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Mansour in recent months. The fact that the Taliban leader was killed while traveling back from Iran to Pakistan raises many questions that he had been trying to establish a closer relationship with Tehran due to a worsening relationship with the Pakistani intelligence establishment. According to reports, Mansour also moved his family to Iran in order to reduce his dependence on Islamabad. Another example why Pakistan would benefit from his death is because of his failure to reunite the Taliban, which had split into two factions following the death of founding leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. Splinter Taliban group led by Mullah Rasool moved to southwestern Afghanistan and opposed Mansour's leadership of the group. The present Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is well positioned to reunite the splinter Taliban group as he hails from the same Noorzai tribe as that of Rasool. On the other hand, Mansour was from the Ishaqzai tribe. In addition, Akhundzada is famous for being a religious leader rather than a military or political leader. This makes him well positioned to unite the Taliban on a religious basis. It is said that Akhundzada's lack of political or military skills will also benefit Pakistan, as his deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani will likely to be running the political and military affairs of the Taliban. Haqqani also heads the notorious Haqqani Network, which is believed to be the closest of all Afghan insurgent groups to Pakistan's ISI. Reports, therefore, suggest this will lead the Pakistani intelligence to have more control over the day-to-day operations of the Taliban. Another position where Pakistan could be benefited is disruption of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) following Mansour's death. Pakistan's failure to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table has led to pressure from the United States and Afghanistan. And the pressure from Washington became intense when its Congress decided to block U.S. funding for a sale of F-16s to Islamabad. Reports, however, suggest that Pakistan can use this opportunity as an excuse for not bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table and claim that that the militant group is going through a leadership transition as a result of which they do not want to enter peace talks. But some reports also suggest that by providing information on Mansour's whereabouts to Washington for the airstrike, Pakistan might have won some much-needed goodwill with the U.S. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the plea of a 92-year-old convict in an honour killing case, asking him to surrender before the police. Putti, a resident of Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, was convicted in the case dating back to 1980 by a trial court and was awarded life sentence two years later. He challenged the order in Allahabad High Court, which upheld the trial court's order earlier this year after a 34-year-long wait. Putti, however, refused to budge and approached the apex court seeking leniency on the ground of his advanced age. Two other convicts in the case died during trial. The Afghan security forces shot dead a suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province before he could carry out an attack. The suicide bomber was shot dead in Kot district earlier today. The bomber was suspected of targeting the Afghan National Police and Afghan Local Police forces, Provincial Security Chief General Zarawar Zahid quoted a statement issued by the provincial government media office as saying, reports Khaama Press. Zahid added that the suicide bomber was shot dead after he was identified by the security forces in Janjal Ghhodi area. However, no militant group has claimed responsibility of the bomber so far. The Taliban militants and insurgents loyal to ISIS terrorist group are actively operating in a number of remote districts of Nangarhar province, and Kot district is one of them, including Achin, where such radical elements have their presence and conduct insurgency activities. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is presently on a three-day visit to India, called on his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House here on Friday. Both leaders led delegation-level talks after the meeting. "Together with Thailand. PM @narendramodi receives Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha at Hyderabad House for talks," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. "Enhancing a wide ranging partnership. The two Prime Ministers lead the #IndiaThailand delegation level talks," Swarup said in another tweet. Boosting maritime ties and enhancing cooperation on combating militancy are likely to feature prominently during the talks. The discussions on education, science and technology and people-to-people contacts are also expected to figure during the bilateral engagements. The Thai Prime Minister earlier met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. "A Rashtrapati Bhvn recep'n for the visiting dignitary. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is welcomed by PM @narendramodi," Swarup said. Accompanied by his deputy, five senior ministers and a 46 -member business delegation, the Thai Prime Minister arrived in New Delhi yesterday for a three-day visit aimed at reviewing bilateral relations. The Thai Prime Minister, who was received by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on his arrival, is visiting the country on the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. Prayuth will also address events organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Thai Prime Minister will also visit Bodh Gaya, a prime Buddhist pilgrimage, before heading back home on Saturday. This is Prayuth's first visit to India. Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had visited India in January 2012 when she was invited as chief guest for India's Republic Day celebrations. 'The Nanny' star Ann Morgan Guilbert, who was widely known as Millie Helper in the 1960s sitcom 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' recently passed away at the age of 87 after battling cancer. Her daughter Nora Eckstein confirmed the news, reports Variety. Fran Drescher took to the social media to pay tribute to her longtime colleague, tweeting, "Such a great actress! I thank you Annie. Thank you for all the laughs! May you be cracking them up in heaven!" Guilbert, who is survived by her two daughters, actress Hallie Todd and Nora Eckstein, had appeared on several popular shows like, 'My Three Sons,' 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hou,' 'I Dream of Jeannie,' 'The Partridge Family', 'American Style' and 'The New Andy Griffith Show'. Recently, the late television actress appeared in a recurring role on HBO's 'Getting On' and the CBS comedy, 'Life in Pieces'. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, has said Islamabad is not breaching any agreement by constructing a gate on the Torkham border. Aziz, who was addressing the National Assembly, said Islamabad will go on with the project to make effective border management possible. He claimed that Islamabad had informed the Afghan authorities about its intention to build the gate, adding the construction work had started back in November 2014. "When Afghan authorities expressed their reservations, we took them into confidence and told them that the gate is constructed inside Pakistani territory," Dawn quoted Aziz as saying. Aziz further said such border management steps will help both countries in their combined efforts to combat terrorism as "unregulated movement allows infiltration of terrorists and smugglers". The Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs also talked about regulating all other border crossings with Afghanistan in near future. The recent murder of a 16-year-old girl in Pakistan's Abbottabad for helping her friend escape to marry according to her own will has yet again brought to the fore the gruesome incidents like honor killings and killing for refusal of marriage proposals besides exposing the fact that there is no existence of any law in the country which would punish the perpetrators of these crimes. The girl Ambreen was last month taken from her home to an abandoned house drugged, killed and placed in the backseat of a parked van on the behest of a 15-member Jirga. The van was then set on fire. The recent cases of honor killings, forced marriages, acid throwing and killing for refusal of marriage proposals in the country is a testament to the fact that criminal justice system has become dysfunctional and failed to protect citizens from the brutal and tyrant actions. The life and honour of females in Pakistan today is cut short with no fear of punishment by the perpetrators. A recent article published in The Nation highlights several such incidents and the woes of the feminine gender in Pakistan. 21-year-old Maria Sadaqat, a female school teacher, was tortured and set on fire by the school principal along with five others after she refused a marriage proposal. The perpetrators sprinkled kerosene oil on her at her house in Murree. Sadaqat, who succumbed to her injuries at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on June 1, is not the only victim of such barbarity. Despite countless incidents of such inhuman activities across the country, it is quite regrettable that no action has been initiated yet to bring the perpetrators to book. In another gruesome incident, a 16-year-old girl of Bheel community was killed after being sexual assaulted by the son of a police constable when she went into the farmland in Khipro town of Sanghar in Sindh. The people from her community and the civil society activists have been staging protests for the perpetrator's arrest. In the latest case of honour killing in Karachi metropolis, Sumaira, 16, was murdered by her brother in April. He slit her throat with a kitchen knife after he found her talking to a man on her mobile phone at the doorstep of her home in Orangi Town. Though countless incidents of sexual assault and honour killings occur in rural areas of Sindh, only few are being reported. The article suggests that the only way to control this atrocious and vicious crime of killing innocent girls is through speedy justice and severe punishments to the offenders. Other Asia, led by India, is anticipated to be the main contributor to oil demand growth in 2016 OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report Crude Oil Price Movements The OPEC Reference Basket averaged $43.21/b in May, representing a gain of $5.35 over the previous month. ICE Brent ended up $4.31 at $47.65/b, while Nymex WTI rose $5.67 to $46.80/b. The ICE Brent-Nymex WTI spread narrowed significantly to 85/b in May from $2.21/b the month before. World Economy World economic growth is forecast at 3.1% for this year, after estimated growth of 2.9% the year before, both unchanged from the previous month. OECD growth in 2016 remains at 1.9%, slightly below the 2.0% seen in 2015. The forecast for the major emerging economies remains unchanged. China and India continue to expand this year at a considerable level of 6.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Brazil and Russia, however, are forecast to remain in recession this year, contracting by 3.4% and 1.1%, respectively. World Oil Demand World oil demand growth for 2016 remains unchanged from the previous report at 1.20 mb/d to average 94.18 mb/d. Other Asia, led by India, is anticipated to be the main contributor to oil demand growth in 2016. Similar to 2015, transportation fuels, supported by healthy vehicle sales and the low oil price environment, are projected to provide the bulk of expected growth. The 2015 growth estimate was also left unchanged at 1.54 mb/d to average 92.98 mb/d. World Oil Supply The forecast for non-OPEC oil supply in 2016 remains unchanged, with a contraction of 0.74 mb/d expected to average 56.40 mb/d. The downward revisions in Canada, Brazil and Colombia broadly offset upward revisions in the US, UK, Russia and Azerbaijan. Non-OPEC supply growth in 2015 was left unchanged at 1.47 mb/d. OPEC NGLs and non-conventionals are expected to increase by 0.16 mb/d to average 6.29 mb/d this year. In May, secondary sources show OPEC crude oil production decreased by 0.1 mb/d to average 32.36 mb/d. Product Markets and Refining Operations The high level of inventories in light and middle distillates, along with the approaching end of the spring maintenance season, offset the potential impact from events in Canada and France. This caused margins to edge lower in the Atlantic Basin, despite stronger gasoline demand in the region. Meanwhile, in Asia, refinery margins showed a slight recovery on the back of stronger regional gasoline and gasoil demand amid a peak in refinery maintenance. Tanker Market Sentiment in the dirty tanker market was generally weak in May. VLCC and Suezmax spot freight rates declined on the back of light tonnage demand and increased tanker availability. However, Aframax spot freight rates improved. Clean tanker freight rates declined on average, as a result of low freight rates reported for West of Suez. In May, global chartering activities dropped and sailings from the Middle East, and OPEC more broadly, were lower month-on-month. Stock Movements OECD commercial oil stocks rose slightly in April to stand at 3,046 mb. At this level, OECD commercial oil stocks are around 338 mb above the latest five-year average, with crude indicating a lower surplus of 194 mb and products broadly flat at 144 mb. In terms of days of forward cover, OECD commercial stocks stood at 66.4 days, some 7.1 days higher than the five-year average. Balance of Supply and Demand Demand for OPEC crude in 2016 is projected at 31.5 mb/d, unchanged from the last report and 1.8 mb/d higher than last year. For 2015, demand for OPEC crude is also unchanged, averaging 29.7 mb/d, which represents a decline of 0.1 mb/d from the previous year. Estimate for 2015 Demand for OPEC crude for 2015 remained unchanged from the previous month to stand at 29.7 mb/d, representing a decline of 0.1 mb/d from the 2014 level. All quarters remained unchanged. 1Q15 fell by 0.8 mb/d, while 2Q15 and 3Q15 remained flat versus the same quarters last year. 4Q15 rose by 0.4 mb/d y-o-y. Forecast for 2016 Demand for OPEC crude for 2016 remained unchanged from the previous MOMR and is projected to increase by 1.8 mb/d to average 31.5 mb/d. Within the quarters, both 1Q16 and 4Q16 were revised down by 0.2 mb/d and 0.1 mb/d, respectively, while 2Q16 was revised up by 0.1 mb/d. 3Q16 remained unchanged. 1Q16 and 2Q16 are expected to increase by 1.0 mb/d and 2.1 mb/d, respectively, while 3Q16 and 4Q16 are both projected to increase, rising by 2.2 mb/d and 1.8 mb/d, respectively. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Delay in regulatory approvals may reduce pharma exports' growth by half Export of pharmaceutical products from India is likely to cross $14. billion (bn) mark this year and may reach about $20 bn by 2020, thereby registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about eight per cent, according to an ASSOCHAM-TechSci Research joint study. However, growth in pharmaceutical products' exports from India may decline by almost half i.e. from the level of CAGR of about 15 per cent clocked during 2010-14 to about eight per cent during 2015-2020 on account of delay in regulatory approvals in top markets of the US, Russia, Africa and others, highlighted the study titled 'IPR in pharmaceuticals: Balancing, innovation and access,' jointly conducted by ASSOCHAM and TechSci Research. Consolidation of pharmacy players is leading to an increase in pricing pressures for generic companies existing in the US market which is expected to result in decline in year-on-year growth of pharmaceutical exports from India over next five years, highlighted the ASSOCHAM-TechSci Research study. Besides, a steep decline in currency in emerging markets like Africa, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela is expected to add woes to drug manufacturing companies that supply pharmaceutical drugs to that region and are unable to generate high revenues on account of selling their drugs at a low priced currency. India is the largest supplier of medicine to the US. Pharmaceutical exports from India to the US rose from $3.4 bn in 2013 to $3.7 bn in 2014, mainly due to increasing demand for high quality generic drugs in the market. However, growth rate for exports of pharmaceutical products from India to the US is declining, due to increasing US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) scrutiny on the quality of pharma products coming from drug manufacturing plants located in India. In order to boost growth rate of exports to the US, Indian companies will need to leverage their compliance to the USFDA regulations. The exchange rate crisis in the country is affecting pharmaceuticals market in Russia. As such, stabilization of currency is of utmost importance in generating revenues through exports. In addition, many Indian companies are operating through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program (PBP) and hospital tenders, for supplying vital and essential drugs, for which prices are then regulated by the Russian government. Similarly, India's exports of pharmaceuticals to Africa are being affected due to port delays and prolonged custom valuation. Pharmaceuticals' exports are a major factor contributing to growth of this industry in India with the US and few fast growing markets like Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and in South-East Asia emerging as the main export markets for generic drugs, said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the study. India's pharmaceutical industry has transformed from being mainly a generic manufacturer to providing complex drug formulations to foreign markets thereby registering a significant growth, said Mr Rawat. Pharmaceutical market in India is being driven by rapid socio-economic changes, rising sedentary lifestyle amid people and expected growth in number of people suffering from obesity, diabetes, cardiac problems and other related ailments, he added. Further, with a view to benefit and drive the growth of pharmaceutical research and innovation in India, the ASSOCHAM-TechSci Research study has recommended for data protection to be introduced as an Intellectual Property Right. It has also suggested for digitisation of IPR for pharmaceuticals in India to strengthen online processing and maintenance of information database thereby making the process more systematic and convenient. Though it would require allocation of more personnel for patent examinations and training sessions to be organised as part of resource development module, the study has emphasised that efficient management of IPR filings would help in building a stronger IPR framework in India. India's pharmaceutical market may reach $20 bn this year and about $55 bn by 2020 from about $18 bn as of 2014 thereby clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 22 per cent. Pharmaceutical sector in India will register higher growth during the course of next five years (22 per cent) as compared to a CAGR of about 14 per cent clocked by the sector during 2010-14. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Department-related Parliament Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will visit Bengaluru, Chennai and Bhopal beginning 20th June, 2016. The committee consisting of 28 MPs will be chaired by Dr E. M. S. Natchiappan. During the visit, the Committee will hold meeting with the representatives of recognised political parties and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state on implementation of Model Code of Conduct for Political Parties during General Elections. The members will also meet the representatives of State Governments, State Public Service Commission and Administrative Training Institute and Indian Institute of Management in the respective states, on the subject of appointment of advisors/experts in Government establishments. During visit to Bengaluru, the committee will visit the National Law School of India University and hold interaction with Christ University School of Law, Law Academies, Law firms including State Judicial Academy, Bar Council of Karnataka and University Law College, Bangalore University on Promotion of Legal Education and Research under the Advocates Act, 1961. The Committee will also hold meeting with State Bank of Mysore, Vijaya Bank, Aeronautical Development Establishment, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and National Small Industries Corporation on the Status of implementation of Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act. In Chennai, the committee will visit the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University and hold discussions on Promotion of Legal Education and Research . The committee will also hold meeting with representatives of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Indian Overseas Bank, Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI), National Thermal Power Corporation, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Airports Authority of India on the Status of implementation of Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act. During its visit to Bhopal, the committee will hold discussion with Gas Authority of India (GAIL), Northern Coalfields Limited, National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), Metallurgical & Engineering Consultants (MECON), Bharat Coking Coal Limited and Oriental Insurance Company on the Status of implementation of Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act. The committee will also visit the National Judicial Academy of India, Bhopal and hold interaction on Promotion of Legal Education and Research. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The matter relating to violations of law, criminal offences and default in payments to investors on the platform of National Spot Exchange (NSEL) is engaging the serious attention of the Government. Investigations and other enforcement measures are being taken by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The progress of these activities is being monitored in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),Ministry of Finance through Review Meetings. So far, eleven such meetings have taken place. The last such Review Meeting was held on 06 June 2016 under the Chairmanship of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary (Economic Affairs),Ministry of Finance. The latest status with regard to some of the important aspects of the case and the key decisions taken in the Review Meeting are as under: Government of Maharashtra has issued fifth Gazette notification on 17 March 2016 for attachment of 151 properties worth Rs. 358.46 Crores approximately. Till date, five Gazette notifications have been issued in respect of attachment of assets worth Rs. 6115.25 Crores approximately. MCA is working on the merger / amalgamation of NSEL with Financial Technologies (India) (FTIL). Bombay High Court had granted extension of time up to 15 February 2016 to MCA for taking final view on the draft order of the amalgamation. MCA issued the final Order on 12.2.2016 for the merger of NSEL with FTIL. Hon'ble Bombay High Court, however, has restrained the Government from notifying the final Order dated 12 February 2016 in the Gazette. In the review meeting, MCA was requested to take quick action and ensure that the case is handled on priority. Further, it was advised that a senior officer should visit Mumbai to follow up on the Court case. The Enforcement Directorate had filed a prosecution complaint before the City Civil Court And Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay on 30 March 2015 against NSEL and 67 other accused persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The prosecution complaint details money trail amounting to Rs. 3721.22 crores. The next date of hearing is on 7 July 2016. It was pointed out to the Directorate that the violation of PMLA is a serious offence and therefore, the Directorate should be more proactive and take effective action quickly. FIU-IND passed an Order on 4.11.2015 under section 13 of the PMLA imposing a penalty of Rs. 1.66 crores on the NSEL for non-compliance of the Act. NSEL has gone in appeal in the PMLA Tribunal against the Order passed by Director, FIU-IND. Besides this, Show Cause Notices have been issued to officials / Directors concerned of NSEL. FIU-IND was advised that all out efforts may be made to ensure realisation of the penalty at the earliest. As decided in the previous review meeting, Government of Maharashtra is working on proposals for providing additional manpower for Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police which is investigating the NSEL case on an urgent basis; augmenting the number of Designated Courts under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999; and deployment of full time competent authorities for dealing exclusively with NSEL related work. Action has been initiated by the Government of Maharashtra to auction attached properties. The State Government was advised that it may closely monitor the progress of the investigation / prosecution by the EOW, Mumbai Police with a view to expediting the refund of the lost investment of public. The auction of attached properties needs to be expedited and the money realised may be returned to the investors at the earliest following the due procedure. SEBI has appointed empanelled auditors to conduct detailed inspection of books of five brokers of the erstwhile Forward Markets Commission whose names figure in the list of offenders received from EOW, Mumbai Police. SEBI was asked to get the audit of the books of brokers carried out in a comprehensive manner and expedite necessary action under law. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)on Friday said the besieged Syrian town of Al-Waer received food, health, education and other emergency supplies, the first aid to reach the location's desperate population in over three months. Catering to the needs of 37,500 people, this means that 16 out of 18 locations surrounded by warring factions on Thursday received critical assistance since relief operations kicked off in February, Xinhua news agency reported. Pending government approval, OCHA said a second convoy is scheduled to provide additional supplies to Al-Waer's estimated population of 75,000 people in the coming days. The remaining two besieged towns of Arbin and Zamalka, in rural Damascus, are also set to receive aid shortly though no indication as to when or whether operations will take place was given by OCHA. Adequate humanitarian access is considered a vital component for the resumption of Syria peace talks seeking to broker a political end to the five-year conflict. Negotiations between warring factions have been on hold since April this year as a result of the concerning security and humanitarian situation in the country at war since 2011. --IANS py/vm After wowing the audiences across the world, the award-winning documentary, "Awake: The Life of Yogananda", an unconventional biography of the eminent Indian Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, is releasing in India on June 17. Narrated by the veteran actor Anupam Kher, the film is releasing a week ahead of the Inernational Yoga Day which is celebrated on June 21. The movie is releasing in major cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chandigarh. Written and directed by Academy Award nominated director Paola Di Florio and Lisa Leeman, the film features interviews of eminent personalities, including George Harrison, Ravi Shankar and Krishna Das. "India holds very special place in my heart. I went there for the first time to film 'Awake: The Life of Yogananda'. I was a bit of sceptic at the time and could not have imagined that the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda would completely change my life," said the director Paola Di Florio. "The documentary is an unconventional biography of Paramhansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s and also authored the spiritual classic 'Autobiography of a Yogi' which sold millions of copies and is a go-to book for seekers, philosophers and Yoga enthusiasts," she added. -- IANS mg/lok Film: 'Awake - The Life of Yogananda'; Co-directors: Paola Di Florio and Lisa Leeman; Voiceover: Anupam Kher; Rating: **1/2 This biopic, directed by Paola Di Florio and Lisa Leeman, celebrates the life of Paramahansa Yogananda. It is an inspiring, fascinating and informative documentary that is affectionately told. But, it falls a little short in explaining Yogananda's spiritual inclination. For the uninitiated, Paramahansa Yogananda, born Mukunda Lal G, was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced yoga and meditation to millions of westerners in the early 1920s. Narrated in a non-linear manner, the film encapsulates the spiritual master's life, right from the time he was in his mother's womb till his death in 1952 and beyond. It does so by explaining how his teachings have influenced his followers even after his death. The arc of the narrative reveals how Yogananda, after the death of his mother, finds his spiritual guru in Benaras and later settles in Ranchi, where he receives his divine calling; to travel to the US to teach yoga. It further reveals that the Yogi was reluctant to travel yet was dutiful. After reaching Boston, he realised that the ideal place for him to make an impact in the US was by being in California. And so, he soon set up his centre there. Most of the talking heads are his admirers who testify his belief in yoga as "science of the soul and cosmic senses" rather than mystic art - a "philosophical system" with meditation as its main tool. John Lynn, an oil tycoon, emphasises it further by saying, "meditation is the catch word". There is ample cultural context as well. The acceptance of a brown skinned foreigner preaching the science of religion in an advance society versus resentment and suspicion. The film also tactfully reveals how Yogananda though being a supporter of Gandhi, refrained from his ascetic extremes. The visuals, layered over a first-person voice-over narrative delivered by actor Anupam Kher meshes a series of; black-and-white re-enactments, elementary 2D animation, archival footages - print, radio and television along with interviews of those who knew Yogananda well and those who study his teachings today. Packed with random generic visuals, the film is designed like the documentaries of the 1980s. Anupam Kher's weak and limp voice further highlights this. The dramatisations, though sober, come from the talking heads like author Deepak Chopra, Krishna Das, Brother Vishwananda, Sri Daya Mata, Anita Goel, Andrew Newberg, author and journalists Phil Goldberg, Stefanie Syman and Robert Love and yoga guru Bikram Chaudhary. Overall, this film will specifically appeal to Yogananda's followers. And though it is not quite hagiography, it is almost hard not to get caught up in the film's admiring tone. --IANS troy/rb/vt In Egypt there is a saying, "Why did you choose this bitter remedy?" And the answer is, "I chose it because the alternative was even bitterer." If it were up to me, I'd still choose Clinton than Trump. The Daily Caller, by Eric Owen Getty Images/YASSER AL-ZAYYAT, Getty Images/Joe Readle, Getty Images/YASSER AL-ZAYYAT Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton harshly criticized three countries for directly funding terrorists who are actively seeking to attack the United States and Western Europe. The governments of this trio of nations have contributed between $16 million and $40 million to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton sharply denounced the three countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar in a speech in Cleveland on Monday. It was her first public speech after Saturday nights terrorist massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Efforts to defeat ISIS on the battlefield must succeed, Clinton said. But it will take more than that. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee then identified three areas that demand attention if America is to thwart future terrorist attacks. The third of these areas, Clinton said, is the prevention of efforts by ISIS and other international terrorist networks to recruit in the United States and Europe. "For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations, Clinton declared. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism. The governments of all three of the countries which Clinton blamed for funding terrorism have contributed very lavishly to the Clinton Foundation. (RELATED: Persian Gulf Sheiks Gave $100 Million to Clinton Foundation) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given the Clinton Foundation an unspecified amount between $10 million and $25 million, according to the nonprofits records. The State of Kuwait has donated between $5 million and $10 to the Clinton Foundation. The State Of Qatar has given the Clinton Foundation between $1 million and $5 million. The Clinton Foundations impact would not be possible without the generous support of our donors and grantors, the Clinton Foundation explains. Their generosity makes our work possible and we thank them. Hillary Clinton did not mention the prodigal donations to the Clinton Foundation from the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis when she criticized them this week. In 2015, the annual budget of the Clinton Foundation was over $223 million, according to The Washington Post. While Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, Clinton Foundation officials used an obscure New York state charity board filing to disclose that the nonprofit received nearly $17.7 million in donations from foreign governments. (EXCLUSIVE: Cryptic NY Filing Revealed Clinton Foundation Foreign Donations) During Clintons tenure as Secretary of State, the foundation operated in at least 29 countries, including places that contained rampant corruption such as Nigeria, Uganda, Ukraine, Haiti, Mozambique, China and South Africa. A British man was on Friday sentenced to 18 months in prison by a Cambodian court, for sexually abusing three underage boys. Roy Sheppard, 77, was convicted of committing "indecent act" against three boys between 12 and 16 years old, in violation of the law on suppression of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, Xinhua news agency quoted a child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) as saying. The NGO assisted police in a probe leading to the arrest and conviction of Sheppard. The court also ordered his deportation from Cambodia after he served his jail term and fined him $1,000 in compensation to each of the victims. Sheppard was arrested in October last year after ppolice received complaints from the parents of the victims. Later, he was released on bail for health reasons. Cambodia launched an anti-paedophile operation in 2003 in a bid to end its reputation as a haven for child sex offenders. Since then, dozens of foreigners have been imprisoned for child sex crimes. --IANS ask/py/vt Saint Petersburg, June 17 (IANS/AKI) 'Brexit' will impact financial markets but it is Britons who risk the most if they vote to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23, Italy's Premier Matteo Renzi warned on Friday. "Those who are at greatest risk are the citizens, even if in an initial phase there would be financial turbulence," Renzi told an economic forum in St Petersburg, Russia. Renzi however played down recent opinion polls suggesting 'Brexit' could prevail in the upcoming referendum in which immigration and the economy are key issues. "I think the British are most serious-minded than the surveys suggest," he said. Whatever the outcome of the referendum in Britain, the 60-year-old European Union risks implosion unless it changes, Renzi said. "Europe needs a new burst of energy and not just to react to events...it needs to re-start or it is finished." Renzi also said Europe and Russia needed to "become good neighbours again". The stalemate over sanctions imposed on Moscow after its annexation of Crimea "could be overcome" if the Minsk accords were fully implemented, Renzi stated.--IANS/AKI rn Actor-filmmaker Sunny Deol, whose long-awaited film "Mohalla Assi" is yet to see the light of the day after facing a censor board hurdle, on Friday said that CBFC should only be allowed to certify a film and not try to stop it from releasing. After fighting against the censor board, filmmaker Abhishek Chaubey's "Udta Punjab" finally got released on Friday. However, "Mohalla Assi", directed by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, has not been issued any certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) due to the use of abusive words in the film. Asked whether "Mohalla Assi" makers are planning to go against CBFC's decision after the release of "Udta Punjab", Sunny said: "The film should have released till now. It will definitely get released some day. The producers are fighting for it. There is nothing in it which needs to be censored. We should not try to stop a film's release. "From the creative point of view, we always feel that our film doesn't get to face any problem but then there is a board sitting there to correct us. If they are correct or not, this war has been going on since long time. There is no conclusion to this war." Talking about the certification issue of "Mohalla Assi", Sunny said: "I feel end of the day after the film has been made, they (CBFC) should only give certificate to the film and not stop its release. What they should see is that if the film is a fictitious one or not. "We should imply censorship on the internet and television which people misuse a lot in order to say anything to anybody." Sunny, who was last seen on the big screen in "Ghayal Once Again", which will have its world television premiere on Zee Cinema on June 26, said currently he is working towards his son's debut film. "Right now, my priority is working towards my son's film. I'm working that out," added Sunny, who has two sons - Karan and Rajvir. Apart from acting in "Ghayal Once Again", Sunny also directed the film. He says both the jobs have their own aspects. "I think direction is tougher because there you have to command a whole army. As an actor, you do your work and you do something wrong, then the director is there to stop you," Sunny said. The "Gadar" star is currently working in films like "Bhaiyyaji Superhitt" and the remake of Marathi film "Poster Boyz", in which he will be seen alongside his brother Bobby Deol. --IANS sas/nn/vm The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, on Friday voiced strong dissatisfaction after some US lawmakers met the Dalai Lama in Washington. "The meeting went against the US commitment that Tibet is a part of Chinese territory and it does not support 'Tibet independence'," said a statement issued by the NPC's Foreign Affairs Committee. The meeting also breached basic norms of international relations and constituted an interference in China's internal affairs, it said. US House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and some lawmakers met the Tibetan leader on June 14. The Dalai Lama lives in India along with thousands of Tibetans. --IANS ahm/mr Citizen journalism, often seen as a more democratic form of journalism where the public contributes to the reporting, analysis and dissemination of news, sometimes leads to outright cyber bullying, warns a study. Citizen journalism allows the ordinary citizens to witness events, document them on their mobile phones and share them on social media. It has also become an increasingly important news source that often sets the tone of how an event is perceived by the world, the study said. "Common within this type of citizen journalism is that it is perceived as truth to at least the same extent as ordinary journalism," said sociologist and criminologist Agneta Mallen from Lund University in Sweden. The credibility of the video is often enhanced by poor film quality and shaky image, thus allowing the viewers to become less critical of the source. "Another problem with citizen journalism is that it opens the door to cyber bullying," Mallen noted. In a study, she analysed a video clip that circulated a few years ago under the name "Crazy Granny", which shows an elderly woman who looks as if she is trying to sneak away without paying for her taxi fare. The clip has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and in hundreds of comments the woman is defamed and ridiculed. "The comments against the old lady were extremely harsh. Many of them were sexist and encouraged violence. Furthermore, from the comments it was possible to determine the woman's identity and address," Mallen noted. She read the taxi driver's police report against the woman and got a completely different story than the one told in the video clip. It turned out that the woman was not at all trying to avoid paying for her taxi fare, but rather the conflict was about her accidentally spilling on the seat of the taxi, and the fact that the driver wanted her to pay damages before letting her leave. The police classified it as an accident and immediately closed the preliminary investigation. "But the damage was already done. The woman was humiliated in a massive cyber bullying campaign and never received any redress. She was also subjected to a virtual punishment for something she did not do," rued the researchers. The study was published in the Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention. --IANS ng/rt/gb/vt A 100-year-old woman recently got a new lease of life after being successfully implanted with pacemaker at a hospital here. Phoolwati Gaharwar suffered from recurrent spells of unconsciousness following a fall from her bed. Tests revealed that though there were no external injuries, her cardiac electrical system was affected. According to doctors at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, her condition required an urgent implant of pacemaker for normal functioning of her heart. However, her advanced age posed a challenge with doctors predicting only a 50 per cent chance for her surviving the surgical procedure. The doctors decided to implant pacemaker and also indicated to the family members the challenges associated with patients at advanced ages. "The decision to implant the pacemaker was imperative as she was suffering with recurrent unconscious spells. The fact that despite her age she had no co-morbidities to complicate her condition, further helped us," said Aparna Jaswal, Senior Consultant (Electrophysiology) Fortis Escorts. "We implanted a single chamber pace-maker and she is back on her feet and fine," Jaswal added. "We are very thankful to the doctors for allaying our fears about my grandmother's ability to withstand the surgery and for giving her a new lease of life," Nishant Gaharwar, the patient's grandson, noted. --IANS rt/gb/vt Assuring "full support and protection", the Bangladesh government has beefed up the security at the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhakha after a staff member there received a death threat from suspected Islamic State militants in the country. Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup said in a statement here that the Indian high commission in Dhaka "had contacted both the Bangladesh police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have been assured of full support and protection". "We are also in a direct conatact with the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka," Swarup said, adding that the Bangaldesh government has strengthened police presence around the office of the Indian sprituality movement. This comes a day after a priest of the mission filed a complaint with police that he recieved a letter from the Islamic State Bangladesh chapter threatening his life. The letter, according to the Daily Star, reads: "You are Hindus, Bangladesh is an Islamic country. You cannot preach Hindu religion in the country. Go to India. Otherwise, you will be hacked to death." Bangladesh has launched a nationwide crackdown against the militants after targeted killing of minority leaders continued unabashed across the country. Recently, a volunteer of a Hindu monastery, Nityaranjan Pandey, was hacked to death in a series of such killings in Bangladesh. Pandey was associated with Sree Sree Thakur Anukulchandra Satsang Ashram in Pabna Sadar, Rajshahi, of Bangladesh. --IANS sar/vt Senior representatives of foreign missions, including Britain, Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the US, as also tge European Union (EU), gathered here on Friday to reaffirm their strong commitment to equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersexed (LGBTI) citizens. "We are not asking for any special rights for LGBTI citizens but basic human rights," said EU delegation to India counsellor Thibault Devanlay. Devanlay talked about his own sexuality saying: "I was open as a gay man when I joined the ministry and was harrassed by my boss. The entire administration fought for my rights and not for my boss." Spanish Political Counsellor Beatriz Lorenzo said that she was shocked to see the 2015 "reports that 40 percent people below the age of 17 had committed suicide because they were homosexuals". "There is 80 percent acceptance of LGBT community in Spain. A lot has been done and there is a lot that needs to be done. A lot of trans-phobia and homophobia needs to change," she added, at the event hosted by the American Center here. From criminalization of homosexuality to legalization of same sex marriage, many countries have been able to provide the community a right to be treated without discrimination. "In 2009, gender neutral marriage became legal in Norway," said Norwegian Head of Political Affairs, Baard Hjelde. "Since 2001, Germany has been granting almost equal rights to same sex couples," said German Secretary of Industrial Affairs Bjorn Grozinger. "Legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Britain was passed in 2014," said British Deputy High Commissioner Jess Dutton. All delegates expressed their condolences to those impacted by the deadly nightclub shooting that took place on June 12 in Orlando, Florida. "At home, and increasingly abroad, many countries support, organise, or participate in events to celebrate the diversity of their citizens, to reduce discrimination and misinformation about the LGBTI community," said US Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Peletier. "Diverse celebrations will foster a sense of community and belonging, and help to advance human rights for all throughout the world," Peletier concluded. --IANS mg/rn/vm The European Union has lifted its ban on fish imports from Sri Lanka, an official said on Friday. Director of Government Information Ranga Kalanssoriya said the ban was lifted after a recent high-level discussion with the EU, Xinhua news agency reported. The EU imposed the ban in October 2014 for Sri Lanka's failure to prevent local fishermen from violating international fisheries laws and the island country's human rights issues. Sri Lanka's seafood exports were severely hit and continued to decline since the EU ban took effect. Sri Lanka is one of the largest exporters to the EU of high-value fishery products such as swordfish and tuna. According to the EU Commission, Sri Lanka exported to the EU countries 7,400 tonnes of fish worth $94 million in 2013 and over 5,000 tonnes of fisheries products valued at $62.99 million in 2014. --IANS ask/py/vt One of the largest charities helping migrants across Europe said it will no longer accept funds from the European Union and its member states in protest against the "shameful response" to the refugee crisis. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has long called for the creation of safe routes into the continent and joined countless other humanitarian organisations condemning the deal made with Turkey to detain and deport asylum seekers in Greece, the independent reported. Jerome Oberreit, the charity's International Secretary General, said: "For months MSF has spoken out about a shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need." "The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger." An estimated 8,000 people, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, are currently trapped on Greek islands under the terms of the EU-Turkey deal, which will see them deported if their asylum applications fail, without legal aid. MSF said their plight shows the "human cost" of the controversial agreement made in March, which is seeing migrants held for several months in overcrowded camps, where fights, fires and violent protests have broken out. The number of people crossing the Aegean Sea in smugglers' boats has steeply declined since the new rules came into force but asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, continue to arrive. Most of the almost 3,000 deaths recorded this year have been in a succession of disasters on the central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy. Proponents of the EU-Turkey deal, which the European Commission is considering replicating across more than 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East, argued that it aimed to reduce drownings at sea. "Deterrence policies sold to the public as humanitarian solutions have only exacerbated the suffering of people in need," Oberreit said. "There is nothing remotely humanitarian about these policies. It cannot become the norm and must be challenged. "MSF will not receive funding from institutions and governments whose policies do so much harm. We are calling on European governments to shift priorities -- rather than maximising the number of people they can push back, they must maximise the number they welcome and protect." A spokesperson for MSF said its refusal of European state funding would take immediate affect and apply to its projects worldwide, condemning the unacceptable "instrumentalisation of humanitarian aid". The charity accused the EU of setting a dangerous precedent attempting to force people to stay in the countries they are desperate to flee, sparking border closures leading back to Isis territory near Azaz in Syria, where 100,000 civilians are trapped between the closed Turkish border and front lines. "Europe's attempt to outsource migration control is having a domino effect, with closed borders stretching all the way back to Syria," Oberreit said. "People increasingly have nowhere to turn." The organisation has treated an estimated 200,000 people in Europe and in boats on the Mediterranean Sea over the past 18 months and is working with refugees across the continent, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. As well as running clinics at borders and in refugee camps, it operates three search and rescue ships in the Mediterranean that picked up more than 1,300 in just 36 hours last week. The MSF said its rejection of EU funding would not affect patients, and that its activities are already 92 per cent privately-funded. MSF received 19 million pounds from EU institutions in 2015 and another 37 million pounds from member states, as well as working in partnership with Britain and nine other countries. --IANS py/vt usuncut.com A journalists recent Facebook status update destroying the myths about the Orlando shooter is quickly going viral. Che Brandes-Tuka, a scholar, international human rights campaigner, and organizer who works as a journalist for TeleSUR English, ran through the known details of Omar Mateen the 29-year-old who carried out a massacre at an Orlando nightclub that left 49 people dead and 53 others wounded and shredded the myth that he was an Afghan terrorist with ties to ISIS: So after a couple of days of reports and testimonies, we know the following about the Orlando shooter: He was a child of immigrants, born and raised in the United States. He pledged allegiance to Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda AND ISIS, 3 organizations that are de facto at war with each other, showing he was ignorant about all 3, let alone politics in the Middle East in general. He knew practically nothing about Islam and according to his wife, father and community he was not religious in the slightest. Brandes-Tuka pointed out that according to all available evidence, Mateens attack was rooted not in a desire to carry out an act of terrorism in the name of radical Islamic views, but rather as the result of letting hate take over his life and working for an employer with a long background of abuse and domination: He struggled with his toxic masculinity, had an alcohol problem and beat up his wife for which he was never charged. He was racist towards Blacks, Latin@s and other minorities and in the shooting killed predominantly queer people of color. Despite his own alleged queer inclinations, he was a homophobe in a country where still 1 in 5 LGBTQ people are victims of hate crimes and there are more than a 100 anti-LGBTQ bills (from anti-gay marriage to bathroom bills) pending in dozens of states. He idolized the NYPD, one of the countrys most well-known and cherished institutions that has an army bigger than ISIS, is known to indiscriminately and disproportionately spy on Muslims and which engages in systematic violence against Blacks, Latin@s and other minorities. He beat juveniles in detention centers over the head for a living as he worked for and got his training from the private security firm G4S, which is not only one of the foremost stakeholders in the Prisonindustrial complex, but is also invested in mass deportations as it runs immigration detention centers and participates in the occupation of Palestine, training other mass killers in Israel to target and imprison Palestinians. Brandes-Tukas viral post also touched on Americas troubling addiction to guns, the prevalence of mass shootings in recent history, and undue attention paid to violent, hateful, and close-minded viewpoints. He staged a mass shooting in a country that has seen a 1,000 mass shootings in the last 1,200 days. So basically he was ignorant, self-conflicted, racist, sexist, homophobe, had a sick admiration for authority and was obsessed with guns and violence, eventually acting upon all of that. Sorry folks, but your supposed Islamic radical terrorist from Afghanistan is as American as apple pie made with homegrown apples and baked in an American made oven. French fashion brand Marie Claire is foraying into the Indian market, and will soon launch a pret collection aimed at the 20 to 40 years old women. Marie Claire has come exploring the Indian markets with a tie-up for ready-to-wear clothing with Indian manufacturing and marketing giant Epic Brands Pvt Ltd. The line's launch will take place on June 22. Marie Claire and its Indian partner have big plans for the country's market with its offerings which are suited for smart and stylish won. "The products that you are about to discover will give you a taste of the new brand platform to be fully revealed in the fall season. It has been designed to inspire the women in you, now," Stephanie Ertzbischoff, Brand Licensing Director, Marie Claire, said in a statement. Its pret line will showcase "the vivacious ensemble exclusively created by Marie Claire design team for India". "Indian Women are smart and full of life which matches the brand's identity and thus, we see Marie Claire has a great opportunity to grow in India. "We look forward to achieve a good market share in India and achieve the revenue of in excess of Rs 3 billion in next five years," Ertzbischoff added. Marie Claire will cater to the ready-to-wear women category initially which would include short shirts, tops, skirts, trousers, crop tops, tube tanks, tunic, jumpsuits and maxi dresses etc. The price point would start from Rs 999 to Rs 9,999. Amiteshwar Grover, Director, Epic Brands Pvt Ltd, said: "By 2020, we see Marie Claire as top three choices among female consumers when they are looking for classy French styling, great quality and perfect fit." The brand will start to operate with an exclusive brand outlet and multi-brand outlet from 2017 onwards and will initially start with tie-ups with only reputed online fashion stores to market their products. By 2020, plans include 20 exclusive stores and 200 multi brand outlets for Marie Claire in India. --IANS rb/vt A former senior Gujarat police officer, R.B. Sreekumar, on Friday said he was disappointed by the verdict on the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre that left 69 people dead. "The verdict is disappointing and sad," Sreekumar told the media here. "Look, 69 people lost their lives and just 11 have been given life imprisonment. This is wrong," said Sreekumar, who hails from Kerala and lives in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Sreekumar was the Additional Director General of Police in Gujarat when the incident took place. A special court in Ahmedabad on Friday gave life imprisonment to 11 of the 24 persons convicted in the massacre of 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, at the housing society. Twelve convicts got jail for seven years and one was sent to prison for 10 years. Sreekumar said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by R.K. Raghavan, formerly of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the case functioned as a "special immunization team" to give then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit. --IANS sg/mr India and Thailand on Friday agreed to deepen their security engagement and defence partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a double entry e-visa for Thai nationals to facilitate their visit to the Buddhist circuit. Addressing the media here with visiting Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha following delegation-level talks, Modi said India and Thailand were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both countries. He said that close security partnership would help the two countries secure their people from such threats. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offences and human trafficking," Modi said. Prayut Chan-o-cha, who arrived in India on Thursday, met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj earlier in the day. He was given a ceremonial reception on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. Prayut Chan-o-cha is accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders. This is his first visit to India after assuming office of Thailand Prime Minister in May 2014. In his statement after bilateral talks, Modi said that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "We have, therefore, prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between the three countries," he said. Modi said that India was celebrating 150th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, and the document will be translated into Thai language. "I am also happy to announce that to welcome more tourists from Thailand to India, and to help them enjoy their visits to Buddhist sites in India, we will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for citizens of Thailand," he said. He said Festival of India in Thailand, and Festival of Thailand in India will be held next year to commemorate 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. Modi described Thailand as "a trusted and valued friend and one of our closest partners in Southeast Asia." He said the two countries had also agreed to forge a close partnership in "defence and maritime cooperation". He said the partnership will be shaped by "sharing of expertise and experiences, greater staff exchanges and more exercises, cooperation on counter-piracy on seas, deeper engagement in naval patrolling and building linkages in the field of defence research and development and production". Modi said there was particular synergy between Thailand's strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure and India's priorities in this field. Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery were some other areas identified for enhanced collaboration. "We also see early conclusion of a balanced comprehensive economic and partnership agreement as our shared priority," Modi said. He said that a more diversified commercial agreement between the two countries would benefit the two economies while bringing greater regional economic prosperity. The joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides will also be renegotiating a new bilateral investment treaty. It said that Thailand Prime Minister invited Indian investments under the cluster development policy. India offered Thailand indigenously developed GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation services, which provides advanced navigation and location assistance. The statement said two leaders reiterated their strong support for the reform of the United Nations. "The Thai side acknowledged India's credentials for permanent membership of the UN Security Council," it said. Prayut Chan-o-cha invited Modi to visit Thailand, which he accepted. The Thailand Prime Minister also met some Indian business leaders in the capital. He will visit Bodh Gaya in the second leg of his visit before returning home on Saturday. Officials said that extensive people-to-people contacts were central to the India-Thailand relationship. In 2015, more than one million Indian tourists visited Thailand and over 100,000 Thai tourists visited India. There have been regular coordinated patrols between the two navies, annual exercises between the two armies and also the first ever table-top air exercise between the two air forces. India has been participating in multilateral Cobra Gold exercise held in Thailand as an 'Observer Plus' country. --IANS ps/rn/vm India will launch 20 satellites in a single mission on June 22, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said. According to the Isro, at 9.25 am that day, the Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will lift off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with 20 satellites. While the rocket's main cargo will be India's 725.5 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation, the other 19 satellites weighing around 560 kg are from the US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia as well as one satellite each from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and the College of Engineering, Pune. The rocket will blast off from the second launch pad with a total payload of 1,288 kg. The whole mission will get over in around 26 minutes. The images sent by Cartosat satellite will be useful for cartographic, urban, rural, coastal land use, water distribution and other applications. The 1.5 kg Sathyabamasat from Sathyabama University will collect data on green house gases.The 1kg Swayam satellite from Pune will provide point-to-point messaging services to the HAM radio community. Jamia Millia Islamia on Friday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tehran's National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB) for academic cooperation. Jamia Millia Vice Chancellor Talat Ahmad said that the academic collaboration between the two partnering institutions would open new opportunities for young researchers working in the frontier areas of genetic engineering and biotechnology and the research outcomes would impact the global society favourably. "The impetus given by the government towards internationalisation of would yield positive dividends in the years to come with India emerging as a major hub in the world," Ahmad said. The MoU will enable the two institutions to jointly undertake research activities in the frontier areas of genetic engineering and biotechnology, a Jamia Millia statement said. --IANS akk/pgh/vm The West Bengal government will conduct a probe into the purported Narada sting footage controversy, where a number of Trinamool Congress leaders were allegedly shown receiving wads of currency notes, Chief Mminister Mamata Banerjee announced here on Friday. "If anybody is guilty, he will be punished. I have asked the chief secretary to order a probe," Banerjee told media at the state secretariat Nabanna. Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said city Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar will conduct the inquiry. --IANS ssp/ahm/vm A 68-year-old man died while watching Hollywood horror movie "The Conjuring 2" at a cinema hall in Tamil Nadu, late on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred during the night show at Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas in Tiruvannamalai town. G. Ram Mohan, a native of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, suffered chest pain and fainted towards the climax of the movie. H. Prasad, who was accompanying Mohan, took him to a nearby hospital but he died even before reaching the hospital. The doctors asked Prasad to take the body to Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital for autopsy, but he did not reach there. He was believed to have left for Kadapa along with the body. Police launched an investigation and approached their counterparts in Andhra to trace the body. The duo had reportedly gone to Tiruvannamalai on a business trip. --IANS ms/ahm/vm A married young Hindu woman was forcibly married to a 56-year-old Hindu man in Pakistan's Tharparkar district on the orders of a jirga -- an elders body. Wadia Bai Meghwar and her cousin Suresh had contracted a marriage of their free will in a Karachi court on May 4, 2016. However, a few days later, a notable from Thar's Arbab family took Wadia from her home, promising to marry the couple in a traditional wedding. "But instead of handing her to me, her brother, Gayanchand Meghwar, married her off to an old man," said Suresh, who identified the other man as Chetan Meghwar and estimated to be 56 years old. Inspector General (IG) Sindh A.D. Khawaja, taking notice of the incident, ordered an inquiry and recovery of the woman, reported Dawn. "The girl's brother and other relatives have been arrested in a raid on Friday, and an investigation into the matter is underway," said DSP Mithi Bilawal Haq Mehar. He added that senior police officials have ordered the young woman be recovered and produced in court as soon as possible. Local activists called for a thorough inquiry into the Jirga and the Hindu woman's forced remarriage, demanding severe action against all those involved under the recently-enacted Hindu Marriage Act and other laws to save the young girl. Pakistan has become the first Muslim country to give Hindus the right to register their marriage officially. The bill was passed in February by the assembly in Sindh - home to most of Pakistan's three million Hindus. Activists say that without such a law, Hindu women were targets of forced conversions, abduction and rape, and widows lacked rights. The National Assembly is considering a wider law recognising Hindu marriages. Pakistan's other main religious minority, Christians, have a colonial-era law recognising their marriages. However, Hindus have never had any legal framework to register their unions until now. --IANS ahm/rn/vm Nine cities in eastern China are to host the second Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations from June 18-26 June, with the theme "9 Cities, 9 Days bringing 9,000 Chinese Yoga lovers closer to India". The Consulate General of India in Shanghai along with municipal/city governments of Shanghai, Wenzhou, Wuxi, Zhenjiang, Taizhou, Yiwu, Shaoxing, Yangzhou and Ningbo would be jointly organising the largest ever celebration of the Day of Yoga (IDY) in the eastern China region from June 18 to 26. A series of yoga promotion events are being organised in the eastern China region with participation of at least 1,000 yoga lovers at each of the nine cities. Under the aegis of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), a senior Indian yoga teacher has been flown in from India to demonstrate hour-long yoga sessions according to the Common Yoga Protocol, as referred in a press statement from the Indian mission in Shanghai. In Shanghai, three special events have been organised. They would begin in the morning of June 21 at the Jing'an Park. Jing'an leadership and several consuls general have confirmed their participation. The event is likely to be attended by nearly 1,000 yoga lovers from across the Jing'an district. The second event in Shanghai has been aimed at the young college-going fraternity of the Shanghai University of Electricity and Power, with over 300 students participating in a special session. A special photo exhibition chronicling the history of yoga along with special postures and their health benefits (as detailed in the Common Yoga Protocol), would be inaugurated for a week's display at the Shanghai Library. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China in May 2015, a joint Yoga-Taichi session was conducted at the Temple of Heaven in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Modi. The practice of yoga is immensely popular in eastern China region with thousands of Yoga clubs promoting the ancient Indian practice of yoga, it said. This nine-day schedule would mark the largest celebration of second IDY in mainland China in terms of scale, size and level of participation, it said. India and China jointly co-sponsored the resolution adopting the IDY in the United Nations in December 2014. The resolution also received an unprecedented 177 co-sponsors from the 193 member states of the United Nations, establishing a record in the United Nations General Assembly for any Resolution of such nature. The National Human Rights Commission has called for a report from the Odisha government over the death of woman and her son due to lack of medical facilities at a health centre in Cuttack district. According to the commission, which took cognizance of the issue through media reports, Bharat Nayak of Cuttak district lost his ailing wife and his 24-year-old son in quick succession -- on May 10, and May 11, 2016, respectively. His son could not be shifted in time to a Government Hospital with proper facilities in Cuttack, as he had no money to afford treatment at a private hospital. The commission observed that Bapi, the son of Bharat Nayak, was suffering from spinal disorder. His condition continued to deteriorate as the health centre was not equipped to treat him. His father took him to Cuttack but returned as he could not arrange more than Rs one lakh required for the treatment. "Even as the body of his wife, who died due to heart attack, was lying at his home, Bharat was looking for divine intervention to save his son," said the commission. The man took his son to a nearby temple, even as his wife's body was on a funeral pyre with the assistance of Rs 2,000 from the State Government. "On hearing this, some local people persuaded Bharat to take his son back to the Health Centre where he eventually died, even as Rs 3,000 was arranged through Red Cross to shift him to Cuttack for treatment," said the commission. The Commission observed that the incident raises serious concerns about the prevailing healthcare facilities in Odisha. "The commission has issued a notice to the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha calling for a report on the condition of the health services in the State and about the non-availability of the ambulance services at Athagarh Health Centre," said the statement from NHRC. --IANS rup/rn/vm Thailand on Friday said it would further facilitate investments by Indian firms in the Southeast Asian nation and resolved to increase Thai investments into India, following the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum here during the ongoing visit of Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. "I am ready to waive rules that are obstacles so as to facilitate Indian business. Thailand would like Indian investors to come and invest in our priority sectors like information technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery," General Chan-o-Cha told a gathering of business leaders from both countries at an event here hosted jointly by the three industry chambers FICCI, CII and Assocham. "Besides, there are many opportunities for Indian business in the wider Asean (Association for Southeast Asian Nations) region. Thailand can be like a forward base for Indian investors to Asean," the Thai Prime Minister, who is on a visit to India, said. The Thailand Prime Minister, who held delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, invited Indian investments under the country's cluster development policy. The joint statement issued after the talks said that both sides will also be renegotiating a new bilateral investment treaty. The India-Thailand Joint Business Forum has recommended a target of doubling bilateral trade from the current $8 billion level to $16 billion in the next five years. Following its first meeting the forum said it would explore trade in new products and services. In a bid to attract more tourists from Thailand, India on Friday announced that it will facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Thailand is also interested in development of the Buddhist tourist circuit in India, Chan-o-Cha told the business meeting. Besides, "food processing, hospitality and health care, which are areas of Thailand's expertise, it is interested in cooperation with India," he added. --IANS bc/rn This is how the 2002 case in which a special court on Friday sentenced 11 of the 24 convicts to life imprisonment for the killing of 69 people, including Congress MP Ehsan Jafri developed through these many years. February 2002: During the Gujarat riots, a Hindu mob attacked the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad in which 69 people were killed. Among the deceased was former parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri. November 2007: The Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition of Zakia Jafri, wife of Ehsan Jafri, seeking the court's directive to the police to register a complaint against the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others for their alleged involvement in the . March 2008: The Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a further probe into 14 Godhra and post -Godhra communal riot cases. The SIT was asked to investigate the incidents that occurred in Godhra, Sardarpura, Gulberg Society, Ode, Naroda Gaon, Naroda Patiya, Deepla Darwaza and the one in which three British nationals of Indian origin were killed. August 2010: The Supreme Court permitted the SIT to conduct further probe on the complaint of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's and 62 others involvement in the riots, by Zakia Jafri. March 2010: The trial was put on hold because of the resignation of the special prosecutor and his assistant. Both had alleged bias on the part of the trial judge and also accused the SIT of not properly coordinating their efforts with them. March 2011: Gujarat Deputy Inspector-General of Police Sanjiv Bhatt, who claimed to have spilled the beans on Modi's alleged controversial orders to the police on the eve of the 2002 communal riots, appeared before the SIT. February 2012: The SIT in a summary closure report says there was no prosecutable evidence against Narendra Modi, who was among 62 persons named in an omnibus complaint filed by Zakia Jafri and the Citizens for Justice and Peace. March 2012: The Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court rejects Zakia Jafri's plea to making public the SIT report. December 2013: Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court rejects the petition of Zakia Jafri against the closure report of the SIT, giving a clean chit to the Gujarat Chief Minister. December 2013: Reacting to an Ahmedabad trial court verdict, R.K. Raghavan, head of the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court to go into Gujarat riots, says SIT's stand has been vindicated. November 2014: The trial in the Gulberg Society case resumed following the Supreme Court's directions to conclude it in three months. November 2014: The Supreme Court asks the Sessions Court to complete the trial in the Gulberg case, one of the nine cases connected to the 2002 post-Godhra riots, in three months. August 6, 2015: Supreme Court grants three-month extension to Ahmedabad court to complete trial proceedings in the case. June 2, 2016: A Special court convicted 24 persons and acquitted 36 others. June 17, 2016: A Special SIT court sentenced 11 of the 24 convicts to life imprisonment, one man to 10 years and 12 others to seven years in jail. In search of space for political dissent in the trouble-torn Kashmir Valley, 23-year-old Saba Nazki and a bunch of youths have started a tabloid -- "Mizraab" -- exclusively for students to give vent to their creative expressions in the form of stories and illustrations. When Nazki flew back in 2014 after completing her graduation from Delhi University in English honours, she said there was "no space" in the Valley for intellectual creativity as existed in the national capital where art, theatre and writing used to be her daily fare. The first issue of the 16-page fortnightly "Mizraab", funded by local newspaper "Kashmir Observer", is a collection of students' writings, illustrations and poetry. "Kashmir not only has beautiful landscapes but is also rich in terms of art and literature. And it is so unfortunate that we do not have any space for expression. Kashmir is poetic. Students here need polishing and a platform for expression. Thus, Mizraab," Nazki, who never intended to be a journalist, told IANS. Titled appropriately, "Mizraab", a Persian-origin Urdu name for fiddle-stick or the plectrum with which musical instruments like the sitar or rabaab are played, is a platform to stir the hidden creative minds of the valley. "Mizraab for me is to instigate art and channelise intellectual space. In Kashmir, even student politics is mostly banned. We need to create our own space," said Nazki, the founding editor. Pursuing her masters in English literature from Kashmir University, Nazki has involved fellow students, invoking in them the sense of writing. The first edition published earlier this month is a mix of Kashmir's art, culture, history and linguistic treasure. For example a column, "With Love, To Aga Shahid Ali", remembers the life and works of the renowned Kashmiri-American poet. It also has illustrations by students of music and fine arts. There is a column called "Til-waer", which literally means an oil-dispenser, but is a phrase in Kashmir used for a woman who wanders from door-to-door. "Tilwaer" will be a collection of words and brain-picking idioms and phrases no longer used in spoken Kashmiri. The idea is to recollect "with a tinge of sarcasm, humour and wit" the lost linguistic treasure of Kashmir. "Dancing in Wilderness -- of longings, divinity and catharisis" creates a link between Kashmir's ancient women poets like Lalla Ded and Habba Khatoon and their present-day counterparts like Naseem Shafai -- the first Kashmiri woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011. However, Nazki said the tabloid is not only about art, literature and culture. "Art and culture is only the prism. I intend to showcase Kashmir's life in various ways," she said, adding that the tabloid uses art as a metaphor. "It includes satire and showcases conflict as well." She said she got 2,500 copies printed for the first edition. All of them were distributed to students free of cost. But from the next edition, each copy will be priced at Rs 5. (Ruwa Shah can be contacted at ruwa.s@ians.in ) --IANS ruwa/sar/ky/tb The International Day of Yoga will be held at Potters Fields Park near Tower Bridge in London on June 19, a statement from Indian High Commission here said on Friday. The event will be held by the High Commission of India and the Government of India Tourist Office from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. A curtain-raiser to the event was held on Friday in collaboration with various yoga institutions which included a yoga demonstration and a meditation session by "Heartfulness". On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. The declaration came after the call for the adoption of June 21 as International Day of Yoga by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014. --IANS ao/ask/vm Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Som, who kicked off his "Paidal Nirbhay Yatra" across Uttar Pradesh today to assure safety to the Hindu families from village of Shamli district, urged his supporters not to violate the law and maintain peace. Som, who was surrounded by his supporters outside his residence in Meerut, said that he would abide by the law. "The moment administration tells us that we are in violation of Section-142, we will stop the rally," he told the media. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said this rally is 'uncalled for', adding that the party has not yet given a green signal in this regard. "The BJP has not said anything to push this forward. Sangeet ji has been insisted that there's no need for this right now. We will think about it and wait for the party's instructions," he said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said 10 cities in the state would be developed on the lines of Centre's Smart City programme. "10 cities in the state would be developed on the lines of the Smart City programme (of the Union government)," Fadnavis said after inaugurating the Smart City Summit at Kalyan in the district. "Credible, efficient, transparent, and inclusive planning was the base for (any) smart city. And these cities (to be developed) would be provided with necessary funds," he added. The Chief Minister further said the Smart City concept initiated by Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) "was not meant only for handful of rich people but was meant for one and all from the cities". "Unless and until all classes (of the society) participate, the city will not become smart. The investment made in the city will definitely be useful," Fadnavis added. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said hereafter the civic bodies would not be given permission for dumping grounds. "Instead they (the civic bodies) should find the ways and means to dispose of the waste scientifically," he added. "We (the state government) will think positively to implement cluster development for Kalyan-Dombivili on the lines of the one in Thane city," Fadnavis said. The Chief Minister also said Oracle has selected twin cities of Kalyan-Dombivili for implementation of its e-governance pilot project. "The technology being used in Los Angeles (in the United States) would be used in Kalyan-Dombivili. In this connection a team of (state government) officials would be visiting the firm's headquarters in Bengaluru on June 22. A MoU will be inked with the company in July (in this regard)," he added. Fadnavis said that citizens have a right to get time bound services from the government and hence the state government is implementing the right to services. "(In the) next two years, citizens will not be required to go to any government office for their services. All the apps will be available on the mobile itself," he said. A 102-year-old woman was operated for cataract in the wrong eye in a state-run hospital in Nadia district, her relatives alleged today. Shanti Bala Das was admitted to the College of Medicine & JNM Hospital at Kalyani to remove cataract from her left eye, but she was operated on her right eye, her son-in-law Narayan Biswas complained to police and hospital authorities. The surgeon concerned Mahua Mukherjee and hospital Principal Shantanu Banerjee, however, said, "Both her eyes had been affected and it was made clear to the patient party." "There was no mistake on part of the surgeon," Banerjee said. The police said they have received a complaint from Biswas and surgeon informed them that the patient told her before the operation that she has problem in her right eye. Biswas said her mother-in-law was released after the operation but her right eye started to bleed after reaching home. He claimed the surgeon had admitted her mistake and requested them not to lodge any complaint. Calling Gulberg massacre the "darkest day" in the history of civil society, a special SIT court today awarded life term to 11 convicts for burning alive 69 people, including former Congress MP Eshan Jafri, in one of the worst riots post-Godhra violence in 2002. However, the judgement left the prosecution, Jafri's widow Zakia and civil rights activists disappointed saying it was lenient on the perpetrators of the worst type of violence in a residential colony in Gujarat's capital. Rejecting the demand for death sentence for all the convicts, the court said life imprisonment for the 11 will be till death if the state does not exercise power to remit the sentence, which Special court Judge P B Desai said was not necessary. It awarded ten-year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while the other 12 have been given a seven-year sentence each. The prosecution had argued that all the 24 convicts should be given death penalty. While describing the massacre as the darkest day in the history of civil society, the judge refused death penalty saying, "If you look at all aspects, no previous antecedent has been placed on record". Post the incident, 90 per cent of the accused were released on bail. Yet no complaints against them have been given even by victims, and there is no record to show that they committed any offence during the time of bail, the judge further said, while giving reasons why he thought that this was not a fit case to give capital punishment to the convicts. The court said it has decided to award imprisonment for life without any time frame to the 11, who have been convicted for murder, while requesting the state not to use its power to remit the sentence after 14 years of imprisonment. "CrPC provisions give power to the state to remit sentence after 14 years jail, section 433-A imposes some restriction on that power. In case the state does not exercise power to remit the sentence, life imprisonment will mean that it is till death," the court said. "I cannot add beyond what has been prescribed under Section 302. It is not necessary for a state to exercise power to remit sentence. The state may not exercise power of remittance," the judge said, adding the court's direction cannot be binding as he cannot take away the executive powers of the state. Reacting to the judgement, SIT's Special Prosecutor R C Kodekar expressed dissatisfaction and said they would appeal in the high court as he felt the sentence was too "lenient". Kodekar was upset especially after the court's refusal to add "till death" clause in the life sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the case. "Today's verdict is not that satisfactory. We feel the sentence is lenient and inadequate. During arguments, we had appealed to the court that life imprisonment till death should given to all. We are not convinced with the penalty awarded," said Kodekar. "12 convicts were given only seven years, which is very lenient too. It should be either ten years of life imprisonment," he said. Zakia Jafri said lief sentence should have been given to all the convicts while her son Tanvir said there was definitely "some sense of closure" at the convictions. Activist-lawyer Teesta Setalvad, who has been appearing in cases relating to the Gujarat riots, said "we are very disappointed". "We had argued for exemplary punishment of life sentence for the convicts and there is no ground for leniency to the persons who were indulging in rioting from 9 AM to 6 PM," she said. As regards the other 13 accused convicted for lesser offences not including murder (302), the court awarded 10 years imprisonment to one Mangilal Jain, while 12 others were awarded seven-year sentence each. The Gulberg Society massacre, which took place here on February 28, 2002 when Narendra Modi was the Gujarat Chief Minister, shook the nation when a mob of 400 people set about attacking the society in the heart of Ahmedabad and burnt alive its residents including Jafri. A batch of 10 Navy and five Coast Guard pilots today completed their helicopter training course at Navy's airbase INS Rajali at Arakonam near here. At the graduation of the 86th Helicopter Conversion Course here, the 15 pilots were awarded "Wings" by Rear Admiral and Flag Officer Alok Bhatnagar. "The pilots underwent rigorous training for 21 weeks in flying and aviation subjects at Indian Naval Air squadron 561, the Helicopter Training School led by Commander Vijay Verma," a Defence release said. After the ceremonial review held today, the Rear Admiral presented the "Governor of Kerala Rolling Trophy" to Assistant Commandant Ankush Kumar Singh for being adjudged as Best All Round Trainee Pilot. "The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy" was also given to Assistant Commandant Ankush Kumar Singh for standing first in the order of merit. A 'book prize' was presented to Sub Lieutenant Kailash Nair R for ranking first in ground subjects. Upon completion of the course, the pilots would join operational flights in Daman, Goa, Kochi, Mumbai, Port Blair and Visakhapatnam. The Helicopter Training School was based in Kochi in Kerala till 1992 and then shifted to INS Rajali, which is the largest operational air base for Indian Navy commanded by Commodore V K Pisharody. Opposition AIADMK has urged the Lt Governor Kiran Bedi to arrange for a special session of the Puducherry Assembly to enable the members to discuss various issues relating to the Union Territory. Talking to reporters here today, AIADMK legislature party leader A Anbalagan said seven privately run medical colleges in the Union Territory were not honouring the Medical Council of India's directives to earmark 50 per cent of the seats in the first MBBS in each of the colleges to the government of Puducherry. Of 1050 seats in these colleges only 273 seats were earmarked in the past although the MCI's prescription is that 525 seats should be available under government quota. Anbalagan said that he along with the other legislators of the party had submitted a detailed memorandum in this connection to the Lt Governor yesterday. The MCI had also directed that 50 per cent quota for government in admission to PG courses in medical colleges. Author Paulo Coelho's next novel 'The Spy' is based on the imagined life of Mata Hari, the courtesan who was accused and executed for treason, a hundred years ago, publishers Penguin Random House India said. Mata Hari was a Dutch dancer who shocked and delighted audiences during the first World War, and she became a confidant to some of the era's richest and most powerful men. She dared to liberate herself from the moralism and provincial customs of the early twentieth century, but ultimately paid for it with her life. Books written by Coelho include 'The Alchemist' among others have sold 200 million copies in 160 countries including India. Susan Sandon, Managing Director of Cornerstone, has acquired the rights to the new novel by Coelho. Sandon, acting on behalf of Hutchinson at Cornerstone, Hamish Hamilton in Australia and New Zealand, and Penguin Random House India, struck a deal for an undisclosed figure with Monica R Antunes at Sant Jordi Asociados. 'The Spy' is set to be published this November simultaneously with Knopf in the US. Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India said "I am delighted to be publishing Paulo Coelho again. He is such a widely loved and respected author in the subcontinent, and I truly believe that the captivating story of Mata Hari, an extraordinary woman ahead of her time, will resonate deeply with readers in India." As Mata Hari she waited for her execution in a Paris prison, one of her last requests was for a pen and some paper to write letters. Over the past twenty years, MI5 in the UK and Germany and Holland have released their files on Mata Hari, and it provided Coelho with a trove of information as he was researching his novel. "I ended up with a mountain of documents," Coelho said, "but also with a question: What did Mata Hari write in those letters? And how was she caught in so many traps, set by both friends and enemies?" Using first-person narrative, Coelho reimagines Mata Hari's life through her final letter, which was written the week before her execution. There, from prison, Mata Hari reveals the choices she made in pursuing her own truth - from her childhood in a small Dutch town, to her unhappy years as the wife of an alcoholic diplomat in Java, to her calculated and self-fashioned rise to celebrity in France. "Mata Hari was one of our first feminists," Coelho said, "defying male expectations of that time and choosing instead an independent, unconventional life. There are lessons we can draw from her life today, where accusations by the powerful still cost the innocent their lives." At her death by firing squad - as she stared down her executioners and refused to be blindfolded - Mata Hari famously said, "I am ready." Coelho says of that moment, "her only crime was to be an independent woman. Barrel bomb attacks and shelling on rebel-held areas of Syria's northern city of Aleppo killed at least nine civilians today, the second day of a temporary truce, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the crude explosive devices hit three areas of Aleppo, prompting the rebels to fire rockets into regime-held western parts of the city. The violence erupted at sunset, breaking the calm that had prevailed throughout the day, the monitor added. Syrian regime ally Russia had announced a two-day truce in Aleppo, but hours after it took effect yesterday barrel bombs and air strikes hit the eastern side, and rebels retaliated with rockets. At least four civilians were killed yesterday, said the Observatory which relies on sources on the ground for its reports on Syria's five-year war. Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people since it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. The truce was announced by Russia after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow that Washington's patience was running out over breaches of a nationwide ceasefire. And yesterday a senior US defence official accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in Al-Tanaf near Syria's border with Iraq. The Observatory said two fighters opposed to the Islamic State group were killed in the strikes which it said targeted a meeting at which they were coordinating the fighting against IS in Syria and Iraq. Assam government has decided to constitute an expert committee to be sent to China for studying the Yellow River (Huwang He) Management Strategies and prepare a road map to stop flood and erosion caused by the Brahmaputra river here. Chairing a high-level review meeting of the Water Resources Department today, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "If the Yellow River, which was once considered as 'sorrow of China' can be tamed, the Brahmaputra which is the lifeline of the people Assam, can also be used productively to serve the riparian rights of the people of the state." "The 'knowledge-driven' study in association with the World Bank would also prepare a road map for taming the Brahmaputra and its tributaries to control flood and erosion," he said. The study would encompass basin characteristics, river engineering, hydrology, channel morphology and floodplain evolution, Sonowal said. "Water is the source of all energies and the Brahmaputra, which has gifted Assam with abundance of water, will be used by the government to propel the state's development," he said. Emphasising on the need for a well-coordinated document for the rivers in Assam, the Chief Minister directed the department to prepare a 'River Atlas' and use the expertise of North Eastern Space Applications Centre for the purpose. Considering the importance of rivers for the people, culture and economy of Assam, Sonowal exhorted the need for transforming the Assam Water Resources Management Institute into an 'institute of excellence' and undertake extensive studies for optimum utilisation of rivers. He told the department to work on an early flood warning system in line with the one put in place for Tsunami. The Chief Minister also reviewed several on-going schemes of the department, particularly erosion protection works being undertaken in his home constituency Majuli and other parts of the state, and assured all help for early completion of those. State Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta, Chief Secretary Vinod Kumar Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources R Jindal, Principal Secretary, Water Resources Hemanta Narzary, Commissioner and Secretary K K Dwivedi were present at the meeting. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today regretted inviting an anti-gay Islamic preacher to an iftar party and asked the cleric to recant his comments that gays were responsible for spreading HIV and other deadly diseases. Refering to the acts of terror like Sunday's Orlando massacre which he said were perpetrated to divide along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality, Malcolm said "that kind of hatred and division must not prevail". Malcolm said he was not aware that he was dining with the preacher Sheikh Shandy Alsuleiman and asked him to recant comments that gay people were responsible for spreading HIV and other disease. "Had I known that the Sheikh had made those remarks, he would not have been invited to the iftar. It is also wrong to seek to define the views of all 500,000 Muslims because of the opinions expressed by one person, by one cleric," he said as he stressed on the importance of tolerance. Alsuleiman was among several Muslim leaders who attended the first ever iftar dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at Kirribilli House. Turnbull yesterday became the first Australian Prime Minister to host an iftar - the meal at which Muslims end their fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. The Prime Minister said he became aware of Alsuleiman's comments during the course of the dinner when a journalist contacted his media team. The incident occurred two days after Australia cancelled the visa of a British cleric, Farrokh Sekaleshfar, over his anti-gay comments including advocating capital punishment for homosexual acts in public. Austrian police have arrested three asylum-seekers who allegedly fought with or helped rebel groups in Syria and Iraq that are classed by Vienna as "terrorist" organisations, officials said today. There were no indications that the two Iraqis and one Syrian, arrested in refugee centres in the western state of Tyrol, were planning attacks in Europe, local police chief Helmut Tomac said. The 27-year-old Syrian is believed to have fought for Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, and killed 20 members of government forces, including prisoners, local official Peter Oehm said. All three arrived in Austria last year, part of the massive wave of migrants who travelled up from Greece through the Balkans into Austria and beyond, police said. Two other migrants have been in custody in the western Austrian city of Salzburg since December for suspected links with the assailants in the November terror attacks in Paris. on Friday said it has signed an agreement with the Thailand's Kasikorn Bank (KBank) to enhance cooperation in trade and investment. Axis Bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the KBank, headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, the former said in a statement. "The MoU will serve to strengthen existing ties between the two banks and will help facilitate and enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and other businesses", it added. The agreement between the two banks were signed as the Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is on a three-day visit to India. said it is the first private sector bank to ink an MoU with the Thai bank. KBank is the fourth largest bank in Thailand with an asset base of $75 billion. The MoU was signed by Sidharth Rath, Group Executive - Corporate & Transaction Banking, and Preedee Daochai, Board Director & President, KBank in New Delhi. "Thai are increasingly becoming a part of India's economic growth. Axis Bank is excited to be associated with the KBank. This alliance will help us in providing a seamless service proposition to our mutual customers", Rath said. Daochai said, "The MoU will create a platform for partnership development in various spheres of inter-banking cooperation and facilitate joint projects as well as trade flows between India and Thailand." The MoU emphasises KBank's intention to facilitate the business and cooperation with India, he added. In the Association of South East Asian Nations region, Thailand is one of the strong trade partners of India after Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The fast growing Indian market remains attractive for Thai investors, given the vast opportunities available in the infrastructure sector, real estate, tourism and retail industries. Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Syed Muazzem Ali, today visited the city-based Administrative Staff College of India's historic Bella Vista campus and and interacted with its Chairman K Padmanabhaiah and faculty members. "The most valuable asset of our country is manpower. We can properly utilise the manpower by imparting training at various levels at regular intervals. ASCI is imparting a good training module for Bangladesh's middle-level officers through a series of programmes," Ali said, according to a release from ASCI. "We will jointly make efforts to promote and strengthen the fraternal ties between our two institutions and two countries," he said. Padmanabhaiah, a 1961 batch IAS officer, said, "India and Bangladesh share a lot of common characteristics and Bangladesh is the leader in issues like micro finance. We can benefit from mutual cooperation." ASCI Director-General Prof Paramita Dasgupta and the Programme Director Prof M Chandrasekhar and Bangladesh High Commission Counsellor Jamal Uddin Ahmed were also present. ASCI had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Foreign Training Branch of the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA), Government of the People's Republic Bangladesh, to train their civil services officers in nine batches. "Out of the nine programmes, six are meant for the Deputy Secretary and equivalent level officers (middle-level, with 10-15 years of experience) and three are for the Joint Secretary and equivalent level officers (senior level, with 20 plus years of experience). We have already completed training for three batches so far," the Programme Director Prof M Chandrasekhar was quoted as saying in the release. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a four-month ceasefire in two states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where recent fighting between troops and rebels has left scores of casualties, the army has said. Bashir's forces have been battling the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the two states since 2011, and neither side has decisively gained an upper hand in the fighting. "President Bashir announced four months of ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan starting from today," army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP yesterday. "This gesture of goodwill from the government is to give the armed groups a chance to join the peace process and to surrender their arms." The ceasefire was anticipated ahead of the start of the rainy season that leaves roads in the these regions impassable. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often-contradictory reports from the army and the SPLM-N about fighting there. Bashir had announced a similar ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region - the scene of a separate insurgency - in late 2015 and extended it by a month at the beginning of this year. But new fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan erupted after the end of that ceasefire earlier this year. Shami said the latest ceasefire starting from today does not extend to the war-torn area of Darfur as "there was no real rebellion now in Darfur". "There are only small groups that are trying to disturb the security in Darfur. Sudanese forces have ended the rebellion in Darfur." Sudan held a referendum in Darfur in April, with officials saying almost 98 percent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states. Darfur has been gripped by conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the government in Khartoum. Bashir launched a brutal counterinsurgency and at least 300,000 people have been killed, the United Nations says. Another 2.5 million have fled their homes. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges related to Darfur, which he denies. The opposition parties in West Bengal today termed the decision of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to order an inquiry into the Narada sting operation as a gimmick to fool the masses and cover up the important evidences in the sting operation. "This is nothing but a gimmick to fool the people. Everybody knows when SIT was formed during Sarada scam what was the result. Important documents where siphoned off and no major arrests were made. It was a CBI investigation that led to the arrest of several important leaders of TMC," leader of opposition and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan told PTI. "This investigation into the Narada scam is also ordered for the same purpose of covering up the incident", Mannan said and wondered why didn't the Chief Minister order an enquiry earlier and had termed the Narada sting tapes as false and fabricated. Banerjee today ordered an enquiry into the Narada sting operation and put Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in charge of the investigation. Kumar had also headed the SIT formed to investigate the Sarada chit fund scam when he was Bidhanagar Police Commissioner. In his reaction, senior CPI(M) leader Sujon Chakroborty termed Banerjee's decision as an eye-wash to fool the people and destroy the evidences. BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha also echoed the view of Congress and CPI(M) and said if Banerjee really wanted a proper inquiry into the Narada sting then she should have recommended a CBI probe into the incident. "If she really wanted proper inquiry she should have called for a CBI inquiry," Sinha said. TMC leader and state minister Firhad Hakim, whose name has also cropped up into the incident, welcomed the probe and said he wanted the truth to come out. Earlier, the TMC had ordered an internal party inquiry into the incident. The Bombay High Court today refused to modify conditions of 'protection from arrest' granted to Rajya Sabha MP and real estate developer Sanjay Kakade, accused of helping former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal with money laundering. Kakade had filed an anticipatory bail plea, and the high court had given him interim protection from arrest. It also imposed a condition that he would not leave the Bombay High Court's jurisdiction. Kakade filed a fresh application saying being an MP and due to his business work he had to travel, so this condition be relaxed. Justice P M Deshmukh, however, today asked him to produce the itinerary of his business tours till July 1, and posted the matter for hearing on June 20. Hiten Venegaonkar, Enforcement Directorate's lawyer, opposed Kakade's plea saying the condition imposed on him was to ensure his presence in the court. According to the ED, Bhujbal paid Kakade Rs 28 crore in cash in return for cheques for the same amount. This was to convert Bhujbal's black money -- earned through bribes, etc., -- into 'white', it says. ED has alleged that at least a dozen persons helped Bhujbal launder his money through their companies. All of them have challenged non-bailable warrants issued against them by the trial court and filed anticipatory bail applications, and the HC have given them interim protection from arrest. Meanwhile, the division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka today posted for hearing on June 20 the anticipatory bail application of Pankaj Bhujbal, Bhujbal's son, an accused in the same case as Bhujbal. The interim protection given by the HC to Pankaj has expired. According to the ED lawyers, Pankaj therefore wants immediate relief from the High Court to avoid arrest. Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior NCP leader, was the PWD minister during the Congress-NCP rule and is accused of taking kickbacks in construction of the state guesthouse 'Maharashtra Sadan' in Delhi and in some other contracts. The ruling BJD in Odisha today staged demonstrations in all the districts to protest against fuel price hike on June 15 by the Centre. The BJP, on the other hand, attacked the state government for imposing high tax on petrol and diesel leading to price rise of essential commodities. Congress, meanwhile, held both the central and state governments responsible for the rise in the price of commodities including fuel. Members of BJD youth wing today demonstrated at the Collector's office in all 30 districts along with state capital and demanded roll-back of the increased fuel price. The Centre on Wednesday increased price of petrol and diesel by 5 paise and Rs 1.26 a litre respectively. In a statement, Odisha BJP general secretary P Harichandan claimed that BJD's protest was an eye wash to divert public attention from the chitfund scam where ruling party leaders have been exposed. Stating that the state government collects Rs 13.58 per litre of petrol and Rs 12.57 from per litre of diesel as tax , Harichandan demanded reduction in the tax in order to ease the people from price rise. "The Odisha government should take cue from the BJP ruled Goa where tax on fuel is minimal," Harichandan said. Meanwhile, OPCC president Prasad Harichandan asked the state government to reduce the rate of VAT on fuel and Centre to bring down the rate of cess, excise tax on petrol and diesel. In an apparent snub to BJP ahead of the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena has not invited its ally for its 50th anniversary celebrations on Sunday. "We have not invited the BJP because it is an internal celebration of our party which is aimed at gearing up our party workers. Recently, BJP held its National Executive meet in Allahabad for which none of its allies were invited. Similarly, every party has its own celebrations, meetings which is only for its members," Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told PTI. When asked if the move is an indication to the BJP that the party may decide to go solo in the upcoming BMC polls, she said, "Our mission for the BMC election is 100 per cent Sena. Every party would want to win an election. The Sena has always been at the helm of affairs in the state and has never required anybody's support to grow which has not been the case with the BJP." Reacting to the development, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, "It is their internal programme thus their choice on who has to be invited. We only wish them good luck." Opposition parties, meanwhile, have taken an opportunity to take a dig at the saffron allies, saying their internal bickering will only add to their misfortunes in the upcoming BMC polls. "Both the BJP and the Sena know their chances of retaining power in BMC are negligible owing to the massive corruption that has taken place in their tenure. The slugfest between both parties will be an added advantage for the Opposition parties," NCP legislator Kiran Pawaskar said. Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria said, "from the time of formation of government, both parties' postures have been that of one-upmanship. Alliance has to be followed in letter and spirit. People of the state should have the confidence in them. Bickering on petty issues is irrelevant to the people. However, if Sena wants to sit on opposition benches they are most welcome." The Sena will be staging a grand mega event on June 19 at Goregaon Easts NSE grounds showcasing its 50 years of political journey that has been shaped by the contribution of late party chief Balasaheb Thackeray and family. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said BJP does not want to "communalise or polarise" the UP elections, but the state government must address the issue if there is "even some evidence of migration" from Kairana. Jaitley also took on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing his Aam Aadmi Party government of giving advertisements to only "friendly" media and not to the media houses that are critical. In an interview to Times Now, the senior BJP leader maintained that 'Ram Mandir' will not be made an electoral issue in UP, where assembly elections are due next year, and his party is not looking to polarise the state to win votes. A major controversy has erupted over alleged migration from Kairana in western UP, although the state administration has questioned any religion-specific migration there. "We don't want in anyway to communalise or polarise the election, but if there is even some evidence of migration taking place from Kairana, it's an important issue that the state government there must address it," he said. Asked about the statements being made by some BJP leaders from the region, Jaitley said, "At the end of the day, whatever statements are made in public domain are in public domain. "But, I only tell you ultimately it is the party president who determines the stand of the party and therefore as far as electoral strategy of UP is concerned.... "Even in earlier elections, even though BJP stands committed to build a temple in Ayodhya, we have always said that we are not going to make it an election issue. For us its much more than an election issue." On another controversy surrounding the censor board and on whether its chief Pahlaj Nihalani would be sacked, Jaitley who also holds charge of Information and Broadcasting Ministry said, "I am reasonably certain, that once we are able to announce those new guidelines (for Central Board of Film Certification), the roles of individuals will get diluted. "How to deal with the individuals, I think you should trust the government. The government will deal with them and advise restraint or take whatever appropriate action is required in the matter," he said. He hinted that the new guidelines would be out in a couple of weeks. Asked about Kejriwal's allegations that Delhi Lieutenant General Najeeb Jung was interfering in his work, Jaitley said Delhi was not a state but a union territory. "It is the seat of the central government... Can we have a Union Territory which says we will bypass LG? Senior bureaucrats are not willing to serve Delhi...It's a historic opportunity for AAP to perform and govern...You have do your function through LG," he said. He said, "There are several non-BJP state governments in the country but "one union territory behaves as if it has absolute power.I think what has happened in Delhi is constitutional monstrosity". On why the government has not been able to bring back Vijay Mallya from the UK, Jaitley said, "Britain has one of the highest standards of civility in public life and therefore for Britain to become a heaven for any absconder out of India is something that I cannot fathom. "British government has taken a position that if you enter the Britain with a valid passport, then we are not going to deport a person, you come in by way of extradition. And conventionally they have been very slow and reluctant in extraditing people. "And I think where you criticise the government of India, we can take all the steps but ultimately we can not physically lift an individual and bring him back. Well I only hope that the British government had realised that absconders in one jurisdiction can't make a heaven in another jurisdiction. This is not civility. And this is not certainly British civility." He further said that "a mistake in Mallya case took place years ago when he was given a second round of restructuring, when airline was bleeding, when he was not in position to serve interest... "Probably at that stage, somebody thought may be we give him a new lease of life. They never knew Mallya's intention that one day he will disappear." He also said that any agency must go through the entire transactions before filing any FIR or chargesheet and they go through possibility of any siphoning of money. "Create that evidence and then move the chargesheet or FIR, as without evidence they will end up with egg on their face. Therefore, what the agencies are doing is that they are independently investigating the matter, going through the entire records... Banks themselves have been running from pillar to post ..." "I think at the end of the day, the banking situation overall will retrieve. Mallya is a bad example because I think he has done more injustice to India's private sector by making banks suspicious of borrowers. Banks should be enthusiastic in lending to borrowers," he added. On Subramanian Swamy's attack on RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Jaitley said some people are "outspoken" but it has been more than adequately clarified this was not the party's position. "Let me make it very clear that when this statement about the RBI Governor was made, I had publicly disagreed, Venkaiah Naidu made a statement publicly disagreeing with it and then the party president Amit Shah made a statement that this is not a party position. Now, some people are more outspoken and therefore speak their mind out. The others remain more conventional about it," he said. Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra today accused BJP of "shielding" former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the alleged Rs 400-crore water tanker scam. Vijender Gupta, Opposition leader in Delhi Assembly, termed Mishra's allegation as "baseless" and sought to know why Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had sat upon the report of a fact-finding panel formed by the Water Minister for 11 months. Mishra claimed that there are some leaders in the BJP who want to "protect" Dikshit. "BJP is shielding Sheila Dikshit in the water scam which runs into Rs 400 crore. We had registered three FIRs against her in corruption cases around one-and-a-half years ago, but why BJP is still silent on Anti-Corruption Branch's inaction on those cases," Mishra told reporters here. Responding to BJP's demand to cancel the agreement with a company inked by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2012, the minister said the move would only affect water supply. "Why does BJP want us to cancel this agreement? BJP alleges that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had sat on the fact-finding committee report for 11 months. I want to ask what proof BJP has against the Chief Minister?" he said. "The Chief Minister and the Water Minister need to tell the people why they had sat on the report for 11 months. By levelling baseless allegation against BJP, the government wants to divert the people's attention from the real issues," Gupta said here. BJP today demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged Hindu migration in Kairana and charged the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh with giving protection to criminals from a "particular community" inciting terror there. BJP UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, who led a delegation to Governor Ram Naik today, later told reporters that he has apprised the Governor of the "real situation" in Kairana in Shamli district of western UP. "The party has submitted a memorandum to the Governor apprising him of the real situation there and demanding a CBI inquiry," Maurya said. "The report of our (BJP's) probe team which visited Kairana was also submitted to the Governor," he added. The convenor of the probe team, Suresh Khanna, and Kairana MP Hukum Singh, who had first raised the issue of migration, were also present. They described the situation in Kairana as "much more serious than being projected", adding that a CBI probe is the need of the hour. The Governor has assured the BJP delegation of taking up the matter with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. He has also assured to send a copy of the memorandum to the President, they said. The BJP leaders alleged that criminals like Mukim Lala and Furkan enjoyed the patronage of the SP and thus, were running their extortion network from jail. These criminals have been accused of unleashing a reign of terror in Kairana that led to the Hindu migration, they added. The BJP leaders also alleged that facing pressure from the ruling party, officials asked the oppressed to adjust and discriminated on the basis of religion. Claiming that the list of migrants submitted by him was a correct account, Hukum Singh maintained that the migration was linked to crime and patronage to criminals from a "particular community". "There are large number of Muslims in Kairana and hence, some political parties are out to give it a communal colour," Singh, who has been elected to the Assembly seven times from Kairana, said. Citing incidents related to murder of traders for 'rangdari' and families migrating from there due to terror, the BJP leaders demanded adequate compensation, rehabilitation and full security for the migrants. Twenty-four people were killed when Boko Haram fighters opened fire on mourners, a local community leader said today, in the second attack in northeast Nigeria this week after a relative lull. The attack happened at about 8:00 pm (local time) in Kuda village near the town of Gulak, in Adamawa state, according to Maina Ularamu, a former local government chairman in nearby Madagali. Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar, based in the state capital Yola, 255 kilometres away, confirmed the attack. But he gave a lower death toll of 18 and said "many others were injured". Ularamu said the attack occurred during a "mourning celebration" to mark the death of a local community leader. "They came on motorcycles and opened fire on the crowd, killing 24. Most of the victims were women. They looted food supplies and burnt homes and they left almost an hour later," he told AFP. "Gulak has been liberated from Boko Haram but the gunmen still live in villages nearby. They attack mostly to loot food supplies. "Our people who fled their homes to escape Boko Haram attacks have been returning because they can't live in the camps. "But now they are facing threats from Boko Haram who launch nocturnal attacks." Boko Haram threatened to overrun Adamawa state in 2014, sweeping down from their Sambisa Forest stronghold which lies just across the border in Borno state to Mubi, 80 kilometres south of Gulak. The rampage, which left bridges and homes destroyed on the only road south to Yola, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes to flee into camps and host communities in the state capital. Boko Haram was driven out of the state by a military counter-offensive that began in January 2015 and since there has been a relative calm despite sporadic attacks in the north of the state. The last attack in Adamawa was on January 9, when seven people were killed and two others injured in a raid on Madagali. Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a market in Madagali on December 28, killing 30, just days after President Muhammadu Buhari declared the Islamists "technically" defeated. There has been a noticeable fall in attacks since the turn of the year and the military claims the Islamic State affiliate is severely weakened and pushed into border areas around Lake Chad. But yesterday's attack is an indication that the rebels, who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, are not routed, and still have the capacity to strike. The army in late April began an assault on Sambisa Forest, which is believed to have pushed out remaining fighters. Government bonds (G-Secs) gained further on sustained buying support from banks and corporates. While, the overnight call money rates extended its downtrend at the money market due to lack of demand from borrowing banks amid ample liquidity in the banking system. The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2026 climbed to Rs 100.5875 from Rs 100.5650 previously, while its yield edged-down to 7.50 per cent from 7.51 per cent. The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2029 rose to Rs 98.95 as against Rs 98.90, while its yield held steady at 7.72 per cent. The 7.88 per cent government security maturing in 2030 advanced to Rs 100.8550 from Rs 100.8275, while its yield held stable at 7.78 per cent. The 7.68 percent government security maturing in 2023, the 8.27 percent government security maturing in 2020 and the 7.83 percent government security maturing in 2018 were also quoted higher at Rs 100.49, Rs 103.23 and Rs 101.2375, respectively. The overnight call money rates ended lower at 6.00 per cent from Thursday's closing level of 6.05 per cent. Its resumed higher at 6.25 and moved in a range of 6.25 per cent and 6.00 per cent. However, the 3-day call money rates finished at 6.35 per cent before opening at 6.55 per cent and moved in a range of 6.60 and 6.20 per cent. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), purchased securities worth Rs 30.20 billion in 6-bids at the 3-day repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.50 per cent as on today, while its sold securities worth Rs 59.04 billion from 28-bids at the 1-day overnight reverse repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.00 per cent as on June 16. A three-and-a-half-year-old boy was fatally run over by a tempo allegedly driven rashly by its drunk driver in south west Delhi's Najafgarh area, police said. The speeding Tata 407 tempo hit the boy, identified as Chinmay, who was playing outside the home while his father stood some distance away when the mishap occurred. 30-year-old tempo driver Dabbu Shah, who was in a drunken state, was caught by a mob and thrashed by them before being rescued by police. He was injured and admitted to a hospital here with multiple injuries, police said. A police officer said Shah, who was driving under the influence of alcohol, not only failed to see the boy playing in the lane, but also did not stop after running over the kid. In his statement to the police, Shah claimed he did not realise the boy came under the wheels of his vehicle. The police said the driver stopped the tempo only when local reidents screamed after seing the accident. The police said few bottles of liquor were found from inside the vehicle and the driver's medical test also confirmed that he was drunk at the time of the accident. "We arrested him for rash and negligent driving causing death," said the police officer. Realty firm Brigade Enterprises today announced plans to hive off its hospitality businss, which includes hotels with 500 keys, into a wholly-owned subsidiary as the company seeks to expand this vertical. At present, the Bengaluru-based developer hold hospitality assets under the parent company, while Brigade Hospitality Services Ltd (BHSL) is into management of a range of hospitality projects, including serviced residence facilities, clubs, hotels, resorts and spas and convention centres. In a filing to the BSE, Brigade Enterprises informed that "the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on June 17, 2016, has approved in-principle the hiving off of the hospitality business of the company in to a wholly owned subsidiary". When contacted, Brigade Hospitality Director Nirupa Shankar said: "Currently Brigade Hospitality, which is a hospitality management company, is a subsidiary but the physical hotel assets are still a part of the parent company - Brigade Enterprises Ltd". "We plan to move the hotel assets into a subsidiary as we will be adding sizeable mass to our existing inventory of hotel rooms over the next three years. Currently we have about 500 rooms and in three years we plan to have about 2000 rooms in total. The new structure will be more investor friendly as well," she added. The modalities of the hiving-off process, subject to the approval of shareholders and other regulatory approvals, would be worked out, the filing said. The company's share price today rose by 13.57 per cent to close at Rs 179.15 apiece on the BSE. To curb excessive volatility, stock exchange BSE has revised the circuit limit for share movement of SBI's associate State Bank of Travancore, which has zoomed by nearly 40 per cent in the last three sessions. The exchange has revised circuit limit of as many as seven companies, including Hindustan Wires. The limits, effective from June 20, will ensure stock prices do not go up or down beyond a level during a session. Circuit filter mechanism is used by stock exchanges to keep excessive volatility in check. It is the maximum fluctuation that is allowed during trading, which gets suspended if the permissible limit is hit in either direction. Share price of three firms -- State Bank of Travancore, Shalimar Agencies and Tokyo Plast International -- cannot change by more than 10 per cent in a day, BSE said in a circular. The exchange has also set an upper limit of 5 per cent for Panafic Industrials, Kavit Industries and Marg. Also, it fixed a circuit limit of two per cent for Hindustan Wires. "Trading members of the exchange are hereby informed that the circuit filters has/have been changed from their existing levels... In the scrips (7) with effect from June 20, 2016," BSE said. Shares of SBT have been on a rise after the Cabinet earlier this week gave go-ahead to merger of State Bank of India (SBI) and its associate lenders that would make the state-run lender a global-sized bank. On a question on Chauhan being a contender for post of chief executive at NSE, the BSE CEO said that the reports are speculative. The post of NSE managing director and CEO is lying vacant following a surprise exit of Chitra Ramkrishna. There are an estimated 9,000 shareholders in BSE, where originally mostly brokers held shares. However, a host of foreign investors and domestic financial institutions have acquired shares over the years and the IPO will provide some of them an exit window to monetise their assets. BSE shares will be listed on NSE as Sebi rules do not allow self-listing for an exchange. Meanwhile, rival NSE had filed draft papers with Sebi last month for an estimated Rs 10,000 crore IPO. The BSE issue is being managed by Edelweiss Financial Services, Axis Capital, Jefferies India, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, SBI Capital Markets and SMC Capitals. Multi Commodity Exchange of India is the only listed bourse in the country. Telecom Minister Ravishankar Prasad today said state-run BSNL has earned an operating profit of Rs 672 crore for the first time in seven years and expressed confidence for better performance by the end of this fiscal. "BSNL was incurring Rs 8,000 crore loss in 2014. But, today it has earned an operating profit of Rs 672 crore in just one and half years time," Prasad said while addressing a 'Vikas Parv' function organised to mark the completion of two years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The Minister expressed confidence that the public sector telecom company would earn an operating profit of Rs 2,000 crore in this financial year. "The objective of the Modi government is to see governance in the hands of the people, which is possible through Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar and mobile phone. The identity of the Modi government is, in a country with 125 crore population, 102 crore have access to mobile phones, 101 crore have Aadhar and 40 crore have access to Internet," he said. The role of middlemen has come to an end after the government decided to link Jan Dhan Yojana with Aadhar, while mobile phones keep people updated with information, he said. Referring to the turnaround of BSNL, he said it happened because the government's motto was to "serve people with smile." "The Modi government believes that it can progress discharging its social responsibility and this is the reason the telecommunication department has started installing mobile towers in Maoist-affected areas," Prasad said. "We are running these mobile towers with solar energy, helping people use mobile phones," the Minister said appealing the Maoists to shun violence. BSNL had registered a profit of Rs 10,000 crore under Atal Bihari Vajpayee till 2004, but recorded a loss of Rs 8,000 crore during the ten year rule of the UPA, Prasad added. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday led a shocked nation in paying tributes to first-time woman MP Jo Cox, who was brutally killed by a man described as a far-right loner with mental health issues and neo-Nazi link. Cameron and Corbyn made a rare joint visit to the village of Birstall to pay their tributes to 41-year-old Cox, who had been campaigning for Britain's continued membership of the 28-member European Union (EU). Cameron described Cox as a passionate and a brilliant member of Parliament who died doing her job and Corbyn announced that Parliament, which had gone on recess, will be recalled on Monday so that MPs can pay their respects to Cox. "Today is a day to stand back and think about what we treasure. One of those is having MPs available to the public. And we should recognise that politicians are there to serve the public," said Cameron, whose 10 Downing Street office was flying its flag at half-mast in memory of Cox. "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve," Corbyn added. Vote Leave and Remain have both suspended campaigning for next Thursday's EU referendum in light of the attack. The entire British political establishment was reeling from shock. Some MPs carried on with public engagements with increased security but a few have cancelled their planned constituent meetings, which are referred to as surgeries. It emerged on Friday that Cox had received a stream of threats over three months but had not been provided with any extra security. Downing Street sent additional safety guidance to other MPs after Thursday's attack on Cox outside a library. Cox was shot twice before falling to the ground where she was kicked and stabbed repeatedly and lay bleeding on the pavement by the time emergency services arrived. Witnesses say she was shot a third time in the face and the suspect was trying to reload his antique-style weapon when another man tackled him. The man suffered minor injuries and the suspect, who is said to have lunged at others who attempted to intervene, walked away from the scene shortly before being arrested. Meanwhile, according to the US-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Thomas Mair, who was arrested at the scene of the shooting and stabbing in West Yorkshire, had bought books from a US-based neo-Nazi group, including guides on how to build homemade guns and explosives, The SPLC published receipts that appear to show Mair bought, among other books, a manual on how to make a homemade pistol from the National Alliance. Some eyewitnesses have claimed that Mair shouted Britain first during the attack on Cox, triggering speculation that he may have been a member of the far-right political group Britain First. However, the group has denied any involvement, saying it would never encourage behaviour of this sort. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today led a shocked nation in paying glowing tributes to first-time woman MP Jo Cox, who was brutally killed by a man described as a far-right loner with mental health issues and neo-Nazi links. Cameron and Corbyn made a rare joint visit to the scene of the crime - the village of Birstall - to pay their tributes to 41-year-old Cox, who had been campaigning for the UK's continued membership of the 28-member European Union (EU). Cameron described Cox as a "passionate and brilliant" member of Parliament who died doing her job and Corbyn announced that Parliament, which had gone on recess, will be recalled on Monday so that MPs can pay their respects to Cox. "Today is a day to stand back and think about what we treasure. One of those is having MPs available to the public. And we should recognise that politicians are there to serve the public," said Cameron, whose Downing Street office was flying its flag at half-mast in memory of Cox. "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve," Corbyn added. Vote Leave and Remain have both suspended campaigning for next Thursday's EU referendum in light of the attack. The entire British political establishment was reeling from shock as Cox's opening speech to Parliament was replayed on television, in which she celebrated her Indian-origin and other immigrant constituents of Batley and Spen. She had said in her first address to the House of Commons as an MP in June last year: "Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages. "Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. "While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us." Some MPs carried on with public engagements with increased security but a few have cancelled their planned constituent meetings, which are referred to as surgeries. It emerged today that Cox had received a stream of threats over three months but had not been provided with any extra security. Downing Street sent additional safety guidance to other MPs after yesterday's attack on Cox outside a library in the town she grew up in. Cox was shot twice as she was holding a regular surgery with constituents on Thursday afternoon before falling to the ground where she was kicked and stabbed repeatedly and lay bleeding on the pavement by the time emergency services arrived. Witnesses say Cox was shot a third time in the face and the suspect was trying to reload his antique-style weapon when another man tackled him. The man suffered minor injuries and the suspect, who is said to have lunged at others who attempted to intervene, walked away from the scene shortly before being arrested. Meanwhile, according to US-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Thomas Mair, who was arrested at the scene of the shooting and stabbing in West Yorkshire, had bought books from a US-based neo-Nazi group, including guides on how to build homemade guns and explosives. The SPLC published receipts that appear to show Mair bought, among other books, a manual on how to make a homemade pistol from the National Alliance. Some eyewitnesses have claimed that Mair shouted "Britain first" during the attack on Cox, triggering speculation that he may have been a member of the far-right political group Britain First. However, the group has denied any involvement, saying it "would never encourage behaviour of this sort." West Yorkshire Police have so far refused to discuss the possible motive behind the killing. West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns Williamson, said: "I have worked closely with Jo since she was elected and I am deeply shocked that such a talented young woman has been senselessly attacked and killed whilst working in her constituency and serving her community. "This is a truly shocking incident but I want to reassure communities that our information is that this is a localised incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact. "I must stress that investigations are ongoing, a man has been arrested, and we need to let the police do their job in understanding exactly what has happened that led up to this hugely tragic incident and channel all our thoughts into supporting the families and communities affected." The former charity worker and campaigner was elected to Parliament in the 2015 General Election and is survived by her husband and two young children, aged three and five. "Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full. Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," her husband Brendan Cox said in a statement. Buckingham Palace has announced that Queen Elizabeth II will write a private letter to the widower. Vigils have been planned today and over the weekend in memory of the politician across the UK. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UK Independence Party have all announced they would not contest the by-election resulting from the Labour MP's tragic killing. A Canadian woman who fought insurgents in Afghanistan became the country's first female combat officer to rise to the rank of general. Colonel Jennie Carignan, 47, was promoted yesterday to brigadier-general (one star) and put in charge of the Canadian army's day-to-day operations including training and deployments, the military announced. Other female generals have previously risen from non-combatant disciplines such as intelligence, medicine and development aid. Carignan enlisted in 1986, three years before Canada allowed women in combat roles. Training as a combat engineer -- a role in which soldiers clear bombs and erect and destroy battlefield structures -- she rose quickly through the ranks, shattering preconceptions about women warriors. However, she was beaten to the punch by one month in becoming the first woman to lead a military combatant command by American General Lori Robinson. Robinson made history in May, when she was appointed to lead the US Northern Command, tasked with securing North America's aerospace and coastal waters, as well as supporting the US civil defense authorities. US Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who praised Robinson, was quoted at the time by ABC as saying that "in the military, a combatant command is the ultimate job. It's the pointy tip of the spear, overseeing the people carrying the rifles and flying the aircraft." The United States dropped its official ban on women in combat in January 2016. Women make up 14.8 percent of the Canadian military, and just 2.4 percent of its combat forces, according to government figures. Carignan grew up in the mining town of Asbestos, Quebec, the daughter of a policeman and a teacher. She served in a United Nations mission in the Golan Heights, between Syria and Israel, and in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Competition Commission has dismissed allegations that telecom operator Vodafone India abused its dominant position by imposing discriminatory charges for international roaming services. After finding that the company is not a dominant position and there is enough competition in the relevant market - 'market for provision of international mobile data services in Mumbai' - the watchdog has rejected the complaint. The complainant had alleged that the company charged exorbitant price for international mobile data services on roaming basis during his travel to Canada. In a recent order, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said the relevant market in the instant case appears to be competitive and customers therein have choices. The players are comparable with each other in terms of size, resources and expertise, it added. CCI said no case of contravention of Section 4 of the Competition Act is made out against Vodafone India. Section 4 pertains to abuse of dominant position. Three babies with Zika-linked birth defects have been born in the US, the government reported Thursday in its first accounting of outcomes for pregnant women infected with the virus. The defects were also seen in three other pregnancies that ended. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking the pregnancies of women with infections since the beginning of the year. So far, 234 pregnant women residents and visitors have been diagnosed with . Some babies have been born with no immediate signs of problems, according to the CDC's Dr Denise Jamieson, but she would not say how many. Most of the pregnancies are ongoing. All the cases are connected to travel to areas with outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. There's been no local spread of in the US. The agency provided few details about the six women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. Three cases ended in "pregnancy loss" but the CDC did not say whether it was from miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. While the women had Zika infections, the officials said they did not know whether the birth defects were caused by the virus or other factors. Most people infected with Zika never develop symptoms, and Jamieson said not all of the six women had them. Others get a fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes, and recover within a week. But during the Zika epidemic in Brazil, the virus was identified as a cause of fetal deaths and potentially devastating birth defects. In its birth defects numbers, the CDC is counting a range of conditions. Chief among them is microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which a baby's skull is much smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. But also in the count are calcium deposits in the brain; excess fluid in and around the brain; abnormal eye development; and other problems resulting from damage to the brain that can include clubfoot or inflexible joints. The CDC's Jamieson said the numbers are concerning but consistent with what's been seen in other countries affected by Zika outbreaks. Researchers estimate that for every 100 pregnancies involving women infected early in their pregnancy, 1% to 15% will develop severe birth defects. The CDC report appears to include the two known cases of babies born in the US with Zika-linked birth defects. One was a baby girl born to a Honduran woman at a New Jersey hospital. China today attempted to deflect international criticism over the kidnapping and torture of a Hong Kong bookseller by Chinese police for eight months by mounting a sharp attack on CIA's brutal interrogation techniques in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks. The US which "profile itself as a champion of pointing fingers at other countries record, should reflect on itself and address its own violation of human rights," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters. She was replying to a question on CIA's release of 50 declassified documents detailing the brutal interrogation techniques used on terrorist suspects after the 2001 attacks. When asked about the allegations by Lam Wing-kee that he was kidnapped and tortured for eight months by Chinese agents for selling books critical of the ruling Communist Party, Hua sought to parry questions saying media should contact "relevant authorities" for details. "To be honest, I am shocked by those details. We believe that relevant parties should honour Geneva conventions and other international conventions and protect basic rights of prisoners," she said. Pressed further, she said Lam is a Chinese citizen and violated Chinese law in mainland. "Therefore law enforcement authorities have right to deal with relevant case in accordance with law," Hua said. Lam is one of five Hong Kong booksellers who published gossipy titles - banned in mainland - about leading Chinese politicians. He narrated his eight-month-long mental torture and that he was blindfolded and handcuffed by a special task force while crossing the border to Shenzhen in October. Breaking his silence, Lam yesterday said he was speaking because his case concerned the "freedom of expression of Hong Kong people." "This is not just about me. This is about the freedom of Hong Kong people. The Chinese government has forced Hong Kong people into a dead end," Lam was quoted by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post today. (Reopens FGN 17) Commenting on the UUV seizure by China, analysts said it reflects the new competition between Beijing and Washington in the area and an aggressive signal by China to show that is ready to act. "It's not the first time that the US deployed a drone in the South China Sea area, but it's the first time the Chinese military seized it. There must be a reason for it... It could have threatened the interests of China's islands, or China's ships and submarines. It must have been damage to Chinese interests that caused the seizure," Zhao Xiaozhuo, the director and a senior colonel at the Centre on China-America Defence Relations at the Academy of Military Science, a PLA think-tank told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "China has been very restrained about the military intervention from the US. They have been on the edges of Chinese territories all the time. This time the Chinese military took action. It must be because of some actions taken by the US side," he said. Zhao said both sides would probably resolve the issue through negotiation. "China wants to send out a signal that if you spy on us underwater and threaten our national security, we have measures to deal with it," said Wu Shicun, president of the Chinese government-affiliated National Institute for South China Sea Studies. "On the South China Sea issue, we took in humiliations with a humble view in the past. I think that era has finished now," it said. A construction worker in China miraculously escaped death after a 1.5-meter steel bar pierced through his body from groin to skull in east China's Shandong Province. The 46-year-old Chinese man, surnamed Zhang, was working at a construction site when he fell from a height of five meters on to the steel bar on June 14. Firefighters were able to cut the bar and took him to the hospital. An X-ray showed that the steel bar had only just missed his skull, trachea, heart, carotid artery and liver, state-run Xinhua agency reported. Zhang has been admitted to Shandong University's Qilu Hospital in Jinan. "This is a very rare accident," Sang Xiguang, head of the emergency surgery department said. Surgeons from nine departments worked with firefighters to remove the bar from the man's body. The emergency operation took more than seven hours. He was wheeled out of the operating room and transferred to intensive care unit. "Luckily the bar barely touched his vital organs," said Zhang Yuan, attending doctor of the neurosurgery department, "The wound was so large, he might not have made it if he was in poor health." "One wrong move, and the operation would have failed," he said. "Everyone was exhausted by the end of the seven hours surgery," Sang said. The man is now stable, doctors said, but he will remain under close observation for two weeks as the risk of infection is high. "We will try our best to help him recover," said Sang. A Chinese primary school here has removed a synthetic race-track after toxic substances allegedly poisoned dozens of students, local authorities said today. Two excavators were deployed at the Baiyunlu campus of Beijing No. 2 Experimental School in Xicheng District to remove the race-track. The removal process will be completed in two days, state- run Xinhua agency reported. Students had a day off today, and will be back next Monday, it said. Last month, many students at the school suffered from nosebleeds, dizzy spells and coughs after running on the track. Tests on the track this week, nine months after it was put into use, showed excessive amounts of benzene substances and formaldehyde. Investigators also admitted to the existence of pungent smell in the track. Similar cases have occurred in other provinces as well. The US battle against the Islamic State has not yet curbed the group's global reach and as pressure mounts on the extremists in Iraq and Syria, they are expected to plot more attacks on the West and incite violence by lone wolves, CIA Director John Brennan has told Congress. In a rare open hearing, Brennan gave the Senate intelligence committee an update on the threat from Islamic extremists and shared his views on a myriad of other topics, including encryption, Russia and Syria. Brennan said yesterday (also known as ISIL and IS) has worked to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, as in the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels ones the CIA believes were directed by the top IS leaders. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan said, using a different acronym for the group. "Furthermore, as we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers who have no direct links to the group." Brennan said the CIA has not been able to uncover any direct link between the Orlando shooter and a foreign terrorist organization. He said the US-led coalition has killed IS leaders, forced the group to surrender large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and that fewer fighters are traveling to Syria and have defected. While the group's ability to raise money has been thwarted, it still generates at least tens of millions of dollars every month, mostly from taxation and sales of crude oil on black markets in Syria and Iraq. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," he said. He said IS is slowly cultivating its branches into an interconnected global network and that the number of IS fighters now far exceeds what al-Qaida had at its peak. The CIA estimates there are 18,000 to 22,000 IS fighters in Syria and Iraq down from about 33,000 last year. The branch in Libya, with between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters, is the most advanced and most dangerous, but IS is trying to increase its influence in Africa, Brennan said. He said Boko Haram is now the IS branch in West Africa and has several thousand fighters. Brennan described the IS branch in the Sinai as the most active and capable terrorist group in Egypt, attacking Egyptian military and government targets as well as foreigners and tourists, such as in the downing of a Russian passenger jet last October. The CID, West Bengal has arrested two persons from the Sealdah station for allegedly carrying over one kilogram of heroin, a senior police officer said. ' Ainuul Haque and Serajul Haque were arrested from platform no 9A of Sealdah Station yesterday and one kilogram and 700 grams of contraband, worth over Rs 1.7 crore, was seized from them, CID DIG (Operations) Dilip Kumar Adak said today. "The duo who are part of an inter-state racket, were about to board the Ajmer Express and had tickets for Kanpur when we nabbed them. We had information that they were travelling from Murshidabad to Sealdah from our sources and we had our men waiting at the station in plain clothes," Adak said. Two persons were injured today as security forces fired teargas shells and used batons to chase away stone-pelting protesters at different places in Srinagar and Baramulla districts of Kashmir valley, police said. Azad Ahmad Mir was hit by a teargas shell on the head during a clash between stone-pelting protesters and law enforcing agencies at Bomai village in Sopore township of Baramulla district, a police officer said. He said the clashes broke out shortly after security forces killed two militants holed up in the village during a cordon and search operations. Intense clashes between stone-pelting youth and security forces also rocked Jamia Masjid and adjoining areas in Srinagar shortly after Friday prayers. Aqib Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Chatpora village of Pulwama district, suffered pellet injuries at Khanyar and was shifted to Soura Medical Institute for treatment, the officer said. He said condition of both the injured persons was stated to be "stable". Reports of protests were also received from Hyderpora in Srinagar and Anantnag town but there was no report of any injury. Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF had jointly called for protests after Friday prayers against the alleged fake encounter in Kud, new Industrial policy and separate settlements for Kashmiri Pandits and Sainik colonies. Police said a militant and a woman were killed and three others injured in a gunfight after security forces intercepted a Jammu-bound passenger vehicle for checking near Kud on Monday. Hailing from Bemina locality of Srinagar, the family of the slain youth Tanvir Sultan claimed that he was not a militant but a psychiatric patient since 1997 and had left for Amritsar on June 13 for the treatment of his shoulder injury. Cochin Shipyard today delivered the Fast Patrol Vessel "ICGS Aryaman", to Indian Coast Guard 95 days ahead of the contractual schedule. It is the 18th vessel in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels under construction for the Indian Coast Guard. The Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance was signed between Suresh Babu NV, Director (Operations), CSL and Commanding Officer (Designate) of the vessel Cmdt Neeraj Singh in the presence of senior officials of ICG and CSL. The vessel will be operated from the Coast Guard Station at Kochi, a CSL release said here. "These vessels help in securing the Nation's Coasts by patrolling within the Exclusive Economic Zone and Coastal Patrol, carrying out anti-smuggling, anti-piracy and search and rescue operations, and for fisheries protection and monitoring," it said. They also have a secondary role of providing a communication link, and escort coastal convoys, in times of hostilities and war, it said. The CSL said this financial year, it has delivered seven Fast patrol Vessels to the Indian Coast Guard and a Buoy Tender Vessel to Dept of Lighthouses and Lightships. A migrant labourer, arrested for allegedly murdering a 30-year-old Dalit woman at Perumbavoor in Kerala, was today remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a magistrate court. Ameerul Islam was brought amid tight security to Perumbavoor Judicial Magistrate Court around 5 PM from Aluva Police Club. He has been sent to sub-jail in Kakkanad. Police said they were likely to seek his custody after conducting an identification parade. Fearing violent response from the mob present outside the Police Club and court complex, several rings of security were thrown around Islam who was seen wearing a helmet.Before producing him in the court, he was interrogated by top officials of the Special Investigation Team probing the case. DGP Loknath Behera had reached Aluva Police Club before taking him to the court. In a breakthrough in the brutal rape and murder of the woman, a law student, Islam was arrested yesterday, 50 days after the gruesome incident. Police refused to produce the accused before media. The 23-year-old Islam, hailing from Assam's Nagaon district, was taken into custody from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. He had left Perumbavoor soon after allegedly committing the murder on April 28. He was brought to Aluva Police Club yesterday for interrogation with his face covered amid tight security. Police had said the man had a "pervert" mindset. The woman, who hailed from a poor family, was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered at her house on April 28. The incident was in focus during Assembly polls campaign with political parties attacking the then UDF regime for tardy progress in the probe and failure to nab culprits. The LDF government, after assuming power on May 25, had changed the investigation team and entrusted the probe to ADGP Sandhya in its first cabinet meeting itself. According to the police, a blood-stained footwear found from a canal near the victim's house was one of the key evidences in identifying the culprit. A DNA test conducted earlier on the saliva found from the bite mark on her back, the blood found on the chappal and the lock of her room had revealed that it was only one person who committed the crime, police have said. Over 100 police personnel had questioned over 1,500 people. Finger prints of over 5000 people were also examined and went through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before reaching the culprit. Delhi government has decided to reorganise West and South-West civil districts, sessions division, metropolitan areas of the national capital, seeking to ease administrative access for people. The decision was taken at a meeting of Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held at Delhi Secretariat. The reorganisation will also have a positive impact on the residents of these areas. "The Cabinet gave nod to the proposal of reorganisation of West and South West civil districts/sessions divisions/ metropolitan areas of Delhi in as much as transfer of three police stations - Uttam Nagar, Vikaspuri and Janakpuri from West district to South-West district so as to enable the cases under their jurisdiction be filed in the sessions division at Dwarka Court Complex," a senior government official said. The official, however, said the existing criminal cases relating to police stations of Uttam Nagar, Vikaspuri and Janakpuri, which were filed and are pending in the Sessions Court at Tis Hazari should not be transferred to the Sessions Court at Dwarka. The new police station, envisaged at Vikas Nagar, will comprise substantial areas presently under the police station of Ranhoula. The Vikas Nagar police station will form part of South-West Sessions Division and hence criminal cases emanating from Police Station at Vikas Nagar will be filed in the Sessions Division at Dwarka Court Complex. "Eight revenue areas of West district viz., Budhela, Nangli Jalib, Posangi Pur, Asalat Pur, Hastsal, Raja Pur Khurd, Nawada Mazara Hastal and Matiala have been taken out of Patel Nagar sub-division of West district and added to Dwarka sub-division of South-West District, without creating a new district," the official said. So, the new civil cases filed on or after cut-off date, relating/pertaining to territorial jurisdiction of the eight villages mentioned above, should be filed at the District Court Complex at Dwarka. However, existing or cases already filed before a cut-off date, which can be fixed should not be transferred and should be dealt with and adjudicated in the District Court Complex at Tis Hazari, the official said. Dera Sacha Sauda follower Gurdev Singh (31), who was shot at three days ago, passed away today, leading to tension in Kotkapura in Faridkot district where the followers of the sect assembled to demand immediate arrest of the culprits. Gurdev Singh (31) was shot in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district. He passed away in Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana. Gurdev was admitted in the hospital in critical condition, Dr Ashwani Chaudhry, neuro surgeon of the DMCH said. The police have handed over his body to his family members after performing the post-mortem examination. There was tension in Kotkapura in Faridkot where the Dera followers started to assemble after the body arrived there this evening. The Dera followers decided to keep body at Kotkapura in Faridkot, demanding immediate arrest of the accused. A large number of dera followers had started assembling at Kotkapura to pay homage to Gurdev Singh. In view of tension prevailing in the village, DIG Ferozepur range was camping in Kotkapura. Heavy police deployments had been rushed to Kotkapura village where the body was kept. The Dera followers have threatened to hit streets if the police fails to arrest the accused immediately. Earlier, tight security arrangements had been made in the civil Hospital at Ludhiana, police said. A large number of dera followers were also present on the occasion. Yesteday, Punjab Police had assured the followers of the Sirsa-headquartered sect that the "murderous attack" case would be solved soon. Police said so far there was no breakthrough in cracking the case which could lead to the arrest of accused. Development is important but it should be within limits and policies should be framed keeping local traditions in mind, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said. Speaking at a function to pay homage to those killed in the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, which many perceive happened due to imbalances created in ecology, he said, "Wherever development has to be done, the importance of local traditions should be kept in mind. The importance of 'maryada' should be understood. Development of man is important and should take place, but maryada should be kept in mind." Bhagwat said, "After Uttarakhand's tragedy, policies should be framed while keeping in mind the limits and while accepting the traditional knowledge and expertise of the past. There should be maryada everywhere." He stressed that, "There should be restraint even in policies. It should also be there in our behaviour and attitude. "People in power should keep in mind the sentiments of people before moving forward in a democracy. That is why, there is need for understanding the importance of 'maryada' in society also," he said. The RSS chief said there should be coordination among 'maryada', science and traditional knowledge and called for viewing development with a new perspective. "This new perspective is being felt, but the traditional view of Bharat should be kept in mind," he said, adding steps should be taken while keeping repercussions in mind. He cited the ancient times, when science touched every home in each village as people could find remedies to diseases in their own homes then and said it is important that today's science and knowledge should also reach and touch every person's life. "Having the potential to do something is not enough, but there should be restraint. "For everything there has to be maryada. Maryada is a form of 'dharma'. One should move forward while understanding 'maryada' of every issue then all conflicts, between science and environment, science and tradition will not arise. "The root cause of conflict is that everyone has to work within maryada (limits)," he said, adding that knowledge and spiritualism also have limits and both should be in consonance with 'dharma'. Bhagwat also cited the difference in reactions of people in India and other parts of the world to tragedies and calamities, saying it is so due to the country's age old traditions. "People don't travel during the month of September in America after 9/11. But in our country, they will come forward to help others immediately during any disaster while forgetting about their own safety," he said. BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said if India is our 'motherland', the Himalayas which are a source of water for the entire Asian region is our 'fatherland'. He said the Himalayas and the Amazon Valley are the only two ecological sensitive zones in the world and there is need to conserve them. He expressed concern over the threat posed to river Brahmaputra as it flows from the Tibet region and China was constructing dams on it. "If China plans to harm the Himalayas, rivers and the ecology, it will create havoc for the Asian region and also for the entire world," he said. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in two years time a complete ecological study of the Himalayas will be completed, after which a proper policy will be framed. He said encroachments on the river beds have led to destruction and the authorities should take strict action against the guilty and the Centre and States should work together. Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Uttarakhand is 'dev bhoomi' (land of Gods) and needs to be respected and the Himalayas are the fountainhead of water for the entire Asian region. "Uttarakhand should not become a place for summer vacation but should assume special importance and be considered as a land for spiritual recharging," she said. Union Minister V K Singh said today is the day to draw lessons from the tragedy. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank called for a separate Ministry and policy for the entire Himalayan belt. Earlier, a book 'Trinetra' by former Bihar Minister and BJP MP Ashwani Chaubey was unveiled by Bhagwat. Chaubey was among those stranded during the Kedarnath floods and survived while he lost many of his family members. Over eight kg of gold bars, valued at Rs 2.74 crore and smuggled from Sri Lanka, were today seized from a bus on the East Coast Road and three persons detained in this connection. A special team from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence unit intercepted the government-run bus on the Nagore-Karaikal route and questioned two passengers--Yakub Maraikkayar and Mushtaq Amir Bin Mahisab--who confessed to concealment of gold bars in their baggage, a DRI release said. The duo were transporting the gold after it arrived from Sri Lanka illegally through a fishing vessel. "After a detailed scrutiny of the passengers, the officials seized 24 carat gold bars weighing 8.763 kilograms valued at Rs 2.74 crore in the international market," it said. The officials also detained another person Sulaiman who had brought the gold bars from Sri Lanka and handed it over to the duo, the release said. All the three persons confessed to the crime and necessary legal action would be undertaken under provisions of Customs Act, 1962, it added. DRI officers were deployed in vulnerable coastal areas in Southern districts of Tamil Nadu, to detect gold smuggling through sea coast and the team intercepted the bus during regular surveillance. Amidst complaints of delays at the toll plazas on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Pune administration today issued directions towards development of a mechanism to ensure that vehicles pass through the toll booths within three minutes. Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao gave the direction to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and officials of IRB, which operates and maintains the E-way, during a joint meeting held here. Rao asked the authorities to develop a mechanism on toll plazas on the Expressway so that each vehicle passes through in three minutes and halting time of commuters can be reduced, according to a press release. The instructions were issued in the wake of frequent complaints received from the commuters about inordinate delays at the toll plazas that lead to the traffic snarls on E-way, it added. The district administration also warned the MSRDC and IRB that if the toll collection efficiency does not improve, it would have to intervene and send a team of officials at the toll plazas to make the process swifter with each vehicle passing through the toll plaza in exactly three minutes. In December 2015, the district administration had intervened at the Khed Shivapur tollbooth on Pune-Bangalore Highway (NH-4), where officials inspected the toll plaza and found out that with strict monitoring, congestion can be streamlined. Rao, while taking cognisance of the surge in the accidents on the Expressway, said besides the human errors, the absence of basic infrastructure and facilities could also be one of the reasons. He also instructed the officials to curb the entry of animals and two-wheelers on the Expressway by blocking illegal entry points along the road. He also directed the officials to take appropriate action against two wheeler riders, who usually ride on Expressway. Brazil-born striker Eder overcame an otherwise patchy performance to hit a cracking late winner in a 1-0 victory over Sweden that sent Italy into the last 16 of Euro 2016 on Friday. Eder, playing in his first major finals for Italy after being naturalised last year, came close to being substituted by Antonio Conte after a dismal opening half up front alongside Southampton striker Graziano Pelle. But the Inter Milan striker had the Italy bench celebrating wildly on the pitch at the Stadium de Toulouse with a well-taken 88th minute strike after running on to Simone Zaza's header to beat Andreas Eriksson at his far post. Italy, 2-0 winners over Belgium last week, now top Group E with six points, leaving Sweden, who had late claims for a penalty waved away, realistically needing to beat Belgium on Wednesday if they are to have any hope of making it to the knockout phase. After a mediocre display in Sweden's 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, all eyes were on captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the towering striker sought to make his mark by becoming the first man to score in four editions of the competition. But a cautious Italy restricted the former Juventus and Paris Saint Germain striker to few real chances in front of a huge army of yellow-clad Sweden fans. They were given hope after just two minutes when Ibrahimovic rose to meet a high cross, but Giorgio Chiellini cleared with his head. It was one of few real chances for Erik Hamren's men in a tight first half that saw Italy strikers Pelle and Eder fail to shine on their few real forays up the park. Italy's formidable three-man defence meant Gianluigi Buffon had little to do until he dived to collect Kim Kallstrom's curling shot, and the Juventus 'keeper was happy to see Olsson's drive whistle past the post soon after. When Daniele De Rossi fouled Ibrahimovic in midfield, the striker got his head to Kallstrom's 40-yard free kick but he was flagged offside. The Azzurri broke the monotony when Candreva collected Florenzi's cross-field ball to fire in an inviting cross, but Erik Johansson was quick to intercept. At the other end Sweden edged closer, Sebastian Larsson chesting a long cross into the path of Celta Vigo's John Guidetti only for the striker to skew wide. Italy started the second half in positive fashion, Pelle controlling Eder's cutback from a Marco Parolo through ball, but his volley dipped over the crossbar. Parolo did well to control De Rossi's pass and set up Candreva on the right, but the Lazio man's drive into the area was collected by Isaksson, who got down quickly to smother moments later after another Candreva delivery. On that occasion, Eder was well out of position but it was Pelle who was replaced on the hour, by Simone Zaza. Minutes later, Florenzi's high delivery across goal found Candreva at the back post, yet Isaksson again got down low to smother the Lazio man's low first-time effort. Italian hopes looked to be dying out and the Azzurri breathed a sigh of relief when Ibrahimovic fired over from a yard out at the back post although he was ruled offside. Parolo raised Italian hopes on 82 minutes with a header that came off the woodwork. But it was Eder who rescued Conte's men with a fine run that took him past the Swedish defence to fire the ball into the net with two minutes to play. The European Union today rolled over for another year sanctions imposed to protest Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which the bloc deems illegal. The announcement comes amid growing speculation the bloc will in coming days also renew much wider economic sanctions against Russia for aiding and abetting pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine. "The European Council (of member states) has extended until June 23, 2017, the restrictive measures adopted in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia," a statement said. The Crimea sanctions prohibit certain exports and imports, and ban investment and tourism services by EU-based companies there. The sanctions were imposed in the wake of the annexation of Crimea in March 2014. The broader sanctions targeting economic sectors in Russia were imposed after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014, blamed by the EU on pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. EU diplomatic sources say the economic sanctions will likely be extended for another six months from end-July on the grounds that Russia has failed to live up to its commitments to the Minsk ceasefire accord in eastern Ukraine. The extension is set to be approved despite growing calls in some EU countries for them to be relaxed. The EU has also imposed a separate set of visa ban and asset freeze sanctions against individual Russian and Ukrainian figures for backing the separatist cause in early 2014. These measures run until September. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed some 9,400 lives and plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze. At the same time, some EU member states led by Italy make the case that Russia is a neighbour and its help and cooperation is needed in tackling key shared problems, such as the Islamic State terror threat. For its part, Russia says the sanctions regime is pointless if damaging, and President Vladimir Putin regularly insists Crimea will never be given back. Today, Putin told a top economic forum in Saint Petersburg he was ready for a fresh start -- if the EU also played its part. "We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game," Putin said, stressing that it was the EU's introduction of sanctions which had led to the "collapse" in relations. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker made his first visit to Russia this week since the sanctions were imposed, telling Putin that there could be no lifting of sanctions until the Minsk deal was honoured. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko meanwhile said he welcomed the EU's decision to roll over the Crimea sanctions. "We will continue fighting until Russia frees Ukraine's Crimea and Ukraine's Donbass," Poroshenko said on Facebook, referring to the rebel-controlled areas of his country. Former Kapurthala district BJP President Tejasvi Bhardwaj and four others have been booked on charges of fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy, police said today. The other four include Canada-based NRI Rajiv Joshi, Baldev Krishan of village Bhanoki, 'Nambardar' Mehanga Ram of Gobindpura mohalla and deed writer Narinder Kumar of Chachoki village, they said. A case was registered against the accused yesterday under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), police said. As per complainant Santosh Kumari Sharma of Goraya, she had purchased a house in the posh locality Urban Estate in 2013 but could not register the property. She alleged that Bhardwaj, with the connivance of four others, had allegedly made fraudulent papers with back date of 2012, showing himself to be the possessor of the house, police said. Bhardwaj, when contacted today, alleged that the case was politically-motivated. "My political rivals are behind the cooked-up case," he said. Phagwara SP Ajinder Singh said that the case will be probed again. The Cypriot ex-wife of an Egyptian who hijacked a plane to Cyprus and is fighting extradition today denied his claims of being a political activist and portrayed him as a common criminal. Marina Paraschou was called to testify in a Nicosia court by the state as it seeks to have Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58, extradited to Egypt, which has requested he face trial under a bilateral agreement. State counsel is trying to discredit claims by the defence that as a known political activist Mostafa would not receive a fair trial in Cairo for the hijacking in March. Paraschou said Mostafa had never belonged to any opposition group in Egypt or been convicted for his political beliefs, despite spells behind bars in different Arab states. "He was jailed in Egypt for being an army deserter and was convicted for passport forgery... And stealing a car," Paraschou told the court. During the two-hour hearing, which was adjourned until June 22, Mostafa locked his gaze on his ex-wife with a wry smile while she avoided any eye contact. Mostafa had deserted the Egyptian army in the 1980s to join the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Beirut, she said, before moving in 1983 to Cyprus where the couple met and had four children. According to Paraschou, he had never taken part in any anti-regime protests in Egypt or faced harassment by Egyptian authorities for being a political activist, Paraskou said. The couple were together from 1983 to 1992, before Paraschou left her husband and divorced him in 1994. Mostafa spent all but one of their nine years as a couple behind bars, serving jail stints in Egypt, Yemen and Syria, she said. The 58-year-old Egyptian man is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the plane flying from Alexandria in northern Egypt to Cairo and divert it to the Mediterranean island on March 29. According to police, Mostafa voluntarily admitted to the hijacking that ended peacefully with his arrest and the release unharmed of the 55 passengers after a six-hour standoff. His lawyer Robertos Vrahimi has argued that the hijacker's motive was to draw attention to injustices in his homeland. Mostafa is fighting his extradition, arguing he could be tortured or face the death penalty if sent back to Egypt. His request for asylum has been refused as Cypriot authorities deem him a "perpetrator of serious crimes". The Cypriot justice ministry says Egypt has given assurances of a fair trial. Bharathiar University here has felicitated its first woman IAS officer, who has taken charge as District Collector in Maharashtra, recently. C Vanmathi, trained in Anna IAS Academy in the university had secured 152nd rank in All India Civil Services examinat1ion conducted by UPSC. After completion of her basic and IAS Phase I and II training at Lalbhadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussorie, Dehradoo on June 10, she has been allotted Maharastra State cadre. In appreciation, the university organized a felicitation function at the campus, in which Vice Chancellor, A Ganapathi and Academy Coordinator M Padmanabhan, presented a memento to Vamnathi, being the first woman IAS candidate from the University, an official release said. Former Flipkart Vice President Michael Mehran Adnani has joined Styletag, an online women's curated fashion platform, as its chief executive officer. Adnani will spearhead the company's operations and helm its evolution as it enters into a new phase of growth and expansion, Styletag said in a statement. He was earlier the Vice President of Flipkart and headed the strategic brand alliances for the e-commerce giant, it added. Styletag has been able to create an enterprise, which has weathered the various weather patterns that have emerged in the eCommerce landscape, Styletag.Com founder and Managing Director Sanjay Shroff said. "We already have an omni-channel presence, which was established 2 years ago and which has turned profitable. Styletag has reached the milestone of being margin positive... We are pleased to welcome Michael on board as he brings with him hands-on experience in retail and e-commerce," he added. Adnani holds over 30 years of experience in retail and ecommerce, merchandising, management, marketing and sales and has worked at firms like Sears Holdings, Nextag and Overstock. "As the CEO of Styletag, my role is well-defined and comes at a time when the market is ripe with healthy competition. My job will be to leverage the strengths of the company and turn them into winning strategies to cement Styletag's position as a domain leader," Adnani said. Styletag is based out of Bengaluru and has offices in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Four industrial workers were today injured in an explosion of a compressor in a dyeing unit in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi in the district, police said. The incident occurred this afternoon. Usually around 300 people work in the unit every day, but as it was a holiday today, most of them were not present there, an official of Bhiwandi Taluka police station said. Only those who resided in the premises of the unit, sustained injuries in the explosion. While two workers have been admitted to a local hospital, the others were shifted to the Thane civil hospital, the official said. Police said till now no case has been registered and investigations are underway. A man who police say fled prosecution 19 years ago for sexual assault crimes has been captured by authorities in Mexico and returned to Oregon, authorities have said. Eric Francisco DeCleve, 43, was returned to Newport this week through a joint effort by police, the FBI and Mexican officials, Newport Police said in a release yesterday. DeCleve was arrested in 1997 on multiple counts of rape and other charges for allegedly giving illegal drugs to girls who were 11 and 13 and sexually assaulting them. Police say DeCleve, who was 24 at the time, confessed to the crimes and fled the country after posting bail. Authorities said they were given a tip in 2004 that he was in Mexico but they weren't able to find him until this year when they heard he was working in Cancun. The investigation determined DeCleve was working as a surfing instructor and living under the name Eric Victor Munhoven Navarro. The FBI worked with Mexican officials to capture and extradite DeCleve to the United States for trial. He was arrested on charges including two counts of first-degree rape, one count of second-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree sodomy and four counts of delivery of controlled substance to a minor. It wasn't immediately clear if DeCleve had an attorney. He has been jailed in Newport with bail set at USD 3 million. Saresh Lotlikar will be the new Advocate General of Goa, succeeding Atmaram Nadkarni who has been elevated to the post of Additional Solicitor General of India. Lotlikar's appointment was cleared by the state Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today. "We have approved the selection of Saresh Lotlikar as the Advocate General of the state," Parsekar said. Nadkarni had resigned from the post of state AG in May this year following his elevation, but continued holding the charge in absence of a replacement. The state Cabinet also cleared the recommendation proposing the name of Dattaprasad Lawande as the Additional Advocate General of Goa. Gold prices fell Rs 199 to Rs 30,690 per 10 gram in futures trade today amid a weak global trend. At Multi Commodity Exchange, gold delivery in far-month October dropped by Rs 199 or 0.64 per cent to Rs 30,690 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 52 lots. The metal for delivery in August was trading at Rs 196 or 0.64 per cent down at Rs 30,411 per ten gram in business volume of 982 lots. Analysts attributed the fall in gold futures to a weak global trend where it retreated from the highest in almost two years as traders pared bets on the outcome of next week's UK vote on membership in the European Union, reducing demand for the metal as a haven. In the international market, gold fell USD 13.50 or 1.05 per cent to USD 1,278 an ounce in New York yesterday. A central marine police force to protect sea, coast, ports and vital institutions along country's 7,517-km long coastline may come up in near future. The issue was discussed at a meeting where Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the suggestion and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh accepted it as a "good idea". Fadnavis suggested at a meeting of ministers, chief secretaries and directors general of police of coastal states and union territories yesterday in Mumbai that there is a need for a dedicated command structure for marine police and a central police organisation may fill the gap, an official said. The official, who attended the meeting, said the Home Minister appreciated the suggestion of setting up a central marine police force saying it was a "good idea" and it can be explored. At least four states have supported the suggestion as most the coastal states have been facing problems in dealing with crimes taking place within 12 nautical miles from shore that comes under the jurisdiction of marine police. The detailed structure, operations and modalities of the force will be worked out in the coming months. India has a 7,517-km coastline, which is dotted with 12 major ports and 187 minor or intermediate ports. India's territorial waters end at 12 nautical miles while exclusive economic zone stretches to 200 nautical miles from the coast. Indian Navy is responsible for overall maritime security including coastal and offshore security. Indian coasts are guarded by a 3-tier system of State Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy. Indian Coast Guard looks after the security of country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that stretches upto 200 nautical miles from the coast. The official said the Home Ministry is not keen to relinquish the policing responsibility to the Indian Coast Guard, which looks after one million sq km miles and reports to the Defence Ministry. The Home Ministry has recently empowered 10 police stations located along coastline to register and investigate crimes committed within the country's exclusive economic zone to end the ambiguity over jurisdiction in the wake of Italian marines case. When the two Italian marines, on board ship MV Enrica Lexie were arrested off Kerala coast for killing two fishermen on February 15, 2012, Italy had challenged it saying the offence was committed in international waters. However, India maintained that the crime had taken place within the EEZ. Italy even took the case to an international tribunal in The Netherlands, claiming New Delhi has no jurisdiction to pursue the case and only an international court can try the marines. The case continues to be sub-judice though. Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad today said the Centre plans to launch Postal Payments Bank in September with the aim to make it the world's largest bank. "I had plans to launch the proposed Postal Payments Bank, which can be described as moving ATM, in next three years but when the proposal was taken up in the cabinet, I was asked to introduce it by September 17," the Union Telecommunication and IT Minister said at a 'Vikas Parv' function here. The minister said the officials of the department have been directed to initiate necessary steps to launch it by September 16/17. The proposed bank will be introduced in 650 districts across the country, he said, "we have plans to introduce in 1.30 lakh post offices in the rural belts". The Postal Payments Bank will provide banking services, insurance, third party delivery, collection of EMIs in rural pockets, he said, adding that the officials are being trained like professionals to make it a success. "Can you imagine where we are taking the postal department?" he said. World's top 50 banks including Deutsche Bank of Germany, Barclays of England, Citi Bank of USA and World Bank wanted to link themselves with postal department which has a vast network. "I have asked the officials and employees to march with speed to achieve the target," he said, claiming that our target was to make Postal Payments Bank the world's largest bank. Hitting out the previous government for failing to improve the condition of public sector unit BSNL and Postal Department during its tenure, Prasad said everything remained unchanged including the infrastructure and officials, "but our one year hard-work seemed to have paid dividends and brought both BSNL and Postal Department out from Red". Soon after assuming the office of Telecommunication and Postal departments, Prasad said he held a meeting with the officials of the department and instructed to improve the condition of BSNL and Postal department. After one-year of hard-work, he said Speed Post of the Postal department has been adjudged the "best courier service" which also recorded 12 per cent increase in revenue generation. "Altogether, we have 1.54 lakh post offices including 1.30 lakh operating in rural pockets of the country and taken initiative to promote e-commerce in the postal department," he said. The outcome of the initiative was that e-commerce is today growing by 68 per cent and parcel revenue, which was down by 1 per cent in 2013-14, had recorded a growth of 45 per cent in 14-15 and 80 per cent in 2015-16. A grocery shop here was raided today on the suspicion that it was selling "beef powder" in packets even as the shopkeeper said "it is sattu" and attributed the "wrong" label to "printing error". A team led by SDM Shakti Singh raided the grocery shop on the direction of the Deputy Commissioner. Someone had lodged a complaint with Health Minister Anil Vij that "beef powder" was being sold by the shop. Under the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, passed in March last year, cow trafficking, slaughtering and eating beef are banned in Haryana. Vij directed the DC to conduct a raid on the shop. The raiding team led by SDM sealed the packets of suspected powder, officials said. It found that "corned beef" was printed on the packets. Civil Surgeon Vinod Gupta, who also accompanied the team, said the sample has been sent to state laboratory and facts would be revealed after report comes. He said mentioning manufacturing and expiry date on the packets of edible items is mandatory but such details were not printed on these packets. The shopkeeper, however, said "corned beef" was printed on the packet while in fact the product 'sattu' (powder of roasted wheat and gram) was filled in it. He said he had purchased those empty packets from Delhi and he was not aware about the "printing error". He said he had mentioned 'sattu' on the packets with black marker. Meanwhile, Vij has asked the DC to conduct an enquiry into the matter to find out the truth. Haryana's Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, passed by the Assembly in March last year, came into force in November last. Under the provisions of the law, cow trafficking, slaughtering and eating beef are banned in the state. The law provides for a rigorous imprisonment ranging from three years to 10 years for killing the animal. Over 8,900 Haj pilgrims from West Bengal will start leaving for their journey from August 10. This year, flights for Haj pilgrims of the state will commence from August 10 and will continue till August 21, officials of the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department said. The total number of Haj pilgrims this year is 8,903, they said, adding that Saudi Airlines has been given the responsibility to operate flights from Kolkata by the Haj Committee of India. The pilgrims will return after performing Haj by flights operated by the same airlines between September 17-28. Last year in September, a woman from West Bengal was among those killed in the crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Madras High Court today granted bail to Dalit writer Durai Guna and his friend who were arrested in an assault case recently. Police in Pudukottai district had arrested Durai Guna and his friend Boopathy Karthikeyan on charges of attacking one Sivanandham with a knife, on June 10. However, Sivanandham had denied that he was attacked by them. A Division Bench of the court's Madurai bench, comprising Justice Sasidharan and Justice Gokuldoss, said they were being released on bail in the interest of justice and human rights, and asked police to set them free immediately from the Pudukottai prison. The bail was granted on a petition filed by Sivanandham on behalf of Durai Guna and his friend. The petition contended that police had lodged a false complaint against them. The Bombay High Court today directed Maharashtra government to make all the beaches in the state safe by July 31 by posting life guards and providing warning signals and watchtowers, while observing that many lives have been lost in the past. These measures might help in preventing cases of drowning and saving precious lives of people, said a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka. The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Janhit Manch, an NGO, on the issue of beach safety in the wake of an incident off Murud Janjira beach near Alibaug, in which 14 students, of whom ten were girls, had drowned earlier this year. The bench had earlier reprimanded the state government and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for failing to implement a Government Resolution passed in 2006 on measures to be taken to keep the beaches secure so as to avoid any untoward incident. The judges said that during the period (from 2006 till date) several people drowned at various beaches due to lack of adequate safety measures by the authorities concerned. The high court had opined during last hearing that Goa had deployed beach police, also known as coastal police, on their beaches and asked the Maharashtra government to also consider the same. The Karnataka High Court today stayed for three months the Debt Recovery Tribunal's order issuing a demand notice to Vijay Mallya-owned United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) and Kingfisher Airlines to pay Rs 192 crore on an application by three banks. The petitioner, UBHL, has challenged the DRT order which had allowed the application of the banks -- Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India and Corporation Bank -- on March 28, and issued the demand notice on June 7 to pay Rs 192,51,08,484.67 within 15 days from the date of receipt. UBHL had argued that DRT had no jurisdiction to pass an order to issue a recovery certificate and demand notice to it and had also argued the Tribunal had misconstrued the law and arrived at an erroneous conclusion. Meanwhile, Dutch beer major Heineken filed an application before DRT seeking to be impleaded in the case. Making a submission in the DRT, Counsel for Heineken said the company seeks permission to implead itself in the case and enjoy the right of first refusal over UBL shares. Heineken has some presumptive rights on UBL shares held and owned by Mallya. "We are seeking permission to implead in the case to have the first right of refusal over UBL shares," he said. Right of first refusal is a contractual term between shareholders which are usually included in the Articles of Association. If one shareholder wishes to dispose of shares that are subject to a right of first refusal (ROFR), it must first offer them to those other shareholders who have the benefit of ROFR. Making separate submissions, counsel for United Spirits Limited (USL) pleaded for vacating interim applications pertaining to attachment of USL shares and also sought dismissal of petition for attachment of dividend. "Since we have not been made a party to Original Application filed by bankers, we are neither a guarantor nor borrower. I am a third party in this case. Therefore, we have nothing to do with the case," he said. Also only three per cent shares is held by UB Group companies in USL, Mallya and his family, and hence there is no relation with it, the counsel argued. The counsel also said USL had paid all the money borrowed from PNB and IDBI. "Despite recovery of dues (Rs 514 crore), IDBI claimed recovery of further Rs 40 crore and also claimed dividends from 2013." "Also IDBI has no right to sit in judgement over whether loan transaction repayment is valid," the counsel said. "This is a clear case of extraction of more money from USL just because it is controlled by a foreign company," he said. Senior counsel for bankers Nagananda pleaded with DRT not to vacate interim order on Watson Limited. The Tribunal has attached shares of Watson Limited, a holding company of Mallya. British liquor giant Diageo has sought vacation of Watson Limited order. Mallya, whose now-defunct group company Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) to 17 banks, had left the country on March 2 and is in the UK. The beleaguered businessman has been declared a proclaimed offender by a special PMLA court in Mumbai on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe against him in the alleged bank loan default case. Sparring over Kairana "migration" intensified today with the ruling Samajwadi Party and Congress rubbishing reports of exodus and alleging that atmosphere was being vitiated by BJP which gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring back those who have shifted. Mounting pressure, state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya met Governor Ram Naik with the demand for a CBI probe into the "exodus" while presenting the report of a five-member party team that visited Kairana area in Shamli district for an on-the-spot assessment. BJP MLA Sangeet Som, an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, also took out a rally to highlight the issue. Countering it, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Atul Pradhan also took out a separate rally. Som gave a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to bring back those who had left Kairana, in an apparent bid to keep the issue alive ahead of Assembly polls in the state early next year. Almost around the same time, SP spokesman and senior Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav hurriedly convened a press conference to accuse BJP of "vitiating" the communal atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the polls. "There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders including Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as Assembly elections are near," he said. "Their only work is to orchestrate riots...They are the same people who masterminded Muzzafarnagar riots," he said, adding, "...Be it Sangeet Som or anyone else, the state government will not let anyone to plan riots. We will collect proof against them and will expose them before media soon". In a similar refrain, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Pradip Mathur rubbished reports of migration from Kairana on communal lines and accused BJP of "poisoning" the atmosphere in the state to polarise votes before the polls. CPI-M leader Md Salim said a section of Kairana's population including both Hindus and Muslims have migrated from the UP town over years due to socio-economic issues and criminalisation and not because of communalisation and demanded that BJP apologise for its Hindu exodos claims. BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, attacked both SP and BJP, saying the yatras by the two parties smacks of an "understanding" between them to somehow vitiate the communal atmosphere for reaping political benefits by instigating riots. Haryana government has declared public holiday during the first two working hours on the International Yoga Day event on June 21, in all government offices, boards and corporations and educational institutions under the state government. "This public holiday will also be observed in various factories, commercial establishments and shops located in the State. This holiday will also be observed in Haryana Civil Secretariat, Sector 1, Chandigarh from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM to facilitate security arrangements for Prime Minister's visit," an official release said today. This order has been issued within the meaning of Section 25 of Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, it said. The International Yoga Day event is being held on June 21 in Chandigarh, capital of both Haryana and Punjab, and the mega event will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit tonight said she was ready to play "any role" either in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh or Punjab and that time was running out for the party to finalise its strategy for the elections in the two crucial states. She said decision on party's election campaign and whether to project chief ministerial face for the polls should be taken at the earliest. "Time is running out for Congress. Decisions regarding our strategy in both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh should be taken as soon as possible. Whatever decision is taken should be taken at the earliest," she told PTI. Dikshit's comments came a day after she met party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi amid speculation that she may be made the party's chief ministerial face for next year's assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh or may be given a major role in Punjab. "I am ready for any role that the party high command wants me to play. The polls in both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh will be crucial for us," 78-year-old Dikshit, who served as Delhi Chief Minister for three terms, said. Asked specifically whether she was ready to be Congress' chief ministerial face in UP, Dikshit did not give a direct reply but said she would follow the leadership's direction. On which state among Punjab and UP she would prefer given a choice, she said "My choice will be high command's choice. "My plea to the high command is that key decisions should be taken quickly," said Dikshit. In her meeting with Sonia and Rahul, Dikshit is said to have been sounded by the Congress high command for a leading role in Uttar Pradesh, possibly as the chief ministerial candidate. Congress party's election strategist Prashant Kishor is said to be in favour of a Brahmin face in Uttar Pradesh elections and is believed to have suggested Dikshit's name. The community, a traditional vote bank of the Congress, shifted allegiance to BJP in the aftermath of the emergence of Mandir-Mandal politics. A large chunk of Brahmin votes had also gone to Mayawati's BSP in the past when she gave tickets to many candidates belonging to the community. The community's support determines the poll outcome in several seats in Central and Eastern UP. Dikshit is the daughter-in-law of prominent Congress leader from UP Uma Shankar Dikshit, who served as Union minister and governor for a long time. There was also a buzz that Dikshit could be made Congress' in-charge of poll-bound Punjab as the party was looking for a leader having connection with the state in the wake of Kamal Nath quitting the post on Wednesday. Dikshit is originally from Punjab. India and Thailand today decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements - Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand - were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. India's public and private businesses are ready to invest in resource-rich Namibia's mining sector using environment-friendly processes to back the country's developmental goals, President Pranab Mukherjee said today. Addressing students of Namibia University of Science and Technology, Mukherjee said Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. "Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibia's mining sector. Our public and private enterprises stand ready to join your endeavours in this direction," Mukherjee said. He recalled the old friendship between the two countries and cited India's example which was earlier a food importer and later emerged as the world's largest producer of wheat and rice for two years. "At the time of India's independence, India, due to her weak agriculture sector, had to import food grains. However, soon enough, due to proper planning and synergy between science and public policy, the excellence of our scientists and the selfless toil of our farmers, our country saw a revolution in agricultural productivity," he said. He said in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, fruitful economic exchanges between India and Namibia underscore the much larger potential waiting to be realised. The President said an MoU has been signed on setting up a centre of excellence in IT in Namibia which will contribute to enhancing the capacity and skill levels of Namibian IT students and professionals. "We intend to commence the setting up of this centre as soon as possible, in consultation with the Government of Namibia," he said drawing huge applause. Mukherjee said during bilateral discourse, the areas that have been prioritised for collaboration between the two countries include human resource development, capacity building and educational and cultural exchanges. "In this context, I would like to mention India's flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities as they could be successful models in Namibia as well," he said. The President said "India remains committed to partnering with Namibia as your people pursue their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Government of Namibia's 'Vision 2030' and 'Harambee Prosperity Plan'". REOPENS FGN 18 The President said both nations are fortunate that youth are brimming with ideas and enterprise. "India, with an estimated 4,300 start-ups is emerging as the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world today. Not surprisingly, 72 per cent of the founders of these start-ups are below the age of 35. Their ventures represent impressive - and often simple - business models - from delivering essential commodities and affordable healthcare to creating improved and cost effective agricultural technology and on-line marketing, to name a few," he said. Mukherjee said their innovations have brought positive impulses to each and every sector of our economy - from handicrafts to tourism, education and transportation. "The employment generated by these start-ups fosters inclusive growth and has the potential of improving the quality of life of millions of our citizens. I mention this as I am confident that by mobilising their youth,other developing economies too can channelise their untapped potential for achieving socio-economic transformation," he said. The President credited India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the scientific prowess of India which has developed over the years. Mukherjee said thanks to Nehru India adopted scientific and technological policies. He said it was Nehru who emphasised on science education, research and development along with the establishment of technological institutes like IITs. Quoting Nehru, Mukherjee said "'The future belongs to science and to those who make friendship with science.' I bring his words to you as I am confident that they will kindle a light within you". "Our country is on the path of a technological revolution that, we hope, will empower our people. India is very satisfied with her maiden space mission to Mars, 'Mangalyaan'. As the fourth country in the world to achieve this - and the first to do so in the first attempt - that, too, at a modest expenditure of only USD 74 million, India has proven that the sky is the limit, literally, when a nation is determined to succeed," he said. Mukherjee said in medicine, bio-technology and information technology, too, a dramatic revolution has taken place in India which has transformed our lives. "Our mobile phone density is about 74.55 and we rank third after US and China in internet use. Nano-science and technology, solar energy, vaccines and drug discovery are other areas on which India is presently focussed," he said. Early in the morning he laid a wreath at Heroes Acre, a memorial for unnamed soldiers who have fought against the oppression of Namibia. Mukherjee also visited Okapuka ranch to have a glimpse of rich wildlife of Namibia. A festival showcasing Indian culture began today in different cities of Hungary, promising a dance, music and film extravaganza for three days. The festival christened 'Ganges-Danube Cultural Festival Culture' will also witness Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurate a yoga camp, being organised as part of the festival, tomorrow. Danube is Europe's second largest river that passes through Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The festival will showcase the Indian culture via dance, music, yoga, film and exhibitions, among others. Performance by Indian martial art experts, puppet artists and by those Hungarian artists who are proficient in Indian art forms would also be part of the festival, an official release said here. The festival is being held in different cities of Hungary, namely, Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, Eger, Nagykanizsa, Esztergom, Szentendre and Balatonfured. An Indian man has been allegedly killed when he resisted a robbery attempt by Omani nationals, following which six of them have been arrested. John Philip, a fuel station employee who hailed from Kerala, was found dead by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) on Wednesday. Philip had been missing since last Friday and police was searching for him since Saturday after a colleague reported him missing, the Times of Oman reported. "His body was found. He was murdered," a senior police official said, adding investigation is on. Money between OMR4,000 and OMR5,000 (over Rs 6,50,000) is missing from the station he used to work in, officials from the victim's company said. According to the report, the CCTV cameras were found damaged following his disappearance and its cassettes are missing from the fuel station. Philip, who had been working in Oman for the last 13 years, is survived by his wife Binu and their two children. His relatives had approached the Kerala government and the Indian government to trace him. Nepalese authorities have arrested an Indian national here for the third time for allegedly smuggling 109 tortoises and 162 birds of different species from India to be supplied to restaurants in China and Vietnam. Police arrested Mohammad Usman who hails from Patna in Bihar yesterday after raiding his house here. They recovered the reptiles and birds kept in boxes and cages. The tortoises, which weigh three to five kilogrammes each, and the birds, including several varieties of parrots, were smuggled to Nepal from India and were on their way to China and Vietnam, police said. The seized animals were supposed to be illegally transported to China and Vietnam for the purpose of feeding on restaurants and in the markets for reselling them. This is the third time Usman has been arrested on charges of smuggling reptiles and birds from India to Nepal. The rescued animals were handed over to the Central Zoo at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur a neighbouring district of Kathmandu. In the past also he was arrested on charges of trafficking animals illegally and got released after paying bail money to the police. A former Marine of Indian-descent, who served in Afghanistan, is being hailed as a hero for helping scores of people escape from an Orlando gay club targeted by a terrorist who killed 49 people in the deadliest shooting in US history. Imran Yousuf, a 24-year-old bouncer at the Pulse nightclub, heard the gunfire break out early Sunday morning. "The initial one was three or four (shots). That was a shock. Three of four shots go off and you could tell it was a high caliber," Yousuf, a 'Hindu' whose familyhad immigrated to Guyana from India four generations ago, told CBS . That's when his Marine Corps training kicked in, said Yousuf, a former sergeant who just left the Marine Corps last month. "Everyone froze. I'm here in the back and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine pack everyone." Yousuf knew just beyond that pack of panicked people - was a door - and safety. But someone had to unlatch it. "I'm screaming 'Open the door! Open the door!'" Yousuf said. "And no one is moving because they are scared." "There was only one choice - either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there." By creating the exit, Yousuf estimated that about 70 people were able to get out of the nightclub safely. "I wish I could've saved more," CBS quoted him as saying. "...There's a lot of people that are dead." Yousuf served as an engineer equipment electrical systems technician in the Marine Corps from June 2010 to May 2016, according to service officials. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He was last assigned to 3rd Marine Logistics Group. He posted a message on his Facebook page saying he "just reacted." "There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct," he wrote. Yousuf belongs to both ethnicities, Hindu and Muslim, since his grandfather is a Muslim and his grandmother and mother are Hindus, a media report said. A Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who was shot at in village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala in Fazilka three days ago triggering protests, died at a hospital here today. Gurdev Singh (31) was admitted in DMCH hospital in a critical condition, Ashwani Chaudhry, Neurosurgeon of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital said. His body was handed over to his family members after the post-mortem examination. Tight security arrangements had been made in the civil hospital, police said. A large number of Dera followers were also present here. Yesterday, Punjab Police had assured the followers of the Sirsa-headquartered sect of solving the case soon. A large number of Dera followers had assembled in Faridkot last evening demanding immediate arrest of those responsible. The assailants had come in a car and opened fire at Gurdev Singh on June 13 at Jawahar Singh Wala village leaving him seriously injured. Iraqi forces raised the national flag over the government compound in Fallujah today, top commanders said, a breakthrough in the nearly four-week-old offensive against the Islamic State group's bastion. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went on state television to announce that his forces were in control of the city except for a few small pockets of jihadists. They met limited resistance from ISIS fighters, who were fleeing the city, the commanders told AFP, leaving the organisation on the brink of losing one of the most emblematic strongholds in its two-year-old "caliphate". It is the latest setback for the jihadists who have also lost territory in neighbouring Syria and in Libya in recent weeks. "We promised you the liberation of Fallujah and we retook it. Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours," Abadi said. Military commanders explained that the forces had raised the flag over the government compound in the centre of the city. "The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state's authority in Fallujah," federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat told AFP. The overall commander of the operation, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, said that Iraqi forces have now liberated 70% of the city. Significant parts of northern Fallujah, where thousands of civilians are believed to remain, have yet to be retaken. In December 2015, Abadi announced the liberation of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province where Fallujah lies, but it took several more weeks of fighting to establish full control. In the deserted, recently reconquered neighbourhoods of the insurgent bastion known in as the "City of Mosques", elite forces were consolidating positions, stocking up on food and weapons. Dozens of bodies of dead ISIS fighters were left to rot under blankets amid the rubble of homes destroyed by air strikes, rockets or controlled explosions of the hundreds of bombs the jihadists themselves laid across the city. Fallujah, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is one of ISIS's key historical bastions and its loss would leave Mosul as the only major Iraqi city under its control. The Islamic State group has killed 15 members of the local security forces in attacks on villages in northern Iraq, officials said today. The attack was launched late yesterday on villages east of the restive town of Tuz Khurmatu, which lies in an ethnically mixed area 160 kilometres north of Baghdad. The ensuing clashes killed 15 members of the police, of a Turkmen paramilitary organisation and of the Kurdish peshmerga. "Twelve people, six members of the police and six of the Hashed al-Turkmani were killed in the fighting against Daesh (IS)," said Abu Ridha al-Najjar, the local leader of the Turkmen group. "The attack began in Birahmed area last night," he said of a cluster of villages west of Tuz Khurmatu. The Hashed al-Turkmani is a local branch of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a national umbrella organisation dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias. In and around Tuz Khurmatu and other areas in Iraq's Turkmen heartland, Shiite Turkmen fighters belonging to these militias fight under the banner of the Hashed al-Turkmani. Mullah Karim Shakur, a local peshmerga official, said three Kurdish fighters were also killed in the fighting. The attack was claimed by IS in an online statement. The jihadists still hold nearby areas, such as the town of Hawijah and parts of the Hamreen mountain range. Tuz Khurmatu is in an area theoretically under Baghdad's authority, but the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan has a military presence there and claims the area as its own. The town has been the scene of deadly skirmishes between Shiite Turkmen and Kurdish forces in recent months. The authorities in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul today banned an annual gay pride march planned for later this month, citing security fears. The Istanbul governorate said in a statement it was aware through reports in the press and social media of plans to hold the annual march on June 26 but urged citizens not to follow the calls to take part and instead to comply with warnings by the security forces. The Istanbul gay pride march had until last year been held on 12 occasions largely without incident, growing into the largest such event in a Muslim country in the Middle East with thousands taking part in a celebration of diversity. However in 2015, police shocked participants by firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to prevent the march before it had even begun. The statement from the governorate said: "Permission will not be given for... A meeting or a march on grounds of safeguarding security and public order." "We urge our dear Istanbul residents not to heed calls to take part and to comply with warnings by the security forces." Activists are planning a week of events from this weekend culminating in a gay pride march on June 26 that traditionally follows Istanbul's famed shopping street Istiklal Caddesi and finishes in Taksim Square. However Turkey has been hit by a string of attacks this year, including a deadly suicide bombing on Istiklal itself that killed Israeli tourists and was blamed on jihadists. Meanwhile, the march, as last year, is scheduled to take place during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. There had already been concerns about the security of participants after a hardline nationalist youth group, the Alperen Hearths, vowed to intervene to stop the march from taking place. An association of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has criticised US President Barack Obama's speech last month during a historic visit to Hiroshima, saying he failed to mention US responsibility for the bombing. Obama, as the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, paid moving tribute to victims in the western city, where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards. A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan three days later. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted he would not revisit decisions made by then president Harry Truman at the close of the brutal war. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations said in a resolution adopted yesterday at its general meeting that Obama described the bombing in his speech as if it had been "a natural phenomenon", according to Jiji Press. The phrase "death fell from the sky" that he used to evoke the horror was an expression to avoid the responsibility of the United States in having dropped the bomb, said the resolution. Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of the group and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, also said Obama's conversations with survivors during his trip were very short. "You cannot fully understand their experience by listening to them for five minutes," he said. "We hope he can make a visit again." Obama's brief conversations included an unexpected embrace with a survivor in one of the visit's most memorable moments. According to the Asahi newspaper, Tanaka criticised the president's visit to an accompanying museum at the memorial site as also being too short. On 13th day of their fresh pro-quota stir, some Jat leaders, accompanied by Khap representatives, held talks with Haryana government today and demanded withdrawal of "false cases" registered against youths in connection with the February stir and adequate compensation for the relatives of those who had died. Among the participants in Panchkula talks were Sube Singh Samain, Sarv Khap Jat Panchayat spokesperson, its senior leader Nafe Singh Nain, Tek Chand Kandela of the Kandela Khap and Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan. State Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's political advisor Jagdish Chopra, talked to them from the government side. The main demand raised in the meeting was release of "innocent youths" arrested during February stir and adequate compensation and job to next of kin of those who lost their lives in the recent stir. Dhankar told the leaders the government is fighting against the high court stay on reservation granted by it and assured their other demands would be considered in a "sympathetic manner". All India Jat Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti (AIJASS), which is spearheading the stir, has been invited for talks with state government representatives in Delhi tomorrow. "We are meeting them in Delhi tomorrow," AIJASS president Yashpal Malik said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said this is a "social issue and it should not be politicised". Khattar, who was in Rohtak today, said as the reservation issue is under the consideration of the court, all would have to unitedly plea to make it reach the desired conclusion. However, it is the responsibility of the government to get it resolved, he added. The state today remained peaceful and no untoward incident was reported, officials said here. During the fresh round of agitation, the protesters have been staging dharnas at various places in the state amid elaborate security arrangements. In view of the fresh Jat stir, paramilitary forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, while the state police is maintaining a strict vigil. Haryana police is also keeping a vigil near the statues of various state icons in sensitive districts to thwart any act of vandalism. As many as 30 people were killed and property worth crores of rupees was damaged at many places in Haryana during last year's Jat stir which had turned violent. Rohtak and some of its neighbouring districts, including Sonipat and Jhajjar, were the worst hit by the violence last year. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today greeted Hillary Clinton for clinching nomination as Democratic Party's candidate for the upcoming US Presidential election, and vividly recalled the meeting between the two in 2011 here. "It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction for all the women in the world and in particular, women in democratic electoral politics that you have become the first woman to be a candidate of one of the two major political parties in the United States for the Presidency," she said. In a letter to Clinton, Jayalalithaa said the former Secretary of State, while "creating history," had given voice and hope to the cause of women empowerment across the world. "I have fond memories of your visit to Chennai on 20th July, 2011, as the Secretary of State, and our warm and cordial interaction on the occasion on a range of issues of mutual interest." "My best wishes are with you for the further stages of the campaign and for the Presidential Election in November this year. I have no doubt that as your political career peaks, you will continue to be a role model for women across the world," she told the Presidential hopeful. A Kashmiri girl coming from Bangladesh was today detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport here after security agencies received inputs that she had a paper slip with "carrying bomb" written on it in her bag. Officials said the incident took place when the girl and her three friends, bound for Srinagar, landed at the airport from Dhaka via Kolkata about 11:00 AM. They said security agencies at the airport were alerted by some staff that a paper slip stating "carrying bomb" was in the baggage of the girl. She was later detained and questioned by Delhi Police officials and central security agencies and the other three girls decided to stay put till their friend is cleared. Nothing untoward was detected during her questioning and it is suspected that someone attempted a mischief on her. "Delhi Police released her after few hours of questioning. However, between all this, the girls missed their connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi and will now take a flight tomorrow," an official said. Officials said all the girls are MBBS students of a college in Dhaka and residents of Rajbagh area of Srinagar. (REOPENS DES73) Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter and sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia kindly look into the matter of the detention of two Kashmiri girls at Delhi airport. Their parents are very concerned. "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia Any assistance & information will be greatly appreciated by their families & loved ones. Thank you in anticipation," Omar tweeted. The Home Minister promptly responded with the tweet "@abdullah_omar please send the details to pstohm@nic.In." He said the grounds of their detention seem "filmsy". "@HMOIndia @PMOIndia The grounds, as explained to me seem rather flimsy given that they flew from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata & then detained," Omar tweeted. The parents of the girls said that four girls were returning home from Bangladesh when police at the airport detained them. "There were four girls who were returning from Bangladesh. They flew from Dhaka to Kolkata and then to Delhi. Their luggage was checked and cleared at all the airports," Bilal Ahmad, the father of a detained girl, said in Srinagar. "After they were detained, the airport authorities or the police did not inform their families. We fear for their safety. We have only talked to them once so far," he said. He said the families tried to reach Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti but were not granted a meeting with her. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today asked BJP workers to ensure that the poor and needy are made aware of various schemes and programmes of the Central and state governments for their welfare. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre has launched a number of welfare schemes and the Haryana government too has taken various decisions for the welfare of the people, he told a meeting of BJP workers of Rohtak and Jhajjar districts in Rohtak. Khattar said various central schemes such as Digital India, Skill India, Make in India, Swachh Bharat, Atal Pension Yojana, Smart City, AMRUT, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Fasal Bima Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and One Rank One Pension have ushered in a new era of development. He directed the party workers to ensure that the poor and needy are made aware of these schemes and programmes, adding that these schemes have benefited Haryana as earlier, when Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched, the sex ratio in the state was 837. In the last five months, it has improved considerably and currently, it is 897. The Chief Minister said 359 MoUs, envisaging investments worth Rs 5.84 lakh crore, were signed during Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit 2016 in Gurgaon on March 7-8. He said about four lakh youngsters would get jobs with the implementation of these MoUs. The Chief Minister also said a target has been set to make Haryana an open defecation-free state by December 31, 2017. In the initial phase, Panchkula and Sirsa districts would be made open defecation-free, said Khattar. In the backdrop of allegations of leak of "Udta Punjab" movie print, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has rushed a senior official to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) office in Mumbai. Sources said Joint secretary (films) Sanjay Murthy is in Mumbai and has visited the office of CBFC, also known as censor board. There have been allegations that the censor board's copy of the movie prints may have been leaked. The ministry has been watching these developments, officials said. The movie has been the subject of a string of controversies including over cuts suggested in it by the censor board. A judge has ordered Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio to give a testimony in a libel case concerning "The Wolf of Wall Street." The 41-year-old Oscar winner starred in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film as Jordan Belfort, though another former Stratton Oakmont executive is suing producers over his own depiction in the movie, reported Independent online. Andrew Greene's name is changed to Nicky Koskoff in the movie, and he claimed that the film spread untruths about him and damaged his reputation, suing for USD 15 million. A judge rejected those original claims, though allowed him to assert that the filmmakers libelled him. Scorsese and screenwriter Terrence Winter have given testimony, and it was argued that DiCaprio had no need to testify as he had not portrayed the character or written the script. However, the judge has rejected the argument, and ordered that DiCaprio be deposed. The actor was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Belfort, known as the titular "Wolf of Wall Street". The city of London will mark the International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21 with a series of events near the iconic Tower Bridge and on the river Thames over the next few days, the Indian High Commission said today. The high commission announced that the main event to mark the day will be held at the Potters Fields Park, near the iconic Tower Bridge on Sunday and is expected to be attended by hundreds of people. "The event is for British friends to enjoy and benefit from the life changing experience of yoga," a high commission statement said. Some of the other key events include a floating yoga event on board a barge named 'Avontuur' on the River Thames on Monday morning, to be attended by Indian envoy to the UK Navtej Sarna among others. Another on the 73rd floor of The Shard - London's famous skyscraper and the tallest building in the UK, on Tuesday - the official UN designated date for IDY. The resolution for International Yoga Day was proposed to the UN General Assembly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The initiative found unprecedented support and was adopted by 177 member states without a vote in record time to declare June 21 as International Day of Yoga. British MP Bob Blackman also plans to table an Early Day Motion (EDM) on the International Day of Yoga in the coming weeks, calling for "Yoga to be included as part of mindfulness and well-being initiatives for NHS (National Health Service) staff and for Yoga to be integrated within treatment for patients". It also calls on the UK's Department of Education to "introduce Yoga in the school physical education (PE) curriculum". Dutch beer major Heineken today filed an application before the Debt Recovery Tribunal seeking to be impleaded in the Vijay Mallya case. Making a submission in the DRT, Counsel for Heineken said the company seeks permission to implead itself in the case and enjoy the right of first refusal over the UBL shares. Heineken has some presumptive rights on UBL shares held and owned by Mallya. "We are seeking permission to implead in the case to have the first right of refusal over UBL shares," he said. Right of first refusal is a contractual term between shareholders which are usually included in the Articles of Association. If one shareholder wishes to dispose of shares that are subject to a right of first refusal (ROFR), it must first offer them to those other shareholders who have the benefit of ROFR. Making separate submissions, Counsel for United Spirits Limited (USL) pleaded for vacating interim applications pertaining to attachment of USL shares and also sought dismissal of petition seeking attachment of dividend. "Since we have not been made a party to Original Application filed by bankers, we are neither a guarantor nor borrower. I am a third party in this case. Therefore, we have nothing to do with the case," he said. Also only three per cent shares is held by UB Group companies in USL, Mallya and his family, and hence there is no relation with it, the Counsel argued. The Counsel also said USL had paid all the money borrowed from PNB and IDBI. "Despite recovery of dues (Rs 514 crore) IDBI claimed recovery of further Rs 40 crore and also claimed dividends from 2013." "Also IDBI has no right to sit in judgment over whether loan transaction repayment is valid," the counsel said. "This is a clear case of extraction of more money from USL just because it is controlled by a foreign company," he said. Senior Counsel for bankers Nagananda pleaded with DRT not to vacate interim order on Watson Limited. A man was crushed to death by a speeding vehicle on Siwan-Barhariya road in Bihar's Siwan district in the wee hours today, a police officer said. Mufassil police station SHO Vinay Pratap Singh said that the incident occurred when a man identified as Rajendra Manjhi was crossing the Siwan-Barhariya road near Rasulpur village in the district. Manjhi was the resident of Rasulpur village. Agitated villagers blocked the Siwan-Barhariya road for nearly four hours demanding adequate compensation, the SHO said adding that the blockade was lifted after the administration gave an assurance in this regard. The speeding vehicle and its driver managed to escape from the scene, the SHO said and added that efforts were on to locate and nab the driver with the vehicle. Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email sunnews@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes A Maoist operative Raju Nutt, who is the main accused in the killing of eight policemen including a Station House Officer (SHO) of Aurangabad district in Bihar in 2013, was arrested today from Chandigarh, a senior police officer said. Superintendent of Police Babu Ram said acting on a tip off, the police arrested Nutt, who was working in a private firm in Chandigarh, masquerading his identity. On the basis of information provided by him, two of his accomplices were also arrested from Chandigarh, the SP said. Nutt was the main accused in killing of eight policemen including SHO of Nabinagar, Ajay Kumar in a landmine blast under Tandwa police station in Bihar's Aurangabad district on December 3, 2013. The Police were searching for Nutt and others and succeeded in nabbing them from Chandigarh, the SP added. Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma who headed the Single Window Agency today approved 13 proposals for investment in five districts and directed preparation of 'model projects' for job creation. "We have approved a total of 13 out of 15 investment proposals," Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told reporters after the 54th meeting of the Single Window Agency (SWA) here. Of the 15 projects that came up for discussion, two investment proposals, a backyard poultry farming/egg production and setting up of an amusement park in Ri Bhoi district have been kept in abeyance, he said. The egg factory, which aimed to produce 1.81 crore eggs in a year requires over 50 acre of land and the animal husbandry and Veterinary department has been asked to study the impact of the proposal before giving the approval, he said. The proposal for setting up of an amusement park at the Assam-Meghalaya border at Khanapara, the investor was asked to comply with the state industrial policy, which requires a local person to be part of the team of investors. The Chief Minister said Ri-Bhoi district, which got eight proposals, remained one of the preferred destinations for investment. In view of the discouraging figures in the remaining parts of the state, the Chief Minister directed the Department of Commerce and Industries to create an "enable environment" to encourage potential investors to look at industrial investment as a diverse opportunity starting from micro, small and medium to large scale industries. Mukul said the department was also directed to assign the Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for preparing model projects of different scales, which would not only identify priority sector, but also help generating employment avenues. The sectors proposed to be brought under the model projects include food processing, manufacturing, renewable energy, hospitality and others. According to the Chief Minister, the government would also provide assistance by ensuring simpler credit flow for local entrepreneurs to invest in these sectors. Microsoft has opened its largest centre of excellence for the oil & gas industry in Dubai, to assist organisations in the sector to drive digital transformation, cut costs and optimisation of their operations. The new centre will help companies in the sector take advantage of the latest trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced analytics, modern productivity and cloud computing using Microsoft technologies like Microsoft Azure and Office 365. It is the largest such centre for Microsoft globally. According to the 2016 Upstream Oil and Gas Digital Trends Survey by Accenture and Microsoft, 80 per cent of upstream oil and gas companies plan to increase spending on digital technologies in order to help them drive leaner, smarter organisations. The International Data Corporation (IDC), predicts that IT spending in oil and gas will increase to nearly USD 50 billion in 2016, while spending on connectivity related technologies should increase by 30 per cent. "Digital transformation is top of mind for executives in the oil and gas industry, which is why we built the centre of excellence in the Middle East," said Omar Saleh, director for Oil and Gas at Microsoft, Middle East and Africa. "For the industry to transform, companies need to develop sound digital strategies, built on secure and agile platforms, either on a company's premises or in the cloud." "They are expected to continue investing in areas that help lower operations costs, infrastructure costs and drive better asset management through analytics," Massimo Pagella, resources lead for Accenture Middle East and North Africa, said. "However, looking into the future, these companies are starting to realize that traditional cost cutting levers will not be enough to sustain future growth," Pagella said. Marco Miltkau capitalised on a diagonal pass inside the circle as Germany won the broze medal with a 1-0 victory over hosts Great Britain in the Playoff match of the 36th Hero Champions Trophy, here today. Title holders Germany featured in three draws during their five preliminary round-robin league outings and the only victory was over South Korea. But today they packed the defence in their trademark fashion and defended the lead given by Miltkau in the 40th minute. Despite the backing of home supporters, Britain failed to breach the Germany defence and finished fourth. Belgium, who yesterday came close to securing a place in the final but squandered a 3-1 lead to draw with Britain, today prevailed 4-3 over Korea to finish fifth. Belgium rallied from 1-3 behind through three goals in the space of five minute during the last quarter to leave the Koreans stunned. Simon Gougnard scored twice, one through a penalty corner conversion, to spur the Belgian challenge, while Tanguy Cosyns also converted a penalty corner and Florent van Aubel got the match winner in open field play. All South Korean goals came from penalty corners with Yang Ji-hun twice shooting on target after Seo Jong-ho had opened their account. A 17-year-old girl, daughter of a navy officer, who had gone missing from the city airport four days ago, was today traced to Goa, police said. Kairavi Sharma was traced to Goa late this evening and her father, Aravind, has been informed about the same, a senior official of Cyberabad Police here said, citing information provided by their counterparts in the coastal state. "We got information from Goa Police that Kairavi has been traced in that state... We are in process of verifying how she went missing... Once she is brought back more details will be known," the official said. The teenager studies in Pune, where she recently completed Class 11. Her father is a Commander and at present posted in Visakhapatnam. On June 14, Kairavi came to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad here from Visakhapatnam to board a flight to Pune. However, she went missing from the airport and her mobile phone was later found switched off. A mother slit open the throat of her 22-year-old pregnant daughter in Pakistan's Punjab province, the latest in a series of gruesome "honour killing" that have sparked national outrage. Muqadas, a resident of Butranwali, Gujranwala, some 80 kms from Lahore, contracted love marriage with Taufeeq of her locality against the will of her family some three years ago, a police official said. Superintendent of Police (civil lines) Nadeem Khokhar said that the family of Muqadas was not happy with her as the victim married Taufeeq after eloping with him. "Amna, mother of Muqadas, recently contacted her and told her that the family had pardoned her. She invited the couple to her house. However, yesterday when the 8-month pregnant Muqadas was present at a clinic in her locality for a check-up Amna reached there and took her to her house," he said. Khokhar said initial reports are suggesting that Amna with the help of her husband Arshad and son Adil tortured Muqadas severely before she slit open her throat with a knife. "However we are recording the statements of Muqadas' relatives about the incident and probing the matter from all aspects," he said. Khokhar said a murder case has been registered against six people including mother, father and brother of the victim. He said Arshad has been arrested while raids are underway to arrest the remaining suspects. Shafique, brother-in-law of Muqadas, told police that initially Muqadas family had pardoned her for marrying a man of her choice. "But later it decided to kill her. It is learnt that her parents pledged to kill her for earning bad name for the family," he said. Last week Zeenat, 18, was burnt alive by her mother in Lahore for marrying a man of her own choice. A couple in Lahore and a young Christian girl were killed by their family members for contracting marriage against their (families will). An Islamic religious body in Pakistan this week dubbed the killing of women in the name of "honour" as un-Islamic. At least 40 clerics of the Barelvi school of thought on June 12 issued a fatwa against honour killing, declaring it 'un-Islamic and unpardonable sin'. The clerics under the banner of Sunni Itehad Council (SIC) said that honour killing is kufr (infidelity). At least 1,100 women were killed in the name of honour in Pakistan last year by their relatives on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. In the backdrop of speculation over the motive behind the Orlando mass shooting, in which 49 people were killed by a gunman, US Deputy Chief of Mission Michael P Pelletier today said such questions "perhaps can never be answered". "In terms of whatever the motivations were behind the attack in Orlando, it is really something that we don't have the real and final answer to yet. We will probably never have the real answer to it. "What caused Omar to carry out such a tragic attack? Undoubtedly like most things in life, it is not going to be one simple answer," he said. He was speaking at a panel discussion at the American Center here, organised as part of "Pride Month" celebrations, in support of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) citizens. The discussion also saw diplomats from eight countries - France, Germany, the USA, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Canada and the UK - calling for embracing diversity in the context of equal rights for the LGBTI community across the globe. "I think what is more important is to take a lesson (from the Orlando attack) of embracing diversity, the lesson of respecting life, the lesson of respecting all of our colleagues and patriots," Pelletier said. Seconding him, EU Delegation to India Counsellor, Thibault Devanlay said, "It is important for everyone to realise diversity and grow without discrimination." On Section 377 of IPC that criminalises homosexuality and the landmark judgement by the Supreme Court, in which it granted legal recognition to transgenders as third category of gender and access to equal rights, Devanlay said he found the situation in the country very "contradictory." "We see the transgender rights and we see section 377. These are two decisions which don't seem to be coherent and consistent. I am sure, sooner or later this difficulty and contradiction will get out," he said. Resource-rich Namibia today assured that it will look into "legal ways" through which its uranium can be supplied to India for peaceful nuclear use. Speaking at the State Banquet hosted in the honour of President Pranab Mukherjee, Namibian President Hage Geingob said Namibia commends India's commitment towards peaceful use of nuclear energy. "We will look into legal ways wherein our uranium can be used by India," he said. Geingob said his country had resources but cannot use them as it does not posses any nuclear weapons. "We have resources but we cannot use it we do not have nuclear weapons. But there are those who can use it. We will look into legal ways," he said. Citing a conversation with a former diplomat of India, he said it was a "nuclear apartheid" that a handful of countries wanted to dictate terms of nuclear technology. In an impassioned speech on reforms in United Nations, IMF and World Bank, the President said how can a country with 1.2 billion people and a continent with one billion people do not get representation in the United Nations Security Council. "How can it be democratic?" Geingob asked. Inviting Indian companies to invest in Namibia, Geingob lauded India's proposal of International Solar Alliance, saying he appreciated the country's role in combating climate change. "In Namibia, we see ourselves as gateway to Africa. We are also in close proximity to South America which is an important partner in South South cooperation but we are ready to be gateway to Indian companies into Africa and South America," he said. "India attaches high importance to enhancing her bilateral relations with Namibia. Our two countries have been cooperating closely while making sustained efforts to realise the developmental goals of our two nations," Mukherjee said. "We share the view that reform of the United Nations and its principle organs - created in the wake of the Second World War - is an imperative. We agree that they need to be made more reflective of today's changed world - so that they can respond more effectively to the complex challenges confronting the world today," he said in his speech. Mukherjee said Africa and India, as centres of gravity in today's globalised world, have a responsibility to work together for peace, security and sustainable development in the two continents. "Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector of your economy. India has always been - and will continue to be - a reliable partner in your endeavours in this direction," he said. BJP-ruled NDMC has strongly refuted AAP allegations of corruption in allotment of sanitation work in its hospitals and ongoing construction of a flyover, and accusing it of "misleading" the people of Delhi. "Aam Aadmi Party and state government led by it want to mislead the citizen of Delhi by spreading false information about working of the corporation," Leader of House in North Delhi Municipal Corporation said. The cost and construction period of Rani Jhansi grade separator has "increased" not because of corruption but due to difficulties being faced in land acquisition, relocation, litigation, enhanced compensation and shifting of religious structures, he claimed. "Construction cost of the grade separator is still Rs 93.84 crore as there is no provision for escalation in it as per the tender document. The main reasons of cost and time overrun of the grade separator is delay in land acquisition for the project which is to be done by the Delhi government," he said. The cost of exchange of land for the grade separater has increased from Rs 70 crore originally to Rs 524 crore due out of which approximately Rs 111 crore has been paid and Rs 413 crore are still required, Pandey said. Further, he said that sanitation work in three NDMC hospitals has been assigned to NGO Sulabh International at "very nominal agreed price". AAP a few days ago had alleged that Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, Hindu Rao Hospital and Rajen Babu TB Hospital under the civic body, had awarded work to a private company worth lakhs of rupees "without opening any tender since 2009". Tenders were floated for allotment of the work almost every year following 2011 and wide publicity was given but the bids received were double the rates offered by Sulabh every time, Pandey claimed. The Fish Workers Forum on Saturday requested Chief Minister to urge the centre to issue a notification on granting scheduled tribes status for fishermen in Puducherry. NFF Chairman M Ilango said in a release here on Saturday that the chief minister should take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Delhi next week. He said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had already persuaded the centre in this regard and Puducherry should also emulate her to ensure that ST status was conferred on fishermen in the Union Territory. Ilango also wanted the Centre to ensure next round of talks between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and their counterparts in Sri Lanka to tackle issues cropping up quite often. The US State Department has said that Nicaragua had expelled three diplomats earlier this week, condemning what it called an "unwarranted" move that Washington said could damage bilateral ties. "The expulsion of three US government officials from Nicaragua on the 14th of June did occur," said State Department spokesman John Kirby yesterday. "We believe it was unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda that we seek with the government of Nicaragua." Washington has lodged a formal protest with Nicaragua's ambassador in the United States, Francisco Campbell. Kirby said the three officials were on "temporary duty status" in Nicaragua and had just arrived in the central American country. "Such treatment has the potential to negatively impact US and Nicaraguan bilateral relations, particularly trade," Kirby said. Tens of thousands of Nigeriens who fled a deadly Boko Haram attack are in "great distress", with many lacking food and healthcare, Niger's interior minister said during a visit to the displaced. Boko Haram attacked a military post in Bosso in Niger's Diffa region on June 3, killing 26 soldiers including two from neighbouring Nigeria, in one of the jihadist group's deadliest attacks in the country. The UN refugee agency said some 50,000 people have fled since the attack in Bosso, a town in Niger near the border with Nigeria and Chad. "The people are living in a state of great distress," said Mohamed Bazoum, who led a delegation of several ministers, representatives of UN agencies and NGOs. But "the situation has improved significantly since one week ago when we reached the peak of the crisis", he told AFP yesterday. Shortly after the delegation visited the Nguagam camp, which is some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Diffa, witnesses reported hearing numerous gunshots in the area. "The camp was attacked. I don't have a toll," said Mohamed Bazoum, a driver for the delegation. The area already hosted tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Boko Haram. In Diffa, a sea of tents and make-shift shelters housing mostly women, children and old people that are buffeted by winds and sand storms is spread out over a stretch of desert beside a main road. Alongside the road, rows of cans to collect water are placed every five or six kilometres. Water trucks race back and forth to try and supply the refugees. "The problem that has been best dealt with is that of water," said the minister. But he said the health situation is "deplorable", and while food supplies have been consistent the influx of refugees "has not stopped". "While the people who arrived a few days ago have been fed, those who are arriving now have still not been (fed) and will not be in the coming days," said Mohamed. Some of the refugees complained to AFP that they had gone without food, sometimes for more than four days. Arima Mena Bouka waited under the blazing sun in front of a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) tent where she hoped to take her 15-month-old daughter. She has four other children. "I feel weak. It's the hunger, the thirst, the fatigue," she said, her daughter showing signs of malnutrition. "You only have to look at me, we are suffering." "(On June 3) we heard shots, and we fled without taking anything. We ran, ran, ran... We encountered heat and exhaustion. We walked for three days, sleeping outdoors under trees of near houses. Rejecting the theory of a conspiracy behind the Gulberg Society massacre here during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the special SIT court today said there was no evidence to support it. "There was absolutely no pre-planned conspiracy to butcher or kill members of the minority community, more particularly at Gulberg society," special judge P B Desai said in the order. "The evidence...With regard to the elements of criminal conspiracy is extremely flimsy," it said. The court sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case related to the massacre where 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive on February 28, 2002. The court awarded 10-year jail term to one accused while 12 others were given a seven-year sentence. Testimony of one of the witnesses that Kapil Munna, an accused, told him that he was going to attend a meeting where the murder of Muslims would be planned was "uninspiring and downright ridiculous," the judge said. According to this witness, Munna told him this between 9 and 10 am on February 28, while other witnesses had said the violence had begun at around 9 am itself, the court noted. The prosecution had also referred to a visit by the senior police officers including the then police commissioner P C Pandey and joint commissioner of police M K Tandon to the Gulberg Society before the incident to assure the residents that there would be proper police security. The police officers stayed away when the carnage began, which supported the theory of criminal conspiracy involving high-ranking government officials, political leaders and police, said the prosecution. But the court held that there was no material to back this, and "therefore, it would be unsafe and improper to even have further discussions on this aspect". The sting operation by journalist Ashish Khaitan had "no evidentiary value" to establish the theory, it said. Khaitan had filmed the accused Mangilal Jain, Prahaladji Asori, Madanlal Raval, Atul Vaidya, Bharat Teli, Meghsinh Roopsinh and police inspector K G Erda on hidden camera, but he did not provide the entire recording, and "material emerging from the (sting operation) does not inspire much confidence", said the court. Odia Film Producers' Association today decided not to allow the people flaunting fortunes earned from dubious sources to invest their ill-gotten money in producing Odia feature films. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Association here in the backdrop of recent widespread criticism the Odia film industry received after it was alleged that as many as five tainted persons involved in chit fund scam and dubious dealings in real estate have produced as many as a dozen feature films. "Henceforth, a film producer shall have to submit all his relevant bank documents, including his PAN card and possibly a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state police to be a member of the Producers' Association before he ventures out to make a movie," said Association President Kusha Ranjan Patnaik. The Association also decided to stay away from the affairs of those members, who are currently being prosecuted by the law enforcement agencies for their dubious role in the state. "Their memberships from the Association shall be immediately cancelled once they are convicted in the cases they are facing now," Patnaik said. The Association has also decided that henceforth, the vetting of relevant bank documents of the prospective members will be properly scrutinised. It is also thinking to verify the credentials of the present members of the Association in an attempt to make the feature film production in the state clean and transparent. Government has decided in principle to allow export of missile systems to certain countries who have friendly relationship with India, Defence Minister said on Friday. "The government had taken a very conscious decision 4-5 months ago that 10% of the missile capacity will be permitted to export, if producers manage to get export orders subject to parameters set by the union government and External Affairs Ministry," he told reporters in Bengaluru. Policy of export was always existing earlier, but the problem was lack of spare capacity after meeting requirement of the country's armed forces, he said, adding that the production capacity for various missile systems like Akash had been improved now. Parrikar was in Bengaluru for the inaugural flight of indigenous basic trainer aircraft Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), during which he reponded to a question on export policy. On possible export of HTT-40 missiles to Vietnam, which he had visited earlier this month, he said the Southeast Asian country had expressed interest and a group would be set up to discuss about their requirement. About Rafale fighter plane deal, the Defence Minister said discussion between both sides had concluded and he was waiting for a report from the Indian team which had held negotiations. "May be next week I should receive their report, once the report is received, the Ministry will analyse it and then it will go to the government," he said. The deal was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year during his visit to France when he said India would purchase 36 Rafales in a government-to-government contract. To a question about the delay, he said, "I think we are now fast coming to a conclusion." Asked about the standby, if the deal does not come through, Parrikar said, "I don't think you should see it from the negative side, because it is a declaration by two governments and we have signed in principle memorandum also." Noting that the finalization of the deal was not very far, he said, "we waited almost 14-15 years for acquisition. This is not a big time if you compare. It is a big purchase we have to be careful." Seeking to expedite the resolution of NSEL scam case, the Centre has asked Maharashtra government to quickly auction Rs 6,116 crore of assets attached so far and refund investors at the earliest. NSEL, the commodities exchange owned by Financial Technologies, had in July 2013 abruptly suspended trading in most of its contracts. An investigation by the erstwhile commodities regulator FMC (Forward Markets Commission) pointed to a Rs 5,500 crore fraud after the exchange defaulted on obligations to market participants and did not have enough collateral. While the scam is being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Financial Intelligence Unit, and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the progress is being monitored by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance. DEA has so far held 11 review meetings, including the latest one on June 6 under the Chairmanship of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, an official statement said. "Action has been initiated by the Government of Maharashtra to auction attached properties... The auction of attached properties needs to be expedited and the money realised may be returned to the investors at the earliest following the due procedure," it added. After the Maharashtra government issued a gazette notification on March 17 for attachment of 151 properties worth Rs 358.46 crore, the total value of assets attached so far has risen to Rs 6,115.25 crore, it was informed at the meeting. On the merger of NSEL with FTIL, it was informed that the Bombay High Court had restrained the government from notifying the merger details. "In the review meeting, MCA was requested to take quick action and ensure that the case is handled on priority. Further, it was advised that a senior officer should visit Mumbai to follow up on the Court case," the statement said. Actor Orlando Bloom is set to star in "Smart Chase: Fire & Earth". A Shanghai-set action-packed thriller will be directed by French helmer Julien Seri, reported Variety. The film revolves around a washed-up private security agent who gets ambushed as he attempts to escort a pricey Chinese antique out of Shanghai. Jerome Salle is serving as executive producer on the film, which will start shooting in August. The movie is being produced by Paris-based Eskwad and Chinese outfit Bliss Media. A parliamentary panel will visit three states including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu from Monday to discuss implementation of model code of conduct during elections among other issues. The Department-related Parliament Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by Rajya Sabha MP E M S Natchiappan, will visit Bengaluru, Chennai and Bhopal, beginning June 20. During the visit, the Committee will hold meeting with representatives of recognised political parties and Chief Electoral Officers of the states on implementation of model code of conduct for political parties during general elections, a press release issued by the Personnel Ministry said today. The members will also meet representatives of state governments, Public Service Commission and administrative training institute and Indian Institute of Management in the respective states, on the subject of appointment of advisers or experts in government establishments, it said. "During visit to Bengaluru, the Committee will visit the National Law School of India University and hold interaction with Christ University School of Law, Law Academies, Law firms including State Judicial Academy, Bar Council of Karnataka and University Law College, Bangalore University on Promotion of Legal Education and Research," the release said. The Committee will also hold meeting with State Bank of Mysore, Vijaya Bank, Aeronautical Development Establishment, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and National Small Industries Corporation on the status of implementation of Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, Vigilance Administration and Right to Information Act, it said. In Chennai, the panel will visit Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University and hold discussions on 'Promotion of Legal Education and Research'. The Committee will also visit National Judicial Academy of India, Bhopal and hold interaction on promotion of legal education and research, the release said. State-owned trading firm PEC has invited bids for import of 50,000 tonne maize to boost domestic supplies in view of fall in production. The government had in January this year asked PEC to import 5,00,000 tonnes of maize at zero duty to meet starch and poultry industry's demand. At present, maize attracts 50 per cent import duty. The zero duty concession on the overseas purchase of maize has been given under the tariff rate quota (TRQ) following representation from poultry, starch and animal feed industry. The country had last imported maize in 1991. According to the tender document, PEC is free to select origin depending upon its judgment of prices received in the tender. "The bids are invited from foreign suppliers/sellers of yellow maize (Non-GMO, PEC said in the tender document. The successful bidder is required to provide bank guarantee for 3 per cent value of the contract within five working days from the date of letter of award. As per Agriculture Ministry's third advance estimate, the maize production in the country is estimated to have declined to 21.02 million tonnes in 2015-16 from 23.67 million tonnes in the previous year. India has been a traditionally a major corn exporter to southeast Asia but the drought and rising domestic demand has cut export supplies. Angry protesters gathered in Hong Kong today after a city bookseller broke silence to reveal how he was blindfolded, interrogated and detained in China for eight months for trading titles critical of Beijing. In a surprise interview sure to infuriate Beijing, Lam Wing-kee late Thursday vowed to break bail, refusing to return to the mainland, and further defied Chinese authorities by blowing the lid on how he was detained on a visit to China and interrogated for months with no access to a lawyer or his family. Lam Wing-kee is one of five booksellers who published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians and disappeared at the end of last year in a case that drew international condemnation and heightened fears Beijing was tightening its grip on Hong Kong. All of the men resurfaced in mainland China where four of them, including Lam, are under investigation for importing banned books into China. Lam returned to Hong Kong Tuesday on bail and was due to go back Thursday but instead decided to remain and tell his story. Around 40 protesters from pro-democracy party Demosisto gathered outside China's liaison office in Hong Kong Friday shouting "Defend the freedoms of Hong Kongers!" "We hope the world can put pressure on the government to release all of them (the booksellers)," said activist Nathan Law who was leading the rally along with high-profile campaigner Joshua Wong. Wong called Lam a hero. "Lam is the role model for Hong Kong people -- facing the suppression of the communist regime," Wong said. Demosisto is a newly formed party calling for self-determination for semi-autonomous Hong Kong, part of a growing movement of young campaigners seeking more autonomy from Beijing amid fears of disappearing freedoms. Other political groups are due to protest outside the liaison office throughout the day. Rights group Amnesty International slammed China's treatment of the booksellers, saying Lam had confirmed what many had suspected. "It seems clear he, and most likely the others, were arbitrarily detained, ill-treated and forced to confess," said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong. Lam told how his confession televised by Chinese state media in February was scripted and directed, and that he recited it out of fear of what would happen to him. Another two booksellers, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por returned to Hong Kong in March on bail, but are reported to have quickly gone back to the mainland. Congress MLA Jeetu Patwari today said if the government demolished people's houses for the Smart City project without providing proper compensation, his party would oppose it. "People's houses were demolished in Biyabani and other areas in the city in the name of Smart City project. They were not given proper compensation. If in the name of this scheme the process of damaging people's houses continues, then I and my party leaders will be forced to oppose it by wielding sticks in front of bulldozers," Patwari told reporters. The MLA from Rau constituency in the district said despite the hype about the Smart City project, which was announced last year on June 25, nothing was visible on the ground. He also condemned yesterday's incident in which additional municipal commissioner of Indore corporation, Rohan Saxena, was slapped during a protest by BJP workers over the closure of service road near Radisson square here. It was a failure on the part of Indore Mayor Malini Gaud, the MLA said. Police had arrested BJP corporator Saroj Chouhan, her husband Raghvendra Chouhan and four others following the incident. The Maharashtra government and the Railway Ministry are jointly working on a plan to ease the problems faced by suburban commuters in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Union Minister Manoj Sinha said today. "We realise that the suburban section of Mumbai faces a lot of problems and hence to overcome the same a plan is being worked out by the state (Maharashtra) government and the Railways, which should be in place in the next five or six months," Sinha told reporters here. Sinha along with Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal participated in the 'Vikas Parva' programme, organised by BJP to celebrate the completion of two years of the Narendra Modi dispensation. The Minister said it is a known fact that the Railways was facing several hurdles in its journey towards progress but "we have not given up and undertaken various measures to overcome them and bring in results". He also said the budgetary allocation for Maharashtra has grown four times as compared to the previous government and that his Ministry is committed to provide better services. "The recent conversion from DC to AC would save Rs 140 crore," Sinha said, adding the possibility of lending of wagons instead of the entire rake to the industries especially the small scale ones was being worked out. The Minister further said till now there was no time table for the goods trains. "But now we have decided to monitor the same and come out with a specific running schedule and time table (for the goods trains). We have flagged of one (goods) train from Delhi to Bengaluru which is supposed to take 70 hours of running time. Once the result of this is known, we will go in for other routes," Sinha added. Delhi High Court has rejected a man's plea against a 10-year jail term awarded to him for raping a seven-year-old girl in 1996, saying the "abhorring act" leaves a "permanent scar" on the personality of a child victim which hinders her growth. The court noted in its verdict that the child victim had narrated the entire incident succinctly before the trial court during recording of her statement and there were no reasons which warranted imposition of a lesser sentence to the accused keeping in view the brutality of the crime. "Coming to the quantum of sentence, the victim was only seven years old child when this gruesome and abhorring act of committing rape was committed by the accused (Doodh Nath)," Justice Sunita Gupta said. "Such an act leaves a permanent scar on the personality of the child, inhibiting growth and development. It instills a feeling of fear, insecurity and a brooding sense of shame and guilt for no fault of the victim," the court said. The trial court awarded 10 year jail to Nath along with a fine of Rs 18,000 after convicting him for the offence under section 376(2)(f) (raping a woman below 12-year-old) of IPC. According to the police, on April 18, 1996 the child had gone to play outside her house when Nath, who was residing in a nearby temple, took her to his room and raped her. It said that Nath left her outside her house after which she narrated the incident to her parents who lodged an FIR in the matter and the accused was arrested. During adjudication of the case before the trial court, the accused had claimed that he was falsely implicated. Nath was convicted and sentenced by the trial court in July 2000 after which he had filed the appeal. During arguments on appeal, his counsel said the girl had not taken Nath's name during the initial stage of the probe and his client was convicted solely on the testimony of the child who was 9-year-old during recording of evidence. The police had opposed his plea saying the entire evidence was minutely scrutinised by the trial court for arriving at the conclusion that it was Nath who had committed the gruesome act with the child. The high court, while dismissing his appeal, directed him to surrender before the trial court while noting that his sentence was suspended and he was released on bail in November 2000. The issue of reservations in promotions for government employees rocked the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for second consecutive day today as opposition Congress members demanded an amendment in the state reservation law. Cutting across part lines, several MLAs from opposition Congress, National Conference and the ruling PDP stormed the well of house to register their protest against the alleged government inaction in restoring the reservation in promotions for government employees. Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora said the Speaker Kavinder Gupta should direct the government to bring an amendment to the reservation law that will restore the reservation in promotions for government employees. Law Minister Abdul Haq Khan intervened in the matter and stated that the House can deliberate on the matter only after the Supreme Court has delivered its verdict on it. "The honourable members are aware that the matter is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court. Let the Supreme Court give its verdict and then we can take it forward," he added. Not satisfied with the government statement, three Congress MLAs -- Jora, Asghar Ali Karbalaie and Chaudhary Mohammad Akran staged a walkout from the house. The issue had figured in the house yesterday and on Tuesday as well. Russia has bombed US-backed fighters in southern Syria, according to a US official in Washington, who said the aggressive action by Moscow raises "serious concern." "Today, Russian aircraft conducted a series of air strikes near al-Tanf against Syrian Counter-ISIL forces that included individuals who have received US support," said the senior defence official yesterday, who requested anonymity. "Russian aircraft have not been active in this area of southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity," the official said. It was not known how many fighters were struck and the extent of casualties or which group they belonged to. The US military launched a USD 500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight ISIS jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Much of the attention is being focused on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish coalition that has scored some significant gains against IS jihadists. The CIA has also been involved in training Syrian rebels, though the secretive agency has not officially provided any details of its efforts. The bombing would likely further strain already testy ties between Moscow and Washington on the Syrian issue. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions. We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again," the defence official said. Russia and the United States co-chair a 22-nation group that supports a UN-led process to end Syria's five-year civil war through a negotiated deal. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to respect a fragile ceasefire, warning that Washington's patience was running out. World powers have failed to turn the cessation of hostilities, in effect since February 27, into a durable truce and Damascus has stepped up its military campaign against the Islamic State group and rebels, especially in the city of Aleppo. The US has accused Russia of working to consolidate the regime of Assad, its ally, and continuing to attack the opposition. A Russian soldier who had come under fire in Syria's Aleppo region has died of his injuries, Russia's defence ministry has said. The soldier, identified as Sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas, was injured after vehicles belonging to the Russian ceasefire monitoring in Syria came under fire in early May, the defence ministry said yesterday in a statement carried by Russian agencies. Shirokopoyas was later transported to a Moscow hospital, where he died last week. The ministry said "doctors fought for his life" but that the serviceman could not be saved. Shirokopoyas is the ninth Russian soldier killed in Syria since Moscow launched a bombing campaign in September to support long-time ally Bashar al-Assad. Another Russian serviceman reportedly committed suicide at Russia's Hmeimim base in Syria in the first month of the operation. Shirokopoyas' father Gennady told a local branch of state media in the Russian far east on Wednesday that his 35-year-old son had been serving in Syria since April. Gennady Shirokopoyas described his son's burial, which took place at an undisclosed date in the village of Seryshevo in Russia's Amur region, as having had "all military honours." "I have one complaint against the army: my son is no more," state media quoted Gennady Shirokopoyas as saying. House Speaker Paul Ryan says Republican lawmakers should follow their conscience in deciding whether or not to support Donald Trump, the GOP's presumptive nominee for president. The Wisconsin Republican told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "the last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that." Ryan, who has given a tepid endorsement to Trump, said he understands he is in a "very strange situation" to be supporting the party's presumptive nominee while not urging his fellow lawmakers to follow suit. But he said Trump is "a very unique nominee." Ryan is the highest elected Republican official and the official chairman of the Republican convention next month. He stunned the political world in May when he held back his endorsement of Trump before grudgingly offering his support earlier this month. Since then, Ryan has been critical of Trump, calling the candidate's complaints about the impartiality of a judge of Mexican heritage a "textbook definition of a racist comment" and reiterating his opposition to Trump's proposal to temporarily ban all foreign Muslims from entering the United States. As speaker of the House, Ryan said he feels a responsibility not to lead "some chasm in the middle of our party" that would hurt GOP chances to win the White House. His reluctance to embrace the party's nominee wholeheartedly is remarkable for a Republican who was the GOP's vice presidential candidate in 2012. Ryan was interviewed yesterday for the Sunday talk show. An excerpt was released today. He told reporters at a conference yesterday that he will continue to speak out in defense of conservative principles, despite a warning from Trump that Republican congressional leaders should "be quiet." He and other congressional leaders "represent a separate but equal branch of government," Ryan said as he vowed to "robustly defend the separation of powers." Ryan's comments came as Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., a 30-year House veteran and committee chairman, said he will not endorse Trump for president. Maryland's Republican Gov. Larry Hogan also said he will not vote for the billionaire presidential candidate. And Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a former GOP candidate for president, said he's still not ready to endorse Trump. Ryan said he has no plans to rescind his endorsement of Trump, despite his differences with him. "I don't have a plan to do that," he said yesterday, calling differences among party leaders "just the way things work. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said the security scenario in the country is changing as even a handful number of people can pose a threat in case of a terrorist attack. "...Last 10 to 20 years the security scenario (in the country) is changing. One or two or three people can disturb the peace. How many people came in Pathankot (to attack). How many people came in Gurudaspur. How many people came whenever there is a fight between terrorists and security forces... probably three, four, five or six. So it is not the number," Parrikar said. "It is a kind of totally asymmetric which our enemies are trying to impose on us which creates the problem," he said. The minister today inaugurated cantonment general hospital in Secunderabad constructed with an expenditure of Rs 5.17 crore. He was responding to a request made by Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy on the occasion on allowing civilians to pass through some of the areas under army control in cantonment area in Secunderabad. Parrikar, however, said he would personally visit those areas where public was not allowed to pass through and discuss with officials. Dattatreya and Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao were among those who spoke in the meeting. In a significant move, separatists have decided to hold talks with Kashmiri Pandit migrants to discuss their return to the Valley, marking their first "serious attempt" to bring back the community which was forced to leave over 26 years back due to militancy. Making the announcement during his sermons after the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid here, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said there is no precondition for the return of Pandits who are "part and parcel" of Kashmiri culture and ethos and they can support any political ideology while being in the Valley. "We have decided to form a joint committee from the resistance (separatist) camp -- both groups of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF led by Mohammad Yasin Malik -- which will interact with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the state and elsewhere as part of efforts to pave way for their return to Kashmir," he said. Mirwaiz said the joint committee would hear out the Kashmiri Pandits to understand their reservations about returning to their homes in the Valley. "This is not just a lip service but a serious effort for bringing the Kashmiri Pandits back to the Valley as they are part and parcel of our culture and ethos," he said. The Hurriyat chairman said the separatist camp wanted the Pandits to return to their native places instead of being nestled in isolated townships. "They are free to support whichever political ideology they want...They may support India. That does not deprive them of their rights as Kashmiris," he said. This will mark the first serious effort by the separatists to bring back the Pandits who were forced to leave the Valley starting from late 1989 after the onset of militancy. At present, there are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families, who have moved from the Valley to Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country. Various governments have from time to time devised policies for return of Kashmiri Pandits but those attempts have been unsuccessful. Even the present PDP-BJP government is working on such a policy. Later, Mirwaiz led a protest rally against the new industrial policy of the state government, alleging it was part of the RSS' design to change the demography and occupy the resources of the state. "There is no clarity on whether land in industrial estates will be given to outsiders. Four statements have come from the government within a short span of time. The government will do well to make its stand clear or face the consequences," he said. As many as 27 countries, having their diplomatic missions in New Delhi, today came out in support of LGBTI rights, which assumes significance as homosexuality continues to be criminalised in India through Section 377. In a joint statement, the countries from across the globe including the UK and the US, reaffirmed their strong commitment to equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) citizens. The signatories to the statement are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, the UK, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Malta, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the US. It was part of the "Pride Month" in honour of the Stonewall Riots that are described as the start of the LGBTI movement in the US, the statement said. "At home, and increasingly abroad, many countries support, organise, or participate in events to celebrate the diversity of their citizens, to reduce discrimination and misinformation about the LGBTI community, to build on individual and collective achievements, and to highlight what needs to be done to ensure fundamental human dignity of all individuals and full equality for all human beings regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," it said. Planned events in the national capital include, the lighting of embassies in the iconic colors of the LGBTI rainbow flag, LGBTI film screenings, lectures, and other social functions. US President Barack Obama has warned that horrific mass shooting incidents like the recent one in Orlando will continue to occur unless tougher gun control laws are adopted. "We can't anticipate or catch every single deranged person that may wish to do harm to his neighbours, or his friends, or his coworkers, or strangers. But we can do something about the amount of damage that they do," Obama told reporters. "Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons - and they can do so legally," Obama said. Obama along with Vice President Joe Biden met yesterday victims and families of the weekend's mass shooting in which a self-radicalised Afghan-origin youth pledging allegiance to the ISIS killed 49 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. Another 53 were injured during the shooting that took place in the wee hours of Sunday. "This debate needs to change. It's outgrown the old political stalemates. The notion that the answer to this tragedy would be to make sure that more people in a nightclub are similarly armed to the killer defies common sense. Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense," Obama said. "And if we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this - because we'll be choosing to allow them to happen. We will have said, we don't care enough to do something about it," Obama added. Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump has said that the casualties could have been far less if people were allowed to carry guns. Obama has been seeking tougher gun control laws that make its difficult for people to purchase such weapons of mass casualties. The strong gun lobby assisted by a Republican-controlled Congress is preventing Obama to accomplish his goal of a tough gun control laws. "Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, why does this keep happening? And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage," he said. In his presidency Obama has made seven such trips to meet families and victims of a mass shooting. Hoping that Senators would "rise to the moment and do the right thing", Obama said he is pleased that the Senate will hold votes on preventing individuals with possible terrorist ties from buying guns, including assault weapons. "I've said this before - we will not be able to stop every tragedy. We can't wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world. But we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if we're smart," Obama said. Republican Senator from Florida Marco Rubio also accompanied Obama and Biden in their meeting. "They don't care about the politics. Neither do I. Neither does Joe. And neither should any parent out there who's thinking about their kids being not in the wrong place, but in places where kids are supposed to be," Obama said. The gunman has been identified by Omar Mateen, 29. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the mass shooting as an act of terror. In a 911 call during the attack, Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader. Obama said the US-led coalition is determined to defeat ISIS. "We will continue to be relentless against terrorist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda. We are going to destroy them. We are going to disrupt their networks, and their financing, and the flow of fighters in and out of war theaters. We're going to disrupt their propaganda that poisons so many minds around the world," he said. "We're going to do all that. Our resolve is clear. But given the fact that the last two terrorist attacks on our soil - Orlando and San Bernardino - were homegrown, carried out it appears not by external plotters, not by vast networks or sophisticated cells, but by deranged individuals warped by the hateful propaganda that they had seen over the Internet, then we're going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring," Obama said. It's going to take more than just our military, Obama asserted. "It's going to require more than just our intelligence teams. As good as they are, as dedicated as they are, as focused as they are, if you have lone wolf attacks like this, hatched in the minds of a disturbed person, then we're going to have to take different kinds of steps in order to prevent something like this from happening," he said. Sikhs in the US city of Seattle have raised USD 150,000 for a national awareness campaign about their community and Sikhism in the wake of a number of attacks on community members in the country. The National Sikh Campaign (NSC) is planning to run a historic, presidential-style TV Ad campaign for Sikhs that will educate Americans about the Sikh identity and Sikhism. The campaign is working with well-known media firm, AKPD, founded by David Axelrod, former senior advisor to the US President and Hillary Clinton's former Chief Strategist, Geoff Garin to fundamentally change the way Sikhs are perceived in America. "The amount raised by the campaign has set the record for the largest fundraiser for the Seattle Sikh community," said Inderpal Singh, coordinator of NSC's team in Seattle. Rajwant Singh, the NSC's senior adviser and chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said, Sikhs across the nation are responding positively to this effort. "They have participated in many outreach efforts at the local level but they all realise that the community needs massive national exposure. We are confident that ads on social media and local TV channels will fill that gap," he said. "A survey of Americans who watched these ads has shown that 65 per cent of them will develop warm and positive feelings towards Sikhs," Singh added. A 47-year-old Sikh gas station owner was shot dead in the US city of Newark this month. An elderly Sikh-American man was brutally assaulted and left with severe facial injuries by an assailant in September last year. In 2012, a gunman walked into a Gurudwara and shot and killed six innocent Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Sri Lankan economy will benefit from new trade deals to be signed with India, China and the European Union, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today. He was speaking on the occasion of the Council of the European Union approving lifting of a ban on fisheries exports from Sri Lanka. The EU had banned Sri Lankan fishing exports from January 2015 due to irregular fishing practices. "With the ending of the ban by the EU, there will be more money coming to the hands of fishermen," Wickremesinghe told reporters. The Prime Minister said his government was in the process of finalising a draft application to get back GSP+ preferred tariff concessions for Sri Lankan exports to the EU. GSP+ is "special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance" which is one of three non-reciprocal, preferential import regimes for developing countries under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). The prime minister said in about two weeks the government expect to formally submit the application to the EU. "With the GSP+ fishermen will get more benefits. Exporters of apparel, tea will also get more access to the EU," he said. The GSP+ facility was suspended in 2010 for the want of ratifying labour rights and covenant on civil and political rights. Wickremesinghe said the Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) trade pact with India will be in effect by next year and a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China will also be inked soon. Following protests, University of Hyderabad this evening revoked the suspension of associate professor K Y Ratnam and assistant professor Tathagat Sengupta. Both had been on a relay hunger strike since June 14 after they were suspended. A review committee of the varsity recommended revocation of their suspension. The suspension "stands revoked with immediate effect," an order signed by Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile said late this evening. Pro Vice-Chancellor-1 and varsity spokesperson Vipin Srivastava also confirmed the development. SC/ST Teachers Forum and others had protested the suspension, calling it an "act of vindictiveness". A group of teachers earlier today held a demonstration in front of the varsity's administrative office, demanding immediate revocation of suspension, and also met the VC. The administration suspended Ratnam and Sengupta on the ground that they had been arrested by the police (along with 20 students) for more than 48 hours following the violent protest by students outside the VC's official residence on March 22. The students were opposed to Podile resuming the duty in the aftermath of Dalit research scholar Rohit Vemula's suicide in his hostel room in January. Ratnam and Sengupta failed to inform their superiors about their arrest as is required under the rules, the administration said, while the two professors contended that they had informed their respective heads of the department. Ratnam is Head of the Centre for Ambedkar Studies and faculty member of Department of Political Science, and Sengupta a faculty member of Department of Mathematics. Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic Riad Kamel Abbas today called on Union minister Kiren Rijiju and discussed the prevailing situation in the Gulf country and how to fight ISIS and "Islamic radicalisation". During the 20-minute meeting, Abbas briefed Rijiju about the present situation in Syria where ISIS has been holding a large area. "The Ambassador called for a joint effort of major nations to eradicate ISIS and Islamic radicalisation," Rijiju told PTI. The Ambassador has sought India's greater participation in fight against the terror group, the Minister of State for Home said. The Haryana government today extended till June 30 the term of the Justice S N Dhingra Commission, which is making inquiries into grant of land licences to some companies including that of Robert Vadra's in Gurgaon. "The Haryana government has extended the term of the Justice S N Dhingra Commission of Inquiry till June 30, 2016," an official release said. A notification to this effect was issued by the state's Chief Secretary. The Haryana government had in December last year extended the Commission's term for a period of six months. The Manohar Lal Khattar government had in May last year set up the one-man inquiry commission under Dhingra, a retired judge of Delhi High Court, to probe issues concerning the grant of license(s) for developing commercial colonies by the Department of Town and Country Planning to some entities in Sector 83, Gurgaon. The Commission was to probe transfer or disposal of land, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of beneficiaries under the rules, and other connected matters, bringing Vadra land deal under the scanner. It was asked to submit its report within six months from the date of its first sitting. BJP had made the land deals under the previous Congress government in Haryana a major poll issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, alleging rules were relaxed to favour a few including Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Around 5,000 police personnel will keep a hawk-eye vigil on the International Yoga Day event on June 21 in Chandigarh, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tight security arrangements will be made for the event, official sources said, adding that around 5,000 police personnel will be deployed to avoid any untoward incident. The security around the main venue has also been increased ahead of the event. The UT Police has asked for additional police force from Punjab and Haryana apart from the paramilitary forces, a senior police official said. A team of the Special Protection Group (SPG) will land in the city to review the security arrangements, he said. The main event, which is being held at Capitol Complex, is likely to be attended by around 30,000 people out of the total 1,20,000 who have registered themselves, UT Chandigarh's Home Secretary Anurag Aggarwal said today. "The Prime Minister is likely to arrive here on June 20," he said. A series of programmes are being held in the run-up to the mega-event, Aggarwal said. "We held a yoga festival from June 9-12, which was inaugurated by Punjab and Haryana Governor and UT Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki, in which (Art of Living founder) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was the guest of honour. We also held an academic programme, which was also inaugurated by Governor Solanki," he said. The Chandigarh's Home Secretary said earlier, as part of the build-up to the mega event, world's first 3-D impressions of yoga were displayed at Sukhna lake. Yoga flash-mob and moonlight yoga were also organised ahead of the event. A 'yoga run' has been organised here for tomorrow, he said. Aggarwal said the participants at the International Yoga Day event will be issued special radio frequency tags in order to track their attendance and secure the venue. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards will have details including name, Aadhaar number, photo, gender and age of each of the participants. There will also be a selfie zone at the venue, which is in line with the local administration's effort to impart a tech-savvy feel to the event. Meanwhile, besides Home Secretary Aggarwal, UT Adviser Parimal Rai, Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi, who is nodal officer for the event, IGP Tajinder Luthra and UT Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand are overseeing the arrangements for the big event, which includes coordination with Punjab and Haryana. This will be the Prime Minister's second visit to the 'Capitol Complex', which was designed by Chandigarh's founder-architect Le Corbusier, within six months. Modi hosted French President Francois Hollande at the venue on January 24 this year. In the run-up to the mega event, neighbouring Haryana has also held a series of events. A few days back, a 3-day State Level Yoga Training Camp was organised in Panchkula in which Haryana's brand ambassador for Yoga and Ayurveda Ramdev imparted training to the participants including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, MLAs, Chief Secretary and other senior officers. To ascertain if the idols stolen from temples in the past matched with those seized recently after an illegal antique trade was busted, temple officials and authorities of the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department today inspected the idols which are now under police custody. Temple officials and priests from various temples, including Tiruvarur and Vellore districts and the HR and CE authorities, inspected the idols here at the residence of the racket's suspected kingpin Deenadayalan. HR and CE authorities had apprised temple officials of the huge cache of ancient stone and metal sculptures seized by police and asked them to inspect the idols to see if they matched with stolen artifacts. It is not immediately known if the seized idols matched with those stolen from temples in the past. Idol wing police had on May 31 busted the idol smuggling gang, arrested three persons and seized antique sculptures said to be worth over Rs 50 crore from Deenadayalan's house here. Following raids in his house and godowns, more than 250 stone sculptures and metal idols, including bronze, and over 156 antique paintings were seized, following which Deenadayalan had surrendered before police. Besides a team of Archaeological Survey of India officials and eminent archaeologist and former Director of Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department R Nagaswamy inspected the siezed idols. After inspecting the sculptures and idols, Nagaswamy had said, "on the whole, all stone and bronze sculptures belong to the Chola period. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff is hosting a meeting at the United Nations to follow up on countries' pledges of troops for United Nations peacekeeping operations. Gen. Joseph Dunford's visit today marks the first time a sitting Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman has ever spoken at the world body, US officials said. Deputy British chief of Defense Staff Gen. Gordon Messenger is a co-host of the meeting. The meeting seeks to provide an update on pledges made at President Barack Obama's 2015 Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping, where countries promised nearly 50,000 troops for UN missions. The officials declined to be identified because they spoke at a background briefing ahead of the closed meeting. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the last date for receiving comments from stakeholders on to July 5. Last month, Trai had issued a pre-consultation paper on net neutrality, a topic that had kicked up a dust earlier this year over platforms like Facebook's Free Basics and Airtel Zero as well as attempts to charge certain Internet services, including calls. Previously, the last date was set for June 21. "On request from the stakeholders, the last date for receipt of written comments, if any, from the stakeholders has been extended up to July 5, 2016," Trai said in a statement. No request for any further extension of time for submission of comments shall be entertained, it added. The pre-consultation paper is an attempt to identify the relevant issues in these areas, which will help the Trai in formulating its views on the way forward for policy or regulatory intervention, Trai had said. There has been a conflict between telecom operators, Internet companies and consumers interest on the issue of . While all the three major stakeholders telecom operators, Internet companies and consumers favour net neutrality, they define it differently from their standpoint. Trai has partially addressed the issue of like differential pricing, and through a separate consultation paper it is in process of exploring a model for providing free Internet within the framework of net neutrality. The paper had sought public views on various aspects such as, What should be regarded as the core principles of net neutrality in the Indian context? What are the key issues that are required to be considered so that the principles of net neutrality are ensured? It had also sought views on approach that India's policy should take in dealing with issues relating to net neutrality. The debate on net neutrality picked up in India when telecom operator Bharti Airtel in December 2014 decided to charge extra for making Internet calls. However, the company rolled back its plan after public protest. It then launched Airtel Zero platform which provided free access to websites under it, while websites were required to pay for being on it. Later, Facebook also came up with a zero rating platform 'Free Basics' which provided free access to some websites available on its platform for Reliance Communications customers in India. Both these platforms were seen as a violation to the net neutrality and later the Trai issued a regulation which barred zero rating platform. Two persons, including a retired army personnel, were arrested and 126 pouches of illicit liquor seized from them in Jammu and Reasi districts. Acting on specific information, a police team yesterday raided a shop at Chargal area on the outskirts of Jammu and seized 86 pouches of illicit liquor from the shop, a police officer said today. Shop owner Bihari Lal, a retired army personnel, was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Excise Act at Nagrota police station, he added. In another incident, 40 pouches of illicit liquor were seized from Dharam Pal in Katra town of Reasi district yesterday. The accused was arrested and booked under various sections of the Excise Act, said the officer. British police investigating the murder of lawmaker Jo Cox said today they were focusing on alleged links to far-right groups and reports that her suspected attacker, who remains in custody, was mentally ill. West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Dee Collins said yesterday's brutal attack on the 41-year-old as she went to meet constituents in northern England appeared to be "an isolated, but targeted attack on Jo". A 52-year-old man, who has been named by British media as local Thomas Mair, was arrested shortly after Cox was shot and stabbed numerous times in the street. In a statement, Collins said detectives involved in the murder investigation, which is being aided by counter-terrorism specialists, were "keeping an open mind". "We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspect's link to mental health services and this is a clear line of enquiry which we are pursuing," she said. "We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right-wing extremism which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." She added: "Based on information available at this time, this appears to be an isolated, but targeted attack upon Jo -- there is also no indication at this stage that anyone else was involved in the attack. "However we will be investigating how the suspect came to be in possession of an unlawfully held firearm." Eyewitnesses said that Cox was shot two or three times before being stabbed as she lay on the pavement. Police confirmed she was attacked with a firearm and a knife after driving up to the library in the village of Birstall for a scheduled meeting with constituents. A 77-year-old man tried to help her and in turn sustained a "serious injury to his abdomen". He is currently in a stable condition in hospital, Collins said. Police have up to 96 hours to question the suspect before they must charge or release him, according to government guidelines for serious crimes such as murder. London's Metropolitan Police said earlier that Cox had made a complaint about "malicious communications" that resulted in a man being arrested and formally warned by police in March. Collins said this was one of two unrelated incidents involving "Jo receiving a malicious communication of a sexual nature at her parliamentary office in Westminster". The second case remains unsolved. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today arrived in Greece for a first-hand look at the migration crisis that has rocked Europe for the past year, including a visit to the flashpoint island of Lesbos. Ban, who is on a two-day visit, was taken to an Athens solidarity centre providing medical and legal assistance to vulnerable groups and will later meet swith Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos. On Saturday, he will fly to Lesbos to meet with some of the thousands of refugees that are stuck in the country, hoping for asylum and facing an uncertain future. "I continue to stress the need for providing assistance and support to those rescued, ensuring adequate reception condition and access to asylum for those in need of international protection," Ban said in a message to state agency ANA ahead of the visit. "The rights of men, women and children who were forced to leave, have to be protected at all times, in law and in practice," he said. The government says over 56,000 migrants -- including over 3,400 on Lesbos -- have been trapped in Greece after Balkan states begun shutting their borders in February to stem a growing influx into wealthy northern Europe. Most of them are now in state-run camps that aid groups including the UN refugee agency have labelled poorly equipped and inappropriate for a long stay. Lesbos and other eastern Aegean islands last year were the gateway into Europe for a migration wave unseen since the Second World War. According to UN figures, Lesbos alone accounted for around 500,000 arrivals in 2015. A migration deal between the EU and Turkey put into effect in March has drastically reduced the flow, but at the cost of human rights violations according to rights groups. Since March 20 when the deal came into force, over 460 migrants have been sent back to Turkey, where critics say they face discrimination and possible danger. And a relocation programme promising to move successful asylum claimants to other EU states has made little headway. Unidentified miscreants shot dead the security guard of an under-construction multistoried building at Howrah town thios evening. Police said the guard Bijoy mallick was shot at by bike-borne gunmen who accosted him at the building gate at mallicfatak area of the town and sped away. He was declared dead at hospital. Police suspected this to be the act of extortonists. Raids were on. As the relay hunger strike by two suspended professors of the University of Hyderabad entered the fourth day today, the varsity said the onus was on them to defend themselves by responding to show-cause notices. "They have to first respond to the memo/show-cause notice. They have to make an appeal rather than others submitting memorandums on their behalf, then only the administration can consider and the review committee will look into it," the Pro Vice-Chancellor-1 and varsity spokesperson Prof Vipin Srivastava told PTI. A group of teachers today submitted a memorandum to the registrar and sought revocation of the suspension. They also met Vice Chancellor Prof Appa Rao Podile. Earlier in the day, the SC/ST Teachers Forum held a demonstration in front of the varsity's administrative office demanding immediate revocation of suspension and withdrawal of cases against the two teachers and the students in connection with the March 22 incidents (when there was a violent protest by students outside the VC's official residence). The administration suspended associate professor K Y Ratnam and assistant professor Tathagat Sengupta on the ground that they had been arrested by the police (along with 20 students) for more than 48 hours following the March 22 protest, but they failed to inform this to the varsity, which is mandatory. Radhika, the mother of the research scholar Rohit Vemula (whose suicide on January 17 triggered the students' protests) also took part in the relay hunger strike today. Ratnam, Head of the Centre for Ambedkar Studies and faculty member of Department of Political Science, and Sengupta, a faculty member of Department of Mathematics, are on relay hunger strike against their suspension since June 14. Prof Srivastava denied the allegation of the SC/ST Teachers' Forum's that the action against the two teachers was taken "in a fit of vindictiveness". The suspension order was in accordance with the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, he said. "A government servant, shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of Appointing Authority with effect from the date of his detention, if he is detained in custody...For a period exceeding forty-eight hours," he said, quoting the rule. As to why the two teachers were suspended with effect from March 22, after using their services for the entire duration of the semester until May, Srivastava said, "There was a delay on the University's part to give suspension letters because in view of the inflammatory situation on the campus, the VC wanted to let the Executive Council of the UoH to deliberate on it. On June 6, this matter was discussed, and accordingly (after Council's nod) they were suspended." The University had not filed the case against the two teachers but it was the police who had, he pointed out. Also, as per the letter of Ministry of Home Affairs, an employee who is arrested for any reason must intimate it to the official superior promptly which the two teachers did not do, he said. However, the teachers who met the VC today claimed in a press release here that both Ratnam and Tathagat had intimated their respective department heads about their arrests. Both had stated this in their letters to the review committee of the varsity, it said. In a fresh push to India's NSG bid, the US today called on members of the 48-nation elite grouping to support India's membership during the crucial meeting of the atomic trading club in Seoul next week. "The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said. "I'm not going to get ahead of how that's going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where it's going to go, but we've made clear that we support the application," Kirby said in response to a question at his daily conference. India's case is being strongly pushed by the US which has written to the NSG members to support India's membership at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. US Secretary of State John Kerry recently wrote a two-page letter to member countries who are sceptical towards India's membership of the NSG to "agree not to block consensus on Indian admission" to the group. During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, President Barack Obama welcomed India's application to the 48-member grouping. A joint statement issued after the talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary. While majority of the 48-member group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. Health conscious Americans are gearing up to celebrate the second International Yoga Day next week as several yoga events are planned across the US. From Capitol Hill in the American Capital to the UN in New York, yoga events are being planned across US many cities where people are increasingly getting health conscious and look at yoga as an effective way to stay fit and healthy. On the Second International Yoga Day, Jaggi Vasudev, also known as 'Sadhguru', would participate in a conversation and panel discussion on "Yoga for the Sustainable Development Goals." The event will also include a musical incantation on Yoga by Tanya Wells, musician. Former Miss America Nona Davuluri would be the masters of ceremony. Through a historic resolution, the UN General Assembly designated 21 June International Day of Yoga. But the Yoga Day commemorations begins over the weekend, wherein yoga enthusiasts are planning to gather at small and big parks with their mats to flex their muscles under the guidance of trained yoga teachers. Possibly for the first time, a classical dance programme is being organised at the lawns of the US Capitol in Washington DC. Eminent artists would be presenting Indian classical dance forms -- Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam. The event is being organised by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in association with India International School & Cultural Center, with the support of Embassy of India. The Indian Embassy here has planned a special screening of the award-winning documentary film about the father of Yoga in the West - Awake: The Life of Yogananda on Tuesday, June 21. Indian Consulates in New York, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco have joined hands with local community organisations to celebrate the International Day of Yoga. A large number of yoga studios are offering free demonstration classes and giving incentives for people to join their classes. Many churches too are organising special yoga classes on the occasion. A huge "Christian Yoga" bill board could be seen outside a Church in a suburb of Washington DC. Over the past few years, health conscious Americans see yoga as an effective tool to stay fit and healthy. Given its popularity, even federal government including the Pentagon and a number of State governments are encouraging people to take up yoga. Some of them have even allocated budgets for such free classes. For instance, according to Congressional record just two agencies, the State Department and the Department of Energy in the last five years spent more than USD 168,000 on yoga and pilates. Two US marines are being investigated in connection with a social media post of a photograph showing a corporal in uniform holding a rifle and accompanied by the words "coming to a gay bar near you". The California-based 'I Marine Expeditionary Force' launched a command investigation after the picture was posted recently to a closed Facebook group for male Marines with more than 25,000 members, the Marine Corps Times reported. The photo showed a corporal in uniform holding a rifle with his finger near the trigger. The words 'Coming to a gay bar near you!' appeared at the bottom of the photo. The person who purportedly posted it also wrote "Too soon?" The post follows Sunday's attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which Afghan-origin gunman Omar Mateen massacred 49 people. First Lt Thomas Gray, a spokesman for I MEF, was quoted as saying that the command has identified the Marine in the picture and the one who posted it on Facebook. "We cannot discuss details of an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you the command is taking this incident seriously," Gray said. Marine officials have vowed to take "appropriate action" in response to the social media post, according to a statement. "The Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion," the statement said. "...This type of behaviour and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honour, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis," it said. Michael Moss, the founder of the marine Facebook group, said on Facebook that the post was deleted as soon as it was reported and the person was banned from the group immediately. "We do not tolerate hate speech," he said. The incident coincides with a separate investigation by the FBI and San Diego police into an anonymous threat posted Tuesday on the men-seeking-men section of the Craigslist San Diego personal ads. The Craigslist post threatened an Orlando-style massacre in California's San Diego city, saying, "you're next". The US has ruled out mediation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and asked the two countries to work together to deescalate tensions at the border crossing where deadly clashes this week have killed two Afghan and one Pakistani border guard and wounded 20 on both sides. "We are obviously very concerned by the border clashes, particularly around the crossing. We want both sides to ratchet down the violence and begin a dialogue to try to reduce the tensions, keep the crossing open, and have it done peaceably," the State Department Spokesman, John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference. Underlining that the US believes that the right approach is an Afghan-led reconciliation process, he said, "We continue to support (Afghan) President Ashraf Ghani as he continues to try to get that process back on track. Now what effect the border clashes are having on reconciliation, I don't know." "I haven't seen any practical effect of it to date. These clashes have only just popped up in recent days. But that aside, we still want to see the reconciliation process move forward," Kirby said as he ruled out the US jumping in as a mediator between the two countries. "We have not taken a mediation role, and we have talked about this before. This is an Afghan-led process. We obviously support it and we want to see it succeed.We have expressed that support privately and publicly. But this is President Ghani's initiative; he's taking it on. We know he wants to get it back on track and we fully support him in that effort, but this is not for the United States mediating between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said. The US, he said, wants Afghanistan and Pakistan to work through these differences bilaterally, which they can do because they have done it in the past. "This isn't the first time that we have seen clashes even at that crossing, and they have been able to work through it in the past and we are absolutely confident that, with moral courage on both sides, they can continue to work through it," he said. Observing that the US does not want to see this kind of violence between the two sides, Kirby said there are plenty of shared threats and common challenges between Afghanistan and Pakistan and plenty of reasons for them to look for ways to work together. "They have made some progress in terms of cooperation across that border and communication and in counterterrorism efforts," he said. "So nobody likes to see the clashes and the violence that we have seen to date, but it's too soon to say, well, just because there's been some of this, that the whole reconciliation process should be just thrown out the window, or that the differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan are irreconcilable and therefore not worth continuing to pursue dialogue and cooperation. We are just not there yet," Kirby said. Torkham, a usually busy crossing, has remained closed because of continuing tensions. Pakistan alleged that "unprovoked" firing was started by Afghanistan's security forces when construction work began on a new gate on the Pakistani side. Last month, the border crossing was sealed for several days over the construction of the gate, causing hardships to thousands of people who cross it every day. Afghan government does not recognise the border, which is also known as Durand Line, and it opposes permanent structure. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today favoured taking a relook at the anti-defection law. The suggestion came against the backdrop of a large number of MLAs from opposition parties joining the ruling parties in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. "Everybody has a right to change party. But, after changing the party, by evening, one should respectably quit the position that came because of the party. But that is not happening in most of the states in the country," the BJP leader said. The senior BJP Minister was quick to add he is not talking about any particular party. "So, there is a need to relook at the law on party defections. Earlier, it is said in the law that it would apply if you change individually and does not apply if changes are wholesale. "Now people have started changing wholesale. It would help if a rule is made that (your) position would go if party is changed, either individually or wholesale. I am not saying this with any party in view. Because I am Parliamentary Affairs Minister, I am talking about the entire country," he said. Naidu was speaking at an event organised to felicitate him on his election to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Speaking on the occasion, he regretted the present trend of treating political opponents as "enemies" and hoped for improved moral standards and values in politics. Delhi High Court today sought the response of a whistleblower in the Vyapam recruitment scam on CBI's plea to provide it copies of documents and a pen-drive which were sent to a forensic lab to examine their veracity and whether there has been any tampering of evidence as alleged by him. Justice P S Teji issued notice to the whistleblower, referred to as Mr X in the petition, as the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) at Hyderabad was not a party to these proceedings. The CBI was seeking copies of the documents and the pen drive on the ground that it would help them in probing the case and verify the whistleblower's allegations of tampering. The agency, through its counsel Sanjeev Bhandari, has moved the application seeking the copies as the forensic lab has refused to provide these to them. It was on CBI's plea earlier that the high court had forwarded the documents and the pen-drive to the CFSL for examination. Mr X had approached the court for protection from arrest and interrogation in the case. The high court in February last year had granted him the relief. The court has listed the CBI's application for further hearing on July 11. During the arguments today, Mr X's counsel Badar Mehmood, opposed CBI's application, saying since the agency has given a clean chit to the accused in the case, why it was asking for the documents to be sent to CFSL. Vyapam scam was an admission and recruitment scam allegedly involving politicians, senior officials and businessmen, the plea filed by Mr X had said. A 40-member special investigation team of the CBI has been probing Vyapam-related irregularities since July last year on the Supreme Court's direction. The agency is also probing some deaths - murders and suspicious suicides - in the state, which have been connected to Vyapam. Indonesian authorities faced pressure today to allow dozens of Sri Lankan migrants stranded on a boat for almost a week to disembark, as witnesses said a warning shot was fired in chaotic scenes near the vessel. The 44 migrants, who include many women and children, have been stuck on the Indian-flagged vessel resting in shallow waters off Aceh province since last Saturday after it broke down en route to Australia. The western province has refused to allow the migrants, who are believed to be minority Tamils, to disembark and have said the boat will be towed out to international waters to continue on its journey after repairs are completed. Their refusal came despite Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla ordering local authorities to allow them to disembark. Insurgents in Aceh fought against rule from Jakarta until 2005, and provincial authorities still disagree with the central government on occasion. Yesterday, five women attempted to disembark from the boat, which is now stranded by a beach in the town of Lhoknga, and a crowd of local villagers surged towards the vessel, an AFP journalist at the scene said. Police fired a warning shot into the air during the chaos, the journalist said. Officials went to talk to the women and they climbed back aboard the boat. "There was quite a lot of distress, a lot of crying," said Lilianne Fan, international director of Aceh NGO the Geutanyoe Foundation, whose team on the ground witnessed the incident. The United Nations refugee agency today said it was "deeply concerned" by the condition of those on the boat, while rights groups urged the authorities to allow them to disembark. "These people have endured a long and difficult journey already. Now that they have reached land in Aceh, they should be allowed to disembark and meet UNHCR (UN refugee agency) officials," Josef Benedict of Amnesty International said in a statement. Aceh officials have defended their actions, saying the migrants did not have proper documentation. Local immigration official Heri Sudiarto said authorities were fixing the engine and hoped to tow the boat out to international waters later in the day if weather conditions improved. Hundreds of Myanmar Rohingya came ashore in Aceh last year during a regional boat people crisis and were warmly welcomed by residents of the staunchly Islamic province, who felt sympathy for their plight as a persecuted Muslim minority. Tech giant Wipro would have a rethink on expanding its business in West Bengal if its project at Rajarhat was not given the special economic zone (SEZ) status, a senior officer of the company today said. "We are not sure whether we will get the SEZ status for our projects. But if we are not given the SEZ status then the future is quite uncertain. It's quite clear that if SEZ status is not granted it will be very difficult for us to do business," Wipro general manager Bhaswata Sinharoy told PTI here today. The WIPRO official, however, is hopeful of getting the SEZ status with the state government showing a "soft" attitude this time (second term of the Trinamool Congress government). "We have heard that the state government is thinking something different this time and if that happens then we are hopeful," Sinharoy said while speaking on the sidelines of the Business-IT Conclave organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) here today. Asked about the company's strategy if the state government grants benefits equivalent to the SEZ status for its projects, the WIPRO official said, "We need to look into them. What benefits will be earned from them. Because in the current scenario our profit margin is constantly eroding as per as the IT sector is concerned while the competition is constantly growing." "Then there are issues on pollution norms and others and all this is possible only if you get the SEZ tag... But if it does not work out like in the past, we need to think over it this time too." In fact, the company was also trying to get SEZ status for projects in Odisha's Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore. "We have not been granted SEZ status for a huge chunk of land we have acquired in Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore. Once that is done, then we will look for a new SEZ. And in between if the problems (related to getting SEZ in West Bengal) get resolved then we will definitely continue here," he said. Wipro has sought the government's nod to set up an IT SEZ in Kolkata. The company's application will be considered by the inter-ministerial body, Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, in its meeting on June 22. Wipro has proposed to set up IT/ITeS (IT/Information technology-enabled service SEZ over an area of 19.76 hectares in Kolkata. The West Bengal government today told the Calcutta High Court that it will not encourage influx of new e-rickshaws and mechanised three-wheeler vans from plying in the city and districts. Submitting an affidavit before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Arijit Banerjee detailing its plans with regard these types of vehicles with little passenger safety, the state government said it would not encourage entry of new totos or mechanised three-wheelers. The government said it would form a technical committee to suggest safety mechanisms for totos and would hold dialogue with insurance companies so that these vehicles could be insured to ensure accident claim settlements. The state government further said it has approached the central government for upgrading of toto vehicles so that these can come under the Motor Vehicles Act. The Chief Justice, while observing that no new toto vehicles be allowed to ply, left it to the goodwill of the state government on compensation in case of accidents till the issue of insuring the vehicles is settled. Acting on a PIL in the matter of plying of illegal totos and mechanised three-wheelers, the high court had earlier directed the state government to take steps to stop plying of such vehicles illegally. The court had formed a high-level committee headed by the West Bengal Chief Secretary to decide on steps to prevent illegal auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws and mechanised three- wheeler vans from plying in the city and districts. The committee today submitted its report in the form of an affidavit before the court. "High School Musical" actor Zac Efron is in negotiations to join Hugh Jackman in "The Greatest Showman on Earth". In the film, Jackman will play famous showman Barnum, who founded the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, Circus troupe. It has yet to be revealed what role Efron would play in the movie, said The Hollywood Reporter. Jackman has been attached to the project for years. In 2009, reports suggested he would star alongside his future "Les Miserables" castmate Anne Hathaway but it is unclear whether the actress is still attached to the project. The final draft of the movie has been written by "This Is Where I Leave You" author Jonathan Tropper. "The Greatest Showman on Earth" is scheduled for release next year. It's the seemingly simple maths puzzle that is driving people on Facebook to despair as they debate what the correct answer is. The puzzle, which was posted to Facebook page Trending in China, features flowers being used in place of numbers in equations. It has drawn a lot of attention on the social media site, where it has had more than 1,200 likes and 1,700 comments. In the puzzle, which is posted as a graphic, there are three lines showing what different combinations of flowers add up to. Then a new combination is shown, with no total, and it's up to people to work out the answer. The first line shows three red flowers, which we are told add up to a total of 60. The second shows one red flower and two blue flowers, with a total of 30. The third line shows one blue flower minus two yellow flowers, which equals a total of three. The final line shows one yellow flower plus one red flower, multiplied by one blue flower. There is a question mark to indicate the answer not yet revealed. It seems simple, but many different answers have been posted on the page. Some people are confident it is 102 or 110, whilst others claim it's 25 or 27. Eagle-eyed problem solvers noticed that there was only one flower in the final line, not two like in the one before, and that the blue flower had only four petals, not five. There's still debate over the answer however. Logic puzzle solver Professor Puzzler, a maths teacher named Doug, said that the problem was unsolvable, due to blue flower having different numbers of petals. "The correct answer to this question is, 'No, I cannot solve this'." he wrote on the site. "If you came up with a numerical value, you were wrong (sorry!)...we do not have any information with which to calculate the value of a blue flower with four petals." Despite this, many people believe they have solved the puzzle, taking into account the blue flower with only four petals. The answer? 81. This is calculated because the puzzle tells us that the red flower is worth 20, that a blue flower with five petals is worth 5, and two yellow flowers are worth two. In the final line there is one yellow flower added to one red flower multiplied by one blue flower with four petals, making the equation 1 + 20 x 4. You multiply 20 by four, to get 80, and then add the one to get the final answer of 81. (In association with Mail Today Bureau) Snapping previous session's losses, the S&P BSE Sensex on Friday settled the day 100 points higher, while the broader Nifty50 jumped above its key 8,150-mark. The headline indices rallied tracking positive trend seen in Asian markets after the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker was seen swaying sentiment toward the "Remain" camp on EU referendum. Key stocks that buzzed in today's trade: 1)Pidilite Industries: Shares of Adhesives and industrial chemicals manufacturer Pidilite Industries settled the day 0.16 per cent up on BSE after the company informed its wholly-owned subsidiaries have fully acquired Kenya-based firm Nebula East Africa Private Ltd (NEAPL) for an undisclosed sum. 2)Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals closed the day 1.81 per cent on BSE down even after the International Finance Corp is looking to invest up to $75 million or about Rs.500 crore, in Glenmark Pharma which is raising $200 million to reduce debt and expand operations. 3)Wipro: Shares of IT major Wipro settled the day 0.43 per cent up on BSE after the company asked for government's nod to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) over an area of 19.76 hectares in Kolkata, as per reports. 4)MCX: Shares of Multi Commodity Exchange of India settled the day 0.35 per cent up on BSE after the company informed it plans to introduce four-five contracts in agri-space in near future and hopes to launch its own clearing corporation. 5)Carborundum Universal: Shares of Carborundum Universal declined 2.07 per cent on BSE even after the Reserve Bank on Friday allowed foreign investors to buy more equity in Carborundum Universal as their shareholding had slipped below the prescribed limit. Albert Pozo, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific and Ankur Bhatia, Managing Director, Amadeus India, spoke to BT about the emerging travel and tourism landscape. Excerpts from the interview: BT: APAC travel & tourism is growing very well at this point. What are the factors that are contributing to this growth? Pozo: I think the underlying factor is overall economic growth. Travel being a very big part of the GDP, it's growing with the (GDP) growth, and at the same time it is also fuelling the growth, because travel and tourism is one of the elements of the economy that helps develop jobs, services, with a low entry cost. The overall economic development of the region is underlying. I think what has also happened in Asia is that some of the red tape has been lifted, making it easier for business travel and leisure. A very good example is India. With the visa and e-visa policies being implemented, it has vastly simplified travel, and has translated into very significant increase of international travellers into India. At the same time, conditions for business have also improved. So, there is a concerted effort by Asian countries to lower barriers and this is translating into the growth that the travel sector has experienced. I think also that travel is aspirational, and when consumers have growing disposable income - as it is happening in India definitely and also in East Asian countries - this has also brought into the leisure travel space various sectors of the population that simply could not afford to travel before. And finally in the last year, due to the low oil prices, airlines have translated some of those savings into lower prices to the consumers. BT: How much of your revenues would be coming from online and how much from offline? Pozo: This has been changing quite significantly. Business travel used to be 60 per cent in the distribution business, and individual used to be 40 per cent. I think that's inverted in the last 10 years. We've seen faster growth of the leisure business, which has to do with the fact that economic development has enabled larger sections of the population to travel from a leisure perspective. Travel has become more affordable to large parts of the population. The accessibility through online for travel has also taken over. So, many smaller companies are implementing travel policies just by price - I don't think they require more than an online booking tool to be able to manage their business travel needs. Leisure has grown more than business travel, though business travel continues to be the higher contributor. BT: Are you surprised by the increase in leisure travel, given the economic issues faced in recent times by Europe and the US? Pozo: Actually, the overall growth has not been there in Europe in absolute terms in travel. The last few years have been pretty flat. We've seen some markets like France and certain parts of Europe really decreasing in the number of transactions. Now, there is more of stability than growth situation in Europe. The US is definitely in growth, but not very high growth. You see the 7-8-10 per cent growth really in Asia. And within Asia, India is leading the growth. BT: The volumes in India would be lower compared to other APAC markets? Bhatia: No, India is the largest market at this moment for us and the industry. BT: Both in terms of volumes and growth? Bhatia: Yes, both in terms of volumes and growth. If you look at China, there's a bit of restriction there in terms of the play of GDS (global distributions system) and who can actually go in. Also, in Europe, what has happened is that leisure growth has happened because of a lot of low-cost carriers that have come in. In India particularly, online players have certainly put that growth there. The growth is from small and mid-size as well. So, in India, for us, there are 200 travel agents added every month across the country. The brick-and-mortar agencies still remain very important because the credit card penetration is not that high. So you would still have somebody sitting in Bhopal at a railway station who is taking cash from a consumer and probably going to a MakeMyTrip or a Yatra or somebody else like that and making a booking. And I think that will continue for a very long time, till the time we don't have seamless credit card payments. You look at rail right now, there's 1.2 billion people travelling, the online play for that is less than 1 or 2 per cent even now. Pozo: It's also worth keeping in mind that business travel is growing in Asia in general four times higher than in North America and 2.5 times higher than in Europe. A lot of the growth in travel is fuelled by business travel. Some of the barriers that you have - in payments and so on - they are not there in business travel terms. What makes it very interesting for us is that we are not only seeing high growth coming from Asia and very specifically from India, but we see that India is one of the markets with the highest adoption of digital travel. The Indian traveller is a really educated traveller, and the readiness to adopt new technologies is much more than in other parts of the world. Maybe also because the legacy is not there Bhatia: Also there are different genres of travellers. The new generation that's coming in, who's Net-savvy, who's got a credit card, who's working in a BPO, got a smartphone. But there is also a huge SME market in India - 60-70 per cent of Indian economy is SMEs, and those SMEs are traditionally run family businesses, 70-80 per cent of who deal in cash. These people who are in trading etc., and they continue to go to the nearest travel agency. There's huge potential there for the tools that we are working to get into the marketplace. BT: Could you share some of your plans and strategies Bhatia: From an Indian point of view, it's a continuous process. I can't say this is the strategy for the next 12 months. The strategy for the past 25 years of the partnership has been to be an early innovator, put products in the marketplace which are required, sometimes even ahead of time. We launched WAP and mobile-based booking in 1997 with Ericsson. It was too early for us, but we did do that. So, we've got sets of technologies which are existing already, which were probably created earlier, and we are now creating technologies for the future. The technologies we created earlier are actually in the process of getting implemented. The market consumption of those technologies is a bit slow, because of the fact that it takes time. And the innovation continues. When you talk about self booking, giving tools to online players to ensure they get the best pricing, these things are evolving. Pozo: Definitely we position ourselves in future for growth. We are in a fast growing region and we think as a company, because of the technology and investments we have and we are making, we will continue to be on this path of growth. Everyone is realising that the voice of the consumer is stronger, the traveller is becoming more knowledgeable and demanding, the traveller is at the centre, and the airlines are looking for ways to fully customise and personalise their product in a more efficient way. We are moving from an era of a generic product to a very open, transparent world with experienced consumers. Airlines realise there's only one way, which is customisation and personalisation of their product. So there is a lot of investment going into such products at this moment. We are working very strongly with the airlines on this. This merger is the first big merger in the 16-year-old private sector life insurance sector, which has been passing through a tough phase since the 2008 financial meltdown. The downturn in the economy depressed stock markets, which in turn severely impacted the unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) that invested heavily in equities. While the relaxation of FDI from 26 to 49 per cent came as a big shot in the arm, the sector itself is still facing growth challenges. In the past three years, DLF and ING exited the insurance business in India, while a couple of more are in the process of selling their stakes. Let's take a look what the first big merger means for the industry. i) Valuation discovery - Private sector life insurance hasn't seen a price discovery or valuation unlocking in the market of this order where two big players are merging together. The HDFC Life and Max Life deal would give some indication of price and valuation for the industry. ii) Consolidation - The industry, with over two dozen players, needs companies of scale where LIC is the undisputed leader. While there is no challenge to LIC from the current merger, the private sector players will see some consolidation to achieve scale in the industry. Product portfolio and geographic reach are two big parameters that will drive consolidation in the industry. In fact, this happened in the private sector banking space where HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank bought out other private banks to increase their geographic reach and bring new products and product expertise. iii) Better IPO candidate - It is also good news for retail investors who want to participate in the growth story of private sector insurance companies. The HDFC Life-Max Life merger would bring a much larger and stronger entity into the market. Both are profitable. In fact, the life insurance business took almost 10-12 years to be profitable in India. The time now is right to access the market for raising funds and also create a listed entity for more transparency and disclosures. iv) Technology and digitisation - The life insurance industry has been witnessing new challenges every five or six years. Initially, it was the high growth phase with scarcity of capital. They managed that phase well by pumping in capital year after year to capture growth. Then came the slowdown, which exposed their fault lines as everyone was focusing on a single product - unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) - which invested in equities. For the last six-seven years, the players have been diversifying into traditional products, which was the forte of LIC for decades. Today, the private players have a balanced portfolio. But they are now facing newer challenges in the area of digitisation. Many of them are selling online policies. In fact, the entire on-boarding is online. Many smaller players are not able to cope up with the challenges. In fact, these changes are threatening their business model. Surely, many smaller players would like to join hands with bigger players to better face the market and the completion. v) Systemic risk - No business is without risk. The regulators, especially Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA), have to be on their toes to monitor large insurance companies by increasing the oversight. A big player has the potential to impact the industry as well as other group entities. Indian auto component industry is expected to grow in the range of 10-12 per cent in the current fiscal on hopes of above-normal monsoon and recovery in the domestic automobile market, according to industry body ACMA. In the last fiscal, the auto component industry's turnover grew by 8.8 per cent to Rs 2.55 lakh crore as against Rs 2.34 lakh crore in 2014-15. "In the first two months of this fiscal trends have been positive. With prospects of a good monsoon, we expect the growth during this fiscal to be better then the previous one. "Last year, we grew by 8-9 per cent and we expect to grow in the range of 10-12 per cent this fiscal," Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) President Arvind Balaji told reporters here. The global markets continue to be slow but the domestic industry is showing signs of recovery, he added. Commenting on the last fiscal, Balaji said: "Despite a challenging year, the auto component industry has registered a satisfactory growth of 8.8 per cent. Further, while overall exports from India witnessed a decline of 9.58 per cent, the Indian auto component exports grew by 3.5 per cent." Exports grew to Rs 70,900 crore last fiscal from Rs 68,500 crore in 2014-15. Europe accounted for 36 per cent of the total exports followed by Asia and North America, 25 per cent each. Shipments to Central America and North America increased by 30 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, over the 2014-15 fiscal. The key export items included engine parts, transmission parts, brake system, body parts, exhaust systems and turbochargers. On imports, Balaji said China continued to be major country from where components are imported to India. "Yes, it is a challenge. There (in China), the government supports exports and we are also talking to our government to provide us a level playing field in terms of trade policy," he added. Last fiscal, the component industry invested in the range of Rs 2,700-Rs 4,000 crore compared with Rs 2,000-Rs 2,800 crore in 2014-15. "The enhancement in investment can be attributed to better business prospects owing to improving market sentiments," ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta said. Vehicle with its window smashed out. LOGAN Police are reminding citizens not to leave valuables in their cars after thieves broke into five vehicles last weekend. Logan City Police Capt. Curtis Hooley said the burglaries happened during the day in two locations, near Merlin Olsen Central Park and the Aquatic Center. These werent the typical kind of burglaries we in town with our car, said Hooley. These vehicles were locked and their windows were smashed and items were just taken right out from the center consoles of each of these cars. The burglaries were all reported between three and five p.m. and investigators believe they are all connected. The fact that they occurred, not in the exact same area, but certainly the way they were broken into was the same. Hooley said there are several things residents can do, to keep their valuables from being stolen and their cars from being broken into. Make sure you are locking your car. With that being said, make sure that the valuables that are within your car arent in view. If you cant remove them from your car, at least put them underneath the seats or put them out of sight in the trunk. Obviously it would be preferable, if it is something of value, remove them from the car so that they have been safeguarded. Police are continuing to investigate last weekends burglaries and are asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious to call 755-7555.

will@cvradio.com If youre a pet lover and/or in need of clothing, houseware, furniture, etc. youll probably find what you need at the 11th Annual Four Paws Rescue Rummage Sale. The sale is Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 227 West 400 North in Logan. Shannon Syrstad explains the purpose and mission of the organization. 4 Paws Rescue is one of the largest non-profit animal rescue groups here in Northern Utah. Its a private shelter and we accept cats and dogs, kittens and puppies based on space, of course. Everyone is spayed or neutered and vaccinated. And then we find loving homes to adopt these animals, says Syrstad. She says its all volunteer run with individuals who have other full-time jobs. But theyre still able to adopt out between 400 and 500 animals a year, including an adoption partnership with PetSmart. Syrstad explains, We actually rotate between the Logan and Layton PetSmart stores. So if you go to our calendar on our main website at 4paws.petfinder.com there will be a calendar that will let you know whether were going to be at the Logan store or the Layton store. And I try to keep that as most update as I can. But we do have cats every Saturday at the Logan PetSmart. Its just the dogs that rotate between the Logan and Layton PetSmart stores. If you would like to donate to the rummage sale you can do so through Friday night. Again the location for the sale is 227 West 400 North in Logan. In featuring these stories about non-traditional fathers we wanted to ask the locals what made their dad so special. We spoke to people at the Summerfest Arts Festival and heres what they said. Hes my role model, said Lee Shaw from Pocatello. Hes the biggest inspiration I have in life. Addy Russell was at the Summerfest with her friends Kennedy Reese and Izzi Rudd. She said, Hes really special because he helps me with sports. I feel like I can talk to him about anything, Reese said. Rudd said, Hes just super funny and always makes me happy when Im really not happy. When Henry Olsons little sister Jane was thinking about how to answer, he jumped in and said, He earns money for our family and he builds a lot of stuff. Jessica Larsen from Smithfield said, My father has always been there for me when Ive really needed him. Jane Olson got excited when she thought of what she wanted to say about her dad. She said, I like fishing with him. Big brother Henry Olson had a lot to say about his dad and said, I was gonna do a campout with scout camp. And hes coming with me to sleep there with me. Shenny from Providence said, My grandpa lives on a ranch in Montana and hes always there for me. How creative he is and hard working, said Joseph Maughan. Hagen Smith said, Hed do anything for his family, thats what I like about my dad. Uhm, that he lets me eat candy, said Lindsey Buckley. Chloe Buckley whispered in her moms ear, He gives her tons of hugs. Hes always making people laugh doing funny things, said Luana Mortensen. Theodore Dunn said, I like him when he plays with me. Frankie Dunn said, He tells jokes. Knox Dunn tried his best to tell us what he liked about his dad in his toddler-talk. Gabriel Dunn said, Hed always take time for us. And Aramis Dunn said, Uhm, I dont know. To all the dads out there regardless of how you came to be, be you fathers, grandfathers, uncles or just a man who decided to step up to the plate, KVNU News wishes you a happy Fathers Day. Richard Armitage is one of the most prominent Republican foreign policy experts to not back Donald Trump. | Getty Exclusive: Armitage to back Clinton over Trump Former Reagan and Bush appointee is highest-ranking Republican to break ranks for Hillary. By MICHAEL CROWLEY 06/16/16 Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state under George W. Bush, says he will vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, in one of the most dramatic signs yet that Republican national security elites are rejecting their partys presumptive nominee. Armitage, a retired Navy officer who also served as an assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan, is thought by Clinton aides to be the highest-ranking former GOP national security official to openly support Clinton over Trump. If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton, Armitage told POLITICO in a brief interview. He doesn't appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues. So, Im going to vote for Mrs. Clinton. Dozens of Republican foreign policy elites have already declared their unwillingness to support or work for Trump, though far fewer say they would cast a ballot for Clinton. The latter group includes Max Boot, a prominent neoconservative military analyst and historian; Mark Salter, former longtime chief of staff to Republican Sen. John McCain; and retired Army Col. Peter Mansour, a former top aide to retired Gen. David Petraeus. More national security heavyweights with conservative credentials could emerge in opposition to Trump in the coming months, though. Several retired generals, some with strong Republican connections, are privately alarmed over Trumps candidacy and are debating whether to say so publicly. One retired general who served in a senior command role during the Obama years said former generals and officers are wary of the political fray, but that he expects a group of them probably will try to energize something. One former senior commander, the retired four-star Marine Gen. James T. Mattis, even recently considered joining the 2016 presidential race as an independent candidate, at the behest of a group of anti-Trump Republicans that includes Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, who discussed the idea with Mattis over dinner in Washington in late April. Kristol says the general gave the idea serious consideration. Mattis has never declared a party affiliation but is widely believed to lean Republican. Armitage declined to say whether he has ever voted for a Democrat in a presidential election. In 2008, he advised the campaign of Republican John McCain. In 2012, he gave at least one interview critical of GOP nominee Mitt Romney, though he did not say how he planned to vote. Armitage gained national prominence in 2006 when he admitted to revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to the columnist Robert Novak after her husband, Joe Wilson, publicly challenged Bush administration claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He has called the act foolish and unintentional, and was never charged in the ensuing federal investigation. Armitage told POLITICO Thursday that he didnt know whether more Republicans might soon back Clinton. But he added that many of his conservative friends with national security backgrounds are confused by the choice before them and unsure about what to do. BOISE, Idaho (AP) Federal authorities have rejected a request by an irrigation company in southeastern Idaho to build a dam on the Bear River. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday voted to deny Twin Lakes Canal Co. license application for a 109-foot-high dam with a 10-megawatt powerhouse. While we recognize the potential benefits of the Bear River Narrows Project, we conclude, consistent with staffs findings, that the projects unmitigable adverse impacts outweigh its benefits such that we must deny the application, the commission wrote in a 19-page decision. The commission cited the popularity of the area among hikers, campers, wildlife watchers, river-based anglers, whitewater kayakers and tubing enthusiasts in its decision. The report cites the canal companys estimate that the area draws more than 55,000 recreation day visits a year, about 47 percent of those for angling and 38 percent for whitewater boating and tubing. The canal company, which began the attempt to get a license for the project more than a decade ago, said the proposed reservoir would have provided irrigation water to about 230 farmers and ranchers. We dont know whether we will appeal or not, said Twin Lakes Canal Co. President Clair Bosen. We will look at our options and make a decision. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/06/obama-radical-islam/487079/ What Obama Actually Thinks About Radical Islam The president does not suffer illusions about the pathologies afflicting the broader Muslim world. JEFFREY GOLDBERG JUN 15, 2016 GLOBAL It is not a new practice for critics of President Obama to question his commitment to the fight against Islamist terrorism, but Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has cast doubt on Obamas commitment to this struggle in uniquely florid and bizarre ways. On Tuesday, he claimed that Obama prioritizes Americas enemies over the American people; on Monday, he insinuated that Obama is sympathetic to the Islamic State terror group. (Read the previous sentence again and ask yourself: How has it come to this?) Trumps recent statements about Obama grow from a neurotic belief in the presidents malevolent otherness: On ISIS, Trump said, Obama doesnt get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands. Barack Obama, to Donald Trump, is, and will forever be, the Manchurian PresidentManchuria, by way of Kenya, with a detour in Raqqa. The Obama Doctrine It is true that Trumps critique of Obamas handling of terrorism is, among other things, analysis-free and comprehensively unserious, but it is also true is that there are non-hysterical critiques to be made, and not only critiques that concern Obamas reluctance to describe the threat as one posed by radical Islam (a reluctance the president addressed on Tuesday). Critics to Obamas right fault him for prematurely withdrawing American troops from Iraq, and for not doing enough to prevent Syria from becoming a safe haven for ISIS. His reluctance to involve the U.S. more systematically in the Syrian civil war, the argument goes, has allowed jihadists to fill the vacuum created by the absence of the worlds sole superpower. Some critics on the right also argue that Obama blanches when confronted by the ugly truth about Muslim dysfunction and extremism; political correctness, in this view, hamstrings the president, and makes him obtuse. Critics to Obamas left, on the other hand, argue that he is killing too many people, particularly through the use of drone strikes, and that his policies are distressingly of a piece with those of his Republican predecessor. The over-militarization of the so-called war on terror, that argument goes, exacerbates a problem that has already been hyped by Islamophobic fearmongers. Over the course of many conversations with Obama about the Middle East, terrorism, Islam, and the role of religion in fomenting extremist behavior, Ive developed at least a partial understanding of his thinking on these subjects. Suffice it to say that I find neither the rights nor the lefts interpretations of Obamas policy and rhetorical predispositions to be particularly satisfying or comprehensive. Obama, in my reading, does notcontra his right-leaning criticssuffer illusions about the pathologies afflicting the broader Muslim world. If anything, his pessimism on matters related to the dysfunctions of Muslim states, and to the inability of the ummathe worldwide community of Muslimsto contain and ultimately neutralize the extremist elements in its midst, has, at times, an almost paralyzing effect on him. The president has come to the conclusion (as I outlined in my recent Atlantic cover story, The Obama Doctrine) that the underlying problems afflicting Islam are too deep, and too resistant to American intervention, to warrant implementation of the sort of policies that his critics, including his critics in foreign-policy think tanks, demand. Obama sees the problems affecting parts of the Muslim world as largely outside American control. Early in his first term, Obama believed (rather too naively, in my opinion) that he could, in fact, make a substantive difference. He delivered a speech in Cairo that was meant to reset relations with Muslims, but was also meant, he later told me, to challenge Muslims to cease manufacturing excuses for problems of their own making. He told me recently, in reference to the Cairo speech, My argument was this. Lets all stop pretending that the cause of the Middle Easts problems is Israel. We want to work to help achieve statehood and dignity for the Palestinians, but I was hoping that my speech could trigger a discussion, could create space for Muslims to address the real problems they are confrontingproblems of governance, and the fact that some currents of Islam have not gone through a reformation that would help people adapt their religious doctrines to modernity. He gave the Cairo speech in 2009. By 2012as the revolutions of the Arab Spring were curdling, and as Libya drifted toward chaos, despite a partial U.S. interventionObama developed strong antibodies to what I call the Carly Simon Syndrome, which is an affliction affecting American policymakers so vain that they probably think Islamist extremism, and everything else, is about them. Obama, unlike many American analysts, does not suffer from this delusion. He sees the problems affecting parts of the Muslim world as largely outside American control. At its best, this belief keeps him from rushing into disasters not of Americas making; at its worst, it keeps him from taking steps that stand a chance of making things better. Again and again in our conversations, Obama spoke about the Arab and Muslim worlds in ways that ran counterdramatically counterto the caricature of his views as advanced by critics. At one point, he suggested, to my surprise (Im not immune to the power of these caricatures) that far too many Arab Muslims, in particular, have given themselves over to hatred and violence. He contrasted these Middle Easterners with young people in East and Southeast Asia (and in Africa and Latin America as well), by saying, They are not thinking about how to kill Americans. What theyre thinking about is How do I get a better education? How do I create something of value? Obama went on to say that if America is not engaging these young Asians because if the only thing were doing is figuring out how to destroy or cordon off or control the malicious, nihilistic, violent parts of humanity, then were missing the boat. I do not persuade peaceful, tolerant Muslims if Im not sensitive to their concern that they are being tagged with a broad brush. It is not only Obamas seven-year war against jihadist organizations that calls into question Trumps claim that he is working to advance the interests of ISIS (or, to put it another way, if Obama is indeed an ISIS agent, hes doing a very bad job of it). It is also his publicly and frequently articulated demand, made of all Muslims, to fight harder against those who refract their faith through the prism of arid and merciless textual literalism. There is ... the need for Islam as a whole to challenge that interpretation of Islam, to isolate it, and to undergo a vigorous discussion within their community about how Islam works as part of a peaceful, modern society, Obama told me. He immediately pivoted from this statement, though, by addressing Donald Trumpnot by name, but his target was obvious. I do not persuade peaceful, tolerant Muslims to engage in that debate, he said, if Im not sensitive to their concern that they are being tagged with a broad brush. This represents the core of Obamas anti-Trump argument. John Brennan, the CIA director, described to me the tightrope Obama walks on Muslim extremism this way: The goal is not to force a Huntington template onto this conflict. Brennan was referring to the political scientist Samuel Huntington, who posited the existence of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. The fundamental difference between Obama and Trump on issues related to Islamist extremism (apart from the obvious, such as that, unlike Trump, Obama a) has killed Islamist terrorists; b) regularly studies the problem and allows himself to be briefed by serious people about the problem; and c) is not racist or temperamentally unsuitable for national leadership) is that Trump apparently believes that two civilizations are in conflict. Obama believes that the clash is taking place within a single civilization, and that Americans are sometimes collateral damage in this fight between Muslim modernizers and Muslim fundamentalists. In one conversation, parts of which Ive previously recounted, Obama talked about the decades-long confrontation between the U.S. and communism, and compared it to the current crisis. You have some on the Republican side who will insist that what we need is the same moral clarity with respect to radical Islam that Ronald Reagan had with communism, he said. Except, of course, communism was not embedded in a whole bunch of cultures, communism wasnt a millennium-old religion that was embraced by a whole host of good, decent, hard-working people who are our allies. Communism for the most part was a foreign, abstract ideology that had been adopted by some nationalist figures, or those who were concerned about poverty and inequality in their countries but wasnt organic to these cultures. He went on to say, Establishing some moral clarity about what communism was and wasnt, and being able to say to the people of Latin America or the people of Eastern Europe, Theres a better way for you to achieve your goals, that was something that could be useful to do. But, he said, to analogize it to one of the worlds foremost religions that is the center of peoples lives all around the world, and to potentially paint that as a broad brush, isnt providing moral clarity. What its doing is alienating a whole host of people who we need to work with us in order to succeed. There is no point in trying to convince Americans that what is happening is not happening. But neither is there a point in encouraging hysteria and division. Does Obama go too far in avoiding the terms radical Islam or violent Islam? This question represents a not-unreasonable basis for an interesting debate. However, given the realities of the battlefieldthat most of the fighting against ISIS is done by Muslim-majority states, and Muslim organizations, and that the leaders of these entities would rather not see the U.S. overgeneralize its description of the fightthen it seems to me, at least, that Obamas semantic prudence is justifiable. Donald Trump, I believe, is not capable of making the sort of analysis Obama has made about the splits within Islam. Nor has he refuted Obamas analysis in a cogent fashion. But this is not Trumps main sin; his main sin is to refuse to listen to experts on counterterrorism, including experts in the U.S. military and intelligence community, who argue that he is helping ISIS by demonizing Muslims. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the so-called caliph of Islamic State, argues that there is no place in the West for a devout Muslim. Donald Trump often gives the impression that he shares this view, and that he is advancing the cause of ISIS, by endorsing its premise that the struggle in which it is engaged is, in fact, civilizational. None of this is meant to be an argument that Obama does enough, or does enough of the right things, in the struggle against ISIS. I could (and will!) write a critique of the administrations tactical approach, particularly as it relates to Syria. And Obama could bring more emotional intelligence to bear on this problem: He is eloquent in condemning the fearmongers, but he sometimes fails to acknowledge the legitimate fears of non-racist, non-paranoid Americans who would prefer not to be killed by terrorists acting in the name of Islam. The United States is under intermittent attack from an organization called the Islamic State, which, as Graeme Wood has pointed out in this magazine, represents one, extreme, branch of Islam. There is no point in trying to convince Americans that what is happening is not happening. But neither is there a point in encouraging hysteria and division. Privately, Obama expresses the deepest loathing for ISIS and other radical Islamist groups. ISIS, he has noted, stands forquite literallyeverything he opposes. Nevertheless, his approach to the challenge of Islamist terrorism is sometimes emotionally unsatisfying; it is sometimes insufficient to the challenge; and he himself is sometimes too fatalistic about the possibility of change in the Middle East. Donald Trumps approach, on the other hand, is simply catastrophic. When is hurricane season? Here's what you need to know in South Texas CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Greg Stunz, chairman for Fisheries and Ocean Health and director of the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation, was among researchers with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi who traveled to Southern California to study mako sharks for the 29th season of Shark Week. SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Researchers with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi traveled to Southern California to study mako sharks for the 29th season of Shark Week. By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times Sequels are iffy, but not when sharks are in the mix. Researchers with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi traveled to Southern California to study mako sharks for "Return of Monster Mako," slated for the 29th season of Shark Week. Experts from the institute's Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation went on a seven-day expedition to study the sharks for the sequel to last year's "Monster Mako," which had more than 3 million viewers, according to a university news release. The show will air at 8 p.m. June 26 on the Discovery Channel. An encore screening of the sequel and question-and-answer session with shark experts will be at 6 p.m. June 29 in the Harte Research Institute Room 127 at the A&M-CC campus. In "Return of Monster Mako," the Harte Research Institute crew, including Dr. Greg Stunz, monitor makos, which grow to more than 10 feet long and weigh more than 1,000 pounds, the release states. "We are very pleased that the Discovery Channel has such confidence in Dr. Stunz and his team that they have continued to call on him for his scientific expertise," said Larry McKinney in the news release. McKinney is the institute's executive director. Twitter: @CallerBetty CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Four people were found hidden in a storage compartment of a tractor-trailer Tuesday, June 14, 2016. SHARE By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times Border Patrol agents found six undocumented immigrants in unsafe conditions Tuesday evening at the checkpoint near Falfurrias, according to a news release. In the first incident, agents found two undocumented immigrants in the trunk of a Chevy Malibu after asking the driver, who was visibly nervous while approaching the checkpoint, to open it. The temperature inside the trunk was 101.2 degrees, according to the news release. The driver and his female passenger in the Malibu, both American citizens, were arrested. In a separate incident, agents discovered four illegal immigrants hiding in a storage compartment in a tractor-trailer. Agents found the people in the compartment when a K-9 unit alerted them to inspect the vehicle. The driver, a Mexican citizen, was arrested. Twitter: @Caller_Fares SHARE Contributed Photo Jim Gray, former Ingleside city manager By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times After meeting in executive session for nearly two hours Tuesday night, Ingleside's city council voted to terminate its contract with City Manager Jim Gray. The council voted 5-2 to sever ties with Gray with a 30-day notice. Council members John Schack and Ben Tucker voted against the motion. Gray had been Ingleside's city manager for nearly nine years. "The council is ready to make a change and the city's financial situation is the best it has been in years," Gray said. "I appreciate all the opportunities Ingleside has given me and I will be looking for other opportunities." Twitter: @Caller_Fares Natalia Contreras contributed to this report. SHARE A bridge, the very thing designed to connect communities, has instead been used to further illustrate a wide chasm in our world. On hearing the news of the Orlando shooting, I was struck with a profound grief. The senseless taking of so many lives, especially young people, created such a profound feeling of pain and grief. I ached for the victims, for survivors, for their families, and for their friends. However, I also ached for our nation and world to once again witness someone willfully taking so many lives. As information began to unfold, the focus changed from an act of terror to an act of hate targeting the LGBT community. In the days following the shooting, three of my four children were traveling, one to New York and two to San Francisco. On instinct, I immediately told my children to stay far from any Gay Pride events. I worried for their safety fearing similar acts of hate and terror. For a short period of time, I was able to feel the fear that mothers of LGBT persons must feel in many cities at many times. The Harbor Bridge lighting is used to express sympathy, such as for Police Chief Floyd Simpson's passing. It is also used for awareness, such as for Breast Cancer. In this instance, the lighting is able to achieve both. This was an attack in America, but on the LGBT community. If any other community in America had been attacked, I believe we would recognize that. An attack at a school would likely cause the bridge to be lit burnt orange or maroon. An attack on police officers would likely cause the bridge to be lit blue. A catastrophe in a fire causing the loss of many firefighters, would likely cause a red Harbor Bridge. I don't think anyone would question and disregard these communities and suggest red, white and blue. My original intent in requesting and funding the rainbow light was to express condolences and concern for all those hurting because of this attack on the LGBT community. However, the outrage by a small number of people in our city and a request to not recognize this attack for what it is makes me proud that this act of sympathy, empathy and respect can also stand to bring awareness. Hopefully those who see the rainbow this weekend will be aware that 49 people lost their lives because of their perceived LGBT status, that the LGBT community and their families are subject to this hate on a regular basis, and that no other community would have to fight for recognition in the wake of such a heinous act. | BY Ricki Green | How will Australia perform at Cannes this year? In the lead up to the Festival, Campaign Brief will be showcasing the work we hope will impress the judges J. Walter Thompson, Sydney Parkinsons disease, a progressive nervous system disorder, has no cure and one of the most effective treatments for the illness involves a deep brain stimulation surgery that requires the patient to lie awake while surgeons operate on the brain. One patients experience with this procedure became the center of J. Walter Thompson Sydneys The Lucky Ones campaign for Parkinsons NSW. Filmed live at the Westmead Private Hospital, the spot begins with a jarring visual of surgeons drilling into a patients head, accompanied by a voice over. As the camera pans to the other side of the sheet, we learn that the patient himself is the one narrating the spot. Its a confronting and compelling film that helped Parkinsons NSW encourage donations in the lead-up to World Parkinsons Day in 2016. J. Walter Thompson, Sydney Parkinsons disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that has no cure. This campaign for Parkinsons NSW, dramatises how the disease mixes up the messages your brain sends to the body, making even the simple everyday tasks difficult. It asks people to donate to parkinsonsnsw.org.au to help end this suffering. J. Walter Thompson, Sydney J. Walter Thompson, Sydney J. Walter Thompson, Sydney Weve all forgotten to take the washing out of the machine or hung it out to dry only for it to rain. No-one likes doing the laundry twice, so to lighten the load and help Australian families spend more time with the kids, OMO created Peggy, the worlds first smart peg. Peggy has inbuilt sensors that combine real time weather data from your own backyard, with national data from a weather API to determine, through the Peggy mobile App, the perfect time of the day to do the laundry, how long it will take your clothes to dry and alert you when rain is on the way. There are also many environmental benefits, such as never having to rewash your clothes and encouraging families to line-dry rather than wasting energy using in-house dryers. Sentiment for Peggy has been overwhelmingly positive. The campaign gained nationwide news coverage in Australia and 18 other countries. Peggy was also picked up by tech sites globally, generating over 170 pieces of earned coverage and over 70 million earned impressions in the first week alone. More importantly, over 7000 Australian families registered in just the first two weeks, describing how Peggy would help them take the chore out of washing. J. Walter Thompson, Sydney | BY Ricki Green | Finch has announced that Australian comedy director Sam Hibbard is joining its roster. Hibbard has done great work for Dominos, Nandos, Cadbury and Subway. He also directs for other brands that arent FMCG. The former art director come writer come creative director has a vast number of years experience in advertising, having worked for TBWA Sydney, Grey London, The Glue Society and Fallon London before he signed with Somesuch in the UK as a director. | BY Ricki Green | Matt Gill, group CD, Healthy Thinking Group is Australias representative on the Health & Wellness Lions jury. Gill, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is reporting exclusively for CB. We are now at the half way point of the judging and the town is getting busier and busier. Other juries are turning up as the festival is staggered over two weeks and Its going to hit fever pitch. There will be celebrities doing talks and pop stars arriving. I noticed Gwyneth Paltrow is here and someone said Coldplay arrive soon (awkward). Ive been told there have been near to 45,00 entries across all categories, I havent been asked here because Im good at maths but at an average of 500 Euro a pop thats quite a bit of cash. No wonder Lions is such a well oiled machine and the biggest event of the year. Today we have been working out the shortlist and I believe there will be a press conference to announce it in the morning. Today was the longest so far spending a total of 14 hours giving the work the attention it deserves before we make our final calls. Over the last few days I have seen some inspirational and clever work. Some of my personal favorites included a bike that has been altered to give it multiple sclerosis, highlighting what its like to live with that condition. A bunch of people who have breathing difficulties and are helped to improve their breathing through Nebulizers and singing. They became a choir and performed at the Apollo theatre in New York. Another idea I really liked was a simulation of migraines through augmented reality so non sufferers can experience what its like to live with that condition. There was also some great work to help stop bullying in Australian schools, certainly a problem that is worldwide as well. Ive also laughed a lot with talking testicles telling us how they had lost an old friend Lefty to testicular cancer. Even in the breast cancer category where its hard to show women how best to examine their-selves for lumps, because of censorship of boobs in certain media how do you get around that? Man boobs. Theres been emotional campaigns as well with a couple of really nice entries, one for Autism where a young girl tells as how she sees herself vs how people perceive her. Also tackling the problem in some cultures of unborn girls being aborted. There was an exhibition in Hong Kong displaying the first pictures of the girl which was also their last. Another case study that stood out was for organ donation, in this case someone getting the eyes of a father whos wish was to see his new born grandchild and the recipient made that come true. Off to bed now and looking forward to the last day in the judging room before the festival begins and the delegates and clients arrive. | BY Ricki Green | Creative production company Radical Orange has announced the launch of its own dedicated travel video channel ANYDOKO, devoted to the visual experience of travel. The channel which operates at www.anydoko.com and on Facebook and YouTube features original content in the form of video series and travel guides created by the ANYDOKO team. The video series focus on varying topics from the best street food in Hawker Style to cinematic travel pieces in This Is. Radical Orange is an innovator in the travel content space with director Vikash Autar specialising in travel content and directing travel series for Malaysia Airlines, Tourism Australia and Tourism Malaysia. Autar has spent the past 6 months shooting travel series in Europe and Asia for the channel. ANYDOKOs first video about Dutch Snacks has been extremely well received, gaining over 155,000 organic views and over 2,200 organic shares on Facebook in just 5 days. ANYDOKO was created to be an outlet of creativity for the Radical Orange team. The goal is to keep on creating great travel content and offer brand integration for interested brands. Visit the website at www.anydoko.com. Visit the Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/anydoko Similar to pudding cake, this simple dessert consists of two delicious layers: a warm and saucy strawberry bottom and a tender orange-flavoured cake on top. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream Slices of fresh berries, chunks of graham crackers and velvety cream cheese give these pops a nice, satisfying texture. Bonus: The cream cheese drastically slows down melting time, making these frozen treats ideal for a super-hot day. Buttermilk makes this cool no-bake custard wonderfully tangy and creamy. The flavour of the berries is key, so use local in-season fruit.Layer upon layer of crisp pastry, rich white chocolate custard and fresh berries make an impressive dessert for company.For more delicious dessert recipes, visit our Baking and Desserts channel Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 10:22PM We reported a few days ago that Apple was letting you get rid of some of its native apps. But that isnt the entire truth. You wont actually be deleting the apps. According to Craig Federighi, Apples senior vice president of software engineering, that what they mean by deleting is removing these apps from your home screen and getting rid of associated user data. These apps wont be deleted because they are baked into iOS so the application binary stays there. Federighi clarified these facts at The Talk Show Live hosted by Apple blogger John Gruber. According to Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunchs editor-in-chief, these apps are part of apples [sic] signed binary and when you redownload they just add the associations back. From our understanding, its like hiding apps in Android that you dont want to use but theyre still there, theyre just not visible to you. Source: TechCrunch Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 8:00PM In a surprise move, Google has released a replacment keyboard for iOS that integrates swipe functionality, access to search, emoji and animated gifs. As Google explains it, "Searching and sending stuff on your phone shouldnt be that difficult. With Gboard, you can search and send all kinds of thingsrestaurant info, flight times, news articlesright from your keyboard. Anything youd search on Google, you can search with Gboard. Results appear as cards with the key information front and center, such as the phone number, ratings and hours. With one tap, you can send it to your friend and you keep the conversation going." I've been using Goard for few days on my iPhone 6S Plus and my iPad and find it to be more versatile than many third-party keyboards including iOS's stock keyboard. If you already like Google services, this one's a no brainer and worth checking out. Friday, June 17, 2016 at 1:41PM This morning, Microsoft officially opened the Microsoft Canada Excellence Centre (MCEC) a new, first-rate facility in the heart of downtown Vancouver that will bring together the best and brightest minds from Canada and around the world. The MCEC will allow Microsofts presence in Vancouver to grow to more than 750 positions. It will inject $90 million in direct investment in the city annually. Across the province, it will have an estimated economic impact of $180 million each year. Vancouver is becoming a global centre for technology, and were committed to helping grow Canadas innovation economy. said Microsoft President, Brad Smith. Our new development centre will bring talented Canadians together with leading talent from around the world to help develop the technologies of tomorrow. The centre with its close proximity to Microsofts global headquarters, gives the companys local developers and interns the opportunity to collaborate on projects as part of a diverse team of professionals. The Seeing AI research project is one recent example of Microsoft interns and developers collaborating with those based at Microsofts headquarter in Redmond, Washington. The research project, being developed to help the visually impaired, was introduced this Spring by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The centre will serve as yet another gateway between British Columbia and the world. said the Hon. Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia. This is further evidence of the talent and potential that Vancouver and the B.C.s thriving tech sector have to offer, and were pleased that Microsoft has made such a strong commitment to the future of innovation in this province. The MCEC will house developers from the Vancouver region, across Canada and around the world, as they bring to life new technologies and applications ranging from apps (Skype, OneNote, MSN) to gaming products (Gears of War), interactive television app (NFL for Xbox and Windows 10), mixed reality (Microsoft HoloLens) and ground-breaking accessibility products (Seeing AI). Its no coincidence that Vancouvers nation-leading economy is also the home to world-class tech talent filling 75,000 technology jobs with another 15,000 expected in the next three years, says Mayor Gregor Robertson. Vancouvers diverse and entrepreneurial tech ecosystem is a big draw to leading global companies like Microsoft who, time and time again, choose Vancouver as a centre of innovation and excellence. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper. Two downtown Beatrice businesses will soon change locations, though both will stay within the heart of the city. Lammel Plumbing, currently at 321 Court St., will move to 200 N. Seventh St., the current site of the Beatrice Daily Sun. Lammel owners Todd and Soni Hydo recently purchased the building and plan to move to the location sometime this year. Soni Hydo said the plumbing business outgrew its location, and needed room for storage. We ran out of space here, she said. We have three different levels and have stuff on every level. We just want and need more space. She added having a parking lot will be a welcome addition to the business. Were excited to have our own space and a bigger space for a new showroom, Soni Hydo said. Well also have a parts counter to pick up parts. Additionally, the couple hopes to lease the two-story portion of the building to another business. Meanwhile, the Beatrice Daily Sun will move its offices to 110 S. Sixth St., the previous location of Wells Fargo Advisors. The Daily Sun, which also serves as a distribution hub for various newspapers and print products in southeast Nebraska, is currently searching for an additional site to serve its distribution needs. Lammel Plumbing offers residential and commercial plumbing services and excavation work. The company was founded in 1946 and was previously operated by Todds parents, John and Rita Hydo. Recently, Todd and Soni purchased the business. The couple had been looking to expand for some time. The building at 200 N. Seventh St. features approximately 15,000 square feet of space. Staying in downtown was an added bonus for the Hydos, which Michael Sothan, director of Main Street Beatrice, said is a common desire for many businesses. One of the big things is downtowns proximity to different amenities, he said. Its a community in its own right. There are restaurants close to you and a variety of different services. Remaining in downtown was also important to the Daily Sun, which has owned the 200 N. Seventh St. site since 1952, though the company didnt move into the building until renovations were completed in 1963. The changes to the newspaper industry since 1963 are remarkable, said Daily Sun Publisher Patrick Ethridge. The days of giant machines and assembly lines have given way to computers and technology. We needed a more modern and efficient location, while Lammel needed more room. Its a win-win for everyone. Since the Daily Sun was founded in 1902, the business has always operated within the downtown vicinity. We looked at several options, but at the end of the day downtown Beatrice is where we wanted to stay, Ethridge said. Im excited that Lammel Plumbing found a business location they can grow and expand into, and Im excited for the Daily Sun staff to have new offices that better fit our needs. The Daily Sun plans to move into its new office space in early August, with its distribution center also relocating during that time. 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. Homestead Days activities at Homestead National Monument of America begin Friday, June 17, 10 a.m. at the Homestead Education Center with a variety of demonstrations of traditional arts, crafts and skills necessary for homesteaders. In addition, two speakers, Audrey Kalivoda and Ellen Kuhl, will be featured at the Heritage Center. Audrey Kalivoda's film "Kansas: The Center of it All" will show at 2 p.m. The film brings alive the history of our neighbor to the south, Kansas, its landscapes and communities. Artist-in-residence Ellen Kuhl, a painter, sculptor and weaver from Stamford, Nebraska, will present a special program at 3 p.m. based on her time spent working on her art at Homestead National Monument of America. During her presentation on June 17, Kuhl will discuss how living in the plains has influenced her art. Examples of drawing, painting, weaving, photography and pottery will illustrate the close relationship of creation and the artist. We are delighted to have these special speakers for Homestead Days at Homestead National Monument of America," said Homestead Superintendent Mark Engler in a press release. "Kansas history is rich with homesteading; and the artist in residence program helps us look at the monument in new ways, keeping the Homestead story fresh and alive." The results of the National Entrance Screening Test - NEST 2016 has been declared. Candidates who have taken up the NEST examination 2016 can check their results on the official website of NEST 2016. How to check NEST 2016 results? Candidates can log on to the official website of NEST. Click on the live link 'NEST 2016' Candidates have to provide roll number or application number and date of birth to access their result On successful submission of the above details in the space provided, the results will be displayed on the screen. Candidates are required to take a print out of their results for further reference. NEST 2016 was held in the month of May by National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Science, Mumbai University. Candidates who have cleared NEST 2016 examination can apply for the 5 year integrated M.Sc progrmme in basic sciences at the NISER. About National Institute of Science Education and Research A primary objective of the Institute is to train and nurture human resources in the Sciences for the knowledge economies of the future. NISER recognizes that modern scientific research is carried out in interstices amongst fuzzy domains and blurred boundaries. This entails encouraging a new scientific culture where members of our community attain to an intellectual agility unconstrained by the limitations of disciplinary conventions from the past. Faculty and Students will be given generous material support in the pursuit to realize this objective. Time and conversational space will be devoted to nascent propositions and hypothesis and the significantly small student-faculty ratio, an eventual full strength of 2000 students and 300 faculty, manifests the Institutes investment and hope in the future. The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune is recruiting for the posts of Professor and Demonstrator (Editing). Eligible candidates can grab this opportunity by attending the walk-in interview on June 25 and 26. Job details: Total number of posts: 7 Name of the posts: Professor (Direction): 1 Associate Professor (Acting): 1 Assistant Professor (Acting): 1 Assistant Professor (Direction): 1 Assistant Professor (Cinematography): 1 Assistant Professor (Editing): 1 Demonstrator (Editing): 1 Educational qualification: Demonstrator (Editing): Candidates who wish to apply for this position should be class 12 pass or equivalent from a recognized university or board. Candidates should be well aware of the working of NLE system such as AVID and FCP. As far as other professor posts are concerned, the candidates should hold a graduate degree with Master's in the related subject from a recognized university or institute. For more information, applicants can check official website of FTII Pune. What will be the selection procedure? Candidates will selected based on their performance in the interview. Application fee: Rs 500/- Important points: Candidates should come to the campus of Film and Television Institute of India, Law College Road, Pune The interview will take place between 11.00 am to 1.00 pm Important dates for FTII Pune jobs: Candidates will have to attend the walk-in interview on June 25 and 26. About FTII Pune: The Film and Television Institute of India is designed for a new generation of storytellers: visual and performing artists who share a passion for motion pictures and want to earn authentic knowledge of film making by involving themselves in making their own projects in a hands-on, intensive program. FTII students are not lost in large classes. As an explicit policy, FTII limits class size, to make individual attention and interaction among students and instructors possible and fruitful. All students are encouraged to meet faculty one-on-one for consultation throughout their course creating an environment that promotes personal development and learning. Sen. Deb Fischer said Thursday she will consider pending gun control proposals with an eye toward preventing terrorists from acquiring access to weapons while protecting 2nd Amendment and due process rights. On Monday, the Senate is expected to vote on a number of proposals, including ones designed to prevent suspected terrorists from acquiring guns and imposing mandatory background checks for gun purchases through online dealers and at gun shows. Those votes come in response to a Senate filibuster mounted this week by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. On other topics, Fischer said that Donald Trump has "tapped into the frustration and anger" that she also hears when she is traveling throughout Nebraska. Trump has "a pretty good understanding where people are," the Republican senator said during a telephone conference call from Washington. Fischer said she will support Trump as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but that does not mean she always will agree with him. "You don't have to agree with everybody all the time," she said. "I have supported (candidates) that I have not fully agreed with." In the wake of the terrorist attack that left 49 people dead at a gay bar in Orlando, Fischer said "the focus should be on terrorism," and specifically on home-grown terrorists who are inspired by the Islamic State. The Obama administration needs to "step forth with a plan and a strategy" that deals with radical Islamic terrorists, she said. Asked about Trump's rhetoric in the wake of the Orlando attack, including his comments on Twitter that prompted some criticism from Republican leaders in Washington, Fischer said she wishes the media would pressure presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to be more open. Clinton has not held a formal press conference for almost 200 days, she said, and ought to be available "when she is not so scripted." On another topic, Fischer said she would hope that this week's Air Force decision to allocate more than $50 million to construction of extensive runway repairs at Offutt Air Force Base would secure retention of the 55th Wing at the base at Bellevue. "I certainly will do my best to make sure they remain there," she said. A special legislative committee has asked Gov. Pete Ricketts for emergency funding to hire and train additional corrections officers for Nebraska's prisons. "Between numerous recent incidents of violence against correctional staff, along with high staff turnover and the regular use of mandatory overtime, action needs to be taken immediately to assure Nebraskans that these lapses of security will not be tolerated -- not one more day," the 11 members of the Department of Correctional Services Special Investigative Committee said in a letter sent to the governor Thursday afternoon. The letter followed a morning meeting between the committee and prisons Director Scott Frakes, and some moments of frustration with him by two members: Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus and Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers. Senators have been trying to get Frakes to say how much money is needed to fix the system, and he continues to put them off while doing analyses and studies. In their letter to Ricketts, committee members said the state employees union blamed the June 10 escape of two inmates from the Lincoln Correctional Center on understaffing there. High levels of turnover have led to large amounts of overtime and have overextended prison staff, putting them and the community at risk, senators said. Ricketts' office is reviewing the letter, said spokesman Taylor Gage. "As Director Frakes said earlier this week, the fugitive convicts were able to escape because Corrections staff failed to follow procedure, not because of overtime or staffing," he said. The prison was fully staffed at the time of the escape, and neither of the two employees officials said failed to follow procedure was working overtime, Gage said. The director is preparing his first two-year budget request since taking office and is looking at the department's needs, he said. At the committee meeting, Ombudsman Marshall Lux gave senators an email his office received from a prison employee, saying the prisons have been critically understaffed for at least six years. Very little has been done to solve the problem, said the employee, who Lux did not name. Lack of staff allows inmates to pay attention to gaps in security and then take advantage of them, the employee said. A large problem is the department's failure to pay correctional officers for experience, the email said. "We need to have pressure from everyone to have the governor reopen the contract with the union immediately to give corrections step raises ...," which reward employees for longevity, additional education, etc. "We cannot wait until the new contract to solve this problem." Overtime and lack of experience contribute to the problems, the employee said. "Guess how attentive employees are on the second half of a double shift," the employee told the ombudsman. "It is time for a change in thinking before we become so short of help we have to lock down institutions." At the Thursday meeting, Schumacher said the cost of fixing problems in Nebraska prisons could take $100 million -- or much more -- for staffing, programming, facilities and parole needs. But senators are still in the dark as to exactly what the department needs. And Frakes, who has been in the director's position 16 months, continues to tell them he'll let them know about budget needs in September, when analyses and studies are complete and the request is due. "We should have all the metrics, all the numbers that we need at this point to bring our prison system up to snuff," Schumacher said. "We're not getting that." Someone wants to delay the budget information because it would have a significant impact on spending, and any lowering or raising of taxes, he said. Presumably Schumacher was talking about Frakes' boss, Ricketts. Omaha Sen. Bob Krist told Frakes he expected to see a budget that detailed how the department was going to fix each problem. And he hoped the director was in charge of his own budget, he said. Frakes was hired to fix the state's prisons, said Schumacher. "You've got a lot of training, a lot of experience. You came with high expectations, the endorsement of many of us who are on the committee, because you knew your stuff," he said. It's time now to give the Legislature straight talk, he said. Still, Frakes said he's not prepared. "I hear the word 'stall,'" Schumacher said. Chambers got up and left the committee meeting, upset that Frakes was leaving after about 25 minutes, apparently because he had to go to a budget meeting. "I'll come back after this part of the charade is over," Chambers said after telling Frakes he and others should be fired over the escape incident. But Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks told Frakes many people at the meeting feel positive about him. "I think you're in a tight spot," she said. "My feeling is your hands are tied." Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz said she feels the recent escape was related to a stressed system in which there is overcrowding, understaffing, inexperience. All systems have weaknesses and flaws that will be discovered and exploited, Lux told the committee. And stress on those systems can lead to catastrophic failures. "I do not believe that reassigning a warden and firing a few overworked employees at LCC is going to address the real problem," Lux said. "The real problem is much bigger than that." Toyotas next Prius plug-in hybrid will be an even more fuel efficient car thanks to a rooftop solar panel that will recharge its batteries. The cells will charge the vehicle even when parked and can supposedly boost fuel efficiency by as much as 10%, allowing for longer EV running times. Additionally, the solar panels can also supply electricity to a number of accessories and systems such as lights, power windows and even air conditioning. Customers in the US however wont get to initially enjoy these benefits as the technology will only be offered in Japan and Europe. After a while, as stated by chief engineer Koki Toyoshima, the Japanese automaker will bring the panels to the US as well. The main issue is that the panels themselves are laid on top of reinforced glass sheeting that doesnt pass stringent rollover crash tests carried on in America, and according to Toyoshima, Toyota has yet to succeed in laminating the photovoltaic cells in a resin that wont shatter in case there is a serious crash and the car rolls over. As reported by Autonews, the automaker is currently at work on a solution to introduce the solar panels in the US during the cars lifecycle the model is called the Prius Prime in the US (Prius PHV in Japan), where the plug-in version is set to arrive this fall. We would like to introduce this, at least in the lifetime of the current model, said Toyoshima during the cars Japan debut. It should be possible to do a lot of charging this way in places like California or Arizona. Toyota has yet to announce if the solar panels will be a standard feature on the car or an optional extra. PHOTO GALLERY Photo: Bill Everitt. Drivers are being urged to watch where they park for the annual Fathers Day car show, taking place in City Park on Sunday. The City Park parking lot will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate the event. Park visitors are advised that vehicles and vendors will be located in the grass area adjacent to the parking lot and surrounding the childrens playground. There are also some lane and parking restrictions in the surrounding area. Traffic routes will be maintained in the downtown core as participants make their way into the park with their vehicles. However, lane and parking restrictions are in effect from 6-10 a.m. along: Leon Avenue (north side) Water Street (east side) Lawrence Avenue (south side) Abbott Street (west side) Motorists are advised to be aware of the increased traffic in the area and traffic control personnel. On-street parking along the west side of Abbott from Lawrence to Leon will be restricted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Public parking will be available at the Library plaza parkade, 1360 Ellis St., and Chapman parkade, 345 Lawrence Ave. Accessible parking will be available in the City Park parking lot. Photo: Kelowna RCMP A Moncton man who was missing in Kelowna has been found by the Kelowna RCMP. Denis Marc Savoie, 28, was visiting Kelowna from Moncton, N.B., but his friends or family hadnt heard from him since May 26. He was last seen in Kelowna on May 1 and was reported missing on June 6. Kelowna RCMP confirmed Thursday that Savoie has been located safe and sound. Photo: UBC Okanagan Endangered whale species and the marine traffic that threatens them can co-exist, UBC research shows. Each year more than 8,000 commercial ships cross through the critical habitat and foraging ground of several species of large whales, says Lael Parrott, associate professor of Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences at UBC's Okanagan campus. Although ship traffic poses many potential threats to marine life, its actually one of the ways of transporting commercial goods with the lowest carbon footprint. What our study shows is that reducing ship traffic speed in sensitive areas can significantly reduce the risk of lethal collisions between vessels and whales, protecting both marine life and their habitats. Parrott and representatives from Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and industry and environment sectors used a computer model to simulate the movement of boats and whales in the St. Lawrence River, an important shipping route in North America. After looking at a number of factors, the group agreed speed reduction provided the greatest gain for marine conservation efforts while having the least impact on shipping operations. The study has resulted in recommendations for speed reduction being adopted by more than 80 per cent of ships transiting the whales main foraging ground in the Saint Lawrence River estuary. Decreased speed has reduced the overall risk of lethal ship-strikes on whales by about 40 per cent. This is an excellent example of how science combined with a collaborative decision-making process can achieve a very positive outcome, says Parrott. Parrotts study, published in Solutions, was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Swashbucklers will fly the Jolly Roger on the 'seas of the Okanagan this Saturday for the annual Boat of Hope fundraiser. Children with special needs and their families will join local skippers for a day of pirate adventure in support of Variety The Childrens Charity. The boats will set sail from the downtown marina dock to treasure stations in Okanagan Lake, while marauding pirates bent on stealing the treasure give full chase, all en route to Treasure Island at Kerry Park. The public is welcome to run the rig on land, as well as enjoy the epic pirate water battle that traditionally wraps up the aquatic adventure. Kristy Gill, Varietys executive director, says each year hundreds of kids participate in the event. The day is a wonderful opportunity to play games, have fun and enjoy a barbeque in the park. For us at Variety, it is also an important fundraising opportunity for us to continue helping children with special needs. Donations to Variety help the charity step in where health care ends to provide direct support to children in Kelowna with special needs. Funding is available for medical care and services, mobility and communication equipment and therapies, and education and experiences that foster development. Since its inception the Boat for Hope has raised over $1.2 million thanks to sponsors, such as the Kelowna Yacht Club, Pharmasave, Mustang Survival, Boys & Girls Club of the Okanagan, Downtown Marina, The Jammery, 103.9 Juice FM, Kal Tire, Nesters Market, Investors Group Financial Services, Read Jones Christoffersen, The Cotton Candy Lady, and the Kelowna Firefighters Charitable Society. Donations in support of Boat for Hope can be made through Pharmasaves B.C.-wide scan and donate campaign or online. The parrrty gets underway at 1480 Mill Street on Saturday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photo: Contributed The Vancouver Police Department has issued a new policy for interacting with transgender people after it was rebuked by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal over its treatment of a trans woman. The department says the policy was created with respectful criteria for the identification of trans people and its officers will receive training around the new procedures. The changes come after the tribunal awarded Angela Dawson $15,000 for injuries to her dignity, feelings and self-respect after officers referred to her by her legal name, Jeffrey, and a male pronoun and refused to allow her post-surgery care while she spent a night in jail. A 17-minute video entitled "Walk With Me," outlining the difficulties many trans people go through in daily life, was developed by the department and will be shown to all VPD employees. The department says the policy has been endorsed by both the Trans Alliance Society Board and the City of Vancouver's LGBTQ2 Advisory Committee. The department's director of planning, research and audit, Drazen Manojlovic, says the policy strikes a balance between officers' legal responsibilities to verify identities, while being respectful of a trans person's right to be referred to by the name and gender they have chosen. Photo: NewsKamloops.com The year was 1944. The Second World War raged in Europe and the Pacific. Theresa Walker was 13 years old and attending a school in Mission. Then, her life abruptly changed. Her father came home from the army and told her mother hed met someone else and wanted a divorce. Even though she loved school, the ensuing family turmoil meant that her school days were over probably for good. At the time, I was caught in the middle as they were divorcing, Walker recalls. My Dad was very traditional, from Germany, and thought it was great that I could stay home but my Mum didnt like the idea of me leaving school. At first, Theresa felt lucky to not have to go to school anymore, but she soon realized shed made a terrible mistake. I had to stay home while my school friends stayed together and then I had to watch them grow up and out of my life, she said. Years later, her lack of education hit home in a different way. When her own kids had homework to do, she remembers trying to help them, but she couldnt provide any useful guidance. Over the years, shed always thought about going back to finish school, but recently after she underwent laser eye surgery for glaucoma, she realized shed better get started before it was too late. A year ago, Walker started attending Street School, a continuing education program offered through Kamloops-Thompson School District. When I first started, I wondered if Id get through I was nervous about it, Walker explained. Sometimes I even hid from my math teacher when he came into class, but now that Ive completed my courses I know it was all worth it. Seventy-two years after she initially left school, Walker has a high school diploma. At the age of 85 she is the ultimate senior student. In fact, the Kamloops resident is the oldest graduate the school district has ever had. Her journey has been an inspiration not only to herself, but to her classmates as well. But she said she actually looks to the much younger graduates with admiration because she could not have done what they are doing at their age. I had to wait until this point in my life to come back and finish school," she said. At her graduation ceremony, Walker got a standing ovation when her name was called, but she said she was really just concentrating on carefully walking up to the stage as she didnt have her cane with her that day. So whats next for her as she looks forward to her 86th birthday at the end of June? Its simple: I wish I could learn enough to learn about absolutely everything. NewsKamloops.com Photo: Getty Images A man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant was arrested in downtown Kelowna Thursday afternoon. The man, who was not identified, was among four men stopped at Water Street and Bernard Avenue. Const. Jesse O'Donaghey said the plainclothes division stopped the four men Thursday afternoon. He said two of those were well known to police, while the other two were being evasive as to their identity. One of those two was eventually cleared while the second was taken into custody. "He had an outstanding Canada-wide-parole warrant out of Ontario," said O'Donaghey. "He is believed to be associated with the Crips gang." Police were seen removing several items from inside a vehicle. The man remains in police custody. The other three men were released. Photo: Carmen Weld A cyclist is shaken, but OK, after she was struck in downtown Kelowna. According to witnesses at the scene, the group of cyclists were heading southbound on Richter Street, at Bernard Avenue, when a man in a orange Ford Mustang cut them off, turning right on to Bernard. The light had just turned green and the cyclists were heading southbound in the far right lane. As the young woman on her bike entered the intersection she struck the side of the Mustang turning in front of her, causing her to lose control, spin around and land on the pavement. The driver of Mustang then fled down Bernard and did not stay on scene. One witness who was waiting to cross Richter at the light tells Castanet the cyclist almost ended up underneath the car, and that the driver didn't even seem to notice the cyclists as he took the right-hand turn. Fortunately multiple witnesses were on scene and wrote down the Mustang's licence plate number, which is described as a bright-orange Ford Mustang with black racing stripes. Anyone who witnessed the incident and did talk to police is asked to call Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Photo: David Ogilvie UPDATED: 8 p.m. Highway 97 has fully reopened in West Kelowna this evening after a pedestrian fell at Butt Road. Despite previous reports that the pedestrian was struck, emergency personnel who were on scene say the woman tripped on uneven pavement and hit the ground. Paramedics were seen providing medical care to the pedestrian lying in the crosswalk before she was rushed to hospital with unknown injuries. Northbound traffic on Highway 97 was reduced to single-lane, but has now reopened. Rollins Follow Rollins 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 With electronic ignition, fuel injection and more computing power than the space shuttle, todays cars and trucks never backfire. Our politicians with less horsepower and far less memory often still do. The latest may be British Prime Minister David Cameron who, during his 2015 reelection campaign, promised British voters a referendum on whether the United Kingdom (UK) should remain in or exit out the 28-nation European Union (EU). Back then, the idea looked like a winner and, indeed, Camerons Conservative Party rode it to victory. Few pundits, however, thought British voters would ever choose to leave, or Brexit, the worlds largest democratic union and second largest economy. Now, however, leaving is a real possibility. Recent polls show the June 23 referendum neck-and-neck and Camerons winning promise last year looks like a warm beer this year. He had hoped the threat of a referendum would force the EU to grant the UK special status on tough issues like immigration and the EUs costly Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP. It didnt and, win, lose or draw June 23, wont. But now he and the UK is stuck with something no one really wanted. Caught in the middle are UK farmers. Like their American counterparts, most are, by birth and disposition, political and economic conservatives. British journalist Nigel Farndale, who writes for the right-leaning weekly The Spectator, recently described UK farmers as TBC, True Blue Conservative, the stiff backbone in Camerons body politic. But, noted Farndale in a Feb. 28 column, [T]he Brexit debate is leaving our True Blue farmers deeply conflicted. On the one hand, without EU subsidies, many of them would go out of business. On the other, their Tory [Conservative] instincts tell them that subsidies are a socialist idea, the opposite of free trade, and therefore plain wrong. Farndale, a former Yorkshire farm boy himself, urged farmers to vote to leave the EU because it makes financial sense. Just to continue paying farmers the same [CAP] subsidy as they are getting now, he explained, would cost the British taxpayer half as much, because, at present, we pay 6 billion [$8.5 billion] a year into the CAP, but our farmers get only 3 billion [$4.3 billion] back. As such, he added, British farmers are effectively subsidising their competitors: the French, by far the biggest beneficiary of the CAP, receive three times as much. Few things fire up UK farmers more than the idea that French farmers are getting the upper hand in anything. Farndales math, though, failed to stoke indignation in the English countryside. On June 14, Farmers Weekly, the respected UK ag publication, released poll results that showed 46 percent of those questioned said the interests of British agriculture would be best served by the UK remaining in the EU, while more than a one-third (35.5 percent) indicated it would be better to leave. The reason UK farmers would vote to stay in the EU, noted the magazine, is that only 17.1 percent of farmers polled thought financial support for farming todays CAP payment level would remain at broadly similar levels in the event of Brexit, while 44.5 percent thought it would not.... In short, UK farmers may be conservative in name and ideology but, thank you very much, theyre not trading their rock-solid EU subsidies for vague promises of equal payments from London. Liberal politicians and left-leaning UK farm leaders agree; all say that tomorrows bird in-hand EU subsidies will be worth far more than todays cheap talk by Londons squawking crows. Or, as reported by Farmers Weekly, Former NFU [National Farmers Union] president Sir Peter Kendall, who is campaigning for the UK to remain part of the EU, said, leave campaigners were taking farmers for fools. Well, someone is going to look foolish after the Brexit vote June 23 and, if the growing leave trend continues, that someone will be Conservative Party leader David Cameron and his ah-we're-not-ready-to-leave conservative farm backers. American farmers might take note because sometime and maybe that sometime is 2016 you get exactly what you ask for even when you werent serious when you asked. Photo: Twitter Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran took to social media Thursday to host a virtual town hall. He discussed what's working well in the city and where it could improve. The discussion took place using the hashtag #ImagineKelowna. This is an exciting time to imagine Kelownas future, said Basran. The Twitter town hall is one way the community can come together at the same place and time and take part in a compelling conversation to share their vision with me on the future of our city. Read more. Photo: Carmen Weld The Kelowna RCMP jumped into action Thursday night to quickly put out a small grass fire and catch the person responsible for allegedly setting it. According to Kelowna firefighters on scene, one or two young men were seeing lighting the grass on fire on the southbound side of Harvey Avenue in Kelowna, between Burtch Road and Capri Street. RCMP rushed to the scene and were able to put out the small-grass fire with a fire extinguisher, at the same time as they arrested at least one person they believe was responsible. The Kelowna Fire Department says the fire was put out by police before they even arrived, but a crew stayed to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. The fire remained in the grass and did not spread to nearby bushes. Castanet will have more details as they become available. Photo: Contributed Update: 8:05 a.m. At approximately 6:40 a.m. Brooklyn was found safe at a friend's residence in Chase. Search And Rescue teams from the Shuswap, Kamloops, Vernon and Williams Lake areas assisted the RCMP in searching for Brooklyn throughout the night. Chase RCMP are searching for a nine-year-old boy who went missing on a bike ride. Brooklyn was reported missing by his family on Thursday after going for the ride. He told his parents he'd be back before dark. Police are seeking the help of residents in searching their yards, outbuildings, pools, shrubs and properties. Brooklyn is First Nations, four feet nine inches tall and weighs about 90 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing black cargo shorts and a blue, long-sleeve shirt with beige stripes. He has grey running shoes and a blue bicycle helmet. His child's mountain bike is predominantly green with blue as well as some white and black. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Chase RCMP at 250-679-3221. Photo: File photo Several suspected drug dealers are facing numerous potential charges following a successful undercover RCMP project. The project took place over two months and involved the Kelowna RCMP Downtown Enforcement Unit (DEU) as well as undercover operators from other jurisdictions. Const. Jesse ODonaghey says during a period of ten days, over the months of April and May, undercover operators posed as buyers to purchase drugs from dealers. All together, investigators arrested a staggering 39 suspects alleged to have sold a variety of illegal drugs including heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine to the undercover officers, said ODonaghey. As a result, the 39 suspects face as many as 59 counts of trafficking in a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The suspects were either held in police custody and taken before the Courts or released and expected to appear in Court on later dates facing their potential charges, based on any prior convictions. Update: 8:50 a.m. Fire Chief Jason Brolund says crews responded to what appeared to be an out-of-control campfire near Nancee Way, early Friday morning. He says it appears the blaze spread to nearby grass but did not grow to any substantial size. An investigation was conducted, however the cause was undetermined as to whether the blaze was originally a campfire or intentionally set. There is currently an open burning ban in place, but campfires are permitted in West Kelowna. The investigation has been turned over to the RCMP. West Kelowna Firefighters were called to a small grass fire on a hillside near Nancee Way, about midnight Friday. Witnesses tell Castanet they saw a man in the area moments before the blaze ignited, and wondered if the fire had been intentionally set. A woman says she thought it was a campfire and yelled to see if there was anyone nearby. When no one answered she called 911. Fire crews were quick to respond according to witnesses, and the flames were extinguished. Castanet will have more information as it becomes available. Photo: City of Kelowna The City of Kelowna will be taking over a portion of Kerry Park Monday for geotechnical drilling and testing. This work is necessary to obtain information about the physical properties of the soil and condition of the retaining wall for detailed design and cost estimates for the design of a future redevelopment of Kerry Park. "The city has had a concept plan since 2012 or 2013 for an enhanced Kerry Park. We're doing details of that this year, so, as part of that, in order to know the ground will hold up to what we are planning, we do some geotechnical exploration," said Andrew Gibbs. Gibbs said an engineer will test the holes to determine what materials are in the ground and how strong those are. "We will be looking at the retaining wall to see if we need to do anything with that to make sure it will also hold up." He said work should take place in the park itself to minimize impact to the walkways around the park. Key features of the Kerry Park concept plan include: Continuity along the waterfront with respect to pedestrian and bicyclist mobility Upgraded infrastructure for programmed events and activities Coordination of the waterfront walkway with the entrance to the new pier and marina. Timing of the redevelopment of Kerry Park is contingent on available funds. Photo: UBCO Student debt looms over many Canadians but according to a UBC Okanagan professor, higher education should be free for all. Assistant Prof. Christopher Martin has concluded that borrowing money unfairly narrows a students choice while in school. Martin's research focuses on educational equality and social justice. He recently attended a debate in London, England, where educators discussed whether western democracies have an obligation to better fund post-secondary education. There the UBCO professor proposed higher education should be viewed as an essential service, and, therefore, free for all. An entire generation of liberal democratic citizens is now burdened with worrying levels of debt, said Martin. Debt-financed higher education puts an unreasonable burden on citizens, restricting the kind of life they can pursue. He argued high levels of student debt are incompatible with the basic aim of higher education, "which is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding they need to feel successful in life." According to Statistics Canada, at the time of graduation, 43 per cent of college students, 50 per cent of bachelor students, 44 per cent of masters students and 41 per cent of doctorate students relied on government or non-government student loans to fund their education. Other sources of funding included private, family and bank loans to finance their education. Higher education should be available to all because it is necessary to live a good life and move society forward, he said. It is unjust because students who are well off dont face the same kinds of constraints around educational choices as someone who borrows money in order to go to school. Of those who graduated in 2009-2010, the average student debt included $14,900 for college students, $26,000 for bachelor and masters students and $41,000 for doctorate students at the time of graduation. UPDATED: 7:25 p.m. The fire has been contained and firefighters are on scene mopping it up, according to the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department. UPDATED: 4 p.m. Fire crews are on the scene of a wildfire in the South Okanagan. Witnesses said the fire is burning south of Kaleden off Highway 97 between White Lake Road and Highway 3A. According to the BC Wildfire Management Branch, the fire is burning within the Kaleden Fire Department's jurisdiction. The local fire department is on scene, along with a three-person provincial attack crew. The fire is said to be a Rank 1 smoldering grass fire. It's moving slowly. This fire was reported just as crews in West Kelowna were extinguishing a small two hectare blaze which forced the evacuation of nine homes on Scott Crescent. Send you photos, video or news tips to [email protected] Thailand: Asia Cement wants mine issue resolved 17 June 2016 Asia Cement Plc has set up talks with the Industry Ministry to try to resolve its revoked licence to operate a limestone mine, reports the Bangkok Post. Asia Cement was granted a licence to operate a limestone mine in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in 1997, expecting the mine would help increase its cement production to meet rising demand in the south. However, in 2015, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Forestry Department issued an order announcing the area was a conserved forest where no activities were allowed, especially mining.The legal problem has caused huge losses for the company, said Chat Hongtiamchant, director-general of the ministry's Department of Primary Industries and Mines. The order automatically nullified the licence granted to Asia Cement and allowed the government to withhold the deposit of BHT300m (US$8.5m) the company had put down as a guarantee during the licence application process. "The government and Asia Cement have set up legal teams to negotiate and seek solutions that are acceptable to both sides," Mr Chat said. "Asia Cement and the ministry have discussed this issue. We hope to solve this problem." Mr Chat said the legal problem was not the only issue that had forced the company to stop mining operations in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Asia Cement wants to quit the mine because the demand situation has changed, making it unlikely the company would break even financially if it continued with the plan, he said. Mr Chat said Siam Cement Group, the country's largest cement producer, had expanded its cement business by increasing production capacity at its factories in Thung Song district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The expansion increased regional cement supply to 6Mta while demand remains at only 2Mta. Asia Cement's legal team is due to meet senior department officials soon to seek compensation. The company is Thailand's fourth-largest cement producer with production capacity of 3Mta. It has had a huge cement plant in Saraburi province since 1993. Published under In light of continued developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System which operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered, which primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, representing 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." State agency would publish information about tuition, graduation rates, student loan debt, employment records of North Carolina campuses Sen. Chad Barefoot, R-Wake, speaks before the House Committee on Education-Universities about a proposal that would provide employment and salary information to prospective undergraduates prior to their enrollment in a North Carolina college or university. (CJ Photo by Kari Travis) Completion rates within the expected number of semesters for the degree sought. Transfer rates of students to other institutions. Percentage of students receiving financial aid, by type of aid. Average and median amount of loan debt upon student graduation, by major. Average and median salary, by major. Percentage of graduates employed within six months of graduation, by major. Percentage of graduates enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, by major. RALEIGH - A House committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would require the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority to inform college applicants about the possible outcomes of a degree at any of the state's public or private colleges and universities. Senate Bill 536 , "Students Know Before You Go & Central Residency," stipulates that the NCSEAA must provide the following information to prospective undergraduate students."Next to buying a house, a person's college education is probably the second most expensive thing that they will purchase," Sen. Chad Barefoot, R-Wake, the bill's primary sponsor, said Tuesday before a meeting of the House Committee on Education-Universities. "We have ... great institutions, both public and private, in North Carolina, and we just want to make sure that our students and their parents - while they're applying for financial aid - have good information on the degree programs that they are seeking from those institutions."The information would be made available to college applicants through an NCSEAA website, where data about the state's projected employment needs and salary ranges also would be published. All data would be pulled from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.In addition to these measures, the bill also includes provisions that would streamline the state's process for confirming a student's in-state public tuition and scholarship qualifications. Under current law, individual University of North Carolina institutions are responsible for determining if an applicant qualifies as a state resident, and is eligible for special financial assistance. Under the proposed new rules, the NCSEAA, with input from the UNC system, the North Carolina Community College System, and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, would be responsible for verifying an applicant's status as a resident and tuition qualifications. S.B. 536 , which passed the Senate in April of last year, now will be sent to the House floor for a June 15 vote.To read more news about higher education and the impact of student fees on tuition rates at public universities in North Carolina, click here Ted recently posted an article about the current job market and the intricacies of finding a qualified candidate for current jobs. No Men Need Apply. I was not planning on posting this but I already had it in the family Grandpa Diaries folder and thought it would add context to Ted's excellent article on the changing job market. To be honest the technology has moved on past my level within a year or two after I retired, so I would not be up to speed now. I have been retired since 2004 but I just received notification through LinkedIn about the position. I received an email from LinkedIn about a new job posting. I see where my old job is open again. At first I thought it was a joke, since I haven't updated my profile on LinkedIn, and the picture is an old picture from my office in Tampa in 1974. I only use LinkedIn to keep up with old work colleagues that are not on Facebook or still working and must maintain a professional persona. Do you think it could have been the picture that threw them off? I completed the application and hit the submit button along with a current profile picture taken just before I retired.(See bottom). My biggest problem was listing any of the over 50 former workmates most of whom are still employed at ROK as a reference. Some of those guys are known to tell the truth. To see their response you may want to hit the submit button at the bottom of this job posting. HERE IS THE JOB POST ON LinkedIn Weapons from the former Libyan military's stockpiles were shipped from the port of Benghazi, Libya, to the Port of Banias and the Port of Borj Islam, both in Syria. The weapons shipped during late-August 2012 were Sniper rifles, RPG's, and 125 mm and 155mm Howitzers. The deadly and shocking attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission that saw four Americans - including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens - slaughtered by jihadists occurred just weeks after the weapons shipment. Although the news media and Democrats believe government control of guns owned by Americans is politically necessary, what may be equally important is the investigation into the President Barack Obama-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton illegal weapons deal in Libya that helped to arm the Syrian-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The thinking in 2012 was that the fall of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad made a U.S.- Muslim terrorist alliance worth the few negative news stories or Republican criticismshe added.U.S. intelligence documents released to a government watchdog has confirmed the suspicions that the United States and some of its so-called coalition partners had actually facilitated the rise of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQII) which became ISIS as an effective adversary against the government of the Syrian dictator President Assad In addition, ISIS members were initially trained by members and hired contractors from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at facilities in Jordan in 2012. The original goal was to weaken the Syrian government which had engaged in war crimes against their own people, according to a number of reports The non-profit, non-partisan Judicial Watch - a group known for its investigation of government corruption and abuse - had obtained more than 100 pages of previously classified documents from both the US Department of Defense and Hillary Clinton's poorly run State Department through a federal lawsuit.One of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents declared that President Obama and his counterparts within the anti-Assad coalition considered the establishment of a Salafist organization in eastern Syria in order to hasten the downfall of the Assad regime. "And this is exactly what the supporting powers to the (Syrian) opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime," said the DIA report, which had been formerly classified until its release.The contents of that document had been submitted by the Obama White House to the U.S. Central Command (CENCOM), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its directorates, as well as to the State Department.Military intelligence officials had also warned that any further damage caused by the Syrian civil war might have an adverse effect on the fragile government in neighboring Iraq. The intelligence analysis predicted that such a situation could lead to al-Qaida in Iraq (AQII) returning especially in the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Ramadi.The DIA report also predicted that ISIS would declare a caliphate through its affiliation with other terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria, including members of what the Obama administration terms "core al-Qaida." to differentiate it from offshoots such as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is creating havoc in Yemen and North Africa.The now declassified documents appear to confirm that the U.S., the European Union and other nations viewed Muslim extremists in ISIS as "a strategic asset toward regime change in Syria." As a result, parts of Iraq have been in chaos since ISIS began to cross the Syrian border in early June 2014.The documents obtained by Judicial Watch also provide the first official documentation that the Obama administration was well aware that weapons were being shipped fromweapons training Syrian-rebels Benghazi to rebel troops - including members from ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist terror groups - in Syria. An October 2012 report confirms:said political strategist Mike Baker.Baker noted. For three weeks in May, five anthropology majors and their professors, Dr. Arlie Tagayuna and Dr. Murl Dirksen, interacted with the people and culture of Liberia. They were part of a larger Lee University team effort, which was organized by Dr. Carolyn Dirksen, director of the Center of Excellence, and which was featured in a previous press release. The academic purpose of the trip was to record the distresses caused by a 14-year civil war and the Ebola pandemic by hearing and collecting survival stories, aiding in the needs assessment of the Phebe Gray orphanage, and studying a traditional rural African village. The cultural experience of civil war and disease were made a reality to the students in a number of ways. The group was housed in the guest quarters of the Samaritan Purse Ebola Treatment facility where they heard from doctors and staff that ran the center. At the orphanage the students interviewed the staff who operate the childrens home and learned how, during the disaster, every minute of every day was a matter of prayer and faith and taking special precautions of washing hands, washing and more washing. In the bush village, the goal was ethnographic research, understanding the way of life of a bush village, by spending time with the elders, youth and experiencing daily life. These types of field schools are part of the anthropology program at Lee, but this was a unique international trip and students were specifically selected for the research project. Two of the team of anthropology students had already lived and worked in sub-Sahara Africa. Rachel Richards had spent two years in a village in Mozambique and Spencer Smith had been in rural Sierra Leone for two summers. Although not in Africa, Barbara Curran had lived in East Timor with Youth With A Mission, and Georgia Wright and Abigail Christopher had been with Dr. Dirksen on the Colorado archaeological excavation. Ms. Christopher was awarded a Ledford Summer Research Fellowship from the Appalachian College Association to help fund her participation in the Liberia trip. All team members were very familiar with anthropological research and the project director. Although there were certain dangers associated with this type of experience, precautions were taken to ensure physical safety. In May Liberia had not had any new cases of Ebola in 42 days and the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free. Liberia had over 4,700 deaths with Ebola claiming more than 11,000 lives in the region. The teams purpose there was to learn what a series of national crises can do to people but was also to show solidarity with the people of Liberia. As Dr. Carolyn Dirksen remarked on a nationwide radio interview, It is our moral obligation to be here. As an ex-slave colony Liberia is really part of the United States, and we must stand and support our fellow citizens as they rebuild their country. Liberian people are resilient. The students found that one major factor of national recovery and development is education, and most Liberians want more educational opportunities. Dr. Murl Dirksen remarked, I have traveled with a lot of Lee student groups, but anthropology majors are the best to take internationally because they understand the dynamics of culture, want to engage with local people, and recognize that this is part of what they will be doing for the rest of their lives. In Liberia they were wonderful! They sincerely enjoyed worshipping and praying with fellow believers, playing with children and spending time with the orphanage staff, and sitting and visiting with the folks of the rural community. Dr. Murl Dirksen will have two more field schools this summer continuing the excavation at Eagle Rock Shelter near Delta, Co. Also this summer, Dr. Richard Jones begins his survey and test excavations of the North River basin near Tellico. For more information on Lees anthropology program, contact Dr. Murl Dirksen at mdirksen@leeuniversity.edu (1) Lee students Georgia Wright, Rachel Richards, Barb Curran, and Abigail Christopher are pictured here with Mercy (orphanage assistant director, center), and Rose (orphanage director, right). (2) Richards is pictured here with a woman from the village. For three weeks in May, five anthropology majors and their professors, Dr. Arlie Tagayuna and Dr. Murl Dirksen, interacted with the people and culture of Liberia. They were part of a larger Lee University team effort, which was organized by Dr. Carolyn Dirksen, director of the Center of Excellence, and which was featured in a previous press release. The academic purpose of the trip was to record the distresses caused by a 14-year civil war and the Ebola pandemic by hearing and collecting survival stories, aiding in the needs assessment of the Phebe Gray orphanage, and studying a traditional rural African village. The cultural experience of civil war and disease were made a reality to the students in a number of ways. The group was housed in the guest quarters of the Samaritan Purse Ebola Treatment facility where they heard from doctors and staff that ran the center. At the orphanage the students interviewed the staff who operate the childrens home and learned how, during the disaster, every minute of every day was a matter of prayer and faith and taking special precautions of washing hands, washing and more washing. In the bush village, the goal was ethnographic research, understanding the way of life of a bush village, by spending time with the elders, youth and experiencing daily life. These types of field schools are part of the anthropology program at Lee, but this was a unique international trip and students were specifically selected for the research project. Two of the team of anthropology students had already lived and worked in sub-Sahara Africa. Rachel Richards had spent two years in a village in Mozambique and Spencer Smith had been in rural Sierra Leone for two summers. Although not in Africa, Barbara Curran had lived in East Timor with Youth With A Mission, and Georgia Wright and Abigail Christopher had been with Dirksen on the Colorado archaeological excavation. Christopher was awarded a Ledford Summer Research Fellowship from the Appalachian College Association to help fund her participation in the Liberia trip. All team members were very familiar with anthropological research and the project director. Although there were certain dangers associated with this type of experience, precautions were taken to ensure physical safety. In May Liberia had not had any new cases of Ebola in 42 days and the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free. Liberia had over 4,700 deaths with Ebola claiming more than 11,000 lives in the region. The teams purpose there was to learn what a series of national crises can do to people but was also to show solidarity with the people of Liberia. As Dr. Carolyn Dirksen remarked on a nationwide radio interview, It is our moral obligation to be here. As an ex-slave colony Liberia is really part of the United States, and we must stand and support our fellow citizens as they rebuild their country. Liberian people are resilient. The students found that one major factor of national recovery and development is education, and most Liberians want more educational opportunities. Murl Dirksen remarked, I have traveled with a lot of Lee student groups, but anthropology majors are the best to take internationally because they understand the dynamics of culture, want to engage with local people, and recognize that this is part of what they will be doing for the rest of their lives. In Liberia they were wonderful! They sincerely enjoyed worshipping and praying with fellow believers, playing with children and spending time with the orphanage staff, and sitting and visiting with the folks of the rural community. Murl Dirksen will have two more field schools this summer continuing the excavation at Eagle Rock Shelter near Delta, Colorado. Also this summer, Dr. Richard Jones begins his survey and test excavations of the North River basin near Tellico. For more information on Lees anthropology program, contact Dr. Murl Dirksen at mdirksen@leeuniversity.edu. My gas and diesel are up, it's going up again. Saudi Arabia cut 2 million barrels a day after Biden asked them to produce more. They said they did it for economic reasons. They did. The dollars they receive are worth less because of Biden and his lockstep Dems in congress printing trillions of extra dollars chasing the same amount of goods. The Saudis understand inflation and ... (click for more) The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Friday that 12 Tennessee communities have been selected to participate in the fifth round of the Tennessee Downtowns program. The communities selected include Ashland City, Crossville, Dickson, Gainesboro, Hohenwald, Humboldt, Lenoir City, Livingston, Lynchburg, Manchester, Wartburg and Woodbury.Tennesseans are passionate about their communities and because of the overwhelming support from our General Assembly through the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, we are able to provide funding to twice as many communities this round, TNECD Commissioner Randy Boyd said.We applaud these communities for making efforts to revitalize their downtown commercial districts, helping Team Tennessee see that its communities reach full economic potential.Thirty-four communities have participated in the Tennessee Downtowns program since its inception in 2010. Each of the 12 communities selected this round has downtown commercial districts established at least 50 years ago and have demonstrated their readiness to organize efforts for downtown revitalization. The highly competitive selection process was based on historic commercial resources, economic and physical need, demonstrated local effort, overall presentation and probability of success.Flourishing downtowns provide a sense of pride for our communities, spur tourism, promote entrepreneurship and create jobs, TNECD Assistant Commissioner of Rural Development Amy New said. Weve seen communities turn their $15,000 grants into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of leveraged investment from both the public and private sector. With strong local leadership, the Tennessee Downtowns program can create vibrant and sustainable economies in the heart of rural Tennessee our downtowns.Tennessee Downtowns is an affiliated program of Tennessee Main Street and is a community improvement program for towns and cities seeking to revitalize traditional commercial districts. The communities chosen to participate work through volunteer committees of local citizens who participate in a two-year program supported by the National Main Street Center. They also receive a $15,000 grant to complete a downtown improvement project upon completion of the training based on the successful Main Street Four-Point Approach.Each application was supported by the communitys senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly. Independent Healthcare Properties LLC (IHP) and Morning Pointe Senior Living announce that the Commonwealth of Kentuckys Cabinet for Health and Family Services has approved two new freestanding Alzheimer's Center of Excellence campuses in Greenup and Jefferson counties. The Chattanooga-based healthcare services company is also more than 75 percent complete on Phase I of the new Morning Pointe of Danville senior campus. The more than $12 million investment in Louisville and Russell will offer a full spectrum of Alzheimer's and memory care services adjacent to the existing Morning Pointe buildings. Each new Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimers Center of Excellence will feature secure courtyards, life enrichment programs, state-of-the-art technology, and professional health and wellness services. Louisvilles 52-bed Lantern building will open as soon as summer 2017. The 50-bed Russell Lantern community is scheduled for completion as early as spring 2017. Morning Pointe of Danville is scheduled to open this fall. Officials said answering to the increasing need of aging care programs and caregiver support in Kentucky, the new Lantern campuses will feature Meaningful Day innovative therapies designed to improve the quality of life for seniors with memory loss. The program will include SimpleC Companion, an intuitive, non-drug therapy using touch screen applications to promote improved engagement and memory, and Cuddle Therapy, a recognized Alzheimers program with specially created, lifelike dolls that help residents feel a sense of calm and purpose. With the growing number of individuals in need of Alzheimers and memory care services, Morning Pointe is expanding to provide seniors with more options and choices that enrich the quality of life, said Greg A. Vital, president and CEO of IHP and Morning Pointe Senior Living. We are continuing Morning Pointes tradition of providing senior care services for more than 15 years by expanding our services to 10 locations across central Kentucky. According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated five million people may be affected by Alzheimers disease a degenerative condition among the top leading causes of death in the United States. The condition frequently affects older adults a growing demographic, as the population of people aged 65 and older in the United States is expected to double by 2050 to more than 80 million, according to recent census data. Chattanooga-based professional service providers participating in the Kentucky expansion include Neuhoff Taylor Architects PC and ETSB LLC both boasting a long track record of successful development plans throughout the Southeastern U.S., officials said. A team led by researchers from the Argonne National Laboratory used the high-intensity, quick-burst X-rays provided by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to look at how the atoms in a molecule change when the molecule is bombarded with X-rays. This schematic shows the dissociation of a xenon difluoride molecule during the X-ray pump/X-ray probe process. Summer blockbuster season is upon us, which means plenty of fast-paced films with lots of action. However, these aren't new releases from Hollywood studios; they're one type of new "movies" of atomic-level explosions that can give scientists new information about how X-rays interact with molecules. A team led by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory used the high-intensity, quick-burst X-rays provided by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to look at how the atoms in a molecule change when the molecule is bombarded with X-rays. "The LCLS gives us a unique perspective on molecular dynamics because of the extremely brief X-ray pulses that we can use," said Antonio Picon, an Argonne X-ray scientist and lead author. "We're able to see how charge and energy can flow through a system with amazing precision." By using a new method called X-ray pump/X-ray probe, the researchers were able to excite a specifically targeted inner-shell electron in a xenon atom bonded to two fluorine atoms. After the electron was excited out of its shell, the unbalanced positive charge in the rest of the molecule caused the molecule to spontaneously dissociate in a process known as "Coulomb explosion." "The new X-ray pump/X-ray probe technique is so powerful because it allows us to shake the molecule at one point, and look at how it changes at a second point," said Argonne X-ray scientist and study author Christoph Bostedt. The xenon difluoride molecule is only a first step for the technique. In the future, the same X-ray pump/X-ray probe method could find a broad range of applications, such as following the ultrafast structural changes that occur in light-sensitive molecules or the flow of energy in molecules. By understanding intramolecular energy flow, researchers can better develop novel materials to harness the sun's energy, such as photovoltaics and photocatalysts. The new technique could also help researchers address challenges relating to the protein structure determination. For pharmaceutical studies, X-rays are often used to figure out the structures of proteins, but during that process they can also damage parts of them. "This technique lets you see how neighboring atoms are affected when certain regions interact with X-rays," said Stephen Southworth, an Argonne senior X-ray scientist. By using an X-ray pump to excite one of the innermost electrons in the molecule, the researchers were able to target one of the electrons that is most central to and characteristic of the molecule. "This technique gives us the ability to take a series of quick snapshots to see what happens when we change a fundamental part of a molecule, and what we learn from it can inform how we approach the interactions between light and molecules in the future," said Picon. The research, which was funded by the DOE Office of Science, involved a collaboration between Argonne, SLAC, and Kansas State University. "For these kinds of studies, you really need a team that combines world leaders in X-ray sources, particle detection and sample manipulation," Southworth said. A search for "gym headphones" on Target's website yields 13 pages of results, but not one of the products are headphones. Technology from Chicago-based startup AddStructure could change that, using machine learning and language processing to make online searches more efficient. Advertisement The technology caught Target officials' attention. Now AddStructure is one of 10 startups accepted into Techstars Retail. It's national accelerator Techstars' first retail-focused program, held in collaboration with Target. Startups move to Minneapolis for the summer to participate in the accelerator based at Target's headquarters, said Ryan Broshar, managing director of Techstars Retail. It starts Monday. Advertisement About 150 mentors, including Target executives and other retail entrepreneurs, will advise the startups throughout the three-month program. The "goal of this is to learn," Broshar said. "It's no secret Target needs a little bit more startup in it overall, so they're very excited to just have these startups and be able to help them, and by helping them they're going to be able to learn." Techstars and Target jointly invest $120,000 into each company, $100,000 of which comes as a convertible-debt note. The remaining $20,000 is an equity investment, Broshar said. Beyond that, the startups aren't guaranteed ongoing partnerships with Target. The co-founders of AddStructure want to refine their product during the accelerator, learning more about the search needs of large companies and how to better integrate their technology into companies' systems, said co-founder Jarrod Wolf. AddStructure currently has three products: Scaffold, a natural language processing system that can read user reviews and help customers find things like those gym headphones; Path, which discovers themes in user reviews and curates sets of products; and Signal, which uses product details and reviews to incorporate more conversational searches. "The way our technology works is it'll read through all the reviews of headphones and if someone says, 'I love these headphones. I use them at the gym,' then we're able to return 'gym headphones,'" Wolf said. Retailers buy AddStructure's products and incorporate them into their current search technologies, Wolf said. Prices vary on the products. Advertisement The company was founded two years ago. It has four employees, two of whom work in an office in New York City. Wolf and co-founder William Underwood met at the University of Chicago during undergrad, but Underwood started developing the technology during graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Major retailers across the board struggle with search, Underwood said, like the Target search for "gym headphones" that returns results for gym equipment and kids' toys. "It doesn't understand that, first and foremost, I want to see headphones. It's just matching keywords," he said. "Where our system excels is in understanding the intent of the search." AddStructure was the only Chicago-based company accepted into Techstars Retail. Other participants include MakersKit, a Los Angeles-based maker of DIY craft kits; Spruce, a Denver-based men's style consultancy, and Inspectorio, a Hong Kong-based platform for solving supply chain issues. amarotti@tribpub.com Twitter @allymarotti The Federal Trade Commission will seek a review of a federal judge's ruling Tuesday that denied its request to block the merger of two major Chicago-area hospital chains. The commission filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Advertisement U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso rejected the FTC's objections to the combination of Downers Grove-based Advocate Health Care and Evanston-based NorthShore University HealthSystem. The commission had argued the pending merger was anticompetitive and could increase health care costs. Alonso's full written ruling wasn't immediately made public because it contains confidential business information. The judge held a six-day hearing in April on the FTC's challenge. Advertisement asachdev@tribpub.com Twitter @ameetsachdev Armando Garcia drives a forklift as he and George Valdez unload a trailer June 16, 2016, at Pastorelli Foods in Chicago's Fulton Market district. The food business is searching for a new location as the Fulton Market area rapidly gentrifies. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) Early mornings on Fulton Market have a symphonic quality. A woman pushing a stroller skirts around a dairy truck backing into a loading dock. Advertisement A bearded 20-something walking his pit bull pauses to let a forklift roll by. Workers in long carcass-stained coats unload pallets while Google workers hunch over laptops on glass-walled balconies overhead. Advertisement Truck driver Jeff Altergott, who has been delivering meat to the food district for years, sits in his parked semi outside a shuttered meatpacker. Tangling with residents and office workers is nothing compared with the truck gridlock that choked the streets when food wholesalers and distributors dominated the area. "Five years ago I couldn't even park down here," Altergott said. "It's 100 percent lighter now." And it just keeps getting lighter. West of the Loop, the Fulton Market meatpacking district, which for years has been transforming into one of the city's hippest places to live and work, is seeing the exodus of food companies accelerate with the unrelenting influx of hot new restaurants, tech companies and apartment units. "We don't want to stand out in a neighborhood that is now polluted with Uber drivers," said Richard Pastorelli, president of Pastorelli Food Products, who this month announced he is selling his 12,700-square-foot manufacturing plant and moving out of the neighborhood where it has been for nearly 90 years. Mark Nelson, principal at real estate firm NelsonHill, estimates 20 food companies have moved out since Google announced in 2013 it was moving its workforce into the former Cold Storage building at 1000 W. Fulton Market, now marketed as 1K Fulton with tag line "Work. Eat. Chill." Another 10 are in the pipeline to exit, he said. Some are cashing in on sky-high property prices, especially those on the main Fulton Market and Randolph Street thoroughfares where retail, hotel and restaurant developers are eager to stake a claim. Others say the neighborhood is no longer conducive to the truck-heavy business. Advertisement But after working side-by-side for decades, most are not sticking together as they move forward. "The Fulton Market is splintering," said Vern Schultz, executive vice president at real estate services firm Colliers International. Schultz, who has helped several of the food companies find new locations, had hoped to create a new wholesale district to preserve the synergies between the meatpackers. That's what a group of produce wholesalers did 15 years ago when they left the outdated South Water Market, in what is now University Village, and formed the Chicago International Produce Market in Pilsen. The mammoth facility, built with the help of some $19.5 million in city subsidies, today houses 22 produce businesses in neat rows, where customers can do one-stop shopping and businesses can borrow product from each other if they need. Schultz said he identified a site near Pilsen in McKinley Park, on Damen Avenue just south of the Stevenson Expressway, for a potential new meatpacking district. But FedEx Ground moved in before he could put it together, and the food companies have searched separately for their own spaces. "It's sort of like herding cats," Schultz said. "They are very successful but extremely independent, so it's hard to get everyone to agree to something." Advertisement Nelson also had hoped to establish a new meatpacking district, to no avail. In 2013 his company bought a 23-acre site in Pilsen a stone's throw from the produce market and called it Pilsen Park, with the intent of leasing buildings there to the Fulton Market meatpackers looking for new digs, he said. "What we found is that the second- and third-generation meatpacking companies, having so much money, had no interest in coming into our project," Nelson said. "They wanted to buy a property." That's a challenge, as the industrial real estate market is tight. The vacancy rate for industrial properties north of Interstate 290 is 5 percent, the lowest in 16 years, said Craig Hurvitz, vice president of market research at Colliers. South of the interstate, where there is more industrial land, vacancy is 10 percent, a return to pre-recession levels. Inventory declined as some functionally obsolete buildings were torn down, but there also has been a rise in leasing as companies seek a presence close to the city. About 8.5 million square feet of industrial space was leased in the last four years, versus 6 million in the four years prior, Hurvitz said. Many of the Fulton Market companies have moved near the Stevenson on the Southwest Side, which provides easy access to the core of the city and tends to have better buildings for food usage, Hurvitz said. Advertisement City data show several companies have settled into the Stevenson, Brighton Park and Pilsen industrial corridors on the Southwest Side, according to the Department of Planning and Development. Others are staying near Fulton Market but moving elsewhere in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor. Some have left the city for nearby suburbs such as Franklin Park and Melrose Park, which have a decent number of food and cold storage facilities and still offer easy access to restaurant customers in the city, Hurvitz said. Pastorelli, who is keeping his corporate office in the Fulton Market district, is searching for a new location for manufacturing the company's tomato and pizza sauces and oils and vinegars. The primary reason for the move is to "spread the wings" of the company, which needs a footprint three times its current space in order to replace outdated machinery, he said. Pastorelli Foods is moving out of the neighborhood where it has been for nearly 90 years. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) He also feels like an industrial island. Quality Foods to his east sold its property last year to Tucker Development, which plans to develop the buildings into restaurants, retail and offices, and Bridgford Foods to his west plans to convert a portion of its space into residences. As pedestrian traffic continues to grow, Pastorelli worries about someone getting hurt. Pastorelli is considering the Stockyards, where cattle used to be brought to be slaughtered before refrigerated railroad cars hastened that area's demise. He also is looking at spots along the Stevenson on the Southwest Side, which is where many of his workers live. Nearby suburbs also are on the list. Advertisement Staying in Cook County is critical, Pastorelli said, because he relies on the inexpensive county water supply. Other important factors are to be near an interstate and have off-street loading with separation of shipping and receiving docks, to comply with food safety requirements. He doesn't feel it's important to be near other food companies, he said. The cluster used help independent "jobbers," who would pickup product for customers, but there aren't many left anymore, he said. El Cubano, which has operated on Fulton Market for about 30 years, has put its building up for sale and this fall plans to move to the former Bobak Sausage plant at 53rd Street and Archer Avenue, along the Stevenson. Daniel Casimiro, a manager and son of the owner, said increasingly strict regulations in the gentrifying neighborhood including a push by the city to make it a historic landmark so as to keep the industrial character has made it too difficult to do business there. He said he isn't upset about it. El Cubano, which sells largely to Mexican restaurants, had outgrown the facility and wants to double in size and expand to new product lines. A plan is to have a small storefront to cater to consumers who want to pick up steaks to grill. Being near other food companies has been helpful for many years, Casimiro said, in part because El Cubano didn't have enough inventory space, so when it ran out of something it could get help from a neighbor. But once it expands, that won't be necessary, he said. Advertisement Others think sticking together is worthwhile. Economy Packing, which sold four buildings in the Fulton Market district last year to a retail developer for $27 million, bought a building in the Crawford Industrial Park near the Stevenson in Archer Heights and spent nearly $4 million upgrading it, said Joseph Ferrone, chief operating officer. Moving near other food companies was a significant factor in the decision, Ferrone said. Pork wholesaler Amity Packing, which moved from Fulton Market in 2013, is next door, and has become an important supplier, he said. Takis Royal Foods and Columbus Meats are other Fulton Market refugees that have settled in Crawford. Ferrone said he is thrilled with the change, which was a long time coming. The Fulton Market facilities were antiquated, with no loading docks, so they had to use forklifts to move pallets of meat from the trucks into the warehouse as fast as they could, often in extreme weather, Ferrone said. The new facility has 20 refrigerated loading docks and separate temperature-controlled rooms dedicated to cutting pork, beef or chicken. The company, which had been doing $100 million in sales in Fulton Market, is on track to do $150 million in its first year at its new location. Advertisement "We feel we are in a country club," Ferrone said. To capitalize on its heritage, Economy, which dates to 1932, has renamed its umbrella company Fulton Market, Ferrone said. "Our goal is that we wanted to be the new Fulton Market," he said, selling every species and cut of meat customers could ask for. Not everyone is leaving Fulton Market. The companies operating closer to the railroad tracks, in a planned manufacturing district that does not allow for retail, are more insulated from the development frenzy, Nelson said. Some big companies, such as Nealey Foods, have not announced any plans. But a coming city streetscape project has some people nervous. Advertisement On a stretch of Fulton Market, the city is planning a dedicated single driving lane defined by plants and pavers at the intersections and delineated loading zones that turn into angled parking spaces during off hours. Intersections along the corridor are designed to maximize pedestrian safety. Street furniture and bike racks are coming, as is infrastructure such as potable water and power outlets in case the community decides to bring a farmers market there. Construction should start this fall. Several of the improvements, such as a clearly delineated space for delivery vehicles, were designed specifically to improve operations for existing businesses, Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey said. The city has said it supports the area as a meat packaging and wholesale district. But Schultz said it's no longer a question of whether the meatpackers will go, but when. Industrial properties are selling at quadruple the per-square-foot price from five years ago, Hurvitz said. "The big moves are coming within the next 12 to 18 months," he said. The moves are not without nostalgia. Ferrone fondly remembers, as early as 2000, watching a woman walk out a condo that he guesses must have cost $1 million and step over "a river of chicken juice." Some lament that the days of coexistence appear to be numbered. Advertisement Laron Willis, 25, smoked a cigarette outside of the restaurant Publican, watching the construction across the street where the 130-year-old Fulton Street Wholesale Market Co. building is being converted into a Brooklyn Bowl bowling alley and event space. Willis, a restaurant server helping Publican open its new location at O'Hare International Airport, commented on the stench of animal flesh that hangs in the Fulton Market air. Still, it has it charms. If he ever gets lost, Willis said, "I follow that smell." aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com Twitter @alexiaer Owner Joel Nickson is behind the counter June 16, 2016, at his Wishbone restaurant west of the Loop. He opened the spot in 1992 but worries he will not be able to afford a new lease two years from now as the neighborhood rapidly gentrifies. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) When Joel Nickson decided to open his second Wishbone restaurant west of the Loop back in 1992, he had hope his Southern-style cuisine was good enough to lure diners to a neighborhood more known for flophouses and quiet streets than hot restaurants. He likes reminiscing about the years that followed, when Wishbone fed everyone from police officers and union members to Harpo Studios employees, politicians and Chicago Bulls players. Advertisement "We were proud of the fact that we were a real city restaurant," Nickson said. Now, though, he worries that when his lease expires in two years, Wishbone won't be able to afford to stay. Landlords in the neighborhood are asking as much as $60 to $70 a square foot, a steep climb from the $44 per square foot he pays. "The reality is, I can't blame them," he said. "If they can get that kind of rent, it's the way of the world." Advertisement What's behind the increase? Demand, and plenty of it. This particular piece of Chicago which has alternatively been called West Loop, Fulton Market or West Town has become a sought-after destination for restaurants, residential development and corporate offices. Google's relocation late last year of its Chicago office and more than 650 people from River North to six floors of a former Cold Storage building at 1000 W. Fulton Market, seemed to cement the neighborhood's trendy status. And then Monday, McDonald's announced it will build a global headquarters on the former site of Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios, moving about 2,000 employees from Oak Brook and demonstrating that even old-school companies want to take part in the neighborhood's rebirth. The two years before its arrival are expected to be ones of seismic change. Any hot neighborhood needs to offer the opportunity to live, work and play, and the area around Harpo offers these three "unlike any other neighborhood in Chicago," said Jason Trombley, a senior vice president and director of real estate at JLL. "It's all very exciting that everyone can see the potential." But as with any gentrifying neighborhood, the people and businesses that have long called the area home worry that with progress come problems. Other companies are likely to follow McDonald's into the neighborhood, as well as more restaurants, stores and health clubs seeking to serve the growing base of residents and workers, but what else will that bring? Will both rents and taxes rise? Will national chain retailers arrive, changing the area's vibe and cutting into independent merchants' sales? And what about what locals say is an already dire shortage of parking? "Sometimes what happens in a situation like this is that the pioneers that make the neighborhood what it is get priced out of that neighborhood," said Rob Katz, co-founder of the Boka Restaurant Group, which opened Girl & the Goat on West Randolph Street in 2010. "And that attracts the big-box retailers and chain restaurants and it can hurt the very character that drew people there in the first place." "We're very excited, and we're cautious at the same time," Katz said. "When we got the news about McDonald's we literally pumped our fists. We're hopeful that this neighborhood can hang on to its soul as long as possible." But at the same time, Katz as well as other restaurateurs say they're looking elsewhere for future restaurant projects because property prices have increased so dramatically. "It certainly made a lot of sense in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It doesn't make as much sense now," Katz said. Advertisement K.P. McNeill, CEO of men's and women's luxury clothing company Billy Reid, was one of the first retailers in the neighborhood when he opened a store on West Randolph Street last fall. The area had "such a great vibe" he didn't mind being on the early side, he said. Free People the first national player to commit said it plans to open a store and wholesale showroom in early February. "I hope the authenticity of the neighborhood remains intact. That's the fear when you start to grow," said McNeill. But, he added, " It still has that vibe, and I don't see that changing. More people working in the area, regardless of who for, is going to help it." Developer Sterling Bay, a large landowner in the neighborhood that bought the Harpo site for $30.5 million in 2014, expected to unveil its plans for McDonald's at a community meeting Wednesday. With the ink on the McDonald's deal now dry, Sterling Bay managing principal Andy Gloor said he's using the burger behemoth's planned arrival as a lure to other potential businesses "as often as I can." Scott Michel and Adrianne Kalyna stand June 16, 2016, in front of their condo building across the street from the former Harpo Studios in Chicago's Fulton Market district. The couple have lived in the area for 18 years and are happy McDonald's is moving into the old Harpo space, but also wonder whether the neighborhood will lose its charm. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) Gloor said he's in talks with law and consulting firms, among others, to bring their offices to the area. Although Google and McDonald's are very different companies and corporate cultures, "they're all competing for the same people those young smart workers," he said. Even before McDonald's announced its plans, the growth that's already occurred in the neighborhood stunned some neighborhood denizens. Advertisement Fulton Market has 3 million square feet of office space in development, more than 2,700 apartment units in publicly announced developments and hotels with 560 rooms, according to Shapack Partners, a large property owner in the neighborhood that in 2014 developed private club Soho House Chicago near Randolph and Green streets. A block away at the corner of Randolph and Peoria streets, Nobu Hotel, backed by Hollywood heavy hitters including Robert De Niro, will break ground Monday. "I don't think anybody has seen this kind of change in a neighborhood before," said Terry Alexander, managing partner at One Off Hospitality, which opened The Publican on West Fulton Market in 2008. "It's one-of-a-kind for our lifetime." Two years ago, when the CTA opened a stop at Morgan and Lake streets, Jovanis Bouargoub, owner of barbecue restaurant Porkchop, saw a big uptick in business. He said he expects a similar bump with McDonald's arrival. Likewise, the West Randolph Street location of Nando's Peri-Peri, which just opened last year, has already become the company's best performer, said Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando's vice president of marketing. "We like to be the first in some neighborhoods," he said. "Of course, that has some risks, but the neighborhood has such good food credentials." Scott Michel, 65, and Adrianne Kalyna, 58, have lived across the street from Harpo Studios for 18 years. It's been quieter since the studio closed, taking with it the excited crowds that gathered under their window at 6:30 a.m. before show tapings. They were happy to hear the new tenant was commercial, rather than residential, limiting weekend traffic in their neighborhood and bringing more business for local restaurants and shops. Advertisement "If (residential) high-rises come here, it will change the whole character of the neighborhood," Michel said. They love the development that's happened so far, bringing nice restaurants and more convenience while preserving the area's charm, but wonder whether that will continue. "I think a lot of big development could bring stores that feel more corporate that just see this huge captive audience," Kalyna said. Some residents have been concerned about development, said Carla Agostinelli, executive director of the West Loop Community Organization. "Overall, they just want to make sure the newest neighbors fit with the character of the area," she said. Agostinelli said she thinks McDonald's arrival could help create jobs and may give area nonprofits a chance to learn from the company's philanthropic efforts, but she also worries about congestion. "While the arrival of McDonald's is truly welcomed news, there are legitimate issues on how we manage the density," said Roger Romanelli, executive director of the Randolph/Fulton Market Association. Advertisement "We're approaching a park-apocalypse down here," he said. "I hope the prominence of McDonald's will open up the conversation," he said. sbomkamp@tribpub.com lzumbach@tribpub.com Twitter @SamWillTravel Twitter @laurenzumbach Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 (Norma Rios) 2255 Greenview Ave. in Chicago: $1,349,500 Listed on June 13, 2016 Open floor plan on main level features large eat-in kitchen with breakfast bar, double ovens and beverage refrigerator. Family room off kitchen opens to deck and professionally landscaped yard with brick paver patio. The second floor has three beds and two baths, plus a master suite with cathedral ceiling, skylights, a balcony and walk-in closet. Lower level boasts a large recreation room, additional bedroom, full bath and laundry room. Agent: Mario Greco of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff, 773-687-4696 Catch up on these recent restaurant openings and coming-soon spots: The Finch Kitchen: The collaboration between Finch Beer Company and Folkart Restaurant Management opened June 9 in the old Breakroom Brewery location. Owners call it a modern twist on a classic taproom. Advertisement "We wanted to create an experience people couldn't get anywhere else," said chef/owner Matthias Merges. How? By pulling some international influences into traditional bar foods in this case, encased meats. The best example, Merges said, is the joint's curried chicken sausage on a bun served with Punjabi pickle, cilantro, yogurt and fries. 2925 W. Montrose Ave, 773-942-7949. RELATED: FORMER INTERN TAKES OVER AS HEAD CHEF OF NOMI KITCHEN Advertisement Whiskey Thief: Named for the tool distillers use to extract a small spirit serving for sampling and quality control, Evanston tavern Whiskey Thief looks to bring the same attention to detail to its bar fare and drinks. When it opens June 21, find a selection of 70 bottles of whiskey, including bourbon, rye and Scotch, plus bottles from Ireland and Canada. On the food side, the menu includes a pan-roasted half chicken and a bison burger topped with cheddar and caramelized onions. 616 Davis St., Evanston, 847-859-2342. Lark: Lakeview's newest bar and certified Neapolitan pizzeria opened its doors Thursday in the old Halsted's Bar and Grill location. Guests can dance to '80s and '90s records from 10p.m. to close Thursday through Sunday nights while music videos play on the restaurant's 13 TVs. 3441 N. Halsted St., 773-799-8968. 5411 Empanadas: There's another place to get your hands on 5411's sweet and savory Latin American-style turnovers. This location in the Southport Corridor will serve the empanadas at $2.50 a pop, alongside a drink menu of local and regional craft beers, international wines and Fernet, a classic Argentinian liquor, which is usually mixed with Coca Cola or consumed on its own. 3715 N. Southport Ave., 872-802-4835. Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Furious Spoon: The fast casual, Tokyo-style ramen shop branched out from its original Wicker Park location to add a second spot in Logan Square. At the new digs, which opened June 7, you'll find 70-plus seats, a full bar and a patio. Furious Spoon also has plans to open in Pilsen and Revival Food Hall in the Loop later this year. 2410 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-770-3559. In case you missed it: The Fifty/50 group's Steadfast will open this month in the Loop. The fine-dining establishment has a bar menu featuring antique and hard-to-find whiskeys. The fourth Goddess and Grocer location is finally open in Andersonville, but unlike the other part-bakery, part-restaurant and part-market outposts, this one will serve alcohol. You can inhale some hickory-smoked pork shoulder a short walk from world-class repositories of knowledge. Museum Campus' outdoor food court opened June 13 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m through Labor Day unless otherwise noted. Advertisement Nonnina, a new Italian restaurant from the folks behind Piccolo Sogno, will open its Clark Street doors in late June. The eatery will be taking the place of Piccolo Sogno Due and serves as a tribute to the owners' grandmothers, chef Tony Priolo told the Tribune. nwooten@tribpub.com Twitter @nwootened Chicago does not lack for pizza, but Eataly is serving a new style to add to your bucket list. In its first move since closing Baffo in May, the Italian market has shuffled around its second-floor dining station I Salumi I Formaggi to make room for its newest offering, Pizza alla Pala. Eataly has always served pizza, of course, offering the delicate Neapolitan thin crust at food station Rossopomodoro (which remains open). But Pizza alla Pala offers a shareable alternative: Roman-style pizza. Advertisement Unlike pizza napoletana, pizza alla pala (also known as pizza romano) is named after the paddle it's served on, said Francesco Racanelli, a visiting baker from Eataly Italia who is overseeing the new concept. The style was born in Rome's bakeries, said Racanelli, a fifth-generation baker. "Leftovers from risen bread dough were turned into this style of pizza, to avoid waste," he said. Grab a friend and share a Roman-style pizza. (Joseph Hernandez / Chicago Tribune) The dough is crispy on the outside, with an airy, chewy center, a far cry from the cracker-thin style of its southern cousin. The other chief difference between the two styles is how they are cooked, as pizza napoletana is famously baked in 900-degree wood-fired ovens. Pizza alla pala bakes in relatively more gentle electric ovens, heated to 580 degrees Fahrenheit. Advertisement The result is the perfect blank palate for a number of toppings. Dividing the pizzas into rosse (with tomato sauce), bianche (no sauce) and speciali (seasonal ingredients), Racanelli and his team show off flavors like the tricolore ($22), a nod to the three colors of the Italian flag, topped with arugula, house-sliced prosciutto di parma, house-made stracciatella cheese, cherry tomatoes and arugula. The Eggs n' Bacon ($18) is a (delicious) appeal to American palates, a bianche version generously topped with Neuske's bacon, Flory's Truckle cheddar, baked-on eggs and black pepper. Pizza alla pala is already served regularly at Eataly Italia, but Chicago's location is the American debut of the style, Racanelli said. Just remember to bring a friend these pizzas are big enough to share. Eataly, 43 E. Ohio St., 312-521-8700, www.eataly.com jbhernandez@tribpub.com Twitter @joeybear85 The Bloody Maria ceviche is prepared with lime-marinated tuna, cucumber, green olive and red onion with a spicy celery salt rim, and is served with a shot of mezcal. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Every time I visit a Rick Bayless restaurant, I learn something. That's no idle statement when you're talking about a guy who has been feeding Chicago for more than a quarter-century. First there was Frontera Grill, eschewing chips-and-salsa Mexican for serious Mexican cooking that took sopa Azteca and chile relleno to new heights. Then Topolobampo, demonstrating that fine-dining, regional Mexican cuisine was not only possible, but that there was also an eager market for that sort of thing. And then Bayless applied his sustainable and organic ethos to inexpensive, fast-casual food at Xoco (while opening my eyes to the thrilling possibilities of hot chocolate), and, at Tortas Frontera, applying his culinary magic to airport food. Dear God, airport food. Advertisement RELATED: GREAT TACOS, BEER BUT AWKWARD SERVICE AT CRUZ BLANCA And now there is his latest, Lena Brava (alongside the cerveceria/taqueria Cruz Blanca; see colleague Nick Kindelsperger's review here), which introduces the seafood-rich region of the Baja California Norte. Having spent decades introducing palates to authentic Mexican cuisine, Bayless now turns his eye to a region that embraces fusion, whose cuisine is informed by a multitude of immigrants. Advertisement And Bayless, ever the culinary evangelist, preaches with enthusiasm. "Just 22 years ago, there were five boutique wineries (in the Valle de Guadalupe area within the Baja Norte)," Bayless said. "Now there are 102. That's a fast growth rate, and now some of them are winning prizes, and that's drawing chefs to the region. Baja Norte is a desert-y, rustic environment, with a sort of Old West feel, and the food focuses on the simplicity of wood-fired cooking. And these chefs are bringing beautiful ingredients and a ton of technique into that. I don't know of a single restaurant there that doesn't have a big, wood-fired grill as its cornerstone." My elevator pitch, for those familiar with Bayless' restaurant, is that Lena Brava combines Frontera Grill's high-energy atmosphere with Topolobampo's thrill of discovery. You'll eat well here, often raucously, and have so much fun you might not notice that conceptual doors have been opened for you. The hiramasa laminado, from the Ice side of the menu, is prepared with yellowtail tuna, sweet-tangy-spicy chamoy, mango, shiso and bits of orange. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) The focal point of the restaurant, done in surprisingly neutral tones no riot of colors as at Frontera, no abundance of Mexican fine art as at Topolobampo is Lena Brava's massive wood-burning hearth. It's a decorative element as well as a functional one; the floor of the hearth is raised, and the pickup counter (where food is transferred from cook to food runner) is lowered, the better to view the whole operation. (The best tables are those closest to the hearth sometimes you can feel the heat on your face but the views are good wherever one sits.) And this really is the whole operation; Bayless didn't even install a gas line to the kitchen. At Lena Brava, if it's not being kissed by fire, it's not being cooked. That said, some of Lena Brava's most inspiring dishes aren't cooked at all. The "Ice" half of the menu (three guesses as to what the other half is called) offers an abundance of ceviches, aguachiles and laminados; ordering from each category allows you to explore the subtle and unsubtle differences among the three styles. The aguachiles are all superb (scallops in serrano-tinged cucumber-lime broth are light and lively; opah reflects Asian influence in its habanero-lime-lemongrass broth), but the revelation is the pineapple, a vegetarian dish of the fire-blackened fruit in an orange-lime broth dotted with dabs of goat cheese and a spicy hazelnut salsa macha. This dish is so stunning that on my third visit, I ordered it again. Among ceviches, opt for the ceviche maki roll, a real multiculti appetizer; maki-roll slices of avocado, sushi rice and roasted nori are topped with Lena ceviche (which can be ordered on its own), which includes Hawaiian albacore, tomatoes, picholine olives and spicy green chili. There's a lot going on here, but the flavors are harmonious. Laminados are composed plates starring sliced raw fish. Hiramasa, offered in mouth-satisfying thickish slices on a plate painted with a tangy-spicy chamoy (pickled fruit, spices) and sprinkled with tiny pieces of mango, is wonderful, but the surprise in this category, again, is the vegetarian contribution (chefs Lisa and Fred Despres, who do most of the heavy lifting at Lena Brava, have one vegetarian option in most menu categories), an array of sliced avocado topped with cubes of ginger-laced jicama and bold dashes of grapefruit, black pepper and habanero. Advertisement Oysters, always a strength at Bayless restaurants, are good here as well, pristine and ice cold; among the accompanying sauces is a shaved ice flavored with cucumber and a hint of chile de arbol, and it's terrific. Sea urchin, presented in slices that appear to be marching from its unishell home, is a major treat (and slight financial indulgence) as well. There is a classic seafood cocktail of blue shrimp and octopus that's very good, but I'll go with the Bloody Maria, a tuna cocktail with a spicy salt rim and a side shot of mezcal. (You can taste the cocktail and mezcal separately or dump the mezcal directly into the glass making it a true cocktail, I suppose and the serving is large enough that you can do both.) Then it's on to the Fire half of the menu. Assuming you can keep your hands off the addictive tlayudas, the fire-crisped corn flatbread that tastes like buttered popcorn in cracker form, you'll find plenty of dishes to try. There are Mexican-Asian dishes such as the shrimp and pork albondigas, the ginger-scented meatballs swimming in a roasted tomato and chipotle sauce, sprinkled with anejo cheese; and regional specialties such as Oaxacan caldo de piedra, in which yellowtail, cod and shrimp and grilled asparagus gambol in a murky pasilla-chili broth. Must-try dishes are the scallops over sweet-plantain ash and pasilla-almond salsa macha; the scallops are topped with bonito flakes, so onion-skin thin that the flakes curl, as if alive, reacting to the scallops' heat. I'd also make room for the wood-roasted black cod with sour pineapple-shiso salsa; and garlicky swordfish over rice with black garlic, avocado and cilantro. There are three main courses sized for two or more. Chicken a la Lena has a garlic-agave glaze that gives the skin a black-lacquered sheen; the chicken is excellent, but the creamy jalapeno-garlic salsa on the side is the stuff of dreams. The tomahawk steak, a 2-pound, bone-in rib-eye, is a $90 indulgence, but it's a first-rate steak, served with a complex steak sauce the kitchen calls Mexican A1. Whole striped bass is available in four preparations, representing a virtual tour of Mexico. "No matter where you are in Mexico," Bayless said, "they're doing a butterflied fish with the local flavors." I lean toward the Lena-style prep, which bathes the fish in a bright-green chili glaze, but there are Oaxacan (red adobo glaze), Pacific-coast zarandeado (garlic, soy, chile de arbol) and Yucatan tikin xik (achiote, garlic, habanero) versions as well. Among sides, the richly flavored, chipotle-dusted cauliflower mash calls to mind a south-of-the-border pommes puree; butter-roasted plantains with cream, butter and house-made queso fresco are irresistible, and could serve as a dessert. Advertisement A free-form puffy tart comes with caramelized apples and thin stripes of tamarind sauce, topped with a globe of smoked-vanilla ice cream. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Speaking of dessert, Lena Brava is strong in that area as well. There's a free-form, asymmetrical puffy tart with caramelized apples and thin stripes of tamarind sauce, topped with a globe of smoked-vanilla ice cream; and a soufflelike tres leches cake surrounded by lime curd, burnt meringue puffs and pistachio crema. The banana split, overflowing with buttered plantains, grilled pineapple and scoops of cajeta, chocolate and smoked-vanilla ice cream (along with cherry-cashew toffee, toasted coconut and hot fudge) is so massive that you probably should win a T-shirt if you finish it. The beverage program is impressive, offering wines from the Valle de Guadalupe (although the sommelier is just as likely to suggest a wine from the Canary Islands), beers from next door, signature cocktails (the Awesome Blossom is my favorite, but the vodka-grapefruit Quiero Un Selfie made me laugh) and at least 100 sipping mezcals. And the Cafe Oaxaqueno, a coffee drink with mezcal, pasilla syrup and whipped cream, makes a fine liquid dessert. pvettel@tribpub.com Twitter @philvettel 900 W. Randolph St. 312-733-1975 Advertisement www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/lena-brava Tribune rating: Three stars Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Open: Dinner on Tuesday-Sunday Prices: Main courses $18-$26 Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V Reservations: Strongly recommended Advertisement Noise: Conversation-challenged Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune Tens of thousands of you people wandered about the streets of the Printers Row neighborhood in the South Loop during the annual the 32nd annual, for Gutenberg's sake Printers Row Lit Fest last weekend, making a lively argument that the printed word is not yet dead. There were so many books for sale and authors aplenty, many dozens of writers of every conceivable sort of style, personality, color and age. Novelists, poets, cartoonists you name it, you could find it. And all were eager to talk about their work and did so in the animated fashion of salesmen and saleswomen, which is what they are. Advertisement Authors want people to buy the books they've written and to read those books. It is surely getting harder every year, but they carry on, hopefully. And this all put me in mind of that character Nik Wallenda was his name who in 2014 walked a tightrope strung across the Chicago River. In just a few days this man got more attention, more ink and air time than all of the novels written here that year, all of the poems, all of the writers. But aren't all writers risk-takers, walking the tightrope of words and imagination, risking? Advertisement Yes, they are. And why? For attention? For money? For immortality? All of those things are hard to come by, no matter how good a writer might be, how powerful the words or how big the personality. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 37 Guests look through books at the This Old Book tent at Printer's Row Lit Fest. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune) Now, I am not about to make the case that writing is as strenuous or demanding a profession as coal mining or waiting tables. But it has ever been romanticized. It was the great sportswriter Red Smith (somewhat diminished in light of the resurrection of his tone-deaf writing about Muhammad Ali, calling him "as sorry a spectacle as those unwashed punks who picket and demonstrate against the (Vietnam) war") who is credited with saying, about writing, "You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins and bleed." And so, there on a table at Lit Fest was a new book, about the biggest Chicago literary personality who has ever lived: Ernest Hemingway, child of Oak Park and ever a large shadow on our words-on-paper world. The book was "Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway's Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises." Lesley M.M. Blume is the author and the book is, as Blume writes in his introduction, "the story of how Hemingway became Hemingway." It's a wonderful book but does not always give us a pretty or admirable picture as we follow Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, from Chicago to Paris in the 1920s and into a world filled with cafes and salons and such people as Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, Ezra Pound and many others who helped and inspired the young Hemingway. His aim was lofty, to write a "voice-of-a-generation novel that was both modern in subject and a stylistic groundbreaker." He worked very hard, and that book, "The Sun Also Rises," was based largely on the people he met in Paris and those with whom he traveled to the booze-soaked, fiesta-filled frolics surrounding the bullfights in Pamplona, Spain. Most prominent among these was Harold Loeb, an American writer-editor who became the novel's Robert Cohn, a character who many critics cite as an example of Hemingway's anti-Semitism, and Lady Duff Twysden, a dissolute but beautiful and enticing woman who became the inspiration for Lady Brett Ashley. Advertisement The novel, of course, was a sensation, but not everyone was charmed by the man or his book. One member of that Paris crowd called Hemingway, "a very good businessman, a publicity seeker, who looks ahead and calculates, and uses rather than wonders about people." MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR And Zelda Fitzgerald considered the novel nothing more than "bullfighting, bullslinging and bull----." It was her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald already famous as the author of "This Side of Paradise" and the soon-to-be-published "The Great Gatsby" when the two first met who introduced Hemingway to his editor at the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons, calling the younger writer the "the real thing." (Hemingway would later treat Fitzgerald shabbily, and Maxwell Perkins would become arguably the most famous book editor in history, an assessment that is punctuated by his being played by actor Colin Firth in a film of his life and times, "Genius," its screenplay written by former Chicago playwright and Academy Award winner John "Gladiator" Logan. It just opened in theaters.) There is none around who can testify firsthand to the anguish the novel may have caused those who served as unwitting models for the book's characters. But after its publication, Twysden married an artist named Clinton King, also part of that Paris crowd. Following her death in 1938, King met and married a woman named Narcissa Swift, the great-granddaughter of Chicago meatpacking tycoon Gustavus F. Swift. They lived all over the place but spent some summers here, where they became close friends of my parents. He was a gentle man and a fine painter and before his death in 1979 I asked what he thought of Hemingway. "He was a s---," King said, simply. No doubt he was, as this book proves, offering all manner of examples of his callous and self-consumed behavior. Even the loyal Richardson, the mother of Jack (the first of his three children) and the first of his four wives, gets a raw, sad deal. When she confronted him about having an affair he admitted to it, and then, as Blume writes, "turned the tables on Hadley; she was the one doing irreparable damage to the marriage by bringing it up." Advertisement In the book there is an anecdote recounting Hemingway once telling his friend and biographer A.E. Hotchner, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." If so, then Hemingway was its most ravenous and selfish and cruel guest. Hotchner also asked, "If you had it to do over, would you have been softer?" "Oh, hell no," said the writer. rkogan@tribpub.com Twitter @rickkogan Advertisement RELATED STORIES: Bitter? Moi? Marcia Clark lays into Judge Ito at Printers Row Lit Fest Printers Row Lit Fest recap: Buzz Aldrin, R.L. Stine and more celebrate literature 'Genius' review: Colin Firth, Jude Law more average than brilliant 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) The weirdly touching documentary "De Palma" is catnip for cinephiles, at least those who haven't written off its subject, filmmaker and eternal provocateur Brian De Palma, decades ago as a hopeless, unrepentant, voyeuristic, Hitchcock-addicted perv. Now 75, De Palma more or less owns up to that characterization himself. The son of a philandering orthopedic surgeon, young Brian once stalked, photographed and confronted his father and his lover in their love nest, with the future filmmaker brandishing a knife. This is one of many stories De Palma relays, in relaxed, "yeah, it happened" fashion, to the documentary's off-camera interviewers and co-directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow. Advertisement MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR De Palma saw "Vertigo" at Radio City Music Hall when he was 18, in 1958. That experience, which he never really shook, set the mood and the direction for his entire life's work, though that work is far more varied than his Hitchcock-ripoff-artiste rep suggests. Without racing, "De Palma" deftly covers the full gamut of the man's films, from the early Robert De Niro collaboration "The Wedding Party" (shot in 1963) through commercial breakthroughs in the 1970s and then several more career ups and downs afterward. Advertisement Baumbach and Paltrow are pals with De Palma, and miraculously the implicit chumminess doesn't clog up the movie with unexamined goodwill. "De Palma" isn't afraid of drilling into the filmmaker's wormy obsessions and his adolescent prankster's streak. It also reveals De Palma to be a wry and drolly understated chronicler of his own indulgences, his constant filmmaking battles, his amusement at the bloody carnival of it all. Tales of De Palma and Nancy Allen double-dating with Steven Spielberg (hot off "Jaws") and Amy Irving evoke an entire cinematic golden age without even trying. Allen and Irving worked with De Palma on "Carrie" (1976), and for anyone old enough to remember what that film could do to a high school-age audience, the "Carrie" anecdotes are reason enough to see the documentary. Baumbach and Paltrow do not interview De Palma experts, or critics, or anyone beyond De Palma. This is strictly the filmmaker, seated, indoors, talking to his friends, all very orderly. Meanwhile the generously interpolated clips from the likes of "Body Double" (with its insane drill-bit murder) turn the order into delirious chaos. "I'm driven by unrealistic ideas," De Palma acknowledges at one point in "De Palma." Throughout the documentary, we hear war stories from a cackling warrior who was constantly faced with coming up with practical, filmable alternatives and solutions to crises on set. The "Potemkin"-inspired stairway shootout in "The Untouchables," for example, emerged as a replacement for a sequence screenwriter David Mamet, according to De Palma, refused to write. Of "Obsession," his "Vertigo" homage and the first De Palma I saw in theaters (a few months before "Carrie"), the director shares some lovely, dishy gossip about star Cliff Robertson's personal, George Hamilton-esque makeup preferences, and precisely why an artificially brown leading man drove cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond crazy. "Every mistake you made is up there on the screen," De Palma says late in the film. "It's a like a record of the things you didn't finish, basically." He made commercial hits ("Carrie," "Scarface," "The Untouchables," "Mission: Impossible") and near-misses and lots of bizarre or self-conscious disappointments. But even films as nutty as "Snake Eyes" offer sequences of such preening virtuosity, with their gorgeously sustained long takes and slithery mise-en-scene, you just have to shake your head and laugh. De Palma's currently in preproduction for his next movie. Here's hoping it's terrific. Starting Friday, tied to the theater's "De Palma" engagement, the Music Box presents an eight-film sampler of De Palma's work. "Carrie," "Blow Out," "Scarface" and "Carlito's Way" are all on 35 millimeter; "The Untouchables" will be shown in a 70 mm blowup. The full schedule: Friday 4:30 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. "Phantom of the Paradise" Advertisement 9:30 p.m. "Dressed To Kill" Saturday 8 p.m. "Scarface" 11:59 p.m. "Carrie" Sunday 5 p.m. "Blow Out" Advertisement 7 p.m. "Carrie" Monday 4:30 p.m. "Dressed To Kill" 9:30 p.m.: "Blow Out" Tuesday 4:30 and 9:30 p.m. "Body Double" Advertisement Wednesday 7:30 p.m.: "The Untouchables" Thursday 4:30 and 9:20 p.m. "Carlito's Way" "De Palma" 3.5 stars MPAA rating: R (for violent images, graphic nudity, sexual content and some language) Advertisement Running time: 1:51 Opens: Friday at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.; www.musicboxtheatre.com Michael Phillips is a Tribune Newspapers critic. mjphillips@tribpub.com Twitter @phillipstribune MORE MOVIE REVIEWS: Advertisement 'Finding Dory' review: Ellen DeGeneres voices the friendly fish in search of her parents 'Genius' review: Colin Firth, Jude Law more average than brilliant 'Princess' review: A complicated family dynamic 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) Not long ago I interviewed an expert in artificial intelligence and he said something that stopped me cold: "Many of the newspaper articles you see today are written by machines." My response: Excuse me while I go huddle in a corner and cry for my profession. The future probably isn't so dire. At least in terms of how AI might be used to generate the written word. Filmmaker Oscar Sharp and technologist Ross Goodwin have been collaborating for a couple of years now, exploring the boundaries of computer-generated creativity. Their most recent effort is the short sci-fi film "Sunspring" starring longtime Chicago improviser Thomas Middleditch and made from a screenplay written entirely by a computer they dubbed Jetson. (That name has since changed.) Advertisement RELATED: MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Sharp and Goodwin tested their machine's capabilities back in April for The Sci-Fi London 48 Hour Film Challenge. The resulting eight-minute film (available on YouTube) and the love triangle/workplace fever dream at its core is funny but also mesmerizingly off-kilter and, at points, weirdly poetic as if it were (as one commenter noted) a bizarro mashup of "Solaris" and "Office Space." Advertisement Thomas Middleditch in "Sunspring." (Oscar Sharp ) Sometimes the dialogue sounds like a random series of unrelated sentences. Middleditch (who currently stars on HBO's "Silicon Valley") is joined by actors Elisabeth Gray and Humphrey Ker, and they have all somehow made sense of lines such as, "I know it's a consequence. Whatever you need to know about the presence of the story, I'm a little bit of a boy on the floor." Here's how that's translated by Gray's performance as she speaks to Middleditch: (Patronizingly) "I know. It's a consequence. Whatever you need to know about the presence of the story" faux conspiratorially, almost whispering to let him down gently "I'm a little bit of a boy on the floor." That last bit she says as she touches Ker's arm meaningfully. Whatever's going on (and the dialogue is indeed confounding), the performance in that moment makes clear, she's letting her allegiances be known. And Middleditch is the loser in that equation. Actors Humphrey Ker and Elisabeth Gray in director Oscar Sharp's short film "Sunspring" Here's how the software works, per Sharp: "It's a language engine that essentially crunches all of the input that you give it" in this case, lines of dialogue from thousands of pre-existing sci-fi screenplays, everything from "Independence Day" to "Logan's Run" "and then it tries to create output that statistically looks the same as the input." "Oh, very much no. The computer is doing something really extraordinary. If you look at the screenplay itself and you consider that the grammatical form of the dialogue is one person addressing another or asking a question, and then look at the action description passages what people call the stage directions it's written in the grammar and style of dialogue or description. It just sounds really weird because the computer doesn't know what it's saying, it just knows how to say it, so the end result doesn't feel sensical to a human being." In some ways, the computer's process is not unlike autocorrect. "Essentially it is trying to guess what the next letter of anything it's generating will be," said Sharp. "And at first the output wasn't legible, it was basically gobbledygook. Then the computer started to learn words, but the words were in an order so random, you couldn't speak them. What I was looking for was the day it got good enough that it had brewed its model long enough, really that when an actor saw the script, they would be able to perform it without tearing their brain in two. Because yes, that person might be asked to say strange things, but the sentence structure is that of a person speaking." Goodwin and Sharp used their machine to generate an entire script, but neither anticipates technology replacing human writers altogether. Here's Goodwin: "You can imagine this sort of tool being used as an autocomplete or a suggestion device to break up your writer's block." Such as: "Let's say you write a line of dialogue and you're not sure what comes next. You could theoretically hit 'complete, complete, complete' until the computer comes up with a word or line that looks kind of like something you want. And then you edit it a little bit and you move on. "For me," he said, "this technology is about pushing fiction forward into a new domain, where we get stories that we really haven't seen before, because so much of what comes out of Hollywood and so much that we read are the same stories, recycled over and over again. And I feel like this technology can give us access to storytelling that might be a little beyond what we've experienced in the past." Advertisement He added: "It's not going to be, push a button and you get a screenplay. Nobody really wants that, I think. As a society, we don't like the idea of computers replacing us. I like the idea of computers augmenting writers." The two are working on a project to generate film synopses, using the same process. Goodwin sent over a few examples, including this one: "Set in the world of study disease, the film captures the personal journey of a young boy who must rely on his father's desire to become a woman who knows the power to trust him. In an attempt to help his friends and family find himself in a tragic dark twist of fate, he is forced to confront his own demons while struggling to find a way to survive." Not bad, actually. A footnote about the computer's name. "They decided to interview Jetson live on stage at the awards show," said Sharp, referring to the 48 Hour Film Challenge, "and he first said something very cryptic about children pulling things from the furnace and then melting them to the floor." Right. "And then the last line of his interview was, 'My name is Benjamin.' So, he named himself." To find out more and read up on director Oscar Sharp and technologist Ross Goodwin's collaboration, visit their individual sites: thereforefilms.com (for Sharp) and rossgoodwin.com. Btw, Benjamin's has "his" own site as well that's worth checking out: benjamin.wtf. nmetz@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @NinaMetzNews RELATED STORIES: Indie comedy about abandoning cellphones filming in Chicago Stoner comedy 'My Friend's Rubber Ducky' keeps it real Why an unprecedented number of TV dramas are filming in Chicago 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) They say history is written by the winners, but after victory the vanquished continue to draw breath. Svetlana Alexievich has taken it upon herself to commit the stories of the survivors of the Soviet Empire to posterity. In "Secondhand Time," the 2015 Nobel Laureate deftly orchestrates dozens of voices into a multilayered, maddening symphony of remembrance. Turn to almost any page of this book, and the pain, bitterness and hope of the average former Soviet citizen will ring in your ears for days after. Advertisement Like faithful believers in the Confederacy after the Civil War, many of Alexievich's subjects refuse to believe the fighting is finished. They boast of the great accomplishments of the USSR, break into spontaneous a cappella renditions of patriotic anthems, and rail against the shallow consumerism of the new Russia. Many openly long for Stalin's resurrection. They feel betrayed and lost in the country they thought was theirs but now feels like an entirely alien land. It would be understandable if these were crocodile tears shed by higher ups in the Soviet establishment who lost their power and privilege after the regime changed, but the vast majority of interviewees are everyday people. It is a testament to the all-encompassing scope of the Soviet project that years after its demise many of its subjects continue to live by its precepts and spout its slogans. They do so whether they believe the words coming out of their mouths or not; such is the power propaganda in a totalitarian society. Advertisement Not everyone Alexievich talks to longs for the past, but whatever their views the author strives to present their words with little judgment. In one of her spare asides, Alexievich assures an unrepentant communist that her views as well as that of her disagreeing friend's will both be heard: I promise her that there will be two stories. I want to be a cold-blooded historian, not one who is holding a blazing torch. Let time be the judge. Time is just, but only in the long term not in the short term. The time we won't live to see, which will be free of our prejudices. What does it mean when otherwise intelligent-sounding people long for the return of one of the most brutal, repressive regimes in human history? Is it mass delusion or something more mundane? Almost everyone in these pages bemoans the absence of a greater purpose in post-Soviet times. Even those who acknowledge the utter corruption of their old way of life find little to latch onto in the new. The freedom they imagined while living under repression has turned out to be hollow and unrewarding. Faced with the unlimited choices of consumer capitalism, they wish for bread lines and the black market. The Soviet Union has been gone for 20 years, but for the people Alexievich has gathered here and doubtless, for millions more like them the old empire will not die until they themselves do. By presenting their views, Alexievich has contributed an invaluable oral history of an era which is fast fading from collective memory. No matter how horrible Soviet life was, it was the life they knew and once it was gone their feeling of loss was valid and very real. "Secondhand Time" shares the stories of people who feel the rug was pulled out from under them. No matter how hideous, tattered or even illusory that rug was, they felt it was theirs. The power of belief shines through many of these accounts even though the ideology they mourn was based on atheism. The many contradictions contained within their narratives only add to the resonance of what they say. The flaws and lies only serve to accentuate the complexity of the era. By letting her subjects keep their dignity, Alexievich has given us a fuller history of fall of the Soviet Empire than we had before. By letting the vanquished speak, we might know better what, if anything, was actually won. Dmitry Samarov is a painter and writer in Chicago. He is the author of "Hack: Stories From a Chicago Cab." "Secondhand Time" By Svetlana Alexievich, Random House, 496 pages, $30 Architect James Crisp of Crisp Architects in Millbrook, N.Y., is a pro at designing screened porches. For clients who want to take advantage of their view, Crisp uses a solution to avoid bugs that often appear "like clockwork at 5 p.m." when clients are ready to entertain their guests. To keep views and the landscape within sight, he builds in an automatic roller screen system, which is hidden most of the time but when needed descends to transform the porch into a wide-open space. (Rob Karosis) Before air conditioning became widely available, screened porches were the sought-after place to escape summer heat. Ceiling fans circulated cooler air, wicker and wrought-iron furniture with plump cushions offered a welcome, and the rooms sometimes became a sleeping porch when indoor heat was at its most oppressive. While the screened porch never disappeared completely as an architectural feature, it did lose some of its cachet as other spaces gained greater appeal as hangout spots namely, increasingly larger and more roomlike kitchens and landscaped decks and terraces. Advertisement RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR But what's old eventually becomes new ... or at least sort of. The screened porch, also referred to as a screened-in porch, is back and taking center stage. Both homeowners and design professionals recognize that it offers the best of all worlds: a place to enjoy nature and not just its sights but also its smells, sounds and tastes while protected from mosquitoes and other annoying bugs, especially at night when lights glow. . Advertisement Architects and designers nationwide are receiving more requests to enclose an existing porch or build ones from scratch. Fred Wilson, partner at Morgante-Wilson Architects in Chicago, says the interest is "huge, almost 100 percent of clients want one." In fact, the house he and wife and architecture partner Elissa Morgante built and moved into last fall includes a 15-by-15-foot screened porch overlooking Lake Michigan. Architect Terri Crittenden, CEO of the Fredman Design Group in Chicago, also has seen interest soar. Architect James Crisp, whose firm is located in Millbrook, N.Y., has found a similar uptick in requests. "Any house we design or remodel now has a porch," he says. Wilson encourages homeowners to remember that it's still a porch. "The joy of the space is not to be hermetically sealed off from nature as you are in some other rooms," he says. Here are five key considerations before you dust off the wicker and bring out the lemonade: Size. While there are no average dimensions, most design professionals recommend the space be large enough to accommodate a table and chairs and seating group comfortably with additional space to circulate. Elizabeth Demetriades, an architect with Demetriades + Walker in Lakeville, Conn., thinks that 10 feet by 15 feet should be the minimum, and a better size is at least 12 feet by 18 feet. The higher the ceiling, the better, she says. Placement. Go with the best view, away from the strongest midday sun but set up for catching a sunset, or put it adjacent to a favorite indoor room. All work, depending on personal preference. Wilson likes to place it on the north side where it's cooler, when possible. Demetriades advises locating it so it doesn't block light and good views from coming into the rest of the house. In one project, Demetriades' firm took a different approach and built a screened porch as a free-standing structure overlooking a swimming pool, making it an adventure to arrive there. Building materials. Some professionals still favor concrete or flagstone for the floor and wood for the walls and ceiling for their old-fashioned appeal, but others are going further afield with flamed granite, local stones, rot-resistant woods like ipe and teak, woods like Douglas fir tongue and groove that can be painted or stained, and composite materials that hold up well to cold and moisture. While many homeowners are content with fixed screens, some like the flexibility of systems that can be removed by hand or installed with a mechanized feature that allows them to "roll up" and turn the porch into a wide-open space. Another option is replacing screens for part of the year with glass for more four-season appeal. Heating a floor with radiant tubing underneath also helps to take away chill, especially for porches used for longer and cooler times, Wilson says. Furnishings. Furniture and cushions that withstand inclement weather used to be the major mantra, so they could be left outdoors rather than hauled inside. Many of today's furnishings may permit that, but they've also gained a much more upscale look, says New York-based designer Marlaina Teich. Chicago designer Michael Del Piero likes to keep indoor and outdoor styles simpatico, though she's also likely to introduce some earthier touches such as a sisal or jute rug and rattan or wood furniture, along with something special and different such as, perhaps, a candlelit chandelier rather than a traditional ceiling fan. Bells and whistles. Ceiling fans that predate air conditioning remain in vogue, but the room's enhanced status has led to other amenities that make the porch appeal for greater use. Beside good illumination from chandeliers to fans with lighting, and sconces, rooms are being outfitted with sound systems including a Sonos unit, special outdoor TVs and fireplaces, and all of today's popular cooking paraphernalia. (Before you add a pizza oven, a highly popular choice, be sure the model sits on a noncombustible surface, that the overhead surface is also noncombustible and that the room has proper ventilation, says a source with Kalamazoo Gourmet, which manufactures several pizza oven models.) Advertisement At the end of the day, know that one of the main joys of a screened porch is something that doesn't come from a designer's blueprint or off a shelf, but is part of partaking in a seasonal ritual. "Come fall, when I've used our new porch all summer, I'll like the idea of taking a break and retreating to other rooms," Wilson says. And then come the next spring, the porch will beckon again. Barbara Ballinger is a freelance writer. RELATED STORIES: Design advice from a pro who's not afraid of color Throw a summer solstice party with these tips Bring summer florals indoors with hand-painted textiles from Bluebellgray Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 The Lolla Bootie from Sorel for women is crafted with waterproof leather (for light rain) and stylized with cutouts and a two-tone stacked heel, providing comfort and style for spring and summer and obviously for Lollapalooza, it's in the name), $160 www.sorel.com (Sorel) Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A West Loop condo situated at 659 Randolph St. Unit 614 is currently on the market for $462,900. (Rick Knoell / VHT Studios) Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., center, calls for gun control legislation June 16, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington, in the wake of the mass shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub. From left are Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; the Rev. Sharon Risher, who lost her mother Ethel Lance and two cousins in the shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, N.C. in 2015; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP) In the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, the Democrats applied a law that serves them well: "Never let a good crisis go to waste." Advertisement So they used the bodies of the dead as leverage for their politics and framed the national debate in terms of gun control rather than terrorism inspired by the radical jihadists of Islamic State. It was all about protecting their presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. They had to protect her. So they shouted about the guns. Advertisement All that emotion about gun control, much of it sincere and thoughtfully offered, was nevertheless used by party operatives to herd voters. It was about shaping the argument on their terms, about capturing the rage and fear out of Orlando and offering people a simple solution they could reach for. It doesn't matter if that solution won't work. What matters to political tacticians is defending vulnerable flanks by keeping the issue on safe ground. The law about never letting a crisis go to waste was offered years ago by a wise Democrat and President Obama's former chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Rahm understands. And recent days have proved him right once again. The crisis for all Americans involved the horror of terrorism and the evil of Omar Mateen, the New York son of Afghan immigrants who was inspired by Islamic State to slaughter 49 innocents at the gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. But the crisis for Democratic politicians was of a different sort. They didn't want to discuss Islamic State or jihad. They offered gun control. And they had to immediately brand the tragedy to their advantage. So led by the president and aided by the American media that by and large prays on the altar of big government activism and reviles the Second Amendment, it was done. Is it cynical to think so? No. It is cynical to insist otherwise. I don't want to drag you away from your safe space, but that's how politics works: Frame the debate so your political assumptions and buzz words are incorporated into the news narrative and the rest is all gravy. Advertisement And so it was the guns. Gun control was the shield to protect Mrs. Clinton, to keep the dialogue away from terrorism, from any mention of Islam, which would invariably lead to a discussion of her many policy failures in the Middle East. The Democrats could not allow this. Clinton and President Barack Obama could not have it. In a time of national grief, one issue would bring Clinton establishmentarians and skeptical Bernie Sanders supporters closer together. The guns. And so the screaming ensued. It was the guns, they said, the guns, the guns. This was the mantra, not only of gun control, but of reconciliation between the Democratic tribes. It was not what Mateen said clearly by his own hand on his social media accounts, where he said he slaughtered Americans for the glory of Islamic State. Republicans use similar Pavlovian dark magic. There is little difference between the party tacticians. They are experts in prompting their meat puppets. Advertisement Instead of gun control, the Republicans often opt for patriotism and fear of all Islam. And while Democrats used 49 bodies from Orlando, Republicans used thousands of Americans killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They used them to wage war, first on Afghanistan, then in Iraq. Many Democrats were for that Iraq war, too, before they were against it. Out of a ruined Iraq, the Islamic State was born and so was the Syrian civil war. As the authors of this, Republicans have paid for it in the collapse of their party. And in part because of their tone-deaf corporatist leadership, the GOP has split into three main camps: Those belonging to the neoconservative establishment wing, many of whom lean toward Hillary because they see in her a Valkyrie willing to wage war; the constitutional conservatives; and the Jacksonian middle and working classes, who fight the wars and lose their jobs and are mocked by elites. Now they cleave to the vulgarian nationalist Donald Trump. The president has his hands in this, too, from his disastrous Libya policy to his pathetic vacillating on that "red line" in the sand of Syria, and his abrupt military withdrawal from that ruined Iraq, giving Islamic State which he once scoffed at as mere "JV team" time to breathe and grow. Advertisement But how can you put all that on a tweet or in a 60-second clip on TV news? So it was the guns, not terrorism, not Islamic State, until Obama's own CIA director, John Brennan testified before Congress. Obama and the Democrats have been stressing that Islamic State has been weakened and that Trump and some Republicans exhibit racism by demanding a stop in immigration from Muslim countries. But Brennan said CIA believes efforts to degrade Islamic State haven't worked as well as we'd hoped, and that the Islamic State is planning to send fighters to infiltrate refugee groups and immigrate to attack the West in guerrilla-style strikes. He said Islamic State "has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West." Reality isn't a slogan to fit on Republican or Democratic bumper stickers. Advertisement But it's out there. Listen to a new episode of "The Chicago Way" with John Kass and Jeff Carlin at www.chicagotribune.com/kasspodcast. Kristen McQueary, of the Tribune Editorial Board, frets about Father's Day, and Kristen Hare from Poynter.org on the Orlando Sentinel's coverage of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Twitter @John_Kass In Malik Gillani's fantasy, here in the holy month of Ramadan, the mosques of Chicago would make a meal and invite gay people in. Come break bread with us, the imams would say, and let us hear your stories. Tell us what it's like to be two men who love each other. To be two lesbians raising a child. To be a young gay man rejected by his family. Advertisement In Gillani's fantasy, the recent massacre in an Orlando, Fla., gay nightclub would turn into an opportunity for gay people and Muslims to connect with each other through their stories of struggle. "Stories humanize us," he says. Advertisement Gillani's life is built on that notion. He and his husband, Jamil Khoury, run Silk Road Rising, a Chicago theater company that produces plays written by people of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. They founded it shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, convinced that people from different cultures and belief systems are less likely to hate each other if they know about each other. Gillani was asleep Sunday at home in Chicago when his husband woke him with the Orlando news. "Oh my God" was his first thought, "Who's killing gays?" And then he heard the shooter's name, Omar Mateen, and he felt too sick even to get out of bed to gather with his gay friends to mourn. He kept thinking, "Why are we killing gays?" He felt the "we" of being Muslim as deeply as he felt the "we" of being gay. He identified with the killer and the victims. Guilt blended with sorrow. "Collective guilt by association," he says. Being Muslim and gay has never been easy. In the wake of the Orlando shootings, it's more complicated than ever. Advertisement "Muslims pride ourselves on the umma," Gillani says, "the family, the community. When someone from our family engages in an act, we're part of it." Gillani moved to Chicago when he was 7, and for years went to the mosque twice a day. He was in his early 20s, still closeted, on the day that his family came to his house for a party. While he was in the shower, one of his brothers outed him to his parents. "Malik is gay?" he recalls his mother saying. "What is gay?" His big family supported him, but as he grew older, members of his mosque wondered why he wasn't married. For several years, he assured them he wasn't gay, he just hadn't found the right person, a ruse that has been used by members of many religions and also by the nonreligious. Through the years, Gillani grew more comfortable being openly gay. Though he and his husband, an Antiochian Orthodox Christian, are likelier to go to the Methodist church, where they're welcome, than to the mosque, where they're not because Khoury is Christian, he still considers himself a devout Muslim. He says he prays all the time. "There are people who have stopped practicing Islam as a result of being gay and being ostracized," he says. "I will not pay that price. But because I am not willing to walk away, I am left holding that bag." Advertisement The bag is the one that contains the beauties and burdens of being a gay Muslim. A few days ago, Gillani wrote a piece for the New York Daily News about being both. A Facebook commenter told him that being both was impossible. But he feels a need, an obligation, to show that it is possible. He has been heartened by the many Muslim leaders who have condemned the Orlando attacks, though he doesn't believe condolences are enough. "We have for the longest time demonized the LGBT community," he says. "We need to invite people into our homes, into our mosques, our centers and say 'Talk to us.'" He has discussed the Orlando attacks with a few other gay Muslims. "There is a feeling of pain and sadness and 'how do we explain this?'" he says. "Sadly, a lot of the gay Muslims I know are in the closet and so it's hard for them to openly express themselves. My willingness to talk about who I am is my way of expressing contrition and trying to make change." Advertisement Gillani is just one Muslim. Just one gay person. Just one gay Muslim. Others may have other views. They may be less optimistic than he is when he says, "We cannot bring people back from the dead, but wouldn't it be beautiful if we could use this to become better people?" mschmich@tribpub.com Twitter @MarySchmich Something about the events in Orlando touched a nerve with me. With past gun tragedies it was easy to see myself in the victims. I was at a midnight showing of the "Dark Knight" and so it didn't take much for me to imagine myself being there in Aurora, Colo. I am a teacher and so seeing myself in Sandy Hook also didn't take much imagination. Advertisement I am not gay, nor am I really a club going guy. Yet something about Orlando has upset me in a way that those previous events didn't. I have come to decide it's because I feel relatively hopeless about this getting better right now. The problem is less about the politicians won over by the NRA's money, though that is a problem, than it is about the slim majority of Americans who have been won over by NRA rhetoric. This is why action is so unlikely at the federal level and not too much more hopeful at the state level. Advertisement Of course, at least the federal government in its own dysfunctional manner passes a budget. Considering our lack of a state budget is its own path toward depression. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Social service agencies have been wrecked and our schools' finances are further jeopardized by the uncertain funding. The state of Illinois hardly had prudent fiscal policies when we were passing budgets and the lack of one has done nothing to improve our precarious situation. Yet before entering a spiral of despair, I can take hope from our local government. Highland Park's assault rifle ban is largely symbolic, but sometimes symbols matter and I am proud to be part of a community that has taken a stance. I have to hope that at some point the tide will turn and we will be able to honor the Second Amendment's constitutional guarantee while having a level of gun violence similar to other developed countries. Of course, if our local government was just taking symbolic action it wouldn't be reassuring at all. Yet when I survey what is happening in virtually every unit of government, it's heartening. The mayor and City Council continue to move forward on a staggering number of short and long term projects. The park district is building, literally, on the success of Rosewood Beach by implementing Greenprint 2024. District 113 has an exciting new superintendent about to start work. District 112 has put together an extremely talented group to serve on its new reconfiguration committee. It seems like hardly a day goes by without Moraine Township promoting some new service it's offering for those in our community who are most at risk. We're not ready as a nation to stop the next gun tragedy. I just have to look at the work my neighbors are doing to be reminded that humanity has a lot of good inside of it and the ability to make life better when we work together. Lane Young is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press. A driver displays Lyft and Uber stickers on his front windshield as he drops off a fare in Los Angeles. (Richard Vogel, AP) A Chicago City Council committee on Friday approved a ride-share ordinance that would increase regulations for Uber and Lyft drivers, but the proposal's sponsor, Ald. Anthony Beale, stressed that he remains open to negotiations on its details. The ordinance, promoted by the taxicab industry, subjects Uber and Lyft drivers to some of the same regulations as cabdrivers, including fingerprinting as part of a criminal background check. The joint committee on transportation and licensing approved the ordinance by a voice vote with no dissent. Advertisement The proposed ordinance also requires drivers to undergo drug tests and city debt checks. "We're not forcing anybody out of the city of Chicago we want everyone in," said Beale, 9th, who sponsored the ordinance, responding to complaints from ride-share companies. He said the ordinance was to protect consumers. Advertisement The Rideshare Reform ordinance also requires drivers to obtain restricted public chauffeur licenses and mandates that 5 percent of ride-sharing fleets be wheelchair accessible and provide equivalent service in terms of cost and response times. Beale said he will continue to work with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on possible changes to the ordinance before next Wednesday's City Council meeting. Emanuel has steadfastly opposed the stricter rules for ride-sharing companies, and his administration was still negotiating with Beale on a less-stringent compromise ordinance as the meeting was about to start Friday. But those talks broke down, and Beale had his version approved in a meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes. The fact that the city tried to negotiate with Beale rather than risk an embarrassing loss at next week's council meeting in an up-or-down vote on the Far South Side alderman's original proposal is a testament to strong City Hall lobbying by the cab industry. It also shows a low ebb in the mayor's political strength and ability to keep aldermen in line as he tries to recover from several crises over the past year. Asked Friday whether he could have gotten this far with an ordinance opposed by Emanuel a few years ago, before the Laquan McDonald police shooting fallout and his record property tax hike weakened him, Beale declined to answer directly. "Again, this is not between me and the mayor," Beale said. "This ordinance has nothing to do with me and the mayor. I work very close with the mayor. I'm going to continue to work close with the mayor. This was about consumer protection, as well as making sure Uber and Lyft provide transportation to the disabled community." An employee walks out of the Uber office parking lot on June 17, 2016, on North Avenue in Chicago. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune) But getting an ordinance through a lightly attended committee meeting on a Friday afternoon in June is a lot easier than convincing 26 aldermen to look even a politically shaky Emanuel in the eye at the full City Council meeting and vote against him. Beale said he will continue to meet with the administration, aldermen and representatives of the ride-hailing industry to work on the package. With almost a week until the City Council meets, there is still a possibility that the two sides will agree on a compromise between now and then. Advertisement The Emanuel administration did not respond to questions about the significance of Friday's vote or the specifics of the ride-hailing ordinance. The mayor has repeatedly argued in recent months that the roughly 90,000 registered Uber and Lyft drivers in the city give Chicagoans more options, promote competition and make it easier for residents to find rides in predominantly minority neighborhoods where it has been hard to persuade cabdrivers to make pickups. The mayor would prefer not to adopt any new regulations on the nascent industry. It's a favorite mode of transportation for well-educated, tech-savvy, often carless young people he wants to attract to the city so the companies who hope to hire them will locate here. Uber and Lyft officials have threatened to pull out of Chicago or greatly alter the services they offer here if the ordinance was approved. Marco McCottry, Uber's Chicago general manager, said in a statement on Friday that the ordinance would make it nearly twice as expensive to get a ride by putting up unnecessary barriers for ride-sharing drivers, who often are working part time for supplemental income. "We love Chicago," said McCottry in a statement. "But the ordinance that advanced today would eliminate ride-sharing as we know it here." "The ordinance passed today out of committee forces part-time Lyft drivers into an onerous, outdated model requiring hundreds of dollars in fees just to share a seat in their car," Chelsea Wilson, Lyft senior policy communications manager, said in a statement. "It would make true ride-sharing impossible." Some drivers threaten to leave Chicago if tougher regulations pass. May 25, 2016. (CBS Chicago) (CBS Chicago) However, Lyft driver Mattia Nanfria, 39, of Chicago, who attended the meeting, said she was glad that Beale was open to negotiations. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "As long as the companies and the mayor still have a seat at the table with the alderman and can work on making the legislation better, it's an OK ruling for us," she said. Mara Georges of the Illinois Transportation Trade Association, which represents cab medallion owners and operators, applauded Beale for moving the ordinance through committee. She said the current situation is killing the cab industry, which is losing drivers. "I think it starts to level the playing field," said Georges of the ordinance. "Both industries need drivers." Adam Ballard, 35, of Chicago, said after the meeting that the ordinance is needed because wheelchair users like himself cannot access Uber. "If I try to flag a ride like anyone else on the app, there are no vehicles that are accessible to me," Ballard said. Instead, Uber may refer him to a taxi, but then he would have to pay the taxi fare plus an Uber service fee on top of it. mwisniewski@tribpub.com Advertisement jebyrne@tribpub.com Two men were found shot in a minivan, one fatally, early June 18, 2016, in the 3400 block of West Madison Street in Chicago. (John J. Kim, Chicago, Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) Five people were killed and at least 12 others wounded in Chicago shootings since Friday afternoon, police said. At 6:30 a.m. Saturday, a 23-year-old man was shot in the South Austin neighborhood. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the 4800 block of West Monroe Street, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified him as Eric Smith of the 4800 block of West Adams Street. Advertisement At 3:40 a.m. Saturday, three men were shot one fatally in the University Village neighborhood, police said. The shooting occurred in the 1300 block of West Hastings Street. One man, 24, was shot in the back. He was driven to University of Illinois Medical Center and pronounced dead. Advertisement The other two men, ages 30 and 29, are security guards with Kate's Detective Agency, a law enforcement source said. The older man was shot in the hand and the younger was shot in the legs, hand and forearm. Both went to Stroger Hospital and their conditions were stabilized. At 1:30 a.m., a 19-year-old man was killed and another was wounded in East Garfield Park. The men were in a minivan at the intersection of Madison Street and Springfield Avenue when shots were fired. They were found a few blocks east, at Madison and Homan Avenue. One man was pronounced dead at the scene there. He was identified as Latrell McMahon of the 1800 block of South Fairfield Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The other was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition with a gunshot wound to the leg. At 10:30 p.m. Friday, a 22-year-old man was fatally shot in Lawndale. He was in an alley in the 2200 block of South Kirkland Avenue when he was shot in the neck. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead. He was identified as Charles Wiley of the 4200 block of West Cullerton Street, according to the medical examiner's office. At 9:06 p.m. a 16-year-old was killed in West Englewood. He was in the front passenger seat of a car driving through an alley in the 6500 block of South Hamilton Avenue when two males came up and fired shots. The car came to rest at the corner of 66th Street and Hamilton Avenue, and the driver fled. The boy, whom relatives identified as Melvin Cook, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 35 A crossing guard helps pedestrians walk across South Hermitage Avenue in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago on June 20, 2016. Salvador Suarez, 21, was killed by someone wielding an assault rifle in the Back of the Yards neighborhood near the front door of Holy Cross Immaculate Heart of Mary Churchon Sunday. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Nonfatal shootings: About 5:30 a.m. Saturday, a 27-year-old man was shot in Lakeview. He walked into Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the foot and told investigators he had been walking on Belmont Avenue near Lake Shore Drive when a vehicle approached and someone inside fired shots. His condition was stabilized. At 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a 28-year-old man was shot in the 3400 block of North Lowell Avenue in the Kilbourn Park neighborhood. He was in front of a residence when a vehicle drove past and someone inside fired shots. He was shot in the buttocks and went to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. His condition was stabilized. Advertisement At 8:35 p.m. Friday, a 23-year-old man was shot in Grand Crossing. He walked into South Shore Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg after being shot in the 1400 block of East 70th Street. He was listed in fair condition. He was being uncooperative with investigators, police said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > At 6:30 p.m., two men ages 44 and 33 were shot in Bronzeville. They told investigators they were in a vehicle parked in the 4400 block of South Prairie Avenue when someone fired shots from a dark-colored SUV. The older man was shot in the hip and the younger man was shot in the leg. They got themselves to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where they both were listed in good condition. At 5:37 p.m. a 39-year-old woman was shot in the 3100 block of West Douglas Boulevard in the Lawndale neighborhood, police said. She was sitting in a parked vehicle when a bullet crashed through her windshield and struck her left wrist, police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition, police said. At 5:15 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the 3100 block of West Lexington Street. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition with gunshot wounds to the left leg and left hand. At 3:45 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the 5500 block of West North Avenue. He was in the parking lot of a business when three men came up to him. Two of them pulled out guns and began firing. He was shot in the right hand and right leg and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. At 3:12 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in the 7900 block of South Wabash Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood, police said. The man had just gotten out of a car when someone got out of a vehicle that had been following him and opened fire, hitting the victim in the abdomen. He was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said. Advertisement In addition to the shootings, a 6-year-old girl was injured at 6:24 p.m. Friday when she was in a restaurant in the 6700 block of Stony Island Avenue and was struck by shattered glass from gunshots, police said. Chicago police investigate a shooting June 17, 2016, in the 6700 block of Stony Island Boulevard in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. A 6-year-old girl was injured by shattered glass after shots were fired into a restaurant. (Eric Clark / Chicago Tribune) The girl did not suffer gunshot wounds but was struck by glass, police said. She was taken in good condition to Comer Children's Hospital. A girl charged in the 2014 killing of 14-year-old Endia Martin marked her 17th birthday Friday as Cook County prosecutors filed an appeal on a legal issue that could delay her murder trial in juvenile court for months. Prosecutors said they appealed Judge Stuart Katz's April ruling allowing the shooting suspect to have a jury decide her fate. By law, juvenile defendants are not guaranteed a jury trial. Advertisement Prosecutors had argued previously that the juvenile laws allowed jury trials only for minors who had previously been found delinquent or faced extended prison sentences. But Katz said it would be improper to deny the girl a jury trial just because she had no previous convictions. At the minutes-long hearing Friday, the judge allowed the shooting suspect's mother, grandmother and two other relatives to embrace the teen not uncommon in juvenile court. Advertisement The shooting suspect, who was 14 at the time of the incident, is charged with killing Endia in April 2014 during a midafternoon confrontation in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. The Tribune is not identifying the suspect because she is a juvenile. Nearly 40 people accompanied the girl for a confrontation with 16-year-old Lanekia Reynolds, Endia's best friend, near Reynolds' home in the 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard. The girls had reportedly used Facebook to arrange a fistfight to settle a feud over a boy. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The incident, which was captured on shaky cellphone video, escalated when the suspect struck Reynolds in the head with a gun, according to prosecutors. Reynolds allegedly swung a lock on a chain at the girl but missed. The shooting suspect then allegedly raised a .38-caliber gun at her rivals, but the weapon malfunctioned. However, a member of her group quickly fixed the gun, allowing the girl to open fire, prosecutors said. Endia was fatally struck in the back as she ran for safety, while Reynolds suffered a graze wound to her left biceps. The girl allegedly fired at several other people in Endia's group who were running away, but no one else was wounded. Even if convicted of murder in juvenile court, the girl would be eligible for parole after serving five years, prosecutors have said. That means the suspect could be paroled at 19. In March, a judge sentenced 27-year-old Donnell Flora to 100 years in prison for supplying the gun allegedly used by his niece to kill Endia. In addition, an aunt, Vandetta Redwood, faces federal weapons charges alleging she handed the gun to the girl and urged her to fire it. nmoreno@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @nereidamorenos Mayoral security walks ahead of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, from left, Ald. Gregory Mitchell, 7th, and Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams as the team visits the 8900 block of South Luella Avenue in the Calumet Heights neighborhood to announce a new tree trimming program Oct. 5, 2015. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) A federal jury quickly ruled Thursday against eight white or Hispanic Chicago police officers who contended they were victims of racial discrimination after being transferred off Mayor Rahm Emanuel's elite security detail. The jury deliberated only about 30 minutes before deciding not to award the group any damages after the officers sued for millions in back pay and lost wages. Advertisement The decision came Thursday evening after four days of testimony. "I'm just relieved that it's over," said former Chicago police Superintendent Terry Hillard, who was named in the lawsuit. "We had good lawyers. Those were good cops, and I wish them the best." Advertisement Hillard's attorney, Vince Connelly, echoed the sentiment. "I'm glad the jury saw it our way," he said. When reached by phone, Edward Fox, an attorney for the officers who sued, said he was disappointed by the jury's decision. "We respect the jury, but we do disagree with them," he said. "We think the evidence shows there was a racial component and qualifications were not considered." He called the decision "unfortunate." A second phase of the court battle, however, begins Friday, during which the officers will argue they were fired for political reasons. Attorneys for the officers had alleged in closing arguments Thursday that Hillard and his commander, Brian Thompson, only considered race when they were selecting officers for the elite security post of protecting the mayor. But if the two decorated African-American officers were making decisions based on race, defense attorneys said, they would have added even more minorities than they did to the mayor's security detail a lucrative and prestigious post. Advertisement The officers accused Emanuel of taking part in selecting the new security team, which included African-American officers with less experience, seniority and who had volunteered during his campaign. The case generated buzz earlier this week when Thompson testified that protecting the mayor and his family has become more difficult "due to current events" in Chicago, apparently a reference to the fallout over the Laquan McDonald shooting video. "The threat level to the mayor is a lot higher," Thompson told jurors. "A lot more people in the city hate him for various reasons, as opposed to (former Mayor Richard M.) Daley." Thompson served as chief of the mayor's security detail under Daley and Emanuel. On Thursday, lawyers representing the officers told the six jury members and one alternate that the officers bringing the suit had served Daley and had the experience and expertise to continue serving Emanuel. Many of them were then surprised when they were removed from the security post and moved to other positions, the attorneys said. Fox argued that when selecting the new mayor's detail, Hillard and Thompson didn't examine the officers' qualifications, didn't conduct background checks, but instead relied on race as the sole factor. Advertisement Hillard "said race was a factor in his decision-making," Fox told the jury. "He admitted to it ... race was a factor used in his decision-making." Because the officers were removed from the detail, they lost wages and benefits by being placed in other positions, Fox said. He told the jury the officers were also entitled to compensation because of the emotional toll from losing such a high-ranking position. "Did race contribute to what happened? It's the Chicago Way," Fox said. But the attorneys defending Hillard and Thompson said the accusations of racial bias and discrimination were baseless. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The eight officers bringing the lawsuit felt entitled to positions that were never guaranteed, Connelly said. He said Hillard and Thompson selected officers who they saw as qualified. Once the selections were made, Emanuel's security team reflected the same diversity that Daley's team had, he said. "Terry Hillard wasn't out to get anybody. Brian Thompson wasn't picking anybody to eliminate white officers," Connelly said. "The detail needed to be diverse ... that's not a word we're running from." Advertisement Daley's security team was made up of 15 white officers, four Hispanic officers and four African-American officers, Connelly said. Emanuel's security detail was reduced, but made up of 12 white officers, five Hispanic officers and five African-American officers. There were nine officers added to Emanuel's security team, Connelly said. Of them, four were white, four Hispanic and one was African-American. "These entitled folks want to score a lot of money they don't deserve," Connelly told the jury of the suing officers. "Don't give them anything. Don't give them a dime." lbowean@tribpub.com Twitter @lollybowean Late-night comedian Seth Meyers, fresh off a round of jousting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, mostly stayed away from politics Friday when he gave the commencement address at his alma mater, Northwestern University, but he couldn't resist one small jab. After telling the grads about the soaring words offered by recent graduation speakers such as first lady Michelle Obama and "Hamilton" playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meyers added this: Advertisement "My favorite inspirational quote came from Donald Trump, who said to the graduates of Trump University, 'If you want your money back, you're going to have to sue me, you losers.'" Meyers, 42, a 1996 Northwestern graduate who was born in Evanston, started his comedy career by joining the school's improv troupe, and after graduation sharpened his skills at the iO Theater and the Amsterdam-based Boom Chicago comedy ensemble. Advertisement He returned to the area in 1999 to put on a two-person show in Chicago called "Pick-Ups and Hiccups" that won rave reviews. Two years later, he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live," where he ultimately became the anchor of the Weekend Update sketch. He left SNL in 2014 to become the fourth host of "Late Night," the NBC franchise originated by David Letterman. He made news this week by facetiously banning Trump from the program in a gesture of solidarity with the Washington Post, which Trump has barred from his campaign events. "We instituted this ban despite the fact that he's never been here, or asked to be here, or would ever be caught dead here," Meyers said Wednesday night. "I just think that takes an amazing amount of courage on our part." Trump, a frequent target of Meyers' jibes, responded in kind. "He has begged me to do the show for the last two years. I have told him emphatically 'no,'" Trump said in a statement. "I only like doing shows with good ratings, which as everybody knows, I only make better (by a lot)." Despite that fracas, Meyers, who received an honorary doctorate of arts at the ceremony, kept the focus on his school days, joking that his new title would make him "the doctor least requested in an emergency." He recalled struggling through a geology class his freshman year, only to take the same class, which had been retitled, his senior year, achieving the same mediocre result. He remembered blasting Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" repeatedly on his own graduation day, much to the fury of his grad-student neighbor. And he said he had the university to thank for his immense career success. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "I truly believe I would never have been on 'Saturday Night Live,' I would never have hosted a talk show, if it wasn't for my time at Northwestern," he said. "Because when I performed in the (school's improve show), I thought I just might possibly be funny, because these people are smart." Students said afterward they appreciated Meyers' light touch. "He was very energetic," said Kelley Park, 22, a neurobiology graduate from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "I think it was more entertaining than other speeches I've heard." Jeremy Meagher, who earned a master's degree in public policy, said he was impressed with Meyers' wit and humility. "I like that he didn't try to be too wise, like a typical commencement speech," said Meagher, 25, who grew up in Paris. "I think it was a good dose of reality, balanced with humor. Not too much politics, which was good. It was very tastefully done." jkeilman@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @JohnKeilman A federal jury on Friday convicted the former owner of a suburban construction business of acting as an illegal front so another company could secure a lucrative city airport contract. After a weeklong trial, the jury deliberated about six hours before convicting Elizabeth Perino on all four counts of mail and wire fraud, according to the U.S. attorney's office. U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman did not set a sentencing date. Advertisement Perino's company posed as a legitimate woman-owned business, allowing Chicago-based Diamond Coring Co. to meet its requirements for hiring disadvantaged businesses in order to win a multimillion-dollar runway repair contract at O'Hare International Airport. Perino, 61, of Willowbrook, did no work for the bills submitted by her company. In 2011, Perino submitted fake documents to the city purporting to show her company, Perdel Contracting of Lockport, had rented $140,000 of equipment to Diamond Coring, including an air compressor, a dump truck, a trailer and a boom truck, the indictment alleged. She also had a "gentleman's agreement" with the owner of Diamond Coring, Anthony Cappello, to hide the fact that asphalt sweeper equipment supposedly owned by Perdel actually belonged to Diamond Coring. Advertisement "Perino said that the 'gentleman's agreement' had to be handwritten and not in a computer so as to avoid detection during an audit," the indictment alleged. Cappello, who cooperated with authorities and testified at Perino's trial, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to two years of probation in 2012, records show. The joint investigation by federal prosecutors and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was sparked by a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2008 by Perino's former project manager alleging misconduct in massive projects run by industry giant McHugh Construction, a century-old company that reported more than a half-billion dollars in revenue last year. In 2014, McHugh agreed to pay $12 million to settle the lawsuit without admitting any wrongdoing. The company agreed to implement a compliance program and have an independent monitor oversee its subcontracting process for three years. McHugh also agreed to donate $2 million to the city to support government programs for disadvantaged businesses. The probe involved about $150 million in McHugh contracts on some of the biggest recent public works projects in the Chicago area, including the reconstruction of Kennedy Expressway ramps in 2005, the reconstruction of the North Avenue Bridge in 2006 and the 2010 Wacker Drive viaduct reconstruction. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Under laws designed to give companies with less clout a foot in the door, McHugh was supposed to subcontract out about $40 million of the work on those projects to businesses owned by women or minorities. Most of the subcontracts were given to Perdel and Accurate Steel Installers, another firm owned by Perino, according to the charges. Under whistleblower laws, Perino's former project manager, Ryan Keiser, stood to collect 17 percent of the settlement or $2.04 million. He told reporters at a news conference in 2014 he was forced to participate in a subcontracting scam, spending his days at Perdel falsifying purchase orders, labor hours and other paperwork to show that he was doing jobs that were actually being handled by McHugh. Advertisement "Instead of working with a team to build a bridge, I was forced to produce documents that were misleading," Keiser said. He said that when he raised the issue with Perino, he was abruptly fired. jmeisner@tribpub.com Twitter @jmetr22b The lengthy delay in putting in place Mayor Rahm Emanuel's police and fire pension funding plan cost taxpayers nearly $1.4 million, city officials said Friday. The extra cost represents interest on a loan City Hall took out while waiting to see what would happen to a state law designed to give Emanuel more breathing room in making payments into the two financially ailing retirement systems. Advertisement The background: State lawmakers approved a bill in May 2015 that had the effect of lowering city payments into the police and fire pension funds by about $220 million this year. But the measure was stuck in limbo, given the political stalemate at the Capitol, and Democrats waited until late March 2016 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. In late May, as the clock was running out for the governor to act on the bill, Rauner vetoed it. Days later, Democrats led a successful override. The effort even attracted a handful of Republican votes from lawmakers concerned that failure to approve the bill would lead to another property tax increase in Chicago, which Emanuel had threatened would be the case. Advertisement In between all that action, however, the Emanuel administration borrowed $220 million earlier this year to ensure it could make what would have been a higher pension payment under the old law. After lawmakers overrode Rauner's veto, the city paid back the loan. But the cost of that short-term loan, minus investment returns on the money that was borrowed, was $1.38 million, city spokeswoman Molly Poppe said. Although the new law allows Emanuel to pay less than he otherwise would have in the short run, it now will take the city an extra 15 years to ensure that 90 percent of the money is in the funds that are needed to make benefit payments. As a result, the overall cost to taxpayers will increase by $3.3 billion over the next 20 years, according to an analysis by Moody's Investors Service. The heart of Emanuel's plan to shore up police and fire pensions was a record $543 million property tax increase that aldermen approved last fall. Homeowners will see the first effects of that tax increase when property tax bills arrive in the mail in a few weeks. hdardick@tribpub.com Twitter @ReporterHal The yearslong parade of multimillion-dollar payouts to settle lawsuits filed against Chicago police officers is expected to continue next week when the City Council considers three settlements with a total tab of nearly $3.4 million. The biggest settlement is a $2 million payout for a case filed on behalf of a mother and young child after they were struck by a police squad car while walking across Belmont Avenue on the city's Northwest Side. Advertisement Saremm Saenz and her son, then 3-year-old Moises Motato, were walking in a crosswalk at Long Avenue when the car driven by Officer Sean Deenihan struck them while turning left, according to the lawsuit. The boy suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized for 26 days, while the mother suffered minor injuries. The council Finance Committee also will consider two settlements totaling nearly $1.4 million in separate police shooting lawsuits further pushing up the taxpayer tally of more than $500 million since 2004 for police misconduct cases. Advertisement The first agreement would pay $925,000 to the mother of 15-year-old Dakota Bright, who was fatally shot in the head in November 2012 during a foot chase on the city's South Side. Officials said at the time that Dakota had a gun in his hand and fled when police ordered him to drop the weapon. During the chase, the teen turned and pointed the gun at police, prompting officers to fire in his direction, authorities have said. The lawsuit claimed the gun Dakota allegedly was carrying was planted at the scene by police. The second settlement for $450,000 involves an excessive force lawsuit filed by Levail Smith, who was shot and wounded by police during a chase July 4, 2014, in the Rogers Park neighborhood. According to court records, Smith, then 45, was drinking a beer in public when police approached to question him and he took off running. After a short chase, Smith, described in his lawsuit as a former Marine who served in Operation Desert Storm, was confronted by officers behind an apartment complex in the 1500 block of West Birchwood Avenue. Police said Smith yelled at officers that he had a gun and made a move for his waistband, indicating he would shoot them. Three officers opened fire, wounding Smith in the chest, arm and leg. At a news conference two days later, then-police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told reporters it appeared Smith was trying to commit "suicide by cop." In his lawsuit, Smith denied he ever told officers he had a gun. hdardick@tribpub.com jmeisner@tribpub.com Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin suggested Friday that the availability of guns in the U.S. is so porous that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are steering followers to gun shows and away from using airplanes to wreak havoc. Still, nearly a week after the shooting deaths of 49 patrons at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub and following a nearly 15-hour Democratic filibuster in the Senate, the state's senior senator said prospects for enacting proposals to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists or require background checks at gun shows was "not very strong." Advertisement Durbin appeared at the Chicago Urban League in Bronzeville to rally public support for the legislation, which he said would not only curb mass shootings across the country but reduce Chicago's gun violence due to an influx of guns he said come from northern Indiana gun shows. "When a great city like Chicago has been just devastated by gun violence and gun deaths as it has over the last year or two, we've got to step up and do something about it, something significant, and we can't do it alone," said Durbin, who was joined by Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, Urban League Executive Director Shari Runner and Patrick Korellis, a survivor of the Valentine's Day 2008 Northern Illinois University shooting that killed five. Advertisement Dowell said the events in Orlando were "indeed tragic, but we have incidents of terrorism in our communities in Chicago every day, and so anything that can be done to tighten up the gun laws, to require background checks, to get these weapons off our streets is important." On Monday, the Republican-led Senate is scheduled to consider Democratic-backed legislation that would set up rules barring known or suspected terrorists from buying firearms and explosives, as well as to broaden background checks for gun purchases, which is largely regulated state-by-state. Two GOP-authored measures also are up for a vote. Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who is seeking re-election against Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth, said Friday he had joined with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California in sponsoring a proposal aimed at preventing suspected terrorists from purchasing guns. It is similar to one Kirk backed in December when he was the only GOP member to cross the aisle when it was defeated. The proposal would let the attorney general have the power to block the sale of guns or explosives to known or suspected terrorists if there was a "reasonable belief" the weapons would be used for terrorism. It also would flag anyone who had been subject to a federal terrorism investigation in the past five years. Kirk also has introduced legislation that would place the names of people investigated for possible terrorism ties into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. As a result, a background check on a gun purchaser with investigated terrorism ties could be determined and the FBI would be alerted. But the bill "would not automatically bar someone previously investigated for terrorism from purchasing a firearm," Kirk's office said in a statement. Durbin contended if suspected terrorism ties were enough to stop people from being able to board airplanes, they also should not be able to purchase a firearm. "If there is a mistake, which side do we err on? Do we err on the side that the suspected terrorist should buy a firearm and then we'll check it out?" Durbin said. "Or, do we check it out and then decide whether or not they're entitled to a firearm? When it comes to getting on an airplane, we don't think twice about it." Because of the so-called no-fly list, Durbin said, "al-Qaida has steered their would-be terrorists away from airports. They want to send them to gun shows where they can buy these guns, these assault weapons, without a background check. They know that assault weapon can wreak more havoc in a short period of time than any plane might, sadly, if it were sabotaged. That is a reality." Advertisement Some Republicans are trying to advance anti-terrorism legislation that would require the Department of Justice to prove up in 72 hours a suspected terrorist's ties as a rationale to deny someone a gun. Durbin said the proposed adjudication rule was "totally unrealistic," though due-process appeal procedures should exist. Durbin said the measures denying suspected terrorists access to firearms and requiring gun show background checks were needed, together. "If we said we're going to keep guns out of the hands of would-be terrorists but we're not going to close the loopholes in the background check, it's pointless. They're not that stupid. If they know they're on the terrorist watch list, they're not going to go to a gun dealer if that disqualifies them. They're going to go to a northern Indiana gun show where no questions are asked," he said. Durbin also expressed support for hiring more FBI agents, though he declined to offer a number. "When you look at what they're faced with international terrorism and those who are sympathetic to international terrorism we need to give them the resources to fight it," he said. Skiba reported from Washington, D.C. Advertisement rap30@aol.com kskiba@tribpub.com Latoya Lawrence works on homework with her son Cleo, 4, in their Evanston apartment after Lawrence returned home from work on June 17, 2016. The agency that provided Lawrence and Cleo transitional housing has not been paid since July. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) As Illinois government has lurched along for nearly a year without a formal budget, women who rely on state services have been among those suffering the most. Frozen out of the haphazard funding system that's emerged during the impasse are social service providers, many of them not-for-profit organizations whose largely female workforce deliver state-subsidized help for struggling mothers and their children as well as victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Advertisement "It's hitting women and children disproportionally hard and in ways that lots of us are still trying to get a grasp on," said Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, who chairs the human services committee. "It's across the board. It's really sad." Women make up nearly two-thirds of the recipients of a low-income college tuition grant program that's been underfunded. Women are also the ones seeking help through programs that have lost state funding entirely, including intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, home visits for teen parents, and prenatal and family care management for at-risk mothers. The funding crunch has gotten so bad that low-income women seeking breast and ovarian cancer screenings are being told to wait in a long line, unless they're already displaying symptoms. Advertisement A bill to spend $715 million to help salvage those programs has been sitting on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk for a month, the result of a rare team-up by Republican and Democratic lawmakers. The state has the money it's sitting in special funds that are earmarked for social services and represents about half of what the state spends on human services in a normal budget year. But Rauner has additional priorities. He's pushing for a six-month budget that would release the special funds for social services while also covering costs for prisons, veterans homes, road maintenance, public universities and community colleges. Plus, he wants a full-year spending plan for elementary and secondary schools. Asked recently why he hadn't approved the bill, Rauner cast the legislation as part of a broader strategy he says Democratic foes in the General Assembly are employing to prevent an end to the budget crisis. "It does not have essential services in it," Rauner said. "It is incomplete. And it will still this is what I need you to understand it will still create a crisis. That bill is designed to still create a government operations crisis. That's the key distinction that you're missing." Women's lives are being sacrificed to the budget. Anne Marie Murphy, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan responded by firing off a statement accusing the governor of putting "office supplies over life-saving services." While the war of words rages on, service providers and their advocates say every day that goes by is causing damage to the social service network and the people it serves. Cancer screenings Normally, the state sets aside roughly $13 million to provide breast and ovarian cancer screenings for low-income women, a program primarily administered by local health departments or other women's service agencies. But without a budget, the only money flowing to the program is about $6 million in federal funds. Advertisement The state is supposed to match those dollars but has yet to do so. While it's unlikely the federal government will ask for the money back, the situation remains "a sticky wicket," said Heather Eagleton, director of public policy and government relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. That means many agencies have been forced to cut the number of hours they offer screenings and move to what's known as a "priority list." As a result, women who are displaying symptoms, be it a lump in the breast or abnormal bleeding, are prioritized for testing. That's created long waiting lists, and some agencies have stopped advertising their services amid concerns they will be flooded with women they can't help. "It's scary. The longer you wait, the cancer can progress to a much later stage, and in turn it becomes more difficult and more expensive to treat," Eagleton said. "Just because you cut the program, it doesn't mean you are going to get rid of cancer." Those who are diagnosed with cancer are then enrolled for treatment in the state's Medicaid program, though Rauner has proposed cutting spending there, arguing the Affordable Care Act has expanded health care access. Advocates argue women are still falling through the cracks. The Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, which connects women to health care providers, says it is owed more than $164,000 for data it collects on behalf of the state tracking the quality and effectiveness of mammograms. The program is aimed at ensuring testing and diagnosis is accurate, and without the funds, executive director Anne Marie Murphy said her group may not have the legal authority to collect the data at all. Advertisement "Women's lives are being sacrificed to the budget," said Murphy, whose agency specializes in finding women the care they need, including working with hospitals and doctors who volunteer their services to make up for the lack of funding. "Right now, services are choppy. Depending on when and who you call, you might get in, but a lot of the time women are told they have to wait," Murphy said. The bill that lawmakers sent to Rauner includes about $5 million for breast and cervical cancer screenings. Sexual assault counseling Illinois' network of 29 rape crisis centers are "operating at bare bones," said Polly Poskin, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Without money to pay employees, the centers have had to lay off 16 workers while delaying hiring and furloughing some workers at centers across the state. Volunteers are chipping in to keep the 24-hour rape crisis hotlines operating, but the waiting list of people who need counseling services has grown to 175 statewide, Poskin said. "It's further traumatizing to victims to call and ask for assistance and to have to be on a wait list," Poskin said. "When people suffer trauma, a critical piece to trauma is consistency in support. And when you interrupt that ... you're not only hurting the families of the individuals who will be without that income, you are devastating survivors and their need to recover as quickly as they can." Advertisement The social services bill on Rauner's desk, which includes about $2.76 million for sexual assault programs, "would be a godsend," Poskin said. With it, "we could limp along until November. And without it, we're facing the dreadful closure of some centers. It's needed, and it's needed now." Homeless youth At The Harbour Inc., based in Park Ridge, officials are bracing for the possible closure of a program that provides housing for young mothers as they receive training on parenting, budgeting and employment. The agency usually receives about $200,000 from the state for a housing transition program, an emergency homeless shelter it operates for teens and another program for young parents. The agency is one of many that provides housing and services for the homeless that have not been paid since July. Normally, the state sets aside roughly $40 million for such providers. But without state funds, many have dipped into reserves, laid off staff or cut services to make ends meet. The Harbour has been able to get by because of federal dollars and unexpected donations from a trust, but it's possible they could lose that federal money if the state doesn't provide matching funds. Program director Kris Salyards says the housing program cannot operate without state support past the end of July. "We are faced with making some very tough decisions," Salyards said. "This isn't just impacting 12 young moms who are working and paying rent, who are being a family own their own, but it also impacts about 20 little kids who will become homeless." Advertisement Advocates for the homeless point to people like Latoya Lawrence as examples of how the state-sponsored services they provide can help to turn a person's life around. Before receiving help from the Harbour, the 22-year-old Lawrence and her now 4-year-old son Cleo were sleeping in her cousin's living room. She struggled to afford rent while working as an in-home nurse and worried she would never be able to provide her son "a place we could call our own." Latoya Lawrence looks through the refrigerator as her son Cleo, 4, noshes on a sandwich in their Evanston apartment on June 17, 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Now nearing the end of her 18 months in the transitional housing program, Lawrence works as a pharmacy tech representative at CVS/Caremark and plans to begin a licensed practical nurse program this fall. The housing assistance initially allowed her to live rent free, giving her flexibility to work and take classes, along with training on budgeting and other life skills. She can now afford housing and will soon strike out on her own. "It helped me and a lot of other people that I do know that were in the program, take the chance to actually experience life, and the obstacles that come our way," said Lawrence, of Evanston. "It gives us a chance to get ahead in life." Women workers For women, the budget impasse hurts two ways. Not only are the services that some women rely on getting cut, but women make up the majority of the home health care and social service agency workforce funded by the state. Advertisement The situation has led one major union critical of Rauner to declare he's instigated "a war on women." According to figures from SEIU Healthcare Illinois, there are roughly 20,000 home child-care workers whose clients rely on state subsidies to pay for their day care services. That's down from 25,000 a year earlier, which the union chalks up to program restrictions Rauner has put in place to control costs. Roughly 95 percent of those child care workers are women, and nearly 64 percent of those workers live on the edge of poverty, earning less than $14,999 a year. Additionally, SEIU spokeswoman Brynn Seibert estimated that Rauner's cuts to child care have pushed as many as 55,000 children out of the program, which she said could force thousands of parents to leave the workforce as a result. That breakdown is similar for home care workers who help the elderly and disabled, with the majority of the workforce being female, poor and non-white. "The bottom line is that they need to pass a budget that raises taxes because otherwise there is no hope of funding all of these services," said David Lloyd, director of the fiscal policy center for Voices for Illinois Children, a nonprofit child advocacy group. "Gov. Rauner has said it. The Democratic leaders have said it. Everyone knows what needs to be done, they are just unwilling to do it. That's the most frustrating part about this." Kayla Gubov flips through her MAP grant information on June 9, 2016, in Skokie. Gubov said she plans to leave Illinois for a school that can provide more financial stability. (Annie Grossinger / Chicago Tribune) Higher education Advertisement The uncertainty over higher education funding looms especially large for women. Caught in the middle is a state scholarship grant for low-income students known as the Monetary Award Program. According to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which oversees the program, roughly 80,000 of the 128,000 students who received the grants last year were women. Kayla Gubov is among the students who has found it difficult to plan college because of the budget impasse. She was several months into what was supposed to be four years at Bradley University in Peoria when she decided to take a break and head home, saddened to be so far away from family in Skokie and overwhelmed by mounting costs. After taking time to regroup, she enrolled at nearby Oakton Community College. This spring, she earned her associate degree, helped along in part by a MAP grant. Most schools had to pick up the cost of the scholarships during much of the budget impasse. While some funding was finally released in April, it was only enough for one semester, and it's unclear if schools will be able to afford the extra expense if there's not a full budget come this fall. Now looking to complete her bachelor's degree, Gubov said she's planning to head out of state, where universities can offer more competitive and stable financial aid. "It's discouraging. I am lucky that I got into a school outside of Illinois, but that was never in my original plan, especially considering that just a three-hour drive was pretty far for me," Gubov said. "I realize now how much people's futures are really in the politicians' hands, and I just hope they see how incredibly important this is." Kayla Gubov was awarded for her contributions to student life at Oakton Community College, from where she recently graduated. (Annie Grossinger / Chicago Tribune) mcgarcia@tribpub.com Advertisement kgeiger@tribpub.com Firefighters return during a shift change after working overnight, conducting burnout operations to corral the Sherpa firein El Capitan Canyon in Goleta on June 18, 2016. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Reporting from Santa Barbara A wildfire near Santa Barbara continued to grow Thursday and spread deeper into the Los Padres National Forest as crews struggled to find hilltops and trailheads where they could mount a strong defense, officials said. "The fuel, topography and weather have been very challenging, to say the least, with this fire," said Capt. Dave Zaniboni of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. "This has been a significant and challenging fire in an area notorious for structure loss." Advertisement The Sherpa fire grew in size overnight as sustained 40-mph winds pushed the blaze across areas that hadn't burned in 60 years, officials said. The flames crawled toward Highway 101 between El Capitan State Beach and Gaviota, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shut down the coastal route for a time Thursday morning. [ UPDATE: Santa Barbara County declares state of emergency after wildfire grows to 4,000 acres overnight ] By early evening, the fire had burned 1,700 acres and forced the California Highway Patrol to again close Highway 101 for 30 miles between Winchester Canyon Road and Highway 246 in Boulton. Advertisement Photos on social media show vehicles driving through the 101 was the center median on fire and a chopper dropping water onto the highway. The blaze began about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday near Refugio Road, the site of a devastating fire in 1955 that scorched homes and farms and burned more than 50,000 acres before it was done. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said mandatory evacuations for El Capitan, Refugio, Venadito and Las Flores canyons north of Santa Barbara remained in effect, while residents of neighboring communities such as Las Llagas, Gato, Las Varas, Dos Pueblos and Eagle canyons received evacuation warnings. Sources: USDA Fire Service, Google Earth, Times reporting (Los Angeles Times Graphics ) See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Among those who were evacuated late Wednesday night were Charlie and Elizabeth Hatten, who were camping at El Capitan State Beach. The couple had heard that a small brushfire was burning to the north, and suspected things were getting worse as ash began to rain down on them later in the evening, prompting them to sleep in their car. A park ranger woke them up and told them they had to evacuate. "The flames looked so close," Charlie Hatten said. "You couldn't see the moon anymore." Advertisement The couple headed to Santa Barbara Community College, where the American Red Cross had cots and water for evacuees. "There were a dozen RVs in the parking lot last night," said Gayle Robinson, a volunteer for the Red Cross. "This place can hold up to 120 people." The fire is burning in steep, chaparral-covered terrain in Los Padres National Forest and spreading east where there are no roads and few trails, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson said. On Thursday, DC-10 air tankers bombarded the blaze with fire retardant. The jets were among a number of aircraft that fire crews were using in the battle. More than 400 firefighters are involved, officials said. No injuries or structural damage has been reported, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which is directing the firefight with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. But fire officials said erratic "sundowner" winds could pose a danger to some areas such as Refugio Canyon, where 60 homes are located, and El Capitan Ranch, where 80 homes are located. And flames could pose a threat to Circle Bar B Ranch, a guest ranch in Goleta. Advertisement "We're going to get ... 35-to-40-mph winds tonight," U.S. Forest Supervising Chief Robert Baird said. "We have more resources going to the areas where we expect the fire to go." More than 800 fire personnel are on scene and reinforcing fire lines to prevent the blaze from spreading. So far there is no containment of the fire. An evacuation center has been opened at Wake Center, 300 N. Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara. Horses and other large animals can be taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Hatten, the evacuated camper, predicted that the Sherpa fire would be one of a number to strike this summer. "They were expecting El Nino, and that didn't quite happen," he said. "Fires are going to get worse this season. This weather's going to make the perfect storm." Advertisement For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna. ALSO Man found with weapons, explosives before L.A. pride parade now charged with molesting Indiana girl Parties, fights and trash fires: Signs of trouble seen weeks before arson at Westlake apartment Daughter of Inglewood mayor charged with hiring friend to attack her landlord UPDATES: Advertisement 11:44 p.m.: Updated with a 30-mile closure of the 101. 9:28 p.m.: This article was updated to include the latest closure of Highway 101. 7:45 p.m.: This article was updated to include size of fire crews, containment and other details. 6:00 p.m.: This article was updated with new acreage and additional evacuation details. 2:34 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from fire evacuees. 12:09 p.m.: This article was updated with statements from Santa Barbara County fire officials. Advertisement 8:18 a.m.: This article was updated with new acreage for the fire. 7:40 a.m.: This article was updated with information about the freeway reopening. This article was originally published at 6:40 a.m. Protestors stand outside to try and see Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leave a law firm Thursday after a deposition over the breach of contact concerning Trump's new hotel in Washington. (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post) WASHINGTON Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to give a closed-door deposition in a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit he filed against famed chef Geoffrey Zakarian. Trump gave a thumbs-up from inside a black sedan just before 10 a.m. as it pulled into a garage near the law offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in northwest Washington. Zakarian is represented by Deborah B. Baum, a lawyer with the firm. Advertisement Outside the building, protesters held up yellow "Dump Trump" signs. And dozens of other protesters at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters, across the street, joined the Trump protesters and held signs that read, "Love Conquers Hate." Trump sued Zakarian after the chef terminated plans to open a restaurant in Trump's new Washington hotel, a $200 million makeover of the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, after Trump launched his campaign by denouncing Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists. Advertisement Trump's lawsuit was filed in D.C. Superior Court. Separately, Trump also filed a lawsuit against renowned chef Jose Andres, who also terminated his restaurant plans following Trump's statements. On Thursday, Trump and his entourage left the Pillsbury law offices after nearly 2 1/2 hours. About 100 protesters were outside and chanted, "Love conquers hate." Workers in nearby buildings crowded against windows looking down onto Rhode Island Avenue. Trump's convoy of cars with New Jersey license plates headed down an alley, going west. Meanwhile, according to court records, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman extended the discovery period in the Zakarian lawsuit through July 29 to allow attorneys to depose other witnesses. On Wednesday, attorneys for Trump and Andres appeared at a hearing in D.C. Superior Court. Neither Trump nor Andres was present at the hearing. The Washington Post's Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report. Arlington Heights Memorial Library's teen adviser Alice Son, left, and programs and exhibits manager Jennifer Czajka, right, helped organize the library's inaugural FanCon celebration, which takes place Saturday, June 18. (Karen Ann Cullotta / Pioneer Press) Hundreds of lovers of comics, gaming, superheroes and all things pop culture are expected to gather Saturday at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library's inaugural "FanCon" celebration. About 500 people have already registered for the free, family-friendly event, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the library at 500 N. Dunton Ave., the library's programs and exhibits manager Jennifer Czajka said. Advertisement "We started planning for FanCon last fall, but it's been on our radar for years," Czajka said. "We thought holding it in the summer would be perfect, because all of the kids are out of school, and we didn't want it to interfere with their other activities." Czajka said she is anticipating that many of the visitors will arrive wearing superhero or comic-themed costumes to the event, which dovetails with the library's summer reading program, "Up, Up & Away: Superhero Summer at the Library." Advertisement Reflecting themes popularized by the iconic "Comic-Con International" in San Diego, the library's FanCon celebration which will offer programs for kids, as well as adults and teens will feature more than a dozen activities, including a morning "Superhero Storytime," and drawing workshops with a live model dressed as a superhero. The event will also include visits from industry insiders, including Sun Bros Studio's co-founder Wesley Sun, a Chicago writer and professor, who will share how he successfully "crowdfunded" his self-published comics. For Alice Son, a teen adviser at the library, the FanCon celebration resonates with the conversations she has each day with young patrons at "The Hub," who she said are wildly passionate about pop culture icons like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Dr. Who. "Our graphic novel and comic collections are immensely popular," Son said. "When I interact with the teens every day, I hear them talking about all things fandom, so they're really excited that the library is giving them something a little extra this summer." For more details on the library's "FanCon" celebration, visit www.ahml.info. kcullotta@tribpub.com Twitter @kcullotta Michael Szot pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI after two friends died in a crash into a Naperville quarry lake. (Naperville Police Department / Handout) A Geneva man convicted in a fatal crash into a Naperville quarry died Thursday after he was found unresponsive in the Waubonsee Community College library, the Kane County coroner's office said Friday. Michael Szot, 23, was sentenced in March to periodic imprisonment for driving his car through a fence and into a quarry lake in Naperville after a night of drinking July 19, 2014. The car sunk, drowning his passengers, Sajaad Syed, 21, of Naperville, and Mihirtej Boddupalli, 21, of Lisle. Szot had faced up to 28 years in prison. Advertisement Patrons and staff of the Todd Library at Waubonsee Community College's Sugar Grove campus found an unresponsive man at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, campus police spokeswoman Amanda Geist said. The Sugar Grove Fire Department transported Szot by ambulance to Presence Mercy Hospital in Aurora, where he was pronounced dead at 9:10 p.m. in the emergency room, according to the Kane County coroner's office. Advertisement The cause of death is pending further toxicology and histology results after an autopsy performed Friday at the Kane County morgue. Szot's body showed no signs of physical injuries or harm, county coroner Rob Russell said. Szot was taking summer classes at the college, Geist said. The college is providing counseling services for students and employees, according to a statement provided by the community college. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of this student at this time," the statement said. "As the campus community absorbs news of this tragic event, many are experiencing a range of emotions. Events such as these can often trigger feelings of distress." DuPage County Judge Brian Telander sentenced Szot to one year of work-release and four years of probation, plus 200 hours of community service including speeches warning of the consequences of drinking and driving. Szot was to remain incarcerated unless he was giving a speech, working or attending college, as he was doing this summer. "When Mike pleaded guilty, he admitted his horrific mistake that he made that night. I said to the judge, look, I know what he did was obviously horribly wrong and it cost two young men their lives, but based on what I knew about Mike I felt that Mike could use this mistake to help others," said Geneva High School Principal Tom Rogers, who knew Szot since he played in Little League. Rogers brought Szot to Geneva in May to speak to juniors, seniors and any sophomores attending prom. "We used it as an opportunity to talk to our students about being safe, not just prom weekend but making good decisions in life," Rogers said. "I believe Mike made an impact that day and my hope was that Mike would be able to continue to make an impact." Advertisement The Sugar Grove Fire Department was unable to answer questions about the incident Friday. No other police agencies responded and campus police will investigate, Geist said. It was clear to Szot's co-workers that he was deeply affected by the crash and was working hard at school, at work, and to be a better man, said Tom Feltenberger, 21, who worked with Szot at Best Buy in Geneva. "Every day he brought it up," Feltenberger said. "He thought about the impact that it had. ... He was trying to be a better person and a better man. You could see it. He never took a break, just kept on going." Szot was the kind of guy who tried to help everyone, Feltenberger said. "He has so much strength within him to do what he's doing and in a way you do look up to him," Feltenberger said. "I just want people to know that he was a good person to everyone he talked to." Prosecutors suggested a 20-year prison sentence after Szot pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence in August 2015. Advertisement But at Szot's sentencing hearing in March, relatives of Sajaad Syed and Mihirtej Boddupalli, who drowned in the crash, asked the court for leniency. Boddupalli would want his friend to be forgiven, his brother said. Syed's mother called Szot a "good young man" and asked for compassion. Szot and his passengers had gone from a party to a Naperville bar on the night of the crash. Szot admitted to drinking shots of rum and several beers. At his hearing, Szot talked of his remorse for the deaths of his friends. "I failed them," Szot said at the hearing. "I made a decision that cost them their lives. Accepting responsibility for the deaths of my friends is the most painful thing in my life." hleone@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @hannahmleone The Fox Valley Park District wants to find out just how much people like what it's doing. "We want to find the overall value people place on the Park District, what programs and facilities mean to them," Jeff Andreasen, of aQuity Research, said to Park Board members this week. "You can gauge how people use and like the amenities you provide, the trails, parks, programs." Advertisement The Fox Valley Park Foundation commissioned the survey, and will pay for it. It is similar to a survey the district took in 2007 when formulating a referendum to ask voters for money to upgrade parks and facilities. "We are eight years out from the capital referendum, so this will be additional public research," said Jeff Palmquist, the park district's director of planning and operations. Advertisement Andreasen said he anticipates having results back to the Foundation by late July or early August. He said residents will get a questionnaire in the mail they can answer and mail back. Or, they can answer the questions on a website, or by phone. "These days it's hard to pick one way, so we're giving them three ways they can respond," Andreasen said. The survey will be in English and Spanish. The company will compare results to U.S. Census data for the Park District's demographics "to see how it matches," he said. Jim Pilmer, Park District executive director, said aQuity, based in Evanston, currently is doing a similar type of survey for the Illinois Association of Park Districts, which Aurora is a part of. "That study and our own should nicely mesh together," he said. slord@tribpub.com A Palos Hills man accused of meeting up with a teenager to have sex oversees an emergency response agency for the city, according to police. Steven Danalewich, 31, is accused of meeting a 15-year-old boy through a gay dating app with another man, according to police. He was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, traveling to meet a minor and sexual exploitation of a child, according to court records. Advertisement Danalewich is a sergeant and member of the command staff for the City of Palos Hills Emergency Management Agency, an all-volunteer organization that assists authorities in disaster response, according to the organization's website. He has "responsibility for overseeing the department," the website states. Messages left with other members of the agency command staff were not immediately returned. A phone number listed for Danalewich on the agency website is no longer in use. An attempt was made to contact him through agency email, but that message was not returned Thursday. Advertisement Danalewich's bail was set at $200,000, according to court records, and jail records show he was released on bond. According to police, Danalewich picked up the teenager in Cicero and drove to an apartment in Forest Park, where they engaged in sexual acts with a second man. That man has also been charged in the incident, police said, but some information about his identity was not available Thursday. The victim's father brought the boy into the Forest Park Police Department in April after finding "questionable" photos on his son's phone, according to police. The son reportedly told his father he had sexual contact with a man in Mexico. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Around November 2015, the teenager started using the dating app "Grindr," through which he started contact with one man and arranged to meet in Cicero, according to police. The teenager was picked up, driven to Forest Park and provided with marijuana, reports said. The teenager told police the vehicle was a small silver SUV with military veteran license plates. Danalewich served as "a master at arms in the Navy for 3 years and he served in the Army as a Military police officer for 2 more years," according to the emergency agency website. He was a volunteer firefighter and EMT while in the military, it said. During his military service, Danalewich suffered a "traumatic brain injury," requiring pain medication and mood stabilizers as treatment, according to court records. Police arrested Danalewich on May 16, according to records. Several items pertaining to the emergency management agency were found in a search of his Jeep Patriot. Advertisement Palos Hills police requested that all police property found in Danalewich's SUV be turned over to them, police said. Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Classic cars, including some driven by members of the A's R Us Model A Ford Car Club, will lead a tour through 12 south suburbs during the 15th annual Driving the Dixie historic highway tour Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the Homewood Heritage Committee) Gas up and join a drive back through local history. The 15th annual Driving the Dixie parade of vintage cars, classic cars and cars like yours begins at Union and Western Avenue (Dixie Highway) at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Advertisement The 45-mile tour will wind through 12 south suburban towns, starting in Blue Island and ending in Momence. Along the famous roadway, participants will visit historic sites, enjoy snacks, tour new buildings, stop at landmarks and celebrate the story of the Dixie, which has been an integral part of local and national history since Native Americans blazed what would become the Vincennes Trail, then Hubbard's Trail and now the historic highway, according to Elaine Egdorf, chairperson of Homewood's Heritage Committee. Stops this year include a tour of the newly opened La Banque Hotel and La Voute bistro in Homewood, a car show at Family Services in Flossmoor, an Indy car encounter in Hazel Crest, a free hot dog lunch in Steger and a walk through the historic train station museum in Beecher. At each location, participants will receive a stamp on their Driving the Dixie passport and a raffle ticket. Advertisement Egdorf said participants can also step inside the Markham Roller Rink, which dates to the 1950s and is something she describes as "psychedelic." They can tour the Lincolnshire Country Club in Crete. And they can do burnouts in front of the police station in Grant Park. Each of the towns, from Blue Island to Crete, will mark the annual run in its own way, she said. "It's all about history and fun," Egdorf said. While it's difficult to count the number of people who come out for the drive each June, last year's parade of vehicles, which can include motorcycles and trucks, numbered 130. As many as 200 have turned out in other years, though. In addition to the drivers and passengers traveling the highway, hundreds more head to each town's particular event, and still others simply watch the entourage go by from their porches, Egdorf said. The Dixie Highway, completed in 1925, was the first national road linking the north to the south, running from Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., to Miami, Egdorf said. The road's western division begins in Chicago. In Illinois, the road follows a Native American trail that later became Vincennes Trail and Hubbard's Trail, so named by trapper-trader Gurdon Hubbard, who herded wild hogs up the trail to Chicago. Egdorf said Hubbard would go on to become one of the most influential men in early Illinois history. An owner of a quarry in the village of Thornton, an advocate for the I&M Canal and a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, Hubbard was an Illinois legislator who built the Wigwam Convention Hall in Chicago where Lincoln was nominated for president, she said. The Driving the Dixie tour has earned numerous awards, including the Illinois State Historical Society Superior Achievement Award and the Chicago Southland Visitors and Convention Bureau's Tourism Award of Merit, she said. Advertisement Blue Island was the first of several Southland communities to install permanent signs in commemoration of the Dixie Highway's 100th anniversary last year. (Angela Denk / Daily Southtown) Last year, to mark the 100th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the highway, the A's R Us Model A Ford Car Club, which leads the parade, supplied each participating town with a commemorative sign featuring the history of the highway, historic photos of the individual town and a national map of the highway. Homewood's sign is located in Independence Park at Dixie Highway and Hickory Road. Egdorf said back when Richard Hofeld became mayor of Homewood, he started several committees, one of which was the Heritage Committee. "I was the founding president of the Homewood Historical Society, and he asked me to run this Heritage Committee. One of my assignments was to create a hall of fame, the other was to promote Dixie Highway," she said. "I think he was thinking a festival, but I knew all of the historical societies along the route. So I called together all of the mayors of the towns and all of the historical societies and asked if they wanted to work together to promote Dixie Highway. Then the A's R Us volunteered to do a road rally." That first year, only classic cars drove the route, she said. Organizers opened it up to cars from before 1970 for the next few years. "But we had so many modern cars following us, and we didn't want to have an accident," Egdorf said. "So I said, 'Why can't we just open it up to everybody?' " Advertisement Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Since then, all kinds of vehicles have driven the route, and the festivities are now organized by many of the towns' chambers of commerce, she said. The cost the day of the event is $20 per car, regardless of the number of passengers, she said. Bring a license and proof of insurance. "For $20, you're getting snacks, a lunch, the chance to win raffle prizes," she said. "But the whole idea is to promote history and the towns." The A's R Us organizes car registration, which begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 10:30 a.m. Registered participants receive a tour map, guide and passport. The tour ends in Momence at Island Park in the Kankakee River. For more information or to register online, go to www.drivingthedixie.com or call Egdorf at 708-798-9535. dvickroy@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @dvickroy Piper Fortner (right), 9, of Oak Lawn, and Isabella Rehacek, 7, of Oak Lawn, participate in a vigil Wednesday at Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ for the victims of the Orlando night club shooting. (Nick Swedberg / Daily Southtown) Overwhelmed by the tragedy, Isabelle Hofer broke into tears Wednesday as she listened to the names of 49 people fatally shot in a gay nightclub in Orlando. "The [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] community is so nice and caring," said Hofer, a 12-year-old from Oak Lawn, who has gay friends and family. Advertisement She said she didn't understand how anyone could be so "motivated and hateful" to wantonly kill people from that community. Hofer and nearly 100 other people gathered at Oak Lawn's Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ at a candlelight vigil for the victims in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history by a single gunman. Advertisement The June 12 shooting has been called the largest mass murder of LGBT people in the Western world since the Holocaust and the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. "I think people are really hurting," the Rev. Peggy McClanahan said. She said she organized the event after a posting on social media asked whether her church, known for its inclusivity, would host a vigil in remembrance of the victims. In February 2015, the church's congregation unanimously approved an "open and affirming covenant," which essentially put out a welcome mat for members of the LGBT community to freely worship there. McClanahan, who has been at the church for 21 years, told churchgoers and others at the vigil at 9411 S 51st Ave., that "love will win over hate." Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > She also read the names of the victims, each one followed by a single bell tone. "It's an opportunity to mourn and it's a reminder that there are still members of the community who all love each other and who are accepting," said Grace Cook of the vigil. The 16-year-old openly gay girl from Oak Lawn wore a "Pride" shirt to the vigil, where she helped hand out candles. Advertisement Authorities identified the gunman as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who reportedly used gay dating apps and frequented the Pulse nightclub before the shooting. He was shot dead by police following a three-hour standoff, during which he called 911 and swore allegiance to the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. "Tragedies like this make us feel so helpless," said Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury, who spoke at the vigil. "Prejudice and anger robbed the world of these wonderful people," Bury added. Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Lynn Sapp, the third-generation owner of Original Rainbow Cone in Beverly, had been waiting a quarter-century for the call. "I've always wanted to be on Navy Pier," she said last week, a month after opening a kiosk on the pier's south dock, across from Riva Restaurant. Advertisement "I've been trying for years to get it and it was very hard to get," she said of securing space at the tourist hot spot. "We got a call because the kiosk's space is very limited. So they fit us perfectly because all we need is a freezer." Sapp and three of her employees squeezed into the tight kiosk on June 10, the first day of America's Cup, to sling the shop's unique five-flavor Rainbow Cone to locals and tourists alike. Advertisement "Just the exposure to the variety of people coming from all states and internationally, that part is really, really fun. To introduce them to what a Rainbow is," Sapp said. "When they see it they're like, 'What is this?' And they taste it and they're like, 'That's really good.' So it's fun. It's a fun time." Original Rainbow Cone, a Chicago ice cream institution since 1926, is assured a spot at the pier both this summer and next, and hopes to continue manning a kiosk on its pedestrian walkway for many years to come, Sapp said. For the uninitiated, a Rainbow Cone consists of the colorful combination of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (vanilla with walnuts and cherries) and pistachio ice creams topped with orange sherbet, as a palate cleanser. Sapp's grandfather, Joseph Sapp, an ice cream-loving orphan who grew up on an Ohio work farm spending his hard-earned pennies to procure the frozen treat, dreamed up the quirky concoction through a process of trial and error. In 1926, he and his wife Katherine opened an ice cream stand on Western Avenue at 92nd Place, attracting customers every Sunday as they returned home from visiting cemeteries on 111th Street. The Rainbow Cone's hearty mix of fruit and nuts were a major selling point in the shop's early days, during the Great Depression, because customers expected something nutritionally substantial if they were going to splurge on ice cream that cost as much as or more than a meal. "If you were going to hand him a dime for his ice cream," Sapp said, "it had to be not only good, but it had to give people some sustainability." Within four years, having outgrown their tiny ice cream shack, the Sapps built the current Rainbow Cone store across the street, on the other side of 92nd Place. It started as a single story shop that the Sapps later added a second story to and made their home. Advertisement The business thrived during the war years, developing into a neighborhood gathering place and destination for family outings and dates. "Back in the day, Rainbow was a center of information," Sapp said. "Everybody came up to see what happened in the neighborhood. [My grandfather] had a huge radio in the backyard and everybody would listen to the radio and eat ice cream and talk about who passed away." Sapp's father, Robert, who grew up above the store, gradually took it over in the 1960s and 1970s. With his wife Jean, they raised four children in the home right behind Rainbow Cone, where all of the kids worked growing up. Lynn Sapp, who put herself through college at Illinois State University working at Rainbow Cone, bought the store outright from her father in 1986, and has operated it for the past 30 years. She attributes the business' longevity to its high-quality ice cream and consistent customer service. "We have an excellent product, unique product that Joe and Katherine came up with in 1926, and we haven't varied from that product," Sapp said. "You don't mess it up. Advertisement Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > "There's ways to get cheaper ingredients, and we haven't done that. We won't. No matter what happens." Sapp said she'd like to see Rainbow Cone expand across the country, and frequently fields calls from people hoping to attract the business to new locations, but has yet to pull the trigger on anything beyond the Navy Pier outpost. "It has to be a win-win for all of us. I'm very tight about the product because the product has to be done right," she said. "If an opportunity comes up that is good for Rainbow and good for people, then that's what we'll do." In addition to the Beverly and Navy Pier locations, Rainbow Cones are sold at six creamery locations in the south suburbs and at local events and festivals, including Lollapalooza. Sapp said she takes immense pride in the extended success of her family's business, and while she has yet to consider a successor among her nieces and nephews, hopes that Rainbow Cone carries on as a place where families can continue to make memories for years to come. "For the same family to be in the same ice cream parlor at the same place through wars and depressions and a lot of hardship," she said. "I think that's huge." Advertisement Original Rainbow Cone's new Navy Pier location is open through September from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The store's Beverly location is open through October from noon to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The image of the south suburbs and the increasing number of houses for rent were among the concerns voiced by participants at a recent regional gathering hosted by the Village of Park Forest. The 21 participants at Tuesday's Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning meeting also weighed in on the region's housing, environment, land use and development, transportation and government. Advertisement CMAP is leading such meetings with residents and stakeholders in the seven counties of Northeastern Illinois the group's planning region as part of an effort to fine tune services through 2050. CMAP has dubbed the four-month-old effort "On To 2050." CMAP Principal Jane Grover told those at the Park Forest meeting that her agency has to approach regional change as a series of revisions because the region is like a huge barge. Advertisement "Barges can't turn on a dime," Grover said, "so changes have to be made incrementally." Grover encouraged the participants to discuss their own ideas and concerns, in addition to how and why they ranked the area's assets, opportunities and challenges developed at previous meetings. Judith Gonzalez was quick to note the list of economic development challenges lacked the "ingrained" regional perception that low-income people live in the south suburbs, middle-income people live in the western suburbs and high-income people live in the north suburbs. Because of that perception, "We get the bottom of the barrel," Gonzalez told Grover. "I don't see any of that challenged by what you're talking about." "You're not the only person talking about that," Grover responded. "It is one of the reasons On To 2050 is going to tackle, head on, inclusive growth." Doug Price, another participant from Park Forest, used the housing discussion to explain how the general downturn in single-family home sales has been "a golden opportunity" for investors to pick up properties. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Price, a Chicago-based political consultant, termed the rental units "a cash cow," saying some investors are getting a 20-percent return. That prompted some participants to voice fears of subsidized housing, equating it with property neglect. Advertisement But Grover, a former Evanston alderman who helped change that city's ordinances to encourage developers to include more affordable units in their projects, said rundown properties are the result of poor codes or inadequate enforcement. Ostenburg agreed, saying renters in subsidized homes "keep up their properties." Park Forest, he said, regularly inspects properties. Still, participants were clearly skeptical about the region's future for "prosperity and quality of life." Asked to vote for the sentiment they most agree with about the future, 37 percent agreed with "OK, but only if we avoid disaster;" 32 percent agreed with "Good, but we have work to do;" and 26 percent agreed with "We're on a downward trajectory." No one agreed with "Great!" Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Give hope back to children with autism It has been more than a month since Governor Rauner received SB 2038, a bipartisan measure that provides critical short-term funding for social and human service agencies. For more than 30 days, the governor has had the opportunity, with one stroke of a pen, to stop the bleeding for thousands of organizations that care for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Illinois residents. How much longer will his inaction cause suffering for innocent people? Advertisement For the Hope Institute, the measure includes nearly $2 million in partial funding for The Autism Program of Illinois (TAP), which hasn't received any state funding in 11 months. The lack of state support over that time has caused the TAP network to unravel, leaving thousands of children with autism, who rely on state funding to receive this critical treatment, out in the cold. As a result, many autism centers have closed or severely reduced operations. Those that remain in operation are forced to turn away families that don't have the ability to pay. Advertisement Each day these children go without services decreases their chances of reaching their full potential. For more than a decade, The Autism Program of Illinois had been a beacon of hope for families touched by autism with nowhere else to turn. The governor's signature on this bill would give them some of that hope back. Clint Paul, president and CEO of The Hope Institute for Children and Families in Springfield and a partner of The Autism Program of Illinois What's on your mind? The Daily Southtown welcomes letters to the editor. Email them to letters@southtownstar.com and include your name, address and phone number. Only your name and the town you reside in will appear with the letter. Please keep a letter to no more than about 200 words. The Southtown is not responsible for the accuracy of the opinions expressed in letters to the editor. Gino Johns, 22, of the 6800 block of Montrose Avenue in Harwood Heights, was charged with residential burglary in Riverwoods. (Riverwoods Police Department) A Harwood Heights man has been charged in an April ruse burglary in which a Riverwoods senior citizen was distracted in the yard while two safes and jewelry were stolen from his residence. Police arrested 22-year-old Gino S. Johns on June 9 at his residence in the 6800 block of Montrose Avenue in Harwood Heights. He is charged with residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. Advertisement The ruse burglary occurred April 27 on the 2900 block of Duffy Lane, police said. A ruse burglary is a scheme in which one party holds the victim's attention while one or more associates enter the home and remove valuables. According to police, Johns allegedly distracted the male homeowner by claiming he was putting in a fence for a neighbor and needed to check the property lines in the yard. The man told police the suspect wore a yellow reflective vest or jacket similar to those worn by road workers, and spoke in a foreign language to someone using a walkie-talkie or cell phone. Advertisement The next day, the homeowner went to a closet and realized a safe was missing. He then found another safe missing, as well as jewelry, and called police. "We worked with Chicago police and state police who specialize in these types of ruse burglaries, and they are familiar with a lot of the people who do it," said Riverwoods Police Chief Bruce Dayno. "We showed our victim several photographs of people who were known to engage in this type of activity." The victim identified Johns as the person who claimed to be installing the fence, Dayno said. "We don't have the people who entered the house at this point," Dayno said. When police served Johns with the arrest warrant, his vehicle precisely matched the description provided by the victim, Dayno said. Following the incident, Riverwoods police issued an alert cautioning residents not to let unexpected strangers into the home or show them around their property. Residents who suspect a ruse in progress should lock their doors and call 911, according to police. kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com @KarenABerkowitz People visit a memorial for those killed at the Pulse nightclub last Saturday night on June 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein cannot find the words anymore to respond to the mass shootings and terrorist attacks happening in the U.S. and around the world. The latest tragedy, the shooting in an Orlando, Fla., gay club that targeted the LGBT community and killed 49 people, made Frisch Klein take action. It is hard to know what to do in moments like this, Frisch Klein said. But, she decided to reach out to a group of people and religious leaders to see what could be done. She felt it was important to stand together as a symbol of unity, she said. Advertisement A candlelight vigil will be held at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, in the plaza between Robert Gilliam Civic Center and the Hemmens Cultural Arts Center, 151 Dexter Court, in Elgin. It is sponsored by Elgin City of Peace, the Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders and the Elgin Human Relations Commission. "I am tired of the line 'our thoughts and prayers are with you' and yet, I am a religious leader and I live by my words," Frisch Klein said. "It's not about the words, it's not about the music it is really about giving people a safe space to express their grief and their anger and their hope in the diversity that Elgin is so known for." Advertisement Frisch Klein had an almost instantaneous response to the idea. "The response has been very heartwarming," she said. All attending are welcome to light a candle, sing a song, offer healing and hopeful prayers of peace, show support for the LGBT, the Latino and Muslim communities. Community members are encouraged to bring their own lights (candle, flashlight or phone) and bring their compassion and love of people of all faiths, all skin colors and all sexual orientations, according to a news release. Speakers include Mayor David Kaptain, 16th Circuit Judge John Dalton, Mahzar Ahmed of the Batavia Islamic Center, Frisch Klein, Reverend Denise Tracy of the Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders and Elisa Lara, president elect of the Elgin Hispanic Network and Human Relations Commissioner. Batavia Islamic Center often holds interfaith events, said Ahmed, six year vice chair of the Parliament of World Religions. "This is the way we have always been, we stand as a community not individuals," she said. "If (something) hurts one person, it hurts everybody." Ahmed read news stories about the Orlando, Fla., shooter who killed 49 people and injured 53 people. The shooter pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), she said. The terrorist group wants to "try to divide us as a community, as a country," Ahmed said. The idea of banning Muslims from entering the U.S. plays "right into their hands," she said. "We should try to build a united front against all these radicals," Ahmed said. "We are first and foremost human beings." Frisch Klein said the visual of people coming together at the candlelight vigil will be powerful. Advertisement "It's about letting people see us standing there together so you have Protestant clergy, Jewish clergy, laypeople, religious leaders, elected officials, members of the gay community, the Latino community, the Muslim community, black, brown and white," she said. "It is a great show of solidarity." Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. Sleepy Hollow resident Mona Abboud Auer has worn many hats over the years. She sang the Christmas novelty classic, "The Pretty Little Dolly," on the Johnny Carson Show on Dec. 15, 1966. The song was later played many times on radio shows by Chicago DJs Wally Phillips, Bob Collins and Fred Winston. Advertisement Abboud Auer has performed voice-overs for numerous commercials. She also performed a role in Robert Altman's 1978 movie "A Wedding." One of her most favored roles, however, has been as the founder of the Sleepy Hollow committee for traffic reduction and safety. She has lived along the winding, tree-lined Sleepy Hollow Road for many years and has been active in pushing for the preservation of its country charm. Advertisement "Sleepy Hollow Road is more than a road," Abboud Auer said. "It's a central showpiece that represents our way of life. People are passionate about this road. There's a kind of romance about it." Abboud Auer once showed the road to the late actor Dom DeLuise who said it looked like a movie set. During the Sleepy Hollow village board meeting on Monday, Abboud Auer will give a 15-minute talk about Sleepy Hollow Road and present the village with two CDs of her song: "The Ballad of Sleepy Hollow Road." "Hopefully, the song will be sung live at the board meeting," Abboud Auer said. "In my speech, I will recap everything that has been done to Sleepy Hollow Road and talk about what hopefully will be done for the road in the future." Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. Irma Pelayo said she couldn't think of a better location than Franklin Park to open her restaurant, Mai-Quesi II. Mai-Quesi II is at 3531 Rose St. in Franklin Park, across the street from East Leyden High School. Advertisement "I'm doing this for my kids," Pelayo said. "We were looking to open up our restaurant downtown, but we liked Franklin Park." Pelayo got involved in the restaurant business six years ago. Advertisement "My brother had a friend who wanted to go in on a Mexican restaurant," she said. That restaurant is called Mai-Quesi, and it is located in Aurora. Pelayo and other family members helped her brother with the Aurora location. Pelayo and her husband decided that they wanted to open up their own eatery, and their grand opening of Mai-Quesi II was June 7. "I live in Schiller Park, and my mom lives in Franklin Park," Pelayo said about why she picked the Franklin Park location. "It's a calm, nice neighborhood." Since there was already a Mai-Quesi, Pelayo decided to name her restaurant Mai-Quesi II. In English, the restaurant name translates to Tequila seafood. The inside of the restaurant is decorated with artwork from indigenous groups in Mexico. The artwork is brightly colored and flowing with patterns. "We mostly serve seafood, ribs, steaks and T-bones, so we have it all right now," she said. "We have two chefs, and sometimes my husband cooks." Pelayo said the most popular dish has been langostinos. She described it as a semi-spicy, large shrimp. Other popular dishes include molcajete Black Angus and shrimp, tropical pineapple and shrimp burritos with a special sauce. "People have been asking for it right now," she said. Advertisement For the future, Pelayo hopes to open a chain of Mai-Quesi restaurants. But for now, she said that her Franklin Park location has received positive attention since opening. "Everything's been great," she said. Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. In a unanimous vote, the District 225 Board of Education approved annual salary increases for 350 non-union employees at its June 13 meeting. Non-union, non-certified support staff will receive a minimum 1.4 percent salary increase and administrators will receive a minimum 1.5 percent salary increase for the 2016-2017 school year, said District 225 spokeswoman Karen Geddeis. Some employees may receive higher percentage raises based on factors that include promotions or the earning of degrees, she said. Advertisement The salary increases are consistent with current Glenbrook Educational Support Staff Association and Glenbrook Education Association union contracts, according to a District 225 statement. "We feel these increases are equitable among our employee groups, consistent with previous years, and allow us to continue to attract and retain a high-quality staff for our students," District 225 assistant superintendent for business Hillarie Siena said, according to the statement. Marian Honel-Wilson leads a vigil of remembrance for the victims of the Orlando shooting outside the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press) More than 40 people gathered Thursday for a vigil outside Unitarian Church of Hinsdale to remember and mourn the victims of the Orlando shooting. Most were members of the church, located at 15 W. Maple St. "We have long identified as a church that is welcoming," said Marian Honel-Wilson, who led the vigil. And more than 10 years ago, the congregation took a vote to intentionally welcome people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Advertisement To start the vigil, the participants, sitting on a circular stone wall, lit 49 candles, one for each person who was murdered in the Pulse nightclub June 12, and read the victims' names and ages aloud. "By our presence here today, we pay tribute to the worth and dignity of all those whose lives were tragically cut short," Honel-Wilson said. "Forty-nine lives lost ... to a gunman's hate and fear. Advertisement "Our grief is great, but our love is stronger than even our grief." Emily Ludwig of Downers Grove was there wrapped in a rainbow flag, with the words "Orlando Strong" written on her cheek. She said she has a friend who lives in Orlando and learned two hours after the shooting that he was OK, when he posted a message on Facebook. "I am very happy about that," Ludwig said. Church member Sherrine Peyton said her father converted to Islam in 1963. She told him she was going to the vigil and asked if there was anything he wanted her to say on his behalf. Peyton relayed her father said any intelligent person knows the shooting was not in accordance with Islamic teaching and that he gives Peyton, who is a lesbian, his full support. Nancy Keane of La Grange attended the vigil to show her sympathy for people in the LGBT community. "They deserve to be able to do what the rest of us do without discrimination," Keane said. Advertisement She thinks, in response to the massacre: "there has been a tremendous outpouring of love." "I think we have our work cut out for us to spread love in the world," Honel-Wilson said. Emily Ludwig of Downers Grove, with the words "Orlando Strong" written on her cheek, holds a candle at a remembrance vigil in Hinsdale. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press) kfornek@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @kfdoings Arlington, Texas, police show a BB gun and fake ammunition that were taken from a drug suspect. (Arlington Police Department / AP) When Waukegan police raided an abandoned Victory Street home this month, they found evidence related to four recent armed robberies of pizza delivery drivers. Among the empty pizza boxes was a BB gun a toy used to force delivery drivers to hand over cash. Advertisement The robbery spree which ended with the raid and subsequent arrest of two men and two juveniles is not the only case in which a nonlethal weapon was used to threaten deadly force, law enforcement officials said. Detective Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, said replica firearms have been used in at least two armed robberies since December. Advertisement The first occurred in Beach Park, where two robbers held a 19-year-old at gunpoint and forced him to hand over cash and a cellphone. When police caught the robbers, they found the weapon and determined it was a toy. Both suspects were arrested and charged as juveniles. This month, sheriff's deputies arrested 51-year-old Scott Kisler in Antioch for displaying a BB gun and threatening a neighbor during a quarrel over a barking dog, authorities said. Kisler was charged with aggravated assault, obstructing a peace officer and disorderly conduct. Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip echoed concerns of other law enforcement officials who have encountered suspects armed with fake guns. "It's incredibly difficult for officers who are out in the field to make a life or death decision in a tenth of a second," Florip said. "Whether a gun is a toy, nonlethal or as deadly as the handguns each officer carries, it is not normally a question on an officer's mind in armed confrontations." In 2012, Waukegan police shot and killed 33-year-old John D. Corcoran, an honorably discharged Marine who was later determined to be carrying a pellet gun equipped with a laser sight. Corcoran was threatening suicide and pointing the weapon at a man lying on the floor of a hotel lobby, authorities said. Corcoran pointed the pellet gun at police, who fatally shot him, authorities said. In January, Zion police fatally shot 38-year-old Charles J. Hollstein, who authorities said was wearing a homemade tactical-style vest and carrying a BB gun when he struggled with officers after a brief foot chase. Officers initially confronted Hollstein because he was allegedly taking pictures of a school, police said. Authorities noted gun manufacturers produce weapons in a variety of colors and designs that can look like toys and toy companies make replicas that look real. Toy manufacturers are required by federal law to place orange tips on replica guns, but those can easily be removed, officials said. Advertisement "Toy guns can look incredibly real, and real guns can look incredibly fake. ... The whole thing is very complicated, and it's well above a local issue. It's almost even well above a legislative issue," Florip said. "It's something that society as a whole is going to have to take a look at." The problem isn't unique to Lake County. In April, Cleveland officials reached a $6 million settlement in a lawsuit over the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy shot by a police officer while playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center. The pellet gun, which Tamir borrowed from a friend, was missing the orange tip. In Texas, some suspects have told officers they prefer imitation weapons, which can be purchased for as little as $25, and no background check is required, according to police Lt. Christopher Cook in the Dallas suburb of Arlington. Legislation on BB guns and toy guns varies from state to state. The four suspects charged in Waukegan's pizza delivery robberies were all charged with armed robbery. In New York, a law requires that fake or toy guns be brightly colored or have colored striping down the barrel. California adopted similar measures in 2014. Ten other states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., also have passed legislation regarding imitation firearms, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Advertisement Despite the use of replica guns to commit crimes, it is the proliferation of deadly guns that has Florip most concerned. "It's been happening for years," Florip said of criminals using toy or nonlethal guns in crimes. "But, if anything, it seems like more offenders now are armed with real guns." Justin Glawe is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun. The Associated Press contributed to this story. It's been 400 years since the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the famed 16th century Spanish writer whose novel "Don Quixote" defiantly condemned the Spanish Inquisition. But like William Shakespeare, the novelist left behind an indelible trove of stories. With "Don Quixote," Cervantes laid the groundwork for a classic American musical and one of the most ubiquitous showtunes of all time. "Yes, everybody knows that song," says Milwaukee native Nathaniel Stampley, who plays Cervantes/Don Quixote in Marriott Theatre's staging of "Man of La Mancha" opening June 22. "That's the beauty of it. And that's also what makes it challenging." Advertisement "That song" is, of course, "The Impossible Dream," the soaring anthem covered by artists from Frank Sinatra to Jim Nabors to Luther Vandross. The ear-wormy tune that celebrates those who sally forth to slay un-slayable dragons is at the heart of the musical adaptation of Cervantes' novel. The number also sums up the ethos of Cervantes/Don Quixote, the show's meta-theatrical, two-in-one leading man: The writer imprisoned for defying the Spanish Inquisition, and the fictional knight created by the writer. The plot follows Cervantes's imaginary Don Quixote, Lord of La Mancha and his squire Sancho Panza (Richard Ruiz) as they roam the countryside tilting at windmills both metaphorical and literal. "There's an optimism to that song and to the entire character of Don Quixote that's infectious," says Stampley. "Right now we're in an election cycle obviously, and there's a lot of cynicism. How beautiful is it to see a character who is still completely in love with humanity? Who completely believes in people's inherent goodness?" Advertisement Stampley is based in New York, but he spent the early years of his career in Chicago. Working at the Marriott, he says, has a been goal for over a decade. "I auditioned for many shows here when I was younger. For whatever reason, it never worked out," he say. While Marriott proved elusive in Stampley's earlier career, Broadway did not. Stampley's Broadway credits include Mufasa in "The Lion King" and Porgy in the widely acclaimed tour of "Porgy and Bess." Director Nick Bowling invited Stampley to audition. "Don Quixote/Cervantes is a difficult role to cast," says Bowling. "You need someone who can bring absolute truth to 'The Impossible Dream,' and of course to everything else. You have to have someone who can deliver the power in the music and make it their own. I saw Nathanial in 'Violet' at the Apple Tree," Bowling said of the 1999 staging at the now-defunct Highland Park venue. "He had an honesty and a presence that I never forgot." Honesty is at the core of Bowling's concept for "Man of La Mancha," which is shaping up to be a departure from many a previous incarnation of the show. A six-time Jeff Award winner, Bowling isn't softening the squalor and brutal cruelty of the story. His blocking and his pacing are also telling: Prisoners tend to come and go from their supposedly inescapable cell in many "Man of La Mancha" stagings. The show itself is traditionally a two-hour affair, bifurcated by an intermission. Bowling is having none of that. "One of my longtime peeves about the show is the way that cell is depicted people come and go from it throughout the show. That's not the setting, not the story. These people cannot escape. If we're going to truly portray that, we need all 12 actors on stage for the entire show." "And it plays out in almost real time," he adds. "It's an hour and a half. You insert an intermission into it, and you diminish the intensity and the momentum." Intermission or no, maintaining the integrity of a prison setting within the Marriott's in-the-round configuration presented a major challenge to Bowling. With the audience on all four sides of the stage, putting up walls or any other prison-life architecture is out of the question. Bowling and set designer Jeff Kmiec looked to Guantanamo for inspiration. "I wanted to modernize the staging," says Bowling. "I like the idea of stretching the timeline, so that 16th century reaches into the 21st century. I didn't want a castle out of a fairytale. I wanted someplace real, recognizable and terrifying." Terror factors substantially in the character of Aldonza (Danni Smith), a young woman who survives an almost unwatchable rape in the musical's most harrowing scenes. The violent degradation transitions into a song that is the dark mirror-image of "The Impossible Dream." "Aldonza," doesn't have a whisper of hope, compassion or humanity. It's a guttural self-description of someone taught from birth that she's nothing but trash. Don Quixote's insistence that Aldonza is a lady worthy of gentleness and respect enrages her. Advertisement "She's learned that it's dangerous to dream," says Smith, "She's got walls around her heart for good reason. If she doesn't hope for anything, no one can take anything from her. " But by the time Don Quixote has finished his story, Aldonza's fortress of a heart has cracked open. "For me, this story has always been about embracing your dreams, even when it's difficult," says Smith, "You find your passion, and you live in that place. It's a story of life and hope, even in the middle of death and darkness." "The notion that we can believe in things even when they seem impossible is so important here," says Bowling, "I think Don Quixote wants to help people connect to faith, especially when it seems like there's nothing to believe in. It's not about God or religion necessarily. It's about finding something bigger than yourself." Marriott Theatre presents, 'Man of La Mancha' When: June 22Aug. 14 Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire Advertisement Tickets: $50-$55 Contact: 847-634-0200, www.marriottheatre.com Michael Weaver, an attorney for a national chiropractic chain called The Joint, makes his case to the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission about granting a variance to open a first-floor downtown office. (Hank Beckman, Naperville Sun) The Joint, a national chiropractic chain that wants to open an office in downtown Naperville, drew a split vote from the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission. "I'm not wild about this, but I'm going to vote for it," Commissioner Bob Williams said Wednesday, summing up the commission's mixed feelings about the variance needed for the River Square shopping center location at Washington Street and Chicago Avenue. Advertisement The Joint, which has 280 facilities around the country 14 in the Chicago area had already paid an architect for plans and started work remodeling the first-floor office space because a construction permit was accidentally issued by the city. The permit was revoked when the mistake was discovered. General service offices, such as those leased by doctors, insurance companies and dance studios, are not allowed on the first floor under Naperville's B-4 zoning for downtown core. Advertisement Michael Weaver, an attorney representing The Joint, told commissioners the business has "sort of a membership-based clientele" in which anywhere from 60 to 75 customers are treated a day. The business will include a retail component, but the details of that have not been set, he said. The permit mistake persuaded Williams and fellow commissioners Carrie Hansen and Peter Crawford to reluctantly vote in favor of recommending the project receive city council approval. However, because commissioners Krishna Bansal, Kamala Martinez and Brett Fessler voted against it, tying the vote, the matter will go to the council without a recommendation. "The issue for me is that a permit was issued," Hansen said. Pending council approval in July, renovation on the space could resume in late summer or early fall, Weaver said. Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. Aadil Farid, a board member of the Islamic Center of Naperville, shows messages of support given to his organization by Hope United Church of Christ on July 17, 2016. (Genevieve Bookwalter / Naperville Sun) The relationship between Hope United Church of Christ and the Islamic Center of Naperville began more than five years ago, when center leaders approached the church about buying land so they could annex it into the city and build a new mosque on 248th Avenue. "There was an amount of ugliness (from the public in response to that idea) at that time," said Lucas Grobe, pastor with Hope United Church of Christ. "We went to bat (for them)." Advertisement Naperville City Council approved the annexation in 2011, and the 14 acres south of 95th Street became part of the city. Now, Islamic center leaders credit the ongoing relationship between the two houses of faith as well as support from other religious groups and Naperville city officials with helping their community remain steady following public backlash against Muslims in the wake of the terrorist attack in Orlando last weekend, and in San Bernardino and Paris last year. Advertisement "In the past two to three days we've had a lot of our friends from the churches, the synagogues to give their support," said Shoaib Khadri, president of the Islamic Center of Naperville. "It's an oasis in a desert of hate and intolerance." Bullying at school In the center's office, colorful messages are scrawled on a framed piece of cardboard, words of encouragement from Hope United Church of Christ members and staff. The center received the display last November after the attacks in Paris. This week Khadri and others at the Islamic Center looked at the gift anew as they dealt with renewed threats and harassment following the death of nearly 50 people at a popular Orlando gay nightclub by a gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Shortly thereafter, presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. While Naperville leaders have been outgoing and supportive Naperville police checked on the Islamic Center after the Orlando shooting to make sure they weren't receiving threats not everyone in the general population has shared that outlook, said Aadil Farid, an Islamic Center board member. For example, Muslim kids of all ages have asked Islamic center officials how to deal with bullying. "They're saying they're being called ISIS at school," Farid said. One teen, an Eagle Scout, was told by another student to sit down during the Pledge of Allegiance because he was a Muslim, he said. Adults who worship at the Islamic center are frustrated that they are being judged by the violent actions of others, people they don't know and who often are mentally ill, the men said. About 3,500 families worship at the mosque on Ogden Avenue off Route 59. Advertisement 'Naperville is one community' Angry residents regularly call the center, sharing their disgust with Islam and the recent terrorist attacks. Farid said he answers every call and talks to callers, in some cases for up to 45 minutes, about why terrorist attacks are against the basic tenets of the Muslim faith. "Some people sent us letters with bacon in there," Farid said. Most practicing Muslims do not eat pork as part of their faith because it is considered unclean. DuPage County Board member Brian Krajewski, DuPage County Republican Party chairman and a Trump supporter, said he condemned the bullying and the discrimination. But he also said Muslims are not an exception when it comes to being singled out and the media is blowing attacks against them out of proportion, which then are shared on social media. Police officers also face discrimination because of the actions of a few bad officers, Krajewski said. DuPage County Animal Control is hosting classes to teach about dogs that are often bullied, such as pit bulls, Rottweilers and German shepherds, he said. "It doesn't matter if they're Muslim or what they are, (there) shouldn't be bullying," Krajewski said. "We need to stop people and educate." Advertisement Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said city outreach to Naperville's Muslim community is crucial. "We absolutely want to make sure they feel safe," Chirico said. "Naperville is one community. They're our neighbors and friends. We're one community." Outreach is important Farid and Khadri said they are trying to combat the attacks with outreach and relationship building. Farid regularly makes presentations to churches and recently spoke at Metea Valley High School about the basic principles of Islam, saving time at the end for audience questions. Many these days revolve around ISIS, Farid said. The mosque holds an open house twice a year, the two men said, and the public is always welcome to observe prayers or partake in Ramadan celebrations. At Hope United Church of Christ, Grobe said he will continue speaking up for the center and Naperville's Muslim community. As a gay pastor, Grobe said he understands what it feels like to be "ostracized." Advertisement "God is not limited to people who walk through our doors or believe the same way we do," Grobe said. gbookwalter@tribpub.com Twitter @GenevieveBook Summer Solstice Social on the farm A Summer Solstice Social, co-sponsored by The Conservation Foundation and the Illinois Solar Energy Association, is Wednesday at McDonald Farm in Naperville. Advertisement The free event will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to celebrate new technologies in solar energy. The farm is at 10S404 Knoch Knolls Road. Visitors can learn about solar energy and The Conservation Foundation's solar panels mounted on the barn roof. Refreshments will be served. Advertisement To register for the event, go to www.illinoissolar.org. Sign up for city's National Night Out The city of Naperville is encouraging its residents to register for the upcoming National Night Out, a nationwide event designed to increase drug prevention and crime awareness, support local anti-crime efforts, and strengthen community and police partnerships. Neighborhoods can register through July 15 for the event at www.naperville.il.us/nno. Registration is free and includes information about local National Night Out events. National Night Out takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2. Residents are encouraged to turn on their porch lights and spend the evening outside with neighbors, police officers, firefighters and city workers. Cookouts, block parties and neighborhood walks are among events planned throughout Naperville. Crayon collection underway at the library The Naperville Public Library is collecting used crayons to support Community Access Naperville, a nonprofit organization that provides vocational and recreational programs for young adults with developmental disabilities. A collection bin will be located in the lobby of the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, through the end of June. Advertisement Community Access Naperville recycles the crayons collected to create colorful objects and animals and sell them throughout the community as a fundraiser. For more information, go to www.communityaccessnaperville.org. DuPage County releases flood guide DuPage County Stormwater Management has published an online flood-proofing guidebook to help residents resolve local flooding problems. The guidebook was developed with Bluestem Communications and helps homeowners identify the sources of their flooding and ways to prevent it. It also includes resources to help during and after a flood occurs. To access the guidebook, go to www.dupageco.org. Advertisement Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. The Maine Township administration's proposal to move to a half-traditional, half-block schedule format will not occur prior to the 2018-19 school year. (Jennifer Johnson, Pioneer Press) If Maine Township high schools change how daily classes are scheduled, it won't happen for at least another two years. That's the word from District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace, who explained that the administration's proposal to move to a half-traditional, half-block schedule format will not occur prior to the 2018-19 school year. Advertisement "There's lot of if/then equations to solve," he said. For now, the administration is preparing to conduct informational meetings with current and future parents at each of the three District 207 schools, followed by "more conversations with teachers," Wallace said. The public meetings are tentatively being scheduled for July, he said. Advertisement "If people understand what we're doing and why we're doing it, I really feel like it's going to be well-received," Wallace said of the scheduling change. The proposal as it stands is being called the "Hybrid 4 Schedule" and proposes an eight-period day, three days per week, with four-period days on Tuesday and Wednesdays, according to a FAQ sheet published by the district. Classes held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays would be 90 minutes long each. Classes held on Tuesday would differ from those held on Wednesday. A sample schedule provided by the district shows classes meeting for 50 minutes each on Mondays and Fridays and 46 minutes on Thursdays. According to the current schedule, all three schools run on a nine-period day, with most classes 45 minutes long. Science classes are a period and a half, or 70 minutes long. Classes are shortened slightly on Wednesdays. Wallace said the proposed hybrid schedule will increase the amount of instruction students receive in 89 percent of their classes and will give students more time for career and college counseling on the block schedule days. "We think we can improve academic and social/emotional support for our students with this schedule," Wallace said. Though instructional time in most classes would increase, science instruction would decrease by 105 minutes per week under the proposed schedule. But, according to the district, the schedule does allow "an extended period class of approximately 90 minutes" that can be used for "deeper inquiry learning opportunities, lab experiment opportunities, and/or extended practice opportunities in many performing fine arts classes." Additional information provided by the district can be found on its website, www.maine207.org under "D207 Schedule Recommendation FAQ." Advertisement The hybrid schedule was expected to appear before the District 207 school board on June 6 for consideration, but it was removed due to what a posting on the high school websites called "inaccurate information spread through a social media campaign that has misinformed the public." A 2014 report on scheduling published by the Maine Teachers' Association Scheduling Committee concluded that studies have found "mixed results" when it comes to whether block scheduling improves standardized test scores. But the report also says block scheduling "has adverse impacts" on subjects other than math and science. "As a committee, we endorse the notion that the current schedule should continue at Maine Township High School District 207," the report says. jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @Jen_Pioneer The mass shooting in the early morning hours of June 12 that left 49 people dead in Orlando has reignited the debate over the appropriateness of owning assault rifles, and local gun rights opponents and proponents held firm on their positions. The issue remains especially sensitive and political, with local people including county politicians, local police leaders and gun shop owners refusing to go on the record with their thoughts or not returning calls seeking comment. Advertisement The questions of who should be allowed to own and use assault rifles originally designed for military use for sport shooting and hunting are not cut and dried. "There absolutely has to be a balance" between someone's Second Amendment right to bear arms and public safety, said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, "but we are a society that balances well." Advertisement Last year, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law legislation that effectively killed the city of Gary's lawsuit against more than 15 firearms manufacturers and retailers. The city filed the lawsuit after years of watching gun violence ravage their streets. Assault rifles can "cut people in half," but "I think that a determination that access to certain weapons and ammunition those that can do damage with the blink of an eye is reasonable," Freeman-Wilson said in an e-mail. Part of the problem with creating legislation that effectively keeps assault rifles out of the hands of people who would misuse them is language used to discuss the firearms, local retailers said privately. The term assault rifle has become a catch-all description for different lines of semi-automatic rifles. Assault rifle is a real term for firearms that rapidly fire one round at a time that have become hugely popular among sport shooters and for personal protection, but they are not the machine guns many in the media and general public suspect, firearms retailers said. The AR-15 named for Armalite brand name, not an acronym for assault rifle is the most popular rifle sold in the United States, according to media reports. AR-15-style rifles were used in mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 and San Bernardino, Calif., in 2015. Orlando shooter Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX assault rifle. AR-15s are not high-powered rifles, and "it's hugely expensive" to modify one into a rapid-fire machine gun, said one store owner. "They're one of the more popular rifles we sell," said Alex, a firearms retailer worker who asked his last name not be used. "Who's buying assault rifles? Young and old, male female, people of all different ages and races. It can be your neighbor or someone else walking down the street. It's something they've heard of and they'd like to shoot." Alex said he sympathized with the survivors and the loved ones involved in tragedies involving semi-automatic rifles like Orlando and last year's massacre in San Bernadino but he cautioned against enacting laws that take the rifles off the street wholesale. Advertisement Instead, the focus should be on enforcing laws already in place, he said. "Any kinds of proposals of new laws is a knee-jerk feel-good reaction," Alex said. "How about we enforce the laws efficiently and effectively we already have on the books? If we do that it definitely gives us a leg up on people who plan to do bad with an otherwise innocuous object." In a statement, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, held firm an assault rifle ban that was lifted by President George W. Bush in 2004 and partisan politics surround the debate. "The House (of Representatives) majority currently is in the practice of holding moments of silence for gun violence victims and then doing nothing," he said. "Instead, we should reinstate a ban on assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, close the gun show loophole and prohibit the sale of firearms to individuals on the (national) Terrorist Watch List. It's past time for the House Majority to allow Congress to act." Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, the only law enforcement leader who responded to questions on assault rifles in the area, said there is a middle ground, somewhere. "Its a shame we always have to go through these tragedies like Orlando and other situations throughout the United States before we have these conversations," he said. "There has to be some type of tightening up and restrictions." Advertisement He listed better background checks, mandatory waiting periods and strict adherence to federal firearm licensing as helpful approaches. Still, there's an active black market for ill-intentioned people, whether they are in civilian clothing or official uniforms, who want to get assault rifles for the wrong reason, he said. Three former Lake County police officers were convicted in federal court several years ago of abusing their firearms ownership and dealing privileges to sell firearms that later were used in crimes. "We're never going to get total control of these rifles, but we have try to do the best we can," Buncich said. Michael Gonzalez is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. A Lake Superior Court jury acquitted a Merrillville man Thursday of rape, burglary and two counts of theft. John G. Johnson II, 27, was found not guilty after about an hour of jury deliberations. Advertisement In closing arguments, deputy prosecutor Judith Massa acknowledged that the case is an unusual one. "Truth is stranger than fiction," she said. The woman who reported the rape told police her boyfriend was asleep next to her on a couch when she awoke to a naked man on top of her as she experienced pain. Advertisement The woman testified that she, her boyfriend and others had spent the evening of April 25, 2014, and into the following morning drinking and smoking marijuana at the woman's tattoo shop and at a downtown Hobart bar, where she encountered Johnson. The woman said she'd met Johnson around Halloween 2013 at the same bar and left with him that night and had a sexual encounter. During the morning of April 26, 2014, Johnson and some friends dropped by the woman's tattoo shop, where drinking and marijuana smoking continued. Massa argued that Johnson climbed in through a window at the tattoo shop with the intent of stealing items and that the rape was an afterthought. The woman and her boyfriend both told police their cell phones and money were stolen, and the boyfriend's ID also was taken. Defense attorney Lakeisha Murdaugh, who represented Johnson with defense attorney Scott King, reminded jurors that the woman and her boyfriend consumed 12 to 15 shots in about seven hours' time. Murdaugh blasted the woman's "risky behaviors" when she initially met Johnson. Video surveillance footage showed Johnson arrive at the business at 6:25 a.m. He went to the window seven minutes later, and was inside the business for 90 minutes before he is seen running, partially clothed, to a red SUV. Johnson testified the sexual encounter occurred on a couch in the front part of the business andl ended when Johnson said he heard a thud and then learned that the woman's boyfriend was in the back room, Murdaugh argued. Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Over the past few years, the Porter County Redevelopment Commission has put together plans for proposed tax increment finance districts that ultimately stalled, first by Porter Regional Hospital at U.S. 6 and Indiana 49, and then around Porter County Regional Airport. With residents of Liberty Township asking the commission to reconsider the TIF district around the hospital, which is in their township, members of the RDC came up with a request of their own: to meet with the Board of Commissioners and find out what the commissioners want from them. Advertisement "I think it would be appropriate for us to sit down with the commissioners and say, 'What type of direction would you like to see us go?'" said redevelopment commission vice president Dave Burrus, who, with the board's president, Ric Frataccia, will meet with the commissioners. Board members are clearly frustrated by the lack of movement for their proposed TIF districts, in which tax revenue raised within the districts would stay there for infrastructure and other improvements. Advertisement "We spent three years on two TIF districts," said redevelopment commission member Jim Polarek, who was recently reappointed to the board after a six-month absence. "I think the ball is in (the commissioners') court." Board members said the commissioners' input is particularly important since this is a county election year and the makeup of the board, dependent on appointments by the county council and commissioners, could change come January. Board members want to know how to proceed for the rest of the year. The districts can be structured to release money back to school corporations so they will not lose tax income in the arrangements; such an agreement was worked out with the East Porter County School Corp. for the proposed TIF by the airport, because it included part of Washington Township. The proposed TIF in Liberty Township was the first put together by the redevelopment commission but Liberty Township residents, fearful at the time about the potential impact on the Duneland schools, balked and the commission pulled back, refocusing at the suggestion of the county commissioners on the area around the airport. The TIF around the airport became a joint project with the city of Valparaiso, which awaits unified zoning for the district by the city and county, said county planning director and commission member Bob Thompson. Liberty Township residents, meanwhile, were impressed enough by the redevelopment commission's cooperation with the East Porter schools to ask the county to reconsider a TIF there. They want to work with the redevelopment commission to make the TIF district a reality, said Liberty Township resident Tim Cole, who is leading the effort to restart the TIF district there. Residents are open to other suggestions for prompting economic development, he added. "We want to see our tax dollars come back to us and provide better working conditions and employment," he said, adding the hospital "has been a blessing to us and we want to keep it that way." Advertisement Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Vietnam veteran Michael Boller hugs another veteran during a picnic to mark the 50th anniversary of the war at the Vet Center in Crown Point on June 17, 2016. (John Smierciak, Post-Tribune) Local Vietnam Veterans received a welcome home Friday during a 50th anniversary event at the Gary Area Vet Center in Crown Point in their honor. Army veterans William C. McDaniel and Fred R. and Ken B., who asked that their last names not be used, were among those who made their way to the barbecue for the fellowship and to receive their 50th anniversary commemorative pins. Advertisement Now 50 years later, they are still picking up the pieces and credit the Vet Center with helping them better transition back to normalcy and rebuild relationships. "I graduated high school Aug. 12. I was drafted Sept. 1. I went Nov. 1 for six months of training and then I go over there to kill somebody or be killed," McDaniel said. "I was just a kid, out running the streets with my girl." Advertisement That girl became his wife, Joy. They married at 19 and 16 and just six months after their first child was born, McDaniel was deployed. "You go there, see your friends killed; you're killing people. You're going to come back changed," he said. McDaniel, like so many of the veterans who find help at the Vet Center, took out what he was going through out on his wife and children. "I used to be very introverted. I wouldn't talk," McDaniel said of his personality in the decades following the war. "I was a terrible person." "You're still an awful person," Ken B. joked. The men who once had trouble making friends and establishing relationships share a camaraderie that includes shooting barbs at one another. "I'm getting better," McDaniel said. They also share a fellowship of support. "These are my brothers. We do things together," McDaniel said. Advertisement Veterans who use the Vet Center have access to individual and group counseling, couple's therapy, and other resources along with the ability to forge new friendships with fellow veterans who are coping with similar life experiences. There are more than 200 veterans who use the Vet Center's services, officials said. The majority of the veterans using the center are from Vietnam, Lisa Patterson, the site's team leader, said. She would like to see more of the younger veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan take advantage of the services. "When we get a guy struggling, it's all hands on deck," Patterson said. Ken B. said he found the Vet Center about four years ago and it helped him work through his anger and depression. "I had a couple dramatic events happen in my life. I was very, very angry, very depressed," he said. One day he was having a bad day as he was headed to a local Home Depot store. He parked his car and waked into the building when the woman sitting at the desk said, "Can I help you, grasshopper?" he recalled. Advertisement That clerk was Patterson. She encouraged him to visit the center. "I feel I'm a better person now," Ken B. said. The men participate in scheduled activities, use the resource center and just come to hang out. "This is a special place," Fred R. said. The men say the most important thing about the Vet Center is the staff and their dedication to the veterans. "They don't watch no clock," said Fred R. "That's what I call support. That's why a lot of us, in some instances, start to get better. They listen to us." Advertisement Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Learn more: For more information about the Vet Center or its services, call 219-736-5633. I don't follow everything Donald Trump says, but lately his pronouncements about public affairs have become difficult to avoid. Mostly I disagree with him, often strongly. This week, however, in response to the Orlando nightclub slaughter, Trump made a claim with which I concur, at least partly. "You have many, many, many people right now living in the United States who are worse than him, who are more hateful than him. You have thousands of shooters like this with the same mentality out there in this country," declared Trump. Indeed, we do. Moreover, we've had them among us throughout our nation's history, or at least for the stretch I've witnessed. My dad was a pastor in an era when most everyone's troubles eventually filtered through the parsonage. Folks may long for the good old days, but they had just as much infidelity, spousal and child abuse, feuding, addiction, hatred, bigotry and mental illness as we witness today. Like many kids, I delivered newspapers and then had to "collect" from customers on Saturdays. I still cringe when recalling the verbal harassment some of the men visited upon boys like me, apparently as a way to entertain themselves. And this was among exclusively white, Christian people in a staunchly conservative community. Advertisement I went to college with guys who bragged of engaging in a "sport" of attacking homosexuals. They'd grown up in cities and would frequent the restrooms of bus and train stations pretending to be homosexuals looking for a liaison. When someone showed interest, they beat the person to within an inch of his life, left him lying battered and bleeding, and ran off to celebrate a score. My college, by the way, existed to prepare men for seminary and eventually for pastoral ministry. When I got to the point of serving a church, I landed in Memphis shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination there. I listened to old-timers seethe with anger as they recounted how they had to sell their homes when "the (racial slur) started buying homes and overran their neighborhood like a tidal wave." One Sunday, two young medical students from up north, who also happened to be black, showed up for services and took a seat. When one of the elders arrived and found them in "his pew," he stood in the aisle and proclaimed, "Look! Someone let (racial slur) in here. Who's going to run them out?" Advertisement Yes, Mr. Trump, it was, and still is, a mean, hate-filled world. Anyone who studies history knows we humans have always spent as much of our energy and creativity on meanness and brutality as we have on kindness, hospitality or poetry. The biggest difference between my childhood and today isn't the mix of immigrants, ethnicities, religions or the relative numbers of mentally ill persons. What makes today so much more dangerous is the incessant, deliberate fomenting of fear and hate on the internet, talk radio and 24/7 "news" channels, plus the bizarre reality that acquiring an arsenal of assault rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition is as easy as owning a lawn mower. Only one circumstance might induce the cowards in our legislatures to tackle this problem as other nations have already done. If an angry shooter were to slaughter 49 members of Congress or National Rifle Association convention attendees, we would see action. Fast. But it likely won't happen. Those assemblies can afford massive layers of protection that folks in a school, movie theater or nightclub can't. For now, the rest of us must be ready to die as an acceptable side effect of letting professional-grade killing machines be sold as boy-toys. Fred Niedner is a senior research professor and associate director of the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University. What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com. Bernie Sanders opposes the power and influence of the 1 percent. Donald Trump IS the 1 percent and is trying to increase his power and influence. They are polar opposites. I know of no Bernie supporters that now plan to support Trump. Advertisement With Trump's way of thinking, I hope he has no Mexican-descent Secret Service agents. After all, if you apply his racist way of thinking, they can't be trusted. I continue to find it interesting how people talk about the "rich, hedge fund Republicans" and how they only want to help their other rich friends. Hillary Clinton is worth about $15.3 million (reported in CNN, June 9). She is a member of the 1 percent that she rails against. Does anyone really think that she, or any of the other rich Democrat or Republican politicians, will do anything to jeopardize their 1 percent status? They are all going to do everything to help or at least not hurt themselves and the other 1 percenters. Advertisement If you want to know why this country is in trouble, it's because Republicans control the governor's office, the Senate, and the House of Representatives in twenty-three states. In almost every one of those states, public education is suffering, infrastructure is crumbling and so-called "religious freedom" legislation is taking precedent over almost everything else. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Know how to spot a paranoid, ignorant kook? They're the ones complaining about the so-called "liberal media," which for them means everyone who isn't Breitbart or Faux er, Fox News. Donald Trump has people worried in Quickly, always dominating the column. If a Democrat has been running the country for the last eight years, then why are you so worried, and why is it such a mess and so very important? Maybe people in high positions are going to be exposed finally, like those administrators in Munster High School and the officer in Whiting. Our officials in high places are dominating the front page. I don't understand why Clinton had to have her own mail server. What was so special about her not following government procedure? With all these comments about the union guy, how many of you realize that before the unions, these companies would place unsafe conditions on their workers and get rid of you for no reason at all? Dear Illinoisans: Resist Bruce Rauner. He wants to do the same things in Illinois (my home state, by the way) that Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, John Kasich, Mike Pence, Sam Brownback and other right-wing Republican governors have done in theirs. They and the Koch brothers are the people he wants to impress, not you. Yes, it is relaxing to ride my Harley-Davidson, so much so that I don't feel a need for loud exhaust system or a blaring radio for that matter. As for the ear plugs, pick some up for yourself if you ever ride your loud bike any distance. You'll be glad you wore them. Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly Although the Skokie Public Library Board of Trustees conducted a national search for the library's next director, it ended up choosing a familiar face, Library Board President Mark Prosperi announced this week. The Library Board June 15 unanimously voted to hire current Skokie Public Library Deputy Director Richard Kong as the next director. Kong succeeds Carolyn Anthony who is retiring after 31 years. Advertisement Kong has worked at the Skokie Public Library in the same role for the last three years, according to library officials.. A statement released Thursday by Prosperi said Kong received his Master of Science in Information from the University of Michigan in 2006. He currently serves on the executive board of the Illinois Library Association and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Public Library Association. Advertisement Kong will assume his new duties July 16, the statement read. Prosperi also expressed the Library Board's "profound gratitude" to Anthony for more than three decades of service to the Skokie Public Library. "The Board is grateful for her astute leadership and guidance during those years," Prosperi said. "Under her stewardship, (the) Skokie Public Library has achieved national prominence for excellence and innovation." misaacs@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @SKReview_Mike China's largest lender by market value has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Czech government to cooperate on a new fund to invest in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said Thursday it will spend 1 billion euros (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) on establishing a financial firm to launch the fund. Czech will contribute 200 million euros to the fund, which will invest in CEE countries and other regions under the "Belt and Road" initiative framework, according to the ICBC. The Czech government will support the fund's operation in its country and help identify investment opportunities, the ICBC said. The Belt and Road initiative, proposed by China, is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. ICBC will also set up a branch in the Czech capital of Prague to facilitate Sino-Czech cooperation under the initiative, the bank said. China is Czech's biggest trade partner outside the European Union. The two countries saw bilateral trade reach 20.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, up 7.8 percent year on year. Jack Ma, founder and chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, on Thursday proposed the establishment of digital free trade zones for small businesses and called for Russia to become an e-hub intersection connecting Asia and Europe. An e-hub is a digital free trade zone designed specifically for small businesses. Ma said services including logistics, payments, financing and inspections would be provided. "Trains have stations and aircraft have airports. We should build an e-road that connects e-hubs around the world. It would be a paradise for SMEs to sell products that serve anywhere in the world," Ma said. "Russia has very good chance to be one of the e-hubs," Ma said. Ma made his remarks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that opened on Thursday and runs to Saturday. The three-day forum is an annual international conference dedicated to the most pressing economic and business issues facing Russia and the world. Ma's proposal is part of his ambition, raised last year, to build a global e-commerce platform, called the Electronic World Trade Platform. It would serve the interests of SMEs that have been left out of the world's free trade regime in the past. "In most countries SMEs contribute more than 50 percent of GDP and an even higher percentage of employment. But SMEs face challenges such as poor access to global markets, complex regulations and certifications designed for big companies, and a lack of access to financing," Ma said. "We urge G20 countries to support the growth of SMEs," said Ma, who is also the chair of the B20 SME Development Taskforce. B20 is the business advisory group to the G20. Cross-border shopping is the fastest-growing sector in Russia's e-commerce market. Ma said in an interview in 2015 that about one in 10 people from Russia made online purchases through Alibaba's AliExpress, a site that allows shoppers around the world to buy goods at wholesale prices. "Hundreds of thousands" of packages are sent from China to Russia on a daily basis, according to the e-commerce giant. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for six consecutive years since 2010. But Sino-Russian bilateral trade volume fell 27.8 percent last year to 422.73 billion yuan ($64.16 billion) due to the ongoing global economic downturn and falling oil prices, according to the General Administration of Customs. "Besides energy industry cooperation, companies from both countries should work together to jointly develop high-end products for the manufacturing, consumption and infrastructure sectors," Chen Yuan, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said at the forum. "Such a partnership will create huge opportunities for trade and financial cooperation. I am confident that our bilateral trade volume will reach $200 billion by 2020," Chen said. The trade target was first raised by the leaders of both countries in 2014. You are here: Home A charter route between China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang and Alaska in the United States will be upgraded to be a regular route, local authorities said Wednesday. The round-trip, operated by Russia's Ural Airlines with an Airbus A320 once a week, will begin in September, said Hou Wei, deputy head of Heilongjiang's tourism development commission. The route will link Harbin City, capital of Heilongjiang, and Anchorage in Alaska, with a stop in the Russian port city of Magadan. The route, which takes six-and-a-half hours each way, is the shortest linking China and the United States. The regular service is likely to boost tourism between the two popular destinations, Hou said. The governments of Heilongjiang and Alaska established friendly relations in 1985. The charter route was launched in 2013. The 7th Weihai International Food Expo and China-South Korea (Weihai) Lifestyle Expo, and China-South Korea Commodity Expo kicked off in Weihai, Shandong Province on June 17, 2016. The event will last for four days until June 20. The main venue, Weihai International Exhibition Center, has been divided into the food exhibition area, China-South Korea trade-in-service exhibition area, South Korea Pavilion and other overseas exhibition area, providing a total of 670 exhibition berths. A total of 431 enterprises from more than 10 countries and regions and 20 provinces and municipalities are showcasing their products and services. Weihai Local Brand Products Exhibition Center, the sub-venue, will exhibit commodities of 200 local enterprises in a long term. The 7th Weihai International Food Expo and China-South Korea (Weihai) Lifestyle Expo, and China-South Korea Commodity Expo kicked off in Weihai, Shandong Province on June 17, 2016. The event pays particular attention to the theme of food safety as Weihai is an important food and agricultural products exporter in Shandong. The outstanding brand awareness has effectively helped Weihais export of food and agricultural products. Such exports from 88 local enterprises valued US$1.3 billion in 2015, of which exports to Japan and South Korea accounted for two thirds. The Experience Center (Weihai) of Food with the Same Production Lines, Same Standards and Same Quality with Japan and Korea was launched specially for the food safety at the Expo. The Expo will also highlight economic cooperation and trade in service between China and South Korea. The Expo has set up South Korea Pavilion for the first time, with 104 South Korean enterprises organized by Incheon and South Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The South Korean exhibition area is the largest ever in terms of its size. The Expo has also integrated elements of the China-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA), trade in service and culture and tourism, set up the service and trade interaction exhibition area, as well as specialized exhibition areas to display what have been achieved in FTA construction as well as tourist products. Achievements on the construction of a demonstration zone of local economic cooperation between Weihai and Incheon are exhibited from the following four aspects: improving economic cooperation mechanism, increasingly smoothing trade passages, cross-border e-commerce development and intensive integration of the industrial cooperation between China and South Korea. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. You are here: Home Organs of a doctor who died from a sudden illness were donated by his relatives and have saved the lives of six people. Song Wei, 34, a trainee doctor at Shanghai Changhai Hospital, suffered an acute brainstem hemorrhage on May 31 and was pronounced dead on Wednesday. His wife and parents decided to complete his final wishes and donated Song's liver, lungs, kidneys, corneas and skin tissue to save patients' lives and help two see again. "He is a doctor. Healing the wounded and saving the dying was his life mission," said his wife. According to the local Red Cross Society, Song is the city's 195th organ donor and 57th this year. Gao Jiechun with the society said the number of registered organ donors in Shanghai exceeds 5,000. A suspicious package spotted near the United States embassy in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon contained no explosives, just clothes and other everyday items, the Beijing public security bureau said in a Weibo posting on Wednesday evening. The parcel, which was alleged by some netizens to contain a bomb at Liangmaqiao, Chaoyang District, drew immediate attention from police, according to Beijing Youth Daily. A witness said riot police and vans were seen in front of the western gate of the U.S. embassy at around 5 p.m., while that section of the road was cordoned off. Several policemen were attempting to approach an electric motorcycle, said the witness, who thought it might have been part of a drill operation. Then at around 7 p.m., the Beijing police released information about the incident via microblog, saying it had evacuated people in the surrounding area but later detected no explosives in the parcel. As more than nine million students finish taking the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, they now become the target of businessmen and the so-called "after-gaokao economy". Students attend a cram school in Beijing's Changping district. (File Photo: China Daily / Wang Jing) Cram schools charge up to US$45,630 Cram schools begin to snatch gaokao students who are unsatisfied with their exam score and want to get better marks. A teacher, surnamed Zhang, at a famous institute in Beijing, said that they will set up more than a dozen review classes this year and place students in basic, advance or key classes based on their exam scores. "Though we place them in different classes, the tuition fees are same at about 70,000 yuan ($10,647) a year including accommodation," said Zhang. A teacher, surnamed Hao, in another cram school said that they have 20 years of experience in running review classes. About 50 percent of their students have got admission in first-class universities in recent years. They charge more than 60,000 yuan a year in tuition fee and for some students who require one-to-one class the fee goes up to 300,000 yuan ($45,630). Driving schools see rush of students a week after exam Unlike students who want to bet their future on a carefully selected cram school, some focus on improving their social skills. Media reports show that driving schools across the country embrace a wave of student applicants who are attracted by schools' preferential policies. An employee at a driving school in Haidian district of Beijing said that they launched a summer course for students. If they apply for the class in a group of five or above, they will have to pay just 3,400 yuan, nearly 1,000 yuan lower than the normal market price. A driving school in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi province, also offers students promotions such as lowering the fees by 200 yuan if they show the admission ticket for national college entrance exam and exempting top scorers from tuition fee. "The promotions work well," said an employee in charge of recruitment. "More than a hundred students apply for the class one week after the exam." After exam, students travel abroad to relax "Every summer vacation, the number of students heading overseas for travel increases 10 to 20 percent," said Xu Xiaolei, Chief Brand Officer of Aoyou.com, an online-booking website under China Youth Travel Service Co. According to Xu, a study conducted by the website shows that most students prefer Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and other southeast Asian countries. The travel cost usually ranges from thousand yuan to 10,000 yuan, but some goes up to more than 100,000 yuan. An employee at Chinese travel agency Caissa said they see a peak in number of students traveling overseas after national college entrance exam every year. Except short line tours for South Korea, Japan and Thailand, the long line tours for Europe and North America are also popular. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. Designers of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System might had expected the space network would garner a wide variety of users, but disciplinary inspectors of the People's Liberation Army sound like an unlikely client. At least one PLA unit has begun to use Beidou in its efforts to curb corruption and the misuse of public assets thanks to the system's strong positioning capability. According to PLA Daily, a ground-to-air missile brigade under the PLA Western Theater Command has Beidou devices installed in its cars to track driving routes. Wherever the cars go, their whereabouts are submitted in real time to an orbiting satellite and transferred to the brigade headquarters. In early May, an officer escorting a small delivery asked the driver to make a detour to handle a personal affair. Within minutes after the car left the planned route, the officer received a call from inspectors at the brigade requesting an explanation. The use of Beidou is aimed at regulating issues that could lead to disciplinary violations, brigade commanders told PLA Daily. In the past, official cars at some PLA units were loosely managed and some officers used those vehicles for personal purposes, which caused huge losses of public funds, earlier reports said. The brigade is not alone in using Beidou to monitor its cars. Several local governments, including Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Yueyang, Hunan province, also use the space-based network to manage their vehicles. "Beidou has proved an effective tool to prevent the misuse of public assets, because it can truthfully record and report every move made by a car, plane or ship," said a researcher of PLA personnel management surnamed Li. President Xi Jinping is setting off on an eight-day trip to a number of new destinations. He will visit Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan, the latter for bilateral talks in the context of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Hitherto, these regions have not attracted too much interest, due to their relative lack of prominence either in global strategic or global economic fields. However, this has been changing for some time. One of the main factors involved has been China's strategic decision to make the "Belt and Road" programme the central plank of Chinese economic and commercial diplomacy, which inevitably brings political diplomacy with it. The Eastern European and Central Asian regions form a major part of the geographical linkage essential to the Belt and Road initiative, and also contain some areas in great need of infrastructural development. There are also strategic implications. Central Asia has been a focus in the 20 years since the SCO was launched, and Eastern Europe is feeling the effects of economic difficulties currently facing the continent as a whole. These issues are far from irrelevant to the dialogue President Xi will be holding with Russian President Putin later this month. In an announcement made in Beijing before his departure, President Xi made it clear that he appreciates the position of the Balkan region as a historical meeting-place between East and West. Of his first destination, Serbia, he described it as "a country with a long history and a magnificent culture, with an important place in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. For thousands of years, the region has been a meeting place of Eastern and Western cultures, which has led to the progress of civilization." These words clearly point towards fixing his visit in the context of China's intercontinental "Belt and Road" initiative. In Serbia, the visit from an economically powerful country's leader is eagerly awaited, with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic expressing hopes that the 24 cooperation agreements to be signed during the visit will be extremely lucrative for his country. Serbia, which emerged from a destructive civil war only twenty years ago, still faces considerable needs for the regeneration and modernization of its infrastructure. Serbia has been involved in negotiations to join the European Union for some time but is not yet a member; this means that EU funding has not yet been released in any major quantities. But Chinese investment has already made a big difference in the country's post-war regeneration. China is deeply involved in road-building and power generation projects in Serbia, and has also built a bridge over the Danube (the first such project in Europe) which is known affectionately by the locals as the "Chinese Bridge." President Xi will also visit a flagship cooperative project, the hundred-year-old Smederevo steel mill, acquired in a US$50 million deal this year by China's massive Hesteel Group. In building up this strong and durable position within Serbia's nexus of economic relationships, China hopes to build a lasting relationship and establish Serbia as one of her most reliable partners in Eastern Europe. It helps, of course, that there are no tricky political issues between the two countries; China supports Serbia's view on the Kosovo issue while in return Serbia sticks to a firm one-China policy. And while China has no view on the issue of Serbian accession to the EU, President Xi and his team will be careful to establish the strongest possible Chinese presence in the Balkan country, to ensure that China will have a firm supporter if and when Serbia does join the EU. In return, China's solid commitment to the Belt and Road project, on which Serbian diplomats have been well briefed, should convince the Serbians that any agreements reached with China will not be ephemeral, but lodged within a wide-ranging and long-term context, and that they will be able to derive ongoing benefits from the country for some time to come. Even seen in a bilateral context, this visit demonstrates that no country is seen as too small or remote by the new China, and that China is committed to extending the range of her diplomacy without aggressive intent, but aiming at win-win benefits through economic cooperation. For a number of reasons, the Eastern end of the European peninsula has undergone a difficult time during the last thirty years, and, though Western Europe has done what it can to help lay the foundations for stronger economies, their own economic difficulties have recently imposed constraints on their capacity. President Xi's visit to Belgrade will provide Serbia with a complementary source of support, which I expect will be greatly welcomed by the Serbian government and people. Tim Collard spent 20 years in the UK Diplomatic Service, half of that time in China, serving as a trade and investment adviser and a political analyst; he also served as British Consul-General in Hamburg. He has now retired from diplomacy and works as a freelance writer covering a variety of political and economic topics. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/timcollard.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash The Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said Thursday the cockpit voice recorder of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 has been recovered but found damaged. "The device has been recovered in several stages as it was found damaged, but the vessel managed to salvage the part containing the memory unit, which is the most important in the voice recorder," the investigation committee said in a statement. EgyptAir Flight MS804, an Airbus A320, went missing from radar screens on May 19 en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board, including 30 Egyptians and 15 French. Later on, the Egyptian military announced the finding of some personal belongings of the victims and small pieces of the plane wreckage in the Mediterranean Sea 290 km north of Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria. The cockpit voice recorder is to be handed to prosecution officials and investigators in Alexandria. On Wednesday, the investigation committee said the hired vessel located several spots of the wreckage of the doomed plane, noting it was provided by the first images of the wreckage from one of the spotted sites. Investigation is still on into the tragic fall of EgyptAir Flight MS804, with all theories like a terrorist bombing and a severe technical failure on the table yet without a strong clue. Flash Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is well and will return to Nigeria on Sunday to resume work on Monday, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said Thursday. "I spoke with him yesterday (Wednesday) evening and I think it is just the best that he takes the weekend off. He will certainly be back on Sunday," Osinbajo told reporters in Abuja, the country's capital shortly before presiding over the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting. The vice-president added that there was no point for his rushing back since the weekend was close by as the President needed to take the weekend off and resume work on Monday. Osinbajo confirmed that President Buhari had fully recovered, when asked about the condition of health of the President. "Mr President is in good condition, he is fine, and he is very well," he said. "He should take a day or two off in London and rest a bit and come back hale and hearty on Sunday and be ready for work on Monday," Osinbajo added. The Nigerian leader had informed the National Assembly of his medical condition and asked for 10 days off to attend to an ear infection in London. Flash Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guo Jinlong has said that China is willing to further strengthen mutual political trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation in economy and trade with Portugal in a bid to raise the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries to a higher level. Guo, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, paid a three-day visit to Portugal heading a CPC delegation. During his visit, which concluded on Thursday, Guo met with several top leaders such as Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Socialist Party President Carlos Cesar, and main opposition Social Democratic Party President Pedro Passos Coelho. Guo said that at the present time, China and Portugal have seen frequent contacts and exchanges at a high level and great achievements have been made in cooperation in such domains as economy and trade, investment, personnel and culture exchange. The two countries have also had timely communication and coordination in international affairs, he added. Guo said that China attaches great importance to the development of ties with Portugal and is willing to further strengthen mutual political trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation in economy and trade with Portugal, foster growth in the sectors of tourism, sea and third-party cooperation. Guo spoke highly of the position of Portugal's two main parties to implement a friendly policy towards China. He also expressed his hope that political parties in the two countries would continue to maintain the momentum of exchanges to further enhance mutual understanding and trust, value the concern of each other's core interests and safeguard and promote the healthy and steady development in China-Portugal ties as well as that of China-EU as a whole. For his part, Portuguese President Rebelo de Sousa appreciated the achievement China has made in its development and hoped that the two countries would further strengthen political exchange, and expand cooperation in fields such as economy, trade, investment, tourism, education, and science and technology. He also said that Portugal would continue to promote the development of ties between Europe and China. Both Costa and Passos Coelho said that Portuguese political parties would continue to enhance exchanges and cooperation with the CPC and jointly promote mutual political trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples. During his visit, Guo also inspected a program carried out by the Beijing Enterprises Water Group in Portugal and attended the Night of Beijing concert in Lisbon. Flash Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that it is the United States and its allies, not Russia, that are responsible for the delay in seeking a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis. The top Russian diplomat, who is here attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, made the remarks to refute a recent statement of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that Washington was losing patience with Russia and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who are "creating obstacles" to a solution in the war-torn country. "It is not correct to demonstrate impatience referring to us," said Lavrov. He noted that it was "due to the position of our U.S. partners who are unable, or do not want to exert pressure on their allies in the region" that led to the failure of making all parties involved in the Syria settlement to sit at the negotiating table. Turkey was not ready to admit Syrian Kurds, while some members of the opposition, which cooperate with the United States and their allies, refuse to treat other opposition groups as equals, he added. Lavrov said that in February Kerry himself stressed the necessity for all groups territorially mixed with the Nusra Front and Islamic State terrorist groups to distance themselves from them and leave those zones. However, the U.S. side is now saying that they are unable to remove the "good" opposition members from the positions held by the Nusra Front, and that they still need an additional two or three months, said the diplomat. Flash European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday the European Union (EU) would no doubt survive if Britain were to exit from the 28-member bloc, but the price would be high. Tusk said preparations had been made for the alternative, but he was unwilling to provide any concrete details as to what actions the EU would take. Tusk talked to journalists at a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. Later on Thursday he also met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Referring to the recent opinion polls carried out in the UK, Tusk said it was "not easy to be optimistic" the vote would be to remain in the EU, but the view of the UK people must be respected. Tusk said that besides the economic impact, political and geopolitical repercussions would be unpredictable at a time when there is a major need for unity. Tusk said European history had shown that unity means strength. He defined an exit of the UK as a danger for both Britain and the whole western community. Flash U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday again urged Republican-controlled Congress to pass stricter gun control laws during his visit to Orlando in the wake of the country's deadliest mass shooting incident. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. history since 9/11 in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," said Obama. Following the 2012 school mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 26 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama presided over more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform U.S. gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. The shooting massacre was the 176th mass shooting which happened in the United States in the past 168 days so far in 2016, according to the group Mass Shooting Tracker. Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which defines the "mass shooting" as an incident where four or more people are killed in one case, the Tracker broadens the definition of the "mass shooting" to include all incidents involving four or more people being shot but not necessarily killed. By that criteria, the Tracker reports after collecting data from news reports around the nation that the shooting carnage at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub, which left 50 dead, including the gunman, was the 176th mass shooting so far this year. According to the Tracker, as of Tuesday, six more mass shootings occurred in the wake of Orlando nightclub massacre. So far, federal investigators had found no clear evidence that Mateen had been in touch with any terrorist groups before the attack. However, according to Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey, the authorities were "highly confident" that Mateen had been radicalized online. Just like his previous reactions after similar mass shooting incidents in the past, U.S. President Barack Obama this time again stressed the importance of passing stricter gun control laws on every public appearance in the wake of the incident. Flash Senior Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland welcomed Thursday the headway made by humanitarian actors in reaching civilians trapped in besieged areas in Syria. "After several really very bad weeks for humanitarian access in Syria, we have made progress of late in reaching the besieged areas," Egeland said after convening with humanitarian taskforce members in Geneva's Palais des Nations. "It was very significant that we were able to reach both Darayya and Duma in recent days with a partial delivery of food and full delivery of other humanitarian items," he added. An additional aid convoy is expected to reach the besieged town of Al-Waer, whose population has been without supplies for over three months. This means that 16 out of the 18 besieged areas will have received life-saving assistance since relief operations kicked off in February this year, with the remaining two towns of Arbin and Zamalka located in rural Damascus scheduled to receive aid in the coming days. In comparison, only two areas were reached over the course of last year. The latest UN figures show that over 844,000 people living in both hard-to-reach and besieged locations in Syria have received assistance since the beginning of the year. As fighting between warring factions shows no sign of abating, Egeland stressed more needed to be done to cater to all those in need of assistance. "We're acutely aware that the access we have now can end tomorrow," he added. The Norwegian diplomat welcomed the 48-hour ceasefire implemented Thursday in Syria's northern city of Aleppo. He also called for more such truces to take effect in the country which has been at war since 2011. Flash The UN refugee agency on Thursday launched a global campaign calling on governments to take action for refugees. The campaign launched through video messages in the lead-up to World Refugee Day asks the world to stand together #WithRefugees. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the campaign seeks to mobilize massive audiences, creating the largest-ever petition to support refugee cause. "We are in a period of deepening conflict and turmoil in the world, which is causing many more people to flee their homes than before,"said Grandi in a statement received in Nairobi. "It affects and involves us all, and what it needs is understanding, compassion and political will to come together and find real answers for the refugee plight. This has become a defining challenge of our times," he added. In a stunning video message more than 60 global celebrities join with refugees and aid workers to echo the message, "we stand with refugees, please stand with us." The petition appeals for government action on behalf of the world's forcibly displaced. The campaign aims to demonstrate public support for families forced to flee against a backdrop of dramatically increased displacement from conflict and persecution on the one hand, and heightened anti-refugee rhetoric and greater restrictions to asylum on the other. The petition will be delivered in advance of September's historic UN High-Level Plenary of the General Assembly on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. Grandi said millions of people were newly displaced in 2015, adding again to the global refugee and internal displacement totals. "Overwhelmingly, it was countries of the developing world that were most affected, but Europe too witnessed dramatic scenes, as hundreds of thousands of people crossed the Mediterranean in search of safety and refuge. Thousands died along the way," he said. The UNHCR said the #WithRefugees campaign and petition aims to amplify those voices of welcome and show that the world stands with refugees. "At the same time, there was an extraordinary outpouring of empathy and solidarity, as ordinary people and communities opened their homes and their hearts to refugees, and some countries have welcomed new arrivals even while already hosting large numbers of refugees," Grandi said. Flash The Saudi-led Arab coalition is on the way to "deliver its core goals," and up to the Yemenis to reach an inclusive political deal between the disputing parties, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said Thursday in Abu Dhabi. In a series of tweets on his Twitter account quoted by the UAE state news agency WAM, Anwar Al-Gargash said the UAE will continue to play its role with Saudi Arabia "until the end of the war," without hinting at a time horizon. The UAE is part of a Saudi-led military coalition comprising nine Arab states to support Yemen's "legitimate" government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia and forces controlled by former president Ali Abduallah Saleh. The coalition has been bombing on a daily basis the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi group across Yemen since March 26, when President Hadi fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh to take refuge. Gargash said goals of the operations in Yemen were "crystal clear and well-defined which contributed to its success: to bring the Yemen crisis back on the political track, to restore the legitimate government of Yemen, and to counter the Iranian interference in the region." He added "now it is the responsibility of the Yemeni people and factions to build channels of communication and agree on a political solution regarding the state and its institutions." Flash An inter-agency humanitarian convoy is delivering humanitarian assistance to about 37,500 residents in the besieged neighborhood of Al Waer in Homs, Syria, a UN spokesman said Thursday. "A second convoy is planned in the coming days, pending government approval," Stephane Dujarric told reporters said at a daily news briefing here, quoting information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The two convoys combined will provide food, medicine, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and emergency supplies for about 75,000 people, he said. The last inter-agency convoy to Al Waer was on March 3. Also on Thursday, a UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy delivered food, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, other basic supplies and agricultural assistance for 50,000 people in Afrin city, Kafr Janneh, Rajou, Yakhour, all in Aleppo Governorate, he said. Since the beginning of 2016, more than 844,000 people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas have received a range of humanitarian assistance through UN inter-agency convoys, he added. Flash Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented on Thursday his government's 2016-2021 plan for "fair growth", pledging brighter days for the suffering Greek people after six years of harsh austerity introduced to overcome the debt crisis. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech at the Acropolis museum with the ancient Parthenon temple seen in the background in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] A painful circle closes for Greece following the completion of the first review of the third Greek bailout, he told a forum on development hosted at the Acropolis Museum. Focus will be shifted from now on to growth boosting policies to address the high unemployment rates challenge and redistribute burdens and wealth, he said. "For first time in the past six years we have a stable macroeconomic, fiscal and investment environment. The main focus now is development and all government efforts are geared towards one strategic target: promoting fair growth," he said. Tsipras criticized as unsustainable and socially unfair previous growth plans presented by his predecessors until the Radical Left assumed office in January 2015. Outlining the main pillars of the Left-led ruling coalition's strategy, he talked about "productive reconstruction" and restart of major infrastructure projects across Greece which had "frozen" during the crisis. He also referred to a series of financing tools available from now in particular to small- and medium- sized enterprises as part of efforts to attract more investments and create "long-lasting and decent" job positions. The Greek leader pointed to the new development law the parliament approved just a few hours before the event at the Acropolis museum as a key tool in the growth process. "The new development law foresees total investments of 13 billion euros by 2021," he noted. The government's goal is to reduce by then to half the current unemployment rates which stand at around 24 percent of the working force, Tsipras added. The law which was expected to come into effect in September foresees among others taxation incentives for investors and the reduction of red tape. "It reflects the entire philosophy of our growth planning. It aims at the creation of innovative, extrovert, dynamic enterprises, the support of employment with emphasis on specialized human resources, as well as the increase of added value," he stressed. "Our growth strategy has one goal -- to put an end to the vicious circle of recession and unemployment," the Greek premier said, closing his remarks. During the event he also took a moment to comment on the murder of British Labour MP Jo Cox, who was gunned down and stabbed by a man earlier on Thursday, while she was attending an event at her constituency. He called on all sides "to pay homage to a politician who died unjustly and to hope she is the last victim at a time when hatred in Europe is rekindled and strengthened against sobriety and political discourse." Flash The Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday, while confirming the Orlando "lone wolf" shooter had no direct links to the extreme group. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warning the group may infiltrate refugees into western nations. ISIL is another acronym for the group. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," said the spy chief. According to Brennan, the IS has lost "large stretches" of territory in Iraq and Syria but still has about 18,000 to 22,00 fighters there and its branch in Libya is "probably the most developed and the most dangerous," echoing concerns that Libya's close proximity to Europe is a problem. He testified to the Congress that the IS has between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Libya, plus some 7,000 in Nigeria and hundreds more in Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, "as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," said Brennan. As for the Orlando shooting which left 50 dead including the shooter Omar Mateen on Sunday, Brennan said the current investigation has not been able to uncover any direct link between Mateen and a foreign terrorist organization. However, "lone wolf" attackers who are inspired by but not under the direct control of terror groups represent "an exceptionally challenging issue for the intelligence community," he noted. The CIA is sharing intelligence with the FBI to help identify potential lone-wolf attackers, but the CIA's responsibility is to gather information about operations overseas, he added. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are expected to receive classified briefings from intelligence agencies once they officially become the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, as expected, in July. China Aid By Brynne Lawrence (Guiyang, GuizhouJune 13, 2016) Documents from a lawsuit filed against authorities in Chinas central Guizhou province allege that officers tortured a detained house church pastor and threatened his life and family. The pastors two defense attorneys issued the lawsuit after their client testified on May 11 about the abusive treatment he has received in police custody. Human rights lawyer Chen Jiangang released an exclusive interview between himself and Yang Hua (also known as his legal name, Li Guozhi), a pastor of Huoshi Church who was arrested on charges of divulging state secrets on Jan. 22 after he attempted to prevent authorities from confiscating a hard drive belonging to the church. Yang Hua (Photo: China Aid) In the interview, Yang describes two incidents, occurring on March 16 and April 15, in which three and five prosecutors respectively threatened his life and family. These prosecutors include Ke Jun, Zhang Wei, Zhao Yuanpeng, Tang Jing, and a man surnamed Han. According to Yang, Ke said on March 16, Youd better confess. Your life is in my hands. Im here to meet with you because I see you as an ally. If you refuse to cooperate, Ill treat you as a spy, as someone on the opposing side. In that case, we wont treat you this nicely. I can make you disappear from the face of the earth. Im a powerful man. Not one of the policemen [at this detention center] would stand if I asked him to get on his knees. [If you refuse to cooperate,) not only you, but your wife and your children will face problems. Im a torture expert. I know how to beat you up without leaving a mark on your body for people to see. Doctors wont be able to diagnose you. Even you wont know what you died of. During the interrogation, the officials produced a transcript of what had been said and forced Yang to sign it. Then, they took him out of the room, forced him to re-enter, and videotaped another cross-examination, this time using less menacing language. On April 15, the prosecutor named Zhang asked Yang to describe what happened on Dec. 6, 2015, when Huoshi Church refused to pay a fine the government inflicted on it for using office space that it purchased for religious services. When Yang refused to disclose this information, Ke became angry, stepped on his feet, and said, No one here sympathizes with you. Do you know why the pigs on the pig farm behind this building are so fat? We can turn you into food for pigs, which is one way to die. Theres another way to kill you. I can take you to an isolated place and no one will find out how you died. We can make you experience something worse than death and then make you disappear from the face of the earth, or I can make arrangements with the detention center to have three or four guys locked here rape you and torture you every night. Suing me wont work. Im the boss here. Despite Zhangs threats, Chen and his co-counsel, Zhao Yonglin, filed a lawsuit against the prosecutors. In response to this information, China Aids president, Bob Fu, contacted the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Congress, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Dutch government, including the Dutch Parliament, and urged them to communicate their concern about Yangs treatment to Chinese authorities. Translations of the interview and the lawsuit documents can be found below. China Aid exposes abuses, such as the torture and threats experienced by Yang Hua, in order to promote religious freedom and rule of law in China. If you would like to get involved in supporting Yang Hua, please consider signing the petition for his release or visiting www.freeyanghua.org to learn more. Yang Hua Interview The Huoshi Church Religious Case: Prosecutor Threatened to Turn pastor into Food for Pigs A written record of an interview with Li Guozhi Time: May 11, 2016, morning Location: Nanming District Detention Center, Guiyang Interviewers: Attorney Zhao Yonglin & Attorney Chen Jiangang Recorder: Attorney Chen Jiangang Q: At our last meeting, you mentioned that the prosecutor came here to meet with you twice. Please tell us more about these meetings. A: Okay. The two meetings happened on March 16 and April 15. Three people came to the first meeting, including Zhao Yuanpeng and a person surnamed Ke from the Anti-Malfeasance Infringement Department of Nanming District Procuratorate. The third person was here to videotape the meeting. Only Zhao Yuanpeng wore a uniform. Q: What did they do to you at your first meeting? A: They interrogated me in a room with nothing separating us and secured me on a metal chair. They all could approach me. Prosecutor Ke brought up a chair to sit next to me. At the beginning, Prosecutor Ke said to me, Youd better confess. Your life is in my hands. Im here to meet with you because I see you as an ally. If you refuse to cooperate, Ill treat you as a spy, as someone on the opposing side. In that case, we wont treat you this nicely. I can make you disappear from the face of the earth. Im a powerful man. Not one of the policemen [at this detention center] would stand if I asked him to get on his knees. [If you refuse to cooperate,] not only you, but your wife and your children will face problems. I am a torture expert. I know how to beat you up without leaving a mark on your body for people to see. Doctors wont be able to diagnose you. Even you wont know what you died of. Q: What else did they say? Did they force you to make up a confession or beat you up? A: The first time, they produced a written record and had me sign it. They threatened me first and asked me to cooperate, and then took me out of the room and had me re-enter it. Then, they turned on their camcorder to record the interview. When the camera was rolling, they restrained themselves from any threatening words. Q: Could you tell us about the interrogation on April 15? A: Five people showed up for this meeting, still in a room with no furniture. The five people were Prosecutor Ke, Prosecutor Zhang Wei, a prosecutor surnamed Han, two people who had a camcorder, and another person whose name I did not know. Ke brought up a chair to sit next to me and said, Its not my job to interrogate you today. Thats my friends job, but I have come to keep an eye on you. In a moment, we will videotape your interrogation. You need to honestly cooperate and not play [tricks] by being silent. Then he asked Zhang Wei to interview me, just to rehearse without videotaping. Zhang Wei asked me what happened on Dec. 6, 2015. I was silent, which made Prosecutor Ke mad. He came over and stomped my feet. It hurt very badly. Prosecutor Ke said, Theres no use staring at us. No one here sympathizes with you. Do you know why the pigs on the pig farm behind this building are so fat? [Editors note: The detention centers pig farm is right across from the interrogation room. Pigsties are right outside the hallway with many fat pigs in it.] We can turn you into food for pigs, which is one way to die. Theres another way to kill you. I can take you to an isolated place and no one will find out how you died. We can make you experience something worse than death and then make you disappear from the face of the earth. Or, I can make arrangements with the detention center to have three or four guys locked here rape you and torture you every night. Suing me wont work. Im the boss here. Then he lifted up my chin and made me look him in his eyes. He stomped on my feet very hard and said, Not just you, your wife and two sons will be in trouble as well. Then he yelled profanities at me and said, I can kill you today! Q: Did he stomp on your feet all the time? In the presence of these other four people? A: He did and he stomped my feet very hard, with the four other people present in the room. The person in charge of videotaping was in another room. After swearing at me, Ke left. Zhang Wei and Prosecutor Han told me to cooperate. Then they took me out of the room and made me reenter the room, and started videotaping from 10:10am to 2:45pm. At last, they made me sign a written record. Q: Is what you told us all true? If it is, please read this record and sign it. A: All I just told you is true. I certify that this record is based on what I said. Li Guozhi May 11, 2016 An Indictment Against Ke Jun, Zhang Wei, Zhao Yuanpeng, Tang Jing and Others from the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang for Illegally Torturing a Suspect to Extort a Confession Plaintiff (victim): Li Guozhi The plaintiffs representative: Attorney Zhao Yonglin The plaintiffs representative: Attorney Chen Jiangang The plaintiff, Li Guozhi is Han Chinese and was born on March 28, 1977. He is the pastor of Huoshi Church in Guiyang. On Dec. 20, 2015, the Nanming District Sub-bureau of the Guiyang Municipal Public Security Bureau criminally detained him because he was falsely charged with illegally possessing state secrets. Because Li Guozhi was suspected of deliberately divulging state secrets, this bureau received approval to arrest him from the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang. He is currently imprisoned at Manming Qu Detention Center in Guiyang. Zhao Yonglin, the plaintiffs representative, is a lawyer from the Shandong Yueshou Law Firm. His phone number is 13905388077. He is Li Guozhis defense lawyer in the case in which [Li] is falsely accused of intentionally divulging state secrets. Chen Jiangang, the plaintiffs representative, is a lawyer from Beijing Qianqi Law Firm. His phone number is 133381367825. He is Li Guozhis defense lawyer in the case in which [Li] is falsely accused of intentionally divulging state secrets. Criminal suspect Ke Jun is a prosecutor at the Anti-Malfeasance Infringement Department of the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang. Criminal suspect Zhao Yuanpeng is a prosecutor at the Anti-Malfeasance Infringement Department of the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang. Criminal suspect Zhang Wei is a prosecutor at the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang. He is a prosecutor in the case in which Li Guozhi is falsely accused of intentionally divulging state secrets. Criminal suspect Tang Jing is a prosecutor at the Nanming District Procuratorate in Guiyang. He is an employee handling the investigation and prosecution of the case in which Li Guozhi is falsely accused of intentionally divulging state secrets. Another suspect surnamed Han also participated in the crime, but his full name is unknown. Facts on the criminal suspects: Suspects Ke Jun and Zhao Yuanpeng are employees of the Anti-Malfeasance Infringement Department of the Nanming District Procuratorate and are members are the investigation team for the case in which the victim, Li Guozhi, has been framed with intentionally divulging state secrets. Suspects Zhang Wei and Tang Jing are employees of the Prosecution Department of the Nanming District Procuratorate who participated in handling the case in which Li Guozhi has been falsely accused of intentionally divulging state secrets. Zhang Wei is the prosecutor who endorsed the indictment paper. The above-mentioned four suspects all took part in the interrogation of the victim, Li Guozhi. Throughout the interrogation process, Ke Jun led, but all participated, torturing him to extort a confession. The facts are as follows: 1. On March 16, 2016, criminal suspects Ke Jun and Zhao Yuanpeng committed the criminal acts of threatening and extorting a confession from the victim, Li Guozhi. On March 16, 2016, suspects Ke Jun, Zhao Yuanpeng and a cameraman entered the Nanming District Detention Center to interrogate the victim, Li Guozhi. The interrogation took place in a special [room labelled the] Guiyang Municipal Nanning District Procuratorates Interrogation Room. This interrogation room did not have welded barriers, such as the steel bars and iron wire in the lawyer visitation rooms. Suspects Ke Jun and Zhao Yuanpeng both had direct access to the victim. When victim Li Guozhi was brought into the interrogation room by police from the detention center, the first step was to tie him to a metal chair. Suspects Ke Jun and Zhao Yuanpeng were both in the room. Ke Jun brought up a chair to sit next to the victim, and he threatened him, saying: Youd better confess. Your life is in my hands. Im here to meet with you because I see you as an ally. If you refuse to cooperate, Ill treat you as a spy, as someone on the opposing side. In that case, we wont treat you this nicely. I can make you disappear from the face of the earth. Im a powerful man. Not one of the policemen [at this detention center] would stand if I asked him to get on his knees. [If you refuse to cooperate,] not only you, but your wife and children will face problems. I am a torture expert. I know how to beat you up without leaving a mark on your body for people to see. Doctors wont be able to diagnose you. Even you wont know what you died of. While the suspect Ke Jun was insulting, threatening and intimidating Li Guozhi, Zhao Yuanpeng was at the side of the room and later produced a written interrogation record. He forced the victim Li Guozhi to sign it and stamp it with his fingerprint. 2. On April 15, 2016, suspects Ke Jun, Zhang Wei, Tang Jing and a person surnamed Han also committed acts of torture, intimidation and coercion against victim Li Guozhi. On April 15, 2016, five people, including suspects Ke Jun, Zhang Wei, Tang Jing, [a staff member] surnamed Han and a cameraman, entered the Nanming District Detention Center to interrogate victim Li Guozhi. The interrogation was also carried out in the special Guiyang Municipal Nanning District Procuratorates Interrogation Room. By then, the case had already entered the prosecution stage, and Ke Jun from the Anti-Malfeasance and Infringement Department, who was in charge of investigation, had already handed over files of the case to the prosecution department. According to the law, Ke Jun was not supposed to come to the detention center to interrogate the victim, but he, as the person in charge of investigating the case, came with Zhang Wei, who is charge of prosecution, to interrogate the victim. The same day, after the victim Li Guozhi was brought into the interrogation room and tied to a metal chair, criminal suspect Ke Jun pulled up a chair to sit next to him and said, Its not my job to interrogate you today. Thats my friends job, but I have come to keep an eye on you. In a moment, we will videotape your interrogation. You need to honestly cooperate and not play [tricks] by being silent. Then, he allowed criminal suspect Zhang Wei, who is in charge of prosecution, to rehearse the victim Li Guozhis interrogation. After they finished rehearsing, they began videotaping. When the victim Li Guozhi did not respond to questions regarding the fabricated charge against him, criminal suspect Ke Jun began to carry out interrogation under torture and threaten him. Criminal suspect Ke Jun stood up, forcefully and violently stepped on Li Guozhis feet and threatened him as follows: No one here sympathizes with you. Do you know why the pigs on the pig farm behind this building are so fat? [The detention centers pig farm is right across from the interrogation room. Pigsties are right outside the hallway with many fat pigs in it.] We can turn you into food for pigs, which is one way to die. Theres another way to kill you. I can take you to an isolated place and no one will find out how you died. We can make you experience something worse than death and then make you disappear from the face of the earth Or, I can make arrangements with the detention center to have three or four guys locked here rape you and torture you every night. Suing me wont work. Im the boss here. Not just you, your wife and two sons will be in trouble as well. I can kill you today! The suspect verbally abused the victim Li Guozhi for a long time while forcefully stepping on his feet, which caused the victim acute pain. Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma delivers a speech at an investor conference at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, June 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Jack Ma's comments that fake products made today are "better quality and better priced" than the real goods should not be taken as a reflection of the company's failure to curb counterfeits, counterfeit experts said. Ma, executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, made his comments at an investor meeting on Tuesday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. According to reports, he said the better quality of the fake goods is due to many of them being made at the same or similar factories, sometimes with the same labor force using the same materials. "They are exactly the same factories, exactly the same raw materials but they do not use the names," Ma said, according to The Wall Street Journal. He also said the problem of counterfeit goods cannot be solved "100 percent, because it's the fight against human instinct", according to The New York Times. "But we can solve the problem better than any government, than any organization, than (anybody) in the world." Ma's remarks were made in response to persistent criticism from luxury brands that the company is not doing enough to get rid of counterfeit goods on its sprawling e-commerce platform Taobao, where it is easy to find fake designer bags and jewelry. Peter Yu, professor of law at Texas A&M University, said that counterfeits can be classified into various categories, with Ma most likely referencing "A-grade" goods that are so difficult to tell apart that they can only be verified by lab technicians or the original manufacturers. "From the perspective of brands, when they see fake goods on Alibaba, they believe that Alibaba hasn't done enough to enforce and protect intellectual property rights, and that Alibaba should do more," said Yu, who is also co-director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M. "But the part of the story that isn't emphasized is how much money and effort those retailing sites have already put in to the police the networks," he said. Yu said that fake goods are also available on eBay, Alibaba's American equivalent, but the scale of counterfeiting in China is much larger, so even with the resources that Alibaba is putting into combating the proliferation of fakes, brands might still feel the efforts are inadequate. Alibaba had been criticized by the Chinese government for failing to curb fakes, and late last year the US government issued a stern warning to the company, saying it could be added back to the "Notorious Markets List" if it does not do a better job enforcing piracy rules. Alibaba became a general member of the International AntiCoun-terfeiting Coalition, a group that represents many luxury brands, but its membership was suspended a month after it was admitted. The organization's board of directors said the suspension was due to concerns from members, which the Journal reported included luxury brand Michael Kors. "I think the focus of the conversation in the industry isn't to point fingers at Alibaba or any marketplace, but about making sure that our technologies are advanced and that they're easy to apply, track and trace," said Rich Cremona, CEO of OpSec Security Group Ltd, a brand protection company. A ship designed by a COSCO unit in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on a trial sailing. It was made to operate under tough ocean conditions. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Firm capable of carrying commodity goods to more than 100 countries, regions COSCO Shipping Bulk Co was officially launched in Guangzhou on Thursday, forming the world's largest bulk vessel fleet in terms of both ship numbers and deadweight tonnage. The new company was formed by the merger of COSCO Bulk Carrier Co and China Shipping Bulk Carrier Co. With a total of 382 self-operated and controlled bulk vessels and a capacity of 34.58 million deadweight tons, COSCO Shipping Bulk will be able to ship iron ore, coal, grain and other commodities to more than 1,000 ports in some 100 countries and regions. Its annual freight volume will exceed 340 million metric tons. It now has 18,500 employees, including 13,000 mariners. The average ship age in its fleet is eight years. Sun Jiakang, deputy general manager of COSCO Shipping, said as many countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative need natural resources and commodities to support their ongoing urbanization and industrialization, the new company is keen to build more partnerships with both governments and businesses along these trading routes. COSCO Shipping Bulk also signed cooperative agreements with six domestic companies, including China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd and Hunan Valin Steel Co Ltd on Thursday. They will work together to further expand client networks and to develop overseas businesses, especially in emerging markets. To improve local services, COSCO Shipping Bulk will work with representatives employed by its mother company, COSCO Shipping, to take care of sales, customs clearance and business promotion, in particular along the Belt and Road Initiative routes. Because global bulk shipping operators continue to confront overcapacity, low carriage rates and weak market demand, the new company will deploy more resources into more than 40 of its non-shipping subsidiaries. It will seek to dig more growth from real estate, property and hotel management, road logistics, ship financing and insurance businesses. "The establishment of the new company is a flexible way to achieve business scale and synergies, particularly in the sectors of commodity shipping and other service businesses, in order to better compete with other established global rivals," Sun said at the inaugural meeting in Guangzhou. "This move is also part of ongoing restructuring of State-owned enterprises," said Dong Liwan, a shipbuilding industry professor at Shanghai Maritime University. He said COSCO Shipping's new step will transform its businesses into a more diversified operation model that can take full advantage of the opportunities likely to come from surging demand for infrastructure development and natural resource trade in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, as well as the in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. A graduate browses job information during a job fair in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Nov 25, 2015. [Photo/IC] While China continues to face the realities of an economic slowdown and the challenges associated with its structural transformation, companiesespecially industry leadershave not tightened their budgets for human capital but are still making long-term investment in their staff, seeing them as core assets. That's the message from the Best Employers China 2016 awardjointly released by global talent, retirement and health solutions provider Aon Hewitt, and social network LinkedIn Corp. Award winners were among the 108 domestic and multinational candidate companies from 11 industries in 192 Chinese cities. The companies winning the award included AIA China, Bayer (China) Ltd, DHL Sinotrans International Air Courier Ltd, Infinitus (China) Co Ltd, McDonald's (China) Co Ltd, MSD China Holding Co Ltd, Novartis Group (China), Pfizer China, Taikang Life Insurance Co Ltd and The Ritz-Carlton Hotels China. Even though the country is entering the new normal of economic development, with its growth rate slowing but more sustainable, firms winning the award were able to demonstrate a higher growth rate when compared with their peers. For the fiscal year between 2014 and 2015, the best employers managed to accomplish an average growth rate of 19 percent while the average level for the rest of surveyed companies was 15 percent. It is the 16th year in a row Aon Hewitt has conducted the best employer research. It started to work with LinkedIn last year to identify the best employers by measuring four metrics: employer brand, high employee engagement, high performance culture and effective leadership. Two organizers discovered in the latest survey that career opportunity, rewards and recognition as well as performance evaluation remained the top drivers to improve employees' engagement within a company. According to Liu Yuan, chief executive officer of Aon Hewitt Greater China, career opportunity is of great importance to the younger candidates born in the 1990s, especially living in first-tier cities. Up to 40 percent of polled "new millennials" believed that they should be promoted every two years. A company's corporate credibility, according to the research, has become the most important issue in terms of building an employer brand. About 93 percent of the interviewed employers rated credibility as No 1 in importance, up from the 86 percent a year earlier. Aon Hewitt global partner Zhang Hong said that better localization was one key factor, which helped companies stand out. It means not only the localization of multinational companies but also the domestic companies adopting localized strategies after they have entered overseas markets. "Local companies are booming and coming to realize the importance of building an employer brand," said Zhang. Yu Zhiwei, vice-president of LinkedIn China, said that the Chinese job market is undergoing more changes as firms are expanding globally and the internet is playing a more important role in industries. "Changes bring solutions and improve performance. A growing number of Chinese employers are letting go of traditional models and embracing innovative methods and technologies to attract and retain talent by leveraging social recruiting, employer brand building and big data insights," said Yu. HANGZHOU - "If you hear Zhejiang or Wenzhou dialect in Milan, Italy, you should not be surprised," said Zhejiang businessman Lou Dengxin. Over half of the population of Lou's hometown in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province have had started businesses overseas. What began as a way of making a living far from their poor mountainous home, former Wenzhou residents have gradually built a reputation for diligence and integrity. The entrepreneurs have become fully-fledged members of their local communities and an economic force to be reckoned with. Mix with locals Zhou Xiaoyan is one of the most successful of Zhejiang's entrepreneurs in Italy. She moved there in 1990 and now owns the Milanhuaxia Group, a communications conglomerate whose diverse business interests include housing, tourism and design. Chinese companies in Italy have traditionally been associated with restaurants, bars and hotels, but Zhou's business has moved out of this comfort zone. Milanhuaxia Group's media center hosted several events during the 2015 Milan World Expo, including an exhibition on Chinese charities and a celebration of traditional ink painting. Zhou has also hosted activities such as China-Europe fashion month. Not merely doing business, Chinese entrepreneurs play their parts in local social welfare through charity work, said Zhou, and the Italian government has an open and welcoming attitude towards Chinese capital. Win-win Wang Benshan is chair of the board of Zhejiang Rifa Precision Machinery. Half of the Zhejiang private listed company's operation has been in Italy since the purchase of two Italian digital machinery companies in 2014 to 2015. The acquisition gave a big boost to Rifa's research and development capacity while Rifa's well-established sales network in China has helped the two Italian companies. For the Italians, Zhejiang's businesses are seen as a positive force for creating jobs, and they pay their taxes. Building up the brand According to Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, there are over 2 million people from Zhejiang living in over 180 countries, most of whom run businesses there. Their assets are estimated at over $700 billion. In Italy for example, most of the 321,000 Chinese living there are from Zhejiang, and one in five owns a business. Chen Zhengxi, chair of Italy Fansheng Import and Export, said that over the past 30 years, Zhejiang business people in Europe have started from nothing and have made their success mostly from importing Chinese products. Now as the economy slows in Europe, they are seeking ways to transform. The success of Zhejiang's businesses lies in honesty and hard work, according to Qiu Yuanping, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. The space for China-Europe business cooperation remains huge, with China's vast consumer market and Europe's brands. Representatives of the Belt & Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance's founding members pose at the founding ceremony in Beijing on July 16, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The Belt & Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance (BRICA), with 22 founding members from 20 countries, was officially founded in Beijing on Thursday. "The establishment of the alliance will promote industrial investment and economic and trade cooperation among countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road," said Li Yizhong, co-chair of BRICA. The Silk Road Economic Belt concept was first introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. On March 28, 2015, China unveiled the principles, framework, and cooperation priorities and mechanisms in the Belt and Road Initiative. "Given the backdrop of the vulnerable economic recovery after the world financial crisis, China's Belt and Road Initiative strategy helps explore new modes in international cooperation and global governance," Li added. BRICA members also jointly launched the project to establish a Belt and Road Industrial Cooperation Think-Tank to pool experts and talents in various countries for multi-field cooperation on policy studies, industrial planning, and project consulting to provide intellectual support for the development of BRICA members. In order to provide financial support to cooperation among BRICA members, the Global Investment, Merger and Acquisition Fund Alliance was also established today. Currently, more than 60 domestic institutions have joined the alliance, managing an asset of 300 billion yuan and covering investment in advanced manufacturing, information technology, energy, medicine and health care, real estate, infrastructure and so on. BELGRADE - It normally takes six hours to travel to Belgrade from Budapest by train. But this will soon be history: When the planned Hungary-Serbia railway is completed by the end of 2017 as scheduled, the journey will be shortened to less than three hours. The 350-km railroad, 184 km of which will run in Serbia, is designed for electrified passenger and cargo trains whose maximum speed could reach 200 km per hour. Though tens of thousands of miles away from China, the railway, being constructed by a consortium of Chinese, Serbian and Hungarian companies, represents a flagship project of cooperation between the world's second-largest economy and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. At a launching ceremony late last year in Serbia's second-largest city, Novi Sad, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stressed that the new railway significantly brings Serbia closer to the central zones of Europe and will help transform Serbia into a regional hub of transportation and logistics. Strong partnership The railway project is a typical example of the intensifying cooperation between China and Serbia. As the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China in August 2009, the Balkan state has since witnessed a growing number of China-related infrastructure projects breaking earth on its soil. "China and Serbia have given each other firm support on issues concerning their core interests, which shows the essence of a strategic relationship," Li Manchang, the Chinese ambassador to Serbia, told Xinhua. Major achievements in bilateral cooperation in recent years include the Pupin Bridge over the Danube River in Belgrade, which was China's first big infrastructure investment on the European continent and has greatly improved the city's traffic conditions since its 2014 inauguration, and the Kostolac power plant, the first Chinese electric power project in Europe. The two countries have also broadened their cooperation in areas like energy, iron and steel, telecommunication and finance. The model of cooperation has also shifted from traditional loan granting to direct investment or joint ventures. "Such cooperation places emphasis on improving local people's livelihood, so that they can see the actual benefits from closer bilateral ties," said Li. In 2015, China and Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding, pledging to jointly push ahead the Belt and Road Initiative. "This shows Serbia's strong support of the China-proposed initiative, while the two countries have set a great example for win-win cooperation between China and the CEE countries," the ambassador said. All-win initiative Actually, since the global financial crisis in 2008, the CEE countries have seen steady development of their cooperative relationships with China, which reached an unprecedented level in 2012 with the establishment of the 16+1 mechanism, a cooperation platform for China and the CEE countries, and the convening of the first 16+1 summit in Warsaw, Poland. In the past five years, the two sides have also started to reap fruits of their cooperation. In 2015, China and the CEE countries scored an overall trade volume of $56.2 billion despite the sluggish global economic growth. Chinese companies have invested roughly $5 billion in the CEE countries, which have also made investments worth an estimated total of 1.2 billion dollars in China. Meeting with leaders from 16 CEE countries last November in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China welcomes the participation of the CEE countries in the Belt and Road Initiative. With China having signed cooperation deals with Poland, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia, further steps were taken in synergizing China's development plan with those of the five CEE countries. The Belt and Road Initiative, first proposed by President Xi in 2013, is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes, of which the CEE countries are an essential part as a quarter of the countries along the routes are located in the region. Over the past three years, the initiative has achieved a good start through promoting interconnectivity construction, establishing financial platforms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, expanding investment and trade in related countries, boosting cultural exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding. According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, over 70 countries and international organizations have voiced their support for the initiative, with 34 of them having signed inter-governmental agreements on co-constructing it. Boosting European integration "Aligning the 16+1 mechanism with the Belt and Road Initiative will provide new opportunities for China and the CEE countries to deepen cooperation in production capacity, transportation, infrastructure and finance," said Cui Hongjian, a China-Europe relations specialist at the China Institute of International Studies. Yet China rejects comparing the Belt and Road Initiative to the Marshall Plan, or the US-led European Recovery Program launched after World War II and under the shadow of the Cold War. "The Belt and Road Initiative opposes seeking dominance in regional affairs or sphere of influence, does not intervene in internal affairs of regional countries, and is in accord with existing regional mechanisms and cooperative proposals," said Liu Jianchao, a former Chinese assistant foreign minister. The initiative encourages related countries to join hands voluntarily, follow market and business rules, and push ahead on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, he said. For the CEE countries, joining the Belt and Road Initiative can benefit their integration with the European Union (EU), Wang Yiwei, head of the European Union Research Center at China's Renmin University, told Xinhua. The China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation, adopted at the 2013 China-EU summit, has endorsed the establishment of the 16+1 mechanism and clarified its role, said Wang, citing the fact that 11 of the CEE countries are EU members and the remaining five are also applying to join the bloc. "Some EU countries once suspected that the birth of 16+1 might be a 'divide and rule' strategy of China toward Europe," said Wang. "They have now realized that the mechanism is actually a new platform quite helpful for the European integration." BEIJING - The Commerce Ministry said Friday that the rapid increase in outbound investment was normal, dismissing concerns that such gains would intensify capital outflows. Concerns have been raised that increased foreign exchange demand along with surges in outbound investment added pressure to foreign exchange reserves and international payments. "We are studying whether this will pose any risk and if we need to take targeted measures," spokesperson Shen Danyang said at a news briefing. China's outbound investment would exceed foreign direct investment in the country this year, Shen said. Potential homebuyers examine a property project model in Yichang, Hubei province, June 4, 2016.[Photo/VCG ] After the property market craze took first-tier cities by storm, second-tier cities are now getting hit by the phenomenon - steep housing price hikes and flash buys of new houses and land, CCTV reported Thursday. A 150-meters-long lines of home buyers, including 2,000 qualified buyers and 20,000 who bet on a chance to buy, crowded buildings for sale in Hefei before 7 am. The developer had to adopt a lottery to allot home purchasing qualifications. Twelve candidates emerged in every lottery round, who would earn one minute to choose a home. Within two hours, 866 new homes were sold,, yet this scene isn't anything new for cities like Hefei. Sales representative in Hefei told a reporter that with fewer homes and many buyers, new homes are red hot once they are in the market. The next window for purchase will be in September. Meanwhile in Nanjing, about 500 buyers are waiting under a large, temporarily-built rain shed waiting to be called so they can claim one of the 250 homes in the city's Jiangbei district. "We did our homework on what kind of apartment we like, now we'll wait to see if we are lucky enough to win the lottery," a home buyer said. Developers have already assessed how deep the pockets of each investor is before giving out the qualifications for them to enter the lottery, according to the media In Xiamen, even luxury houses are swept off the shelves like cheap produce. Chen Yuanping, big client manager with Longhu Xiamen Real Estate, said that most high-end clients assume that it's easy to buy a luxury house, until they see that the reality is to wait in line for three hours just for an appointment for qualification assessment. A home buyer in Xiamen who had been looking at new homes saw prices rise from 20,000 yuan to 32,000 yuan per sq m in six months. "I didn't take the opportunity back then, and I need to take action now, even if it's expensive," the home buyer said. "Better to buy now than wait for another year when the price rises to 50,000 (per sq m)." Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, talks with Kevin Michael Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and former prime minister of Australia, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that opened on June 16, 2016. [Xu Jingxing/China Daily] Jack Ma, founder and chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, on Thursday proposed the establishment of digital free trade zones for small businesses and called for Russia to become an e-hub intersection connecting Asia and Europe. An e-hub is a digital free trade zone designed specifically for small businesses. Ma said services including logistics, payments, financing and inspections would be provided. "Trains have stations and aircraft have airports. We should build an e-road that connects e-hubs around the world. It would be a paradise for SMEs to sell products that serve anywhere in the world," Ma said. "Russia has very good chance to be one of the e-hubs," Ma said. Ma made his remarks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that opened on Thursday and runs to Saturday. The three-day forum is an annual international conference dedicated to the most pressing economic and business issues facing Russia and the world. Ma's proposal is part of his ambition, raised last year, to build a global e-commerce platform, called the Electronic World Trade Platform. It would serve the interests of SMEs that have been left out of the world's free trade regime in the past. "In most countries SMEs contribute more than 50 percent of GDP and an even higher percentage of employment. But SMEs face challenges such as poor access to global markets, complex regulations and certifications designed for big companies, and a lack of access to financing," Ma said. "We urge G20 countries to support the growth of SMEs," said Ma, who is also the chair of the B20 SME Development Taskforce. B20 is the business advisory group to the G20. Cross-border shopping is the fastest-growing sector in Russia's e-commerce market. Ma said in an interview in 2015 that about one in 10 people from Russia made online purchases through Alibaba's AliExpress, a site that allows shoppers around the world to buy goods at wholesale prices. "Hundreds of thousands" of packages are sent from China to Russia on a daily basis, according to the e-commerce giant. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for six consecutive years since 2010. But Sino-Russian bilateral trade volume fell 27.8 percent last year to 422.73 billion yuan ($64.16 billion) due to the ongoing global economic downturn and falling oil prices, according to the General Administration of Customs. "Besides energy industry cooperation, companies from both countries should work together to jointly develop high-end products for the manufacturing, consumption and infrastructure sectors," Chen Yuan, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said at the forum. "Such a partnership will create huge opportunities for trade and financial cooperation. I am confident that our bilateral trade volume will reach $200 billion by 2020," Chen said. The trade target was first raised by the leaders of both countries in 2014. Didi Chuxing has completed a $7.3 billion round of financinga huge chunk of money that will give China's largest ride-hailing platform a bigger war chest to fend off Uber Technologies Inc in its home market. The Beijing-based Didi said in a statement that it raised $4.5 billion in equity funding from new investors including Apple Inc as well as existing investors, including the country's internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd. In addition to the equity investment, the Beijing-based company also landed a debt package of as much as $2.5 billion led by China Merchants Bank Co and a long-term debt investment of 2 billion yuan ($304 million) from the country's top insurer China Life Insurance Co. It didn't reveal its valuation after the new round of funding but said it now has $10.5 billion of disposable funds. The announcement came weeks after its United States rival Uber said it has raised $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which pushed Uber's fundraising to $6 billion. Analysts said that both Didi Chuxing and Uber use heavy discounts and cashback coupons to build and retain a gigantic clientele in hopes of pre-empting future competition. "It remains to be seen how long they can keep up with this business model, but it is obvious that they could use some of their investors' money to keep afloat," said Travis Wu, vice-president and research director at Forrester Research Inc. Didi, which has already expanded to more than 400 Chinese cities, has been gradually reducing its subsidies for certain cities and certain services. But, it needs to spend more to improve user experience to keep its Chinese users loyal, especially in face of the competition brought by Uber, said Zhang Xu, analyst with the Beijing-based internet constancy Analysis International. Emil Michael, chief business officer of Uber, said on Wednesday that China is one of the most important markets for the ride-hailing giant globally, adding it has completed more trips in China than in its home marketthe United States. It claimed its market share in China has surged from about 1 percent to 30 percent. Compared with Didi's dominant position in China, Uber has expanded to more than 60 Chinese cities and it is on track to hit 100 cities by the end of this year. Villagers in Xianfeng, at the juncture of Southwest Chinas Sichuan and Yunnan provinces face a dilemma. Thirteen years ago, they lured wild monkeys down a mountain in a bid to attract tourists and alleviate poverty. Now they have to keep driving the monkeys away, because the hungry animals destroy their crops. Xianfeng, part of Taiping township in Panzhihua, Sichuan, was impoverished. When He Youliang, now 57, became its Party chief in 2001, the village had only a dirt road. "Somebody told me if we could lead monkeys to the village, investors with an eye for the tourism sector might build a better road," He said. In 2003, He and three villagers managed to find wild monkeys. But the animals were timid and would run away at the first sight of humans. "We had to use corn to lure the monkeys to our village. The straight-line distance between the site in the mountain where the monkeys were found and our village was about 10 kilometers. But we spent 48 days leading 73 monkeys to the village with corn," He said. The next year, Zhou Zhenggui, a local businessman, set up an ecological tourism company in the village to show visitors the monkeys. A road nearly 20 kilometers long was built by the company to facilitate access. "The influx of tourists resulted in cash in villagers pockets as they could sell their homebred chicken and mutton. Each household purchased a motorcycle and many villagers drove their own cars," said He Fulin, a middle-aged villager. "During the Spring Festival and the National Day holidays, more than 1,000 tourists flocked to the tiny village which was home to some 600 monkeys." But in 2014, Zhou fell sick and died. His daughter tried to take over the company yet it stopped operations the next year and could not pay villagers for feeding the monkeys corn. According to He Youliang, the company owed as much as 110,000 yuan ($19,773) when it folded. Without easy access to food, the monkeys started to eat the crops in the fields and jump on the roofs of houses ripping up tiles. In May, Hou Youliang and a group of villagers decided to drive the monkeys away. They waved their hands and shouted to scare the animals, sometimes using a hunting dog if the monkeys refused to withdraw. "Each time, the monkeys would flee to a forest about six kilometers from the village in the mountain. But they would stage a comeback the next day. They have come back four times. We have to keep driving them away even though we love them they have been with us for quite a long time," Hou said. People in the forestry sector are against feeding wild monkeys, as they argue it makes them lazy and lowers their ability to survive. "As there were too many monkeys in the village, workers hired by the forestry sector captured some 300 monkeys and sent them elsewhere in 2015. Now there are about 300 monkeys in the village," said He Zhizhou, chief of the forestry station in Taiping township. China is in talks with India on the transfer of cloud-seeding technology. In the first such engagement between the Asian giants, a team of scientists and officials from Beijing, Shanghai and East China's Anhui province, were recently in Maharashtra to discuss weather conditions with the government of the western Indian state, parts of which have experienced severe droughts over the past two years. The Chinese team's days-long tour concluded on June 2. If the discussions are successful, Chinese experts would provide training to officials of the Indian Meteorological Department on their latest cloud-seeding technology, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. One of the sources had earlier described it as an "exploratory visit by the Chinese side to discuss with relevant Indian authorities how to go about it". The training is expected to be given on procedures to seed clouds successfully, the source said. The training is aimed at inducing rain over Maharashtra's Marathwada region in the summer of 2017 if needed, the source said. While summer rains have arrived this year in India, the region has been traditionally vulnerable to drought. The sources spoke to China Daily on condition of anonymity. An official in the China Meteorological Administration said that arrangements are still in progress. The development follows a meeting between Han Zheng, Shanghai's top official, and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the Indian state's capital of Mumbai in early May. Han, who is also a Communist Party of China Politburo member, had asked Fadnavis if China could do anything for drought relief in Maharashtra, one of the sources said. Monsoons and temperatures nearing 50 C have triggered many agrarian crises in India, with poor farmers being hit the hardest. Indian media said in April that the Maharashtra government would begin cloud-seeding experiments in June and continue through August - the period of summer monsoons. China started to use cloud-seeding technology in 1958, and today has one of the most advanced systems in the world. satarupa@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 06/17/2016 page4) An emergency rescue team from Shanghai formally joined the World Health Organization's Emergency Medical Team Initiative after completing a rigorous classification process. The recognition certifies that the team is capable of providing mobile emergency field hospitals and staff members in response to natural disasters and disease outbreaks. "This means that when a disaster strikes and an affected country requests help we can quickly deploy medical teams that we know meet our high standards," said Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO. China's National Emergency Rescue Team (Shanghai) has 56 core members, including medical and support staff. All are from Shanghai East Hospital's emergency, surgical, cardiac, neurology, orthopedics, respiratory, gynecology, pediatrics and anesthesia departments. The hospital said some of the team members participated in medical rescue work in the devastating magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008, the magnitude-7.1 earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai province, the terrorist attack in Kunming, Yunnan province, in 2014 and the explosion in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, in 2014. The team has nine advanced rescue vehicles with advanced equipment. It was established in 2010 to provide emergency medical services for the Shanghai Expo, and in 2012 became one of China's 16 National Emergency Rescue Teams. Team leader Liu Zhongmin, who is also president of Shanghai East Hospital, said the team is ready to accept assignments from the WHO and the Chinese government, and to participate in international medical rescue missions. Emergency medical teams often play a critical role by providing support to national health systems through the delivery of clinical care to disaster-affected populations. By classifying the teams, the WHO can assure disaster-affected governments and their populations of predictable and timely responses by well-trained medical personnel and self-sufficient teams, the organization said. The classification process started in 2015 with more than 200 teams from at least 60 countries participating. The Shanghai team was among the first to sign up. Parents should show more tolerance for other people's misbehaving children and help the "problem child" improve, according to education insiders and psychologists after public attention was drawn to the negative behavior of a boy in one school class. Dozens of parents demanded the removal of the boy in their children's third-grade class. China Daily is withholding the boy's identity and the name of his school to avoid subjecting him to public ridicule. "We should be aware that there is a 'problem family' behind each 'problem child', and the child is actually a victim of the environment that he or she grew up in," said Qu Tingting, a teacher at an elite school in Shanghai's Fengxian district. "Their teachers, schoolmates and parents should embrace them and help them form desirable habits and personalities." Recently, 45 parents whose children shared a class with the troubled boy, asked that the boy be removed. They said he is often disruptive and bullies classmates. They held their own children out of school for several days in protest, even though final examinations were a few days away. Nearly two-thirds of the school's students didn't attend. Parents said the boy hit a classmate in the head, tore others' textbooks, spit, screamed, danced in class and raised girls' skirts. "Four teachers had been assigned to the class within the past year," Yang Biao, the school's Party chief, told ThePaper.cn. "The situation infuriated parents." The school declined to comment on Thursday. Despite the parents' strong opposition to the boy staying on in the class, the principal felt the child should not be abandoned. "Not giving up on any child is not an empty slogan at our school," the principal, Xu Jin, was quoted as saying by ThePaper.cn. "I've met quite a few 'problem' children in my career, but we cannot reject or isolate them. That will hurt them even more." The boy's parents are taxi drivers, parents said, and the father is often violent. Psychologists said such children are usually lonely and lack love and care. "They are angry at the violence of parents, and they bully vulnerable children as a way of venting," Lin said. Qu noted the case of a fourth-grade girl last year who once pulled a classmate down the stairs, breaking bones. The girl's parents were also ill-tempered, and the school persuaded them to get psychological counseling once a week for several months. "The girl improved a lot, along with overall family relations. Her parents took her to an amusement park last month, which had never happened before," Qu said. Urban management officers took to the internet to broadcast themselves going about the dark streets of Zhengzhou, Henan province, to "ensure a quiet environment" for students taking the national college entrance exam. The live webcast was accompanied by text describing what the officers, known as chengguan, were doing and where they were going. The idea was to show a "transparent law enforcement process to the public", according to the urban management bureau of Zhengzhou's Zhongyuan district. Chengguan have been widely criticized, particularly for violence against unlicensed street vendors. Officers have been seen as rude, starting more trouble than they stop, and using violence, sometimes quite extreme, against those who disobey. Some welcomed the webcast, observing that while the chengguan usually supervise the public, now the public gets to supervise them. "In the past, people who recorded the chengguan would be stopped or even beaten up by them," said a local resident, who balanced his criticism with the proviso that, "it takes courage to face public pressure". But many dismissed the webcast as a publicity stunt. Some even said the live feed "violated human rights" by showing the faces of people, such as vendors, without prior permission. "The officers themselves decided what to show and when, so the real situation is no more transparent than before," said another Zhengzhou citizen. Ye Daxin, deputy head of the Zhengzhou urban management bureau, dismissed accusations of a publicity stunt, saying, "It was a challenge for us to broadcast our actions live." "There was no editing or anything like it during the webcast, which means the entire process of law enforcement was shown, including those vendors who illegally occupied the streets, or those who behaved in an uncivilized way," he said. Ye added that there would be more webcasts, particularly on "important law-enforcement days". Wang Jingbo, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that despite the supervisory aspect of the webcast, it would not eradicate the roots of public concern. "The public needs to give chengguan officers more leeway and support, while the officers need to show more concern for the street vendors, treating them with humanity rather than violently driving them away," he said. Chengdu will have its second international airport in operation by 2020 to become the third city in China to have two airports for commercial flights, after Beijing and Shanghai, if work proceeds on schedule. Construction started last month and is expected to finish in 2019, according to the airport authority. Pan Gangjun, general manager of the Sichuan Province Airport Group Co, said three runways will be built. The airport will able to handle 40 million passengers and 700,000 tons of cargo annually by 2025. The long-term plan is six runways, 90 million passengers and 2 million tons of cargo, Pan said. Called Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the new facility is located in Jianyang, about 50 kilometers from downtown Chengdu. The airport is expected to cost nearly 72 billion yuan ($10.9 billion). According to Pan, it will include international passenger routes and most international cargo routes in the future, while the existing airport, about 16 km from downtown Chengdu, will be limited to domestic flights and some international cargo routes. The plan to build a second airport for Chengdu was no surprise. The current Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is the fourth-busiest in China, behind Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. It handled 42 million passengers last year, up 12 percent year-on-year. But industry insiders estimated an annual 62 million passengers would be using the airport by 2020, far exceeding its designed capacity of 50 million. The expanded capacity with the new airport is also expected to further boost the city's appeal to investors. The city hosts 271 Fortune 500 companies, as well as the consulates of 15 countries, the largest number of consulates in western China. The existing airport's current 87 international routes made it possible for iPads manufactured in Chengdu, two-thirds of world supply, to be transported to different parts of the globe in a timely fashion. Hou Yongping, vice-president of the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that after the new airport opens, cargo flights from Chengdu to Europe, Africa and the Middle East will be "two to three hours" less than those taking off from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Also, as Chengdu has a strong influence on regions in Southwest and Northwest China, "the new airport will facilitate easy access to these regions for the European market", he said. In 2015, Chengdu was the first subdivision in western China to see annual GDP surpass 1 trillion yuan. In 2015, more than 2.3 million foreign visitors went to Chengdu, up 16 percent over the previous year. Supply problems, drug risks mean some endangered animals will go unprotected China's giant pandas are susceptible to canine distemper virus, and surveillance and vaccinations are warranted to support conservation efforts, according to a new report. Published by the journal Nature on Thursday, the report said that due to the limited supply of some vaccines and the potential risks associated with others, most giant pandas in the Shaanxi Rare Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center, as well as those with other organizations involved in giant panda breeding programs, are not routinely vaccinated. CDV was reported to have caused the deaths of captive giant pandas as early as 1997 when three pandas died at Chongqing Zoo. The most recent outbreak in Shaanxi province caused the deaths of five pandas from December 2014 to April 2015. The single panda to survive had been vaccinated. Xia Xianzhu, one of the authors of the report and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the immune responses elicited by vaccination were not sufficient to prevent naturally-acquired CDV infection, but may have lessened the severity. The giant panda is native to China and is categorized as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. According to the fourth national panda survey, there are 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity in China at the end of 2013. Zhang Hemin, chief of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, said every panda in the center is vaccinated. Zhang's center was established in the Wolong National Natural Reserve in Sichuan province in the wake of an agreement between the World Wide Fund and the Chinese government in 1980. It is home to 210 pandas. Wang Chengdong, director of the animal hospital at the reserve, said that the vaccine came from a company in the United States. "From 2013 to 2014, the company cut the production of CDV vaccine due to slim profits and small demand, and we had to stop giving the vaccine to pandas. Though it resumed production, we are not sure whether it will cut the production line again," Wang said. "So the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is working with the authors of the report to develop a CDV vaccine specifically for China's giant pandas." Contact the writers at suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn Viral threat Canine distemper virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of the Morbillivirus genus and family Paramyxoviridae. Several fatal outbreaks of CDV have been reported in captive wild populations, including lions, tigers and leopards, as well as in free-ranging, wild populations of endangered species such as African wild dogs and wild Amur tigers. CDV transmission to captive animals may occur via direct or indirect contact with infected domestic dogs or wild carnivores. However, the source of the CDV that caused the outbreak among giant pandas remains unclear. Liu Xing with her three daughters at their home in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.Wang Song / Xinhua As the weather warms, Liu Xing is welcoming more and more customers to her grilled oyster stall at a night market in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. "During the past two months, I have been able to earn about 300 yuan ($46) a day," said the 28-year-old. But the money that flows in is only a fraction of what she needs for the treatment of her 4-year-old triplets. Liu's daughters, who were born in 2012 in Bei'an, a county 340 kms from Harbin, initially brought great happiness to the family. But the happiness turned to worry when the girls were diagnosed with cerebral palsy when they were 17 months old. Doctors said at the time they would not be able to walk because of the disorder, which affects a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Liu was comforted by the doctors' assertion that the girls were expected to have normal intelligence and language ability. "The doctors told us that, after treatment, it would be highly possible that the girls would be able to recover the ability to walk normally. But the treatment would cost at least 600,000 yuan, which was an astronomical number for us," the young mother said. But the family didn't give up. Although they had moved to Yantai in Shandong province after the triplet's birth, they decided to move to Harbin in order to see doctors at better hospitals. The couple set about scraping together the money they needed for the triplets' treatment by doing odd jobs at first and then by opening their grilled oyster stall in May 2015. Liu said more people began to know the family's story after it was reported in local media, and since then, many people have tried to help. She said they were offered the stall at the busy market without needing to pay any administrative fees. And the boss of the seafood market where they buy their oysters offered them a much lower price. But what touches the couple the most is the kindness of strangers who drop by their stall with money or who send cash without leaving their names. "Some people have told me that they have come to the stall from far away especially to buy our oysters, and some people have left money without even taking any oysters away," Liu said. "So far, we have received nearly 300,000 yuan in donations." Last year, the couple took the triplets to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, where they received two rounds of treatment at a local hospital. "Every round of treatment costs about 180,000 yuan, and the daily rehabilitation services cost about 9,000 yuan a month," Liu told China Daily. But she said the treatment has led to a great improvement and the triplets can now walk slowly with the help of orthopedic shoes. Even though the couple has a heavy burden to shoulder, the smiles never vanish from their faces. "We don't know how many difficulties we will have to face in the future, but we will never give up," Liu said. Miao Qin (left), founder of inWe, investor Zhang Zetian (center), and one of the store designers, Wang Yuheng, at the opening ceremony of inWe store in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] China's tea brand inWe, which targets young consumers and has been dedicated to repackaging Chinese tea as hip to the West, opened its eighth store in Beijing on Thursday night. Unlike the traditional way of drinking Chinese tea, where delicate tea sets and complicated tea etiquette are required to brew a good cup, inWe uses modern high-tech tea machines to ensure a consistent quality and taste of tea. Besides that, the stores are designed with a simple, modern aesthetic and a green environment for young people to gather and chat. "Tea is the daily life of 1.3 billion Chinese people, but there are no famous chain store brands yet in China, which is a pity," Miao Qin, founder of inWe, who has more than 20 years of experience in the catering management. InWe now offers almost all kinds of Chinese tea, such as green tea, white tea, Oolong tea, black tea and dark tea. Miao says that he would expect to open more than 300 stores in Chinese cities in the next few years. Apart from the offline stores, inWe will also put its products online. Zhang Zetian, an investor, says China's tea market is valued at more than 100 billion yuan, so investing in the tea industry is a smart choice. "Using a modern approach to help tea culture reach to more people, especially the younger generation, is also key to the development of China's tea culture," she says. Many tourists received tickets on discount after showing the invitation. [Photo from gog.cn] Guizhou has made use of social media to promote tourism to more people around the country. Chen Miner, the secretary of Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, visited gog.cn, Guizhou's official web portals, and sent an invitation on the account of the website to all netizens on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social platform on June 14. The invitation briefly introduces the remarkable local scenic spots and welcomes all netizens to visit Guizhou. Many local scenic spots in Guizhou immediately offered discounts on tickets in order to welcome tourists who received the invitation. Huangguoshu waterfall, Asia's largest waterfall scenic spot, posted on its official Weibo account saying that the first 30 followers will receive a free ticket to the spot. Dozens of local scenic spots in Guizhou had temporary fifty percent discounts on tickets. Netizen "lee" and many other tourists visiting Guizhou Zhijindong Cave National Geologic Park, commented on Weibo about the invitation letter, saying "with the invitation, I got 50% off on my ticket. So awesome." It wasn't just the attractions that got in the act. China Southern Airlines, Colourful Guizhou Airlines and Guiyang Railway Station also launched a wide range of campaigns to promote travel in Guizhou. A dog to be slaughtered in a cage at a dog market in Yulin, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on June 19, 2015. [Photo/CFP] Most Chinese want the annual Yulin dog meat festival on June 21 to be called off, saying it tarnishes the country's image, according to the findings of a survey conducted by Chinese polling company Horizon. Among the polled respondents, 64 percent support the end of the festival held every year in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and 51.7 percent say the dog meat trade should be completely banned, according to the poll commissioned by Chinese group China Animal Welfare Association in collaboration with Humane Society International and Avaaz, a global online campaign community. "The vibrant campaign to end the Yulin dog meat festival is rooted in Chinese opposition to the event, supported by people from around the world who agree that this cruel trade must not be tolerated," said Qin Xiaona, director of the Capital Animal Welfare Association. Over the past few years, as calls to end the event have gained momentum, local governments have responded by disassociating themselves from the festivals. An unprecedented eight million Chinese voted online in support of a legislative proposal to ban the dog meat trade in China recently. Last week, petitions signed by more than 11 million people around the world were submitted to policy makers in Beijing, demonstrating that people globally have joined their call to end the trade. The poll also found that 62 percent of the respondents thought Yulin damages China's reputation and 69.5 percent added that they have never eaten dog meat, discrediting previous claim that Yulin festival is part of Chinese culture. "It is embarrassing to us that the world wrongly believes that the brutally cruel Yulin festival is part of Chinese culture. It isn't and as we see in this poll, most people here don't eat dogs and believe that the festival damages China's global reputation," said Qin. Billed as a "celebration" of dog meat to mark the summer solstice, the Yulin festival sees thousands of dogs abused and killed, many of them stolen from their homes and streets by dog meat traders. "This poll squelches any remaining doubt about where Chinese citizens stand on Yulin's brutal beating and burning of pups," said Luis Morago, campaign director at Avaaz. In 2014, Yulin's local government closed several markets and slaughterhouses and banned officials from eating dog meat at local restaurants. In 2011, Jinhua Hutou dog meat festival was banned in East China's Zhejiang province. Jiang Guozhen passed away in hospital on June 15, 2016. [Photo/thepaper.cn] A rural teacher who donated everything he had to help students in need died on Wednesday. Jiang Guozhen was born in Jiangjia village in East China's Jiangxi province in 1930. He was a veteran and a government official before being assigned to work at a rural primary school in 1953 due to acute shortage of rural teachers. During his 30 years of teaching career, Jiang donated more than 400,000 yuan ($60,720) to students facing financial problems. The sum included most of his salary, the pension, and money he earned from farming and scavenging. When he died on Wednesday, only 1.36 yuan were left in his bank card. With no offspring, Jiang led an extremely simple life. He usually ate only sweet potato and wore worn-out clothes. He did not even spend money on his run-down house - and the house later collapsed. After he was saved from the rubbles, Jiang moved into an elderly care home. Because of his efforts to help students, Jiang was honored the Outstanding Communist Party Member and Most Beautiful Rural Teacher, and nominated for National Moral Model. He was hospitalized in March for nasopharnyx cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the upper part of the throat behind the nose. In the hospital, he told the staff to stop giving him injections because they were too expensive. On April 21, Jiang signed to donate his cornea to people in need. "I am a Party member. When the country needs me, I will devote my life to it," said Jiang on his death bed. A beekeeper and his wife have sparked controversy in Chengdu, Sichaun province after it emerged that they spend up to seven months a year hiking around China with their 4-year-old daughter. An online poll conducted by the city's West China Metropolis Daily showed that only 31.5 percent of 3,038 respondents were in favor of the practice, with many concerned that the father was pushing the girl too hard. Originally from Shangrao, Jiangxi province, 38-year-old Pan Tufeng started hiking with his daughter Pan Zhenwen when she was just 15 months old. Each year, she walks with her father and mother Yuan Rui, 40, for between six and seven months. She has never been to kindergarten and the couple does not plan to send her to one. "She will have at least 12 years in the classroom from the age of seven when she starts to attend primary school. For now, we want to teach her what she cannot get from the classroom," Pan said. The family's story was reported by a local newspaper in Sichuan on Monday, soon after they had arrived in Chengdu with plans to walk along the Sichuan-Tibet road for two months to reach Lhasa, the autonomous region's capital. Their journey has since aroused much debate online. A female resident of Chengdu only identified as Chen said the four-year-old girl was a role model for her son, a second grader who could not yet feed himself. A netizen called "That is a journey yet to end" thought the young girl could learn much from the countless scenes she would see and people she would meet along the way. Her life has had an arduous but beautiful beginning, the netizen said. "That netizens support the family's idea of 'walking to learn' reflects the mounting pressure Chinese kids face. School education is exam-oriented and students have to study all the time and have no time to play," said Li Yuanxiu, a kindergarten head teacher in Chengdu. Nearly 12 percent of respondents to the online poll strongly opposed Pan's idea of letting his daughter experience hardship so that she could better herself, describing this type of education as too extreme. Among the opponents were those who feared the girl was too young to cope with all the walking and those who considered it wrong not to let her attend kindergarten. Pan said: "My daughter and I walk slowly and stop whenever we see something interesting. When she is tired, we take a rest. As a father, I would not risk her life to walk for walking's sake." At 8 am on Friday, Pan and his daughter left Tianquan county for neighboring Ludian county in Sichuan. "The distance between the two is only some 10 kilometers. But we walk at a leisurely place and plan to arrive at a hotel at 8 pm," Pan said, adding that he would teach his daughter the story of the Battle of Luding Bridge when they reached that historically significant crossing across the Dadu River. The 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair will kick off in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province on June 24. The event is expected to draw more than 500 participants from home and abroad, including government leaders, Nobel Prize winners, academicians and world-renowned scientists, university presidents, diplomats, entrepreneurs and investors. The fair aims to become an international platform that gathers innovation and entrepreneurship resources from around the world and boosts the exchange of innovative ideas and the transaction of innovative achievements, according to Gou Zhengli, deputy mayor of Chengdu. Gou said the three-day event will include 18 major activities: 12 high-level forums that focus on the development trend of innovation and entrepreneurship, one exhibition that displays the worlds latest scientific and technological achievements, three trade fairs for innovation and entrepreneurship resources, and two innovation and entrepreneurship contests. Lu Tiecheng, director of Chengdu Science and Technology Bureau, said top scientists from home and abroad in such fields as semiconductor lighting, fundamental particle, artificial intelligence and astrophysics will be invited to the event to discuss the worlds frontier science and technology. The scientists expected include Shuji Nakamura, 2014s Nobel Prize winner for physics and Arthur B. McDonald, who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2015. Also planning to attend are Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor Chen Yanbei from the California Institute of Technology, he said. The 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Exhibition will cover a total area of 15,000 square meters and feature 300 exhibitors. A series of the latest innovative products will be on display, including Pneumatic Tubes, the light-field camera Lytro Illum and Lily Drone, according to Wang Xin, deputy director of Chengdu Exposition Bureau. Three fairs are planned for the transaction of talent, equity investment and technological achievements. The Talent Trading Fair will invite 70 Fortune Global 500 companies, leading head-hunting companies, top local companies and scientific research teams and universities, all aiming to boost the exchange of top-level talents. The 2015 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair drew more than 200 delegates from 30 countries and regions. Some 109 deals worth 5.32 billion yuan ($808 million) were signed during that event. Twenty-six suspects in a baby-trafficking case involving 26 infants stood trial from Wednesday to Friday in Zhejiang province, with some of them stating they were helping find good parents for vulnerable babies. The suspects, including couples and a father and son, took on different roles including intermediaries, caregivers and transportation, and sold the infants in Zhejiang, Fujian and Yunnan provinces in the previous two years, prosecutors said. The People's Court of Cangnan county of Wenzhou did not announce a verdict. One noticeable suspect - a 68-year-old retired obstetrician surnamed Li from a well-known hospital in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province - denied the charge of trafficking five infants, though she admitted participating in the transactions of three newborns. "I don't perceive it as trafficking and I didn't get a penny from the deals. I regarded my behavior as a way to help people and save the babies as they were abandoned by their parents because they were unmarried or they had economic difficulties," Li said during the trial. Lawyers said that Li, as a doctor, must clearly understand that a police report should be made any time a woman abandons her baby. "Even if someone leaves a baby secretly in the hospital, doctors should alert the police and children's welfare home," said Yi Shenghua, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm in Beijing. Clues about the case began to surface when some people in Cangnan heard babies crying in an old house, and suspected that the owner was not their father. Police captured nine people and saved the babies. More suspects were captured afterward in Shanghai and the provinces of Hebei and Yunnan. Some of the infants were resold repeatedly in different provinces, with the price for a baby ranging from 10,000 yuan ($1,520) to 100,000 yuan, according to prosecutors. The number of baby trafficking cases declined to 853 last year from 1,918 in 2012, as tougher penalties, including the death sentence, were introduced, statistics from the Supreme People's Court showed. But there are still people selling their children, especially in rural areas, owing to weak legal awareness or a preference for sons, according to Chen Shiqu, a deputy inspector at the criminal investigation bureau at the Ministry of Public Security. zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn Desert restoration projects have developed at an incredible rate in Duolun county in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The county currently has nearly 196,000 hectares of forests and grasslands, an increase from 36,000 hectares in 2000. It has a 31 percent forest coverage rate, up 24.2 percent over the past six years. In the 1970s and 1980s, Duolun suffered from severe land sandification due to natural disasters and excessive grazing. In 2000, it began implementing plans to improve the ecological environment, such as planting trees and bans on grazing. In 2011, the county launched an afforestation project to plant Mongolian scotch pines. With a series of supportive policies, the project attracted more than 30 companies and 55 forestry cooperatives. As of 2015, they had finished about 70,666 hectares of Mongolian scotch pine plantations with investments of 1.46 billion yuan ($222.65 million) and built 265 tree seedling bases. About 4,500 kilometers away from Duolun, Hotan prefecture, which sits on the edge of the Taklamakan desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has also made efforts to thwart sandification. Since 2000, it has kicked off several afforestation projects, such as returning grain plots to forests and participated in China's "sanbei" (Northwest, North and Northeast China) forest belt project. Hotan's efforts have not only effectively curbed further land degradation, but has also enlarged oases and improved people's living environments. The prefecture currently has 1.24 million hectares of forests, including 325,000 hectares of artificial plantations. The total area of desertified land has been reduced by 690 square kilometers since 2004. A group of companies have gathered in Hotan to develop local industries, such as fruits, roses, desert tourism and traditional Chinese medicine. Left and center: A sand area in Duolun, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Photos Provided To China Daily Right: A grassland area, also in Duolun, which currently has nearly 196,000 hectares of forests and grasslands, up from 36,000 hectares in 2000. Su Weizhong / For China Daily (China Daily 06/17/2016 page12) As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. The show, Fidel Is Fidel, features two videos and 87 photos taken by well-known photographers such as Robert Chile and Raul Corrales. It unveils the Cuban leader's important moments from the 1960s to the 21st century. It's also part of a celebration of the 90-year-old's birthday in August. Photos such as Castro meeting writer Ernest Hemingway in 1960, speaking to his people, working until midnight and visiting the former Soviet Union for the first time are on display. Some of the revolutionary's signature portraits are in the exhibition. The three-day show ends on June 16 at Capital Library in Beijing. Ding Li, Chinese vice-minister of culture, attended the opening ceremony. Julio Ballester, Cuban deputy culture minister, says that the exhibition shows different parts of Castro: a politician and a spiritual leader. He says Castro has many artist friends in private life and he also is fond of books, music and films. As part of the China-Latin America and Caribbean 2016 Year of Culture Exchange, a show on Fidel Castro reveals the Cuban revolutionary's legendary life through photos and videos in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] Castro visited China in 1995 and 2003. According to Ballester, the former Cuban president values China and Cuba's friendship very much. As of today, more than 3,000 Chinese students have studied at colleges in Cuba. A movie telling a love story between a Chinese student and a Cuban is being filmed in Cuba. "We hope to have more exchanges in the film industry with China," says Ballester. In 2018, Cuba will hold a big book fair and China will be the guest of honor, he adds. Related: Popular TV actor Hu Ge finds new passion behind camera lens Warcraft producer Alex Gartner (right) alongside American studio Propaganda GEM CEO Ruben Igielko-Herrlich at a forum on international cooperation during the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily] Warcraft producer Alex Gartner predicts that we'll see more Hollywood films adding Chinese elements, a trend he spoke of in a recent forum during the Shanghai International Film Festival. Warcraft, the cinematic adaptation of the popular video game World of Warcraft, has scored a box-office record in China. In the first five days of release, it raked in more than 1 billion yuan ($151 million) on the Chinese mainland, despite only grossing $24.4 million in the first week in North America. "Now the whole world is taking about China," says Gartner. The cross-border film market forum was held by Nanzi, a Shanghai-based fund company, which plans to invest 23 Hollywood films in the next five years. Garner says game fans in China appear more "loyal" than their counterparts in the English-speaking world, which makes the movie more welcome in China than some Western countries. He also notes that multiple cultures, such as ancient Chinas myths and Europe's Middle Ages legends, have been interwoven in the film to intentionally attract audiences with different backgrounds. China's booming market will prompt more Hollywood studios to add Chinese elements in their films, Gartner says. Related: 'Warcraft' rules box office on Dragon Boat Festival A courier masked as a "transformer" receives 300,000 yuan ($45,540) in cash reward for reporting a drug-related crime to the police in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, June 15, 2016. [Photo/VCG] When the Ministry of Public Security, with the help of the "mainstream" media, tried to put an end to the public discourse about how innocent citizens should respond to police requests for personal identification information, they were not being unreasonable. Or wrong. Not at all: for as they said, "It is a legal obligation for citizens to cooperate with the police to verify a resident's identification card in accordance with law." Frustrated as they may be about reports of police officers abusing their powers, people generally agree that, under certain circumstances, ID verification is essential for guaranteeing public security, say for preempting acts of terror. Each year, according to the ministry, police ferret out many criminal suspects through ID checks. From January to May alone, railway police departments caught 11,000 suspected criminals through verification of passengers' IDs, including people suspected of murder, robbery, fraud, and human trafficking. Which is why, few will actually refuse a request by the police to check their IDs, when the reason for a check is given. Particularly if the officers involved sound reasonable. Still, not a few have found the call for any citizen's unconditional compliance with law-enforcement activities, even when it is non-standard, unpersuasive, and indeed unpleasant, because it sounds incomplete, one-sided, even biased. Since this whole debate originated from a case of an overbearing police officer in South China's Shenzhen abusing his authority in disregard of due procedure, wouldn't it be better for the statement to incorporate a mention of police discipline? We know there has been a vow to regulate law enforcement, and that is to be applauded. But it would have done no harm to reiterate it here. Especially, since this is a formal response to a matter of nationwide concern. Otherwise it sounds problematic in terms of logic: How can a case of police misconduct end up with a high-profile reiteration of civilian compliance, with no mention even of due procedure? True, few have openly challenged the disequilibrium between the habitual emphasis on citizens' duties and the neglect of their rights. But that doesn't mean people don't care. They do, and they keep asking questions; questions about appropriateness and about legitimacy. In this particular case, people care more about whether there will be serious follow-up moves to rein in abusive officers, and ensure that when a police officer asks a citizen to produce their ID card, they do so in accordance with the law. Former US president Bill Clinton talks with Jack Ma at Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York, on September 29, 2015. [Photo/ VCG] Jack Ma, founder of domestic e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, provoked discussion online when he said in a recent speech that the e-business model enables original equipment manufacturers to sell goods of similar quality to those of international brands but at much cheaper prices. But Southern Metropolis Daily says the idea is more important than the manufacturing process and it involves intellectual property rights: What should be discussed in detail is that some of the OEMs are ignorant of brand owners' IPR and simply copy the styles of international brands without authorization. There are loopholes in the law that can be easily exploited. Alibaba is a victim of fake goods, too, as the credit of its e-commerce platform, Taobao.com, has suffered. Ma even said he had a team of 2,000 that sought to combat piracy and fake goods. We do not mean to blame e-commerce, but it has made it more convenient for illegal businesses to sell fake goods, especially when online policing of sales remains sketchy. Yet fake goods are rather detrimental to the credit of both Alibaba and the whole of China. The country has long been proud of its manufacturing industry, but if illegal businesses make use of the industry to produce fake goods, that will only ruin it in the long run. If fake goods and their makers continue escaping due punishment in China, the international brands might gradually give up their cooperation with Chinese OEMs and choose other partners instead. If that happens, China's manufacturing industry will face a major challenge. It is time for China to improve its legislation and encourage domestic creative industries, so that more Chinese enterprises produce goods with their own brands, instead of simply working for others. The press conference of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of China and Central and Eastern European Countries on Promoting Trade and Economic Cooperation is held in Ningbo, June 9, 2016. [Photo by Guo Rong/chinadaily.com.cn] President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan has attracted special attention because China's top leader has not been a frequent visitor to these countries. This is also Xi's first visit to the Western Balkans, his second to Central Europe within three months and his fourth to Central Asia. These diplomatic arrangements, therefore, reflect China's determination to boost its comprehensive cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries and Central Asian countries in the context of its Belt and Road Initiative, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. They also show, from China's perspective, the significance of Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan in the regions. In 2012, China proposed a new type of cooperation framework with Central and Eastern European countries (China-CEEC) to develop a comprehensive relationship with 16 CEE countries, including Serbia and Poland, which became strategic partners of China in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Since then, the Serbia and Poland, despite the changes in governments, have provided strong political support to the 16+1 cooperation framework as well as the Belt and Road Initiative. There is obviously a political consensus in the two countries on the need to deepen cooperation with China. The most recent evidence of this was seen in March when the lower house of the Polish Parliament (or Sejm) unanimously ratified an agreement for Warsaw to participate in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which made Poland officially the first and only founding member of the AIIB in Central and Eastern Europe. Chinese President Xi Jinping (9th L) poses for a group photo with leaders attending the 4th Summit of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 26, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping's visit to Belgrade is a big event. Unlike some other Central and Eastern European countries, Serbia is not a European Union member. Because of a dispute with Brussels on the issue of Kosovo's status, maybe it never will be. Although Serbia has signed trade agreements with the EU, political tensions between Belgrade and Brussels persist. China has become the largest single investor in Serbia. And the geographical position of the country has made it critical to the realization of Belt and Road Initiative strategy of China. Chinese investors are no longer present only in the sectors of infrastructure and energy. In April, HeSteel bought the only steel factory in Serbia, and memorandums on further cooperation in the information technology and agriculture sectors were signed. Serbia is the only European country that has started negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union on a free trade agreement. This is significant for Serbian agriculture, which is increasingly turning toward the Russian market. For Chinese investors, this may be an additional motive. Despite not having a big territory, Serbia still occupies an ideal position for duty-free export of all that is produced within its territory. For the new strategic positioning of Serbia, China is in the long run probably the most important partner. LI FENG/CHINA DAILY Despite numerous achievements over the past two decadesincluding the establishment of the 16+1 dialogue (16 Central and Eastern European countries plus China), increasing mutual trade and investment flows, direct train connection between Chengdu and the Polish city of odzzzthere still exist bottlenecks in the shape of increasing trade deficits for Poland, asymmetry in bilateral flow of investment and Polish entrepreneurs' struggle to enter China's huge market. Notable efforts have been made by the Polish administration in the last few years, including taking measures to boost trade and investment, but they haven't necessarily borne tangible results. The trade volume between Poland and China, according to European Union statistics, reached $16.53 billion in 2015, four times more than in 2004 and over 30 times more than in the early 1990s. However, China's exports to Poland accounted for the lion's share of the trade, about $14.5 billion, with Poland exporting only about $2 billion worth of goods to China. The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Poland is thus noteworthy. It means that the recent change in Polish government didn't entirely turn away Warsaw from the East because China is regarded as Poland's strategic partner both in economic and political terms. This also shows Poland understands the importance of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Poland holds the strategic position in this regard. It seems the shortest land trade routes linking the West and the East, and further the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas go through Polish territory, which constitutes a merging platform for Eurasia. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also called One Belt, One Road (OBOR) appears to be confusing to many non-Chinese observers. Despite specific Chinese infrastructure projects aimed at improving transport links along the route from East Asia to Europe and East Africa, such as the building of ports in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Djibouti, Tanzania and Greece, BRI/OBOR has been called vague and nebulous by some. Similarly, the 16+1 meetings that began in 2012 to improve relations between China and a group of 16 nations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are perceived by certain European critics as an effort by China to drive a wedge between the western and eastern halves of Europe. These naysayers believe that the platform is a thinly-veiled geopolitical attempt to form a pro-Chinese bloc that will undermine the unity of the EU. This week, since Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Poland and Serbia in an effort to promote ties relating to BRI/OBOR and 16+1, there is an opportunity for China to clarify its intentions with regard to these two linked initiatives. In March this year, on a visit to Prague in support of Xis visit to the Czech Republic, scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) insisted that the aims of the two initiatives are geo-economic rather than geopolitical. This, it was explained, means that through this pair of platforms China wants to develop win-win economic growth across the Eurasian landmass as well as East Africa, rather than attempting to increase its political influence and power in the countries concerned. Unfortunately, coverage by a number of mainstream Czech media outlets concerning Xis visit frequently tended to convey a negative impression, meaning, despite the apparent success of the trip in boosting diplomatic and business ties, that the overall view formed by the Czech public was not as positive as might have been anticipated. With regard to the two CEE countries being visited next week, it would therefore be advisable if the Chinese delegation could take greater care to communicate the aims of the trip clearly to the local media and public, so that relations may be enhanced to the maximum extent possible. Poland and Serbia are both key players in 16+1, being among the largest of the 16 CEE countries involved in the meetings. Xis visits to these two countries are therefore likely to be interpreted by Europeans as strategically important in some sense. Poland, in fact, is the largest CEE nation, with a population of over 38 million. It has ports and a position between Germany and Russia that make the country influential in European trade. Warsaw, Polands capital, was the site of the first 16+1 meeting, meaning that it is certainly viewed as a key European player by Beijing. Serbia is also a significant actor in the region, since it contains Belgrade, once the capital of the former Yugoslavia, and is arguably the most influential of the five 16+1 nations that are not members of the EU. China has already developed very positive cooperation with Serbia in recent years, with a high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest currently under construction by Chinese firms. A Chinese-built bridge over the Danube River in Belgrade was completed in late 2014. Thus President Xis visit to these two countries can be seen as an effort to consolidate relations with key partners. On the other hand, the trip may be seen by some Europeans as an attempt at geopolitical divide and conquer tactics designed to undermine the institutions and influence of the EU. This is why, at this important time of global economic shakiness, when stability of relations of all types between China and Europe is desperately needed, China needs to be crystal clear about the scope and limits of its intentions. Sowing the seeds of further suspicions of Chinas aims in Brussels is not a desirable outcome. The Chinese delegation must therefore make sure, through careful and clear communication, that the doubts about Chinas European ventures that already exist in not a few European minds are mitigated rather than increased. Jeremy Garlick is a lecturer in international relations at the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, University of Economics in Prague. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website. Expanding my horizons at China Daily, and learning how to shoot a video There are two sayings in English that are profoundly relevant to what I'm going to write about this week, with your indulgence. One is, you're never too old to learn, and the other is, when in doubt, wing it. These two phrases were in the forefront of my mind when I set about the latest challenge to confront me here at China Daily. The assignment seemed pretty straightforward. Let's produce a two-minute video for China Daily to run on its social media platforms and websites, to complement our planned reporting of the momentous EU referendum facing Britons this month. Oh no, I hear you cry, not more stuff on Brexit. Well, this is not so much about whether or not Britain will vote to remain in the European Union on June 23, but how Chinese, English, Australian, Polish and Hungarian ingenuity combined to produce what I personally feel is a cracking video. And we had a lot of laughs along the way. I contacted Samantha Vadas, a freelance Australian-Hungarian who occasionally writes for us, and who I happen to know was a video reporter and television anchor back in her native Australia. Yes, she'd give it a shot. So next up, I wrote a script. Easy. At which point a colleague asked exactly how we were going to shoot it. My airy comment to shoot on an iPhone was dismissed out of hand. Enter two enthusiastic web editors, colleagues from Beijing, coming to the end of an assignment here in London. Song Wei and Liu Jing ended up wielding two heavy Canon DLR stills cameras that can shoot professional videos. Next up, a check with the marketing department to see if they had a backdrop carrying the China Daily name. No problem, according to Tymon Strzelczyk and Jiang Shan, which meant they spent nearly an hour wrestling a canvas and aluminium frame into position in a cramped studio. All the time I'm sitting back in the director's chair, with a slightly bemused expression on my face. The enthusiasm level, I may say, was terrific. Now what do we need? Well, we had two camera tripods, onto which the Canon cameras slotted perfectly. Samantha, who'd been doing her own makeup and running through the script, asked politely where the autocue was. The what? The autocue, that screen located just by the camera that presenters read from. It has to be at eye-level, she said sweetly. A quick check with the indefatigable Alice Chen, our highly capable administrator, produced another tripod. (Alice, what else do you keep in that drawer behind your desk?) Samantha, in the meantime, found autocue software online that allows you to read the script on your iPad as the device's camera is filming your face. Now, how do we fix the iPad at eye-level so it doesn't fall over? Alice! Blue tack and sticky tape, please. Crunch time. Samantha read through the script a couple of times, and then it was time for recording. Yes, readers, I did say "Action!" And yes, I did say "that's a wrap" at the end. And a wrap it was, after Tymon, our senior marketing manager, proved himself an adept video editor. Using two cameras proved to be a stroke of genius. So forgive this indulgent bit of self-publicity from China Daily, but I wanted to say a public thank you to everyone who proved that when East meets West, it really does work. The author is managing editor of China Daily European Bureau, based in London. Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com Staff members welcome visitors after the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Disney Resort.LIU XIN / FOR CHINA DAILY Thousands of Chinese and overseas visitors flocked to the opening day of the Shanghai Disney Resport on Thursday. Rain that fell during the day failed to dampen their enthusiasm for the $5.5 billion theme park. You Xinwei, a 25-year-old who works in the logistics industry, said after taking a Roaring Rapids ride: "There were surprises at every turn the raft took and it became scarier as we went deeper into a dark cavern. The experience was fun and thrilling," added You, standing in wet shoes and clothing afterward. Having visited Hong Kong Disneyland, You said the Shanghai park is larger and offers more high-tech attractions. Koike Hideya and his wife Kyoto flew to Shanghai from Nagoya in Japan for a three-day trip. Compared with Tokyo Disneyland, he said the Shanghai park is bigger, prettier and its attractions are better with the use of high-technology. The couple, who are in their 40s, were among more than 10,000 visitors to the Walt Disney Co's sixth resort and among the first group of overseas Disney visitors to the Chinese mainland. Bob Iger, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said on Wednesday: "When we open, we will continue construction to expand ... We've had some discussions, mostly internal, on what we would like to do next year." The resort is the largest foreign investment to date for the California-based company. "Nothing is as impactful. Nothing creates a connection to our stories, to our brands, to our characters, than a theme park experience," Iger was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. "The experience people have when they spend time in our theme parks is immersive. They not only hear and see our stories but they actually enter them, they live in them." While most of the 300 theme parks in China are unprofitable, Disney is leading an incoming wave of megaparks developed by both local and foreign operators competing for a tourism industry that is set to double in size by 2020. According to Bloomberg, about 60 more parks will open by 2020 to serve Chinese consumers, including Dalian Wanda Group's chain of 15 Wanda Cities. Xun Xiaohong is pictured standing by a manhole on a street in Harbin, capital city of Northeast Chinas Heilongjiang province, June 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] One can get caught off guard by sudden summer showers. And when it pours down onto a city, problems and dangers might loom on the street. The photo of a woman standing in knee-high water by a manhole on a flooded street on Sunday has become an Internet sensation, with netizens praising her as "the most beautiful lotus in the rain", Xinhua News reported. The Sunday rainstorm was "rapid and heavy". For two straight hours, Xun Xiaohong, a staffer with Harbin Drainage Group in Northeast Chinas Heilongjiang province, stood at a low point in the junction of a road where the water at its highest point reached her waist, the report said. Donned in bright colored clothes, Xun said she wanted to warn drivers of the dangers on the inundated street. "I had to lift the sewer cover to let the flooding water go down," Xun explained. Fearing it would be overturned by the rushing water, she anchored the lid between her legs. Xun's efforts on Sunday lasted for 8 hours. When she finally came home, she saw her photo online. "It has taken me by surprise. But when it rains it is like my order. It's just my routine work to help drain off water in the rain," Xun said with a smile. US President Barack Obama (L) and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers at a makeshift memorial for shooting victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, US, June 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] ORLANDO, Fla.- President Barack Obama met survivors of a gay nightclub massacre and relatives of the 49 people killed on Thursday and said the United States must act to control gun violence and fight what he called homegrown terrorism. "The last two terrorist attacks on our soil - Orlando and San Bernardino - were homegrown," Obama told reporters. "We're going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring. It's going to take more than just our military. It's going to take more than just our intelligence community." Obama and Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Orlando, Florida, four days after a US-born gunman claiming allegiance to various Islamist militant groups carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The United States has made it too easy for disturbed or wrathful people to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the assault rifle used in the attack on Sunday, Obama said. "I held and hugged" grieving family members before laying flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub, he said. Police killed the gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, a US citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but US officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. CIA Director John Brennan told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday that the agency had "not been able to uncover any direct link" between Mateen and militants abroad. A married couple also claiming allegiance to Islamic State shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. Melissa Soto hugs therapy dog Susie near a memorial site in honor of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting outside of the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown, Orlando, Florida, USA, 14 June 2016. A total of 50 people, including the suspect gunman, were killed and 53 were injured in a mass shooting attack at an LGBT club in Orlando, Florida, in the early hours of 12 June. The shooter was killed in an exchange of fire with the police after taking hostages at the club. [Photo/IC] US President Barack Obama (R) and Vice President Joe Biden depart a makeshift memorial after placing flowers in memory of shooting victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, US, June 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] ORLANDO, the United States - US President Barack Obama on Thursday again urged Republican-controlled Congress to pass stricter gun control laws during his visit to Orlando in the wake of the country's deadliest mass shooting incident. "Those who were killed and injured here were gunned down by a single killer with a powerful assault weapon," Obama told reporters. "The motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar. Now another 49 innocent people are dead. Another 53 are injured. Some are still fighting for their lives." At least 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded, including a police officer, early Sunday morning in a shooting spree at a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was the deadliest terror attack in the US history since 9/11 in 2001. The gunman, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was found dead inside the nightclub after a shootout with the police. "I truly hope that senators rise to the moment and do the right thing. We can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. If we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this," said Obama. Following the 2012 school mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed 26 lives, including 20 children, the Obama administration initiated but failed to push stronger gun control laws. The laws, whose sections included expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons, were stymied in Congress after staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights lobby groups. During his presidency, Obama presided over more than a dozen of high-profile mass shootings, and in an interview last year he called the failure to reform US gun laws "one of the greatest frustrations" of his presidency. CARACAS - At least 408 people were arrested Wednesday after violent protests in Venezuela, which saw shops being looted. Luis Acuna, the governor of Sucre State, called for "calm" in a press conference, after 15 shops along the Panamericana avenue in Cumana, capital of the north-eastern state of Sucre, were looted, including supermarkets, clothes shops and an optician shop. Acuna said the "violence had left no dead and no injured", although opposition forces said that one man named Cristobal Castaneda had been shot dead. Nelson Moreno, governor of Anzoategui state, which neighbors Sucre, also announced Wednesday that eight people had been arrested for looting, adding that two of the eight men arrested were known criminals with "a history of homicide, robbery and theft." "This morning, we called a meeting of the state security apparatus, along with the mayors," said Moreno at a press conference. Moreover, he accused the speaker of National Assembly Henry Ramos Allup of "instigating violence" on social media. According to opposition sources, the protests took place due to anger at the shortage of food in the South American country. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives to deliver a speech at the Acropolis museum with the ancient Parthenon temple seen in the background in Athens, Greece June 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented on Thursday his government's 2016-2021 plan for "fair growth", pledging brighter days for the suffering Greek people after six years of harsh austerity introduced to overcome the debt crisis. A painful circle closes for Greece following the completion of the first review of the third Greek bailout, he told a forum on development hosted at the Acropolis Museum. Focus will be shifted from now on to growth boosting policies to address the high unemployment rates challenge and redistribute burdens and wealth, he said. "For first time in the past six years we have a stable macroeconomic, fiscal and investment environment. The main focus now is development and all government efforts are geared towards one strategic target: promoting fair growth," he said. Tsipras criticized as unsustainable and socially unfair previous growth plans presented by his predecessors until the Radical Left assumed office in January 2015. Outlining the main pillars of the Left-led ruling coalition's strategy, he talked about "productive reconstruction" and restart of major infrastructure projects across Greece which had "frozen" during the crisis. He also referred to a series of financing tools available from now in particular to small- and medium- sized enterprises as part of efforts to attract more investments and create "long-lasting and decent" job positions. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in St. Petersburg, on June 16, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - The 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opened here Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging more global interaction to solve economic problems. The three-day forum attracted over 10,000 participants, including government and business leaders. "The global economy is increasingly impacted by political and social factors ... It is vital that we work together in our search for additional drivers of development," Putin said in a greeting read at the opening ceremony of the three-day forum. The forum is a platform for sharing best practices and proposing solutions to a wide range of issues, he told the forum. Putin went on urging every nation to fully make use of the industrial, scientific, technological and innovative potential, as well as "the potential of international integration structures." "We must react more swiftly to the shifting demands of the market and to the looming transformation of the global technological landscape," Putin added. Discussions at the forum would provide guidance and consensus for Russian and global economic development, and give impetus to all-round international cooperation, Putin said. This time's gathering also involves sub-forums of regional and international organizations like the Group of 20 (G20), BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. During the G20 Business 20 Forum, experts, business leaders and officials from various countries discussed issues including infrastructure, employment, development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as finance and investment. At the warm-up of the upcoming G20 Summit, to be held in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou in September, Chinese Internet giant Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma promoted the initiative of establishing a new global e-commerce platform, the Electronic World Trade Platform or e-WTP. Ma said that the e-WTP could become an "e-road" that better connects global SMEs through logistics and inclusive financing. The digital trade route would lead to the establishment of various "e-hubs" in different countries, and improve the global environment for investment and economic development, Ma said. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew talks about the US-China economic relationship on Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. [Photo by Chen Weihua/China Daily] Chinese and US negotiating teams are talking in Washington this week about a revised negative list for a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) although the agreement looks unlikely to be concluded during the remaining seven months of the Obama administration. Jack Lew, the US secretary of treasury, said on Thursday that a sufficiently ambitious negative list -- where only exceptions to the treaty are specified -- from China could open a pathway to additional progress before the end of the year. "Up till this last round, the negative list that we've seen has not been sufficiently ambitious to open enough of the economy for the BIT to have a successful path forward," he told a talk at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Thursday. He said he doesn't want to comment on something that is very much a work in progress, noting the talk had been going on over the past 24 hours. "But they certainly led us to expect that the list will be the basis for working together going forward, even though it wouldn't be the final end result. I hope that's the case when our experts go through the list and report back," he said. Lew hopes the Chinese take advantage of the remaining seven months of the Obama administration, noting an upcoming September meeting between President Obama and President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on the sidelines of the G20 summit. He noted that leaders' meetings are very useful deadlines to focus attention, but said, "I can't sit here and warrant that it will be successful." Derek Scissors, resident scholar at AEI, believes there is no chance for the BIT to pass the US Congress during Obama's remaining months in office. Most experts believe that the top priority for the US government is to make a last-ditch effort to push the Congress to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries that does not include China. Scissors noted that the environment in the US now is very protectionist, and the immediate priority for the next administration will be domestic issues rather than any international agenda. He agreed that the Chinese side should be negotiating in good faith. "But you don't want to give away everything to this administration because the new administration wants to put its own stamp on it," he said. BEIJING - The killing of an anti-Brexit lawmaker has aroused global reaction as a June 23 referendum on whether Britain will remain in the European Union (EU) is drawing near. Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party and a vocal advocate for Britain staying in the EU, was attacked while preparing to meet constituents in Birstall near Leeds in northern England. The Yorkshire Post newspaper reported the 41-year-old mother of two was shot and stabbed by a man reportedly shouting "Britain first." The police said a 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder but his motive remains under investigation. "Britain First" is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group. The group released a statement saying it was "obviously not involved" and "would never encourage behavior of this sort." After the attack, pro- and anti-Brexit groups said they were suspending all campaigning for Thursday and Friday ahead of the EU membership referendum. First Business 20 (B20) summit press conference is held in Beijing on June 16.[Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING -- Business leaders of G20 members will focus on promoting robust, sustainable and balanced growth of the global economy during the September summit, an official said Thursday. The Business 20 (B20) summit will gather nearly 1,000 business leaders in east China's Hangzhou city on Sept 3 and 4, said Yin Zonghua, vice chairman of the B20 2016 Host Committee and vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The summit will have six issues on its agenda: financing growth, trade and investment, infrastructure, small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, employment and anti-corruption, Yin told a press conference. The business leaders have formed a draft report on policy advice for G20 leaders including topics such as green financing, a global e-trade platform, international investment and business transparency, he said. The report will be submitted to the G20 summit, which will be held in Hangzhou on Sept 4 and 5 under the theme "towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy." B20 attendees produce policy recommendations for the annual meeting of the G20 leaders. It brings together G20 business leaders to reflect upon the role of the private sector as the main driver of economic growth. China formally took over the G20 presidency on Dec 1, 2015. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew talks about the US-China economic relationship on Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. [Photo by Chen Weihua/China Daily] A revised negative list for a Bilateral Investment Treaty is being discussed by Chinese and US negotiating teams in Washington. However, the agreement looks unlikely to be concluded during the remaining seven months of the Obama administration. Jack Lew, US secretary of the treasury, said on Thursday that a sufficiently ambitious negative list where only exceptions to the treaty are specified from China could open a pathway to additional progress before the end of the year. "Up until this last round, the negative list we've seen has not been sufficiently ambitious to open enough of the economy for the BIT to have a successful path forward," he told the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday. Lew said he hopes China takes advantage of the remaining seven months of the Obama administration, noting an upcoming meeting in September between President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On Friday, Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said the momentum of negotiations on the investment treaty is encouraging, with discussions held on the negative list. The two countries have pledged to exchange the new negative list this month to reach a win-win result, he said. Jo Cox Tributes flooded in on Friday for slain British politician Jo Cox, who died after being stabbed and shot in the head the day before. Detectives are investigating whether her killing, outside her constituency office in Yorkshire, was politically motivated. Suspect Tommy Mair, 52, was detained by police near his home in Birstall, West Yorkshire. Prime Minister David Cameron suspended campaigning in the European Union referendum after the tragedy. Britons are due to vote on Thursday. Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, represented Batley and Spen in Parliament. She won the seat for the Labour Party in May last year, was a popular figure in Parliament and a passionate human rights advocate. Cameron, on a campaign-related visit to Gibraltar, expressed his condolences to Cox's family. "This is absolutely tragic and dreadful news. My thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan, their two children and their wider family," he said. "People are going to be very sad at what's happened, at this dreadful news, and it's right that we've suspended campaigning activity in this referendum." Cox was active in the Remain campaign. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a statement, "The whole of the Labour family, and indeed the whole country, is in shock and grief at the horrific murder of Jo Cox. "Jo was dedicated to getting us to live up to our promises to support the developing world and strengthen human rights and she brought those values and principles with her when she became an MP." Alan Mak, an MP and the first person of Chinese and East Asian origin to be elected to the House of Commons in Britain, said on Friday:"Jo Cox was an outstanding MP and colleague in Parliament. She was warm, passionate and a strong voice for her constituents. Her death so young is a tragedy." Cox is survived by her husband and two young children. In a statement on Thursday, her husband said, "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now. One, that our precious children are bathed in love. Second, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous." Yan Jin, vice-president of the School of International Studies at Renmin University, said, "It's just one week before the referendum, and the killing may impact the outcome as some people, especially those without strong opinions on staying in or leaving, may vote out of sympathy. "But we should also consider it as an individual case, which may not influence the final outcome to any great extent." Wang Mingjie in London and Yan Dongjie in Beijing contributed to the story. Economic relations to be lifted to new level, says Serbian envoy A worker adjusts Chinese and Serbian flags for the upcoming visit of President Xi Jinping, in Belgrade, on Thursday.Reuters China and Serbia are set to seal a dozen deals in infrastructure and science when President Xi Jinping kicks off the first state visit to the Eastern European nation by a Chinese president in 32 years. Milan Bacevic, Serbian ambassador to China, told China Daily that the two countries will also raise bilateral ties to a comprehensive partnership during the visit, which is considered by Serbia as "a crowning moment in the relations between the two countries". "In Serbia, the government and the people attach great importance to this visit," Bacevic said. The ambassador expects that it could be "an excellent opportunity" to make the level of bilateral economic relations as high as political relations, as there is great potential for economic cooperation. According to Bacevic, talks about the Chanel Danube-Juzna Morava-Vardar, which would connect the network of European waterways with ports in Greece and the Aegean Sea, will also be on the agenda of the meeting of Xi and his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic. The construction of the Serbian section of a high-speed railway linking Belgrade, capital of Serbia, with Budapest, the Hungarian capital, carried out by a consortium of Chinese companies led by China Railway, was launched in December. In April, Chinese company Hesteel Group acquired Serbian steel company Zelezara Smederevo for 46 million euros ($51.7 million). The deal, which offered 5,000 job opportunities, is expected to become a pilot project of international production capacity cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries. "This transaction should noticeably boost the country's economic growth," Bacevic said. "We expect that the successful development of these projects will attract more Chinese investors and companies to our region," he said. The ambassador added that the economic relationship between China and Serbia should enter a new phase which will be based not only on the development of major infrastructure projects, but also on Chinese direct investment, noting Serbia's advantages in terms of taxation and customs. For example, based on established free trade agreements, all products produced in Serbia can be exported tariff-free to a market of almost 800 million people that includes the European Union, Russia and Kazakhstan. Serbia's tax regime is highly conducive to doing business - its corporate tax is among the lowest in Europe, while value added tax in Serbia is among the most competitive in Central and Eastern Europe, the ambassador added. "I would appreciate if Chinese people could better know Serbian history, traditions and culture," Bacevic said. "They would be convinced very soon that the Serbian people are good hosts." Cultural links in the spotlight A series of cultural activities showcasing Chinese culture were held on Thursday in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, ahead of President Xi Jinping's state visit. Six bookstores in Belgrade are participating in a book fair to promote literature about ancient and modern China. The launch ceremony of the book fair, organized by China's State Council Information Office, was held at the Delfi bookstore in Belgrade. Among the 105 volumes on display at the fair are ones featuring information on China's history and cultural heritage, as well as others featuring China's politics and economy. The fair will last for a month, according to the organizers. The Serbia Chinese movie week also kicked off on Thursday in Belgrade, during which six Chinese movies, including some of the latest blockbusters, will be shown in Serbia between June 16 and 22. The movies will be shown in cinemas in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city. Organizers said the movies are targeted at the younger generation of Serbia to let them see the latest achievements of China's movie industry. mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn President Xi Jinping has proposed more cooperation on major projects with Serbia ahead of his state visit to Belgrade. A worker adjusts Chinese and Serbian flags for the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping on the site of what used to be China's embassy, which was destroyed in NATO's 1999 bombing campaign, in Belgrade, Serbia June 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] China wants to share development opportunities and achievements with Serbia, Xi said in an article published by Politika, a daily Serbian newspaper. The two countries should increase bilateral trade and investment to benefit people in both nations, Xi said. Describing Serbia as an "eternal friend and sincere partner" of China, he highlighted the bilateral friendship that dates to the 1950s when China established diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia. "There is a saying in Serbia that friends are the fruits of time," Xi said in his article. The two countries will sign a number of cooperation documents covering areas including economic affairs, trade, production capacity and finance, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Denis Depoux, deputy president of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for Asia, said Serbia is one of the hot spots for investments in Europe, as the country seeks to join the European Union. The Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia. [Photo provided to China Daily] A photo exhibition opened on Friday in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, as President Xi Jinping starts his first state visit to the country. The "Beautiful China, Beautiful Serbia" show features more than 70 photos taken by photographers from both countries. It aims to help boost cultural exchanges and has been organized by China's State Council Information Office, the Chinese embassy in Serbia and Serbia's Culture and Media Ministry. In addition to natural scenery and cultural elements, the exhibition also showcases the two countries' rich histories and the friendship between their peoples, said Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office. "I hope this exhibition can be a window, which enables people from both countries to have a better understanding of each other," Guo said at the opening ceremony. Sasa Mirkovic, state secretary of Serbia's Culture and Media Ministry, said Xi's visit will open a new era of relations between the two countries. A series of cultural activities, including a book fair and a movie week that both kicked off on Thursday in Belgrade, will bring people from both sides closer together, he added. A dozen leaders of Chinese and Serbian media organizations attend the China-Serbia Media Dialogue on Friday in Belgrade. [Photo provided to China Daily] Serbian media organizations expressed their willingness to deepen cooperation with their Chinese counterparts, as relations between the two countries are being upgraded thanks to President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the country. Serbian news agency, newspaper, TV station and website representatives made the remarks on Friday at the China-Serbia Media Dialogue, hosted by China's State Council Information Office in Belgrade, the country's capital. A dozen Chinese and Serbian news bosses attended the event. Xi left Beijing on Friday for state visits to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan. Participants at the forum said Xi's visit will have a great impact on the social and economic development of both countries. Bojan Brkic Zamenik, deputy editor-in-chief at the Radio Television of Serbia news desk, said his organization planned to deploy several hundred journalists to cover President Xi's visit thoroughly. "I would love to see more exchanges and cooperation with Chinese news organizations," he said, adding that his organization would sign a cooperation agreement with China Radio International on Saturday. Ljiljana Smajlovic, editor-in-chief of Politika and the president of the Serbian Journalists' Association, said Serbian journalists harbored friendly feelings towards China, and that the Serbian people had a growing interest in the country. Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, said news organizations had the responsibility of pushing forward the relations between the two countries. "I was delighted to see Serbian media covered many important issues including China's Belt and Road Initiative," he said. Guo said compared with the cooperation in other fields, the collaboration between media organizations from two countries had much room to be improved. "Participants proposed a lot of good ideas at this forum, including content exchange and joint interviews," he said. "I hope all good ideas could be realized." President Xi Jinping paid a visit to the former site of China's embassy in Belgrade which was bombed 17 years ago in an air strike by the United States-led NATO. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pay homage to the Chinese martyrs killed in the NATO bombing of the former Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1999, after arriving in Belgrade for a state visit to Serbia, June 17, 2016. The three martyrs were journalists Shao Yunhuan of Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying, of the Guangming Daily newspaper. [Photo/Xinhua] Sooner after his arrival in the Serbian capital on Friday afternoon, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, accompanied by the couple of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, attended a memorial ceremony for the three Chinese reporters who were killed in May 7,1999, when satellite-guided bombs from an US Air Force B-2 bomber hit the embassy during the NATO's intervention in Yugoslavia. Xi is paying a state visit to Serbia from Friday to Sunday. It's the first state visit by Chinese president to Serbia since the country's independence in 2006. Xi paid a silent tribute to the deceased, without giving any speech. Senior officials from both countries bowed and offered flowers in front of the memorial stone. After the memorial ceremony, Xi attended a foundation-laying laying ceremony for the Chinese Culture Center in Belgrade. Witnessed by Xi, Sinisa Mali, mayor of Belgrade, named "Confucius Street" and "Serbia-China Friendship Square" on the former site of the embassy. During the visit, the two countries will sign a number of cooperative documents covering areas including economic and trade, production capacity and finance. To show his support toward Chinese investment, Xi will pay a visit to Smederevo steel mill, which was founded in 1913 and acquired in April by Hesteel Group, China's largest iron and steel business group in terms of production capacity, said Liu Haixing, assistant foreign minister. In 2009, Serbia became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China. In September last year, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic brought a detachment of soldiers to attend China's landmark parade marking the 70th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War victory. To contact the reporter: anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn Even though 17 years have passed, I still have deep memories on the massive grief and anger nationwide after the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was bombed. The bombing, launched by the United States-led NATO on the evening of May 7, 1999, killed three Chinese reporters and seriously damaged the embassy buildings. I was a 15-year-old middle-school student at that time. I still remember the video broadcasted on the TV then, as a sad elderly man cried out, "Why the US-led NATO killed my daughter and son-in-law? What wrongdoings have they committed?" The man was father of ZhuYing, a reporter of Beijing-based Guangming Daily newspaper who lost her life in the bombing at the age of 28. Her husband and colleague Xu Xinghu, 31, was also killed in the incident that was condemned by the Chinese government as a "barbaric act." From the TV screen, I could sense the deep grief imposed by the war to an innocent family. It was really heart-breaking. Another journalist, 48-year-old Shao Yunhuan from Xinhua News Agency, also lost her life. Her son Cao Lei was 19 years old at that time, close to my age. Losing love from a mother is always a tragedy, especially at an early age. For me, the bombing incident is like a textbook - before that, I have never thought of how cruel a war could be. It gave me a vivid lesson on how precious the peace is. Today, there is no longer any gunfire or missiles in this Balkan country. However, we should not forget those whose lives were claimed by the war. And this may be the message that President Xi Jinping wants to submit through coming to the bombing site to attend a memorial ceremony - reminding the world to cherish peace and say no to war. President's article in Polish newspaper says China, Europe should deepen common interests China and Europe should closely match each other's development strategy and deepen joint interests, President Xi Jinping wrote on the eve of his visits to Serbia and Poland. "Now both China and Europe are pushing forward structural reform," Xi wrote in an article published in the major Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita on Friday. "As two major powers, major markets and major civilizations of the world, China and Europe can closely match each other's development strategies, deepen joint interests, promote joint growth and contribute to world peace and development," he wrote. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday that Xi will pay state visits to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan from June 17 to 22. He will also attend the Meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, from June 23 to 24. Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, said Xi's visit will bring more outcomes for the China-proposed Belt and Road projects, given that all the three countries are located on the key points of the ancient Silk Road. The Belt and RoadInitiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes. Considering its geographic importance, Central and Eastern Europe marks an essential part in China's Belt and Road Initiative, as a quarter of the countries along the routes are located in the region. "Countries in Central and Eastern Europe including Poland are keen to develop ties with China to attract more Chinese investment," Wang said. Poland is China's largest trading partner in the Central and Eastern Europe region, while China is Poland's third-largest supplier of imports. Trade between the two countries reached $17.2 billion in 2014. Big media today has been covering Apples BREA design patent dispute with a small Chinese competitor and I woke up this morning with our inboxes filled with emails from financial analysts and reporters clamoring to talk with us about this news. This is obviously huge news and for more on this story, check out the following: But first, everyone calm down and let me explain. I do not know anything at all specific about Apples case. Not a thing. My law firm does not represent Apple on its IP matters, nor do we represent the Chinese company with this patent claim. Additionally, I have not looked at a single pleading in this case, nor have I discussed this case with any of the international IP attorneys in my firm who may know more about this case than me. This post is based on what our lawyers have seen (especially lately) happening with China design patents, which is a whole lot. In the last six months or so, we have gone from dealing with maybe one China design patent matter a year to at least one a month. We cannot pin down this massive acceleration in design patent matters on any one thing and so we simply think word has gotten out among Chinese companies regarding the effectiveness of engaging foreign companies in design patent disputes. What exactly is a China design patent? Chinas design patent laws define a design as a shape, pattern, or combination thereof or the combination of a color with a shape and pattern, with an aesthetic appeal and for industrial application. If you think this definition is incredibly vague and potentially broad enough to drive a truck through, you would be right. On top of this, Chinas patent office does not review design patents before granting them. Or, as I love to tell our clients over the telephone, I could probably secure a China design patent on the blue socks I am wearing right now. When I say that, I am being intentionally dramatic, but I honestly believe my chances of securing such a design patent are not that bad. The other things you should know about Chinese design patents are that the patent grants its holder exclusive use of the aesthetic features of a product, not its functioning portion. In other words, the patent is on how the product looks; its external appearance. Not kidding, but it is quite possible the small Chinese company with the mobile phone design patent could use its design patent against any cell phone company with a product that looks like an iPhone. But lets step back and look at what it really means to have a design patent, and I will do that by explaining (in a compilation form) the design patent cases our China attorneys have recently been handling. These cases typically start with a phone call from a Western company telling us some company (usually a company it already knows and usually either its manufacturer or a competitor) just contacted the Western company (or the Chinese company that makes the Western companys product) and said the Western companys product is violating the Chinese companys China design patent. The Chinese company then threatens to sue the Western company for patent infringement damages and to block any of the Western companys infringing product from leaving China. Needless to say, the companies that call us on these matters are more than a little bit concerned. Though I am not going to claim these are pleasant situations or inexpensive for our clients, I will claim they are not as bad as they initially appear. I have heard China issues around ten times more design patents than the United States patent office, which reinforces my contention that I could get a China design patent for my blue socks. There is no substantive examination of a design patent application in China. Instead, all you really need to do to get a China design patent is to complete your design patent application properly. So if I complete the design patent application on my blue socks, and attach a proper and appropriate drawing of them, along with a proper power of attorney and I make the right claims regarding my having designed my blue socks and regarding their being of a new design, I almost certainly will get my design patent. BUT, my blue sock design patent will be as weak as a kitten. And for this reason, China design patent actions are not as scary as they first appear and why I am calling for nobody to panic on Apples behalf either. In the design patent cases my law firm has handled, nobody has yet actually had customs block their product from leaving China. The reason is because China customs generally requires a party seeking such a block to post a substantial bond. That substantial bond then becomes available to the party whose product has been blocked by customs. Again though, you want to avoid these cases if at all possible because even if you end up prevailing, you will need to incur considerable time, trouble and money to get there. The difference between the cases we have handled and the Apple one is that in our cases the Chinese companies threaten to get an order blocking our client from having its product made in China, but they never do. They never do because they know the cost of doing so is high and the likelihood of their getting such an order and having that order stick is very low. I read somewhere once that something like 70 to 90 percent of all Chinese design patents get invalidated when challenged. These Chinese companies know that if we were to challenge their design patents we would prevail, so they are hesitant to spend big money only to lose in the end. The Chinese companys power comes from the design patent threat, not from reality. In the Apple case, the Chinese company has brought a lawsuit and by doing so it has increased its threat value. Did the Chinese company do this because it has a valid patent? Or is it because it views Apple has having such deep pockets it has decided to go strong in the belief doing so will get Apple to pay big money in settlement to end the issue? I dont have the answers. But based entirely on our own history with China design patents, I am guessing Apple will prevail in the end. Whats the best way to nip design patent hijacking? Register your design patent first, before anyone else. Update: CNBC has come out with an article, entitled, Beijings Apple ban isnt likely to stick, expert says. I am the expert who does not think the ban will stick. (Photo : YouTube Screenshot) The Huawei Honor 5A Plus smartphone is now available in China. Advertisement Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has officially released its latest device called the Huawei Honor 5A Plus smartphone in China. This device and its sibling, the Huawei Honor 5A, were unveiled earlier this year. Before appearing on the GFX Bench website, the Honor 5A Plus was certified by China's telecom certification authority (TENAA) in May. There are some differences its the specifications of the device on the GFX Bench and the TENAA listing. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The Honor 5A Plus is expected to sport a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It will have an Octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor clocked at 1.5 GHz with a 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 405 GPU. The device will have 16 GB of on-board storage and will support SD card. As per the GFX Bench listing, the Honor 5A Plus will be an entry-level handset and have a 12-megapixel camera on the rear with support for full-high-definition videos, face detection, high-definition-resolution photo, autofocus, touch focus, and flash. It will also come with a 7-megapixel front-facing camera for selfie lovers. No information has been revealed yet on the battery size of the device and whether it will support for NFC, gyroscope, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, and a heart rate monitor. On the other hand, according to the Honor 5A Plus listing on TENAA, the device will have a 13-megapixel camera instead of a 12-megapixel one. The smartphone will also have an 8-megapixel camera. The battery size of the Honor 5A Plus has not been revealed, but previous leaks have hinted that it will be packing a powerful 3,000 mAh battery. The device will likely come preloaded with the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, with the EMUI running on top. The Honor 5A Plus is expected to support Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, accelerometer, compass, pedometer, proximity sensor, and light sensor. No pricing information has been released yet for the Honor 5A Plus. It is also unclear whether this device and its sibling, the Honor 5A, will be released in the North American market. Advertisement TagsHuawei Honor 5A Plus, Huawei, Honor 5A Plus, GFX Bench, GFX, TENAA, huawei honor 5a (Photo : YouTube) The ZTE Nubia Z11 smartphone will be available in China on June 28. Advertisement Chinese smartphone maker ZTE has announced that its upcoming device called the Nubia Z11 will be available in China on June 28. The Nubia Z11 smartphone is an addition to the "Nubia" family flagship series device. The Chinese company confirmed that this device will be unveiled at a special event. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Earlier this year, the ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini smartphone was first introduced in the series. Recently this month, another member of the series, called the ZTE Nubia Z11 Max, made its debut in the local market. The Nubia Z11 will be the third device in the series to be released. The upcoming Nubia Z11 smartphone features a 5.5-inch display screen that supports 1080p resolution touch screen. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, along with a massive 4GB of RAM onboard. It comes with large built-in 64GB internal memory storage, which can be further expanded via a microSD card. It also features a fingerprint scanner on the back panel of the smartphone. The device is equipped with an all metallic body structure and is 7.75mm thin. It is allegedly going to feature a bezel-less look on the display area, which will have curved 2.5D glass. ZTE has not made any announcement on the price of the device. It is also unclear when it will make its debut in the international market. Advertisement TagsZTE, zte news, zte smartphone, zte nubia z11, ZTE nubia, zte nubia z11 max (Photo : Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Advertisement Alibaba founder Jack Ma has stirred controversy after stating that Chinese-manufactured counterfeit goods are now even better than the genuine products they are imitating. His statement has complicated the efforts being made to weed out fakes from Alibaba's platforms such as TaoBao. Speaking at an investor conference organized in Shanghai, Ma said, "Where there is money, there are bad guys. We don't have police or a court, we just have a group of young people using technology to fight against them. This is a war against human instinct." Like Us on Facebook Advertisement He also stated that today some fake items are of better quality than the original. "They are exactly the [same] factories, exactly the same raw materials but they do not use the names," he said. Ma, however, insisted that intellectual property rights should be respected. In 2015, Alibaba was sued by Kering, a Paris-based parent company behind luxury brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. The company alleged that Alibaba encourages and profits from the sale of counterfeit goods on its sites. As a result, Alibaba Group's membership was suspended by the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition in May this year. Alibaba has also been investigated by Chinese regulators over concerns about fake goods. Alibaba has released a statement explaining that its founder's remarks were not meant to be construed as a defense of fake products. Alibaba expects its 2017 revenues to increase by 48 percent on a year over year basis. Advertisement TagsJack Ma, Alibaba, Gucci (Photo : Getty Images) China on Thursday claimed that it has never set quota on Taiwan-bound tourists. Advertisement China on Thursday said that recent decline in the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Taiwan is due to existing market conditions, claiming that the Chinese government has never set a quota on Chinese tourists traveling to Taiwan. "The change in tourist numbers is mainly driven by the market and based on the willingness of tourism operators and tourists. The government has never set any quota to limit the number of tourists traveling to Taiwan," spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council An Fengshan said at a news conference on Wednesday. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Fengshan also blamed recent political tension in cross-strait relations for the fall in Chinese tourists. The tension has been particularly high since Taiwan's presidential election in January gave a landslide victory to pro-independent leader Tsai Ing-wen, who was sworn in as Taiwan's President last month. "This year, the political situation in Taiwan and cross-Straits relations have changed, triggering concerns from tourism operators and tourists on the mainland. Thus, their willingness to travel to Taiwan has declined," An said. Earlier this week, the Taiwanese media claimed that China is planning to significantly cut down its quota of Taiwan bond tourists in three stages. The report said that the move started in March and would continue till October. Experts say that Taiwan's tourism sector would be the first to bear the brunt if cross-strait relation takes a hit. According to a statistics released by Taiwan's tourism bureau, the average number of daily Chinese tourists witnessed a sharp drop of 33 percent or 1,650 people since the beginning of May. Chinese tourists have been a source of economic revenue for Taiwan. As per a rough estimate, Chinese tourists contributed NT$230 billion (S$9.7 billion) to the Taiwanese economy last year. Advertisement Tagschina, Taiwan, Taiwan Tourism, Cross-Strait relation The iconic starship, USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Advertisement The good news is, there definitely are technologically advanced alien civilizations (plural) somewhere out there. The bad news is, first contact with them might occur about 1,500 years from now. At least, SETI will have been a rightful success. But not the iconic TV and movie franchise Star Trek, which began boldly going to where no man has gone before in the 2260s. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement A new equation from two Cornell University researchers calculated this dismaying possibility based on the Fermi Paradox and the Mediocrity Principle. Combining these two equations led to the conclusion first contact might take another 1,500 years because this is about the time our radio transmissions saying "Hello" to aliens will have reached half the stars in the Milky Way. Scientists, specifically the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), have been broadcasting radio signals into space traveling at the speed of light for the past 80 years. This persistence means every star within an 80 light year distance from the Earth has received a radio transmission from us. These broadcasts, however, have reached only 8,531 stars and 3,555 Earth-like exoplanets in the Milky Way with its 200 billion stars. On the other hand, NASA's Kepler mission is even more pessimistic. It estimates our signals have reached just 2,326 confirmed exoplanets. This conflicting data shows SETI still has a very, very long way to go. Perhaps 1,500 years to go. "We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place -- but that doesn't mean no one is out there," said Cornell University student Evan Solomonides. "Even our mundane, typical spiral galaxy -- not exceptionally large compared to other galaxies -- is vast beyond imagination." "This is not to say that we must be reached by then or else we are, in fact, alone. We simply claim that it is somewhat unlikely that we will not hear anything before that time." The Fermi Paradox says there are billions of stars in the Milky Way that probably have Earth-like exoplanets. Despite this probability, no advanced aliens have visited or contacted us. The Mediocrity Principle states that since life exists on Earth, humans aren't unique. There must, therefore, be intelligent life on other Earth-like exoplanets. Advertisement TagsStar Trek, SETI, Cornell University, Fermi Paradox, Mediocrity Principle, aliens, Evan Solomonides, alien civilizations (Photo : Getty Images.) Chinese media claims that Indias inclusion in Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) will create a nuclear imbalance in South Asia. Advertisement India's inclusion in the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) will disturb the nuclear balance in South Asia and prove to be a major deterrent for peace and stability in the entire Asia Pacific region, the latest article in the Global Times said. This is a second article in as many days by the state-owned newspaper on India's bid for NSG inclusion. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "The major goal for India's NSG ambition is to obtain an edge over Islamabad in nuclear capabilities. Once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken," the article stated. At the same time, the article accepted that India is inching closer to NSG after gaining support from the US, Mexico, and Switzerland. It said that Beijing may back India's inclusion in the NSG if it "played by the rules". However, the article also reiterated China's tough stand that India being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a major hindrance to its NSG ambition. "However, as a country that has signed neither the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) nor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), India is not yet qualified for accession into the NSG," the newspaper said, mentioning the names of countries that supported China's stance. "That's why the bloc is still divided over the case, and countries including New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa, and Austria have expressed their firm objections to India's membership." China has categorically stated that if a Non-NPT signatory like India is included in the 48 member nuclear club, then Pakistan must also be included. Like India, Pakistan has not signed the NPT. India's fate regarding NSG membership will be decided in a plenary meeting that is expected to be held on June 20 in Seoul, South Korea. Experts argue that even if its membership bid is rejected at the meeting in Seoul, India's inclusion in the elite nuclear club is just a matter of time. Experts pointed out that India's membership is supported by a very powerful bloc and that the opposing bloc led by China will have to soften its stance sooner or later. India's Prime Minister, Narendar Modi, is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week at Tashkent on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. Modi is likely to urge the Chinese President to support India's NSG membership. Advertisement TagsIndia, china, Nuclear Supplier Group, India and Pakistan, NSG (Photo : Getty Images.) German based robotic company wants assurance of job protection from Chinas Midea Group. Advertisement German-based company Kuka wants a firm assurance on job protection and preservation of all physical sites following the proposed takeover of the robotics company by China's Midea Group, a person familiar with the matter said. A long-term agreement to this effect is being worked out by both companies, the person said. A long-term agreement in Germany typically runs for three to five years. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement At present, 4,500 Kuka company workers are based in Germany, out of which 3,500 workers are working in the company headquarters in Augsburg. Sources claim that Kuka wants to protect the jobs of all 4,500 German workers, along with all the physical sites, including the company's research and development facility at its headquarters. The robotic company also wants Midea Group's help in promoting its products in the Chinese market. On Thursday, China's electric appliance manufacturer officially launched a takeover of the Kuka Company, reportedly offering 33.3 billion yuan ($5.1 billion) for a more than 30 percent stake. Under German law, any company acquiring a more than 30 percent stake is obliged to bid for rest of the company. Reports of Midea Group bidding for Kuka has already raised concerns among German politicians, who are desperate to prevent Kuka's critical technology from falling into Chinese hands. Earlier this month, Germany Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that the government is on the lookout for a European company to bid for Kuka. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during her visit to China earlier this week, said that her government won't prevent takeover, but also left the door wide open to German firms making a counter-offer. However, no European or German company has expressed interest in acquiring Kuka. Advertisement TagsKuka, Midea Group, china, China and Germany (Photo : Getty Images: MCT) President Obama meets with his Holiness the Dalai Lama in the White House residence on Wednesday Advertisement Despite several warnings from China claiming that a meeting with the Dalai Lama will damage diplomatic relations, US President Barack Obama met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader in the White House on Wednesday. The meeting comes at a time when relations with both nations are tense due to the recent territorial dispute between China and several US allies in the South China Sea. The United States does not approve of what they percieve as aggressive assertions by China to claim territory in Asia. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement This is the fourth meeting Obama has had with the Dalai Lama since he took office in 2008. Instead of meeting at the White House oval office, where the US usually entertains world leaders, Obama met the Dalai Lama in the White House Residence. White House Spokesman John Earnest stated that the meeting had a very "personal nature" to it. Among other things, President Obama accepted the Dalai Lama's condolences regarding the people murdered during the Orlando nightclub shooting. Earnest further mentioned that Obama has spoken in the past of his "warm personal feelings" for the Dalai Lama and his belief "in preserving Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions." Despite Obama'swarmth, Earnest pointed out that this is by no means a change in the US stance on the Tibetan independence movement. While the Dalai Lama did admit that the situation in Tibet was part of their discussion, he claimed that he was not seeking independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama believes that it is in Tibet's best interest to remain a part of China. He noted in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that Xi Jinping has recognized the importance of Buddhism in Chinese culture. Advertisement TagsBarack Obama, Dalai Lama, Xi Jinping, china, Tibet There are several rumors now in the online space that Super Star Rajinikanth is suffering from some serious health issues. Though he is on a family vacation to the USA, he is also consulting some USA doctors is what the Chennai media has been reporting. But the producers of Rajinis next film have been stating that nothing like that is happening, and Rajinikanth is hale and healthy. At the same time, Rajinikanth is also hoping to get back to India and kick start the promotions for the film Kabali. Meanwhile, his daughter is seen performing puja on the name of Rajini at Kalahasthi temple. Soundarya Rajinikanth has performed all important puja for the good health of her father and the success of the film Kabali. Rajinis Kabali is expected to hit the theaters in July second week. BREAKING: Harvard researcher admits 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' likely a forgery 17 June, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | BOSTON (Christian Examiner) Most biblical scholars surmised four years ago that the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife" the text fragment written in ancient Coptic that supposedly called Mary the wife of the Savior was a fake. Now, the Harvard professor who invested nearly four years of work on the fragment and has defended it in publications and conferences has reportedly also come to the conclusion that the story may have been created out of whole cloth, or at least out of Egyptian papyrus. The Atlantic reports that Karen L. King, who teaches Ecclesiastical History at Harvard, is tacitly backing off of her stance on the fragment's authenticity after reading the magazine's expose on the origins of the scrap of Coptic text. "It tips the balance towards forgery," she told the magazine after reading the investigative report. In that report, journalist Ariel Sabar dismantles the narrative of authenticity by going on a multi-state and international search to discover the fragment's provenance a term used by scholars to reference a chain of custody and, ultimately, the origin of an artifact. King, for her part, never spoke much about how she had received the fragment, but when she first showed it publicly multiple scholars repudiated the text as a clumsy forgery based on its poor Coptic grammar, some apparent "overstrikes" (writing a new letter over an existing one), and some apparent additions. That didn't mean that the papyrus itself wasn't old, or even that the ink wasn't an ancient recipe. It simply meant that whoever wrote the text in ancient Coptic letters was likely not an ancient Coptic. King still wanted to pursue the study of the manuscript. If authenticated, it would have enormous implications on Christian scholarship and especially on her field the study of women in the early church. King was invested in showing women played a larger role than they've received credit for in the history books. However, there were signs from the beginning that there might be problems. King admits now that she knew little about the owner of the manuscript who had made it available for her to review. His name was Walter Fritz, a native of Germany living in Florida who had once studied and, it turns out, written about ancient manuscripts at Free University's Institute of Egyptology. He had also studied Coptic. Fritz presented himself to King as a well-rounded, wealthy family man, who had obtained the manuscript fragment from other parties in Europe. But he never disclosed his educational past or provided legitimate documentation to prove his reception or ownership of the text. Sabar tracked Fritz to Florida where she found that the man was the owner-operator of an erotic art company and had worked as a pornographer (with his wife in the lead role of the films). His wife, Sabar writes, had also "written a book of 'universal truths' and claimed to channel the voices of angels." It turns out that Fritz had registered multiple website names in the weeks before the unveiling of the text fragment, including one specifically named www.gospelofjesuswife.com. The domain name was registered when only he and King knew that the fragment would publicly be given that name. "I had no idea about this guy, obviously," King told The Atlantic. "He lied to me." According to the magazine's copiously detailed report, King is not ready to dismiss completely the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife." To do so, she said, she needs to build scientific consensus that the text is a forgery or obtain a confession. Part of her, she told the magazine, still believes it is "theoretically possible" that the so-called gospel is authentic, despite the fact that its story of how it was acquired has fallen apart and the history and credentials of the man who provided it have proven fallacious. That evidence, despite what she wants, "presses in the direction of forgery," King said. Click here to read Sabar's full investigative article in The Atlantic on Walter Fritz and the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife." The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) announced Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines as its newly elected president following candidate J.D. Greears announcement of his decision to withdraw his candidacy in an effort to preserve denominational unity. In the runoff between Gaines and Greear of 7,230 registered messengers, Gaines received 2,410 votes (49.96 percent), while Greear received 2,307 votes (47.80 percent). Greears announcement came after a runoff failed to result in a clear winner who would need 51 percent of ballots cast to win. I spent a good amount of time last night praying, and believe that for the sake of our convention and our mission we need to leave St. Louis united, Greear, pastor of the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., announced to the messengers on Tuesday. One of the candidates leaving the convention with a 51-49 victory on a third ballot is just not going to serve our mission well. So I am respectfully withdrawing my candidacy as president. Both Gaines and Greear felt the urge to pull out of the race, according to Baptist Press. "He and I both were sensing the Holy Spirit moving in the same direction, and we had a good time talking last night," Gaines told reporters at a press conference. "We talked to the Lord, and we talked about the situation, and I really feel like what just happened was really a blessing from God, and I pray God would use it to help us go forward and tell people about Jesus Christ." Gaines was nominated in March by former SBC President Johnny Hunt in light of our overwhelming need to get back to evangelism, personal soul-winning in our SBC, Hunt said, according to Baptist Press. In a blog post announcing his acceptance of his nomination for SBC president, Gaines outlined his four biggest passions as president of SBC: to continue and deepen our focus on gospel-centeredness in both theology and mission; to engage our culture with both grace and truth; to call for a new era of engagement in the entities and boards of the SBC; and to platform and equip non-Anglo pastors and members." Gaines succeeds pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Ark Ronnie Floyd, who has served as president of SBC for two consecutive years. I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up. The last time the 14 separate branches of the Orthodox church met, in 787, they hadnt yet split with the Roman Catholic church. So pulling together a Holy and Great Council meeting of the global representatives of 300 million Orthodox Christians for next week hasnt been easyeven with the event being discussed since 1961. A number of issues have cropped up in the last 1,000-plus years. The short list includes: the Archbishop of Constantinoples historical position as first among equals despite the Moscow Patriarchates superior numbers and wealth; Moscow Patriarch Kirills meeting with Pope Francis that angered Orthodox who consider Catholics heretics; and the struggle between the Jerusalem and Antioch Patriarchates over who has jurisdiction over Qatar. The initial list of issues to discuss topped 100 items; Orthodox leaders managed to whittle it down to 6. The goal of council organizer Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I: not to settle centuries ... 1 In this regular series, we share innovative practices from the world of stock photo ministry. The thing about a truly great awkward stock photo is that, if its framed and lit well enough, you wont even notice how little sense it makesat least not for a while. When you first glance at this weeks image, for instance, you might simply think, Hmm, thats cozy and/or terrifying. But if you look at it a bit longer, youll start to feel that something is deeply, darkly amiss. A human skull, some rosary beads, a burlap sack, a Bible, another Bible (extra credit!), all casually sitting in front of a crackling firehave we stumbled into the lair of a Zorro villain? Are we trying to conjure a curse on the local parish priest? Maybe were just cleaning out Rick Santorums attic? Who knows? (Probably not poor Yorick there.) Of course, there have been generations of Christians for whom the juxtaposition of the skull and the Bible wouldnt have been so strange. Many generations have lived when following Jesus could literally get you killed, and in times of persecution, the early church was rumored to have worshiped secretly in the catacombs, surrounded by decaying flesh. This macabre legacy can still be seen throughout Europe, where numerous churches, chapels, and shrines are decorated with the bones of the saints. This decor, while unusual outside of the Hot Topic set, was easy to accomplish, considering the medieval church was basically drowning in dead bodies it didnt know what to do with. For most of their history, Christians regarded cremation as essentially pagan, if not outright sinfuldeliberate destruction of a body that God had created ... 1 Passport to Romance(tm) Goes Global Contact: Lisa Dawn, 505-433-7503, marketing@PelicanBookGroup.com AZTEC, N.M., June 17, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pelican Book Group has announced that two Passport to Romance novellas have been chosen by Norway-based publisher, Hermon Forlag, to be translated and published in Norwegian. Plans are to release the novellas in both e-book and paperback. "While all Passport to Romance stories are wonderful, I wasn't surprised that 'Helsinki Sunrise' and 'Copenhagen Cozenage' got picked up," said Nicola Martinez, Editor-in-Chief for Pelican. "Both are lighthearted, fun reads that appeal to a wide audiencebut then again, so are all the PTR books! I'm hopeful the translations will be well-received and that more Passport to Romance titles will be released in multiple languages. As with our recent large-print deal with Thorndike, I credit our subsidiary rights agent Riggins International Rights with pulling the deal together." Passport to Romance books are Christian romances in which authors must use a pre-determined set of writing prompts and locations. "We wanted exotic locations," Martinez said, "but we also wanted the writing process to challenge authors." With ten novellas available, and more in the works, "I think we succeeded," Martinez said. "Helsinki Sunrise" by Marion Ueckermann is about Adam Carter, a missionary who goes to Finland to spend time alone. He doesn't plan to be distracted by Eveliina Mikkolaa woman who doesn't want him interfering with her impromptu trip to her family's cottage. The island isn't big enough for both of them, and Eveliina will do anything to make Adam leave! "Copenhagen Cozenage" by Kristen Joy Wilks is the story of Morgan Ravn who travels to Denmark seeking clues about her mysterious heritage. What she finds is a flirtatious stranger who regales her with a story about a jewel thief from 1958 and then abandons her with a large unruly dog. Established in 1983, Hermon Forlag publishes 70-80 Christian-themed titles a year. For more on these and other Pelican titles, visit: pelicanbookgroup.com or contact Independent Publishers Group at ipgbook.com. To view the Passport to Romance video, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HN3CgDoPm0 For more information on Hermon Forlag visit hermon.no About Pelican Book Group: Pelican Book Group is the first publisher to dedicate an entire new-adult romance imprint to promoting sexual purity. Headquartered in the Four Corners area of the United States, Pelican Book Group serves a global audience under multiple imprints. Founded in 2009, Pelican Book Group publishes numerous critically-acclaimed titles by award-winning authors from around the globe. Share Tweet home US Hillary Clinton SuperPAC ad trying to get support of conservative Christians? A new ad seems to be trying to get conservatives and anti-abortion groups to support Democrat Hillary Clinton, or at least trying to get people's support away from Republican Donald Trump. 2017 is here! I'm excited about building a lot of great Sims 4 content. I can't wait to get stuff out to all the players. George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) January 3, 2017 The ad titled "Grace," released by the Democratic political action committee Priorities USA Action, features a couple from Columbus, Ohio and their daughter Grace. It begins with the husband and wife recalling how an ultrasound image revealed that their unborn daughter would be suffering from a condition called spina bifida. It then shows photos of their daughter as a baby, and then as a young girl in wheelchair. Lauren Glaros says that her daughter "is a total blessing in our lives" while her husband Chris says that "despite all of her medical challenges, she brings out the goodness in each person." The ad then segues to the topic of Trump, Clinton's rival for presidency. It features a clip of the presumptive Republican nominee making a speech last year where he appears to be mocking a reporter with disability. "When I saw Donald Trump mock a disabled person, I was just shocked," says Mrs. Glaros. "The children at Grace's school all know never to mock her, and so for an adult to mock someone with a disability is shocking." "When I saw Donald Trump mock somebody with a disability, it showed me his soul, it showed me his heart, and I didn't like what I saw," says Mr. Glaros says. While the ad is an attack on Trump, there seems to be an underlying message of support for parents who decide to not terminate a pregnancy because their child might suffer from a disability after it is born. Clinton, however, had shown support for abortion rights. She said in a recent interview, as reported by Life News, that an "unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights," which would include the right to life. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said that the ad is "powerful until the very end, when one discovers that it is for Hillary Clinton," according to NPR. "This year, the duopoly on parties have given us two horrible choices when it comes to questions of human dignity," he said. Trump denied having mocked the reporter, said ABC News. Bishop T.D. Jakes urges Americans to 'stand together' after Orlando massacre Bishop T.D. Jakes from The Potter House in Dallas, Texas, weeps with the rest of America because of the tragic Orlando mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 50 people, including the slain gunman, and injured 53 others. Whenever senseless acts of violence such as this occur, Jakes says it's important for Americans to stand together as one. "I wanted to take a moment to share a statement with you that is on my heart and on the hearts of many, if not millions of Americans around this country," he says in a short video message shared on his Facebook page. "Our heart goes out to Orlando as you face this devastation that occurred this weekend." Jakes says the victims did not deserve what happened, adding that he considers the terror attack as "the second largest travesty to hit this country as an act of terrorism since 9/11." The only good thing about that devastating terrorist attack in September 2001, says Jakes, was that it brought Americans together. He hopes Americans will do the same now after the Orlando massacre. "There has been some discussion as to whether it is a hate crime or not. Really, it's both," Jakes continues. "But whether you are hated as African-Americans or hated in South Carolinasimply going in to have prayer on a Wednesday nightor whether you are part of the LGBT community and hated because you decided to go out on a Friday or Saturday night, you ought to be able to leave and go wherever you want to go and decide to go without fear of losing your lives by some extreme person who takes into their own hands to take lives senselessly." For those who have been victimised by the Orlando attack, Jakes says he stands with them, prays with them, and loves them. He is encouraging them to continue hanging on to hope because "we will get through this in some kind of way together.'" 'Fight against the hatred that killed her': Prayer vigils held as UK mourns MP Jo Cox Vigils have been held in churches across the UK after Jo Cox MP was killed on Thursday in her constituency. The 41-year-old mother of two was fatally shot and stabbed outside the library in her hometown of Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold an MP's surgery session. Tributes from fellow MPs and other politicians around the world flooded in as news of the attack spread. The pews of St Peter's Church, Birstall, were packed full as hundreds gathered for a prayer vigil on Thursday night. Guests included Labour MPs Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis. The Bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathon Gibbs told those gathered of Cox: "She grew up in this community, she lived for this community, she served this community and, in the end, she gave her life for this community." An impromptu vigil was also held in Parliament Square, Westminster, and was attended by several MPs. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to a "much-loved colleague" and said the whole country would be in shock. "[She] died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve," he said. Prime Minister David Cameron cancelled a referendum visit to Gibraltar after hearing the news. "This is absolutely tragic and dreadful news," he said. "We've lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion and a big heart. People are going to be very, very sad at what has happened. My thoughts are with her husband, Brendan, and her two young children." Both sides have suspended their referendum campaign in light of the attack. West Yorksire Police have arrested a 52-year-old man, named locally as Tommy Mair. The force has refused to discuss the motives for the killing but one eye-witness told BBC News he heard the attacker shout "Britain first" or "put Britain first". Local cafe owner Clarke Rothwell told the BBC: "I can't say which exactly it was, but definitely 'Britain first' was what he said when he was shouting he shouted it at least twice." The far-right political party Britain First has issued a video statement to condemn the attack and said it had no connection with the incident. Cox's mourning husband called for a fight against "the hatred that killed her". In a statement Brendan Cox, a former deputy director at Save the Children and adviser to Gordon Brown, said: "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now. One, that our precious children are bathed in love, and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion it is poisonous. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. "Jo would have no regrets about her life. She lived every day of it to the full." The attack was the worst on a sitting British politician since a string of deaths at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups more than 20 years ago. The Archbishop of Canterbury was among dozens to offer their prayers and condolences as the UK reeled in shock at the attack. The death of Jo Cox is terrible, most for her family & friends, but also for what the whole country has lost. We pray for those who mourn. Justin Welby (@JustinWelby) 16 June 2016 Andy Flannagan, chair of Christians on the Left, told Christian Today he was "shocked and stunned" by her death. "On behalf of Christians on the Left we are truly sad and will be praying for her family." Flannagan went on to say it was "especially cruel that a public servant had died in the midst of doing the thing that nobody thanks them for doing the invisible service in their constituency that people don't appreciate happens". Christians on the Left alongside the Conservative Christian Fellowship and the Lib Dem Christian Forum will join a prayer vigil on Friday at 7pm. A statement from the group said: "We felt it particularly important to stand with our Christian brothers and sisters from across the parties to pray for Jo's family and the nation. "Christians on the Left, the Conservative Christian Fellowship and the Liberal Democrat Christian forum will be standing together in prayer as Christians in Politics." MPs from all political parties also rushed to offer their prayers and condolences. I am completely overwhelmed with sadness. My heart breaks. May your soul Rest In Peace, Jo. Your spirit and moral fortitude will live on. David Lammy (@DavidLammy) 16 June 2016 Girl in car crash says Jesus spoke to her before her miraculous recovery: 'He has green eyes and scraggly hair' Jesus has "green eyes and scraggly hair." He also smelled like "fresh clothes out of a dryer." That was the description of the Lord given by one blessed girl from Oklahoma who miraculously survived a horrific car crash on March 6 where she was thrown out from a vehicle with her head hitting the ground, KWTV reports. Kyla Roberts, 14, spoke about her near-death experience where she attested to have seen, heard and even smelled Jesus while in heaven after coming out of a month-long coma at Oklahoma University Medical Center. While she was in bed, in a coma after her brain surgery, Kyla said Jesus appeared and spoke to her. "I was sitting on his lap and his is very big," Kyla told a KWTV reporter while sitting at her hospital bed. "He told me that he loves me and he's ready for me to come home, but not quite yet. And then I woke up here." Kyla, who underwent two emergency brain surgeries, said she also saw heaven but could not describe it in full, noting only that "it was too bright." Doctors called Kyla's recovery a stroke a miracle. "Her brain bounced so hard in her head, she had temporal lobe fractures," mother Stephanie Roberts said. "[The doctors] told us we have to take her into surgery now, or she's going to die. [They said she was] probably going to die anyway." This was not the first time that Jesus was reported to have appeared in a vision to save people on the brink of death. A listing of the reported visions of Jesus by people who have had near-death experiences is provided in the website near-death.com. According to that website, "some of the experiences are humorous but that all of them are profound." Those who have had near-death experiences and seen Jesus in their mind's eye have provided various descriptions of the Lord. However, He "appears to us in a way that we can recognise him," one of those who have seen Him says. Valvita Jones says Jesus has "dark brown and light red, wavy hair; blue, piercing, transparent eyes and olive and light golden skin." Lorraine Tutmarc describes Him as having "auburn, wavy hair; and beautiful, large, full of meaning eyes." A certain Susan says Jesus has "dark brown hair and dark brown eyes." A certain Clara notes that Jesus has "dark brown, shoulder length hair; dark eyes with black around eyelids, eyes of liquid love; and olive skin." Gods of Egypt: a brilliantly terrible film about theology and the afterlife When you go to see a Summer 'blockbuster', try to keep your expectations low. It's a wise principle, the virtue of which is proved by Gods of Egypt Alex Proyas' sword, sandal and scarab-beetle epic, finally given a UK release this week. Critics in the US slaughtered the film when it was released there in February, panning the film's acting, writing and effects, and criticising the casting of mainly white actors for Egyptian roles. With that kind of ill wind behind it, there's a tough sell ahead for the film's British marketing team. However, walking in to watch a film which has been roundly branded a disaster turns out to be quite a liberating experience, at least it from where I was sitting. Let's be clear from the outset: Gods of Egypt is a catastrophic piece of film-making. It's got the cinematic sensibilities of a particularly mindless video game, and it's an ugly stain on the acting CVs of cast members like Gerard Butler (his is already pretty stained) and Chadwick Boseman, (recently cast as Marvel's Black Panther) whose wonderfully awful performance in this film is Golden Raspberry-baiting stuff. But and I don't say this lightly I sort of enjoyed it. There's something wonderful about not having to worry about whether a film is going to impress or move you emotionally, because you can then begin to enjoy it for all sorts of other reasons. One of those, of course, is enjoying the terribleness, to the point that the film is so-bad-it's-good. But another way of enjoying the film is to look at what it says, or at least tries to say about the nature of God(s). And it says quite a lot. Set in an entirely fictional reality in which the earth is flat and Egyptian gods walk it alongside mere mortals, the plot involves a power struggle between two sibling deities for control over the earth. There's the good king Osiris, who kindly decrees that all people will enter the afterlife, regardless of their status or their lifestyle, and the evil prince Set (Butler), who wants to take over and change the rules of entry to heaven so that only the rich get through. It's like a theological argument between Rob Bell and Donald Trump, with lots of added monsters and fire. Anyway, Set wins and takes over, casting Osiris' son Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) into exile in the process. But as Set takes power, he's not satisfied with simply being ruler over the earth; he wants total immortality and dominion over everything. If it had been intended as a portentous satirical commentary on the potential outcome of the US elections, the film would be lauded as a work of genius. The film isn't about politics though; it's actually about theology, of sorts. While it never strays into territory that's remotely Christian, it's a movie where all the characters have heaven (and hell) on their minds; where forgiveness proves vital and where love conquers all. It's perhaps most interesting when it's exploring the idea of God. By breaking that into its component parts: wisdom, love, power and so on, it provides a woefully insubstantial image of a/the true deity. In fact, the film recognises as much: the evil Set knows that he needs to unify the various powers of the Gods in order to truly become all-powerful, because he, like all of the other 'gods' in the film, is hopelessly flawed and fallible. So while the film gives us a worldview where supernatural forces create, give life and even answer prayer, it provides an insubstantial image of a truly worthy deity to wield such powers. Similarly, the central question of how the dead get into heaven is posed and prodded at throughout. Three ideas are presented, and none quite chime with the Christian understanding: heaven is either freely given, judged on merit, or only available to those who can afford it. Yet perhaps the truth is different again: that it is both offered freely and bought at a heavy price. It's an option the film doesn't give us, so the various theologies offered to us don't quite ring true. As such, it's a pretty good version of that Athenian altar "to an unknown God" in Acts 17. It recognises God and his purpose for all creation, yet it can't quite locate him. While the film is surprisingly interesting on a theological level, and entertaining for all the wrong reasons, there are some problems with it which don't simply get a free pass. It's another example in the UK at least of a film which has somehow been allowed a 12A certificate when its sometimes terrifying moments of demons dragging souls into hell shouldn't be seen by the eight-year-olds that rating permits. And it's yet another case of a blockbuster which pretends feminism and the Bechdel test never happened. I'm sure talented actress Courtney Eaton was cast for her entire body, but the camera is repeatedly only interested in one part of it. Add to that some pretty severe scenes of what I can only term 'fantasy domestic violence' involving Butler, and it's not going to be winning any awards for gender justice anytime soon. Still, I suppose there's limited point in listing the problems with Gods of Egypt. Yes, it's bad, but it's strangely entertaining. Pick among the bones of the carcass of this cinematic disaster, and you might just find surprising riches. Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. You can follow him on Twitter: @martinsaunders Human rights campaigners call on China to drop cases against lawyers Campaigners have called on China to drop cases against human rights lawyers and to release those being detained in prison including Xia Lin and Zhou Shifeng. Xia Lin, who has defended activists in court, and Shifeng, director of a prominent Beijing law firm, face prosecution because of their human rights work. "The Chinese government's hostility toward human rights lawyers has not eased since the mass arrest of legal professionals last July," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). "This heavy-handed campaign against lawyers can only further diminish public and global confidence in China's justice system." Xia Lin has been charged with extortion after he borrowed money although none of the people he borrowed from complained. HRW believes he is being prosucuted in retaliation for his defense of Guo Yushan, the head of a leading Beijing think tank, in 2014. Xia Lin has also defended a hotel worker who killed a government official in self-defense against attempted rape. Zhou Shifeng faces a life sentence after being charged with subversion, arising from last summer when the authorities detained 300 people across the country including many lawyers and and their assistants. Some are still in custody. HRW said the Chinese government has "dramatically narrowed space for free expression and civil society" since President Xi Jinping came to power in March 2013. Liberal scholars and opinion leaders on social media have been targeted, and the government has asserted Communist Party supremacy and demanded increasing loyalty to the party. In December last year, Beijing lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was convicted for "inciting ethnic hatred" and "disturbing public order" and given a three-year suspended sentence. In January this year, Guangzhou lawyer Tang Jingling received five years in prison for promoting non-violent civil disobedience. Beijing lawyer Zhang Kai was detained incommunicado between August 2015 and March 2016 for providing legal advice to Christians who resisted the government's campaign to remove crosses from churches in Zhejiang province. 'I felt liberated': life after Islamic State When US-backed forces seized Souad Hamidi's village in northern Syria from Islamic State last week, the 19-year-old swiftly tore off the niqab she had been forced to wear since 2014 and smiled. "I felt liberated," Hamidi told Reuters after swapping her black face-covering veil for a red head scarf. "They made us wear it against our will so I removed it that way to spite them." For the last two weeks, the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by US-led air strikes, have waged an offensive against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij, near the Syria-Turkey border. The SDF have been cutting off routes into Manbij, encircling the city by seizing outlying villages like Hamidi's, Am Adasa. Hamidi said she woke up one morning to hear that the SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia and Arab fighters, had arrived in her village. "We saw (SDF) fighters behind our house, digging to station their snipers, we thought they were Daesh (Islamic State) fighters, who were still inside the village," she said. "We left, fearing we would be used as human shields during air strikes," she said. The family later returned once SDF fighters had pushed out remaining Islamic State forces. Am Adasa had been under the militants' control since 2014, when Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq. The governments of Syria and Iraq have launched offensives on other fronts against the group. Under Islamic State, life was strictly regulated, Hamidi said, including dress codes. "They would punish people who did not follow their rules, sometimes forcing them to stay in dug-out graves for days," she said. "Since they (SDF) took control, we are living a new life." Sitting in her family home, Hamidi said she still fears Islamic State may return one day. "I want to erase Daesh from my memory," she said. "I hope every area controlled by Daesh is liberated, that people are free of them and can live like we do now." Iraqi Patriarch: Militia carrying Christian symbols are causing "more suffering" A senior Iraqi clergyman has distanced himself and the Church from groups of militias carrying Christian symbols. Chaldean Patriarch Raphael Louis I was responding to a series of pictures that have been posted online in recent days. They appear to show groups of armed men with crosses, statues of Jesus and other symbols. It's thought they come from Fallujah the city which is the subject of an intense battle between ISIS forces and a collection of groups, including the Iraqi Army, which is attempting to win back control. The Patriarch said: "These are individuals who act in a bad way: displaying Christian symbols is evil, and foments clashes related to religion, spirals of revenge and more suffering." He was responding after reports surfaced that these militia groups had been involved in violent assaults on civilians fleeing from territory controlled by ISIS. It isn't the first time the Patriarch has spoken out against people purporting to be Christians engaging in acts of violence against others in conflict-ridden Iraq. Paramilitary groups from various different ethnic and religious factions exist. So far, Christians have mainly been victims of the violence in Iraq and Syria, and while they seek increased protection, it seems their leaders are keen to avoid them becoming perpetrators too. It's been a week of tragedy, but hate will not have the final say The universe is a place of astonishing grandeur. Picture the moon spinning around us at 2,300 miles an hour. Picture our earth spinning around the sun at 66,000 miles an hour. Our sun is one of 200 million other suns and trillions more planets in the Milky Way, and each one of those suns and planets is spinning around our galaxy at 483,000 miles an hour. Picture millions of carousels all swirling round in one great luminous sea that's our galaxy. And that galaxy is just one of 100 billion other galaxies hurtling through space at over one million miles an hour. The universe is mind-bogglingly immense. In comparison, our little earth is no bigger than a pebble, and our individual lives are no greater than a grain of sand. And yet according to Scripture, the God who keeps those galaxies spinning picks out that pebble, looks at each microscopic person on it and says: "I'm here. I care. I'm listening." King David said God attends to our every moment watching as we sit and rise, listening for every thought (Psalm 139:1-16). Jesus said every hair on our heads has been counted by God, and that he knows every word of our prayers before they're spoken (Matthew 10:30; 6:8). The One who keeps those heavenly carousels spinning knows us in intimate, caring detail. That's all very nice to say when times are good, however. It can be much harder to believe on weeks like this when 49 people are murdered and 53 more are injured in the Orlando tragedy. When a French policeman and his wife are killed in another Islamist attack. When a young Yorkshire MP applauded by all who knew her as a wife, mother, politician and humanitarian of astounding compassion is killed so brutally. Jo Cox dedicated her life to those who needed a voice, including refugees. We can wonder how a good and loving God was caring for people like her in 'intimate detail' this week. We know quite a bit about what motivates Islamist-style hate crimes. In days to come, we may know more about the motives of Jo Cox's killer, Thomas Mair. But many questions will be left unanswered. They always are. This tiny pebble of a world has big problems, and there are no easy answers to human suffering. When the biblical character Job went through tragedy, losing his health, livelihood and family (Job 1-2), he was given few answers as to why those atrocities happened. Instead, he was shown the grandeur of the world as evidence of God's care and goodness (38-41). The experience left him speechless (42:1-6). When King David spoke of God's caring attention, he did so in brutal times. "If only you, God, would slay the wicked!" he goes on to say in Psalm 139:19. "Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers; protect me from the violent, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day," (Psalm 140:1-2). David spoke in the midst of trouble. And when Jesus spoke of our hairs being numbered, he didn't speak as some spiritual gypsy frolicking through the daisies of some imaginary utopia. His was an era of racial tension, political turmoil and outright terrorism. It was an era of regular crucifixions. All this is to say that when Scripture talks of God's knowing of us in intimate, caring detail, it doesn't do so out of naivete. The idea is found in the midst of a violent, rubble-strewn world. Brendan Cox gave a brave response to his wife's murder last night. He said he, his family and friends were going to work every day of their lives against the hate that killed Jo. Many will join him, vowing to use peaceful means diametrically opposed to those of Islamists and other purveyors of violence. For me, the immense beauty and grandeur of the universe says this venture won't be in vain. Our grand cosmos and all its tiny pebbles were not built by and for hate, but by and for a Love who is brighter than the stars, One who is reconciling all the broken pieces back to himself (Colossians 1:15-22). Jesus' resurrection from death makes that theory an historical reality, a glimpse of what he'll ultimately achieve. That means in the end hate will not have the final say. Love will win out in the end. Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker and broadcaster, frequently contributing to faith programs on BBC Radio 2. His books include Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings and Resilient: Your Invitation to a Jesus-Shaped Life. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and get his free ebook Five Practices for a Resilient Life. 'Jesus Lunch' divides Americans as debate leaves city wondering how to settle issue Not everyone in Middleton, Wisconsin likes to partake of the "Jesus Lunch," a weekly Christian gathering near a school where food is served spiced with some Christian messages. The issue has long divided the American city with over 17,000 residents. One group supports the gathering at Fireman's Park, saying it creates a fun and safe atmosphere for students of Middleton High School during lunchtime, according to wkow.com. Fireman's Park is located right outside Middleton High School. However, the opposing group has expressed safety concerns, saying the gathering poses security and health issues. On Tuesday, local legislators held a public consultation on the matter but ended up where they started: still deeply divided. The two city government panels that sponsored the gathering said they were not ready to offer a recommendation to City Hall on the issue. The Middleton council chamber was packed with residents who expressed opposing views on "Jesus Lunch." Supporters argued that the lunches offer a choice to students. "If some kids don't wish to attend, they don't have to," one supporter said. "Having kids get together just off campus, sharing lunch and hearing a brief positive message from the teachings of Christ is much more appealing to me than having out kids sync into the swill of their cell phones," another parent said. But critics said the gathering poses safety concerns, including health concerns for students who might have food allergens. During a protest rally held last April, "Jesus Lunch" protesters argued that the lunch is "exclusive and divisive," according to The Cap Times. The protesters called on proponents to "take Jesus Lunch to church." They also drew comparisons, saying it's hard to imagine residents tolerating a "Muslim Lunch." Amanda Powers, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Middleton alumnus, said the issue is "dividing the student body, hurting minority students and creating unsafe spaces for those that aren't Christian." However, Middleton student Anna Diamond disagreed, saying, "I'm Jewish and don't feel like I'm being oppressed. People think the lunch is oppressive but it's not; no one is forced to come here at all, students have a choice." She said, "The parents are not trying to get people to convert and they are very peaceful. We should all be allowed to have our beliefs and right to preach as long as it's not offending or hurting anyone." "Jesus Lunch" was started in 2014 by a small group of parents whose children are enrolled in Middleton High School. In this weekly gatheringheld every Tuesday in the fall and springparents give faith-based motivational speeches and positive messages. Sometimes, parents hand out Bibles and Christianity pamphlets. Jo Cox: A tragic reminder of how much we owe our public servants Thoughts, prayers and tributes are being offered following the death of Yorkshire Labour MP Jo Cox after an attack in her constituency. At 41 years old, she had 30 or 40 years of public service left to offer when she attended a constituency surgery yesterday. We can barely imagine the world that her family is waking up to today. Speculating about causes isn't helpful. All we can do is pray for her family, and for the police and justice system to act swiftly and decisively. What we can reflect on is how fortunate we are in the UK for this to be such a rare occurrence. We can also reflect on how blessed we are to live in a culture where violence is comparatively rare, where politicians are still approachable and where we have robust policing, judicial and medical systems to make us as safe, secure and healthy as we are. During the run-up to the EU referendum, I have frequently despaired at the tone of the debate and the way both sides of the campaign have behaved. It's the latest in a long line of things which have drawn attention to the cynical, sometimes dirty nature of politics. Yet today, I'm reminded of the overwhelming good that exists in our political system. To live in a democracy where we get the chance to vote both in the EU referendum and for our local and national representatives is a privilege known by very few of our fellow humans throughout the history of the world. Our democracy is far from perfect there is much work to be done but today isn't the day to pick holes in the system. It's a day to be grateful for our relative freedom and ability to control our own political destiny. It's also a day to be incredibly grateful to Jo Cox and the many thousands of faithful, hard working and conscientious MPs, councilors, members of the devolved assemblies, police commissioners, mayors and other elected officials across the country. While we witness the half hour of political theatre during Prime Minister's Questions, what we don't always witness is the amount of sheer hard work, much of it unglamorous, which is done by our MPs and others, and the way they often work together across party lines. Being an MP is incredibly tough. Long days away from the family, constant intrusions from the media, the pressure of making very hard decisions. Many of them could make more money outside of politics but they choose to serve, and to try and seek the common good. They may not always make the right decisions, but do the very best they can. Our democracy simply wouldn't work if good people didn't take on this vital role. Virtually all MPs carry out regular advice surgeries in which the people they represent can come and speak with them face to face about issues which are concerning them. It may be the big global issues such as climate change and the refugee crisis, or it may be a local problem with a park, a school or a hospital. Christian MP Stephen Timms is among this hardworking group. I've seen him up close on a number of occasions going above and beyond the call of duty. When he was stabbed during a surgery in Beckton in east London, he made a full recovery. Despite the fear that would have been only natural, he and other MPs continued to meet constituents and to do their jobs despite the obvious risk. It would have been easy to hide behind the impregnable security of the Palace of Westminster, especially seeing as Timms has one of the safest seats in the country. Instead he carried on fighting hard for his constituents even those with whom he disagreed, perhaps profoundly. Jo Cox worked in war zones for development charity Oxfam. She exemplified a commitment to service, a desire for justice and a passion for making the world a better place. These traits are shared by many of our public servants. We must remember this especially those of us who are prone to become cynical about the political process. Our approach to policies, economics and social issues may differ, but we have to recognise the huge sacrifices our politicians make in the cause of the common good. Yesterday Jo Cox made the ultimate sacrifice. We are all in her debt. Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy Life sentences handed down after riots in India where Muslims were burned and hacked to death Eleven people in India have been given life sentences after being convicted for a notorious attack on the Gulbarg Society, a Muslim residential area in Gujarat in 2002, in which at least 69 people were hacked and burned to death. A further 13 people received shorter sentences of between seven and 10 years and 36 people were acquitted. Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among those killed in three days of riots, in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died overall. The violence was sparked by a fire on a train that killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. The Gulbarg Society was a community of 30 bungalows and 10 blocks of flats in Ahmedabad. At the time, Narendra Modi, current Prime Minister of India, was chief minister of Gujarat. He was cleared of complicity in 2012. The sentencing brings to an end a trial that has lasted seven years in front of four separate judges. The court in Ahmedabad was told the killings took place on the "darkest day in the history of civil society". Even those given life sentences could win a reprieve however and be out of prison after serving much shorter sentence. "They are not a menace to society, the accused can be reformed," the court was told, according to The Times of India. The 11 people setnenced to life were Kailash Dobhi, Yogendra Shekhwat, Jayesh Jinger, Krishna Kala, Jayesh Parmar, Raju Tiwari, Naran Channelwala, Lakhansinh Chudasma, Bharat Teli, Bharat Rajput and Dinesh Sharma. The lawyer for the victims, SM Vora, argued for the maximum punishment and called for those convicted to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Zakia Jafri, wife of Ehsan, said she was disappointed by the verdict. "I was there when Ehsan Jafri was killed, it's not justice at all," she told journalists after the case. Pastors who faced death sentences in Sudan tell extraordinary stories of Christian faith in prison Two pastors from South Sudan who were freed after a terrifying prison ordeal where they even faced a possible death sentence have spoken movingly of how their Christian faith sustained and inspired them during their time behind bars. Pastor Peter Yen and Pastor Michael Yat preached the gospel to fellow inmates and brought men on death row to faith in Jesus Christ. The two men were imprisoned in Sudan in December 2014 and January 2015 on six charges including espionage, "offending Islamic beliefs", promoting hatred among sects and undermining the constitutional system. They were freed last summer after a hearing in Khartoum. The pastors now state that those who imprisoned them "blessed us mightily", according to interviews they gave to the charity Open Doors and seen in full by Christian Today. Pastor Peter, who grew up in a non-Christian family and as a young boy attended church with friends, described how his trust in God was formed when he was a child and was accused of stealing from a shop. "I was devastated and questioned God about His faithfulness. When I went back to the village, I found that the real thief had been caught and had confessed. This taught me to trust God and it proved to me that He is real and active. I have been a believer since then." He became a pastor in the Presbyterian Evangelical Church and worked in cross-cultural evangelism with Pastor Michael and was sent to Khartoum when civil war broke out. He worked in outreach, discipleship, and leadership in spite of knowing the risks of doing such work in an Islamic country where Sharia is law and anyone who leaves Islam risks the death penalty for apostasy. When Pastor Michael was arrested in December 2014, Pastor Peter went to the Religious Affairs office to inquire about him and security officers found the link between them, leading to his own arrest. He said he was held separately from Pastor Michael in Kober prison and accused of converting Muslims. "I told them as a pastor it was my duty to preach the gospel wherever I went but that ultimately it was God who changes human beings. They insisted that the people on the list were still Muslims because their names had not changed, but I explained that Christians are not concerned about names but about the transformation of a person's heart. "After about four hours I was taken into a darkened cell at Kober, where I stayed for three months. This was the most difficult time for me. I did not know that Michael was in the same prison. "The only contact I had with anyone was when food was passed to me through a very small opening in the door. I was not allowed to read my Bible or any other books. "They would blindfold me to take me to interrogations. When the blindfold was removed, I would find four soldiers with guns pointing at me. They tried to coerce me into becoming a spy." They were both then moved to another department where they stayed for two months in cells measuring two-by-six metres holding up to 20 people at one time. "The heat was almost unbearable. We could not sit down, because there was no room. We also had to buy our own food and were often overcharged. But we were able to talk to our loved ones occasionally. The best part about being there was that we were able to get Bibles and preach to fellow inmates." After being charged officially they were relocated to Omdurman Prison. "Here we found a church in the compound with over 3,000 prisoners. This was our mission field! Pastor Michael and I worked out a schedule to preach with the permission of the prison officers who were very good to us. That is until a foreigner came to the prison and was caught taking pictures of the premises. After this the prison officers changed drastically. They ordered us to immediately collect all our things because we were being moved right away." They were taken back to Kober prison. "They confiscated our Bibles and chained our legs. The chains stayed on for two weeks, during which we showered in our clothes because we did not know how to remove them with the chains. We were not allowed to go out except for the daily bathroom breaks of one hour. We pleaded with them to give us back our Bibles and they finally agreed on condition that we did not preach to anyone. "Michael and I spent only one night in the same cell before being separated again and would meet during the one hour bathroom break only. "The conditions were very hard here. This prison was so hot that you could wring sweat out of your shirt. But it was the best place and the happiest phase for me because I was put in the same cell with condemned persons and had opportunity to preach to all. "Most of them were Muslims. People asked me why I was there and when I told them I faced the death sentence for being a preacher, they would say, 'But if they are going to kill you, why are you so happy?' "It gave me the opportunity to share about heaven and about Christ. They were shocked and wanted to know more. Whenever the prison officers realised that we were preaching to fellow inmates, they would take us to other cells. We did not mind this because in this way we got access to almost all the condemned persons! God surely has His ways of doing things, even using those who think they are punishing you." They came to trust God's providence. "We made peace with the reality that God would either get us released or let us be killed. The outcome was fully in His hands and we placed our faith in His ultimate purpose. "When the judge read the 45 minute long ruling, we sat there in peace waiting for whatever was to be. He criticised the security agents for the way they treated us keeping us in custody beyond the stipulated 24 hours, holding us incommunicado, going to our homes without warrants of arrest but when he declared us free, I thought I was dreaming! I could not believe my ears! I looked at Michael and asked in disbelief, 'Did he just release us?!' and he confirmed that I had heard correctly." He believes God had reasons for allowing them to go through all that suffering. "Through our experiences condemned persons heard the gospel. Of those we led to Christ, two were hanged while we were still there. Another three were killed soon after we were released. It was comforting to know that they went to be with Christ. "Also, the situation of the church in the Sudan was highlighted and people around the world became aware of the pressures Christians face there. If our imprisonment was God's way of exposing their suffering so that they can receive relief and prayer support, it was worth it." Pastor Michael said: "We should not be surprised by suffering. God has prepared us for such things." A pastor's son, he said he received Jesus when he was about 10 years old. "A boy who stole my brother's bicycle beat me when I tried to take it back. I was very upset about the whole thing and could not eat or sleep. Surprisingly, I started feeling convicted to forgive this boy. When I did, I experienced great peace. "That is when I decided to give my life to Christ. Until today, this principle of forgiveness has continued to play an important role in my life." Pastor Michael studied theology in Egypt, after which he served as evangelist, pastor, and teacher in Sudan and South Sudan. When the civil war broke out he fled to Uganda but in December 2014 he and his wife went back to seek medical care in Khartoum for their youngest child. "On the first Sunday after our arrival, I told Mary I wanted to go to Bahari Evangelical Church because I was eager to learn how the brethren were doing in the midst of a serious conflict. She asked me not to go because she felt uneasy but could not explain why. I insisted, and I took with me my phone, iPad, memory stick, and notebook. For some reason I gave Mary all the cash I had on me. If it had not been for that, she would have been stranded." He ended up preaching, and his sermon was recorded by security officials, which led to his arrest. "They questioned me about our work and why we had Muslims claiming to be Christians. They also found information about the indigenous pastors we worked with and a map of Sudan where we had indicated our work. They said it was proof I was spying for South Sudan. They also planted security training materials on my laptop and claimed it had been there since 2010." In Kober prison Michael was placed in a cell with 17 other people. Instead of complaining he said: "That was a perfect evangelism opportunity." He said he survived in small cells by taking turns sleeping. "Six would sleep for four hours, wake up and sit while the other six slept. This is how we slept the whole time we were there. I cannot describe the heat and horror of the hygiene situation. There were no windows in the cells, yet temperatures would normally reach 50C. "Also, all prisoners would only be allowed out for one hour per day during which we had to bath, use the toilet, and then return to the cell. But there were only three toilets. It is a true miracle that we did not get sick. It is God who protected us. During this time I held on to Romans 8:18-39." He said they were held with all kinds of people, from petty criminals to hard-core criminals, and were able to talk to them about Christ. During their final hearing last August, Pastor Michael was found guilty of "breach of the peace" and Pastor Peter of "managing a criminal or terrorist organisation". They were released because they had served their sentence during the previous eight months in prison. Pastor Michael said he had been moved by the support the two received. "The Christians in Sudan came together and prayed for us. They united across denominational barriers. Knowing this was a big blessing." To others facing persecution, he said: "Do not be surprised by your persecution, or discouraged. Do not look for the cause of your suffering. Instead focus on the fact that Christ will never abandon you. He is called Emmanuel, God with us. Hold on to Him, and if He so chooses, He will cause you too to be freed from the suffering, as He did for us. Your testimony will serve to encourage other believers. Do not give up hope. Finally, may God comfort you the same way He comforted us while we were imprisoned." Pastor Michael pleaded with Christians around the world to continue praying for Sudan. "Please continue to pray for Sudan. Many are weak and remain weak under the constant government pressure. They need training, prayer and support. Pray for strength to all who are involved in church ministry." Vietnam: Church raided, congregation beaten and 14-year-old arrested A 14-year-old Christian has been arrested in Vietnam amid a series of government crackdowns on Christians following a US delegation's visit to the country. A local church close to the Vietnam-China border was stormed by 30 government authorities on June 13, according to International Christian Concern (ICC). During the raid, multiple churchgoers were beaten and two were arrested, including a 14-year-old. The priest was interrogated and authorities attempted to make him sign a statement saying the church's activities were a danger to security and disrupted the community. The incident came almost a week after UN Officials condemned the alleged torture and arrest of the wife of an imprisoned Vietnamese pastor. Tran Thi Hong, the wife of Pastor Mguyen Cong Chinh, was reportedly detained and tortured on April 14 by local authorities, in an attempt to gain information about a meeting with the US Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, David Saperstein. A US delegation, including President Obama, visited Vietnam between May 23-25, and the US lifted the weapons embargo between the two countries. "It is appalling to see the actions by the Vietnamese government against its Christian population both before and after the President's visit. In an effort to bring forth a new chapter in US-Vietnamese relations, the President lifted the weapons embargo between the two nations in hopes of a better future," said ICC's regional manager for South Asia, William Stark. "Unfortunately, the President relinquished the last major bargaining chip the United States had to use with Vietnam regarding their deplorable human rights record. These recent attacks on the church and the arrest and torture of an imprisoned pastor's wife shows the true colors of Vietnam's leadership." Summer is upon us, a time for pool parties and trips to the beach. But this time of the year is of particular significance for the Muslim population. June 5 through July 5 marks Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar in which Muslims fast to commemorate their belief in the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rock star Meat Loaf, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, collapsed while performing in Canada, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Fans were told to leave Northern Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta, as emergency workers arrived, FOX News says. Lindsay Sundmark told the Edmonton Journal: "He was performing 'I Would Do Anything For Love,' and all of a sudden in the middle of it he collapsed right on stage. We weren't sure at first whether it was part of the act or it was something for real." Born in Dallas as Marvin Lee Aday, the highly acclaimed musician, 68, recently canceled two shows earlier in the week due to illness. His condition is unknown at this time. Meat Loaf is well known for his anthology of "Bat Out of Hell" albums, and for songs such as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth." The rocker has a history of scary crises. He once told Ultimateclassicrock.com in an interview: "I got hit in the head with a 12 pound shot (when I was) a sophomore in high school at 62 feet. Yeah, I've had 18 concussions, I've been in eight car wrecks, I've been in a plane that didn't have front landing gear when we came down. I've been in a plane that lost its hydraulics on landing that was the most fun ever. We were tipping from one side to another, rolling across the grass. (I've been on) two other planes, one private and one normal that the wind hit us so hard (while landing) the wing hit the runway." He collapsed during a 2011 concert in Pittsburgh, but finished the performance after receiving onstage medical assistance. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Not far from the River Oaks Country club stands the mansion owned by Houston trial attorney Tony Buzbee, where presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be asking for money early Friday evening. Guests will pay up to pay anywhere from $5,400 up to a quarter million dollars to attend the fundraiser, and the setting is definitely fitting for the sizable campaign funds Trump is seeking. SEE ALSO: River Oaks District fetches $550M-plus in cash sale When Buzbee bought the mansion in 2013, then listed at $14 million, it set a local price record. "I'm all about setting records, but I'm not sure this is one I should be proud of or not," the high-profile lawyer told the Houston Chronicle at the time, though he did not reveal the home's actual sales price. "All I'll say is the owner wasn't budging that much." He did mention that he paid cash for the estate. Designed by architect Tom Wilson, the English cottage-style mansion has five bedrooms and a number of other high-end features. At 12,000 square feet, it's a sizable venue for this type of event. RELATED: Trump to hold Friday rally in The Woodlands Buzbee told the Houston Chronicle that he thinks there will be a good crowd at the fundraiser. "It prices a lot of people out when you have a minimum of $5,400 (per ticket), but I think we are going to raise a good amount," he explained. "Some people are giving big money, some the minimum, but I think we are going to quadruple the $600,000 that Hillary raised here recently, so I'm happy about that. And people will get to meet The Donald." After the gathering at Buzbee's home, Trump is expected to attend a 7 p.m. rally at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. The presumptive GOP nominee's Texas tour also included a Dallas stop Thursday night and a San Antonio event Friday at noon. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Firefighters are battling a large blaze Friday at a business center in southwest Houston. The blaze was updated to a four-alarm fire at 2 p.m. Traffic near Gessner and Harwin will be restricted during rush hour. The fire broke out about 12:30 p.m. at 10161 Harwin near Point W Drive, according to the Houston Fire Department. Officials said no injuries were reported. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames burning inside the building. They called for additional equipment and personnel to help battle the blaze. Fire, smoke and water heavily damaged the structure. Investigators are trying to determine what sparked the blaze. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing six-old girl and a woman who is possibly connected to the girl's disappearance in Yoakum. Aaleea Parr-Colunga is considered to be grave and immediate danger, according to the Yoakum Police Department. A man was seriously injured early Friday morning when his car slammed into the side of a pickup in northwest Harris County. The two-vehicle wreck happened about 2:30 a.m. in the 5400 block of West FM 1960, said Sgt. S. Wolverton of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. No charges have been filed Friday a day after a man told police he shot and killed his teenage daughter and her mother in self-defense after the pair tried to attack him with knives at a home in south Houston. The teen's name has not been released, but the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences identified her mother as Sandtrece LaToya Ratliffe. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MONDAY Cara Black: Author will discuss and sign "Murder on the Quai," 6:30 p.m., Murder By The Book, 2342 Bissonnet; 713-524-8597, or toll free 888-424-2842 or murderbooks.com. Samuel E. Karff: Author will discuss and sign "For This You Were Created: Memoir of an American Rabbi," 7 p.m., Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet; 713-523-0701 or brazosbookstore.com. TUESDAY Brad Thor: Author will discuss and sign "Foreign Agent," 6:30 p.m., Murder By The Book. Marty Troyer: Pastor and author will discuss and sign "The Gospel Next Door" at an event that includes area faith leaders, 6:30 p.m., DeLuxe Theater, 3303 Lyons Ave.; 281- 783-9070. To RSVP, search eventbrite.com for "Marty Troyer." WEDNESDAY Candice Shy Hooper: Author will read and sign "Lincoln's Generals' Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War - For Better and For Worse," 6 p.m, Barnes & Noble, 2030 W. Gray; 713-522-8571. Mark Z. Danielewski: Author will discuss and sign "The Familiar, Volume 3: Honeysuckle and Pain," 7 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. FRIDAY Taylor Anderson: Author will discuss and sign "Blood in the Water," 6:30 p.m., Murder By the Book. Gabriel Blackwell: Author will discuss and sign "Madeleine E.," 7 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. SATURDAY Rick Searfoss: Author will sign "Liftoff: An Astronaut Commander's Countdown for Purpose-Powered Leadership," 1 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 2030 W. Gray; 713-522-8571. Kristen Martin: Author will sign "The Alpha Drive," 2-4 p.m., Katy Budget Books, 2450 Fry, Houston; 281-578-7770 or katybooks.com. Kathryn Lane: Author will sign "Waking Up in Medellin," 3-5 p.m., River Oaks Bookstore, 3270 Westheimer; 713 520-0061 or riveroaksbookstore.com. Lark Brennan and Lily Blackwood: Brennan will discuss and sign "Irresistibly Yours" and Blackwood will discuss and sign "The Beast of Clan Kincaid," 4:30 p.m., Murder By The Book. Alyson Ward NEW YORK - On the second floor of a classic cast-iron building in SoHo, just above the madding crowd, there is an airy loft, all cool cream tones and Pierre Paulin chairs, oversize art books and Henri Cartier-Bresson prints. And along one wall is a rail of discreet white and black, mariniere striped linen, silk, cotton and denim; culottes, shirtdresses, tunics and cashmeres. With price tags attached. That is because this is not actually an apartment at all. It is an experiment, and that rail is Stage Three of a long-term plan to do what has never really been done before in American fashion: create a conglomerate of brands all born, if not permanently housed, under one roof. The experiment is being conducted by Adam Pritzker, a positive-thinking, 31-year-old scion of the billionaire Hyatt hotel family, and Vanessa Traina, the famously chic 31-year-old daughter of romance novelist Danielle Steel and stylist/consultant/BFF of designers like Joseph Altuzarra and Alexander Wang. It started in 2013, when Pritzker founded Assembled Brands. The next year, they introduced an e-commerce site called the Line with a group of products "curated" by Traina, executive creative director. They opened a showroom in New York (the Apartment by the Line) and, after that, one in Los Angeles, with the products posed to look as if in a private house. Peppered among those products was a new brand, Protagonist, an accessible luxury collection marked by its elegant discretion and owned by Assembled Brands, as well as Tenfold, a homewares collection that recently expanded into T-shirts. Next week, they are introducing their third line, Khaite. Three being fashion's magic number: the one that represents critical mass, trend or otherwise. Khaite, designed by Catherine Holstein, late of Gap, is an advanced contemporary collection that looks kind of like a Scandinavian version of Tory Burch, with a quietly sybaritic windswept mood. Like Protagonist, now stocked in 40 other boutiques including Net-a-Porter, it will initially be sold only at the Line, and then wholesale to the wider market. There is talk of starting a menswear brand and a childrenswear brand, all part of what Traina calls "a distinct vision focused on defining a new kind of American sportswear that is less about trend and more about lifestyle." It all sounds logical enough. Except it has never worked before. One of the never-ending questions in fashion is why no conglomerate has arisen to rival the French behemoth Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (owner of Vuitton, Givenchy, Celine, Pucci and Fendi, among others) or the Swiss watch and jewelry giant Richemont (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, and so on ). In Italy, Only the Brave is currently making a stab at it (Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel), and Tod's owns Hogan, Roger Vivier and Fay (and Tod's owner, Diego Della Valle, owns Schiaparelli). But they have nothing like the scale of LVMH and Kering. Which may be why, when LVMH swooped in and bought up Bulgari in 2011 and Loro Piana in 2013, it caused agony in Rome and Milan along the lines of, "Why can't we keep our own brands in our own hands?" This question also comes up a lot in the United States, where name brands such as Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan are likewise owned by LVMH, and the only group even close to the European model is PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger (and more mass-market names like Speedo and Izod). All of which raises the question: What do Pritzker and Traina think they know that all of these other fashion insiders did not? Two reasons most often given for the lack of an American group are absence of available heritage brands on which to build, and timing. When LVMH and Kering, previously PPR, were formed (in 1987 and 1999, Kering at the time being called the Gucci Group, and owned by PPR), most European brands were relatively local, family-run businesses with big names, ripe for the acquisition. Now fashion is a giant global concern, and the financial outlay required to build these kinds of groups is exponentially greater. Which is partly why Assembled Brands is doing none of the above. It is not interested in established brands but rather in making its own, an attitude that nods to the American mythology that values the idea of invention more than the idea of saving what was. Its backroom synergies are not in capital-intensive areas like real estate, with its fixed costs, but rather in technology, with its related access to consumer data and e-commerce. And its ambitions begin at an entirely different place from the groups that went before. Pritzker dreams of expanding via a network of services for brands making around $1 million to $2 million a year in revenue. He aims to use his experience and his own brands, to create an ecosystem with tentacles that provide services (financial, logistic, digital) to a host of independent emerging talent, so that the connected whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts. As a result, one brand "doesn't need to be a breakaway success to make the whole thing work," Pritzker said. The Latin Blue International Music Duo has been around for a long time on Houston's music scene, and tonight they will be performing at the 8th Wonder Brewery. I talked with duo member Patricia Gras, who says their set will include 40 songs in different languages -- including Italian, French, Portuguese, Hebrew-Arabic, Spanish, Russian, as well as English. If you take a look at the video where the duo is rehearsing their performance, you will love their lively Russian "Porom pom pom." Another one of my favorites is "Bamboleo." Dolores Huerta, a nationally respected Hispanic leader, has a message for Houstonians about Donald Trump, who will visit Houston Friday for a fundraiser at the River Oaks home of billionaire Tony Buzbee. It's important that people take action against Trump's "hateful messages," says Huerta, who cofounded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 with the late Cesar Chavez and has been a key organizer of Hispanic activism in America for half a century. Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Trump announcing his candidacy for president, and Huerta marked the day by joining the "Donald Trump's Year of Hate" campaign, organized by People For the American Way, a diverse national coalition of businesses, civic and religious groups, and civil rights leaders. Q: Why are you taking a position against Trump? A: This has been really a year of hate, "de odio," because since the very beginning he started attacking Mexicans, wanting to build a wall on the Mexican border. And then he went on from there and started attacking Muslims, women, making fun of people who are disabled. Then he went attacking the press. It has been a whole year of hate that he has been propagating. ... We have a lot of unstable people in our country and they hear this kind of rhetoric coming out of a presidential candidate, it gives them license to act on the words that Trump is saying ... and then leads to something as horrible as what happened in Orlando, Florida. Q: So you see a direct correlation between Trump and the massacre in Orlando? A: He has aligned himself with some of the most anti-gay organizations and people in the U.S. ... and the problem is that he does it very publicly and people, if they already have feelings of anger towards gays or people of color, then they act on those feelings. It sort of made it ok to attack people publicly the way Trump does. Q: What, specifically, are you urging the people of Houston to do? A: My message to them is to follow the example of Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King. Act, do it, but do it peacefully. Protest peacefully. If you are provoked, try not to answer back to the provocation, because the way we have to bring this fight and we are really fighting for the soul of America is by being very disciplined. Part of that discipline is that when we do our protests, we do them nonviolently. If the Trump people are going to be attacking us, try not to react, ok? That is very, very important. Later on you could sue them. ... And the other important action is to vote. This is a very strong nonviolent action. We know we are the majority in the United States we who are of color, women, men of conscience. And if we don't vote, he is going to win. Q: In your opinion, which is more important: protesting or voting? A: It's ok to protest in a nonviolent way, but if you don't go to vote, then actually Trump is going to win. This is the big message that we have to get out there. People that have not become citizens or registered to vote, they can finish this process now by voting in November against Donald Trump. We also have to vote for other positions. We have to remember that if Hillary wins, she is going to need a Congress that supports her. We are not going to pass any laws that we need, like immigration reform, or keeping the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), or improve our educational system, if we do not vote. ... My message is "ya basta" ("enough is enough"). We cannot take these insults from Donald Trump and not act on them. Mexicanos, our revenge is our vote. So get out and vote. olivia.tallet@chron.com @oliviaptallet This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Seattle man arrested Tuesday after a brief standoff with police now faces hate crime charges related to purported threats against a mosque there. King County prosecutors claim Houston-native Robert Kinder Farris posted a series of threats to Facebook against the Idriss Mosque. Farris, 37, is alleged to have threatened to take revenge and blow Muslims away while they are praying. These people are animals, all of them, Farris said on Facebook, according to charging papers filed Thursday. On Tuesday, Farriss sister called the New York Police Department to report that her brother emailed her threatening suicide. Dispatch records indicate the woman told officers her brother had an AK-47 and wants to be shot by police. Investigators in Texas and Seattle then found hateful anti-Muslim statements they contend were posted online by Farris. All you gotta do is kill as (many) Muslims as you can, and when the cops get there, point the gun at the cops and dont shoot, Farris said in one, according to charging papers. They will shoot you and its over. No prison. Farris is alleged to have posted a Google Street View image showing the Idriss Mosque along with a note describing too many targets to count. Seattle police officers responded to Farriss Bitter Lake neighborhood apartment and arrested Farris after a brief standoff. Farris is alleged to have made numerous degrading, threatening statements about Muslims, including that the final crusade against Islam has begun. Police say Farris admitted to making several of the statements. Writing the court, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Michael Hogan said Farris told investigators he hates Muslims. Farris, the prosecutor said, was intoxicated when police arrived. Farris was investigated in 2015 after death threats were made against a Redmond-based Muslim association, Hogan said. Members of the mosque are afraid Farris will act on the threats if hes released from jail, Hogan continued. READ MORE: Islamophobia 'is not Christian.' Episcopal bishop says at Seattle forum Farris remains jailed pending arraignment on June 30. He has been charged in King County Superior Court with malicious harassment, Washingtons hate crime law. Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk. George Parnham still talks to Andrea Yates at least once a week over the phone. He considers her a daughter. He tries to visit her at the mental hospital in Kerrville, where she is currently held, every couple months. Parnham represented Yates 15 years ago during both trials, after she was arrested for drowning her five children in a bathtub in June 2001. "When I call my kids on the weekends, I will call Andrea," George Parnham said. Andrea Yates drowned her five children in her Clear Lake home, after her husband Rusty Yates left for work that morning. Houstonians were transfixed by the 2002 trial. Yates was first convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 2005, Yates' conviction was reversed due to false testimony given by a California psychiatrist. RELATED: Mother described methodical drowning of 5 kids In 2006, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Finally, in July 2006 she was found not guilty and sent first to a mental health hospital in North Texas, and then to Kerrville, where she's been since 2007. The case propelled conversations about women's mental health, specifically postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Yates suffered from both postpartum depression and a more severe form of postpartum-- postpartum psychosis. Eleven to 20 percent of women suffer from postpartum depression symptoms after giving birth each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. On average, about 600,000 women are diagnosed with postpartum depression every year. "I had no earthly idea before I got this case what was meant by postpartum," Parnham said. But 15 years later, after the conversations around postpartum depression began, Houston mental health advocates still feel there needs to be more awareness. In 2002, Parnham and his wife, Mary, created the Yates Children Memorial Fund, to help bring awareness about postpartum depression to the Houston community. Since the fund's creation, over 600,000 brochures on postpartum illnesses have been handed out around the community. READ MORE: Mother charged with capital murder in death of infant son "After the first trial, when Andrea was found guilty; it was a rough time for everybody. The one thing that kept illuminating in our minds was that these five children are gone and they need a legacy," Mary said. The fund also holds trainings for medical professionals, community health workers, and others interested in learning more about postpartum illnesses. The fund has trained more than 3,000 professionals working in the Houston community. Mary said Yates keeps up with what is going with the fund in her children's name. "She's very enthralled with what YCMF does. She's thrilled to know that good things are being done for the legacy of her children and that makes her very happy," Mary said. Dr. Sherry Duson is a licensed marriage/family therapist and counselor, and at the time when news broke about Andrea Yates' case, she knew others needed to learn the effect of postpartum illnesses. "The Yates case was kind of good and bad," Duson said. "It was good that it really highlighted the need. It was bad that it was so horrendous, that people worried if I have postpartum depression am I going to end up like her? That's so far from the truth. That's not the way these illnesses work." RELATED: 20 Houston news stories that went viral in the last 20 years Shortly after news broke about Yates, Duson started doing advocacy work for postpartum depression. She began serving on the board of the Yates Children Memorial Fund. She also continued to hold support group classes for new mothers at a local hospital. She realized there were no resources for mothers in the Houston area if they wanted to learn more about the mental illness. Duson had her own private practice, where she would see moms dealing with postpartum depression, but wanted to expand her business. She opened the only center in Houston that deals with postpartum depression, Center for Postpartum Family Health, in 2014. "Postpartum depression or anxiety is not a death sentence. It's just an illness that you need to recover from. Speak up and get treatment. The good news is that you'll get well," Duson said. The Parnhams recognize how far the community has come in recognizing postpartum depression as a mental illness. They still feel change needs to continue. Duson hopes that a law will be put into place requiring doctors to screen women for postpartum depression. "Tragedy begets change. That's always been unfortunately the case. I hope that it is also true here. That these five children did not live their lives in vain and that the community has come so far since then. That in their names we can bring about change," Mary Parnham said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Donald Trump told a large and boisterous crowd in The Woodlands on Friday night that he would be a fierce supporter of gun rights if elected president, and that an armed person could have prevented the Orlando nightclub massacre that left 49 people dead and another 53 wounded. "Nobody will protect your Second Amendment like Donald John Trump. Nobody! Nobody!" the presumptive Republican presidential nominee declared. Trump alleged that Democrat Hillary Clinton wanted to abolish the Second Amendment, a claim previously disputed by the fact-checking site PolitiFact. Mentions of her name drew loud boos. He urged those in the crowd to imagine if some of those at the Orlando nightclub early Sunday had been armed and returned fire at gunman Omar Mateen, who had an assault rifle and a handgun and was later killed by a SWAT team. "If some of those wonderful people had guns strapped right here, right to their waist or right to their ankle (making a gesture of drawing a gun), and this son of a (expletive) comes out and starts shooting, and one of the people in that room happened to have it and goes boom, boom, you know what? That would have been a beautiful, beautiful site folks," the billionaire developer and reality TV star said to the roar of the crowd. "So don't let them take your guns away, and believe me, you put me in there, we're going to save that Second Amendment. We're going to save your guns. They're not going to take away your bullets. They're not going to shorten up your magazines. They're not going to do anything. We're going to preserve it and we're going to cherish it, and that's what we have to do." Trump's appearance at the rally was his second in the Houston area on Friday. Earlier, he attended a fundraiser in Houston's affluent River Oaks neighborhood where couples paid as much as $250,000 to hear him. Trump is scheduled to speak at a rally in Phoenix on Saturday. TRUMP PLAYLIST: Videos from the Donald Trump rally in Houston KPRC reported that a man was detained by police after they found him on the fourth floor of a parking garage at The Woodlands rally site with a pistol. But a half-hour later, the man was back outside and denying that he'd brought a firearm to the event. "Make America Great Again," the man, sporting a Trump t-shirt, told the news station. "Trump is going to be our next president." The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office referred questions to the U.S. Secret Service, which had no immediate comment. Protesters and supporters turned out for each event, but police were out in force and largely kept them separated. A Trump supporter and a protester exchanged punches and were taken into custody in The Woodlands, but there were no major clashes. Three or four people were treated for heat exhaustion near The Woodlands rally, with no serious injuries, the county sheriff's office said. Trump was pumped up by the enthusiastic response he received in The Woodlands, where people had waited for hours in muggy 90-degree heat to get inside a conference center with a capacity of 5,000. Many were turned away after waiting outside even though the room didn't appear to be completely full, which Trump attributed to fire regulations. "We have tremendous support, but the biggest support of all by far, right here!" he told the gathering inside The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. Last weekend's massacre happened at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, and Trump has used the tragedy to tout his support for both gun rights and the LGBT community. Trump singled out an audience member and said, "Hold that up. Look at that sign. Wow. Whoa. Gays for Trump," he said approvingly. He alleged that The Clinton Foundation had accepted contributions from countries that had enslaved women and killed gays and said he would be a better advocate for those groups than Hillary Clinton. "You tell me, who's better for gays? Who is better? Tell me, who is better for women?" He decried the "radicalization" that he said was fueling recent attacks such as in Orlando, and added, "President Obama is trying to make terrorism into guns, and it's not guns folks. It's not guns. This is terrorism." Trump also reiterated his support for building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. He appeared moved when he introduced supporters seated in the front row whom he said had "lost loved ones to people who should not have been in the country illegally." "These are my friends," he said. Trump's aircraft, emblazened with "TRUMP" in capital letters, landed at about 3 p.m. at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Authorities closed roads to ensure a smooth rush-hour trip for Trump's motorcade from the airport to downtown Houston, and then back north to The Woodlands. REPORTS: Reports: Man with gun detained at site of Trump rally Trump, 70, had boasted of self-funding his primary campaign but has turned to fundraising for his fall matchup against Democrat Hillary Clinton. The early Friday-evening fundraiser was hosted by local lawyer Tony Buzbee, with costs ranging from $5,400 per couple for the "Trump Train" to $250,000 per couple for the "Chairman's Circle," according to the invitation. The event was held in a high-end neighborhood blocks from the River Oaks Country Club. Officers guided the roughly 100 protesters and 15 Trump supporters to designated areas. SNEAK PEEK: See the River Oaks home owned by Trump's host, Tony Buzbee Prior to the fundraiser, reporters and photographers crowded around as a protester set up a life-sized pinata of Trump's head with devil's horns. Some protesters took aim at Trump's allegations that Mexico was sending criminals and rapists to the U.S. One woman held up a sign in Spanish that read, "We are not rapists." A placard carried by a boy next to her said, "No Human Being is Illegal!" Protesters chanted, "Women are under attack. Muslims are under attack...What do we do? Stand up, fight back." TRUMP RALLY 101: 30 images showing what a Trump rally looks like "I'm just here to show that I'm just outraged about all he stands for, from economic justice and inequality to bashing Muslims and women," said Judy Graves, a union organizer. Maryanne Delgado, a 69-year-old retired school teacher, ticked off the reasons why she dislikes Trump after joining a group of anti-Trump protestors behind barricades across the street from the mansion. "I don't like anything he says," she said. "Not one thing... He's a liar. I could go on about every horrible thing he says. He's dividing the country. He's a bigot, etc. etc." Randy Locke, 55, was the first Trump supporter outside the River Oaks mansion, staking out a spot in the shade and carrying a sign that read "MOGUL" and beneath it "M.A.G.A," which he said was short for "Make America Great Again." "It's kind of an acronym most Democrats wouldn't be able to figure out," he said. Locke said he supports Trump's views on immigration, complaining, "We're all being replaced." He said he was laid off from a trucking job and enrolled in college at age 42, earning a finance degree from the University of Houston, but has been unable to find work. "Even the immigrants who got here 15 years ago, many of them are unemployed and can't find jobs because we're just flooding the country." Among those who attended the fundraiser were Dr. Ralph Norton and his wife Miki, whose family owns The Lancaster Hotel. He said half-jokingly that he was worried about the "anarchists" protesting. She said they agree with Trump on most everything but have some disagreements. For example, she supports allowing manufacturing to move to Mexico and Central America so people there don't join cartels. The event lasted about an hour. Afterward, the couple said Trump had fielded questions and that former Gov. Rick Perry had spoken, stressing the importance of electing a president who would nominate conservatives for the Supreme Court. Upon the Trump motorcade's departure from River Oaks, the candidate used Twitter to comment on a photo that had been posted of people waiting in line in The Woodlands to see him: "Thank you -- on my way!" Outside the hotel and conference center in The Woodlands, America- and Trump-themed accessories abounded as people waited in line. One woman sported a red "Make America Great Again" cap and a pin that said, "Bomb the (expletive) out of ISIS." By early evening, Trump supporters and foes were yelling at one another. One woman yelled at a protester, "Hillary for prison!" Doors opened at 4 p.m. for the 7 p.m. rally, and supporters streamed into the venue. Organizers had stressed security would be tight at the event. Inside, attendees waiting for Trump began chanting, "Build that wall! Build that wall!" Organizers played music such as Elton John's "Rocket Man" and the Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want," though the British rock band had previously asked Trump to stop playing its songs. Mahir Sayeed, a 17-year-old senior at the Woodlands High School, said earlier Friday that he had planned to bring local Muslims to the event to shake hands with Trump supporters in an expression of goodwill. He hoped that attendees would contrast the candidate's harsh rhetoric on Islam with the friendly Muslims they met outside. But Friday morning, elders in the Woodlands Muslim community had asked him to call it off. They said that some recent protests had grown violent, noted that some people had brought rifles to defend a Trump rally in Dallas on Saturday, and warned that Sayeed could be harmed. Sayeed said most of the people who planned to go with him dropped out. "The fear that has been presented by the candidates has scared people from exercising their First Amendment rights," he said. "The Muslim community wanted to be there, but they felt unsafe." Trump supporters also cited safety concerns on Facebook on Friday morning when they organized to walk to the rally together, fearing violent protests. Sayeed said he would still be shaking hands outside the event, and in fact later was photographed thanking a veteran for his service outside. About 300 protesters showed up at Trump's rally in Dallas Thursday night, as expected, but no major incidents were reported as police created a human barrier to keep apart Trump supporters and protesters. The Woodlands is the most populous community in heavily Republican Montgomery County, where GOP primary voters backed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz over Trump, 48 percent to 27 percent. However, local activists said Trump would get their support by the fall. Julie Turner, president of the Texas Patriots PAC, a local Tea Part chapter that hosted Trump at a fundraiser event in The Woodlands in April, said before the rally that she believes the candidate represents the ideals of local residents. "He's very in tune with people in this area about the need to strengthen our immigration enforcement," she said. Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Wally Wilkerson said he wasn't surprised that Trump chose to come to his county. "This is a place that is the most Republican county in the most Republican state," Wilkerson said. "We are proud and happy to have a presidential nominee come to Montgomery County." Staff writers Dylan Baddour, Mark Collette, Samantha Ketterer, Monica Rhor, Dane Schiller and Mike Tolson contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Already on the lookout for disaster scams linked to flooding over the last two months, Houston police have arrested an imposter FEMA agent accused of bilking at least three victims out of thousands of dollars. Derron L. Skinner, 25, of Chicago was charged with one count of forgery on Tuesday. Houston Police Department Lt. Chris Lohse said on Friday that Skinner was targeting people in the Near Northside area adjacent to downtown while wearing Federal Emergency Management Agency attire. DRAMATIC FOOTAGE: Officials release video of flood victim's SUV driving into high water (GRAPHIC) Skinner allegedly recovered $3,000 to $5,000 from the scam. "Last week, we identified a number of cases whereby a suspect who was posing as a FEMA representative was essentially soliciting business and approaching flood victims letting them know that he could expedite and make their claims more lucrative," said Lohse, who works in HPD's financial crimes unit. Skinner allegedly provided flood victims with fraudulent FEMA checks that they would deposit into their personal bank accounts. He would then spin a narrative that he needed cash back to secure inspections and other fee-based services to complete their claims faster. The three incidents HPD has identified included about 20 checks and all had extensive damage to their vehicles. TAX-DAY FLOODS: Death toll in Houston-area floods rises to six "These checks were counterfeit ... from compromised personal and commercial accounts across the country," Lohse said. "Once those checks were deposited, they withdrew their own personal monies and, of course, they were out the cash and bank fees." HPD officials believe that there may be more people who have been scammed because Skinner's services were being advertised in the community by word of mouth. It's important for disaster claimants to know that FEMA registration for disaster assistance is accomplished only by telephone or online at FEMA.gov but never in person. UNDERWATER: Scenes from downtown during Houston's Tax Day Flood "A check will never be hand-delivered by a FEMA representative," Lohse said. "FEMA disaster assistance funds are electronically deposited into a bank account and/or a check is mailed to an address. FEMA will never ask for money to receive money." Investigators believe that Skinner or other scammers have targeted more people. Anyone with information on Skinner or similar cases are urged to contact HPD's Financial Crimes Unit at 713-308-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). Lohse also warned about charity crimes and unscrupulous contractor scams related to flooding in April and May. Acting HPD Chief Martha Montalvo and the captain of the burglary and theft division had asked the financial crimes unit to closely monitor "for incidents where victims had been re-victimized by theft, fraud or deception," Lohse said. "Rising floodwaters bring out all kinds of filthy creatures. Included among them are criminals who use disasters as an opportunity to prey on victims whose lives have already been devastated by recent floods," Lohse said. "Anytime these crooks can use a tragedy ... they're going to do that because people are vulnerable." Skinner, who has no local address listed in Harris County District Clerk records, also was charged on Thursday with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He made a $5,000 bail on the forgery charge and also been released from the Harris County Jail on $50,000 bail following the gun arrest. He is scheduled for court appearances on Monday related to both charges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO Democrats from Texas and beyond will gather at the Alamodome in downtown San Antonio this weekend for the Texas Democratic Convention, which will kick into high-gear at the same time presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump makes a fundraising stop here. Trump's appearance, which is expected to ruffle opponents' feathers, will come a day after and about 12 miles away from the convention kick-off on Thursday with an opening reception at La Villita Assembly Hall at 6 p.m. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is state convention chairman and his twin brother, U.S. HUD Secretary Julian Castro, a former hometown mayor, will speak Friday night at the Alamodome. The HUD secretary will be introduced by former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who lost the race for governor in 2014. RELATED: Clinton and Sanders camp seek to avoid another Nevada blowup Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, said Julian Castro will be the "highlight of the night" as he is a "shining star in Texas." Garcia said, beside the Castro twins, attendees should look forward to hearing from mayors, county judges and officials. RELATED: Texas not in play as much as Clinton hopes, Dem leaders say "You're really going to see mayors from several of the largest cities across the state," he said. "They're the ones getting stuff done for folks." The convention is coming during a controversial moment in American politics, which will make for a more entertaining convention than previous years, said Harold Cook, a Democratic consultant based in Austin. RELATED: Julian Castro directing HUD effort to reduce lead in public housing "Well I have been to a lot of state conventions in Texas that were pretty boring," Cook said, adding the lack of excitement typically came from knowing the Democratic candidate, whoever that may be, was not likely to win Texas, a historically red state. But, with Trump being the presumptive Republican nominee, "Democrats can smell blood in the water," he said. Despite optimism from state Democrats, Texas will not be a "battleground state," Garry Mauro, a member of Clinton's Texas leadership team, told media Tuesday morning in Austin. And in light of the recent massacre in Orlando, Garcia said attendees can expect speakers and elected officials to address the shooting that left 49 victims dead, including at least one from South Texas. On Friday, the second day of the convention, Trump will be making a fundraising stop at Oak Hill Country Club. At the same time, a protest, hosted by Maestranza, a local community outreach group advocating for equality, is planned to "dump" the reality star turned presumptive Republican nominee, outside the same country club. Garcia said it will be hard to avoid talk of Trump since the Republican has "done everything he can to push away the diversity that makes this state great." "Donald Trump is an embarrassment of riches," Cook said. "He's kind of made himself a national buffoon and there's a lot to work with. It's going to be impossible to get a lot of enthusiastic Democrats in a room and not laugh at Donald Trump." kbradshaw@express-news.net Twitter: @kbrad5 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate About 10,000 people filed into the Alamodome Friday morning as caucuses began at the Texas Democratic Convention. A sea of blue shirts and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders buttons flooded the convention floor for the women's caucus that started the day's schedule at 9 a.m. and an overflowing room of nearly 200 gathered for the Stonewall/LGBT caucus. MORE: Traffic jams, SWAT vehicles on-scene ahead of Donald Trump fundraiser in San Antonio Joey Cardenas, chairman for State Tejano Democrats, spoke at the Hispanic Caucus about presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who made a fundraising stop in San Antonio Friday about 10 miles away from the Alamodome. Cardenas had the Hispanic caucus chanting "Dump Trump!" at one point. He said there were several Latinos in support of Trump at his private appearance today, but there were even more protesting against him. "That's what we need," he said. Texas Democrats, including convention chairman Joaquin Castro are expected to address Trump's visit to the Lone Star State Friday afternoon at the convention. Earlier in the day, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and state Senators Sylvia Garcia and Rodney Ellis, both of Houston, were on hand for the LGBT caucus meeting. State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-Clint, the first openly pansexual legislator in Texas, invited the overflowing crowd to continue the fight for LGBT rights. MORE: Mayor Ivy Taylor facing backlash from LGBT community ahead of Orlando vigil appearance She also mentioned last week's Orlando massacre that claimed the lives of 49 victims inside of a gay nightclub. "Our family has gone through so much in the last week, and in the last decade," she said, adding that the fight for LGBT rights was far from over. Men and women alike heard from former state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte, who lost the San Antonio mayoral race to Ivy Taylor last year, and former state Sen. Wendy Davis during the women's caucus. Davis told the crowd she has traveled to 16 states this year campaigning for Hillary Clinton because of her "unwillingness to quit." RELATED: 5 things to know about the Texas Democratic Convention in San Antonio "When women do better, we all do better," said Davis, who used this line during the gubernatorial race and added that Clinton knows women's rights are humans rights. The convention goes until Saturday and features U.S. HUD Secretary Julian Castro, a former hometown mayor who will have a prominent speaking role Friday night, and his twin brother U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. Former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who lost big to Gov. Greg Abbott in 2014, will introduce Julian Castro Friday night as well. RELATED: San Antonians plan to 'Dump Trump' with a protest during the Republican candidate's visit On the other side of town, roughly 12 miles away from the convention center, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is making a fundraising stop at Oak Hill Country Club. While he is not holding a rally, there will be a crowd. A group of protesters are planning to peacefully welcome the politician with signs and maybe a Trump pinata, or two. RELATED: Texas Democratic chair: It's 'ridiculous' his party isn't winning Former State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer took to YouTube Thursday sarcastically welcoming Trump to San Antonio. "Enjoy your visit to San Antonio Mr. Trump. Mexican-Americans and all immigrants alike help make San Antonio great," he says in the video. On Twitter, Fischer tweeted at Trump saying the people of San Antonio "haven't forgotten (his) hateful and divisive rhetoric," and then added a quick "bienvenido." kbradshaw@express-news.net Twitter: @kbrad5 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate While there are some captivating sights to see, urban structures tend to skew towards the ho-hum rather than the breathtaking. So it's nice to see there are some people out there, like Vasily Klyukin, who are dreaming up some incredibly ... unique ... ideas to architecture. The Russian businessman, philanthropist and writer maintains a vibrant gallery of concept art on his personal website, featuring skyscrapers, apartment buildings, hotels and other structures. RELATED: High-rises under construction in the Houston area "I was a property developer for many years," Klyukin told Chron.com. "Many projects disappointed me. I began thinking about buildings that I would want to build." And oh, what he wants to build. One of his designs, the Top Sexy Tower in New York City, is a simple vertical column with a big twist: A sultry leg with a high-heel shoe juts out the side of the building. He claims that if it were a hotel, it would always be crowded. I'm not a structural engineer by any means, save for a few misshapen edifices in the computer game "Spore," but Klyukin's designs appear to be unfeasible in reality. RELATED: Does Swedish philosopher's model of beauty fit Houston "At Fashion Weeks you sometimes see dresses which you cannot wear in your everyday life. My designs are the same case they are not all feasible," he said. "However in every city it's possible to create a project which will be a landmark showing the spirit and history of the city and its inhabitants." Klyukin's ideas trend towards the ludicrous, but I would argue that vision is sorely needed to spice up today's skylines. If we consider the skyscraper to be reflective of a city's aspirations and ideals, then it is a sorry state of affairs when our urban cores are so dominated by stale, vertical columns of office space. I'm looking at you, Houston. Prepare yourself: The Trump train is rolling through Texas. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee arrived in Dallas on Thursday evening for a fundraiser at Gilleys nightclub. The following day hell make his way to the Bayou City. On Friday, Donald Trump heads to Houston for an afternoon fundraiser hosted by lawyer Tony Buzbee in River Oaks, one of the richest neighborhoods in the metro area. The tickets for the event cost between $5,400 and $250,000. When that wraps up, Trump will boogey on up to The Woodlands for a rally at the Waterway Marriot Hotel and Convention Center. SEE THIS: Who is Tony Buzbee, the mysterious man who is hosting Donald Trumps Houston fundraiser What to expect? Well, youve seen the news. Trump and his rowdy rallies have been ubiquitous since he skyrocketed toward the top of GOP polls last summer. His campaign events have been marked by chaos, Trumps theatricality and on occasion violence. At the least, one should expect brash protests, intense security, profanity-laced slurs from supporters (and perhaps bigoted remarks from the candidate himself), yuuuuuge traffic jams and, really, a political event unlike anyone has ever seen before. One hopes the city is prepared to keep everything under control. Theres no better way to prepare for whats about to become than by taking a glimpse at Trumps past rallies throughout the country- and the surreal scenes that accompany this historic campaign. See 30 of the craziest and most bizarre rally moments from the Trump presidential campaign. Drivers in need of a tow on Texas 288 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8, in southern Houston, will have a new tow truck provider starting later this month. Houston City Council on Wednesday authorized Apple Towing Company to take over emergency road services along that stretch of road, having voted three weeks ago to cancel the prior provider's contract. Four people affiliated with that towing company, USA Auto Collision, were arrested last month, accused of participating in a scheme to charge motorists exorbitant fees after their cars were towed under the city's Safe Clear program. Under Safe Clear, the city authorizes a group of companies to automatically tow disabled cars from the freeway for a subsidized fee, with the goal of reducing congestion and improving safety. Apple Towing already was contracted to tow along two other road segments in Houston. It will take over for USA Auto Collision after its contract expires in late June. "I think I can easily say that in light of all of the concerns with the last deal, this one has been under more heightened scrutiny. This one has been scrubbed," Mayor Sylvester Turner said, responding to questions from council members about the vetting process. Apple Towing participated in the competitive bidding process last year and was second runner-up to tow along this eight-mile stretch of Texas 288. Turner said the Houston Police Department has not received any complaints about Apple Towing and conducted background checks of personnel affiliated with the company. Apple Towing also does not owe any outstanding taxes, Turner said. AUSTIN -- The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is putting the federal government on notice the state will refuse to take in more refugees than it did last year and will only accept those who do not pose a security risk. Texas submitted to the U.S. Department of State a 2017 state plan for its refugee resettlement on Friday, rejecting the federal government's proposal to increase the number of refugees moving to the Lone Star State by 25 percent. "Texas continues to have concerns about the safety of its citizens and the integrity of the overseas security and background vetting process of the federal resettlement program," Commissioner Charles Smith wrote in a letter to the U.S. Department of State. "Americans face an undeniable terrorist threat that is imported through new manipulations of our national security protocols each day." According to Smith's letter, the federal government is proposing to place 11,020 refugees in Texas during fiscal 2017, an increase of 25 percent over fiscal 2016. Smith wrote that the proposed funding is insufficient, as well, and concludes the state could accept a maximum of 8,605 refugees. Governor Greg Abbott fully endorses the move to hold the line on the number of refugees settled here, said his spokesman John Wittman. "Gov. Abbott's top priority is the safety of all Texans, and he continues to have serious concerns about the federal government's ability to conduct proper security checks," he said. The letter follows a ruling Wednesday dealing a potentially fatal blow to Texas' lawsuit attempting to stymie Syrian refugee resettlement here. Judge David C. Godbey, of the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas, threw out the suit, finding no valid cause of action against the federal government or a non-profit aid agency settling refugees. Godbey denied the state's earlier move to temporarily halt settlements saying Texas' justification for safety and security concerns was based on speculation and hearsay. The state could land itself in court should it try to stop refugees from moving to Texas, said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas which represented the resettlement agency in the case dismissed this week. "In the course of this litigation, the Attorney General's office has acknowledged the State has no legal authority to block anyone from being settled in Texas. If the State attempts to do so, its actions would be illegal," she said. Texas' letter on refugee resettlement in Texas accentuates a week that included presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump renewing his call for a ban on allowing Muslims into the country. His comments follow the mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub by a man who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate U.S. Border Patrol agents at a Texas checkpoint rescued two people from the inside of a trunk that was more than 100 degrees on Tuesday. In a separate incident, agents found four people under the bed of a storage compartment of a tractor trailer. RELATED: Immigration officials accused of violating judge's order All six are suspected of attempting to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico. The first incident occurred Tuesday evening after a man "became nervous" during an immigration inspection. Border patrol agents at the Falfurrias check point told the driver to open the trunk, and found two people who were "locked in the trunk with no means of escape." RELATED: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an Instagram and it's awesome According to the release, the temperature inside the trunk was 101.2 degrees. The driver of the Chevy Malibu and a female passenger were arrested. Both are citizens of the U.S.. In the second incident, four people were discovered hiding under the bed of a storage compartment in a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer was referred to secondary inspection after a canine alert. The driver of the trailer, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested. RELATED: Jim Wells County votes against family detention center "The smuggled immigrants from both cases will be processed accordingly," the release said. It was unclear whether the drivers of the vehicles were charged in the incidents. MMedina@mySA.com Twitter: @MariahMedinaaa 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. Primeste notificari pe email Nota bene: Adresele email cu extensia .ru nu sunt acceptate. Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele What motivates a politician to freeze out the press? In Harrisburg, the poverty-stricken capital of Pennsylvania, Mayor Eric Papenfuse has barred his spokeswoman from speaking with reporters for PennLive, the areas largest news outlet, and banned PennLive reporters from attending his weekly media briefings. The mayor says hes taking a stand against a news outlet that has become an illegitimate gossip blog fishing for clicks and cash. PennLive, meanwhile, says aggressive reporting on Papenfuses business and civic dealings led to the clampdown. Weve seen the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, similarly banish news organizations he dislikes over the past year, most recently The Washington Post, which joins The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and Politico, among others. Papenfuse, a Democrat who says PennLive caters to the right, is no Trump worshipper. But given the ease with which a man running for the countrys highest office blacklists journalists, its worth asking whether this could become the new normal in towns and cities across the country. Papenfuse doesnt view his decision to blacklist PennLive in that light. Im very much committed to the freedom of the press, but I also think there are responsibilities that the media have, but [that] have also been completely forgotten in the pursuit of collecting cash, which is what PennLive does, Papenfuse says. I see myself as ahead of the curve in standing up and pointing out this change in media. One thing thats changed, he correctly adds, is how the local outlets reporters are evaluated. PennLive takes pageviews into account when conducting editorial staffers performance reviews, says Mike Feeley, content director of the website and its thrice-weekly print companion, The Patriot-News, which are owned by Advance Local. But he says the quality of journalists work, along with their commitment to enterprise reporting and video, carry more weight than the traffic their stories generate. Judging reporters by clicks is troubling, but that metric doesnt necessarily prohibit strong journalism in the public interest. PennLives recent stories on unpaid overtime at Papenfuses bookstore and his ownership of properties near a bar hes trying to close are fine examples of local accountability reporting. The mayor says those stories didnt inspire his ban on PennLive. He says that in addition to traffic targets for reporters, the sites coverage is marred by a nasty, anonymous comment section, which the mayor suggests is also designed to drive traffic. Feeley doesnt buy that. Newspapers have a business model of telling good stories, protecting the First Amendment, and holding their politicians accountable to the public, and just because were doing it in an electronic format now doesnt change our responsibility. Does the cause of this wall of silence matter? Not really. The fact remains that the leader of a major coverage area wont talk to the paper of record. Papenfuse runs the city, not the publication. Hes free to criticize PennLives business practices, reporting, and journalists all he wantsand, yes, hes also free to ignore them altogether. But this policy of silence deprives the public of the full story. And the mayors move will also surely send a message to other news outlets: Dont get on Papenfuses bad side, or you could be next. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Social media has made it easy for politicos to write off pesky members of the press. Trump practically runs his campaign on Twitter, using his 9 million followers to amplify his punchy, bombastic messages. And his social media prowess ultimately translates to mainstream media coverage. Papenfuse, a regular tweeter and Facebook user, says he plans to escalate his efforts to reach citizens where they live, presumably using social media. Between both personal accounts and others linked to the city itself, he has a digital audience of nearly 14,000, minus any overlap. That equates to a decent chunk of Harrisburgs nearly 50,000 residents. Im a big believer in direct communication, Papenfuse adds. Trumps rise has foregrounded a population that has become skeptical of big institutions, including news organizations. Many of those people appear elated to cheer on a politician who sticks it to establishment media. Restricting press access rarely works in favor of politicians, says Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and a longtime political reporter who now writes columns for the Louisville Courier-Journal. But this country harbors enough distrust of journalism to make you wonder if the stage isnt already set for leaders to quickly become more openly dismissive of the press. Since Trump launched his campaign, weve seen Tampas mayor block reporters from viewing his Twitter account. In April, a contender for Sacramentos mayoral office barred a reporter for The Sacramento Bee from attending an election event. The month before, police in White Castle, Louisiana, handcuffed a TV journalist who was looking into questions about the mayors salary and charged him with a misdemeanor. Thats an extreme form of retribution for covering an important local story. Cold-shoulder policies have likely existed as long as journalism, and their reach across Smalltown USA has beenand still isunclear. Its the exception to the rule, but it happens enough, says Cross. Politicians are like anyone else, in that they admire and emulate the big dogs in their business. Papenfuse may not intend to mirror Trump, but thats what his PennLive strategy accomplishes, regardless of his motivation. Time will tell if Trumps brazen disrespect for journalists trickles down to others. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jack Murtha is a CJR Delacorte Fellow. Follow him on Twitter at @JackMurtha Print anachronisms had DJ Khaled ranting recently. The record producer is one of the most-followed people on Snapchat, in part for his superhuman good cheer. But in an interview last fall with SiriusXMs Sway in the Morning, Khaled was fuming about magazines being so out of touch as to leave him off their covers. Some of these people that run magazines, he huffed, theyre dinosaurs. Then Khaled began to shake his head. The thing is that your magazine is not as powerful anymore because this [is] the magazine, he said, holding up his iPhone. His statement has serious implications: Now that publications share a digital medium, is the power of magazine brands diminished? After all, how often these days do people remember reading something online but cant recall the publication, if they ever took note of it in the first place? Today, social media account for nearly half of referrals to mainstream news organizations. More than 60 percent of social media users get news from those platforms, according to a 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center, with Facebook, the largest social platform, dramatically expanding its news focus in recent years. Trust is among the most sacred qualities of a news brand. But in this atomized environment, media trust has taken a hit. Just 12 percent of people who consume news on Facebook say they trust what they find there, according to a recent study by the Associated Press and the American Press Institute. Across all social networks, respondents said they trust news found there only somewhat. I think what theyre saying is, on Facebook, Im not in a safe zone, Tom Rosenstiel, APIs executive director, tells CJR. Ive got to be my own sheriff here. Paolo Pellegrin (Magnum Photos) In less confusing times, reliable news brands served as guidepostsand to some degree, they still do. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as any feature that distinguishes one sellers product from anothers. Thats not limited to qualities of the product, but also includes anything that contributes to its public perception. Consumers of journalism arent expected to accept a news article on its face but, rather, in the context of the outlets reputation. As the late New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger once said, Youre not buying news when you buy The New York Times. Youre buying judgment. An experiment initiated by the George T. Delacorte Center and carried out by CJRs three Delacorte fellows sought to learn how much weight readers give to a publications brand when evaluating a storys credibility. The term magazine today is less descriptive of a particular medium than of an intimate and immersive relationship between a publication and its audience. When people read individual articles online without first encountering a print cover or Web homepageor making a purchaseits worth exploring to what extent that sort of relationship survives. Sign up for CJR 's daily email When readers spent longer on a story, brands mattered less. With the help of psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist Jenna Reinen, a postdoctoral scholar at Yale, we tested 267 people to see whether and how their trust in a deeply reported story depended on the magazine in which it appearedor in which they thought it had appeared. Each test subject read a digital version of the same story. For some readers, the story seemed to have run on The New Yorker website; for others, it appeared to have run in BuzzFeed. (As all subjects eventually learned, the article was originally published in Mother Jones.) We wondered if readers would have more faith in one version over the other. Would they even heed the brands? The results of our experiment will be published later this month. The diversity of outlets now available on cable TV, radio, and the internet has stoked fears about consumers tendencies to seek out self-affirming perspectives on the news. But while liberals, for instance, might prefer news told from a liberal point of view, are they also inclined to have more confidence in the credibility of reporting at a liberal outlet versus a conservative one? In a separate but related study, we examined how readers interpreted a politically charged story depending on the publications stated ideological bent. Those findings will also be published later this month. The potency of brands online is of enormous interest to many, and has been a topic of considerable scholarship. For journalistic outlets, we consider trust among the most important aspects of brand influence. We reviewed some of the research on branding and trust, which can be found here. In short, brand trust is belief in a product to deliver as promised. As a 2008 paper on Trust in digital information notes, trust only exists in the presence of vulnerability and uncertainty, both of which are fundamental to news consumption and accentuated by the dynamics of new media. In this literature review, we evaluate what prior research suggests about the future of magazine brands online and how their stories will be consumed, especially when encountered by referral, such as via email, aggregator, or social media. We also consider that research as it relates to The New Yorker and BuzzFeed, prominent media brands with markedly different reputations. We will unpack the nature of trustwhere it originates, how its nurtured, and why it matters. And well survey some of the sprawling research and commentary on how news media contribute to political polarization and vice versa, particularly through outlets that carry a party or ideological banner. When The Hollywood Reporter recently asked New Yorker editor David Remnick about his success extending his magazines brand, he replied, I resist that word. Indeed, many journalism veterans find the pervasion of business lingo soul-sucking. Yet consider another term from economics thats often used to describe digital publishing: commoditization, when products in an industry become interchangeable, when brands dissipate, when readers dont care where a story was published. That seems a trend worth resisting. Whats odd about Remnicks contempt for brand-oriented thinking is that magazines are perhaps the most emphatically branded form of news media. Even The New Yorkers baroque style rules, such as including a diaeresis with words like coordinate and reestablish, are ways of signaling tradition and sophistication. Magazines are brands, Callie Jean Blackwell flatly asserts in her masters thesis at the University of Mississippi. A brand is a promise and an expectation, which clarifies how a news brand is both what a company says of itself and what consumers think of it. (For many years, the Chicago Tribune called itself The Worlds Greatest Newspaper. The totality of its brand, however, was of course more complicated.) Brands are essential to journalism in part because evidence suggests that consumers are inept judges of quality. In 2013, researchers Juliane Urban and Wolfgang Schweiger identified six normative criteria of news quality: diversity (of sources, for example); relevance (as in, timeliness); ethics (regarding treatment of story subjects); impartiality; comprehensibility; and accuracy. Six separate experiments were conducted to assess how readers discerned each of those variables. In every case, a news article was manipulated to develop high- and low-quality versions, which were presented as if published in a respected German newspaper or a sensationalist German tabloid. The researchers found that readers struggled to evaluate comprehensibility, ethics, and objectivity. When readers spent longer on a story, brands mattered less. When it was difficult for readers to identify quality differences, pre-existing opinions of the brands became more influential to their assessments. The researchers were unsurprised. Their review of preceding scholarship had suggested that most media users have a limited understanding of news quality. News consumers are investing their time, if not their money, and they reward an efficient experience with more of their attention. Perhaps the research closest in methodology to ours was published in 1994 by Journalism Quarterly. In that study, college students were given a short, fictitious article that had been made to look as if it had appeared in one of three newspapers of varying repute: The New York Times, a sensationalist tabloid called the Star, and a fictional regional newspaper far from the campus where the study occurred. Like us, the researchers reproduced those publications nameplates, typefaces, and surrounding advertisements. Six fictitious stories were created for the study; they were designated easy to believe, hard to believe, or ambiguous, with the goal of testing whether readers would be more strongly influenced by the content or the publication when determining if an article was real. The researchers found that judgments of believability were based entirely on the substance of the story, with source reputation making no difference. However, the actual judgment calls required of news consumers are usually more subtle than spotting fake stories. Our hypothesis is that when unreliability is not overt, brands are more likely to influence readers faith in accuracy, as was suggested by Urban and Schweigers study. Erich Hartmann (Magnum Photos) One of the authors of that 1994 paper, Erica Weintraub Austin, now vice provost at Washington State University, told CJR that follow-up research revealed a generational divide: Younger test subjects seemed more likely to base their decision about whether a story was fictitious on content, while older people seemed more influenced by the sources reputation. The internet was in its infancy then; now, Austin suspects that the generational gap has only widened, and that a general disregard for the publication when gauging news credibility is more pronounced. In marketing, response expectancies describe our tendency to experience things as anticipated. Advertising claims offer direct expectation cues, as opposed to global beliefs, like the assumption that lower price equals lesser quality, note Baba Shiv, Ziv Carmon, and Dan Ariely in a 2005 commentary on their work. In this publication, the researchers review experiments in which college students were given SoBe energy drinks, and then asked to complete a word puzzle. The students who thought their beverage was discounted performed worse. This insight suggests that news websites with a paywall, like newyorker.com, may also promote increased quality expectations. Another study at Columbia University and MIT used tainted beer to understand response expectancies. Three groups of test subjects sampled a beer to which a few drops of balsamic vinegar had been added. One group thought it was ordinary beer, one learned of the vinegar before drinking, and one learned soon after. Those who were told beforehand that vinegar had been added were significantly more likely to find the drink distasteful. This suggests that learning about a product beforehand changes the experience itself, rather than simply swaying our interpretation of the experience in retrospect. Aesthetic elements such as name, logo, and design have also been shown to be essential to digital branding. A 2012 article in the International Journal of Electronic Business Management identified how website interactivity, security, and ease-of-use tend to enhance brand loyalty. News consumers are investing their time, if not their money, and they reward an efficient experience with more of their attention. Design is also key to generating reader trust. In 2003, researchers at Stanford University asked more than 2,600 people to analyze the credibility of two websites. They found that visual design elements were given the most consideration, with little attention paid to content or source. People typically process web information in superficial ways, they concluded, adding that using peripheral cues is the rule of web use, not the exception. Brands represent a substitute for informationa way for consumers to simplify the time-consuming process of search and comparison, explains a 2007 paper on i-Branding. Yet information is abundant on social media, where sharing a story usually counts as a tacit endorsement, and search and comparison is not such a great imposition. Under such conditions, are brands rendered an afterthought? Its probably challenging to maintain brand consistency when youre this insane morphing rocket ship, as a creative director at BuzzFeed recently described the digital native. The company aspires to be a media empire, but it has never been entirely clear where news fits within that vision. Founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti, a co-founder of the Huffington Post*, BuzzFeeds enormous success has come from embracing distributed publishing, using platforms like Facebook and Twitter to go straight to its audience. BuzzFeed proudly reports that 75 percent of its 200 million unique monthly visitors come from social platforms. As media critic Peter Kafka of Recode notes, This is antithetical to conventional Web publishing wisdom, which says that you want to keep as many eyeballs as possible looking at your stuff on your properties so you can maximize the ad dollars that stuff generates. Yet with consistent profitability, even in the face of sobering revenue growth last year, BuzzFeed is rewriting convention. News sites have realized the diminishing significance of their homepages; BuzzFeeds is virtually irrelevant. In short, brand trust is belief in a product to deliver as promised. BuzzFeed News is its own vertical, night-and-day different from BuzzFeeds notoriously fluffy listicles but not walled off from them. The company has aggressively recruited a top-tier investigative team led by Mark Schoofs, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former ProPublica senior editor. An analysis of BuzzFeeds journalism in The Baffler last year concludes that BuzzFeed covets recognition for having outgrown listicles and other viral nonsense. And in many respects, BuzzFeed has achieved that [recognition]. Despite admirable work by its news division, BuzzFeed is still plagued by a tenuous relationship with advertisers. Its revenue comes largely from branded content, and a vague wall between business and editorial continues to trouble BuzzFeeds image. That concern relates to BuzzFeeds enthusiasm for native advertising and its checkered history of allowing advertising interests to influence editorial decisions. Since BuzzFeeds notoriety originated from serving the junk food of internet journalism, we were eager to see whether test subjects would take an investigative magazine story by BuzzFeed as seriously as one that seemed to have been published in one of its legacy counterparts. In that regard, responses to the BuzzFeed version of our story should be generalizable to digital natives that offer, but dont necessarily prioritize, rigorous journalism. Paolo Pellegrin (Magnum Photos) The New Yorker, meanwhile, represents a gold standard of in-depth journalism. It is known for its thorough reporting, literary excellence, and fact-checking rigor. Whereas some legacy brands read like an entirely different publication online, original content on newyorker.com is reminiscent of the weekly print product. Because The New Yorker brand hinges on high-quality journalism, the magazine has been shielded from many of the money-generating schemes that other outlets have, whether enthusiastically or reluctantly, embraced, The New York Observer noted earlier this year. The New Yorker recently expanded to video and podcasting, a bold bet on the durability of its brand. It also adjusted its social media strategy and bolstered its copy desk in an attempt to broaden its digital reach without compromising quality. Theres an aura emanating from stories in The New Yorker, whether in print or online. Maybe thats due to the elegant page design, or, more likely, to the sterling reputation of the 91-year-old brand. We wondered how much the magazines cachet raises our estimation of a piece, apart from the copys merits. Allegations of political bias in news coverage usually target outlets that proclaim impartiality. But for magazines with proud ideological identitiesThe Nation and National Review, for exampleconcerns about trustworthiness take on a different character. Such publications can still have rigorous standards for accuracy and offer news features claiming no partisan angle. Whether readers perceive a slant or question some facts might depend on their own political dispositions. To test that hypothesis, we asked 161 subjects about their political leanings, then asked about half of them to read a longform news story in a fictional magazine of conservative orientation; the other half read a story from a fake, supposedly liberal outlet. To identify the political leanings of those fictional publicationsthe liberal American Progressive and the conservative Patriotwe provided a paragraph explaining their supposed bent and background. All subjects read the same article about a foiled plot to kill police in Las Vegas, which, they eventually learned, was originally published in The California Sunday Magazine. The politicization of news outlets correlates with the size of their market. Local newspapers generally seek to appeal to a broad audience because they have limited competition. The same is true of network news programs. When competition increases, outlets tend to target an ideological niche, particularly with a greater emphasis on commentary. The internet allows limitless competition, thus the incentive to cater to a specific audience is at its peak. But only a small minority of Americans get most of their news from sources that are politically one-sided, according to Media and Political Polarization, a paper by Princeton professor Markus Prior. Those people tend to be the hyper-partisan, and also tend to distrust mainstream media. A 1988 study by Albert Gunther, then a doctoral candidate at Stanford, asked subjects to rate the intensity of their beliefs around three contentious topicswelfare, abortion, and Latin America policyand how much they trusted television and newspaper coverage of those issues. Gunther found that people of low and high ideological intensity, whether liberal or conservative, were less trusting of media in general than those in the middle. We wondered how much The New Yorkers cachet raises our estimation of a piece, apart from the copys merits. As part of an extensive examination of American political polarization in 2014 by the Pew Research Center, 2,901 people participated in a survey of media habits. Respondents were asked whether they trusted or distrusted 36 news outlets, ranging from The Economist to The Rush Limbaugh Show. Pew found a dramatic divide: Liberals, who consumed a much wider variety of news sources in general, said they trusted more than distrusted 28 of the outlets, while conservatives said they distrusted more than trusted 24 of the outlets. Perhaps most significantly, [a]ll six of the sources overwhelmingly distrusted by consistent liberals are overwhelmingly trusted by consistent conservatives. (With our other study on branding in mind, its noteworthy that fewer than 40 percent of respondents from this 2014 survey said theyd heard of BuzzFeed. Both conservatives and liberals said they distrusted more than trusted BuzzFeed. And The New Yorker had a more consistently liberal audience than any outlet included in the survey.) The hostile media phenomenon, as three Stanford professors dubbed it in 1985, describes news consumers inclination to find coverage biased against their beliefs. Four years earlier, those researchers had conducted a telephone survey asking 160 people to rate coverage of the 1980 presidential election between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Sixty-six percent of respondents said coverage had been fair, but among Carter supporters who thought coverage had been skewed, 83 percent said it had favored Reagan, and among Reagan supports observing bias, 96 percent said media had favored Carter. In a subsequent 1985 study, pro-Israeli and pro-Arab test subjects viewed identical network news coverage of the 1982 Beirut massacre, and both groups deemed it skewed against their perspective. The researchers concluded that two closely related perceptions created the hostile media phenomenon. First, test subjects saw the issue as black or white, and thus rejected the notion of a grayish reality. Second, because they saw it as black or white, journalists attempt at an account that balanced both sides suggested hostile bias. But maybe most important, the researchers observed, was the tendency for both groups to assert that neutral viewers will turn against their side when they view the media coverage. Analyzing national survey data from 1948 to 2004, University of Kansas professor Tien-Tsung Lee found that people who trust the government are more likely to trust the media, as are liberals, whereas conservatives are less likely. But what about when reading news in publications unabashedly of the opposite affiliation? It would be unremarkable to learn that conservatives and liberals are less compelled by, or interested in, liberal and conservative magazines, respectively. But as a matter of basic trust in the integrity of reporting, a divide based on political orientation could yield useful insights. Brands, whether institutional or personal, still have power. Sixty-six percent of respondents to The Media Insight Project survey from earlier this year said their most important basis for trust on Facebook is the news organization that produced the content, while 48 percent said theyre most concerned with the reputation of the person who shared the material; most respondents claimed not to base trust on how many likes a piece received. But that finding comes with a corollary: The more people rely on social media for news, the less likely they are to trust those platforms. Internet users are not willing to spend a lot of time and effort on verifying the credibility of online information, a 2012 study in the Journal of Information Science explains, which means that various rules-of-thumb are applied to speed up the process. That study assessed responses to a polarizing and ambiguously sourced digital information hub, Wikipedia, and found that readers demonstrated a layered basis of trust, where each layer builds on the next. At the base is trust in the information itself, followed by trust in the source, the medium, and finally, ones general propensity to trust. Accordingly, our studys post-experiment questionnaires seek to identify whether and in what ways a subject is predisposed to be trusting. Trust implies risk. With news, that risk is in wasting your time, squandering your money, or proliferating faulty information via social media. Most fundamentally, though, its in being misinformed. Since the era of yellow journalism, the most prestigious news brands have cherished their reputation for trustworthiness. Magazines, in particular, breed a loyal readership. If that relationship proves to be antiquated online, so too is our understanding of a magazine. *An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified Peretti as a co-founder of Twitter. We regret the error. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Danny Funt, Chava Gourarie, and Jack Murtha are CJR Delacorte Fellows. Traffic officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department saw a surprising number of drivers try to beat moving trains through intersections during a couple of recent law enforcement campaigns. Last week, during Railroad Crossing Enforcement and Education Week, the Federal Railroad Administration chose Council Bluffs, Iowa, for two law enforcement campaigns. The Iowa State Patrol, Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Railroad joined the FRA and Council Bluffs Police Department for the enforcement efforts. Council Bluffs police Sgt. Jason Bailey told the Daily Nonpareil that Council Bluffs was chosen because of its high number 118 of railroad crossings. On Tuesday, June 7, an enforcement project was conducted on the local Union Pacific main line. Bailey said during the three hours of the project, officers witnessed 21 railroad crossing violations and five trespassing violations. On Wednesday, June 8, the project was conducted along the Burlington Northern line, which runs in front of the Manawa Power Center. During the two hours of that project Bailey said there were four crossing violations as well as five other citations, including insurance and speeding. I have to say I was surprised by the number of citations we handed out in a short time, Bailey said. We know it happens, but I didnt think we would hand out 26 violations on the Union Pacific main line. Even with crossing arms and flashing lights, drivers do try and beat trains, not always succeeding. In 2015 in Iowa, there were 44 crossing collisions between a vehicle and a moving train. Nationally, there were 1,874 collisions with 237 fatalities. Also, its not just vehicles that try and beat trains, walkers also race across tracks. In 2015 in the United States, there were 470 fatalities due to trespassing on train tracks. The Council Bluffs Police Department would like to remind all drivers of the dangers of running a railroad crossing when trains are present, Bailey said. These trains are unable to stop quickly and the dangers are increased tremendously when trains are involved. Remember if the lights start flashing, motorists are required to stop prior to the intersection. If crossing arms are present at the intersection, motorists must remain until the arms are up and the lights have stopped flashing, Bailey said. If theyre only flashing red lights at the intersection, motorists are required to stop and may only proceed when it is safe to do so. In Iowa, pedestrians are not allowed at any time to be on the tracks except for crossing at designated intersections. Bailey said if someone is caught walking along the tracks or crossing them at any other location, the walker is subject to arrest or citation for trespassing. While the Council Bluffs Police Department may not work with the Federal agencies on future law enforcement campaigns, Bailey said his traffic department would be on the lookout for drivers and walker who violate rules regarding train tracks. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Visa and MasterCard are using security measures prone to fraud, putting retailers and customers at risk of thieves, The Home Depot Inc. says in a new federal lawsuit. Its the latest giant retailer to raise the security concerns, with a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Last month, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued Visa Inc. over similar issues. Atlanta-based Home Depot says new payment cards with so-called chip technology, rolled out in the U.S. in recent years, remain less secure than cards used in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Even with chips, U.S. cards still rely on customers hand-written signatures for verification, rather than more secure Personal Identification Numbers, or PINs, Home Depot maintains. A Mastercard spokesman said the chips boost security. Regardless of how the cardholders identity is confirmed, the chip makes data much more secure, rendering it almost useless to create fraudulent cards or transactions, MasterCard spokesman Seth Eisen said in a statement Wednesday. MasterCard received the court filing Tuesday and is still reviewing it, Eisen said. We are aware of the complaint and will respond in due course, a Visa spokeswoman said in a statement Wednesday. A central issue in Home Depots lawsuit: Its accusation that Visa and MasterCard are conspiring to prevent adoption of more secure technology in order to maintain market dominance and profits. For years, Visa and MasterCard have been more concerned with protecting their own inflated profits and their dominant market positions than with the security of payment cards used by American consumers and the health of the United States economy, Home Depot states in its 138-page lawsuit. About 80 nations use cards with chips, and most of them including England, France and Australia also require a PIN, Home Depot said. Such cards offer an extra layer of security beyond the chip itself, by requiring the user to enter a four-digit PIN, thereby ensuring that the individual using the card is the cards owner, Home Depot states in its lawsuit. Signatures can be copied or forged, and cashiers are not handwriting experts trained to identify forged signatures. As a result, U.S. consumers and merchants such as Home Depot pay fraud-related costs that are unrivaled in the rest of the industrial world. A chip in combination with a PIN is a form of two-factor authentication, said Craig Piercy, director of the online master of internet technology program at the University of Georgias Terry College of Business. It basically means that you have something with you usually a physical thing and something that you know. Both together are required to authenticate a user. If a card is stolen, even one with a microchip, a thief could still use it by inserting it into the card reader, then scribbling the name on the card on a receipt or pad near a cash register But if the thief doesnt know the PIN, the card would be rejected. Neither one protects against all types of fraud, but in terms of protecting against lost or stolen cards, chip and PIN is more secure, Piercy said. Home Depot was targeted in a wave of data heists that began with Targets pre-Christmas 2013 attack. But Home Depots 2014 data breach at stores in the U.S. and Canada affected 56 million debit and credit cards, far more than the attack on Target customers. Hackers also stole 53 million email addresses from Home Depot customers. In the world of retailing, the size of the theft at Home Depot trails only that of TJX Companies heist of 90 million records disclosed in 2007. Home Depot pushed hard to activate chip-enabled checkout terminals at all of its stores after the 2014 attack. Even with chip technology, the lack of PIN requirements in the U.S. could lead to rising fraud in the future, as more transactions shift to online payments where no physical card is presented, Home Depot said its lawsuit. Last month, Wal-Mart said in a lawsuit that Visa wont allow it to let customers verify chip-enabled debit card transactions with PINs rather than the less-secure signature method. PIN is the only truly secure form of cardholder verification in the marketplace today, and it offers superior security to our customers, a Wal-Mart spokesman told The Associated Press after its lawsuit was filed last month in the New York State Supreme Court. (Associated Press writer Anne DInnocenzio in New York contributed to this report.) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Michalee Christy (left) and theatre professor Marilouise "Mel" Michel watch performances by Christy's Mercer High School students, whom she brought to campus in October for a threatre workshop. Michalee (Lopuh 99) Christy was named VFW Teacher of the Year in Pennsylvania in 2015 and has been nominated for the 2016 award. The contest recognizes exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment to teaching Americanism and patriotism to their students. Each year, a classroom elementary, junior high and high school teacher whose curriculum focuses on citizenship education topics for at least half of the school day in a classroom environment can be nominated for the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. Christy, who is vocal director for Mercer High School, went up against 450 other Pennsylvania educators for the 2015 honor. She was nominated through Mercer VFW Post 6345. We do many different types of patriotic influences in the classroom. Each year is different, Christy said. Each year I have all 252 students learn The Star-Spangled Banner in four-part harmony, then we travel around in groups of four to 20, singing at different events in the community. Several times Christy has organized a patriots concert to honor those who have served or are serving, and many students will take part in the USO Concert honoring veterans on the 4th of July. I simply try to teach that the gift of voice, whether speaking or singing, can be used to honor your country, Christy said. Mrs. Christy is more than a teacher she is a mentor and has made an incredible impact in my life, said Janalyn Miklas, a senior at Mercer High School. "She has impeccable insight and pushes me to my limit in the vocal and theater departments. I cannot thank her enough for all the wonderful things she has done for our school and our community. Another Mercer senior, Ryan Hamilton, describes Christy as one of the most sincerely dedicated teachers he has had. She truly cares for every one of her students. I personally have been involved in the choir program since seventh grade and am now the president of the choir department, and every step of the way she has striven for the best that every student can put forward, Hamilton said. She teaches us not only how to sing and perform, but she also connects music to everyday life. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The owners of Dave's Markets, who operate eight stores in the city of Cleveland, told members of City Council Thursday that a $15-an-hour minimum wage imposed only on Cleveland businesses would cripple their company and might require them to close some stores. Steve Saltzman, vice president of Dave's, said during a Committee of the Whole hearing on the issue that some of the company's Cleveland stores meet the grocery needs of the community but are barely profitable. A voter-driven initiative to set the city's minimum wage 85 percent higher than the state's $8.10-an-hour rate would devastate the company and leave some neighborhoods without a grocery store at all, he said. "This legislation could undo what Dave's has been doing over the last eight decades, which is provide easy access to fresh foods in the community's we serve," Saltzman said. "We take great pride in the fact that we have stayed in these neighborhoods where other retailers would not go or had abandoned. ... But without question, Dave's would not be able to operate as we are today if this type of legislation passes in the city of Cleveland." Saltzman -- along with his brother, Dan, and his father, Burt - testified that they are not making an argument against raising the minimum wage. Rather, they are simply asking for a level playing field that would allow their business to remain competitive in the region. The Service Employees International Union, through a newly formed local group called Raise Up Cleveland, had collected enough signatures of Cleveland voters in support of the $15 minimum wage to compel council to introduce legislation on the issue last month. If council votes down the ordinance or adopts an amended version, the petitioners have the option of putting the original language on the ballot for Cleveland voters. Council President Kevin Kelley opposes the issue, arguing that a minimum wage increase should be handled on the state level to avoid disinvestment in Cleveland. Kelley said he plans on scheduling a hearing on the issue every week until council makes a decision on the legislation. The Saltzmans were invited to testify Thursday along with representatives from other area businesses. Here are some other highlights from the hearing: Average wages at Dave's exceed $12 an hour Steve Salzman said entry-level pay for Dave's workers is "in the $8-something range," but that employees quickly work their way into a respectable living wage with healthcare benefits and a pension. The average full-time hourly rate is $18.27, he said. And the average among full and part-time employees is $12.60 - well above the current state minimum, but still below the proposed $15 an hour. Dave's employee Nate Long, who has worked for the grocer for the past eight years, testified that he loves and appreciates his job and the opportunities the company has given him. Council members took turns thanking the Dave's ownership team for all they have done to prevent "food deserts" in the community, for continuing to invest when other grocers fled and for employing Cleveland residents. But some council members, including Jeffrey Johnson, Zack Reed, Kevin Conwell and Brian Cummins, said that despite their appreciation for the company, they believe the city's minimum wage could be increased incrementally and at a pace that is manageable for local businesses. Survey says ... local businesses overwhelmingly reject proposal John Colm, president and executive director of WIRE-Net, which is an economic development organization representing more than 400 manufacturing firms in greater Cleveland, said his agency surveyed its membership and found overwhelming disapproval of the minimum wage proposal. About 90 percent of the 34 companies that responded to the survey said the new wage requirements would put them at a competitive disadvantage that would be nearly impossible to overcome. The other 10 percent of respondents already pay workers more than $15 an hour and would not be affected. Colm said manufacturers would have to raise pay across the board to preserve the wage differential for workers with greater skills, experience and seniority. Many would turn to automation to curb costs, move their company over the Cleveland border or shut their doors altogether, he said. He added that it's a misconception that companies can simply raise the prices of goods and services to account for higher wages. In today's global economy, customers in Cleveland can easily find more competitive prices with manufacturers around the world, he said. Proposal would limit opportunities for youth looking for their first job Tom Schumann, who runs the cutting tool company E.C. Kitzel & Sons on the city's East Side and serves as the board chairman at Cleveland's Max Hayes Vocational High School, testified that a $15 minimum wage would hurt young people's prospects when looking for their first job. Schumann said that companies that would normally hire employees at entry level pay, invest in their training and promote them through the ranks, would instead look to hire more skilled and experienced workers at $15 an hour. "The industry folks would have a hard time justifying paying someone that hourly rate to be an intern, trainee or summer help," he said. Local businessman says he would have to close his doors Michael D'Amato, president of Universal Heat Treating Inc., on East 93rd Street, said his family-owned business has been in Cleveland since 1965 but likely would have to shut down under the higher minimum wage. D'Amato said his company enjoyed a 2.7 percent profit margin last year - but would suffer a 7.7 percent net loss if forced to increase wages to $15 an hour. Moving costs would be too great, forcing the company to shutter its facility after more than 50 years, he said. Council expresses mixed feelings Council members unanimously support a higher minimum wage statewide. But they disagree on whether Cleveland should lead the charge by increasing the city's wages with the legislation under consideration. Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland said she sympathizes with the plight of the working poor and poverty-stricken residents in her ward, 30 percent of whom live in public housing. But hiking the minimum wage in Cleveland alone would destroy area businesses, she said. "It's really not the solution to the problem at hand," she said. "On one hand, an increase would help some people. But realistically, we're going to hurt the smaller businesses that probably employ most of those people. ... If you're not competitive, you're going to lay off people, cut benefits, cut hours or cut and run." Cleveland's comments elicited boos from the dozens of demonstrators who had filled the committee room. "The true minimum wage is zero," the councilwoman responded. "We're going to hurt the city more than we're helping people with a Cleveland-only initiative." Councilman Jeffrey Johnson, who recently proposed an alternative plan to phase in a $15 minimum wage, argued that the city must act now instead of waiting for the state or federal government to heed the call to action. "The core issue is adults who are raising children and continue to be suppressed in poverty while we wait for the feds and state," he said. "... The impact of poverty in many of our neighborhoods is seen every day. These are Clevelanders fighting for their future, and I stand with them." Where did those demonstrators come from? The standing-room only hearing was packed with supporters of the Raise Up Cleveland movement, all wearing T-shirts promoting their cause. But just before noon - an hour before the hearing officially concluded - the entire group stood and left the committee room. Councilman Matt Zone then said he had been talking to one of the demonstrators who told him that most of the people in the group had traveled by bus from Columbus on the urging of the SEIU. The demonstrator who spoke to Zone said he was from West Virginia. Anthony Caldwell, director of public affairs for SEIU District 1199, said in an email that Zone was "misinformed." "No, we didn't bus anyone in," he wrote. "We don't pay anyone to protest or demonstrate. We used a bus to transport our members and supporters of Raise Up Cleveland." In a subsequent email, Caldwell said the people who attended the hearing were from Cleveland, though some staffers "volunteered to transport people between our office and city hall." guns1.jpg The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the majority of firearms seized in Ohio in 2015 were firearms. Of the more than 10,000 seized and traced, 1,420 were recovered from Cleveland (File photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Law enforcement from around Ohio seized more than 10,000 firearms last year during criminal investigations, the majority of them pistols, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Of the 10,009 recovered and traced in Ohio, 1,420 were seized in Cleveland, 785 were taken from Akron, and 93 came from East Cleveland. Columbus, the state's capitol and largest city, had 2,286 firearms recovered and traced, while Cincinnati had 1,340. The overwhelming majority of the recovered weapons, 6,359, were pistols. Revolvers accounted for 1,707 of the traced weapons, along with 1,015 rifles and 672 shotguns In addition, more than 4,700 of the weapons were used in a crime more than three years after their original purchase. The average time between original purchase and a crime being committed in 2015 is 9.62 years. The data was compiled by firearms seized by law enforcement and then traced back to the place or person from which it was originally purchased. Not all of the firearms seized were found to have been used in a crime, and not all cities trace every gun they seize, ATF spokeswoman Suzanne Dabkowski said. (You can read the full report here or at the bottom of this story.) Nationally, law enforcement seized and traced 190,538 firearms in 2015, more than 20,000 more than 2014. As with Ohio, the overwhelming majority of them, more than 150,000, were pistols. For Ohio, the report also found that: * Forty-two machine guns were seized, as well as 36 destructive devices. * Many of the seized-and-traced weapons were taken as part of an investigation into whether somebody owned a weapon illegally. They were also taken in the investigation of 309 homicides and 1,214 drug offenses. * The majority of the weapons seized and traced in Ohio, 6,174, originated from Ohio. However, the weapons originated all across the country. * The weapons were taken and traced from among several age ranges. Of the ranges, the most came from those ages 31-40, followed closely by those ages 25-30. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section. 17DARCY-WESTLAKE.jpg Westlake teachers vote to strike despite being the sixth highest paid teachers in the state and taxpayers voting down three levies since 2013. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Westlake teachers union has voted to authorize a strike, despite its members being the sixth highest paid teachers in the state. The teachers have essentially voted to try to squeeze blood out of the Westlake taxpayer turnip. Since 2013, Westlake voters have voted down three school levies, sending what would appear to have been a clear message to the school district. A message that's been heeded by the board of education, but not the teachers union. In addition to the defeated school levies, the city has lost $15 million in state funding. Despite those financial hits, Westlake teachers are still the sixth highest paid in the state. The average salary for teachers in the district is $74,000. The salary figure is an average, so there are some teachers making considerably less and teachers making over $90,000 and $100,000, but all with summers off and a good benefit package. State rules dictate the strike as starting August 18, the first day of the next school year. After June 24, members of the teachers union will not participate in any summer programs in the district. Doing so would be tacit acceptance of the board's final contract offer, according to the union. Monday, the board of education voted to implement its final and best offer to the union. In a statement the board said, "After more than a year of negotiations with multiple proposals and options going back and forth, it is obvious that we have come to an ultimate impasse." Board president Carol Winter said the union had "failed to present us with any viable proposal given our financial situation." The board has a fiscal responsibility to the Westlake taxpayers to operate within its means while providing a sound education to students. Given that responsibility, it acted properly in implementing its last and final offer to the teachers union after a year of negotiations. If the picket signs in August are followed by Help Wanted signs going up, I doubt there would be a shortage of qualified applicants for job openings in the sixth highest paid school district in the state. It's disappointing Westlake residents were not spared a strike authorization. It would be nice if they were at least spared being told by the union they're acting in the best interests of the students, since they are not. Every college has its most popular bar. Sometimes it's because the beer selection is good; other times it's because of concerts, trivia or karaoke nights. These college-famous bars are treasured by their students and sometimes their surrounding communities, even though the bars themselves might not be the prettiest from the outside. For the ultimate Ohio campus bar hopping adventure, here are 37 favorite campus bars, chosen from 22 different Ohio colleges and universities. (Photo by Jenn Manna photography) 37 of Ohio's favorite campus bars By Anne Nickoloff cleveland.com June 14, 2016 The best Ohio campus bars span from dive bars to upscale clubs. Check out these 37 campus favorites, from 22 different colleges and universities in Ohio. Don't Edit University Of Akron: Thursday's Lounge Thursday's Lounge offers plenty of deals throughout the week, and especially so on Thursday, which is college night. This bar embraces its popularity with the campus crowd, and brings in tons of EDM musicians and DJs for entertainment every night. (303 E. Exchange St., Akron OH, 44304) Don't Edit Ashland University: Riley's Night Club, O'Bryan's Pub Riley's Night Club is known for more wild nights out; the bar has cheap drink specials for ladies' nights, holidays and various days of the week. The club celebrates its loyal student following with specials that coincide with campus events. (155 W. Main Street, Ashland OH, 44805) On the quieter end of Ashland's bar scene is O'Bryan's Pub, which offers Irish-American food and Great Lakes beer on tap. The pub plays sports games on TV and most guests say it's a more relaxed place near campus for hanging out. (1065 Claremont Ave, Ashland OH, 44805) Don't Edit Baldwin Wallace University: Mike's Bar And Grille Mike's usually offers around eight beers on tap, along with plenty of bottled beer to choose from. The bar and restaurant are geared towards Berea locals, but it's not uncommon for the building to be overrun with BW students after classes let out. (130 Front St, Berea OH, 44017) (Photo courtesy Linda Kinsey) Don't Edit Bowling Green State University: City Tap, Campus Quarters At Bowling Green, Campus Quarters has become known for its cheap beer and mixed drinks. Quarters offers a few group games with a weekly trivia night and pool tables. (107 State St., Bowling Green OH, 43402) City Tap has options for college students that are above and below drinking age. On the second floor of City Tap is The Attic, where anyone over 18 can go to dance. Downstairs at City Tap, older college students can drink at the bar. (110 N. Main St., Bowling Green OH, 43402) Don't Edit Don't Edit Case Western Reserve University: The Jolly Scholar, Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern The Jolly Scholar resides in a building which also hosts classes during the day. At night, students arrive in hordes for karaoke and trivia. It's the only bar that's technically on Case Western's campus. (11111 Euclid Ave., Cleveland OH, 44106) Just down the street, Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern combines over one hundred hot dog topping choices with a selection of local beers, too. On the weekends, Happy Dog has cheap concerts, usually only charging $5 entry. (11625 Euclid Ave., Cleveland OH, 44106) Don't Edit University of Cincinnati: Uncle Woody's, Murphy's Pub, Ladder 19 Uncle Woody's isn't known for being a clean place, but it is known for cheap drink prices and its popularity with nearby college students. The dive bar is particularly popular with Greek and law students. (339 Calhoun St., Cincinnati OH, 45219) Competing with the cheap prices at Woody's is Murphy's Pub, which also offers game nights. Though Murphy's attracts many college students, it also welcomes community members into the small bar room. (2329 W. Clifton Ave., Cincinnati OH, 45219) Ladder 19 is a little pricey, but it still offers some specials on drinks. The bar and grill is sought after for its large and bottomless drink offers more than their range of breakfast and brunch foods. (2701 Vine St., Cincinnati OH, 45219) Don't Edit Cleveland State University: Burgers 2 Beer, Becky's Burgers 2 Beer attracts CSU students involved in Greek life. The bar hosts fraternity and sorority parties, with donations going towards Greek philanthropy. As the name implies, Burgers 2 Beer offers a large selection of food and beer, and it's directly across the street from CSU's academic buildings. (1938 Euclid Ave. #100, Cleveland OH, 44115) Unlike some of the other options in CSU's downtown Cleveland location, Becky's has cheap drink specials. The dive bar hosts live music, often bringing in musicians that performed downtown earlier that day. (1762 E. 18th St., Cleveland OH, 44114) Don't Edit University Of Dayton: Timothy's and Milanos Two night spots -- Timothy's Pub and Grille and Milano's -- dominate the bar action on Brown Street at the University Of Dayton. Tim's is late-night a campus favorite, where the dance-and-drinking action really gets started after 10 p.m. (1818 Brown St., Dayton OH, 45409) Milano's is a popular Italian restaurant specializing in pizza and subs. But its bar action is legendary, too. (1834 Brown St, Dayton, OH 45409) Don't Edit Denison University: Taco Dan's, Broadway Pub Mixing tacos with alcohol can lead to a strong fan base in the college student demographic. Taco Dan's has done just that, and is a popular destination for students because of its drinks and food. (121 S. Prospect St., Granville OH, 43023) Broadway Pub offers a more traditional blend of bar food with hamburgers and wings. It also has a constantly changing selection of tap beers that shifts every week. (126 E. Broadway, Granville OH, 43023) Don't Edit Don't Edit John Carroll University: O'Reilly's O'Reilly's is a popular bar for John Carroll University students after mass; it's a five minute walk away from Saint Francis Chapel on JCU's campus. (13914 Cedar Road, Cleveland OH, 44118) (Photo by Phaedra Singelis, PD) Don't Edit Kent State University: Zephyr, Rathskeller, 157 Lounge Bars and pubs abound at Kent State and student favorites range from dive bars to upscale clubs. Zephyr leans towards the dive bar type of establishment, but it's one of the most crowded places when it comes to student visitors. (106 W. Main St., Kent OH, 44240) KSU students don't even have to leave campus to visit Rathskeller. The bar is slightly more expensive, but draws large crowds for karaoke nights and sports games. (1075 Risman Dr., Kent OH, 44242) 157 Lounge is a little more upscale, and offers a more unique bar menu than the typical burgers and French fries--instead, 157 sports a menu filled with sushi and seafood. When it comes to drinks, the place has over 20 different flavors of martinis alone. (157 S. Water St., Kent OH, 44240) Don't Edit Kenyon College: The Village Inn For Kenyon College students, there aren't too many options for drinking or going out in the small town of Gambier, Ohio. Out of everything around, the Village Inn is a popular choice. Students hang out in the booths of the small restaurant and bar and choose from a variety of beers and burgers. (102 Gaskin Ave., Gambier OH, 43022) Don't Edit Miami University: O Pub The dim lighting and relaxing music in Oxford's O Pub gives it a cozier feel than most college bars. This speakeasy style bar has a large selection of drinks, beers and shots and its ambiance attracts college students to relax with friends rather than party too crazily. It's located in the uptown Oxford neighborhood, along with other bars and restaurants. (10 W. Park Place, Oxford OH, 45056) (Photo by Oxford Visitor's Bureau) Don't Edit University Of Mount Union: Chives Chives has food and drink specials for every day of the week, and 50 different types of beer to choose from. Chives is a dive bar that is beloved by students for its cheap prices and short walking distance from Mount Union's campus. (2355 S. Union Ave., Alliance OH, 44601) Don't Edit Don't Edit Oberlin College: The Feve By day, the Feve is a quirky hamburger shop, but in the evening it transforms itself into the most popular bar at Oberlin College. Plus, on the weekends the restaurant breaks out an award-winning brunch menu which features mimosas and Bloody Maries. (30 S. Main St., Oberlin OH, 44074) (Photo by Flickr user Edsel Little) Don't Edit The Ohio State University: Out-R-Inn, Chumley's, The O Patio And Pub, 4th Street Bar With an enrollment of over 40,000 undergraduate students every year, Ohio State University has its fair share of bars. The Out-R-Inn has been around for years; the bar has established itself as a classic, and it remains popular today. Named for its variety of smaller rooms inside the building, it's a crowded place to be during sports games. Plus, with $1 mug refills and cheap well drinks every night, it's generally a hit with students trying to go out on a budget. (20 Frambes Ave., Columbus OH, 43201) Chumley's is a relatively new addition to Ohio State's bar scene. It opened its doors in 2012, and since then has embraced OSU's love of sports. The bar has tons of TVs playing games and offers drink specials for each significant sport event. (1918 N. High St., Columbus OH, 43201) With both an indoor and an outdoor portion, The O Patio and Pub is a popular option for students during warmer months. The O offers unique events like egg hunts and beer pong tournaments, open to all visitors. (12 E. 15th Ave., Columbus OH, 43201) 4th Street Bar is known for being a little less traditional than other college bars, and having a hip atmosphere. That might be because of the bar's massive list of craft beers on tap; it's one of the largest selections in the OSU area. (1810 N. 4th St., Columbus OH, 43202) Don't Edit Ohio University: The Smiling Skull, Jackie O's, Lucky's Sports Tavern When it comes to top partying schools, Ohio University usually appears somewhere high on the list. It's no shock that the university has a few campus bars that students love. The Smiling Skull Saloon is beloved among students for its small-town feel. The bar brings in local bands for performances, and has a selection of both craft and commercial beers for the college crowd. The place isn't the prettiest, but it's affordable. (108 W. Union St., Athens OH, 45701) Jackie O's, a pub and brewery, is known for having the best beer near campus. With a selection that changes based off of what's brewing, students can try something new each weekend. (24 W. Union St., Athens OH, 45701) Lucky's Sports Tavern offers liquor pitcher nights and $1 Jell-O shots. The bar is most popular with undergraduate students at OU, but they also attract billiards enthusiasts with their well-kept pool tables. (11 N. Court St., Athens OH, 45701) Don't Edit Ohio Wesleyan: Clancey's Clancey's is a popular option for students at Ohio Wesleyan because they allow in undergraduates who are both above and below 21 (but if you're under 21, there's a $5 charge). Clancey's is a popular place for students to dance. In the show How I Met Your Mother, character Ted Mosby attended Ohio Wesleyan, and probably would have gone to Clancey's to party. (40 S. Sandusky St., Delaware OH, 43015) (Photo via CBS) Don't Edit University Of Toledo: Jed's, Chaser's Jed's offers a traditional sports bar environment, with beer, wings and fries to order. It's a popular place for students after a game, or as a place to watch Toledo play against other Division I schools. (3534 Dorr St., Toledo OH, 43607) Chaser's is a completely different environment; the nightclub is a common place for students to dance to different DJs each night, amidst flashing lights and TVs. (3529 Dorr St., Toledo OH, 43607) Don't Edit Don't Edit College Of Wooster: JAFB The College Of Wooster is so small that most students have to go downtown to get to a good drink. The JAFB brewery is popular with both Wooster students and the local community for its locally made brews. (120 Beall Ave., Wooster OH, 44691) Don't Edit Xavier University: Dana Gardens Dana Gardens, more commonly known as just Dana's, is managed by Xavier grads and known as a Xavier bar. The dive bar is decked out with Xavier memorabilia, and also plenty of handmade signs to tease the university's rival, University of Cincinnati. Students go to Dana's for some of their drink specials. This includes the shot wheel, where bar goers must spin the wheel and drink whichever shot it lands on. (1832 Dana Ave., Cincinnati OH, 45207) (Photo by AP) Don't Edit Youngstown State University: Rust Belt Brewing Company YSU students tend to go to fraternity parties or walk downtown to find a drink. Rust Belt Brewing Company serves up craft beers and hosts concerts; it's known as one of the best downtown Youngstown bars. (112 W. Commerce St., Youngstown OH, 44502) Virtual schoolhouse.JPG The Virtual Schoolhouse charter school in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland ost support of its sponsor and can't find another, so it will likely close at the end of this month. (Patrick O'Donnell/The Plain Dealer) CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio's new charter school reform laws seem to be having at least one desired effect - blocking poor-performing schools from finding new backers to keep them afloat. The Ohio Department of Education reports that 11 charter schools lost the support this year of their sponsors, the organizations that authorize the schools and oversee them. That puts them in danger of closing this summer if they cannot find a new sponsor. Though the schools have been searching since mid-January, none of them has had any luck. Schools could still find a backer by June 30, but that's unlikely at this point and the schools will probably close. Six of those schools even asked the Ohio Department of Education this spring to back them, but the state said no to all six. Among them were the Cleveland-based Virtual Schoolhouse and OAK Leadership Institute. OAK leaders made a desperate pitch to the state school board this week to stay open. Here's why they are out of luck: The House Bill 2 charter reform law blocks schools dropped by a sponsor because of poor academic performance from signing on with another. That part of the bill is aimed directly at stopping "sponsor hopping" - schools bouncing from overseer to overseer as soon as one starts holding them to standards. This is also the first year that the Department of Education can reject applications from schools with poor academic records. In the past, the department had to sponsor any school that applied, without making any judgment about the ability of a school to educate children. "It's working as we intended for it to," State Sen. Peggy Lehner said of House Bill 2, which she co-sponsored. State school board President Tom Gunlock said this week that he agrees that the law appears to be working. Though he supports charter schools, Gunlock said the law requires them to perform or else they lose the ability to stay open. "That's what happened," he said, specifically referring to the OAK case. "House Bill 2 was a really good thing." Steve Dyer, a former state legislator and regular charter school critic, also said that what happened with OAK - losing backing because of its poor state report cards and then not finding a new backer - to be what House Bill 2 aimed at. "I don't think you could have had a better example of what House Bill 2 was supposed to do," Dyer told the board. In addition to the 11 that lost sponsor support, another eight schools agreed to close voluntarily. It is unclear how many were in danger of losing their sponsor and just closed pre-emptively. Two of those eight, the Imagine Cleveland school and Imagine on Superior, a Canton school, had been closed for 2015-16 and had stayed in limbo in case they could reorganize. They are now officially closed. Look below for a list of all the schools expected to close. The number of schools closing is not any increase over previous years. The 19 is fewer than the 30 closing in 2015 and the 27 closing in 2014. The lack of second chances for struggling schools is what separates this year from others. In 2013, for example, the Ohio Department of Education accepted one of the two applications for existing schools to switch to the department and five out of eight requests in 2014. This year, it accepted none. Angela Thi Bennett, superintendent of the OAK charter school in the Hough neighborhood, said she had hoped to find another sponsor when the school's longtime sponsor, the Richland Academy of the Arts, dropped the school in January. "The climate of sponsorship now is making it a challenge," Bennett told the board. That's because the state is starting to evaluate and rate charter sponsors for the first time and subject them to penalties, including shutting them down, if they rate poorly. With the academic performance of schools making up a third of those ratings, schools with poor test scores are on the chopping block. "It's really important that schools get really busy about improving their scores, or we're going to see more of this happen," Lehner said. Richland dropped seven of the 10 schools it oversees this year, all for poor academic performance, though Executive Director Marianne Cooper said sponsor evaluations were not the reason. "While certainly that is an impetus, all of the schools were at the end of their contract," Cooper said. "With declining scores, it was the right thing to do." The new state laws did not lead the sponsor of the Virtual Schoolhouse, the Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West, to drop that school, said Apryl Morin, that center's charter school director. But the laws probably hurt the school's chance of finding another backer, she said. The school applied to the state, to the Cleveland school district and a few other sponsors, Morin said, but was rejected by all. Morin said the school, jn the Glenville neighborhood, that combines classroom and online work has had poor report card results for a few years and did not improve even after she put it on probation last year. Calls to the school late Thursday were not answered. "They had not made gains in four or five years," Morin said. "They had consistently been going down and down and down." Here are the charter schools expected to close this summer, according to the Ohio Department of Education. Note that Lakewood Digital Academy is located in Hebron, Ohio, not the Lakewood in Cuyahoga County. Marines Killed Two Marines at Camp Pendleton in California are being investigated because of a post on Facebook with a threatening message toward gays. (Lenny Ignelzi, Associated Press file photo) SAN DIEGO, California -- A photo posted on Facebook showing an active-duty Marine holding a rifle with a threatening message toward gays has resulted in trouble for two service members. The Marine Corps Times reports the I Marine Expeditionary Force is investigating two Marines at Camp Pendleton in connection with the photo, which was posted on the Camp MENdleton resale Facebook page. The post has since been deleted and the person who posted it has been banned from the closed group, NBC News reports. West Coast Marines under investigation for alleged threat to gay bars https://t.co/96V8fes8ZA pic.twitter.com/oETfGyHM8G Marine Corps Times (@Marinetimes) June 17, 2016 The photo shows a corporal holding a military rifle pointed toward the camera with the words "Coming to a gay bar near you." Also written underneath the photo was "Too soon?" in a reference to the attack at the bar in Orlando that killed 49 people dead and 53 wounded. Maj. Staci Reidinger tells CBS News that other Marines reported the photo to authorities. The Marine in the photograph and another one who reposted it were then tracked down. The two Marines are from from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in California. I MEF spokesperson First Lt. Thomas Gray tells the Marine Corps Times the incident is being taken "very seriously." "The Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion," a statement says. "...This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis." President Barack Obama had finally had enough. He could no longer remain silent. A couple of days after a soldier of radical Islam perpetrated one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, a president saddened by the loss of life -- but mostly angered at being called out for refusing to speak the words "radical Islam" -- finally unburdened himself. It was the argument of a man who truly believes that words create reality. "That's the key, they tell us: We can't beat ISIL unless we call them 'radical Islamists,'" the president complained at a news conference after Tuesday's meeting of the National Security Council. "Not once has an adviser of mine said, 'Man, if we really use that phrase, we're going to turn this whole thing around.' Not once," he continued. And, "So there's no magic to the phrase 'radical Islam.' It's a political talking point; it's not a strategy. And the reason I am careful about how I describe this threat has nothing to do with political correctness and everything to do with actually defeating extremism." So there. He knows the magic phrases. His critics do not. In reality, though, the people he describes as being "on the other side of the aisle" realize that words won't defeat Islamic terrorism or, more to Obama's way of thinking, make it cease to be. They understand that identifying this nation's primary enemy as radical Islam is the first step toward fighting it effectively, not the last. And they realize that a president who will not take that first step cannot devise a focused, coherent policy to engage radical Islam here and abroad -- a fact the Obama administration has repeatedly proved. Obama's say-no-evil approach to radical Islam has certainly blunted his administration's anti-terrorism efforts here at home. An administration that was serious about battling radical Islam would be furiously surveilling, profiling, infiltrating and analyzing metadata. But this administration is even less serious than the previous one. Both have been far too concerned about the good opinion of Islamic organizations, legitimate and otherwise. That kind of public relations gets innocent people killed. "If you see something, say something," Americans are told. But the subtext is abundantly clear: If you're mistaken, you'll pay the price in bigotry accusations or worse. Now apply that subtext to someone whose government paycheck depends on keeping track of terrorist threats in a word-conscious administration that has purged "jihad" from the bureaucratic vocabulary. The result is that a lone wolf like the Orlando terrorist can howl loud, long and often, get himself reported to the authorities, become the subject of 10 months of FBI attention and still shoot up a soft target. In the aftermath, CIA Director James Brennan tells us the Islamic State has "a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West." People just like Orlando's Omar Mateen. "We've gone through moments in our history before when we acted out of fear -- and we came to regret it," Obama said during Tuesday's finger-wagging session. Yes, but what's frustrating is that the man who won't say "radical Islam" unless he's explaining why he won't say "radical Islam" apparently can't see himself in that statement. There's plenty of fear going around, and it starts in the White House. Since the day he took office, Obama has been acting out of fear of radical Islam. It's hardly an irrational fear. In fact, any sane person shares it, whether Christian, Jew or Muslim. The question is how best to act on it. Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Senate Democrats who filibustered this week would tinker with gun laws, thus affecting only those Americans who choose to obey laws. Obama proposes reinstating an "assault weapons" ban to "make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war." Sure. Because if we could just get rid of scary-looking guns that perform in exactly the same way as less-scary-looking guns, we'll be safe. And because people willing to commit mass murder to convert the entire world to their religion won't attempt things that are hard. Before Americans can defeat radical Islam, we're going to have to defeat our illusions, starting at the top. O'Brien is The Plain Dealer's deputy editorial page editor. vote.jpg Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed a controversial bill that Democrats and other critics said would have imposed a poll tax on voters seeking additional voting hours in county courts. (John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer/file photo) COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich on Friday vetoed a bill that critics said would have imposed a poll tax on voters seeking to keep polling places open due to emergencies. The bill would have required voters seeking an extension for voting hours in county courts to post bond equal to the estimated cost of keeping polling places open, which could total tens of thousands of dollars. If the court decided against keeping the polls open, the voter would lose the bond. GOP lawmakers said the requirement and others in the bill were needed after cases in which Southwest Ohio judges kept the polls open, in their opinion, unnecessarily. Kasich, in his veto message, agreed there is a need to create a uniform process for county common pleas judges considering such requests. But he said the provision that eliminated a judge's discretion to waive the bond went too far. "I look forward to working with the General Assembly in the future to see this process become law," Kasich said. Kasich rarely wields his veto pen as fellow Republicans control both the Ohio House and Senate. The bill was only the second vetoed by Kasich since he took office in 2011. That year, he vetoed Republican lawmakers' first attempt to regulate water withdrawal from Lake Erie under the Great Lakes Compact. Secretary of State Jon Husted supported legislation to set rules for common pleas courts reviewing requests to extend voting hours but said before the bill passed that he didn't support the bond requirement. In a statement Friday, Husted said he respected Kasich's veto decision and will work with him and the legislature to address last minute changes to voting rules by state judges. "In both of the past two major election cycles, Ohioans have had to deal with last minute changes to the state's election laws after judges have modified the rules, citing only politics, tweets and traffic jams as justification," Husted said. "These decisions came with little to no time for election officials to react, which adds the threat of chaos to otherwise well-run and smooth elections." Why was the bill passed? GOP lawmakers supporting the bill focused on two recent cases where polls were kept open: In November 2015, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge kept the polls open an additional 90 minutes after Issue 3 backers complained voting problems experienced earlier in the day kept voters from casting ballots. The judge's order was issued about 30 minutes before the polls closed statewide. The decision delayed reporting of statewide election results. In the March primary election a Cincinnati federal court judge ordered Hamilton County polling places to remain open for an additional hour because a car crash had closed the Combs-Hehl Bridge for several hours during the day. Husted's office wasn't notified of the order until after 7:30 p.m., when the polls closed. Husted said last month there was no official complaint filed. Senate Bill 296 set conditions that must be met to extend voting hours,such as requiring evidence to support the claim beyond media reports. It would not have affected the March order, only decisions made by state-appointed judges. Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican who sponsored the bill, said Friday that Kasich's reasoning behind the veto was incorrect. Seitz said judges already ignore a rule requiring judges to set a bond amount, and his bill would explicitly allow them to waive bond for people who could not afford it. "In vetoing Senate Bill 296, the governor has subordinated the interests of Ohio taxpayers and poll workers to the interests of those who want to game Election Day voting hours for political purposes," Seitz said in a news release. What did critics say? Democrats and voting rights advocates said the bond amounted to a poll tax that voters -- especially minority, poor and elderly voters -- would not be able to afford. Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat, said Kasich made the right call vetoing the bill, which she said was an attack on voters and their access to the voting booth and the courts. "Emergencies happen and our officials need the ability to respond to ensure access to the polls," Clyde said in a statement. Sen. Mike Skindell, a Lakewood Democrat, said Kasich's veto leaves the door open to future legislation targeting court access. "We are grateful for today's veto, but we need to remain vigilant to ensure that other troubling portions of this bill do not resurface in future legislation," Skindell said in a statement. Donald Trump Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Gilley's in Dallas, Thursday, June 16, 2016. (LM Otero, The Associated Press) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis will be among the social conservative leaders huddling next week with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the anti-abortion group announced Friday. "After seven long years of pro-abortion policies and hundreds of millions of our tax dollars poured into Planned Parenthood's coffers, it is critical for Mr. Trump to understand the positive impact a pro-life president can make to save lives," Gonidakis said. "Ohio is the key battleground state and engaging our state's social conservatives must be priority number one for Trump to win Ohio." Trump's position on abortion has been inconsistent and at times confusing. Years ago he was "very pro-choice." As a presidential candidate, he has embraced anti-abortion views, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at stake. Trump caused a stir earlier this year when he said women who have illegal abortions should be punished -- and then quickly backtracked. Time reported last month that Trump planned to convene a meeting with evangelical and other Christian conservative leaders in the coming weeks -- a move aimed at assuaging concerns they might have with his positions on key social issues. The summit is set for Tuesday. "As we consider the candidacy of radical pro-abortion nominee Hillary Clinton, the pro-life community is looking for assurance that they have a pro-life alternative," said Gonidakis, an ally of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who was the last Republican standing against Trump in this year's presidential primaries. "Human lives hang in the balance. Ohio Right to Life is committed to getting Election 2016 right, and we believe this meeting will go a long way in ensuring that we do." Republican National Convention Spring Walk-Through Fundraising challenges continue for the upcoming Republican National Convention. (Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland.com) Storm clouds are circling over the fundraising for the Republican National Convention. And the ritual Tim Ryan speculation begins a little early. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup, brought to you by today's guest tipster, Andrew J. Tobias. Big corporate donors out for RNC: "A growing number of prominent U.S. corporations are opting to drop or scale back their sponsorship of the Republican national convention next month in Cleveland, as the nomination of Donald Trump promises a level of controversy rarely seen in such gatherings," Bloomberg's Zachary Mider and Elizabeth Dexheimer reported on Thursday. Among those staying out: "Wells Fargo & Co., United Parcel Service Inc., Motorola Solutions Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ford Motor Co., and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.," Mider and Dexheimer wrote. "All of those companies sponsored the previous Republican conclave, in Tampa, Florida, in 2012." None would say Trump played a role, and all said they also would not give to the Democratic convention. Fundraising update: Emily Lauer, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, told the Bloomberg reporters her nonpartisan group had raised about $57.5 million of the group's $64 million goal for the GOP convention. (For comparison's sake, the host committee reported having raised $55.5 million in early April, weeks before Trump had emerged as the GOP's presumptive nominee.) "The sky is not falling," Lauer said. Always a bridesmaid: Tim Ryan, the Youngstown-area Democratic congressman, is among those being considered as vice-president for Hillary Clinton, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. "Ryan's name often is linked to higher office," cleveland.com's Henry J. Gomez pointed out. "He has been seen as a future governor or senator for years. But this VP speculation is a first for the seven-term congressman." In a statement to Gomez, Ryan said: "Regardless of who is chosen as vice president, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States." Democrats take a stand: Sherrod Brown was among the Democrats in the U.S. Senate who took part in a "filibuster" this week to get Republicans to consider new gun laws. Cleveland.com's Steve Koff breaks it down: "Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy started it. Then the majority of Senate Democrats, including Ohio's Sherrod Brown, took turns Wednesday and early Thursday, joining the 'filibuster' to make their point clear: They want anyone who might be linked to terrorism to be denied the right to buy a gun." Why the quotes around 'filibuster'?: "Technically, a filibuster is a procedure used to talk, and talk, and talk some more on the Senate floor and delay consideration of a bill... There was no specific gun bill up for a vote Wednesday," Koff explained. Relax ladies: Just because the Senate passed a bill that would require women to register for the draft doesn't mean it will happen yet, cleveland.com's Sabrina Eaton wrote Thursday. Eaton explains why, but here it is in a nutshell: "After all, this is Washington, where constant bickering keeps much from getting done." We have less time to get ready for Hillary: Hillary Clinton moved up an appearance in Columbus next week from June 22 to June 21, cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer reported. A Clinton spokeswoman said she wasn't immediately aware of the reason for the rescheduling. It was hard to pick just ten: But cleveland.com's Robin Goist did it while compiling ten surprises from the 2016 election. "After all," Goist wrote, "who would have thought that the final two Republican contenders in the 2016 race would be a former reality show host and a governor who only won one state?" Voinovich remembered: "Former U.S. Sen. and Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich was remembered today as a throwback to when such phrases as 'public servant,' 'principled' and 'father figure' still meant something," the Columbus Dispatch's Darrell Rowland wrote in his report from Voinovich's Cleveland funeral. From mayor to mayor: "He was a servant. He served us all," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said at the event, according to Rowland. Voinovich, 79, died in his sleep last weekend. Convention CEO blasts Loomis: Jeff Larson, the top official for the 2016 Republican National Convention on Thursday said Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis is "inciting fear" and unfairly harming the city's image by repeatedly saying Cleveland is not ready to host the event, I reported on Thursday. Welcome to Cleveland: Larson, who has spent more than a year in the city, wouldn't be getting a true Cleveland experience if the outspoken Loomis didn't get under his skin at least once. New Republic writer calls for march on RNC: "Cleveland, the convention, is where we must begin to make our stand against Trump and the malignancy he represents," writes Michael Eric Dyson, a contributing editor to The New Republic. He later continues: "I know that these words can be read as a call to violence unseen at a national political convention since Chicago in 1968. So be it." Old pro: The Republican National Convention won't be the first high-wire act overseen by the man responsible for the look and feel of the event, I wrote on Thursday. Phil Alongi, the executive producer of the GOP convention in Cleveland, held a similar title for a 2013 Discovery Channel TV special in which daredevil Nick Wallenda crossed the Grand Canyon while precariously balancing on a 1,400-foot-long, two-inch-thick tightrope without a protective net below to catch him. Alongi's experience will serve him well as he oversees a quick conversion of Quicken Loans Arena to get it ready for the July 18 convention. By the numbers: Cleveland.com's Mary Kilpatrick dug into some of the particulars of The Q conversion. Our favorite: 100,000 balloons. Because who doesn't love balloons? From QVC to RNC: Erin Elmore, a former "Apprentice "contestant, is spending her summer in Cleveland to help with the Republican National Convention, philly.com reported Thursday. Her role? Serving as "the liaison between the convention and [former host of "The Apprentice"] Donald Trump." Get Battleground Briefing, our FREE politics newsletter, delivered to your inbox: Sign up here. Tips or links? Send here. Follow along on Twitter: @HenryJGomez. An earlier version of this post incorrectly described Clinton postponing a fundraiser. The event that was postponed was to have taken place June 15, not June 22. Prominent party figures mostly unhappy about Trump Ohio Sen. George Voinovich retired in 2010. The Cleveland politician has taken rebellious stands during his career, which has spanned more than 46 years. (Lisa DeJong/Plain Dealer) Carole F. Hoover is president and CEO of HooverMilstein I will always remember George Voinovich as a champion of social justice. He was forever bringing people together -- across racial, religious and political lines, across labor and management, across urban and suburban. George Voinovich believed in collaboration. And he acted on that belief. He made things happen. When he was a candidate for mayor in 1979, we discussed whether Cleveland should have an urban coalition that would focus on what united rather than divided us. He embraced the idea and said he would make it a priority if he became mayor, and he did. He traveled with a small group of civic leaders to Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta to learn what those cities were doing to improve multicultural relations, and then went on to help establish the Greater Cleveland Roundtable in 1981. Comprised of the senior-most leaders from business, labor, education, government, and religious organizations, the powerful group worked together to improve racial and cultural relations and foster minority economic inclusion across Northeast Ohio. Mayor Voinovich also worked tirelessly with then-Cleveland City Council President George Forbes to improve race relations, presiding over one of the most peaceful periods in the city's history. Later, I was a member of the executive committee of The King Center, working closely with Coretta Scott King to build momentum for the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. Mrs. King and I sat down with Mayor Voinovich, who at that time was a member of the National League of Cities, to discuss our desire to make the holiday not just a day off for federal employees, but also an observance of the practices and principles of Dr. King. He agreed wholeheartedly and, once he became president of NLC, he used his position to personally influence other mayors across the country to make the holiday a day of service. When the first ecumenical service was held to observe the King holiday in Atlanta in 1986, Mrs. King invited the Voinoviches to attend as our guests, where she publicly expressed her appreciation for George Voinovich's leadership. He saw it as a great honor. Voinovich said he did things because they were the right things to do, often tying his commitment to social justice and human rights to his deep religious beliefs. My last conversation with him took place by phone about two months ago. He was still working on bringing people together, wondering aloud whether an urban coalition might again be needed. Now more than ever, we need leaders like George Voinovich -- leaders who believe that when people respectfully share their diverse perspectives and opinions, and work together toward a common good, we all benefit. The whole is greater than the sum of our parts, no matter which side of a particular divide we may be on. It breaks my heart that George Voinovich is no longer with us, but we can honor his legacy by embracing the principles he cherished: fairness, justice and, above all, collaboration. Carole F. Hoover, former head of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, is president and CEO of HooverMilstein, a partnership with philanthropist and businessman Howard Milstein of New York. voinomexico.JPG In this April 1994 file photo, then-Ohio Gov. George Voinovich checks out Ohio-made auto parts in a Chrysler assembly plant in Mexico as he and his wife Janet tour the plant in Toluca, state of Mexico. Thomas Suddes writes that among Voinovich's gifts as governor was a talent for picking top-rate staff. (Marco Ugarte, Associated Press, Special to The Plain Dealer, File, 1994) Some people knew George Voinovich, mayor of Cleveland. Others knew George Voinovich, devoted husband of ever-gracious Janet Voinovich. But George Voinovich, governor of Ohio, manager in chief - that was the George Voinovich I knew. Correction: That was the Voinovich I watched, because someone in this line of work can't ever really "know" - in the way people usually mean that word - someone in his line of work. George Voinovich's unexpected death last Sunday, at age 79, brought to mind the old saying, "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you what you are," and what might be an Ohio Statehouse corollary: "Tell me who's on your staff - and I'll tell you what kind of officeholder you are." That is, slogans ("Jobs and Progress," "Harder 'n' Smarter") are nice, but results are better. No officeholder can get results, though, unless he or she hires the right people to do things - and to communicate things. And Voinovich knew how to hire the right doers and the right communicators. That can't be said for every governor, even allowing for the fact that Ohio politics is always more a list of suspects than a Litany of the Saints. True, Voinovich's being mayor of a big Ohio city, especially a city with Cleveland's financial challenges, was a great apprenticeship for being governor. What's more, his being the Republican mayor of a Democratic city amounted to in-service training for bipartisan horse-trading in Columbus, because, at least during Voinovich's first term, Democrats had clout on Capitol Square. Today, given the iffy circumstances of Statehouse Democrats, it's worth recalling that, when George Voinovich began his first term as governor in 1991, also in office were a Democratic state attorney general; a Democratic state auditor; a Democratic state treasurer; and an Ohio House run by wily Speaker Vernal G. Riffe, a Portsmouth-area Democrat, who on some days, and on some issues, had as much power as any Ohio governor, Democrat or Republican. Still, Voinovich, maybe in ways he likely couldn't foresee, was extremely fortunate, in that pre-term-limits era, to be faced with a Democratic House speaker who'd been in the legislature for 32 years on inauguration day 1991, and with a Senate president, Cincinnati Republican Stanley J. Aronoff, who, also on that January 1991 day, had been in the legislature for 30 years. For one thing, the three officeholders weren't strangers. (Voinovich had been an Ohio House member from 1967 through 1971, and lieutenant governor in 1979.) Did that mean Voinovich, Riffe and Aronoff would agree on most things? Not at all - and initially, there were Statehouse quips that what Riffe and Aronoff, who'd each accumulated an ocean of informal power at the expense of Ohio governors, really wanted to do was to send the new governor to obedience school. Voinovich likely thought it should be the other way around. Still, those factors - Voinovich's gift for politics and numbers; seasoned legislative leaders of both parties, including Riffe's Republican successor, Jo Ann Davidson, of suburban Columbus, and Aronoff's, Richard H. Finan, a suburban Cincinnati Republican - plowed the ground for constructive government. What guaranteed a harvest from those furrows was the kind of talent that George Voinovich spotted - and hired. To cite specifics would be to unintentionally slight lots of people. Bottom line: A governor with a so-so staff and so-so appointees will have a so-so governorship. George V. Voinovich's governorship was anything but so-so. It was a success. Footnote: The 1924 Democratic National Convention met in New York. Last week's column said (wrongly) that Democrats' convention had met in Cleveland. Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689 RNC The Ohio delegation has booked a number of Cleveland sites during next month's Republican National Convention. (Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio's delegation to next month's Republican National Convention has booked multiple prominent sites for its week in Cleveland, according to a draft event schedule obtained by cleveland.com. The roughly 700 delegates, alternates, GOP staff, donors and others that will make up Ohio's delegation will kick off their week in Cleveland with a July 17 event honoring Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. As previously reported by The Plain Dealer and others, the event will feature a performance by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the classic southern rock band. Later that night, the delegation will attend a Cuyahoga County Republican Party reception on the Goodtime III, the Lake Erie cruise ship. (A private lakefront party for delegates and media members is planned for around the same time by the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, the nonpartisan group that's helping organize the convention.) Brittany Warner, an Ohio Republican Party spokeswoman, said the delegation calendar is still in flux, so some details could change. Ohio Republicans will be split between two locations during their time in Cleveland -- many will stay at the Doubletree Inn on Lakeside Avenue, but the party also has secured some overflow space at Case Western Reserve University. Still, here are some of the highlights on the tentative calendar: MONDAY, JULY 18 - An early afternoon "Chairman's Circle Luncheon" at Lola on East Fourth Street - An evening reception in Little Italy featuring Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. The event has yet to be confirmed. - A late-night "Buckeye Welcome Bash" at Public Auditorium TUESDAY, JULY 19 - A lunch honoring Republican candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court at Squire Patton Boggs in Key Tower. The law firm / lobbying outfit also plans a reception featuring former U.S House Speaker John Boehner for Ohio elected officials late Sunday afternoon. - An evening reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoring Ohio Gov. John Kasich. - A post-convention event honoring Ohio Senate President Keith Faber WEDNESDAY, JULY 20 - An afternoon reception honoring Sen. Rob Portman at the Cleveland Science Center - A late-night reception at Grays Armory, near downtown, honoring Ohio Auditor Dave Yost. Yost, an amateur musician, plans to play a set at the armory with his new band, he wrote in a Wednesday Facebook post. (He's soliciting ideas for band names -- any suggestions?) THURSDAY, JULY 21 - An afternoon reception is planned for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted at the Doubletree Inn, the state delegation's hotel. - A late-night 'grand finale' reception is planned, also listed as being at the Ohio delegation's hotel. Likewise, each day will begin with breakfasts at the Doubletree. A different Ohio GOP elected official -- Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor -- will each get their own event. steve-loomis-cppa.jpg Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association. (Scott Shaw / The Plain Dealer) Jeff Larson, CEO of the 2016 Republican National Convention CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The top official for the 2016 Republican National Convention on Thursday said a Cleveland police union leader is "inciting fear" and unfairly harming the city's image by repeatedly saying Cleveland is not ready to host the event. Jeff Larson, the CEO of the Republican National Committee's convention-planning arm, pushed back against ongoing public comments from Steve Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, over the city's convention planning. "We have complete confidence in the city of Cleveland, the Cleveland police department, the federal and state agencies that are working on this, and Cleveland is going to be a safe place," Larson said in an interview. "It's not going to be the place where officers are going to get hurt. It's an effort he's making to diminish the hard work that hundreds and hundreds of people are putting into this." "He's not involved in the planning on a day-to-day level," Larson added. "He's misrepresenting the preparedness of the city, and it's having repercussions, I think not just in the city of Cleveland, but for people elsewhere who pick up his stories." Loomis, an outspoken and sometimes controversial leader, has been a consistent, public critic of the city's preparations for the GOP convention. In interviews with local, state and national media, Loomis has said city leaders have failed to provide timely equipment, training and outside help to Cleveland police who will provide security for the convention. Cleveland has been the subject of ongoing media scrutiny over its readiness for the GOP convention, scheduled for July 18-21, particularly in light of the controversy surrounding the emergence of Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee. The event is expected to draw an estimated 50,000 people plus a significant number of protesters. In an interview, Loomis stood firm. He said he has spoken with his members, their supervisors and others in the community who feel city leadership is ill-prepared for the convention. He said his members still haven't received certain equipment the city ordered for the convention, much less been trained in its use, and just have begun to receive their general orders for the event. He also said it's telling that many police departments in Ohio and throughout the country have refused to send officers to Cleveland. One department, Greensboro, N.C., in part cited a perception that Cleveland was not prepared when it decided last month to back out of a commitment to send officers to help with the GOP convention. "I want to hold their feet to the fire to get us the things my members need to do their jobs," Loomis said. "And if this thing goes bad, we will be well on record on why it went bad." In an interview with the national Sinclair Broadcasting Network's "Full Measure" that aired Sunday morning, Loomis made a dire prediction. "There's definitely going to be guys that are going to get hurt," Loomis said. "But the city has a responsibility and a duty to make us as safe as possible by providing us the gear that we need to do the job, the training we need to do the job, and the numbers we need to do the job." Larson, the Republican National Convention leader, said Loomis' comments are making their way to Republican delegates who plan to come here and, the comments are putting the city in a bad light. "I can't say that nobody is going to get hurt, but I don't think it helps anybody's dispositions that he's out there saying people are going to get hurt," Larson said. "I just think that it's unfortunate that he's representing something and instilling fear in people when I think this is a great time for Cleveland," he added. "It's not going to be filled with hundreds of thousands of protesters streaming through the streets." Larson did not share any specific information illustrating the city's preparations. Cleveland city officials have maintained they will be ready for the GOP convention, but have been tight-lipped about specifics, citing security concerns. In an email, Dan Williams, a spokesman for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, declined to comment for this story. He pointed to a news conference in late May during which Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams and others detailed some of their planning efforts, and repeatedly stated the city will be ready. Larson said he's in regular touch with the Secret Service, which is overseeing security for the event, and Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba, who is coordinating the city's RNC security planning. "I'm not into specific numbers or where they're coming from, but he's told us straight up that every post is going to be covered, And that's what we care about," Larson said. "They're not short of officers. They have plenty of people who are coming in from out of state and from within Ohio." WILLOWICK, Ohio -- Bond is set at $750,000 for a man accused of breaking into a Willowick apartment, threatening another man at gunpoint and stealing a car. Dustin L. Wilkinson, 31, of Mentor, is charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, fleeing and eluding and three counts of thefts in the Tuesday incident. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing June 22 in Willoughby Municipal Court. Wilkinson forced a man into an upstairs bathroom at gunpoint shortly before he stole the man's car, according to court records. The incident happened just after 2 p.m. at the Bayridge Condominiums on North Marginal Ride. The man is not a resident but went there to check on a friend's dog, police said. The man found Wilkinson stealing two guns that were inside the apartment. Wilkinson threatened to kill the man as he forced him into an upstairs bathroom, court records say. Wilkinson left in a 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass the man had left running outside the apartment. Officers responding the apartment spotted the car and tried to stop it on North Marginal Road. Wilkinson led the officers on a short chase that ended when he crashed into a utility pole near the intersection of Worden Road at Phillips Avenue in Wickliffe, police said. Neither Wilkinson nor the man required medical treatment. If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. The tragic death of pro-European Union (EU) politician Jo Cox has shocked the U.K. and could sway public opinion towards the safety of a unified economic bloc, analysts say. Cox was stabbed and shot on Thursday in an attack that halted campaigning over whether the U.K. should leave the EU. Police said they arrested a 52-year-old man, but did not know of a motive for the killing. Numerous media reports cited witnesses who claimed the assailant shouted "Britain first," a factor potentially linking Cox's murder to the June 23 vote, although the alleged comments are yet to be verified. Britain First, an anti-immigration right wing group which backs Brexit, distanced itself from the incident. The attack comes amid heightened global security fears following numerous terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe, including Sunday's attack at a Florida nightclub that left 49 dead. "It [Cox's murder] may change the psychology of the campaign. Those who are pro-EU may benefit from this tragic event...it could boost their chances," said Fariborz Moshirian, director of the Institute of Global Finance at the University of New South Wales. Markets seemed to believe that too. The pound was half a percent higher at around $1.4273 in early Friday trade, a sharp turnaround from its two-month low of $1.4013 hit earlier this week, The recovery of riskier assets, including the sterling's rally, was due to the perception of a higher probability of a Remain vote, said Alan Ruskin, global co-head of FX research at Deutsche Bank. The fear of a Leave vote saw the currency fall in recent sessions amid fears over the potential economic damage Britain would endure in that scenario. Speaking to CNBC's Geoff Cutmore, he argued that the appeal of Trump was more complex than is often reported. Vladimir Yakunin, the former chairman of Russian Railways and a founding president of the World Public Forum, was attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ahead of the launch next month of a new international think tank which aims to facilitate conflict resolution and ease worldwide tensions. A key ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin has expressed his approval of presidential hopeful Donald Trump, saying the presumptive Republican candidate could improve international relations. "Firstly, he is a smart guy; he lost two times everything he had and raised himself up," Yakunin said. "He is addressing some internal failings of the American people." "The establishment are trying to curb the Trump phenomenon by supporting Mrs (presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary) Clinton. That is, to my mind, too simple." Yakunin also suggested that, historically, it has been Republican presidents who improved relations between the U.S. and Russia. "It was always Republicans when, in the old days, some of kind of bridges were constructed," he added. "If Mr Trump is coming into power, that will be more facilitative to faster establishing new kinds of relations." Yakunin also discussed how relations between the Russia and the West had deteriorated in recent years, especially since the Ukrainian crisis which led to the annexation of Crimea in 2014. He called for both sides to stop sending out propaganda, to collaborate and to restore bridges of communication. He also criticised recent comments made by European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, which said Russia had illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, as being unhelpful. "There isn't any glimpse of a positive addition, any positive direction of how we can overcome [differences]," he said. "That is not correct communication at all." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. In July 2015, Reddit was in a crisis. Volunteer moderators, the heartbeat of the site that look after pages known as "Subreddits", were revolting over the firing of a key member of the online community . Nearly one year on, the site which bills itself as the "front page of the internet", is trying to put the controversy behind it and grow up. "We're in a much better place than we were a year ago, and I think a year from now we'll be in an even better place," Steve Huffman, chief executive and one of the co-founders of Reddit, told CNBC in an interview at The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam last month. Reddit boasts 234 million unique users and hosts links posted by people which are grouped around Subreddits - categories for just about anything. But the site hasn't had the best reputation for reasonable debate and Reddit often being seen as a Wild West with often-offensive comments. Reddit allows users to access its Subreddits to upload interesting links, clips and comment.. The dispute centered on the firing last July of Victoria Taylor, a senior manager at Reddit who organized the Ask Me Anything series (AMAs) on the site, where celebrities and high-profile public figures answered questions submitted by users. The site has managed to draw in people from Barack Obama to Bill Gates, highlighting its reach and importance. Taylor was seen as the link between moderators of Subreddits and upper management. Reddit never commented on why Taylor was dismissed but at the time, the volunteer moderators blamed the then CEO Ellen Pao, who eventually resigned later in July. At the time, Reddit issued a statement saying the resignation was done under "mutual agreement". watch now But following Pao's resignation, Yishan Wong, Reddit's former CEO and Pao's predecessor, accused one of Reddit's co-founders Alexis Ohanian, of firing Taylor. The site was in turmoil and Subreddits were shut down. At this point, Huffman took over the reigns to steer the site back on course. Reddit founders Alexis Ohanian (L) and Steve Huffman (R) Reddit Since 2010, Huffman had started and worked at a travel site called Hipmunk. He is one of the co-founders and was brought in to put out the flames at Reddit So far, things appear to be going well. "Our relationship is much healthier. Our community team is much larger and they're talking to moderators every day and I'm in those very often," Huffman told CNBC. "We can still provide them better tooling and there's a lot we are working on." The community team which works with the moderators has "doubled or tripled", Huffman said. A new mail system for moderators to communicate with their community is in the works. India the fastest-growing market Reddit has a user base many sites would be jealous of. Its visitors are highly engaged, spending over 13 minutes on the site, something that will please advertisers. Even with 8 billion monthly page views, Huffman said the potential to grow more is huge. "I think it could be 10 times larger than we are right now, that would be very very large, but I think we can get there. We haven't even internationalized," Huffman told CNBC. "Our fastest growing market now is India which is a completely different culture from the United States obviously. So the fact that Reddit works in other countries is very heart warming. But we have to put in the actual on the ground effort, which will very likely happen next year. I want to get through the fundamentals, make sure Reddit is growing and healthy in the U.S.. As soon as we get that phase, internationalization will begin for us." Becoming a real business In the meantime, Reddit has taken steps to stop the turmoil which it saw in 2015 from happening again. Huffman admitted advertisers sometimes feel "skittish" about the platform, something Reddit is trying to counter. To that end, the company improved its feature to block users with "more to come", Huffman said, adding that user-quoted abuse is down a "double-digit percentage" in the last month and a half. It has also taken steps to ban certain offensive communities, moves that analysts said would be positive for its potential to monetize. watch now And it recently introduced its own photo uploading tool. Before people would upload a picture to Reddit via a third party service. This could pave the way for the introduction of video which is an "obvious next step", according to Huffman. Video has been a focus for companies like Facebook as it can command higher ad rates. "Reddit is already moving in the right direction with regards to monetizing its user base it has been exploring opportunities for mobile monetisation, introducing native mobile ad formats, as well as apps (a big departure from its browser-based history)," Richard Broughton, research director at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC by email. "Part of the challenge will simply be convincing advertisers that the changes it has made to its policies are having an effect, and that Reddit is now 'brand-safe'." But Reddit has a long way to go as Huffman said, but recognizes where the gaps are. "The challenge we have is helping brands have a home on Reddit. What brands do is they either pay or they try to be more sneaky about it and pretend to be users and when they get outed that doesn't go so well. So I think there is a product in that that doesn't exist yet to give brands a legitimate organic home on Reddit, that could go a long way of reducing some of that tension so brands can have their own communities they can moderate," Huffman said, discussing potential future ad products. Reddit also employs a team of strategists to help brands figure out ways to monetize the site. Multi-billion dollar business? Sanders said in a capstone address to his political followers online that the major task they face is to "make certain" Trump is defeated. The Vermont senator said he plans to begin his role in that process "in a very short period of time." Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Thursday in an address to his supporters that he will work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party, adding that his "political revolution" must continue and ensure the defeat of Republican Donald Trump . "But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become," Sanders said in remarks prepared for delivery. "And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia. where we will have more than 1,900 delegates." Sanders spoke from his Vermont hometown a week after Hillary Clinton secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to become the presumptive nominee. He has not yet conceded the race or referred to Clinton as the likely nominee. But the two rivals met Tuesday night in a Washington, D.C., hotel along with advisers to discuss policy goals and future plans. In the speech, Sanders thanked his supporters for providing more than $200 million in donations, most in increments of $27, and rattled off the work of his loyalists: 1.5 million people who attended his rallies and town meetings and more than 75 million phone calls from volunteers "urging their fellow citizens into action." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Investors may be wary of Apple 's recent patent dispute in China, but the Beijing's move likely won't work, a legal expert told CNBC. "Apple can flip around and shut this whole thing down," said Dan Harris, lawyer at Harris Moure and author of the China Law Blog. "I'm predicting this, in the end, is going to have zero impact on Apple in China other than the fact that this is a messed up situation in the short term." Apple shares held lower Friday morning as investors received head-scratching news that sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices were banned in Beijing. Intellectual property regulators ruled those iPhones were too similar to an existing Chinese phone, and production would soon be halted, sending shares almost 2 percent lower in pre-market trading. But Apple told CNBC that all iPhone models 6 and higher were for sale today in China, and that it had appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month. "As a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court," Apple told CNBC, as the stock leveled off, down 1.8 percent mid-day. "News of China iPhone bans greatly exaggerated, New York Times reporter Paul Mozur tweeted. "They're still on sale at Apple stores in BJ. Low-level ruling...so probably not huge deal." The phone in questions is Baili's 100C (which is also branded as 100+), which is central to the design patent infringement dispute. (Information about that company is, to put it mildly, hard to come by.) Though Harris doesn't know the details of that case, he said that design patents, unlike the patents most Americans think of, are simply based on an aesthetic look, and can be invalidated by showing that Apple was using the design first. "I don't know, the iPhone exterior has been pretty similar for years and years, so I don't know what it is that this person is claiming," Harris said. "Basing this on what we have seen, Apple will just crush this company. Maybe the Chinese company wanted money or publicity, maybe it's legitimate. But if everybody were super confident that the Chinese company had a strong design patent the order probably would not have been stayed." China is the world leader in patent filings and litigation, according to researchers at the Santa Clara University School of Law, with roughly 80 percent more patent suits filed than the United States in 2012, and 40 percent more patent applications than the U.S. in 2014, for instance. Indeed, Harris said, he's seen patent disputes against his clients go from one yearly to about one monthly, because design patents in China are not substantively reviewed. By making it this far, the 100C has gotten farther than most Chinese design patent disputes Harris has dealt with. Still, he said, "the lower court order oftentimes never has any real impact." Wall Street has become highly sensitive to Apple's maneuvers in China after the tech titan's second quarter earnings were hurt by sales in Hong Kong. Greater China sales, once the tech giant's fastest growing market, fell to $12.49 billion in the second quarter, the company said, a 26 percent year-over-year decline. Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester, said that the news will obviously raise concerns for investors, especially those prone to "conspiracy theories," as by focusing on a local area and a prior iPhone generation, the move could be viewed as a low-intensity warning from the Chinese government. But given the uncertainty around China's intentions, he remains focused on Apple's product offerings. "Apple wants to be there [in China], they believe they offer a premium product, they're doing their best to offer the market something within in the confines of their core beliefs," Gillett said. "The actions that are taken against or with Apple are symbolic of the interactions the Chinese government will have with other foreign companies. Chinese actors are probably conscious of that symbolism." Tom Cridland is nervous about next week. The 25-year-old entrepreneur says a UK vote on whether to leave the European Union could destroy the business he has worked hard to build, and he's speaking out as the Brexit referendum draws closer. Based in Cambridge, England, Cridland two years ago founded eponymous company Tom Cridland, which sells sustainable clothing and is perhaps best known for its "30 Year Sweatshirt." The company's apparel is manufactured by a Portuguese supplier and then imported to the UK. If the United Kingdom votes to leave the EU, Cridland fears that higher import tariffs could cripple his business. The impact of a Brexit on his company is emblematic of the potential problems that could crop up for many small businesses in the UK that rely on imports. A split between the UK and the EU would scrap long-standing trade pacts between the United Kingdom and the European continent. "We're very apprehensive and extremely worried that a potential Brexit could destroy our business," Cridland said. "If you start adding those import tariffs, and our markups don't work, then we go out of business." Founded with the help of a small loan from the British government, Cridland says his business has grown to over 600,000 ($856,035) in annual sales. The company's signature sweatshirt costs about 40 ($57.07) to make and sells for 65 ($92.74). According to Cridland, his company imports hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling worth of clothing from Portugal. But it's more than just the company's relatively affordable prices for "luxury" clothing that are on the line for Cridland. He is half-British and half-Portuguese, and says the very ethos of the brand is at stake. Polls last week began to indicate a shift among UK voters toward leaving the European Union, but booking odds continue to show the "remain" camp as a majority. The shooting death of a Labour member of Parliament, Jo Cox, in Northern England on Thursday resulted in a temporary suspension of campaigning by both sides. As a flotilla of fishing vessels on the River Thames arrive outside the Houses of Parliament, protesters gather to cheer them on as part of the Vote Leave Campaign, to make the case for Brexit in the EU Referendum on June 15th in London, United Kingdom. Legions of economists, policymakers and political grandees from around the world have warned of the economic threat of Brexit. These voices lack credibility. None of the Remain economists, to my knowledge, anticipated the global financial crisis. The UK Treasury claims that British incomes will be lower for years after leaving the EU. The same Treasury, however, has consistently had problems forecasting next year's UK GDP. Not long ago, many politicians and business people argued that Britain would miss out if we didn't join the European single currency. We now know that the real calamity would have been joining the euro. On June 23, Britain votes on whether to remain in the European Union . Being out of the country on that date, I applied for a postal vote. I have marked my ballot paper, with a certain trepidation, in favor of leaving the EU, or Brexit. At first I worried this vote conflicted with my cosmopolitan leanings. On reflection I decided that by rejecting the EU I showed greater fellow feeling for the citizens of Europe, and was more faithful to the continent's highest ideals than those who wish to remain. In truth, the greatest economic risk posed by Brexit comes from the threat of retaliation by our erstwhile European "partners". Given that Britain runs a large trade deficit with Europe, a trade war would be irrational. It is a poor reflection on the EU that such a threat should be credible. Of course, leaving the single market creates uncertainty - a state of affairs which repels the modern breed of policymaker. In the past, developed economies have withstood far greater shocks. The growth of the U.S. economy, for instance, was only temporarily set back by the Great Depression. Nor did it take many years after 1945 for Germany's output per capita to return to its pre-war trend. It's inconceivable, in my view, that Brexit could by itself permanently damage Britain's economic prospects. Even if the economic arguments are overblown, doesn't a vote for Brexit reveal an unattractive petty nationalism at odds with modern progressive values? Doesn't my vote put me in bad company? I don't believe so. At university, I read 18th-century European history. The ideals of the Enlightenment - a preference for reason over tradition, for economic individualism over state control, for tolerance over bigotry, and a belief that relationships between nations should be governed by the rule of law - remain close to my heart. The same notions guided the founding fathers of the post-war European project. The EU has since betrayed those ideals. In 1795, Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher who coined the term "Enlightenment", wrote "Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch". In this essay, Kant showed profound respect for a state's separate identity: a state "like the stem of a tree has its own root to incorporate it as a graft on another state, is to destroy its existence as a moral person." The consequence of bundling states together, even when done peacefully through dynastic alliances, would be that the "subjects of the state are used and abused as things that may be managed at will". Kant defined a republican government as one that gained the "consent of citizens as members of the state". He preferred this to despotism, characterised by "the irresponsible executive administration of the state by laws laid down and enacted by the same power that administers them". While Kant proposed an international federation of states to avoid war, this "would not have to take the form of a State made up of these nations". Such a superstate would not allow the existence of a free state, which by definition both made and applied its own laws: "Each state," wrote Kant, "places its majesty (for it is absurd to speak of the majesty of the people) in being subject to no external juridical restraint". Since its inception in the 1950s, the European project has morphed from Kant's ideal of an international federation into something akin to the late Habsburg Empire - a sprawling and fractious conglomeration of nations struggling against centripetal forces. The EU's form of government, in Kantian terms, can be described as "despotic", since the public's consent has not been gained. During the interminable years of the euro crisis, unemployment in parts of Europe has exceeded Great Depression levels. The citizens of Greece, Spain and elsewhere have been force-fed austerity by the EU with little prospect of eventual economic recovery. If the EU cared for its citizens, or was properly accountable, substantive reforms would have been enacted. This hasn't happened. As a result, discontent across Europe is fostering political extremism of the 1930s variety. Sooner or later something must give. A vote for Brexit, I believe, puts me in the best company. It shows solidarity with the long-suffering European public and complies with the principles of Kant, the greatest of Enlightenment philosophers. Commentary by Edward Chancellor, contributor Reuters BreakingViews. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. watch now With palpable fear in the market that Britain could vote to leave the European Union next week, this whole situation is starting to feel a little Greek to Jim Cramer. "Even if that unknown event happens, it won't lead to the chaos that many seem to be expecting," the "Mad Money" host said. The last time Cramer went through a possible Europe break-up was when Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy were threatening to default on their debt in 2011. That situation would have been felt all over the world, though the European central bank was ready for the worst. "If the U.K. leaves the European Union, it will be dealt with. Whatever happens, it likely won't drag out the way Greece did," Cramer said. He expects the pajama traders to come out of the woodwork, of course, which means hedge funds will trade in lockstep with Europe. However, even if the U.K. voted to leave, it won't break-up the euro. This isn't as bad as the European debt crisis. However, he did recommend avoiding the financials like the plague. Instead, Cramer will be focused on stocks that have robust yield and growth, like AT&T, Gneral Mills, Bristol-Myers or American Electric Power. Cramer has a hard enough time trying to figure out the trajectory of a stock when it isn't a battleground. But with Viacom , there are simply too many questions. Who is running the company? Who will be fired? Who is really on the board? Is Sumner Redstone capable of running the company? "Sometimes there is just no good way to value a stock. That is how I feel about Viacom," the "Mad Money" host said. Cramer found the earnings just as puzzling. In an update on its June quarter financial expectations on Friday, Viacom reported that it only expects to earn between $1 and $1.05 a share for the third quarter of 2016. This was below the $1.38 per share expected by Wall Street. "I say stay away, it is just too crazy, too murky, and way too hard to put a price tag on this soap opera's outcome," Cramer said. Another place Cramer looked for opportunity was the initial public offering (IPO) market, though it has been practically non-existent in 2016. With only 38 companies going public so far this year, Jim Cramer said that's downright anemic compared to the 170 deals in the first half of 2015. Additionally, there haven't been many opportunities for IPOs that Cramer would consider even worthwhile until now. "Unlike so many IPOs we have seen in the past year, SiteOne has actually gotten off to a pretty good start," the "Mad Money" host said. SiteOne Landscape Supply is the only nationwide wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the U.S. Locations that span 44 states, and it distributes more than 90,000 different products. Essentially, it's a one-stop-shop for anything a landscape design. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Brendan McDermott | Getty Images With palpable fear in the market that Britain could vote to leave the European Union next week, this whole situation is starting to feel a little Greek to Jim Cramer. "Even if that unknown event happens, it won't lead to the chaos that many seem to be expecting," the "Mad Money" host said. The last time Cramer went through a possible Europe break-up was when Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy were threatening to default on their debt in 2011. That situation would have been felt all over the world, though the European central bank was ready for the worst. "If the U.K. leaves the European Union, it will be dealt with. Whatever happens, it likely won't drag out the way Greece did," Cramer said. He expects the pajama traders to come out of the woodwork, of course, which means hedge funds will trade in lockstep with Europe. However, even if the U.K. voted to leave, it won't break-up the euro. This isn't as bad as the European debt crisis. Shanghai will officially welcome its first "seven-star" hotel on Saturday, located smack dab on the famed waterfront known as The Bund, news site Shanghaiist.com reported this week. Built by 28-year-old Wang Sicong, better known as the son of Chinese real estate billionaire Wang Jianlin, the 3.4 billion yuan ($516 million) Wanda Reign on the Bund hotel was designed by award winning British architect, Norman Robert Foster. While Wang the younger has long been in the public eye, it wasn't necessarily for any previous signs of business acumen. The junior Wang and his dog became social media celebrities for engaging in extravagant antics of the type commonly associated with China's second-generation rich kids, known as fuerdai. Wang blew 2.5 million yuan in a night out at a Beijing KTV earlier this year. In May of last year, the junior Wang went viral, managing to outrage Chinese social media users by posting photos to his dog's Weibo account after he strapped two gold Apple watches to the pet's legs. To be fair, junior Wang is also the chairman of private investment firm Prometheus Capital. The hotel, which officially opens on Saturday, featured opulent installations and a French fine-dining restaurant by Michelin chef Marc Meneau. Global hotel rating systems, including China's official ranking, stop at five stars, but hospitality marketers and commentators have been sticking extra stars on luxury properties they think outdo prevailing standards. Dubai's Burj al Arab hotel, among the world's tallest hotels, has also garnered the seven-star status. Its features include revolving beds and a fleet of chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces and it reportedly charges as much as $20,000 a night. To read the full Shanghaiist.com story, click here. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Take a look at some of Friday's early movers: Viacom The media firm updated its earnings guidance for the current quarter to a range of $1.00 to $1.05 a share, below FactSet expectations, due to the "theatrical underperformance" of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows." Viacom also forecast a decline in domestic ad sales declines to about 4 percent. Earlier, RBC upgraded the stock to "sector perform" from "underperform" and raised its price target to $45 from $34 after Sumner Redstone's National Amusements removed five Viacom directors, including CEO Philippe Dauman, from the media firm's board. Seemingly inevitable management change removes a major overhang, RBC said, while competition in a changing media business remains an obstacle to unlocking further value in the near term. BTIG also upgraded the stock late Thursday. Viacom closed more than 6.5 percent higher at $45.05 a share Thursday. Lumber Liquidators The firm has agreed not to sell its existing inventory of laminate flooring previously sourced from China, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said. Lumber Liquidators discontinued sale of the product in question in May 2015, and the regulator said any sale or disposal of remaining inventory is subject to its approval. Oracle The business software maker reported quarterly revenue that topped expectations, helped by an increase in cloud service customers. Reported revenue of $10.59 billion did mark a 1 percent decline from the same period last year, while ex-items earnings of 81 cents a share were in-line with expectations and rose from 78 cents per share the same period last year. Smith & Wesson The firearm manufacturer reported earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line, and issued a forecast that was above expectations. Valeant Pharmaceuticals The embattled drugmaker announced its wholly owned subsidiary Valeant Canada is investing $27.5 million in manufacturing facilities in Canada. Finisar The optical communications products supplier reported revenue of $318.8 million that topped expectations. Current-quarter forecast was at the higher range of FactSet expectations. Revlon , Elizabeth Arden The two beauty and cosmetics firms will merge with Revlon's roughly $419.3 million purchase of Elizabeth Arden. The deal is expected to close this year. "These opportunities come along once in a generation where people actually get to vote on what they want." He believes the Brits should not squander the opportunity, noting that the last referendum the country held was in 1975. "They haven't even made progress on their mission, which was fiscal responsibility, banking reforms, defending the external borders. They're just not doing the job." "The EU is just too big. It's too expensive. It doesn't work," the president of Encima Global said in an interview with CNBC's " Power Lunch ." British citizens vote next Thursday on whether the U.K. should exit the union. The European Union is too big and is "sinking," and the United Kingdom should take the chance to get out while it can, economist David Malpass said Friday. However, Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist for Oxford Economics, believes a Brexit would be negative for the U.K. economy, as well as the EU economy. "It might not have that much of an impact on the U.S. economy per se, but overall I think it would be a negative, especially in the short run," he told "Power Lunch." "It would hamper trade. It would also hamper investment." The U.S. stock market will also not be immune to next week's vote. David Seaburg, head of sales and trading for Cowen and Company, believes if the vote is to leave, the trade will be risk-off. If the vote is to leave, it will be risk-on. "We're looking at a market right now that is teetering on, I'd say, a massive pullback either way," he said. "If they vote to stay the market's going to take off. It's going to ignite, it's going to be a risk-on sort of event that is going to be very short-lived." Todd Colvin, senior vice president of global institutional sales at Ambrosino Brothers, said if the U.K. leaves, it will open Pandora's box a little bit. "We're going to see bonds continue to rally. We'll probably see equities sell off and gold. Don't forget gold is out there it's been rallying very strong and that's been a great indicator for the risk-off trade." So what should investors do to protect against a possible Brexit? Robert Luna, CEO and chief investment officer for Surevest Wealth Management, would look at companies with little or no exposure to the EU. Specifically, he likes Amerco , Nordstrom and Travelers . Mark Yusko, CEO and chief investment officer for Morgan Creek Capital Management, isn't betting on a leave vote, calling it "much ado about nothing." However, if the U.K. did vote to leave, he would want to be very defensive in the United States and hold things like gold, gold miners and Treasuries, because things could get "ugly." That said, even playing offense going into the vote could be "interesting," he added. He would look at European banks, as well as U.S. financials, since a stay vote would give the Federal Reserve the green light to discuss raising rates again. Disclosures; Luna and his family own UHAL. Disclaimer Big luxury hotel brands face a big new challenge in attracting high-end travelers: boredom. That's according to hospitality industry veteran Filip Boyen. "Luxury is evolving all the time, I think what is important to us is to understand what the customer feels luxury is," says Boyen, chief executive officer of industry player Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). Now, those travelers have become "a little bit bored with the predictability of big brands and standards, so what they're looking for now is a more personalized, unique, boutique style experience," he tells CNBC's Managing Asia. Luxury has become less about frills -- many of which have become standardized across the industry -- and more about an experience of simplicity where "people feel incredibly connected with the destination and the local way of life," says Boyen, who began his 30-year hospitality career as a commis chef. Small Luxury Hotels of the World CEO Filip Boyen. SLH As an example of a less cookie-cutter experience, the Belgian CEO recalls that in 1997, when he was a general manager for Orient Express' Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, the hotel introduced a unique luxury picnic experience for two. The outing included a speed boat to take the couple out to sea to snorkel with sharks and stingrays, followed by the boat driver preparing a barbecue lunch on a private island. To cement the luxurious experience, only fine tableware were used, Boyen says. To be sure, Boyen has a vested interest in playing up how smaller luxury hotels can offer a more varied experience for high-end travelers. His company, SLH, is a hospitality brand affiliation company offering smaller luxury hotels a marketing platform and access to a members-only loyalty club and a database of over 25,000 travel agents. That helps the smaller luxury hotel players compete internationally with bigger brands that can offer loyalty programs globally. But U.K.-based SLH's 520 member hotels across 80 countries certainly appear to aim at offering a less standardized luxury experience, with associates including Tokyo-based historical train station hotels and an 11th century military fortress in Italy's Tuscan hills. But Boyen emphasizes that acquiring SLH's brand affiliation isn't easy or cheap. The average annual membership fee for hotels is $27,800 (19,500), and Boyen says SLH only accepts 4 to 5 percent of the around a thousand applications they receive yearly. watch now The theme was "capitalizing on the new economic reality," but the leaders of both Italy and Russia veered off topic to discuss the U.S.'s presidential fight at a joint conference on Friday. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi dropped a clear hint on his favorite for next U.S. president, speaking on stage with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "I certainly hope the next person to be elected will be Madame President," he told the packed hall, in an apparent indorsement of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. Putin, meanwhile, expressed approval for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate. "Mr Trump said he is ready to restore Russia and American relations. What can be bad about that? We welcome that," Putin said "He is a bright person," he added separately. The U.S. election will take place in November. The most recent NBC News poll shows Clinton leading Trump by 49 percent to 42 percent. The poll was conducted online last week among 9,355 adults. The Italian prime minister also turned his attention to next week's referendum in the U.K. on its place in Europe, warning that there would be no turning back if it voted to leave. "If the United Kingdom leaves Europe, it is forever," he said, according to Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an olive branch on Friday to the European Union (EU), whose sanctions on Moscow are up for renewal in July. "The European Union remains the key trading partner of Russia. It is our closest neighbor and of course we do care about what is happening in our neighboring states," Putin said in a conference at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia. Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated since the EU and U.S. imposed sanctions on Moscow after its incursion in Crimea in 2014 and its alleged role in the pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine. Russia responded with counter-sanctions on European and U.S. food imports. "Russia did not initiate the downturn in relations We do not hold a grudge against anybody," Putin said. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi shared the stage with Putin on Friday, in a move that was criticized by some EU countries typically those on Russia's border that strike a hard line on Moscow. "It is obvious there are problems in the relation between Europe and Russia ... and each has their own opinion of where it stemmed from," Renzi said in his own speech on Friday. Come July, EU diplomats say sanctions may be softened but extended by a further six months, according to media reports. There are signs of disagreement among EU members, with Baltic countries on Russia's borders typically keener on maintaining tough sanctions, while countries like Greece have flagged the possibility of tailing them off. Consensus between all 28 EU member states is necessary to extend sanctions before they expire in July. A day after Sumner Redstone moved to fire CEO Philippe Dauman and four other directors from Viacom's board, the embattled media giant said Friday its fiscal third-quarter earnings will fall short of estimates. It was the first time since October 2008 that it has put out such guidance, Reuters said. The company also said it expects domestic sales to decline about 4 percent in the quarter, better than the last quarter's 5 percent drop. Its stock price was up nearly 1 percent late Friday morning, but later reversed and ended the session down 1.4 percent. The company issued its guidance a day after the board shakeup announcement. Dauman remains CEO for now of the $40 billion media giant and he and the four others will stay on the board until a Delaware court affirms the changes. After the board moves, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said Friday that Viacom's future looked brighter. "Coming change to Viacom's management removes a major overhang," they said in a note to clients, titled "A New Hope." RBC upgraded Viacom shares to sector perform from underperform and raised the price target on the share price to $45 from $34. "When we initiated coverage on Viacom with an Underperform rating, we felt that strategic and earnings risks existed, and embattled management was unlikely to change due to the controlling interest of National Amusements (NAI)," the analysts said, referring to Redstone's privately owned holding company. "A lot has changed on the management front, ... which we believe paves the way for his eventual removal." National Amusements owns 80 percent of Viacom shares. Questions have been raised about whether the 93-year-old Redstone is making his own decisions or whether he is sound enough to do so. , a California judge dismissed a lawsuit questioning the media mogul's competency. Viacom's Class B shares have done well this year, trading nearly 8 percent higher, yet remain more than 33 percent lower over the past 12 months. VIAB 12-month chart Source: FactSet Disclosure: RBC makes a market in Viacom shares. Clarification: This story was revised to clarify that Dauman and the four other board members will remain as directors at least temporarily, pending a court decision. "Without a doubt, (a Brexit) could have an effect on the volatility of the market and foreign currency exchange rates. To what extent this volatility will occur, nobody knows," Siluanov said, speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Financial markets and sterling might be rattled by the forthcoming referendum on European Union (EU) membership, but Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told CNBC that his country was not too worried about the result either way. U.K. opinion polls suggest that the gap between "Leave" and "Remain" voters is razor thin and that the vote could go either way. There are concerns among financial markets that a so-called Brexit could upset Britain's economy, trade and investment relationships with the wider world. Siluanov said a U.K. vote to leave or remain in the 28-country economic and political bloc would not have much bearing on Russia's economic position, as long as Europe as a whole wasn't adversely affected. "For Russia, I don't think it will affect our situation with the money markets, nevertheless we are interested in a stable situation with our trading partners because Europe is our main trading partner and it's important for us that the trading conditions that have developed are not fundamentally changed." "Therefore whatever the decision taken in Britain about leaving or remaining in the EU, we believe that the most important thing is that there won't be any serious consequences for the money markets." European sanctions imposed on Russia two years may be lifted by the end of 2016, the chief executive of Russia's sovereign wealth fund told CNBC on Friday. The U.S. and the European Union introduced sanctions against Russian companies and individuals with links to Moscow after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The 28-country EU will meet next month to decide whether to renew them. EU diplomats say sanctions may be softened but extended by a further six months, according to media reports. There are signs of disagreement among EU members, with Baltic countries on Russia's borders typically keener on maintaining tough sanctions, while countries like Greece have flagged the possibility of tailing them off. watch now One in twelve men and one in 200 women have some form of color vision deficiency. There are different types of colorblindness but a common issue is distinguishing between red and green. The iconic blue color of Facebook was chosen by Mark Zuckerberg because he has red-green color blindness. Berkeley, CA-based EnChroma accidentally found a fix that can help people see more color. It started more than a decade ago when glass scientist Dr. Don McPherson was making protective glasses for laser surgery. He learned that the surgeons were actually stealing the glasses from the operating room and using them as sunglasses. When he tried a pair out for himself, he noticed the world looked more colorful. He has normal color vision, but he didn't learn they could help color deficient people until a friend tried them on at an ultimate Frisbee game. "My friend borrowed my glasses and said, this is a quote, 'Dude I can see the cones!' and he was referring to the fluorescent orange marker cones that define the field," said Don McPherson, now the chief scientist at EnChroma. Being unable to see orange cones on green grass, is common for red-green colorblind people. "It turned out that one of the unintended consequences of the technology I developed is that it also absorbs some other wavelengths that benefit people who are color deficient," McPherson said. The creator of EnChroma, Don McPherson, says he wears the glasses everyday even though he has normal color vision. He said they turn up the saturation of the world. Jeniece Pettitt | CNBC So he got a grant from the National Institute of Health and after years of research and clinical trials, he teamed up with Andrew Schmeder and they co-founded EnChroma in 2010. The company has since sold nearly 30,000 sunglasses and indoor glasses to people around the world. A pair cost about $300 and up depending on whether a prescription is added. There are countless unsolicited videos on YouTube where users are trying on the glasses and seeing color for the first time. Many people are moved to tears as they see the vibrant world around them. The company said it could take several minutes for the effects to kick in, but when Berkeley software developer Farhan Sareshwala tried the glasses on for the first time, the change in his vision hit him immediately. "I think understanding what you were missing before is the most important part," Sareshwala said. "My favorite color used to be blue. Now it's red without a doubt. Red it is just such an intense and wonderful color." EnChroma sells glasses for outside and inside and they have a variety of frames to choose from. Jeniece Pettitt | CNBC But the glasses do not work for every type of color deficiency. Only about 80 percent of users notice a difference. So what about the other 20 percent? "Unfortunately we can't do anything to help them currently," McPherson said. "What's bad about that is that they're the ones most in need of an expanded color palette." EnChroma is working on new technology to help all types of color deficiencies. McPherson said they are also in the process of developing contact lenses. EnChroma CEO Andrew Schmeder said the company has partnered with L'Oreal, 1-800-Flowers and Valspar Paint to help get the word out. And they are in the process of getting more optometrists on board to sell the glasses, which has taken some convincing. "[Optometrists] have been trained that there's nothing you can do to help someone who is color deficient," McPherson said, "But once they get a lot of feedback from patients and from other doctors, there has been a shift. And we can feel that there's less suspicion and less disbelief and more acceptance" Farhan Sareshwalas new favorite color is red now that he has EnChroma glasses. Jeniece Pettitt | CNBC The fatal attack on a pro-European British lawmaker just a week ahead of the key Brexit referendum vote has shaken politicians and voters across the U.K. While this is the first time in nearly a quarter of a century that a U.K. politician has been murdered, the case bears startling similarities to the assassination 13 years ago in Sweden of pro-EU Anna Lindh. Flowers surround a picture of Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square on June 16, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images Days before Sweden would vote on whether to join the euro in 2003, a 46-year-old lead campaigner for Sweden's to adopt the euro was stabbed while shopping in a Stockholm department store. She had been shopping for clothes for a euro zone debate scheduled that evening. The next day, on September 11, Social Democratic foreign minister Lindh died from her injuries. Both sides of the Swedish political campaign suspended their activities following the news, with TV ads campaigns cancelled and billboard and print media ads withdrawn. On the following Sunday, Swedes rejected proposals to adopt the common currency. Solemn tone Back in Britain, the death of Labour member of parliament (MP) Jo Cox has set a similarly solemn tone around the otherwise raucous Brexit debate. The 41-year-old was shot in the small town of Birstall in the north of England while on her way to meet with constituents in a nearby library Thursday afternoon. According to reports of unconfirmed eyewitness accounts, the attacker shouted 'Britain first,' potentially referencing a right-wing, anti-immigration and eurosceptic group in the U.K.. It has led to speculation that the politician's murder may be linked to the upcoming June 23rd referendum. Media reports have identified the suspect as a 52-year-old local man Tommy Mair, who is said to have lived alone in a nearby estate. A full investigation is underway by authorities to determine the motives of the suspect, who is believed to have acted alone. Though it's unclear whether there was any political intent behind Cox's murder, both sides of the EU referendum have since suspended campaign activities. watch now The political pull-back is in stark contrast to a debate that was otherwise reaching fever pitch less than a week before Brits headed to the polls. Just on Wednesday, Cox's husband and children were on a boat on the River Thames in support of the 'Remain' camp, as Brexit supporters took to their own flotilla. Both sides trading insults over loud speakers and in one of the stranger moments, protesting fishermen deployed water hoses. Since news of the attack, the tone has darkened. On Thursday night, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who has been criticized for making comments on the economic risks of the upcoming referendum, changed direction in a speech to London City bankers, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the slain politician. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund, which has warned about the consequences of leaving the EU, delayed the release of a report on the impacts of a Brexit. Political impact In the wake of the suspended campaigns, markets rebounded, sending sterling and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 higher. There are suspicions that the attack on the pro-EU politician may temper the momentum of the pro-Brexit camp and reduce the prospects that voters will want to leave the European Union. However, while the attack on Sweden's minister in 2003 didn't beckon voters towards closer ties to the EU, voters notably opted for the status quo. "It is difficult to know whether or not a specific incident such as this will have a decisive impact on the overall result of the referendum," Matthew Goodwin, a politics professor at the University of Kent and senior visiting fellow at Chatham House told CNBC via email. "We currently know little about the event, individual and his potentially political motivations," Goodwin stressed. A woman adjusts the candle next to red roses and a portrait of late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh who was attacked with a knife and later died of her injuries. Sven Nackstrand| AFP | Getty Images How much would you pay for unlimited flights to London or Paris? For Frantz Yvelin, CEO of boutique airline La Compagnie, $35,000 is the magic number. On Saturday, Yvelin's business-class only airline will sell 10 unlimited flight passes for travelers flying between New York and London or Paris. The airline is looking to collect $350,000 in revenue on the idea that $673 a week is a great deal for New York-area travelers making numerous round-trip flights to London or Paris, which can easily cost in the thousands of dollars. "Numerous," however, is key. Though business travelers who fly every week or two between New York and London or Paris would surely get their money's worth, those flying less frequently would likely be better off shopping around. "We are very confident in this offer," Yvelin told CNBC. "We thought this was a good way for us to celebrate our second birthday." Based in Paris, France, La Compagnie has been flying since July 2014. Its fleet consists of two Boeing 757-200 planes filled with 74 business class seats. And while its offer is sure to garner plenty of attention, it's also a sign of how competitive international business class travel out of New York has become. The aviation research and consulting firm OAG said the number of overall business class seats available between New York and London has jumped 35 percent in the last six years. Delta is one major carrier that is targeting business class flyers out of the Big Apple. Its increased presence at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport has contributed to that airline's 54 percent increase in business class seats between New York and London since 2010. The tech industry is close to being caught up in another bubble of roller coaster valuations, the chief executive of Russian investment giant Sistema told CNBC. Mikhail Shamolin, board director and chief executive of Sistema, an investment company holding majority stakes in a number of Russian telecommunications, media, utility and retail businesses, said he was seeing a repeat of the pattern of the tech bubble of the early 2000s. "Now it is the era of so-called unicorns," Shamolin told CNBC at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, referring to the large-scale tech companies with billion-dollar valuations. "And people believe unicorns are going to make money no matter what because they are unicorns and there (isn't) that much competition around. And they're so much about scale that, no matter what, they are going to start making money." "And maybe they're right. I mean no one has got a crystal ball. But I would definitely say from my perspective that risks are increasing of a bubble being formed and eventually bursting." Sistema has seen a turnaround in its fortunes over the last two years, with the conglomerate reporting a 2.5 billion ruble ($37 million) net income for the first quarter compared to an underlying net loss a year ago, Reuters reported at the start of the month. The potential risk of a Brexit after the June 23 referendum on European Union (EU) membership is "a concern for the whole world," International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde told CNBC. "It's a concern not just for the U.K., by the way, it's a concern for the world," she told CNBC on Friday when questioned about the potential impact of the U.K.'s referendum on EU membership next week. " I have not attended any meetings in the last three or four months with any leader, any policymakers or any body where the question of the impact of the U.K. withdrawing was not asked." "There has been a huge focus on the downside and not much on the benefits and upside," Lagarde said on Friday. "There have been significant benefits (for the U.K.) arising from being part of a single market." `"It's a pretty overwhelming case when you have a huge body of economists (that agree) that it's going to cost (the U.K.), it's going to be negative for income purposes, it's going to reduce trade most likely as a result of uncertainty and those are blatant facts When one economist disagrees with another, that's life, but when they all agree ... that's a pretty compelling situation." "The U.K. has been, is, and I hope will continue to be a champion of (doing things in a) faster, quicker, less bureaucratic and more efficient (way)," she said, adding that she hoped Europe would continue to try to perfect itself. Lagarde was speaking to CNBC in Vienna where earlier in the day she had presented a speech on European unity. The speech, entitled "Unity in Diversity: The Case for Europe" is timely given rising populism and Euroskepticism in the 28-country European Union (EU), a continuing refugee crisis, economic uncertainty and a forthcoming U.K. referendum on EU membership. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reportedly paid little to no taxes for at least two years during the early 1990s, according to Politico, citing records it obtained from New Jersey gambling authorities. The news organization said that the billionaire's avoidance of income taxes during those years was not illegal because Trump's hotel and casino holdings sustained "significant losses" in a tough economic environment. "Welcome to the real estate business," Trump said in an email to Politico. A spokeswoman for Trump declined to comment further to CNBC. The presumptive GOP nominee has come under fire for not releasing his income tax statements during the course of his presidential campaign. The Washington Post previously reported that Trump did not pay income taxes in 1978 and 1979. It was also reported that Trump received a small tax credit, $302, intended for those with incomes below $500,000. Read the full report on Politico. Italian firms still operating in Russia have not damaged the international sanctions placed on the country, one of Italy's top business leaders told CNBC on Friday, as Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries. "We generate and sell energy in the country ... I do not believe that we have jeopardized, in any way, the sanctions," Patrizia Grieco, chairman of Enel, an Italian multinational utilities company, told CNBC. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Sasha Mordovets | Getty Images She spoke from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, where Renzi and Putin are meeting. The 28 European Union (EU) countries will meet in July to decide whether to renew sanctions against Russia. The country's relationship with Europe has deteriorated since the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow after its incursion in Crimea in 2014 and its alleged role in the pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine. There are signs of disagreement on the matter among EU members, with Baltic countries on Russia's borders typically keener on maintaining tough sanctions, while countries like Greece have flagged the possibility of tailing them off. "We have been staying in Russia since 12 years, since 2004, and so it's a long lasting relationship for Enel in the energy sector. I guess that the approach of the Italian government to keep a bi-lateral relationship with the Russian government was, let me say, a proper one," said Grieco. ROMULUS, N.Y. The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) selected business owner Earl Martin as the winning bidder for the approximately 7,000 remaining acres of the former Seneca Army Depot. The IDA voted unanimously to select Martin at its board meeting on Wednesday, the Seneca County IDA said in a news release issued Thursday. Martin owns Seneca Iron Works of Seneca Falls and Deer Haven Park, LLC. The IDA selected Martins bid for its economic impact and environmental considerations, Bob Aronson, executive director of the Seneca County IDA, said in the release. This is the best chance in a long time to revitalize the Depot property, Aronson said. We look forward to working with Martin and helping him to create a brighter future for Seneca County. The agreement calls for Martin to pay $900,000 for the property, according to an article on the website of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Martins proposal, detailed in the IDA release, calls for a $13 million projected investment in the expansion of his existing company, Seneca Iron Works, and other developments with a potential to create more than 200 new jobs over a 10-year period. The website for Seneca Iron Works displays a company called Seneca Dairy Systems, which specializes in manufacturing and distributing dairy equipment. Seneca Iron Works in 1999 purchased Seneca Dairy Systems, LLC, a firm that was originally known as Green Valley Welding, according to the website. Martins project would mean less reliance on Chinese suppliers, with the expectation of bringing many of those opportunities to Seneca County, the IDA said. It would also result in taxable land use, making the property an economic asset to Seneca County, the towns of Varick and Romulus, and the Romulus and South Seneca school districts. In addition, Martin has indicated a willingness to have a much-desired east-west road through the depot. The project would also mean the development of about 20 Amish homesteads to live on and farm the land. Martin also plans to dedicate Depot land for wildlife preservation, specifically for the white deer for which the property is known. Hell also work with Seneca White Deer, Inc., and/or other organizations on the preservation process, the IDA said. Martin said he was pleased that the IDA selected him as the winning bidder. Our plans will enable Seneca Iron Works to continue growing, and will pave the way for additional industrial, agricultural and tourism development over the next 10 years, Martin contended in the IDA news release. With support from the community, our plans could have far-reaching effects that will strengthen the countys economy as a whole, as well as the entire Finger Lakes region. The depot has been for sale since the Seneca County IDA called for property bids on Dec. 15. Potential developers submitted a total of 16 bids for the property by the submission deadline of Feb. 29. The facility is a former World War II ordnance depot and one of the largest developable properties in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the IDA said. Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com SYRACUSE, N.Y. Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner on Thursday signed the Syracuse Resident Employment Ordinance. It mandates the hiring of city residents for at least 20 percent of a projects workforce on City of Syracuse contracts worth more than $100,000, Miners office said in a news release issued Thursday. The citys department of neighborhood and business development will be responsible for overseeing business compliance with the new ordinance. Additionally, the law creates a resident employment-advisory committee to assist the departments office of minority affairs in establishing recruitment protocols for employers. Syracuse will monitor compliance with certified payroll data and a web-based tracking system, Miners office said. Understanding the only way we will end the pernicious poverty that permeates the City of Syracuse is to create opportunities putting men and women to work, enabling them to provide for their families, I am proud to sign this ordinance into law, Miner said in the release. Khalid Bey, a member of Syracuse Common Council, had sponsored the measure. This legislation is a move in the right direction in the effort to strengthen the financial health of our families and our city. It is an example of what can be done when the Council, the administration, business and constituents work together for the benefit of everyone, Bey said in Miners release. Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com If you could please tell me how, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Copy Code var x = engine.Evaluate( " x <- rnorm(100, mean=50, sd=10)" ).AsNumeric(); returns 100 data points in x, yes ? what I dont know, is if x is a 2-d array or a dataframe - once you can determine that - I'd single step in debug mode until that step has been executed, then use the mouse and hover over 'x' and see what the debugger says its type is .... (I dont have 'R' installed) it surely is a simply matter to a) open a file for writing - use a 'using' block b) iterate 'x' by rows c) for each column in the row, build a comma separated string d) write the comma separated string to the file e) {end-for} really b & c are the bits that will differ depending on what it is (array, dataframe) How would I use an int array in RDotNet? Currently I have this: Copy Code public void variance(REngine e, string[] x,int[] y) { var var1 = e.GetSymbol( " var" ).AsFunction(); var1.Invoke(x).AsNumeric(); } How would I use an int array in this function I am trying to call? I am trying to use this as a method. I think what I have to do is convert the array into a dataFrame, but I just don't know how. modified 24-Jun-16 12:31pm. I wrote this new version of a function to replace an older version, which reads a HTML file, replaces some values, and sends it back out for emailing. I wrote an earlier post in which I said the HTML didn't persist, but that was an easy fix. I currently just don't understand why the replace is not working. It worked before when html_Template was a string builder. I really don't want to use regex to replace the values, I'm not good at writing regex. And I'm sure not if what I wrote is kosher and efficient. Maybe I can move the replace outside the using filestream. Copy Code private static string read_HTML_Template( model_crm_contact_request cm) { string html_Template = string .Empty; using ( var htmlStream = new FileStream(cm.smtp_templatePath_customer, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)) { long htmlLen = htmlStream.Length; byte[] bytes = new byte[htmlLen]; htmlStream.Read(bytes, 0 , ( int )htmlLen); if (!(htmlStream == null )) htmlStream.Close(); var enc = new UTF8Encoding( true ); var preamble = enc.GetPreamble(); if (preamble.Where((p, i) => p != bytes[i]).Any()) html_Template = enc.GetString(bytes.ToArray()); else html_Template = enc.GetString(bytes.Skip(preamble.Length).ToArray()); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteUrl %>" , cm.smtp_websiteUrl); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.HeaderImage %>" , cm.smtp_headerImage); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerName %>" , cm.Name); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteName %>" , cm.smtp_websiteName); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerComment %>" , cm.Query); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_GMT %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " GMT" ); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_UTC %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " UTC" ); } return html_Template; } Copy Code private static string read_HTML_Template( model_crm_contact_request cm) { string html_Template = string .Empty; using ( var htmlStream = new FileStream(cm.smtp_templatePath_customer, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)) { long htmlLen = htmlStream.Length; byte[] bytes = new byte[htmlLen]; htmlStream.Read(bytes, 0 , ( int )htmlLen); if (!(htmlStream == null )) htmlStream.Close(); var enc = new UTF8Encoding( true ); var preamble = enc.GetPreamble(); if (preamble.Where((p, i) => p != bytes[i]).Any()) html_Template = enc.GetString(bytes.ToArray()); else html_Template = enc.GetString(bytes.Skip(preamble.Length).ToArray()); } html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteUrl %>" , cm.smtp_websiteUrl); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.HeaderImage %>" , cm.smtp_headerImage); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerName %>" , cm.Name); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteName %>" , cm.smtp_websiteName); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerComment %>" , cm.Query); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_GMT %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " GMT" ); html_Template = html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_UTC %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " UTC" ); return html_Template; } This is the old version Copy Code private static string read_HTML_Template( model_crm_contact_request cm) { FileStream htmlStream = null ; htmlStream = new FileStream(cm.smtp_templatePath_website, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read); long htmlLen = htmlStream.Length; byte[] fileData = new byte[htmlLen]; htmlStream.Read(fileData, 0 , ( int )htmlLen); if (!(htmlStream == null )) htmlStream.Close(); byte[] byteLine = new byte[0]; string[] strArray = new string[0]; for ( int bdx = 0 ; (bdx <= (fileData.Length - 1 )); bdx++) { byte byteVal = fileData[bdx]; if (!(byteVal == 13 )) { Array.Resize( ref byteLine, byteLine.Length + 1 ); byteLine[byteLine.Length - 1] = byteVal; } else { Array.Resize( ref byteLine, byteLine.Length + 1 ); byteLine[byteLine.Length - 1] = byteVal; char[] charLine = new char[0]; Array.Resize( ref charLine, byteLine.Length + 1 ); for ( int cdx = 0 ; (cdx <= (byteLine.Length - 1 )); cdx++) { charLine[cdx] = AsciiByteToChar(byteLine[cdx]); } string value = new string (charLine); Array.Resize( ref strArray, strArray.Length + 1 ); strArray[strArray.Length - 1] = value ; Array.Resize( ref byteLine, 0 ); bdx++; } } StringBuilder html_Template = new StringBuilder(); for ( int idx = 0 ; (idx <= (strArray.Length - 1 )); idx++) { int integerRead = 0 ; char characterRead; StringBuilder htmlBuilder = new StringBuilder(); StringReader charReader = new StringReader(strArray[idx]); while ( true ) { integerRead = charReader.Read(); if ((integerRead == -1)) { break ; } characterRead = Convert.ToChar(integerRead); if ((characterRead == ' \t' )) { } else if (((characterRead == ' \r' ) || (characterRead == ' ' ))) { } else { htmlBuilder.Append(characterRead); } } string htmlString = htmlBuilder.ToString(); htmlString = htmlString.Substring( 0 , (htmlString.Length - 1 )); html_Template.Append(htmlString); } html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteUrl %>" , cm.smtp_websiteUrl); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.HeaderImage %>" , cm.smtp_headerImage); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerName %>" , cm.Name); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.WebsiteName %>" , cm.smtp_websiteName); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.CustomerComment %>" , cm.Query); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_GMT %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " GMT" ); html_Template.Replace( " <% smtp.TimeStamp_UTC %>" , DateTime.UtcNow + " UTC" ); return html_Template.ToString(); } I followed the tutorial here: Importing and displaying a Data frame with C# and R.NET | Psychwire[^] and I got errors on the code, here: Copy Code REngine.SetDllDirectory(dlldir); REngine.CreateInstance( " RDotNet" ); REngine engine = REngine.GetInstanceFromID( " RDotNet" ); engine.EagerEvaluate( " dataset<-read.table(file.choose(), header=TRUE, sep = ',')" ); DataFrame dataset = engine.EagerEvaluate( " dataset" ).AsDataFrame(); saying that it couldn't find the methods inRDotNet.Engine. This is the code I am using: Copy Code using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.ComponentModel; using System.Data; using System.Drawing; using System.IO; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.Threading.Tasks; using System.Windows.Forms; using Microsoft.Win32; using RDotNet; using RDotNet.NativeLibrary; using Microsoft.Win32; namespace RScript { public partial class Form1 : Form { public Form1() { string dlldir = @" C:\Program Files\R\R-3.3.0\bin\x64" ; bool r_located = false ; Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable( " PATH" , Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable( " PATH" ) + " ;" + dlldir); InitializeComponent(); while (r_located == false ) { try { REngine.SetDllDirectory(dlldir); REngine.CreateInstance( " RDotNet" ); r_located = true ; } catch { MessageBox.Show( @" Unable to find R installation's \bin\i386 folder. Press OK to attempt to locate it." ); /if (folderBrowserDialog1.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK) { dlldir = @folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath; }/ } } } private void button1_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { REngine engine = REngine.GetInstanceFromID( " RDotNet" ); try { engine.EagerEvaluate( " dataset<-read.table(file.choose(), header=TRUE, sep = ',')" ); DataFrame dataset = engine.EagerEvaluate( " dataset" ).AsDataFrame(); for ( int i = 0 ; i < dataset.ColumnCount; ++i) { dataGridView1.ColumnCount++; dataGridView1.Columns[i].Name = dataset.ColumnNames[i]; } for ( int i = 0 ; i < dataset.RowCount; ++i) { dataGridView1.RowCount++; dataGridView1.Rows[i].HeaderCell.Value = dataset.RowNames[i]; for ( int k = 0 ; k < dataset.ColumnCount; ++k) { dataGridView1[k, i].Value = dataset[i,k]; } } } catch { MessageBox.Show( @" Equation error." ); } } } } can someone please help me out, since I really need your help? I am new to R.Net. I am using the newest version of RDotNet (1.6.5). Thanks in advance! If you look at the bottom of the page you link to, there is a "Thoughts on..." area, which is there for people - like you - to comment and ask questions. Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... Hi, I'm creating code to select monitor in a multi-monitor configuration. I was wondering if someone with many monitors could help me understand what is happening once you have 5-6 monitors connected to your PC by running this script and just reporting results it prints out. C# Copy Code using System; using System.Drawing; using System.Windows.Forms; namespace Scr.Tests { class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { Rectangle desktop = SystemInformation.VirtualScreen; Console.WriteLine(desktop.ToString()); Screen[] screens = Screen.AllScreens; for ( int i = 0 ; i < screens.Length; i++) { Console.WriteLine(screens[i].Bounds.ToString()); Console.WriteLine(screens[i].DeviceName); Console.WriteLine(screens[i].WorkingArea.ToString()); } } } } Sincerely, Tomaz to do ? Given that more than one Screen can have (one or more) TaskBar objects, what does that mean in this context. You are aware that 'ScreenPrimaryScreen() will return the current active device Window, and if you are enumerating multiple Screens, the Screen.Primary method will return a boolean value for a given Screen indicating whether it's Primary. In any case, I think there's code on this post, and on this thread, on StackOverFlow you may find useful: [^] There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you dont want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it. Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008 - which monitor is monitor 1 (is it always left, top?), - can coordinates be negative, - what if one monitor is "missiong" and hence rectangular virtual desktop has "holes" in it, how does mouse behave then, ... Configurations such as this one: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c4/2f/90/c42f908f046399f8d097a7ecc6cf8bf4.jpg[^] are not that uncommon in the financial industry anymore. And my apps must follow the trend. So I really need a printout of this program. Then I can use the coordinates in my test program to simulate multi- monitor environment and draw it correctly. ^]. This may be useful: [^]. There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you dont want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it. Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008 I want do show my gps cursor in Mapwingis by C#. I want to show red cursor when gps stop and show green cursor when gps is running? I want to do it in C# please help me. This space for rent programming language is C#. This space for rent support center[^] which is full of helpful information? This space for rent Hello, I just want to find out if the tollbaricon or the notifyicon ist clicked. I know how to do that in a own class. My problem is, that I have a while-loop and in this one, I must check if one of the button is klicked. (Because only then the while have to break.) May you help me? May you have other ideas how i can realize it? The problem is that unless you are explicitly threading your app, the while loop is executing on the same thread as the rest of the UI elements - so the click action won't get honoured until after the loop has finished and the event handler that started it has returned control to the system. It's like a man who is so busy concentrating on what's in front of him while he is driving, that he doesn't notice the fire engine trying to get past! You can do it, but you have to change the way your application works, and move the loop into a separate thread. You can then set up an "terminate" variable which you check in the loop, and set in the Click event handler. Have a look at the BackgroundWorker Class (System.ComponentModel)[^] - it provides a safe and easy way to do this, but be aware that you cannot access any UI elements except on the same thread they were created on - if you try to do that inside your loop using a BackgroundWorker you will get a "Cross thread exception" and that means you need to use Invoke to move the access back onto the original thread. This isn't a simple subject and it's probably an idea if you do some background reading on Threading first before you get too complicated. Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... Hi, C# Copy Code I need to access my gmail contacts to upgrade an Access database. A program in C # manages this basis. I checked on the Internet and appeared several ways, but none worked. I found a video that the speaker creates the code step by step and in the end he managed to access the gmail contacts. I typed the code and is giving an error in word in of code: foreach (Contact contato in f.Entries) C# Copy Code The following code: C# Copy Code using System; using System.Data; using Google.Contacts; using Google.GData.Client; using Google.GData.Extensions; namespace ContatosGmail { public partial class Default : System.Web.UI.Page { protected void btnObter_Click( object sender, EventArgs e) { DataSet ds = new DataSet(); ds.Tables.Add( " GmailContacts" ); ds.Tables[0].Columns.Add( " EmailId" ); RequestSettings rs = new RequestSettings( " Taveira" , txtUsername.Text, txtPassword.Text); rs.AutoPaging = true ; ContactsRequest cr = new ContactsRequest(rs); Feed f = cr.GetContacts(); foreach (Contact contato in f.Entries) { foreach (EMail email in contato.Emails) { DataRow row = ds.Tables[0].NewRow(); row[ " EmailId" ] = email.Address.ToString(); ds.Tables[0].Rows.Add(row); } } GridView1.DataSource = ds.Tables[0]; GridView1.DataBind(); lblStatus.Text = " Toal de contatos para " + txtUsername.Text + " : " + ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count.ToString(); } } } C# Copy Code I am in urgent need of this solution. Using Visual Studio Professional 15 and Windows 10 . Thank you. It is your task to analyze the code, single-step through it and observe the specific error(s). Then, ask specific questions here, giving a clear description of the error message(s). And, unless you understand the code, how will you maintain it in the future when Google changes their API's, or some change in whatever occurs ? There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you dont want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it. Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008 The 1849 Mormon gold $20 coin in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian was conveyed to the museum under congressional legislation on 1968 as part of the massive Josiah K. Lilly gold coin collection. Tucked away in a familys lock box for more than five decades, this 1849 Mormon gold $20 coin has been graded and encapsulated PCGS Secure Mint State 62. 1849 Mormon $20 gold coin has been stored in a lock box for more than 50 years unknown to the numismatic world. A recently surfaced 1849 Mormon gold $20 coin tucked away in a familys lock box for more than 50 years has been graded and encapsulated Mint State 62 Secure by Professional Coin Grading Service, and has been called the finest example that PCGS has certified of the pioneer gold type. The grading service considers the coin to be in a finer state of preservation than the example that has been in the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History since 1968 as part of the Josiah K. Lilly gold coin collection. The Lilly Collection became part of the National Numismatic Collection under special legislation passed by Congress to provide tax advantages to the Lilly estate for the numismatic donation. Connect with Coin World: The newly certified PCGS Secure MS-62 coin will either be brokered for sale by private treaty by Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers or consigned to the firms September auction, Larry Goldberg told Coin World June 15. Goldberg said the newly surfaced 1849 Mormon pioneer gold coin was brought to the Goldbergs Los Angeles offices by appointment by a representative of the coins owner. Goldberg said the owners representative indicated the coin has been secured in a family lock box since the early 1960s, but no information was provided as to provenance. The coins owner remains anonymous, Goldberg said. David Hall, president of Collectors Universe, parent to PCGS of which he was a co-founder in 1986, has had the opportunity to examine the Smithsonians Mormon gold piece. As I stated in my narrative for PCGS CoinFacts, I believe PCGS would grade that coin MS-61, Hall says. This new discovery coin is, in my opinion, superior to the Lilly coin, and as such [is] the finest known example of this historically important U.S. gold coin rarity. Ive been paying attention to Territorial gold for 46 years, and this is the finest Mormon $20 I have ever seen. Numismatic Guaranty Corp. also graded and encapsulated another 1849 Mormon $20 gold coin as MS-62. That example realized $558,125 in an April 2014 sale by Heritage Auctions. The same coin also served as a plate coin for Donald H. Kagins Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States. The NGC-certified example has subsequently been submitted to PCGS where it was graded and encapsulated MS-61. Heritage Auction catalogers in 2014 determined through investigation by numismatic researcher Wayne Burt that at least 23 examples of the 1849 Mormon gold $20 coin were then extant in all grades. That total does not include the PCGS Secure MS-62 example recently certified by the grading service. Historical perspective The privately produced 1849 Mormon gold $20 coin is considered by many numismatists to be the first coin of that denomination to enter general circulation in the United States, beating the federal issuance of double eagles by a year. Mormon gold coins were struck by the Deseret Assay Office from 1849 to 1860 in denominations of $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 from gold originating in California, despite the inscriptions on the coins, G. S. L. C. P. G., abbreviating Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold. The Mormon gold coins, struck and issued with the approval of Brigham Young, were passed at face value within the Mormon settlement without question. According to Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois in their 1850 work, New Varieties of Gold and Silver Coins, reprinted in Kagins reference: The Mormon coins have just been received, through a gentleman who came overland from Great Salt Lake in eighty-one days. ... In fineness they are about .899 thous., with little variation; and they contain only the native silver alloy. The weights are more irregular, and the values very deficient. The 20-dollar piece weighs from 436 to 453 grains, value $16.90 to $17.53. Most of the Mormon $20 coins were melted for their gold content. The obverse of the coin depicts the all-seeing eye of Jehovah below a three-point Phrygian cap or miter, en emblem of Mormon priesthood. Inscribed around is HOLINESS. TO. THE. LORD. The reverse is inscribed G. S. L. C. P. G. and TWENTY DOLLARS around to clasped hands below which appears the date 1849. The Block Island National Wildlife Refuge quarter dollar design endorsed by the CFA features a black-crowned night-heron in flight over Cow Cove, with the North Light lighthouse in the distance. A snowy egret ready for flight is featured on the CFA-endorsed design for the Cumberland Island National Seashore quarter dollar. The CFA-endorsed design for the Voyageurs National Park quarter dollar depicts a common loon and a rock cliff. Recommended for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore quarter dollar is a design featuring Devils Cave, a lighthouse and kayaker. Chapel Rock is depicted on the CFAs design recommendation for the 2018 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore quarter dollar. Proposed designs for the five America the Beautiful quarter dollars to be released in 2018 were recommended June 16 by the Commission of Fine Arts. The same designs are to be reviewed June 27 by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The CFA reviewed 52 candidate designs 13 for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan; nine for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin; five for Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota; 13 for Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia; and 12 for Block Island National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island. Pictured Rocks Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was congressionally recognized in 1966 as a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, between the communities of Munising and Grand Marais. Connect with Coin World: For the reverse of the Pictured Rocks quarter dollar, the CFA recommends a proposed design depicting Chapel Rock and the lone white pine tree that grows atop it. Apostle Islands Apostle Islands National Lakeshore was recognized by Congress in 1970. The lakeshore, located in Bayfield, Wis., consists of 21 islands and shoreline encompassing 69,372 acres on the northern tip of the state, also on the shore of Lake Superior. For the Apostle Islands quarter dollar, the CFA recommends a design depicting the sea caves at Devils Island with the lighthouse in the background. A kayaker paddles by in the lake below. Voyageurs Voyageurs National Park is in northern Minnesota near the town of International Falls. Congress recognized the park by statute in 1971. The CFAs design recommendation for the Voyageurs quarter dollar features a common loon in the foreground and a rock cliff in the background. Cumberland Island St. Marys, Ga., is the gateway to Cumberland Island, the states largest and southernmost barrier island. Cumberland Island National Seashore, recognized by Congress in 1972, includes more than 9,800 acres of federally designated wilderness. The CFA recommends a design for the 2018 quarter dollar depicting a snowy egret ready for flight, its wings outstretched as it perches on a branch at the edge of a salt marsh. Block Island Located approximately 12 miles offshore from New Shoreham, R.I., on Block Island, the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge was congressionally recognized in 1973 by statute with the transfer of 28 acres from the U.S. Coast Guard, and has since expanded to its current size of 134 acres. Featured on the CFAs recommended 2018 quarter dollar design is a black-crowned night-heron flying over a view from the beach at Cow Cove looking towards Sandy Point. The North Light lighthouse is seen in the distance. The 2018 America the Beautiful coins continue the series started in 2010. Hello, I'm a reporter for summer 2016. I'm a dual major in journalism and English, a Californian and a lover of desserts. I look forward to covering a variety of topics, and would love to hear from you. Email me at kelseyhurwitz@mail.missouri.edu. Follow this search 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 What you need to know ahead of mandatory CWD sampling in Missouri outdoors Workers seine catfish at Simmons Catfish farm near Yazoo City, home to one of the largest catfish processing plants and farms in Mississippi. U.S. farmers want fish imported from Asia to be held to the same strict safety inspection standards that they must meet. (Eli Baylis/Associated Press) JACKSON, Miss. In an industry that's lost over half of its jobs in the past decade, Mississippi's catfish farmers have by no means given up to heated competition from abroad. Rather, the state's catfish farmers, which produce over half of U.S. farm-raised catfish, work under labor safety inspection laws while fighting to make sure their industry rivals in Asia are held up to the same standards. After an eight-year battle, American catfish farmers rejoiced when the U.S. Department of Agriculture took over the catfish inspection program from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March to increase food safety of Asian catfish-like species imports, mostly from Vietnam and China. The program was first authorized in the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bills but struggled to receive funding from Congress. It wasn't implemented until March. "We're mainly interested in a level playing field that provides a wholesome product," said Ben Pentecost, a Mississippi catfish farmer and president of the Catfish Farmers of America. "We don't want to be undermined by a cheap substitute that's not safe." Since the new program was implemented, the USDA halted two Vietnam catfish shipments contaminated with carcinogens. While U.S. catfish farmers were inspected rigorously under the FDA program, the FDA, due in part to funding and staffing, inspected less than two percent of all foreign seafood imports, according to catfish industry specialist Jimmy Avery, a professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Avery said that less than 0.2 percent of those shipments underwent lab work for drug residues or microbial contamination. Yet when President Obama visited Vietnam last month to bolster diplomatic ties, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, introduced a resolution that would return the inspection program to the FDA. Despite opposition from Mississippi senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, the resolution passed in the Senate. Mississippi's four representatives have signed a letter with other legislators asking House leaders to not consider the resolution. McCain and other opponents of the USDA program say it is hurting trade relations with Vietnam and costing taxpayers "millions." The Government Accountability Office has reported that the implementation of the USDA catfish inspection program will cost the industry and the federal government $14 million annually, while the FDA's program cost $700,000. "It's not wasteful spending," Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute, told The Clarion-Ledger. "The only true, safe catfish comes from U.S. farms." "We are working to inform consumers that this is not a trade issue; it's a food safety issue," added Barlow. The USDA program is designed to go into full effect in September 2017 when all shipments of imported catfish, which make up 70 percent of catfish purchased in the U.S., will be inspected. Already, farmers in the U.S., which produce more than 300 million pounds of catfish annually, are experiencing the full weight of the program, with inspectors assigned to every catfish processing plant to oversee daily food safety issues that involve pest control, the packaging of products, sanitation procedures and general employee practices. In Belzoni, Mississippi, a sign welcomes drivers to the "Catfish Capital of the World." But outside of the town and throughout the region, there are many dry ponds long emptied of fish and water. Some of those ponds have been converted into fields, a visual sign of how much the industry in the state has been affected. Avery has studied the decline and says it can be attributed to the appeal of low-cost products provided by an increased number of competitors abroad, rising prices of catfish feed of corn and soybeans, and finally, a weakened economy. Avery said that since the early 2000s, 111,500 acres of catfish were farmed in Mississippi when catfish was the fourth-largest product for the state, right behind poultry, timber and cotton. Today, only 39,000 catfish acres are farmed, while 4,000 jobs remain associated with the business, keeping it a big industry in the state, said Avery. In recent years, the industry has stabilized due in part to the fact that feed prices have declined, he added. In the heart of the Mississippi Delta in Yazoo County, Simmons Catfish, one of the largest of the catfish processing plants and farms, stands as a beacon for where the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry holds strong. Here, employees run off a motto that "quality is everybody's business." Jay Bridges, who owns and operates Jerry's Catfish House in Florence, says Simmons is the only brand he buys because he wants the best quality product for his customers, who, as Bridges puts it, return to his restaurant time and time again out of the expectation for a locally grown product. By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal Memphis police are looking for a 24-year-old man in connection with a slaying earlier this week. Police have named Jasper Nunley, also known as "KO," as a suspect in the shooting death of Kenneth Garrett, 21. Garrett was found dead Monday outside an apartment in Parkway Village. Police have issued a warrant for Nunley's arrest on a charge of first-degree murder. Anyone with information on Nunley's whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH. Lawrence McKinney, right, speaks at a news conference at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville Thursday. McKinney, who spent 31 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, continues to wage a battle with the state of Tennessee to get the compensation he is legally owed. With McKinney are Pastor John Hunn, left, of Immanuel Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tenn., and Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, center. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) SHARE By Sheila Burke, Associated Press NASHVILLE A man who spent 31 years in prison for a rape in Memphis that he did not commit is at the center of a battle with the state of Tennessee for compensation that supporters say he is legally owed after being robbed of decades of his life. Lawrence McKinney, who is now 60 and works part time at his church to help support his ailing 75-year-old wife, said he trusts in God that money will come through to help pay the bills, including medical costs for his wife, Dorothy. But members of his church and two state lawmakers say they are boiling mad and tired of getting the runaround from both the Tennessee Board of Parole and the office of Gov. Bill Haslam. McKinney was robbed of having children, building a job, getting an education and putting aside money for retirement, said Rep. Mark Pody, a Republican who represents the former prisoner's district in Lebanon, Tennessee. Tennessee, Pody said, is morally and legally bound to compensate him. "Our state had him in prison incorrectly. We've got to make this right," the lawmaker said Wednesday. McKinney was released from prison in 2009 after DNA evidence showed that he did not rape a woman in Memphis in 1977. The soft-spoken McKinney said there was a time in prison when he was angry, but found peace when he embraced religion behind bars. He was released from prison with a $75 check but couldn't cash it for three months because he had no birth certificate, no driver's license or no ID, he said. He didn't get his driver's license until age 58 and married a year after he got out of prison. Still, he believes things will work out for him. "I just have to live one day at a time and put my trust in God," he said. At a press conference Thursday, Pody, the pastor of McKinney's church, and state Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet, said they can't understand why McKinney has been out of prison for seven years and still has not been compensated. Under Tennessee law, some people who are wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they did not commit are entitled to compensation of up to $1 million. But to get the money, they have to be officially exonerated by the governor, even if a court has already found them not guilty and let them out of prison. Gov. Bill Haslam has yet to officially exonerate McKinney. Pody said he's been told by Haslam's office that the governor wants to wait for the Board of Parole to consider the case. The lawmaker said he called the press conference because the Board of Parole keeps giving him conflicting information about when it might hear the case. Haslam's office won't act unless the Parole Board does although state law allows him to exonerate people without getting a nonbinding recommendation from the Parole Board. "It is the administration's policy to consider executive clemency requests after receiving a recommendation from the Board of Probation and Parole," Haslam spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals said in an email. The board turned down McKinney's request for exoneration in 2010. "Very few things shock me anymore, but I was stunned that they denied that man exoneration," said David Raybin, an attorney who represented McKinney in 2010. He said then-Gov. Phil Bredesen followed the recommendation of the Parole Board and did not grant exoneration. It's not clear when the Board of Parole might hear the case again. A spokeswoman said members are busy with thousands of other cases. "It is a possibility that we could have a hearing as soon as September, but it's also a possibility that their work won't be complete by then, so we'll just have to wait and see," Board of Parole spokeswoman Melissa McDonald said. Barney Sellers/The Commercial Appeal files The heat took its toll on a water main on June 19, 1953, and sent water geysering out of the street at Hollywood and Jackson. It afforded relief from the 102-degree temperature for 11-year-old Walter Bobo, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Bobo of 738 Hollywood. SHARE June 17 25 years ago: 1991 Willie Herenton is a blunt-talking educator who's never been comfortable in the world of politics. But the retiring city schools superintendent managed to outmaneuver a number of experienced politicians including Rep. Harold Ford and emerge from a four-month unity effort as the consensus black candidate for mayor of Memphis. He cemented his position as the black unity candidate Saturday by turning out enough supporters to overwhelm Ford's Black Leadership Summit and win the congressman's endorsement. Now it seems certain that Herenton will go one-on-one against incumbent Dick Hackett as he tries to become the city's first elected black mayor. 50 years ago: 1966 The University of Tennessee Medical Units will change its medical and dental student programs to a one-class a year structure, if needed new facilities proposed yesterday are obtained. Dr. Homer F. Marsh, chancellor in charge of the Medical Units, disclosed the plan last night when contacted at Knoxville, where he attended a meeting of UT's Board of Trustees. The board approved the planned change, he said. Currently, the College of Medicine admits two classes each year, in September and March, with 100 students in each class. The new class would have 200 students. In dentistry, four classes of 35 each are admitted yearly. This would be changed to one class of 140. 75 years ago: 1941 WASHINGTON President Roosevelt yesterday ordered all German consular and propaganda offices in the United States closed before July 10 and their German employees expelled because of "improper" and "unwarranted" activities "inimical to the welfare of this country." 100 years ago: 1916 Of the indictments yesterday returned by the Shelby County grand jury, six alleged that the four-mile liquor law had been violated. Albert Saise, S.A. Swilley, Joe Faccarrio, R.A. Rogers, Joe Sesta and Joe Malrizzi were named. 125 years ago: 1891 The fire alarm at 8:30 last evening was caused by a couple of electric light wires getting crossed in front of Robinson's drug store. The electrical conflict created considerable scare for a while, but no serious damage resulted. By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal WASHINGTON Whether they come from an urban center in Memphis, Nashville or Knoxville, or from a rural community as small as Frog Jump, the men and women representing Tennessee in Congress share at least one trait. All 11 of them are white. Tennessee is one of just two states in the Deep South that don't have any people of color in their congressional delegations. The other is the state's next-door neighbor, Arkansas, which has never sent an African-American to Congress. Lack of diversity in Tennessee's congressional delegation isn't surprising, experts say, given the state's demographic makeup. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;!--iframe--&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; African-Americans make up just 17 percent of the state's total population well below Louisiana (32 percent), Georgia (30 percent), South Carolina (28 percent), Alabama (25 percent) and North Carolina (21 percent). The percentage of other minorities in Tennessee is even smaller. Just 5 percent of state residents are Hispanic, and fewer than 2 percent are Asian. In its 220-year history, Tennessee has sent only two African-Americans to Congress Harold Ford Sr., who represented the Memphis area in the House for 22 years, and his son, Harold Ford Jr., who succeeded his father and served a decade before giving up the seat to run unsuccessfully for the Senate. Both are Democrats. Harold Ford Sr. said voters aren't concerned as much with a candidate's race as with whether that candidate can do the job. "People look at the person," he said. "They don't look at it as black or white or whatever. People want representation, and if you can do the job and you fit the bill, you're my person." If people cared only about the color of a candidate's skin, Ford Sr. said, he probably wouldn't have won his first congressional race in 1974. He was elected to 8th Congressional District, which at the time was centered in Memphis. The district was majority white, even though Memphis and West Tennessee historically have had the state's largest concentrations of African-Americans. When congressional boundaries were redrawn in the early 1980s, the district where Ford Sr. and eventually, his son served was reconfigured to include more African-Americans and renumbered as the 9th District. Today, African-Americans comprise nearly 65 percent of the district, making it the state's only congressional district with a majority of African-American voters. Since 2006, the district has been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat who defeated 14 other candidates, including a dozen African-Americans, to succeed Ford Jr. For 24 years, Cohen had been a state senator with a liberal voting record, and his prominence gave him an advantage in the race. The crowded field also split the African-American vote and helped Cohen win the seat. He has faced an African-American challenger in every election since, but has been re-elected four times by large margins. In Congress, Cohen has championed social justice issues such as poverty and criminal justice reform. His staffs in Washington and in Tennessee include a number of African-Americans. During the 2006 race, some African-Americans openly questioned whether a Jewish candidate like Cohen could best represent a predominantly African-American, Christian district. But Cohen said he seldom hears that question anymore. "I never hear it up (in Washington), and I hardly ever hear it at home," he said. "I'm constantly fighting for Memphis, and people know I'm fighting for Memphis." Ford Sr. also gives Cohen high marks. "Cohen has been extremely responsive (to the district) in every way," he said. Still, Tennessee could benefit from having an African-American in Congress, said Sekou Franklin, an associate professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University. An African-American congressman could give the state a larger role in shaping the national debate on issues such as poverty and criminal justice reform by working through organizations such as the Congressional Black Caucus, Franklin said. A black congressman from Tennessee also could benefit African-Americans politically, Franklin said, by using the weight of the position to change how the state Democratic Party operates and help organize delegates for the state and national political conventions. Other than the 9th District, the Nashville-centered 5th Congressional District could offer the best opportunity to elect an African-American to Congress from Tennessee, Franklin said. Blacks make up one-quarter of the voters in the district, which is currently represented by Rep. Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat. A biracial coalition could potentially emerge and help elect an African-American to the seat whenever Cooper decides to step down, Franklin said. The rest of the state, however, probably will remain a challenge. African-Americans make up less than 11% of the other seven districts. SHARE By Cass Sunstein Congress is in the midst of a breakdown in longstanding institutional norms. The latest example is the Senate's refusal to hold confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court a refusal that is probably without precedent. But something broader is occurring, and it threatens to undermine the federal government's ability to carry out its central functions. To see what has happened and what might be done about it, we should say something about norms in general. The place to start is the late Edna Ullmann-Margalit's pathbreaking 1975 book, "The Emergence of Norms." Ullmann-Margalit's central claim, rooted in game theory, is that social norms are "solutions to problems posed by certain types of social interaction situations." In her view, norms impose "a significant social pressure for conformity and against deviation," and they usually prevail over selfish or purely personal considerations. Ullmann-Margalit argued that norms help solve prisoner's dilemmas, which arise when each person, relying on rational self-interest, acts in a way that makes everyone worse off. In those situations, mutually beneficial outcomes are possible only with a strong norm, backed by social pressures on those who violate it. Suppose, for example, that the question is whether to pay your income tax, or clean up your garbage, or cut through your neighbor's well-tended lawn. In each case, a social norm might turn out to be indispensable. In short, many norms turn out to be arms-control agreements, enforced by social pressures. We benefit from being able to take those norms for granted. When institutions work well, it is usually because they too are guided by such norms. In Congress, Democrats and Republicans have long adhered to norms involving the confirmation process, the filibuster, the subpoena power, committees, hearings and more. But in recent years, many of those norms have collapsed. Take Supreme Court nominations. Before the Democrats' refusal to confirm Judge Robert Bork in 1987, many people would have said that the Senate followed this straightforward norm: As long as Supreme Court nominees meet basic standards of competence and character, they will be confirmed. Democrats could say to Republicans, "so long as your nominees are neither stupid nor sleazy, they'll get the job," and Republicans could say exactly the same. Whether or not the Senate always respected that norm, there's no question that Bork's defeat obliterated it. The new norm looked like this: If the opposing party believes that the views of Supreme Court nominees are out of the mainstream, then it can legitimately oppose them. That norm was also a sort of arms-control agreement. For example, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter were moderates, unquestionably within the mainstream, and they were confirmed by overwhelming votes (97 to 0 for Kennedy, 90 to 9 for Souter). The post-Bork norm eventually broke down too. You can argue about exactly when that happened. It may have been the divided vote over John Roberts (who had 22 votes against him). It may have been the even greater split over Samuel Alito (42 negative votes). After the Alito vote, the new norm could be described this way: If senators (or their constituents) strongly disagree with a nominee's predicted votes, they can legitimately vote against confirmation. That's consistent with the large number of votes against confirming Sonia Sotomayor (31) and Elena Kagan (37). With the Republicans' refusal to allow a vote on Garland, we've entered uncharted territory. The GOP would like to say that the norm for which they are speaking is quite narrow: No Supreme Court confirmations in an election year. But their behavior is fully consistent with a much broader one: If a party can get away with refusing to confirm a Supreme Court nominee chosen by a president of the opposing party, that's exactly what it will do. If so, appointments to the high court will become mired in the crassest form of partisan politics. As Ullmann-Margalit's work suggests, it is exceedingly difficult to reinstate an abandoned norm, for one reason: Individuals lack an incentive to adhere to it. That's certainly true in the Senate, especially in the period before an election. The breakdown of longstanding norms may turn out to be permanent. To know whether that's a problem, we need to examine the consequences. If a president has difficulty filling positions because the opposing party delays confirmation, the people's business might not get done. And if a president's judicial nominees are not confirmed, because the opposing party disagrees with their likely votes, federal courts will lack sufficient personnel to proceed expeditiously. Blocking important legislation, as a way of punishing the president of the opposing party, is even worse; consider the absence of funding for needed infrastructure improvements. There is some hope. It lies in the critical period between November 2016 and February 2017, when a new president and lawmakers will be in a position to establish new patterns of behavior. In the immediate aftermath of a presidential election, legislators are far less constrained by short-term political calculations, and they have the freedom to pursue the nation's long-term interests. The proper functioning of our institutions may well depend on that. Cass Sunstein, a Bloomberg View columnist, is director of the Harvard Law School's program on behavioral economics and public policy. SHARE By Tobin Harshaw We've seen this movie before, but still don't know how it ends. According to unconfirmed reports, the so-called caliph of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Raqqa, Syria. Similar rumors cropped up at least twice before, in January and October of last year, and both times the news of his death was greatly exaggerated. As for the latest report, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk said, "We have no reason to believe that Baghdadi's not still alive, but we have not heard from him since the end of last year." Baghdadi's silence or even death might seem like excellent news for the fight against the jihadists. An accomplished scholar of the Koran, he was named the "commander of believers" globally by Islamic State in 2014, a title not held since the fall of the Ottoman sultan. But some military strategists and scholars of Islam make a strong argument that the U.S.-led coalition would be better off if Baghdadi remains alive and in charge. Consider a 2014 study by Jenna Jordan of the Georgia Institute of Technology on so-called decapitation strikes against major terrorist groups. On the death of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, she writes, "decapitation is unlikely to diminish the ability" of al-Qaida, "rather, it may have counterproductive consequences, emboldening or strengthening the organization." She bases her claim on the theory of "organizational resilience," which may be more familiar to business school graduates than to counterterrorism operatives. Jordan doesn't buy the argument that a cohesive group sharing an intense belief in a goal depends on the "charismatic leadership" (to use Max Weber's phrase) of a single person like bin Laden or Baghdadi. Instead, she sees many clandestine groups as being bureaucracies often impervious to changes at the top. Such organizations "are diversified, have a clear division of administrative responsibilities and functions, follow rules and procedures, and are thus more likely to withstand the sudden removal of a leader or leaders." All of those characteristics apply far more accurately to Islamic State than to the relatively decentralized al-Qaida. So if eliminating Baghdadi wouldn't be a death blow to Islamic State, at least it would count as a victory in the ongoing war, right? Again, there is debate here. In the blog War on the Rocks, Haroro Ingram of Australian National University and Craig Whiteside, a combat veteran teaching at the U.S. Naval War College Monterey, argue that "charismatic leadership is an inherently volatile and ephemeral form of leadership." The caliph, they worry, could be replaced by a figure with far stronger military and organizational skills. The authors highlight the history of Islamic State's dark days after the 2006 death of its ruthless founder, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the prototypical charismatic leader. While Zarqawi's guerilla war on U.S. troops made what was then called al-Qaida in Iraq the most feared faction in the Iraqi insurgency, his eagerness to kill fellow Muslims raised the ire of not just the nation's Shiite majority but also fellow Sunni radicals, including the al-Qaida leadership. He was succeeded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (no relation to the current caliph) who lacked Zarqawi's battlefield bravado but was a skilled manager who took the long view. He mended fences with other jihadist groups and retooled the group to take advantage of the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces. Thus not only is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi replaceable, his successor could pose an even bigger threat, especially if he chose not to declare himself caliph of the Muslim world. That would open the possibility of Islamic State mending fences with other Sunni terrorist groups, including al-Qaida and its Syrian affiliate the Al Nusra Front, which is emerging as the most potent military force in that nation's civil war. So what's the alternative to decapitation? The best way to cripple a terrorist group may be to take out its "middle managers." In an article for the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Peter Neumann, Ryan Evans (who founded War on the Rocks) and Raffaello Pantucci argue that the figures found on the org chart between the leadership elites and the field troops are the "connective tissue" that holds the organization together. Indeed, the French scholar Mathieu Guidere says that the U.S.-led coalition has made a priority of killing "technical cadres and the mid-level commanders who, though they don't take the decisions, execute them Without them, nothing could be done on the ground." With Islamic State forces on the rocks in both Fallujah, Iraq, and their capital of Raqqa, Baghdadi's grand strategy appears increasingly flawed. Instead of targeting him and rolling the dice on his replacement, the U.S. should perhaps allow him to become, as Ingram and Whiteside put it, a "caliph without a caliphate." Tobin Harshaw writes editorials for Bloomberg View. Josh Baker, an IT support engineer at Dallas-based Axxess, doesn't work directly on the cloud-based software systems his company develops for the home healthcare industry. His focus is internal IT support. Yet Baker, 38, knows the products his company sells inside and out. "We all know what we sell," Baker says, referring to his 59 co-workers in IT at the rapidly growing software company, which was new to Computerworld's Best Places to Work in IT list last year and managed this year to nab the No. 1 spot among small employers this year. "We're all kind of salespeople for our software," Baker says. "We all make the effort to know the software." Sonya Sobush, 51, a senior product manager who started out in product support, recalls how she asked to test-drive the Axxess software during her initial job interview four years ago. "I didn't want to go into a company where I hadn't seen the product," says Sobush, then a 17-year veteran of the home healthcare industry, specializing in operations. "They provided me with a demo, and I loved the usability of it. It felt right." Since then, Sobush, who works remotely, helped launch the company's software implementation team and developed the training manual for AgencyCore, the company's flagship product, before moving into product management and now product development of a new home care software application. "I expressed interest and took it upon myself to work in different areas and see where I might find what I like to do," says Sobush. "As the company grows, the opportunities in IT are expanding. There's really the opportunity to go wherever you want to go." Employees say career opportunities abound at Axxess, which doubled its overall head count between 2015 and 2016 to about 150 and expanded its IT staff by about 25% during the same time period. The company's cultural hallmarks of innovation, openness and transparency are reflected in everything from the glass walls, the open floor plan and the light-filled atmosphere of its new seventh-floor offices to the twice-weekly all-company meetings, where anyone and everyone is expected to contribute their observations, experiences and suggestions. It's all part of what's known internally as the "Axxess Way," which CTO Andrew Olowu says boils down to "the best ideas win." Axxess Axxess employees can put up their feet, put on headphones and unwind in the South Beach break area, which overlooks the city of Dallas. Other work/life balance perks include flexible working hours and 15 days of paid time off in the first year of employment. "Ideas ride to the top because we know ideas change the world and can come from anywhere," says Olowu. "We place a high value on innovation. "My job -- in addition to delivering products and managing performance -- is to propagate that culture into teams," he says. "I tell people to be an idea person, but not to get too attached to any one idea because a better one may surface." Collaboration is key It's the opportunity to collaborate and contribute across a variety of projects that makes Tyler Howes glad he relocated to Texas with his fiancee to join the company a little less than a year ago. Axxess recruited the 23-year-old mobile engineer when he was a newly minted computer science graduate from Neumont University in Salt Lake City last June. "The culture here is so diverse, and I get to work with almost everybody," says Howes, who is currently working on a mobile application and a new notes feature for AgencyCore. "If you have any questions, you just talk directly to [other] engineers. You don't need to go through hoops to get answers. People are friendly and always in a great mood," says Howes, who also appreciates the company's open-door policy. "If you have a better solution to the current way of doing things, you can feel comfortable about bringing it up and explaining it to upper management." Jeff Linton, a 26-year-old Web engineer also recruited from Neumont, is one of six developers on a highly collaborative team where ideas flow freely. He says he got a favorable impression of the company during his first six months on the job, because even though he was new he had the opportunity to work closely with Olowu. "He was helping us release a new product," Linton recalls. "He would listen to me and let me make decisions. For tech people to be given that [trust and responsibility] is pretty remarkable. That's huge." Celebrating diversity One thing that sets Axxess apart is the fact that it has an unusually diverse IT organization -- more than 30 nations are represented on the team. Yet despite that range of backgrounds, virtually every employee interviewed for this article mentioned feeling like they're among family at work. "We celebrate so many different cultural holidays and festivals," says Shradha Aiyer, 27, a lead mobile engineer, who says she particularly enjoys Diversity Day, which -- naturally -- celebrates the diversity of the staff with food, music and festivities. "We get to travel the world for two or three hours without leaving work," Aiyer says. Most recently, the IT group celebrated Tet, the Vietnamese lunar New Year. "We all went out and had Vietnamese food and decorated our colleagues' desks with lucky yellow flowers," she says. Axxess Diversity is a priority at Axxess, right down to the design of the conference room walls. Each meeting space is designed to reflect the cultures of a different continent, so everyone feels at home. The company's year-end employee appreciation day to "going back to your grandparents house; they make you feel comfortable and relaxed," Aiyer says. "There are treasure hunts and games and mind puzzles designed for each team. Last year, we did indoor skydiving." Flexible working hours and 15 days of paid time off (in addition to state and national holidays like Thanksgiving and Labor Day) in the first year of employment, and days off for birthdays are also much appreciated perks, IT staffers say. "I was able to take off a bunch of time to get ready for my wedding," which is coming up soon, says Howes. "Oh, and every Monday we get food catered for free," Howes quickly adds. "Free lunch is a good thing. I'm a guy who likes free food." Aiyer says she most appreciates the feeling of being valued by the company. "Working here, there is a lot of freedom. You're not just another cog in the system. You're valued for your talents, and the company invests time, money and energy training you in areas where you may be lacking," says Aiyer, who joined Axxess three years ago after earning a graduate degree in computer science from the University of Texas in Dallas. Aiyer says she has been able to attend various user experience camps as well as several mobile technology conferences "because I was interested and I asked. Whatever [conferences or training] we need from an engineering perspective, we go. We don't get pushback from management as long as we're adding value by attending," she says. Official Axxess policy is to reimburse employees for tuition costs up to $2,500 per person per year. But there's no set maximum reimbursement for continuing or executive education or for earning technology certifications. Beni Celoach, 41, a senior product manager who has been at Axxess for three years, just returned from a scrum master certification training course. "It wasn't cheap, and Axxess is paying for all of it," she says. "They're willing to invest in people, and who doesn't want free education?" On-the-spot salary bumps IT employees are also satisfied with their pay, describing their overall compensation as "very competitive." Many have received performance bonuses during their time with the company. Overall, Axxess has budgeted for an average 10% salary increase for IT employees for its current fiscal year. It also has budgeted an undisclosed amount for performance bonuses, which Olowu says can often be more lucrative than a regular annual salary increase. "We don't have [automatic] annual salary increases because we don't want our engineers to get conditioned to getting raises every year after a performance review," he explains. Instead, salary bumps are always tied to performance, and they can happen at any time throughout the year. "We measure the impact on the business. We reward hard work and going the extra mile. That's rewarded instantly. When our engineers perform well, we instantly provide a salary increase or spot bonus, so you could be part of Axxess for three months and your salary goes up," Olowu explains. "Even though your base salary is at a certain point, it can rise dramatically if you deliver an important project or have been a leader." Next: Welcome newbies! A look at the 21 organizations new to the Best Places ranks China has set 2020 as the date for delivering an exascale system, the next major milestone in supercomputing performance. This is three years ahead of the U.S. roadmap. This claim is from China's National University of Defense Technology, as reported Thursday by China's official news agency, Xinhua. This system will be called Tianhe-3, following a naming convention that began in 2010 when China announced its first petaflop-scale system, Tianhe-1. The first petascale system was developed in the U.S. in 2008. The U.S. roadmap calls for delivering an exascale system -- capable of 1,000 petaflops -- in 2023. But it's not clear just what China will deliver in 2020. Theoretically, an exascale computer could be built today but it wouldn't be practical. The power needs may be in excess of what the U.S. believes is possible, power-wise, by 2023: A system that uses 20 to 30 megawatts. "It's entirely probable that one or more governments will deploy supercomputers with hypothetical peak performance of an exaflop by 2020," said Steve Conway, a high-performance computing analyst at IDC. "An exaflop is an arbitrary milestone, a nice round figure with the kind of symbolic lure the four-minute mile once held." But what will China be capable of delivering in 2020? The first stage will likely be peak exaflop performance, and then a Linpack test making make it eligible for ranking on the Top 500 supercomputing list, said Conway. But the measure "that counts most, but will likely be celebrated least," said Conway, "is sustained exaflop performance on a full, challenging 64-bit application." That third stage probably won't happen until the 2022 to 2024 timeframe, he said. That's the timeframe the U.S. has set, and its definition of exascale is sustained performance. The White House, in an executive order last year, released a plan for coordinating exascale development and defined an exascale system capable of "100 times the performance of current 10-petaflop systems across a range of applications representing government needs." The U.S. emphasis is on application performance, not on a peak performance record. Even if China does meet its 2020 goal, the debate will be over the usefulness of the machine. Nonetheless, China will likely use the machine to underscore its science advancement. China has been leading the Top 500 list with its 34-petaflop Tianhe-2 system, but that list is due to be updated next week at the ISC High Performance Conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The U.S. House of Representatives voted down an anti-surveillance amendment after some of its members expressed concern about its impact on the fight against terrorism, in the wake of Sundays massacre at a nightclub in Orlando. The measure was proposed by Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofrgren, a Democrat from California, as as an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. It would prevent warrantless searches by law enforcement of information on Americans from a foreign intelligence communications database and prohibit with some exceptions the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency from using any funds appropriated under the Act to require that companies weaken the security of their products or services to enable surveillance of users. The amendments had earlier been passed in 2014 and 2015 but were stripped from the defense appropriations bill before it reached the President. This year its timing seems to have been its biggest handicap, coming a few days after the killings at the Orlando nightclub. With Orlando fresh in everyones mind, members of Congress appear to be voting based on fear rather than on reason, wrote Kevin Bankston, director of New Americas Open Technology Institute. He added that there is no reason to think that mandating backdoors into American companies encrypted products or allowing warrantless searches of Americans private data would have prevented the tragedy, a view widely held by many privacy advocates. In the event, the amendment had on Thursday 198 backers with 222 opposing and 14 not voting, according to house records. Earlier, Devin Nunes, a Republican from California and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Georgia who is chairman of the Subcommittee of the NSA and Cybersecurity, had written in a letter to other representatives that the proposed reforms would handicap investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into events like the tragedy in Orlando, the Intercept reported. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the NSA to mop up both content and metadata of email and phone communications of non-US persons located abroad, but in the course of the collection, data of U.S. citizens is also swept up and can be accessed without warrant, in a practice referred to as backdoor search. Besides trying to block funds for the warrantless access to the data on Americans collected under Section 702, the amendment proposed by Massie and Lofgren also addressed the issue of whether companies can be asked to weaken the encryption in their products and services, which has come to the fore recently as the government complains that the encryption could slow down and even stymie its investigations into terror threats. Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus face a potential sales ban in China due to a patent dispute with a little-known local company. The phones infringe a design patent held by Chinese device maker Shenzhen Baili, a Beijing intellectual property office ruled, according to a notice posted Thursday. The office ordered Apple and its partners to halt sales of both products, though Apple has appealed and the phones are currently still on sale there. "We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court," Apple said Friday in an email. State Intellectual Property Office of China The smartphone design patent held by Shenzhen Baili. The iPhone 6 models violate an "exterior design patent" held by Shenzhen Baili. The company was granted the patent in China in July 2014, shortly before Apple released the iPhone 6. Shenzhen Baili used the patented design to make smartphones under its 100+ brand. The devices start at only 799 yuan, or about US$120, while the iPhone 6 initially sold for 5,288 yuan. Shenzhen Baili warned Apple in 2014 that it might sue for patent infringement. It's not Apple's first legal challenge in China. In 2012 the company battled a different company there which claimed ownership of the iPad trademark. Apple ended up paying US$60 to resolve that dispute - not a huge sum considering the importance of the Chinese market. Earlier this year, in April, Chinese regulators shut down Apple's iTunes Movies and iBooks services without publicly stating why. Those services appear to be still offline. China is the world's biggest smartphone market but Apple products face stiff competition there from local handset makers. In the first quarter this year, Apple ranked fifth among smartphone makers in China, according to research firm Canalys. "Local vendors, such as Huawei, Vivo and Oppo, are eating into the premium segment that Samsung and Apple considered their own," Canalys said at the time. A 20-year-old Estonia man has pleaded guilty to stealing data on more than 1,300 U.S. military and government personnel and providing it to the Islamic State. Ardit Ferizis goal was to incite terrorist attacks, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Ferizi once led a hacking group called Kosova Hackers Security, or KHS, which claims to have defaced over 20,000 websites. Last June he hacked into a U.S. Internet hosting company to steal the personnel data, which included addresses, telephone numbers and email logins. Ferizi used an online account with the name KHS, which led the FBI to suspect his involvement. He also neglected to cover his tracks. When the FBI examined the hacked server, they found the IP address Ferizi had used to carry out his attack. The same IP address had been used to access his Facebook and Twitter accounts. He was arrested in Malaysia last year and extradited to the U.S. for trial. He faces a maximum 25 years in prison. The data he stole was passed to an ISIS member named Junaid Hussain, also a hacker. Hussain was later killed in an airstrike in Syria. It's not the only time Ferizi supplied information to ISIS. Last April, he provided data on dozens of U.S., British and French citizens, by sending screenshots of their credit card information. The DOJ called it the first case of its kind. Last year, the U.S. also jailed a 17-year-old from Virginia for using Twitter to provide financial support and recruitment help to ISIS. WWDC 2016: Apples improved iMessages system is a tent pole feature within iOS with implications across Apple Watch and the Mac, and while the company insists it has no plans to extend the service elsewhere, I still think doing so is a logical step. Apple has announced a range of improvements to iMessage, including support for third party apps, emoji and sticker designs. Apps will be made available through an App Store for iMessages. Some example apps you can do things in while remaining in the iMessage screen include Lyft, Uber and Didi ride hailing, retail and services and third party person to person payment services. (Apple hasn't yet introduced personal payment services through Apple Pay, likely reflecting that it's own payment service isnt yet global). Apple delivers around 28,000 messages every second, so any improvements to its service will have consequences. Developers at WWDC told me they think Apple now has a strong position against other messaging services, including Facebooks widely used solutions. New iMessage features also include: Things like images, video, or Web page links are now included within the message itself it makes for a much nicer experience. Making emoji three times larger so you can see them (I heard one developer complain that the company spent a great deal of time designing cool emoji, but because they were so small people couldnt see them, now they can). Invisible Ink: A feature in which you can choose to occlude an image, text or video in such a way so the message recipient must physically wipe the display to see what you hide there. Handwriting: You can now use your finger or an Apple Pencil to write an iMessage. AI: iMessage can recognise scenarios in which you are agreeing to do things on certain dates within a conversation, it can then automatically make Calendar entries for that data and time. However, you cannot access some of these features on an Apple Watch or Mac, though you can use those products to share stickers and other messaging elements that you may previously have received. So, if you were sent a funky dog cartoon sticker from elsewhere and have it on your Mac it may be used again.) You can watch the entire WWDC segment on these new features here. Better than Facebook? Because Facebook Messenger is an app, third party apps built for that solution never get the kind of headline status iMessage can provide. Apps for Apples service will always be much easier to get and use on iOS than anything Facebook provides. Apple has even thought about app proliferation if you receive a message containing content created in a third party iMessage app you dont yet have, youll be provided with an unobtrusive dialog box to help you get that app if you want. Thats a great way to foster viral spread of apps as people share and create content for each other. Apps are displayed in their own App Store, and active apps are made available in the apps window (Inline Apps Drawer) situated at the bottom of the chat. Developer data Developers can create two types of app: Sticker packs and iMessages apps.The first can be assembled in Xcode in a matter of minutes, while the second take more time, but give developers much more control. iMessages apps depend on app extensions that interact between the iPhone and Messages app and lets users send text, stickers, media files, and interactive messages, even including use of interactive messages. Apps can access device features such as the camera and Apple Pay for use by/within apps. App creators can create their own unique app interfaces within iMessage, so I fully expect digital marketing and brand sponsorships of viral sticker and apps packs. I imagine someone will build an app that lets you take a photo of something someone is wearing, search for that item, list available online and nearby retailers for that item, and purchase/and or share that item all within the iMessage app. Why it matters Forrester analyst, Frank Gillet said: Opening up the iMessage and Phone apps to third party developers is a big deal, enabling Apple to offer a more natural fluid experience to customers that builds on chat innovations pioneered by WeChat and others. Speaking with John Gruber, Apple SVP Software Engineering, Craig Federighi stressed that Apple wants to allow developers to do whatever they canto improver the end-user experience. Apple is likely to accelerate development in other ways in the run-up to the release of iOS 10 in Fall. Messaging will become a new Home screen for many users, with many of the things we have traditionally used computers for being replaced by tools made available within the messaging screen. WeChat is a world class illustration of the rich collection of services we can expect. What next? Siri will be Apples secret weapon in this, but at present in iMessages Siri is actually quite limited. I dont think that will last, but one step at a time. I see Apples WWDC moves as meaning it understands that messaging will become a lightweight platform, useful on an Apple Watch, Apple TV, or anything else. The only problem is that there is little point sending an astonishingly funny and well-crafted iMessage using all the features the app now provides if the person you are sending to is not on an Apple platform. They wont see the message. Thats why when Apple denies plans to introduce iMessage to Android I remain unconvinced. Across the industry, messaging's big fault is that we already seem to be using too many incompatible services. This makes me think the service that makes itself the most compatible across platforms and other services is the one that will outlast the rest, and I'd quite like that to be Apple's. Summing up, this is a significant boost to iMessages and as developers get involved in building solutions that work within it we should see a bunch of interesting activity, and many attempts at creating viral sticker collections -- some of which might even be funny! (I just want to apologise for the irregular posts this week, I've just returned from WWDC and have a huge quantity of coverage you'll be able to explore in the next week or so.) Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Want Apple TV tips? If you want to learn how to get the very best out of your Apple TV, please visit my Apple TV website. Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld. Microsoft yesterday released a free tool for Windows 10 that claims to scrub PCs of the "bloatware" -- also called "crapware" -- that computer makers pack on new machines. Refresh Windows, which must be downloaded from Microsoft's website, currently works only on preview builds of 10, those seeded to participants of the Insider program. Since Insider is a precursor to the production code, the tool should be usable by owners of systems upgraded to the Anniversary Update, version 1607, which is slated to ship next month. At the moment, the tool can be downloaded via a link embedded in a long message on Microsoft's support forum; the message appears in Edge after clicking a new link in the Settings panel under the "Update & Security" item's "Recovery" option. According to the forum message -- which was penned by a Microsoft employee identified only as "Jason" -- Refresh Windows downloads and installs a recent, pristine build of Windows 10 on the PC, overwriting the pre-installed version. More importantly, all non-Microsoft applications that were bundled or already installed on Windows 10 -- the exception include the Mail email client and the Edge browser -- are eliminated during the refresh. "It will also remove most pre-installed applications such as OEM applications, support applications, and drivers," wrote Jason. The term "OEM" (original equipment manufacturers) refers to computer makers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo. For that reason, Refresh Windows would be best used immediately after purchasing a new Windows 10 system, and before the buyer installed any software on the machine. Jason ticked off a slew of caveats for Refresh Windows, including some during what he referred to as the "preview period" of testing with Insider members. He implied that it would be added to the production-grade edition of Windows 10. Users of Refresh Windows may choose to retain their personal files -- those stashed in the core folders such as "Pictures" and "Documents" -- or wipe everything from the drive. In all cases, they will have to reinstall applications, including Microsoft Office and third-party programs, and probably download and install new device drivers, either through Windows Update or from the individual websites of the PC maker, graphics card manufacturer and the like. As of Friday, Refresh Windows worked only on Insider build 14342 or later. Microsoft issued build 14342 on May 26, but has followed with several since then, most recently on Thursday with build 14677. Assuming Microsoft follows through, the tool will work with the production code set ship in July. Windows users have long been able to reach the same result by downloading a clean disk image of Windows, then installing that on a crapware-filled PC. But that approach has been largely used by experienced hands: Refresh Windows still requires much manual work in re-installing deleted apps, but it automates the process somewhat by taking care of the image downloading. For that reason, it may appeal to a wider audience of Windows 10 users. Although Refresh Windows will be applauded by customers who have complained about crapware, it's likely that Microsoft's hardware partners, who pre-load that content on their devices in a bid for additional revenue, won't see it as a friendly move. In that way, it's reminiscent of the adversarial strategy Microsoft has taken at times, such as when it introduced its own Surface line, or by promoting its "Signature" portfolio of PCs, which are billed as free of bloatware. President Bergeron talks with NBC Connecticut about the benefits of the liberal arts Connecticut College President Katherine Bergeron sat down with NBC Connecticut news anchor Kerri-Lee Mayland Thursday morning to discuss the value of a liberal arts education. The broadcast led with a clip of Bergeron singing a remixed rendition of the Colleges Alma Mater at Commencement in May. After discussing the song, which has received a lot of attention online, Bergeron spoke about the unique experiences afforded Connecticut College students through close relationships with faculty, opportunities for leadership roles and engagement, and the chance to conduct high-level research. Bergeron also noted the Colleges new curriculum, Connections, as an example of how a liberal arts education works to build successful students and future leaders. June 17, 2016 SUBSCRIBE Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates straight in your inbox. Modi Government's Witch Hunt Of Teesta Setalvad Enters New Phase: Sabrang Trust's Registration Cancelled By Countercurrents.org 17 June, 2016 Countercurrents.org The Narendra Modi led Indian government cancelled on Thursday the registration of Sabrang Trust run by social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. Teesta and her NGOs are on the forefront of civil society campaign against the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, in which over 1000 muslims were massacred. She was active in bringing to justice many Sangh Parivar activists who were involved in the massacre. It is well-known that Teesta Setlavad and Javed Anand have fought also to expose the role of the Gujarat government in enabling, abetting and even organising these crimes. They have been fearless in charging the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently the countrys Prime Minister, with direct criminal culpability for these crimes. For this they have assisted the widow of a former MP who was slaughtered in the carnage Zakia Jafri to fight a brave court battle in which the first accused is the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. They are also appealing against court orders to free on bail prominent political leaders of the BJP convicted of the worst massacre in Naroda Patiya, Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi. On 14 July 2015 CBI conducted a raid at the premises of Teesta Setalvad, her husband Javed Anand, Gulam Mohammed Peshimam and office of Sabrang Communications and Publishing in Mumbai alleging that they misuse of funds received for CJP for her publishing house. These raids are undertaken for purely vindictive reasons given the assurances of complete cooperation and submission of thousands of pages of documents to the CBI. It is by now an open secret that activists working for justice and truth with regard to the pogrom called Gujarat Riots have earned the hatred and animosity of the Modi government; which does not hesitate to employ official state power to indulge in a witch-hunt. Setalvad and Anand set up Sabrang Communications and began publishing Communalism Combat in 1993, and not after 2002. It was this company that published the Justice Srikrishna Commission Report on the Mumbai communal riots of 1992-1993 at a time when the state government would not make it available to the public. The state not only fails in its constitutional duty to protect all citizens from unlawful deprivation of life and liberty under Article 21, but hounds and intimidates all those who seek to uphold human rights and democratic values. Javed Anand who is Secretary/Chief Functionary of Sabrang Trust said in a press Press Statement: Todays order of the Union Home Ministry cancelling the FCRA registration of Sabrang Trust brings no surprise to its Trustees. In their earlier communications with the Home Ministry, the Trustees had responded to the alleged FCRA violations point-by-point, para-by-para, pointing out how the allegations showed a complete non-application of mind. That the cancellation order was imminent was apparent from the mere show of a personal hearing granted to Sabrang Trust on April 11, 2016. The hearing was over in less than 10 minutes. The Trustees regret to note that todays order of the Home Ministry is simply a mechanical reiteration of the very same allegations made earlier, in total disregard to the detailed and reasoned explanations and arguments put forward by the Trust. Based on the very same documents and records we provided to the FCRA team during their inspection of accounts in April 2016, from its 'Observations' (June 2015) to the 'show cause notice' suspending FCRA registration (Sept 2015), to the cancellation of the same now, the MHA has progressively embellished some of the allegations to insinuate utilisation of trust funds for personal benefit. We will of course be challenging the same. Sabrang Trust will actively explore all legal options to challenge the Home Ministrys order cancelling its FCRA registration Conquest And Tyranny vs Peace And Justice By William A. Cook 17 June, 2016 Countercurrents.org Conquest and tyranny, at some earlier period, dispossessed man of his rights, and he is now recovering them. And as the tide of all human affairs has its ebb and flow in directions contrary to each other, so also is it in this. Government founded on a moral theory, on a system of universal peace, on the indefeasible hereditary Rights of Man, is now revolving from west to east by a stronger impulse than the government of the sword revolved from east to west. It interests not particular individuals, but nations in its progress, and promises a new era to the human race. (Thomas Paine. The Rights of Man. 1791) Paine wrote these words in 1791 in defense of the French Revolution, 300 years ago. How ironic that the French should rise again in a valiant attempt to reassert the indefeasible hereditary Rights of Man applied now to peace and justice in the mid-East, most particularly for the people of Palestine but reflective of the interests of all nations both in progress and in promise of a new era for the human race. The Revolution erupted because the French people were frustrated with the inability of the King to confront the declining living conditions arising from over population, increased poverty, the rising national debt, religious intolerance, and resentment at the privileged aristocracy and their power over the King and people. They wanted a new government based on a constitution founded on equality through representatives acting on behalf of the people. From 1789 to 1815 the French people suffered through a period of unending war resulting in an estimated 3 million killed. This catastrophic period of time was caused by the chasm of inequity between the privileged and the people: between the monarchy and the conscripted, the nobles and the peasants, the religious and the laity, the merchants and the poor, a horrific structure of government that continues to this day in the mid-east only the words have changed. Today, the French have offered to host an international peace plan to reassert the indefeasible hereditary Rights of Man for the people of Palestine recognizing in their plight the conditions that gave rise to the revolution they had to endure to achieve their rights 300 years ago. But they are not alone. French President Francois Hollande noted Our initiative aims at giving the (Palestinians and the Israelis) guarantees that the peace will be solid, sustainable and under international supervision (Gregg Sorova. USA Today, 6/3/2016). That move recognizes the authority of the United Nations as the principle force in bringing about a viable peace based on two states for two peoples. The French understand what Henry David Thoreau wrote about the personal revolution Captain John Brown waged against the US government on behalf of the slaves, In Defense of Captain John Brown, what Martin Luther King wrote in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, what Thomas Paine wrote when he penned The Rights of Man, that the oppressed will not remain oppressed forever, that freedom cries from the inner soul, from the very nature of humankind, to be free from those who deny hope by subjugation to fear. Isnt this the very rationale behind the existence of the state of Israel? Have they not been subjugated to fear by oppressors in centuries past and havent they now forced their way to their freedom, their right to defense of their land. Certainly they comprehend the conditions imposed on those they have driven from their land, those who have the same inner rights as declared in this century by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights based on the very same logic as Thomas Paine? Indeed forced is the right word as used above but the wrong method. The Zionists came from foreign lands not to share that land with those living there, but to steal it through terrorism, the kinds we know today as false flag bombing of innocents as in the destruction of the King David Hotel dressed as Arabs carrying milk cans, blowing up trains and machine gunning those who tried to escape from the carnage, booby trapping kidnapped Mandate soldiers hung from Eucalyptus trees, and more, much more all revealed in the Catling papers in the Rhodes House Archives, and at the Middle East Center of St. Antonys College, Oxford, and the British National Archives and the Haganah Archives in Tel Aviv. The truth is available if we care to look; so is the intent and when intent is the genocidal destruction of the Palestinian people, the truth must be made known. What then is the right method? It is force of a different kind. It is Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. It is done in unison with the member states of the United Nations that wish to abide by the charters and signed accords that unite people in protection of people. It is in the International Courts that weigh truth against evidence and judge innocence or guilt; it is the results of the General Assembly determining that such judgment must be brought before the court of world opinion. It is the peaceful assembly of UN Peace forces to provide protection for the peoples living in Palestine/Israel. The French know the truth of those who seek to control negotiations presenting their stance in innocent terms as desiring to end a conflict, to seek a two state solution, to carry forward with tried and true negotiations between the conflicting parties, and to do so without prior conditions. Listen to the Prime Minister speaking of the Arab Peace proposal with reference to the new French peace plan: The statement issued by the PMO said that Israel adheres to its position that the best way to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is direct, bilateral negotiations. Israel is ready to begin them immediately without preconditions. Any other diplomatic initiative distances the Palestinians from direct negotiations (Herb Keinon. 04/28/206). That was two weeks ago. Listen to him now: the negative part (of the Arab Peace Plan) was the part where Israel ends its occupations and allows the Palestinians to establish a state (Jason Ditz, June 13, 2016,Anti-War.com). A reversal, pre-conditions required before even the thought of negotiations can take place. But then Netanyahu has said again and again that there would be no two state solution while he holds office. That in fact is but a continuation of Zionist intent since 1939; fortunately, should anyone doubt the reality of this intent and the horrific terror wrought by the Zionists in 1939 and to the end of the British Mandate in May 1948, readers can now obtain The Plight of the Palestinians: a Long History of Destruction issued now in paperback from Macmillan Company. There the whole horrid process to wrest Palestine from its indigenous people is laid bare from documents and statements spoken by the Zionists themselves as they set out to destroy the legally constituted government in Palestine. In short, the Zionist controlled Jewish Agency, the Yishuv, actively undermined the legal authority in Palestine even as it operated to undermine support for that government in Britain, placing UK forces in harms way as they attempted to fulfill their authorized responsibilities in Palestine. It also demonstrates the determination of the Agencys leadership in undermining the very nation that gave it a means of establishing a homeland in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration. Needless to say, Catling and his CID forces recognized the impossible position this defiance placed them in and understood the deception and violent means used by the Zionists to ensure that their will and theirs alone would be fulfilled at any cost. On page 74 of the appendices, this assertion by the unnamed Head of Command, The Jewish Resistance Movement, March 25, 1946, establishes the reality of this point: But if the solution (i.e. that Britain would not repeal the White Paper) is anti-Zionist, our resistance will continue, spread and increase in vigor. There are precepts in Jewish ethics which oblige a man to be killed rather than trespass. The precept of defense of our national existence is at the head of these. We shall not trespass. Our resistance is liable to result in the creation of a new problem in this country the British problem, the problem of British security in Palestine, and this problem will be resolved only by the Zionist solution. It would be better if the Zionist solution were proclaimed in recognition of the world Jewish problem and the justice of our work in Palestine. We do not threaten. We only wish you to know our intentions clearly.(Introduction, The Plight of the Palestinians, 14). The French know and the EU member states know that the Zionist government in Israel has not and does not now intend to bring into existence two states. For 77 years this has been the case and it will remain so as long as the nations of the world do nothing to intervene in the process now controlled by the US Congress that has capitulated to the desires of the Zionist AIPAC since 1967. Until and unless the US allows the UNSC to act in concert with the nations united in resolutions demanding that Israel be brought before the UNHRC and the ICJ by abstaining or voting YES on votes requiring action, Israel will remain immune from prosecution. That has been and will remain the destruction of the United Nations as an instrument to bring peace to the world communities. The United States has not been and cannot be an objective broker for peace in the mid-east precisely because it has a special relationship with that state resulting from legislation that ties Israels actions to the US as a complicit partner. It is therefore imperative for the UN to undertake the mission that France asks of it. Israel has continued to defy the UN yet remains a member. It has not only invaded a defenseless people at will killing thousands and maiming untold numbers, destroyed essential infrastructures while taking no responsibility for reconstruction, has doubled since 2014 the number of illegal Settlers in the West Bank while stealing ever more Palestinian land and blames other nations for defiance they are guilty of and continue with impunity. The UN and France must stipulate that these negotiations be equal, must begin negotiations with maps that show the UN recognition of what it determined as the Partition Plan of 1947, must give equal authority to Palestine as Israel, and must have an international system of control in place that will guarantee open and honest and just discussions thereby forcing Israel to confront what it has determined to be its rights, as noted above in the passage quoted from The Plight of the Palestinians. The UN must take responsibility for what it created in November of 1947 and force the Zionist controlled government of Israel to accept justice in a world that determines what justice is peacefully yet determinedly. The basis of these discussions must be the inalienable rights of humans as stated so convincingly by Thomas Paine in The Rights of Man. The world communities have rights as well, most especially a right to demand justice for the people of Palestine. William A. Cook is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne in southern California. He writes frequently for Internet publications including The Palestine Chronicle, MWC News, Atlantic Free Press, Pacific Free Press, Countercurrents, Counterpunch, World Prout Assembly, Dissident Voice, and Information Clearing House among others. His books include Tracking Deception: Bush Mid-East policy, The Rape of Palestine, The Chronicles of Nefaria, a novella, The Plight of the Palestinians and Age of Fools He can be reached at wcook@laverne.edu or www.drwilliamacook.com Pathways Of Transition To Agroecological Food Systems By Adam Parsons 17 June, 2016 Sharing.org A new report by leading sustainability experts has reaffirmed the case for a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems fundamental to which is a call for redistributing power back into the hands of those who feed the world. An alternative vision of farming and food systems has long been upheld by civil society groups and small-scale producers around the world, based on the science of agroecology and the broader framework of food sovereignty. But while many reports and studies have shown how less intensive, diversified and sustainable farming methods can have far better outcomes than todays corporate-dominated model of industrial agriculture, the question remains as to how we can make the shift towards agroecological systems on a global scale. A new report by The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) has therefore attempted to fill a gap in these research findings, mapping out the common leverage points for unleashing such a radical transition. Led by the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, a group of 20 leading agronomists and sustainability experts conclude that modern agriculture is failing to sustain the people and resources on which it relies, and has come to represent an existential threat to itself. The first section of the report cites the overwhelming evidence in favour of a major transformation of our food systems, from the environmental and socio-economic issues to the question of global food supplies, which the authors crucially argue will not be greatly affected by moving away from industrial agriculture. The report strongly contends that whats needed is not a tweaking of monocultural production systems or incremental shifts towards more sustainable farming practices, but a fundamental paradigm shift that addresses the underlying dynamics and power relations that are at the root of the agricultural crisis. However, the scale of the challenge is clear in the reports second section, which outlines the vicious circles and lock-ins that keep industrial agriculture in place, regardless of its negative outcomes. Some of these factors relate to the political structures governing food systems, such as the web of interlocking market and political incentives that are tailored to large-scale farming, and the increasing orientation of agriculture to international trade. The report also looks at other conceptual barriers and framing issues that serve to lock in the technology-oriented, highly specialised model of farming that is based on compartmentalised and short-term thinking within the political and business communities. Feeding the world? Of particular significance is what the authors term feed the world narratives that continue to inform public policy, based on a narrow vision of food security understood in terms of delivering sufficient net calories at the global level. These productivity-focused narratives tend to ignore the fact that hunger is fundamentally a distributional question tied to poverty, social exclusion and other factors that prevent sufficient access to food, as emphasised by statistics from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. Impressive productivity gains in industrial systems have clearly not translated into global food security by any measure, with 795 million estimated to be suffering from hunger in 2015, and 2 billion people afflicted by the hidden hunger of micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, narratives about feeding the world through increased net production levels also serve to deflect attention away from the failings of industrial agriculture, thus reinforcing the dominant paradigm. In this light, the report cites the initiative called the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (NAFSN) that was launched by G8 countries in 2012 with the noble aim of improving the lives of smallholder farmers and lifting 50 million out of poverty by 2050. By focusing on integrating smallholders into agribusiness-led global supply chains through outgrower schemes, the NAFSN initiative ignores the power imbalances and livelihood stresses that are often exacerbated in these types of arrangements. It also overlooks the severe environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, and the unrealised potential of diversified agroecological systems to deliver a sustainable pathway to global food security. The underlying problem is the concentration of power in food systems, which the report describes as a lock-in of a different nature that reinforces all of the other lock-ins. A small number of dominant agribusiness firms control the majority of chemical fertilizer supplies, pesticides and input-responsive seeds, for example, while power is highly concentrated at every node of the commercial food chain in commodity export circuits, the global trade in grain, and through supermarkets and other large-scale retailers. These dominant actors are able to use their power to reinforce the prevailing dynamics that favour food systems geared to uniform crop commodities and massive export-oriented trade. Through lobbying policymakers, influencing research and development focuses, and even by co-opting alternatives - such as organic agriculture - these vested interests are able to perpetuate the self-reinforcing power imbalances in industrial food systems. Resistance to change Herein lies the crux of the issue for putting agroecology at the forefront of the global political agenda: the mismatch between its potential to improve food system outcomes, and its potential to generate profits for agribusiness: A wholesale transition to diversified agroecological food and farming systems does not hold obvious economic interest for the actors to whom power and influence have previously accrued. The alternative model requires fewer external inputs, most of which are locally and/or self-produced. Furthermore, in order to deliver the resilience so central to diversified systems, a wide variety of highly locally-adapted seeds is needed, alongside the ability to reproduce, share and access that base of genetic resources over time. This suggests a much-reduced role for input-responsive varieties of major cereal crops, and therefore few incentives for commercial providers of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. The global trade and processing industry is also a major potential source of resistance to change, given that alternative models tend to favour local production and short value chains that reduce the number of intermediaries. Questioning whether the balance can be shifted in favour of diversified agroecological systems, the report goes on to identify several opportunities for change that are emerging through the cracks of the existing models of industrial agriculture. This includes the policy incentives enacted by some governments to shift their food systems towards more ecologically sustainable means of farming, such as the oft-cited example of Cuba that has been compelled to shift away from chemical input-intensive commodity monocropping since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Alongside the marked rise in public and academic awareness in favour of agroecology over recent years, as well as a surge in many grassroots schemes and initiatives that embody agroecological principles (i.e. farmers markets, community supported agriculture, direct sales shops and other new market relationships that bypass conventional retail circuits), also of note is the positive developments in the global governance agenda. There are now many examples of new intergovernmental processes and assessments that are responding to the case for a wholesale food systems transition. In particular, the first International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition was held in 2014, with a further symposium to be held in China in August this year, followed by a regional meeting in Hungary towards the end of 2016. In 2009, the findings of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) also gave the strongest support to the development of agroecological science and practice, presenting policymakers with an effective blueprint to confront todays global food crisis. But as the IPES-Food report concludes, these new opportunities are not developing nearly fast enough. Farming systems now stand at a crossroads, and there is a great danger that the current reinvestment in agriculture in the global South will replicate the pathways of industrialisation followed in wealthy countries. However, the authors recommended pathways of transition are not overly inspiring given the convincing case for change presented in the earlier evidence sections of the report. There may also be nothing new for progressive scholars or food justice campaigners in the outline of new political priorities that must be urgently established by governments, no matter how important these policy shifts remain such as the promotion of shorter supply chains and alternatives to mass retail outlets, and the ultimate relinquishing of all public support from monocultural production systems. Redistributing power downwards More compelling is the reports acknowledgement that the distribution of power is crucial to the transition towards diversified agricultural systems, and hence the key to change is the establishment of new political priorities that can, over time, redistribute power in the global food system away from the dominant actors. That is, of course, an immense challenge that cannot succeed without the strengthening of social movements, from the many indigenous and community-based organisations that advocate for agroecological practices, to the diverse coalitions and civil society groups from the global North and South that embrace the food sovereignty paradigm. The fact that the report acknowledges the importance of these grassroots, bottom-up, farmer- and consumer-led initiatives makes it a potential tool for activists to use in the ongoing struggle for a just and sustainable food system. From STWRs perspective, the call for sharing is central to this alternative vision of a new paradigm in global agriculture that is designed in the interests of people and the environment, rather than the profit-making imperatives of multinational corporations. For example, as the historic Nyeleni Declaration on Agroecology asserts in its statement of common principles from February last year, collective rights and the sharing of access to the commons is a fundamental pillar of agroecology, which is as much a political movement as a science of sustainable farming. It is fundamentally about challenging and transforming structures of power in society, and placing the control of the food supply the seeds, biodiversity, land and territories, waters, knowledge, culture and the commons back into the hands of the peoples who feed the world, the vast majority of whom are small-scale producers. If governments are to finally accept their responsibility to guarantee access to safe, nutritious food for all the worlds people, there is now a clearly established roadmap of the policies needed to democratise and localise food economies in line with the principles of sharing and cooperation. The IPES-Food report has provided another valuable assessment and set of recommendations that strengthens the case for a global transition towards food systems that diversify production and nurture the environment in holistic ways, rebuilding biodiversity and rehabilitating degraded land. The core of the challenge is not a lack of evidence, as the report authors have again made clear; it is the ideological support for an outmoded model of agriculture that continues to generate huge profits for the few, at the expense of long-term healthy agro-ecosystems and secure livelihoods. Adam Parsons is the editor at Share The World's Resources www.sharing.org Photo credit: pawpaw67, flickr creative commons Soni Sori Not Allowed Into Village: Still On Fast Press Release 17 June, 2016 Countercurrents.org Soni Sori is now in Konta, still on hunger strike, still not being allowed to go the village, and vows to not break her fast till she enters the village of Gompad. On 13th June, the Sukma police announced a successful encounter where a woman Maoist, Madkam Hidme, was killed in an encounter close to village Gompad, Konta Tehsil, Sukma district. Soni Sori won't break her fast untill she enters the village and enquire about the matter. Here is what happened yesterday - At 2:30 pm today, other colleagues from AAP, Raipur reached Sukma, and the ASP met them all, and told them that they could all proceed to the village, but Soni will not be allowed to go there,since her security is "their responsibility." She negotiated that she be allowed till Konta, and her colleagues will go on from there separately, while she will evaluate the situation afresh over there. This was agreed to by the ASP. After being delayed at multiple check points, the whole entourage (of around 15 people) reached Konta at 6:30pm, where they were told that they all had to make an entry with the TI, Konta. There the TI informed them that since all were from AAP, they were ALL the responsibility of the state, and they would ALL have to be accompanied by a security force which was unavailable at the moment, so NONE of them could be allowed to proceed. - The security force will not be available at any time today -The security force is also unavailable tomorrow - The security force maaaay be available day after, not certain. The team said that they are prepared to wait. Soni reminded the police that she is still on hunger strike and will remain so, till she is allowed into the village. The state is welcome to delay her all they want. As they left the thana, they were surrounded by a mob of 150 people, who were rather belligerent that "these outsiders only come when Naxalites are killed, but they are never there when others are victimized by Naxalites." Soni tried to reason with them that she actually cares about all adivasis being killed, etc. but was not heard by them. (Soni called them "salwa judum folks", and said they were gondi speaking. No leader among them was identified by her, but she suspects that the team was being delayed by the police only so that the police could mobilize these folks against her and the team.) After much trouble, the team could make its way to the circuit house in Konta. There they were told that not a single room is available for them. So all 15 are now camping in the verandah. There is heavy security all around them. Also Read Rape And Murder In Sukma: Soni Sori On Indefinite Fast The Quest For Human Rights Was The Essence Of Dr Ambedkars Life By Vidya Bhushan Rawat 17 June, 2016 Countercurrents.org A presentation made at London School of Economics on 16th June 2016 in the conference organised by Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhists organisations, UK in collaboration with London School of Economics to commemorate 100 years of Dr Ambedkar's association with London School of Economics. It is a privilege to be able to speak to you on this historic occasion to commemorate the centenary of Dr Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkars association with this prestigious institution, London School of Economics. As you know after finishing his masters at Columbia University in the United States, Dr Ambedkar came here for his Masters in Geography in 1916 as he wanted to complete his research here but was not allowed to do so. Finally, he registered as Ph.D student in 1920 and finished his doctoral thesis on The problem of the rupee in March 1923 which was not accepted of reasons unknown though several experts feel that it was too revolutionary and anti Empire that time to get accepted but finally it was resubmitted in August 1923 and accepted in November 1923. For millions of people in India, who follow Dr Ambedkar, consider him as their friend, philosopher and guide, London School of Economics is a holy pilgrimage, an institution which it must be proud of, for the man changed destiny of millions of Indians, hence today, I bow to the institution and to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar whose fight for human dignity and human rights must be made part of curriculum of Human Rights education world over. Today, at this iconic institution, it is important for us to ponder over as what would have Dr Ambedkar been doing and thinking about the major issues confronting our country. Isnt it an appropriate moment to do it when the entire South Asia is on the verge of tyranny of religious majoritarianism where minorities are being considered as obstacles and freedom of expression being challenged by the extra state actors who are running their campaign against all the dissenters and intimidating them? At the moment when ruling elite is singing hosannas about Dr Ambedkar and using his differences with other contemporaries for their own political purposes, it is important to ask whether those who want to worship Ambedkar really accept his riddles of Hinduism or riddles of Rama and Krishna? How can riddles go along with those who want to build a grand Rama temple at Ayodhya. They were these people who were offended with his work that they called for a ban on his book when it was published by Maharastra government. It is not for unknown reasons that the Gujarat government withdrew the booklet published on life of Baba Saheb Ambedkar for the students of secondary classes as a committee later found that the 22 bows by Baba Saheb were not suitable to certain communities and threaten the social harmony in the state. We know well that the Hindutva ideologues always feared Ambedkar though they just want to use his differences with Gandhi and Nehru. Today, our campuses are on fire. There is student unrest. The government has not given any serious thought on how to improve quality education in our schools and colleges. We are a country of illiterates and the quality of education is highly substandard and this is the first time when we saw how officially attempts were made to discredit institutions, which have some standing. SC-St students are not getting scholarships and rather than inducing openness and freethinking the academia is made to behave like the acharyas or dronacharays of the old Gurukul days where Eklavya who could offer his thumb to the Guru to facilitate a Kshatriya student to be the best archer of the world. Teachers who are sympathetic to Dalit OBC students are being suspended as has happened at Hyderabad Central University recently. Dr Ambedkar said he wanted a Voltaire in India who could question the wrongs of power, he wanted honest intellectuals who have the strength and courage of conviction to stand up against wrongs of society whether institutional or individual. How will the universities and academic institutions promote such ideas when the openness is considered to be anti national and where we shy away from debating the controversial issues? How can we bring thought provoking debates in our institutions when we want every one to think like primary class students memorizing their favorite quotes to impress others. Havent we become habitual of impressing people through misquoted quotes as if the serious issues could be resolved through one liners or two liners and at the same point of time not ready to go into the details of those issues. A society, which does not allow freedom to speech, free thought is a society, which is afraid of getting exposed. We have seen this in the past few years the attempt to shun all debates and distort history. One side, we blame all those who questioned the mainstream thought as left historians as if they were responsible for all the challenges to brahmanical hegemony. The fact was the real challenge to brahmanical hegemony in India did not come from the so-called left but Dalit Bahujan cultural stream and Dr Ambedkar remain the central figure of those revolutionary thoughts. In the brahmanical left, many of them, did not even bother to consider Ambedkar as an intellectual, leave aside, his monumental contribution to our nations freethinking intellectual traditions and building it a modern nation through an egalitarian constitution. Is not it a shame that even after 70 years after our independence, we still have over 18 million modern slaves as pointed by an International organization which said that many are compelled into this virtual slavery under stressful conditions of migration. There are however, other forms of slavery too in India which include manual scavenging too, a practice where a particular community is divinely tasked to clean human excreta of the fellow human beings. Our government has failed in getting the exact number of the people. It has no plan to honorably rehabilitate him. Many suggest, why dont they leave this work and engage in other. I can answer this. Who would like to go into deep stinking holes and hits? Can any one go into these hell out of their choice ? It is not merely question of their choice? People want to get out of it but the caste does not allow it? Can a person from manual scavenging community start a chai shop in his village as a plan to rehabilitate him? If yes, will the local Brahmins or any other caste Hindu come and drink tea with him? Can Bindeshwari Pathak put a stamp of made by Balmiki women or those engaged in manual scavenging in his masala or papad products and then sale it in Indian market ? No, it wont be possible to do so which exposes the highly casteist culture of Indian society. How would Baba Saheb react to what was happening in Vidarbha and other parts of the country where people are suffering for water and farmers committing suicide? His first battle in 1927 was for the water rights of the people who were denied drinking water from the Chavadar pond at Mahad. At the same place Baba Saheb with thousands of people irrespective of their caste burnt Manu Smriti. Yes, many few people understand that it was not Baba Saheb but his Brahmin friend Shahshrabuddhe who burnt the Manusmriti, a document of discrimination. We need to understand why Baba Saheb chose a Brahmin to burn the Manusmriti and we will come to understand that he wanted people to know, every one to know including Brahmins that it was a document of discrimination and violates basic human rights. It is not that he did not know that burning a document of discrimination will not resolve the crisis but the symbolism was much bigger. Those were the years when you cant speak anything against religion and burning a holy-book was blasphemous but Ambedkar did it. It was a challenge that nothing sacrosanct and all written text could be challenged. It is a great example for todays political leaders who are charging everyone disagreeing them as anti national. What could be a bigger anti national act than burning and rejecting the holy-book of the manuwadis ? Yes, if fight for equality and dignity is being anti national then we all are as we are asking to get our republican constitution implemented in letter and spirit but those who have the duty to implement it have no faith in it. It is a document of convenience for them. In their heart they owe allegiance to Manu Smriti but they have to pretend to respect the modern constitution. It is this reason that the atrocities on Dalits, aadivasis, and women continue unabated and constitution being violated daily. If those who are trusted to implement the constitution in letter and spirit do so with their heart, I can guarantee, a huge number of cases of violence and violation will reduce in India. Baba Saheb had warned that a good thing can turn bad in the hands of bad people. Our constitution is being made ineffective as the many changes have been brought, many important acts are being diluted and we dont even know which is most threatening and disappointing to say the least. Today, Hindutva has become the biggest threat to our modern thoughts. It is determined to glorify our past when it was not so. History is being distorted. Let me very clear here. All our academic institutions are under the threat because the Dalit Bahujans have now started questioning all these myths. The JNU incident was not merely a Kanhaiyya Kumar shouted something anti national but most importantly it was that the demographics of our universities are changing. More and more Dalits, OBCs, Aadivasis and Muslims are coming up in our institutions despite all hardships and challenging the very notion of merit as defined by the brahmanical institutions. The knowledge, which was denied to vast majority of our people is now becoming their asset then we create such situation. Every time, Dalits, OBCc, aadivasis assert, ask for their rights, we will find a new monster being created in the form of communalism to polarize the people. Uttar Pradesh is going to poll next year and we are witnessing attempt to create divisions among people so that they are polarized between Hindus and Muslims. It is a big challenge; as they eulogize Ambedkar one side to befool us and the other side curtail all our rights. Dr Ambedkar was a proclaimed socialist and the constitution he drafted directed the state in the form of Directive Principles of State policies. Where have we honored these principles? Education is being privatized, health is privatized and who is going to impact most is not a question of great guess? Aadivasis are hounded out of their forests as big corporations are vying for those beautiful places to fill their coffers and large part of India suffering from water particularly in zones like Marathwada in Maharastra where Baba Saheb Ambedkar had launched his struggle for water rights of the people. Very few people know how Dr Ambedkar worked towards uplift of the agrarian workers. He led the largest strike of the agrarian workers in Konkan region, which went for over 7 years, and people still remember him as many old veterans can verify this. Baba Saheb Ambedkar was an iconoclast who never succumbed any big personality or any empire. Today, when we remember him at this great institution, we must remember that Ambedkarites and all those who believe in equality of human being and free thought must stand up and speak. If we keep quiet and do not speak for our brothers and sisters who are fighting for their rights, against distortion of history, against religious bigotry and against privatization and corporatization of our public resources, we will only be called opportunists. Dr Ambedkar faced threat to his life, humiliation and intimidation but he remained unfazed, as for him the welfare of the people was the most important task. We need to remember him that way that today we will speak against all forms of violation of human rights of our people and stand with them in the hour of crisis, which is the historical need of the hour. Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter @freetohumanity Email: vbrawat@gmail.com Printer Friendly Version Release Kashmiri Political Prisoners Languishing In Jails By Dr. P.S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal 17 June, 2016 Countercurrents.org Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference has appealed to the people to observe solidarity with the Kashmiri prisoners on Friday the 17 June, 2016. Geelani has called the continuous imprisonment of pro-freedom leader Masarat Alam Bhat since 2010 as extremely cruel. He lamented the silence of the State Government as also of the State High Court, which could have taken suomotu action for getting MasaratAlam released. He has demanded: i. Release of all the political prisoners including the pro-freedom leaders before Eid. ii. That status of the pro-freedom leaders who are serving life imprisonment and other political prisoners lodged in Tihar Jail, Delhi as well as a Kashmiri detainee in Gujarat Jail should be accepted as that of political prisoners and has demanded their unconditional release. iii. Release of dozens of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leaders arrested under preventive detention. iv. Provision of basic amenities to prisoners as also treatment of ill prisoners in the jails. Geelanihas appealed to the human rights organizations to ensure the release of Kashmiri prisoners.The aforementioned demands are just, long-standing and democratic. This is the bare minimum that the Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) state authorities and the High Court could ensure as a first step. Continued incarceration of Masarat Alam in jail, inspite of bail The significant and eye-opening pronouncements made by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Budgam, MasaratRohee while granting bail to MasaratAlamon 25 May, 2016 in a case (FIR 92/2015)registered at police station Budgam against him for seditioncharges are a slap on the face of the authorities.Masarat Alam in this particular case was arrested in April 2015 after Pakistani flags were raised at Geelanis rally. The court observed: * In toto, 27 cases have been registered and if 90 days are given to each case, it would amount to 6 years and 7 months before the accused sees the light of the day from the dungeons. * If the accused is anti-national and detrimental to the society and public at large, let the state discharge its duty by bringing the guilty to book so that they are punished suitably as per the mandate of law. * However, despite the fact that the State alleges the accused to be anti-national, the right of the accused as guaranteed by the constitution under principles of natural justice cannot be denied indefinitely. * If such a trend is sanctioned by the courts of law and the law interpreted in that manner, the way Ld CPO seeks the same to be interpreted, the might of state with an approximate number of more than 200 Police stations throughout the state of J & K with every Police station registering an FIR, granting 90 days of exhaust remand in each FIR, before the accused reaches the Court of law trial, he would have already spent 49 years and 3 months in jail. * Thus negating the whole presumption of innocence of the accused as guaranteed to him by the law. Such acts of the state not only weaken the criminal justice system but also create an alienation between the state and its population where it become 'us' and 'them' and an individual no longer feels himself to be the part of the state. * The fact remains that the accused is involved in the offences as alleged in the FIR, but the accused has not only been detained for 90 days but many 90 days commencing from 15.4.2015 and is under continuous detention ever since without trial despite a high powered SIT investigating the same which is not likely to conclude within reasonable time, yet the fact remains that the lodgment of the accused in Baramulla Sub-Jail is sufficient enough to substantiate that out of 27 FIRS only two are under investigation in District Baramulla. * The custody of the accused being requisitioned by Police station Shaheedgunj, though the Police station Shaheedgunj do not require him for custodial interrogation in Police remand but seek his detention in judicial custody is enough to hold that accused is not required by the investigation but needs to be incarcerated in judicial custody, extra judicially. * This kind of custody in the opinion of this Court amounts to extra judicial custody which cannot be sanctioned by any legal means. Therefore, keeping the above facts, observation and submission in view the accused is named in case FIR No. 92/2015 of Police station Budgam is released on bail. The CJM had observed that even cases since 1999 and 2006 were still pending investigation; and that only in 12 out of 27 cases challan has been produced while 15 cases are still being investigated. Masarat Alam, of course, continues to be in jail inspite of the bail order. In any case the aforementioned quotes from the judgement delivered by the CJM should be made compulsory reading for all law students, lawyers, judges, social and political activists and all those who cherish freedom. One has to constantly remind oneself that these quotes are not from a Report of Amnesty International/ Human Rights Watch/ civil liberties and democratic rights bodies in India; nor are these quotes the outpourings of decadent communists. So something must be fundamentally wrong with the criminal justice system which permits scores of cases to be filed and kept pending against political activists even as all the norms and procedures of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence are smashed to smithereens. The political dispensation in Delhi needs to be reminded that it is not just the likes of MasaratAlam who are on trial; in the final analysis it is the higher judiciary as also the Indian democracy which is on trial; and the whole world watches with concern. Even the fourth pillar of Indian democracy viz the so called free press gets ultra-nationalistic and indulges in biased and untruthful reporting.In fact the mainstream journalists in India covering Kashmir function no different from the American embedded journalists covering the war on Iraq, Afghanistan and so on. Masarat Alam has spent more years in jail than Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi did individually during the freedom struggle. The British dealt with these establishment freedom fighters as befits their status and role as freedom fighters. The Indian state treats the frontline leaders struggling for right to self-determination of Kashmiri people with utter contempt. Recently the Prime Minister of India referred to overcoming the hesitations of history while delivering his speech at the joint session of U.S. congress on 8 June, 2016. Could he extend this doctrine in relation to Kashmir and resolve the long standing issues? As a first step he could instruct the BharatiyaJanata Party in J & K a coalition partner with the Peoples Democratic Party to ensure that Kashmiri political prisoners are released. [The writers are members of PIL Watch Group and have been campaigning for bail not jail. Email: pilwatchgroup@gmail.com] As the judgment is not available on the website of the court till date, the quotes from the judgement are reproduced from the newspaper Greater Kashmir issue dated 15 June, 2016. Tweet WhatsApp Share Share on Tumblr Comments are moderated Top social activist Teesta Setalvad has described the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order to cancel Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA) license of her NGO Sabrang Trust as a clear case of vendetta. Setalvad, it is well-known, has been fighting 2002 Gujarat riots cases, including the Gulberg Society case, whose final verdict was pronounced on Friday. Saying that the MHA move suggests a very clear nexus in which the Gujarat police has failed, in February 2015, to get her custody, as the Supreme Court stayed her arrest (February 12 and 19, 2015), Setalvad said, immediately thereafter the Gujarat home department wrote specifically to the MHA alleging violations by the Sabrang Trust.What began under Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi (January 2014 when the FIR was first lodged against Tanvir Jafri, Firoz Pathan, Salim Sandhi, Javed Anand and myself) has two years later become the ground for vindictive action against us (Javed Anand, Teesta Setalvad) under the MHA under Modi, she said.Pointing out that this is critical to understand, Setalvad said, The deliberate attempt to embellish observations between the time the MHA team first came and the final notice is given is nothing short of a sinister vilification and defamatory campaign.Apart from referring to other violations regarding alleged misappropriation of funds by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, the Gujarat home department letter talked of how they visited Pakistan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, UK and USA and attended workshops, seminars and conferences where they deliberately portrayed India and Indian government in bad light.The letter said, they questioned the secular credentials of the country, which is akin to foreign governments/NGOs and building opinions against the Indian government, seeking foreign help in the matter which are under active consideration of various courts, including the honourable apex court.The letter further said they had meetings with even junior officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) -- all this, it believes, amounts to promoting anti-India propaganda on foreign lands and international fora.The Gujarat home department said all this even as blaming Ford Foundation for funding Setalvad and Anand for their anti-India activities, even as seeking Government of India review of the top US-based philanthropic organisation. Interestingly, ahead of the recent Modi visit to US, it was conveyed to the Ford Foundation that all restrictions placed on it on foreign funding were removed.Other accusations in the letter, repeated in nearly all earlier probes, included Javed Anand and Teesta Setalvad being co-editors of Communalism Combat magazine, published by Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd (SCPPL), which was allegedly funded by Sabrang Trust, which in turn received foreign funds. They were also accused of writing for other periodicals and newspapers, utilizing funds for personal gains, and so on.In her reply, Setalvad has variously said that Sabrang Trust and SCPPL are two separate entitiies, and that the publication was registered under PRB Act, 1867, and they have full right to work as correspondent, columnist, editor, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper.It is Sabrang Trust, the association granted registration under FCRA, which is prohibited from publishing or acting as correspondent, columnist, editor, etc. Nowhere does the letter place any restriction or prohibition on any of its board members or office bearers being publishers, editors, printers, etc. of a registered newspaper run by some other independent legal entity, she points out at one place. There's a weekly newspaper in Vermont that can be had for a $175 essay contest entry fee and a 400-word piece (that's a couple of hundred less than are contained in this column) explaining why you're well-suited to operate it. A recent New York Times story about the unusual sales ploy reported that 71-year-old Ross Connelly, editor and publisher of The Hardwick Gazette, was selling because he could no longer keep up with the 60-hour weeks required to do everything from selling ads, writing and editing stories and laying out the news pages to emptying the trash. And for just a moment, well, probably less than that, I thought it'd be a neat thing to enter and, maybe, win. But then I remembered: Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It all began when in the weeks before the summer break between my junior and senior years at Western Kentucky University that would have been in 1972. I hit upon the idea that going to summer school would enable me to graduate early and get out into the world and start making some money. To do that, though, would require at least a part-time job, preferably one that would allow me to use my newly-acquired journalism education. The most likely candidates for employment were the county-seat weeklies in the towns not too far from Bowling Green. But then as now, there's not a lot of spare change lying around small-town newspapers, and while editors may have appreciated some additional help, even from a green kid who didn't know near as much as he thought he did, they didn't want to pay for it. So summer school didn't work out, and I went home and worked that summer at my hometown weekly, beginning a relationship there that eventually spanned 20 years, some of it good and some not so good. The hours at a weekly newspaper are horrendous. Contentious school board and city council meetings can stretch on long past the time sane people are snuggly in bed. Weekends are just another opportunity to attend a political event, a high school reunion and a softball game. But even in a work week that can stretch well beyond Connelly's 60 hours, you can never do enough. There's always that really special event that someone wanted you to attend and bring your camera that you just couldn't make. That, in part, contributes to it being a business where someone often a friend or, worse, an advertiser is always mad at you about something either you've published or wouldn't publish. And you do all that for pretty lousy pay. I still remember well my first pay as a full-time reporter -- $126 a week. That was the amount settled upon because I demanded take-home pay of $100 a week, and $126 gave me that amount after taxes. Actually, it was pretty good pay for a news reporter in 1973. I don't mean though to paint a picture of all gloom and doom. You meet a lot of interesting people, go to a lot of things that you otherwise wouldn't and learn along the way that most people in public office really do have the public good at heart even when they screw things up. If you like it and have passion for the news business, its negatives pale in comparison to the times the work is fulfilling, when you have an opportunity to do something good for your community or for an individual. That's the narcotic that makes one think, even if just for a moment: Wouldn't it be neat to do it again? I hope Mr. Connelly gets enough entries in his contest and that someone with youth and passion gets his newspaper. As he told the Times reporter, "Just because we're not in the mainstream and not covering the national stories does not mean what we're doing is not important." Kelly Gifford / Courier & Press Mayor Lloyd Winnecke presented the 2016 Mayor's Art Awards at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana Thursday morning. SHARE Kelly Gifford / Courier & Press Steve and Susan Worthington recieved the 2016 Mayor's Arts Award. By Kelly Gifford of the Courier and Press Steve and Susan Worthington have attended the Mayor's Arts Award gala for many years to celebrate their friends, colleagues and fellow art enthusiasts being recognized for their contributions to the culture of Evansville. After being named recipients of the 2016 Mayor's Art Award on Thursday at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, the Worthingtons couldn't believe they were selected to be in the same company as so many individuals, organizations and other artistic efforts that came before them. "The arts are most definitely alive and well in Evansville and Southwestern Indiana," Steve said. "This is because of the amazing educators, talented artists, outstanding institutions and private, public and corporate support that exists here. We congratulate them." The Worthingtons have been active volunteers, patrons, donors and board members for several arts institutions throughout Evansville. They've supported the Evansville Museum for many years, as well as Willard Library, Steve's Alma mater University of Evansville and others. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said the Worthingtons have been an integral part of the cultural life of the Evansville community for decades, and their generosity and support of so many institutions has helped shape the city's cultural development. "The engagement of the Worthingtons with the arts community as patrons of the arts, collectors of local and regional art and tireless volunteers make them the idea recipients of the year's award," Winnecke said. Recipients for the other 2016 Arts Awards were announced as well. Will Read and Sing for Food, out of Jasper, Indiana, received the Project Award for its live music and essay shows that have raised more than $60,000 for local organizations across Southwestern Indiana. Scott Saalman, who directs and produces the performances, said the project started as whispers and has grown into an event that not only entertains but impacts lives on a local level. The other recipients of Arts Awards included Robert Shetler for the Arts Advopcate Award, Ross Hanson for the Young Artist Award, Anne Fiedler for the Artist Award, Joan deJong for Educator Award, The Eykamp Quartet for the Ensemble Asard and Warrick County Summer Musical for the Regional Award. The annual gala will be Aug. 18 at The Victory with a reception to follow. KEVIN SWANK / Courier & Press George Williams from Elizabeth, Kentucky, goes through a book on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, records looking for an ancestor during a past Willard Library's annual Midnight Madness. SHARE KEVIN SWANK / Courier & Press Sharon Williams (left) and her husband George (right) from Elizabeth, Kentucky, were back for their second time for during a previous year's Willard Library's annual Midnight Madness in Evansville. "We've been here several times over the years, but it has only been the last two that we have been here for the Midnight Madness event," Sharon said. The couple were researching George's family during this trip. "We have a 30-year gap that we are trying to connect," George said. "We know he was in Pennsylvania, and then in the area in Warrick County, but we don't know where he was between the two." By David Dinsmore Whether reviewing land records or reading through old newspapers, historian and author Harold Morgan has found one resource most useful during his years of research his own humanity. "People are the same now as they were 200 years ago," Morgan said. "The environment changes. The education changes but these people in the 1800s were just like you and me." Understanding their stories through genealogical research means learning to read beyond the names and dates available on public and private records, and helping people dive into those resources was part of the idea behind Willard Library's first Midnight Madness event 20 years ago, said Lyn Martin, Willard's special collections librarian. "We want people to read into records and not just look at the records themselves," Martin said. This year's Midnight Madness event will feature more than 24 sessions focusing on the techniques, resources and findings of modern genealogical and historical research as well as highlight the collection of materials available at Willard Library. The sessions will take place throughout each day June 20-24 at Willard Library at 21 First St. in Evansville. The library will also offer extended hours until midnight all week for attendees to use its resources to put into practice what they discover during the sessions. Martin helped put together the first Midnight Madness in 1996 with the idea of providing information to beginner and experienced researchers on how to get the most out of historical records they were reviewing. Since then, research methods have become more sophisticated and integrated through the advancement of technology and accessibility of online resources, Martin said. Yet, experienced researchers understand online resources are too incomplete to conduct thorough genealogical studies, and collections found through entities such as Willard Library are necessary to provide authentic and verifiable material needed for the answers to the questions of the person looking. "Maybe the not-knowing (the details of one's family history) is what spurs people on to do genealogy," Martin said. The topics presented at each event have taken into account the changing genealogical landscape, Martin said, becoming more specific and applicable to resources available now while still offering those who are just beginning to take interest in genealogical research a firm foundation. The sessions this year will feature nationally renowned researchers including J. Mark Lowe and Eddie Price with local and regional historians sharing lessons learned from local research. The wide range of topics covered will include tips for beginners, how to locate ancestors without census information, analyzing records in languages foreign to the researcher, how to use specific record types and databases and more. Yet, the joy of the research comes from getting to know the people behind the records, said Karin Marie Kirsch, archivist with St. Paul's Lutheran Church. "History is so much more interesting when you study people," Kirsch said. She first discovered this concept when taking a course in American biography and later applied it after moving to Evansville in 1970 and getting married to a man whose family had roots on the west side reaching back to the 1850s, she said. With her background in church history, the information available about the local churches caught her eye, Kirsch said, and soon she became familiar with the collections available at Willard Library. "We had absolutely excellent resources here," Kirsch said. In fact, the extent of what Willard Library offers comes as a surprise to many first time visitors and attendees of events such as Midnight Madness, Martin said. The library has access to references beyond the local sources to those around the country and even overseas along with microfilm and microfiche collections that include Indiana, Illinois, Virginia and Kentucky documents. The newspapers available on microfilm have become an "addictive" hobby for Morgan, who said he has read nearly every newspaper printed in the Evansville area since 1823 through the 1990s so far. And like many, he first began his own personal genealogical research as a way to get to know his own family history. Morgan set out to write a short story about his father's work on the P-47s aircraft produced in Evansville for use in World War II, but ended up with his first book, he said. To help get some context about the lives of workers at that time, he began looking beyond his own family to what was happening in the larger community and eventually nation. In addition to being happy to have work after the Great Depression, the common goal he found shared widely among most in the workforce grabbed him. "When I got into the depth of it, the most important thing in the world to them was winning the war and getting their sons and husbands and brothers home," Morgan said. Understanding and relating to the lives of those in the records can create a deeper connection to history for those doing the research, said Kirsch, who has cried after discovering someone in her research had lost a child or felt delighted when unearthing something good that had come their way. Sharing that connection and sparking an interest in others is one of the greatest aspects of the Midnight Madness event. "I love being able to read and discover things," Kirsch said. "The excitement comes from running across something you didn't know before." To register for Midnight Madness classes or more information, visit willard.lib.in.us/calendar_of_events under "June" or call 812-425-4309. If you go What: Midnight Madness When: June 20-24 Where: Willard Library, 21 First St., Evansville Cost: Free To register for classes or more information, visit willard.lib.in.us/calendar_of_events under "June" or call 812-425-4309 SHARE By Andrew Vailliencourt, andrew.vailliencourt@courierpress.com It seemed like hours while the names of each victim from the shooting in Orlando were read off. As bells chimed after each name, it reminded all who attended the vigil at Temple Adath B'nai Israel just how deadly the attack was that killed 49 people at the gay nightclub Pulse Sunday morning. Wally Paynter, president of the Tri-State Alliance, led off the vigil with a poem by Alden Solovy that began "pride will not be crushed by violence, pride will not be crushed by hatred." Paynter, Rabbi Gary Mazo of Temple Adath B'nai Israel, the Rev. Kevin Fleming of First Presbyterian Church and Imam Omar Atia helped organize the event. The temple was so full that members of the community stood along the walls in the back. Overflow parking was also needed. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke attended, spoke and was happy with the turnout. "It was phenomenal, I was really pleased," Winnecke said. "It was nice to get here and know I had to go to the overflow parking lot." During his speech, Winnecke touched on something he always tells children. "Nice matters." "I fell back on how I was raised and what my parents taught me, and my sisters, to accept people for who they are and to be respectful, and I think most importantly to treat other people the way we wanted to be treated," Winnecke said. "I don't think that's too much to ask. I think if we can get back to that basic core, our world will be a better place." There were a variety of messages, but all preached peace and love between people of all religions, reminding attendees that we are all human first. "We thought it was important to have this as an interfaith event in Evansville," Paynter said. "A lot of times there's misinformation and prejudice about the LGBT community and about people of the Muslim faith, and we thought this was a time for us to join together as a community and commemorate the people who lost their lives." Music was performed throughout the service, including a song late in the evening that everyone sang together: "Look for the helpers when tragedy strikes, look for the helpers, let them be your light." "I think people all over the world had a natural reaction of 'what can we do? What can we do to show our support for the city and victims or Orlando and their families?'" Winnecke said. "I think it was a natural human reaction to want to do something." In his speech, Fleming said all people are created equal and deserve to live without fear of violence. He then said that "love always, always, always, conquers hate." "This is a time to unify," Paynter said. "We are all Americans and we're all humans and it's time we accept each other and increase the dialogue and decrease the hate." Carrier and the United Steelworkers have not reached an agreement on severance packages for employees. (Photo: Michael Anthony Adams/IndyStar 2016 file photo) SHARE By Kris Turner/ USA Today Netowrk/ The Indianapolis Star Carrier Corp.s decision to shutter its manufacturing operation on Indianapolis west side will cause a domino effect that will wipe out more than 2,700 jobs across Indiana and cost the state's economy more than $100 million a year, experts say. Carrier plans to eliminate 1,400 low- to midgrade manufacturing jobs during the next three years and move its production facility to Mexico. That move will ripple through Indiana and forever change Indianapolis' west side. The closing of the plant will have a much wider impact than just the immediate area of the city, said Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana Universitys Kelley School of Business. The elimination of Carriers 1,400 jobs will cause an additional 1,358 jobs to be lost across the state, Conover said, citing economic predictions made by the center. That is further compounded by the fact that Huntington-based United Technologies Electronic Controls is eliminating 700 Hoosier jobs by 2018 and moving its operation to Mexico. Carrier Corp. and UTEC are divisions of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp. The decision to cut 2,100 manufacturing jobs across the state was financial, according to a statement from Carrier, which will begin eliminating its Indianapolis workforce in 2017 and continue the layoffs through 2019. Carriers workers are classified in a two-tier wage system. A quarter of the workers make about $14 an hour, or $30,000 a year. The rest, however, make about $26 an hour, or about $55,000, but earn well above $70,000 a year with overtime, said Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents the Carrier workers who will lose their jobs. The Mexican workers replacing Carrier employees will earn a base wage of $3 an hour, which is $23 less than some of the top-paid employees in Indianapolis. The elimination of Carriers production employees will cut $67 million a year from income statewide, Conover said. When jobs that will be lost from suppliers and other businesses dependent on Carrier are counted, that figure leaps to $108 million a year. The likelihood that Carriers workers will find similar high-paying jobs in Indianapolis is unlikely, experts said. People are very uncertain, not knowing what the future is going to bring, Jones said. Its scary when you dont know what youre going to do after a certain period of time. Its not just one person affected; there are a lot of instances of several family members losing jobs. Youre taking away multiple incomes, and theres no doubt people are scared. Carrier and the United Steelworkers have not reached an agreement on severance packages for employees. Until then, Carriers employees will be in limbo. If they leave before a bargain is struck, they wont be able to receive severance pay, educational benefits or assistance from local, state and federal sources. If people leave now, theyre walking away from all of that, Jones said. If they dont stay until their time is up, theyre not going to get any of the severance or the training thats provided. Jones said the union is sending representatives to meet with members of Congress to discuss the layoffs and convey the severity of the situation. He said hes hopeful the pressure will help the workers land a decent severance package, which will be fleshed out in mid-July. Whatever you get is not going to be enough, but we are optimistic we can go in and bargain a good severance package, Jones said. Companies are obligated to meet with us, but they are not obliged to give us anything. Carrier has said it will make some separation benefits including one that pays for college tuition, books and fees available to displaced workers. Carrier, which has been in Indianapolis since the 1950s, spurred economic growth in the city, especially in the area near the plant. Indianapolis will feel a shock when Carrier is gone, but it wont be as bad as life would be in a one-factory town, said David Audretsch, distinguished professor and Ameritech chair of economic development in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. This is a pretty prominent employer, especially for these kinds of workers in the community, Audretsch said. Just as Bruce Springsteen once said in a song, these jobs are going and they arent coming back. Audretsch warned that Carriers closing will be a detriment to businesses and neighborhoods near the plant. Given this scenario, my guess would be that this could easily trigger a downward spiral, he said. Theres likely to be foreclosures and people who cant keep up with their house payments. According to census data, of the people who live within a half-mile radius of the Carrier plant, 62.8 percent are manufacturing workers and 66.7 percent earn about $40,000 or more a year. For the people who are laid off and people who are dependents, its going to be pretty devastating, Audretsch said. David Moore, who cuts hair at Hot Stylz, a barber Its going to slow a lot of traffic down, he said. We still have other companies around here, but Carrier is a big part of it. Moore also said that when the Carrier jobs are gone, hes worried the crime rate will escalate in the area because theres no way all those people will find work. A lot of guys are worried about the crime rate going up, he said. When people dont have jobs a lot of people moved over here for this job and have been there 20-plus years, or theyre just starting out and had a good opportunity the shops nearby are open and everybody in here gets cash money, and thats a risk. James Wesley Howell, 20, faces felony weapons charges in California after his arrest June 12, 2016, in Santa Monica before the L.A. Pride festival in West Hollywood. He appeared in court on June 14, 2016. (Photo: Nick Ut / AP) SHARE By Michael Anthony Adams / USA Today Netowrk/ The Indianapolis Star Legally, James Wesley Howell shouldn't have had access to guns. After pointing a handgun at his Charlestown neighbor in October 2015, Howell was required to forfeit his weapons for a year as part of probation following his misdemeanor intimidation conviction. Howell surrendered the handgun. Clark County probation officers said they didn't know Howell, 20, owned other weapons. In the intimidation case, a handgun was the only firearm listed in his arrest report. But an IndyStar review of police reports and court documents shows that Clark County authorities should have known that Howell owned more than his .44-caliber revolver. In fact, the day before the incident with the neighbor, police questioned Howell at the same address after his ex-boyfriend accused Howell of pointing a different gun: an AR-15 rifle. Those weren't the only two guns referenced over that two-day period. During the interview, Howell told police he grabbed just "one of (his) rifles" during the encounter. Probation officers didn't know about the other guns because Howell didn't tell them. The case shows how easy it is for some offenders to keep their weapons and illustrates an alarming disconnect between different parts of the criminal justice system. "Sometimes those parts don't work well together. Things fall through the cracks," said Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "The majority of the time, that has little, if any, consequence. "But sometimes it has serious, serious consequences." Howell was arrested by Santa Monica police Sunday on his way to the L.A. Pride festival. In his car, police said, they found a 25-pound container of pre-mixed explosives, 5-gallon container of gasoline, .223-caliber rifle, .30-06 bolt-action rifle and .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun. It's unclear whether the weapons found in Howell's car are the same ones he kept in his Charlestown home. The .223-caliber rifle an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 matches the description in a 2015 Indiana police report, but California law enforcement officials haven't said where the weapons came from. Those who knew Howell weren't surprised to learn he'd been arrested with the small arsenal. In interviews with IndyStar, friends and an ex-boyfriend described Howell as a gun enthusiast who propped up rifles and handguns against his bedroom walls and made frequent trips to gun ranges in Southern Indiana. At Howell's first appointment with the Clark County Probation Department on May 22, he "denied owning or possessing any weapons" other than the handgun previously confiscated by the Charlestown Police Department, said Jamie Hayden, chief probation officer. But a police report taken Oct. 14, 2015, the day before Howell's arrest, quotes Howell as saying he had multiple rifles, including an AR-15. That incident report is then referenced in Howell's arrest report, which the probation office had a copy of when it met with Howell in May, Hayden confirmed. Hayden didn't know whether Howell's probation officer was aware of the report that notes the additional rifles, Hayden told IndyStar in a phone interview Thursday. Bueermann said it is the probation department's responsibility to "not miss that paragraph in the report that says, 'Hey, he's obviously got at least one other gun, right? Because it was a rifle he was pointing at somebody.'" Charlestown Police Chief Keith McDonald acknowledged the difficulties his department faces in communicating with other county offices, including the probation office. McDonald pointed to outdated dispatch systems that allow cases like Howell's to "fall through the cracks." "We're hoping to tighten up these loopholes," McDonald said. Technology that would reduce the number of oversights is already available, said Bueermann, of the Police Foundation officials just need the funding to pay for it. "We know how to fix many of the gaps," Bueermann said, "but there's no political will to provide the resources to do that." In California, Howell faces three felonies possession of an assault weapon, possession of explosives on a public highway and possession of a high-capacity magazine and a misdemeanor, possession of a loaded weapon. He also faces unrelated charges of speeding, fleeing police and reckless driving after a February incident in Louisville, Ky. Howell also has been charged with molesting a preteen girl in Clark County, across the Ohio River from Louisville. In that case, Howell is accused of threatening to kill himself, members of the girl's family and police officers. He sent a message to someone close to the girl, according to court documents, describing himself as a "sociopath with an automatic." Indiana officials believe Howell left for California after he learned he was under investigation. IndyStar reporter Jill Disis contributed to this story. SHARE David Curtis Stephenson at the height of his power. (Photo: IndyStar file photo) By Andrea Neal This is one in a series of essays leading to the celebration of the Indiana Bicentennial in December focusing on the top events, ideas and historical figures of Indiana. --- During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan took Indiana by storm. Ninety years later Hoosiers still struggle to grasp why. The secretive brotherhood launched its Indiana recruitment efforts in Evansville in 1920. Within four years, Hoosier Klansmen numbered 250,000 and represented every corner of the state. Members included ministers, mayors, shopkeepers and factory workers, mostly ordinary people from the wide middle of society, says historian James H. Madison in "Hoosiers A New History of Indiana." These were mainstream Hoosiers, not a fringe group. This was not the same Klan that arose after the Civil War in opposition to Reconstruction: the Republican program to bring opportunity and equal protection of law to newly freed slaves. The first Klan disappeared in the 1870s after President Ulysses Grant persuaded Congress to pass legislation outlawing it as a terrorist group. The second Klan emerged in the South at the turn of the 20th century and rapidly expanded to Middle America. It proclaimed a message of patriotism, Prohibition enforcement and Christian values. It preached exclusion, too of immigrants, blacks, Jews and especially Catholics. Just why any individual joined the Klan remains uncertain, Madison notes. Some did it because it was the thing to do or because it provided networking, social activity and a sense of belonging. Others were true believers in a moral crusade. Another factor in Indiana was the charismatic, intimidating leadership of a man named D.C. Stephenson. A Texas native who briefly flirted with socialism, Stephenson moved to Indiana around 1920 to take a job with a coal company, according to historical accounts. He unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Congress in 1922 and then became heavily involved in Klan recruitment. Rising quickly in the ranks, Stephenson moved to Indianapolis to assume the duties of Grand Dragon, a position he accepted publicly on July 4, 1923, at a Kokomo rally attended by 100,000 Klansmen and their families. A few months later, he broke away from the national organization to create a rival Klan group. In the capital city, Stephenson sought to exert his influence on the affairs of state. Politicians of both parties joined the Klan, but the majority were Republicans looking to curry favor with a large voting bloc. In the 1924 elections, the Klan published lists of preferred candidates, noting their religious affiliations and positions on key issues. Stephenson backed Republican Edward L. Jacksons successful candidacy for governor and attended Jacksons inaugural gala where William M. Herschell recited his poem, Aint God Good to Indiana? Despite its perceived influence, the Klan had little impact on laws passed in the 1925 session of the Indiana General Assembly. That March, Stephenson was charged with the brutal assault and subsequent death of an Indianapolis woman, Madge Oberholtzer, who had accompanied him on a trip to Chicago. The case was moved to Noblesville in Hamilton County because of concerns that Stephenson could not get a fair trial in Indianapolis. Before and during the trial, Stephenson lived at the Hamilton County Jail, which today is open to the public as a history museum. On Nov. 14, 1925 a jury convicted Stephenson of second-degree murder. He was sent to the Indiana State Prison where he leaked damaging information about political activities that ruined the careers of Governor Jackson, Indianapolis Mayor John Duvall and others. The trial and aftermath discredited the Klan, which overnight lost members by the thousands and faded from view almost as quickly as it appeared. A third Klan formed in the 1960s to oppose civil rights for African-Americans but gained limited following. --- Andrea Neal is a teacher at St. Richards Episcopal School in Indianapolis and adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. Contact her at aneal@inpolicy.org. SHARE In the days since Omar Mateen burst into an Orlando, Fla., club and shot more than 100 people, most of them gay men, pledges to help the gay community have poured in from around the world. And then there's the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is being anything but helpful. In the hours after the shooting, as thousands of people were rushing to Central Florida blood banks to help the victims, the FDA doubled down on a little-known policy that prohibits some gay and bisexual men from donating blood. It used to be that all gay and bisexual men were banned. Now it's only those who have had sex with another man within the last year. It doesn't matter if that sexual activity was within a marriage or a monogamous relationship. They can't donate blood. In Orlando, that means the men most affected by the shooting, the worst in modern U.S. history, have been unable to help their husbands, boyfriends and friends, while straight donors who may have had 10 sexual partners in the past year and have no idea if they've been exposed to HIV have been free to donate blood. The reasons why are flimsy at best and discriminatory at worst. The FDA says it's to prevent the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Sexually active gay and bisexual men are most likely to have HIV, the agency argues, and so must be eliminated from the pool of blood donors. But that's a circular argument that is full of wrong-headed assumptions and outdated thinking. To have such a policy at all assumes that every male donor is honest about his sexual history when he donates blood. In reality, it's more like trust but verify at blood banks. All donated blood is tested for infectious disease markers, including HIV. The FDA also, inexplicably, is leaning on an old way of thinking about HIV. One from the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when most people thought AIDS was a "gay disease." We now know that's not true. HIV can be transmitted between heterosexual partners as well as IV drug users. Any American who donates blood already gets asked: "In the past 12 months, have you had sexual contact with anyone who has HIV/AIDS or has had a positive test for the HIV/AIDS virus?" There's no need to also ask men: "Have you had had sexual contact with another male in the past 12 months?" And ask women: "Have you had had sexual contact with a male who had sexual contact with another male in the past 12 months?" That's beside the point. It's time for the FDA to stop unfairly singling out an entire demographic for no good reason. If we take anything from the tragedy in Orlando, it should be that. This editorial first appeared in The Sacramento Bee. SHARE Yes, Hitler. Some of you questioned my evocation of history's great villain in a recent column on House Speaker Paul Ryan's surrender to presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. I likened Ryan to Franz von Papen, a German politician who helped Adolf Hitler rise to power under the naive delusion that he could control him. A handful of Trump fans found that, as one put it, "a bit of a stretch." One guy expressed his skepticism through the time-honored expedient of the triple punctuation mark: "Hitler???" Yes, Hitler. Not that their dubiousness is unreasonable. In recent years, Hitler and the Holocaust have popped up in political debate as routinely as dandelions on the lawn. One man said having to tack a "No Smoking" sign on his building was like being a Jew forced to wear a yellow star; another claimed popular anger over the excesses of the rich was reminiscent of Kristallnacht. Almost by definition, Hitler and Holocaust comparisons trivialize that era and reveal the ignorant insensitivity of those who make them. But the key word there is, almost. Because for the record, I'm not the only one who sees the shadow of Germany in the 1930s over America in the 2010s. Once again, a clownish demagogue bestrides the political landscape, demonizing vulnerable peoples, bullying opponents, encouraging violence, offering simplistic, strongman solutions to difficult and complex problems, and men and women who bear more moral authority on this subject than I ever could see something chilling and familiar in him. "I don't want to make any comparison to Hitler, but believe it or not his delivery and the way he conducts himself is very similar to Hitler's way of doing things. He discredits everybody who disagrees with him. He's insulting. He discriminates against everybody." So says Martin Weiss. He's a survivor of Auschwitz. "It is repeating itself and it is again the inattention that people pay to real cues that one should understand. ... I think one has to speak up. And that's the one lesson from the Holocaust. Do not be a bystander." So says Margit Meissner, who fled occupied France on foot through the Pyrenees. Like Weiss, she spoke in January to Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. Then there is Eva Schloss, who in January said of Trump, "I think he is acting like another Hitler ..." Schloss, who spoke to Newsweek, was the stepsister of Anne Frank. No, I don't predict a new Holocaust if Trump bamboozles America into electing him. But some new calamity, inconceivable to us now, but repulsive to the values we claim to hold dear, does seem certain. And that raises a question: If one should never be too quick to make comparisons to Germany in the 1930s, is it not also important, on the rare occasions it is merited, to make sure one is not too slow? One reason, after all, that no one saw Hitler for what he was is that people simply could not conceive of anything as preposterously monstrous as what eventually occurred. They took refuge in the assurance the false assurance, as it turned out that reason would eventually reassert itself. The failure of imagination is often a component in tragedy. That's why I've always declined to blame the Bush administration for 9/11. Before that, who could have conceived of fanatics using jetliners as missiles? But afterward is another story. Once you have seen for yourself that the unthinkable is not, it moves from the arena of imagination to that of history. And then, you must use it to understand where we are and help chart where we should and should not be going. You can't blame people who didn't realize what Hitler was. They had never seen anything like him before. You and I, however, have no such excuse. Continue Reading Below Advertisement You also have to click through a few pages to find the name L. Ron Hubbard, who is described in somewhat less-than-honest terms: Narconon Between "author" and "humanitarian," it's impossible to decide what he's less acclaimed for. So it's a pretty nasty shock when you show up and there are portraits of the man on every wall. "They don't advertise it as Scientology, and only inkling you'd have is that L. Ron Hubbard is mentioned, but only in that he is a humanitarian," Jeffrey says. The name didn't ring a bell for him, since he was pretty busy doing a bunch of heroin at the time, he says. "It wasn't until another patient said something a few weeks into it I learned a little about whom L. Ron Hubbard was, which made his picture being everywhere make sense." Continue Reading Below Advertisement Well, "making sense" here is a relative term. Data center News APC Parent Company Schneider Electric Gets New North American CEO Joseph F. Kovar Share this Schneider Electric, parent company of data center power and cooling infrastructure developer APC, this week appointed Annette Clayton, a five-year veteran of the company, as president and CEO of its North American operations. Clayton reports to Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman and CEO of Rueil-Malmaison, France-based Schneider Electric. She is taking the North American reigns from Laurent Vernerey, who led the North America region for the past three years and has ended a 30-year career with the company. Before her new role, Clayton served as Schneider Electric's chief supply chain officer. Before joining Schneider Electric, she spent five years as vice president of global operations at Dell, as well as 23 years at General Motors. [Related: The Inside Story Of How APC Lost A Channel Champions Crown And Regained Its Channel Mojo] North America is the largest of Schneider Electric's four operating regions. As president and CEO, Clayton is responsible for driving the business strategy and execution of four business units and a services division, including the IT division. She is also continuing her role as the group chief supply chain officer and will remain a member of Schneider Electrics executive committee. Schneider Electric acquired APC in 2007. APC by Schneider Electric has a long history in the channel. The company had won the coveted title of CRN Channel Champion in the Power Protection and Management category, as determined by an annual survey of solution providers by CRN, for the first 20 years of the award. However, in 2014, archrival Eaton beat the company to take home top honors in the category. That loss spurred APC to rethink its approach to the channel, and it succeeded in taking back the honor in 2015. Managed services News Sources: Dimension Data Layoffs Hit Across Multiple Departments Sarah Kuranda Share this Dimension Data has been hit by layoffs in recent months, sources told CRN, as part of a push to cut costs at the solution provider. The layoffs over the last six months have hit departments across the company, including customer service, alliances, solutions engineers and sales, one source said. Another source said there have also been layoffs in the managed services group. The layoffs occurred in the Americas region, sources said, though there have also been publicized reports of layoffs in other regions. The total number of layoffs that have occurred at the company isn't exactly clear. Dimension Data has 31,000 employees globally, according to its website. [Related: Dimension Data CEO Resigns, Succeeded By Operations Chief] "People are really unsettled," one source said. Sources said multiple laid-off employees have jumped to competitor World Wide Technology. CRN reached out to WWT about the hires, but has not heard back. Dimension Data declined to comment, citing corporate policy against commenting on this type of issue. The layoffs come as part of a push by parent company NTT to cut costs at Dimension Data, a source said. NTT has also cut down on employee travel, the source said. Tokyo-based NTT has been the parent company of Dimension Data since 2010 when it acquired the company for $3.3 billion. Dimension Data also recently lost CEO Brett Dawson, announcing on June 10 that the executive had resigned after 12 years at the helm of the solution provider. Dawson has been replaced by Chief Operating Officer Jason Goodall On an earnings call last August, NTT CFO Jun Sawada said Dimension Data had been told to focus on cutting costs, as the solution provider is "not generating a profit at this stage." "We have talked to Dimension Data and instructed them to seek increases in both operating revenue and operating income. In other words, they should have guidelines for both top line and the bottom line," Sawada said on the call. Dimension Data, No. 11 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 list, had previously been pushing to aggressively drive up its sales, with a revenue target of $12 billion by 2018. To accomplish that, Dimension Data has been actively making acquisitions, including its 2014 blockbuster acquisition of Nexus, to nearly double its presence in the U.S. market and, more recently, acquiring Ceryx to strengthen its offerings around the Microsoft public cloud. One source said the spurt of acquisitions in the last year has resulted in significant position overlap, spurring a "realigning and readjusting of the business" to cut back on redundancies. Dimension Data Americas ended 2015 with 26 percent organic sales growth, including 29 percent growth in the security business, 22 percent growth in the networking business and 19 percent growth in the data center business, Americas CEO Mark Slaga told CRN last fall. "We are on track to triple the business," Slaga said at the time, referring to the U.S. business. "I feel really pleased and proud." Slaga declined to comment when reached out to directly by CRN about the reported layoffs. The Port of Newcastle in Australia has announced an $800,000 AU infrastructure upgrade from the state and federal government to enable the upgrade of mooring bollards at the port's cruise berth, according to a statement. The federal Minister for Tourism and International Education, Senator Richard Colbeck, and NSW Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast, Scot MacDonald, were in Newcastle to announce the funding. The upgraded mooring bollards at the Channel Berth will enable the Port to host larger cruise ships. Port of Newcastle CEO Geoff Crowe welcomed the announcement, which will increase the economic benefit of cruise shipping to the Hunter region. "The current economic benefit of cruise shipping to the region is estimated by the Australian Cruise Association to be $11 million per annum, contributing to the growth and diversification of the region's economy," said Geoff. The Coast Guards top officer has recognized three Coast Guardsmen for their quick-thinking and ingenuity that helped save the mission of the nations only heavy icebreaker during a recent deployment to Antarctica. U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft visited with the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, currently in drydock at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle, where he recognized Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin Oakes from Stratford, Conn., Petty Officer 3rd Class Augustin Foguet from Costa Mesa, Calif., and Seaman Manon Mullen from Honolulu. He also presented the crew a Coast Guard Unit Commendation Award for their efforts during two separate Antarctic deployments. Foguet, a damage controlman aboard Polar Star, and Mullen, a deck hand, helped repair the cutters thrust bearing bracket after it suffered a catastrophic failure while the cutter was in 6- to 8-foot thick ice in Antarctica in January. (The thrust bearing bracket is a series of beams about the size of an SUV that hold up the cutters shaft, which is the component of the cutter that spins the propeller to move the cutter through the water and break ice.) The crew led a 36-hour long repair to fix the thrust bearing bracket, which had become structurally unstable and could not safely support the weight of the shaft. Foguet was part of team that crawled into the cramped spaces of the thrust bearing bracket to weld the structure back together. Mullen helped prepare the area for welding, conducted watches to prevent fire from the around-the-clock welding operation and assisted with cleaning the area in preparation for operation. Oakes, an electricians mate, used a surfboard repair kit to fix one of the cutters generators after the system shorted out and began smoking. The crew had also lost power to one of their propellers en route to Antarctica leaving them with reduced power. They could not get specially designed replacement parts for the 40-year-old generator in time for the crew to execute their mission to Antarctica; however, with a little online research and brainstorming, Oakes used one of his shipmates surfboard repair kits to fabricate a new replacement part allowing the Polar Star to continue its mission. The crew of the Cutter Polar Star responded to four general emergencies during their most recent deployment to Antarctica. A general emergency is a situation in which the crew and the cutter are in serious danger if the not remedied quickly. The crew experienced three fires and one major lube oil leak, which can quickly ignite into fire, the Coast Guard stated. The Coast Guard has been the sole operator and custodian of the nations polar icebreaking capability since 1965, providing access in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. In 2013, Polar Star was officially reactivated and returned to the fleet and reassumed its mission. It performs variety of missions while operating in Polar Regions. During Antarctic deployments, the crews breaks a channel through the sea ice to resupply the McMurdo Research Station in the Ross Sea. Resupply ships use the channel to bring food, fuel, and other goods to make it through another winter. Polar Star also serves as a scientific research platform with five laboratories and accommodations for up to 20 scientists. Photo: (From left)Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin Oakes of Stratford, Conn., Petty Officer 3rd Class Augustin Foguet of Costa Mesa, Calif., and Seaman Manon Mullen of Honolulu in the engine room of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star Costa Cruises and the Ligurian Regional Administration have announced a new initiative designed to promote tourism in Savona. Starting from the end of June, cruise guests arriving on the Italian companys ships will be able to go on a walking tour specially designed as a journey of discovery of the town and its typical products. This initiative stems from our partnership with the Ligurian Regional Administration and is intended to be another major contribution towards further development of the towns vocation for tourism. Some one million of our cruisers come here every year, from countries around Europe and internationally, and now they will have the chance to discover the best of Savona, with its treasures that are little known even in the rest of Liguria and which we want to help convey to the world. We were the first to believe in Savona as a cruise destination back in 1996; over the years it has become our main port of call in the Mediterranean and its reputation as tourist resort is growing all the time, said Costa Cruises President Neil Palomba. The new Savona walking tours start from the Palacrociere cruise terminal and include visits of the Baroque Cappella Sistina, the Priamar Fortress and the landmark Torre del Brandale. Like on any other Costa shore tour, cruisers will be accompanied by professional guides who speak the languages of everybody on the excursion, and who will explain the history of these monuments and their art, architecture and culture. The tours will also feature stops in some of the old-world shops in Savonas old center with tasting of typical local products such as focaccia, farinata (a kind of chickpea pancake), chinotto and amaretti plus a visit of ceramic workshops. Guests will then have time at leisure before returning on foot to the Palacrociere. The walking tour lasts around three and a half hours. Between the end of June 2016 and the end of 2017, Costas ships will be turning around in Savona about 300 times. Its no secret that cyber crime is a lucrative business that continues to evolve and professionalize its services. Regardless of what statistics are cited, they all share a common takeaway: cyber criminal activities reap substantial financial rewards. No sector or industry is immune to these enterprising groups and individuals. News is rife with examples of cyber crime internationally targeting healthcare, financial institutions, and retailers, among other industries, further demonstrating that cyber crime is a global business and as more and more breaches become publicized, it is evident that business is good. One industry that remains a top target for these hostile actors is the pharmaceutical sector. According to the Cisco 2014 Midyear Security report, pharmaceutical, chemical, and aviation were the top three industry verticals having high threat perception. Corroborating these findings is a 2015 survey by Crown Records Management, a global consulting service, revealed that nearly two-thirds of pharma companies have suffered serious data breaches while a quarter have been hacked. This comes as little surprise as the intellectual property (IP) relating to the drug formulation process is a global business that cost $75 billion in 2010, according to estimates made by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. While healthcare organizations such as hospitals or insurance providers have substantial repositories of patient data to include personal identifiable information and medical records that can be monetized, the pharmaceutical sector is rich in intellectual property (IP) and research & development (R&D) of new drugs and medicines, the loss of which can significantly impact a companys stature and continued well-being. Potentially compromised trial information or quality of product can result in consumer suspicion about the integrity of any data or product produced by the victimized company. When it comes to drugs and medication, its all about trust. The losses a company can potentially realize extends beyond just revenue and downtime. Any cyber attack that exposes confidential data or delays supply chains can result in litigating action. According to one site specializing on global pharmaceutical technology and manufacturing news, companies can also be sued for breach of contract or else be required to repeat clinical trials, which can be costly. A 2015 Ponemon global study on the Cost of Cyber Crime revealed that the pharmaceutical sector had one of the highest rate of loss of customers post data breach, as well as a higher data breach cost. Loss of IP is can be an especially expensive consequence for the industry. One Indian news source revealed that the IP targeted by these hostile actors include drug discovery programs, clinical development programs, drug registration applications, molecular formulae, patient records, production processes, manufacturing records, quality assurance and compliance data. Indeed, since 2008 there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of hacking incidents involving biotech firms, according to one security vendor. And there is little evidence to suggest that this will abate anytime in the near future particularly since the pharmaceutical sector draws the attention of myriad actors including but not limited to cyber criminals, actors suspected of cyber espionage, and potentially even terrorists. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency recognizes that Hezbollah and Hamas make counterfeit drugs that are distributed and sold by established criminal networks throughout the Middle East and Latin America. This trafficking produces revenues that fund their terrorist activities. But perhaps the group that poses the greatest threat to the pharmaceutical sector are the actors suspected of cyber espionage in order to benefit competitors, or to support a governments national objectives. Some threat analysts view the increased espionage activity suspected of originating in China to align with the governments 12th Five Year Plan, the countrys national strategic growth plan. While there has been no direct link between the two, one can certainly see the possibility of this. For example, according to one open source report, Chinese hackers have taken as much as 6.5 terabytes of information from a single company, although the name of the company was not publicly disclosed. Although no definitive attribution was levied, it is largely suspected that these hackers have some connection to the Chinese government and were collecting information to help Chinese companies reduce their own R&D efforts in developing their own products. In 2015, Nordic countries pharmaceutical companies were victimized by the cyber espionage efforts. However, there is reason to believe that IP is not the sole reason for hostile actors to target the pharmaceutical sector. One global security vendor believes that these threat groups also seek the technologies, processes, and expertise as well. So the target may not necessarily be the actual IP information but the manufacturing and business practices behind its development and creation. In one incident, an advanced persistent threat (APT) group not only stole IP but also business data from the victim including bio cultures, products, cost reports, and other details pertaining to the companys operations overseas. While opportunity is still the basis for some of these activities, targeting specific industries and sectors is becoming more common place. Understanding our adversaries, and understanding the types of data that they deem as valuable is an ongoing challenge but one that needs to be undertaken. We must evolve our security strategies with the threat environment and adapt to the dynamic nature of the threat actors themselves, how they operate, and devise our strategies accordingly. WhiteHat Security founder Jeremiah Grossman has joined startup endpoint protection provider SentinelOne as chief of security strategy, after announcing in March that he would be leaving WhiteHat. In his 15 years at WhiteHat, Grossman held various executive titles, leading the development of a number of application security products and building one of the industrys largest professional hacker teams. In the blog post announcing his departure, he gave a nod to some of WhiteHat's "firsts": WhiteHat was the first company to adopt a Software-as-a-Service model in Application Security. Though our statistics report that thousands rely upon, we were the first to bring measurable data to the industry. We pioneered the founding of two industry groups, OWASP and WASC. We led the creation of the first AppSec lexicon, the Threat Classification, and the language everyone uses when speaking AppSec. Weve released much of the most cutting-edge and foundational security research to date, which has raised awareness globally. And we were the first vendor to offer a security guarantee. Im sure sure Im missing several other firsts, but already no other company has such a record of industry contribution and market success. So what is Grossman hoping to accomplish at SentinelOne that he didn't or couldn't accomplish at WhiteHat? "Nearly 20 years ago, I had a strong feeling that the security of the Web and of Web applications were going to become an extremely important issue," Grossman said via email. "That's where I wanted to make an impact. Over the following years, I made a deep commitment and investment in investigating Web security, eventually pioneering what has become today's application security industry. WhiteHat was, and still is, the #1 company in that space." "Today, I want to make an impact in a new fight. Ransomware is an incredibly effective and fast-growing form of malware that is making a huge impact on real people around the globe. It is becoming more sophisticated and popular as an attack vector, and will only get worse from here. The opportunity to work with SentinelOne allows me to work side by side with other brilliant and highly motivated people who are all helping to solve this growing problem of malware and ransomware. Once I met this group of people and learned about what they were doing, it was clear to me that this was the best place for me to join in the fight." Grossman told Infosecurity magazine that "a big reason" he's at SentinelOne is that while there are many hands looking at the ransomware problem including researchers, academics, vendors, and so forth, there is definitely no slow down infection rates. Its out of control. So far, no one really has found an answer the market has accepted." Prior to founding WhiteHat, Grossman was Chief Information Security Officer at Yahoo!. He is also founder of the Web Application Security Consortium (WASC). SentinelOnes Next-Generation Endpoint Protection technology has earned praise from multiple directions for its ability to autonomously detect and mitigate threats without any network access; with industry analyst firm Gartner recently nominating them as a Visionary vendor in the latest Endpoint Protection Platform Magic Quadrant. Their technology and vision has already earned them $40 million of VC funding and ringing endorsements from Fortune 500 customers who have replaced their entire installed base of legacy endpoints with SentinelOne solutions. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DANBURY The owners of the popular Anthonys Lake Club, which sits on the quiet shores of Lake Kenosia, recently completed a major renovation in honor of their 20th anniversary. Rocco Perna, owner of the restaurant and rental hall, said they decided to move forward with more than $500,000 in renovations to improve the curb appeal of the building. They added a 1,500-square-foot lobby complete with chandeliers, marble tiles and a bridal suite for wedding events. It was time to give the building a fresh, new look, Perna said. There really havent been any major renovations to the building since the 1970s. The entrance of the building was also transformed to look more like an Italian Villa with stucco, archways and a grand stone staircase that leads into the new lobby. The bocci courts that are attached to the Amerigo Vespucci Lodge, which owns the building, were also enclosed in the same villa style structure as the rest of the building. They really did a wonderful job with the renovation; we are very happy with it, said Frank Cerra, a recent past president of the lodge who was checking on the progress of the project this week. Weve been really fortunate to have a great working relationship with Anthonys Lake Club over the years. We just renewed their lease and the relationship has been stronger than ever. Besides renting the hall out for various functions, the space is also used routinely by both the lodge and other groups for a variety of events including comedy nights, family pasta dinners on Tuesday evenings and the citys annual Italian Festival held in August. The club was recently entered into The Knot websites Hall of Fame for being named one of the best wedding halls in the region for the past five consecutive years. Thats something that we are really proud of, Perna said. We really do everything in our power to make the day as special as possible. With the recent renovations now complete, we believe we have an excellent facility for celebrating just about any special occasion. The venue seats up to 200 in the main hall with a wall of windows looking out over Lake Kenosia. An expansive deck near the water's edge includes two gazebos and fresh hanging flowers that surround an area often used for wedding ceremonies. Another 250 people can be accommodated in the outdoor pavilion and 75 more in the clubs lounge area. The facility is billed as Danbury's only lakefront events center. dperrefort@newstimes.com A Derby nurse who admitted taking kickbacks from a drug company that makes the powerful opioid painkiller Subsys is cooperating with federal investigators, who recently charged two drug company employees with violating kickback laws, court documents show. Documents filed earlier this year show that Heather Alfonso, a nurse formerly employed by a Derby pain clinic, requested a delay in sentencing because she was actively cooperating in an ongoing investigation in several jurisdictions, including Connecticut, in which arrests were expected. Ms. Alfonsos cooperation with both state and federal investigations is significant when qualifying her character and conduct, relative to sentencing, her attorney said in filings in U.S. District Court in Hartford. A judge agreed to delay Alfonsos sentencing until Sept. 13. Alfonso, of Middlebury, pleaded guilty last June to receiving $83,000 in kickbacks from Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics from January 2013 to March 2015, while she was employed by the Comprehensive Pain and Headache Treatment Center. She was among the highest prescribers in the country of the companys potent drug, Subsys, writing out prescriptions at what prosecutors called an alarming rate, in exchange for payments made through the companys sham speakers program. Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York charged a former district manager for Insys, Jonathan Roper, and a former sales representative, Fernando Serrano, with violating anti-kickback laws by allegedly paying doctors to participate in phony educational programs designed to boost prescriptions of a fentanyl-based sublingual spray, which describes Subsys. In the indictment, federal prosecutors said doctors were paid as much as $3,000 per speaking engagement to attend dinners at high-end restaurants in Manhattan that involved no education at all. Doctors were selected as speakers in order to induce (them) to prescribe large quantities of the fentanyl spray. The indictment includes a 2014 email by Roper to his sales team, in which he expresses displeasure that certain doctors were not prescribing enough Subsys. We invest a lot of time, $, blood, sweat, and tears on our guys We hire only the best of the best to be a part of our speaker bureau and dropping script counts is what we get in return? This is a slap in the face to all of you and is a good indication as to why NONE of you are climbing in the rankings this quarter. In announcing the arrests, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said that fentanyl is an incredibly dangerous and highly addictive drug that is finding its way into, and destroying, too many lives in our communities. Despite tight restrictions on the drug, including that it be used only for cancer patients, Insys reported $330 million in net revenue from Subsys in 2015. Alfonso admitted in court that Insys paid her about $1,000 per event, through the speakers program, to go out to dinner with friends and co-workers, or with just an Insys sales rep. She is no longer practicing medicine, and no other clinicians at the Derby pain center have been charged. Alfonso was among the highest prescribers of Subsys in the country from 2013 to 2015. Medicare and private insurers paid out about $1.6 million for the prescriptions she wrote while she was receiving kickbacks from Insys, court records say. Previous C-HIT stories identified Alfonso as the states top Medicare program prescriber of potent narcotics, including fentanyl, in 2013. Nationally, Insys paid out about $10 million to more than 3,000 physicians in 2013 and 2014, most of it for speaking engagements, federal records show. A C-HIT story last July found that eight of the top 10 prescribers of Subsys were paid more than $870,000 in speaking fees by the drug maker in 2013 and 2014. Insys has previously denied any wrongdoing in its marketing of Subsys. This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org). This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARTFORD-A man charged with shooting at the Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden in November will be spending six months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Michael Shea Friday also ordered Ted Hakey, Jr., 48, of Meriden to spend the first three years following his release from prison being supervised by the U.S. Probation Department. Hakey must report to prison on Aug. 15. Hakey pleaded guilty Feb. 11, 2016 to a charge of intentionally damaging religious property by using a dangerous weapon. He had been arrested Dec. 17, 2015 following an investigation into the Nov. 14, 2015 shooting. We all have a right to worship freely and without fear of violence, and individuals who commit hateful, divisive and violent acts against others need to know that a prison term will be the end result, said U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly. This is an appropriate sentence that balances the need for justice with the defendants genuine expressions of remorse and the victims plea for a sentence that didnt include jail time. Daly said that since the shooting Baitul Aman Mosques congregation has turned this senseless and hateful crime into something positive - using their story as a way of raising awareness about the peaceful message of Islam. Rather than just letting themselves be victims, they took a stand, reached out to the defendant, and offered him forgiveness and reconciliation, Daly said. Their generosity of spirit serves as a role model for all of us. Although Meriden police received reports about shots being fired in the early morning hours of Nov. 14, 2015 near 410 Main Street, it wasnt until the following day that a family at the Mosque discovered damage to interior walls and a ceiling. Investigators determined three bullets fired from a high-powered rifle penetrated the building while one hit an exterior area. Analyzing the bullets trajectory, investigators deterimed they probably came from a high-powered rifle shot from the area of 380 Main Street, the house located closest to the Mosque, which is where Hakey lives. During questioning, Hakey admitted he fired a Springfield M1A rifle at the Mosque on November 14, 2015 in anger over the Paris terrorist attacks. However, investigators uncovered a lot of anger Hakey felt towards Muslims and posted on Facebook. I hate ISLAM! read one. All Muslims must die!!! I hate them all, read another. And a third posted in July, 2015 read: If we all kill just 1 Muslim each tonight it will make a dent!. Mohammed Qureshi, the president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, address the judge on behalf of the Baitul Aman Mosque congregation. He informed Shea that the congregation reached out to Hakey and engaged in discussions with him which led to an apology from the defendant. Qureshi urged the judge not to impose a prison sentence. While Shea acknowledged the Muslim congregations response was rare and inspiring, he determined that some time behind bars was a necessary deterrent. The FBI, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Connecticut State Police and the Meriden Police Department investigated the shooting. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reveals some startling numbers behind the country's widening income inequality gap. And Connecticutand one Fairfield County metrois simply one such poster child of the issue. In their paper "Income inequality in the U.S. by state, metropolitan area, and county," Mark Price, an economist at the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg, Penn., and Estelle Sommeiller, a socio-economist at the Institute for Research in Economic and Social Sciences in Paris, France, examined the widening gap between incomes throughout the United States. While the researchers admit the phenomenon is nothing new, they recognized that the persistent problem needs to be addressed. "The degree of income inequality differs from one city to another, but the underlying forces are clear. Inequality isn't a regional issue. It's the result of intentional policy decisions to shift bargaining power away from working people and towards the top one percent," Sommeiller said in the report. Related: States with the highest and lowest gas taxes "To reverse this, we should enact policies that boost worker's ability to bargain for higher wages, rein in the salaries of CEOs and the financial sector, and prioritize full employment," Sommeiller added. Among their key findings published on EPI: between 2009-2013, the top 1 percent of earners took home 85.1 percent of total income growth in America and nine states had gaps between the top one percent and bottom 99 percent that exceeded the overall national gap, Connecticut being one of them. Connecticut ranks second in America in income equality, based on top one percent and bottom 99 percent income in 2013. The state posted an average annual income for its top one percent of $2,402,339, with state residents needing to make $659,979 to be in the top one percent. Fairfield County registered the largest income gap in the state. The county's top one percent made 73.7 times more than the bottom 99 percent, earning an average of $6,061,230 while the bottom 99 percent earned an average of $82,222. Among metropolitan areas, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area mirrored the county's overall trend. The metro ranked second among all counties surveyed nationally in share of income the top one percent hold within their respective state (42.7 percent). Researchers note that Connecticut is just a part of the larger picture. "While many of the highest-income families do live in states such as New York and Connecticut, IRS data make clear that rising inequality and increases in top one percent incomes affect every state," Price and Sommeiler stated. Related: Most expensive cities to raise a family The two added that these trends in income will certainly have an effect on upcoming elections. "Millions of Americans feel tremendous anxiety about their grasp on the American Dream. As observers of the 2016 presidential primaries have noted, anxiety could be channeled into support for policies that promote broadly shared prosperityor into a darker, more divisive politics reminiscent of early 20th century European politics," Price and Sommeiler said. To read Price and Sommeiller's full report published on EPI, click here. To see some of the numbers behind America's and Connecticut's income inequality from the report, check out the slideshow above. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 BRIDGEPORT With graduation season in full swing, a less conventional commencement ceremony took place Thursday at the Trefz Corp. Nineteen McDonalds restaurant managers collected their diplomas and became Connecticuts third-ever graduating class of English Under the Arches, an eight-week course for students learning English as a second language. Teams and players to watch in the District 5 boys soccer playoffs Check out the teams and players to watch and the District 5 Class 1A and 2A boys soccer playoffs open. Cajun time: Buster Tubbs brings the spice to Tavares Longing for some Louisiana fare? Consider Buster Tubbs in Tavares, where the secret is in the roux, according to chef and spice-master Pernell Stewart. Opinion Wordle The next day I woke to find myself in a WhatsApp group titled Quordle is Awesome!! A small group of three. There was no getting out of it now. My favourite journalist, Auberon Waugh, was not just one of the sharpest, funniest and most original commentators ever to grace the pages of this or any other newspaper. He also went to his grave in 2001 as the self-appointed president, chairman and, indeed, the only known member of Vespa, the Venerable Society for the Protection of Adulterers. Never have errant husbands been more in need of his organisation than today. Such was the thought that occurred to me when I finished laughing at yesterdays story of the former soldier who dialled 999 after he found a black box fitted with batteries hidden in his car, telling the operator it looked like a viable device. Auberon Waugh, pictured, was the only member of the Venerable Society for the Protection of Adulterers West Yorkshire police swung into action, cordoning off the vehicle and calling in the bomb squad, while Leeds City Councils emergency planning team prepared to evacuate neighbours and place nearby schools on lock-down. It was only after about an hour that the ex-soldiers estranged wife came forward and sheepishly admitted that the suspicious package was, in fact, a GPS tracking device, which she had planted in his car because she believed he was seeing another woman. All right, it cant have been very funny while the panic lasted. But no great harm was done and no offence was committed. As a police source said: Suspicious wives are perfectly entitled to bug their husbands if they so wish. But what would Waughs Vespa have made of it? I found the story fascinating because it highlights one of the huge number of social consequences of the technological revolution, which its progenitors can barely have imagined when they had their eureka moments. During most of the time when Waugh was writing, after all, adulterous husbands could avoid exposure if they were careful to obey a few basic rules: dont go home smeared in the other womans lipstick or reeking of her perfume; dont leave incriminating evidence in pockets receipts for hotel rooms or candlelit dinners for the wife to find when shes off to the dry-cleaners; dont develop a tendresse for a kiss-and-tell blabbermouth like Edwina Currie . . . etc, etc. But these days, technology has supplied suspicious wives (and husbands, for that matter) with a huge range of electronic aids to detecting their other halves infidelities. Im not just thinking of GPS although my techno-savvy friends tell me this has now become so sophisticated that the ex-soldiers wife neednt have gone to all the trouble of hiding a bomb-like object in her husbands car. She could just have activated the GPS on his mobile phone and downloaded an app that would have shown her all his movements while he kept it switched on. True, Ive heard it argued that mobiles facilitate forbidden liaisons, since they make it so easy to arrange trysts. But there are many other ways, surely, in which they may expose a guilty secret. Ill never forget the opening pages of Tom Wolfes brilliant The Bonfire Of The Vanities (set in pre-mobile days), in which the anti-hero Sherman McCoy sneaks off in the rain to ring his mistress from a call-box, telling his wife that hes taking the dog for a walk. When he reaches the phone, the dogs lead gets tangled round his legs and in his rain-soaked confusion he absent-mindedly dials his home number, putting his wife on red alert. If that could happen in the days when we had to dial seven or eight separate digits to make a connection, how much easier it must be now to send a self-incriminating text to a spouse, with one misdirected tap on a touch-screen. Suspicious wife, shouting upstairs from the kitchen: Darling, why have you just sent me a text from the bathroom, calling me Kittikins and asking if Im free to meet up after work? Youve never called me Kittikins before. Then theres plastic money, with every transaction electronically recorded to catch out the unwary. Suspicious wife: Darling, I thought you told me you went to Newcastle last weekend for a sales convention? Guilty husband: Yes, my love. As I told you, it was a most frightful bore. Furious wife: Can you explain, then, why our electronic bank statement says you spent 130.63 at the Fifi-A-Go-Go brasserie and bar in Brighton on Saturday night, and another 80 at the Channel View Hotel on Sunday morning? Meanwhile, how are todays love-cheats to explain away strange addresses programmed into the family cars satnav or selfies, rashly posted on the internet, showing them locked in passionate embrace with a floozie or gigolo? Never in our history, surely, has playing away from home been a higher-risk enterprise. Its a wonder that anyone dares. But, of course, its not just would-be adulterers whose lives have been changed by the electronic revolution, in ways that may not have occurred to Sir Tim Berners-Lee & Co when they came up with their brilliant inventions. Yes, some of the consequences were predictable from the start. Im thinking of the slow death of the High Street, brought about by the arrival of online shopping and, indeed, the struggle of my own trade of print journalism to adapt to the challenge of competition from the internet. Allow me to pause, here, for a sideswipe at Lord Justice Leveson and his colleagues on the Bench, who have exacerbated the problems of the Press by concentrating all their regulatory fire on us, while turning a blind eye to the sins of our far less responsible competitors in cyberspace. Could Sir Tim ever have guessed that one effect of his World Wide Web would be that most of the globes population would know the identity of a celebrity who takes out an injunction, while the British Press alone would be banned from publishing it? We could add other trades, too, to the list of those threatened by the relentless march of electronic science. When those wizards came up with satnav, for instance, I wonder if it crossed their minds that they were signing the death warrant of Londons black cab trade, by making all those years that drivers had spent learning the Knowledge almost pointless overnight? As for other social consequences, yes, the pioneers of the internet could probably foresee that millions of men who would never have dared ask a shopkeeper for a dirty magazine would drool over images of naked women on their computers. But could they have imagined, in their wildest nightmares, this weeks finding that a whole generations attitude to sex would be warped by internet porn? Old fashioned adulterers could avoid discovery by choosing a partner who won't blab - unlike Edwina Currie Shockingly, a survey commissioned by the NSPCC and the Childrens Commissioner for England finds that 94 per cent of 14-year-olds have viewed hard-core material, while more than half of 11 to 16-year-old boys believe on-screen porn is realistic. If the reports fears prove well founded, this means young teenagers are growing up believing its natural and acceptable to degrade women and physically abuse them. Yet paradoxically, electronic gadgetry is also said to have had one intriguing social consequence that surely nobody could have foreseen: the staggeringly sharp drop in teenage pregnancies at a record low, after falling 51 per cent in England and Wales over just 16 years. Naturally, politicians are quick to claim this remarkable turnaround is due to the teenage pregnancy strategy introduced by the last Labour government. But having seen the way teenagers operate, Im more inclined to believe the alternative theory. If this is correct, the reason that so few under-18s are getting pregnant is that most teenagers spend their lives conducting virtual love affairs over their mobile phones, sending each other photographs of their private parts but seldom making physical contact. All I can say with certainty is that weve hardly begun to comprehend the hundreds of ways in which science is changing human behaviour. The world of breastfeeding has become a lot more complicated since its natural beginnings, however one mum is trying to change that. Francie Webb, a mother-of-two from New York, is encouraging other mothers to go back to basics and 'dump the pump' in favour of hand expressing milk. The 35-year-old former school teacher recently quit her job to focus on her website The Milkin Mama, which encourages mothers worldwide to hand express. Back to basics: Francie Webb, a mother-of-two from New York, is urging mothers to 'dump the pump' in favour of hand expressing milk 'I first started hand expressing milk full-time when my child was under one and it worked so much better than using a pump,' Ms Webb told Daily Mail. 'And then six months later it occurred to me that I could teach other people, because being a mum is stressful and I thought I can't be the only one who do this because it makes my life easier.' Hand expressed milk has two major benefits to that obtained using an electric pump. A research paper published by Stanford Medical states that 'manual techniques, such as hands-on compression's of the breast, extracted more milk and boosted long-term milk production'. The paper goes on to say that the hand expressing technique draws milk from deeper in the breast ('hindmilk') which is richer in nutrients and fat. 'The researchers findings confirmed that mums who used hands-on pumping had higher fat content in their milk than women relying on electric pumps alone'. Game changer: Ms Webb has recently left her job as a teacher to focus on helping mothers to hand express through her website The Milkin Mama Mother's milk: The 35-year-old says the benefits of hand expressing milk include greater volume and more nutrients 'There are plenty of mothering experts who tell women to hand express, but there are very few women taught how to do it,' Ms Webb said. 'New mothers can become dependent on electric pumps and often one of the first things women think is "what pump should I get?" 'Hand expressing gives more options to get the milk out, more freedom and more power.' Ms Webb started The Milkin Mama online and through social media in an effort to support other mums and continued to provide support through online and personal workshops. But the page grew when a woman posted her success story on social media and it was shared worldwide, intriguing mums everywhere. Growing business: Successfully running workshops and online tutorials has seen her business grow internationally to the extent she has now left her last workplace to focus full-time on The Milkin Mama Dump the pump! 'Hand expressing gives more options to get the milk out, more freedom and more power,' Ms Webb said However with time differences Ms Webb isn't always able to support international followers, so she has enlisted the help of mums from other countries to spread the world. 'I decided I can't be the only person teaching how to hand express and so I have a Mum in Vienna and the UK who are interested in helping,' she said. 'Next month I'm training 10 women to work as contractors for The Milkin Mama and they will be teachers, spreading the mission with workshops and private sessions, and going to breastfeeding groups and mum support groups.' International expansion: Ms Webb is now training 10 women across the world to spread the word Freedom! Ms Webb said that in addition to the health benefits, hand expressing allows women more freedom as they don't have to rely on a pump While hand expressing comes with health benefits, Ms Webb also hopes mums will realise the freedom it provides. 'You don't have to trek the pump pieces everywhere you go which is a plus,' she said. 'I've had mums with strict pumping schedules say they can't go out on a date night with their husbands, but if they hand express they can just take a bottle in their purse, so it gives a lot more freedom.' The vogue for baggy utilitarian clothing seems to have taken over the British high street with stores full of sweatshirts, over-sized T-shirts and 'athleisure' wear. But eagle-eyed fashion fans have taken to Twitter to accuse brands including Topshop and Zara of taking inspiration from one particular source - Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 collection. Observers have even called garments from the likes of Topman and Forever 21 'bootleg' versions of the Chicago-born star's creations. Scroll down for video Rumours are surfacing online that high street chains such as Zara have closely copied items from Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 collection, above Zara's cream over-sized short sleeve sweatshirt, 19.99, looks similar to the one in the rapper's collection The rapper, who has vied for free reign to create clothing for a long time, has been ridiculed for his ambition to move into fashion. But it now seems that his style ambitions have been vindicated as fashion's biggest brands may now be taking inspiration from him. While no garment is an exact copy, colour palettes, shapes and the fabrics bear a resemblance to his designs. Posting a picture of two pairs of Zara trainers on his Twitter account, Jeremy Paul-Boe Tom, @orjesm, questioned whether the chain and the rapper had been collaborating. 'Zara x yeezy?' he wrote. Jackm @jackjay1999 agreed, writing: '@Gallucks have you seen the yeezy rip offs at Zara and top man ? [sic]' Items from other chains also have similarities. Rust was a colour commonly used during the artist's latest fashion show featuring on sweatshirts The colour has also been embraced on the high street. Topman Granted's rust three quarter length sleeve sweatshirt (left) is being sold for 50 right; Zara's short-sleeve sweatshirt is sold for 19.99 Rust was a colour used in the artist's latest fashion show, colouring sweatshirts, wind breakers and trousers. The colour has also been embraced on the high street. Topman is selling a Granted rust three quarter length sleeve sweatshirt for 50 while Zara's short sleeve sweatshirt in the same shade costs 19.99. Khaki and distressed knitwear were also staples of the Yeezy collection, and similar examples have also appeared for sale on the high street. Zara's ripped khaki jumper costs 19.99 and has a similar distressed feel to West's - with matching bottoms and a jumper by Criminal Damage, stocked at Topman and costing 50, is also khaki with the ripped motif. Khaki too, and distressed knitwear, were staples of the Yeezy's collection, above Zara's ripped khaki jumper costs 19.99 and has a similar distressed feel to West's - with matching bottoms A jumper by Criminal Damage, stocked at Topman and costing 50, is also khaki with the ripped motif A long sleeved, long line knit jumper was shown in the collection, paired with drop crotch trousers, above A very jumper, Dark Mouline sweatshirt, 19.99, is available from Zara, styled in a similar way The strong sense of laying in West's collection has also been adopted on the high street. This Rogues Of London black jacket, 70, mimics the concept with a panel over the shoulders acting as a second layer While no garment is an exact copy, colour palettes, shapes and fabrics bear a resemblance This khaki rubber poncho, 50.00, from Topman closely resembles Kanye West's coat in colour and shape Carlos Sanchez, @CSteez903, said: @kanyewest I've been trying to get Yeezy's since the last Nike edition was released to no avail. I refuse to buy the bootlegs at @ZARA.' 'Wow! Head over to @ZARA for a fresh new shipment of counterfeit Yeezy Season 2!!' said Yung L from the Trap ,@_LUCASVINCENT. A number of them posted pictures of Zara's window displays to show the similarly between the garments. @OGfireINFRAice, captioned his: 'All of a Sudden ZARA sells YEEZY Season 2.' Jeremy Paul-Boe Tom, @orjesm, above, questioned whether the chain and the rapper had been collaborating. 'Zara x yeezy?' Along side the question he posted two images of the chain's shoes A number of them posted pictures of Zara's window displays to show the similarly between the garments Kanye West and his sister-in-law Kendall Jenner watch Tyler the Creator#s fashion show this month; Kanye wears one of his terracotta sweatshirts which has a strong resemblance to one sold at Zara Henny, @HennyKisses, wrote: 'Zara is reallllll Yeezy Season with that display I just saw.[sic]' 'I hate ppl who try to make fun of yeezy season, but be the first to run to pacsun, H&M and Zara to cop the knockoff version [sic]', wrote: BRIAN, @KIDKICKS23. Nick DePaula, @NickDePaula, wrote: '@rayp_photos I walked into a Zara in San Diego randomly today. All front mannequins basically dressed in Yeezy Season. With exact color hues [sic].' Kali Spirit, @KaliSpirit, said: That fake Yeezy look alike at Zara got me all confused AF.' A leather parka jacket, above, was also debuted in the collection earlier this year This Topman N1SQ black faux leather festival parka, 54, imitates the material and shape The sand shade also featured heavily in West's collection (left); Granted also sells similar coloured clothing (left) including sand tapering joggers, 60, with the Granted sand rope lace sweatshirt, 55 DJ DENZ, @OTC_DENZ, wrote: 'Daaamn Zara. Back at it again with copying Yeezy!!' @yxung_sinvtrv_ Jun 13 wrote: Your #mcm [man crush Monday] wear the bootleg yeezy season from Zara. [sic]' I Feel Like Mika, @mikaarianna, said: 'H&M, Forever 21, Zara, etc. all huge companies copying original Yeezy Season styles & color schemes.' Benedict, @BenyQd5, wrote: 'Zara has some of Yeezy's collection. What an influential genius,' while Ana Valdivia, @anacristinuh, said: 'Seeing the mockery of Zara's "Yeezy season 3 collection" inspo was the highlight of my day.' A woman who couldn't find a bra big enough for her H cup cleavage has launched her own business targeting women with Britain's biggest breasts. Nicole Kanjere, 23, from Croydon, admits she has spent her life battling to find a bra that not only fitted properly but also made her feel glamorous. She said: 'All my life I could never find matching knickers and bras that fitted. The bras I did find were poorly made, never fit me properly and out of date trend wise always in ugly white jersey or black. Scroll down for video Nicole Kanjere, 23, was inspired to start her own plus size bra company after failing to find glamorous and comfortable lingerie to fit her H-cup breasts 'In fact things were so bad I was bullied because of my breast size. Around the age of 15 I was a D- cup and by the age I was 18 I was an H-cup. 'When you are a teenager with large breasts and no proper fitting bra you become a target and naturally I was embarrassed because of my chest size. 'I was an easy target for girls and boys who liked to pick on anyone who was the slightest bit different.' Even as a teen Nicole knew she wasn't alone. 'I'd see other girls with large breasts being targeted and walking down the street. Or I'd see women who were plus size with large breasts clearly not wearing a bra because they couldn't get one or couldn't afford one. 'I guess even way back then my business idea was born,' explains Nicole. 'I realised that I'd spent a fortune on bras that didn't fit me. Instead of enhancing my shape and making me look good in T-shirts and tops they simply drew unwanted attention to my chest.' Nicole studied business at university and was inspired to set up Mymilla by her own problems finding bras that fit She added that she was a size 12 on her bottom and couldn't find bra and knicker sets that matched. After studying business and human resources at university she decided to do something about it, especially after researching the issue and discovering that the average British breast size was the biggest in Europe, having risen from a C to a DD cup. Nicole is only 23 but her business's profits are growing 100 per cent month on month The budding entrepreneur learnt British women's breasts are the biggest average size, even ahead of the USA market, and that the market was worth a staggering 1.2 billion a year. Nicole became inspired by other women who couldn't get a proper bra. She said: 'I decided to set up my own business offering women affordable and luxury bras and lingerie for big breasts. 'I also wanted to ensure that no matter what size they are down below some women can wear size 10 knickers and a J bra but still get proper sets. 'I wanted to set up a business that was my own and that I was passionate about and I knew if I couldn't find a bra then thousands of other women were in the same position. I knew there was a business in big breasts,' she explains. Nicole applied to the Princes Trust and was put on their Enterprise Course. After that she presented her business idea to a panel and was accepted. 'They offered me business support for two years, a business mentor and access to workshops,' she explains. Nicole spent hundreds of hours researching designers, brands currently available on the market and finding bras and knickers in the 16.90 to 42 price range. Then last year Nicole launched her bra business Mymilla offering bras made from all the different types available up to a size 42J and knickers that matched in a thong, briefs and boxer style to size 22 or 3XL. Her company is based around a body positive image and she refuses to use airbrushing in any of her shoots. Tinar Dandajena, a former Miss Curvaceous contestant, is one of the real women who models Nicole's bras Plus size blogger Rosie Astbury was also happy to strip off for the pictures which are not retouched For now Nicole stocks D-K cup bras with backs measuring from 28 to 42 but she plans to stock more ranges in sizes that go up to M cups. She said she was overwhelmed by the response to the range. 'Women were thrilled to be able to buy sexy bras, cute bras and bras that actually fitted no matter what size they are,' she said. 'Women who were tiny on the bottom but big on top were relieved to find me and women who were plus size all over were thrilled to have a choice of bras and knickers that matched.' She says that business has increased by 100 per cent month on month and she's launched a service where she goes to women's houses to do fittings. 'There are so many plus size women who are scared to go out because of bullying and teasing. For them to finally get a bra that fits and contains their breasts and gives them form and comfort is life changing,' she said. Among the women who model for Nicole's company is plus size blogger Rosie Astbury. At 5ft 2ins Rosie is a size 20 and a fashion design graduate. Tinar and Rosie appear in ads for the range that are designed specifically for bigger breasted women Rosie says: 'When I started fashion design school people could not understand why a plus size girl would want to do a fashion course. I wanted to prove that the plus size market was to be taken seriously and would soon be worth millions. 'I admit I am naturally fat I eat normally and I understand the plus and negative side of obesity. I am used to stares and comments and so when Nicole asked me to model her bra and knickers I said, "absolutely I am there for you". 'Like Nicole I have always had problems buying nice bra and knickers. I am short and not your typical model but I felt showing other women my plus size body would inspire them to try a sexy bra ad knicker set and prove that real women deserve nice lingerie no matter what size.' According to Rosie when she learnt what Nicole was aiming to achieve she was only too willing to lend her support and body. 'I know from personal experience if other big women of different shapes and sizes see women of their shape and size wearing the clothes they will feel more confident about buying them and wearing them. Rosie has been blogging about plus size fashion since she was 16 and says it helped her come to terms with being 'a big girl' If by showing off my body I can help one woman finally get a bra that fits I will have done my job,' says Rosie, who says she loves modelling for Nicole's company. 'I am proud of my size and body and showing other women that inspires them to try the bra and knickers and try the outfits.' Nicole is determined to give women with large breasts confidence to wear the clothes they want Rosie started blogging about plus size fashion when she was 16 and this year has celebrated six years of showing ladies up to a size 32 how to look on trend. 'Blogging helped me come to terms with being a big girl and being proud of my size and look.' Tinar Dandajena, 29, from Coventry, also models for Nicole. 'I totally support what Nicole is trying to do. I know what other customers go through and a size 18 and 5 ft 10ins being able to buy bras and knickers that match and fit properly is great. Tinar, who came second in Miss Curvaceous 2015, says she's lent her support to Nicole's campaign to raise awareness because the company is body positive and doesn't discriminate. As for Rosie she says: 'Nicole's business and my blog is empowering big women to be proud and take pride in what they wear and if stripping down to my bra and knickers is what I have to do to inspire other women well that's what I do. I live what I write.' Nicole is now sourcing baby doll lingerie and suspenders for plus size women. She has a huge demand for plus size bikinis and swimwear and plans on designing her own bra and knicker range once the business is more established. 'I have had amazing support from women all over the country and especially since I have started using real women of different shapes, sizes and heights it shows customers I respect their size and understand personally what it's like to have big breasts and battle to get a bra that fits and looks and feels great. How would you like to save $1500 on a designer Zimmerman dress? Or $600 on a Tibi jumpsuit? Even in some of the biggest end of year sales, these sorts of reductions are unheard of. However one young fashion-obsessed woman has worked out a way to wear designer clothes on a dime-a-dozen budget. Dia Milan, from Sydney, has managed to save thousands of dollars on designer wear by using Gumtree to scout for bargains from high-end brands including Zimmermann, Camilla and Marc, Sass and Bide and Tibi. Bargain hunter: Dia Milan (above) has saved thousands of dollars by buying designer clothing on Gumtree instead of in stores Style steal: Ms Milan buys rarely worn clothes from people on the site, which is like an online community marketplace Savvy shopper: The 30-year-old says that she loves fashion but doesn't have the budget to pay full price for her favourite brands DIA'S TOP TIPS FOR SNAGGING BARGAINS ON GUMTREE Know what designers you like and search the site by brand name Good deals get snapped up quickly so search often Be polite, as sellers are more likely to help you if you're nice to them You can buy something in a bigger size and get it altered Buy via Paypal for additional security Know your measurements and what size you are in each brand as there is no return policy Advertisement The 30-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that she started using the site, which is designed to be an online community marketplace, to buy a CD player, but quickly fell in love with it for the fashion. 'My favourite purchase is a white Zimmermann dress worn by Olivia Palermo,' she said. 'Id been eyeing off that dress since it came out but it was $1900, which is a ridiculous price for a normal person to spend on a dress.' She spotted the dress on Gumtree for only $400 and quickly snapped it up, saving an impressive $1500. She does say that it takes a bit of searching to find a piece you like, and even then you have to find the right size. 'I call it an online treasure hunt,' Ms Milan says. Super savings: Ms Milan only paid $90 for a navy Tibi jumpsuit (above), saving $600 on the retail price Easy as pie: She says anyone can shop on Gumtree and get bargains, but she has some tips for getting lucky more often Good deals: Ms Milan says that knowing what you want and searching by designer name is key to getting a good deal She does have some tips for people who want to try out finding bargains on Gumtree, and says that they can really help. Firstly, she says, the easiest way to search is via a designer brand. There's a lot of clothes being sold on the site, so know what designers you like and look specifically for pieces from them. She also says that good deals are quickly snapped up, so you need to check the site often. Ms Milan suggests having the Gumtree app on your phone, and searching when you have a spare minute throughout the day. As sizing is also a big issue, because there are no change-of-mind returns, she also recommends knowing your measurements and what size you are in each brand. Pay attention: The fashion-obsessed woman also says that good deals get snapped up quickly, so you should have the Gumtree app on your phone and and check your searches regularly Know yourself: Having your measurements written down and knowing what size you are in different brands is also key Go bigger: Ms Milan advises that you can even buy a bigger size if you love a product and get it altered If you really love an item, but you've found it in a bigger size, you can always have it altered too. 'Ive recently purchased a Camilla and Marc jacket in a size 14, which is too big,' she says. 'Im going to get it altered. Because even if I spend $100, that still means it was only $260 for a designer jacket.' She does admit that some people are scared of the site because they worry about being scammed, but says she's never had a major problem. 'I try and buy via Paypal and get as many details as possible about the seller, their full name and mobile number, to be careful,' she says. 'Youre pretty covered when you buy via Paypal.' However, they hope to return home this weekend to clear up the mess They are currently juggling their time between hospitals Ms Hill and Mr Narkle have another daughter, Hannah, with epilepsy They were in Perth having an emergency C-section at the time A family from Bunbury were in hospital when their home was burgled A family from Bunbury, Western Australia, have been left devastated after thieves ransacked their home while they were waiting for mum, Kristy Hill, to deliver her newborn daughter, Aaliyah, prematurely. The parents, Kristy Hill and Barry Narkle senior, were originally in Perth on June 1 so that their three-year-old epileptic daughter, Hannah, could have an operation at the Princess Margaret Hospital. As well as having epilepsy, little Hannah also has club feet, a cleft palate, grommets and a brain trauma. This all means that she requires constant trips to and from Perth for specialist treatment. However, in the same first week of June, Ms Hill visited another hospital, King Edward Memorial Hospital, to have a check-up on her fourth pregnancy. Horrible luck: Ms Kristy Hill (right) and Barry Narkle (right) were in hospital looking their daughter Hannah when Ms Hill was forced to have an emergency c-section for her newborn daughter Worst case scenario: However, while the family were in hospital while Ms Hill delivered little Aaliyah at 27 weeks (pictured), their house was burgled When the doctors told her she required an emergency caesarean for her daughter as, at 27 weeks, the unborn girl was not growing, the entire family set up camp in the hospital. Little did they know that their home in Bunbury was being burgled at the same time. After 670-gram baby Aaliyah Narkle (named after champion boxer Muhammed Ali, who passed away on the same day), was welcomed into the world on June 4, her grandmother, Leslie Hill, went to the family home with Ms Hill's and Mr Narkle's eldest children, Barry junior, 12, and Kacey, 5, to check on it. She discovered that thieves had broken the security screens on the windows towards the rear of the family's property, and also that they had torn the back sliding security screen door off its hinges to gain entry. Busy time: The family had been busy moving between hospitals to look after their two daughters (Aaliyah, pictured) When she got inside, Ms Hill found many items to be stolen, including Barry junior's GMX 125cc dirt bike, which had been a Christmas present, among other things. 'I felt shocked and angry such a thing could happen because I was already so stressed out about everything that was happening to my family,' Leslie's daughter and mother of Aaliyah, Ms Kristy Hill, told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was the last thing we needed, and the knowledge that someone broke into our home, trashed it and stole from us left me feeling violated. 'I still feel that way now.' Made worse: The children's, grandmother, Leslie Hill, went to the family home with Ms Hill's and Mr Narkle's eldest children, Barry junior, 12, and Kacey, 5, (pictured) to check on it - they discovered it had been burgled While the family expect to return to their house in Bunbury this weekend to clean up their home, they will quickly have to return to Perth to be with both of their daughters while they are in need. Hannah is currently being looked after in Princess Margaret Hospital, while little Aaliyah is in King Edward Memorial Hospital, where she may have to remain for several months. 'They will be okay,' Ms Hill told Daily Mail Australia. Meanwhile, local police are investigating the burglary, and a forensic team visited the property last week. Any information about the case can be passed to the police through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Gestured to sheepish looking Duke to stand up He's a 33-year-old married father-of-two with a responsible job as an air ambulance pilot, not to mention being the future King. But you're never too old or important for a ticking off from your gran, as hilarious footage of the Queen scolding Prince William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace reveals. The monarch was seen tapping the Duke of Cambridge on the arm and gesturing him to stand up as he crouched down to tend to a boisterous Prince George. Close examination of the moment appears to show the monarch saying: 'Stand up William.' In any case her meaning was perfectly clear from her hand gestures. She tapped William on the shoulder and then made an upward motion with her right hand in case he hadn't got the message. William rose to his feet, looking rather sheepish over the public telling off from his 90-year-old grandmother. The monarch looked a little displeased that William wasn't on his feet during the fly past The Queen tapped William's arm with a gloved hand and apparently told him to stand up The monarch made a gesture with her right hand, indicating that William needed to get on his feet The Duke looked a little sheepish as he followed his grandmother's orders Thousands of people lined the streets of London today to take part in the Queen's birthday celebrations last Saturday. Princess Charlotte made her official debut on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as the Royal Family observed the RAF flypast Before the fly past the Queen attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, which is playing host to 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and more than 400 musicians. The military event began at Horse Guards Parade at 10am and has been part of the monarch's birthday celebrations since the mid-1700s and will feature a fly-past by the RAF at around 1pm. The Queen was dressed in bright green and was taken to Horse Guards Parade in a carriage alongside husband Prince Philip, who wore a large bearskin. Prince Harry accompanied the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall in another carriage, who both looked glamorous dressed all in white. The telling off during the fly past was not the first occasion the monarch has put her foot down with her grandson. Princess Charlotte made her official public debut during the RAF fly past and treated the crowds to a royal wave Like most toddlers Prince George had trouble staying still amidst all the excitement Speaking to Sky News for a documentary called The Queen At 90 to celebrate the monarch's birthday in April, the Duke of Cambridge recalled how a childhood telling off stayed with him throughout his life. Referring to a childhood incident which landed him in hot water with Elizabeth II, William described getting into trouble with his cousin Peter Phillips after riding a quad bike at Balmoral. He said: 'We were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart, and Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed he. 'I I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt. The Queen did not look amused as Prince William crouched down beside Prince George during an RAF fly past at last weekend's Trooping The Colour William rose to his feet after the Queen tapped him on the arm and ordered him to stand up during the RAF fly past The Queen was less than impressed that William wasn't giving the fly past his full attention and respect The monarch looked much happier with everyone standing to attention 'She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b******ing, and that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on.' However, he went on to reveal the monarch's softer side and credited her with helping him through the loss of his mother, Diana Princess of Wales, and being a powerful female influence in his life. He said his grandmother had been 'incredibly supportive' of him and been someone for him to look up to. A fly-past of aircrafts by the Royal Air Force during Trooping the Colour, this year marking the Queen's 90th birthday Almost fifteen hundred soldiers from the Household Division were on parade to mark the Queen's Official 90th Birthday and thousands of spectators line the streets The Duke said: 'She's been a very strong female influence and having lost my mother at a young age, it's been particularly important to me that I've had somebody like the Queen to look up to. '[She's someone] who's been there and who has understood some of the more, um, complex issues when you lose a loved one. She made headline news after being sensationally stripped of her Miss GB title following her steamy Love Island antics, but Zara Holland is no stranger to being the centre of attention. Indeed, the 20-year-old, whose Miss Great Britain 2015/16 title has been revoked after she was seen having sex with fellow contestant Alex Bowen, 24, on the ITV2 show, had quite the starry lifestyle prior to her stint on Love Island. The model and boutique director from North Ferriby regularly attends celebrity events, has appeared on Hollyoaks and has become a social media star in the process. As Love Island contestant Zara Holland is stripped of her Miss Great Britain title, we reveal how the beauty queen who followed in her mother's beauty pageant footsteps went from girl next door to romping with a stranger on reality TV The former girl-next-door's thirst for fame was inspired by her mother, Cheryl, 51. Indeed, Zara followed in her mother's high heeled footsteps by clinching the same beauty pageant title as she did 30 years earlier. Zara was crowned Miss Hull last year, and for proud mother Cheryl, her daughter's victory was extra special - because she herself held the Miss Hull title in 1984, when she was just 19. The blonde fledgling star then went on to win Miss Great Britain 2015/16, as well as the bikini round and the charity round, raising over 3,000 for Cancer Research in the process. The similarity between the pair in their pageant photos is striking. Cheryl, from Hull, East Yorks, said at the time: 'It was totally incredible when Zara won. I was seeing it from a different angle. 'When it is your child, you just want them to do well and I was really rooting for her to win. 'There were so many pretty girls that entered. When they announced Zara had won, I thought I was going to faint.' The 20-year-old saw her Miss Great Britain 2015/16 title revoked after she was seen having sex with fellow contestant Alex Bowen, 24, on the ITV2 show Zara was crowned Miss Hull last year, and for proud mother Cheryl, 51, right, her daughter's victory was extra special - because she herself held the Miss Hull title in 1984, when she was just 19 Since finding fame as a pageant queen, Zara's life has taken a much more star-studded turn. The model and boutique director from North Ferriby regularly attends celebrity events, has appeared on Hollyoaks and has become a social media star in the process The sultry star, who says her real 32DD breasts are her favourite body part, also has a penchant for raunchy selfies, which attract plenty of male admirers Zara, an aspiring actress who has appeared in Hollyoaks, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, was able to ask her mother for advice on the competition, after Cheryl was crowned Miss Viking Radio, the equivalent to what is now Miss Hull and District, when the competition first started. Immediately after her win, Zara found herself invited to the glitziest events and quickly became friends with A-listers, which she duly documents on her Instagram page. The fledgling star saw herself being invited onto ITV's Lorraine, David Gest's dinner galas and to glitzy showbiz events with Alesha Dixon and Michelle Keegan. Whilst she hasn't had much luck with the men on the show and admits she's been single for two years, Zara was in fact linked to The Apprentice star and Celebrity Big Brother winner, James Hill. The pair were often spotted getting close at parties and mingling in the same circles. The sultry star also has a penchant for raunchy selfies, which attract plenty of male admirers on her social media channels. Zara followed in her mother's high heeled footsteps - by clinching the same beauty pageant title as she did 30 years earlier. The pair credit their honed figures to lots of Pilates, walking and the odd glass of champagne Zara won Miss Great Britain 2015/16, as well as the bikini round and the charity round, raising over 3,000 for Cancer Research The similarity between the mother, pictured, and daughter in their winners' photos is striking Zara, who cites her ideal men as Thom Evans and David Gandy, was originally paired with Scott Thomas and the pair enjoyed a steamy kiss. He then ditched her for Kady and she was unlucky in love on the show from then on - until Wednesday when shared a steamy romp in the bedroom with newcomer Alex. She was initially said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses but the organisation confirmed that Zara would no longer represent them on Thursday. The official statement said: 'Following recent actions within ITV2 show Love Island it is with deep regret that we, the Miss Great Britain Organisation, have to announce that Zara Holland has formally been de-crowned as Miss Great Britain.' 'As an organisation we have not taken this decision lightly, we are close to all of our winners and wherever possibly stand by them during their rein. 'That said, we feel we have no choice but to make this decision under the circumstances. 'The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. 'We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.' Love Island host Caroline Flack has leaped to the defense of dethroned Zara, after she was mocked for losing her Miss Great Britain title. Caroline, 36, questioned pageant organiser's old fashioned standards after they confirmed that she would no longer be promoted as a role model because she had sex on television. And while Caroline was in the Love Islander's corner, other famous viewers including Vicky Pattison and Sam Reece saw the funny side of Zara's misfortune. Caroline tweeted: 'Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl. What even is "Miss GB"? Are we living in the dark ages?'. A SPOKESPERSON FOR MISS GREAT BRITAIN'S COMMENT IN FULL 'We feel it important to explain that we have no problem at all with sex and our contestants/winners being sexually active and exploring their sexuality with another consensual adult; this has never, and will never be a problem, however we simply cannot condone a reigning title holder doing so on TV. 'To put it into context, for those outside of the pageant industry, if a school teacher took part in the show, that person would have a level of responsibility they would be expected to uphold because of their role, and are certain they would face similar consequences if they took part in similar actions on National television. For those saying going into Love Island, its inevitable that she would have sex, that is not true, it is not a prerequisite of the show that you have sex. We gave our permission for Zara to enter, as our current winner, under the stipulation that she did not have sex on TV. Zara fully agreed to this and knowingly went against our wishes. 'Those stating we are "slut" shaming: we have never, and would never ever use this word to describe Zara, it is a huge shame that people are attempting to put words into our mouth. Zara is a lovely girl, we understand that this is out of character for her and that she truly regrets her actions; however the decision simply comes down to the fact that she has broken the rules of the competition. 'Miss Great Britain works with charities, children and young, impressionable people; our title holder must be an ambassador and this public behaviour does not support the ethos of our brand. For people claiming : "You wouldnt do this if it was Mr Great Britain" and "No ones said anything about Alexs part in this", We most certainly would take the exact same course of action had our brand representative been male and this is why we have not mentioned Alex, as he is not an ambassador of our brand. The same goes for the other people within the villa (men and women), we wouldnt pass comment on their actions or decisions as they are not there as a representative of Miss Great Britain, in a "current" position. 'We did not take the decision to make this announcement whilst Zara was still in the show lightly, and agonised over it for almost 24 hours. We fully understand peoples feelings regarding this. But we had to act quickly with our statement as the press were already made aware of the decision and were going live. Of course, ideally we would have preferred to let Zara know face to face, but as we are allowed no contact with her whilst she is in the villa, this was taken out of our hands. 'Zara could potentially be in the show for another 3 or 4 weeks, we could not leave this amount of time before making an announcement. We wholeheartedly agree, that other than the incident that has forced our decision, Zara was, and is handling herself very well on the show and we still hold her in the highest regard as a friend, and are thrilled to see the support she is now receiving. 'We genuinely hope she goes on to win the show; she is a lovely girl with a great future ahead of her. Whilst we fully expect Zara to be upset when she learns of our decision, she also knows the pageant industry well and were confident she will completely understand why we have taken this course of action in time. Zara is not going to be erased from our history, she will always be one of our winners, but her reign has been cut short at this time and we will be standing by our decision.' Advertisement Zara, who works out five times a week, said: 'I think having a healthy lifestyle is so important but I have a massive sweet tooth and love minstrels; everything in moderation!' The stylish star enjoys mingling with A-listers such as Alesha Dixon, left, as well as soapstars like Georgie Porter, right, at glittering showbiz events Despite her star-studded lifestyle, Zara often has to take weeks off work due to gynaecological condition endometriosis, a common condition where tissue that behaves like the lining of the womb (the endometrium) is found outside the womb. These pieces of tissue can be found in many different areas of the body, including the ovaries and fallopian tubes, outside the womb, the lining of the inside of the abdomen and/or the bowel or bladder. The most common symptoms include painful or heavy periods, pain in the lower abdomen (stomach), pelvis or lower back, pain during and after sex, bleeding between periods and/or difficulty getting pregnant. The star then went on to front a campaign to raise awareness of the condition, which can also cause pain during sex and fertility problems. Zara has been working the showbiz circuit in recent months. Left: with Apprentice star and Big Brother winner, James Hill, and right, at Michelle Keegan's Lipsy launch Lady Colin Campbell is staring into a vast wall of fitted wardrobes, looking perplexed. Where are my ballgowns? she demands, in the sort of voice that would once have had the domestic help leaping to attention. Alas, there are no maids today. Her three cats barely look up from her (and their) bed as she goes charging from bedroom to dressing room to bathroom in the hunt for not just ballgowns but tiaras too. Yes, her tiaras are also missing, which takes us into the red on the Lady C crisis scale. Theres already been a discussion about how getting her into the ballgown might be a three-person job, but that we (plebs) should back off when it comes to the placement of the tiara. People who arent used to putting on proper tiaras think you can stretch and pull them, so now I insist on doing it myself, she says. I wonder aloud how many tiaras she actually has. Do I count? she says, before reminiscing about her first proper one. It was Faberge, amethysts and rubies, from the Bank of Mummy and Daddy. Mercifully, both ballgowns and tiaras are soon found. It turns out Lady C, 66, was looking in the wrong wardrobe - one of the drawbacks of having just moved into an 18th-century castle so capacious you can lose trace of entire rooms. Still, what an unexpected delight it is to share these moments, as Britains most curious aristocrat settles into her new home, which seems as eccentric and untameable as she is. Lady Colin at Castle Goring with her adopted Russian sons Misha (left) and Dima, (right). She plans to give them each their own wing of the castle Lady C, of course, is the Jamaica-born socialite and writer who was raised a boy thanks to a birth defect, and whose ill-fated marriage to Lord Colin Campbell in 1974 bestowed her title upon her. She gained notoriety with a controversial biography of Princess Diana in the 1990s, and most recently caused a rumble in last years Im A Celebrity... jungle when she quit amid claims she was being bullied. Castle Goring on the other hand, built in the 1790s by the family of the poet Shelley and tucked away in the Sussex countryside, is an architectural curiosity. The front - all turrets and Gothic splendour - was designed to resemble the nearby Arundel Castle. Pick your way through the restoration rubble to the back, though, and it looks like a Greco-Palladian palace, all yellow brick. It was the first house built with two frontages, Lady C explains in delight. I just thought it was mesmerising. The minute I went inside I felt at home. Ive been in grander houses, and other castles, but Ive never felt like this, even when I wanted to. There was a problem, though. While there was a habitable flat inside Castle Goring, much of the Grade I-listed building was - and still is - in a ruined state. She cant divulge what she paid for it (she says I wish when I suggest the reported figure of 700,000), but its fair to say it was a bargain. It was originally estimated the restoration could cost 3 million. She tells me an architect friend of hers gave the place a once-over. So did he recommend she buy it? Oh no, he said I was mad to consider it. The first floor wasnt too bad, but much of the ground floor had collapsed. The Canadian Army was billeted here during the war and used the walls for target practice. The roof in the East Wing had collapsed. We had 150 pails to collect the dripping water. In my bathroom we had a farm trough for the rainwater. It had to be emptied every other day. Lady C in the Im A Celebrity... jungle. She says that she did the program to raise money for her house, which she calls 'whoring for Goring' Suddenly, the similarities to the Titanic seem to go further than the jaw-dropping central staircase with its glass dome overhead. In time, Lady C believes Castle Goring will finance itself - later this year shell throw open the doors as a wedding venue. How has she funded the project to date, though? By putting herself out to hire, most famously in last years Im A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. Yes, it emerges the only reason she agreed to get down and dirty with the likes of Duncan Bannatyne (Odious man!), Tony Hadley (Give me strength!) and Yvette Fielding (Ghastly woman!) was for the cash. Its also why shes currently considering which panto role to accept (I think we can reveal shes being offered the wicked stepmother roles rather than Snow White, says her agent, dryly). Id never have gone into the jungle if I didnt have this place, she admits. I call it whoring for Goring. But if it helps the overdraft, why not? Hang on. Youve just bought a castle that needs 3 million of renovations and you have an overdraft? Oh yes, she says. Its growing by the day. Isnt she stinking rich, though? Her marriage to Lord Colin Campbell lasted only a year but she comes from wealthy Jamaican stock. And isnt that a genuine Picasso on the wall? Ah, that would be telling. She gives a tinkly laugh. I should be rich. If Id just invested in London property Id be OK, but Ive just sold my chateau in France, and I only got what I paid for it - despite all the work Id had done. This weekend, though, if she can scrape together the cash, shell throw the posh equivalent of a house-warming party, her first Castle Goring Ball. The guest list is still being confirmed, but is likely to include a few royals (and no, she wont name names, its vulgar, apparently) and a smattering of celebs. Is it safe to assume Duncan et al wont be coming? Not unless its for a remake of Arsenic And Old Lace, she giggles, referring to the black comedy about a series of poisonings. If she can scrape together the cash, shell throw the posh equivalent of a house-warming party, her first Castle Goring Ball. The guest list is still being confirmed, but is likely to include a few royals Why the hatred for ex-Dragons Den Duncan? The pair clashed terribly in the jungle, with each accusing the other of bullying. I actually thought Duncan was very interesting to start with, she says. Until I couldnt stand him. I found it fascinating that hed come from nothing. And he was clearly a practical thinker. He was also a few words we cant relay in a family newspaper, it seems. Lady C thinks it was her gender - rather than her uncanny knack of rubbing people up the wrong way - that was the sticking point. She also has Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet in her line of fire. Duncan and Tony come from a world where women arent their equals. Theyre obviously used to the little woman at home who cooks, cleans and pops out babies. They werent used to a woman who was their equal, or even their superior. I think they had issues with anyone being in authority if it wasnt them. Yvette, best known for her appearances in TVs Most Haunted, isnt on the guest list for the ball either, despite her love of castles. She wanted to come here and bring her ghastly TV cameras for that ghost-hunting programme. Oh. Do you have a ghost? No! But shed have found one. Dreadful woman. I quite liked her at first but I ended up despising her. I imagine there are many who end up saying the same about Lady C. Actually shes a hoot, genuinely delightful company (and no snob), but the sort of woman you make an enemy of at your peril. And, my, does she have her enemies. She first courted controversy when she undertook to write an authorised biography of the Princess of Wales, whom shed known since Diana was in her teens. The pair fell out, though, and Lady Cs book became unauthorised. When it came out it was lampooned as the ravings of a fantasist containing, as it did, allegations of multiple affairs on Dianas part, and an eating disorder. I was right, though, she points out with glee. Vindicated! Today she opens up a little more and claims Diana wanted her to do the dirty for her. She wanted me to do the thing she eventually persuaded Andrew Morton to do - write a book where she was the victim and Charles was the monster. I refused. I said to her, My name is not Goebbels. I am not a propaganda machine. Id have been the first to stick the knife into Charles if I thought he deserved it, but the things she was saying about him just werent true. I thought she was going down a dangerous path, taking advice from people who felt she had to construct a story about why she was so unhappy - a story where she was the victim of someone rather than of the system. She says she had enormous sympathy for Diana. I knew what it was like to feel trapped in your life. But I didnt agree with her solution, which was to turn herself into the victim. Inside Castle Goring. Lady C intends to hire out the castle as a wedding venue in order to recoup her costs Would she consider writing about the younger royals? A Duchess of Cambridge biography from Lady C would be interesting, to say the least. No, theyre too boring. A good biography is about the gap between public perception and reality. With someone like that theres no gap and no story. The royals have become very bourgeois. She has, of course, written her own autobiography - and what a fantastical tale that seems too. Christened George Ziadie, she was raised as a boy thanks to a birth defect which meant her genitals hadnt formed correctly. These days, such conditions are swiftly treated with surgery but in Jamaica in 1949 it was a different story. When the teenage Georgie insisted there was something wrong with her, she was sent off for barbaric treatment at the hands of a husband-and-wife medical team. Her father once advised her to kill herself. Her relationship with her mother was a whole other can of worms. My relationship with my father improved, but with my mother it got worse. She was the ultimate narcissist. She couldnt bear not to be the centre of attention. Following successful corrective surgery at the age of 21 in New York where she was modelling, she changed her name to Georgia. There has been some suggestion that she married the British aristocrat Lord Colin Campbell in 1974 when she was 25 because she was desperate to prove her feminine status. She pooh-poohs this, but does say the union is her one big regret. Pull her up on the fact that she still trades on his name and shell point out that after the divorce she asked the Press to call her Georgia Ziadie instead; she was roundly ignored, and gave up the fight. With husband Lord Colin in 1975. She claims her marriage was characterised by Lord Colins alcoholism and violent tendencies It was her ex-husband who actually alerted the newspapers to the fact shed been raised as a boy, and in the confusion that followed she was branded a transvestite. She sued, successfully, and remains deeply bitter, understandably so. That part of my life is not something I ever denied, but nor did I want it to be so public. Who would? She claims her marriage was characterised by Lord Colins alcoholism and violent tendencies. I should never have married him. You know the saying, Marry in haste, repent at leisure? I was the personification of that. She says her 20s and 30s were all about men. Exquisite nude paintings of her from this time line the walls of her new home, and its clear she was a true beauty. There was a happier, if brief, liaison with the EastEnders actor Larry Lamb (a darling) shortly after her marriage broke up, but she never remarried. When she wanted to have children, she went to Russia to adopt two little boys. Misha and Dima are not biologically related, but she says shes raised them as twins. Now in their 20s, theyre at her side today. In time theyll have their own wings of this castle. (I think, at their age, they need their own quarters.) She says she was told shed be a good mother because she was warm, loving and ruthless, and she seems to have done something right with them because theyre both polite, friendly - and they obviously adore their mother. Theyre quite forgiving of her foibles too. Dima is around for much of our interview and keeps rolling his eyes when her language gets too fruity. Whats it like to have Lady C as a mother, I ask. Not boring, he says. These days shes single, but open to whatever happens. Im not looking, though. She does have a gusband, a gay friend who acts as a companion and dancing partner, but hates the idea that marriage is everything. No, no, and no again, she is not looking for a lord of this manor. Most women, especially younger women, want a man for his status, for his money, to have children with. I never needed a man for those things. I did it myself. And to be honest, Id much rather be single than have to put up with the Duncan Bannatynes of this world for years on end. Can you imagine! Theres only one thing that might lead her down the aisle herself. While were getting her into her ballgown (shes right, it does take three people and afterwards she sighs, this is why you need maids), I ask what happens if this extraordinary undertaking doesnt work out, and the efforts to turn Castle Goring into a viable business fail? She looks horrified, then laughs. Then I shall have to get married, she says. A goldfish has become a hit online after its owner pointed out its uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler. A photograph shared of the aquatic creature reveals that it shares the same black boxy 'moustache' as the Nazi leader himself. The amusing photograph was shared online by a Reddit user who captioned the photograph: 'My daughter's new goldfish looks like Hitler.' Scroll down for video A Reddit user has shared a photograph of his daughter's goldfish that he says closely resembles Hitler In the picture, the Hitler lookalike is pictured with its fishy companion in its new tank complete with a Spongebob Squarepants pineapple ornament. Since it was posted just 11 hours ago the photo has received over 4,000 likes and almost 500 comments as other Reddit users took to the thread to offer up their very best goldfish related puns. Users rushed to add their terrible puns to the post, with ThisIsMyHoverboard exclaiming, 'Mein Karpf!' Badvertisement commented to say: 'Cross your fin(ger)s and hope reincarnation isn't real.' MeesterBadEvil got very creative when he added: 'Hopefully he remained it Adolfin Fishtler.' While loobot3000 had a stroke of wit when he commented: 'I work at a fish store and I've seen quite a few goldfuhrer.' The goldfish is not the first pet to have been noted for their similarity to the leader of the Nazi party. Another goldfish noted for his likeness to the dictator was George who belongs to Deborah Cochrane Another goldfish was noted for his likeness to Hitler in 2012. The fish belonging to Deborah Cochrane, from Belfast, developed a distinctive black mark above his mouth which creating an uncanny resemblance to the 'fishist' dictator. George and a fellow goldfish that has died were named after the art duo Gilbert and George. George follows in the pawsteps of a string of cats who became nicknamed 'Little Kitlers' for the dark patches of fur below their noses. According to his owner a moustache is not the only thing that George has in common with the famous Nazi. The office worker said: Like Hitler, George is vegetarian - he loves his peas. Also showing a strong resemblance to Hitler is a chihuahua puppy who has earned the name Adolf (left) and In 2013, MailOnline reported on puppy Patch, a shih tzu and French bulldog cross (right The black and white cats, which have similar markings resembling Hitler's side parting and moustache, even have their own website- catsthatlooklikehitler.com Also showing a strong resemblance to Hitler was a chihuahua puppy who earned the name Adolf thanks to his black and white markings But his owner Claire Walsh from Gorseinon, Swansea, said: 'I put photos of them on Facebook, and some of my colleagues and other people started commenting about him. 'He looks like he's got a side parting, and there is a little mark on his nose which has gone black.' 'We have called him Adolf - although obviously, it is just tongue in cheek. 'We don't have any time for what Hitler stands for, but we can see there is a resemblance.' In 2013, MailOnline reported on puppy Patch, a shih tzu and French bulldog cross from Walmgate, Yorkshire, whose black fur resembled the Nazi leader's trademark haircut and moustache so much he too had been nicknamed Adolf. The 46-year-old was looking for a present at her local supermarket chain Woman was left shocked to find six toy guns available at her local IGA A woman attempting to find a toy truck for a three-year-old at her local IGA supermarket was unable to find any toy cars but was instead shocked to discover six different types of toy guns. Tracy Miles was at the supermarket chain in Northmead, Sydney, when she headed to the toy section at the end of an aisle to purchase a present for her friends daughter. Instead the 46-year-old was shocked to discover the large selection of guns in a small section dedicated to toys especially after the Orlando shooting - the worst in the history of the United States. A woman was left shocked to discover her local IGA store offered six different toy guns in the small section dedicated to toys Tracy Miles was looking for a toy truck to gift her friend's three-year-old but was surprised to find all the guns and no toy vehicles It is saddening, especially in the light of the tragic events in Orlando, that in a suburban IGA store in Australia they would offer six different toy guns for purchase in a very small toy section, Ms Miles told Daily Mail Australia. It just sort of surprised me, I thought maybe if you were in Toys R Us where its massive you can find this stuff but in a small section in IGA I found one and then two and then three. Ms Miles is hoping her community takes a stance to not only target her local IGA store but all mass retailers to stop promoting violent behaviour. 'We should be encouraging our children to have positive role play not play that involves guns and violence,' she said. Ms Miles said her local IGA is not actually taking into consideration their hashtag 'how locals like it' when almost 20 per cent of their toys were guns 'IGA promotes the hashtag "how locals like it,"' Ms Miles said, 'Im fairly confident that the majority of locals would not like that approximately 20 per cent of the toy options at IGA Northmead are toy guns.' Ms Miles said her friends have supported her stance and were also surprised by the selection available. My friends are responding saying 100 per cent that shouldnt happen there are so many other options for toys theres just no need for them, she said. She has raised her concerns with IGA on Friday evening and is awaiting their response. Thousands of NHS patients are set to receive a revolutionary treatment which can wipe out aggressive skin cancer. Nearly a quarter of people treated with a combination of two immunotherapy drugs saw their saw their tumours completely disappear in clinical trials. Drugs rationing watchdog NICE last night approved the drugs for NHS use in record time, enabling English patients to become the first in Europe to receive the combination treatment. Experts welcomed the announcement as a step change in skin cancer medicine - and said that the treatment offered a glimpse of the future. Breakthrough: Nearly a quarter of people treated with a combination of two immunotherapy drugs saw their saw their tumours completely disappear in clinical trials Patients with advanced melanoma - a form of skin cancer - are usually expected to live just a few months, and would often be described as having terminal cancer. But 69 per cent of patients given a combination of two immunotherapy drugs survived for two years, according to trials. And to scientists surprise, 22 per cent of participants had no detectable tumours remaining. Both treatments - which are called nivolumab and ipilimumab - harness the bodys own immune system and use it to attack the cancer. On their own, both drugs are remarkably effective, but fewer than half of patients respond to each drug. In combination the drugs seem to create a far more powerful twin attack - and they work for a greater number of patients. The drugs can stall progression of advanced melanoma by an average of eight months longer than chemotherapy. Around 1,300 people every year initially will be eligible for the immunotherapy drugs each year, in one of the fastest drug appraisals carried out by NICE. HOW THE TREATMENT WORKS Both treatments - which are called nivolumab and ipilimumab - harness the bodys own immune system and use it to attack the cancer. On their own, both drugs are remarkably effective, but fewer than half of patients respond to each drug. In combination the drugs seem to create a far more powerful twin attack - and they work for a greater number of patients. The drugs can stall progression of advanced melanoma by an average of eight months longer than chemotherapy. Advertisement But if their use is expanded, they could benefit thousands more. Doctors hope they will also eventually be approved for use in lung cancer, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer and lymphoma. Experts had worried that the high cost of the treatment which has a list price of 127,000 a year, before the NHS receives its confidential discount would stop NICE approving the drugs. But the watchdog gave the green light in just five weeks of receiving a licence from the European Medicines Agency a process which usually takes months or even years. Professor Carole Longson, director of the health technology evaluation centre at NICE, said: After one of the fastest drug appraisals Nice has carried out, these promising new immunotherapy treatments for advanced melanoma look set to significantly extend the life of people with the condition. The evidence we examined was very promising and I know further trials are ongoing which have also released encouraging data. Some 14,500 people diagnosed with malignant melanoma in Britain each year - surviving less than two years on average. Some 14,500 people diagnosed with malignant melanoma in Britain each year - surviving less than two years on average. Doctors hope they will also eventually be approved for use in lung cancer, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer and lymphoma. (File image of skin cancer cells) Dr James Larkin, consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, who has treated patients with the drugs as part of a clinical trials, said: When used alone, ipilimumab and nivolumab are both potentially life extending medicines, each blocking different processes that cancers use to evade our immune system. Using these two medicines together in a double-hit approach provides complementary action, allowing us to target the cancer more effectively. The result is a new option that can offer longer control of melanoma than ipilimumab alone. This decision by NICE is very welcome news. The drugs are known as checkpoint inhibitors which interrupt the way cancer hides from the immune system. The two treatments attack the cancers defence mechanism in different ways, telling the bodys immune T-cells exactly where to attack. Experts say the treatment represents a 'step change' in the treatment of advanced melanoma, and offers hope for patients who at the moment have very few treatment options Professor Raj Chopra, of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said: It is great news that NICE has moved so quickly to make this exciting combination of immunotherapy agents available to patients on the NHS with malignant melanoma. The combination of nivolumab with ipilimumab gives us a glimpse of the future of cancer treatment, through its ability to direct the immune system against cancer and to deliver long-term benefits for some patients. It represents a step change in the treatment of advanced melanoma, and offers hope for patients who at the moment have very few treatment options. Gill Nuttall, CEO of the Melanoma UK charity, said: Once melanoma reaches an advanced stage, it is an aggressive and life-threatening disease which is difficult to treat because it has spread to other parts of the body. Todays decision is hugely significant for patients because it means that they will be able to receive a treatment option that could extend their lives. Providing rapid access to new medicines is an essential component in the fight to improve cancer survival rates in the UK, which still lag behind many countries in Europe. A heartbroken mother has launched a fundraising appeal after her daughter was diagnosed with four different cancers in two years. Gemma Nuttall, 27, had battled against ovarian and cervical cancer in 2014 before being diagnosed earlier this year with brain and lung cancer. Her mother, Helen Sproates, has now set up an online fundraising page to raise 50,000 to take her abroad for advanced treatments not available in the UK. Writing on her crowdfunding page, Mrs Sproates said: 'As a mother, I believe one of the worst things you can ever hear is " Mum, I have cancer". 'I have heard these words not once but THREE times and my daughter is only 27 years old.' Miss Nuttall has been described as 'strong and resilient' and is determined to win her latest cancer battle Mother-of-one Gemma Nuttall has been diagnosed with brain, ovarian, cervical and lung cancer in the last two years. Her mother is now fundraising for her to go to America for treatment not available in the UK Miss Nuttall, who has a two-year-old daughter, Penelope, was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer - after she went for her first pregnancy scan. Doctors suspected a cyst, but at 16 weeks into her pregnancy, she was devastated to be told the truth. Mrs Sproates said: 'The scan came and our world changed forever in a single phone call, where Gemma said: "Mum, I have cancer".' Miss Nuttall, a dental nurse, was offered a termination so the tumour could be removed immediately and treatment started, but she insisted in carrying on with the pregnancy. She was induced at 36 weeks before undergoing surgery immediately to have the 'huge' tumour removed. Her mother said: 'Gemma carried her baby while having endless scans and feeling dreadful. 'At 36 weeks, due to size of the huge ovarian tumour, it was decided to do a C- section at the same time as removing the tumour. 'They kept her awake to see her own beautiful but small daughter Penelope arrive into the world - only to be put to sleep and have the cancer removed.' However, when she later went back for a six-week check she was told that she had developed cervical cancer. After chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Miss Nuttall, from Lancashire, thought she was in the clear - and looked forward to watching Penelope grow up. But she was later admitted to hospital again after complaining of headaches, which brought the horrific news she had stage four brain and lung cancer. Miss Nuttall, picutred here with mother Helen Sproates, fought ovarian and cervical cancer but was then diagnosed with a brain tumour and lung cancer Her family has set up this crowdfunding page in the hope of raising 50,000 for treatment in America Doctors found a brain tumour 'the size of a melon' and then weeks later a full body scan revealed more cancer in her lungs. Now the family are hoping to raise 50,000 for treatment in America to save her life. 'From the very first time she was diagnosed with it, it was like we were living somebody else's life,' said Mrs Sproates, 54. 'The day she was born was a day I will cherish and remember forever I had a beautiful baby girl. 'It doesn't seem real. After a two-year break we thought we were really lucky there and it was a close call. 'When she was diagnosed with the brain tumour it was a complete and utter shock. It was devastating. 'It's just so unfair and cruel. Everybody says it always happens to the really nice ones. 'She is such a lovely person. She has got hundreds of friends and everybody is in bits around here. 'Gemma is amazing and so strong and resilient and determined to go through it again. I don't know where she gets her strength from. She is so inspirational.' To read more about the appealTo help with the appeal visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Beyondbeautiful The NHS is facing bloody tough times and staff should not expect any extra money, its chief executive has warned. Simon Stevens today hit out at politicians for trying to rewrite history by pretending they had given the NHS as much money as it needed. He also urged ministers to invest more funding into social care to help the elderly and other vulnerable patients rather than the health service. Addressing approximately 1,000 of the most senior health service managers at the NHS Confederation conference in Manchester, he said: It is going to be bloody tough, let us just be frank about that. But that is what the nature of the leadership challenge is in front of us right now. Simon Stevens today hit out at politicians for trying to rewrite history by pretending they had given the NHS as much money as it needed - and warned 'it's going to be bloody tough, let us just be frank about that' He added: It has been a tough year, yes, it is going to be tough sledding over the next three, four, five years, certainly I and colleagues will be making the case for the National Health Service and its resources forcibly and publicly. But we shouldnt kid ourselves that that by itself is going to buy us comfort in the status quo. The NHS is in the grip of an unprecedented financial crisis and figures last month showed there is a 2.5 billion black hole in its annual budget, the worst in a generation. It is struggling to meet the needs of the soaring and aging population, and pay for the ever more expensive medicines and procedures coming onto the market. This year, the Government injected an extra 3.8 billion into its annual budget of about 110 billion - and similar amounts have been promised for future years. But experts say this is simply not enough to meet the growing demand and ensure standards keep improving. They are particularly worried about social care services, These are provided by local councils and include care homes and home help for the elderly and other vulnerable patients. Funding has been slashed in recent years, and this has been blamed on rising numbers of elderly patients going to A&E and blocking beds on hospital wards as they cannot cope at home. Today Mr Stevens called on the Government to invest in social care as a priority over the NHS. He said: Times are clearly tight and tough. Mr Stevens called on the Government to invest in social care as a priority over the NHS. These services are provided by local councils and include care homes and home help for the elderly and other vulnerable patients I do not believe that it would be prudent for us to assume any additional NHS funding over the next several years, not least because I think there is a strong argument that where extra funding to be available, frankly we should be arguing that it should be going to social care. NURSES: THE NHS CAN'T COPE Meanwhile a poll of 10,000 nurses ahead of the Royal College of Nursing conference in Glasgow found that nine in ten do not believe the NHS is coping with the soaring demand. Three quarters said financial pressures had worsened during their career and almost 1 in 3 believed a lack of staff would be the biggest problem for the future. Advertisement He also pointed out that the extra injection of cash from the Government was far less than the amount he had asked for two years ago, shortly after coming to post. Lets not rewrite history, in the forward view we actually said that the National Health Service would need between 8 and 21 billion pounds by 2020 in order to sustain and improve,' he said. And to be at the lower end of that range, we would need to see continuing access to social care, relative to need, we would need to see enhanced effort on prevention and public health, and we would need to see transformation. He also outlined plans that will see millions of patients benefiting from cheap, cutting-edge gadgets that can detect life threatening conditions. These include an app that enables GPs to diagnose the heart condition atrial fibrillation in 30 seconds, and prevent thousands of strokes and heart attacks a year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a new target for the taxman to double the taxpayer base to 10 crore. At the inauguration of a two-day annual conference of tax administrators titled Rajasva Gyan Sangam, Modi told the audience: We should legitimately aspire to have 10 crore taxpayers within our tax base." Presently India boasts just 5.43 crore tax payers, and Modi is looking to double that figure over the next few years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a fresh target for the taxman to double the taxpayer base to 10 crore The PM also told senior tax officials that while there should be respect for the rule of law among all citizens - and even fear of legal consequences for those evading taxes - ordinary people should not fear tax administrators. Modi emphasised that tax officers should be 'soft and sober' in their approach, and not treat everyone as tax evaders. Stating that people should not fear tax administrators, the PM said that Indians are inherently honest and asked the taxman to build a bridge of trust to achieve tax collection targets without coercion. Asked whether Modi wanted officers to be law enforcement agency or taxpayer-friendly, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha said: We need not necessarily think about it in terms of a trade-off between enforcement and taxpayers services. If you trust the taxpayer, if you work to build a bridge of trust between the taxpayer and the system, then we will find it very easy to be able to achieve the target and ensure that the trust deficit is fully bridged, Sinha told the media. Modi also told the audience that (most) people have no problem in paying taxes. But somewhere (sic) they have some problem. Understand that problem and try to remove it. Financial Services Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia stressed the importance of cooperation when dealing with people. Adhia argues: If you become taxpayer-friendly, then taxes will automatically come to you. Modi invited suggestions from officers, some of whom expressed views on diverse subjects like digitisation, voluntary tax compliance, facilitation for taxpayers, increasing the tax base, and the upgrade of digital and physical infrastructure for tax administrators. The PM put forward the RAPID mantra for tax administration, built on the five pillars of - revenue, accountability, probity, information and digitisation. Adhia said that the PMs message was that revenue should be collected with accountability and in an honest manner, and using the information and digitisation for non-intrusive tax assessment system. Modi wanted Gyan Sangam to be turned into Karma Sangam by translating ideas into action. Highlighting shortcomings in the system, Modi pointed out that a Google query on How to pay taxes in India throws up 7 crore answers, but a query on How not to pay taxes in India gives out 12 crore results. The income tax department has 42,000 officers, yet only eight per cent of the revenue comes from scrutiny of returns. As much as 92 per cent of direct tax revenue come from tax deducted at source of mostly salaried people, advance taxes and self-assessment taxes. The BJP leadership has ordered its MPs to spend more time with the party's grassroots-level workers. The warning comes after the BJP leadership receive a number of complaints concerning its lawmakers truanting from their constituencies. The warning came at a meeting of BJP parliamentarians chaired by party chief Amit Shah in Allahabad. The BJP leadership has warned MPs to spend more time with the grassroots-level workers of the party Of the total 71 MPs from Uttar Pradesh, as many as 13 were reported absent at the meeting. Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi was among those not present, party sources said. A senior leader associated with the organisation, who requested not to be named, said that Gandhi should not have skipped Shahs meeting. In his speech the BJP president warned that the party would not tolerate any more complaints about its MPs avoiding their constituencies without a valid reason. Party sources quoted him telling lawmakers that they would have to cut down on their travel to Delhi, Lucknow, or other parts of Uttar Pradesh. An MP report-card that Shah examined showed that at least 25 Lok Sabha members from the party had a below-average record of attendance in their constituencies over the past 24 months. According to insiders, the BJP president reprimanded at least one MP from eastern UP for his consistent absence from his borough. He warned the particular MP to stay put in his area for at least the next 21 days. The BJP leadership has also advised some of its lawmakers to regularly submit their travel and cell-phone details to organisation secretaries to be kept as a record of the MPs movements. Four days after skirmishes between Pakistani and Afghan forces at the Torkham border killed two people, the two sides have agreed to solve the dispute through dialogue. Clashes started on Sunday following Pakistans attempt to erect a huge gate between the Pakistan and Afghanistan territories. The two reported deaths are said to be those of a Pakistan army major, and an Afghan soldier. The skirmishes lasted four days and prompted both sides to deploy more troops and heavy weapons According to Pakistani authorities, Afghan security forces fired indiscriminately at the Pakistani side, which resulted in the death of a Pakistani army major. However, this charge has been denied by Afghanistan. Civilians were also injured in the crossfire. The Pakistan army retaliated with full force, killing an Afghan soldier and injuring many more. The skirmishes continued till Tuesday afternoon, which prompted both sides to deploy more troops at the border, backed with heavy weapons. Late in the evening on Tuesday, the two sides decided to end the dispute through dialogue. The meeting lasted for several hours. It was attended by the military and civilian officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghan border police stand guard near the Torkham crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Nangarhar According to eye-witnesses, the firing stopped on Wednesday but the situation is still tense at the border. On Thursday, a foreign office spokesperson told reporters that the firing had stopped at the border. Pakistans Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told reporters in Islamabad: Pakistan and Afghanistan are engaged in talks to defuse tension at the Torkham border. He added that Pakistans border management efforts are part of its counter-terrorism actions. Later on Thursday, Foreign Affairs expert Sartaj Aziz said that Pakistan believes that effective border management is the key to enhancing security and preventing the infiltration of terrorists. Clashes started on Sunday at the Torkham border, following Pakistans attempt to erect a huge gate between its territory and that of Afghanistan In a policy statement in the National Assembly on Thursday, he said it is vital for combating terrorism. The advisor reaffirmed the governments commitment to complete construction work at Torkham as this is part of the plan to strengthen border controls and regulate movements across the border. Sartaj Aziz told members of Pakistans lower house that effective border management is vital for enhancing the security of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Udta, Alia Bhatt plays a Bihari migrant labourer Punjab, far removed from the cute stunner avatar that has made her a GenNow heartthrob The numbers did not quite add up to expectations for Shah Rukh Khans latest release Fan, which opened earlier this year. Fans of the superstar, whose stature in Bollywood has largely banked on satiating the masses with his loverboy image, somehow did not relate to SRKs makeover his most incredible in years. Discernable fans of the actor however loved his slant at taking risk with the Maneesh Sharma-directed film. In Bollywood, where mainstream superstars wholly ride a specific image, risk-taking can be a suicidal deal. SRK, in his own words before the films release, had talked of his intention of making a film that would transcend the boundary of commerce and niche. In itself, that is the biggest risk a Bollywood superstar can take. Very few have managed to bridge the gap taking such a risk. The actor must have felt this was the right time for such a risk. At 50 and with little left to prove, he carefully released Fan in between two out-and-out commercial ventures last years nonsensical Dilwale and next years action drama Raees. Not the same, though, can be said for Alia Bhatt. Barely three years into Bollywood and six films old, Alia has done a hatke role for the second time in her career in this weeks Udta Punjab, after after Imtiaz Alis Highway. Far removed from the image she established with her cute debut act in Student Of The Year, she goes de-glam in the very controversial Udta Punjab, playing a Bihari migrant labourer in Punjab who gets embroiled in a dangerous drug racket. Bihari actress Neetu Chandra may have complained about the way Alia projects a Bihari by way of an open letter, but most fans are impressed with the drastic makeover. Alia has spoken about how she almost was never offered the film, because she would be the last actress in the minds of the makers while casting for the role. In Ki & Ka, Arjun Kapoor played a homemaker married to a career-minded woman, in perhaps the most unconventional casting of a hero in a while They thought I would never do this kind of a film, she said of Udta Punjab, a drama about the drug menace in Punjab that comes loaded with cuss words and unflinching realism. The film managed to get censor certification with just one cut after major war of words fought in the press over the past weeks between co-producer Anurag Kashyap and the censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani. The notion brings to light a pertinent problem that stars with a set image continue to face even today. Despite her admirable act in Highway, a new generation glamour star of Alias stature could still lose out on good roles in offbeat films because of image trap. For Alia, Udta Punjab is a sort of break from heavy-duty mush, which invariably seems to come her way owing to her drop-dead looks. The film comes in between Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) and her next set of on-screen romantic sojourns that includes Aashiqui 3 opposite rumoured boyfriend Sidharth Malhotra, Badrinath Ki Dulhania opposite Varun Dhawan and Gauri Shindes next starring Shah Rukh Khan. Her focus on big commercial film as these is understandable. A constant flow of mainstream hits balances the risk quotient of signing a film such as Udta Punjab or Highway. Perhaps Alia is lucky, to be able to mix her offbeat fare amid the entertainers, in an industry that normally does not take its younger stars seriously. Most among the new generation of stars who have tried going for risky roles have struggled with the effort. Ranbir Kapoor would know, post Bombay Velvet. Alias contemporaries and off-and-on costars Sidharth Malhotra and Arjun Kapoor, too, would perhaps vouch for the fact. Arjun in particular took a calculated risk earlier this year signing R. Balkis Ki & Ka opposite senior heroine Kareena Kapoor, who had higher billing in the film. In Kapoor & Sons, Sidharth Malhotra essayed a flawed rom-com hero departing from Bollywood norms, in a film about a dysfunctional family Arjuns risk factor in the film, though, lay in his own role. He was playing a homemaker married to a hugely successful woman. It is not exactly a prototype the Indian audience not even the sophisticated urban crowd is habituated seeing in Hindi films. Around the time the film released, Arjun said he was sure that lots of people would have extreme reaction to the film as well as his character. As long as a film as this starts off conversations, it is good, he added, as a reason why taking such a risk was worth it. Ki & Ka, despite its many flaws cinematically, did become a talking point on release owing to its absorbing premise. Arjun may not have gained substantially as a star from the effort of playing a homemaker husband but he has now firmly established himself as the actor to go to, when there is an irreverently unusual role at hand. Arjuns contemporary Sidharth Malhotra might have been in safer waters while testing the unconventional with Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921). For Sidharth, as well as the entire cast, the challenge was more about tackling the atypical family drama plot. The film was about a dysfunctional family where skeletons begin tumbling out of the closet beneath the feel-good veneer. Sidharth played a budding author who is shown to filch his own brothers story concept to script a success story. A commitment phobic streak and a lack of focus in life were other traits inherent in his character, quite a departure from the average Bollywood rom-com hero. Unlike Sidharth, Arjun or Alia, though, risks perhaps become a tool to stay in limelight for senior artists. In Sarbjit, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan was cast as the heros sister who risks everything for her brothers freedom from a Pakistani jail Actresses especially would vouch for this. A few weeks ago when Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan returned in Sarbjit, she was cast in an allfire- and-brimstone masala mould as the protagonist Sarabjit Singhs sister. The context about her role, however, was far from conventional. For Aishwarya, Sarbjit could have been the most intriguing role in a long time but for serious flaws in direction and scripting of the film as well as her role. Loud melodrama sunk the essence of an uncommon character a sister who fights for 23 long years to secure the freedom of her brother who is wrongfully confined in a Pakistani jail on charges f being a spy. Aishwarya would thank the advent of crossover cinema for roles such as Sarbjit. In itself, after all, hardcore mainstream in Bollywood has hardly ever allowed the sister to be anything but a simpering, suffering soul, waiting for her brother (normally the hero) to rescue her from situations of crisis. If the role reversal in Sarbjit was an unconventional one, it also entailed a certain risk on the actresss part to play it. Our stars are quite obviously learning to move away from the comfort zone. The box-office outcome is far from wholly encouraging the larger fan base still continues to loves the tried and tested formula, after all. Despite a ban on oxytocin in India, violators are managing to lay their hands on the hormonal injection, widely used in dairy industry to boost milk production in cows and buffaloes, by importing the drug in disguised names. The Union Health Ministry has recently seized the imported oxytocin vials under disguised names of peptides and amino acids. Oxytocin is a peptide of nine amino acids (a nonapeptide). Despite a ban on oxytocin in India, violators are managing to lay their hands on the hormonal injection, widely used in dairy industry to boost milk production in cows and buffaloes Misuse of oxytocin by importing it in the form active pharmaceutical ingredients under disguised names of custom peptides, other peptides and amino acids has been unearthed, a senior official in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under Union Health Ministry said. Dr GN Singh, Drugs Controller General (India) has directed all state drugs controllers to have continuous surveillance and book the culprits. All post offices have also been asked to carefully scrutinise all such consignments of import under the above names or any other names before release of the consignment. In March 2016, drug control officers in Hyderabad seized 140 vials of oxytocin. The drug was stored in unlicensed premises and the vials did not have any labels. Similarly, in September 2015, large quantities of oxytocin injections were seized from a person during a raid conducted by a team of the Drugs Control Department near New Delhi Railway Station. Oxytocin is a peptide hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland and is now chemically synthesised. It has medical use for induction and augmentation of labour, to control post- partum bleeding and uterine hypotonicity. The drug is also used in veterinary in case of retention of placenta and expulsion of foetus. Oxytocin injections are being illicitly used by dairy owners to extract milk leading to its harmful effects on humans as well as livestock. We want a strict surveillance for this drug. Despite a ban, it is being used in the dairy industry without a prescription from a registered medical practitioner. We want to curb this practice, said Dr Jagdish Prasad, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Union Health Ministry. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, oxytocin is a Schedule-H drug and is required to be supplied on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner only. The formulation of oxytocin injection is required to be packed in single unit blister packed only to avoid its misuse. In order to ensure that the drug is used for legitimate purposes, the health ministry had issued a notification under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 mandating that the manufacturers of bulk oxytocin drug shall supply the active pharmaceutical drug only to the manufacturers licensed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. In spite of these provisions the drug in the form of injection (crude concoction) continues to be sold in a clandestine way to dairy owners. BJP lawmaker Hukum Singh has handed over an opportunity to his party to exploit happenings in Uttar Pradeshs Kairana ahead of the Assembly polls, but the leaders splashy career history belies his saffron camp credentials. Popularly known as Babu Hukum Singh in Kairana, his parliamentary constituency, he has had stints in various political parties before settling down in the BJP. He was a Congressman till the mid-1990s. BJP lawmaker Hukum Singh has handed over an opportunity to his party to exploit happenings in Uttar Pradeshs Kairana ahead of the Assembly polls The 78-year-old started his career as commissioned officer with the Indian Military Services in 1963 and fought the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war as a Captain in the Poonch Rajouri sector. Thereafter, he resigned from the captainship and returned to Muzaffarnagar to practise law in 1969. He was popular in his area because of active participation in social activities. He joined the Congress in 1974 and won the state polls. BJP lawmaker Hukum Singh is now accused of orchestrating the Kairana issue to promote the political career of one of his five daughters The second time, he was elected from the Lok Dal in 1980, and in 1985, he was appointed the minister of state for animal husbandry and dairy development in the government led by Veer Bahadur Singh. For the fourth time, Hukum Singh was elected an MLA in 1995 on the BJP ticket and party sources claimed that owing to his seniority in the state Assembly, he was made minister in BJP governments of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh despite being a newcomer. It was during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots that Singh was named an accused, before attracting public attention for his Hindu exodus allegation from Kairana. This is his first term in the Lok Sabha. But, he has been under fire for taking a step back after giving a communal angle in the alleged exodus from his constituency in western UP. On Friday, he was accused of orchestrating the issue to promote political career of one of his five daughters. UP police claimed that Singh brought up the exodus issue to consolidate Hindu votes to benefit his daughter in the 2017 elections. Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, speaking at a rally on Tuesday, also came up with the same charge. Hukum Singh, however, dismissed the allegations and attacked the Jat leader for making cheap comments. If a person of Ajit Singhs stature can stoop to this level, trying to involve my family, you can infer what sort of a person he is. Check his background. He gained space entirely due to the BJP. Whenever he contested without the BJP, he and his son disappeared from the scene, the BJP MP said. Priyankas only brand recall is her politically famous maiden name A headline in an economic paper posed a question: Are long-serving CEOs good for the growth of a company? Now, if long-tenured CEOs have been perceived to hurt performance, it is the same with political leaders, as governance needs a right mix of experience with an infusion of fresh ideation. Rightly or wrongly, the BJP dispensed with atrophied elders, but the Congress still clings to the dynasty as lifeline. Today, there is a distinct corporate professionalism being injected into political parties in the US and India, as is evident from campaign strategies of mainstream parties in both countries: they outsource the best brains for the best jobs. In this nascent field, theres now a head-hunt to hire the finest political strategists a rare breed and in short-supply in India. Paradigm Applying the paradigm of corporate governance to a country, it necessitates leaders rise bottom-up, through meritocracy. If shareholders are reluctant to entrust money to a company where the CEO is inexperienced, citizens as stakeholders of the nation too question the inexperience of dynasts. Rahul Gandhi missed his chance at apprenticeship during the 10 years of the UPA rule. Revival of the Congress in UP next year is bleak, considering it has not had a CM in the state in the past 27 years, as also in Bihar in the past 26 years, and MP for 13 years. Now the wizard strategist, Prashant Kishor, suggests Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to be the face of the UP elections for 2017. Marketeers have a dream to sell that they may not necessarily believe in. It is Kishors gamble to project an untested product as a vote-catcher and throw her in the deep sea of the Hindi heartland. He, like the Congressmen, feels only the alternate scion can create a buzz in the media and motivate party workers. This is like believing the voter to be the fabled bald man being sold a comb. Also, it is political naivete for Kishor to take on an assignment, knowing that neither of the two Gandhi siblings is ever placed at the forefront unless the party is sure of a win. The foot-soldiers ring-fence the siblings to shield them from potential losses, but credit them as crusaders for the Food Security Bill, MNREGA, etc. Even the best ad agency can fail a good product. Priyankas only brand recall is her politically famous maiden name. In a sense of deja vu, it reminds Indians of Lalu Prasad foisting his illiterate wife as proxy CM when he was forced to renounce his throne. We are done with call of conscience and renunciation as the route to the top job. We are equally done with the concept of housewifefrom- backyards turning into CM. Give us a break, Mr Kishor. We, the people, need more than a homemaker to run a country striving to un-do the excesses of the last regime. This is insulting voters intelligence to assume that we still behave like subjects to the heiress-apparent, who hasnt even forayed into formal politics, as reluctant to join as Sonia or Rahul were. But then the Gandhis have perfected the art of reluctance and elevated renunciation to a national virtue. Package Besides, Priyanka comes as a package deal with her (in-) famous husband who is part of the very malaise the voters have rejected. Dont play your last and losing card, because if it fails, its the ending of the end, and the surest trigger for a long-awaited split in the GOP. Generational shifts are happening across all parties, with satrap-dynasts taking over the baton for two decades now. Within the Congress is public clamour, but private resistance, to the scions taking the reins of power; they have no win to showcase, yet there is no heavyweight within the party to upstage them. But what can be the appeal of Priyanka who lacks any qualification or experience for the top job in UP? First, Sonia and her clan have never looked at a bottom-up plan. Regardless of the fact that even Indira Gandhi had to start with the I&B ministry and work her way up, the Gandhis are not going to consider Lucknow as the route to Delhi. Its unthinkable for the First Family of Indian politics to come to Delhi via UP, despite the fact that it is Indias most populous and crucial state. Credential Priyankas credential, a well rehearsed image of her dadi, is carrying national nostalgia a bit too far. Chai with Modi worked; Coffee with Captain Amarinder Singh in Punjab should help; but Pepsi with Priyanka in UP will not connect with the youth, who werent even born when Mrs Gandhi was around. This is a new India with new aspirations. The Congress has played its political joker, Rahul; the Queen is growing older; but Priyanka is not the Congresss Ace, as she epitomises the very system of privileges that young India trashed in 2014 in favour of meritocracy. Kishor had a winner on hand when he strategised for brand Modi in 2014, a three-term elected CM and an experienced administrator, despite the baggage of the post-Godhra Gujarat riots; a tried-and-tested product in brand Nitish in 2015. Priyanka is not even a start-up like brother Rahul. This new assignment could well halt his Midas touch, especially if someone like Smriti Irani or Varun Gandhi enters the fray. The Gandhis would graciously downsize the goalpost for assessing Kishors KRA. Should he succeed at delivering a hung assembly, as a win is a distant dream, its a job well done the newnormal parameter for a Congress win. Armed with a war-chest of Rs 400 crore and a 500-strong strategy team is sound ammunition for the strategist to aim at the anti-incumbent, the SP; arrest the ascent of the BJP; and play spoiler to the BSP from getting a majority. Intelligence agencies have warned the government that terrorists may hit small Indian seaports and islands with violent strikes similar to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that exposed gaping holes in Indias maritime security. Official sources told India Today TV on Friday that at least 180 small ports are believed to be on the hit list of terrorist organisations that have also spotted several uninhabited islands to use as bases for anti-India activities. Attackers may exploit inadequate security at these sites to infiltrate into India, the agencies said. Intelligence agencies have warned the government that terrorists may hit small Indian seaports and islands with violent strikes similar to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks The reports emerged a day after home minister Rajnath Singh told at a meeting on coastal security in Mumbai that the government was reviewing the safety measures at all Indian ports, while he described maritime terror as a big threat that could have a deep impact on the economy. He also underscored the need to make coastal security invincible. Sources say top intelligence officials recently submitted a security audit report of seaports, following which the government ordered strict enforcement of standard-operating procedures laid out for coastal security. More than 160 people were killed and around 300 injured when a group of Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai through the sea route and unleashed bloody attacks in 2008. This time, according to the intelligence warning to the government, terrorists have identified ports of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala for possible assaults. They have also picked out 30 islands where security can be breached, the alert says. Five islands each of Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep as well as three of West Bengal and one each of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are among the locations facing the terror threat. Intelligence inputs reveal terrorists plan to use sea vessels as hideaways, according to senior officials. The Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of External Affairs dispatched a four-member fact-finding team to Iran on Friday to investigate a job racket involving thousands of Indian youths duped by illegal agents in India. Over 1,000 seafarers are believed to have been sent to Iran over the past few years through unlicensed Indian agents. In March 2016, one Indian sailor, Palash Balsetwar, died after his ship sank off the coast of Iran. Over 1,000 seafarers are believed to have been sent to Iran over the past few years through unlicensed Indian agents In another case, Ranjit Singh, 23, a resident of Punjab, vanished without a trace from an Iranian ship on March 10, 2016. A majority of Indian seafarers, mostly from states like Punjab and Maharashtra are stationed on board dead ships in Iranian ports. The ships were confined to ports following the UN-imposed sanctions of 2006. The sanctions, which severely restricted Irans global trade, came after the Teherans refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment. While the sanctions were lifted in January this year, a bulk of its merchant fleet remains interred in various ports. The fact-finding teams include MK Luther, Joint Secretary in the MEA, JK Sao Protector General of Emigrants in the Ministry of External Affairs, Amol Kirtane, Deputy Director General Shipping in the Shipping Ministry and Captain Sanjay Prashar of the Mumbai-based International Maritime Federation. The team is discussing the strategy for the repatriation of Indian seafarers stuck at various Iranian ports, allegedly sent there illegally. PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate a stadium in Jaffna renovated by India jointly with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate a stadium in Jaffna renovated by India on Saturday, jointly with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. While Sirisena will be present in the stadium, Modi will join the event through video-conferencing. The Duraiappah Stadium, named in honour of a former Mayor of Jaffna, late Alfred Thambirajah Duraiappah, has been renovated by the government of India at a cost of over Rs 7 crore. Yogas French connection With the World Yoga Day approaching on June 21, events are being organised all over the world to celebrate the practice. The French embassy in New Delhi will organise a Get Into Paws-Mode, which is being promoted as a unique take on yoga. Along with performing yoga, participants will also engage with the French language. Adding a French touch, the French Institute will present asanas named after animals alongside their French names. Royal stay for scholars The Presidents House will host scholars from IITs, Indian Institues of Science Education and Research and IISc The Presidents House will host scholars from IITs, Indian Institues of Science Education and Research (IISER) and IISc for a week. They will stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of an In Residence programme. Apart from science scholars, similar programmes are available for writers, artists, grass root innovators, NIT students and teachers. Women fighter pilots make history The IAF will showcase its women power on Saturday. The first three woman fighter pilots of the IAF will be part of the passing-out parade at the academy in Hyderabad on June 18. Flight cadets Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh will walk into the hall of fame with their induction into the fighter stream. After another leg of training, they will be flying fighter jets. BJP & Cong hope to break AAP With 21 AAP MLAs facing disqualification, the BJP and the Congress camps have lightened up as they see a chance to benefit if bypolls are held. A European Health Insurance Card or EHIC allows you access to free or reduced cost state-provided healthcare in certain countries while you are abroad. It is available to UK residents and is free, although some scam websites try and charge a fee for issuing one. We explain here why it is useful and how you can apply for one without being charged. EHIC: If you've got an EHIC card you may be able to lower your medical costs while on holiday in Europe The card is free and important to carry with you while travelling in some European countries. If you have one you will be able to access medical care for the same cost as local residents pay. This will be significantly less than you would pay without the card, and in some cases if the local state-run healthcare is free, then you wont pay a thing. However, it is not a replacement for travel insurance as theft of your belongings, cancellation and repatriation back to the UK are not included. Our guide below details exactly what it does, how it works and what you are entitled to in all participating countries. Cover gap: If you have an EHIC card it will only lower your costs in some hospitals so you will still need travel insurance to protect your belongings, pay for repatriation if you need it and cover cancellation costs What is the EHIC? An EHIC, which replaced the E111 form in 2005, can be used to access medical care at state-run hospitals for the same price that locals pay. It is valid in all European Union countries plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. If you are a UK resident you can apply for a card via the NHS website, its free and lasts for five years. In Greece you won't pay for medical care if the doctor is part of the national healthcare network All adults (from age 16 upwards) need their own EHIC card and it will have an expiry date on the front, so before you go make sure yours is still valid. It entitles you to treatment if it becomes necessary during your trip, but you cant use it if you are going away specifically to receive medical care. However, maternity care and some pre-existing conditions that arise while abroad will also be covered. Do you still need travel insurance? Although the EHIC can lower your medical costs while abroad, it is not a substitute for travel insurance. This is because you cant use it for private medical healthcare only state-run hospitals. The card also wont cover you should your bags or belongings be stolen, lost of damaged, it wont pay out if you need repatriation back to the UK and it wont cover you if you need to cancel your trip. If you've got an EHIC your insurer may waive any excess fees it's asked you to pay when making a claim Can an EHIC make my insurance cheaper? Technically having an EHIC wont change the price you have to pay for your insurance, but if you have one and use it when getting medical treatment most insurers will waive the excess you have to pay if you need to make a claim. According to Gocompare.com, in 91 per cent of policies insurers will scrap the excess if you use an EHIC. There is no standard rate for the excess, but with some insurers this can be up to 250 so by having the EHIC youre likely to save a significant amount by having one. Do I need to keep my EHIC with me? Make sure youve got your EHIC with you whenever possible while youre away as if not you might be asked to pay upfront for medical costs. If you realise you dont have it, an emergency replacement card is available and you can ask the NHS to fax it to you (the emergency number is 0044 191 218 1999). An EHIC lasts for five years and the expiry date is listed on the front - check yours before you travel Can I get a refund if I have to pay towards my medical costs? In some countries you may be asked to pay for your medical treatment or part of it upfront. If this happens make sure you keep hold of your receipts and paperwork as you will need these if you then claim the money back via your travel insurance company. You may also be asked to pay a contribution towards the medical care such as for the prescription costs and this is known as 'co-payment'. If this happened to you after July 1 2014 you won't be able to get a refund for the cost. This is the date when the law changed and scrapped refunds being paid for co-payments, however if you paid out before this date you may be eligible for a refund. To find out, contact the EHIC website on 0300 330 1350 or via nhsbsa.ehicenquiries@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. How can I avoid scam EHIC sites? Unfortunately several websites have been set up in the past few years selling EHIC cards for a fee. They often charge around 20 and will ask for your details and then send you the card. While some scams are easy to spot, these websites are listed high in Google searches (often in the top spot) and look very similar to the genuine site. But these are fraudulent websites and you do not have to pay for the card. Make sure you only visit the official website site address at: www.ehic.org.uk How do you apply? You can apply for an EHIC card through the official EHIC website, by calling 0300 330 1350 or by printing an application on the NHS website. If you have a card and its been lost of stolen, the emergency line is 0044 191 218 1999 which you can call from abroad. While most people will do all they can to sidestep annoying adverts on their phones or online, Tesco Mobile customers could actually choose to view them in return for lower monthly phone bills. To receive the 3 monthly discount, users will have to view one or more adverts a day when they unlock their mobile on at least 21 days each month. You will be able to sign up for the discount by downloading the Tesco Mobile Xtras app, but only those with an Android phone with a SIM-only or pay-monthly contract are currently eligible. Cut your bills: Tesco Mobile will show you marketing content every two or three times your unlock your mobile Unfortunately Tesco Mobile customers with an Apple device will not be able to sign up to the scheme as the iOS technology will not work with features of the Xtras app. This would knock 36 off an annual bill, which Tesco says is 40 per cent off its cheapest SIM-only contract. The new service launched by Tesco Mobile and mobile-tech company Unlockd, comes after an announcement from rival mobile giant Three that it will implementing ad-blocking technology across its whole network. Tesco Mobile users who opt in will be shown full-screen adverts, offers and marketing content from brands such as Doritos, Branston, British Airways and News UK around once in every three times they unlock their mobile. The content that appears will be personalised to you according to preferences you add when signing up. The technology will also be able to bring up pop ups and offers for restaurants and shops in the vicinity using your location. When the marketing material appears you will be able to either dismiss it or click through to find out more information about the product. Anyone who decides they don't want to see the adverts any more can pause them at any time via the app or phone owners can opt out of the feature altogether by deleting Mobile Xtras smartphone app. If you sign up you will be given an extra 200MB if data each month so that viewing the adverts doesnt cut into your allowance. When you are abroad the app will automatically pause and only work when you have wi-fi access. Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: Smartphone users arent unfamiliar with advertising on handsets its the compromise of many free-to-use apps so its likely cost-conscious customers will be happy to give this a try. 'But whether mobile users are willing to live with ads in return for cheaper bills will depend on how intrusive they are, and how relevant. 'Geolocation will be used to offer promotions for shops and cafes close by. 'For some, thisll be too "Big Brother" but others will see the appeal of personalised and timely deals.' Amazon does something similar with its Kindle devices. Buyers can choose to buy one with or without 'special offers.' The wealthy Ft Lauderdale family police suspect of having a motive related to the execution-style killing of a highly respected Florida State University law professor had nothing to do with the murder, according to the live-in girlfriend of a family member. June Umchinda's comments come as a Leon County grand jury decides whether to issue two career criminals with first-degree murder indictments for the July 2014 murder of Dan Markel. The two suspected killers are Sigfredo Garcia, who has been arrested in connection to the murder, and Luis Rivera, who is already behind bars on other charges waiting to be served an arrest warrant. Umchinda, 27, a Thailand-born credit union worker who started dating playboy periodontist Charles Adelson eight months ago, tells Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview she doesn't believe the theory that Adelson or other family members paid the two to carry out the killing of Markel. Court documents point to Donna Adelson, the mother of Markels ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, as well as Wendis brother, Charles, as being connected to the murder plot. Police claim Charles Adelson, 39, (left) knew one of the two career criminals who carried out the 2014 execution-style killing of FSU law professor Daniel Markel (right) who was once married to Adelson's sister, Wendi Adelson June Umchinda (right), 27, who is dating Charles Adelson says she doesn't believe that Adelson or other family members paid two career criminals to carry out the 2014 killing of Daniel Markel The Leon County, Florida, grand jury is deciding whether to issue career criminals Sigfredo Garcia (left) and Luis Rivera (right) with first-degree murder for the murder of Markel Investigators said the motive stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family to move Wendi and her two young sons with Markel move to South Florida, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Rivera is a Miami-based alleged Latin Kings gang leader who was just sentenced to 12 years in a federal prison in an unrelated case. Garcias rap sheet includes 22 arrests since 1997 on charges ranging from burglary, car theft, cocaine possession, threatening a witness and possession of an explosive device. Arrest papers establish a link between the men and Markels ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, and arrests in the case are likely, according to WCTV. Details in recently released paperwork spell out ties between one of the two men - who allegedly drove a Prius six-and-a-half hours to north Florida for the killing - and the close-knit family of Markel's ex-wife. Wendi Adelson is the daughter of prominent Fort Lauderdale area dentist Harvey Adelson, who owns a successful dental clinic along with his 39-year-old son Charles. Now, police have connected Charles with alleged killer Garcia. What's more, Tallahassee authorities say in the unsealed charging papers that Adelsons' girlfriend at the time of the killing, Katherine Magbanua, had two children from a previous relationship with alleged Markel killer Garcia. Police claim Charles Adelson, 39, didn't like his brother-in-law. 'I can understand why the police would think this,' Umchinda said after reading a narrative of the police investigation while standing outside Adelson's canal house in Fort Lauderdale. 'But there's no way Charlie or anyone in the family is involved. They're all so nice. 'I mean, he hasn't been saying anything about this. I haven't asked about it. But I know he's been under intense pressure over the last couple weeks and I assumed it was something having to do with work. 'I've gone to family dinners and they never talk about what happened to Wendi's ex-husband. I did ask once and Charlie said he was murdered. That was it. 'But I'm practically living with Charlie and I'm not worried. He's very nice and not violent at all.' Prosecutors say Sigfredo Garcia (left) killed Markel on request from his wife's family after the couple divorced. Charles Adelson (right), the wife's brother, knew Garcia at the time of the killing After Wendi Adelson divorced Markel she left for South Florida with the couple's children, but was forced to return after a court ruling which prosecutors say could have motivated the murder FSU law professor Markel was shot in the head in July 2014 as he parked his car in his garage in Tallahassee. Police earlier this month announced he may have been the victim of a murder-for-hire plot linked to his bitter divorce from Wendi, another ex-FSU law professor. And after arresting the suspected triggerman and an accomplice, police said they expect other arrests in the murder of the internationally known legal thinker fascinated with applying the proper punishment to crime. Markel argued in scholarly papers in favor of the abolition of the death penalty in America. On July 18, 2014, at about 11am, according to the probable cause affidavit, police called to Markel's modest home in the quiet neighborhood of Betton Hills found the professor sitting in the driver's seat of his car in the open garage with the engine running. The Harvard Law School graduate was slumped over the wheel of the idling car, a gunshot to the head. 'The investigation of the crime scene showed no indication that this incident was part of any other criminal intent, such as burglary or robbery,' the unsealed charging documents read. The shooting was heard by a witness who spoke with Markel on his cellphone when Markel reported a person he did not recognize in his driveway. The witness then heard a muffled conversation in the background and 'something that sounded like a loud grunt' before Markel started breathing laboredly into the phone. Police now say a light-colored Prius was tailing Markel that day, from the time he dropped his children off in daycare then stopped by a gym for his morning workout. When he left the gym about half an hour before the shooting, cellphone GPS records and surveillance footage showed a Prius was tailing him. Police tracked down video from city buses as well as commercial buildings along Markel's route home, and the ominous Toyota was behind him. A neighbor described seeing two men leaving Markel's house - sold in December for $280,000 - in a hurry. Detective believe that the close-knit Adelson family plotted to have Markel killed after he dragged Wendi away from where they were living in South Florida Markel, a world-renowned legal professor, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head behind the wheel of his car in July 2014 Police say a light-colored Prius was tailing Markel that day, from the time he dropped his children off in daycare then stopped by a gym for his morning workout The passenger, described as Hispanic, carried a black object in his hand and fell into a canal while hurrying to a small car parked in an adjacent neighborhood. Through a payment transponder to travel Florida's Turnpike and cellphone records, police say they are sure Garcia and Rivera were in Tallahassee, and even in Betton Hills, on the day of the shooting. What's more, a witness at a local motel reported to police he rented a room to the duo on the afternoon of July 17. They checked out early on July 18. So far, Garcia is denying ever going to Tallahassee. Soon after the murder, the affidavit also shows, detectives started focusing on Markel's bitter divorce as a motive. After Wendi filed her divorce petition in September 2012, Markel returned home to find, the charging papers read, 'his family gone, a majority of the contents of the house missing and the paperwork of the dissolution of marriage displayed on his bed.' It turns out Wendi had moved to her parents' home near Fort Lauderdale with the couple's two boys. In time, Markel went back to court and was successful in obtaining a court order forcing Wendi to move back to Tallahassee with their sons. In June 2013, according to records, family court Judge Barbara Hobbs denied Wendi's request to move away from the Florida's capital city. A month later, the couple signed a settlement agreement and the divorce was finalized. The atmosphere, however, remained poisoned as Markel started questioning in court papers the veracity of his ex-wife's financial disclosures and accused her of hiding ample financial assets from him and the court. Wendi, according to emails obtained by police, was also getting pressure from her mother, Donna Adelson, 66. The elder woman repeatedly asked her daughter to 'coerce' Markel into allowing her to return to South Florida. And, divorce papers show, Donna allegedly made disparaging remarks about Markel to her two grandsons. Charles Adelson owns a successful dental clinic (its office pictured above) in Fort Lauderdale with his father, Harvey Adelson, who is also a dentist Inside the Adelson Institute for Aesthetics and Implant Dentistry in Tamarac, Florida, pictures of Charles Adelson taking part in philanthropic activities can be seen. Markel eventually filed a court motion to prevent the boys from spending unsupervised time with Donna, but Judge Hobbs never heard the motion. It was scheduled to take place soon after Markel was killed. 'Investigators believe the motive for this murder stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family to relocate Wendi and the children to South Florida, along with the pending court hearing that might have impacted their access to the grandchildren,' the affidavit states. In their affidavit, investigators wrote they also focused on ties between Wendi's brother Charles and alleged murderer Garcia. At the time of the shooting, Charles was dating the woman who had two children with Garcia. 'Charlie was involved in a personal relationship with Katherine Magbanua Sigfredo Garcia is the father of Magbanua's two minor children, both with the last name Garcia,' the paperwork reads. According to her neighbors in North Miami Beach, Magbanua left her rented townhouse with her kids in the middle of the night June 1, hours after Garcia was arrested. 'He (Garcia) was back with Katherine,' said one next door neighbor who asked that her name not be used. 'She hasn't been back here since he was arrested. 'Some friends of hers in pickup truck came a couple nights ago and cleaned out the house. She didn't tell anyone where she was going.' South Florida records, meanwhile, show the Adelsons to be a tightly-knit family where business, including the successful dental practice and extensive real estate holdings, and blood ties are intertwined. Patriarch Harvey, 71, founded the Adelson Institute For Aesthetics and Implant Dentistry in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Tamarac, corporate records show. He is listed as manager. Billing itself The Florida Smile Maker, the company was then joined by Charles, a periodontist who is known to travel to Jamaica several times a year to provide free dentistry to children in Kingston's poorest neighborhood. Motor vehicle records show dad Harvey owns a half dozen black luxury cars, including three Mercedes-Benzes, two Lexus and a Ferrari. They are driven by Wendi and Charles. His current girlfriend June Umchinda's Range Rover is also registered to Harvey, according to records. Bill and Hillary Clinton profess to have always been supporters of racial equality, but anecdotes published in a new book by his ex-lover claim otherwise. Hillary was heard calling mentally challenged children 'f*****g ree-tards' and caught on record blurting out the terms 'stupid k**e and 'f***ing Jew b*****d', while Bill called the Reverend Jesse Jackson a 'G**damned n****r'. Bill was also sued several times by blacks and Hispanics for violations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Dolly Kyle - who was just 11 when she first crossed paths with Bill, dated him through high school and began sleeping with him once they graduated - published the claims about the Clinton couple's racial epithets and politics in her new book, Hillary: The Other Woman, published by WND Books. Bill Clinton's former lover Dolly Kyle has published claims about the Clinton couple's racial politics in her new book, Hillary: The Other Woman Dolly says Hillary (pictured with Bill on Tuesday) was caught on record blurting out the terms 'stupid k**e' and 'f***ing Jew bastard', while Bill called the Reverend Jesse Jackson a 'G**damned n****r' She writes of one occasion, when developmentally challenged children were having difficulty picking up the eggs at a traditional Easter egg hunt on the grounds of the governor's mansion during Bill's tenure in the Arkansas state house. Reluctant hostess Hillary had enough. 'The frustrated Me-First Lady demanded, "When are they going to get those f*****g ree-tards out of here?"' Dolly writes. Dolly dated Bill through high school and began sleeping with him once they graduated Behind the Reverend Jesse Jackson's back, the Clinton duo called him, 'That G**damned n****r'. Dolly claims the couple used the same insult toward Robert 'Say' McIntosh, one of the leading African-American activists in Little Rock, Arkansas when Bill was governor. McIntosh was dogging Clinton about ongoing relationships with black prostitutes, q charge, she says, Bill never denied. Clinton never denied stories that he was having an ongoing relationship with one black prostitute as well as her friends. He did deny a rumor that he had fathered a child with a black prostitute while governor and took a DNA test that was reported as negative. Rumors of the trysts throughout Little Rock and were aided by 'one prominent black female newscaster who used to brag openly around the television station about her relationship with the governor, although they were 'only' indulging in oral sex'. Bill Clinton and Dolly grew up with Jim Crow laws in place in the plantation mentality of the South and they were in full force during the 1950s and '60s. It was a segregated society in Hot Springs at that time. Black and white students went to different schools. In the movie theaters, black people had to watch the movie from a balcony, use separate bathrooms and water fountains. 'Signs that separated 'WHITES' and 'COLORED' were deadly serious and always enforced', Dolly writes. In Arkansas, everyone had to pay a $2 poll tax to vote, and the cost was a huge sum for many black people. The black vote was further diluted by 'gerrymandering, a wide-spread practice of dividing electoral districts along racial lines to dilute the black vote'. Dolly writes that behind the Reverend Jesse Jackson's back, the Clinton duo also called him, 'That G**damned n****r' Not one black was voted into the Arkansas legislation in hundreds of elections. In the 1980s, Clinton was sued several times by blacks and Hispanics for violations of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and he lost every case. The district lines were redrawn under court order. Ben McGee was a black Democrat was elected to the state legislature in 1988. Clinton tried to replace McGee with a white Democrat of his choice, claims Dolly. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court was ruled 8-0 against Clinton and the Arkansas officials who challenged McGee's election. In the 1980s, Hispanics were moving into Arkansas in greater numbers and Clinton began racial profiling against Hispanics, she claims. He instituted the racial profiling program three years after his brother, Roger Clinton went to prison in 1985 for dealing cocaine. The program was initially part of his anti-drug program, although Roger's drug suppliers and buyers were white. 'For no good reason, Bill and Hillary decided to profile Hispanics as drug dealers,' Dolly writes. State troopers now had the authority to stop and search any vehicle remotely suspect of carrying drugs. 'Specifically, the troopers were to stop and search cars driven by Hispanics, especially those cars with Texas license plates.' Clinton was sued in federal court for his Criminal Apprehension Program that was ruled unconstitutional. 'Billy threw one of his infamous temper tantrums about the ban on his racial profiling of Hispanics and he threatened to renew the racial profiling program in spite of the court's ruling', Dolly reports. Bill Clinton's 'three strikes' rule incarcerated 2.5million people, including poor people of color who couldn't afford lawyers during their trials Racial profiling remained in Clinton's head and several years later, he gave state troopers the right to stop and search any car. Bill and Hillary have been very verbal in criticizing racial profiling as a 'morally indefensible, deeply corrosive practice'. Clinton's crime bill, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, was dubbed the 'three strikes' law and is one which has incarcerated over 2.5 million people, predominately poor people of color who could not afford lawyers during their trials. The 'three strikes' rule sent people to jail for a petty crime or a major felony. It meant prison for life on the third offense, whatever that happened to be. Clinton's solution was to 'lock 'em up and throw away the key', Dolly writes. Now he could claim credit for less unemployment. 'The unemployment numbers actually did go down, but that was partly because the young black males in prison were no longer counted as unemployed,' she adds. And when Hillary arrived in Arkansas, Dolly writes, she looked down her nose at what she viewed as 'ignorant hillbillies'. She was raised in a middle-class suburb in Illinois and considered herself above the southerners unless she was campaigning in New York state where she declared herself to be a lifelong Yankees fan. She has repeatedly told the story that she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary who became the first climber to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1953. Hillary was born in October 1947, six years prior to the New Zealand explorer's climb. She was forced to amend her statement when asked about it, Dolly writes. 'Hillary didn't belong in Arkansas but here she was'. In the governor's mansion for eight years, Bill and Hillary were both getting tired of the routine and frustrations of the small Southern state and Bill opted out of running for reelection in 1990. He was marking his time until he could make a move for the White House. Dolly claims that when Hillary moved to Arkansas, she looked down her nose at what she viewed as 'ignorant hillbillies' 'Hillary decided that, if Billy didn't run for reelection in 1990, she would run for governor in his place,' Dolly writes. A statewide political poll in 1989 revealed that 'she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of being elected governor of Arkansas'. Back in the early 1980s, Hillary, working as a lawyer for the Rose Law Firm, was making more money than Bill was as governor. The couple always made it known they had 'good investments', although they had no money to invest. Dolly makes several claims about the Clintons in her new book, Hillary: The Other Woman They were always 'on the lookout for additional income', Dolly writes. She adds: 'I first heard about this particular deal when a couple of guys from Canada contacted me in Dallas to ask for my help.' Dolly agreed to meet the men who were 'terrified of the Clintons'. One man stated he was going to die soon so he wasn't afraid. 'Steve was one of over two thousand Canadians infected with HIV, the AIDS virus,' Dolly claims. The source was traced to bad blood collected from inmates in Arkansas' prisons. Inmates were paid $7 a pint for their blood and 'Billy's cronies then sold the prisoners' blood to some blood brokers for $50 per pint'. When it was discovered that the blood was tainted, prisons instituted a 'screening process' which was merely a 'screening clerk' who was selling 'the right to bleed' to prisoners. Infected prisoners continued to sell their blood as long as they bribed the screening clerk. Instead of the $7 fee, some received drugs. Arkansas prisons were banned from selling blood when government officials learned that the bad blood was coming from the state. Getting around that ban, dummy corporations were set up in other states to purchase the bad blood and then resell it. All of that infected blood went to Canada, where between 8,000 and 10,000 people died. Little Rock journalist Suzi Parker took on Clinton and his role in the tainted blood scandal in an expose. She quit her investigation when she started receiving threatening phone calls in the middle of the night, writes Dolly. The infamous Whitewater scandal was another 'good investment' for the Clintons. The Whitewater scandal came about in the late 1970s when the Clintons partnered with friends James and Susan McDougal to purchase 220 acres of land in Arkansas that would become the Whitewater Development Corporation and was a quick-money-making scheme to build vacation homes. They then got involved in the Whitewater scandal - a quick-money-making scheme - with friends James (pictured) and Susan McDougal. James McDougal was later found guilty of fraud and conspiracy With a quarter-million dollars from Madison S&L, the team bought land in an undeveloped area with 'no roads, infrastructure, amenities, shopping and no chance to draw the kind of people who had money to buy a vacation home'. The venture failed, thousands of dollars were lost, and James McDougal moved on to start Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan. When federal regulators began to investigate another McDougal deal, questions about the Clintons' involvement in the Whitewater arose during President Clinton's first term in office. An investigation into the legality of the Whitewater transactions was launched. Hillary was a partner in the Rose Law Firm as well as a partner in the Whitewater deal. When criminal charges were brought against McDougal, he hired the Rose Law Firm. Some of the players went to jail, one died in jail and 'the half of it has not been told'. The Rose Law Firm was once the preeminent firm in Little Rock before the arrival of Hillary Clinton. During the Whitewater investigation, one of the old-timer partners was asked for his opinion on Hillary. 'That b**** is going to ruin my firm', he answered. Vince Foster, Bill's Deputy White House Counsel, had been a childhood friend of Bill's and a former partner of Hillary's at the Rose Law Firm. He knew all of the Whitewater secrets including 'Hillary's double-billing practices that had enabled her to receive questionable foreign money with strings attached,' says the author. He knew the skinny on the firing of the White House Travel Office [ostensibly so Hillary could hire her Arkansas cronies] and using FBI files to go after people through the IRS. Hillary pushed Foster to end the fifty-day standoff during between the Branch Davidians and the federal and Texas state law enforcement in Waco, Texas in 1993. Vince Foster (left with Hillary), Bill's Deputy White House Counsel, had been a childhood friend of Bill's and a former partner of Hillary's at the Rose Law Firm. He was aware of all the Whitewater secrets Foster (pictured with his wife, Hillary and Bill) was found dead in Fort Marcy Park off the George Washington Parkway in Virginia on July 20, 1993. His death was ruled a suicide Seventy-four men, women and children died a violent death, and Foster was devastated. Dolly writes: 'I believe that Vince Foster was a man of integrity, despite his friendship with Billy and Hillary Clinton. 'I believe that Vince was about to resign because of what he had seen in his first six months of the Clinton co-presidency. I believe that his resignation would have raised a lot of probing questions.' But before he could leave Washington, the Deputy White House Council was found dead in Fort Marcy Park off the George Washington Parkway in Virginia on July 20, 1993. An antique, rarely-fired, gun was found in his hand. His office safe was opened and emptied by Hillary's people, and his death was quickly ruled a suicide. 'I do not believe that Vince Foster committed suicide,' Dolly writes. 'You don't have to believe what I believe, but know this. 'The news of Vince Foster's death was being talked about in beauty shops here in Little Rock before his dead body was found in Fort Marcy Park.' When Hillary moved into the White House, she requested nine hundred files from the FBI containing private information on people from both political parties. 'Thousands of politicians in Washington still wonder what Hillary has on them.' Dolly writes. 'If they have any secrets at all, they must live in constant dread of being publicly exposed. 'Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation for political aims. By this definition, Hillary Clinton is a terrorist. 'With her silent threats to the nine hundred, who is going to make a peep?' The files were subpoenaed and Hillary declared, 'We are the president'. These were the files that had been removed from Vince Foster's office and found two years later. Hillary has been declaring herself president since Bill stepped into office in 1992. The news that no die-hard 'Hamilton' fan or anyone who hasn't seen the Broadway smash yet wants to hear has arrived: Lin-Manuel Miranda, its creator and star, is leaving the show this summer and ticket prices have soared. Miranda, who has been in the show since it made its debut off-Broadway in early 2015, said Thursday he will perform his last show on July 9. The ticket prices to the last show Miranda will perform at 8pm that day have soared sky-high. On ticket re-selling site StubHub, the most expensive tickets are $14,500 each for a seat in the center of the orchestra section. While a seat in the same section on Ticketmaster is being re-sold for slightly less - $9,998.96 plus service fees and taxes. Farewell: The creator and star of hit Broadway show 'Hamilton' is leaving this summer. Lin-Manuel Miranda (center) said Thursday his last performance will be on July 9 The ticket prices to the last show Miranda (above) will perform at 8pm that day have soared sky-high Javier Munoz, the current understudy for Alexander Hamilton, who also took over from Miranda in 'In the Heights,' will take over July 11. But Miranda said he will happily return to the show from time to time and RadicalMedia plans to film the original cast performing the show at the end of June and will, at some point, make it available. 'We are aware that history has its eyes on us,' said Miranda. 'For people who will say, 'But I'll never see Lin as Hamilton!' yes, you will,' Miranda said in an Irish pub in his Washington Heights neighborhood. 'I have written this insane part that I can't seem to get tired of, that is new every night... I think this is a role I will be going back to again and again. 'I know it feels like the end of the world to a very small number of people now, but I plan to revisit this role a lot. ' He'll also be offering fans a chance to see his final July 9th bow for just $10. Fans who donate just $10 to the Hispanic Federation will be entered to win two tickets to his last performance, an invitation to the after-party and airfare and hotel for those living outside of New York City. It's being organized through Prizeo. Miranda, who said he's itching to cut the long hair he's grown for the show, has already lined up plenty of work after he leaves. He has a lead role opposite Emily Blunt in a film sequel of 'Mary Poppins' directed by Rob Marshall and with songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the composers of 'Hairspray.' On ticket re-selling site StubHub, the most expensive tickets are $14,500 each for a seat in the center of the orchestra section (pictured above) While a seat in the same section on Ticketmaster is being re-sold for slightly less - $9,998.96 plus service fees and taxes (above) Miranda will also help turn his musical 'In the Heights' into a movie. He has written music for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and the upcoming animated feature in Disney's 'Moana,' a musical, animated tale about a Polynesian princess that comes out in November. Munoz, who has been with the show since it debuted off-Broadway in 2015, said his taking over won't have too much effect on the show. 'If anything, it's personal,' he said. 'We're losing our guy, right? Our friend, the guy we love, is not going to be in the building as often. 'It's like camp. You get to the end of summer and you become pen pals.' Miranda also revealed he has launched a merchandise site called Tee-Rico that will sell fan art inspired by Miranda's work. . Currently, it is selling a T-shirt printed with part of his sonnet he delivered at the Tony Awards, dedicated to the dead in the Orlando nightclub shooting. All proceeds from it will benefit Equality Cares in Florida. 'Hamilton,' which cast minority actors as Founding Fathers, burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows. Javier Munoz (left), the current understudy for Alexander Hamilton, who also took over from Miranda (right) in 'In the Heights,' will take over July 11 Miranda said he will happily return to the show from time to time and RadicalMedia plans to film the original cast performing the show at the end of June and will, at some point, make it available. Above Munoz is pictured left and Miranda is right on June 12 It has been praised by politicians and rap stars, influenced the debate over the nation's currency and become a cultural phenomenon. 'It's been the best tsunami in the world, but it's been a crazy thing to be in the middle of this,' said Miranda, who has a young child. 'I don't walk down the streets in Washington Heights the way I used to.' On Sunday, it won 11 Tony Awards, including best new musical, best book and best score. That capped a stunning year for 'Hamilton' that includes Miranda winning the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Grammy, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History and a MacArthur Foundation 'genius' grant. Miranda lost the best-actor Tony to his co-star Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr to his Alexander Hamilton. 'Hamilton' also won for best direction, orchestration, choreography and best featured actor and actress statuettes for Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs. Even if the show starts to shed stars and Miranda said he didn't know about anyone else's plans he said the musical can still be strong. 'I hope the 11 Tonys that we racked up on Sunday are somewhat of a validation to those folks that this is a great piece,' Miranda said. 'It takes a village to make a show like that.' Plans are already in the works to open a Chicago company of 'Hamilton, as well as one for London and a U.S. national tour that starts on the West Coast. The show has been praised by politicians and rap stars, influenced the debate over the nation's currency and become a cultural phenomenon. On Sunday, it won 11 Tony Awards (above), including best new musical, best book and best score Miranda said the talent level is huge at casting: 'There are so many unbelievable actors of color who don't get roles like this in the musical theater canon.' Miranda, the New York City son of Puerto Rican parents, came across Alexander Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow's book and was inspired to write a musical. He debuted the first song at the White House. His book and score for 'Hamilton' has sly references to Gilbert and Sullivan, Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Miranda already has a Tony for creating 'In the Heights' and is part of a crew that freestyle raps. An album of celebrity covers and songs cut from the final musical is in the works for the fall, called 'The Hamilton Mixtape,' as well as a documentary on the show set to air on PBS in October. While he steps away from playing Alexander Hamilton, Miranda said he will still push for legislation to stop ticket scalpers and also champion Puerto Rican fiscal strength. He would not be drawn into the 2016 election other than urging a get-out-the-vote push, particularly among Latinos. A former Nazi guard has been jailed for five years for his role in the killings at Auschwitz - more than 70 years after the end of World War Two. Reinhold Hanning, 94, was convicted of being an accessory to murder in more than 170,000 cases because he helped 'underwrite the Nazi murder machine.' Although found guilty, it is unclear whether Hanning will ever serve time behind bars. More than 1.1 millon people were murdered by the Nazis at the death camp, most of them Jews. Former SS sergeant Reinhold Hanning (pictured today) was jailed for five years at Detmold state court Reinhold Hanning was convicted of being an accessory to murder in more than 170,000 cases The verdict came after a trial lasting nearly four months in the western German city of Detmold A packed court house watched as the guilty verdict was delivered by judge Anke Grudda Of 6,500 people who served on the staff of Auschwitz, only 29 of them have been prosecuted in Germany since the war. Three more cases are pending but Oskar Groening, 95, known as the 'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz', who was jailed for four years in 2015 for his role in the murder of 300,000 people, has still not spent a day in prison because of an ongoing appeal. Hanning, who volunteered for the SS at 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944, had claimed he was not involved in the killings in the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during the trial at Detmold state court. But a Third Reich expert testified it was likely Hanning served on the notorious ramp - the place where prisoners were either killed immediately or allowed to live as slave labourers. The former SS squad leader was confronted by 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor Leon Schwarzbaum. During the trial he told him: 'The older I get, the more I think about what happened in Auschwitz. 'Why don't you come clean and tell the truth for once about what you and your comrades did in Auschwitz?' Reinhold Hanning (pictured), 94, a former SS guard at Auschwitz, has been jailed for five years today Hanning told investigators he never served in the part of the camp where most of its 1.1m victims were killed Reinhold Hanning is accused of serving as an SS Sergeant between 1943 and 1944, a time when hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were gassed to death at the camp Mr Schwarzbaum, whose parents were murdered in the camp, recounted the starvation and constant fear of dying that plagued prisoners after they were taken to Auschwitz. Those who sought to escape were ripped to death by dogs and their bodies left as a warning to others, he said, adding that regular executions and the endless stream of people sent to the gas chambers sowed terror. He said: 'I was constantly afraid of dying from hunger or being selected (for the gas chamber). 'The food was terrible and insufficient. It was not even potatoes but potato peelings, impossible and insufficient for hard labour.' Ahead of the case, he told how he vividly remembers how the 'chimneys were spewing fire... and the smell of burning human flesh was so unbelievable that one could hardly bear it'. He added how he did not want Hanning to go to prison and was happy he apologised, but had hoped he would provide more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. 'The historical truth is important. Speak here about what you and your comrades did!', he said. Hanning admitted to serving at the Auschwitz I, part of the complex in Nazi occupied Poland but denied being at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau section where most of the Nazi's 1.1million victims were killed Mr Schwarzbaum, whose parents were murdered in the camp, recounted the starvation and constant fear of dying that plagued prisoners after they were taken to Auschwitz German-Jew Mr Schwarzbaum, whose parents were murdered in the camp, spoke of the imaginable horrors of the death camp - he said he could never forgive Hanning Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War Two before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. As he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, so sent him to Auschwitz, without him knowing what it was. During the trial, Hanning's lawyers had argued that he had never personally killed or beaten anyone. Prosecutors are to decide next month whether 92-year-old Helma Mass, a former radio operator in Auschwitz, is fit enough to stand trial for her role in the murders of 266,390 people. Part of her duties involved transmitting and receiving details of death trains, reporting loot stolen from the dead that was being sent back to Berlin, and ordering fresh supplies of the lethal Zyklon-B gas which was used to murder them. Mass now lives in an old people's home near Berlin and refuses to speak about her time at the death factory. An accused child molester has been arrested, after 23 years on the run. The FBI said they arrested 46-year-old fugitive John Joseph Hartin on Wednesday in Walkertown, North Carolina where they found he had been living under another name. Hartin fled his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1997 - 760 miles from where he was found -after being charged with five counts of child rape. Hartin had been accused of sexually abusing two boys, ages eight and nine, that he befriended in 1993. Accused child molester John Joseph Hartin (pictured in his 1989 mugshot left and center, and in an age-progressed image of what he would look like at age 42, right) was arrested on Wednesday in North Carolina after 23 years on the run In 2012, the FBI tried again to track Hartin down, running a multi-state media campaign and offering $25,000 for information leading to his arrest. In a press statement issued on Thursday, FBI agents said they had recently learned that Hartin was living under the alias Jay Matthew Carter in North Carolina. He was arrested without incident on Wednesday afternoon, and is in the process of being extradited back to Massachusetts to face trial. 'John Hartin thought by changing his name and moving out of state, he could avoid prosecution,' Harold Shaw, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Boston, said in the statement. 'However, he underestimated our resolve to track him down. The FBI hopes the victims of this alleged crimes will find some comfort in knowing that he will now have to answer for his actions.' Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans praised the FBI and his department's 'great work and collaboration' in tracking Hartin down. 'Our commitment to justice has no time limit,' Evans said. 'This outcome should serve as a reminder that we never give up and we will find you.' Sydneysiders have been told to brace for flash flooding this weekend as the city's major dams are set to spill over when a predicted east coast low hits. The Bureau of Meteorology predicts only moderate rainfall could overfill the Warragamba Dam, which supplies water to more than 3.7 million people living in Sydney and the lower Blue Mountains. 'Warragamba Dam is at 98 per cent at the moment... 30 to 50 millimetres will cause that dam to spill,' NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Mark Morrow told 9News. Scroll down for video Sydneysiders have been told to brace for flash flooding this weekend as the city's major dams are set to spill over when a predicted east coast low hits. Above are huge waves at Bronte Beach Sydney is expected to get 5-10mm on Saturday and 20-40mm on Sunday, Weatherzone was predicting on Friday. Queensland is also risk of flash flooding with a major downpour expected in Brisbane and other parts of the state. The Bureau of Meteorology has also issued a flood watch for Toowoomba, in Queensland's south-east Darling Downs. Up to 100mm is predicted for the region over the weekend as the low pressure system moves towards the coast. This upcoming weather event has sparked the NSW Government to announce $690 million to raise the dam's wall by 14 metres to offer people downstream 'extra protection', Premier Mike Baird told The Sydney Morning Herald. Up to 134,000 people would need to evacuated if major flooding was to happen. Above is a weather map showing the amount of rainfall predicted from Friday through to Monday The Bureau of Meteorology predicts only moderate rainfall could overfill the Warragamba Dam. Pictured is the dam spilling over in March 2012 The east coast low almost two weeks ago added an extra 12.1 per cent of water to Sydney's major dams. In the week leading up to June 9, Warragamba Dam had 170mm of rainfall and it now sits at 97.7 per cent, according to WaterNSW. The Upper Nepean, Woronora, Shoalhaven and Blue Mountains got 270mm, 310mm, 280mm and 170mm in the same period. The areas that will bear the brunt of the weather event will be the region between the Central Coast and Jervis Bay. Mr Morrow said Sydney's metropolitan areas was also 'prone to flash flooding'. NATIONAL SEVEN-DAY FORECAST Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Canberra Adelaide Perth Hobart Darwin Friday 21C, clearing shower, 1-5mm rainfall 15C, showers, 1-5mm rainfall 24C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 14C, rain, 1-5mm rainfall 16C, showers easing, 1-5mm rainfall 19C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 12C, showers, 1-5mm rainfall 33C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall Saturday 19C, rain, 5-10mm rainfall 13C, clearing shower, <1mm rainfall 25C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 13C, showers, 1-5mm rainfall 15C, possible shower, <1mm rainfall 19C, sunny, <1mm rainfall 13C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 33C, sunny, <1mm rainfall Sunday 19C, rain, 20-40mm rainfall 13C, cloudy, 1-5mm rainfall 24C, possible thunderstorm, 20-40mm rainfall 14C, rain, 20-40mm rainfall 16C, cloudy, <1mm rainfall 20C, late shower, 5-10mm rainfall 13C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 33C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall Monday 19C, rain, 1-5mm rainfall 14C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 22C, clearing shower, <1mm rainfall 14C, rain, 1-5mm rainfall 15C, late shower, 1-5mm rainfall 18C, clearing shower, 1-5mm rainfall 13C, possible shower, <1mm rainfall 33C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall Tuesday 18C, cloudy, <1mm rainfall 14C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 21C, sunny, <1mm rainfall 11C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 17C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 16C, late shower, 1-5mm rainfall 13C, possible shower, <1mm rainfall 33C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall Wednesday 19C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 15C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 23C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 13C, possible shower, <1mm rainfall 16C, possible shower, 10-20mm rainfall 17C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 12C, possible shower, <1mm rainfall 33C, sunny, <1mm rainfall Thursday 18C, mostly sunny, <11mm rainfall 15C, possible shower, 5-10mm rainfall 22C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 12C, possible shower, 5-10mm rainfall 16C, possible shower, 10-20mm rainfall 16C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall 12C, possible shower, 1-5mm rainfall 34C, mostly sunny, <1mm rainfall Vehicles drive through a partially flooded Paramatta Road in Sydney earlier this month when an east coast low hit Sydney's northern beaches suburb of Collaroy had chunks of its coastline swallowed by massive waves and Tasmania experienced widespread flooding in its northern regions Brisbane is forecast to get up to 45mm of rainfall across the weekend. As the weekend's weather event looms, emergency services authorities have warned people to be prepared. 'We will be watching closely and it is a good trigger there for people to understand what the risk is in their area,' Mr Morrow said. 'If you live near creeks that flash flood quickly, or you realise that you are in the middle of heavy rain, then certainly be aware of your surroundings and checkout side and watch the warnings on our systems.' This east coast low comes almost two weeks after NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania was lashed by torrential rain and strong winds. A former Australian federal police officer was holidaying on the Gold Coast earlier this month when he was tackled and handcuffed by five police officers. Paul Gibbons was standing in the lobby of his apartment complex on June 4 when he opened the door for five police officers who had arrived looking for another man, according to Nine News. Mr Gibbons said officers told him he had not reacted fast enough to their requests and he quickly became uncomfortable, prompting him to begin recording their interaction on his mobile phone. Scroll down for video Paul Gibbons, a former Australian federal police officer, was on holiday on the Gold Coast on June 4 when five police officers tackled him to the ground when he began filming their behaviour (pictured) He claims the officers then deleted several images and videos from his phone, including those of his recent honeymoon (pictured) CCTV footage captured Mr Gibbons lifting his phone as the group of officers grabbed his arm and pushed him to the ground before handcuffing him. The tackle left a scratch from the top of his ear to the bottom of his neck, Mr Gibbons claims. 'During this time I said "Am I under arrest?" and they said "If you don't unlock your phone we're going to take you down the watch-house and on the way we'll fill you in",' he told Nine News. 'I said "Well what will you charge me with?" and they said "Doesn't matter, we'll just load you up".' Mr Gibbons (pictured) was standing in the lobby of his apartment complex when he opened the door for five police officers who had arrived looking for another man The tackle left a scratch from the top of his ear to the bottom of his neck (pictured), Mr Gibbons claims Mr Gibbons claims the officers forced him to unlock his phone with his fingerprint before they began deleting his photos and videos, including pictures from his recent honeymoon. Footage shows an officer notice the security camera in the corner of the lobby during the 10 minute ordeal and nudges a fellow officer. Mr Gibbons said he was only released after the officers learned he was a former Australian federal police officer and that he was on the NSW police force for six years. He has since filed a complaint with the Crime and Corruption Commission. 'In my opinion, they are not fit to wear a uniform,' Mr Gibbons said. A Coles delivery driver was left red-faced after misjudging the height of an overpass and flipping their truck. The vehicle was heading down Fig Street on inner Sydneys Ultimo at 8am on Thursday when it struck the western distributor overpass and toppled over. The driver escaped injury but was slapped with a negligent driving ticket for following his GPS under the notoriously low clearance flyover. Fire and Rescue NSW attend the scene where a Coles delivery truck overturned under an overpass The vehicle was heading down Fig Street on inner Sydneys Ultimo at 8am on Thursday when disaster struck Fire and Rescue NSW attended the scene to clear a diesel fuel spill from the stricken vehicle, reports 9 News. The truck was turned upright and cleared from the scene. There were no injuries or damage to any other cars. The accident did not cause traffic interruptions as it was not on a major road. Images of the scene were shared on social media, where some commenters suggested the driver got away with too light of a penalty. 'What a joke. If it was a real truck they would have rego cancelled for 3 months and have a few grand in fines,' wrote one commenter. Others were more sympathetic, slamming the dangerous design of the overpass. 'More like negligent bridge design, can barely walk under that,' wrote another. The driver escaped injury but was slapped with a negligent driving ticket for following his GPS under the notoriously low clearance flyover There were no injuries and the accident did not cause traffic interruptions as it was not on a major road Malcolm Turnbull has condemned the views of an anti-gay Islamist preacher who dined at the Prime Minister's home for an end of Ramadan feast and previously said gays should be be punished by Allah with AIDS and HIV. Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman attended the Iftar dinner at Kirribilli House in Sydney on Thursday night, which Mr Turnbull said was a chance for all people to unite against extremism, the Herald Sun reported. The sheikh denied he held radical anti-gay views in a statement issued on Friday after a video posted in April 2013 recorded him saying if homosexuality was out in the open 'amongst a tribe... Allah will send on them diseases'. Scroll down for video Malcolm Turnbull condemned the views of an anti-gay preacher Sheik Shady Al-Suleiman (pictured) who dined at the Kirribilli Housefor an end of Ramadan feast and said gays should be be punished by Allah with AIDS Sheik Shady Al-Suleiman attended the Iftar dinner at Kirribilli House on Thursday night, which Mr Turnbull (pictured with The Project host Waleed Aly and wife Susan Carland) said was a chance for people to unite 'I have previously noted passages in the holy Quran which do not support homosexuality,' he said on Friday morning, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. 'However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encouragement that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way.' Mr Turnbull emphasised the importance of tolerance telling the dinner acts of terror like Sunday's massacre in Orlando are perpetrated to divide along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality - but that kind of hatred and division must not prevail. Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said mistakes were made on the invitations, but the prime minister was quick to condemn the views as soon as he was aware the preacher was attending. 'He acted instantaneously to ensure that there was no suggestion that we endorsed those views,' Mr Pyne told the Nine Network. Senior Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said it was a stuff-up that shouldn't be blamed on Mr Turnbull. The sheikh denied he held radical anti-gay views in a statement on Friday after a video posted in April 2013 recorded him saying if homosexuality was out in the open 'amongst a tribe... Allah will send on them diseases' Malcolm Turnbull (right with Waleed Aly and his wife, Susan Carland) emphasised the importance of tolerance telling the dinner acts of terror like Sunday's massacre in Orlando are perpetrated to divide people 'I do think it's a good thing that the prime minister had an iftar dinner and I don't believe you can hold the prime minister permanently responsible for everyone who is invited.' In the video posted in 2013, the sheikh is recorded saying 'Allah will send on them diseases they have never experienced before.' 'What's the most common diseases these days, HIV, AIDS, that's so common, and there's no cure to it. 'When did it exist? Just decades ago. And more diseases are coming... homosexuality is spreading all these diseases. 'Let's not deny the fact, don't call it the name of freedom or that, don't talk about that this is the freedom of action... these are evil actions that bring upon evil outcomes to our society. The Prime Minister (right) hosted the Ramadan feast at Kirribilli House on Thursday night, with a guest list that included recent Gold Logie winner Waleed Aly (left) and his wife Susan Carland 'The prophet Allah, 14 centuries ago, spoke about whenever [homosexuality] is spread in a society diseases will be set upon them.' In other videos posted online, Sheikh Al-Suleiman said women should not look at men and they would be 'hung by the breasts in hell'. It comes after Mr Turnbull became the first Australian prime minister to host an Iftar, breaking bread with faith leaders. The Prime Minister hosted the feast, with a guest list that included recent Gold Logie winner Waleed Aly and his wife, Susan Carland. Others invited to dinner include AFL player Bachar Houli and author and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied (right) Mr Turnbull was photographed sharing a joke over dinner with Aly and Carland, while at other times they appeared deep in conversation. Others invited to dinner were AFL player Bachar Houli, and author and mechanical engineer Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Mr Turnbull described Ramadan - the period in which Muslims fast from food and water between dawn and sunset - as a special time of forgiveness, reflection and spiritual renewal. He also recognised the other faith leaders present to share in the spirit of Ramadan. 'By breaking bread across religions and by bringing diverse people together, we are embodying Islam's emphasis on human diversity,' he said reciting a Koranic verse. Singling out young Muslims, Mr Turnbull acknowledged the important contribution Muslims had made to Australian society. 'By breaking bread across religions and by bringing diverse people together, we are embodying Islam's emphasis on human diversity,' Mr Turnbull said reciting a Koranic verse He sought to assure them extremists would not win in their aim to divide Australia. 'Acts of terror like Sunday's massacre in Orlando are perpetrated to divide us along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality - but that kind of hatred and division must not prevail,' Mr Turnbull said. 'We must stand together like we do tonight as one Australian family united against terrorism, racism, discrimination and violence.' Aly also quizzed the Prime Minister on whether highs-speed internet via the NBN was available Kirribilli House, before Mr Turnbull replied saying he knew The Project host was 'keen' on the internet upgrade. 'It is very well connected to broadband,' Mr Turnbull said during the light-hearted interview. 'Can I say, I know you are very keen on the NBN, but let me tell you something. Australian Rules player Bachar Houli also attended the dinner in Sydney, speaking to the audience Singling out young Muslims, Mr Turnbull acknowledged the important contribution Muslims have made to Australian society 'Within a week or so, a quarter of all Australian premises, that's households and business premises will have the NBN available.' The Prime Minister later declared his favourite dishes of the Iftar at Kirribilli House was tabouli and fattoush - which is a Lebanese fried bread salad. He confirmed he did notfast in preparation for the dinner. 'I just showed up here for the meal,' Mr Turnbull told Aly on Network Ten's The Project from the dinner. Earlier, Mr Turnbull began the day with a tour of Qantas' Innovation Day with Treasurer Scott Morrison, seeing first hand the airline's connections to Australian business. 'I just showed up here for the meal,' Mr Turnbull told Aly on Network Ten's The Project from the dinner Waleed Aly and Susan Carland (pictured at the Logie Award in May 2016) attended the dinner in Sydney on Thursday Family butter company Pepe Saya tried to get him to sample some of their creamy spread. He declined but was impressed by their product and story. Owner Pierre Issa said it was an honour to meet him. 'We didn't get to butter him up, but we tried,' he joked. Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for being here tonight on this very solemn and somber occasion. I begin with an admission and an apology. First, I recognize fully that I am a balding, youngish, middle-aged straight, white, male, Republican, politician... with all of the expectations and privileges that come with those labels. I am probably not who you expected to hear from today. I'm here because, yesterday morning, 49 Americans were brutally murdered. And it made me sad. And it made me angry. And it made me confused. I'm here because those 49 people were gay. I'm here because it shouldn't matter. But I'm here because it does. I am not here to tell you that I know exactly what you are going through. I am not here to tell you that I feel your pain. I don't pretend to know the depths of what you are feeling right now. But I do know what it feels like to be scared. And I do know what it feels like to be sad. And I do know what it feels like to be rejected. And, more importantly, I know what it feels like to be loved. I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn't kind to them. I didn't know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect the love that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize. Over the intervening years, my heart has changed. It has changed because of you. It has changed because I have gotten to know many of you. You have been patient with me. You helped me learn the right letters of the alphabet in the right order even though you keep adding new ones. You have been kind to me. Jim Dabakis even told me I dressed nice once, even though I know he was lying. You have treated me with the kindness, dignity, and respect the love that I very often did NOT deserve. And it has made me love you. But now we are here. We are here because 49 beautiful, amazing people are gone. These are not just statistics. These were individuals. These are human beings. They each have a story. They each had dreams, goals, talents, friends, family. They are you and they are me. And one night they went out to relax, to laugh, to connect, to forget, to remember. And in a few minutes of chaos and terror, they were gone. I believe that we can all agree we have come a long way as a society when it comes to our acceptance and understanding of the LGBTQ community (did I get that right?). However, there has been something about this tragedy that has very much troubled me. I believe that there is a question, two questions actually, that each of us needs to ask ourselves in our heart of hearts. And I am speaking now to the straight community. How did you feel when you heard that 49 people had been gunned down by a self-proclaimed terrorist? That's the easy question. Here is the hard one: Did that feeling change when you found out the shooting was at a gay bar at 2 a.m. in the morning? If that feeling changed, then we are doing something wrong. So now we find ourselves at a crossroads. A crossroads of hate and terror. How do we respond? How do you respond? Do we lash out with anger, hate and mistrust. Or do we, as Lincoln begged, appeal to the 'better angels of our nature?' Usually when tragedy occurs, we see our nation come together. I was saddened, yesterday to see far too many retreating to their over-worn policy corners and demagoguery. Let me be clear, there are no simple policy answers to this tragedy. Beware of anyone who tells you that they have the easy solution. It doesn't exist. And I can assure you this that calling people idiots, communists, fascists or bigots on Facebook is not going to change any hearts or minds. Today we need fewer Republicans and fewer Democrats. Today we need more Americans. But just because an easy solution doesn't exist, doesn't mean we shouldn't try. The greatest generations in the history of the world were never innately great. They became great because of how they responded in the face of evil. Their humanity is measured by their response to hate and terror. I truly believe that this is the defining issue of our generation. Can we be brave? Can we be strong? Can we be kind and, perhaps, even happy, in the face of atrocious acts of hate and terrorism? Do we find a way to unite? Or do these atrocities further corrode and divide our torn nation? Can we, the citizens of the great state of Utah, lead the nation with love in the face of adversity? Can WE become a greatest generation? I promise we can. But I also promise it will never happen if we leave it to the politicians. Ultimately, there is only one way for us to come together. It must happen at a personal level. We must learn to truly love one another. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: 'You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another.' Jesus said, 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.' Now, you know a little something about hate. And you know a little something about persecution. But you also know something about loving, blessing and doing good. What our country needs more than ever is less politics and more kindness. If nothing else, as we can see here tonight, this tragedy has the potential to bring us closer than ever before. And so may we leave today, with a resolve to be a little kinder. May we try to listen more and talk less. May we forgive someone that has wronged us. And perhaps, most importantly, try to love someone that is different than us. For my straight friends, might I suggest starting with someone who is gay. I leave you with the words of Lyndon B. Johnson. They were spoken at another very sad time in our history, the death of President John F. Kennedy. He said this: 'Our enemies have always made the same mistake. In my lifetime in depression and in war they have awaited our defeat. Each time, from the secret places of the American heart, came forth the faith they could not see or that they could not even imagine. It brought us victory. And it will again. For this is what America is all about.' On behalf of the 3 million people of the state of Utah, We Are Orlando. We love you. And I love you. The country is split down the middle on Donald Trump's proposal to ban non-American Muslims from entering the United States, a new survey has found. An NBC News/Surveymonkey poll shows that 50 percent of adults strongly or somewhat support the presumptive Republican nominee's policy proposal, while 46 percent came down against it. In the aftermath of the Orlando terror attack, which left 49 people dead, a majority of Americans want stricter gun laws including an assault weapons ban that Trump opposes. Scroll down for video The country is divided on Donald Trump's plan to ban non-American Muslims from entering the United States a new NBC poll shows Donald Trump doubled down on the Muslim ban this week, in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, in which the shooter - an American born Muslim - had pledged allegiance to ISIS Sixty percent of survey respondents said they supported stronger gun laws, while 38 percent oppose such a move. An assault weapons ban gets favorable reviews from 61 percent of adults, while, again, 38 percent oppose this policy change. Additionally, 42 percent of Americans who were asked if they supported stronger gun laws said they supported the idea 'strongly.' An overwhelming number of Americans have been paying attention to the news this week out of Orlando, Florida, in which 29-year-old Omar Mateen sprayed bullets and held people hostage at the gay nightclub Pulse. Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed say they are following the news closely. Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS on a call with 911, leading Trump to criticize President Obama and his Democratic rival for not doing more to root out 'radical Islamic terrorism.' The Democrats responded with calls for more gun control measures passed in the United States. Another poll, which came out Wednesday, showed more people against Trump's plan to ban Muslims, but gave him the lowest marks compared to Obama and Clinton for how he handled the situation. Donald Trump's response to the Orlando shooting - and his Muslim ban - took a hit this week, according to a CBS News poll, which came out yesterda Hillary Clinton (left) and President Barack Obama (right) both had higher marks than Donald Trump in their handling of the tragedy in Orlando, Florida Just 25 percent of adults surveyed by CBS said they approved of The Donald's response, while 51 percent disapproved. Another 24 percent had no opinion. Additionally, 62 percent of those surveyed said that the U.S. should not temporarily ban Muslims from the United States, a policy that Trump first floated in December in the aftermath of the San Bernardino terror attack. Another 31 percent stood behind Trump's ban, which Obama intensely criticized earlier this week when giving remarks at the Treasury Department. The President's behavior after Orlando was greeted with the most enthusiasm. On Sunday, Obama gave a statement calling the attack, which killed 49 people, 'an act of terror and an act of hate.' He also pushed better gun control. 'And to actively do nothing is a decision as well,' he said. When respondents were asked if they approved of his response 44 percent said that they did, while 34 percent didn't. Another 22 percent said they didn't know. In describing the attack a majority of Americans, 57 percent, said they believed that the attack was both a hate crime and a terrorist attack, as the shooter, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to ISIS while he was inside Pulse, though also specifically targeted a gay club. President Obama got the highest marks for his handling of the Orlando shooting, followed by Hillary Clinton, how had a net positive. Donald Trump came in last of the three Another 25 percent of respondents said the attack was mostly a hate crime, while another 14 percent considered it terrorism. When party lines are drawn, Democrats were more likely to believe it was a hate crime, while more Republicans thought it was terrorism. Looking at the GOP, 65 percent said the Orlando massacre was both a hate crime and terrorism, 10 percent thought it was just a hate crime and 22 percent thought it was just terrorism. For Democrats, 53 percent thought the mass shooting was both a hate crime and terrorism, while 37 percent said mostly a hate crime and another 8 percent said mostly terrorism. The survey was taken by telephone on Monday and Tuesday in the direct aftermath of the horrific event. On Sunday, Trump responded by tweeting quite a bit, including a tweet that said he 'appreciate[d] the congrats' for being right about radical Islamic terrorism. 'I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!' he added. Just 50 percent of members of his own party approved of his response, while independents were more likely to approve of Clinton's response than The Donald's. Clinton had a small net positive, within the poll's 4 point margin of error, when people were surveyed about her post-Orlando behavior. For Clinton, 36 percent of respondents approved, while 34 percent disapproved of her actions, with another 30 percent saying they didn't know. On Sunday, Clinton tweeted in both English and Spanish, she reached out to the LGBT community. She continued campaigning on Monday and Tuesday but talked about national security instead of the economy like planned. Oscar-winning actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, has been ordered by a judge to give testimony in a $15 million defamation lawsuit brought on by a former New York executive over his 2013 blockbuster, The Wolf of Wall Street. Andrew Greene, who was an executive at Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage that defrauded many shareholders, claims that his alleged depiction in Martin Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street damaged his reputation, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Judge Steven Locke ruled that DiCaprio's deposition would take place 'at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties'. Oscar-winning actor, Leonardo DiCaprio (left), has been ordered by a judge to give testimony in a defamation lawsuit brought on by former New York executive, Andrew Greene (right) who claims that his alleged depiction in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street damaged his reputation DiCaprio, who earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role as the fast-living businessman Jordan Belfort in the movie, is set to be grilled by Greene's lawyers Greene, who was a Stratton Oakmont executive, claims that the 2013 film changed his nickname from 'Wigwam' to 'Rugrat' and spread untruths about him. PJ Byrne is pictured (left) portraying 'Rugrat' in the movie DiCaprio, who earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role as the fast-living businessman Jordan Belfort in the movie, is set to be grilled by Greene's lawyers, according to the New York Daily News. Greene, who claims the movie portrayed him as a prostitute-loving degenerate named Nicky 'Rugrat' Koskoff, is suing producers including Paramount Pictures, DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions and others over the character played by actor PJ Byrne, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He alleged that the film spread untruths about hims and changed his nickname from 'Wigwam' to 'Rugrat'. The suit claims that the toupee-wearing character, Rugrat, closely resembles Greene and portrayed him as a 'criminal' and a 'degenerate'. US magistrate Judge Steven Locke ruled that DiCaprio 'will be produced for his deposition 'at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties' The suit claims that the toupee-wearing character, Rugrat (pictured), closely resembles Greene and portrayed him as a 'criminal' and a 'degenerate' Last year, lawyers for Paramount Pictures argued that the Koskoff character was a fictional composite of many different people in Belfort's memoir. 'Some or all of the allegedly defamatory statements complained of by plaintiff (Greene) are true or substantially true, and thus cannot give rise to any claim against any defendant,' said Paramount in their court papers, obtained by the Daily News. They further claimed the film is protected by the First Amendment and the makers did not act with any malice, as required in a defamation case. Defendants are currently arguing that Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter had already given testimony, and that plaintiffs didn't give any reason why they needed to question DiCaprio, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Greene's lawyers indicated that they had tried to depose DiCaprio but couldn't because he was 'too busy', according to PageSix. They said DiCaprio, who co-produced the movie, was a 'driving force' behind getting the flick made and is 'knowledgeable' of particular issues in the case, according to a court filing. The judge's decision comes just days after disgraced money manager, Dana Giacchetto (pictured), who worked with A-list celebrities, like DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, was found dead inside his Upper West Side apartment foaming at the mouth following a weekend of heavy partying Giacchetto (right) reportedly gave DiCaprio (left) inspiration for his role of disgraced stockbroker Jordan Belfort in the 2013 film 'The Wolf Of Wall Street' (left) The judge's decision comes just days after disgraced money manager, Dana Giacchetto, who worked with A-list celebrities, like DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, was found dead inside his Upper West Side apartment foaming at the mouth following a weekend of heavy partying. Giacchetto, 53, who plead guilty to securities fraud in 2001, was found dead by his roommate on Sunday morning, the New York Daily News reported. The cause of death for the father-of-two has not been confirmed. Giacchetto reportedly gave DiCaprio inspiration for his role of disgraced stockbroker Belfort in The Wolf Of Wall Street. In 2000, Giacchetto was busted for stealing nearly $20 million from actors like Ben Stiller, Matt Damon and DiCaprio. Ministers are plotting a vote on Trident before the summer recess to try and heal splits in the Tory party after the EU referendum. Government whips are keen for a vote on Britains nuclear deterrent during the week before the House of Commons breaks up for the summer, on 21 July. The vote would also shift attention away from Tory acrimony to disunity in the Labour party over the renewal of Trident. The government is planning to vote on the replacement for Trident, pictured an artist's impression, before the summer parliamentary recess to reunite the Tory party which is badly split over the Brexit referendum The Labour Party is badly divided over the need to replace Trident, pictured, with a new class of submarine Conservative MPs have been split over the EU referendum, with many backbenchers dismayed at the audacity of David Cameron and George Osborne in using the machinery of Whitehall to make the case for Remain. Now whips hope that a vote on the nuclear deterrent will rally Tory MPs behind the government. One senior source said: They know full well that Trident is more a dividing issue for Labour than it is for the Conservatives. This will put the focus back onto splits between Jeremy Corbyn and his backbenchers. The Labour leader is vehemently opposed to the renewal of Britains nuclear deterrent. But unions and many Labour MPs support it because of the jobs it creates and the safety and diplomatic clout it offers Britain. Emily Thornberry, the shadow defence secretary, has been asked by Mr Corbyn to lead a review of the partys policy which is currently in favour of Trident. Miss Thornberry opposes the renewal of Trident and is due to report back later this month. Mr Corbyn will be forced to give his MPs a free vote to head off a massive rebellion against his leadership. Downing Street sources said no final decisions had been taken on the timing of the Trident vote. A vote on Trident would offer an opportunity to exploit Labour divisions and unify the Tory party post-Brexit. Sir Lynton Crosby, the Torys election mastermind, told a Westminster gathering this week that party unity was even more important than the outcome of the referendum. Whatever the outcome of next week's ballot, nothing is more important than the Conservative party.' The party had to 'unite to govern responsibly' he told the Policy Exchange think tank. He said it was a 'great party' full of members with 'different views' but it was 'built on the right values' and acted as a 'bulwark against the damage that Jeremy Corbyn and Labour would render' on the country. 'Whatever the result next Thursday, the party must go forward in that united spirit. 'It is its duty to do so in the interests of Great Britain'. An inquest has heard the women displayed 'empathy' towards Man Monis Selina Win Pe and Marcia Mikhael formed an 'alliance' with the gunman Sydney siege hostages Selina Win Pe and Marcia Mikhael had formed a 'gratuitous alliance' with gunman Man Haron Monis, and were beginning to exhibit signs of Stockholm syndrome, an inquest has heard. Both survivors were in the Lindt Cafe as police stormed the building 17 hours after the ordeal began, with Ms Mikhael eventually carried out after being shot in both legs. But the forensic psychiatrist who advised police negotiators during the December 2014 siege has told the inquest that the women begun to demonstrate signs of Stockholm syndrome during the stand-off. Scroll down for video A psychiatrist has accused Sydney siege survivor Marcia Mikhael of forming a 'gratuitous alliance' with gunman Man Haron Monis The psychaitrist said hostage Selina Win Pe (pictured), like Ms Mikhael, exhibited signs of Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is commonly defined as when a victim or hostage develops feelings of trust or affection towards a captor. Both women had displayed 'positive feelings' and 'empathy' towards Monis and were 'very denigrating of the police position', the psychiatrist told the inquest on Thursday. 'Their position was one of excessive and gratuitous alliance with the hostage taker,' he said. He said that Ms Win Pe and Ms Mikhael had begun to play a more prominent role as conduits between negotiators and Monis, but unlike other hostages, they were 'far more supportive'. The inquest has already heard that when Ms Mikhael called radio station 2GB during the night of the siege, and was told she would be put through to the police, she responded by saying 'the police is doing nothing. They've lied to the media saying they've been negotiating with [Monis] for the whole day'. Ms Mikhael (centre) is embraced last year during a ceremony to commemorate the siege's first anniversary Hostage Selina Win Pe (right) attends a 2014 memorial for Katrina Dawson, a hostage killed by Man Monis 'They have not negotiated, they've done nothing. They have left us here to die. That's what the police is doing,' she said at the time. When questioned later at the inquest, Ms Mikhael explained she was exhausted, had given up hope and 'wanted to go home. I had three kids'. Still, the psychiatrist on Thursday insisted the women had become 'increasingly dramatic' in calls to authorities and media as the day wore on, even though a listening device inside the cafe suggested things inside the stronghold were not as drastic as they portrayed. 'I don't know whether they were posturing or they weren't but they certainly weren't helping,' he said. Selina Win Pe displayed 'positive feelings' and 'empathy' towards Monis, according to a psychiatrist Sen. Bernie Sanders much anticipated livestream address to his supporters tonight was not a concession to Hillary Clinton. Instead he reminded them that he's not always seen eye to eye with the Democrats' presumptive nominee and said he would start working to defeat Donald Trump soon in a new role that he didn't define. 'It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues,' Sanders told his tribe. Scroll down for video Sen. Bernie Sanders gave a livestream address tonight that echoed many of the stump speeches he's given throughout his presidential campaign Sen. Bernie Sanders met with Hillary Clinton Tuesday night as the D.C. primary results were being announced. Clinton won big - but Sanders still won't drop out of the Democratic race Sen. Bernie Sanders enters the Capital Hilton with his wife Jane to meet with the presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton 'It is also true that our views are quite close on others,' he continued. Sanders repeated some goals he had spelled out earlier in the week: That he would take his 1,900 delegates to the convention in Philadelphia where the Democrats would pass 'the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda.' 'I also look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors,' Sanders said. 'A party that has the courage to take on Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry and the other powerful special interests that dominate our political and economic life,' he added. Throughout the Democratic primary Sanders had suggested that Clinton was too cozy with Wall Street bankers and demanded she release the transcripts of her paid speeches delivered before certain groups. For just a few sentences tonight, Sanders focused on Trump. 'The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,' he said. 'And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time,' he added. 'But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal,' he stated, pivoting back to the ideas he planned to continue to push. Hillary Clinton, who locked up the Democratic nomination 10 days ago, is seen exiting her two hour long meeting with Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night It's been a strange 10 days in Democratic politics with the Associated Press and other networks declaring on Monday, June 6, that Clinton had enough delegate support to win the nomination at her party's summer convention. The next day marked the last big primary election day, with only Washington, D.C. votes left outstanding. Clinton creamed Sanders in California, where he had staked his fortunes, though the race has tightened since then, as the remaining votes are being counted. Either way, Clinton would still have earned a majority of pledged delegates and makes it to the magic number of 2,383 with her strong superdelegate support. Sanders didn't concede after California, vowing to take the fight to D.C. He didn't concede when he headed to Burlington, Vermont, last Wednesday. Sometimes a stop at home signifies a candidate is about to drop out. He also didn't concede in Washington, D.C. a week ago, after meeting with President Obama. Directly after the meeting, the Clinton campaign unveiled the president's pre-taped video endorsement of their girl. Sanders didn't concede Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., when Clinton bested him in the capital city's Democratic primary by more than 50 points. That night the two of them met for two hours at the Capital Hilton to hash out what would be next. On Tuesday, Sanders didn't speak to reporters after the meeting, and tonight he didn't reveal much about his exit strategy either. Instead he delivered a standard Sanders stump speech, repeating over and over what his campaign 'is about,' a favorite rhetorical device of the Vermont senator. He dedicated the latter portion of his speech to encouraging his supporters to run in down-ticket races, explaining how many decisions are made at the state or local level. Republicans, Sanders said, have been successfully stacking these offices with their own for years. 'I have no doubt that with the energy and enthusiasm our campaign has shown that we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved,' Sanders said. 'We need new blood in the political process and you are that new blood,' Sanders said. He also suggested that history would look back on his movement with pride. 'My hope is that when future historians look back and describe how our country moved forward into reversing the drift toward oligarchy,' Sanders said. CCTV footage has shown a pregnant woman who had an unhappy visit to a Melbourne shopping centre when a man wearing a huge purple beanie snatched her iPhone and ran off with it. The incident happened at Westfield Doncaster last weekend when the 38-year-old woman was sitting outside a toy store on her iPhone 6 at around 3pm, Nine News reports. In the video it shows the man wearing a beanie walking into shot and nervously looking around before he makes a beeline for the woman and rips the iPhone from the womans hand. The thief wore a huge beanie as he carried out the theft at the Westfield Centre in Doncaster He then runs off as the shocked woman tries to react, but she trips and falls to the floor as the man runs out of the shopping centre and into the car park. During the theft the womans husband and young child were inside the store and she had been waiting for them outside it. Other shoppers saw what happened and came to the womans aid. She was then taken to hospital for a check-up after the incident. Although shaken by her ordeal and in pain, the woman was released to go home and no harm came to her unborn child. Police have released images of a man involved in the theft and he is seen wearing a distinct beanie with a pompom on top of it. Mother-of-one Lyntell Washington, 40, has been found shot dead a week after going missing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana A married assistant principal has been arrested after a pregnant teacher he was having an affair with was found shot dead. Robert Marks, 39, was taken into custody after the body of his colleague and suspected lover, Lyntell Washington, 40, was discovered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The mother-of-one, who was once named 'Teacher of the Year' was reported missing last Thursday morning after her three-year-old daughter, Darillle, was seen walking alone near her car, which had blood inside it. Police believe Marks, who worked at Brookstown Middle Magnet Academy, may have been fearful of his wife finding out that he'd gotten Washington pregnant. According to WAFB, her body was badly decomposed and she has to be identified by her dental records. Her young daughter reportedly told investigators that 'Mr. Robbie' hurt her mother and that she was 'now sleeping'. Authorities also revealed the child was with her mother and Marks 'when she heard a 'bang'. The toddler then stated that her mom was 'in the lake' and that it was dark outside when she got hurt. Detectives said Marks then took the girl for a ride before leaving her alone in a parking lot. Marks has already been charged with aggravated kidnapping and child desertion. However prosecutors say he will likely face additional charges, including murder and feticide. Officials with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System confirmed Washington was the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year. Assistant principal Robert Marks, 39, (mugshot left) has been arrested after the body his colleague and suspected lover (right) was discovered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police say he may have been fearful of his wife founding out that he'd gotten Washington pregnant Marks is escorted to Parish Prison by Baton Rouge Police Department Detectives Joe Dargin (left) and Zac Woodring (right) after being charged with murdering Washington They also confirmed that Marks is the assistant principal at the same school and has been placed on administrative leave. Washington's child was turned over to family members. East Baton Rouge Parish School System Superintendent Warren Drake released a statement paying tribute to Washington. He said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Lyntell Washington and her unborn baby. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this time of sadness. 'We are grateful that now they may begin to find some closure. Ms. Washington was a treasured member of our team, and will be remembered for the impact she had on the many lives she touched through her work in our district. 'We will continue to offer support to Ms. Washingtons coworkers and students during this difficult time.' Police cars line up along a stream where Washington's body is believed to have been found. Her daughter told officers she was 'in the lake' after 'Mr Robbie' had hurt her Prince William, pictured yesterday addressing the Founders Forum in Watford called on social media companies to stand up to cyber bullies Prince William has called on firms including Apple to take a stand against abusive behaviour online, saying: Bullying is bullying, wherever it happens. Speaking at a conference for digital entrepreneurs, he praised the industrys efforts to tackle online abuse and trolling but said more could be done. While the prince has set up an industry-led task force to support young people and their families against online abuse, he pointed out that Apple has not yet joined his team although he said he was hopeful that they would at some point. He explained: The particular issue that I ask for your help to tackle is bullying. From a young age, I have detested bullying in all its forms. As Catherine and I started our family, I was alarmed about the increasing reports of online bullying making headlines around the world. From the girls developing eating disorders after being subjected to a campaign of abuse on social media, to the boys who took their own lives following constant targeting as a parent myself, I was appalled. He added: What we were seeing was that social media and messaging transformed bullying from something that was not only the torment of the classroom and playground, but that followed you home as well to the one safe haven that children should have. And the prince went on to point out: To school-age children today, there is no difference between their online and offline lives. Bullying is bullying wherever it happens. Senior executives from Google, Facebook,Twitter, Snapchat and telecommunication firms, are some of the founding members of the new body that will also support young people and their families affected by the online problem. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, is also a member and will work with experts from the Anti-Bullying Alliance, NSPCC, Internet Matters, Diana Award and UK Council for Child Internet Safety. William attended the inaugural meeting of the taskforce last month at Kensington Palace, a gathering chaired by Brent Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com. Mr Hoberman said: 'This Taskforce will bring together the commitment, talent and expertise of the technology industry to tackle cyberbullying and the terrible effect it has on children. 'The future of our children is inextricably linked with the Internet. It is our responsibility to ensure that they grow up confident and happy online so that they can make the most of the extraordinary potential it offers.' Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web will work with experts to battle cyber bullying Other members of the taskforce include BT, EE, Sky, BBC, Vodafone, Virgin Media and TalkTalk. The taskforce aims to take existing models of good practice for reporting abusive content on individual networks and develop a set of commitments for the industry to sign up to, to collectively tackle the issue. It will consider the development of a single resource of up-to-date practical support and information for young people affected by cyberbullying, with advice on how to get help. The body will also work to help parents and adults to better understand cyberbullying, and give them the confidence to find appropriate help and resources to support children affected by the issue. A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said: 'The Duke knows that social media and other technologies are creating significant positive opportunities for millions of young people. 'But as a parent, he knows that many people worry about how to protect their children from the new avenues for bullying that technology is creating.' Fines dished out to parents for taking their children on holiday during term time have increased by more than 50 per cent amid a crackdown by the Government. New figures show more than 74,000 fines worth a total of 4.5million were imposed on parents for unauthorised holidays over the past school year. This was a 55 per cent increase on the 47,157 fines imposed in 2013 to 2014, when around 2.8million in penalties was taken from families. Scroll down for video Isle of Wight father Jon Platt (pictured) won a High Court case overturning his fine for taking his daughter to Florida during term time The rise suggests schools and councils have become stricter in handing out fines since the ban on term-time holidays was introduced in 2013. Previously, head teachers were given discretion to grant permission for short periods of absence allowing families to book holidays in cheaper, off-peak times. But Michael Gove, the then Education Secretary, changed official guidelines so that schools can now only give their blessing in 'exceptional circumstances' such as a funeral. But many parents flout the rules and factor in the fines of 60 per child into holiday budgets. The figures emerged in response to Freedom of Information requests sent to all 151 local education authorities last month, with 70 per cent replying. The research revealed most councils are strict about imposing fines, with the exceptions of North Tyneside Council, Milton Keynes Council, Warrington Borough Council and London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, which are more lenient. It comes after Isle of Wight father Jon Platt won a High Court case overturning his fine for taking his daughter to Florida during term time. He had refused to pay the fine, arguing the law only required attendance 'regularly' rather than 'every day'. Isle of Wight Council has vowed to appeal against the decision, and ministers told head teachers to ignore it. The Government has said it will change the law to close the loophole. New figures show more than 74,000 fines worth a total of 4.5million were imposed on parents for taking their children on unauthorised holidays over the past school year (file photo) However, a survey of 562 parents found two-thirds are confused about whether they will be fined for term-time holiday following the ruling. And around 21 per cent said they plan to take a term-time holiday in the next school year despite the Government's warning. Parents can save hundreds on a break outside designated school holidays, when travel companies raise prices. Some schools and councils are trying to help parents get around the rules by changing the dates of official holidays so parents can take advantage of off-peak prices. Dr Anthony Madu who has been ordered to pay back the thousands he eanred by working A disgraced doctor who moonlighted while on sick pay must pay back 75,000 to the NHS or face two years in jail. Gynaecologist Dr Anthony Madu, 45, secretly carried out well-paid locum work while on paid sick leave from another hospital. Nigerian-born Madu was convicted of six charges of fraud and given a two-year suspended sentence in 2014. He has now been told at a Proceeds of Crime hearing that he must repay 75,620.73 within six months or go to prison. Madu was given an obstetrics and gynaecology registrar post at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, in August 2009. But he was suspended and put on extended leave just two months later over allegations about his conduct towards other staff and claims he had falsified his training record. From January 2010, he submitted sick notes on three occasions, saying he could not work because of stress. But he then went on to earn huge sums as a locum at four hospitals in Manchester, Yorkshire and the Midlands. Prosecutor Christian Jowett told Cardiff Crown Court that Madu, now living in Woolwich, London, transferred 95,000 to a bank account in Nigeria. Mr Jowett said: He was legally obliged to tell his employers about his work but he did not. 'He was also legally obliged to tell two locum agencies he was on extended leave and had been granted sickness leave. But he continued to work and receive payment. The frauds were committed after Dr Madu was given the specialist registrar obstetrics gynaecology post at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff (pictured) in 2009 Judge David Wynn Morgan said Madu will never be able to practise medicine in the UK again. After the hearing, Cheryl Hill, a counter-fraud specialist for the NHS, said: This is a very satisfactory outcome. MPs were threatening to widen their inquiry into the collapse of BHS and Sir Philip Greens sale of the retailer last night amid mounting fears over a 190million black hole in the pensions scheme of his retail company Arcadia. His wife, Tina, now faces calls for her to give evidence to the inquiry after Sir Philip told MPs he could not hand over company documents held offshore because they are controlled by her. The call follows an admission by the retail tycoon that he failed to monitor the growing deficit in BHS pensions for more than a decade. Scroll down for video MPs were threatening to widen their inquiry into the collapse of BHS and Sir Philips sale of the retailer last night amid mounting fears over a 190million black hole in the pensions scheme of his retail company Arcadia Richard Fuller, a Tory member of the business, innovation and skills committee, said Sir Philips responses demonstrate a lack of understanding and knowledge of the burgeoning deficit of BHS. Sir Philip admitted he barely met the pension trustees for the BHS scheme between 2000 when he bought BHS and 2012 when a plan was finally formulated to plug the deficit. Arcadia, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and other high street names, is owned via Taveta Investments which is controlled by Lady Green. Lady Tina Green (pictured) now faces calls for her to give evidence to the inquiry after Sir Philip told MPs he could not hand over company documents held offshore because they are controlled by her Sir Philips own 3.2billion fortune is likewise controlled by his wife who lives in the tax haven of Monaco. Latest accounts show Arcadias pensions scheme has a 189.6million deficit. Mr Fuller is writing to Frank Field, chairman of the work and pensions committee and Iain Wright chairman of the business committee urging them to broaden their investigation to cover Arcadias pensions. He said Lady Green should be summoned: All these things have been done for her benefit. Its important we hear what Lady Green feels about this. A Labour MP has been accused of trying to politicise the tragic murder of his colleague Jo Cox after appearing on Newsnight just hours after her death to criticise the 'dangerous material' published by the Leave campaign. Neil Coyle, Labour MP for Bermondsey and Southwark, said Leave campaigners were putting out 'very dangerous' material which 'risks inspiring the hard-right' as he commented on Mrs Cox's death. He also appeared to suggest the attacker who ambushed the 41-year-old outside a West Yorkshire library may have been politically motivated and criticised UKIP's new poster depicting migrants. Scroll down for video Neil Coyle, 37, (pictured) Labour MP for Bermondsey and Southwark, said Leave campaigners were putting out 'dangerous' material which 'risks inspiring the hard-right' as he spoke about Jo Cox's death on Newsnight Many social media users were quick to criticise the 37-year-old, accusing him of politicising Mrs Cox's death Mrs Cox, a married mother-of-two, was shot three times - once in the head - and stabbed repeatedly by an attacker who ambushed her as she arrived for a constituency surgery yesterday afternoon. The MP, who was elected to cover the Batley and Spen area of West Yorkshire last year, died from catastrophic injuries a short time after the incident which sent shockwaves around Westminster. It has been claimed her attacker shouted 'Britain First' as he carried out the horrific killing. A 52-year-old man, named as 'loner' Tommy Mair, has been arrested in connection and is in custody. There is unconfirmed evidence Mair, who is said to have mental health problems, supported far-Right causes and detectives are questioning whether the killing was motivated by his political beliefs. Appearing on Newsnight last night following her death, Mr Coyle - a friend and colleague of Ms Cox - said the Leave campaign should be 'careful' about the material it publishes ahead of next week's EU referendum. He also made reference to a poster published by UKIP yesterday, which showed thousands of male refugees flooding into Europe. Just hours after being released, it was branded 'fundamentally racist'. It came as both sides of the EU battle agreed to stop campaigning for a day in honour of Mrs Cox. He said: 'I think that the kind of nonsense that they inspire online from anonymous accounts and actually the core content of the poster they launched today, look at what they are putting out and I just think that they are a very dangerous, and they risk inspiring extremist elements on the hard right in this country.' Several people took to Twitter to accuse Mr Coyle of trying to make 'political capital' out of Mrs Cox's death However, many were quick to criticise the 37-year-old, accusing him of politicising Mrs Cox's death. Topsaroola wrote: 'How disgusting to even try and politicise this dreadful news into some stay in the EU cr*p. Give it a bl***y rest. RIP Jo' Paul Butler added: 'As soon as I think MP's can't go any lower they surprise me again. Political gain on the back of a colleague's death.' Jo Cox, 41, (pictured) was shot and repeatedly stabbed as she made her way to a constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds, yesterday afternoon Kev O'Connell said: 'This Neil Coyle is a disgusting cheap nasty spin merchant just hours after her murder.' Another user, writing under the Twitter handle Daiitoku, said: 'Neil Coyle needs to give his head a wobble. Making political capital out of this is disgusting.' Eugene Hollister wrote: '@BBCNewsnight How could you're (sic) programme have this disgusting MP on trying to politicise this appalling event?!' And Christopher Christie said: 'A tragic event that transcends politics. MPs shamelessly exploiting this outrage for political expediency should be deselected.' User Baz also appeared to criticise the BBC for airing the programme. '@BBCNewsnight new low for Newsnight. Using a terrible event for their own ends #brexit,' he tweeted. Meanwhile Phil Kitch wrote: 'Shameful @coyleneil. Very inappropriate to exploit death of an MP to make political capital. Disgusting.' Ana wrote: 'Repulsive that today was used to try and silence criticism. The UK needs no moral lectures from you #VoteLeave' And Jo Irving added: 'Please try not to make a political point about this cruel & senseless act. Always be 'unstable' citizens of whatever hue.' However, others praised his Newsnight appearance, saying he made a 'moving tribute' to his friend. Lit Chick wrote: 'We are all in shock and tears tonight. Thank you @coyleneil for keeping Southwark lovely. #ThankYourMP' Meanwhile, Emma Burnell described his interview as 'emotional and raw', and Tony Grew said it was 'heartbreaking'. Mr Coyle's reference to UKIP's new 'Breaking Point' Brexit poster came after it received widespread criticism for being ''fundamentally racist'. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Nigel Farage's latest poster was 'disgusting' while Tory Treasury minister Harriet Baldwin hit out at the UKIP leader for 'vile xenophobia'. MPs from all main Westminster parties hit out at the ad minutes after it was unveiled in Westminster. Mr Coyle also appeared to suggest the attacker who ambushed 41-year-old Jo Cox outside a West Yorkshire library may have been politically motivated and criticised UKIP's new poster depicting migrants (pictured) Ukip leader Nigel Farage unveiled the controversial poster in Westminster this morning but was immediately condemned by MPs from all main Westminster parties Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter that Nigel Farage's latest poster is 'disgusting' The poster uses a picture of Syrian refugees being escorted along the Slovenian border during the migrant crisis last October and tells voters the EU is at 'breaking point, adding: 'The EU has failed us all. We must break free of the EU and take control of our borders.' Defending his poster amid attacks from all sides of the political spectrum, Mr Farage claimed 'all' the people pictured in the poster will have EU passports within years. The poster was unveiled just hours before Mrs Cox was gunned down outside her constituency surgery. The rising Labour star and dedicated MP died from the catastrophic injuries she sustained after being punched and kicked to the ground and later stabbed with a hunting knife and shot by her attacker. Jo Cox (pictured) was among the rising stars in Parliament before she was shot dead in the street yesterday Police officers are maintaining a 'significant and large crime scene' in the Birstall area of Leeds where Mrs Cox was killed yesterday. Uniformed officers are pictured at the scene among multiple police cordons Two hours after her death, her husband Brendan with whom she has two young children, aged three and five - tweeted a photograph of her and urged people to 'fight against the hatred that killed her.' In a moving statement, he said: 'Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.' Fathers' Day on Sunday will rightly celebrate the vital role fathers play as the bedrocks of society. And for people whose parents are no longer with them it can be a doleful time of reflection and a reminder of loss. Yet history shows, for all its sadness, the loss of a father in early life need not be an obstacle to outstanding success for the child, indeed in very many cases it has even proved a spur to greatness. Looking at the list of 53 British prime ministers individuals who, by definition, we consider high achievers the statistics are astonishing. Almost half lost their fathers before reaching the age of 21. President Barack Obama has spoken and written movingly about his father's death when he was only 21 'Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong,' wrote Winston Churchill, whose father died at 47, when Winston was 20. He continued: 'And a boy deprived of his father's care often develops, if he escapes the perils of youth, an independence and vigour of thought which may restore in after life the heavy loss of early days.' Although it might have been a rare brain disease that had killed Lord Randolph Churchill, the family believed the doctors' initial diagnosis of syphilis. And in Winston's case, the lack of a father meant that he needed to earn an income early, which propelled him into journalism, where he became the best-paid war correspondent in the world by the youthful age of 25. This, in turn, forced him to hone his natural talents as a wordsmith, ultimately resulting in the sublime speeches with which he sustained the Free World in its struggle with Nazism during World War II. Churchill's father had actually been a stultifying influence on the young Winston, constantly belittling him as he thought him intellectually undistinguished. However, Winston worshipped his father, but he recognised the shadow Randolph who had been a brilliant chancellor of the exchequer in the government of Lord Salisbury in the 1880s cast over him. 'Famous men are usually the product of an unhappy childhood,' Winston Churchill later wrote, at least partly autobiographically. 'The stern compression of circumstances, the twinges of adversity, the spur of slights and taunts in early years, are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious mother-wit without which great actions are seldom accomplished.' Napoleon Bonaparte was aged just 15 when his amiable wastrel father Charles died of cancer aged 38 With his father gone, Churchill could bloom into the statesman he became without a disapproving and occasionally condemning paternal influence. French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who was aged just 15 when his amiable wastrel father Charles died of cancer aged 38, was also thrust into the early maturity that was one of the keys to his success. He had to provide for his four brothers and three sisters, and also for his impecunious mother. Napoleon initially achieved that on his salary as an artillery officer, the position from which he embarked on a military and political career without parallel in modern European history. The paternal pressure that can hold people back from risk-taking was absent in the young Napoleon as a result, and he was powerfully conscious that unless he rose fast up the promotional ladder, his family could be left destitute. He became a general by the age of 24 and the ruler of France at 30, by which time he was finally able to pay off the extensive debts his father had left behind. In the case of British monarchs, of course, the child cannot by the very nature of the job come into their own until their father has died. Winston Churchill, whose father died at 47, when he was 20, wrote that solitary trees 'grow strong' Henry V, the future hero of the battle Agincourt, was in his 20s when he came to the throne on his father Henry IV's death in 1413. Meanwhile, Elizabeth I (who inherited the throne from her sister, Queen Mary) came from a family in which her father Henry VIII who died when she was in her teens had killed her mother. Today, such an experience would entail a lifetime in therapy, but in the 16th century it didn't preclude her from the throne, or hold her back from becoming our greatest monarch. Another great sovereign, Queen Victoria, was not even a year old when her father the Duke of Kent died. The common thread among all these great rulers is that their fathers died when they were still growing up, and yet they went on to achieve greatness. In the modern day, U.S. President Barack Obama has spoken and written movingly about his father's death when he was only 21. Indeed, he entitled his memoirs of early life Dreams From My Father. John Major's father's death when the future prime minister was only 18 affected him profoundly. 'I went for a walk, and to this day I don't know where I went,' he wrote of it. John Major's father's death, when the future prime minister was only 18 years old, affected him profoundly 'Life would not be the same, but there was much to do. I found it hard to come to terms with the finality of death. It made a reality of what he had often said to me: 'Make of life what you can, and take your chances, because they may never come again.' Then unemployed, Major vowed to take his father's advice. Perhaps the subconscious need to try to control an unfair, cruel destiny one that has robbed one of a parent is a motivating factor in these premiers' drive for power. Other leaders who lost a parent when they were young Lloyd George was one year old, Arthur Balfour and Herbert Asquith were seven, James Callaghan was nine and the Duke of Wellington, 12 underline the fact that people can sometimes find it the spur to rising to the top of their profession. And despite the fact that we are approaching Father's Day, we cannot ignore the influence of mothers and their absence. For the fact is that no fewer than 15 of Britain's 53 prime ministers lost their mothers before they were 22 and one PM, Lord Aberdeen, was orphaned before he was 12. Even allowing for the far higher mortality rates, especially during childbirth, of the 18th and 19th centuries, these figures are compelling. In the period 1809 to 1937, for example, no fewer than 15 of its 24 premiers had lost one or both parents when they were children. That motherhood and the mental condition of the child are intimately related is one of the few undisputed givens of psychology, as well appreciated by the Ancient Greeks as by Sigmund Freud two millennia later. James Callaghan, making a speech at the Labour Party annual conference in 1967, lost his father aged nine The close interconnection between psychological well-being and the relationship with one's mother is also almost a cliche of psychotherapy. 'Nothing has a stronger influence on children,' wrote Jung in his book Paracelsus in 1934, 'than the unlived life of the parents.' There are, of course, many psychological motivations far deeper than mere ideological commitment that lead people to stand for Parliament, and seeking the posthumous approval of a parent might well be one of them. When Harold Macmillan came round from an air crash in Algiers during World War II, his first thought was for his powerfully assertive American mother Nellie Belles. 'Tell my mother I'm alive and well,' he told his nurse. She had been for dead six years. When he was prime minister, he later admitted to a friend: 'I admired her, but never really liked her. She dominated me, as she dominates me still.' The early loss of a father or mother is the last thing that you would wish on any child, of course. But the evidence does suggest that it can help people achieve greatness. Perhaps Nature herself in taking away something precious is having the decency to return something useful. Whatever the explanation, the fact is that the loss of a parent in childhood or adolescence seems to be one of the very few connecting features of an otherwise highly disparate group of high achievers over the centuries. It is, hopefully, a consoling thought for those missing a parent on Fathers' Day. Two active-duty California-based Marines are under investigation for a social media post of a photo appearing to threaten an Orlando-style attack. 'Coming to a gay bar near you!' the unidentified corporal wrote as the caption over a photo of himself holding an assault rifle. The social media post first appeared in Camp MENdleton resale, a closed Facebook group for men that has roughly 25,000 members and is meant for those near the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton in San Diego. The Marine who originally posted the photo wrote 'Too soon?' alongside it in the Facebook group. Investigation: Two active-duty California-based Marines are under investigation for a social media post of a photo (above) appearing to threaten an Orlando-style attack Maj. Staci Reidinger said Thursday that fellow Marines alerted officials to the post, and authorities were able to track down the Marine in the photograph and another one who reposted it. According to the Marine Corps Times, the Facebook group's administrator deleted the post and banned the individual from the group. 'We believe that it was a very insensitive and possibly dangerous photo that needed to be taken seriously given the nature of the possible threat,' the administrator, Michael Moss, said in an email. Moss said the group receives about 3,000 posts a week. 'We rely on our members, who are comprised of all active duty and veteran service members, to help moderate, which they did,' Moss wrote. 'As a group, we do not condone any type of hate speech or threats.' Reidinger said the posting goes against Marine Corps values. The men only group, Camp MENdleton, has roughly 25,000 members and is meant for those near the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton in San Diego. Above US Marines participate in an exercise at Camp Pendleton The Facebook group's administrator deleted the post and banned the individual from the group. Above US Marines participate in an exercise at Camp Pendleton 'This is a very serious incident and we see this as potential misconduct based on the fact in the picture is a US Marine and the person who reposted the picture also is a US Marine,' she said. 'This goes against good order and discipline within the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps has a very high standard of not tolerating discrimination against any type of group.' She added that fellow Marines policed their own by immediately reporting the post. 'It's an embarrassment to us,' Reidinger said of the post. The post follows Sunday's horrific terror attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed and more than 50 injured when gunman Omar Mateen went on a shooting rampage inside Pulse nightclub. He was killed by authorities inside the nightclub. Keeping GP surgeries open at weekends reduces patient visits to A&E by nearly a fifth, researchers said yesterday. Experts at Sussex University found that when people were able to get into their local health clinic on Saturdays and Sundays, fewer of them visited hospital emergency departments. The results support the Governments plan to enable all patients to see their GP seven days a week by 2020. Opening GP surgeries at weekends dramatically slashes casualty admissions, a new survey found, file photo The study, based on a pilot project at GP surgeries in London, found that when clinics stayed open seven days, visits to A&E units at local hospitals dropped by 10 per cent across the week. The greatest effect was seen on Saturdays and Sundays, with an 18 per cent drop. Those patients who did go to hospital were less likely to be admitted and ambulance call-outs also dropped by 20 per cent. The reductions were mainly among elderly patients with moderate injuries or illnesses. Reproduced nationally, the results would significantly reduce pressure on hospitals. The Government is desperate to find a way to reduce the pressure on A&E services, after the busiest year in NHS history. Nearly 23million patients went to A&E in the last 12 months a 32 per cent increase on figures from a decade ago. But its ambition for seven-day GP services faces two major hurdles a serious shortage of GPs across the country, and the opposition of the doctors union. The British Medical Association claims the plans are unfunded and unresourced and that, if they are forced to open all weekend, many GP surgeries will simply stand empty. They point to similar pilot schemes, in Yorkshire, where barely one in ten appointments were filled on Sundays and only half on Saturdays. BMA chairman Mark Porter also points to a huge shortage of GPs, with thousands more expected to leave the profession in the next five years. The pilot project saw ambulance call-outs in the trial area reduced by 20 per cent, file photograph Labours 2004 GP contract has been blamed for increasing numbers of patients flooding A&Es with minor complaints. It allowed GPs to opt out of evening and weekend work leaving patients with nowhere else to go The authors of the new research, published in the Journal of Health Economics, said GPs are gatekeepers who keep mild cases out of hospital. The researchers believe A&E doctors take fewer risks with elderly patients they do not know and choose to admit them to a ward to be on the safe side. But GPs with intimate knowledge of their patients medical history can send the less serious cases home after treatment. Researcher Dr Vikram Pathania, of Sussexs School of Business, Management and Economics, said: There is clearly evidence of unmet demand for weekend GP opening. Seven-day opening for GPs appears to make a dent in two major sources of A&E expense admissions and ambulance usage. Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the BMAs GP committee, said: It should be noted that schemes such as this have only been possible through significant additional, short-term funding. Most women who have their eggs frozen to delay motherhood are doing so because they have yet to find Mr Right - rather than because they are putting their career first. A study has found less than a quarter of women who store their eggs to delay starting a family do so because of work. Instead, 88 per cent do so because they are single or have failed to find the right partner. The research from Albany Medical College, in New York, was unveiled this week at an Edinburgh discussion on social egg freezing, raising concerns that todays generation have not learned to lower their expectations from Mr Right to Mr Will Do. The poster girl of childless thirty-something women has long been Bridget Jones (pictured), the fictional diarist caught up in romantic blunders in her search for her Mr Darcy Responding to the findings on failing to find the right partner, Reverend Bryan Vernon, senior lecturer in healthcare ethics at Newcastle University, said: If that really is the problem, do you need to think more about how we relate to the people with whom we plan to live for quite a long time? I wonder whether we so emphasise autonomy and freedom of choice, that we are expecting too much of the people who we are going to live with. We think they are going to be perfect and they are not. He added: Do we perhaps need to have not quite so high ideas on the kind of person we are going to share our life with? The poster girl of childless thirty-something women has long been Bridget Jones, the fictional diarist caught up in romantic blunders in her search for her Mr Darcy. The Bridget Jones generation has led a surge in women having babies in their 40s and turning to IVF after leaving it too late. JAPANESE WOMEN PAID BY GOVERNMENT TO FREEZE EGGS Women in Japan are being offered public money to cover the costs of freezing their eggs, in an effort to tackle the nation's declining birth rate and dwindling population. Urayasu, a city nine miles (14km) east of Tokyo, is allocating 90 million yen (600,000) to help women harvest their eggs to be fertilised and implanted later in life. It is hoped the three-year project will encourage women to give birth when they are ready instead of giving up having children. However, some experts have voiced concerns it will simply compound the problem as women will delay conception - believing they can easily conceive with frozen eggs. Advertisement While egg freezing for social reasons, as opposed to for cancer patients made infertile by treatment, is not yet available on the NHS, it can be provided privately at a cost of up to 10,000. In 2014, 816 British women opted to store their eggs for later use, a 25 per cent yearly increase - and a near 30-fold rise on 2001, when just 29 women chose to do it. On the debate about finding the right partner, a speaker at the Progress Educational Trust event raised the issue of womens hunt for Mr Right. Quoting from a previous academic paper, Professor David Baird, professor of reproductive endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh, said women can settle from Mr Right to Mr Will Do. Dr Sarah Martins Da Silva, a consultant gynaecologist at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said: We are all so imperfect, we are all so fallible, and certainly Mr Darcy is not for all of us. But she also told of one female patient who sought advice on social egg freezing because her partner had an affair, leaving her single and childless at the age of 36. The Bridget Jones generation has led a surge in women having babies in their 40s and turning to IVF after leaving it too late Dr Da Silva added: There is also a real demographic of relationships that come and go and break and so on. Perhaps quite rightly she is there thinking, I tried to plan and it didnt happen, now she is very aware of her biological clock. I think there is another flip side to that coin. Speaking after the debate, titled Can Women Put Motherhood On Ice, audience member Rev Vernon said men as well as women can expect too much from a relationship before choosing to have a child together. He said: I think there probably is an emphasis on a perfect relationship. It is very hard to get an overall picture but there are clearly far more relationship breakdowns now. There are a massive number of factors to that, but one of them might be that we are a bit less tolerant. The other factors behind social egg freezing, according to the US study presented by speaker Dr Angel Petropanagos, are financial considerations and a feeling that having a family is too large a commitment. A restaurant owner in Portland, Maine, has come under attack by gun advocates after she announced she would not allow assault rifle users to eat at either of her venues. Anne Verrill, announced on the Facebook page of her fine-dining restaurant Grace that after the massacre in Orlando gay club Pulse on Saturday, owners of AR-15 assault rifles were not welcome there or at her other restaurant in Falmouth. Verrill defended her remarks as being about 'love' and 'standing on the right side of history', NECN reported, but many were outraged by her stance. Banned: The AR-15 (pictured) was wrongly identified by many as the gun used in the Orlando massacre Rifle: In fact, shooter Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX (pictured) to kill 49 people at Orlando's Pulse club Frightened: She deleted her first post, but in the second (pictured) said she was moved to begin the ban after the Orlando shootings, as it was 'the loudest voice' she had to get her point across Bad reviews: Grace restaurant (pictured) saw its rating on Facebook drop after the remarks, with 900 one-star reviews, outnumbering all other star ratings put together 'I have spent 12 years, intentionally, not being political on this page,' she said Tuesday in a Facebook post on the Grace account that has since been deleted. 'Let me be clear, this is not a political issue. This is a human rights issue,' continued Verrill, who also owns Foreside Tavern & Side Bar in Falmouth. 'If you own this gun, or you condone the ownership of this gun for private use, you may no longer enter either of my restaurants, because the only thing I want to teach my children is love.' The post was made alongside a photograph an AR-15 rifle, which was wrongly believed by many to be the gun used in the Orlando shooting on Saturday. In fact, killer Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX. That post quickly garnered both positive and negative comments - but angry Facebook users outnumbered those on Verrill's side, NECN reported, and the post was deleted. She then posted again on Wednesday, standing by her initial remarks. 'I dont want to take away guns of responsible gun owners,' the second post said. 'I dont care if you have 12 hunting rifles if you are a responsible hunter. I want people to not have the power to own weapons of war.' 'I am not going to hide behind not politicizing myself for fear of my economic security... If evil and hate want to boycott my restaurants then so be it because I believe good will be on my side on this.' Once again, gun advocates were unhappy - with many saying she was a coward for deleting her original post, and others criticizing her for misidentifying the gun used in the Orlando killings. John Hibberd said, 'Tell your kids you punked out and refuse to own what you said. As a responsible AR-15 owner I know I'm responsible for everything I send down range. Own up to what you said instead of trying to rewrite history to save your ass.' 'You're an idiot,' fumed Dew Nut. 'Educate yourself.' 'Wait, you can deny service due to someone's beliefs? How'd that work for the wedding cake baker?' pondered Beau Blanchard, referring to a Colorado court's ruling in 2014 that a cake shop had discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to make a wedding cake for them. 'Punked': This commenter criticized Verrill for deleting her first post from Tuesday, and putting up a replacement on Wednesday Denied: This poster likened the situation to a 2014 court case in which a cake shop was ruled to have discriminated against a gay couple for not making them a wedding cake Yohan Gustav Finklesteen griped: 'The military is not using an AR-15. They wouldn't pass their standards. It's a semi auto rifle and that is it. There are a hundred (others).' He continued: 'Lay down your rights if you want. It's sad to see so many people letting fear take them over. Oh and the a**hole in Florida didn't even use an AR.' In fact, the gun was originally designed in the 1950s for use in war by Eugene Stoner, and adapted by the US military into the M-16. It wasn't available in a semi-automatic civilian model until 1963. Indeed, Stoner's family told NBC News Tuesday: 'Our father, Eugene Stoner, designed the AR-15 and subsequent M-16 as a military weapon to give our soldiers an advantage over the AK-47. 'He died long before any mass shootings occurred. But, we do think he would have been horrified and sickened as anyone, if not more by these events.' Nevertheless, the negative comments came in - as did negative ratings on Grace's Facebook profile. 'Fear': This user criticized Verrill for picking out the AR-15 over other semi-automatic rifles based on media reporting 'Educate yourself': Many users criticized Verrill for what they saw as ignorance of firearms Support: But some users, such as this woman, supported Verrill's decision, saying that she was in the right 'WOW, I've never seen a FB rating drop so fast,' Steve Irwin said, noting the sudden fall in the restaurant's ratings. It currently has a 2.5 rating on Facebook, with 901 one-star votes. All of the other star ratings combined come to just 634 votes. Votes: Grace's rating dropped dramatically after the announcement, acquiring hundreds of one-star scores from Facebook users Some commenters were kinder, however, saying that they would make a point of visiting Grace after reading about Verrill's stance. 'We support you,' Cheryl Coyne wrote. 'Thank you for being so brave... This IS how we teach our children...' And Catherine Cecilia simply said: 'Ignore the haters - you're right.' Verrill said on Facebook that she had been moved to make her decision after refusing to let her daughter go on a gay pride march. 'I let the fear win.' she wrote. 'I let the actions of dozens of lunatics over several years change the way I look at the world around me... I am living in a world I dont even recognize anymore.' A whole flight comforted a grieving grandmother on her way to Orlando after her grandson was killed in the nightclub massacre. She was traveling to be with the rest of her family after her grandson Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo lost his life on Sunday. At just 20, Ocasio-Capo was one of the youngest victims of the deadliest mass shooting in Americas history that left 49 people dead at the hands of a lone gunman. On Tuesday, JetBlue employees knew Omars grandmother was making this difficult journey alone, so made sure to stay by her side every step of the way and make her as comfortable as possible. But flight attendant Kelly Davis Karas had an idea to pass around a piece of paper for fellow passengers to write messages of condolences on and she was blown away by the response. In a Facebook post that has since gone viral with nearly 90,000 shares, she revealed that not only did passengers write heartfelt messages of support for the woman, but every single person stopped to offer their condolences to her on their way off the plane. Scroll down for video A whole flight comforted the grieving grandmother of Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo (pictured) on her way to Orlando after her grandson was killed in the nightclub massacre Karas, of Hope, Maine, said her colleagues had done everything to make the woman comfortable on her flight. Fellow crew member Melinda stood by her wheelchair until it was time to board, she wrote, while Kellie, the gate agent, boarded the plane with her and helped her get settled into her seat. They gave her a blanket, a pillow, a box of tissues and a bottle of water. She was understandably distraught, Karas wrote, but met us with kindness and gentleness. And gratitude. She added: I had the idea to pass around a piece of paper to everyone on board and invite them to sign it for this grieving grandmother. Karas and Melinda then went about informing passengers of their plan who wrote so much that they realized they needed more paper and were running out of time on the 75-minute flight. As we took beverage orders, we whispered a heads up about the plan as we went. Halfway through, Melinda called me, Kel, I think you should start another paper from the front. Folks are writing PARAGRAPHS. So I did. In a Facebook post that has since gone viral with nearly 90,000 shares, a flight attendant revealed every single person stopped to offer their condolences to her on their way off the plane When we gathered them together to present them to her, we didnt just have a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned. Instead, we had page after page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support. There were even a couple of cash donations, and more than a few tears. When the flight landed, a moment of silence was held in Ocasio-Capos memory. As passengers began making their way off the flight, Karas said she saw something that moved her to tears. She said that every single person stopped to speak to the woman. Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her, Karas wrote. But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process. She said that despite the few hateful, broken human beings in the world who are able to commit such evil after all too easily getting their hands on assault weapons, she said she shared the story to show that people are good. I am moved to tears yet again as I struggle to put our experience into words, she wrote. In spite of a few hateful, broken human beings in this world who can all too easily legally get their hands on mass assault weapons - people ARE kind. People DO care. JetBlue employees knew Omars grandmother was making this difficult journey alone, so made sure to stay by her side every step of the way and make her as comfortable as possible. Above, file photo Ocasio-Capo worked at a Starbucks inside a Target in Kissimmee, Florida, where colleagues said he brightened everyones day. He lit up any area he worked in, especially Starbucks, said Claudia Mason, 70, who worked with him there. So sad that his life was cut short by such an evil person. Mason added: His sense of humor was definitely his defining personality trait. Omar got along with everyone. Young, old, male, female, gay, or straight, it didn't matter to Omar. He was also a dancer who was studying theater. On Tuesday, the day his grandmother traveled, he was due to audition for a play, his sister Belinette Ocasio-Capo said. He was one of the most amazing dancers, she said. He would always call me and say, `I'm going to be the next Hollywood star.' He really did want to make it and be known. Now his name ended up being all around the world, like he wanted - just not this way. Millions of patients will benefit from life-saving devices that will be rolled out in GP surgeries and hospitals, under NHS plans. They include a gadget that can diagnose a common but deadly heart condition which can be very difficult to detect. Simon Stevens, the NHS chief executive, will today outline details of the scheme that will enable cheap, cutting edge devices to be fast tracked and made available for doctors. One such example is a tiny object the size of a credit card that enables GPs to diagnose the fatal heart condition atrial fibrillation in 30 seconds. The new device can fit on the back of a smartphone and can carry out an immediate ECG test, file photograph This affects 2.5 million Britons and is one of the main causes of strokes and heart attacks, yet is often undetected as there are few symptoms. Patients place their hands over the device, which fits on the back of a smartphone, and it carries out an Electrocardiogram or ECG test. This is an electronic reading of their heart which immediately detects the condition. Currently most patients have to wait several weeks to have an ECG carried out at hospital after being referred by their GP and often it is undiagnosed as there are few symptoms. The devices will begin being rolled out in surgeries and hospitals from next April and NHS officials hope that 100 new types will be made available each year. But from today, private companies and scientists who have developed cheap, hi tech gadgets will be able to apply to be approved by the scheme, known as the NHS Innovation Accelerator Programme. GP surgeries and hospitals will be then be urged to buy them-in at reduced rates agreed by the NHS and most will cost less than 100 each. Mr Stevens said the scheme would save lives, spare patients unnecessary appointments and shave millions from the NHSs budget. Unveiling the proposals at the NHS Confederation conference in Manchester, he added: For people with diabetes, for people with heart disease, for pregnant mums, for acutely ill inpatients, there is a huge opportunity to improve the quality of care and also save money in other parts of the NHS. NHS chief executive Simon Stevens will announce a new gadget today that can diagnose a heart condition This is by getting millions of new medtech devices and treatments into the hands of doctors, nurses and therapists. The NHS has a proud track record of world firsts in medical innovation - think hip replacements, IVF, vaccinations and organ transplants to name just a few. But then getting wide uptake has often been slow and frustrating. Now - at a time when the NHS is under pressure - rather than just running harder to stand still, its time to grab with both hands these practical new treatments and technologies. By doing that, we can transform peoples lives. The NHS has got the potential to be a world leader in the adoption of innovation. But in order to do that weve got to remove some of the obstacles. Mr Stevens said the devices were underused by the NHS partly because they face so much bureaucracy being approved. Companies have to apply to one of the regulators - the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency (MHRA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to get a license to offer to patients. They must then persuade individual GP surgeries and hospitals to buy them in, and take-up is very low. The new scheme will provide trusts with an approved list of devices from which they can choose depending on the needs of their local patients. Another gadget likely to be made available could prevent up to 20,000 critically ill patients a year developing pneumonia. It fits in the throats of patients on Intensive Care Units and blocks bacteria from entering their lungs, which would otherwise cause the infection. An American father-of-two has killed himself in a Taiwan court after being given a four-year prison sentence. English teacher Tyrel Martin Marhanka plunged a pair of scissors into his neck and severed his arteries on Thursday at the Changhua District Court, moments after a judge handed him the jail term for possessing marijuana and opium. The married 41-year-old, who used to live in Illinois, reportedly turned to the translator, who told him the punishment, and said: 'Four years?' American father-of-two Tyrel Martin Marhanka killed himself in a Taiwan court after being given a four-year prison sentence for drug possession. He used a pair of scissors he had separated and smuggled past guards at the building (pictured right) The married 41-year-old cut his neck after the Changhua District Court judge handed him the jail term for possessing marijuana The Taipei Times reported that he was then asked if he wanted to appeal the sentence, but refused. He then got angry and shouted: 'I dont want to live anymore,' before taking out two metal blades, according to witnesses. Marhanka then stabbed himself on both sides of the neck, severing the arteries. Blood was then seen gushing from his head as guards rushed to his aid, witnesses said. He was then taken to hospital but died a short time later. Court officials said Marhanka had smuggled in a pair of 21cm (8 inch) scissors, which he had separated into two blades. He was arrested in April 2015 and charged with possession of marijuana and other narcotics Marhanka is seen being led into the courtroom moments before his sentencing. He then got angry and shouted: 'I dont want to live anymore,' before taking out two metal objects and stabbing himself Police found more than 200 cannabis plants, 195 dried cannabis plants and 10 opium poppies at a rented house in Yongjing Township, Changhua County. He is believed to have bought the seeds from a British website. When arrested, he claimed he was using them for his personal use and denied selling them. Marhanka had lived in Taiwan for more than 15 years. He had a Taiwanese wife, who is a dancer, and two children a son in second grade and a daughter in kindergarten court officials said. His neighbors told The China Post he lost his job after he was indicted and stayed home most of the time with his children. According to online records, he once worked at a Pizza Hut while living in the United States. He also had an Illinois real estate license. Marhanka had lived in Taiwan for more than 15 years, and had a Taiwanese wife and two children a son in second grade and a daughter in kindergarten court officials said Far from being at the risk of isolation, we are in the extraordinarily fortunate position of enjoying a key part in the Commonwealth, writes Lord Marland Whatever the outcome of next weeks EU vote, Britain has not made the most of its pivotal role in the Commonwealth. Far from being at the risk of isolation, we are in the extraordinarily fortunate position of enjoying a key part in the Commonwealth, which covers more than a fifth of the worlds land mass and embraces 2.3 billion citizens one-third of the worlds entire population. Rather than shivering on the sidelines in the event of Brexit, Britain could become a more significant global player by building on its membership of the Commonwealth, with the Queen and the Royal Family working tirelessly at its heart. Its an organisation that was originally forged by the British Empire, but now flourishes through mutual friendship. In its unique origins and voluntary structure lie both the Commonwealths strength and huge potential benefits for Britain. We are linked to the 52 other Commonwealth nations with ties of language, heritage, justice, culture, sport and, yes, even humour. It is no exaggeration to say that most Britons would have much more in common with people from Australia or India than those from EU nations such as Latvia and Slovakia. The Commonwealth remains an untapped resource for Britain. Sadly, in recent years, the advantages of this enormous alliance have been downplayed or over-looked. This disdain has partly been caused by our deeper involvement with the European Union, which has focused our gaze narrowly on Europe, rather than the wider world. Undoubtedly, our entry into the Common Market in 1973 meant the diminution of our relationships with Commonwealth partners such as New Zealand. And that process of neglect has accelerated over the subsequent four decades. Despite the renewed energy being shown by UK ministers, it is a telling fact that within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there are more than 100 officials working on our relations with the EU, but no more than eight on our relations with the Commonwealth. In the same vein, during the 13 years of the Labour government from 1997, there was not a single British prime ministerial visit to Malaysia, even though it has a rapidly growing economy and is an increasingly important power in the Pacific region. This, happily, has been rectified by the current government and trade between the two countries has leapt. Scroll down for video The UK is a key part in the Commonwealth, which covers more than a fifth of the worlds land mass and embraces 2.3 billion citizens one-third of the worlds entire population To disregard the importance of the Commonwealth is the height of folly. The institution is predicted to be key to a successful future for Britain. In economic terms alone, many of the Commonwealth nations could soon be major powerhouses. Nigeria, for instance, has a population of around 180 million and is predicted to be larger than the U.S. by 2030, while India, the worlds largest democracy, has recently enjoyed growth rates of more than 6 per cent. In 2013, the size of the Commonwealths economy overtook that of the faltering Eurozone. It has been estimated that the Commonwealth produces around 17 per cent of the worlds entire gross product when measured in terms of purchasing power. Indeed, the Commonwealth is helping to fuel global prosperity by promoting international trade. A host of studies have suggested that there is a Commonwealth factor in global trade, meaning it is, on average, 19 per cent cheaper to trade with Commonwealth countries, thanks to legal structures and cultural similarities. Moreover, the growing wealth of the Commonwealth can provide investment in crucial infrastructure projects in Britain, as we see in the vast regeneration of the Battersea Power Station site in London, one of the biggest redevelopments in Europe. Tellingly, it is backed by Malaysia, not a Eurozone power. Yet there is far more scope for Britain to utilise its Commonwealth ties for economic advancement. We are linked to the 52 other Commonwealth nations - including Australia - with ties of language, heritage, justice, culture, sport and, yes, even humour We have not only the gift of the English language in common, but also a basis of law established by the British, which can serve as invaluable conduits for commerce. The City of London remains the dominant financial centre for most Commonwealth countries. Relatively modest trade facilitation measures and improvements in logistics are thought likely to increase Commonwealth exports by 86 billion annually, boosting Commonwealth GDP by 122 billion and creating 24 million new jobs. Some critics might suggest that one of the Commonwealths problems is that its members are from all corners of the earth, so it could never form a regional bloc like the European Union. But this is outdated thinking. In the age of mass transit, cheap travel, the internet and satellite communication, geographical proximity counts for far less today than it did in the Seventies, when Britain entered the Common Market. In any case, the sheer extraordinary breadth of the Commonwealth, both culturally and geographically, should be seen as another asset. During the Sixties, when Frances president, Charles de Gaulle, persistently vetoed our application to join the Common Market, he made an oblique reference to the Commonwealth in declaring that Britain was insular, maritime and linked by her exchanges, her markets and her supply routes to the most diverse and often farthest-flung of nations. But what de Gaulle saw as negatives are now regarded as virtues. We live in an age that eagerly celebrates diversity and revels in variety. The Commonwealth is truly the embodiment of the progressive, globalised world. That means it is a force for good, not just in economic terms, but also in the promotion of democratic freedoms. There are restrictions on our ability to make free trade and investment agreements with partners such as Australia, India and Canada. Pictured: New Delhi Thanks to its roots in the British Empire, the Commonwealth Charter places strong emphasis on respect for personal liberty, representative governance, human rights and freedom of expression. It is no coincidence that so many Commonwealth nations have adopted the parliamentary model, given that Britain is the Mother of Parliaments, just as Magna Carta challenged authoritarian rule and arbitrary imprisonment. Sadly, Britains membership of the EU has been a barrier towards closer links with the Commonwealth. There are restrictions on our ability to make free trade and investment agreements with partners such as Australia, India and Canada, while we have also made it difficult for Commonwealth entrepreneurs and skilled staff to come to Britain. It is now a constant complaint from our Commonwealth partners that work visas in the UK are tortuous, if not impossible, to obtain, whereas citizens of the European Union, regardless of their employment records, can enter the UK, thanks to EU rules on free movement. Even so, whatever the outcome of the vote next week and our relationship with the EU, there is a great deal more that Britain could do to strengthen its ties with the Commonwealth. After all, the expansion of trade does not depend on trade deals, no matter how much campaigners bang on about them in the current referendum debate. It is no exaggeration to say that most Britons would have much more in common with people from Australia or India than those from EU nations such as Latvia and Slovakia. Pictured: Riga, the Latvian capital The U.S. is Britains biggest export market, worth 3.5 billion, yet we have never had a trade agreement with America. What is needed is a change of official attitude, one that recognises what the Commonwealth has to offer. The Government has made strides in that direction. We should not be embarrassed to lead the Commonwealth and invest in the institution. A strong and prosperous Commonwealth would be good for our country and the wider world. A 33-year-old Newcastle man has been charged with the murder of Christopher Daunt, more than a year after his disappearance. The man, from Newcastle, was charged on Thursday after his home was raided by police and will appear at the Newcastle Local Court on Friday. Mr Daunt, a 27-year-old builder, was last seen by a friend at his home in Gateshead, in the Lake Macquarie region, south of Newcastle, on March 29. A 33-year-old Newcastle man was charged on Thursday with the murder of Christopher Daunt, 27, (pictured) a builder who disappeared from his Lake Macquarie home in March 2015 Human remains have been found west of Newcastle but police said they could not confirm if they belonged to Mr Daunt (pictured) Human remains have been found at Seahampton, west of Newcastle, but a police spokesman could not confirm if they belong to Mr Daunt. Police immediately treated Mr Daunt's disappearance as suspicious. His family and friends said it was out of character for him not to speak to his family and friends and have became increasingly worried as months rolled on, Daily Mail Australia previously reported. His family and friends (pictured) said it was out of character for him not to speak to his family and friends and have became increasingly worried as months roll on 'It's been a devastating 10 months for the Daunt family,' Mr Daunt's family wrote on their Facebook page Help Us Find Chris Daunt in January. 'We are missing Chris more than anyone could understand. 'At this point Chris's disappearance is being treated as a homicide investigation.' A man who climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and sat atop a steel beam has returned to the ground and is in police custody. Footage showed the 41-year-old man scaling the structure on Friday, before climbing back down at 10.50am where he was arrested waiting police. He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital and remains in a stable condition. All lanes of traffic have since reopened. Scroll down for video A man climbed one of the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and sat atop a steel beam on Friday morning Police negotiators and rescue units scaled the bridge and were pictured on the walkway above the man's position Police reportedly spoke to the man for 20 minutes before he agreed to climb back down to the ground About an hour later he climbed back down, and was met by waiting police Earlier reports said the man hailed a taxi on Friday morning and then asked the driver to pull over in the middle of the bridge before he got out and started climbing up the structure Earlier reports said the man hailed a taxi on Friday morning and then asked the driver to pull over in the middle of the bridge before he jumped out while the taxi was still moving. He was seen behaving erratically on the road before he started climbing up the structure. The man, who was clothed in black and is wearing sunglasses, was sitting on a steel beam within the bridge's structure. Police negotiators and rescue units scaled the bridge and were pictured on the walkway above the man's position. Officers from the NSW Police Rescue Squad climbed within the Sydney Harbour Bridge to reach the man who was sitting on a steel beam Security prevented members of the public from walking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge while the police operatoin took place on Friday morning 'Officers from Harbourside Local Area Command attended and located a man, who had climbed a section of the bridge, and refused to come down,' police said in a statement. 'Police would like to thank the community for their assistance and patience during the operation.' Traffic was backed up to North Sydney and buses were delayed up to 25 minutes. Roads and Maritime Services said tolled trips across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Friday morning will be waived after three lanes were closed. The man, who is clothed in black and is wearing sunglasses, is now sitting on a steel beam within the bridge's structure Footage shows the man climbing within a pylon on the Sydney Harbour Bridge arch on Friday morning 'Two city-bound lanes and three north-bound lanes remain open across the bridge,' the Transport Management Centre said, according to Sydney Morning Herald. Witnesses said earlier there was an abandoned taxi on the bridge and that a person was climbing up the bridge, according to 2GB. Andrew Millet, the 7 News helicopter pilot, told 2GB the man was sitting on the northern pylon 'right underneath the top arch'. Emergency services scaled the bridge and were pictured on the walkway above the man's position Security was on standby to prevent pedestrians from walking across the bridge on Friday morning 'It looks like the police are going to have a difficult time getting him out of there,' Mr Millet said. Another witness, Mark, told 2GB the abandoned car on the bridge was a silver taxi. Youssef Kabbaj, pictured, was afraid for his life and said a foreign intelligence agency had been called to extract him from Tripoli after the extent of the Gaddafi-backed Libyan Investment Authoritys (LIA) financial losses was discovered A Goldman Sachs banker who procured two prostitutes to win an investment deal had to flee Libya after a Gaddafi crony discovered he had screwed a 46billion wealth fund, a court heard yesterday. Youssef Kabbaj was afraid for his life and said a foreign intelligence agency had been called to extract him from Tripoli after the extent of the Gaddafi-backed Libyan Investment Authoritys (LIA) financial losses was discovered. The funds deputy director Mustafa Zarti a friend of Colonel Gaddafis ruthless son Saif al-Islam went berserk during a meeting with the Goldman Sachs executive, the High Court in London was told. Mr Kabbaj had wooed Mr Zarti to win approval for the deals and took his younger brother Haitem on an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai, where they stayed at the five-star Ritz Carlton with two prostitutes, it is alleged. He was said to have lavished corporate hospitality on inexperienced fund managers who were financially illiterate but were too embarrassed to admit they did not understand complex deals, and were terrified of failing the Gaddafi regime. The LIA was set up in 2006 by Saif al-Islam after the West lifted economic sanctions and was meant to invest Libyas oil riches to create a stable income for the country. Fund managers were under pressure to invest $10billion within the first few months and were bombarded with sales pitches from investment banks desperate to win their lucrative business. However, Mr Zarti favoured a long-term relationship with Goldman Sachs, the worlds most powerful investment bank, which gave his younger brother Haitem a prestigious internship in London. Investment manager Abdulfatah Enaami said Mr Zarti was volatile and short-tempered but Mr Kabbaj could stroke his ego and win his trust. He said deals which Mr Kabbaj recommended were signed off without being properly understood, and said one investment a 100million euro stake in French energy firm EDF was probably selected because it was a round number. Giving evidence at the hearing, Mr Enaami said he and his colleagues had been easy prey for Mr Kabbaj. Mr Kabbaj had wooed funds deputy director Mustafa Zarti to win approval for the deals and took his younger brother Haitem on an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai, where they stayed at the five-star Ritz Carlton (pictured) He said: We were all scared of failure but we were not fully equipped to be dealing with these types of investments. Youssef knew this and exploited it. Mr Enaami described a highly charged meeting in Tripoli in 2008 when Mr Zarti confronted Mr Kabbaj over losses of almost 850million. He said: I recall Mr Zarti being very angry and verbally abusing Goldman Sachs. He really went berserk... Youssef was very afraid for his life. He even cut our dinner short, saying that a foreign intelligence agency had been called to extract him. Mr Kabbaj no longer works for Goldman and has reportedly received a 3.1million payout from the bank. He is not due to be called as a witness. At London's High Court, pictured, Goldman Sachs was accused of exploiting the financial naivity and trust of Gaddafi-era officials into investing in complex financial instruments during the financial crisis Lawyers for the LIA claim he wooed naive and vulnerable officials to persuade them to invest, and that Goldman made eyewatering profits of more than 200million, even after the deals went wrong for the LIA. Internal emails showed senior executives at Goldman referred to brain-washing officials in Libya, and one partner warned they were very unsophisticated, adding: Anyone could rape them. The Libyan fund is now suing Goldman in an attempt to force it to repay 846million to cover its losses. Goldman said the LIA money was lost because of stock market falls during the 2008 financial crisis. It contends the funds officials understood the risks involved but are now trying to use the courts to recoup their lost investments. Secret overseas bank accounts and other undeclared overseas income, including property proceeds and share-holdings, will be put under the spotlight by the taxman this financial year. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has flagged an increased use of third party data from sources as diverse as overseas tax jurisdictions, property and share registers, and other government departments, according to H&R Block. Of particular interest will be capital gains tax from the disposal of shares and property, and foreign source income from employment, businesses, pensions, rent, bank interest and dividends. Scroll down for videos Australian Tax Office is looking at overseas income during a review of returns this financial year. Hidden bank accounts and property holdings will be examined 350,000 taxpayers, on average, are contacted each year about errors in returns with the total Australians will claim back in refunds expected to reach $30 billion Also under review is contractor income from payments made by government agencies, warned the leading tax accounting firm. 'The intent is to catch taxpayers who are failing to declare income in their returns,' a firm spokesperson revealed. H&R Block also said the ATO will be looking closely at those little-known areas of the shared economy. Those areas include renting out parking spaces, those who supply equipment and tools for jobs including musical instruments and sporting goods. The 'odd-jobs' market of repairs, errands and deliveries faces scrutiny too. 350,000 taxpayers, on average, are contacted each year about errors in returns with the total Australians will claim back in refunds expected to reach $30 billion. With a wide-ranging crackdown on the cards new research undertaken by H&R Block & Officeworks has revealed that young Australians, aged between 18 and 24, find tax time the most stressful. Mark Chapman, H&R Block's Director of Communications, said the trick was to have tax affairs in order well ahead of the end of the financial year. 'Burying your head in the sand isn't a recipe to make the process easier; on the contrary it simply makes the process more stressful when the time comes,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Tax experts insist preparation ahead of June 30 is the key to avoiding anxiety and getting a lower refund Non-declaration of income from overseas properties will form part of the ATO crackdown 'The result is that tax returns take longer to complete, anxiety levels rise and at the end of it, many taxpayers find they get a lower refund than they were expecting.' He said a lack of preparation can cost people a lot of money in refunds which can play a vital role in the household budget. 'Australians are a frugal lot when it comes to their tax refunds,' he said. 11 per cent used their refund on a holiday but most use the money for more serious matters. 42 per cent use it to pay down some form of debt, such as credit cards or mortgages, while 37 per cent 'save it for a rainy day'. 'Perhaps the most worrying number is that 29 per cent of Australians use their refund to fund their everyday cost of living [such as food and rent],' he added. 'It may be that these people are living on the edge financially and the degree to which they rely on their tax refund to stay afloat should give cause for concern.' Anyone earning extra income renting out rooms through AirBNB or using their car as an Uber driver will also have their tax returns more closely scrutinised this year. Dozens of State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates U.S. military action to pressure Syria's government into accepting a cease-fire and engaging in peace talks, officials said Thursday. The position is at odds with U.S. policy. The 'dissent channel cable' was signed about 50 mostly mid-level department officials who deal with U.S. policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. It expresses clear frustration with America's inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obama's reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorized strikes against the Islamic State and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria. Scroll down for video Civilians walk with containers for fuel and water in Aleppo, Syria. Dozens of State Department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates U.S. military action to pressure Syria's government into accepting a ceasefire and engaging in peace talks a position that is at odds with U.S. policy The dissidents hope that by taking military action in Syria, Obama would force Assad's (pictured) hand into joining peace talks U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, will face criticism for being unable to keep his diplomats in check and hewing to the Obama administration's policies While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria's leader out of power. A series of partial cease-fires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and since has been classified, said officials, who weren't authorized to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document Thursday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said it called for 'targeted air strikes.' The Times quoted a section urging a 'judicious use of stand-off and air weapons' to advance the U.S. diplomatic effort led by Secretary of State John Kerry. 'The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable,' the Times quoted the document as saying. 'The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges.' State Department spokesman John Kirby said the department was reviewing the cable, which arrived via a 'vehicle in place to allow State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues.' Some sentiments expressed in the cable mirror arguments Kerry has made in internal administration debates. Kerry, a forceful advocate of Obama's initial plan to launch airstrikes after Assad's use of chemical weapons, reversed course after the president opted against them. He has complained privately that White House resistance to more intervention has hurt efforts to persuade Russia, in particular, to take a tougher tone with Assad. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have urged Barack Obama to take action against the Assad regime for years but the president drew a 'red line' and then lost interest While defending the administration's overall approach to Syria, Kerry has on more than one occasion told associates and colleagues that he doesn't have 'a lot of arrows in his quiver' when he tries to persuade Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to put more pressure on Assad to comply with the truce, allow more humanitarian aid deliveries or begin negotiations on a genuine political transition. At the same time, Kerry has also hinted that more robust U.S. intervention is a distinct possibility. In Norway this week, he told a conflict resolution conference that American patience with Assad and Russia was running out and suggested a greater American role might be inevitable unless things changed. 'Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite,' Kerry said Wednesday at the Oslo Forum. 'In fact, it is very limited now with respect to whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable.' Later that day, after meeting with Norway's prime minister, Kerry said: 'The United States is not going to sit there and be used as an instrument that permits a so-called cease-fire to be in place while one principal party is trying to take advantage of it to the detriment of the entire process. We're not going to allow that to continue.' Republican and even some Democratic lawmakers have also been urging Obama to take greater military action in Syria for years, from air strikes to the establishment of a no-fly zone over rebel-held areas. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton pushed some of these steps, too. U.S. led airstrikes in Syria have targeted the ISIS terror army in Syria, paradoxically helping the country's government forces instead of forcing them to stand down But Obama has resisted, fearful of leading America into another war in the Muslim world after finding it impossible to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and keep forces out of Iraq. Military commanders have been similarly reticent, given the lack of a clear alternative to Assad that might unify Syria and advance U.S. national security interests. Nevertheless, Obama has said Assad must relinquish control if there is to be peace. And Kerry, Clinton's successor as the chief U.S. diplomat, has repeatedly said that to defeat the Islamic State, the U.S. must be able to assure Syria's many other rebel groups that there will be a post-Assad future for their country. The dissent document echoes these sentiments, calling the government's barrel bomb attacks on civilians 'the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region.' The Syrian president, who is a member of the Shiite-linked Alawite minority and is backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to maintain power. The rebels are led by Syria's Sunni majority, though they also include representatives of other groups. 'Crucially, Syria's Sunni population continues to view the Assad regime as the primary enemy in the conflict,' the document said, according to the Times. The parents of a 12-year-old black girl who came back from a school trip with severe rope burns around her neck on an overnight school trip are suing the school for $3 million in a lawsuit filed this week. The lawsuit was filed in Travis County against Live Oak Classical School and Lawrence Germer, the owner of the ranch where the sixth-graders went on a school trip. Sandy Rougely, the girl's mother, has claimed her daughter was racially attacked and her daughter thinks that three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose. Ms Rougely told the Dallas Morning News that her daughter's severe bruising made it look like someone 'ripped her neck apart and stitched it back together'. But her classmates say it was a simple accident when a rope swing got caught around her neck. Scroll down for video Mother Sandy Rougely claimed her daughter was the victim of racially-motivated attack on a school trip after returning with rope burns (pictured) around her neck Sandy Rougely's daughter was on an overnight camp-out with her sixth-grade classmates last month when a rope swing got caught around her neck The girl claims she was watching some of her fellow students play on a rope swing when she suddenly felt it wrap around her neck. She slipped and fell to the ground while three white boys pulled on the rope The class were playing with the swing, which worked by a child sitting in the seat while the other children pulled a rope to create a pendulum-like motion. The 12-year-old had stopped to watch when she suddenly felt the rope going around her neck from behind, before it pulled against her and dragged across the ground. The girl - who is one of just four black children at the $7,000-a-year private school - said the boys had hold of the rope but it fell to the ground when they let go of it. 'That's why I think it was on purpose,' the girl said. 'I think someone tried to tie it around my neck.' She asked the boys whether they did it on purpose but they denied doing so. The school's attorney, David Deaconson, said that the school will 'stand behind the facts' and that the girl's injuries were an 'unfortunate accident,' not the result of bullying. 'We all know anybody can allege anything in a lawsuit. That doesn't make it true,' Deaconson said to the Dallas Morning News. 'We also need to keep in mind we've got 12-year-old kids involved, and adults need to react in a way that doesn't put the 12-year-olds' safety at risk, which many of them already have.' The lawsuit seeks more than $3 million in damages to 'not only compensate the victims in this case, but to deter this type of egregious conduct from others in the future, and to serve as an example to all educational institutions that this type of behavior is unacceptable with regard to both the treatment of children and their parents,' court records show. The student, from Live Oak Classical School, in Waco, Texas, thinks three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose The girl - who is one of just four black children at the $7,000-a-year private school - said the boys had hold of the rope but it fell to the ground when they let go of it A statement from the school reads: 'The lawyer claimed that the student's injuries were racially motivated, intentional attack. Live Oak takes this accusation seriously. The school interviewed all student eyewitnesses and teachers who were present and each independently established that the accusation made by the attorney is absolutely false. The injuries were caused accidentally while the students were playing with the swing and attached pull rope.' The mother said her daughter has been bullied by children at the school for months, with students pushing, kicking and making fun of her on a regular basis. She said the first thing she knew about her daughter being hurt was when she returned from the camp-out with the ligature mark around her neck. Ms Rougely added that none of the teachers or parents who were on the class trip saw the incident. A doctor who was on the trip because she is one of the children's mothers gave the girl ibuprofen and rubbed Vaseline on her neck. The school did not comment on why it did not call Ms Rougely. The school's dean Allison Buras emailed Ms Rougely the day after the trip ended to check on how the girl was doing. 'Did you take her to the doctor? How is she? We were glad to have a doctor on our trip who could check her out or we also might have felt a need to take her in. I remember getting rope burns as a child and they are not fun! I hope she is doing OK,' the email said. Ms Rougely said her daughter's injuries did not come from a rope burn. She took her to hospital the night she came home from the class trip, where doctors scanned the girl's spine because of pain she was experiencing in her neck and shoulders. The girl was prescribed more ibuprofen, antibiotics and an inhaler. Police officers took photos of the injuries but no one has been accused of breaking the law. 'I think there was prejudice at the root of all of this. I didn't want to say it at first. I didn't want to see it like this, in this way,' Ms Rougely said. 'But as I go back and think about the different things that were going on and occurring in the school year, that's all I can see. And nobody did anything about it.' The girl said she believed three white boys tied the rope around her neck on purpose during the class trip The 12-year-old girl is one of just four black children at Live Oak Classical School (pictured) in Waco, Texas Lawyer Levi McCathern, who also represents the Dallas Cowboys, blasted the school for its 'tone-deaf approach'. 'For Live Oak to bury their head in the sand and chalk this incident up to 'kids being kids' is irresponsible but, unfortunately, all too common,' he said. Fellow attorney T. J. Jones said: 'I don't know how you can look at her neck, at the pictures and think this was anything but intentional.' The school accused the attorneys of exploiting the 100th anniversary of the lynching of Jesse Washington in Waco and said the lawyers were only interested in making a fast buck. Washington was beaten, castrated, had his fingers chopped off and was strung up by a chain before being burned alive in 1916 after being convicted in a kangaroo court of murdering and raping the wife of his white employer. A school spokesman said: 'The lawyer claimed that the student's injuries were [from a] racially motivated, intentional attack. Live Oak takes this accusation seriously. 'The school interviewed all student witnesses and teachers who were present and each independently established that the accusation made by the attorney is absolutely false. The injuries were caused accidentally while the students were playing with the swing and attached pull rope. Little is known about the species but Marris said she hopes to research them more in the future The crabs come into shallow waters to moult and stick together to Advertisement Melbourne isnt a city that brings to mind spectacular marine life, but scientists have captured an eye-popping phenomenon off the citys coast. Aquatic scientists Sheree Marris and Jamie Seymour have filmed hundreds of thousands of giant spider crabs swarming in shallow waters during their annual migration at Port Phillip Bay. Ms Marris told Daily Mail Australia it was the biggest congregation of crabs she had seen in 20 years of diving, stirring interest in further studies on the little known species. Scroll down for video March of the crabs: Hundreds of thousands of giant spider crabs have been captured swarming in shallow waters at Port Phillip Bay Shelfie: Aquatic scientists Sheree Marris said the spectacle was the biggest congregation of crabs she had seen in 20 years of diving I was swimming for a straight line for five minutes and they just kept stretching on. It was like a never-ending mass of crabs. I've been diving for 20 years and this is the biggest congregation of crabs Ive ever seen. It blew me away! The annual migration of the crabs is an unknown spectacle for many Melbournians, despite drawing coverage from famed naturalist David Attenborough in his 2010 documentary on the species. They come into the shallow waters to moult, which leaves them are vulnerable to predators like seals, birds and dolphins. So they stick together for safety in numbers. Ms Marris, the author of the book Melbourne Down Under, said there is relatively little research on the species but she hopes to carry out more in the future. Very little is known about them the first instance of cannibalism was recently recorded, for example. We would love to find out more about where they go after the migration, when they are seldom seen. She said the migration is a great drawing card for diving in Victoria and a testament to the regions dynamic marine life. The crabs come into shallow waters to moult and stick together to protect against attacks from predators Ms Marris said there is relatively little research on the species but she hopes to carry out more in the future The annual migration of the crabs is an unknown spectacle for many Melbournians despite being covered by David Attenborough 'We would love to find out more about where they go after the migration, when they are seldom seen, said Ms Marris Police have charged Gold Coast millionaire John Chardon, 69, with the alleged murder of his 34-year-old wife Novy, who disappeared more than three years ago from the Mt Nathan mansion they shared. Chardon, a multi-millionaire industrial lubricants manufacturer, was handcuffed and taken into police custody after an investigation which included two separate searches for his fifth wife's remains. He was charged with the murder of the mother of two and was to face the Brisbane Magistrates Court later on Friday. Detectives and forensic officers searched the Chardon mansion in the Gold Coast hinterland following her February 2013 disappearance and the publication of her last sighting, on CCTV in a Gold Coast service station ten minutes from her home. The search including unearthing a white vehicle police feared may have been buried below ground with the entombed woman's remains. In January last year, police divers searched dams on a Gold Coast property at Advancetown belonging to the mother of pop star Rikki Lee Coulter for the body of Ms Chardon. Scroll down for video Murder charge: Gold Coast millionaire John Chardon, pictured handcuffed in a police car, has been arrested and charged with the murder of his fifth wife, Novy Indonesian born Novy Chardon, 34, (pictured) disappeared from the Gold Coast mansion she ahred with her multi-millionaire husband John Chardon in January 2013 and has never been seen again Multi millionaire John Chardon, pictured in a police car after being taken into custody for his wife's alleged murder, had argued with her over property and a divorce prior to her disappearance, the missing woman's mother claimed Novy Chardon, 34, (pictured, left) vanished in early 2013 from the Gold Coast property owned by her millionaire husband John (right), who has now been arrested and charged with killing her During the first search of the Mt Nathan property, John Chardon was absent and overseas. Just two days after his wife disappeared, Chardon took their two young children on a pre-planned business trip to Indonesia. He has always maintained his innocence of her murder. He remained overseas for several weeks and at the time said Mrs Chardon had gone missing before and denied playing any part in her disappearance, despite previously being named in court as the chief suspect. A major Liberal National party donor, John Chardon was once praised in the Queensland state parliament and was the principal of Candan Industries lubricant suppliers. Last sighting: One of the last images of Novy Chardon, 34, on CCTV at an Upper Coomera service station on the Gold Coast in early 2013, before she vanished and police began digging her husband's property for her remains Police divers made a second intense search for the body of missing multi-millionaire's wife Novy Chardon at the property of TV star Rikki Lee Coulter's (above, left) mother last year in Advancetown (above right) Family mansion: This is the Mt Nathan mansion west of the Gold Coast where Novy Chardon lived with her 68-year-old husband before she vanished and detectives turned up with earthmovers to excavate Police excavated (above) the Mt Nathan property of industrial lubricants millionaire John Chardon, 68, last year of search of remains of his missing 34-year-old Indonesian-born wife Novy Police and about 50 SES volunteers made afuritlesds search in January 2015 of the Advancetown property, just 17km south of Chardon's former Mt Nathan home. Regional crime co-ordinator Superintendent Dave Hutchinson said at the time that the operation was a body search. 'We're searching for Novy's remains', he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Supt Hutchinson later said that no items of interest had been located, but the investigation would continue. 'Although we came up empty-handed today, our determination to solve this case remains as strong as ever,' he said. After Ms Chardon vanished three years ago, her car was found dumped several suburbs away near Nerang Train Station. No longer alive: Detectives admitted they were looking for the body of missing Novy Chardon (above) and that they believed she was no longer alive Jailed: Industrial lubricants millionaire John Chardon, 68, (above) has been arrested and charged with murder more than three years after his fifth wife's disappearance Advertisement Donald Trump landed deep in the heart of Texas on Thursday and asked for a ride on a mechanical bull or some other hooved animal as he curried favor with Lone Star Republicans by pledging to embroider 'Make America Great Again' on cowboy hats. Speaking to about 4,000 people inside Gilley's, a honky-tonk music hall in Dallas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee joked that he couldn't see the joint's signature prop the mechanical bull made famous by the 1980 John Travolta-Debra Winger movie 'Urban Cowboy.' Only in Trump's world, the test of drunken manhood that tosses bar patrons in the air was a horse, not a bull. 'I've read about this place for a long time! Where's that horse? I want to go on the horse!' he boomed. 'Hey, you wanna hit the papers tomorrow? Let's get that horse. I'll ride that horse.' Scroll down for video DON'T MESS WITH TRUMP: The Donald took his campaign road show to Dallas, Texas on Thursday, speaking to about 4,000 screaming fans inside a famed honky-tonk music hall COMING SOON: Trump said he would start embroidering 'Make America Great Again' on cowboy hats after a protester and his Stetson were ejected TEXAS BOAST: Trump said he would win over Hispanic voters, calling them 'La-THEEEE-noss' Earlier in the week, Trump announced he would meet with members of the National Rifle Association, days after the Orlando bar shooting Trump is welcomed to the stage at Gilley's, where he held a rally in support of his run for the Oval Office on his tour of Texas Gilley's provided Trump with a more intimate venue than he's accustomed to 'We'll get a bigger venue next time,' he promised with a well-lit audience only a few feet from him on stage One woman was decked out in Trump gear holding a sign that read: 'Texas patriot ladies love Trump' A Trump supporter holds a sign at the Texas rally that reads: 'This Hispanic millennial patriot is voting for Trump' SHOW TIME: Trump's rally was held at Gilley's a famous Dallas venue that boasts Texas's most famous mechanical bull ride A man carries his AR-15-style rifle outside Trump's campaign rally. In Texas, it is legal to openly carry rifles or shotguns in public Trump wasn't serious. But he said even if he had the world's best bull ride, the 'dishonest' reporters who follow him from state to state would find a way to turn him into a loser. 'The problem is,' he said, 'even if I make it they'll say I fell off the horse, and it was terrible.' 'Nah,' he finally said, waving off some in the crowd who were pointing to the back of the room where the mechanical bull was being kept. Gilley's provided Trump with a more intimate venue than he's accustomed to 'We'll get a bigger venue next time,' he promised with a well-lit audience only a few feet from him on stage. He was even close enough to hear one woman compliment his golden locks over the periodic applause. 'She says, "I love your hair!" Trump marveled. 'That's nice. That's the nicest thing that anybody's going to say about me.' 'And it is my hair! Can you tell?' 'Thank you. What a beautiful compliment,' he said again, reveling in the words: 'I love your hair! I love your hair!' 'Did you get that on tape?' he asked no one in particular. 'I hope you got that on tape. Because I want it for my children, that they can remember me.' The potential for a hair-tousling eight second ride on a mechanical bull wasn't the only bit of Texas flavor at Thursday's Trump show. The billionaire took the stage as a sing-song country & western cover of 'Deep in the heart of Texas' played not the high-octane 'Jock Jams' arena music that normally pumps up his crowd SLINGING THE BULL: Trump said he wanted to ride the famous Gilley's mechanical bull from the 1980 movie 'Urban Cowboy,' but gaffed and called it a horse instead UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Thursday's intimate venue gave Trump more contact with his crowd than usual, putting them close enough for him to hear one woman tell him his hair was 'beautiful' LONE STAR: Trump will be in San Antonio and Houston for fundraisers on Friday, ending the night with a Houston rally A vendor wears a button with a pro-gun message while selling novelty items at Trump's rally at Gilley's bar in Dallas Vendor Tommy Dastamanis arranges items for sale, including 'Donald' hats and sunglasses styled in the American flag and peace symbols The billionaire took the stage as a sing-song country & western cover of 'Deep in the heart of Texas' played not the high-octane 'Jock Jams' arena music that normally pumps up his crowd. They didn't need much encouragement. The Lone Star State is one state Trump didn't win in the primaries he ceded it to home state senator Ted Cruz but there's little chance he has to worry about capturing its 38 electoral votes. Texas hasn't gone Democratic in a presidential election since 1976. But the sheer volume of Republican donors concentrated in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio make the state a ripe target for visits. By Friday he will have held fundraisers in all three cities. And while he doesn't need to shore up voting support there, he insisted on holding at least two rallies, according to a campaign source. In Dallas, the crowd recited two pledges of allegiance one to Old Glory and another to the Texas state flag. 'I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible,' they boomed en masse. Trump insisted, as he has everywhere, that he will do well among Latino voters a claim that isn't borne out by polling. 'We're gonna win the Hispanic vote,' he predicted. 'We're gonna win the Latinos!' He pronounced it 'La-THEEEE-noss.' Laurel Wimberg, from Dallas, carries a Donald Trump pinata while protesting against the presumptive Republican presidential candidate The Lone Star State is one state Trump didn't win in the primaries he ceded it to home state senator Ted Cruz but there's little chance he has to worry about capturing its 38 electoral votes Trump's speech was brimming with his standard notes, including his pledge to build a wall along America's southern border, barely 500 miles away. Julio Arellano (left) draped in the US flag, protests with others outside the Trump rally TENSIONS: A few hundred protesters yelled slogans and argued outside Gilley's on Thursday A WELL-REGULATED MILITIA: A group of pro-Trump activists from the 'open-carry' movement brought their rifles to Trump's event, a practice that is legal in Texas but Secret Service wouldn't allow the weapons inside Texas hasn't gone Democratic in a presidential election since 1976. But the sheer volume of Republican donors concentrated in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio make the state a ripe target for visits. By Friday he will have held fundraisers in all three cities Luana Hanley of Corinth, Texas, holds signs declaring her stance against 'ignorance and hate' during the protest outside Trump's speech was brimming with his standard notes, including his pledge to build a wall along America's southern border, barely 500 miles away. But he skipped his biggest call-and-response line, passing up the chance to hear thousands shout 'Mexico!' after he asks them who will pay for it. Trump also made no mention of Cruz who has still not endorsed him publicly after a bruising primary season, and may not at all. He did eject a half-dozen protesters, including one pasty, bearded 40-something man wearing a white cowboy hat. 'I like cowboy hats,' Trump said, 'but I like the "make America great" hats too.' 'Hey! You know, the protester just gave me an idea: We'll say "Make America Great Again" on a cowboy hat, right?' 'I love that idea!' he yelled. 'Thank you, mister protester! Boy, that's going to sell well in Dallas, let me tell you.' Trump arrived in Texas on Thursday with plans to hold rallies and fundraisers. Protesters assemble on Lamar Street near Gilley's in Dallas Trump arrived in Texas on Thursday with plans to hold rallies and fundraisers. Garcia with LULAC used a megaphone to address protesters outside the rally Trump arrived in Texas on Thursday with plans to hold rallies and fundraisers. Reivin Alexandria of Dallas listens to leaders organize protesters outside the rally Protesters disperse following Trump's rally at Gilley's A renowned Islamic psychologist who earlier this week voiced her support for gay Muslims following the Orlando nightclub massacre had previously compared gays to 'thieves' and 'murderers'. Muslim psychologist Hanan Dover, who works as a psychologist in Bankstown in Sydney's south west, condemned homosexuality as 'evil', The Australian reports. 'If Allah loves homosexuals, he will also love thieves, murderers, liars, hypocrites, criminals,' Ms Dover told a public forum held at the University of Western Sydney in 2002. Scroll down for video Hanan Dover sympathised with Orlando victims but previously compared gays to 'thieves' and 'killers' 'Did Allah make a mistake and say that homosexuality is (a sin) for about 1400 years and when humans are ready, they can start disobeying my laws and I will start accepting all evils? C'mon!' Ms Dover, who runs eight psychology practices in Sydney's west, made the comments at the university's Bankstown campus during a lecture on 'Islam and homosexuality: an Islamic, scientific and logical approach'. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Dover for further comment. The mass shooting inside the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States, resulted in 50 deaths, including the gunman. Fifty three people were also injured. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in US history. Ms Dover, who works as a psychologist and lectures at the Western Sydney University, condemned homosexuality as 'evil' The mass shooting inside the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States, resulted in 50 deaths, including the gunman Ms Dover was one of the members of the Islamic community that signed a media statement expressing sympathy to those scarred by the US shootings, saying that it was a 'targeted attack' and that there was 'no justification for such homophobia'. Last December she also raised eyebrows when she told an Islamic conference in Sydney that Muslim boys charged with terror offences or targeted by police in anti-terrorism raids are just being teenagers. Ms Dover was defendeding teenagers arrested in anti-terror raids following the fatal shooting of NSW police employee Curtis Cheng in Parramatta, west of Sydney, in October by saying they had been unfairly targeted. Fifty three people were also injured in the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman Ms Dover had sympathy for teenagers arrested in counter-terrorism raids after 15-year-old extremist Farhad Jabar (pictured) shot dead Curtis Cheng in a terrorist attack outside NSW Police Headquarters in October She claimed the Muslim men were targeted because their 'teenage speak' and normal 'acting out' was being criminalised. Ms Dover made the claims as part of a discussion panel at the 2nd Australasian Conference on Islam on Tuesday, which focused on radicalisation and Islamophobia, the Daily Telegraph reports. 'I do have a lot of clients who have been charged with terrorism charges and who may have not been charged but were raided by the AFP and arrested,' Ms Dover said. 'Young teenagers act out, yet their acting out has been criminalised. 'It is quite unfair, and there is no previous indicators or violence or tendency, yet they are placed in maximum-security prison with other convicted criminals, until the AFP decide they don't have enough evidence and are released. 'When the Muslim community sees this, they see the double standards, they see the injustice.' Several teenagers were arrested in counter-terrorism raids after 15-year-old extremist Farhad Jabar shot Cheng dead in a terrorist attack outside NSW Police Headquarters last October. Police allege he was also paid to access confidential computers files He allegedly smuggled drugs, alcohol and mobile phones in for the bikies A guard from Casuarina Prison is facing charges of official corruption A snake-charming prison guard turned 'errand boy' will face charges of corruption after allegedly smuggling drugs, alcohol and mobile phones into jail for bikie inmates. Scott Craig Berridge was charged with a string of offences after smuggling contraband into Casuarina Prison, south of Perth, for outlaw motorcycle club members who used some of the items to continue running their criminal networks from inside the jail. Mr Berridge will face Armadale Magistrates Court on Friday where police will also allege the 32-year-old was paid to access Department of Corrective Services computers so he could pass on confidential information about other inmates. Scott Craig Berridge was charged with a string of offences after smuggling contraband into Casuarina Prison The former guard was charged with official corruption, two counts of unlawful use of a computer and two of supplying cannabis to inmates following two months of police surveillance and a raid of his home last week. According to the West Australian, the inmates used Mr Berridge's fascination with snakes to establish a relationship with him and continued 'grooming' the former guard over several months. Police said Mr Berridge, who was employed by the prison around six years ago, worked for the group of inmates between March 2015 and May 2016. The Department of Corrective Services said if the officer was found to be guilty he would be 'prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law'. Mr Berridge was employed by Casuarina Prison (pictured) around six years ago and worked for the group of inmates between March 2015 and May 2016 Police will allege he smuggled cannabis (left), alcohol (right) and mobile phones into the prison (stock images) 'Prison officers hold a position of trust and power, and this must be upheld,' the department said (stock image) 'Prison officers hold a position of trust and power, and this must be upheld,' the department said. Meanwhile, the Department of Parks and Wildlife and Australian Border Force have joined police in investigating 32 exotic reptiles uncovered during the probe into the officer's activities. According to the ABC, the exotic snakes included a boa constrictor and Burmese python. The animals were being kept by two people. A 'human chain' was formed by nearly 150 beach-goers attempting to rescue a 14-year-old boy who went missing in the ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. First responders arrived at the scene to find two swimmers in distress in the ocean at around noon Thursday, an official from the Myrtle Beach Police Department told the Sun News. The two swimmers were brothers. Lifeguards and a bystander were able to save the youngest, but as they attempted to rescue the older brother, they 'lost contact' with him. A 'human chain' (pictured) was formed by dozens of beach-goers attempting to rescue a 14-year-old boy who went missing in the ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina First responders arrived at the scene to find two swimmers in distress in the ocean at around noon Thursday. The two swimmers were brothers and lifeguards and a bystander were able to save the youngest brother, but 'lost contact' with the older sibling Volunteers quickly formed the chain in hopes of rescuing the teen, who was described as a 14-year-old African-American boy in blue swim trunks. Some volunteers stayed in the formation for more than an hour, being pummeled by waves and walking together in the water nearly 10 blocks, according to WYFF 4. Nick Jackson, a lifeguard with John's Beach Service helped organize one of the chains about 35 to 40 minutes after the swimmer went missing. He told the newspaper that it was one of the longest he had ever seen, at about 75 yards long with around 150 people. Jackson said: 'It serves as a net; you want to catch them in the net, so to speak,' Jackson said. 'Lock arms, swipe your feet along the bottom on the hopes that you run into him.' Divers were called into to search the ocean floor when it became to deep for the chain to reach. The names of the brothers have not been released. Volunteers quickly formed the chain in hopes of rescuing the teen, who was described as a 14-year-old African-American boy in blue swim trunks. Nearly 150 people formed the chain Divers were called into to search the ocean floor when it became to deep for the chain to reach Myrtle Beach police (pictured) said the volunteers' efforts to form a 'human chain' helped cordon off sections as they did a grid search. Some volunteers stayed in the formation for more than an hour, being pummeled by waves and walking together in the water nearly 10 blocks The brothers are from Columbus, Georgia, according to police Lt Joey Crosby. The younger brother was treated and released on the scene, according to the Sun News. Lexi May, a volunteer, told the Sun News that they 'got in a big line and tried to help'. 'There were actually four lines. They were all hooked together so they wouldn't get dragged down by the waves,' she added. Police said the brothers were visiting the beach from Georgia. Authorities are constantly updating the boy's family about the search. The use of jet skis in the search were suspended around 5.45pm due to threats of lighting, according to FOX 8. Myrtle Beach police said the volunteers' efforts to form a 'human chain' helped cordon off sections as they did a grid search. He cancelled his star-studded summer party this week after his late father, Sir Clement Freud, was exposed as a paedophile. Now PR guru Matthew Freud finds himself the subject of an extraordinary coincidence. Following the revelation that Sir Clement had a connection to Madeleine McCann, I learn that Matthew Freud put the McCanns spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, right, on the payroll of his agency Freud Communications. Mitchell was appointed to Freuds the year after Sir Clement befriended the McCanns in Portugal two months after Madeleines disappearance in May 2007. Clarence Mitchell, left, spokesman for the McCanns, was also employed by Matthew Freud, right, Former Liberal MP Sir Clement, who died in 2009 aged 84, invited Gerry and Kate McCann to dinner at his villa in Praia da Luz, the resort where Madeleine disappeared aged three. Mitchell started as a consultant at Freuds in September 2008, and kept his 80,000 annual retainer to advise the McCanns, funded by their financial backer Brian Kennedy, the double-glazing tycoon. According to one version of events, the former BBC correspondent was put in touch with Matthew through a mutual TV contact and met Freud to discuss the move, before announcing he was very pleased to accept the 12-month contract. At the time, Sir Clements predatory nature was unknown, and it is not clear whether Matthew Freud knew about his fathers friendship with the McCanns. Victim Vicky Hayes, who was raped by Sir Clement Freud as a teenager, said the late Liberal MPs closeness to the McCanns made her very uneasy. It really jarred with me, she told ITV News this week. He [Freud] had a home in Praia da Luz, but why invite them and cook for them? Mitchell continues to advise the McCanns alongside roles at various PR agencies. Last month, he joined the consultancy JBP as a director. But despite his three decades experience at the highest levels of the UK media, hes keeping quiet. Both Mitchell and Freud decline to comment. Her mother was royal rebel Marina Mowatt, the daughter of Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus Ogilvy. And it seems Zenouska, 26, who is 56th in line to the throne, is happy to maintain the wild child tradition judging by the bottle of champagne she is clutching on Ladies Day at Royal Ascot. Marina, 49, caused a royal scandal in 1989 when she became pregnant outside marriage, and a bitter public rift developed between her and her parents. Zenouska Mowatt, left and right at Royal Ascot, is the daughter of 'royal rebel' Marina Mowatt She publicly accused them of ordering her to marry her boyfriend, photographer Paul Mowatt, or have an abortion. She walked up the aisle dressed in black, and Zenouska was born four months later. The couple divorced in 1997 after the Queen gave her consent and more embarrassment ensued when it emerged Marina was living on benefits. Today, she lives in a cottage on the Crown Estate in Windsor. Some might feel Zenouska, who works in fashion PR, deserves all the champagne she can get. Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters, who divorced his fourth wife last year, has already found love again. The 72-year-old guitarist, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel, is courting Palestinian journalist and author Rula Jebreal, 43. New love: Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal is being courted by Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters Intriguingly, it was their then spouses who introduced them about five years ago. Waters was married to actress and filmmaker Laurie Durning, 52, while Rulas husband was biotech entrepreneur Arthur Altschul Jr, 51. Waterss spokesman declines to comment on claims that Rulas marriage broke down because of her affair with the musician. Roger and Rula have been together around three months and they discuss Palestine all the time, a source says. They are both so very passionate about it. Some people are calling them the Palestinian power couple. But it is very weird for their former spouses, who introduced them. Dan Jarvis, the Remain-supporting Labour MP, claims Brexit campaign leaders are writing blank cheques that will bounce. Only blank cheques dont bounce, do they? Because theyre blank. A bit like Dan, who is amusingly sometimes trumpeted as a future Labour leader. Mourning his very old friend Baroness Marion Lambert, who died after being knocked down by a bus in Londons Oxford Street, socialite Taki has risked outrage by claiming Pakistani drivers are to blame. Directing his comments to Sadiq Khan, Taki says: Perhaps the new London Mayor, whose fathers occupation as a London bus driver from Pakistan was advertised ad nauseam, should look into the fact that Pakistani bus drivers habitually run down tourists looking the wrong way. This is the poignant moment a survivor of the Orlando nightclub massacre was reunited with the police officer who saved him. Angel Colon, 26, was shot three times in the leg and his bones shattered as desperate club-goers trampled him in a bid to get out of the club. Then, he was shot twice more, in the hand and hip, as the gunman fired repeatedly at the wounded 'to make sure they're dead.' Hours later, as he was dragged to safety by a police officer, he was cut by the shards of broken glass on the floor. That officer, Omar Delgado, with the Eatonville Police Department, visited Colon in hospital on Thursday. The pair shared an emotional hug as Delgado told him: 'I'm so glad you're alive.' Scroll down for video This is the poignant moment Angel Colon, a survivor of the Orlando nightclub massacre, was reunited with Omar Delgado, the police officer who saved him Officer Delgado visited Colon at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he told the 26-year-old: 'I'm so glad you're alive' It was the first time the pair had seen each since the night of the shooting, which left 49 people dead at the hands of a lone gunman. The pair are seen smiling at each other as soon as Delgado walks into the Colon's room at the Orlando Regional Medical Center and introduces himself. 'My name is Officer Omar Delgado,' he said. 'I'm one of the ones that helped you get out of harm's way. I need a big hug from you, man.' On Tuesday, Colon told his harrowing story of survival at a news conference. He revealed that, lying wounded on the floor of Pulse nightclub, with the gunman continuing to fire bullets into the bodies of those around him, he thought: 'I'm next, I'm dead.' The 26-year-old described how his fun night out with friends turned into a night of unfathomable horror when the gunman entered and started shooting. It was the first time the pair had seen each since the night of the shooting, which left 49 people dead The pair are seen smiling at each other as soon as Delgado walks into the Colon's hospital room 'My name is Officer Omar Delgado,' he said. 'I'm one of the ones that helped you get out of harm's way. I need a big hug from you, man' 'We were just having a great time. We were all just there having a drink,' he said. 'It was shortly after two o'clock. We were saying our goodbyes. I'm hugging everyone. It was a great night. No drama, just smiles, just laughter.' Until Omar Mateen, 29, wielding an AR-15 rifle and a handgun, entered and starting spraying the crowded club with bullets hitting Colon, who fell to the floor. 'I tried to get back up, but everyone started running anywhere. I got trampled over, and I shattered and broke my bones on my left leg,' he said. 'All I could do was just lay down there while everyone was just running on top of me trying to get to where they had to be,' Colon, his voice quivering, said. 'And all I could hear was the shots going one after another, and people screaming, people yelling for help.' On Tuesday, Colon told his harrowing story of survival. Above, he receives a kiss from his sister at a news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center Angel Colon, who was shot five times, shows off a tattoo that says 'Live for the moment' on his left arm He remembers Mateen moving to another part of the venue at one point and hears more shots but just as he began to feel safe, he hears the gunman move back in his direction. 'Unfortunately, I hear him come back, and he's shooting everyone that's already dead on the floor. Making sure they're dead,' Colon said. 'I look over and he shoots the girl next to me. And I'm just there laying down. I'm thinking, 'I'm next. I'm dead.'' Colon was shot twice more. 'By the glory God, he shoots towards my head but it hits my hand. Then he shoots me again and it hits the side of my hip,' he said. Desperate to not give away the fact that he was still not dead despite five bullets lodged inside him, he remained there. Colon said he was three times in the leg and fell to the floor, where he was trampled by people desperate to escape the club in the early hours of Sunday morning At Tuesday's news conference, he told the doctors and nurses who cared for him: 'I will love you guys forever' 'I was just prepared to just stay there laying down so he won't know that I'm alive. 'And he's just doing this for another five, ten minutes. He's just shooting all over the place.' A police officer dragged him to safety through broken glass, he said. 'I don't feel pain, but I just feel all this blood on me from myself, from other people.' The shooting continued, Colon said, until police who burst into the building, killed the gunman and rescued the survivors, three hours after the start of the ordeal. Colon said a police officer dragged him to safety - through broken glass. 'The floor is just covered in glass. So he's dragging me out while I'm just getting cut - my behind, my back, my legs,' Colon said. 'I don't feel pain, but I just feel all this blood on me from myself, from my other people.' Colon credited the police officer, as well as the doctors and nurses who cared for him afterwards, with saving his life. The distraught mother of a missing Australian backpacker says her son wanted to join the French Foreign Legion. Dean Ranieri, a construction worker from Wallan, Victoria, left Australia for Europe on his first trip overseas on May 14. But the 21-year-old failed to return home from Brussels on June 10, leaving his mother, Louisa Fantauzzo, waiting hopelessly for him at Tullamarine Airport. Scroll down for video Australian backpacker Dean Ranieri failed to return home from a holiday in Europe and has not been heard from for a month On Friday, Ms Fantauzzo said Dean had told 'a lot of people' that he wanted to join the French Foreign Legion. 'I'm finding out about it now - he even mentioned it to my parents five years ago when he was younger,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'But we didn't think he was doing that. He never said anything about it.' Ms Fantauzzo said Dean had 'always wanted to be a soldier' but failed a psychological test to get into the Australian Army three years ago. She said if Dean really had joined the French Foreign Legion she'd be happy for him, but she wanted to know he was OK. 'We don't know where he is, it's very upsetting and distressing for us,' she said. Dean's distraught mother Louisa Fantauzzo says she is sick with worry and has not been sleeping Dean last used his credit card on May 16, and his last Facebook post was made on May 17, Ms Fantauzzo said. He told his 18-year-old sister Jessica in a message to 'tell mum I'm ok' and that he'd be in touch. He hasn't been heard from since. His mother said he was a 'smart kid' that didn't drink, do drugs and enjoyed keeping fit. 'None of us are sleeping at the moment,' Ms Fantauzzo said. Dean's mother said he had told 'a lot of people' about his desire to join the French Foreign Legion Ms Fantauzzo said it was out of character for Dean not to let her know his whereabouts Since Dean's disappearance, the wife of an Australian corporal in the French Foreign Legion has contacted the family. Ms Fantauzzo said she has promised to ask if Dean had approached the famous international fighting force. The worried mother said it was out of character for her son not to let her know his whereabouts. 'He said I'm going on a holiday, we dropped him at the airport,' Ms Fantauzzo said. 'He was happy, had some tears in his eyes and then he never returned. We haven't heard anything since.' French police and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are investigating Crown prosecutors say Oliver Curtis, the husband of PR queen Roxy Jacenko, should serve jail time after he was found guilty of an insider trading charge earlier this month. David Staehli SC told the court there was 'no evidence' of remorse or contrition from the father-of-two, who he said 'cheated' his way to $1.4 million in profit with his former best friend. Curtis, 30, and stocks analyst John Hartman split the proceeds, spending it on expensive cars, a swanky apartment and a trip to Las Vegas. During Friday's sentencing hearing at the NSW Supreme Court, Mr Staehli called for Curtis to be given a custodial sentence. At the same time, defence witnesses described the impact the proceedings has had on the finance worker and former private school student - who has 'lost a lot of weight' under the pressure. Scroll down for video With grim expressions on their face, Oliver Curtis and Roxy Jacenko are pictured leaving his sentencing hearing on Friday. He will be sentenced in a week's time Mr Curtis, Ms Jacenko, a member of their legal team and their bodyguard are pictured before being circled by a media scrum The court heard glowing witness testimonies for Mr Curtis - but also from prosecutors who said there had been no evidence of remorse or contrition As Ms Jacenko watched quietly from the front row of a packed courtroom, Curtis's godfather Antony Magnus gave a glowing character reference for the defence. 'Growing up Olly was a friend to everyone and just one of the boys at school,' said Mr Magnus. 'He was very much a boy's boy... He met Roxy and fell in love before most of the boys in his year had even dated the same girl twice. 'He's continued to be a doting dad, partner and husband since day one. 'Oliver seems to have lost a lot of weight and come under a lot of stress. It doesnt effect his love for his family 'He's a positive person - still very positive, but stressed'. Kevin Hopgood-Brown, a second defence witness, also lavished praise upon Curtis's character. Mr Hopgood-Brown said Curtis had matured a lot in the past six years and 'completely swept away' Chinese business partners with his competence. Prosecutor Mr Staehli noted how delayed the trial had been - it being nearly four years since the committal hearing was held. He said it was necessary Curtis serve time to deter other members of the community. Ms Jacenko is seen here making her way through the security check point inside the courthouse The 36-year-old ditched her brighter outfit from earlier in the day for the court appearance PR maven Roxy Jacenko (left) changed from a bright outfit to a sombre black as she prepared to appear in court alongside her husband, Oliver Curtis (right) and their bodyguard She clutched the hand of Mr Curtis (left and right) as they walked passed the media at the NSW Surpreme Court The Sydney businesswoman revealed earlier that day she had trouble sleeping the night before as she spoke at her annual PR and digital media conference. Pictured is Ms Jacenko with her husband Earlier in the day, Ms Jacenko gave a seminar on digital media tips and tricks wearing bright colours Defence lawyer Murugan Thangaraj SC told the court much had changed in Curtis's life during the delay. He said he was now a married man with children and pointed to his very likely prospects for rehabilitation. 'He's gone from being a single man... to being a father and a husband,' Mr Thangaraj said. 'He's in a different life stage (than) if the delay (in proceedings reaching this point) hadn't happened'. He said there 'wasn't a person in Sydney' who would want to 'go through what he and his family have gone through since 2009'. Curtis only recently agreed to forfeit the profits he made to the Commonwealth, the court heard. He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading on June 2. He had pleaded not guilty - but that was disavowed by a jury, who found he and his friend John Hartman used insider knowledge to profit in 2007 and 2008. The maximum sentence is five years jail and a $220,000 fine. The founder of Sweaty Betty PR, 36, accessorised the outfit with dark aviator-style sunglasses Earlier in the day, Ms Jacenko was pictured leaving her 'tips and tricks' talk at the Shangri-La Hotel on Friday, where she spoke candidly about her life. She wore Gucci for the appearance Ms Jacenko arrived to the sentencing hearing on Friday afternoon hand-in-hand with her husband, wearing a black Dior dress and YSL heels. She had spent the morning speaking at her own seminar which had coincidentally fallen on the same day. Speaking to a paying crowd of hundreds at the Shangi-La Hotel, she revealed she had trouble sleeping on Thursday evening. At the conference, Ms Jacenko tried to stay positive and popped up an inspirational quote on the big screen, saying: 'Hey you. Don't give up.' 'She said this quote was very useful for today,' a source said. Another source said a sympathetic murmur ran through the crowd. Ms Jacenko also spoke of making 'personal sacrifices' for her work and family and revealed she often wakes up in the early hours of the morning to answer work emails. She told the crowd she woke up more than usual last night, not mentioning what was on her mind - whether the event or her partner's legal dramas. Her most recent outfit was a far cry from the one she wore earlier, which featured a bright pink and black striped jumper with a cat emblazoned on the front. Ms Jacenko is pictured left and right embracing a worker Ms Jacenko revealed how her digital work sees her wake up at all times of night to answer emails. She said she made 'personal sacrifices' for her job Wearing a cat jumper, Ms Jacenko told the crowd about her digital media 'tips and tricks' Roxy Jacenko is pictured with two fans at her 'tips and tricks' talk on Friday morning - the morning before her husband's sentencing hearing Ms Jacenko said this quote, pictured, would be particularly useful on Friday - the day of the seminar and her husband's sentencing hearing Ms Jacenko's staff pack 'goodie bags' for the event in this picture that appeared on her Instagram account The $200-a-ticket conference went smoothly, with the media specialist largely discussing social media, 'influencers' and daughter Pixie's Instagram account. Each attendee received a goodie bag. The contents included a doughnut, toothpaste, a plastic surgeons catalogue, nail polish, chocolate, a notebook, face cream and other items. Last year's event also had its challenges, with the Sweaty Betty founder turning up with an intravenous drip in her arm. The former Celebrity Apprentice contestant had suffered a serious infection after rhinoplasty surgery. Ms Jacenko has reportedly told friends the event was 'cursed' and she told Daily Mail Australia at the weekend it would be the final one. 'Next Friday will be my final In Conversation Seminar on PR / Social Media & Tips and Tricks that have helped me grow my business,' she revealed. 'I have decided that after three fabulous sessions that I won't be doing the annual event any longer with next Friday's session being the final.' She declined to comment on Friday. Her husband Oliver Curtis has been found guilty of one charge of conspiracy to commit insider trading Ms Jacenko and her husband put on a brave face as they arrived at their Bondi apartment last night A jury found Curtis (left) guilty following a three week trial at the New South Wales Supreme Court She thanked award-winning pastry chef Anna Polyviou for all her and her staff's hard work on her Instagram account in the lead-up to the event A woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs at a home in Travis County on Wednesday, but their owner probably won't face charges - despite residents saying they are 'frightening' and a nuisance. Process server Erin McCleskey, 36, was attacked after she entered the front gate of the home of Donald and Terry Swanson to serve civil papers. The Swansons have been out of town for more than a month, so her body was only found when a caretaker arrived to bring the dogs food and water, Statesman reported. Victim: Erin McCleskey, 36, was killed Wednesday by six dogs on a property in Travis County. The dogs' owners were out of town and they were being fed by a carer so her body was only discovered later that day 'Frightening': One neighbor said the 'frightening' dogs (two pictured) have escaped the property and attacked other animals. Another won't let her kids out because of them. But police say the owner won't be charged Property: McCleskey had entered the property by the front gate to deliver court papers when she was attacked. Since the owners didn't actively command the dogs to attack, they probably won't face charges The death, which occurred on Fay Street in northwest Austin, is still under investigation but will most likely be ruled an accident, according to sheriffs office spokesman Roger Wade. 'If the homeowners not there and doesnt sic the dogs on them, I dont know what charges would be filed,' he said. He added that the dogs were the property of Terry Swanson. Six dogs - most of which were Labrador/Great Pyrenees mixes - have been impounded by Austin Animal Protection and placed in quarantine for rabies. After ten days they will most likely be placed in the care of the city, which will then rule on whether they are dangerous and need to be destroyed. But locals have said the animals are a 'frightening' menace that's kept children off the streets. Gonzalo Grimaldo, who owns a parking lot next to the Swansons' property, told the Statesman that the dogs had got loose and attacked his dog months ago. He said he called 911 after the 'frightening' attack but nobody responded to his report. Another neighbor, Christi Sparks, said that roaming dogs have been a problem since she moved to the neighborhood in 2005 and that she won't let her kids play outside in case they are attacked. However, Austin city spokeswoman Patricia Fraga said that that there was no record of any animal complaints involving the property or the animals. As well as the impounded dogs, there were 14 puppies living on the property. Quarantine: The dogs have been quarantined in case of rabies. The will most likely take ownership of them and, if they do not have rabies, decide whether they are dangerous. If so, they will be destroyed The parents of the two-year-old boy who was dragged to his death by an alligator at a Disney resort have spoken out. Matt and Melissa Graves were unable to save their son Lane as the predator pulled him into the water at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando. The couple, who were on vacation from Nebraska with their two children, have said they are devastated by their loss. They revealed their pain as Disney confirmed they would be installing warnings next to the lake where the boy died, and Florida's legal community predicted a multi-million-dollar payout for the boy's family. Scroll down for video Tragedy: Lane Graves is pictured as a baby with his mother, father and sister. His parents were paddling with him as he was snatched by an alligator and killed at Disney World in Florida on Tuesday The parents of Lane Graves (left), the two-year-old boy who was dragged to his death by an alligator, say they are devastated at the loss of their son. His father Matt, who tried to save the youngster from the jaws of the predator, is pictured right The company has faced questions over why the signs by the water said 'no swimming', even though a neighboring hotel alerted guests to the underwater beasts. Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time Statement from Matt and Melissa Graves following the death of their son Lane The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities. They added: 'Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time.' Matt Morgan, an Orlando lawyer, predicted a multi-million-dollar settlement for wrongful death. 'Every parent across America has had this family's nightmare running through their minds and it's heartbreaking to think that this may have been a preventable tragedy,' Morgan told the Times of London. He said any case would focus on what Disney knew about alligators in the lagoon and when they knew it, and whether the company had taken sufficient measures to protect its guests. He pointed to claims that guests had previously fed alligators on the beach where the boy was snatched. The Graves family were on the third day of their vacation in Orlando when Lane was snatched as they waded in the water off this beach at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Rescuers searched the water in the shadow of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom for 17 hours before Lane's body was recovered in tact 'It's common sense that if alligators are fed on a continuing basis that they will return,' said Morgan. 'If evidence supports that Disney were aware people were feeding them and didn't erect a fence or warn of the potential of alligators to come on to the beach, that's going to be a factor.' A GoFundMe page set up to support the family had raised more than $50,000 as of Friday morning. Jarrod Parde, who said he was a friend of the Graves, thanked donators on behalf of the family. He wrote: 'First off, thank you to ever single one of you who have donated and have left amazing comments of love, kindness, and prayer during this horrific tragedy. 'As you can understand, Matt & Melissa are going through an extremely difficult time battling the loss of their precious son, Lane. 'They want to express nothing but love to all for the support they're receiving from complete strangers. Disney has confirmed it will be putting up signs warning of alligators near where the youngster died. The sign that was in place on the beach at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando only warned guests of the steep drop-off 'Also, because of the kind and generous hearts of Matthew Wilhite and his family, this donation page has and will change the future for Matt & Melissa. 'Thank you so much Matthew for setting up this page! Mr. Wilhite and myself are in constant contact as am I with the Graves family.' He added: 'The Graves family felt moved by his spirit to take action and help a desperate family in need. Please do not comment on the situation or Mr. Wilhite in a rude or judgmental way. Thank you and love to you all. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. 'The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries,' the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. The toddler's body is driven away from the lake in the back of an Orange County Sheriff's department vehicle Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. 'All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols,' Wahler said in a statement. 'This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings.' The alligator was believed to be between 4ft and 7ft(1.2m and 2m) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, which neighbors the Walt Disney World resort, has signs warning of alligators in its lake The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. The hotel's website - showing rooms starting at $569 a night before taxes - says guests can 'bask on the white-sand beach'. The lake at Orlando's Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is just seven miles from the Walt Disney World lagoon where the boy disappeared Advertisement Raging wildfires in California, New Mexico and Arizona have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and thousands more are threatened as temperatures rise in the Western United States. Occupants of 400 homes and businesses were asked to evacuate in areas threatened by flames from the California fire, Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said in a news conference on Thursday. Campers and horses on ranches have also been forced out, officials said. The National Weather Service on Friday predicted dry, windy and hot weather for the region through next week, which could lead to more wildfires as some western states are predicted to hit record-high temperatures. Scroll down for video Fires have consumed parts of at least three states in the Western United States as high temperatures stoke the flames of the wild blazes Santa Barbara deputies asked occupants of 400 homes and businesses to evacuate in areas threatened by flames from the California fire The blaze, which ignited on Wednesday in a wilderness area northwest of Santa Barbara, has consumed chaparral and tall grass in the Los Padres National Forest About 800 California firefighters have been trying to hold the fire from exploding out of control on land while firefighting aircrafts attempt to douse the flames from above Santa Barbara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Murray (pictured) stands by a firebreak as a wildfire burns west of Goleta, California The blaze, which ignited on Wednesday in a wilderness area northwest of Santa Barbara, has consumed chaparral and tall grass in the Los Padres National Forest, blackening some 1,200 acres, according to the InciWeb fire information center. About 800 firefighters were trying to hold it from exploding out of control as airplane tankers and helicopters dropped water, according to ABC News. 'There isn't a lot of marine layer so not great conditions for firefighting,' Diane Black, a joint incident command manager, said. Winds drove the so-called Sherpa Fire toward the Pacific coast, leading authorities to evacuate two state beaches and some ranch land, according InciWeb and the Santa Barbara County website. The blaze also approached the 101 Freeway overnight, forcing authorities to close it until Thursday morning. Firefighters were hopeful infamous 'Sundowner' winds wouldn't kick up and spread the blaze, but were unlucky as the winds ferociously spread the fires through the night. Wildfires moved far and fast because of overgrown hillsides and canyons that hadn't burned in more than 60 years, the LA Times reported. This is the fourth year California has been in a drought and the raging fire is thought to be a sign of what's to come in summer and fall. The LA Times reported that wildfires have burned more than 30,000 acres of state and federal land so far this year. That amount is on par with the same period in 2015, it reported. Last year was particularly destructive and burned more than 307,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and killed as many as nine people. Triple-digit temperatures are expected through the weekend into Monday. In New Mexico, the so-called Dog Head Fire that broke out on Wednesday, about six miles northwest of the town of Tajique, has forced evacuations and grown to more than 12,000 acres. Winds drove the so-called 'Sherpa Fire' toward the Pacific coast, leading authorities to evacuate two state beaches and some ranch land The California blaze (pictured) is moving quickly around steep and unstable terrain and is being fueled not only by warm weather but by the brush and bushes Firefighters have used helicopters (pictured) to dump gallons of water on the raging fires in California, New Mexico and Arizona Approximately 1,200 acres in California's coastal area has been blackened by the La Sherpa Incident fires (pictured), which sprung up on Wednesday California's wildfires (pictured) moved far and fast because of overgrown hillsides and canyons that hadn't burned in more than 60 years Tajique is around 30 miles southeast of Albuquerque. Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency and activated the state's National Guard, ordering the unit to be prepared to assist if needed, according to a statement issued by her office. The fire has burned through timber in central New Mexico, pushing heavy smoke toward cities more than 100 miles away as flames spread through a largely unpopulated area, fire information officer Peter D'Aquanni said. Torrance County Sheriff Heath White said his office was evacuating about 200 people. Firefighters were hopeful California's infamous 'Sundowner' winds wouldn't kick up and spread the blaze, but were unlucky as the winds ferociously spread the fires through the night (California, pictured) The LA Times reported that wildfires have burned more than 30,000 acres of state and federal land so far this year in California (pictured). That amount is on par with the same period in 2015 Last year was particularly destructive for California (pictured) as more than 307,000 acres burned, destroying hundreds of homes and killing as many as nine people In New Mexico, the so-called Dog Head Fire (pictured) that broke out on Wednesday about six miles northwest of the town of Tajique has forced evacuations The fire has grown to more than 12,000 acres and burned through timber in central New Mexico (pictured), pushing heavy smoke toward cities more than 100 miles away D'Aquanni said winds could shift the flames to the east as more than 600 firefighters tackle the blaze. 'There's not many structures in front of that direction if it goes where we think it's going,' he said. In Arizona, more than 5,500 acres have burned and the community of Cedar Creek has been evacuated. Thousands have been told to prepare for evacuation after the wildfire consumed 12 square miles. Fire crews have been successful in working to contain the blaze. Multiple states are expected to hit record highs and at least four states, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico are expected to have triple-digit temperatures New Mexico governor Susana Martinez (pictured) declared a state of emergency and activated the state's National Guard, ordering the unit to be prepared to assist if needed Just like in California fire fighting tankers are dropping retardant of the Dog Head Fire in New Mexico (pictured) in an attempt to quell the flames In Arizona (pictured), more than 5,500 acres have burned and the community of Cedar Creek has been evacuated and thousands more have been told to prepare to leave No injuries have been reported in California, Arizona or New Mexico. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for areas in the U.S. southwest, including California, Nevada and Arizona. The NWS forecast office in Phoenix predicted temperatures as high as 119 degrees in the coming days, which would exceed record highs. The NWS also issued heat advisories for Missouri and southwest Iowa, with temperatures in the mid-90s. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for areas in the U.S. southwest, including California (pictured), Nevada and Arizona The NWS has predicted triple-digit weather forecasts in western states (California, pictured). In Phoenix predicted temperatures as high as 119 degrees are expected in the coming days, which would exceed record highs Labor leader Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offered their condolences on Friday to the family of slain British Labour MP Jo Cox's and the United Kingdom. Mr Shorten also condemned the murder of the 41-year-old mother of two, calling her death a 'shocking hate crime.' Ms Cox was attacked by a man who stabbed her and shot her three times as she walked to meet with her constituents in Birstell, near Leeds, on Thursday afternoon. Labor leader Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offered their condolences on Friday to the family of slain British Labour MP Jo Cox (pictured) who was attacked on Thursday afternoon Mr Shorten (left) and Mr Turnbull (right) pledged their solidarity with the United Kingdom after the attack and Mr Shorten condemned the attack as a 'shocking hate crime' Opposition Leader Shorten commented on the heartfelt statement of Ms Cox's husband, Brendan Cox, asking for people 'unite to fight against the hatred that killed her' Within hours of her death, her husband Brendan Cox asked that everyone 'unite to fight against the hatred that killed her.' Opposition Leader Shorten commented on Mr Cox's heartfelt statement. 'Incredibly powerful words from Brendan Cox at such a dark time. Love to Jo's family, condolences to the British people. Solidarity,' Mr Shorten wrote on Twitter. Mr Turnbull said that he is 'deeply shocked' by Ms Cox's murder. Mr Turnbull said that he is 'deeply shocked' by Ms Cox's murder Ms Cox (pictured), a 41-year-old mother of two, was attacked by a man who stabbed her and shot her three times as she walked to meet with her constituents in Birstell, near Leeds 'Our condolences, prayers and solidarity are with her family and the people of the UK,' he said. A local man, Tommy Mair, 52, is being interviewed by police in connection with Ms Cox's death. Ms Cox was an advocate for Remain campaign, which advocates for the UK to stay within the European Union. Mr Cox (pictured with his wife), a charity worker, said he would dedicate 'every moment' of his life to his wife's memory The attacker stabbed Ms Cox repeatedly as bystanders tried to intervene. He then shot her three times once in the head She was also outspoken about providing a home within the UK for refugees. Ms Cox's attacker allegedly yelled 'Britain first' as he ran toward her and knocked her to the ground. The attacker stabbed her repeatedly as bystanders tried to intervene. He then shot her three times once in the head. A 77-year-old man who tried to stop the attack was also stabbed in the stomach. A 77-year-old man who tried to stop the attack was also stabbed in the stomach A pair of Long Island brothers who collected Nazi paraphernalia were arrested after a stockpile of weapons, drugs and bomb-making instructions were found in their home, authorities said. Edward Perkowski, 29, was arrested on Thursday morning after officers executed a search warrant at his Mount Sinai home. He is facing weapons and drug charges after police also found marijuana and mushrooms at the property. His brother Sean, 25, who also lives in the home, was charged with an outstanding bench warrant, police said. Scroll down for video Edward (left) and Sean Perkowski (right) were arrested after a stockpile of weapons, drugs and bomb-making instructions were found in their home, authorities said Police seized six assault rifles, four rifles, a .40-caliber Glock, 25 high-capacity magazines, one shotgun, a stun gun, 14 knives, up to 5,000 rounds of ammunition - as well as various Nazi propaganda (pictured) 'Today's search warrant might have prevented a deadly, violent incident, like the one we recently saw in Orlando,' Suffolk County police commissioner Tim Sini told a news conference in Yaphank. 'To think that this was in the town in the town of Brookhaven is extremely disturbing,' Sini added, holding up an image showing the arsenal of weapons and Nazi propaganda found in the Perkowskis home, including a framed picture of Adolf Hitler. 'The brave men and women of the department will stop at nothing to neutralize threats like this. Police raided the home at around 6am on Thursday. They found six assault rifles, four rifles, a .40-caliber Glock, 25 high-capacity magazines, one shotgun, a stun gun, 14 knives as well as up to 5,000 rounds of ammunition. Officers also seized $42,940 in cash, a notebook that contained bomb-making instructions, a cell phone, two computers and Nazi propaganda, including flags featuring the swastika. Police also found marijuana and mushrooms - and more than $40,000 in cash at the property where Sean (left) and Edward Perkowski (right) lived The house was infected with 'the disease called hate,' Brookhaven town supervisor Edward Romaine said, according to the New York Times. 'And we want to stop hate in this county. There's enough.' 'These individuals pose a clear and present danger, or at least they did,' Sini said, according to CBS New York. 'They have subscribed to a hateful ideology, they had an illegal arsenal at their fingertips. But a friend of the brothers insisted they are 'legitimately good people'. A man, who identified himself only as Bob, told the news station: 'What the hell are they talking about, they're going to plan some attack? 'I've known them my whole life. They're not going to do anything.' He added Edward Perkowski runs a military surplus business, which is why he had so many weapons. 'They are not Nazis. They are not neo-Nazis,' he insisted. Neighbors said they had complained about the Perkowskis for years, but a friend insisted they are 'good people'. Above, a picture Sean Perkowski posted on his Facebook page showing him getting a tattoo But neighbors painted a different picture, telling CBS2 they had complained about the Perkowskis for years. Brian Saltzer said: 'I have contacted the police about the drug dealing and the violence and the weapons. They assaulted me.' But Edward Perkowski's attorney Matt Tuohy told ABC7 his client has done nothing illegal and owns a military surplus business. 'Anything that is legal can be attributed to him,' Tuohy said. 'Anything that is illegal he has nothing to do with it he said.' A group of homeless people have gatecrashed a CEO sleepout in Adelaide that had been arranged to raise money for rough sleepers. About six homeless people took offence at the group of 120 chief executives staying in Whitmore Square overnight as part of St Vincent de Pauls CEO Sleepout - an annual Australia-wide fundraiser - and asked them for money. 'They certainly made a couple of comments, saying 'I don't think sleeping out for one night means you understand what it means to be homeless'. And I think that's fair,' St Vincent de Paul chief executive David Wark said. Cardboard homes were set up by the CEOs who took part in the St Vincent de Pauls CEO Sleepout Vinnies SA chief executive David Wark said some were demanding money and some were criticising the event but at no stage did any of the executives feel threatened, the Adelaide Advertiser reports. 'The group was genuinely homeless and were walking through Whitmore Square when they stopped, but they were in no way aggressive or nasty,' Mr Wark said. 'There was a suggestion that us sleeping out for a night was not what it's like to be homeless which was a fair point. 'They certainly stayed and made their presence felt and then occupied a seat or two for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but that's okay, that's a real experience and that's what we're trying to provide people that are doing it.' Despite the money raised people took to social media to show their annoyance at what happened Despite the run-in, the SA event raised $560,000 and was on track to hit its $600,000 target by the end of the financial year. 'This would equal one of our best ever efforts,' Mr Wark said. 'We're thrilled with the community support we've received and it's honourable of a community organisation to have so much support.' Advertisement It was a race against time for demolition crews bringing down beach-side properties ravaged by Sydney's monster storm a fortnight ago ahead of another expected weekend of wild weather. Heavy machinery moved in on Friday to pull down some of the battered homes at Collaroy on the northern beaches. Some residents could be seen scrambling to remove the wreckage as the skies began to darken with forecasts that Sydney, along with other parts of New South Wales and Queensland, are set to bear the brunt of the system. Scroll down form video The beach-side properties ravaged by Sydney's monster storm a fortnight ago are being demolished ahead of another weekend of wild weather Heavy machinery moved into Collaroy on Friday to pull down some of the battered homes at Collaroy on the northern beaches ahead of a new low moving in at the weekend Another low is set to bring a burst of strong winds and heavy rain to the east coast that was pummelled by wild weather just over a week ago. Residents in Collaroy looked on as several of the ten multi-million dollar homes savaged by powerful waves and gale force winds in the storm were knocked down. Others were boarded up in the prospect of another lashing and had extra sandbags put in place to try and keep the tide back. Demolition work has begun on Sydney's northern beaches ahead of another storm with heavy machinery bringing down this balcony Crunch: The wreckage of several prestige homes was removed by heavy machinery on Friday at Collaroy Engineers and workmen converged on the sand to assess the walls protecting houses at Collaroy Work continued through Friday at the damaged homes at Collaroy beach with fears another savage storm is set to hit over the weekend The Beach Club was boarded up and had timber framing put in place ahead of paintwork on Friday Debris still litters the sand around badly damaged homes at Collaroy battered by a superstorm a fortnight ago Meteorologist Tom Saunders from Sky News confirmed there will be widespread rain over the weekend. 'We are still expecting widespread falls of 50 to 100mm on the western side of the ranges through central/southern QLD and NSW, which will trigger minor flooding, particularly around central QLD,' he stated on his weather blog. 'Warragamba (Dam) storage is currently 98 per cent full and with 50mm likely from this event from Saturday to Monday the dam should spill which may cause flooding along the Nepean River.' He also warned that 'another monster low is likely late next week over south-east Australia'. Engineers and workmen discuss the best course of action ahead of another weekend of wild weather Workers rushed to secure doors and windows at the back of properties already damaged One balcony pictured above was hanging precariously before heavy machinery was brought in to remove it The pool at the back of 1142 Pittwater Road, Collaroy remains on its side as tractors continue to dig through the sand on the shoreline Cranes, tractors and other earth-moving equipment have been brought in over the past week to help with the clean-up of debris in the Collaroy sand Looking up from the beach the remnants of a back fence can be seen hanging on the rock wall Sydney is forecast to cop up to 70mm of rain from Saturday to Monday, according to Weatherzone. While Brisbane and Canberra will get most of its downpour on Sunday with up to 40mm of rain. But Melbourne will remain almost untouched as less than a millimetres of rain is predicted for Saturday and Sunday. Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said the system did not look as bad as the one that took out chunks of Sydney's coastline on the northern beaches, with the king tides swallowing waterfront mansions along Collaroy. It was the worst storm Sydney had seen in 40 years. A rock wall beneath an apartment complex and a home at Collaroy beach - thousands of sandbags have been brought in to try and secure the site Wreckage litters the sand as another low is set to bring strong winds and rain to the east coast of Sydney The pool ripped from the yard of a Collaroy home proved a lasting image of the superstorm's power Weather forecasters say the upcoming system did not look as bad as the one that took out chunks of Sydney's coastline, with the king tides swallowing waterfront mansions along Collaroy (pictured) Another low is set to bring a burst of strong winds and heavy rain to the east coast that was pummelled by wild weather just over a week ago. Above is a wave hitting the clifftop houses of Vaucluse in Sydney But Mr Dutschke did warn there was a chance some areas may be hit harder this time around. 'There is one thing to emphasise on the negative side is that there is a significant flood risk given how much rain has already fallen a bit over the week ago,' Mr Dutschke said. 'Lots of dams are near capacity, some are at a good chance to spill over.' Mr Dutschke added it was not unusual for two low systems to hit in the period of late autumn and early winter, saying it was 'prime time' 'In the last two years there were some periods we were getting it more frequently than that,' he said. Some residents could be seen scrambling to remove the wreckage as the skies began to darken The warning signs are out ahead of more wild weather expected across Sydney's northern beaches Beach homes above the rocks at Collaroy on Sydney's northern beaches While Collaroy was one of the hardest hit areas (above), Melbourne will again remain almost untouched as less than a millimetres of rain is predicted for Saturday and Sunday Melbourne will be relatively unaffected by the wild weather like last time, but 'more significant weather' will be felt east of the city in Gippsland and East Gippsland areas. But there was a silver lining to the rainfall, Mr Dutschke said. 'On the positive side, there is some inland parts of western Queensland and NSW that will get worthwhile and welcome rain out of this and it won't get too windy,' he said. The recent superstorm not only brought destruction to NSW but it also brought major flooding to large areas of Tasmania, with Premier Will Hodgman declaring it to be the worst flood event in 40 years. The Brisbane-born prisoner was arrested at the Bali airport with heroin strapped to his body in 2005 The new prison in East Java say he was relocated because of riots The original prison claim Czugaj was relocated after he was Bali Nine member Michael Czugaj was moved from Indonesia's notorious Kerobokan prison because of overcrowding, not drugs, officials at the Java jail where he is now being held say. Czugaj was sentenced to life imprisonment after the then-19-year-old was arrested at Denpasar Airport in April 2005 with heroin strapped to his body. He was one of more than 60 prisoners who were moved in the early hours of April 27 from the Bali jail to Madiun prison in East Java. Heroin smuggler Michael Czugaj was sentenced to life in prison after a criminal trial in 2006 At the time Kerobokan prison authorities alleged he was moved after being found with less than a gram of 'sabu sabu' or ice. But the jail that received him in East Java said that's not the case. 'According to our document, he's not moved because of a drug problem,' said Madiun's prison's head of security Tjahja Rediantana. 'Along with other foreign inmates from Iran, they're moved because of security reason, because there was a riot there in Kerobokan.' However when AAP contacted Kerobokan prison governor Slamet Prihantara for clarification, he claimed Czugaj was moved because of both drugs and rioting. In 2005 the then 19-year-old was arrested at Denpasar Airport with heroin strapped to his body. Czugaj was relocated from the infamous Kerobokan jail in Bali earlier this year but speculation surrounds the reason for the move Rediantana said the Australian was adapting well to life at Madiun prison and there had been no signs of drug use there. Mr Rediantana said Czugaj may ask to be moved to Tangerang Prison, west of Jakarta, so he can be closer to the capital's airport - making it easier for family and friends to visit. Tina Bailey, who assists with programs inside Kerobokan prison and visited Madiun on Monday, said Czugaj appeared to be in good spirits at the Java jail. She too had been told he was moved because of rioting, not drugs. Michael Czugaj was a glazier in Brisbane before he was arrested for drug trafficking in 2005 at Denpasar airport Prison riots have been erupting across Indonesia as a result of chronic overcrowding for several years. Just days before Czugaj was moved a riot broke out in Kerobokan, with inmates lighting fires. In December, then-governor of Kerobokan prison Sunarto Bondan was stood down after two inmates were killed in a gang fight. Corrections Directorate general spokesman Akbar Hadi Prabowo said they are urging the government to inject another 1.3 trillion rupiah (A$1.3 billion) to combat overcrowding and improve security. Kerobokan prison authorities alleged he was moved after being found with less than a gram of 'sabu sabu' or ice. In June this year, the number of people imprisoned was around 193,000 nationwide but jails had a capacity of only around 119,000, he explained. 'This is the root of problems,' he told AAP. Woolworths said it had also been hit, but Aldi said it was not affected Increased demand and cold weather had contributed to the issue The company said it was being affected by a nationwide egg shortage Coles customers have been left eggless for the weekend as the company struggles to meet demands amid a nationwide egg shortage affecting retailers. Photos taken by a customer of the supermarket giant's Neutral Bay store in Sydney on Friday shows egg shelves bare. The company blamed the empty shelves on an increase in demand for eggs and seasonal conditions which have contributed to a nationwide shortage. Scroll down for video Photos taken by a customer of the supermarket giant's Neutral Bay store in Sydney shows egg shelves again bare The company blamed the empty shelves on an increase in demand for eggs and seasonal conditions 'The retail and food service industry across Australia is experiencing a shortage of eggs because of a significant increase in consumption and seasonal conditions,' the statement read. 'We are working closely with our suppliers to increase production to ensure we have a full range of eggs available for customers as soon as possible.' Woolworths said it had also been affected by the nationwide egg shortage and that the recent changes regarding the definition of 'free range' had contributed to the issue. However Aldi said its stores were not experiencing a shortage of eggs. Egg Farmers of Australia spokesperson John Coward told Daily Mail Australia that the shortage would not improve until September at the earliest. He said the shortage mainly impacted free range egg production partly due to a recent change to the definition of free range eggs which was reducing investment from farmers. Egg Farmers of Australia spokesperson John Coward told Daily Mail Australia that the shortage would not improve until September at the earliest High meat prices have also encouraged shoppers to eat more eggs, with consumption up between 3.5 to 4 per cent annually High meat prices have also encouraged shoppers to eat more eggs, with consumption up between 3.5 to 4 per cent annually. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart have been hit hardest by the shortage as cold weather and shorter days affected free-range egg production, with some farms in the country's south-east losing up to 25 per cent of production. Cage eggs, which make up to 60 per cent of Australia's eggs, had not been affected due to being produced in controlled conditions, Mr Coward said. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart have been hit hardest by the shortage as cold weather and shorter days affected free-range egg production, with some farms in the country's south-east losing up to 25 per cent Mr Coward said customers could expect egg shelves to be restocked within two days at affected stores, but recommended customers buy eggs from independent stores in the meantime Mr Coward said customers could expect egg shelves to be restocked within two days at affected stores, but recommended customers buy eggs from independent stores in the meantime. 'If they haven't got eggs on the stores, look toward independent stores where there are closer relationships with the suppliers,' he said. The fate of a newborn elephant who cannot stand because of a rare condition is in the hands of vets at Melbourne Zoo. The 103kg calf born at Melbourne Zoo on Wednesday has a carpel condition on her front legs that prevents her from straightening her wrists and bearing her own weight. The baby has been separated from her mother, Num-Oi, and is being bottle fed while she has casts on both of her front legs. She has improved after almost 24 hours of intensive treatment, but still has a long way to go. Asian elephant Num-Oi (pictured here pregnant) gave birth to a female calf on Wednesday morning Head veterinarian Michael Lynch said if her condition doesn't improve after two weeks in the casts, surgical correction could be an option. Asian elephant Num-Oi gave birth to the female calf, but has been unable to feed her due to the congenital condition. The calf is being cared for at the elephant barn at Melbourne Zoo. Congenital Carpal Flexure is preventing the calf from straightening the ankles on her two front feet, so she cant stand up, Melbourne Zoos Head Vet Dr Michael Lynch said. The condition is rare in Asian Elephants but common in foals. Both the calf's legs have been splinted in an effort to fix the problem. The calf is being cared for at the elephant barn at Melbourne Zoo. The whole area has been cordoned off so it can be a quiet zone for the baby and mother Specialists from Melbourne University Veterinary School have been brought in to help, as well as equine experts. As the calf has not been able to stand, she can't suckle from her mother Num-Oi and so keepers are milking her in order to bottle feed the baby. Looking after the sick calf is a round-the-clock job for zoo keepers and vets and it is not known whether the baby will survive. It's a dry heat, Phoenix residents like to say about Arizona's hot weather. That bravado may vanish as the thermometer flirts with 120 degrees this weekend. Phoenix won't be alone in the oven. A strengthening ridge of high pressure lifting out of Mexico is on course to also scorch other parts of Arizona and Southern California, bringing potentially record-shattering temperatures. Though accustomed to triple digits, the upcoming heat spell is a rarity in Phoenix, a desert metropolis of 1.5million people, raising concerns of heat stroke. Glendale Fire Department firefighter Chris Greene, right, gets a case of water from service worker Edi Marroquin, left, from the dozens of cases of water at the Glendale Fire Department Resource Center as they prepare for the record-setting heat predicted for the weekend. Temperatures are predicted to hit 118 degrees in Phoenix on Sunday and peak at 119 degrees Monday. Such heat is 'rare, dangerous and deadly,' according to a National Weather Service warning. 'This is extreme even for our standards,' said Matthew Hirsch, a weather service meteorologist in Phoenix. The hottest day on record in Phoenix occurred June 26, 1990, when the thermometer reached 122 degrees. Video Courtesy KNXV Extreme heat is likely to become more common, scientists say, blaming man-made greenhouse gas pollution. 'We should anticipate more and more of this extreme heat, and we're getting to feel it firsthand. It is what global warming looks and feels like,' University of Arizona climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck said in an email. During heat waves, people should watch for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, including high body temperature, dizziness and nausea. If untreated, heat stroke can lead to disability or even death. Glendale Fire Department firefighter Chris Greene carries a case of water as he walks past dozens of cases of water at the Glendale Fire Department Resource Center in preparation for expected record-setting heat. Health experts say even a difference of a few degrees outside can cause the body temperature to spike, potentially affecting the brain and other organs. The elderly, babies and those with health problems are especially vulnerable because they can't cool down as fast. Between 2006 and 2010, some 3,000 Americans died from heat-related illnesses, according to government statistics. 'No one needs to die in a heat wave, yet we do have deaths. They're all preventable,' said Kristie Ebi, a professor of global health at the University of Washington. Earlier this month, a swath of the West Coast sweltered under heat warnings that forced sporting events to start in the evening and festivals to ditch some of the usual pomp and circumstance. Phoenix experienced its earliest recorded 115-degree day on June 4. Body heat: Those living in high heat zones are urged to limit outdoor activities and to seek shelter in air-conditioned buildings. Babies, the elderly, and those with health issues are especially at risk as they can't cool down as much or as fast as needed On Friday, the agency that operates California's wholesale power system said it's preparing for the heat and may ask residents to voluntarily conserve power to prevent rotating outages. Death Valley, California, which bills itself as the hottest place on the planet, is expected to live up to its reputation. Temperatures are predicted to exceed 120 degrees next week, according to government forecasters. Las Vegas is expected to see temperatures up to 112 for the weekend. By the middle of next week, the high pressure ridge is expected to shift toward the Four Corners region - southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, which will likely see above-normal temperatures. As in previous heat waves, those living in high heat zones are urged to limit outdoor activities this weekend and to seek shelter in air-conditioned buildings. People should also stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. June is typically the warmest - and driest - month for desert Southwest states. This toasty period is followed by the monsoon season marked by dust storms, flash floods and lightning. Until then, 'It's just plain hot. There are no other words,' said Kelly Redmond, deputy director of the Western Regional Climate Center in Nevada. It's bound to get hotter in the future, researchers say. Campaigning has been suspended following the death of MP Jo Cox The EU referendum battle has been put on hold as a mark of respect following the death of Jo Cox. The campaigns called a truce as David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn headed to the scene of the brutal killing to lay flowers and express their outrage. Activities are likely to be minimal over the weekend and on Monday, when parliament has been recalled so MPs can pay tribute to their colleague. Carrying bouquets and accompanied by Commons Speaker John Bercow, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition made a sombre appearance at an impromptu memorial to the late Batley and Spen MP. Mother-of-two Mrs Cox was repeatedly shot and stabbed to death in broad daylight yesterday lunchtime as she arrived for her regular constituency surgery at Birstall Library. Following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox (pictured) Boris Johnson abandoned a battle bus tour of East Anglia yesterday and Prime Minister David Cameron has cancelled a pro-EU rally in Gibraltar The unprecedented gathering saw Mr Cameron and Mr Corbyn stand shoulder to shoulder to mark the outpouring of grief in Westminster following the shocking killing yesterday. Mr Cameron said: 'Where we see hatred, where we see division, where we see intolerance we must drive it out of our public life and politics.' He said: 'If we truly want to honour Jo, then what we should do is recognise that her values - service, community, tolerance - the values she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and years to come.' Mr Corbyn said: 'This was an attack on democracy, it was a well of hatred that killed her.' Commons Speaker John Bercow said: 'Evil cannot be allowed and will not be allowed to triumph over good. 'We just have to underline our determination as politicians across the spectrum that free speech and the right of people to go about their business and the pursuit of principle will continue, and it will not be dulled or dimmed or cowed in any way by people who think that violence and the spirit of hatred can be allowed to triumph.' The Prime Minister said the nation was 'rightly shocked' at her death, adding: 'Two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife and Parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners.' Standing alongside Mr Cameron today, Mr Corbyn said: 'We need our whole society to be secure. 'Jo was brutally murdered here 24 hours ago in this town - a town she loved, a town she grew up in, serving a community she loved. Pictured arriving for the memorial today were, from left, Mr Benn, Mr Bercow, Mr Cameron, Commons chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Mr Corbyn 'And in her life she'd worked for anti-slavery campaigns, she'd worked for Oxfam, she was a campaigner for human rights and justice all around the world. 'She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her.' Boris Johnson abandoned a battle bus tour of East Anglia as news of the attack on Mrs Cox filtered through yesterday lunchtime. David Cameron, who had travelled to Gibraltar, also cancelled a planned pro-EU rally in the overseas territory. The Chancellor had been expected to issue a fresh warning about the economic impact of leaving the EU. Instead he paid tribute to Mrs Cox, saying her campaigning stance on issues such as Syria and refugees had helped transform many lives. Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, Mr Corbyn, Commons Speaker John Bercow and Mr Cameron paused for a moment to pay their respects after placing tributes and making brief remarks The Chancellor also highlighted the value of the everyday accessibility of MPs to their constituents and vowed that it would continue despite the injury and intimidation faced by some. He added: People are free in this country to live their lives as they choose and express themselves without fear. Society will protect their right to do so and hold to account those who disregard our laws. Todays horrible events are an assault on all of these values. But we know that these values, no matter how they have been challenged in the past, have always prevailed. Mrs Coxs violent death is likely to calm the tone of the referendum debate in the final days of campaigning. US Secretary of State John Kerry described the killing as an assault on democracy. Former US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a shooting in Arizona in 2011, said: Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous and hardworking. A rising star, mother and wife. Former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said: My heart breaks for the loss of Jo Cox and for Brendan and their kids. She was so full of joy. Words feel hopeless right now. Former premier Tony Blair said: Such a pointless and savage act of hatred contradicts everything Jo lived for and worked for. She is a huge loss to British politics. Police were called to deal with a group of 20 British men on a stag do who were said to have 'trashed a plane' and 'left passengers terrified'. Officers were waiting at Las Vegas Airport for the group, who had been travelling on a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester. One man has been banned from the return trip following the incident, while the others have reportedly been forced to sign 'good behaviour agreements' in order to go home. Scroll down for video A British stag do party on board a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester to Las Vegas is said to have 'terrorised passengers' (file picture) One passenger, who was a carer for two people on board the flight, said the group behaved 'disgracefully' for 10 hours. The passenger, who asked not to be named, said: 'From beginning to end on the 10-hour flight they were a disgrace. They blocked aisles, spilt alcohol on other passengers, abused and threatened crew, and trashed the cabin.' The stag do group were said to have been drinking heavily throughout, despite being told to behave early on. Thomas Cook has confirmed that one passenger has now been refused travel on the return flight. The group were met by police upon arrival in Vegas (pictured) and one has been banned from the return flight, as confirmed by Thomas Cook (file picture) A spokesman said this was a rare measure used for 'extremely disruptive' behaviour. All other party members signed a form promising not to be drunk on their return flight - or face being refused travel. A spokesman added: 'We're extremely sorry to our customers who were impacted by the disruptive behaviour on this flight. Safety is our priority and we don't tolerate disruptive behaviour on our planes. A 22-year-old mother pregnant with her second child had her throat slit by her father, mother and brother because they disapproved of her husband. Muqaddas Bibi married Taufiq Ahmed three years ago in defiance of her family, who considered a marriage for love - rather than an arranged marriage - shameful, police investigator Mohammad Arshad said. The appalling murder is the latest horrific honour killing in conservative Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan police are hunting for a family that fled after killing their pregnant daughter for marrying against their will Bibi, who is seven months pregnant, had severed ties with her family after her marriage. But her mother and brother allegedly approached her at a clinic where she was having a check-up on Thursday and convinced her to come home, saying they accepted her decision. Local police station chief Gohar Abbas said when Bibi reached her parents' house, her father, brother and mother cut her throat with a knife and she died on the spot. He said her family fled from their house after the murder in the village of Buttaranwali, around 75 kilometres (46 miles) north of Punjab provincial capital Lahore. Police are hunting for them and have already detained another relative for inciting the killing, he added. Bibi also had a 10-month old daughter. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan every year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. Last week 16-year-old Zeenat Rafiq was burnt to death by her mother in Lahore for marrying without family consent, in a case that sparked widespread disgust throughout the country. A week earlier teacher Maria Sadaqat was set on fire in Murree near Islamabad for refusing a marriage proposal. She died of her injuries. On Sunday, a young girl, Anum Masih, was killed by her brother Saqib Masih for insisting on marrying the man of her choice in the city of Sialkot, also in Punjab. He smashed her head with a wooden log, police said. Pakistani mother Perveen Rafiq in the custody of Pakistani police after she allegedly burnt her 18-year old daughter Zeenat Rafiq alive last week in a separate honour-killing case A film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary short in February. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the 'evil' amid publicity for the film, 'A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness', but as yet no fresh legislation has been tabled. In February, Punjab, the country's largest province, passed a landmark lawcriminalising all forms of violence against women. REVEREND CLEMENTA PINCKNEY Clementa Pinckney, 41 Clementa Pinckney, 41, was the beloved pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the country's oldest black churches, and had been a state legislator for 19 years. He has been remembered as a 'giant' and a 'legend' by his peers. Just one year after graduating from Allen University in 1995, Pinckney became, at 23, the youngest African-American elected to the South Carolina Legislature. In 2000, he was elected to the state Senate. He earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina in 1999 and studied at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. A native of Beaufort, Pinckney began preaching at age 13 and was first appointed pastor at 18. He was named pastor of Mother Emanuel AME Church in 2010, according to the state Democratic Party. 'He had a core not many of us have,' said Sen. Vincent Sheheen, who sat beside him in Senate chambers. 'I think of the irony that the most gentle of the 46 of us the best of the 46 of us in this chamber is the one who lost his life.' He is survived by his wife and two children. REVEREND SHARONDA COLEMAN-SINGLETON Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45 Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, was a part-time minister at Emanuel AME Church and worked as a speech pathologist at Goose Creek High School, where she was also the girls track coach. Principal Jimmy Huskey said she was so dedicated she was at work before 8am and typically didn't leave until 8pm. 'She had a big smile,' Huskey said. 'Her No 1 concern was always the students. She made a difference in the lives of children. She cannot be replaced here at this school.' The mother of three had run track herself as a student at South Carolina State University, helping lead her team to a conference championship. Also a speech therapist and ministerial staff member at the church, she was hailed as an 'excellent role model'. 'We love you, Coach Singleton,' the team wrote on its Facebook page. 'Gator Nation is where it is today because of your leadership. You have our thoughts and prayers.' Her son, Chris Singleton, who is at college, wrote on his Twitter page after the shooting: 'Something extremely terrible has happened to my mom tonight, please pray for her and my family. Pray asap.' On Instagram, he shared an image of his mother beside the Reverend Pinckney, and wrote: 'In this pictured are two new Angels in the sky. One of them happens to be my mommmy. 'It's funny how I always told you that you went to church too much. You would laugh it off and say, "Boy you can never have too much of the Lord."' ETHEL LANCE Ethel Lance, 70, was a Charleston native who had been a member of the church for most of her life. She retired after working for more than 30 years on the housekeeping staff at the citys Gaillard Auditorium. She had served as a sexton at the church for the last five years, helping to keep the historic building clean. She was also a lover of gospel music. 'She was a God-fearing woman,' said granddaughter Najee Washington, 23, who lived with Lance. 'She was the heart of the family, and she still is. She is a very caring, giving and loving woman. She was beautiful inside and out.' 'Granny was the heart of the family,' her grandson Jon Quil Lance told The Post and Courier. 'She's a Christian, hardworking; I could call my granny for anything. I don't have anyone else like that'. Lance had five children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. SUSIE JACKSON Susie Jackson, 87, was a longtime church member and sang in the choir. She and Ethel Lance were cousins. Jackson had recently visited her son and grandchildren in Cleveland, Ohio. Tim Jackson told Cleveland television station WEWS that his grandmother was a loving, giving woman with a great smile. 'Its just hard to process that my grandmother had to leave Earth this way,' he said. 'Its real, real hard. Its challenging because I dont believe she deserved to go this way.' Susie Jackson, who was fond of playing slot machines, was scheduled to go on a church-sponsored bus trip to Chicago on Sunday and was looking forward to going to the top of the Willis Tower, said Jean Jackson, an associate member of the church. TYWANZA SANDERS Tywanza Sanders, 26 The youngest person killed in the attack was Tywanza Sanders, who graduated from Allen University's division of business administration in Columbia last year. 'He was a quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education,' according to a statement from Allen University. 'He presented a warm and helpful spirit as he interacted with his colleagues. 'Mr. Sanders was participating in the Bible Study session at Mother Emanuel church at the time of the shooting.' His social media pages also indicate he worked at a barber shop. Sanders posted his last Instagram picture before the meeting last night. 'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,' it read, quoting Jackie Robinson. DEPAYNE MIDDLETON-DOCTOR Whether she was working with college students or Charlestons poorest residents, DePayne Middleton-Doctor wanted to be in a position to help people. So co-workers werent surprised when she decided to become a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 'She was a woman of God,' said Joel Crawford, who worked with Middleton-Doctor at Southern Wesleyan Universitys campus in Charleston. 'She was strong in her faith.' Middleton-Doctor, a 49-year-old mother of four daughters, just started her job as an enrollment counselor at the university in December, said Crawford, who worked with her as a student services coordinator. Before that, Middleton-Doctor had been employed for several years by Charleston County, where she helped administer grants aimed at helping the countys poorest residents with problems they couldnt otherwise afford to fix such as repairing roofs or septic tanks, said J. Elliott Summey, chairman of the Charleston County Council. He said she left her county job in 2005. Crawford said Middleton-Doctor often went to midweek prayer meetings at Emanuel AME Church as she worked toward becoming a minister. On Facebook, her sister paid tribute to her 'beautiful Songbird'. 'I will truly miss you my love,' she wrote. 'Your beautiful personality, your laughter, your smile, and your love for everyone.' CYNTHIA HURD Cynthia Hurds brother took some comfort in knowing that his sister died in the church she grew up in and loved. Hurd, 54, was the manager of one of the busiest branches of the Charleston County library system. In her honor, the system closed all 16 of its branches Thursday, the day after her death. She grew up in Charleston, and her mother made sure they went Emanuel AME Church on Sundays, Wednesdays and any other time it was open, said her brother Malcom Graham, a former state senator from North Carolina. 'I wasnt surprised on a Wednesday night she was there,' Graham said Thursday. Hurds husband is a merchant sailor currently at sea near Saudi Arabia. Graham was trying to help him get home. When Graham spoke to his sister last weekend, she said she couldnt wait for her 55th birthday on Sunday, he said. She was also looking toward retirement after 31 years of library work. 'Cynthia was a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,' the library said in a statement. 'Her loss is incomprehensible, and we ask for prayers for her family, her co-workers, her church and this entire community as we come together to face this tragic loss.' MYRA THOMPSON Myra Thompson, 59 Myra Thompson, 59, was also killed at the church, her daughter confirmed but would not comment further. Thompson was the wife of Rev Anthony Thompson, Vicar of Holy Trinity REC (ACNA) Church in Charleston. Archbishop Foley Beach wrote on Facebook: 'Please join me in praying for the Rev. Anthony Thompson, Vicar of Holy Trinity REC (ACNA Church in Charleston, his family, and their congregation, with the killing of his wife, Myra, in the Charleston shootings last night.' Thompson's daughter is reportedly a prominent figure in Atlanta's Big Bethel AME Church. DANIEL L SIMMONS Daniel L Simmons, 45, a retired pastor from another church in Charleston, also died. He attended the church every Sunday for services and Wednesdays for bible study, his daughter-in-law said. CROW AGENCY After being beaten and set on fire in April, Roylynn Rides Horse walked three miles before she collapsed. On Thursday, about 100 members of the Crow Tribe marched to bring awareness to the attack. Rides Horse, 28, remains at the Burn Trauma Intensive Care Unit at University of Utah Healthcare in Salt Lake City. She required multiple skin grafts, and her family feared she would not survive. Imagine her going into shock and fighting for her six babies," Trista Fog in the Morning told the crowd that gathered at Apsaalooke Veterans Park after the march. When she's able to hug her babies, see her babies, then thats when we know our prayers are answered. The marchers gathered at 8 a.m. on U.S. Highway 212, near where Rides Horse was found. They marched with signs bearing Rides Horses picture and a banner that read, Standing on prayer, walking by faith: Justice for Roylynn. Crow Tribal Chairman Darrin Old Coyote and Vice Secretary Shawn Backbone attended the march, along with Crow Tribe Legislators and Montana state legislators Sen. Sharon Stewart-Peregoy and Rep. Carolyn Pease-Lopez. Rides Horses uncle, Kenneth Deputee, opened the march. He said the walk was not just for his niece, but to help make the Crow Nation a better place to be. Eugenia Deputee, a cousin of Rides Horse, was able to go to Salt Lake City to see her cousin after the attack. She said Rides Horse is no longer sedated. Eugenia said Rides Horse was always smiling and real quiet and timid like a little quiet mouse. Even when she was being goofy, she was still not loud, Eugenia said. She said was older than Rides Horse and some of her other cousins and used to hoist them up and carry them under her armpits. Roylynn Rides Horses father, Roy Rides Horse, was present for the walk as well as Roylynns step-father Jerry Pretty Weasel. Neither wanted to speak to the public about Roylynns attack. Roy Rides Horse said he wanted to respect his daughters privacy. Another of Roylynns uncles, Stanford Rides Horse, said many crimes are left unsolved on the Crow Indian Reservation without anyone taking notice. He said the family must be notified when a crime occurs, but so must the community. He said when there are different stories, its hard to know what to believe. Stanford said he loved his niece Roylynn, who he remembered as a little girl making mud pies after a rain storm. The kids were told, you know, dont get muddy, Stanford said. Might as well have said get muddy. It was one of those times when Stanford couldnt get mad at them. He just laughed. Garnett Bright Wings, Roylynns mother-in-law, said four of Roylynns children are staying with her while their mother is in the hospital. They wait for their mom every day, Garnett said. The kids havent spoken to Roylynn since the attack. They are able to do video calls with their other grandmother, Deputee-Pretty Weasel. The kids' great-grandmother, Doris Gets Down, walked with her daughter Garnett. The 70-year-old walked the whole distance, about four miles. I want to walk all the way, Gets Down said. Im praying for Lynn to walk again. Old Coyote said when he got the call about Roylynns attack, the tribe lent the family a vehicle and gave them money for the flight to Salt Lake City. We are behind the family, Old Coyote said. We are praying for them. Old Coyote said has never gotten any information from federal investigators about the crime. There is no sense of security on the Crow tribal lands and a lot of unanswered questions about this crime, he said. It makes for a dangerous set of circumstances. If we did something vigilante, took the law into our own hands, the FBI would be right there to arrest us, Old Coyote said. But where are they for the innocent? Donald Spotted Tail said he attended the march to support the family. He said the breakdown in tribal law enforcement has led to an epidemic of crime." As a result of methamphetamine, he said the Crow people are being destroyed. Public safety is a priority and that needs to be expressed, he said. As a community, we arent well informed by our law enforcement, Spotted Tail said. It takes too long for them to get to a scene, causing people to die who shouldnt, he said. Fog in the Morning and her sister Trixy Phelan, spoke to the crowd after the march. Fog in the Morning said it was hard to speak in front of the crowd because of how much hurt there was in her heart. All these things that happen on the reservation, theyre not voiced, she said. Families, the FBI scares them and tells them, Be quiet, dont say anything, youre going to mess up the ongoing investigation and the case. Youre going to jeopardize what were doing. Fog in the Morning said no one knows the pain felt by the families of victims because they are scared to speak up. Were scared to voice things. When state Sen. Stewart-Peregoy spoke, she said the march was a call for justice, not just for Roylynn, but for all the open cases on the Crow Indian Reservation and reservations across the country. She said federal investigators were ready to jump on the Orlando shooting, but the 15 years of unsolved cases on Native American reservations continue to be ignored. We should not be treated as third-class citizens, Stewart-Peregoy said. We call for justice today, for all those families, all those victims. The biggest support needed for Roylynns family now is financial, Old Coyote said. A news release sent out by the family Tuesday included instructions on how to donate. The family has set up an account at Billings Federal Credit Union, 2522 Fourth Ave. N. Donations should be made to the care of Jerry and Ernestine Pretty Weasel. "The family would like to thank the community for the outpouring of support and for respecting their privacy during this time," the release said. Previously, a GoFundMe page was set up for the victim. Crow Senator Shawn Real Bird said it was time for Crow Tribal members to have real protection. He said there is only one officer patrolling the reservation at any given time, on a land area larger than the state of Connecticut. We have a right to be heard, we have a right to be protected and we have a right to live on our reservation in peace and harmony, Real Bird said. Real Bird has invited the BIA, FBI, U.S. senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines and the U.S. Attorney for the State of Montana Mike Cotter, to join the Crow Legislature on June 27 to discuss needed changes to law enforcement on the Crow Indian Reservation. Cotters office has said they are bound by strict laws that prevent prosecutors from speaking about cases prior to a suspect appearing in court, not dissimilar to the way local district courts operate. Prosecutors in local jurisdictions can release charging information prior to a defendant's first appearance. BIA press contact with the Department of the Interior, Nedra Darling, has directed all questions to the FBI. In a letter to The Gazette, the FBI denied pressuring families to stay silent when a crime is committed. When contacted about information, the FBI said it cannot release any information due to "a strict set of rules governing disclosure of information at various phases of a criminal investigation." Advertisement Tweeted by MP Jo Cox less than 24 hours before she was killed in the street, this is the last picture of her - speaking to students in her constituency about the EU referendum. The 41-year-old married politician, who was shot and stabbed yesterday outside her constituency advice surgery, spoke at Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, last Friday. Remain campaigner Mrs Cox tweeted a photo shortly before 4pm on Wednesday of her visit to speak to students ahead of next Thursdays referendum, saying there was 'lots of interest and great questions'. Scroll down for video Final picture: On Wednesday afternoon, Remain campaigner Jo Cox MP tweeted a photo of her visit to Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, to tell students about next week's EU referendum Positive visit: Mrs Cox said there was 'lots of interest and great questions' at Whitcliffe Mount School (above) A group of teenagers could be seen in a library as Mrs Cox spoke in front of a screen saying: 'What are immigrants and migrants? What's the difference?' She said they had an 'excellent' debate. But only 21 hours after posting the tweet she was attacked in Birstall by a man alleged to have shouted Britain first, three months after another man was cautioned for sending her malicious communications. A school spokesman told MailOnline today: The entire school community at Whitcliffe Mount are deeply shocked and saddened at the devastating loss of our wonderful MP and friend, Jo Cox. In an all too brief career as MP Jo made a huge impact. As a regular visitor to Whitcliffe Mount, she was an inspiration to all who were fortunate enough to meet her. Students and staff alike looked forward to her visits and a buzz would always spread throughout the school in anticipation. Many of our students have come to know Jo well and benefitted enormously from her vast experience. As a proud Yorkshire lass and the first member of her family to go to university, Jo was determined to raise the aspirations of local youngsters and to instil in them a belief that there is no limit to what they can achieve. A week before her death: Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed yesterday outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall, Leeds, led an assembly at Batley Parish School in West Yorkshire last Thursday Visit: Schoolchildren at Batley Parish School listened intently as she spoke about democracy and aspiration Last Thursday, the mother-of-two spoke to dozens of primary school children about citizenship, democracy and aspiration while they listened intently during an assembly at Batley Parish School. Mrs Cox tweeted shortly before 11am on Tuesday: Led the assembly at the wonderful Batley Parish School, we focused on good citizenship, democracy and aspiration.' Headmaster Phil Sunter told MailOnline this morning that the schools thoughts are with her family, adding: Jo was a friend of our school and we are shocked by these tragic events. She spoke to the children just a week ago and was very engaging when talking to them about her role as an MP. Jo always listened and genuinely wanted to make a difference in peoples lives. The photo has since been retweeted more than 1,000 times, and was reposted by Mrs Coxs fellow Yorkshire Labour MP Caroline Flint, who said Britain had lost a good MP and loving mum. Responding to the photo, Twitter user Debs Woodhall-James from York said: Hopefully Jo's beliefs and her inspirational talk will have impacted on these children to challenge for change. Appearance: Also on Tuesday, Mrs Cox posted a photo of her visit to Heckmondwike's Yorkshire Chippy with its manager Tracy Smylie (left), 18-year-old frier Paige Ramsden (centre) and server Lindsay Broadley (right) Working with the community: Mrs Cox tweeted another picture of her on Tuesday afternoon, saying: 'Pleased to support Bringing Batley and Spen Together, for professionals and groups working hard for local people' Others said she was a 'politician you didn't hear anything bad about' and a 'good constituency MP', while another said there were not enough words to express how truly awful this is. Later on Tuesday, Mrs Cox posted a photo of her visit to Heckmondwike's Yorkshire Chippy, which claims to be Britain's first gluten-free-only fish and chip shop, and described their food as delicious. Jad Choudhury, 31, founder and director of the shop, told MailOnline today that Mrs Cox had popped in last Thursday in what is believed to be her last visit to a business. Mr Choudhury said: She came down because she's been part of the business from the planning - she really wanted to put Heckmondwike on the map. We're the first ever gluten-free fish and chip shop in history. Before I even started the business I got in touch with her. She's really keen to support the business. Weve only been going since March. She came down last week to try our fish and chips. She was supposed to come back to us this week with her family to have fish and chips with her family. It's tragic. Investigation: Mrs Cox was attacked by a man alleged to have shouted Britain first in Birstall, West Yorkshire, yesterday - three months after another man was cautioned for sending her malicious communications Flowers: People look at tributes at Parliament Square in Westminster last night in respect of the Labour MP She had a heart of gold. She was very friendly, very bubbly, she treated everyone equally, she had no ego. She took her time to speak to everyone here and she was just loyal. Mrs Cox tweeted another picture of her on Tuesday afternoon, saying: 'Pleased to support Bringing Batley and Spen Together, for professionals and groups working hard for local people.' Meanwhile Mrs Coxs husband Brendan and two young children were also busy this week - taking part in a pro-EU flotilla on Wednesday against a River Thames protest by anti-EU fishermen. Witnesses said Mrs Coxs assailant kicked and stabbed her and then shot her several times, the final shot aimed at her head. The alleged gunman has been named locally as Tommy Mair, 52. Yesterday hundreds of people, including Labour colleagues Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis, packed into Mrs Coxs parish church to hear how she gave her life for this community. Cambridge graduate Mrs Cox was elected in Batley and Spen last year. Shortly after the attack her husband tweeted a picture of her next to the River Thames, where they lived on a houseboat. A Thomson Airways place has been forced to make an unexpected landing after it was struck by lightning. The plane, which was travelling from Manchester to Morocco was forced to make an unexplected landing at London's Gatwick airport after it was hit by a bolt of lightning at 6.42pm last night. The plane has only been travelling for an hour when it had to make the unexpected landing. The plane, which was travelling from Manchester to Morocco was forced to make an unexpected landing at London's Gatwick airport after it was hi by a bolt of lightning at 6.42pm last night (file image) The Boeing 737-800 which carries up to 189 passengers, eventually touched down at Gatwick airport after the pilot made the unexpected landing. It is currently unclear how many people were on board at the time of the incident, and it is not known if anyone was injured but the flight resumed at 10pm after a two hour wait. Thomson Airways spokesman said: 'Thomson Airways would like to apologise for any inconvenience to our customers on board flight TOM732 travelling from Manchester airport to Agadir in Morocco, which was diverted to London Gatwick airport as a precautionary measure due to adverse weather. 'The flight departed from London Gatwick airport as quickly as possible afterwards and customers have arrived safely in Morocco. The Boeing 737-800 which carries up to 189 passengers, eventually touched down at Gatwick airport after the pilot made the unexpected landing 'The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we would like to reassure everyone that events such as these are extremely rare.' In April three planes travelling out of London were struck by lig htning during a thunderstorm.Lightning strikes to aircraft are fairly common, and aircraft are usually designed to cope with them. A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said: 'Airliners are designed to withstand the effects of a lightning strike, and so significant physical damage to the airframe is very rare. 'The safety of the aircraft in flight is not usually affected. 'Any aircraft that is believed to have been struck by lightning will nevertheless be inspected by engineers once on the ground and before being released back into service. The murder of British MP Jo Cox - shot and stabbed yesterday on the streets of her constituency - has made front page news in papers all over the world. The 'assassination' of the Labour MP was on the front page of newspapers in France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Japan and also featured heavily on online news websites. Many newspapers linked it to the European Union referendum as Mrs Cox was a strong campaigner for Britain to remain in the EU, as well as being a supporter of human rights and the plight of Syrian refugees. Belgium's Le Soir newspaper carried a headline which read: 'The Brexit debate turns into a tragedy' La Repubblica, a left-leaning newspaper in Italy, carried a headline which read: 'Brexit, blood on referendum as woman who was symbol of Labour killed'. Belgium's leading French-language newspaper, Le Soir, carried the headline: 'The Brexit debate turns into tragedy'. Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijseelbloem, said: 'The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics, and we hope that the British public...can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week.' A large photograph of the vigil at a church in Birstall made it onto the front of one of Brazil's biggest newspapers, the Folha de Sao Paulo 'Brexit, blood on the referendum, murdered woman symbol of Labour', reads the headline on the left-wing La Repubblica newspaper in Italy Several newspapers, including the New Zealand Herald and Bild in Germany, highlighted the threats and hate mail that Mrs Cox had received in the months prior to her death. For some countries the killing provoked memories of attacks in their own past. Sweden's Dagens Nyheter newspaper carried a picture of the Labour MP and the flowers left in Parliament Square, with the simple headline: 'Killed during campaign'. The killing resonated in Sweden as it came 13 years after foreign minister Anna Lindh was stabbed to death in a Stockholm department store. The headline of one of Sweden's leading newspapers reads: 'Killed during campaign' Lindh's killer, Mijailo Mijailovic, claimed to have heard 'voices in his head' but he was ruled sane and jailed for life. Anton, in Sweden, tweeted: 'In 2003 FM Anna Lindh was assassinated. Attacks like these a blow against openness in society. (They) Force politicians to be apart from the people.' In the US the attack on the 41-year-old evoked memories of the attempted assassination in 2011 of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, in which six people were killed. Jo Cox's murder was front page news on the Globe and Mail, one of Canada's most important papers The murder of Jo Cox evoked memories in the American press of the shooting of congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an attack in 2011 which killed six people Mrs Giffords tweeted: 'Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife.' She blamed her death on 'hatred that is a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics that must stop.' It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton said: 'I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered...in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. 'Her maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance.' The presumptive Democratic nominee for the White House said it was 'critical' that Britain and the US stood together against 'hatred and violence'. She called on supporters of democracy to honour Jo Cox by 'rejecting bigotry in all its forms'. Germany's best-selling Bild newspaper claimed Jo Cox had been threatened for several months The French President Francois Hollande, who has been battling terrorism from ISIS, including the murder of a French police commander and his wife this week, said: 'I express my deep sadness after the murder of Jo Cox. 'I offer my condolences to her family and my solidarity to the British people,' he said. Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tweeted: 'Deeply shocked by the murder of UK MP Jo Cox. Our condolences, prayers and solidarity are with her family & the people of the UK.' Spain's ABC newspaper indelibly links Jo Cox's murder to the Brexit referendum The New Zealand Herald also mentioned the hate mail campaign against Jo Cox One of the few politicians not to have commented on her death was Donald Trump, a long-time opponent of gun control, who is planning to visit Britain on the day of the EU referendum. Cairo-based feminist Mona Eltahawy simply tweeted a list of women politicians who have been killed or wounded over the years: 'Jo Cox (UK), Salwa Bugaighis (Libya), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan), Gabby Giffords (USA), Anna Lindh (Sweden), Indira Gandhi (India).' News of the murder came out too late for most US newspapers, although they are expected to feature it in Friday's front pages. 'Murder in Brexit-battle' is the bold headline in De Telegraaf in the Netherlands The Washington Post, considered the paper of record in the US, clearly considered Jo Cox's murder one of the most important stories France's Le Monde newspaper reported that the killing was an 'attack on democracy' Portugal's Diario de Noticias newspaper reports on the suspension of campaigning after Jo Cox's murder Argentina's Clarin newspaper said the killing of Jo Cox was a 'confusing episode' Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper headline simply reads: 'British MP loses her life in attack' Bill Gates has warned Britain would be a 'significantly less attractive' place to do business if voters back Brexit next week. The world's richest man, who has ploughed a billion dollars into Britain for research and established major Microsoft lab in Cambridge, said quitting the EU would undermine the UK's 'unique assets'. Mr Gates said the referendum was a 'ultimately a matter for the British people' but advised Britain was 'stronger, more prosperous and more influential' inside the EU. The co-founder of Microsoft is one of the world's biggest philanthropic investors, spending chunks of his fortune on research into infectious disease. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, has warned a Brexit vote next week would make investing in Britain 'significantly less attractive' In a letter to The Times, Mr Gates said: 'While ultimately a matter for the British people to decide, it is clear to me that if Britain chooses to be outside of Europe, it will be a significantly less attractive place to do business and to invest. 'It will be harder to find and recruit the best talent from across the Continent; talent which, in turn, creates jobs for people in the UK. 'And, it would be harder to raise the investment needed for public goods such as new medicines and affordable clean energy solutions, for which we need the scale of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and financial backing that the combined strength of the EU provides.' Mr Gates said Britain today had a 'strong influence' at the negotiating table as the world wrestled with global challenges. And he added: 'Beating future epidemics and finding solutions to climate change will require more collaboration, not less.' Mr Gates has been a close ally of the Government and last year filmed a video for the Conservative Party conference. He thanked the Tory leadership for its commitment to spending 0.7 per cent national income on foreign aid, despite the controversy over the pledge on the Tory benches. In January, Chancellor George Osborne appeared alongside Mr Gates to announce British taxpayers would contribute most of a 3billion joint project to wipe out Malaria within decades. A Muslim faith school has accused Ofsted of racism after the watchdog slams posters branding music and dancing as 'acts of the devil'. The Darul Uloom Islamic High School said the leaflets - described by Ofsted as evidence of safeguarding weakness - were not found on its premises but at the rear door of an adjacent mosque. And the independent school in Small Heath, Birmingham, has alleged that an Ofsted inspector angrily refused to take off their shoes during a recent inspection, describing them as 'extremely belligerent' throughout the visit. The Darul Uloom Islamic High School (pictured) alleged that an Ofsted inspector refused to remove their shoes Ofsted said a large pile of copies of the leaflet were found in May in areas shared by the mosque and school and used by pupils. The latest Ofsted report, published this week, said: 'Leaders and staff have had training in preventing extremism and radicalisation, and been given the latest Government safeguarding guidance. 'However, the impact of this work has not rectified safeguarding weaknesses. 'A large number of copies of a leaflet containing highly concerning and extremist views, such as "Music, dancing and singing are acts of devil and prohibited", were discovered during the inspection. 'The leaflets were found in areas shared by the school and adjoining mosque which are used by leaders and in areas used by the pupils from the school.' Inspectors were also critical of Darul Uloom - which caters for boys aged 11 to 16 - for failing to provide pupil progress information. In a statement issued after Ofsted's latest findings were published, the school - which has a music curriculum - said the leaflets had no association with the mosque or the school and had been 'dumped' by a member of the public. The school statement added: 'These leaflets were not on the display board or anywhere near the display board. 'They were clearly dumped by a member of the public, ironically next to the sign where it is clearly signposted 'Strictly no posters or leaflets'. Ofsted said a large pile of copies of the leaflet were found in May in areas shared by the mosque and school and used by pupils 'Furthermore in regards to the inspection in question, the conduct of the Ofsted inspectors during this inspection were unacceptable and racist.' As well as claiming that an Ofsted official refused to take off their shoes when visiting the mosque, the school alleges that its equality statement was dismissed as being 'just a piece of paper'. A Department for Education spokesman said it is 'urgently investigating' the discovery of the posters. 'These leaflets should have no place in any school - and we will not hesitate to take strong action when schools focus on ideological indoctrination rather than a high-quality education. 'We are urgently investigating the concerning allegations about this school and as part of this we commissioned Ofsted to do an unannounced inspection. 'Extremism has no place in our society and when we find schools promoting twisted ideologies we will not hesitate to take action, including closing the school or working with the police if necessary.' Darul Uloom was subjected to a full Ofsted inspection last October when its overall effectiveness was rated as inadequate. A mini-submarine that was used to chase James Bond in The Spy Who Love Me is expected to fetch 5,000 ($7,500) when it goes on sale in California next week. The bright yellow underwater craft was specially written into the 1977 movie when studio reps saw the prototype for the Shark Hunter II - a vessel for conducting underwater surveys. It will be sold in Beverley Hills on June 25. he bright yellow underwater craft was specially written into the 1977 movie when studio reps saw the prototype for the Shark Hunter II - a vessel for conducting underwater surveys The 15ft long prop can sit two people and has an aluminium and fibreglass hull, a brush-less electric motor and stainless steel aircraft control cables. However it doesn't have a pressurized cabin so the driver has to have scuba gear on to use it underwater. Representatives from Pinewood Studios visited Perry Oceanographics in Florida to negotiate the propulsion and ballast for the submersible white Lotus Esprit, used by 007 himself. While they were there they caught a glimpse of the Shark Hunter hull and were so captivated by it the script was re-written to include the sub in a dramatic underwater chase. The sub featured in the 1977 movie, pictured, but has not been tested in the sea in advance of the upcoming sale The 15ft prop seats two and has an aluminium and fibreglass hull and stainless steel aircraft control cables In arguably the most iconic scene of the film, Roger Moore's Bond drives his car into the sea to escape a helicopter before the roadster converts into a submarine. This yellow and black sub then emerges from evil mastermind Karl Stromberg's underwater lair and chases them, firing a torpedo unsuccessfully at the car. The sub is expected to fetch $5,000 when it goes on sale in Beverley Hills, California, next week When it was made, it could go to a maximum depth of 450ft, boasted a top speed of 3.5 knots and had a range of 18 to 20 miles, with the battery lasting up to six hours. However the sub, which is being sold by Heritage Auctions, has not been tested - the new owner will have to make sure it still works before taking to the sea. 'This item is right out of the film, there's a great clip in the movie where you see it in action,' said Garry Shrum from the auction house. 'Something unique like this doesn't show up very often. This would be such a cool thing to own. 'The Bond films are so exciting and any time we have a prop it always gets interest. 'We haven't tested it, we're just selling it as is. So whoever buys it will have to make sure its seaworthy before they use it. 'Unfortunately we don't know what happened to it after filming ended. The owner is a collector who bought it from another private collector. 'So many film sets just threw away a lot of stuff when the movie was over. They didn't really think about how valuable something might be in the future. A Canadian politician who was friends with murdered British MP Jo Cox has delivered a tearful tribute to her, describing her as a dedicated mother and lawmaker with limitless love. Nathan Cullen, an MP for Canadas Left-wing New Democratic Party, was overcome with emotion as he addressed Ottawas House of Commons, just hours after Cox was killed. His voice trembled and he struggled to compose himself as he led one of many tributes from around the world for the Labour MP, who was shot and stabbed by a man in her home town of Birstall, West Yorkshire. Canadian MP Nathan Cullen addressed Ottawa's House of Commons and paid tribute to MP Jo Cox Cullen, an MP for the labour-friendly New Democratic Party, was overcome with emotion Cullen told Canadian MPs that Cox 'dedicated her passion to those who needed it most' Cullen, who represents a constituency in the province of British Columbia, said Cox was a mom of two beautiful children and a friend, a dedicated Labour MP and a long advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world. Jo used her voice for those who have none. She dedicated her passion to those who needed it most and she harnessed her limitless love, even and especially for those who allowed hate to consume them, he said in Thursday's address. Her husband Brendan said it beautifully: She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, that our children are bathed in love and that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." To Brendan, to Jo's beautiful children, we express our deepest condolences. Excuse me. Labour MP Jo Cox was among Parliament's rising stars before she was killed in her Yorkshire constituency Before the death of MP Jo Cox was announced, Canadian MP Nathan Cullen said he was praying for her Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered condolences on behalf of Canadian MPs and citizens As he ended his emotional speech, Cullen sat down, placed his head in his hands and wiped his eyes. He received a standing ovation from MPs in his own party and rival parties. Emma Pyke, Cullen's assistant, told the Huffington Post the two MPs met three years ago at a leadership conference in Washington DC and had remained in touch since then. Ms Pyke said: 'At the time, Jo was contemplating whether to run or to start a NGO. By the time they left the conference, shed decided to run.' Floral tributes, candles and photos are being left outside Houses of Parliament in London for Cox Mourners have been invited to sign a book of condolence for Cox at Hermitage Moorings in London A police officer leaves a floral tribute near the scene of the murder in Birstal, West Yorkshire Before her death was announced, Cullen wrote on Twitter that he was praying for Cox, adding she was shot by a rightwing attacker. Shocked at the violence, he wrote. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, from the ruling Liberal Party, paid tribute to Cox in a post on Twitter. He wrote: On behalf of our Parliament and all Canadians, I offer my deepest condolences to the family and colleagues of British MP Jo Cox. Politicians and others around the world are paying tribute to the murdered MP while expressing their shock and grief over her death. Cox voted in April for the UK to accept 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian child refugees, saying that she 'would risk life and limb to get my two precious babies out of that hellhole' Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona Representative who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, said on Twitter she was 'absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo'. 'She was young, courageous and hardworking. A rising star, mother and wife,' Giffords, 46, added. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said in a statement she was 'horrified by the assassination'. Clinton said: 'By all accounts, she was a rising star. Her maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us. Body was to be forensically tested but has since VANISHED Rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival Man, 62, complained of chest pains during the Hollywood blockbuster A mans body has gone missing after he dropped dead while watching a horror film in India. The 65-year-old man was watching The Conjuring 2 with a friend when the Hollywood blockbuster reached one of its scariest scenes. The man then began to complain of chest pains and fainted during the Thursday night showing at the Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas in Tiruvannamalai, in Indias south. The man went to see one of the night showings of The Conjuring 2 and fainted in one of the scariest scenes The man, an Andhra Pradesh native, was then rushed to the Old Government Hospital,The Times of India reported. But the mans body has now gone missing after hospital staff asked the mans friend to take the body to the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital on the outskirts of the town for post-mortem. The mans body and his friend both disappeared with police now investigating. The dead man was reportedly staying at an ashram, a spiritual hermitage. The man's friend was seen hurriedly taking the body to their accommodation with the help of an auto rickshaw, the Hindu reported. It is understood police are speaking with drivers and lodges in town to find out the dead mans identity. The Conjuring 2 has already grossed more than $104 million worldwide since its release in early June. The film, a sequel to The Conjuring, follows the Warrens as they investigate paranormal activity in 1977. Horrifying: Richard Baker, 51, who is serving four life sentences, downloaded disgusting images and videos after becoming obsessed with child rape One of Britains most notorious rapists had a tablet computer containing hundreds of vile images of children as young as four being raped - which was hidden behind a wooden picture frame in his prison cell, a court heard yesterday. Richard Baker, 51, who is serving four life sentences, downloaded disgusting images and videos after becoming obsessed with child rape over five months at a medium secure mental health unit in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Computer experts discovered a bookmark on the former nightclub DJs browser titled best jailbait ever and found he had regularly visited illegal pornographic websites featuring young children, Aylesbury Crown Court was told. Baker was given four life sentences in 1999 for a series of rapes in the previous year which he committed after returned from working in Spain. He had already been jailed for six years for rape in 1987 and is suspected of raping more than 100 women, including scores of teenagers. And yesterday Baker was sentenced to an additional six years in prison after a jury found him guilty of nine offences of possessing and making indecent images of children. Judge Francis Sheridan told Baker he would be a very old man before he was released if it ever happened, adding: I believe you will rape again if you are released. You are obsessed with sex and your interest now has moved to children. 'I do not think this man has learnt a single thing during his time in prison. You have five convictions for rape. The facts are horrible. You defiled a young girl of 15 and you were given a life sentence many years ago. You have told this jury that you suffer from many conditions both physical and mental and I think you are one of the most dangerous men I have ever had the displeasure of trying. Adapted: The modified wooden picture frame made by Baker which was used to store his tablet computer Hidden: Computer experts discovered a bookmark on the former nightclub DJs browser titled best jailbait ever and found he had regularly visited illegal pornographic websites featuring young children You have started showing an interest in children of four or five years old. Youre a control freak. If ever there was a clear and present danger to women and female children this man represents it.' The jury heard how Baker bought the tablet in February 2012, shortly after moving to Chadwick Lodge, a medium secure mental health unit in Milton Keynes in November 2011. He had spent the previous four years at Broadmoor Hospital at Crowthorne in Berkshire, where he is claimed to have shared a wing with Levi Bellfield, Ian Huntley and Harold Shipman. But after tricking psychiatrists into thinking he was getting better they downgraded him and sent him to a less secure institution. He was even due for a parole hearing about his release in 2017. But instead of getting better he set about fastidiously researching how to breach the less secure rules. Before purchasing the tablet for 579.95, Baker spent hours researching the best model and altered a picture frame so it would hold the device during his woodwork classes. He then hid the pin-secured ten-inch Galaxy Tab computer in the frame with a false backing just big enough to hold it. It was fitted with Velcro strips. Baker then began downloading and even at one point paid 44.95 for the disgusting images. Staff at Chadwick Lodge were unaware of the tablet's existence until Baker tried to befriend a therapist at Broadmoor using a suspicious Facebook account. Former DJ: Yesterday Baker was sentenced to an additional six years in prison after a jury found him guilty of nine offences of possessing and making indecent images of children She had treated Baker during his four years at the hospital and the account was called 'Antony Rekab'. 'Rekab' is Baker spelt backwards and 'Antony' is his middle name. After being aware of its existence staff used a scanner which showed an internet device was in his room. Despite stripping the room back to the walls three times they were unable to find it. Disgusting: Baker was given four life sentences in 1999 for a series of rapes in the previous year which he committed after returned from working in Spain On their first search on June 7, 2012 they found a charging cable, notebooks and diaries which made references to email addresses, passwords and a Samsung tablet. In the notes there were references to the tablet as well as a PayPal account and credit card details. After the third search on June 13, 2012 Baker confessed to Dr David Forshaw, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at the hospital, to having the tablet. But he refused to give staff the Pin number because he said it contained naked pictures of his girlfriend and revolutionary unpatented designs for an electric car worth millions. Dr Forshaw said: He had carefully researched in magazines which device would best suit his needs. It was delivered to his fathers address and passed on to Jenny and Wendy Phillips, a mother and daughter respectively. He dated the daughter at school and they were very close, like brother and sister. He acknowledged that the mother had often mentioned to him that he and her daughter would make a good couple. They maintained contact and they regularly sent him parcels (while in prison) of newspapers, magazines and sweets. One of them, after instructions over the telephone, contained the tablet wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in the bottom of the box covered in paper, newspaper and sweets. At medium secure hospitals staff are not permitted to censor patients post. They are required to open it in front of staff to ensure there are no enclosed forbidden items. If the tablet was enclosed at the bottom of the parcel staff simply would not have known. He said none of his peers knew about this device and his access to the internet was something he did all by his own. Disguised: Before purchasing the tablet for 579.95, Baker spent hours researching the best model and altered a picture frame so it would hold the device during his woodwork classes William Eaglestone, prosecuting, told the court: On that tablet in his possession were found indecent images of children downloaded from various websites. There are around 30 bookmarks on that tablet along with website browsing history. One of the bookmarks was called best jailbait ever. Another one was called illegal porn. Baker later denied the women brought it in and said his woodwork teacher had smuggled it in for him in return for help selling items on eBay. He also said that three other inmates had used the tablet and they must have downloaded the files or it was caused by viruses and pop ups. Matthew Dudman was the digital evidence investigator from the Devon and Cornwall Polices HiTech Crime Unit which examined the tablet. He said: If other people had used the device in the circumstances I would expect to find communication data, email chat, SMS messages of which I did not find any. It is a common defence in child abuse cases to claim images were caused by pop ups. In this case it is unlikely because we have images as email attachments, child abuse material in the Dropbox. We have screenshots which are user generated. Within the downloads folder there were images which were user generated and we also have the bookmarks which are user generated. Baker was found guilty on nine charges of possessing or making indecent images of children between May 2, 2012 and June 12, 2012. Uncovered: Staff at Chadwick Lodge were unaware of the tablet's existence until Baker tried to befriend a therapist at Broadmoor Hospital using a suspicious Facebook account He was also found guilty of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence between February 8 and February 20 this year. This related to Baker approaching fellow inmate Marcus Taylor at Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes. Baker learned that Taylor was an IT expert and he agreed to pay him 1,000 in exchange for his help in deleting social media accounts and information off online cloud storage accounts where indecent images were. He gave him a list which gave email addresses, passwords and which contained the words delete everything. He mistakenly thought this would get him off the hook because if the cloud storage was wiped there would be no evidence of the images or videos. In actual fact he was only charged for possession and making images already on the tablet, which was nothing to do with any of his cloud storage accounts. Mr Taylor said: He was adamant that there was stuff on that device that was not on that list of evidence the police gave him. He said if you give me your PayPal account and help me I will send you some money. He told me to access his cloud storage accounts and remove all the information, all of the images, everything on there. Then (he told me) to fill the accounts with random music videos and delete the contents afterwards. After Richard had spoken to other people on the wing he was informed that should police gain access to the accounts he could face additional criminal charges. Where it happened: The jury heard how Baker bought the tablet in February 2012, shortly after moving to Chadwick Lodge, a medium secure mental health unit in Milton Keynes in November 2011 He had heard of various people on the wing, including myself, that if you delete files on cloud accounts and then write over them with other files it makes it harder to recover the original files. When questioned about the meeting Baker admitted to originally agreeing to pay Mr Taylor 1,000 for his help. But he claimed Mr Taylor turned against him when he told him he was a Home Office spy. He said: I am a covert human intelligence source. I have been employed by the Home Office. For the security of it I have had to sign the Official Secrets Act. I told Marcus this and he didnt like it. In fact Taylors partner was pregnant and he was disgusted by his actions so he handed over the notes Baker gave him to police on his release on February 19. This is the third time Baker has tried to influence a trial including in 1995 when he paid a prostitute he was accused of raping not to testify. Baker was jailed for three years for the nine charges of possessing or making indecent images of children and three years for intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence. They will be consecutively. In 1999 he pleaded guilty to three rapes, one attempted rape and eight indecent assaults, one on an underage girl. He was caught after his brother recognised him on a Crimewatch appeal and contacted police. In 1995 he was jailed for 12 months for having a relationship with a 15-year-old girl and having sex at least five times. The jury of five men and seven woman took just over four hours to unanimously find him guilty on all ten counts. Speaking after the verdict, investigating officer Detective Constable Darren White from Devon and Cornwall Polices Child Exploitation Unit, said: Richard Baker has been shown to still pose a significant risk to the public despite years of imprisonment and treated and described by the Judge Sheridan as the most dangerous man to ever be tried before him. Whilst Mr Baker is currently serving a life sentence the verdict of the court today will mean he is unlikely to be released for the foreseeable future. After an emotionally trying week, President Barack Obama and his family are heading west this weekend for a Father's Day getaway. The Obama family left the White House earlier Friday to head to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico and Yosemite National Park in California. The family vacation comes a week after the oldest daughter, Malia, graduated from the private Sidwell Friends School at an outdoor ceremony that the family attended. President Obama and his family were photographed gaping at the beauty of Carlsbad Caverns, not long after arriving in Roswell on Friday - but Sasha and Malia did not look as impressed as their parents. President Barack Obama and his family took the first stop of their family vacation in Roswell, New Mexico (pictured) as they are due to visit two national parks this weekend The family stared in amazement while a member of a National Park Service gave them a tour of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico on Friday - but Sasha and Malia did not look impressed Carlsbad Carverns (pictured) has more than 119 caves, which were formed when sulfuric acid ate through the surrounding limestone All four of the Obamas wore sensible pants and shoes as they headed inside the cavern in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico The President and his family arrived in Roswell on Friday and stepped out of Air Force One before visiting Carlsbad Caverns They shook hands with New Mexico Governor Martinez and Roswell mayor Dennis J Kintigh (pictured) before continuing to take their tour President Obama (pictured) stopped by the Carlsbad Caverns gift shop and gave 10-year-old May London a fist-bump before leaving the site The President and his family were later photographed stepping out of Marine One (pictured) and boarding Air Force One again to leave Roswell The Obamas were photographed in good spirits earlier Friday, with the President walking out of the White House hand-in-hand with Malia before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn. Sasha was pictured alongside her mother shortly after as they too headed towards Marine One, both wearing fashionable summer-styled dresses. The Obamas reappeared in Roswell as they stepped out of Air Force One. They shook hands with New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and Roswell mayor Dennis J Kintigh before touring Carlsbad Caverns. All four wore practical pants and shoes as they headed inside the Carlsbad Caverns site in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. It has more than 119 caves, which formed when sulfuric acid ate through the surrounding limestone. A member of the National Park Service gave them a tour as the family stared in amazement. Both parents looked in awe as they listened to her explanations, but the girls looked less than enthused. They were later photographed stepping out of Marine One to board Air Force One again after their visit. Obama and his wife Michelle were photographed later Friday stepping out of the Marine One helicopter in a field near the Half Dome rock formation at Yosemite National Park in California on Friday The presidential couple and their two daughters walked through Ahwahnee Meadow in Yosemite Vally, California, while continuing their trip on Friday Yosemite National Park (pictured) was the family's second stop during their getaway, which aimed to celebrate the creation of America's national park system 100 years ago Obama waved as he greeted park rangers upon arriving in Yosemite National Park on Friday with the First Lady and their two daughters The president will use the trip to celebrate the raw beauty of America's national parks as the system nears its 100th birthday. It will provide him with an opportunity to highlight the challenges over the next 100 years, including climate change and a shortage of money from Congress. In addition, the family vacation will give Obama the opportunity to recap his record on preserving open spaces and promote administration initiatives aimed at boosting tourism at the more than 400 national and other parks, monuments, battlefields and other sites in the system, including the White House. Officials say there's an economic case for supporting the sites: They sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs while visitors pump billions of dollars into surrounding economies. After an emotionally trying week, President Obama and his family headed west for a Father's Day getaway this weekend. The President walked out with Malia on the South Lawn Friday (pictured) Above President Obama waved while walking with his daughter Malia (right), First Lady Michelle Obama (second left) and daughter Sasha (left) as they depart the White House in Washington, DC Above President Obama is pictured walking with Malia hand-in-hand out of the White House before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn. Malia still favors a backpack even though she's done with school The President held his oldest daughter's hand tight as they walked across the White House lawn on the first day of their family getaway The youngest daughter, Sasha, was pictured alongside her mother, Michelle, as they too headed towards Marine One for their vacation The president will use the trip to celebrate the raw beauty of America's national parks as the system nears its 100th birthday. Above the family-of-four was pictured on the South Lawn of the White House The first family (above) took the Marine One helicopter for a short flight to Andres Air Force Base in Maryland The trip will give Obama the opportunity to recap his record on preserving open spaces and promote ]initiatives aimed at increasing tourism in national parks. Above the Obamas board Marine One The Interior Department said in a report Friday that more than 305 million people visited national parks last year. They spent $16.9 billion in nearby communities. 'I want to make sure that the American people are able to enjoy the incredible national parks, the incredible beauty, the mountains, the oceans that have been one of the greatest gifts that we've ever received,' Obama said in a Facebook video about the trip. 'And I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass on to future generations the God-given beauty of this planet.' Obama has protected more than 265 million acres of public lands and waters from development, more than any other president, the White House said. Environmental and advocacy groups applaud what Obama has done so far, but have been urging him to exercise his authority under a 1906 law to put even more public spaces off limits before he his term ends in January. The family vacation comes a week after the oldest daughter, Malia, graduated from the private Sidwell Friends School at an outdoor ceremony that the family attended. Above Malia (right) and Sasha (left) flashing smiles The trip will also give Obama an opportunity to highlight future challenges, including climate change and a shortage of money from Congress. The family (above) walks from Marine One to board Air Force One Col. Lawrence Havird (right), 89th Maintenance Group commander escorted Obama and his family as they walked from Marine One to Air Force One on Friday Obama will use the postcard-perfect scenery at both of the parks to highlight the natural beauty that officials assert could be lost or forever damaged by climate change. Above Sasha (left) and Malia (right) shared a laugh Some members of Congress accuse Obama of overreach every time he uses that authority to create a national monument without their input. Congressional objections aside, Obama will use the postcard-perfect scenery at both of the parks he's visiting with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, to highlight the natural beauty that officials assert could be lost or forever damaged by climate change. Also hampering the national park system is an estimated $12billion in deferred maintenance, including on roads and facilities. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who oversees the National Park Service and discussed the president's trip with reporters on Thursday, said the agency relies more heavily on donations every year to help meet its financial needs. The sisters appeared to be happy to kick-off the summer with a family trip to the west. Above Sasha (center) and Malia (right) smiled as their father waited for them and Michelle (left) to catch up Daughters Malia and Sasha boarded Air Force One before their parents at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland The park service was created in August 1916. Yosemite, near Fresno, California, is among the 10 most popular parks, with about 4 million people visiting annually. It is known for its waterfalls, but also boasts ancient giant sequoia trees and a vast wilderness area. The park visits will cap a difficult week for Obama that opened with Sunday's shooting deaths of 49 party-goers at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub by a lone gunman. On Thursday, the president flew to the Orlando to mourn the deaths with the victims' loved ones. Montanas Public Service Commission pulled the plug on guaranteed rates for small solar projects Thursday at the request of NorthWestern Energy, which said the rates were too pricey for ratepayers. Commissioners voted 3-2 to grant an emergency request from NorthWestern to suspend the states guaranteed rate for solar energy projects no larger than 3 megawatts projects large enough to power 540 or fewer homes. The utility announced in May that hook-up applications from solar companies had unexpectedly surged. NorthWestern blamed the state-set rate. Tuesday, the PSC obliged the utility, and suspended the rate for all but six solar projects. There had been 97 solar hookup requests since January 2015. Green energy advocates said the ruling blindsided solar companies developing Montana projects under the PSCs published terms, which hadnt changed since 2012. Our action today to protect NorthWestern Energys customers from unreasonably priced solar power is a compromise that still allows solar energy development to continue across the state, said PSC Chairman Brad Johnson. The unreasonable price, was actually set by the Public Service Commission four years ago. States are required to set a price and contract lengths in order to promote alternative energy resources under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Its something federal law has required states to do for 48 years. Utilities are supposed to be obligated to buy power from qualifying facilities under the states terms. The Montanas PSC-prescribed rate, locked in by a 25-year contract was $66 a megawatt hour, a price coincidently similar to the price NorthWestern gets for its own hydroelectric power. Thursday, commissioners took turns denouncing their prescribed rate as unfair to NorthWestern Energy customers. And they werent alone. The Montana Consumer Council, the state-created advocate for small energy consumers, said the harm to customers justified granting NorthWestern Energys call for emergency action. I totally agree with the Montana Consumer Council, that the commission needed to take swift and decisive action in defense of ratepayers, said Roger Koopman, PSC commissioner from Bozeman. These outdated standard rates are so inflated that consumers are taking a huge hit. Koopman blamed the federal law, known as PURPA, for requiring the PSC to establish rates in the first place. And he blamed solar companies for attempting to profit under the earlier terms set by the PSC. The PSC will now work to establish a new and lower standard rate for qualifying solar projects, likely by years end. With the standard rate suspended, NorthWestern was reevaluating its commitments to solar contractors. On June 9, NorthWestern attorney John Alke told the PSC the utility had nine solar farms under contract, mostly with Cypress Creek Renewables of California. He said NorthWestern had also agreed to terms, but signed nothing, with FLS Energy, of North Carolina, for 14 Montana projects to be built in the next 18 months. Alke said NorthWestern would also accept 21 projects from Pacific Northwest Solar of Oregon. Alke told the PSC that combined the 44 solar projects account for 135 megawatts, more energy than offered by the original phase of Judith Gap Wind Farm. The attorney was explaining how solar energy would develop in Montana, should the PSC grant NorthWesterns emergency request. When contacted by The Gazette on Thursday, NorthWestern wouldnt commit on the 44 solar projects presented to the PSC by its attorney a week earlier. We will not know the full impact of the PSCs order on any of the projects until we have had a chance to read and analyze it, said Butch Larcombe, a NorthWestern spokesman. NorthWestern had nine signed agreements for solar projects Thursday, including at six with contracts last week when 25-year contracts for $66 per megawatt hour were still the PSC prescribed terms. NorthWestern misled the commission and the commission bought it, said Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center. Now were all at NorthWesterns mercy to do something on solar. Expect lawsuits, said Jeff Fox, of Renewable NorthWest. The solar contractors who were developing multiple projects, some for nearly a year, under the terms set by the PSC, are likely to sue. It was also questionable whether the PSC had the power to suspend the price federal law requires it to set. Solar companies who submitted testimony against NorthWestern last week said their Montana investment was significant. North Carolina-based FLS Energy told the PSC it would spend roughly $100 million developing its 14 Montana projects during the next 18 months. Its an absolutely terrible outcome, Fox said. My impression is there will be lawsuits. I think that will happen no matter what. But its not even the guys that probably file the suit that I feel bad for. Its all the guys who dont have the resources. Two of Montanas five public service commissioners disagreed with Thursdays action. Kirk Bushman, the commissioner from Billings, who phoned into the meeting, said the PSC shouldnt have stopped at solar, but targeted all qualifying facilities, or QFs, with its ruling. NorthWestern Energys customers are completely exposed to extremely inflated prices from all QFs, not just solar, Bushman said. Anything short of suspending the full QF tariff is a failure on behalf of the commission. But Travis Kavulla, the commissioner from Great Falls, questioned whether the PSC had legal authority to suspend the rates. He had advocated for setting a temporary rate. These smaller projects should have the opportunity to obtain contracts at rates that represent the best estimate of what a utility itself would have to spend to supply itself energy and capacity, Kavulla said. Rather than updating our rate, the commission has thrown out the availability of those rates entirely. Even if this were a good idea, I do not believe this approach is lawful. A Harvard historian who defended the authenticity of a torn piece of papyrus known as The Gospel of Jesus's Wife- which suggested Christ may have been married - has now said it is probably a fake. Professor Karen King made her announcement today after the anonymous individual who gave her the papyrus was unmasked: a Floridian named Walter Fritz, who has dabbled in Egyptology, the auto parts business - and pornography. King, who teaches Ecclesiastical History, reached her conclusion after reading The Atlantics investigation into the papyruss origins, 'The Unbelievable Tale of Jesuss Wife', saying 'It tips the balance towards forgery'. Until now, Fritz was the missing piece in a puzzle that has confounded the world of academia for four years - the authenticity of a business card-sized scrap of papyrus in ancient Coptic writing. If the document were proved genuine, it would threaten to undermine some of the central teachings of the Church by suggesting Jesus Christ may have been married. Above, the torn papyrus 'The Gospel Of Jesus's Wife'. If the document were proved genuine, it would threaten to undermine some of the central teachings of the Church by suggesting Jesus Christ may have been married Harvard historian Professor Karen King (above), who defended the authenticity of the papyrus, has now said it is probably a fake But a letter from Fritz to a journalist at The Atlantic has revealed him to be the once-anonymous owner of the papyrus which would eventually fall into the hands of the Harvard scholar, His 'confessional' begins: 'I, Walter Fritz, herewith certify that I am the sole owner of a papyrus fragment which was named Gospel of Jesuss Wife 'I warrant that neither I, nor any third parties have forged, altered, or manipulated the fragment and/or its inscription in any way since it was acquired by me. The previous owner gave no indications that the fragment was tampered with either.' When Professor King obtained the papyrus in 2011, it was accompanied by a photocopy of a signed sales contract showing the then anonymous person had bought it from a man named Hans Ulrich Laukamp on November 12, 1999. A handwritten note on the contract states: 'Seller surrenders photocopies of correspondence in German. Papyri were acquired in 1963 by the seller in Potsdam (East Germany).' When Prof King obtained the papyrus in 2011, it was accompanied by a photocopy of a signed sales contract showing the anonymous person had bought it from a man named Hans-Ulrich Laukamp on November 12, 1999 It has now emerged that Fritz acquired the papyrus from Laukamp, whom he first met in Berlin in the 1990s at a talk given by renowned author Erich von Daniken, known for his theories on aliens. Fritz, who as a child had considered becoming a priest, bought Laukamp's papyrus collection in Florida in 1999 and kept it in storage for ten years. Then, during a business trip to London, he met an art dealer who offered to buy the papers for around (35,000) $50,000 - ten times what Fritz thought they'd be worth. THE GOSPEL OF JESUS'S WIFE The existence of the fragment, known as the 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife,' was made public at an academic conference in 2012. It is seen by some as a glimpse of how ancient Christians thought and carbon dating has suggested it is around 1,260 years old. Researchers have suggested it may be a copy of an older text. However, others, including the Vatican, have described it as an absurd fake. Although the business card-sized fragment contains only a few scraps of sentences, they seem to express ideas not seen in the canonical Gospels of the New Testament. 'Jesus said to them, 'My wife...,'' reads one snippet cut off by a torn edge, while other lines have Jesus suggesting that at least some women could be his disciples, roles filled in the canonical Gospels exclusively by men. At the time, a furious Vatican newspaper dismissed the find as a fake. One editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, wrote a stinging piece entitled 'At any rate, a fake.' Karen King, the original presenter of the papyrus, said she welcomed the debate over the text's ambiguities. Advertisement Before striking a deal, Fritz made contact with Professor King, whose articles on Christianity he was familiar with as he wanted to know why the dealer was prepared to offer such a high price. However, the art dealer abruptly ended negotiations when he found out Fritz had spoken to her. It was at this point that he gave the documents to Professor King. The unmasking of Fritz - now aged 50, married and living in Florida - as the missing link is down to investigations by Ariel Sabar, from The Atlantic. Laukamp had been the owner of a tool manufacturing company called the American Corporation for Milling and Boreworks, with a factory in Berlin and an office in Florida. One of his business associates was none other than Fritz, who acted as a consultant for the U.S. branch. But Fritz would turn out to have his fingers in some very interesting other pies. Shortly before Professor King announced her discovery of the papyrus in 2012, Fritz registered the domain name www.gospelofjesuswife.com. This provided Sabar with his breakthrough: it linked Fritz to the papyrus. Further web digging revealed that, nine years earlier, Fritz had set up several pornographic websites which showed his wife having sex with other men, with one home page proclaiming her as 'America's #1 Slut Wife'. A comment on one fan mail page from someone called Doug reads: 'I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful time during the gangbang on Friday. Dont get me wrong Walt you are a great guy, but [your wife] Wow!!!' A biography of Fritz on one of the sites read: 'I am a 45 year old executive, living in S. Florida. Stats: 62, 185 lbs., brown hair, slim, no belly, clean cut, and well endowed.' The online version of Gospel of St John, page 7 (left) compared to the Coptic John fragment (right). The red lines indicate how much is similar to the online source. Some scientists had used this as evidence that the papyrus is a fake It continued: 'I am college-educated with a technical MA-degree form [sic] a major university, and an associate degree in arts. I speak three languages fluently and read two old languages.' The pornographic sites have since been taken down. Also, in 1995, Fritz established the company Nefer Art - 'nefer' being the Egyptian word for 'beauty'. Sabar's investigations had uncovered a 'Walter Fritz' who, in 1991, had published an article in a German-language journal, Studien zur Altagyptischen Kultur (Studies in Ancient Egyptian Culture), concerning his decoding of an ancient Egyptian tablet. According to the journal, he was affiliated to the Egyptology institute at Berlins Free University - which also employed a man named Peter Munro. WHAT THE PAPYRUS SAYS The papyrus back side, or verso, is so badly damaged that only a few key words - 'my mother' and 'three'- were decipherable, but on the front side, or recto, Professor King gleaned eight fragmentary lines: not [to] me. My mother gave to me li[fe]... The disciples said to Jesus, deny. Mary is worthy of it Jesus said to them, My wife she will be able to be my disciple Let wicked people swell up As for me, I dwell with her in order to an image Advertisement However, at some point, Fritz, who told Sabar he did indeed go there, dropped out of his master's programme in Egyptology. His love of the subject remained, with Fritz going on to become a tour guide at Berlin's Egyptian Museum. Munro's name is also mentioned in the papyrus package handed to Professor King: it was he who is said to have analysed Laukamp's documents. Munro, who died in 2006, said during his analysis of the papyrus in 1982: 'The small fragment is the sole example of a text in which Jesus uses direct speech with reference to having a wife,' which 'could be evidence for a possible marriage'. Asked about the Munro letter, Fritz told The Atlantic: 'I cant comment on any issues you have with that letter... I received a photocopy from somebody, and thats the end of the story.' Rene Ernest, the lawyer who represented Mr Laukamp's estate after his death in 2002, and is also his stepson, disputed claims his client owned the papyrus. He insisted Mr Laukamp had no interest in antiques and did not collect them. Furthermore, he said that in 1963, Mr Laukamp was living in West Berlin. At this time, West Germans were not allowed to visit East Germany, apart from to visit family at Christmas. Many people over the centuries have tried to work out a 'bloodline' for possible descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene (shown on the left of Jesus in this painting of the Last Supper, according to a character in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code) Any attempt to do so would have risked imprisonment and possible execution if he was discovered with a document containing apparent cryptic writing. Asked how Laukamp's signature may have ended up on the sales contract, Ernest's wife Gabriele told The Atlantic: 'I can easily imagine Walter Fritz saying, "I need your signature for the company"?. - adding Laukamp 'would have signed that without reading everything'. When Sabar confronted Fritz about whether he had forged the papyrus, Fritz said: 'Lets be the devils advocate and say either Mr Laukamp or I conspired to forge a papyrus to make a statement... there is still no scientific evidence at this point that we did it.' And when Sabar put the question to him again later, directly - had he forged the Gospel of Jesus's Wife? - Fritz simply said, 'No'. A crooked teacher at a top private school has been banned from the classroom after making parents pay her directly for a class trip - and pocketing the cash. Kerry-Leigh Smith, 31, was struck off by a disciplinary panel and indefinitely prohibited from teaching after she was convicted of fraud while working at the 13,500-a-year private school. Smith taught textiles at 4,500-a-term Brigidine School, in Windsor, Berkshire, when she organised for a class of 11 pupils to go on a day trip to Somerset House in London. But instead of getting them to pay the school, Smith told the kids' parents to pay 32 each directly into her bank account - despite tickets for the event costing only 9. Kerry-Leigh Smith, 31, former head of textiles at 13,500-per-year Brigidine School, pictured, in Windsor, has been banned from teaching after pocketing cash for a school trip The employment panel heard that the con artist requested a sum of 32 per child from the parents and that the to be paid directly to her rather than the school, in 2013. Smith, 31, was employed as a textiles teacher at Brigidine School, Windsor, from 2010 and then later appointed Head of textiles, art and design in 2013. The panel found her guilty of two counts of unacceptable professional conduct that may bring the profession into disgrace. In a written report, chair of the panel Jayne Millions said: 'Miss Smith has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct and conduct bringing the professional into disrepute. 'Miss Smith's actions in overcharging for a school trip undermined the basic trust between parents and staff which is essential to the public's confidence in the profession.' Smith was also accused of producing a false document at the hearing in an attempt to support the false account she had given in relation to the cost of the school trip, which the teaching panel worked out cost around 14 less per pupil than she had claimed. The report stated that: 'This conduct was dishonest, in that she intentionally requested that the sum be paid directly to herself knowing that the cost of the trip would be less than the amount requested, so that she could keep a proportion of the monies for unrelated purposes.' In February last year she was convicted at Berkshire Magistrates Court of fraud by abuse of position in relation to the trip, which was in December 2012. Smith asked parents of pupils at the school, pictured, to pay her 32 each for the trip directly into her bank account. She was convicted of fraud in February 2015 She was handed a Community Order and told to pay 1,010 in fines and costs. Following her resignation in October 2013, Smith deliberately sought references from individuals connected with the school - who had no idea about the criminal investigation. The former teacher received a lifetime ban and is prohibited from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England. Brigidine School is a Catholic independent private school located on the edge of Windsor, and is consistently rated as one of the top education establishments in the country. Emotional politicians have said they are 'humbled' after thousands of Twitter users responded to the death of Jo Cox by posting messages with the hashtag #ThankYourMP. The messages of appreciation for the worked performed by the politicians were described as 'heartening' by many MPs, who said they were deeply touched by the public's rally of support. More than 10,000 #thankyourMP messages were sent by the morning after Mrs Cox's death, with frequency peaking at 38 tweets per minute at one point. Thousands of social media users have responded to the death of Jo Cox by paying tribute to the hard work of their own MPs by using the Twitter hashtag #thankyourMP. Pictured are candles and flowers left in her honour at Parliament Square in London The messages of appreciation were described as 'humbling' by many politicians, including Labour's Clive Lewis, as they thanked the public for their rally of support Among the thousands of tweets were many from constituents saying they disagreed with their MPs' political views but appreciated the work they did. In a message to Guildford MP Anne Milton, @DonaHilaria wrote: 'I do not support the party you represent but I do know the work you do for the community and respect you for it.' Twitter user @ZackPolanski wrote of Holborn and St Pancras MP Sir Keir Starmer: 'We had many a disagreement during hustings but he's fundamentally a kind, thoughtful gentleman doing a good job.' More than 10,000 #thankyourMP messages were sent by the morning after Mrs Cox's death, with frequency peaking at 38 tweets per minute at one point Regardless of their politics, Twitter users were keen to show support for the politicians who represent them Benjamin Borley thanked Labour's MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw, in his tweet James Dunne paid tribute to the work done by Bristol North West MP Charlotte Leslie Meanwhile, @tom-large thanked his constituency MP Rushanara Ali for the work she does in Bethnal Green and Bow, as well as his parents' MP in the Cotswolds, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, with the message: 'Democracy works.' And many MPs who responded to the tweets from their constituents appeared to be genuinely touched by the gesture, as they tried to come to terms with their colleague's tragic death. Mother-of-two Mrs Cox, 41, was punched and kicked to the ground by her attacker before being shot three times once in the head - with an 'antique gun' outside a West Yorkshire library yesterday afternoon. The rising Labour star and dedicated MP, died from the catastrophic injuries she sustained in the attack, after the killer ambushed her as she walked to her constituency surgery in Birstall near Leeds at about 1pm. Mother-of-two Mrs Cox, 41, was punched and kicked to the ground by her attacker before being shot three times once in the head - with an 'antique gun' outside a West Yorkshire library yesterday afternoon Labour's Barbara Keeley, the MP for Worsley and Eccles South, sent out a message to the hashtag's users: 'Thank you for all the #ThankYourMP Tweets. It is heartening to get these messages at such a difficult time.' Dawn Butler, Labour MP for Brent, who had tweeted a video of her receiving a hug from Ms Cox as she paid tribute to her 'warm, wonderful and funny' colleague, wrote: 'Whoever started #ThankYourMP #thank you! You are helping a lot of people get through a really traumatic n difficult time. Xx' Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South added: '#ThankYourMP is a genuinely humbling sentiment,reminding us how humanity has the ability to turn tragedy into a source of strength.Thankyou.' Conservative MP Stewart Jackson, who represents Peterborough, described the hashtag as a 'lovely very British gesture'. Among the thousands of tweets were many from constituents saying they disagreed with their MPs' political views but appreciated the work they did Twitter user @ZackPolanski wrote of Holborn and St Pancras MP Sir Keir Starmer: 'We had many a disagreement during hustings but he's fundamentally a kind, thoughtful gentleman doing a good job.' Paul Robinson described the hashtag as a 'thin ray of light on a dark day', as he thanked Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt for serving South West Surrey And the SNP's Margaret Ferrier said: 'Very humbling & touching 2 receive messages of support via #ThankYourMP its privilege & pleasure 2 serve people of Rutherglen & HamiltonWest' The messages of appreciation were described by Times commentator Matt Chorley as 'a small glimmer of light for many politicians on a dark, dark day'. Mr Chorley was one of a number of Westminster observers who suggested that Mrs Cox's death might prompt reflection on the scorn and anger routinely directed at MPs. 'Politicians get a hard time. They are variously described as egotists, traitors, liars and cheats, hounded on social media in a way that the rest of us would never accept,' he wrote on the paper's Red Box email newsletter. 'Today it is worth remembering that there is more to politics than that, that democracy does actually matter, and that those we elect give far more than most of us can imagine.' MPs were also keen to thank their constituents for sending them the #thankyourMP messages Labour's Dawn Butler said the messages were helping the politicians 'get through a really traumatic' time The SNP's Margaret Ferrier was another politician who said she was humbled by the messages Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie thanked individual Twitter users for their kind messages Former Conservative MP Paul Goodman said that the violent attack on Mrs Cox was shocking, but not surprising, in an age where MPs are often the subject of social media vitriol and aggressive emails as well as verbal abuse in their constituency surgeries. 'Anger with Parliamentarians is sometimes justified, as during the expenses scandal. In very many respects, our political system itself is unwell. But there is something distorted about much of the rage expended on our MPs,' he wrote on the ConservativeHome website. Others complained about lack of usual Kyle fare of lie detectors and fueds Some said change in regular scheduling had put a downer on their Friday But regular fans of the show bemoaned decision to air the one-off episode Orlando survivors share their experiences of the tragedy with UK viewers Survivors of the Orlando shooting appeared on a special episode of Jeremy Kyle this morning to share their experiences of the tragedy with UK viewers. However some insensitive fans of the show bemoaned the decision to air the one-off episode this morning - claiming it had put a downer on the upcoming weekend. Others complained of missing out on the usual fanfare associated with Kyle's long-standing talk show of lie detector results and family feuds. Scroll down for video Survivors of the Orlando shooting appeared on a special episode of Jeremy Kyle this morning to share their experiences of the tragedy with UK viewers However some insensitive fans of the show bemoaned the decision to air the one-off episode this morning - claiming it had put a downer on the upcoming weekend Others complained of missing out on the usual fanfare associated with Kyle's long-standing talk show of lie detector results and family feuds One fan tweeted: 'Them poor saps in the audience turned up for some good old chav baiting then get served this s*** up. I'd be wanting a refund!' Another Twitter user added: 'Bring back the shouty smelly chavs please! This is not an issue for The Jeremy Kyle Show.' A third added: 'OMG I'm getting depression listening to this. Bring on the bad teeth.' During the show, Kyle was joined by the show's therapist Graham Stanier, who was visibly overcome with emotion as he spoke about his ties to the LGBT community. Kyle said that in a change from the regularly scheduled programme, it would focus on survivors of acts of terrorism. The Orlando survivors spoke of the horrors experienced by recalling Sunday's massacre and the sound of screams and gunfire. The special also heard from victims of the Tunisia attacks and 7/7, with many rushing to social media to praise the emotional punch of the show. User @teammick said: 'Makes a change to see real men on Jeremy Kyle and and not the usual collection of stupid selfish emotionally incontinent cretins.' Another said: 'It's refreshing to see selfless, heroic people on Jeremy Kyle instead of the usual incompetent, selfish guests.' Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen was repeatedly suspended, lacked remorse and frequently spoke of violence and sex in the classroom as early as the third grade, his school records have revealed. Educators offered a troubling portrait of Mateen as a young boy and teenager, describing him over the years as an aggressive, disruptive, inappropriate and violent student who fell behind academically, caused fights, had behavioral problems and moved from school to school. As a student, Mateen, who was killed during Sundays massacre at Orlandos Pulse nightclub, failed several classes, was moved to a different classroom to avoid fights with classmates and was suspended for around 50 days for fighting or other problems, according to the records. Omar Mateen, 29, was armed with two firearms when he killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others School transcripts obtained by media including CBS News, the Orlando Sentinel and the Daily Beast reveal Mateen started having trouble as early as the second grade at Mariposa Elementary School in Port St Lucie, Florida. A year later in the third grade, when he was around eight or nine years old, a teacher wrote that he was verbally abusive, rude and aggressive, talked much about violence and sex (obscenities), and his hands were on other children, CBS reported. That some school year his parents refused to sign any consent forms for testing and while singing the schools song he replaced the name Mariposa with marijuana. In fourth grade, a guidance counselor reported he lacked control and had fallen behind academically by at least two years, and one report stated he was hitting other students. Orlando gunman Omar Mateen is pictured with his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, and their three-year-old son When he was in fifth grade a teacher said he struggled to stay focused and lacked remorse. Former classmate Leslie Hall told the New York Daily News that Mateen fantasized about a school massacre that year and threatened to bring a gun to class and kill everyone he didnt like. The following school year he failed several classes and was ordered to attend summer school. When he attended Southport Middle School, a teacher wrote to his father, Seddique, in April 1999 to complain that his son, then around 13, distracted other students, did little work in class and had a poor attitude and an inability to show self-control in the classroom. In Grade 7 he was moved to a new classroom to avoid fights with classmates, was still struggling and displayed behavioral problems, a teacher wrote. In middle and high school he was suspended for nearly 50 days for causing problems such as fights at Stuart Middle School, Martin County High School, where he was expelled for fighting, and Spectrum Alternative High School. He earned his diploma from Martin County Community Adult High School. Former classmate Wes Maxwell said Mateen was suspended for three days after they got into a fight at Stuart Middle School. I actually got into a fistfight with him in seventh or eighth grade because of his horrible views, Maxwell told the Orlando Sentinel. Maxwell said. We were in P.E. (physical education), and he was spewing hate. In high school, he appeared happy when he learned of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and claimed Osama bin Laden was his uncle, two classmates told the newspaper. After high school he completed an associates degree in criminal justice at Indian River State College and got a job at a GNC nutrition and supplement store, the Daily Beast reported. Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others in his rampage at the gay nightclub the deadliest mass shooting in US history. He pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack and had allegedly been a patron of the bar in the past, but police have not revealed a motive. Mateen was shot and killed when a police SWAT team smashed a hole in the wall of the nightclub to rescue hostages. He was born in Queens, New York, to parents who emigrated from Afghanistan, and the family moved to Port St Lucie before he attended kindergarten in the 1991-92 school year. That year, he was moved to a different school to attend a special program for students who are unable to or struggle to speak English. At the time of the massacre, he lived with his wife, Noor Salman, and their three-year-old son in an apartment in Fort Pierce, Florida, and had worked as a security guard for G4S. When he applied for a job with Martin Correctional Institution in 2006, he wrote a letter explaining that he was charged with battery after he got into a fight in math class in 2001, when he was 14, CBS News reported. He wrote that he was released to his parents and the charges were dropped. Mateen was fired from his job at Martin Correctional Institution in April 2007 for not completing training, the Daily Beast reported. That same year he was hired by G4S. Over the last three years he had been interviewed by the FBI on three occasions after making inflammatory comments to colleagues alleging he had ties to terrorists, but no further action was taken. A 57-year-old man has been kicked off a cruise for flicking a cigarette butt over the side of a boat during a dream holiday with P&O Australia. Mark O'Keefe and his wife Debra left on the twelve day cruise to Bali from Freemantle on June 6. The couple, based in Perth in Western Australia, had saved up for the holiday for a year but it was ruined from the moment Mr O'Keefe let the cigarette butt go over-board. Debra, left, and Mark O'Keefe, centre, went on the holiday of their dreams only for it to be ruined five days in after Mark flicked a cigarette off the P&O Australia cruise ship they were on. His daughter Courtney, right, is angry with her father's treatment Mr O'Keefe's daughter Courtney took to P&O's Facebook page to complain about the treatment of her father who had to leave the ship the next day. 'Saturday they were at a show dad stepped out on deck to have a smoke had 2 drags put it out and without thinking flicked it overboard,' Courtney wrote. 'Security pulled him aside dad apologised profusely and was told ''go back to your room sir and there will be no further repercussions'' so he did.' But the next day there were further consequences to the split second butt-flick. He was taken before the captain who deemed he had shown 'no remorse' for his actions and he would not be allowed to continue with the cruise. The couple did not have enough money to fly home together so they had to part ways. Mrs O'Keefe was left devastated while her husband had to get home to Perth from Indonesia 'Mum and dad couldn't afford 2 plane tickets home so dad was left on his own on an island nobody has ever heard of!!! 'The ships staff organised transfers home,' the post read. Except according to Courtney there were no transfers waiting for her dad once he got off the island. 'Dad arrives in Bali looking for his cab driver to the hotel 2 hours he waited nobody came there. 'He walked and paid another $70 for a hotel room, then pulled up in customs for 2 hours being questioned like he was a terror threat!!!!' The couple have never been apart for so long, according to their daughter who said in 35 years they have only spent a few days without the other by their side. 'My mother hasn't left her room since Sunday!' she said. The daughter told the company in her post that her mother handles her father's medication. She also said she thought the company was 'a joke' and added that she was furious. According to WA Today Mr O'Keefe only knew he was in big trouble when he had a letter demanding him to attend a meeting it was left in his cabin. 'My dad is 58 in a few weeks - he's ex-army, SAS, with cancer and cholesterol problems - and my mum handles all his medication,' she said. P&O Australia spokesman David Jones told Daily Mail Australia 'fire safety on board the boat is of highest priority'. 'The mandatory passenger safety muster on embarkation includes an explicit warning about the dangers associated with disposing of cigarettes over the side,' he said. 'This is because of the risk of the cigarette being drawn back into the ship and starting a fire.' A Labour MP has warned against linking the death of Jo Cox to the bitter battle over the EU referendum. Rachel Reeves, a friend of Mrs Cox, dismissed the idea that the killing yesterday was a result of the way the campaign was being conducted. The comments came after claims that the MP was targeted over her support for immigration and ties with Brussels. Eyewitnesses said her attacker shouted 'Britain first' before shooting and stabbing her. Scroll down for video Labour's Rachel Reeves, left, has rejected suggestions that there was a link between the EU referendum campaign and the killing of Jo Cox, right, yesterday Mrs Reeves breaks down in tears at the scene in Birstall market place this morning not far from where Ms Cox was murdered But a family friend of the suspected attacker has denied he was 'politically motivated' or felt strongly about the referendum. And Ms Reeves, who wept at a service remembering her fellow MP last night, said: 'There's of course going to be a lively debate around fundamental questions like our membership of the European Union. 'But, I don't think that's linked to what happened yesterday. I was at the vigil yesterday at Birstall parish church for Jo, where hundreds of her constituents came to pay tribute, not as a matter of courtesy but because they loved her, because she worked so hard for them. 'And I think if we're honest most MPs every week are doing that work for their constituents, but a lot of that gets ignored and forgotten in the commentary and I think maybe it is a time to reassess what the role of an MP is. 'Yes of course it's the debates about the big issues of our time, but also there is a role that MPs have serving their constituents. 'Often the last point of call is to go to an MP when they are desperate, whether that's on welfare, housing, anti-social behaviour or whatever. 'We don't know what the motives were of the guy who attacked her yesterday. I don't think we should link the referendum to Jo's death.' Ms Reeves also insisted the tragic episode should not stop MPs interacting with their constituents - although she has closed her office today as a mark of respect. 'We mustn't let the actions of this man drive a wedge between MPs and the people who we were elected to serve,' she said. MPs and members of the public have been laying tributes outside of the Houses of Parliament Campaiging for the EU referendum has been suspended as a mark of respect. The Conservatives have also announced they will not be contesting the by-election in Batley and Spen 'The work of an MP, our surgeries, our work in the community, must continue. But I think it's right today as well as ceasing the campaigning in the referendum that we close our office. 'I think, the fact that Jo died doing the job that she loved in the place that she loved in Birstall in Batley and Spen, is a reminder that the work of an MP isn't just in the Chamber of the House of Commons and in Westminster. 'So much of the work that we do is in our community, serving local people, probably where we can make the most direct impact on people's lives. 'A lot of people maybe don't see that work of an MP, but it's so important to me and obviously so important to Jo and all of us. The Leeds West MP said the site where Mrs Cox was attacked was 'such a normal place'. ' The sort of street that is recognisable in any part,' she said. Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell was among those paying their respects in Birstall today The market square near the scene of the attack was stacked with tributes 'To think that such a horrific and violent crime took place against such a wonderful woman..there is a sense of numbness, not being able to believe what has happened 'And anger that someone could take away someone who had so much to give. 'Jo died doing the job she loved, in the place she loved, representing the people she loved. 'There is also grief and sorrow at the death of a mother, wife, daughter and a friend to many of us.' The Conservative Party has announced that it will not contest the by-election in the Batley and Spen seat as a mark of respect to Mrs Cox. Iain Dale, the political commentator and ex-Tory Parliamentary candidate, agreed with Mrs Reeves, saying: Ive been appalled today listening to some blatant attempts by politicians, political figures, political commentators, who ought to know better, trying to politicise the events of the last 24 hours. Lets deal with some facts, rather than politically motivated speculation shall we. We have no idea whether there was political angle to this murder yesterday. What we do know is that the man who has been arrested has a history of mental health problems. That is a fact. Its about the only fact that we do know. Now to attribute the hateful actions of one man to any political agenda at this stage speaks more about those who try to do this than they might like to admit. Floral tributes were also left on the houseboat on the Thames where Mrs Cox lived with her husband Brendan and two small children Ex-Tory MP Louise Mensch said the tone of Miss Toynbees article was vile, adding: Jos loss is something that all of us in the UK must feel and our politics is irrelevant. Far, far too many on the Remain side of the referendum have, however, used Coxs tragic death for political point scoring. She added: [The attacker] was severely mentally ill and had been treated over a long period of time. It is beyond disgusting, then, to use this mans mental collapse and psychological unsoundness as a weapon in a political campaign. Let the doctors weigh in before we ascribe any part of this to ordinary politics. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the whole country just needs to pause and reflect and make sure the final days before the referendum are not marred by a climate of hatred, of poison, of negativity, of cynicism. The man suspected of the killing, Thomas Mair, was 'not politically motivated', according to a friend of his mother. Rosemary Surman, 61, said Mair, who is being questioned by police, had no strong feelings on our membership of the EU. Said she had known the gardener for a 'long, long time'. 'We've been talking to him and asking him about whether we should be in or out of the EU and he always said there were good arguments for both sides,' she said. 'He had never mentioned Jo Cox before ever, I don't think he even knew who she was. 'He was even going to go down to vote with us, to take us down there.' Ms Surman said Mair had not been able to 'stand the sight of blood', even his own. 'You never know, anybody can just snap,' she added. David Cameron, centre, joined Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, in laying flowers in Birstall today. Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, left, Speaker John Bercow and Commons chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilkin were also there MERKEL LASHES OUT AT 'EXAGGERATION' DURING EU REFERENDUM BATTLE German Chancellor Angela Merkel Angela Merkel has waded into the row over linking Jo Cox's killing to the EU referendum, hitting out at 'exaggeration' during the campaign. Asked about the Labour's MP's tragic death today, Mrs Merkel told journalists: 'The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect. 'Thats why we all value democratic game rules. And we know how important it is to draw limits, be it in the choice of speech, in the choice of the argument but also in the choice of partly disparaging argument. 'Otherwise the radicalisation will become unstoppable.' Greece's member of the EU commission, Dimitris Avramopoulos, also claimed that Mrs Cox was killed 'for her dedication to European democracy'. Advertisement A flight from London Heathrow to Chicago turned around after an emergency was declared on board. The plane was flying over Wales when it announced to passengers it was returning to Heathrow due to a 'maintenance issue'. An American Airlines spokesman confirmed on social media there had been a problem with the air pressure in the cabin. An American Airlines flight is returning to Heathrow after an emergency was declared on board (file picture) Flight AA87 took off shortly after 12.20pm but turned back around 20 minutes later. The plane, said to be a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, dumped fuel before heading back to Heathrow. Work to fix the problem has been completed and the aircraft is expected to land at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and 5.59 local time. A spokesman for Heathrow Airport confirmed the plane landed safely at Heathrow Airport some 40 minutes into the flight. An American airlines spokesman said: 'AA87, a Boeing 787, flying from LHR-ORD returned to Heathrow shortly after takeoff due to a mechanical issue.' Advertisement Shoulder-to-shoulder in a rare display of unity, David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn condemned hatred and intolerance in British society yesterday. The two men laid flowers in memory of Jo Cox, who Mr Corbyn said had been killed by 'an act of hatred', adding: 'It's the well of hatred that killed her.' The Labour leader had refused to share a platform with the Prime Minister during the referendum campaign but said it was now time to stand together in the face of an attack on democracy. Mr Cameron said Mrs Cox's death was a reminder of the value of a British society 'underpinned by tolerance', and said hatred, division and intolerance had no place in politics or public life. Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron united in Birstall today to express their grief at the brutal murder of Jo Cox on the streets of the Yorkshire town yesterday The two party leaders were among thousands of mourners who gathered near the scene of Mrs Cox's brutal murder in Birstall, West Yorkshire, including several Labour MPs who were left in tears as they remembered their former colleague. Mr Cameron and Mr Corbyn were accompanied by Commons Chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn and Commons Speaker John Bercow. Labour leader Mr Corbyn announced Parliament will be recalled on Monday to allow all MPs to pay their respects in the House of Commons. Mother-of-two Mrs Cox was repeatedly shot and stabbed to death in broad daylight yesterday lunchtime as she arrived for her regular constituency surgery at Birstall Library. The unprecedented gathering saw Mr Cameron and Mr Corbyn stand shoulder to shoulder to mark the outpouring of grief in Westminster following the shocking killing yesterday. Mr Cameron said: 'Where we see hatred, where we see division, where we see intolerance we must drive it out of our public life and politics.' He said: 'If we truly want to honour Jo, then what we should do is recognise that her values - service, community, tolerance - the values she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and years to come.' Mr Corbyn said: 'This was an attack on democracy, it was a well of hatred that killed her.' Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, Mr Corbyn, Commons Speaker John Bercow and Mr Cameron paused for a moment to pay their respects after placing tributes and making brief remarks Pictured arriving for the memorial today were, from left, Mr Benn, Mr Bercow, Mr Cameron, Commons chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Mr Corbyn Commons Speaker John Bercow said: 'Evil cannot be allowed and will not be allowed to triumph over good. 'We just have to underline our determination as politicians across the spectrum that free speech and the right of people to go about their business and the pursuit of principle will continue, and it will not be dulled or dimmed or cowed in any way by people who think that violence and the spirit of hatred can be allowed to triumph.' The Prime Minister said the nation was 'rightly shocked' at her death, adding: 'Two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife and Parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners.' Standing alongside Mr Cameron today, Mr Corbyn said: 'We need our whole society to be secure. 'Jo was brutally murdered here 24 hours ago in this town - a town she loved, a town she grew up in, serving a community she loved. 'And in her life she'd worked for anti-slavery campaigns, she'd worked for Oxfam, she was a campaigner for human rights and justice all around the world. 'She was taken from us in an act of hatred, in a vile act that has killed her.' Mr Corbyn announced his request to recall Parliament had been granted as he condemned the murder and said Mrs Cox was 'taken from us in an act of hatred' Commons Speaker John Bercow said: 'Evil cannot be allowed and will not be allowed to triumph over good.' Vigils have been held across the UK in memory of Labour MP Jo Cox as people were urged to honour her legacy by building a world with 'more love and less hate' Thousands of people held candles at a vigil in Parliament Square, with a solemn silence in honour of the Labour MP Mr Cameron used today's event to tell of how he first met Mrs Cox, a former aid worker, in Darfur, western Sudan, in 2006 where she had been 'doing what she was brilliant at, which was looking after and saving the lives of vulnerable refugees'. He added: 'Today our nation is rightly shocked. It is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that are so important about our country.' He said the country 'should treasure and value our democracy where Members of Parliament are out in the public, accountable to the public, available to the public and that's how Jo died. 'She died doing her job'. The Prime Minister said politics was about public service and MPs wanted to 'make the world a better place'. Tributes were paid to Jo Cox, pictured left at a charity tug of war earlier this month and right campaigning in Batley and Spen, by the most senior figures in Westminster politics today Tributes grew today at an informal memorial to the late MP on Parliament Square today as scores of flowers were laid around a portrait of the 41-year-old Mourners gathered across the street from the Palace of Westminster to view the floral tributes left to Mrs Cox on Parliament Square After laying his own bouquet of flowers, Mr Corbyn said: 'Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her. 'It's a tragedy beyond tragedy what has happened yesterday. 'In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society, we will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech. 'She was a truly wonderful woman. 'I'm deeply sorry, deeply sad, for what has happened to her. 'My condolences to all the people of Batley and Spen who she represented so well, and of course to a wonderful family - her husband, her children and all of her wider family.' Mr Cameron was the first to lay a bouquet of flowers at the memorial in Birstall before warning we must 'value and treasure our democracy' Mr Cameron recounted the first time he met Mrs Cox, during a visit to Darfur in 2006. Mrs Cox, pictured in the red scarf, was an aid worker at the time and met Mr Cameron, centre, while he was Leader of the Opposition On his bouquet of flowers, Mr Cameron wrote: 'Jo - a loving mother and wife, a passionate MP and campaigner. You died serving your constituents and country. We hold your family in our prayers. You will never be forgotten'. On his own, Mr Corbyn wrote: 'In loving memory of a wonderful, passionate and committed woman. Her life was dedicated to justice and human rights and proud to represent Batley and Spen.' The Labour leader paid tribute to the 'truly wonderful' statement made by Mrs Cox's husband Brendan, which he said was a message that 'in her memory we should try to conquer hatred with love and with respect'. He said: 'I've asked the Prime Minister and Speaker for the recall of Parliament on Monday and they've accepted that request. 'Parliament will be recalled on Monday so that we can pay due tribute to her on behalf of everybody in this country who values democracy, values the right of free speech and values the right of political expression, free from the kind of brutality that Jo suffered. 'That's why we all need to come together to understand that everyone must have protection and security in order to function in a democratic society.' Framed photographs of Jo Cox and her family are placed alongside floral tributes as people pay their respects near to the scene of the murder of Mrs Cox One of the images featured Mrs Cox and her husband Brendan on the steps of 10 Downing Street Mr Bercow said he saw how extraordinarily hard-working Mrs Cox was from his position as Speaker. He said: 'From my vantage point, I got to see her, I got to hear her, I knew of her passion, I knew of her commitment, I knew of her ability and I knew of her quite extraordinary hard work. 'Everyone here today knows that and we have come together in grief and admiration and in respect.' On the card attached to his bouquet, Mr Cameron wrote: 'Jo, a loving mother and wife, a passionate MP and campaigner. You died serving your constituents and country. We hold your family in our prayers. You will never be forgotten.' Mr Corbyn wrote: 'In loving memory of a wonderful, passionate and committed woman. Her life was dedicated to justice and human rights and proud to represent Batley and Spen.' After Mr Cameron, Mr Corbyn and Mr Bercow addressed the crowd, the group spoke to and embraced the MPs gathered at the scene. Surrounded by the world's media and standing shoulder to shoulder with the Commons Speaker and Prime Minister, Mr Corbyn announced MPs would gather in Westminster on Monday to pay tributes to Mrs Cox Mr Corbyn said: 'Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her' Mr Corbyn wiped away a tear after paying his respects to his colleague Mrs Cox As they left to return to their waiting cars, Mr Corbyn got mobbed by the crowd and stopped to speak to two Labour supporters. John Marley, 74, said he stopped Mr Corbyn as he walked past him. He said: 'I just thanked him for coming and told him to look after himself in these dodgy times.' Tom Smith, 28, added: 'It's so unusual to hear about anything like this happening, especially here. It's unbelievable and horrific.' Mr Corbyn last night addressed a tearful vigil in Westminster to pay tribute to Mrs Cox and warn that 'hatred will never solve problems' as he reacted to the immediate aftermath of her death. In his own tribute last night, Mr Cameron said Britain had lost a 'great star' from its public life, while the Labour leader led mourning in Parliament Square. Mr Corbyn said: 'Remembering her, remembering all she gave, and we are desperately sad tonight at the loss of such a lovely woman who had everything to live for. 'This is a shocking occasion and I hope everyone realises hatred will never solve problems. 'Only people coming together will solve problems - Jo believed that, Brendan believed that, we believe that.' The Prime Minister said it was 'tragic and dreadful news' and sent his thought's to Mrs Cox's husband Brendan. A huge crowd turned out in Birstall to see the Prime Minister visiting their town today to pay his respects a day after their MP was killed in broad daylight Mr Cameron said: 'This is absolutely tragic and dreadful news. My thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan, her two children, and their wider family. 'We have lost a great star. 'She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion and a big heart and people are going to be very, very sad at what has happened. Dreadful, dreadful news. 'It's right we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum and everyone's thought will be with Jo's family and with her constituents at this terrible time.' Flags across Whitehall are flying at half-mast, while flags at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh are also being lowered in tribute. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen had written privately to Mr Cox. In Mrs Cox's home town, hundreds of people, including Labour colleagues Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis, packed into the parish church to hear the Bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Gibbs, pay tribute to someone who 'gave her life for this community'. A lawyer who says he warned Walt Disney officials about alligators lurking on their properties a year ago, has spoken out following the fatal reptile attack this week. San Diego attorney David Hiden said he vacationed at the Orlando, Florida resort with his family in April 2015 when his five-year-old son was nearly attacked by a gator. He told CBS News that his son was wading in about calf-deep water in a lagoon behind their hotel when he saw a six-to seven-foot alligator approach. Scroll down for video San Diego lawyer David Hiden said his five-year-old son was almost attacked by an alligator at a Walt Disney World lagoon in April 2015 Hiden took this photo of one of the two alligators he saw swimming in a lagoon behind the Coronado Springs Resort 'I saw something rapidly coming on like a submarine,' Hiden said. 'And I look and I went, "Oh my god. That's an alligator."' Hiden grabbed his son out of the water and took him to safety. When he looked back at the water, he noticed a second alligator lurking nearby. The Coronado Springs Resort is located three-and-a-half miles away from the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, where two-year-old Lane Graves was snatched and drowned by an alligator on Tuesday. When he told a hotel manager about the alligators, Hiden (right) says he was told they were 'harmless' Hiden says his son was almost attacked outside the Coronado Springs Hotel, which is located about three and a half miles from the Grand Floridian, where Lane Graves was killed his week Two-year-old Lane Graves was killed by an alligator in Disney's Seven Seas Lagoon on Tuesday The boy was also wading in the water - on a beach where there were 'no swimming' signs posted, but no warnings about alligators in the lake. After the brush with death, Hiden said he took a picture of one of the alligators that he saw and showed it to the hotel manager. 'And the response, I couldn't believe it,' Hiden said. 'It was, "Those are resident pets, and we've known about them for years. And they're harmless, they're not going to attack anybody."' Unsatisfied with the response, Hiden said he wrote a strongly-worded letter to the resort, warning them that he feared the worst would someday happen. 'I said, "I hope I'm wrong, but at some point, I bet I'm going to read about you guys where one of your resident pets killed somebody. And I hope to god it never happens because it's gonna be on your shoulders.'" Lane Graves' death was the first alligator fatality in the park's 45-year history. An autopsy report released Thursday found that he died of drowning and traumatic injuries. Disney says it works with wildlife officials to catch alligators that get too close to guests on their properties. The company said in a statement Thursday that it will be reviewing its policies on 'the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings' about alligators. Tony Davis excitement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom as he watched fresh paint dry over the graffiti that had covered garages and siding in the alleyway behind the South Side residence he manages and lives in. This is awesome; this is great, Davis said. This is beautiful, man. The painters combing the alleyway Thursday night were volunteers organized by the South Side Neighborhood Task Force, a group that meets every third Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Friendship House of Christian Service at 3123 8th Ave. S. Matt Lundgren, the Friendship Houses executive director and the task forces president, shared Davis excitement. Lundgren said he expected maybe five people to come out and thought theyd struggle to finish painting the groups chosen alleyway between 8th Avenue South and 9th Avenue South. Instead, Lundgrens group of about 30 volunteers looked well on their way to wrapping things up by the half hour mark. The neighborhoods saying this far, no further, Lundgren said. Sooner or later as a community youve got to say this isnt right. Lundgren said that compared to the graffiti alleyway downtown, which he said is art, the graffiti spray-painted along the alleyway was pure vandalism. Lundgren, with the help of other task force members, including Dale Fincel, had been floating the idea to the task force before they began to organize last month. Lundgren said they got approval from every resident and property owner in the alleyway. Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams donated paint, rollers and brushes to the cause, Fincel said. Fincel described one grateful resident as someone who had paid thousands of dollars to have his siding redone multiple times. Volunteers included residents, a pastor, real estate agents and a police officer, as well as employees of the Montana Rescue Mission, Passages Inc. and Northern Plains Resource Council. Ondreaya Soltysik, a freshman in high school, was there with Community Leadership and Development Inc., a Christian-inspired not-for-profit geared toward South Side community service. When we got done with our first one, it looked so much better, Soltysik said. It just makes you feel better. Bobbie Green Holaway, 60, has been charged with murder in the shooting death of her husband A 60-year-old former elementary school teacher has been charged with murder after her husband was found dead in their Alabama home last Friday night. Bobbie Green Holaway was taken into custody by Blountsville police Wednesday night. She later told officers she had been having an affair and that her husband, William Jerry Holaway, had been emotionally abusive. Holaway is currently being held on a $100,000 bond in the Blount County Correctional Facility, reports AL.com. William Holaway, 57, was found by lawmen with gunshot wounds to the face and chest Friday night after Mrs Holaway called 911 to report she had shot her husband, court records show. On the night of the shooting, she told officers that her husband had come into the bedroom and 'wouldn't leave her alone' and had hit her on the knee, after which she shot him with a 410 Judge pistol given to her by her son. The incident unfolded while her son Chris had been at the shops and she said she had been texting him throughout. William Jerry Holaway (left and right) was found by lawmen last Friday night with gunshot wounds to the face and chest after Mrs Holaway called 911 to report she had shot her husband The incident unfolded while her son Chris (right) had been at the shops and she said she had been texting him throughout. The gun used by Mrs Holaway (left) was given to her by her son As well as confessing to having an affair with a man named Danny Goble, Holaway also told police that she and her husband had been having money troubles. They had been in the process of applying for a $150, 000 loan to do upgrades to their chicken houses, said Holaway, who added that her husband had been angry with her about 'money in their accounts'. Goble was also interviewed by police Monday and admitted he had sexual relations with Holaway and that she had text him the morning after the shooting. He said the pair had discussed leaving their spouses and getting married. Holaway also told investigators she had planned to file for divorce after the loan was complete and added that there was a $150,000 insurance policy on her husband. There had been discussions in the week prior to the incident between Goble and Holaway and her son about 'what it would take' to get Mr Holaway out of the family farm business and to agree to a divorce. They had even spoken of giving him $250,000 to leave, according to police records seen by AL.com. Holaway is now being held at Blount County Correctional Facility. A former classmate of Orlando gunman Omar Mateen claims she once saw him in deep conversation with a man who became the first known American suicide bomber in Syria. The friend claimed the conversation between Mateen, who fatally shot 49 people and wounded more than 50 others in the Pulse nightclub massacre, and Moner Mohammad Abu Salha took place at a small house party five years ago. Abu Salha, a high school dropout, was 22 when he detonated a truck full of explosives outside a restaurant, killing himself and Syrian government soldiers in 2014. Scroll down for video Moner Mohammad Abu Salha took was 22 when he killed Syrian government soldiers in a 2014 suicide attack Omar Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others in the mass shooting in Orlando Mateens former classmate told the Palm Beach Post that when she arrived at the small gathering of around a dozen people, which was hosted by a co-worker, she immediately recognized him and said hello. The friend, who was not identified by the newspaper, said she watched him and other guests play the first-person shooter video game Call of Duty and later saw him in a corner in a private conversation with Abu Salha, the younger brother of the partys host. Its kind of crazy to think about, the former classmate said. At the time I thought [Mateen] was friends with my co-worker, but looking back, he was with the brother more. She said they appeared to know each other well at two parties she attended at the home, in 2011 and 2012. She said that at both parties she and the men, along with other guests, got into debates about religion. A former classmate said she saw Mateen (pictured) in deep conversation with Moner Mohammad Abu Salha Investigators outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where Omar Mateen killed and wounded his victims She is Christian and Mateen and the Abu Salha brothers advocated Islam, and one of the discussions became heated with one of the men telling her she was being disrespectful, she said. The friend said she has given a statement to the FBI about what she saw at the party and the time she and Mateen, from Fort Pierce, Florida, spent working together at the Treasure Coast Square Mall, in Jensen Beach. The FBI interviewed Mateen three times in the three years leading up to Sundays terror attack the worst mass shooting in US history after he made inflammatory comments to co-workers about tied to terrorists. LEST WE FORGET: THE 49 VICTIMS OF OMAR MATEEN THE 49 GUNNED DOWN BY ZAHI WERE: FIRST ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT) Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34; Stanley Almodovar III, 23; Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20; Juan Ramon Guerroro, 22; Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36; Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22; Luis S. Vielma, 22. SECOND ROW Kimberly Morris, 37; Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30; Darryl Roman Burt II, 29; Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32; Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21; Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25; Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35. THIRD ROW Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50; Amanda Alvear, 25; Martin Benitez Torres, 33; Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37; Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26; Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35; Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25. FOURTH ROW Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31; Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26; Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25; Miguel Angel Honorato, 30; Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40; Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32; Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19. FIFTH ROW Cory James Connell, 21; Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37; Luis Daniel Conde, 39; Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33; Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25; Jerald Arthur Wright, 31; Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 SIXTH ROW Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25; Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24; Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27; ; Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33; Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49; Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24; Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32. SEVENTH ROW Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28; Frank Hernandez, 27; Paul Terrell Henry, 41; Antonio Davon Brown, 29; Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24; Akyra Monet Murray, 18; Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25. Advertisement The second investigation occurred in 2014 when FBI agents interviewed him about a potential connection he may have had with Abu Salha, who lived about 30 minutes away in Vero Beach, Florida. 'We determined that contact was minimal and didn't to constitute a substantive relationship or threat at that that time,' said Ron Hopper, an FBI special agent, during a press conference this week. While the motive for the massacre is still under investigation, Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack, and had allegedly been a patron of the gay nightclub in the past. Classmates previously told the Palm Beach Post that Mateen cheered the Sept. 11 terror attacks in a high school class, but the friend wrote it off as a cry for attention, recalling him as a wannabe class clown who tried to fit in with others. According to NBC News, Abu Salha said in a video released by Islamic militants after his death that he had tried to recruit his Florida friends to join him and was betrayed by a friend who had agreed to go to Syria with him but abandoned him at the airport. The 'poop emoji' ranked the second most popular icon used for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull by voters who were tweeting during the Facebook live debate which was broadcast online on Friday night. Opposition Bill Shorten received mostly 'smileys' and 'smirks' but received several 'shocked emojis' when linking the planned plebiscite on same-sex marriage to the Orlando massacre. Overall Mr Shorten won the debate by 10 votes from an audience of 30 people who were called in from marginal seats across the country. The 'poop emoji' ranked the second most popular icon used for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull by voters who were tweeting during the Facebook live debate which was broadcast online on Friday night Hosted by Joe Hildebrand the leaders went head-to-head in the third and final debate of the election campaign for 2016. Both Mr Shorten and Mr Turnbull struggled when Mr Hildebrand told them the debate was to be a 'slogan-free zone', with the Prime Minister 'waffling' on about 'jobs and growth' from the get go. But with time restrictions ruthlessly enforced by Mr Hildebrand answers were kept to a strict 90 second limit to ensure a tighter, faster and more lively debate than the previous two. But things took an interesting turn when social media users pointed out the irony of not being able to watch the live debate between the leaders' as they touched on issues of the National Broadband Network (NBN). Hosted by Joe Hildebrand (centre) the Mr Turnbull (left) and Mr Shorten (right) went head-to-head in the third and final debate of the election campaign for 2016 Social media users pointed out the irony of not being able to watch the live debate as discussions of the National Broadband Network were touched on in discussions The debate which streamed live on Facebook and garnered over 120,000 viewers but complaints from users commented if 'internet connections worked better' there would be more people watching. People who suffered from buffering issues, slow connectivity and bad quality streaming took to social media to vent their frustrations and show support to Mr Shorten who won the overall debate. A twitter user said: 'When you're trying to watch the Facebook debate and the feed keeps cutting out and skipping.' Another said: 'There are just 12,000 people watching the Facebook election debate tonight, imagine how many it could have been with real NBN.' The comments came after both leaders were pressed with the issue of how they would create jobs in regional areas to allow young people to continue to live in the towns they grew up in While another posted a picture which said: 'Oh, the irony Malcolm's buffering as he talks up the NBN.' The comments came after both leaders were pressed with the issue of how they would create jobs in regional areas to allow young people to continue to live in those areas. Mr Shorten when posed with the question said that a good 'education' would play a vital role in giving young people the opportunity to stay in regional areas and said a 'good NBN' would help. The Prime Minister argued that they were given a project that 'completely failed' but said they would be improving faster than the Labor government. As the debate moved on Mr Turnbull (left) asked whether he was able to raise the issue of NBN once again arguing that the Turnbull government were given a project that had failed and they were working on improving it He said: 'We have connected more people to the NBN paying customers in the last month than Labor did in six years. 'We are getting on and getting it built, that's what a business like government does.' Mr Shorten fired back bringing Facebook users into the debate and said: 'Facebook users that have bad connection, delays and buffering issues press like if you prefer fibre to copper.' 'It's fantastic in Turnbull world, it's always someone else's problem,' he added. In response to Mr Turnbull (left) a fiery debate began between him and Mr Shorten (right) who turned the question of internet accessibility to the people watching on Facebook asking them to 'like' for fibre or copper Out of the many issues which were brought up during the debate including marriage equality, climate change, mental health, and the economy, the NBN received the most response overall. Thirty member of marginal seats across Australia were invited to the debate on Friday night and were asked to vote who they preferred after both leaders had answered a series of questions. Of the 30 undecided voters in the room, 17 thought the Opposition Leader did better compared to the seven for Malcolm Turnbull. A 34-year-old North Carolina firefighter has died after exercising while on duty. Lincoln County firefighter Joshua Warren collapsed Thursday while jogging at East Lincoln Middle School, local media reported. Warren was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. Officials said Warren was on duty with the Alexis Fire Department at the time. Scroll down for video Lincoln County firefighter Joshua Warren (seen left with his son) has died after exercising while on duty The Alexis Fire Department posted this photo on Facebook Friday, writing: 'We escorted Joshua home. A special thank you to Denver Fire Department who helped welcome our brother home! #ALEXIS2070 #ELFD384' He worked part-time for the Alexis Fire Department. The Alexis Fire Department wrote on Facebook Thursday: 'This morning one of our on-duty members, Firefighter Joshua Warren, suffered a medical emergency during an exercise session at East Lincoln Middle School. 'Firefighter Warren was transported to CHS-Lincoln Medical Center via Lincoln County EMS where he passed away.' Warren is survived by his wife, four-year-old son, and eight-year-old daughter, the fire department said. A flag hangs from a firetruck in an image posted Friday by the Alexis Fire Department Warren is survived by his wife, four-year-old son, and eight-year-old daughter Warren was a member of the East Lincoln Fire Department since 2013. East Lincoln County Fire Captain Ben Reagan told WBTV: 'It's not common that you see that. 'Most firefighters are physically fit. Most departments, when they're on duty, require them to work out for a certain of time each day.' The East Lincoln Fire Department wrote on Facebook Friday: 'Joshua - MANY Agencies across the entire area as well as the local communities that you served are coming together to honor you, remember you and assist the beautiful family you left behind. 'Kim, Maxx & Kelsey are ELFD family...for LIFE.' Warren collapsed while jogging at East Lincoln Middle School Lt. Robert Drew with the Alexis Fire Department told WBTV: 'He was an outstanding person, great guy to be around and he loved the fire service and everything it stood for.' Drew said: 'From what I knew about Josh, he was passionate about being in shape for this job. And he did run. He was a runner.' Fire officials said they could not say whether Warren had a previous medical condition. A Russian CrossFit instructor has accidentally set a world record for the most pull-ups in a minute while filming a promotional video. Victor Makurov, who works at a fitness centre in Perm, central Russia, was filming to encourage young men to start doing sports. A clip showed Makurov doing 67 reps in a minute while trying to beat his old personal record. In the process, he managed to beat the current Guinness world record by a whopping 17 pull-ups. Russian fitness instructor Victor Makurov has accidentally set a world record for the most pull-ups in a minute after completing 67 reps while filming a promotional video The CrossFit instructor soon discovered his accidental world record, although for now he says he is not planning on getting in touch with the institution to apply for the official title. The athlete still plans to increase the record and is aiming for 70 reps in one minute. When asked about how he achieved this feat Mr Makurov said he trained hard in weightlifting and gymnastics, the prime component of his gym sessions. The CrossFit instructor soon discovered his accidental world record, although for now he says he is not planning on getting in touch with the institution to apply for the official title He said: 'Muscle power is very important. I train every day, sometimes even twice a day.' According to the official world record website, the most pull ups in one minute is 50 and was achieved by Michael Eckert from the USA in 2015. Michael is a US Marine and completed the attempt on the MCAS Iwakuni USMC base in Japan. Hillary Clinton may have figured out how to get the best of Donald Trump on Twitter. Thursday night she gave him a virtual smack down over his claim that he'd do a better job as president for women than she would, despite her gender. He'd been making the claim for some time but widened the net after the shooting in Orlando to gays, as he said, 'You tell me: who is better for the gay community and who is better for women than Donald Trump.' Clinton's reply was a single word. 'Hi,' a tweet from her account said, along with a retweet of a CNN reporter qouting the Republican Oval Office candidate. Hillary Clinton may have figured out how to get the best of Donald Trump on Twitter. Thursday night she gave him a virtual smack down over his claim that he'd do a better job as president for women than she would, despite her gender He'd been making the claim for some time but widened the net after the shooting in Orlando to gays Trump for days had been hitting Clinton over a proposal she made to give refugee status to 60,000 Syrians fleeing ISIS. 'Crooked Hillary wants to increase these immigration numbers very, very substantially,' he said at a rally in North Carolina this week. 'Shes no friend of women. And shes no friend of LGBT Americans. No friend, believe me.' The terrorist who shot up a gay night club last Sunday in Orlando was neither Syrian nor a refugee. Born in New York to Afghan parents, Omar Mateen was an natural-born U.S. citizen. Still, Trump has put his proposal to temporarily bar non-American Muslims from entering the country front and center as part of his response to the terror attack, while Clinton has focused on banning certain types of guns. The Democratic White House candidate's snarky reply to Trump's LGBT and women tweet had been shared more than 20,000 times and liked by another 43,000 users by Friday morning. It was the second time in a week that Clinton took a slap at Trump on his home turf - Twitter - and dominated. The Twitter skirmish began last Thursday after the president endorsed Clinton in a video. Trump slammed them both in a tweet that said, 'Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obamabut nobody else does!' Four minutes later Clinton's handle cited his tweet and said: 'Delete your account.' Trump's incessant, often late-night, tweeting, angered his primary opponents, who often tried and failed to compete with him on the social media platform. Clinton's campaign may have perfected a response The tweet was not signed with an H, for Hillary, the symbol her campaign uses when she personally authors a message. Still, the three-word indicated that Clinton's campaign had figured out how to get the upper hand on a communications platform that has been vital to Trump in the race for the White House. His incessant, often late-night, tweeting, angered his primary opponents, who often tried and failed to compete with him on the social media platform. Learning from their mistakes, Clinton's campaign may have perfected the battle plan against Trump on Twitter by turning it into a mic drop moment, and only when warranted. Trump last week had a cutting comeback to Clinton. 'How long did it take your staff of 823 people to think that up--and where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted?' he said. But the tweet ironically took two hours to send after Clinton's initial message, sent four minutes after he dinged her, giving her tweet plenty of room to go viral before he ever offered a response. Prominent aid group Doctors Without Borders has announced it will reject the EUs yearly donation of more than 44million pounds in protest against the blocs migration policies. The charity said it could not put up with the EUs shameful deterrence policies, particularly criticising the recent deal between Turkey and the union. International secretary general Jerome Oberreit said the charity had been raising awareness over the issues faced by migrants and could not continue to accept the unions monetary support. International secretary general Jerome Oberreit (above) slammed EU's approach to migration Commonly known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the charity works with volunteers to help victims of armed conflict, epidemics and other disasters. Oberreit said: We cannot accept funding from the EU or the Member States while at the same time treating the victims of their policies. It's that simple. For months MSF has spoken out about a shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need. The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger. MSF said it received 19 million euros from EU institutions and 37 million euros from member states in 2015, amounting to eight percent of its funding. We reject the instrumentalization of humanitarian aid for the sake of border control & cannot take money from governments who misuse aid. MSF International (@MSF) June 17, 2016 It added that its activities are 90 percent privately funded. The Turkey deal, agreed upon in March, saw Ankara agreeing to take back all migrants and refugees landing in the Greek islands, and to crack down on people smuggling over the Aegean Sea. In exchange, the EU said it would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey for every Syrian that Ankara takes back from Greece. Turkey was meanwhile offered visa-free access, increased aid and speeded up EU accession talks if it met certain conditions, including changes to Ankara's anti-terrorism laws. Oberreit said: 'There is nothing remotely humanitarian about these policies. It cannot become the norm and must be challenged. 'Until there is a policy drive towards taking people in and focusing on individual needs - we will not seek EU or Member State funds.' MSF said 8,000 people including hundreds of unaccompanied minors had been left stranded in the Greek islands by the deal. Oberreit criticised a proposal last week to make similar deals with African and Middle Eastern countries. In a statement, the charity said: MSF announces today that we will no longer take funds from the EU and its Member States in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people and their suffering back from European shores. The charity said it would look to other avenues to raise money to support its work. The charity's migration expert Aurelie Ponthieu told the press conference: We are looking for other funding channels. We are not cutting down programs. The charity said its medics had treated 200,000 men, women and children in the Mediterranean and in Europe in the last 18 months. It also received 6.8 million euros from Norway, which is not part of the EU. Europe has struggled to deal with a wave of more than one million refugees and migrants fleeing war and poverty in Syria, the wider Middle East and Africa since the start of 2015. Search teams have recovered the flight data recorder from the Egyptair flight that crashed in the Mediterranean - a day after messages from the cockpit were retrieved. The second black box, which experts see as a vital part of the probe, was found in several pieces, according to investigators. It was not immediately clear how much of its data would be useable, but investigators did manage to find the memory unit, which is considered the most important part. The Airbus A320, pictured here, crashed into the Mediterranean last month travelling from Paris to Cairo A picture released today shows a diving robot on the search vessel John Lethbridge is sent down into the Mediterranean in the hunt for wreckage and the black boxes from EgyptAir flight MS804 The Airbus A320 vanished over the Mediterranean, circled, as it approached Cairo in Egypt on May 19 Yesterday, it was revealed that the cockpit voice recorder had been found and pulled from the sea. Egypt's investigation committee said the black box has been damaged but search crews managed to safely recover the memory unit 'which is the most important (part) in the recorder'. The voice recorder was retrieved in 'several stages' and is currently being transferred from the vessel to the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. Once on shore, it will be handed over to the members of the committee who will unload and analyze the data. The announcement comes after a French research vessel found wreckage from doomed flight 804 which disappeared over the Mediterranean last month. The Airbus A320 vanished on May 19 with 66 people on board while en route between Paris to Cairo. The deep ocean search vessel John Lethbridge has identified several main locations according to the Egyptian Investigation Committee. The committee said late Wednesday that a vessel contracted by the Egyptian government to join the search efforts for the data recorders and the wreckage of the doomed A320 'had identified several main locations of the wreckage, accordingly the first images of the wreckage were provided to the investigation committee'. The deep ocean search vessel John Lethbridge (pictured) has identified several main locations for wreckage Searchers have also found pieces of the missing jet's cabin and fuselage have been found at 'several sites'. Based on the wreckage locations; The search team and investigators onboard of the vessel will draw a map for the wreckage distribution spots, it added The plane disappeared from radar en route to Cairo from Paris. No group has claimed responsibility for an attack. The search has concentrated on an area between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast. Air crash investigators are determined to recover the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder to help determine what happened to the doomed jet. So far, only small pieces of wreckage and some human remains have been recovered. A crew of the search vessel John Lethbridge. Egypt's investigation committee said the black box has been damaged but the memory unit 'which is the most important (part) in the recorder' had been recovered safely Shortly before it vanished, the aircraft had been cruising normally at 38,000 feet when it turned 90 degrees to the left. Moments later, it turned a full 360 degrees to the right and plummeted to 15,000 feet. The jet vanished from radar at 10,000 feet. Experts believe they have located the main wreckage locations, but they have until Friday to find the aircraft's black boxes, when the batteries on an electronic bleeper system are due to run out. Once the batteries run out, the task of locating the black boxes will be far more difficult, but not impossible. The John Lethbridge, pictured, has located several pieces of wreckage belonging to the Egypt Air jet A French vessel, Laplace, located signals from the ocean bed which could come from the black boxes. The John Lethbridge has a special side scan sonar that can provide digital images of the seabed and is equipped with a submersible robot capable of diving to 10,000 feet. The missing jet is believed to be lying in water at the very edge of the robot's capabilities. While speculation initially centred on a terror attack, a technical fault has also not been ruled out, with automated messages sent by the plane shortly before its demise indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit. The crash took place seven months after the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula in October that killed all 224 people on board. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack. There has been no such claim over the EgyptAir crash. Leaked flight data indicated a sensor detected smoke in a lavatory and a fault in two of the plane's cockpit windows in the final moments of the flight. 66 passengers and crew died on board the Airbus A320 when it crashed into the Mediterranean last month A Louisiana honors student and standout athlete who was blocked from participating in his graduation ceremony last month because of facial hair is getting the graduation celebration he was denied. Democratic state Rep. Katrina Jackson, of Monroe, and the Rev. Roosevelt Wright III, of New Orleans, are sponsoring a ceremony for Andrew Jones after news spread that he was prevented from attending his graduation ceremony because of a Tangipahoa Parish Schools System policy about facial hair. The new celebration is scheduled Friday at 7pm at the African-American Heritage Museum in Hammond. Some students from Jones' class and other graduates from the area are expected to participate in his special ceremony. Andrew Jones, a Louisiana honors student and standout athlete who was blocked from participating in his graduation ceremony last month because of facial hair is getting the graduation celebration he was denied Jackson said the dress code policy, found in the Student Handbook for grades 4-12, states: 'Hairstyles and mustaches shall be clean, neatly groomed and shall not distract from the learning environment nor be a safety factor for any of the school's curricular offerings. 'Beards will not be allowed. Any hairstyle that distract from the unique environment of a school shall be dealt with by the principal or his/her designee of that school.' Superintendent Mark Kolwe has defended the decision to prohibit Jones, a teenage father, 4.0 student and summa cum laude graduate, from walking with his class at Amite High School, saying rules have to be enforced and Jones received enough warning before the ceremony to shave. A telephone message left for Kolwe was not immediately returned. Kolwe in an earlier statement noted that Jones was one of four graduates who arrived at the ceremony unshaven. Three of them shaved in a restroom at the site where the ceremony was held with a razor provided by the school. Jones, who had a professional shave off the sides of his beard and neatly trim his goatee, refused. Democratic state Rep. Katrina Jackson and the Rev. Roosevelt Wright III, are sponsoring a ceremony after news spread that Jones was prevented from attending his graduation ceremony because of a Tangipahoa Parish Schools System policy about facial hair Superintendent Mark Kolwe has defended the decision to prohibit Jones, a teenage father, 4.0 student and summa cum laude graduate, from walking with his class at Amite High School 'The policy of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board (and many other school systems) is that male students cannot have facial hair. 'This policy was explained to the student in question on multiple occasions prior to graduation day, and the consequences for failing to comply with that policy were explained to him and his parents on multiple occasions on graduation day. 'The student's parents tried to convince him to shave, but he ignored their requests and the requests of school officials whose duty was to seek compliance with Board policy. 'It is regrettable that any student particularly an honor student like Andrew would not get to participate in his high school graduation ceremony, a ceremony that comes only once in the lifetime of every student. 'In this case, however, Andrew made that decision for himself by failing to comply with the reasonable requests made by his parents and school officials that he comply with the rules applicable to all other students.' Amite High School Principal Renee Carpenter declined to discuss the situation when contacted. Jones and his family have told media outlets that the rule was not enforced throughout the school year and they know of students with facial hair at other schools in the district who were able to participate in their graduation ceremonies. They refused comment when contacted, citing a pending lawsuit. 'He was unfairly excluded from the most important day of his life,' Jackson and Wright said in a statement. 'A beard should NEVER upstage academic excellence.' Jackson said when she initially heard about Jones' situation, she believed he should have submitted and shaved because he didn't follow the rules. But after hearing that he was allowed to participate in other school activities with facial hair, she believes the prohibition was unfairly enforced on what is generally considered a student's biggest day. 'It's wrong to enforce that policy on a young man who had worked so hard to achieve his goals,' Jackson said. 'Students are responsible for following rules, but we as adults are responsible for enforcing them. As adults, we can't arbitrarily enforce the rules. This was a rule that was never enforced until graduation.' Advertisement Jo Cox's poignant last words as she lay dying in the street after being shot were: I cant make it, Im in too much pain. They were revealed yesterday by the MPs assistant Fazila Aswat, who had just dropped her off outside her constituency surgery. She also described the agony of Mrs Coxs husband Brendan over how to break the news of the tragedy to their two young children, pleading to the aide: What am I going to tell them? Struggling to understand what had happened as she saw the MP lying bloodied on the ground, Miss Aswat, 38, swung her handbag at the attacker, begging Mrs Cox: Come on Jo, get up. This was when the 41-year-old MP spoke her last words. Fazila Aswat, Mrs Cox's assistant and friend, was with the Batley MP in her final moments. Her father has told of the shocking episode Her husband Brendan changed his Facebook profile picture to this family photo on Friday Her attacker then shot Mrs Cox twice more as she lay prone and fled, according to witnesses. She was pronounced dead around an hour later. Miss Aswat, who had worked for the MP for a year, is too distressed to speak publicly, but the horrifying detail of the attack was given yesterday by her father, former Labour Councillor Ghulam Maniyar, 59. He told the Daily Mail his daughter had just driven Mrs Cox from Batley, West Yorkshire, to nearby Birstall, where she was about to hold her constituency surgery on Thursday. The MP left the car first, and when Miss Aswat followed her shortly afterwards she was confronted by a horrific scene. When she came out to the other side (of the car) she saw Jo lying on the floor, full of blood, Mr Maniyar said. She was in shock. When she saw the blood, she tried to help. And she says: Come on Jo, get up. And Jo said these are the last words she spoke to my daughter she said: I cant make it, Im in too much pain. Mrs Cox was on her way to meet constituents when she was attacked. Fazila Aswat has worked for the MP since she was elected last year Mr Maniyar said the gunman had stepped away possibly because passers-by were trying to tackle him before coming back. My daughter tried to hit him with the bag and he pointed his knife at her, but he did not attack my daughter, he said. But he shot Jo again, in front of my daughter. He added: Jo was in a terrible condition. My daughter said she could tell she was very seriously injured. He told ITV News her attacker must [have been] waiting outside where the surgery happens. Describing his daughters desperate efforts to help, he added: She could not do anything else. She tried to comfort her. Then the police came, the air ambulance came, they took her to hospital. My daughter was a witness and her clothes were full of blood. Mr Maniyar said: She is coming to terms with what happened but it will take time. They were very close, like sisters. But its not just my daughter whos upset, the whole community is upset. The beauty about Jo Ive been in this country for 55 years and Ive seen many MPs in this area, but shes unique. In one year she won the heart of the community. As a mother of two to do this job as well, she was a wonderful woman. She was always smiling, Ive never seen her angry. If somebody was angry, she would calm them down. Thats the type of person she was. I just think about her two beautiful children. Left, A framed photograph of MP Jo Cox and her husband outside 10 Downing Street has been placed among the floral tributes near the murder scene. Right, the much-loved MP pictured in her wedding dress Mr Maniyar added that he was in no doubt the gunman had deliberately targeted Mrs Cox. Its all right saying hes mental and this and that, he told the Daily Mail. But according to my daughter he didnt want to hurt anybody else. He could have used that gun or knife on my daughter but he did not. He targeted Jo. 'I think he had a well-made plan to harm her. He stabbed her and gunned her down, my daughter was there and he did not attack anybody. That tells you he targeted Jo. He revealed that Mr Cox called his daughter on Thursday after the shooting to say: We havent told the children yet. Were going to tell them tomorrow morning, but what are we going to tell them? Vigils have been held across the UK in memory of Jo Cox as people were urged to honour her legacy by building a world with 'more love and less hate' Thousands of people stood solemnly in silence in Parliament Sqaure in London, to remember the MP The shooting of the popular politician - the first time a female parliamentarian has ever been murdered in the UK - has shocked the entire country and led to an outpouring of emotion among the people of her Yorkshire constituency. Mrs Cox, MP for Batley and Spen, was walking to a 'surgery' meeting with constituents in Birstall near Leeds when she was attacked by a gunman yesterday afternoon. Witnesses said she was shot three times, once in the head, and repeatedly stabbed and kicked as she lay on the ground in a pool of blood. The suspect's links to far-Right extremism are now being pursued as a 'priority line of enquiry', police said yesterday evening. Police are working with the North East Counter Terrorism Unit to investigate the murder. Gardener Thomas Mair is being questioned over the murder of the Westminster rising star. He has been described as a loner who was 'socially isolated and disconnected from society' as a result of long-term mental illness. Mair volunteered at Oakwell Hall country park in Birstall in 2010 after being a patient of the Mirfield-based Pathways Day Centre for adults with mental illness, according to a Huddersfield Examiner report at the time. He told the paper: 'I can honestly say it has done me more good than all the psychotherapy and medication in the world. 'Many people who suffer from mental illness are socially isolated and disconnected from society, feelings of worthlessness are also common, mainly caused by long-term unemployment.' It was reported Thomas Mair volunteered at Oakwell Hall country park in Birstall in 2010 after being a patient of the Mirfield-based Pathways Day Centre for adults with mental illness (pictured) Police have also revealed Mrs Cox had received threats of a sexual nature at her Westminster office, which had been investigated by the Metropolitan Police. Chief Constable Dee Collins of West Yorkshire Police said: 'We are aware of two previous unrelated incidents which culminated in Jo receiving a malicious communication of a sexual nature at her parliamentary office in Westminster. 'Both incidents were investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service which resulted in an individual receiving an adult caution for one offence which I can confirm is not the same person who we have in custody.' He added: 'Based on information available at this time, this appears to be an isolated, but targeted attack upon Jo - there is also no indication at this stage that anyone else was involved in the attack. However we will be investigating how the suspect came to be in possession of an unlawfully held firearm. 'The suspect in custody has been medically examined by two specialist medical practitioners who have determined that he is both fit for detention and fit for interview and detectives will continue to question the suspect during the day.' As the nation mourned the loss of the much-loved MP, flags flew at half mast above the Tower of London in tribute to Mrs Cox today From left: Ed Miliband, former deputy leader Harriet Harman and Wes Sweeting joined members of the public at a vigil in front of the Houses of Parliament Mr Maniyar added Mrs Cox 'was like a daughter' to him and called him 'uncle'. He added: 'I think she was a caring person, not just an MP but she liked to help every human being, every single person. 'She worried about Syrian people, she worried about ordinary people. Whenever you approached her, she'd come forward with a smile and try to help you. 'It's shocking. Not just for my daughter but the whole community. We were living in harmony in the community, English community, Asian community. 'This news is shocking for the whole community. My daughter, it will take time for her to recover.' He added: 'I met her many, many times. She's a wonderful lady and we all sadly miss her. I saw Jo three days ago. 'She was campaigning in town and she rang me and I went there. She took a picture with me and some colleagues. She was there smiling.' The usually quiet Yorkshire town has become the centre of the country's attention as people gather to leave floral tributes in Market Square Locals have been left stunned by the sudden and violent attack on an MP who was extremely popular in the constituency The scene this morning at the site where Mrs Cox was suddenly attacked as she walked towards her 'surgery' yesterday afternoon Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'We remember her as somebody who showed no fear in the face of danger, and we remember her too as somebody of the greatest warmth, the greatest generosity and the greatest compassion' As campaigning for the EU referendum remained suspended in the wake of Mrs Cox's death, the Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Commons Speaker John Bercow set aside political debate to remember the much-loved campaigning MP. They visited the town's market square, close to he scene of her killing, which is still cordoned off by police tape. Joined by Commons chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn, they bowed their heads as they laid bouquets at the foot of the Joseph Priestley memorial, adding to the impromptu shrine of flowers and messages which has grown up over the past day. The Prime Minister said the whole nation was 'rightly shocked' at Mrs Cox's death, and called for people to 'value, and see as precious, the democracy we have on these islands'. Politics was about public service and MPs wanted to 'make the world a better place', he said. And Mr Cameron added: 'Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities. 'If we truly want to honour Jo, then what we should do is recognise that her values - service, community, tolerance - the values she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and years to come.' UKIP leader Nigel Farage paid his respects and added his own floral tribute to Ms Cox in Parliament Square, Westminster, this afternoon Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, PM David Cameron, Commons chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn arrive in Birstall this afternoon Mr Cameron called the killing an 'attack on democracy' and said: 'Two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife and parliament has lost one of its most compassionate campaigners' Mr Corbyn looked emotional as he walked through the crowds of locals after laying a floral tribute at the scene this afternoon First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon (left) and Leader of Scottish Labour party Kezia Dugdale attended a vigil in memory of the Labour MP Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, paid his own tribute to Mrs Cox this afternoon in Parliament Square, London Their visit came after Conservatives announced that they will not contest the by-election resulting from her death. The Prime Minister said the nation was 'rightly shocked' at her death, adding: 'Two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife and Parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners.' On the card attached to his bouquet, Mr Cameron wrote: 'Jo, a loving mother and wife, a passionate MP and campaigner. You died serving your constituents and country. We hold your family in our prayers. You will never be forgotten.' Mr Corbyn wrote: 'In loving memory of a wonderful, passionate and committed woman. Her life was dedicated to justice and human rights and proud to represent Batley and Spen.' Parliament is to be recalled on Monday to allow MPs to pay tribute to Mrs Cox, Mr Corbyn said. Thomas Mair (left) has been arrested over the killing of the MP. Records which emerged in the US this morning appear to show he bought books from a far-Right group, including one which described how to make a handgun at home A receipt published in the US today appears to show Mair bought books on munitions, incendiaries and explosives in 1999 Documents obtained from a US far-right group and published this morning show a 1999 receipt for a manual on how to build a homemade gun with Mr Mair's name and address on the top. Police on Friday evening confirmed they were investigating his links to the far-right 'as a priority'. According to US-based civil rights group, the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), Mair was sent an invoice for 430 ($620) worth of books by the National Alliance, which was a white separatist movement until it ceased operations as a membership organisation in 2013. Among these was a book called 'Incendiaries' and one called 'Improvised Munitions Handbook', a manual on how to build a pistol, according to an invoice obtained by the SPLC. Mrs Cox's friend and fellow Labour MP Rachel Reeves broke down in tears today as she and others visited the centre of Birstall this morning, where hundreds of flowers and cards have been laid by grieving locals. Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff, Manchester Withington MP Jeff Smith and Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell also left bouquets of red roses among the floral tributes to their colleague. The group, with Labour Party member Karen Rowling, could not contain their emotions as they stood looking at the flowers and reading the messages at the Priestley Memorial in Birstall. Also today, in an apparent reference to the referendum campaign, German chancellor Angela Merkel urged British politicians to 'draw limits' around the language used in political debate, warning that otherwise 'radicalisation will become unstoppable'. The investigation into the killing continued as the a memorial in the town became a shrine with flowers and messages placed at its foot Forensic officers are seen outside the home of Mair, who has been linked to far-Right group abroad, as the investigation continues The group could not contain their grief after they left messages on flowers saying: 'Goodnight beautiful lady' and 'RIP Jo' MPs from across the country rallied to pay tribute to the popular and much-loved MP. Pictured, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon (L) and Leader of Scottish Labour party Kezia Dugdale attended a vigil in George Square, Glasgow The vicar of Birstall said the community is 'stunned' after the death of Jo Cox as he opened a book of condolence. More than 400 people packed into St Peter's Church in the West Yorkshire village on Thursday night to pay their respects to the young Labour MP in a vigil. On Friday, the Rev Paul Knight opened a book of condolence as church members provided tea and a place for contemplation. The vicar said: 'We wanted to give people the opportunity to pass on their sympathies for Jo, who was obviously so much liked in this area.At this point people don't know what to do. 'So we're giving them the space and the opportunity to voice or express their concerns, and their disappointments and their hurt.' He added: 'I think for the most part people are just stunned. Shocked but stunned.' 'I don't think we should link the referendum to Jo's death': Friend and fellow Labour MP Rachel Reeves rejects claims bitter Brexit battle triggered deadly attack on Jo Cox By James Tapsfield for MailOnline A Labour MP has warned against linking the death of Jo Cox to the bitter battle over the EU referendum. Rachel Reeves, a friend of Mrs Cox, dismissed the idea that the killing yesterday was a result of the way the campaign was being conducted. The comments came after claims that the MP was targeted over her support for immigration and ties with Brussels. Eyewitnesses said her attacker shouted 'Britain first' before shooting and stabbing her. Greece's member of the EU commission, Dimitris Avramopoulos, waded into the row by insisting Mrs Cox was killed 'for her dedication to European democracy'. German chancellor Angela Merkel has also blamed 'exaggeration' during the campaign for causing 'radicalisation'. But a family friend of the suspected attacker has denied he was 'politically motivated' or felt strongly about the referendum. Rachel Reeves, left, has rejected suggestions that there was a link between the EU referendum and the killing of Jo Cox, right, yesterday Mrs Cox's fellow MP Rachel Reeves breaks down in tears at the scene in Birstall market place this morning where her friend was murdered And Ms Reeves, who wept at a service remembering her fellow MP last night, said: 'There's of course going to be a lively debate around fundamental questions like our membership of the European Union. 'But, I don't think that's linked to what happened yesterday. I was at the vigil yesterday at Birstall parish church for Jo, where hundreds of her constituents came to pay tribute, not as a matter of courtesy but because they loved her, because she worked so hard for them. 'And I think if we're honest most MPs every week are doing that work for their constituents, but a lot of that gets ignored and forgotten in the commentary and I think maybe it is a time to reassess what the role of an MP is. 'Yes of course it's the debates about the big issues of our time, but also there is a role that MPs have serving their constituents. 'Often the last point of call is to go to an MP when they are desperate, whether that's on welfare, housing, anti-social behaviour or whatever. 'We don't know what the motives were of the guy who attacked her yesterday. I don't think we should link the referendum to Jo's death.' Ms Reeves also insisted the tragic episode should not stop MPs interacting with their constituents - although she has closed her office today as a mark of respect. 'We mustn't let the actions of this man drive a wedge between MPs and the people who we were elected to serve,' she said. 'The work of an MP, our surgeries, our work in the community, must continue. But I think it's right today as well as ceasing the campaigning in the referendum that we close our office. 'I think, the fact that Jo died doing the job that she loved in the place that she loved in Birstall in Batley and Spen, is a reminder that the work of an MP isn't just in the Chamber of the House of Commons and in Westminster. Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell was among those paying their respects in Birstall today Campaiging for the EU referendum has been suspended as a mark of respect. The Conservatives have also announced they will not be contesting the by-election in Batley and Spen The flag above Buckingham Palace flew at half mast today. The Queen is said to have written privately to Mrs Cox's husband Flags were also flown at half mast outside City Hall in London as a mark of respect for the Labour MP for Batley and Spen Thousands of people gathered for a vigil in Parliament Square in remembrance of the Labour MP 'So much of the work that we do is in our community, serving local people, probably where we can make the most direct impact on people's lives. 'A lot of people maybe don't see that work of an MP, but it's so important to me and obviously so important to Jo and all of us. The Leeds West MP said the site where Mrs Cox was attacked was 'such a normal place'. 'The sort of street that is recognisable in any part,' she said. 'To think that such a horrific and violent crime took place against such a wonderful woman..there is a sense of numbness, not being able to believe what has happened 'And anger that someone could take away someone who had so much to give. Jo died doing the job she loved, in the place she loved, representing the people she loved. 'There is also grief and sorrow at the death of a mother, wife, daughter and a friend to many of us.' According to a recent poll conducted by the University of Montana, 79 percent of Montanans visited a National Forest, wildlife refuge or wilderness area in the last 12 months. Thats four out of every five Montanans. Poll after poll, study after study each one concludes that we continue to treasure our American public lands in Montana. Thats why I find it so perplexing that Rep. Ryan Zinke recently voted in favor of legislation that will effectively transfer 4 million acres of national forest lands to individual states. With this vote, Zinke has seemingly undone his pledge to protect state public lands as well as disregarded the will of Montanas citizens. Zinke purports to be a conservationist, but what conservationist would take public lands away from all Americans and place them in the hands of local advisory committees appointed by the governors of Utah or Idaho? These lands belong to all Americans, and theyve managed for over a century to provide timber and valuable minerals to our communities, as well for recreation, clean water and wildlife. Can we really trust a local committee appointed by the governor of Utah to manage our national forests in the interest of all Americans? Zinke needs to stop threatening what Montanans love most and start protecting these lands for future generations. Ryan Krueger Bozeman They were gyrating and spanking themselves to alleged lyrics 'F*** f*** f***' Police have come under fire for hiring 25 twerking models in underwear to dance in a bizarre bid to inspire troubled teenagers at a feel-good festival. The event, in Grodno, Belarus, was supposed to help put youngsters who had been in trouble with the law on the right path. But the raunchy display of girls gyrating and spanking themselves to the alleged rap lyrics 'F*** f*** f***' has been met with furious protests from shocked online commentators and locals. Police have come under fire for giving troubled teenagers the bizarre 'present' of 25 twerking models (pictured) in underwear at a feel-good festival in Belarus Police officers running the event insisted that it was intended to show the teenagers the benefits of a good, clean life. Police spokesman Andrey Avtukh told local media: 'We wanted to do something unusual for troubled kids. 'Usually, we visit schools and give lectures on good behaviour to kids. 'This time we also brought a present for the kids, I hope they liked the show.' The event was supposed to put youngsters who had been in trouble with the law on the right path in Grodno, Belarus The raunchy display of girls gyrating and spanking themselves to the alleged rap lyrics: 'F*** f*** f***' has faced furious protests from astonished online commentators and locals But the event outraged locals who accused police organisers of showing youngsters how to behave like 'whores'. Watcher 'llia ageev' said: 'It's popular now to shake your ass in front of people, you people do not know what shame is.' Another said: 'The words f*** . f***. f***. f***. explain what a man should do with those dancers.' Another viewer going by the name 'Yevgeniy Pokotilov' said: 'They shook their asses but it was really sad to look at.' Four teenagers aged between 13 and 15 have been arrested on suspicion of assault at the Alton Towers theme park yesterday. The four, aged 13, 14, and two 15-year-olds, who are all from Liverpool, are in custody and being questioned by Staffordshire Police after site security staff called officers shortly after 4pm. A 15-year-old boy from Dudley, West Midlands, had to be airlifted to the Royal Derby Hospital after suffering facial injuries, although his condition is described as stable. Theme park: Police say they are questioning four teenagers after the incident at Alton Towers (file picture) An investigation is underway into the incident at the park, owned by Merlin Attractions Operations, and witnesses are asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 527 of June 16. An Alton Towers spokesman declined to comment today, stating that it is a police matter, although a message on its Twitter feed confirmed: 'A guest was airlifted to hospital from the resort yesterday.' Last year Vicky Balch, 20, and Leah Washington, 18, both had to have a leg amputated after a horror crash on the Smiler rollercoaster at the theme park, while three others were seriously injured. Advertisement Rugby league star Sam Burgess and his wife Phoebe Hooke have taken their luxury Bondi Beach apartment off the market. Burgess had been trying to sell the property since March after relocating to a $3.8 million, four-bedroom home at Maroubra in Sydney's south-east earlier in the year. But the South Sydney Rabbitohs star has decided to keep the Bondi apartment as an investment property. It is expected to fetch up to $2,500 in weekly rent. Scroll down for video Rugby league star Sam Burgess and his wife Phoebe Hooke have taken their luxury Bondi Beach apartment off the market after struggling to find a buyer The apartment on Sydney's iconic beach was listed for an approximate $2.95 million by Burgess and his wife Phoebe. They have decided to keep it as an investment property which will fetch $2,500 per week Set within the 'Pacific Bondi Beach' complex, the apartment boasts open plan living and dining spaces that flow outdoors onto the balcony The asking price had not been disclosed, but the 161sq m property is valued at just under $3million. 'We had some great offers but Sam has decided to hang on to it and lease it,' McGrath agent Edward Reid told Property Observer. Burgess purchased the property off the plan in 2012 for $2.065 million before heading to England for a brief stint of Rugby Union. Set within the 'Pacific Bondi Beach' complex, the apartment boasts open plan living and dining spaces that flow outdoors onto the balcony. The two-bedroom apartment was listed for sale in mid-march. Burgess purchased the property of the plan for $2.065 million Along with an equipped kitchen the apartment complex features valet parking, health club, swimming pool and 24 hour concierge. After returning from England and to his beloved Rabbitohs, he purchased a stunning property on Lurline Street property in Maroubra. It has four large bedrooms with the master featuring a large walk-in-robe and luxurious en-suite, as well as a large home theatre room. All the windows are fitted with stylish timber shutters to allow for natural light and plenty of privacy. Sam Burgess, 27, and his partner Phoebe Hooke, 26, tied the knot at her parents' home in Bowral, last December Sam and Phoebe Burgess purchased the exclusive Lurline Street property on 30 January for $3.8million, but were unable sell their Bondi apartment Their new home has four bedrooms with the master bedroom featuring a large walk-in-robe and ensuite The unborn baby was uninjured and police have released CCTV images The man escaped on foot through the car park as shoppers tended to her She tripped as she chased the thief to try and retrieve her iPhone The mother, 28, was using her phone in a Melbourne shopping centre Thug steals a heavily pregnant mother's phone as she was using it A brazen thief has snatched a heavily pregnant mothers mobile phone out of her hand as she used it while sitting down in a shopping centre outside a toy store. The 28-year-old was looking through her iPhone 6 while waiting for her husband and young child when the bandit stole her phone at Doncaster shopping centre in Melbourne at around 3pm last Saturday. Attempting to retrieve the device valued at over $900, the seven-month-pregnant mother chased after the thief who escaped on foot when she suddenly tripped. A brazen thug stole a mobile phone from the hand of a heavily pregnant woman in a shopping centre (pictured are images of the man police believe can assist with their investigation) Nearby shoppers assisted the woman as the man escaped out of the door into the car park. The mother was left in severe pain and had to be taken to hospital for treatment. Luckily her unborn child was not harmed and she was released on Saturday night. Police have released images of the man from CCTV footage who they believe can assist them with their inquiries. Anyone with information is urged to contact crime stoppers. Police have released images of a man the believe can assist them with their inquiries into the incident which occurred on Saturday afternoon Iraqi forces have recaptured government buildings in the city of Fallujah from ISIS after hundreds of civilians fled the siege by swimming across the Euphrates river. A commander with the Iraqi special forces confirmed that they had retook a government complex and a neighbourhood that served as a base for the terror group. Commander Brigadier Haidar al-Obeidi also added that his troops were now besieging the nearby central hospital, where militants had set up a command centre and had clashed with snipers. Scroll down for video Smoke rises from the city of Fallujah after clashes between ISIS militants and Iraqi security forces saw them recapture the city from the terror group Commander Brigadier Haidar al-Obeidi also added that his troops were now besieging the nearby central hospital, where militants had set up a command centre Around 50,000 civilians have been trapped in Fallujah, pictured, which has been under ISIS control for over two years Around 50,000 civilians have been trapped in Fallujah, which has been under ISIS control for over two years. But as the battle for the city raged, many decided to flee, with footage showing hundreds even jumping in the Euphrates river to swim across in a bid to escape the fighting. Fallujah had been the last major city in western Iraq to be held by the extremist group. But al-Obeidi added: 'Iraqi forces are now in the centre of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014. Footage also emerged of hundreds of Iraqi civilians fleeing Fallujah by swimming across the Euphrates River The civilians were seen jumping straight into the water in order to flee the besieged city where a battle rages between government forces and ISIS He also added that ISIS militants 'collapsed', suggesting that most of them fled after the Iraqi forces moved in on al-Nazzal neighborhood. The neighborhood, near the government complex, served as a base for the militants, and had weapons warehouses and command centers. When the neighborhood fell, the troops were able to move in to the city center and the government complex. He said special forces believe militants are hiding in areas nearby and the search for them was continuing. Al-Obeidi said there were no civilians in al-Nazzal neighborhood. He said troops entered the city center around 6 a.m. local time after intense fighting with ISIS militants and with air support from the US-led coalition and Iraqi air force. A member of the Iraqi government forces fires celebratory gunfire in the air after recapturing the town of Zankura in Anbar province A government soldier flashed the V for victory sign while fighting ISIS extremists in Iraq yesterday Iraqi forces are now clearing roadside bombs near the government complex, which includes the municipality offices that ISIS had torched, the police station and other government buildings. Troops are also clearing the highway west of the city, linking it to Baghdad, al-Obeidi said. The United Nations has said that about 42,000 people have fled since the military operation against Fallujah began in late May. Aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council say the number of those who have fled Fallujah is lower, closer to 30,000. A gun store owner who reported Orlando shooter Omar Mateen to authorities weeks before the massacre has said the FBI did not investigate the store and that no copies of surveillance had been taken. Robbie Abell, co-owner of Lotus Gunworks, told ABC news that while there was a follow-up conversation with agents, the FBI never visited the south Florida store after he alerted them and failed to investigate further. Mateen came into the store in May and asked for heavy-duty body armor like the kind used by law enforcement, which they did not sell. Scroll down for video Robbie Abell, co-owner of Lotus Gunworks, told ABC news that while there was a follow-up conversation with agents, the FBI never visited the south Florida store after he alerted them, or investigated further 'Turned away': The owner of Lotus Gunworks claims Omar Mateen came into the store in South Florida in May and asked for heavy-duty body armor like the kind used by law enforcement, as well as bulk ammunition After the 29-year-old was denied he asked to buy bulk ammunition. The request was shut down by staff who refused to sell him anything else. Speaking Thursday Abell said: 'He slipped through the cracks.' He also told how staffers had contacted the FBI after the shooting to remind them about their run-in, but the store's surveillance tape had since been overwritten. Mateen had already been investigated by the FBI years before. But even after Abell's report, the 29-year-old self-radicalized gunman obtained an AR-15 and a semiautomatic pistol from another store in the area, bought stacks of ammunition, then opened fire at Pulse nightclub, where he killed 49 people and wounded 53. Abell told the Wall Street Journal: 'The questions he was asking were not the normal questions a normal person would be asking... He just seemed very odd.' Abell also said Mateen was speaking to someone on the phone in Arabic and was walking around the store texting. Mateen is of Afghan descent, where the official languages are Pashto and Dari. It is not clear how Abell's staff deduced he was speaking Arabic. He added that staff were on high alert since authorities has recently warned them to look out for suspicious activity in the area. Abell did not specify which authorities gave this warning. Port St Lucie police said they did not receive a report about Mateen's suspicious behavior. The FBI has yet to comment. Once it emerged that Mateen was the perpetrator of the worst mass shooting in history, Abell said Lotus staff instantly recognized him and reported their experience to the FBI. Omar Mateen, 29, (left) killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others in the mass shooting in Orlando last week. Lotus Gunworks' owner Robbie Abell (right) reported Mateen to the FBI weeks earlier, he claims Investigators outside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where Omar Mateen killed and wounded his victims He added that he was glad they did what they could to block him. 'If something is suspicious, it's our discretion. We are the gatekeeper,' Abell told the Journal. Mateen bought his murder weapons from St Lucie Shooting Center days before his attack. Ed Henson, the retired NYPD officer who owns St Lucie Shooting Center, defended himself in the wake of the massacre saying: 'I don't make the laws.' He insisted he put Mateen through the necessary background checks before selling him an AR-15 and a semiautomatic pistol. ISIS jihadis have caged, lashed and crucified three people accused of breaking their Ramadan fasts. Two people from the Syrian town of Mayadin - territory held by the terror group - were tied onto crosses outside the police station in province of Deir Ezzor. Another is said to have received the same horrific treatment in the nearby town of Bukamal, according to Justice for Life Observatory. Brutal: ISIS fighters are said to have crucified three people in Syria for eating and drinking in daylight hours Prior to this, all three were said to have been kept in cages for hours on end like animals and lashed 70 times. Rami Abdelrahman, from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said they were held up on the crosses as 'example'. 'We heard of similar instances happening in Raqqa two days ago,' he said Sickening: A suspected 'highway robber' recovers on a stretcher after having his arm and leg cut off by ISIS members just hours before the group lashed three people in Syria 70 times before tying them to crosses During Ramadan last year, ISIS ruthlessly caged and crucified 94 people, including five children, after they were caught breaking their fast. In Pakistan, an elderly Hindu man was savagely beaten for allegedly selling and eating food during daylight hours. The police officer responsible for assaulting Gokal Das, believed to be in his eighties, has now been taken into custody. Cruel: Bandages are applied to the man after his hand and foot were cut off by the terror group in the latest images published by the terror group of a public amputation The latest violent reports come less than 24 hours after the organisation released horrific images of a suspected thief being bandaged up after having his hand and foot cut off. Islamic State sympathisers who shared the grotesque images online claimed the man was a 'highway robber'. The series of pictures showed a blindfolded-suspect placed on a small plastic chair, flanked by armed militia, minutes before his right hand and left foot were amputated. Terror: The suspected thief was blindfolded by ISIS militants before the brutal ceremony during Ramadan After undergoing the sickening ordeal, the man was photographed lying alone on a stretcher, eyes still covered, for everyone to see - a reminder to onlookers about the terror group's unrelenting brutality. The group has previously shared a full list of 'crime and punishment' for carrying out crimes in its territory and it states that those who commit theft will have their hands chopped off. It also stated that adulterers who engage in a sexual relationship are to be stoned to death, while couples who have an affair without sexual contact can expect the more lenient punishment of 100 lashes and 'banishment' from the community. Those guilty of 'highway robbery' face crucifixion and offences such as drinking wine or 'calumny' - making slanderous comments - each attract the punishment of 80 lashes. The suspect in the murder and disappearance of a pair of pensioners has been arrested in Luxembourg, police have confirmed. Kosovan immigrant Ali Qazimaj, 42, was last night found in a hostel in the European country after an international search over the past two weeks. Suffolk Police said a member of staff working at a hostel in Luxembourg City identified Qazimaj through photographs of him on the internet and then alerted authorities who detained him. Detectives from Suffolk are now working with the National Crime Agency, the Crown Prosecution Service and authorities in Luxembourg to seek Qazimajs extradition after a European Arrest Warrant was granted relating to the murder of Peter and Sylvia Stuart. Ali Qazimaj (right) has been arrested in connection with the murder of pensioners Peter and Sylvia (left) Stuart Speaking at a press conference, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Parkes said: 'The hostel worker identified Ali Qazimaj from seeing his image on the internet. 'I dont know what made her suspicious, all I know his he was IDd and then she called the local authorities. 'We now enter an extradition process and that very much depends on whether Ali Qazimaj appeals against that process. If not, we have a 10 day window to send officers to take him back to the UK.' Mr Parkes said the search for Mrs Stuart would continue even though they do not expect to find her alive. Discovery: The body of Mr Stuart (pictured) was found in an area of woodland on June 3 only 50ft away from the house he shared with his wife He said: 'We are still very much looking for Sylvia, although I have no expectation of finding Sylvia alive, it is still the case that we maintain our search and we maintain the officers who are currently looking to try and locate her. 'We have largely finished in the natural places that one would expect to look around the Weybread area and we are expanding our search down through Suffolk through Essex towards the Tilbury area.' He added the force was 'relieved' to have found the suspect and praised the help they received from colleagues in Europe. He said: 'Theres clearly an element of relief. Theres been a huge amount of work, not just in the UK, but also colleagues throughout Europe so locating him was a significant development in the investigation. We have met nothing buit excellent cooperation throughout Europe; its been superb. 'He will be detained locally and going before a local court for the extradition process. 'Ali Qazimaj reported in this country as someone seeking asylum and seeking a British passport. 'We dont have any further information on his movements since leaving the UK and being found in Luxembourg. We are hopeful he goes before the court either today or through the weekend.' Mr Parkes would not comment on any links between Qazimaj, who also goes by the name Marco Costa, and the couple. The couple, of Mill Lane in Weybread, were reported missing to police on Friday 3 June. Officers found the body of Mr Stuart, 75, later that day in woodland not far from the couples home. A post-mortem investigation confirmed that he had died as a result of multiple stab wounds. Mrs Stuart, 69, remains missing and efforts are ongoing to locate her but police have confirmed they are treating her disappearance as a murder inquiry. She has not been seen since Sunday 29 May and officers now believe there is little expectation of finding her alive. Seen on CCTV: Happily browsing in a farm shop, these are the last known movements of a murdered line dancing enthusiast and his missing wife - as police reveal the prime suspect in the case has fled abroad Suffolk Police have released CCTV of the couple entering Goodies Farm Shop on Wood Lane in Pulham Market at 10.18am on Sunday May 29 Plea for help: Officers are appealing for anyone who may have seen them or who has information regarding their whereabouts from this time until June 3 to get in touch The pair were reported on missing on June 3 having last been seen at a family gathering on May 28 These are the last known movements of murdered line dancing enthusiast Peter Stuart and his missing wife Police first issued an appeal to trace Qazimaj, from Tilbury, Essex in connection with this incident on June 6. A 61-year-old man from Leicester was arrested by officers on Sunday 5 June and was bailed on Monday 6 June. He is due to return to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre on Wednesday 3 August. As previously reported, Suffolk Police have released CCTV of the last time the couple were seen alive. The pair are seen going into Goodies Farm Shop in Pulham Market at 10.18am on Sunday May 29. Police say hopes of finding missing Sylvia Stuart (left) alive are fading. The body of her husband Peter (second from left) was found in an area of woodland on Friday evening only 50ft away from the isolated house the couple shared. The couple's son-in-law Steve Paxman (right), 61, is being questioned Mr Stuart was found in woodland around 50ft from their isolated home. Pictured, forensic officers at the scene Officers are appealing for anyone who may have seen them or who has information regarding their whereabouts from this time until June 3 to get in touch. Detectives earlier said they believed Qazimaj who is linked to the couple's son-in-law Steve Paxman, 61 fled the country when his car was discovered dumped in the Channel port of Dover. TIMELINE OF THE MURDER INQUIRY Thursday, May 28: Peter and Sylvia Stuart are last seen alive by relatives at a family gathering at their home in Weybread, Suffolk. Morning of Friday, June 3: The couple are reported missing. Friday night: Mr Stuart's body is found in an area of woodland on Friday evening only 50ft away from the isolated house he shared with his wife. It later emerges he died from multiple stab wounds. Sunday, June 5, morning: A 61-year-old man from Leicester is arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday. It later emerged he is believed to be the couple's son-in-law, Steve Paxman. Early hours of Monday, June 6: A silver Citroen C3 belonging to Ali Qazimaj, 42, is discovered in a residential area in Dover. Monday morning: Suffolk Police issue an appeal, saying Qazimaj, of Tilbury, Essex, is wanted in connection with the murder investigation. Monday lunchtime: Officers reveal that Mrs Stuart could be alive and with Qazimaj - the man wanted on suspicion of stabbing her husband to death. However, they say hopes of finding the 69-year-old unharmed are fading with every passing minute. Thursday, June 16: Qazimaj is identified by staff working at a hostel in Luxembourg and reported to the local police. A European Arrest Warrant is granted and he is detained. Advertisement Suffolk Police had 'reliable information' that places Qazimaj at the Port of Dover ferry terminal at around 6.30pm on Saturday, the force said. It is strongly believed that he then boarded a passenger ferry unaccompanied to Calais in France soon after 7pm. Officers are continuing the hunt for the fugitive. Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Parkes said: 'The primary focus of our investigation remains on locating Sylvia. We are releasing this further information today in the hope that it may trigger someones memory and help us piece together their movements. 'We know that family members were with the couple at their home address on Saturday 28th May and CCTV now places them in Pulham Market the next day. If you remember seeing Peter and Sylvia in Pulham Market or if you spoke with them or saw them around this time we are urging you to get in touch. 'It is also essential that we learn more about the whereabouts of Ali Qazimaj as we strongly believe that finding him will lead us to the location of Sylvia. 'Based on this new evidence it is highly likely that he has left the country, so our officers are working with colleagues within the UK and internationally in an effort to trace him. Necessary legal proceedings are being undertaken to assist this part of the investigation.' Police had said yesterday there was a 'remote' possibility that Qazimaj may have taken Mrs Stuart with him, but there was 'only a glimmer of hope that she was still alive'. Detectives have warned the public not to approach the murder suspect, who neighbours described last night as a gun-obsessed loner who has previously bragged that he could kill someone and dispose of them in a barrel. His whereabouts were unclear as police said he could be in France or elsewhere in Europe, as he is known to speak Polish and is said to have lived in the former Yugoslavia and Prague. It emerged the 61-year-old man from Leicester arrested on suspicion of murder on June 5, is believed to be the couple's son-in-law, Steve Paxman. Investigation: Police and forensic teams pictured searching the home of Ali Qazimaj in Tilbury, Essex Detectives have also been quizzing a man from Leicester arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday morning, who has now been named as the couple's son-in-law, Steve Paxman, who is married to their daughter, Christy, 41. But he was released on police bail this morning. Mr Paxman is due to return to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre on August 3. It followed a search yesterday by teams of forensic officers of the couple's 300,000 house, where weapons including shotguns and cartridges were seen being removed from the property. The two suspects are believed to have known each other as Qazimaj dated Mr Paxman's late stepmother, Helen Paxman. More recently Qazimaj moved to Tilbury in Essex from where he vanished on the same day the elderly couple went missing. She claimed Mr Qazimaj had been agitated at work before he disappeared. The mother of two also said she thought firearms had been recovered from his property. Last night a local hairdresser said Qazimaj, who is divorced and has a child with an ex-wife, had struck up a relationship with Steve Paxman's stepmother despite a 30-year age gap. She also claimed that Qazimaj, who was a regular in betting shops, had committed an offence in a betting shop in Basildon in 2009. Suffolk Police confirmed that Qazimaj had 'a connection' with the family of Mr and Mrs Stuart. Abroad: Qazimaj was believed to have initially fled to France, after police discovered his car in Athol Terrace, Dover (main). Mr Stuart's body was found near his home in Webread, Suffolk (inset) Family: The couple's daughter Christy with her husband, dog breeder Steve Paxman. It has emerged he is the 61-year-old man from Leicester who was arrested on suspicion of murder on June 5. He has now been bailed Search: Police outside the home of Christy and Steve Paxman in Loughborough, Leicestershire, Forensics officers from Norfolk and Suffolk police were seen searching the home of the Stuarts' son-in-law Steve Paxman. Two cars, including at least one 4x4 vehicle, were seized. A resident said she had spoken to Mr Paxman on the morning of June 4. She said he had appeared 'normal' and had not discussed the fact that his missing father-in-law had been discovered dead in woodland on the Friday night. The resident said: 'It was just a perfectly normal conversation there was no indication that he was under any stress at all. He was just so normal, he was his usual friendly self.' A keen gambler, gun-obsessed and former council worker: What is known about the fugitive wanted over the murder of a Suffolk pensioner and his missing wife... as it's revealed the stepmother of the couple's son-in-law was the suspect's lover By Sam Tonkin for MailOnline Neighbours have described him as a gun-obsessed loner and keen gambler, but much about Ali Qazimaj's background and his links to the Stuart family remain shrouded in mystery Neighbours have described him as gun-obsessed and a keen gambler, but much about Ali Qazimaj's background and his links to the Stuart family remain shrouded in mystery today. What has been revealed is that the fork-lift truck driver was once the lover of previously arrested Steve Paxman's stepmother. Mr Paxman, who this morning was released on bail, is the son-in-law of murdered Suffolk pensioner Peter Stuart and wife Sylvia. She is still missing but feared dead. Qazimaj, 42, and Helen Paxman are believed to have struck up a relationship in 2005 when he was 33 and she was 69. Mrs Paxman is said to have taken the now fugitive into her home after the pair met through her brother, who ran a car dealership. A neighbour at the flat in Thurrock, Essex, which the pair once shared told The Times: 'Ali was sleeping rough on the benches.' David Skipper, 85, said of Mrs Paxman and Qazimaj: 'He was here about five or six years. She fed and clothed him and she bought him a car. 'I think they started a relationship from almost the beginning. 'She told me one day that "all he ever thinks about is sex". She took to wearing trousers with him but previously she had worn short dresses.' Mrs Paxman is thought to have died two or three years ago. It is believed that Qazimaj, who is divorced and has a child with an ex-wife, used to work for Thurrock Council's cleaning services department but had taken time off after a 'meltdown'. His car, a silver Citroen C3, was found in a residential area of Dover at around midnight on June 5. The vehicle was searched and forensically examined. Forensic teams and police officers were seen at the Essex home of Qazimaj, who fled the country via Dover Teams of forensic specialists and officers with dogs were pictured searching the couple's home Even if Donald Trump gets elected and is able to push through his temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., the Supreme Court would likely kill the idea, retiring solicitor general Donald Verrilli said. 'Yeah. I mean, I don't want to speculate on a case that doesn't exist and probably will never exist. But I can't imagine that the Court would find a religious test like that appropriate,' Verrilli told MSNBC in an interview as he prepares to step down from his job. Legal experts believe Trump's proposed ban would violate the Constitution's Equal Protection clause, as well as constitutional guarantees of due process and religious freedom. The Constitution bars religious tests for public office. Trump modified his rhetoric in a speech Monday, saying the ban would apply to countries with a 'proven history of terrorism.' Donald Verrilli, who is stepping down as U.S. solicitor general, says he can't imagine the Supreme Court upholding Donald Trump's Muslim ban That could be a way to get around the likely unconstitutionality of a religious ban. However, defining which country's have such a proven history. Even allies with large Muslim populations like Indonesia have histories of terrorist incidents. 'This is an absurd proposal to build a Fortress America and pull up the drawbridges,' John Bellinger, former legal adviser to the Bush administration, told Reuters. Verrilli said the legal debate over Obamacare is 'effectively over.' Veriilli shot to national attention during the heated debate over Obamacare, as the government's lead lawyer arguing to preserve the law. He was ridiculed for choking when audio recordings at the start of oral arguments captured him coughing and appearing to lose his train of though. Mother Jones wrote at the time that it 'may go down as one of the most spectacular flameouts in the history of the court.' Verrilli was ridiculed for choking during oral arguments over upholding Obamacare, but most of the law was upheld The argument "did not go so well," Verrilli said in the interview, although he called the public response an 'overreaction.' He said he had overtaxed his voice in practice, so on that day his voice was 'pretty much shot." "I started the argument, and my throat seized up, you know.' He "took a sip of water, went down the wrong way, and I literally couldn't get any words out." "I guess my concentration sorta wandered, because I was unable to get anything out at the beginning," he continued, "and the justices were very amped up, because it was the big day about the constitutionality of the law." The Republican National Committee even made an ad out of the audio to argue against the law. But six justices including Chief Justice John Roberts ultimately voted to uphold major provisions of the law, providing a key victory of the Obama presidency. Verilli speaks outside the Supreme Court in 2007 after arguing a case about lethal injection Verrilli said it was an obvious decision to argue Congress was allowed to make the law under its taxing authority even though the administration got the bill through Congress in part by arguing it that a 'penalty' on people who failed to buy insurance was not really a tax. 'It's not like we pulled a rabbit out of the hat, that was a defense of the statute -- right from the very beginning,' Verrilli told the network. He even indicated President Obama signed off on the deal. 'The lawyers think we need to raise this tax power argument,' he said aides told the president, 'and some of the political folks don't want to raise it, because you'll be subject to criticism on the ground that you're taxing Americans.' 'Fully engaged': Verilli defended Justice Clarence Thomas, who almost never asks lawyers questions from the bench 'The president didn't have any difficulty deciding that we were going to make the tax power argument right from the beginning,' Verrilli said, 'and then we never looked back on it.' Verilli also offered praise for Justice Clarence Thomas, who went 10 years without asking a question during oral arguments. 'He didn't ask me any questions during my five-year tenure,' Verrilli said. 'Some people have suggested that he may be less than fully engaged up on the bench, but I'm here to tell you that's totally wrong.' 'He's fully engaged,' Verrilli said. 'He's looking at the briefs, he's asking for copies of the U.S. reports to be brought to him so he can look at precedents. He's talking to his colleagues.' A Russian toddler who collapsed after having a filling at a dentist has died after spending a year in a coma. Lisa Epifanova was only two years old when she went to the hospital clinic in her home town of Degtyarsk in the country's central Sverdlovsk Oblast region. Initially only going for a routine check-up before starting nursery, the dentist spotted cavities and decided to treat them there and then. Mother Natalia was stroking Lisa's hair in hospital when she realised that her daughter had stopped breathing The little girl was frightened of the dentist so, according to reports, it was decided to treat her under general anaesthetic, but this had tragic results. She did not wake up, fell into a coma and was later found to have suffered a brain lesion. Lisa spent the next year on a life-support machine at another hospital 40 miles away in Yekaterinburg, her parents travelling each day to be at her side. Lisa's parents have already won 21,300 through a lawsuit with the hospital-based dental practice Lisa collapsed at the dentist and fell into a year-long coma. She was found to have suffered a brain lesion Her mother Natalia says she was stroking her daughter's hair when she realised Lisa had stopped breathing. 'I called for a doctor and then an anaesthetist with somebody else from the surgeon team tried waking her up,' she said. 'Nothing worked.' Doctors told her Lisas coma had been caused by a rare adverse reaction to the dentists anaesthetic. Alexey Sulimov, chief paediatric neurologist of Yekaterinburg, said: 'Usually doctors tend to use anaesthesia as rarely as possible on such young kids, as it is very dangerous. 'Such procedures should only be done in the most difficult cases and with parental consent.' Local police are currently investigating the details of the death, and Lisas parents have already won a lawsuit against the hospital-based dental practice. A relief fund set up for the Baker tornado survivors received nearly $7,000 in donations in its first three days. The Baker Tornado Relief fund was set up by Southeast Montana Area Revitalization Team, the local economic development agency. I was crying when I went through the list of people who had donated, said Mona Madler, SMART executive director. These are our friends, our neighbors, giving. Checks may be sent to: Baker Tornado Relief, Bank of Baker, P.O. Box 739, Baker, MT 59313. Theres also a Baker Tornado Relief Facebook page with a link for donating through Pay Pal. Donations are tax deductible. As specific needs come up, we will determine how best to distribute the money, Madler said. Well make it go as far as we can. Billings, lets help out Baker. This is the horrifying moment a road worker was run over by an asphalt roller in front of shocked colleagues. The victim suffered a fractured pelvis and was taken to hospital following the incident in Angarsk, Russia, reports AS Baikal TV. Dashcam footage shows the worker standing in the middle of the road as the asphalt roller resurfaces the road behind him. The machine fails to stop in time and ends up knocking him to the ground. Co-workers then rushed over to him following the freak accident and he was taken a hospital to be treated. The shocking incident happened during the afternoon of June 16 on Gargarin Street in the Russian city. Experts are currently trying to establish the circumstances of the incident but it is believed a driver from Uzbekistan was behind the wheel of the heavy equipment. The worker (pictued) was helping resurface a road in Angarsk, Russia, when the steamroller began moving behind him It got closer and the driver was unaware it was coming because he had his back turned (pictured) About 130 executives who took part in the St. Vincent de Paul CEO Sleepout were confronted by a group of angry homeless people who demanded money and criticised the event. The executives were slammed across social media and described as patronising with suggestions that sleeping out for a night did not constitute understanding what it means to be homeless. An area in Whitmore Square in Adelaide was fenced off and marquees had been set up in one of the few places used by actual homeless people' to take shelter, said one Twitter user. About 130 executives that took part in the St. Vincent de Pauls CEO Sleepout (pictured) were confronted by a group of angry homeless people who demanded money and criticised the event The executives were slammed across social media and described as patronising (pictured) with suggestions that sleeping out for a night did not constitute understanding what it means to be homeless St Vincent de Pauls or Vinnies in South Australia told Adelaide Now that six homeless people approached the CEOs during the event. Chief executive David Wark told the newspaper that some were demanding money while others criticised the event. The group was genuinely homeless and were walking through Whitmore Square when they stopped, but they were in no way aggressive or nasty, Mr Wark said. There was a suggestion that us sleeping out for a night was not what its like to be homeless which was a fair point. But Twitter users aware of the event were left unimpressed by the fundraiser which raised $560,000 for the charity One users who claims to have contacted the charity said that they 'did not care' that their 'sleepout charade' was a bust But Twitter users aware of the event were left unimpressed by the fundraiser which raised $560,000 for the charity. One user said: Cannot believe that these CEOs took over one of the few places used by actual homeless people. Another, who claimed he had tried to contact Vinnies said: I have contacted Vinnies and a few CEOs about their humiliation and Sleepout charade, but they do not care. But despite the run-in Mr Wark has said the charity are on their way to hitting the $600,000 target needed to be reached by the end of the financial year. About six angry homeless people demanded money and criticised the event among many social media users commenting on how thoughtless the CEOs were behaving He said: This would equal one of our best ever efforts. Were thrilled with the community support weve received and its honourable of a community organisation to have so much support. The money would be used to buy technology to help lift productivity at Vinnies. An estimated 6,000 people are still homeless in South Australia. A man is recovering at home with several stitches to his face after his one-armed brother-in-law allegedly attacked him with a Samurai sword in Pennsylvania. Todd Clark, 51, was arrested and charged with an attempted criminal homicide and other charges in Monessen on Thursday. Clark told WTAE that he meant to hit his brother-in-law, Bill Garey, with the cane that he uses as assistance to walk, since he is missing his left arm. But instead, he accidentally hit his sister, Amelia Garey, at the home on McMahon Avenue. Todd Clark (pictured), 51, was arrested and charged with an attempted criminal homicide and other charges. The one-armed-man is accused of hitting his brother-in-law in the face with a Samurai sword Clark said that he meant to hit his brother-in-law, Bill Garey (above), with the cane that he uses as assistance to walk, since he is missing his left arm 'First off I took a swing at him with my cane and inadvertently hit my sister in the process,' Clark told the television station. 'They grabbed the cane out of my hand and the only thing I had to steady myself was my samurai sword.' In defending his wife, Bill Garey, admitted that he hit his brother-in-law who has lived at the home with them for the past 18 months. 'First off he tried to attack her with his cane,' Bill Garey said. 'Well I wasn't going to let that happened. I mean you're not going to hit my with a cane. 'So I hit him and things got crazy. He grabbed a sword. All I felt was a crack. I thought he hit me with the cane, the same thing he hit her with. 'I was covered in blood and they told me, 'No. It was a sword.'' But instead, he accidentally hit his sister, Amelia Garey (above), at the home on McMahon Avenue. Bill Garey think that Clark tried to purposely attack his wife with his cane Bill Garey said that he hit Clark after the man hit his wife. '...things got crazy. He grabbed a sword (pictured above is the case). All I felt was a crack. ... I was covered in blood,' Bill Garey said. The couple said the incident started from an argument after they told Clark he was not allowed to smoke marijuana inside the home, because their young grandchildren also live at the house. 'They didn't want me smoking marijuana in the house, so I said, 'OK. I'll find somewhere else to smoke it.' I had arranged to go to the neighbor's and smoke it there,' Clark said. He added: 'Unfortunately, it's illegal all over, which is bogus, in my opinion.' Police arrested him and took him to Westmoreland County Prison and retrieved the sword as evidence. He is currently waiting for a preliminary court hearing. His sister and brother-in-law said that he is no longer welcome back at their home. Dramatic footage has been released showing a New Jersey woman being arrested and allegedly attacking a police officer in the process. The video, which surfaced online on Thursday, purportedly shows a woman fighting with a cop in Newark, New Jersey. The footage begins with the suspect on her knees on the ground, where she is able to remove the officer's baton from his belt and then hits him with it. Aggressive: Footage that surfaced online Thursday purportedly shows a woman fighting with a cop in Newark, before she is able to remove the officer's baton and start hitting him with it This is the moment the woman stands up with the baton and begins hitting the officer in the head, striking him at least three times The woman appears to hit the officer in the head at least three times before he is able to get the stick back from her. The two then continue to argue. The officer appears to have blood on his face, as seen in the video on LiveLeak. As the argument escalates, the cop pulls out his taser and threatens the woman. She then gets down on the ground, face-down, and puts her hands behind her back, signalling that she is surrendering. Newark police told Daily Mail Online on Friday they could not comment on the video before a further investigation. Its unclear what charges were brought against the woman. Fight: The two continue to argue after the cop gets the nightstick back. He then prepares his taser Surrender: At the end of the video, the woman is seen getting down on the ground, face-down, and puts her hands behind her back, signalling that she is surrendering Bernie Sanders' campaign manager insists the U.S. senator is still an 'active candidate' for president, even though he's no longer pursuing superdelegate support - the only way he could win. Thursday evening Sanders spoke to his supporters via livestream and did not drop out of the race while not explicitly saying he's still in. Sanders danced around the issue, and an endorsement of Hillary Clinton, as he again pledged to fight for progressive values at the summer nominating convention. Today on Morning Joe, Sanders campaign hand Jeff Weaver said, 'yes,' Sanders is still running for president, adding to the confusion. Scroll down for video Bernie Sanders' campaign manager insists the U.S. senator is still an 'active candidate' for president, even though he's no longer pursuing superdelegate support - the only way he could win. Sanders is pictured here on Thursday night addressing his supporters online Sanders met with Hillary Clinton Tuesday night as the D.C. primary results were being announced. Clinton won big and is the presumptive Democratic nominee but Sanders still won't drop out. His speech Thursday was standard stump and included a jab at Clinton Today on Morning Joe, Sanders campaign hand Jeff Weaver said, 'yes,' Sanders is still running for president, adding to the confusion 'Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Yes, he is,' Weaver said, in response to a question about Sanders' status. 'He's an active candidate for president, yes,' Weaver said. The last Democratic presidential primary was held on Tuesday, ending a months long process that saw Hillary Clinton win the popular vote. She also won a majority of pledged delegates. She did not, however, win enough pledged delegates to become the Democratic nominee outright. For that, she'll need the backing of the party's superdelegates at the July convention. Clinton has more than enough superdelegate support to become the party's nominee. With that in mind, President Barack Obama has already endorsed her. Appearing on Bloomberg TV Thursday afternoon, before Sanders' address, Weaver disclosed that the campaign had stopped making calls to superdelegates and was no longer trying to lure them away from Clinton - but it was not until his interviewers badgered it out of him. 'There is a progressive agenda that he laid out. The country has a lot of needs. Those needs have not changed just because the voting has stopped. His life's work has been to advance those agenda items,' Weaver said the first time he was asked about the senator's status. Income inequality, campaign finance reform, healthcare for all - 'those issues still exist,' Weaver said on Bloomberg's With All Due Respect. He added, 'And the needs and the desires of the people who supported him, and the people who didn't who didn't support him, still exist, and he's gonna continue working on that though the convention.' Weaver also went on about how the he expects a 'unified party' coming out of the Democratic National Convention and a discussion on site about 'substantive issues, some of which the candidates had sharp disagreements on in the course of the campaign. Program host John Heilemann called him out for the 'vagueness' and asked directly if Sanders is still trying to win. 'Is he still campaigning to win the nomination or not?' Heilemann pressed. 'He still is a candidate for the Democratic nomination,' Weaver stated. That would require the support of party officials with votes at the convention, however, and Weaver admitted, 'We are not currently lobbying superdelegates, we are not, no.' 'I dont anticipate that will start anytime soon,' he said, begrudgingly, after he was further pressed to explain. Sanders, during his much anticipated livestream address to his supporters Thursday night, did not not offer a concession to Clinton. Instead he said he would start working to defeat Donald Trump soon in a new role that he didn't define. 'It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues,' Sanders told his tribe. 'It is also true that our views are quite close on others,' he said, playing both sides. Sanders restated his goals and said he would take his 1,900 delegates to the convention in Philadelphia where the Democrats would pass 'the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda.' 'I also look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors,' Sanders said. 'A party that has the courage to take on Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry and the other powerful special interests that dominate our political and economic life,' he added. On the other hand, he said, 'The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly.' 'And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time,' he added, declining to say what that role is. Sanders enters the Capital Hilton with his wife Jane to meet with the presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night Hillary Clinton, who locked up the Democratic nomination 10 days ago, is seen exiting her two hour long meeting with Sanders The speech capped off a strange set of 10 days in Democratic politics that began when the Associated Press and other networks declared on Monday, June 6, that Clinton had enough superdelegate support to win the nomination at the July convention. The next day marked the last big primary election day, with only Washington, D.C. outstanding. Clinton subsequently creamed Sanders in California, where he had staked his fortunes, though the race has tightened since then, as the remaining votes are being counted. Either way, Clinton would still have earned a majority of pledged delegates and makes it to the magic number of 2,383 with her strong superdelegate support. But Sanders refused concede after California, vowing to take the fight to D.C., even after President Obama named her the Democratic nominee. He didn't concede when he arrived in Burlington, Vermont, last Wednesday, either. Sometimes a trip home signals that a candidate is about to drop out - in Sanders' case, it turned out to be business as usual. The next day he met with President Obama at the White House and delivered a statement in front of the building that suggested he would stay in through D.C. and then get out of Clinton's way. Yet, he again declined to concede in Washington, D.C. after Clinton the contest on Tuesday, besting him in the capital city's by more than 50 points. That night the two of them met for two hours at the Capital Hilton to hash out what would be next. Neither camp released a statement afterward, but Sanders campaign said that Thursday he would give an online address. It turned out to be the standard Sanders stump speech, with the senator repeating over and over what his campaign 'is about,' a favorite rhetorical device of his, as he encouraged his supporters to run for down-ticket positions because many decisions are made at the state or local level. Republicans, Sanders said, have been successfully stacking these offices with their own for years. 'I have no doubt that with the energy and enthusiasm our campaign has shown that we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved,' Sanders said. 'We need new blood in the political process and you are that new blood,' Sanders said. He also suggested that history would look back on his movement with pride. 'My hope is that when future historians look back and describe how our country moved forward into reversing the drift toward oligarchy,' Sanders said. An Orlando woman has been charged after authorities said she was caught trying to hire someone to kill her ex-girlfriends new boyfriend. Anielle Paige Madison, 25 was arrested on Wednesday and charged with solicitation to premeditated murder, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies began their investigation on June 9 after they said they received information Madison was looking to hire a hitman, and the next day an undercover agent contacted her. Anielle Paige Madison, 25, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with solicitation to premeditated murder, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said Officials said Madison and the agent met in the parking lot of a local business in Kissimmee, during which Madison said she would pay $500 for killing the unidentified victim, but they agreed on $2,000. Deputies said she then provided the agent with the victims description and address. Authorities contacted the victim, who lives in Orlando and said Madison constantly called the ex-girlfriend even though the couple did not wish to speak with Madison. On Wednesday, Madison had posted on her Facebook writing to 'never make decisions when you're angry. They'll just turn around and bite u in the a**'. Officials said Madison (pictured left and right) and the agent met in the parking lot of a local business in Kissimmee. Madison said she would pay $500 for killing the unidentified victim, but they agreed on $2,000 On Wednesday, the day of her arrest, a post on Madison's Facebook read: 'You'll always have that one person that provoke u (sic) to do things that's out of your character' Another read: 'You'll always have that one person that provoke u (sic) to do things that's out of your character.' Deputies obtained a felony warrant for her arrest on Wednesday and took her into custody at her home in Orlando. A heroic beagle who alerted his family to a house fire by barking has received an award for saving their lives. Snoopy was presented with an Animal Achievement Award from RSPCA Queensland and presented with a tasty bone wrapped in a blue and green ribbon in addition to that. The adorable brown and white dog's owner Bill Winter, 67, woke to loud barking at about 1am on May 10 when he realised his Acacia Ridge home in Brisbane was on fire. Scroll down for video A heroic beagle named Snoopy (pictured) who alerted his family to a house fire in their Acacia Ridge home in Brisbane has received an award for saving their lives, but now the family of three remain homeless The alarms in the home failed to go off because it started outside of the home. Mr Winter told 9News that he had no doubts that Snoopy was a lifesaver he said: 'He's always been a wonderful dog but he's truly special now. 'I wouldn't be here without Snoopy.' Firefighters were unable to save the family home which was engulfed in the fierce blaze. Mr Winter's son Brian said the family 'probably wouldn't be here' if it weren't for the dog, reported People magazine. No one was injured in the blaze thanks to Snoopy's life-saving bark. The adorable brown and white dog's owner Bill Winter, 67, woke to loud barking at about 1am on May 10 when he realised his Acacia Ridge home in Brisbane was on fire which engulfed his home (pictured) The Beagle Club of Queensland launched an appeal to help Snoopy following his heroic actions, reported The Brisbane Times. Club spokesperson Desley Souter told the newspaper: 'We were quite amazed that a little dog could make such a difference. 'People understood the loyalty that Snoopy was showing to his owner, we've seen that in our beagles many a time. 'We've had pledges from club members for toys, bedding and money. 'I would say amongst our members, we are able to support Snoopy for the next few months until (the homeowners) get back on their feet.' The fugitive was eventually handcuffed and loaded onto the ambulance Neighbours were left frightened as he swore profanities at police It took police three hours to bring him down from a grandmother's roof The young man had a psychotic episode induced by the drug ice A man allegedly shouted profanities and threw tiles at police from a stranger's roof for three hours in a psychotic episode induced by the drug ice. The 23-year-old was allegedly standing on the roof of a widowed grandmother in Lawton, north of Brisbane, as police attempted to negotiate to bring him down. When the young man was finally brought down, paramedics tended to his injuries attaching him to medical equipment before loading him handcuffed into the ambulance. A 23-year-old was allegedly throwing tiles at police from a stranger's roof for three hours in a psychotic episode induced by the drug ice The grandmother was led out the back of her house by the authorities as the siege continued. 'Hey, hey, hey, you f***head,' the fugitive yelled as police attempted to bring him down. But family friend of the young man, Amanda, told 7 News he was 'a great bloke and is usually friendly.' Doctor Christian Rowan, State MP for Moggill, said it is common for ice users to have psychotic episodes. 'We know that people whove taken ice can have violent outbursts and become quite aggressive,' he said. FBI offices in South Florida have received thousands of tips from members of the public since Sunday, when terror suspect Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people at the gay club Pulse in Orlando. Many of them have been bum tips, but some have been accurate and have helped investigators track Mateen's whereabouts before his bloody rampage. Among members of the public trying to help is a woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, an hour south of the shooter's hometown of Fort Pierce. She has told the Daily Mail Online that she believes she spoke with Mateen and his wife, Noor Salman, the week before the attack on the Pulse nightclub. Lucyann Crystal believes she often saw and spoke to Omar Mateen and his wife, Noor Salman at the Pit Row bar. Crystal works as a rose peddler in West Palm Beach Crystal says she saw Mateen and Salman (pictured together) over Saturdays nights at the bar Pit Row with a group of other 'foreigners' - four other men and two women She says she saw Mateen and Salman over Saturdays nights at a local bar with a group of other 'foreigners' - four other men and two women. After the identity of the shooter emerged, she was concerned enough that she called a retired police officer she knows to tell him what she saw. The retired cop, Rick Sessa, then called the FBI to make sure agents would follow up. 'When you look into someone's eyes, you recognize a person,' said Crsyal. 'And the woman with the pretty eyes was definitely the killer's woman.' 'Her tip could mean this guy (Mateen) was part of a conspiracy,' Sessa told Daily Mail Online in an exclusive interview. 'I didn't want her words to go by the wayside, whether she's right or wrong. I think her observations are worth a check by agents.' The witness, Lucyann Crystal, works as a late-night rose peddler. She makes her living selling single flowers in bars, restaurants and clubs. Crystal, who lives in an apartment with her two adult sons, says her route usually takes her to Pit Row, a dark neighborhood bar in Palm Springs, near West Palm Beach, with three pool tables. 'I go in there about 11pm most Saturdays,' Crystal tells the Daily Mail Online. A former nursing student, she was forced to cut her studies short when she was attacked savagely by her ex-husband who nearly stabbed her to death in front of their two boys. She recovered, but she partly lost control of the left side of her body and started working menial jobs to feed the boys. 'About six months ago, I started making it a habit of talking to a group of foreign people that I saw playing pool in the back once a month or so,' she continued. 'They're always the same five men and three women. They're playing and having fun and they always have wisecracks for me.' Crystal now says one of the women in the group was Noor Salman. She says: 'There's not a single doubt in my mind. I struck a friendship with her because she'd always defend me when the men got rude to me. I commented about her pretty eyes and I talked to her every time I saw them. 'I spoke to her four or five times over the past six months. I am 100 per cent sure. That was the wife of the terrorist I see on TV every night.' Mateen, Crystal says, was among the five men but wasn't as talkative as the woman. 'I thought they were Mexicans or something, but I'm bad with languages.' She saw the group for the last time on the night of June 4, Crystal says. That night, the man she believes was Mateen made a strange statement to her. She says: 'Someone in the group called me over with the roses. I knew they weren't going to buy but they always talked politics. About Trump and stuff like that. One of them asks me how I feel about the transgender bathroom controversy. 'So I said, "Doesn't matter to me where they pee, but I know God won't let them [transgendered people] into heaven". 'So they all started laughing like it was the funniest thing they heard all night. Crystal is a rose peddler, who says her route usually takes her to Pit Row, a dark neighborhood bar in Palm Springs, near West Palm Beach, with three pool tables She said she saw Mateen, Noor and others at the local bar (pictured inside), and would often chat with them after befriending Noor because of her 'pretty eyes' After the identity of the shooter emerged, she was concerned enough that she called retired police officer Rick Sessa to tell him what she saw. Sessa then called the FBI to make sure agents would follow up 'But the guy on the TV who's the shooter, and I recognized his glasses, says to me: "Do you realize that comment just saved your life?" 'I must've looked startled because the woman who was with him grabbed my arm and told me he didn't mean anything by it. She even talked him into buying a red rose. He gave me $5 and I left.' Crystal replayed the incident in her head several times that weekend because she couldn't make sense of Mateen's words, Crystal said. 'When I first saw him on TV Sunday, he looked familiar,' Crystal said. 'When I first saw her Tuesday, I knew it was them.' A grand jury is considering criminal charges against Noor. Meanwhile, a manager at Pit Row, the bar, said the business' surveillance video automatically erases images captured seven days earlier. And a check of credit card receipts for the establishment was inconclusive and couldn't confirm the killer's presence there in the past six months. Still, says Crystal, not all customers use credit cards. Florida Republican representative David Jolly announced he is bowing out of the race to succeed senator Marco Rubio and instead running to keep his own House seat as Rubio mulls whether to jump back into the race he said he would forego. "Today I'm asking you for the opportunity to keep doing my job," Jolly wrote supporters in an email Friday. "I ask for your support in seeking reelection to the House of Representatives." Jolly appeared on CNN Friday morning, and hinted that Rubio was jumping back in the race, after saying he wouldn't seek reelection during his failed presidential run. 'Marco saying he is getting in,' Jolly said in a segment where he talked about his own political plans. Minutes later, an aide walked back the statement and said Jolly has 'no actual knowledge of a Rubio decision." Inside info? GOP representative David Jolly announced Friday he is getting out of the race to succeed senator Marco Rubio, and will instead run for his House seat Jolly told CNN Rubio is saying he's 'getting in,' but his spokesman later walked back the comment Rubio on Wednesday confirmed to Capitol reporters a report in Politico that another GOP candidate, his friend Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, had told Rubio he should reconsider his own decision not to run. "The report earlier is accurate," Rubio said. "Carlos and I had a conversation on Sunday in Orlando before I left. Obviously, I take very seriously everything that's going on, not just in Orlando but in our country. I've enjoyed my service here a lot." "So I'll go home later this week and I'll have some time with my family," Rubio said. "If there's a change in our status, I'll be sure to let everyone know." Politico reported that Lopez-Cantera spoke to Rubio inside Rubio's pickup truck after appearing Sunday at the site of the Pulse nightclub killings in Orlando. 'You should reconsider running for your seat,' Lopez-Cantera said he told Rubio. 'I don't want you to feel like you have to say that because of outside pressure,' Rubio responded, according to his pal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is among other GOP power-brokers urging Rubio to reconsider his decision. 'We hope our candidate will end up being Marco Rubio,' McConnell told the Huffington Post Tuesday. Rubio would likely face off against a well-funded Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy. Pickup line: Florida lieutenant govenor Carlos Lopez-Cantera told Rubio 'You should reconsider running for your seat' while seated in Rubio's truck Sunday night The two friends spoke about their political future inside Rubio's pickup truck Senator Rubio's friend Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera is telling Rubio he should run for reelection if he wants to Murphy first must overcome liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson in the Democratic primary in August. To keep his House seat, Jolly would face off against former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who served as a Republican but later lost to Rubio in the general election running as an independent for the Senate in 2010. Crist later became a Democrat. On Monday, Rubio reflected on the pull of public service when discussing the Orlando massacre. Angela Merkel has waded into the row over linking Jo Cox's killing to the EU referendum, hitting out at 'exaggeration' during the campaign. The German Chancellor warned it was 'important to draw limits' around the rhetoric people use in political debate or 'radicalisation will become unstoppable'. Mrs Merkel, generally a close ally of Mr Cameron, has in the past revealed her frustration at the decision to hold a referendum in Britain and the rising risk of Brexit. The German Chancellor warned it was 'important to draw limits' around the rhetoric people use in political debate or 'radicalisation will become unstoppable' Asked about the Labour's MP's tragic death today, Mrs Merkel told journalists: 'The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect. 'That's why we all value democratic game rules. 'And we know how important it is to draw limits, be it in the choice of speech, in the choice of the argument but also in the choice of partly disparaging argument. 'Otherwise the radicalisation will become unstoppable.' Greece's member of the EU commission, Dimitris Avramopoulos, also claimed that Mrs Cox was killed 'for her dedication to European democracy'. In a Twitter message, he said: 'Jo Cox murdered for her dedication to European democracy and humanity. 'Extremism divides and nourishes hatred. Solidarity with her beloved.' Senior Labour MP Rachel Reeves has warned against linking the death of Jo Cox to the bitter battle over the EU referendum. Ms Reeves, a friend of Mrs Cox, dismissed the idea that the killing yesterday was a result of the way the campaign was being conducted. Greece's member of the EU commission, Dimitris Avramopoulos, also claimed that Mrs Cox was killed 'for her dedication to European democracy' The comments came after claims that the MP was targeted over her support for immigration and ties with Brussels. Eyewitnesses said her attacker shouted 'Britain first' before shooting and stabbing her. But a family friend of the suspected attacker has denied he was 'politically motivated' or felt strongly about the referendum. And Ms Reeves, who wept at a service remembering her fellow MP last night, said: 'There's of course going to be a lively debate around fundamental questions like our membership of the European Union. 'But, I don't think that's linked to what happened yesterday. I was at the vigil yesterday at Birstall parish church for Jo, where hundreds of her constituents came to pay tribute, not as a matter of courtesy but because they loved her, because she worked so hard for them. A Michigan woman has been accused of causing an uproar at a grocery store after drop-kicking a custom birthday cake for her seven-year-old because she was unsatisfied with how it looked. Police are investigating the ordeal that took placeon Saturday when the unidentified mother went into a Bloomfield Township Kroger to pick up the special-ordered cake, WXYZ reported. She was reportedly unhappy with the decoration of the 'Superman v Batman' cake and allegedly forced her way behind the bakery counter in an attempt to fix it herself, police said. A Michigan woman has been accused of causing an uproar at a Kroger grocery store (pictured) after drop-kicking a custom birthday cake for her seven-year-old child because she was unsatisfied with how it looked But, when employees told her she could not be behind the counter, she reportedly became upset and took the cake to the front of the counter where police said she 'proceeded to "drop kick" it'. A witness told officers the woman threw the cake on the ground before stepping on it several times and then shouted, 'They f****** ruined my seven-year-old's birthday cake'. Cake crumbs and frosting were left scattered everywhere in the bakery section following the woman's fit, police said. The upset mother quickly left the store but not before kicking over a 'wet floor' sign on her way out, according to police. The mother told officers she was upset with the poor quality of the decoration of the special-ordered 'Batman v Superman' cake (file photo above) and that it was not as she expected. Photo courtesy of Cakes.com Authorities said the woman later told officers she was upset with the 'poor quality of the decoration' of the cake and that it was not as she expected. She also told officers she had gone behind the counter because employees told her she could, WXYZ reported. The mother denied accusations that she drop-kicked the cake, claiming it accidentally fell out of her hand. Kroger said it does not have video surveillance footage of the incident, which remains under investigation. No arrests have been made. that is owned by his brother-in-law and sister Mateen and wife Noor Salman were living in a Fort Pierce apartment at the time of the The brother-in-law of Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen has refused to deny that he knew about the shooter's plans to commit a massacre at Pulse nightclub. When asked directly by DailyMail.com whether he knew of Mateen's intentions Mustafa Abasin, 43, refused to comment, saying he could not talk. Standing at the front door of the Port St Lucie home, which he shares with wife Sabrina, 31, Abasin similarly refused to respond to questions regarding the land deal between himself and Mateen, 29, that saw the terrorist transfer the deeds to his Fort Pierce for just $100. The property is worth an estimated $165,000. The bizarre real estate transaction took place one month before Mateen's June 12 attack that left 49 dead and 53 wounded. Scroll down for video Keeping quiet: Mustafa Abasin (above) refused to comment when asked if he knew about his brother-in-law Omar Mateen's attack ahead of time Nothing to say: He would also not respond to questions about why his brother-in-law signed over the deed on his Florida home to him for $10 Home sweet home: Mateen, his father Seddique and his sister Mary purchased the Port St. Lucie home (above) together in September 2013 Asked by DailyMail.com, if he could explain why Mateen sold him his home for just $100 he said he could not comment. When DailyMail.com put it to him that there was a suggestion that this meant he knew about his plans for the shooting ahead of time and asked, 'Did you know?' He said, 'I will not comment, I will not comment.' When asked if he had been questioned by the FBI and if he was helping them with their investigation he refused to comment. On April 5, Mateen signed a Quit Claim Deed transferring his ownership in a Port St. Lucie residence to his sister and brother-in-law, Mustafa and Sabrina Abasin. They paid him $100 for the home according to city records. Mateen's sister Sabrina (above) while live in his One of the individuals who signed off as a witness to this sudden transfer was Noor Salman, Mateen's wife. The other witness was Mateen's sister Miriam 'Mary' Seddique. Three weeks after signing his deed over to his brother-in-law, Mateen took a trip to Walt Disney World to scout out possible sites for the attack according to law enforcement officials. He also brought Salman with him for that trip. The Port St. Lucie home that Mateen, 29, gave to the Abasins is worth approximately $165,000, and he owns a third of the property. So it is unclear why Mateen would be willing to sign it over so suddenly and for no money. It is a 1,740-square-foot residence with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on 10,000 square feet of land. Furthermore, mortgage records show that in September 2013, less than three years ago, Mateen borrowed $76,000 from Seacoast National Bank to purchase the home along with two other family members. His father Seddique and sister Mary also signed as borrowers. Salman, 30, was named in the Mortgage as well but only as being the wife to Mateen, and she did not sign the document. The Warranty Deed to the home was also signed by Mateen, his father Seddique and his sister Miriam. Salman's name is not on any of the documents. Seddique also signed over his deed to the property in February of this year to the his daughter and son-in-law, and like his son only charged $100 according to the Quit Claim Deed and city records. Mateen's sister Mary did the same too in April, giving the Abasins full ownership of the home. The family has a sizable real estate portfolio city records show, with Mateen the only family member who did not own multiple properties. Many of the homes they purchased were bought with at least one other family member. Mateen meanwhile was living in an apartment in Fort Pierce that was owned by his sister Sabrina and brother-in-law. Losing money: The Port St. Lucie home is worth an estimated $165,000 and Mateen, Seddique and Mary borrowed $76,000 to pay for the home (Mateen with Salman and their son) It was revealed on Thursday that Salman called her husband a little after 2am when his mother contacted her and said she was concerned about his whereabouts, a law enforcement official working on the investigation told CNN. Mateen, who was just starting his brutal massacre at that time, did not answer, so at 2.30am Salman texted: 'Where are you?' At that point Mateen responded, telling his wife: 'Do you see what's happening?' When she replied back to that by texting 'no' he wrote: 'I love you babe.' There were no text messages exchanged between the two after that, though Salman did call her husband again a few hours later during his standoff with police. He did not answer his phone. It was also revealed on Friday that Mateen may have given his wife access to bank accounts and taken out life insurance policies in the past few weeks. Investigators on the case are not revealing if Salman called authorities or 911 at any point during the shooting to identify her husband as the gunman, and the answer to that question could go a long way in explaining just how much she knew about the attack. The FBI and federal prosecutors meanwhile are planning to bring evidence about Salman's role in the shooting in front of a grand jury to get her indicted on at least two criminal charges for her role in the attack - which could possibly include multiple counts of murder and attempted murder for each of her husband's victims. Digs: Mateen and wife Noor Salman were living in a Fort Pierce apartment (above) at the time of the attack that is owned by his brother-in-law and sister Dad: Patriarch Seddique's home (above) is on the same road as the home he previously owned and then deeded to his daughter and son-in-law One more: Sister Mariam has multiple properties, but stays in this Fort Pierce home (above) An FBI source told Fox News that a panel has already been put together to target Salman, who could be facing any possible number of charges. That source also stated that Salman could ultimately be charged with 49 counts of murder and 53 counts of attempted murder for her role in the shooting, which the FBI has declared was both a terrorist attack and a hate crime. If investigators find proof that she scouted out Pulse nightclub or went to purchase ammunition or firearms with her husband knowing about his plans, then under federal law she would be just as guilty of her husband's crimes. Investigators have reportedly obtained surveillance footage showing Salman buying ammunition with Mateen days before the attack. There are also reports claiming she told law enforcement that she drove her husband to Walt Disney World and Pulse nightclub to scout out locations. It is unclear though just how much she may have known about her husband's plans, with the FBI and investigators on the case keeping quiet when it comes to that question. A 77-year-old British man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in Cambodia for sexually abusing three boys. Roy Sheppard was sentenced by a provincial court in the north-eastern province of Siem Reap for indecent acts committed against three boys aged 12 to 16 years old. Action Pour Les Enfants, a non-governmental organisation that combats the sexual exploitation of children, said Sheppard was arrested in October after complaints were received from the boys' parents. British paedophile Roy Sheppard, pictured leading two boys along a street in Cambodia, has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted of child sex abuse charges against three boys aged between 12 and 16 It said it was unclear if he would serve his sentence, since he was at large after being released on bail for health reasons. Poverty and poor law enforcement have made Cambodia a magnet for foreign paedophiles, but the government has cracked down on sex offenders in the past decade. Sheppard was also ordered to pay a total of 12 million riel (2,000) in compensation to the three victims and be deported from Cambodia after he finishes his sentence, Action Pour Les Enfants said. Police believe the ex-air traffic controller used cash and gifts to tempt the young boys into going with him to his flat. Paedophile Gary Glitter, pictured, fled to Cambodia after he was caught with 4,000 child sex abuse images Once there, it is thought the father-of-two paid the children around 7 to have sex with him, and gave four children bicycles. Cambodia is a magnet for so-called sex tourists from across Europe, due to the countrys high level of poverty and poor child protection laws. Notorious paedophile Gary Glitter, 71, fled to Cambodia after being caught in the UK in 1997 with 4,000 graphic images of children on his computer. They say terms like 'Muslim Americans' and 'the Muslim world' should be replaced with 'American Muslims' and 'Muslim communities against Islamic words which contribute to an 'us versus them' mentality Department of Homeland Security is asking for $100million to help steer American The Department of Homeland Security thinks censorship will help stop American millennials from becoming drawn to groups like ISIS. DHS' Advisory Council has released a report, suggesting that we stop making the fight against radical Islam an 'us versus them' fight. In order to do this, the department says it should 'reject religiously-charged terminology and problematic positioning by using plain meaning American English'. The Department of Homeland Security has suggested doing away with words like 'jihad' and 'sharia' to help curb American millennials from becoming radicalized. Above, a picture of Boston Bombing terrorist Dzokhar Tsarnaev flipping off a security camera from a jail cell. Tsarnaev was born in Kyrgyzstan, but grew up outside of Boston. It's believed his brother became radicalized and them convinced him to join his terror plot That means doing away with Islamic terms like 'jihad' - which means holy war- and 'sharia law,' which are rules that govern ways of life in Muslim governments. The department also says we should stop using the term 'Muslim Americans' and 'the Muslim world', and replace them with 'American Muslims' and 'Muslim communities'. Homeland Security is leading an effort to address young Americans becoming radicalized online by groups such as ISIS and the al-Nusra Front. The department is asking that $100million be used to fund the effort, which will go towards paying experts and creating social media programs and technology to steer millennials away from terrorist recruiters. 'The department's CVE efforts are an attempt to protect our nation's young people from extremists who prey upon the Millennial generation,' the report says. 'The department must reframe the conversation to reflect this reality and design a robust program around the protection of our youth, which must include predator awareness and an understanding of radicalization. In doing so, our citizens will be better equipped for this threat.' DHS' report was released just days before a Muslim man killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida gay club. The FBI is still investigating what caused 29-year-old Omar Mateen to go on the rampage, but they are looking into whether he had become radicalized in his faith. Mateen was born in the U.S. to parents from Afghanistan. He reportedly claimed in a 911 call during the stand-off that he was carrying out the shooting on behalf of ISIS. In the aftermath of the shooting, President Obama was highly criticized for his failure to refer to Mateen as a 'radical Islamic terrorist'. President Obama addressed these critiques directly on Tuesday, saying: 'Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away. Theres no magic to the phrase of radical Islam. Its a political talking point.' He also pointed out that Rinaldi had a The man charged with stalking and harassing actress Brooke Shields was found guilty by a Manhattan judge on Friday. John Rinaldi was ordered to serve 60 days in jail and avoid all contact with Shields' and her family while also not going near her Greenwich Village townhouse. Judge Kevin McGrath convicted Rinaldi of stalking and harassment, and remanded him to jail immediately after the verdict. Court papers claim that Rinaldi, 49, has been stalking Shields since at least 2003, and once attempted to gift her young daughters with teddy bears. Shields, 51, fought back tears earlier in the week as she spoke about fearing for the safety of her family while testifying in the non-jury trial. Smile big: John Rinaldi (above) has been a fan of Shields for years and according to court papers he has been stalking here since at least 2003 Defense: Rinaldi (above) had a friendship with Brooke's late mother Teri for years Long suffering: Rinaldi began writing fan letters to Shields (above on Tuesday) in the 80s Shields took the stand for the second day of the trial on Tuesday where Rinaldi's lawyer spoke about the alleged stalker's long-time friendship with the actress' late mother Teri. 'She was a woman with dementia and alcoholism,' explained Shields according to the New York Post. 'She gathered people. If you were more broken down, if you were homeless, if you were, whatever, she brought you into the fray. She wanted to be a savior for everyone.' She also testified that she did her best to be polite to Rinaldi, but eventually was forced to tell her husband, Funny or Die creator Chris Henchy, to speak with the man. 'My husband said, "Youre freaking my kids out. You got to stop, you got to back off!"' Shields said on the stand. Shields made the decision to to police and report Rinaldi in May of last year after he notice he had been parked outside her West Village townhouse for days, and even signed her name in a manner similar to her autograph into the dirt on the vehicle. Prior to that he had approached her with gifts for her daughters - 13-year-old Rowan and 10-year-old Greer. In 2013 he came to her home with stuffed animals and teddy bears for the girls Shields said on the first day of the trial Monday. 'It made me feel so violated and terrified,' said the actress. Tough case: Shields (above leaving court on Monday) fought back tears describing how Rinaldi came to her home and dropped off presents for her daughters Legal team: Rinaldi's attorney (on right) said Monday: 'The one thing that you cant say about Mr. Rinaldi is that his acts are such that they rise to the level of criminality' Then, just a few months later, he went to her house to give her a picture frame - one that her mother had made for the actress' 18th birthday. 'Instead of giving it to me, he said, "I want Rowan to have it,"' said Shields as she fouSght back tears. At that same time he was also allegedly sending letters and messages on Twitter that were concerning for the actress. The unwanted fan mail goes all the way back to the 80s according to Shields' legal team. A man was allegedly kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle, Washington, from Dallas, Texas, because his beard frightened another passenger. Mark French says he was on his way to see his sister when he was told he could not get on his flight. He claims he was told another passenger complained that he looked 'Arabic and scary', which was enough of a reason to prevent him from boarding. His sister, Maria French, took to Facebook to air her grievances with the airline. Scroll down for video Mark French (pictured) claims he was on his way to see his sister when he was told he could not get on his Alaska Airlines flight because of his beard Mark's sister, Maria French, took to Facebook to air her grievances with the airline (pictured) claiming someone said her brother's beard looked 'Arabic and scary' 'I AM SO ANGRY. My brother Mark French was supposed to be arriving here in Seattle today, but Alaska Airlines just kicked him off the plane because someone complained that he looks "Arabic & scary",' she wrote. 'I have no words. Just so angry I feel sick...' Mark told NewsFix he was in the waiting area talking on his phone when he was approached by security. He claims they told him he couldn't fly until he was clean shaven. Later, Mark took a picture of the beard that allegedly prevented him from taking his flight to see his sister, which appears to be little more than stubble. Alaska Airlines released a statement to NewsFix about the situation: 'We want to assure you that ethnicity did not play a part in this situation. 'The passenger was deemed unfit to fly at that time but was rebooked for a flight today to his destination. 'There is more to the story, but per our company policy we do not share details about our passengers.' Many people have posted on Alaska Airlines's Facebook page to share their outrage about the situation, saying they believe Mark, who is not Arabic, was racially profiled Nearly 100 people commented on Maria's posted about her brother, sharing her frustration that her sibling's visit had been reduced by two-and-a-half days due to the delay. She also complained about how the airline handled the situation. 'They didn't apologize or offer anything. They just said to come back and try again tomorrow. 'He said he's going to shave before going back, but what else is he supposed to somehow look more white overnight? 'And that shouldn't be a prerequisite to fly! 'He doesn't have to do or say anything wrong, all it takes is one white person to say sharing a plane with a brown person makes them feel unsafe,' she wrote. Many people have posted on Alaska Airlines's Facebook page to share their outrage about the situation. The airline has posted similar responses to these complaints, some said they hoped Mark 'felt better' others said ethnicity had nothing to do with it. Alaska Airlines has said that ethnicity has nothing to do with why Mark was removed but said they could not discuss passenger's matters publicly 'I can assure you that ethnicity did not play a part in this situation. I know that may not help because we won't share details publicly due to passenger privacy, but it's what I can share,' the airline wrote to one complainant. A woman, claiming to be Mark's wife, slammed the airline saying she thinks the airline is trying to suggest her husband was drunk as a way to get around allegedly kicking him off the flight due to his appearance. 'Is it your position that Mark French was unwell? Is it your position that he was approached by staff to address the concerns of this passenger, and you had a negative response? 'Is that the defense and angle you are taking? Because I assure everyone, this is 100% FALSE. 'At no time was he ever questioned, detained, searched, or asked to clarify the complaint. At no time, was he breathalyzed, asked if he was intoxicated, or given the opportunity to explain,' she wrote. The airline responded saying she should contact Mark directly. She replied: 'I live with him.' According to NewsFix, Mark said he received a call from the airlines' customer support with an offer to let him re-book his return flight at the same price. However, he said it doesn't make up for the humiliation of being targeted as a terrorist because he didn't shave, the site reported. A Virginia girl has contracted a nasty bacterial skin infection after swimming at the beach with a small scratch on her face. Six-year-old Bella Sullivan went swimming at Huntington Park beach at the weekend and developed some redness and swelling after coming out of the water. As time went on the condition only worsened, and by Tuesday Bella as so swollen she could not even open her eyes. 'Tuesday morning, she woke up and both eyes were completely closed shut and she was completely swollen, her face, her neck, her arms also,' the girl's mom, Nicole Sullivan, told KDVR. Nasty condition: Six-year-old Bella Sullivan went swimming at Huntington Park beach at the weekend and developed some redness and swelling after coming out of the water - however it only got worse Getting better: Bella is now on antibiotics to rid her system of the infection she contracted from the water WHAT IS IMPETIGO? Impetigo is a highly contagious but temporary skin infection that causes red sores on the face. The sores rupture, ooze for a few days, then form a yellow-brown crust. They clear within a few days with treatment. It is spread through skin-to-skin contact. Advertisement Sullivan rushed her daughter to the doctor, who diagnosed the condition as impetigo from the bacteria in the water. It must have entered Bella's system through her cut. According to the Mayo Clinic, impetigo is common in infants and children and usually appears as red sores on the face, especially around the child's mouth. Environmental Health Manager for the Peninsula District Gary Hagy told KDVR that the water levels at Huntington Park beach tested below the standard on June 9, two days before she went swimming. There was no water advisory in place when Bella went swimming. 'Be careful': Bella's mom, Nicole Sullivan, has warned parents going to the beach with children with open cuts Hagy said they have been working with city officials to determine the cause of the high bacteria levels in the water but they have not found a reason so far. All swimmers are urged to check the status of the water before entering, especially if they have open wounds. 'If you plan to take your child to the beach, see if they have any openings in their skin, hold off on going to the beach perhaps if you do see anything like that or cover them up really well,' Sullivan told KDVR. 'I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to other kids, it's very painful.' More than 800,000 people from Muslim majority countries have gotten green cards since 2009, wth the number set to hit 1 million before President Obama leaves office. The data, released by a Senate subcommittee on immigration and the national interest, reflect a steady uptick in migration from Muslim nations in recent years even as Donald Trump seeks to put a pause on Muslims visiting the United States. The biggest increase in permanent residents came from Pakistan and Iraq, with more than 100,000 coming from each country. Bangledesh had 90,000, Iran had 85,000, and Egypt had 56,000, while Somalia had 37,000, according to data published by Breitbart News. The Pew Research Center estimated there are about 3.3 million Muslims living in the U.S., making up about 1 per cent of the population. This number is expected to double by 2050, when it would be 2.1 per cent of the population. The figures don't cover those entering the country on short-term visas like tourist visas. Donald Trump is calling for a Muslim ban for countries with a 'proven history' of terrorism, though it's not clear if he means to target regimes or countries where terror has occured If the Trump ban were enacted, it could reduce immigrants from Muslim nations by up to a third. Pakistan is a global hot spot for terrorism and is where the U.S. located and killed Osama Bin Laden, although the government there has allowed the U.S. to carry out drone strikes against terrorists in its territory. The regime in Tehran is considered a top sponsor of terrorism, although historically many Iranian immigrants to the U.S. have been regime opponents. The Muslim Brotherhood was briefly in charge Egypt after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarack, and ISIS has been active in the Sinai peninsula. Trump said Monday after a fanatic born here to parents from Afghanistan killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that he wants to 'suspend immigration from areas of the world where there's a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe, or our allies.' He didn't say how he would define the countries that would come under the suspension, or whether he meant countries that had suffered attacks or those considered to either support or turn a blind eye to terrorism. 832,014 immigrants from Muslim majority countries have gotten green cards since 2009 President Obama announces executive actions on immigration to ease deportation threats for undocumented immigrants in 2014 He has said the ban would stay in place 'until we figure out what is going on.' Donald Verrilli, the outgoing U.S. solicitor general said Trump's Muslim ban wouldn't be upheld in by the Supreme Court even if it got enacted. 'Yeah. I mean, I don't want to speculate on a case that doesn't exist and probably will never exist. But I can't imagine that the Court would find a religious test like that appropriate,' Verrilli told MSNBC in an interview as he prepares to step down from his job. Immigration from Muslim-majority countries has increased year-over-year. Muslim men pray at a demonstration in front of the Immigration and Naturalization Services building in New York in 2002 According to the Senate subcommittee, the number of green cards going to Muslim-majority countries jumped by 27 per cent from 2013 to 2014, to 149,000 from 117,000. The trend puts the U.S. on track to grant green cards to 1.1. migrants from Muslim-majority countries. President Obama called for the U.S. to admit 10,000 refugees into the U.S. because of the civil war there. But as of March, only about 1,300 Syrian refugees had been admitted. Trump's proposed Muslim ban had been drawing criticism among elected Republicans. House Speaker Paul Ryan continued to criticize the proposal this week, and said that 'I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers.' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services presented 2,354 candidates for naturalization at a federal court in in Boston on June 16 A dinghy overloaded with Afghan immigrants arrives on a beach in Greece in May, 2015 Vicky Haynes has two haunting memories of Sir Clement Freud: He was hairy, so hairy just like an ape. And he hurt me, she says. Vicky was just 17 years old and a virgin when paedophile Freud forced himself on her after plying her with champagne. A naive, unworldly girl, she trusted him implicitly before that night. Why wouldnt she? He was, after all, a valued family friend who, like her dad Sydney, had trained as a chef at the Dorchester hotel and whose generous support had put the familys upmarket fish-and-chip restaurant in Lincoln on the culinary map. Vicky Haynes (pictured here at home in Somerset with husband Chris) has two haunting memories of Sir Clement Freud: He was hairy, so hairy just like an ape. And he hurt me, she says Today, Vicky is a 64-year-old grandmother living in a village outside Yeovil in Somerset and has been happily married for 44 years to retired RAF squadron leader Chris. She has, she says, enjoyed a privileged life that has included sprawling homes, horses and cocktail parties with Prince Charles. A measured, articulate woman, Vicky has two grown-up children and is devoted to her family and charity work. She is a no-nonsense person, not the sort to put herself in the public eye as a victim of sexual abuse. But this week she did just that, detailing on the ITN news how Freud groomed her from the age of 14 and raped her when she was 17 at his family home in Suffolk before taking her to the races at Newmarket. Her claims followed a similar pattern to those made by two women in the ITV documentary Exposure, which revealed the seemingly loveable raconteurs chilling secret history of child abuse. You think about an experience like that every day of your life, she says. I still see it: his hairiness, it was like being in bed with a gorilla. The bedding white. The window in the eaves. The white bedside table. Him on top of me. Old, fat and so hairy. Pushing, pushing against me. I was a virgin so it hurt. Being petrified and just lying there, thinking, How am I going to get out of this? This is my parents friend. She stops, overwhelmed by tears. But this isnt about me, she says, pulling herself together again. This is about Madeleine McCann. Vicky, you see, reported the abuse to police only four years ago when Kate McCanns book about her little girls disappearance revealed that the shamed MP had befriended the family at his 1 million holiday villa in Praia da Luz, a stones throw from where Madeleine disappeared. Vicky was just 17 years old and a virgin when paedophile Freud forced himself on her after plying her with champagne. She is pictured here aged 19 with her husband in Trafalgar Square When I read that, it beggared belief, she says. I wanted Madeleines parents to know who Clement Freud was. I wouldnt be at all surprised, when the police investigate Freud and his connections in Praia da Luz, if they find he knew something about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Does she think Freud was part of a ring? Of course, she says. He was great friends with Rolf Harris, shared an office with Cyril Smith and had a villa right there for 25 years an area where a number of paedophiles were living and where Madeleine disappeared. Why did this 82-year-old man befriend the McCanns out of the blue? The Freud I knew wouldnt engage with you unless he really wanted to. Why did he invite them round and cook for them? Why, after their long search, did he stay in touch with them? Could it be he wanted to know the ins and outs of what was going on, and the only way he could do that was by having direct contact with the parents? Vicky reported Freuds abuse to the NSPCC, who contacted Operation Yewtree, the police investigation into sexual allegations sparked by Jimmy Savile but Vicky says an awful policewoman told her: This happened years ago. Hes dead now. What do you want me to do about it? Seemingly loveable raconteur Freud had a secret history of child abuse Two years later she tried again, after hearing yet another desperate appeal for information from Kate McCann. Somerset police passed her allegations to the force in Suffolk, where the incident had taken place, and Vicky was told the matter would be passed to the team involved with Madeleines disappearance. But, again, Freud wasnt investigated. It was her husband who contacted ITN News. Chris said, We need to sort this out once and for all. Indeed, Chris believes firmly that police should take the possibility of Freuds involvement in Madeleines disappearance seriously. Forty-seven years ago wed have said my wife was totally naive to have gone along with what happened, and let bygones be bygones, he says. But now, knowing what we do about paedophiles and how they groom their victims, wed say without doubt that shed been targeted and raped. Vicky was just 14 when she met Freud while working as a waitress in her fathers restaurant. Daddy wanted me to wait the table because he wanted him to have the best service, she says. I used to wear a black dress and I had beautiful hair. Daddy wanted to show me off. Freud began to dine regularly at Syds restaurant. He wrote a lengthy article about her hard-drinking, fast-living father and soon built up a close friendship with him. Business boomed as Syds became a fashionable eaterie for the rich and famous attending the races at nearby Market Rasen. As Vicky says, her parents owed their friend Clay, as Clement was known, so much. It was shortly before her 15th birthday that Freud first invited Vicky out alone for the day to Market Rasen races. The horse-mad girl, who worked on a farm, was hugely excited. He said I could walk a horse around the ring, which of course youre not allowed to do, she says. He knew that but I didnt. I took my jodhpurs and thought I was going to walk this lovely horse around, but I dont remember any of that. I thought I was so grown up. Id packed a little vanity case with my toiletries and this pink nightie. Vicky Haynes I just remember getting into his Bentley and him stopping to pick up somebody called Tim, a man with very blond hair. He said he was his trainer. I have no recollection of anything after that only ending up at home, awake and functioning. Did he drug her? She shrugs. Ive tried to hard to remember anything from that day but I cant. We now know, from the women in the documentary, that Freuds pattern seemed to be to sexually abuse the young girls he groomed, but only to have full sex with them when they were over 16. Does she think that what happened that day was so terrible, she has shut it out? I dont know, she says. But your brain does do things like that, doesnt it? I do know he promised me one of his racehorses when it came out of training. He said, Ask the people you work for on the farm if theyre happy for you to keep it there and Ill send it on to you until I need to take it back. Every day I waited for his horsebox to come but of course it never did. Ive spoken to Chris about it many times, wondering why I cant remember anything about that day until I got home. He might have touched me. I dont know. But I do know I was still a virgin because he took my virginity when I went on the trip to Newmarket. I never thought hed do what he did. He was Daddys friend. Indeed, Sydney trusted his friend so implicitly, he sent Vicky to stay at Freuds home the night before Newmarket Races with his blessing. Daddy said: Shes not going to be on her own, is she? You are going to have somebody there? He said: Yes, a housekeeper. I was so excited. I can remember what I was wearing: a lovely brown suede, three-quarter-length jacket with a leather collar, long brown leather boots and a tweed skirt. I thought I was so grown up. Id packed a little vanity case with my toiletries and this pink nightie. Freud, pictured here at St Pancras railway station in 1990, groomed Vicky from the age of 14 and raped her when she was 17 at his family home in Suffolk before taking her to the races at Newmarket The nightie, though, was never worn. After taking Vicky to a restaurant where he encouraged the waiter to pour glass after glass of champagne for her without drinking a drop himself, he drove her to what she now believes was the family house in the village of Walberswick, near Southwold. There was no housekeeper. I was tight as a tick, says Vicky. Id never had champagne before. I remember that feeling of being totally tight but trying to be together. The house was on the side of the road and I could hear the sea. There was a big fireplace and a green Chesterfield. I think it was leather because I remember thinking: This isnt that comfy. He offered me a drink tea or more alcohol, I cant remember but I said, Im really tired, so he took me upstairs. I was about to put my nightie on when he came into the bedroom with a towel around him and said: Why do you need that on? Im thinking: What do I do? When youre in an alcoholic state, reality begins to hit you but you cant think straight. This guy is my parents friend and now Im in this terrible position. We didnt have mobile phones then. No one else was there. I got into bed. Then he got into bed with me The sentence trails away. I do remember he had lots of pills by the side of the bed which he took, she says. Again, there are tears. I was totally under his control because he was so in with my mum and dad. He knew that. There were no kisses. No words of endearment. Freud simply climbed on top of her and took her virginity. Vicky says she was in a complete daze. Afterwards, he said why didnt you tell me you were a virgin? and fell asleep. The next morning the bed was empty. Freud was downstairs preparing breakfast. I said I wasnt hungry, I was going for a walk. Thats when I began to cry. I didnt know what I was going to do. I remember walking to the sea and these big boulders and the sea crashing. How was I going to sort this out? I knew then I had to keep it a secret. If my dad knew hed have killed Freud literally killed him. I loved my parents. I didnt want to ruin anything for them. When Vicky returned to the house, Freud was in the bath. Vicky said she would not be at all surprised if police find Freud knew something about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (pictured) He had a flannel over his penis and was like this hairy ape, she says. I thought, My God, this is horrendous. Then he started talking about his wife and children. He said: Theyre younger than you. Worse was to come. I went to the bedroom to get my suitcase and he pushed me onto the bed face down. He pulled my tights and pants down and tried to rape me but he couldnt manage it. He said, It worked last night. Why isnt it working now? I kept saying, Get off. Get off. He withdrew because he couldnt do it, but hed definitely have raped me if he could. Weirdly, Freud gave Vicky one of his childrens toys a clown before stripping the bed of the bloodstained sheets. She only recalls fractured moments from the rest of that day: Freud raising his hat to a duchess, entering the royal enclosure, Freud winning several thousand pounds and then losing his winnings before the end of the day. He had to go back to London so he put me on a train, she says. He bought a first-class ticket. Then he said, If youre pregnant, ring me. Those were his parting words. As that train drew away I felt terrible. Sick. I can feel it now. Pins and needles in your leg. Its as if the blood is draining out of you. Id been trying so hard to keep it together. How I did it, I dont know. Why didnt I go and get a policeman at the races? Why didnt I tell someone? Did she think that she wouldnt be believed? Probably, she says. But it was much more than that. I had to keep it together for my mum and dad. Id been brought up in a proper way. Sex was something you had when you were married. This would have destroyed them. Vicky kept her dreadful secret. I waited for my period to come, she says. I thought, Oh God, what if Im pregnant? Fortunately it came. But, of course, abuse as a child always leaves scars. Vicky says she lost trust in men. To make matters worse, Freud continued to dine at her fathers restaurant. Within three years she was married to Chris: He is such a kind, gentle guy. I suppose in a way thats why I married him. She wipes her eyes.Life since, she says, has been kind, but scratch the surface and the pain is still there. When Freud was knighted in 1987, she was furious. I was beside myself with anger, she says. Even then, I felt it couldnt have just happened to me. It must have happened to other people. Why didnt she report him earlier? She shakes her head. Weve been retired six years now, she says. We sold our house with the paddock and downsized. I wanted a fresh start and I had three gorgeous grandchildren. To think of what happened to Madeleine happening to them She pauses. I had to try to sort this out, especially for Madeleines sake. The McCanns didnt know any of this about Freud. They held him in esteem like my parents did. Instead of saying Freuds dead, the police need to say, What are we going to do about it? We need to see who he was allied to. Lets see if Freud was involved. A former leader of a black student group has been jailed for creating a false public alarm by tweeting anonymous threats against fellow black college students. Kayla McKelvey, 25, pleaded guilty in April to creating a false public alarm by tweeting about a bomb at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Friday. Her sentence also includes five years of probation, NBC4 reports. McKelvey tweeted the threats from a university library on November 17 last year because she wanted more people to gather at a rally on racial issues, prosecutors said. Scroll down for video Kayla McKelvey (pictured left, and right, in court in December last year) has been jailed for 90 days for creating a false public alarm by tweeting anonymous threats against fellow black college students McKelvey tweeted the threats from a university library on November 17 last year because she wanted more people to gather at a rally on racial issues, prosecutors said She then returned to the rally to tell people about the threats. One message sent to campus police said: @kupolice I will kill all the blacks tonight, tomorrow and any other day if they go to Kean University. Another tweet said: 'The cops won't save you... you're black.' There was also a tweet on the account that claimed there was a bomb on the campus. The university increased security, and several law enforcement agencies were also alerted, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prosecutors have said the threats spread fear and panic across the campus. Prosecutors have said the anonymous threats spread fear and panic across the campus. Above, McKelvey with her attorney Thomas Ashley in December One message sent to campus police said: @kupolice I will kill all the blacks tonight, tomorrow and any other day if they go to Kean University They also said that $80,000 was spent for the extra security and the investigation. The threats also prompted a group of black ministers to call for Kean President Dawood Farahi to resign, saying the threats showed that he hadn't done enough to address racial tension on campus. McKelvey and her attorney had sought to have her participate in a pretrial intervention program that would have allowed her to avoid jail. But a judge denied that request in April. McKelvey, who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, was Kean Universitys homecoming queen in 2014 and president of the schools Pan-African Student Union. The school has one of the most racially diverse campuses in New Jersey. Last year's freshman class was 31 per cent white, 30 per cent Hispanic, 20 per cent black, 5 per cent Asian and 14 per cent unknown or other, according to state data. He is accused of fatally shooting her Robert Marks, 39, has been charged with murder of Lyntell Washington Mother-of-one Lyntell Washington, 40, was found shot dead a week after going missing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana A married assistant principal has been charged with murder after a pregnant teacher he was having an affair with was found shot dead. Robert Marks was taken into custody last week after the body of his colleague and suspected lover, Lyntell Washington, 40, was discovered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 39-year-old has since been been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree feticide. A first-degree murder conviction in Louisiana carries the possibility of the death penalty. Washington, a mother-of-one, who was once named 'Teacher of the Year' was reported missing last Thursday morning after her three-year-old daughter, Darillle, was seen walking alone near her car, which had blood inside it. Police believe Marks, who worked at Brookstown Middle Magnet Academy, may have been fearful of his wife finding out that he'd gotten Washington pregnant. According to WAFB, her body was badly decomposed and she has to be identified by her dental records. Her young daughter reportedly told investigators that 'Mr. Robbie' hurt her mother and that she was 'now sleeping'. Authorities also revealed the child was with her mother and Marks 'when she heard a 'bang'. The toddler then stated that her mom was 'in the lake' and that it was dark outside when she got hurt. Detectives said Marks then took the girl for a ride before leaving her alone in a parking lot. Marks was initially arrested on aggravated kidnapping and child desertion charges because Washington's child was left abandoned. Officials with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System confirmed Washington was the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year. Assistant principal Robert Marks, 39, (mugshot left) has been charged with her murder. Police say he may have been fearful of his wife founding out that he'd gotten Washington pregnant They also confirmed that Marks is the assistant principal at the same school and has been placed on administrative leave. Washington's child was turned over to family members. East Baton Rouge Parish School System Superintendent Warren Drake released a statement paying tribute to Washington. He said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Lyntell Washington and her unborn baby. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this time of sadness. 'We are grateful that now they may begin to find some closure. Ms. Washington was a treasured member of our team, and will be remembered for the impact she had on the many lives she touched through her work in our district. 'We will continue to offer support to Ms. Washingtons coworkers and students during this difficult time.' Police cars line up along a stream where Washington's body is believed to have been found. Her daughter told officers she was 'in the lake' after 'Mr Robbie' had hurt her A barrister and his solicitor wife were last night facing prison and professional ruin after being convicted of stalking his former mistress. Jonathan Simpson, 48, and his wife Katherine, 49, were both found to have harassed Mr Simpsons ex-lover causing serious alarm or distress. The jury had heard the couple launched a smear campaign, revealing graphic details of the womans sexual preferences, and leaving her in fear. The pair of shamed lawyers, from Winchester, are now awaiting sentence, and will also face sanction for bringing their professions into disrepute. Both could be barred from practising. Jonathan Simpson, 48, and his wife Katherine, 49, were both found to have harassed Mr Simpsons ex-lover causing serious alarm or distress The day barrister Jonathan Simpson married his property lawyer wife Katherine in Windsor in June 1995, they were already on course to become one of lifes high-flying, dual income, have-it-all couples. He was a charismatic, flamboyant advocate admired for his maverick courtroom style while she was a leader in her field, renowned for a cool, calm grasp of leasehold, freehold and tenancy law. Success followed success, earning them status, respect and a 1million Georgian terrace home in an exclusive part of Winchester, which they shared with their two children and a live-out nanny. Even Mr Simpson admits their world was pretty much perfect before the affair which would blow it all apart. Indeed, the Simpsons were the very last couple you would have expected to end up in the dock of Court 11 at Southwark Crown Court to each face a charge of stalking a young single mother for whom he had risked all marriage, family, and career. But yesterday their glittering careers were destroyed when they were found guilty of launching a smear campaign of embarrassment and threats against the young mother, left terrified by their harassment after the 18-month affair ended in August 2014. Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman granted anonymity to protect the identity of her child described how Mr Simpson had bombarded her with unwanted text messages, phone calls, emails and flowers refusing to accept the relationship was over when she cut all contact. Mr Simpson was a charismatic, flamboyant advocate admired for his maverick courtroom style Mr Simpson had turned up uninvited at her home and outside her daughters primary school, in the hope of speaking to his ex-lover to find out why shed dropped him like a hot brick. On learning she was in a new relationship, hed spewed vulgarities at her new boyfriend an ex-police officer targeting him on a train and loudly describing in detail the sexual antics hed enjoyed with his ex-lover in front of horrified passengers. He let her know he was writing his autobiography, in which he planned to write about their affair, and she started to worry about the sexually explicit photos he had of her on his phone. When he refused to sign a harassment notice warning, and continued trying to contact her, in December 2014 she applied to the courts for a restraining order an emblem of shame for the Simpsons. After this, she received further veiled threats from the couple urging her to drop the order, which made her sick to the stomach. She became too terrified to leave her home and was in need of a panic button. Mr Simpson, 48, was acquitted of a further charge of breaching the restraining order, but the majority guilty verdicts left them blinking back tears and ashen-faced with shock. The Simpsons, who arrived every day at court hand-in-hand denied all charges, dismissing their victims allegations as lies. He insisted he was just a fool in love rather than a stalker. But during a sensational week-and-a-half long trial, the jury listened agog as the Simpsons marriage was laid bare in toe-curling detail. They heard of unusual sexual activity between Mr Simpson and his lover of a kind normally reserved for porn movies prompting the trial judge to warn the prosecution, This isnt the Jeremy Kyle show. They listened to accounts of romps on a kitchen table, sex in every room of the house, and trysts in the marital home while Mrs Simpson was at work and the nanny was out. Mr Simpson told them he was so intoxicated by his very attractive mistress, he kept going back for more like a crack addict even cheating on his wife on their wedding anniversary. Tearfully Mrs Simpson revealed the many humiliations shed endured by standing by her man not least discovering her husband had given her the sexually transmitted disease herpes. They defiantly insisted they were the real victims in this sorry saga, sitting targets for a scheming home-wrecker intent on bagging a wealthy older man. Wouldnt any loyal, decent, loving wife determined to save her marriage react as she did by phoning her rival and telling her stay away from us and keep out of Winchester? Indeed, this is what Mrs Simpson had told police when they turned up on her doorstep in December 2014 with a harassment notice warning, which she promptly ripped up. Unfortunately for Mrs Simpson, the unedifying spectacle was captured on the officers body-cams and played to the jury, who heard the property lawyer dismiss her love rival as a gold-digging bunny boiler and a f*****g chav with fake boobs. We shouldnt be mixing with people like that, she railed. Lying to the police is something we do not do, certainly not in our echelon of society. She told them it was astonishing that I have not been round to her house and kicked her front door down and smashed her face in. They claimed theyd been set up by the womans disgruntled new boyfriend who allegedly vowed to ruin Mr Simpson and lose him his job if he persisted in his attentions. They called him a thug. They further claimed to be victims of the police, who they accused of relishing the opportunity to scalp a criminal defence barrister and publicly punish him for his successful advocacy on behalf of the accused. But as Mr Simpson gave an impassioned defence of his erratic, irrational behaviour and his 49-year-old wife tearfully spoke in the witness stand of her devastation over the affair their underlying puzzlement was clear. How could this have happened to people like us? Before police turned up at their door to arrest them, Jonathan Simpson a member of Charter Chambers in London had overcome childhood adversity to become a respected barrister of more than 20 years standing. Born into poverty, the son of a single parent, Mr Simpson grew up never knowing his father. He was eight when he found out he was naval pilot Lt James Robin Smith, who died in 1967 aged 25 in a flying accident when his mother was four months pregnant. He said he never fully recovered from the trauma of discovering a hat box in his mothers room filled with photographs and newspaper cuttings of his fathers death. His mother, to whom he was not close, never told him. The jury had heard the couple launched a smear campaign, revealing graphic details of the womans sexual preferences, and leaving her in fear Although his mother went on to marry a doctor and Jonathan won a scholarship to Whitgift independent school before reading law at Birmingham University he said that behind the confident facade beat the heart of a troubled Croydon boy desperate for love and affection. This, he said, was his undoing. Katherine, too, was a leader in her field, working her way up to become head of residential real estate with top London firm Pemberton Greenish and establishing herself as an expert. A talented cellist, whod won a scholarship to public school Wellington College, Mrs Simpson had switched to law after graduating from Leeds University with a degree in history and Italian, proving so successful she out-earned her husband. But as the court heard, there were fault lines in the marriage. They both worked long hours, with Mrs Simpson leaving early for her office in London and arriving home around 8pm. Mr Simpson complained that some days he talked to the nanny more than his wife. So when he struck up a conversation with a very attractive single mother in the Apple computer store in Southampton in February 2013, he couldnt resist asking for her email address and suggesting a drink. He was not motivated by lust, he insisted. Charmed by her simplicity and sympathetic to her struggle as a single mother, he wanted to help her her story resonating with his own childhood. Two weeks later they met for a first date, kissed and the die was cast. She called it serendipity, he told the court. It was unbelievable. I did not see it coming. It was intoxicating. I felt like a crack addict. I had to keep going back for more. I was in love. Mr Simpson showered his young lover with flowers, gifts and money, leaving him virtually broke. He bought her the Aga cooker and the cream sofa she dreamed of buying, but could never afford, and talked of a future together. Six months later, when he showed no sign of leaving his wife, she dumped him. Katherine Simpson was at work when her husband phoned to confess to his affair. Determined to hold it together at work, she refused to discuss it over the phone but that evening at a pizza restaurant in Winchester, he told her everything and assured her it was over. I was shocked and stunned because I had absolutely no suspicions about it, she told the court. It did not seem to be the sort of thing he would do, but there we have it, a lot of married men do. Dismissing the whole business as a stupid love affair, she forgave him and concentrated on mending their marriage and protecting their children. Later that summer he confessed he was back in contact with his ex-lover and could feel himself being drawn back in. Rather than pack his bags and kick him out, Mrs Simpson decided he needed protecting from sexual and emotional manipulation. With her husbands agreement Mrs Simpson fired off an email to her rival saying, Stay away from us, keep out of Winchester, but the young mum told the court it was Mr Simpson who was doing all the chasing. The affair continued behind her back and Mrs Simpson started to fear she would lose her husband. She wanted Jonathan to leave us. She was hounding Jonathan for a baby and wanted to be married by Christmas, she told the court. I was very scared I was going to lose my husband to this woman. It was reaching fever pitch and I was terrified. I could see she was getting him back. He was all over the place. Mrs Simpson avoided confrontation and gently tried to bring her husband to his senses. Katherine, too, was a leader in her field, working her way up to become head of residential real estate with top London firm Pemberton Greenish Just before Christmas, her husband confessed to his wife his lover was pregnant. She later had a termination when Mr Simpson warned her the medication he was taking to prevent hair loss could cause birth defects. Then, in June 2014 Mrs Simpson found texts on her husbands phone which confirmed he was still seeing her. I rang her saying, I know youve seen him, stay away from us, she told the court. She admitted theyd had sex at her house on our wedding anniversary. She taunted me in a very unpleasant way and was very hurtful. I was quite angry with her. I said, How dare you sleep with another womans husband. I thought she was really evil. She seemed to give the impression she was in charge of the situation and I was just a stupid wife that Jonathan did not want. That made me feel very upset. Mrs Simpson should have had every reason to breathe a sigh of relief when at the end of August 2014 the young mother suddenly dropped Mr Simpson like a hot brick and cut all contact. But her troubles were about to magnify. Unable to comprehend why hed been dumped just weeks after his lover had begged him for marriage, he felt entitled to an explanation. She felt it was harassment and the court agreed. After he was spotted outside her daughters school, she applied to the courts for a restraining order which he was later accused of breaching, leading to his arrest. Affair over and career in jeopardy, Mr Simpson suffered a complete mental breakdown and had to be admitted to the Priory, to be treated for depression. Mrs Simpson stepped in to fight his battles and do everything in her power to save the situation. Worried for her husband, furious over the other womans lies and desperate to fix matters Mrs Simpson told the court that getting the restraining order dropped became everything. She couldnt bear the thought of her husband being painted as a weird stalker. She was furious the police believed the womans claim her relationship with Mr Simpson had been nothing more than a fling. So, in January 2015, without her husbands knowledge, Mrs Simpson took matters into her own hands, by writing to the womans ex-partner the father of her child and relatives. In one passage from a letter sent to her sister-in-law, she wrote: Her lies to the police will threaten hers and (her childs) well-being forever. To the womans ex-partner she wrote, She has a lot to learn about affairs with married men and telling lies, adding that she and her husband had only two requests of the woman that she drop the restraining order and stay out of Winchester. She wrote: If she agrees or chooses to meet these requests she will find all her problems over. In court, Mrs Simpson agreed it was naive to send the provocative letters. She did not intend to cause any distress. They were a long shot, a last chance to save the day. She failed and yesterday, for better or worse, paid the price. Last night, as detectives praised the victims bravery and dignity, a tearful Mr Simpson told the Mail he feared he would be sent to jail, and claimed the police had been biased against him because he defended alleged criminals in court, and the jury may have thought he and his wife seemed wealthy. Mr Simpson who immediately resigned from his chambers after the verdict said: I am sorry. But life can be unfair. Maybe its because we appear privileged. But we have worked hard for our privileges. And after paying for private schooling for our two children we have to go on camping holidays. The four-year-old confessed to his parents that he had been wearing it Doctors operated and were shocked to find the Doctors in China have removed a rubber band from a young boy after it had grown into the flesh of his wrist. The four-year-old child, named Longlong, came close to having his arm amputated at the wrist after doctors in Chengdu, south-west China made the discovery, reports the People's Daily Online. Doctors said that the object was affecting the boy's bone growth and was beginning to restrict movement of his arms. Horrifuying story: Doctors treated the boy after his family complained of a red rash around his wrist Serious injury: Doctors say that the elastic band had started to restrict the boy's movement Successfully removed: Doctors found the object after working on a large blister which was on his wrist According to the report, Longlong had been given a silver bracelet by his mother when he was just a year old. She wanted it to symbolise protection. However last December, his grandmother found that the bracelet was too tight for him and took it off. She found that a red mark was left on the boy's wrist and it had become red and swollen. She took the boy to the hospital for a check up however the mark did not disappear. On April 28, the family took the boy to the Chengdu Women and Children's Hospital. Fu Song, a doctor at the hospital, thought that the mark was a scar which could affect the boy's growth. The plan was to give the boy some medicine and then remove the scar in an operation three months later. However on June 8, the boy's condition deteriorated and a giant blister had appeared on the boy's wrist. Doctors drained it at once and cut the skin open. They were shocked to find a rubber band growing into the flesh of the boy's wrist. Doctor Fu said that after seeing the X-ray it was evident that the bone of the boy's wrist was being influenced by the rubber band. He said that Longlong could not stretch his left hand straight. The doctor told reporters: 'If we didn't take the rubber band out, Longlong might have faced the danger of amputation.' The boy admitted to his mother after the operation that he had put the band around his wrist Tragic: The boy dresses and bathes himself as his parents work away from home After the operation, the boy told his mother that he put the rubber band on his wrist. However, the report did not specify when he had done so. The boy's parents work in Chengdu while his grandparents take care of him in the smaller town of Ziyang. Because of this, the boy began to dress and bathe himself which made it harder for his family to realise there was an issue with his wrist. The hospital says this isn't an isolated case. A child was brought into the same hospital last year after a red bracelet was tied too tightly around his wrist which led to the amputation of his fingers. A student at a university in China has died in a horrific stabbing by his dorm roommate. Kunming University in south-west China's Yunnan province has confirmed that one of their students died on June 13, reports the People's Daily Online. Police announced that the fight broke out after the victim had started singing and hit the suspect with a chair. Shocking: Peng Moumou was stabbed by his roommmate who became enraged by his singing The victim has been named locally as Peng Moumou, an 18-year-old freshman student at the university. He reportedly shared a room with the suspect and students claim that the pair did not get on. China News spoke to Kunming police who said that Peng started singing which caused the pair to start arguing. The situation soon escalated as Peng grabbed a chair and hit the suspect with it. The suspect then pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Peng. The victim was taken to hospital where he later died from his injuries. The suspect is currently under criminal detention. Fellow students say Peng Moumou and his roommate would often get into arguments Whats on Weibo reported that the dorms at the university are usually shared between four or eight people. In recent years there have been a spate of attacks in university dorm rooms. In March this year, a student from Sichuan University was killed and beheaded in his dormitory by his roommate. And in 2013, a student was stabbed to death by his dorm roommate at Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University after an argument. Many people on China's social media site Weibo have been commenting on the case and have been sharing their own opinions on violence in dorm rooms. One user wrote: 'Thankfully my roommate does not have the grace to kill.' While another commented: 'Has there not been a follow up after the Sichuan murder?' But, Space Data Corporation argues the project infringes on their patents Just a few months ago, Google began the first tests on its balloon-powered Wi-Fi service, 'Project Loon.' The concept works using a network of balloons, which travel along the edge of space to bring internet access to even the most remote areas of the world. But now, a company called Space Data Corporation has filed a complaint against the firm, arguing that the project infringes on patents from over a decade ago, and breaks their Non-Disclosure Agreement. Google's 'Project Loon'aims to use a network of balloons, which travel along the edge of space to bring internet access to even remote areas. But, a company called Space Data has filed a complaint against the firm, arguing that the project infringes on two patents from over a decade ago In a document filed to Northern California District Court earlier this week, Space Data writes that Google's Project Loon unlawfully uses their trade secrets discussed nearly 10 years ago. 'As set forth in detail below, Project Loon improperly and unlawfully utilizes Space Data's confidential information and trade secrets which Space Data disclosed to Defendant Google pursuant to a 2007 Mutual Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement ('NDA'). The firm has two of its own balloon-based systems in operation SkySat and SkySite to bring connectivity to remote areas. Space Data's 1999 and 2001 patents on balloon-network connectivity and the termination and recovery of these systems come long before the development of Project Loon, The Verge reports. Space Data's 1999 and 2001 patents on balloon-network connectivity and the termination and recovery of these systems come long before the development of Project Loon. An image from Space Data's patent is pictured left, and Project Loon is shown on right The complaint cites a Non-Disclosure Agreement signed in 2007 regarding the trade secrets discussed between the two companies. And, they point out that Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page visited the Space Data headquarters, and attended a 2008 balloon release. In the document, Space Data has even included a photo of this visit, showing Brin at the February, 2008 event. The visit was later reported by The Wall Street Journal that same year. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page visited the Space Data headquarters, and attended a 2008 balloon release. 'Space Data and Google engaged in extensive discussions about Space Data's business, including its technology, and its financial model,' the complaint states. It continued: 'Google was also given access to Space Data's balloon production line and network operation center where they saw a map of balloons in the sky and the wireless communications coverage Space Data was providing across 1/3 of the United States.' Just a few years following the agreement and meeting, Google started work on Project Loon. Regarding the allegations, a Google spokesperson told Daily Mail Online that the firm has 'nothing to say at this time.' Pollution from fossil fuels has been increasing the levels of carbon dioxide across the world for decades. Now, the last place on Earth that had remained under an historic threshold has reached 400 parts per million (ppm). The amount of carbon dioxide in the Antarctic atmosphere reached the milestone on 23 May - the high level recorded in human history. Scroll down for video Daily average carbon dioxide levels rose to a new high level of 400 parts per million on May 23 for the first time in four million years. This chart shows readings at the South Pole from 2014 to present, as recorded by NOAA's greenhouse gas monitoring networ THE ACCELERATING TREND Last year's global carbon dioxide average reached 399 ppm, meaning that the global average in 2016 will almost certainly surpass 400 ppm. The only question is whether the lowest month for 2016 will also remain above 400. The average levels are not only increasing, but the trend also seems to be accelerating. The annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped 3.05 ppm during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in 56 years of monitoring. Advertisement Daily average carbon dioxide levels at the South Pole rose to a new high level of 400 parts per million for the first time in four million years, according to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 'The increase of carbon dioxide is everywhere, even as far away as you can get from civilisation,' said Dr Pieter Tans, the lead scientist of NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. 'If you emit carbon dioxide in New York, some fraction of it will be in the South Pole next year.' 'The far southern hemisphere was the last place on earth where CO2 had not yet reached this mark,' said Dr Tans. 'Global CO2 levels will not return to values below 400 ppm in our lifetimes, and almost certainly for much longer.' Since the start of monitoring in the 1950s, the South Pole has shown the same, relentless upward trend as the rest of world. But its remote location means it is the last to register the impacts of increasing emissions from fossil fuels. 'We know from abundant and solid evidence that the CO2 increase is caused entirely by human activities,' Dr Tans said. 'Since emissions from fossil fuel burning have been at a record high during the last several years, the rate of CO2 increase has also been at a record high. 'And we know some of it will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years.' THE EL NINO EFFECT This year's El Nino event has boosted CO2 levels, causing them to rise at the fastest rate yet. Researchers forecast this year's rate to be 3.15 + - 0.53 parts per million, compared with an earlier average rate of 2.1 ppm. For 2016, the average CO2 concentration is expected to be 404.45 +-0.53 ppm. They predict this will drop to 401.48 +- 0.53 in September. These levels will continue to rise next year. This year will be the first time in recorded history that CO2 surpasses 400ppm for the entire year; normally, it would be expected to drop back down below this level in September. Advertisement Over the course of the year, carbon dioxide levels rise during autumn and winter and decline during the Northern Hemisphere's summer, when terrestrial plants consume CO2 during photosynthesis. But the plants only capture a fraction of annual emissions. For every year since observations began in 1958, there has been more CO2 in the atmosphere than the year before. Last year's global carbon dioxide average reached 399 ppm, meaning that the global average in 2016 will almost certainly surpass 400 ppm. The only question is whether the lowest month for 2016 will also remain above 400. The average levels are not only increasing, but the trend also seems to be accelerating. The annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped 3.05 ppm during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in 56 years of monitoring. The National Science Foundation's Atmospheric Research Observatory illuminated by the sunset in 2014.The last place on Earth that had remained under an historic threshold has now reached 400 parts per million (ppm) For the first time on record, atmospheric carbon dioxide is expected to surpass 400 parts per million for the entire year due to an 'extra boost' from El Nino - the cyclical Pacific Ocean warming that produces extreme weather across the globe, causing terrestrial ecosystems to lose stored CO2 through wildfire, drought and heat waves. Scientists say 2016 has seen the fastest annual increase in CO2 levels observed to date, and they will likely remain above this point for at least a human lifetime. Last year was the fourth consecutive year that CO2 grew more than 2 ppm, which set another record. This year looks set to be the fifth, according to the NAOO. WHY SEA ICE IN ANTARCTICA HAS INCREASED WHILE THE ARCTIC MELTS While sea ice cover in the Arctic has been in melting, Antarctica has seen an increase. Now a new Nasa-led study says the geology of the region and the Southern Ocean are responsible for the difference. The research came to the conclusion after combining data on sea surface temperature, land form and ocean depth to study the physical processes on sea ice cover. They found that two persistent geological factors - the topography of Antarctica and the depth of the ocean surrounding it - are influencing winds and ocean currents. This drives the formation of Antarctica's sea ice cover and helps sustain it. 'Our study provides strong evidence that the behaviour of Antarctic sea ice is entirely consistent with the geophysical characteristics found in the southern polar region, which differ sharply from those present in the Arctic,' said Son Nghiem of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The study revealed that as sea ice forms and builds up early in the sea ice growth season, it gets pushed offshore and northward by winds. This forms a protective shield of older, thicker ice that circulates around the continent. Advertisement A computer algorithm that can identify patterns in the social media activity of Islamic State supporters could provide clues about where terrorist attacks are likely to occur. Scientists have found they can spot distinct behavioural patterns in the interactions between groups on social media, and it could even help them predict 'lone wolf' attacks'. Social media has been a key tool for organisations like Isis to help them recruit supporters and coordinate their activities. Scientists at the University of Miami have used equations used in physics and chemistry to track the constantly shifting behaviour of supporters of Isis (Isis flag pictured). They found there were patterns in the way interacting groups behaved prior to attacks in the real world While law enforcement authorities have attempted to keep track of Isis members using social media, they have tended to focus on monitoring the posts made by individuals. ISIS TWITTER ACCOUNTS HACKED The Twitter accounts of Islamic State militants are being hacked with gay pride messages and links to gay porn in the wake of the Orlando shooting. The hacks are filling pro-ISIS accounts with gay pride images, including Im Gay and Im Proud and Out and Proud photos complete with the rainbow flag, a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride. The vigilante hacker who initiated the unique attacks is known by the moniker WauchulaGhost with the Anonymous hacker having started the attack against the ISIS accounts several months ago. But following Omar Mateen's murderous ISIS-inspired rampage on June 13, the worst gun attack in the Americas history, the hacker shifted his focus to using pro-gay mottos. The hacker said: I did it for the lives lost in Orlando. Daesh [ISIS] have been spreading and praising the attack, so I thought I would defend those that were lost. The taking of innocent lives will not be tolerated. Advertisement Their attempts are often frustrated by the constant switching of accounts by Isis supporters, which can make it difficult to keep tabs on them. But the new algorithm produced by Dr Neil Johnson and his team instead attempts to look for group behaviour as users interact on social media. It allowed them to identify the key groups who were seriously discussing operational details like financing or avoiding drone strikes even though they shifted accounts as they were shut down. Dr Johnson, a physicist at the University of Miami said: 'It was like watching crystals forming. 'We were able to see how people were materializing around certain social groups. They were discussing and sharing information - all in real-time.' In a paper published in the journal Science, the researchers describe how they were able to apply mathematical equations used in chemistry and physics to watch pro-Isis groups develop. They searched through a year's worth of posts on Russian social networking site Vkontakte which has 350 million users - for pro-Isis statements in a range of different languages. They then used hashtags and other key words to sift through the posts to find those that were interacting together. They identified 196 pro-ISIS groups operating during the first eight months of 2015, found most of the 108,000-plus individual members of these self-organized groups probably never met. But they found that these groups, or aggregates, coalesced and proliferated prior to the onset of real-world events. Dr Johnson said: 'So the message is - find the aggregates, or at least a representative portion of them, and you have your hand on the pulse of the entire organization, in a way that you never could if you were to sift through the millions of Internet users and track specific individuals, or specific hashtags.' The researchers were able to watch as groups reincarnated themselves as their social media accounts were shut down. The groups would also shut themselves down, go quiet for a while before reappear under a different identity later. Police believe the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando (aftermath pictured) was carried out by Omar Mateen after be became radicalised online. The researchers say their algorithm could help to identify so-called 'lone wolf' attackers like this as they will engage with groups online at some point The researchers found 196 pro-ISIS groups operating on the Russian social network Vkontakte (logo pictured) which has more than 350 million users. They found most of the 108,000-plus individual members of these self-organized groups probably never met The researchers suggest that the police and security services could use this approach to focus their attention on a few groups of serious Isis followers to monitor for a build-up to violence. They also say their approach could also help them to track individuals who may launch 'lone wolf' attacks, like Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando last weekend. It is thought Mateen, who claimed allegiance to Isis, was radicalised online. Dr Johnson said: 'Our research suggests that any online 'lone wolf' actor will only truly be alone for short periods of time. 'As a result of the coalescence process that we observe in the online activity, any such lone wolf was either recently in an aggregate or will soon be in another one. 'With time, we would be able to track the trajectories of individuals through this ecology of aggregates.' The word 'lunatic' was derived from the Latin word for moon 'luna,' as many were convinced that the celestial body could cause disease and strange behaviour. That belief has reached a peak this week as the full moon is set to coincide with the summer solstice. According to one astrologer, a full moon on Monday could lead to the breakdown of society in a solstice-related blow out. But Dr Jean-Luc Margot, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of California, has carried out a study that proves that the concept is essentially rubbish. Scroll down for video Astrologer Timothy Halloran (pictured mid-rant) believes an impending full moon on Monday 20 June could bring with it chaos, including the breakdown of society and mass murder in a solstice-related blow out SCIENCE BEHIND IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Last year, research was carried out to illustrate how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that are not aligned with reality. 'The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behaviour, and even criminal activity', Dr Margot writes. Even though a 40-year-old UCLA study demonstrated that the timing of births does not correlate in any way with the lunar cycle, the belief in a lunar effect has persisted. Scientists refer to as the 'confirmation bias' - people's tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms their beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. When life is hectic on the day of a full moon, many people remember the association because it confirms their belief. But hectic days that do not correspond with a full moon are promptly ignored and forgotten because they do not reinforce the belief. Advertisement The start of summer brings the longest day of the year, or the summer solstice. This occurs when the tilt of Earth's semi-axis, in either northern or southern hemispheres, is most inclined toward the sun. A full moon occurs when the moon is in opposition to the sun - which means the Earth and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. Statistically, these events will coincide once every roughly 20 years. The summer solstice occurs on the same day each year, while a full moon moves around an average of 29 days. Historical evidence suggests we are probably safe. The full moon coincided with a summer solstice in 1921, 1959, 1978 and 1997 - and the world did not end in those years. That hasn't stopped Timothy Halloran ranting in a 40 minute video posted today about how the impending full moon on Monday 20 June, could bring with it chaos. During the rambling monologue on his YouTube channel Rasa Lila Healing, Mr Halloran describes how Neptune is about to turn retrograde yes, afraid its true which is indicative of 'change' and 'endings'. He claims that 2016 is the year of adjustment, of purification, of rectification before touching on how the alignment of the planets will affect important issues such as the US presidential race. Mr Halloran, who is based in Savannah, Georgia, said: This is what is majorly going on in this full moon in [Sagittarius], is the ripping away of veils, the taking down of illusions, of distractions. A full moon is predicted for Monday 20th June, coinciding with the summer solstice - the longest day of the year (stock image) He adds: This is a critical time, energetically, this is a time where people go off the deep end, people lose control, people do go on shooting sprees, people do have to run into total insanity. Last year, research was carried out to illustrate how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that are not aligned with reality. 'The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behaviour, and even criminal activity', Dr Margot writes. Even though a 40-year-old UCLA study demonstrated that the timing of births does not correlate in any way with the lunar cycle, the belief in a lunar effect has persisted. A 2004 study in a nursing journal, for example, suggested that the full moon influenced the number of hospital admissions in a medical unit in Barcelona, Spain. But Dr Margot identified multiple flaws in the data collection and analysis of the 2004 research. By re-analysing the data, he showed that the number of admissions was unrelated to the lunar cycle. 'The moon is innocent,' Dr Margot said. Dr Margot cited what scientists refer to as the 'confirmation bias' - people's tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms their beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. When life is hectic on the day of a full moon, many people remember the association because it confirms their belief. But hectic days that do not correspond with a full moon are promptly ignored and forgotten because they do not reinforce the belief. The New York Kammermusiker has returned to North Dakota for its 10th annual concert tour of the state. The group will play at 5:30 p.m. June 27 at the Former Governor's Mansion in Bismarck. Then will perform at 7 p.m. June 28 at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck. The New York Kammermusiker is a unique chamber ensemble that travels the world presenting a wide range of double-reed music, from the Renaissance era through contemporary periods. This group is known for its experimental and improvisational performances often performing music written for its own unique sound and for the excellence of its performances, regardless of what particular music is on the program. Formed in 1969 by North Dakota native, Ilonna Pederson, this nonprofit organization seeks to reintroduce the instruments and the music of the double-reed band to modern audiences. The group prepares modern scores from long-neglected musical manuscripts in order to bring the music of the medieval shawm bands to modern listeners. The sound is full and resonant, as if a much larger group were playing. For more information, call 212-749-2207 or email pedersonib@aol.com of difficult intersections will begin in Los Angeles and expand to other cities globally as needs are identified by the Waze community Waze, a traffic and navigation app, has been praised for helping drivers find the best route for their commute. However, new additions to the system may actually tack on more time - but it's for your own safety. The app announced it will help drivers avoid routes that require turns at 'difficult intersections' and is toying with the idea of sending notifications if they are headed for a high-crime area. Waze announced it will help drivers avoid routes that require turns at 'difficult intersections' and is toying with the idea of sending notifications if you are headed for a high-crime area. Drivers will be prompted to take another route, but the firms says it will add this new feature will add a few extra minutes WHAT ARE THE NEW FEATURES? Waze has coined the term 'difficult intersections' as a way to explain making left turns on busy streets where there are no stop signs or lights. But now drivers will be prompted to take another route, but the firms says it this new feature will add a few extra minutes here and there and not every 'difficult intersection' can always be avoided. Waze allows its users to disable this safety feature if they would rather take their chances. The features is also set to launch in New Orleans, Boston and Washington DC sometime this year Although deemed controversial, this news is less than a year after a couple using the smartphone GPS app followed directions to what they though was a touristy avenue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. But the neighborhood ended up being one of the city's notorious slum areas Regina Mrumura, 70, was shot and killed while traveling with her husband. This feature could launch before the Summer Olympics, and as of yet, there is not new for when it will or if it will hit the US. Advertisement Waze has coined the term 'difficult intersections' as a way to explain making left turns on busy streets with no stop signs or lights -but now drivers will be prompted to take another route. The firms says this new feature will add a few extra minutes here and there and not every 'difficult intersection' can always be avoided, but it will be much safer. Waze had made this feature an option and users can disable it if they would rather save time and take their chances. This setting is launching in just Los Angeles today, which has one of the largest communities using the app about 10 percent of LA drivers use the service. 'LADOT applauds Waze for introducing this feature to improve safety on the streets of Los Angeles, LADOT general manager Seleta Reynolds told Gizmodo. 'Vision Zero demands creativity in all our approaches to traffic safety, and technology plays an ever-increasing role in how people chose to get around.' The new safety feature is also set to launch in New Orleans, Boston and Washington DC sometime this year. 'This feature will help guide Angelenos to safer, less stressful routes.' The second service in today's announcement is meant to help Wazers avoid areas that are reported to have high-crime rates and would first launch in Brazil. Although deemed controversial, this news is less than a year after a couple using the smartphone GPS app followed directions to what they though was a touristy avenue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. But the neighborhood ended up being one of the city's notorious slum areas Regina Mrumura, 70, was shot and killed while traveling with her husband. Waze has coined the term 'difficult intersections', but now drivers will be prompted to take another route - this is only available in Los Angeles at the moment. The second service in today's announcement is meant to help Wazers avoid areas that are reported to have high-crime rates and would first launch in Brazil 'We're working with the government, we're working with local community groups who are able to identify which neighborhoods have safety issues,' Waze head of brand Julie Mossler told CBS News. This feature could launch before the Summer Olympics, and as of yet, there is no news about when it will or if it will hit the US. Waze is the brainchild of Waze Mobile, an Israel startup, which was acquired by Google in 2013 and is currently used by more than 50 million people. Advertisement Popular destinations attract crowds for good reason - but many tourists overlook unspoiled treasures just waiting to be discovered nearby. For example, many flock to Pisa in Italy's Tuscany region, but not too far away is the charming city of Colle di Val d'Elsa, which has stunning medieval buildings and far fewer hashtags on social media. This is just one of the 10 'untrending' locations revealed in a new survey by car rental company Avis. Here we present the full list. Each one is well worth a visit, is no further than a two-and-a-half-hour drive from a top travel destination - and is almost devoid of selfie sticks. Scroll down for video 1. Alcudia old town in Spain - close to Palma de Mallorca Within its 14th-century walls and narrow streets lined with well-preserved 13th century houses, Alcudia old town is a delight The town is full of small boutiques selling hand-made souvenirs and clothes, and numerous little restaurants and bistros serving traditional dishes (left) but it regularly gets overshadowed by nearby hotspot Palma de Mallorca (right) Within its 14th-century walls and narrow streets lined with well-preserved 13th century houses, there is so much to do in Alcudia old town, which regularly gets overshadowed by nearby hotspot Palma de Mallorca. The town is full of small boutiques selling hand-made souvenirs and clothes, and numerous little restaurants and bistros serving traditional dishes, with a thriving market held every Sunday and Tuesday. At night-time the towers and walls are beautifully illuminated but by day, a highlight is to head two miles to the coast where guests can discover some of the most beautiful coves and beaches on the island. 2. Colle di Val d'Elsa in Italy - close to Pisa Colle di Val d'Elsa boasts medieval charm and spectacular views of Tuscany, as well as some good museums and lovely places to eat Tourists regularly swarm to Pisa (right) to take a photo with its iconic leaning tower, but a city that rarely dominates social media hashtags is the charming Italian city of Colle di Val d'Elsa (left) Tourists swarm to Pisa to take photos with its iconic leaning tower, but Colle di Val d'Elsa nearby rarely attracts social media hashtags, despite being absolutely charming. Famous for its crystal glass production, the city boasts medieval charm and spectacular views of Tuscany, as well as some good museums, lovely places to eat and a beautiful Duomo. Colle di Val d'Elsa also makes a great day-trip from Siena and an ideal stop-over from Florence. THE 'UNTRENDING' PLACES THAT ARE LEAST SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES Alcudia old town, Spain - 0.003 Colle di Val d'Elsa, Italy - 0.004 Bucks County, US - 0.004 Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium - 0.008 Bohuslan (Koster Islands), Sweden - 0.009 Syracuse, Italy - 0.013 Kge, Denmark - 0.014 Imanpa, Australia - 0.018 Mont-Saint-Hilare, Canada - 0.032 Santa Eularia des Riu, Spain - 0.034 Untrending recommendations are based on Avis travel data showing top outbound Avis car rental destinations across 11 countries and an Untrending rating, which measures the number of hashtags on social media. The lower the score, the more Untrending the location is. Advertisement 3. Bucks County in Pennsylvania, US - close to Newark Just over an hour's drive from Newark (right) in New Jersey is Bucks County, which boasts some of Philadelphias finest countryside as it is set amidst rolling hills, working farms and picturesque old-time towns Just over an hour's drive from Newark in New Jersey is Bucks County, which boasts some of Philadelphias finest countryside. Whether visiting for the weekend or longer, make time to visit the town of New Hope there. Stroll down the high street and youll find dozens of unique boutiques selling everything from handmade pottery to jewellery, as well as restaurants serving gourmet food. In the evening, catch a performance at the historic Bucks County Playhouse then visit the Havana Restaurant & Bar for Caribbean food and live music. Dont leave the county without visiting the Pearl S. Buck House and touring the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author's Pear 1825 farmhouse and picturesque 68-acre estate, where she spent more than three decades of her life. 4. Montigny-le-Tilleul in Belgium - close to Charleroi One of the top things to witness in Montigny-le-Tilleul in Belgium is the nearby Aulne Abbey, which was originally a Benedictine monastery, founded around 637AD Venture just six miles south-west of Charleroi (right) to discover the beauty of Montigny-le-Tilleul (left), which has much to see, from ruins to riverside walks Venture just six miles south-west of Charleroi to discover the beauty of Montigny-le-Tilleul, where there's much to see, from ruins to riverside walks. Situated close to the fortress of Charleroi, Montigny was often a battle place - and the village was occupied by the French during Louis XIV's wars. Today its a lovely spot to enjoy a walk in the surrounding countryside. Originally a Benedictine monastery, founded around 637AD, nearby Aulne Abbey became Cistercian in the 12th century. Stroll around the ruins and learn about the life of the monks who lived there, then end the day with a visit to the adjoining Val de Sambre Brewery, where you can taste real Belgian beers from the abbey. 5. Bohuslan (Koster Islands) in Sweden - close to Gothenburg Stretching north from Gothenburg to the Norwegian border, the stunning Bohuslan archipelago is a popular summer destination for Scandinavians The colourful town, which includes many picturesque fishing villages (left), is less than a two-hour drive from Gothenburg (right), a major city in Sweden Stretching north from Gothenburg to the Norwegian border, the stunning Bohuslan archipelago is a popular summer destination for Scandinavians. Despite the national park being made up of more than 8,000 rocky islands and having water rich in marine wildlife, it has less of a social media presence than nearby locations. Popular spots include Lysekil, Smogen and Fjallbacka, or head to Marstrand to see where the Swedish royals holiday and enjoy the yachting scene. A visit to one of the many picturesque fishing villages famous for their distinctive red fishing huts is also worthwhile. 6. Syracuse in Italy - close to Palermo Syracuse is a lively town on Sicilys south-east coast but was once the largest of ancient Greeces cities - bigger even than Athens and Corinth Famous for being the birthplace of mathematician Archimedes, Syracuse (left) overflows with amazing remnants of the past, and isn't far from Palermo (right) Syracuse is a lively town on Sicilys south-east coast but was once the largest of ancient Greeces cities - bigger even than Athens and Corinth. It's famous for being the birthplace of mathematician Archimedes and overflows with amazing remnants of the past, but is hugely under-represented on social media. Located in the north-west of the town, the archaeological site contains an impressive number of well-preserved Greek and Roman remains. Most impressive of them all is the Greek theatre and a 459ft Roman amphitheatre. Dating back to the fifth century BC, the theatre's 59 rows could accommodate up to 15,000 spectators and is still used for the Greek theatre festival which runs from mid-May to the end of June every year. 7. Kge in Denmark - close to Copenhagen Wander through the streets of Kge in Denmark and youll see many well-preserved half-timbered houses, including the oldest of its kind in Denmark, built in 1527 The Danish market-town of Kge (left) is just 24 miles away from Copenhagen (right) and makes for a pleasant day-trip from the city The Danish market-town of Kge is just 24 miles away from Copenhagen and makes for a pleasant day-trip from the city. One of Kges main attractions is the historical architecture of its town centre. Wander through its streets and youll see many well-preserved half-timbered houses, including the oldest of its kind in Denmark, built in 1527. Kge also has several medieval town squares the main market square is the largest in Denmark outside Copenhagen with fair days held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Other notable buildings include the Sankt Nicolai Church, which contains a lighthouse in its tower, the first to be built in Denmark, and Kge's town hall, which dates from 1552 and is the oldest town hall in Denmark still in use. 8. Imanpa in Australia - close to Yulara Many head to Yulara to see the nearby famous views of Uluru (right), but it is not the only place of note in the area, with the stunning Imanpa community nearby Many head to Yulara to see the nearby famous views of Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock), but it is not the only place of note in the area. Imanpa is the most easterly community in the Iyarrka Ward of the MacDonnell Regional Council, with a population of 185 residents. Imanpa is home to a number of families belonging to the Yankunytjatjara, Pitjantjatjara, Warlpiri and Arrernte nations, and a group of non-indigenous residents who work in the community. The land contains several songlines and sacred sites that are important to the native families, and several animals that live on the reserve represent ancestral totems, reminders of people's identity, kinship and descent. 9. Mont-Saint-Hilare in Quebec, Canada - close to Montreal Around 18 miles east of Montreal (right), Mont-Saint-Hilare (left) is a slower-paced contrast to the city with attractions of its own but the main draw has to be the 1,358ft-high hill it is named after A suburb of Montreal, Mont-Saint-Hilare feels much more like a pleasant small town in its own right than part of Canada's second-largest city. Around 18 miles east of Montreal, the town is a slower-paced contrast to the city with attractions of its own but the main draw has to be the 1,358ft-high hill it is named after. If you're more interested in pampering than scampering about, make tracks for the Strm Spa Nordique which offers outdoor Turkish baths, Finnish saunas and a variety of treatments and massages. 10. Santa Eularia des Riu - close to Ibiza Town While it's only half an hour's drive from the bustle of Ibiza Town, Santa Eularia could be on a different island and feels much more like a typical, if upmarket, Mediterranean holiday resort While Ibiza (right) has a reputation as a party island, in Santa Eularia des Riu (left) a resort on the eastern coast of the island - life is much more serene. While Ibiza has a reputation as a party island, in Santa Eularia des Riu a resort on the eastern coast of the island - life is much more serene. While it's only half an hour's drive from the bustle of Ibiza Town, Santa Eularia could be on a different island and feels much more like a typical, if upmarket, Mediterranean holiday resort. With a wide, safe beach, it's a popular destination for families and couples seeking a quieter holiday and the palm tree-lined promenade adds a touch of class. Advertisement Post boxes are generally seen as boring, but practical objects. But in Japan, they're a little more unusual. There, post boxes can be shaped like anything from cartoon characters to bird houses. Occasionally, they are also decorated with special items. Right now, there are 205 of these special post boxes around Japan making them quirky tourist attractions for locals and visitors. Scroll down for video There are 205 of these special post boxes dotted around Japan, shaped or decorated in wacky ways Postmap.org has mapped more than 175,000 of the country's post boxes,complete, in many cases, with pictures The first of these post boxes was revealed in 1952 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japan Postal Service joining the Universal Postal Union Towns and cities started to design the post boxes as mini-tourist attractions themselves as they've become very popular with visitors Left, a cute decoration above a traditional post box and right, a memorial post box shaped like a traditional drinks container The 'decorated' post boxes are dotted all over the country and many are listed on postmap.org, which has mapped more than 175,000 of the country's post boxes. On the website, you can see photographs as well as a map revealing their exact location. According to The Sarusawa Blog, the first of these post boxes was revealed in 1952 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japan Postal Service joining the Universal Postal Union. More of these memorial post boxes followed until eventually, towns and cities started to design them as mini-tourist attractions themselves. For example, the small fishing town of Susami currently holds the Guinness World Record for the deepest underwater post box according to Japan Times. It's very popular with divers, who can purchase water-resistant postcards to send via the post box, 33ft below the surface of the sea. The local post office collects the mail every couple of days before sending the post on as normal. The most recent memorial post boxes are four monuments that were unveiled in the town of Tobe in April this year. They were topped with the local pottery to promote the town's handcraft. Left, statues of dancers on a post box unveiled to celebrate Awa Odori (Awa Dance Festival) in Tokushima City and right, a Haiku post box by Matsuyama Castle This penguin post box in Nagoya fits in with the other penguin attractions at Nagoya port, a popular tourist area in the city Left, two bird statues dancing on a box post and right, a post box shaped like Totoro, a Japanese spirit Two passengers allegedly assaulted four crew members and an air marshal after they were denied an upgrade on Sunday. According to reports, the unidentified men only had economy tickets but tried to sit in business class and then refused to move or pay for the upgrade. The physical altercation that ensued caused the Hainan Airlines flight, which was taxiing to the runway, to return to the gate in Taiyuan, China. The men were travelling on a Hainan Airlines flight from Taiyuan to Chongqing, both cities in China (file image) The men were spotted by a member of the crew and were told that they needed to pay for the upgrade according to Jinghua. However, there were no card facilities on board, which meant that the pair had to either pay by cash or travel in their booked economy seats for the two hour flight from Taiyuan to Chongqing. A passenger on board flight HU7041 told Jinghua: 'They said they didn't have enough cash on them but they refused to go back to economy class.' When the air hostess asked the men to leave business class again, the men reportedly assaulted her. She asked for help from the captain and an air marshal, who were both assaulted as well according to the report. The air marshal is said to have had a nose bleed as a result of the scuffle. The carrier is said to be applying for the suspects to be blacklisted following the assault (file photo) According to the report, four crew members and an air marshal received varying levels of injury as a result of physical altercations with the two men. The plane was forced to return to the departure gate and the two men were escorted from the aircraft by local police. After a two hour delay, the flight was able to continue as normal without the injured crew members or air marshal. Hainan Airlines is said to be applying to the police for the two men to be blacklisted under China's law regulating 'uncivilised behaviour by passengers', which will see the two suspects banned from travel. The case is under investigation by police in Taiyuan. Spending several months a year travelling around the world used to be the preserve of the rich and famous, or gap year students, but increasingly, ordinary British pensioners are spending their later years vacationing by S.K.I - Spending The Kids' Inheritance. Luxury holiday companies are now devoting large parts of their business to these twilight travellers, who are often taking out mortgages or cashing in investments in order to see the world. In a new television programme called The Millionaire's Holiday Club, the cameras follow several British couples as they go on high-end trips organised by ITC Luxury Travel Group. Peter and Christine from Worcestershire have been holidaying in countries like Nepal, Thailand, China, Malaysia, South America, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Mauritius This week, in an episode that airs tonight on BBC2, a couple called Peter and Christine from Worcestershire make a journey to the Kumarakom Lake Resort in Kerala, India, where 59 luxury villas are set among 25 acres of coconut groves. The couple, who have three adult children, have been going to the resort for the past 15 years, which they fit in among numerous other exotic vacations every year and they openly admit to blowing their children's inheritance on the trips. Peter tells the cameras: '[We've] been to Nepal, Thailand, China, Malaysia, South America, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, so on and so forth.' When asked if he is spending the inheritance money in doing so, he replies: 'Yeah, SKI-ing spending the kids inheritance. 'Yeah, were doing that - we dont want to leave them too much, they wouldnt like it.' They aren't alone - another couple, in last week's programme, called Jane and Michael, are enjoying their retirement years with a string of holidays every year. Jane and Michael are this year going to the Caribbean, Dubai, Seychelles, Rome, Venice, Croatia and Australia, the south of France and then back to Caribbean CEO of ITC Luxury Travel Group Jennifer Atkinson This year the couple, who don't have children, are going to the Caribbean, Dubai, Seychelles, Rome, Venice, Croatia and Australia, the south of France and then back to the Caribbean. The cameras catch up with them as they take a three-week trip on the luxury cruise ship SeaDream, which costs around 10,000-a-week per person and has less than 100 guests on the ship on every voyage. It is the couple's 54th voyage on the ship. But while some people might consider this kind of spending to be selfish, CEO of ITC Luxury Travel Group Jennifer Atkinson believes that the older generation are simply adopting the mindset of younger people. She told MailOnline Travel: 'In the past, older people werent enjoying themselves but the people of our parents' generation are just going for it.' She continued: 'Previous generations havent had the confidence to do it, or they were worried about the economic legacy they were leaving to their generation. 'But now there is this perception, rightly so, that you can give your kids enough of an inheritance to make them secure but not enough that they dont have to try for themselves.' It is worth nothing that the clients that ITC deals with are better off than the average Brit - they are large business owners or ex-directors. Atkinson said: 'Very often a client who books with us has sold a company, stepped down from a directorship or cashed in on investments.' The Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kerala, where Peter and Christine from Worcestershire like to holiday regularly She continued: 'At points, as a population, we can all become terribly cynical about success - we look at billionaires and Towie stars and think its all bad and theyre all tax exiles, but the vast majority of people who book with us have worked incredibly hard and contributed hugely through taxes, and are now just enjoying their lives.' The age of people who go on exotic holidays has widened dramatically in recent years, now encompassing far more pensioners, even to far-flung countries like Peru and Tanzania. Atkinson believes that the internet, especially social media, has made it seem acceptable when it might have not been before. She said: 'Back in the 1970s, going to Barbados would have been seen as exotic and rare, seen as something young people did for a while, but now we have so much more opportunity now than ever before. 'My grandparents saved for a rainy day, they were very cautions, but the world is such a small place these days - you see these incredible experiences you can have, we have choices we never used to have. 'But also, peoples health is so much better generally - 50 is the new 40, and 60 is the new 50. 'People are retiring at 60 and still have bags of energy with around 20 to 30 years of quality time left to enjoy.' The luxury cruise ship Seadream, which Jane and Michael have now voyaged on 54 times Behaviour expert Judi James says that there is a tendency among the younger generations to be critical of this behaviour by the so-called silver surfers. But she believes that it is important to encourage it. James told MailOnline Travel: 'Like all other generations before them, todays pensioners have worked hard to accrue savings and possibly property, plus many of them have looked after their own health to ensure they are independent rather than a burden to their kids. 'Elderly parents of our generation are far less likely to be taken in by their adult children and cared for than they were years ago, which allows those children more freedom at the middle of their lives. 'The payback for all this though is that pensioners are now expected to be an ongoing support system for their children rather than the other way round. '"The bank of mum and dad" is a common cliche and if pensioners are not dishing out their hard-earned savings theyre acting as full-time baby-sitters for their grandchildren while their parents are at work.' She continued: 'There is an assumption that pensioner money is only their childrens money-in-waiting and you can almost hear the fingers drumming as people talk about the ageing population as though older folk are a drain on resources. 'So I think we should wholeheartedly encourage and support their money being spent on luxury holidays etc rather than greedily expecting it to fund us. Getting old is truly horrible no matter how much people pretend sixty is the new forty etc. Ok so the Queen might be radiant at 90 but most pensioners feel they are counting their years left on the fingers of both hands so begrudging them as much joy and fun as they can muster is churlish. A plane en route to the U.S. from Heathrow with 100 people on board was forced to divert to Ireland because of a 'battery discharge'. After the flight crew of the American Airlines plane told air traffic controllers of the problem, they were told to land at the nearest airport and not to continue over the Atlantic Ocean. One serving pilot described how an immediate landing in this case would be 'absolutely necessary' because it could cause a fire. An American Airlines plane en route to New York from Heathrow was forced to divert to Shannon due to a 'battery discharge' (file photo) 'The battery would probably be a Nickel Cadmium and even if the issue did not start a fire, the leak would be highly corrosive and an immediate landing would be absolutely required,' the pilot, who wishes to remain anonymous, told MailOnline Travel. 'In terms of power supply, airborne the batteries provide a back up in case of an engine generator failure. So again an immediate landing would be required.' The Boeing 777 was 90 minutes into its seven-hour journey to New York JFK Airport and made a safe landing at Shannon. It had departed Heathrow at 8.40pm, landing in Ireland at 10.10pm. The crew had advised controllers they had an issue with a 'battery discharging' and had been advised to divert to the nearest airport, reported the Clare Herald. Engineers are set to carry out an investigation into what caused the problem. American Airlines said: 'American Airlines flight 141, a Boeing 777 from London Heathrow to New York JFK, diverted to Shannon, Ireland, due to an indicator light in the cockpit reporting a possible mechanical issue. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the gate. 'Our maintenance team is currently inspecting the aircraft. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, and are working to get them to New York as soon as possible.' The passengers are expected to resume their journey this afternoon (Friday). This graphic shows the American Airlines' flight path after it was forced to divert to Shannon Airport Dai Whittingham, chief executive of the Flight Safety Committee, told MailOnline Travel: 'If you receive an indication that a battery is discharging, it is an indication that not only is the charging mechanism faulty, like an alternator warning in a car, but that the power is being drained for some reason, which means you may not have sufficient time to reach an airport and fly an approach before the power supply fails. 'Under some circumstances you might be able to continue a flight and sort the problem on the ground at your planned destination, but once you head off into the Atlantic you have far fewer options as the nearest airport may be several hours away. 'You would not want to be in a situation where you had no back-up system in the event of a major electrical failure, so the sensible option would be to divert to the nearest suitable airport, in this case Shannon.' Aviation account Aviation News 24 posted about the diversion on their Twitter account Passengers landed safely at Shannon Airport at 10.10pm last night and are set to resume their journey to New York this afternoon In August 2015, MailOnline reported on how a fire on a Boeing Dreamliner jet parked at London's Heathrow Airport was triggered by trapped battery wires. The Ethiopian Airlines-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner caught fire while on a remote parking stand in July 2013. Runways at Europe's busiest airport were closed as firefighters were called in to deal with the blaze. The fire was caused by wires for an emergency beacon's lithium-metal battery being crossed and trapped under the battery cover which probably created a short-circuit, the report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said. This could have enabled a 'rapid discharge of the battery', leading to overheating and the release of smoke, fire and flammable electrolyte. Investigators found that the trapped wires broke the battery seal, which allowed flames, hot gas and battery decomposition products to escape. The beacon was installed above the ceiling of the passenger cabin towards the back of the plane. A popular stretch of the English seaside is at the centre of a nuclear leak drama after traces of deadly radioactive materials were found on the beach. Southwold on the Suffolk coast is nicknamed Hampstead-on-Sea due to all the celebrities who flock there for their holidays, often buying second homes in the area. It is feared that the radioactive material detected on the beach may be linked to the Sizewell A nuclear plant which is located along the Suffolk coastline and is in the process of being decommissioned at a cost of 1.2 billion after shutting down ten years ago. Southwold is popular with holidaymakers - the town has less than 2,000 residents in the winter but this swells to almost 10,000 in the summer But there are fears that the detected radioactive material may be linked to the Sizewell A nuclear plant which is located along the Suffolk coastline Celebrities including Chris Evans, David Tennant, Dame Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Griff Rhys-Jones and Stephen Fry are all regular visitors to the beach. While detective writer PD James, her friend Ruth Rendell, Butterflies actor Geoffrey Palmer and broadcaster Libby Purves have all bought homes in the area. Southwold is the second Suffolk beach to be hit by radioactive contamination in two months. In April, scientists monitoring the area around Sizewell revealed that a 'small amount' of a particularly dangerous and 'unusual' radioactive isotope had been found at Aldeburgh, 18 miles from Southwold. The Sizewell plant is on the coast between the two resorts. The Environment Agency insisted today that there are 'no safety or environmental concerns and no risk to members of the public'. Revealing the latest alert, spokesman Stuart Parr said that Caesium - a metal used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology, and said to be 'mildly toxic' - had been found at Southwold. 'It was a very small amount and could be to do with tide patterns,' he said. Perfect spot: Southwold is an idyllic beach spot with a stunning pier and beach huts that can sell for 100,000 Dame Judi Dench and Top Gear host Chris Evans are just two of the celebrities said to be fans of Southwold Investigations are taking place to find out the source of the radiation leak. Sizewell A has been examining the Strontium-90, produced by nuclear fission, found at Aldeburgh beach, one of five beaches monitored in the area. Extra samples have been taken along the shoreline and Mr Parr said: 'We are continuing to engage with the operator in this investigation. 'The results from the analysis of these additional samples are not yet available. 'It can take many weeks for Strontium-90 to be analysed due to the complexity of the analytical technique, which needs to be done in a laboratory. 'A sample taken from Aldeburgh beach earlier this year has been sent to two laboratories for comparison. 'Differences in working practices in different laboratories can cause subtle differences in analytical results which become important when working with such low concentrations of Sr-90 in these samples. 'Once all the data has been received and analysed a full report will be made by Sizewell A. 'It is important to note that these results are unusual, the levels of radioactivity detected are extremely low and do not represent a hazard to anyone using the beach.' There are actually two Sizewell nuclear power stations, both near the small fishing village of Sizewell between Aldeburgh and Southwold Southwold is popular with holidaymakers - the town has less than 2,000 residents in the winter but this swells to almost 10,000 in the summer. There's even a 'Southwolds Celebrity Tour' where visitors can walk past homes of celebrities and visit the pubs and restaurants where they can often be seen relaxing.The walk starts at the 19th century pier on the beach, which was the setting for several Little Britain comedy show sketches. Some of the famous multi-coloured beach huts change hands for more than 100,000. The town centre's Orwell Bookshop commemorates one of Southwold's most famous residents, George Orwell. Sizewell A power station shut down on December 31, 2006, with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority placing the contracts at a budgeted cost of 1.2billion. There are actually two Sizewell nuclear power stations, both near the small fishing village of Sizewell between Aldeburgh and Southwold. Matthew Newton has had his fair share of trials and tribulations under the media glare, leading to public appearances few and far between. But the actor and film maker has made headlines again - this time for his directorial work. The 39-year-old won over the heart of audiences for his drama From Nowhere in Paris on Tuesday. Scroll down for video In the spotlight: Matthew Newton, 39, won the TitraFilm-sponsored Audience Award for an American indie film at the Paris-set Champs Elysees Film Festival on Tuesday The Underbelly star won the TitraFilm-sponsored Audience Award for an American indie film at the Paris-set Champs Elysees Film Festival. The film, which Matthew wrote and directed, tells the story of three unregimented teenagers - a Dominican girl, an African boy and a Peruvian girl, who are about to graduate high school in The Bronx. They try to get their papers to stay in the US with the help of their teacher and lawyer, while leading the lives of typical teenagers who deal with love and rebel against authority. In focus: The film, which Matthew wrote and directed, tells the story of three unregimented teenagers - a Dominican girl, an African boy and a Peruvian girl, who are about to graduate high school in The Bronx Reclusive: The actor has had his fair share of trials and tribulations under the media glare, leading to public appearances few and far between (pictured here at the 2009 GQ Men Of The Year Awards in Sydney) Following a series of high-profile assault charges, the son of Australian TV legend relocated to the United States in 2011. Residing peacefully in New York, he's had to battle mental illness and violent, erratic behaviour. In 2007, he was charged with the assault of his former girlfriend, Wonderland star Brooke Satchwell. In 2010 he assaulted another girlfriend, actress Rachael Taylor, in a hotel in Rome. Taylor, who now lives in Los Angeles, took out an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against him. 2012 saw the actor also being charged with assaulting a hotel receptionist in Miami, Florida. The charges were dismissed after he agreed to take on community service and pay a fine. But in late 2015, Matthew revealed to Seven News that he was doing 'everything in my human power' to ensure past events didn't repeat themselves. 'I want, in the second half of my life, to be an exemplary citizen, a successful professional and one day a really good parent,' he told the station. Mug shot: Having resided peacefully in New York for the last few years, he's had to battle mental illness and violent, erratic behaviour Split: In 2010 Matthew's girlfriend and reported fiancee, actress Rachael Taylor brought an AVO against him after an attack in the foyer of a hotel in Rome She is expecting her first child and Stephanie Davis excitedly shared pictures of some baby clothes she had bought while out with her mother on Thursday. The former Hollyoaks star enjoyed a day shopping for Mummy &Me goods, to take mind off the latest drama, a bitter feud with ex TOWIE's Mario Falcone who called her 'deranged.' The 23-year-old actress - who says that her former CBB co-star Jeremy is the father (something he denies), shared the snap of the white clothes on Instagram. Scroll down for video Mum-to-be! Pregnant Stephanie Davis enjoyed a shopping spree for her unborn baby on Thursday as she bounced back from Mario Falcone calling her 'deranged' She wrote: 'How cute! Mummy and Me! Bought loads but love this little winter cardigan.' The pregnant star was clearly over the moon to get stuck into shopping for baby clothes as she headed out to the shops on Thursday. She proudly showed off her purchases which included a Mummy & Me sleepsuit and matching hat. Too cute! The pregnant star was over the moon to get stuck into shopping for baby clothes as she headed out to the shops on Thursday Lost love: Stephanie has said she is carrying former flame Jeremy McConnell's child yet the couple, who met in the Celebrity Big Brother house in January, are currently locked in a bitter feud The outfit was white with grey dots on it, as well as a little elephant - she opted for neutral colours so as not to give away the sex of her unborn child. But her favourite piece was a stunning white winter jacket with chunky bobbles and a matching hat. Her shopping trip comes after she was embroiled in a feud with TOWIE star Mario Falcone. Mario voiced concerns over Stephanie Davis' mental health, hitting back after she claimed he 'begged to date her'. Since the alleged messages were unveiled last month, the 28-year-old tailor has now spoken to Daily Star about his worries for the CBB star, who he has dubbed 'deranged'. No drama: Just two days earlier, Stephanie was having a great time, enjoying a girls' night out on Tuesday to take her mind off her recent Twitter spats But Stephanie attempted to move on from the incident, enjoying a girls' night out on Tuesday to take her mind off the latest drama, as well as her ongoing feud with ex-boyfriend Jeremy McConnell. She captioned the Tweet: 'Meffy laughing face feed me I'm Hank MARVIN! laughter is good for the soul.' Stephanie was seen in fits of giggles, clad in a denim shirt and her hair pulled back in a top knot. The brunette was joined by her former Hollyoaks co-star Kelly-Marie Stewart, who appeared to have done a great job of cheering her up. Stephanie retweeted her pal's message of support, which read: 'loved having a catch up today Hun,Great 2see you smiling and giggling love you lots Mrs see you tomorrow #onwards upwards xx (sic)'. New feud: Stephanie's outing comes after Mario Falcone voiced concerns over her mental health, hitting back after she claimed he 'begged to date her'. She also shared a video of herself larking around in the car with her friends, which she captioned: 'My two cheeky girls @h_clarke93 brim.#laughs'. Stephanie announced her pregnancy last month, revealing she is expecting Irish model Jeremy McConnell's child, after they met on CBB in January and subsequently split. In one of their many social media feuds, she turned her attention to friend Mario and insisted that the reality Lothario 'begged to date her'. Stunned Mario discussed the situation with the Daily Star, saying: 'Where she has got this whole thing about me calling her up crying I do not know, but as you can see from most of her tweets and outbursts she is quite deranged. 'I used to be friends with her so I'm not going to s**g her off, but the way she is right now I think alarm bells should be ringing and her family should be helping.' Earlier this year, Stephanie called the reality TV star out for allegedly 'begging' her to date him while she was still with her former flame Sam Reece, whom she split from in February, and then again when she started dating Jeremy. Taking to her Twitter account at the time, Stephanie tweeted: 'Oooo mario u a bit dry from trying it on with me when I was with Sam, THAT I know he would back me up on saying u love me and all the s*** I have on you.... U want me to print your messages BEGGING me then .. 'Standard I was close to jezz so u get closer, did u ever tell him of the dates u took me on? Meeting buddy and trying to get me a when every time I said....NO. Not happy: In one of their many social media feuds, she turned her attention to friend Mario and insisted that the reality Lothario 'begged to date her' 'The way u treated [ex girlfriend] Lucy [Mecklenburgh], your a fine one for advice.. Oh wait... Another coke head wasn't u pictured but called me for help s*** on someone who has helped u and heard you cry...I'll destroy u. @samreece even he will say how much of a sly p**** u are. (sic).' To which Mario responded: 'You actually need medical help... I have screen shots of everything... Please leave me out of your melt down. 'Not even going to bother responding.. I actually feel really sorry for the girl... How many more red flags till her family help her? Shame x (sic).' In addition to Mario's comments, on Monday night, the embattled actress's fury was ignited by a complete stranger, when a Twitter troll accused the screen star of faking her pregnancy. Fury: Stephanie blasted a Twitter troll on Monday night, after she was accused of faking her pregancy After Stephanie shared a throwback video of her slender physique, a troll sniped: 'You're not even pregnant. We're all just waiting for the inevitable 'miscarriage horror' story. You're a mess.' The harsh words soon prompted the former Hollyoaks star to fire back: 'Absolutely disgusting! This is why I'm not sharing any photo as there's so many vile people! I've been under enough.' An army of Stephanie's fans soon chimed in with their support, attacking the man in question, with one disgusted user branding him 'just wrong in so many ways'. Soon after the uproar, the actress wrote: 'Stress! I'm very happy settled and over the whole thing now, but seeing comments like that, makes me sick. how do some of u sleep at night. (sic)' 'Vile': The former Hollyoaks star was horrified as she was hit with the harsh words - and quickly hit back Stephanie has said she is carrying former flame Jeremy's child yet the couple, who met in the Celebrity Big Brother house in January, are currently locked in a bitter feud. Her body appears to be very much on her mind, as she shared a stunning throwback image on Instagram on Monday. Stephanie was seen stripped down to just a leotard for the snap from around two years ago. Throwing it back: Stephanie shared a stunning throwback image on Instagram on Monday As the war of words rages on between the pair, the Liverpool-born beauty will no doubt catch the eye of her lost love as she looked simply incredible in the throwback shot. Posing in a high-leg leotard with a plunging back and halterneck, Stephanie exhibited her incredibly slender frame while proffering a cheeky glimpse of sideboob. Beaming into the camera, Stephanie held one hand aloft her head while the other clutched the camera to capture the image of her body contorted into a flattering shape. Baby daddy? Heavily tattooed Jeremy has publicly denied the actress' claims that she is carrying his child Stephanie, who is yet to unveil an image of her pregnancy belly, added a caption on the shot reading: 'Body goal for next year might go back red!' Shortly before her throwback snap, Stephanie revealed to her 399,000 Twitter followers that she had visited a medium in the hope of contacting her late grandfather in the afterlife. After her acrimonious break-up from Jeremy, the pair have now been locking horns in an Internet feud as Stephanie has lambasted her former flame for failing to support her. Now the pretty starlet has turned to Staffordshire-based medium Sandrea to try and contact her late grandfather for spiritual help. Seeking help: The actress revealed to her 399,000 Twitter followers that she was hoping to contact her grandfather in the afterlife and the visit was 'just what she needed' War of words: Stephanie appears unlikely to stop the feud anytime soon, as she launched her latest attack seemingly directed at her 'toxic' former partner Jeremy She tweeted her thanks to Sandrea in a gushing Tweet reading: 'Thankyou so so sooo much @sandrea27 for the reading you are amazing #Mygrandad #justwhatineeded big love xxx' Sandrea lists herself on the microblogging site as: 'Psychic to the stars. International Medium and author of Vanquishing Ghosts and Demons.' She responded to Stephanie's tweet saying: 'It was my absolute pleasure darling X he's always with you and remember you have an amazing year ahead.' Soon after their meeting Sandrea spoke to The Sun about the emotional reading in which they discovered the sex of the baby, saying: 'Her grandad told me.' Adding: 'There was such happiness from her grandad, her mum and from Steph.' But saying that, Sandrea explained: 'I don't really want to say about the sex, because I don't want to break her confidence, but yes [the grandad] did give a clear indication and yes, I am sure.' Aside from her praise to her spiritual aide, Stephanie has remained relatively coy in regard to images of herself or her bump - a bizarre move from a former selfie lover. Coy: On Sunday night she simply shared an image of her strappy heels and added the caption: 'Out for din dins... lets go' On Sunday night she simply shared an image of her strappy heels and added the caption: 'Out for din dins... lets go'. Stephanie has taken to sharing a host of thinly-veiled attacks on her 'toxic' ex Jeremy on social media, as she launched her latest attack via a meme on Friday, which read: 'When a toxic person can no longer control you, they will try to control how others see you.' 'The misinformation will feel unfair, but stay above it, trusting that other people will eventually see the truth, just like you did.' Stephanie seemed to be in a good place, despite her ongoing problems with Jeremy, as she captioned the shot: 'Never read anything so true. Ahh so relaxed and breathing easy.' She added: 'Can't wait to see friends, me my beautiful bump and laughs.' (sic) 'Me and my beautiful bump': The Celebrity Big Brother star seemed in a reflective mood as she took to her Instagram page to rant about her former flame Support: She received many messages of support, with one follower writing: 'Steph you are a beautiful person inside and out. I have loved you ever since Hollyoaks. Ignore what people say about you' Earlier this month, Jeremy provoked fresh outrage after he posted a snap of himself and a busty mystery woman on Instagram. But despite the pair's close pose, Jeremy insisted that he was only friends with the woman, as he simply captioned the image: 'Buds.' The tattooed hunk could be seen smiling broadly as he places a hand on the glamorous lady's shoulder, while showing off his muscular physique in a form fitting T-shirt. Just 'buds'? Jeremy posted a snap of himself and a busty mystery woman on Instagram earlier this month But despite gaining thousands of likes on the social media site, the photo has sparked controversy amongst Jeremy's followers with some saying the image is disrespectful to ex Stephanie Davis. And Jeremy proved his former Celebrity Big Brother love interest couldn't be further from his mind as he cosied up to a mystery girl last week. Jeremy previously insisted that Stephanie is not pregnant with his child and has even called for a DNA test if she gives birth to prove she is lying. The reality star called Stephanie's claims 'ridiculous,' and added she would look like a 'mug' when it is revealed any child is not his after a paternity test, Ireland's TV Now Magazine reports. No love lost: The Irish hunk has insisted that Stephanie is not pregnant with his child and has even called for a DNA test if she gives birth to prove she is lying Following a bitter war of words between the former couple, the 26-year-old again said: 'I'm not going to be a dad. If she is pregnant, it's not mine. 'If I was a dad, I'd be 100 per cent no, 110 per cent, the best dad in the world. But you'll see in the future that it's not my kid, and she'll look like a mug.' A representative for Stephanie said in a statement to MailOnline: 'Our client is categorically pregnant. We do not need to continue repeating this.' Despite their strained relationship, Jeremy showed he still cared for the former Hollyoaks actress and dismissed her behaviour as a tactic to secure media coverage. 'I still love Steph and I'd never bad mouth her, but I just think the whole thing is a media approach and it's ridiculous,' he said. Two weeks ago Stephanie alleged her ex had a serious drug problem and begged him to go to rehab. 'Healthy mind and body': The Irish male model posted a lengthy statement on Twitter last week, denying he had a drug problem and accusing her of having an affair with her ex Sam Reece In response, Jeremy denied he was abusing narcotics and accused Stephanie of having an affair with her ex-boyfriend Sam Reece during their rocky four-month romance. The former Beauty School Cop-Out star also denied Stephanie's claims again that he is the father of her unborn child. Posting a lengthy statement on Twitter, he wrote: 'Was gonna stay quiet about the whole thing and just let it come out normally, first of all I'd like to let people know I'm perfectly healthy mind and body and have took the break up privately, but when me and my family are effected by what I'd call a person with no shame, she is slandering me and trying to portray me in a certain light for a reason, to make me look like a terrible lad. 'People can choose to believe or not. I do not care. For months she was seeing Sam behind my back and now in Ibiza together. It will all unfold in time. 'People don't know what I put with in that relationship. I was never perfect but please, don't believe 90 per cent of what she says. I've messed up but I'd never be as evil. This will be my last message about her #bookclosed.' The night before his lengthy post, he tweeted: 'I'm as shocked as all you are at this whole saga, I'm sure you can join the dots yourself #letmelive. Concerns: The former Hollyoaks actress accused Jeremy of being a drug addict and urged him to go to rehab Former flame: Jeremy accused Stephanie of having an affair with her ex-boyfriend Sam Reece, who she dumped to date the Irish male model in January 'She's not pregnant with my child come on. It's all lies I've been told by her friends.' The following morning, an angry Steph hit back: 'Tell me I'm not pregnant and keep denying your child, and I#ll throw u right under that bus as the s**t I have in u, u would never survive!' Responding to the Irish model's claims she's in Spain with her ex - who she dumped on TV after falling for Jeremy on Celebrity Big Brother - Stephanie posted a photo of her legs on a balcony in Liverpool. She wrote: 'Sorry does his tweet not show how f**ked he is... I'm in Ibiza with Sam.......... Sure I'm in Liverpool. 'Let's look positively he needs this to sort his life out , for all u to understand what I've been through with his crazy mind. It's all good.' Jeremy's statement came an hour after Stephanie posted her own lengthy essay, accusing her ex of failing to turn up for baby scans. She wrote: 'I think it's disgusting that Jeremy hasn't turned up for scans and is constantly drunk and partying, the stress he has had me under. I've already been in hospital once with pains and stress. 'I don't hate the lad I feel very VERY sorry for him the fact no one is getting him the help he needs. His management should have him in rehab and sorting his life out so he can then be there for his child before he dies. 'I wouldn't mind but don't WANT to get someone pregnant and have a family. To not be there. I'm happy doing it alone. Off for a chilled week away with bump. 'Been doing this since his act from Big Brother was over after sleeping with what 9 girls now? Boy need help. Sort it out and be a dad. Bye for now, Steph.' Following on from Tuesday's shock arrival, Love Island is set to welcome two new gorgeous arrivals to the villa on Friday. But it won't be smooth sailing for the Islander's, as Tina Stinnes and Liana Isadora Van Riel are all set to rock the love boat with the pair setting their sights on Alex Bowen and Scott Thomas. While Tina, 21, thinks Scott is just her type, it seem that Zara Holland might have to fight for her man, as Liana, 20, has said she's got 'any qualms about stealing they guys off their partners'. Scroll down for video Trouble ahead? It won't be smooth sailing for the Islander's, as Tina Stinnes and Liana Isadora Van Riel are all set to rock the love boat with the pair setting their sights on Alex Bowen and Scott Thomas. LIANA ISADORA VAN RIEL Age: 20 From: Exeter Occupation: Stripper She's never called anyone boyfriend Crush: Alex, Scott and Terry Love rival: Zara Advertisement TINA STINNES Age: 21 From: Kensington and Chelsea Occupation: Student She's been single since February Crush: Scott, Adam and Terry Love rival: Kady/Malin Advertisement Following the shock arrival of Alex and James Khan earlier in the week, it seems that love Island bosses have decided to well and truly rock the boat by unleashing two new vixens into the villa. And it seems that Exeter native Liana is prepared to fight any of the girls to get the man she wants, as she warned: 'I wouldnt have any qualms about stealing the guys off their partners.' Though if the existing girls think she'll be easy to outplay because of her job title they've got another thing coming, as she warned: 'There's more than meets the eye with me. I'm very smart...' 'I wouldnt have any qualms about stealing the guys off their partners': It seems that Exeter native Liana is prepared to fight the girls to get the man she wants, with the stripper admitting she's willing to go on the rob But out of all the girls it seems, Zara might have the most to be worried about, as she admitted to having a crush on scaffolder and model Alex - who Zara enjoyed a steamy romp with on Wednesday night's episode. And it seems that the former Miss Great Britain is Liana's top choice to get the axe, with the blonde beauty admitting she'd chose her above anyone else to go home. Asked who she'd dump out of the girls, the busty stripper said: 'Probably Zara because, bless her, she's getting a lot of stick and isn't having the best of times.' He's her man! Out of all the girls it seems, Zara might have the most to be worried about, as Liana admitted to having a crush on Alex - who Zara enjoyed a steamy romp with on Wednesday night's episode Set for Scott? Ryan Thomas' brother could be in with some luck, as business student Tina admitted to having a massive crush on him, with the Chelsea-based beauty admitting he's just her 'type looks wise' Meanwhile, fresh from his split from Kady, Scott could be in with some luck, as business student Tina admitted to having a massive crush on him. And it seems that she might be in with some luck, as she admitted out of all the girls she thinks she'll get on best with Kady - however she thought her relationship with Northern hunk could be a problem. 'I think Scott's my type looks wise,' she said, but saying that she also confessed she had a crush on Terry Walsh - meaning Malin Anderson might have trouble on her hands too. On Wednesday night's installment of the show saw a change in Zara's luck as she shared a night of passion with hunky Alex. Will she regret it? On Wednesday night's installment of the show saw a change in Zara's luck as she shared a night of passion with hunky Alex Happy at last: As things moved under the covers, the pair quickly became intimate and following the romp Zara couldn't keep the smile off of her face They enjoyed champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the Hideaway, as Zara explained why she had chosen Alex, telling him: 'Obviously it was between you and James, and you caught my eye. So why not? Its your first night, why not make it a night to remember?' And after moving to the hideaway for a quiet date, the pair were asked the all important question: should they stay, or should they go?! Without hesitation, Zara announced: 'I think we should stay. Stay the whole night? Yeah. Cool, well stay.' As things moved under the covers, the pair quickly became intimate. The Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved the contentious 87-turbine Brady Wind Energy Center I in northern Stark County near Dickinson. The $250 million project by NextEra Energy Resources, which will provide 150 megawatts of power for Basin Electric Power Cooperative, faced stiff opposition. It was the second attempt at the project in the county. The PSC voted unanimously to approve the project, as well as the corresponding 19-mile transmission line. The project involved the longest wind farm hearing in state history, with 15 hours of testimony on March 31. We worked really hard on this project, and we listened, said PSC Chairman Julie Fedorchak. Im happy to support this at this time. NextEra expects construction to begin this month, with the project scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. We are pleased with the PSCs decision to permit the Brady I Wind Energy Center, NextEra spokesman Bryan Garner said. Todays decision is a result of months of working in partnership with the local community to find a project that addresses both the needs of the community as well as the demand for clean, renewable energy. The PSCs decision ended 15 months of debate among Stark County landowners and public officials about the future of wind energy. Tom Reichert, spokesman for the Concerned Citizens of Stark County, which opposed the project, said even though the group is disappointed in the PSCs decision, it will continue to provide input to other citizens in other communities who are concerned about wind farms. He said that mostly there is a lot of frustration on the opposition's side. We worked really hard, and were still frustrated that Stark County did such a poor job, he said. Reichert added that the group is still actively seeking a lawsuit against Stark County with what they claim was a violation of open-meeting protocol during a December 2015 Stark County Commission meeting, in which the project won approval. The project is part of a proposed two-phase wind project. The second phase -- called Brady Wind II -- would be a 72-turbine, 150-megawatt wind farm in northern Hettinger County. That phase is still under consideration by the PSC. Last November, the company hosted an open house informational meeting for the public to speak on the proposal of the two wind farms. A month later, a group of about 50 people gathered at Schefield Hall to discuss why the wind farm should not be in their communities. It was the beginning of months of passionate pleas by the opposition for their neighbors and officials to deny the project. Some of the concerns focused on the impact to nature, home appraisals, sound, animals -- such as bald eagle and golden eagle nesting areas -- and disturbance of views. But in late December, the Stark County Commission voted 3-2 to approve Brady Wind I, following a 5-3 split decision by the county planning and zoning board. The Concerned Citizens of Stark County filed a lawsuit Jan. 27 against the countys commissioners and planning and zoning board, which was dismissed in March. After hearing from both sides of the issue at the long hearing March 31, the PSC began holding work sessions in May to discuss their questions or concerns with the testimony. Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk said during a May 6 work session that he supported the project. While the PSC deliberated Brady Wind I, NextEras Brady Wind II continued building momentum, receiving unanimous approval from the Hettinger County Commission and Planning and Zoning Board on April 8. Two months later, on June 7, the PSC listened to 10 hours of testimony at New Englands Memorial Hall. The PSCs first work session for Brady Wind II is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Bismarck. They're the three most genetically-blessed brothers in Hollywood. And now Liam Hemsworth has revealed what it was really like to be the youngest of the Hemsworth's tribe, growing up with older brothers Luke and Chris. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 26-year-old admitted there were many 'loving but traumatic' moments during his childhood. Scroll down for video 'Traumatic': Liam Hemsworth (L) has revealed what it was like to be the youngest of the Hemsworth's tribe and growing up with older brothers Chris (C) and Luke (R) 'There were definitely some shenanigans growing up, I would say loving but mostly traumatic' Liam told the American talk show host. 'They used to put me in the dyer a lot, they wouldn't put the heat on but they would put me in there,' he added while making spinning gestures when his hands. Stephen questioned Liam on whether his parents, Leonie and Craig, were aware of their sons' behaviour and how they managed to get away with such antics. 'I think they just turn a blind eye to that sort of thing,' the Hunger Games star replied. Playful lot: Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 26-year-old admitted there were many 'loving but traumatic' moments during his childhood saying: They used to put me in the dryer a lot 'What are you going to do? They're going to do what they're going to do.' Liam moved to Hollywood to pursue an international career in 2009 with middle brother Chris, who found success playing Thor, God of Thunder in the Marvel Avenger franchise. Eldest brother Luke is also an actor, having appeared in numerous Australian productions. 'I think they just turn a blind eye to that sort of thing,' the Hunger Games star replied when asked what his parents thought of the behaviour of their sons Brotherly love: Liam moved to Hollywood to pursue an international career in 2009 with middle brother Chris, who found success playing Thor, God of Thunder in the Marvel Avenger franchise No shrimp on the barbie here: Liam also took the opportunity to address some common misconceptions about Australia while on The Late Show Liam also took the opportunity to address some common misconceptions about Australia while on The Late Show. 'What's the most offensive thing Americans say to seem Australian, is it like, that's not a knife?' Stephen asked referencing the famous scene from Crocodile Dundee. 'I would say the worst is "shrimp on the barbie,"' Liam said. 'We definitely have barbies but we don't call shrimp, shrimp we call them prawns and typically in Australia we don't barbecue prawns, most of the time people boil them,' he said about the term 'shrimp on the barbie' 'The whole statement is just ridiculous for an Australian. I don't want to hear it anymore!' Liam joked to Stephen Colbert 'We definitely have barbies but we don't call shrimp, shrimp we call them prawns and typically in Australia we don't barbecue prawns, most of the time people boil them,' he went on to explain.' 'The whole statement is just ridiculous for an Australian. I don't want to hear it anymore!' Liam is currently promoting his new movie Independence Day: Resurgence. School run memories: Clint Eastwood with his daughter Morgan As most dads know, it is virtually impossible to appear cool to your children. But with Fathers Day around the corner they can take heart that it was the same for Clint Eastwood. The Dirty Harry star may have been admired around the world for his tough guy image, but to his children he was still a big dork. Eastwood has admitted they were embarrassed at having him drop them off at school despite his iconic status. My youngest daughter, Morgan, when Id drop her off at school, shed say, You can drop me off here. Its OK, revealed the Oscar-winning actor and director who is now 86. The first couple of times it happens you think, Hey, theyre ashamed of me!. Morgan, now 20, wasnt the only one of Eastwoods eight children to worry what her friends would think about her dad. Im sure I did that too, Alison, 44, said of distancing herself from her famous father as a teen. But you come back around and think, Why would I ever have thought that person was a big dork? I love that person! Its human nature to create that separation and then you make your way back around. Twice-married Eastwoods complex personal life he fathered his children with six different women meant his home life was unconventional. But the star, currently directing Sully, a film with Tom Hanks about the pilot who heroically landed his stricken passenger plane on New Yorks Hudson River in 2009, said of his children: I want the same thing for them that every parent wants. 'For them to have a good life, a healthy life. You try to give them ideas about certain things. Tough guy: The Oscar-winning actor and director in Magnum Force Scott, Eastwoods 30-year-old actor son, said: Dad was pretty old school. My first car cost $1,000 and I had to buy every car after that. She may have left the reality TV cooking series with tears in her eyes, but MasterChef Australia contestant Nicolette Stathopoulos hasn't let defeat destroy her hospitality dreams. The 20-year-old, who was the youngest contestant on the popular Network Ten competition, took to Instagram to announce she would be hosting a number of pop-up dessert degustation events in Melbourne. 'It's finally here guys! The launch of my POP UP DESSERT DEGUSTATION! Get in quick, limited seats available!' she wrote alongside a picture of one of her famous sweet treats. Scroll down for video New career: Former MasterChef Australia contestant Nicolette Stathopoulos has announced she will be hosting a number of pop-up dessert degustation events in Melbourne On Thursday evening, Nicolette was sent home after her grilled peaches dessert with marshmallows, smoked white chocolate mousse and toasted macadamia nuts failed to impress judges. But the episode wasn't without its drama, the Melbourne native broke down in tears after her chocolate mousse failed to form into fluffy perfection. Judge and chef on the series George Calombaris was forced to comfort Nicolette and provide her with a pep-talk to keep going. Evicted: On Thursday evening, Nicolette was sent home after her grilled peaches dessert with marshmallows, smoked white chocolate mousse and toasted macadamia nuts failed to impress judges Not happening: The Melbourne native broke down in tears after her chocolate mousse failed to form into fluffy perfection 'Look at me. Oi. Don't lose it now. OK? You hear me? Oi, come on. Oi, don't lose it now. Alright? Yeah? You're just cooking food,' he told the young contestant. Bolstering up the courage to finish her sweet treat, the brunette was determined to present her dessert to the judges. But her determination was not enough to save her, as the judges' preferred fellow contestant, Chloe's, cinnamon butter cake with maple meringue. After she was sent home, Nicolette said she was aiming to be the 'best pastry chefs Australia has ever seen'. Tried: The 20-year-old's determination was not enough to save her, as the judges' preferred fellow contestant, Chloe's, cinnamon butter cake with maple meringue 'The entire MasterChef journey is over, but I'm never going to forget it,' she said. 'I think what I can take from this experience is that I should always believe in myself. 'Next for me will just be putting my head down and getting as much training as I possibly can so that I can become one of the best pastry chefs Australia has ever seen.' Speaking to PopSugar about her time on the show, Nicolette said she let emotions cloud her judgement. 'Yeah, I was pretty emotional throughout the cook,' she told the online publication. 'The fear of going home made me not as creative as what I would usually be in the kitchen.' Happy birthday: Channel Ten wished the reality star a happy birthday and luck on her new career venture Despite leaving the competition, the reality TV star admits she has no regrets. 'Looking back, I loved every single moment. I'd live it 10 times over if I could, it was so much fun,' she said. After the show aired, Channel Ten also took to their own respective Instagram page to congratulate the budding dessert chef on her new career venture . 'Congratulations@nicolette_s_au on your #MasterChefAUJourney & Happy Birthday! Now 20, Nicolette is planning a number of Pop up dessert degustation events,' a spokesperson for the network captioned the picture of a beaming Nicolette standing alongside a birthday cake. He is dating a woman young enough to be his daughter. And the generation gap seems to be agreeing with John Stamos after he was spotted attending a music gig with lover Caitlin McHugh in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. The famously handsome star was grinning like the cat who got the cream as he escorted the lithe 32-year-old into the trendy Troubadour venue. Scroll down for video Reliving his youth: John Stamos treated his much younger girlfriend to a date night at music venue The Troubadour on Wednesday John, 52, was looking great for his age in a trendily youthful ensemble of black suit jacket, which he wore with the collar up, shirt, ripped jeans and leather boots. But even the Full House favourite would admit he was left in the shade by his flexible sidekick, who looked great in hotpants, a chic black blazer, casual top and pixie shoes. While John, who is estimated to be worth a whopping $20 million, will have loved spending the night with his latest lady love, he had an extra reason to savour Wednesday's show. Putting a smile on his face: John was understandably grinning like the cat who got the cream To quote Geri Halliwell: John no doubt agrees with Ginger Spice that one is as young as the girl you feel For the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 star's friend Rita Wilson, who produced the comedy film, was the headline performer at the trendy venue, where the likes of David Bowie and the Rolling Stones have also played. No doubt the pair loved the show, where the actress was singing tunes from her new eponymous album, which contains country, pop and rock songs. Fun-loving John, who last year pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence, seems like a new man since hooking up with Caitlin. indeed it seems he cannot bear to be apart from the leggy lovely, whom he treated to a loved-up vacation in Italy and France in May. Singing for her supper: His My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 producer Rita Wilson was playing a headlining show at the popular venue Playing Full House: Cheeky John uploaded an hilarious clip as he went back to work on Wednesday And he took great delight in sharing an hilarious video on Instagram, where he is blown up on his first day back on the set of Fuller House. He captioned the image: 'Back at work today on #FullerHouse. Check it out, I'm at the real Tanner house having a blast!' The star was briefly hospitalised in June last year after Beverly Hills police arrested him over the charge. Police did not identified the substance they suspected him of taking, and it was not addressed in court. Having a blast: He is hit by a rocket as he excitedly talks about being at the Tanner house They're certainly living La Dolce Vita at the moment in Italy. But the holiday feeling is set to disappear for Tim Robards who admitted on social media he's going to have to shave off his somewhat controversial handlebar moustache, at the insistence of his leggy lady Anna Heinrich. The 33-year-old chiropractor took to Instagram on Thursday to show his 'excited face' after being told 'the mos gotta go'. Scroll down for video 'Sad day in Rome': Tim Robards sported an unhappy facial expression in snap posted to Instagram on Thursday, after being asked to shave off his holiday handlebar moustache by girlfriend Anna Heinrich 'Sad day in Rome,' he hash-tagged the shot as he sipped his espresso in the heart of the Italian city. Earlier, as the photogenic couple strolled around downtown they showed off their toned figures in chic travel ensembles. Tim sported a black T-Shirt, which skimmed over his muscular physique while showing his toned calves in khaki chino shorts, paired with white sneakers. He completed his ensemble with black Ray Bans, which he left on in both photos. Travel chic: Tim sported a black T-Shirt, which skimmed over his muscular physique while showing his toned calves in khaki chino shorts, paired with white sneakers as he strolled around the city Leggy lady! Anna Heinrich showed off her trim pins in a white lace dress by Australian designer Rebecca Vallance, hot off the cruise collection runway at fashion week Meanwhile, Anna Heinrich showed off her trim pins in a white lace dress by Australian designer Rebecca Vallance, hot off the cruise collection runway at fashion week. The thigh-skimming design was paired with strappy black sandals, a jacket tied around her waist and a tan leather Meli Melo leather bag. Tim first displayed his new handlebar moustache on Wednesday, when he strategically shaved his beard to unveil the look while in Florence. 'Anna needs to release her grip on me a bit here!' he joked in the caption of the couple shot, explaining his gag with the hash-tags 'that's what handlebars are for' and 'when in Rome or Florence'. 'When in Rome!' The Bachelor star unveiled his moustache in a couples shot while in Florence, while joking his girlfriend Anna Heinrich 'needs to release her grip on me a bit' Tim had unbuttoned his navy collared shirt to show a hint of chest hair, while his 29-year-old lady love wore a beige strapless dress with white polka dots. The reality couple stood in the romantic location by the river Arno, holding each other tight for the sunset snap. There has been no shortage of envy-inducing snaps from the reality couple's trip to Italy, taking in all the best locations the country has to offer. Family: The lovebirds have been in Europe to celebrate Anna's mother Jude's 60th birthday Beginning their trip at the cliffside village of Positano, they then went sightseeing in Capri and have since made their way to Florence. The lovebirds have been in Europe to celebrate Anna's mother Jude's 60th birthday, and since jetting into the country in First Class last week, they have been living in the lap of luxury. It seems former Bachelor star Emma Rose has split from socialite George Gerges, several months after he was accused of dealing cocaine, and charged with numerous offences. The busty brunette, who appeared on the reality show with Tim Robards in 2013, was seen holding hands and putting on an affectionate display with businessman Marc Marano on Thursday while in Florida. Leaving very little to the imagination, Emma sported a very revealing brown bikini on the beach, the bombshell holding her swim top and assets in place at one stage so Marc could secure it at the back. New romance: It seems former Bachelor star Emma Rose has split from George Gerges, and is now dating businessman Marc Marano as the pair were spotted in Miami on Thursday Her plunging triangle-cut bikini top just managed to conceal her modesty, and her ample cleavage was on full display. She also wore a pair of matching skimpy bikini bottoms, revealing her derriere and toned legs. The relatively makeup free stunner wore her dark locks up in a bun, and completed her look with a pair of shades and a simple chain necklace. Hand-in-hand: The busty brunette, who appeared on the reality show with Tim Robards in 2013, was seen holding hands and putting on an affectionate display with businessman Marc in Florida Tie me up: Emma sported a very revealing brown bikini on the beach, the bombshell holding her swim top and assets in place at one stage so Marc could secure it at the back Side view: Her plunging triangle-cut bikini top just concealed her modesty as she splashed about in the water Meanwhile Marc was a bit more covered up on this occasion. The dark-haired man sported a sleeveless top, teamed with floral printed board shorts and a dark cap. He still managed to flash a hint of his bold chest tattoos, while his bulging biceps rivalled Emma's bust for attention. According to Marc's Instagram account, he is the President of F45 Training's US expansion project. Tatt's a different look: The former reality television star revealed a tattoo splashed across her upper back Flaunting it: She also wore a pair of matching skimpy bikini bottoms, revealing her toned legs Curves on show: Her barely-there bikini bottoms certainly revealed a generous glimpse of her derriere Taking to his social media page on Wednesday, he shared a photo, presumably captured from his flight abroad, along with the caption: 'Oohhhh half way there. Oohhhh living on a PLANE! F45 Atlanta, F45 Chicago F45 Miami F45 Texas coming soon!!! Who's next??? Thanks for keeping this guy company @emmaroseofficial'. Emma is a model and Instagram star with more than 400,000 followers. The blogger appeared in the first series of The Bachelor in 2013, voluntarily walking away from the show after initially vying to win chiropractor Tim Robards' love. Cool look: Marc was a bit more covered up on this occasion, wearing a sleeveless top and floral printed board shorts Keeping close: Both personalities sported dark sunglasses, and remained by each other's sides during the day out Hats off to him: Marc completed his look with a cool dark cap In September last year, Emma's boyfriend at the time, George Gerges, was accused of dealing cocaine out of the back of his Lexus as part of an alleged drug ring operating across Sydney. He was arrested at the time in a series of raids in Sydney where police seized cocaine, MDMA, cannabis, cash and a sawn-off rifle. Facing court, he was charged with numerous offences, including supply of drugs, possessing steroids and participating in a criminal group. Later that month The Sydney Morning Herald reported that he had been granted bail after Central Local Court court heard that his girlfriend Emma was struggling financially, after being left to pay their $650 Bondi apartment weekly rent. Former lovers: Emma previously dated socialite George Gerges, who was was accused of dealing cocaine, and charged with numerous offences last year Moved on: Emma shared this snap of her and Marc six weeks ago Exciting: Marc shared this photo on Wednesday, expressing his excitement to visit the US with Emma Busty babe: The glamour model has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram Ross (Festival Theatre, Chichester) Rating: Earnest: Joseph Fiennes plays Ross in this revival of Terence Rattigan's rambling historical saga The truth about Lawrence of Arabia (aka Ross) will probably remain cloaked in mystery. Much of what we know of T. E. Lawrences desert exploits in the Arabian war against the Ottoman Empire from 1916-1918 he wrote himself. But this formed the basis of Terence Rattigans 1960 rambling historical saga, which has been revived, with Joseph Fiennes in the title role. In it, Lawrence comes across as a fancy dress Biggles with existential angst. The play starts with Lawrence trying to hide his celebrity by changing his name to Ross after joining the RAF in 1922. Rattigans main focus, however, is the Arabian years spent fighting alongside Arab militias and becoming a local hero. But this is no hagiography, and Rattigan presents an inscrutable Lawrence racked with guilt over war crimes and his collusion with British authorities. Ross insists the only God he worships is in his head and is called The Will. Yet, because Rosss will is not allied to a higher purpose, it ultimately proves a shaggy dog story. The naturally earnest Fiennes becomes not so much Arab messiah as a very naughty boy. An eccentric ascetic who didnt like to be touched, he proves its hard to love a loveless man. Instead, were asked to think of Ross as a repressed homosexual. That said, there is plenty of derring-do over Adrian Nobles three-hour production. Fiennes invests his sometimes morose role with the gloomy, intense look of a wounded schoolboy. Introverted yet dashing, wittily outflanking enemies and senior officers, he veers between David Niven and John Le Mesuriers Sergeant Wilson in Dads Army. Warmly greeted by Chichesters senior citizens for whom the Lawrence of Arabia legend may loom larger, its hard to imagine its sustained appeal for younger audiences. She once spoke of her wish to have a rainbow family and now Angelina Jolie has revealed her multicultural brood are learning seven languages between them. The 41-year-old actress has three children, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, seven, with husband Brad Pitt, and has adopted Maddox, 14, from Cambodia, Pax, 12, from Vietnam, and Zahara, 11, from Ethiopia. Speaking on Radio 4's Womans Hour she said none of them are interested in becoming actors but have all taken up languages. Scroll down for video Clever lot: She once spoke of her wish to have a rainbow family and now Angelina Jolie has revealed her multicultural brood are learning seven languages between them (pictured with Shiloh, Zahara and Maddox) She said: I asked them what languages they wanted to learn. Shis learning Khmer, which is the Cambodian language, Pax is focusing on Vietnamese, Mad has taken to German and Russian, Zi is speaking French, Vivienne really wanted to learn Arabic and Knox is learning sign language. She added: I suppose you dont know who your children are until they show you who they are and theyre just becoming whoever theyre going to be. Theyre interested about other cultures. Its been in my dream. The Oscar winner said none of her children want to follow in her footsteps to Hollywood but said they do find the process of filmmaking interesting. Family fun: Angelina has three children, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, seven, with husband Brad Pitt, and has adopted Maddox, 14, from Cambodia, Pax, 12, from Vietnam, and Zahara, 11, from Ethiopia She has recently worked with her son Maddox on a film for Netflix called First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia, set for release later this year, about the bloody history of the country where he was born. She spoke about the project being a bonding experience. Any mother with a teenager knows its nice to find something to come together on in the teenage years. Hes wonderful, she said. The mother of six said Maddox has taken a shine to film editing while Pax enjoys DJing. Parental guidance: The Oscar winner said none of her children want to follow in her footsteps to Hollywood but said they do find the process of filmmaking interesting London calling: Angelina has spoken Miss Jolie was the final guest-editor of BBC Radio 4s Womans Hour Takeover week. She spoke passionately about her work as a UN Special Envoy and said she had taught her children not to pity those who were forced to flee their country but to respect them. We think of the people who are going through these difficult situations but we also talk about their resilience and their strength and we admire them. Theyre heroes in my house and my kids are friends with children who are refugees and children from their own countries, she said. Jake Hall will not return to TOWIE for the whole of the next series as he is recovering from injuries sustained in a nightclub stabbing in Magaluf. The 24-year-old, who could have lost a kidney in the attack, will remain in Spain for the next four weeks as he recovers. A TOWIE representative told The Sun: 'We are letting Jake focus on his recovery before discussing a return to the series.' Scroll down for video On the mend: Jake Hall will not be returning to TOWIE this series so he can focus on his recovery - he will remain in Spain for the next four weeks His cast mate, Michael Hassini, also told the publication: 'Theyre discussing getting him back to England in the next couple of days but thats only if hes able to fly.' A spokesperson for ITV told MailOnline: 'No decisions have been made about Jakes return to the show yet as he is currently focusing on his recovery.' While he will no doubt be disappointed, Jake has been using his new found mobility to manoeuvre to the beach as he continued his recovery away from hospital this weekend. The star appeared rather positive as he found himself back on his feet, taking to Instagram to post pictures of his sun soaked holiday. The only way is up! TOWIE star Jake Hall appears to be well on the mend as he posted pictures of himself on the beach following recent nightclub stabbing in Marbella And he captioned the snaps with thankful and motivational messages, such as: 'What a feeling' and 'Enjoy life to the full'. Jake also posted an artsy shot of himself walking down a set of stairs, where he referenced his injury with the phrase, 'One step at a time'. The reality TV star has already received resounding support from his army of followers who have all wished him well on his road to recovery. Thankful: The star was wounded under a fortnight ago but appears to be getting back on his feet Jake cut a summery figure in his latest poolside snap as he dressed in a blue and white pin-striped jacket and matching shorts. And he played it cool with a pair of round, tinted sunglasses that came complete with a quirky plastic frame. However, Jake didn't look quite ready to dive back into the crystal blue water, as he posed for the camera with his legs dangling over the edge of a sunbed. 'One step at a time': Jake posted an artsy shot of himself walking down a set of stairs, which he used to referenced his injury Jake was first pictured back on his feet on Wednesday as he walked for the first time since his injury. The Essex native described it as 'the best feeling in the world' as he shared a video of the moment he took his first steps since being left in intensive care in the Costa del Sol. Jake almost lost a kidney when he was reportedly stabbed with a broken bottle in what is thought to have been a gang-related attack at celebrity hotspot Aqwa Mist, just over a week ago. Still wearing his hospital clothes, the reality TV star was seen back on his feet on Wednesday as he gave a few air punches in the style of the late Muhammad Ali - though he still looked a little unsteady. Jake wrote beside the video posted on his 306k-followed Instagram account: 'Today was best feeling in world being able to have a little walk' It seems that Jake's recovery has also been pushed along by bedmate 'Eduardo,' who he referenced in a second picture caption of a group, taken inside the hospital. Bedbound: Jake was left in intensive care in the Costa del Sol Hospital after a gang-related brawl at the Aqwa Mist nightclub, where he is thought to have been stabbed with a broken bottle Fighting fit: In a new video, posted only on Wednesday, the star can be seen to give Muhammad Ali-style punches in the air He wrote: 'Most amazing family me and Eduardo been pushing each other he getting better too! #graciaseduardo #legend' Jake has remained defiant about making a strong recovery and posted his first message in the hospital bed eight days ago that simply said: 'You can't get rid of me that easily.' One other such solid support has been on-and-off-screen girlfriend Chloe Lewis, who has kept a bedside vigil since news of the attack reached her in the same Spanish holiday resort. Though recent posts on Chloe's social media have indicated that the incident hasn't caused her to reconsider the pair's future together, but made it clear Jake was still very much important to her. Feeling good: He wrote beside the photo: 'Today was best feeling in world being able to have a little walk' Still in hospital: He was still dressed in his hospital clothes but went without a shirt Get well soon; He shared a group shot of the individuals who are helping him to recover When he managed to raise his first smile for the cameras, Jake penned a thank you to his fans that gave a special mention to Chloe. He wrote: 'I'm slowly getting better. my family @chloelewis91 and close friends have been here for me and love them very much' Documenting his recovery in pictures, the TV star also shared the moment he was able to get washed and shaved for the first time. The Essex native was attacked when a group of Liverpudlian friends he was with squared up to a gang of violent Londoners at Marbella's celebrity hangout Aqwa Mist. Getting better: The hunk has been documenting his recovering, and was delighted to be able to shave and wash his hair this week On the mend: Early on in his recovery, a bed-bound Jake posted a Twitter picture to say he was getting better The two groups went for each other with broken champagne bottles and shards of glass from shisha pipes they had been smoking. Several holidaymakers have spoken out after witnessing the aftermath of the incident. Laura Wohlgemuth, who was queuing up outside the club at the time, told the Scottish Daily Record: 'Jake ran out into a car. Blood was everywhere. 'We thought we weren't going to get in but they just got a hose out and washed away blood.' Stand by your man: Ex-girlfriend Chloe Lewis is thought to have been keeping a bedside vigil throughout In the latest development, police questionned the Essex native from his bed in the hospital but he was said to have been ' fairly uncooperative'. Police investigating the brawl have questioned three men and though the British trio were identified they were not arrested. A spokesman for Spain's National Police, which is probing the incident under the coordination of an investigating magistrate, said: 'This matter is still under investigation. We cannot say any more at this stage.' There for him: After learning of the news, Chloe - who was in the Spanish city with pals at the time - posted to say that their relationship status might not have changed but she was standing by him The only way is up: Jake was in defiant mood when writing to his 157,000 followers Feeling thankful: The Essex native appeared genuinely grateful for all the well-wishes he had received A spokesman for Marbella town hall, who local police officers answer to, said: 'This matter is a National Police matter.' A source close to the case said: 'Neither of the two police forces were told a man had been stabbed when they reached the nightclub. 'They came across the aftermath of a fight but encountered the typical wall of silence they get after night-time altercations in the area, especially those involving Brits.' He recently confessed to enjoying the odd 'swipe' on dating app Tinder despite seemingly being in a relationship. But 5 Seconds of Summer drummer Ashton Irwin has now confirmed he is single following his split from bikini model Bryana Holly. The 21-year-old told Rove & Sam for breakfast on Hit 104.1 2DayFM on Friday: 'I don't have a girlfriend anymore.' Scroll down for video Break-up: 5 Seconds of Summer drummer Ashton Irwin (L) confirmed has split from girlfriend Bryana Holly (R) during an interview on 2Day FM's Rove and Sam on Friday Radio DJ Sam Frost, 27, asked Ashton how he was coping with his long-distance relationship with Bryana, who is based in California. The Sydney rocker then announced he did not have a girlfriend, despite rumours the on-again off-again couple were back together. But he nonetheless sounded in positive spirits, declaring: 'I'm on my own. I'm a lone wolf!' She looks so perfect! Ashton said, 'I don't have a girlfriend anymore' when asked about his relationship status. He was previously dating bikini model Bryana Holly (pictured) since last year Calling it quits: The Sydney-born rocker (L) confirmed he was single amid rumours he'd rekindled his romance with on-again off-again girlfriend Bryana (R) Busty: Bryana and Ashton had been in an on-again off-again relationship for over a year, it has been claimed Meanwhile, Ashton told Nova 96.9's Fitzy and Wippa on Thursday that he has used Tinder in the past. It came as a surprise following reports he had rekindled his romance with 23-year-old Bryana in recent months. 'I've taken a look... I was just checking out the functionality of the thing,' he chuckled. Ashton and Bryana first started dating last year, and he confirmed the relationship in an interview with Rolling Stone in July. She's got an exclusive! The interview with Ashton marks 2DayFM star Sam Frost's (L) biggest celebrity news scoop since launching Rove and Sam last year. Pictured with co-host Rove McManus (R) in December Young love: Bryana first started dating Ashton last year, and he confirmed the relationship in an interview with Rolling Stone in July Home town heroes: Sydney pop punk band 5 Seconds of Summer are one of Australia's most popular acts In November, Ashton announced on Sirius XM's The Howard Stern Show they were no longer together. But the couple were spotted holding hands in West Hollywood just a month later, sparking rumours of a reunion. However, weeks later Bryana tweeted, 'I'm NOT in a relationship with anyone' before deleting the post. In May, Bryana sent Ashton's mum Anne Marie a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day, which led fans to believe they were back together. Close bond: Ashton announced he and and Bryana had split in November - but the couple were spotted holding hands in West Hollywood just a month later, sparking rumours of a reunion The Bismarck community welcomed Salvation Army Captains Tim and Sally Sell in June of 2012, and now the community will say goodbye to them on June 26. The Sells will continue their devotion of service as they return to their home state of Indiana. The Salvation Army will hold an open house at the Worship and Service Center, 601 S. Washington St., Bismarck. The Sells have been Salvation Army officers for more than 15 years. A couple of familiar faces will replace the Sells. Majors John and Faye Flanagan will return to the Northern Division. Major John grew up in Bismarck and Major Faye is from Duluth. Faye and I are excited to return home, said John Flanagan. I worked as a teen at the Family Store in Bismarck and, after graduating from high school at St. Marys Central, I was sent to Minot to help with the flood relief. The Flanagans will move to Bismarck at the end of the month. Lucy Liu showed her sporty side on Thursday while walking her dog in New York City. The 47-year-old actress donned a grey hoodie, blue leggings and sandals while exercising her dog in rainy weather in the Chelsea neighborhood. The Elementary star had her jet black hair pulled back into a bun and accessorised with earrings and sunglasses. Walking the dog: Lucy Liu showed her sporty side on Thursday while walking her dog in New York City Lucy's gorgeous Chocolate Labrador sniffed out a small white object on the sidewalk while leashed to its owner. The actress shined bright on Sunday at the 70th annual Tony Awards in New York City in a yellow Zuhair Murad chiffon dress that featured a halter neck open to her navel. Lucy and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson also took to the stage to present at the annual ceremony honouring achievement in Broadway theatre. On the leash: The actress wore sandals while strolling in the rain with her Chocolate Labrador The Ally McBeal star since September 2012 has been portraying Dr Joan Watson in the CBS drama series Elementary that is a modern-day update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. The series stars Jonny Lee Miller as the consulting detective with Lucy taking on his sidekick role that traditionally has been played by men. CBS announced in March that Elementary was renewed for an upcoming fifth season that will include the milestone 100th episode of the series. Gorgeous animal: Lucy's gorgeous pet spotted a small white object on the sidewalk Popular show: The actress will reprise her role of Dr Joan Watson for the upcoming fifth season of Elementary Lucy besides her work in front of the camera on Elementary also has directed three episodes of the show. She also directed the 2011 scripted short film Meena that was meant to bring awareness to the issue of sex slavery and child trafficking in India. Lucy announced the birth of son Rockwell Llody on August 27, 2015 following his birth via gestational surrogate. She's certainly not shy when it comes to romanticizing her baby bump. Victoria's Secret's Candice Swanepoel posted her latest Instagram photo on Thursday taking a breather on the sands of the beach. The supermodel posed with her adorable baby bump in full view, originally captioning the photo 'Officially lost my bikini bottoms,' which she later changed to, 'Officially can't see my bikini bottoms.' Beach baby! Pregnant VS angel Candice Swanepoel took a relaxing moment on the beach on Thursday as she snapped a black-and-white shot for her Instagram Oh boy: Candice previously revealed she is expecting a baby boy with 33-year-old fiance Hermann Nicoli; the model was pictured on June 5 The black-and-white photograph is just another collection of Candice's artistic shots she shares on social media. This particular moment portrays only the supermodel's naked bump and toned legs against the sandy beach and clear water. It was only two days ago when Candice posted another beautiful snapshot of her pregnant body while walking through a magical-looking forest. How angelic! Candice shared a magical picture in the forest exposing her miraculous baby bump Far along! The South African stunner posed for a sepia-toned photo where her belly bump was on display The South African beauty became public with her announcement in March of this year. Already half-way through her pregnancy, Candice previously revealed she is expecting a baby boy. This will be her first little angel whom she'll raise with 33-year-old fiance Hermann Nicoli. The handsome Brazilian popped the question in August of 2015. The two met in Paris when she was only 17. A source told E! News that the thrilled couple are spending the summer in The Big Apple. Hot couple alert! The romancers knew each other for nearly a decade before 33-year-old Hermann Nicoli popped the question Conversations between the 27-year-old stunner and her fellow angels sure have a lot in common these days. Adam Levine's gorgeous wife and VS angel Behati Prinsloo is also far along her pregnancy stage, and the two VS angels have been spending quality time together. The supermodel has had quite the support surrounding her, including her mother Eileen who jetted over from their native South Africa to keep the pregnant beauty some company. On television he plays a devoted father on House Husbands. And Gary Sweet looked to be very much enjoying fatherhood in real life as he stepped out for a morning coffee with son, Frederic George, in Melbourne, last month. The 59-year-old actor appeared content as he helped the tot dig into what appeared to be a baby chino at a local cafe before heading back home. Scroll down for video Doting dad: Gary Sweet, 59, looked to be very much enjoying fatherhood as he helped his son Frederic George dig into his baby chino at a local cafe in Melbourne last month The personality - who is also known for roles in Alexandra's Project and Police Rescue - looked on lovingly as cute Frederic made a mess of the milk froth. Cutting a relaxed figure and holding on tight to his young son, Gary dressed down for the occasion. He sported stone-washed denim jeans, a light blue sweater, black puffer vest and dark cap with the Ralph Lauren logo emblazoned on the front. The father-of-five appeared content as he was later seen pushing Frederic home in his stroller. Content: The father-of-five appeared content as he was later seen pushing his toddler son home in his stroller The ex-husband of Johanna Griggs welcomed his youngest child with partner of nine years Nadia Dyall in December 2014 and already has four children with two of his three ex-wives. Residing in Melbourne suburbia, Gary returned to screens in 2012 to play Lewis Crabb on Nine drama House Husbands. Last year he shared with news.com.au his delight at becoming a father again in his fifties. 'It is amazing (being a father again),' he confessed. One of the things that is different this time around is that I havent been working.' Ive had quite a deal of time to be home with the baby. Previously (other four children) Id been flat out doing Police Rescue or other shows. Im more hands on this time, he added. I wish I was the previous times. All the kids have met each other and it is good. Happy family: The ex-husband of Johanna Griggs welcomed his youngest child with partner of nine years Nadia Dyall (right) in December 2014 All smiles: Gary Sweet pictured with his son Frank Sweet (right) at the LOreal Paris 2006 AFI Awards in Melbourne Im more hands on this time': The popular actor told news.com.au last year that he plays an active role in his youngest son's life She's a keen advocate of health and fitness and Josie Gibson showed off the fruits of her labour when she attended the Lelo Hex condom launch party at the Vinyl club in London. The former Big Brother star, 31, looked incredible as she turned up to show her support, wearing a pretty chiffon black dress. The off-the-shoulder number flattered her figure perfectly as she arrived at the venue - and she sported a rather golden glow, too. Scroll down for video Gorgeous girl: She's a keen advocate of health and fitness and Josie Gibson showed off the fruits of her labour when she attended the Lelo Hex condom launch party at the Vinyl club in London Showing her support: The former Big Brother star, 31, looked incredible as she turned up to show her support, wearing a pretty chiffon black dress The beauty, who slimmed from a size 20 to a size eight, teamed her very glamorous outfit with a pair of statement heels and carried an embellished envelope clutch bag in her hand. Giving a small wave to photographers, Josie looked every inch the Hollywood glamour puss with her long blonde hair curled artfully down past her shoulders. She brightened up her look with a slick of coral lipstick as she gave a big beaming smile. Had a tan? The off-the-shoulder number flattered her figure perfectly as she arrived at the venue - and she sported a rather golden glow, too Holiday style: She brightened up her look with a slick of coral lipstick as she gave a big beaming smile Also at the event was Charlie Sheen, who is the brand ambassador - he took the brave step of publicly admitting he was HIV positive in November. And though he's putting his star credentials behind the launch of the brand new Lelo Hex condom, Charlie Sheen spoke at a press conference earlier that day to admit he's struggling to get 'laid'. The actor, 50, explained he wasn't dating and was concentrating on family instead, although he insisted he'd find it hard to have sex in a 'women's prison'. Doing good: Charlie Sheen, brand ambassador, also attended the party - he was present at a press conference earlier on in the day Snap happy: The star put on a series of poses as he had his photograph taken Broaching the matter of his private life at the event, the Platoon star said: 'I'm not dating, I'm spending a lot of time with my family. Right now I couldn't get laid in a women's prison with a handful of condoms.' With the actor adding: 'It doesn't give me a great opening line: "Hey, I've got HIV - busy later?"' However, Charlie - who confirmed the sexually transmitted virus in November 2015 - said although his humour is inescapable, he wanted to impress the idea of being 'responsible'. 'It is what it is, and I don't want to make light of it,' He explained. 'But it changes the whole approach on it, because it's no longer about my interests and my folly, it's about the other person. 'I couldn't get laid in a women's prison': Though he's putting his star credentials behind the launch of the brand new Lelo Hex condom, Charlie Sheen admitted he's struggling to get 'laid' at the press conference 'I'm not dating, I'm spending a lot of time with my family': Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the actor, 50, explained he wasn't dating and was concentrating on family instead 'It's about protecting them and just being open and responsible.' The former Hollywood Hellraiser, who shot to fame in the '80s in the likes of Red Dawn (1984) and Wall Street (1987), helped launch the re-designed condom earlier this week. Charlie went public with his HIV positive status in November- a move he was forced to make after reports in the media that an unnamed high profile actor had been diagnosed the with virus. The 50-year-old spoke of how he had been pleased that the publicity around his diagnosis had increased internet searches for HIV, as people sought information on how to avoid it. And, he said, while people still want to be just like him, they do not want to have his HIV status. 'It's about protecting them [your partner] and just being open and responsible': However, Charlie - who confirmed he was HIV positive in November - said he wanted to impress the idea of being 'responsible' Getting behind the idea: The former Hollywood Hellraiser, who shot to fame in the '80s in the likes of Red Dawn (1984) and Wall Street (1987), helped launch the re-designed condom earlier this week Leading the charge? The new condom is also said to be the first step forward since the reservoir tip - the bulge at the end of the condom - was invented 'Theres an odd combination now, people still want to be like me or experience my life, but theres a little detail they want no part of,' he said. 'So they can avoid that by using this.' Lelo Hex is a new condom brand, which was created in order to address the most common complaints people have with condoms that they reduce pleasure, slip frequently and break too easily. Showing her support: Jasmin Walia also showed her support for the new condom Shimmering style: The former TOWIE star put on a fashionable display in a silver A-Line dress and matching heels Rather than regular latex, it is made from hundreds of tiny hexagons - like a wire mesh or a spider's web. Lelo claims the new material makes it virtually impossible to break - and as it clings to the person wearing it, it doesn't slip or reduce sensation. The new condom is also said to be the first step forward since the reservoir tip - the bulge at the end of the condom - was invented. Sheen hopes the new contraceptive will reduce the stigma around condoms and prevent STIs from being spread. She has over 50millon followers on Instagram. And Khloe Kardashian made time for just a few of those fans on her latest outing. The 31-year-old reality star was spotted leaving a studio in Van Nuys, California on Thursday when she was stopped by a few of her young supporters. Scroll down for video On-the-go: Khloe Kardashian was spotted leaving a studio in Van Nuys, California on Thursday Friendly to fans: The 31-year-old reality star stopped to take a selfie with a few young fans Khloe did not hesitate when the few lucky young ladies asked for a selfie as she posed alongside a few of them. She looked fashionable as always for the occasion as she sported a long silk light brown robe while out and about. Under the chic long jacket, she opted for nude tones as she sported a bodysuit and trousers in skin-toned colours. Showing her style: Khloe looked fashionable as always for the occasion as she sported a long silk light brown robe Cool customer: Under the chic long jacket, she opted for nude tones as she sported a bodysuit and trousers in skin-toned colours Making her day: One of the followers looked ecstatic to be meeting her idol Khloe finished off the look with a pair of brown thigh-high suede booties and accessorized with a gold bangle. Her blonde tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she sported natural, complimentary make-up on her face topped off with a swipe of shiny lip. Khloe was not the only one at the studio as Scott Disick was also seen leaving the same building in the Los Angeles County area. The 33-year-old former partner of Kourtney Kardashian looked casual cool n a salt and pepper top with ripped light blue jeans and Nike trainers. Good spirits: Khloe also posedfor a selfie with a fan in a wheel chair Out and about: No doubt Khloe was happy to give some of her biggest fans the thrill of a lifetime Relaxed: Scott Disick was also spotted leaving the same studio Signature style: The 33-year-old former partner of Kourtney Kardashian looked casual cool n a salt and pepper top with ripped light blue jeans and Nike trainers He completed the look with his signature combover and a pair of large, black designer shades. Recently the two raised some eyebrows as Scott was caught not-too-discretely grabbing his crotch while talking to Khloe in one of Kylie Jenner's Snapchats yesterday. He took to Instagram on the same day to post an Elite Daily headline reading 'Did Scott Disick just grab his crotch while talking to Khloe Kardashian?' 'Of course,' he captioned the screen grab. No shame: Earlier in the day, Scott joked 'of course' after he was caught adjusting his crotch while talking to Khloe Kardashian in one of Kylie Jenner's Snapchats yesterday Quick adjustment: He was seen grabbing his crotch while chattting to Khloe Kardashian in a Snapchat shared by Kylie Jenner This year's baby stork sure has quite the number of stops to make. The latest being Nicky Hilton who is only a few weeks shy of the arrival of her first daughter. The 32-year-old socialite looked smart in her outfit as she shopped the stores of New York on Thursday. Pregnant princess! Nicky Hilton looked far along her pregnancy on Thursday as she walked the streets of New York It's hard not to notice Nicky's baby bump that is growing larger by the day. She covered it in sharp ensemble with a long, white cotton button-down and a grey cashmere sweater over top. Her blue jeans fit her skinny legs comfortably, which she paired with white high-top sneakers. Shopping for two? The 32-year-old donned a smart outfit that nicely covered up her baby bump Sharp for the streets: The sister of Paris Hilton looked comfortable in a white button-down blouse that was covered with a grey cashmere sweater The fashion designer was on point with her accessories as she donned a pair of tortoise shell-shaped sunglasses and her wedding ring, which was given by her husband of one year, James Rothschild. Her make-up was light, with just the right amount of tinted moisturizer. She carried her black designer purse in one hand and a shopping bag from Barney's New York in the other. Far along! The fashion designer paired her outfit with blue faded denim jeans, white high-top sneakers, and tortoise-shell shaped sunglasses On the go: Nicky topped off her outfit with a black designer handbag and carried a new purchase from Barney's New York Baby shower! Sister Paris Hilton and friends celebrate the soon-to-be arrival of Nicky's daughter News of her pregnancy with financier husband James Rothschild was first made public in January. In an interview with People in May, Nicky gave a hint as to what her daughter's room would look like. 'I like it classic and simple and pretty Its a unisex look,' she said. Sofia Vergara glowed in an off-the-shoulders striped blouse on Thursday while leaving a celebrity-favourite cosmetic dermatologist in Beverly Hills, California. The 43-year-old actress looked casually chic in her grey striped half-sleeve top and cuffed distressed blue jeans. The Modern Family star completed her outfit with nude heels and accessorised with sunglasses, a medallion necklace, red bracelet and watch. Off the shoulders: Sofia Vergara opted for the casual chic look as she visited a cosmetic dermatologist office on Thursday in Beverly Hills, California Sofia had her hair parted down the middle and down around her shoulders as she left the Epione clinic that specializes in laser and aesthetic surgery. The Colombia native took to Instagram on Wednesday to mark the two-year anniversary of her relationship with 39-year-old actor husband Joe Manganiello. Sofia and Joe got engaged on Christmas Day in 2014 and were married in November 2015 in Palm Beach, Florida. Distressed jeans: The Modern Family star stepped out in cuffed distressed jeans She's glowing: Sofia was glowing as she left the celebrity-favourite clinic Modern Family was renewed in March by ABC for an eighth season. Sofia portrays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the mockumentary sitcom that also stars Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Hyland and Ariel Winter. She can next be seen on the big screen in the upcoming comedy The Brits Are Coming. Busy star: Modern Family was renewed in March for an eighth season by ABC Newly married: Sofia married actor Joe Manganiello last November in Florida The film follows a couple who escape to Los Angeles in order to avoid repaying a gambling debt, and launch a jewel heist plan in the process. It also stars Maggie Q, Uma Thurman and Parker Posey. Joe played himself in Pee-wee's Big Holiday that was released on March 18 on Netflix. He also will voice the character of Hefty Smurf in the upcoming 2017 film Smurfs: The Lost Village. She complained of a problem with her eyesight earlier in the week. And on Friday Charlotte Crosby was seen pulling a range of facial expressions as she made her way through the Sydney's CBD. The 26-year-old was dressed for comfort in a pair of skinny jeans and a white top, and at one point pulled her long tresses across her face as she made her way through the streets. Scroll down for video Funny girl! Charlotte Crosby has put on an animated display while out in Sydney on Friday Despite the winter chill, Charlotte completed her casual summery look with black sandals and a grey fringed bag slung over her shoulder. She kept her brunette locks out and straightened with a pair of dark shades on top of her head. The former Geordie Shore starlet previously revealed she was suffering an eyesight problem, earlier in the week. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Charlotte complained that her eyes were sore after falling asleep in her contact lenses and that she was forced to cancel a trip to the Sydney Opera House. Covering up: The 26-year-old was dressed for comfort in a pair of skinny jeans and a white top, and at one point pulled her long tresses across her face as she made her way through the streets Ouch: The outing comes after Charlotte was forced to cancel a public appearance because she hurt one of her eyes However she later shared a selfie that showed off the windows to her soul adorned in sparkly gold makeup. The reality TV star told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that her eye felt painful on a flight from Melbourne, earlier that day and she was worried she had scratched her cornea. She was spotted arriving at Sydney Airport concealing her eyes behind sunglasses. Sore? At one during point during her stroll, the former Geordie Shore starlet looked to be trying to cover her eye Enjoying Australia: Since landing Down Under last weekend Charlotte has been busy enjoying the sights of Sydney and Melbourne She previously tweeted: 'I'm going to the OPERA! How sophisticated! And not just anywhere, (the) SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE'. But Charlotte confirmed she wouldn't be watching the performance of French opera Carmen because she could barely keep her lids open. The Ex On The Beach star also said she was disappointed because she'd picked out 'such a nice dress' for the occasion. Recovered? Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Charlotte complained that her eyes were sore after falling asleep wearing her contact lenses I cant put makeup on this eye because its hurting so much and that would irritate it,' Charlotte said. 'So then what am I meant to do when Ive got to wear my lovely dress and there will be 5,000 people taking photos? Im just going to feel awful all night. 'Its also hurting so I dont think I could sit and watch the opera for that long because Im in pain and its hard to open my eyes.' I cant put makeup on this eye because its hurting so much and that would irritate it,' Charlotte said of her injured eye Change of plan? Charlotte previously tweeted: 'Tonight I'm going to the OPERA! How sophisticated! And not just anywhere, (the) SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE' Charlotte was also forced to close the curtain in her hotel room because the natural light was hurting it. She added: 'Its a lot of problems and I dont feel I can get over any of them in time. Im really sad about it because I have such a nice dress for it. I hope it will be better in the morning. Meanwhile, Charlotte announced her departure from MTV's Geordie Shore earlier this month amid clashes with her ex-boyfriend Gary Beadle. Roxy Jacenko opted for a drastic outfit change as she attended the NSW Supreme Court for her husband Oliver Curtis' sentencing on Friday. The 36-year-old was photographed in the morning at her annual PR and digital media conference in a pink jumper and silver skirt by Gucci totalling $5000. But the Sydney PR guru swapped her colourful ensemble for a sombre black dress and YSL high heels when she arrived at court with Oliver that afternoon. Scroll down for video Dressed for the occasion: PR maven Roxy Jacenko opted for a drastic outfit change as she attended the NSW Supreme Court for her husband Oliver Curtis' sentencing on Friday. In the morning, she wore a pink jumper and silver skirt by Gucci totalling $5000 (left), but she chose a sombre black dress for the afternoon (right) Earlier this month, Oliver was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading following a three week trial. The 30-year-old father-of-two could face up to five years imprisonment and/or a $220,000 fine over the charge. Roxy loyally stood by his side throughout, and attracted plenty of media attention for her stylish and expensive outfits. Support: Roxy clutched husband Oliver Curtis' hand as they were photographed arriving at the NSW Supreme Court. The 30-year-old stockbroker was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading earlier this month And it was no different for Oliver's sentencing as she revisited a Dior dress she previously wore during the trial. The designer frock featured a lace detail on the hemline and perfectly matched her ankle strap heels. The Sweaty Betty PR founder accessorised with a few gold bracelets on her right hand also wore her blonde hair loosely. It appeared Roxy was trying to keep a low profile as she concealed her gaze behind a pair of dark sunglasses. What a difference: Roxy's pre-planned PR conference at Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel coincidentally fell on the same day as her husband's sentencing The outfit could not be more different from the brightly coloured ensemble she wore at Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel earlier that day. Meanwhile, she clutched tightly to her husband of four years as they were photographed arriving at the Supreme Court together. Recently, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that Friday's social media seminar will be her last. 'I have decided that after three fabulous sessions that I wont be doing the annual event any longer.' she said. She's known for having the most famous cleavage in Sydney, which she regularly flaunts at the drop of a hat. But on Friday, reality star Zilda Williams put on a noticeably different display than her usual X-rated outfits by covering up her legendary curves while on set filming a new project. For once, the 33-year-old was dressed from head-to-toe, hiding her famous DD assets beneath a long-sleeved black top while her toned legs were covered in a pair of matching tracksuit pants. Scroll down for video A brand new look! Zilda Williams was unrecognizable on Friday in a conservative ensemble (left) as she attended a busy day of filming in Sydney The Bachelor bombshell had even tamed her usually luscious blonde locks, straitening her hair into a more conservative bob cut. To complete the unglamorous transformation, the sun-kissed starlet sported homely slippers on her feet. Taking to Snapchat to document the experience, the aspiring actress wrote: 'Last day woohoo! 13+ hours let's go.' She then added: 'Covering up for a change hahaha.' Is it really you? The 33-year-old covered up her famous curves in black pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and completely the homely look with a pair of pink slippers While it's not known exactly what the former Maxim model was filming, she has made her aspirations to return to the small screen known on many occasions. While she hasn't ruled out a return to reality television just yet, Zilda's made it clear that her main goal is to transition into acting and presenting. 'I would give Survivor New Zealand a try,' the Kiwi-born beauty told Daily Mail Australia in February, referring to the upcoming series. 'I would give Survivor New Zealand a try:' The Kiwi-born beauty is moving away from reality TV, but is keen to appear on Survivor if given the opportunity 'Covered up for a change!' Zilda poked fun at her own attire, clearly in on the joke 'I love New Zealand reality television, but I'm actually really wanting to try my luck in acting and presenting so that's what I'm putting my energy into right now.' Sources told Daily Mail Australia that the vivacious stunner has been attending auditions in Sydney, and is currently in talks for a few different projects. The multi-talented Kiwi has recently complained about the size of her breasts, claiming that some recent weight gain has caused them to become much larger despite having her implants reduced from a FF-cup to a DD last year. '13+ hours let's go!' The former reality TV star indicated that she was in for a grueling day of filming 'I'm actually really wanting to try my luck in acting and presenting so that's what I'm putting my energy into right now,' Zilda told Daily Mail Australia earlier this year 'So I had a breast reduction 6 months ago and now I can't fit my DD bras!' she tweeted last month. Zilda's curvier frame is believed to be the result of a recent trip back home to New Zealand to visit family, where she abandoned her usual exercise regimen. She's since been spotted working out back in Sydney in a bid to return to her svelte self. 'So I had a breast reduction 6 months ago and now I can't fit my DD bras!' The stunner claims that her cup size is increasing after gaining weight in New Zealand She's well versed in what suits her body and knows how to flaunt her best angles. And 24-year-old Andreja Pejic put on a stylish display once again as she attended the Orange Is The New Black premiere in New York on Thursday. The Melbourne-raised beauty opted for a thigh-skimming pink dress, showing off her endless legs, and the bright pink hues of the frock complemented her alabaster complexion perfectly. Scroll down for video A leggy display! Transgender model Andreja Pejic showed off her trim pins and her svelte frame in a figure-hugging dress in New York on Thursday The tight-fitting dress, which featured an intricate beaded design on the front, revealed Andreja's svelte frame and toned limbs and her skin looked glowing and healthy. The successful transgender model added to her lofty six foot one inch frame with a pair of nude stilettos, but kept the heel height to a minimal. The blonde beauty accessorised with a simple choker-style necklace and had her long locks styled straight, falling over her slim shoulders. Hot pink: The dress featured an intricate beaded design on the front and the bright hues complemented Andreja's alabaster complexion Her makeup also added to her effortless look, as she opted for a blush pink lip and neutral-coloured hues. During the evening, the leggy blonde uploaded a photo to her own Instagram account as she posed for photos at the event with friends. Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Andreja and her family immigrated to Melbourne as political refugees when she was eight years old in 2000. Pretty in pink, again: Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Andreja and her family immigrated to Melbourne as political refugees in 2000 when she was eight years old She was scouted at age 16 while working at McDonald's and began making a name for herself as an androgynous model, showcasing both male and female designs. In 2014, Andreja made the transition to female and has since forged a successful modelling career. She became the first openly transgender model to be profiled by Vogue in May last year and is well known in the industry as the first transgender women to be named as the face of a major cosmetics brand Make Up For Ever. In February last year, Andreja made her triumphant debut on the catwalk as a woman following a year spent undergoing a series of gender reassignment procedures. He is finally about to reprise his iconic role as Rick Deckard. And Harrison Ford seems to be doing a Blade Runner of a different kind, with his efforts to avoid having a shave clearly paying off in style after he was spotted wearing his now exceedingly bushy beard in Beverly Hills on Thursday. The famously handsome matinee idol looked more like a salty old sea dog as he killed some spare time by going on a shopping spree in the well-heeled area of Los Angeles County. The Fur-gitive: Harrison Ford was once again sporting his gloriously bushy beard in Beverly Hills on Thursday The 73-year-old appeared fit and healthy, and completed his nautical but nice look with a casual blue shirt, brown jeans and trainers. And while to the untrained eye he looked like just a regular old granddad visiting the shops, he added a dash of Hollywood cool to his look with a pair of black sunglasses. Blade Runner 2, which also stars Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright and Dave Bautista, is to hit cinemas sooner than expected. Taking place a few decades after the events of the first film, it is now set to hit theaters on October 6 2017, months ahead of its originally planned February 2018 release. Double take: Harrison is almost unrecognisable from his usual roguishly handsome self (L) with his beard Ahoy there mateys: The famously handsome star looks more like a salty old sea dog at the moment Next big role? Harrison would be the perfect actor to finally give Captain Birdseye the star power he deserves And given Deckard was, in director Ridley Scott's opinion, a replicant in the first film, it seem's Harrison's character may be trying to lie low in the forthcoming feature. Ridley previously explained: 'We talked at length about what it could be, and came up with a pretty strong three-act storyline, and it all makes sense in terms of how it relates to the first one. 'Harrison is very much part of this one, but really its about finding him. He comes in in the third act.' Doing a Blade Runner: Harrison is growing his fuzz for when he reprises his role as Rick Deckard He is also set to once again pull on his stetson an grab his bullwhip to play perhaps his signature role as Dr Henry 'Indiana' Jones. It was confirmed back in March a fifth film is currently in development, with Steven Spielberg returning to direct, and which will be released in July 2019. The legendary director even gave fans a delightful piece of news recently, stressing the fact he will not be killing off Harrison's character, unlike Han Solo, who died in one of the most anti-climatic death scenes of 2015 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Phew: Steven Spielberg has revealed Harrison's character will not be killed off when he makes his silver screen comeback as Indiana Jones She's the undisputed breakout star of MTV's Geordie Shore. And while Charlotte Crosby has already found plenty of success outside the reality series with fitness DVDs and books, the 26-year-old now has another notch to add to her belt after being named the new face of Australian fashion label Tiger Mist. The 26-year-old has showcased her model looks in a campaign for the brand, proving that she's going to be just fine on her own after saying goodbye to the MTV series, earlier this month. Scroll down for video Supermodel: Charlotte Crosby flaunts her svelte frame in a colourful bandage dress as she stars in a photo shoot for Australian fashion label Tiger Mist In one image from the shoot, the blonde beauty flaunts her svelte frame in a skintight pink and purple bandage dress. Putting on a coquettish display, the reality TV star plays with her hair as she gazes seductively into the camera. In another photo, Charlotte stuns in a silver playsuit with stylish split sleeves. Trim pins! The 26-year-old showcases her long lithe legs in a pair of grey suede thigh high boots The playsuit is paired with racy thigh-high boots that highlight her lithe, toned legs. The lovable bombshell also showcases her retro hippie side, posing with flowers whilst wearing a pair of '70s style sunglasses. With so much on her plate right now, it's no surprise that Charlotte has vowed never to return to Geordie Shore. Ravishing in red: The reality beauty also flaunts her figure in a ruby playsuit Retro: Charlotte sports a pair of red heart-shaped glasses, reminiscent of the ones worn in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita Fab footwear! In addition to Tiger Mist's clothes, the stunner also plugs the label's footwear Stunning: The fitness expert flaunts her flawless figure in a short shirt-dress Flower power! The Geordie Shore starlet channels the Seventies with a retro look And not only does the stunner intend to leave the show behind forever, she hopes fans will switch off now that her final episode has screened on Tuesday night. People will still watch it without me, they wont just stop but I hope they do. I hope everyone stops watching it, she told Daily Mail Australia. Its a definite no. Its over now, Ive left, I cant just go back willy-nilly. However, it seems things might have been different if her and on-again off-again beau Gary Gaz Beadle had worked out. Ring ring! At one point the leggy blonde poses with a yellow phone whilst wearing a racy floral number Playful! The model plays with a toy zebra whilst reclining on a hot pink and gold lounge Cheeky: The beauty gives a cheeky wink to the camera When asked if she would have stayed on the show if she and Gaz were together and doing well as a couple, she gave an enthusiastic yes. Though Charlotte ruled out a return to Geordie Shore, even for special occasions, she said she would appear if there was a tenth anniversary episode. Id go back for that but is it even going to be still on by then? she said. Dont get me wrong I love Geordie Shore and I always will. Its really unfortunate and sad that it had to come to this but sometimes in life you get signs and messages from fate telling you that its best to move on. I wanted to move on, I wanted to do other things I think Ive gotten everything I possibly could out of Geordie Shore, Ive taken it as far as I could go. 'I hope everyone stops watching it, Charlotte told Daily Mail Australia when asked about her exit from Geordie Shore A comeback? While she's done with the show, she admits she would appear if there was a tenth anniversary episode She recently joined a Disney-backed campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef in partnership with her new film Finding Dory. But it would seem Ellen DeGeneres' passion for the Australian ecosystem isn't quite matched by her knowledge of the country's slang terms. On Friday, News.com.au challenged the 58-year-old daytime TV host to guess the meanings of several Aussie terms, with hilarious results. Scroll down for video 'How's Your Aussie Slang?' Ellen DeGeneres revealed she is stumped by Australian slang terms during a new interview on Friday During a recent press junket for Finding Dory, Ellen and her co-star Ed ONeill took part in a game of 'How's Your Aussie Slang?' Unsurprisingly, this task resulted in some rather amusing answers from the Americans as they attempted to 'translate' several phrases from Down Under. In the first round, they were both left stumped by the word 'Macca's' - which is slang for fast food chain McDonald's. Having a laugh: During a recent press junket for Finding Dory, Ellen and her co-star Ed ONeill took part in a game of 'How's Your Aussie Slang?' Ellen suggested it could refer to 'macaroons' while Ed, 70, guessed it could be a type of hat. They were similarly clueless by 'S'arvo', meaning 'this afternoon'. Ellen complained, 'See, there's no "y" or "e". Because I hear about "breakie" and things like that.' She added dryly: 'We're bad at this game.' However, they did successfully identify that 'Barbie' means 'barbecue' and that 'Straya' is short for 'Australia'. 'We're bad at this game': In the first round, they were both left stumped by the word 'Macca's' - which is slang for fast food chain McDonald's This follows a public clash between Ellen and Today co-host Karl Stefanovic, after he criticised the Emmy-winner for supporting Disney's Remember the Reef campaign. Last week, the Karl claimed on-air that the environmental project was simply a means of promoting Finding Dory, which was released to cinemas on Friday. He said: 'I think Ellen's missed the mark. It's probably not her fault, it's probably her advisers. But it just doesn't sit well with me.' Ellen later told News Corp Australia: 'I didn't know it was a controversy but that's exciting that people are talking about it.' It's an even better party when Bella Thorne shows up and this time was no exception. The 18-year-old actress was ready to kick up her heels as she attended the Babes For Boobs Live Bachelor Auction in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Bella looked chic and sexy in a little black dress with no sleeves and crew neckline along with a thigh-skimming hemline. Scroll down for video Beautiful: Bella Thorne rocked a LBD as she attended the Babes For Boobs Live Bachelor Auction in Los Angeles on Thursday night The shortness of the frock allowed the auburn-haired beauty to flaunt her toned and perfect limbs. A pair of pointy black heels with thin delicate straps gave her 5 ft 8 in a definite boost. Bella wore her long hair piled into a glamorous topknot with a few strands hanging to soften her jawline. Kicking up her heels: The 18-year-old was on hand to see a bunch of nice bachelors get auctioned off for dinner dates at this charity fundraiser benefiting the LA County Susan G. Komen Top notch: Bella sported a topknot hairdo to go along with her black mini-dresss Of course, the point of the fundraiser was to bid money for a dinner date with one of the bachelors donating their sweet time all in the name of charity. The proceeds benefit the Los Angeles County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen, whose aim is to help cancer victims and to find a cure. The hosts of the evening's festivities, taking place at El Rey Theater, were Kelly Osbourne, Kym Johnson and Michael Yo, DJ extraordinaire who also served as auctioneer. Co-hosting duties: Kelly Osbourne looked chic in a form-fitting black dress at the event where she served as co-host Tats nice: The 31-year-old sported the word 'Solidarity' on one side of her head Got a tale to tell: Kelly showed off her 'Stories...' tattoo when she turned her head All that glitters: Kym Johnson looked lovely in a shimmery bronze dress with sheer sleeves Kelly looked fantastic in a form-fitting black dress with V-neckline, long sleeves and a tea-length hem with a sexy split going up the side. The daughter of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne sported a half-buzzed head that exposed her head tattoos, 'Stories...' on one side and 'Solidarity' on the other. Dancing With The Stars pro-dancer Kym Johnson displayed fine form too in a shimmery bronze dress with sheer sleeves and a plunging neckline. What a doll: Jessica Sutta of The Pussycat Dolls exhibited charm in her daring dress and hotpants combo I can do this: The performer gave her billowy dress a twirl as she arrived to the event at El Rey Theater True blue: Former True Blood star Adina Porter was a cool sight in light blue blouse with camou shorts and blue suede shoes Jessica Sutta, former member of The Pussycat Dolls, showed her flair in a trailing black dress with leg-baring splits down the front and a deep-cut neckline. Adina Porter, who starred in the former HBO hit True Blood, was certainly eye-catching in a light blue blouse with brown camou shorts and blue suede shoes. Golnesa 'GG' Gharachedaghi from The Shahs Of Sunset was advertising something else as she arrived in a floral babydoll dress with her black bra totally exposed. It's time for a romantic getaway. Young lovers Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler left Los Angeles with a stylish statement as the two were spotted at LAX on Thursday. The 27-year-old actress and 24-year-old Austin were hand-in-hand as they reveled in the travel rush. Scroll down for video Effortless: Young lovers Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler left Los Angeles with a stylish statement as the two were spotted at LAX on Thursday The High School Musical alum donned a cool, hipster look as she wore a grey-and-black striped cropped top, which she paired with black soft pants, and covered with a beige buttoned coat. Her toned tummy was on display, revealing a sparkling diamond belly button piercing. The Grease: Live star opted for a straw hat that sat perfectly on her lioness brunette tresses. Where are they headed? The young couple made a beeline towards the exit Leaving with style! Vanessa and Austin walked side-by-side through the aiport Hot couple: Vanessa worked that straw hat and beige top coat while Austin stunned in his fresh new haircut The brunette beauty appeared to be wearing light make-up and had on a pair of color-tinted metallic sunglasses. Hudgens wore gold sandals, adorned with a gold metal plate across the shoe. She appeared to be fascinated with her white cellphone she held in her right hand that entertained the actress for a bit. The 24-year-old actor looked handsome in a grey tee that scooped at the neck. He paired it with black jeans, a navy blue jacket, and white sneakers. Travelling light? The pair were seen lugging their baggage down a long flight of stairs Hat's the way to do it! The High School Musical beauty kept her head covered with a wide-brimmed hat Helping hand: The pair were met with some help as they reached the bottom of the stairs Stepping out in style: Austin donned a grey T-shirt, with black jeans, a navy blue jacket, and white sneakers Hair today...: Austin, who's been recently sporting long hair, recently trimmed down his blonde locks Butler added a touch of 'cool' as he walked through the airport in black sunglasses. Austin, who's been recently donning long hair, recently cut his blonde locks, adding to his boyish charm. The budding romantics have been dating since 2011. The two have made quite the waves in recent months as Hudgens was under investigation for carving her and Austin's names on rocks in Arizona on a Valentine's Day trip. Let's hope this travel vacation doesn't make waves. Going strong: The couple have been been dating since 2011 When not traveling, the two are busy filming separate projects. Austin had been filming the MTV series The Shannara Chronicles, where he has signed on to play ten episodes as half-human/half-elf Wil Ohmsford. He also completed Yoga Housers starring alongside Johnny Depp and Justin Long, where two teen yoga enthusiasts team up with a legendary man-hunter to battle an ancient evil presence. Hudgens stunned in her strong performance as Betty Rizzo. An impressive 12.2M viewers tuned in to the three-hour live reimagining of the 1971 fifties musical, which was surprisingly well executed despite rain and technical glitches. Taylor Swift's new relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston is already under fire from naysayers, with some accusing the fame-hungry starlet of using her love life as a publicity tool yet again. But one person who believes that the Blank Space songstress is genuine is Giuliana Rancic, who has come out to defend Taylor's latest high-profile romance. 'I do think it's real,' said the 41-year-old when asked by The Kyle and Jackie O Show if she believed that Taylor's relationship was a publicity stunt. Scroll down for video 'I do think it's real:' Giuliana Rancic was adamant that Taylor Swift's latest relationship is genuine and not a publicity stunt during an interview with Australia's The Kyle and Jackie O Show She continued: 'It's not totally out of left field, because they met at the MET Gala and danced there, so there was a prior relationship there.' The E! personality was referring to leaked video footage that showed the Blank Space stunner dancing up a storm with the Thor actor at last month's MET Gala. Giuliana then started to shower the calculating blonde with praise, gushing: 'Taylor is young, she's super successful, she's single again, and he's a handsome guy...' Her latest fling: Taylor is said to be dating British actor Tom Hiddleston after photos of the pair emerged kissing on a beach earlier this week 'It's not totally out of left field, because they met at the MET Gala and danced there, so there was a prior relationship there,' explained Giuliana Radio host Kyle Sandilands then accused the Fashion Police star of pretending to be 'holier-than-thou' with her positive reaction to Taylor's dating news, causing Giuliana to laugh. She replied: 'Bottom line is, what do we expect? She's young, she's beautiful, she's successful, she's fun...' Giuliana continued: 'I gotta tell you, I have interviewed her and she is so present. She comes right up to you, she looks you in the eye, big smile, puts her hand on your arm. Very personable, very warm.' 'Bottom line is, what do we expect? She's young, she's beautiful, she's successful, she's fun!' The 41-year-old E! personality continued to praise Taylor 'I gotta tell you, I have interviewed her and she is so present. She comes right up to you, she looks you in the eye, big smile, puts her hand on your arm,' the E! starlet said of Taylor This week photos emerged of Taylor and Tom kissing on a beach in Rhode Island by her home, just two weeks after dumping DJ Calvin Harris. The move has caused some to speculate that the PDA was a publicity stunt, with New York magazine claiming that the limelight-loving pop princess staged the pics to detract from Kim Kardashian's GQ interview. In the interview, Kim accuses Taylor of lying about her husband Kanye West after dissing the rapper during her 2016 Grammys speech over his song 'Famous' -- which Kim claims Taylor officially approved of before it was even released. Deflecting? New York magazine claims Taylor purposely leaked her romance with Tom to the press to take the attention away from negative comments Kim Kardashian made about her in GQ magazine 'You completely dissed my husband just to play the victim again:' Kim told GQ, referring to Taylor's infamous 2016 Grammys speech in which she dissed Kanye West The song, from Kanye's last album, contained the line: 'I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ Why? I made that b**ch famous.' Taylor slammed Kanye over the line in her Grammys acceptance speech, but Kim Kardashian is insisting that Taylor HAD approved the lyrics, and was just keen to continue playing the victim. 'She totally approved that,' the 35-year-old cover girl told GQ, adding: 'She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't.' The Kimojis creator seemed genuinely surprised about the situation, suggesting that Taylor 'just, you know, flipped all of a sudden.' 'She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn't:' Kim says Taylor was aware of Kanye's song 'Famous' and even approved of its release beforehand She shared: 'It was funny because [on the call with Kanye, Taylor] said, 'When I get on the Grammy red carpet, all the media is going to think that I'm so against this, and I'll just laugh and say, 'The joke's on you, guys. I was in on it the whole time.'' Kim continued: 'And I'm like, wait, but [in] your Grammy speech, you completely dissed my husband just to play the victim again.' Team Taylor has denied Kim's claims, saying in a statement: 'Taylor does not hold anything against Kim Kardashian as she recognizes the pressure Kim must be under and that she is only repeating what she has been told by Kanye West.' She is a California girl . But Jessica Alba certainly has no problem painting the Big Apple red, or pink. The 35-year-old actress made an eye-popping display as she arrived at a party with a few gal pals in New York City on Thursday night. Pretty in pink: Jessica Alba made an eye-popping display as she arrived at a party with a few gal pals in New York City on Thursday night She showed off a bit of cleavage in a low-cut number as she enjoyed a night of bonding with a few of her nearest and dearest. The baby pink sleeveless midi dress featured a low v-cut and embossed patterned design. Jessica added a bit of gaudiness to her look as she wore a pair of metallic gold heels along with a matching clutch. She also wore her brunette tresses down into waves in a middle-part as she wore natural, complimentary make-up on her face topped off with shiny pink lip. Ooh la la: The 35-year-old actress showed off her cleavage in the low cut number Looking good: The baby pink sleeveless midi dress featured a low v-cut and embossed patterned design The Sin City star, who resides in Los Angeles, has been in the Big Apple this week to promote her Honest Company's new hair care range. The mother-of-two co-founded the company, which sells non-toxic household products, in 2012, and last August it was valued at $1.7billion. Jessica and husband of eight years Cash Warren celebrated their eldest daughter Honor's eighth birthday last week. They are also parents to four-year-old daughter Haven. Gilt-y pleasure: Jessica added a bit of gaudiness to her look as she wore a pair of metallic gold heels along with a matching clutch The Fantastic Four star, who is said to be worth $340million, has just made Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women. Jessica is also keeping busy in the acting world, and can next be seen in Dear Eleanor, due out on July 5. The film follows two teenage girls who travel across the US in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt. She's the super-fit Gold Coast beauty who is taking the modelling world by storm. And Jesinta Campbell - who was announced as the Olay ambassador earlier this week - was spotted maintaining her model physique in the exclusive suburb of Double Bay on Friday morning. The 24-year-old brunette showed off her catwalk winning figure in a pair of tight-fitting leggings, which drew heaps of attention to her trim pins. Scroll down for video Keeping in shape: Jesinta Campbell - who was announced as the Olay ambassador earlier this week - was spotted maintaining her model physique in the exclusive suburb of Double Bay on Friday She kept warm ahead of her intense exercise session in a slouchy black jumper, while styling her glossy tresses back into a neat bun. Jesinta completed her look with stylish aviators and appeared make-up free to keep her skin glowing and flawless for her new ambassador role for the skincare line. The fashionista also went without her treasured diamond engagement ring, given to her by fiance Lance Buddy Franklin - perhaps to protect the expensive ring from the vigorous exercise class. Winter chills: The 24-year-old kept warm ahead of her exercise session in a slouchyblack jacket Flaunting it: The pretty brunette showed off her catwalk winning figure in a pair of tight-fitting leggings On Thursday, the beauty queen showed off her fresh and impeccable features in a photoshoot for Olay's Total Effects range. It marks a significant milestone for the former Miss Universe Australia, who recently signed with international talent company IMG. Jesinta said: 'I am so excited to be working with Olay, its such a respected brand that aims to make women feel good about themselves, which I love. Going under the radar: Jesinta completed her look with stylish shades and appeared make-up free Keeping warm: Jesinta pulled up the collar on her jumper to keep warm during Australia's chilly winter 'Like all busy women, a simple, effective skincare regimen is essential for me,' she continued. 'Whether Im putting in long hours on set, working out or travelling, I know I can trust that Olay Total Effects will keep my skin healthy and radiant despite my crazy lifestyle.' The Daily Telegraph reported this week that Jesinta had parted ways with her agent of six years Sharon Finnigan in a bid for global stardom. Jesinta is now being looked after Australian publicist Annie Kelly, who boasts Lara Bingle and Shanina Shaik among her models. Protection: The fashionista also went without her treasured diamond engagement ring - given to her by fiance Lance Buddy Franklin - ahead of her sweat session Keeping it simple: She styled her tresses back into a neat bun Meanwhile, Sharon still manages Jesinta's AFL player fiance, Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, 29, among other high-profile names, such as Karl Stefanovic. Under her management, Jesinta made the transformation from Gold Coast teenage pageant queen to a David Jones ambassador. Meanwhile, Olay Australia brand manager Sabrina Ayala Mayorca said: 'We are thrilled to have Jesinta on board as Olays new ambassador. 'She completely embodies the Total Effects woman who leads such a multi-faceted life and wants to look her best at all times.' She accepted the 2015/16 title in September, having previously held the regional title of Miss Hull The morning after, Zara said her behaviour was 'not like her' and she expressed huge regret Zara shared a romp on the ITV2 dating show with 24-year-old Wolverhampton scaffolder Alex on Wednesday night Beauty queen, 20, from North Ferriby was de-crowned by the organisation on Thursday Love Island host Caroline Flack has leaped to the defense of dethroned contestant Zara Holland, after she was mocked for losing her Miss Great Britain title. Caroline, 36, questioned pageant organiser's old fashioned standards after they confirmed that she would no longer be promoted as a role model because she had sex on television. And while Caroline was in the Love Islander's corner, other famous viewers including Vicky Pattison and Sam Reece saw the funny side of Zara's misfortune. Scroll down for video In her corner: Love Island host Caroline Flack took to Twitter to defend dethroned Miss Great Britain contestant Zara Holland on Thursday night Caroline tweeted: 'Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl . What even is 'Miss GB' ? Are we living in the dark ages?' The Love Island host, who returns for a second series this year, was live tweeting the episode, first simply saying, 'Awww feel for Zara...' when it was claimed that the organisation was 'disappointed in her behaviour. The beauty queen shared a steamy romp in the bedroom with newcomer Alex Bowen, 24, in scenes aired on Wednesday night. Dethroned: Zara was stripped of her title by the organisation on Thursday, after she was filmed having sex on the ITV2 dating show Regret: Zara shared a steamy romp with Wolverhampton scaffolder Alex on Wednesday night, but quickly expressed regret afterwards Close to you: The scenes were aired on the ITV2 dating show, which Caroline hosts Wolverhampton scaffolder Alex previously dated I'm A Celeb winner Vicky Pattison, who weighed on the drama on Thursday night. Taking a humorous approach, she wrote: 'I would bowl in there and sweep that handsome pencil peen off his feet quicker than you can say 'decrowned' Model and boutique director Zara from North Ferriby was crowned in Leicester in September 2015, having previously held the regional title of Miss Hull, but now first runner-up Deone Robertson will take over. 'Does she know about this?' asked Stephanie Davis' ex-boyfriend Sam Reece on Twitter. 'Or she going to keep bs going on about she's still Miss GB?' Defending her: Caroline sent her love to the TV contestant, saying that she believed the pageant bosses were taking an old fashioned stance Mocking: Vicky Pattison, who previously dated Alex, had something to saw on the matter on Thursday night Teasing: Zara has been boasting about her title since entering the show, but Stephanie Davis' ex Sam Reece seems to see this as humorous now Taking the mickey: Sam also posted a picture poking fun at the beauty contestant Zara has been teased for frequent boasts about her Miss Great Britain crown but the mocking continued online in light of recent news. Using a picture of the moment she accepted the title in September 2015, Sam continued: 'Zara saying goodbye to her Miss GB title' An official statement from the organisation confirmed on Thursday that they 'can no longer promote Zara as a positive role model.' She was initially said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses but the organisation confirmed that Zara would no longer represent them on Thursday. The official statement said: 'Following recent actions within ITV2 show Love Island it is with deep regret that we, the Miss Great Britain Organisation, have to announce that Zara Holland has formally been de-crowned as Miss Great Britain.' 'As an organisation we have not taken this decision lightly, we are close to all of our winners and wherever possibly stand by them during their rein. 'That said, we feel we have no choice but to make this decision under the circumstances. 'The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. 'We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.' Muscle man: Alex arrived on the show the day before and he said he was not averse to the idea of having sex on the show, and appeared to have set his eyes on Sophie Gradon and not Zara Wolverhampton scaffolder Alex arrived on the show the day before, saying in a pre-entrance interview that he was 'unbelievable' in bed, but already found Zara a 'bit annoying' to watch on TV. The Birmingham Mail quotes Alex as saying: 'As soon as I get with a girl on there, as soon as I have sex with them, they'll be telling everyone how unbelievable I am.' On Zara, he added: 'I have to meet her properly to see what shes really like. Watching from the outside shes a bit annoying. She doesnt make it easy on herself by saying shes Miss Great Britain all the time.' Alex previously dated I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here winner Vicky, expressing saying that he wasn't looking for 'a drip with no personality' in a girlfriend. Oh dear: Zara is said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses after having sex in the Love Island house in scenes which aired on Wednesday night, insiders tell The Sun Crowning achievement: Deone Robertson has been named as the new Miss Great Britain Ahead of Thursday night's show, beauty queen Zara admitted that she'd got swept up in the moment with Alex. She said: 'You know when you're in the moment and it just happens. That's really not like me at all. Why couldn't we have just gone to sleep?' Zara spoke of her regret for her steamy romp on the ITV2 dating show when she took to the Beach Hut confessional the morning after. Slinky: Zara is said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses after having sex in the Love Island house in scenes which aired on Wednesday night, insiders tell The Sun Taking cover: Shying away from the cameras, Alex and Zara pulled the bed covers over themselves as things got decidedly steamy in the bedroom We didn't see this coming: There's was a surprise in store in Love Island on Wednesday night's episode, when Miss Great Britain Zara Holland enjoyed a steamy night of passion with new boy Alex Bowen Tuckered out: Later on in the evening, Alex appeared to have no problem falling asleep LEMMON, S.D. Men from Africa have turned the long side of an empty building into a scene that could twist a cowboys heart for the days when cattle trailed the prairie under a sky so wide and lovely. Jonathan Imafidor, 29, and Dotun Popoola, 35, are artists from Nigeria, and they traveled thousands of miles to this bustling little town just across the state border to help honor its founding cowboy. That cowboy and town namesake is Ed Lemmon, still famous after all these years for saddle handling more cattle than any man who ever lived, bossing one of the nations largest roundups and operating the worlds largest fenced lease of 865,000 acres on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, some of it illegally, or so history says. Lemmon (1857-1945) was dubbed Boss Cowman by a biographer. Though he never used the title himself, it stuck hard, and today is what Lemmon calls its annual rodeo celebration and will soon be the name of a square in downtown Lemmon. The artistic work of Imafidor and Popoola will be the backdrop to the Boss Cowman Square, setting the scene, so to speak. Theyve painted a long horizontal stretch of prairie hills, the grass dotted with wildflowers, the Grand River cutting through, and a pair of cowboys working a string of longhorns that are precise and detailed in the foreground, fading into blue-gray silhouettes off on the horizon. It is an exquisite piece of work, done with brushes dipped into cans of exterior latex paint donated by the local Northwest Farm and Home Supply hardware store. The men are schooled artists and sometimes collaborate on outdoor murals in Nigeria, where Imafidor is a university art instructor and lecturer and Popoola is curator at the National Gallery of Art. This prairie scene is different from what they know and so are the forms of horses and cattle. These are not horses and cows from Nigeria. No, no, no. They took us to a branding here so we could study the cattle and the horsemen, Imafidor says. Coming from West Africa where the sky burns yellow hot in a blue sky, the men were taken with all the color above their heads, stretching between the horizons of grass in all directions. The sky here is so dramatic in the colors. In the evenings, we see the beautiful oranges and pinks, Popoola said. The men arrived in Lemmon May 17, guests of local sculptor John Lopez, and started work on the mural the very next day. It is so large, we wanted to give it a full attack and spend more time, Imafidor said. Popoola came over from Nigeria last summer to study metal welding under Lopez. This year, along with Imafidor, it is mostly about art with a brush. The pair also has been working on a series of paintings and will hold a show in Lopezs studio 3 miles east of Lemmon on Second Street, starting at noon on Fathers Day. The show, Araism & The West is intended to both bring together and contrast the African tribal culture and the Plains Indians and cowboys. Their works will be on display and for sale, helping to finance their travel expenses. Lopez, who is known nationally and regionally for his larger-than-life scrap metal sculptures, is the artistic force behind Boss Cowman Square, though others in town are supporting the work and financing the project. A scrap metal sculpture of Lemmon astride a horse will take center stage in the square, with the mural creating the context for Lemmons life and the prairie on which he lived. Lopez brought in large granite rocks, built a pedestal for the sculpture, created an entrance of metal and wood and designed the mural concept. It will be beautiful when its complete and everyone is invited to the unveiling of the Ed Lemmon sculpture after the Boss Cowman Celebration parade on July 9. Imafidor and Popoola will be at the unveiling for anyone interested in meeting this pair of men who have come so far to bring so much beauty to the community. The mural totally exceeds my expectations. The longhorns look theyre coming right out of the wall in that landscape with Black Horse Butte and the cattle trailing up off the river. Theyre (Imafidor and Popoola) so tickled to be a part of it, Lopez said. He is set to star as the villian in the upcoming action thriller Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And on Thursday, Ben Mendelsohn, 47, was certainly dressed to kill as he greeted fans outside the Jimmy Kimmel studios in Hollywood. The Melbourne-born actor looked dapper in a grey suit and black button-up shirt which he matched with a pair of slick black dress shoes. Scroll down for video Dapper from Down Under! Ben Mendelsohn, 47, was certainly dressed to kill on Thursday when he greeted fans outside the Jimmy Kimmel studios in Hollywood. The silver-haired thespian took a moment to sign autographs with lucky fans before disappearing inside the studio building ahead of his interview with Jimmy Kimmel. Ben is currently on the promotion trail for his new flick Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in which he stars opposite Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones. According to the film's producer Kathleen Kennedy, 'Rogue One takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe'. Chic: The Melbourne-born actor looked dapper in a grey suit and black button-up shirt which he matched with a pair of slick black dress shoes The film, which is slated for release in December, has been plagued by rumours of on-set crises of late, with whispers that almost half of the film has been forced to undergo costly re-shoots. 'It's been said the Gareth Edwards version of Star Wars: Rogue One is too dark for Disney's liking as originally it was going to be a Dirty Dozen-like movie where Rebels go on a suicide mission to steal the Death Star plans and don't make it out alive', claimed Cosmic Book News 'Its speculated Disney wasnt happy with that direction and wants to add fun (ala Force Awakens) to the movie'. Paying his dues: The silver-haired thespian took a moment to sign autographs with lucky fans before disappearing inside the studio building ahead of his interview with Jimmy Kimmel Meanwhile, Ben actor has played a starring role in Netflix's dramatic thriller, Bloodline, since it debuted in 2015. His gripping role in the series has earned him nominations for the Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. The actor's appearance in crime drama film Animal Kingdom, alongside Aussie greats Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton, in 2010, catapulted him into the limelight. New gig: Ben is currently on the promotion trail for his new flick Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in which he stars opposite Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones She never fails to dazzle when she glams up on the red carpet at glitzy events. But Jennifer Garner took things back to basics as she went make-up free to run errands near her Los Angeles home on Thursday. The actress, 44, looked incredible as she showcased her enviably clear complexion and glowing skin without a scrap of cosmetic help as she headed out for the day. Scroll down for video Natural beauty: Jennifer Garner took things back to basics as she went make-up free to run errands near her Los Angeles home on Thursday Bumping into a friend and stopping for a quick chat, the doting mother-of-three seemed in good spirits as she went about her afternoon. Jennifer kept her outfit equally low-key, looking comfortable in a black hooded jumper, jeans and suede navy loafers. The screen star wore her brunette locks scraped back from her face in a loose bun and toted her belongings in a navy leather shoulder bag. Jennifer looked busy as she went about her daily duties, spotted first with a potted plant in hand before swapping it for some more official looking paperwork. Pretty as a picture: The actress, 44, looked incredible as she showcased her enviably clear complexion and glowing skin, proving she's just as beautiful as she is when she's made up (L) Running errands: Bumping into a friend and stopping for a quick chat, the doting mother-of-three seemed in good spirits as she went about her afternoon The solo trip is a rare sighting for Jennifer, who is almost always spotted with her three adorable children: Violet, 10, Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four, from her 10-year marriage to Batman v Superman star Ben Affleck. Jennifer and Ben, who met on the set of Daredevil, announced their split in June 2015, a day after their 10th wedding anniversary. Despite the evidently difficult separation, the pair have been putting on a united front for the sake of their offspring, regularly embarking on family outings. The couple just spent a few weeks in London together with the kids while Ben filmsed for his upcoming release Justice League, and took family trips to Paris and Venice, sparking rumours that a reconciliation could be on the cards. Comfort over style: Jennifer kept her outfit equally low-key, looking comfortable in a black hooded jumper, jeans and suede navy loafers Mom's the word: The screen star wore her brunette locks scraped back from her face in a loose bun and toted her belongings in a navy leather shoulder bag However, People reported on Wednesday that the exes are still very much separated. An insider told People that Ben would like to get back together, but the brunette beauty is reportedly 'adamant' about continuing with the divorce she filed for earlier this year. The source claimed that Jennifer 'denies that she is back with Ben', adding: 'She actually almost laughs when asked.' Jennifer has been taking her mind off the split in recent months by keeping busy in her acting career. The Dallas Buyers Club actress has just starred in emotional family drama Miracles From Heaven, released in March 2016, and is now currently filming for Wakefield, alongside Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston. Happy family: The solo trip is a rare sighting for Jennifer, who is almost always spotted with her three children: Violet, 10, Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four, from her 10-year marriage to Ben Affleck They're known for their daring outfits and wild nights out. But Marnie Simpson took things to another level when she hit Ibiza in nothing more than a pair of white lace knickers and a bra with her fellow Geordie Shore co-stars on Thursday night. Filming series 13 of the raucous reality show, the group hit Slingshot Amusement park in an array of scantily clad outfits as they continued to cause mayhem on the White Isle. Scroll down for video Filming Geordie Shore: Marnie Simpson took things to another level, as she hit Ibiza in nothing more than a pair of white lace knickers and a bra during filming on Thursday night Marnie, 24, led the way in matching white lace underwear set, covering her modesty with a barely there sleeveless long-line blazer with thigh-high splits. Ensuring all eyes were on her, Marnie wore nude killer-heeled wedges, leaving her glossy black hair loose. Perhaps having received the underwear-shaped memo, Chantelle Connelly - who joined the show last year - sported a low-cut pink crop top and shorts set showcasing her ample cleavage. Daring duo: Filming series 13 of the reality show, the group hit Slingshot Amusement park in an array of scantily clad outfits on Thursday Less is more? Chantelle Connelly- who joined the show last year - sported a low-cut pink crop top and shorts set showcasing her ample cleavage, the printed waistbands accentuating her toned waist In keeping with the holiday theme, the 25-year-old former exotic dancer wore gold wedges and a pale pink satin bomber. The reality star sported bold brows and heavily lined lips, dressing down her skimpy outfit with large hoop earrings. Looking comparatively more demure were fellow Geordie girls Holly Hagan and Chloe Ferry. Bright whites: Marnie, 24, led the way in matching white lace bra and lace knickers set, covering her modesty with a barely there sleeveless long-line blazer with thigh-high splits Leggy display: Chloe, 20, opted for a monochrome ensemble, showing off her long legs in a black low-cut playsuit and white heeled sandals Holly, 23, braved the Spanish heat in tribal-print harem trousers and a low-cut lace camisole. Tying her blonde hair back in a half ponytail Holly continued the bold brow look, sporting a pale red lipgloss. Chloe, 20, also opted for a monochrome ensemble, showing off her long legs in a black low-cut playsuit and white heeled sandals. Monochrome magic! Looking comparatively more demure were Holly Hagan and Chloe Ferry Covering up: 28-year-old Gaz Beadle sporting a vest and ripped shorts- the theme for most of guys Wearing more clothes were the boys of the group, with 28-year-old Gaz Beadle sporting a vest and ripped shorts- the theme for most of the guys. However the males of the cast have been causing trouble in other areas, with Scotty T being rushed to hospital this week following a booze-fuelled fall. The CBB winner, 28, was reportedly left with a fractured arm following the incident. Funfair madness: Aaron Chalmers and Marnie enjoyed a rollercoaster ride Up in the air: Holly and Chantelle didn't look as elated to be flung around on one of the rides A source told The Sun: 'Ibiza and Mallorca has already been a nightmare with the filming ban in place so the case all went out on the lash on their day off. 'Scotty T had an unfortunate fall a few hours into drinking and hit it so hard his arm snapped. 'He was reeling in agony and rushed to hospital where doctors said it was fractured and put it in a cast.' Trouble in Spanish paradise: Scotty T was rushed to hospital this week following a booze-fuelled fall The Geordie Shore cast have been causing havoc across Spain, as they film scenes for the new season in Ibiza and Magaluf. Hitting the party scene hard, filming has hit a few roadblocks after the cast were reportedly refused permission to film in public places on much of the island. According to Cronica Balear, The City Council of Calvia has denied Lime Pictures the licence to film in the city and informed them of the refusal of the proper authorisations. Dressing up: The Geordie girls went all out for filming of the latest season of the reality show The council considers the filming to be 'an illegal activity' and will therefore prohibit both production and broadcast of the programme. Producers reportedly found themselves facing possible legal action by Ibiza's LYT nightclub, for filming their venue without permission. The club is said to be in favour of a campaign working to ban reality shows from filming on the island, and tarnishing its name. She has been enjoying an indulgent getaway in sun-soaked Italy over the past few weeks. And the good times have kept on rolling for Bachelor winner Anna Heinrich, 29, who marked her arrival in Santorini on Friday with yet another sizzling Instagram holiday snap. In the photo, a bronzed, bikini-clad Anna is seen perching on her hotel balcony which overlooks a rocky beach-side crag. Scroll down for video Holiday heaven! Anna Heinrich, 29, who marked her arrival in Santorini on Friday with yet another sizzling Instagram holiday snap 'HELLO SANTORINI you complete me #love #picturesque', she wrote in the caption. Anna's slender frame and toned torso was on full display as she modelled her black swimming costume by Australian designer Jets Swimwear. Appearing typically stylish, the reality star swept her hair into a loose bun and shaded her face with a pair of square-frame sunglasses by Miu Miu. Cruising the streets: Anna, who has been travelling through Europe with her hunky beau Tim Robards, has been sharing a slew of envy-inducing holiday snaps, including one of her posing on a cobble-stoned street in Rome on Thursday Anna, who has been travelling through Europe with her hunky beau Tim Robards, has been sharing a slew of envy-inducing holiday snaps, including one of her posing on a cobble-stoned street in Rome on Thursday. 'Cruising the streets of #ROMA before we head to Greece #IHeartItaly', she wrote in the caption as she posed in a high-necked white lace mini dress. A day earlier, she shared a photo of herself luxuriating by a rooftop pool in Florence. Gee, life's tough! A day earlier, she shared a photo of herself luxuriating by a rooftop pool in Florence Clad in a candy-striped nautical bikini with a high waist, Anna was the picture of elegance as she let the mid-summer sun beat down on her bronzed skin. She and Tim have have been travelling in style throughout their holiday, with the pair enjoying a five-star stay at the Villa Boheme hotel last week. A sophisticated resort featuring Moorish-style architecture, guests are able to look out onto the Sirenuse Islands. The suites starting at 900 Euro ($1,369 AUD) offer a spectacular private terrace, stylish antiques, Vietri floor tiles and an authentic Italian breakfast. On April 29, Eva Mendes and her partner Ryan Gosling quietly welcomed the birth of their second daughter Amada Lee, giving 21-month-old Esmeralda a little sister. But the 42-year-old actress appeared to show little sign of having given birth just six weeks ago, as she stepped out looking svelte in a floral black-and-green trouser suit on Thursday afternoon. The We Own The Night star attracted admiring glances from passers-by as she strode through the lobby of a West Hollywood, California, building looking as glamorous as ever. Scroll down for video Out and about: Eva Mendes was spotted out and about in West Hollywood, California, on Thursday afternoon Her ensemble consisted of a blazer, which was rolled up at the sleeves, with matching wide leg trousers, which were cuffed, allowing her to show off her spearmint green heels in all their glory. With a large burgundy handbag resting on one of her shoulders, the Miami-born beauty complemented her ensemble with glittering hoop earrings. Protecting her eyes with a stylish pair of leopard-print sunglasses, Eva wore her wavy chestnut brown tresses in a relaxed ponytail as she went about her errands for the day. Hot mama: The actress looked stunning, six weeks after giving birth to second daughter Amada Lee Say it with flowers: The We Own The Night star wowed as she stepped out in a black-and-green floral suit Over the weekend, her 35-year-old partner Ryan was seen taking their elder daughter for a day out at Los Angeles' popular Griffith Park, where the pair rode the Southern Railroad. Wearing a blue sweater and a Chicago Bulls cap pulled low over his eyes, the Canadian-born star was seen carrying his adorable offspring in his arms and hugging her tightly during their excursion. In a recent interview with ES Magazine, the actor stated that having girls proved to him that females are 'more evolved' than their male counterparts. Hair we go! She wore her wavy brunette tresses in a relaxed ponytail, while accessorising with hoop earrings Tall order: The 42-year-old screen star stood tall in an envy-inducing pair of spearmint green heels Mother-of-two: Eva also shares 21-month-old daughter Esmeralda with her actor partner Ryan Gosling '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, he said. Ive always liked women more,' he added. 'I was brought up by my mother and older sister. I found my way into dance class. My home life now is mostly women. They are better than us. They make me better. On April 14, it was reported that Ryan and Eva were expecting their second child, and Eva gave birth to Amada in Santa Monica, California, just two weeks later. Much like with Esmeralda, the star kept both the pregnancy and birth of her second child under wraps. Wild thing! She added a further decorative touch to her outfit as she stepped out wearing leopard-print shades Under wraps: The stunner has earned a reputation for staying decidedly tight-lipped about her private life She has undergone a huge transformation over the past year, dropping over three dress sizes and toning down her famously audacious fashion sense. And Brynne Edelsten (nee Gordon), 33, looked worlds away from her former self as she posed in an uncharacteristically demure ensemble during an outdoor photoshoot in Melbourne on Friday. Clad in a boxy suit in navy with red buttons, the former wife of eccentric businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was seen clutching a Louis Vuitton briefcase as she pretended to hail a taxi. Scroll down for video What a difference! Brynne Edelsten (nee Gordon) looked worlds away from her former self as she posed in an uncharacteristically demure ensemble during an outdoor photo-shoot in Melbourne on Friday Her outfit was topped off with a pair of elegant black heels, a set of understated bracelets and a pair of small earrings. Her hair, which slightly darker than usual, was pinned elegantly around her face and left to hang in loose tendrils by her shoulders. The slender blonde appeared to be having a ball despite the rainy weather and even used an umbrella as part of her on-camera performance. Chic: Clad in a boxy suit in navy with red buttons, the former wife of eccentric businessman Geoffrey Edelsten was seen clutching a Louis Vuitton briefcase as she pretended to hail a taxi Elegant: Her outfit was topped off with a pair of elegant black heels, a set of understated bracelets and a pair of small earrings Brynne recently made headlines after she was accused of tipping off paparazzi and releasing 'edited' text messages sent from Shane Warne, who was caught arriving at her home for a cheeky 'nightcap' at 1am. Days after the photos emerged, Woman's Day published a number of messages which were reportedly sent between the pair on the night of the planned tryst. 'Excited for me to devour u?' Shane wrote in one of the messages, according to the magazine. A bit of rain won't stop her! The slender blonde appeared to be having a ball despite the rainy weather and even used an umbrella as part of her on-camera performance Oh dear! Brynne recently made headlines after she was accused of tipping off paparazzi and releasing 'edited' text messages sent from Shane Warne, who was caught arriving at her home for a cheeky 'nightcap' at 1am 'That pap is still out the front,' Brynne reportedly said in one text. 'Annoying! Good we are leaving separately... I will wait 15 mins then, can't wait,' Shane wrote, to which Brynne added her ex would 'kill her' if he found out about the situation. Brynne has since hit back at claims that she spoke to the magazine about the incident, telling Kyle and Jackie O on KIIS FM that a friend had supplied the magazine with screenshots of the text messages between her and Shane. Evidence piling up: Days after the photos emerged, Woman's Day published a number of messages which were reportedly sent between the pair on the night of the planned tryst Triple Gold Logie winner Rove McManus and TV wife Tasma Walton have sold their luxury home on Sydney's northern beaches for $3 million. The couple have sold out of the area ahead of a rumoured move to Sydney's eastern suburbs to be closer to Rove's 2DayFM radio gig, according to realestate.com.au. The five-bedroom, three-level seaside sanctuary in Avalon Beach, has been bought by an out-of-town businessman who plans to use it as a holiday home. Scroll down for video Sold! Rove McManus and Tasma Walton sold the five-bedroom, three-level seaside sanctuary on Watkins Road in Avalon Beach for $3 million Ready for a new abode: The couple have sold out of the area ahead of a rumoured move to Sydney's eastern suburbs to be closer to Rove's 2DayFM radio gig Rove and Tasma, who married in 2009 and have a two-year-old daughter Ruby, have owned the Moroccan-inspired house for five years, though they lived in the U.S. for some of that time. Tasma earlier this month told Daily Mail Australia they still own a house in Los Angeles, where Rove attempted to launch an American TV career before returning last year. We still have our house there, so we do actually need to go back there soon,' she said. But I think its a very fluid arrangement with Rove working so hard at the moment. Not in the near future, but we will be back there definitely.' 'The impressive main entertaining terrace is equipped with a built-in barbecue/outdoor kitchen and it adjoins a sparkling in-ground pool,' according to the agents Fancy: Raine and Horne said the property boasts 'an artists' retreat and deck, which provides an inspiring environment for creatives' Agent James Baker at Raine and Horne Palm Beach confirmed the house had been sold and believed it was a reluctant sale for the family, who loved their time at Avalon Beach. 'They love the beaches,' he said. 'I wouldnt be surprised to see them back up here again (one day).' Baker said: 'The impressive main entertaining terrace is equipped with a built-in barbecue/outdoor kitchen and it adjoins a sparkling in-ground pool. 'The substantial open plan main level is the perfect place for everyone to come together, with walls of glass maximising natural light and the breathtaking vista,' according to the agents Wow factor: Agent James Baker the Daily Telegraph: 'It is unique in terms of the privacy it offers while still being an easy walk to the beach and village' 'At the rear of the property is an artists' retreat and deck, which provides an inspiring environment for creatives.' Baker told the Daily Telegraph: 'It is unique in terms of the privacy it offers while still being an easy walk to the beach and village. 'Its timeless, understated, quality design and neutral palette means it can easily be transformed from Moroccan to Balinese to coastal chic.' Scenic: 'Its timeless, understated, quality design and neutral palette means it can easily be transformed from Moroccan to Balinese to coastal chic,' Mr Baker said 'It offers a laid-back village lifestyle yet is still accessible to the city and there is a community of creatines: artists, filmmakers, writers and actors,' Mr Baker said What a treat: The property also boasts spectacular views over the northern beaches with, while Interior walls of glass maximise natural light 'It offers a laid-back village lifestyle yet is still accessible to the city and there is a community of creatines: artists, filmmakers, writers and actors,' Baker said. Other highlights include video intercom security, extensive use of sandstone and a full main bathroom with separate bath and shower. The home's electricity requirements are covered by extensive solar paneling, and a rear gate offers direct access to the famous Bangalley Headland reserve. A haven: The secluded family sanctuary is set on an elevated 1,524sqm parcel. The property showcases a vast tri-level floorplan Well equipped: Other highlights include video intercom security, extensive use of sandstone and a full main bathroom with separate bath and shower With her gym-honed body and 104,000 Instagram followers she's used to plenty of attention. But for once it wasn't Chloe Madeley's physique that was taking centre stage, but her brand new hair colour, as she stepped out in London's Hampstead on Thursday. The 28-year-old personal trainer was showing off a delicate shade of purple instead of her usual blonde hair colour as she ran errands. Scroll down for video Purple haze: For once it wasn't Chloe Madeley's physique that was taking centre stage, but her brand new hair colour, as she stepped out in London's Hampstead on Thursday With the pastel lilac tones set against her darker natural low-lights the look was the perfect pick me up to wear throughout summer. Chloe paired her bold new hair choice with a casual green button up jumpsuit and bright flip flops. With minimal make-up and jewellery, the fitness fanatic had her Chanel rucksack at hand, no doubt to fit in a session at the gym while out and about in London. Hair today: The 28-year-old personal trainer was showing off a delicate shade of purple instead of her usual blonde hair colour (L) as she ran errands Looking good: Chloe paired her bold new hair choice with a casual green button up jumpsuit and flip flops The daughter of famed presenting duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan often displays her fantastic figure online to help exhibit the results of her exercise regime. But the social media addict - who is dating England rugby hunk James Haskell, 31 - recently revealed that she has been issued with death threats online. The star recently spoke out about the onslaught of abuse she endures on a daily basis - with it starting from between 5am and 7am, at the time when she's doing her first cardiovascular workout of the day. Gym bunny: With minimal make-up and jewellery, the fitness fanatic had her Chanel rucksack at hand, no doubt to fit in a session at the gym while out and about in London Hot couple: Chloe is in a long-term relationship with dating England rugby hunk James Haskell, 31 All about the hair: Chloe seemed happy and relaxed during her low-key outing She revealed to Daily Mail: 'It's as if they have to get it off their chest before they can get on with their day. 'He or she, I don't know which, threatens me with rape, death and pretty much anything you can think of in between. It's very graphic. I don't want the words to come out of my mouth. 'And with this one person, it's never stopped. When it first started it was scary and I worried about my safety. Now, I block it. I don't read the messages. I don't engage.' Hard work pays off! The daughter of famed presenting duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan often displays her fantastic figure online to help exhibit the results of her exercise regime She has made her living wearing makeup and having her hair done. So Helena Christensen was surely happy that she didn't have to get glammed up on Thursday when she took her dog out for a walk in NYC. The 47-year-old model went makeup free and had her hair in a messy bun, making her almost unrecognizable from her recent photo shoots. Puppy love! Helena Christensen continued to bond with her adorable puppy Kuma during a leisurely stroll through New York City on Thursday Prest-o change-o: This is the siren on the cover of Marie Claire Mexico for February 2015 She has been practically inseparable as of late from her new best friend, her pet puppy Kuma. The catwalker watched on in amusement as her little dog played with another leashed canine, looking striking herself in a casual blue wrap dress paired with black flats. The model smiled as the dogs grew playfully rambunctious, having a blast as they got to know each other. Helena was unable to take her eyes off the interaction, with her brunette tresses slicked back away from her face into a casual and relaxed bun. Keeping an eye out! Helena watched on in amusement as the leashed dogs played with each other, getting to know one another The model's outing looked to be a quick one, as she carried just her keys and a cell phone in hand. Helena's Australian Shepherd has one blue eye and one brown, a common feature in the multi-colored breed. The model took to Instagram last month to let her fans know that she'd decided to call the new addition to her family Kuma, explaining it means bear in Japanese. Getting to know you! Little Kuma proved to be in a particularly playful mood as she at one point befriended another canine during her stroll Her little guy: The beauty shared this photo of her pup on Instagram Helena, meanwhile, has created a capsule collection of 'boyfriend' shirts - all modelled by herself in a new exotic campaign. Created in partnership with Helena's design partner Camilla Staerk and Thomson Sensatori resorts, the shirts are intended as the perfect cover-up for beachside glamour. In the new campaign, the Danish model poses up a storm in her custom designs, relaxing in hammocks against the glamorous backdrop of the Mexican resort. Casual cool: The striking 47-year-old wore a casual blue wrap dress with a cinched waist and a flowing skirt which put her catwalk legs on display Father's Day is fast approaching, and dad-of-nine Eddie Murphy is making sure he has time for all of his children. The 55-year-old was spotted spending the day in Los Angeles with daughter Bella, 14, on Thursday, six weeks after welcoming baby Izzy. Eddie and Bella were seen strolling in the sunshine after picking up drinks from Coffee Bean. Daddy Day Care: Father-of-nine Eddie Murphy was spotted in Los Angeles with daughter Bella on Thursday The comedian kept a low profile in a black sleeveless tank top with a hood pulled over his head, along with matching sweatpants and trainers and large sunglasses. Meanwhile Bella was sporting a grey hoodie over a matching T-shirt, jeans and black trainers. The teen is Eddie's youngest child with Nicole Mitchell Murphy, who he was married to from 1993 until 2006. The former couple are also parents to daughters Bria, 26, Shayne, 21, and Zola, 16, and 13-year-old son Myles. Coffee run: The casually dressed actor was seen strolling in the sunshine after picking up coffee with the 14-year-old, whose mother is Nicole Mitchell Murphy Eddie has nine children with five different women. He also has 26-year-old son Eric with Paulette McNeely, 25-year-old son Christian with Tamara Hood Johnson and daughter Angel, nine, with former Spice Girl Mel B. The Coming To America star has been dating Australian model Paige Butcher since 2012, and she gave birth to their daughter Izzy on May 3. Bria recently shared a photo to Instagram which showed her with all of her brothers and sisters except Izzy (who had not been born yet) and Angel in honour of Siblings Day. Baby joy: Eddie and girlfriend of four years Paige Butcher (seen on Monday) welcomed daughter Izzy on May 3 'Love each and every one of them beyond words!' she captioned the snapshot, taken in October when Eddie was honoured at the Kennedy Center For Performing Arts. '(All we are missing is our beautiful Angel! We love you and think of you every day baby girl.' Meanwhile, Deadline revealed earlier this week that Eddie is reprising his role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop 4. The film, which is set to be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, comes 22 years after the last instalment, and 32 years following the release of the original movie. Had to post this again since it's siblings day. Love each and every one of them beyond words! (All we are missing is our beautiful Angel! We love you and think of you every day baby girl ) #proudsister #happysiblingsday A photo posted by Bria Murphy (@bria_murphy) on Apr 10, 2016 at 10:30pm PDT One big happy family: (L-R) Shayne, Bria Murphy, Myles, Christian, Bella, Zola and Eric are seen with dad Eddie at the Shrek Forever After premiere in 2010 While the actor no doubt has his hands full as a new father, he has plenty of film projects in the works to keep him busy too. Eddie is also joining Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Triplets, a follow-up to 1988's Twins which sees Julius and Vincent Benedict discovering that they have a third brother. In addition he stars alongside Mike Epps, Oprah Winfrey and Kate Hudson in upcoming Richard Pryor biopic Is It Something I Said?, and his drama film Mr. Church debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. She's an in-demand actress, with seven projects already slated for the next two years. So it's no wonder high-prestige make-up brand Cle de Peau Beaute, from The Shisheido Group, looked to Amanda Seyfried to be their muse. And on Thursday the 30-year-old looked stunning in vintage attire as she attended a Twenties-style bash in celebration of the brand's latest collection, inspired by artist Tamara de Lempicka of the Art Deco period. Green goddess: Amanda Seyfried looked stunning in a slinky, floor-length gown as she arrived at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, China on Thursday Lady in red: The 30-year-old went for a bold, red lip for the occasion Amanda wore a sleeveless, green silk floor-length gown which was embellished with lace and highlighted her curves. The slinky number showcased the star's trim figure, and she coupled it with a pair of dramatic, dangling silver earrings. She wore her shoulder-length blonde tresses in deep side part, and styled in large, vintage-inspired waves. Classic: The gorgeous hotel was decorated to look like a Twenties society salon Cheers! Amanda was spotted sharing a drink with CEO of Shiseido China Kentaro Fujiwara Having a blast! The actress looked thrilled as she got animated on stage during the launch of the new make-up line for Shiseido's Cle de Peau Beaute brand The Love the Coopers actress showed off a smoky eye, also sporting a bold, red lipstick for the occasion. Amanda accessorized the sophisticated look with a large, silver statement ring, flashing a dark manicure as well. The theme of the event - which was held at Shanghai's Fairmont Peace Hotel - was 'Fearless Beauty.' Muse: Amanda is the spokesmodel for the brand, which was unveiling a line inspired by Art Deco period artist Tamara de Lempicka All eyes on her! The Love the Coopers star showed off a smile as she was interviewed about her work with the brand Bold: Amanda showed off a smoky eye, bold red lipstick, and dramatic waves to go along with the vintage theme 'I feel great affinity with women who live strong, bold lives, like Tamara de Lempicka,' Amanda shared, as reported by KCTV News5. Her pick from the collection, for a feeling of 'fearless beauty,' was the New Liquid Rouge #18 (Lempicka Red). Amanda looked to be having a blast as she helped to introduce the new collection, showing off a smile as she got a bit animated one point on stage. Inspired: Speaking of the collection, Amanda said: 'I feel great affinity with women who live strong, bold lives, like Tamara de Lempicka' Lovely in lace: The Love the Coopers star's slinky, green dress was embellished with dreamy floral patterns in ivory lace Her pick: Amanda suggested the collection's bold red lipstick - the New Liquid Rouge #18 (Lempicka Red) - for 'fearless beauty' The Les Miserables actress also took questions, and was seen posing with a few items from the new line. Amanda was most recently spotted in Los Angeles, filming for upcoming Dito Montiel comedy The Clapper. She has also been busy filming the yet-to-be-named movie from Nash Edgarton, which she was working on in Chicago and Last Word - also starring her boyfriend Thomas Sadoski - which just completed production. Quite an ad! Amanda was breathtaking as she posed with a few of the items from the new collection in her vintage gown She is a ballroom dancer and Dancing With The Stars performer by trade. So it's no wonder Kym Johnson, 39, turned on the razzle dazzle in a showy gold frock at that Babes for Boobs charity gala in Los Angeles on Friday. Arriving on the arm of her Shark Tank star fiance Robert Herjavec, the leggy blonde appeared to be in good spirits as she showcased her cleavage and endless legs in her glittering mini dress. Golden girl: Kym Johnson, 39, turned on the razzle dazzle in a showy gold frock at that Babes for Boobs charity gala in Los Angeles on Friday Sporting a prominent bronzed complexion, Kym completed her look with a pair of gold heeled sandals and a delicate gold collar necklace and, at one stage, was spotted carrying a gold and white YSL bag. Her glossy locks were swept up into a half-up-half-down 'do and was curled into loose tendrils that fell by her shoulders. Meanwhile, her Canadian businessman fiance Robert looked eclectic in a lilac suit jacket and navy trousers. Man of the hour: Meanwhile, her Canadian businessman fiance Robert Herjavec looked eclectic in a lilac suit jacket and navy trousers 'Kym is an incredible woman and I'm just so excited for what the future brings for us': The smitten couple met during season 20 of ABC's Dancing With The Stars and became engaged a year later The smitten couple met during season 20 of ABC's Dancing With The Stars and became engaged a year later. 'I still can't believe that a year after walking into a dance studio of all places, my life has changed this much,' 53-year-old Robert told People magazine. 'Kym is an incredible woman and I'm just so excited for what the future brings for us.' Glitzy entrance: Sporting a prominent bronzed complexion, Kym completed her look with a pair of gold heeled sandals and a delicate gold collar necklace He put a ring on it! Her beau popped the question to Australian beauty Kym, and sealed the deal by presenting her with a 6.5-carat ring He popped the question to Australian beauty Kym, and sealed the deal by presenting her with a 6.5-carat ring. They then celebrated their engagement with about 30 family members and friends, including Johnson's mother who traveled from Australia. 'I'm just overwhelmed and so happy,' the ballroom dancer and TV personality told People. 'He's a wonderful man and I'm so lucky.' In good company: During the gala, Kym also posed alongside TV personality Kelly Osbourne, who flaunted her hourglass figure in a skin-tight pencil dress with gold embroidery detailing on its waist She accepted the 2015/16 title in September, having previously held the regional title of Miss Hull The morning after, Zara said her behaviour was 'not like her' and she expressed huge regret Beauty queen, 20, from North Ferriby was de-crowned by the organisation on Thursday She's been stripped of her Miss Great Britain title for sleeping with scaffolder Alex Bowen on ITV 2's Love Island. And Zara Holland, 20, will likely have the competition's bosses blushing once again after a series of saucy snaps of the beauty modelling nude have emerged. In one of the images, which were taken in May, she can be seen perched on a piece of furniture holding a glass of bubbly with only her arms covering her modesty. Scroll down for video Naughty streak: Zara Holland, 20, will likely have Miss Great Britain bosses blushing once again after a series of saucy snaps of the beauty modelling nude have emerged Sat underneath an illuminated disco sign, the stunner is seen flashing a sultry glance at the camera. She then put on some racy black lace lingerie complete with a delicate collar and posed for a bare-chested close-up. Another image shows her sat in a cleavage-baring fluorescent orange swimsuit while seductively eating from a tub of ice cream. Zara put on a pair of playful bunny ears as she reclined on a sofa wearing a sexy black bodysuit. And she was soon back on her feet showcasing her svelte physique in yet more lingerie while stood with her back against a wall. Sexy! Zara put on some racy black lace lingerie complete with a delicate collar and posed for a bare-chested close-up Sweet treat: Another image showed her sat in a cleavage-baring fluorescent orange swimsuit while seductively eating from a tub of ice cream Racy! She was soon back on her feet showcasing her svelte physique in yet more lingerie while stood with her back against a wall Blonde beauty: Zara put on a pair of playful bunny ears as she reclined on a sofa wearing a sexy black bodysuit Meanwhile, a spokesman for the show told The Mirror that Zara had been informed of her dethroning. They said: 'Zara was informed of the news off camera this morning. She is now back in the villa and has chosen to remain in the show.' According to Miss GB executives, the beauty queen was strictly forbidden from having sex on air when they gave her permission to appear on the risque ITV2 show. But after giving Zara the axe on Thursday - once viewers saw her engage in a tryst with Alex Bowen, 24 - they now say in a lengthy statement that she 'knowingly went against' their wishes. Dethroned: Zara Holland, 20, has been stripped of her Miss GB crown after performing a sex act on Love Island Alex Bowen - she has expressed her deep regret 'We feel it important to explain that we have no problem at all with sex and our contestants/winners being sexually active and exploring their sexuality with another consensual adult,' they told MailOnline 'This has never, and will never be a problem. However, we simply cannot condone a reigning title holder doing so on TV. 'To put it into context... if a school teacher took part in the show, that person would have a level of responsibility they would be expected to uphold because of their role, and are certain they would face similar consequences if they took part in similar actions on national television. 'For those saying going into Love Island, its inevitable that she would have sex, that is not true. It is not a prerequisite of the show that you have sex. Close to you: She and Alex got a little too hot and heavy under the covers on the show 'We gave our permission for Zara to enter, as our current winner, under the stipulation that she did not have sex on TV. Zara fully agreed to this and knowingly went against our wishes.' And, while there have been accusations of sexism in the strong action taken against Zara for her behaviour, Miss GB bosses insist this is not the case, stating they're protecting their brand. The statement continued: 'Zara is a lovely girl, we understand that this is out of character for her and that she truly regrets her actions; however, the decision simply comes down to the fact that she has broken the rules of the competition. 'Miss Great Britain works with charities, children and young, impressionable people; our title holder must be an ambassador and this public behaviour does not support the ethos of our brand.' Regret: Ahead of Thursday night's show, the 20-year-old beauty queen said: 'You know when you're in the moment and it just happens. That's really not like me at all. Why couldn't we have just gone to sleep?' Despite the action taken against Zara, the Miss GB bosses go on to say that they're actually supporting the star - and hope that she goes on to win the show. 'We wholeheartedly agree, that other than the incident that has forced our decision, Zara was, and is handling herself very well on the show and we still hold her in the highest regard as a friend, and are thrilled to see the support she is now receiving,' they said. 'We genuinely hope she goes on to win the show; she is a lovely girl with a great future ahead of her.' The model and boutique director from North Ferriby was crowned in Leicester in September 2015, having previously held the regional title of Miss Hull. Muscle man: Alex arrived on the show the day before and he said he was not averse to the idea of having sex on the show, and appeared to have set his eyes on Sophie Gradon and not Zara An official statement from the organisation confirmed on Thursday that first runner-up Deone Robertson will take over for the rest of the year because they 'can no longer promote Zara as a positive role model.' Zara followed her mother Cheryl Hakeney into the pageant scene, with the 51-year-old winning Miss Hull 30 years before her daughter. Miss Great Britain shared a steamy romp in the bedroom with newcomer Alex in scenes aired on Wednesday night's episode of the dating programme, which is hosted by Caroline Flack. She was initially said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses but the organisation confirmed that Zara would no longer represent them on Thursday. The official statement said: 'Following recent actions within ITV2 show Love Island it is with deep regret that we, the Miss Great Britain Organisation, have to announce that Zara Holland has formally been de-crowned as Miss Great Britain.' 'As an organisation we have not taken this decision lightly, we are close to all of our winners and wherever possibly stand by them during their rein. 'That said, we feel we have no choice but to make this decision under the circumstances. 'The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. Oh dear: Zara, left, is said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses after having sex in the Love Island house and Deone Robertson, right, has been named the new Miss Great Britain 'We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.' Wolverhampton scaffolder Alex arrived on the show the day before, saying in a pre-entrance interview that he was 'unbelievable' in bed, but already found Zara a 'bit annoying' to watch on TV. The Birmingham Mail quotes Alex as saying: 'As soon as I get with a girl on there, as soon as I have sex with them, they'll be telling everyone how unbelievable I am.' On Zara, he added: 'I have to meet her properly to see what shes really like. Watching from the outside shes a bit annoying. She doesnt make it easy on herself by saying shes Miss Great Britain all the time.' Slinky: Zara, left and right, said she got 'swept up in the moment' with Alex and her actions 'weren't like her' Alex previously dated I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here winner Vicky Pattison, expressing saying that he wasn't looking for 'a drip with no personality' in a girlfriend. Ahead of Thursday night's show, beauty queen Zara admitted that she'd got swept up in the moment with Alex. She said: 'You know when you're in the moment and it just happens. That's really not like me at all. Why couldn't we have just gone to sleep?' Zara spoke of her regret for her steamy romp on the ITV2 dating show when she took to the Beach Hut confessional the morning after. Taking cover: Shying away from the cameras, Alex and Zara pulled the bed covers over themselves as things got decidedly steamy in the bedroom Zara is said to have initially 'disappointed' pageant bosses after having sex in the Love Island house in scenes, insiders told The Sun. Insiders said that organisers had blasted the 20-year-old stunner for 'stooping so low' after she got hot and heavy with Alex. After a string of failed romances and brutal rebuffs in the house, Wednesday night's show appeared to show a change in Zara's luck as she shared a night with hunky Alex. An insider stated: 'We do not condone this behaviour. We're disappointed Zara stooped this low. She knows she's a role model and knows we're trying to change the image of Miss Great Britain.' Shock move: The beauty queen is said to have 'disappointed' pageant bosses after having sex in the Love Island house in scenes which aired on Wednesday night Zara has been teased for frequent boasts about her Miss Great Britain and it persisted on Friday when celebrities took to social media to mock her of her official de-crowning. The blonde beauty was feted with the title last year after beating out competition in the bikini and charity rounds and often refers to herself as 'Miss GB' in third person. The evening of intimacy occurred after the public voted for her to enjoy a date of her choice with either Alex or fellow new boy James. Zara chose Alex, who had spent most of the day flirting with fellow singleton Olivia Buckland. Zara however was making no apologies for her choice in the Beach Hut. We didn't see this coming: There's was a surprise in store in Love Island on Wednesday night's episode, when Miss Great Britain Zara Holland enjoyed a steamy night of passion with new boy Alex Bowen She admitted: 'Obviously I've seen Liv getting to know Alex a little bit. But I want to get to know Alex more. Why not? He's the new boy.' Alex was uncertain about the date, telling the Beach Hut: 'When she did pick me I was just like s***. I looked at Olivia and Olivia was like 'oh no'.' The pair enjoyed champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the Hideaway, but as night-time set in, Zara and Alex moved into their private bedroom. A text then asked Zara and Alex the all-important question: 'Zara and Alex you can now choose whether you'd like to return to the villa or stay in the Hideaway for the night. #shouldIstayorshouldIgo.' Family business: Zara, left, followed mother Cheryl Hakeney into beauty pageants, with Cheryl winning Miss Viking Radio 30 years before Zara won the equivalent Miss Hull competition for the first time in 2014 Similar: The pair, pictured, say they get mistaken for sisters all the time because of Cheryl's youthful looks Without hesitation, Zara announced: 'I think we should stay. Stay the whole night? Yeah. Cool, we'll stay.' As things moved under the covers, the pair quickly became intimate. The similarity between the Zara and her mother in their Miss Hull winners' photos is striking - with the exception of Cheryl's 80s perm. Speaking after her daughter's first victory in 2014, Cheryl, from Hull, said: 'It was totally incredible when Zara won. I was seeing it from a different angle. 'When it is your child, you just want them to do well and I was really rooting for her to win. Pride: Cheryl, right, previously said it was 'incredible' to see her daughter win in beauty pageants 'There were so many pretty girls that entered. When they announced Zara had won, I thought I was going to faint.' The pair have previously told MailOnline they are often mistaken for sisters - the ultimate compliment for a mother. Speaking last October, Zara said: 'Mum knows all about what it is like to be in the competitions. It is really nice because we can talk about everything. 'She has been lovely throughout all of this, really supportive. We are really close and get on so well.' Cheryl, left and right, left, said Pilates and long walks are the secret of her youthful looks while Zara, right, said she goes to the gym five times a week 'Mum was the runner-up when she was in Miss England.' So what are their secrets? 'I go to the gym five times a week,' said Zara. 'I think having a healthy lifestyle is so important but I have a massive sweet tooth and love minstrels; everything in moderation!'. Meanwhile, Cheryl swears by Pilates and long walks. As for her youthful skin, she credits 'regular facials, a good night's sleep and plenty of water'. 'An odd glass of champagne is always a good idea,' she added. Love Island airs on weeknights at 9pm on ITV2. Tuckered out: Later on in the evening, Alex appeared to have no problem falling asleep MISS GREAT BRITAIN BOSSES ON ZARA HOLLAND - THE FULL STATEMENT Fall from grace: Zara Holland has been stripped of her coveted title following an on-air tryst We feel it important to explain that we have no problem at all with sex and our contestants/winners being sexually active and exploring their sexuality with another consensual adult; this has never, and will never be a problem. However, we simply cannot condone a reigning title holder doing so on TV. To put it into context, for those outside of the pageant industry, if a school teacher took part in the show, that person would have a level of responsibility they would be expected to uphold because of their role, and are certain they would face similar consequences if they took part in similar actions on National television. For those saying going into Love Island, its inevitable that she would have sex', that is not true, it is not a prerequisite of the show that you have sex. We gave our permission for Zara to enter, as our current winner, under the stipulation that she did not have sex on TV. Zara fully agreed to this and knowingly went against our wishes. Those stating we are slut shaming: we have never, and would never ever use this word to describe Zara, it is a huge shame that people are attempting to put words into our mouth. Zara is a lovely girl, we understand that this is out of character for her and that she truly regrets her actions; however the decision simply comes down to the fact that she has broken the rules of the competition. Miss Great Britain works with charities, children & young, impressionable people; our title holder must be an ambassador and this public behaviour does not support the ethos of our brand. For people claiming: You wouldnt do this if it was Mr Great Britain and No ones said anything about Alexs part in this, We most certainly would take the exact same course of action had our brand representative been male and this is why we have not mentioned Alex, as he is not an ambassador of our brand. The same goes for the other people within the villa (men & women), we wouldnt pass comment on their actions or decisions as they are not there as a representative of Miss Great Britain, in a current position. We did not take the decision to make this announcement whilst Zara was still in the show lightly, and agonised over it for almost 24 hours. We fully understand peoples feelings regarding this. But we had to act quickly with our statement as the press were already made aware of the decision and were going live. Of course, ideally we would have preferred to let Zara know face to face, but as we are allowed no contact with her whilst she is in the villa, this was taken out of our hands. Zara could potentially be in the show for another 3 or 4 weeks, we could not leave this amount of time before making an announcement. We wholeheartedly agree, that other than the incident that has forced our decision, Zara was, and is handling herself very well on the show and we still hold her in the highest regard as a friend, and are thrilled to see the support she is now receiving. We genuinely hope she goes on to win the show; she is a lovely girl with a great future ahead of her. Whilst we fully expect Zara to be upset when she learns of our decision, she also knows the pageant industry well and were confident she will completely understand why we have taken this course of action in time. Zara is not going to be erased from our history, she will always be one of our winners, but her reign has been cut short at this time and we will be standing by our decision. Advertisement He's starring in an adaptation of Doctor Faustus in London's West End. And Kit Harington, 29, enjoyed a night out with his co-star Craig Stein and Game of Thrones pal Alfie Allen at the Groucho Club on Thursday night. The actor cut a dapper figure in a black suit for the outing, with his famous voluminous locks slicked neatly back. Scroll down for video Stage pals: Kit Harington, 29, enjoyed a night out with his Doctor Faustus co-star Craig Stein at the Groucho Club, London, on Thursday night The British heartthrob could be seen puffing on a cigarette while deep in conversation with Craig, who looked smart in beige chinos and a dark blazer. The pair were joined by Alfie, who wore a more casual ensemble consisting of a green longsleeve Lacoste top with jeans and trainers, and a female pal. Sharing plenty of laughs with each other, the quartet then shared hugs, topping off what appeared to be a jubilant evening. Life's a drag: The actor cut a dapper figure in a black suit for the outing with his famous voluminous locks slicked neatly back Smoking! The British heartthrob could be seen puffing on a cigarette while deep in conversation with Craig, who looked smart in beige chinos and a dark blazer Deep in conversation: Each appeared engrossed in what the other was saying Proving popular: The pair's play has drawn rave reviews and marks a successful return to the stage for Kit Can't dampen their mood: The co-stars braved the drizzly conditions when they went for a smoke The HBO television star, who was originally trained at theatre school, recently admitted that his list of superstitions prior to going on stage is getting longer. Appearing on ITV's This Morning, he said: 'I'll develop weird superstitions before going on stage. I have to kiss certain things before going on stage - my parents' picture, a picture of my brother...' 'My girlfriend was very upset when I told her,' he said, confessing that a portrait of his love, fellow GoT actress Rose, was not one of those that he had to get good luck from.' Cutting a cool figure: Alfie wore a more casual ensemble consisting of a green longsleeve Lacoste top with jeans and trainers Dapper! Kit wore a cool pair of pale grey brogues with his coordinated suit Group hug: Sharing plenty of laughs with each other, the quartet then shared hugs, topping off what appeared to be a jubilant evening A night with friends: Kit put on a close display with his gal pal as they chatted to Alfie In good company: Alfie flicked through his phone while stood with Kit and their female friend Having a laugh: Alfie appeared to put a smile on his pals' faces Staying connected: Kit held his right arm outstretched while his left was around his friend's shoulders Seeing the funny side of his obsessive habits, Kit went on to reveal that it can be quite debilitating because he has to kiss the stage floor three times. He also said: 'I have to pat the front row seat and say, "Good luck, Tom"' to which the duo replied, Whos Tom? and he said, I dont know! Kit then added that he sometimes looks like a 'mad man' because he has to 'touch middle drains with his right foot.' I have to cross over the street sometimes,' he went on to joke. 'I look like a mad man. Then, when Philip Schofield told him he could seek help for obsessive tendencies, he added: I quite like it, I don't want to get rid of it. Close unit: The friends clearly shared a strong bond if their body language was anything to go by Hold me: Kit's pal appeared to rest her eyes while he held her Comfortable in each other's company: Craig and Kit both cut relaxed figures as they conversed outside On the move: The quartet walked side by side along the pavement With her terrifically toned physique, it's clear Jennifer Garner is an avid gym goer. But on Friday Jennifer Garner showed off a different benefit of fitness. The radiant 44-year-old looked in top spirits as she grinned brightly after getting in a workout with a gal pal at a gym in Brentwood. Or the Alias vet could be smiling because she will finalize her divorce from Ben Affleck this summer, according to People. Fitness is fun! Jennifer Garner could not contain her smile after getting in a workout with a gal pal in Brentwood on Friday The site insisted a week ago that despite a happy trip to Europe the couple - who announced their split in June 2015, a day after their 10th wedding anniversary - is not getting back together. A source told the publication: 'She seems adamant about going through with it. She denies that she is back with Ben. She actually almost laughs when asked.' According to earlier reports from People, the two are working through the terms of their divorce privately and will only announce the divorce is final when they have to go to court. It was also added that the process would come to an end when their respective films - he made Batman v Superman and she was in Miracles From Heaven - came out, which they already did. On Friday, the star kept it casual and low-key for the workout. Sporty: Keeping it casual and low-key for the workout, the Daredevil actress sported a long sleeve floral print top and cropped leggings with an asymmetrical stripe Time to hydrate! The actress continued beaming as she strolled across the street with her gal pal, while clutching a silver water bottle and her wallet The Daredevil actress sported a long sleeve floral print top and cropped leggings with an asymmetrical stripe. The star had her hair slicked back into a low ponytail and looked fresh face as she also donned a pair of black shades over her hazel eyes. Giving her a pep in her step - as well as pop of colour - were Jennifer's teal trainers. The actress continued beaming as she strolled across the street with her gal pal, while clutching a silver water bottle and her wallet. Duty calls! The actress has just starred in emotional family drama Miracles From Heaven, released in March 2016, and is now currently filming for Wakefield, alongside Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston Make-up free: As usual, Garner let her natural beauty shine through, wearing her sweaty brunette locks back, and covering her eyes with shades Girl time: Garner caught up with a gal pal as they left the gym together Jennifer was not spotted with her three children: Violet, 10, Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four, from her 10-year marriage to Batman v Superman star Affleck. Jennifer has been taking her mind off the split in recent months by keeping busy in her acting career. The Dallas Buyers Club actress has just starred in emotional family drama Miracles From Heaven, released in March 2016, and is now currently filming for Wakefield, alongside Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston. The film is now in post-production and was directed by Robin Swicord. Earlier this month TMZ reported that Mariah Carey is frustrated that her ex has refused - for nearly a year - to sign their divorce papers. And now Nick Cannon has taken to social media to 'set the record straight,' against rumors that he is still in love with the star and doesn't want to see her marry fiance James Packer. In a four-minute rap posted to SoundCloud - and then shared on his social media accounts - the 33-year-old opened up about the drama surrounding his divorce, concluding it by finally agree to sign the papers. Scroll down for video Sharing his side of the story: Nick took to social media on Thursday to share a four-minute rap he had freestyled about his divorce papers to Mariah Carey Nick talked about all of the hate he has received online following reports that he has refused to sign the papers. 'They don't realize my pop just died,' the Wild 'n Out host rapped, explaining one of many reasons he had held off from signing. The father-of-two hit back at critics again as he suggested that he had dealt with his own health problems, continuing: 'Almost died twice myself, but f*** my health.' A good portion of the rap focused on Nick's love for his children with ex Mariah - five-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan. Feeling ganged up on: Nick raps about hardships in life, such as his father dying and the fact that he 'almost died twice myself,' but commenting on the lack of sympathy he wrote 'but f*** my health' (ex Mariah, pictured in May) He rapped: '...What we really need to think about is how a child deals, how a child feels, because we got two.' The America's Got Talent judge also took the opportunity to share his thoughts on child visitation rights. 'It's f***ed up that the time that you spend with your own kids is called visitation,' the performer rapped. Better days: The soon-to-be officially divorced couple - Nick ends the rap by saying he'll sign the papers - are pictured at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2014 Nick concluded the song by sharing something Mariah will be likely happy, or at least relieved to hear: 'F*** it, I'll sign these papers.' Nick and Mariah first separated in August 2014, with Nick filing for divorce in December of that year. Mariah is currently making preparations to wed her Australian billionaire fiance, James Packer, with whom she became engaged in January. He's been in a relationship with actor Diane Kruger for ten years. And Joshua Jackson looked relaxed as he caught up with former Teen Wolf actress Crystal Reed in Los Angeles on Thursday. The 38-year-old The Affair star and Crystal, 31, chatted as they grabbed a coffee at Alfred Coffee + Kitchen. Scroll down for video Relaxed: Joshua Jackson was spotted grabbing a coffee with Teen Wolf actress Crystal Reed in Los Angeles on Thursday The pair looked to be in good spirits, chatting happily before strolling outside. Former Dawson's Creek actor Joshua went for a casual look in a light blue for their catch-up. He added a blue cap and tucked his sunglasses into his shirt. Caffeine fix: Joshua went low-key in a blue shirt and cap as he chatted with the 31-year-old actress Chatting: Crystal also went for a low key look in black overalls and a white Tshirt Crystal wore cute black overalls over a white Tshirt, and added tortoiseshell sunglasses. Canadian actor Joshua has just wrapped up a role playing a professor in the play Smart People at New York's Second StageTheatre. Crystal left MTV's Teen Wolf in 2014, but unusually returned for a guest appearance playing a different character this year. After their chat, Joshua headed on his way, clutching some hot and iced drinks as he crossed the street. Staying hydrated: The Affair star was later seen holding a handful of drinks after their chat The actor has been dating longtime partner Diane Kruger, since 2006. The couple shook off cheating reports earlier this year about the German actress and her Sky costar Norman Reedus. Joshua also had a role in the film Sky, which starred Diane as a woman who goes on the run across the US West after murdering an abusive husband. Diane recently told THE EDIT she has moved to New York to be closer to her boyfriend of almost 10 years, and that she's always envisioned herself raising children in Paris. Pia Muehlenbeck made quite a style statement when she arrived at the 2016 Pinky Promise Gala in Sydney on Friday evening. The model and blogger stepped out at Sydney's The Star in a stunning white gown for the occasion, the floor-length number featuring intricate laced detail and hugging her slender frame perfectly. However, it looks like the former lawyer had a bit of a Bridget Jones moment, with her nude coloured high-waisted underwear visible beneath the strapless dress. Scroll down for video Flashing it: It looks like Pia Muehlenbeck had a bit of a Bridget Jones moment at the Pinky Promise Gala in Sydney on Friday, with her nude coloured high-waisted underwear visible beneath the strapless dress As she posed in front of the media wall on the night, Pia happened to draw attention to her bold underwear when she placed her left hand on her hip. With much of the gown being sheer, her underwear, reminiscent of the briefs sported by Renee Zellweger in 2001 movie Bridget Jones's Diary, was on display for all to see as she worked her best angles for the photographers. Meanwhile Pia was flashing more than just those large briefs, as she revealed a glimpse of her ample cleavage, supported by the cups of her dress. Sheer daring: As she posed in front of the media wall on the night, Pia happened to draw attention to her bold underwear when she placed her left hand near her hip We've seen them before: Pia's large pants are reminiscent of the huge knickers worn by unlucky in love Bridget Jones, played by Renee Zellweger in the 2001 movie Bridget Jones's Diary Her luscious caramel locks were worn in loose waves, and she completed her look with a slick of striking scarlet lipstick. Meanwhile another famous face who arrived in a sheer laced ensemble was television presenter Olivia Phyland. The blonde beauty, who hosts Channel Eleven's music program The Loop on Saturdays, sported a short-sleeved black gown that revealed a hint of her taut stomach. Dressed to impress: Another famous face who arrived in a sheer laced ensemble was television presenter Olivia Phyland While onlookers would be forgiven for thinking upon a first glance that her underwear was also on show, a closer look indeed reveals the black fabric is just a part of the stylish dress. Breast and ovarian cancer charity Pink Hope hosted its annual Pinky Promise Gala in Sydney on Friday, with founder Krystal Barter joined by an array of well-known media personalities on the night. Other stars who attended included Monika Radulovic, Erin Holland and Carissa Walford. RIchard III (Almeida Theatre) Rating: Titanic (Charing Cross Theatre) Rating: A ticklish stunt marks the start of the Almeidas new production of Richard III. They open it with a scene from the archaeological dig under a Leicester car park where the real King Richards bones were recently discovered (they now rest in the cathedral). The dramatic point? Marginal, but I suppose it reminds us that Richard was real, even if Shakespeares king is a hyped-up villain with a creepy penchant for vulnerable women. Showing some backbone: Ralph Fiennes is rather brilliant in the title role in the Almedia's new production of Richard III Ralph Fiennes is rather brilliant in the title role. What an adornment to the London stage he is at the moment. In the early scenes it could almost be the late Leonard Rossiter (Rigsby in Rising Damp) playing Richard, Mr Fiennes does so much wide-mouthed shrugging and self-deprecation. We have just seen the archaeologists removed a bent spine from their dig. Now we see Richards bent spine showing through his black polo-neck shirt. Richard, at this point the mere Duke of Gloucester, flatters and joshes his fellow courtiers even while plotting some of their murders. As he goes about his grisly work, skulls pop up on the back wall, like some ghoulish trophy cabinet. When he becomes king at the end of the first half, this Richard stands at the front of the stage, caught in TV-style lights. He slowly raises his arm and we perhaps think he is going to do a cheesy wave to his public. How cynical he has been at this point. But Mr Fiennes raises his hand further and betrays a clenched fist and a hardening expression on his face, from glee to deadly intent. It is a striking moment. Director Rupert Goold has assembled a strong cast including Finbar Lynch as Richards collaborator Buckingham, Aislin McGuckin as Queen Elizabeth and Susan Engel as a thoroughly regal Duchess of York. Oh, and Vanessa Redgrave as dotty Queen Margaret. A strong cast also includes Vanessa Redgrave as a dotty Queen Margaret Miss Redgrave is in battle fatigues and spends most of her time holding a doll. She does OK. I suppose the Redgrave name still creates a buzz. Mr Fiennes's Richard is uninterested in the trappings of kingship, discarding his outer robes and hanging his crown on the back of his throne as soon as the coronation is over. What he lusts for is power, political and sexual. Mr Fiennes speaks the verse with expert precision, albeit sometimes at the expense of pace. The sheeplike behaviour of the privy councillors and the political-patronage games portrayed by Shakespeare seldom fail to ring topical bells. The Bishop of Ely goes along with Richards power games. Modern prelates are just as politically pliable. In the closing moments, Richmond (Tom Canton) expresses a hope for stability just as we may soon hear in Westminster. Mr Fiennes is so good, it may seem a pity that the Almeida is only a small theatre, but the show is going to be broadcast live to cinemas on July 21. This production of stage musical Titanic (different from the film) is not on its maiden voyage. It was seen on the London fringe in 2013 and has resurfaced at the Charing Cross Theatre. Yet it is worth catching and deserves four stars for bringing rare artistic flair to one of London theatrelands dingier docks. Stage musical Titanic is not on its maiden voyage but brings rare artistic flare to one of London theatreland's dingier docks Maury Yestons music and lyrics are artfully crafted. Some of the songs, particularly the richly chorded Godspeed Titanic, In Every Age and The Blame (lots of tense harpsichord as senior personnel try to apportion blame) are of a high quality. A large cast belts out the music with impressive conviction. The problem lies with the absence of plot twist. There is no escaping that doom-laden ending and this colours everything that goes before. The ship hits the iceberg at the end of the first half and, after that, things become decidedly glum. A sub-plot about an elderly couple who choose to die together is milked a little too much. Look out for Claire Machin as a social climber in second class, David Bardsley as the villainous boss and Philip Rahm as a juttingly bearded captain. Gods Of Egypt (12A) Rating: The signs were there even before I took my seat that this action-adventure inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology would be a summer turkey like no other. It has the same pair of writers as The Last Witch Hunter, which came out last autumn to a richly-deserved critical flaying, and the same director, Alex Proyas, whose last picture, 2009s Knowing, relied on us believing in Nicolas Cage as an anguished astrophysicist. Ill say no more. Still, what Gods Of Egypt does achieve fairly skilfully is a marriage of ancient and modern mythologies. On the one hand, there is the story of the god-king Osiris (a fleeting appearance by Bryan Brown), who is murdered by his jealous brother Set (Gerard Butler) and avenged by his son Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). The reported 100 million budget behind the ill-starred fiasco Gods of Egypt didnt even buy decent special effects On the other, there is the belief that if you throw enough money at a production, it might be worth seeing. Not so. The reported 100 million budget behind this ill-starred fiasco didnt even buy decent special effects. Temples crumble and monsters writhe, yet the computer-generated effects are as creaky as a script that makes good actors look mediocre, and mediocre actors look bad. Among the former is Geoffrey Rush. Shaven-headed and goggle-eyed, and generally carrying on as if a directors note advised him to think One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, he plays the father of Osiris and Set, the patriarchal sun god Ra, who cant stop self-combusting and appears to live in outer space. The character puts the Ra first into execrable, and finally into unendurable. But enduring the unendurable, suffering so that you dont have to, is part of my job. Patchy: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as avenging son Horus in Gods Of Egypt So here goes with the plot, in honour of which Horus should really be renamed Porous. His uncle Set, the malevolent god of the desert, first kills his father and then plucks out his eyes. It looks like game, Set and match. Without sight, Horus cant wreak vengeance, or at any rate not without the help of a cheeky mortal, a thief called Bek (Brenton Thwaites), who needs Horuss help to bring back his dead lover Zaya (Courtney Eaton) from the very gates of the underworld. Zaya is a slave, killed by her powerful master Urshu (Rufus Sewell, who in middle age seems to be morphing into Ian McShane). He is the most feared man in Egypt, trusted with building a giant obelisk to the glory of Set, who has become so power-crazed that he is willing even to challenge his omnipotent father, Ra. Urshus other big job is to keep Horuss plucked-out eyes under lock and key. When Bek pinches one of them and returns it to Horus, naturally there is hell to pay. Meanwhile, between Bek and Horus, an odd-couple buddy dynamic develops, enabling writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless to craft what they think is lively comic banter, but isnt. Will Bek help Horus to defeat Set and acquire the kingship of all Egypt, in what, for Game Of Thrones star Coster-Waldau, is basically a Game Of Thrones writ small? I was beyond caring so long before the end that it was actually rather close to the beginning, starting roughly at the point at which a voiceover, purporting to be the older Bek looking back on his adventures, reminded me in all its melodramatic campness of Kenneth Williams in Carry On Cleo. Tale Of Tales (15) Rating: For an infinitely superior fantasy, seek out Tale Of Tales, Matteo Garrones deliciously saucy, magnificently loopy, exquisitely presented version of three of the stories of Giambattista Basile, the 16th- century Neapolitan writer celebrated for his fantastical fables. If there is a theme uniting all three, interwoven tales, it is the perennially useful message that you can be monarch of all you survey, without ever really having what you crave most. Salma Hayek plays a spoilt queen in Tale of Tales while John C. Reilly players her husband The monarchs here are a spoilt queen (Salma Hayek), despairing at her failure to conceive, who is told by a wizened sage that she will only give birth if she eats the heart of a sea monster cooked by a virgin. It works; she loses her husband (John C. Reilly), killed in the battle with the sea monster, but acquires an adored son. Unfortunately, the virgin, a humble kitchen maid, also gives birth to a son. The two boys (Christian and Jonah Lees) are identical twins, and despite their different circumstances, become inseparable, much to the queens distress. Then there is a libidinous king (Vincent Cassel), who is driven mad with temptation by the song beneath his palace window of what he thinks is a gorgeous nymph, but is in fact an old crone. And another king (Toby Jones, wonderful as ever), who is less interested in his only daughter than in his pet flea. In both cases their self-absorption is punished, terribly, and yet it is others who pay the price. An oil company contaminated land and water on private property in Bottineau County and failed to clean up the mess, a lawsuit filed in Northeast District Court Thursday alleges. Landowners Daryl and Christine Peterson are suing Petro Harvester Operating Co., who owns the wells on their property, for an undetermined amount of damages and to enforce land remediation. The lawsuit describes Petro Harvester's conduct as "undertaken with reckless disregard of the law and Petersons' rights. This conduct was oppressive and malicious." Gary Watson, vice president of Northern Business for Petro Harvester, said he could not comment, because he has not yet been served with the lawsuit. Petro Harvester allowed wells on the property to degrade, causing at least 10 spills and leaks of oil and oilfield-saltwater since 2011, according to the lawsuit, which says portions of the land are now sterile and unusable for farming. It also has contaminated nearby wetlands and groundwater. In March 2015, the company was responsible for 285 barrels of oilfield-saltwater to flow onto the property. Remediation efforts undertaken by the company over the past two years did not meet state standards and spread contamination across a larger area, according to the lawsuit. In particular, the lawsuit said the company failed to dig up contaminated soil. A sump that was installed to contain the liquid had a dirt bottom, which allowed the salty water to spread. The North Dakota Department of Health and the North Dakota Industrial Commission are jointly responsible for ensuring cleanup at the site. Dave Glatt, chief of the Environmental Health Section for North Dakota Department of Health, said his agency is working with Petro Harvester to assess and clean up the spills. Initial efforts were not aggressive enough, said Glatt. The company has submitted a new remediation plan, which he hopes will be implemented this summer. "The landowner would always like things to move faster and I understand that," Glatt said. "Were sensitive to that and working with the company to get the right plan in place." Industrial Commission spokesperson Alison Ritter said the commission is monitoring remediation at the site. She noted that the site is held under bond to ensure compliance. Derrick Braaten, one of the attorneys representing the Petersons, credits the agencies current efforts to years of advocacy by his clients, but believes the government will not do enough. "It doesnt make sense for us to continue putting resources into these agencies," Braaten said. "We're going to court to get it done ourselves." Braaten said the suit reflects the larger issue of "a lack of enforcement" by the agencies. "The end result is to get the land cleaned up to the way it was before and make the Petersons whole again," Braaten said. The Conjuring 2 (15) Rating: A demon nun and a furious poltergeist rub shoulders with The Clash in James Wans intermittently chilling horror movie based on the true story (insofar as any ghost story can be described as true) of The Enfield Haunting, which caused quite a stir in North London back in the late Seventies. Wan also made The Conjuring (2013), which became one of the top ten highest-grossing horror films of all time, and this is a decent follow-up, again featuring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as crucifix- waving American ghostbusters Ed and Lorraine Warren. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return for the Conjuring 2 but they are a sideshow this time as the impoverished Hodgson family take centre stage But the Warrens are a sideshow this time. The main protagonists are the impoverished Hodgson family: mum Peggy and children Margaret, Janet, Johnny and Billy, all living in a run-down council house in Enfield in 1977. Whether they have a relative named Roy, haunted by an inability to win penalty shoot-outs, is not disclosed. Wan and his (American) screenwriters work hard to evoke place and period, and lets forgive them the anachronistic use of The Clashs London Calling (1979). Frances OConnor plays hard-pressed single mum Peggy, whose 11-year-old daughter Janet (Madison Wolfe) unwittingly and, at times, downright terrifyingly becomes the conduit for the rage of an elderly man, Bill Wilkins, who had died in the house decades earlier. Wan expertly keeps the horror and suspense in harness, and even treats us to a few sparks of humour, as when a policewoman, who has just witnessed the poltergeist doing its thing, nervously concludes that I think this is a bit beyond us. I was a bit confused by the demon nun, who arrives with the Warrens as they fly over from the States to exorcise the house, but she certainly adds another few layers of dread. So it is a welcome distraction to see Simon McBurney seemingly invoking Lord Sugar as his model for paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse (who died in 2006, incidentally, though not before suing comedian David Baddiel for writing a novel with a storyline about an adulterer called Maurice Grosse). Barbershop 3: The Next Cut (12A) Rating: APART from the fact that it also carries a number, in that annoying way of the modern-day sequel, Barbershop 3 is a very different beast from The Conjuring 2. By the way, we tend in this country to blame the Americans for that tendency, believing that it started with the success of The Godfather: Part II. But the first 'numerical' sequel was a decidedly British film, Quatermass 2, in 1957. Having cleared that up, what of Barbershop 3? Like the 2002 original it stars Ice Cube as Calvin, who runs a hair salon on the rough, tough South Side of Chicago. This time, with street shootings of young black men getting more and more frequent in the hood, Calvin and his entourage decide to invite two rival gang leaders into the shop as a prelude to a weekend 'ceasefire', during which the shop will offer free cuts. Sadly, and not unlike the film itself, it doesnt really work. 'We were crazy to think haircuts can stop bullets,' muses Calvin. Well, yes. Wrapped around that serious central premise is lots of hair-curlingly corny comedy, while regular namechecks by the all-black cast for African-American heroes such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Halle Berry, leading up to a visit to the shop from Barack Obama himself, or at least a lookalike, suggest that the target audience wont really be found in UK multiplexes. UN envoys at New York gay landmark push for LGBT rights US Ambassador Samantha Power and UN envoys from 16 countries gathered at a New York gay landmark Thursday to galvanize global efforts to advance LGBT rights after the Orlando attack. "We couldn't think of a more symbolic place after the monstrous attack in Orlando to come than this one," Power said at the Stonewall Inn, considered the birthplace of the American gay rights movement. The senior diplomats mostly from Europe and Latin America met to discuss new initiatives to promote the rights of sexual minorities following the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Florida. US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power arrives at the Stonewall Inn on June 16, 2016 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP) Power said the group of ambassadors is working "to ensure that there are far fewer no-go zones" for LGBT people worldwide and "far more safe spaces that don't get punctured." Forty-nine people were killed and 53 were injured at the Pulse nightclub in the early hours on Sunday when a gunman opened fire in the worst shooting in modern US history. The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned the Orlando attack, agreeing on a statement that for the first time mentioned the targeting of people on the basis of sexual orientation. French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who chairs the council this month, said "the struggle for the rights of LGBT people is vital. It is an essential struggle that we are waging on all fronts." Chilean Ambassador Cristian Barros Melet said the group of countries is pushing for a special expert on LGBT rights to be appointed and who would report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Dutch Ambassador Karel van Oosterom, a member of the so-called Core Group of countries on LGBT rights, called for a "worldwide global action to address this," and said "the Core Group will be instrumental to do that." The Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village was the scene of rioting in 1969 after gays rebelled against police raids and harassment at the bar. Homosexuality is illegal in some 77 countries worldwide. In five countries, it is punishable by the death penalty. US lawmakers probing Orlando shooter's Facebook posts A top US lawmaker said Thursday authorities were probing the Facebook activity of the Orlando nightclub shooter, after an investigation found Omar Mateen made extremist posts during the massacre and searched for news of his attack. Ron Johnson, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg Wednesday asking the company to share specifics of five accounts apparently used by Mateen. Lawmakers are trying to determine if there are ways for intelligence and law enforcement communities to monitor social media platforms like Facebook "so that we can prevent these tragedies," Johnson told CNN on Thursday. Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 in his shooting spree early Sunday at the Pulse gay nightclub in the Florida resort city of Orlando Sandy Huffaker (AFP/File) "This is our job, to see what has happened in the past, what can we possibly do to prevent this from occurring in the future and how can we find bipartisan solutions," the Republican said. Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 in his shooting spree early Sunday at the Pulse gay nightclub in the Florida resort city of Orlando. Authorities have said he was apparently radicalized after watching jihadist propaganda online. In his letter to Zuckerberg, Johnson said Mateen apparently posted sometime during the attack that he was pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group's leader, and "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state." He also allegedly posted: "The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west" and "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa." Mateen also allegedly searched for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting," Johnson said. A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed the company has received the senator's letter, which asked Facebook to provide investigators with details of Mateen's Facebook accounts and activity. She said Facebook had not yet responded to the request but has been working with law enforcement from the outset of the investigation. Also Thursday, CNN reported that Mateen's wife suspected he was going to carry out an attack that night, even though he told her he was going out to see a friend. When the news of the shooting broke, 30-year-old Noor Mateen called him frantically, CNN said, citing unidentified sources. He didn't pick up, but texted her about 4 am asking if she had seen the news. She responded: "I love you," the report said. Authorities have refused to comment on reports that Mateen's wife would face charges over her alleged knowledge of Mateen's intentions to carry out an attack. Davies, Reto, Thompson among five sharing LPGA lead Britain's Laura Davies, a four-time major champion who hasn't won an LPGA event since 2001, fired a six-under-par 65 Thursday to share the lead at the Meijier LPGA Classic. The 52-year-old Englishwoman was level with South Africa's Paula Reto, Spain's Carlota Ciganda, South Korean Kim Sei-Young and defending champion Lexi Thompson of the United States at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It suits my game," Davies said of the 6,414-yard layout. "It's open enough but you've still got to hit fairways because these trees are pretty big and if you get behind them -- I tried to chip out once, luckily got up-and-down for a par. But other than that, yeah, it's a good course for me." Laura Davies looks at her putt on the 17th hole during the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, Michigan Leon Halip (Getty/AFP) Davies, who hit driver on 17 of 18 holes, opened with a birdie at the par-5 first and added another at the par-3 fourth. She sandwiched birdies at eight and 10 around her only bogey of the day, birdied the par-3 12th and 14th and made another at 17. Her last of 20 LPGA titles came 15 years ago at the Rochester Invitational. Reto made an 18-foot putt on the ninth hole, her last of the day, to join the lead pack. She began off the back nine with her only bogey, ran off four birdies in a row starting at the par-3 12th and birdied the 17th and third holes as well. "I saw the leaderboard after my first nine and I just sort of looked at it and I was like, 'OK I'm just going to keep playing.' From there on in I just kept playing my game. I wasn't sure what really was leading. I just sort of stick to my own game." Fourth-ranked Thompson hit only six of 13 fairways but reached all 18 greens in regulation and needed only 31 putts. She started by parring through the back nine, eagled the first, ran off three birdies in a row ending at the par-5 fifth and birdied the par-5 eighth as well. "It's definitely playing a little bit soft so the greens are more receptive than last year," Thompson said. "The course was playing tough at one point because it got pretty windy out there as well." Kim birdied her last two holes to join the co-leaders while Ciganda had a bogey-free round, starting on the back nine and closing with birdies at the par-3 fourth and sixth holes and the par-5 eighth. "I played very solid. My putting was good," Ciganda said. "I'm very happy with my round." Sharing sixth on 66 were England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Americans Amelia Lewis and Jaclyn Jansen, Canada's Alena Sharp and South Koreans, Baek Q, Chun In-Gee and Ryu So-Yeon. Russia bombing US-backed rebels in Syria: US official Russia bombed US-backed fighters in southern Syria, according to a US official in Washington, who said the aggressive action by Moscow raises "serious concern." "Today, Russian aircraft conducted a series of air strikes near al-Tanf against Syrian Counter-ISIL forces that included individuals who have received US support," said the senior defense official, who requested anonymity. "Russian aircraft have not been active in this area of southern Syria for some time, and there were no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity," the official said. Picture taken on March 16, 2016 and released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows Russian Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft taking off from Hmeimim military base in Latakia province Vadim Grishankin (RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY/AFP/File) It was not known how many fighters were struck and the extent of casualties or which group they belonged to. The US military launched a $500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Much of the attention is being focused on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish coalition that has scored some significant gains against IS jihadists. The CIA has also been involved in training Syrian rebels, though the secretive agency has not officially provided any details of its efforts. The bombing would likely further strain already testy ties between Moscow and Washington on the Syrian issue. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions. We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again," the defense official said. Russia and the United States co-chair a 22-nation group that supports a UN-led process to end Syria's five-year civil war through a negotiated deal. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to respect a fragile ceasefire, warning that Washington's patience was running out. World powers have failed to turn the cessation of hostilities, in effect since February 27, into a durable truce and Damascus has stepped up its military campaign against the Islamic State group and rebels, especially in the city of Aleppo. The United States has accused Russia of working to consolidate the regime of Assad, its ally, and continuing to attack the opposition. Australia PM regrets dinner invite for 'anti-gay' cleric Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull voiced regret Friday after inviting a senior Islamic leader who has condemned homosexuality to a fast-breaking Ramadan dinner. Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman was present on Thursday evening at an exclusive function at the Australian leader's official Sydney residence Kirribilli House, alongside other leading Muslim figures. In a sermon uploaded to YouTube in 2013 the sheikh, president of the Australian National Imams Council, said gay people were responsible for spreading diseases and attracted "evil outcomes to our society". Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he regrets inviting a senior Islamic leader who has condemned homosexuality to a fast-breaking Ramadan dinner Mark Graham (AFP/File) Turnbull, MP for the Sydney seat that hosts the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, said he would not have invited him if he had known his views, emphasising the need for acceptance of diversity of sexuality and religion. "I said earlier today, and I say again now, a statement of the strongest condemnation of those remarks," he told reporters. "I regard as unacceptable, and I will always condemn, any remarks which disrespect any part of our community, whether it is on the basis of their sexuality, their gender, their race, their religion." The faux pas came just days after Australia cancelled the visa of a British Muslim cleric who once preached that gays should be put to death, revelations that sparked an outcry in the wake of the Orlando gay nightclub killings. Farrokh Sekaleshfar, who was in Sydney as the guest speaker of an Islamic centre, suggested in a 2013 lecture that death was a "compassionate" sentence for homosexuals. The Kirribilli function was the first time an Australian leader has hosted an iftar -- fast-breaking -- dinner and Turnbull, campaigning for election on July 2, praised the contribution Muslim people had made to Australia. "Let me be very clear about this, and this was the theme of my address at the iftar -- we are the most successful multicultural society in the world," he said. Russia slams US diplomats' calls to strike Syria's Assad Russia on Friday condemned a US diplomatic cable calling for military strikes against the Syrian government, as Washington again accused Moscow of bombing US-backed rebels in the war-torn country. Russian officials criticised the so-called "dissent channel" cable signed by a group of US diplomats urging strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime, which it accuses of persistently violating a shaky ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that attempts to overthrow Assad would not "contribute to a successful fight against terrorism". Moscow in September launched a bombing campaign in Syria to support long-time ally Bashar al-Assad, and the West has accused Russian forces of targeting the opposition with air strikes Paul Gypteau (AFP/File) "This could plunge the region into complete chaos," Peskov said. Deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that attacks against the Syrian regime would be "at odds with (UN) resolutions". "We need to negotiate and reach a political resolution on the basis of international law, which was agreed upon at the UN Security Council," Interfax news agency quoted Bogdanov as saying. The cable calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons", according to the New York Times, laying bare stark divisions in Washington policy circles on the Syrian conflict. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that the US diplomatic cable could "not but cause concern to any sane person". Moscow in September launched a bombing campaign in Syria to support long-time ally Assad, and the West has accused Russian forces of targeting the opposition with air strikes in an effort to prop up the regime. A US official in Washington, requesting anonymity, on Thursday accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in southern Syria. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement late Thursday that it carried out no air strikes on groups that had cooperated with Russia or the United States in the previous 24 hours. For Bethlehem tattoo artist, religion is more than skin deep Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born -- and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. Christian Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash draws a tattoo depicting a crucified Jesus Christ on the arm of a Coptic Egyptian pilgrim at his studio in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Thomas Coex (AFP/File) He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father's barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. He started by teaching himself with the help of the Internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since "there is no tattoo school in Palestine". "Everybody laughed and told me: 'What do you think you're doing?'" said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words "Thy will be done" -- from The Lord's Prayer. As Ayash worked, the teenager's mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. "Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, so there you go," she said. "This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong," was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. - Proof of pilgrimage - For Ayash, the high season is over now. Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land -- Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between -- have gone home. Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic -- or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. "Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians," he said. "They want a cross and the date of their visit. It's part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing." While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel's occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. - Hidden faith - Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasizing one's religion can be life-threatening. "I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian," said Ayash. "When she lets her hair fall, the cross can't be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn't do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria." Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash specialises in Christian themes at his studio in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Thomas Coex (AFP/File) Protests in Hong Kong over bookseller detention in China Angry protesters gathered in Hong Kong Friday after a city bookseller broke silence to reveal how he was blindfolded, interrogated and detained in China for eight months for trading titles critical of Beijing. In a surprise interview sure to infuriate Beijing, Lam Wing-kee late Thursday vowed to break bail, refusing to return to the mainland, and further defied Chinese authorities by blowing the lid on how he was detained on a visit to China and interrogated for months with no access to a lawyer or his family. Lam Wing-kee is one of five booksellers who published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians and disappeared at the end of last year in a case that drew international condemnation and heightened fears Beijing was tightening its grip on Hong Kong. A pro-democracy group Demosisto member (R) throws a placard (top C) towards the Chinese Liaison office during a protest in Hong Kong on June 17, 2016 Anthony Wallace (AFP) All of the men resurfaced in mainland China where four of them, including Lam, are under investigation for importing banned books into China. Lam returned to Hong Kong Tuesday on bail and was due to go back Thursday but instead decided to remain and tell his story. A succession of political groups protested outside China's liaison office in Hong Kong Friday. Members of pro-democracy party Demosisto shouted "Defend the freedoms of Hong Kongers!" and plastered posters supporting Lam over the outside wall. Demosisto is calling for self-determination for semi-autonomous Hong Kong, as young campaigners seek more distance from Beijing amid fears of disappearing freedoms. Teenage activist Joshua Wong, one of the founders of the party, called Lam a hero. "Lam is the role model for Hong Kong people -- facing the suppression of the communist regime," Wong said. Rights group Amnesty International slammed China's treatment of the booksellers, saying Lam had confirmed what many had suspected. "It seems clear he, and most likely the others, were arbitrarily detained, ill-treated and forced to confess," said Mabel Au, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong. - Suicide watch - Lam told how his confession, televised by Chinese state media in February, was scripted and directed and that he recited it out of fear of what would happen to him. In harrowing detail he explained how the toothbrush he was given in detention was tied by a thread which was held by a guard to prevent him from committing suicide by swallowing it. Fellow booksellers Lui Por and Cheung Chi-ping returned to Hong Kong in March on bail, but both were reported to have quickly gone back to the mainland at that time. Their colleague Lee Bo, who says he went to China of his own free will and is helping mainland authorities with their inquiries, has also been back and forth to Hong Kong. On his Facebook page Friday he asked reporters crowded outside his apartment block in the city to leave him alone. He also refuted Lam's claim that Lee had told him he had been taken to the mainland against his wishes. Lee's case caused the most outcry because he was the only bookseller who disappeared on Hong Kong soil, prompting allegations that Chinese enforcement agents were operating illegally in the city. The fifth man, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, remains in detention. Frozen in time: India's last taxidermist keeps on stuffing When Santosh Gaikwad, India's last-known practising taxidermist, first started stuffing animals 13 years ago he would keep dead birds in his family's freezer at home, much to his wife's consternation. Now, as the head of India's only taxidermy centre, he enjoys the use of two deep freezers large enough to hold a lion -- at the government-run workshop in Mumbai's national park. "I had no option but to keep the dead birds in the home freezer," Gaikwad told AFP, flanked by a snarling leopard, Bengal tiger and two contented-looking lionesses. India's last practising taxidermist Santosh Gaikwad stands in the taxidermy centre at the Sanjay Gandhi National park in Mumbai Punit Paranjpe (AFP) "My wife was afraid because we didn't know how they had died. She thought food might get infected. So I wrapped them in two or three plastic bags, air-tight," he added. Back then, Gaikwad would take the birds from Mumbai's Bombay Veterinary College where he still works as a professor in anatomy department. Now he has built up such a reputation he receives a continuous supply of animals from state governments and pet owners. Taxidermy, popular in British colonial times, may conjure up images of Indian maharajas killing tigers and proudly displaying their stuffed corpses in their lavish palaces. But India's Wildlife Protection Act 1972 outlawed the hunting of wild animals and taxidermy trophies. Instead Gaikwad, 42, stuffs animals that have suffered a natural or accidental death and is inundated with requests to prepare animals for museums and for grieving pet lovers. It may seem a strange hobby to some but "there's a lot of demand" said Gaikwad, clad in a green surgical gown at the national taxidermy centre, opened in 2009 in Mumbai's lush Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Gaikwad, who is the only person authorised by the Indian government to stuff wild animals, explains that "taxidermy is the combination of five arts: "sculpture, painting, carpentry, cobbler, and anatomy". He skins the animal soon after death. Any remaining flesh is then carefully removed. Measurements are taken of the animal's body mass and a cast replica is prepared based on the original skeleton. - Stuffed Siberian tiger - The real skin is then placed on the mannequin and the finishing touches put in place -- glass eyes, perhaps whiskers and finally the stuffed creature is mounted. He says he has stuffed 13 big cats, including a Siberian tiger, a Himalayan black bear, more than 500 birds, including a Great Indian Bustard and at least 100 fish and reptiles. Gaikwad charges owners up to 3,000 rupees ($45) to stuff an exotic bird and between 10,000 and 18,000 rupees for a dog, depending on breed and size. In 2014, Mumbai resident Susmita Mallik paid him to stuff her large German Shepherd Bruno after it died of a heart attack. She said the dog was "like a child" to her. "I just couldn't think of losing him," she told AFP, adding that Bruno looks "exactly" the same as when he was alive. "He is in the living room. I can touch him and brush him. It makes us feel he is with us," the 43-year-old added. It takes Gaikwad around eight months to prepare a big cat as he has to balance his work with his responsibilities at the veterinary college. He's come a long way since his interest in the ancient art was piqued by a visit to the natural history section of Mumbai's main museum in 2003. "The animals were so realistic that I wanted to learn how to do it but nobody was teaching so I started by searching on the Internet," Gaikwad told AFP. "An assistant to a British taxidermist told me the procedure and from what I learnt from that person and Google I started to make incisions on birds." Those initial attempts were unsuccessful though. "Bird skin is very thin and often it would tear," he explained. - Mounting concerns - After mastering birds and fish, the former veterinarian moved on to cats and dogs before progressing to larger land mammals. Gaikwad says there is no single taxidermy course in India that accompanies all of the five disciplines, and claims to be the only one practising taxidermy on mammals. "There is no next generation. It's a worry," Parag Dhakate, an animal conservationist, told AFP. Gaikwad was upset when a devastating fire at India's natural history museum in New Delhi in April destroyed rare specimens of flora and fauna, lamenting the damage done as "a great loss to education". He sees his work as important to preserving knowledge of India's wildlife particularly if it's an endangered species. "These are national treasures. If we burn them then we cannot see these animals again and their beauty will have permanently disappeared. "Taxidermy is the optimal utilisation of that dead body. It's a rebirth. It's life after death." An Indian craftsman works on a sculpture of a leopard in the taxidermy centre at the Sanjay Gandhi National park in Mumbai Punit Paranjpe (AFP) After mastering the stuffng of birds and fish, Santosh Gaikwad, a former veterinarian, moved on to cats and dogs before progressing to larger land mammals Punit Paranjpe (AFP) 'Walking Dead' FX guru spills blood, guts and tricks of the trade He is the God of Gore, the Sultan of Splatter, the Emperor of Entrails -- and the brains behind some of the most iconic blood and guts set-pieces in film history. If you've seen something in a violent movie that made the blood drain from your face, there's a good chance that Oscar-winning Greg Nicotero provided the special effects. The 53-year-old and his partners have worked on more than 400 TV and film projects, from George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" in 1985 to last year's Quentin Tarantino splatter-fest "The Hateful Eight." Special effects artist Greg Nicotero is best known these days for his effects work and directing on AMC hit series "The Walking Dead" Frankie Taggart (AFP) Best known these days for his effects work and directing on AMC hit series "The Walking Dead," Nicotero's obsession with the macabre began back in 1975 with "Jaws." "I needed to know how they did it. When the movie came out I was obsessed with learning everything I could about how they built that shark," said the filmmaker, who was 12 when Steven Spielberg's tour de force hit theaters. Nicotero's effects have provided some of the iconic moments of modern cinema, from the "hobbling" scene in "Misery" (1990), when James Caan's ankles are shattered by a sledgehammer-wielding Kathy Bates, to the ear-slicing in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." "What makes that so memorable is that you don't see it on screen. The camera is on him, and then Mike Madsen goes in with the razor and then the camera pans away and Madsen enters the shot holding the ear," he says. "You don't see it, and I'll never forget Quentin telling me over and over again how many people objected to seeing it." - Barbecued sausage meat - A tour of Nicotero's workshop 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles is like dying and going to horror geek heaven. There are vampires, werewolves, giant piranhas, a huge shark suspended from the ceiling, a T-Rex head, a lifesize horse and models of aliens, monsters and ghouls of all kinds and their messed-up victims. In Nicotero's office, severed arms are propped up on a wooden cabinet while decapitated heads clutter the floor the way a stray box of paperclips or a paper coffee cup might in a normal workplace. And then there are the zombies -- dozens of them in various stages of decomposition. There are smashed heads with eaten-away faces, broken hands, cloudy eyeballs and dentures stacked neatly in drawers. The blood that pours from every gouge, slash and gunshot wound in Nicotero's universe is corn syrup and food coloring, while the human flesh is usually barbecued sausage meat. Nicotero grew up in Pittsburgh, where the legendary Romero and his special effects supremo Tom Savini were busy redefining the horror genre, having shocked the world with 1978's "Dawn of the Dead." "I grew up 30 minutes away from where they filmed 'Dawn of the Dead' and the cemetery from 'Night of the Living Dead' was 20 minutes from my house," says the father-of-two. After a chance meeting at a restaurant in Rome, Nicotero became friends with Romero and quit pre-med to manage the make-up effects department on "Day of the Dead," the third in the horror master's zombie trilogy. - Zombie boot camp - Within a year he had moved to Los Angeles where he rented a house with freelance make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Bob Kurtzman, and the three would eat pizza, drink beer and watch horror movies together. They channeled their shared interest into KNB EFX, a workshop that would grow into a 20,000 square foot base of operations northwest of LA, serving film and television productions all over the world. Nicotero won an Oscar in 2006 for his work on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and in 2010 Frank Darabont, his director on "The Green Mile," asked him to join a new TV series called "The Walking Dead." It quickly became the most-watched show in the history of cable television, and Nicotero graduated from special effects and co-executive producing to becoming its most prolific director. He has recently set his sights beyond the film and TV to theme parks, working on a walk-through "Walking Dead" attraction opening at Universal Studios on July 4. Nicotero has provided the make-up and special effects, as well as training for the attraction's 100 extras at a zombie boot camp showing them how to find "their inner walker." So having used rubber prosthetics, countless gallons of fake blood and some of the most talented artists in the business to murder, maim and maul in every way imaginable over three decades, is there anything that could possibly scare the God of Gore? "Spiders," he says instantly, without having to think about it. "But other than that, nothing." A walker from AMC series 'The Walking Dead' demonstrates how to be a zombie at a Walker Boot Camp at Universal Studios in Los Angeles Frankie Taggart (AFP) Greg Nicotero celebrates after receiving his Eyegore Award at the Hollywood Horror Icons ceremony in Los Angeles Mark Ralston (AFP/File) Malaysia's 1MDB plans 'robust response' in debt row Troubled Malaysian state investment vehicle 1MDB said Friday it plans a "robust response" to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund's move to seek $6.5 billion via international arbitration of a debt dispute. The Abu Dhabi fund, International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), said on Tuesday that it had submitted a request to the London Court of International Arbitration to intervene in the row. "1MDB will file a robust response to the RFA (request for arbitration)", 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, said in a brief statement. In April, 1MDB defaulted on $1.75 billion in company bonds that were co-guaranteed by IPIC after the Malaysian fund missed an interest payment of $50 million Manan Vatsyayana (AFP/File) In April, 1MDB defaulted on $1.75 billion in company bonds that were co-guaranteed by IPIC after the Malaysian fund missed an interest payment of $50 million. The debt dispute centres on IPIC's accusation that 1MDB failed to pay back a $1 billion loan from the Abu Dhabi fund. 1MDB and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who launched the state-owned company in 2009, are battling allegations that billions of dollars were looted from it in complex overseas deals that are being investigated by authorities in several countries. 1MDB insists it repaid the IPIC loan, but the Abu Dhabi fund denies that. IPIC is refusing to guarantee the 1MDB bonds until the loan is repaid. Its arbitration request did not specify why it was seeking $6.5 billion. Both 1MDB and Najib vehemently deny wrongdoing. In April, a Malaysian parliamentary committee said at least $4.2 billion in questionable overseas money transfers were made by 1MDB. Najib was plunged into the crisis last year when it was revealed that $681 million in transfers were made to his personal bank accounts in 2013. He says they were "personal donations" from the Saudi royal family. Warning shot fired in Indonesian migrant boat stand-off Indonesian authorities faced pressure Friday to allow dozens of Sri Lankan migrants stranded on a boat for almost a week to disembark, as witnesses said a warning shot was fired in chaotic scenes near the vessel. The 44 migrants, who include many women and children, have been stuck on the Indian-flagged vessel resting in shallow waters off Aceh province since last Saturday after it broke down en route to Australia. The western province has refused to allow the migrants, who are believed to be minority Tamils, to disembark and have said the boat will be towed out to international waters to continue on its journey after repairs are completed. Migrants from Sri Lanka remain on their boat despite their vessel being washed ashore on the west coast of Lhoknga in Aceh Besar, Indonesia's Aceh province on June 14, 2016 Chaideer Mahyuddin (AFP) Their refusal came despite Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla ordering local authorities to allow them to disembark. Insurgents in Aceh fought against rule from Jakarta until 2005, and provincial authorities still disagree with the central government on occasion. On Thursday five women attempted to disembark from the boat, which is now stranded by a beach in the town of Lhoknga, and a crowd of local villagers surged towards the vessel, an AFP journalist at the scene said. Police fired a warning shot into the air during the chaos, the journalist said. Officials went to talk to the women and they climbed back aboard the boat. "There was quite a lot of distress, a lot of crying," said Lilianne Fan, international director of Aceh NGO the Geutanyoe Foundation, whose team on the ground witnessed the incident. The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was "deeply concerned" by the condition of those on the boat, while rights groups urged the authorities to allow them to disembark. "These people have endured a long and difficult journey already. Now that they have reached land in Aceh, they should be allowed to disembark and meet UNHCR (UN refugee agency) officials," Josef Benedict of Amnesty International said in a statement. Aceh officials have defended their actions, saying the migrants did not have proper documentation. Local immigration official Heri Sudiarto said authorities were fixing the engine and hoped to tow the boat out to international waters later in the day if weather conditions improved. Hundreds of Myanmar Rohingya came ashore in Aceh last year during a regional boat people crisis and were warmly welcomed by residents of the staunchly Islamic province, who felt sympathy for their plight as a persecuted Muslim minority. Migrant women from Sri Lanka sit in protest on the beach next to their stranded boat in Lhoknga, Aceh province Prossa (AFP) Nepal villager killed in fight over 'Himalayan Viagra' A villager was shot dead in a remote mountainous area of Nepal and three others were injured in clashes over a rare and valuable fungus known as the "Himalayan Viagra" for its reputed aphrodisiac qualities, an official said Friday. Every year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yarchagumba, which grows on the body of a caterpillar. It can fetch huge sums in neighbouring China where it is used in herbal medicines, but is only found at certain elevations and for a few weeks a year. Every year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest a parasitic fungus known locally as yarchagumba or the "Himalayan Viagra", which grows on the body of a caterpillar Kyle Knight (AFP/File) Officials in the western district of Mugu where the clash occurred said they had dispatched a police team on Wednesday after receiving reports of the clash, but they only arrived on Friday morning. "One person was killed while three others were injured when a gang of 10-12 looters shot indiscriminately in the area on Wednesday night," Mugu district chief Keshab Raj Sharma told AFP by phone. "Locals said the gang had stolen their collections." It is not the first time that violence has broken out over the yarchagumba harvest -- in 2009 seven people were brutally murdered in a fight over harvesting rights. Two years after, the court convicted 19 villagers over the case. Sharma said no medical teams had yet reached the spot. A rescue helicopter took off, but had been forced to turn back because of bad weather. Yarchagumba, which means "summer plant, winter insect" in Tibetan, is only found above 3,500 metres (11,550 feet) and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges itself in a caterpillar, slowly killing it. No definitive research has been published on the beneficial qualities of the fungus, but Chinese herbalists believe it boosts sexual performance. Boiled in water to make tea, or added to soups and stews, it is said to cure a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer. US Navy eases alcohol ban for sailors in Japan The US Navy said Friday it has loosened an alcohol ban on personnel in Japan 11 days after it was imposed following a drink-driving case on the southern island of Okinawa. The US Navy introduced the alcohol ban and restrictions on leaving base for sailors in Japan on June 6 after one was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated and injuring two people. The United States has been under intense pressure to rein in crime by its military and related personnel after a series of other incidents on Okinawa, including the suspected rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman. The United States has been under intense pressure to rein in crime by its military and related personnel after a series of other incidents on Okinawa, including the suspected rape and murder of a 20-year-old local woman Toru Yamanaka (AFP/File) In a statement Friday, the navy said that all sailors in Japan -- including on Okinawa -- can now drink on base and in their off-base homes but those in Okinawa will remain under a stricter curfew, meaning they must return to base by midnight instead of 1 am for others. Sailors, however, are not permitted to drink at off-base bars or restaurants. "We are taking this latest step because our sailors have demonstrated that they understand the strategic impact of their performance on liberty," Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of the US 7th Fleet, said in the statement. On a visit to Japan last month, US President Barack Obama vowed improvements after a civilian base employee was arrested in connection with the alleged rape and murder. Such incidents have long sparked protests on the strategic southern island crowded with US bases and have been an irritant in relations between Tokyo and Washington. US officials have grown increasingly concerned that the behaviour of its troops could jeopardise support among Japanese for their security relationship. Rear Admiral Matthew Carter, who commands the US Navy in Japan, stressed that out-of-control drinking threatened to harm ties. "We must all be on the lookout to step in before alcohol-related incidents jeopardise our relationship with Japan, he said. The decision to loosen the drinking regulations came a week after the navy said that sailors free to leave base, however they must submit details about their planned activities. Okinawans are planning a major rally Sunday in protest over the heavy US military presence and crimes by US personnel. Iraq forces retake central Fallujah from IS Iraqi forces raised the national flag over the government compound in Fallujah on Friday, top commanders said, a breakthrough in the nearly four-week-old offensive against the Islamic State group's bastion. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went on state television to announce that his forces were in control of the city except for a few small pockets of jihadists. They met limited resistance from IS fighters, who were fleeing the city, the commanders told AFP, leaving the organisation on the brink of losing one of the most emblematic strongholds in its two-year-old "caliphate". Iraqi counter terrorism forces are pictured in Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood during an operation to retake the area from the Islamic State (IS) group on June 16, 2016 Jean Marc Mojon (AFP) It is the latest setback for the jihadists who have also lost territory in neighbouring Syria and in Libya in recent weeks. "We promised you the liberation of Fallujah and we retook it. Our security forces control the city except for small pockets that need to be cleared within the coming hours," Abadi said. Military commanders explained that the forces had raised the flag over the government compound in the centre of the city. "The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the state's authority" in Fallujah, federal police chief Raed Shaker Jawdat told AFP. The overall commander of the operation, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, said that "Iraqi forces have now liberated 70 percent of the city". Significant parts of northern Fallujah, where thousands of civilians are believed to remain, have yet to be retaken. In December 2015, Abadi announced the liberation of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province where Fallujah lies, but it took several more weeks of fighting to establish full control. - 'Little resistance' - In the deserted, recently reconquered neighbourhoods of the insurgent bastion known in Iraq as the "City of Mosques", elite forces were consolidating positions, stocking up on food and weapons. Dozens of bodies of dead IS fighters were left to rot under blankets amid the rubble of homes destroyed by air strikes, rockets or controlled explosions of the hundreds of bombs the jihadists themselves laid across the city. Fallujah, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is one of IS's key historical bastions and its loss would leave Mosul as the only major Iraqi city under its control. The US-led coalition, which has carried out air strikes in support of the Fallujah operation, had initially favoured focusing efforts on recapturing Mosul. Abadi, who was facing huge political pressure over the reform of his own government when he declared the launch of the Fallujah operation, vowed Friday that Mosul was the next target. In the hours before the latest push into the heart of Fallujah, Iraqi forces retook several neighbourhoods in quick succession. "This operation was done with little resistance from Daesh," Saadi said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "They know, by experience, that a small number of IS fighters in urban terrain cannot stop an Iraqi security forces ground assault supported by coalition airstrikes," said Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. After months of military operations aimed at completely sealing off the city, IS had been expected to fight to the death in a protracted suicide holdout, but recent developments suggest the siege was porous. "There is a mass flight of Daesh to the west that explains this lack of resistance. There are only pockets of them left and we are hunting them down," Saadi said. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes since the operation began last month. - Aid groups overwhelmed - The first to escape IS rule were in rural outlying areas, in the early phase of the operation which saw a myriad different Iraqi forces seal the siege of the city. Residents of the city centre had been trapped in dire conditions for days, but recent advances have allowed large numbers to escape. IS "likely quickly discovered that they did not have the forces available to exert social control over the city and prevent civilians from fleeing once the assault into central Fallujah began," Martin said. The Norwegian Refugee Council, which runs camps for the displaced near Fallujah, said the sudden influx meant relief was drying up fast. "Thousands of civilians from Fallujah are right now heading towards displacement camps in a dramatic development that is overwhelming emergency aid provision and services," it said. With IS on the retreat in the city, a window has opened for civilians to leave but the journey remains dangerous, with several cases of fleeing civilians killed or wounded by roadside bombs. There were an estimated 50,000 people in the city when the operation began but it is unclear how many remain. Civilians have been used as human shields by IS, and those who managed to flee face the risk of sectarian-motivated abuse by elements of the pro-government forces. Fallujah is a Sunni Muslim city, and the involvement of Shiite militia groups in the operation had raised fears of sectarian revenge attacks. Iraq: the battle for Fallujah Valentina BRESCHI, Thomas SAINT-CRICQ (AFP) A member of Iraqi government forces flashes the "V" for victory sign on June 16, 2016 after recapturing the town of Zankura, northwest of Ramadi, from the Islamic State group Moadh Al-Dulaimi (AFP/File) Iraqi government forces drive their armoured vehicles during an operation in Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood to retake the area from the Islamic State group on June 15, 2016 Ahmad al-Rubaye (AFP/File) Iraqi government forces gather next to their vehicles during an operation to retake the area from the Islamic State (IS) group on June 15, 2016 in Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood Ahmad Al-Rubaye (AFP) Iraqi women who fled fighting between government forces and Islamic State (IS) jihadists in the Fallujah area seek refuge at a camp for displaced people in Amriyat al-Fallujah on June 14, 2016 Sabah Arar (AFP/File) New Turkey PM strikes note of reconciliation to regional foes Turkey's new prime minister on Friday stretched out a cautious hand of reconciliation to Turkey's regional foes, saying he wanted no permanent tensions with Black Sea and Mediterranean neighbours after serious ruptures with Egypt, Israel, Russia and Syria. Binali Yildirim, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took over the premiership in May from Ahmet Davutoglu who had spearheaded a policy of projecting Turkish power in the region. Some analysts have suggested that Davutoglu made way for Yildirim to allow a more reconciliatory foreign policy that would allow Turkey to mend bridges with its enemies and return to its former dictum of "zero problems" with neighbours. Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, pictured in Ankara on June 14, 2016, is a close ally of the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and took office in May Adem Altan (AFP/File) "Israel, Syria, Russia, Egypt... we cannot have permanent enmity with these countries which border the Black and Mediterranean Seas," Yildirim said in his first major interview with Turkish reporters, quoted by the Hurriyet daily. - 'See big picture' - Relations with Russia tumbled to post Cold War lows when Turkey on November 24 shot down a Russian warplane over the Syrian border. Moscow then blocked the sale of tours to Turkey, wrecking tourism in the south of the country where the industry was hugely dependent on Russian tourists. "We need to look at the big picture," said Yildirim. "There is no hostility between our peoples. It's possible to go back to the old days and take our relations even further." His comments come after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter this month to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin congratulating him on Russia's national day, the first such high level contact since the plane crisis. Russia has so far responded cooly, but pro-government daily Yeni Safak said Friday Turkey had prepared a nine step "roadmap" for normalising political and economic relations by September 1 and full ties by December 15. Previously tight relations between key NATO member Turkey and Israel were downgraded over the 2010 deadly storming by Israeli commandos of a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza, which left 10 Turkish activists dead. Yildirim said Turkish diplomats were working on a solution for normalisation, with the lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza the key condition. "I don't think the remaining period will be very long" until a result for normalisation is achieved, he said. Turkish press reports have suggested a breakthrough may come soon, with Ankara keen to wrap up the issue before the Turkish foreign ministry's powerful pointman on Israel, Feridun Sinirlioglu, takes up a new job in New York as Turkey's representative to the United Nations. - 'Turkey wants Egypt ties' - Relations with Egypt suffered a similar downturn after the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a close Ankara ally, and Erdogan has denounced President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as an "illegitimate tyrant". Yildirim said Ankara would never accept the 2013 "coup" but said "this should not be an obstacle in the commercial relations between our countries". "The development of relations is in the interest of the two peoples," he added. Reports have suggested that Turkey's increasingly close ally, fellow Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia, is keen to engineer a reconciliation between Cairo and Ankara. On the Syria conflict, Turkey has always called for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad and opposed attempts by Syrian Kurds to carve out an autonomous region. "The territorial integrity of Syria is important for us," Yildirim said. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Friday met US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara, telling him of Turkey's anxieties over the US support of Kurdish militias in Syria, foreign ministry sources said. Turkey however has denied suggestions it may be prepared to soften its position that Assad must depart immediately for there to be a solution in Syria. Second black box recovered from EgyptAir crash site Search teams on Friday recovered the second flight recorder of an EgyptAir plane from the bottom of the Mediterranean that could prove vital in establishing the cause of the crash. Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar screens in the eastern Mediterranean last month with 66 people on board, and a vast search operation has since scoured swathes of sea off Egypt's northern coast. Egyptian investigators said search teams managed to recover the Airbus A320's flight data recorder -- which gathers information among other things about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane -- a day after they retrieved its cockpit voice recorder. An EgyptAir Airbus A320 went down in the Mediterranean with 66 people on board nearly a month ago Khaled Desouki (AFP/File) The data recorder, which experts see as a vital part of the probe, was found in several pieces, according to investigators. It was not immediately clear how much of its data would be usable, but Cairo's civil aviation authority said on Thursday that salvage experts had managed to retrieve the voice recorder's crucial memory unit despite extensive damage to the black box. "The flight data recorder was also retrieved in several stages but the vessel equipment managed to pick up the memory unit which is considered as the most important part," France's BEA air safety agency, which is assisting the crash probe, said in a statement. The voice recorder was due to be transferred from the port city of Alexandria to Cairo, where Egyptian investigators supported by French experts and representatives of manufacturer Airbus will analyse its contents. BEA said it had dispatched an expert to Cairo to assist the probe. A statement from the Egyptian board of inquiry on Friday warned that "analysing the data could take several weeks". The cockpit voice recorder keeps track of up to two hours of conversation and other sounds in the pilots' cabin, but also ambient noise within the aircraft. "Depending on what we can get from this black box, it could allow us to know exactly what happened," said aeronautics expert Jean Serrat. An Egyptian aviation ministry source, who declined to be named, said that if the voice data was heavily damaged, it could be sent abroad for further analysis. Investigators have repeatedly said it is too soon to determine what caused the disaster, but a terror attack has not been ruled out. - Weeks of searching - Search teams spent weeks scouring an area about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of the Egyptian coast for the recorders. The area where the plane crashed on May 19 is believed to be about 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) deep and there were fears that the black box batteries -- which normally last between four and five weeks -- would be exhausted before the recorders could be assessed. France's aviation safety agency has said the EgyptAir plane transmitted automated messages indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit minutes before disappearing from radar screens. On Monday, Egyptian investigators confirmed the aircraft had made a 90-degree left turn followed by a 360-degree turn to the right before hitting the sea. Investigators were able to narrow down the search site thanks to an emergency signal sent via satellite by the plane's locator transmitter when it hit the Mediterranean. The passengers on the plane were 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, two Iraqis, two Canadians, and citizens from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. They included a boy and two babies. Seven crew and three security personnel were also on board. The crash came after the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula last October that killed all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack within hours, but there has been no such claim linked to the EgyptAir crash. IS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and has claimed attacks in both France and Egypt. In October, foreign governments issued travel warnings for Egypt and demanded a review of security at its airports. Pieces of EgyptAir plane found The John Lethbridge research vessel, seen here moored in the port of Alexandria, was used to search the Mediterranean for the wreck of the EgyptAir Airbus A320 that crashed on May 19 F. Bassemayousse (Deeo Ocean Search Ltd/AFP/File) China rights lawyer and family 'threatened' after new book A leading Chinese dissident lawyer and his relatives have been "threatened" since his daughter spoke about his controversial new book in Hong Kong this week, the daughter and activists said Friday. Gao Zhisheng's current whereabouts are unknown after Chinese security agents are said to have rushed to his brother's house, where he is staying, in an isolated village in China's Shaanxi province on Tuesday. Gao has been under house arrest since 2014 after serving a three-year prison term on subversion-related charges -- a sentence which sparked an international outcry. Grace Geng (R), daughter of Chinese dissident lawyer Gao Zhisheng, holds her father's book "A Human Rights Lawyer under Torture the auto narratives of Gao Zhisheng" during a press conference in Hong Kong on June 14, 2016 Anthony Wallace (AFP/File) "I am worried they will face many threats... I already know that right after (his daughter) Grace's press conference in Hong Kong, Chinese security personnel rushed to his brother's house and threatened (them)," said Bob Fu, president of US-based human rights group China Aid Association which co-published the book. "We don't know if he has been removed from his cave home in Shaanxi. We don't know where he is now," Fu said, adding that a local contact who passed on the information of the security agents' visit had also gone "missing". Speaking in Taipei to launch her father's new book "Stand Up China 2017" -- which predicts the demise of the Communist Party and details his torture at the hands of the authorities -- Grace Gao said her uncle and aunt's mobile phones were disconnected or turned off when she called them on Friday. She felt her father would be subject to punishment over the book but added: "He is prepared for anything and our family is prepared." Gao fell foul of Chinese authorities by championing the rights of vulnerable people including underground Christians, aggrieved miners and members of the banned Falungong spiritual movement. He was convicted in 2006 of "subversion of state power" and given a three-year suspended prison sentence. State media said in 2011 that he had been ordered to serve the sentence after a Beijing court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation. In the 446-page book, Gao predicted the demise of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017, saying that "peaceful power for change" will flourish in China despite brutal suppression and it is "enviable for China's evil forces to demise". Gao detailed what he called abductions and tortures imposed on him by Chinese authorities since 2004, including electric shocks. The book was published by two human rights groups as no publisher in Taiwan or Hong Kong wanted to get involved, according to co-publisher Taiwan Association for China Human Rights. "Please help my family and all Chinese people," Grace Gao wrote in a copy of the book to be given to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen through a lawmaker of Tsai's party. Israel lets Gazans into Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers Israel allowed hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers Friday, an official said, a week after revoking entry permits in response to a deadly attack. The 300 Palestinians are believed to be the first from the blockaded enclave to be granted entry to pray since Israel shut the border after Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightspot on June 8. That measure came during the first week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when tens of thousands of Palestinians visit Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Palestinian Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city during Friday prayers on June 17, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP) The permits issued for Friday were the regular weekly quota for worshippers at Al-Aqsa, said a spokeswoman for COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry unit which manages civilian affairs for Palestinians in the West Bank and liaises with Gaza. "Larger numbers were supposed to enter for Ramadan. That has been cancelled," she said. Israel imposed a tight air, sea and land blockade on Gaza in 2006, designed to prevent the Islamist Hamas movement that controls the territory from rearming. Around 53,000 Palestinians from the West Bank were also allowed into Jerusalem on Friday to pray at Al-Aqsa, the spokeswoman said. Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank had already been allowed to go there last week in an exception to the entry ban, she noted. The mosque compound, a frequent focal point of Palestinian-Israeli tensions, is revered by both Muslims and Jews, who refer to the site as the Temple Mount. The Tel Aviv attack was the deadliest in a wave of violence that began in October. One of the two attackers was arrested, while the other was shot and underwent surgery. FARGO -- North Dakota State University is seeking employee buyouts, a move to reduce the schools budget to cope with the states sagging tax revenue. In an email to NDSU employees Thursday, President Dean Bresciani announced an early retirement program for staff and faculty who have been at the school long enough. The offer is aimed at helping NDSU meet the 10 percent budget cuts in its next two-year budget beginning next summer. A school work group is also proposing cutting pay and eliminating a college to help keep NDSUs budget down. NDSU and other state universities and colleges joined most state agencies earlier this year in reducing current budgets by a little more than 4 percent due to the drop in state revenue caused by slumping agriculture and oil prices. That one-time cut of about $6.4 million at NDSU was accomplished largely by delaying a major research initiative and leaving many positions open -- about 95 as of June 6, according to a recent memo from the office of Bruce Bollinger, NDSUs vice president for finance and administration. State Rep. Roscoe Streyle, R-Minot, who sits on the Legislatures Higher Education Committee, said Thursday the 4 percent cut wasnt enough. When you have to cut back 10 percent, you have to look harder than when youre cutting 4 percent, he said. Theres some fat to be cut. Gov. Jack Dalrymple earlier this year directed North Dakota University System schools to cut their budgets by at least 10 percent for the coming biennium due to declining oil revenues. A 10 percent cut to NDSUs allocation equates to $15,741,054, spokeswoman Sadie Rudolph said in an email. A budget work group charged with finding ways to reduce NDSUs budget recently recommended trimming administrative payroll and cutting salaries of former administrators. School leaders, such as provosts, often keep their higher salaries when they return to regular professor duties. Rudolph said in the email that potential cuts to administrative positions will be identified before the work group determines how much money it would save. A preliminary state Higher Education Committee report shows that NDSU has 105 administrative positions. Seventy-eight of those jobs salaries havent been calculated. For every 74 NDSU students, theres one academic administrative position, which includes provosts and deans, the report said. The states other research institution, the University of North Dakota has 33 students for every academic administrator. Streyle said what qualifies as an administrative position still needs to be determined, so the numbers could change depending on future studies. The mean salary for university system presidents in 2015 was $237,967. Bresciani currently makes $354,568. UND has slashed staff numbers and cut programs, steps NDSU didnt take. NDSUs buyout offer is its first attempt to reduce existing payroll in response to mounting budget pressure. The school began accepting applications for early retirement buyouts Thursday. Eligible employees need to meet the rule of 70, where the sum of the employees age and the total years of benefited employment at NDSU or in the university system equals at least 70. Academic staff members who take a buyout will receive a years worth of pay, and other employees will receive one week of pay for each year theyve worked at NDSU. Concordia College also accepted early retirement buyouts this year due to a tight budget. NDSUs budget work group also recommended hiring fewer part-time academics and adjunct professors, working to boost programs that increase enrollment, and closing programs and centers as a last resort, a study the group published last week stated. The group also recommended adding a January term and expanding summer enrollment to attract more students. Absorbing the degree program offered by the College of University Studies into other departments was also recommended. Sharing services such as human resources and information technology was also discussed. Our early anticipation of a potential budgetary challenge for the state, the framework provided by the Strategic Plan, and the work of the study group over the past few months, provided for an inclusive and thorough outcome, Bresciani said in the email. The group recommended that smaller work groups be organized to further develop various items, and I have agreed. NDSU needs to submit its budget for the 2017-19 biennium to the university system office by Aug. 22, Rudolph said in the email. The deadline for buyouts is Sep. 15. When asked about the later application deadline, Rudolph said, We will provide a budget that meets the designated reduction guidelines, and will be allowed to make detailed modifications throughout the process. Reduction guidelines allow each campus to submit only two capital project requests, fewer than in recent years. Bresciani said in his email NDSUs employees that there could be another one-time state-mandated budget cut later this year. Most of these universities have too much overhead, Streyle said. Theyre a little top heavy. Hong Kong people 'petrified' over bookseller revelations Hong Kong lawmakers say residents have been left "petrified" by explosive revelations from a city bookseller about his detention in China and have slammed Beijing for violating freedoms. In a surprise interview Lam Wing-kee broke his silence Thursday over how he had been detained on a visit to China and was interrogated for months with no access to a lawyer or his family. He vowed to break bail, refusing to return to the mainland. Lam, 61, is one of five booksellers who published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians and disappeared at the end of last year in a case that drew international condemnation and heightened fears Beijing was tightening its grip on semi-autonomous Hong Kong. Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee says he was kept in confinement, blindfolded and interrogated by Chinese authorities Anthony Wallace (AFP) Pro-democracy lawmakers accused Hong Kong authorities of failing to help the booksellers and called on them to ensure Lam is now kept safe after his decision to speak out. Emily Lau of the Democratic Party said if Lam were harmed it would "shatter" Hong Kong. "Many Hong Kong people are petrified," she told AFP. "It can happen to each and every one of us." The government says it is trying to speak to Lam and that residents' safety is paramount. China's foreign ministry would not be drawn on the criticisms of its treatment of Lam, saying only that he had violated Chinese law. "Authorities here have the right to deal with the relevant case in accordance with the law," said spokeswoman Hua Chunying Friday. One pro-democracy lawmaker said Chinese authorities were acting like "thugs" and accused the Hong Kong government of being a puppet of Beijing. "Hong Kong is being pathetic," said Claudia Mo of the Civic Party. "It has to say something to regain people's confidence... but it is terrified to do anything that might embarrass Beijing." Some residents said they now questioned how safe they are in Hong Kong. "People feel scared," accountant Louis Chan, 28, told AFP. "Now the Chinese government want to have full control." - Protesters gather - A succession of political groups protested outside China's liaison office in Hong Kong Friday with more demonstrations expected Saturday. High-profile teenage activist Joshua Wong called Lam a hero. "Lam is the role model for Hong Kong people -- facing the suppression of the communist regime," Wong said. Lam was kept in detention for eight months and returned to Hong Kong Tuesday. He was due to go back over the border Thursday but decided to speak out instead. Lam told how he recited a scripted confession about involvement in the illegal book trade on state television in fear of what would happen to him. In harrowing detail he also explained how the toothbrush he was given in detention was tied by a thread which was held by a guard to prevent him from committing suicide by swallowing it. Fellow booksellers Lui Por and Cheung Chi-ping returned to Hong Kong in March on bail, but both were reported to have quickly gone back to the mainland. Their colleague Lee Bo, who says he went to China of his own free will and is helping mainland authorities with their inquiries, has also been back and forth to Hong Kong. Lee's case caused the most outcry because he was the only bookseller who disappeared on Hong Kong soil, prompting allegations that Chinese enforcement agents were operating illegally in the city. The fifth man, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, remains in detention. The Swedish embassy in Beijing said Friday that repeated requests for a meeting with Gui had not been granted since they last saw him in February. Five booksellers who published salacious titles about leading Chinese politicians disappeared at the end of last year in a case that exacerbated fears Beijing was tightening its grip on Hong Kong Philippe Lopez (AFP/File) Japan atomic bomb survivors criticise Obama's Hiroshima speech An association of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has criticised US President Barack Obama's speech last month during a historic visit to Hiroshima, saying he failed to mention US responsibility for the bombing. Obama, as the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, paid moving tribute to victims in the western city, where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards. US President Barack Obama hugs a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima in the Japanese city on May 27, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP/File) A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan three days later. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted he would not revisit decisions made by then president Harry Truman at the close of the brutal war. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations said in a resolution adopted on Thursday at its general meeting that Obama described the bombing in his speech as if it had been "a natural phenomenon", according to Jiji Press. The phrase "death fell from the sky" that he used to evoke the horror was an expression to avoid the responsibility of the United States in having dropped the bomb, said the resolution. Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of the group and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, also said Obama's conversations with survivors during his trip were very short. "You cannot fully understand their experience by listening to them for five minutes," he said. "We hope he can make a visit again." Obama's brief conversations included an unexpected embrace with a survivor in one of the visit's most memorable moments. Protesters on Okinawa scuffle with police at US base Angry Japanese protesters scuffled with police outside a US Marine base on Okinawa Friday ahead of a major weekend rally against the heavy American military presence on the southern island. Under a scorching sun, about 30 demonstrators occupied part of a road outside Camp Schwab in northern Okinawa, obstructing trucks and cars leaving the facility for around 15 minutes before being forced to disperse. Japanese policemen in navy blue pushed away the protesters -- some of whom were lying on the floor -- to let more than a dozen vehicles, some driven by US personnel in green uniforms, pass through. Police try to remove people protesting against the presence of US bases, outside the US Marine Corps' Camp Schwab in Nago in Okinawa on June 17, 2016 Toru Yamanaka (AFP) Friday's action came amid high tensions on the island two days before a major demonstration in the capital Naha against the US military. Tens of thousands are expected. The demonstrators, a mostly elderly mix of Okinawans and supporters from other parts of Japan, chanted songs and held up placards reading "Don't rape Okinawa", "Close all bases" and "Marines out" as they condemned recent crimes linked to the US military and other base personnel. They also called for the scrapping of plans by security allies the United States and Japan to build a new air facility off the coast from Camp Schwab so a Marine base in a heavily populated part of the island can be closed. That controversial project is currently being held up by legal maneuvering, though Washington and Tokyo are vowing to press ahead. "We have suffered for more than 70 years," said Tomoyuki Kobashigawa, a 73-year-old retired Okinawan school teacher who joined the protest. "We feel not only anger but also sadness," Kobashigawa told AFP, adding that the protesters are determined to see the removal of US bases from the island. Okinawa was the site of a brutal World War II battle between Japan and the US but is now considered a strategic linchpin supporting their alliance. The US occupied Okinawa for 27 years after the war ended, before it returned to Japanese control in 1972. Pacifist sentiment on the island, crowded with US bases, runs high. More than half of the 47,000 American military personnel in Japan are stationed on Okinawa and rapes and other crimes by US service personnel have sparked major protests, drawing up to 100,000 people. Earlier this month a former US Marine employed at the US Air Force's sprawling Kadena Air Base was arrested for the alleged rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman. "It's not that we cannot live with American people, but we can never live with Americans staying here as military, which you see in Okinawa's long history," said Suzuyo Takazato, a female rights activist who participated in the demonstration. About 30 demonstrators occupied part of a road outside Camp Schwab in northern Okinawa, holding banners saying "Marine Out" Toru Yamanaka (AFP) BASF to buy Albemarle's Chemetall coatings division for $3.2bn German chemicals giant BASF said Friday it has agreed to purchase Chemetall, the surface treatment subsidiary of US group Albemarle, for $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euros). BASF added in its statement that "the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and is expected to close by the end of 2016." Chemetall is headquartered in Frankfurt and has a global workforce of around 2,500 at 21 production sites in more than 20 countries, BASF said. The logo of German chemicals giant BASF at the company's headquarter in Ludwigshafen, Germany Daniel Roland (AFP/File) In 2015, it generated sales of $845 million. "Chemetall offers a strong strategic fit for our coatings business," said the board member for BASF's coating business, Wayne T. Smith. "Chemetall complements our current portfolio by adding the highly attractive surface treatment business to our coatings offerings," said division chief Markus Kamieth. Chemetall's products are used in a wide range of industries such as automobiles, aerospace and metal forming industries, BASF said. BASF's coatings division generated annual revenues of 3.2 billion euros last year. Dow Chemical first licensee under eased Saudi rules US chemicals giant Dow has said it is the first company to get a licence under new Saudi rules allowing 100 percent foreign ownership in the trade sector. The kingdom's powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is on a visit to the United States, presented the licence to Dow chairman Andrew Liveris in Washington, the company said in a statement published Thursday. Prince Mohammed is the driving force behind Vision 2030, an economic diversification plan which he released in April. US chemicals giant Dow says it is the first company to get a licence under new Saudi rules allowing 100 percent foreign ownership in the trade sector Bill Pugliano (Getty/AFP/File) It aims to wean the kingdom off oil, which remains its main revenue source even though global prices have fallen by around half since 2014. Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme, which sets targets for implementing it, seek to boost non-oil revenues and employ more Saudis. In line with the Vision, ministers on Monday approved rules for foreign companies to invest in the wholesale and retail trade sector with 100 percent ownership, up from 75 percent. Dow said the trading licence advances its ability to deliver products in the areas of sustainable development, energy efficiency, oil and gas, alternative energy and water. After Prince Mohammed met Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and other top US economic policymakers on Wednesday, the White House "underscored the United States' desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform programme." Dow calls itself Saudi Arabia's largest foreign investor. Its stakes include Sadara Chemical Co, a joint venture with Saudi oil giant Aramco. Commerce and Investment Minister Majed al-Qasabi, in the United States with Prince Mohammed, said on Tuesday that the new ownership rules "take us a step further" towards the Vision's goal of making Saudi Arabia an investment powerhouse. Investors will now have flexibility to structure their company optimally to benefit from the Saudi market, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority said. Kenyan lawmakers charged for hate speech and incitement to violence Eight Kenyan politicians were charged Friday with hate speech and incitement to violence following public comments and calls to supporters made in recent days. Three lawmakers from the ruling Jubilee party, and four MPs and a senator from the opposition CORD alliance, denied the charges at Nairobi's Milimani Law Courts. Police guarded the area around the court where supporters had gathered. (L to R) Kenyan politicians Florence Mutua, Junet Mohammed, Aisha Jumwa, and Timothy Bosire sit in the dock at the Milimani Law Courts, in Nairobi on June 17, 2016 as they are charged with hate speech and incitement to violence Simon Maina (AFP) The detained Jubilee MPs, Moses Kuria, Kimani Ngunjiri and Ferdinand Waititu, are loyalists of President Uhuru Kenyatta and members of his Kikuyu tribe. The CORD politicians are MPs Timothy Bosire, Aisha Jumwa, Junet Mohammed and Florence Mutua, and senator Johnson Muthama. All eight were arrested on Tuesday and have been held in custody since then, with Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo warning their power and influence meant they might interfere with investigations. Prosecution lawyer Leonard Maingi on Friday argued the eight should be refused bail as they would likely repeat the alleged offences if allowed out. But Ogembo, while noting that these are "serious charges", approved their release on bail. Jubilee MPs Kuria and Waititu are accused of making public statements threatening the life of opposition leader Raila Odinga, a member of the Luo ethnic group, while Ngunjiri is said to have called for Luos in the central town of Nakuru to return to western Kenya, their traditional homeland. On the CORD side, Mohammed, Mutua and Muthama are accused of inciting the storming of police headquarters, while Bosire and Jumwa are alleged to have predicted chaos and violence as a result of Kenyatta's failure to unite the country in the wake of widespread and deadly political violence following the 2007 elections. Boko Haram kill 24 in northeastern Nigeria: community leader Twenty-four people were killed when Boko Haram fighters opened fire on mourners, a local community leader said Friday, in the second attack in northeast Nigeria this week after a relative lull. The attack happened at about 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) in Kuda village near the town of Gulak, in Adamawa state, according to Maina Ularamu, a former local government chairman in nearby Madagali. Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar, based in the state capital Yola, 255 kilometres (160 miles) away, confirmed the attack, as did local lawmaker Adamu Kamale. Niger's soldiers stand at Bosso military camp on June 17, 2016 following attacks by Boko Haram fighters in the region Issouf Sanogo (AFP) But Abubakar gave a lower death toll of 18 and said "many others were injured". Ularamu said the attack occurred during a "mourning celebration" to mark the death of a local community leader. "They came on motorcycles and opened fire on the crowd, killing 24. Most of the victims were women. They looted food supplies and burnt homes and they left almost an hour later," he told AFP. "Gulak has been liberated from Boko Haram but the gunmen still live in villages nearby. They attack mostly to loot food supplies. "Our people who fled their homes to escape Boko Haram attacks have been returning because they can't live in the camps. "But now they are facing threats from Boko Haram who launch nocturnal attacks." Boko Haram threatened to overrun Adamawa state in 2014, sweeping down from their Sambisa Forest stronghold which lies just across the border in Borno state to Mubi, 80 kilometres south of Gulak. The rampage, which left bridges and homes destroyed on the only road south to Yola, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes to flee into camps and host communities in the state capital. - Sporadic attacks - Boko Haram was driven out of the state by a military counter-offensive from January 2015 and since there has been a relative calm despite sporadic attacks. The last attack in Adamawa was on January 9, when seven people were killed and two others injured in a raid on the northern Adamawa town of Madagali. Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a market in Madagali on December 28, killing 30, just days after President Muhammadu Buhari declared the Islamists "technically" defeated. There has been a noticeable fall in attacks since the turn of the year and the military claims the Islamic State affiliate is severely weakened and pushed into border areas around Lake Chad. Earlier this month 24 soldiers from neighbouring Niger and two Nigerian troops were killed in a Boko Haram attack in the Bosso area of Niger, prompting Chad to send in reinforcements. Thursday's attack is an indication that the rebels, who want to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, are not routed, and still have the capacity to strike. The Nigerian army in late April began an assault on Sambisa Forest, which is believed to have pushed out remaining fighters, and has claimed the arrest of several suspected Boko Haram leaders. On Tuesday, fighters attacked Kutuva village in the Damboa area of Borno state, on the other side of the former game reserve, killing four and kidnapping four women. At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million people forced from their homes since the insurgency began in 2009. DR Congo M23 rebels want new demobilisation scheme DR Congo's disbanded M23 rebel movement Friday called on the government to agree a new demobilisation scheme following deadly clashes near a camp housing former rebels dissatisfied with their conditions. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement that the deaths of several people in clashes this week between the army and ex-rebels showed the need for a new disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. "Repetitive serious fatal incidents, the inability of the government to achieve its own programme, poor conditions of life maintained in the demobilisation centres have transformed these places in real jails or in open-air prison where the dead are up to hundreds," Bisimwa said. After the defeat of M23 in 2013, the Democratic Republic of Congo government launched a programme to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate more than 12,000 former rebels Isaac Kasamani (AFP/File) M23 wanted to work with the government to set out a "more realistic" and attractive demobilisation programme for the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said. But asked by AFP to respond, government spokesman Lambert Mende said "M23 doesn't exist. We don't need to respond to non-existent entities." Tension had been mounting for days at the military base in Kamina, in the southeast, where more than 2,300 former rebels from various groups are stationed as part of a government disarmament programme. - Toll not clear - After the defeat of M23 in 2013, the government launched a programme known as DDR3 to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate more than 12,000 former rebels. But the programme, the third of its kind since the end of the Second Congo War in 2003, has been hit by delays and funding problems. Kamina has previously faced a mutiny from the disgruntled former rebels, who have complained about the living standards on the base. It was unclear however how many died in this week's clashes. A source at the local military hospital who asked not to be identified said Wednesday there had been "some dead" but declined to give a figure. On Friday, the head of the Bill Clinton Foundation, Emmanuel Cole, told AFP 12 people were killed, nine of them former rebels and three soldiers. He said the rebels were angry because their food rations had been cut and the integration process was too slow, meaning they faced an uncertain future. The government however says the only fatality was a soldier. Mende said the tension rose when rebels demanded to be allowed to leave the camp and return home. A Western military source said the latest clashes expose the limitations of the DDR3 programme and may deter other rebels from laying down arms and hamper the repatriation of former M23 refugees to Rwanda and Uganda. IS hits back with 9th suicide car bombing in Libya's Sirte The Islamic State group carried out a suicide car bombing Friday in the coastal city of Sirte, the ninth such attack this week by the beleaguered jihadists, Libya's unity government said. The Government of National Accord said two members of the forces allied with the GNA were lightly wounded in the latest attack. Pinned down in the centre of Sirte, formerly their stronghold in Libya, IS have hit back with suicide bombings and counter-attacks since GNA forces fought their way into the city last week. Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government fire from a tank in Sirte's centre towards Ouagadougou as they advance to recapture the city from the Islamic State group jihadists on June 10, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File) Jihadist groups took root in Libya in late 2014, taking advantage of the chaos and power struggles that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. On Thursday, 10 members of the pro-GNA forces were killed in a suicide bombing in Abu Grein, a town 130 kilometres (80 miles) away that they captured on May 17 in their advance on Sirte. The pro-GNA forces aim to expel IS from its bastion on Europe's doorstep, but the jihadists, holed up in residential areas of the Mediterranean city, have intensified efforts to regain ground. Established in Tripoli more than two months ago, the UN-backed unity government has been struggling to exert its control over the North African country, which is awash with weapons. The operation to retake Sirte has so far left 164 pro-GNA fighters dead and more than 500 wounded, according to an AFP count based on reports from medical officials. No casualty figures are available for the jihadists in Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital. Nigerian military arrests 19 suspected oil militants Nigeria's military on Friday said they had arrested 19 suspected oil militants as they ramp up operations to stop pipeline attacks bringing the country's economy to a standstill. Troops thwarted an attempt to blow up a pipeline operated by the Nigerian subsidiary of Italy's Eni and arrested suspected pipeline vandals and oil thieves, it said in a statement. Three coordinators of "several pipeline bombings" were among those detained in operations conducted across the oil-producing southern states of Bayelsa and Delta, it added. Attacks on oil piplines in Nigeria have cut production to an estimated 1.6 million barrels per day, well below the expected 2.2 million bpd Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File) "One of the arrested suspects, John Oboka -- aka Jamaica -- confessed to being part of the group that bombed the Nigerian Petroleum Developing Company (NPDC) crude oil pipeline at Escravos," said the statement. There was no indication as to whether those arrested were connected to the Niger Delta Avengers, the high-profile group that has claimed a series of attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure since February. The attacks have cut production to an estimated 1.6 million barrels per day, well below the expected 2.2 million bpd, heaping pressure on an economy hit by falling crude prices since mid-2014. Abuja has offered to talk with the Avengers but the militant group has denied reports it has met government representatives. "There is no ideal solution for the federal government, there are just hard and even harder choices to make," Dirk Steffen, maritime security director at Risk Intelligence in Denmark, told AFP. The security operations "bear the risk of alienating the population in the Delta", he said. Belgrade rolls out red carpet for Chinese president Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sign some 20 bilateral deals with Serbia during a visit that began Friday, as Belgrade aims to make China one of its main economic partners. The three-day visit is the first by a Chinese president since the breakup of the former communist Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Beijing and Belgrade in 2009 signed a "strategic partnership" aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation on economic, cultural, educational and other matters. China's President Xi Jinping, pictured on June 3, 2016, is on a three-day visit to Belgrade, the first visit by a Chinese president since the breakup of the former communist Yugoslavia in the 1990s Fred Dufour (AFP/File) In 2015 bilateral trade was worth $1.56 billion (1.38 billion euros), more than 90 percent of which was in favour of China. Serbia hopes to become a gateway for Chinese moves into the Balkans and beyond. China wants to facilitate transport of its products into Europe by participating in infrastructure projects in southeastern Europe. Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade two months after HBIS, the world's third-biggest steel producer, bought Serbia's sole steel mill and largest exporter Zelezara Smederevo for 46 million euros ($52 million). He is to visit the plant on Sunday. Some 20 bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during the visit, including one reinforcing the 2009 strategic partnership, according to Serbian media. China does not recognise Kosovo, the former Serbian province that unilaterally declared independence in 2008 despite Belgrade's opposition. Upon his arrival Xi Jinping attended a ceremony marking the start of construction of a Chinese cultural centre at the site of the former Chinese embassy hit by US-led NATO aircraft during the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia over its war with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Three people were killed in the incident that seriously strained relations between Washington and Bejing at the time. The Chinese president will also attend the inauguration of a monument to Chinese philosopher Confucius. Palestinians begin sea border talks with Egypt The Palestinians have begun talks with Egypt on setting out the maritime borders of their hoped for future state and the resources they can extract from the sea, their UN ambassador to the United Nations said Friday. The goal is to establish an exclusive economic zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, said ambassador Ryad Mansour. The Palestinians became party to this and other UN treaties and agencies when they gained observer status at the United Nations in November 2012. Palestinian fishing boats are seen at the sea port in Gaza City Mohammed Abed (AFP/File) The talks with Egypt are at the preliminary stage, having begun recently with Egypt at the foreign minister level and then continued at the expert level, the ambassador said. The Palestinian Authority has consulted "top lawyers in the field" to prepare its case and train its officials in the workings of maritime law, he added. The Palestinian strategy is to reach agreements with two of its neighbors in the Mediterranean -- first Egypt and then Cyprus -- to define exclusive economic zones with respect to them, and then consult with lawyers as to what its potential borders with Israel could be. Experts will then take an inventory of the natural resources claimed by the Palestinians and, and they will file their EEZ with the UN convention on the law of the sea. It is a way to save time for future generations, said Mansour. The Palestinians want to move as quickly as possible but these proceedings could take years, he added. "For us the fact that we are a state, that our land is under occupation, and that we are joining conventions and treaties, means that we cannot run away from the responsibilities that these treaties and conventions require from us," Mansour said. "It is our right to declare our exclusive economic zone," he said. An EEZ is an area of the sea over which a country has special rights to explore for and use resources. An EEZ general extends out 200 miles (370 km) from a country's coast, while a nation's territorial waters only extend 12 miles out. But in the Mediterranean they overlap and need to be negotiated. Neither Israel nor the United States have ratified the UN convention on the sea. Bombardments in Syria's Aleppo kill 9 civilians Barrel bomb attacks and shelling on rebel-held areas of Syria's northern city of Aleppo killed at least nine civilians Friday, the second day of a temporary truce, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the crude explosive devices hit three areas of Aleppo, prompting the rebels to fire rockets into regime-held western parts of the city. The violence erupted at sunset, breaking the calm that had prevailed throughout the day, the monitor added. Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people since it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File) Syrian regime ally Russia had announced a two-day truce in Aleppo, but hours after it took effect on Thursday barrel bombs and air strikes hit the eastern side, and rebels retaliated with rockets. At least four civilians were killed on Thursday, said the Observatory which relies on sources on the ground for its reports on Syria's five-year war. Aleppo has seen some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people since it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. The truce was announced by Russia after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow that Washington's patience was running out over breaches of a nationwide ceasefire. And on Thursday a senior US defence official accused Russia of bombing US-backed fighters in Al-Tanaf near Syria's border with Iraq. Saudi Arabia repeats call for US strikes on Assad Saudi Arabia on Friday reiterated its call for air strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, after US diplomats broke ranks with the White House to push for robust action. Briefing journalists after talks at the White House, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom had long urged Washington to lead a military response to undermine Assad's control. At the Saudi Embassy, Jubeir noted that from the very start of the crisis, Riyadh had pushed for "a more robust policy, including air strikes, safe zones, a no fly zone, a no drive zone." Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman (2L) and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (R) arrive at the White House in Washington, DC on June 17, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP) He said Saudi Arabia wanted to arm Syria's "moderate opposition" with ground-to-air missiles and repeated an offer to deploy Saudi special forces in any US-led operation. Riyadh's position is not new: Saudi officials have long been discreetly critical of US President Barack Obama's cautious approach to the five-year-old conflict in Syria. But Jubeir was speaking after the US State Department was forced to confirm that many of its own diplomats had signed a cable on a "dissident channel" calling for more robust action in Syria. Obama is reluctant to see US forces drawn into another Middle East conflict, and many in Washington are concerned that weapons sent to the rebels fighting Assad could get into the hands of extremists. Dodging mines, sniper fire near the IS frontline Slumped against a tree trunk in northern Syria, the bullet-riddled body of an Islamic State group fighter still wears a suicide belt he did not have time to detonate. The smell of his decomposing body fills the air near the frontline, as a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance inches closer to retaking the nearby jihadist bastion of Manbij. Air planes from a US-led coalition dart overhead, as an AFP reporter hurriedly follows an alliance fighter down dirt tracks hidden among olive trees. Fighters from Syria's Manbij military council sit on June 15, 2016 in the back of a pickup truck on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which is held by jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group Delil Souleiman (AFP) The anti-IS fighter directs the reporter to avoid land mines planted by the jihadists in the fields of the village of Kaber Saghir, around five kilometres (three miles) south of Manbij. The Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting IS on the outskirts of the jihadist-held city, after they encircled it last week with support from coalition air strikes. "Watch out! The planes are about to hit a Daesh vehicle," an SDF fighter nearby cries into his walkie-talkie, using an Arabic acronym for IS. A few minutes later, three loud explosions resound west of Manbij -- held by IS since 2014 -- and a column of black smoke rises up into the sky. Sand bags are piled at the entrance of Kaber Saghir to protect SDF fighters from IS artillery fire, and the village's one-storey houses are peppered with holes. - 'Human shields' - Outside one house, a resident has posted a sign on a chair that reads: "This home does not belong to Daesh. Keep out!" Dressed in a sand-coloured uniform, field commander Adnan Abu Amjad steps out of a four-wheel drive smeared with mud. "We have broken Daesh's first lines of defence... but we are advancing slowly because there are civilians," says Abu Amjad, who leads an SDF component of fighters from the besieged town. Tens of thousands of residents were trapped inside Manbij after alliance forces surrounded the jihadist-held city last week -- although more than 1,000 managed to flee with SDF help. "Daesh are using civilians as human shields and it's impeding our advance," the commander says. The alliance has swept through agricultural land since it launched its advance towards Manbij on May 31, seizing more than 100 villages along the way, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said. France last week said it had deployed special forces in Syria to advise the SDF in their fight against the jihadists. "The French forces are providing logistical and technical support... We thank them as well as the international coalition," Abu Amjad says. The coalition launched air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq in 2014, after the jihadist group declared a cross-border "caliphate" there earlier that year. Outside the village, the SDF fighter tells the AFP reporter to run to avoid IS sniper and rocket fire. - 'Lack of food' - Nearby, SDF fighters monitor the movement of IS fighters through holes in a building wall. Sultan Hassan, an Arab fighter, says he thinks the alliance will retake Manbij in the "coming days". "The coalition strikes on IS positions are very precise," he says, adding that fighting has been ongoing to the east of the village near its wheat silos. Another Kurdish fighter, who chose to remain anonymous, says he fears for the lives of his relatives inside Manbij. "They're suffering from lack of food because IS takes it to give it to its fighters, he says. But "from what we overhear on the walkie-talkies, Daesh fighters are about to collapse and have lost hope of staying in the town." The alliance dealt a major blow to the jihadist group when it encircled Manbij last week. The advance severed a key supply route used by IS from the Turkish border to its de facto Syrian capital, Raqa city. In the village of Abu Qulqul, around 15 kilometres southeast of Manbij, an SDF fighter leads a man with his hands tied onto the back of a pick-up truck. "He's a member of Daesh," an alliance fighter says, as the man is blindfolded and driven off to be interrogated. "We were tipped off that he was sending information to Daesh via the Internet." A Syrian woman walks carrying her child on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Manbij, held by the Islamic State (IS) group, on June 10, 2016 as fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) encircled the town Delil Souleiman (AFP/File) Pentagon slams Russia for striking US-backed Syrian rebels Pentagon chief Ashton Carter on Friday hit out at Russia for bombing US-backed forces in southern Syria who he said were fighting the Islamic State group, calling their actions "problematic." "This was an attack on forces, first of all, that were fighting ISIL. Obviously that's the first thing that's problematic about this Russian conduct," Carter told reporters, using an alternate acronym for the IS group. Carter admitted that perhaps Russian forces made a mistake when they conducted a series of air strikes on Thursday near al-Tanaf -- but said in that case, it highlighted poor intelligence on their side. US Defense minister Ashton Carter, pictured on June 15, 2016, hit out at Russia for bombing US-backed forces in southern Syria, calling their actions "problematic" John Thys (AFP/File) "If it was their intention, it is the opposite of what they said they were going to do," he said. "If not, it says something about the quality of information upon which they make their strikes." On Thursday, a senior US defense official said that Russian aircraft had not been active in the al-Tanaf area on Syria's border with Iraq "for some time" and that there were "no Syrian regime or Russian ground forces in the vicinity." The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two US-backed fighters -- one Syrian and one Iraqi -- were killed in the strikes. The Syrian belonged a group of fighters from the New Syrian Army, trained by the British and the Americans in a coalition camp in Jordan, while the Iraqi was a tribal fighter, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia's defense ministry said late Thursday that it had not carried out any strikes targeting opposition forces included in the ceasefire, without mentioning Al-Tanaf. The United States and Russia have put in place a channel of communication so that they can ensure that their separate air campaigns in Syria do not result in any unsafe incidents. But Carter said the communications link "was not professionally used." "We are trying to clarify the facts and use that channel with the Russians to understand what went on," he said. The US military launched a $500 million program in early 2015 to train entire units of "moderate" Syrians to fight Islamic State jihadists. But the program drew heavy fire last fall after admitting the efforts had floundered, with numbers of trainees falling massively short of the planned 5,000. One group even handed over ammunition and other gear to a local Al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Al-Nusra Front. Since then, the Pentagon's new strategy is to work with just a handful of members from each fighting group, instead of an entire unit. Syria's five-year war has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions. Zika spreading quickly in Puerto Rico: US The number of Zika infections appears to be increasing quickly in Puerto Rico, US health officials said Friday, sparking fears that thousands of pregnant women -- and their unborn children -- could be at risk. So far in the United States, Puerto Rico -- a US commonwealth in the Caribbean -- is the hardest-hit area, with nearly 1,400 cases reported. In the continental US, a total of 756 cases have been reported. Among pregnant women, 234 women in the continental US have shown lab evidence of Zika infection, with or without symptoms, and 189 others have been counted in the US territories including Puerto Rico. Among pregnant women, 234 women in the continental US have shown lab evidence of Zika infection, with or without symptoms, and 189 others have been counted in the US territories including Puerto Rico Christophe Simon (AFP/File) Tom Frieden, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the rise in infections in Puerto Rico could mean "in the coming months, it is possible that thousands of pregnant women" could be infected. "This could lead to dozens or hundreds of infants being born with microcephaly in the coming year," he told a teleconference with reporters. More than 60 countries and territories have been affected by the ongoing outbreak. Most of them are in Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The mosquito-borne Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly, leading babies to be born with unusually small heads and deformed brains. Frieden's projections were based on blood screenings done at donation centers in Puerto Rico. Of the 12,777 tests done from April 3 to June 11, 68 came back positive, or 0.5 percent. But for the week ending June 11, 1.1 percent of the samples tested positive for the virus. "Although the blood donors do not represent the general population, the increasing prevalence of blood donations that test positive for the virus likely reflects an overall increase in infection in the population at large," Frieden said. "If you look at the graph, you can see a steady line upward with the infection rate," he said. The blood test used in the United States to detect the virus was developed by Swiss drug giant Roche, and got Food and Drug Administration approval in late March. Frieden said it can only detect the virus if it is currently present in the blood, and cannot show past infections. On Thursday, US health officials said Zika has been linked to birth defects in the fetuses and babies of six women in the United States who were infected. Three of the women gave birth. The CDC plans to issue weekly updates on pregnancy outcomes for women infected with Zika. Experts warn that the continental United States will likely see an increase in cases as summer begins in the northern hemisphere. The virus, which usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms, can also trigger adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. Bashir declares ceasefire in Blue Nile, South Kordofan: Sudan army Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has declared a four-month ceasefire in two states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where recent fighting between troops and rebels has left scores of casualties, the army said Friday. Bashir's forces have been battling the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the two states since 2011, and neither side has decisively gained an upper hand in the fighting. "President Bashir announced four months of ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan starting from Saturday," army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (C) waves to the crowd during a visit to El Daein in Eastern Darfur on April 5, 2016 Ashraf Shazly (AFP/File) "This gesture of goodwill from the government is to give the armed groups a chance to join the peace process and to surrender their arms." The ceasefire was anticipated ahead of the start of the rainy season that leaves roads in the these regions impassable. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often-contradictory reports from the army and the SPLM-N about fighting there. Bashir had announced a similar ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region -- the scene of a separate insurgency -- in late 2015 and extended it by a month at the beginning of this year. But new fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan erupted after the end of that ceasefire earlier this year. Shami said the latest ceasefire starting from Saturday does not extend to the war-torn area of Darfur as "there was no real rebellion now in Darfur". "There are only small groups that are trying to disturb the security in Darfur. Sudanese forces have ended the rebellion in Darfur." Sudan held a referendum in Darfur in April, with officials saying almost 98 percent of voters opted for retaining the region as five separate states. Darfur has been gripped by conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the government in Khartoum. Bashir launched a brutal counterinsurgency and at least 300,000 people have been killed, the United Nations says. Another 2.5 million have fled their homes. Seven Niger gendarmes killed in refugee camp attack: sources Seven gendarmes have been killed in an attack on a refugee camp in Niger hosting civilians who have fled Boko Haram, security and humanitarian sources said Friday. Thursday's attack at the southeastern Nguagam camp, home to both internally displaced Nigeriens and refugees from across the border in Nigeria, came shortly after a major visit by lawmakers and UN personnel. "Seven gendarmes were killed. They were buried today," a humanitarian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. A security source confirmed the toll. Niger soldiers arrive in N'guaguam village on June 17, 2016 following attacks by Boko Haram fighters Issouf Sanogo (AFP) "Three Boko Haram vehicles arrived in the area," El Hadj Kilibou, one of the camp's residents, told AFP. "They went to attack the position of the gendarmes, who abandoned their post. They took the vehicles and set fire to the gendarmes' camp," added Kilibou. "They were wearing gendarmes' uniforms and were onboard gendarme vehicles. I saw it with my own eyes. They said to me, 'Don't run, stay, we're not killing civilians.'" Kilibou fled a massive Boko Haram attack in the town of Bosso on June 3 that left 26 Nigerien and Nigerian soldiers dead as well as numerous civilians, prompting 50,000 people to flee. Humanitarian and security sources said the Islamist group had infiltrated the camp, just a few kilometres from the Nigerian border, in order to watch what is happening there. Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and made more than 2.6 million homeless in its quest to form a hardline Islamic state. US air strikes kill six Al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen The United States killed six Al-Qaeda fighters last week in three separate air strikes in central Yemen, the military said Friday. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) "remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond," US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. "We remain committed to defeating AQAP and denying it safe haven regardless of its location." A Yemeni fighter looks at smoke rising in the distance in the Sirwah area, in Marib province on April 10, 2016 Nabil Hassan (AFP/File) The United States, which considers AQAP the most dangerous Al-Qaeda branch, regularly conducts air strikes against the jihadist group in Yemen, mostly using drones. The first strike took place on June 8 in Al-Badya Governorate, killing two Al-Qaeda operatives and destroying their weapons-laden vehicle, CENTCOM said. A June 10 strike in Marib Governorate killed two fighters, while a June 12 strike in Shabwah Governorate killed two others. AQAP has several thousand "adherents and fighters" in Yemen, where it is "very active," CIA Director John Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. "There is an active effort underway to continue to dismantle and destroy that organization." There are also "several hundred" fighters loyal to the Islamic State group in Yemen, Brennan said. AQAP has taken advantage of the country's civil conflict between Huthi rebels and Yemeni government forces to expand its influence in the country's south and southeast. US soldiers had been deployed in Yemen until March 2015, when the last troops left the country in the face of a Huthi rebel advance. US drops probe of ex-Countrywide CEO over subprime loans: lawyer The US Justice Department has dropped plans to sue the former head of Countrywide Financial, a driver of the subprime mortgage debacle behind the 2008 financial crisis, his lawyer said Friday. Los Angeles attorney David Siegel told AFP that the Justice Department had informed him that Angelo Mozilo, who built and ran what became the country's largest mortgage issuer before the market collapsed in 2006, is no longer under investigation. "We are pleased and gratified with the news that the DOJ has closed its investigation without further litigation," Siegel said. The US Justice Department has dropped plans to sue the former head of Countrywide Financial, Angelo Mozilo, pictured in 2008 Tim Sloan (AFP/File) The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue. With the Obama administration under pressure to punish bankers and mortgage companies responsible for the crisis that spurred the 2008-2009 Great Recession, two years ago the Justice Department opened a civil investigation into Mozilo's role at Countrywide. In the housing boom in the early 2000s, Countrywide issued and sold millions of mortgages to homebuyers. Many of those were low-quality loans that were fraudulently labeled good investments and packaged into securities that eventually failed, at a huge cost to investors. The 2014 Justice Department civil investigation into Mozilo's role was opened after a previous criminal probe was abandoned. Mozilo has not gon untouched by the fallout from the crisis. In 2010 he and others were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $67.5 million in fines and disgorged profits for related issues of substandard mortgages used in mortgage bonds. Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide in 2008, agreed in 2014 to pay $17 billion in fines, restitution and borrower relief over subprime mortgages issued by Countrywide and other units, and the damages homeowners suffered as a result to the market crash. El Salvador ex-defense minister denies arms trafficking SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) El Salvador's former defense minister has denied prosecutors' allegations that he used his position for arms trafficking. Jose Atilio Benitez Parada, currently the country's ambassador to Germany, met with prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office Thursday. He says he gave them his contact information and was ready to clear his name. Prosecutors have asked the legislative assembly to lift his immunity so he can be formally charged. They allege he trafficked weapons from the military's armories and instructed subordinates to register arms that were later sold. Australian prime minister regrets inviting anti-gay cleric CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia's prime minister said Friday he would not have invited a senior imam to a multi-faith dinner if he had been aware of the Muslim cleric's anti-gay preaching. Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday became the first Australian prime minister to host an iftar the meal at which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. Among the 75 mostly Muslim guests at the prime minister's official Sydney residence was Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, president of the Australian National Imams Council. FILE - In this May 8, 2016 file photo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Turnbull said Friday, June 17, 2016 he would not have invited a senior imam to a multi-faith dinner if he had been aware of the Muslim cleric's anti-gay preaching. Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday became the first Australian prime minister to host an iftar - the meal at which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) The Australian newspaper reported Alsuleiman had said in a sermon uploaded on to social media in 2013 that homosexual acts "are evil actions that bring upon evil outcomes to our society." Turnbull said he became aware of Alsuleiman's comments during the course of the dinner when a journalist from The Australian contacted the prime minister's media team. Turnbull said he then condemned those comments at the dinner and "encouraged" Alsuleiman "to reflect very deeply on his remarks." "Had I known that the sheikh had made those remarks, he would not have been invited to the Iftar," Turnbull told reporters. "I regard as unacceptable and I will always condemn any remarks which disrespect any part of our community, whether it is on the basis of their sexuality, their gender, their race, their religion," he added. Alsuleiman later said in a statement he condemned the vilification and oppression of any group of people based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, or any other criteria. "Islam's position on the matter is clear like many other major religions, however, Islam espouses there is no compulsion in religion and diversity is the norm," his statement said. 'As Australians we have and will always show mutual respect for one another." The invitation was an embarrassment for the conservative government that is campaigning for re-election on July 2 and has been criticized for refusing to allow its own lawmakers vote to allow gay marriage. It happened two days after British cleric Farrokh Sekaleshfar left Sydney shortly before his visa was cancelled over anti-gay comments including advocating capital punishment for homosexual acts in public. Turnbull said he would investigate why Sekaleshfar had not been placed on a watch list that would have alerted authorities to his visa application. A weekend gun attack by an American-born Muslim on a gay nightclub in Florida that left 49 dead has focused Australia's election campaign on the threat of Islamic fundamentalism. Publicity around recent anti-gay sentiments has also brought attention to the government and opposition's competing policies on how Australia should decide whether same-sex marriage should be legal. If the government is re-elected, it plans to hold a plebiscite this year that would allow voters to decide. Grief ripples across Puerto Rico from losses at Orlando club SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Ever since last week's shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, people across Puerto Rico have been frantically calling relatives in Central Florida, scrambling to book flights and making funeral arrangements. The massacre of 49 people early Sunday by a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle shocked people worldwide. But it has been felt particularly hard in this U.S. island territory because so many victims were either born here or were just a generation removed. As remains of some victims began arriving Thursday in Puerto Rico for burial, people around the island mourned what felt like an attack in their backyard. Lucyvette Padro mourns at her sons wake, Angel Candelario Padro, one of the 23 Puerto ricans that died at the hands of a gunman in Orlando, Florida last Sunday, in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Dozens of people where gunned down at the a nightclub, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) "It's a pain that touches all of us," Maritza Lopez said as she hugged friends at a San Juan vigil for people killed at Pulse. "Orlando has become a second Puerto Rico." Puerto Ricans flocked by the tens of thousands to Orlando and nearby areas as the island struggled through a troubled decade. Central Florida became what New York was to an earlier generation, a place to start a new life. It's reflected in many area business names evoking Puerto Rico, in the growing political influence of the Hispanic population. And it showed up in the death toll from Pulse, where nearly half of those killed had Puerto Rican ties. "This is the new migration hub," said Christina Hernandez, a communications consultant of Puerto Rican descent in Orlando who was helping victims' families get in touch with local authorities. "Everyone who is Puerto Rican has family in Central Florida." That connection between the Orlando attack and Puerto Rico will play out in the coming days with wakes and funerals around the island. The remains of Javier Jorge Reyes, a 40-year-old salesman and makeup artist arrived Thursday, as did those of Angel Candelario, a 28-year-old nurse who planned to start working toward a doctoral degree at the end of summer. "Unfortunately, he didn't make it to September to reach his goal," said his aunt, Leticia Padro. A wake for Candelario, whose partner was wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized, was held late Thursday at the home of his grandparents in the town of Guanica, with about 50 mourners gathered in front of the house. He was to be buried Saturday, his body transported to the cemetery in a glass horse-drawn carriage. "He deserves only the best," Padro said. Family members held a wake Friday for Reyes at a cemetery in Guayama, a town along the south coast he left for Orlando after graduating from college 17 years ago. "He was crazy about leaving," said his younger brother, Gabriel. Now, his parents are considering moving to Central Florida themselves, to be closer to family there. "We scattered about," Reyes said. "But this is bringing us back together again." Due to arrive on the island soon are the remains of Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, a 27-year-old who had worked as a manager at a McDonald's restaurant and at a check-cashing business since moving to the U.S. from Puerto Rico. He is to be buried Monday in the town of Caguas. Also awaited here is the body of Jonathan Camuy, 25, who moved to Central Florida to work for the Spanish-language television network Telemundo. When the attack occurred, it was "Latin Night," with people from various countries, including Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba at the nightclub catering to the LGBT community. Officials said at least 23 of those killed were Puerto Rican, underscoring Central Florida's allure for people from the island. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and can travel to the mainland without a passport. They are the second-largest Hispanic group in the U.S., far outnumbered by people of Mexican descent, and historically have been concentrated in the northeast. The number of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida began swelling a decade ago. Some are retirees from the northeast, but many arrive directly from the island, seeking economic opportunities in a warm climate where they already have family. People from the island number around 1 million, nearly 30 percent of the population in the Orlando-Kissimmee region. Friends of victims say that one factor in the migration for some of the Puerto Ricans at Pulse on the night of the killing may have been the search for a more hospitable environment. Puerto Rico is more culturally conservative than many parts of the mainland, certainly more than Orlando, and LGBT people say they encounter hostility on the island. Puerto Rico only allowed same sex marriage after the Supreme Court legalized it in 2015. Hernandez said local activists have told her some victims' relatives have been reluctant to claim remains because of disapproval of homosexuality. "In Puerto Rico, there is homophobia, there is xenophobia, there is racism, there is chauvinism," said Carmen Yulin Cruz, San Juan's mayor. "And all of that kills. We have to change the culture of this island." Sullymarie Sosa, a friend of two men from the southern coastal city of Ponce who were killed, said she believes many LGBT people moved to the mainland to escape an island that can feel stifling, despite a population of 3.5 million people. "It's a big factor for the gay community," she said. "They are more accepted over there. There's freedom. They can walk, they can express themselves." But there were plenty of other reasons to join 200,000 people leaving Puerto Rico from 2010-2014. "They had so many more opportunities that they didn't have here," Sosa said. Puerto Rico has been sliding since Congress began phasing out a corporate tax break in the mid-2000s, leading to the elimination of thousands of pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs that were the economy's backbone. Unemployment has been in the double-digits for a decade and the local government and utilities have started defaulting on massive public debt. Many streets, poorly maintained for lack of funds, are lined with shuttered businesses and foreclosed homes. On top of that, the homicide rate is far higher than in any U.S. state. An outbreak of mosquito-borne Zika virus that health authorities say will infect 25 percent of the population is driving away tourists, hurting one of the economy's few bright spots. Orlando's Puerto Rican community began growing as the island economy started to tank and hasn't let up. Some killed at Pulse were relatively recent arrivals. "Their relatives now have a bitter pill to swallow," Ponce resident Omar Ruiz, who lost several friends in the attack, said as he put up decorations for a vigil. "They lost a loved one because they went in search of a more promising future." Friends and family bring in the coffin containing the body of Angel Candelario Padro, one of the 23 Puerto ricans that died at the hands of a gunman in Orlando, Florida last Sunday, in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Dozens of people where gunned down at the nightclub, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Friends and family mourn for Angel Candelario Padro, one of the 23 Puerto ricans that died at the hands of a gunman in Orlando, Florida last Sunday, in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Dozens of people where gunned down at a nightclub, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Aide Cintron, left, and Lety Padro, grandmother and aunt of Angel Candelario Padro, mourn at his wake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Angel Candelario Padro was one of the 23 Puerto Ricans that died at the hands of a gunman at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Friends and family attend the wake for Angel Candelario Padro, one of the 23 Puerto ricans that died at the hands of a gunman in Orlando, Florida last Sunday, in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Dozens of people where gunned down at the Pulse gay nightclub, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Indonesian province prepares to tow migrant boat out to sea LHOKNGA, Indonesia (AP) Authorities in the Indonesian province of Aceh are preparing to tow a boat with more than 40 Tamil men, women and children out to sea Friday after rescuing it last weekend. It would be the second attempt in the past week to remove the vessel from Indonesian waters after it suffered engine trouble and was discovered stranded last Saturday. The migrants have been at sea for about a month and were trying to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island. Indonesian officials load food supplies onto a boat carrying Tamil migrants which have been stranded on the beach for the last few days in Lhoknga, Aceh province, Indonesia, Friday, June 17, 2016. Authorities are preparing to tow the boat carryingvdozens of men, women and children out to sea Friday after rescuing it last weekend. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda) The province is refusing to let the migrants, which include nine children and a pregnant woman, land despite Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla asking Aceh officials to provide shelter. On Thursday, six women tried to leave the boat as it sat in shallow waters but police fired warning shots. "We did not allow them to land because Indonesia is not their destination and they are fit," said Frans Delian, a spokesman for the Aceh government. "We advised them to not continue their journey to Australia but back to their country." Immigration officials said the people were from Sri Lanka. Amnesty International said in a statement that the group left from India in an Indian-flagged boat and may have fled Sri Lanka, where members of the Tamil minority have suffered persecution. Delian said their situation is different from stateless Muslim Rohingya boat people who were helped by Indonesian authorities last year after fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Southeast Asian nations including predominantly Muslim Indonesia were reluctant to help until facing international pressure over the plight of Rohingya adrift at sea with minimal supplies of food or water. Rights groups urged the Indonesia government to let the migrants disembark. "Indonesia won praise when it helped Rohingya refugees in Aceh," said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "It is a shame that the Indonesian and Aceh local government refuse to assist these Tamil boat people." The International Organization for Migration has had a team at the site since last weekend including a translator and medical personnel and is prepared to provide temporary accommodation. However they have been denied access to the migrants. Aceh police chief Maj. Gen. Husein Hamidi said the Tamil migrants have been given food, water and fuel. They could be towed out to sea at high tide later Friday, he said. The boat was beached and heavy machinery was used to try and refloat it while all the migrants were still on board. The vessel was first towed back into international waters on Sunday after repairs were made to its engine. It returned on Monday and the migrants asked for additional fuel, according to Indonesian authorities. The office of Australia's Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton declined to comment on the situation. Australia has riled Indonesia, and been criticized by human rights groups and the United Nations, for its tough refugee deterrent policy of turning back asylum seeker boats that attempt to reach Christmas Island from Indonesian ports. Indonesia considers Australian warships towing foreigners in boats into Indonesian waters an affront to Indonesian sovereignty. ___ Philippine poor get hit early in Duterte-inspired crackdown MANILA, Philippines (AP) In a crackdown bearing the Philippine president-elect's name, police have rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Rodrigo Duterte's strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. During a surprise sweep witnessed by The Associated Press last week, a girl who appeared to be about 10 years old was dragged to a police van for curfew violation. She protested that she had been outside only to take out the garbage. A boy about the same age cried, "I do not want to go!" A slightly older-looking boy, looking terrified, dropped the box of a rice and beef meal he'd just bought when police apprehended him. A bewildered mother sleeping on a sidewalk with her toddler wailed when a social worker took her son, and she was dragged to a police vehicle. "Where is my child? I will go crazy here!" she shouted, pleading with police to "please have mercy on me." In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino street dweller wearing a rubber bracelet bearing the name of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte sits inside a police station with her son after their arrest for violating the night curfew in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) The woman wore a rubber bracelet bearing Duterte's name. She relaxed when a social worker brought her son to the same vehicle. The crackdown is dubbed "Oplan Rody." Oplan is short for operation plan, while Rody is both an acronym for "Rid the Streets of Drinkers and Youth" and the nickname of Duterte, who becomes president June 30. In the weeks since the tough-talking mayor of southern Davao city won the presidential election, energized police and local officials have dusted off little-enforced city ordinances like night-to-dawn curfews for minors, a ban on drinking alcohol in the streets and shirtless men in public places. Rolando Roxas, father of a 14-year-old boy apprehended while buying noodles, said it's probably a good lesson for the children not to roam the streets at night. But Jocelyn Chavez is angry. She is a small-time vendor who works at night to support her five children, and she had to forego her day's earnings to get her daughter, who she said was picked up while taking out the garbage. "If I don't work we will all have nothing to eat," she said. Apprehended minors are turned over to social workers and most are released to their parents with warnings. Adults caught drinking alcohol outdoors are warned the first time and can be fined, detained or both the next, said Police Chief Inspector Bernabe Irinco Jr., who led the Manila operations. "We are doing this so our young people can be free of crimes," Irinco said. Tough talk on crime helped Duterte win the May 9 election by a wide margin and has resonated with the poor, whose neighborhoods suffer the most from drugs and related crimes. Human-rights watchdogs fear his promise to replicate crime-fighting measures he used in Davao may lead to widespread rights violations. Duterte has repeatedly vowed to kill drug criminals, but denies allegations he was involved in killings of alleged criminals in his city by motorcycle-riding assassins known as the "Davao death squads." At his victory party in Davao, he encouraged citizens to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest and fight back in their neighborhoods. He offered bounties to the police and military for the capture of drug lords "dead or alive." "My payment for a drug lord, if killed, is 5 million (pesos, or $109,000). If alive, it's only 4.999 million," he told supporters during his victory party. Several killings since Duterte's election have borne marks of vigilante justice. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on five of them in three central provinces earlier this month. A piece of cardboard beside one body stated that the dead man was a thief and a drug addict. Last month, at least five suspected criminals were reportedly killed by gunmen in Davao, and other bodies have turned up elsewhere in the country. Other local officials are applying their own brand of justice. One mayor in a town south of Manila parades suspected drug pushers around town to shame them. Another in the central Philippines has offered police 50,000 pesos ($1,000) for every criminal killed. Duterte's pick to head the national police, former Davao police chief Ronald dela Rosa, supports nationwide implementation of the Manila program if a law provides for it. He also lauds the other mayors' campaigns because "at least they are doing something, unlike other local chief executives who play blind and deaf to the problem of drugs in society, some even contributing to the drug problem." At an earlier news conference, he described how he expects police to confront drug criminals: "If they put up a fight, we will kill them. If they don't put up a fight, we will fight with them. If they do not fight back, they will live." Asked during a television interview about due process to be accorded to a drug criminal, Dela Rosa said with a smile: "he will be given the right to remain silent ... forever." Loretta Ann Rosales, former head of the Commission on Human Rights, said Duterte's loose talk threatens the rule of law and "brings out the beast" in law enforcers and officials. "I don't think we should keep silent on summary killings that go on in the process of this so-called anti-crime drive," she said. "That to me has to be addressed very strongly and people should not take it complacently." In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino social worker carries a boy she apprehended as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino girl cries as a social worker carries her towards a vehicle as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino social worker apprehends two girls as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino social worker carries a boy towards a vehicle as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, Filipino residents watch while police car passes by as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino police car passes by a village as they enforce a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino man is apprehended by police for being shirtless during an operation in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, Filipino boys hold on to a door handle at a police station after being apprehended for violating a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, Filipino children stay inside a police station after being apprehended for violating a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a law enforcer in civilian clothes holds a bottle of liquor seized from a group of men drinking beside the street in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, Filipino social workers arrest a street dweller during an operation in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, Filipino police carry a computer that is illegally placed beside a street during an operation in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a shirtless Filipino man arrives at a police station after being apprehended during an operation in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this Wednesday June 8, 2016 photo, a Filipino boys cries as he is apprehended by a social worker and police for violating a night to dawn curfew for minors in Manila, Philippines. In a crackdown, dubbed Oplan Rody," bearing Dutertes name, police rounded up hundreds of children or their parents to enforce a night curfew for minors, and taken away drunk and shirtless men roaming metropolitan Manila's slums. The poor, who were among Dutertes strongest supporters, are getting a foretaste of the war against crime he has vowed to wage. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Lawsuits may offer fodder for Trump, Clinton attack ads SAN DIEGO (AP) The presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both trying to prevent the release of videos that are critical to legal cases involving the candidates. Trump's lawyers are intensifying efforts to stop the release of video of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee testifying under oath in a fraud lawsuit about the now-defunct Trump University. They told a federal judge in San Diego Wednesday that the video could be used by the media and Trump's opponents during the campaign. Lawyers for a top Clinton aide used similar arguments to persuade another judge to keep video depositions sealed in a lawsuit about the likely Democratic nominee's use of a private email server while she was America's top diplomat. FILE- In this May 23, 2005 file photo, real estate mogul and Reality TV star Donald Trump, left, listens as Michael Sexton introduces him at a news conference in New York where he announced the establishment of Trump University. The presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Trump are both trying to prevent the public release of videos that are critical to legal cases involving the candidates. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) While the arguments are similar, judges may treat them differently. In the Clinton case, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled last month that transcripts of all depositions be made public but that audio and video be sealed. In Trump's case in San Diego, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel a target of Trump's intense, enduring scorn hasn't decided how much to release and whether it should include audio and video. Late Wednesday, Trump lawyer Daniel Petrocelli expanded on why the videos should stay private, saying they could fuel a "media frenzy." His seven-page filing raises no objection to releasing transcripts. "Owing to the danger that a video may create in eliciting bias on the part of its viewer, the Court has a duty to prevent their disclosure because they can taint the jury pool. Undoubtedly, these videos also will be used by the media and others in connection with the presidential campaign," he wrote. The outcome may shape attack ads on issues that have dogged both candidates. John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University who studies attack ads in presidential campaigns, said video is "great stuff" to tarnish opponents. "It helps to make the case by having not only the words but the person actually saying them," Geer said. "It's not just the message, it's the messenger. ... Sometimes the transcripts will be sterile. You can't detect sarcasm. The body language makes a difference." Partial transcripts have been released of Trump testifying at an all-day deposition Dec. 10 at his New York office and for three hours on Jan. 21 at a Las Vegas law office. Several news organizations are seeking full disclosure of those sessions including video and Curiel is expected to rule at a hearing June 30 or soon after. Lawyers representing Trump University's former customers in two class-action suits in San Diego argue they should be permitted to release video excerpts because they present "a more complete picture" than the transcripts. Trump's tone, facial expressions, gestures and body language show "complete and utter unfamiliarity" with Trump University's instructors and instruction, despite the business mogul's previous statements that he was extensively involved, the attorneys wrote in a filing last week. They said Trump also made "many spontaneous and ad hominem remarks that are not reflected in the paper transcript of his depositions." Clinton's campaign needled Trump on Thursday with a news release titled "What's Donald Trying to Hide?" Yet a top Clinton aide took the same position in the lawsuit over Clinton's emails. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with lawyers for Clinton aide Cheryl Mills, who objected to releasing video but not the transcript. Her lawyers argued that "snippets or soundbites of the deposition may be publicized in a way that exploits Ms. Mills' image and voice in an unfair and misleading manner." Mills, who was Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department, said during her five-hour deposition last month that she discussed Clinton's private server with a technical aide who helped set up and run the system, according to a transcript released by Judicial Watch, the conservative advocacy group that sued for access to records. Mills is among a half-dozen current and former officials whom Judicial Watch plans to question. In portions of Trump's testimony that have been released, he acknowledged that he plays on people's fantasies. "Sure, you want to life, you want to you want to play to something that's positive and beautiful. And you can use the word 'fantasy' if you want. Or I could use the word 'fantasy,' but, sure, you want to play to something that's beautiful and good and successful," he said. Trump couldn't recall names of his employees, undermining his advertising pitch that he "hand-picked" them. When confronted with a statement by Trump University's former president that Trump never picked instructors, he said: "This is the longest deposition I've ever done in terms of no break. So I need breaks because I have to make some calls." Trump is pressed on his blog posts in 2008 that Bill Clinton was a great president and Hillary Clinton would make a great president or vice president. Of his praise for Hillary Clinton, he said, "I didn't give it a lot of thought, because I was in business." Legal experts say judges generally have wide discretion on making depositions public. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, believes evidence including video should be released with rare exceptions, including to protect trade secrets or privacy. "The fact that someone might use it in a bad way to embarrass isn't a reason for secrecy," he said. Orlando United: Shared grief, loss brings a city together ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) "Orlando Strong" banners hung from porches and bridges, hotel workers wore purple T-shirts with "Orlando United" on them and shock gave way to grief in this tourist city as more families buried their loved ones Friday. Some longtime residents say they have been moved by how the nightclub massacre that left 49 club-goers dead has brought the city together. "I thought this was a very cold city, and now I know it's a warm city," said Monica Roggiero, 49, before she walked into the funeral of her co-worker Anthony Luis Laureano Disla. "I thought because of the tourism that no one stayed here that long. It's amazed me how our community has gotten so close." A mourner looks over a collection of flowers near the grave of Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, following his burial service Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Pallbearers loaded Disla's body into a white hearse. A procession of dozens of cars accompanied the casket, and Disla was buried at a downtown Orlando cemetery under a blue tarp surrounded by flowers. Mourners wore T-shirts with Disla's picture, and remembered him as an "amazing soul" who was the life of the party and who motivated anyone he was around. "He was a breath of fresh air when he walked in the room," Roggiero said. A few blocks away, more than 100 people filled another funeral home to remember Peter Ommy Gonzalez-Cruz and Gilberto Ramon Silva, best friends who died together at Pulse. They came with rainbow flags tied to their car antennas and several wore T-shirts with pictures of Gonzalez-Cruz, who went by the nickname "Ommy." It was the third funeral Jose Torres attended this week. Gonzalez-Cruz and Silva were two of his six friends who died in the massacre. Torres plans to attend another funeral Saturday. "All they wanted to do was dance and have a good time," said Torres, who lives in Orlando. "It's been an emotionally hard week. I watched the news and saw all the faces of my friends. I can't believe they are dead now." Karla Cabrera grew up with Silva in Manati, Puerto Rico, and she followed him when he moved to Orlando. "I admired his loyalty," she said. "He was super kind and someone I could always count on. He was the best friend I ever had. My circle of friends is not a circle anymore." Investigators were still gathering evidence and analyzing cellphone location data to piece together gunman Omar Mateen's activities leading up to the shooting, which also wounded more than 50 people. A shooting survivor told The Associated Press on Friday that when he saw a picture of Mateen on television the day after the shooting, he recognized him as the same man he saw having a drink at the bar earlier in the night. His account could not immediately be verified. The FBI declined to comment and has not provided a timeline accounting for Mateen's movements that night. Felipe Marrero told The AP his account in an interview from his hospital bed. He said Mateen was drinking at the Pulse bar next to him the night of the shooting. He didn't remember an exact time but said it was early in the evening. The 30-year-old Marrero was shot four times in the back and his left arm was badly damaged by bullets. He's at Orlando Regional Medical Center undergoing surgeries and physical therapy. Marrero says he has given his account to investigators. The killings have touched many who didn't have a personal connection to the victims, and imbued a stronger sense of community. Workers at downtown hotels wore bright purple shirts to work Friday with OrlandoUnited or the OrlandoStrong written on them. Electronic freeway traffic signs were also lit up with the slogans, as was the Orlando Magic's basketball arena. David Mercer, 46, and his twin brother Darren were outside Disla's funeral sitting on their motorbikes. They didn't know him, but felt compelled to help the community in any way they could. They were part of a procession of dozens of motorcycles that are part of Bikers for Pulse, a group that formed through social media to escort the victim's families. "This is terrible anywhere it happens," David Mercer said. "But it's worse when it's in your backyard." Eva Pabon, 42, also didn't know Disla but attended the funeral to honor his memory as a fellow Puerto Rican and Orlando resident. "I think this has shaken the community, but the love has been overwhelming," Pabon said. "I feel the love." ___ Associated Press reporter Terry Roen contributed to this story. ___ Follow Jason Dearen on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JHDearen Tampa Bay Rays employee Amber Mosley, right, passes out "We Are Orlando" T-shirts, in memory of the victims of the fatal shooting at the Pulse nightclub, to all fans attending a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Francisco Giants Friday, June 17, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) Visitors survey some of the 49 floral wreathes, provided by private donations, that adorn the rotunda of Orlando City Hall, Friday, June 17, 2016, to honor each of the victims of the Pulse massacre. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Mourners embrace outside the funeral service for Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Ernesto Vergne prays at a cross honoring his friend Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado and the other victims at a memorial to those killed in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting a few blocks from the club early Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Don Price, the sexton at Greenwood Cemetery, places a marker on the grave of Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, following his burial service Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Workers move dirt while preparing for three burials scheduled for Saturday for victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting following the burial service of victim Anthony Luis Laureano Disla Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) FILE - In this Sunday, June 12, 2016 file photo, law enforcement officials work at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., following the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) Mourners enter a joint funeral service for Peter Ommy Gonzalez-Cruz and Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, both victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A hearse carrying the body of Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, leaves the funeral home to the cemetery, Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Kiran Rodriguez, right, and Kevin Durand, both of Orlando, look toward the Pulse nightclub from across the street as they visit the scene for the first time since Sunday's mass shooting Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Sanders, yet to concede, says he'll work for Trump's defeat BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Pressing his "political revolution" to turn its attention to defeating Donald Trump, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he will work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party itself and "create the America that we know we can become." Sanders spoke Thursday night in a livestream address to political supporters two days after the final primary election of the nomination race. The major task they now face is to "make certain" the presumptive Republican nominee loses in November, he said, adding that he plans to begin his role in that process "in a very short period of time." "But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal," Sanders said, pointing to his 1,900 delegates at next month's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. "We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become." Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders prepares to speak for a video to supporters at Polaris Mediaworks on Thursday June 16, 2016 in Burlington, VT. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool) On Friday, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said a "tremendous burden" is falling on Clinton to demonstrate that she has heard the voices of the young people who powered Sanders' effort. Weaver said the Sanders team is in contact with the Clinton campaign daily as the two sides work to resolve differences. Yet when asked on MSNBC whether Sanders is still running for president, Weaver said repeatedly, "Yes he is." Although Clinton has secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to become the presumptive nominee, Sanders did not concede the race or refer to Clinton as the likely nominee, instead offering a lengthy list of policy proposals he hopes to see approved by the party. The two rivals met Tuesday night at a Washington hotel to discuss policy goals and plans. Sanders said that while it is "no secret" that he and Clinton have "strong disagreements on some very important issues," it was "also true that our views are quite close on others." He said he looked forward to additional talks between the two campaigns to ensure that his supporters' voices are heard and the convention adopts "the most progressive platform" in the party's history. Sanders said he anticipated working with Clinton "to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors." The speech it could be Sanders' final address before the summer convention was viewed by more than 200,000 people, according to the campaign. It sought to shape his legacy as a one-time "fringe" candidate who generated a massive following through sprawling rallies and threatened Clinton for the nomination. Looking ahead to the convention, Sanders said the party must support a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, pay equity for women, a ban on the sale and distribution of assault weapons and a defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Sanders thanked his supporters for providing more than $200 million in donations, most in increments of $27, and rattled off what they had accomplished: 1.5 million people who attended his rallies and town meetings and more than 75 million phone calls from volunteers "urging their fellow citizens into action." He encouraged his followers to consider running for political office up and down the ballot as a way to prevent Republicans from controlling state and local government. And he made clear that he intends to leave his imprint on the fall campaign and beyond. "We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future," he said. __ On Twitter follow Ken Thomas at https://www.twitter.com/kthomasDC Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders prepares to speak for a video to supporters at Polaris Mediaworks on Thursday June 16, 2016 in Burlington, VT. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool) Prosecutor: Pacific Gas ignored regulations to cut costs SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Pacific Gas & Electric Co. ignored pipeline safety regulations to cut costs and tried to cover up its illegal practices by misleading federal officials investigating a deadly explosion of one of its natural gas pipelines in the San Francisco Bay Area, a prosecutor said Friday as a criminal trial against the utility giant got underway. PG&E knew exactly what to do to comply with regulations but didn't do it, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman said in her opening statement. "Instead, it chose a cheaper method that did not ensure the safety of pipelines running through high-consequence areas," Hoffman said. FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010, file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) PG&E attorney Steven Bauer said the company's employees did what they could in the face of ambiguous regulations they struggled to understand. "The evidence is going to show good, qualified people coming into work every day and doing the best they can under the circumstances they are in," he said. A PG&E natural gas pipeline exploded in the city of San Bruno six years ago, sending a giant plume of fire into the air. The blast killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about how it was identifying high-risk pipelines. The standard the company used violated safety regulations and led to a failure to classify the San Bruno pipeline and other similar pipelines as high risk, prosecutors said in a 2014 indictment. Hoffman said the company did not subject the pipelines to appropriate testing, choosing a cheaper method. Bauer said the company's engineers did not think the pipelines posed a safety risk. The company also did not intend to mislead investigators, he said. It inadvertently sent them a draft policy about its standard for identifying high risk pipes, not one the company was actually following, he said. PG&E has pleaded not guilty to one count of obstruction and multiple charges that it violated pipeline safety regulations by, for example, ignoring errors in its records about pipelines. It faces a $562 million fine if convicted. Family members of blast victims along with San Bruno officials were in the courtroom during Friday's opening statements. Bauer cautioned jurors not to let the 2010 explosion "overwhelm" their evaluation of the case, saying the trial was not about determining compensation for the blast victims or determining future pipeline regulations. Investigators have blamed the September 2010 blast in part on poor PG&E record-keeping that was based on incomplete and inaccurate pipeline information. California regulators fined the company $1.6 billion for the blast last year. Charleston church shooting sparked changes nationwide In the wake of the shootings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, officials nationwide have taken steps to distance themselves from Confederate symbols and names. Suspect Dylann Roof appeared in photos with the Confederate flag. Here is a look at some of those moves. ___ ALABAMA Gov. Robert Bentley removed four Confederate flags last June from the grounds of the Alabama Capitol but said he has no plan to remove a Confederate monument outside his office. ___ ALASKA An area in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta honoring Confederate General Wade Hampton, who served as South Carolina governor after the Civil War and made his way to office by terrorizing former slaves, was renamed. ___ CALIFORNIA A San Diego elementary school was renamed to stop honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. ___ FLORIDA The legislature voted to replace the statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith as one of the state's two contributions to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection. The Senate voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from the chamber's seal. ___ KANSAS The Confederate flag was removed from Wichita's Veteran's Memorial Park. ___ KENTUCKY A judge cleared the way for the removal of a 120-year-old monument to Confederate soldiers that sits near the University of Louisville. ___ LOUISIANA The New Orleans city council voted in December to remove four Confederate-linked monuments from the city, including towering figures of Gens. Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard. The plan was put on hold following a ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocking the city from removing the monuments until an appeal is heard. ___ MARYLAND In October, a federal judge cleared the way for the state to recall license plates with images of the Confederate flag. ___ MINNESOTA The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted to add Lake Calhoun's original tribal name to area signs. John C. Calhoun was a former U.S. vice president from South Carolina and proponent of slavery. The board has been asked to consider doing away with the Calhoun name altogether. ___ MISSISSIPPI The University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi and several local governments stopped displaying the state flag, which includes the Confederate battle emblem. ___ MISSOURI Officials recommended that a three-story Confederate memorial be removed from Forest Park, where it has stood for more than a century. ___ MONTANA Helena officials agreed to install signs explaining the history and controversy of a 98-year-old city park memorial honoring Confederate soldiers. ___ NEW JERSEY The nation's oldest and largest flag manufacturer decided a week after the shootings to stop making and selling the Confederate flag. ___ OHIO Ohio State Fair officials banned vendors from selling Confederate flag merchandise. ___ PENNSYLVANIA The bookstore at Gettysburg National Military Park stopped selling items that use the Confederate battle flag as a standalone feature. ___ TENNESSEE The city of Memphis has taken steps to remove an equestrian statue of Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and to remove the graves of Forrest and his wife, who are buried under the statue. ___ TEXAS 1 year after church shooting, much is the same in Charleston CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) The names of Confederate generals still adorn street signs in Charleston's public housing projects, and a heroic waterfront statue dedicated to the Confederate Defenders of Charleston still faces Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Just down from the Emanuel AME church where nine black parishioners studying their Bibles were gunned down one year ago a statue of Vice President John C. Calhoun, a staunch defender of slavery, towers above a park. After the June 17, 2015, massacre, South Carolina lawmakers did what many people thought was impossible to achieve and removed the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds in Columbia. Across the country, as far away as Alaska, officials moved to strip streets, college dormitories and even lakes of the names of Confederates, secessionists and public figures who championed segregation. Daniel Turner shows off a penny his great-great grandfather was carrying when he was wounded in an 1863 Civil War battle in Virginia while standing outside the Confederate Museum on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in Charleston, South Carolina. Turner carries the penny in his wallet to honor his Southern ancestor. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins) But a year later, little has changed in Charleston, the city where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans first set foot in North America. It was here that the work of plantation slaves made the city one of the wealthiest in the nation before the Civil War. It was here where the bombardment of Fort Sumter threw the nation into that war in 1861. A section of a street in front of the white stucco Emanuel AME church may have been renamed "Mother Emanuel Way Memorial District," but all of Charleston's Confederate commemorations remain intact and longstanding racial issues endure. "I think a lot of things happened out of the immediate emotions of how horrific the killings were. That's the human side of folks and the politeness, particularly of Charleston, that we just had to do something. But then when reality checks us the question is what is that going to cost us in terms of changing the way we think and do things?" said Dot Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the NAACP. A white man who police said hated blacks and posted photos of himself with the Confederate flag has been charged with killing the nine parishioners. "It was truly an attack on a race of people," Malcolm Graham, the brother of victim Cynthia Hurd, said of the shootings. "After 400 years, the African-American community still is suffering and dealing with these types of issues relating to race." So why was there not a push to remove Confederate symbols in Charleston following the church attack? Bernard Powers, a black College of Charleston history professor, noted that it took a 15-year struggle to get the flag removed from the Statehouse grounds and that it happened only after the slayings. "People see what it took, and ultimately that flag was removed because nine people were murdered," said Powers, who co-authored a book about the massacre called "We are Charleston." ''I think people appreciate how deeply entrenched the reverence is for the Confederacy. For a lot of folks, it is a civil religion." As soon as South Carolina lawmakers voted to pull down the flag, they shut the door on any other changes. Gov. Nikki Haley had pushed for the flag to come down but feared that going further would incite fights across the state, so she asked lawmakers to protect all the other flags and monuments while removing the Statehouse flag. "Our goal was to hold everything together. Let's do what we can, let's be kind and accepting and understand history is just that it's history," she said. So a statue of former Gov. and U.S. Sen. "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman still stands on the Statehouse grounds. Tillman once famously praised a lynch mob that killed seven black Republicans in 1876 to intimidate others from voting. The statue calls him a "friend and leader of the common people" but makes no mention of the violence he bragged about for decades, something black lawmakers would like to see added. Changing a monument requires a two-thirds vote, and South Carolina and House Speaker Jay Lucas has vowed to block changes of any kind. That means the Citadel, South Carolina's Charleston-based military college, has to keep the Confederate flag up in the campus chapel among the flags of the 50 states and other territories, even though the school's board of visitors voted to take it down. It's not just South Carolina. North Carolina passed a bill protecting its Confederate monuments, and other Southern states also made it harder to alter monuments or change the names of buildings honoring prominent Confederates. Like many southern states, just about every North Carolina county has a monument extolling the bravery and honor of its Confederate soldiers. University of North Carolina history professor W. Fitzhugh Brundage, who is white, said he understands blacks who feel alienated seeing statues in public places honoring those who fought a war in large part to keep them enslaved. "That is a reminder that this state's history includes an organized effort to keep people like you, African-Americans, enslaved at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars of destruction," he said. Though the monuments remain, the Confederate fervor may be fading decade by decade in Charleston. The area commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Civil War earlier this decade with subdued events at Fort Sumter and elsewhere, compared to the celebratory mood surrounding the 100th anniversary. And there was a new emphasis on slavery as a cause of the war and the roles that blacks played in the conflict. Daniel Turner, a 57-year-old wastewater treatment plant operator from Charlotte, North Carolina, visiting Charleston's Confederate Museum, said he realizes why the Confederate flag is offensive to many. "I understand the flag," Turner said. "There are bad people who used it. But the monuments are different. They are a part of history. We can't change that." Brundage said he expects skirmishes over Confederate monuments to continue to pop up across the South, but that a full-scale removal of Confederate symbols still seems a long way off, even generations removed from the Civil War. "The flag may be down in front of the Statehouse of South Carolina, but the landscape of South Carolina is still full bursting with symbols honoring the Confederacy," the professor said. "And they're going to be there." ___ Drew reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Alex Sanz contributed to this report from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Bruce Smith contributed from Charleston. FILE - In this June 18, 2015 photo, President Barack Obama pauses while speaking in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, on the church shooting in Charleston, S.C., prior to his departure to Los Angeles. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. But a year later, little has changed in Charleston. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) FILE - In this Sunday, June 21, 2015, file photo, people join hands against the backdrop of an American flag as thousands of marchers meet in the middle of Charleston's main bridge in a show of unity after nine black church parishioners were gunned down during a Bible study, in Charleston, S.C. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. But for the most part, Charleston and other areas of the South remain unchanged. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE - In this June, 27, 2015, file photo, Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbs a flagpole to remove the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. But for the most part, Charleston and other areas of the South remain unchanged. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File) FILE - In this Thursday, June 18, 2015, file photo, Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File) FILE - In this June 17, 2015, file photo, a Charleston police officer searches for a shooting suspect outside the Emanuel AME Church, in downtown Charleston, S.C. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. But for the most part, Charleston and other areas of the South remain unchanged. (Matthew Fortner/The Post And Courier via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT FILE - In this June 19, 2015, file photo, police tape surrounds the parking lot behind the AME Emanuel Church as FBI forensic experts work the crime scene, where nine people where shot by Dylann Storm Roof, in Charleston, S.C. After nine black parishioners were slain at a Charleston church, South Carolina did what many thought would never happen: It moved the Confederate flag off Statehouse grounds. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File) BIRSTALL, England (AP) Evidence emerged Friday that the reclusive gardener suspected of slaying a popular Labour Party lawmaker had decades-old ties to a neo-Nazi movement and an interest in anarchist weapons literature. As detectives questioned the 52-year-old suspect for a second day, authorities confirmed they were focused on his alleged links to white supremacists and history of mental illness as they sought a motive for an act of violence that has shocked Britain and brought normal political life to a halt. Prime Minister David Cameron joined the stunned citizens of Birstall in paying tribute to their slain lawmaker, Jo Cox, as they placed flowers and hand-written notes on a memorial and struggled to comprehend how one of their own could have so viciously killed her. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, right, and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, speak to the media after laying floral tributes in Birstall, northern England, for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death in northern England, Friday June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT "Today our nation is rightly shocked," Cameron told a crowd that included witnesses to Thursday's killing and many of Cox's friends and colleagues, including lawmakers from both Cameron's ruling Conservative and Cox's opposition Labour parties. He urged the British people to drive intolerance and division "out of our public life and out of our communities." President Barack Obama phoned Cox's husband from Air Force One and offered his condolences on behalf of the American people, the White House said in a statement Friday night. "The President noted that the world is a better place because of her selfless service to others, and that there can be no justification for this heinous crime, which robbed a family, a community, and a nation of a dedicated wife, mother, and public servant," the statement said. Yards away, police crime-scene tape blocked off street market stalls that just a day earlier were bustling with lunchtime trade as Cox arrived outside the town's library to field concerns from her constituents and see what she could do to fix them. West Yorkshire's police commander, Dee Collins, confirmed that the suspect, Thomas Mair, attacked the 41-year-old lawmaker as she emerged from her car alongside two aides. The attacker, she said, stabbed Cox repeatedly with a hunting knife and shot her as she lay on the ground. Collins said Mair's history of mental illness was "a clear line of inquiry" as were his alleged links to right-wing extremism and interest in neo-Nazi materials. She said the regional counter-terrorism unit was aiding in the investigation, in part to determine any links with other extremists, but the Birstall native was believed to have acted alone. Another question for detectives, she said, was how Mair acquired a gun in a country that imposed a ban on handgun ownership following a 1996 school massacre in Scotland, in which a deranged gun club member killed 16 first graders and a teacher. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a U.S.-based civil rights group that monitors hate groups, said Mair had been a supporter of the National Alliance, "the most dangerous and violent neo-Nazi group in the United States for decades." On its website, the center published copies of receipts from 1999 to 2003 showing that Mair ordered survivalist weapons guides and other extremist materials from the National Alliance. Among the publications were "Chemistry of Powder and Explosives" and "Improvised Munitions Handbook." The address on the receipts corresponded to Mair's address in a state housing project on the edge of Birstall, where two officers kept guard Friday as detectives interviewed neighbors. Few said they could believe the man they described as a reclusive gardener was capable of attacking anyone. The suspect's brother, Scott Mair, told reporters his brother had a history of mental illness, but was not violent. "When we saw his photo appear on the news as the suspect, me and my wife said, 'Not in a million years,'" said David Hallas, a neighbor of Mair for more than a decade. "Of all the people in Birstall that I know, he would've been at the bottom of the list." Other online documentation linked Mair to a subscription to a pro-apartheid publication from South Africa, SA Patriot, and said he was one of its "earliest subscribers and supporters." Clarke Rothwell, a plumber who runs a cafe near the scene of Thursday's slaying, said the assailant shouted "Britain first!" several times as he shot and stabbed Cox. An extreme right-wing group called Britain First denied any connection with Mair. Cox was a former aid worker who championed immigrant rights, bringing an end to Syria's civil war and keeping the United Kingdom in the European Union. The day before her killing, Cox joined her husband and two young children in campaigning for the pro-EU cause on the River Thames, where the family had lived in a houseboat since her election last year. British voters will be asked to decide whether to keep their country in the 28-nation bloc on Thursday. Anti-EU campaigners have argued that leaving the EU would allow Britain to curtail immigration. Both sides have suspended their campaigns through Saturday following Cox's killing, although some door-to-door leafleting was expected to resume sooner. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who joined Cameron in Birstall, 202 miles (325 kilometers) north of London, blamed Cox's death on "the well of hatred." While the House of Commons had not been due to resume meeting until after the referendum, leaders agreed to a special recall Monday to pay tribute to Cox. As police combed the sidewalks around the attack site Friday, some mothers walking their children to a nearby school wiped away tears. Others quietly spoke of the brutality of the killing and its exceptionally public nature. "I can't get my head round the fact that Jo was attacked on the streets of Birstall in broad daylight, in public," said Tina Walker, who worked alongside Cox in promoting ethically sourced foods from developing nations and who recalled how Cox would hug anybody she recognized in town. "I woke up this morning and just wanted to find it hadn't happened. I was half expecting to see her here today, because that's how your brain plays tricks on you," she said. Violence against British politicians has been rare since Northern Ireland's peace deal nearly two decades ago. Cox is the first serving lawmaker to be killed since Conservative politician Ian Gow was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1990. While Parliament is protected by armed police, lawmakers spend much of their time in their home districts, generally without security. Since 2000, two lawmakers have been attacked and wounded while meeting constituents. "We'll be reviewing our security," said Dan Jarvis, a Labour lawmaker who represents Barnsley in the neighboring South Yorkshire district, and is an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "But I'll walk through Barnsley today like every Friday," he said. ___ Lawless reported from London. Associated Press reporters Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. An image and floral tributes for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, lie placed on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. He has been named locally as Tommy Mair. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Flowers lie placed covering the houseboat on the River Thames where murdered Member of Parliament Jo Cox and her family lived when they were in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The married mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds, in northern England. Thomas Mair, 52, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Cox, outside a library. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) People look at tributes for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Police continue to search the crime scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England Friday, June 17, 2016 the day after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street outside her constituency advice surgery. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT RECROP OF LON812 FILE In this May 12, 2015 file photo, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox poses for a photograph. British lawmaker Cox has been injured in a shooting incident near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, it has been reported, Thursday June 16, 2016. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT FILE In this May 12, 2015 file photo, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox poses for a photograph. British lawmaker Cox has been injured in a shooting incident near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, it has been reported, Thursday June 16, 2016. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Police continue to search the crime scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England Friday, June 17, 2016 the day after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street outside her constituency advice surgery. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT People look at tributes for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) People look at and place tributes for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) A woman holding flowers before placing them, looks at tributes for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) A man writes a tribute message for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death yesterday in northern England, on Parliament Square outside the House of Parliament in London, Friday, June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) A young woman cries as she lays flowers in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England, Friday, June 17, 2016, the day after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street outside her constituency advice surgery. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT A Union flag is placed in front of floral tributes in Birstall, northern England, for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death in northern England, Friday June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Greece sees 7.5 billion euros in rescue loans cleared ATHENS, Greece (AP) The eurozone's financial crisis resolution authority has authorized the payment of 7.5 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in bailout funds for Greece, part of a total of 10.2 billion euros ($11.5 billion) it approved for the struggling country over the next few months. The eurozone's European Stability Mechanism said Friday it approved the disbursement after Greece's government completed required reforms, and that the country would use the funds to service its debt and help clear domestic arrears. Greece will be eligible to receive the remaining 2.8 billion euros after it passes further reforms approved by the country's creditors. The Latest: Police probe right-wing links in Cox slaying LONDON (AP) The Latest on the slaying of British lawmaker Jo Cox (all times local): 6:20 p.m. Police investigating the killing of British lawmaker Jo Cox say the suspect's mental health and alleged links to right-wing extremism are both important lines of inquiry for detectives. RECROP OF LON812 FILE In this May 12, 2015 file photo, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox poses for a photograph. British lawmaker Cox has been injured in a shooting incident near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, it has been reported, Thursday June 16, 2016. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Temporary chief constable Dee Collins of West Yorkshire Police says counter-terrorism detectives are helping with the investigation. She said Friday that "this appears to be an isolated but targeted attack upon Jo." The 52-year-old suspect, named locally as Thomas Mair, was arrested Thursday after Cox was shot and stabbed to death on the street in her northern England constituency. He has not been charged. Collins said he had been medically examined and declared fit to be interviewed by detectives. ___ 1:55 p.m. British oppositon leader Jeremy Corbyn says Parliament will be recalled from recess on Monday to pay tribute to slain lawmaker Jo Cox. Corbyn says he asked Prime Minister David Cameron for the unusual move, and Cameron agreed. The two men appeared side-by-side at the site of the killing in Birstall, northern England, and laid flowers in Cox's memory. Corbyn called Thursday's killing "an attack on democracy." Cameron said that where there is hatred, division and intolerance, "we must drive it out of our politics." ___ 11:45 a.m. French and Austrian far right leaders have warned against suggestions that British legislator Jo Cox was killed because of her pro-EU and immigrant-friendly stance. Marine Le Pen and her Austrian counterpart Heinz-Christian Strache spoke Friday ahead of a meeting of six populist and Eurosceptic parties convened by Strache's Freedom Party under the motto "Patriotic Spring." Le Pen says it is "not very decent to use this dramatic event" for such speculations. Strache says his party "is against all extremism." They, and Marcus Pretzell of Germany's AfD party, demanded European Union reforms aimed at more decision-making rights for member countries and less for EU organizations in Brussels. Cox, a Labour Party parliamentarian, was killed Thursday. A U.S. civil rights group has said the man arrested over the slaying had links to an American white supremacist organization. ___ This item has been corrected to show Le Pen's first name is Marine, not Marie. ___ 10:40 a.m. Denmark's former prime minister says British lawmaker Jo Cox was "a strong woman who fought for the rights of the most vulnerable people." Helle Thorning-Schmidt says the Labour Party lawmaker whom she knew for many years was "an incredible and dedicated woman." Thorning-Schmidt said Friday on Facebook: "This is a tremendous loss," adding she was "deeply saddened and horrified" by Cox's death. Cox was shot and stabbed in a daylight attack Thursday in her northern England constituency. Thorning-Schmidt was Denmark's Social Democratic prime minister from 2011 to 2015. She quit politics earlier this year to become chief executive of Save the Children. She is married to Stephen Kinnock, a British lawmaker and the son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock. ___ 9:55 a.m. A U.S. civil rights group says a man arrested over the slaying of a British lawmaker had links to an American white supremacist organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center says it has records showing Thomas Mair was a supporter of the National Alliance. The center says Friday that Mair purchased a manual from the group in 1999 that included instructions on how to build a pistol. Mair, 52, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in a daylight attack in her northern England constituency. Cox was a Labour Party lawmaker and former aid worker who had championed the cause of Syrian refugees. The National Alliance was founded by William Pierce, who died in 2002. His book "The Turner Diaries" has been called a grisly blueprint for a bloody race war. Timothy McVeigh based the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people, on a truck-bombing described in the book. ___ 9:30 a.m. Campaigning in the referendum on Britain's membership in the European Union remains suspended as Britain mourns the killing of Labour Party legislator Jo Cox. It is not yet clear when campaigning will resume ahead of the vital June 23 vote on whether Britain should remain in the 28-nation bloc. There were tributes to the 41-year-old Cox across much of Britain Friday. She was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds in northern England. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. He has been named locally as Tommy Mair. West Yorkshire Police have not offered a motive for the slaying. Police continue to search the crime scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England Friday, June 17, 2016 the day after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street outside her constituency advice surgery. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT FILE In this May 12, 2015 file photo, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox poses for a photograph. British lawmaker Cox has been injured in a shooting incident near Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, it has been reported, Thursday June 16, 2016. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Police continue to search the crime scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England Friday, June 17, 2016 the day after Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street outside her constituency advice surgery. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, centre, lays a candle as he and deputy leader Tom Watson, centre rear, Thursday June 16, 2016, attend an impromptu vigil at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster, central London, following the death of Labour Member of Parliament, Jo Cox. The British lawmaker who campaigned for the country to stay in the European Union was killed Thursday by a gun- and knife-wielding attacker in her small-town constituency, a tragedy that brought the country's fierce, divisive referendum campaign to a shocked standstill. (Philip Toscano/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, speaks during a joint news conference with Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Aid group stops seeking EU funds over Turkey migrant deal BRUSSELS (AP) The Nobel prize-winning medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders announced Friday that it will no longer seek European Union funding, in protest at the EU's much-maligned migrant deal with Turkey. "The EU deal is the latest in a long line of policies that go against the values and the principles that enable assistance to be provided," Secretary General Jerome Oberreit told reporters in Brussels. Doctors Without Borders, he said, "will no longer request funds from the EU and its member states." FILE - In this May 21, 2016 file photo, a boy carries a dish through a flooded part of the migrant camp in Idomeni, Greece. The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders announced Friday, June 17, 2016 that it will no longer seek European Union funding in protest against the EU's much-maligned migrant deal with Turkey. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File) EU money totaled around 46 million euros ($52 million) in 2015, about 8 percent of the organization's total budget. Oberreit said Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, still plans to keep working in Greece and near the Turkey-Syria border but will seek money from other sources to keep its projects going. The unusual and radical step has been the subject of deep debate within the organization. Unable to agree among themselves on how best to tackle Europe's biggest refugee emergency since World War II, EU member states have tried to persuade Turkey to stop hundreds of thousands of migrants from coming and to take back thousands more. Almost 3 million refugees are sheltering in Turkey, only around 10 percent of them in government-funded shelters. The EU-Turkey agreement came into effect on March 20. Under it, all migrants traveling from Turkey to the Greek islands will be sent back unless they qualify for asylum in Greece. For every Syrian migrant who returns, the EU has offered to directly resettle a Syrian refugee already there in a European country. Europe has offered incentives to convince Turkey to crack down, including up to 6 billion euros in funds for Syrian refugees in Turkey, visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and fast-track EU membership talks. Non-governmental organizations and even U.N. agencies have expressed concern about the legal and moral implications of the deal. Oberreit said MSF is refusing to work in partnership with Europe because the EU's effort "is not aimed at providing for those most in need. It is aimed at ... border control." The EU's executive Commission, which provided MSF with around 15 million euros last year, said that the organization had not asked for European funding for projects in Turkey so no work there would be affected. Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas added that "the suspension will have no impact on ongoing EU humanitarian projects implemented by MSF in other parts of the world." MSF noted that it would honor all ongoing projects with EU funding but not seek European institution or government money for future projects around the world. Belgium, which donates 5 million euros each year to MSF, and Sweden expressed regret over the move. Belgian Development Minister Alexander De Croo said his country and MSF had always cooperated well on issues like the crisis in Syria or the deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa. De Croo said he "hopes that in the interests of millions of people in need, constructive collaboration will be possible again." "It is regrettable. MSF's work makes a big difference," Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told Sweden's TT news agency. "We share the concern that humanitarian principles are weakened, such as humanitarian organizations do not get access in countries like Syria." ___ Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report. Andreas Tsigkanas, who is first mate on board the "Aquarius", jokes around with colleagues at the ship while out on the Meditarranean sea, Wednesday, June 15, 2016. A total of seven humanitarian organizations work in the so-called 'Search and Rescue' (SAR) zone near the Libyan coast. The medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the rescue group SOS Mediteranee work together on board the ship to rescue migrants and refugees from boats in distress in the Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Members of the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the rescue group SOS Mediteranee cooperate during a training on basic life support on the "Aquarius" ship, Thursday June 16, 2016. The two organizations conduct regular 'refreshment training' while waiting on the sea for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to be rescued. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) American kills himself in Taiwan court upon drug conviction BEIJING (AP) An American man killed himself by slashing his neck with a scissor blade inside a courtroom in Taiwan after being given a four-year sentence on drugs charges, prompting moves to increase security. Tyrel Martin Marhanka, 41, was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead Thursday, according to a statement from the Changhua District Court. Marhanka had been indicted in March for growing opium and marijuana at a rented site in Changhua county in central Taiwan, said the official Taiwanese Central News Agency. CNA said Marhanka told investigators he was growing the plants purely for his own consumption. The American had been teaching English and was living in Changhua with his Taiwanese wife and two children. The Taipei Times said he'd lived in Taiwan for more than 15 years. The court said Marhanka apparently smuggled two scissor blades by hiding them in a magazine tucked underneath his arm. The metal detecting gate at the courthouse failed to detect the blades, the court said. Both the blades and the magazine were recovered by police, the official statement said. Iraq says most of Fallujah retaken from IS militants BAGHDAD (AP) Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as the Islamic State group's grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants' retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety. Residents described harrowing escapes even after IS fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs that killed several. In some cases, IS allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadis' families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that IS defenses in much of the city collapsed abruptly. Iraqi security forces enter central Fallujah after fight against the Islamic State militants, Iraq, Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants after intense fighting. (AP Photo) In the early morning Friday, Iraqi forces punched into the city center, meeting intense fighting. But by evening, the special forces commander Brig. Haider al-Obedi told the Associated Press that his troops controlled 80 percent of the city, with IS fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward regaining the Islamic State group's last major foothold in Iraq's western Anbar province, the heartland of the country's Sunni minority. The militants overran the city in early 2014, the first urban area to fall into its hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Over the past year, Iraqi forces backed by U.S-led airstrikes have city-by-city regained large parts of that territory though the biggest prize, Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and surrounding territory in the north, remains in IS control, liked to its holdings in neighboring Syria. Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command center, congratulating the troops on their victories. "We promised to liberate Fallujah, and it has returned to the embrace of the nation," he said. Iraqi forces have "tightened their control over the inside of the city, and there are some pockets that need to be cleaned out within hours," he said. In the early hours, special forces pushed into Fallujah's central al-Nazzal district, which had served as a base for the militants with weapons warehouses and command centers, al-Obeidi said. Backed with air support from the US-led coalition and Iraqi air force, the troops were able to move into the center at around 6 a.m. They seized the main government complex, which includes municipality offices that IS had torched, the police station and other government buildings. "Iraqi forces are now in the center of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014," al-Obeidi said. IS fighters were still holding out in the nearby central hospital, al-Obeidi said. Throughout the day and into the night, Iraqi forces surrounded the hospital, clashing with snipers on adjacent buildings. But they were holding back from storming the building, fearing there were patients inside that the militants would use as human shields, he said. Meanwhile, troops were clearing roadside bombs from recaptures areas, including the government complex and the highway west of the city, linking it to Baghdad, al-Obeidi said. Aid groups had estimated that 50,000 civilians had been trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those had fled since then. They have largely been staying in camps in areas around the city. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the thousands more people fleeing the city were overwhelming services at the camps, with many sleeping in the open and drinking water in short supply. The group cited a 69-year-old Fallujah resident saying IS fighters suddenly disappeared from many streets Thursday evening, as neighbors saw them evacuating checkpoints and driving away in vehicles loaded with food and fuel. The news prompted many residents to prepare to escape. One resident, Ali al-Mohammadi, told the AP he fled Friday with more than a dozen other relatives, including several children, but ran into IS fighters deployed at the banks of the Euphrates, which runs along the western edge of Fallujah. The militants beat them and fired shots in the air to drive them back, but finally as a crowd grew, the fighters relented and began allowing them to cross in small boats. The 29-year-old al-Mohammadi said that meanwhile he went to another part of the river and swam across to safety along with others. As he swam, he saw two boats capsize, spilling passengers into the water. They seemed to all make it to land, some using inner tubes they had brought with them, he said. Others tried to flee down a road leading out of the city to the south, only to find it mined with explosives. Mohammed Ismail, a 32-year-old trying to escape with his family, said militants on the road fired in the air to stop them. "They forced us to stay until they could bring out the families and children of Daesh to come with us," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. "The price of our leaving was to bring their families with us." In the pre-dawn darkness, an IS fighter led them down a road past the explosives. Still, Ismail said, he saw one mine blow up, killing at least two people, before the crowd made it to Iraq military-controlled territory. There, Iraqi troops separated women and children from the young men, who were then questioned to find any escaping militants. The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighboring Syria. Most are living in camps or informal settlements. Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Country Director in Iraq, called for more international aid to help those fleeing Fallujah. Services in camps are already overstretched, and more will be needed, he said. "International donors need to act now," Muflahi said, "so that we can help Iraqi families who have been through long hellish months of widespread hunger, terror and despair." ___ Associated Press correspondent Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Beirut. Iraqi security forces enter central Fallujah after fight against the Islamic State militants, Iraq, Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants after intense fighting. (AP Photo) Iraqi security forces enter central Fallujah after fight against the Islamic State militants, Iraq, Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants after intense fighting. (AP Photo) Iraqi security forces enter central Fallujah after fight against the Islamic State militants, Iraq, Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants after intense fighting. (AP Photo) An Iraqi soldier patrols in central Fallujah after fight against the Islamic State militants, Iraq, Friday, June 17, 2016. Iraqi special forces entered the center of Fallujah city early Friday, taking over a government complex and a neighborhood that served as a base for the Islamic State group militants after intense fighting. (AP Photo) Putin says new elections key for ending Syrian crisis ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) The Syrian opposition could be offered seats in the Syrian Cabinet as part of efforts to encourage a dialogue that can lead to new elections being held in the country, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Friday. Speaking to Russia's top economic forum, Putin said that creating a new government that will have the trust of most of Syria's population is key to ending the five-year conflict. He said that this goal can be achieved only through drafting a new constitution and holding new elections. Putin said that Syrian President Bashar Assad, who visited Moscow last year, has pledged to help achieve that. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a joint news conference with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (Sergei Savostyanov/TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP) "There is nothing more democratic than elections," Putin said. The Russian leader said he expects the U.S. to work with its allies in the region to encourage the Syrian opposition to engage in a constructive dialogue with the government. He also welcomed what he described as a U.S. proposal to "think about incorporating some opposition representatives in the existing government structures, including the cabinet." "And it's necessary to think what kind of powers that cabinet will have," he said. Putin added, however, that it would be "unrealistic" to expect that such Cabinet would effectively take over power from Assad. Russia has staunchly backed Assad throughout the five-year Syrian conflict that started as an uprising against the Syrian ruler and morphed into an all-out civil war. Earlier Friday, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly warned Washington against striking Assad's forces, saying it would fuel turmoil across the entire region. An attempt to topple Assad's government "wouldn't help a successful fight against terrorism and could plunge the region into total chaos," Peskov said. He made the statement while asked to comment about an internal document in which dozens of U.S. State Department employees called for military action against Assad's forces. President Barack Obama called for regime change in Syria early on in the five-year conflict, but so far has only authorized strikes against the Islamic State group and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria. Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since last September, helping Assad's forces regain some ground. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the calls for a military action against Assad "can't but worry any reasonable person." "Who would bear responsibility for that?" he asked. "Or shall we see the same Hollywood-style smile as it happened already in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya?" RETRANSMITTING FOR IMPROVED QUALITY Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures before a meeting with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on the side lines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (Sergey Chirikov/Pool Photo via AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting with chief executives of international companies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with chief executives of international companies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) India, Thailand agree to more cooperation on drugs, security NEW DELHI (AP) The prime ministers of India and Thailand agreed Friday to increase cooperation between their countries in tackling terrorism, threats to cybersecurity, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking. "We are both aware that the rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both our societies," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a joint news conference. "We also recognize that our close security partnership would help us to secure our peoples from these threats." Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha met with Modi in New Delhi on Friday and plans to visit the Buddhist pilgrimage center of Bodh Gaya on Saturday before returning home. Bodh Gaya is where Buddha is believed to have gained enlightenment. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha walk down for a meeting in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 17, 2016.(AP Photo/Saurabh Das) Modi said information technology, pharmaceuticals, auto parts and machinery are some areas of promising economic collaboration between the two counties, whose trade in the last 15 years has grown eight times to about $7.9 billion. A newly formed India-Thailand Business Forum held its first meeting Friday and issued recommendations for expanding business and investment opportunities between the two countries. India welcomes Thai investments in the manufacturing sector and in infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities, particularly at Buddhist-related sites, according to a joint statement issued at the end of talks between the two countries. Some of Buddhism's holiest sites are in eastern India. Groups from a number of nations with large Buddhist populations including Thailand, Japan and Burma have set up monasteries and meditation centers in Bodh Gaya. 10 killed in clashes in Russia's restive North Caucasus MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) Police in Russia's restive Dagestan region in the North Caucasus say at least four officers and six militants have died in a series of clashes. Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said three officers were wounded in a skirmish with a group of militants near the village of Kasumkent in southern Dagestan early Friday, and one policeman later died of wounds. She said four gunmen were also killed. In a separate clash in the Derbent region a suspected militant was killed in a sweep that also left one police officer dead. And in the Tabasaran region, a militant fired at police, killing two officers and wounding four others before being shot dead. Off Abu Dhabi's coast, an island home to cats seeks aid ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) The inhabitants of the desolate, man-made island off the coast of Abu Dhabi can't be immediately seen among the breakwater rocks. But as you draw close, their meows give them away. A colony of stray cats has swelled on Lulu Island among its barren sandy hills and abandoned buildings that have fallen into disrepair, with the gleaming modern skyline of the United Arab Emirates as a background. The island has lain fallow and largely undeveloped since an ambitious plan by famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer to turn it into a "leisure park" fell apart in the 1980s. In this Wednesday June 15, 2016 photo, stray cats rush to eat food which was brought by the aid group Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi at the Lulu island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A man-made island off the coast of Abu Dhabi is home to a colony of stray cats and local activists are trying to spay and neuter them. Lulu Island near the capital of the United Arab Emirates once drew tourists, but now sits largely vacant except for its 165-odd feline residents. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) A volunteer group is trying to spay and neuter the island's cats while caring for them in an abandoned modernist's dream that seems to suit the Arabian Maus living there. "The flora and the fauna all live in harmony with each other," said Susan Aylott, who leads the aid group Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi . "Everything lives in harmony with the cats here." Lulu, which means "pearl" in Arabic, is a narrow island around 3 miles long running along the coast in front of Abu Dhabi's downtown, protecting its shores from the sometimes choppy waters of the Persian Gulf. Niemeyer's planned attractions, including an aquarium; conference center and marina were never built. A few other beach structures were built but lie unused and more recent plans to develop it never got off the ground. In 2009, Abu Dhabi stopped ferries to the island amid an economic slowdown, and in theory it's closed to the public, though sometimes people drop by on their own boats just to see it. But sometime over the decades, cats made it across the narrow channel about a half-mile wide separating it from Abu Dhabi Theatre and the rest of the capital. Four years ago, they numbered 27, Aylott said. Now there's over 165, mostly Arabian Maus, she said. "You can't just remove them," she said on a recent visit to the 469-hectare (1.8-mile) island. "This is their home." So Aylott and others are working to neuter and spay the cats. On a recent day, a bunch of cats dashed out for the food set out by Aylott and her volunteers and some had docked ears, a sign they had undergone the procedure. But a short distance away, a kitten hid behind a water tank, meaning others remain fertile. "We all want to help to make the vision of Abu Dhabi a better place for the cats anyway," Aylott said. Yet there is always more work to do. Aylott's brow at one point furrowed with a call to her mobile phone. Her group had plans to resettle a giant African tortoise at a local Abu Dhabi hotel because its owner, who kept it at home, is leaving the country. "The tortoise is running late," she said. "She's dug a hole and is refusing to come out." ___ Online: Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi: www.animalwelfaread.com ___ Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jon-gambrell. AP Analysis: Mideast showed Hillary Clinton US power's limit DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) In the wake of the Orlando killings this week, Hillary Clinton had harsh words for America's Gulf allies, criticizing them for funding institutions that radicalize young Muslims. "It is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations," the presumptive Democratic Party nominee told an Ohio crowd. "And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path toward extremism." These were not the kind of incendiary political comments common for her Republican rival Donald Trump no proposed bans, no generalizations, no stereotypes. FILE- In this Wednesday, January 12, 2011 file photo, Then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, talks to Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers during a meeting in Doha, Qatar. Stepping up to a microphone on the campaign trail this week, presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was unsparing when she talked about Americas allies in the Persian Gulf. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, File) But they did provide a window into how a President Clinton might approach the combustible, complex Middle East: polite but harsh truth-telling, with specifics, delivered as if among friends. Tellingly, the comments were received without protest from most regional leaders who consider the messenger as much as the message. However, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in Washington on Friday that his government has tight control over charitable giving and has designated entities and individuals suspected of terror finance. He also said that it's unfair to point a finger at Saudi Arabia if a mosque that it funded years ago begins advocating intolerance and violence. From her time as first lady to her globe-hopping travel as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Clinton has formed first-name relationships in the region. That helps in a region largely dominated by the decades-long reigns. Such continuity can offer comfort and even open minds to criticism. "She's very personal, unlike Obama," said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at United Arab Emirates University. "They value the strategic relationship, but they value more the personal approach." Yet in all of it, she's learned the limits of American power in a region rich in history but impoverished by multiple wars and conflicts. Here's a look at some issues that will arise in the Middle East for Clinton if she wins in November: ___ FIRST LADY AS DIPLOMAT Even as first lady, Clinton traveled to more than 80 countries with her husband and on her own, helping promote U.S. policy and causes such as supporting the rights of women and children. In March 1999, Clinton stretched a 15-minute meeting with Egypt's then-President Hosni Mubarak into an hour, pushing an autocratic but important U.S. ally on her concerns about the rights of the country's minority Coptic Christians. She toured Israel and the Palestinian territories as first lady several times, once causing a stir by suggesting in 1998 well before it was U.S. policy that a genuinely independent Palestinian state would "be in the long-term interests of the Middle East." In 1999 she unnerved Israelis when, after embracing Yasser Arafat's wife Suha, she listened without protest as her Palestinian counterpart alleged that Israel used "poison gas" against Palestinians. Her subsequent efforts to criticize the allegations unsubstantiated and hotly denied didn't cool an angry Israeli reaction and blistering headlines in New York tabloids ahead of her U.S. Senate run. As president, she would come under growing pressure to step into the Israeli-Palestinian morass, though each presidency following her own husband has seen diminishing returns in pushing peace talks. ___ HAWKISHNESS ON 9/11 AND IRAQ The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks took place during Clinton's first year as a U.S. senator. She arrived to the scene of the World Trade Center the next day wearing a mask as dust still hung in the air over lower Manhattan. She called the attack "an act of war" an early signal of her hawkishness on defense. She then voted in 2002 to grant President George W. Bush the broad authority to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein, calling it "the hardest decision I've ever had to make." That vote came up repeatedly in her failed 2008 campaign against Obama, who campaigned on and later pulled all American troops out of Iraq and has been raised by her opponents again in the campaign over the past months. Many in the Middle East do not regret Saddam's ouster and regional allies allowed U.S. bases in their country to support the war. But many also now fear the Islamic State group, which rose in the chaos of Syria's civil war and Iraq's security vacuum. Clinton also this week used the term "radical Islamism" in discussing the Orlando shooting, a phrase generally avoided by Obama and used often by Republicans, who criticize those who don't. However, Clinton stressed the need to reach out to all Muslims to "defeat this threat, which is so evil and has got to be denounced by everyone, regardless of religion." ___ ARAB SPRING EMBERS Clinton travelled nearly a million miles to 112 countries as secretary of state. While part of an Obama administration effort to "pivot" U.S. diplomatic attention to Asia, Clinton found herself entangled in the Mideast on her first weeks in the job with the Gaza War that ended in 2009. The traditional order of U.S. allies and enemies in the region quickly found itself upended by the Arab Spring. In her autobiography "Hard Choices," Clinton recounts walking through Cairo's Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of Egypt's Arab Spring uprising. Her realpolitik conclusions after that put her at odds with a more idealistic Obama White House. "I came away worried that they would end up handing the country to the Muslim Brotherhood or the military by default, which in the end is exactly what happened," she wrote. Soon the United States, having abandoned Mubarak, found itself blamed by many Egyptians for the rise of the Brotherhood, whose year in power ended in another military takeover. As president, she would have to decide whether to embrace Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi an authoritarian battling a deadly Islamic State insurgency. ___ INTERVENTIONISM AND THE LIMITS OF POWER Clinton has grown into an interventionist, backing the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and finding herself arguing in vain for the U.S. to arm moderate rebels in Syria's civil war, a conflict that still rages today. In Libya, she supported removing dictator Moammar Gadhafi but the results are mixed at best. The country is still an active war zone where rival governments and militias battle. A U.S. ambassador and others were killed on Clinton's watch, sparking a series of Congressional investigations. Even on the tiny island of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, Clinton was unable to stop Saudi and Emirati forces from crushing a protest by the nation's Shiite majority. As president, she will have to balance America's relations with its Sunni allies the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations with its emerging rapprochement with Shiite power Iran. The Gulf's distrust of last year's nuclear deal with Iran will loom large in any Clinton presidency, testing her ability to balance priorities, leverage relationships and manage crises in one of the most explosive corners of the world. She already knows the challenge as she once wrote: "Trying to drive change in the Middle East could feel like banging your head against a brick wall." ___ Gambrell, an Associated Press reporter since 2006, has covered the Middle East from Cairo and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 2013. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap and find his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jon-gambrell . Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report from Washington. FILE- In this Wednesday March 16, 2011 file photo, Then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, greets the family of Khairy Ramadan Ali, who was killed on Jan. 28, 2011 in anti-government protests during her visit to the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Stepping up to a microphone on the campaign trail this week, presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was unsparing when she talked about Americas allies in the Persian Gulf. (AP Photo/Paul J. Richards, Pool, File) Macabre scenario of radical's murder of 2 police gets darker PARIS (AP) The killer who knifed to death two police officials in their home this week, claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, tracked the couple days before the gruesome murders and uploaded his claim of responsibility on the family computer, a judicial official said on Friday. As the investigation into the gruesome deaths on Monday advanced, France honored the couple, Commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, No. 2 officer in Mureaux, a hardscrabble town west of Paris, and Jessica Schneider, a police administrator in nearby Mantes-la-Jolie, another challenging town for police. Hundreds of officers convened for a somber ceremony at the prefecture of Versailles, the region where the two had lived and worked. President Francois Hollande, who presided, praised the couple as "two heroes of daily life." French President Francois Hollande pays his respects at the coffin of one the two police officials killed by an extremist claiming allegiance to IS, Friday, June 17, 2016 in Versailles, near Paris. Police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider were stabbed Monday by attacker Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a police raid. (Dominique Faget, Pool via AP) Larossi Abballa, 25, convicted in 2013 of a role in a jihadi network for the Pakistan-Afghan border, was killed by a police intervention unit which had surrounded the home and tried in vain to negotiate. The couple's 3-year-old son was found alive inside the home. Signals from Abballa's recently purchased telephone were captured in the town where the couple lived, Magnanville, and around the Mureaux police station on three consecutive days before the June 13 killings on June 8, 9 and 10, the judicial official said. "One can imagine that (he) was tracking" Salvaing, said the trusted official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. The investigation revealed yet another macabre aspect to the killings: Abballa uploaded his more than 12-minute video claiming responsibility and pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State on Facebook Live using the family computer. It also appears he took photos of Salvaing from the family computer, the official said. The question of a revenge attack has hung over the killings. However, police officials have said there is no proof linking Salvaing to his killer, who lived in the area, even though the commander likely knew of him. France has been on tenterhooks about potential attacks by the Islamic State group after two waves of attacks last year, including November massacres in Paris that killed 130. Hollande said during the ceremony that security officials had stymied more than 15 attack attempts in the past few months. The latest may be that of a 22-year-old Frenchman arrested this week in the tourist-heavy medieval city of Carcassonne, in southern France. He faces possible charges of criminal terrorist association for allegedly preparing to attack people in the street, notably Americans and Russians, the judicial official said. The man, from the Tarn region, north of Carcassonne, was detained this week with a knife and hammer after bragging online about wanting to kill people, a security official said Thursday. Further information, including his identity, was not immediately available. The killing of the police officials shook the nation's police officers, stretched by the state of emergency and the month-long Euro 2016 soccer championships. Investigators have yet to decipher the scenario of the killings, and are studying the possibility that the police officer's wife was killed first, contradicting initial reports, judicial and police officials said. At the ceremony, Hollande said measures would be taken to ensure anonymity for police who now feel threatened out of uniform. He did not elaborate on the measures. He also said off-duty police may now carry arms, a demand that has grown with the threats. "France will continue its implacable fight against terrorism with even more determination in memory of their sacrifice," Hollande told police mourning their colleagues, calling police "sentinels of the Republic." Hollande posthumously made Salvaing and Schneider, a police administrator, knights of the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor. Police officers carry the coffin of one of the two police officials killed by an extremist claiming allegiance to IS, during a ceremony Friday, June 17, 2016 in Versailles, near Paris. Police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider were stabbed Monday by attacker Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a police raid. (Dominique Faget, Pool via AP) Police officers pay homage to the two slain colleagues during a white march in Mantes-la-Jolie, west of Paris, Thursday, June 16, 2016. French police officials Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion Jessica Schneider were killed Monday by an Islamic State extremist. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) A French police officer holds a rose and an candle to pay homage to the two slain colleagues during a white march in Mantes-la-Jolie, west of Paris, Thursday, June 16, 2016. French police officials Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion Jessica Schneider were killed Monday by an Islamic State extremist. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during a memorial ceremony honoring the two police officials killed by an extremist claiming allegiance to IS, Friday, June 17, 2016 in Versailles, near Paris. Police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider were stabbed Monday by attacker Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a police raid. (Dominique Faget, Pool via AP) French President Francois Hollande awards posthumously the Legion d'Honneur at one the two police officials killed by an extremist claiming allegiance to IS, Friday, June 17, 2016 in Versailles, near Paris. Police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his companion, police administrator Jessica Schneider were stabbed Monday by attacker Larossi Abballa, who was killed in a police raid. (Dominique Faget, Pool via AP) WADA appoints German to head investigative unit MONTREAL (AP) A German official who helped investigate doping in Russia has been appointed as the World Anti-Doping Agency's director of intelligence and investigations. Gunter Younger has been serving as head of the cybercrime division in Bavaria. WADA says he will start his new role in Montreal on Oct. 3. Younger was a member of the independent WADA commission that uncovered widespread doping in Russian track and field. The panel's report led to Russia's suspension by the IAAF. Incoming WADA director general Olivier Niggli says Younger's "rich pedigree in the world of law enforcement will bring tremendous value to clean sport and, as a result, clean athletes worldwide." Mainland EU wants Britain to stay _ but not at any cost THIEPVAL, France (AP) Side by side, row by row, French and British graves pay tribute to two nations standing united a century ago in one of the defining battles of World War I. Their flags still flutter together over the Thiepval Memorial, but as Britain prepares to vote on whether to leave or stay in the European Union, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying. Britain's age-old anti-Europe streak has never run so deep. And the continent, especially France, is making it clear that political commitment is not a one-way street. "If we leave, it is like a separation again and being torn apart. It breaks all of these bonds," said Emma Jacques, a 15-year-old student of Sheffield's King Ecgbert School as she stood contemplating the memorial to Franco-British friendship. It commemorates tens of thousands who fell in the six-month Battle of the Somme which started July 1, 1916. FILE- In this June 26, 2014 file photo, from left, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel participate in a ceremony to mark the Centenary of World War I at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File) Polls indicate Thursday's vote is too close to call, especially in the wake of the slaying of the U.K. lawmaker Jo Cox. While the "leave" camp seemed to be gaining strength in recent days, the tragic killing appears to have snuffed out that momentum as campaigning is put on hold. At the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, close to France's tomb of the Unknown Soldier, France's Laurence Coin felt ambivalent. "They are completely legitimate as an EU member," she said, noting that some of their soldiers were killed on French ground. "But they need to say it loud and clear, or leave." Coin, 54, no longer sees the lofty ideals of cooperation dominating the EU as London has in recent years increasingly sought to pay less into EU coffers, reclaim more decision-making powers, and criticized decisions made in Brussels. "It looks like they only want to have the good part of the union, but don't want to share the cost," she said. Among EU countries, France seems to have the strongest views on the unity of Europe and Britain's role in it. A Pew Research Center survey on the possibility of a British exit from the bloc, or Brexit, found that in France, which has long been among the staunchest advocates of integration, 32 percent of people think it would be good for Britain to leave. That's the highest among ten EU nations surveyed. That comes despite the fact that many continental nations appreciate Britain for its military clout, diplomatic prowess and powerful and open economy. EU countries like the Netherlands and Sweden have also embraced Britain's free-market approach. So, as much as most in Europe still think it would be bad for the EU to see Britain go, many also want the country to be a more active and enthusiastic member of the EU not just standing on the sidelines, criticizing the bloc's methods and actions. Paul De Grauwe, a Belgian professor at the London School of Economics, said that despite the advantages to have Britain stay in, it might actually be politically more costly to keep a recalcitrant nation in line since the drive in London to take powers from the EU will remain. "Even if they stay, that strategy will remain and even become more intense. So, who needs partners like this?" said De Grauwe in an interview. "In that sense, it is better to see them go. Let's stay friends but don't take decisions for us anymore." Political scientist Dominique Moisi, a special adviser at the French Institute of International Relations, said some backers of more EU unity are actually looking for the British to leave. "They think we could do more without them... that we are going to be able to reinvent Europe." French President Francois Hollande, who is fervently in favor of European unity, has openly called on Britain to stay. Two weeks ago, he said that since the opening in 1994 of the Channel Tunnel, a symbolic link between the cliffs of Britain and France, "we are united as we've never been before, and I hope the British will remember that when the time comes." Yet he isn't falling over himself to help Prime Minister David Cameron, the leader of the "remain" campaign. Hollande, a welfare state Socialist, is ideologically distant from Cameron's free market views. Last month, Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel commemorated together the centenary of the Battle of Verdun, the longest of World War I. The leaders of the erstwhile enemies praised their countries' friendship, risen from the ashes of two world wars and strengthened through EU cooperation. In contrast, Hollande let it be known well before the referendum that he doesn't plan to attend the July 1st events in Thiepval, which Cameron and the royal family will attend. A British exit from the EU, however, would also bear risks for the bloc's project of ever-closer union. The EU has been mired in crisis for almost a decade, as it struggled to cope with, among other things, financial turmoil and the arrival en-masse of refugees and migrants. A British exit would be seen as a sign of failure for the bloc and could encourage other states to reconsider their membership. All that would play into the hands of anti-EU political movements and parties. Among the most powerful and vocal is France's far-right National Front, led by Marine Le Pen. She supports a Brexit "with all my strength and all my heart." She believes it could be a model for other countries seeking to leave the EU and a tipping point in history. It "will prove that it is possible to live outside the European Union," she said recently. Moisi argues that such anti-Europeans think "it's the beginning of a populist wave that is going to continue with (Donald) Trump and end with Marine Le Pen" sitting in the Elysee Palace after next year's French presidential elections. ___ Follow Raf Casert on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rcasert ____ Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report. In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, metal WWI soldiers from the French and British armies are on display at the Thiepval WWI memorial in Thiepval, France. Graves of both French and British soldiers lay side by side at the memorial, paying tribute to the two nations standing united a century ago in one of the defining battles of World War I. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) FILE- In this June 16, 2015 file photo, President of the French far right Front National, Marine Le Pen, center, poses with other members of the EU far right after a media conference at the European Parliament in Brussels. The leader of the far-right National Front leader says she supports a Brexit with all my strength and all my heart. She believes it could be a model for other countries seeking to leave the EU. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) FILE- In this Oct. 15, 2015 file photo, a member of protocol adjusts the British and EU flags at EU headquarters in Brussels. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) FILE - In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, a visitor looks at French and British World War I graves at the Thiepval WWI memorial in Thiepval, France. Graves of both French and British soldiers lay side by side at the memorial, paying tribute to the two nations standing united a century ago in one of the defining battles of World War I. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, schoolchildren visit French and British World War I graves at the Thiepval WWI memorial in Thiepval, France. Graves of both French and British soldiers lay side by side at the memorial, paying tribute to the two nations standing united a century ago in one of the defining battles of World War I. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, the French and British flags blow in the wind on the tower of the Thiepval World War I memorial in Thiepval, France. Graves of both French and British soldiers lay side by side at the memorial, paying tribute to the two nations standing united a century ago in one of the defining battles of World War I. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) FILE - In this Oct. 31, 1990 file photo, British and French tunnel engineers greet each other at the breakthough point in the Channel Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel links France and Britain, ferrying thousands of passengers a year with train between the two points. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides (AP Photo, File) FILE- In this Feb. 9, 2011 file photo, leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage gestures while speaking during a session at the European Parliament in Brussels. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) FILE- In this May 29, 2016 file photo, French President Francois Hollande, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk at the World War I French National cemetery outside the Douaumont Ossuary, in Douaumont, northeastern France. The Battle of Verdun, which took place over 100 years ago, killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. As Britain prepares to vote whether to leave or stay in the European Union on June 23, 2016, goodwill between the continent and the island nation is fraying on both sides. (Jean Christophe Verhaegen/File/ Pool Photo via AP) EU extends Russia sanctions over Crimea for 1 year BRUSSELS (AP) The European Union has extended for another year some of its sanctions targeting Russia over its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. For two years, the 28-nation EU has imposed ever more punitive measures on Russia to protest what it calls "the illegal annexation of Crimea and deliberate destabilization of Ukraine." The sanctions target imports from the peninsula and investment there, among other measures. The announcement came one day after EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The Latest: Vatican brings Syrian refugees to Rome BRUSSELS (AP) The Latest on Europe's migrant crisis (all times local): 3:05 p.m. Following Pope Francis' lead, the Vatican has brought a second group of Syrian refugees to Rome. FILE - In this May 21, 2016 file photo, a boy carries a dish through a flooded part of the migrant camp in Idomeni, Greece. The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders announced Friday, June 17, 2016 that it will no longer seek European Union funding in protest against the EU's much-maligned migrant deal with Turkey. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File) The Vatican said Friday nine refugees, including three children, were accompanied by Holy See security personnel on their trip from Athens Thursday. Two of the arrivals are Christians. They had been living in Kara Tepe refugee camp after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos by sea from Turkey. Francis wants Europe to welcome the hundreds of thousands of migrants, fleeing war, persecution and poverty, who reached the continent from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, many aboard smugglers boats. In April, the first group of Syrian refugees flew to Rome aboard Francis' plane, when he returned from visiting Lesbos. That group and the latest arrivals are receiving housing from a Catholic charity. ___ This item has been corrected to say the first group of Syrian refugees flew to Rome in April, not May. ___ 2:15 p.m. Turkey's coast guard says it has caught 39 migrants who were attempting to cross the Aegean Sea to reach Greece. Information about the nationalities in the group, which was stopped Thursday, hasn't been released. The coast guard also shared footage Friday of a migrant boat being stopped on June 15 off the coast of Cesme, a Turkish seaside town. It said 51 migrants, including 13 women and 9 children, were stopped from making the journey. Among them were 33 Syrians and 18 Eritreans. The coast guard said 25,954 migrants have been caught since Jan. 1, including 346 since the beginning of June. The number of migrants who have succeeded in getting to Greece has dwindled since a Turkey-EU migrant deal reached on March 20. ___ 11:10 a.m. The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders says it will no longer seek European Union funding in protest against the EU's migrant deal with Turkey. Secretary General Jerome Oberreit said Friday that Doctors Without Borders "will no longer request funds from the EU and its member states." The EU money totaled around 46 million euros ($52 million) in 2015, about eight percent of the organization's total budget. Oberreit said the group still plans to keep working in Greece and Turkey and will seek money from other sources to keep its projects going. Andreas Tsigkanas, who is first mate on board the "Aquarius", jokes around with colleagues at the ship while out on the Meditarranean sea, Wednesday, June 15, 2016. A total of seven humanitarian organizations work in the so-called 'Search and Rescue' (SAR) zone near the Libyan coast. The medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the rescue group SOS Mediteranee work together on board the ship to rescue migrants and refugees from boats in distress in the Mediterranean. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) Members of the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the rescue group SOS Mediteranee cooperate during a training on basic life support on the "Aquarius" ship, Thursday June 16, 2016. The two organizations conduct regular 'refreshment training' while waiting on the sea for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to be rescued. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) US home construction down slightly in May WASHINGTON (AP) Construction of new homes nudged down slightly in May, with builders pulling back in the Northeast and Midwest. Housing starts ticked down 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.16 million units, the Commerce Department said Friday. The government's residential construction report can be volatile on a monthly basis, which might explain the slight decrease. Home construction has improved much of this year, with single-family houses accounting for much of the gains unlike recent years when developers focused more on apartments. Housing starts have climbed 10.2 percent compared to the first five months of 2015, a sign that healthy demand exists because of ultra-low mortgage rates and a relatively healthy job market with unemployment at 4.7 percent. Single-family house starts have climbed 14.5 percent this year, evidence that builders are actively seeking homeowners rather than renters. "Single family builders are slowly, but surely, gaining ground on what has been a strong four years for multifamily construction," said Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at the online real estate firm Trulia. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch expect that single-family construction will total 800,000 this year. That would mark solid growth, yet remain significantly below the 1960 to 2000 average of 1.04 million in a sign of how sluggish the recovery from the housing bust and recession has been. Starts rose 14.4 percent in the West and 1.5 percent in the South last month. They plunged 33.3 percent in the Northeast and fell 2.5 percent in the Midwest. Applications for building permits, an indicator of future activity, rose 0.7 percent in May to an annual rate of 1.14 million. Builders also turned a bit more confident in June. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Thursday rose to 68 this month, up from 58 in June. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. Lower borrowing costs have also aided construction and sales of new homes. A Nigerian lawmaker on Friday accused the US Embassy of defamation following its complaint that he and another colleague tried to hire sex workers while on a State Department exchange program in Ohio. Mark Gbillah said the allegation was a baseless attempt to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria's House of Representatives. The US Embassy in Nigeria submitted complaints about the behavior of Gbillah and two colleagues, Samuel Ikon and Mohammed Garba Gololo, to the House of Representatives this month, said Turaki Hassan, spokesman for House Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Mark Gbillah (left) said he and Samuel Ikon (right) were accused of asking parking attendants at their hotel in Cleveland to find sex workers for them Mohammed Garba Gololo was accused of making inappropriate advances toward a hotel employee Gbillah said he and Ikon were accused of asking parking attendants at their hotel in Cleveland to find sex workers for them. He said the claim made no sense because 'we didn't go with cars'. He told the Premium Times: 'So, at Cleveland Renaissance where we were, opposite the Quicken Loan Arena, the Cleveland Cavalier Basketball team played a match and many people came to lodge at the same hotel, and they claimed that we spoke with car park attendants. 'We didn't go with cars, so how could we have spoken with attendants?' Gololo, meanwhile, was accused of making inappropriate advances toward a hotel employee. In a written response to the embassy, he said he 'never grabbed any housekeeper or solicited sex'. He said in a letter, the Premium Times reported, that: 'I also take this matter very seriously not only because I am an honourable member representing a hallowed institution but because I am husband and father. 'How will my family and in-laws react to this wild and grave allegation.' A US Embassy spokesman said Friday he would not comment 'on private diplomatic correspondence'. Nigerian media reported that the three lawmakers were in the US as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program, which invites 'current and emerging foreign leaders' for short-term stays in the country. Court convicts Auschwitz guard, 94, as accessory to murder DETMOLD, Germany (AP) A 94-year-old former SS sergeant was found guilty Friday of 170,000 counts of accessory to murder and sentenced to five years in prison for serving as an Auschwitz guard, in a verdict that survivors from the Nazi death camp hailed as a long overdue victory. Reinhold Hanning, sitting in a wheelchair, listened attentively but showed no reaction as Presiding Judge Anke Grudda read the ruling in state court in Detmold, Germany. She said Hanning was a cog in a "perfectly functioning machinery" of destruction, helping operate the death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland where some 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, were killed. FILE- In this Friday, May 20, 2016 file photo, 94-year-old former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp Reinhold Hanning sits in a courtroom in Detmold, Germany. Hanning faces a possible 15 years in prison if found guilty next Friday June 17, 2016, of more than 100,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he helped the Nazi death camp kill 1.1 million Jews and others. (Bernd Thissen/Pool Photo via AP, File) "You were in Auschwitz for two and a half years and performed an important function," she said. "You were part of a criminal organization and took part in criminal activity in Auschwitz," she said. Auschwitz survivor Hedy Bohm, who came from Toronto to testify at the trial and for the verdict, said she was "grateful and pleased by this justice finally after 70 years." "It is my dream to be in Germany, in a German court, with German judges acknowledging the Holocaust," the 88-year-old said. Bohm was one of four survivors present for the verdict, who also joined the trial as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. Overall, about a dozen survivors testified during the four- month trial, and 58 survivors or their relatives joined as co-plaintiffs. In her ruling, Grudda said much of their testimony put to rest any criticism that the crimes of the Nazis were too far in the past to prosecute today. "Anyone who had the opportunity to hear the testimony of the co-plaintiffs can answer the question of importance of such a trial," she said. Hanning's attorney, Andreas Scharmer, suggested an appeal was likely, and Hanning won't have to serve any prison time until his appeals are exhausted. He had faced a maximum of 15 years. Hanning's defense had called for an acquittal, saying there is no evidence he killed or beat anyone, while prosecutors sought a six-year sentence. Scharmer said he was not surprised by the verdict. "I didn't expect the court to have the courage for an acquittal," he said. In sentencing Hanning, Grudda said "there is no appropriate punishment" for his crimes, but that the court had to follow guidelines and also take into account his age, his statement of remorse, and the length of time that had elapsed since the crimes. "We cannot, and should not punish him symbolically for all the perpetrators of the Holocaust," she said. Hanning had testified that he volunteered for the SS at age 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944, but said he was not involved in the killings. "It disturbs me deeply that I was part of such a criminal organization," he told the court in April. "I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it and I apologize for my actions." Following the verdict, Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin, said he had slipped Hanning's attorney a letter urging him to have his client detail more about what he knew about the death camp's operations for the sake of educating younger generations. "Mr. Hanning should have said more about what he saw in Auschwitz and what he did in Auschwitz he did not tell what Auschwitz was," Schwarzbaum said. "It was a hell on earth." Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War II before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, and so sent him to Auschwitz, without his knowing what it was. Though there was no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp operate, and thus could be tried for accessory to murder. The same argument was used last year against SS sergeant Oskar Groening, to convict him of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving in Auschwitz. Germany's highest appeals court is expected to rule on the validity of the Groening verdict sometime this summer. The precedent for both the Groening and Hanning cases was set in 2011, with the conviction in Munich of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk on allegations he served as a Sobibor death camp guard. Although Demjanjuk always denied serving at the death camp and died before his appeal could be heard, it opened a wave of new investigations by the special prosecutor's office in Ludwigsburg responsible for Nazi war crime probes. The head of the office, Jens Rommel, said two other Auschwitz cases are still pending trial another guard and also the commandant's radio operator contingent on their health, and a third is still being investigated by Frankfurt prosecutors. Rommel's office, which has no power to bring charges itself, has also recommended charges in three Majdanek death camp cases, and has sent them on to prosecutors who are now investigating. Meantime, the office is still poring through documents for both death camps, and is also looking into former members of the so-called Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads, and guards at several concentration camps. Efraim Zuroff, the head Nazi-hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said he hoped the Hanning verdict would give German authorities the impetus to expedite the remaining cases. "The Hanning verdict highlights the important role played by all those who served in the death camps," he said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem. "Without them the crimes of the Nazis could never have reached the levels that they did." The Latest: Renzi praises Russian role in Libya ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) The Latest from the Russian Economic Forum in St. Petersburg (all times local): 8:45 p.m. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has praised Russia for helping to resolve conflict in Libya. Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Speaking Friday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Renzi expressed gratitude to him for helping reduce violence in Libya. Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising. Since 2014, the oil-rich country has been torn between two parliaments and governments, each backed by a set of militias and tribes. Putin said that conflicting tribal interests and the presence of numerous armed factions make the situation extremely difficult. He pledged that Russia will continue working together with the international community to help normalize the situation. ___ 8:30 p.m. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says that EU sanction against Russia should not be extended automatically. Speaking Friday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Russia's economic forum, Renzi said that EU ambassadors must have a close look at the progress of the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine. He added that the agreement must be honored by all parties. Putin argued that Ukraine has dragged its feet on legislation it was supposed to pass under the Minsk deal. The U.S. and the EU sanctions against Russia followed its annexation of Crimea and support for the insurgency in eastern Ukraine. They made lifting the sanctions contingent on the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement. The EU on Friday extended some of its sanctions, and was to consider whether to extend others in the coming weeks. ___ 8:10 p.m. Russia's President Vladimir Putin says whatever choice British people make on the EU membership must be respected, stopping short of expressing any personal preference. He says Russia wants to see a strong Europe, rejecting the allegations that Moscow wants to see the EU weakened. Putin said Friday he discussed the Brexit issue with European officials who attended St. Petersburg economic forum and heard various views on the subject. The Russian leader also denied that Russia backs nationalist parties in Europe, saying their rise has been the result of the political course pursued by national governments, particularly in the migrant crisis. Without mentioning any specific nation, he noted that humanitarian reasons require offering assistance to migrants, interests of the country's citizens should take priority. ___ 6:35 p.m. President Vladimir Putin says Russia respects the United States as the world's only superpower, but won't accept U.S. interference in its home affairs. Speaking Friday at Russia's main economic forum, Putin said that the world, including Russia, needs a strong U.S. At the same time, Russia doesn't want the U.S. to meddle in its domestic affairs or try to prevent the European Union from developing closer economic ties with Moscow, he said. He argued that while the U.S. business suffered little damage from anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Washington and the EU, the damage to Europe was far greater. He said that he was wondering why the Europeans should suffer from it. The sanctions followed Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for insurgents in eastern Ukraine. ___ 5:15 p.m. President Vladimir Putin says that Russia would welcome an armed international observer mission in Ukraine. Putin said Friday that Ukraine needs to honor the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine by offering broader rights to the region, holding elections there and offering amnesty to rebels. He dismissed the Ukrainian argument that a full cessation of hostilities must precede all those steps, saying that on the contrary the political settlement is essential for fully ending hostilities. Putin said he agrees with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's proposal to allow observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to carry weapons. Fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists erupted in April 2014, weeks after Russia's annexation of Crimea and has claimed more than 9,300 lives. ___ 4:45 p.m. President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed that he views Donald Trump as a "bright" person and appreciates the Republican presidential candidate's promise to turn a new page in U.S. relations with Russia. Speaking Friday at Russia's top economic forum, Putin said that Russia will work constructively with any candidate who wins the U.S. presidential election in the hope that the winner would strive for developing relations with Russia and building a safer world. Asked about his previous praise for Trump, Putin said that his description of Trump as a "bright" man stands. He added that he has noted Trump's statement that he's ready to establish a full-fledged dialogue with Russia. Asked about his view of Hillary Clinton, Putin dodged direct comment, but spoke highly of Bill Clinton, saying he was grateful to him for his help. ___ 4:30 p.m. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says that Britain will suffer the most if voters chose to leave the European Union, but voiced confidence that they will decide to stay. Renzi says that if Britain votes to opt out of the 28-nation bloc, it will deal a heavy blow to the EU in short term. But in mid-term, Britain will suffer much more, with British consumers bearing the brunt of it, he said. He added Friday that he felt sure that the majority will vote to stay, saying that they are "wiser than opinion polls show." ___ 4:20 p.m. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says the fulfillment of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine is essential for lifting Western sanctions against Russia. Renzi said Friday that all parties involved in the deal should honor its terms, a nod to Russia's arguments that Ukraine must honor its side of the deal. Renzi said that while some EU nations strongly backed the crippling economic sanctions against Russia, he thinks that it is necessary to move toward lifting them. He said that Russia is an indispensable partner in helping Europe fight extremism. ___ 4:05 p.m. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says that his country wants to strengthen its economic presence in Russia. Renzi said that Italy would welcome some of its agricultural technologies being used in Russia to strengthen economic ties as Russia's ban on most EU food remains. Renzi also said that Russia and the EU share the same values. Renzi spoke Friday at Russia's top economic forum, which was attended by chief executives of many multinationals for the first time after a two-year break amid a strain between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the EU's executive Commission, also attended, raising hope for a thaw in Russia-EU ties. Italy was badly hurt when Moscow banned most food imports from the EU in retaliation to the EU sanctions against Russia. Still, Moscow has sought to maintain good ties with Rome, and Putin repeatedly visited Italy even though he was shunned in most other European capitals. ___ 3:50 p.m. President Vladimir Putin says Russia doesn't need a new Cold War and that the country's policy is "aimed at cooperation and search for compromise." Speaking at Russia's major economic forum Friday, he criticized the West for ignoring Russia's legitimate interests. He said there is no reason for NATO's continued expansion, and noted that the U.S.-led NATO missile defense plans pose a threat to Russia. He said the missile defense program is continuing despite the disappearance of the Iranian nuclear threat, which had been named as the main reason for that. Putin added that the Western policy of unilateral actions will undermine global stability. He called for searching for a balance of interests to strengthen international security. Putin repeated his accusations that the West had been backing a forceful ouster of Ukraine's former Moscow-friendly president. He insisted that Russia's annexation of Crimea was rooted in what he described as a coup in Ukraine. ___ 3:00 p.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on European leaders to improve ties with his country despite sanctions. Speaking at Russia's top economic conference Putin said Friday the European Union should "show flexibility" and consider the interests of EU investors who want to do business with Russia. Western leaders and company executives went to Russia's St. Petersburg Economic Forum this year after a two-year break that felt more like a boycott. Putin had a meeting with the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday and other international executives, telling them that Russia is open to Western investment despite the strained ties with the West. The U.S. and the EU slapped Russia with economic sanctions in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and threw its backing to separatists in eastern Ukraine. Italian Premier Matteo Renzi speaks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi shake hands during a meeting at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) Nigeria: Police dispute new attack claim by oil militants WARRI, Nigeria (AP) Local police are disputing claims that Nigerian oil militants struck another pipeline in the Niger Delta, saying an explosion was instead caused by a gas leakage. Cordelia Nwawe, police spokesperson for Akwa Ibom state, said Friday that engineers were "working to rectify the leakage" from the pipeline owned by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. The Niger Delta Avengers claimed responsibility for the attack in a Twitter post on Thursday morning. Attacks in recent months have ended years of relative peace in the delta and cost Nigeria its place as Africa's biggest oil producer, now held by Angola. UVA grad sues education officials over sexual assault policy WASHINGTON (AP) A former University of Virginia law student disciplined for sexual misconduct is suing the Department of Education over the way colleges evaluate allegations of sexual assault on campus. The student is not named in the lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Washington. The lawsuit says he was allowed to graduate after being found responsible for a sexual misconduct claim against him, but a Washington-area law firm suspended its employment offer. The student's lawsuit argues that a 2011 education department directive that changed the way sexual assault is evaluated bypassed the normal procedure of notifying the public of a proposed rule and seeking a response before imposing new regulations. The lawsuit says that's a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. Spain: Probe of alleged hate speech by Valencia archbishop MADRID (AP) Prosecutors said Friday they are investigating a Spanish archbishop for possible criminal hate speech because of remarks he made recently about the gay community. The Valencia's provincial prosecutor's office said it was studying a recent speech made by Valencia Archbishop Antonio Canizares in which he said "powers such as the gay empire" promoted the rise of movements against the Christian family. Canizares also hit out at feminists and gender ideology. The remarks raised much criticism and a regional LGBT group and 50 other groups filed a complaint. News reports said the cardinal later issued a letter of apology, saying he had been misinterpreted. The prosecutors' office has six months to decide whether the case merits prosecution. The offense is punishable by up to three years in prison. There was no immediate comment from the archbishop's office Friday. Canizares, 70, stirred a similar controversy last year when he criticized the influx of migrants and refugees into Europe. He later apologized for the remarks. A key protege of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, Canizares was removed from an important post in the Vatican's liturgy office and sent back to Spain in 2014 by Pope Francis. French, Austrian right-wingers assail EU, mass migration VIENNA (AP) Austria's right-wing leader warned migrants Friday that Europe is ready to send them packing, as he and his French ally assailed the European Union and demanded it cede authority to member nations. The Freedom Party's Heinz-Christian Strache and Marine Le Pen of France's extreme-right National Front also said it was unfair that the killing of British legislator Jo Cox had been linked by some to her pro-EU and immigrant-friendly stance. They spoke at a gathering of representatives from six right to extreme-right populist and Euroskeptic parties convened by the Freedom Party under the slogan "Patriotic Spring" and depicted by attendees as proof of the right's political unity and strength. Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache and Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, hold a joint news conference in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) The meeting follows last month's narrow defeat of a Freedom Party contender in Austrian presidential elections that was hailed by European right-wingers as a sign of the right's growing clout. Strache's party has launched a legal challenge of the results and Austria's highest court is not ruling out a repeat of the vote as it examines Freedom Party claims of gross irregularities. Beyond railing against the perceived centralism of the EU, the two repeated their opposition to mass migration. "We will save you on the high seas," Strache proclaimed. "But we will send you back to the harbor where you started out." Within the EU, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was most to blame for the influx, said Strache, alluding to Germany's initial open border policy for migrants. "She puts out an invitation like this, and all the other European countries have to tolerate it? No!" said the Austrian right-wing leader. He and Le Pen both linked last year's migrant inflow to recent terrorist attacks in Europe, with Le Pen repeating her call to "conserve national borders." Both Strache and Le Pen touched on the June 23 British referendum on EU membership as a strong indication of Europe-wide disillusionment with the EU. "People want a different, more just Europe," Strache said, while Le Pen depicted the vote as exemplary for all of Europe. "All countries of EU should be asked this question, about their relationship with the EU," she told reporters, Le Pen cast the British vote as damaging for the European Union no matter which way it goes. A pro-exit win, she said, would tarnish the validity of EU pacts with its members, while a stay vote would "create a new problem" because that was accomplished by giving Britain "different rights ... from other countries" Both sides suspended referendum campaigning after the killing of British Labour legislator Jo Cox. While British authorities have not named a possible motive, a U.S. civil rights group has said the suspect had links to an American white supremacist organization. Le Pen and Strache warned against linking the killing to the victim's pro-migrant and EU-friendly views. Le Pen said that is "inappropriate and indecent," while Strache said his party opposes "extremism from the right or the left," adding: "We renounce everything that is linked with violence." ___ Associated Press writer Angela Charlton contributed from Paris. Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, speaks during a joint news conference with Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, smiles during a joint news conference with Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache speaks during a joint news conference with Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, speaks during a joint news conference with Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache welcomes Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, prior to a joint news conference in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache welcomes Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, prior to a joint news conference in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Head of Austria's Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache and Marine Le Pen, leader of the French Front National, FN, hold a joint news conference in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Major LGBT-rights group urges steps to curb gun violence NEW YORK (AP) The Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. LGBT-rights organization, on Friday called for several measures to curb gun violence in the aftermath of the attack that killed 49 patrons and staff at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The HRC endorsed steps to limit access to assault-style rifles, expand background checks, and limit access to firearms for suspected terrorists and people with a history of domestic abuse. A resolution on the gun measures was approved Thursday evening at a special meeting of the HRC's board of directors. The organization said it was the first time in its 36-year history that it had called such a meeting to address a policy matter that extended far beyond the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Crosses, one for each victim, line a walkway as a memorial to those killed in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting a few blocks from the club, early Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The HRC's president, Chad Griffin, blamed the massacre on "a toxic combination of two things: a deranged, unstable individual who had been conditioned to hate (LGBT) people, and easy access to military-style guns." The safety of LGBT people "depends on our ability to end both the hatred toward our community and the epidemic of gun violence that has spiraled out of control," Griffin said. The HRC noted that according to the latest FBI statistics, more than 20 percent of hate crimes reported nationally in 2014 targeted people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It also repeated its call for Congress to pass an LGBT-inclusive federal nondiscrimination law, and for legislatures to do likewise at the state level. At present, only 18 states have comprehensive statewide laws banning discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Equality California, a major LGBT-rights group in California, also called for new gun-safety measures on Friday, urging action at both the federal and state level. It endorsed a package of bills in the California legislature, including measures that would require federal licensing of ammunition vendors, ban possession of large-capacity magazines, fund a center for research into firearm-related violence, and require anyone whose firearm is lost or stolen to notify law enforcement within five days of the loss. Despite the widespread dismay over Sunday's attack in Orlando by a gunman armed with an assault rifle, there is no indication as yet that tougher federal gun-control measures are forthcoming. In the Senate, a filibuster by Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut did little to break the stalemate in Congress over guns, with both sides unwilling to budge and Republicans standing firm against any new legislation opposed by the National Rifle Association. President Barack Obama, who visited the victims' families in Orlando, called on lawmakers to act. A man set to be executed on Texas's death row next week for killing his two-year-old daughter in 2002 has won a reprieve. Robert Roberson III, 49, was set to die Tuesday for the February 2002 death of his daughter, Nikki Curtis, at his home in Palestine in East Texas. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent his case back to his Anderson County trial court late Thursday to review claims he is innocent of capital murder. Robert Roberson III (pictured left in 2002, right in 2016), 49, was scheduled to die next week for the murder of his two-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis in 2002, but has earned a reprieve Attorneys contend that 'junk science' was used to convict Roberson and sentence him to death. There is now no timetable for the appeal to be resolved. One judge on the nine-member court, Lawrence Meyers, voted to refuse the reprieve and dismiss the appeal. Lawyers argued Roberson's conviction was based on 'junk science' and 'false, misleading and scientifically invalid testimony'. 'Instead of taking Robert's explanation about a fall seriously or exploring all possible causes of the injury sustained by a chronically ill child who had been at the doctor's office with 104.5-degree temperature only two days before a tragedy was hastily deemed a crime and a father, doing the best he could to care for his daughter despite severe cognitive impairments, was branded a murderer,' attorney Gretchen Sween wrote. Sween also said Roberson's right to due process was violated at trial because prosecutors introduced 'false forensic science testimony that current science rejects'. Lee Kovarsky, Roberson's attorney with the Texas Defender Service, said if the 49-year-old's case was heard today, he would not be convicted. 'Robert was convicted under a scientific theory that, if offered as cause of death today, would consistently result in acquittal. 'Texas courts will now have ample opportunity to do justice in his case,' he told the Texas Tribune. The child had serious head injuries, and Roberson contended she accidentally fell from a bed. Medical staff at a Palestine hospital called police because they considered the injuries suspicious. Physicians who examined her said bruises to her chin, cheek and jaw and a subdural hematoma bleeding outside her brain but inside her skull likely were intentional and no accident. Nikki died the next day, February 1, 2002, and a medical examiner ruled blunt force head injuries as the cause. Defense attorney Benjamin Wolff told the appeals court that Nikki's death could be attributed to a number of things, such as undiagnosed meningitis, an accidental injury before Roberson began caring for her the day she died, a fall from the bed he didn't see or a fatal congenital condition. According to court records, she'd been living with Roberson and his girlfriend, Teddie Cox, for about three months after a court awarded him custody of the child. Roberson was convicted of killing Nikki by causing her head trauma and was sentenced to death row in Huntsville, Texas (pictured) Testimony from Cox, who was not the child's mother, showed he had no interest in caring for his daughter, but was her sole caretaker for the first time on January 31, 2002, and was not pleased. Prosecutors initially said Roberson sexually assaulted the two-year-old, based on statements from a hospital nurse, but dropped that element of the capital murder charge late in the trial when evidence could not conclusively support it. 'But by then, the damage had been done,' Wolff said in Roberson's appeal. 'The state used this rank speculation to drive home its view that Robert was not just a poor, mentally impaired father struggling with sobriety, but a deviant capable of raping and brutally shaking his own daughter to death.' Roberson was a parolee with previous convictions for burglary and theft and parole violations. Top US General discusses peacekeeping at UN UNITED NATIONS (AP) The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff hosted a meeting Friday at the United Nations to follow up on countries' pledges of troops for peacekeeping operations. Gen. Joseph Dunford's visit marked the first time a sitting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has ever spoken at the world body, U.S. officials said. Deputy British chief of Defense Staff Gen. Gordon Messenger is a co-host of the meeting. The meeting seeks to provide a status update on pledges made at President Barack Obama's 2015 Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping, where countries promised nearly 50,000 troops for U.N. missions. It also serves to preview a meeting of defense ministers in London in September. Officials, who declined to be identified because they were speaking at a background ahead of the closed meeting, said Dunford's visit reflects the Obama administration's understanding that a robust U.N. peacekeeping force is in the United States best interest. The pledges have already generated a surplus of troops the U.N. can draw upon for its far-flung peacekeeping operations and will allow the organization to be more selective about what troops and police it can accept, following a series of scandals involving sexual abuse and misconduct by peacekeepers. Officials said that about two-thirds of countries that made pledges have followed through and that 12 units announced at the summit have already been deployed in peacekeeping missions with four more in the process of deploying. He said that part of the reason for the meeting was to make sure that the remaining one third follow through on their pledges. According to a report seen by The Associated Press, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, Spain, Uganda and Vietnam were among the countries that have yet to fulfill their pledges. Spain's Ambassador Roman Marchesi said his country's pledge had been contingent upon the U.N. choosing a Spanish force commander. "Spain was misquoted," Marchesi said. South Sudan: More than a ton of Asia-bound ivory seized JUBA, South Sudan (AP) More than a ton of ivory was seized this week at the international airport in South Sudan's capital, Juba, a local wildlife official said Friday. The ivory was hidden in a consignment marked as "food" that arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Uganda, said Brig. Gen. Khamis Adieng Ding, spokesperson for the National Wildlife Service. Ding said a Ugandan and a South Sudanese have been arrested over the illicit cargo, which was to be transported to Malaysia on an EgyptAir flight. "We have arrested the accused, and we have opened a police case," he said. "It's now under investigation by the police, and the ivory is now in the ministry of wildlife and conservation and tourism in our stores." There was no immediate comment from wildlife officials in Uganda. Lamine Sebogo of the conservation group WWF said the seizure "is a reminder of the scale of the ongoing poaching crisis" in Africa. Teen in Ohio school cafeteria shooting cited bad home life CINCINNATI (AP) A 15-year-old boy who opened fire on fellow students in a school cafeteria complained about his home life when questioned about why he did it, a detective states in a report released Friday. James Austin Hancock pleaded guilty to four attempted murder counts and one count of inducing panic in the February shooting at Madison Local Schools near Middletown. A judge earlier this month ordered him held in juvenile detention until he turns 21, when he will be free if he stays out of trouble. The boy's motive hasn't been clear. He said before sentencing that he wanted the victims to know they weren't targeted. In a Butler County sheriff's report released after a public records request by The Associated Press and other news organizations, a detective says Hancock gave his "home life" as the reason for the shootings. He said the boy had taken a Sig Sauer P238 handgun from his grandmother's home the night before. "His mom doesn't watch any of his sporting events and dad was on his case for his grades and he has a lot of chores. Hancock further stated he was always grounded," the report by Detective Michael Barger said. The report said a female student was going to report that Hancock had a gun in his backpack, and he started shooting because "he knew he didn't want to go home." A message was left Friday for his attorney, Charles H. Rittgers. Rittgers said on the day of sentencing that Hancock's family was happy the case was handled in the juvenile system and was hopeful he could get any help he needs while in custody. Barger said Hancock didn't have a specific target, but "just fired at a group of kids." Two students were wounded by gunfire; two others were hurt by shrapnel or while running away. Two other students still face misdemeanor charges of not reporting a crime. Authorities said they knew Hancock took a gun to school. Barger's report showed that Hancock first displayed the gun to other students at 7:30 a.m. in the cafeteria at breakfast and, three hours later, took the gun from his backpack and put it into his lunchbox. He went into the bathroom with two other students at 10:58 a.m. to load the gun, put the safety on, and then he went back into the cafeteria and displayed the gun again, the report stated. The other students' names were redacted. The report states that Hancock started firing at 11:17 a.m., then fled the school and gave himself up, at 11:39 a.m. according to another police report, in a nearby field after being surrounded by police. ___ Follow Dan Sewell at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell Leonardo DiCaprio can be questioned regarding what he knows about the production of 'The Wolf of Wall Street' for a defamation lawsuit, a judge says. U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke in Central Islip, New York, on Thursday said DiCaprio must be made available for questioning, which was opposed by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures Corp, DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions and other defendants. The plaintiff, Andrew Greene, sued in 2014 for more than $50 million, claiming that he was defamed in the film through the portrayal by actor P.J. Byrne of a morally and ethically challenged character named Nicky 'Rugrat' Koskoff. Greene, who is seeking more than $50 million, contends that the portrayal of a character who engaged in illegal and morally questionable acts in the 2013 film defames him. DiCaprio, who earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role as the fast-living businessman Jordan Belfort in the movie, is set to be grilled by Greene's lawyers Testify: A federal judge says DiCaprio can be questioned for litigation stemming from a lawsuit brought by Andrew Greene against Paramount Pictures Corp. and others in 2014 for the film Compensation: Andrew Greene, pictured, contends that the portrayal of a character who engaged in illegal and morally questionable acts in the 2013 film defames him. He is seeking over $50 million The lawsuit says the filmmakers made Greene look like a depraved criminal, drug user and degenerate. In the film, the character 'Rugrat,' who's played by actor P.J. Byrne, above, uses cocaine, engages in sexual relations with a prostitute and shaves a woman's head, among other risque activities The character, Nicky 'Rugrat' Koskof, is close friends in the movie with Jordan Belfort, a notorious stock swindler who cost investors tens of millions of dollars in the 1990s. Belfort is played by DiCaprio. Paramount says the Koskof character is a fictional composite. 'No reasonable fact finder could claim that 'Nicky' was a recognizable likeness of Andrew Greene,' Paramount's lawyers wrote in court papers. DiCaprio, 41, played Jordan Belfort, a stock swindler who founded Stratton Oakmont and whose 2007 memoir was a basis for the film. Greene was a childhood friend of Belfort. The suit claims that the toupee-wearing character, Rugrat (pictured), closely resembles Greene and portrayed him as a 'criminal' and a 'degenerate' including one scene where he shaves a woman's head The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Martin Scorsese Paramount says the Koskof character, pictured above, is a fictional composite. 'No reasonable fact finder could claim that 'Nicky' was a recognizable likeness of Andrew Greene,' Paramount's lawyers wrote Andrew Greene said in a complaint filed in 2014 that the toupee-wearing character Nicky 'Rugrat' Koskoff was modeled after him, whose real-life nickname is 'Wigwam' because he often wears a hairpiece The suit claims that the toupee-wearing character, Rugrat (pictured), closely resembles Greene and portrayed him as a 'criminal' and a 'degenerate' Lawyers for DiCaprio opposed the deposition request, saying DiCaprio did not write the screenplay or direct the film. But Greene's lawyers said they had already questioned Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter, and that both testified that they met regularly with DiCaprio to discuss the 'Wolf' script. They noted that Greene's lawsuit did not allege that DiCaprio provided defamatory content for the film or helped decide whether to include defamatory content. At a minimum, they argued, Greene should have to explain why he thinks DiCaprio has specific or unique knowledge about the issues raised in the lawsuit. They also noted that Greene's lawyers have not sought to depose actor P.J. Byrne, who played Koskof and is seen in the movie using cocaine, sexually engaged with a prostitute and shaving a woman's head. Greene's lawsuit says the movie portrayed him as 'a criminal and drug user with misogynistic tendencies.' Though no date has been set for Dicaprio's forthcoming deposition, Locke maintained that it would come 'at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties.' Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort's fall from grace as a corrupt stock broker, Wolf of Wall Street was met with critical acclaim upon its release three years ago. The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Martin Scorsese, but did not win any. Greene, who was a Stratton Oakmont executive, claims that the 2013 film changed his nickname from 'Wigwam' to 'Rugrat' and spread untruths about him. PJ Byrne is pictured (left) portraying 'Rugrat' in the movie US magistrate Judge Steven Locke ruled that DiCaprio 'will be produced for his deposition 'at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties' Uruguay: ex-Guantanamo detainee traveled legally to Brazil MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) A former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was resettled in Uruguay has traveled legally to neighboring Brazil, authorities said Friday, rejecting news reports that he violated his refugee status. Christian Mirza, Uruguayan government's representative for six ex-detainees resettled in Montevideo, told The Associated Press that news reports mischaracterized Abu Wa'el Dhiab's trip. "To say that he fled the country is incorrect because he had the right to go," said Mirza. FILE - In this June 5, 2015 file photo, Abu Wa'el Dhiab, from Syria, right, and Adel bin Muhammad El Ouerghi, of Tunisia, both freed Guantanamo Bay detainees, stand next to the window of their shared home in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguayan authorities said Friday, June 17, 2016, Dhiab traveled legally to neighboring Brazil. The clarification comes amid reports that he had fled Uruguay in violation of his refugee status in the small South American nation. Uruguay resettled Dhiab and 5 other former detainees in late 2014. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) Mirza did not disclose where in Brazil or when Dhiab traveled. Dhiab traveled last year to neighboring Argentina, which like Uruguay is part of the trade bloc Mercosur. In general, residents of Mercosur are allowed to travel between member countries with only a national identification card. The six former detainees Dhiab and three other Syrians, one Tunisian and one Palestinian were settled in Uruguay in late 2014. Then-President Jose Mujica invited them as a humanitarian gesture as U.S. President Barack Obama tries to shut the Guantanamo prison. Questions about whether the men are allowed to leave Uruguay have periodically popped up, but Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi said there were no such limits. "When the conditions for their arrival were being negotiated, the United States proposed that Uruguay make sure they stay in the country for two years," Bonomi told reporters in Montevideo. "Uruguay did not accept that condition." The resettlement has been fraught with problems. The men initially complained publicly that they were not getting enough government help, but also refused to get jobs, which angered many Uruguayans. Dhiab, who is frail and walks with crutches as the result of health problems related to periodic hunger strikes he undertook in Guantanamo, has been one of the most vocal critics of Uruguay's resettlement program. He even went so far as to say that detainees should not accept being resettled in Uruguay. Charges sought for 7 in rape of 16-year-old Brazilian girl RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Rio de Janeiro police said Friday they're asking for charges to be filed against seven people in the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl. The case has made international headlines because videos showing men posing with the unconscious victim were shared on social media. The May 21 attack, which took place in an abandoned building in Rio's Morro do Borao slum, shocked Brazil and became a symbol of the Latin American nation's problem of violence against women. The officer overseeing the investigation, Cristiana Bento, said evidence collected so far shows that three men and a minor took part in the actual gang rape, not 33 people as the victim initially suggested. Bento said she believes the victim's statement was a "false memory," perhaps the result of her drugged state during the attack or the trauma suffered. Photos of gang rape suspects are displayed on a screen during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 17, 2016. The police officer investigating the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl that made international headlines because videos showing men posing with the unconscious victim were shared on social media says she's asking charges be brought against six men and a minor. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) Bento said one video that circulated online may have confused the victim. In it, a suspect says: "This one here, she got pregnant by more than 30," gesturing toward the naked and unconscious teen. The videos and other material that appeared on social media and message sharing sites alerted police to what happened and helped them in their investigation and to identify suspects. Along with four men authorities believe were directly involved in the attack, Bento has asked for charges to be brought against two other people for allegedly helping circulate the videos online. She is also seeking charges against a gang leader in the Rio de Janeiro slum where the rape took place for allegedly giving the attack his blessing. Two suspects have been arrested and the rest remain at large. Charges of raping a vulnerable victim carry a maximum 15-year sentence and making a pornographic video of a minor carries a maximum 8-year sentence. Distributing such videos carries a 6-year maximum sentence. Bento said she hopes that those convicted in the case receive stiff sentences so an example is set. The teen is in a witness protection program. Police investigator Cristiana Bento speaks during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 17, 2016. The police officer investigating the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl that made international headlines because videos showing men posing with the unconscious victim were shared on social media says she's asking charges be brought against seven men. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) Fancy to whimsical: Joan Rivers' belongings up for auction NEW YORK (AP) Joan Rivers was many things: brash and brassy comedian, queen of QVC, petite mistress of great big gowns. Lesser known, perhaps, was her penchant for collecting from Faberge objets d'art to fine French furniture. Her East 62nd Street penthouse, a former ballroom, was filled with it and nearly two years after her death at 81, her daughter, Melissa Rivers, felt it time to clean house. With the help of Christie's New York, she made her way through rooms and rooms of memories, deciding what she couldn't emotionally part with, what she would hold onto for archival purposes and what she would donate to charity so they could put on auctions of their own. A diamond encrusted broach, designed and owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) What was left is now the Private Collection of Joan Rivers, with more than 200 lots to be auctioned in a live sale at Christie's on June 22 and about 80 more offered online at Christies.com through June 23. Melissa Rivers, in an interview Thursday, was not ready to use the word "cathartic." After all, she said, "It hasn't even been two years." Instead, she's in survivor mode, "taking care of business" in a way she knows her mother would appreciate. "She never believed that everything should be kept in storage or a bank vault. She always said, 'Use your things, enjoy the things you have,' so I don't have the guilt of 'I need to keep these dishes because this was the set that she used every third Thanksgiving but it's not my favorite.'" The auction house opened its doors to the media Friday for a preview. There, a couple of Joan's elegant sitting rooms were set up, her inlaid Yearwood desk and chair near a favorite painting by Edouard Vuillard, titled "Dans l'atelier." It dates to about 1915 and is valued at $120,000 to $180,000. Faberge was a favored brand for the former Beatrice Grushman Molinsky, the daughter of Russian immigrants, furriers who served the court back in the old country. Staying tony in the United States was sometimes a struggle that Joan never forgot. It fueled her furious work ethic. But she believed in using the fine things she and her late husband, Edgar, amassed. Joan died on Sept. 14, 2014. Many of her zingers were printed on walls for visitors to enjoy as they ogled items up for sale, including this one that speaks volumes about the things she collected: "Marie Antoinette would have lived here if she had money." Her approach was far from hands off when it came to sharing her world. Furniture and housewares, whether they were fancy or a tag sale find, were mixed and matched and enjoyed. Hence antique Faberge picture frames held family photos, including one of Melissa in her University of Pennsylvania hoodie. Among the rarest and most valuable Faberge items up for auction is a small, gold-mounted, bowl-like study in green nephrite of a Lily of the Valley leaf with pearl and diamond details. "The leaf is by far the rarest and really one of the most exciting Faberge objects that's been on the market in a very long time," said Helen Culver Smith, a Christie's specialist of Russian works of art. "What makes it rare is only two are known, and there's the craftsmanship." It was made around 1900 in Russia and passed through many hands after it was sold off by the Soviet state. Joan bought it from a London-based Faberge dealer. Its value: $200,000 to $300,000, making it among the most expensive items to be auctioned. Another item that Melissa remembers fondly is a diamond-and-platinum flower brooch her mother designed, with help from Harry Winston. Joan wore it often and added to it over the years, sitting on the floor with little bits of paper she had cut out to configure new stones. The auction house estimated its value at $30,000 to $50,000. Melissa had less trouble giving up a silver Tiffany dog bowl engraved for the cantankerous Spike, the now-dead Yorkshire terrier a friend gave her mother as a puppy. "I call him the empty nest syndrome dog," Melissa laughed. "Spike was given to my mother the same month I left for college. She carried him everywhere and never let him out of her sight and spoiled him ridiculously. It's easy to connect those dots in Psych 101." Spike did her mother a world of good after the death of her husband in 1987. He comforted her in her darkest hour, she once said, and he appeared with her on "The Tonight Show" and the cover of People magazine. Known for splashy gowns, there are a few up for sale, including some bedazzled looks from a favorite, Bob Mackie, along with an ochre gown with a custom cape from Oscar de la Renta. She wore it as a presenter at the 1990 Tony Awards. Though her frame was tiny, Joan's fashion style was outsized. But her taste and keen eye kept her from being swallowed up by the clothes and chunky accessories she chose. "The clothes didn't wear her. She wore the clothes. She had the style and the presence to pull these things off," Melissa said. "I do not have that ability whatsoever. If you put even a ruffle around my neck I'm just swimming and spitting out feathers." Among the belongings Melissa kept were some attached to precious, private moments with her mom, including a toothbrush cup. "I would always be leaning against the wall of her bathroom talking to her when she was getting ready," the daughter recalled. "I would look in the mirror so we could look at each other and the toothbrush cup was always in my sightline, and I never realized that. That to me represents so many of our most intimate moments." In terms of art, she said close family friend Vincent Price was key in starting her parents on the path of collecting. "I was very fortunate to have grown up in a home where art was part of our daily life," Melissa said. But not in a pretentious way, she was quick to note. "Nothing was off limits. Things were meant to be lived with and enjoyed and appreciated. That's the point of having these things," Melissa added. "So many people nowadays have so many things and there's so many billionaires out there now. It's all about collect, collect, collect." A French child's chair and model of a dog, owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, are displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. The Private Collection of Joan Rivers has more than 200 lots to be auctioned in a live sale at Christie's on June 22 and about 80 more offered online at Christies.com, starting Thursday through June 23. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) A black, cream and pink beaded evening gown, center, owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. The Private Collection of Joan Rivers has more than 200 lots to be auctioned in a live sale at Christie's on June 22 and about 80 more offered online at Christies.com, starting Thursday through June 23. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) An Ochre Evening Ensemble by Oscar de la Renta, owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) A black feather-embellished gown, center, owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) A dog bowl engraved with the name "Spike" owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers is on display at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. The Private Collection of Joan Rivers has more than 200 lots to be auctioned in a live sale at Christie's on June 22 and about 80 more offered online at Christies.com, starting Thursday through June 23. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) A beaded necklace owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) A Faberge jeweled lily of the valley leaf, owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers, is displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Living room items owned by the late comedian Joan Rivers are displayed at Christie's, Friday, June 17, 2016, in New York. She was many things - the queen of QVC, a brash and brassy voice on Fashion Police, but she had a keen eye as a collector, of period furniture, Faberge objets d'art and fine furnishings she embraced from her penthouse on East 62nd Street. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Ryan: Republicans should follow 'conscience' on Trump WASHINGTON (AP) House Speaker Paul Ryan says Republican lawmakers should follow their conscience in deciding whether or not to support Donald Trump, the GOP's presumptive nominee for president. The Wisconsin Republican told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "the last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that." Ryan, who has given a tepid endorsement to Trump, said he understands he is in a "very strange situation" to be supporting the party's presumptive nominee while not urging his fellow lawmakers to follow suit. But he said Trump is "a very unique nominee." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump raises his arm as he leaves after a rally Friday, June 17, 2016, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Ryan is the highest elected Republican official and the official chairman of the Republican convention next month. He stunned the political world in May when he held back his endorsement of Trump before grudgingly offering his support earlier this month. Since then, Ryan has been critical of Trump, calling the candidate's complaints about the impartiality of a judge of Mexican heritage a "textbook definition of a racist comment" and reiterating his opposition to Trump's proposal to temporarily ban all foreign Muslims from entering the United States. As speaker of the House, Ryan said he feels a responsibility not to lead "some chasm in the middle of our party" that would hurt GOP chances to win the White House. His reluctance to embrace the party's nominee wholeheartedly is remarkable for a Republican who was the GOP's vice presidential candidate in 2012. Ryan was interviewed Thursday for Sunday's "Meet the Press." An excerpt was released Friday. Trump, speaking Friday at a packed convention center in The Woodlands, Texas, not far from Houston, tried to play down the rift in the party and bragged about the money he's raised in fundraisers across the state over the last two days, including an event Friday in San Antonio. "The party is doing very well," he said, insisting that reports of a party revolt were overblown. "The party is actually liking me. You know, ... I'm an outsider and historically they don't love the outsiders. But I think they're starting to like me." Trump added: "You don't hear about the tremendous numbers of people and I'm even talking about the politicians that are totally supportive. If one person raises a little question, it's like, 'Oh, did you hear?' Let me tell you folks, we have tremendous support. Tremendous. But the biggest support of all by far: right here. I'm the messenger." Ryan told reporters at a news conference Thursday that he will continue to speak out in defense of conservative principles, despite a warning from Trump that Republican congressional leaders should "be quiet." He and other congressional leaders "represent a separate but equal branch of government," Ryan said as he vowed to "robustly defend the separation of powers." Ryan's comments came as Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., a 30-year House veteran and committee chairman, said he will not endorse Trump for president. Maryland's Republican Gov. Larry Hogan also said he will not vote for the billionaire presidential candidate. And Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a former GOP candidate for president, said he's still not ready to endorse Trump. Ryan said he has no plans to rescind his endorsement of Trump, despite his differences with him. "I don't have a plan to do that," he said Thursday, calling differences among party leaders "just the way things work." In the face of early opinion surveys showing him trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump insisted Friday he's well positioned to win. "We have support like perhaps nobody's ever had when they've run for office," he said. "Certainly at this stage, I don't think anybody's ever seen anything like this." ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in The Woodlands, Texas, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Matthew Daly: http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally Friday, June 17, 2016, in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) The Latest: Attorney: Federal pipeline regulations unclear SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The Latest on the criminal trial of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on a charge of obstructing officials investigating a deadly gas line explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area (all times local): 12:15 p.m. An attorney for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says PG&E employees did the best they could and did not deliberately obstruct federal officials investigating a deadly gas line blast or violate pipeline safety regulations. FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010, file photo, a massive fire following a pipeline explosion roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. One of the country's largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of misleading investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air in a neighborhood in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Opening arguments in the trial began Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) Steven Bauer cautioned jurors during his opening statement Friday not to let the 2010 explosion of one of PG&E's gas lines in the San Francisco Bay Area overwhelm their evaluation of the case. The explosion killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. Bauer said the trial is not about determining compensation for the blast victims or determining future pipeline regulations. Prosecutors say PG&E misled federal investigators looking into the blast and knowingly violated pipeline safety regulations. ___ 11:30 a.m. A prosecutor says Pacific Gas & Electric Co. ignored pipeline safety regulations to cut costs and maximize its profits. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman said during opening statements in a criminal case against PG&E that the company ignored problems with its records about pipelines and did not subject them to appropriate testing. Instead, Hoffman said PG&E used a cheaper test. Among the pipelines at issue in the trial is one that exploded in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood in 2010, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Hoffman said PG&E misled federal officials investigating the blast about the standard it was using to identify high-risk pipelines. ___ 1 a.m. Attorneys for the government and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will begin presenting their cases in a criminal trial alleging the utility giant obstructed investigators after a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. After several days of jury selection, opening statements are scheduled to start Friday in federal court in San Francisco. A PG&E natural gas pipeline exploded in the city of San Bruno six years ago in a disaster that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about how it was identifying high-risk pipelines. PG&E has pleaded not guilty and said its employees did not intentionally violate pipeline safety laws or obstruct an investigation. The company faces a $562 million fine if convicted. California brushfire surging through coastal canyons GOLETA, Calif. (AP) A California wildfire that forced the evacuation of campgrounds and ranches devoured additional thousands of acres Friday and rising winds could stoke the flames racing through rugged canyons toward the Pacific Ocean, fire officials said. The blaze which shut down U.S. 101, the state's major coastal highway, for two nights in a row had consumed 9 square miles of heavy brush. The fire was 20 percent contained but so-called "sundowner" winds that rush down the mountains in 40 mph gusts were beginning to kick up again Friday night, fire officials said. Heavy smoke rises over a hill as a wildfire burns west of Goleta, Calif., Friday, June 17, 2016. The latest size estimate Friday morning is nearly three times the previous acreage, with just 5 percent containment. The fire has been stoked by the region's afternoon and evening "Sundowner" winds, which blast down the face of the Santa Ynez Mountains toward the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) "It's very hot and dangerous," Susan Klein-Rothschild with the county health department said of the blaze. "The last couple of nights...it's calmer during the day and the eruptions and explosions and expansions have happened during the night hours." Weekend fire dangers already were expected to worsen with the arrival of an extreme heatwave across the Southwest. Another fire erupted Friday afternoon in Northern California. The wind-driven blaze southwest of Sacramento quickly burned 200 acres of grasslands and prompted the evacuation of China Gulch, a tiny community in the historic Gold Country. By evening, though, the fire's forward movement had been stopped and the blaze was 40 percent contained. In central New Mexico, a blaze that began Tuesday had destroyed 24 homes and charred more than 26 square miles near the small community of Chilili. Lighter winds helped firefighters battle the blaze in triple-digit temperatures. Three days after the fire erupted in the Manzano Mountains south of Albuquerque, it remained "extremely active," said fire information officer Denise Ottaviano. "We're seeing up to 100-foot flame lengths or more throughout the day," Ottaviano said. "We're fighting it as many ways as we can and as safely and quickly as possible." Authorities expanded a mandatory evacuation zone to include more subdivisions to the north and east. They could not say how many homes were affected or how many were directly threatened. The fire cast a thick haze that reached as far north as Denver. The California inferno appeared to support national wildfire authorities' predictions of another dangerous and difficult year for the state after years of drought. State firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service already have fought more than 1,800 wildfires since Jan. 1, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. While El Nino delivered rain and snow to Northern California this winter, the south was bypassed. What rain fell was just enough to sprout grasses that quickly died, adding to the danger of long-dead vegetation. "It is ominous," Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson told a press conference. About 270 homes and ranches were considered at risk in southern Santa Barbara County at the foot of the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, an east-west trending range that parallels the south-facing coast. Lanny Stableford watched as a fleet of aircraft attacked flames in rugged Refugio Canyon near his ranch. He keeps 40 head of longhorn cattle. "I can leave but they won't let me back so I'm just kind of hanging out here," he said, noting he was not in danger. "Somebody has to take care of my cows." In east-central Arizona, progress was made against a 15-square-mile blaze that broke out Wednesday south of Show Low. Crews deliberately burned thousands of acres to deprive the fire of fuel. Much of the fire is burning in terrain too rugged for safe work on the ground, so crews have concentrated on clearing firelines along a highway, roads and a power line, said Rick Miller, the fire team's operations section chief. John Pierson, head of the top-tier fire management team assigned to the blaze, said fire officials hoped to have lines along 30 percent of the fire's perimeter by late Friday. "We're feeling pretty good, like we're having success," Miller said. However, a small Navajo County community remained evacuated and thousands of other residents were told to be prepared in case they had to leave. ___ Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Helicopter drop of the Sherpa Fire in Santa Barbara County, Calif., Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Firefighters watch as a helicopter makes a water drop over a wildfire near Santa Barbara, Calif., on Friday, June 17, 2016. The latest size estimate Friday morning is nearly three times the previous acreage, with just 5 percent containment. The fire has been stoked by the region's afternoon and evening "Sundowner" winds, which blast down the face of the Santa Ynez Mountains toward the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) A DC-10 makes a drop on the east flank of the Sherpa Fire in Santa Barbara County, Calif., Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Santa Barbara firefighters work the crest of a ridge after a wildfire burned the hill west of Goleta, Calif., Friday, June 17, 2016. Stoked by winds, a wildfire burning west of Santa Barbara roared down mountain slopes toward the Pacific Ocean, shutting down California's major coastal highway and forcing a group of firefighters to seek shelter behind a fire engine as flames licked at them. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) A DC-10 tanker drops fire retardant at a low altitude to help combat a wildfire near Santa Barbara, Calif., on Friday, June 17, 2016. Stoked by winds, a wildfire burning west of Santa Barbara roared down mountain slopes toward the Pacific Ocean, shutting down California's major coastal highway and forcing a group of firefighters to seek shelter behind a fire engine as flames licked at them. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) A DC-10 tanker drops fire retardant at a low altitude to help combat a wildfire near Santa Barbara, Calif. on Friday, June 17, 2016. The latest size estimate Friday morning is nearly three times the previous acreage, with just 5 percent containment. The fire has been stoked by the region's afternoon and evening "Sundowner" winds, which blast down the face of the Santa Ynez Mountains toward the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Trump battleground plan relies on skeptical GOP leaders DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) His campaign roiled by infighting and Republican revolt, Donald Trump is working to address a battleground state staffing shortage that highlights his reliance on a skeptical GOP establishment. The New York billionaire has slowly begun to add paid staff in a handful of swing states Wisconsin and Iowa, among them even as campaign officials concede the presumptive presidential nominee has little desire or capacity to construct the kind of massive national operation that has come to define modern-day White House campaigns. Trump plans instead to depend upon the national Republican Party to lead state-based efforts on his behalf, while Democrat Hillary Clinton has had an army of staff dedicated specifically to her campaign in general election battlegrounds for months. "It would be disingenuous and wrongheaded to take a playbook that has been used over and over again," said Trump senior aide Karen Giorno, in charge of an 11-state Southeastern bloc including battlegrounds Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. "We are creating the playbook." In this photo taken June 14, 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. His campaign riled by infighting and Republican revolt, Donald Trump is working to address a battleground state staffing shortage that highlights his reliance on a skeptical GOP establishment. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The unconventional approach reflects Trump's disdain for traditional Republican campaign practices and inclination to implement businesslike decision-making. It also carries substantial risk. If, for instance, Trump is lagging Clinton badly in polls come early fall, there is nothing to stop the RNC from cutting its losses and focusing instead on saving Republican control of the Senate or other competitive contests also on the ballot this November. Beth Myers, who managed 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney's campaign, said White House candidates have unique needs that a broader-brush approach cannot always meet. "The presidential campaign is going to want to have someone on the ground whose interest is 100 percent Donald J. Trump," said Myers, who is not involved in the 2016 Trump or RNC efforts. "Most campaigns by June would have that person in place in key states." Trump is largely outsourcing what's typically called a campaign's ground game, which includes the labor-intensive jobs of identifying and contacting potential supporters. Ed Brookover, recently tapped to serve as the Trump's liaison to the RNC, says the campaign is making progress on adding its own staff in key states. The campaign estimates it currently has about 30 paid staff on the ground across the country. "There are some holes," Brookover said. "There are fewer holes than there were." Specifically, Trump has added at least one paid staffer in both Wisconsin and Iowa in recent days, targeting two Midwestern states where he hopes to reverse Democrats' winning streaks in the November general election. The campaign has also added for the first time a human resources professional to assist with hiring. Trump's plan to rely on his party's establishment comes as party leaders lashed out at his message in recent days. GOP leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, this week condemned Trump's renewed call, as part of his anti-terrorism strategy, to impose a temporary ban on foreign Muslims allowed to enter the country. Republican officials reacted with similar disdain after Trump insinuated President Barack Obama may sympathize with terrorists in the wake of the weekend Orlando massacre. Just a week earlier, some Republicans decried as racist Trump's claim that a judge's Hispanic heritage disqualified him from presiding over a court case involving Trump University. Relationships remain strained within Trump's campaign as well as rival factions jockey for influence. The RNC in recent days hired Trump's former political director, Rick Wiley, just weeks after he was fired by the campaign. The move took some of Trump's senior team by surprise, despite the RNC's insistence that it had the campaign's blessing. Committee Chairman Reince Priebus rejected reports of rising tensions between the RNC and Trump's campaign. "Flying to Dallas now with @realDonaldTrump ... Reports of discord are pure fiction. Great events lined up all over Texas. Rs will win in Nov!" committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted this week. Amid the uproar, Trump is forging ahead with his unconventional approach to building a presidential campaign. He has largely avoided campaigning in battleground states since clinching his party's nomination, spending valuable time instead in reliably Republican states like Georgia and Texas, and reliably Democratic California. He has also been slow to embrace an aggressive plan to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund both his campaign and the RNC's ground game. Trump has set his sights on carrying states in the upper Midwest, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, which have voted reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections, but are also home to white, working-class voters that have fueled his primary bid. In many states, Trump has no paid senior general election staff in place. In a handful of others, he has no more than one. At the same time, the RNC has 483 paid staffers in the field in states across the country "dedicated to beating Hillary Clinton," said RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters. Florida has the most staff at almost 60. They're also in Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin. They're not necessarily wholly focused on Trump, however. "We're focused on Mr. Trump all the way down the ticket," Walters said. "We're working with all the different candidates running for election." By contrast, Clinton began placing state-level directors in April, and has such paid campaign staff in at least Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. For now, the Trump campaign's goal is to figure out by the end of the month who is doing what where, Giorno said. "We'll be able to execute by July 1," she said. "Mr. Trump insists on hard deadlines." __ Peoples reported from Washington. AP writers Jill Colvin in Washington, Jonathan Lemire in New York, Julie Bykowicz in Park City, Utah, and Kathleen Ronayne in Concord, New Hampshire contributed to this report. Political slaying shocks UK; impact on referendum unclear LONDON (AP) It's not yet clear how the killing of a Labour Party lawmaker who campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union will affect next week's referendum, but what is certain is that her death will be a turning point in what has been an often vitriolic battle over the country's future. The referendum campaign was abruptly halted following the slaying of 41-year-old Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death Thursday on the streets of her small-town constituency. An idealistic politician who had praised the contribution of immigrants to Britain and championed the cause of war-scarred Syrian refugees, Cox had strongly favored the "remain" campaign. The 52-year-old man arrested for her killing has suspected ties to white supremacist, neo-Nazi groups. A Union flag is placed in front of floral tributes in Birstall, northern England, for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death in northern England, Friday June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT "It's obviously a crisis moment, it changes things," Robert Worcester, founder of the Ipsos MORI polling firm said of the potential impact on Thursday's vote on whether Britain should remain in the EU or leave the 28-nation bloc. "If one of them handles it badly, the backlash would be ferocious," he said. "Right now they are trying to figure out how to respond." Worcester, a veteran pollster with decades of experience, said a tragedy like the killing of Cox just one week before a crucial vote is rare and could have unpredictable consequences on the public mood. "I don't think the assassination itself will impact the vote, it's what they do with it," he said of the two sides in what has been a bitter and divisive campaign. "I think they will both express sadness, sadness that this would happen in this country, which is not a gun country, not a place where guns are carried." The killing has silenced normally voluble analysts, academics and betting parlor managers who are reluctant to speculate on how the referendum vote may be impacted by the bloodshed. Mark Dowding, a manager at BlueBay Asset Management, which oversees $58 billion in funds, said his company had taken a "short" position on the British pound in effect betting it would go down, as is expected if Britain votes to leave the EU but has changed course because of the assassination. "I think this can have a significant impact on the vote," he said. The rival camps have not yet said when the referendum campaign will resume. It had taken a decidedly nasty turn in the days before the shooting as the "leave" side hammered home what it maintains are the risks of higher rates of immigration into Britain. Days before the shooting, the leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, unveiled a poster showing hordes of dark-skinned immigrants entering Europe on foot, suggesting that only by leaving the EU would Britain be spared this onslaught. The words "BREAKING POINT" in capital letters were emblazoned atop the image. "This is scaremongering in its most extreme and vile form," said Dave Prentis, the leader of UNISON, one of the UK's largest trade unions, which backs remaining in the EU. In the days before the shooting it appeared the "leave" campaign's focus on immigration might be paying dividends as Britain's legal bookmakers changed their odds to reflect an increasing chance that voters would choose to leave the EU. But with the slaying of Cox, who had sought more help for Syrian refugees victimized by the civil war, some commentators are now contending such divisive "leave" campaign tactics helped create a climate in which a British lawmaker was killed for the first time in a quarter century. "Nigel Farage isn't responsible for Jo Cox's murder," commentator Alex Massie wrote in The Spectator of the anti-EU party leader. "Nor is the Leave campaign. But they are responsible for the manner in which they have pressed their argument. They weren't to know something like this was going to happen, of course, and they will be just as shocked and horrified by it as anyone else. But, still. Look. When you encourage rage you cannot then feign surprise when people become enraged." The 'leave' campaign is likely to tone down its anti-immigrant rhetoric, and perhaps take a more conciliatory approach when campaigning resumes. The motive for the killing is not yet clear, but the suspect, identified locally as Thomas Mair, has been linked to white supremacist groups opposed to immigration. Some witnesses said he shouted "Britain first!" during the frenzied attack. In a country where gun violence is extremely rare, the spectacle of a serving member of Parliament being slain after meeting with constituents seems to have made Britons take a collective, fearful deep breath. "It really has had a huge effect on the whole country," said Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation. "I think more than people could have imagined... I think it's made everyone pause and think." ___ Associated Press writer Leonora Beck in London contributed to this report. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron prepares to lay a floral tribute in Birstall, northern England, for Jo Cox, the 41-year-old British Member of Parliament shot to death in northern England, Friday June 17, 2016. The mother of two young children was shot to death Thursday afternoon in her constituency near Leeds. A 52-year-old man has been arrested but has not been charged. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Lawmakers seek to lift ban on IVF treatments for veterans WASHINGTON (AP) Veterans whose injuries have left them unable to conceive children may soon be getting long-sought help as congressional negotiations on legislation funding the Department of Veterans Affairs near a close. At issue is a Senate-passed measure that would lift a 1992 law that prohibits the VA from paying for infertility treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization. The measure, by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., enjoys bipartisan support but there appears to be lingering resistance from anti-abortion forces who are opposed because IVF treatments result in the destruction of fertilized embryos. Though the Pentagon covers infertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization for active duty personnel at seven hospitals, IVF treatments are banned for those in the VA health care system under a law enacted in 1992. But thousands of veterans have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries to their sexual organs, spinal cords or brains that have rendered them unable to conceive a child, prompting veterans groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans to press to lift the law. Murray has drafted legislation to permanently lift the ban but has been stymied in the Veterans Affairs Committee after Republicans indicated they would offer controversial abortion-related amendments. Instead, the provision under consideration would lift the ban for two years and provide $88 million to fund the treatments over that span. Murray won a bipartisan 23-7 vote on her measure at a Senate Appropriations panel session in April that included support from powerful Republicans such as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran of Mississippi. The Senate later passed the VA funding bill, which also includes $1.1 billion to battle the Zika virus, by a sweeping 89-8 vote. "This issue shouldn't be about politics. It shouldn't be about partisanship," Murray said at the time. "And we shouldn't cut corners when it comes to our veterans and their families. This is a chance to support our veterans." Despite widespread backing in the Senate, House negotiators have yet to agree to Murray's measure, Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said at a Wednesday meeting of House and Senate negotiators on the measure. While in-vitro fertilization can cost $20,000 or more, other treatments such as sophisticated artificial limbs, can cost even more. "This is a widely used medical procedure that vets should have access to," Mikulski said. "The VA provides treatments for other injuries sustained in war infertility treatments should be no different." It's unclear how the issue will be resolved next week, when negotiators promise to produce an agreement. There may be some reluctance by lawmakers on Capitol Hill's Veterans Affairs committees to cede their turf. And Murray has tried for years to pass the measure only to come up empty in the face of anti-abortion forces and lawmakers concerned about cost. North Dakota's savings dwindling due to tax collection drop BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A North Dakota rainy-day fund that held more than $572 million in January is on the verge of being emptied due to lower-than-expected tax collections from depressed oil and farm commodity prices. "There are no 'ifs,'" North Dakota Treasurer Kelly Schmidt said Friday. "We will drain it." The Budget Stabilization Fund, established in 1987, was intended to stash extra tax money from industry booms to be used in leaner times to protect state programs from big budget cuts. The fund had only meager deposits initially but built up over the past decade largely from North Dakota's unprecedented oil activity that is now in decline. The Legislature's record-high $14.4 billion two-year budget that began in July 2015 was built last year based on faulty economic assumptions for tax collections. In February, faced with a $1.1 billion shortfall, Gov. Jack Dalrymple ordered a 4.05 percent cut to government agencies and a $497 million raid on the rainy-day fund. But state budget officials said this week that collections continue to fall and almost all of the fund's current $75 million balance will be needed to cover the additional shortfall. Oil prices, a key contributor to the state's wealth, have slid by more than half over the past year and the number of active drill rigs has dropped to 28, down from 187 two years ago. North Dakota's economic consultancy, Moody's Analytics, is slated to have an updated revenue forecast done in mid-July, said Sheila Peterson, fiscal management director of the state Office of Management and Budget. If the new revenue forecast shows a continuation of even more dismal tax collections, she said, Dalrymple could call a special session of the Legislature to deal with the shortfall through "targeted" cuts of agencies or taking money from other funds. "It absolutely depends on how that forecast looks," she said. Jeff Zent, a spokesman for Dalrymple, said the governor is awaiting the forecast to "help us determine the best step to take." North Dakota, the nation's second-ranked oil producer, also has been stockpiling oil revenues in its Legacy Fund that was approved by voters in 2010 to set aside 30 percent of oil and gas tax collections. The Legislature is barred from spending any of the fund's assets until June 2017. After that, a two-thirds vote of the North Dakota House and Senate is needed to spend any of the fund's principal, of which no more than 15 percent can be withdrawn every two years. Schmidt said the Legacy Fund will hold $3.8 billion with the June transfer of $28.3 million. Michigan police search for body of missing gas station clerk MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) A western Michigan prosecutor says police officers acting on a tip searched land near the home of a man under investigation for the disappearance of a gas station clerk, but nothing was found. WOOD-TV reports police (http://bit.ly/1tuh97U ) searched an abandoned rail bed Friday near Jeffrey Willis' home for the body of 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa, who disappeared in 2013. Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson says investigators didn't find anything. Willis waived his right this week to a hearing to determine whether there's enough evidence for him to stand trial in the abduction of a 16-year-old girl. He's also accused of killing jogger Rebekah Bletsch in 2014. Authorities say the teen escaped from Willis' van in April and identified him in a photo lineup. ___ Syria memo shakes up Washington but unlikely to shift policy WASHINGTON (AP) State Department officials shook up America's generally obedient diplomatic establishment this week with an internal memo urging U.S. military action against Syria's government with the goal of pressing President Bashar Assad to accept a cease-fire and gaining the upper hand on him in future talks on a political transition. Reasons abound for why an intervention is improbable, not least the vague military objective and risks for U.S. service personnel. Most significant, President Barack Obama is opposed. Even the diplomats who signed the "dissent channel cable" aren't calling for U.S. forces to push Assad out of power immediately or make him surrender territory to opposition groups more typical goals for military campaigns. Instead, they say targeted U.S. attacks could increase leverage over the Syrian leader in diplomatic negotiations that have repeatedly failed so far. In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. State Department officials shook up Americas generally obedient diplomatic establishment this week with an internal memo urging U.S. military action against Syrias government with the goal of pressing Assad to accept a cease-fire and gaining the upper hand on him in future talks on a political transition. (SANA via AP) Intervening would plunge Washington into an unpredictable and deadly conflict. The Syrian opposition includes scores of rebel formations jostling among rival ethnic groups and U.S.-designated terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State. Russia's air force, Iranian troops and paramilitary units are fighting alongside Assad, crowding the skies and the battlefield. And American priorities are elsewhere. Despite calling on Assad to step aside five years ago, Obama is focused on defeating the Islamic State in Syria and not regime change. His administration wants to preserve Syria's state and army for a future "transition government" that could restore order and help tackle IS. It wants Russia and Iran to help in that effort. Here is a look at what frustrated State Department officials called for and why a policy shift is unlikely: ___ WHITE HOUSE RESISTANCE The now classified cable was transmitted through an official channel for dissenting views. Fifty-one mostly mid-level department officials who work on America's Syria policy signed on. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal quoted from copies they reported seeing or obtaining. The document expresses clear frustration with a White House-driven response to a conflict that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis. "The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable," The Times quoted it as saying. The sentiment isn't new in Foggy Bottom. Obama's last two secretaries of state, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, pushed for intervention, as has a former defense secretary and CIA director. But the commander in chief has the last word, and nothing has swayed him thus far. When Assad crossed Obama's "red line" in 2013 by using chemical weapons, the U.S. president backed down from his threat of retaliatory strikes. And ongoing chaos in Libya, where the U.S. helped overthrow dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, is only making him more reticent. "None of the options are good," Obama said in Saudi Arabia in April. Any "Plan B" without a political settlement risks extending the war for years, he said. "The president has always been clear that he doesn't see a military solution to the crisis in Syria, and that remains the case," White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman added Friday. ___ MANY UNKNOWNS Apart from defeating IS, Obama's Syria strategy has three stages: forcing Assad into a cease-fire and "political transition" talks, pressing him to leave power, then uniting his army and moderate forces to join the counterterrorism effort. After five years of civil war, the chain of events hasn't yet started. Fighting rages despite numerous partial cease-fires between Syria's government and opposition groups. And without leverage, the dissenters noted, Assad will never feel pressure to stop bombing and negotiate. Military action can "drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process," they said, shifting "the tide of the conflict" and sending a "clear signal to the regime and its backers that there will be no military solution." But if airstrikes are limited, would they scare Assad into peace talks or make him more determined to dig in? If the U.S. ultimately hopes Assad will negotiate his own departure, what new incentive would he have? "The threat of strikes brings dramatic results," Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said approvingly of the memo. "This isn't about invading Syria or another Iraq. It's about punishing Assad for his violations of the cessation of hostilities. And it could, if backed up with resolve, change Assad's increasingly rigid negotiating position. The memo says doing that would address the lack of support among Syria's Sunni majority for the U.S. goals of isolating and defeating IS. Sunnis are leading the fight against Assad, a member of Syria's Shiite-linked Alawite minority. But if Libya is an example, U.S. intervention doesn't always play out that way. A year after Gadhafi's overthrow, militants attacked the American diplomatic outpost in the city of Benghazi. Washington has no diplomatic presence inside the country today. ___ RUSSIA "We have been arguing from the beginning of the Syrian crisis that there should be more robust intervention," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, said Friday. But if planning an intervention was complicated early on, it became harder after Russia's foray into the conflict in September. Attacking Assad's forces now would risk escalating a proxy war with Moscow, which has been hitting U.S.-backed rebels. The prospect of accidental confrontation grows if the two militaries end coordination on avoiding each other's forces in their separate counterterrorism campaigns. The dissenters acknowledge these risks, but say Russia, too, must be serious about halting violence and negotiating a political transition. "I don't think it's very realistic," said Stephen Biddle, a George Washington University professor who has advised U.S. commanders in the Middle East. "If we start using airstrikes against the regime, Russia is almost certainly going to increase the tempo of their operations against the rebels," Biddle said. Given Russia's deep engagement in Syria, he said, the American public wouldn't support the U.S. commitment needed to force a settlement through military power. ___ AP Explains: In US race, some states matter more than others WASHINGTON (AP) The likely Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton race won't be a contest over who can win the most votes nationwide. U.S. presidential contests are essentially simultaneous, winner-take-all state elections to choose electors. Whoever wins a majority of electoral votes that's 270 votes wins the presidency. A state's share of electoral votes is roughly related to its population. So it would seem logical for candidates to focus their attention on the most populous states, which offer the most electoral votes. But that's not the case. Many of the biggest states are reliably Democratic or Republican, so campaigns don't waste much time on them. Instead, they focus on states less predictably Democratic or Republican, the so-called battleground states. The Associated Press explains what battleground states are and why they are important. In the photo taken March 15, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally in West Palm Beach, Fla. The likely Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton race wont be a contest over who can win the most votes nationwide. U.S. presidential contests are essentially simultaneous, winner-take-all state elections to choose electors. Whoever wins a majority of electoral votes, thats 270 votes, wins the presidency. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) ___ THE RED, THE BLUE AND THE PURPLE American political junkies look at the map of the United States and see a patchwork of mostly red and blue. Red states are the ones that usually vote Republican, such as Texas and Wyoming. Blue states are reliably Democratic, such as New York and Vermont. But there are also spots of purple. About a dozen of the 50 states are not consistently red or blue. Those are the battleground states. The biggest are Florida and Ohio. Those are the states that often effectively decide elections. The map gives a clear advantage to Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee. If she captures all of the states that have voted solidly Democratic in the last six presidential elections, she would start out with 242 electoral votes. Trump, the presumptive nominee, would start with just 102. That number is higher, though, if states that voted Republican in the last four elections are included. Even with Clinton's advantage, she can't reach the 270 votes without winning some battleground states. Or at least one. If she keeps the 242 electoral votes and wins Florida too, she wins the presidency. ___ ALL VOTES ARE NOT EQUAL California has 55 electoral votes. New Hampshire has four. Yet presidential campaigns may try harder to woo voters in New Hampshire than in California. That's because New Hampshire is a battleground state. California isn't. Trump says he can win California, but the odds are against him. The state has voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in the last six presidential elections and there's little indication that will change. New Hampshire leans Democratic, but the votes there have been closer and a Clinton win isn't assured. There's little incentive for either Clinton or Trump to spend precious time and money on states where the outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion. New Hampshire is another matter. That doesn't mean states like California are ignored altogether: Candidates do swing by for fund-raising. ___ BLUE IS THE NEW PURPLE The political map is in a perpetual state of flux, especially because of population shifts. California, which had Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Republican governors, was once a battleground state. An influx of Democratic-leaning Hispanic voters now makes it very hard for Republicans to compete in presidential elections. North Carolina and Virginia had been solidly Republican. Now they are swing states. West Virginia used to be solidly Democratic. Now it leans Republican. Candidates often talk about remaking the political map. This year is no different. Trump says he can win over blue-collar voters in northern industrial states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have been reliably Democratic. Clinton supporters suggest she could win in Republican strongholds like Georgia with the help of an increasingly engaged African-American population, or even conservative Utah, where the large Mormon population has shown disdain for Trump. Sometimes it's worthwhile for campaigns to target a rival's state even if a win is unlikely. Campaigns try to force rivals to defend the rival's turf while their own candidate focuses on battleground states the ones that really swing elections. Phillipa Soo of 'Hamilton' to star in 'Amelie' musical NEW YORK (AP) Tony Award-nominee and "Hamilton" star Phillipa Soo has a new whimsical gig lined up she'll lead a musical stage version of the film "Amelie" that hopes to land on Broadway in 2017. Soo, who plays Eliza Schuyler in "Hamilton," will take over the part in the quirky romantic comedy that brought fame to actress Audrey Tautou in the 2001 Oscar-nominated film. The story centers on a shy and quirky young woman who goes about improving the lives of those around her in imaginative ways but lacks the courage to pursue the object of her affections. FILE - In this June 12, 2016 file photo, actress Phillipa Soo arrives at the Tony Awards in New York. Soo, who plays Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton, will lead a musical stage version of the film Amelie" that hopes to land on Broadway in 2017. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) The musical features music by Daniel Messe, lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messe, and a book by Craig Lucas. Tony-winning director Pam MacKinnon will helm the show. A previous version of "Amelie, A New Musical" was performed a Berkeley Repertory Theatre last year with British actress Samantha Barks starring in the main role. The latest version will play CTG's Ahmanson Theatre starting in December. Soo's first big role in New York was in the acclaimed off-Broadway pop opera "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812." ''Hamilton" represents her Broadway debut. Soo is the recipient of The Actors' Equity Foundation's 2015 Clarence Derwent Awards for most promising female performer and the 2015 Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical. When she will leave "Hamilton" to start "Amelie" is unclear. Already, "Hamilton" star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has revealed he will leave the show on July 9 to act and write for other projects. ___ Judge declares mistrial in case of Virginia officer shooting RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A judge has declared a mistrial in the prosecution of a Virginia police officer charged with murder in the off-duty shooting of an 18-year-old man at a car wash. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://goo.gl/wkqF2x ) Chesterfield County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson declared the mistrial after a jury said it could not reach a unanimous decision. Richmond Police Officer David Cobb faced a second-degree murder charge in the death of Paterson Brown Jr. in October. Officials say Brown got into the officer's vehicle at the car wash and drove it out of the washing bay. They say Cobb told him to get out and later shot Brown during an altercation. Cobb said he was acting in self-defense. Life sentences recommended for men convicted in OKC deaths OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Jurors have recommended life sentences for two men convicted in the Oklahoma killings of four people, including a woman featured on the HBO series "Cathouse." On Friday, the jury in Oklahoma County recommended life in prison without parole for Denny Edward Phillips and Russell Lee Hogshooter. Two of the victims were pregnant. The men were convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the 2009 deaths of 22-year-old Brooke Phillips, 32-year-old Casey Mark Barrientos, 22-year-old Milagros Barrera and 25-year-old Jennifer Lynn Ermey. Prosecutors say Denny Phillips ordered the killing of Barrientos and that the women were killed to eliminate witnesses. Phillips was featured on the show about the Moonlite BunnyRanch, a legal brothel near Carson City, Nevada. 'Orange' star: Shootings stole every gay person's security NEW YORK (AP) A feeling of safety was stripped from every gay person with last weekend's massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. That's the sentiment of Lea DeLaria, who plays Big Boo in the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black." "When you are a queer individual, as I am, and you want to go someplace where you feel safe, you go to the local bar, you go to the gay bar," DeLaria said Thursday. FILE - In this June 12, 2016 file photo, Lea DeLaria, left and Chelsea Fairless arrive at the Tony Awards in New York. DeLaria, who plays Big Boo in the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black," is seeing something hopeful come out of the tragedy of the mass shooting in Orlando. There's a renewed sense across the nation of gay people as fellow human beings, as evidenced by apologies from politicians for past homophobic statements and the rush by volunteers to help victims of the shootings and their loved ones. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) The safe feeling from such a gathering place "was stolen from every LBGT person in the world on Sunday morning," she said. But DeLaria is seeing something hopeful come out of the tragedy: a renewed sense across the nation of gay people as fellow human beings, as evidenced by apologies from politicians for past homophobic statements and the rush by volunteers to help victims of the shootings and their loved ones. DeLaria called the response "amazing," but added, "If we could just stop teaching people to hate, and if we could just stop selling weapons of war, we would have a much better society." Newly found blood vials allow for funeral of 9/11 fire chief ST. JAMES, N.Y. (AP) Thousands of firefighters in their dress blues stood at attention and saluted Friday as a flag-draped casket passed carrying two tiny vials of blood, the only known remains of a comrade who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. For 15 years, the family of Fire Department of New York Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack was unable to put him to rest with a Roman Catholic funeral Mass because no trace of his body was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center. But the way was finally cleared when the family recently discovered the blood, which the 58-year-old Stack had donated as part of a bone marrow drive for a child with cancer before the 2001 attacks. "He gives blood for a young cancer kid that's just Larry," said Rich Brandt, a chief with the Long Beach, California, fire department, who began his career as a member of the FDNY and learned under Stack when Stack was a captain in a Manhattan fire house. Theresa Stack holds the helmet of her husband, FDNY Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack, following his funeral on Friday, June 17, 2016, in St. James, N.Y. Friday would have been the couple's 49th wedding anniversary. Stack died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) Brandt showed off a bracelet with Stack's name on it that he said he has worn since 2001. "He was kind of a dad to me," Brandt said. Stack's two sons, both New York firefighters, stood watch on the back of a ceremonial firetruck bearing the flag-draped casket with the vials of blood as it passed by firefighters and dignitaries standing at attention. The New York City Emerald Society Pipe Band led the procession, playing "Amazing Grace" as the casket was led into Saints Philip and James Roman Catholic Church, in St. James, on eastern Long Island. Lt. Michael Stack said during the funeral that his father, who was a safety expert, had been working in his office preparing a report on the deaths of three firefighters killed 15 years ago Friday, on June 17, 2001. When he learned that planes had flown into the World Trade Center, he raced to the scene and began helping people flee the burning towers. He was last seen assisting a man who had injured his leg when the south tower collapsed with him on the ground below. Brandt said his friend could always be counted on to help others. "Not only did he help people that day, but his entire career and his entire life was about helping people," Brandt said. Theresa Stack, marking what would have been her 49th wedding anniversary to the fallen firefighter on Friday, said last week that she had never given up hope that his remains would be found. About a year ago, her family reached out to the New York Blood Bank after recalling both had donated blood weeks before Sept. 11. When vials of his blood were located, plans were made for a funeral. Theresa Stack, who was presented with her husband's helmet as she left the church, said the family wanted to hold a public funeral "so people don't forget" Sept. 11. Retired firefighter Ray Pfeiffer, who has cancer, attended the funeral in a wheelchair. "Larry was killed by a terrorist," he said. "Whether it was done 15 years ago or whether it was done yesterday, he deserves a line-of-duty funeral, and he's going to get that respect. Larry was a good man." New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio arrives at the funeral for Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack on Friday, June 17, 2016, in St. James, N.Y. Nearly 15 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a funeral is being held for a New York City fire chief who died in the World Trade Center collapse. Stack's remains were never found, but his family recently discovered two vials of blood that he had donated during a bone marrow drive for a child with cancer. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) Long Beach Calif., Fire Chief Rich Brandt displays bracelets with the names Port Authority Police Officer George Gerard Howard and New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief, Lawrence T. Stack, both of whom died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, during Stack's funeral in St. James, N.Y., Friday, June 17, 2016. Stack's remains were never found, but his family is burying two vials of his blood that they recently discovered. Brandt started his career with the FDNY and was friends with Chief Stack. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) New York City Firefighter Brian Stack, left, places his hand on the flag draped casket bearing the remains of his father, FDNY Chief Lawrence Stack, during Stack's funeral precession in St. James, N.Y., Friday, June 17, 2016. Stack died in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011. At right is FDNY Lt. Michael Stack, who is Lawrence Stack's son and Brian's brother. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) The flag-draped casket of New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Lawrence Stack is carried out of his funeral in St. James, N.Y, on Friday, June 17, 2016. Walking behind the casket in white is his widow, Theresa Stack. Friday would have been the couple's 49th wedding anniversary. Stack died at the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) Brothers, New York Fire Department Lt. Michael Stack left, and firefighter Brian Stack, ride the back of a fire engine bearing the remains of their father, FDNY Chief Lawrence Stack, during Stack's funeral in St. James, N.Y., Friday, June 17, 2016. New York City Fire Chief Lawrence Stack died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman) AP National News Calendar Eds: Major scheduled events for the week of June 20 - June 26. Note that many events are subject to change at the last minute. The following economic reports will be issued in Washington (all times EDT) unless otherwise noted: SUNDAY: No events of note. MONDAY: No events of note. TUESDAY: Fed Chair Janet Yellen gives semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee, 10 a.m. WEDNESDAY: National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for May, 10 a.m. Fed Chair Yellen gives semiannual testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, 10 a.m. THURSDAY: Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, 8:30 a.m.; Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates, 10 a.m.; Commerce Department releases new home sales for May, 10 a.m. FRIDAY: Commerce Department releases durable goods for May, 8:30 a.m. SATURDAY: No events of note. ___ SUNDAY, JUNE 19 No events of note. ___ MONDAY, JUNE 20 Supreme Court issues orders and opinions. ___ TUESDAY, JUNE 21 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellin testifies on U.S. monetary policy before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the Islamic State group. ___ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellin testifies on U.S. monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee. House Armed Services Committee hearing on military cyberoperations. House Judiciary Committee hearing on allegations of misconduct against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Venezuela. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Vietnam. ___ THURSDAY, JUNE 23 President Barack Obama hosts the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University in California, through June 24. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on U.S. policy in the Pacific. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on customer service and billing practices in the cable and satellite television industry. Education Secretary John King testifies on the new K-12 education law before the House Education and the Workforce Committee. ___ FRIDAY, JUNE 24 No events of note. ___ SATURDAY, JUNE 25 Rescued Arctic fox found with harness now at home in NY zoo BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) A young Arctic fox found running loose in Michigan is now at home at the Buffalo Zoo. The zoo estimates the male fox named Ash is about 2 years old. He was wearing a harness when he was found in Ann Arbor, leading authorities to believe the animal was someone's pet. Michigan's Humane Society of Huron Valley donated Ash to the Buffalo Zoo, which recently opened the Arctic Edge exhibit the fox and another will eventually inhabit. In this undated photo provided by the Buffalo Zoo, a young Arctic fox they call Ash sits in the grass at the Buffalo Zoo in Buffalo, N.Y. The roughly two-year-old fox was wearing a harness when found, leading authorities to believe the animal was someone's pet. (Buffalo Zoo via AP) Zoo officials say Ash's past involvement with humans would make it difficult to release him into the wild. The Latest: Large alligator captured off Georgia beach ATLANTA (AP) The Latest on a large alligator spotted in the water off the beaches on the south end of Tybee Island, a popular tourist spot near Savannah in southeast Georgia. (all times local): 4 p.m. Authorities say a large alligator spotted in the Atlantic Ocean along the Georgia coast near Savannah has been captured. Tybee Island Fire Chief Ashely Fields says the alligator, estimated to be 8 to 10 feet long, was caught about 2:30 p.m. Friday and relocated to the Savannah River. Fields says lifeguards on personal watercrafts ran patterns around the gator, pushing him toward the shore before he was eventually reeled in as about 100 onlookers cheered. The gator was spotted early Friday morning in the water off the beaches on the south end of Tybee Island. Fields says the gator stayed about 20 to 30 feet away from the beach. All beaches were then closed. Fields says the beaches have been reopened. ___ 1:30 p.m. Tybee Island officials say an alligator swimming in the ocean off Tybee Island "is a very rare occurrence" after a large gator was spotted in the water near Savannah. Fire Chief Ashely Fields says he's talked to people who have been around the island for 30 to 40 years who had never seen one off Tybee's beach. Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman says even though it's rare, alligator sightings in the ocean have led to beaches being closed elsewhere in the Southeast, so it's not unprecedented to find one in the Atlantic. The mayor says gators in the South are typically found in fresh water such as ponds, rivers, streams and swamps, but they're able to swim through saltwater in the ocean to get from one place to another. ___ 12:29 p.m. Authorities have closed some beaches along the Georgia coast as a precaution after a large alligator was spotted near Savannah. Tybee Island officials said in a statement that the gator, estimated to be 8 feet to 10 feet long, was spotted early Friday morning in the water off the beaches on the south end of Tybee Island. They said all beaches were then closed from the Parker Pier to the back river. Authorities said animal control officers, the Tybee Island fire chief and a professional trapper were working to capture the animal so that it can be removed. Putin denies suggestions Russia would welcome Brexit ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied suggestions that Russia would benefit from Britain's possible decision to leave the European Union. Britain goes to the polls on June 23 to decide whether to stay in the 28-member bloc or leave. Speaking at a meeting with the leaders of major international news agencies, Putin late on Friday said he has an opinion on the matter but would not voice it because it is not "our business at all." He, however, expressed his dismay at Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to hold the vote. US, NKorea both set to attend security forum in China WASHINGTON (AP) Senior diplomats of the U.S. and North Korea are slated to attend a security conference in Beijing next week, but the State Department said Friday there is no plan for direct talks between them. The annual Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue is an informal meeting that brings together government officials and scholars of the six nations that were involved in long-stalled talks on the North's nuclear program. Among those attending will be Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Friday that North Korea would also send a representative. That offers an opportunity for a rare meeting between the adversaries, amid heightened tensions following a North Korean nuclear test and rocket launch that drew stiff sanctions. But State Department spokesman for East Asian and the Pacific affairs, Ory Abramowicz, said no meeting is planned. The department said in a statement that Kim will travel to Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday for meetings with Chinese officials and to attend the dialogue. Susan Shirk, professor at the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, San Diego, which organizes the closed-door conference, said by email late Thursday she was unable to give any information about it. The university's website describes it as a "multilateral forum involves high-level policymakers, defense ministry officials, military officers, and researchers from China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia, and the United States." It describes the dialogue as a "regular channel of informal communication among the six governments." It says officials participate in the meetings in their private capacity, not as official government representatives. Forum focuses on energy policies in Democratic platform PHOENIX (AP) A forum in Arizona aimed at gathering grass-roots voices to help shape the Democratic Party platform drew calls Friday for a tax on carbon emissions to curb climate change and for an end to the practice of fracking in natural gas production. The gathering offered a contrast in the priorities of the progressive supporters of Bernie Sanders and the more mainstream backers of Hillary Clinton, though no outward bitterness surfaced at the meeting. Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee, but Sanders has not conceded the race. Dr. Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, urged party officials to take climate change seriously, citing heavy floods in Texas and South Carolina over the last year, rising sea levels and other effects. "If we are going to tackle this problem, we will need a price on carbon," Mann said. Sanders supports a carbon tax, while Clinton has promised to protect regulations put in place by the Obama administration that set limits on carbon pollution from existing and future power plants. The Democratic National Convention Committee's forum in Phoenix Friday and Saturday marked the second of four such meetings. Similar forums will be held on June 24 and 25 in St. Louis and on July 8 and 9 in Orlando, Florida. The Democratic Party will hold its convention in late July in Philadelphia. About 50 people sat in the audience as committee members heard suggestions on environmental and energy policies. Roman Feher, a representative for the Laborers' International Union of North America, which represents about 500,000 construction workers, warned against endorsing energy policies that disproportionally affect workers from one particular industry. Feher said the United States will continue to rely on coal, natural gas and other sources. He said the party's 2016 platform should recognize the important role that natural gas plays in meeting America's energy needs. Actor Mark Ruffalo, who spoke to committee members through video conferencing, said the country needs to turn away from fossil fuels and instead rely entirely on wind, solar and other alternative energy sources. Sanders' environmental plan sets goals of creating a 100 percent clean-energy system sustained by wind and solar power. Great Books college creates collegewide president ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) St. John's College, a small liberal arts institution with a course of study founded firmly on discussions of the Great Books of western civilization, will have a collegewide president for its two campuses but will still have a president on each campus, officials decided Friday. The college's Board of Visitors and Governors approved the change after a proposal to put both campuses under one president sparked criticism. Opponents said the plan was shaped without sufficient input from faculty and students, contrary to the spirit of the college's tradition of inclusive and open discussion. Since the proposal became public in May, it generated strong responses from faculty and students. Board members had said the plan was driven by the need to trim expenses and confront financial challenges, following the Great Recession. They said they aimed to improve the college's fiscal health, not change its unique curriculum. "Some of the public debates were difficult, even heated," college deans Pamela Kraus, Matthew Davis and Joseph Macfarland announced on the school's website. "Ultimately, we arrived at a solution through the respectful exchange of opinions. The new plan will strengthen our operational and financial health while ensuring the integrity of the program." The collegewide president will be Mark Roosevelt, currently president at the college's Santa Fe, New Mexico, campus. But the campus in Annapolis, Maryland, will still have a president with authority over affairs there. Christopher Nelson, who is retiring after 25 years as the president in Annapolis, will be stay on through the next school year, and he will have a successor in Annapolis. The collegewide president will have a term of up to four years. Both presidents will report directly to the college's board. St. John's is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher learning. Maryland's four signers of the Declaration of Independence helped found it in Annapolis in 1784, and its roots trace back to an earlier school founded in 1696. The Santa Fe campus was established in 1964. Seattle hospital warns 650 of possible hepatitis B exposure SEATTLE (AP) A Seattle hospital says about 650 dialysis patients since 2011 might have been exposed to hepatitis B because of a lapse in screening procedures. But the Virginia Mason Hospital and Medical Center and King County public health officials said Friday the risk of transmission is low. Virginia Mason notified health officials in late May that staff had not been consistently screening and isolating patients, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The hospital urged patients to get tested for hepatitis B. Dr. Jeff Duchin of Seattle and King County Public Health says an investigation by his agency found the hospital followed other steps, such as disinfecting equipment, to prevent infection. Slaying suspect in West Virginia doesn't contest extradition CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A man arrested in Pennsylvania will be returned to West Virginia to face charges in the fatal shootings of three men, authorities said Friday. Erick Shute, 32, was arrested Tuesday in Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan's office, Shute did not contest his extradition at a hearing Friday, and West Virginia authorities are expected to transport him back to Morgan County by July 1. Morgan County Sheriff Vincent Shambaugh didn't immediately return a telephone message Friday. Shute is accused in Monday's shooting near Cacapon Resort State Park in Morgan County. Shambaugh earlier identified the victims as Jack Douglas of Great Cacapon, and Travis Bartley and Willie Bartley, both of Hedgesville. Shambaugh had said the shooting involved an apparent property dispute. Shute was a longtime vocalist for the New York City death metal band Pyrexia, according to the website of the band's record label, Unique Leader Records. In Pennsville Township, New Jersey, where Shute used to live, Police Chief Allen Cummings said Shute was involved in the anti-government sovereign-citizen movement. Sovereign citizens are people who reject their U.S. citizenship and don't recognize laws, taxes and other types of government authority. In 2009, Shute drew the Pennsville community's backlash when he hung an American flag upside down, calling it a message of distress about the government. In 2011, Shute asked Pennsville police to sign a peace treaty allowing him to drive his car without registration but police wouldn't agree to it, said Bill Brennan, first assistant prosecutor in Salem County, New Jersey. According to Cummings, Shute was then pulled over for having fake license plates he made of cardboard. Shute also had a fake driver's license he made himself. During the traffic stop, Shute rolled up his car window on an officer's arm, Cummings said. Brennan said Shute was convicted in 2012 of fourth-degree resisting arrest. Julian Castro says he's not being vetted for vice president SAN ANTONIO (AP) U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro said Friday he isn't being vetted as a potential running mate for Democrat Hillary Clinton and continued to maintain that he is unlikely to be offered the job. But the 41-year-old rising star among Democrats wouldn't say one way or the other whether he would accept if Clinton asked him to join the ticket as her vice presidential candidate. "I'm not going to get into that. Number one, I've said for a long time, I don't believe that's going to happen," Castro said. "This is a decision that she's going to make and I'm going to be happy to support whatever the ticket is." Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro takes part in a news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Castro, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The former San Antonio mayor was back in his hometown for the Texas Democratic Convention, which kicked off Friday around the same time that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was across town at a fundraiser. The guests included former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Trump's onetime 2016 rival who is now one of his most vocal backers. Hundreds of protesters, and some Trump supporters, crowded near the country club where Trump raised money before the billionaire businessman headed to Houston for another fundraiser and an evening rally. His swing through Texas was rebuked by Democrats at the state convention, where "Clinton/Castro 2016" stickers could be found on cars in the Alamodome parking lot. So persistent are rumors about Castro's future that Congressman Joaquin Castro, his identical twin brother, was called "Mr. Vice President" in jest by a state senator at a press conference denouncing Trump. A coalition of progressive groups, some of which have backed Democrat Bernie Sanders, have also taken note of Julian Castro's prospects: In April they launched a campaign in April that criticized his Housing and Urban Development office for selling mortgages to Wall Street in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. Democrats in Congress and Latino groups rallied to his defense, with some accusing the groups of trying to mar Castro's vice presidential prospects. "I do believe that in some quarters there were politics involved," Castro said. "I give credit to a couple of the groups for bringing that issue up that they have brought up before. But I think that there's a way for folks to work together in a positive direction." Many delegates at the Texas convention would like to see Castro run for governor if he doesn't wind up a vice president. But Castro said "it's extremely unlikely that I'm going to run in 2018." Other rumored vice presidential contenders include Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's name has also surfaced as a potential running mate and met last week at Clinton's Washington home, adding to speculation that she could be under consideration. ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: ww.twitter.com/pauljweber Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, center, and his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right, take part in a joint news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Julian, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, center left, and his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right, take part in a joint news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Julian, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, left, and his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right, take part in a joint news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Julian, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, left center, and his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right center, prepare for a joint news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Julian, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, left, and his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right, take part in a joint news conference at the Texas Democratic Convention, Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Antonio. Julian, returning to Texas amid rumors that he is on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders, is headlining the convention. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Obama family tours Carlsbad Caverns CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK, N.M. (AP) Eyes wide open and head tilted upward, President Barack Obama appeared awed Friday as he toured an underground cave at a national park in New Mexico part of a family vacation that's also designed to draw attention to America's natural wonders. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, spent part of the afternoon at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, one of two national parks the First Family is scheduled to visit on a long Father's Day weekend away from Washington. "How cool is this?" Obama exclaimed as a National Park Service employee led the family on a tour of the Big Room, an area nearly 800 feet deep into the limestone cavern that nature carved out of the Guadalupe Mountains. A member of the National Park Service, left, leads Malia Obama, President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and Sasha Obama, on a tour of Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in Carslbad, N.M., on Friday, June 17, 2016. The Obama family is traveling to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of America's national park system. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Obamas plan to spend Saturday and part of Sunday exploring Yosemite National Park in California. Coming at the end of a difficult week, the trip gives Obama an opportunity to tout his record on open-space preservation and promote administration programs aimed at boosting foot traffic through the more than 400 sites in a national park system that turns 100 in August. The trip was also providing the president with another chance to warn about climate change, one of his priority issues, and the need to protect places like Carlsbad Caverns and Yosemite from its effects so future generations can enjoy the parks' splendor. Obama planned to deliver formal remarks Saturday at Yosemite. Inside the New Mexico cavern, where three of the 119 caves are open to the public, Obama gazed at the stalactites, stalagmites and various other formations dotting the Big Room and said it was "spectacular." The caves were formed when sulfuric acid ate through the limestone. Temperatures inside the Big Room hold at a cool 56 degrees, in sharp contrast to the 100-degree heat baking the arid landscape that surrounds the national park, and Obama wore a jacket to ward off the slight chill. The administration makes an economic argument for supporting the park system: It sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs while visitors pump billions of dollars into surrounding economies. An Interior Department report released Friday said more than 305 million people visited national parks last year, a new record. They spent $16.9 billion in nearby communities. Obama has protected more than 265 million acres of public lands and waters from development, more than any other president, the White House said. Environmental and advocacy groups applaud what Obama has done so far, but have been urging him to exercise his authority under a 1906 law to put even more public spaces off limits before his term ends in January. Some members of Congress accuse Obama of overreach every time he uses that authority to create a national monument without their input. Congressional objections aside, Obama will use the postcard-perfect scenery at both of the parks he's visiting to highlight the natural beauty that administration officials assert could be lost or forever damaged by the effects of climate change. Also hampering the park system is an estimated $12 billion in deferred maintenance. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who oversees the National Park Service and discussed the president's trip with reporters on Thursday, said the agency relies more heavily on donations every year to help meet its financial needs. Yosemite, near Fresno, California, is among the 10 most popular parks, with about 4 million people visiting annually. It is known for its waterfalls, but also boasts ancient giant sequoia trees and a vast wilderness area. For Obama, the parks trip caps a difficult week that opened with Sunday's shooting deaths of 49 people at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub. On Thursday, the president went to Orlando to mourn the deaths with the victims' loved ones. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap A member of the National Park Service, left, leads Malia Obama, President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and Sasha Obama, on a tour of Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in Carslbad, N.M., on Friday, June 17, 2016. The Obama family is traveling to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of America's national park system. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Father's Day comes early at California's San Quentin Prison SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) Father's Day came early this year at San Quentin State Prison, bringing hugs, smiles and cheer to 90 inmates at the lockup near San Francisco Bay. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought four busloads of families from across California to see prisoners, some on death row and some with less than two years left to serve. Each year, the state corrections agency partners with the Center for Restorative Justice Works, which provides free transportation for children to visit their incarcerated parents. Brian Asey meets his five-month-old grandson Deshawn Mitchell during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) During Friday's nearly four-hour visit, kids were able to get their faces painted, receive fake tattoos, play chess or just sit and catch up with dad. Inmate Brian Asey got a special gift. In the visitation room with barred windows and a large guard tower outside, he was able to lift his 5-month-old grandson, Deshawn Mitchell, for the first time. Six-year-old Ma'Kayla Gipson puts a sticker on the forehead of her dad Maurice Gipson during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Dwayne Davis, left, holds the hand of his stepson Jadin Calhoun, right, during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Family members wait to go through security to attend an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Dwayne Davis is hugged by his daughter De Ja Davis as his wife, Deana Perkins-Davis, watches during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Fernando Lopez hugs his son, Fernando Lopez Jr., during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Anthony Smith visits with his grandson, Jy'Air Ridely, and his wife, Bernadette Manning, during an early Father's Day celebration at San Quentin State Prison Friday, June 17, 2016, in San Quentin, Calif. A program called "Get on the Bus" brought several busloads of family members to visit dozens of inmates at the prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Utah Lt. Governor speech after Orlando shooting resonates SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Amid the outpouring of grief after the Orlando nightclub massacre that left 49 people dead, a Republican lieutenant governor in a deep-red state stood at a vigil organized by an LGBT group and apologized. In an emotional speech, Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox honored the slain and said he was sorry for how he treated kids growing up in his small hometown who he now realizes were gay. "Over the intervening years, my heart has changed," he said in the Monday speech. "You have treated me with the kindness, dignity, and respect?__?the love?__that I very often did not deserve. And it has made me love you." FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2013, file photo, Spencer Cox looks on after Gov. Gary Herbert announced Cox is his pick for the state's new lieutenant governor during a news conference, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Amid the outpouring of grief after the Orlando nightclub massacre that left 49 people dead, Republican lieutenant governor Cox in a deep-red state stood at a vigil organized by an LGBT group and apologized. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) His words have since resonated around the country and been tweeted by people like Dan Rather and Hillary Clinton. "There is almost nothing that she and I agree on politically, but if we can agree on this, then that's something," Cox said in an interview Friday. "We've become so divided as a country ... but there's this vast group of us who are just out there who believe we can disagree and still care about each other. It was sad to see that not happen in the moments after this horrific shooting," Cox said Friday. People have thanked him for articulating empathy with LGBT people from the perspective of a straight, white man who's a member of the conservative Mormon faith one that's had a strained relationship with the LGBT community. Equality Utah director Troy Williams, whose group organized the vigil where Cox spoke, said the speech was a meaningful recognition of the LGBT community's grief at a time when overlapping issues like terrorism and gun control were also jockeying for place in the national conversation. But Williams said there's still work to do, pointing to Utah's participation in a multi-state lawsuit against the federal government over transgender bathrooms. "In many ways, he's broken ranks and he's stepped forward of his own volition to defend and comfort our community," Williams said. "We hope this is the beginning of more dialogue." FILE--In this March 11, 2015, file photo, Utah Sen. Stephen Urquhart, left, R-St. George, embraces Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox after the Republican-controlled Utah Legislature passed an anti-discrimination bill in Salt Lake City, Utah. Amid the outpouring of grief after the Orlando nightclub massacre Republican lieutenant governor Cox in a deep-red state stood at a vigil organized by an LGBT group and apologized. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file) 'Rare, dangerous' heat headed to parts of Western US LOS ANGELES (AP) It's a dry heat, Phoenix residents like to say about Arizona's hot weather. That bravado may vanish as the thermometer flirts with 120 degrees this weekend. Phoenix won't be alone in the oven. A strengthening ridge of high pressure lifting out of Mexico is on course to also scorch other parts of Arizona and Southern California, bringing potentially record-shattering temperatures. Though accustomed to triple digits, the upcoming heat spell is a rarity in Phoenix, a desert metropolis of 1.5 million people, raising concerns of heat stroke. This Tuesday, June 14, 2016 photo Leo Block, left, Matari Phason, center, and Brian Juarez, right, push part of a shipment of 20,000 water bottles donated by Yellow Cab of Phoenix to Central Arizona Shelter Services, Arizona's largest homeless shelter, to help prepare for the summer heat in Phoenix, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ryan Van Velzer) Temperatures are predicted to hit 118 degrees in Phoenix on Sunday and peak at 119 degrees Monday. Such heat is "rare, dangerous and deadly," according to a National Weather Service warning. "This is extreme even for our standards," said Matthew Hirsch, a weather service meteorologist in Phoenix. The hottest day on record in Phoenix occurred June 26, 1990, when the thermometer reached 122 degrees. Extreme heat is likely to become more common, scientists say, blaming man-made greenhouse gas pollution. "We should anticipate more and more of this extreme heat, and we're getting to feel it firsthand. It is what global warming looks and feels like," University of Arizona climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck said in an email. During heat waves, people should watch for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, including high body temperature, dizziness and nausea. If untreated, heat stroke can lead to disability or even death. Health experts say even a difference of a few degrees outside can cause the body temperature to spike, potentially affecting the brain and other organs. The elderly, babies and those with health problems are especially vulnerable because they can't cool down as fast. Between 2006 and 2010, some 3,000 Americans died from heat-related illnesses, according to government statistics. "No one needs to die in a heat wave, yet we do have deaths. They're all preventable," said Kristie Ebi, a professor of global health at the University of Washington. Earlier this month, a swath of the West Coast sweltered under heat warnings that forced sporting events to start in the evening and festivals to ditch some of the usual pomp and circumstance. Phoenix experienced its earliest recorded 115-degree day on June 4. On Friday, the agency that operates California's wholesale power system said it's preparing for the heat and may ask residents to voluntarily conserve power to prevent rotating outages. Death Valley, California, which bills itself as the hottest place on the planet, is expected to live up to its reputation. Temperatures are predicted to exceed 120 degrees next week, according to government forecasters. Las Vegas is expected to see temperatures up to 112 for the weekend. By the middle of next week, the high pressure ridge is expected to shift toward the Four Corners region southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, which will likely see above-normal temperatures. As in previous heat waves, those living in high heat zones are urged to limit outdoor activities this weekend and to seek shelter in air-conditioned buildings. People should also stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. June is typically the warmest and driest month for desert Southwest states. This toasty period is followed by the monsoon season marked by dust storms, flash floods and lightning. Until then, "it's just plain hot. There are no other words," said Kelly Redmond, deputy director of the Western Regional Climate Center in Nevada. It's bound to get hotter in the future, researchers say. A recent study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado calculated that summers across much of the globe later this century could be warmer than any summer experienced so far if current emissions continue. ___ Follow the reporter on Twitter: @SciWriAlicia This Tuesday, June 14, 2016 photo Mike Mcfarland, a volunteer at Redeemed Outreach Center, passes out free water bottles and bread to people who walk by in downtown Phoenix, Ariz. The center of is one of 50 water cooling stations setup up around Maricopa County to help people stay cool in the summer heat. (AP Photo/Ryan Van Velzer) Glendale Fire Department firefighter Chris Greene, right, gets a case of water from service worker Edi Marroquin, left, from the dozens of cases of water at the Glendale Fire Department Resource Center as they prepare for the record-setting heat predicted for the weekend Thursday, June 16, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) IMF warns of 'negative and substantial' impact of Brexit WASHINGTON (AP) A U.K. vote to leave the European Union would seriously hurt the British economy and possibly lead to a recession next year, the International Monetary Fund warned Friday. An IMF report estimated that were Britain to leave the EU, its economy could contract by as much as 0.8 percent in 2017. In 2019, economic output could be up to 5.5 percent lower to what it would be if the country remains in the 28-member EU. While the Washington-based IMF cautioned that the decision was for the British voters to make, IMF experts believe that "the net economic effects of leaving the EU would likely be negative and substantial." An exit by Britain, referred to as "Brexit," would likely lead to reduced trade and financial flows with other EU members, lower investment and consumer confidence and higher financial market volatility. All this could prompt major financial firms to relocate from London. "Such effects could over time erode London's status as Europe's preeminent financial center," the IMF said. British voters go to the polls on June 23. If the UK leaves, it would no longer be obligated to make mandatory financial contributions to the EU. But those savings will likely be offset by losses triggered by a decline in trade and investment, the report said. The IMF also said that leaving the EU will trigger a lengthy, complicated and uncertain process of negotiating new trade terms with EU members and Britain's other trading partners, which in itself could decrease investor confidence and shake markets. On the other hand, were Britain to remain the EU, that would help dissipate uncertainty and could support a rebound in growth of some 1.9 percent this year, according to the Fund. Matthew Elliot, the chief executive of Vote Leave dismissed the IMF report as its "latest intervention in the referendum debate" and said it ignores the positive aspects of leaving the EU, such as job creation and saving government funds. Police: Pennsylvania couple gave daughter to man as thanks FEASTERVILLE, Pa. (AP) A Pennsylvania couple is accused of child endangerment after police said they gave away their 14-year-old daughter to a man who helped them financially. The friend has been charged with sexually assaulting the teen, who had two children with him. Officials acting on a tip Thursday found 51-year-old Lee Kaplan at his Feasterville home, along with 12 girls ranging in age from six months to 18 years. According to an affidavit, the girl's father, Daniel Stoltzfus, told an officer he gave his daughter to Kaplan after he helped the family out of financial ruin. He told police he thought it was legal after he did some research online. Kaplan faces a number of charges including statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. Daniel Stoltzfus is charged with conspiracy of statutory sexual assault and children endangerment. His wife, Savilla Stoltzfus, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. All three are being held on $1 million bail. No lawyer information was listed in court documents. The girl, now 18, told police she and Kaplan have a 3-year-old and a six-month-old. Lower Southampton Police Lt. John Krimmel said the Stoltzfuses told police they were Amish, and a criminal complaint shows their address as Quarryville, in Lancaster County. However, Krimmel said it appeared the couple had been living with Kaplan, although it was unclear for how long. The Stoltzfuses told police they were going to lose their farm until Kaplan "came out of the blue and saved them from financial ruin," said Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler. The couple told police the other nine girls in the house were their children, Krimmel said. No birth certificates or Social Security cards could be located to confirm they were the parents, he said. The children have been placed in child protective custody, Krimmel said. Vladimir Putin suggests PM may have called referendum 'to blackmail Europe' Vladimir Putin has suggested David Cameron may have called a referendum on the EU "to blackmail Europe", in his first major intervention in the Brexit debate. Politicians including Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond have speculated that Mr Putin would relish a Brexit as a way of weakening the European Union and allowing Russia greater scope to reassert itself. Asked by the Press Association what his views on the looming vote are, Mr Putin suggested that the Prime Minister had called the referendum to "scare" Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested David Cameron had called the referendum to 'scare' Europe (AP) But the direct-speaking leader refused to be drawn over which side he supported - batting off attempts to ask him as a bid to make Russia a bogeyman. Speaking in St Petersburg, Mr Putin said: "I don't think this is very proper to engage Russia in all the problems, even if we are not involved in it, to make Russia a scarecrow. Civilised people do not do things this way. "As for the Prime Minister of the UK, there is a great problem with Brexit, why did he initiate this vote in the first place? Why did he do that? So he wanted to blackmail Europe or to scare someone, what was the goal if he was against? "I want to say it is none of our business, it is the business of the people of the UK. I have my own opinion on this matter, I cannot talk about the result yet - no one knows about the result yet, I think it is 50-50 with a certain margin of error." The Russian president appeared well-clued up on the domestic debates raging in Britain about the draw-backs of membership and its importance for the market. He singled out controversial EU fishing laws as a particular bone of contention for some Britons. But he refused to guess which way the vote will go on June 23. He said: "Who can predict it? No one can predict it. I have my own opinion on this matter - whether it is good or bad - but I will refrain from giving the forecast. I think it would be improper on my part to do that. "Whatever I say will be interpreted to the benefit of either side, that's the business of the EU and the people of the UK. "Different experts have different estimates about whether Brexit will benefit Great Britain or not, some say it will be to the detriment and some say the EU will be more stable and stronger. "In the UK itself for example - they are going down in boats saying how hard it is to live with restrictions in fishing. Yes they have a problem, well there are some benefits in other sectors. If you have to weigh all these things it is very complicated." Most international political leaders who have spoken out about the EU referendum debate have urged Britain to stay, with US president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping both imploring the UK to remain. But political commentators in Britain have speculated that Mr Putin would rub his hands with glee if the vote was for leave on June 23. Speaking at Chatham House on the topic earlier this year, Mr Hammond said: "None of our allies wants us to leave the EU - not Australia, not New Zealand, not Canada, not the US. "In fact, the only country, if the truth is told, that would like us to leave the EU is Russia. That should probably tell us all we need to know." Campaigning in the EU referendum has been suspended following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in the street outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds in West Yorkshire. Her death has shocked the world and prompted tributes from politicians around the world including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton who said her death was "cruel and terrible". It emerged on Friday that the EU was to extend for another year some of its sanctions targeting Russia over its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. The announcement came the day after EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker met Mr Putin in St Petersburg. After the EU imposed sanctions two years ago, Moscow retaliated by banning imports of meat, vegetables and dairy products from the EU, a blow to many of the bloc's members. On Friday Mr Putin called on European leaders to improve ties with his country despite the sanctions. Ashley Williams believes Wales can progress despite last-minute England defeat Skipper Ashley Williams has promised Wales will recover from their England despair in time for their decisive Euro 2016 clash with Russia. Wales were within seconds of a point which would have left them within touching distance of the last 16 when England substitute Daniel Sturridge scored an injury time winner in Lens. Sturridge's strike saw England leapfrog Wales at the top of Group B and leaves Chris Coleman's side needing a win against Russia in Toulouse on Monday to guarantee their progress - although a point could well be enough and they could even sneak through with a defeat, although they would need England to beat Slovakia. Ashley Williams believes Wales can bounce back against Russia after their last-minute defeat to England "We have all been through that experience before in our careers, it is the worst way to lose a football game," said Williams, who called the players together for a huddle at the final whistle. "We have already spoken about what we need to do, we will not get too down as much as it does hurt. That was the message. "We were down after the Sweden friendly because we did not perform and we spoke before the tournament kicked off about how to respond if we had a disappointment. "After we beat Slovakia we knew it was not the time to get too high because we had not accomplished anything yet and now is not the time to be getting down on ourselves. "The work we put in means we should not be too hard on ourselves. "We have done ever so well to get here - we have done well in this tournament in a tough group. "So let's stick together and move on." The positive thing for Wales as they prepare for their final group game is that they remain the masters of their own destiny. All four finishing places are still possible, and they would finish top if they were to beat Russia and England fail to beat Slovakia in their final game. A draw would also be enough to qualify if Slovakia failed to beat England, while they could still lose to Russia and qualify as one of the best third-placed teams. "If you had offered this situation at the start of the tournament, three points from two games, we would have taken it," said Williams. "You cannot ask for more than it being in your own hands. "You need to stay level because beating Slovakia did not put us in the next round, and losing to England does not mean we are out." Williams' centre-back partner James Chester has been one of Wales' stand-out players of the tournament so far. The West Brom defender did more than most to deny England the lead until the 92nd minute and he be lieves Russia - who have one point from two games - should hold no fears for Wales. "From what we have seen of Russia so far we are confident we can get a result," said Chester. "There is still a game to go and one we can get something from. "It is a short turnaround, but w hen you have a bad result the quicker the next game comes around the better. Caroline Flack defends Love Island's Zara Holland after Miss Great Britain axe Caroline Flack has criticised the decision to strip Love Island's Zara Holland of her Miss Great Britain title. Miss Great Britain "de-crowned" Holland after ITV2 broadcast scenes during Wednesday's episode of the 20-year-old having sex. Love Island presenter Flack tweeted: "Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl. What even is 'Miss GB'? Are we living in the dark ages?" Zara Holland has been stripped of her Miss Great Britain title Holland has expressed regret over her antics with 24-year-old scaffolder Alex Bowen. In Thursday's episode, s he said: "You know when you're in the moment and it just happens. That's really not like me at all. Why couldn't we have just gone to sleep?" Bowen is the former boyfriend of Loose Women star Vicky Pattison, the winner of I'm A Celebrity in 2015. The Miss Great Britain organisation said the move was taken with "deep regret". Its statement added: "We pride ourselves on promoting the positivity of pageants in modern society and this includes the promotion of a strong, positive female role model in our winners. "The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. "We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title." Holland will be replaced for the remainder of the year by runner-up Deone Robertson, who had been crowned Miss North Lanarkshire. The organisation said it will meet Holland on her return to the UK from the Love Island house in Majorca "to fully explain our decision and will wish her the very best going forward". Stop moaning, Lewis Hamilton tells rivals over safety concerns Lewis Hamilton has taken aim at his rivals by accusing them of "moaning" and "wanting to take all the character and life" out Formula One after a number of leading drivers expressed their safety concerns on the eve of the inaugural race in Azerbaijan. Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, both believe that a lack of run-off area in Baku - a temporary track is being billed as the quickest street circuit in the sport's history - is cause for concern. And while Hamilton, fastest in both practice sessions here on Friday, acknowledged that the latest addition to the Formula One calender is a "big-balls" circuit due to its high-speed nature, he also moved to criticise the attitudes of his peers. Lewis Hamilton completed a practice double in Baku on Friday (AP) "One things for sure, these drivers they moan so much, so much about so many things," said Hamilton. "It is really bumpy down the main straight and you can't see turn one that well. The car is vibrating so it is really hard, but that's a part of racing. "These guys want it to be so smooth, smoother, than ever, no vibrations, no bumps and they want to take all the character and life out of these tracks." Hamilton, who was speaking ahead of a drivers' briefing, which is staged on a Friday night at each grand prix, added: "I am glad this track has bumps, but I guarantee you today certain people will say these things and I will just sit there and smile. "It is like a big-balls track where you really need your balls with you. You are coming down at 200mph, and you have to commit to the corner. If you don't make it you are in the wall just like Monaco, so you really need your confidence." The circuit on the streets of Azerbaijan's capital city will see drivers roar past the old city walls and historic buildings in excess of 220mph. At nearly four miles it is now the second longest on the calendar. Both Rosberg and Button, concerned about the lack of run-off - a safety net for drivers if they make a mistake at high speed or suffer a mechanical fault such as a tyre blow-out - have also voiced their safety concerns over the pit-lane. The entry comes after a tight chicane - which is preceded by what is now the longest straight in the sport - before a 100-metre dash to the pit-lane speed limiter line. "There are places that are a bit too risky," Rosberg, second to his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in practice, said. "The pit lane is really on the edge." Informed of Hamilton's remarks Rosberg, nine points ahead of the Briton in the championship, replied: "What he just said in the team meeting sounded a bit different to that. "He was pretty much on the side that it is a bit hairy, so we are definitely going to discuss it now in the meeting to see if something needs to be changed. "Maybe it is not even that difficult to make small changes which could make things a lot better." Button, ninth in practice, added: "Formula One is a dangerous sport and we all know that. Some dangers are unnecessary. All the pit lanes that we race on are a certain way for a reason and this one isn't." London Pride revellers warned to be vigilant after Orlando attack Revellers at London's Pride festival have been warned to be extra vigilant in the wake of the Orlando club massacre. Members of the LGBT business community met with police chiefs to discuss security issues after the gay nightclub shooting in Florida ahead of the parade on June 25. Lone gunman Omar Mateen, 29, left 49 people dead and dozens of others wounded in the massacre at Pulse in the Florida city on Sunday. Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the public should take 'reasonable caution' Met Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the threat level has not risen since the "shocking" attack but warned people to stay alert. "The public should take reasonable caution," he added. "There will be more people, it is more likely people will come out to show solidarity, to show they are not scared and we would encourage that. "We have looked at the intelligence and there is nothing to say that there is someone out there wanting to attack London or the Pride march." Michael Salter, chairman of Pride, said a "huge" number of people are expected to attend this year's festivities to show solidarity with the LGBT community. "I think people are feeling a great sense of unity and solidarity with other LGBT people across the world," he added. "Londoners want to make sure they are even more out and proud, which is why Pride is so important. "There's a determination that people should be able to live as their true selves. "People shouldn't have to change their lives because they are worried about a promotion at work, bullying at school or violence in the streets." He added: "I'm hoping that there will be huge numbers of people coming to the events - not just to pay their respects to the Orlando victims but for LGBT community in the UK." Jeremy Joseph, owner of London gay clubs G-A-Y and Heaven, described the shooting as "my worst nightmare come true". "It's been the most surreal week of our lives. Waking up on Sunday morning, my biggest nightmare had come true," he said. "As a venue we were always told that there will be an attack, so it's a question of not if but when. "It doesn't matter that it happened in Orlando, it's that it's happened." Brazilian indigenous land activist killed in conflict with farmers - govt agency By Chris Arsenault RIO DE JANEIRO, June 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An indigenous activist was shot dead in southwestern Brazil and at least six others seriously wounded when their camp was attacked by armed farmers, a government agency said. Clodiode Rodrigues de Souza, 26, a member of the Guarani-Kaiowa indigenous group was killed and five other adults and a child were hospitalized in Mato Grosso do Sul state on Tuesday, the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), said. The campaigners had set up a camp in a push to have their ancestral land claims to be formally recognised by the government when they were attacked by about 70 farmers riding motorcycles, trucks and a tractor, witnesses said. Amateur video footage of the confrontation shot from a distance shows activists running for cover as gunshots ring out and fires burn on the green fields of Brazil's agricultural heartland. "The Guarani-Kaiowa have been fighting for decades for the recognition of their traditionally occupied territories," FUNAI said in a statement on Wednesday, adding the Ministry of Justice and national police were investigating the killing. Last month, FUNAI recognised the disputed area as indigenous land but the Guarani-Kaiowa have not received a formal title to the territory about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city of Caarapo near the border with Paraguay, local media reported. Some farmers and plantation owners in the state known for its soy, sugar and cattle production are unhappy with the decision to demarcate land for indigenous people. Amnesty International said on Tuesday a small number of Guarani Kaiowa families received a judicial order late last week to leave the contested land in Mato Grosso do Sul. The judge's eviction order followed complaints from farmers who say they are the rightful owners of the land even though the territory had been promised to the indigenous group, according to Amnesty. "Dialogue and mutual respect are needed to build a social pact to solve the problems faced by indigenous people and farmers in the southern cone of Matto Grosso do Sul," FUNAI said. Funding, regulation challenge Saudi private sector drive By Andrew Torchia and Marwa Rashad JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 16 (Reuters) - After decades of government-led growth, Saudi Arabia is handing over much of the responsibility for the economy to private firms - a prospect which both pleases and worries businessmen, who wonder how they can finance new projects in an age of austerity. As more than a dozen Saudi ministers outlined the kingdom's economic reform plan in late-night news conferences last week, they praised the private sector in terms that would have suited right-of-centre Western politicians rather than those from a state-dominated economy. The economy minister said removing obstacles to private firms was a priority. The health and education ministers called for flows of private money into their sectors. The minister of municipal and rural affairs said his officials would become "regulators, planners and controllers", leaving private capital to develop Saudi cities. Such events would be a sea change for Saudi Arabia, which for decades has relied on lavish government spending of petrodollars for growth. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, now promoting the reform plan on a visit to the United States, compared it in a magazine interview early this year to the free-market revolution overseen by 1980s British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The prospect excites some Saudi investors - the share prices of several local companies that could benefit from opportunities created by the plan have jumped since last week. "It will be a positive challenge and will bring a big change even if only 60 or 50 percent of the plan is achieved," Muhammad al-Agil, chairman of major Saudi retail chain Jarir Marketing Co , told Reuters. "For the private sector, it will multiply the opportunities where private capital and private sector resources will be deployed." Others, however, worry about whether officials can make the regulatory environment for private firms attractive enough, the risk of waste and corruption as the government opens tens of billions of dollars of projects to the private sector, and private investors' ability to finance their projects. "When it comes to the strategy I am optimistic about the opportunities that are being presented...But when it comes to implementation, this is where I am uneasy," said the chief operating officer of a Saudi conglomerate, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of his remarks. Ihsan Bu Hulaiga, a prominent Saudi economist, said that until the government gave crucial details of the terms on which private companies would be invited to invest, it would be hard to tell whether the private sector push would succeed. "The private sector is opportunistic by nature - it needs to be convinced that investments are worth the money. So far the opportunity the government is presenting is not clear," he said. SPENDING Saudi Arabia is turning to the private sector because the government can no longer afford to keep increasing spending rapidly in an era of cheap oil and shrunken state revenues. It posted a record budget deficit of nearly $100 billion last year. The reform plan envisages state spending of around 270 billion riyals ($72 billion) in the next five years on projects to diversify the economy beyond oil, from industrial zones and power stations to housing, schools and communications. The private sector would provide 40 percent of funding for the projects, or about $48 billion. This is not impossible in an economy where the private sector's output was $320 billion last year alone. But with domestic money market rates rising sharply because of reduced flows of oil money into the banking system, it is not clear that local firms can raise funding at economic rates. Another Saudi economist, Fadl Alboainain, said the local private sector probably did not have the capacity to take on some of the biggest projects by itself. "Looking at the local banking sector you will find it suffering from shrinking liquidity, which leads to high margins and tight lending conditions - this will limit private sector financing capabilities," he said. That implies Saudi Arabia will have to rely much more heavily on foreign investment in coming years - one reason why Prince Mohammed's delegation will meet business leaders on its visit to the United States. The reform plan aims to more than double annual foreign direct investment to $19 billion by 2020 from $8 billion last year, partly by making it simpler to do business in the kingdom. That will depend on a shake-up of sluggish state bureaucracies. Since last week's reform announcement, two models for private sector investment have emerged. One is the outright sale of state assets; Riyadh is likely to start privatising the postal system by early 2017, the communications minister said. These sales may run into some of the same issues as Thatcher's privatisations. Saudi Postal Corp has over 10,000 staff; curbing employees' wages or staff numbers to make it attractive for privatisation could be politically sensitive. The other model is a partnership with the government in which private firms would stump up money for projects and earn revenues from operating them. State utility Saudi Electricity Co said it was inviting expressions of interest from firms to build two solar power plants and sell the electricity generated by them to it under long-term deals. Shares in major Saudi property developer Dar Al Arkan are up 14 percent since the company said it was in talks with the ministry on a partnership to build housing. Public-private partnerships have been used successfully in neighbouring Oman for billions of dollars of power projects. But the Saudi projects are likely to be launched in a difficult environment as the government tries to balance its budget. Disney to post alligator warning signs after boy's death By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Fla., June 16 (Reuters) - Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, plans to install signs warning of alligators in the area where a 2-year-old boy was killed by one of the reptiles, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the water's edge the night before. The resort had "No Swimming" signs where the boy was killed at the Seven Seas Lagoon, but did not specifically mention alligators. A source with knowledge of the situation said the resort now plans to install signs explicitly warning of the dangerous animals. The boy was grabbed by the reptile at the water's edge at about 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Omaha, Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities have said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligator's grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon on the body of the boy, which was found intact underwater. "The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries," the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office said in a brief statement. It did not elaborate. Rose Silva, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said on Thursday that a probe into the toddler's death was ongoing, but was not criminal in nature. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and adding: "Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time." The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches that were closed after the attack would be off-limits to guests until further notice. "All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols," Wahler said in a statement. "This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings." SIXTH ALLIGATOR CAUGHT The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission's executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they have already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. He said they are searching all day, but especially at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursday's opening of the company's first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disney's tallest castle. The attack happened on a beach by Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, an upmarket property just one stop from the Magic Kingdom on Walt Disney World's monorail. Obama to meet Saudi deputy crown prince on Friday -White House WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince on Friday and the two are expected to discuss conflicts in the Middle East including the campaign against Islamic State, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, is on a visit to the United States aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil revenues. Friday's meeting will take place at the White House. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIL," as Islamic State is also known. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has resulted in large-scale civilian casualties, according to the United Nations and human rights groups. Reuters reported last week that the United Nations had removed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a child rights blacklist after intense pressure by Riyadh. Prince Mohammed, whose influence in Saudi governing councils appears to be growing rapidly, is being given wide access to Obama's administration. He met with Obama's National Economic Council at the White House on Thursday afternoon to discuss the plan the prince is championing to transform the Saudi economy by 2030. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker were among those present. "U.S. officials welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to economic reform and underscored the United States' desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program," the White House said in a statement after the meeting. Britain's EU "In" campaign says will not campaign on Friday after lawmaker killed LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union said it would not resume activities on Friday after lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in her constituency on Thursday. Cosmetics maker Revlon to buy Elizabeth Arden in $870 mln deal June 16 (Reuters) - Cosmetics maker Revlon Inc has agreed to buy Elizabeth Arden Inc in an $870 million deal to strengthen its skincare and fragrance business and expand in high-growth markets including the Asia-Pacific region. Elizabeth Arden's shares rose nearly 50 percent to $13.96 in extended trading on Thursday, close to the cash offer price of $14 per share. Shares of Revlon, controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman, rose slightly to $31.30. The deal, which comes less than six months after Perelman said he would seek strategic alternatives for Revlon, will help the companies better compete with deep-pocketed rivals such Estee Lauder Cos Inc and L'Oreal SA. The equity value of the deal is $419 million, based on Elizabeth Arden's outstanding shares as of May 3. Elizabeth Arden has a strong presence in the luxury skincare market, mainly in the anti-aging category, with brands such as Prevage, Ceramide and SuperStart. Its fragrances include those licensed from celebrities such as Britney Spears, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Revlon is stronger in hair color and color cosmetics, which are mainly distributed through mass retail channels and beauty salons across 130 countries. "The combination will leverage Revlon's scale across major vendors and manufacturing partners, improving distribution and procurement," the companies said, adding that they expected cost synergies of about $140 million from the deal. Elizabeth Arden has reported lower-than-expected revenue in six of the past eight quarters as it loses customers to rivals with more exclusive offerings. BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup Global Markets Inc have committed about $2.6 billion to fund the deal and refinance the debt of the two cosmetic makers. Revlon also said it expected 2016 net sales of $2.0 billion-$2.1 billion on a constant-currency basis, excluding the impact of the acquisition. This implies a "high single-digit growth rate" in net sales, the company said. Dow Chemical first foreign company to get Saudi Arabia trading license June 16 (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co said it became the first foreign company to receive a trading license from Saudi Arabia as the kingdom plans to diversify its economy and free its dependence on oil exports amid a slump in global oil prices. Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman held a full day of meetings with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, part of a visit aimed at restoring frayed ties with Washington and promoting his plan to wean the kingdom away from oil revenue. The trading license will give full ownership in the country's trading sector, the No. 1 U.S. chemical maker by sales said on Thursday. The world's top oil exporter announced in April a reform plan, a package of economic and social policies designed to raise non-oil revenue to 600 billion riyals ($160.04 billion) by 2020 and 1 trillion riyals by 2030 from 163.5 billion riyals last year. 'Unorthodox' agriculture policies to cost Egypt $860 mln -USDA By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, June 16 (Reuters) - Egypt, the world's top wheat importer, faces $860 million in extra costs and lost export opportunities this year because of "unorthodox agricultural measures," including a zero-tolerance policy on ergot fungus in wheat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday in a report. The report, from a USDA attache in Cairo, criticized the government's policy on ergot, which has upset global grain trading and sparked a legal challenge against the government from global trader Bunge Ltd. It also said Egypt will expend up to $100 million because of unusual inspection and sampling policies for wheat shipments and other "burdensome tender requirements" that make government wheat imports more expensive. The estimates show how government policies that are out of step with international standards can hamper imports of critical foodstuffs and lead to higher prices for consumers. The end result of some of Cairo's agricultural policies, the USDA attache said, "is higher food prices paid by Egypt's overburdened consumers, in complete dissonance with the government's efforts and trumped up claims that it's trying to make food more affordable." Earlier this year, Egypt rejected wheat it had contracted for import after the country's agriculture quarantine authority began to apply a zero tolerance policy for ergot, a common grain fungus. The ministries of supply and agriculture later assured global traders they would follow a 0.05 percent tolerance policy, a widely applied international standard. But the pledge has been called into question after more rejections. In February, Bunge Ltd said it had launched legal proceedings over a rejected cargo of French wheat, highlighting uncertainty among suppliers. A company spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. Wheat can be a matter of life and death in Egypt, where the government runs a bread subsidy program that feeds tens of millions of poor people. Wheat shortages have triggered riots in the past, and when Egyptians rose up against autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 one of their signature chants was "Bread, freedom and social justice." Egypt also faces added costs from an "excessively restrictive" zero-tolerance policy on ambrosia, a weed, in crop shipments, according to the USDA report, titled "What's the matter with Egyptian agricultural trade?". Lord's Resistance Army rebels kidnap 17 in Central African Republic BANGUI, June 16 (Reuters) - Lords Resistance Army rebels have kidnapped 17 people from a village in eastern Central African Republic, a senior local official said on Thursday. The rebels are notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping children for use as fighters. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the LRA's messianic leader, Joseph Kony, and other senior commanders. The rebels struck on Monday, snatching three people in the morning and forcing them to carry their goods before releasing them in the evening, said Ghislain Kolengo, prefect of Haut Mbomou region. "Very early (on Tuesday), they attacked Kadjema village and kidnapped 17 people who are still in captivity. I hope that our forces in the area and the Ugandans will find these people and bring them back," Kolengo told Reuters. The population then fled the town, he said. The LRA is from northern Uganda but was driven out by a military offensive a decade ago. Today, its fighters roam a poorly policed area straddling the borders between Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. All three countries have faced their own conflicts and Uganda, another regional neighbour, said last week it planned to withdraw by the end of the year its troops involved in an operation to hunt down LRA rebels. The LRA has been weakened but its fighters still attack civilians. It has abducted nearly 350 this year, according to the LRA Crisis Tracker, which documents rebel attacks. Meanwhile, at least 11 were killed in clashes in the north of the country involving former rebel group called the Seleka, according to a brigade commander in the town of Ngaoudaye. The first clash happened on Sunday and led to the deaths of seven Seleka members who were leading cattle through the town en route for Cameroon. The former rebels took revenge, killing six civilians, said the commander, who declined to be named. Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when the predominantly Muslim Seleka seized power, triggering reprisals by "anti-balaka" Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south. Barclays labels $1.0 bln lawsuit over 2008 fundraising 'misconceived' By Kirstin Ridley LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Barclays has described as "fundamentally misconceived" a $1.0 billion-plus lawsuit brought by British financier Amanda Staveley over the bank's emergency fundraising from Gulf investors at the height of the credit crisis in 2008. Staveley's private equity group PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in a civil case lodged at London's High Court in January that sheds light on how Abu Dhabi and Qatari sheikhs helped bail Barclays out nearly eight years ago. The case hinges on the terms Qatari and Abu Dhabi investors received for participating in a cash call to help Barclays raise around 7.0 billion pounds ($10 billion) and avoid state aid. Laying out a 44-page defence in a court document seen by Reuters on Thursday, Barclays denied dishonesty and recklessness and called PCP's assertion it had been a potential investor in the Abu Dhabi syndicate at the time "utterly speculative and flawed". The case is unfolding months before the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is due to decide whether to charge Barclays and former executives in a separate criminal inquiry into financial arrangements with Qatar that included a loan to the Gulf state, as the bank battled to raise cash during the financial crisis. Barclays, which has not commented on the criminal investigation, made a High Court application in an attempt to delay filing a defence against the civil lawsuit until the SFO concludes its near four-year inquiry this year. But during a London High Court hearing on May 19, the bank agreed to lay out its response by June 16. SEPARATE SERVICES PCP, which put together a syndicate of Abu Dhabi investors for Barclays in October 2008, alleges in the lawsuit that it received an "express and implied agreement", made orally and in writing by Barclays staff, that it would get the same terms as Qatari investors. The lawsuit alleges Qatari investors received extra fees of 346 million pounds ($490 million), which includes an alleged 280 million pound "sham advisory services agreement" with Qatar. Had PCP received the same deal terms as Qatar, it would not have had to give up a 10 percent interest in the funding deal to keep Abu Dhabi investors on board when Barclays shares fell in November 2008, the lawsuit alleged. Barclays denied that PCP had been told it would get the same deal as Qatari investors and alleged the 280 million pound fee paid to Qatar was for "separate services which required separate payment". Another 66 million pound fee paid by Barclays to Qatari investors at the time was for its role in arranging that Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan would invest in Barclays, it alleged. Reuters was not able to reach Sheikh Mansour for comment. "Barclays intended and expected that in return for the ASA (advisory services agreement) fee it would receive valuable services," it stated in the court document. "In so far as Barclays made any representations, Barclays denies that it made those representations dishonestly or recklessly." Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, has declined to comment on the case. Staveley's PCP, which has four weeks to file a rebuttal, declined to comment. Peru prosecutor says Chavez, Brazil firms may have funded Humala By Mitra Taj LIMA, June 16 (Reuters) - A Peruvian prosecutor said Thursday that late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and two Brazilian construction companies may have bankrolled President Ollanta Humala's campaigns before he took office in 2011. Prosecutor German Juarez has been investigating first lady Nadine Heredia, the co-founder and current president of Humala's party, for her possible involvement in undeclared campaign contributions. He asked a judge to bar her from leaving Peru. Humala has presidential immunity against investigation until five years after the end of his term on July 28. No charges have been filed. Roy Gates, Heredia's lawyer, said prosecutors had not identified any crimes linked to party finances to substantiate money-laundering suspicions. Juarez said an informant gave prosecutors a letter addressed to Humala signed by Chavez that mentions some $2 million in "investments" in Humala's first presidential bid in 2006. The letter has not yet been examined for authentication. "Burn any evidence, brother, for the good of us all. This is revolutionary, socialist aide," said the letter, as read by Juarez in a televised hearing. If authentic, it would show the lengths Chavez went to spread his so-called Bolivarian revolution across Latin America. Humala, a former radical military officer, once looked up to Chavez as a mentor. But in 2011, after losing the 2006 presidential election, Humala kept Chavez at a distance and won after campaigning in the more moderate style of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Humala has denied taking money from Chavez. Humala's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Heredia has said she has no intention of leaving Peru and is cooperating with investigators, whom she describes as under pressure from political foes. Another informant alleged that construction companies Odebrecht SA and Grupo OAS, both tangled in a vast corruption scandal in neighboring Brazil, gave Humala and Heredia hundreds of thousands of dollars and paid the salary of an adviser close to Brazil's Workers Party to help with Humala's 2011 campaign, Juarez said. Odebrecht declined to comment and OAS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Odebrecht won a $5 billion natural gas pipeline contract during Humala's term after its sole competitor was disqualified from a public auction. The company has said the bidding process was fair. Brazilian police said earlier this year they were investigating potential bribes from Odebrecht to Humala. Both Humala and Odebrecht denied any wrongdoing at the time. Oil rises for first time in seven days TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices rose in early Asian trade for the first time in seven days after a small decline in stockpiles at the U.S. Cushing hub overrode concerns about the impact of Britain's possible exit from the European Union. Brent crude futures were up 25 cents at $47.44 a barrel at 0040 GMT. On Thursday, the contract fell 3.6 percent to $47.19 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents at $46.38. The previous session, the contract declined 3.8 percent to $46.21 a barrel. Market intelligence firm Genscape on Thursday reported a weekly decline of 76,317 barrels in stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for WTI futures, traders who saw the data said. In the previous week, Genscape reported a drawdown of 299,058 barrels at Cushing. The British pound rose from a two-month low after campaigning for next week's so-called Brexit vote was suspended following the murder on Thursday of a U.K. member of parliament, who was a vocal advocate for Britain to stay in the European Union. Several U.S. officials expelled from Nicaragua -State Department WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. government officials on temporary duty in Nicaragua were expelled this week, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, adding the action was "unwarranted and inconsistent with the positive and constructive agenda" it seeks with Managua. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing that three officials had only recently arrived in Nicaragua when they were expelled on Tuesday. He did not elaborate on what they were doing in the Central American country. Nicaragua's government said that in an "unfortunate incident," it removed two U.S. officials from the country who were performing Customs security work tied to anti-terrorism, without the knowledge of local officials. It was not immediately clear why Nicaragua and the United States had different figures for the number of U.S. officials in the country. "Such treatment has the potential to negatively impact U.S. and Nicaraguan bilateral relations, particularly trade," Kirby told reporters when asked about the incident. "We've conveyed our strong displeasure," Kirby said, referring specifically to Francisco Campbell, Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States. In a letter distributed to the press, Campbell said the U.S. officials' anti-terrorism activities "were carried out without the knowledge or the proper coordination with Nicaraguan authorities, which is ... very delicate and sensitive." Nicaragua said it told the U.S. government "of the necessity to inform (them) about official missions that come to Nicaragua, and to coordinate their work." Kirby did not say whether Nicaragua's ambassador had been summoned to the State Department or the U.S. sentiments had been conveyed in some other manner. Japan finmin says deeply concerned about yen rise, vows urgent response By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Friday fired off a warning shot against a recent rise in the yen, saying he was deeply concerned about "one-sided, rapid and speculative" currency moves and would respond urgently if necessary - a hint at possible yen-selling market intervention. The latest jawboning - official comment intended to influence markets - comes as the yen surged across the board after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, despite market fears of global turmoil if Britain votes to exit the European Union in the June 23 referendum. Senior officials from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the BOJ and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) later held a regular meeting to discuss financial markets. They did not debate contingency plans to counter a market rout in the event of Brexit. Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's top currency official, told reporters after the meeting that the officials agreed that volatility in the currency market was increasing and they should liaise closely. In Japan the MOF has jurisdiction over currency policy and intervention. The BOJ conducts intervention under instructions from the ministry. "Stability in currencies is extremely important. We'll closely coordinate with other countries on this issue," Aso said earlier, adding that he was watching the market with a sense of urgency to prevent speculative moves from persisting. "We will respond more than ever when necessary. I believe such response is in line with G7 and G20 agreements." Japan has stayed out from the market since it last intervened in November 2011. Aso declined to comment when asked if the MOF and FSA have any contingency plans to avoid financial market turmoil in case of Brexit. "It is desirable for Britain to stay in a strong EU," he said. Russia strikes U.S.-backed rebels in Syria -U.S. official WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Russia carried out air strikes on Thursday in southern Syria against rebels battling Islamic State, including forces backed by the United States, a senior U.S. defense official said, adding Washington would raise the matter with Moscow. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, strongly criticized the Russian strikes near al-Tanf, noting that no Russia or Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time -- effectively ruling out an argument of self-defense. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," the official said. "We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again." Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States has called on Assad to step down. Japan court upholds injunction to halt reactors in blow to nuclear power industry By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - A Japanese court on Friday upheld an order to keep two reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant closed, operator Kansai Electric Power said, leaving efforts to get a struggling nuclear industry up and running in limbo. The court decision, upholding a petition from residents living near the plant concerned about safety, keeps the legal battle centre stage in a struggle by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to restore atomic power five years after the Fukushima disaster. The Otsu District Court on March 9 ordered Kansai Electric, Japan's second-biggest utility, to shut down the reactors in Fukui prefecture west of Tokyo, in the country's first injunction to halt an operating nuclear plant. The nuclear industry has only recently started to get reactors in a nuclear sector, which used to supply about a third of the country's power, back online amid widespread public opposition after the melt downs at Fukushima in 2011. Friday's decision denied the utility's attempt to temporarily halt the shutdown order. Kansai has separately requested that the court revoke the injunction, and a decision on that is expected to come sometime soon, possibly by July. "It is very regrettable that the petition for stay of execution was not approved," Kansai Electric said in a statement, adding that it hoped that the court would cancel the injunction soon. Should Kansai Electric lose this legal fight, it will be left with the option of appealing to a higher court. That could mean months, or possibly a year, of delays and extra purchases of oil, gas or coal to replace nuclear power generation. Japanese lower courts sometimes hand down contentious verdicts that are then overturned by higher courts, where judges tend to be more attuned to political implications, judicial experts say. Amid mounting public scepticism over nuclear safety, local residents have lodged injunctions against nuclear plants across Japan. Japan has 42 operable reactors but Kyushu Electric Power is the only utility that has been generating nuclear power after it was cleared to restart two reactors in southwestern Japan. In this case, legal action by residents failed to prevent the restarts of those reactors. A Kansai Electric spokesman said the losses from the shutdown of the two Takahama reactors amounted to 10 billion yen ($96 million) per month because of higher fossil fuel consumption and other factors. Shares in Kansai Electric were little changed after the news and were trading up 1.9 percent at 968.5 yen by 0332 GMT. ($1 = 104.5000 yen) Dozens of U.S. diplomats urge military strikes against Syria's Assad By John Walcott and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo critical of U.S. policy in Syria, calling for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government to stop its persistent violations of a civil war ceasefire. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by 51 mid- to high-level State Department officers advising on Syria policy. It calls for "targeted military strikes" against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the ceasefire brokered earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing copies of the cable it had seen. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Copenhagen, told Reuters on Friday: "It's an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I will ... have a chance to meet with people when I get back (to Washington)." He said he had not seen the memo. Military strikes against the Assad government would represent a major change in the Obama administration's policy of not intervening directly in the Syrian civil war, while calling for a political transition that would see Assad leave power. Such strikes would put the United States on a collision course with Russia, which is backing Assad with air strikes, equipment, training and military advice. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had only seen media reports about the memo, but said: "Calls for the violent overthrow of authorities in another country are unlikely to be accepted in Moscow. "The liquidation of this or some other regime is hardly what is needed to aid the successful continuation of the battle against terrorism. Such a move is capable of plunging the region into complete chaos." One U.S. official, who did not sign the cable but has read it, told Reuters the White House remained opposed to deeper American military involvement in Syria. The official said the cable was unlikely to alter that, or shift Obama's focus from the battle against the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group. PRESSURE ON ASSAD A second source who had read the cable said it reflected the views of U.S. officials who have worked on Syria, some for years, and who believe the current policy is ineffective. "In a nutshell, the group would like to see a military option put forward to put some pressure ... on the regime," said the second source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While dissent cables are not unusual, the number of signatures on the document is large. "That is an astonishingly high number," said Robert Ford, who resigned in 2014 as U.S. Ambassador to Syria over policy disagreements and is now at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank. "For the last four years, the working level at the State Department has been urging that there be more pressure on Bashar al-Assad's government to move to a negotiated solution," to the civil war, he said. Ford said this was not the first time the State Department has argued for a more activist Syria policy. In 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proposed arming and training anti-Assad rebels. The plan, which had backing from other Cabinet officials, was rejected by President Barack Obama and his White House aides. The dissenting cable discussed the possibility of air strikes but made no mention of adding U.S. ground troops to Syria. The United States has about 300 special operations forces in Syria carrying out a counter-terrorism mission against Islamic State militants but not targeting the Assad government. "We are aware of a dissent channel cable written by a group of State Department employees regarding the situation in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "We are reviewing the cable now, which came up very recently, and I am not going to comment on the contents." Kirby said the "dissent channel" was an official forum that allows State Department employees to express alternative views. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan told a congressional hearing on Thursday that Assad was in a stronger position than he was a year ago, bolstered by Russian air strikes against the moderate opposition. Brennan said Islamic State's "terrorism capacity and global reach" had not been reduced. Romania - Factors to watch on June 17 Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Friday. DEBT TENDER Romania sold a planned 500 million lei ($123.54 million) worth of March 2021 treasury bonds on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 2.73 percent, central bank data showed. Debt managers last issued the paper in May at an average accepted yield of 2.68 percent. BLACK SEA FLEET Bulgaria's prime minister said on Thursday he would not join a proposed NATO fleet meant to counter Russian forces in the Black Sea as he did not want a war there, a day after Moscow warned against any build-up. CEE MARKETS Central European assets eased on Thursday as attention again turned towards Britain's upcoming EU membership referendum and local risks including a no-confidence vote against Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic. WHEAT Strategie Grains left its estimate for this year's soft wheat production in the European Union unchanged from last month but cut its export outlook in 2016/17 on quality concerns after heavy rainfall last month and higher supplies from Russia. For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on June 17 PRAGUE, June 17 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================== Real-time economic data releases.................... Summary of economic data and forecasts........... Recently released economic data.................. Previous stories on Czech data............. **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/2E/events-overview ==========================NEWS================================== GAS: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said outcry over Russia's plan to double its gas pipeline to Germany went beyond legal issues as the project would alter the EU's gas market landscape, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Story: Related stories: CHINA: The Czech Republic has agreed to invest 200 million euros ($223 million) in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's (ICBC) 601398.SS1398.HK central and eastern Europe fund to support operations in the country, the bank said on Thursday. Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: Central European currencies and stocks fell on Thursday as attention again turned towards Britain's forthcoming EU membership referendum and local risks as the Croatian parliament ousted Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic. Story: Related stories: ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------ Index/Crown Currency Latest Prev Pct change Pct change close on day in 2016 vs Euro 27.044 27.05 0.02 -0.17 vs Dollar 24.045 24.234 0.78 3.28 Czech Equities 815.86 815.86 -0.21 -14.69 U.S. Equities 17,733.1 17,640.17 0.53 1.77 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500 GMT =======================PRESS DIGEST============================ BUDGET: Finance Minister Andrej Babis said he and his ANO party would vote against any budget with a deficit exceeding 60 billion crowns. Babis has proposed a 48.5 billion crown budget gap with leeway to go to 60 billion. Pravo, page 2 CARS: Unions at TPCA, a joint venture of Toyota Motor Corp and PSA Peugeot Citroen, have gone on strike alert over wage negotiations. Pravo, page 5 Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy. For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (Reporting by Prague Newsroom) Orlando families to bury victims, ask Obama for change By Bernie Woodall ORLANDO, Fla., June 17 (Reuters) - Families of some of the 49 people killed in a massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub will mourn and bury their dead on Friday, a day after President Barack Obama met survivors and said the United States must act to control gun violence. Funerals are expected to be held over the next two weeks. Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25, like many of the victims of the Pulse club mass shooting, was from Puerto Rico. He is to be buried on Friday, according to the Newcomer Funeral Home, a day after more than 150 friends and family mourned him at a wake. Obama, who traveled to Orlando on Thursday and met survivors and families of those who died, told reporters: "I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?'." He urged Congress to pass measures to make it harder to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the semi-automatic rifle used in the attack on Sunday. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in Orlando after a U.S.-born gunman claiming allegiance to various Islamist militant groups carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. During the shooting rampage the gunman, Omar Mateen, exchanged text messages with his wife, CNN reported on Thursday, as well as posting on Facebook and placing a phone call to a television station. Police killed Mateen, 29, a U.S. citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants. Obama, who has visited mass shooting victims' families in towns from San Bernardino, California, to Newtown, Connecticut, since becoming president, laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but U.S. officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. A married couple also claiming allegiance to Islamic State shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. BEFORE THE MADNESS On Thursday, more than 300 people, including Florida Governor Rick Scott, attended the viewing for Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, who was born in Dorado, Puerto Rico. He was 36 when he was killed during a night of dancing to celebrate a friend's new house. His husband had stayed home that night in the couple's apartment. "He was in a Snapchat video that's out there, dancing away, so we know he had some fun before the madness," said his cousin, Orlando Gonzalez. Twenty-three of the 53 wounded remained hospitalized, six in critical condition, according to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. CNN reported, citing a law enforcement official it did not identify, that Mateen exchanged text messages with his wife, Noor Salman, during the three hours he was holed up in a bathroom inside the nightclub. Salman is under investigation to find out whether she knew about Mateen's plans ahead of time. CONGRESS UNDER PRESSURE The massacre put pressure on Congress to act. Mateen carried out the slaughter with an assault weapon and handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice been investigated by the FBI for possible connections with militant Islamist groups. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said the chamber would most likely vote on four gun control measures on Monday. However, no formal deal between the parties for votes was announced, and it was unclear when and how the Senate would proceed with the votes, which would be amendments to an appropriations bill funding the Commerce and Justice departments. Republicans, who hold a 54-person majority in the 100-seat Senate, have blocked a number of Democratic-backed gun control measures over the years, saying they infringed on Americans' constitutional right to bear arms. Sinopec serves $5.5 bln arbitration notice to Repsol MADRID, June 17 (Reuters) - Chinese energy conglomerate Sinopec has served an arbitration notice to Spain's Repsol demanding around $5.5 billion in compensation over a 2012 joint venture, Repsol said on Friday. Sinopec and subsidiary Addax Petroleum UK are seeking compensation for their initial investment and lost investment opportunities stemming from a North Sea oil and gas fields venture deal with a firm called Talisman which Repsol bought in 2014. The claim has no foundation and is deemed a remote risk by legal advisers, Repsol said. "The arbitration notice is unfounded and does not reflect the loyal attitude one would expect from a partner," it said in a statement. Repsol reported a loss last year and has slashed its dividend. It has announced a 40 percent cut in exploration and production investment and asset sales in a bid to protect its investment grade credit rating. Talisman has cut hundreds of jobs at loss-making joint venture Talisman Sinopec Energy UK (TSEUK) due to falling production and rising operating costs. Russia strikes U.S.-backed rebels in Syria - U.S. official WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Russia warplanes struck at rebels battling Islamic State militants, including forces backed by the United States, in southern Syria on Thursday, a senior U.S. defence official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, criticized the Russian air strikes near al-Tanf and said no Russia or Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time. "Russia's latest actions raise serious concern about Russian intentions," the official said. "We will seek an explanation from Russia on why it took this action and assurances this will not happen again." British-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes had struck a meeting of U.S.-backed forces fighting against Islamic State in al-Tanf village, near the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq, killing two fighters and wounding four others. It said it was unclear whose planes had carried out the attack, however. Washington has consistently refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State ever since Moscow launched its campaign of air strikes in September last year, accusing it of acting solely to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States has called on Assad to step down. REUTERS SUMMIT-Asia's heightened illicit-money scrutiny to hit small wealth managers By Sumeet Chatterjee and Saeed Azhar HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - A crackdown on money laundering by Asia's main private banking centres is forcing wealth managers to spend more on compliance procedures and may prove too onerous for smaller players, industry executives said. Regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong, Asia's biggest offshore wealth markets, have stepped up scrutiny of their wealth management industry in recent years, following their Western counterparts who have imposed billion-dollar fines on international banks for violating money laundering rules. Swiss private bank BSI's unit was ordered shut last month by Singapore's central bank for money laundering breaches and the city-state's and Hong Kong's central banks questioned banks in the so-called Panama Papers leak case, underscoring wealth managers' need for constant surveillance of money flows from clients. Banks, including Standard Chartered Deutsche Bank and Bank of Singapore, are thus boosting investments in technology, automation and fintech firms, bankers told the Reuters Global Wealth Management Summit. "We've been investing heavily to ensure that bad money doesn't get inside the bank, anything that helps us do that is good," said Anna Marrs, Standard Chartered's global head of commercial and private banking clients. Standard Chartered, which faced U.S. fines for sanctions-related violation, last year spent over $1 billion globally on compliance across the bank, a 40 percent increase over the previous year, according to its annual results. The private banking unit of Singapore's second-largest lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp is also spending on areas such as monitoring of fund flows and cyber security, a top executive said. Bahren Shaari, CEO of Bank of Singapore, which bought Barclays' wealth management business in Hong Kong and Singapore earlier this year, said its compliance staff has more than doubled in the last three years. CRITICAL MASS For smaller wealth managers, the extra spending on technology and compliance will erode profit margins and distract attention from the core business of growing assets. Wealth managers, with assets under management (AUM) of less than $25 billion, will struggle to invest in systems and people that could help stop the flow of bad money at private banks, bankers said. "If you don't have that kind of AUM in private banking operations out here you will not make money," said Ravi Raju, head of Deutsche Asia Wealth Management Asia Pacific, adding the threshold in the next five years will rise to $35 billion. Asia is emerging as the battleground for wealth managers as Western markets slow down. With 4.7 million individuals with $1 million in liquid assets, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing wealth region in the world. Yet, some wealth managers have left the region in the recent years after struggling to scale up their business and attain a critical AUM to turn profitable. London-based Chrisol Correia, director of International AML Compliance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said financial institutions should expect anti-money laundering obligations to increase. "This will lead to new operational challenges as banks' economic crime controls are updated and expanded," he said. Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits For more summit stories, see Kremlin, on Syria strikes, says hard to distinguish between rebel groups MOSCOW, June 17 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday it was hard to distinguish between moderate and Islamist extremist rebels on the ground when it came to targeting air strikes in Syria because they were frequently fighting close to one another. A Kremlin spokesman made the comments when asked to comment on allegations from a senior unnamed U.S. defence official who accused Russian forces in Syria of bombing US-backed rebels. Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State in Falluja By Thaier al-Sudani and Stephen Kalin FALLUJA/BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 17 (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Friday entered the centre of Falluja, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there. Government troops, supported by multiple air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured the municipal building, though the ultra-hardline militants still controlled a significant portion of Falluja, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives. Federal police raised the Iraqi state flag above the government building and continued pursuing insurgents, according to a military statement. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqi forces had taken back a portion of the city, although he added: "There's still some fighting to be done." Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory shortly after nightfall, as government forces continued pushing into parts of the city held by the militants. Security forces have "tightened their control inside the city and there are still some pockets that need to be cleansed in the coming hours," he said in a brief speech on state television. Troops could be seen coming under sniper fire earlier in the day as they entered a large mosque about 100 metres (300 feet) from the municipal building. Clashes also involved gun fire, artillery and aerial bombardment, sending clouds of smoke towards the sky above the city centre. Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the military statement said. Sabah al-Numani, a CTS spokesman, said on state television that snipers were holed up inside the main hospital. Iraq launched a major operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, a bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against U.S. forces that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and Shi'ite-led governments that followed. The participation of Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias in the battle alongside the Iraqi army raised fears of sectarian killings, and authorities are already investigating allegations that militiamen executed dozens of Sunni men fleeing the city. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged pro-government fighters in a Friday sermon not to seek revenge against residents. There were no initial signs that Shi'ite militiamen had entered the city proper. Falluja was seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in Baghdad, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security in the capital. U.S. allies would prefer to concentrate on Islamic State-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city located in the far north of the country. Enemies of Islamic State have launched major offensives against the jihadists on other fronts, including a thrust by U.S.-backed forces against the city of Manbij in northern Syria. The attacks amount to the most sustained pressure on the group since it proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. MASS DISPLACEMENT Islamic State has begun allowing thousands of civilians trapped in central Falluja to escape and the sudden exodus has overwhelmed displacement camps already filled beyond capacity. More than 6,000 families left on Thursday alone, according to Falluja Mayor Issa al-Issawi, who fled following the IS seizure of city in January 2014. "We don't know how to deal with this large number of civilians," he told Reuters on Friday. The number of displaced people surpassed 68,000, according to the United Nations, which recently estimated Falluja's population at 90,000, only about a third of the total in 2010. Witnesses said Islamic State had announced via loudspeakers that residents could leave if they wanted. It was unclear why the group changed tack after clamping down on civilian movement only a few days ago. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has been providing aid to displaced people, said escapees reported a sudden retreat of IS fighters at key checkpoints inside Falluja that had allowed civilians to leave. "Aid services in the camps were already overstretched and this development will push us all to the limit," said NRC country director Nasr Muflahi. Islamic State, which by U.S. estimates has been ousted from almost half of the territory it seized when Iraqi forces partially collapsed in 2014, has used residents as human shields to slow the military's advance and help avoid air strikes. Taiwan activists press Formosa Plastics over dead fish in Vietnam TAIPEI, June 17 (Reuters) - Activists in Taiwan called on the island's largest industrial group, Formosa Plastics, to investigate recent mass fish deaths in Vietnam, near where the company has a steel plant. The deaths in April of fish in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province, where the Taiwan group's $10.6 billion steel plant is located, and three other provinces along a 200 km (125 miles) stretch of coast, sparked rare protests in Communist-ruled Vietnam. A preliminary Vietnamese investigation found no link between the plant and the mysterious fish deaths. Vietnam has invited experts from Germany, Japan, the United States and Israel to inspect the Ha Tinh site in an attempt to find the cause. They have yet to announce any findings. Echo Lin, an activist shareholder in one of the group's companies, said the company should investigate the disaster. "It is their responsibility to prove that they are innocent," Lin told reporters outside the annual meeting of Formosa Plastics Corp, the conglomerate's flagship firm. "That's why we ask them to conduct an investigation and clarify if it is not related to the company." A small group of protesters, including Vietnamese workers in Taiwan, rallied outside the hotel where the company held it meeting. Some held signs reading "I love the beach; ruining the environment is a sin". During the meeting, Lin, who is secretary-general of the Environmental Jurists Association in Taiwan, asked the company's senior management to investigate independently and disclose its findings. Formosa Plastics Corp Chairman Jason Lin told shareholders the group had asked to take part in the investigation being led by Vietnam and it was awaiting the international inspectors' findings. "Formosa Plastics Corp is only investing. We do not participate in its management," Lin said of the steel plant, adding that he could not speak on its behalf. Formosa's steel plant project is one of the largest foreign direct investments in Vietnam. The plant is 70 percent owned by companies in the Formosa Plastics group, while Taiwan's China Steel Corp controls 25 percent and Japan's JFE Steel Corp holds 5 percent. Factory snag hits GSK supply, causing Danish anaesthetic shortage LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Manufacturing problems at a factory in Italy have disrupted production of some GlaxoSmithKline medicines, leading to shortages of a commonly used opioid anaesthetic in Denmark. The British drugmaker said on Friday it had temporarily suspended manufacturing at its Parma site, which makes sterile products, to investigate environmental monitoring, adding this was unrelated to risks from any medicines. The factory has now recommenced manufacturing. However, a spokeswoman said a small number of countries had experienced shortages of certain products since April. In Denmark, doctors said they were running out of the anaesthetic Ultiva, which is a preferred product because patients wake up quickly after surgery. Recovery typically occurs within five to 10 minutes. Lifting U.S. curbs on gay blood donors seen years away -experts By Andrew M. Seaman and David Morgan NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators are under increasing pressure to remove restrictions keeping most gay and bisexual men from donating blood, but experts say any change would require years of research to guarantee the safety of the blood supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration enacted a lifetime ban for gay and bisexual men in the 1980s to protect against transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. The agency reduced the ban in December to a 12-month wait since a man's last sexual encounter with another man. Following Sunday's mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, more than a dozen Democratic Party lawmakers called on the FDA to move toward lifting the ban altogether. They argued that it wrongly discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, rather than determining whether a donor's actual behavior puts them at risk of HIV. Their call came after members of the gay community tried to donate blood in the aftermath of the Orlando attack but were turned away based on their recent sexual history. "We're still in an inherently contradictory posture of straight men who are having unsafe sex with multiple partners being allowed to give blood. A gay man in a 30-year monogamous relationship, who practices safe sex, is not," Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who serves as vice chair of the congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, told Reuters. The FDA maintains there is not enough scientific evidence to remove the restrictions. "We empathize with those who might wish to donate, but reiterate that at this time no one who needs blood is doing without it," spokeswoman Tara Goodin said in a statement. "That being said, the FDA is committed to continuing to reevaluate its blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available." Blood supply experts say the FDA will need to determine whether the move to a one-year waiting period for gay and bisexual men made the blood supply less, more or just as safe. That effort will take several years, and only then would the agency be able to consider relaxing its restrictions further, said Brian Custer, who has led a number of studies on the nation's blood supply and is associate director of the Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI) in San Francisco. Removing the waiting period altogether would also likely require a large-scale study that tested blood samples of people who would be banned under current criteria, said Dr. Michael Busch, a co-director of BSRI. Busch helped discover in the 1980s that HIV could be transmitted through blood transfusions. "Those are difficult to design and execute," he said. EXISTING RISK HIV disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men. While only about 4 percent of U.S. men have sex with other men, they represent about two-thirds of the country's new infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All blood donated in the United States is screened for HIV, as well as other transmissible diseases such as Hepatitis C and syphilis. Blood supply experts note that such testing cannot detect HIV within the earliest window of exposure, nine to 14 days. In the past 12 years, as many as six people have been infected with HIV through blood transfusion in the United States, according to Dr. Richard Benjamin, a former chief medical officer of the American Red Cross. "That risk is always going to be there. People who donate blood within two weeks of exposure always will be missed by testing," said Benjamin, now an executive at Cerus Corp, whose technology kills pathogens in blood plasma and blood platelets. One study by FDA researchers published in January suggested that dropping all donor restrictions on men who have sex with men would result in 31 more units of HIV-infected blood being missed by screening tests and entering the blood supply each year. Nearly 16 million blood donations are collected in the United States each year, according to the American Red Cross. Groups representing the nation's largest blood centers, including the American Red Cross and America's Blood Centers, said they support the FDA's current rules, which are in line with policies in the UK, France, Australia and the Netherlands. John Finn (DDG 113).jpg The House has passed the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes billions in funding for Mississippi coast entities, including the construction of two additional Aegis-class destroyers. Pictured is the John Finn (DDG 113). (Ingalls Shipbuilding) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House overwhelming passed the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Friday, approving the $576 billion defense spending bill which includes billions for Ingalls Shipbuilding and other Mississippi coast entities. Senate Bill 2943 passed the House 282-138, largely along party lines, although 48 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while six Republicans voted against it. "The common defense of our nation is our number one constitutional responsibility in Congress and should not be held up by partisan gridlock," said U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Gulfport. "I was proud to support this year's defense funding bill, and I hope the Senate will quickly follow suit and send this legislation to the President in short order." President Barack Obama, however, has suggested he may veto the bill because it fails to provide for closure of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The NDAA provides funding for numerous military-related projects along the coast, including: $1.6 billion for construction of another LHA amphibious ship at Ingalls $1.5 billion for the LXR next generation amphibious program at Ingalls Two additional DDG destroyers, also at Ingalls Funding to maintain four Apache helicopter battalions in the U.S. Army National Guard, key to ensuring the presence of Apaches in the Mississippi Army National Guard Increased production of unmanned aircraft, benefiting Northrup Grumman in Moss Point "We are pleased to see our shipbuilding programs well supported in the House bill," said Ingalls spokesperson Bill Glenn. "As you know, this is a long and complex process and we will remain engaged with our customers and Congress as the process unfolds." The bill also provides additional funding for the LCS program in Mobile, Ala., and the Ship to Shore Connector in Slidell, La., which will benefit the supplier base along the Mississippi coast, according to Palazzo spokesperson Jill Duckworth. "This bill continues to provide sound federal investment to support our military assets in South Mississippi," Palazzo said. "Overall Mississippi's 4th Congressional District employs more than 20,000 military and DOD civilian personnel with an annual economic impact of over $1.6 billion." The defense appropriations bill provides a total of $517 in base defense spending and another $59 billion in overseas contingency operations funding. It also includes an additional $3 billion to prevent end strength cuts, as well as a 2.1 percent pay increase for military personnel. Also included: the first-ever mandatory Selective Service registration for women. Burundi signs deal with Russian bank on foreign investment By Clement Manirabarusha BUJUMBURA, June 17 (Reuters) - Burundi's central bank has signed a deal with Russia's Gazprombank to facilitate foreign investment in the African nation, which has been embroiled in a political crisis for more than a year and faced Western aid cuts. No further details were immediately available on the deal but other African nations, including Mozambique, have turned to Russian institutions when Western donors or multilateral bodies have been more reluctant to provide funding. Burundi boasts few major foreign investments beyond its mobile phone businesses and main brewery Barudi, owned by Heineken. The crisis has hammered an already struggling economy and caused a shortage of foreign exchange. Burundi has been mired in crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term in office last year. His opponents and Western nations say this violates the constitution and a deal that ended a civil war in 2005. Officials dismiss this and cite a court decision that ruled he could run again. The United States and Europe, the biggest donors to Burundi, have cut back on their support and imposed sanctions on some senior officials and rebels, as violence has flared. More than 450 people have been killed and rebel groups have emerged. Russia has typically taken a more cautious line at the U.N. Security Council when Western states have called for outside intervention to end the violence. The Central Bank of Burundi, known by the French acronym BRB, signed the deal on Thursday with Russia's Gazprombank "to facilitate foreign direct investment in Burundi", Burundi's Second Vice President Joseph Butore tweeted. The agreement "is a guarantee for Russian companies which are interested in the EAC through Burundi," Butore wrote, referring to the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc that groups Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan. The deal was signed on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Greece wants send thousands of migrants back to Turkey in coming weeks ATHENS, June 17 (Reuters) - Greece wants to dramatically escalate returns of migrants to Turkey in the coming weeks under a European Union deal with Ankara, the migration minister said on Friday, amid criticism it has been too slow to process them. The deal, which has been lambasted by rights groups and aid agencies, is aimed at closing off the main route into Europe, used by around a million refugees and migrants last year. It obliges Greece to return those who either do not apply for asylum or have their claims rejected. Officials say about 8,400 migrants are currently on Greek islands, nearly all of whom have expressed interest in applying for asylum, overwhelming the system. Greece says that, so far, it has deported 468 people back to Turkey, none of whom had requested asylum. Just two Syrian refugees have been ordered back from Greece to Turkey and they are appealing against the decision in the Greek courts. Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said Greece wanted to send thousands of migrants who arrived by crossing the Aegean Sea back to Turkey within weeks if they did not qualify for asylum in Greece. "It would constitute failure if, within the next month-and-a-half, those who are obliged to leave the islands didn't do so," Mouzalas told Greek TV. Asked how many people that amounted to, Mouzalas said "more than half" of the migrants currently there. The minister's comments came a day after parliament voted an amendment replacing two members of an asylum appeal board with judges. Previously, the panel was made up of one civil servant, one member appointed by the national human rights committee, and a representative of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. EU officials had called on Greece to think about whether the committee should comprise civil society members rather than judges. Unrest in Greek island camps boiled over earlier this month as migrants stranded there since March brawled with each other and set tents on fire. Indonesia says 44 migrants must sail on after being resupplied JAKARTA, June 17 (Reuters) - Indonesian authorities have stopped 44 migrants believed to be from Sri Lanka from disembarking from their boat and said on Friday the vessel had to head back out to sea after being supplied with food and fuel and repaired. Indonesia has for years been a stepping stone for refugees and migrants from the Middle East and South Asia hoping to reach Australia. Australia has been urging it to act to stop the flow of people, often travelling in unseaworthy boats. The boat carrying the 44 people, including several women and children, was found stranded off the coast of the northern Indonesian province of Aceh last week. "We fixed their boat and gave them the food and fuel they asked for. We also did health checks and we see their condition is good," provincial governor Zaini Abdullah told media. "They can be on their way. We are waiting for high tide ... Don't look at it as if we are pushing them out or ejecting them. We have fulfilled the humanitarian obligations." It was not clear if the people on board the boat wanted to land in Indonesia or sail on but activists said they should have been given access to the U.N. refugee agency. Even though Indonesia is seen as a transit country on the way to Australia, many migrants end up staying there for years. Connecticut man to be sentenced for shooting at mosque after Paris attacks June 17 (Reuters) - A Connecticut man who pleaded guilty to shooting at an empty mosque near his home in an alcohol-fueled rage following the November attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead is due to be sentenced on Friday. Ted Hakey, 48, pleaded guilty in February to firing at least four shots at the Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden in the early morning hours of Nov. 14, hours after learning of the Nov. 13 attacks by gunman and bombers affiliated with the Islamic State. No one was injured in his attack. A review of Hakey's social media postings in the hours leading up to the shooting showed a stream of anti-Muslim comments, including "the only solution is to wipe Islam off the face of the Earth," according to court documents. Federal prosecutors asked a judge in court filings to sentence Hakey, who was arrested on Dec. 18 and released on bond on Jan. 4, to eight to 14 months in prison, followed by one to three years' supervised release. UK share of global dealmaking falls to lowest on record ahead of Brexit vote By Anjuli Davies LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Brexit uncertainty has taken its toll on British dealmaking, with merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year at its lowest as a proportion of global activity since records began in 1980, Thomson Reuters data showed on Friday. British companies are preparing for the possibility of a so-called Brexit after the country votes in its June 23 referendum on European Union membership, with the prospect of a "Leave" vote coming into sharp focus. The value of M&A involving British companies has reached $57.6 billion so far this year, down 69 percent on the same period last year, representing the slowest year-to-date period since 2013, the data shows. That gives Britain a record low 4 percent of the global M&A total so far this year. At its peak in 2000, British M&A accounted for 18 percent of the worlwide total over a comparable time period. Inbound cross-border M&A in the UK has reached $43.8 billion so far this year, down 74 percent from a year ago. Investment banking fees paid by UK companies in the period total $1.9 billion, a 22 percent year-on-year decline and the slowest year-to-date fees figure since 2012. Capital markets fees, meanwhile, have droped by 37 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since 2003. Worldwide M&A activity has fallen 20 percent to $1.44 trillion so far this year after hitting a record high in 2015. Oil prices, worries about slowing growth in China and Britain's looming Brexit referendum have all weighed on sentiment. European M&A of $295 billion this year is down 24 percent, while U.S. dealmaking is down 19 percent at $623 billion. WHO backs cut in yellow fever vaccine dose to eke out supplies By Stephanie Nebehay and Ben Hirschler GENEVA/LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - World Health Organization advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of yellow fever vaccine in the event of a global shortage to combat the worst outbreak of the deadly disease in decades. Fears of a widening outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease were fuelled this week by a spike in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which now says it has seen more than 1,000 suspected cases since March. "Experts agreed to propose if necessary, if there is a shortage of vaccine, to divide the vaccine by five," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Friday, reporting on a meeting this week. "One fifth of a dose according to their evidence would be sufficient to provide immunity for at least 12 months." Reuters previously reported that a move to stretch vaccine supplies in this was was likely. The normal full dose of the vaccine confers life-long protection and the WHO emphasised that the low dose endorsed by its independent experts was designed specifically for emergency mass vaccination, not for routine immunisation. More research is also needed to see if low doses will work for young children, who may have a weaker immune response, and practical challenges remain over obtaining the right syringes. The current yellow fever epidemic started in Angola but a major outbreak in the DRC's capital city of Kinshasa, which has a population of more than 12 million, is a big worry for healthcare officials. The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccines has already been depleted twice this year to immunise people in Angola, Uganda and the DRC. It currently stands at 6 million doses but this may not be enough if there are simultaneous outbreaks in multiple densely populated areas. Almost 18 million doses have been distributed for emergency vaccination campaigns so far in the three African countries. Concerns about limited vaccine supplies have been building for some time, with a group of medics calling for low-dose use in an article in The Lancet journal back in April. Yellow fever is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that spread the Zika and dengue viruses, although it is a much more serious disease. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients. Although approximately 6 million vaccine doses are kept in reserve for emergencies, there is no quick way to boost output when there is a surge in demand since production, using chicken eggs, takes around 12 months. Manufacturers include the Institut Pasteur, government factories in Brazil and Russia, and French drugmaker Sanofi . WHO says $122 million needed for global response to Zika virus By Kate Kelland LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Almost $122 million is needed to prevent and manage the medical complications of the Zika virus spreading throughout the Americas and causing birth defects in babies, the World Health Organization said on Friday. A specific focus is needed on supporting women and girls of child-bearing age, the UN health agency said as it set out a revised joint strategy with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for how to handle the mosquito-borne virus. Zika has caused alarm throughout the Americas since cases of the birth defect microcephaly were reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak. The rare birth defect is marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems. Brazilian authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy. On Thursday, U.S. health officials reported three babies there have been born with birth defects linked to likely Zika virus infection in their mothers in pregnancy, along with three cases of lost pregnancies linked to Zika.. WHO director-general Margaret Chan said much had been learned about Zika, how it spreads, the consequences of infection and how to control it since global health authorities set out their initial response plans earlier this year. WHO declared Zika a global public health emergency in February. "The response now requires a unique and integrated strategy that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core," she said in a statement. The plan highlights several aspects of the Zika outbreak "that require a collaborative, global response," the WHO said. These include, the potential for further international spread of Zika given the wide distribution of Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting it; the lack of population immunity in areas where Zika virus is circulating for the first time; and the lack of vaccines, treatments and rapid diagnostic tests. Chan said "coherent funding mechanisms" were essential for the plan to be implemented successfully, and noted the number of donors engaged in the global Zika response had risen to 60 from 23 in February 2016. Wildfires in California, New Mexico trigger evacuations By Brendan O'Brien June 17 (Reuters) - Firefighters worked into early Friday morning to try to contain a growing wildfire in coastal Southern California and a larger blaze in rural New Mexico as hot weather fed flames that triggered hundreds of evacuations. The Sherpa Fire in California grew to about 1,400 acres (560 hectares) overnight after forcing authorities to evacuate 400 homes and businesses and to close part of the 101 Freeway, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office and fire information center InciWeb. About 1,200 firefighters were trying to keep the fire from exploding out of control as airplane tankers and helicopters dropped water, according to officials and online videos. The blaze, which ignited on Wednesday in a wilderness area northwest of Santa Barbara, has consumed chaparral and tall grass in the Los Padres National Forest, according to InciWeb. Because of the fire, officials said they had closed two state beaches and some ranch land, forcing out campers and horses. Southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Dog Head Fire, which broke out on Tuesday about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of the town of Tajique, has also forced evacuations and grown to about 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) overnight. Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency and ordered the state's National Guard to be prepared to assist if needed, according to a statement from her office. The fire destroyed 24 homes and 21 other structures, InciWeb said. The blaze has burned through timber in central New Mexico, pushing heavy smoke toward cities more than 100 miles (160 km) away as flames spread through a largely unpopulated area, state fire information officer Peter D'Aquanni said in a phone interview on Thursday. D'Aquanni said winds could shift the flames to the east as more than 600 firefighters tackle the blaze. Torrance County Sheriff Heath White said on Thursday that his office was evacuating about 200 people. The National Weather Service on Friday predicted dry, windy and hot weather for the region through next week, which could lead to more wildfires. IMF's Lagarde wishes "fellow European" Brits bon courage in EU vote VIENNA, June 17 (Reuters) - IMF chief Christine Lagarde urged British voters on Friday to have the "courage" to vote the right way in next week's referendum on whether to leave the European Union. Without explicitly urging Britons to vote "Remain", she said there was a clear case by most economists against Brexit. "It has been said that 'it takes great courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.' So I wish bon courage to our fellow Europeans from the United Kingdom!" Lagarde said in a speech in Vienna. The International Monetary Fund delayed a report on Britain's economy, due on Thursday, for 24 hours due to the murder of Labour member of parliament and "Remain" campaigner Jo Cox. Referendum campaigning in Britain remains suspended. Lagarde said the IMF was "neutral" in Britain's highly charged political debate, but that the facts spoke for themselves. "I certainly hope that from our neutral position we can at least shed some light on the economic value of one choice or the other," Lagarde said, adding that most British people had benefited from EU membership. EU chiefs to meet June 24 after Brexit vote BRUSSELS, June 17 (Reuters) - The heads of the three main political institutions of the European Union will meet in Brussels next Friday, June 24, when the result of Britain's referendum on whether to leave the bloc will be known. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU chief executive, would host a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs summits of EU leaders, and European Parliament President Martin Schulz, a Commission spokesman told a news briefing on Friday. Also attending would be Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose government holds the chair of EU ministerial councils. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- A fight in a Pascagoula nightclub early Friday morning ended with gunshots being fired at a car in the club parking lot. According to Pascagoula Police Lt. Doug Adams, the fight began inside Thunders Tavern on Market Street around 2 a.m. Friday. The fight ultimately spilled into the parking lot, where one man -- later identified as 25-year-old Ronnie Wayne Hoda -- jumped into his vehicle and began to ram other vehicles. At that point, another person pulled a weapon and attempted to shoot out the tires of Hoda's vehicle to prevent him from ramming other vehicles. "Shots were never fired at another person," Adams said, adding that the fight participants appeared to be intoxicated. Hoda was arrested and charged with DUI and driving with a suspended license. He was booked into the Jackson County Adult Detention Center under a $1,500 bond. Three other people were charged by police with misdemeanors including public drunk and disorderly conduct. None of the participants indicated a willingness to file charges and as of late Friday afternoon none of the owners of damaged vehicles had filed charges against Hoda. Boko Haram shoot dead 18 women at funeral in northern Nigeria YOLA, Nigeria, June 17 (Reuters) - Boko Haram militants have shot dead 18 women at a funeral in Nigeria's northeast, rampaging through a village, setting houses on fire and shooting at random, witnesses and local government officials said on Friday. The attack took place at about 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Thursday in the village of Kuda in Adamawa State. Resident Moses Kwagh told Reuters that people waited until three hours after the attack and had then counted 18 women's bodies. Some women were still missing, he said. A police source confirmed the attack but said it was not yet clear how many people had been killed. The military did not respond to a request for comment. State lawmaker Emmanuel Tsamdu told Reuters: "I am yet to get the details on how it happened and the real number of people killed. I have sent hunters to go to the area and get me the details because people are afraid to go to the village." Kuda is close to the Sambisa Forest, a vast colonial-era game reserve where Boko Haram militants hide in secluded camps to avoid the Nigerian military. The village was attacked by Boko Haram militants in February. Under President Muhammadu Buhari's command and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most of the territory seized by Boko Haram, but the group still regularly stages guerrilla attacks. Chinese president visits Serbia, trade deals to be signed By Ivana Sekularac BELGRADE, June 17 (Reuters) - Serbia and China are set to sign at least 20 trade and investment deals this weekend during a visit by President Xi Jinping, as the cash-strapped Balkan country seeks funds for infrastructure projects to spur growth. Serbia has enjoyed good relations with China since the 1990s, when Belgrade was economically isolated for its role in the wars that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia. China sees the visit as part of its One Belt, One Road initiative, which is intended to open new trade links for Chinese firms as the domestic economy slows. "Within the One Belt, One Road initiative, which includes cooperation between Central and Eastern Europe, cooperation between the two countries is constantly improving," Xi wrote in the Serbian daily Politika before his arrival on Friday. Xi's ambitious initiative is for a new "Silk Road" from Western China to Central Asia and on to Europe via the Balkans. Central and east European countries are competing for Chinese investment, looking to lure firms in need of new markets whilst securing access for their own products in China. Serbian and Chinese officials are expected to sign at least 20 trade and investment deals, including agreements on building highways and waste-to-power plants. The two countries will also reaffirm their commitment to build a high-speed railway between Serbia and the Hungarian capital Budapest. CONFUCIUS MONUMENT On his latest trip, Xi will also visit Poland and Uzbekistan, the latter for a regional summit of the Chinese and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. . To cement good relations with Serbia, the foundation stone for a Chinese cultural centre will be laid and a monument to Confucius will be erected where Chinese embassy stood until it was destroyed by NATO bombs in 1999. Since 2009, when China and Serbia signed a strategic partnership agreement, China has invested more than $1 billion in Serbia, mostly in soft loans including finance for a bridge in Belgrade, the renovation of coal-fired power plant and construction of a new plant due to come online in 2018. A 46-million-euro ($52-million) deal to buy Serbia's sole steel plant by Hebei Iron & Steel announced in April is seen by Serbian officials and analysts as a major breakthrough that could pave the way for other Chinese companies. But the purchase of a steel-works in an EU candidate country by a state-owned Chinese enterprise raises serious concerns about unfair competition from state-backed enterprises, the European Steel Association said in a statement ahead of Xi's arrival. Putin: I agree with U.S. that some opposition members should join Syrian government ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he agreed with U.S. proposals to incorporate parts of the opposition into the current Syrian government, saying President Bashar al-Assad agreed there was a need for a political process. Putin, speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, said the most important thing for Syria was not for Assad to establish control over territory but for overall faith in the authorities to be restored. Fresh violence in Central African Republic kills several, forces thousands to flee - U.N. DAKAR, June 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Fresh violence in northwest Central African Republic this week has killed several people and forced thousands from their homes, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, the United Nations said on Friday. The spate of attacks and reprisals took place in Ngaoundaye, about 500 km (300 miles) northwest of the capital, between groups backed by Christian militias and herders supported by Muslim fighters, said the U.N. peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA). Several people have been injured and killed in recent days, houses have been burned and looted, and thousands of people have been uprooted, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "This new spiral of violence will likely cause additional needs in CAR while the increasing insecurity is rendering the work of humanitarian actors even more challenging," Michel Yao, the country's humanitarian coordinator, said in a statement. Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters seized power, triggering reprisal attacks by Christian anti-balaka militias. A fifth of the population fled their homes due to violence and the country remains largely divided along religious lines and controlled by warlords. More than 400,000 people have been internally displaced, and some half-a-million have fled to neighbouring countries such as Chad, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, OCHA said. Aid access in the country is hindered by insecurity and violence, and there were more than a dozen attacks against aid workers last month, according to the U.N. agency. Medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) halted operations in the west of the country last month after a staff member was shot dead during an ambush on one of its convoys. MSF said more than two-thirds of the country's health facilities have been damaged or destroyed by fighting since 2013, while around 2.3 million people - half of the population - urgently need humanitarian aid, according to OCHA. Tanzania regulator disconnects 600,000 counterfeit mobile phones DAR ES SALAAM, June 17 (Reuters) - Tanzania's telecoms regulator has disconnected 600,000 mobile phones from mobile networks in an effort to stamp out counterfeit devices that it says are often used for fraudulent transactions on mobile payment systems and in other crimes. Poorly made counterfeit phones, imported mainly from Asia, are prevalent in many African nations and regulators say they are widely used by criminals because they are difficult to track. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority's (TCRA) communications manager, Innocent Mungy, said that all devices with invalid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers were disconnected on Thursday. IMEI numbers are most commonly used to deny network access when phones have been reported as stolen. The watchdog had announced the move in February and launched a campaign to encourage people to switch to non-counterfeit devices, but Thursday's big switch-off came as a shock to many who rely on their handsets to transact business and stay in touch, while mobile operator Vodacom said the reduced telephone and data traffic would hit revenue. "I woke up to check my phone only to see an indication of 'no service' and I realised my phone was blocked," said Amina Juma, a street food vendor in Dar es Salaam, adding that she will find it tough to raise funds to buy a new handset. Vodacom head of communications Rosalynn Mworia said that the company would suffer financially from the shutdown but that it was too early to quantify the losses. Italy's Renzi warns Britain that Brexit would be "forever" ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 17 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned Britain on Friday that there would be no turning back if it voted to leave the European Union in next week's referendum. "If the United Kingdom leaves Europe, it is forever," he said during a roundtable discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Renzi said he believed Britons would vote to stay in the European Union in the June 23 ballot, but added that if the referendum went the other way there would be short-term problems for everyone, "above all for the United Kingdom". "Either way, the European Union needs to rethink itself," he said. EU reaches preliminary deal on watered-down rules against tax-dodging By Francesco Guarascio LUXEMBOURG, June 17 (Reuters) - European Union states reached preliminary agreement on Friday on new rules to counter corporations' tax avoidance, but it watered down some proposals after lobbying by smaller countries, such as Belgium and Austria. Ministers were under pressure to approve new rules proposed by the European Commission in January, after revelations in the so-called Panama Papers and Luxleaks cases . After months of wrangling, EU finance ministers in a regular meeting in Luxembourg backed an amended version of the Commission proposals, excluding some controversial measures and delaying others. The deal is suspended until Monday. If no country raises objections by then, the agreement will take effect. The Belgian and Czech finance ministers asked for the extra time to sort out pending technical issues. "I am confident that what we have is still a good step forward in the fight against tax avoidance," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chair of the talks and Dutch Finance Minister, told a news conference after the meeting. Corporate tax practices cost EU states an estimated 70 billion euros ($76.10 billion) a year in lost revenues, according to an EU Parliament report. But the plan to curtail them is less ambitious than what was originally planned. A proposal known as switch-over clause was dropped because some finance ministers said it could cause double taxation of European corporations, making them less competitive. The clause would have taxed dividends and capital gains that European companies pay to companies they control in low-tax or tax-free countries, which are then returned to the parent company. In theory, the money was liable to tax by the tax haven country - even though little or no tax was imposed - so on its return it is not subject to tax, to avoid duplicate taxation. The European Parliament, which in tax matters has only a consulting role, had urged states to tighten the original switch-over clause. Measures to reduce multinationals' artificial shift of profits to subsidiaries in tax havens were also changed, granting states leeway on how to apply the new rules. The original proposal said that states should automatically tax profits shifted to countries with tax rates 40 percent below theirs. The ministers eliminated the rate threshold, although officials said the substance of the proposal remained unchanged. Ministers were also stuck on when to apply proposed rules to reduce tax deductions of interest payments. Some companies use those deductions to cut their taxes by arranging artificial loans from subsidiaries in low-tax countries. Belgium, Austria, Malta, Slovenia and Lithuania asked for the new rules on limitation of interest deductions to be delayed. They want them to become effective only after an agreement is reached at international level by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. After pressure from the EU commissioner for tax affairs Pierre Moscovici, countries eventually agreed to put the interest limitation rules in place from 2024, instead of the original 2019 deadline. Europe's far-right parties hope for Brexit boost By Noah Barkin VIENNA, June 17 (Reuters) - Emboldened by a surge in voter support and the looming Brexit referendum, Europe's leading far-right parties pledged on Friday to work towards a "Patriotic Spring" that would roll back EU powers and halt an influx of Middle East refugees. Their meeting in Vienna was hosted by Heinz-Christian Strache, whose Freedom Party (FPO) came within a whisker of winning the Austrian presidency last month and is now challenging the result. He vowed to deepen cooperation between the parties, which share a deep mistrust of immigrants and European integration but whose nationalist tendencies have hampered close collaboration in the past. Strache was joined by Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Front, and politicians from the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and Italy's Northern League. They expressed hope that Britain's June 23 vote on whether to remain a member of the European Union would give their cause new momentum. "I support the referendum in the United Kingdom because I want all the countries in the EU to have this choice," Le Pen told a news conference in the Austrian parliament building. "But even if we don't get Brexit, it will present a huge new problem for the European Union which has pledged to give Britain special rights if it stays that other countries won't have. So this could be the beginning of Europe a la carte." Le Pen and the others sat beneath a poster with a massive bald eagle on it and the words: "Patriotic Spring -- Cooperation for Peace, Security and Prosperity in Europe." ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT MOOD Populist, anti-immigration parties are on the rise across the region as high unemployment and austerity, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees, and recent militant attacks in France and Belgium erode voters' traditional loyalties. The mood is mirrored in the United States, where Donald Trump has confounded the political establishment by crushing rivals for the Republican presidential nomination with rhetoric that has been widely denounced as racist and divisive. Le Pen is expected to make it into a second-round run-off for the French presidency next year. In neighbouring Germany, where far-right parties have struggled to gain traction in the post-war era, the AfD has won double-digit support in a string of state elections and seems poised to enter the Bundestag in Berlin next year. Since its creation in 2013, the AfD has kept other European far-right parties at arm's length. But its leader Frauke Petry joined Strache last week for a symbolic trip to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, and her partner, AfD politician Marcus Pretzell, recently joined the "Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom" grouping in the European Parliament. The group also includes Austria's Freedom Party, the National Front, the Northern League and right-wing Belgian and Czech parties. "We are different parties. We have differences on substance. But there are also issues on which we agree," Strache said, listing more direct democracy, greater influence for national parliaments and the preservation of national cultural identities as common goals. Istanbul bans gay pride march after threats from hardline group By Ece Toksabay and Dasha Afanasieva ANKARA, June 17 (Reuters) - Authorities in Istanbul have banned transgender and gay pride marches this month, citing security concerns after ultra-nationalists said they would not allow "degenerates" to hold the events on Turkish soil. The organisers of the events, the Pride Week Commission, said the ban was illegal and that it would take legal action. A march in support of transgender people was planned for Sunday in central Istanbul, while an annual gay pride parade - described in the past as the biggest in the Muslim world - had been due to take place a week later on June 26. The Istanbul governor's office said on Friday the marches had been banned out of concern for public order. Security in the city is already tight after a series of bombings blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants in recent months. But the ban also follows a warning from an ultra-nationalist youth group, the Alperen Hearths, that it would not allow the marches, calling them immoral and threatening violence. "To our state officials: do not make us deal with this. Either do what is needed or we will do it. We will take any risks, we will directly prevent the march," the group's Istanbul provincial head, Kursat Mican, told journalists on Wednesday. "Degenerates will not be allowed to carry out their fantasies on this land ... We're not responsible for what will happen after this point," he said, citing a Turkish proverb: "if you're not taught by experience, you're taught by a beating." While homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey unlike many other Muslim countries, homophobia remains widespread. Critics say President Tayyip Erdogan and the Islamist-rooted AK Party he founded have shown little interest in expanding rights for minorities, gays and women, and are intolerant of dissent. There had already been concerns about the security of the planned marches after last weekend's massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida of 49 people by a gunman who had expressed sympathy for a variety of Islamist militant groups. Yeni Akit, a religiously conservative newspaper loyal to the Turkish government, ran a headline the next day saying "50 pervert gays killed in a bar". Historically the gay pride parade in Istanbul - a city seen as a relative safe haven by members of the gay community from elsewhere in the Middle East, including refugees from Syria and Iraq - has been a peaceful event. But last year police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse participants, after organisers said they had been refused permission because it coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, as it does again this year. Aid convoy reaches besieged al Waer in Syria's Homs - U.N. By Tom Miles and Lisa Barrington GENEVA, June 17 (Reuters) - An aid convoy carrying food, medicines and other emergency supplies for 37,500 people has reached al Waer, a besieged suburb of the Syrian city of Homs, a U.N. aid agency said on Friday. "The convoy to al Waer was completed late last night and the team has returned safely to their base," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said. A second convoy, to supply the rest of the estimated 75,000 people in al Waer, is planned in the next few days. A separate convoy, to Afrin in northern Aleppo, had also gone ahead but a delivery to the Damascus suburb of Kafr Batna had not, due to "last minute logistical complications". The U.N. hoped it would proceed in the next few days, Laerke said. The delivery to al Waer means only two besieged areas are still out of reach since the countries backing the U.N. peace process launched a weekly "humanitarian taskforce" meeting to push for better aid access in March. The U.N. hopes to send convoys to the last two areas - Arbin and Zamalka in outlying suburbs of Damascus - within days, U.N. humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said on Thursday, although the U.N. and Syrian government disagree how many people are there. Egeland said aid agencies need sustained access to civilians, rather than the familiar "stop-go" situation whereby Syria's government switches approvals for convoys on and off and some aid convoys get only conditional or partial clearance. He noted that not a single siege had been lifted, despite apparent progress in aid access this month. Riad Hijab, coordinator of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, said al Waer, the only part of Homs city not under government control, was on the brink of humanitarian disaster, and blamed the U.N. for capitulating to the government's "siege and starvation tactics". "Al Waer's residents have come under enormous pressure - because of dire humanitarian conditions, bombardment and starvation imposed by the Assad regime - to agree to a local truce. "The United Nations Damascus office has helped the regime enforce the terms of this truce", he said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. MOSS POINT, Mississippi ---- Moss Point residents gathered at Pelican Landing Convention Center Thursday night to hear Mayor Billy Broomfield's State of the City address. Broomfield highlighted progressive improvements to water and sewer lines, construction projects such as the new public safety facility, and a maintained balanced budget, just to name a few. "Despite tough economic times, the city has continued to maintain a balanced budget," Broomfield said. "More importantly, while we have stayed fiscally responsible, we have simultaneously invested in projects and initiatives to build a community here in Moss Point that strives to improve our city's appearance, provide clean water and utilities, and further improve this great city we call home." Some of those projects include the Rose Drive drainage project. The mayor was proud to announce that the extensive repair project was "100 percent complete" after many delays in trying to address decades of flooding issues for residents and businesses in that area. In addition, Broomfield discussed the city's upcoming $14 million energy project through the Mississippi Development Authority to replace water and gas meters with technology driven devices that can be read electronically. The program is designed to reduce energy cost and replace inadequate utility systems to include water delivery and even road repairs. McNeil Rhoads has been contracted to do the work and the project is expected to be completed this year. "Although we do still have a ways to go, we ask that you bear with us as we work diligently to correct the sewer, water, and pothole problems throughout the city," said Broomfield. Other projects residents may notice in progress this year include adding sidewalks along Main Street from Elder Avenue down to Jefferson Avenue and the highly anticipated construction of the new $4 million, state-of-the-art public safety building. Crews are in the beginning stages of laying the brick walls. The mayor stressed that the city has a number of major projects made possible through a variety of funding sources including local, state, federal, and other grant funds. "Let me repeat, these improvements are being made with no tax increases to residents," he said as the audience applauded. The mayor was also proud to announce that for the third consecutive year, the city received a five water quality rating, the highest rating possible. "The water is better. I can definitely say that," said Moss Point Resident Shaelandra Narcisse. "I remember the days of brown water." Broomfield noted that the administration is working to improve economic development in the area and highlighted the opening of the Estabrook Toyota dealership and Taco Bell along Highway 63. In addition, with the opening of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in the downtown area, Moss Point expects between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors in the first year. This provides an opportunity for local businesses to expand and new businesses to open. The mayor also hinted of future business to come. "Among other opportunities for the city is a medical facility with long time interest in Moss Point," he told the crowd. "The addition of local health care services could potentially provide better health care for residents while generating an added source of revenue for the city." Another hope for the future is a new grocery store in the Moss Point area. Broomfield says the city has worked hard to develop relationships with regional and national grocery chains. Without giving many details, he said one national grocery leader has officially placed Moss Point on its "active consideration list." Broomfield admitted it's been a challenge to convince a grocery store chain of the need for a local store. "We will not give up on these efforts," he said. "Economic Development Director Sue Wright is making it very clear that our citizens want and need a grocery store that will make it easy for them to stay right here in Moss Point to shop. I am asking that you keep the faith that we will see a grocery store here during this administration." "I'm happy if it comes," said Narcisse. "I hope to see a lot of growth. I want the best for Moss Point. I always want to stay positive." Broomfield feels good about the number of improvements made thus far and says the work continues. "I am happy to say again, the state of the City of Moss Point is increasingly good. Each of our departments have worked to accomplish city and departmental objectives. Although we may face unexpected delays and frustrating setbacks, we refuse to lose focus." U.S. denies plan to include Syrian opposition in Assad government WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - There are no U.S. proposals to include members of the Syrian opposition in the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a U.S. official said on Friday, in a denial of comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zambia election body threatens to halt all campaigning over violence LUSAKA, June 17 (Reuters) - Zambia's electoral commission has threatened to bar campaigning ahead of elections on Aug. 11 due to growing cases of violence, after clashes between supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front party and the main opposition United Party for National Development. The Electoral Process Act of 2016 empowered the Electoral Commission of Zambia to suspend campaigns if it considered it necessary for a credible election, the EZC said in a statement on Friday. "The commission is compelled to warn political parties and candidates participating in the 2016 general elections and the referendum to desist from acts of violence, failure to which it will suspend all political party campaigns and disqualify them from the elections," it said. President Edgard Lungu has been in power for just over a year after winning a ballot triggered by the death of his predecessor, Michael Sata, in October 2014. Lungu faces a strong challenge from UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema. "All political parties are expected to ensure that their candidates...and supporters abide by the code," the ECZ said. Boko Haram militants kill 7 police in attack in Niger -military NIAMEY, June 17 (Reuters) - Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a village in Niger while a delegation of ministers were visiting, killing seven gendarmes and wounding 12 in a gun battle, the military said on Friday. The attack happened on Thursday in a village in the region of Diffa that hosts refugees and internally displaced people who have been forced from their home by the Islamist insurgents, officials said. The ministers were unharmed. Neighbouring Chad has sent troops to help Niger in a planned counterattack against Boko Haram after the militants seized the southern Niger town of Bosso in an attack that killed 26 soldiers. Niger's government has called on former colonial power France, which already has 3,500 troops spread across five countries in West Africa, to strengthen military operations against the Nigeria-based Boko Haram and other militants. Niger's defence minister, Hassoumi Messaoudou, told Radio France International on Friday that regional leaders needed to "rethink Boko Haram" and called on regional forces to defeat the group in Nigeria. U.S. denies plan to include Syrian opposition in Assad government WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The United States denied it has proposed including members of the Syrian opposition in the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, contradicting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking in St. Petersburg, Putin said on Friday he agreed with what he said were U.S. proposals to incorporate parts of the opposition into the current Syrian government. Putin also said Assad accepted there was a need for a political process. "The U.S. proposal is absolutely acceptable. We must think about the possibilities of incorporating representatives of the opposition into the active ruling structure," Putin said. Asked if Washington had made such a proposal, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby replied with a flat "no." "There is no such proposal," said another U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying U.S. policy on Assad's departure has not changed. The United States and Russia support opposing sides in the five-year-old Syrian civil war, with Washington backing opposition forces seeking to topple Assad and Russia supporting the Syrian president, including with direct military intervention. The 2012 Geneva Communique, backed by Moscow and Washington, called for the establishment of a "transitional governing body" that would exercise full executive powers over Syria and would be formed by "mutual consent." The document said such a body "could include members of the present government and the opposition," but Washington has long argued that "mutual consent" meant Assad must go because the opposition will never accept his staying. Assad sits at the top of the active ruling structure and it did not appear there was any resolution to the underlying U.S.-Russian disagreement over whether he should stay or go. For five years, the United States has argued that Assad has lost the legitimacy to lead Syria because of the suffering his forces have inflicted on civilians. Russian officials question who might succeed him and argue that chaos would be worse. U.N. early warning report sees Burundi scenario in Congo By Tom Miles GENEVA, June 17 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo could descend into a cycle of electoral violence similar to that seen in Burundi and presidential and legislative polls due in November are likely to be delayed, the United Nations warned on Friday. A group of senior U.N. experts put Burundi and Congo at the top of a list of risks to watch for in the next six months, along with Libya, the La Nina climate phenomenon, and drought in southern Africa. "The most likely scenario remains delayed elections into 2017, a move which would likely trigger wide political unrest in a situation similar to that of post-electoral Burundi," they said in a semi-annual report. With little freedom for democratic opposition and the heavy-handed use of security forces, the risk of violent clashes was high, especially in the capital and in Lubumbashi, home of Moise Katumbi, the leading opponent of President Joseph Kabila. "The government is likely to limit or shut down mobile networks, restrict the opposition's rights through legal or violent means and increase intimidation and harassment," the report said. "Such an outcome would lead to displacement from the capital and translate into several hundred thousand people being affected." Displaced opposition supporters were likely to flee into the Republic of Congo, "souring an already tense relationship between Brazzaville and Kinshasa", the report said. In Burundi, which has collapsed into chaos since President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term in office last year, a move his opponents say is unconstitutional, things may get worse, the U.N. report said. It said a "cycle of high-profile tit-for-tat targeted killings" of top officials was widening a rift in the army that could produce a bigger conflict between pro- and anti-government forces, fuelled by ethnic overtones in the political rhetoric. Regional and inter-Burundian dialogues were at an impasse, which would further radicalise the opposition, "setting the stage for guerrilla warfare, notably in the provinces bordering Rwanda and DRC". The U.N. report, which does not cover the biggest crises, such as Syria, Yemen or South Sudan, aims to alert aid agencies to potential shortfalls in upcoming emergencies. Its worst fears are not always borne out: last November it warned of a potential coup in Burundi and possible Islamist advances in Mali, which did not come to pass. Russia failed to heed U.S. call to stop targeting Syrian rebels -U.S. By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - Russia launched a second air strike on U.S.-backed Syrian fighters battling Islamic State, even after the U.S. military used emergency channels to ask Moscow to stop after the first strike, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. The official, who spoke to on condition of anonymity, said a small number of Syrian fighters were killed in Thursday's air strikes in southern Syria. The Pentagon has criticized the strike near al-Tanf, saying it raised concerns about Russian intentions in Syria and promising to bring up the matter with Russia. No Russia or Russian-backed Syrian ground forces were in the area at the time. "This was an attack on forces first of all that were fighting ISIL. And obviously that's the first thing that's problematic about this Russian conduct," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters, using an acronym for the radical group Islamic State. "The Russians initially said they were coming in to fight ISIL, and that's not what they did." Asked about the incident, the Kremlin said on Friday it was hard to distinguish between moderate and Islamist extremist rebels on the ground when it came to targeting air strikes in Syria because they were frequently fighting close to one another. Carter did not get into details about the sequence of events but told a news conference that "the channel that we have to communicate with them in instances like this wasn't professionally used." The incident underscored tensions with Russia and came as a leaked, internal State Department memo illustrated frustration within the U.S. government about America's handling of the war in Syria. More than 50 State Department diplomats signed the memo, which was critical of U.S. policy in Syria and called for military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE GAPS? Washington has refused to join forces with Russia in Syria against Islamic State, accusing Russia of acting solely to prop up Assad's government. Moscow began air strikes in Syria last September. The United States has called on Assad to step down but has refrained from directly targeting his forces. Communication between the United States and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out separate bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground. Although no U.S. forces were in the area at the time of Thursday's strikes, the U.S. military activated the emergency communications channels with Moscow to tell Russia to stop striking the area, the official said. Some time passed after that communication but Russia carried out a subsequent strike, the U.S. official said. Carter suggested either Moscow struck the fighters intentionally or faced significant intelligence gaps. "If that was their intention (to strike forces battling Islamic State), then that's the opposite of what they said they were going to do," Carter said. "If not, then it says something about the quality of the information upon which they make airstrikes." Zika infections in Puerto Rico increasing steadily - officials By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) - Zika infections in Puerto Rico appear to be increasing rapidly, top U.S. health officials said on Friday, raising concerns for dozens if not hundreds of cases of microcephaly. Puerto Rican health officials on Friday reported that 1,726 people in the U.S. commonwealth have been infected with Zika, including a total of 191 pregnant women. That is up from a total of 1,501 total infections and 182 infections in pregnant women a week ago. The numbers reflect the total number of confirmed Zika cases since the start of the outbreak late last year, a number that reflects largely symptomatic cases of Zika. In new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, health officials have also seen a sharp rise in the frequency in which Zika is detected in blood donations. The numbers are based on the use of a test from Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG in use since April 3 to screen blood donations for Zika. "This is a test that measures actual Zika virus in the blood. It's highly sensitive and highly specific," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden told reporters in a conference call on Friday. As of April 3, 68 out of 12,777 blood donations have tested positive for Zika, and the proportion of positive tests "has steadily increased," Frieden said. Testing in the most recent week ended June 11 showed 1.1 percent of donated blood was infected with Zika, the highest proportion seen yet in Puerto Rico, Frieden said. Although the blood donor population is not representative of the general population, Frieden said the increasing prevalence of Zika in blood donations likely reflects increases in the population at large. The Zika virus only remains present in the blood for about a week after symptoms appear, and diagnostic tests also look for signs of past infections. Frieden said analyzing Zika in blood donations provides a snapshot of current infections in the population at any given time, including asymptomatic cases. Based on the findings, he estimates that as many as 2 percent of the population is infected with Zika each month. The estimate suggests that over time, there is a substantially higher risk that a pregnant woman would become infected with Zika, putting her fetus at risk of birth defects. That also means that in the coming months, "it's possible that thousands of pregnant women in Puerto Rico could be infected in with Zika," Frieden said, leading to "dozens or hundreds of infants being born with microcephaly in the coming year." "The bottom line is we're seeing a steady increase," Frieden said. He stressed that pregnant women are the chief priority in the fight against Zika. The virus has been shown to cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size and underdeveloped brains, as well as other malformations. It is yet not clear whether babies exposed to Zika in the womb with no obvious birth defects will have developmental issues later on. In Brazil, authorities have confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy Frieden said the test was highly sensitive, and all blood donations that test positive are removed from the blood supply. Donors who test positive for Zika, an infection that often has no symptoms, are given information on how to avoid spreading the infection to others. Although Zika is largely a mosquito-borne virus, it can be transmitted sexually and through blood donations. Frieden said there have been no confirmed cases of Zika spread through blood transfusions anywhere in the United States or Puerto Rico or any other U.S. territory, although there has been at least one report of Zika spreading through a blood transfusion in Brazil. The Obama administration has requested $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funding. The Senate approved $1.1 billion of that request, but the House of Representatives voted to allocate $622.1 million financed through cuts to existing programs, such as for Ebola, which U.S. health officials have called inadequate and short-sighted. Potential Boeing Iran sale faces opposition in U.S. Congress By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - Two senior Republican House of Representatives lawmakers said on Friday they were concerned that Boeing Co's reported plans to sell aircraft to Iran could threaten U.S. national security and had requested more information from the company. "American companies should not be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian Regime," Representatives Jeb Hensarling and Peter Roskam said in a letter to Boeing released on Friday. Iran said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Boeing for the supply of jetliners, reopening the country's skies to new U.S. aircraft for the first time in decades under an international nuclear agreement that eased sanctions. Boeing has not confirmed an aircraft sale agreement. The company on Tuesday declined to provide detailed comment in response to Western and Middle East sources saying Iran had reached an understanding with the company to acquire over 100 passenger jets. The nuclear pact reached by Democratic President Barack Obama was opposed by every Republican member of the U.S. Congress. Several questioned the Boeing deal as soon as the news reports came out. In their letter to Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg, the lawmakers asked for "clarification" of the current state of negotiations. Their questions included whether Boeing could guarantee that Iran's government could not convert Boeing passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft and whether it would repossess aircraft if Iran violated the nuclear agreement. Hensarling is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and Roskam is chairman of the Oversight subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee. Not every congressional Republican is opposed to a potential U.S. aircraft deal. Senator Mark Kirk, who represents Illinois, where Boeing is headquartered, said in a hallway interview at the Senate he had mixed feelings about it. REUTERS SUMMIT-Brexit could boost Europe's populist politicians -BlackRock executive By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Ross Kerber NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - If Britain votes to leave the European Union next week the decision could accelerate the rise of populist political parties across the continent, a top executive at BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, said on Friday. The vote, scheduled for next Thursday, is unnerving investors and adding to their concern about the spread of divisive political rhetoric including in the United States, where Donald Trump has effectively won the Republican presidential nomination with controversial policies including calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. Mark McCombe, who runs BlackRock's institutional client business, told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in New York that if Britain votes to exit the EU, known as "Brexit", it could provide a boost for anti-immigration parties in Europe. "My own view ... is that actually there is a lot of pent-up frustration with Europe, within some of the key countries, and that actually we've seen it with Austria, and Germany and France and so forth, and the rise of these parties, I think it will only strengthen their resolve." Indeed, emboldened by a surge in voter support and Britain's looming EU referendum, Europe's leading far-right parties pledged on Friday to work towards a "Patriotic Spring" that would roll back EU powers and halt an influx of Middle East refugees. McCombe, who is British, said it was impossible to predict the result but that if it was a tight vote to remain in the EU, UK Prime Minister David Cameron could lose his job. "If it is 'remain' by 50.1 percent, I don't know if Cameron survives," he said, adding that the prime minister's decision to hold a referendum had been a "massive own-goal". Investors are bracing for volatile trading conditions, and particularly the prospect of sharp one-off moves in sterling , after the vote. McCombe said European equities would also come under pressure if Britons chose Brexit. "Which analyst in their right mind will say, 'oh this (a Brexit) is good news for Volkswagen'? I can't see that scenario," he said at the Summit, held at the Reuters office in New York. Political risk is just one headwind for McCombe's clients, including pension funds and insurers. They are also facing persistently low yields and slower global growth. U.S. officials seek to limit fallout from internal dissent on Syria By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The Obama administration sought on Friday to control fallout from a leaked internal memo critical of its Syria policy, but showed no sign it was ready to consider the military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces called for in a letter signed by dozens of U.S. diplomats. Several U.S. officials said that while the administration is willing to hear the diplomats' dissenting views, it is not expected to make any changes in President Barack Obama's Syria policy in his final seven months in office. One senior official said that the test for whether these proposals are given high-level consideration will be whether they "fall in line with our contention that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria." The document -- sent through the State Department's "dissent channel," a conduit for voicing contrary opinions meant to be classified -- underscored long-standing divisions and frustrations among Obama's aides over his approach to Syria's civil war. Obama's Syria policy has been predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the chaotic Middle East, and has widely been criticized as hesitant and risk-averse. The cable, signed by 51 State Department officers, calls for "targeted military strikes" against Assad's government -- something Obama has long avoided -- to stop its persistent violations of a ceasefire with U.S.-backed anti-government rebels that is largely ignored by Syria and its Russian supporters. Obama's critics quickly seized upon the letter, which also calls for a political transition that would usher out Assad. "This just confirms what House Republicans have been saying for years: we do not have a strategy for victory over ISIS," said Doug Andres, a spokesman for Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, using an acronym for the Syria-based Islamic State group. "The president has been unwilling to listen to the people's elected representatives, maybe he'll be willing to listen to his own professional diplomats." In what other officials called an attempt to control any damage to the president's policies, one senior U.S. official stressed that it is only natural that "on a subject as complex and complicated as Syria that we have a diversity of views, and this letter reflects that." OBAMA'S "RED LINE" Other U.S. officials pointed out that the cable does not carry the signatures of any senior State Department officials, such as assistant or deputy secretaries or ambassadors. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Copenhagen, told Reuters on Friday: "It's an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I will ... have a chance to meet with people when I get back (to Washington)." He said he had not seen the memo. The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that since the letter was directed to Kerry, he would deal with it for now, and it would be up to him whether "elevate it" to the attention of Obama and other top advisers. One U.S. official, who did not sign the cable but has read it, told Reuters the White House remains opposed to deeper American military involvement in Syria. The official said the cable was unlikely to alter that, or shift Obama's focus from the battle against the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group. Obama's aides also have acknowledged privately that even if the president did decide to take a more aggressive stance against Assad, that would be a much riskier operation now that Russian forces, especially warplanes, are now directly supporting Moscow's ally Assad. Such strikes could put the United States on a collision course with Russia. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had only seen media reports about the memo, but said: "Calls for the violent overthrow of authorities in another country are unlikely to be accepted in Moscow. "The liquidation of this or some other regime is hardly what is needed to aid the successful continuation of the battle against terrorism. Such a move is capable of plunging the region into complete chaos." The internal dissent has been brewing at least since August 2013, when Obama stunned Kerry, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other senior aides by abruptly calling off air strikes he had vowed to order if Assad's forces crossed a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons. Nine days earlier, a Sarin gas attack killed as many as 1,400 Syrians. "That decision destroyed any credibility the administration had with Russia, Iran or Assad himself," said a former Defense Department official involved in Syria policy. "Talking softly with no stick is not an effective way of dealing with people like that." OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- It appears the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen will reluctantly accept the resignations of two key city hall staffers when the board meets Tuesday night. Longtime Deputy City Clerk Karen Kennedy and Executive Assistant to the Mayor Ravin Floyd have both tendered letters of resignation. Kennedy's resignation is effective July 1; Floyd's June 24. The kicker: both Kennedy and Floyd have been lured away by higher salaries offered by the City of Pascagoula. Kennedy will earn an estimated $4,000-$5,000 more in a similar position with Pascagoula, while Floyd's new job as Pascagoula's Public Relations Specialist has a salary range of $48,000. The maximum pay for the same job in Ocean Springs is about $33,000. "Absolutely," said alderman Greg Denyer when asked if it's frustrating to lose key people to higher pay elsewhere. "It hurts the City and it's not good for morale. It makes it very difficult to attract quality people. "When you invest in someone, train them and then they leave, you've lost all the benefit of that investment and training." Mayor Connie Moran is traveling abroad and unavailable for comment. In her letter, dated June 17, Kennedy writes that it "was not an easy decision" to leave Ocean Springs, "but after long hours of consideration, my decision is now final and I have accepted a position with the City of Pascagoula." In Floyd's letter, she does not mention Pascagoula, instead offering a list of her accomplishments while in Ocean Springs. "I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for having enough confidence in me to have creative control over branding your message," Floyd wrote. "I have truly grown as a professional in my tenure with the city and will take the lessons I have learned here everywhere I go." Ironically, Floyd's predecessor as the Ocean Springs mayor's assistant, Anne Pitre, was also lured away by Pascagoula, in early 2014. Now Floyd is again replacing Pitre, who abruptly resigned last month. Kennedy and Floyd, however, are not the only City personnel whose resignations are on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting. As has become a regular occurrence, an Ocean Springs police officer has tendered his resignation. Patrolman Adam Lambert, in a letter dated June 7, notified Police Chief Mark Dunston of his resignation effective June 20. Lambert has been with the OSPD for three years. In his letter, Lambert wrote that he hoped to better utilize his training with a lateral move to the Harrison County Sheriff's Department. "You have been a great Chief," Lambert wrote to Dunston, "and (I) hope your continued push for a better working environment for current and new police officers of Ocean Springs continues to improve." An entry-level Ocean Springs officer earns roughly $26,000. The same position with Harrison County earns $32,000. Mozambique leader agrees foreign mediation in Renamo talks -agency MAPUTO, June 17 (Reuters) - Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi has accepted the presence of foreign mediators in talks to end his country's conflict, in a move welcomed on Friday by the leader of rebel movement Renamo, the state news agency reported. At a rally in the southern city of Matola on Thursday, Nyusi abandoned the government's longstanding opposition to foreign mediation in talks with Renamo. The rebel group, which is also the official opposition in Mozambique, never completely disarmed after a civil war with the governing Frelimo party and launched a low-level guerrilla campaign in late 2012. Early in June gunmen from Renamo attacked a train in central Mozambique on its way to a coal mine, injuring the driver's assistant. Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama said he was pleased by Nyusi's move. He said that he spoke with the president by phone on Wednesday and Thursday "about the politico-military conflict in our country, and we reached an agreement that guns do not solve anything". But Dhlakama said he would not order the Renamo guns to fall silent. Instead, he demanded that the government stop attacking his forces, the state news agency reported. Discussions in the presence of foreign mediators could start next week, he added, reiterating that Renamo's preferred mediators were the Catholic Church, the European Union and the South African government. Italian firms to sign Russia deals worth over 1 bln euros ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 17 (Reuters) - Italian companies have signed deals worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) with Russian firms at an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Friday. The accords, including some announced on Thursday, involved Italian companies in the construction, start-up financing, energy, electricity technology and infrastructure sectors. "These are deals which are all legitimate within the context of the sanctions regime because we respect all the rules," Renzi told reporters. He said the accords "potentially open the way to deals worth between 4 and 5 billion euros". The European Union imposed sanctions which apply mainly to some Russian banks and oil companies after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, and stepped them up as the Kremlin backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. Renzi later repeated at a news conference that sanctions against Russia should not be renewed automatically. Among the agreements announced on Friday was a joint venture between Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and Rosneft. Oil services firm Saipem and Novatek struck a strategic partnership to work together on liquefied natural gas projects. Saudi deputy crown prince requests meeting on Yemen with U.N. chief UNITED NATIONS, June 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince requested a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after the United Nations infuriated Riyadh by briefly blacklisting a Saudi-led coalition for killing children in Yemen, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday. Mohammed bin Salman is expected to be in New York on Tuesday for meetings with business leaders after a visit to the U.S. West Coast, a diplomatic source told Reuters. "An official request has come to the office of the secretary-general for a meeting with the deputy crown prince and as soon as we're able to confirm something we shall," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He added that the U.N. had not yet responded to a June 8 letter to Ban from Saudi U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen asking the United Nations to reveal details on the sources of information for its report on violations of child rights during armed conflicts. Dujarric said this week the United Nations would not disclose those sources. The U.N. report on children and armed conflict said the coalition, which began an air campaign in March 2015 to defeat Iran-allied Houthi rebels, was responsible for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in the conflict last year, killing 510 and wounding 667. Riyadh, a major U.N. donor, had threatened to cut off funding to a Palestinian aid program and other U.N. initiatives. Saudi Arabia denied using threats, although Ban himself confirmed the initial Reuters report. The coalition's removal from the blacklist prompted angry reactions from human rights groups including Human Right Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam, which accused Ban of caving to pressure from powerful countries. They said that Ban, in the final year of his second term, risked harming his legacy as U.N. chief. Austria says agrees to help Hungary secure Schengen border VIENNA, June 17 (Reuters) - Austria agreed on Friday to provide equipment and personnel to help Hungary secure its Schengen border and prevent illegal immigration, an Austrian Defence Ministry spokesman said. Since the height of the refugee crisis last year thousands of refugees have crossed into Hungary - an eastern outpost of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone - many of them heading further west to more prosperous countries like Austria. The influx of migrants and refugees fleeing devastating conflicts in the Middle East and Africa has strained relations between the two EU neighbours. Former Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann last year likened Hungary's treatment of migrants to the Nazi deportations of Jews in World War Two. The Austrian government also adopted a tougher course on migrants, capping the number of asylum applications it would accept this year to 37,500, less than half the 90,000 refugees it took in last year. But at a meeting in Sankt Martin an der Raab in the Austrian state of Burgenland, about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Hungary, ministers agreed to increase cooperation on Hungary's southern and eastern borders. They also discussed conditions under which Austria could send back refugees who initially applied for asylum in Hungary but moved on to the Alpine republic afterwards, a spokesman for Austria's Interior Ministry said. Obama, Saudi prince focus on Iraq and Syria in Washington meeting By Timothy Gardner and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against Islamic State militants and the importance of a political transition in war-torn Syria, the White House said. Obama met with Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, in the Oval office for about an hour. The deputy crown prince is visiting the United States to restore frayed relations and to promote a plan, known as Vision 2030, to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil exports. "The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL," the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The two talked about steps to support Iraqis "including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs," the White House said. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which according to the United Nations and human rights groups has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political settlement of the conflict and support by the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the kingdom is a member, to address humanitarian needs and rebuild Yemen, the White House said. On Syria, Obama and the prince talked about the importance of supporting a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. The United States is working with international partners on what it calls a Syrian-led transition process facilitated by the United Nations, but so far there has been little progress. More than 50 diplomats at the U.S. State Department signed a memo, leaked on Thursday, that was critical of the Obama administration's Syria policy and called for targeted military strikes against Assad's government. Asked about the memo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who was also in Washington on Friday, told reporters the kingdom had been arguing for a "more robust intervention" including airstrikes, a no-fly zone, and a no-drive zone, from the beginning of the five-year civil war. Jubeir said the deputy crown prince had briefed U.S. officials on his plan to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy and to move to cleaner forms of energy. To the first, the spoils: Western investors venture back to Russia By Gleb Stolyarov and Katya Golubkova ST PETERSBURG, June 17 (Reuters) - Western investors are jostling with each other for position in Russia in anticipation of the moment when sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis are softened and they can do lucrative business again. Most are not yet coming with money and specific deals - at least, not in the same numbers as before the crisis - so the objective instead is to win favour with the Kremlin by being the first to turn back toward Russia. "Look how many American investors are here, not to mention the Europeans," Sergei Chemezov, head of the state conglomerate Rostec, said at Russia's biggest annual investor show this week, held in St Petersburg. "They understand that we have an enormous market. And whoever comes here first, they get all the spoils," said Chemezov, who used to work with President Vladimir Putin in the Soviet foreign intelligence service. Two years ago, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and its support for a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine. Western governments say in public that the sanctions will not be eased until an internationally brokered peace deal on eastern Ukraine, the Minsk agreement, is fully implemented. But many diplomats say in private that that deal can never be implemented - not only through Russia's fault but also because the conflict is intractable. At the same time, European economies are stagnating, leaving businesses anxious to get back into the lucrative Russian market. Pressure has therefore been building inside Europe, according to officials with EU member states, for governments to move beyond the Ukraine impasse and lift some of the sanctions, perhaps within the next 12 months. "I think the politicians do listen to business. The politicians have to find their solution," Rainer Seele, chief executive of Austrian energy company OMV, told Reuters. GUEST OF HONOUR Italy had the coveted status of guest of honour at the forum in St Petersburg, where investors vie to catch Putin's eye. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was the only head of an EU government to attend apart from the prime minister of Malta. Italy also had the most lavish pavilion of any foreign country at the forum, a large hall whose interior was decorated to resemble an Italian palazzo. Italian Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda said Rome would like to take on the role of building bridges with Russia on behalf of the rest of Europe, and Renzi echoed the sentiment when he took the stage alongside Putin during the forum. "It's a logic of bridges, not walls," he said. Calenda said the two countries had a pipeline of 340 proposed investments, in areas from leather goods to agriculture, that they would work to realise over the next few months. Italy did not have the field to itself, however. "There are a lot of French people here," said an executive at a major Russian company at the St Petersburg forum. "Probably we can interpret this as a signal." Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of French oil major Total , said France had maintained the highest rate of investment in Russia among all Western countries during sanctions. He said there was political rapprochement in the air, in part because France and Russia had learned to work together over the conflict in Syria. "The forum is clearly more active this year. I'm meeting more people this year," he said. "People are adapting." "SANCTIONS AREN'T FOREVER" To be sure, Western investments in Russia are still far from being back to normal. Several of the biggest Russian companies are subject to targeted sanctions, forcing their Western business partners to put joint projects on hold, while the financial sanctions bar many forms of lending to Russia. Even in areas not covered by sanctions, fear of a worsening in political tensions and the hostile atmosphere over Ukraine are still keeping many investors away. A slate of deals were unveiled at the forum, but none on the scale seen at the event in years before the sanctions. "The mood has improved but the facts aren't there," said Vadim Shvetsov, majority owner of Russian automotive company Sollers. He said for investors to return, it would take higher world prices for oil and gas, Russia's biggest export, and a change in the Western rhetoric towards Russia. Still, other people at the forum said Western investors were looking ahead to the future. "Sanctions aren't forever," said Russian Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Texler. In an interview with Reuters, Pavel Grachev, chief executive of Russia's largest gold producer Polyus, said investors were coming back partly because Russia was dialling down the tension in political relations with the West. But there was another reason. "Given that profitability is being squeezed on Western markets, investors are coming here looking for ideas, for profits, whether it's in shares or bonds," Grachev said. Obama, despite dissent on Syria, not shifting toward strikes on Assad By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. administration sought on Friday to contain fallout from a leaked internal memo critical of its Syria policy, but showed no sign it was willing to consider military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces called for in the letter signed by dozens of American diplomats. Several U.S. officials said that while the White House is prepared to hear the diplomats' dissenting viewpoint, it is not expected to spur any changes in President Barack Obama's approach to Syria in his final seven months in office. One senior official said that the test for whether these proposals for more aggressive action are given high-level consideration will be whether they "fall in line with our contention that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria." The document - sent through the State Department's "dissent channel," a conduit for voicing contrary opinions meant to be confidential - underscored long-standing divisions and frustrations among Obama's aides over his response to Syria's five-year-old civil war. Obama's Syria policy has been predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the chaotic Middle East, and has been widely criticized as hesitant and risk-averse. Obama's limited intervention has focused on fighting the Islamic State militant group that controls a swathe of Syria and Iraq and which has inspired attacks on U.S. soil. A draft of the cable, signed by 51 State Department officers, calls for "targeted military strikes" against Assad's government - something Obama has long opposed - to stop its persistent violations of a ceasefire with U.S.-backed anti-government rebels that is largely ignored by Syria and its Russian supporters. The document, initially crafted in secret by a small group before their State Department bosses were made aware, was intended to "spark internal discourse" toward a policy shift but was not meant to be made public, according to a person familiar with the matter. The signatories, mostly rank-and-file diplomats who had worked on Syria policy, may have put their careers at risk, current and former officials said. But State Department spokesman John Kirby insisted there would be no reprisals. Obama's critics quickly seized upon the letter, which also calls for a political transition that would usher Assad out. "Even President Obama's own State Department believes the administration's Syria policy is failing," said Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee. "Iran, Russia and Assad call the shots in Syria, ignoring the ceasefire and allowing Assad to continue war crimes against his own people." In what other officials called an attempt to limit any damage to Obama's policies, one senior U.S. official stressed that it is only natural that "on a subject as complex and complicated as Syria that we have a diversity of views." White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said Obama is open to a "robust discussion" on Syria but insisted that deliberations by Obama's aides have already looked closely at a range of options. A former senior U.S. official said disclosure of a document of this type - the final version of which is classified - "corrodes the trust between the president and those who serve him." But those who signed have no plans to resign, the source familiar with the matter said. Whoever leaked the memo may have been looking past Obama's tenure. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, for instance, was among senior aides who urged Obama early in the conflict to take a stronger stand against Assad. OBAMA'S "RED LINE" Other U.S. officials pointed out that the cable does not carry the signatures of any senior State Department officials. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Copenhagen, told Reuters: "It's an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I will ... have a chance to meet with people when I get back" to Washington. The senior official said it would be up to Kerry, who has himself pressed with little success for Obama to take tougher action against Assad, whether to "elevate" the cable to the president's attention. The internal dissent has been brewing at least since August 2013, when Obama stunned Kerry, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other aides by abruptly calling off air strikes he had vowed to order if Assad's forces crossed a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons. Nine days earlier, a Sarin gas attack killed as many as 1,400 Syrians. "That decision destroyed any credibility the administration had with Russia, Iran or Assad himself," said a former Defense Department official involved in Syria policy. At least 250,000 people have died in Syria's civil war, while more than 6.6 million have been internally displaced and another 4.8 million people have fled the country. One U.S. official, who did not sign the cable but has read it, told Reuters the White House remains opposed to deeper American military involvement in Syria and the document was unlikely to alter that. Aides also have acknowledged privately that even if Obama did decide to take a more aggressive stance, that would be much riskier now that Russian forces are directly supporting their ally Assad and bombing anti-government rebels. In the meantime, Assad's position has strengthened. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had only seen media reports about the memo, but asserted: "Calls for the violent overthrow of authorities in another country are unlikely to be accepted in Moscow." Obama, Saudi prince focus on Iraq and Syria in Washington meeting By Timothy Gardner and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Friday discussed ways to support Iraqis in their fight against Islamic State militants and the importance of a political transition in war-torn Syria, the White House said. Obama met with Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval office for about an hour. The deputy crown prince is visiting the United States to repair frayed relations and to promote a plan, known as Vision 2030, to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil exports. "The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contributions to the campaign against ISIL," the White House said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The two talked about steps to support Iraqis "including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs," the White House said. U.S. officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which according to the United Nations and human rights groups has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. Saudi Arabia is worried about closer relations between the United States and Iran, Riyadh's arch enemy, after a 2015 nuclear deal. Obama welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political settlement of the Yemen conflict and support by the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the kingdom is a member, to address humanitarian needs and rebuild the country, the White House said. On Syria, Obama and the prince talked about the importance of supporting a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. The United States is working with international partners on what it calls a Syrian-led transition process facilitated by the United Nations, but so far there has been little progress. Over 50 diplomats at the U.S. State Department signed a memo, leaked on Thursday, that was critical of the Obama administration's Syria policy and called for targeted military strikes against Assad's government. Asked about the memo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, also in Washington, told reporters the kingdom had been arguing for a "more robust intervention" including airstrikes, a no-fly zone, and a no-drive zone, from the beginning of the five-year civil war. Obama does not see a military solution to the crisis in Syria, White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed from the United States after an unprecedented fourth state visit earlier this month. During the visit, Modi delivered a historic speech to a joint session of the US Congress, in which the prime minister reiterated his belief that India and the United States are natural allies who have overcome the hesitations of history. Modi went on to invoke the shared values of the worlds largest and oldest democracies as he called for the fulfillment of President Obamas vision for the defining partnership of the 21st century. But platitudes and rhetoric have graced the India-US bilateral relationship for years now with little impact on the ground. In an interview ahead of Modis meeting with President Obama in Washington, foreign affairs columnist Fareed Zakaria said, [Obama and Modi] have had lots of nice meetings. Obama has said several times that he thinks the chemistry is good. [But] now there needs to actually be a chemical reaction. He then added, I think the Americans would be ready, willing and able [to cooperate]. The problem is more on New Delhis side. Zakaria spoke for many in the US foreign policy establishment when he voiced frustration against New Delhi, and the impatience is understandable. For years now, America has wanted to prop up India as a counter-balance to Chinese power in the Asia-Pacific (and New Delhi has hoped to find Washingtons support for its own security interests vis-a-vis China). In New Delhi Washington sees a functioning democracy, which it relates to and wants to embrace. India also represents a gateway for America into the developing world. All of Washingtons long-standing strategic alliances have been in the developed world whether in Western Europe or East Asia. India, by contrast, provides Washington a valuable ally in the developing world. A functional strategic alliance with India would therefore be new ground for Washington, and consequently significant for US foreign policy. In all fairness, America has walked a fair distance in the pursuit of this goal, making a series of concessions in Indias favour. Nuclear cooperation is one of those: America set aside its rigid policy of nuclear non-proliferation in order to publicly advocate Indias membership in the exclusive Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) a group that was formed, ironically, in response to Indias own nuclear tests in the 1970s. Earlier this year, Washington also proposed a Logistics Exchange Agreement for the sharing of military facilities between the two countries, while inviting New Delhi for joint patrols in the South China Sea, and late last year, Manohar Parrikar became the first Indian defence minister to visit the strategic US Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii. Yet, despite these significant overtures, India has admittedly proven hard to get. New Delhi turned down the joint patrol offer, and the logistics exchange agreement is yet to be signed. Even the much-touted nuclear agreement is stuck in arguments over suppliers liabilities, despite Modi and Obama proclaiming finality to the dispute early last year. All of this has caused further impatience in Washington. These are only symptoms of the real challenges to India-US strategic cooperation. The realities of Indias foreign policy mean that strategic cooperation wont take off any time soon. Start with Pakistan; despite repeated objections from various senior senators and diplomats over Pakistans links to terror groups and the risk associated with its nuclear arsenal, Washington continues to contribute aid to the Pakistani military, and treats it as a valuable ally in the fight against terrorism. Modis call in the US Congress for the isolation of those who preach and practice terrorism was articulation of Indias frustration towards Americas policy towards Pakistan. India is also rightly miffed at being clubbed alongside Pakistan in American discourse on nuclear non-proliferation, given the two countries contrasting records. Then, there is also China. Geography and history mean that New Delhi and Beijing will inevitably be geopolitical rivals, giving India and America room to cooperate. Yet, New Delhi does have common ground with Beijing where it differs with Washington: on economics. India and China often find themselves on the same side of the table in global economic disputes, whether on climate funding or in the World Trade Organization. That means that New Delhi has far less room to counter China geopolitically than Washington does, lest the dispute should spill over onto economic cooperation where India is still the junior partner to China. No matter how many Chinese soldiers infiltrate Indian territory therefore, economics is likely to take precedence at least for the near future. The greatest hurdle to strategic cooperation between India and the US is Indias foreign policy itself. Given its preoccupation with internal development, New Delhi has never formulated a coherent policy stance on most strategic issues in contemporary international politics, be it Syria, Iraq, North Africa or Palestine. Even on the South China Sea itself, New Delhi has been overly cautious in ensuring that its relations with Chinas neighbours dont ruffle feathers in Beijing. All of this ambivalence makes it difficult for New Delhi to align its foreign policy alongside Washingtons. Iran is a case in point, where America had to fight hard in keeping India on board during the sanctions regime (New Delhi was later among the earliest to begin collaboration with Tehran post the nuclear deal, causing fears in Washington over whether India was jumping the gun). Until New Delhi manages to take coherent stands on issues of strategic and geopolitical interest, it will be difficult for India and the United States to align their foreign policies enough in order to allow for meaningful strategic cooperation. To be honest, the signs arent encouraging. Only a week after Modis visit to Washington, the US Senate rejected amendments to the National Defence Authorisation Act, aimed at recognising India as a global strategic and defence partner and modifying defence export control regulations a clear indication that Washington still isnt sure of how far this relationship can go. According to the website of the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, 45 hydropower projects with a total capacity of 3,164 MW are operational in in the state, and around 199 big and small projects have been proposed or under way in the state. In the AlaknandaBhagirathi basin alone, 69 hydropower projects with a total capacity of 9,000 MW are under way, according to the high level inter-ministerial group (IMG) formed by the Union ministry of environment and forests to consider matters relating to environmental flows and hydropower projects on the Ganga and its tributaries. The report was prepared in April 2013. These projects would modify the key tributaries through diversions to tunnels or reservoirs. As per the report, implementation of all 69 projects would affect 81 per cent of the Bhagirathi and 65 per cent of the Alaknanda. The exploitation of rivers through dams and the resulting challenges have been in Himanshu Thakkar's focus for some time now. He has carried out an in-depth study of construction activities in several river valleys, including the Narmada, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. In a report published by the South Asia Network for Dams, Rivers and Peoples (SANDRP), Thakkar demystifies several issues and highlights the unethical practices of several construction companies and the growing avarice of all stakeholders involved. A view of the washed off buildings area near Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand. (PTI) Soon after the destruction of Kedarnath, SANDRP made a short film focusing on the nature of these dams and the horrific tragedies orchestrated by their very existence. Following the devastation in Uttrakhand in 2013, many questions were raised about the irresponsible and unethical practices of hydroelectric power companies. When media teams arrived at the spot, the locals vent their anger against the staff and authorities of these hydro projects. Some serious allegations were levelled against big players like GVK in Srinagar and the Jaypee Group in Vishnuprayag near Joshimath. The Jayeee Group, whose tagline is "No Dream Too Big", is today being held responsible by activists for the ecological devastation of the region through the construction of dams in several locations across the Himalayan range. On June 16 and 17, a few kilometres from the Jaypee hydro power project in Joshimath, the area was completely ravaged in the disaster. The villagers allege that the project staff knowingly ignored all the danger signals. Two separate cases were filed by activists against the projects of the Jaypee and GVK groups in the National Green Tribunal, the apex court to hear the environment disputes and grievances. The water level started rising in the Vishnuprayag project reservoir since June 13 itself. The workers and officials at the dam site should have been aware of the risk that the villages and their inhabitants were exposed to. Villagers claim that they had asked the company staff to open the dam gates to allow water to flow from under the barrage, but either the company employees did not understand the gravity of the situation or merely ignored the advice. The locals maintain that the project staff did not expect the flood to take on such monstrous proportions and perhaps saw this as a business opportunity to generate more power. In the meanwhile, the water continued to rise and an almost three kilometre long lake was formed. This reservoir proved to be very dangerous for villages in its vicinity. The water had breached the walls of the reservoir. The barrage is equipped with an automatic hydraulic system to regulate the volume of water and to ensure that the gates open automatically when the level exceeds a certain point. But the failure of this system raised an important question: after constructing such huge dams in an area as vulnerable as this, can the entire safety mechanism be completely dependent on technology alone? With the water rising continuously in the dam, all the tributaries in the region, big and small, were swollen. One of these, Khairo Ganga, had taken on the proportions of a full-fledged river and, along with its water, a huge quantity of sand and debris got lodged in the barrage. Rage of the River: The Untold Story of Kedarnath Disaster; Penguin Random House; Rs 265. As a result, one of the walls of the barrage gave way. Alaknanda, flowing several feet above normal, started cutting into the national highway and a massive chunk of the road fell into the river. A few kilometres away, two small towns, Pandukeshwar and Govindghat, saw maximum damage. The people of Pandukeshwar lost their homes, cattle, and other belongings, while Govindghat was completely destroyed. There used to be at least fifty shops and many hotels in Govindghat most of these boasted of 30 to 40 rooms. Other than this, there was a gurudwara and several homes of course. On June 17, when we saw Govindghat, it was hard to imagine there was once a bustling town here. The ruthless flood took whatever came in its way, leaving behind only huge boulders, sand and debris. The Govindghat parking lot, that could at one time accommodate hundreds of buses, motorcycles, cars and trucks, had vanished off the face of the earth. The residents of Pandukeshwar and Govindghat were of the view that the damage could have been minimised had the staff of the Vishnuprayag power project behaved responsibly. The most serious allegation was that despite the rising water level, the project staff did not open the reservoir gates to release the water. Later, when villagers asked for the gates of the barrage to be opened, the company ignored them. The locals' anger seemed justified because, despite being aware of the risk involved, the staff of Jaypee didn"t alert the villagers and did nothing to take pre-emptive measures. Atul Sati, a resident of Joshimath, is a social activist as well as a member of CPI(ML), a political party. He told me, "It wasn"t as though the company wasn"t aware of the deteriorating situation... they were just not concerned about the lives and property of the local people. They quickly moved all their company vehicles to safe places well before all hell broke loose, but didn"t bother to warn the people of the danger ahead. But it's not just one project alone that acted irresponsibly. After the disaster, many other projects also came under scanner one of these being the dam being built in Srinagar, by the GVK group. ...Media reports say that on the evening of 16 June (2013), the dam operator of GVK group closed the gate to fill up the reservoir. Within a few hours, when water and silt began accumulating in dangerously large amounts, the operators realized that their project was in the danger of being harmed. Without any concern for the people living downstream, they opened all the gates at once, which resulted in large-scale destruction down the river in the town of Srinagar. The Ravi Chopra committee, appointed on Supreme Court orders, also clearly stated that the Srinagar project was responsible for the devastation seen downstream. Today, the Uttarakhand government takes pride in announcing that 65 per cent of the state has forest cover, but it is also a fact that state officials often complain that the laws meant to protect the forests and environment are turning out to be bottlenecks in the path of development. It is a fact that on paper, this 65 per cent forest cover exists, but what the government does not reveal is that most of these trees do not in any way contribute towards environmental preservation. As a matter of fact, many of these species are in fact ruining the land. The most villainous of these is the pine tree, which the British introduced in India, and which has been "diligently" preserved by contractors. Power production in Uttarakhand has tripled in the last ten years. Planning Commission figures reveal that in 200102 Uttarakhand produced 1,115 megawatts of electricity, which went up to 3,618 megawatts in 201112. The state government has, time and again, raised the issue of environment related rules and laws coming in the way of hydroelectric power projects. A written document of the state government says, "Harnessing of hydro power, which could have been the mainstay of [the] state, [is] hampered on the ground [because] of ecological concerns." The document adds, "... delay in getting clearances [from the environment ministry] under the Forest Conservation Act results in a cost overrun and a time overrun. One sixty-five projects are awaiting clearances." The NRA Gave These 9 Senators Over $22 Million To Vote Down Gun Laws (CHART) The NRA and their bought-and-paid-for Senators have blood on their hands. How can not one, but three gun bills fail to pass after two horrific mass shootings in just one week? How can our GOP-run congress remain so cruelly indifferent to our grief and outrage? Since Adam Lanza gunned down 20 first graders, six teachers, and his own mother back in 2012 , weve clamored for tougher gun laws. Alas, as my Reverb Press colleague Tina Praino aptly puts it, the GOPs more afraid of the NRA than they are of angry voters or terrorists buying guns. Moneys a powerful thing, and the gun trade makes lots of it from gun-crazy Americans Especially when gun sales spike after a mass shooting. No wonder the NRA spends so much on local, state, and national elections to keep their buddies in business. How much? Its hard to tell. They often give to PACs and groups that endorse their candidates, rather than to their favored ones campaigns directly. But Open Secrets (from the Center for Responsive Politics ), has amassed a treasure trove of data on the NRAs political spending that dates all the way back to 1989. Scott Bixby from Mic.Com took a long, hard look at the 50 U.S. Senators one Democrat and 49 Republicans who voted against a bill late Thursday evening that would have expanded background checks for guns bought at gun shows and through online vendors. He then pored over the data from the Center for Responsive Politics and came up with some interesting findings: Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) havent received a dime in campaign funds from the NRA directly or indirectly through PACs and other groups. But the other 48 Senators have raked in a staggering $27,205,245 over $27 million dollars from the NRA over the course of their careers. To add insult to injury, the NRA spent $14,240,194 over $14 million on taking down candidates who oppose background checks. Thats right. Despite the fact that 90 percent of the American people and 74 percent of the NRAs own members support universal background checks, the NRA spends millions on making sure we wind up with lawmakers who wont vote for them. And this is just the tip of the icebergImagine how much the NRA spends on all the other pro-gun politicians. Nine senators alone received over $22 million from the NRA. The lions share of these direct and indirect contributions from the NRA a total of $22,596,399 went to just nine senators (for the breakdowns and list of NRA spending on all 48 senators, scroll down to the bottom). Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $1,262,189 Roy Blunt (R-MO): $1,433,952 Pat Roberts (R-KS): $1,584,153 Tom Cotton (R-AR): $1,968,714 David Perdue (R-GA): $1,997,512 Bill Cassidy (R-LA): $2,867,074 Joni Ernst (R-IA): $3,124,773 Cory Gardner (R-CO): $3,939,199 Thom Tillis (R-NC): $4,418,833 Heres the chart which shows the NRAs spending on their nine favorite Senators broken down by direct campaign contributions, independent spending (PACs and other groups), and independent spending against their opponents. For details, move your mouse over the parts of the chart that interest you. As the small and barely-visible slivers of blue show, the NRA pays very little in direct campaign contributions. http://reverbpress.com/politics/nra-pays-senators-millions/ ~~ Fail: John McCain Blames Obama For Orlando Shooting, Then Tries To Walk It Back (VIDEO) On rare occasions, Republican Sen. John McCain gets things right. This isnt one of those occasions. Thursday, he said that President Obama is directly responsible for the shooting rampage in an Orlando nightclub that killed 49 people and left dozens wounded. McCain Didnt Mean To Blame Obama, But He Did Anyway Then, an hour or so after saying this, McCain tried to walk it back, saying he misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the president was personally responsible, he said. I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the president himself. Yeah, right. Remember, this is the man who once sangas a joke Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. And picked national embarrassment Sarah Palin as his running mate. At first McCain (R-AZ) claimed Obama was responsible for the shooting because he allowed the Islamic State to grow in Iraq and Syria during his presidency. Even though theres plenty of evidence that reports ISIS got its start during George W. Bushs presidency. Heres how he actually put it: Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. Then he tried to walk it back with this statement, via Twitter: In the horrific shooting, gunman Omar Mateen murdered 49 people and wounded more than 50. In the midst of the horror, he made phone calls and said he supported the Islamic State. But perhaps what McCain forgot (he is getting older, after all) is that this cruel killer was American born and bred. And California Rep. Adam Schiff, whos the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said McCains initial remark was a grievous mistake and a gross disservice to the president. On CNN, Schiff said he wished McCain would retract it entirely. But perhaps for McCain, theres still a bit of sour grapes. After all, he lost to Obama during the 2008 presidential election and hes been a persistent critic of the presidents foreign policy. McCain is up for re-election to the Senate again, but Democratic contender Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, is hot on his heels. Kirkpatrick asserted that McCain had crossed a dangerous line in comments that undermine our commander-in-chief on national security issuesat the very moment the president was in Orlando to comfort victims families. Its difficult to imagine the old John McCain being this reckless with something so serious, Kirkpatrick said. John McCain has changed after 33 years in Washington. Of course, McCain is going to be 80 in August, so maybe hes just feeling his age. After all, he may have forgotten that the National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed him during the 2008 presidential campaign, spending $7 million in a failed attempt to beat Obama. And the NRA turned right around and endorsed him in his 2010 Senate race. Then Senate Minority Leader Harry Reids (D-Nev.) office called McCains comments unhinged, and added they are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump. This is the party of Trump, said a release from Reids office. It added there is no daylight between Senate Republicans and Donald Trump. Things have been somewhat contentious between McCain and Trump, so it shouldnt come as any surprise that Trumps campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski tweeted this: In the wake of the shooting, Trump also criticized Obama by saying either he didnt understand the radical Islamic terrorist threat or he gets it better than anybody understands. Were led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or hes got something else in mind, Trump said, earlier in the week. And the something else in mind, you know, people cant believe it, people cannot believe that President Obama is actin the way he acts and cant even mention the words radical Islamic terrorism. Theres something going onits inconceivable. Theres something going on. Which sounds like another Trump word salad with radical Islamic terrorism thrown into the mix as word salad dressing. Then Trump couldnt resist tweeting a link to an article on Breitbart that claimed Obama has supported ISIS indirectly. So of course, Trump used this to back up his claims that Obama may sympathize with terrorists: That sounds like lovely fodder for the Alex Jones crowd. McCain, perhaps due to the cavalcade of remarks that followed his dumb statement, made one last-ditch effort to walk it back again: Now once again, lets remember that McCain picked Palin as his running mate, and Trump is currently considering her (along with a few others). This means, however, that if Trump wins, we may get stuck with her anyway. Ugh. You can watch CNNs take on McCains remarks in the video below. http://reverbpress.com/politics/fail-john-mccain-blames-obama-for-orlando-shooting-then-tries-to-walk-it-back/ ~~ ~~ Senator Who Has Received More NRA Support Than Anyone Blames Obama For Orlando Shooting CREDIT: AP Photo/Ralph Freso Sen. John McCain On Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said President Barack Obama is directly responsible for the Sunday morning mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 50 dead. Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, McCain said, according to The Guardian . [Obama] pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked, and there would be attacks on the United States of America Its a matter of record, so he is directly responsible The responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies. Theres a good reason why McCain would ignore guns and focus on foreign policy. According to data from the Center of Responsive Politics , no member of Congress has received more direct and indirect support from the National Rifle Association than the $7.7 million that has gone to McCain over the course of his career. In 2008 alone, the NRA spent more than $7.2 million in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Obama and elect McCain, who was the Republican candidate that cycle. Though suspected Orlando shooter Omar Mateen pledged loyalty to ISIS during the attack on Pulse nightclub, no evidence has emerged that the American-born gunman was in previous contact with the group. Meanwhile, a former classmate told the Palm Beach Post he believes Mateen was gay, while his ex-wife told the Washington Post he was violent, emotionally troubled, and not particularly religious while the two were together. Mateen was twice investigated by the FBI once for online comments he made in support of Islamist groups, and the second for connections he had with an Islamic extremist. Despite all that, Mateen recently legally purchased the Sig Sauer MPX assault rifle he used during the massacre that left 50 dead. He also legally purchased a Glock 17 found on him after he was killed by law enforcement officers. As McCains comments circulated, he attempted to walk them back with a statement where he said he misspoke. I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the President himself. As I have said, President Obamas decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of ISIL. I and others have long warned that the failure of the Presidents policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando. But a reporter who was present when McCain made his comments in a Senate hallway suggested he was trying to do damage control: McCains remarks came just hours after the conclusion of a Democrat-led filibuster demanding the Senate vote on two gun control measures extending background checks to all gun sales and banning people on the terror watch list from buying firearms. But even in the the event those measures pass in the Republican-controlled chamber, neither of them wouldve prevented Mateen from legally purchasing an assault rifle in the days before he went on a deadly rampage. (Update a proposal offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) might actually block people like Mateen from buying firearms by broadening the criteria to include being investigated for terrorism during the past five years.) McCain, who faces a tough reelection fight against Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, has pledged his support for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. His comments came a day after Trump cited a debunked conspiracy theory to make a case that Obama secretly supports ISIS. Why Dolce & Gabbana picked a war photographer for the brand's latest fashion campaign When Domenico Dolce first called photographer Franco Pagetti he thought it was a mistake. Pagetti, who started his career at Vogue Italia, is known for his conflict photography of war zones including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Palestine. It is Pagettis bravery, ingenuity and skill that attracted the Italian fashion house to the lensman. The brief? A simple reportage of our clothes in Napoli (Naples). The campaign cannot be a report like I am used to, was Pagettis initial response to Domenico. In Baghdad and Libya, I walk around on my own taking pictures. I dont have a bunch of people surrounding me. His conditions of working, he tells The Telegraph, were no make-up artists, hairdressers or assistants fussing around him. I want to be alone with my story and the people in front of my camera. More than the models the people of Napoli should be the star of the campaign. Photo: yellow bridesmaid dresses The campaign is in keeping with the brands formula, which celebrates models mingling with Italian people of all demographics. The series of Pagettis photos show models, who were encouraged not to act like models, weaving through crowds in the picturesque cobbled streets of Spaccanapoli, with washing lines hung above and motorbikes parked in every corner. At first I was scared, Pagetti tells The Telegraph of the shoot. It was not the transition from conflict to fashion, but rather the expensive clothes that first made his nerves jitter. Once he had the green light from Stefano and Domenico to shoot what you need to shoot, the rest came naturally. For me there is no difference, he explains to us. I dont like being called a war photographer. I am a photographer because I like history, I like people. For me, taking pictures of these beautiful clothes in the middle of Napoli was an amazing story. Everyone can take a picture in a studio, Pagetti notes of his method of working. People want realness. I encouraged the models to show their souls because we are all are tired of seeing unnatural shoots. With dancing, whooping, clashing colours and - gasp! - other fashion labels displayed on the outfits of the Italian people, the campaign is a very refreshing one, indeed. See More: bridesmaid dresses uk Today, Jennifer Williams, a literacy specialist at Calliope Global and adjunct professor at Saint Leo University , examines current teacher professional development strategies and how they can be leveraged to create a global PD plan. Inspirational. Empowering. Relevant. Customized. Collaborative. Supercharged. Fun! All words used by educators when asked to describe their ideal type of professional development. Many of todays educators are seeking alternatives to traditional forms of professional learning in an effort to enrich their practice and support student success in the classroom. Globally minded educators are finding a host of innovative ways to design their professional development (PD) plans to meet the needs of instructional learning objectives. Sophisticated, self-directed models allow teachers to truly view the world as their learning spaces and harness the transformational power of both collaboration and new technologies. Armed with voice and choice, educators are able to examine global perspectives and incorporate both formal and informal activities to extend their understandings of the world. Recent trends in modern professional development are revolutionizing the process of learning for teachers and shifting practice in classrooms around the world. Trend #1: Backward Design Planning Current models of professional development are actionable. Charged with a clearly designed, intentional purpose, many educators are looking at the end goal that connects to a larger vision and working backwards to create PD plans. Once purpose is defined, educators can strategically match learning opportunities to objectives and create action steps to achieving knowledge on topics. For instance, a globally minded educator seeking to create an international audience for student writing may look to better understand both standards of practice and tech tools for collaboration. In this example, a teacher customizing a year-long PD plan may select an online conference for learning more on international writing standards, a book study on global collaboration with Professional Learning Network (PLN) peers, and expert interviews with educational consultants from several ed-tech companies. With an intentional focus on gaining skills and competencies, this educator can effectively meet stated goals to best support instruction and student learning. Trend #2: Responsive to Multiple Learning Styles Lecture-style, one-size-fits-all PD is being reimagined with modern formats that respond to varying learning styles. Educators today looking for flexible options to match schedules and personalized needs are finding choices that are hands-on, social, and multimodal, incorporating text, audio, video, and graphics. These learner-centric offerings empower educators to take charge of professional growth in their search for natural connections between content, experience, and available resources. If we move beyond mandated PD that is designed-for-many and viewed as sit-and-get direct instruction, then personalized experiences connecting educators to their core beliefs about teaching and learning in global education can become a reality. Personalized and matched to multiple learning styles, many global educators are participating in the #100DayChallenge, an open-ended call to action allowing participants to select one growth activity to complete daily for 100 days. Committed to extending knowledge of global topics in education and overall personal happiness, many teachers are choosing to complete the challenge by watching one TEDTalk of their choice each day and then documenting learning in the form of sketchnotes. These visual representations of how concepts are understood are then shared on social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, for discussion and extension. Diverse contexts such as these bring together multiple learning styles for a better and more authentic learning experience that can be scaled for global learning. Trend #3: Crowd-Sourced Learning Participatory learning opportunities are bringing focus to the importance of the collective input of educators gathered through crowd-sourcing practices. By incorporating the voices of many and enlisting all educators in the decision making process, learning experiences can essentially put teachers at the center of their own learning. Educators seeking to bring the world to their classrooms and bring their classrooms to the world can dive deeply into relevant dialogue with peers and experts and can have the ability to apply new learning to school designs in real time. In turn, these practices are personalizing professional learningmaking the peer-to-peer learning movement the PD of choice for many educators. As part of this shift, Edcamps as unconference events are quickly becoming primary components of PD plans for many educators of the world. With Edcamps, learning is participant-driven as sessions for the day are determined organically with teachers themselves indicating topics on which they want to learn and topics on which they want share. Edcamps are free and open to all educators worldwide, and learning is centered on the passions and questions relevant in the lives of attendees and their learning communities. Trend #4: Micro-Credentialing & Digital Badging In addition to being empowered to design personalized plans for professional growth, educators are now charged with also determining how learning will be demonstrated and validated for recognition. Evidencing practices, such as micro-credentialing and digital badging, can serve to document professional growth in ways that are universally recognizable for educators around the world. These competency-based models provide systems that can continuously recognize professional learning and sharing of best practices regardless of time, place, or rate of learning. Global educators seeking to document skills and competencies in PD plans in a practical and focused manner can earn micro-credentials through multiple organizations and agencies. Once an appropriate program is selected, an educator can follow steps of (1) selecting skills or competencies for development, (2) collecting and organizing evidencing materials (e.g., class videos, photos capturing work, video logs of progress, field notes, etc.), and (3) submitting evidence in the form of a portfolio or digital artifact to showcase development of specified skill. Following submission, field experts review provided documentation to ensure established standards of mastery are met, and recognition is awarded. Often times, digital badges are offered to serve as a recognizable validation of accomplishments, positioning educators as valued resources in their global learning networks. Trend #5: Sustained Inquiry For a true shift in practice, educators need to be supported with space and time to develop depth of knowledge over extended periods and across multiple learning environments. Sustained inquiry allows for educators to approach questions in their worlds through an iterative process of design thinking with trial, evaluation, redefining, and reimagining. Learning can be collaborative, networked, and continuous, and by working together in connected spaces (both within schools and within virtual PLNs), educators can work together with others to gain understandings from diverse ideas and perspectives and reflective thinking. Viewed by many as the mainstay of connected learning and sustained inquiry, Twitter has evolved to be a virtual space enabling educators to take ownership over their professional growth. Educators with personalized Professional Learning Networks are establishing cultures of transparent sharing in 140 characters or less. Addressing challenges, exploring new practices, and celebrating successes, inspired educators of the world are exemplifying sustained inquiry with use of hashtags and Twitter chats, such as #globaledchat and #edchat . More, with Twitter as an entry point for dialogue and discussion, many educators are extending conversations with new colleagues of the world to other networked platforms, such as blogging, Voxer , Periscope , Instagram , and even collaborative study trips, for further exploration. Set to develop a professional development plan for learning and growth, globally minded educators can thoughtfully and purposefully explore topics that are significant in the worlds of their students and their own lives as professionals. These new trends in global PD are not only characterized as providing purpose and motivation, but also serve to empower educators with autonomy and agency to revolutionize the landscape of education and positively change the practice of how educators access and share information for professional growth. Connect with Jennifer and Heather on Twitter. Sketchnote courtesy of Amber McCormick . Nearly 1 in 4 Americans lives within three miles of a Superfund site. Most of us know thats not a good thing. Superfund sitesareas contaminated by hazardous waste and marked for clean-up by the Environmental Protection Agencyare associated with health risks , and houses close to the sites are often less valuable. But we know less about just how environmental disasters and toxic pollution affect the development and educational outcomes of children, especially in the United States. In Inequality Before Birth: The Developmental Consequences of Environmental Toxins, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Floridas pediatrics department matched birth and educational records to examine how exposure to various toxic chemicals before birth affected the educational and cognitive development of children. The findings are disturbing if not surprising: Children who were conceived near a Superfund site before it was cleaned up are more likely to have a cognitive disability, to be suspended from school, to score lower on state tests, and to repeat a grade than children born to the same mothers in the same location after the hazardous waste had been cleaned. Lead author Claudia Persico, a 2016 doctoral candidate at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern, studied the neurobiology of autism before she began her research in education and policy. As a researcher in neuroscience, she learned that some differences in the brains of those with autism started showing up in the first trimester of pregnancy. So when she began learning about persistent achievement gaps between socioeconomic groups in education, and about the high portion of low-income and minority children diagnosed with cognitive disabilities, she wondered if some of those differences also began before birth. I started thinking about, what might pregnant women be exposed to in low-income communities that could cause brain changes in their developing children? Persico said. Her first theory: Toxic waste. So Persico used data from Floridas health and education departments to explore the developmental trajectories of children conceived in zip codes near Superfund sites in that state between 1994 and 2002. In order to compare children from similar backgrounds, she focused on families that included multiple children conceived during different phases of Superfund clean-up ie., one conceived before clean-up began and one after it ended. About 4,500 families who lived within 2 miles of a Superfund site had sibling pairs that fit this description; those families were more likely to be low-income than families in the state as a whole. Some 163,000 of the 1.6 million children born during this period who eventually enrolled in Florida public schools lived within 2 miles of a site. Children who were conceived within two miles of a Superfund site before clean-up were 7.4 percentage points more likely to repeat a grade by the end of elementary school (About 25 percent, compared to 18.5 percent of those conceived after clean-up). The exposed siblings were also more than 6.6 percentage points more likely to have a serious behavioral incident (14.3 percent compared to 20.9 percent) and had slightly lower scores than their nonexposed siblings on standardized tests. Those conceived within a mile of a Superfund site before cleanup were 10 percentage points more likely to be diagnosed with a cognitive disability such as a specific learning disability, autism, or speech and language impairment than children who werent as exposed. The challenges faced by the older siblings who were exposed to the waste sites is striking because older siblings tend have stronger academic outcomes than younger siblingsa trend that held true in the data set for Florida children who were not exposed to Superfund sites. The paper suggests that exposure to toxic chemicals may help explain some persistent academic, behavioral, and development gaps between lower- and higher-income children and between minority and White children. Its an environmental justice issue, Persico said. Its not random where these sites are; they tend to lower housing values, so children who live nearby are more likely to be low-income. She said the findings could also help schools near Superfund sites understand their students needs. Since educating children with developmental disabilities tends to be expensive, Persico said, these are huge costs being borne by the school districts... that may have origins in local industry. Persico said that the evidence that children conceived after the sites were cleaned up had better outcomes makes a case for continuing to support the cleanup of Superfund sites. Yes, these are really expensive to clean up, she said. But if you dont think about the impact on children and childrens cognitive development, youre missing some of the really expensive cost of pollution. The EPA provides a map of Superfund sites: //toxmap-classic.nlm.nih.gov/ Image source: Screenshot from National Institutes of Healths Toxmap website. FISHERSVILLE -- Mental health and the chronic disease of diabetes were identified as major health concerns as part of a community health needs assessment released by Augusta Health on Thursday. Also high on the concern scale was the level of nutrition, physical activity and weight in the hospitals service area of Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County. One of the most daunting stats was that 36 percent of area residents surveyed said their lives had been negatively affected by substance abuse. Almost 37 percent surveyed identified one or more barriers to getting health care in the past year. The community health needs assessment was done with the help of a random survey of 400 residents in the three communities and 300 key informants the hospital reached out to. The key informants came from business, education, government and other sectors in the community. A listing of priorities ranked by the community informants after Thursdays meeting ranked nutrition, physical activity and weight and diabetes as the top two health care priorities for Augusta Health. Those surveyed in Waynesboro showed high numbers for being overweight or obese. While the surveyed residents in the three communities scored reasonably well on consumption of fruit and vegetables, they did not fare as well on getting enough exercise. Among the issues identified with diabetes were education about the disease and management of it. Diabetes is a disease whose complications can lead to heart disease and kidney failure. The information on surveys of residents and key informants was unveiled by Professional Research Consultants, the company who compiled the data for Augusta Health. Under the federal Affordable Care Act, a community health needs assessment is required every three years. Augusta Health CEO Mary Mannix said the health needs assessment can help the hospital in several ways. She said the data can improve health care, reduce chronic disease and lessen disparities in health care. The information can also be used by community groups to develop programs, obtain grants and create new initiatives. Mannix said while a community health needs assessment is now required every three years, it also provides important information. It is the right thing to do, she said. It is important to stay in touch with the community. Lisa Schwenk, Augusta Healths director of public relations and community outreach, said the priority list of health concerns developed Thursday will now be looked at more closely by the hospital to find ways to implement improvements. You may contact Bob Stuart at (540) 932-3562 or bstuart@newsvirginian.com. WAYNESBORO--The Waynesboro community will have the opportunity of seeing a three-time Grammy nominated Cuban music group right here in our own downtown. Tiempo Libre will perform a joyous concert featuring a mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sonorities and seductive Latin rhythms that have been described by the New York Times as dance music of sophistication and abandon at The Wayne Theatre on June 18. Tiempo Libre is made up of seven young Cuban musicians who individually fled Cuba seeking freedom. After reuniting in Miami Florida, the group would get together in their free time, which means tiempo libre in Spanish, to perform the Cuban music they loved. Since their formation 14 years ago, the members of Tiempo Libre have been on a mission to serve as ambassadors to their Cuban culture. The childhood friends have made a name for themselves through standalone concerts across the U.S. and worldwide, as well as collaborating with leading orchestras across the U.S. The band has appeared on The Tonight Show, Live from Lincoln Center and Dancing with the Stars. Tracy Straight, the executive director of The Wayne Theatre, is looking forward to what Tiempo Libre will bring to the show. The Wayne Theatre looks to bring diverse programming with a goal of offering something for everyone in the community, Straight said. Tiempo Libre is unlike anything we have brought to the stage thus far. She added that The Wayne Theatre is honored that they can soon add The Wayne Theatre to their list of performance venues. Pianist and musical director Jorge Gomez thinks Tiempo Libre brings a unique sense of energy and joy to the show. The most important thing is the energy and joy we transmit to the audience, said Gomez. We want to see people happy, dancing, singing in the sun, even playing with us on the stage - sharing in the happiness we feel when we play. Part of our mission in Tiempo Libre is to make every performance a true party, a celebration of life and music. That means getting people to forget all their cares and inhibitions whether they are up and dancing or singing along from their seats. In addition to stand-alone concerts at performing arts centers around the globe, including Jazz at Lincoln Center; Hong Kongs Kwai Tsing Theatre; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; the Tel Aviv Opera House, and Istanbul's Is Arts and Culture Center, Tiempo Libre has drawn on their classical training to play with leading orchestras including the Oregon Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and The San Francisco Symphony. They collaborated with The Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero on a bilingual educational family concert program presented at the Arsht Center in Miami, and they premiered Rumba Sinfonica, a classical travelogue of Cuban music composed by Ricardo Lorenz with the Minneapolis Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony and the Ravinia Festival. The band has played at premier festivals including Tanglewood, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Gwangju World Music Festival in South Korea. During the Divino Tuscany Festival in Cortona, they played at the Italian villa of Sting and Trudie Styler, who joined their guests on the dance floor. Tiempo Libre closed the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl with arguably one of the worlds longest conga lines. What the audience can find unique about Tiempo Libre is their style of music. Its not often that youll find a Cuban music group in Waynesboro. Were going to be performing Cuban music, a variety of rhythms and genres, from traditional music (songs like Guantanamera, Son de la loma, El Manicero) to timba, which is a fusion of the traditional with rock, jazz and Afro-Cuban elements, said Gomez. We will also be doing Latin jazz and something that not too many bands do, which is fusing classical music and Cuban music. From the beginning, when we created Tiempo Libre, our musical concept has been to cover a wide range of different rhythms, because that is the true cultural experience of Cuba. Our listeners, our audiences, have a variety of musical tastes and are also eager to learn more about Cuban music. It is our mission to share with the audience the richness of our culture, our heritage and our music. Emily Kratzer is a news correspondent for The News-Virginian. With Fathers Day coming up, I thought Id take a look at ways that fathers increasingly are getting involved in schools. While women have traditionally been more active in schools, dad groups have been growing around the country, and the National Parent Teacher Association has been working on supporting that growth, along with other groups. Its an issue that has come up at the White House. In 2012, the White House Fatherhood Report came out, part of President Barack Obamas initiative to engage more fathers, finding that one out of three children in the United States live in a house without their biological father . The PTA launched a specific Male Engagement Toolkit on its website, including the Male Engagement Event Program and Planning guide and a Father-Friendly PTA survey. There are also steps to creating a successful male-engagement program. Beyond that, the National PTA Men Organized to Raise Engagement, or PTA MORE, was started in 2008 to bring together other groups that concentrate on father involvement, including 100 Black Men of America Inc. and WATCH D.O.G.S., or Dads of Great Students, which focuses on violence prevention. Last year, the PTA MORE programs drew about 1 million men to visit schools through its programs, according to the PTA . National PTA established the M.O.R.E. alliance in an effort to raise the level of engagement between children and the important men in their lives, said Heidi May Wilson, an association spokeswoman, in an email. Research shows that the engagement of fathers and male mentors in education and communities helps nurture childrens intellectual, physical, and social development. And when men are present in schools, student achievement increases and negative behavior decreases. In addition to the national groups, some fathers are creating their own PTA chapters in their communities. One example is the Detroit Area Dads PTA . Anthony King, a father and grandfather of public school children, started the group when he and his friends noticed a need. The Detroit Area Dads PTA now has about 35 members, including some women, from throughout the community. Read a Q & A with King about the Dads PTA . The issue is that there are so many kids in the Detroit area. And you have conversations with them and find out their fathers not in their lives or fathers are somewhat in their lives. They are not having real impact to their upbringing and education, King said. We felt there was a need. King said the group also supports single fathers. The U.S. Department of Education partnered in 2014 with the Detroit Area Dads PTA and Detroit Public Schools to host a Dads to Dads forum that drew about 350 people. Earlier this month, another Dads to Dads forum brought in Alejandra Ceja, executive director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, as a speaker . Besides the big events, King said the group is also trying to help with major issues in Detroit. The PTA helps fathers and young men find jobs or training. Also, the PTA is considering starting a lead-testing program through a partnership with a church. They have an important role in education and the growth of the family, King said about fathers. I think weve done a pretty good job. How are fathers involved in your schools? What ways are you trying to get more men engaged? Send me an email or write in the comments section below. Contact Sarah Tully at stully@epe.org . Follow @ParentAndPublic for the latest news on schools and parental involvement. Dont miss another K-12 Parents and the Public post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. The IMF has chosen to ignore the positive benefits of leaving the EU and instead focused only on the supposed negatives. If we Vote Leave we can create 300,000 jobs by doing trade deals with fast growing economies across the globe. We can stop sending the 350 million we pay Brussels every week. That is why it is safer to Vote Leave. The IMFs analysis is partial. It does not provide any analysis of a new bilateral free trade agreement between the UK and the EU. The IMF finds UK growth in the medium-term could increase if we left the EU and that EU membership does not increase economic growth. The IMF underplays the value of new free trade agreements to the British economy, which could create 300,000 jobs. The IMF ignores a major Treasury study showing that the cost of the EU could be as high as 7% of GDP, or 4,638 per household. The Bank of England has said the IMF is wrong and that wages would rise. The real risk to the economy is staying tied to the failing Eurozone, as the IMF admitted yesterday. The IMFs view on the economics of European Union membership has been strongly criticised by its former senior economist. The IMF has been wrong about its forecasts in the past. George Osborne has criticised these errors. The EU institutions are planning to take the UKs seat on the IMF. Just this week the Commission referred Germany to the European Court for failing to adopt a common EU position in an international organisation. The IMFs analysis is partial. It does not provide any analysis of a new bilateral free trade agreement between the UK and the EU. The report does not assess what the economic consequences of a UK-EU free trade agreement would be. It considers only a limited scenario, where the UK joins the European Economic Area, and an adverse scenario, where the UK trades with the EU on WTO terms (p. 30). This is despite the IMF acknowledging that a new UK-EU Free Trade Agreement is possible (p. 46). The UKs former Ambassador to the EU and leading supporter of the IN campaign, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, has admitted: there is no doubt that the UK could secure a free trade agreement with the EU. That is not an issue. The IMF says whether or not such an agreement could be agreed is clearly a political question, which it does not attempt to address. The IMF claims that leaving the EU could mean that the UK loses the financial passport. The Governor of the Bank of England has said: that mutual recognition arrangements are possible to achieve. The IMF finds UK growth in the medium-term could increase if we left the EU and that EU membership does not increase economic growth. The IMFs literature review concludes that joining the EU did not affect the long-run growth rate of the economy. The IMF finds that in the medium-term growth could be higher if we left the EU. It concludes that, in 2020, growth if we remain in the EU would be 2.1% but if we left the EU would be between 2.1% and 2.6%. In 2021, it finds growth if we remain in the EU would be 2.1% but if we left the EU, it would be between 2.1% and 2.9%. The IMF acknowledges that Foreign Direct Investment from the EU has fallen. The IMF report states that FDI inflows to the UK reached a peak in 2008 and have since fallen in subsequent years. Official figures from the ONS show that over the last ten years the EUs net investment into the UK has declined. Recently, the EU as a whole has disinvested from the UK. Today flows of FDI from the United States are more important to the British economy than those from the EU. The IMF underplays the value of new free trade agreements to the British economy, which could create 300,000 jobs. The IMF downplays the value of new trade agreements to the British economy, stating that substituting to other export markets would likely take time. As the IMF itself accepts, however, the China-Switzerland agreement was reached relatively quickly-three years. The EU, by contrast, has not struck a free trade agreement with China. Oxford Economics has said that an analysis of regional trade deals conducted over the past 20 years found an average duration of 28 months. There are many examples: the US-Australia free trade agreement (FTA) was concluded in less than two years; the Switzerland-China FTA was negotiated in a little over two years; Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, 2016; and the US-Canada FTA was negotiated in less than two years. The EUs failure to conclude just five trade agreements it has promised to strike has, according to the European Commissions own figures, cost the UK 284,000 jobs. The IMF ignores a major Treasury study showing that the cost of the EU could be as high as 7% of GDP, or 4,638 per household. The IMF claims that: the potential for cuts in costs of regulation sufficient to outweigh losses from reduced access to the single market appears slim. In making this assessment, the IMF ignores an important study from HM Treasury in 2005, which found that: although Europes founders aimed to remove barriers and reap the benefits of expanded markets internally, they also sought protection and special treatment for particular aspects of their economies such as agriculture. This has brought costs: expensive subsidies still remain in some sectors and it is estimated that barriers to external trade and investment such as tariffs, quotas and unjustifiably restrictive standards could cost Europes consumers up to 7 per cent of EU GDP. This is the equivalent of 125.2 billion per year in todays prices, or 4,638 per household. The Bank of England has said the IMF are wrong and that wages would rise. The Bank of England has found that the immigrant to native ratio has a small negative impact on average British wage. The study found that immigrants in recent years are most predominant in low-skill occupations. The study concluded that: the biggest effect is in the semi/unskilled services sector, where a 10 percentage point rise in the proportion of immigrants is associated with a 2 percent reduction in pay. The head of the IN campaign, Lord Rose acknowledged this and admitted wages will go up if we Vote Leave, stating: the price of labour will go up . George Osbornes former close adviser, Rupert Harrison, agrees. A BlackRock report in February co-written by Harrison said leaving the EU could mean lower immigration [which] could make labour scarcer in the long run, pushing up wage costs. The real risk to the economy is staying tied to the failing Eurozone, as the IMF admitted yesterday. In its Article IV statement on the Eurozone published yesterday, the IMF stated that: The medium term outlook is still weak Productivity remains below pre-crisis levels and faces greater pressures from adverse demographics high unemployment and debt burdens are likely to persist, leaving the euro area vulnerable to the risk of stagnation. The IMFs view on the economics of European Union membership has been strongly criticised by its former senior economist. A former senior International Monetary Fund economist, Ashoka Modi, who is now visiting professor at Princeton University, has said the IMFs view on the referendum is fundamentally mistaken. Professor Modi has said: Consensus amongst economists quickly unravels. In April 1999, Britains top academic economists voted strongly in favour of switching from the pound to the euro. Mercifully, the government had better sense economics is neutral on whether to leave or remain. The battle for Brexit must be fought on other grounds the claim that Brexit will impose a huge cost rests on the twin beliefs that British trade with Germany will go down sharply and trade with the United States will not increase. Is that reasonable? First, British trade with Germany will not decline significantly. As economists have long known, trade is embedded in business and social networks into which partners invest enormous social capital. Studies repeatedly show that businesses make accommodations in profit margins to retain the benefits of trust and reliability. For this reason, all productive trading relationships will remain intact. For this reason too, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeubles threat that renegotiation of Britains trade arrangements with the EU would be most difficult and poisonous is bluster. Germans run a trade surplus with Britain. Mr Schaeuble can humiliate the IMF, but he dare not hurt the interests of his exporters (or his importers). And even if British trade with the EU falls, trade with other regions will undoubtedly increase. The IMF has been wrong about its forecasts in the past. George Osborne has criticised these errors. The IMF previously significantly underestimated growth in the British economy. In 2013 the IMFs chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, warned that Britains growth prospects were very low. When challenged, the Chief Economist responded: I am right and they are wrong. His estimates turned out to be inaccurate and UK growth was much stronger than he predicted. The IMF later had to accept that it was wrong about its warnings for the UK. Christine Lagarde later admitted that she had underestimated the strength of growth when the IMF assessed the UK economy in 2013. The IMF has made other major errors of forecasting. In June 2013, the IMF was forced to admit it had issued economic projections that were too optimistic about its joint austerity programme with the EU in Greece. The IN campaign has admitted there are no short-term risks to leaving the EU. The Chairman of the IN campaign, Lord Rose of Monewden, has admitted that there are no short-term risks in voting to leave, stating: Nothing is going to happen if we come out of Europe in the first five years There will be absolutely no change Its not going to be a step change or somebodys going to turn the lights out and were all suddenly going to find that we cant go to France, its going to be a gentle process. George Osborne has criticised the IMFs forecasts in the past. In April 2014, George Osborne made a speech to the American Enterprise Institute which was widely perceived to be a direct attack on the IMF for its previous negative forecasts about the British economy. Osborne said: pessimistic predictions that fiscal consolidation was incompatible with economic recovery have been proved comprehensively wrong by events many of those same pessimists have now found new grounds to be gloomy about our future I want to explain why I believe both of these predictions will be proved wrong too I have a different prescription. My message today at the IMF is this. The pessimists said our plan would not deliver economic growth. Now they say economic growth will not deliver higher living standards. They were wrong about the past and they are now wrong about the future . The European Commission has already announced it intends to silence the UKs voice in the IMF. The EUs blueprint for further integration and future Treaty change, the Five Presidents Report, calls for common EU representation in the international financial institutions rather than letting individual member states speak for themselves. It suggests that the EUs fragmented voice means the EU is punching below its political and economic weight and specifically singles out the IMF as one such example. In October 2015, the European Commission proposed a Council Decision to establish unified representation of the euro area in the IMF. The draft Decision, on which the UK will not have a vote, states that: Close cooperation with non-euro area Member States shall be organised within the Council and the [Economic and Financial Committee], on matters related to the IMF. Common positions shall be coordinated on matters relevant for the European Union as a whole. The European Parliament voted for the UK to be silenced in the IMF in April. In April, the European Parliament called for the EU to seek full membership of international economic and financial institutions where this has not yet been granted and is appropriate (e.g. in the cases of the OECD and the IMF) . The Parliament demanded that there should be a single European Union constituency in the long term, with voting in the EU Council moving away from consensus to a weighted majority voting system . The European Court will force this through. Just this week the Commission referred Germany to the European Court for failing to adopt a common EU position in an international organisation. In an October 2014 decision, the European Court ruled, rejecting the UKs arguments, that the EU may require the UK to adopt a common EU position in an international organisation of which the EU is not a member, provided that the subject matter of the decision relates to an EU legislative competence. As a result, the UK was forced to adopt an EU common position in the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Since the EU has legislative competence over financial services, the UK could be forced to adopt a common EU line in the IMF whenever the EU wants. This week, the European Commission referred Germany to the European Court for failing to vote for amendments to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail, contrary to an EU common position. LONDON - England - The sad death of Labour MP Jo Cox, at the hands of a mentally ill person is a terrible tragedy, but what is even worse is the exploitation of her untimely end by IN campaigners for their own political gain. There are certainly questions about MPs safety within constituencies and every day movement which should be addressed. The DS has suspended all posts regarding the EU referendum since yesterday afternoon, however there are a sizeable amount of shameful IN campaigners pleading for Remain votes on social networks exploiting the shooting on Thursday. Unconfirmed reports Some members of the media have decided to sensationalise the tragic death of the MP and put out a pro-European anti-Brexit stance at the same time. This is a shameful exploitation of Joe Coxs death for political gain. This is wrong. We will not be swayed by the despicable exploitation of an MPs death at the hands of a mentally ill person. The reprehensible exploitation for political gain by Remain campaigners is abhorrent. R.I.P Jo Cox A controversial Los Angeles-area plan to double the number of charter schools was drastically changed to offer new opportunities for students in low-income neighborhoods in all types of public schools, according to media reports. The Great Public Schools Now group , a non-profit organization largely funded by charter advocates and foundations that support them, announced June 15 that it would expand public-school access to 160,000 students in 10 low-income areas, according to LA School Report . The group looked at data, including test scores, to find that more than 160,000 low-income students and English-language learners ... are enrolled in schools whose performance is so dismal that 80 percent of students are learning below grade level. The new funding could be used to create and expand charter schools, as well as add seats or projects in district schools. That could include magnets in Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest district. The specifics about funding for the full project have yet to be released, but the group announced $4.5 million in initial grants on June 16, according to LA School Report . The plan is far different than one leaked to the Los Angeles Times in fall 2015: That proposal called for $490 million to double the number of charter schools and studentsup to 260 new charters enrolling 130,000 over eight years. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and other charter school advocates were pushing for the plan. See an Education Week story about the LAUSD plan . But the proposal faced backlash from LAUSD officials and others, saying the charters would further drain financial resources and support from the district and its students. Already, about 16 percent of LAUSDs 650,000 students attend charter schools. See a Los Angeles Daily News story about the financial impact of charters . The seven-member board for Great Public Schools Now includes representatives from the Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. See the full list and biographies . (The Broad Foundation has provided support for news coverage in Education Week, as does the Walton Foundation, whose support includes the work of this blog. Education Week retains editorial control over content.) Find the full Great Public Schools Now proposal. Read more about Los Angeles charter schools in the Education Week special report, Charter Schools at 25. Contact Sarah Tully at stully@epe.org . Follow @ParentAndPublic for the latest news on schools and parental involvement. Dont miss another K-12 Parents and the Public post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. Updated North Carolina police officers arrested 14 people, including several teachers, on the evening of June 15 after they blocked a Raleigh intersection while protesting Gov. Pat McCrorys education policies. The advocates were part of the Organize 2020 group, which is sponsored by the N.C. Association of Educators, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported . They marched 23 miles to the N.C. Capitol in hopes of meeting with McCrorywho, according to his spokesman, had a scheduling conflict and could not meet with them. The governors office offered to arrange a meeting with the governors deputy chief of staff and senior education adviser, the News & Observer reported, but the doors to the Capitol building were locked when the protesters arrived around 5 p.m. The protesters then sat down and linked arms in the street, blocking a downtown intersection. The police arrested them and charged them with impeding the flow of traffic and resisting, delaying, or obstructing law enforcement officers. McCrorys spokesman, Josh Ellis, told the News & Observer that the protesters didnt respond to the offer to meet with McCrorys top aides, and the officials went outside to meet the protesters. We found them with locked arms in the middle of a rush-hour intersection, Ellis told the paper. We usually prefer not to hold meetings in the intersection of a main road. Heres a video of the arrest: .Arresting teachers for fighting for our kids to have access to equal Ed. Shame @PatMcCroryNC #Allin4PublicEd pic.twitter.com/hDN0JIOctw -- Elizabeth Propp, NBCT (@ElizabethPropp) June 15, 2016 The relationship between the teachers union and McCroryand the state legislaturehas been rocky for years. Teacher pay has been a particular point of contention. North Carolina lags behind most other states, falling at 42nd place in the rankings . The state legislature, and the governors office, is working to raise teacher pay this year, although the state teachers union has criticized the plan for giving bigger raises to mid-career teachers versus the ones with the most experience; the Charlotte Observer has a comprehensive breakdown of the debate. And last week, Organize 2020 released a report card that gave McCrory an F in all areas, ranging from provided sufficient funding for public education to protected our students from discrimination and criminalization to preserved clean air and water for students. Source: Image of a different teacher protesting; by Flickr user Andy Blackledge , licensed under Creative Commons Updated, 6/17: A previous version of this story incorrectly marked the date of the arrest. The protesters were arrested on June 15. Related Reading: Follow @madeline_will and @EdWeekTeacher on Twitter. Can Businesses Ban Gun Owners? The owner of two restaurants in Portland, Maine ignited a national debate after she claimed on Facebook that she would no longer allow owners of semi-automatic rifles in her businesses. Anne Verrill's post, which has since been removed, raises interesting questions, one of which is: can she do that? Actually, it seems highly unlikely. Let's consider the legality and practicality of the proposal. Specific Prohibition Anne Verrill is not opposed to gun ownership and does not want Maine gun owners stripped of hunting rifles. But she considers semi-automatic weapons to be tools of war and different from those for sport. She said that she had to speak up in order to be able to later face her children. "When my children grow up and they ask me what I did to help change the course of gun violence will I say to them, 'I liked some Facebook memes and talked to like-minded people about our outrage and sadness,'" she said in a statement to local station WMTW News 8. "Or will I say that I used the loudest voice I knew to shout my outrage and condemn the violence and beg for change in the most effective way I could see. Will I stand on the right side of history?" Practically Speaking Although Verrill's sentiment reflects a widespread frustration with online communication, it's not clear that she can implement a ban like the one she proposed. "I just couldn't figure out how she would make that work," said Jeff Weinstein, president of the Maine Gun Owners Association. He suggested posting signs banning guns at the restaurants but this suggestion seems to miss the point. The proposal was not to keep guns out of the restaurant but reportedly to keep out people who support ownership of a certain type of gun. That is much more complicated to do than banning guns and would be practically impossible to enforce -- anyone who wants to eat badly enough can just lie about their feelings about semi-automatic weapons. Legally Speaking Gun owners may carry a weapon in any place that they are licensed and permitted to carry, which is to say, it's OK if it's OK. An individual business, or even a chain, may state its preferences in a policy and that is generally legal too, according to Restaurants.com, which in 2013 wrote that gun bans were increasingly popular in eateries. But it also notes the existence of restaurants with the opposite approach. Some businesses specifically welcome gun owners, and some employers have policies barring specific types of weapons. Talk to a Lawyer If you are concerned about guns at your business or any other aspect of operations, speak to a lawyer. Get guidance on local laws and make sure you do what is best for you and your business. Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Google+. Related Resources: According to Mayor Libby Schaaf, Police Chief Sean Whent resigned for "personal reasons," and not because of a report in the East Bay Express that revealed that at least 14 of his officers (along with 4 Alameda County sheriff's deputies and a federal officer) trafficked and had sex with a prostitute who was underage when the trafficking began. "Celeste Guap" was 17 when OPD officer Brendan O'Brien began having sex with her. Soon, many of his colleagues were also regularly having sex with her. Oakland officers tipped Guap off about undercover police actions, and had sex with her in their official vehicles. At least one of them had sex with her in the back of a cruiser while it was in a police station parking-lot. The officers' misconduct which included on-duty sexting with Guap was repeatedly raised to Oakland police supervisors, who did nothing to put a stop to it. Though some of the involved officers have resigned, none have faced criminal charges. The officers who had sex with Guap were drawn from all levels of the department, including senior officers and at least one former OPD captain, retired on a $125,000 pension who asked East Bay Express reporters not to reveal his name because the scandal would give him a fatal heart-attack. Another retiree, former OPD Captain Ricardo Orozco, was Facebook friends with Guap and exchanged sexually suggestive messages with her on social media. Orozco had previously worked on an initiative to shame Johns by sending letters to people suspected of street-solicitation of prostitutes. Officer O'Brien committed suicide in 2015, shortly after Guap informed a sergeant that she had begun having sex with O'Brien while she was a minor. Guap says she told multiple officers and sergeants that she had sex with OPD officers while she was underage. Multiple city sources say Whent was forced out last week by Independent Police Monitor Robert Warshaw, who is responsible for overseeing OPD's progress with its thirteen-year-old federal reforms. Warshaw hand-selected Whent to run the department in 2013 because Whent was seen as an incorruptible Boy Scout committed to implementing court-ordered reforms. But Warshaw recently learned that Whent's wife, Julie, knew of Guap's relationship with O'Brien as far back as June of last year, according to multiple sources. Guap said Julie Whent reached out to her online. She claims that she told the chief's wife last year that she had been sleeping with O'Brien since she was a minor. Warshaw did not become aware of O'Brien's death, and the relationships O'Brien and other rookie officers had with Guap, until he was tipped off earlier this year. Badge of Dishonor: Top Oakland Police Department Officials Looked Away as East Bay Cops Sexually Exploited and Trafficked a Teenager [Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston/East Bay Express] The Real Reason Why Oakland's Police Chief Was Fired [Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston/East Bay Express] (Thanks, Fipi Lele!) (Image: Oakland Police, Gregory Veen, CC-BY-SA) The Commonwealth School is a $40,000/year private school that occupies a couple of mansions in the Back Bay of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth Academy is a pay-what-you-can school for underprivileged kids, located 90 miles away (also in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). The Commonwealth School is suing the Commonwealth Academy for $2M, asserting that the use of the word Commonwealth in the name of a school in a Commonwealth has caused it "irreparable harm" and "presently incalculable" damages. From a trademark perspective, this is pretty much an automatic win for the Academy. The term "Commonwealth" it itself pretty generic, which weakens its trademark status (there's a reason Amazon is called "Amazon" and not "Bookstore"). The potential for confusion is effectively nil (no one planning to go to the Commonwealth School will have their pilot chopper them over to the Commonwealth Academy, shrug, and assume that the exclusive private school has been transformed into a place where the poors go). The Commonwealth School's trademark registration is for "Commonwealth School," not "Commonwealth" (because trademark). There's another Commonwealth Academy in Virginia, whose trademark was not opposed by the Commonwealth School. Finally, there's some shenanigans with the School's trademark, which was only filed in 2012, more than 50 years after the school was founded, but (coincidentally?) shortly after the Commonwealth Academy opened its doors (the School insists the two are unconnected, and it didn't know that the allegedly infringing Academy was up and running for four years before it took action). But the realpolitik of litigation means that the Commonwealth School can almost certainly outspend and outlast the Commonwealth Academy, unless a bunch of people who could be more usefully funding education for poor kids instead raised a litigation slushfund to fight the case. As there's no guarantee that the Academy would recover legal costs when/if it prevailed, this should be considered money down the law-hole, no matter what the outcome. "If no one who applies to the Commonwealth School would consider the Commonwealth Academy, and the other way around, that's . . . very powerful for the Commonwealth Academy," he said. "But if some students would be in a position to consider both schools, then that, to me, raises the stakes of someone finding a likelihood of confusion." The institutions serve starkly different populations. The Commonwealth School in Boston receives four or five applications for every open seat, Wharton said, and requires an admission exam and interview. The Commonwealth Academy in Springfield, on the other hand, never turns away a student, according to the academy's website. The institutions' demographics also differ. Minorities make up 97 percent of the Springfield school's student body, Foley said in the e-mail included in court filings; at the Boston school, 28 percent are minorities. And the Boston school charges more for two students than the Springfield academy charged all 60 who enrolled there last year. For all those students, the academy took in only $70,000 in tuition, Foley said in the e-mail. A spokesman for the academy said students pay what their families can afford, and the rest comes largely from private fund-raising. Back Bay academy sues Springfield school over the name 'Commonwealth' [Jeremy C Fox/Boston Globe] (Thanks, Josh!) Jo Cox was an outspoken, left-leaning Labour MP who supported the "Remain" side in the upcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union. Yesterday, a man walked up to her in her home constituency of West Yorkshire and shot her three times with a gun resembling a musket, then stabbed her repeatedly while shouting "Britain first." Britain First is a UK neo-fascist party that supports the "Leave" side in the EU referendum, its name and slogan reminiscent of Trump's "America First" (which was also the name of an American movement that opposed US intervention against the Nazis in Europe). Cox, who formerly worked for Oxfam, had campaigned for a diverse, tolerant UK, supporting admission for Syrian refugees. Earlier this week, she and her children were hosed down by pro-Leave supporters during a bizarre naval battle on the Thames with duelling Leave and Remain flotillas. She leaves behind a husband and two children, aged 3 and 5. Thomas Mair, 51, has been arrested for the murder. The Britain First party says that the murderer was probably just shouting the words because of his patriotism, and not because he was a member of their movement. The murder is reminiscent of the "self-radicalised" jihadis who hacked Drummer Lee Rigby to death in 2013. The UK press and political classes treated that attack as proof that Islamic extremism was an existential threat to the nation. It remains to be seen whether this latest expression of the rise of the racist right will be treated with the same alarm. On Thursday afternoon, the leader of Britain First, Paul Golding, condemned the attack on Cox but seized on the account of a single witness who said that it looked to him as if she had not been the target of the gunman but had been shot after intervening in a confrontation between the man who shot her and another man who was also injured. That witness also claimed, incorrectly, that the witnesses who said that they had heard "Britain First" being shouted by the killer had not been named. "This attack on a public official cannot be viewed in isolation," the Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee argued. "It occurs against a backdrop of an ugly public mood in which we have been told to despise the political class, to distrust those who serve, to dehumanise those with whom we do not readily identify." British Referendum Campaign Suspended After Killing of Pro-EU Lawmaker Jo Cox [Robert Mackey/The Intercept] The NRA has disbursed $3,782,803 since 1998 in campaign contributions to 42 senators and 252 members of Congress. Jezebel rounds up the responses to the Orlando shooting of the 20 highest-grossing politicians those who received the most from the NRA over their careers. Most of them opted for the usual "thoughts and prayers" nonsense (as Samantha Bee points out, you're not praying right, c.f. James 2:14-26). A few said the Democrats were wrong to use the occasion to campaign for gun control. Some were silent. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) $54,100 (202) 225-2216 Response to Orlando shooting: In a blog post, he blamed the attack on ISIS. "Of course there has been a knee-jerk call for more gun control. (The New York Daily News' headline the day after the shooting was "THANKS, NRA"). Some gay-rights activists are blaming the "Christian Right." Planned Parenthood blames "toxic masculinity" (whatever that means.) It's hard to believe how stupid some of these people are." Here's How the Congressmen Who Have Gotten the Most Cash From the NRA Responded After Orlando [Joanna Rothkopf/Jezebel] Honda debuted a 6-speed manual transmission for its petrol engine with their recently launched BR-V. The Japanese carmaker is expected to install the same gearbox in its popular City now. The C-segment sedan comes with the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol unit that is currently mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The BR-V's 6-speed gearbox gives the vehicle better cruising ability, as the engine spins around lazily at a low rpm. The addition of the sixth cog to the City will give it better fuel economy as well. Notably, all rivals of the Honda, such as the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, the Hyundai Verna 4S, the Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid - all get 5-speed manual gearboxes paired with their respective petrol engines. The i-VTEC petrol engine that does duty under the hood of the City develops 119PS of power and 145Nm of torque. The 1.5-litre unit is currently available paired with either a CVT automatic or a 5-speed manual gearbox. ARAI-certified fuel efficiency is rated at 18kmpl for the automatic and 17.8kmpl for the manual. With the new gearbox, we expect the mileage to get a slight bump. As of now, it is the Maruti Ciaz that rules the roost when it comes to efficiency, delivering a cool 20.73kmpl. The Maruti and the Honda have been battling it out for the top spot in the segment, and, both are extremely reliable workhorses. In fact, both cars featured in our Top 5 sedans under Rs 10 lakh list. There's no clear time frame as to when Honda will launch the updated City. We expect it to be launched around the festive season. It also likely that Honda will refresh the City by adding a few visual tweaks and equipment; it has remained virtually unchanged since its launch in 2014. Source: CarDekho.com After introducing an automatic gearbox in the 2.2-litre XUV500 last month Mahindra has now brought in the same autobox in the 1.99-litre variant specifically for the Delhi market. Prices of this 1.99-litre XUV500 automatic start at Rs 14.51 lakh. The car is now on sale in three variants W6, W8 and W10. The front-wheel drive W8 and W10 are priced at Rs 15.94 lakh and 17.32 lakh respectively. There is no all-wheel drive variant on offer as yet. Notably, it harbours a 1.99-litre diesel engine that lets it duck underneath the Delhi diesel ban. Power figure for the automatic variant remains unchanged from its manual counterpart and is rated at 140PS/320Nm. The 6-speed automatic is developed by Japanese component manufacturer Aisin. We put the XUV500 automatic through its paces; check the review to know how it drives. The engine is a downsized iteration of Mahindra's 2.2-litre, mHAWK motor. The downsizing has only affected peak torque, which is now 10Nm less compared to the bigger motor. Other than that, Mahindra claim everything is identical to the bigger engine'd variant. The feature list remains identical, the top-spec variant gets goodies such as 17-inch alloy wheels, projector headlamps, leather upholstery and 6 airbags and a whole lot more. The smaller engine came into being purely because of the blanket ban on registration of diesel vehicles in the national capital. The National Green Tribunal that ordered the ban is also considering replicating the ban in 11 other cities. Going one step further, Mahindra will also be introducing petrol variants of the XUV500 and the Scorpio to get sales going in Delhi/NCR. Likely to be a 2.0-litre engine, the petrol versions will be available by the end of this year. Source: CarDekho.com Aamir Khan said, "I have just tried to be like him in 'Dangal' but I don't feel, my body is as good as him." Ludhiana: Be it Salman Khan's physique, looks or acting prowess, Aamir Khan has said he and his wife Kiran Rao are the biggest admirers of the "Dabangg" star. Aamir said whatever his 'Andaz Apna Apna' co-star does it becomes a trend in the Hindi film industry. Both the actors are portraying wrestlers in their upcoming films and have attained a certain body type to fit into their roles, but the 51-year-old 'PK' star does not want to be compared with Salman. "My wife and I have always been Salman's fans. He has always had a very fit body and in fact he has been the inspiration for actors like me to have a body like him," Aamir told reporters here. "I have just tried to be like him in 'Dangal' but I don't feel, my body is as good as him. He is the original body builder," the actor said. Earlier, Kiran had praised Salman's 'langot' clad look in 'Sultan'. Quizzed about that, Aamir jokingly said, "Where was I?" The actor later added, "Salman is anyway a handsome actor. He looks more handsome when he is without clothes... He is a gifted human being and very charming." There are reports that Phantom Films is planning a sequel to filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi's 1994 comedy 'Andaz Apna Apna'. Aamir said though he did not have any idea about a proposed sequel but if it happens he would love to star with Salman in it. "I don't have any idea that whether Andaz Apna Apna sequel is happening or not and whether the makers are retaining the old cast. But if it is happening, then I would love to work with Salman again." Mumbai: After battling with the Central Board, Anurag Kashyaps 'Udta Punjab' was cleared to release on Friday (June 17). But two days prior to its release, a copy of the film marked 'for censor' leaked online. Reportedly, the entire movie which has a running time of 2 hours 20 minutes, started doing the rounds on torrent sites. Read: Udta Punjab movie leaked online? Producers file complaint with cops Anurag took to his social media handle and urged people to not pirated vesion and to at least wait till Saturday to decide. However, in a shocking turn of events, Puducherry-based local cable channel Shakthi TV reportedly played the entire leaked copy of the film. Tamil superstar Suriya Sivakumar condemned this move and tweeted- Actor Jesse Eisenberg, who was last seen plotting to conquer the world in Batman V Superman, is back again with his latest offering Now You See Me 2. The actor speaks about once again being part of the hit franchise, why he chose to take it up, what films mean to him and more. How different was it to shoot for the second part? Last time, it was difficult to balance the dramatic, funny and splashy elements of the film. This time, we already had that balance. What do you think about doing sequels? My only opinion is that Id rather be in a good movie thats a sequel than a less-good movie thats original. And with Now You See Me, it seemed like a good opportunity to make another one. Do you enjoy playing a douchebag or a baddie? I feel more sympathy for the guy whos tortured than the one who is confident. So I like playing bad guys or difficult characters. Thats why Ill probably even do a third Now You See Me. I get to play this brash, arrogant magician, while in my life Im a shy, quiet person and I grew up with no social life. Its a great outlet to play these characters. Youre also a playwright and do a lot of TV as well. Which medium do you prefer? Im not a film buff. I didnt go to film school. I have a degree in anthropology. I write plays, but I work for the medium thats on offer. That doesnt have to be cinema. But today, theres no room for the kind of cinema that I would like to make. By your own admission, you are a little bit nerdy. So how do you feel being a film star? Isnt it always the calm, shy people who later become successful? I didnt have any friends when I was growing up. I was a quiet, shy, and often depressed child. I spent all the time intent on revenge on the world. (Laughs) So playing Lex Luthor (Supermans enemy) suited me. Back then, I had no friends. It often happens that children with a difficult childhood focus on other things and look for other outlets and then later make a career for themselves. So what do you think of your fame? Fame has disadvantages too. Fame can be terrifying. Its not always fun to be looked at by everyone in the street. But you can also use that fame for a good cause. Im involved with an organisation that campaigns against domestic violence in India and we recently collected half a million dollars for a project. British actor Daniel Radcliffe is all set to go up against the four horsemen in his upcoming film Now You See Me 2, the sequel to the 2013 hit. Daniel, who has been busy juggling his commitments between movies and the stage, talks about the role, why he took up the character, what hes working on and a lot more. What made you take up Now You See Me 2? Ive never really worked in a movie where Ive played a real antagonist. It feels very nice to be a sort of a British bad guy. Also, its a very interesting character and I think it has such an amazing group of actors who all bring something different to the table. Its a fun movie. I read the script and I thought, Yeah, I have not done a film like this. How was it to work with Micheal Caine? There are very few actors who do what he does and I know people considerably younger than him who dont have half the energy or enthusiasm that he does. His general attitude about everything is something that I aspire to have. You seem to have broken out of the Potter mould. From going nude onstage in Equus and growing horns in Horns to playing a corpse in Swiss Army Man, youve done a variety of roles. And now this is your first villain. Was that the big draw? Totally. Also because it has such an amazing cast. But being a Brit, I feel that playing the bad guy is a rite of passage. Were you influenced by any classic villains? Or any real-life villains? Not villains. But just a bunch of posh private school boys that I knew at school. They were sort of petulant and angry kids who had daddy issues. Im drawing on a couple of those. Youve also got Swiss Army Man coming out soon, which generated a lot of buzz at Sundance. The trailer for the film had you farting a lot, so weve got to ask you, is any of that real? No. One of Paul Danos (his co-star) is though. Our directors (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) said to everybody, If you have any farts, you can go over to our sound mixer and he will record them and we will put them in the film and you will get a credit. And I think only two people contributed and Paul was one of them. New Delhi: Author Paulo Coelho's next novel 'The Spy' is based on the imagined life of Mata Hari, the courtesan who was accused and executed for treason, a hundred years ago, publishers Penguin Random House India said. Mata Hari was a Dutch dancer who shocked and delighted audiences during the first World War, and she became a confidant to some of the era's richest and most powerful men. She dared to liberate herself from the moralism and provincial customs of the early twentieth century, but ultimately paid for it with her life. Books written by Coelho include 'The Alchemist' among others have sold 200 million copies in 160 countries including India. Susan Sandon, Managing Director of Cornerstone, has acquired the rights to the new novel by Coelho. Sandon, acting on behalf of Hutchinson at Cornerstone, Hamish Hamilton in Australia and New Zealand, and Penguin Random House India, struck a deal for an undisclosed figure with Monica R Antunes at Sant Jordi Asociados. 'The Spy' is set to be published this November simultaneously with Knopf in the US. Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India said "I am delighted to be publishing Paulo Coelho again. He is such a widely loved and respected author in the subcontinent, and I truly believe that the captivating story of Mata Hari, an extraordinary woman ahead of her time, will resonate deeply with readers in India." As Mata Hari she waited for her execution in a Paris prison, one of her last requests was for a pen and some paper to write letters. An honest essay has numerous characteristics: original thinking, a good structure, balanced arguments, and plenty more. But one aspect often overlooked is that an honest essay should be interesting. It should spark the readers curiosity, keep them absorbed, make them want to stay reading and learn more. An uneventful article risks losing the readers attention; whether or not the points you create are excellent, a flat style, or poor handling of a dry subject material can undermine the positive aspects of the essay. The matter is that a lot of students think that essays should be like this: they believe that a flat, dry style is suited to the needs of educational writing and dont even consider that the teacher reading their essay wants to search out the essay interesting. You might want to have online essay editor service to boost your confidence in writing with an error-free output. Academic writing doesnt need to be and shouldnt be bland. The excellent news is that there is much stuff you can do to create your essay more attractive, while youll be able only to do such a lot while remaining within the formal confines of educational writing. Lets study what theyre. Have an interest in what youre writing about Dont go overboard, but youll be able to let your passion for your subject show. If theres one thing bound to inject interest into your writing, its being fascinated by what youre writing about. Passion for a subject matter comes across naturally in your essay, typically making it more lively and fascinating and infusing an infectious enthusiasm into your words within the same way that its easy to talk knowledgeably to someone about something you discover fascinating. Include fascinating details Another factor that may make an essay boring maybe a dry material. Some topic areas are naturally dry, and it falls to you to form the article more interesting through your written style and by trying to seek out fascinating snippets of knowledge to incorporate, which will liven it up a small amount and make the data easier to relate to. A way of doing this with a dry subject is to create what youre talking about that seems relevant to the critical world, as this is often easier for the reader to relate to. Emulate the fashion of writers you discover interesting When you read lots, you subconsciously start emulating the fashion of the writers you have read. Reading benefits you a lot, as this exposes you to a spread of designs, and youll start to require the characteristics of these you discover interesting to read. Borrow some creative writing techniques Theres a limit to the quantity of actual story-telling youll do when youre writing an essay; in the end, essays should be objective, factual and balanced, which doesnt, initially glance, feel considerably like story-telling. However, youll apply a number of the principles of story-telling to create your writing more interesting. consider your own opinion Take the time to figure out what its that you think instead of regurgitating the opinions of others. Cut the waffle Rambling on and on is dull and almost bound to lose the interest of your reader. Youre in danger of waffling if youre not completely clear about what you wish to mention or havent thought carefully about how youre visiting structure your argument. Doing all your research correctly and writing an essay plan before you begin will help prevent this problem. Editing is a vital part of the essay-writing process, so edit the waffle once youve done a primary draft. Read through your essay objectively and eliminate the bits that arent relevant to the argument or labor the purpose. employing a thesaurus isnt always a decent thing Avoid using unfamiliar words in an essay; theres too great a likelihood that youre misusing them. You may think that employing a thesaurus to seek out more complicated words will make your writing more exciting or sound more academic, but using overly high-brow language can have the incorrect effect. Avoid repetitive phrasing Please avoid using the identical phrase structure again and again: its a recipe for dullness! Instead, use a variety of syntax that demonstrates your writing capabilities and makes your writing more interesting. Mix simple, compound, and complicated sentences to avoid your paper becoming predictable. Use some figurative language Using analogies with nature can often make concepts more accessible for readers to know. As weve already seen, its easy to finish up rambling when youre explaining complex concepts mainly after you dont know it yourself. One way of forcing yourself to think about a couple of pictures, present it more simply and engagingly is to form figurative language. This implies explaining something by comparing it with something else, as in an analogy. Employ rhetorical questions Anticipate the questions your reader might ask. One of the ways ancient orators held the eye of their audiences and increased the dramatic effect of their speeches was by using the statement. A decent place to use a statement is at the top of a paragraph, to steer into the following one, or at the start of a replacement section to introduce a brand new area for exploration. Proofread Finally, you may write the top interesting essay an instructor has ever read. Still, youll undermine your good work if its plagued by errors, which distract the reader from the particular content and can probably annoy them. Christian Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash (out of shot) drawing a tattoo depicting a crucified Jesus Christ on the arm of a Coptic Egyptian pilgrim, at his studio in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (Photo: AFP) Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories: Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born -- and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father's barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. He started by teaching himself with the help of the Internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since "there is no tattoo school in Palestine". "Everybody laughed and told me: 'What do you think you're doing?'" said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words "Thy will be done" from The Lord's Prayer. As Ayash worked, the teenager's mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. "Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he "This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong," was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. Proof of pilgrimage For Ayash, the high season is over now. Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between have gone home. Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. "Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians," he said. "They want a cross and the date of their visit. It's part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing." While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel's occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. Hidden faith Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasizing one's religion can be life-threatening. "I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian," said Ayash. "When she lets her hair fall, the cross can't be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn't do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria." Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. Water sitting for several hours or overnight in a brass faucet can leach lead from the brass faucet interior. (Photo: Pixabay) New Delhi: The water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan has fueled concerns about how much lead is coming out of taps in homes across India. The case study acted as an eye opener for many countries across the globe in implementing strict regulations on manufacturing of pipes and faucets for domestic use. However, India seems to ignore this on temperamental level. The shining faucets largely used in Indian families, are actually made up of Brass, which causes lead contamination in water and causes severe damage to human body. Indian Plumbing Today (IPT) feels our real estate developers, plumbing design consultants and contractors should join hands together to put their full efforts in providing a self-regulating mechanism where proper govt. regulations and guidelines can be developed and are followed by Indian manufacturers for fixtures and fittings. Active in Sinks and Faucet Industry since two decades, Anupam Sinks exposed the reality behind shining and beautiful faucets widely used in almost every Indian family. According to Centre for Science and Environment research, the sub-standard household plumbing fixture contribute to contamination of lead in the drinking water, a neurotoxin that affects the developing brains and nervous systems of children and infants. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has permitted 0.01 mg/l(max) of lead in drinking water. This amount, apart from old rusted plumbing in Indian household, is easily contributed by sub-standard faucets which usually contain about 12 percent of lead. Water sitting for several hours or overnight in a brass faucet can leach lead from the brass faucet interior which may produce high lead levels in the first draw of drinking water. According to Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of United States, the Household plumbing is an alarming source of lead exposure and brass faucets are the single greatest contributing source of lead in consumers' drinking water. The EPA estimates that up to 20 percent of human lead exposure is the result of lead in our plumbing, including faucets. Brass Faucets are banned in US under Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). India's veteran manufacturers of high quality stainless steel kitchen sinks & faucets, Anupam Sinks, Director, Rajendra Garg informs, as compared to price and appearance Brass Faucet has relatively low melting points that make it easy to cast and easy to produce and sale in term of cost as well. However, Stainless Steel contains no lead, which in today's regulatory environment is a big plus. Mr Garg believes that a combined effort by industry leaders and government can ensure to keep our drinking water safe and hence prevent irreplaceable damage. Doctors who had performed the surgery on the 100-year-old woman had said she had a survival rate of just 50 per cent. (Photo: Pixabay) New Delhi: In a rare surgery, doctors at a city hospital successfully implanted a pacemaker on a 100-year-old woman for better functioning of her heart. The patient, Phoolwati Gaharwar, had a fall from her bed and was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Tests showed that there were no external injuries but also revealed that one of the wires in the heart was disconnected. "This required an urgent implant of the device which could assist her heart in functioning normally. "Phoolwati was then referred to Fortis Escorts by the attending doctor who predicted only a 50 per cent chance for her surviving the surgical procedure," said Dr Aparna Jaswal, Senior Consultant, Electrophysiology in Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. "Implants of the pacemaker as a procedure is our specialized area and therefore, poses little challenge for us. What was challenging in this patient's case was her advanced age. And what helped in her case is that despite her age she had no co-morbidities to complicate the case further. "The decision to implant the pacemaker followed the re-current unconscious spells she was going through on and off. We implanted a single chamber pacemaker and she is back on her feet and fine," said Dr Jaswal. The health agency provided few details about the six women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. New York: Three babies with Zika-linked birth defects have been born in the US, the government reported Thursday in its first accounting of outcomes for pregnant women infected with the virus. The defects were also seen in three other pregnancies that ended. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking the pregnancies of women with Zika infections since the beginning of the year. So far, 234 pregnant women residents and visitors have been diagnosed with Zika. Some babies have been born with no immediate signs of problems, according to the CDC's Dr. Denise Jamieson, but she would not say how many. Most of the pregnancies are ongoing. All the cases are connected to travel to areas with outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus, primarily Latin America and the Caribbean. There's been no local spread of Zika in the US. The health agency provided few details about the six women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. Three cases ended in "pregnancy loss" but the CDC did not say whether it was from miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. While the women had Zika infections, the officials said they did not know whether the birth defects were caused by the virus or other factors. Most people infected with Zika never develop symptoms, and Jamieson said not all of the six women had them. Others get a fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes, and recover within a week. But during the Zika epidemic in Brazil, the virus was identified as a cause of fetal deaths and potentially devastating birth defects. In its birth defects numbers, the CDC is counting a range of conditions. Chief among them is microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which a baby's skull is much smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. But also in the count are calcium deposits in the brain; excess fluid in and around the brain; abnormal eye development; and other problems resulting from damage to the brain that can include clubfoot or inflexible joints. The CDC's Jamieson said the numbers are concerning but consistent with what's been seen in other countries affected by Zika outbreaks. Researchers estimate that for every 100 pregnancies involving women infected early in their pregnancy, 1 percent to 15 percent will develop severe birth defects. The CDC report appears to include the two known cases of babies born in the US with Zika-linked birth defects. One was a baby girl born to a Honduran woman at a New Jersey hospital. Kochi: A migrant labourer, arrested for allegedly murdering a 30-year-old Dalit woman at Perumbavoor in Kerala, was on Friday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a magistrate court. Ameerul Islam was brought amid tight security to Perumbavoor Judicial Magistrate Court around 5 pm from Aluva Police Club. He has been sent to sub-jail in Kakkanad. Police said they were likely to seek his custody after conducting an identification parade. Fearing violent response from the mob present outside the Police Club and court complex, several rings of security were thrown around Islam who was seen wearing a helmet. Before producing him in the court, he was interrogated by top officials of the Special Investigation Team probing the case. DGP Loknath Behera had reached Aluva Police Club before taking him to the court. In a breakthrough in the brutal rape and murder of the woman, a law student, Islam was arrested yesterday, 50 days after the gruesome incident. Police refused to produce the accused before media. The 23-year-old Islam, hailing from Assam's Nagaon district, was taken into custody from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. He had left Perumbavoor soon after allegedly committing the murder on April 28. He was brought to Aluva Police Club yesterday for interrogation with his face covered amid tight security. Police had said the man had a "pervert" mindset. The woman, who hailed from a poor family, was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered at her house on April 28. The incident was in focus during Assembly polls campaign with political parties attacking the then UDF regime for tardy progress in the probe and failure to nab culprits. The LDF government, after assuming power on May 25, had changed the investigation team and entrusted the probe to ADGP Sandhya in its first cabinet meeting itself. According to the police, a blood-stained footwear found from a canal near the victim's house was one of the key evidences in identifying the culprit. A DNA test conducted earlier on the saliva found from the bite mark on her back, the blood found on the chappal and the lock of her room had revealed that it was only one person who committed the crime, police have said. Over 100 police personnel had questioned over 1,500 people. Finger prints of over 5000 people were also examined and went through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before reaching the culprit. Kochi: The killer of Jisha, 30, the law student who was murdered in her house on April 28, has finally landed in police custody after 50 gruelling days of social uproar, political upheavals and major shake-up in the police department. Ameerul Islam, 23, a migrant worker hailing from Assam and known to the victim for some time, was taken into custody from Kancheepuram two days ago and his arrest was recorded on Thursday evening after detailed interrogation. Read: Perumbavoor rape case: Scientific evidence crucial for cops Ameerul, who was working at Perumbavur for over two years, admitted to have committed the murder to avenge the humiliation meted out to him by Jisha. Investigation team head ADGP B. Sandhya said, the DNA matching test (that of the accused with the bloodstains and saliva found on the churidar of the victim) is positive. Weve registered his arrest. However, evidence collection will continue for facilitating a successful prosecution. Weve to conduct his identification parade, medical examination and prepare remand report among others, she said. The cops traced him by taking into custody four of his friends whom he had earlier contacted to know the progress of the case. Based on the information supplied by them and tracing the International Mobile Equipment Identity, a team led by DySP M.J. Sojan nabbed him from Kancheepuram where he was working in a courier company on a temporary basis. The police subjected him to detailed interrogation for nearly two days at an unidentified location in Thrissur and finally brought him to the Aluva police club by 4.40 pm on Thursday. Read: Perumbavoor rape case: Cops recover weapon used for murder What gave the cops a breakthrough was a fresh probe conducted based on the recovery of a pair of black slip-on chappals recovered from near the victims house at Vattolippadi Canal Road at Eravichira. The police followed up the information provided by a footwear shopkeeper at Kuruppamppadi, from where the accused bought the slippers which eventually revealed the role of Ameerul. According to the cops, Ameerul was known to Jisha when the construction of her new house started months back, but he fell out with her two weeks before the crime. On the day prior to the murder, the accused felt insulted when Jisha reportedly made fun of him after he was slapped by a woman bathing in the canal ghat near her house. Read: Jisha rape and murder case: Assam native was not on radar for most part of probe The youth again met her on April 28 noon. Jisha threatened to beat him with slippers when he passed lewd comments at her. He returned to her house by 5 pm in an inebriated state and carrying a knife. He slashed the victims neck and choked her to death using her shawls before inflicting deep wounds on her body, including her private parts, as he failed to assault her sexually, they said. When she asked for water, he gave her liquor. The accused then escaped to Assam the next day from Aluva and returned to Tamil Nadu after some time. Meanwhile, a special team which went to Assam and West Bengal came to know about his missing case. Responding to the arrest, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala was waiting to catch Jisha's killer. This is definitely a feather in the cap of Kerala police. Kottayam: The Omani Police has confirmed the death of John Philip, 47, of Manarcaud, who was missing from a fuel station at Ibri since Friday. They intimated his family on the phone on Thursday that they recovered his three-day-old body. "They told us it would take at least two days to bring the body here, his elder brother Jacob Philip told DC. "They recovered his body Wednesday night. However, they did not disclose the nature of injuries." He was suspected to be abducted by robbers when he tried to prevent a robbery attempt there. Oman Daily reported that the suspects were arrested. The body will be returned to the state on Saturday or by Sunday since Friday is a holiday there. Mr Philip, who was working as a manager at the fuel station for the last 12 years, was allegedly abducted by a team of robbers. An amount of 5,000 riyals was also missing. The recorder of the CCTV camera was also missing. His colleague who came next morning to replace him on duty found him missing and informed others. His resident card and his mobile phone were found in the office room. He leaves his wife Binu and children Ronex and Ann. Hyderabad: A six-year-old boy was killed on Friday when the van of his own school hit him while he was entering the school premises in Jeedimetla. Jashwanth Reddy, a UKG student of Vignan Sudha Talent School, died on the spot. On Friday around 8.30 am, Jashwanths father Mr Ramreddy, an employee of Aurobindo Pharma, dropped him at the school gate. The boy was walking inside when the school van (AP 28TA 3437) entered the campus. Driver Srisailam did not notice the child walking and the front left part of the van hit him, causing a severe head injury. The school staff rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, said Jeedimetla inspector A. Chandrashekar said. Police said that there was an ayah in the van at the time of the accident but she too did not notice the child. Parents blame the school Jashwanths family members accused the school of negligence. If they were careful about the movement of the school van inside the campus, my son would have been alive, said Mr Ramreddy, a native of Ongole in AP, who has been living in Hyderabad for the past eight years. Driver Srisailam, who has been working with the school for more than three years has a valid heavy vehicle drivers licence and the van also has a fitness certificate and all relevant documents. Education department officials started an inquiry into the incident. We are probing whether it was negligence on part of the school management, an official said. An accidental death case was registered against the driver. As ganja cultivation and smuggling have turned into a major source of easy money for the criminal gangs in East Godavari district, gang rivalry and threat of domination over the businesses has led to the procurement of fire arms which are then supplied to gang members, said intelligence officials. Visakhapatnam: Hardcore criminals in parts of East Godavari district are allegedly supplying fire arms to rowdy sheeters and others in the Vizag region for purveying their illegal businesses, such as ganja smuggling and circulation of fake currency. The illegal weapons, manufactured in West Bengal and Bihar, have found their way to criminal groups in East Godavari district and were subsequently surfacing in parts of Vizag. Criminals from Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal have been involved in selling the weapons to rowdy sheeters and few other criminal gangs in Vizag and surrounding districts. As ganja cultivation and smuggling have turned into a major source of easy money for the criminal gangs in East Godavari district, gang rivalry and threat of domination over the businesses has led to the procurement of fire arms which are then supplied to gang members, said intelligence officials. The city police task force recently caught Gurajarapu Nalamaharaju, 45, a notorious criminal and native of Rajanagaram, East Godavari district, near the railway station in Vizag city when he was carrying fake currency of a face value of Rs 6.78 lakh and a country-made 9 mm pistol with two empty magazines, said DCP (Crimes) T. Ravi Kumar Murthy. A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity that a few hardcore criminals from neighbouring districts were involved in the illegal business in Vizag. The weapons are finding their way with ease into the city by the rail route and recent incidents have raised some serious questions about the use of illegal fire arms by criminals even as the police are at their wits end on how to tackle them. Two persons were injured as security forces fired teargas shells to chase away protesters. (Photo: PTI) Srinagar: Two persons were injured on Friday as security forces fired teargas shells and used batons to chase away stone-pelting protesters at different places in Srinagar and Baramulla districts of Kashmir valley, police said. Azad Ahmad Mir was hit by a teargas shell on the head during a clash between stone pelting protesters and law enforcing agencies at Bomai village in Sopore township of Baramulla district, a police officer said. He said the clashes broke out shortly after security forces killed two militants holed up in the village during a cordon and search operations. Intense clashes between stone-pelting youth and security forces also rocked Jamia Masjid and adjoining areas in Srinagar shortly after Friday prayers. Aqib Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Chatpora village of Pulwama district, suffered pellet injuries at Khanyar and was shifted to Soura Medical Institute for treatment, the officer said. He said condition of both the injured persons was stated to be "stable". Reports of protests were also received from Hyderpora in Srinagar and Anantnag town but there was no report of any injury. Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF had jointly called for protests after Friday prayers against the alleged fake encounter in Kud, new Industrial policy and separate settlements for Kashmiri Pandits and Sainik colonies. Police said a militant and woman were killed and three others injured in a gunfight after security forces intercepted a Jammu-bound passenger vehicle for checking near Kud on Monday. Hailing from Bemina locality of Srinagar, the family of the slain youth Tanvir Sultan claimed that he was not a militant but a psychiatric patient since 1997 and had left for Amritsar on June 13 for the treatment of his shoulder injury. Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri showing her husband's photo while reacting on the verdict in Gurbarg Society massacre case, in Surat. (Photo: PTI) Ahmedabad: Voicing dissatisfaction over court verdict in the Gulberg massacre case on Friday, Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri, said life sentence should have been awarded to all the convicts. However, her son Tanvi Jafri said there was definitely "some sense of closure" at the convictions but it would have to be seen why some of the accused were not convicted. "We will definitely contest in the High Court some of the acquittals," he said. Calling the Gulberg massacre as the "darkest day" in the history of civil society, a special SIT court in Ahmedabad on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case of killing 69 people, including former Congress MP Eshan Jafri in the 2002 post-Godhra violence. Rejecting the demand for death sentence for all the convicts, the court said life imprisonment for the 11 will be till death if the state does not exercise power to remit the sentence. The court awarded ten year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. The prosecution had argued that all the 24 convicts should be given death penalty. Zakia, the wife of the former MP, clearly expressed her "dissatisfaction" with the verdict saying that she had seen the violent crime and felt that "life sentence should have been awarded to all the accused and not some of them." Tanvi said a message should go out to the nation that the law will not tolerate such things. "We all know, the massacre was one of the harshest things that happened to the victims. The message should go to the nation that this country, the legal system, will not tolerate such things, he added. Tanvi also felt that there was strong evidence in favour of a conspiracy angle in the Gulberga case like the incident at Naroda Patiya. Former SIT chief R K Raghavan who had probed the incident, welcomed the judgement. However, he said he was yet to see the copy of the order. Narendra Modi with his Thailand Counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha after joint press statement at Hyderabad house in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: India and Thailand on Friday decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements, Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. Bengaluru: Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar on Friday said the increased number of terrorist encounters show that the country's intelligence has "increased" and counter terrorist network is "tightening". "More encounters means, we are neutralising more, our intelligence has increased, our counter terrorist network is now tightening up," he told reporters here. He said, "If you see the ratio of security forces martyrdom. To terrorists deaths (it) is now in the favour of the security forces at the rate of 1:4.3/4.4." The number of terrorists' neutralised was more than 50 now, whereas only 12 security forces personnel had lost their lives. Stating that the loss of security forces should further reduce, he said "our efforts are towards it." Parrikar was responding to a question on whether the increased number of terror encounters was because of increased vigil or more attempts of infiltration. The Defence Minister was here to witness the inaugural flight of India's indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) designed and developed by HAL here. A militant was killed on Friday in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Sopore in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Pointing out that most incidents of terror infiltration and encounters take place before winter, Parikkar said either they were not noted earlier or probably they were not taken "very seriously". Claiming that the country used to lose almost a soldier for a terrorist, Parrikar said ,"Now you see yesterday's report. Four terrorists on the border trying to infiltrate were killed. In three days, two attempts have been neutralised." Four militants and a soldier were killed as the Army on Thursday foiled an infiltration bid, the second such attempt in three days, in Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control in Kashmir. Calling incidents of Chinese incursion on the Indian side of the border as "transgression", Parrikar said "These things happen because of some historical problem between countries on perceived Line of Control." He said, "Whenever they have transgressed we have either stopped them and asked them to go back or raised the issue with them. But I can tell you the overall transgression that means violation of our line of control perception has reduced a lot compared to earlier." "This is mainly because we have increased the number of interaction points at the border at senior and local commander level," the Defence Minister said. "They interact with each other to clarify and the issues are sorted out. So the number has come down," he added. Parikkar said even in the latest incident, we pushed them back and had a meeting with them and clarified the issue. "It is almost an annual ritual that happens, but we push them back every time such attempts are made," he added. In another incident of Chinese incursion, about 250 China's Peoples Liberation Army soldiers had entered Arunachal Pradesh's east district of Kameng last week. The "temporary transgression" by the Chinese patrolling party took place in Yangste, East Kameng district on June 9. However the Chinese soldiers went back within hours. Delhi/Lucknow: Regardless of whether there is a Hindu exodus or not, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the big brother of the Sangh Parivar, has moved in to make Kairana, regardless of the facts, an emotive issue. The latest edition of the RSS mouthpiece Organiser talks of human rights violations against Hindus while putting forth the theory that several villages are undergoing a demographic change. The RSS mouthpiece has also hinted at an ISI connection in this demographic offensive unleashed by a particular community. As if that was not enough, BJP MLA Sangeet Som, an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots case, will also begin a padayatra on Friday from Meerut, which will culminate in Kairana in Shamli district next week. Mr Soms Nirbhay Yatra is apparently aimed at assuring people that the BJP will support them whenever needed. Soms attempt to steal the thunder has, however, not pleased local member of Parliament Hukum Singh who was the first to raise the Hindu exodus controversy but later backed off saying that it is a law and order problem and not a communal issue. Making his displeasure clear, Hukum Singh said, Soms visit can lead to communal tension. It will be better if he does not come here. Unfazed by Hukum Singhs reaction to his proposed visit, Som said, The common man is not feeling safe and is helpless as he has no option but to live in an unsafe environment the Uttar Pradesh government is fully responsible for this. I have spoken to a number of people and all of them have similar apprehensions. The list, which was released by BJP MP Hukum Singh, included only 346 families from Kairana and 83 from Kandhla, whereas the real number is much higher. A number of families have left and others want to leave. Meanwhile, the BJP fact-finding team that had visited Kairana submitted its report to party president Amit Shah on Thursday. The RSS, in its bid to keep the Kairana issue burning, presented a report with some untold stories on Kairana, writing in the Organiser, For the last few years this identity of Shamli as a prosperous district is under scrutiny due to demographic offensive opted by anti-social elements. More than 350 Hindu families of Kairana have been forced to leave their ancestral houses and thriving business establishments. After narrating the untold stories, the RSS mouthpiece says that ground realities of Kairana tell many stories of human rights violations of religious minority in some pockets of this region. As per the 2011 census, Kairana has nearly 80 per cent Muslims and 15 per cent Hindus. Claiming that Kairana was not an aberration, the article stated that the phenomenon of demographic offensive is not limited to Kairana. Many towns of Shamli and Muzaffarnagar districts are facing the same menace. The adjoining localities of Kairana, Jharkhedi, Titarwada, Unchakhedi, Ramda, Malakpur etc, are facing the same fate demographic imbalance and invasion. It further stated that the episodes of persecution and criminalisation are suspected to have link with the ISI. Hyderabad: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the security scenario in the country is changing as even a handful number of people can pose a threat in case of a terrorist attack. "Last 10 to 20 years the security scenario (in the country) is changing. One or two or three people can disturb the peace. How many people came in Pathankot (to attack). How many people came in Gurudaspur. How many people came whenever there is a fight between terrorists and security forces, probably three, four, five or six. So it is not the number," Parrikar said. "It is a kind of totally asymmetric which our enemies are trying to impose on us which creates the problem," he said. The minister on Friday inaugurated cantonment general hospital in Secunderabad constructed with an expenditure of Rs 5.17 crore. He was responding to a request made by Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy on the occasion on allowing civilians to pass through some of the areas under army control in cantonment area in Secunderabad. Parrikar, however, said he would personally visit those areas where public was not allowed to pass through and discuss with officials. Dattatreya and Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao were among those who spoke in the meeting. Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has appraised Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan about the AOC Gate road closure issue, shifting of defence installations in a phased manner, delayed High Court bifurcation, ongoing T-advocates stir against posting of AP-native judges among others. Mr Rao, accompanied by TRS Parliamentary party leader K. Kesava Rao, MPs D. Srinivas and Balka Suman, called on the Governor last night and spent nearly two hours discussing defence lands and other issues in the wake of the two-day visit of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the city from Friday. Mr Rao reportedly requested the Governor to take up pending issues during his meeting with the Defence Minister. He was particularly keen on early bifurcation of the High Court and cancellation of the exercise of options for allocation of judicial officers. The CM reiterated that the TS government would provide accommodation for setting up of AP High Court till a new High Court building is constructed in Amravati. Mr Rao also appraised the Governor about dispute over sharing of Krishna and Godavari waters, APs objections to construction of Palamur, Kaleswaram and other irrigation projects besides the meeting of the Krishna Board. KCR also informed Governor about the steep increase in state revenues in first two months of the 2016-17 financial year and new investments and other ongoing welfare and developmental schemes. Around 5,000 police personnel will be deployed to avoid any untoward incident, during yoga day event, says official. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image) Chandigarh: Around 5,000 police personnel will keep a hawk-eye vigil on the International Yoga Day event on June 21 in Chandigarh, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tight security arrangements will be made for the event, official sources said, adding that around 5,000 police personnel will be deployed to avoid any untoward incident. The security around the main venue has also been increased ahead of the event. The UT Police has asked for additional police force from Punjab and Haryana apart from the paramilitary forces, a senior police official said. A team of the Special Protection Group (SPG) will land in the city to review the security arrangements, he said. The main event, which is being held at Capitol Complex, is likely to be attended by around 30,000 people out of the total 1,20,000 who have registered themselves, UT Chandigarh's Home Secretary Anurag Aggarwal said on Friday. The Prime Minister is likely to arrive here on June 20, he said. A series of programmes are being held in the run-up to the mega-event, Aggarwal said. "We held a yoga festival from June 9-12, which was inaugurated by Punjab and Haryana Governor and UT Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki, in which (Art of Living founder) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was the guest of honour. We also held an academic programme, which was also inaugurated by Governor Solanki," he said. The Chandigarh's Home Secretary said earlier, as part of the build-up to the mega event, world's first 3-D impressions of yoga were displayed at Sukhna lake. Yoga flash-mob and moonlight yoga were also organised ahead of the event. A 'yoga run' has been organised here for tomorrow, he said. Aggarwal said the participants at the International Yoga Day event will be issued special radio frequency tags in order to track their attendance and secure the venue. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards will have details including name, Aadhaar number, photo, gender and age of each of the participants. There will also be a selfie zone at the venue, which is in line with the local administration's effort to impart a tech-savvy feel to the event. Meanwhile, besides Home Secretary Aggarwal, UT Adviser Parimal Rai, Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi, who is nodal officer for the event, IGP Tajinder Luthra and UT Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand are overseeing the arrangements for the big event, which includes coordination with Punjab and Haryana. This will be the Prime Minister's second visit to the 'Capitol Complex', which was designed by Chandigarh's founder-architect Le Corbusier, within six months. Modi hosted French President Francois Hollande at the venue on January 24 this year. In the run-up to the mega event, neighbouring Haryana has also held a series of events. A few days back, a 3-day State Level Yoga Training Camp was organised in Panchkula in which Haryana's brand ambassador for Yoga and Ayurveda Ramdev imparted training to the participants including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, MLAs, Chief Secretary and other senior officers. Supreme Court also set aside the conviction and two-year sentence of the brothers, residents of Rajasthan who were held guilty of attempt to commit culpable homicide. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: Use of force can be legitimate if children see their parents being assaulted, the Supreme Court has said while acquitting two brothers accused of hitting their neighbours who had beaten up their parents, causing the death of their father later. "The appellants can legitimately claim right to use force once they saw their parents being assaulted and when actually it has been shown that due to such assault and injury, their father subsequently died," a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said. The apex court said when the prosecution has suppressed the genesis and origin of the occurrence of the incident, the only possible course left open was to grant benefit of doubt to the accused persons. The court also set aside the conviction and two-year sentence of the brothers, residents of Rajasthan who were held guilty of attempt to commit culpable homicide. The two men were convicted by the trial court for the offence of attempt to murder, but the Rajasthan High Court had held them guilty of attempt to commit culpable homicide. Challenging their conviction, the two men had claimed that the prosecution's case was false and brought witnesses in their defence to show that members of the prosecution party had beaten their father, leading to his death. Their mother and others had also received injuries in the incident which was proved by a doctor. The apex court said the high court drew correct inferences from a Supreme Court judgment but proceeded to convict the appellants on the misconceived ground that since both parties had withheld the origin and genesis of the occurrence and since it cannot be determined as to who was the aggressor, the case had to be decided against the accused, treating it as one of free fight between the parties. "The aforesaid view of the high court is devoid of legal merits. Once the court came to a finding that the prosecution has suppressed the genesis and origin of the occurrence and also failed to explain the injuries on the person of the accused including death of father of the appellants, the only possible and probable course left open was to grant benefit of doubt to the appellants," it said. The court further said that adverse inference must be drawn against the prosecution for not offering any explanation, much less a plausible one, on injuries caused to the accused, as also their father. "Drawing of such adverse inference is given a go-bye in the case of free fight mainly because the occurrence in that case may take place at different spots and in such a manner that a witness may not reasonably be expected to see and therefore explain the injuries sustained by the defence party. This is not the factual situation in the present case. Therefore, we have no hesitation in allowing the appeal and acquitting the appellants of all the charges. We order accordingly. They shall be released from jail custody forthwith, if not required in any other case. The appeal is allowed," the bench ordered, says court. The state government has completed all the necessary works and the Centre has also given nod to this project. Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Metro Rail Project is facing starting problem due to lack of funds. Delhi Metro Rail Project managaing director Sridharan also expressed his displeasure over delay in funds release at a meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu two days ago and is learnt to have reminded him about the deadline of 2018 for completion of the project. Now it seems difficult to complete the project as per deadline. Initially an amount of Rs 800 crore is required to pay the land owners under the land acquisition scheme, but the Centre has allocated on;y Rs 100 crore for the project in the last Budget. Though the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is ready to fund the project but Rs 1,000 crore is needed for land acquisition and other works to begin the project. The state government too has not released any funds for the project so far. The state government has completed all the necessary works and the Centre has also given nod to this project. Nearly Rs 6,000 crore is required for the project but the JICA formally accepted to provide funds only up to 60 per cent. The remaining funds should be allotted by the state and central governments equally. The JICA will release its share of funds at project works execution stage only. Actually, Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation has requested the state government to release funds for land acquisition process. As per the preliminary estimations, nearly 75 acres of land is required for establishing metro stations and metro depot on the city outskirts. The funds release is important at present to begin the works. One senior official, on condition of anonymity, said that nearly Rs 1,000 crore is needed for land acquisition process. The state government assured to release Rs 150 crore three months ago. But the project execution is totally dependent upon funds release, he added. Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar along with TS minister K.T. Rama Rao and Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya at the inauguration of the Bolaram hospital. Hyderabad: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday that closing roads in Hyderabad's SCB area was an issue of security. Responding to local MP Ch Malla Reddys request to reopen the roads for civilians, Mr Parrikar said it was a question of maintaining peace. How many persons came to Pathankot, and how many were involved in the attacks at Gurdaspur? Only two or three, he said. I know the problems of Army men. The security scenario has changed in the last 10 years. We need to focus on security. He said he understood the suffering of locals due to the closure of the roads. I can understand the problems of a state government with the Centre. I was a CM (of Goa) and I am aware of such problems. We should focus on alternatives and Ill discuss about them with the government. I myself shall visit all the roads which are closed in the Cantonment, he said. He was here to inaugurate the Bolaram hospital, which has been reconstructed by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board. Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya was present at the event. Lucknow: Sardhana in Meerut witnessed high drama at noon on Friday when a defiant BJP MLA Sangeet Som, along with thousands of his supporters, made an attempt to take out his much publicised Nirbhaya Yatra, ostensibly, to instill confidence among Hindus. The yatra was stalled about two kilometres from of Sardhana but Mr Som served an ultimatum to the Akhilesh government to bring back the migrants to Kairana within 15 days or else he would resume his yatra. The local administration had imposed prohibitory orders in Sardhana late on Thursday night, but Mr Soms supporters were allowed to assemble outside his house, raise provocative slogans and even wave firearms in the air. The MLA and his supporters were, however, stopped near the Sardh-ana canal, about two kilometres outside the township, and prevented from moving forward. Since the legislators purpose of getting required publicity over the Kairana migration issue was achieved, he readily agreed to stall his yatra. Mr Som further said, A CBI inquiry into the issue will reveal the truth behind migration in Kairana and Kandhla. I will stand with the people of Uttar Pradesh and fight for their rights. If people are migrating from Kairana, we will make all efforts to bring them back. We will not let UP become Kashmir, he said. The Kairana issue, on Friday, also revealed the differences within the BJP over the issue and the eagerness of its leaders to claim the credit for the situation arising over the migration issue. Mr Hukum Singh, BJP MP from Kairana who had raised the issue of migration from his constituency, had appealed to Mr Som not to undertake the yatra which could disrupt communal harmony in his constituency. State BJP president Keshav Maurya, on the other hand, distanced himself from Mr Soms yatra and said that the party was not involved in any such programme. Lucknow: The fact finding team of the BJP that visited Kairana earlier this week, has confirmed reports of Hindu migration from the town. The 9-member committee sent by the BJP to probe into the matter said on Friday that there had indeed been a mass exodus in the town of Kairana in Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh. Read: BJP MLA Sangeet Soms rally over Kairana stalled The probe team submitted its three-page report to UP Governor on Friday. BJP MLA Suresh Khanna, who headed the Kairana probe team, claimed that migration due to fear, extortion and ransom threats by goons was rampant. There is no justice, as the police are hesitant to act against the criminals of a particular community and complaints are not registered if the victim belongs to a particular religion. They are asked to settle it among themselves, he told reporters. Read: No exodus from Kairana, we have intelligence reports, says UP minister The BJP report has demanded that the state government should clarify what action it had taken against local criminals and maximum arms licences were issued to persons belonging to which community. The party has demanded a CBI inquiry into incidents of migration and action against those responsible for it. BENGALURU: India and the United States are on the threshold of arriving at an agreement on transfer of technology for aircraft carriers under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) signed by the two nations, defence minister Manohar Parrikar announced on Friday. We are in the final stage of agreeing on aircraft carrier technologies, he told the media here after witnessing the inaugural flight of Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) basic trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) here. Hindustan Turboprop Trainer on a trial flight Mr Parrikar has discussed the possibility of co-development and co-production of advanced defence products, including aircraft carriers, as part of DTTI with U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter. Though development and production of advanced jet engines too was part of DTTI, the minister said the offer made by the United States did not meet the expectations of ministry of defence (MoD). On export of Bramhos supersonic missiles to Vietnam, he said, In principle decisions have been taken to export missiles to certainly friendly countries. During my visit to Vietnam, I asked them (Vietnam government) to give an informal requirement. We have designated our people, and they will discuss about them the requirement (of Vietnam), and we will then take a decision. Read: Manohar Parrikar showers praise on team HTT-40 He further said, a "lot many countries were keen to import Indian armaments, and such requests for exports would be met in consonance with international laws. And, to meet the demand for Indian missiles, his ministry has decided to earmark for exports ten per cent of the missiles manufactured indigenously. We have increased production of Aakash missiles from 200 to 500. This is true with other missiles. We will export the weapons without affecting our demand, he added. Describing incidents of Chinese incursion on the Indian side of the border as transgression, the minister said Whenever they have transgressed, we have either stopped them and asked them to go back or raised the issue with them. But I can tell you the overall transgression that means violation of our line of control perception has reduced a lot when compared to earlier, he added. Rafale deal round the corner The deal for acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition could happen soon as negotiations with France were coming to a conclusion, said Mr Parrikar. Its a big purchase, even 0.1 percent savings mean hundreds of crores, he said. Fighting capability to be recalibrated Parrikar said a team led by a Lt General rank officer has been set up to work on recalibration of fighting capabilities. This team will explore the possibility of setting up a joint command to reduce the number of commands. India has 17 commands, while China has only six Bengaluru: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was all praise for the team of young engineers of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) who designed and manufactured Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) after watching the basic trainer aircrafts inaugural flight on Friday. The aircraft would be used for the first stage training by all flying cadets of the three services, with the IAF set to procure 70 of them, according to HALs chairman and managing director T Suvarna Raju. Mr Parrikar told the media: I had interacted with the young team earlier. When I met them last year, they showed me a presentation and I was convinced that they would deliver. In fact the aircraft first flew ahead of schedule (May 31, 2016). I am happy. As per the current plan, the production should start in 2018. The indigenous content of HTT-40 is very high and close to 80 per cent. The IAF is very keen on this aircraft and they have given full backing. Let's not dig into the past and talk about what happened earlier, he added. The minister indicated that orders for HTT-40 could go up to 200 in future depending upon the demand from various users. Hyderabad: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl who landed here at the airport on Wednesday has deepened. Khairavi Sharma, daughter of a Naval officer, was reported missing from Hyderabad on Wednesday on her way from Visakhapatnam to Pune. Hyderabad airport police probe found that Khairavi had stepped out of the airport after arriving from Vizag and walked in the direction of the Pushpak Airport liner busbay. The last location ping from her phone was registered at Ferozguda in the the city. But on Friday, according to sources, police in Goa claimed that she had been found. Her family confirmed that Khairavi is back home in Visakhapatnam, safe. Airport police in Hyderabad, however, maintain that they have no information on the girl. We are not sure if the girl boarded the bus or took some other vehicle, an airport police official said. The girls family is saying she has been found. She was traced and now she is back home. We are not sure where she was, Khairavis aunt said. Khairavi, daughter of Arvind Sharma, is a student of a college in Pune and stays with her grandparents in the city while her parents are in Visakhapatnam. On Wednesday, she landed in Hyderabad and was supposed to fly out to Pune from Hyderabad. Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar along with TS minister K.T. Rama Rao and Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya at the inauguration of the Bolaram hospital. Hyderabad: The Army wants Rs 250-crore worth of land in lieu of land to be given for road development and widening of new roads in the SCB. Stating that it would not reopen roads, defence authorities expressed willingness to part with other land parcels to lay alternative roads to provide connectivity between Secun-derabad and the areas surrounding the SCB. The Army explained its stand during a review meeting on SCB roads with defence officials and government representatives in the presence of Union minister Manohar Parrikar, TS ministers K.T. Rama Rao, and Nayini Narsimha Reddy. The Army said the defence ministry would lose Rs 250-crore worth property to provide land for alternative roads. He estimated the cost of land at Rs 25,000 per sq. yd and Rs 2,000 per sq ft for Army structures that would be demolished. He said the estimates were based on the proposals sent by the GHMC for the 2-km alternative road from Safilguda to Allahabad Gate. Mr Rama Rao said the roads were being used for decades and sought to keep them open. Special chief secretary M.G. Gopal highlighted the land need for the roads, and the cost, which he said was Rs 750 crore. He asked during his presentation to provide land and construct the roads at the Armys cost. Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to seek 402 tmc ft of Krishna waters at the Krishna River Management Board meeting convened by Union ministry of water resources in New Delhi on June 21. The board is unlikely to make any headway as TS government wants to wait for the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal verdict on water allocations to both states. The Tribunal hearing is slated for July 8. In case the award is delayed, TS wants allocation of waters as per Bachawat Award of last year, along with its due share in two AP projects etc. The TS government has strongly opposed KRBM draft notification to take control of irrigation projects which led to convening of the meeting. It insists that KRBM has only regulatory powers and no power to allocate waters or take control of projects. Irrigation minister T. Harish Rao told DC on Friday that the state government will seek 402 tmc ft of Krishna river waters this season out of the total 811 tmc ft earmarked for undivided AP. This includes the states original share of 299 tmc ft, besides the share of two new projects constructed by AP government and additional withdrawal by AP last season. Undivided AP was allocated 811 tmc ft and the then government earmarked 511 tmc for Seemandhra and 299 tmc for Telangana region as per the Bachawat Award. Project-wise allocation of Godavari and Krishna rivers is yet to be made for both the states by the respective tribunals. Its like this. Originally, we have to get 299 tmc ft. Since AP constructed Polavaram and Pattiseema, we are eligible to get 45 TMC ft each as our share since as an upper riparian state. Government of India said that Pattiseema is a not part of Polavaram project but a new project. The total comes to 389 tmc ft. AP withdrew an additional 13 tmc ft so save crop from withering. The total comes to 402 tmc ft, Mr Harish Rao said. Apart from Bengaluru Czech Republic has two visa application centres, in Mumbai and Delhi, operated by VFS Global. (Representational image) BENGALURU: The ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, Milan Hovorka, on Thursday inaugurated Czech Republic Visa Application Centre in Bengaluru. Now people do not have to travel all the way to New Delhi to apply for Czech Republic Visa. The opening of the visa application centre in Bengaluru will save time, as the visa will be issued in just 5-7 working days, Hovorka said after the inauguration. Apart from Bengaluru Czech Republic has two visa application centres, in Mumbai and Delhi, operated by VFS Global. Over the next few weeks we will be inaugurating three more centres - Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata and I am personally inaugurating each one of them. This also testifies the Czech authorities' readiness to take appropriate measures to facilitate sustainable tourism exchanges, Hovorka said. Meanwhile, the visa application centre at Prestige Atrium, Level-3, opposite to Empire hotel in Shivajinagar, accepts applications for Schengen short term visa for business, tourist, visiting family/friend and cultural events. The visa application centre provides secure handling of passport, documents and personal information and visa status update through the website and SMS alerts. Direct flight soon The Ambassador lamented that there was no direct flight from India to Czech Republic. We are working on getting a direct flight from India to Czech very soon, Hovorka added. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who launched the toy bank was among the first one to gift toys. Jaipur: Bringing cheers to underprivileged kids, two districts in Rajasthan have taken a unique initiative to open toy bank for them. The toy Bank will make toys available to aanganbadis, primary schools and kids living in childrens wards. The toy bank is brainchild of Ajmer district collector Gaurav Goyal, through which the district administration will collect toys from donors and distribute them among students in the state aanganwaris, primary schools and those who cannot afford them. Goyal has also developed a mobile to facilitate collection of toys. The donors will receive a letter of appreciation by the administration. So far 8,000 toys have been collected across the district. In coming one month, a toy collection drive aims to collect nearly 50,000 toys for the bank. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who launched both the toy bank and the app was among the first one to gift toys. She sent 101 educational toys which were distributed by Mr. Goyal to the kids present on the occasion. Some kids also interacted with the Chief Minister through video conferencing. Ms. Raje said such toy banks should be opened in all districts of Rajasthan and congratulated Ajmer Collector for his initiative. She has also suggested setting up cloths and mobile book banks in the state where needy people can get quality clothes and those interested in reading can read books free. District collector Gaurav Goyal said that the programme was conceptualised to ensure that unused toys are made available to those who cannot afford them. Kochi: In a major order, the Kerala High Court on Friday asked the local bodies in the state to close all illegal meat vending stalls and slaughterhouses. No slaughtering shall be permitted anywhere unless butchers licence or slaughter house licence has been issued the court observed. Justice A. Muhammed Mustaque passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by various meat vending merchants in various panchayats and municipalities challenging closure of their stalls without prior notice. Though the state had decided in 2009 itself to close down illegal vending stalls, they continued to function in the state. The High Court also asked the police to provide necessary assistance to implement the order if any local self-government institutions approached them. The High Court made it clear that secretary, local self-government department, should take an appropriate decision to establish publicslaughter houses in consultation with the expert committee constituted for implementation of modernisation of existing slaughterhouses. Counsel representing panchayaths, municpalities and corporations informed the court that they lacked funds to establishing slaughterhouses. According to them, some vendors are making use of the stay order against auctioning of meat stalls in the markets of local bodies by operating illegal vending areas. The court observed that the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act mandates that a village panchayat may provide places for public slaughterhouses and stalls. It was for the government to decide the issue relating to the public slaughterhouse if any local bodes did not have financial to set up the slaughterhouses. The Suchitwa Mission of the Local Self-government department, in its report had suggested the option of having common slaughterhouses for more than one local bodies. The report on phone tapping, published in a leading daily, reveals how businessmen reach out to the politicians to seek favours. (Representational photo: file) New Delhi: Taking a strong exception to reports published in the media over Essar Group allegedly tapping phones of several top businessmen, former cabinet ministers and high-profile bureaucrats, the Congress Party on Friday demanded that the tapes be made public as the people would be the 'best judge' to discern its veracity. "The allegations are serious and multifaceted implications, but most importantly if those tapes exist, they need to be made public because the people need to know as to what is going on," Congress leader Manish Tewari said. "With regard to the veracity of those tapes, the people would be the best judge to really discern as whether these tapes are genuine or they are doctored or spliced," he added. The former union minster further said the fundamental and the most germane issue is that those tapes need to come out in the public domain. The allegations of tapping was made in a 29-page complaint submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer Suren Uppal, who claims he represents former Essar employee who allegedly tapped the phones. The report published in a leading daily says the recorded conversations allegedly reveal how businessmen reach out to the politicians to seek favours. The purported conversations recorded reveal widespread peddling of influence in corridors of power, "corruption in the business milieu," brokering of deals and blurring of lines between business and government. Bengaluru: The state executive committee meeting of the BJP on Saturday in Bengaluru could see state party president, B S Yeddyurappa work towards drawing up a plan of action to strengthen the party in Karnataka and take steps to deal with the brewing discontent among party workers over appointments to various committees. Going by party sources, Mr. Yeddyurappa is also likely to spell out a plan of action against the ruling Congress, which could include district and taluk rallies against the alleged misdeeds of the state government. While the Lingayat strongman has constituted a new team and given opportunities to OBC, SC and ST leaders, senior party leaders and district workers are believed to be disappointed with the new committee and selection of state office bearers. Many anti-Yeddyurappa groups have been formed with the backing of senior party leaders in several districts and could become more active in days to come, say party sources. The major grouse seems to be that KJP leaders are getting key positions in the BJP now. For instance, senior BJP leader, K.S. Eshwarappa is said to be unhappy with the appointment of Mr R. Rudregowda as Shivamogga district unit president as he had contested as a KJP candidate against him in the 2013 elections. Party leaders in Udupi are also said to be unahpppy with the growing interference of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, Shobha Karandlaje, a close associate of Mr Yeddyurappa. Meanwhile, RSS veteran Dr. Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who once called the shots in coastal districts, has found himself sidelined by the Sangh and BJP. Although he recommended his supporters, Umanath Kotyan and Suprasad Shetty for the posts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district presidents, respectively, Mr Yeddyurappa chose to ignore him and instead appointed Mr Sanjeev Matandur in DK and Mr Mattaru Rathnakar Hegde in Udupi. Bengaluru: Saturday could be the big day for all Cabinet hopefuls with the discussion among state Congress leaders and AICC leaders in Delhi over the impending reshuffle of the Siddaramaiah ministry remaining inconclusive on Friday. Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah is fervently working on his reshuffle plan in a bid to effect a major change and tone up the administration which has been described as lacklustre but he is facing stiff resistance from the ministers likely to be dropped and more so from Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge. The younger lot among party legislators too are clamouring for berths as they know this is their last chance to make their mark and help them win in their constituencies in two years time when the Assembly polls will be due. On Friday, the CM met scores of central leaders including AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and Mr Kharge before reaching 10, Janpath in the afternoon to seek formal approval for the reshuffle. However, during the 15-minute meeting which was attended by AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, party president Sonia Gandhi wanted to know whether he had been able to get all top leaders on board on the rejig. When the CM replied in the negative, Mrs Gandhi reportedly stressed the need for evolving a consensus and adjourned the meeting to Saturday morning. All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Digvijay Singh, who played a key role in getting Mr Siddaramaiah an appointment with Mrs Gandhi, trying his best to evolve a consensus and met another general secretary, Oscar Fernandes to clear the obstacles. The role of Mr Kharge has become crucial in the entire exercise with sources saying the reshuffle is unlikely to happen without the Congress veterans stamp of approval. The Congress president too had a meeting with Mr Kharge in the morning and spoke to him over phone in the evening, said sources who refused to divulge the details. Mrs Gandhi no doubt, is in a dilemma as she needs Mr Kharge to carry on the battle in parliament and Mr Siddaramaiah too, the last Congress Chief Minister of an important state. If the rival leaders fail to arrive at an agreement on the composition of the new Cabinet, there is a possibility of the entire exercise being put off till July end with the Congress president set to fly out to the US shortly. I must see the film Udta Punjab next week! I am told that the proliferation of drugs in Punjab is the single problem that the inhabitants are discussing in their drawing rooms and village dhabas. Thirty years ago, when I was sent to Punjab by Rajiv Gandhi, the talk was all about terrorism. For drugs to take centrestage means that indeed the problem must be really massive! I checked with my old colleagues and friends in Chandigarh. They confirmed the prominence of the topic in the towns and villages of the state. Suddenly, the menace of drugs has assumed gigantic proportions, replacing terrorism as the major enemy! Rumours abound about the involvement of an Akali Dal minister in Parkash Singh Badals Cabinet as the patron saint of cross-border smugglers! Some cognoscenti suspect the hand of Pakistans ISI encouraging the smugglers with the Machiavellian intent of weakening Indias traditional sword arm. It should surprise no one if the ISI is the puppeteer. The ISI has vowed to weaken our country with a thousand cuts so that it bleeds and bleeds copiously. Ensuring the emasculation of Punjabs peasantry would surely help it in its endeavour. The Jat Sikhs provide not only a major portion of the foodgrains required to meet the countrys needs, but also a great number of fighting men for our Army. If their sinews weaken with the drug habit, both grain mandis and Army recruitment centers, will wear a miserable look. Punjabs borders with Pakistan have for long tempted smugglers. Arms and drugs are the chosen objects. They generate good money and are hence worth the risk. The only other indigenous land border that beckons is in the Northeast where too the drug menace threatens us. During the troublesome days of terrorism, Punjabs borders were comparatively better patrolled to counter the terrorists who had been trained and sheltered in camps set up by the ISI. The terrorists had roped in the smugglers who knew all the riverine routes. The difference between today and 30 years earlier was that our border guards then were less likely to succumb to temptations of lucre in the time of terrorism, realising the enormity of the threat to the integrity of the country. Even then, 30 years ago, complaints against some greedy politicians and police officers would trickle in. I remembered visiting an IPS officer and his wife in a hospital where they had been admitted after a road accident. I learnt that the car in which they had been travelling belonged to a known smuggler! When the officer was not able to explain why he had used a smugglers car, I made an adverse entry in his annual report enough to block any future promotions. I mention this case because the officer apparently got his promotion after I left Punjab by getting around the political leadership. This alone should speak volumes of the rot that has set in the states administration after peace returned. A former IAS officer, whose husband was shot dead by the terrorists in Patiala during those terrible times, phoned me a few days ago to complain that though her husband was an IPS officer who had served as my personal security officer and had died a martyrs death, the police was not helpful when the martyrs son was being wrongly deprived of his legitimate share of ancestral property by the martyrs sister. My own intervention on the boys behalf at the highest quarters of the police hierarchy did not help. The former IAS officer had obtained the chief ministers nod. That, too, was of no avail! If a former IPS officer, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri, was being ignored in this manner despite the fact that his widow was a former IAS officer, one can imagine what the fate of less-privileged mortals could be in the state of Punjab. The law was clearly on the side of the young boy but in Punjab the SHO is king! And the SHO is in awe of the martyred officers sister, who is a serving police officer having secured the job as recompense for her brothers martyrdom! The proliferation of the drug habit in the villages of Punjab is a natural corollary to a slack administration that functions at the whims of the political hierarchy rather than according to the rule of law. It is hardly surprising that the people of Punjab have turned against their rulers when young men are losing their youth to a vice that could have been controlled if the rulers had the political will to act decisively. Through the sacrifices of numerous citizens and many police officers and men, Punjab was rescued from the grip of terrorism. Why have the elected representatives of the people not learnt a lesson from past mistakes? Why have they permitted this decline? They should have concentrated on good governance, enforced the rule of law and discouraged the activities of the smugglers. Instead, ugly rumours of a minister being involved are doing the rounds! Even if the accusation is false, the fact that border vigilance is slack and drugs are easily available make people feel that there is truth in the allegations. Udta Punjab is a film that all of us must see. I am told it reflects reality. In that case the chief minister and his Cabinet should also view it and then spell out how they intend to fight the drug menace. Overawing the CBFC to stall the release of the film is hardly likely to influence the electorate in the coming elections. In fact, the results are likely to be just the opposite! The sink of the bath sings, More melodious than a coels tweet; The steam of a cooking scrambled egg As it hardens, appears more concrete Than the mist of a morning mountain; The spout of broken firehose More alluring than a Moghul fountain! The Kal Yugs here, so dont complain Oh poets extol your birdsong Or contemplate my modern refrain Oh Bachchoo, Where did it all go wrong? From Tales of the Cyber Pass by Bachchoo My generations adage is that everyone in the world can remember what they were doing when John F. Kennedy was shot. I can recall what I was doing when I first heard of the attack on the World Trade Centres twin towers in New York. These tragic events define our era the death of a liberal President, the bombing that killed 2,000 people in an act of historical vandalism that spelt the division of our world. My second cousin Cyra, who lives with her parents in London was six months old on the day when a maniac machine-gunned the revellers in the Pulse Club in Orlando, Florida. Cyra wont, of course, remember the event but I will because that afternoon her parents, my Parsi cousin and her Christian husband held two ceremonies for her in a small park in the centre of London. Friends and relatives ate and drank as Cyra was dressed in a purple jhubla, the loose Parsi-childs tunic and a Zoroastrian prayer cap and sat down amongst yellow peydas for her sitting-up ceremony. The rites which involved coconuts and Avestan blessings were performed before she was whisked off and had her clothes changed to an elaborate long heirloom of a cream-coloured Victorian christening gown. My cousins father-in-law, a Christian priest, performed a baptism with words and water as we watched, applauded and got through champagne and several plates of dhokla and bhel-puri. It was fun and togetherness more than religion. The Zoroastrians, Christians and other friends were there to celebrate and offer goodwill towards Cyra and my cousins family. The simultaneous sitting-up and baptism ceremonies were a miniscule manifestation of the multiculturalism that has evolved in Britain. To a substantial proportion of the British population it doesnt seem like a welcome or slow evolution. They see it as an alarming imposition of alien cultures in quantum leaps. I dont suppose any of the fretful or bigoted would object to a Zoroastrian blessing following the solemnities of a Christian one. And yet the influx of immigrants in the last two decades has become the central political question, which seems destined to play a large part in the current realignment of British politics. Unfortunately, the massacre of 49 people in the Pulse Club in Orlando also augurs the realignment of the political inclinations of the American electorate. America is by historical definition a country of immigrants, their hopes and inevitably their prejudices. This atrocity, perpetrated this time by an American-born Muslim who claimed, without any justification, that he was acting in the name of Islam and of the death-cult ISIS, has caused Donald Trump to call for a ban on entry from countries where any hostility to the US exists. I suppose this would mean every country in the world (including the US) but Mr Trump certainly meant Islamic countries. He also went on to campaign for every reveller at the club to possess a gun so they could shoot the machine-gun-toting maniac before he killed too many people. Its a return to the fantasy of the six-shooter holster. Ok Corral Western in an era of weapons of multiple destructive capability. And its being manipulated as an increasingly popular policy in America. Hillary Clinton, opposing Mr Trumps call, treads cautiously against this tide. She dare not call for a ban on guns and says instead that a person who has been investigated twice by the FBI should not be allowed to buy one. In Britain, with five days to go before the country decides through a referendum whether to stay in the European Union or to leave it, the public decision will be determined, not by the threats to the economy which an exit from the EU poses, but by the contention that immigration is swamping the services and culture of this country and an exit from the EU would stop the deluge. Several politicians play the anti-Islamic Trump card, saying that continued membership will mean Turkey is set to join the EU and flood Britain with Muslim immigrants who will bring terror and rape to this green and pleasant land. This argument, on the evidence of opinion polls and the interviews on TV day after day in this run-up to the referendum, appeals mostly to those who traditionally vote Labour. The Labour Party leadership is now anxiously behind the campaign to remain in the EU, but a vast number, perhaps even a majority, of its traditional working-class support seems to have fallen for the anti-immigrant line. That the Labour leadership points to the incontestable fact that immigrants to Britain, perhaps five per cent of the population, contribute 20 billion in taxes to the economy and take out much less in benefits, doesnt convince these voters. They want out through a sense of unease. The reports from Florida say that a hate-preacher from Britain (with the unfortunate Christian name of Farrokh) had visited Florida in recent weeks and preached anti-gay sermons saying: The sentence should be death! I never imagined Id be a convert to policing thought or free speech but in this or similar cases the sentence, to adopt a style of expression, should be a permanent silencer. I wish we could then invite the rest of Britain, silent and inactive terrorist-sympathisers and immigrant-limiters-and-haters amongst them, to something like a vast multicultural Cyra-ceremonial. I am not saying it would lead to mass conversions but it would demonstrate that the inevitable globalisations of cultural mix are not a problem, they are a fascinating variety. A little boy sat in his grandfathers lap playing with his wrinkled cheek. He would alternately also stroke his own. Daddy, he asked, Did God make you? Yes, my son, he answered, God made me a long time ago. And me too? Yes, indeed! God made you rather recently. Oh, he blurted, Gods getting better at it now, isnt he? Any dad would happily agree to the fact that God is getting better at creating new babies, particularly if he is the father or grandfather of the child. A dad is always proud and ecstatic to see his offspring, for he finds a part of himself in the child. On June 19, in many parts of the world, including India, sons and daughters would be celebrating Fathers Day. In some countries like Austria, it was celebrated last Sunday. There is neither a universally fixed day nor a date to celebrate this significant day. In most countries it is celebrated on the third Sunday in June, as Mothers Day is on second Sunday in May. Some celebrate it on March 19, it being the feast of Jesus foster father, St. Joseph. Coincidently, the first Fathers Day in the US was observed on June 19, 1910. The world owes thanks to one Sonora Smart Dodd, a loving daughter from Washington. Sonora lost her mother when she was 16 and she witnessed her fathers struggle and devotion in bringing up her other five siblings. One Sunday in 1909, she heard a sermon in the church on Mothers Day. While she undoubtedly missed her mother, considering the unstinted dedication of her own father towards all his children, she suddenly thought about the idea of celebrating a Fathers Day. And so it began and is rightly dedicated to us children to express our thanks and appreciation to our fathers for the vital role they play in our lives. Since mothers take care of our most basic and immediate needs of feeding, bathing, etc., we get more attached to them, seldom realising how hard our dads work to keep the kitchen fire burning and to provide our mothers the means to fulfil all our needs. We also often mistake a fathers difficult task of disciplining us for his lack of affection. And by the time we realise that it is often too late. While the Bible instructs us, Honour your father and mother, if you honour your father and mother, things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth, it also asks us to worship God as the father of all creation and to honour Abraham as our father in faith. For, it is only God the Father who loves us unconditionally and real provider of our needs. Have you ever wondered, where does all the space trash is dumped? Unlike water, urine and air, these space trashes cannot be recycled. So, where does it go? For some time now, NASA has been planning to conduct the pyrotechnic experiment, named Saffire I. Carried inside an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle that departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 14, the experiments purpose was to learn how a fire might behave in a spacecraft after leaving Earths atmosphere. Understanding how fire spreads in a microgravity environment is critical to the safety of astronauts who live and work in space as NASA prepares for long duration missions on the journey to Mars. Cygnus spacecraft and robotic arm of space station closeup with Earth visible below The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft is released from the International Space Station in this June 14, 2016, photograph taken by European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake. The first of our planned three Saffire experiments operated as designed which is a great credit to all the people at NASA who played a role in its development, said Gary A. Ruff, NASAs Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project manager. The success of this experiment opens the door to future large combustion experiments in the microgravity environment and directly supports the development of technologies and materials that will make deep space exploration spacecraft safer. Launched to the space station in an Orbital ATK Cygnus re-supply cargo vehicle on March 22, Saffire remained in Cygnus for 81 days as supplies were offloaded by the stations crew. After the supplies were offloaded and replaced with space station trash, Cygnus departed. Cygnus was then maneuvered a safe distance from the space station before the experiment began. The Saffire experiment took place in a 3-foot by 3-foot by 5-foot tall module equipped to characterize and document the burning of a sample material approximately 16 inches wide and 37 inches long. Images and data captured from inside the module will be transmitted to Orbital ATK and relayed to Glenn over a period of up to eight days prior to Cygnus destructive reentry to Earth. Researchers at Glenn and 10 other U.S. and international government agencies and universities will analyze the data in the coming weeks. Two subsequent flight experiments consist of Saffire-II, which will assess oxygen flammability limits using samples that are 2 inches wide and 12 inches long; and Saffire-III, which will assess a second large-scale microgravity fire. Each module will be flown aboard an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle during a resupply mission to the space station. The Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project that developed the Saffire flight systems is sponsored by the Advanced Exploration Systems Division in NASAs Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The three Saffire units used components manufactured in facilities at Glenn, NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston and White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Three additional experiment modules will be designed and built by engineers at Glenn and launched in Orbital ATK cargo vehicles beginning in 2018. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. For normal pre-teens, the learning curve has just begun and there is a long path to tread before they can actually make any significant contribution to the world. Well, the case is not the same for 12-year-old Indian origin Tanmay Bakshi from Canada; he is already one of the youngest developers in the world. Reaching out toward attaining his dream at a tender age of five, he has worked very hard to sharpen his skills as a developer over the years. While his programming skills are at par or even better than IT graduates, Bakshi also knows how to woo a crowd, as he immediately started trending on Twitter after his address at the IBM event in Bengaluru today. The little fellow was kind enough to share details about an algorithm he created. The algorithm, dubbed AskTanmay, is touted to be the worlds first NLQA system which was built with the help of IBM Watsons Cognitive learning technologies. During his speech, Bakshi said that he loves to share his knowledge and said that it took him seven years to learn coding. An excited Bakshi said he finally completed writing a book, Hello, Swift! that deals with iOS app programming techniques for kids, and other beginners as well. He also shared his personal wish list with all the attendees, pointing out that he wants to visit the Taj Mahal, IITs, and get his book signed by none other than Bollywoods own Angry man Amitabh Bacchan. Technology has become an imperative and not only adults but even kids are realising the true capabilities of digital programming. In fact, there has been a steep increase in the number of teen and pre-teen developers, who have definitely proved that saying nothing is impossible. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Olli will be demonstrated in National Harbor, Maryland, over the next few months with additional trials expected in Las Vegas and Miami. (Photo: Local Motors) US: A new maker of self-driving vehicles burst onto the scene Thursday in partnership with IBM's supercomputer platform Watson, and it's ready to roll right now. The vehicle -- a 3D-printed minibus called "Olli" capable of carrying 12 people -- was unveiled by Arizona-based startup Local Motors outside the US capital city Washington. Olli was designed as an on-demand transportation solution that passengers can summon with a mobile app, like Uber rides. And it can be "printed" to specification in "micro factories" in a matter of hours. Olli will be demonstrated in National Harbor, Maryland, over the next few months with additional trials expected in Las Vegas and Miami. Local Motors is also in talks to test the vehicles in dozens of cities around the world including Berlin, Copenhagen and Canberra. Even though Google and several automakers see several years of testing before deploying autonomous cars, Local Motors co-founder and chief executive John Rogers said this vehicle is ready to go into service as soon as regulations allow it. "The technology has been ready -- fielding it is what has been hard," he said. By "fielding," Rogers said Local Motors can design and make the vehicles to specification and offer a service to local governments or other buyers. "Local Motors is about selling (the vehicles) into the markets that are ready now," he said. Rogers said the company has an advantage over other systems because it is building the vehicles from the ground up, and producing most components with 3D printers. "We hope to be able to print this vehicle in about 10 hours and assemble it in another hour," he said. He envisions hundreds of "micro-factories" producing the vehicles around the world. The privately held company with about 45 investors can easily revamp its design based on what a customer wants, and lacks the large infrastructure costs of traditional automakers, according to Rogers. The Watson experience The driving is controlled by a system developed by Local Motors with several software and tech partners. IBM is not doing the driving but is providing the user interface so passengers can have "conversations" with Olli. "Watson is bringing an understanding to the vehicle," said IBM's Bret Greenstein. "If you have someplace you need to be you can say that in your own words." It marks IBM's first venture in fully autonomous driving, although it has worked with other automotive partners on technology solutions. Greenstein said IBM sees Olli as "the first complete solution" for autonomous driving, and makes use of Watson's cognitive computing power. Using "natural language" recognition can help create "a relationship between the passenger" and the vehicles, Greenstein said. "A vehicle that understands human language, where you can walk in and say, 'I'd like to get to work,' that lets you as a passenger relax and enjoy your journey," he said. The vehicle relies on more than 30 sensors and streams of data from IBM's cloud. With Watson, passengers can ask about how the vehicle works, where they are going, and why Olli is making specific driving decisions. And it can answer the dreaded driver question "Are we there yet?" It also can offer recommendations for popular restaurants or historical sites based on the personal preferences of the passenger. "Cognitive computing provides incredible opportunities to create unparalleled, customized experiences for customers, taking advantage of the massive amounts of streaming data from all devices connected to the Internet of Things, including an automobile's myriad sensors and systems," said IBM's Harriet Green in a statement. The company said Las Vegas has purchased two of the vehicles and Miami-Dade County is exploring a pilot program in which several autonomous vehicles would be used to transport people around the Florida region. Rogers said the company has had discussions in at least 50 countries where there is interest in new transportation solutions. "There is a long list of cities that are interested," he said. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Travelling long distances via train in India has always been a knotty affair, especially when you have to use the trains loo multiple times. The experience becomes even worse when you have to deal with that nose-wrenching foul odour, and water. Well, all that is soon going to change as a new waterless and odourless toilet has been developed by a Manipal University student Vinod Anthony Thomas. For his noble invention, the tenth semester student from Faculty of Architecture (FOA) has bagged the second prize of Rs 75,000 in an all-India competition of the India Railways, organized by Research Designs and Standards Organization, Lucknow. Thomas clinched the second place along with another designer Rahul Garg, and team member Saurabh Hans. This invention will not only help making long train journeys easier for passengers, but also falls in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis Clean India Initiative. Moving to the intricacies of the newly designed toilet, it moves away from traditional unhygienic waste disposal on tracks. His new design effectively introduces a new system of waste management, which prevents the creation of any foul odour and replaces the conventional flush system with a conveyor system for carrying waste in a glass sealed pocket to a large collection bin, which can be operated manually by a crank wheel. The bin has been designed in a way which will reduce the amount of waste by means of decomposition and forced ventilation. The director of the Faculty of Architecture at Vinods college was all praises about him and said that he had made the college proud. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Smartphones are slowly taking over the DSLR, but the latter cannot be compared, never. With most smartphone flagships sporting high-end camera sensors, it is pretty obvious that the standalone camera is taking a back seat. Being bulky and a single-featured device, a standalone camera is soon threatened to being obsolete. However, when comparing to a DSLR camera, many smartphones do a pretty decent job. Take for example phones like the iPhone and Samsung which do a fantastic job of shooting images in an instant. But does a smartphone produce images similar to a DSLR? Well, to an extent, yesthat too if you only have to look at the overall photo. But when it comes to zoom and DoF, smartphone cameras are way behind. A short video by WSJ gives us a glimpse of the smartphone camera and a DSLR and where the DLSR dominates. He points out three such areas where a smartphone camera simply cannot do what a DSLR can. Have a look. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. President Pranab Mukherjee attends the banquet hosted by his Namibia counterpart Hage G Geingob at State House in Windhoek. (Photo: PTI) Windhoek: India's public and private businesses are ready to invest in resource-rich Namibia's mining sector using environment-friendly processes to back the country's developmental goals, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday. Addressing students of Namibia University of Science and Technology, Mukherjee said Namibia is blessed with rich natural resources and an abundance of mineral wealth. "Their efficient extraction and value addition using environment-friendly methods will contribute to the sustainable development of Namibia's mining sector. Our public and private enterprises stand ready to join your endeavours in this direction," Mukherjee said. He recalled the old friendship between the two countries and cited India's example which was earlier a food importer and later emerged as the world's largest producer of wheat and rice for two years. "At the time of India's independence, India, due to her weak agriculture sector, had to import food grains. However, soon enough, due to proper planning and synergy between science and public policy, the excellence of our scientists and the selfless toil of our farmers, our country saw a revolution in agricultural productivity," he said. He said in the sphere of bilateral trade and investment, fruitful economic exchanges between India and Namibia underscore the much larger potential waiting to be realised. The President said an MoU has been signed on setting up a centre of excellence in IT in Namibia which will contribute to enhancing the capacity and skill levels of Namibian IT students and professionals. "We intend to commence the setting up of this centre as soon as possible, in consultation with the Government of Namibia," he said drawing huge applause. Mukherjee said during bilateral discourse, the areas that have been prioritised for collaboration between the two countries include human resource development, capacity building and educational and cultural exchanges. "In this context, I would like to mention India's flagship programmes like Skill India, Make in India, Digital India and 100 Smart Cities as they could be successful models in Namibia as well," he said. The President said, "India remains committed to partnering with Namibia as your people pursue their developmental goals and national aspirations embodied in Government of Namibia's 'Vision 2030' and 'Harambee Prosperity Plan." Gbillah said he and Ikon were accused of asking parking attendants at their hotel in Cleveland to find sex workers for them. (Representational Image) Abuja, Nigeria: A Nigerian lawmaker on Friday accused the US Embassy of defamation following its complaint that he and another colleague tried to hire sex workers while on a State Department exchange program in Ohio. Mark Gbillah said the allegation was a baseless attempt to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria's House of Representatives. The US Embassy in Nigeria submitted complaints about the behavior of Gbillah and two colleagues, Samuel Ikon and Mohammed Garba Gololo, to the House of Representatives this month, said Turaki Hassan, spokesman for House Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Gbillah said he and Ikon were accused of asking parking attendants at their hotel in Cleveland to find sex workers for them. He said the claim made no sense because "we didn't go with cars." Gololo, meanwhile, was accused of making inappropriate advances toward a hotel employee. In a written response to the embassy, he said he "never grabbed any housekeeper or solicited sex." A US Embassy spokesman said Friday he would not comment "on private diplomatic correspondence." Nigerian media reported that the three lawmakers were in the US as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program, which invites "current and emerging foreign leaders" for short-term stays in the country. The American Flag and the Pride flag, commemorating the death of a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub, fly at half-staff on Flag Day outside Seattle city hall. (Photo: AP) Orlando: Corporate and individual donors have given more than $5.3 million to help victims of Sunday's mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Florida by a gunman who killed 49 people and wounded 53, organizers of fundraising drives said on Tuesday. US investigators were digging into what motivated Omar Mateen, 29, to attack the Pulse dance club in downtown Orlando, including whether he was inspired by militant Islamist ideology and reports that he may have struggled with his own sexual identity. Mateen, a U.S. citizen who was born in New York to Afghan parents, was shot dead by police after a three-hour standoff. The gay rights group Equality Florida set up a page on the fundraising website GoFundMe.com, which had collected $3.6 million from more than 80,000 donors online as of Tuesday afternoon. "We do not know the total costs for the victims of this horrific hate crime, therefore are working to raise as much as possible and disperse the funds as fast as possible," Equality Florida said in a statement on the fundraising page. The group said it will work with the National Center for Victims of Crime to distribute the funds. A representative for Equality Florida could not immediately be reached for further comment. Separately, a campaign led by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has received donations including $1 million from the Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), which hosts millions of visitors a year at its Walt Disney World Resort in the Orlando area, company and city officials said. Eligible donations from Disney employees will be also matched by a gifts program of the Walt Disney Company Foundation, the company said. "We are heartbroken by this tragedy and hope our commitment will help those in the community affected by this senseless act," Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement. Donations to the mayor's OneOrlandoFund will be distributed through the Central Florida Foundation and will support non-profit organizations that are supporting the victims and their families, the Hispanic community as well as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, Dyer said in a statement on the Orlando city website. Aside from Disney's contribution, at least $750,000 in other donations have been made to the OneOrlandoFund fund, Dyer said. United States UN Ambassador Samantha Power, left, talks with Stonewall Inn owner Kurt Kelly before meeting with other members of the United Nations' LGBT Core Group at the Inn. (Photo: AP) New York: US Ambassador Samantha Power and UN envoys from 16 other countries visited the Stonewall Inn which helped spark the modern gay rights movement and vowed to step up their fight for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people around the world. Power stood in the darkly lit gay bar that was the scene of a 1969 police raid that set off riots which emboldened gay activists nationwide and said that being LGBT is not only criminalized in many countries but some impose the death penalty if "you're a man loving a man, you're a woman loving a woman." "Vigilante violence that is not contested by the state is something that is extremely prevalent," she added. "We have seen it in so many parts of the world." Power said she brought the so-called Core Group of ambassadors who support LGBT rights from UN headquarters to the Greenwich Village bar because there wasn't a more symbolic place to go to after "the monstrous attacks" at a gay bar in Orlando that killed 49 people. Netherlands' UN Ambassador Karel van Oosterom said the mass killing early Sunday morning "shows a vulnerability that we need to address urgently." "Unfortunately we see that worldwide the rights of LGBT people are under pressure, and we need worldwide global action to address this, and the Core Group will be instrumental in doing that," he said. Argentina's UN Ambassador Martin Garcia Moritan said his country is part of a group of LGBT supports that introduced a draft resolution Thursday at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on discrimination and violence against sexual orientation. Chile's UN Ambassador Cristian Barros Melet said the group wants the council to appoint a UN expert to focus on LGBT rights. Last year's first-ever Security Council meeting on gay rights put a spotlight on the persecution of LGBT people by the Islamic State extremist group and its killing of at least 30 people for sodomy. The UN has worked to improve the rights of the LGBT community in recent years but has repeatedly run into opposition from some member states - especially from some countries in the Middle East and Africa as well as China and Russia. A General Assembly resolution calls on member states to protect the lives of all people and investigate killings. But US deputy ambassador David Pressman said after the Orlando shootings that "every time it is up for consideration, there is a pitched fight" over whether it is appropriate to include sexual orientation and gender identity in its language. Earlier this month, two dozen civil society organizations that provide services for LGBT communities and others were banned from a high-level three-day General Assembly meeting on AIDS. Under UN rules, any UN member country can veto the participation of any non-governmental organization without providing a reason. Ivan Simonovic, the UN assistant secretary-general for human rights who joined the envoys along with a European Union diplomat, said he came "to show solidarity with LGBT persons all over the world who are the object of harassment, sometimes by governments and police, but sometimes by individuals such as the recent US attack." He said major steps have been taken recently in some countries and the bodies that oversee UN human rights treaties have reaffirmed that LGBT people are not to be subjected to either discrimination or violence. The Netherlands' van Oosterom said his country and Uruguay are organizing a conference in Montevideo next month "and one of the issues we will address is an equal rights coalition to intensify the diplomatic cooperation between like-minded countries to strengthen the rights of LGBT people worldwide." "It's not easy," said France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre. "There are counter-reactions. There are many countries who are opposed, reluctant. So it's a fight and France wants to be in the forefront of this fight together with the United States and our other friends. It said the H-1B visas are supposed to be used only to hire college-educated foreigners in "specialty occupations" requiring "highly specialised knowledge" but in many cases laid-off American workers have been required to train their lower-paid replacements. (Representational image: file) New York: H-1B visa "abuse" is harming American workers, leading US daily New York Times said on Thursday and asked the US Congress to close the loopholes as some companies skirt rules for using foreign workers with such visas by outsourcing recruitments to firms like Tata and Infosys. "There is no doubt that H-1B visas - temporary work permits for specially talented foreign professionals - are instead being used by American employers to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour," the New York Times said in an editorial titled 'Visa Abuses Harm American Workers'. "...what Congress really needs to do is close the loopholes that allow H-1B abuses," it said. It said the H-1B visas are supposed to be used only to hire college-educated foreigners in "specialty occupations" requiring "highly specialised knowledge" but in many cases laid-off American workers have been required to train their lower-paid replacements. While lawmakers from both parties have denounced the visa abuse, it is increasingly widespread mainly because of loopholes in the law. The daily said companies are able to "skirt the rules for using H-1B workers by outsourcing the actual hiring of those workers to Tata, Infosys and other temporary staffing firms, mostly based in India". It also cited the case of Illinois-based healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories, Southern California Edison, Disney, Toys "R" Us and New York Life which laid off American employees and hired foreigners for their jobs. "Criticism of the visa process has been muted, and reform has moved slowly, partly because laid-off American workers - mostly tech employees replaced by Indian guest workers - have not loudly protested. Their reticence does not mean acceptance or even resignation," it said. A report by the newspaper earlier this week had said that most of the displaced workers had to sign agreements prohibiting them from criticising their former employers as a condition of receiving severance pay. "The gag orders have largely silenced the laid-off employees, while allowing the employers to publicly defend their actions as legal, which is technically accurate, given the loopholes in the law," it said. Employees laid-off by American companies are now beginning to speak out against their employers as well as against the alleged H-1B visa abuse, it said. Fourteen former tech workers at Abbott, including one who forfeited a chunk of severance pay rather than sign a so-called non-disparagement agreement, have filed federal claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saying they were discriminated against because of their ages and American citizenship. Congressional leaders of both parties have questioned the non-disparagement agreements. Bipartisan legislation in the Senate would revise visa laws to allow former employees to protest their layoffs, the editorial added. Washington: A bipartisan group of lawmakers read the wrenching letter of a woman whose attacker was given a six-month jail term after sexually assaulting her behind a dumpster on the Stanford University campus last year while she was unconscious. The victim's emotional statement in open court to the defendant, former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, powerfully details how the assault has devastated her life. It was widely shared online and drew national attention to the case. The expression of solidarity with the victim was led by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who was joined by more than a dozen others. It took almost an hour to read. The case has attracted widespread attention and outrage after Turner, 20, was given such a short sentence. "The sexual predator received a paltry sentence of six months in county jail, of which he will serve only three," Speier said in her introduction. "We are not moved by the judge, who said a longer sentence would have a 'severe impact' on the offender. We are not moved by the felon's father, who said that his son should not serve jail time for '20 minutes of action.'" The letter describes, in often painful words, the anguish and pain that the assault, investigation, trial and testimony brought upon the woman. "What he did to me doesn't expire, doesn't just go away," the women said in her statement. "It stays with me, it's part of my identity, it has forever changed the way I carry myself, the way I live the rest of my life." Both Turner and the victim were intoxicated on the night of the incident. "I was assaulted with questions designed to attack me, to say, 'See, her facts don't line up, she's out of her mind, she's practically an alcoholic, she probably wanted to hook up.'" Washington: The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, said on Thursday there were tens of thousands of ISIS fighters around the world, more than al Qaeda at its height. He also told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that the agency was concerned about the growth of Libya as a base of operations for ISIS terrorists, who had 5,000-8,000 fighters there, although the group's fighters in Iraq and Syria had dropped to 18,000 to 22,000 from 19,000 to 25,000. "I am concerned about the growth of Libya as another area that could serve as the basis for ISIL to carry out attacks inside of Europe... that is very concerning," Brennan said, using an alternative acronym for the ISIS terrorist group. Questioned about the broader crisis, Brennan told lawmakers he believed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been strengthened with Russia's support. "A year ago, (Assad) was on his back foot as the opposition forces were carrying out operations that were really degrading the Syrian military. He is in a stronger position than he was in June of last year" as a result of Russian support, Brennan said. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers down during their visit to a memorial to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Photo: AP) Orlando: Embracing grieving Orlando families and appealing anew for national action, President Barack Obama claimed a threat to all Americans' security Thursday as a strong reason to tighten US gun laws. Counter-terror campaigns overseas, he declared, can never prevent all "lone wolf" attacks like the one that killed 49 people in Orlando. Speaking at a makeshift memorial to the victims, Obama said the massacre at a gay nightclub was evidence that "different steps" are needed to limit the damage a "deranged" person set on committing violence can do. He cheered on Democrats' push for new gun control measures, including a new ban on assault weapons and stricter background checks. Although he showed little hope the measures would find much support among most opponents, Obama seemed to be aiming for other lawmakers, perhaps Republican hawks eager to get behind counterterror campaigns but steadfastly opposed to gun restrictions. Obama arrived as Orlando began the next stage of its grief - funerals all over town. A visitation for one victim, Javier Jorge-Reyes, on Wednesday night turned out a crowd of friends, family, drag queens and motorcyclists to pay their respects. "We're just here to spread love and joy and try to put an end to all the hate," said Ezekiel Davis - or, as he's known to some, Sister Anesthesia Beaverhausen. Obama could not miss other signs of a community coming together in tragedy. Hundreds of people gathered in 95-degree heat outside the Amway Center stadium where he met with families. Brittany Woodrough came to honor her close friend, 19-year-old Jason Benjamin Josaphat. "I just pray for his family and I can't believe this happened," she said. "Seeing President Obama here makes it real." Orlando's calls for solidarity stood in contrast to the sharp-edged political debate in Washington and the presidential campaign trail that continued during Obama's visit. Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican and frequent Obama critic, accused the president of being "directly responsible" for the shooting because, he said, Obama had allowed the growth of the Islamic State group on his watch. The gunman, Omar Mateen, had made calls during the attack saying he was an IS supporter. But CIA Director John Brennan said Thursday the agency has found no connection between the gunman and any foreign terrorist organization. In Orlando, Obama noted the need for strong efforts to fight terrorists before they can get to America, but he said that's not enough. "It's going to take more than just our military," he said. "We will not be able to stop every tragedy. We can't wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world, but we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. "We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if we're smart," he said, a reference to a ban on assault-type weapons that can kill dozens of people in moments. Mateen had such a weapon, an AR-15 rifle. Obama made his remarks in downtown Orlando during an afternoon visit to express condolences to this grieving city. The president spent roughly two hours talking privately with victims' families and survivors of the attack in a gay dance club. He told them he was inspired by their courage and felt their pain at the loss of so many young lives. "Our hearts are broken, too," he said. Elsewhere in the city and in Washington, investigators were working to reconstruct the movements of the 29-year-old shooter before he opened fire at the Pulse dance club, including what his wife may have known about the attack. The Senate Homeland Security Committee's chairman sent a letter to Facebook asking for help with messages denouncing the "filthy ways of the west" left on Facebook accounts believed to be associated with Mateen before and during the attack. In his remarks, Obama also expressed solidarity with gays and lesbians who were targeted at the nightclub. "This was an attack on the LGBT community. Americans were targeted because we're a country that has learned to welcome everyone, no matter who you are or who you love," Obama said. "And hatred toward people because of sexual orientation, regardless of where it comes from, is a betrayal of what's best in us." There were some signs of political unity: Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican frequently at odds with Obama, greeted him on the airport tarmac. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, also a Republican, traveled with Obama from Washington, along with Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democrat who represents parts of the city. Biden and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., joined Obama on the tarmac. But there was no bipartisan unity on the need for new gun legislation. As the Democratic push continued, including a 15-hour filibuster from Sen. Chris Murphy, whose state of Connecticut shouldered the killing of 20 children in Newtown in 2012, Republicans said their response would focused on the threat posed by the Islamic State group. As a result, the Senate faced the prospect of taking votes beginning next Monday on dueling Democratic and GOP legislation. A Democratic bill would keep people on a government terrorism watch list or other suspected terrorists from buying guns. A Republican version would allow the government to delay a gun sale to a suspected terrorist for 72 hours but require prosecutors to go to court to show probable cause to block the sale permanently. Both bills were expected to fail. "I truly hope senators rise to the moment and do the right thing," Obama said. "Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense." Washington: US President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince on Friday and the two are expected to discuss conflicts in the Middle East including the campaign against ISIS, a White House spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman, is on a visit to the United States aimed at restoring frayed relations with Washington and to promote a plan to slash the kingdom's dependence on oil revenues. Friday's meeting will take place at the White House. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIS," US officials have expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has resulted in large-scale civilian casualties, according to the United Nations and human rights groups. Reuters reported last week that the UN had removed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a child rights blacklist after intense pressure by Riyadh. Prince Mohammed, whose influence in Saudi governing counsels appears to be growing rapidly, is being given wide access to Obama's administration. He will visit the White House on Thursday afternoon to meet with Obama's National Economic Council to discuss the plan the prince is championing to transform the Saudi economy by 2030. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will be present. "A lot of our economic officials this afternoon will be meeting with him about how to move that program forward and adopt best practices," Schultz said. Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defense minister, also is due to meet US Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon on Thursday. President Barack Obama with Vice President Joe Biden carry bouquets comprised of a total of 49 white roses, one in honor of each of the deceased victims, as they visit a memorial to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Photo: AP) Orlando, Florida: Families of some of the 49 people killed in a massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub will mourn and bury their dead on Friday, a day after President Barack Obama met survivors and said the United States must act to control gun violence. Funerals are expected to be held over the next two weeks. Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25, like many of the victims of the Pulse club mass shooting, was from Puerto Rico. He is to be buried on Friday, according to the Newcomer Funeral Home, a day after more than 150 friends and family mourned him at a wake. Obama, who traveled to Orlando on Thursday and met survivors and families of those who died, told reporters: "I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?'." He urged Congress to pass measures to make it harder to legally acquire high-powered weapons like the semi-automatic rifle used in the attack on Sunday. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in Orlando after a US-born gunman claiming allegiance to various Islamist militant groups carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. During the shooting rampage the gunman, Omar Mateen, exchanged text messages with his wife, CNN reported on Thursday, as well as posting on Facebook and placing a phone call to a television station. Police killed Mateen, 29, a US citizen born in New York to Afghan immigrants. Obama, who has visited mass shooting victims' families in towns from San Bernardino, California, to Newtown, Connecticut, since becoming president, laid flowers at a memorial for the victims of the attack on the Pulse nightclub. ISIS te claimed responsibility for the attack but US officials have said they do not believe Mateen was assisted from abroad. A married couple also claiming allegiance to ISIS shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. Before the madness On Thursday, more than 300 people, including Florida Governor Rick Scott, attended the viewing for Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, who was born in Dorado, Puerto Rico. He was 36 when he was killed during a night of dancing to celebrate a friend's new house. His husband had stayed home that night in the couple's apartment. "He was in a Snapchat video that's out there, dancing away, so we know he had some fun before the madness," said his cousin, Orlando Gonzalez. Twenty-three of the 53 wounded remained hospitalized, six in critical condition, according to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. CNN reported, citing a law enforcement official it did not identify, that Mateen exchanged text messages with his wife, Noor Salman, during the three hours he was holed up in a bathroom inside the nightclub. Salman is under investigation to find out whether she knew about Mateen's plans ahead of time. Congress under pressure The massacre put pressure on Congress to act. Mateen carried out the slaughter with an assault weapon and handgun that had been legally purchased although he had twice been investigated by the FBI for possible connections with militant Islamist groups. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No 2 Republican in the Senate, said the chamber would most likely vote on four gun control measures on Monday. However, no formal deal between the parties for votes was announced, and it was unclear when and how the Senate would proceed with the votes, which would be amendments to an appropriations bill funding the Commerce and Justice departments. Republicans, who hold a 54-person majority in the 100-seat Senate, have blocked a number of Democratic-backed gun control measures over the years, saying they infringed on Americans' constitutional right to bear arms. The Lutheran church program funds itself with donations, and owns about 120 Golden Retrievers in 23 states. (Photo: Twitter/Facebook) Orlando: When mourners filed in to a prayer vigil in Orlando this week, they hit a friendly roadblock: a team of golden retrievers sent to help soothe a community in shock with their calm, reassuring presence. As people knelt down to pet and nuzzle the gentle creatures, burying their hands in their soft yellow coat -- many breathed more easily, taking a moment to forget the horror gripping their city. In the wake of the Pulse club massacre that left 49 dead and 53 injured, a pack of therapy dogs were flown from Illinois to the Florida city to offer comfort to traumatized victims and their families. On Wednesday night the dozen golden retrievers were stationed outside Trinity Downtown church. The @K9ComfortDogs have been in Orlando this week. Sweet dogs & their people- loving on them all lightens your . pic.twitter.com/Qxnu3q1fC3 Erin Charlton (@lainey_vb131) June 17, 2016 Shelby Gerber, a bubbly young girl who attended the vigil, lives right near the crime scene. "My anxiety level is pretty high right now," she said. "Sometimes you are too overwhelmed to say anything." "I didn't realize how much it really was nice to sit after service and just pet them for an endless amount of time. It just alleviates the pressure off your chest." For nearly a decade -- ever since a February 2008 shooting stunned Northern Illinois University -- so-called "comfort dogs" have become a familiar sight in the aftermath of major tragedies throughout the United States. The Illinois team have become famous on social media for the therapy they provide: Phoebe, for one, has her own Twitter account. 'Scared to leave house' In Orlando the dogs, accompanied by 20 volunteer handlers, were visiting three hospitals treating patients wounded in the Pulse attack. As well as visiting survivors the dogs have consoled emergency caregivers, paramedics and doctors, as well as many families of victims and Pulse staff members. "People will talk to us and ask if we can visit a family," said Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, the group that sponsors the dogs' work. "There's some individuals that lost somebody and they're just scared to go out of their house. So we're going to bring comfort dogs to them." "Dogs show unconditional love," Hetzner said. "They don't take notes or keep track of wrongs." The "comfort dogs" owned by the Lutheran Church are distinct from those managed by the Therapy Dogs International program, which brings together about 25,000 dogs volunteered by their owners to provide therapy without special training. Hetzner's dogs belong to the parish and are subject to training with multiple handlers that sometimes lasts over a year. He said the training includes teaching the golden retrievers -- a breed known as gentle and affectionate -- not to bite, lick or bark while providing therapy. 'Comfort rugs' Jennifer Blackwood, who also came to the Orlando vigil, was comforted to see her three daughters fussing over the dogs outside. "There's a lot that has happened over the last week," she said. I have three kids so that's been a lot of discussion. Hard growing up talks." Hetzner explains the dogs are taught to lie down like "comfort rugs." It may seem trivial, but for the traumatized, the simple gesture of petting them can have surprising benefits. "People feel more relaxed when they have a comfortable dog they can pet," he said. "They calm down, their heart rate goes down, actually, and they're more willing to talk." Hetzner originally conceived of the idea after a mission to New Orleans in the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As he worked on the search-and-rescue effort, he noticed the "tremendous bond" those his team rescued had with their pets. "People would die rather than part with their pet." The Lutheran church program funds itself with donations, and owns about 120 Golden Retrievers in 23 states. Three dogs from the organization still reside at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 young children and six staff in December 2012. Washington: Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers. "In India, religious tolerance is deteriorating and religious freedom violations are increasing," Robert P George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at the Princeton University and a former chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. "Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence during the past year, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," George alleged in his testimony before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organisations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Members of the ruling BJP tacitly supported these groups and used religiously divisive language to inflame tensions further," he alleged. These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies have created a pervasive climate of impunity in which religious minority communities increasingly feel insecure with no recourse when religiously- motivated crimes occur, George told lawmakers yesterday. In his testimony, George said last year, "higher caste" individuals and local political leaders prevented Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Dalits) Hindus from entering religious temples. The national government or state governments also applied several laws to restrict religious conversion, cow slaughter, and foreign funding of NGOs, he said. Moreover, an Indian constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains to be Hindus contradicts international standards of freedom of religion or belief, George argued. India has been on USCIRF's Tier 2 since 2009. Given its negative trajectory, USCIRF will continue to monitor the situation closely during the year ahead to determine if India should be recommended to the State Department for designation as a Country of Particular Concern, George said. In his testimony, George alleged that civil society, in particular non governmental organisations, receiving funds from overseas are facing difficulties. In April 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the licenses of nearly 9,000 charitable organisations, he noted. "For example, two NGOs, the Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which run conflict-resolution programmes and fight court cases stemming from the 2002 Gujarat riots, had their registrations revoked," he told lawmakers. Additionally, the US-based Ford Foundation, which partially funds the Sabrang Trust and CJP, was put on a "watch list" when the Ministry of Home Affairs accused it of "abetting communal disharmony", he said. Barack Obama had welcomed Indias application to the 48-member grouping during Modis visit last week. Washington: The US has urged members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to support Indias membership into the elite grouping. The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, which I think is next week, State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday. Im not going to get ahead of how thats going to go or hypothesis and speculate about where its going to go, but weve made clear that we support the application, Kirby said in response to a question. Read: India will not join Nuclear Suppliers Group alone: Pakistan During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Barack Obama welcomed Indias application to the 48-member grouping. The US has been pushing for Indias NSG membership. Earlier, ahead of a meeting here US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of Indias bid, saying they should agree not to block consensus on Indian admission. Read: Countries resisting India's bid to join NSG soften stand A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG Plenary later this month. India, though not a member, enjoys the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules for its atomic cooperation deal with the US. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. The US support has come a day after Chinas official media expressed concern about Indias entry, saying it will shake the strategic balance in South Asia and make India a legitimate nuclear power. Beijing: Indias entry into the NSG will shake the strategic balance in South Asia and make it a legitimate nuclear power, leaving behind Chinas all-weather ally Pakistan, Chinese official media said on Friday as it kept up its strident stand against India's inclusion in the grouping. In a second article in as many days, state-run Global Times, highlighted Chinas vocal opposition to Indias entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and concerns that Pakistan will be left behind as entry into the NSG will make it (India) a legitimate nuclear power. Indias entry into the NSG will shake strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region, the article said. It, however, said China could support Indias inclusion in the nuclear club if it played by the rules. The major goal for Indias NSG ambition is to obtain an edge over Islamabad in nuclear capabilities. Once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken, said the article by Fu Xiaoqiang, of China Institutes of Contem-porary Inter-national Relations, a think tank. Becoming a member of the NSG, a bloc that governs civilian nuclear trade worldwide, will grant India global acceptance as a legitimate nuclear power, said the article. At the same time, the article said, New Delhi seems to have inched closer to NSG membership after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gained backing from the US, Swiss and Mexico in its bid to join the elite nuclear club. However, as a country that has signed neither the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons nor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, India is not yet qualified for accession into the NSG, it said. Grace Geng daughter of Chinese dissident lawyer Gao Zhisheng, holds her father's book "A Human Rights Lawyer under Torture the auto narratives of Gao Zhisheng" during a press conference in Hong Kong. (Photo: AFP) Taipei : A leading Chinese dissident lawyer and his relatives have been "threatened" since his daughter spoke about his controversial new book in Hong Kong this week, the daughter and activists said on Friday. Gao Zhisheng's current whereabouts are unknown after Chinese security agents are said to have rushed to his brother's house, where he is staying, in an isolated village in China's Shaanxi province on Tuesday. Gao has been under house arrest since 2014 after serving a three-year prison term on subversion-related charges -- a sentence which sparked an international outcry. "I am worried they will face many threats... I already know that right after (his daughter) Grace's press conference in Hong Kong, Chinese security personnel rushed to his brother's house and threatened (them)," said Bob Fu, president of US-based human rights group China Aid Association which co-published the book. "We don't know if he has been removed from his cave home in Shaanxi. We don't know where he is now," Fu said, adding that a local contact who passed on the information of the security agents' visit had also gone "missing". Speaking in Taipei to launch her father's new book "Stand Up China 2017" -- which predicts the demise of the Communist Party and details his torture at the hands of the authorities -- Grace Gao said her uncle and aunt's mobile phones were disconnected or turned off when she called them on Friday. She felt her father would be subject to punishment over the book but added: "He is prepared for anything and our family is prepared." Gao fell foul of Chinese authorities by championing the rights of vulnerable people including underground Christians, aggrieved miners and members of the banned Falungong spiritual movement. He was convicted in 2006 of "subversion of state power" and given a three-year suspended prison sentence. State media said in 2011 that he had been ordered to serve the sentence after a Beijing court ruled he had violated the terms of his probation. In the 446-page book, Gao predicted the demise of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017, saying that "peaceful power for change" will flourish in China despite brutal suppression and it is "enviable for China's evil forces to demise". Gao detailed what he called abductions and tortures imposed on him by Chinese authorities since 2004, including electric shocks. The book was published by two human rights groups as no publisher in Taiwan or Hong Kong wanted to get involved, according to co-publisher Taiwan Association for China Human Rights. "Please help my family and all Chinese people," Grace Gao wrote in a copy of the book to be given to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen through a lawmaker of Tsai's party. "I hope she will do her best or within her power to help with human rights in China," she said. Barack Obama shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after laying a wreath in front of the cenotaph to offer a prayer for victims of the atomic bombing in 1945 at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on May 27, 2016.Obama on May 27 paid moving tribute to victims of the worlds first nuclear attack. (Photo: AFP) Tokyo: An association of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has criticised US President Barack Obama's speech last month during a historic visit to Hiroshima, saying he failed to mention US responsibility for the bombing. Obama, as the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, paid moving tribute to victims in the western city, where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. The bombing claimed the lives of 140,000 people, some of whom died immediately in a ball of searing heat, while others succumbed to injuries or radiation-related illnesses in the weeks, months and years afterwards. A second nuclear bomb destroyed the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan three days later. Obama offered no apology for the bombings, having insisted he would not revisit decisions made by then president Harry Truman at the close of the brutal war. The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations said in a resolution adopted on Thursday at its general meeting that Obama described the bombing in his speech as if it had been "a natural phenomenon", according to Jiji Press. The phrase "death fell from the sky" that he used to evoke the horror was an expression to avoid the responsibility of the United States in having dropped the bomb, said the resolution. Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of the group and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, also said Obama's conversations with survivors during his trip were very short. "You cannot fully understand their experience by listening to them for five minutes," he said. "We hope he can make a visit again." Obama's brief conversations included an unexpected embrace with a survivor in one of the visit's most memorable moments. According to the Asahi newspaper, Tanaka criticised the president's visit to an accompanying museum at the memorial site as also being too short. Hanoi: Vietnamese state media say a search plane carrying nine people has gone missing while attempting to locate a pilot from a crashed fighter jet. The Thanh Nien newspaper said the maritime patrol aircraft lost contact on Thursday afternoon about 44 nautical miles (81 kilometers) southwest of Bach Long Vi island, off the coast of the northern port city of Haiphong. It quoted local official Do Duc Hoa as saying that vessels have been sent to the area where the search plane lost contact, but were hampered by strong winds and high waves. The nine people on board are among 1,500 personnel sent to search for the pilot, whose Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 jet fighter crashed on Tuesday on a training flight. One other pilot from the jet was rescued Wednesday. Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday regretted inviting an anti-gay Islamic preacher to an iftar party and asked the cleric to recant his comments that gays were responsible for spreading HIV and other deadly diseases. Refering to the acts of terror like Sunday's Orlando massacre which he said were perpetrated to divide along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality, Malcolm said "that kind of hatred and division must not prevail". Malcolm said he was not aware that he was dining with the preacher Sheikh Shandy Alsuleiman and asked him to recant comments that gay people were responsible for spreading HIV and other disease. "Had I known that the Sheikh had made those remarks, he would not have been invited to the iftar. It is also wrong to seek to define the views of all 500,000 Muslims because of the opinions expressed by one person, by one cleric," he said as he stressed on the importance of tolerance. Alsuleiman was among several Muslim leaders who attended the first ever iftar dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at Kirribilli House. Turnbull on Thursday became the first Australian Prime Minister to host an iftar, the meal at which Muslims end their fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. The Prime Minister said he became aware of Alsuleiman's comments during the course of the dinner when a journalist contacted his media team. The incident occurred two days after Australia cancelled the visa of a British cleric, Farrokh Sekaleshfar, over his anti-gay comments including advocating capital punishment for homosexual acts in public. Live Australian cattle were bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in a Vietnamese abattoir. (Photo: Screen grab) Australia: In a shocking video, live Australian cattle were seen bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in a Vietnamese abattoir. The horrific incident has led to cancellation of Australian cattle export to three abattoirs in Vietnam, according to a report in The Daily Mail. The loathsome excerpt shows a cow being beaten over the head repeatedly with a sledgehammer that inevitably leads to its death. Further, a bull is seen collapsing after witnessing its pen mates going through the harrowing treatment. The video sparked off a furore across the cattle industry in Australia. The film has led to cancellation of live cattle export to Vietnamese abattoirs which have flouted rules and taken to brutal practices. Australian agricultural minister Barnaby Joyce has censured the inhumanity meted by Vietnamese abattoirs and have termed the incident totally abhorrent. It has not been confirmed yet whether the cattle were sourced from Australia, said the minister. Police at the scene after Batley and Spen Member of Parliament Jo Cox was shot, in Birstall, West Yorkshire, England. (Photo: AP) London: British lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing shock across Britain and leading to the suspension of campaigning for next weeks referendum on the countrys EU membership. The Kingdom was plunged into sorrow over the bloodshed in the otherwise peaceful campaign. Read: Stabbed, shot thrice, UK MP Jo Cox dies; US calls it 'assault on democracy' Here are some prominent reactions to the death of Cox: Brendan Cox, Jos husband Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. British Prime Minister David Cameron We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyones thoughts will be with Jos family and her constituents at this terrible time. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn Weve lost a wonderful woman, weve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, well work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn stands amongst colleagues as he attends a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London. (Photo: AFP) Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve. In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jos husband Brendan and their two young children. Finance minister George Osborne Jo fought to help the refugees from the Syrian civil war she gave a voice to those whose cry for help she felt was not being heard. It changed attitudes and I know it contributed to a change in policy. She will never know how many lives she helped transform. Today, doing that job, she senselessly lost her own life. US presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the worlds oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honour Jo Cox -- by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together. German Chancellor Angela Merkel The incident is terrible, dramatic and our thoughts are with the people affected the Labour lawmakers, the politicians. I dont want to connect this with the vote on Great Britain staying in the European Union. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her its our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that! US secretary of state John Kerry I join you in expressing my deep sorrow that a young parliamentarian, who obviously was a young woman of enormous talent, has been killed in the conduct of her duties with her constituency. It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy. And our thoughts are profoundly with the family her husband, her children and with all of the British people, who I know feel the loss profoundly. Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairperson of group of Euro Zone finance ministers The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics, and we hope that the British public ... can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week. Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen My thoughts are with her family, her friends, and the British people. It was a true shock to me that a British politician was killed during the campaign. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned. She was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in Parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP. US ambassador to Britain Matthew Barzun We are heartbroken by the loss to her family and country of MP Jo Cox. My love and our love to them, in this time of unbearable grief. Former US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived shooting in 2011 Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife. Max Lawson of Charity Oxfam, who worked closely with Cox Jo was a diminutive pocket rocket from the north. She was a ball of energy, always smiling, full of new ideas, of idealism, of passion. She gave so much to Oxfam. David Miliband, Former British foreign secretary People in need around the world have lost a tireless, effective and redoubtable champion today following the murder of Jo Cox MP. Her passionate advocacy, first of all working in NGOs and then in Parliament as an elected representative, on behalf of vulnerable and displaced people was a study in effective activism. John Curtice, polling expert and politics professor at University Of Strathclyde Its fairly clear no one is quite sure what has happened. Until its clear who was responsible and what their motivation was or it might have been, all it does is stop the campaign when the Remain side probably would not want it to be stopped. Mujtaba Rahman, Europe practice head at Eurasia Group This will hurt the momentum of the Leave campaign, which has been gaining steadily in recent polls. It will allow British Prime Minister David Cameron an opportunity to act like a statesman and retrieve the agenda, something he has lost over the last week. If the incident is confirmed to have been motivated by Brexit, it will also reflect poorly on the more strident elements of the Vote Leave campaign, potentially swinging undecided voters towards Remain. Alan Ruskin, global co-head of FX Research at Deutsche Bank Certainly people are talking about the possibility that this does influence the Brexit vote in favour of Remain. It is a tragic event all around. There is a sense, there is an immediate emotional reaction, but there is still a week before the referendum itself. It definitely is seen as part of the story, the recovery of risk. Generally you are seeing so-called riskier assets recover. All the assets, whether equities, aussie/yen or sterling/yen are recovering. They are up on the perception of a higher probability of a Remain vote. London: The alleged killer of British lawmaker Jo Cox was a "dedicated supporter" of a neo-Nazi group based in the United States, a civil rights group reported Thursday. The Southern Poverty Law Centre said that the man named by British media as the attacker, Thomas Mair, had a "long history with white nationalism". "According to records obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center Mair was a dedicated supporter of the National Alliance (NA), the once premier neo-Nazi organization in the United States, for decades," the legal advocacy group said on its website. Cox, a 41-year-old lawmaker with the opposition Labour Party who was known for campaigning for refugee rights, was killed in a daylight attack Thursday in her home constituency in Yorkshire in northern England. Police said an investigation was underway to establish the motive for the murder, which halted campaigning a week before Britain's referendum on whether to leave the European Union, a debate marked by divisions over immigration. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Mair had spent more than $620 on reading material from the National Alliance, a group which called for the creation of an all-white homeland and eradication of Jewish people. Images of two invoices published on the advocacy group's website appeared to show orders for magazines from Thomas Mair, with an address in West Yorkshire. One handbook Mair purchased included instructions on building a gun from everyday materials, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. British media reported witnesses of the attack as saying that the assailant had used a gun of "old-fashioned" or "homemade" appearance. One witness, cafe-owner Clarke Rothwell, told the Press Association that the gunman had shouted "put Britain first" repeatedly during the attack. "Britain First" is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group, which released a statement saying it was "obviously not involved" and "would never encourage behaviour of this sort." Mair's brother, Scott Mair, told the Daily Telegraph that Thomas "is not violent and is not all that political". "He has a history of mental illness, but he has had help," Scott Mair said. Separately, the newspaper reported that Mair was a subscriber to S.A. Patriot, a South African magazine published by a pro-apartheid group with an editorial stance against multiculturalism. A 10 year old Syrian refugee child in southeastern Turkey. Turkey is hosting 3 million refugees, although the human rights group Amnesty International urged EU to stop plans to return asylum-seekers to Turkey. (Photo: AP) Brussels: Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders on Friday said it would no longer take funds from the EU in protest at its "shameful" policies on the migration crisis, including a deal with Turkey. The charity, widely known by its French acronym MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres), received 56 million euros ($63 million) from European Union institutions and the 28 member states last year. "MSF announces today that we will no longer take funds from the EU and its member states in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people and their suffering back from European shores," the group said in a statement. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning MSF singled out the EU's deal with Turkey in March to stem the biggest flow of migrants into the continent since World War II, many of them from war-torn Syria. "This is really about Europe's refugee shame," Jerome Oberreit, international secretary general of MSF, told a press conference in Brussels. He accused member states of a "shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need." "The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of 'refugee' and the protection it offers in danger," Oberreit added. 'Courageous and principled stand' MSF has been heavily involved in caring for migrants in locations including the Greek island of Lesbos and the French port of Calais, as well as operating a boat called the Argos which saves lives in the Mediterranean. Under the Turkey deal, Ankara agreed to take back all migrants and refugees landing in the Greek islands who did not apply for asylum, and to crack down on people smuggling across the Aegean Sea. In exchange, the EU said it would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey for every Syrian that Ankara takes back from Greece. Turkey was meanwhile offered visa-free access, increased aid and speeded up EU accession talks if it met certain conditions, one of which was changing its anti-terror laws. MSF said 8,000 people including hundreds of unaccompanied minors had been left stranded in the Greek islands by the deal. The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, said it "takes note" of the MSF decision, stressing that it affected only just over one percent of the Commission's 1.5 billion euro annual aid budget. Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas rejected criticism of the Turkey deal, saying: "The Commission prefers the interpretation of our 28 member states, of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, which are closer to our analysis of the deal rather than the one that the MSF did today." Rights group Amnesty International hailed MSF's "courageous and principled stand". 'We cannot accept funding' MSF's Oberreit also criticised a proposal last week to make similar deals with African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries. He pointed out that potential partner included Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan, "four of the top 10 refugee-generating countries." "We cannot accept funding from the EU or the Member States while at the same time treating the victims of their polices. It's that simple," Oberreit added. MSF said it received 19 million euros from EU institutions and 37 million euros from member states in 2015, amounting to eight percent of its funding. It added that its activities are 90 percent privately funded. "We are looking for other funding channels," MSF migration expert Aurelie Ponthieu told the press conference. "We are not cutting down programmes." The charity said its medics had treated 200,000 men, women and children in the Mediterranean and in Europe in the last 18 months. It also received 6.8 million euros from Norway, which is not part of the EU. Europe has struggled to deal with a wave of more than one million refugees and migrants fleeing war and poverty in Syria, the wider Middle East and Africa since the start of 2015. Police officers stand guards by the fence of the airport as a hijacked EgyptAir aircraft is seen after landing at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. (Photo: AP) Nicosia, Cyprus: A Cypriot prosecutor tried to cast doubt Friday on an Egyptian hijacker's defense that his opposition to Egypt's military-backed government could put his life at risk if he is extradited. The hijacker's ex-wife, Marina Paraschou, testified as a prosecution witness during an extradition hearing Friday that Seif Eddin Mustafa had been in jail for most of their nine years of marriage, but that his time behind bars in Egypt, Syria and Yemen was not because of his politics. Paraschou said Mustafa was imprisoned at least seven times for crimes involving passport forgery, desertion from the Egyptian army and for stealing a car. Despite having four children with him, Paraschou said she filed for divorce in 1993 after getting fed up with his absences. "I was tired of this life, of him not contributing anything to his family," she said. Mustafa's lawyer says his client fears torture or death if extradited because of his political beliefs. Mustafa hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight in March using a fake suicide belt and diverted it to Cyprus. The six-hour hijacking ended peacefully after all 72 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A320 were released and Mustafa was arrested. During the hijacking, Mustafa presented handwritten demands for the release of 63 imprisoned dissident women and denounced the Egyptian government. Paraschou said she agreed to a police request during the hijacking to go Cyprus' main Larnaca airport and help identify Mustafa. She told prosecutor Eleni Loizidou that she didn't know Mustafa ever belonged to any group that opposed the Egyptian government. But she said that he had told her he left the Egyptian army to join the "forces" of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat. Under cross examination, Paraschou also said she knew Mustafa worked for the PLO in Greece where they lived for a few months. French President Francois Hollande shakes hands with people during a memorial ceremony honouring the police couple who were killed by ISIS group. (Photo: AFP) Versailles: In a somber ceremony, France has paid homage to two police officials knifed to death this week in their home by a man claiming allegiance to the ISIS group. President Francois Hollande said during today's ceremony in Versailles that measures would be taken to ensure anonymity for police, who have been shaken by the incident and feel targeted out of uniform.He did not elaborate on the measures. Hollande, addressing hundreds of officers and others at the ceremony, praised the pair as "two heroes of daily life" and said that off-duty police may now carry arms, a demand that has grown since France became a target of terror in two waves of attacks last year, claimed by the ISIS group. The nation has been in a state of emergency since the November Paris attacks that killed 130. Commander Jean-Baptise Salvaing and his companion, Jessica Schneider, were knifed to death on Monday night at their home in Magnanville, not far from the Mureaux police station where Salvaign worked or the station in Mante-la-Jolie where the attacker lived. Their 3-year-old son was in the room where his mother was killed. Larossi Abballa, convicted in 2013 of a role in a terrorist network for the Pakistan-Afghan border, was killed by a police intervention unit which had surrounded the home and tried in vain to negotiate. "France will continue its implacable fight against terrorism with even more determination in memory of their sacrifice," Hollande said. Drumrolls sounded as police in dress uniform bore the coffins through the prefecture courtyard at the start of the ceremony. Hollande posthumously made Salvaing and Schneider, a police administrator, knights of the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor. He denounced insults often heaped on police, calling officers "sentinels of the Republic." The Istanbul gay pride march had until last year been held on 12 occasions largely without incident, growing into the largest such event in a Muslim country in the Middle East with thousands taking part in a celebration of diversity. (Representational Image) Istanbul: The authorities in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul on Friday banned an annual gay pride march planned for later this month, citing security fears. The Istanbul governorate said in a statement it was aware through reports in the press and social media of plans to hold the annual march on June 26 but urged citizens not to follow the calls to take part and instead to comply with warnings by the security forces. The Istanbul gay pride march had until last year been held on 12 occasions largely without incident, growing into the largest such event in a Muslim country in the Middle East with thousands taking part in a celebration of diversity. However in 2015, police shocked participants by firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to prevent the march before it had even begun. The statement from the governorate said: "Permission will not be given for... a meeting or a march on grounds of safeguarding security and public order." "We urge our dear Istanbul residents not to heed calls to take part and to comply with warnings by the security forces." Activists are planning a week of events from this weekend culminating in a gay pride march on June 26 that traditionally follows Istanbul's famed shopping street Istiklal Caddesi and finishes in Taksim Square. However Turkey has been hit by a string of attacks this year, including a deadly suicide bombing on Istiklal itself that killed Israeli tourists and was blamed on jihadists. Meanwhile, the march, as last year, is scheduled to take place during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. There had already been concerns about the security of participants after a hardline nationalist youth group, the Alperen Hearths, vowed to intervene to stop the march from taking place. London: Jo Cox, who was killed in her constituency on Thursday, was considered to be a rising parliamentary star. The 41-year-old, who leaves behind a husband and two young children, represented the area she grew up in and had the plight of refugees close to her heart. Before standing for parliament, Cox had been the Oxfam aid agency's policy chief and her killing ends what looked to be a promising political career. Weapons, including a firearm, were recovered from the scene of her killing. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes, describing her as a "bright star, no doubt about it". On Twitter, Cox described herself simply as: "Mum. Proud Yorkshire Lass. Labour MP for Batley and Spen. Boat dweller. Mountain climber. Former aid worker." Active on social media, Cox advocated many causes. (Photo: Twitter) She was due to celebrate her 42nd birthday next Wednesday. Her husband Brendan Cox was an adviser to prime minister Gordon Brown and they lived with children Lejla and Cuillin on a converted barge on the River Thames in London. 'Our country's loss' Cox, who was the member of parliament representing the constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, northern England, herself hailed from Batley, a textile town with a large South Asian Muslim population. Her father Gordon worked in a toothpaste factory and her mother Jean was a school secretary. She graduated in 1995 from the University of Cambridge, where she first got interested in politics. She went on to help launch the pro-European campaign organisation Britain in Europe, and spent two years with European Parliament member Glenys Kinnock in Brussels. She then spent a decade working for Oxfam in New York, Brussels and war zones as the head of policy and of humanitarian campaigning. Cox was also the national chair of Labour Women's Network for four years and worked with Brown's wife Sarah on galvanising international action to stop babies dying during pregnancy and childbirth. In a tribute, Gordon Brown said his memory would be "forever scarred" by her killing. "Our hearts will always be hurt at our country's loss," he said in a statement. "Whenever you talked to her, the compassion in her eyes and the commitment in her soul shone through. "She went to some of the most dangerous places in the world. The last place she should have been in danger was in her home town." Concern for Syrian refugees Cox also worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation before standing for parliament in the May 2015 general election. In her maiden speech in parliament last year she said was proud of the ethnic diversity in her constituency. "Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir," she told MPs. "While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us." Cox co-chaired the recently-formed cross-party parliamentary group on Syria. She abstained in last year's contentious vote on allowing British military action in Syria, insisting a more wide-ranging attempt at a solution to the conflict was needed. The MP was among the 36 of Labour's 232 lawmakers who nominated veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn to get on the ballot paper in last year's Labour leadership contest. He won by a landslide but she personally voted for Liz Kendall, the most centrist of the candidates on offer, who finished fourth and last. Like the vast majority of MPs in the left-of-centre party, she was campaigning for Britain to stay in the European Union in the June 23 referendum. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it everyday of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," her husband wrote. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." Rome, Italy: From kings to consuls, emperors to popes, the rulers of Rome have always been men. Until now. Voters in the Italian capital return to the polls Sunday and all the signs are that they are set to elect Virginia Raggi as the first woman mayor of the Eternal City. Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer and local councillor, has leapt from anonymity to become one of the best-known faces in Italian politics in the space of only a few months on the campaign trail. The telegenic brunette is the rising star of the populist Five Star movement (M5S), the anti-establishment party founded by comedian Beppe Grillo. It has emerged as the best-supported opposition to the centre left, Democratic Party (PD)-led coalition of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and the stakes are extremely high for a movement that was only founded in 2009. With the ebullient Renzi's star waning slightly, success in Rome could provide a platform for a tilt at national power in general elections due in 2018. "We are witnessing a historic moment," Raggi said after the June 5 first round of voting, from which she emerged with 35 percent of the vote, well ahead of her run-off rival, Roberto Giachetti (24 percent). It was a remarkable achievement for a party with a very limited organisational apparatus and also for a woman who only entered politics five years ago. That was a move, she recently told AFP, triggered by the birth of her son Matteo and her determination that he should not grow up in a city beset by the intertwined problems of failing public services and endemic corruption. Years of sleaze Opposition to Italy's endemic cronyism and sleaze is the foundation of M5S's appeal to voters and the Roman electorate have had their fill of those in recent years. Dozens of local businessmen, officials and politicians are currently on trial for their involvement in a criminal network that ripped off the city to the tune of tens if not hundreds of millions. From stealing the funds allocated to get ethnic Roma children to school from isolated camps, to paving the city's streets with wafer-thin surfaces, scams abounded for years, according to prosecutors in what is known as the Mafia Capitale scandal. One of the defendants was caught on a police wiretap boasting how siphoning off funds meant to feed and house often-traumatised asylum-seekers was more lucrative than dealing drugs. The former mayor, the PD's Ignazio Marino, helped expose the criminal activity that has contributed to these kind of abuses and the city having 12 billion euro of debts. This has had crippling knock-on effects on public transport and other essential services, from refuse collection to road repairs. But Marino also paid a price for the revelations emerging on his watch. Unpopular with many ordinary Romans and perceived by his own party hierarchy to be floundering, he was forced to quit last October after it emerged he had submitted several inaccurate expenses claims. Exclusive club Rome's bid to host the 2024 Olympics -- against competition from Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest -- has come up frequently during the campaign, but Raggi has made it clear she has other priorities. "No Roman has asked me whether I back the Olympics," she said in a televised debate Wednesday. "They talk to me about transport, they talk to me about schools. (The Olympics) are not a priority, they're really not a priority." Where Marino, a liver surgeon from Genoa, was seen as an aloof outsider, Raggi has capitalised on her pure-bred Roman pedigree. And as her momentum has grown, she has acquired the confidence and popular touch of a seasoned political operator. Despite her lack of experience in running anything, the intellectual property expert is confident she has the local knowledge, character and inventiveness needed to restore Rome's flagging morale and reputation. "I was a curious young girl, interested in many things, but very focused, as I am today," she told AFP. "Determination never failed me." If she wins on Sunday, Raggi will join a select group of women who run major cities including Barcelona, Cape Town, Madrid, Paris and Santiago, Chile. The vote in Rome is part of a nationwide election which will see a string of major cities choose new mayors. London: Late Saudi King Fahds son has won a court battle against his fathers secret wife and will not be paying the multi-million pound payout she had won in a court case last November. Janan Harb claimed she was secretly married to late king Fahd and Judge Peter Smith had ruled that was entitled to more than 15 million ($23 million/21 million euros), plus the deeds to two plush London flats, thought to be worth 5 million each. The judge had accepted that the absolute ruler's son Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd had struck such an agreement with Harb but the lawyers representing the Prince decided to appeal against the ruling and have asked the court to quash the award handed to her. Harb has claimed that the Prince had agreed to buy her silence with the payout, but Abdul Aziz has denied entering any such agreement with her. His lawyers now want a new judge to hear the case and have accused Judge Peter Smith of bias in the case and of failing to examine evidence properly. Born to a Christian Palestinian family, Harb, 69, is now a British national. She says she was secretly married to Fahd in 1968 when she was 19 and he was a prince and the interior minister. Harb claimed Fahd, who became king in 1982 and died in 2005, had promised to provide for her financially for the rest of her life. She claimed Abdul Aziz told her in 2003 that he was prepared to honour his father's promise, and had offered to give her 12 million plus the deeds to the two flats by the River Thames. She took legal action after claiming she had received neither the money nor the properties. Birstall: A British lawmaker died on Thursday after a shock daylight street attack, throwing campaigning for the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union into disarray just a week before the crucial vote. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old mother-of-two from the opposition Labour Party, was left bleeding on the pavement after reportedly being shot and stabbed in the village of Birstall in northern England, according to witnesses quoted by local media. Read: Jo Cox, a rising star in British politics Police later announced the death of Cox -- a leading campaigner for Britain to remain in the 28-member bloc -- and said a 52-year-old man had been arrested. "We are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time," West Yorkshire Police chief Dee Collins told reporters. But she added: "We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident." US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday described the killing of British MP Jo Cox, just days before Britain votes on its EU membership, as an assault on democracy. "I join you in expressing my deep sorrow that a young parliamentarian, who obviously was a young woman with an enormous talent, has been killed in the conduct of her duties with her constituency," Kerry said in Copenhagen. "It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy," he added. Read: Alleged killer of British MP was neo-Nazi supporter: US group After the attack, the "Remain" camp said it was "suspending all campaigning for the day" while a spokesman for the rival Vote Leave group said their 'battle bus' was returning to headquarters. Prime Minister David Cameron cancelled a planned rally during a historic but controversial visit to Gibraltar as part of his campaign for Britain to stay in the EU in the June 23 vote. "The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children," he said on Twitter. It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on the June 23 referendum, which has polarised the nation into pro- and anti-EU camps. But some analysts speculated it could boost the pro-EU "Remain" campaign, which in recent days has fallen behind the "Leave" camp in opinion polls. One witness, local cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, said that Cox had been shot three times. "He shot this lady once and then he shot her again, he fell to the floor, leant over shot her once more in the face area," he told the BBC. Sky News television quoted unconfirmed reports that the shooter shouted "Britain first" -- possibly a reference to a far-right group of the same name. The attack halted a frantic day of campaigning, as two new opinion polls indicated that more Britons now want to leave the EU than want to stay. If they prove correct, Britain would become the first country in the nearly six-decade history of the bloc to leave. Cameron was already on his way to Gibraltar when news of the attack broke, on the first trip to the rocky outcrop by a British premier since 1968. His visit has angered Spain, which also claims the tiny territory. 'Difficult To Be Optimistic' The looming prospect of a Brexit has sparked volatility in the financial markets and sent the pound plunging, and prompted interventions from a number of EU leaders. "I know it's very difficult for us to be optimistic today, we know the latest polls," EU President Donald Tusk said on a visit to Helsinki. But he added: "The EU will survive, I have no doubt -- it is still much easier to survive when you are 27 member states than completely alone". At an economic forum in Russia, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said a Brexit would usher in "a period of major uncertainty" in Britain and the EU. But he too added: "I don't think that the European Union will be in danger of death if Britain leaves because we continue the process of closer cooperation in Europe." German Chancellor Angela Merkel used a press conference in Berlin to urge Britain to stay. She said that in the event of a Brexit, "everything related to the common market, and to the mutual benefit to Britain and all other European member states, would no longer be available to Britain". Too Close To Call A new survey by Ipsos Mori showed support for leaving the EU now stands at 53 per cent compared to 47 per cent for those who want to stay in, excluding undecided voters. Another new poll by Survation put "Leave" ahead by 52-48, excluding undecided voters. Polling expert John Curtice said the race was now too close to call, telling the BBC: "I think we no longer have a favourite in this referendum." The Bank of England issued a fresh warning about the consequences of a Brexit, it was "the largest immediate risk facing UK financial markets, and possibly also global financial markets". The International Monetary Fund also warned that a vote to leave would rattle markets and weigh on economic growth. London's FTSE 100 share index fell 1.1 per cent to 5,899, before recovering somewhat to end the day 0.27 per cent lower at 5,950. The pound hit a new two-month low against the euro. "City watchers are beginning to take the threat seriously and start to price in the possibility of a Brexit," said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital. Leading business newspaper the Financial Times endorsed the "Remain" camp, saying Britain had benefited from its 43-year membership of the European fold and leaving would "seriously damage" the economy. "A vote to withdraw would be irrevocable, a grievous blow to the post-1945 liberal world order," it added. All women wanting to swim topless will be free to do so -- regardless of their gender identity. (Representational Image) Stockholm: Sweden's anti-discrimination watchdog has found in favour of a transgender person who was banned from swimming topless at a swimming pool. The country's "Diskrimineringsombudsman" (DO) found that the pool's decision was illegal and that anyone identifying as transgender should be permitted to swim in public pools without having to cover their breasts. Local media have said that the ruling, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, could set a precedent and mean that all women wanting to swim topless will be free to do so -- regardless of their gender identity. DO spokesman Clas Lundstedt, however, told AFP: "The decision is for a particular situation, it does not enact a rule that applies to all pools." The DO said the complainant was barred from a Stockholm pool because they insisted on wearing only swimming trunks to use the facilities. The management treated the pool user as a woman while they wanted to be identified as transgender. Carina Engstrm, manager of the Liljeholmsbadet pool in the Swedish capital, said that the DO's decision might upset the sensibilities of users of different cultures or religions. "Some women bathe in a full swimming costume," she told the TT news agency. Other local pool managers have raised concerns about the risk of possible sexual assaults in swimming baths if women are allowed to swim topless with several recent cases firing debate on the issue in the media and online. Cameron confirmed Britain's backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi yesterday. (Photo: AP) London: British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's "firm support" for India's NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading club's crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britain's backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi yesterday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." "The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support India's application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity," the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. India's case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support India's bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. Smoke rising from the city of Manbij which was attacked by the Syria Democratic Forces with support from US. (Photo: AP) Am Adasa, Syria: When US-backed forces seized Souad Hamidi's village in northern Syria from Islamic State last week, the 19-year-old swiftly tore off the niqab she had been forced to wear since 2014 and smiled. "I felt liberated," Hamidi told Reuters after swapping her black face-covering veil for a red head scarf. "They made us wear it against our will so I removed it that way to spite them." For the last two weeks, the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by US-led air strikes, have waged an offensive against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij, near the Syria-Turkey border. The SDF have been cutting off routes into Manbij, encircling the city by seizing outlying villages like Hamidi's, Am Adasa. Hamidi said she woke up one morning to hear that the SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia and Arab fighters, had arrived in her village. "We saw (SDF) fighters behind our house, digging to station their snipers, we thought they were Daesh (Islamic State) fighters, who were still inside the village," she said. "We left, fearing we would be used as human shields during air strikes," she said. The family later returned once SDF fighters had pushed out remaining Islamic State forces. Am Adasa had been under the militants' control since 2014, when Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq. The governments of Syria and Iraq have launched offensives on other fronts against the group. Under Islamic State, life was strictly regulated, Hamidi said, including dress codes. "They would punish people who did not follow their rules, sometimes forcing them to stay in dug-out graves for days," she said. "Since they (SDF) took control, we are living a new life." Sitting in her family home, Hamidi said she still fears Islamic State may return one day. "I want to erase Daesh from my memory," she said. "I hope every area controlled by Daesh is liberated, that people are free of them and can live like we do now." Baghdad: Iraqi forces recaptured the municipal building in Falluja from Islamic State militants, state television said on Friday, nearly four weeks after the offensive to retake the city, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, began. The ultra-hardline militants still control a significant portion of the city, where the conflict has forced the evacuation of most residents and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives. A military statement said the federal police had raised the Iraqi flag above the government building and were continuing to pursue the insurgents, who continued to hold other areas. The police were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and counter-terrorism forces had surrounded Falluja hospital, the statement said. Those forces, along with the army, Shi'ite Muslim militias, Sunni tribal fighters and US-led coalition air strikes, launched a major operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, an historic bastion of the Sunni insurgency against US forces that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and the Shi'ite-led governments that followed. The city is seen as a launchpad for Islamic State bombings in the capital, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security. US allies would prefer to concentrate on Islamic State-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city in the far north. Jerusalem: Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent more than $600,000 of public funds on a six-day trip to New York, including $1,600 on a personal hairdresser, according to a newly released expense report. The trip to the UN General Assembly last fall also included $210 in laundry services, $1,862 in meals and nearly $20,000 to move and store furniture. Attorney Shachar Ben Meir obtained the expense report after suing Netanyahus office and the Foreign Ministry. He said that he requested the information in late October from Netanyahus office and was then referred to the ministry. After he was told to wait for three months, he sued both offices in a Jerusalem court. Its my money and I want to know what is being done with it, he said. The report, which he shared with The Associated Press on Thursday, threatened to reinforce the unflattering reputation Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, have gained for enjoying an expensive lifestyle out of touch with common Israelis. It did not include charges for Sara Netanyahu on the trip. Police already have recommended that she be indicted for inflated household spending and misusing state funds on private meals and care for her ailing father. Last month, a Jerusalem labour court awarded $30,000 in damages to a former employee of Mrs. Netanyahu who claimed he faced yelling and unreasonable demands. In 2013, the premier was chided for spending $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London. He also ran up a $2,700 bill that year for ice cream, mostly vanilla and pistachio. The court documents note that the trip also incurred a charge of $1.5 million for a flight, although it did not specify whether the flight was for the Netanyahus only or for staff as well. Netanyahus spokesman declined comment. The incident comes just days after another woman in Lahore, Zeenat Bibi,was set on fire by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP) Lahore: A Pakistani couple were murdered in Lahore Friday for marrying without their family's consent, according to officials, the second so-called "honour killing" in the South Asian nation this week. Muhammad Ashraf, 56, killed his daughter Saba and her husband Karamat Ali, a day after the couple returned to Lahore's Kahna area to smooth over rocky relations with the family, who disapproved of the marriage, according to police. "18-year-old Saba had married Karamat Ali, who is 35, around a year and a half ago against the will of her family and returned to her home on Thursday night to settle matters with father and other family members," Falak Sher, a local police official, told AFP. Ashraf, a security guard by profession, opened fire on his daughter and son-in-law after becoming infuriated during a heated conversation. "He also killed his neighbour Muhammad Akram for supporting his daughter's marriage," said Sher, adding that Ashraf and his son Safdar later surrendered to police and confessed to the murders. The incident comes just days after another woman in Lahore, Zeenat Bibi,was set on fire by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice. Bibi's mother later confessed to the crime. Earlier on Friday Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered a comprehensive investigation into Bibi's killing, calling the crime un-Islamic. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his deep concern and anguish over the killing of the woman in the eastern city of Lahore and said the incident was against the values and traditions of Islam," read a statement from the premier's office. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", a film telling the story of a rare survivor of an attempted honour killing won an Oscar for best documentary short in February. Amid publicity for the film, Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour killings but no fresh legislation has been tabled since then. Surgeons from nine departments worked with firefighters to remove the bar from the man's body. (Photo: Pixabay) Beijing: A construction worker in China miraculously escaped death after a 1.5-meter steel bar pierced through his body from groin to skull in east China's Shandong Province. The 46-year-old Chinese man, surnamed Zhang, was working at a construction site when he fell from a height of five meters on to the steel bar on June 14. Firefighters were able to cut the bar and took him to the hospital. An X-ray showed that the steel bar had only just missed his skull, trachea, heart, carotid artery and liver, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Zhang has been admitted to Shandong University's Qilu Hospital in Jinan. "This is a very rare accident," Sang Xiguang, head of the emergency surgery department said. Surgeons from nine departments worked with firefighters to remove the bar from the man's body. The emergency operation took more than seven hours. He was wheeled out of the operating room and transferred to intensive care unit. "Luckily the bar barely touched his vital organs," said Zhang Yuan, attending doctor of the neurosurgery department, "The wound was so large, he might not have made it if he was in poor health." "One wrong move, and the operation would have failed," he said. "Everyone was exhausted by the end of the seven hours surgery," Sang said. The man is now stable, doctors said, but he will remain under close observation for two weeks as the risk of infection is high. "We will try our best to help him recover," said Sang. China has been vocal in opposing India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership on the grounds that it has not signed nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and wants consensus for admission of new members. (Photo: PTI) Beijing: With Shanghai Cooperation Organisation set to admit India and Pakistan amid growing rancour over their NSG membership bid, a Chinese state-run daily on Friday expressed concern that the hostility between them may have a "negative effect" on the security grouping. "Observers are concerned about SCO expansion, especially the admission of India and Pakistan," an article in the state-run Global Times said ahead of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on June 23-24. "The two nations, which are hostile over the issues of Kashmir and anti-terrorism, have long been locked into a state of military confrontation, and share conflicting views over the Afghanistan issue and other regional affairs," the article said, for the first time airing concern as the long drawn out process of India-Pakistan SCO admission is nearing completion. The SCO summit is taking place just around the same time as the 48-member NSG plenary which is set to meet in Seoul to discuss the entry of India and Pakistan. China has been vocal in opposing India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership on the grounds that it has not signed nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and wants consensus for admission of new members. The article said that the Indo-Pak differences are not going to die down soon. "The hostility between the two states is unlikely to be dispelled in the short time. Together with their complicated relations with China and Russia, analysts believe their admission may have negative effects on the SCO, bringing more internal conflicts and lowering the level of mutual political trust and the efficiency of multilateral cooperation," it said. But at the same time there is also optimism that the entry of India and Pakistan into the grouping will have sobering effect on the two. "Besides adding 1.5 billion people under the SCO umbrella, the India-Pakistan admission may also help improve strained ties between India and Pakistan by opening another communication channel," Xia Yishan, a research fellow of Central Asian studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said. "Under the SCO framework, heads of states and their security and law enforcement departments will regularly meet. This will to some extent help the two countries engage in conciliatory dialogue," Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the daily. Chinese Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister Li Huilai, during a special media briefing earlier this week on President Xi Jinping's three-nation tour had said the inclusion of India and Pakistan into SCO is a sign that the organisation has matured. Regarded as a Central Asian security group dominated by China, the SCO which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai comprises of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, ongolia and Pakistan have observer status. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in conservative Muslim Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. (Photo: AP) Lahore: Relatives slit the throat of a young mother who was pregnant with her second child after she married against their will in eastern Pakistan, officials said Friday, the latest in a spate of so-called "honour killings". Muqaddas Bibi, 22, married Taufiq Ahmed three years ago in defiance of her family, who considered a marriage for love rather than an arranged marriage shameful, police investigator Mohammad Arshad said. Bibi's ties with her family were severed after the marriage, Arshad said, but her mother and brother allegedly approached her at a clinic where she was having a check-up on Thursday and convinced her to come home, saying they accepted her decision. Local police station chief Gohar Abbas said that when Bibi reached her parents' house, her father, brother and mother cut her throat with a knife and she died on the spot. Bibi had a 10-month old daughter and was seven months pregnant when she was killed, he added. Abbas said that her family fled from their house after the murder in the village of Buttaranwali, some 75 kilometres (46 miles) north of Punjab provincial capital Lahore. Police are hunting for them and have already detained another relative for inciting the killing, he said. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in conservative Muslim Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. Last week sixteen year-old Zeenat Bibi was killed in Lahore by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice in a case that sparked condemnation throughout the country. It was swiftly followed by another killing, of a couple in Lahore who married without their family's consent. On Sunday a young girl was killed by her brother for insisting on marrying the man of her choice in the city of Sialkot, also in Punjab. A film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary short in February. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" amid publicity for the film, "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", but as yet no fresh legislation has been tabled. However, a district official on Friday said that the girl has recorded her statement before the court that she converted out of her own free will. (Representational Image) Islamabad: The conversion to Islam of a 14-year-old girl from Kalasha community, Pakistan's smallest religious minority, has sparked clashes between majority Muslims and a few thousand remaining members of the animist tribe. Nestled in the picturesque Chitral valley, the Kalasha people, who follow an ancient animistic religion and number only around 3,000, had claimed that the teenage girl was lured to convert to Islam. However, a district official on Friday said that the girl has recorded her statement before the court that she converted out of her own free will. Yesterday, clashes were reported between Muslims and the Kalasha people after the girl returned back to her family amid reports that she was lured and coerced to convert to Islam. According to eye witnesses, a mob of few hundred Muslim men attacked a house in the Kalash tribe's valley of Bumburate in the northern district of Chitral after the girl returned and police had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. Chitral Deputy Commissioner Usama Waraich said that the situation was now under control and the issue has been resolved as both local Muslims and Kalasha people have agreed to respect the girl's decision. However, some elders of the Kalasha community still claim that the girl was forcefully converted and demand an impartial probe into the matter. Kalasha people mostly live in Bamburate, Birir and Rambur regions of Chitral, a northern district in the troubled Khyber-Pukhtunkwa province. The closely-knit community with its distinctive language, colourful dresses, songs and dances and elaborate rituals, has long been an anomaly in the Muslim-majority Pakistan and are under increased threat from militants who want to convert them to Islam. Local legends also connect Kalasha people to the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great, who passed this area in 326 BC during Alexander's India campaign. Some of the soldiers settled in the cold climes of the scenic Chitral valley after Alexander abruptly ended his India campaign and decided to return back to Greece, local folk-lore say. Delhi University teachers who have been boycotting evaluation of undergraduate examinations for last 20 days in protest against new UGC norms, on Thursday decided to resume the exercise for final year students. A decision in this regard was taken at a General Body (GB) meeting of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA). The teachers today decided to end the boycott for final year students (FYUP batch). However, we will continue to boycott the evaluation for first and second year students. The same will be applicable for ongoing admission process and staff council meetings, a DUTA statement said. The teachers have been boycotting evaluation of UG examinations since May 24 in protest against amendments to UGC regulations that, they argue, will lead to job-cuts to the tune of 50 per cent and drastically decrease pupil-teacher ratio in higher education. The new notification has increased the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours of direct teaching per week (including tutorials) to 18 hours, plus another six of tutorials, bringing the total up to 24 hours. Similarly the work hours of associate professors have been increased from 14 to 22. Terming it to be an unethical mode of protest, students had urged teachers to end the boycott fearing delay in results. The varsity authorities had also urged the teachers to resume the exercise saying any further delay can jeopardies the career of students and also adversely affect the reputation of the university. The teachers, however, decided to continue with their protest and also boycott the ongoing UG admission process. The GB decided to continue with boycott till June 20 following which the executive will decided the future course of action. The teachers will also take out a candle light vigil on Saturday evening demanding HRD ministry rolls back the decision. Hoping to win at least 11 Assembly seats out of 21 in a possible bypoll, the Delhi Congress leaders have started dreaming big about a debut in the 70-member House hoping that the EC would show the door to 21 MLAs for holding an office of profit while working as parliamentary secretaries. We would easily win half of the 21 seats if byelections are held immediately, said Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, basing his claim of an internal survey of the party which was uprooted from power after a 15-year tenure by the new AAP. A upbeat Maken told Deccan Herald that encouraging findings of an internal survey by his party has charged up the Congress cadre. We know the AAPs graph is on a downswing ever since the MCD bypolls in which won 5 out of the 13 seats last month, said Maken. We will fight the possible by-poll with the aim of winning the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The BJP has failed to play this role in the House, Maken said. The former Union minister and ex-Delhi Assembly speaker said: In the imminent bypoll, the main rival of the Congress would be the BJP and not the AAP as the ruling partys popularity graph is falling drastically. Sources in party said Assembly bypolls in November would suit it the most. The outcome would be out just before the Punjab elections early next year. Most party stalwarts and former legislators have already been sounded about their possible nomination in the by-polls, said a leader. Our possible candidates have even started their ground work to ensure that the party wins maximum seats in the imminent by-poll, said a leader. The Congress ruled the city for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit but ended up with a zero in the 70-member Assembly in the last polls held in February 2015. To highlight the parliamentary secretary issue, Maken and his partymen now plan to launch demonstrations in all the 21 Assembly constituencies on June 26 at the conclusion of a door-to-door campaign, seeking the resignations of the 21 MLAs working as parliamentary secretaries. The 21 MLAs future hangs in balance with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claiming that his government did not violate the office of profit provisions by appointing them as parliamentary secretaries and the rival parties claiming otherwise. Issues related to demands for disqualification of the 21 legislators are simultaneously being heard by President Pranab Mukherjee, the Election Commission, the Delhi Lokayukta and the Delhi High Court. Five robbers strangled a 38-year-old man to death and took away jewellery and mobile phones from his house in South Delhis DLF Chattarpur Farms after sedating other members of his family. The fivesome, however, were caught by alert security guards a few hundred metres from the house and handed over to the police. Police identified the deceased as Rohan Gupta who was working with a Noida-based export company dealing in brass metal polish. He was divorced a few months back and had been living with his parents. His wife and two children live in Gurgaon. Police suspect that another member of the group could be absconding and are questioning the arrested men about his identity and location. Jewellery worth lakhs of rupees and a stolen mobile phone were recovered from them. On Wednesday midnight, Gupta came home from work and after dinner went to the first floor to retire. His parents and two servants were sleeping in the ground floor, sources said. Around 1 am, the dacoits entered the two-storey farmhouse by climbing a nearby wall and sedated the guard at the gate of the farmhouse using chloroform. On reaching the house, they sedated Guptas parents, too, said police. They robbed the elderly duo of cash and jewellery. Then three robbers went to the first floor where they confronted Gupta, the police added. Not expecting anyone to be awake in the first floor, the men first tried to sedate Gupta, but when he resisted their attempt, one of them strangled him till he died, said police. Lights on After killing Gupta and looting the house, the dacoits left in batches. Around 1.45 am, a driver of a neighbouring farmhouse noticed the lights of Guptas house were still on. He also saw two men coming out of Guptas house in a suspicious manner. When the driver asked them about the reason of their presence, the duo didnt give a convincing answer and ran away, said Neeraj, driver of Guptas parents. The suspicious driver went near the gate of Guptas farmhouse and saw the guard lying unconscious on the ground. He got convinced that some people were inside the house robbing it. He informed the matter to his owner who called up police and told them about the incident, said R P Upadhyaya, Joint Commissioner of Police (South East). Minutes later, police arrived and nabbed the five men who were trying to exit the colony through the main gate. In the main gate, the security guards of the DLF farmhouse stopped the five men from going out and handed them over to the police, said Sandeep, Assistant Security Manager, Chattarpur Farms Welfare Society. The five accused have been identified as Ajay, Vipin, Vinod, Shivnath and Vinod Kumar. Police are questioning the two servants sleeping in their servant quarters just outside the house, said sources. Recce of the farmhouse Sources said although the dacoits had done a recce of the farmhouse, on Thursday night after the incident, they assumed they had come out of the colony when they were still inside it. They were caught by us as they themselves walked in near the main gate thinking they had crossed the limits of the colony when actually they were within the main gates, said Sandeep. A case of murder and dacoity has been registered. The 21 parliamentary secretaries of the AAP government have tried to mislead the Election Commission by filing affidavits claiming that they were not given office rooms in the Assembly premises, a petitioner told the EC while seeking criminal prosecution of the 21 MLAs for giving false affidavits. To mislead the EC, these MLAs have attached a copy of a letter sent by the General Administrative Department wherein it has been written that the GAD has not allotted any rooms to these 21 parliamentary secretaries. This statement is bogus as GAD never allots room in Vidhan Sabha...only the Speaker has power to allot such rooms, said BJP leader and RTI activist Vivek Garg. In a rejoinder filed in EC on Wednesday, Garg also sought the 21 parliamentary secretaries prosecution in a city court to face criminal proceedings for filing a false affidavit in the EC whose proceedings are deemed judicial proceedings. The petitioner said cheating and breach of trust FIR should also be filed against the 21 parliamentary secretaries, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Speaker Ram Niwas Goel. Garg has also filed a separate complaint before the Lokayukta seeking a probe against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the 21 legislators alleging that rooms in the Assembly were given to the parliamentary secretary by abusing their official positions and obtaining wrongful gains, causing big financial loss to the ex-chequer. In his rejoinder filed in the EC seeking disqualification of the 21 legislators for holding an office of profit, Garg said: information received under RTI clearly discloses that these 21parliamentary secretaries were allotted new/separate rooms for offices, attached with other facilities like new furniture, cars, staff with various expenses like electricity and stationary. Even their appointment order clearly states that they will be given the facility of car, Garg said. The RTI activist has now urged the EC to disqualify the 21 parliamentary secretaries as there is no remedy available to protect them under the Constitution. Garg also said that the EC should impose ban on them to contest any election in future for the next six years. Alleging that the 21 parliamentary secretaries were deemed disqualified the day they assumed office, the petitioner said the EC may issue directions to recover the whole money paid to them under all the heads or recover the same by seizing their bank accounts/properties, as per law. The EC is likely to give the 21 parliamentary secretary one last chance to clarify their position on the petition seeking their disqualification. The cloud over the future of AAP governments 21 parliamentary secretaries is linked to President Pranab Mukherjees recent refusal to give assent to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 of June 24 2015 that aims to protect with retrospective effect 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries, from disqualification under office of profit provisions. In escalation of political tensions over alleged migration of Hindus from Kairana, BJP MLA Sangeet Som today gave a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to bring them back, in an apparent bid to keep the issue alive ahead of elections in the state. As Som, who is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, and Samajwadi Party(SP) leader Atul Pradhan took out separate rallies, prohibitory orders were enforced across Shamli district and borders of Kairana sealed and paramilitary forces deployed. Both the rallies were stopped by authorities. Som warned if the SP government in Uttar Pradesh does not bring the Hindus who have allegedly migrated back no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana. The warning came even as Shamli district administration is stated to have found that only three families left Kairana due to fear of criminals from the list of 346 families said to have "fled" due to persecution. Hitting back at Som, SP spokesman and senior cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav trashed charges of "exodus" and accused the saffron party of vitiating the communal atmosphere in UP for political gains with 2017 Assembly polls in mind. Yadav proposed that a team of five "apolitical persons" visit Kairana to probe the reality. "We suggest Pramod Krishnam, Swami Kalyan, Naraina Giri, Swami Chinmayanand and Swamy Chakrapani to go and see the reality and give report," he told reporters in Lucknow. Som had started his march to Kairana from his house in Sardhana, about 60 km away, in adjoining Meerut district with thousands of followers but was stopped at the border of the town keeping in mind the situation, Meerut District Collector Pankaj Yadav said. "As a precautionary measure police and PAC have been stationed in heavy numbers. Section 144 is in force. No one will be allowed to break the law in this situation." Shamli District Magistrate Sujit Kumar told PTI that prohibitory orders are enforced across Shamli district, including Kairana town, and any march or yatra with political leaders would not be allowed without permission. All entrances to Kairana have been sealed with the deployment of paramilitary forces with security officials keeping a watch on the situation. Som said he postponed his 'Nirbhay' rally after prohibitory orders were enforced. "We've given a 15-day ultimatum. Either the government gets back the people who've migrated or we'll have to take to the streets," he said. "If in 15 days they do not return we're warning that no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana or to any other place," he said. Pradhan said Som is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and it was to counter his "malicious" efforts that the SP attempted to hold their 'Sadbhavna' rally. "There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders including Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as assembly elections are near," Shivpal Yadav said. BJP said it will await the report of its fact-finding team, which visited Kairana and met locals, before moving further on the issue. On reports that migrations have been happening for many years from Kairana, a senior BJP leader said, "then it is very serious" as no government has addressed the issue by seriously taking it up. Terming the migration problem as that of law and order, BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma claimed the ruling SP is giving a communal twist to it only to divert the public attention from its own "failures of lawlessness" in the state. "The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh is a failure on the law and order front and the truth is now coming out in the open," he said, adding that the so called secular brigade is trying its best to save Akhilesh over the issue. "Those involved in doing politics over deaths are now trying to save the Akhilesh Yadav government on the issue by raising questions on the list provided by us," he said. Sharma claimed it is Akhilesh who is giving communal colour to Kairana incident as he has "failed" to address basic issues of water and electricity and people are questioning him. Brushing aside charges of a U-turn on the issue, the BJP leader said BJP has maintained its stand right from day one that the issue is of deteriorating law and order and is linked to extortions by a particular community. "350 families of Kairana have migrated out and government should hold an inquiry to ascertain the reasons why they have fled. Even if one family flees, it should be probed as to why it has done so," he said. He said the BJP is not making it a Hindu-Muslim affair but a law and order issue, the BJP leader said, alleging that "members of only one community are involved in extortions and Akhilesh Yadav is giving protection to such people." Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers. "A pluralistic democracy, in India today religious tolerance is deteriorating and religious freedom violations are increasing," Robert P George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at the Princeton University and a former chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. "Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, have experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment and violence during the past year, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups," George alleged in his testimony before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organisations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "Members of the ruling BJP tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to inflame tensions further," he alleged. These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies have created a pervasive climate of impunity in which religious minority communities increasingly feel insecure with no recourse when religiously- motivated crimes occur, George told lawmakers yesterday. In his testimony, George said in the last year, "higher caste" individuals and local political leaders also prevented Hindus considered part of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Dalits) from entering religious temples. The national government or state governments also applied several laws to restrict religious conversion, cow slaughter, and foreign funding of NGOs, he said. Moreover, an Indian constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains to be Hindus contradicts international standards of freedom of religion or belief, George argued. India has been on USCIRF's Tier 2 since 2009. Given its negative trajectory, USCIRF will continue to monitor the situation closely during the year ahead to determine if India should be recommended to the State Department for designation as a Country of Particular Concern, George said. In his testimony, George alleged that civil society in particular non governmental organisations receiving funds from overseas are facing difficulties. In April 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the licenses of nearly 9,000 charitable organisations, he noted. "For example, two NGOs, the Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), which run conflict-resolution programmes and fight court cases stemming from the 2002 Gujarat riots, had their registrations revoked," he told lawmakers. Additionally, the US-based Ford Foundation, which partially funds the Sabrang Trust and CJP, was put on a "watch list" when the Ministry of Home Affairs accused it of "abetting communal disharmony", he said. The statement added that the vessel, which joined the search team last week, succeeded in pulling out the memory unit which is the most important part in the recorder although it (the recorder) was damaged. The vessel which was contracted by the government to join the search for the two black boxes found and obtained images from the wreckage of the plane. EgyptAir flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people, including crew, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea about 280 kms from the Egyptian seacoast on May 19 with 56 passengers and 10 cabin crew on board. The passengers included 15 French, 30 Egyptians, a British, a Belgian, two Iraqis, a Kuwaiti, a Saudi, a Sudanese, a Chadian, a Portuguese, an Algerian and a Canadian. A deep-sea robot has also located pieces of the missing EgyptAir plane at the bottom of the Mediterranean. While the wreckage discovered could offer clues about why the plane went down, Airbus said the flight recorders held the key to unlocking the mystery. Some wreckage had been pulled out of the sea by search teams last month, along with belongings of passengers. The "pings" emitted by the black boxes were detected on June 1 but the flight recorders' exact location has not yet been established. In a breakthrough, searchers today located and retrieved the second black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane a day after recovery of the cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft which plunged into the Mediterranean last month killing all 66 on board.The flight data recorder was recovered by the vessel 'John Lethbridge', according to a statement by the Egyptian committee that probed the crash of the Airbus A320 plane.Yesterday, the cockpit voice recorder for EgyptAir Flight 804 was found in a damaged condition, an Egyptian investigative committee said after the the wreckage of the ill-fated plane was recovered on Wednesday."The device was damaged and the retrieval process was conducted in several stages," the Egyptian committee that investigated the crash said in a statement. India and Thailand today decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The announcement was made here after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his visiting Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements - Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand - were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. The Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the Central Drug Control Organiser of India agreed to cooperate in the area of pharmaceuticals. Modi welcomed the suggestion of the Thai Prime Minister to help train Thai youth in information technology in India. Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain, including anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication, coast guard cooperation to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indian Ocean, the statement said. In this connection, both sides agreed to work towards the completion of the negotiation for the signing of the White Shipping Agreement between the two countries. Thailand expressed interest in the Indian defence industry and its experience and expertise in the field of defence R&D and production. Both sides acknowledged the increasing threat from non-traditional security arenas and agreed to enhance substantive cooperation for action in this regard. The countries pledged to cooperate in tackling terrorism. The two leaders welcomed the progress made in the agreements on cooperation in controlling Narcotics, Drugs Psychotropic Substances, their precursors and Chemicals and Drug Abuse, it said. They agreed that close cooperation and more agreements between India and ASEAN and Mekong Sub-region are significant for the fight against illicit drugs and precursor chemicals trafficking in this region. The two Prime Ministers noted the ongoing negotiation of the MoU for cooperation between Thailand Computer Emergency Expert Team (Thai CERT) and Electronics Transaction Development Agency (ETDA) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) of India. Both sides welcomed the initiative for joint combined counter-terrorism exercise between the Counter Terrorist Operations Center (CTOC) and the National Securities Guard (NSG); and the training of Thai officers by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in cybercrime investigation and computer forensics, the statement added. "Udta Punjab", a drug-themed Bollywood film that was embroiled in a censorship row and multiple legal battles, was released across the country today as scheduled without any incident being reported barring protests by Shiv Sena activists in Ludhiana. Police took 30 activists of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) into preventive custody in Ludhiana after they tried to create ruckus when the movie screening was going on in a multiplex there even as tight security arrangements were put in place at various places across Punjab. They were later released. The Police said that security at cinema halls and multiplexes, especially in prominent shopping malls at various cities including Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, was beefed up. In Ludhiana, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) leader Rajiv Tandon demanded that the film should be banned because it was defaming Punjab. The activists of the outfit tried to forcibly enter Goverdan Mall where the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film was being screened. Police, however,prevented their entry. No other untoward incident has been reported. The film starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh that delves into how a large number of youth in Punjab have succumbed to drugs had also triggered a political slugfest. The film was cleared by the courts with some directions like cutting one scene after its producers and the Censor Board were locked in a bitter row. The movie was said to have been released to favourable reviews and also received a thumbs up from the Hindi film industry with stars like Katrina Kaif, Pooja Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt praising the movie's gritty content and outstanding acting. "I thought it was a really outstanding film. Both Shahid and Alia have done an unbelievable job. Alia's performance is absolutely brilliant in the film. I think it is a beautiful movie," Katrina said. British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UK's "firm support" for India's NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading club's crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britain's backing for India's membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi yesterday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." "The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support India's application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity," the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. India's case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support India's bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed India's membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India's admission. China maintains opposition to India's entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one country's vote against India will scuttle its bid. India has done well to respond swiftly to allay apprehensions over the return of polio in the country. The government has ordered anti-polio vaccine to be administered immediately to around 3,00,000 children aged six weeks to three years in the high-risk districts of Hyderabad and Rangareddy. A massive vaccination campaign is to be held here in the coming week. A strain of the Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (VDPV) was found in a sewage in Hyderabad. Fortunately, no child has been found to be affected by the virus. Understandably, it triggered a wave of concern among parents and set alarm bells ringing in the public health establishment. Has polio, which had been eradicated from the country only recently, returned? Polio was endemic in India. Then in the late 1990s, an international campaign to eradicate polio was set in motion. Determined efforts of governments, funding agencies and millions of health workers contributed to the success of the campaign. While a few countries continue to report new polio cases, Indias last new case of wild polio virus infection was reported in 2011. In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared India a polio-free country. A country which once saw 50,000 new cases of polio annually had finally eradicated this crippling disease. Eradication of polio is in fact one of Indias greatest public health achievements. Is that success in peril now? The government has said it is not, an assertion which the WHO has affirmed. The WHO has announced that detection of the VDPV is a low-level threat. Still, it must be taken seriously. Indias decision to initiate a special immunisation drive as a preventive measure is correct. The detection of VDPV in Hyderabad is likely to revive the debate over the efficacy of using injectable polio vaccine (IPV) over oral polio vaccine (OPV). The WHO had advocated a global switch in strategy from OPV to IPV. While India too adopted this in December last year, it continues to use OPV. Some health experts have blamed the re-emergence of the polio virus on Indias continued use of OPV. But proponents of OPV say that oral vaccine is more suited for countries like India due to its efficacy, lower cost, ease of administering, etc. IPV may be more expensive in the short run but in the long term, the costs of polio returning to India may be greater. India will be under pressure from global pharma companies but the decision must be made after consulting polio and public health experts who have experience of our battle against polio. India has launched a diplomatic offensive with Africa with a long-term objective of increasing its global profile. As a part of latest outreach to Africa, President Pranab Mukherjee visited three African nations over six days in June 2016 Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia, focussing on trade, education and boosting relations with these countries. This was the maiden visit of any Indian President to Ghana and Ivory Coast whereas to Namibia, such a visit comes after two decades. In his long political career, this was for the first time that President Mukherjee visited these three countries, though he has had toured a number of other countries in the continent. This was a part of the Outreach to Africa, which was kicked off with the visit to Morocco and Tunisia by Vice President Hamid Ansari in early June 2016. In the tightly packed schedule, the President attended eight events. While in Ghana, the President discussed on the issue of visa waiver and two Line of Credits. He also discussed the issue of nuclear cooperation with Ghana and UN reforms. In October 2015, India hosted the mega Indo-Africa summit that saw the participation of over 40 heads of state. Within nine months of this event, the Modi government activated his governments outreach to Africa first by dispatching the Vice President Hamid Ansari to Morocco and Tunisia and now the President to three countries in the continent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is too likely to visit some African nations in July. These high-level visits to the African nations are being undertaken with a view to elevate Indias partnership with the continent. While Ansari chose the Northern part of the continent, Modis trip is likely to be to the Eastern and Southern Africa where he is expected to connect with the Indian diaspora here. Centuries ago, many Indians had emigrated from Gujarat and leveraging this group could be an important tool of diplomacy. After Ansari and Mukherjees visits, Modi is likely to visit Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. These high-level visits are in conformity with Indias growing global profile. The key reason behind Indias outreach to Africa is that the 54 countries in the continent can be crucial in extending their support to Indias UNSC ambitions. Some of the African nations could also help India in the fight against terror and piracy in the Indian Ocean. The continent accounts for 50 % of the total Line of Credit extended by India and therefore investment in the infrastructure sector could be an attractive option. During the India-Africa summit in October 2015, Modi announced a fresh Like of Credit of $10 billion for the continent. Credit commitment The Export-Import Bank of India had earlier extended 140 LoCs covering 41 African countries, amounting to credit commitment of $7.23 billion. Some of the major sectors covered under the LoC are power, sugar, agriculture, road, transport and engineering. Defence and security partnerships are other areas for cooperation. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is also likely to make her maiden trips to some of the nations in the continent. While in Ghana, President Mukherjee held talks with his counterpart John Mahama on issue relating to bilateral, regional and multilateral concerns. The President observed that the current world order demands international organisations that are consistent with the new challenges confronting the global community. He also made a strong pitch for reforms in the UN Security Council, observing that the non-inclusion of India and Africa in the council is a serious anomaly. He also called for collective efforts of the international community to curb terrorism, which is a global menace now and therefore sought Ghanas cooperation. Even when India is making efforts to increase its footprints in the continent, New Delhi witnessed an unfortunate incident when a Congolese youth was killed by some miscreants, the-reby threatening to derail the Africa Day celebration that the ICCR had planned on May 26. After African envoys to India threatened to boycott Africa Day organised by the ICCR, the External Affairs Ministry swiftly launched a damage control initiative, saying that there was no racial slur in such freak incidents. As it finally transpired, the envoys were mollified and the Africa Day event was salvaged but the safety issue continue to trouble the African nationals in Indian metros. India is likely to face stiff competition from China. With deep pocket, China is investing heavily in Africas infrastructure, mining, oil and natural gas sector with exploitative intent. Indias approach is different towards training, education and capacity building. Over the past 15 years, India-Africa trade has gone up 20 times and reached $70 billion. Indian investment in Africa is over $30 billion. A Pan-African e-Network for education and health is functi-onal in 48 countries. Since 2008, India has extended 40,000 scholarships to African count-ries. Therefore, Indias approach is non-prescriptive and non-exploitative. President Mukherjees visit and a forthcoming visit by Modi to the continent would define a pathway wherein both India and Africa shall find in a win-win situation and for mutual gains. (The writer is former Senior Fellow at the IDSA, New Delhi) Two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in north Kashmirs Sopore town on Friday. The militants, including a commander of the outfit, were killed in a joint operation by the armys counter-insurgency Kilo Force and Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in Bomai village of Sopore. Defence spokesman Colonel N N Joshi said after specific information about the presence of militants in the village security forces cordoned off the area in the wee hours and launched a search operation. The hiding militants fired upon search party which was retaliated triggering a gunfight in which two militants were killed, he said, adding that some ammunition was recovered from the encounter site. Reports said while the encounter was on, youth took to streets and pelted stones on police and para-military forces who were deployed in strength in the area. The police used tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters who lobbed stones on them. When report last came in, the bodies of slain militants were lying in the local police station. The sources identified the slain militant as Altaf Ahmad Mir and Imtiyaz Ahmad Lone, both locals belonging to Hizbul. On Thursday, four militants were killed during a major gun battle in Tangdhar sector along the Line of Control in Kupwara district after Army foiled an infiltration bid. An Army soldier was also killed in the encounter. In a similar incident on Tuesday a militant and a soldier were killed in neighbouring Machil sector in a gunfight when the Army intercepted a group of militants at Katwara forest area in the sector. Four soldiers were also injured in the Machil gunfight. The overall improvement of the security scene under way for many years has been stalled since last few months, as infiltration attempts, weapon snatching and other militant activities are on rise. In the last two years, the complexion of militancy in Kashmir has changed with more and more local youth joining militancy. For the first time in more than 25 years of conflict, Jammu and Kashmir Police issued an advisory in February this year asking people to stay away from scenes of gunfights. The army also issued a warning in March to crowds hurling stones at security forces during anti-militancy operations in Kashmir. Controversial BJP legislator Sangeet Som's 'Nirbhay Yatra' from Sardhana, his Assembly constituency, to Kairana, to protest the ''mass exodus'' of hindu families, was foiled by the administration on Friday. The MLA later gave a 15-day ultimatum to the government to ensure that those who had migrated returned home else he would undertake the march again. ''We have stopped the march after we were told that Section 144 had been imposed...we abide by the law but we warn the government that we will undertake the march if the officials did not ensure return of those who had migrated from Kairana,'' Som said on Friday. ''Lakhs of people will reach Kairana if the situation does not improve...no power will be able to prevent the march then,'' Som, who was an accused in 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots, warned. According to the sources, the march was cancelled after the police warned of stern action. State BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had also asked Som to cancel the march, sources said. The proposed 'Sadbhavana Yatra' (harmony march) by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Atul Pradhan to Kairana was also cancelled after the districit authority denied him permission. In a bid to counter the BJP, the SP has decided to send a delegation of Hindu saints to Kairana to probe the claims of ''mass exodus'' by hindu families. The delegation would include Acharya Pramod Krishnan, who was considered to be close to the Congress, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Chakrapani and Narayan Giri. Earlier, hundreds of BJP workers had assembled at Som's house on Friday morning to take part in the march. Many of the local workers carried lathis and sticks, sources said. BJP MP Hukum Singh had alleged that as many as 346 hindu families had migrated from Kairana town as they felt threatened from the Muslims. He, however, later clarified that the families had left owing to the poor law and order situation in the region and that there was no communal angle to the migration. UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, however, accused the BJP of trying to ''cover up'' the ''failure'' of the Centre by levelling baseless charges and fomenting communal passion in the state. India on Friday has offered the indigenous GAGAN satellite-based navigational services to Thailand besides a double-entry e-visa to Thai tourists for visiting Buddhist pilgrimage spots in India and Nepal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a double entry visa facility that would soon be put in place for tourists arriving in India with an e-visa so that they can visit Buddhist sites in both countries, says the joint statement issued after the summit meeting between Modi and his Thai counterpart Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. Besides strengthening the cultural heritage between the two nations, India and Thailand ramped up bilateral cooperation in technology, military and security issues. India offered Thailand indigenously developed GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN services, which provides advanced navigation and location assistance and information facilities in the Aviation, Maritime and other domains. In this regard, India also expressed readiness to provide requisite technical expertise, says the joint statement. Developed at a cost of Rs 774 crore, Gagan provides augmentation service for GPS over India, Bay of Bengal, South East Asia and Middle East expanding up to Africa. It increases air safety and fuel efficiency, thus resulting in reduced cost for airlines. The new system corrects distortion in GPS signals to the lowest precision point and provide very accurate information on the location of an aircraft. At present, Air Traffic Controllers leave more than 50 meters as a margin of error while assessing the aircraft movement from GPS signals. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, GAGAN, reduces the margin of error to 3.5 metres, providing a superior navigation service. Underlining the proximity of India and Thailand as maritime neighbours, Modi said the two nations agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain including anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication including coast guard cooperation to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indian Ocean, says the joint statement in a veiled reference to the South China Sea dispute. The two countries agreed to enhance their cooperation in economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced comprehensive economic and partnership agreement is a shared priority. Security has been beefed up on the Ramakrishna Mission premises in Dhaka after one of its top priests received death threat from a suspected Islamist militant outfit. Top officials in the Prime Minister's Office on Friday took stock of the situation in a meeting with Swami Suhitananda, general secretary of the Belur Ramakrishna Mission in West Bengal. The PMO has also received a report from the Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh. On Wednesday, Swami Sevananda of Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission received a letter written in Bengali in which the militants threatened him to hack to death between June 20-30, if he does not leave Bangladesh and stop preaching Hindu religion. The letter is from an organisation named Islamic State of Bangladesh and signed by one A B Siddiq on June 12, 2016. The High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka, Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said here on Friday. Ramakrishna Mission officials lodged a police complaint in Dhaka and also approached the Indian Prime Minister's Office as well as the chief minister of West Bengal. India has now taken up the issue with the Bangladesh government. Swarup said police presence at the mission complex has been strengthened. The First Secretary (Consular) in the High Commission visited the RK Mission on Friday to review the security. RK Mission has 14 centres in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You can't preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, you'll be hacked to death with machetes between June 20-30, says the letter, a copy of which has been published in a Bengali newspaper. Suspected militants killed a number of secular activists, bloggers, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown. Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs plans to reshuffle his Cabinet apparently ran into rough weather on Friday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi suggested Siddaramaiah go in for another round of talks with senior party leaders from Karnataka. The leaders, including Congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes, are learnt to have conveyed their reservation over Siddaramaiahs list of new names, saying he had not held wide consultations within the party as desired by the high command. They also disapproved of the chief minister holding a meeting of his Council of Ministers in Bengaluru on Wednesday, where he announced that the reshuffle would took place. Siddaramaiah, who met Sonia Gandhi on Friday, was told to meet her again on Saturday after talking to other leaders. The chief minister, who sounded confident of getting the high commands approval for reshuffle on Saturday itself, cancelled his engagements for Sunday. He asked the state Chief Secretarys Office to be ready for a swearing-in ceremony on Sunday morning. However, Congress sources said Siddaramaiah could not make much headway in finalising the list of ministers to be dropped and a similar number of new faces to be inducted into the Cabinet on Friday, despite two days of discussions with several leaders. The objection came from other state leaders who held that the list prepared by the chief minister lacked regional and caste balance. When the chief minister, along with Karnataka Congress unit chief G Parameshwara and AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh, met Sonia to get the list approved, she reportedly asked them to hold further consultation with other senior leaders before finalising the names. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was also present. It was a preliminary discussion. The discussion remained inconclusive. Madam has called us on Saturday at 10 am to further discuss the issue, Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting. Asked about the number of ministers to be dropped from the Cabinet and whether the appointment of a new KPCC president was discussed in the meeting, he merely said, All issues were discussed. It will be discussed again tomorrow in detail. Student wings of political parties and associations formed on the lines of caste, community or religion could cease to function in universities and colleges if the Centre accepts the recommendations of a committee. This means that groups with political affiliations like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), All India Students Association (AISA), National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Students Federation of India (SFI), as well as groups formed on the lines of caste, community or religion like Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle and Hindu Vidyarthi Sena would cease to function in universities and colleges. A five-member panel on New Education Policy, headed by former Cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian, has noted that frequent agitations and protests on campus disrupts academic activities and causes collateral damage to serious students. Educational institutions should not be allowed to become political arenas to settle national rivalries. Student groups that are explicitly based on caste, religion or any political party should be abjured through statutes governing the universities and institutions, it stated, in a veiled reference to the recent student protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Hyderabad and other campuses. The panel submitted the 217-page report to the Ministry of Human Resource Development on May 27. The ministry is yet to make the report public, maintaining that it was awaiting response from the states. The panel has made a strong pitch for bringing a balance between free speech and freedom of association on campuses to safeguard the interest of the vast majority of serious students pursuing their academic goals. Most students enrol in courses of their choice and spend a precious part of their young life in pursuit of education. However, one frequently hears of agitations and disturbances of one sort or the other in various campuses from time to time, it said. The panel stated: It is not infrequent that examinations need to be postponed or in some cases the student even loses a year or more due to unsettled conditions, the panel noted. The committee also recommended bringing in measures to restrict students from staying for a longer period than what is required to complete their course. Students who stay for long periods start owning the universities and have an undue influence on the course of non-academic activities in the campuses...The main interest of such students is not to pursue learning but to use the hostel and fellowship facilities to follow a political agenda, the panel stated. The committee also called for a public debate on its recommendations, while suggesting that the policy must be secular in character with adequate intervention of value education at all levels. Large and Medium Industries Minister R V Deshpande has pinned the blame on British motorcycle maker Triumph Motorcycles India for having pulled out of Karnataka. Following media reports that the company was forced to move its project out of Karnataka owing to delays by the government, Deshpande insisted that the government was not at fault. Speaking to reporters here, he said the company had junked the project without even informing the government. This, despite the government spending Rs 1.5 crore towards development of Narasapura, where the company was supposed to set up its motorcycle manufacturing unit. The minister said the government had cancelled the agreement on December 8, 2014, as the company failed to pay an advance amount of Rs 20 crore towards land acquisition. The company had only made an initial payment of Rs 5.8 crore. As per the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Corporation (KIADB) rules, full payment should be made within a month. The company representatives remained incommunicado, despite the government trying to make efforts to retain it. They were given two years time, but they failed to pay the advance amount, he said. Deshpande also dismissed speculation that four more big-ticket companies would be pulling out of Karnataka. A group of theatre enthusiasts in the city have produced a short film by raising money through crowdfunding to sensitise family members of rape victims on the need to support the victims and ensure a better future. The 10-minute short film titled Laapata, highlighting alienation of rape survivors, has been inspired by the deplorable lives of thousands of women after the rape. I was always moved by crimes against women. Life of a victim after the rape worried me the most. I interacted with many victims, Devanand Mahakud, director of the short film told Deccan Herald. I was shocked when most victims said that they were rejected by their own families, while many had not even disclosed the act but kept suffering silently. Tales of the victims irrespective of their educational and economic status were mostly similar, Mahakud said. Mahakud and his friends advertised their concept through social media platforms requesting donations, with a minimum of Rs 100. We knew at least those who donated money would watch it and change their mindset. An amount of Rs 40,000 was collected, Rakhi Bose, a theatre personality, said. Famous American musician Sean OBryan noticed their request and volunteered to score the films music for free, she added. A team of 13 artistes three women and 10 men shot the movie at a virtual police station at Banaswadi and a clinic at Kalyan Nagar in two days. Our efforts to help rape survivors will not end here. We will create a forum to support victims and sensitise their family members. The situation is really alarming as one rape is committed every 22 hours and about 35,000 rape cases were registered in 2015 excluding an equal number of cases that went unreported, Muhakud added. Delhi has always been unsafe for women, but Bengaluru is turning out to be equally unsafe for women these days. Our efforts will not stop rapes, but will at least change the mindset of family members, Bose said. The police have arrested two of the four men who reportedly cheated a businessman from Kerala by promising him pure gold bars in exchange for gold chains. Raj Sunil and Nandakumar, both 26, were in the four-member gang that cheated the businessman (police didnt disclose his identity) in Koramangala, southcentral Bengaluru, last month. The gang had approached the trader in the guise of business representatives of well-known jewellery showrooms. They said they were looking to sell gold chains to jewellery showrooms in Bengaluru but they had only gold bars. The merchant agreed to the exchange. He gave them a gold chain and got gold bars weighing 250 grams. The suspects said they required a total of 10 kg of gold chains and called him to Bengaluru with gold chains. In May 2016, the businessman visited an office address in Koramangala 7th Block rented by the gang. He gave them 160 grams of gold chains. The men handed him a packet wrapped in paper and said it contained gold bars. Then they left the office, saying they were going to a nearby shop to get the purity of gold chain measured. They asked him to wait. Once they left, the businessman opened the packet and was shocked to find copper bars inside. He waited for them but they did not return. He tried calling them up but there was no response. He realised that he had been taken for a ride and went straight to the Koramangala police station and lodged a complaint. Police swung into action and tracked the mobile phones of the suspects and apprehended two of them. Police said they had recovered Rs 70 lakh worth of gold chains from the duo. Man murdered A 26-year-old man was stabbed to death over a petty issue in Byadarahalli on Friday night. The deceased Yatish, was a resident of Kamakshipalya, said the police. Yatish had gone to Byadarhalli for some work. He went to a bakery at Basappanakatte area, where he picked a fight with Raghuvaran. He took out a knife and attacked Raghuvaran. The knife fell down on the floor. Raghuvaran lifted the knife and repeatedly stabbed Yatish, who bled to death on the spot, said the police. A criminal case has been booked against B Shivanna, commandant, Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF), Bengaluru. The officer has been found to have produced a false caste certificate while apllying for the job that he belongs to the Nayaka community coming under the Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Nazarbad police here registered a case against Shivanna based on a complaint that was filed by Mohammed Irshad, Inspector, Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE), Mysuru on June 10. According to the FIR, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald, Shivanna, a SP rank officer, has been booked under the IPC Sections 177 (furnishing false information), 198 and 199 (using false information for own benefit) and 420 (cheating). He has also been booked under the Section 3 (1) (q) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance 2014. Following the complaint, three police teams led by DySP Yeshwant Savarkar, Inspectors Mohammed Irshad and Ramesh searched for the officer at different locations in Mysuru, but in vain. While one of the teams searched his ancestral house at Kendana Koppal at T Narsipur in Mysuru district, another visited his house at Police Layout in Sardar Vallababhai Patel Nagar on Mysuru-T Narsipur Road here. A team kept a watch near the court complex in the city, as there are possibilities of the officer filing for anticipatory bail in the court. The complaint has been filed following directions from the Additional Director General of Police (DCRE), Bengaluru to SP, DCRE, Mysuru to file a criminal case against Shivanna. This follows an earlier order by tahsildars office cancelling the caste certificate issued to Shivanna as Nayaka. He actually belongs to Parivara caste that is listed under other backward classes (OBC). According to sources, Shivanna is suspected to be at large, fearing arrest. He had previously served as Deputy Commissioner of Police (CAR), Mysuru and SP, (DAR) in Belagavi and others districts. Case history S H Subhash, former president, Mysuru district Congress Committee (ST Cell) had lodged a complaint against Shivanna at the office of ADGP, CREC, Bengaluru. Subhash had stated that Shivanna has caused injustice to genuine ST candidates by availing himself the benefit of reservation. Way back in December 1979, he had obtained a false caste certificate as Nayaka coming under the STs by providing false information. Initially, he was recruited as junior assistant (a job meant for ST candidates) at Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Bengaluru, through Karnataka Public Service Commission. Later he joined the police department as reserve sub-inspector. Encouraged by the good response to the first mango picking festival last Sunday, the Mango Development Board will now hold another fest in Kolar districts Srinivaspur taluk bordering Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. Chairperson of Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation, Kamalakshi Rajanna told Deccan Herald that last week, mango picking was organised in Chikkaballapur, while it will be held at the farms of D V Raja Reddy in Somayadalahalli and of Bellum Srinivas Reddy in Nelavanki hobli, both in Srinivasapur taluk. Their farms are spread across 30 and 20 acres respectively. She added that last week, the corporation received 520 online registrations. Though only a few people could be taken in the three 80-seater KSRTC buses, many families had come in their own vehicles. The common complaint and request of people was that they be allowed to bring their families, especially children, to the mango picking tour. So this time, we have decided to allow two members of a family with their children to attend the fest, she said. In just one day, from the farms of farmers Venkateshappa, Ramachandrappa and Janardhan Naidu in Chikkabalapur taluk, three tonnes of mangoes were sold. The pick up this time is from Lalbagh gate, Double Road entrance at 9.30 am on Sunday. Pick up and lunch are free of cost. Tourists can consume as many mangoes they wish, but will have to buy 6 kgs of mangoes. Registrations are open from 10.30 am to 2 pm at ksmdmc@gmail.com. One can also call 080-22236836 for further details. The High Court has stayed a demand notice issued by the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) to United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) and Kingfisher Airlines, ordering them to pay up Rs 192.5 crore owed to Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India and Corporation Bank. Hearing a petition by the UBHL on Friday, Justice S Abdul Nazeer stayed for three months the DRT order and the demand notice. He also ordered that notices be issued to the United Bank of India, Kingfisher Airlines and the recovery officer of the DRT. The banks had filed an original application before the tribunal for recovery of dues. The tribunal allowed the application on March 28, 2016, and issued the demand notice on June 2016, ordering the two companies to pay up Rs 192.5 crore within 15 days from the date of receiving the notice. The UBHL challenged the tribunals order before the High Court. It contended that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to pass an order to issue a recovery certificate and demand notice to the UBHL and that it wholly misconstrued the law and arrived at a wholly erroneous conclusion. The company also argued that the tribunal failed to examine whether the banks had really made out a case for a decree. As per Order 8 Rule 5(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the tribunal must examine the original application and the facts set out in it before issuing a decree. The tribunal passed the order with most disregard to the settled position of law, the United Breweries Holdings Limited contended before the High Court. Paper leak The High Court directed the state government to file its objections with regard to the petition filed by Obalaraju, one of the accused in the II PUC Chemistry paper leak. The petitioner has approached the court as his bail application was rejected by the lower court though the High Court had granted stay of eight weeks on the investigation of the accused under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act, 2000 (KCOC Act). According to the provisions of the Act, bail cannot be granted to those accused under KCOC Act for a period of one year. Justice K N Phaneendra directed the state government to file its objections and adjourned the next hearing on June 22. Police powers The High Court also asked the state government what action it had taken on restoring police station status to Lokayukta police. Lokayukta advocate Dhyan Chinnappa said that without the power of a police station, the Lokayukta is finding it difficult to file chargesheets in pending cases. The government counsel sought time to get instructions and file objections. The bench had earlier passed an order stating that the stay on transfer of pending cases before the Lokayukta to the newly formed Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will not prevent police officers attached to the Karnataka Lokayukta from continuing investigations into pending cases. A division bench comprising Chief Justice SK Mukherjee and Justice Ravi Malimath was hearing a PIL filed by Chidananda Urs BG seeking stay and quashing of the government notification dated March 14, 2016, forming the Anti-Corruption Bureau. WASHINGTON, DC, 1 June 2016 (AGU) Part of Antarctica has been losing ice to the ocean for far longer than had been expected, satellite pictures reveal. A study of images along 2000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of West Antarcticas coastline has shown the loss of about 1000 square kilometers (about 390 square miles) of ice an area equivalent to the city of Berlin over the past 40 years. Researchers were surprised to find that the region has been losing ice for such a length of time. Their findings will help improve estimates of global sea level rise caused by ice melt, they said. A research team from the University of Edinburgh analyzed hundreds of satellite photographs of the ice margin captured by NASA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The study has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. They found that ice has been retreating consistently along almost the entire coastline of Antarcticas Bellingshausen Sea since satellite records began. We knew that ice had been retreating from this region recently but now, thanks to a wealth of freely available satellite data, we know this has been occurring pervasively along the coastline for almost half a century, said Frazer Christie, a PhD student in the University of Edinburghs School of GeoSciences, who co-led the study. The team also monitored ice thickness and thinning rates using data taken from satellites and the air. This showed that some of the largest changes, where ice has rapidly thinned and retreated several miles since 1975, correspond to where the ice front is deepest. Scientists suggest the loss of ice is probably caused by warmer ocean waters reaching Antarcticas coast, rather than rising air temperatures. They say further satellite monitoring is needed to enable scientists to track progress of the ice sheet. This study provides important context for our understanding of what is causing ice to retreat around the continent, said Robert Bingham, reader in Glaciology and Geophysics and a chancellors fellow at the University of Edinburghs School of GeoSciences and a co-author of the study. We now know change to West Antarctica has been longstanding, and the challenge ahead is to determine what has been causing these ice losses for so long. Their study was carried out in collaboration with Temple University in Philadelphia. It was supported by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Natural Environment Research Council and the ESA. Are Sushant Singh Rajput And Kriti Sanon Really Dating Each Other? Sidharth Malhotra Is Having Fun Time Shooting With Jacqueline Fernandez Ericsson has confirmed that it has been questioned by US authorities as part of an investigation into alleged corruption related to the Swedish vendors business in China. Originally published in Svenska Dagbladet, the firms statement read: While we strive to at all times conduct our business in compliance with applicable laws, matters do arise from time to time as a result of the global nature of our business. Ericsson clarified that a voluntary request was made by US authorities in March 2013 to field certain questions regarding its anti-corruption programme and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company did not provide further details of the request beyond saying that it would cooperate with the authorities. The vendor added that it had disclosed the request to the media when it was first made, noting that as a listed company, regulation requires it to make public any information that could affect the firm or its finances. The corruption investigation is being conducted by the SEC as well as the US Department of Justice, and is not limited to Ericssons operations in China; back in May 2013, the SEC began looking into the means by which the vendor won contracts including one in Romania throughout the 1990s. That said, the inquiry will also focus on more recent allegations. It is unclear whether this includes the revelation that a former Ericsson executive based in Asia violated company policy by holding an interest in one of the vendors suppliers. The last message a Cuban killed in the Orlando massacre sent to his partner: 'I swear that I love you' Alejandro Barrios Martinez's mother received a visa to travel to the US, thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen. Relatives and friends of Alejandro Barrios Martinez, one of the Cubans killed in the massacre at the gay club Pulse, in Orlando, have posted the young man's last messages on the social networks, sent to the person he loved. "I don't have time to tell you. I'm in a shooting and I can't get out. Frightened, with blood," wrote Barrios Martinez, 21, to his partner, Aday Suarez Molina, according to an image published by the latter on Facebook. "I love you, be sure of that," he added. Barrios Martinez sent the messages to Suarez Molina between 2:49 and 2:52 am on Sunday morning, as Omar Mateen, a supporter of the Islamic State terrorist group, was firing on those at the club. "My love, Im afraid of dying. The police havent shown up, and I'm locked in the bathroom," wrote the youth. "With people who are wounded, and dead. I'm fine but I dont know if I'll get out alive. I'm writing to tell you that I love you," he added. "I swear that I love you," was his last message. Molina Suarez published photos and a video of Barrios Martinez. "You left me, damn it. God, it hurts! You will always be in my soul, my life and my heart," he wrote. Alejandro Barrios Martinez, a native of Candelaria, Pinar del Rio, had been living in the US since 2014. Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen reported on Twitter that his mother, Orquidea Martinez, had received a non-immigrant visa on Wednesday to travel to the US to attend her son's funeral. On Tuesday Ros-Lehtinen had sent a letter to the charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Havana, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, to intercede on behalf of Martinez. The Cuban-American Congresswoman told DeLaurentis that Martinez had not seen her son since he had left the island. "It's an extremely difficult time for the family, and the physical separation makes it harder to endure this terrible tragedy," Ros-Lehtinen said. 49 people died at the massacre at the Pulse club. The list includes another Cuban, Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24, born in Havana and a Tampa resident. Mariela Castro Espin, director of the State's National Sex Education Center, whose functions include defending the rights of the LGBT community on the island, published a message on Facebook expressing "solidarity" with the American people. "Once again, the people of the United States, and particularly the LGBT community, are victims of hate crimes involving firearms (...) I am devastated by this terrible event, amidst media confusion which, far from helping loved ones to process the grief, and American society to seek solutions, encourages hatred, stigma and discrimination," wrote Castro Espin. "There is more and more news of violent acts threatening the exercise of human rights in the United States, placing the issue of arms sales at the center of debate," the sexologist said. "I have not lost hope that the American people will use this pain to ultimately forge a society free of violence," she said. Neither Castro Espin nor her father, Raul Castro, who sent condolences to US President Barack Obama, have mentioned the Cuban victims of the tragedy. "Does he know (Raul Castro) that there are also people from his country devastated by the attack?" asked the journalist Alvaro Alvarez, a cousin of Alejandro Barrios Martinez, on his Facebook page. "He is going to extend his condolences to a Cuban family that they divided, when some today must mourn their victims in two different countries, unable to embrace and console each other? Now that they have an embassy in the United States, will the family members be contacted to offer help?" Alvarez asked. In statements to the Washington BladeAlvarez said that his cousin was not very interested in political issues, but was "aware of the struggle by the (LGBT) community " and "asserted his individual rights." Netflixs picture-in-picture mode will let users shrink videos down to a smaller windows and use another app at the same time Multitaskers can now rejoice as Netflix has added support for picture-in-picture mode for Apple iPads. Users will now be able shrink the video down to a smaller windows and use another app at the same time. This should be great news for those who want to chat with their friends or get some work done, but also wish to binge watch their favourite shows at the same time. The update bumps the app up to version 8.7.0 and is compatible with devices running at least iOS 9.3.2. Earlier this month, Netflix also announced its first original series from India, which will be based on Sacred Games written by Vikram Chandra. The company said that the Hindi-English series will be shot on location and will be made available to Netflix subscribers globally. Netflix hasnt given a release date for the series yet. The addition of the series should help it better compete in the country where it faces competition from the likes of Hotstar, Eros Now, Spuul, and more. Last week, the company its Binge Scale that revealed which shows its viewers devoured and which ones they savoured. They revealed that viewers in India were most likely to devour series such as Narcos and Marvels Jessica Jones, and that Indians devour series are a much faster pace. As per Netflix's report, Indians take three days to complete a series as compared to the global average of four. Twitter makes it easier to stream on Periscope making it possible to directly Live-Stream from the Twitter app Twitter has finally launched the much-awaited Periscope button for all users on iOS and Android. All that users need to do is to click the Live button when selecting media within tweeting. This feature was available to a select few, when it was being tested a few months ago. Periscope is an app that lets users live stream their own daily activities, or watch a stream from others. They can also search for various other streams from around the world. Earlier, it was only possible to stream via the Periscope app, only. This comes as a direct response to Facebook's push for live video streaming. Ready to go live? Now everyone can tap a new button on iOS & Android to easily broadcast on #Periscope from Twitter! pic.twitter.com/tedpUN1QMA Twitter (@twitter) June 15, 2016 Last year, the Bangalore police announced that they would be monitoring people for distress messages on Periscope, and monitor the video feed to help them respond quicker. Twitter also updated its app recently, bringing major UI changes and implementing material design. Twitter also had a bit of a scare earlier this month, when 32 million account credentials got leaked on the dark web. A recent report, published by Korea Times, points at Samsung possibly looking to migrate its entire gadget arsenal to run on Tizen OS, the companys proprietary operating system. Although there has been no confirmation, Samsung has had such ambitions with Tizen for a while now, amid being the largest OEM in Googles Android stable. In India, Samsungs Tizen-powered Z lineup of smartphones have fared well, particularly in the first-time and budget smartphone user segment. It is this, among other factors, that has urged Samsung to consider Tizen as the ecosystem of choice in the near future. The signs of promise have shown, and Samsung has even had the numbers to show for it. Its Tizen-powered mobile devices have seen reasonable success, and with the Gear S2 smartwatch running on Tizen OS, Samsung had a successful commercial ground test with Tizen OS and an integrated ecosystem, before introducing Tizen as a bigger, broader and well-integrated operating system for its lineup of smart devices, in near future. The OS is yet to present the level of app support and wide integration as Android, but if one company has what it takes to take a leaf out of Apples book and nurture it well, it is Samsung. The route, though, may not be that simple. Apple was one of the very first companies to integrate its operating system, iOS, with device hardware deeply and draw maximum efficiency of performance and power consumption. This also gave it the opportunity to streamline all of its operating systems - iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS - allowing them to synchronise with each other when needed, hence providing an array of seamless functionalities across all of Apples software platforms. This gave Apple the power to offer the same, essential features across all of its devices, irrespective of form factor limitations. Samsung, here, has more potential in the form of a wider variety of gadgets to incorporate Tizen into. The process, though, is difficult. For one, Samsung is one of the most important companies for Google in terms of Android OS, and the level of versatility and developer support Android offers was crucial in Samsung overtaking Apple in the United States of America, in smartphone numbers. Moving away from Android would require Samsung to present a tighter suite of applications and actually urge its users to switch to Tizen-specific apps, instead of the regular favourites that Android offers. This itself will happen only after Samsung wins the confidence of developers to build apps for them, and simultaneously convince its users that migrating to Tizen OS will actually be an upgrade over Android, and not a compromise from Android OS. The possibilities are lucrative for Samsung, and converting Tizen to an ecosystem is the next step towards maintaining supremacy for Samsung. The major hindrance, though, comes from the market that Samsung itself created for itself. The company has been a trusted maker of Android devices from varying price brackets, and much of its user base has stemmed from the overflowing acceptance of Android as an easy, friendly user interface. Tizen, till now, does not have the flexibility or the number of apps to practically rival Android. Also, when iOS was born, the iPhone was a one-of-a-kind device that introduced smart mobile devices to the world, and Android was not even in use then. The present world is saturated with mobile devices, and such innovation is way more difficult now than what it was, back then. Should Samsung go for its own ecosystem instead of growing bigger on Android? As positives, having its own ecosystem for devices will give Samsung unlimited control to introduce features, push updates and do a lot more than it presently can. It will also allow Samsung to present smoother integration of services across its smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, televisions and more. These, in short, are everything that a company would want to succeed. On the flipside, moving away from Android will mean Samsung has to come up with something very appealing, and the present generation Tizen OS practically gives no reason for an Android user to shift to it, unless he/she is a massive Samsung fan. It may also take ages to get the extensive developer support that Android and iOS command. The task is daunting, even for a company as great in stature as Samsung. That, though, is every reason why Samsung should consider pushing for it. Innovation is crucial for pushing the boundaries of technology, and while Tizen has not been a game-changer till date, it will be interesting to wait and see if it does. PS: The Apple v. Samsung fight for electronic supremacy would evolve to Level 2.0, if this indeed happens. 41-year-old Labour MP was fatally attacked yesterday in Bristall, Yorkshire Police investigating the death of Labour MP Jo Cox on Thursday have confirmed that she had been harassed in the months leading up to her fatal shooting. The 41-year-old MP for Batley and Spen died yesterday after she was stabbed and shot outside a library in Birstall. Three months ago Cox made a complaint to local police after receiving "malicious communications". The MP was attacked yesterday by a man locally named as Tommy Mair A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "Officers received an allegation of malicious communications from Jo Cox MP, and in March 2016 arrested a man in connection with the investigation. The man subsequently accepted a police caution. "The man who accepted the police caution is not the man in custody in West Yorkshire." The MP was attacked yesterday by a man locally named as Tommy Mair, a 52-year-old reported but not confirmed as being involved with local right-wing group the Springboks. Mair was arrested near the scene shortly after the attack, in which one witness said they thought he shouted "Britain First", but the far-right Britain First group have denied involvement in the incident. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday political uncertainty, a rise in populism and the refugee crisis has reduced cooperation in the eurozone and its ability to restore economic growth. In the IMFs annual review report of the eurozone, it said the 19-member currency block should work to counter political tensions and eurosceptism which is characterised by the Britains EU referendum on 23 June. The Washington-based fund is also troubled by protectionist rhetoric in the presidential campaign in the US and surge in populist parties in Europe. Although Britain is not part of the eurozone, eurosceptic parties are on the rise. The IMF said: Without more decisive actions to boost growth and strengthen integration, the euro-area may be subject to instability and repeated crises of confidence. The IMF advocated further centralisation to mitigate against risks such as setting up a common deposit insurance or a bigger investment fund in Europe, but is resisted by governments and in particular by Germany, Europes largest economy. Divisions had weakened prospects for collective action leaving the currency area increasingly vulnerable to risks while there is little policy space. The absence of co-operation in Europe was exemplified by the refugee and migrant crisis and the lack of consensus in dealing with it. The lack of a collective response to the refugee surge has vividly exposed political fault lines. If border controls persist, or refugee inflows pick up again, these divisions could deepen, jeopardising free movement within the single market. Despite the eurozone economy growing 0.6% in the final quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of this year, the IMF said the medium-term outlook is still weak and eurozone governments should not be complacent with their economic recovery. Crisis legacies, such as high non-performing loans in some banking systems, elevated levels of public and private debt, and still high unemployment, hold back potential growth and perpetuate imbalances. Productivity remains below pre-crisis levels and faces greater pressures from adverse demographics. In the future the eurozone will need its own treasury, the IMF said, adding that the 315bn from the European Fund for Strategic Investment should be spent on resettling refugees, energy infrastructure and climate change. Dutch finance minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said he recognised the concerns by the IMF but that there were limitations. In the current political climate there wont be historic steps forward, but there will be steps forward. Gerry Rice, an IMF spokesperson, added on Thursday the fund was making contingency plans for a potential Brexit vote, but maintained the decision is clearly the prerogative of the British people. We fully respect that. The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has questioned its participation in Greeces 86bn bailout on Friday. The IMF and the Europe are at odds on Greeces future. Europe is more optimistic about the countrys GDP growth, debt ratios and fiscal surplus. The IMF, on the other hand, has called for lower fiscal targets, big debt restructuring before they will consider committing any money. Speaking at an event in Austria with the country's finance minister Dr Hans Jorg Schelling, Christine Lagarde said Greeces debt was unsustainable as it is close to 180% of GDP. Largarde said: "We believe for us to be engaged under a programme, a debt operation would have to be assessed on the basis of a new debt sustainability analysis that would be handled on the basis of reforms conducted, the general framework, and growth assumptions that will all be adequately measured later on." The IMF agreed in principle to a chain of undetermined long-term debt relief for Greece at the end of the bailout in 2018 at a meeting in May, but there was no formal agreement. As reported by the Financial Times, Lagarde said: You measure, you determine what is the likely growth, the cost of financing, and see if [the deal] can walk with two legs. She added: We do not have a programme with Greece. The IMF is engaged and was very well represented at the May meeting during which lots of discussions took place. In Luxembourg on Thursday, eurozone finance ministers approved a payment of 7.5bn of aid to Greece, which is part of the 86bn bailout agreed last year. The worlds biggest candy company is so concerned about sugar, its asking the worlds biggest hamburger chain to consider going a bit easier on the desserts. Virginia-based Mars is said to be in discussions with McDonalds about the possibility of ending the use of M&Ms as a topping on the takeaway chains soft serve. It comes as part of Mars efforts to reduce the sugar people consume from their products, which it kicked off last year as it told consumers to keep their sugar consumption to 10% or less of their daily energy intake. Earlier this year, it revealed it would begin including a warning on its Dolmio-branded pasta sauces, among other products, that they are not suitable for everyday consumption. This commitment applies to all Mars-branded products, said Mars spokesman Jonathan Mudd. We are now working alongside our suppliers and customers to bring this commitment to life. Nestle has also joined Mars in their unlikely battle against sugar in recent months. Both companies broke rank with the powerful Grocery Manufacturers Association in the US to support the inclusion of added sugars on the countrys federally-mandated nutrition information panel. PPHE Hotel Group is selling its wholly-owned Croatian operating companies to Arenaturist for HRK108.55m, or about 14.4m, in cash as completion. PPHE owns 65.6% of Zagreb-quoted Arenaturist. Completion was expected by 30 June. At 12:06 BST, PPHE's shares were down 2.46% to 792.5p. Croatia is an increasingly popular holiday destination, in part thanks to the scenic sweeps seen in the television series Game of Thrones. "The disposal forms part of the plans to develop Arenaturist into a leading Central and Eastern European leisure and hospitality company," said PPHE in a statement. Its business model included owning and managing its own assets and those of others, primarily under the Park Plaza brand. US media titan Viacom says its third-quarter earnings will fall below market forecasts, blaming this on the under-performance of the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It now expected diluted earnings per share of about $1.00-$1.05 for the quarter. On average, analysts had forecasted a profit of $1.38 a share, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data showed. Viacom -- whose chief executive Philippe Dauman and key shareholder Sumner Redstone are battling for control of the company -- also cited a delay in completing a significant subscription video on demand (SVOD) agreement. "The domestic performance of the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles release was disappointing, but the company has a strong slate in the months ahead and looks forward to improvement at Paramount," Viacom said in a statement. It added that expected completion of the SVOD agreement during the quarter, but the "recent and highly public governance controversy negatively impacted the timing and its ability to achieve an optimal outcome with partners." The company anticipated domestic ad sales declines for the third quarter to be about 4%. It had also substantially completed a very successful annual advertising upfront sales process. Brexit could threaten the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) which occur across Europe, according to a survey by Intralinks Holdings on Friday. On 23 June if Britain votes to leave the European Union, 65% of M&A professionals expect the value of European assets to fall. The erosion of European assets could have drastic implications for the British economy and the economies of the continent for years, such as Germany, which is Europes largest economy, which relies on cross-border deals from China, according to the technology content provider. In the survey 75% of M&A professionals believed Brexit will have a negative economic effect and 67% believed it will negatively affect mergers and acquisitions in Europe. Philip Whitchelo, vice president for product marketing and strategy at Intralinks, said: Theres clearly a consensus among dealmakers that Brexit will lead to chaos for European mergers and acquisitions. A Leave vote from the UK could severely impact all of Europes assets, with foreign buyers bidding less for them if the UK pulls out of Europe. This could have drastic consequences on the European economy - and of course the UK economy - for a number of years. However, the survey, which 1,421 people participated in the first week of June, revealed 80% of global dealmakers think that Britain will remain in the EU. M&A professionals in the UK also agreed with 80% think the country will remain. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Taiwan Star Telecom is set to boost the number of its 5G service subscribers to account for 20% of its overall users or more than 550,000 subscribers by the end of 2021, up from nearly... RSV: Nationwide Children's Hospital helping find new treatments Experimental RSV vaccines and possible treatments are being tested in preclinical studies at Nationwide Children's Hospital and other hospitals. Subscriber content preview PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) Pendleton Grain Growers has agreed to sell its assets to United Grain Corporation. The East Oregonian reports that officials announced Tuesday that United Grain Corporation, of Vancouver, Washington, has agreed to buy all of Pendleton Grain's assets including facilities, contracts and inventory. . . . Subscriber content preview ODOT is concerned about the safety of lag bolts that fasten the rails to the tracks. By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND The fiery derailment of an oil train in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge has state transportation officials asking for a halt to the massive trains because of concerns their heavier weight could be putting extra strain on a certain type of bolt that fastens the rails to the tracks. The Oregon Department of Transportation discussed its concerns about the safety of the so-called lag bolts in a presentation Thursday to the Oregon Transportation Commission and made public a letter it mailed to the Federal Railroad Administration on June 8 asking for the moratorium. . . . Subscriber content preview By PAUL TRAYNOR and JOE McDONALD The Associated Press AP Photo/Ng Han Guan [enlarge] Walt Disney Co. opened its first theme park in mainland China on Thursday. SHANGHAI Walt Disney Co. opened Shanghai Disneyland, its first theme park in mainland China, with a lavish celebration Thursday featuring Communist Party leaders, a children's choir, Sleeping Beauty and other Disney characters. . . . India and Thailand have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation, a partnership to meet bilateral interests and to respond to their shared regional goals. After a meeting with Thailand's Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the two countries decided to ramp up cooperation in the fields of economy, counter terrorism, cyber security and human trafficking besides forging closer ties in defence and maritime security. The leaders said early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement is a shared priority. Modi said both the countries have prioritised completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral highway and early signing of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between India, Thailand and Myanmar. Following the delegation-level talks, in which also Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present, two agreements - Executive Programme of Cultural Exchange (Extension of CEP) for 2016-2019 and an MoU between Nagaland University and Chiang Mai University, Thailand - were signed. In a bid to attract tourists from Thailand, especially to the Buddhist sites in the country, Modi announced that India will soon facilitate double entry e-tourist visas for Thai citizens. Talking about the issue of terror, the Prime Minister said both countries were aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology pose a common challenge. In our shared objective to combat these challenges, India is particularly grateful to Thailand for its assistance and cooperation, he said. "Beyond terrorism, we have agreed to further deepen our security engagement in the fields of cyber security, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking," Modi said while addressing the media. Noting that India and Thailand were also maritime neighbours, he said both the countries have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. "A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals," he said. On trade and commerce, Modi said a more "diversified commercial engagement" between both countries would not only benefit the respective economies but also enable greater regional economic prosperity. He welcomed the first meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Business Forum to be held later today. He said that besides trade, there are also ample avenues for greater manufacturing and investment linkages. "We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. "Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, auto components and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority," he said. The Thai Prime Minister said when it comes to comprehensive economic and partnership agreement, both countries should focus on what can be done first. Modi said both the leaders are fully aware that smooth flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between the economies needs a strong network of air, land and sea links. "Connectivity is also an area of priority for India's development. Improving access to Southeast Asia from our north-eastern states benefits both our peoples," he said. Stronger connectivity is essential not just for expanding bilateral trade ties, it also brings people closer and facilitates enhanced science, education, culture and tourism cooperation, he said. Modi also announced that the Indian Constitution will soon be translated into Thai language. A joint statement released later said that in addition to the wide range of cooperation, Thailand and India have compatible strategies of Look West and Act East respectively, that has been now evolved into a comprehensive partnership. The two Prime Ministers held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, with a common goal to work closely towards the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and beyond, it said. Both the countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework, including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme, the release said. Modi welcomed Thai investments in India in the potential areas under the 'Make in India' initiative, especially in the manufacturing sector, infrastructure development, tourism and hospitality facilities. He said Thai companies will invest in the development of the Buddhist Circuit and construction of five high-end hotels. "The Prime Minister of Thailand invited Indian investments to Thailand under the cluster development policy, which is a newly initiated program aimed at enhancing investment in focused areas," a joint statement said. The policy will help expand the investment network between the two countries in various mutually beneficial sectors, including information technology, pharmaceutical, automotive parts, chemical products, machinery and parts, bio-technology, and R&D, it said. The Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the Central Drug Control Organiser of India agreed to cooperate in the area of pharmaceuticals. Modi welcomed the suggestion of the Thai Prime Minister to help train Thai youth in information technology in India. Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain, including anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication, coast guard cooperation to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indian Ocean, the statement said. In this connection, both sides agreed to work towards the completion of the negotiation for the signing of the White Shipping Agreement between the two countries. Thailand expressed interest in the Indian defence industry and its experience and expertise in the field of defence R&D and production. Both sides acknowledged the increasing threat from non-traditional security arenas and agreed to enhance substantive cooperation for action in this regard. The countries pledged to cooperate in tackling terrorism. The two leaders welcomed the progress made in the agreements on cooperation in controlling Narcotics, Drugs Psychotropic Substances, their precursors and Chemicals and Drug Abuse, it said. They agreed that close cooperation and more agreements between India and ASEAN and Mekong Sub-region are significant for the fight against illicit drugs and precursor chemicals trafficking in this region. The two Prime Ministers noted the ongoing negotiation of the MoU for cooperation between Thailand Computer Emergency Expert Team (Thai CERT) and Electronics Transaction Development Agency (ETDA) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) of India. Both sides welcomed the initiative for joint combined counter-terrorism exercise between the Counter Terrorist Operations Center (CTOC) and the National Securities Guard (NSG); and the training of Thai officers by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in cybercrime investigation and computer forensics, the statement added. A 16-year-old mother and her three-month old daughter lost their lives in an accident caused by a bald tyre which had been worn out by the practice of doughnutting, an inquest into their deaths has heard. A 16-year-old mother and her three-month old daughter lost their lives in an accident caused by a bald tyre which had been worn out by the practice of doughnutting, an inquest into their deaths has heard. Kerry-Anne Meehan, of Flat 3, Doochary but who was originally from Derry, and her daughter Neisha, died after the car they were travelling in went out of control and crashed into a jeep and trailer at Tullygay, Letterkenny on June 16th, 2008 on the R250. Kerry-Anne Meehan died at the scene of the accident while Neisha was pronounced dead shortly after she arrived at Letterkenny General Hospital. Christopher Hanlon (21), from Leitirmacaward was sentenced to two years in prison substituted for 240 hours community service last November after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of his girlfriend and three-month-old daughter. Garda PSV inspector Sgt John McDaid told Letterkenny Coroners Court that the tyres on the 2006 registered Toyota Corolla hatchback bore all the hallmarks of doughnuts having been done. He said it was sheer abuse on behalf of the driver that caused the wear. Both rear tyres were badly worn but the right one was the worst. Sgt. McDaid said the tyres would have produced a hopping effect that would have been obvious to the driver that it was badly worn, he said. You could not miss it, he said. It was inevitable this was going to happen unless it was changed. It was just a matter of time. Baby Neisha was found under the passenger seat of the car up to eight minutes after emergency workers arrived on the scene. Her car seat was cracked in several places as a result of the affect of the rear of the car crumpling in the collision. The centre strap of the seat which held her in place along with the shoulder strap had come out. Sgt McDaid said the condition of the seat was a result of the impact and not because of a malfunction. May unemployment numbers ticked up for most Wiregrass counties in May. Houston Countys unemployment rate rose from 5.3 percent in April to 5.7 percent in May, with 200 more people considered unemployed in May than the previous month, while the civilian labor force remained relatively steady. According to numbers released Friday by the Alabama Department of Labor, 2,581 people were considered unemployed in Houston County in May, compared to 2,381 in April. Meanwhile, 42,433 were considered employed in the same time period, compared to 42,533 the month before. Unemployment rates rose in practically all Alabama counties, even though the state rate remained at 6.1 percent. State numbers are seasonally adjusted while county numbers are not. Geneva Countys rate increased from 5.5 percent to 5.9 percent, while Henry County (5.9 to 6.5), Dale County (5.5 to 5.8), Coffee County (5.6 to 5.8), Pike County (5.6 to 6.2) and Barbour County (8.0 to 8.3) also saw increases in May when compared to April. Though this months percentage remains the same, more people are working today than a month ago and more people are looking for work, Gov. Robert Bentley said in a written release. This is a sign that the economy is on the right track, as we continue to work diligently to bring more jobs to Alabama. The number of people who are counted as employed increased over the month and the year, with 39,164 more working this year than last in Alabama. Were less than 25,000 jobs away from reaching the two million mark, which has been among the highest number of jobs our economy has ever supported over the last 20 years. Im optimistic that we will reach this milestone this year, Fitzgerald Washington, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Labor, said in a written release. According to the release, the most job gains occurred in the professional and business services sector (+7,300), the education and health services sector (+5,200), and the trade, transportation, and utilities sector (+4,600). dpa ElectionsData With dpa ElectionsData you get access to a unique collection of data. Via a programming interface (Rest-API), your developers can access detailed information, candidate profiles and live results for all national elections in the European Union and important international elections, like the US Midterm elections etc. The data pool also includes all heads of state and government as well as about 20,000 elected members of parliament throughout the EU. In addition to their data (name, party, constituency or list position), we collect social media profiles and official websites of individuals and parties. Aston Martin has revealed the price of its all-new DB11. A fresh example of the British brand's new GT coupe is currently touring Australian dealerships ahead of customer cars arriving in the final months of 2016. But the new car comes at a price premium over the model it replaces. Aston Martin has confirmed the DB11 will be priced from $428,032 (plus on-road costs), $59,532 more than the current DB9 GT. Although replacing the DB9 in Aston Martin's range ,the DB11 is all-new and features a new chassis, new 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine and fresh styling. Aston Martin refers to the car as the first product of it's 'Second Century' plan that will see the company benefit from a technical partnership with Mercedes-AMG for engines and electronics. Aston Martin has been pleased with the response so far with several orders already taken for the first allocation of Australian DB11 examples. "We are thrilled to unveil DB11 in the Australian market," said Patrik Nilsson, president of Aston Martin Asia Pacific. "We are already experiencing demand in this region for DB11, reaffirming the strong affinity for Aston Martin in Australia." The engine in the DB11 is a new design from Aston Martin and set to be built in a new engine plant in Germany. The 5.2-litre twin-tubocharged 12-cylinder produces 447kW of power and 700Nm of torque and is paired with a new eight-speed automatic transmission. Top speed is a claimed 322km/h and the 0-100km/h sprint can reportedly be dispatched in just 3.9seconds. Final specifications for the new model will be revealed closer to the car's official Australian launch. Click here for all the latest Aston Martin news and reviews. Volkswagen has confirmed the model line-up and specifications for its second-generation Tiguan SUV ahead of its official arrival in Australia later this year. The German brand has yet to reveal prices for the all-new soft roader but claims the larger, lighter Tiguan sets new benchmarks for safety, functionality and dynamics in the hotly-contested compact SUV segment. The car will initially be offered across three model grades with a choice of three petrol or two diesel four cylinder engines, and with the exception of the base-model 110TSI Trendline, which is offered with a manual transmission and front-wheel drive, the rest of the range will feature to a dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive as standard equipment. All models will also come with a comprehensive suite of electronic driver aids and safety equipment, including emergency city braking, forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, a pop-up bonnet to reduce injuries for pedestrians in the event of an accident, a reverse camera and semi-automated parking assistance. The entry-level Trendline is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo charged four-cylinder petrol engine with 110kW and 250Nm, rides on 17-inch alloy wheels and features an 8.0-inch colour touch screen infotainment system with smartphone mirroring connectivity as well as rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, dual-zone climate and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The mid-leve Comfortline can be had with the same engine hooked up to a six-speed automatic as standard, or a 110kW/340Nm 2.0-litre turbo diesel or a 132kW/320Nm 2.0-litre turbo petrol. Above the standard equipment in the base model, the Comfortline adopts sat nav, three-zone air conditioning, colour multi function instrument display, additional cabin storage solutions and chrome exterior highlights. The range-topping Highline is offered with a choice of higher-powered variants of the 2.0-litre turbo diesel and petrol engines, producing 140kW/400Nm and 162kW/350Nm respectively, and brings a swag of additional equipment such as 18-inch alloys, keyless entry, automatic tailgate opening, a higher grade sat nav system, leather appointed trim with heated front seats, ambient interior lighting and steering wheel paddle shifters. Volkswagen Australia is also offering three tailored option packs. A Luxury pack offers Comfortline customers the chance to upgrade to a similar level of equipment as the Highline specification, adding leather, heated seats, keyless access, power tailgate and a panoramic sunroof. In addition to that, and also offered on the Highline model, a Driver Assistance package brings adaptive cruise control, rear traffic alert, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and power folding door mirrors. The Highline model can also be jazzed up with an R-Line package with 20-inch alloy wheels, a body kit, adaptive suspension and progressive steering. Volkswagen Australia says it will confirm definitive pricing the Tiguan closer to its official on-sale arrival in September. The model range will be expanded over time too, with a seven-seat variant to be added next year as well as plug-in hybrid and full electric models and a sportier coupe-style version based on the Tiguan GTE Active concept. Read all the latest Volkswagen news and reviews here EU: should we stay or should we go? A VSD repairer's view If the UK votes to leave the EU in the upcoming referendum, it could have far-reaching effects for SMEs operating in the VSD (variable-speed drive) repair and refurbishment industry. Jordan Griffin, technical director at Northern Drives & Controls, gives his personal view on the challenges that NDC and others could face. Like most SMEs in the UK automation service or repair industries, NDC are no strangers to the legislative and regulatory requirements of trading within and, indeed, outside the EU. Weve built up our international business by establishing a network of global distributors. Unsurprisingly, we found it much easier to grow our business in Europe than in other parts of the world, due mainly to the many similarities in technical, financial and legal standards that the UK shares with EU member states. This legislation is often criticised as being bureaucratic red tape that imposes additional costs which smaller businesses, in particular, feel. Leave campaigners are looking to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU, which could help to remove some of that red tape, a move which would be welcomed by many SMEs. However, all companies that enjoy the free trade area must comply with the same standards and costs so, in actual fact, there is a level playing field. EU legislation has greatly helped in harmonising standards across the EU and has allowed companies such as NDC to sell their products and services to EU countries knowing that they will meet all current regulations. In fact, we have experienced considerably more red tape when exporting to countries outside of the EU. STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIPS Uncertainty will be the most likely immediate effect if Britain votes to leave the EU. And that uncertainty is sure to have an impact on UK growth and investment which will, in turn, affect UK industry. While we may have the opportunity to trade more freely with other economic areas which should be an advantage to UK exporters its hard to imagine that this would compensate the UK for any significant loss of EU trade in the short-to-medium term. Like other UK engineering businesses, NDC is affected by the skills shortage. The company finds it easier to recruit skilled personnel from within the EU, than outside. Today, NDC's exports outside of the EU account for less than 10% of our business. In the future, like many other UK exporters, we would hope to increase trade outside of the EU, but this continues to depend on reaching free trade agreements with other large trading blocs. Less-developed economies offer the prospect of potentially huge growth for export, and improved relationships with these countries could be hugely beneficial to the UK. Outside of the EU, we would be amongst a handful of Western economies that could gain full access to these markets. Longer term, its hard to say what the effects of a UK exit could be on the VSD repair industry. Throughout the development of the automation industry, Britain has been a member of the European Union and the country is full of European-manufactured automation products. UK exporters have also worked hard to develop strong relationships within the EU. If we were to shift focus from the EU and replace these relationships with perhaps the Chinese or Brazilians, it will obviously take a lot of time and resources to get us back to the position were in today within Europe. It has taken years but Ardee Castle is still on course to be opened to the public. The 1.2 million in capital funding allocated by the chief executive of Louth County Council is still on the table and a new design team will to appointed to see the project through. This work will be based on original plans put forward by Brian Walsh, the curator of the County Museum Dundalk. The plan is expected to include a spiral staircase which would be attached to the back of the castle and give public access to the entire building. The plan has the support of the County Fire Officer and the Conservation Officer. A similar structure has been attached to Malahide Castle and has been a great success. The money for the project is in the county councils capital programme and it is expected that the department will give the green light. He said the castle will make a fantastic venue for major events. It will mean that the castle will be there for everyone. Independent councillor Jim Tenanty still wants Louth County Council to seek financial help from Failte Ireland to get Ardee Castle on the tourist map and is planning meetings with the council officials to pursue this. Last year Failte Ireland set up its new promotion Irelands Ancient East. There was some controversy when Louth seemed to be left off the map, but Failte Ireland was quick to reassure people that Louth is very much a part of the promotion which is based on the hugely successful Wild Atlantic Way. They said the idea of the brand is to ensure that this part of the country is presented in a cohesive and unified manner. They want to create an emotional pull and inspire visitors to travel to this part of the country. A capital grants scheme has been launched by Failte Ireland for this tourism brand, Cllr Tenanty said. Last year, 2 million was allocated through the New Ideas in Ancient Spaces scheme. Phase two of the scheme will be announced next month. Ardee Castle could benefit from this scheme and that is something I want to pursue. At the budget meeting of Ardee Municipal District last December, we were told 100,000 had been earmarked for work on the castle this year and the rest of the work would be carried out over the the next few years and the total amount spent would be 1.2 million. If Failte Ireland can tap into this through a grant scheme then I think we should avail of it. If it can be linked into this new tourism brand then it would not just be an isolated ancient town house castle which the council itself would be left to promote. It could be part of the Failte Ireland brand, Cllr Tenanty said. DEMONSTRATING its commitment to giving back to the communities in which it operates, a local opticians recently visited the Dundalk Community Mens Shed offering members free hearing tests and expert advice. To celebrate the fifth year of Sound Check, Specsavers recently launched two mobile hearing vans which will travel the length and breadth of the country highlighting the importance of hearing health. Specsavers audiologist Jeff Walbran says: We were delighted to meet with the members of the Dundalk Community Mens Shed and were really impressed with the standard of their work. People with untreated hearing loss can often experience isolation and depression so it was great to visit a place that encourages social interaction and has a strong sense of friendly camaraderie. Jeff spoke to the members, many of whom are retired tradesmen about noise-induced and age-related hearing loss and answered any questions that they had. He also encouraged the men to take a proactive approach to their hearing and avail themselves of the free hearing test services available at Specsavers Dundalk. Speaking about hearing loss Jeff explains: As we get older, our hearing becomes less acute but exposure to high decibel levels can also be detrimental. Unfortunately, hearing loss is often overlooked by people when it comes to their healthcare routine. At Specsavers, we encourage everyone over the age of 55 to get a hearing check every two years. Sound Check Ireland is designed to ensure that anyone who is concerned about their hearing has access to free and professional advice and to make it even easier to take the first step to better hearing health. How do you take $10,000 and turn it into $10 million turnover? Best ask Emily McWaters, the tenacious law school dropout who got her hands dirty, shrugged off the naysayers and with a helping hand from her sisters became one of Australias most successful e-commerce professionals. In 2003, Emily, then 20-years-old, quit law school, fuelled by the entrepreneurial dream. Straying from such a safe, well-remunerated career path was a certainly a gamble but Emily, originally from regional South Australia, was able to beat the odds. Today, she is the CEO of SOL Group, Australias leading online gifting company with four gifting websites, a multimillion-dollar turnover and big clients including Qantas, AMP, Westpac and American Express. The companys turnover grew 100% between 2014 and 2015, and is this year forecast to reach $10-12 million a 30% increase on 2015. A lot of little details that added up Emilys meteoric rise began in late 2005 when, having scraped together $10,000 in savings, she invested in Oscars, then a rundown cafe in Sydneys Rose Bay. Within the first year, she had turned the business around and won Wentworth Couriers Cafe of the Year, Sydney Eastern Suburbs. Hard work was the key ingredient, Emily told Dynamic Business. My sister Libby and I reviewed the presentation and brightened the cafe up, undertaking a lot of the cleaning and renovations ourselves to save money. We also did simple things like printing colour menus, introducing specials and making sure we knew regulars first name. In the end, all these little details added up. After selling Oscars for a six-figure profit in 2007, Emily whos passionate about gourmet food used the proceeds to found wholesaler Kingston Foods with silent partner David Morgan. Sourcing quality food items from within Australia and abroad (thanks to a favourable exchange rate), Emily and her sister Libby grew the business from a very small niche wholesaler to one that had distribution through Coles, Woolworths, David Jones and Myer. With its focus on gluten-free food, Emily said Kingston Foods grew very rapidly, week on week. A passion for improvement In 2010, Emily leveraged the skills she acquired in wholesale, including experience importing quality foods from the likes of France and Italy, to found The Hamper Emporium. To keep the ecommerce business at the forefront of luxury packaging, presentation and product quality, Emily began travelling abroad to research the latest trends, innovations and technologies. As The Hamper Emporium continued to grow and thrive, becoming a leading corporate and personal hamper provider in Australia, Emily realised she enjoyed the online business model more than the wholesale model. Consequently, she sold Kingston Foods in 2014. Some businesses can outgrow their owners and that is what happened with Kingston Foods, Emily explained. During my time with the company, I developed considerably as a business person. I proved I could grow another business significantly and exit to the right buyers. Running Kingston Foods and the Hamper Emporium simultaneously also allowed me to hone numerous skills, including my time and people management skills. We had two workforces, so I had to ensure my people skills were spot on. Time management was also crucial not only were we operating 24/7 with the ecommerce businesses, we were importing container loads of food with use-by dates. We had to ensure everything ran like clockwork because the alternative was paying lots of money to fix mistakes. Within two months of exiting Kingston Foods, Emily had founded SOL Group. Alongside The Hamper Emporium, the companys portfolio of gifting websites now includes Gifts Australia, Everything But Flowers and Mens Gift Store and Emily plans to launch a baby and christening gifts website shortly. Last year, SOL Group dispatched more than 100,000 orders from Emilys 1100 sqm warehouse in Sydneys Regents Park. At Christmas, SOL Group sold a gift every 22 seconds across its websites. As online competition has increased, so have our customers expectations, Emily said. Weve been able to keep pace with these expectations by making significant improvements to the website experience, product range, shipping options, dispatch and delivery timeframes, and on the off occasion that delivery doesnt go smoothly problem resolution. I am passionate about constantly improving in everything we do; processes, presentation, products, delivery and customer service standards. The multi-talented SOL sisters SOL Group grew so rapidly in its first year that Emily, seeking to dedicate more of her time to the business strategic direction, quickly brought her two sisters into the fold. Amy is the companys Chief operating Officer while Libby is head of marketing with responsibility for purchasing for the websites. My two sisters and I bring vastly different skill sets to the table, she said. Consequently, were able to offset each others weaknesses and were constantly learning from one another. Libby designs, does basic coding, merchandises the sites, liaises with the suppliers, oversees all copywriting, heads up the launch of new sites and pretty much trouble shoots everything CMS-related. She is self-taught and loves learning how to do everything herself. Meanwhile, Amy is very staff, service and process oriented. Coming from a luxury hotel background, she has exceptionally high standards in terms of customer experience. She keeps the whole team on track and motivated, and is currently overhauling the shipping options across all four websites. Unlike Libby, Amy couldnt design to save her life. And unlike Amy, Libby couldnt deal with a customer complaint to save her life. What they have in common is a high level of motivation for the success and achievements of the business. Dont ask for mum and dad Perhaps the biggest challenge Emily has faced in her career is not being taken seriously by narrow-minded people. In the early days of Kingston Foods, when my sister Libby and I were running the business, we were asked by a delivery driver where our parents were! We drove the forklift, unloaded containers, we answered the phone, we paid the bills, we did everything Mum and Dad were not involved! This is a fairly dramatic example of not being taken seriously but old-school misogyny has reared its ugly head throughout my work life and Ive had to deal with incorrect assumptions about the ownership of the business. Luckily, I find this more humorous than challenging now! One big work family While women account for 46% of Australias employees, Emily is in the unique position of managing an all-female workforce. Moreover, she employs women in traditionally male-dominated roles, such as warehouse and dispatch management This wasnt by design, she explained. It was something that happened naturally. Perhaps seeing me work alongside my sisters helped attract other sisters to the business! We hire for attitude and leadership skills, and put faith in our staff to deliver results, rather than making any assumptions about ability. This has ensured team cohesion and empowered people to perform beyond even what they thought was possible. By offering flexible hours and good pay we are able to acquire candidates with a lot of talent, motivation and loyalty. The attitude of the team is one of continual improvement with a view to staying ahead of the pack. Their energy drives me to come up with exciting ideas to grow the business. It does feel like a big family here. When Emily isnt with her work family, driving the growth of her dream company, she spends time with her own family at their farm on Kangaroo Island. This is my first time to try fencing. Ive always wanted to do it because of Richard Gomez, Zorro and the Three Musketeers! Haha! Anyway ,Fencing is known as a very elite sports in the Philippines because of the expensive equipment, but now you can try it out without having to buy a thing! Just [] Sussex News Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Laudatio for Theo Waigel Speech by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, in honour of Dr. Theodor Waigel at SignsAwards in Munich, 17 June 2016 James Freeman Clarke, a 19th century theologian, once observed that a politician is a man who thinks of the next election, while a statesman thinks of the next generation. This captures well why we are here to honour Theo Waigel today. Theo Waigels political career cannot just be defined by the elections he won, however many there were during his 30 years in the Bundestag. Nor can it be defined by his time as head of the CSU and as finance minister of Germany. It is defined by his legacy: a legacy that is still shaping Europe today. He became finance minister in 1989 at a turning-point in post-war European history when the Iron Curtain that divided Europe was being lifted; when the walls and barbed wire that divided Germany were being removed. It was a time of great hopes and expectations. But it was also a time of some anxiety. It was clear that the successful reunification of Germany would be a tremendous undertaking. And many wondered what those changes would mean for the European Community whether it would upset the balance of power that had prevailed between nations since the war. In that uncertain setting, Theo Waigels leadership was pivotal both as a German and as a European. He was one of the strongest advocates of German reunification, and was instrumental in getting Germanys federal and state governments to finance the reconstruction and modernisation of East Germany. And under his influence, the German government took a fundamental decision for Europe: that the reunification which made Germany stronger should not make Europe weaker. Free of the threat of the Soviet Union, Germany chose not to go down a path of its own making. Instead, it renewed its commitment to Europe. And it demonstrated the strength of that commitment by sharing its currency with its neighbours. As Theo Waigel said, Germany brought the Deutsche Mark to Europe, and in doing so brought the euro into being. This historic sequence of events spoke to three character traits which define Theo Waigel: his vision, his resolve and his statesmanship. He was a person who took the long view and followed his convictions rather than the zeitgeist. He was not discouraged by the obstacles that stood in his way, however high they were. And he had that crucial quality of all great statesmen the ability to take others with him. He brought these same three qualities to bear in the design of Economic and Monetary Union some years later. His voice carried particular weight in the decision to add the Stability and Growth Pact to the architecture of monetary union. Against considerable resistance in some corners, his advocacy ensured the euro was born within a framework for fiscal discipline. This was visionary, because the Pact was more than just a set of rules. What Theo Waigel understood is that a union of separate nations, with different histories, traditions and cultures, but bound together by common interests and common needs, could only be built on mutual trust. Trust was the key ingredient for countries take further steps towards integration without fear of moral hazard. But trust had to be earned. First, by countries showing that they accepted the shared responsibilities that monetary union creates. And second, by converging towards similar levels of income, which would assuage fears of a future transfer union. Theo Waigels insight was to see that the Stability Pact could achieve both. Responsibility would be demonstrated by compliance with the rules that had been agreed by all. And compliance would lead to greater stability, higher growth and ultimately faster convergence. When the Pact was agreed in the late 1990s, it was in a climate of optimism and prudence where this expectation seemed feasible. Fiscal discipline had spread through the euro area as countries prepared for membership. And the addition of the single currency to the single market was expected to lead to a rapid narrowing of differences between richer and poorer members. But the reality was of course different, and convergence was slower than we thought at least sustainable convergence that did not unwind with the bust. This was in part due to a lack of conviction among euro area countries that compliance with the rules would generate jobs and growth. It was in part due to a lack of determination in applying those rules. And it was in part due to external factors, namely the global financial crisis. Fundamentally, the culture that should have underpinned trust of responsibility leading to solidarity needed to be stronger. And without that, as Theo Waigel foresaw, our monetary union was more fragile than it should have been. So today we face a choice between leaving things as they are and moving forward. And this is not a choice without costs. We have seen that the price of inaction is high. We have seen how it leaves the economy vulnerable to instability. We have seen how the perceived impotence of public authorities in meeting the needs of their people feeds into frustration and rejection. And we have seen how that risks undermining trust in and support for our institutions and even the European Union itself. So to my mind there is only one way ahead, and that is to complete the vision that Theo Waigel left us. But progress today must be different from the past. We have to find a new way to build trust among the Member States and the peoples of Europe a way that builds on existing institutions to better ensure that the common needs of the people are met. The needs that we share in common, and that can be more safely delivered in common, must be identified and explained more clearly. They include economic interests, such as the benefits provided by a large and fully integrated financial area. They include defence, and more generally security against internal and external threats, the capacity to address global migration challenges and the protection of intellectual property all of which the European Union helps deliver, in ways that individual governments may not necessarily be able to do. And they include environmental protection and the fight against climate change. It is the demonstration of why, and how, those interests can be better protected in common that will gradually complement compliance and convergence as the basis for trust and the cement of the Union. And I think that in many cases the evidence is already there for all to see. But to move forward, and I believe it is in our interests to do so, will require us to draw on the qualities that made Theo Waigel a leader. His focus on the long horizon rather than the demands of the day. His courage in his convictions and his resilience in seeing them through. And above all his mastery at convincing and building consensus. That would be the best way to honour Theo Waigels legacy, and to deliver the stability and prosperity that our Union was built for. Donald Trump wrapped up the Republican nomination and instead of exploiting a 6-week head start, he preceded to frack deep into his soul to new depths. Listing his foibles would take weeks so lets sum up the highlights: He attacked his partys most prominent elected Latina; he spent a full week explaining that an American-born judge couldnt be fair because he is Mexican; he congratulated himself for a terror attack that killed 49 people; finally, he accused the president of the United States of conspiring with ISIS and then banned one of the nations most important newspapers from covering him because it correctly reported that he made this accusation, which he later repeated using a link from Breitbart dot com as proof. The result of this spree of horrors? These mistakes are all terrible in their own right. But two stand out as strategic abominations. The attack on Judge Curiel is likely Trumps worst unforced error since he mocked a disabled reporter because it was entirely tied to the fraud charges related to Trump University. Sure, he appealed to the vile racism that has made him so popular with the GOP base, but it did it completely in service of his own shoddy reputation. Hes the billionaire blue-collar guy, Ted Cruzs campaign manager Jeff Roe explained. Thats why this Mexican judge thing is different. Thats him looking out for himself, instead of him looking out for you. And going after the Washington Post is a step-on-a-giant-rake error because journalists responded with a kind of revulsion they tend to temper when Trump proposes genuinely horrific things like banning a religion or deporting 11 million people. It also forces the people who have to cover this election to imagine the extremes Trump would go to if he were actually the most powerful person in the world. That said. Democrats should not expect Trump to keep being this foolish. He may get worse, of course. But at the peak of his last downward spiral in late March, I pointed out he was due for a good few months. And he was. This is what the press wants a close race. You know the House Select Benghazi Committee report is coming. You know there will be a moment when the email thing seems like it may actually matter. And theres still the matter of uniting the party. But keep in mind that Trump isnt running an unconventional campaign. Hes running a terrible campaign. A campaign so terrible it may even put Utah into play. Hes attacking Republicans as often as Democrats. Hes thinking interviews where he comes off as increasingly unhinged will make up for a lack of paid advertising. And he is an anchor for the entire party he now represents. That said, conservatives have spent decades and billions polarizing the electorate. The animosity theyve carefully built against the left will be aroused: Trumps numbers are bound to rise. When that happens, dont buy the comeback myth. Its a natural equilibrium attempting to revert against an extraordinarily divisive candidate. But the combination of a steady, professional campaign set on defining Trump before summer and Trumps own self-destructive tendencies still present the opportunity for a landslide of historic proportions. [Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr] The following guest post was written by Sean McBrearty, Campaigns Organizer for Clean Water Action in Michigan. Enjoy. Last week in a legislative session that went until the early hours of Thursday morning, both chambers of the Michigan Legislature passed the budget for 2017. Included in the budget omnibus bill is $114.3 million in emergency supplemental funding for solutions to the Flint water crisis. As late as the week before it looked like there was a good possibility that the Legislature would adjourn for summer recess without passing funding for Flint. The State Senate passed $128 million in emergency funding for Flint with a 34-3 vote in early May. For weeks, the Senate bill languished in the House. Along with activists from Flint Rising we delivered over 8,000 letters from Clean Water Action members in 47 state house districts to their representatives asking them to pass funding for Flint. Over all, Clean Water Action members in 92 out of 110 state house districts contacted their lawmakers about this. Activists in Flint flooded Speaker Cotters office with phone calls. Religious leaders from Flint held weekly prayer vigils in the Capitol. In the end it all paid off, and in the final budget omnibus bill $114.3 million was included in emergency funding for Flint available immediately. This is the first major legislative victory for Flint since the water crisis began over two years ago. This funding package is a great start, but it wont cover everything. For example only $25 million is earmarked for replacing lead service lines. Even the most conservative cost projections claim it would take $51 million to replace all lead service lines in the city, so current funding will cover almost half of the expense. Also included in the funding is an additional $12.75 million ($30 million had already been passed for this) to repay Flint residents for their water bills. Even with all $42.75 million passed for that purpose so far, they will only reimburse water bills at 65% of the amount paid, while the water was 100% poisoned. $8 million included in this package is in federal funding for child care and development for emergency needs. Thank you to all the Clean Water Action members across Michigan who took the time to reach out to your lawmakers. The fight for Flint is far from over, but this emergency funding is a step in the right direction. Now we need to stay engaged on this issue and make sure that Flint is not forgotten about in next years budget. Sean McBrearty Campaigns Organizer, Clean Water Action [Photos courtesy of Clean Water Action Michigan] The advent of a brave new world of connected products and services in the Internet of Things is forcing organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry to reconsider how they will interact with their customers in the future. As a consequence, a growing number of companies are thinking about how they have to redefine their businesses to better serve their customers going forward. These ideas were showcased at the recent PTC LiveWorx conference in Boston. The event drew approximately 5,000 attendees from a wide array of enterprises worldwide to demonstrate how previously standalone technologies and applications now are converging to enable the idea of IoT to become a reality. Acquisition Binge For years, PTC has made its money selling on-premises product lifecycle management, service lifecycle management and related software applications to various manufacturers, industrial companies, and consumer products producers, among others. Over the past few years, it has made a series of strategic acquisitions to focus on the unique requirements of a new generation of connected products and services. It acquired IoT platform ThingWorx in 2013. It purchased Axeda in 2014 to enhance its IoT connectivity and security capabilities. In 2015, it acquired Coldlight to strengthen its IoT analytics, and Vuforia to add augmented reality technologies to its portfolio. In 2016, PTC bought Kepware to expand its communications connectivity to industrial automation environments. Fundamental Changes These moves have put PTC in the middle of the IoT market and changed the nature of its customer relationships in many ways. First, PTC has found itself at the leading edge of an emerging market that still requires significant customer education. As a result, PTC has teamed with Michael Porter, the legendary Harvard professor, to discuss the strategic implications of IoT with corporate executives. It also is working with brand-name customers, such as Caterpillar, to produce real-world case studies that clearly illustrate how sensor-embedded products, augmented reality technology, and cloud-based applications can be integrated to fundamentally change the nature of field service, customer support and end-user training. For instance, rather than forcing a field worker to call a help desk when a piece of construction equipment fails, Caterpillar is teaming with PTC to deploy IoT applications and solutions that enable the field worker to identify the issue and resolve it in many cases without help desk intervention. That can reduce downtime and customer support costs while increasing user productivity. At the same time, Caterpillar is gathering real-time data regarding the performance and reliability of its equipment, which it can use to improve its design. No Job for Customers Companies used to rely on their customers to notify them of problems and risked losing them in the process, due to dissatisfaction with the quality of their products. In essence, the customer was the sensor in the old world of customer support, notifying the vendor when the product failed. In todays world, customers are far less tolerant of product failures. They also have many more options if they become disenchanted with their vendors products. Therefore, it is imperative for vendors to redesign their products so the suppliers can assume a greater share of the burden for ensuring the availability and performance of their products. Building connected products that are supported with more automated and interactive support tools is becoming an essential strategy for restructuring the vendor-customer relationship in the IoT. GENEVA - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has expressed in the strongest possible terms its frustration at the continued lack of progress being made by the Bangladeshi government in ensuring proper worker rights in its ready-made-garment (RMG) sector. The ILO Committee on Standards voiced particular concerns about the government's failure to ensure workers' rights under ILO Convention 87 which relates to freedom of association and the right to organise. It also raised questions with regards to why trade unions are completely banned in Bangladesh's textile export processing zones, in a report presented at the recent International Labour Conference in Geneva. WAKEFIELD In the run up to the launch of the new version of the Greenpeace Detox Catwalk due to be published soon some leading retailers and brands have tightened up their existing manufacturing restricted substance lists (MRSL). In one instance, a leading European retailer has now outlawed the use of aniline from its manufacturing supply chain. This chemical is used as a precursor ingredient in the production of synthetic indigo dyes so taking this MRSL to the logical extremes it would imply the retailer has actually banned the use of synthetic indigo in its own denim collections. (Photo: Sean Hawkey)Patriarch Bartholomew at Chania airport in Crete for the Orthodox Holy and Great Council. The worldwide Orthodox Church has begun its historic move toward unity in Crete without some key players such as the Russian patriarchate but it is still a Pan-Orthodox meeting and its decisions will be binding says a spokesman from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople arrived on the Greek island on June 15 with other patriarchs following him for the first such meeting in 1,000 years. On his arrival Bartholomew expressed his "joy of fulfillment of our historical mission" and urged the Orthodox Church across the world to join him. The Holy and Great Council, he said, is "our sacred mission". The Ecumenical Patriarch noted, however that the joy of the historic events is clouded by the decision of some churches not to attend. The June 16-27 council will take place without the Orthodox churches of Antioch, Bulgaria, Georgia and Russia which all call for a postponement and said they would not come. "The responsibility for their decision lies with those same churches and their primates, since, just five months ago, at the Synaxis of the Orthodox Primates in Geneva, we made a decision and put our signatures to it, that we should come to Crete in June and realize this vision held over many years," said Bartholomew. 'BINDING PAN-ORTHODOX COUNCIL' "It is a great council, a pan-Orthodox council whose decisions are binding for the Orthodox Church," said the Rev. John Chryssavgis, an Australian-born theological adviser to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Bartholomew had noted that in Geneva the intent had been that "all our churches cherish, to declare and proclaim the unity of our Orthodox Church, and to examine and reach a common resolution of the problems that are of concern to the Orthodox world." It is not too late for those churches to reconsider, noted Bartholomew "even at this very last moment, and honour their signatures and come to Crete, where, along with the joy of the fulfillment of our historical mission, we shall also have the joy of partaking of the hospitality and nobility of all Cretans, from the most elderly among them, to the youngest child." The Ecumenical Patriarch also thanked those who have worked for months in order for the Holy and Great Council to take place, "together as a group and each one individually who have worked zealously, selflessly and with great willingness for this great event of the Holy and Great Council of our Orthodox Church to take place." The Russian Orthodox Church is said to have 100 million followers making it largest church among some 300 million Orthodox believers, The Moscow Patriarch Kiriill is close to President Vladimir Putin. The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is often described as as "the first among equals" among Orthodox Christians and is senn by many as the spiritual leader. Bartholomew has met Pope Francis a number of times and Kirill met the Catholic leader at a historical Havana encounter in February. Items on the agenda have been under discussion for more than 40 years by Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commissions and Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar Conferences. In preparation for the Holy and Great Council, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew convened a Synaxis of Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches at the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy, Geneva, from 21 to 28 January 2016. For months now, a Small Synaxis of the Primates has been scheduled for 17 June as well. As the end of middle school approached, Ahjahnte Tae Birch was thinking about the future. The Denver students sister had gone to East High School, one of the citys largest and oldest; he was considering South High School, another decades-old high school. Denvers school choice system meant that he could evaluate his options for high school. His family ultimately landed on Northfield High, a brand new school that advertised itself as offering rigorous International Baccalaureate classes for all students and focused pathways that allowed students to study subjects they were interested inin Taes case, business. Ive always been an entrepreneur, he said. And so, on Aug. 10 of last year, Tae joined the first class of students to attend Northfield High, the Mile High Citys first new comprehensive high school in 35 years. While many urban public school systems are shrinking, Denvers has been steadily adding students for most of the past decade: Enrollment rose from just over 70,000 students in 2000 to more than 90,000 in 2015-16. The school system is currently running more than 50 high school programssome charter, some alternative, and some that fit the more traditional model of a large high school that draws mainly from its surrounding area. Northfield was intended to be a mix of old and new: a large, comprehensive high school in fast-growing Stapleton, one of the more affluent parts of the city, with a design that was anything but traditional. Northfield was an innovation school, granted autonomy from some district policies and contract provisions by state law. (The school was among several affected by a judges ruling that the district had run afoul of state law by creating innovation schools from scratch instead of allowing school staff members to vote on whether to become one. Teachers voted to OK Northfields plan last August.) And the school was intended to explicitly serve a diverse student body, engineered through the districts school choice process and intentionally drawn boundary lines, and to offer all its students equal access to rigorous academics. It was a fresh start and a demonstration of the districts commitment to equity in a city where, 20 years after the end of court-ordered desegregation, the achievement gap between affluent and poorer students is among the biggest in the country, according to some recent reports. Among the components of the plan , the school would have: Detracked classes, which means that students would be in multilevel courses instead of being grouped by ability level. It would offer rigorous International Baccalaureate classes to all students and pathways in subjects like arts, business, and biomedical sciences. Competency-based grading: Students grades would be based on demonstrated knowledge, not on things like homework completion or class participation. Other structural components, like a longer school day and school year, physical education every day, and a late start time (8:45 a.m.), aimed at improving students academic performance. A distributed-leadership model for staff, in which peers would evaluate each other and teachers would help run the school. There would be no assistant principal, secretary or guidance counselors; their duties would be shared among staff members. Teachers who loop"or stay with the same studentsall four years, and an adviser to teach a writing course and attend to students social and emotional needs. Detracking a Priority The district hired Avi Tropper, a former New York City teacher and assistant principal, to help develop and implement the plan as the schools first principal. For Tropper, the heart of the plan was detrackingambitious in a high school drawing from more than 40 middle schools, where some students were prepared for geometry while others scored at an elementary school math level. But he was also passionate about the other pieces of the plan, which he said were critical to supporting equity and detracking: Were innovative in many ways, and out of the box in rethinking what school looks like, Tropper said in an interview last fall. But nothing is pie in the sky or coming out of nowhere. Its research-based. Months into the school year, however, Tropper resigned from his position after a discipline incident led to a district investigation. He was replaced by an interim principal with a very different vision for the school. Then, a local middle school principal was named to lead the school. By the spring of this school year, things at the model school looked very different: The late start time and long school days were modified. The school gave up some of its more unusual structural elements: It will have an assistant principal, a secretary, and guidance counselors instead of advisory leaders. Freshmen will not have to select a pathway. Fewer white students are slated to attend the school for its second yearwhich some fear could lead to a tipping point effect, at which fewer white families select the school. for its second yearwhich some fear could lead to a tipping point effect, at which fewer white families select the school. More than half the teachers who started the school year here are likely to be gone by the next school yearsome nonrenewed by the district, others of their own accord, staff members said. The advisory program has been mostly cut; already, one of the three advisers is serving as an IB coordinator, another as a counselor. Teachers will not loop with students. How did Denvers new flagship program veer so far from its plan so quickly? Kevin Welner, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the director of the National Education Policy Center who has studied equity-focused school reform, said studies show that such schools face a constant pressure to evolve toward the thing that existed before. In this case, politics and interpersonal dynamics also seem relevant. Tropper ran into issues with district policiesthe schools course offerings, for instance, didnt initially mesh with the districts course-coding system and the district initially did not plan for busing despite the fact that the school was in an area not well-served by public transportation. Tropper prided himself on standing up to more-affluent parents concerned that their children wouldnt be served by a detracked model, earning him the respect of community members who supported that vision. But he also tangled with some parents on other issues like discipline and dress code violations. First Year in Review August 2015 Northfield High School opens in a brand-new facility in Denvers Stapleton neighborhood. At an opening event, founding Principal Avi Tropper, below, welcomes more than 200 new students. The founding class takes an overnight field trip in the Rocky Mountains. September 2015 Instruction gets underway. In their mixed-ability classes, students can earn honors credit by opting into more or more-challenging work. Teachers are still figuring out the logistics of things like competency-based grading, how to provide discipline and emotional support to students, and managing a longer school day. October 2015 Tropper resigns after a district investigation into a disciplinary incident yields a critical report on the state of the school. Tropper says the district is not committed to the original vision for the school. November 2015 The district brings in Ron Castagna, below, a retired principal from suburban Jefferson County, to temporarily take the reins of the school. The district also re-establishes some more traditional roles at the school, such as assistant principal and secretary, and modifies the daily start and end times. January 2016 The search begins for a new permanent principal. Some staff members cheer the changes, but others are concerned that the district is backing away from the original vision. One teacher files a grievance, asserting that changes made to the school violated the innovation plan. March 2016 The school system appoints Amy Bringedahl, below, a principal at a nearby middle school, to be Northfields permanent principal. Staff members are still figuring out budget and scheduling for the schools second year. More than half the schools founding staff have either left or do not plan to return. April 2016 The district is still in the midst of constructing a brand-new campus, and the school is fully enrolled for the 2015-16 school year. May 2016 Orientation begins for the incoming freshman class. Bringedahl announces the first new staff members for the 2016-17 school year, and the schools bell time for the fall is officially changed from 8:45 a.m.-4:45 p.m. to 7:45 a.m.-2:50 p.m. District officials flagged concerns about disciplinary practices in the investigation that preceded Troppers departure. Tropper contested the districts report. The transition in leadership created its own complications. The competency-based grading systems quirks werent worked out well into the year: At one point, more than half the students were failing in math, and students were turning in work from the first semester through February, according to Ron Castagna, the interim principal who replaced Tropper. Carol Burris, the executive director of the Network for Public Education and a former principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York, which implemented a noted detracking program, said attempting to do so while also implementing so many other new featuresand while operating without key figures like a guidance counselormay have been overly ambitious. Detracking in and of itself is such a profound reform that if you try to layer other reforms and changes on top of it, your school is going to be overwhelmed, Burris said. But Tropper pushed back against this characterization, saying that the design elements would have supported detracking. Susana Cordova, the districts acting superintendent while Superintendent Tom Boasberg takes an unpaid sabbatical with his family, attributed the schools challenges to leadership, noting that the district had successfully opened dozens of other types of schools in recent years. But, in a district that prizes autonomy for its school leadersDenvers school board and superintendent embraced charter schools and decentralizationsome school staff members accused district leaders of throwing Northfield under the bus. If the district approves innovation status, it is contingent upon the district to provide the structures and supports for that model, said Scott Esserman, an advisory-class teachers at the school who filed a grievance against the new school administration. To Castagna, the interim principal, the kitchen-sink nature of the plan should have raised red flags. Did anyone look at that plan? he said. The logistics of asking high school teachers to loop with students, running a school without an assistant principal, and the budgetquestions raised by having advisers and applying for International Baccalaureate certification seemed like too much. But former principal Tropper said he believed some of the issues were the result of decisions made at the district and school level to not follow through with key pieces of the plan after his departure: For instance, the initial design had a weeklong period at the end of the semester when students should have been able to turn in work. The schools next principal, Amy Bringedahl, said that she is committed to the core of the schools plan"classrooms balanced by diversity and achievement level"but is open to making changes to other parts. As the school year draws to a close, a new class of 200 students is signed up to start school, Bringedahl has started hiring, and Northfield is on track to apply for the IB status that will allow it to carry out its mission. The schools community has started the Northfield High Foundation, dedicated to supporting the school, and construction is continuing on the new facility. Despite the turmoil, students spoke highly of the schools teachers and of their experience in a genuinely diverse school. It gives you a chance to see who you really fit in with and find your true self, said Tae, the entrepreneurial student. And as far as having a school thats offering IB for everyone, Tae is optimistic: I think it can happen. You cant go back, said Bringedahl. But the goals to restart and create a great experience for kids. To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 300 million to Romania in support of priority environment sector projects under the Operational Programme Large Infrastructure during the 2014-2020 EU programming period. Mr Cristian Popa, EIB Vice-President, commented: The EIB loan will co-finance priority projects with a total value of some EUR 4.5 billion, contributing to an increase in Romanias utilisation of EU grants. The operation will support the implementation of projects relevant for compliance with key EU directives regarding the water and municipal solid waste management sectors, delivering on climate action and environmental protection while at the same time contributing to sustainable development that translates into enhanced living standards. This is the first operation in a pipeline of diversified projects that the EIB and Romanian authorities are working on, including transport, rural development, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and competitiveness-related investments. Ms Anca Dragu, Romanian Minister of Public Finances commented: The signed financial contract is proof of the good cooperation between Romania and the EIB, which provides ongoing support for increasing the absorption of EU funds and achieving the conditions to which our country committed when joining the European Union. We pay careful attention to the environment and, through this loan, we will partially cover the state budget contribution to projects related to water, wastewater, waste management, protection and conservation of biodiversity, restoration of degraded ecosystems and climate change adjustment. The EIB financing is being granted in the form of a Structural Programme Loan. In addition to large-scale infrastructure projects, the EIB loan may also be used to finance smaller schemes, which, due to their limited size, would otherwise not qualify for direct EIB financing. This loan is a continuation of the EU banks support for strategic priority investments under EU Operational Programmes in Romania, following the EUR 1 billion National Strategic Reference Co-financing loan for Transport and Environment projects provided under the 2007-2013 programming period. The EIB technical assistance initiative JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions provided jointly by the EIB, European Commission and EBRD) has contributed to the preparation of some of the long-term development strategies underlying the selection of projects to be implemented with funds from this loan, thus verifying and ensuring the consistent quality of the projects to be implemented. Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London. 13:33, 25 OCT 2022 Book of condolence to be opened for victims of Orlando shooting People on the Isle of Man are being urged to show solidarity with the LGBT community in the United States at a candlelit vigil. It's being held at St German's Cathedral in Peel on Sunday evening to pay tribute to the 49 people who were shot dead in a club in Orlando last week. The names of the people killed will be read out and a book of condolence will be sent to their families. A vigil was also held in Douglas on Tuesday evening - Lee Vorster is the director of the Manx Rainbow Association; he says it's a way of bringing everyone together: Media Lee Vorster Drink drive father escapes jail after promenade smash-up A drink driving father who lost control at the wheel because his five year old son was "encouraging him to speed" has escaped jail. 39-year-old Radoslaw Nelke was over twice the legal limit when his BMW hit a Renault Clio on Queen's Promenade in Douglas on March 17th. Nine vehicles were damaged as a result of the cars careering out of control - Nelke was arrested at the scene after failing a roadside breath test. The chef, and part-time doorman, told police he'd been drinking Polish beer before going to collect his son - he estimated he was travelling at around 50mph in the 30 zone. Nelke later pleaded guilty to drink driving - at Douglas Courthouse this week his advocate told the court it was a "regrettable incident" saying it was a "one off" that wouldn't be repeated. He claimed sending him to prison would be negative for his son - who was in the front seat at the time of the crash - as he was his primary carer but added that wasn't a "get out of jail free card". Sentencing him Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes told him his behaviour was "appalling" adding "it's ironic given your close and loving relationship that you put your son's life at risk". Nelke, who was assisted by a translator, sobbed in the dock as she told him 180 hours of community service would be imposed as a direct alternative to 10 weeks in custody. He was also disqualified from driving for three years, and until he's taken an extended driving test and drink-drive rehabilitation course, and was fined 125 in prosecution costs. It might have been a while since we heard about any drama between Peter Gunz, Tara Wallace and Amina Buddafly. But that definitely doesnt mean it hasnt been happening. And now Amina has spilled extra hot tea about the infamous reality TV love triangle. A very pregnant Amina sat down with TMZs Rock Rants (with her and Peters first child, Corie, in tow) and gave an update on whats going on with all of them. She confirmed that she moved out to Los Angeles from New York City to get away from Peter for a little bit. Still, she said she is not completely over Peter but that she felt completely blindsided by Wallaces recent pregnancy. She revealed that at one point she and Wallace were actually on good terms; but Wallace failed to tell Amina she was pregnant when she went to baby Cories birthday party last year. Since then, Wallace has given birth to her and Peters child, Gunner. Amina made it clear she does not want to be friends with Wallace and Peter is also not the mans he wants to be with. When Im ready, Ill file for divorce. Amina also said shes not sure if shell return to the show. But despite the drama, she said she doesnt fully regret doing reality television because it put her on a different platform when it comes to her music. Check out the full interview below. Chapman University Institute for Quantum Studies (IQS) member Yutaka Shikano, Ph.D., recently had research published in Scientific Reports. Superconductors are one of the most remarkable phenomena in physics, with amazing technological implications. Some of the technologies that would not be possible without superconductivity are extremely powerful magnets that levitate trains and MRI machines used to image the human body. The reason that superconductivity arises is now understood as a fundamentally quantum mechanical effect. The basic idea of quantum mechanics is that at the microscopic scale everything, including matter and light, has a wave property to it. Normally the wave nature is not noticeable as the waves are very small, and all the waves are out of synchronization with each other, so that their effects are not important. For this reason, to observe quantum mechanical behavior experiments generally have to be performed at a very low temperature, and at microscopic length scales. Superconductors, on the other hand, have a dramatic effect in the disappearance of resistance, changing the entire property of the material. The key quantum effect that occurs is that the quantum waves become highly synchronized and occur at a macroscopic level. This is now understood to be the same basic effect as that seen in lasers. The similarity is that in a laser, all the photons making up the light are synchronized, and appear as one single coherent wave. In a superconductor the macroscopic wave is for the quantum waves of the electrons, instead of the photons, but the basic quantum feature is the same. Such macroscopic quantum waves have also been observed in Bose-Einstein condensates, where atoms cooled to nanokelvin temperatures all collapse into a single state. Up until now, these related but distinct phenomena have only been observed separately. However, as superconductors, lasers, and Bose-Einstein condensates all share a common feature, it has been expected that it should be able to see these features at the same time. A recent experiment in a global collaborative effort with teams from Japan, the United States, and Germany have observed for the first time experimental indication that this expectation is true. They tackled this problem by highly exciting exciton-polaritons, which are particle-like excitations in a semiconductor systems and formed by strong coupling between electron-hole pairs and photons. They observed high-energy side-peak emission that cannot be explained by two mechanisms known to date: Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons, nor conventional semiconductor lasing driven by the optical gain from unbound electron hole plasma. By combining the experimental data with their latest theory, they found a possibility that the peak originates from a strongly bound e-h pairs, which can persist in the presence of the high-quality optical cavity even for the lasing state. This scenario has been thought to be impossible since an e-h pair experiencing weakened binding force due to other electrons and/or holes breaks up in high-density. The proposed scenario is closely related to the BCS physics, which was originally introduced by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer to explain the origin of superconductivity. In the BCS theory, the superconductivity is an effect caused by a condensation of weakly bound electron pairs (Cooper pairs). In the latest theory of e-h pairs plus photons (e-h-p), bound e-h pairs' survival can be described in BCS theory of e-h-p system as an analogy of Cooper pairs in superconductivity. "Although a full understanding of this observation has not yet been reached," said Dr. Tomoyuki Horikiri at Yokohama National University, and one of the authors on the study. "The discovery provides an important step toward the clarification of the relationship between the BCS physics and the semiconductor lasers. The observation not only deepens the understanding of the highly-excited exciton-polariton systems, but also opens up a new avenue for exploring the non-equilibrium and dissipative many-body physics. In such practical application studies, there are still many quantum foundational questions." ### The paper was published in Scientific Reports by Nature Publishing Group. In addition to Tomoyuki Horikiri, it was co-authored by Dr. Makoto Yamaguchi and Dr. Kenji Kamide and an international collaboration team including Tim Byrnes at New York University; Yutaka Shikano at Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences and Institute for Quantum Studies, Chapman University; Tetsuya Ogawa at Osaka University; Alfred Forchel at Universitat Wurzburg, and YoshihisaYamamoto at Stanford University and National Institute of Informatics. To see the full article, click here: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep25655 More about Chapman's Insititute for Quantum Studies can be found here: http://www.chapman.edu/research-and-institutions/quantum-studies/ Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University attracts highly qualified students from around the globe. Its programs are designed to encourage leadership in innovation, creativity and collaboration, and are increasingly recognized for providing an extraordinary educational experience. The university excels in the sciences and humanities, business and economics, educational studies, film and media arts, performing arts, and law. Student enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs is approaching 8,000 and Chapman University alumni are found throughout the world. Visit us at http://www.chapman.edu. Follow us on Facebook at: Chapman University Facebook On Twitter and Instagram at: @ChapmanU On YouTube at: Chapman University YouTube Channel UPTON, NY--Chemically the same, graphite and diamonds are as physically distinct as two minerals can be, one opaque and soft, the other translucent and hard. What makes them unique is their differing arrangement of carbon atoms. Polymorphs, or materials with the same composition but different structures, are common in bulk materials, and now a new study in Nature Communications confirms they exist in nanomaterials, too. Researchers describe two unique structures for the iconic gold nanocluster Au144(SR)60, better known as Gold-144, including a version never seen before. "We discovered that the same number of gold atoms can arrange to form two different versions of the nanosized cluster," said co-first author Pavol Juhas, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. Their discovery gives engineers a new material to explore, along with the possibility of finding other polymorphic nanoparticles. "This took four years to unravel," said coauthor Simon Billinge, a physicist at Brookhaven Lab, a physics professor at Columbia Engineering, and a member of the Data Science Institute at Columbia University. "We weren't expecting the clusters to take on more than one atomic arrangement. But this discovery gives us more handles to turn when trying to design clusters with new and useful properties." Gold has been used in coins and jewelry for thousands of years for its durability, but shrink it to a size 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, and it becomes wildly unstable and unpredictable. At the nanoscale, gold likes to split apart other particles and molecules, making it a useful material for purifying water, imaging and killing tumors, and making solar panels more efficient, among other applications. Though a variety of nanogold particles and molecules have been made in the lab, very few have had their secret atomic arrangement revealed. But recently, new technologies are bringing these miniscule structures into focus. Under one approach, high-energy x-ray beams are fired at a sample of nanoparticles. Advanced data analytics are used to interpret the x-ray scattering data and infer the sample's structure, which is key to understanding how strong, reactive, or durable the particles might be. Billinge and his lab have pioneered a method, the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, for interpreting this scattering data. To test the PDF method, Billinge asked chemists at Colorado State University to make tiny samples of Gold-144, a molecule-sized nanogold cluster first isolated in 1995. Its structure had been theoretically predicted in 2009, and though never confirmed, Gold-144 has found numerous applications, including in tissue imaging. Hoping the test would confirm Gold-144's structure, the team analyzed the clusters at the European Synchrotron Radiation Source in Grenoble, France, and used the PDF method to infer their structure. To their surprise, they found an angular core, and not the sphere-like icosahedral core predicted. When they made a new sample and tried the experiment again, this time using Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source and Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source (both DOE Office of Science User Facilities), the structure came back spherical. "We didn't understand what was going on, but digging deeper, we realized we had a polymorph," said co-first author Kirsten Jensen, formerly a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia and now a chemistry professor at the University of Copenhagen. Further experiments confirmed the cluster had two versions, sometimes found together, each with a unique structure indicating they behave differently. The researchers are still unsure if Gold-144 can switch from one version to the other, or what, exactly, differentiates the two forms. "While we still have much to learn about how the gold nanoparticles take on different shapes and what those shapes specifically are, we now know that polymorphism can exist and thus should be considered when preparing nanoparticles from other materials," said Juhas, who collaborated with Jensen on modeling and analyzing the PDF data. To make their discovery, the researchers solved what physicists call the nanostructure inverse problem: how can the structure of a tiny nanoparticle in a sample be inferred from an x-ray signal that has been averaged over millions of particles, each with different orientations? "The signal is noisy and highly degraded," said Billinge. "It's the equivalent of trying to recognize if the bird in the tree is a robin or a cardinal, but the image in your binoculars is too blurry and distorted to tell." "Our results demonstrate the power of PDF analysis to reveal the structure of very tiny particles," added study coauthor Christopher Ackerson, a chemistry professor at Colorado State. "I've been trying, off and on, for more than 10 years to get the single-crystal x-ray structure of Gold-144. The presence of polymorphs helps to explain why this molecule has been so resistant to traditional methods." The PDF approach is one of several rival methods being developed to bring nanoparticle structure into focus. Now that it has proven itself, it could help speed up the work of describing other nanostructures. The eventual goal is to design nanoparticles by their desired properties, rather than through trial and error, by understanding how form and function relate. Databases of known and predicted structures could make it possible to design new materials with a few clicks of a mouse. The study is a first step. "We've had a structure model for this iconic gold molecule for years and then this study comes along and says the structure is basically right but it's got a doppelganger," said Robert Whetten, a professor of chemical physics at the University of Texas, San Antonio, who led the team that first isolated Gold-144. "It seemed preposterous to have two distinct structures that underlie its ubiquity, but this is a beautiful paper that will persuade a lot of people." ### The study's other authors are Marcus Tofanelli and Christine Heinecke of Colorado State and Gavin Vaughan of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Villum Foundation, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Colorado State University, and the National Institutes of Health. Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov. An international team of astronomers have found that there are far more planets of the hot Jupiter type than expected in a cluster of stars called Messier 67. This surprising result was obtained using a number of telescopes and instruments, among them the HARPS spectrograph at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The denser environment in a cluster will cause more frequent interactions between planets and nearby stars, which may explain the excess of hot Jupiters. A Chilean, Brazilian and European team led by Roberto Saglia at the Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, in Garching, Germany, and Luca Pasquini at ESO, has spent several years collecting high-precision measurements of 88 stars in Messier 67 [1]. This open star cluster is about the same age as the Sun and it is thought that the Solar System arose in a similarly dense environment [2]. The team used HARPS, along with other instruments [3], to look for the signatures of giant planets on short-period orbits, hoping to see the tell-tale "wobble" of a star caused by the presence of a massive object in a close orbit, a kind of planet known as a hot Jupiters. This hot Jupiter signature has now been found for a total of three stars in the cluster alongside earlier evidence for several other planets. A hot Jupiter is a giant exoplanet with a mass of more than about a third of Jupiter's mass. They are "hot" because they are orbiting close to their parent stars, as indicated by an orbital period (their "year") that is less than ten days in duration. That is very different from the Jupiter we are familiar with in our own Solar System, which has a year lasting around 12 Earth- years and is much colder than the Earth [4]. "We want to use an open star cluster as laboratory to explore the properties of exoplanets and theories of planet formation", explains Roberto Saglia. "Here we have not only many stars possibly hosting planets, but also a dense environment, in which they must have formed." The study found that hot Jupiters are more common around stars in Messier 67 than is the case for stars outside of clusters. "This is really a striking result," marvels Anna Brucalassi, who carried out the analysis. "The new results mean that there are hot Jupiters around some 5% of the Messier 67 stars studied -- far more than in comparable studies of stars not in clusters, where the rate is more like 1%." Astronomers think it highly unlikely that these exotic giants actually formed where we now find them, as conditions so close to the parent star would not initially have been suitable for the formation of Jupiter-like planets. Rather, it is thought that they formed further out, as Jupiter probably did, and then moved closer to the parent star. What were once distant, cold, giant planets are now a good deal hotter. The question then is: what caused them to migrate inwards towards the star? There are a number of possible answers to that question, but the authors conclude that this is most likely the result of close encounters with neighbouring stars, or even with the planets in neighbouring solar systems, and that the immediate environment around a solar system can have a significant impact on how it evolves. In a cluster like Messier 67, where stars are much closer together than the average, such encounters would be much more common, which would explain the larger numbers of hot Jupiters found there. Co-author and co-lead Luca Pasquini from ESO looks back on the remarkable recent history of studying planets in clusters: "No hot Jupiters at all had been detected in open clusters until a few years ago. In three years the paradigm has shifted from a total absence of such planets -- to an excess!" ### Notes [1] Some of the original sample of 88 were found to be binary stars, or unsuitable for other reasons for this study. This new paper concentrates on a sub-group of 66 stars. [2] Although the cluster Messier 67 is still holding together, the cluster that may have surrounded the Sun in its early years would have dissipated long ago, leaving the Sun on its own. [3] Spectra from the High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/het/het.html) in Texas, USA, were also used, as well as from the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute Provence, in France. [4] The first exoplanet found around a star similar to the Sun, 51 Pegasi b, was also a hot Jupiter. This was a surprise at the time, as many astronomers had assumed that other planetary systems would probably be like the Solar System and have their more massive planets further from the parent star. More information This research was presented in a paper entitled "Search for giant planets in M67 III: excess of Hot Jupiters in dense open clusters", by A. Brucalassi et al., to appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The team consists of: A. Brucalassi (Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany; University Observatory Munich, Germany), L. Pasquini (ESO, Garching, Germany), R. Saglia (Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany; University Observatory Munich, Germany), M.T. Ruiz (Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile), P. Bonifacio (GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Univ. Paris Diderot, Meudon, France), I. Leao (ESO, Garching, Germany; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), B.L. Canto Martins (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), J.R. de Medeiros (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil), L. R. Bedin (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Padova, Italy) , K. Biazzo (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Catania, Catania, Italy), C. Melo (ESO, Santiago, Chile), C. Lovis (Observatoire de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland) and S. Randich (INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". Links * Research paper - http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.05247 * Press release on earlier results from Messier 67 - http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1402/ * Photos of HARPS - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/search/?ranking=0&release_id=&minimum_size=0&description=&published_until_year=0&published_until_month=0&title=&subject_name=HARPS&credit=&published_until_day=0&published_since_day=0&published_since_month=0&id=&published_since_year=0 * Photos of La Silla - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/lasilla/ Contacts Anna Brucalassi Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 30000 3022 Email: abrucala@mpe.mpg.de Luca Pasquini ESO Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6792 Email: lpasquin@eso.org Richard Hook ESO Public Information Officer Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6655 Cell: +49 151 1537 3591 Email: rhook@eso.org Hannelore Hammerle Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 30 000 3980 Email: hhaemmerle@mpa-garching.mpg.de A tiny mirror could make a huge difference for scientists trying to understand what's happening in the micron-scale structures of living cells. By growing cells on the mirrors and imaging them using super-resolution microscopy, a group of scientists from universities in the United States, China and Australia have addressed a problem that has long challenged scientists: Seeing the structures of three dimensional cells with comparable resolution in each dimension. Cells are normally grown on transparent glass slides for microscopy examination. The new technique uses the unique properties of light to create interference patterns as light waves pass through a cell on the way to the mirror and then back through the cell after being reflected. The interference patterns provide, at a single plane within the cell, significantly improved resolution in the Z-axis - what scientists see as they look directly into a cell perpendicular to the slide. This improved view could help researchers differentiate between structures that appear close together with existing microscope technology - but are actually relatively far apart within the cells. Microscope resolution in the X and Y axes is typically superior to resolution in the Z axis, regardless of the microscopy technique. The mirror approach works with super-resolution microscopy as well as with other technologies. Reported in the Nature journal Light: Science & Applications, the technique was developed by scientists at Peking University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). "This simple technology is allowing us to see the details of cells that have never been seen before," said Dayong Jin, a professor at UTS and one of the paper's co-authors. "A single cell is about 10 micrometers; inside that is a nuclear core about 5 micrometers, and inside that are tiny holes, called the 'nuclear pore complex,' that as a gate regulates the messenger bio-molecules, but measure between one fiftieth and one twentieth of a micrometer. With this super-resolution microscopy we are able to see the details of those tiny holes." Being able to see these tiny structures may provide new information about the behavior of cells, how they communicate and how diseases arise in them, said Peng Xi, a professor at Peking University and another of the paper's co-authors. "Previously, the vision of biologists was blurred by the large axial and lateral resolution," he said. "This was like reading newspapers printed on transparent plastic; many layers were overlapped. By placing a mirror beneath the specimen, we can generate a narrowed focal spot so there is only one layer of the newspaper to read so that every word becomes crystal clear." The new system, he noted, allows scientists to see the ring structure of the nuclear pore complex for the first time, and the tubular structure of the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV). "With this simple, but powerful weapon, biologists can tackle many interesting phenomena that were invisible in the past because of poor resolution," Xi added. While changing the optical system was relatively simple, growing cells on the custom-made mirrors required adapting existing biological techniques, said Phil Santangelo, another co-author and a professor at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Techniques for growing the cells on the mirrors were largely developed by Eric Alonas, a Georgia Tech graduate student, and Hao Xie, a student in the Ph.D. program of Peking University and Georgia Tech. "Most people are not growing cells on mirrors, so it required some work to get the cell culture conditions correct," Santangelo said. "We had to make sure the mirror coating didn't affect cell growth, and staining the cells to make them fluoresce also required some adaption. Ultimately, growing cells on the mirrors became a simple process." The new technique, known as mirror-enhanced, axial narrowing, super-resolution (MEANS) microscopy, begins with growing cells to be studied on a tiny mirrors custom-made by a manufacturer in China. A glass cover slide is placed over the cells, and the mirror placed into a confocal or wide-field microscope in the place of a usual clear slide. The technique improves axial resolution six-fold and lateral resolution two-fold for Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) nanoscopy. The ability to increase the resolution and decrease the thickness of an axial section without increasing laser power is of great importance for imaging biological specimens, which cannot tolerate high laser power, the researchers noted. For scientists attempting to study structures and molecules inside cells, the interference effects can make a dramatic difference in what can be observed. "The two waves interacting with one another causes a region between the glass surfaces and the cell to be bright, and other parts to be dark," explained Santangelo, who is an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. "They cause light to be removed from some locations so you get darkness, and there is a bright spot in a specific region rather than being all bright." Santangelo believes the technique could find broad applications for scientists using fluorescence microscopy to examine cells and subcellular structures. Further research could lead to improvements such as the ability to make the mirror's surface movable, allowing more control over how the cells can be imaged. "There is more to do with this," he said. "We have demonstrated a basic topic that can be applied now in other ways." The time differences between Australia, China and the United States provided a challenge for the team's collaboration, but the researchers say the work was very worthwhile. "The development of the mirror-enhanced super-resolution microscopy is a great example of what collaborative, international and multi-disciplinary research can achieve," said Jin, who is the director of the Initiative for Biomedical Materials & Devices at UTS. "It is a significant achievement for the team, and the field, and one that we're proud to have been involved in." ### CITATION: Xusan Yang, et al., "Mirror-enhanced, axial narrowing, super-resolution microscopy," Light: Science & Applications, 2016). We tend to think the contours of biodiversity are well known, especially in extensively studied areas. However, this is not necessarily the case and sometimes strikingly new species are discovered even in well-trod areas. A case in point is the country of the Dominican Republic, which has been thoroughly studied by biologists for more than 40 years, particularly by herpetologists who have exhaustively catalogued the reptiles and amphibians there for several decades. Particularly well-studied have been small lizards in the genus Anolis, commonly called anoles. These are very common lizards on islands throughout the Caribbean and in the southeastern United States where the green anole, a photogenic species with pinkish-red throat fan (called a dewlap), is widely known. Because of their abundance and species richness, anoles have become a workhorse of field biologists, who have learned much about evolution and ecology from studies of the 150 Caribbean anole species (another 250 occur in Central and South America). The more than 40 species of Anolis on the island of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic) have been particularly popular with researchers, and no new species has been found there since the early 1980's (not including several species that have been newly recognized when formerly widespread species have been subdivided into multiple species). Herpetologists thought the diversity of Hispaniola was well understood. "Never in a million years would I have thought that a completely new species of anoles, something unlike anything previously known, would be discovered on that island," said Jonathan Losos, Curator of Herpetology at the Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and a professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. And then along came Miguel Landestoy. Self-taught, the Dominican naturalist and photographer makes his living leading photographic and nature field trips and conducting conservation research throughout the Dominican Republic. On one trip in 2007 to the western edge of the Dominican Republic, very near the border with Haiti, Landestoy spied, high in a tree, a large anole clearly unlike any other he had ever seen. He managed to capture the animal, but only briefly, and it escaped before he could take a suitable photo. But he knew it was something different, something unknown, and so he kept returning to the forest. And then one day, several years later, he saw another. And this time he got the photo. He quickly sent it to several American herpetologists, including Luke Mahler, then a graduate student in Losos' lab and now an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Mahler took one look at the photo and his jaw dropped. He showed it to Losos, and asked him where he thought it was from. "I had no idea," Losos says, "and guessed somewhere high in the Andes, where they are still finding new species. It never even crossed my mind that it might be from Hispaniola." By the end of the week, Mahler was on a plane to the Dominican Republic for a whirlwind, 36-hour trip to secure a specimen. Landestoy met Mahler at the airport and the two quickly drove the five hours to the site. Luck was with them and they were able to capture two lizards in an all-night search, then motor directly back to the airport so that Mahler could fly back to Boston in time to prepare for his Monday teaching duties. Mahler's detailed anatomical analyses documented the uniqueness of the new species. Colleagues Richard Glor and his lab sequenced the DNA to place the species in the evolutionary tree of these lizards. Their results indicate that the species is related to other large lizards from the same island. And thus Anolis landestoyi came into being with publication of the paper by Mahler and colleagues in The American Naturalist. As well as demonstrating that there are new species to find even in well-studied areas, Anolis landestoyi's discovery yields important findings about the evolution of Caribbean Anolis lizards. In evolutionary circles, anoles are famous for the evolution of many different types of habitat specialists on a single island--one species adapted to live in the tree canopy, another in the grass, a third on twigs, and so on. What is particularly unusual about anole evolution, however, is that the same set of habitat specialists has evolved independently on each of the major islands of the Caribbean (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico). The phenomenon of convergent evolution--in which species independently evolve the same traits--is well known, but convergence of entire suites of habitat specialists is much less documented, and Caribbean anoles are the textbook example of this phenomenon. However, even in these anoles, there were some exceptions, types of habitat specialists that had evolved on one island, but had no parallels on any of the other islands. One particularly interesting example were large, slow moving anoles, very similar to true chameleons, only found on Cuba. Or so we thought. It turns out that Anolis landestoyi is very similar in both anatomy and habits to the Cuban species, showing that the communities of lizards on these islands are even more similar than previously realized. ### Discovery of a giant chameleon-like lizard (Anolis) on Hispaniola and its significance to understanding replicated adaptive radiations. American Naturalist. D. Luke Mahler, Shea M. Lambert, Anthony J. Geneva, Julienne Ng, S. Blair Hedges, Jonathan B. Losos, and Richard E. Glor Contact Information: Luke Mahler, University of Toronto: luke.mahler@utoronto.ca Jonathan Losos, Harvard University: jlosos@oeb.harvard.edu Richard Glor: University of Kansas: glor@ku.edu How will the traumatic events of the terrorist attacks of 13 November 2015 evolve in people's memories, whether collective or individual? How does individual memory feed on collective memory and vice versa? Is it possible, by studying cerebral markers, to predict which victims will develop post-traumatic stress disorder and which will recover more quickly? These are a few of the questions addressed in the ambitious 13-Novembre program, coordinated by the CNRS, Inserm and heSam Universite, with the collaboration of numerous partners. This transdisciplinary research program, codirected by the historian Denis Peschanski and neuropsychologist Francis Eustache, is based on the collection and analysis of the accounts of 1000 volunteers, interviewed four times over ten years. Involving several hundred people, this study is a worldwide first in terms of size, number of disciplines encompassed and protocol used. Results are expected to benefit the socio-historical and biomedical fields, but also have implications for public policy and public health. Following the appeal launched last November by Alain Fuchs, president of the CNRS, the research community is seeking to elucidate the issues facing society in the wake of the terrorist attacks that hit France in the course of last year. This call for projects gave rise to 13-Novembre, an interdisciplinary program that will run for 12 years. Coordinated by the CNRS and Inserm, in collaboration with heSam Universite, it aims to study the construction and evolution of memory after the attacks of November 13th 2015, and also the relationship between individual and collective memory. "The 13-Novembre project illustrates the role of the CNRS, which is to support two scientists set to monitor studies involving 150 researchers from different disciplines in a long-term program of unparalleled scope," Alain Fuchs says. "From the very beginning, Inserm has been committed to the project, which combines human and social sciences and the latest advances in the neurosciences. This ambitious interdisciplinary program will answer the questions we are asking ourselves. I believe that this is part of the mission of two organizations like Inserm and the CNRS," says Yves Levy, CEO of Inserm. 1000 people monitored over 10 years The testimonies of 1000 volunteers will be collected and analyzed. Some of these volunteers experienced the events at close hand: survivors, their family and friends, the police, the military, the fire brigade, the doctors and caregivers involved. Others were affected indirectly, i.e. the residents and users of the affected neighborhoods; Parisians from other areas; and finally, inhabitants of several French cities, including Caen and Metz. The scale of this study makes it novel: the 1000 participants will be followed for 10 years over four campaigns of filmed interviews (in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2026), with the contribution of the INA (which will conduct the Paris interviews) and ECPAD (for the interviews outside of Paris). Its design is also unprecedented as the guidelines for the interviews were written jointly by historians, sociologists, psychologists, psychopathologists and neuroscientists, in such a way that the material collected is used by each discipline. This study is a world first. Individual testimonies will be put in perspective with the collective memory as it is built over the years: television and radio news broadcasts, press articles, reactions on social networks, texts and images of commemorations, etc., are all examples of records held by the INA and analyzed by its research teams, in relation with other laboratories. Additionally, a partnership with the Credoc will make it possible to gauge public opinion at the dates of the interview campaigns. Eleven specific questions were thus integrated into the Credoc's traditional half-yearly questionnaire in June and July 2016. A biomedical study named "Remember" will be performed on 180 of the 1000 participants: 120 people directly affected by the attacks, some of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and 60 who live in Caen. Interviews and brain MRI scans, conducted at the same frequency as the video interviews, will help to shed light on the impact of traumatic stress on memory (including intrusive thoughts and images, characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder), and to identify markers associated with cerebral resilience to trauma. The participants, of course, will not need to be re-exposed to traumatic thoughts or images. In parallel, the "ESPA" (post terrorist attack public health study) was initiated by Sante publique France in collaboration with the 13-Novembre program in order to analyze--via an Internet questionnaire--the psychotraumatic impact of attacks on those directly exposed, but also the validity of healthcare channels. Transdisciplinary study and civic commitment The program is of crucial interest for all of the scientific disciplines represented. Historians and sociologists will try to understand how individual testimonies and collective memory are co-constructed. The linguist will measure the evolution of vocabulary and syntactic constructions. The neuropsychologist will focus on the consolidation and reconsolidation of memory and its functioning, which depends on whether one has experienced the event itself or is recalling the conditions in which they heard of it. As for the neuroscientists, they will work on the modifications to mental representations, post-traumatic stress disorder and the potential to eliminate painful memories. The psychopathologists will concentrate on the impact of the attacks on self-image, and will look into defense mechanisms or the relationship with destructiveness. In addition, the 13-Novembre program will be useful for criminal law, victim support policies, crisis management and commemorative practices. The filmed interviews will also have a heritage value: they will preserve and transmit the memory of the November 13th attacks. This is a civic commitment by the scientific community and the INA and ECPAD professionals who will be in charge of the recordings and documentary descriptions, as well as of making them available to researchers and archiving them permanently. This program also takes some of the multidisciplinary concepts and methods developed by Denis Peschanski and Francis Eustache on the collective memory of World War II and September 11th and applies them to the Paris terrorist attacks within the framework of the "Matrice" Equipex (equipment of excellence) project, coordinated by heSam Universite and in which the INA is already a partner. For the two researchers, it is impossible to understand collective memory without considering the cerebral dynamics of memory. Likewise, these dynamics cannot be fully grasped without considering the contribution of social determinants. The researchers were also inspired by the questionnaire in print elaborated by US psychologist William Hirst as part of a survey carried out, a week, a few months and a few years after the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. A comparative analysis of the two studies is also planned. Multiple partners and supports The 13-Novembre study started on May 13th in Caen (northwestern France) and June 2nd in Bry-sur-Marne (Paris region) for the filmed interviews. The biomedical study Remember started on June 7th at the biomedical imaging facility "Cyceron" in Caen in collaboration with Normandie Universite. The call for volunteers is ongoing, notably via the French daily Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France (and its website). The first findings should be available in autumn 2017 and final results are expected in 2028, two years after the last interviews. The CNRS and Inserm are in charge of coordinating the scientific aspects of the 13-Novembre program, while the administrative side has been entrusted to heSam Universite. 13-Novembre is funded by the French Research Agency (ANR) as part of the French government's Investments for the Future Program (PIA). ### Inserm researcher l EPHE Francis Eustache +33 (0)2 31 47 02 80 / +33 (0)2 31 56 83 77 francis.eustache@unicaen.fr & CNRS researcher Denis Peschanski +33 (0)6 85 66 20 87 denis.peschanski@univ-paris1.fr The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, on behalf of Masdar Institute, and Victor Sadovnichy, Rector of MSU. Dr. Steve Griffiths, Vice-President for Research, Masdar Institute, also attended the event, along with Andrey Fedyanin and Tatyana Kortava, both vice-rectors at Lomonosov Moscow State University. According to the agreement, the two institutions will establish long-term partnerships for joint fundamental and applied research, and investigate the mechanisms for the implementation of joint innovative projects aimed at commercialization of ideas and technological solutions. They will also cooperate on organization of scientific, educational and technological centers (representations) in the Russian Federation and the UAE. The agreement also lays the ground for a specific research and development (R&D) program in the priority sectors for the UAE and Russia. The program is expected to be launched by January 2017 with initiation of one or more collaborative projects agreed by joint steering committee members from Masdar Institute, Mubadala and Russian partners. Al Ramahi said: "Pushing the boundaries of science and translating innovation into viable commercial technologies relies on a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing across the academic and industry community. Forging closer ties between Masdar Institute and Lomonosov Moscow State University will advance the adoption of clean technologies and alternative energies, and further raise the profile of both the UAE and Russia as global energy leaders." Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost, Masdar Institute, said: "We worked closely with MSU over the past year towards this agreement, which will develop a platform for knowledge transfer for sustainable and clean technology. The landmark agreement will bring about a productive partnership that will benefit the academic and scientific communities in both the countries. We welcome this partnership and thank the UAE leadership for their support to all Masdar Institute initiatives." V.A. Sadovnichy, rector, academic of Moscow State University: "The agreement between Moscow State University and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is an important step in developing scientific, technical, and cultural collaboration between the Russian Federation and the United Arab Emirates. This partnership will help in combining efforts to find effective solutions to scientific, technical and educational tasks and in developing projects of mutual interest to our countries". ### Since establishment in 2007, Masdar Institute has closely collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and in the convening years has partnered with other leading institutions including the University of Manchester, Tokyo University, and Tsinghua University. Masdar Institute's research activities are driven by a core focus on energy and water support by platform capabilities in microelectronics, materials science, information science and engineering systems . These research focus areas and capabilities cover a diverse range of topics that link industry and academia in key UAE sectors. June 17, 2016 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Hawai'i, Nebraska and Vermont $20 million each through its Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which promotes world-class research nationwide. The five-year Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 awards will bolster science and engineering research infrastructure at multiple institutions within each of the three states. The awards are aimed at expanding research frontiers and developing a diverse and nimble workforce trained in STEM disciplines through innovative combinations of research, education and public outreach. "These awards exemplify the kind of collaborative, innovative research that EPSCoR stimulates," said Denise Barnes, Head of NSF EPSCoR. "They target critical regional priorities, including improving crop productivity and security, understanding and adapting to changing environmental conditions, and maintaining a safe water supply. By tackling locally relevant issues, the researchers and students engaged in these projects build a foundation for improved education and economic development in these states, while also advancing scientific research both nationally and internationally." All three projects will advance fundamental research at the interface of science and society in ways that can be applied to other regions and pressing issues across the country and globally. Hawai'i and Vermont are developing innovative approaches to ensure sustainable water supplies in the face of intensive land use and climate change. Hawai'i focuses on understanding how the state's unique volcanic geology influences groundwater features, while Vermont is concentrating on surface water in forested and agricultural areas. Nebraska will establish a Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation to develop tools and technologies for more rapid, precise and predictable improvement of crops to increase production and resilience to climate change. Each award is organized into research themes that align with the individual state's most recent science and technology plan. An overarching theme across the three awards is to promote the transition to a knowledge-based economy by building research and data analysis capacity and through workforce development. These aims will be achieved through partnerships between academic, industrial, private and governmental institutions. In addition to fostering cutting-edge research, these EPSCoR RII Track-1 projects include multiple elements to enhance STEM education, inclusion of diverse populations, and the professional success of early-career scientists and engineers. The lead institutions and principal investigators for the three awards are listed below. University of Hawai'i (Gwen Jacobs, Principal Investigator) This project addresses the critical need for Hawai'i to maintain its supply of fresh water, most of which comes from groundwater sources that are under increasing pressures from population growth, economic development, and climate change. The project will provide detailed understanding of the underground geologic features that determine the flow paths of subsurface water, which are particularly complex in Hawai'i due to its volcanic origins and subsequent history. The project will be administered by the University of Hawai'i System through its campuses at Manoa and Hilo. Other participants include Hawai'i's community colleges and Chaminade University, a private institution serving Native Hawai'ians. The project team will also engage and collaborate with federal, state and local agencies and community groups concerned with water management. Training and education initiatives will prepare a diverse workforce capable of meeting the research and policy-making challenges of the future. University of Nebraska (Fred Choobineh, Principal Investigator) The Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation will greatly improve knowledge of how plants interact with their environment via their root systems and associated nitrogen-fixing bacteria. A deeper understanding of the plant-root system will enable new technologies to provide society with more secure and resilient crops. The Center will involve researchers with expertise across diverse disciplines, including plant biology, microbiology and chemical ecology. In addition to its research agenda, the project will include programs to improve the quality and accessibility of STEM education across grade levels throughout the state. The project will be administered by the University of Nebraska and will include participants from its Lincoln, Kearney and Medical Center campuses. Also participating in the project are Doane College, a Primarily Undergraduate Institution, and two Tribal Colleges -- Little Priest Tribal College and Nebraska Indian Community College. University of Vermont (Judith Van Houten, Principal Investigator) The Lake Champlain Basin is an enormous economic and ecological asset to Vermont, but the lake and surrounding area are increasingly under threat from extreme weather events. Adaptive strategies are needed to increase resiliency of the combined social-ecological system and protect lake and drinking-water quality. This project will support collaborative, team-based research in ecology, hydrology, social science and modeling. The project will advance the field of coupled social-environmental system research and the development of Integrated Assessment Models to enable managers and policy makers to assess a range of adaptive management strategies. Hands-on activities will engage and interest middle-and high-school students in STEM and lead to advanced training for a new generation of STEM researchers. Six Vermont universities and colleges will participate, led by the University of Vermont, with Castleton University, Lyndon State College, Johnson State College, Middlebury College, and Saint Michael's College. ### About EPSCoR EPSCoR fulfills the foundation's mandate to promote scientific progress nationwide. Twenty-five states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are currently eligible to compete for EPSCoR funding. Through this program, NSF enables development of regional partnerships involving government, higher education, industry and the private sector to effect lasting improvements in a state's or territory's research infrastructure and research and development capacity, and hence, its academic competitiveness. PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry will present David W. Schindler, an international renowned American/Canadian limnologist who recently retired from the University of Alberta and who is best known for his work on the role of laundry detergent phosphates as a pollutant killing lakes, with the prestigious Rachel Carson Award at the 7th SETAC World Congress/SETAC North America 37th Annual Meeting on 6 November in Orlando, Florida. The Rachel Carson Award is presented every four years at a SETAC World Congress, and it acknowledges a scientist or science writer who has made significant contributions to increase awareness among the public of potential threats to the natural world. In addition to communicating effectively, high standards for accuracy, a broad view of environmental issues and a passion for political change, even in the face of controversy, are key criteria when selecting a winner. Schindler possesses all of these. Schindler served as founding director of the Experimental Lakes Area research station in Ontario, Canada, which allowed researchers to conduct interdisciplinary research on topics ranging from eutrophication to acid rain, and he examined the effects of watershed management practices and climate change on aquatic ecosystems. His seminal work on eutrophication has been used to establish ecological management policies around the world. Schindler spent many hours explaining his research on phosphorous to policymakers, which resulted in the removal of phosphates from laundry detergents and improvements in sewage treatment. Recently, his work on the effects of oil sand mining on the Athabasca River, and its tributaries has prompted upgraded monitoring at both the provincial and federal levels. These accomplishments alone are laudable, but Schindler has also spent much of his time working with Aboriginal Canadians for the protection of their aquatic resources. In addition to chairing the Board of the Safe Drinking Water Foundation, a small not-for-profit foundation that provides educational material about water to school children and safe drinking water to aboriginal communities, he has been invited to address Cree and Chipewayn chiefs on the topic of water. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ran a documentary about the influence of Schindler's study and the potential impacts of oil sands on aboriginal health. ### For more information about the 7th SETAC World Congress/SETAC North America 37th Annual Meeting visit orlando.setac.org. To learn more about SETAC, visit http://www.setac.org. A Stanford University research lab has developed new technologies to tackle two of the world's biggest energy challenges - clean fuel for transportation and grid-scale energy storage. The researchers described their findings in two studies published this month in the journals Science Advances and Nature Communications. Hydrogen fuel Hydrogen fuel has long been touted as a clean alternative to gasoline. Automakers began offering hydrogen-powered cars to American consumers last year, but only a handful have sold, mainly because hydrogen refueling stations are few and far between. "Millions of cars could be powered by clean hydrogen fuel if it were cheap and widely available," said Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. Unlike gasoline-powered vehicles, which emit carbon dioxide (CO2,), hydrogen cars themselves are emissions free. Making hydrogen fuel, however, is not emission free: today, making most hydrogen fuel involves natural gas in a process that releases CO2 into the atmosphere. To address the problem, Cui and his colleagues have focused on photovoltaic water splitting. This emerging technology consists of a solar-powered electrode immersed in water. When sunlight hits the electrode, it generates an electric current that splits the water into its constituent parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Finding an affordable way to produce clean hydrogen from water has been a challenge. Conventional solar electrodes made of silicon quickly corrode when exposed to oxygen, a key byproduct of water splitting. Several research teams have reduced corrosion by coating the silicon with iridium and other precious metals. Writing in the June 17 edition of Science Advances, Cui and his colleagues presented a new approach using bismuth vanadate, an inexpensive compound that absorbs sunlight and generates modest amounts of electricity. "Bismuth vanadate has been widely regarded as a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting, in part because of its low cost and high stability against corrosion," said Cui, an associate professor of photon science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. "However, the performance of this material remains well below its theoretical solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency." Bismuth vanadate absorbs light but is a poor conductor of electricity. To carry a current, a solar cell made of bismuth vanadate must be sliced very thin, 200 nanometers or less, making it virtually transparent. As a result, visible light that could be used to generate electricity simply passes through the cell. To capture sunlight before it escapes, Cui's team turned to nanotechnology. The researchers created microscopic arrays containing thousands of silicon nanocones, each about 600 nanometers tall. "Nanocone structures have shown a promising light-trapping capability over a broad range of wavelengths," Cui explained. "Each cone is optimally shaped to capture sunlight that would otherwise pass through the thin solar cell." In the experiment, Cui and his colleagues deposited the nanocone arrays on a thin film of bismuth vanadate. Both layers were then placed on a solar cell made of perovskite, another promising photovoltaic material. When submerged, the three-layer tandem device immediately began splitting water at a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 6.2 percent, already matching the theoretical maximum rate for a bismuth vanadate cell. "The tandem solar cell continued generating hydrogen for more than 10 hours, an indication of good stability," said Cui, a principal investigator at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences. "Although the efficiency we demonstrated was only 6.2 percent, our tandem device has room for significant improvement in the future." Rechargeable zinc battery In a second study published in the June 6 edition of Nature Communications, Cui and Shougo Higashi, a visiting scientist from Toyota Central R&D Labs Inc., proposed a new battery design that could help solve the problem of grid-scale energy storage. "Solar and wind farms should be able to provide around-the-clock energy for the electric grid, even when there's no sunlight or wind," Cui said. "That will require inexpensive batteries and other low-cost technologies big enough to store surplus clean energy for use on demand." In the study, Cui, Higashi and their co-workers designed a novel battery with electrodes made of zinc and nickel, inexpensive metals with the potential for grid-scale storage. A variety of zinc-metal batteries are available commercially, but few are rechargeable, because of tiny fibers called dendrites that form on the zinc electrode during charging. Theses dendrites can grow until they finally reach the nickel electrode, causing the battery to short circuit and fail. The research team solved the dendrite problem by simply redesigning the battery. Instead of having the zinc and nickel electrodes face one another, as in a conventional battery, the researchers separated them with a plastic insulator and wrapped a carbon insulator around the edges of the zinc electrode. "With our design, zinc ions are reduced and deposited on the exposed back surface of the zinc electrode during charging," said Higashi, lead author of the study. "Therefore, even if zinc dendrites form, they will grow away from the nickel electrode and will not short the battery." To demonstrate stability, the researchers successfully charged and discharged the battery more than 800 times without shorting. "Our design is very simple and could be applied to a wide range of metal batteries," Cui said. ### Other co-authors of the Nature Communications study are Seok Woo Lee and Jang Soo Lee of Stanford, and Kensuke Takechi of Toyota Central R&D Labs Inc. Four lead authors contributed equally to the Science Advances study: Yongcai Qiu, Wei Liu and Wei Chen of Stanford, and Wei Chen of Huazhong University. Other authors are Guangmin Zhou, Po-Chun Hsu, Rufan Zhang and Zheng Liang of Stanford; and Shoushan Fan and Yuegang Zhang of Tsinghua University. Support was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province in China. KAIST researchers have sequenced the whole genome of Clostridium tyrobutyricum, which has a higher tolerance to toxic chemicals, such as 1-butanol, compared to other clostridial bacterial strains. Daejeon, Republic of Korea, June 17, 2016--Clostridium tyrobutyricum, a Gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming bacterium, is considered a promising industrial host strain for the production of various chemicals including butyric acid which has many applications in different industries such as a precursor to biofuels. Despite such potential, C. tyrobutyricum has received little attention, mainly due to a limited understanding of its genotypic and metabolic characteristics at the genome level. A Korean research team headed by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) deciphered the genome sequence of C. tyrobutyricum and its proteome profiles during the course of batch fermentation. As a result, the research team learned that the bacterium is not only capable of producing a large amount of butyric acid but also can tolerate toxic compounds such as 1-butanol. The research results were published in mBio on June 14, 2016. The team adopted a genoproteomic approach, combining genomics and proteomics, to investigate the metabolic features of C. tyrobutyricum. Unlike Clostridium acetobutylicum, the most widely used organism for 1-butanol production, C. tyrobutyricum has a novel butyrate-producing pathway and various mechanisms for energy conservation under anaerobic conditions. The expression of various metabolic genes, including those involved in butyrate formation, was analyzed using the "shotgun" proteome approach. To date, the bio-based production of 1-butanol, a next-generation biofuel, has relied on several clostridial hosts including C. acetobutylicum and C. beijerinckii. However, these organisms have a low tolerance against 1-butanol even though they are naturally capable of producing it. C. tyrobutyricum cannot produce 1-butanol itself, but has a higher 1-butanol-tolerance and rapid uptake of monosaccharides, compared to those two species. The team identified most of the genes involved in the central metabolism of C. tyrobutyricum from the whole-genome and shotgun proteome data, and this study will accelerate the bacterium's engineering to produce useful chemicals including butyric acid and 1-butanol, replacing traditional bacterial hosts. Professor Lee said, "The unique metabolic features and energy conservation mechanisms of C. tyrobutyricum can be employed in the various microbial hosts we have previously developed to further improve their productivity and yield. Moreover, findings on C. tyrobutyricum revealed by this study will be the first step to directly engineer this bacterium." Director Jin-Woo Kim at the Platform Technology Division of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea, who oversees the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Change, said, "Over the years, Professor Lee's team has researched the development of a bio-refinery system to produce natural and non-natural chemicals with the systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms. They were able to design strategies for the development of diverse industrial microbial strains to produce useful chemicals from inedible biomass-based carbon dioxide fixation. We believe the efficient production of butyric acid using a metabolic engineering approach will play an important role in the establishment of a bioprocess for chemical production." ### The title of the research paper is "Deciphering Clostridium tyrobutyricum Metabolism Based on the Who-Genome Sequence and Proteome Analyses." (DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00743-16) The lead authors are Joungmin Lee, a post-doctoral fellow in the BioProcess Research Center at KAIST, currently working in CJ CheilJedang Research Institute; Yu-Sin Jang, a research fellow in the BioProcess Research Center at KAIST, currently working at Gyeongsang National University as an assistant professor; and Mee-Jung Han, an assistant professor in the Environmental Engineering and Energy Department at Dongyang University. Jin Young Kim, a senior researcher at the Korea Basic Science Institute, also participated in the research. This research was supported by the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Change's research project entitled "Systems Metabolic Engineering for Biorefineries" from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2012M1A2A2026556). Women who commit deadly violence are different in many ways from male perpetrators, both in terms of the most common victims, the way in which the murder is committed, the place where it is carried out and the perpetrator's background. This is shown by a new study that also investigated homicide trends over time in Sweden. Sweden is in the group of countries with the lowest number of murders per capita. As in other parts of the world, the majority of cases of deadly violence are committed by men: In nine cases out of ten, the perpetrator is a man. It is also men that have been the main focus of studies in this area. We know less about the characteristics of women who commit deadly violence, because they have been the subject of far fewer studies. Deadly violence A Swedish research group has now investigated how the frequency of male and female perpetrators of deadly violence has changed during the years 1990-2010. The study also investigates the similarities and differences between male and female perpetrators. The group of researchers from Sahlgrenska Academy, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University, the National Board of Forensic Medicine and the National Council for Crime Prevention studied data covering all cases of deadly violence in Sweden during the years between 1990 and 2010. 1570 cases between 1990 and 2010 There were 1570 cases of deadly violence committed during the observed time period, and of them 1420 were committed by men (90.4%) and 150 by women (9.6%). The gender distribution of the perpetrators was stable at around 90/10% men/women throughout the investigation period. One clear trend is that the frequency, in other words the number of cases of legal violence per capita, decreased. "The results show that deadly violence decreased, both in terms of male and female perpetrators. The study also showed that the proportion of female perpetrators in relation to men largely remained constant during the time period studied," said Thomas Nilsson, Researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. Differences between men and women The researchers were able to see several differences between men and women who committed deadly violence. "There were more pronounced differences between male and female perpetrators with adult victims compared with when the victim was a child (under 15 years). The adult victims of female perpetrators were more often male and an intimate partner. The victims were often under the influence of substances at the time of the crime and they died mostly due to knife violence," said Thomas Nilsson, Researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy. Another difference was that previous violence between the victim and the perpetrator was more common in cases of female perpetrators than male perpetrators, and that women more frequently committed crimes in the home environment. The home was the most common murder scene for all cases but it was even more common for female perpetrators, where the murder took place in the home in nearly 9 out of 10 cases. Fewer differences when the victim was a child The differences were fewer when the victim was a child. However, female perpetrators more frequently used asphyxia, namely, suffocation, compared with male perpetrators who committed deadly violence against a child. The female perpetrators also had fewer instances of sentences for previous criminal activity, according to the prosecution records of the National Council for Crime Prevention. "One result in which Sweden is different from what was seen in studies from other countries is that female and male perpetrators are just as likely to commit suicide in cases where the victim is a child. According to these studies, suicide after infanticide is more common among female perpetrators compared to men," said Thomas Nilsson. Different classifications Variables that were different between the sexes, regardless of whether the victims were adults or children, were those related to the classification of the offense and if the perpetrator had a severe mental disorder, respectively. Women were assessed to have carried out the crime under the influence of a severe mental disorder more often than men. Crimes committed by women were more frequently classified as manslaughter or infanticide (due to the fact that only women can be convicted of infanticide), while crimes committed by men are more frequently classified as murder or involuntary manslaughter by assault. Alcohol or drugs common The majority of perpetrators, regardless of gender, committed the deadly violence with an adult victim under the influence of some substance (alcohol or drugs), while this was only true for a minority of perpetrators with child victims. In summary, the study shows that the frequency of deadly violence has decreased in sweden during the period 1990-2010. Male and female perpetrators with child victims are more similar than those with adult victims. Another important conclusion is that female perpetrators represent less than one tenth of all perpetrators when the victim is an adult, but account for more than one third of the cases of deadly violence where the victim is a child. Gender-specific risk assessment tools The results show that there are fundamental differences between female and male perpetrators of deadly violence, which should be considered in the development of gender-specific risk assessment tools and risk management strategies. Future studies should focus on , among other things, the distinct role that the influence of substances appears to play when it comes to deadly violence against adults and children. The research group believes there is also a need for further studies on time trends of female perpetrators and deadly violence. "Finally, the social and criminological differences we found between male and female perpetrators of deadly violence should be taken into account in the implementation of preventative measures, and the effectiveness of these measures should in turn be evaluated in future research. These measures should focus in particular on issues relating to the relationship between the victim and the perpetrators as well as the crime scenes, since the primary differences between male and female perpetrators appear in those areas," said Thomas Nilsson, researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy. ### The study A Time Trend Study of Swedish Male and Female Homicide Offenders from 1990 to 2010 is published in the scientific journal International Journal of Forensic Mental Health. ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite predictions that expanding Medicaid would crowd doctor's offices with new patients, and crowd out patients with other kinds of insurance, a new University of Michigan study finds no evidence of that effect. In fact, the 600,000 Michiganders who signed up for the Healthy Michigan Plan in its first year faced better odds of getting an appointment, and similar wait times for a first appointment with a new clinic, before and after the expansion. That's despite the requirement - written into the fabric of Michigan's Medicaid expansion - that all enrollees get a primary care appointment within 90 days of getting coverage. And it's despite the fact that the plan far exceeded the expected number of enrollments in its first year. At the same time, people with private insurance seeking a first appointment with a new primary care provider had no significant decrease in the number of clinics able to take them on as new patients, nor a sizable increased wait until the first available appointment. And patients with both kinds of insurance saw a rise in the chances that their first primary care appointment at their new clinic would be with a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, rather than a doctor. Results could inform debate in other states The study, published in The American Journal of Managed Care, builds on a previous U-M study that looked at what happened in the first four months after Medicaid expansion. The authors hope that the full year's worth of data will help inform debates in the 19 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The Healthy Michigan Plan enrolled 90 percent of previously uninsured working-age adults in the state in its first year. The new study was conducted by researchers from U-M's Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation who are faculty in the U-M Medical School and School of Public Health. "One year after Medicaid expansion in Michigan, primary care appointment availability for new Medicaid patients increased, even though enrollment in the program almost doubled," says lead author Renuka Tipirneni, M.D., M.S., a clinical lecturer in the Division of General Medicine at the U-M Medical School. Secret shoppers - by phone The team used a "secret shopper" phone inquiry method to measure the availability of primary care appointments and the kinds of providers patients would see at their first visit. Research team members called nearly 300 primary care clinics several months before expansion took effect, and three times in the first year afterward. They posed as relatively healthy patients looking for a routine checkup with a new health provider. For those who said they had Medicaid, 49 percent of clinics offered an appointment before the expansion and 55 percent offered an appointment after expansion. For those who posed as patients with private insurance, 88 percent of clinics said they could take them before expansion and 86 percent said they could after expansion. Overall, wait times for the first available appointment for all patients stayed the same as before the Medicaid expansion took effect, at about a week. Though wait times went up about three calendar days for privately insured patients in the first four months, they remained within only a week or two. "This unexpected increase in appointment access may be partially explained by the growing importance of non-physician providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants," says Tipirneni. Before Medicaid expansion, 8 percent of new Medicaid patients and 11 percent of privately insured patients would have seen a nurse practitioner or physician assistant at their first appointment at their new primary care site. By one year after expansion, those numbers had gone up to 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Going against expectations The "secret shopper" study measured how easy it was for Healthy Michigan Plan participants to fulfill a key provision of their new coverage: the requirement that they see a primary care provider within three months of getting covered. This stipulation, and other requirements for plan members, was included in the plan under a waiver with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Combined with the larger-than-predicted numbers of people who enrolled in the plan, this requirement had caused some worry that appointments would be hard to get. That's what motivated the U-M team to study the issue, with funding from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study does not distinguish between privately insured patients with ACA plans bought on the health insurance exchange at HealthCare.gov, and those with employer-sponsored coverage. Nor does it distinguish between traditional Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan coverage. The U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation has a separate state contract to evaluate the overall impact of the Healthy Michigan Plan by studying issues of access, provider practice and enrollee experience directly. For more about this effort, visit http://umhealth.me/ihpihmp . ### In addition to Tipirneni and senior author Matthew M. Davis, M.D., MAPP, a member of U-M's medical, public health and public policy faculty, the study's authors are Karin V. Rhodes of the Office of Population Health Management in the Hofstra Northwell Medical School, Rodney Hayward of the U-M Medical School and VA Center for Clinical Management Research, HwaJung Choi, Ph.D. of the Division of General Medicine, Richard L. Lichtenstein of the U-M School of Public Health, and Elyse N. Reamer of the RWJF Clinical Scholars Program at U-M. All except Rhodes, Choi and Reamer are members of IHPI. Reference: American Journal of Managed Care, Vol. 22, No. 6, http://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2016/2016-vol22-n6/Primary-Care-Appointment-Availability-and-Nonphysician-Providers-One-Year-After-Medicaid-Expansion ARLINGTON, Texas -- Though much progress has been made toward gender equality, news coverage of female politicians typically follows gendered lines that often disregards women's competence in political affairs, a University of Texas at Arlington assistant communication professor has found. Dustin Harp, an expert in gender and media studies, examines the issue in "Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Hearing Coverage: Political Competence, Authenticity, and the Persistence of the Double Bind," which appears online in the June issue of Women's Studies in Communication. News coverage of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is well studied concerning women in U.S. politics. In her timely paper, Harp investigated the ways in which gender played a role in the more recent discourse. The findings suggest that though this news media coverage shows some improvement in how Clinton was covered compared with previous research regarding representations of female politicians, the conversations still employ stereotypical feminine frames, including questioning Clinton's proficiency as a leader. "Because of gender stereotypes, women are expected to act in particular ways that often place them in a double bind," Harp said. "The double bind is an either/or situation where a person has one or the other option but where both options penalize the person. "One of these binds, femininity/competency is particularly tough for women politicians because to be feminine is seen as less powerful, which is clearly not good for a leader. At the same time to be a competent woman is problematic for many people who see that as unfeminine. So in this case the woman is criticized either way." On January 23, 2013, Clinton executed one of her last significant duties as secretary of state when she testified at the congressional committee hearings regarding the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans died in the attack. Both of the committees before which Clinton testified were made up primarily of men. News coverage hinted at a new double bind pitting competence against authenticity, whereas Clinton's emotional displays during the hearing were regarded as either a lack of control that undermined her capability or an insincere show of emotion to escape blame for the situation. "Media coverage of the hearings is a particularly interesting site for analysis," said Harp. "Not only was this an event in which a female politician participated in a heavily male-dominated setting, but also Clinton's performance was at the core of the political event. The juxtaposition of gender and politics, televised for all to see, is especially noteworthy." Harp undertook the new study with Ingrid Bachmann, assistant professor of communications at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and Jaime Loke, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oklahoma. The three researchers also co-authored "Where are the Women? The Presence of Female Columnists in U.S. Opinion Pages," in the June 2014 issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. For their new study, the team examined 93 articles and commentary from the eight most heavily visited U.S. news websites from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4, 2013. The news sites included CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, the Huffington Post, Fox News, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. News aggregators, such as Google News, and non-U.S. outlets, such as BBC News were excluded. News websites were examined as there has been a significant readership decline in traditional daily newspapers and the overall news market has grown as a result of the availability of online coverage. Harp's study found that Clinton often is presented as a competent political figure, but also that her emotions are referenced in gendered ways. A Los Angeles Times story, for example, explained that at one point "Clinton's voice broke." USA Today highlighted both that she "was near tears as she talked" and that "she erupted in anger." A Washington Post commentary described Clinton as "blowing her lid." These descriptions are in line with past research findings that show how women's emotions are the focus of much attention, whereas men's emotional displays are scrutinized or mocked only when the reaction is deemed exaggerated or in violation of traditional masculinity, the paper found. One example of a man showing emotion that was later documented by the media includes former Speaker of the House John Boehner's tearful episodes during important interviews and political events. However, for women, the study found that being emotional was described as a part of who they are. For men, it is a trait that is demonstrated only sporadically, a peculiarity that is not a part of being male. The two emotions most prominent in news websites' coverage of Clinton during the Benghazi hearing were anger and sadness. The findings are in line with analysis of previous studies that have shown news coverage of female politicians is often sex stereotypical to the extent that the media function to undermine or even dismiss women politicians. "We found that when Clinton did show her humanity with an emotional display, either her capability was compromised by a show of weakness or her display was considered part of a calculated ploy," Harp said. One of the senators at the Benghazi hearings complained to CNN that Clinton "used an emotional trump card" to avoid his questions, and a column on Fox News argued that the display had been strategically timed. Because she has often been considered hard and lacking warmth, in ways hindering her likeability, had Clinton not choked up when talking about the victims of the Benghazi attacks she would have arguably been criticized for being too cold and unsympathetic. This scenario perfectly illustrates the double bind's no-win situation, Harp noted in the study. Elisabeth Cawthon, interim dean of the UTA College of Liberal Arts, said Harp's study is an example of excellence in research into the human condition, a core theme of the University's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact. "Dr. Harp's work adds greatly to the ongoing, greater discussion about women in leadership, language used to define them, how these women are perceived in society, and the media's role in perpetuating or dispelling stereotypes about them," Cawthon said. "As more women enter higher-profile arenas, including the political sphere, studies such as this one can serve as a guide for those who have an impact on deciding what it means to be feminine or masculine, and regarding issues of gender equality." Cawthon added that the research is especially timely considering Clinton's historic bid to become the first woman president of the United States. Harp joined UTA in 2011 and has focused her research on issues of power and voice in the public sphere. She has published work on women and marginalized groups, journalism, and digital and social media. Harp also recently examined media coverage of the 2013 filibuster by former state Sen. Wendy Davis to block an abortion-restricting bill in the Texas Legislature. The move became a political exhibition and symbolized dominant gender values and norms. "The Spectacle of Politics: Wendy Davis, Abortion, and Pink Shoes in the Texas 'Fillybuster," is published online in the April 2016 issue of Journal of Gender Studies. ### About The University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington is a Research 1 - Carnegie "highest research activity" institution of more than 53,000 degree-seeking students in campus-based and online programs and is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2016 Best for Vets list. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more, and find UTA rankings and recognition at http://www.uta.edu/uta/about/rankings.php. An extremely rare eyeless catfish species previously known to exist only in Mexico has been discovered in Texas. Dean Hendrickson, curator of ichthyology at The University of Texas at Austin, identified the live fish, discovered in a deep limestone cave at Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio, Texas, as the endangered Mexican blindcat (Prietella phreatophila). The pair of small catfish, collected by a team in May, have been relocated to the San Antonio Zoo. The Mexican blindcat, a species that grows to no more than 3 inches in length, is known to dwell only in areas supported by the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer that underlies the Rio Grande basin in Texas and Coahuila. The new blindcat finding lends additional weight to a theory that water-filled caves below the Rio Grande may connect the Texas and Mexico portions of the aquifer. "Since the 1960s there have been rumors of sightings of blind, white catfishes in that area, but this is the first confirmation," Hendrickson said. "I've seen more of these things than anybody, and these specimens look just like the ones from Mexico." Jack Johnson, a caver and National Park Service resource manager at Amistad, first spotted some of the slow-moving, pinkish-white fish with no eyes in April 2015. After several attempts to relocate the species, Johnson and biologist Peter Sprouse of Zara Environmental LLC led the team that found the fish again last month. Mexican blindcats are a pale pink color because their blood can be seen through the translucent skin, and they dwell exclusively in groundwater. "Cave-dwelling animals are fascinating in that they have lost many of the characteristics we are familiar with in surface animals, such as eyes, pigmentation for camouflage, and speed," Sprouse said. "They have found an ecological niche where none of those things are needed, and in there they have evolved extra-sensory abilities to succeed in total darkness." The Mexican blindcat was originally described in 1954 when found in wells and springs near Melchor Muzquiz in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. It was subsequently listed as an endangered species by the Mexican government, and as a foreign endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hendrickson led efforts to locate additional blindcat sites in Mexico and Texas for years but only located them in Mexico on previous expeditions. "Aquifer systems like the one that supports this rare fish are also the lifeblood of human populations and face threats from contamination and over-pumping of groundwater," Johnson said. "The health of rare and endangered species like this fish at Amistad can help indicate the overall health of the aquifer and water resources upon which many people depend." The fish are not yet on public display. They will be maintained alive in a special facility designed to accommodate cave and aquifer species at the San Antonio Zoo's Department of Conservation and Research. "The San Antonio Zoo has a series of labs specially designed to keep subterranean wildlife safe and healthy," said Dante Fenolio, vice president of conservation and research at the San Antonio Zoo. "The fact that the zoo can participate now and house these very special catfish demonstrates the zoo's commitment to the conservation of creatures that live in groundwater." Others involved in the discovery were Andy Gluesenkamp and Ben Hutchins of Texas Parks and Wildlife, Gary Garrett and Adam Cohen of UT Austin and Jean Krejca of Zara Environmental. The finding brings the number of blind catfish species within the U.S. to three, all found only in Texas. The two other species of blind catfish in Texas, the toothless blindcat (Trogloglanis pattersoni) and the widemouth blindcat (Satan eurystomus), live in part of the Edwards Aquifer complex, the deep Edwards pool below the city of San Antonio. ### The very bad news: California has legalized assisted suicide. The somewhat good news: An increasing number of California hospitals are opting out. That includes Palm Springs area hospitals, all of them. From the Desert Sun story: Eisenhower Medical Center issued a policy saying the Rancho Mirage hospital was declining to participate in all activities related to the new law. A spokesman for Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs said Desert Regional and JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio are also opting out. Both hospitals are run by Tenet Healthcare. After careful consideration, we have determined that aid-in-dying medication will not be ordered or administered at Desert Regional Medical Center or JFK Memorial Hospital, Rich Ramhoff with Desert Regional said in an email Thursday. Physicians and staff who receive a patient request regarding the End-of-Life Option Act may assist the patient in finding a participating physician or facility. The position applies to all Tenets hospitals throughout California, including the Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree. Excellent. Meanwhile several health care facilities in Santa Barbara have decided not to directly participate in assisted suicide. From the NoozHawk story: Santa Barbara County hospitals plan to support patients seeking information on Californias End of Life Option Act, but their physicians will not write prescriptions to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives. That sends the important message that killing isnt medicine. More of this please. Photo: Downtown Palm Springs, by Patrick Pelster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Cross-posted at Human Exceptionalism. Can it really be true that we are still talking about Harambe the gorilla, who died on May 28? Yet in the June 27 Weekly Standard, our colleague Wesley Smith makes profound points about the events last month at the Cincinnati Zoo that perhaps could only become clear with the passage of some time and the perspective that brings. Theres no question that we respond to deaths, animal and human, based on an unfathomable emotional logic: We saw the same kind of outrage when an American killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last year. Unlike Harambes, Cecils death was anything but a necessity he was lured out of a sanctuary to be shot by a trophy hunter. But the howling after the hunter stupidly posted on Facebook his photo taken with the dead lion caused some to worry that people care more about slain animals than they do slain people. Adding fuel to that cultural concern, many commenters noted that while Americans mourned Harambe, scores of people were shot and some killed including children in the war zone that has become Chicago. Where was the grief over those deaths? Others noticed that American media poured far more effort and emotion into reporting on the dead gorilla than they did on ISISs beheading of Christians in Libya last year six times more coverage on major television networks, NewsBusters found. Pro-lifers, meanwhile, contrasted the outrage over Harambe with the ho-hum reaction of much of society to the million-plus abortions in the country each year. What gives? Do most people really believe the deaths of a gorilla and lion matter more than the deaths of human beings? I dont believe it. The outpouring of feeling for Harambe has no single explanation, but many. Wesley writes: [W]e live in a time in which people feel more than they think. There is also the nature of the particular animals killed, which gets us back to the idea that the aesthetics involved in a killing can influence our emotional reaction to it. Harambe and Cecil were both magnificent creatures. Had either been, say, a warthog, I doubt we would have witnessed the same passionate outpouring. The emotional power of projected innocence may also explain the potent force that can be unleashed in the cases of animal deaths. Harambe was said to be protecting the child when shot. Besides, Americans love animals. We coddle and coo over our cats and dogs as if they were human children. We place Save the Whales bumper stickers on our cars. We flock to national parks to catch fleeting glimpses of bear, elk, and antelope, remnants of the wild America that once was and yet still is. We fictionalize and anthropomorphize the animal world with movies like Bambi and Babe. We want our cheese to come from happy cows. For many of us, that sense of wonder about animals never leaves us, sparking anger and sadness when one is killed needlessly or wantonly. This doesnt mean that those who feel an animals death so deeply care less about humans who are killed. Or put another way, people dont seem relatively indifferent to the fate of Christian martyrs and murdered Chicagoans because they care about the gorilla more. Rather, it is a defense mechanism. (Abortion is another story.) If we really let ourselves grieve for all the horrible and unjust human deaths that take place in the world every day, we would never get out of bed. I thought at the time of the zoo shooting that some commenters were losing sight of the response to a gorilla as a product of design, whose death, however unavoidable, was a loss to the beauty of the world that in turn points to a transcendent purpose behind it all. But Wesley offers other insights that hadnt occurred to me. Innocence is part of it that of the boy who fell into the enclosure, as Wesley says, and whose hand the gorilla seemed to hold in a protective way, but of Harambe himself. Animals are signifiers of innocence certain animals more than others, of course. No offense to warthogs. We call these animals cute, which is an interesting choice of words. How can an adult elephant tipping the scales at 15,000 pounds be cute the same adjective we apply to a human baby? What do the two have in common? I remember asking the writer Wendy Shalit this years ago, and she put her finger on it: Its the quality of innocence, which is precious and increasingly uncommon in our world. True, too, we sentimentalize certain lives, and certain deaths, as we disregard others. Sometimes the explanation that leaps immediately to mind is a cynical one. Wesleys final point is especially enlightening. Some mourning is probably a kind of deflection or safety valve that allows us to go on without absorbing the full burden of suffering that occurs all around us. For sure, theres no algorithm behind which tragedies push our buttons and which dont. Animals are far more predictable in what drives them. The incredible, bottomless complexity of our emotions is yet another aspect of what makes humans exceptional. Image: Harambe the gorilla, via YouTube. Creathiest: It is not a word that rolls easily off the tongue. But I am at a loss for one that better describes the atheists Daniel Jackson describes in a condescending post at The Spectator (Atheists are embracing Gods and creationism). No bleak darkness for these disbelievers. No existential angst enters their minds. No despair over the vast emptiness in which Earth floats, seemingly alone with life. Creathiests have the comforts of religion without the commitment of a creed. Post-humanity will bring an end to all ills. Eternal life arrives when we can upload ourselves into a machine. And Elon Musk admitted to a Creator when, a couple of weeks ago, he suggested that the odds of our living in a simulation to be a billion to one. Jackson writes: Elon Musk, the billionaire inventor and entrepreneur, the twenty-first centurys answer to Howard Hughes, believes we are living in a computer simulation. His argument that, given the increasing pace of progress in computer technology, we will eventually be able to synthesise reality and consciousness is an abbreviated version of a 2003 paper by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy Professor at Oxford. The paper suggests that if we arent living in a simulation, civilisation will end before we are able to reach the posthuman age. The detail and the terminology isnt important; the idea is bunkum, the sort of thing thats fun to think about on psilocybin, but not much use otherwise. Whats interesting is the way in which atheists are embracing the idea or at least the possibility of creationism. If we are living in a simulation, someone or something had to create it. It brings a kind of pleasure to watch someone apparently without religion call attention to the religiosity of the supposedly irreligious devoted to demolishing religion. It is, truly, ironic. After all, only the religiously devoted would shut down rational discussion over their creation myth: evolution by means of random change and natural selection. Why else would otherwise very smart, well-read, articulate people fall for and promote the silly, unfounded just so stories with which evolutionary research is generously stocked? What else can explain the consistent misrepresentation of alternative views and the refusal to engage counterarguments? Only because it serves creathiests as their creation myth is evolution held with such irrational passion against the evidence of design. The same fervor promotes the ungrounded faith in a coming Singularity, when computers will transcend us, perhaps leading to our demise. It is not a logical result drawn from the data. It is a wild extrapolation that fails to admit the vast amount we dont know and the limits of our technological successes. It is not a short leap from a pattern-matching, game-playing machine such as Googles AlphaGo to awe-inspiring AI super-intelligence. It is a blind leap of religious faith. For everyone engaged in the evolution debate, a calm, rational discussion would be best. Religious devotion, no matter how sincere, cannot alter the evidence or up-end the challenge. Lets leave our a priori commitments behind and look closely at what were seeing, following the evidence wherever it leads. Photo credit: Maurizio Pesce [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Bates CHI & Partners has announced the appointment of Ramanathan Balasubramanian to the position of CEO of their flagship ASEAN office in Jakarta as Hendra Lesmono steps up to become the agencys Creative Chairman a newly formed role designed to put creativity at the center of the agency. Balasubramanian as he is known will relocate from Mumbai where he has for the past three years been the Managing Partner of Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai and Kolkata, whilst Lesmono has been the Creative Leader of the agency since 2007. David Mayo, Regional CEO Bates CHI & Partners said, Ram and Hendra are a unique combination. Ram has led the most successful creative agency office in India for 3 years and Hendra has led one of the most successful agencies in Indonesia. They are both at the top of their game and their combined dynamism and vitality will bring a new dimension to our successful Jakarta agency. Whilst at Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai, Balasubramanian led the agency to the top of the Global Effie Index and the most recognized agency in India. Lesmono meanwhile is the architect of Indonesias most acclaimed and iconic A-Mild campaign. Talking about this move, Balasubramanian said, I have had the opportunity to run diverse offices in India. And, with Indonesia poised to grow, Bates CHI & Partners is an undeniable opportunity for someone like me - its collaboration positioning is built for the new world order. Under Mayo, Hendra and Graham Kellys leadership, work is shining, new business is coming in and the Jakarta agency continues to grow ahead of the pack. I couldn't have come in at a better time." The Creative Chairmanship of the agency is a newly created role designed to put creativity at the center of the management agenda whilst making more space for a new generation of Creative talent. We have always been a creative agency in Jakarta and over the past 18 months we have focused on bringing in newer and younger talent to help drive our creative agenda. As Creative Chairman, Lesmono will work alongside Ram to ensure that our growth plan is delivered through a creative lens not unlike the way Ram has done at Ogilvy in Mumbai. Its a proven strategy that we know will work in Indonesia, said Kelly. Lesmono started at David in 2004, which became Bates CHI & Partners by 2013, and has been with the agency ever since to become one of the most recognized and established creative minds in Indonesia. I am very proud of what we have achieved over time and being Creative Chairman of Bates CHI & Partners in Indonesia will allow me to champion the creative cause at an industry and national level whilst driving the fortunes of our agency and sharing that agenda, said Lesmono. We are massively proud of Shafira Sahara and Reza Maulana, said Lesmono of the youngsters that were selected by the Cannes organizers to attend this years festival in France. But they are emblematic of the spirit of this agency and the people who work here. Having two of us at Cannes will mean we are all at Cannes this year. Read more news about (marketing news, latest marketing news,internet marketing, marketing India, digital marketing India, media marketing India, advertising news) The global market for higher education is changing with the world now seeing a large mobile body of students willing to cross national boundaries in search of the best education, according to a new report.Some 20 years ago there were only four countries in which more than half of the student age population attended university. Now there is 54, says the report from international student recruitment firm Hobsons Solutions.It explains that the rise of a new global middle class fuelled by economic growth in emerging markets and shifting demographics has led to more young people than ever before seeking a university education.This growth in demand for tertiary education has created a steady supply of international students for countries such as Australia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Germany and the United States.This has profoundly affected the higher education market in every country. With more students than ever before going abroad to seek a university education, the motivations, preferences and characteristics of the global student body has undergone dramatic and widespread changes.According to the report international students make a vital contribution to the culture, vitality and sustainability of universities and societies around the world. It also points out that international higher education has become a crucial export income generator for some of the worlds largest economies, generating more income than tourism for Australia or coal for Canada.However, according to David Harrington, president of Hobsons Solutions, such growth and success is not guaranteed to continue. He explained that higher education is not immune to the type of fundamental disruption that other large, established industries have seen in the last decades, as a consequence of rapid technological developments and easier access to information.Universities therefore face challenges on multiple fronts. They need to diversify their intake of international students to reduce risk, they must rise to the challenge of increased competition with foreign universities, and they must respond to the threat of a more fundamental disruption to their model of learning, he said, adding that the pressures include budgets and mind set.Australia, which was the first nation to initially apply strategic thinking and develop an active approach to building a sector, remains at the forefront but now has to compete with the UK which has become its main competitor.New Zealand, Canada and Germany have rapidly become innovators and serious competitors in the international student market and have introduced new policies for Post Study Work Rights (PSWR) and formed strong partnerships internationally. Despite starting years behind, theyre quickly catching up.Harrington also explained that many former developing nations, countries that currently provide the bulk of internationally mobile students, are now swiftly developing world class higher education and training capabilities. The rise of nations such as China and Malaysia as destinations for international students is disrupting the strategic intent of many seasoned players, he said.He added that while the sector has demonstrated its capacity to innovate and expand rapidly, now it needs to diversify as a failure to move forward risks falling enrolments, revenue and true cultural diversity on campus.The report concludes that attracting students from more diverse backgrounds will reduce universities exposure to risk if a major disruptive incident were to occur. A sector that once weathered the perfect global economic storm is now ripe for transformation. To survive and flourish through this period of transformation, universities need to make a quantum leap in their approach, it says. Safety concerns at a food packaging plant operated by Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. sent shares for the upscale grocer tumbling, the latest setback following years of declining stock prices, falling sales at existing stores, food contamination scares and increased competition eating into their share of the organic grocery market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration admonished Whole Foods, which operates 430 stores in the United States, for severe violations at the grocery chains food manufacturing facility in Everett, Massachusetts in a letter dated June 8 to Whole Foods co-CEOs John Mackey and Walter Robb. The chains stock fell 4.92 percent on news of the letter Wednesday to $30.92. The shares were largely flat Thursday, dropping by just 10 cents. Inspectors found evidence of a non-pathogenic form of listeria bacteria on surfaces where food is prepared at the plant, which services 74 stores in the Northeast, resulting from employees inability to properly clean equipment, the letter said. Several food items including pesto pasta, mushroom quesadilla, vegetables, chives, beets, egg salad and couscous in areas where condensate was dripping from ceiling joints, a drainage pipe, doorway and condenser fan during an inspection in February, according to the letter. The agency also chided Whole Foods for violations including not sanitizing surfaces used for food preparation, storing dirty dishes near prepared food and allowing an employee to spray an ammonium-based sanitizer onto an open colander of salad leafy greens. Whole Foods, based in Austin, said in an emailed statement that the company has addressed and corrected each of the issues at the plant, which services 74 stores in the Northeast, but those changes werent noted in the FDA letter. We were honestly surprised, said Ken Meyer, executive vice president of operations for Whole Foods Market, in the statement. Weve been in close contact with the FDA, opened our doors to inspectors regularly since February and worked with them to address every issue brought to our attention. FDA officials gave Whole Foods until the end of June to fix problems at the plant, noting the agency still has serious concerns. But, declining sales growth, accusations of price gouging and food contamination have driven Whole Foods share prices downward for nearly three years. Shares have plunged by 52.6 percent from a high of $65.24 in October 2013. Sales growth at existing Whole Foods stores fell 1.8 percent and 3 percent during the first and second quarters, respectively, of this year, compared with increases of 4.5 percent and 3.6 percent during the same periods in 2015. The sharp declines in sales growth came after Whole Foods, working to escape its Whole Paycheck image, agreed to pay $500,000 to settle an investigation by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs claiming that the chain had overcharged customers for food items. Months earlier in September, the chain agreed to shed suppliers who sold food items produced through a Colorado prison labor program following outcry from customers. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. In October, Whole Foods recalled packages of its curry chicken salad and classic deli pasta salad in seven states including New York and Massachusetts because of possible listeria contamination. Investors in June were optimistic about the chains 365 by Whole Foods Market brand, a lower-priced alternative geared toward Millennials that launched in May, sending stock prices to a 3-month high of $35.17 on June 7. But, stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group noted that concept was unproven against competitors. Chains like Sprouts and Trader Joes have taken away some of Whole Foods market share. jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Fridays planned fundraiser in San Antonio for presidential candidate Donald Trump co-hosted by IBC Bank Chief Executive Dennis Nixon has triggered a backlash on social media, with some calling for customers to close their accounts or boycott the bank altogether. Nixons support for Trump, who has come under fire from many for wanting to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and for incendiary remarks about minorities, highlights the perils businesses can face when top executives take such a public stance in heated elections. Nixon risks offending a large portion of the banks customer base in both South Texas, which is largely Latino and Democrat, and in Mexico, where it does a lot of business. Due to what Mr. Dennis Nixon and his folks have done at IBC regarding hosting a fundraiser for Donald Trump, I am withdrawing my money from IBC, said Jose Borjon, an aide to U.S. Rep Filemon Jr., a Brownsville Democrat. Ive enjoyed my time with IBC Bank, but I cant support a bank that would do this. He added he has between $20,000 and $30,000 spread over checking, savings and money-market accounts with IBC in Brownsville. Wrote @atjared on Twitter, very disappointing to see @IBCBank donating to fund trumps campaign of bigotry despite being a hispanic friendly biz. might close my accts. The author and others who wrote similar comments on social media couldnt be reached for comment. The blowback follows a June 8 fundraising letter from Nixon to friends and colleagues urging them to support Trump, the presumptive Republic nominee. The letter was written on Nixons personal letterhead and made no reference to Laredo-based IBC or his position there. While citing major disagreements with (Trump) on trade, immigration, and his attitude toward Mexico, Nixon wrote the other choices voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton or not voting at all are unacceptable. Nixon added, we need a candidate who can cut the red tape and lift the regulatory burdens off the backs of business, so that companies can grow, expand, and create jobs. I do believe that if Donald Trump wins, he will engage in the traditional thinking of solving real problems and getting our fiscal house in order. Nixon did not respond to a request for comment. IBC has 25 branches in San Antonio and 206 overall, according to its website. Besides being IBCs CEO, Nixon serves as chairman and president of the banks publicly traded financial holding company, International Bancshares Corp. Its relatively uncommon for the head of a public company to publicly endorse a candidate because it might roil customers, employees and shareholders, according Douglas Schuler, an associate professor of business and public policy at Rice University. So if you really care about your company , why do something as perilous, stupid and unnecessary as hosting a fundraiser? Schuler said in an email. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich recently scheduled and then canceled a fundraiser for Trump. The website Recode, citing anonymous sources, reported the planned event generated significant outrage within the ranks at Intel. Krzanich wrote on Twitter, I do not intend to endorse any Presidential candidate. We are interested in engaging both campaigns in open dialogue on issues in technology. NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian Frances decision to back Trump threatened efforts to broaden the sports appeal among minorities and jeopardized ties with corporate sponsors, the Associated Press reported in March. An alliance of Democratic state lawmakers representing border districts criticized Nixon in a June 11 letter to IBCs board of directors. It is is unfathomable that a financial leader of the border region would host a fundraiser for an individual who supports building a border wall and who has insulted Mexican Americans, state Rep. Cesar Blanco, an El Paso Democrat who chairs the House Border Caucus, said in the letter to the board. International Bancshares, IBCs parent, bills itself as the largest minority-owned organization in the U.S. Its largest shareholder is director Antonio Sanchez Jr., chairman of Houston-based Sanchez Oil & Gas Corp. and the son of one of the banks founders. Sanchez, the Democratic candidate for governor in 2002, didnt respond to requests for comment. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Leonardo Salinas, who served as a senior executive vice president at the bank and retired after 35 years in 2000, said he had no problem with Nixons letter. Trump has come up with different ideas to move the U.S. and the economy, Salinas said. I think hes the best choice. On one hand, Nixons support of Trump may seem peculiar given that, according to a regulatory filing, the bank is very active in facilitating trade along the border and does a large amount of business with customers living in Mexico. About 27 percent of its $8.5 billion in deposits at the end of last year were from persons or entities based in Mexico. IBCs logo is an outline of U.S. and Mexico On the other hand, Trump may provide relief for banks. Bankers have chafed at financial reforms implemented in recent years that they say have raised costs and hurt profitability. International Bancshares net income fell nearly 11 percent last year to $136.7 million. Its non-interest income, which includes overdraft fees and monthly service charges, dropped by almost 13 percent to $155.7 million. The company reported closing 55 in-store branches in 2011 because of regulatory changes limiting the amount of fees merchants pay banks on credit- and debit-card transactions. Hes willing to risk the backlash in the community (for supporting Trump) because thats just how strongly he believes his bank is getting beat up so bad by these regulations, said one San Antonio banker who didnt want to be identified. Some IBC customers, though, have made a distinction between Nixon and the institution. As much as I disagree, dont like and wont be voting for Trump, I wont be closing my accounts with IBC because one individual in his private capacity decides to express his political beliefs, said George Altgelt, a Laredo city councilman and an attorney. He has three business accounts and two personal bank accounts at the bank. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Face it Dad really doesnt want a tie for Fathers Day. But plenty of dads appreciate good food and drink, and gifts of those items will keep on giving. In that spirit, we offer a few suggestions: A good sipper Ranger Creek Fathers Day gift pack: Ranger Creek just received serious kudos from Eater.com as one of the 12 Best Single Malt Whiskey Distilleries in America, so get a taste of the distillerys goods with a gift pack that includes two whiskeys and a glass. Gift boxes include the .36 Texas Bourbon and Rimfire Mesquite Smoked Single Malt (which Eater loved) or the .36 Texas Bourbon and .44 Texas Rye. They are available for $60 at Ranger Creek or around $75 from retailers. drinkrangercreek.com/fathers-day/ Get serious about cooking Thermapen: When Dad is ready ready to take his cooking or grilling to a new level, hes ready for a serious thermometer, the Thermapen. It registers an incredibly accurate reading in 2 to 3 seconds and is the favorite thermometer of Alton Brown and the crew at Americas Test Kitchen and Cooks Illustrated. The classic version starts at $69 and the deluxe version, the Mk4, costs $99. thermoworks.com/Fathers-Day-2016 For the grilling dad Pitmasters Gift Set: How about a gift that lets Dad look good, drink well and raise his grilling game? The Granary Cue & Brew is offering a growler filled with a choice of house-brewed beer, a Granary T-shirt and a jar of cue rub. Snag one for $40 at the restaurant, 602 Avenue A, 210-228-0124. When Dad wants a cold one Insulated growler: Now that more places are filling growlers, Express-News beer columnist Markus Haas recommends an insulated growler for Dads craft beer. Hydro Flask and Klean Kanteen are two of the better-known names. Check your favorite beer retailer or go online to get one. A 32-ounce growler retails for about $40 to $55, while a 64-ounce growler costs from $60-$70. No one messes with Dad in the kitchen Ninja chef T-shirt: Designed by San Antonio artist Robert Tatum, this is just an awesome T-shirt, and proclaims the wearer as a bad, um, you know. Available in small through extra-large sizes. $19.95 at Melissa Guerra, 303 Pearl Parkway, Suite 104 at The Pearl, 210-293-3983, melissaguerra.com. etijerina@express-news.net Air conditioning, bodies of water and refreshing beers are three things that make life bearable over the summer. So as we crank up the AC, drive to a beach or head to a nearby river, it seems like a good time to canvass whats good to drink this season. Ranger Creeks Dry Hopped Berliner Weisse takes a traditional German sour wheat ale and Americanizes it by making it a good deal stronger (5.5 percent alcohol by volume instead of the traditional 3 percent) and dry hopping it. Traditionally, the Germans use practically no hops at all in this style. That aside, Ranger Creeks take on it works rather brilliantly. Its light and very effervescent, tartly sour, and has a moderate floral and citrusy hop aroma that fits in well with the rest of the beers profile. Its been around for several months, so pick up some soon before its replaced by the next seasonal offering. Real Ales Gose is an example of a little-known German style that doesnt conform to what we usually think of as coming from that part of Europe. Named after the Gose River, the style has been around since the Middle Ages, but entered a rapid decline and disappeared following World War II, with only a very recent revival. Its hallmarks are a light sourness, a note of coriander standing out thats similar to a witbier and most unusually salt. Real Ale also adds a bit of lime juice, a combination that margarita drinkers have long appreciated. A salted beer is definitely a unique experience, but one that works well in the summer heat. Taking a step back into the more traditional realm, Sierra Nevada Summerfest is a crisp yet slightly sweet lager that should appeal to a wide spectrum of beer fans, even those who stick closely to Mexican lagers. Its maltiness and spicy noble hop character is reminiscent of a pilsner-like Czechvar, though a bit more subtle and less bitter. It would pair well with picnic foods such as pasta salads or hot dogs. For matching up with more robust hamburgers or salsa, a nice hoppy IPA does the trick really well. Theres never a shortage of those, so any number of them fit well here, but the latest installment in Firestone-Walkers Luponic Distortion series, No. 002 deserves mention. The Luponic Distortion IPA series features a gradually changing lineup of newly developed hop varieties, but always will stay within striking distance of each other. The aroma and flavor of this edition of the beer are hugely fruity with citrus, papaya and pineapple notes, but underneath that is some neutral malt and a firm but not palate-wrecking bitterness to back up the aroma. And at 5.9 percent ABV, it doesnt pack the punch of a double IPA. Local beer note: On June 26, Blue Star Brewing Co. will hold its 20th anniversary celebration. The beer world is almost unrecognizable compared to what it was in 1996, but Blue Star has stayed surprisingly unchanged over the years. It still occasionally brews some of its original recipes, including the smoked dark ale. The event begins at 10 a.m. with a jazz brunch and features throwback beer prices from 1996. Markus Haas is the beer writer for the Express-News. Reach him at mhaas@express-news.net. Citing declining enrollment in the San Antonio Independent School District and huge demand for skilled workers in the tech industry, the district announced Thursday that it has partnered with advocacy group Tech Bloc, H-E-B and other business leaders to open the first of what will eventually be a network of career-themed high schools throughout the city. Too often weve invested in great ideas and assets and built them in the wrong places we end up too decentralized, too sprawled, too isolated, said Tech Bloc co-founder David Heard. This high school will be tremendous for not only skill development and talent access for tech companies, but also a real revitalization opportunity for our citys central core. H-E-B and its CEO, Charles Butt, are providing $3.6 million in startup funds for the first school, to be called CAST Tech. It will be an in-district charter at SAISD, to be located in the downtown tech district, one of up to five schools collectively called the Centers for Applied Science and Technology. CAST Tech will hold open enrollment in fall 2017 for about 125 to 150 students going into ninth grade 50 percent of students will come from within SAISD and 50 percent from the rest of Bexar County. The project-based curriculum will integrate traditional high school classes with training in areas such as cyber security, coding and animation. Technology is now part of our lives, this is no longer an option, said SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez, adding that the system will be based on fast-tracking high schoolers into industries that are fast-growing, where many of our students (right now)... simply cant see themselves. While H-E-B and the school district are not saying which locations theyre looking at for the school, theyre choosing between two spots downtown, where tech companies have taken root around Houston Street. Students will intern with nearby tech companies including Geekdom and Rackspace while still in school and are guaranteed an interview with a San Antonio company after graduation. Along with a diploma and a job interview, students will leave CAST Tech with a minimum of 30 hours of college credit. Martinez, who came to San Antonio in 2015 with a plan to boost the districts SAT scores and overall performance, expects the new school to be vital in keeping parents from pulling their students out of the district, which he said is falling behind. From 1989-90 to 2015-16, student enrollment dropped 10 percent, from 58,807 to 53,069 In Houston-based nonprofit Children at Risks 2016 Texas school assessment, more than 70 percent of SAISD schools received a D or F grade, but the Young Womens Leadership Academy a specialized school in the district received an A+. This is giving our district a fighting chance, Martinez said, noting that more than 90 percent of SAISD students come from low-income families. Look at the higher ed outcomes of this city theres a reason that were struggling for our workforce. Since CAST Tech will be an in-district charter at SAISD, funding in the long term will also come from the state. The idea for the new kind of high school came from H-E-Bs CEO. After seeing a career and technology center in another city, my response was, We have to have one of these in San Antonio, Butt said, referring to the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center in Lubbock. While San Antonios school will be smaller and more specialized, H-E-B spokeswoman Kate Rogers said its similarly based on engaging students with technology and business in and out of the classroom. The big difference really is the role of industry, Rogers said. We chose high-tech because of the labor market out of San Antonio. Cities across the country are scrambling to modernize in Texas especially, where Austins economic growth has served as a national model for development. San Antonio was ranked ninth in Forbes Cities of the Future list earlier this year, but it hasnt fostered the same urban density necessary for tech growth, Heard said. At a packed rally for Tech Blocs one-year anniversary at the Pearl on Thursday evening, Heard and Rogers officially announced the project. Rogers encouraged audience members, most of them tech professional, to help bridge the $1.4 million gap between the necessary $5 million and H-E-Bs $3.6 million donation, and to come work in the school. Heard said there will be faculty stipends in the beginning to recruit top-tier staff. Eventually, he said, the school will have to offer trained teachers money comparable to what they would make in the tech industry. That wont be trivial but it can be done, other magnet schools and charter schools focused on tech around the country do this, Heard said. So, theres a precedent. llepro@express-news.net A man serving a 135-year sentence in federal prison on child pornography charges was sentenced to five life terms plus eight 20-year sentences after a Bexar County jury found him guilty Thursday of several charges related to the sex assaults of two girls. The jury found Carl Wade Bailes, 40, guilty of 13 of the 14 state charges he faced. Five of them were aggravated sexual assault counts, and the rest were sexual assault charges carrying maximum sentences of 20 years in prison. State District Judge Melisa Skinner sentenced him to the maximum term in state prison on each of the five aggravated sexual assault charges and gave him 20 years on each of eight sexual assault charges. She then ordered two of the life sentences and one 20-year sentence to run consecutively. The rest will run concurrently with his federal sentence, Bailes attorney said. Bailes cried upon hearing the sentence as one of his victims and her relatives sighed in satisfaction. Bailes was indicted in October 2012 in the state case, which stemmed from an investigation by the Bexar County Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs deputies arrested Bailes, a Marine and Navy veteran, in February 2014 after two girls, then 16 and 6, made an outcry that he repeatedly molested them. Defense attorney Charles Bunk told the jury in his closing argument Thursday morning that the facts presented by the state are not sufficient to prove the allegations. He disputed testimony given by the oldest accuser because she could not remember specific dates or times of the alleged abuse and said the prosecution did not submit into evidence medical records that proved the assaults. I dont know what happened, neither do you. I know you dont like him, Bunk told the jury. I was disgusted by what I heard, but hes not charged with being disgusting. In her closing argument, prosecutor Kristina Escalona told the jurors that they heard from the older accuser and saw pictures from videos allegedly shot by the defendant while he had sex with a child under 17. She also reminded the panel of evidence presented of an extended chat on Facebook between the defendant and the accuser using coded language about the sexual encounters and his request for five minutes of time. She told you what happened, that five minutes of time. ... We have some time. Escalona told the jury. That disgust can only be cured by one word that word is guilty. The oldest accuser, now 19, testified Tuesday that Bailes began molesting her when she was 5, several times a week. She said the abuse evolved to sexual intercourse that continued until she was 16. She also said he videotaped several of the encounters. The San Antonio Express-News does not identify sexual abuse victims. Bailes was convicted July 15 by a federal jury on charges that included distributing, receiving and producing child pornography. FBI agents became aware of Bailes in September 2012. He was sentenced in November to 135 years in federal prison. FBI agents and sheriffs investigators found Bailes used software to wipe more than 200 files of child pornography from a laptop he used. Some also were recovered. Agents also discovered that Bailes produced images of the two girls the same ones in the state case being sexually abused. Staff Writer Guillermo Contreras contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Donald Trump got a warm embrace from South Texas supporters Friday during his first campaign visit to San Antonio, a city he praised for its beauty and NBA team. Attendees at the private luncheon at Oak Hills Country Club, where Trump gave a relaxed half-hour address, said the ballroom there erupted in cheers several times as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee lashed out at the state of national affairs, the Obama administration and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Nearly 500 people, most of them opposed to Trump, conducted peaceful demonstrations outside the country club, outnumbering the estimated 400 donors who paid from $500 to $250,000 to attend the invitation-only fundraiser for the candidate and Republican Party committees. Among Trumps crowd-pleasing remarks was praise for the Spurs, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who joined former Gov. Rick Perry in introducing Trump. He talked about what a great team the Spurs were, and how they were the epitome of teamwork, Patrick said as he headed to Trumps Friday evening fundraiser in Houston. Trumps political message was all about winning in November, Patrick said, describing the businessman as very relaxed. He said we cant continue the eight years of (President Barack) Obama by electing Hillary. We need a president who is going to defeat ISIS and protect our country, a president who knows how to create jobs, Patrick said. Introducing Trump, Patrick said he emphasized how the GOP has worked hard to make Texas a Republican state, and Im not about to let Hillary Clinton even make it close in November. Patrick said he urged the crowd to vote straight-ticket Republican on Nov. 8 to help the GOP capture down-ballot local, state and federal offices. Trumps call for a border wall to prevent illegal immigration didnt come up in the address, said Bexar County GOP Chairman Robert Stovall, who was honored with the role of leading the Pledge of Allegiance. He spent a good portion of his intro talking about our military troops and what they meant to him and this country, Stovall said. He talked about his victory in Indiana and how instrumental that was for him. And he praised Texas as a great example for the rest of the country with the leaders we have here, acknowledging Perry and the lieutenant governor, Stovall said. But he also talked about the smart people and assets we have in business here in Central and South Texas, Stovall said. Trump praised what he saw of San Antonio when his motorcade bolted from San Antonio International Airport to the country club and back in a two-hour period. He said its a beautiful city, said Stovall, who agreed with Patrick that Trumps comments about the Spurs were a crowd-pleaser. Stovall said that Trump said the coach (Gregg Popovich) is a great coach. He said things like I dont know if the coach is on my side. It doesnt matter to me. He does a good job. What matters to me is the temperament of San Antonio. Outside the country club, the temperament among demonstrators was spirited but orderly. San Antonio police, working with the Bexar County Sheriffs Office and the Secret Service, reported no arrests or major incidents. Crowd estimates approached 500, with the vast majority of them opposed to Trump. Police were vigilant about avoiding conflict between protesters and Trump supporters, who generally were separated by traffic on Fredericksburg Road. But occasionally, a Trump supporter would infiltrate the crowd of protesters, under the watchful eye of police. Get used to that wall, said one man who was followed by a police officer. Racist scumbag! one of the Trump protesters replied. Some of the demonstrators policed themselves. When emotions flared, protesters reminded one another to keep it peaceful. San Antonio police Sgt. Dave Anderson said officers attempted to keep pro- and anti-Trump protesters separated. Valerie Campos, 20, an anti-Trump protester and point of contact for the Peace Keepers, an activist group, said: We did have a meeting personally with (SAPD) yesterday to make sure that everything goes off peacefully. When asked what she would like to say to Trump, Campos said: We are willing to love you as long as youre willing to love us. jgonzalez@express-news.net Twitter: @johnwgonzalez Staff Writers Scott Huddleston and Rye Druzin contributed to this report. On Monday afternoon, the mediated negotiations between the city and the San Antonio Police Officers Association hinged on one little clause. The city wanted an escalator provision, extending a 10 percent annual hike in dependent health care premiums into the evergreen phase of the collective bargaining agreement. To be sure, that clause had some fiscal importance. If a police officer decides to cover his or her family on the citys value health insurance plan, the first-year premiums will be $125 a month, the following year theyll go up $13 a month, and so on. Hypothetically, if the next round of contract negotiations stalled for eight years, those family premiums would reach $391.63 a month by the final year of the evergreen. The escalator clauses biggest effect, however, was symbolic. Put simply, it was essential to the city as a face-saving device. After all, the city had expended time, money and goodwill on lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the 10-year evergreen clauses in the current police and fire contracts. The city had argued in court, with little success, that the evergreen violates the Texas Constitution by forcing municipalities into debt. The lawsuits, which the city filed 19 months ago, had intensified hard feelings between first responders and City Manager Sheryl Sculley, and they were cited by SAPOA as a reason for calling off negotiations in September. The litigation divided the City Council, and it even surfaced as a campaign issue last year, when then-mayoral hopeful Leticia Van de Putte argued that the city shouldnt sue family. During the recent mediated negotiations, the city accepted an evergreen of eight years nearly as long as the one whose constitutionality it had challenged. This about-face begged the question of what the whole point of the lawsuits had been. How can you argue that a 10-year evergreen is unconstitutional, but an eight-year evergreen is just fine? The escalator clause gave Sculley a way out. It allowed the city to accept a long evergreen because the evergreen it accepted essentially came with an asterisk. (By nature, evergreen clauses freeze benefits and wages until a new contract goes into effect.) It also bolstered the city argument that the lawsuits had provided bargaining leverage. I wouldnt have been able to recommend it had that not been in it (the contract), Sculley said Wednesday. It really was crucial. The mayor and I both wanted a lesser evergreen clause. Since the union, in the discussion, didnt want to even reduce it from 10 years, we said, Well, if we do reduce it to eight years, then well have to have a cost escalator on the health care costs. Mayor Ivy Taylor agreed, calling the clause a mitigating factor that makes us feel more comfortable with the proposed reduction in evergreen. The clause also provides some balance to a deal that would otherwise be a slam-dunk victory for the union. In addition to the long evergreen, police officers received generous compensation increases that include a $3,000 bonus in 2017 and salary hikes that will lift their wages by 14.8 percent over the next four years. (By comparison, the 2009-14 deal increased salaries only by 11.4 percent). They got the city to accept an increase in public safety costs from 66 percent of the general fund (a maximum level set by the council) to a projected 67.6 percent in the last year of the contract. They also got an $800 bump in their clothing allowance. In return, SAPOA agreed to the inclusion of a health care option that requires premiums for officers spouses and children. But officers also maintained a premium-free option, in the form of a consumer-driven plan with higher deductibles. The city also committed to contribute $1,500 a year to health savings accounts for officers who choose the consumer plan. Thats why the escalator clause was so important to the city. When people ask and they will why the city couldnt have reached the same deal two years ago without the ordeal of the lawsuits, the escalator clause will offer city reps an answer. It will also give SAPOAs rank and file some pause, and its important to remember that theres no guarantee the unions membership will approve the deal. But the bargaining breakthrough marks an important moment for Taylor, who recognized that with mediation winding down, the city needed to make its move or face an endless, expensive impasse. She stepped up to bring this to a close, and the city is better for it. ggarcia@express-news.net Twitter: @gilgamesh470 LONDON A member of Parliament was gunned down outside a library in northern England as she was wrapping up a meeting with constituents Thursday afternoon, a rare act of political violence in a nation that strictly regulates firearms. Jo Cox, 41, who was considered a rising star in the opposition Labour Party and was a passionate advocate for victims of the civil war in Syria, was shot in the town of Birstall. A 77-year-old man was injured in the attack. A 52-year-old man was arrested in Coxs killing, and police said they were not looking for other suspects. No motive has been established, officials said. The killing occurred one week before a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union, and both sides immediately halted campaigning out of respect for Cox. The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy, Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter, describing Cox as a committed and caring MP and a great star. Its right that were suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, he said. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, wrote on Twitter: The whole of the Labour family, and indeed the whole country, is in shock and grief at the horrific murder of Jo Cox. Cox, like most other Labour politicians, supported Britains continued membership in the EU. In her maiden speech in Parliament last year, she spoke of the diversity of her district, which includes Irish Catholics and Indian Muslims. We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us, she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ORLANDO, Fla. The wrenching ritual has become all too familiar to President Barack Obama. His armored limousine deposits him at a nondescript building big enough to hold a large number of families whose loved ones have died in a mass shooting somewhere in America. Away from the news cameras that normally track his every interaction, he enters rooms thick with grief and the hushed voices of people in shock. He grasps for words of sympathy, comfort and condolence and offers long, tight embraces that the mourners will remember far more vividly than his words. Obama traveled here Thursday for the latest round of mass consoling, four days after a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, the president entered the Amway Center, about 2 miles away from the club, to meet privately with the scores of families who lost sons, daughters, siblings and partners, trying to make sense of a tragedy and to offer the condolences of a nation still reeling. It was the setting for a deeply personal and private set of encounters in which the president dispenses with the trappings of his office and becomes an emotional father identifying with parents who have lost children. The president understands that he is a symbol of the country, and when he travels to a community and meets with a family that has endured a terrible tragedy, hes offering a message of condolence and comfort on behalf of the American people, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday. But it would be impossible for him to not be personally affected by these kinds of conversations and these kinds of interactions, In such instances, Earnest said, the president draws on his faith. He has had to do so many times during his years in office, a period in which there have been at least 20 large-scale shootings that have prompted a presidential response. Obama has called these visits among the most difficult duties he performs. Visiting with families who lost young children in the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, was the hardest day of my presidency, he said afterward. So one by one, the president grasps the mourners he encounters in tight embraces, according to people who have attended the sessions, relying on body language almost more than words to convey his support. He hugged each one of us individually and I mean hug, so that I was able to smell his cologne, said Sharon Risher, 57, who lost her mother, Ethel Lance, and two cousins in the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, last year. It was not a little pat on the back. The intimacy of that hug is what Ill always remember. A new report suggests the UK places little importance on soil, resulting in a 'worrying lack' of knowledge around it. The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Agroecology for Sustainable Food and Farming said that although 95 per cent of the UK's food comes from the soil, the political agenda does not reflect this and current policy is insufficient in protecting soil for future generations. Following the APPGs recent inquiry into soil health and protection, which took a particular focus on agriculture, serious concerns emerged around the following key areas: Climate change Soil can act as both a carbon sink and emitter, but government policy does not go far enough to preserve soil quality and current incremental plans to improve agricultural performance are far from sufficient. Soils must be incorporated into the Governments climate change strategy. Knowledge It is not possible to study soil science below postgraduate level, often making soil the most neglected component of land use. Policymakers, farm businesses and advisers are less likely to consider soil as the cause or solution to a problem. Testing and data collection The national picture on soil health is deplorably lacking, and there are currently no assessment plans, despite the Government commitment to ensure that all soils are managed sustainably by 2030 Farming methods Maize crops for energy use are often proving to be implicated in soil compaction and flooding. Policy must also encourage extensive farming over intensive farming, and business and political infrastructure surrounding our diverse farm sector must work harder to safeguard soil. A panel of cross party MPs and Peers heard evidence over three oral sessions, with expert witnesses from the NFU, Rothamsted Research Institute, the Soil Association and Cranfield University among others. Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, who led the inquiry panel, said: "Healthy soil is vital both here and around the world. "Failure to tackle current problems will lead to catastrophic environmental, economic and social breakdown. "Reversing the loss of soils, along with restoring knowledge and interest in soil, are essential first steps to sustainable food production." One step that could be taken to build healthier soils, is to use measures within Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to incentivise farmers to improve soil organic matter with initiatives, such as crop diversification to include agroforestry, which could also mitigate against harmful monocrops, for example maize grown for energy use. The findings echo many of the concerns expressed in the recent Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report, and when read together they give a complete assessment of UK soils, along with policy recommendations to improve their current state. The APPG particularly supports recommendation 691 from the EAC report, which recognises the need for agricultural practices that maximise soil health, and calls for landowner incentives to restore soil quality to help mitigate against flooding. Such a policy could help deliver against food security concerns while also providing natural barriers to help minimize damage from the increasing number of floods battering the UK. As the UK population is set to rise to some 70 million people by 2030, the issues outlined in the reports will need to be taken seriously or the pressure on our agricultural system may prove devastating. The APPG is sharing the reports with Ministers and Shadow Ministers to raise the importance of soil health and to encourage greater consideration for soil protection policies. 'One of the most vital resources for food production' Georgia Farnworth, policy officer at the Soil Association said: "This most recent signal that MPs from all political parties are committed to the protection of our soils one of the most vital resources for food production is hugely encouraging. "The Soil Association is particularly pleased that our evidence to the APPG into the need to protect our soils have been agreed, especially from the negative impacts of growing maize, which were highlighted in this report as well as by the EAC and in the recent DECC consultation. "The APPG report also concluded that the subsidy regime for AD maize needs to be urgently reviewed. "We must continue to ensure soil is rooted at the top of the political agenda. "Farmers need the right advice and best practice guidelines for improving soil organic matter and reversing the dramatic loss of agricultural soil that has devastated the nation in recent flooding. "This is something the Soil Association has outlined in our recent 7 Ways to Save our Soils report." The APPG for Agroecology Inquiry panel comprised: Scott Mann MP Simon Hoare MP Jeremy Lefroy MP Rebecca Pow MP Daniel Zeichner MP Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer Baroness Young of Old Scone Lord Cameron of Dillington ASDA has become the first British supermarket to ditch imported carrots and sell British-grown carrots all year round. The retailer had originally aimed to be 100% self-sufficient in British carrots from next season, but favourable weather and good management by Scottish growers has resulted in the target being met a year early. In the past three years, Asda has worked with growers in Angus, Perthshire and Aberdeenshire to extend the home-grown carrot season from 46 weeks/year to 52 weeks. It now sells 38,000t of British carrots each year. John Shoesmith, Asda's produce manager, said: "By working closely with growers we have developed a partnership that has delivered real benefits to farmers and customers alike. "It is a testament to all their hard work that this year we have reached our target of becoming 100% self-sufficient." Those producing carrots for Asda in Scotland, where the growing season is longer due to the colder climate, are paid on a cost-plus basis, guaranteeing that prices are based on the true cost of production. The scheme also underwrites the risks associated with growing carrots outside the normal season and rewards producers for increases in yield and quality. New growers, capable of lifting in excess of 100t of carrots/day, are still being sought in Angus, Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds has issued a call for a review of ergot alkaloids to help inform policy development by the European Commission (EC). The outputs of the review, which takes the form a short desk study, will feed evidence and supporting data to the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) in preparation for a proposed consultation and potential future regulation. About ergot Ergot is caused by the fungus, Claviceps purpurea. Although it can reduce the yields of crops, more serious problems occur when grain contaminated with ergot is eaten, either in its natural state (animals grazing) or after processing (baked cereal products or animal feed). Twelve ergot alkaloids (and epimers) are associated with ergot-infected cereal plants. Ergotamine, ergosine and ergocristine are the most common in the UK. Their levels and frequency vary each year. Ergot levels Although maximum levels for ergot sclerotia for cereals are in place within EU member states (and in Codex guidance), there is no legislation setting maximum levels for ergot alkaloids in Europe. This could be set to change, as the European Commission (EC) plans to review the maximum acceptable limit for alkaloid levels in cereal grains from July 2016. New legislation could be agreed toward the end of 2017. Ergot detection Laboratory testing for alkaloids is relatively expensive and too slow for use as an intake test for processors. At present, processors look to detect ergot sclerotia but it has been suggested that alkaloids may still be detected in grain even in the absence of physical sclerotia. The review will look to improve understanding of how transfer of alkaloids may occur with a view to develop an appropriate test to analyse for them. A budget of 15,000 has been set aside to fund the desk study. The Government has been called to address the barriers which prevent farmers and landowners from creating more woodland. The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses said disappointingly low figures on tree planting across England and Wales published by the Forestry Commission on 16 June, proved that the scheme intended to boost woodlands was simply not working. CLA President Ross Murray said: "We are disappointed but unsurprised at the low figures for tree planting since the inception of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for woodland creation. "We have consistently told the Forestry Commission that the scheme was ineffective for farmers and landowners, even to those who want to create woodland. "These recent figures prove that to be the case with only 13% of new woodland areas created in England and just 3% across Wales. "Although most of the new planting took place on private land, many land managers are discouraged from creating woodland due to over regulation of the forestry sector, concerns over Environmental Impact Assessments and the effect on land values. "A lack of long-term incentives to compete with agriculture also adds to the many barriers which already make an unattractive choice in land use change even more so." Mr Murray added that the CLA had made its concerns known to ministers and was keen to continue working with Defra to find a solution which ensures the scheme can actively help farmers and landowners contribute to meet the Governments tree planting target of 11 million by 2020. He said: "Trees are so vital to helping improve water quality and delivering natural flood defences among many other benefits. "The Government must address the many barriers to woodland creation if it is to achieve its planting targets." Dairy UK is holding a dairy exports seminar Going Global: Exports and Dairys Future on Wednesday 29th June in London. The seminar will address how the UK can go global by boosting its dairy exports. Alongside UK dairy experts, European dairy exporters will discuss how to make current export systems more efficient and cost-effective. Dairy UKs Vice-Chair Paul Vernon will open the seminar with an overview of Dairy UKs new export strategy which identifies a number of actions and recommendations to enhance export performance in the UK. Will Armitage of Defra's Great British Food Unit will focus on how Government can support the industry and help facilitate dairy exports. The seminar will then examine two country-specific perspectives on dairy exports. Namely, John Jordan, CEO of Ornua Foods Europe, will discuss dairy exports in Ireland and Lone T. Mortensen from the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food will look at the Danish perspective. Jacqueline Pieters, Global Head of Food & Agri Sector Banking at Rabobank, will consider the financial risk in emerging export markets, from a global perspective. Farmers are being urged to ensure they are properly insured ahead of the introduction of tougher new penalties for businesses convicted of corporate manslaughter and other health and safety offences. Under previous legislation, lower courts rarely imposed custodial sentences and could only fine individuals up to 20,000. Since February 1st in 2017, those found guilty could face unlimited fines or imprisonment. Patrick Quigley Account Executive and Gemma Rawlinson, Scottish Borders and North Area Manager from H&H Insurance Brokers, which operates across Northern England and the Scottish Borders, said: "Its particularly important that farmers and businesses operating in the rural community are aware of these changes and the steps they can take to protect themselves." "According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), over the last decade, one person a week has been killed in the agricultural sector. "With many of these deaths due to breaches in health and safety legislation, the way such cases are dealt with has been reviewed and the Sentencing Council is introducing new penalties. "In future, there could be far-reaching consequences for any farmers or farming businesses that are convicted, and its vital they are properly insured against that risk. "As the agricultural year moves into the summer months, risks on the farm heighten. "There have been a number of cases in recent years of members of the public crushed by cattle at grass, and we will soon be at the peak point in the year for agricultural machinery use which brings additional health and safety risks." Drop-in sessions with H&H Under the new penalties, company directors, officers or employees of a business who are prosecuted as an individual could be jailed for up to two years. It is anticipated that business with turnovers of up to 2 million could face fines of up to 450,000, with the amount rising dependent upon the companys turnover. H&H Insurance Brokers will be running special drop-in sessions for farm businesses at marts across Northern England and the Scottish Borders, providing advice and guidance on whether they are adequately covered. Farmers can come along with their insurance documents and H&H professionals will check the level of protection they have in place. Patrick and Gemma from H&H Insurance Brokers said: "These stiffer penalties could affect farming businesses and our aim in offering these one to one sessions is to help support farmers and ensure that they are adequately covered." H&H Insurance Brokers offers the specialist liability policy Rural Protect, which covers both the business and individual. It can be tailored to individual requirements and farm circumstances and covers the cost of dealing with regulators, including HSE fees for intervention costs. There is also free access to a 24/7 crisis line for farmers staffed by qualified solicitors, providing unlimited legal advice on regulatory and legal issues as part of the policy. To find out more or check your level of insurance, you can attend the H&H Insurance Brokers drop-in sessions at Wooler Mart commencing Wednesday 22nd June and monthly on a Wednesday thereafter. Draft plans to tighten up official controls from farm to fork were informally agreed by food safety MEPs and the Dutch Presidency of the Council on Wednesday. It aims to guarantee that the food consumers buy and eat in Europe is safe and wholesome, hence improving consumers health and preventing food crises. The legislation aims to provide a comprehensive, integrated and more effective control system in the areas of food and feed safety rules, veterinary and plant health requirements, organic production and protected geographical indication rules. "This legislation will bring clear, common general principles to all sectors of the food chain. "It was long overdue, as the agri-food chain becomes ever more complex. "Parliaments team, Council and the Commission worked to make controls more efficient, less bureaucratic and cheaper for operators, said Environment Committee chairman Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT). "The aim is to protect consumers, with risk-based, more independent inspections, and to restore confidence after the recent scandals," he added. "This regulation is one of the most important pieces of food safety legislation of this legislature. "It was a complex and challenging process and I am very happy that after 8 months of negotiations we came to a good agreement yesterday evening with the Dutch Presidency," said rapporteur Karin Kadenbach. "After the horse meat scandal, consumers had serious questions about the traceability of food, and the integrity of the meat supply chain. "The European Parliament strove to address these concerns and to end up with a text that allows competent authorities to effectively combat fraudulent practices," she added. "To this end, risk-based and unannounced controls from farm to fork in all areas covered by the Regulation, including areas where fraudulent practices do not entail any risk for the health of the consumer (like in the organic sector), are paramount to restore the consumer's trust in the integrity of the food chain." "I am also proud that Parliament managed to have the chapter on enforcement strengthened, in particular regarding the penalties to be applied in the event of intentional violations of the rules. "I trust that really deterrent penalties will be a key tool to combat fraud in every area," she added. MEPs and the Dutch Presidency of the Council agreements: a comprehensive scope, encompassing the whole agri-food chain: controls on food, feed, plant health, pesticides, animal welfare, geographical indications, organic farming, unannounced, risk-based controls in all sectors, better enforcement against fraudulent or deceptive practices, import conditions for animals and products imported from third countries, and European Commission controls in EU member states and in third countries. Horsemeat scandal Recent food fraud scandals, such as the horsemeat scandal, have shown the need for more effective action on the part of enforcement authorities to protect consumers and honest operators alike, from the risks which may arise from breaches of the rules along the food chain. The new rules will follow a risk-based approach, thus allowing competent authorities to focus their resources on the more relevant issues (all risks considered and not only risks for health). In order to establish a harmonised general framework, the proposal for a regulation encompasses, in a single regulatory text, the official controls relating to all sectors of the agri-food chain (currently split among 16 or so regulations or directives). The proposal provides an in-depth review of existing provisions, aiming to eliminate any regulatory overlapping, taking a proportional and flexible approach so as to be able to react more promptly to emergency situations. For example, by establishing swifter procedures for the accreditation of official laboratories. Next steps The text will be put to a vote in the committee of permanent representatives (COREPER) on June 22, and by MEPs in the Food safety committee in June or September. North Shropshire Colleges (NSC) Walford Campus has played host to students from Finland for four weeks. NSC has welcomed Hanna, Pinja and Salla from Koulutuskeskus Vocational Education Centre in Finland. The students have worked with the Walford Farm Manager, Richard Aldis and local farmer Roger Tomley in Oswestry. They also got to live a day in the life of an agriculture student and learn about the local farming history, as well as having hands on experience. The visit was organised by the Enterprise and Development Team at NSC, who have been working closely with their equals in Finland to create an enriched and informative visit for the students at the College and in the UK. Bev Parry, event organiser, commented: "Hanna, Pinja and Salla all enjoyed their stay in England and were able to experience the farming culture of the UK." In September 2016 14 of NSCs very own students, including agriculture students and apprentices, will be travelling to Finland to stay with local farmers, with the aim of the trip being to experience farming the Finnish way. This visit is one of many that NSC students have been able to access in recent years, thanks to the Erasmus+ Programme. European funding is used to support students from different areas of curriculum, to experience cultures and work placements abroad for two weeks. Scottish prime cattle prices have been showing some seasonal strength and rising steadily over the past six weeks, according to the latest analysis by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). Current prices are around 10p/kg deadweight higher than they were in late April but producers are still, on average, receiving around 6p/kg deadweight less than they were 12 months ago. "Prices have shown some strength, despite abattoirs being reasonably well supplied with cattle," said Stuart Ashworth, QMS Head of Economics Services. "April slaughter statistics show the Scottish prime cattle kill was 1.6% higher than in 2015. "Since then, price-reporting abattoirs have continued to report higher throughputs than last year. "Some of the price increase may be due to more consumer interest in selected beef cuts as the weather improves and some due to fewer cattle falling outside the premium pricing specifications, lifting the average price but not the premium product price," Mr Ashworth added. Meanwhile the number of cull cows reaching abattoirs is running significantly higher than last year, particularly in England and Wales, he said. However, the carcase weights of these cattle have been lower, perhaps reflecting the continuing challenges in the dairy sector. "Although this adds volume to the total domestic beef supply, cull cow prices have also shown some strength over the past month. "They have risen around 7p/kg dwt, suggesting an underlying demand pull for beef in recent weeks," he said. Changes in the balance of trade for beef may, he observed, also have offered some market support. "Although suffering a time lag, UK customs data shows an 18% increase in exports between January and the end of April, while imports fell 3%. "The net trade effect was therefore a reduction in domestic beef supplies of almost 3% from last year over the first four months of 2016," said Mr Ashworth. Scotland responding more slowly Scotland appears to be responding more slowly than the wider UK to the market signals on carcase weight as Scottish abattoir production of prime beef in April increased by a larger percentage than the cattle throughput. "In contrast beef production from prime stock across the UK as a whole fell in April despite an increase in the kill numbers, reflecting a decline in carcase weights in England and Wales. "Typically slaughter weights in Scotland are at their highest in late spring and lowest in the autumn. "In the coming months we will see the proportion of 2014 born cattle in the Scottish kill decline and the spring 2015 born calves increase in volume as the autumn progresses. "It remains to be seen whether changes to finishing objectives will result in Scottish carcase weights from these 2015-born cattle beginning to fall below year-earlier levels," said Mr Ashworth. Comparing slaughter volumes with cattle populations suggests a switch to slaughter at a slightly younger age. The pool of cattle between 24 and 30 months of age on farms in April 2016 was lower than in 2015 while the number of 18 to 24 month old cattle was little changed. Meanwhile the number of 12 to 18 month old cattle increased markedly. With prime stock slaughter numbers in price-reporting abattoirs holding up, he said, this suggests an earlier draw from the 18 to 24 month pool which will flatten the supply curve going forward. It looks almost inevitable that there will be increased cattle numbers this autumn. However, by adjusting age at sale and carcases weights, the growth in prime beef production may be constrained. In a keynote speech at the Global Summit of the Consumer Goods Forum in Cape Town, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis encouraged business to do more to tackle food waste. He called on the wider industry to publish their food waste data in order to make meaningful progress. Appealing for action across the food industry, Dave Lewis urged collaboration in tackling food waste right across the supply chain in farms, distribution, in supermarket operations, and in customers own homes. "A key part of this agenda is transparency", the CEO said. Tesco has published data on food waste in its own operations since 2013, and the approach has proved instrumental in helping identify hotspots in order to tackle root causes. He called on companies, in the short term, to do more to redistribute their surplus edible food waste to people in need. Earlier this year, Tesco pledged its commitment to redistribute all of their edible food waste from stores to charities by the end of 2017. He told the audience: "Tackling food waste makes sense for business, it will help people and our planet, and its also the right thing to do." Actions put forward Cutting time out of the supply chain to provide customers with fresher produce that lasts longer; Widening specifications to take much more of the crop, maximising the amount of fresh produce supermarkets can sell in stores. A new range of wonky fruit and vegetables, called Perfectly Imperfect, was launched by Tesco in February; Publishing data on food waste to identify hotspots and tackle problems; Redistributing edible food to people in need, with a commitment to give away all surplus edible food waste to charities and people who need it; and Introducing simpler to understand date coding, and ending buy one, get one free offers on fruit and vegetables. Food waste facts A third of the worlds food is wasted 1.3 billion tonnes; Almost a billion people one in nine globally go to sleep hungry; Food loss and waste costs the world $940 billion per year in unnecessary costs; The healthiest food is often the most wasted in the UK around 800,000 tonnes of fresh veg and salads are wasted annually; and More than 13 billion 5 a day portions of fruit and vegetables were thrown away in 2012, enough to provide more than 7 million people with their 5 a day for a year. 'Champions 12.3', a coalition of leaders from government, businesses, international organisations, research institutions, and civil society will work to create political, business and social momentum to halve food loss and waste around the world by 2030. It aims to inspire action by leading by example, motivating others to reduce food waste and communicating the importance of food loss and waste reduction. The latest figures from the Welsh Government show the number of herds in Wales under restrictions from TB is at its lowest level since 2006. The Welsh Government has published its quarterly TB data which gives a picture of the disease situation across Wales. The data also shows 94.6 per cent of herds in Wales were TB free during the first quarter of 2016, which means over 200 less herds were under restrictions because of a TB incident compared to three years ago. This comes as news today that the Welsh Conservatives have raised serious concerns to the Government about the current policy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB), and called on them to 'end their dithering' on the issue. The Cabinet Secretary has however since responded to critics, saying: "Bovine TB is a serious animal health issue and I am committed to building on our long term efforts to eradicate this disease in Wales. "I welcome the latest data, which reaffirm the fact we are seeing some progress towards achieving this goal, with a continued downward trend in the number of TB breakdowns. "Of course the TB picture across Wales is a complex one. It is often assumed the increase in the number of cattle slaughtered means the disease is on the rise. "In actual fact the increase in the number of cattle slaughtered is down to changes to cattle controls and surveillance measures, which has improved the way we detect and eliminate the disease in our herds." Tackling all sources of infection The Cabinet Secretary added: "Our TB Eradication Programme is making use of the armoury against the disease. "This includes the testing of cattle, strict biosecurity, movement control and enhanced management of TB breakdowns. "This approach is aimed at tackling all sources of infection and is clearly having an effect. "The latest statistics show the number of new herds with TB in the 12 months to March 2016 reduced by 14%. "I will continue to monitor and review the picture across Wales and am committed to taking a science led approach when considering all options on the way forward." The Welsh Government publishes its quarterly TB data through the TB dashboard, which provides the information in a visual and easy to understand format. The dashboard shows the disease situation across Wales and demonstrates the progress the TB eradication programme has made. Cost of living crisis could trigger 'winter crime epidemic' on farms Received settlement of more than $600,000 By Diego Flammini Assistant Editor, North American Content Farms.com The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC), along with the Mid-America Research and Development Foundation (MRDF), won a joint legal proceeding against AgBorn Genetics LLC, and was awarded a settlement of $602,945. The decision, reached by a unanimous jury, found that MSMC and MRDF were entitled to the settlement based on royalties owed for undisclosed and unreported sales of MSMCs soybean seed technologies and for unpaid and bounced royalty checks issues by AgBorn Genetics. Members of the MSMC feel the victory is a crucial one for soybean producers in the state. This is such an important case for soybean farmers, said Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council chairman and Lafayette County soybean farmer David Lueck. We take our responsibility to manage growers soybean checkoff dollars very seriously and will continue to take any necessary steps to ensure farmers receive the benefit of their investments in the checkoff. Theres no excuse for anything less. Todd Rowden, the attorney representing the soybean farmers, told the Kansas City Star once court costs and interest is included, the settlement could be worth closer to $1 million. "It is proving to be more expensive to roll out the NBN in regional and rural areas - but we should all be treated equally and be able to access services no matter where we live." What was it like to be an Oath Keeper? John Zimmerman can tell you Writers have always told tales about death and murder, lost girls and brave cops. Crime fiction, though That genre winked at me. Beckoned me to come closer, to stay a while. Crime fiction promised that it would thrill me more than thrillers, woo me more than romance, help me tell a truth just like those found in histories and biographies. I fell for crime fiction. Hard. Why? Lemme tell you. Trail of Echoes I can talk social Issues without being preachy. All good mysteries attack a problem. In my newest Detective Elouise Norton novel Trail of Echoes, Lou confronts the hastened sexuality of teen girls, bullying, murder, classism, racism, gentrification and the rush to judgement. And have the opportunity to do this without telling the reader what she's doing wrong. A spoonful of sugar, as Mary Poppins sang. Even I wanna know whodunit. I like puzzles and discovering why we do the things we do. Murder, marriage, friendship, political affiliations - humans are strange creatures, worthy of being captured for eternity on page. True story: my sister is a teacher, One year, she had a student named Enchantress. Yeah. Why did her mother name her baby that? What type of life will a young girl have with a name like that? What type of decisions will she make? Who will she meet and will make assumptions about this girl named Enchantress? Will I see her on the six o'clock news one day? I'm sure to write about her. Call me an avenger. Someone has to get back at the bad guys, the bullies, the jerks, the ones who take advantage of old people, the ones who hunt and hurt our girls. A mystery starts out with the bad (a murder) and in my series, too many people can be monsters. But Lou never lets go -her nickname is 'Lockjaw.' Through Lou Norton, I can tackle issues that frustrate and scare me, that leave me hopeless in real life. Through crime fiction, the good find justice, even for a moment. Ooh, research. I like reading and discovery. Writing crime and mystery means talking to the experts: cops, fire fighters, forensic investigators, reporters, insurance claims adjusters, teachers, attorneys I now have license to be nosy, to read endlessly, watch documentaries, attend conferences, surf the Web, ask questions, eavesdrop, and subscribe to as many magazines as I want. Because I need to know. My publishers are paying me to know. Awesome! Hanging out with the writers. Mystery and crime writers are the most interesting people. And we're all so supportive of each other, always talking each other up, sharing stories and advice on which weapon to use and which poisons the coroner does not screen. We're fans of each other's work, super-geeks fascinated by bad things together. Crime writers - they're my people. I can be me. Crime fiction lets me use gutter language while crafting a poetic paragraph. Uplifting and funny in one chapter, cynical and 'abandon hope' in the next. Contradictions abound because I am a contradiction. I can be whoever I want, writing about whoever I want, in any fashion I want. Freedom-it's what all writers want. I like my imaginary friends. I've discovered more Lou Norton with each book. She's funny, vulnerable, driven, principled, often disappointed in others, often disappointing others. She's real. I want to watch Star Wars with her, eat popcorn and drink a great Cabernet Sauvignon with her. And the people surrounding Lou? I like them, too. Well, not the murderers. Her friends are a hoot and I like exploring their lives, too. They change-no one is the same in Trail of Echoes as they were in Land of Shadows. A tourist in my hometown. Many people think they know Los Angeles. I've lived here all my life and I don't know all of this city. Mystery lets me discover not just the places we all see on television - Hollywood, Beverly Hills, wherever the Kardashians are - but neighborhoods without TMZ cameras or the Kardashians. Alleys and liquor stores. Restaurants that serve authentic chicken and waffles, where the tables are a little sticky and the waitresses need attitude adjustments. The reader rides shotgun as I navigate the endless highways, often stuck in traffic, but that's okay because Kendrick Lamar's on the stereo and look over there! A famous LAPD car chase. Just another day in Los Angeles. Revenge. That girl who bullied me that summer? The ones who thought they were cooler and prettier than me? The teacher who thought my writing was too dark? Call me petty but revenge is best served in a book. Crime fiction fans are loyal. Mystery and crime fiction readers are incredibly supportive and tremendously enthusiastic. They read everything we write and show up to bookstores and conferences just to say, 'Hi!' They write wonderful emails and Facebook posts about your books, evangelizing your series better than your loved ones. They make dolls of your characters (yes, I have a Lou Norton doll, complete with a tiny police badge). They remember you. And I love them for that. Rachel Howzell Hall is the author of the newly-released Trail of Echoes in the Detective Elouise Norton series published by Titan Publishing. Angelina Jolie's children are learning seven languages. Angelina Jolie The 41-year-old actress has revealed her kids Maddox, 14, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10 and seven-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox aren't overly interested in following in the footsteps of her and her husband Brad Pitt by carving out a career in film and would rather focus on becoming multilingual. Speaking on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she said: "I asked them what languages they wanted to learn and Shiloh's learning Khmer, which is the Cambodian language, Pax is focusing on Vietnamese, Mad has taken to German and Russian, Zahara's speaking French, Vivienne really wanted to learn Arabic and Knox is learning sign language. "I suppose you don't know who your children are until they show you who they are and they're just becoming whoever they're going to be. They're interested about other cultures." And Angelina - who was named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations (UN) 15 years ago and now acts as a special envoy to the UN Refugee Agency - is also proud of how much interest her children take when it comes to her work with refugees. She said recently: "I'd never push them to be involved. It's something I believe each person must come to on their own. It has to be an honest and real connection." The actress and director has admitted it was her eldest son Maddox, who she adopted in 2002 from an orphanage in Battambang, who encouraged her to make her last film 'First They Killed My Father', which is based on Loung Ung's account of the Khmer Rouge's regime in Cambodia. She explained: "Maddox has known Loung since he was a baby. It was his urging that pushed me to make the film. "He has been with me every step of the way, from script to post-production. Shiloh asked to travel with me to Lebanon after I told her of a little Syrian girl named Hala. "She wanted to meet her and she and Pax have shown interest, like most kids do, in what their mom does." Charlie Sheen expected other HIV-positive celebrities to contact him "confidentially". Charlie Sheen The 50-year-old actor was diagnosed with the disease four years ago and though he doesn't know anyone else in the public eye secretly living with the condition, he thought they would discreetly make themselves known to him after he revealed his own HIV status last November. Asked if he thought there were any other Hollywood stars who were secretly living with HIV, he said: "I don't know. I sort of thought others would contact me confidentially, but that didn't happen, that's their journey. I can only wish them well." But he revealed he has had "several people" approach him when out in public to thank him for giving their loved ones the confidence to speak about their own HIV diagnoses. Speaking at a press conference in London, where he was promoting condom brand LELO HEX, he said: "That's a gift you can't put a price tag on. "I don't see it as being a poster boy [for HIV]. [But] who is there right now to generate this type of attention, and this amount of good will, and this tsunami of awareness? If that's become one of my roles on this journey, then I'll take it." The former 'Two and a Half Men' actor - who has a grown-up daughter, Cassandra, with former girlfriend Paula Profit, daughters Sam, 12, and Lola, 11, with second wife Denise Richards, and twin sons Bob and Max, seven, with third spouse Brooke Mueller - is currently single and admits he doesn't find it easy to get a date. He said: "I'm not dating, I'm spending a lot of time with my family. Right now I couldn't get laid in a women's prison with a handful of condoms. "It doesn't give me a great opening line, 'Hey, I've got HIV - busy later?' "It is what it is, and I don't want to make light of it, but it changes the whole approach on it, because it's no longer about my interests and my folly, it's about the other person, it's about protecting them and just being open and responsible." Tricky is set to perform with Massive Attack at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park. Massive Attack The 48-year-old vocalist-and-producer will join the trip hop duo - Robert '3D' Del Naja and Grant 'Daddy G' Marshall - will be joined on the Great Oak Stage at the music festival on July 1, for only their second ever performance together, and first in the UK. Massive Attack said: "We're pleased to announce that Tricky will be joining us on stage for a few shows this summer - the first one being BST Hyde Park on July 1st." Tricky - real name is Adrian Thaws - has worked with Massive Attack from the start of their career and rapped on their debut 1991 album 'Blue Lines' and lyrics written for his debut solo LP 'Maxinquaye' were used by Massive Attack resulting in different versions of the same songs appearing on his own record and their album 'Protection'. Fans will see the pair showcase a new and provocative audio-visual live show, which has been designed by 3D and long-time visual collaborators United Visual Artists. James King, Senior Vice President of AEG Live, said: "With powerful beats, orchestral arrangements, beautiful melodies by incredible vocalists, inspired video art - it's hard to think of a more important moment for the World to listen to Massive Attack than right now. "The band's production has always been a shining light in live music and to see their video art across 900m2 of screen on the Great Oak Stage will be a truly breathtaking sight." A host of other support acts have also been added to the line-up on July 1, including Loyle Carner, Shura and Balthazar. Go to Bst-hydepark.com for information and tickets. Britain's Prince Charles presented Kevin Spacey with an honorary knighthood. Prince Charles The 67-year-old royal awarded the 'House of Cards' actor with the accolade on Thursday (16.06.16) at a private ceremony held at Clarence House, London, for his contribution to theatre, arts education and international culture. However the 56-year-old American star has revealed he will not carry the title 'Sir', like musicians Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, because he was born outside of the Commonwealth. The award comes six years after the Duke of Cornwall presented the Oscar winning star an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2010. However, British actor Jeremy Irons has admitted he would never accept a knighthood and believes he already gets too much adulation for being an actor and the honour should go to someone who deserves it more. Speaking previously the 67-year-old said: "I don't see the point of it. There are so many people who do amazing work which is unheralded and unrecognised. "I do what I do because I like doing it. I'm well paid for it. I get far too much adulation compared with what it's worth. "Society needs storytellers, but I've always thought artists should stir the s**t." Although Jeremy attended a Buckingham Palace for a reception for British Oscar winners he insisted it wasn't a big deal because "The Queen wasn't there, it was Charlie [Prince Charles]. I'm not part of that." Nikki Grahame has been on a whirlwind adventure as of late, finishing her time on Big Brother Canada just over a month ago and embarking on a tour of the country before going on a holiday. Nikki Grahame for Big Brother Canada / Credit: Global We got the chance to chat to Nikki earlier today (June 17) and find out what she thought of the current series of Big Brother UK, and she didn't hold back. Asked who she hopes to see evicted in tonight's first eviction of the series, Nikki said: "Andy's very boring, but I think he's one of the nicest ones in there. I hope Georgina doesn't go because I really like her. I definitely don't want Emma to go because, she's probably my favourite right now. "Marco needs to go, he's absolutely repulsive. He's actually, physically disgusting. I've met loads of millionaires the past 10 years I've been in this industry, and none of them are as idiotic as him. He's just awful. Nobody likes him. The public don't like him. No one wants him in there. He thinks he's so big time. And what are his shoes? That comment about his shoes - 'how much are you getting paid? Not as much as my effin' shoes.' Everything's 'effin', he's just disgusting. "If I was Marco Pierre White, as in the father, I would disown him. I reckon he'll get a decline in restaurant business." Big Brother UK continues daily on Channel 5. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Scotty T has fractured his arm. Scotty T The 'Geordie Shore' star was reportedly rushed to hospital in Ibiza, Spain - where the cast are currently shooting the show's summer special - earlier this week after he fell over and cracked his forearm after spending the evening boozing. A source told The Sun newspaper: "Scotty T had an unfortunate fall a few hours into drinking and hit it so hard his arm snapped. He was reeling in agony and rushed to hospital where doctors said it was fractured and put it in a cast." But, although he's been told to rest up, the 28-year-old hunk isn't letting his unfortunate injury get in the way of him having fun as he joined the rest of his cast mates on Thursday (16.06.16) to shoot more partying scenes in Kavos, Greece. The source said: "Scotty has been told to go easy but there's no stopping him as he and the cast have just jetted into Kavos to cause more mayhem at their bars and nightclubs." However, his drunken tumble has wreaked havoc for producers as the cameramen were unable to capture the nasty fall on camera at the time, so they'll be unable to explain why he's now in a cast for part of the series but not all of it. The insider explained: "While it was a bad night for Scotty, it is also proving a headache for producers since none of it was filmed so they have to try and tell the story of Scotty T suddenly appearing in a cast and have to try and tell the story with no footage." Racking up the hours at our desks may lead to a promotion or a pay rise in the short run, but over the long run, it backfires on women. A new study has revealed that women, who work more than 40 hours a week for 30 years could be increasing their risk going to an early grave. Work weeks that averaged 60 hours or more over three decades appear to triple the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis for women, according to The Ohio State University study. The risk begins to climb when women put in more than 40 hours and takes a decidedly bad turn above 50 hours, researchers found. "Women - especially women who have to juggle multiple roles - feel the effects of intensive work experiences and that can set the table for a variety of illnesses and disability," said lead author Allard Dembe. "People don't think that much about how their early work experiences affect them down the road," he said. "Women in their 20's, 30's and 40's are setting themselves up for problems later in life." Men with tough work schedules appeared to fare much better, found the researchers, who analyzed data from interviews with almost 7,500 people who were part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Women tend to take on the lion's share of family responsibility and may face more pressure and stress than men when they work long hours, previous research shows. On top of that, work for women may be less satisfying because of the need to balance work demands with family obligations, Dembe said. Employers and government regulators should be aware of the risks, especially to women who are required to regularly toil beyond a 40-hour work week, he said. Companies benefit in terms of quality of work and medical costs when their workers are healthier, Dembe said. The study is published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts The decline of Indian exports that have fallen for 18 months in a row now, has been arrested in May, says the government and that it is time to extend incentives to boost the overseas shipments.According to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the decline has bottomed out although exports may be rising slowly. The decline of Indian exports that have fallen for 18 months in a row now, has been arrested in May, says the government and that it is time to extend incentives to boost the overseas shipments. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the decline has bottomed out although exports may be rising slowly. "I think from now, it will # "I think from now, it will show slow but steady rise...Last month's indicators show that it has now come down to 0.79 per cent, which is still a situation where we have to do a lot more to allow it to pick up."So it is a time when the help will have to be extended whether in the form of interest subvention or in the form of any kind of incentives for exports. We have been looking at it sectorally," she told reporters in New Delhi.India's exports fell for the 18th month in a row in May, though marginally by 0.79 per cent, to $22.17 billion as several non-oil sectors such as engineering and gems and jewellery saw a rise in outward shipments. The decline in May was lowest since December 2014.I am cautious but I can see that the fall is getting arrested and pick up is slowly showing up," she said.The Minister's statement about arresting falling exports is likely to encourage the textiles sector. India's textiles and apparel exports fell 1.46 per cent in 2015-16. The apparel sector has been pressing the government to expedite free trade agreements the with EU and two other major trade deals with Australia and Canada to boost exports. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India IT and e-commerce entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have urged the government to waive all kinds of taxes and VAT until 2024 for the sake of the sector's growth.At a post budget discussion in Dhaka, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Abdul Matlub Ahmad urged the government to provide financial and policy supports to IT business and e-commerce as the sector has the potential to register robust growth, according to media reports. IT and e-commerce entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have urged the government to waive all kinds of taxes and VAT until 2024 for the sake of the sector's growth. At a post budget discussion in Dhaka, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Abdul Matlub Ahmad urged the government to provide financial # Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter in the world. The garment sector could reach this stage because of the government's long-term policy support and financial incentives, he said at the discussion jointly organised by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), e-commerce association of Bangladesh (ECAB), Association of Mobile Telephone Operators (AMTOB), Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) and the FBCCI.Similarly, the IT and e-commerce sector has the potential to be one of the major sectors for export, employment and economic development, he said.Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, senior vice president of FBBCI, said the digital sector in Bangladesh is burdened with tax. "This is a growing sector. We should look for the long term and not burden this sector with these sorts of taxes," he said.This is a nascent sector with the potential to be a giant, said Razib Ahmed, president of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh or e-CAB.The government should also give a cluster allocation of Tk 100 crore so that the entrepreneurs can get easy loans for starting or running their businesses.Ahmed said the government should nurture the e-commerce sector given that it is only a starter in the $500 billion global e-commerce market. He cautioned that the sector might face serious challenges for the possible arrival of global giants Amazon and Alibaba in 2017.Shameem Ahsan, president of the Bangladesh Software and Information Services Association, also said e-commerce entrepreneurs are worried as the government has withdrawn all financial incentives for them in the new budget.Since all the sectors are now linked to e-commerce, the country's businesses would be hampered if the growth of the sector is held back, he said, and called for exemption of all kinds of taxes and VAT from e-commerce. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Bangladesh's Denim Expert Ltd. (DEL) has announced that it has received support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's develoPPP.de programme, which subsidizes sustainable projects in developing and emerging markets. These types of developmental collaborations with the private sector are aimed at the creation of developmental effectiveness to improve the living conditions in those developing and emerging markets, DEL said in a press release.The programme is co-financed by the DEG (German Investment and Development Company). "In order to strengthen the denim business in the long term, the textile industry's social and ecological standards must be improved. The develoPPP.de programme supports us financially and structurally to enable us to put our sustainable ideas into practice," Mostafiz Uddin, CEO Denim Expert Ltd, said. Bangladesh's Denim Expert Ltd. (DEL) has announced that it has received support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's develoPPP.de programme, which subsidizes sustainable projects in developing and emerging markets. These types of developmental collaborations with the private sector are aimed at the creation # The vertically integrated company DEL, which operates from Chittagong, describes itself as a leader in sustainability which helped it receive German support. The factory's earthquake-proof architecture and its ecological and social responsibility serve as a role model for the entire Bangladeshi denim industry. The company cares about the continuous optimization of its own operations as well as about strengthening the country's economy, the release said.The developmental collaboration was launched in December 2015 and is designed for two years. DEL also qualified for the programme due to its great commitment regarding the reduction of water and energy consumption as well as the use of chemicals . This is exactly where the denim industry struggles: To achieve the typical "used look" of jeans, traditional factories apply many washings and chemicals. Responsibility toward natural resources such as gas, oil, and water, or the reduction of chemicals and proper waste water treatment are hardly found.Besides optimising its own environmental awareness, DEL will also build a denim production training center equipped with modern tools and machinery, which will be open for DEL's staff as well as external workers. Up to 100 trainees will be able to receive education in theory and practice at the same time. This dual training system will be well comparable with the known German systems. Educational partners for the center are the Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone (KEPZ), and the Bangladesh Denim Expo (BDE). Ram Singh, a Punjab Cadre IPS officer, has been appointed as the new secretary general of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the official body of apparel exporters in India that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers who choose India as their preferred sourcing destination for garments. Singh is presently posted as director, ministry of textiles, Government of India, and has been given additional charge, as the secretary general of AEPC. He is a decorated 1994 batch officer and is a graduate with Institute Silver Medal for 1st rank from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He has worked in myriad other departments like Commissioner of Police in Jalandhar and Amritsar; IGP/Border Zone, Amritsar; and DIG/Border Range, Amritsar; and Senior Superintendent of Police in various districts in Punjab. Ram Singh, a Punjab Cadre IPS officer, has been appointed as the new secretary general of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the official body of apparel exporters in India that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers who choose India as their preferred sourcing destination for garments.# His achievements include Police Medal for Meritorious Service in year 2011, two UN Medals for exceptional contributions to United Nations during his posting in UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), DGP Commendation Disc for outstanding service in year 2011 and also graded for Outstanding-Exceptional Performance, the highest possible grade in UN Annual Confidential Report during his posting with UNMIK. In recent years, AEPC has worked tirelessly in integrating the entire industry starting at the grassroot level of training the workforce and supplying a steady stream of manpower to the industry; identifying the best countries to source machinery and other infrastructure and brokering several path breaking deals for its members and finally helping exporters to showcase their best at home fairs as well as be highly visible at international fairs the world over. (RKS) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Bengaluru-based fashion marketplace Voonik has announced that it has raised $20 million in Series-B round of funding. Sequoia India led the round with participation from Times Internet, Seedfund, Beenos, Beenext, Parkwood Bespin, Tancom Investments and Kunal Shah.Since its launch in August 2014, Voonik, has become the leader in the unbranded fashion category with 10 million registered users, eight million app downloads, $100 million annual GMV and $13 million annual revenue rate, it said I a press release. Recently the company has launched two other fashion platforms, Mr Voonik, an exclusive app for men fashion and Vilara, a market place for designers and boutiques. Bengaluru-based fashion marketplace Voonik has announced that it has raised $20 million in Series-B round of funding. Sequoia India led the round with participation from Times Internet, Seedfund, Beenos, Beenext, Parkwood Bespin, Tancom Investments and Kunal Shah. Since its launch in August 2014, Voonik, has become the leader in # Voonik had raised $500,000 in seed, $6.5 million in series A and $20 million in series B for a total of $27 million in funding.The funds will enable Voonik to enhance customer experience, strengthen their personalization engine, and to scale up Mr Voonik and Vilara.Voonik Co-founder and CEO Sujayath Ali said, Within just 3 years of inception, we have become the fastest growing fashion company in India. We have the highest engagement and conversion in the fashion industry. Series A helped us in gaining scale, and now with this renewed investor confidence through Series B, we are all set to consolidate our leadership in fashion commerce. Our other teo ventures are already paying off Mr Voonik has crossed 5000 shipments a day and Vilara is getting good traction from both high end users as well as from many designers and boutiques. This funding has happened at a very opportune moment.On the supply side, Voonik claims it has over 15 lakh products from more than 15,000 sellers. Voonik has a highly scalable 'lean' marketplace business model where it operates without inventory and fulfilment centers, the release said. (SH) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Unifi will expand the global availability of its recycled fibre brand, Repreve, and other premier value-added (PVA) yarns through a new division in Sri Lanka, Unifi Textiles Colombo Private Limited (UTCL). The operations in the new division in Colombo are expected to begin by the end of the third quarter in 2016. Prior to this, Unifi expanded its distribution channels in Turkey through Korteks and in Taiwan through Sun Chemical. Tom Caudle, president of Unifi, said, Our global footprint for PVA products includes the Americas, China, Turkey, Taiwan and now, Sri Lanka, which means that we can supply our customers anywhere in the world in which they choose to develop a programme. Unifi will expand the global availability of its recycled fibre brand, Repreve, and other premier value-added (PVA) yarns through a new division in Sri Lanka, Unifi Textiles Colombo Private Limited (UTCL). The operations in the new division in Colombo are expected to begin by the end of the third quarter in 2016. Prior to this, Unifi expanded its distributi# Built on high product quality and strong social and environmental standards, Sri Lanka is a compelling sourcing alternative in South Asia. UTCL will provide Unifi with the flexibility and speed-to-market required to respond to the ever-changing needs of our customers, said Jay Hertwig, vice president of global brand sales, marketing and product development, Unifi. (HO) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India If leaking Udta Punjab online wasn't enough, a small cable TV operator in Puducherry named 'Shakti Channel' has aired the censor copy version of Udta Punjab in its entirety. Bizarre as it may sound, this is just another day in the office for Shakti Channel as they are known to play pirated versions of newly released films all throughout the year. Tamil superstar Suriya Sivakumar, was the first to point out the misdeeds of Shakti Channel and posted a picture on his Twitter acocunt and captioned it as "Fight against Piracy!!Spread awareness that it's a crime!! Yet to release film #killpiracysavecinema #itsnowornever". The channel, is owned by a man named Shakti and has been arrested in the past for airing pirated versions of newly released films. However, it looks like Mr. Shakti has not mended his ways and has openly aired Udta Punjab, giving two hoots to the law. Udta Punjab, released on June 17, 2016 and we request one and all to watch the movie only in the theatres. Fight against Piracy!!Spread awareness that it's a crime!! Yet to release film #killpiracysavecinema #itsnowornever pic.twitter.com/igs2phGX03 Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) June 16, 2016 Anurag Kashyap & The Bhatts' Take On The Censor Board Is Just For Publicity! Says Pahlaj Nihalani Even though, a change in the climax sequences of a film, after the film's release is not so common, there have been such instances where film-makers where pushed to do it. Here, we are going to list some of the Malayalam films which did have a revised/re-edited climax portion after their release. Go through the slides to know more about the films.. - - - - Harikrishnans - - - - - Harikrishnans The case of Harikrishnans was quite different. Actually, Fazil shot two different climaxes, one which indicated the character Hari(Mammootty) marrying Pooja(Juhi Chawla) and the other showed Krishnan(Mohanlal) marrying Pooja(Juhi Chawla). In areas where Mammootty fans were prominent the former climax was shown, and in areas where Mohanlal fans were prominent, the latter was shown. Gramaphone Dileep's Gramaphone directed by Kamal is still considered to be a good work. At first, the film had a tragic climax, which showed the lead characters played by Dileep and Meera Jasmine parting ways. But, due to the negative responses from the audiences, Kamal did re-shoot the climax sequence and showed the lead pair uniting. Chakkaramuthu Chakkaramuthu directed by Lohithadas had a different climax. In the initial version, the character played by Dileep was shown dying and Kavya Madhavan's character turning mentally ill. This definitely didn't go down well with the audiences and hence the director opted for another climax which showed the lead characters uniting. Lollipop Lollipop went for a major change in the climax sequences. In the initial days of the film's release, the film had a climax which revealed Jayasurya's character to be a ghost, after narrating the story to the character played by Jagathi Sreekumar. But, this climax wasn't well-accepted by the audiences and hence it was removed later on. Red Wine Red Wine did receive some negative reviews upon its release. So, the makers of the film decided to make a slight change in the climax portions. A portion which had Mohanlal narrating some philosophical thoughts was removed from the climax sequence. A close look in to the above list, would let you know that most of the films in the above list have not done that well at the box-office with the exception of Mammootty and Mohanlal starrer Harikrishnans, which unlike others, had a twin climax playing the role. So, the big question that arises is whether such changes are necessary or not. Facts prove that such changes in the climax sequences have not done any good to that particular cinema. Probably, most of the times, such changes went on to affect the final product of the film. But, a situation like that would definitely put the film-makers in a state of dilemma. Whether to go with the creative side or to go with the audiences' satisfaction. At times, film-makers did have to submit to the pressure to make changes suiting the tastes of the audiences. In films like Gramaphone and Chakkaramuthu, the makers had to change the climax sequences since those films had a tragic ending, which normally doesn't go well with the audiences. But, nowadays, such sight is not that common, as the audiences and film-makers are much open to experimentation, which is indeed a good sign for Malayalam cinema. Malayalam cinema is definitely going places. Unlike in the past, Malayalam movies now have huge demand outside the State, especially in places like Chennai, Bangalore etc. Here, we list 6 Malayalam movies which were a big hit in other states also. Take a look. Go through the slides to know about the films.. New Delhi (1987) The film did mark the comeback of Mammootty after a dull period. It was a big hit at the Kerala box-office and at the same time it did make it big in Tamil Nadu. The movie did have a grand run in Chennai city. Oru CBI Diarykurippu (1988) The film was a trendsetter in Mollywood and the film also went on to win the hearts of Tamil audiences. It was huge hit that the film completed 365 days of run in Chennai Saffire theatre. Samrajyam (1990) Samrajyam, which had Mammootty in the lead role found wide acceptance in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The film did have a long run in certain theatres of both the states. Drishyam (2013) Drishyam, which is the biggest blockbuster in the history of Malayalam cinema did have a dream run in places outside Kerala. It went on to complete 100 days of run in centres like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad etc. Bangalore Days (2014) Bangalore Days had one of the biggest releases of Malayalam films outside Kerala. The film was released with subtitles that really helped it to grab the interest of viewers. The film did run well in centres like Bangalore and Hyderabad. Premam (2015) Premam went on to become a sensation that appealed even to the viewers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka etc. In fact, the film did complete 300 days of run in Chennai city. After 250 days of run, the film again had a re-release in Chennai. Back in the past, Malayalam movies had a market which was largely confined to the State of Kerala alone. With the exceptions of superstars' films, which did have takers outside the State. With the passage of time, there has been a comprehensive change in the attitude of non-Malayali viewers. Now, people from other states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh etc. are eager on watching Malayalam movies. We all know how well Premam performed in Chennai. The film went on to complete 300 days in a centre in Chennai alone. The success of recent films like Charlie, Kali, Jacobinte Swargarjyam etc. in cities like Chennai and Bangalore has opened a great avenue in front of Malayalam cinema. Such a change is definitely a good one for Malayalam film industry as the budget constraints would shrink as the scope of the films are expanding. This change once again proves that what matters the most is quality and underlines the fact that quality films would always have takers. Director Radha Mohan's next, featuring Vivekh and Arulnithi in important roles, might be on the lines of Sharukh Khan's Fan. The film, which will have actor Vivekh playing himself, will narrate the story that unfolds between him and one of his ardent fans, according to a report from Times of India. However, speaking to the leading daily, the Vai Raja Vai actor has assured that this flick will be different and that it cannot be compared with the Hindi film. "That (Fan) was a film where the fan turns into a negative character in the second half, whereas there will be a lot of constructive interaction between a fan and his matinee idol in this movie. A good blend of humour and emotion in Radha's style can be expected in this film. Set against the backdrop of a hill station, the crux of the story is how the actor influences his admirer's life in a positive way," Vivekh has said. When asked if the movie will have sequences inspired from real life incidents, the 54-year-old actor has said, "we are yet to decide on how to incorporate some real-life experiences in the film." Meanwhile, Vivekh, who has a host of projects under his belt, had recently revealed that he is open to experimenting with his roles and will also take up negative characters, if need be. "I would like to essay a negative role. Why not? Ladies, of late, seem to like villains more. And ghosts, too." However, he maintains that comedy is still his stronghold. "Humour has always been my cup of tea. I will continue playing any role which has a comic element to it," he has said. Stay tuned for more updates. Also Read: '2.0' Update: Producer Says Shankar Has The Potential Of A Hollywood Film-maker, First Look In Sept! The television actress Mandira Bedi, who became a household name with her show, Shanti, posted an adorable collage that featured her and her son Vir - the occasion being her son's birthday. Posting the picture (Slide 1) the actress wrote, "From 0 to 5 in no time at all..!!! How fast he has grown. And how much he has enriched our lives! Happy 5th birthday to the love of my life, Vir. ." Check Out Super Cool Pics Of Mother-Son Duo - Mandir & Vir The actress also posted another picture, where she said, how they have been celebrating Vir's birthday from the past five years. Posting the picture (Slide 2), Mandira wrote, "5 years old. And every year, these past 5 years, we have celebrated with a meal at St Anthony's Home for the Aged. Viru got lots of blessings from these loving Grannies. #love #blessings." Mandira had recently been on a vacation to Maldives. She was seen spending quality time with her husband Raj Kaushal (director) and son Vir. Apparently, whenever she is out on professional assignments, she is seen travelling with her son. Bedi has hosted many shows on television. She played the role of Nikita Rai in 24 India Season 1. The actress was recently seen on the show Comedy Nights Bachao. The actress is active on the social networking sites and keeps her fans updated. Bedi married Raj Kaushal on 14 February, 1999. Vir was born on 19 June, 2011. Apparently, the couple is in the process of adopting a girl child (2013) to complete their family. Ileana D Cruz, when was a sensation in Tollywood, until she left Telugu films for her Bollywood career. However, Ileana has a different story to tell and clarifies she never wanted to leave Tollywood. The actress, who was in city to launch Sketchers store, says when ever she lands in Hyderabad, it feels so special. The actress, who was last in Allu Arjun-Trivikram's Julayi, said that it was just a misunderstanding that distanced her to Telugu films. "I moved to Mumbai after my Hindi film Barfi, because it was a hit and I was getting offers there, but that doesn't mean I have moved away from Telugu films. But I somehow did not get any films to signs from Tollywood", she reveals her version. However, when quizzed the actress if she wants to make a comeback now, she has an interesting answer. "I took a year break from work and now I'm again ready to take up projects in Hindi as well as in Telugu, when somebody from Hyderabad is willing to cast me." "I'm still in touch with some of my friends like Trivikram, Rana etc, but that doesn't mean I will call them and ask for roles. If somebody feels I'm apt for a character, my manager is always available for them", she quips. The latest funding round for Beijing-based Didi Chuxing shows that investors in high-growth technology companies are turning to debt rather than equity amid concerns about lofty valuations and cut throat competition. Ubers China rival has just closed a $7.3 billion fundraising, which includes $4.5 billion in equity and $2.8 billion in debt. The latter component comprises a $2.5 billion syndicated loan led by China Merchants Bank and $300 million in debt from China Life. It is not a route typically employed for tech start-ups since most early stage companies have irregular cash flows and adopt asset-light models, that leave little or virtual no value for creditors in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation. In Didi Chuxings case, however, both China Merchants Bank and China Life are already existing equity investors. Since it was set up four years ago, Didi has grabbed an 80% share of Chinas car hailing market. The company claims 15 million registered drivers, 300 million active users and 14 million rides per day. It may be smarter and more conservative to invest through debt with equity participation attached, whether in the form of convertible notes or, with warrants attached, said Keith Pogson, a senior partner at accounting firm EY. Globally investors are starting to get nervous about down rounds where shares are sold for less than the previous valuation. So far this has not affected most large Chinese technology start-ups. But it has not been the case elsewhere. In March, for example, a mutual rund run by Morgan Stanley trimmed the valuation of Indias e-commerce giant Flipkart by 27% to $11 billion. The devaluation may force the company to accept a down round if it needs to raise fresh capital any time soon. One US venture capitalist told FinanceAsia that Didi needs to acquire new advanced technology from Apple, Tencent and Alibaba in order to beat Uber, which is well equipped to integrate its service with other leading car and technology companies. "Big data is the next frontier in the ride-sharing arms race," the venture capitalist said. The $4.5 billion equity component for Didi's latest fundraising includes $1 billion from Apple, $600 million from China Life, and an undisclosed amount from Ant Financial, Alibabas financial affiliate that owns online payment company Alipay. Didi says it now has more than $10 billion in cash on hand. Proceeds from the new fundraising will be used for big data research and operations, as well as new business ventures. At $28 billion, Didi's new valuation represents a signficant step up from $16 billion last September. Just over a year ago, it was only worth $6 billion when the current venture was formed through a merger of two competing taxi-hailing companies. Didis valuation is almost half of Ubers $68 billion. However, the former only operates in China, while the latter has operations in more than 70 countries. Didi says it is profitable or break-even in half of the 400 cities it operates in, while Uber expects to be profitable in China over the next two years. Ubers China unit is valued at $8 billion and the company has labelled the country its number one priority even though it is burning through $1 billion there annually. Many local observers believe home grown Didi has an advantage over its US rival, thanks to its strong backing from domestic tech giants such as Tencent and Alibaba. Both Didi and Uber are still spending heavily on promotion and subsidies to keeping their customers loyal. China Renaissance advised Didi Chuxing on its latest funding round. NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 08/24/16 -- First American International Corp. (OTCQB: FAIT) (www.faib.com) (the "Company"), the holding company for First American International Bank (the "Bank"), today reported net income available to shareholders for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 of $386,000 and $894,000 for the first half of 2016. Earnings per share available to common shareholders were $0.18 per share for the second quarter and $0.41 for the first half of 2016, both basic and diluted. Net Income and Results of Operations The Company today reported net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 of $386,000, $0.18 per share, and $894,000, $0.41 per share, for first half of 2016. The income available to common shareholders is after deduction of $199,000 in Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP") costs, consisting of preferred stock dividends ($85,000) and discount accretion ($114,000) for the quarter and $397,000 in TARP costs, consisting of preferred stock dividends ($170,000) and discount accretion ($227,000) for the first half of 2016. This compares to a net loss of $5,000, or $0.00 per share, basic and diluted, for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, and net income of $113,000 for the first half of 2015 also after deduction of TARP dividends and discount accretion. The Company also reported a return on average assets of 0.21% for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, compared to 0.00% for the same period in 2015 and a return on average equity of 2.80% for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, compared to -0.04% for the same period in 2015. Due principally to a reduction in mortgage interest rates during 2016, the Company recorded a $1,281,000 pre-tax loss on the value of Mortgage Serving Rights ("MSR") in June 2016, compared to the Company recognizing a $266,000 pre-tax gain in June of 2015. The value of MSR is the market value of the right to earn fees for servicing loans. Because loan prepayment speeds tend to change with changes in interest rates, an increase or decrease in interest rates generally results in an increase or decrease in MSR value. The Company recognized a $751,000 gain in June 2016 attributable to the release of escrow related to the Company's satisfaction of a post-sale performance requirement for the sale in September 2015 of the property located at 135 Bowery, New York, NY. The Company also recorded a one-time severance expense of $235,000 in the second quarter of 2016 in connection with a reduction in staff that resulted from increased productivity and moving branches to a six-day a week schedule; but with alternating weekend days opened at nearby branches, thus ensuring seven-day a week availability in the Bank's key markets of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Flushing, Queens and Chinatown, Manhattan. The net impact of the one-time MSR and severance charges, which were partially offset by the one-time gain for the sale of property, decreased pre-tax income in the second quarter of 2016 by $765,000 ($505,000 after taxes). The increase in quarterly earnings over the same period in 2015 is due principally to a year-over-year increase in interest income of $945,000, or 15%, and a decrease in non-interest expense of $415,000, or 6.4%, which was offset partially by a year-over-year decrease in non-interest income of $865,000, or 42.8% and an increase in interest expense of $405,000 or 41.1%. "I continue to be pleased with our progress in growing core earnings and reducing operating expenses. Although the reduction in the value of mortgage servicing rights is significant, I believe the value of the Bank's mortgage servicing portfolio continues to be strong and a reliable source of income. Although, my optimism continues to be tempered by the impact that the prolonged low interest rate environment, competition and regulatory burdens are having on net interest margin and profitability. As such, our team will continue to focus on generating high quality loans, growing customer relationships and deposits and controlling expenses. The Bank also continues to utilize borrowings and wholesale funding to support growth," said Mark Ricca, President and Chief Executive Officer. Net Interest Income Net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2016, before provision for loan losses, was $5.9 million, an increase of $540,000, or 10.1%, from the prior year. The increase in net interest income is attributable principally to an increase in average interest earning assets of $151.3 million, or 27.7%, from $546.5 million in the second quarter of 2015 to $697.8 million in the same period in 2016, partially offset by an increase in interest expense from an increase in average interest bearing liabilities of $103.3 million, or 26.1%, from $395.3 million in the 2015 quarter to $498.7 million in 2016. Earnings were also negatively impacted by a 54 basis point decrease in net interest margin from 3.90% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 to 3.37% for the same period in 2016. Interest income increased by $945,000, or 15.0%, to $7.3 million in the second quarter of 2016 from $6.3 million in the same quarter in 2015. The yield earned on loans declined 80 basis points to 4.67% for the second quarter of 2016 from 5.47% in 2015. The decrease was principally due to the continued low interest rate environment and competition, resulting in the Bank originating new loans at lower rates than the existing portfolio. Average commercial real estate loans outstanding increased $107.8 million, including a $49.0 million loan participation purchase at a net yield of 3.32%, and average residential loans outstanding increased $47.1 million for the second quarter compared to the prior year quarter. The average volume of securities decreased from $100.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 to $81.7 million in the second quarter of 2016, as repayments were redeployed into loans. The average yield on securities increased by 38 basis points due to the Bank investing in more intermediate term investments, while also allowing lower yielding municipal bonds to roll off. The net effect of the decrease in volume and the increase in yield was a $15,000 decrease in interest and dividends earned on securities during the second quarter of 2016 compared to the second quarter of 2015. Interest expense increased during the second quarter of 2016 compared to 2015 by $405,000, or 41.1%. The average cost of interest bearing deposits increased 12 basis points to 0.86% in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the same quarter of 2015. This was mostly due to a change in the deposit mix. The average balance of certificates of deposit, our highest cost deposit category, increased by $63.2 million, from $190.0 million in 2015 to $253.2 million in 2016. The average rate paid on certificates of deposit increased by 7 basis points from 1.05% in 2015 to 1.12% in 2016. The average balance of money market deposit accounts and savings decreased by $12.1 million, from $133.1 million in 2015 to $121.0 million in 2016 with the average rate paid increasing slightly from 0.31% to 0.32%. Provision for Loan Losses The Company made no provision for loan losses in Q2 of 2016 or Q2 of 2015. Management believes the existing $9.2 million allowance, aggregating 1.53% of total loans, is appropriate. Non-interest Income Non-interest income was $1.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, a decrease of $865,000, or 42.8%, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The decrease is mainly due to the reduction in the value of the mortgage servicing rights of $1.28 million which is recorded as a reduction in the gain on sale of mortgages and a decrease of $390,000 in non-deposit investment income, which is principally caused by a regulatory change reducing the earnings the Bank can receive on the sale of certain investments which was partially offset by the additional gain on sale of 135 Bowery of $751,000. Non-interest Expenses Non-interest expenses were $6.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 compared to $6.5 million in 2015, a decrease of $415,000, or 6.4%. The decrease is mainly due to a decrease in occupancy expenses of $191,000, other professional fees of $180,000, and loan related expenses of $109,000. Balance Sheet Highlights Assets Total assets at June 30, 2016 were $729.4 million, an increase of $137.8 million, or 23.3%, versus June 30, 2015. Total loans receivable were $607.6 million at June 30, 2016, an increase of $170.7 million, or 39.1%, compared to one year earlier. The increase is due principally to a $115.8 million increase in commercial mortgage loans, which includes $49.0 million of loan participations at a net yield of 3.32% purchased in December 2015, and an increase of $56.3 million of adjustable rate 1-4 family mortgage loans. Overnight investments decreased by $2.3 million, or 9.8%, to $21.6 million, while investment securities decreased by $18.0 million, or 19.7%, to $73.5 million. These funds were used to fund our loan portfolio. Fixed assets held for sale at June 30, 2015 were $13.1 million. This represented the value of the building at 135 Bowery, New York, NY which was sold during the third quarter of 2015. The Company recognized a $751,000 additional gain in connection with the sale of the property during Q2 of 2016. Asset Quality At June 30, 2016, nonperforming loans totaled $3.5 million, or 0.58% of total loans, compared to $4.5 million, or 1.04% of total loans one year earlier. Total delinquent loans declined by 76% to $1.0 million or 0.17% of total loans at June 30, 2016, compared to $4.1 million or 0.93% at June 30, 2015. The allowance for loan losses was $9.2 million, or 1.53% of total loans at June 30, 2016, compared to $8.3 million, or 1.91%, at June 30, 2015. Deposits Deposits increased by $69.3 million, or 15.6%, from $444.7 million at June 30, 2015 to $514.0 million and were utilized to fund loan portfolio growth. Certificates of deposit were $255.9 million, an increase of $64.8 million, or 33.9%. Demand deposits increased $8.6 million, or 7.2%, compared to June 30, 2015. NOW accounts increased $654,000, or 20.0%. Savings and money market accounts decreased $4.8 million, or 3.6%. Borrowings Federal Home Loan Bank of New York ("FHLBNY") borrowings increased by $66.0 million, or 98.5% to $133.0 million, $45.0 million of the increase is for a three-year term at 1.59% and was incurred in connection the Bank's purchase of $49.0 million in loan participations in December 2015. Total FHLBNY borrowings at June 30, 2016 mainly consist of three year, five year and seven year term borrowings at a higher rate than deposits to help provide a cost-effective source of funding and to help the Bank manage interest rate risk. Junior subordinated debentures The subordinated debentures of $7.2 million consist of the Company's trust preferred securities transaction originated in 2004. Stockholders' Equity Stockholders' equity was $69.4 million, or 9.51% of total assets, at June 30, 2016, a $1.8 million, or 2.7%, increase from June 30, 2015. The increase was due mainly to retained net income. About First American International Corp. First American International Corp. is the holding company for First American International Bank, a community development financial institution ("CDFI") and a minority depository institution ("MDI") with eight full service branches, including offering consumer and business banking and loan products and services, and non-deposit insured investment products and services, serving principally the Chinese-American communities in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn in New York City. See accompanying unaudited financial data tables for additional information. Please note that prior period financial information may have been revised to conform to current period classifications, the impact of such changes was not material. The information contained herein is intended to provide the reader with historical information about the financial results of First American International Corp. It is not intended to provide forward looking statements or projections of future results. A variety of factors could cause actual results and experiences to differ materially from historical results and anticipated results based on historical results. First American International Corp. Financial Highlights (unaudited) (in thousands) Balance Sheet Items 6/30/2016 3/31/2016 6/30/2015 --------- --------- --------- Cash and cash equivalents Cash and due from banks - noninterest bearing $ 5,719 $ 5,324 $ 5,819 Due from banks - interest bearing 21,207 44,828 23,123 Federal funds sold 374 948 795 --------- --------- --------- Total cash and cash equivalents 27,300 51,100 29,736 Time deposits with banks 3,697 3,947 3,209 Securities Securities available for sale 44,574 47,874 72,665 Securities held to maturity 28,888 27,776 18,816 --------- --------- --------- Total securities 73,462 75,650 91,481 Loans Loans held for sale 2,770 982 1,683 Real estate - commercial 260,063 221,375 144,268 Real estate - residential 345,286 323,995 289,006 Commercial and industrial 426 227 2,077 Consumer and installment 386 383 720 Unearned loan fees (1,377) (850) (912) --------- --------- --------- Loans receivable, gross 607,555 546,113 436,842 Allowance for loan losses (9,234) (9,223) (8,294) --------- --------- --------- Loans, net 598,321 536,889 428,547 Bank premises and equipment 6,864 7,070 7,678 Fixed assets held for sale - - 13,149 Federal Home Loan Bank stock 6,786 5,674 3,649 Accrued interest receivable 2,453 2,387 2,104 Mortgage servicing rights 6,097 7,351 7,487 Other assets 4,392 4,819 4,543 --------- --------- --------- Total Assets $ 729,372 $ 694,888 $ 591,582 ========= ========= ========= Demand deposits $ 128,078 $ 127,086 $ 119,446 NOW accounts 3,927 2,903 3,273 Money market and savings 126,167 117,980 130,941 Certificate of deposit 255,861 253,591 191,053 --------- --------- --------- Total deposits 514,033 501,560 444,712 Borrowings 133,000 112,000 67,000 Junior subordinated debentures 7,217 7,217 7,217 Accrued interest payable 1,372 1,129 1,111 Accounts payable and other liabilities 4,365 4,274 3,996 --------- --------- --------- Total Liabilities 659,987 626,181 524,036 Stockholders' equity 69,385 68,707 67,546 --------- --------- --------- Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 729,372 $ 694,888 $ 591,582 ========= ========= ========= First American International Corp. Financial Highlights (unaudited) ($ in thousands except per share data) Summary Income Statement Year to Date Quarter ended -------------------- -------------------- 6/30/2016 6/30/2015 6/30/2016 6/30/2015 --------- --------- --------- --------- Interest income $ 14,226 $ 12,451 $ 7,263 $ 6,318 Interest expense 2,679 1,976 1,389 984 --------- --------- --------- --------- Net interest income 11,547 10,475 5,874 5,334 Provision for loan losses 367 - - - Net interest income after provision for loan losses 11,180 10,475 5,874 5,334 Non-interest income 2,611 3,794 1,158 2,023 Non-interest expenses 11,818 12,921 6,106 6,521 --------- --------- --------- --------- Income before income taxes 1,974 1,349 926 836 Income taxes 683 850 342 647 --------- --------- --------- --------- Net income $ 1,291 $ 499 $ 585 $ 189 ========= ========= ========= ========= Less: Preferred Stock dividends and discount accretion 397 386 199 193 --------- --------- --------- --------- Net income available to shareholders $ 894 $ 113 $ 386 $ (5) ========= ========= ========= ========= Year to Date Quarter ended -------------------- -------------------- 6/30/2016 6/30/2015 6/30/2016 6/30/2015 --------- --------- --------- --------- Performance Ratios Return on average assets 0.26% 0.04% 0.21% 0.00% Return on average net worth (less TARP) 3.29% 0.43% 2.80% -0.04% Average interest earning assets/bearing liabilities 107.65% 107.03% 107.61% 107.06% Net interest rate spread 3.10% 3.57% 3.05% 3.63% Net interest margin 3.41% 3.84% 3.37% 3.90% Yield on loans 4.75% 5.43% 4.67% 5.47% Average cost of deposits 0.83% 0.74% 0.86% 0.74% Net interest income after provision/total expense 94.60% 81.07% 96.21% 81.79% Non-interest income to total revenue 15.51% 23.36% 15.94% 32.02% Non-interest expense to total revenue 70.19% 79.54% 72.51% 78.18% Non- interest expense to average assets 1.69% 2.23% 1.69% 2.23% Net Worth and Asset Quality Ratios Average net worth to average total assets 10.14% 11.91% 10.14% 11.91% Total net worth to assets end of period 9.57% 11.50% 9.57% 11.50% Non-performing assets to total assets 0.48% 0.76% 0.48% 0.76% Non-performing loans to total loans 0.58% 1.04% 0.58% 1.04% Allowance for loan losses to total loans 1.53% 1.91% 1.53% 1.91% Allowance for loan losses to NPLs 261.80% 184.10% 261.80% 184.10% Capital, Book Value and Earnings Per Share Risk based total capital ratio (Bank) 15.83% 20.10% 15.83% 20.10% Tier 1 risk based capital (Bank) 14.57% 18.84% 14.57% 18.84% Leverage ratio (Bank) 10.46% 12.60% 10.46% 12.60% Book value per share basic $ 24.23 $ 23.60 $ 24.23 $ 23.60 Diluted EPS available to common shareholders $ 0.41 $ 0.05 $ 0.18 $ 0.00 For further information, please contact Mark Ricca Chief Executive Officer (212) 619-8338 Ext 2823 Regulatory News: United Company RUSAL Plc (Paris:RUSAL) (Paris:RUAL): Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. UNITED COMPANY RUSAL PLC (Incorporated under the laws of Jersey with limited liability) (Stock Code: 486) CONTINUING CONNECTED TRANSACTIONS PURCHASE OF ASSETS Reference is made to the announcement of the Company dated 17 June 2016 in relation to the continuing connected transactions regarding the purchase of rectifiers from an associate of En+. The Company announces that a member of the Group, as buyer, entered into the New Purchase of Assets Contract with an associate of Mr. Deripaska, as seller. THE NEW PURCHASE OF ASSETS CONTRACT The Company announces that the following contract was entered into between the member of the Group, as buyer, and the associate of Mr. Deripaska, as seller, pursuant to which the associate of Mr. Deripaska agreed to sell assets to the member of the Group (the "New Purchase of Assets Contract") with major terms set out below: Date of contract Buyer (member of the Group) Seller (associate of Mr. Deripaska) Subject matter Estimated consideration payable for the year ending 31 December 2017, excluding VAT (USD) Scheduled termination date Payment terms 28 November 2016 RUSAL Achinsk "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS Passenger bus 12,979 31 December 2017 100% prepayment to be made within five calendar days after the receipt of the invoice from the supplier. Total estimated consideration payable for the year: 12,979 The consideration under the New Purchase of Assets Contract is to be paid in cash via wire transfer. THE ANNUAL AGGREGATE TRANSACTION AMOUNT Pursuant to Rule 14A.81 of the Listing Rules, the continuing connected transaction contemplated under the New Purchase of Assets Contract and the Previously Disclosed 2017/18 Purchase of Assets Contract should be aggregated, as they were entered into by members of the Group with the associates of Mr. Deripaska and En+, and the subject matter of each contract relates to the purchase of assets from the associates of Mr. Deripaska and En+ by the Group for the year ending 31 December 2017. The annual aggregate transaction amounts that are payable by the Group to the associates of Mr. Deripaska and En+ under the New Purchase of Assets Contract and the Previously Disclosed 2017/18 Purchase of Assets Contract for the financial year ending 31 December 2017 is estimated to be approximately USD6.213 million. The New Purchase of Assets Contract was entered into as the contractor offered the lowest price for the asset to be purchased. The contract price under the New Purchase of Assets Contract has been arrived at after arm's length negotiation with reference to the market price and on terms no less favourable than those prevailing in the Russian market for passenger buses of the same type and quality and those offered by the associates of Mr. Deripaska to independent third parties. The basis of calculation of payments under the New Purchase of Assets Contract is based on the quotation provided by the supplier based on costs relating to production. The annual aggregate transaction amount is derived from the total contract price under the New Purchase of Assets Contract, which was based on the amount of assets to be supplied and its contract price. REASONS FOR AND BENEFITS OF THE TRANSACTIONS The New Purchase of Assets Contract is entered into for the purpose of acquiring a passenger bus. The Company considers that the transactions contemplated under the New Purchase of Assets Contract are for the benefit of the Company, as "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS offered the passenger bus to the Group at a competitive price and the quality of the passenger bus satisfies the requirement of the Group. The Directors (including the independent non-executive Directors) consider that the New Purchase of Assets Contract is on normal commercial terms which are fair and reasonable and the transactions contemplated under the New Purchase of Assets Contract are in the ordinary and usual course of business of the Group and in the interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. None of the Directors have a material interest in the transactions contemplated under the New Purchase of Assets Contract, save for (i) Mr. Deripaska, who is a director of Basic Element and is interested in more than 50% of the issued share capital of Basic Element; (ii) Ms. Gulzhan Moldazhanova, who is a director of Basic Element; and (iii) Ms. Olga Mashkovskaya, who is a deputy chief executive officer for finance of Basic Element. Basic Element is the holding company of "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS. Accordingly, Mr. Deripaska, Ms. Olga Mashkovskaya and Ms. Gulzhan Moldazhanova did not vote on the Board resolutions approving the New Purchase of Assets Contract. LISTING RULES IMPLICATIONS "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS is directly or indirectly held by Basic Element as to more than 30% of the issued share capital. Basic Element is in turn held by Mr. Deripaska (an executive Director) as to more than 50% of the issued share capital. Accordingly, "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS is therefore an associate of Mr. Deripaska and thus is a connected person of the Company under the Listing Rules. The estimated annual aggregate transaction amount of the continuing connected transactions under the New Purchase of Assets Contract and the Previously Disclosed 2017/18 Purchase of Assets Contract for the financial year ending 31 December 2017 is more than 0.1% but less than 5% under the applicable percentage ratios. Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 14A.76 of the Listing Rules, the transactions contemplated under these contracts are only subject to the announcement requirements set out in Rules 14A.35 and 14A.68, the annual review requirements set out in Rules 14A.49, 14A.55 to 14A.59, 14A.71 and 14A.72 and the requirements set out in Rules 14A.34 and 14A.50 to 14A.54 of the Listing Rules. These transactions are exempt from the circular and shareholders' approval requirements under Chapter 14A of the Listing Rules. Details of the New Purchase of Assets Contract and the Previously Disclosed 2017/18 Purchase of Assets Contract will be included in the next annual report and accounts of the Company in accordance with Rule 14A.71 of the Listing Rules where appropriate. PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ACTIVITIES The Company is principally engaged in the production and sale of aluminium, including alloys and value-added products, and alumina. "GAZ Group Commercial Vehicles" LLS is principally engaged in the manufacturing of automobiles. DEFINITIONS In this announcement, the following expressions have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "associate(s)" has the same meaning ascribed thereto under the Listing Rules. "Board" the board of Directors. "Company" United Company RUSAL Plc, a limited liability company incorporated in Jersey, the shares of which are listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange. "connected person(s)" has the same meaning ascribed thereto under the Listing Rules. "continuing connected transactions" has the same meaning ascribed thereto under the Listing Rules. "Director(s)" the director(s) of the Company. "En+" En+ Group Limited, a company incorporated in Jersey, a substantial shareholder of the Company. "Group" the Company and its subsidiaries. "Listing Rules" the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange. "Mr. Deripaska" Mr. Oleg Deripaska, an executive Director. "percentage ratios" the percentage ratios under Rule 14.07 of the Listing Rules. "Previously Disclosed 2017/18 Purchase of Assets Contract" the agreement between a member of the Group and the associate of En+, pursuant to which the associate of En+ agreed to sell rectifiers to the member of the Group in 2017/18, as disclosed in the announcement of the Company dated 17 June 2016. "Stock Exchange" The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. "substantial shareholder" has the meaning ascribed thereto under the Listing Rules. "USD" United States dollars, the lawful currency of the United States of America. "VAT" value added tax. By Order of the Board of Directors of United Company RUSAL Plc Aby Wong Po Ying Company Secretary 29 November 2016 As at the date of this announcement, the executive Directors are Mr. Oleg Deripaska, Mr. Vladislav Soloviev and Mr. Siegfried Wolf, the non-executive Directors are Mr. Maxim Sokov, Mr. Dmitry Afanasiev, Mr. Ivan Glasenberg, Mr. Maksim Goldman, Ms. Gulzhan Moldazhanova, Mr. Daniel Lesin Wolfe, Ms. Olga Mashkovskaya, and Ms. Ekaterina Nikitina, and the independent non-executive Directors are Mr. Matthias Warnig (Chairman), Mr. Philip Lader, Dr. Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Mr. Mark Garber, Mr. Dmitry Vasiliev and Mr. Bernard Zonneveld. All announcements and press releases published by the Company are available on its website under the links http://www.rusal.ru/en/investors/info.aspxhttp://rusal.ru/investors/info/moex/ and http://www.rusal.ru/en/press-center/press- releases.aspx, respectively. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161128005652/en/ Contacts: United Company RUSAL Plc WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Viacom Inc.'s (VIAB, VIA) Lead Independent Director of the Board of Directors, Frederic Salerno, filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court with the support of the independent directors, seeking an expedited determination that Shari Redstone's attempted removal and replacement of Viacom directors is invalid and that the directors elected at the 2016 Annual Meeting continue to serve. The complaint asks the Delaware Chancery Court to eclare an attempt by Ms. Redstone to remove members of the Viacom through the purported authority of Mr. Redstone is invalid; declare and confirm that the Viacom Board is currently composed of: George Abrams, Blythe McGarvie, Deborah Norville, Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Frederic Salerno, William Schwartz, Christiana Falcone Sorrell, Philippe Dauman, Thomas Dooley, and Shari Redstone and, subject to appropriate judicial or other action, Sumner Redstone. The complaint asks the Court to enjoin Defendants from taking further wrongful actions under the direct or indirect authority of Sumner M. Redstone; and enter a status quo order during this action, providing that Defendants shall not take any actions that would disrupt the Viacom Board's continuing management of the business and affairs of the Company in the ordinary course. According to the complaint, the purported removals are inconsistent with Mr. Redstone's long-standing governance plan, which he expressed in repeated public and private comments over the years. This action is the result of undue influence and manipulation. Ms. Redstone has implemented an invalid scheme to wrest control of Viacom. Ms. Redstone's scheme is motivated by her own interests, rather than the interests of Viacom's stockholders as a whole. According to the complaint, the role Mr. Redstone envisioned for his children was not the role he has played, but rather the role of stockholders with a voice but not control over the oversight functions at the companies. He never intended to vest his family members, and in particular his daughter Shari, with control over the NAI board or the Viacom Board, or the power to replace independent directors. Indeed, he wanted just the opposite. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought sanctions against a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) employee who obtained Federal Reserve secrets, seven months after the central bank permanently barred him from the banking industry. The regulator said Rohit Bansal 'is barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization.' The SEC also said that as part of the action, Mr. Bansal is barred from participating in any offerings of penny stocks, including acting as a promoter, consultant or agent. He can apply to re-enter the industry at a future date, but his return will be subject to meeting certain regulatory conditions, the filing stated. Mr. Bansal's case came to light after prosecutors investigated the leak of confidential Fed materials in 2014. They accused the former Goldman banker of obtaining confidential supervisory documents from a contact inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and using them to further his career. Mr. Bansal previously worked for the New York Fed. Mr. Bansal, who is in his 30s, in November 2015 pleaded guilty to one count of a misdemeanor offense of misappropriating government property in Manhattan federal district court. In March, he was sentenced to two years of probation and 300 hours of community service and fined $5,000. He worked at Goldman from July 2014 to October 2014 in the financial institutions group of the investment bank. Goldman fired Bansal and another employee after discovering the leak, launched its own probe, and has since said it changed its hiring practices for former government employees. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Both sides of the debate over whether the U.K. should quit the European Union suspended campaigning for a second day on Friday after the murder of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong advocate for voting to stay in next week's referendum. Events planned on Friday by the U.K. Independence Party, Economists for Brexit and Labour Leave were also canceled. Cox, 41, was shot dead in the town of Birstall, northern England, in the early afternoon on Thursday. She was a fervent advocate of Britain remaining in Europe, as well as a champion of the poor and of Syrian refugees. Reports said that she was attacked by a man shouting 'Britain first.' Police reportedly said a 52-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the murder. Speaking after the death of Jo Cox MP was announced, the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said, 'This is absolutely tragic and dreadful news and my thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan, their 2 children and wider family. We've lost a great star. She had a big heart and people are going to be very, very sad at what has happened.' 'It's right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time,' Cameron said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. 17 June 2016 Red Emperor Resources NL SC 55 - Moratorium Granted Red Emperor Resources NL (ASX | AIM: RMP) is pleased to provide the following update with respect to Service Contract 55 (SC 55), offshore Palawan Basin in the Philippines. Red Emperor has been advised that the Joint Venture has formally received approval from the Philippines Department of Energy for a two-year moratorium, until 23 December 2017, on required work activity under Service Contract 55. During the moratorium period, the consortium will conduct specialized geophysical studies in the area surrounding the Hawkeye prospect which encountered gas shows when it was drilled last year. Although the Hawkeye well did not encounter gas in commercial quantities, it proved the presence of an active petroleum system in the contract area which hosts the "Cinco Prospect" as well as several other leads. As announced previously, Otto Energy Limited (ASX: OEL) has advised the JV of its intention to exit the Block SC 55 as part of its strategy to focus on its North American assets. Red Emperor intends to have its full, proportionate interest be assigned and as a result its working interest will increase from 15% to 37.5%. In conjunction with Red Emperor's commitment to SC 55, the Board continues to review and evaluate new opportunities it believes could compliment the current assets in the portfolio. The Company looks forward to providing the market with more information on these potential opportunities as they develop. For further information please visit www.redemperorresources.com or contact: Red Emperor Greg Bandy +61 8 9225 2826 Grant Thornton UK LLP Philip Secrett/Jen Clarke/Jamie Barklem +44 20 7383 5100 Brandon Hill Capital Limited Jonathan Evans +44 20 3463 5010 New Capital to Support European Commercialisation and US PMA Clinical Trial Regulatory News: Mainstay Medical International plc ("Mainstay" or the "Company", Euronext Paris: MSTY.PA and ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange: MSTY.IE), a medical device company focused on bringing to market ReActiv8, an implantable neurostimulation system to treat disabling Chronic Low Back Pain, announces today that it has raised gross proceeds of 30 million through a placement of 2,307,694 new ordinary shares with a nominal value of 0.001 each in the Company (the "Placing Shares") with new and existing shareholders (the "Placing The Placing Shares will be issued to selected institutional investors in Europe and in North America and a small number of individual investors in Europe (together, the "Placees"), at a price of 13.00 per share. KCK Ltd. ("KCK") is participating as cornerstone investor in the Placing, subscribing for 1,153,846 Placing Shares, representing approximately 50% of the total number of Placing Shares, for an amount of approximately 15 million. KCK is a family investment fund that invests in a diverse set of industries, including medical technologies. Mainstay plans to use the net proceeds from the Placing: to support European commercialization; to conduct clinical trials including the ReActiv8-B Clinical Trial to gather data in support of an application for pre-market approval (PMA) in the United States; and for general corporate purposes. Peter Crosby, CEO of Mainstay, commented: "This fundraising will allow us to further progress towards our objectives of commercialisation of ReActiv8 in Europe and the United States, and help improve the lives of millions of people who suffer from chronic low back pain. We thank our existing investors for their continuing support, and we are proud to welcome KCK as the cornerstone investor for this fundraising, as well as several other new investors in Mainstay." Mainstay received CE Marking for ReActiv8 on 24 May 2016, which enables commercialization of ReActiv8 in Europe. Mainstay will initially focus its sales and marketing efforts in Germany, where the Company has a direct sales force, supported by its team of experienced field clinical specialists and is working toward first commercial implant of ReActiv8. With new capital available, the Company will ramp up the ReActiv8-B Clinical Trial, an international prospective randomized sham controlled one-way crossover FDA approved clinical trial, which, if successful, will lead to a PMA application that will be filed with the FDA, a key step towards commercialization of ReActiv8 in the USA. In addition to the funds raised in this Placing, the Company had $10.4 million cash on hand at 31 May 2016. Additional information regarding the Placing The Placing Shares will be issued immediately following the publication of this announcement. In addition to KCK, the Company's existing long-term investors, Sofinnova Partners, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Capricorn Venture Partners, together with IPF Partners (which provided a debt facility to the Group in 2015) and several individual investors, are also participating in the Placing. The Company has agreed with KCK that it will have the right to nominate two additional non-executive directors of the Company ("Directors") immediately following completion of the Placing, bringing the total number of Directors to nine. Accordingly, Mr. Nael Karim Kassar and Mr. Greg Garfield will be appointed as Directors today immediately following completion of the Placing. The Placing Shares, when issued, will represent an increase of approximately 54% from the Company's existing issued ordinary share capital. Following issuance of the Placing Shares, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 6,607,000 ordinary shares of 0.001 each ("Ordinary Shares") (which carry voting rights) and 40,000 deferred shares with a nominal value of 1.00 each (which do not carry voting rights). Therefore, the figure that should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their holdings of voting rights, or a change to their holdings of voting rights, over the Ordinary Shares of the Company under the Transparency (Directive 2004/109/EC) Regulations 2007 of Ireland, as amended and the Transparency Rules of the Central Bank of Ireland is 6,607,000. The Placing Shares, when issued, will be fully paid and rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares, except that the Placing Shares will not be admitted to trading on Euronext Paris or the Enterprise Securities Market ("ESM") of the Irish Stock Exchange plc ("Admission") until the Company has published a prospectus that is required to effect the admission to trading of the Placing Shares on Euronext Paris in accordance with Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended. The Company expects to publish that prospectus (which requires approval by the Central Bank of Ireland and which will be "passported" into France), and that Admission will occur, by 15 September 2016. Under the terms of the subscription agreements with relevant Placees, the Company has agreed that if Admission does not occur by 120 days after the issuance of the Placing Shares, then for all or part of one or more of the consecutive 30 day periods following that date during which Admission does not occur, Placees shall have the right to subscribe at par (i.e. at 0.001 per share) for 1% of the number of Placing Shares issued to them (rounded down to the nearest whole number) for each such consecutive 30 day period (or part thereof). The number of additional Ordinary Shares that may be issued to each Placee is capped at 10% of the number of Placing Shares issued to that Placee (rounded down to the nearest whole number) under the Placing. Sofinnova Partners and Fountain Healthcare Partners (who are considered substantial shareholders under the Enterprise Securities Market Rules for Companies (the "ESM Rules")) will subscribe for 389,984 and 230,769 of the Placing Shares respectively. Their participation in the Placing will constitute related party transactions under Rule 13 of the ESM Rules. The Directors (with the exception of Antoine Papiernik and Manus Rogan), consider, having consulted with Davy Corporate Finance, the Company's ESM Adviser, that the terms of their participation in the Placing are fair and reasonable insofar as Mainstay shareholders are concerned. David Brabazon, who is a Director, will also participate in the Placing, subscribing for 23,100 Placing Shares, so that following completion of the Placing, he will hold 27,828 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.42% of the enlarged issued ordinary share capital of the Company. Kempen Co (Amsterdam) acted as financial adviser and coordinating placement agent, J&E Davy (Dublin) acted as financial adviser and placement agent and Merrion Capital (Dublin) acted as placement agent. Conference call The Company will host a live conference call (in English) for analysts and investors on Friday, 17 June 2016 at 10am Dublin time (11am Paris time). Dial in details for this call are: Ireland Toll Free Number: 1800 936 842 France Toll Free Number: 0805 101 988 Finland Toll Free Number: 0800 523 133 Germany Toll Free Number: 0800 589 3001 Netherlands Toll Free Number: 0800 265 8619 International Non Toll Free Number: +44 203 139 4830 Passcode: 62363666# Appendix Additional Information regarding the New Directors The following information is required to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the ESM Rules: Mr. Greg Garfield Mr. Greg Garfield will be appointed as a Director (having been nominated by KCK) immediately following completion of the Placing, which is expected to occur today. Greg Shaw Garfield, aged 53, is an experienced medical technology executive. Greg does not currently have any interest in Ordinary Shares, save for the interest to be acquired by KCK under the Placing. Greg was a non-executive director of Sonitus Medical Inc. until January 2015, when the company entered into a voluntary liquidation. The liquidation was completed in January 2016. Greg has confirmed that there are no other items requiring disclosure in accordance with Schedule 2(g)(iii) to (viii) of the ESM Rules. Current directorships: C2 Therapeutics Inc. Aerin Medical, Inc. Rodo Medical, Inc. Cogent Therapeutics LLC Revent Medical Inc. Semler Scientific Inc. BioInspire Technologies Inc. Applaud Medical Inc. RefleXion Medical Inc. Sonitus Technologies Inc. Previous directorships within the past five years: Sonitus Medical Inc. Mr. Nael Karim Kassar Mr. Nael Karim Kassar will be appointed as a Director (having been nominated by KCK) immediately following completion of the Placing, which is expected to occur today. Nael Karim Kassar, aged 37, is a director of KCK. Nael does not currently have any interest in Ordinary Shares save for the interest to be acquired by KCK under the Placing. Nael has a beneficial interest of 10% in the issued share capital of KCK. Nael has confirmed that there are no other items requiring disclosure in accordance with Schedule 2(g)(iii) to (viii) of the ESM Rules. Current directorships: KCK Ltd KCK Properties Ltd Future Finance Loan Corporation Limited Timeshare Finance Investments Limited Specialty Finance ICAV Limited Judgment Acquisition Corporation Limited High Sealed and Coupled "HSC" FZCO Sentient Energy, Inc. OnePhone Holding AB; Citizens Parking Inc. Affirmed Networks, Inc. GFL Environmental Holdings Inc. SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. Murosa Development S.a r.l. Hibernia NGS Limited HPS Del Mar Holdings LLC BioInspire Technologies, Inc. Aerin Medical Inc. QM Power Inc. Sonitus Technologies, Inc. RefleXion Medical Inc. Previous directorships within the past five years: Tunnel Capital City Partners Inc End About Mainstay Mainstay is a medical device company focused on bringing to market an innovative implantable neurostimulation system, ReActiv8, for people with disabling Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP). The Company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It has subsidiaries operating in Ireland, the United States, Australia and Germany, and is listed on Euronext Paris (MSTY.PA) and the ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange (MSTY.IE). About Chronic Low Back Pain One of the recognised root causes of CLBP is impaired control by the nervous system of the muscles that dynamically stabilise the spine in the low back, and an unstable spine can lead to back pain. ReActiv8 is designed to electrically stimulate the nerves responsible for contracting these muscles and thereby help to restore muscle control and improve dynamic spine stability, allowing the body to recover from CLBP. People with CLBP usually have a greatly reduced quality of life and score significantly higher on scales for pain, disability, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. Their pain and disability can persist despite the best available medical treatments, and only a small percentage of cases result from an identified pathological condition or anatomical defect that may be correctable with spine surgery. Their ability to work or be productive is seriously affected by the condition and the resulting days lost from work, disability benefits and health resource utilisation put a significant burden on individuals, families, communities, industry and governments. Further information can be found at www.mainstay-medical.com CAUTION in the United States, ReActiv8 is limited by federal law to investigational use only. Forward looking statements This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects", "should", "will", or "explore" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear throughout this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's results of operations, financial position, prospects, financing strategies, expectations for product design and development, regulatory applications and approvals, reimbursement arrangements, costs of sales and market penetration. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the actual results of the Company's operations, and the development of its main product, the markets and the industry in which the Company operates, may differ materially from those described in, or suggested by, the forward looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, financial position and growth, and the development of its main product and the markets and the industry in which the Company operates, are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. A number of factors could cause results and developments of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements including, without limitation, the successful launch and commercialisation of ReActiv8, the initiation and success of the ReActiv8-B Clinical Trial,general economic and business conditions, the global medical device market conditions, industry trends, competition, changes in law or regulation, changes in taxation regimes, the availability and cost of capital, the time required to commence and complete clinical trials, the time and process required to obtain regulatory approvals, currency fluctuations, changes in its business strategy, political and economic uncertainty. The forward-looking statements herein speak only at the date of this announcement. Disclaimers This announcement and the information it contains does not constitute and shall not be considered as constituting a public offer, an offer to subscribe or an intention to solicit the interest of the public for a public offering of Mainstay's securities in Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, the United States or any other jurisdiction. In Ireland, the offer of Placing Shares described above is being made solely to persons who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of article 2(1)(e) of the Directive 2003/71/EC (the "Prospectus Directive") and "professional clients" as defined in schedule 2 of the European Communities Markets in Financial Instruments Regulations 2007 (as amended) and, to a small number of other individual investors in accordance with other applicable exemptions under Irish prospectus law. In France, the offer of Placing Shares described above is being made solely as a private placement, in accordance with Article L. 411-2 of the Code monetaire et financier and applicable regulations. The offering does not constitute a public offering in France, as defined in Article L. 411-1 of the Code monetaire et financier and no prospectus reviewed or approved by the Autorite des marches financiers will be published. A listing prospectus will be prepared for approval by the Central Bank of Ireland, passported into France and published as part of the application for listing of the Placing Shares. This announcement does not constitute an offer of the Placing Shares to the public in the United Kingdom, nor is it intended to be an inducement to engage in investment activity for the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) of the United Kingdom. Consequently, this announcement is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom; (ii) investment professionals within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005 as amended (the "Order"); (iii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a)-(d) of the Order; or (iv) other persons to whom it may be lawfully be communicated, together being referred to as "relevant persons". The Placing Shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire the Placing Shares will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. With respect to Member States of the European Economic Area, no action has been taken or will be taken to permit a public offering of the securities referred to in this announcement which would require the publication of a prospectus in any Member State. There will be no offer to the public of the Placing Shares in any Member State of the European Economic Area and no prospectus or other offering document has been or will be prepared in connection with the sale of the Placing Shares by Mainstay. In Member States of the European Economic Area other than Ireland, France or the United Kingdom, the Placing Shares are only being offered and sold to "qualified investors" as defined in the Prospectus Directive or in other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive. This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, nor does it constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy Placing Shares in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to its registration or qualification under the laws of such jurisdiction. The Placing Shares mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). The Placing Shares may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. This distribution of this announcement may be subject to legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Any person who comes into possession of this announcement must inform him or herself of and comply with any such restrictions J&E Davy, trading as Davy, which is authorised and regulated in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland, is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing any advice in relation to the Placing or any matter referred to herein. Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire any new ordinary shares of Mainstay Medical International plc in any jurisdiction View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160616006585/en/ Contacts: PR and IR Enquiries: Consilium Strategic Communications (international strategic communications business and trade media) Chris Gardner, Mary-Jane Elliott, Jessica Hodgson, Hendrik Thys, +44 203 709 5700 +44 7921 697 654 mainstaymedical@consilium-comms.com or FTI Consulting (for Ireland): Jonathan Neilan, +353 1 663 3686 jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com or FTI Consulting (for France): Astrid Villette, +33 1 47 03 69 51 Astrid.Villette@fticonsulting.com or Investor Relations: The Trout Group LLC Jillian Connell, +1 646 378 2956 +1 617 309 8349 jconnell@troutgroup.com or ESM Advisers: Davy Fergal Meegan or Barry Murphy, +353 1 679 6363 fergal.meegan@davy.ie or barry.murphy2@davy.ie Mitsubishi Corporation Telephone: +81 3 3210 2171 Facsimile: +81 3 5252 7705 TOKYO, June 17, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Odaka Worker's Base, an enterprise that creates small business opportunities to support recovery in the town of Odaka in Fukushima Prefecture, today held a ceremony to mark the start of production at its "HARIO Lampwork Factory," located in the town. HARIO Lampwork Factory produces high-quality glass accessories. The launch of this operation was made possible through financial support in the form of 3.5 million yen in loans from the Abukuma Shinkin Bank, a local credit union, and an additional 3 million yen from the Mitsubishi Corporation Disaster Relief Foundation (MCDRF).Glass accessories created by HARIO Lampwork Factory will be sold at the company's main store located in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district and online.Going forward, Odaka Worker's Base will be taking steps to improve the skills and capacity of HARIO Lampwork Factory's glassblowers as it seeks to develop an even more unique and highly valued brand of accessories. This, it hopes, will not only be a major market success, but also make the enterprise a key source for the creation of employment in Odaka.The town of Odaka is located in the zone evacuated in the wake of the nuclear plant accident that resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. Odaka Worker's Base was established in November of 2014 with the aim of supporting post-disaster recovery in the town, particularly in anticipation of the need to revive business and community infrastructure and other urgent daily life and work essentials following the eventual lifting of evacuation orders. The enterprise initially opened and managed a local restaurant and super market and offered coworking space for rental.MCDRF and Abukuma Shinkin Bank sees its support to Odaka Worker's Base as part of larger social contribution initiatives aimed at stimulating the recovery of economic activity and employment generation in areas affected by the disaster such as Odaka.Many Odaka residents are looking forward to returning home following the lifting of the evacuation, however, many hurdles, including an unstable employment situation in the town, await them. It is in this context that MCDRF and Abukuma Shinkin Bank have affirmed their commitment to supporting Odaka Worker's Base in its endeavors to contribute to revitalization in the region.About Mitsubishi CorporationMitsubishi Corporation (MC; TSE: 8058) is a global integrated business enterprise that develops and operates businesses across virtually every industry including industrial finance, energy, metals, machinery, chemicals, foods, and environmental business. MC's current activities are expanding far beyond its traditional trading operations as its diverse business ranges from natural resources development to investment in retail business, infrastructure, financial products and manufacturing of industrial goods. With over 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries worldwide and a network of over 500 group companies, MC employs a multinational workforce of nearly 60,000 people. For more information, please visit www.mitsubishicorp.com.Source: Mitsubishi CorporationContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. 17 June 2016 88 Energy Limited Investor Presentation 88 Energy Limited ("88E" or the "Company") wishes to advise that a copy of the Company's latest Investor Presentation (Project Icewine June 2016) is available on the Company's website atwww.88energy.com. Media and Investor Relations: Australia 88 Energy Ltd admin@ 88energy.com +61 8 9485 0990 Hartleys Limited As Corporate Advisor Mr Dale Bryan +61 8 9268 2829 Media Enquiries Tony Dawe/ Colin Hay PPR +61 8 9388 9444 United Kingdom Cenkos Securities Plc As Nominated Adviser Mr Neil McDonald Mr Derrick Lee Tel: +44 (0)131 220 9771 / +44 (0)207 397 1953 Tel: +44 (0)131 220 9100 / +44 (0)207 397 8900 Pursuant to the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules Chapter 5 and the AIM Rules for Companies, the technical information and resource reporting contained in the Investor Presentation was prepared by, or under the supervision of, Mr Brent Villemarette, who is a Non Executive Director of the Company. It has been produced for the Company, and at its request, for adoption by the Directors. Mr Villemarette has more than 30 years' experience in the petroleum industry and is a qualified Reservoir Engineer who has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style and nature of the oil prospects under consideration and to the activities discussed in this document. He has consented to the inclusion of the petroleum prospective resource estimates prepared by DeGolyer & MacNaughton (as of 31 December 2015) and supporting information being included in this announcement in the form and context in which they are presented. His academic qualifications and industry memberships appear on the Company's website and both comply with the criteria for "Competence" under clauses 18-21 of the Valmin Code 2005. Terminology and standards adopted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers "Petroleum Resources Management System" have been applied in producing this document. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as Brexit fears eased following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and amid rising risk appetite. The 41-year-old British lawmaker Jo Cox, was shot dead in the town of Birstall, northern England, in the early afternoon on Thursday. She was a fervent advocate of Britain remaining in Europe, as well as a champion of the poor and of Syrian refugees. The murder of pro-EU British lawmaker raised speculation that the U.K. voters will be more likely to favor of Britain remaining in the European Union. Both the 'Remain' and 'Leave' campaigns for the EU referendum were suspended yesterday following Cox's death. Meanwhile, Asian stocks are mostly higher as investors went bargain hunting after U.S. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak to close higher overnight. However, gains are muted in most markets amid concerns over next week's Brexit vote. Crude oil prices rose in Asian trades after falling to a one-month low overnight. Thursday, the pound fell against its major rivals amid uncertainty over the UK referendum next week on whether it should remain in the European Union lingered in the global market. The pound fell 0.56 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.36 percent against the franc, 1.66 percent against the yen and 0.33 percent against the euro. In the Asian trading, the pound rose to a 1-week high of 0.7874 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 0.7901. The pound may test resistance around the 0.77 area. Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 4-day highs of 1.4293 and 1.3795 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4203 and 1.3703, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.46 against the greenback and 1.41 against the franc. The pound edged up to 149.78 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 148.05. On the upside, 156.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound. Looking ahead, Eurozone current account data for April is due to be released later in the day. At 5:00 am ET, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde will take part in panel discussion with Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling in Vienna. At 7:45 am ET, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure is expected to speak at the International Conference on Structural Reforms in Advanced Economies, organized by Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. In the New York session, Canada CPI and PPI data and U.S. building permits and housing starts, all for May, are slated for release. At 11:00 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is scheduled to deliver a speech in honor of Dr Theodor Waigel at conferral of signs and awards in Munich. At 12:50 pm ET, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins is expected to speak at the Canadian Payments Association, in Calgary. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de In accordance with the press release published on 10 May 2016 regarding repurchase of own shares, Cavotec SA today announces that the repurchases have been completed. In total, 150,000 shares were repurchased, corresponding to 0.19% per cent of the total number of outstanding shares in the company. The repurchased shares will be used to deliver shares to the participants in the Long Term Inventive Plan 2013 and the Long Term Inventive Plan 2014 if the participants request delivery in shares.The average price paid for the repurchased shares was SEK 21.30. The Company currently holds 162,022 own shares. The number of issued shares in the company is 78,536,000.ENDSMedia & investor contact:Michael ScheepersChief Communications Officermichael.scheepers@cavotec.com or +41 795 024 010The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Cavotec SA under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on 17 June 2016, 08:50 CEST.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=575898 Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The first-half 2016 earnings of French and German insurers will be dampened by flood losses following storms Elvira and Friederike, which hit the countries in quick succession between late May and early June. However, A.M. Best does not anticipate any negative rating actions on the insurers it rates as the flood events are not likely to drive a material deterioration in full-year 2016 performance or affect capitalisation. In a new Best's Briefing, titled, "French and German Floods to Dampen Insurers' H1 2016 Earnings; Negative Rating Actions not Anticipated," A.M. Best notes that insured losses from the floods are estimated at between EUR 0.9 billion and EUR 1.4 billion for the French market and around EUR 1.2 billion for German insurers. The disparity between economic and insured losses will be greater in Germany than in France, owing to lower levels of flood insurance penetration. Alex Rafferty, financial analyst and contributor to the briefing, said: "The market is expecting some 150,000 claims, with the large personal lines insurers providing property and motor insurance most affected. Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR) expects the recent floods to be the largest insured natural catastrophe loss incurred since 1982, with the state-backed reinsurer taking a significant share of the total market loss." With no government-backed or formalised natural catastrophe scheme in place in Germany, coverage for flood may be added as a policy extension, though this additional protection often results in a notable increase in premium, particularly for risks domiciled in flood prone areas of the country. Consequently, the average penetration rate for flood protection is relatively low. Myles Gould, senior financial analyst and co-contributor to the briefing, added: "Economic and insured loss estimates are currently difficult to fully predict, given that residual waters have yet to disperse in some of the most severely hit parts of country. However, the localised nature of the flooding in Germany means that small regional insurers are likely to be disproportionately affected. A.M. Best notes that for most insurers with exposure to the German floods, losses are unlikely to be sufficiently high to hit their catastrophe excess of loss programmes, although for those with proportional reinsurance coverage, some of the losses will be passed to reinsurers." To access a complimentary copy of this briefing, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=250475. A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2016 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160617005110/en/ Contacts: A.M. Best Alex Rafferty, ACA, +44 20 7397 0285 Financial Analyst alex.rafferty@ambest.com or Myles Gould, +44 20 7397 0267 Senior Financial Analyst myles.gould@ambest.com or Edem Kuenyehia, +44 20 7397 0280 Associate Director, Market Development Communications edem.kuenyehia@ambest.com or Jim Peavy, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 Assistant Vice President, Public Relations james.peavy@ambest.com LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Global disputes and investigations firm Kobre & Kim announces today that it has strengthened its Government Enforcement & Investigations team with the addition of Jason A. Masimore in London. As a former prosecutor for the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Mr. Masimore will focus his practice on advising corporations and individual clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa facing allegations of corruption and bribery; securities fraud and tax and accounting fraud; market manipulation; and violations of US sanctions, among other violations. When asked about joining the firm, Mr. Masimore said, "I am delighted to be joining Kobre & Kim in London. The firm has built an impressive team that has an unparalleled reputation. I am excited for the opportunity to help enhance the firm's abilities to advise international clients facing investigations and cases from US regulators." Mr. Masimore brings extensive experience investigating criminal matters to Kobre & Kim's London office. With his addition, a total of five former DOJ lawyers will be based at that location. Among these are Lara Levinson and Roger Burlingame; they and Mr. Masimore are permanently based in London. Other former DOJ lawyers on the team include Robert Henoch, who splits time between Tel Aviv and London, and the firm's co-founder, Michael Kim, who also practices part of the time from the London office. All five of the firm's former DOJ lawyers in London focus on Europe/Middle East/Africa matters, and are part of a larger group of 13 former US government lawyers throughout the firm, including a specialty Asia-focused team based in Hong Kong and Seoul, and another focusing exclusively on Latin America. "The DOJ and other US authorities investigate EMEA-based entities and individuals without regard to national boundaries, and the level of US enforcement activity is only increasing," Mr. Burlingame said. "Jason's deep white-collar experience from both sides of the table will strengthen our ability to serve EMEA-based clients facing US government inquiries." Prior to joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Masimore served for years with the US government, serving as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he tried numerous federal criminal cases involving charges including corruption, tax and accounting fraud, and securities fraud, among others. Prior to his tenure with the Department of Justice, Mr. Masimore was an associate in the White Collar & Regulatory Defense practice at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP. He received his JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. About Kobre & Kim Kobre & Kim is an international disputes and investigations firm comprised of over 150 lawyers and analysts based in New York, London, Seoul, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington DC. The firm's conflict-free profile focuses exclusively on serving as special counsel, allowing it to advance aggressive positions against virtually any adversary. Kobre & Kim is one of the few firms to have former US government prosecutors and investigators permanently based in Europe and the Middle East (currently in London and Tel Aviv). The EMEA team, led by five former US Department of Justice lawyers and investigators, includes a diverse group of professionals with local experience and native language skills such as French, German, Italian, Russian, Dutch, and Hebrew, with a particular focus on advising companies, boards of directors, and individual executives in internal investigations and related cross-border government enforcement actions. For more information visit:www.kobrekim.co.uk To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kobre--kim-bolsters-europe-investigations-team-adds-another-former-us-department-of-justice-prosecutor-in-europe-300286075.html CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The euro came off from its previous highs against its major counterparts in early European trading on Friday. The euro pared gains to 116.96 against the yen, 1.5200 against the aussie, 1.4509 against the loonie and 1.5916 against the kiwi, from its early highs of 118.09, 1.5260, 1.4561 and 1.5999, respectively. The euro retreated to 1.1231 against the greenback and 1.0834 against the franc, off its early high of 1.1272 and a 3-day high of 1.0874, respectively. The euro fell back to 0.7876 against the pound, reversing from its previous high of 0.7907. The euro is thus heading to pierce its early weekly low of 0.7874. The euro is likely to find support around 115.00 against the yen, 1.05 against the franc, 0.76 against the pound, 1.10 against the greenback, 1.50 against the aussie, 1.575 against the kiwi and 1.44 against the loonie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Clustrix Revs its Next-Gen Magento Engine at MagentoLive UK SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK has given the world some awesome things: Newtonian Physics, Shakespeare, parliamentary democracy, The Beatles. Now San Francisco-based Clustrix, a Magento Silver Performance Partner, wants to give something back at MagentoLive UK 2016, taking place June 20-21. Clustrix, Gold sponsor of the show and provider of the first scale-out SQL database, will demo ClustrixDB for Magento--the next-generation backend that supercharges the performance capabilities of Magento stores. "Today's e-commerce companies all must face two realities: they need to handle radical shifts in website traffic and transactions, and they need to sell to a global audience that never sleeps, and never stops shopping," said Mike Azevedo, CEO, Clustrix. "We've built a backend for high-transaction Magento stores that allows you to process more orders per hour and eliminate checkout-lockout due to catalog updates and indexing." ClustrixDB for Magento includes the only Magento-approved drop-in replacement for MySQL, which accommodates more than five times the traffic and orders of a typical Magento site, and the Shadow (re)Indexer, which allows companies to update e-commerce catalogs without slowing down the site and making check-out unavailable. Proving what was thought impossible: zero errors, 100 percent uptime while re-indexing Conventional wisdom and experience say that you can't re-index under heavy workloads without significant (revenue-eating) downtime. However, Clustrix will demonstrate at the show that, with its new Magento backend, you can run a Magento store at remarkable levels of performance -- 14.6 orders per second and 816 pageviews per second while doing catalog updates approximately every 12 minutes (with new catalog updates appearing on the site in seconds). "You'd expect an online store to buckle under these conditions, however at Magento Imagine we showed that this can be done while achieving an average response time of 267 milliseconds, with 0% error rate and 100% checkout uptime," said Azevedo. "We're going to repeat the demonstration at MagentoLive UK, and anyone who doesn't think we can duplicate the results is invited to come and see for themselves--we predict they'll walk away believers." To learn more about ClustrixDB for Magento, don't miss VP of Sales, Lindsey Anderson's Solutions Spotlight presentation, taking place on Tuesday, June 21st, 9:00 - 9:30am, at Westminster 2, Level 3! About Clustrix Clustrix provides the leading scale-out relational database engineered for the cloud or data center. ClustrixDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL and an ideal solution for high-transaction, high-value workloads typically found in businesses such as ad tech, e-commerce, gaming and large web and mobile businesses. Our customers use ClustrixDB for critical business applications that support massive transactional volume and real-time reporting of business performance metrics. ClustrixDB delivers more than 25 trillion transactions per month for customers including AOL, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip, Choxi, Photobox, Rakuten and Symantec. Headquartered in San Francisco, visit www.clustrix.com to learn more. Clustrix is trademarked in the U.S. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Other product or company names mentioned may be trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The CEO of an international vehicle armouring company - 'IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems' was celebrating this week after being awarded the title of the country's top executive by Business Worldwide Magazine. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/809784 ) Voted by the magazine's readers, entrepreneur Tom Fleenor was delighted to pick up the award which he received for his fast turn-around of an ailing armoured vehicle plant. American-born Fleenor, whose company produces armoured vehicles for the defence and security sectors, bought over the former International Armoring Corporation Philippines operation last year. He then installed innovative technology, invested in new materials, application processes and completely restructured the manufacturing operation. As a result he has turned the company's fortunes around. "We're delighted how well things have gone, considering what we started with," said Fleenor. "But really, this is only the beginning. As an independent company we will continue to innovate and develop top quality products so that our clients get the best of what the industry has to offer as well as feel a return on their investment." Fleenor insists that his company's vehicles are the most technologically-advanced and bullet-resistant for passengers in the world. Doors, pillar posts, roofs, floor and every single piece of glass in a car can be surreptitiously security-strengthened while the vehicle maintains its original physical appearance - both inside and out. Clients of IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems include US homeland security, European defence industries, Southeast Asia and Philippine governmental contracts along with the private high wealth sectors. Then there are developing nations both in African and the Middle East who are facing both internal political stability from rebels and threats from nearby nations. Celebrity clients too are growing in number and nationality. Fleenor added: "As well as being known as a company which produces top quality vehicles, we are also very much known for our honesty. Our corporate mission statement, for instance, states that we produce the finest, most technologically-advanced bullet resistant passenger and specialty vehicles in the world - and that's not wrong. In this industry the truth is essential; for one thing lives are at risk." We do what we say we will do, thus avoiding conflicts within the organization and clients. Transparency and honesty has played a critical part in the success of regaining our clientele and our ability to reorganize in a positive position. Meanwhile the armoured vehicle sector is experiencing huge growth at the moment due, in the main, to the rise in conflict both across and within nations. There are predictions that the industry will be worth around $28 billion USD by the end of this decade. Previously it hit its peak during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts when the demand for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) escalated. By 2012, 42,000 of these vehicles had been produced, at a total cost of around $47.7 billion. To find out more about the armoured vehicle industry and Fleenor's philosophy see www.iacphilippines.com An article on the company can be found on BWM website http://www.bwmonline.com/2016/05/driving-global-success-within-armoured-vehicle-industry/ For more details on Business Worldwide Magazine Awards 2016, go to http://www.bwmonline.com/awards About Business Worldwide Magazine Business Worldwide Magazine is the leading source of business and dealmaker intelligence throughout the world. Our quarterly magazine and online news portal enables an established audience of corporate dealmakers to track the latest news, stories and developments affecting the international markets, corporate finance, business strategy and changes in legislation. This readership includes of CEO/CFO - Banks, Corporate Lawyers and Venture Capital/Private Equity Companies to name a few. http://www.bwmonline.com Contact David Jones Awards Department E:david.jones@bwmonline.com W:http://www.bwmonline.com CORK and DUBLIN, Ireland, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Shares today announced the appointment of Sean Quill as the new Managing Director for Ireland. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160122/325085LOGO ) Prior to his new position in Global Shares, Sean served as a Principal within the Talent business in Mercer Ireland, as well as having acted as the Market Business Leader for Talent for a number of years. With over 17 years of experience, Sean is renowned as one of Ireland's top experts in the design and implementation of Irish employee share schemes. Having acted as a taxation manager for one of the top four accountancy firms earlier in his career, he is also a skilled advisor for the taxation of employee benefits. Leaving a job of such prominence with Mercer Ireland is a significant move for Sean however, it also demonstrates the value Global Shares is bringing to the Irish share scheme market with their software and service offering. As the only Irish firm providing software specific to managing Irish share schemes, Global Shares are seen as the leading professionals of this specialised industry, not only in Ireland, but globally. Sean, in his new Global Shares role, will head business development as Managing Director for Ireland. As one of the country's leading share scheme experts, he will primarily focus on expanding the scope of Global Shares' offering within Ireland, with particular emphasis on APSS plan design and support along with providing general scheme advice. "Indigenous Irish and foreign companies approach Global Shares to manage both their Irish and global share schemes due to our reputation as industry leaders. Not only are we winning more and more clients, we are also attracting top industry experts such as Sean Quill. I am extremely pleased to welcome Sean to the Global Shares team as Managing Director, Ireland and am confident that he will have a significant impact to our increasing success in Ireland," said Tim Houstoun, CEO at Global Shares. "I am delighted to be joining Global Shares at this exciting time. In the current climate of ever increasing cost constraints, clients are striving to deliver, and explain the value of equity awards to their employees. With their client first approach coupled with their delivery of their first class equity technology, I believe that Global Shares are uniquely placed to meet these needs," said Sean Quill, Managing Director, Ireland at Global Shares. The Clonakilty headquartered company also announced today the opening of a new office in Dublin. This expansion will further enhance Global Shares' presence in the Irish region. Sean will be based in the new Dublin office which will deal with all Irish employee share schemes. Notes - About Global Shares: Global Shares is an international Software-as-a-Service company headquartered in Ireland, specializing in employee equity software solutions, with over 1 million users in 100 countries worldwide. Global Shares helps public and private companies to manage every aspect of their Employee Share Plans, providing stock plan administrators with a fully-automated, customizable and compliant solution, as well as expert support services. With over 80 staff and offices in London, Lisbon, New York, California and Brazil, our highly skilled team of software developers & qualified equity professionals have developed this market-leading software in-house and are now releasing it to an ever increasing portfolio of clients. Since its launch in 2015 the new Global Shares equity administration platform has been extraordinarilywellreceived internationally, catapulting the company into the industry spotlight. With the company's new regulated status Global Shares is forecast to grow substantiallyin 2016 and beyond. http://www.globalshares.com Vestas has been informed that MidAmerican Energy Company has filed a notice with the Iowa Utilities Board highlighting an agreement between Vestas and MidAmerican Energy Company with a potential of up to 2,000 MW in the USA.Vestas can confirm that Vestas has entered into a conditional agreement with MidAmerican Energy Company ("MidAmerican") to supply up to 1,000 V110-2.0 MW wind turbines for MidAmerican's 2,000 MW Wind XI project in Iowa, which is still pending approval from the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB).In addition, the conditional agreement includes exclusivity provisions for Vestas to supply 100 percent of MidAmerican's 2016 PTC Safe Harbor components.The conditional agreement comprises supply and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a 5-year Active Output Management (AOM) 4000 service agreement with options to extend for up to 10 years. Pending the IUB approval, delivery and commissioning of the turbines will occur from 2016 to 2019."This project, if approved, will bring considerable economic benefits to MidAmerican's rate payers and communities, and Vestas is proud to partner with MidAmerican Energy in their commitment to generate 100 percent renewable energy," said Chris Brown, President of Vestas' sales and service division in the United States and Canada.Wind XI follows MidAmerican's first of its kind utility commitment to providing customers with 100 percent renewable energy generation.MidAmerican Energy Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is the largest regulated utility owner of wind energy in the USA. With the investment in Wind XI, the utility will generate 85 percent of its retail load from wind.If and when the agreement translates into orders that meet Vestas' definition for firm and unconditional orders, Vestas will disclose company announcements announcing specific orders under the agreement in accordance with its defined order announcement policy. Potential future order intake under the agreement is expected to occur as partial deliveries under the master agreement and hence, will be announced firm and unconditional when they occur as such.Vestas discloses this announcement based on Vestas' obligation as a Danish listed company, ref. the Securities Trading Act, section 27(2).For updated Vestas photographs and videos, please visit our media images page on https://www.vestas.com/en/media/images.Contact details Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark Hans Martin Smith, Senior Vice President, Group Treasury and Investor Relations Tel: +45 9730 8209Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=575926 LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Handelsblatt, Germany's leading financial daily, is temporarily moving its editorial headquarters during Brexit week to London. From Tuesday June 21 through Saturday June 25 our publisher Gabor Steingart, together with more than 50 journalists from Germany, will be working from central London. Each evening from 5 p.m. we will hold a reception with high-level representatives from the world of business, politics, banking and media to discuss the referendum and its implications for Britain and Europe in on-the-record talks. Among the guests will be Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's vice chancellor and economics minister, Antonio Simoes, CEO of HSBC Bank plc., David McAllister, a German-Scottish member of the European Parliament, Stephanie Flanders, the chief strategist for the U.K. and Europe at JP Morgan Asset Management, as well as the former British trade minister, Lord Stephen Green. The talks will be followed each evening by drinks and music. "Next week, we are moving the Handelsblatt newsroom from Germany to London to follow andanalyze the historic events taking place in the financial heart of Europe. The modern newspaper marries inspiration and information,as well as substance and proximity, to deliver new relevance and immediacy to its readers," said Gabor Steingart, the publisher and CEO of Handelsblatt Publishing Group. We'd very much like to extend to you a cordial invitation to join us at one of the receptions. We have limited space so please let us know which date you are interested in attending. Please register at brexit@anmeldung.me. To read the full programme, please go to Handelsblatt Global Edition. During Brexit week, Handelsblatt's London editorial offices will be located in The Beagle, 397-400 Geffrye Street, London E2 8HZ. About Handelsblatt Handelsblatt is the largest German-language business and finance newspaper. Around 200 editors, correspondents and permanent staff around the globe provide up-to-date, comprehensive and critical-analytical news. The business and finance paper, which appears each trading day, is essential reading for decision-makers in the first and second levels of management. According to Germany's premier reader analysis LAE 2015, Handelsblatt reaches more than 290,000 decision-makers each trading day. Handelsblatt Online generates up to 22 million visits and 100 million page impressions per month, making it Germany's leading business portal. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, readers chose Handelsblatt Online as finance website of the year. http://www.handelsblatt.com Contact: Kerstin Jaumann Head of Corporate Communication Tel.: +49(0)211-887-1015 E-mail: pressestelle@vhb.de MUNICH, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday saw the start of DLDsummer, the summer spin-off of Burda's DLD conference, which is one of Europe's most successful innovation and digital conferences. Around 500 participants and over 40 speakers headed to Munich's Haus der Kunst to discuss the effects of digitalisation on all socially relevant areas. Major corporation meets social enterprise "The future has brought us together today!" declared DLD founder and managing director Steffi Czerny as she opened the conference. "How will digitalisation continue to change our world? What effect will artificial intelligence, virtual reality and blockchain have on all aspects of our daily lives? We bring people to the stage who are ahead of their time and helping to shape our future. Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg have already appeared at DLD events," Czerny continued. "At DLDsummer, Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser will provide a perspective from the management of German DAX companies," added Dominik Wichmann, DLD managing director and editor-in-chief. "At the same time, we will focus on social topics by collaborating with Ashoka, the world's largest network for social entrepreneurs." Artificial intelligence in the financial industry The first morning of the conference made it clear how important artificial intelligence is becoming for both consumers and companies. Alexander Del Toro Barba of VisualVest tackled the question of how artificial intelligence can optimise financial processes. He explained that banks are already investing lots of money in developing this technology further: "It's not just about simple banking activities, but also about supporting customers with a wide range of financial topics." Another industry aim is to identify customers by their facial features - and to process payments automatically using biometric characteristics. He predicts that: "In five years, cards to identify customers will be a thing of the past." Siemens plans Innovations AG Dominik Wichmann (DLD) discussed innovations within companies with Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser. "In contrast to many experts, I believe that adaptability, not speed, is the most important factor in company digitalisation", declared Kaeser. To keep pace with technological developments, Siemens plans to set up an internal Innovations AG, which will act as a venture capitalist for start-ups. The future of cities and mobility Deutsche Telekom Board Member Claudia Nemat provided a glimpse into the future of our cities. She explained that to close in on the goal of the "smart city", it is essential to evaluate existing data using mathematical algorithms. For example, a huge proportion of urban traffic is caused by drivers searching for somewhere to park. Digital services and real-time analyses could solve this problem relatively easily. Hildegard Wortmann, BMW's new Marketing Head, took to the DLDsummer stage to discuss the challenges in the automotive industry. "Technology is developing rapidly - the changes that will come in the next ten years are comparable to those of the last 30 years," stated Wortmann, who has been with BMW since 1998. A global company such as BMW must be innovative and constantly developing, which is why it is looking for unusual ideas: "Only in this way will the company have the impetus to progress further." From IoT to wearables and microbiomes Further speakers on the first day of the conference included Deon Newman (IBM Watson), who presented the opportunities offered by cognitive computing and IoT (Internet of Things), industrial designer Gadi Amit, who talked about new technology designs, German internist Michael Hallek, who discussed the ethical dimension of digital medicine, and gastroenterologist Berndt Birkner, who focused on microbiology. The second day of DLDsummer (Friday) will welcome speakers such as Gregor Hackmack, CEO of the Change.org petition platform, neuroscientist Frederike Petzschner, Michael Gleich (author and founder of the Culture Counts Foundation) and Solveigh Hieronimus of McKinsey & Company. Start-up battle with SevenVentures Yesterday, DLDsummer hosted its first SevenVentures Pitch Day. With prize money of 3 million euros, the major start-up competition is one of Europe's most generous awards for TV media. Moderated by Steven Gatjen, the event saw six finalists battle it out on the DLD stage in front of a jury comprising Luciana Lixandru (Accel Partners), Nikolaus Rottger (Wired Germany) and Sascha van Holt (SevenVentures). In the final round, the audience ultimately voted for the start-up Tinkerbots, which impressed them with its toy kit for constructing robots. For more information about the speakers and topics at DLDsummer, visit: http://www.dld-conference.com/DLDsummer16 Royalty-free images are available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hubertburdamedia Background DLD is the international conference and innovation platform of Hubert Burda Media. DLD Media organises DLD (Europe's leading digital conference) as well as the DLDsummer conference in Munich, DLD New York City, DLDeurope in Brussels and DLD Tel Aviv. The DLDsalon format also runs worldwide networking events in locations such as Palo Alto, London, Istanbul, Barcelona, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Beijing. In over ten years, DLD has welcomed many prominent speakers, including Reed Hastings (Netflix), Jan Koum (WhatsApp), Travis Kalanick (Uber), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Eric Schmidt (Google), Sean Parker (Napster), Marissa Mayer (Yahoo!), Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook) and architect Zaha Hadid. It is managed by Stephanie Czerny, who co-founded the DLD conference in 2005, and Dominik Wichmann, who joined the team in September 2015 as an additional managing director and editor-in-chief. Further information Dorothee Stommel Hubert Burda Media Corporate Communications Arabellastrae 23 81925 Munich, Germany Tel.: +49-89-9250-2065 E-mail: Dorothee.Stommel@burda.com Vallei & Veluwe, in Partnership With Ostara and Eliquo, Launches Energy and Nutrient Recovery Factory, First to Produce Commercial Fertiliser Product AMERSFOORT, THE NETHERLANDS and VANCOUVER, BC --(Marketwired - June 17, 2016) - Today, the Dutch Waterboard Vallei & Veluwe (The Waterboard) officially opened Europe's first commercial nutrient recovery facility, in partnership with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies and Eliquo Water & Energy. Proactively addressing national and European goals to promote a circular economy, the new facility is part the Waterboards' transformation of their Amersfoort Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) into an Energy and Nutrient Recovery Factory, supported by the EU LIFE+ subsidy program. The Waterboard's Chairman Tanja Klip-Martin; Environmental Advocate and Attorney, and Ostara Board Member, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; and, Director of Plastic Whale, Marius Smit, were joined by CEO of Eliquo, Dr. Reinhard Hubner; and, Co-Founder and CEO of Ostara, Phillip Abrary, to officially open the energy and nutrient recovery facility following a ceremony with speeches by Klip-Martin, Smit and Kennedy. The new Energy and Nutrient Recovery Factory features, amongst others, Ostara's Pearl nutrient recovery and WASSTRIP technologies, where phosphorous and nitrogen are recovered to create a high value fertiliser product from an existing resource with a process that is both environmentally and economically viable. The facility was designed and constructed by the Dutch company, Eliquo Water & Energy, and also features their LysoTherm system which allows for an efficient, cost effective and reliable disintegration of waste activated sludge (WAS). While seven sewage treatment plants have been converted into "energy and nutrient facilities" in the Netherlands, this is the first facility to produce a "ready to use" fertiliser product, sold as Crystal Green . During her speech, Principal Tanja Klip-Martin advocated for changes to National and European regulations to help stimulate the use of recovered products from waste streams to be able to support the principles of a circular economy, noting that the view on wastewater as a resource has changed fundamentally and is now seen as a sustainable source of energy and nutrients. "The key difference with the Amersfoort facility launched today is that a high value, ready-for-sale fertiliser product is being produced, ready for use on agricultural crops and in the turf and horticulture markets," said Klip-Martin. Mr. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. called Ostara's technology an incredible conduit to making the circular economy a reality. "With Ostara, municipalities now have a solution to protect waterways, and wastewater treatment plants can essentially play a vital role in tackling point source pollution, without having to compromise other community needs. The Ostara solution provides a cost-effective option for managing nutrients, and creating a high value product that further protects the environment. The environment does not have to be sacrificed for the economy; Ostara's technology provides a closed-loop solution that creates worth from waste." "We are very excited to have partnered with Dutch Waterboard and Eliquo to provide the technology to effectively recover nutrients at their Amersfoort facility. Their efforts have allowed us to create a sustainable phosphorous fertiliser that will be produced locally and sold in the Netherlands, as the highest beneficial reuse of an existing resource. We are proud to be a key component of the Dutch Waterboard's innovative energy and nutrient recovery facility which shows leadership on behalf of the industry in Europe," added Phillip Abrary. "Vallei & Veluwe challenged market entities to provide the best economic affordable solution for transforming their Amersfoort facility into an Energy and Nutrient Recovery facility. Ostara and Eliquo have provided an exemplary solution to these challenges based on the combination of unique proven technologies which are integrated with maximum re-use of existing assets," said Dr. Reinhard Hubner. 100% Energy Autonomy/Recovery of Phosphorous into High Value Fertiliser Designed to treat more than 8,000 m 3 of water each day, the Amersfoort WWTP also acts as a regional sludge-processing hub for a number of WWTPs and imports approximately 40 per cent of sludge from other locations. With approximately 12,000 tonnes of dry sludge being treated annually, the facility was facing high operational costs for energy consumption and processing costs for sludge disposal. At the transformed Amersfoort WWTP, all indigenous sludge produced as well as the sludge produced at the WWTP's of Soest, Nijkerk and Woudenberg will be centrally digested at the new facility. The process of digestion is being enhanced with Eliquo's Thermal Pressure Hydrolysis (TPH) process called LysoTherm , in order to increase the biogas and related energy production. As a result, the new facility will produce enough energy to treat all the wastewater from the City of Amersfoort on a 100% energy-autonomous basis, as well as an energy surplus, enough to provide 600 households with green electricity during the year. Operations and resource recovery are further enhanced by removing phosphorous from the liquid wastewater stream using Ostara's Pearl technology. The Amersfoort WWTP features one Pearl 2K reactor with the capacity to remove 85 per cent of the phosphorus and up to 15 per cent of the nitrogen from liquid wastewater streams. Ostara's WASSTRIP technology has also been implemented which turbo-charges the nutrient recovery process and increases the amount of phosphorous recovered by more than 60 per cent for added operational and revenue generating benefits. This further reduces the amount of sludge formed, while improving dewaterability. Recovery for Reuse -- The only "ready for use" recovered fertiliser, Crystal Green Phosphorous is contained in all humans and also in wastewater, and is a vital resource necessary to produce the food needed for long-term global food security. It is also considered a non-renewable, finite resource, as most conventional fertilisers are produced from mined phosphorous exported from countries such as Morocco. Ostara's solution provides an innovative phosphorous management strategy, and a closed loop solution. Vallei & Veluwe's nutrient recovery facility not only helps solve both nutrient supply -- producing fertiliser from an existing resource -- and nutrient pollution issues by releasing responsibly, but will also generate revenue for Vallei & Veluwe through the sale of the fertiliser. The valuable nutrients recovered are sold as a 99.6% pure, granular Crystal Green fertiliser, which is European Certified in the category with the highest quality fertilisers. This product is composed of phosphorous, nitrogen and magnesium (5-28-0-10Mg), and is sold and marketed by Ostara through a global network of blenders and distributors to professionals in the turf, horticultural and agriculture sectors. Its unique Root-Activated' mode of action improves crop yields, enhances turf performance and significantly reduces leaching and minimizes runoff, thus protecting local waterways from nutrient pollution. The new facility has the capacity to produce approximately 900 tonnes of Crystal Green annually, and Vallei & Veluwe will receive revenue for every ton of fertiliser it produces. In addition, the new nutrient recovery facility will realize annual cost savings in chemicals, solid waste disposal, maintenance and power. With a dominant focus on efficiency and sustainability, this innovative energy and nutrient recovery facility at Amersfoort is a true example of the circular economy, which has been made possible by the European LIFE+ subsidy for development, furthering the European nature and environment policy. Vallei & Veluwe's Energy and Nutrient Recovery Factory is a leadership example of the circular economy for all of Europe. Video and Interview Footage: https://youtu.be/2kaC4NohAgA Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. helps protect precious water resources by changing the way cities around the world manage nutrients in wastewater streams. The company's Pearl technology sustainably transforms phosphorous and nitrogen recovered from municipal and industrial water treatment facilities into a high-value, eco-friendly fertiliser, sold and marketed by Ostara as Crystal Green . Ostara is the recipient of numerous awards including being named a 2011 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, and being consistently placed on the Global Cleantech 100. For more information visit www.ostara.com and www.crystalgreen.com. ELIQUO Water & Energy designs, builds and maintains turn-key multi-technology solutions for sludge treatment and energy, and nutrient recovery in the municipal wastewater treatment sector. Eliquo is part of the German Eliquo Water Group and besides the Netherlands, is active in selected European Countries, Australia and South East Asia. www.eliquo-we.com. Waterboard Vallei en Veluwe is responsible for safe dikes, clean and sufficient surface water as well the treatment of wastewater in the delta's of the rivers IJssel and Nederrijn. Vallei en Veluwe is operating and maintaining 28.244 kilometres of waterways and rivers, 81 pumping stations, 16 Wastewater Treatment Plants and 872 km of dikes. WVV is treating sewage of 1.471.000 inhabitants. www.vallei-veluwe.nl and www.omzetpuntamersfoort.nl The following files are available for download: PDF Crystal Green Pearl 2K at Amersfoort Amersfoort Nutrient Recovery Facility Contact information Media Contacts: Debra Hadden Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. (604) 240-3196 dhadden@ostara.com Rick Langereis Eliquo Water & Energy +31 6 52527971 rick.langereis@eliquo-we.com. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM)(TSX: FVI) hereby announces the voting results at the Company's annual general meeting held yesterday. A total of 87,428,866 common shares were represented at the meeting, being 67.0% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares. Shareholders voted in favour of all matters brought before the meeting including the appointment of auditors for the ensuing year, and the election of management's nominees as directors. Detailed results of the votes on the election of directors are as follows: Director Votes For Votes Withheld ----------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Ganoza Durant 63,289,809 (92.5%) 5,119,387 (7.5%) Simon Ridgway 60,591,557 (88.6%) 7,817,639 (11.4%) Michael Iverson 66,025,445 (96.5%) 2,383,752 (3.5%) Mario Szotlender 35,989,820 (52.6%) 32,419,378 (47.4%) Robert Gilmore 66,060,418 (96.6%) 2,348,777 (3.4%) Thomas Kelly 46,857,061 (68.5%) 21,552,136 (31.5%) David Farrell 66,072,109 (96.6%) 2,337,088 (3.4%) About Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. Fortuna is a growth oriented, silver and base metal producer focused on mining opportunities in Latin America. Our primary assets are the Caylloma silver Mine in southern Peru and the San Jose silver-gold Mine in Mexico. The company is selectively pursuing acquisition opportunities throughout the Americas. For more information, please visit our website at www.fortunasilver.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Jorge A. Ganoza President, CEO and Director Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. Forward looking Statements This news release contains forward looking statements which constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "Forward looking Statements"). All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are Forward looking Statements and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the Forward looking Statements. The Forward looking Statements in this news release may include, without limitation, statements about the Company's plans for its mines and mineral properties; the Company's business strategy, plans and outlook; the merit of the Company's mines and mineral properties; mineral resource and reserve estimates; timelines; the future financial or operating performance of the Company; expenditures; approvals and other matters. Often, but not always, these Forward looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as "estimate", "estimates", "estimated", "potential", "open", "future", "assumed", "projected", "used", "detailed", "has been", "gain", "upgraded", "offset", "limited", "contained", "reflecting", "containing", "remaining", "to be", "periodically", or statements that events, "could" or "should" occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations. Forward looking Statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward looking Statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; changes in prices for silver and other metals; technological and operational hazards in Fortuna's mining and mine development activities; risks inherent in mineral exploration; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral reserves, mineral resources, and metal recoveries; governmental and other approvals; political unrest or instability in countries where Fortuna is active; labor relations issues; as well as those factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward looking Statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to expectations regarding mine production costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource and reserve estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained; that there will be no significant disruptions affecting operations and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward looking Statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any Forward looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that Forward looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on Forward looking Statements. Contacts: Investor Relations: Carlos Baca- T (Peru) +51.1.616.6060, ext. 0 Sanoma Corporation, Press Release, 17 June 2016 at 14:00 CET+1Sanoma has acquired the K-12 educational publishing activities of Group De Boeck in Belgium from Ergon Capital Partners III. De Boeck is a well-known and trusted brand with a strong market position.The acquisition comprises two companies - De Boeck Education and De Boeck Digital with combined revenues of EUR 17 million in 2015. De Boeck will be integrated with Van In, Sanoma Learning's existing operations in Belgium, thereby further strengthening Sanoma's offering of high quality learning solutions."Demand from our customers for multi-channel learning solutions is increasing. By combining the complementary positions of Van In and De Boeck we can bring more scale to our digital investments across a broader portfolio of high quality learning materials and also realize synergies in our operations" says John Martin, CEO of Sanoma Learning."The combination of Van In and De Boeck will be better positioned to help children to achieve good learning outcomes, to create more engagement for learning and to better support the work of teachers. More than ever we will enable the education of the future" says Winfried Mortelmans, Managing Director of Van In.Additional information CEO of Sanoma Learning, John Martin, tel. +31 6 1228 3912 Managing Director of Van In, Winfried Mortelmans, tel. +32 476 409 526 Sanoma's Investor Relations, Pekka Rouhiainen, tel. +358 40 739 5897About De BoeckDe Boeck is a leading education publisher focused on high quality educational content tailored to the need of students, teachers and educational institutions. The company has a large network of quality authors in Flanders and the French Community which consists of Brussels and Wallonia.About SanomaSanoma 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.Sanoma's consumer media business provides consumers with engaging and personalised content through cross-media brands that touch their lives. Sanoma's close relationships with its consumers enable the company to offer unique value-added marketing solutions to its business partners.Sanoma Learning's 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. HCL Technologies (HCL) today announced that it has signed a strategic IT partnership contract with LeasePlan, a global fleet management and driver mobility company of Dutch origin. Under the terms of agreement, HCL will create Group Competency in collaboration with LeasePlan Information Services to provide IT solutions in various domains such as core leasing platforms, business intelligence and data warehousing solutions, enterprise IT solutions, and application development maintenance services. HCL will manage and enhance some of the existing application suites, including core leasing platforms, development and roll-out of global IT programs and operations for LeasePlan. The program is a part of broader ICT strategic initiative by LeasePlan to consolidate, harmonize and standardize IT elements such as Infrastructure, Applications and Data. The scope of the contract will enable HCL to provide services to LeasePlan across 32 countries globally. "In today's challenging business environment, from an ICT perspective, it is crucial to continue to de-risk the legacy footprint, while at the same time re-invest into future platforms in order to deliver world-class experience to our customers. This requires a strong ICT partner to help us on this Transformation Journey," said Phil Parker, Senior Vice President, ICT, LeasePlan. "After going through the comprehensive evaluation process, we have found HCL as the right strategic partner as we believe HCL has the required diverse expertise in various domains to help us realize the vision of Group Competency and accelerate the journey, which ultimately will create a significant business impact for us." "We are pleased to have been selected by LeasePlan and we look forward to collaborate with them to create Group Competency to provide services across diverse ICT portfolios and platforms over the coming years. We will leverage our delivery centres in Estonia, Ireland, Poland and India to provide services to LeasePlan," said, Sudip Lahiri, Vice President, HCL Technologies. "Innovative companies realize unique value by creating an agile IT function that drives innovation and growth, adapting their application landscapes to rapidly changing business environments. HCL will utilise its core capabilities to help LeasePlan achieve their business objective." HCL provides a comprehensive range of custom application development services that enable enterprises to utilise the power of custom applications to support new capabilities and enhance their customer and partner experience. HCL brings over 35 years of experience in managing complex IT application and infrastructure environments, offering a full set of Application Support and Maintenance solutions. Source: http://www.hcltech.com/press-releases/application-services/hcl-technologies-partners-leaseplan-strategic-ict-initiative View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160617005303/en/ Contacts: HCL Technologies Prachi Bhagra, +91 9899496771 Prachi.b@hcl.com or Elka Ghudial, +44 7973567131 Elka.Ghudial@hcl.com OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Editors Note: There are six photos associated with this press release. In 2005, the owners of Liv Hospitality in Rapid City, South Dakota saw an opportunity to create a year-round resort that would draw tourists visiting nearby attractions such as Mount Rushmore so they created the WaTiki Indoor Waterpark, an all-seasons family aquatic destination. To ensure their park could stay open all year and still provide a sunlit, outdoor atmosphere, WaTiki turned to leading specialist OpenAire, who designed and built a 19,500 square-foot double-sloped retractable roof enclosure. This vibrant, dynamic atmosphere amazed guests and WaTiki quickly became a great success, drawing many tourists thanks to its great design and prime location. The initial enclosure was such a hit that in 2010 WaTiki called on OpenAire once again, this time to add an operable enclosure to their restaurant, Slider's Bar & Grill. The addition fit seamlessly with the rest of the park (a waterslide even passes through the bar area). Just a few years later in 2015, WaTiki returned to OpenAire again to build a 2,400 square foot addition to its original enclosure for extra seating. This beautiful, retractable enclosure was completed this year and is sure to be a hit with the park's many visitors. The power and reliability of OpenAire's work has been proven in WaTiki's rapidly expanding business and the popularity of its unique operable enclosures. WaTiki's management has learned that they can depend on the OpenAire team to make their visions for the park a reality. WaTiki is not the only business that has returned to work with OpenAire after a successful partnership; OpenAire earns repeat clients frequently with its functional and breathtaking structures. From the North American Kalahari Resorts and Waterparks to the world-renowned Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to popular local venues such as the Crooked Cue Pool Hall in Toronto, many companies have invited OpenAire back for multiple projects. Kalahari first partnered with OpenAire in 2014 to create a system of expansive skylights and enclosures for the 100,000 square foot Phase I of its Pocono Mountains resort in Pennsylvania. Guests and management alike were in awe of the new space's open environment that provides brightly lit, naturally ventilated outdoor park space in any conditions. This impressive result led Kalahari to partner with OpenAire again for Phase II of the park's expansion. This addition will grow the park to 200,000 square feet, making it the largest indoor waterpark under one roof in the United States. OpenAire has also earned a strong reputation with Royal Caribbean, providing an innovative structural solution to enclose the top-deck swimming pools on the company's Quantum series of cruise liners. Beginning with the Quantum of the Seas in 2013, followed with Anthem of the Seas in 2014 and Ovation of the Seas in 2015, OpenAire's engineers developed two 30' x 100' lean-to enclosure designs whose roof and sidewalls can retract and open seamlessly to expose the pool to the sun and sea breezes of the open ocean. These thermally broken aluminum enclosures resist corrosion from pool chemicals and salty sea air. The success of Quantum has led Royal Caribbean to commission similar enclosures for a fourth ship in the series, which OpenAire is working on currently. OpenAire is not limited to large-scale projects; in Toronto, the company partnered with the family-owned restaurant and pool hall The Crooked Cue to create a beautiful second-floor 20' x 48' opening skylight. This skylight retracts completely off the opening and parks over the adjacent roof, allowing guests to enjoy great food and drink in an outdoor environment, and actually with skylight being all glass, any time of year. The location was closed for only 45 days, and when it reopened, the newly renovated restaurant and pool hall doubled its business, at one point attracting as many guests in a week as it had in one month the previous year. The Crooked Cue's owner was able to pay off the investment in the structure very quickly. As a result, this year The Crooked Cue asked OpenAire to replicate the retractable roof for the other half of the pub, which is sure to bring in even more guests year-round. OpenAire is a company dedicated to quality, solution-based designs. Our engineering and design teams focus on building the best, most enduring structures to fit clients' needs. We aim to build lasting relationships with our clients and build partners and are always ready to provide support, anywhere in the world. With this commitment, it's little wonder why our work has earned us so many repeat customers. Whether you own a landmark tourist destination, a local community venue or a private residence, we are sure our work can inspire you to partner with us again and again as well. About OpenAire OpenAire has been designing and manufacturing beautiful, high-quality, environmentally conscious retractable roof structures and skylights for over 25 years. We bring unique visions to life from initial design to installation, transforming buildings into sunlit spaces customers love. Our 1,000 commercial projects include Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankenmuth MI; Restoration Hardware "RH Gallery" in Chicago IL; Aqua Sferra Water Park (the biggest aluminum dome in the world) in Donetsk, Ukraine; Kalahari in Pocono Mountains PA; Tropicana Water Park in Stadthagen, Germany; the Rooftop Bar at the Refinery Hotel in New York NY; and the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas NV. Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, OpenAire has worked throughout Canada, the United States, Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany and France), Azerbaijan, Russia, the Republic of Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine. To learn more about OpenAire Inc.'s projects and capabilities, visit http://www.openaire.com/ and follow us on Twitter. For more details on this project, please e-mail sales@openaire.com. To view the photos associated with this release, please visit the following links: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06151.jpg http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06152.jpg http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06153.jpg http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06154.jpg http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06155.jpg http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wati06156.jpg Contacts: OpenAire 905-901-8535 TF: 1-800-267-4877 Sales@openaire.com www.openaire.com MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- MDN Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: MDN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean Rainville as a Director of the Company as of today following the resignation of Claude Boulay as a Director of the Company. Mr. Rainville has over 35 years of experience in the mining industry and financial markets. He is one of the founding members of BlackRock Metals Inc. where he holds the position of President and Chief Executive Officer since 2008. Jean Rainville has worked as an engineer, fund manager and corporate financing manager, and also served as Director of several private and public companies. He holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering and Metallurgy as well as a Bachelor of Administration from McGill University. The board of Directors of the Company agreed to grant to Mr. Rainville 200,000 stock options at the date of his appointment in accordance with the Company's stock options plan. The price of the options was fixed at $0.07 per share and the expiry date of these options has been established at June 16, 2021. "We would like to thank Claude for his contribution to the Company over the past years and wish him well in his future projects" said Claude Dufresne, President and CEO. "Jean's experience in financing and mining will strongly benefit the development of the James Bay (Argor) niobium project" added Mr. Dufresne. About MDN (TSX VENTURE: MDN) MDN Inc. is a mining exploration company that recently concluded an agreement to acquire the James Bay (Argor) Niobium property in Ontario, Canada. MDN also holds a 72.5% interest in Crevier Minerals Inc., which owns a niobium tantalum resource in Quebec, Canada and the Ikungu and Ikungu East Gold properties in Tanzania. Follow us on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/MDN_INC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1318737 Contacts: Claude Dufresne, P.Eng. President & CEO MDN Inc. Tel.: 514 866-6500, Ext. 221 Email: cdufresne@mdn-mines.com Website: www.mdn-mines.com MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- WSP Global Inc. (TSX: WSP) ("WSP") is pleased to announce that is has entered into an agreement with Schlumberger, a leading global oilfield services company, to acquire its industrial water consultancy business. This 250-employee business will enable WSP to provide water consulting services and project solutions to industrial clients worldwide and will establish a presence for WSP in Chile and Peru. The acquisition will also add to our presence in a number of countries in which we currently operate, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Colombia and Mexico. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016. "The industrial water consultancy team will bring WSP an increased presence in the attractive global water market, more specifically, in the supply, management, control and environmental protection of water," commented Alexandre L'Heureux, the incoming President and Chief Executive Officer of WSP. "This transaction, which will be financed using our available cash, is aligned with our growth strategy; not only are we deepening our expertise in the industrial water sector, but we are strengthening our presence in South America, a region we are targeting in our 2015-2018 strategic plan. We look forward to welcoming all new employees from this division." "We are pleased about the prospect of joining WSP as our operations are complementary, and expect to create new opportunities for our employees and our clients," said John McCartney, business manager, Industrial Water Consultancy, Schlumberger. "Upon closing, we anticipate playing an active role in the development and growth of WSP's multi-disciplinary group in South America and to offer a wide range of additional services to our clients around the world." ABOUT WSP As one of the world's leading professional services firms, WSP provides technical expertise and strategic advice to clients in the Property & Buildings, Transportation & Infrastructure, Environment, Industry, Resources (including Mining and Oil & Gas) and Power & Energy sectors. WSP also offers highly specialised services in project delivery and strategic consulting. Its experts include engineers, advisors, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists, as well as other design, program and construction management professionals. With approximately 34,000 people in 500 offices across 40 countries, WSP is well positioned to deliver successful and sustainable projects under its WSP and WSP / Parsons Brinckerhoff brands. www.wsp-pb.com. Forward-looking statements Certain information regarding WSP contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although WSP believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. WSP's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The complete version of the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements as well as a description of the relevant assumptions and risk factors likely to affect WSP's actual or projected results are included in the Management Discussion and Analysis for the first quarter of 2016 ended March 26, 2016, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and WSP does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless expressly required by applicable securities laws. Contacts: Isabelle Adjahi Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications WSP Global Inc. 514-340-0046, ext. 5648 isabelle.adjahi@wspgroup.com Leading high-tech manufacturer selects IFS Applications 9 to increase user satisfaction and business value Regulatory News: IFS (Industrial Financial Systems) (STO:IFSA) (STO:IFSB) IFS (http://www.ifsworld.com/), the global enterprise applications company, announces that a leading manufacturer in the high-tech sector has chosen to deploy IFS Applications 9 (http://www.ifsworld.com/en/solutions/ifs-applications/). The agreement includes licenses and services valued at approximately 1.4 million euros. IFS Applications 9 will provide the company with a modern, innovative solution that will ensure increased user satisfaction and business value. The company will also implement features to support mission-critical processes such as rental management, multisite order management to improve the workflow between its subsidiaries, and the integrated CRM component for a simplified user experience. The solution also includes IFS Lobbies, which will empower users with intuitive and easy-to-configure overviews of their daily operations-promoting better decision-making and increased user satisfaction. For more information about how IFS helps high-tech manufacturing customers, please visit: www.ifsworld.com/en/industries/high-tech-manufacturing. About IFS IFS (http://www.ifsworld.com/en/) is a globally recognized leader in developing and delivering enterprise software for enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and enterprise service management (ESM). IFS brings customers in targeted sectors closer to their business, helps them be more agile and enables them to profit from change. IFS is a public company (XSTO: IFS) founded in 1983 and currently has over 2,800 employees. IFS supports more than 1 million users worldwide from its network of local offices and through a growing ecosystem of partners. For more information visit: www.ifsworld.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ifsworld (http://twitter.com/ifsworld) Visit the IFS Blog on technology, innovation and creativity: http://blog.ifsworld.com/ IFS discloses the information herein pursuant to the Financial Instruments Act (1991:980) and/or the Securities Markets Act (2007:528). The information was submitted for publication on June 17, 2016, at 2 p.m. CEST. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160617005309/en/ Contacts: IFS Anders Lundin Corporate Communications Phone: 46 8 58 78 45 00 press@ifsworld.com or Frederic Guigues Investor Relations Phone: 46 8 58 78 45 00 frederic.guigues@ifsworld.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its housing starts report for May at 8:30 am ET Friday. Economists expect housing starts to come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.150 million units, while building permits is expected at 1.140 million units. Ahead of these reports, the greenback traded mixed against the other major currencies. While the greenback held steady against the yen and the pound, it fell against the franc and the euro. The greenback was worth 1.1255 against the euro, 104.24 against the yen, 0.9617 against the franc and 1.4281 against the pound as of 8:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX: SGQ)(HKSE: 1878) (the "Company" or "SouthGobi") announces an update on CIC interest payments deferral. The reference is made to the Company's announcement of May 30, 2016, whereby the Company announced that it had executed a deferral agreement with China Investment Corporation ("CIC") for the deferral of approximately U.S.$18.7 million to June 17, 2016, such sum representing the then current and deferred cash interest obligations and associated costs payable to CIC under the terms of a convertible debenture issued by the Company to CIC. As at the date of this announcement, the Company has not repaid the deferred outstanding interest obligations and associated costs payable to CIC nor reached a repayment plan for the payment of such amounts. The Company is in discussion with CIC for a repayment plan, however there is no assurance that a repayment plan which is favourable to the Company will be concluded. If the Company is unable to reach an agreement with CIC with respect to repayment of sums owed and is not able to repay such amounts within applicable cure periods, the principal amount owing and all accrued and unpaid interest under the debenture would immediately become due and payable upon notice to the Company by CIC. In such event, the value of the Company's common shares could be materially and negatively affected and, as a result, shareholders of the Company and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company. The Company will provide further updates to these discussions as and when necessary. About SouthGobi SouthGobi, listed on the Toronto and Hong Kong stock exchanges, owns and operates its flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia. It also holds the mining and exploration licences of its other metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in South Gobi Region of Mongolia. SouthGobi produces and sells coal to customers in China. Contacts: SouthGobi Resources Ltd. Kino Fu Investor Relations Office: +852 2156 7030 kino.fu@southgobi.com www.southgobi.com THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Alset Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ION) ("Alset" or "the Company") is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on current activities within the Company. Mexican Lithium Salars As previously announced, the Company has completed its due diligence as prescribed under the binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") that it signed with Litio Mex, S.A.de C.V. (the "Optionor") of Zacatecas, Mexico for the right to earn a 100% interest (the "Option") in up to 10 mineral concessions covering 16 known Lithium, Potassium and Boron-rich salars in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi, Mexico (See Company PR dated May 10 2016). The Company and the Optionor are in the process of finalizing the definitive agreement that is to supersede the LOI (the "Definitive Agreement"). The Company is also in the process of establishing its wholly-owned Mexican subsidiary, Grupo Minero Alset, which will ultimately operate the project and hold the mineral concessions upon completion of the cash payments required to exercise the Option. Wisa Lake Lithium, Ontario The Company has submitted the necessary permits to conduct further exploration work on its Wisa Lake property. These permits encompass future stripping, linecutting, and diamond drilling and the Company is awaiting their approval. The Wisa Lake property was acquired by staking by the Company (see PR dated April 20, 2016 and April 26, 2016) and contains a historical resource of 330,000 tonnes grading 1.15% Li2O (Lexindin Gold Mines Ltd., Manager's Report, 1958; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6285, Report of Activities 2012). It should be noted that the historical resource estimate for the deposit was calculated prior to CIM National Instrument 43-101 guidelines and as such should only be considered from a historical point of view and not relied upon. A qualified person has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources. Further diamond drill programs are required to bring the mineralization into a proper NI 43-101 compliant category. Alset is committed to working in a responsible and respectful manner and will ensure the concerns of all neighbouring stakeholders are addressed. Champion Graphite, Ontario The Company has submitted the necessary permits to conduct further exploration work on its Champion Graphite property. These permits encompass future stripping and diamond drilling and the Company is awaiting their approval. The Champion Graphite project was acquired from Benton Resources Inc. for a payment of 1 million shares to Benton Resources Inc. and subject to a 2% NSR. Alset will have the option to buy back 1% of the NSR for $500,000. The Champion Graphite project is located north of Kenora, Ontario and consists of 29 units in 2 claims (see PR dated April 20, 2016). As previously announced, the Company completed a small prospecting program on the Champion property. Seven small individual holes dug to bedrock at a depth of approximately 1m over a distance of approximately 1.3km across stratigraphy has identified flake graphite that graded from 1.7% to 8.98% Carbon (See PR dated May 25, 2016). The Company cautions all the sampling results above are selected grab samples and may not be reflective of the average grade of any of these identified zones. Head Office Relocation The Company would like to advise shareholders that it has relocated its head office to 684 Squier Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Its phone and facsimile numbers remain unchanged. Alset Energy Corp. is well-funded with approximately $900,000 in cash. Clinton Barr (P.Geo.), V.P. Exploration for Alset Energy Corp, is the qualified person responsible for this release. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Alset Energy Corp., Stephen Stares, President THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. Contacts: Alset Energy Corp. Stephen Stares (807)475-7474 (807)475-7200 (FAX) www.alsetenergy.ca REDMOND (dpa-AFX) - The potentially booming business of marijuana is getting a technology behemoth's support as more and more states are legalizing its use for medical and recreational purposes. Microsoft has joined with Kind Financial, a provider of technology for cannabis compliance, to work on the software that allows governments track the legal marijuana business to make sure the trade is compliant with regulations. Kind's Agrisoft Seed to Sale for Government collects and monitors the critical data needed to track compliance with the state and jurisdictional rules, laws and regulations governing cannabis-related businesses. The service will use Microsoft's Azure government cloud platform, which, according to Kind, is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs. In a statement, Kind CEO David Dinenberg said, 'Microsoft is helping us support governments in their expansion of cannabis legislation. They're experienced at providing platforms for government regulation. This is something Microsoft does every day of the week with other businesses in other categories.' Kind's 'seed to sale' software can track everything from the growth and harvest of marijuana plants to sales in stores. As of now, 25 states allow some kind of legal cannabis sales, but only nine have implemented track and trace systems. The right system would help the governments to check factors including the amount of sales, persons involved, taxes being collected, and the involved persons' obedience to law. Matt Cook, Colorado's former Senior Leader of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division and author of Colorado's groundbreaking medical marijuana laws and regulations, will serve as Kind's Special Advisor on Government Matters. Kind Financial Founder & CEO David Dinenberg, said, 'No one can predict the future of cannabis legalization, however, it is clear that legalized cannabis will always be subject to strict oversight and regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At Mars, the secret to our success is our people. Today, Mars UK is celebrating as one of a number of Mars Europe sites who together succeeded in scooping the coveted title of Best Multinational Workplace in Europe at the annual Great Places to Work (GPTW) 2016 awards ceremony held in the RDS in Dublin, Ireland last night. With over 18,400 Associates across Europe, and some of the best-loved brands in the world, Mars Europe beat off stiff competition from over 2,250 companies who took the GPTW survey, across 19 countries. This latest accolade means double celebrations for Mars UK, who earlier this year was recognised as the thirteenth Best Large Workplace in UK 2016. Commenting at the awards ceremony in Dublin, Gilles Morel, Regional President of Mars Chocolate Europe & Eurasia, said, "I'm honoured to be here in Dublin on behalf of Mars, incorporated, for the European Great Place to Work awards. I'm excited by our nominations because they reflect the pride and dedication of our European Associates, now over 18,400, since we first started out in Europe in 1932." "I can vouch for Mars being a great place to work after spending 26 years of my career at this company and being a witness to the effort we place on development of our people to grow our business. We believe our principled-base culture results in making a difference not only to our people but to business growth, our consumers, our communities, and to our planet." As a private, family-owned business, Mars' unique culture is all about giving Associates the chance to grow and thrive with pride - through best-in-class training and development and nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit across the business. Now Europe's Best Place to Work, Mars has also been named by Fortune as one of the Top 100 Best Companies to Work For and has collected several other Great Place to Work awards around the world. Blas Maquivar, President, Mars Chocolate UK, said, "For me, it's the Mars culture that really makes Mars a great place to work - it's all about inclusivity, warmth, high energy and dedication. Mars gives us the opportunity to continue to learn and be an entrepreneur. All of this drives us to strive for the highest standards and to continue to push the boundaries of success for the business. Having our efforts recognised and knowing that we are now the Best Place to Work in Europe is something we can all be exceptionally proud of." The Five Principles at Mars - Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom - form the foundation of the company's culture and approach to business. As part of the GPTW survey, each Mars Associate answered an anonymous 'trust index survey' which gathers the perceptions of Mars Associates across five dimensions. About Mars UK Since 1932 Mars has been producing much loved brands in the UK. Employing nearly 4,000 Associates across several sites in the UK, we manufacture confectionery, food, petcare and drinks products, with brands including MARS, SNICKERS, GALAXY, MALTESERS, EXTRA, ORBIT, PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, UNCLE BEN'S, DOLMIO, KLIX and FLAVIA. Mars in the UK is part of Mars, Incorporated, a family owned company and one of the world's leading branded manufacturers. How we work at Mars is guided by our Five Principles: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. Associates put our Mars Principles into action every day to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance. About Mars in Europe In Europe: Mars' footprint in Europe is significant and historic. First European based operation opened in 1932 in Slough , west of London , west of 18,400 Associates today 34 factories (including one of the biggest chocolate factories in the world, in Veghel, Netherlands - $100 million investment in July 2015 ) - investment in ) The majority of Mars' raw materials are locally sourced Mars Global Headquarters for Food and Petcare based in Brussels Mars European Headquarters for Segments are Munich Germany for Wrigley, Verden Germany for Petcare, Brussels for Food, Brussels for Chocolate, Basingstoke UK for Drinks About Great Places to Work Great Place to Work, headquartered in San Francisco, is a global research, consulting and training firm that helps organisations identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high-trust workplace cultures. Great Place to Work serves businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies in more than 50 countries. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Nutritional High International Inc. (the "Company" or "Nutritional High") (CSE: EAT)(OTCQB: SPLIF)(FRANKFURT: 2NU) is pleased to announce that NH Medicinal Dispensaries Inc. ("NHMD"), the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, has received approval to relocate its planned dispensary to Effingham, IL. Effingham County is located in the middle of ISP District 12 and has approximately twice the population of Lawrenceville County. The Effingham location will provide significant additional patient access and is situated next door to a Veteran's Affairs Clinic. The build-out of the Effingham dispensary is well underway and an inspection date will be set for later this summer. Staffing efforts has commenced and a launch date will be announced when set. Pictures of the build-out will be posted on the Company's social media feed in short order. About the New Effingham Location The Effingham location is in the heart of central Illinois and is adjacent to the intersection of two major interstate highways: I-57 and I-70. Located approximately 50 miles North West of the original intended location in Lawrenceville, IL, the new location is within minutes of the Keller Drive exit and entrance ramps which provide full on-off interstate access in all directions. The Effingham location is located in a high traffic regional business and retail district with several major big box retailers within minutes. Effingham is a micropolitan center that draws workers from an 8 county area and has a trade population of 175,000. Being a regional center, people travel to Effingham to work, shop, and for their healthcare needs. As a result, patients can incorporate dispensary visits into other business that they have in the immediate area making the suitability of this location ideal for patients throughout the region. Being adjacent to a Veteran's Affairs Clinic will also provide convenient access for an important patient group. The location is approximately 3,400 square feet and is designed to be secure, efficient, and promote safe dispensing of medical cannabis. Members of the public will not be given access to the retail area of the dispensary, and dispensary agents will closely monitor patient flow, all of which will ensure that patients are safe and comfortable when engaging in their transactions in the retail area. The proposed site has two designated handicapped parking spaces within fifty feet of the entrance. There is also a ramp for easy wheel chair access. The proposed site is new construction and fully ADA compliant. About Nutritional High International Inc. Nutritional High is focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing products and nationally recognized brands in the hemp and marijuana-infused products industries, including edibles and oil extracts for nutritional, medical and adult recreational use. The Company works exclusively through licensed facilities in jurisdictions where such activity is permitted and regulated by state law. For updates on the Company's activities and highlights of the Company's press releases and other media coverage, please follow Nutritional High on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR OTC MARKETS GROUP INC, NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Such statements include submission of the relevant documentation within the required timeframe and to the satisfaction of the relevant regulators, completing the acquisition of the applicable real estate and raising sufficient financing to complete the Company's business strategy. There is no certainty that any of these events will occur. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. We assume no responsibility to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Company's securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act, absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. Contacts: Transcend Capital Inc. Etienne Moshevich Investor Relations 604-681-0084 et@transcendcapitalinc.com Nutritional High International Inc. David Posner CEO 647-985-6727 dposner@nutritionalhigh.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Belgium's consumer confidence rose for the first time in seven months in June, survey data from the National Bank of Belgium showed Friday. The consumer confidence rose to -6 from -8 in May, marking the first increase since December. The reading was the highest in four months. The strengthening of consumer confidence is mainly due to a markedly less pessimistic outlook among consumers regarding unemployment in Belgium, the bank said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. GATINEAU, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today launched the Pan-Canadian Consultations on Official Languages, which will continue until October 2016. These consultations will provide the Minister with food for thought on key issues and priority measures to adopt in developing a new multi-year official-languages action plan. Minister Joly will be using a round-table approach, and will also make an online questionnaire available to the public. The Minister invites all Canadians to take part in these consultations and to share their opinions or comments on the role of English and French in Canadian society. Quick Facts -- The public can follow the consultations via webcast at the following addresses: -- canada.ca/official-languages-consultation -- The round tables will be held in provincial and territorial capitals, as well as in key cities where there are English- and French-speaking minority communities. -- Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament (Edmonton-Centre) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, will support Minister Joly throughout the consultations. Quote "I was given the mandate to develop a new multi-year action plan for official-languages in order to rejuvenate government action, especially when it comes to supporting English- and French-speaking minorities. Our approach is based on open and accessible consultations with Canadians and on sincere co-operation with key stakeholders." - The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage Associated Links Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-2018 Minister of Canadian Heritage Mandate Letter Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Contacts: Pierre-Olivier Herbert Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage 819-997-7788 Media Relations Canadian Heritage 819-994-9101 1-866-569-6155 PCH.media-media.PCH@Canada.ca Affecto Plc - Stock Exchange Release, 17 June 2016 at 17:15, HelsinkiAffecto has signed a new term loan agreement of EUR 18.5 millionAffecto has entered into a new EUR 18.5 million term loan agreement with OP Corporate Bank plc. The new loan replaces the previous loan of EUR 18.5 million that will expire in the end of June 2016.The covenants of the loan agreement that are related to net debt to EBITDA and net debt to equity of the Company were improved as compared to the previous loan agreement. Additionally, the pledges that were used to secure the previous term loan will be released.Affecto will repay the loan in semi-annual instalments of EUR 2 million starting in December 2016.AFFECTO PLC Martti Nurminen CFOFor additional information, please contact:Martti Nurminen CFO +358 40751 7194 martti.nurminen@affecto.comSakari Knuutti Director, Legal & IR +358 50 5624077 sakari.knuutti@affecto.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Chubb today announced the appointment of Darren McCauley as Regional Chief Underwriting Officer, Accident and Health (A&H) insurance for Europe and Eurasia and Africa. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160121/324916LOGO In his new role, Darren will lead the development and profitable growth of Chubb's A&H business in the company's two business regions. He will also focus on maintaining the company's strong track record in high quality underwriting standards. Darren has over 20 years of insurance industry experience. He joins Chubb from Tesco Underwriting, where he held the position of Chief Underwriting Officer responsible for pricing and underwriting of a range of personal lines products. Prior to that, he held senior underwriting roles at, among others, Zurich and the BGL Group. In his new role he will be based in London, reporting to Drazen Jaksic, Senior Vice President, Accident and Health, for Chubb in Europe and Eurasia and Africa. His appointment is effective immediately. Drazen Jaksic, Senior Vice President, Accident and Health, for Chubb in Europe and Eurasia and Africa, said: "Darren brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Chubb and will be instrumental in shaping our future direction and risk appetite across our regional accident and health business. His background, particularly in areas such as pricing sophistication and big data, is a good fit at a time when Chubb is expecting to significantly scale-up its accident and health propositions and distribution capability." About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. The company is distinguished by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength, underwriting excellence, superior claims handling expertise and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: new.chubb.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chubb-appoints-darren-mccauley-as-regional-chief-underwriting-officer-accident-and-health-for-europe-and-eurasia-and-africa-300286497.html DUBLIN, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global and China Automobile Brake System (Disc Brake, Drum Brake, ABS, EBD/CBC, EBA/BAS/BA/AEB, ESC/ESP/DSC, AUTO HOLD) Industry Report, 2016-2020" report to their offering. In 2015, the global market size of automotive braking system exceeded USD50 billion, and that of China's automotive braking system came to over RMB60 billion The global and Chinese automotive braking system markets has leveled off in recent years, yet it is still expected that the global and Chinese automotive braking system markets will grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% and 7.3% during 2016-2020 respectively. Electronic control systems may become the main driving force behind the industry development. In China's braking system market, manufacturers mainly develop towards ABS, braking force distribution (EBD/CBC, etc.), brake assist (EBA/BAS/BA), Vehicle Stability Control (ESC/ESP, DSC, etc.), AUTO HOLD, and so forth. Among them, ABS and EBD/CBC have the highest assembly rate of close to 90%; vehicle stability control develops very fast, with the assembly rate approaching 50%; brake assist and AUTO HOLD, benefiting from the development of autonomous driving technology, are seeing rapid growth in assembly rate. At present, the Chinese braking system manufacturers are working to make layout in electronic control, particularly in ABS, Vehicle Stability Control (ESC/ESP/DSC), and Electric Park Brake (EPB). The advanced enterprises, such as Zhejiang Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic and Zhejiang Vie Science & Technology, have entered the fields of intelligent drive and telematics. Key Topics Covered: 1 Industry Overview 2 Global Market 3 Chinese Market 4 Market Segments 5 Electronic Brake Control Market 6 Major Global Companies 7 Key Chinese Enterprises 8 Summary and Forecast Companies Mentioned - ADVICS - Akebono Brake - Bosch - Chongqing Juneng - Continental - Dongfeng Electronic Technology - FAWER Automotive Parts - Guangzhou Comet - Hyundai Mobis - KNORR - Longji Machinery - Mando - Nissin Kogyo - Ruili Group - WABCO - Wangxiang Qianchao - Wuhu Bethel Automotive Safety Systems - ZF TRW - Zhejiang Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic - Zhejiang Vie Science & Technology For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/62f73x/global_and_china 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 BETHANY BEACH, DE -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Book lovers are flocking to Bethany Beach this summer with the announcement of the 2016 Summer Author Series, sponsored by Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn and Bethany Beach Books. This season will see authors greet guests at private receptions at Bethany Beach Ocean Suites, where attendees can get autographed copies of the newest summer reads. Dorothea Benton Frank joins readers on Tuesday, June 21st at 5:30pm to unveil a new book "All Summer Long." On Monday, June 27th at 5:30pm, Elin Hilderbrand also introduces the new book "Here's to Us." July sees Lisa Scottoline and daughter, Francesca Serritella announce the new book, "I've Got Sand In All The wrong Places" on Sunday the 10th, also at 5:30pm. Guests are invited to purchase tickets ahead of time at bethanybeachbooks.com to ensure their place before spots fill up. A beautiful, Oceanside setting is the perfect backdrop for the summer series at the iconic, naturally inspired Bethany Beach hotel on the boardwalk. With enticing restaurants on the water, highlighting some of the region's best sustainable coastal cuisine, and pampering wellness therapies and treatments at Oceanava Spa, the modern hotel is a haven in one of Delaware's most popular seaside settings. This season, travelers are invited to celebrate their love of books in this stunning location, while meeting some of their favorite authors. Afterwards, guests can browse the boardwalk for souvenirs, curl up in their room with their new book, or prep for a day at the beach. Bethany Beach offers a wealth of things to see and explore around every corner. For more information or to make your reservations near Rehoboth Beach, visit the hotel website, or call +1-302-539-3200. About the Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn Perched on the iconic Bethany Beach boardwalk, the new Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn is the perfect hotel destination for travelers seeking oceanfront luxury along the Delaware coastline. The property's 112 well-designed Bethany Beach hotel suites combine modern style with soothing natural elements and a wealth of thoughtful in-suite conveniences, from free Wi-Fi and private oceanfront balconies to kitchenettes and flat-screen TVs, complemented by luxurious linens and Paul Mitchell amenities. Guests are invited to experience a pampering treatment at Oceanova Spa and fresh, sustainable dining at 99 Sea Level, one of Bethany Beach's finest restaurants on the water. Meeting and event planners will appreciate the property's 4,400 square feet of flexible event space, complete with catering and the latest audiovisual technology and equipment. Additional perks include free daily breakfast, indoor/outdoor saltwater pool, fitness center and business center. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3023492 CONTACT: Bethany Beach Ocean Suites Residence Inn 99 Hollywood Street Bethany Beach Delaware 19930 USA +1-302-539-3200 http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/rehri-bethany-beach-ocean-suites-residence-inn/ VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- CRH Medical Corporation (the "Company") (TSX: CRH) (NYSE MKT: CRHM), announces the following voting results for the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held yesterday (the "Meeting"). At the Meeting, the number of directors was set at five, the nominees listed in the Company's management proxy circular were elected as directors, and KPMG LLP was appointed as auditor of the Company for the coming year. A total of 35,297,102 common shares of the 71,449,648 common shares outstanding were voted at the Meeting, representing approximately 49.40% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors are set out below: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Votes % Votes Nominee Votes For % Votes For Withheld Withheld ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Anthony Holler 26,864,354 95.80% 1,177,267 4.20% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. David Johnson 28,003,641 99.86% 37,980 0.14% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Todd Patrick 26,861,242 95.79% 1,180,379 4.21% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian Webb 26,861,784 95.79% 1,179,837 4.21% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edward Wright 27,895,289 99.48% 146,332 0.52% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition, KPMG LLP was appointed auditor of the Company for the upcoming year, by a show of hands. About CRH Medical Corporation: CRH Medical Corporation is a North American company focused on providing physicians with innovative services and products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. In 2014, CRH acquired a full service gastroenterology anesthesia company, Gastroenterology Anesthesia Associates, LLC ("GAA"), which provides anesthesia services for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures. CRH complemented five additional acquisitions of anesthesia companies during 2015 and continues to execute on its acquisition strategy in 2016. Anesthesia assisted endoscopies make these procedures more comfortable for patients and allow gastroenterologists to perform more procedures. CRH plans to leverage the capabilities it acquired through GAA to continue to consolidate the highly fragmented gastroenterology anesthesia provider business. The Company's product distribution strategy focuses on physician education, patient outcomes, and patient awareness. The Company's first product, the CRH O'Regan System, is a single use, disposable, hemorrhoid banding technology that is safe and highly effective in treating hemorrhoid grades I - IV. CRH distributes the CRH O'Regan System, treatment protocols, operational and marketing expertise as a complete, turnkey package directly to physicians, allowing CRH to create meaningful relationships with the physicians it serves. The Company's goal is to establish CRH as the premier provider of essential services and innovative products to gastroenterologists throughout the United States. Contacts: CRH Medical Corporation David Matousek Director of Investor Relations 800.660.2153 x1030 dmatousek@crhmedcorp.com www.crhmedcorp.com FOREMOST, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Western Economic Diversification Canada Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, announced an investment of $300,000 to support the development of an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) range for training and field testing in the Village of Foremost. Federal funding will support range fit-up costs, while Government of Alberta support of $100,000 will go towards business development and range management. The Foremost UAS range will support industry and academic work in training and field testing technologies for civil and commercial applications. This initiative will result in commercialization and increased trade for Canadian companies and attract global investment. Post-secondary students, including aerospace engineers, will also receive training in UAV technology and will design the next generation UAV systems. Quick Fact -- Worldwide spending on unmanned aerial vehicles is expected to more than triple over the next decade and is expected to reach $14 billion by 2023. Quotes "The Government of Canada is committed to creating regional advantages in Western Canada. This project is achieving this priority by helping businesses strengthen their global competitiveness and will equip students with the skills necessary to succeed in the next generation of UAV systems." -- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada "The Foremost Unmanned Aircraft Systems Range will provide a unique space for innovators to develop, test and commercialize high-tech products to improve made-in-Alberta products we can market to the world. Innovating, training and collaborating in support of sustainable resource production, agriculture, environmental monitoring means more new jobs and a more diversified economy. This is our Jobs Plan in action." -- The Honourable Deron Bilous, Minister of Alberta Economic Development and Trade "The Village of Foremost would like to extend our appreciation to the federal and provincial Governments for their contributions and efforts of their staff which have made this possible. This contribution by Western Economic Diversification Canada and Alberta Economic Development and Trade is a key part in moving the Foremost Unmanned Air Systems Range forward. This will be a great benefit for the Unmanned Air Systems Industry in Canada." -- His Worship Ken Kultgen, Mayor for the Village of Foremost Related Products -Federal Government Invests in Improvements to Foremost's Community Infrastructure Additional Links -Western Economic Diversification Canada - Western Diversification Program -Village of Foremost -Alberta Economic Development and Trade Subscribe to news releases and keep up-to-date on the latest from WD. Follow us on Twitter at @WD_Canada. Contacts: Donna Kinley Regional Communications Manager Western Economic Diversification Canada 780-495-6892 donna.kinley@canada.ca Earl McKenzie Public Affairs Officer Economic Development and Trade 780-415-0891 earl.mckenzie@gov.ab.ca Kelly Calhoun Village of Foremost 403-867-3733 vlg4most@telusplanet.net WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378) Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-877-303-3388 Website: WD is online at www.wd-deo.gc.ca VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile payment transaction volume will grow by a massive 42% to reach 26,923.7 Mn in 2016, up from 18,969.8 Mn in 2015. In terms of value, this will represent nearly US$ 768.78 Bn, up from US$ 549.91 Bn in 2015. Mobile payments will continue to be strong in APEJ and Africa, as unlike US and Europe, a majority of consumers don't own a credit card, and are making a direct shift from cash to mobile payments. Growth will be particularly robust in China, where the entry of Apple and Samsung earlier this year has led to a renewed interest, sprucing up the already fiercely-competitive landscape. Request a Sample Report: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-262 While strong adoption in China will continue to boost the mobile payment market in Asia Pacific, making it the leading market globally in terms of volume, Africa will maintain its numero uno position in terms of value. The tremendous success of M-Pesa in Kenya has influenced consumers and businesses in other African countries to adopt mobile money, leading to a rapid increase in the Africa mobile payment market. Africa currently accounts for nearly 32% revenue share of the global mobile money market, with a subscriber base of over 100 million. Outside of Asia Pacific and Africa, the U.S. and Western Europe remain the other lucrative regions for mobile payment transaction marketglobally. While mobile payment transactions will continue to grow, existing challenges, such as slow adoption of smartphone compatible POS systems by retailers will continue to impede growth. "While a 42% volume growth looks staggering, there's more to what meets the eye. Apart from a few countries, consumers haven't fully embraced mobile payments, in spite of its relatively better security features. However, given the enormous advantages mobile money offers over traditional payment options, it won't be long before mobile payments become as ubiquitous as credit cards", FMI said in its report. Free Analysis by Technology with TOC: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-mobile-payment-transaction-market By technology, SMS and WAP/WEB will continue to account for most of the transactions conducted worldwide. Mobile payments conducted through SMS will witness a year-on-year growth rate of over 28% and total US$ 385 Bn in revenues. Payments made through NFC, widely touted as the technology of the future, will witness the highest y-o-y growth rate, increasing at over 59% in 2016. Money transfer and merchandise purchases account for over 90% revenue share of the global mobile payment transaction market on the basis of end-use 'purpose'. Mobile payments made for merchandise purchases will be worth US$ 323.73 Bn in 2016, up from US$ 228.32 Bn in 2015. Money transfer, the largest end-use purpose in the mobile payment transaction market, will grow by over 38% to surpass US$ 381 Bn in revenues. Speak with Analyst for any report related queries, clarifications or additional data requirements: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-262 Leading players operating in the global mobile payment transaction market are PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Alipay. Long-term Forecast: FMI forecasts the global mobile payment transaction market to increase at a CAGR of 39.1% through 2020 and reach US$ 2.89 trillion in revenues. Get More Insights on Electronics & ICT Market Research Reports:http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/category/electronics-ict FMI Latest Insights: Video on Demand ( VoD) Service Market : http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/video-on-demand-market http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/video-on-demand-market X-Band Radar Market: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/x-band-radar-market http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/x-band-radar-market Smart Railways Market:http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/smart-railways-market About Us: Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Contact Us: 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 T (UK): + 44 (0) 20 7692 8790 Sales: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Press: press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com DJ EQS-News: Vanke Intends to Acquire SZMC's Two Properties Atop Metro Facilities Via Share Issue Commence Long-Term 'Railway + Property' Cooperation with SZMC as Strategic Shareholder EQS-News / 18/06/2016 / 00:52 UTC+8 Date: 17 June 2016 To: Business Editors / Property Editors Vanke Intends to Acquire SZMC's Two Properties Atop Metro Facilities via Share Issue Commence Long-Term "Railway + Property" Cooperation With SZMC as Strategic Shareholder China Vanke Co., Ltd. ("Vanke" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries "the Group", A-share stock code: 000002, H-share stock code: 2202) today announced its proposal of acquiring assets by way of issuance of shares ("Proposal"). Vanke intends to acquire the 100 per cent equity interest in SZMC Qianhai International Development Co., Ltd. (??????????????) ("Qianhai International") from Shenzhen Metro Group Co., Ltd. ("SZMC") by way of share issue ("Transaction"). The consideration is preliminarily estimated to be RMB45,613 million. The entire consideration will be satisfied by share issue, at a preliminary issue price of RMB15.88 per consideration share. Accordingly, Vanke will issue 2,872,355,163 A shares, representing 20.65 per cent of Vanke's enlarged issued share capital, to SZMC. "The cooperation with SZMC not only enables Vanke to find the best foothold for its new business, but also provides assurance for the rapid development of Vanke's new business. Provision of integrated services surrounding metro facilities will become the most important development direction of Vanke," said Ms Zhu Xu, the secretary to the board of Vanke. The Target assets ("Target Assets") under the Transaction is Qianhai International, whose major assets currently comprising the land lots for Qinahi hub project and Antoushan project. Both projects, which are pending for development, are prime and rare large-scale projects atop metro facilities in the core districts of Shenzhen, with a total planned plot ratio-based gross floor area ("GFA") of approximately 1,811,000 sq m. The Antoushan project is located at the intersection of Metro Line 2 and Metro Line 7, with a planned plot ratio-based GFA of approximately 533,000 sq m. The project is in the Antoushan district, at the interaction of Huaqiaocheng district and Xiangmihu district, being the neighbourhood for luxury residences. Qianhai hub project is planned to be at the junction of three metro lines and two intercity rail lines; as rail transit will facilitate seamless connection to Hong Kong in future, Qianhai hub project is positioned to be a world-class hub complex landmark, propelling Shenzhen to be a world-class city and leading regional economic transformation and advancement. With a planned plot-ratio based GFA of approximately 1,278,000 sq m, Qianhai hub project is located in Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, in a pivot location of Guiwan district. It will comprise a variety of properties such as business hotels, Grade A office buildings, commercial properties above and below ground level, luxury hotels, and serviced apartments. There is a seamless connection between the project and Qianhai integrated traffic hub. The Transaction has significant implication for Vanke. It not only enables Vanke to have direct access to premium properties atop metro facilities in the prime locations of Shenzhen, but also introduces SZMC as a strategic shareholder to the Company. In addition, Vanke is able to have intensive participation in the innovative "Railway + Property" development model, significantly broadening its sources of land reserves in future, as well as accelerating its transformation into an integrated urban services provider. The Transaction will serve to drive Vanke's product and business upgrade, to enhance its long-term profitability, thereby allowing all the shareholders to enjoy the economic benefits derived from metro development. It was learned that at Vanke's board meeting, on June 17, for consideration of the Transaction proposal, director Zhang Liping had applied to abstain from voting, due to possible connection with the Transaction and conflict of interest. After hearing the report on the proposal from Vanke's management, the directors representing China Resources expressed their objection against the Transaction. They argued that, although they agreed that Vanke would benefit from the cooperation with SZMC, it was not necessary to realise the cooperation through share issue. The China Resources directors believed Vanke could have acquired the subject assets with cash. China Resources directors' opinion was contrary to those of independent directors present at the board meeting. One independent director noted, "I think we are not acquiring assets, but the future of Vanke, in this Transaction.' Another independent director believed "the disapproval of the Transaction would damage the corporate image of Vanke, and asked if SZMC was not able to inject assets, what sort of premium assets China Resources would be able to provide to support Vanke's development. The Transaction proposal was decided by 10 non-connected directors by voting, with 7 directors in favor, 3 directors against, the Transaction proposal was approved by 2/3 of the votes. Shenzhen's leading landmark + rare prime luxury real estate "Owing to its unique geographical location, Qianhai hub project possesses the advantage of being a one-of-a-kind strategic traffic hub in the world. It takes only 15 minutes to reach the CBD, as well as the international airports of Shenzhen and Hong Kong respectively. It is, therefore, unique in its own right. Upon completion, Qianhai hub project will become the world's fourth largest super complex. Qianhai hub project will become a benchmark for Shenzhen's internationalisation," said Ms Zhu. Like its peers, Vanke is facing the rising challenges in land development. As at the end of 2015, Vanke's project resources available for development in Shenzhen amounted to only 2,221,000 sq m, including Hongshuwan project and Shenzhen North Railway project, which are cooperation projects with SZMC. Upon successful completion of the Transaction, Vanke will obtain two landmark projects located in city centre with an aggregate GFA of 1,811,000 sq m, for a consideration of RMB45,613 million. Compared with the recent land premium, project location and comparable housing prices in the same neighbourhood in Shenzhen, the aforesaid consideration fully reflects the economic benefits to be brought along through the introduction of SZMC as Vanke's shareholder. Ms Zhu noted: "The consideration for Qianhai hub project and Antuoshan project demonstrates a significant advantages against comparable properties in the open market. The projects offer promising earning prospects and are expected to become significant profit sources of Vanke. In the long run, the Company's acquisition of relevant assets will enhance product quality and operating results of the Company and create greater return for its shareholders." According to the Proposal of the Transaction, the issue price of Vanke consideration shares is RMB15.88 per share, representing 93.6 per cent of the average trading price of Vanke's A shares in the 60 trading days prior to pricing reference day (the day of announcement of the Board resolution). According to the Proposal, Vanke is expected to issue 2,872,355,163 A Shares to SZMC. Upon the completion of the Transaction, assuming no change in its H share capital, SZMC will hold 20.65 per cent of the total share capital of the Company after the completion of the Transaction. The total amount of A Shares held by Shenzhen Jushenghua Co., Ltd. and parties acting in concert with it will account for 19.27 per cent of the total share capital of the Company after the completion of the Transaction. Applying "Railway + Property" model to grasp development opportunities from urban economic circles SZMC is a large state-owned enterprise under the Shenzhen Municipal Government. SZMC is engaged in investment and financing, construction, and operation of rail transit in Shenzhen. As of 31 December 2015, SZMC's audited net assets amounted to RMB150.3 billion, with total assets of RMB240.4 billion. SZMC is the most marketised rail construction and operation entity and most successful domestic enterprise in exploring "Railway + Property" development model. It is also the most capable rail construction and operation enterprise in cross-territorial expansion in China. Choosing SZMC as its counterpart in the restructuring, Vanke has more fundamental consideration. According to the development history of such developed countries as Japan and the US, urban economic circle is the definite trending in urban development, while the rail transit network, as an important linkage connecting conurbations, plays a significant role in the formation of urban economic circles. As the main force behind Shenzhen railway transit construction, SZMC operated four metro lines in Shenzhen, with a total length of 158 km as of the end of 2015. Property development projects above metro facilities owned by SZMC spread across various major development districts in Shenzhen, including Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone, Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base, as well as Futian and Longhua. Given the rapid development of rail transport construction in Shenzhen, it is expected that by 2020, there will be more than 425 km of metro rail in operation. Under the long-term blueprint, rail transit total distance will reach 1000 km in Shenzhen. The extension of new metro lines is expected to bring along more project development opportunities. Recently, SZMC and Vanke have reached an initial cooperation consensus in relation to the joint development of PPP (Public-Private Partnership) projects in rail transit. On 12 June 2016, SZMC and Vanke entered into a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") for the intended strategic cooperation of rail network along the metro routes of Shenzhen Metro Phase IV. Shenzhen Metro Phase IV under planning will have 18 rail lines with a total of approximately 446 km of rail. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2016 12:53 ET (16:53 GMT) The first batch of projects with seven new rail lines above which there is the possibility for property developments atop of 6 railway depots and 6 car houses with a projected GFA of over 4 million sq m. Also on 12 June 2016, Dongguan Industrial Investment Holding Group, Chongqing City Transportation Development and Investment Group and China Metro Group also entered into MOUs with SZMC and Vanke. This signifies an important step for SZMC's nationwide expansion outside of Shenzhen. In future, SZMC and Vanke's cooperation is likely to extend to territories outside of Shenzhen. With the expansion of metro routes, Vanke will be able to obtain abundant supply of premium project resources at reasonable prices in the core cities along metro routes, thereby allowing all the shareholders of Vanke to enjoy the economic benefits brought by the metro era. Ms Zhu noted that Vanke currently has 34 properties atop of metro facilities across the country with a GFA of 11.35 million sq m. These projects are the best projects of Vanke in terms of growth potential and stability, and they serve as an important base for incubating Vanke's various new businesses. About Vanke Vanke is one of the largest property developers listed in the PRC, and the world's largest residential property developer. The Company is principally engaged in the property investment in economic centres and cities such as Guangshen Region surrounding the Pearl River Delta, Shanghai Region surrounding the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing Region surrounding the Bohai-Rim Region, and Chengdu Region, which comprises core cities of central and western China. At present, Vanke has penetrated more than 60 cities in the PRC. The Company's A shares became listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since January 1991. Following the Company's B-to-H share conversion, the Company's H shares have become listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited since 25 June 2014. - End - For media enquiry: Wu Dan Christine Chan China Vanke Co., Limited CorporateLink Limited Mobile: 0086-188 2640 1523 / 156 2516 1240 Mobile: 852-6173 9039 Email: wud09@vanke.com Email: christine@corporatelink.com.hk Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=HQVUNDAEAY Document title: Vanke Intends to Acquire SZMC's Two Properties Atop Metro Facilities Via Share Issue Commence Long-Term 'Railway + Property' Cooperation with SZMC as Strategic Shareholder Key word(s): Real Estate 18/06/2016 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by EQS TodayIR - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com 472639 18/06/2016 (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2016 12:53 ET (16:53 GMT) WEST JORDAN, UT--(Marketwired - June 17, 2016) - Mountain America Credit Union congratulates its 2016 scholarship winners. The students being honored have demonstrated their commitment to academic excellence and pursuing future educational opportunities. In addition, their dedication to serving their communities through participation in innovative programs that help others is truly inspiring and supports the credit union philosophy of People Helping People. "We have a long-held tradition of offering scholarships to our members because we know education is a key factor in maintaining healthy communities and economic growth. The academic abilities, community service and personal goal setting demonstrated by our scholarship applicants continues to impress us year after year. It is our honor to provide this financial assistance to students as they continue to advance in their educational goals," notes Sharon Cook, SVP marketing/public relations at Mountain America. Three students were awarded the Paul R. Ball Scholarship, named after a Mountain America senior vice president who died in a tragic accident. Mountain America members -- Kara Nelson, Joseph Lunt and Summer Van Moorlehem were each awarded $2,000 to further their academic pursuits. Another three students -- Amanda Bento, Kimberly Howell and Dario Jokic each received $1,000 through the Mountain America/Utah Public Employees Association (UPEA) Scholarship. Both scholarship programs are held annually and information is posted on the Mountain America website at www.macu.com/scholarships every first of February. About Mountain America Credit Union With roots dating back to the 1930s, Mountain America Credit Union has become one of the foremost financial institutions in the country and the second largest credit union in Utah, with more than $5.2 billion in assets and serving over 575,000 members. The credit union offers a variety of financial products and services for consumers and businesses, including savings accounts, auto loans, checking accounts, mortgage loans, business checking, student loans, SBA loans and retirement options. With a vision to help its members achieve their financial dreams, Mountain America delivers unparalleled service, quality, convenience, and education to its members and the community. Media Contact: Angie Nelson 208-493-0131 Email contact VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: PEX) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") reports on the results of its Annual General Meeting held June 16, 2016. Gerald Carlson, Gordon Davis, Douglas Proctor and Bruce Youngman were re-elected to the board. John Brock has retired from the board after an illustrious 40-year career during which he led the Company to several exploration successes, including Tillicum Mountain, Spectrum Gold, Fyre Lake, Baker Basin and, most recently, the Mariposa Gold discovery in the heart of the Yukon's White Gold district. In 2002, John was awarded the Association for Mineral Exploration's Murray Pezim award for his role as a financier who has provided a significant contribution to the British Columbia and Yukon mineral exploration and mining community. He will remain with the Company in a consulting role. 2016 Exploration Plans The Company is planning surface exploration programs at its Mariposa and Eureka Dome projects in the White Gold district. Mariposa, covering the prolific Scroggie and Mariposa placer gold creeks, is located 30 km east of Kaminak Gold's Coffee Project and 40 km southeast of Kinross' Golden Saddle deposit. Gold mineralization at Mariposa occurs in a geological and structural environment similar to both Coffee and Golden Saddle. The Property has seen over $6 million in exploration, including 8,636 m of core drilling in 55 holes and 655 m of rotary air blast drilling in 12 holes, focused mainly on the Skookum Zone. For 2016, the company is planning a mapping, sampling and prospecting program designed to tie together the seven key showing areas in the central part of the property, covering a 10 by 7 km area. The road accessible Eureka Dome property, 70 km south of Dawson City, is drained by several productive placer gold creeks, including Black Hills and Eureka. Anomalous gold and related pathfinder elements have been detected in reconnaissance ridge and spur sampling programs. The 2016 program will include mapping, prospecting and grid soil sampling in the highest priority target area in order to define targets for future drill programs. The Company's 100 percent owned Fyre Lake copper-gold-cobalt massive sulphide project in the Yukon's Finlayson Lake District is under option to MinQuest Limited, a publicly listed Australian company. The property is 25 km south of BMC Minerals' Kudz Ze Kayah deposit, currently the subject of a prefeasibility study, and 30 km southwest of Yukon Zinc's Wolverine Mine. To date, the Fyre Lake Kona Deposit has been defined by 115 holes totaling over 23,200 metres of diamond drilling. A NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate of the Kona Deposit reported in 2006 includes an indicated mineral resource of 3.571 million tonnes grading 1.57% copper, 0.10% cobalt and 0.61 grams gold per tonne at a 1% copper cut-off grade. In addition, an inferred mineral resource, at the same cut-off grade, includes 5.361 million tonnes grading 1.48% copper, 0.08% cobalt and 0.53 grams gold per tonne. These estimates were prepared by D. Blanchflower, P.Geo., of Minorex Consulting Ltd., who is the qualified person for this purpose. MinQuest has announced that it is planning a change of business and that it will be divesting of its mineral property assets. To date, the MinQuest Fyre Lake option agreement remains in good standing, with significant property payments and exploration requirements coming due within the next six months. No exploration plans have been announced for 2016. The Company continues to evaluate new acquisition opportunities. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Gerald G. Carlson, President & CEO Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. 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. The technical information contained within this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Gerald G. Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng., President and CEO of Pacific Ridge and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 policy. Forward-Looking Information: This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling and other activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ("Pacific Ridge") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the placements and future exploration plans and expenditures. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for the transactions described herein, the ability of Pacific Ridge and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Pacific Ridge's proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Contacts: Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. Gerald G. Carlson President & CEO (604) 484-7104 www.pacificridgeexploration.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Reservoir Minerals Inc. ("Reservoir" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RMC)(OTC PINK: RVRLF)(BERLIN: 9RE) is pleased to announce that at a special meeting held today, Reservoir shareholders and optionholders approved the previously announced Plan of Arrangement ("Arrangement") with Nevsun Resources Ltd. ("Nevsun"). On closing of the Arrangement, all of Reservoir's issued and outstanding common shares will be exchanged on the basis of two Nevsun common shares (the "Consideration Shares") and C$2.00 in cash per Reservoir common share. The special resolution approving the Arrangement was approved by: (i) 68.24% of the votes cast by Reservoir shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting; (ii) 69.15% of the votes cast by Reservoir shareholders and optionholders voting as a single class present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting; and (iii) 66.56% of the votes cast by "minority" Reservoir shareholders in accordance with Part 8 of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transactions. Nevsun shareholders approved the issuance of the Consideration Shares by approximately 98.95% of the votes cast at Nevsun's special meeting of shareholders that was also held today. The transaction is expected to close on June 23, 2016 following receipt of final court approval and other customary closing conditions. Full details concerning the Arrangement are included in the management information circulars of both Reservoir and Nevsun mailed to their respective securityholders on May 20, 2016. About the Company: Reservoir Minerals Inc. is an international mineral exploration and development company run by an experienced technical and management team, with a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration properties in Europe and Africa. The Company operates an exploration partnership business model to leverage its expertise through to discovery. For further information on Reservoir Minerals Inc., please consult our website, www.reservoirminerals.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information, including but not limited to those with respect to the expected closing date of the Arrangement and the consideration to be received in respect of the Arrangement, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Reservoir Minerals Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, (i) the conditions to completion of the arrangement will not be satisfied, including court approval; (ii) an event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the arrangement agreement will occur and other risks disclosed in documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the applicable Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Contacts: Reservoir Minerals Inc. Chris MacIntyre VP Corporate Development +1.416.703.0010 chris@reservoirminerals.com www.reservoirminerals.com Cross-border e-commerce brings new opportunities for global connectivity BEIJING, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The first Cross-Border E-Commerce Summit, which focuses on applying the idea of the sharing economy to achieve global connectivity and economic cooperation, was held in Beijing on June 16. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380153 Photo -http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380150 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380151 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380152 The Summit was organized by JUMORE E-commerce Co., Ltd (JUMORE), the world's first and only cross-border e-commerce platform that covers all-category commodities and the whole industry chain. More than 500 representatives from over 60 countries attended in Beijing. JUMORE chairman LU Hongxiang delivered a keynote speech on the company's practical experience as part of the forum's dialogue on the sharing economy and the new B2B cross-border e-commerce business model. "One of JUMORE's greatest achievements has been to create a mutually beneficial sharing eco-system by segmenting our online platform into national, provincial and brand sections, or pavilions," said LU. "This way, competitive industries and companies can showcase their products and resources, which helps economies, industry clusters, suppliers and companies form an economic community of interest, thus achieving the sharing of quality global resources." During the SUMMIT, JUMORE has held the launch ceremony for over ten national pavilions including the USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Argentina, Indonesia, South Africa, India, Belgium, and eight provincial pavilions in China. By the end of 2016, the national pavilions of 60 countries and all provincial pavilions in China are expected to be launched on JUMORE's platform. "The national pavilions will facilitate different countries' competitive industries and quality products reaching global markets, and realize sharing of capital, intelligence and technology globally," continued Lu. "The provincial pavilions help provinces in China showcase their industry cluster and strengths, and get connected to the huge international market." On the forum, JUMORE has also signed contracts with TUV-SUD, DHL (China). About JUMORE E-commerce Co., Ltd JUMORE's cross-border e-commerce platform covers all-category commodities with business ranging from raw materials to industrial products, as well as different services including finance, logistics, etc. JUMORE aims to create a legitimate, secure and open ecological platform and provide comprehensive services and supports to manufacturing enterprises around the world. http://en.jumore.com/ VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- This press release is issued by CRH Funding II Pte. Ltd. ("CRH"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cartesian Royalty Holdings Pte. Ltd., pursuant to the early warning requirements of National Instrument 62-103 with respect to common shares ("Common Shares") of K92 Mining Inc. ("K92"), a reporting issuer in certain jurisdictions in Canada and with a business address of 700 - 510 West Hastings, Vancouver, BC V6B 1L8. In accordance with such early warning requirements, CRH is required to report certain information in respect of its holdings of securities of K92. As of the date hereof, the outstanding share capital of K92 consists of 75,947,563 Common Shares and 5,428,571 preferred shares ("Preferred Shares"), each of which is convertible into one Common Share subject to the terms and conditions thereof. CRH announced today that it has purchased 5,428,571 units of K92 at C$0.35 per unit for a total consideration of C$1,900,000 (the "First Tranche Equity Investment"). Each unit consists of: (i) one Class A Preferred Share, convertible into one Common Share of K92; and (ii) one warrant entitling CRH to purchase one Common Share of K92, exercisable at C$0.75 per share for a period of two (2) years following the date of issue. A forced exercise clause applies to these warrants if shares of K92 trade at C$1.25 or greater for 10 consecutive days during the 2-year term. CRH has the right to purchase an additional 4,571,429 units of K92 at the same terms as above for an additional consideration of C$1,600,000 (the "Second Tranche Equity Investment"). The First Tranche Equity Investment represents the first tranche of a previously announced equity investment pursuant to the gold prepayment agreement ("GPA") dated February 4, 2016, as novated, amended and assigned. As per anti-dilution adjustments under the GPA, the 5,428,571 Preferred Shares purchased in the First Tranche Equity Investment will convert into 10,318,261 Common Shares of K92. The 4,571,429 Preferred Shares CRH may purchase in the Second Tranche Equity Investment would convert into 8,689,063 Common Shares of K92. The number of Common Shares for which the warrants may be exercised is not subject to anti-dilution adjustment. Prior to the completion of the First Tranche Equity Investment, CRH owned 182,629 Common Shares and warrants to acquire 182,629 common share of K92. Following the First Tranche Equity Investment, CRH's Common Shares, Preferred Shares and warrants represent approximately 17.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of K92 on a partially-diluted basis (post anti-dilution adjustment of Preferred Shares and assuming exercise of CRH's warrants). The existing shares were acquired for investment purposes. Depending on market and other conditions, or as future circumstances may dictate, CRH may from time to time increase or decrease its holdings of common shares or other securities of K92. Upon completion of the Second Tranche Equity Investment, CRH's Common Shares, Preferred Shares and warrants would represent approximately 27.9% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of K92 on a partially-diluted basis (post anti-dilution adjustment of Preferred Shares and assuming exercise of CRH's warrants). For further information or a copy of the early warning report filed by CRH: CRH Funding II Pte. Ltd. 10 Changi Business Park Central 2 #05-01 HansaPoint@CBP Singapore 486030 Attention: Andrew Wehrley Telephone number: +1 212 461 6342 Note on Forward-Looking Information This press release includes certain forward-looking information, including statements relating to CRH's interests in K92, agreements relating to securities of K92, and its future intentions in respect thereof, using words including "anticipate ", "believe", "could", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "potential", "project", "seek", "should", "will", "would" and similar expressions, which are intended to identify a number of these forward-looking statements. This forward-looking information reflects current views with respect to current and future events and circumstances and is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those relating to changes in business, performance and markets. Actual results may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking information as a result of a number of those factors. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. CRH undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this press release, except as required by applicable laws. Contacts: CRH Funding II Pte. Ltd. 10 Changi Business Park Central 2 #05-01 HansaPoint@CBP Singapore 486030 Attention: Andrew Wehrley Telephone number: +1 212 461 6342 MADRID, SPAIN -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- As provided for by section 228 of the Securities Market Act, to complement the information already disclosed by Talisman and Repsol in their financial statements from the first semester 2015 onwards, both companies inform: Addax Petroleum UK Limited and Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (both companies ultimately owned by the Chinese Government) have initiated arbitration proceedings against Talisman Energy Inc. (currently Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc.) and Talisman Colombia Holdco Limited. In those proceedings Addax and Sinopec seek repayment of their initial investment in TSEUK, which was executed in 2012 through the purchase of 49% of TSEUK from the Canadian group Talisman, together with any additional investment, past or future, in such company, and further for any loss of opportunity, and which they estimate in a total approximate amount of 5,500 million US$. However, at the same time, Addax intends to maintain its current stake in TSEUK. The claim, which has been periodically disclosed, is considered by Talisman and Repsol to be baseless and therefore it is currently assessed by them, as well as by their external legal counsel, as Remote Risk. The claimants' proceedings can be interpreted as a defensive action undertaken by those who adopted an investment decision in the United Kingdom which has not delivered the results expected by them -as it has also happened with other investments by this group of companies-. In addition, the arbitration claim is groundless and is inconsistent with the loyalty to be expected from a business partner. The claims have commenced almost three years after Addax acquired a stake in TSEUK, even though Addax has participated at a management level and in all decisions adopted by TSEUK since then, without expressing any worries or concerns. Addax's has chosen to commence legal proceedings trying to gain an illegitimate advantage in its own benefit instead of devoting all efforts to improving TSEUK's performance, as it has occurred in the past months -since Repsol's entry into the Joint Venture-, something that might explain its desire to remain as a shareholder in TSEUK. Talisman and Repsol, while vigorously defending their rights in relation to any adverse consequences that may be caused to them or to their affiliate TSEUK by Addax and Sinopec's actions, hope that such group will rectify and devote all efforts to the best management of their affiliates in Brazil and the United Kingdom. Forward-Looking Information This disclosure contains information that constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. The use of the words "expected", "considered", "might" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking information. Forward-looking information includes, among others, statements regarding the potential results of the arbitration process, and other expectations, beliefs, and statements about possible future events. The factors or assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based on risks and uncertainties described in the filings made by Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. ("the Company") with securities regulatory authorities. No assurance can be given that these factors, expectations and assumptions will prove to be correct. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking information. Forward looking information is based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks which could cause actual results to vary and in some instances to differ materially from those anticipated and described in the forward looking information contained in this disclosure. Additional information is available in the Company's other reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward looking information is based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the information is presented. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change, except as required by law. Contacts: Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. 34 917 538 100 34 917 538 000 34 913 489 494 (FAX) www.repsol.com OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, together with the Honourable Dr. Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, today issued the following statement: We are pleased to announce that Bill C-14, criminal legislation on medical assistance in dying, passed in Parliament today. The Government recognizes the extraordinary efforts that were made in the House of Commons and in the Senate to ensure passage of this Bill, efforts that will now ensure safe and consistent access to medical assistance in dying across Canada. We are grateful to all Parliamentarians for their hard work in seeing this through under such demanding circumstances. Medical assistance in dying is a difficult, complex and deeply personal issue. In response to the Supreme Court of Canada's unanimous decision in the Carter case that struck down the former laws prohibiting assisted dying, the Government has acted swiftly to bring forward a federal framework for medical assistance in dying. The legislation strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable. It gives dying patients who are suffering intolerably while in decline on a path toward death the choice of a medically assisted death. The measures included in the legislation revise the Criminal Code to exempt health care practitioners who provide, or help to provide, medical assistance in dying from otherwise applicable criminal offences. The legislation has been drafted to be consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and recognizes the jurisdiction of provinces and territories over the delivery of health care services. The step that Parliament has taken in passing this legislation is an important one, but it is not the last step in this journey. Health Canada will continue to work with the provinces and territories as provisions of the legislation come into force, and further study will be done with respect to medical assistance in dying in the context of mature minors, people for whom mental illness is the sole underlying condition, and advance requests. For more information for patients and health care practitioners, visit healthycanadians.gc.ca. Follow Department of Justice Canada on Twitter (@JusticeCanadaEn), on Periscope (@JusticeCanada), join us on Facebook or visit our YouTube channel. Follow Health Canada on Twitter (@HealthCanada), join us on Facebook or visit our YouTube channel. Contacts: Michael Davis Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Justice 613-992-4621 Media Relations Department of Justice 613-957-4207 Andrew MacKendrick Minister of Health Spokesperson Office of the Minister of Health 613-957-0200 Media Relations Health Canada 613-957-2983 DENVER, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Husband-and-wife philanthropists Rob and Lola Salazar of Denver have dedicated a $500,000 founding gift toward the construction of an innovative building at the University of Northern Colorado called Campus Commons, tentatively planned for 115,000 square feet. The gift aligns with the Denver-based Salazar Family Foundation's mission of encouraging area students to achieve their higher educational goals. UNC has now raised $5.5 million toward the $73.6 million, two-year project. The Campus Commons, immediately south of the University Center, will serve as a welcome center, with multiple other functions, including a one-stop location for students to get answers about registration, finances, study abroad, etc. It will also house performing arts features such as a 600-seat hall and an art gallery. The Campus Commons will be a showcase for UNC's world-class music and musical theatre programs. The Salazar family has supported UNC for years, and the Salazar Family Foundation established a scholarship to support UNC's first-generation students and student-athletes. The Salazars also developed the award-winning student-housing complex near campus, University Flats, through their investment company, Central Street Capital, Inc. of Denver. "Campus Commons will echo the mission of the Salazar Family Foundation by creating opportunities for each and every student to discover and live up to his or her potential," UNC President Kay Norton said. "Our top priority at UNC is student success and Campus Commons will bring that to life." The university has committed to raising $12 million toward the project. In addition to $38 million in state funding and gifts, bonds backed by student fees will finance the building. "The Salazar Family Foundation is excited to have such a significant impact on the quality of education at the University of Northern Colorado, and we're pleased to know that this project is so much closer to reality," said Rob Salazar. "We anticipate that thousands of our bright young students in Colorado will benefit from this facility." Other donors include the Griffin Foundation and Boettcher Foundation. About the Salazar Family Foundation Established in 1999 by Rob and Lola Salazar, the Salazar Family Foundation's mission is to impact the lifelong learning of students through supporting the growth and efforts of organizations committed to improving the quality of education and students' access to it. For information, go to www.salazarfamilyfoundation.org. OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/17/16 -- Northern Canadian communities have often lacked the infrastructure and investment that is needed to thrive, and as a result, Northern Canadian's face the highest cost of living in the country. Economic prosperity, food security, and affordable living conditions should be things that all Canadians enjoy, regardless of which part of our country they call home. In this Economic Club exclusive, we will explore the huge potential for growth in the north and identify practical solutions to some of the most difficult challenges northern communities face. As Prime Minister Trudeau has said, Northern communities can thrive, but they need a partner that will invest in people and infrastructure. WHAT: Infrastructure in Canada's North: A Fresh Perspective (a panel discussion) WHO: The Honourable Bob McLeod, Premier, Northwest Territories The Honourable Monica Ell-Kanayuk, Deputy Premier, Nunavut Dr. Brock Friesen, President & CEO, First Air Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Sara Wiebe, Director General, Air Policy, Transport Canada Naomi Nind, Partner, Parlee McLaws LLP (moderator) WHEN: Monday, June 20th, 2016 11:30 am-1:30 pm (i) Formal remarks to begin @ 12:15 pm WHERE: The Fairmont Chateau Laurier (Ballroom) 1 Rideau Street, Ottawa As an additional opportunity, media are welcome to join us in the morning for the national launch of a financial literacy toolkit for Inuit youth. The program, developed by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and the National Inuit Youth Council (NIYC) in partnership with the Jr. Economic Club of Canada (Jr. EC) and with support from the Government of Canada and First Air, explores the financial literacy themes of personal money management, entrepreneurship and the link between health and wealth. The toolkit will be launched at a breakfast event presented in partnership with TD Bank and First Air. WHAT: National launch of the Inuit Youth Financial Literacy Toolkit WHO: Special guest: Sophie Gregoire Trudeau 70 youth and their chaperones visiting Ottawa from the Inuit Nunangat (homeland) Dr. Brock Friesen, President & CEO, First Air Maatalii Okalik, President, National Inuit Youth Council Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Rhiannon Traill, Presdient & CEO, The Economic Club of Canada & The Jr. Economic Club of Canada WHEN: Monday, June 20th, 2016 8:45 am - 11:15 am WHERE: The Fairmont Chateau Laurier (Ballroom) 1 Rideau Street, Ottawa About The Economic Club of Canada: Each year, more than 100 key policy makers and business leaders seek out the Economic Club of Canada's platform to deliver major keynote addresses. Audience members are drawn from the most senior levels of Canadian business, health care and government. Sessions provide accessibility to speakers and the opportunity to pose questions, direct and unfiltered. Membership is open to all who share a passion for discourse around the most important issues of today. Contacts: To confirm attendance or for more information, contact: Kara Merpaw Communications The Economic Club of Canada 416-333-8795 merpaw@economicclub.ca Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 28, 2016) - Data Deposit Box Inc. (CSE: DDB) (OTCQB: DDBXF) (FSE: 2DD) (the "Company"), a global provider of cloud backup and recovery technology, is pleased to announce, further to its press release dated November 11, 2016, the completion of its non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering"). The Company is pleased to announced that it has completed the second and final tranche (the "Second Tranche") of the Offering effective today, issuing 14,469,498 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.055 per Unit for gross proceeds of $795,822. The aggregate gross proceeds raised pursuant to the Offering was $1,495,622 through the issuance of 27,193,134 Units. Each Unit issued pursuant to the Second Tranche consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.07 per Common Share for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of issuance (the "Warrant Term"), provided, however, that should the closing price at which the Common Shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (or any such other stock exchange in Canada as the Common Shares may trade at the applicable time) exceed $0.15 for 20 consecutive trading days at any time following the date that is four months and one day after the date of issuance, the Company may accelerate the Warrant Term ("Reduced Warrant Term") such that the Warrants shall expire on the date which is 30 calendar days following the date a press release is issued by the Company announcing the Reduced Warrant Term. Certain eligible persons (the "Finders") were paid a cash commission equal to 6% of the proceeds raised from subscribers introduced to the Company by such Finder and also issued an aggregate of 255,188 finder warrants (the "Finder Warrants") to Finders, each Finder Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.055 for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of issuance, subject to the Reduced Warrant Term. The aggregate net proceeds from the raised from the Offering will be used for marketing, product development, debt reduction and general operating expenses. All securities issued pursuant to the Second Tranche are subject to a statutory hold period expiring on April 29, 2017 in accordance with applicable securities legislation. One director of the Company (the "Related Party") participated in the Second Tranche, which participation constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Such related party transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company after reasonable inquiry, the Related Party have knowledge of any material information concerning the Company or its securities that has not been generally disclosed. The participants in the Second Tranche and the extent of such participation were not finalized until shortly prior to the completion of the Second Tranche. Accordingly, it was not possible to publicly disclose details of the nature and extent of related party participation in the Second Tranche pursuant to a material change report filed at least 21 days prior to the completion of the Second Tranche. About Data Deposit Box Data Deposit Box, a pioneer of cloud backup and recovery technology, has set a new industry standard by providing the SMB market with the same level of security and protection that is available to large enterprises. Data Deposit Box patented backup technology, known for its Exabyte scalability, advanced data reduction capabilities and ease-of-use, has won prestigious industry awards and has been featured in many key industry publications. Data Deposit Box technologies and solutions are currently used daily by over 200,000 customers, 1,000 resellers, 25 MSPs and private label partners for online backup and recovery, archiving, disaster readiness, secure file sharing and remote access. Visit the Company's website at: www.datadepositbox.com For More Information contact: Troy Cheeseman President & COO Data Deposit Box Inc. Telephone: 647-725-0307 Email: tcheeseman@datadepositbox.com This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/07/16 -- The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister for Canadian Heritage, will deliver a speech on Thursday during a meeting with leaders in the field of official languages to conclude the Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations 2016. Media representatives will have an opportunity to ask the Minister questions during a media availability after her speech. Media representatives who wish to attend the afternoon session may do so as observers. Please note that all details are subject to change. All times are local. The details are as follows: DATE: Thursday, December 8, 2016 TIME: Minister Joly's speech in Room B: 1:30 p.m. Media availability in the lobby: 2:00 p.m. Afternoon session in Room B: 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. PLACE: Library and Archives Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Contacts: Pierre-Olivier Herbert Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage 819-997-7788 Media Relations Canadian Heritage 819-994-9101 1-866-569-6155 PCH.media-media.PCH@Canada.ca Caterwings, a Berlin, Germany-based online marketplace for catering services, raised 6m in funding. The round was led by Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures and Rocket Internet. The company intends to use the funds to expand its online presence, further enhance the customer service in the current markets (London, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Amsterdam) and expand across Europe. Led by Alexander Brunst and Sebastian Kloss, Caterwings operates an online marketplace for catering services for the B2B needs. Started in September 2015 in London, the company and has since then expanded to Berlin, Munich and Hamburg as well as just recently Amsterdam offering a broad booking experience from a selection of food including sandwiches, sushi, salads, sweets, etc. FinSMEs 17/06/2016 Metabolomic Diagnostics, a Cork, Ireland-based medical diagnostics company, secured an additional 1.6m in funding. Backers included SOSventures, Enterprise Equity and Enterprise Ireland as well as a number of private investors. The company will use the funds to finalize the development of PrePsia, its new screening test for pre-eclampsia in first time pregnant mothers and bring the product to market in 2017. Based on research by Prof. Louise Kenny, Director at the INFANT Research Centre in UCC, into metabolomic biomarkers during pregnancy and led by Charles Garvey, CEO, Metabolomic Diagnostics is advancing the PrePsia blood test, which will be able to detect the risk of pre-eclampsia early in the pregnancy. The company has also announced that diagnostics entrepreneur Dr. Jim Walsh has joined the board. FinSMEs 17/06/2016 Phoenix Group (TASE: PHOE), one of Israels largest insurance and finance companies, and Arkin Holdings, an investment entity specializing in the life science field, have teamed up to invest in pharma and biotech companies. The approx. $60m partnership, called Arkin Bio-Ventures, aims to invest in companies that develop promising innovative pharmaceuticals in pre-clinical and more advanced stages, both in Israel and globally. Dr. Pini Orbach, Head of Pharma at Arkin Holdings, will manage the Arkin Holdings (51%) and Phoenix (49%) partnership. On behalf of Phoenix, Mr. Elad Givoni, Head of Private Equity, led the venture. Phoenix Group manages approximately NIS 160 Billion through a variety of investment channels and various fields, such as real estate, non-bank financing, Private Equity and more. The joint venture will expand the companys investment and return opportunities in private pharma companies, in Israel and worldwide. Founded by Mr. Mori Arkin and managed by Mr. Nir Arkin, Arkin Holdings is an Israel-based life science investor which has performed strategic investments in recent years in private pharma and biotech companies. The most prominent is cCAM Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company, which was acquired by Merck in July 2015 for a total of approximately $605 Million. The Arkin Group also operates in the life science field through Accelmed Fund, which manages over $250 Million invested in medical device, and through Sphera Global Healthcare fund, an Israeli large hedge fund managing approximately $500 Million invested in public pharma companies. FinSMEs 17/06/2016 Solera Health, a Phoenix, AZ-based technology-enabled personalized preventive health network, closed a $4m Series A1 round of funding. Backers included BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries and SJF Ventures. The company, which has raised $7m in total funding, will use the funds to scale its operations for the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) as a covered health benefit. Led by Brenda Schmidt, CEO, Solera provides a marketplace that connects U.S. adults at risk for type 2 diabetes with the over 850 CDC-recognized digital, national or community-based DPPs that help participants make lifestyle changes to reduce the likelihood of developing the disease. The companys national model was designed to consolidate fragmented programs and services into one integrated network allowing health plans and medical providers to increase consumer access and participation while lowering associated costs. Strategic diabetes prevention program (DPP) partnerships include both community and digital health companies, such as HealthSlate, Blue Mesa Health, Noom, Inc., Retrofit, Canary Health, and Weight Watchers, as well as the Black Women Health Imperative and other non-profit organizations. FinSMEs 17/06/2016 NEW DELHI A court jailed 11 Hindus for life on Friday for the murder of dozens of Muslims during riots in Gujarat in 2002 that shook India at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state's chief minister. The court sentenced 12 other people to seven years in jail for arson and other charges during the disturbances, in which 69 Muslims were killed, while another defendant was handed a 10-year sentence, prosecutors said. The massacre occurred during a series of religious riots that flared for two months in Gujarat and killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims. The court called the massacre the "darkest day" but rejected prosecutors' demand to sentence the defendants to death, after ruling that the attack was not planned. A Hindu mob scaled the boundary wall of a housing complex in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city, in February 2002 before torching the homes in which Muslim families were trapped. Among the victims were children and women who were burned to death. The riots, among the worst since India's independence from Britain in 1947, have dogged Modi's political career for years after he was accused of not doing enough to stop the violence. Modi, a Hindu, denies any wrongdoing and in 2013 a panel appointed by the Supreme Court said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him. The violence also tainted Modi's international reputation even as he rose in power at home, culminating in his 2014 general election victory. The United States revoked his visa in 2005 but allowed him to travel there again after his election victory. "NOT SATISFIED" Dozens of people have been convicted for their role in the Gujarat riots, including a local lawmaker from Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party who was later freed on bail on medical grounds. Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan, a former Congress party legislator, died in the blaze at the housing complex, said the sentences on Friday were too lenient. "I am not satisfied with this verdict. I have to start all over again. This is wrong," she told media. The trial began in 2009 and four of the defendants died during the lengthy proceedings. Jafri, who is fighting what may be the last legal battle to pin blame on Modi, says she saw her husband making repeated desperate calls to police for help but none came. He was dragged out of his home by sword-wielding men and within minutes was stripped and killed, according to Jafri. "This was a massacre. So many people came together to do this, so what happened was clearly the result of a conspiracy. The 24 people should have been sentenced to life in prison. We will appeal," S.M. Vohra, a lawyer for some of the victims, told Reuters. The court had dropped charges of criminal conspiracy against the accused, and acquitted 36 other defendants earlier this month. Hindu mobs charged through Gujarat's streets in a wave of reprisal attacks after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train blaze in February 2002. A court convicted 31 people years later of arson in connection with the train fire but other inquiries have said the fire was an accident. (additional reporting by Malini Menon and Anupriya Kumar; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. NEW YORK/FRANKFURT Bayer AG, the German chemicals and healthcare company trying to acquire Monsanto Co, is exploring a sale of its radiology supplies unit that could be worth more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Bayer has said it does not need to sell assets to finance its $62 billion bid for Monsanto but has stressed that the strategic reviews of its businesses would continue as usual. The company is in talks with investment banks about hiring a financial adviser to explore strategic alternatives for the radiology supplies business, including a sale, the sources said this week. Bayer may decide to keep the unit, the sources added. The sources requested anonymity because the deliberations are confidential. Bayer declined to comment. The radiology business generates more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in revenue from contrast agents and related injection equipment. Its main products are Ultravist for computer tomography scans, with 318 million euros in sales in 2015, and Gadovist for magnetic resonance imaging scans, with 290 million euros. Bayer has been taking steps to narrow the focus of its healthcare division to prescription drugs and consumer care products. In 2014, it sold a unit making vascular catheters to treat clogged blood vessels to Boston Scientific Corp for $415 million, followed by the sale of a blood glucose meter business to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings for 1.02 billion euros last year. Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann said last month that the company would continue to develop its healthcare arm, which includes stroke prevention pill Xarelto and aspirin, the painkiller it invented more than a century ago. [nL5N18K2F7] Monsanto turned down Bayer's $122-per-share cash offer on May 24 but said it was open to continuing discussions. Since then, negotiations between the two companies have been at an impasse, as Bayer has refused to raise its offer without Monsanto first opening its books, sources have said. Monsanto has been holding out for an improved offer before providing confidential information to Bayer. [nL1N1921MR] (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Alexander Huebner, Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; EDiting by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Von Ahn) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The report of the Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy prepared by a team of experts headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian is much more than a draft containing recommendations for the new education paradigm in the country. Reading the 230 page report, it becomes clear that it addresses the much wider pedagogical concerns. Reasoning about why the Indian education system is in a disarray, the report states, On the totem pole of the state management hierarchy, education comes relatively low both in status and recognition. This was part of the administrative ethos bestowed by colonial rulers who had no interest in imparting education to the bulk of Indians. This neglect should no longer be tolerated. Education must be given the highest priority, While the entire focus of the report remains on two aspects, that is quality' and 'equality (equal access to all), it touches many other important themes. For improving the quality it seeks to create conditions to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and promote transparency in the management of education. And in this way, it seeks to restore the credibility of the education system. The report highlights a disturbing fact that while gross enrollment in schools, as also at higher education institutions, has gone up sharply, it has been accompanied with many undesirable new factors. While the infrastructure facilities in the school system have significantly improved, there has been little corresponding impact on the quality of instruction or learning on the contrary repeated studies have indicated a worrisome decline in learning outcomes in schools, the report states. Analysing the reasons behind this paradox, the report addresses larger pedagogical concerns. With the state failing to provide quality education, there has been an influx of a large number of wholly private or aided schools, even in rural areas, out of which many of them of indifferent quality; leading up to questions about the quality of degrees, generally obtained in the system. Adding to this, the report states that inadequate stress in early childhood has severely contributed to poor learning outcomes at successive secondary and higher education periods. Serious gaps in teacher motivation and training, sub-optimal personnel management in the education sector, absence of necessary attention to monitoring and supervision of performance at all levels in short an overall neglect of management issues in this field have contributed to the current state of affairs, the report states. It talks about how outside interference, absence of accountability, unregulated commercialization and lack of standards that has increased substantially during the past two decades has left education sector in India with a crisis of credibility in terms of the quality of education which they provide, as well as the worth of the degrees which they confer on students. One of the scathing criticisms that the Indian education system has been subjected to is that it promotes rote learning. In this regard to the report makes some important observations. The main objective of our education system currently, unfortunately, is to prepare the children to do well in the examinations. Classroom behaviour and dynamics are guided by this overarching goal. Our examination system is based on rote memory; questions are asked from text books and students who are able to reproduce what is written in the text books manage to get high scores, the report said. It adds, the Committee understands that memory and recall are an integral part of any education system, but endorses the views of several experts that the focus of education should be more on critical thinking; the examination system should be geared to test understanding rather than ability to reproduce the text-book script. The report recommends on a complete overhaul of examination system which primarily tests only rote memory. It also stress that performance of a student should not be judged only by results of the board examinations, a suggestion that has been put forward by a host of prominent academicians in past. Credit should be given to performance in periodic tests and quality of assignments and classroom participation by students. The process of continuous evaluation should be transparent and the results should be shared with students and parents, read the report. While analysing a range of issues that includes the current methods of learning and evaluation, to teaching technique and curriculum the report suggest host of reforms. NCERT needs to focus sharply on increasing the quality of school education; in particular to move to transformation of the curriculum and pedagogy away from rote learning to promote a spirit of enquiry and understanding. For this, NCERT will have to redesign its text books in a manner that teachers become facilitators and co-investigators and encourage self and peer learning, read the report It adds, Successive National Education Policies have referred to progressive transformation of the curriculum and pedagogy away from rote learning, to encourage greater involvement of the thinking faculties of the students in the learning process, and to promote a spirit of inquiry. The school curricula do not as yet adequately reflect changes in this direction. This important core function of the NCERT has to be given greater relevance, applicability and intensity of application. The report has tried to address all substructures of the larger pedagogical superstructure. Though it is quite ambitious in its approach, it raises valid concerns and puts forward some very important recommendations. Following news reports that TSR Subramanian wrote a letter, asking the government to make public his panels report, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said early this month that the ministry will not disclose the reports contents unless it has received views and feedback from all state governments. While her ministry holds the prerogative of how it deals with the report, the fact remains that the 230 page draft contains much for ensuring a robust education system. And ignoring it wont do good to anyone. Chandigarh: The Haryana government on Friday extended till 30 June the term of the Justice SN Dhingra Commission, which is making inquiries into grant of land licences to some companies, including that of Robert Vadra's in Gurgaon. "The Haryana government has extended the term of the Justice SN Dhingra Commission of Inquiry till 30 June, 2016," an official release said. A notification to this effect was issued by the state's Chief Secretary. The Haryana government had in December last year extended the Commission's term for a period of six months. The Manohar Lal Khattar government had in May 2015 set up the one-man inquiry commission under Dhingra, a retired judge of Delhi High Court, to probe issues concerning the grant of license(s) for developing commercial colonies by the Department of Town and Country Planning to some entities in Sector 83, Gurgaon. The Commission was to probe transfer or disposal of land, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of beneficiaries under the rules, and other connected matters, bringing Vadra land deal under the scanner. It was asked to submit its report within six months from the date of its first sitting. BJP had made the land deals under the previous Congress government in Haryana a major poll issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, alleging rules were relaxed to favour a few including Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Sheila Dikshit, has been accused of a 400 crore tanker scam during her term as Chief Minister in Delhi, by AAP Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra. The alleged irregularities happened in 2012, when the DJB hired 385 water tankers from private contractors. Ms. Dikshit was the chairperson of the DJB at the time. The report of the committee further suggests that the acts of omission and commission by the then DJB under Dikshit resulted in a loss of Rs 400 crore to the exchequer. According to India Today, on Thursday, following a complaint made by Kapil Sharma, Najeeb Jung forwarded the 123-page report on the water scam, involving Sheila Dikshit, to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi Government. In an accompanying letter, Mishra said that his "report indicates that functionaries and the then members of the DJB (Delhi Jal Board), including its then chairperson, Dikshit, had indulged in grave irregularities," a Times Of India report quotes him as saying. Kapil Mishra, posted his allegations on twitter as well: My Report exposing corrpution by Shiela Dixit has been forwarded to ACB Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 16, 2016 Shiela Dixit should be behind the bars now for corruption. The only barrier between Shiela and Tihar is her agents in BJP. 1/2 Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 16, 2016 Responding to the allegations, Shiela Dikshit lashed out at AAP, by asking who Kapil Sharma was and questioning the timing of his allegations, as reported by India Today. Why is this 'scam' coming out now? It is politically motivated," Dikshit said, as the scam allegations came in after reports of Shiela Dikshit being considered for the chief ministerial position in the forthcoming UP Assembly elections emerged. On the issue of purchasing water tankers Dikshit said, "I didn't make the decision alone. IAS officers, MCD members, even some BJP members were part of the decision making...The tankers they are accusing me of choosing are still going strong." The cancellation of FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) registration of Sabrang Trust is big blow to Teesta Setalvad and her secularist patrons and followers, both inside and outside of the country. Even the United Nations' human rights experts have urged India to repeal the law restricting civil society access to foreign funding. Teesta and her husband, Javed Anand despite their documented acts of omission and commission, siphoning off of money for personal gains have for long been taken as moving liberalist-secularist mascot. After all, the couple kept wounds of the 2002 Gujarat riots alive and used all possible means under the sun to somehow implicate Narendra Modi and have him under criminal trial for complicity in the riots. However, when charges were levelled against them by the authorities, her backers and sympathisers played the "victim card", made noises of vendetta and charged the Modi government of total intolerance towards voices of dissent. The key question here is should no action be taken against her? Why does any action by the present government is dubbed as "vendetta" when Teesta has filed cases after cases against Narendra Modi? Should Teesta and her husband be treated differently under the law because they fall in the bracket of so called liberalist-secularist who challenged a "communalist" Narendra Modi's regime in Gujarat? Based on information received from our sources and scrutiny of various records of the Trust available with Firstpost, the Foreigners division, FCRA wing of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its order says, prima facie violations of various provisions of FCRA was noticed. An on-site inspection or a raid was conducted of books and accounts and records from 9-11 June 2015 at its Juhu Tara office. On 9 September FCRA registration suspended and issued a showcause notice to Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Aanand. They were given, which MHA as per their request says, a personal hearing on 11 April 2016. On 16 June, the registration was cancelled with "immediate effect". Consider some of the FCRA violations done by Teesta and Javed Anand 1. Teesta trust Sabrang made direct payment of around Rs 12 lakh from FCRA designated account to City Bank and Union Bank of India for credit card payments of cards belonging to Teesta and husband Javed Anand. The money as per the MHA order was used purely for personal gains. The foreign contributions went the couple personal expenditure like dining in hotels, food takeaways ordered at residence, cakes and sweets from premium outlets and also on sundry items, sanitary napkins, etc. That was in clear violation of Section 8(1) of FCRA 2010. 2. They spent up to 65 percent of the FCRA amount on administrative expenses, something which is not allowed as per the law. 3. Section 3(1)(B)(H) of FCRA says correspondents, columnists, cartoonists, editor, owners are included under Sabrang Communications and Publishing Private Limited. Teesta and Javed Anand are chief functionaries/Trustees of Sabrang Trust and also work as director, co-editors, printers, publishers of Sabrang communications which published a magazine communalism combat. Both entities functioned from same premises with same set of staff, infrastructure and other resources. 4. It transferred around Rs 2.50 lakh from Sabrang foreign contribution account to domestic account, which is liable to treated as misutilisation of funds. 5. Bulk purchase of sms for propaganda through foreign fund. 6. While Sabrung was registered for educational and social purposes, it received and spent substantive amount of foreign contribution under cultural head. 7. Even Javed Anands international medical policy for attending a Lahore Conference was paid by foreign contribution. Same was the case for his travel related expenses and purchase of books for attending a PUCL conference. There are reports that Teesta's Sabrang Communications and Publishing, which is not registered under FCRA, received d $290,000 from the US-based Ford Foundation between 2004 and 2014 without the government approval. The Ford Foundation was subsequently put on the watch-list following a Gujarat government complaint that it was interfering in India's "internal affairs" and encouraging Teesta's NGOs to promote "communal disharmony" Teesta's national or international fame came after she, her husband and some others, formed an NGO "Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP)" in April 2002. The CPJ began to litigate in various courts against the alleged complicity of the Narendra Modi and other persons in authority in Gujarat government. But the zeal to somehow nail Modi and in the process make personal monetary gains (fame in any case by a byproduct) made her stray from the path use whatever means to achieve those goals. Though there are cases against her, Gujarat Police cant arrest her for now because she has got interim protection from Supreme Court where she had filed an appeal after Gujarat High Court rejected her anticipatory bail application. The charges of misappropriation of funds for personal gains and tutoring witnesses, evening putting up false witnesses against her is long but they are in the legal domains and are still being fought in courts and under scrutiny of relevant authorities. Consider some of the charges against her, made by her erstwhile associates and findings of Supreme Court monitored SIT. First to come out against her was Zaheera Sheikh, a girl who for sometime had become face of riot survivor and key witness in Best Bakery case. Zaheera, however, was later charged of perjury. The big blow for Teesta came in April 2009 when Times of India published a report claiming that the Supreme Court constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Gujarat riot cases had submitted before the Court that Teesta Setalvad had cooked up cases of violence to spice up the incidents. The SIT which is headed by former CBI director, R K Raghavan has said that false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents by Teesta Setalvad and other NGOs. The SIT charged her of "cooking up macabre tales of killings". The court was told that 22 witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating to riot incidents, were questioned by SIT and it was found that the witnesses had not actually witnessed the incidents and they were tutored and the affidavits were handed over to them by Setalvad. In 2011 Teesta Setalvad's former aide Rais Khan Pathan filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging manipulation of evidence, which were in the form of statements of witnesses, by her in five sensitive post-Godhra riot cases. He alleged that he was employed to convince witnesses to give statements in riot cases, Khan was quoted as saying, "On the basis of hundreds of such false and fabricated affidavits prepared by CJP, the Supreme Court considered to transfer riot cases outside Gujarat." The worst of all charge which virtually unmasked Teesta came in 2013 when 12 residents of the Gulbarg Society accused her of collecting donations in the name of riot victims but failing to use them for their benefit and sent a legal notice to her. The notice said Setalvad has "collected huge donations from national and international organisations in the name of providing financial assistance for reconstruction of houses or developing the society into a museum" But despite collecting foreign donation of Rs 63 lakh in the account of CJP and Rs 88 lakh in the account of Sabrang Trust, nothing has been passed on to the members of society. The surviving victims, in a separate letter to the city Police Commissioner, have also sought a ban on the NGO from organising annual event on February 28 as a mark of solidarity to the people who lost their lives during the 2002 riots. This eventually led to filing of an FIR against her in January 2014 by Ahmedabad Police, a case in which her arrest has been stayed by the Supreme Court. Now that Modi government has made its big move, cancellation of FCRA license to Sabrang Trust, chocking her major source of funding, her very most visible backers in various echelons have lot more ground cover to protect her from the proverbial long arms of the law. Bethlehem: Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father's barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. He started by teaching himself with the help of the Internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since "there is no tattoo school in Palestine". "Everybody laughed and told me: 'What do you think you're doing?'" said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words "Thy will be done" -- from The Lord's Prayer. As Ayash worked, the teenager's mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. "Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, so there you go," she said. "This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong," was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. Proof of pilgrimage For Ayash, the high season is over now. Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between have gone home. Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. "Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians," he said. "They want a cross and the date of their visit. It's part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing." While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel's occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. Hidden faith Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasising one's religion can be life-threatening. "I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian," said Ayash. "When she lets her hair fall, the cross can't be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn't do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria." Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. On Friday, BJP MLA Sangeet Som lead a rally to Kairana, where prohibitory orders are in place, reported NDTV. Atul Pradhan of the Samajwadi Party also led a similar rally. Both politicians, the report added, did not have permission to hold the rallies and were stopped. Som, who led the 'Nirbhay' yatra was stopped around two km from his parliamentary constituency Sardana. Pradhan's 'Sadhbhavna' rally saw 500 people who set out from Meerut to Kairana. Som then issued an ultimatum to the UP government and asked it to ensure that people who migrated were brought back. We have given a 15-days notice to state Govt to bring back families who've migrated or we'll be forced to come on streets: Sangeet Som, BJP ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 17, 2016 On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said that besides the problem of law and order, it was the terror faced by a section of the society, which led to the alleged Hindu migration in Kairana. He also said that the district administration failed to check migration because of "government pressure" and that the report of the probe team sent by BJP to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the large scale migration will be handed over to Governor Ram Naik on Friday. The Indian Express quoted the Meerut District Collector Pankaj Yadav as saying that the police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were stationed in heavy numbers while Section 144 of the CrPC was in force so as to ensure law and order. It added that all entrances to Kairana had been sealed and that any yatra without permission will not be allowed. Senior officials have stopped us here saying Sec 144 is imposed here on, so we are stopping our "Yatra" here: Som pic.twitter.com/0s5WfeaE3B ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 17, 2016 Even as the BJP team reached the UP Governor Ram Naik's residence to submit the party's Kairana probe, reported News18, Congress will send a three-member probe team to Kairana on 19 June. Sangeet Som was arrested in 2013 for his alleged role in inciting communal violence at Muzaffarnagar and for allegedly spreading inflammatory videos during the riots that left more than 60 people dead. The MLA was accused of uploading a fake video that played a role in provoking communal tension in Muzaffarnagar in September, and was arrested in Meerut on 21 September. He was later released on bail. Earlier, it was reported that more than 250 families in Kairana left their homes since 2014 fearing criminals who enjoy "political patronage". Following this, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) of the state. The NHRC observed that the allegations made were serious in nature. It also directed the state's DIG (Investigation) to depute a team of officers for a spot inquiry in the matter covering all the allegations made in the complaint and submit a report within two weeks. BJP president Amit Shah said that an atmosphere of violence was prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, citing the incidents at Kairana and Mathura. Meanwhile, Ravi Shankar Prasad, during a press conference in Allahabad on Sunday, said that despite the issue being serious, the state government was not taking any action. BJP MP Hukum Singh estimated the number of communal killings in the town at 10 for the last three years and called it the "new Kashmir". He also came out with a list containing details of more than 250 families (the list puts it at 346) who left their homes. He then met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking an intervention in the matter. Even as authorities in UP were getting anxious about communal tension in Kairana, Hukum Singh took a massive U-turn. On 14 June, the BJP leader who was also one of the accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots said that the exodus of people from Kairana was "not communal" in nature but was rather connected with the poor law and order situation in the region. The Wire, in a report, mentioned that Muslim families (150 families) too left Kairana over a long period of time in search of safe pastures. The question to ask is: Does Som's yatra include a fight to bring back the migrated Muslim families as well? Or is this the BJP's efforts to polarise the votes in Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections will take place in 2017, as pointed out by Ambikanand Sahay in this article. Mayawati also added that the yatras planned by the BJP and SP smacked of an "understanding" between the two parties to malign the communal atmosphere and reap political benefits by instigating riots. "The main aim of these yatras is to somehow vitiate the communal atmosphere in the state, instigate Hindu-Muslim riots and reap political and electoral benefits...this needs to be condemned by all," said the former UP chief minister. The BSP chief said that the SP government had forgotten its "sarkari dharma" (principles of a government) and was surprisingly not taking any action against anti-social elements and those fomenting communalism. She also attacked the state government for suspending Gorakhpur SSP Anant Dev saying the only fault of the police officer was that his force had tried to check "goondagardi and high-handedness" of an SP leader. With inputs from PTI BIRSTALL, England Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox on Friday after a man with suspected neo-Nazi links and a history of mental illness was arrested over a killing that has thrown next week's referendum on European Union membership into limbo. Cox, 41, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed on Thursday by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first" in her own electoral district near Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire in northern England. A 52-year-old man was arrested near the murder scene and police said a firearm was recovered. The man was being questioned on Friday and no charges had been made. British media named the man as Thomas Mair. Britain First, a far-right nationalist group, denied any links with Mair but a U.S. civil rights group said he had been associated in the past with a neo-Nazi organisation. In Birstall, a quiet town of a few thousand people, weeping mourners laid flowers at a monument near the scene of the attack. One message read: "Fascists feed on fear." "It is a vile act that has killed her," Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party which Cox represented, said as he lay flowers in Birstall with Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday. "We will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society." The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended for the June 23 EU referendum, the tone of which has become ugly and included bitter personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. The murder sent shockwaves around Britain which has strict gun controls and sparked debate about the safety of lawmakers, the heightened tempo of political confrontation and whether the slaying would affect the outcome of the referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron has agreed to recall parliament on Monday in tribute to Cox, a well-liked mother of two young children and considered an outstanding member of the new intake of Labour parliamentarians. She had been a prominent aid worker. Both sides have temporarily suspended their national EU campaigns until at least Sunday. Shares, oil and bond yields rose after campaigning was suspended, reversing earlier losses this week which followed a swing in opinion polls towards the Leave camp. The implied probability of a vote to remain rose to 67 percent, up from 65 percent on Thursday, according to Betfair odds. POLICE SEEK MOTIVE Though the killer's motives were not immediately clear, some investors suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. "The motive for the attack remains a key part of the investigation at this time," Russ Foster, Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, said. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley in northern England, from the NA's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. Reuters was unable to verify the report independently. Mair's brother said Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported. "He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. "My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don't even know who he votes for." Neighbours described a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds and inquired after their pets. "I'm totally devastated - I didn't want to believe it. He's been very helpful to me. Anything I asked him to do he did very willingly and sometimes without my needing to ask," said next-door neighbour Diana Peters, 65. "I saw him the day before. I was taking my cats to the vet and he came and asked me how they were," she told Reuters. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990. Britain's Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth's London residence Buckingham Palace and Cameron's Downing Street residence. "UNITE AGAINST HATRED" The queen wrote a private letter of condolence to Cox's husband. Members of the public and lawmakers, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, there were dozens of white candles, bunches of flowers and messages of condolence. "You can't kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred." Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two young children aged three and five. British politicians paid tribute to Cox, a Cambridge University graduate and former charity worker whose job took her to countries such as Afghanistan and Darfur, and expressed shock at the killing, as did leaders across Europe and the world. Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a more respectful dialogue in political disputes after the tragedy. Cox had arrived in Birstall for a "surgery" in a library with members of the public, a one-to-one meeting much like when a patient consults a doctor. In Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police patrol the entrances, corridors and halls but there is often no security in their home electoral districts, or constituencies. Tempers can flare during surgeries and parliamentarians are often subjected to abuse on social media. Cox had complained to police after receiving "malicious communications" and a man was arrested and later released with a caution in connection with the investigation in March. A spokeswoman for the House of Commons said it was reissuing security advice to lawmakers and advising them to contact their local police if they had any concerns. (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Paul Sandle, Michael Holden, Sarah Young, Andy Bruce, Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Peter Millership) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Cairo: The second black box of the doomed EgyptAir plane that crashed last month killing all 66 people on board was pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, a day after Egypt's investigation committee said the plane's cockpit voice recorder had been recovered. The find significantly raises hopes that investigators will finally able to determine what caused the crash of the EgyptAir Airbus A320. Both France and the United States are sending investigators to Cairo to help with the probe. The recovery of the black boxes follows a breakthrough earlier in the week, when ships searching the part of the Mediterranean north of Egypt spotted the wreckage of the plane and started mapping its debris on the seabed. It's still not known what brought the plane down between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast, or whether the aircraft broke apart in the air, or stayed intact until it struck the water. No militant group has said it downed the plane, which was flying to Cairo from Paris when it crashed on May 19. The wreckage was believed to be at a depth of about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Previously, search crews found only small floating pieces of debris and some human remains. On Friday, a statement from the Egyptian committee said the vessel John Lethbridge, contracted by the Egyptian government to search for the wreckage, pulled the data recorder out of the sea in stages. It added that it managed to "successfully retrieve" the memory unit of the recorder, which is the "most important" component. While the statement didn't elaborate on the condition of the recorder, it implied that the memory unit had been safely recovered. The two so-called black boxes were tucked into the plane's tail. The committee said later Friday it received both black boxes, which were brought to Cairo from the port city of Alexandria, where they were transferred to from the site of the crash. The data will be downloaded and analysed in the coming days. "The analysis might take weeks," the committee said, adding that the timespan depends on the condition of the memory units in the recorders. If there is damage, the statement said the recorders may have to be taken outside of Egypt to be repaired. France's Accident Investigating Bureau, or BEA, said Friday it's sending an investigator to Cairo "to lend our technical expertise to the reading of the two recordings." On Thursday, the US National Transportation Safety Board also said it's sending an investigator and a recorder specialist to Cairo. Honeywell, the US technology company that manufactured the cockpit voice recorder, is providing technical support as well. A top security official at the Cairo International Airport, Brig. Gen. Fahmi Megahed, ordered extra security measures at the civil aviation ministry headquarters and the investigation team offices, where the recorders will be analyzed. Both are adjacent to the airport. Flight 804 disappeared from radar about 2.45 am local time, after it had entered Egyptian airspace. Radar data showed the aircraft had been cruising normally in clear skies before it turned 90 degrees left, then a full 360 degrees to the right as it plummeted from 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). It disappeared when it was at an altitude of about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). 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. "The plane clearly suffered an instant severe damage that left it uncontrollable," said Shaker Kelada, an EgyptAir official who was not involved in the search but has led other crash investigations for the national carrier. He said finding the black boxes was "a great success" but that "now time and patience is needed to analyze them." Egypt's civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, has said terrorism is a more probable cause than equipment failure or some other catastrophic event. John Lethbridge, the vessel that found the wreckage, arrived on June 9 at the port of Alexandria, carrying highly specialized equipment of the Deep Ocean Search company. A statement from DOS said the search team eventually narrowed down the search to "a depth equal to 10 times the height of London Shard tower" a 3,000 meter, 95-storey skyscraper in London. Investigators said earlier that they had narrowed down search area to a five-kilometer (three-mile) radius of the Mediterranean. Finding the black boxes was essential and could reveal whether a mechanical fault, a hijacking or a bomb caused the disaster. Investigators also hope the black boxes will offer clues as to why there was no distress call. There are two on board each plane a cockpit voice recorder, which should contain a record of the last 30 minutes in the cockpit, and is equipped to detect even loud breathing. The second is the flight data recorder, which would contain technical information on the engines, wings and cabin pressure. Safety onboard Egyptian aircraft and at the country's airports have been under close international scrutiny since a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 people on board, shortly after taking off from a Red Sea resort in Egypt. That crash claimed by the Islamic State group's affiliate in the Sinai and blamed by Moscow on an explosive device planted on board the aircraft decimated Egypt's tourism industry, which had already been battered by years of turmoil in the country. FALLUJA/BAGHDAD, Iraq Iraqi forces on Friday entered the centre of Falluja, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there. Government troops, supported by multiple air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition, recaptured the municipal building, though the ultra-hardline militants still controlled a significant portion of Falluja, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, and many streets and houses remain mined with explosives. Federal police raised the Iraqi state flag above the government building and continued pursuing insurgents, according to a military statement. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqi forces had taken back a portion of the city, although he added: "There's still some fighting to be done." Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory shortly after nightfall, as government forces continued pushing into parts of the city held by the militants. Security forces have "tightened their control inside the city and there are still some pockets that need to be cleansed in the coming hours," he said in a brief speech on state television. Troops could be seen coming under sniper fire earlier in the day as they entered a large mosque about 100 metres (300 feet) from the municipal building. Clashes also involved gun fire, artillery and aerial bombardment, sending clouds of smoke towards the sky above the city centre. Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the military statement said. Sabah al-Numani, a CTS spokesman, said on state television that snipers were holed up inside the main hospital. Iraq launched a major operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, a bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against U.S. forces that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and Shi'ite-led governments that followed. The participation of Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias in the battle alongside the Iraqi army raised fears of sectarian killings, and authorities are already investigating allegations that militiamen executed dozens of Sunni men fleeing the city. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged pro-government fighters in a Friday sermon not to seek revenge against residents. There were no initial signs that Shi'ite militiamen had entered the city proper. Falluja was seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in Baghdad, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security in the capital. U.S. allies would prefer to concentrate on Islamic State-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city located in the far north of the country. Enemies of Islamic State have launched major offensives against the jihadists on other fronts, including a thrust by U.S.-backed forces against the city of Manbij in northern Syria. The attacks amount to the most sustained pressure on the group since it proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. MASS DISPLACEMENT Islamic State has begun allowing thousands of civilians trapped in central Falluja to escape and the sudden exodus has overwhelmed displacement camps already filled beyond capacity. More than 6,000 families left on Thursday alone, according to Falluja Mayor Issa al-Issawi, who fled following the IS seizure of city in January 2014. "We don't know how to deal with this large number of civilians," he told Reuters on Friday. The number of displaced people surpassed 68,000, according to the United Nations, which recently estimated Falluja's population at 90,000, only about a third of the total in 2010. Witnesses said Islamic State had announced via loudspeakers that residents could leave if they wanted. It was unclear why the group changed tack after clamping down on civilian movement only a few days ago. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which has been providing aid to displaced people, said escapees reported a sudden retreat of IS fighters at key checkpoints inside Falluja that had allowed civilians to leave. "Aid services in the camps were already overstretched and this development will push us all to the limit," said NRC country director Nasr Muflahi. Islamic State, which by U.S. estimates has been ousted from almost half of the territory it seized when Iraqi forces partially collapsed in 2014, has used residents as human shields to slow the military's advance and help avoid air strikes. Addressing Falluja's residents, Prime Minister Abadi said in his speech: "We want there to be security and peace in this city for you to go back to live there." (Additional reporting by Saif Hameed in Baghdad, Phil Stewart in Washington and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Dominic Evans) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. BANGUI Lords Resistance Army rebels have kidnapped 17 people from a village in eastern Central African Republic, a senior local official said on Thursday. The rebels are notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping children for use as fighters. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the LRA's messianic leader, Joseph Kony, and other senior commanders. The rebels struck on Monday, snatching three people in the morning and forcing them to carry their goods before releasing them in the evening, said Ghislain Kolengo, prefect of Haut Mbomou region. "Very early (on Tuesday), they attacked Kadjema village and kidnapped 17 people who are still in captivity. I hope that our forces in the area and the Ugandans will find these people and bring them back," Kolengo told Reuters. The population then fled the town, he said. The LRA is from northern Uganda but was driven out by a military offensive a decade ago. Today, its fighters roam a poorly policed area straddling the borders between Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. All three countries have faced their own conflicts and Uganda, another regional neighbour, said last week it planned to withdraw by the end of the year its troops involved in an operation to hunt down LRA rebels. The LRA has been weakened but its fighters still attack civilians. It has abducted nearly 350 this year, according to the LRA Crisis Tracker, which documents rebel attacks. Meanwhile, at least 11 were killed in clashes in the north of the country involving former rebel group called the Seleka, according to a brigade commander in the town of Ngaoudaye. The first clash happened on Sunday and led to the deaths of seven Seleka members who were leading cattle through the town en route for Cameroon. The former rebels took revenge, killing six civilians, said the commander, who declined to be named. Central African Republic descended into chaos in March 2013 when the predominantly Muslim Seleka seized power, triggering reprisals by "anti-balaka" Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south. President Faustin-Archange Touadera took office in March after elections aimed at drawing a line under the crisis. (Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Alan Crosby) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON The U.S. administration sought on Friday to contain fallout from a leaked internal memo critical of its Syria policy, but showed no sign it was willing to consider military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces called for in the letter signed by dozens of U.S. diplomats. Several U.S. officials said that while the White House is prepared to hear the diplomats dissenting viewpoint, it is not expected to spur any changes in President Barack Obamas approach to Syria in his final seven months in office. One senior official said that the test for whether these proposals for more aggressive action are given high-level consideration will be whether they fall in line with our contention that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria. The document -- sent through the State Departments dissent channel, a conduit for voicing contrary opinions meant to be classified -- underscored long-standing divisions and frustrations among Obamas aides over his response to Syrias five-year-old civil war. Obama's Syria policy has been predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the chaotic Middle East, and has been widely criticized as hesitant and risk-averse. Obama's limited intervention has focussed on fighting the Islamic State group that controls a swathe of Syria and Iraq and which has inspired attacks on U.S. soil. A draft of the cable, signed by 51 State Department officers, calls for "targeted military strikes" against Assads government -- something Obama has long opposed -- to stop its persistent violations of a ceasefire with U.S.-backed anti-government rebels that is largely ignored by Syria and its Russian supporters. Obamas critics quickly seized upon the letter, which also calls for a political transition that would usher out Assad. Even President Obama's own State Department believes the administration's Syria policy is failing, said Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee. Iran, Russia and Assad call the shots in Syria, ignoring the ceasefire and allowing Assad to continue war crimes against his own people." In what other officials called an attempt to limit any damage to the president's policies, one senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that it is only natural that on a subject as complex and complicated as Syria that we have a diversity of views. White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said Obama is open to a robust discussion on Syria but she insisted that deliberations by Obamas national security team have already taken a very close look at a range of options. A former senior U.S. official said the unauthorised disclosure of a confidential cable of this type corrodes the trust between the president and those who serve him." But those who leaked the memo may have been looking past Obama's tenure. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, for instance, was among senior aides who urged Obama early in the Syrian conflict to take a stronger stand militarily against Assad. OBAMA'S "RED LINE" Other U.S. officials pointed out that the cable does not carry the signatures of any senior State Department officials, such as assistant or deputy secretaries or ambassadors. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Copenhagen, told Reuters: "It's an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much. I will ... have a chance to meet with people when I get back (to Washington)." Kerry has himself pressed with little success for Obama to take tougher action against Assad. The senior official said that since the letter was directed to Kerry, he would deal with it for now, and it would be up to him whether to elevate it to Obama's attention. The internal dissent has been brewing at least since August 2013, when Obama stunned Kerry, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other senior aides by abruptly calling off air strikes he had vowed to order if Assad's forces crossed a "red line" against the use of chemical weapons. Nine days earlier, a Sarin gas attack killed as many as 1,400 Syrians. That decision destroyed any credibility the administration had with Russia, Iran or Assad himself, said a former Defense Department official involved in Syria policy. One U.S. official, who did not sign the cable but has read it, told Reuters the White House remains opposed to deeper American military involvement in Syrias civil war. The official said the cable was unlikely to alter that, or shift Obama's focus on Islamic State. Aides also have acknowledged privately that even if Obama did decide to take a more aggressive stance against Assad, that would be much riskier now that Russian forces are directly supporting their Syrian ally and bombing anti-government rebels. U.S. strikes could put Washington on a collision course with Moscow. In the meantime, Assads position has strengthened. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had only seen media reports about the memo, but asserted: "Calls for the violent overthrow of authorities in another country are unlikely to be accepted in Moscow. When asked about the leaked memo during a visit to Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told reporters: We have been arguing from the beginning of the Syrian crisis that there should be more robust intervention in Syria. Emile Hokayem, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the White House has put too much faith in a Syria diplomatic process that he called a "sideshow." "The White House looks down on critics of its Syria policy," he added. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, John Walcott, Roberta Rampton, Tim Gardner, Warren Strobel, Lesley Wroughton, Yara Bayoumy; Amanda Becker, and Phil Stewart.; editing by Stuart Grudgings.) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. London: British lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing shock across Britain and leading to the suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on the country's EU membership. Following is a summary of reaction from politicians and analysts: Brendan Cox, Jo's husband "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people." "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." David Cameron, British Prime Minister "We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart." "It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyone's thoughts will be with Jo's family and her constituents at this terrible time." Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party Leader "We've lost a wonderful woman, we've lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, we'll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve." "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve." "In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children." Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister "Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her it's our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that!" Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch Finance Minister and Chairman of Group of Euro Zone Finance Ministers "The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics, and we hope that the British public ... can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week." Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish First Minister "This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned." "She was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in Parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP." Matthew Barzun, U.S. Ambassador to Britain "We are heartbroken by the loss to her family and country of MP Jo Cox. My love and our love to them, in this time of unbearable grief." Gabrielle Giffords, Former U.S. Congresswoman, who survived shooting in 2011 "Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife." John Curtice, Polling Expert and Politics Professor at University of Strathclyde "It's fairly clear no one is quite sure what has happened. Until it's clear who was responsible and what their motivation was or it might have been, all it does is stop the campaign when the 'Remain' side probably would not want it to be stopped." Mujtaba Rahman, Europe Practice Head at Eurasia Group "This will hurt the momentum of the 'Leave' campaign, which has been gaining steadily in recent polls." "It will allow British Prime Minister David Cameron an opportunity to act like a statesman and retrieve the agenda, something he has lost over the last week. "If the incident is confirmed to have been motivated by Brexit, it will also reflect poorly on the more strident elements of the Vote Leave campaign, potentially swinging undecided voters towards 'Remain'." Alan Ruskin, Global Co-Head of Fx Research at Deutsche Bank "Certainly people are talking about the possibility that this does influence the Brexit vote in favour of 'Remain'. It is a tragic event all around. There is a sense, there is an immediate emotional reaction, but there is still a week before the referendum itself." "It definitely is seen as part of the story, the recovery of risk. Generally you are seeing so-called riskier assets recover. All the assets, whether equities, aussie/yen or sterling/yen are recovering. They are up on the perception of a higher probability of a 'Remain' vote." BIRSTALL, England British police said on Friday right-wing extremism was an important line of inquiry in the murder of lawmaker Jo Cox after a man with suspected neo-Nazi links and a history of mental illness was arrested over the killing. Cox, 41, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed on Thursday by a man who witnesses said shouted "Britain first" in her own electoral district near Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire in northern England. Her murder has left Britain in shock and campaigning for next week's referendum on European Union membership has been suspended as a mark of respect. Officers arrested a 52-year-old man, named by British media as Thomas Mair, near the murder scene and he remains in custody where he is being questioned by detectives. He has not been charged. Police said counter-terrorism officers are also involved in the investigation into the attack which occurred as Cox arrived for a meeting with constituents. "We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspects link to mental health services and this is a clear line of enquiry which we are pursuing," West Yorkshire Police Temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins said in a statement. "We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right-wing extremism which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." Britain First, a far-right nationalist group, denied any links with Mair but a U.S. civil rights group said he had been associated in the past with a neo-Nazi organisation. In Birstall, a quiet town of a few thousand people, weeping mourners laid flowers at a monument near the scene of the attack. One message read: "Fascists feed on fear." "It is a vile act that has killed her," Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party which Cox represented, said as he laid flowers in Birstall with Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday. "We will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society." The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended for the June 23 EU referendum, the tone of which has become ugly and included bitter personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. The murder sent shockwaves around Britain which has strict gun controls and sparked debate about the safety of lawmakers, the heightened tempo of political confrontation and whether the slaying would affect the outcome of the referendum. Cameron has agreed to recall parliament on Monday in tribute to Cox, a well-liked mother of two young children and considered an outstanding member of the new intake of Labour parliamentarians. She had been a prominent aid worker. Both sides have temporarily put on hold their national EU campaigns until at least Sunday. Shares, oil and bond yields rose after campaigning was suspended, reversing earlier losses this week which followed a swing in opinion polls towards the Leave camp. The implied probability of a vote to remain rose to 67 percent, up from 65 percent on Thursday, according to Betfair odds. Some investors suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. NEO-NAZI LINK The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi organisation National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley in northern England, from the NA's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. "We had never heard the name Thomas Mair before. When they announced that he was a suspect, we ran his name in our file and found these documents. We don't know anything more about him," Heidi Beirich, Intelligence Project Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center told Reuters. Mair's brother said Mair had not expressed strong political views, the Guardian newspaper reported. "He has a history of mental illness but he has had help," the Guardian quoted his brother, Scott Mair, as saying. "My brother is not violent and is not all that political. I don't even know who he votes for." Neighbours described a man who had lived in the same house for at least 40 years and helped locals weed their flowerbeds and inquired after their pets. "I'm totally devastated - I didn't want to believe it. He's been very helpful to me. Anything I asked him to do he did very willingly and sometimes without my needing to ask," said next-door neighbour Diana Peters, 65. "I saw him the day before. I was taking my cats to the vet and he came and asked me how they were," she told Reuters. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Britain, and attacks of any nature on public figures are rare. The last British lawmaker to have been killed in an attack was Ian Gow, who died after a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded under his car at his home in southern England in 1990. Britain's Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth's London residence Buckingham Palace and Cameron's Downing Street residence. "UNITE AGAINST HATRED" The queen wrote a private letter of condolence to Cox's husband. Members of the public and lawmakers, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, there were dozens of white candles, bunches of flowers and messages of condolence. "You can't kill democracy," read one message on Parliament Square. Another said: "We will unite against hatred." Others put flowers on the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox had lived with her husband and two young children aged three and five. Leaders across Europe and the world have expressed shock at the killing of Cox, a Cambridge University graduate and former charity worker whose job took her to countries such as Afghanistan and Darfur. A fund set up in her honour to raise money for charities she supported had raised more than 12,000 pounds ($17,170) in two hours. Cameron said the killing of Cox, who had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy. Hillary Clinton said she was horrified. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a more respectful dialogue in political disputes after the tragedy. Cox had arrived in Birstall for a "surgery" in a library with members of the public, a one-to-one meeting much like when a patient consults a doctor. In Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police patrol the entrances, corridors and halls but there is often no security in their home electoral districts, or constituencies. Tempers can flare during surgeries and parliamentarians are often subjected to abuse on social media. Cox had complained to police after receiving "malicious communications" and a man was arrested and later released with a caution in connection with the investigation in March. A spokeswoman for the House of Commons said it was reissuing security advice to lawmakers and police chiefs said they had asked local forces to reiterate safety advice. ($1 = 0.6988 pounds) (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Paul Sandle, Michael Holden, Sarah Young, Andy Bruce, Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden, Editing by Timothy Heritage, Peter Millership and Anna Willard) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. If you're going to invest in Bank of America (BAC 1.02%), there's one question that you need to come to terms with: Can the nation's second biggest bank by assets earn its cost of capital? The answer to this dictates Bank of America's shareholder returns as well as its valuation. I sometimes feel like I write about this issue all the time, which is probably because I do. But I cover it so frequently because it cuts to the heart of any investment thesis associated with Bank of America's stock, which is one of the most heavily traded stocks in the United States. A bank's cost of capital is what it must earn, measured by return on equity, in order to compensate investors for the risk of owning its stock plus the opportunity cost of not owning other productive assets. If a bank's return on equity doesn't exceed this, then shareholders could earn a better risk-adjusted return elsewhere. In Bank of America's case, its return on equity has come up short of its cost of capital for eight consecutive years. Last year was its best showing, but even then its return on equity equated to only 6.3%, which is half its 12.2% cost of capital. But investors don't make money looking backwards; you make money by trying to peer into the future. In this case, then, the question is less about why Bank of America hasn't earned its cost of capital in the past and instead more about whether it'll be able to do so in the future. This is where the chart that I allude to in the headline comes into play. It shows us the change in Bank of America's capital and liquidity since 2007. Take a look at the magnitude of the increases of both below -- I'll explain what they mean under the chart. As you can see, Bank of America holds much more liquidity (cash and equivalents) and capital (tangible common equity) today than it did before the crisis -- roughly four times as much liquidity and three times as much capital. This is the result of new regulations passed in the last few years that are designed to make the bank industry safer. The problem with these regulations is that they weigh directly on a bank's profitability -- its return on equity. Highly liquid assets yield either nothing or very little. Consequently, the larger the percentage of assets allocated to things like cash and equivalents, the less a bank earns from its loan and securities portfolios. The same is true when it comes to capital. As a matter of arithmetic, there's a direct relationship between a bank's leverage and its profitability. If you reduce the former, which is done by requiring banks to hold more capital, then you necessarily reduce the latter. And that's exactly what the post-crisis regulations have done by mandating that the nation's biggest and most systematically important banks in particular hold more capital relative to their assets than they did in the years leading up to 2008. Investors must thus reconcile whether or not they believe that Bank of America will be able to earn its cost of capital not today, but in the future given these constraints. Bank of America's executives are obligated to say that they can, as its CEO, Brian Moynihan, did at a recent conference, but whether they will be able to make good on his claim remains to be seen. Tobacco giant Altria Group (MO 1.65%) is familiar with being at the center of controversy. Consumer advocates have long fought against Altria, Reynolds American (RAI), and other tobacco companies, arguing that their products are addictive and unhealthy and that restricting their availability and use is the best way to promote public health. In particular, many have objected to the fact that young adults can buy tobacco at a younger age than they can buy alcohol, and advocates have fought for measures that would increase the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products. Earlier this month, those advocates won a hard-fought battle in California, where the state passed legislation to boost the minimum age for tobacco to 21. The question for investors is whether moves like these pose a major threat to Altria, Reynolds American, and their peers in the tobacco industry. The latest from California In early May, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a number of bills that will have an impact on the tobacco industry in the state. Among the measures was a bill that increased the minimum smoking age to 21, which enjoyed the support of several medical advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association. With the passage of the law, the increase in the smoking age took effect on June 9. Advocates for the bill argue that by increasing the smoking age, fewer young people will suffer from the adverse health impacts of tobacco. Studies cited by proponents of the bill found that most people who currently smoke on a daily basis began smoking when they were 18 or younger. Researchers argue that teenagers are more vulnerable to addictive behavior, making it critical to take steps to delay availability of cigarettes. Estimates have suggested that boosting the minimum age to 21 would lead to a 15% reduction in the number of young adults beginning to smoke, and that in turn could reduce the number of early deaths from tobacco use for those who are 16 or younger now by about 200,000. California is just the second state to pass a 21-year-old minimum smoking age, joining Hawaii, which passed a law that took effect at the beginning of 2016. However, advocates have done a better job of getting municipalities to pass rules restricting sales of tobacco products to those under 21. More than 100 cities, including New York City, San Francisco, and Boston, now restrict sales of cigarettes and other tobacco to those who are 21 or older. Should Altria worry? For its part, Altria hasn't seemed overly concerned with the trends toward a higher minimum age for tobacco purchases. At the company's annual shareholder meeting, Altria CEO Marty Barrington said, "We do not market our products to young people. We market them to adult tobacco consumers." When asked a direct question about raising the minimum age, Barrington said, "We are in favor of minimum age," but also noted that "I think there are arguments to be sorted out about where to draw the line." In the past, Altria has also argued that trying to implement policies at the local level leads to inconsistent application. The tobacco company has expressed a preference for allowing federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration to consider the impact of minimum tobacco age laws in a scientific and evidence-based manner, with the goal of producing a more uniform treatment of tobacco products nationwide. Meanwhile, opponents to the measures argue that they will be ineffective. Many young people under 18 who want to smoke or use other forms of tobacco have found ways around the law as it existed previously. Getting older friends to buy cigarettes for younger smokers has been common and could become even more commonplace under laws requiring that buyers be 21 or older. Altria has faced legal battles in the past, and it has consistently found ways to remain profitable and grow its bottom line regardless of threats to its sales volumes. Nevertheless, even if minimum smoking ages don't have an immediate huge impact on performance for Altria, Reynolds American, and other players in the industry, they represent just one more in a series of threats that could eventually add up to more difficulties for the tobacco sector broadly. Since the Orlando shooting, AR-15s have been a popular selling item in many gun stores across the country. An AR-15 is a semi-automatic rifle that was made in 1959 by the Armalite Company. Hunters Warehouse Owner Tom Engle told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney, his online operation consisting of 300,000 to 400,000 weapons has sold 30,000 AR-15s since Sunday. A Federal Firearms License (FFL) lets gun-store owners manufacture and import firearms and ammunition across the United States. Even though each state has its own set of gun laws, Engle explained how it would be possible to buy an AR-15 online. You would have the firearm shipped to an FFL [agency] in your home state because every state is different and then we would ship that FFL firearms agency in your home state and they would be responsible to do the paperwork for you in your home state, he said. Engle said the price for AR-15s ranges between $350 to $8,000, and despite the recent outflow of AR-15s, shootings have no impact on gun sales. Shootings don't push up gun sales. It's when the government starts talking about banning particular guns and up go gun sales. When people lose their right to buy a particular gun or a particular type of gun, they go after them and they want them then, he said. One of the most prevalent themes throughout the Wired Business Conference was diversity and inclusion in tech. At this point, the lack of gender and racial diversity in Silicon Valley is a regular topic of conversation, and one that every big tech company (Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, and Twitter, to name a few) have attempted to tackle. But there are still mountains of work to go. As Erica Baker, Senior Engineer at Slack, put it during her conference keynote, inequality is everyone's problem. Before joining the red-hot business collaboration start-up, Baker was a longtime Google employee and the woman behind the famous secret salary spreadsheet addressing pay inequality at the search giant. "I am not just a woman, I'm not just black person. The experiences I have are of black women, and that intersectionality is the theory that racism and sexism play against each other and with each other in ways that need to be addressed together," said Baker. Sr. Slack Engineer Erica Baker Diversity issues in tech, Baker explained, can be as subtle as a new Snapchat makeup filter not having an option for African-American complexions. Trace that back, she said, and you may find there wasn't a black person in the board room or on the engineering team when that design decision was made. Tech is still overwhelmingly white and male, and it's a topic that makes people uncomfortable because they don't know what they can do. The first step, Baker said, is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. "Right now, I can recommend increasing empathy. Empathy is the first step toward understanding how people are really feeling in your company," said Baker. "Put yourself in the shoes of the only black man or only Latina woman in the room being asked to represent their entire race or gender, and then you can begin to understand the pressure they're under. To make good progress in these discussions we need to recognize it's going to be uncomfortable for a while." Diversity in the Board Room One of the places diversity can make the biggest difference to a tech company's culture, decision-making, and bottom line is on the executive team and the board. A panel entitled "Boss Ladies" put theboardlist and Joyus founder Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, venture capital veteran and BBG Ventures President and Managing Partner Susan Lyne, and Mindbody CEO Rick Stollmeyer onstage to talk about the diversity challenges start-ups and established tech companies face, and where their respective companies and ventures have succeeded. Cassidy is an established, successful Silicon Valley executive who's worked at places like Amazon, Google, and VC firm Accel Partners. In launching theboardlist last year, she aimed to create a LinkedIn curated professional marketplace of vetted and recommended female executives and entrepreneurs. CEOs, executives, and VCs can browse theboardlist to find capable and experienced female board members to join new start-ups receiving funding or apply to be an endorser. "We're trying to create a private, high-end, and highly vetted LinkedIn," said Cassidy. "If five people you know nominated this woman, all of a sudden she's in your network." From second on left: Cassidy, Lyne, and Stollmeyer Lyne approaches tech diversity with a similar mindset. After spending decades in media and commerce, Lyne's BBG Ventures only invests in tech start-ups with at least one female founder. Lyne said that when it comes to the start-up pitches she's sat through over the years, women pitch businesses, while men tend to pitch "unicorns." "A lot of CEOs and public companies are coming around to the fact that they need to put females on the board. All the research that's been done says the more diverse boards with more women on them end up with higher performing companies," said Lyne. "The results are better, the stock is higher, and it's logical. If you have a room full of people who think alike and have similar backgrounds, you may not wind up making the best decisions." Mindbody is one of theboardlist's biggest success stories. Through the platform, Stollmeyer was able to fill two of its board seats with experienced female executives: Katherine Blair Christie, former Cisco CMO, and Gail Goodman, former CEO of email marketing platform Constant Contact. The company's general counsel, corporate secretary, and compliance officer, Kimberly Lytikainen, has also served in legal positions at Pivotal Software and Nvidia. Stollmeyer said start-ups need to think about the variety and depth of skills they need on a board. "We focused on the qualities we needed, and with Sukhinder's help, we were able to find them," she said. "It wasn't that hard. It was just about making that commitment and daring to make that criteria. The best leaders are comfortable in their own skin, and it's being comfortable in who you are that produces the most effective leadership. Gender doesn't matter." For Lyne, the biggest change she's seen during her time in the tech industry is that diversity is now actually on the agenda. "It didn't make sense to me that companies were not trying to recruit great executives who knew the company and know the end-user well," said Lyne. A Woman In the Driver's Seat GM CEO Mary Barra For definitive proof of Lyne's sentiment, look no further than General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who appeared onstage earlier in the day. Barra is the first CEO of a major global automobile manufacturer, taking over the role in 2014, but Barra's been working for and around GM her entire life. Barra's father worked in manufacturing at Pontiac for almost 40 years. She started working for GM at age 18 in 1980, in various administrative and engineering positions at the company's Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. Barra worked her way up over the next three and a half decades to roles including VP of global manufacturing engineering, VP of global human resources, and EVP of global product development. At Wired, Barra discussed GM's 200-mile-range 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, self-driving cars, and what GM's $500 million investment in Lyft says about its vision for autonomous vehicles. In talking about how GM's corporate culture has changed over the years and where the company is going, Barra inevitably touched on the decades-worth of experience and know-how she distills from the top down. She knows her company better than anyone. "When you look at a vehicle, we're integrating 30,000 parts into a supply base. I'm a second-generation lifer at GM, and I know we have great people in this company," said Barra. "To really get to know how to make a great vehicle, it takes a couple generations. We have that kind of expertise, and now we're partnering with people bringing in new skill sets and technology giving them the freedom to go do. Our culture welcomes the challenge." This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. Over 20 million people worldwide followed him on his juicing journey back in 2011 when his documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was released. In the movie, I took my weight from up in the 320s down to the 220s230s, so I lost over 100 pounds but more importantly I got off of medication for autoimmune disease that I had for eight long years, Joe Cross, CEO and Founder of Reboot with Joe tells FOXBusiness.com. Now Cross has his own media company, Reboot with Joe, a brand new book called Juice It To Lose It, and a new documentary called The Kids Menu. Ive been all over the world. I was in Moldova and Romania giving speeches and talks and everywhere I went, it was the same question, What about the kids, Joe? What can we do to really help and encourage our kids to eat more produce and greens? According to market research from IBISWorld, in 2015, juice and smoothie bars generated $2 billion dollars in revenue, with juice being the largest product segment. Cross may have found a new market with kids as the juice industry continues to rapidly grow. And, its not just any juice either but cold pressed juices, which is made by hydraulically chopping and crushing produce such as spinach, kale and ginger in a juicer without any heatwhich is what made Cross famous when he travelled throughout U.S. in 2005 filming his documentary and drinking only juice for 60 days. I use a juicer instead of a blender to extract out the water and the micronutrients thats trapped inside the vegetables and fruits, he says. The cold press juice industry has grown steadily over the past five years with analysts expecting it to continue to evolve as consumers lean towards healthier options. There is a lot of money in people being sick. There is not a lot of money in people being well. So, I really look at my company not so much at the bottom lineits importantbut its also about the social impact, Cross says. His hope he says is that people realize that they have the power to transform their health by eating and drinking more fruits and vegetables. There are so many people who are watching that are fat, sick, and are nearly dead and I think my film resonated from a point of view were I wasnt out there telling people what to do, just sharing my story. And, people picked up on that and thought if Joe can do it then maybe I can do it. It's a big week for the legal cannabis industry. Hundreds of marijuana business, manufacturing, media, technology, and product companies descended upon the Javits Center in New York City this week for Cannabis World Congress. At the same time, Microsoft is entering the space, partnering with seed-to-sale software company Kind Financial on compliance solutions for state and local governments. The big news out of this is not that Kind Financial is hosting its Agrisoft seed-to-sale platform on the Microsoft Azure Government cloud. The far more significant implication of this announcement is a tech giant like Microsoft openly supporting the growth of the legal cannabis industry, and how the industry will respond to an enterprise player the size of Microsoft doing so. "We support government customers and partners to help them meet their missions," Microsoft told PCMag today. "Kind Financial is building solutions on our government cloud to help these agencies regulate and monitor controlled substances and items, and manage compliance with jurisdictional laws and regulations." The Cannabis Industry Reacts The Microsoft news circulated as I walked the show floor at Cannabis World Congress, so I asked companies and organizations from all different corners of the industry what they thought about about the news. Some were skeptical, others were excited, but overall the cannabis industry is simply trying to make sense of it all. MJ Freeway Founded in 2010, MJ Freeway is one of the most established seed-to-sale compliance software companies in the space, and thus in theory they'd have the most to lose from Microsoft encroaching upon their turf. MJ Freeway Marketing Manager Heather Smyth doesn't see it that way, though. The company recently won the government medical contract for seed-to-sale compliance in Nevada, and isn't scared of Microsoft. "It's not going to affect us getting more government contracts. We're confident in our abilities and the fact that we've been here since 2010 and we have the seed-to-sale patents and experience. It's not going to knock us necessarily as far as contracts, because it seems like more of a brand push," said Smyth. "When [our solution] Leaf Data Systems is being considered by regulators, they want something that's effective and makes their lives easier." Marijuana Business Association The Marijuana Business Association (MJBA) provides training and best practices for legal cannabis businesses and entrepreneurs across the country and internationally. Dave Rheins, MJBA co-founder and executive director, worked for Bill Gates back in the day at digital image and content company Corbis. He stressed that Microsoft is not in the "cannabis business," though Rheins does believe the seed-to-sale market will start to consolidate. "Microsoft is in the service business. They are servicing Kind Financial through cloud technology. It's an arm's length relationship with the cannabis industry. That in and of itself is not particularly newsworthy. There are many, many companies that are an arm's length from the cannabis industry, including some of our largest banks, but we wouldn't say Bank of America is involved in cannabis just because it's doing business with a technology company that's doing business with a cannabis company," said Rheins. "What this does show is part of the continuum of acceptance. Microsoft didn't say 'no we're not involved,'" added Rheins. "I liken it to the political arena: when Bill Clinton was asked if he smoked pot, he said he smoked but didn't inhale. It was politically inexpedient to say he did. Obama said yes I was a huge pot smoker, but I don't do it anymore. Now we have Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, who said not only that he did smoke pot but that he still does! It's a signal that maybe Microsoft does want to get into the industry." Tuatara Capital As a venture capital firm actively investing in legal cannabis start-ups, Tuatara Capital evaluates business models all over the space. Founding partner Robert Hunt, a former cannabis entrepreneur who owned a chain of hydroponics supply stores before his investment career, said the biggest takeaway from the news is that a company the size of Microsoft is willing to attach its name to anything related to the cannabis industry. "While it's not necessarily news that a company is hosting their platform on Microsoft's cloud, it is significant that the company admitted they're for it and are allowing it," said Hunt. "Cannabis brands and companies have a history of being shut down by Facebook, Google, and larger tech companies, so this is the first time you've seen a company of this size come out and say 'we're for this.'" Tesser, Ryan, and Rochman, LLP New York-based legal firm Tesser, Ryan and Rochman, LLP counts cannabis business and medical compliance as one of its major practice areas. Partner Gregory J. Ryan, Counsellor at Law, offered a legal and larger industry perspective on what Microsoft entering the market could mean for legal cannabis. "This confirms what everyone believes: this is the future. This industry is going to take off," said Ryan. "In 10 years, this is going to be a multi-billion dollar industry, and Microsoft has the foresight to get involved at the ground floor. The referendum in November to legalize recreational use in California would start a groundswell, and that may have impacted Microsoft's decision as well." Ryan said Microsoft and the other seed-to-sale players are almost like QuickBooks for the legal cannabis industry. Though unlike the MJBA, he doesn't believe those companies have anything to worry about. "I don't think it hurts [them]. I think it gives the industry the legitimacy it needs to take off," said Ryan. "Some companies might feel threatened by Microsoft getting involved, but I think it only helps make the industry bigger. The more Microsoft-level companies that get involved in this industry, the better. Eventually I believe the tobacco companies will get involved, too." Flowhub As one the fast-growing seed-to-sale start-ups in the space, Flowhub's Metrc-compliant technology is live in Colorado and rolling out in Oregon and Alaska. Flowhub CEO Kyle Sherman said he thinks the news is a very smart marketing play on Microsoft's part to drive adoption of its Azure Government service, but also said it's a huge boon for seed-to-sale companies like Flowhub and for the industry's legitimacy as a whole. "This announcement starts to legitimize the legal cannabis industry among mainstream companies who were afraid to participate in the past. It opens up the gates for more opportunities," said Sherman. "Microsoft wants to get into the space and use its cloud servies and infrastructure to move things along faster; they see a huge market opportunity. But at the end of the day, Microsoft is marketing their cloud services and allowing cannabis tech companies to use their cloud for compliance tracking purposes. That's huge. It makes companies like ours 100 times more valuable. But let's be clear, it's not like they're producing some kind of Windows 11 for cannabis operations." This article originally appeared on PCMag.com. Image source: Merck. Merck looks like it will win the race to have the first immunotherapy drug to gain Food and Drug Administration approval to treat newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer patients; but don't count rival Bristol-Myers Squibb out just yet. In a clinical trial called KEYNOTE-024, Merck said that patients receiving Keytruda fared better than patients who received chemotherapy, the current standard of care. The drug extended both progression-free survival (PFS), which measures when a tumor starts growing again, and overall survival. Merck didn't put any numbers to those claims. It's waiting for a medical meeting to disclose the extent that Keytruda was able to extend PFS and overall survival. The European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in October would be one logical place to present the data, although I'm sure investors would prefer to see the data before then. To screen or not to screen Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo both bind to a protein called PD-1, blocking the interaction between PD-L1 on tumor cells and PD-1 on immune system cells called T lymphocytes, which normally tells the immune system not to attack the tumor cells. In the presence of the drugs, the negative signal is blocked, and the immune system is activated and attacks the tumor. Both drugs are approved for later-stage lung-cancer patients, but Merck screened its patients for PD-L1 expression, and therefore is only approved for strong expressers of PD-L1. Bristol-Myers Squibb skipped that step, and still saw an effect, so Opdivo is approved for a larger number of patients, and doctors don't have to screen for PD-L1 before using the drug. In KEYNOTE-024, Merck took the same approach as before, looking at the expression ofPD-L1 lung-cancer cells, and only enrolled patients with tumors expressing high levels ofPD-L1, defined as a tumor proportion score of 50% or more. Bristol-Myers Squibb is also running a trial in newly diagnosed patients, called CheckMate026, with data due this year, but its trial allows for all patients to be enrolled if the initial cohort of patients with high PD-L1 sees a benefit from Opdivo. Combos to come It may not matter which drug extends overall survival as a monotherapy, or whether Bristol-Myers can capture more patients by not requiring screening, because both companies are running clinical trials testing the drugs in combination with other drugs in newly diagnosed patients.Merck is testing Keytruda in combination with two different types of chemotherapy in newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients in clinical trials called Keynote-189 and Keynote-407. Likewise, in a clinical trial dubbed Checkmate-227, Bristol-Myers Squibb is testing Opdivo in combination with chemotherapy in newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients. As part of that trial, other patients will get Opdivo in combination with Yervoy, another immunotherapy sold by the company. If all that competition wasn't enough, Roche is testing its immunotherapy Tecentriq in lung cancer. The PD-L1-blocking drug has already shown good results in bladder cancer, having been approved for that tumor type in May. Congratulations to Merck for scoring the first punch in round two of this lung-cancer fight,. Investors, however, should keep in mind that this round isn't over, and the battle is a 10-round bout where neither drug is likely to win by KO. The article Merck & Co., Inc. Wins This Round of the Immunotherapy Lung-Cancer Battle originally appeared on Fool.com. Brian Orelli and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Microsoft and LinkedInsurprised investors this Monday when it was reportedthat Microsoft would acquire the social network for professionals in a $26.2 billion cash deal. Does the pricey acquisition, which represents Microsoft's largest in history, actually make sense? Image source: Microsoft. What follows is a list of the reasons to be skeptical about the deal. 1. Many acquisitions don't pan out The two companies have already made their case for the acquisition. And both companies' boards of directors voted unanimously in its favor. But acquisitions don't always turn out as planned -- and Microsoft knows this first hand. Consider Microsoft's 2014 $7.9 billion acquisition of handset-maker Nokia. Management predicted the acquisition would propel the company's smartphone-market share from about 1% to 15%. Of course, this never happened. Microsoft ended up losing about $10 billion on this deal when including both restructuring charges and related writedowns. Then there's Microsoft's 2007 acquisition of aQuantive, an online advertising business. In theory, it sounded great: Microsoft wanted to catch up with Alphabet's Google. But Google remains the dominant search engine, nearly unmoved by competition -- and Microsoft gained nothing from the acquisition, eventually taking a writedown of $6.2 billion -- just short of the $6.3 billion the software giant paid for the company. Put simply, acquisitions can go horribly wrong. 2. Microsoft is paying a no-joke premium LinkedIn shareholders are probably thrilled with the Microsoft-LinkedIn deal. Microsoft is paying $26.2 billion, or $196 per share. This per-share price represents an incredible 50% premium to the stock's price before the deal was announced. In other words, Microsoft believes LinkedIn is worth nearly $9 billion more than the market does. Sure, thanks to a huge sell-off of LinkedIn shares earlier this year after the company offered up lower-than-expected guidance for revenue and non-GAAP EPS in 2016, Microsoft is still paying a price well-below LinkedIn stock's 52-week high of $259. Nevertheless, a 50% premium to LinkedIn's stock price last week highlights a great chasm between what investors think about LinkedIn and what Microsoft thinks. Conservatism is key to a good acquisition. Given its inherent risk, the acquirer should exercise prudence by paying a conservative price. Apple -- a master of fiduciary responsibility when it comes to acquisitions -- is a great example. Indeed, the sums Apple pays to acquire companies are so small, that even if many of the tech giant's acquisitions failed, investors wouldn't even notice. With the exception of its acquisition of Beats Electronics for $3 billion, which is the company's largest acquisition ever, Apple simply doesn't make big acquisitions. And it could be argued that even the Apple-Beats deal is small -- at least when viewed in the context of the tech giant's $534 billion market capitalization. 3. The proposed synergies are questionable Beyond the price tag Microsoft is paying for LinkedIn, there are other reasons to be concerned: mainly, the proposed synergies to be gained by having LinkedIn under Microsoft's ownership are questionable. Microsoft CEO (left) and LinkedIn CEO (right). Image source: Microsoft. For instance, Microsoft wants to highlight professionals' profiles within apps like Outlook, Skype, and Office. While this could be beneficial, it would have probably already been in LinkedIn's best interest to cooperate in such integration without having to be acquired, as it's a win-win move for both companies. Similarly, the proposed integration of LinkedIn profile information with Microsoft's voice assistant Cortana also could have potentially been achieved in a win-win arrangement by the two companies. The skeptics may be proven wrong Despite the cases against Microsoft's LinkedIn acquisition, there are also reasons it could work out. Most notably, LinkedIn is a promising business in its own right, strengthened by a network effect -- a competitive advantage Facebook is proving can be incredibly powerful in the world of social networks. Further, the two companies share common ground when it comes to customer-relationship management, making this an area where the two entities may be better together than they are separate. But there's no way around the fact that the higher price that a given asset sells for, the greater risk there is to it not paying off for the buyer. One thing is certain: After offering up an astounding $26.2 billion, the pressure is on for the acquisition to work out. Can LinkedIn deliver? Investors should keep in mind that, though the deal is expected to close by the end of the year, problems could still prevent a transaction. The deal is still subject to shareholder approval, and must satisfy all regulatory approvals and other customer closing conditions. The article Microsoft's LinkedIn Corp Acquisition: 3 Reasons to Be Skeptical originally appeared on Fool.com. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Daniel Sparksowns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), Apple, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. In a little more than a generation,Starbucks has gone from a mom-and-pop coffee business to one of the most recognized brands in the world. As of its latest earnings report, it had nearly 24,000 cafes around the globe, topped only byMcDonald'sand Subway in number of restaurant locations. Starbucks has succeeded largely by offering customers an affordable luxury in the form of a decadent coffee drink, and a "third place" -- neither home, nor work -- where they could relax and take some time for themselves. Image source: Fool Flickr. More than any other company, Starbucks deserves credit for changing the coffee experience in the U.S. and much of the world. Thirty years ago, espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos and their variations were mostly confined to Italian restaurants, while Americans sipped instant coffee or watered-down drip coffee for a caffeine buzz. On a visit to Italy, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recognized the opportunity of bringing such a traditional cafe to the U.S. The rest is history. Who is Starbucks' favorite customer? Its target demographic is urban and affluent, often on-the-go white-collar professionals looking to take their caffeine fix with them to the office. The company considers its core customers to be educated, with an average age of 42, and average income of $90,000. Starbucks focuses on this demographic by opening stores in upscale neighborhoods, making customer service a priority by paying above average wages for the restaurant industry and offering benefits like health insurance and tuition reimbursement. The company's cafes are often seen as a token of gentrification, and a study byZillowfound that Starbucks locations tend to increase surrounding home values.Unsurprisingly, the company and its clientele seem to follow each other. Image Source: Getty. Transitioning to the take-out customer When Schultz first began growing the Starbucks brand, he conceived of the cafe chain as a "third place" where customers could relax with a tasty beverage. Increasingly, however, the company is focusing on higher value take-away customers, who don't require features like a seating area, bathrooms, wi-fi, or cleanup in the way that sit-down customers do, yet they pay the same price for their orders as higher-maintenance customers. In recent years, the company has invested heavily in its Mobile Order & Pay platform in order to quickly serve such on-the-go customers, and discouraged customers from lingering on laptops by removing seats in some stores and replacing cozy furniture like couches with hard-surfaced chairs.Starbucks also said that about 60% of new stores in the U.S. will be drive-thrus -- another way of reaching take-away customers.More recently, the company has begun experimenting with Express stores, an ultra-small format at just around 500 square feet, designed for commuters to quickly grab a drink and go. As Starbucks continues to expand, expect it to de-emphasize the laptop-wielding sit-down customers and find new ways to cater to those taking their orders to go. Searching for a sweet tooth Finally, while the young, urban, and affluent make up Starbucks' core customer base, not all orders are equal. For instance, a customer who regularly orders a specialty coffee drink for $5 is much more valuable than one who only gets brewed coffee for $2. The margin on beverages tends to be higher than food in the restaurant industry, so while Starbucks would like you to order a pastry or sandwich -- especially as it's invested in making its hot food options more appealing -- to go with your drink, the beverage tends to be the more profitable of the two items. Bringing it all together, it seems like Starbucks' favorite customer is a young, urban, affluent, white-collar professional who orders a specialty coffee drink to go, taking it with them in the car or to the workplace. This customer gives Starbucks its most profitable business, and the company has taken steps, such as Mobile Order & Pay, to prioritize them, which has proven overwhelmingly popular since it launched last year. The article Who Is Starbucks' Favorite Customer? originally appeared on Fool.com. Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Starbucks and Zillow Group (A shares). Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If you're the type who's always dreamed of a big, fancy wedding, you're not alone. It's estimated that one-third of Americans go into debt to finance their nuptials, and we're not talking small amounts, either. According to ValuePenguin, for 2016, the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is about $30,000. Of course, that figure changes significantly based on location. While the average price tag for a wedding in Iowa is about $13,600, in some parts of New Jersey, that figure jumps to almost $48,000. And in Manhattan -- arguably the country's most expensive city -- the average cost of a wedding is an astounding $88,000. Even if we stick with that $30,000 average, that's a boatload of money to spend on a five-to-six-hour party. So before you jump to empty your savings account or, worse yet, take on debt to pay for your wedding, consider what else you can do with $30,000. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Save for retirement It's a sad statistic that one-third of Americans reportedly have no retirement savings whatsoever. Meanwhile, 42% of millennials have yet to start saving for retirement, while 72% of millenials have amassed less than $10,000 in total. If you're among the many Americans who are behind on savings, rather than spend a small fortune on a wedding, think about what that money might do for your retirement. Imagine you're 25 years old and have 40 years before you expect to retire. If you were to take the $30,000 you'd otherwise blow on a wedding, invest it, and generate an average annual return of 8% (which is more than feasible with a stock-heavy portfolio), you'd ultimately grow your savings balance to over $650,000 -- and that's without adding another penny between age 25 and 65. Even if your retirement savings are in decent shape to date, the money you spend on a wedding could instead help pad your nest egg, especially if you invest it relatively early in life. 2. Save for a down payment According to Zillow, the median home value in the U.S. is $187,000. If you plan to become a homeowner in the not-so-distant future, you'll need to come up with a down payment. And unless you're willing to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI), which will drive up your monthly housing costs, your best bet is to save enough to cover 20% of your home's purchase price. Assuming a home value of $187,000, that means you're looking at a minimum of $37,400, not including whatever other closing costs you might incur. When you think about it that way, $30,000 seems like an awful lot to spend on a single evening of dining and dancing -- especially when it could conceivably put a roof over your head for the next 30 years instead. 3. Pay off debt Whether it's credit card debt or student loans, the longer you hold onto your debt, the more money you'll end up throwing away on interest payments. Imagine you're carrying a $30,000 credit card balance at 12% interest. If it takes you five years to pay it off, you'll wind up losing about $10,000 to interest fees. Similarly, if you owe $30,000 in student loans and take 10 years to pay them off at 5%, you'll lose over $8,000 to interest charges. If you have the ability to reduce or eliminate debt, it pays to do so rather than splurge on a wedding you can't really afford. 4. Enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle Perhaps you've done a bang-up job of saving for retirement, you already own a home, and you have no credit card or student loan debt to speak of. While you could conceivably feel free to take $30,000 and fund the wedding of your dreams, you might also consider using that money to pay for a more comfortable lifestyle. You might spend an extra $300 a month to upgrade your car, or take a $5,000 vacation every few years with your spouse. You might even stretch that money to last several decades, using it to treat yourself to life's smaller luxuries over a longer period of time. No matter how you choose to use the money you would've otherwise spent on a wedding, there's a good chance you'll come to appreciate having an extra $30,000 around over the course of five, 10, 20, or 30 years. Ideally, your wedding will be a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it's natural to be tempted to stretch or exceed your budget to pull off the magical day you always imagined. But when you take a step back and let logic prevail, you might realize that those high-end flower arrangements and decorative centerpieces won't bring you nearly as much long-term joy as the more important things your money can buy. The article 4 Things You Can Do With $30,000 That Don't Involve a Huge Wedding originally appeared on Fool.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Philip Morris International. Tobacco is a global industry, and many companies fight for market share in key regions around the world. Philip Morris International has less than a decade under its belt as an independent company, but before its spinoff, it had a long history of building up a lucrative customer base with its popular Marlboro brand. U.S. investors aren't as familiar with British American Tobacco , but the British company is also a major player in tobacco. With each having similar opportunities and facing similar challenges, which is the better buy? Let's look at Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco using a number of metrics to compare the two. Valuation and stock performance Both Philip Morris and British American have delivered strong returns recently, but Philip Morris has done a lot better. Since June 2016, British American has given shareholders just an 11% total return, but Philip Morris has more than doubled that gain with a 28% total return. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise to see that after enjoying a larger gain than its rival, Philip Morris looks a bit more expensive on a valuation basis than British American. Using a simple price-to-earnings metric, British American trades at less than 18 times trailing earnings, compared to more than 23 times earnings for Philip Morris. Looking on a future basis doesn't change the equation much, because Philip Morris still costs more than 20 times forward earnings, which is much more than the 16 times forward earnings projections that British American's stock price implies. Overall, from a valuation basis, some fear that Philip Morris has already seen its appreciation, making British American arguably a better bet. Dividends Both British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International have lucrative dividends, but Philip Morris just barely ekes out a win over its rival. Right now, Philip Morris International has a dividend yield of just over 4%. That's a bit better than the 3.75% yield that British American has. One issue, though, is that British American isn't straining to the same extent as Philip Morris to maintain its dividend yield. Currently, British American pays out about two-thirds of its earnings in the form of dividends. That compares to more than 95% of earnings for Philip Morris, reflecting the difficulties that the company has dealt with from the strong U.S. dollar and other factors. Moreover, both British American and Philip Morris have boosted their dividends significantly. British American has come close to tripling its total annual dividend since 2007, at least in terms of its home currency, the British pound. Consistent increases included a 4% rise in the most recent 12 months compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Philip Morris has more than doubled its dividend over a similar timeframe. Overall, British American ekes out a slight win with its consistency, even though Philip Morris has a higher yield right now. Growth and fundamentals Both Philip Morris and British American have struggled in recent years, as challenges in the international tobacco arena have caused revenue declines. Nevertheless, both companies have legitimate growth prospects, and the benefit that British American has gotten from the fallout of the purchase of U.S.-based Lorillard by Reynolds American could prove to be extremely valuable. Philip Morris International has recently dealt with falling revenue, sliding earnings, and a decrease in cigarette shipment volumes. The company hasn't found much respite anywhere, as its major geographical segments all reported weakness in their respective divisional results. One sign of a potential turnaround is that the U.S. dollar has finally stopped soaring, and so the foreign currency that Philip Morris brings in could be worth more in dollar terms, boosting sales and profits. Until that happens, though, Philip Morris has to hope that moves like its iQOS heat-not-burn tobacco product takes off after encouraging trials in key cities. For British American, revenue trends have been similarly sluggish, with sales in British pound terms down about 15% since 2011. However, the company has done a better job at boosting profits, and British American posted a strong year on its bottom line for 2015. A big part of that comes from the company's 42% ownership of Reynolds American, which gives British American a key partnership in the U.S. market to help boost overall profits. Some believe that British American and Reynolds should fully merge, while others see different acquisition targets for the U.K.-based company. Although some fear the potential impact of a U.K. exit from the European Union, the stock's performance has been sturdy, especially for those conservative investors looking for a solid name. Currently, using these metrics, British American looks like the better buy between these two stocks. Philip Morris is working to get back into shape, but that could take some time to fully implement. The article Better Buy: Philip Morris International, Inc. vs. British American Tobacco originally appeared on Fool.com. Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Imagine a single year of your working life valued at, say, $19 million. For most of us, that sounds like a pretty darn good year, to say the very least. Now consider the fact that that figure represents a down year in the CEO pay landscape. Image source: Pixabay. That's right: CEO pay in the U.S. generally seems to go nowhere but up, but last year the overall median compensation for chief executive officers appears to have actually fallen. However, this bizarre version of "tough times" highlights the reality disconnects in our marketplace that result in striking income inequality. Some stats are in According to executive compensation data provider Equilar and as reported in The New York Times, the average CEO's annual pay package added up to $19.3 million in 2015. That represents a 15% drop from the $22.6 million that CEOs pulled in on average in 2014. According to the Equilar data, Expedia's Dara Khosrowshahi topped the list with compensation valued at a whopping $94.6 million. However, maybe the red-letter event here is that even though Khosrowshahi came close, for the first time since 2012, none of the companies Equilar looked at handed out compensation valued at more than $100 million. The Wall Street Journal reported on CEO pay stats as well. While the WSJ analysis also showed a decrease in pay, this decrease was less pronounced among the companies it surveyed. According to its findings, median CEO pay fell 4.6% to $11 million in 2015. Either way, these sources agree the trend was down in 2015 -- but clearly, even a lackluster compensation year for many CEOs still represents mind-boggling big money. There's still plenty of work yet to be done to get CEO pay moving in a more rational direction -- particularly since shareholders are sometimes getting slammed when the performance simply isn't there to justify the compensation. The money equals merit myth This CEO pay stumble goes hand-in-hand with the stock market slowing its pace as well. In 2015, the S&P 500's median shareholder return was 1.4% (including dividends), versus 18% the previous year. The market's lackluster year helped suppress many chief executives' pay since their total compensation usually includes stock and options. While using those levers to encourage performance makes sense in theory, they can also create an incentive to focus too much on short-term share price rather than on long-term business health and value creation. Focusing too much on earnings per share tempts leaders to make the short-term numbers immediately at all costs. Of course, CEO pay really should be connected with some kind of performance measure, though -- believe it or not -- some companies' executive compensation policies aren't really connected to any solid concept of performance at all. Regardless of all the work that needs to be done to encourage performance and long-term mindsets, there's a basic disconnect in the conventional wisdom that simply handing someone massive pay seals the deal in terms of encouraging them to do the kind of exemplary job that merits bonanzas. "Money equals merit" is by no means a foregone conclusion. We can see it in individual stocks, and there's research to back that up, too. Overconfidence, underperformance In 2014, academics from from the University of Cambridge, Purdue University, and the University of Utah released a study that lends more support to the idea that big money doesn't automatically motivate big performance. According to the authors, "We find that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) pay is negatively related to future stock returns for periods up to three years after sorting on pay. For example, firms that pay their CEOs in the top 10% of excess pay earn negative abnormal returns over the next three years of approximately -8%." This effect was particularly linked to chief executives with higher tenure and elevated incentive pay (notably options) compared to their peers. The researchers believe that overconfidence linked to high pay actually hobbles such CEOs' management performance. To investors who ponder the market's machinations and its relationship to psychology, that revelation may not come as a big shock. Overconfidence is one of the behavioral weaknesses that can drive poor investment decisions, too. Big cogs in the CEO cash machine Much of the blame for the skyrocketing trajectory of CEO pay falls on the shoulders of boards of directors, particularly those who serve on compensation committees. They could use some serious pressure to shift their thinking toward shareholder interests, as opposed to management-centric compensation moves. That brings us to the fact that shareholders have to care and decide to shake up the whole scene. This includes individual investors with shareholder votes, but there's one type of shareholder that particularly needs to make a stand because their footprints are significant. Big institutional investors hold the kind of influence and voting power that could really help in say-on-pay and director votes, in addition to ongoing engagement with companies with particularly egregious pay policies. Speaking of which, BlackRock -- the world's largest investor, representing more than $4 trillion in assets under management -- was recently subject to a shareholder resolution related to its say-on-pay voting policies. BlackRock has chosen inaction on about 97% of its say-on-pay votes instead of voting more frequently to reject high CEO pay. The resolution, put forth by the Stephen M. Silberstein Revocable Trust, asked for a report on BlackRock's policies and guidelines on its voting practices, as well as an evaluation of options for aligning its voting practices with its stated principles of linking pay with performance. Unfortunately for those who would like to see BlackRock make a significant stand, its shareholders ended up resoundingly rejecting the proposal. Still, it was notable that someone went to bat to try to push a massive, highly influential investment force like BlackRock to put its significant shareholder vote "currency" where its mouth is and raised the profile on the concept. Hopefully next year, proposals like Stephen Silberstein's will make a bigger impression on those who care about a rational, reasonable marketplace -- and awards based on business performance, not mere titles. A financial irony It's ironic that so many investors let astronomical CEO pay slide. After all, shareholders are part owners of the companies whose stocks they hold, and CEOs are in fact paid with shareholder money. For folks so concerned with financial concepts, it's odd that so many accept insanely high CEO paychecks as a normal cost of doing business. And when the performance isn't even there, those expenditures can be even costlier than we think. Compared to the value added -- and considering how these individuals' work tends to be valued exponentially higher than that of most average, hardworking Americans -- in so many cases, the numbers just don't add up. Check back at Fool.com for Alyce Lomax's columns on environmental, social, and governance issues. The article CEO Pay: Down But Definitely Not Out originally appeared on Fool.com. Alyce Lomax has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Usually, when you think "industrials," you think of companies making big, heavy pieces of machinery, likeGeneral Electric. But that's not always the case. Take, for example, Fortune 500 companyCintas. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas primarily makes its money by renting uniforms and floor mats to businesses large and small. Sound dull, compared to the high-tech world of big industry in which GE operates? It is. But as legendary investor Peter Lynch famously pointed out, companies that do something dull are often good companies in which to invest. And besides dullness, Cintas also exhibits a lot of strengths that are the hallmarks of good companies. The view from the top Cintas is the undisputed market leader in uniform and floor mat rental, with nearly a million customers across North America.And while the company also has a burgeoning fire and safety business, the rental business comprises 77% of the company's revenue. The total North American market for uniform rentals is worth approximately $16 billion, and Cintas controls about 25% of it. To put Cintas' size in perspective, its three largest competitors in this space,Aramark,UniFirst, andG&K Services,combine to control only about another 25%. The rest of the market is fragmented among many other smaller local or regional players. This competitive landscape is great for Cintas, because it not only is sitting in the undisputed top spot, but also has many opportunities to grow through acquisition of smaller competitors. Additionally, size and scale really matter in this kind of route-based service business, since the fixed cost of deliveries can be spread out, while there isn't much room for differentiation in the product. The view from the corner office When a company's management is heavily invested in its stock, it's considered a good sign for two reasons. First, it indicates that the people with the most intimate knowledge of the company believe in the company's (and therefore the stock's) prospects. Also, it shows that management's interests are aligned with those of shareholders. Cintas succeeds on this score as well. According to the company's website, most of Cintas' executives have the majority of their net worth invested in Cintas stock. CEO Scott D. Farmer alone owns 16.9% of the company's stock.And it's turned out to be an amazing investment over the last five years: CTAS data by YCharts Note, too, that this price appreciation is independent of the company's dividend, which it has paid every year since going public in 1983.And while its 1.1% yield is currently lower than G & K's 2% or the S&P's 2.1%, it's still a nice icing on an already-sweet piece of cake. The view from the street Wall Street is happy with Cintas right now, and for good reason. The firm posted better-than-expected results for the quarter ending Feb. 29, 2016, with numbers up pretty much across the board year over year. Revenue was up 9.7% over the prior year. Core organic revenue growth was 6.8%. Operating income margins increased to 15.9% from 15.7%, and net income from continuing operations was $117.3 million compared to $100.3 million. Earnings per share were up, too, at $1.05, compared to $0.85 for the prior-year period. As a result of this strong performance, the company raised its revenue guidance for the year to $4.86-$4.89 per share, exclusive of share buybacks -- an increase of 8.6%-9.2% from 2015. Unsurprisingly, management seems particularly pleased that 2016 is shaping up to be the company's sixth consecutive year of double-digit EPS growth.And they've made it clear that continued growth is their priority. To facilitate this growth, the company is pursuing several strategies, including the recent purchase of first aid kit supplier Zee Medical, launching a national branding campaign featuring the tag line, "Ready for the Workday," and converting their uniform rental operations to a SAP software system. These efforts seem to be paying off, as revenue and earnings have grown for the last three quarters. Prior to that, comparisons are made difficult by the divestiture of the company's Shred-It document shredding business, but performance was still strong. Cintas is a company that's firing on all cylinders, with a proven track record of superior performance, shareholder-friendly management, top-dog status in its industry, and strong current results. And while past performance is no guarantee of future returns, there haven't been any recent fundamental changes in the industry to suggest that the company's fortunes are going to turn around any time soon. Cintas is a buy. The article Cintas' Strength Is "Uniform," in More Ways Than One originally appeared on Fool.com. John Bromels owns shares of Cintas. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric Company. The Motley Fool recommends Cintas. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Oil prices rose on Friday for the first time in a week as the dollar fell and investors in global markets cautiously bought some riskier assets as anxiety eased about Britain's possible exit from the European Union. Crude futures were still on track for a weekly loss after daily declines Monday through Thursday. Brent crude futures' front-month contract were up $1.28, or 2.7 percent, at $48.47 a barrel by 11:14 a.m. (1514 GMT). The front-month in U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose $1.18, or 2.5 percent, to $47.39. For the week, Brent was down 4 percent and WTI about 3 percent. Investors will be on the lookout for a weekly reading on the U.S. oil rig count due from oil services firm Baker Hughes at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT). Last week, the rig count rose for a second week in a row, the first time since August, as oil drilling activity increased with crude trading over $50 a barrel. On Thursday, Brent and WTI lost about 4 percent each as investors fretted that the global economy could be thrown into turmoil if the UK votes next week to ditch its EU membership. On Friday, Britain mourned the death of UK member of parliament Jo Cox, a day after the vocal advocate for Britain remaining in the union was murdered. Her death threw next week's referendum on EU membership into limbo. The dollar fell about a quarter percent, retreating from its 2-week high on Thursday that had weighed on demand for greenback-denominated oil from the holders of the euro and other currencies. Some analysts cautioned that with UK's future EU still unknown until a vote next Thursday, oil could come under pressure again. "It's mainly Brexit at the moment, at least until next Thursday, before people start to look at the more fundamental oil/commodity drivers again," ABN Amro's senior energy economist Hans van Cleef said. Julian Jessop, chief economist and head of commodities research at Capital Economics, told Reuters Global Oil Forum that a Brexit situation could lead to a sharp oil selloff sending Brent to as low as $40. In industry news, global oil majors Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell were putting up small refineries for auction as they looked to trim lower-margin assets amid rising crude prices. (By Barani Krishnan; Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in LONDON; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman) Lumber Liquidators has cleared some major hurdles recently, but there are still more ahead. Image source: Lumber Liquidators Holdings. What: Shares of flooring retailerLumber Liquidators Holdings Inc are up 22.8% at 12:23 p.m. EDT on June 17, following an announcement that the company has reached an agreement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, over Chinese-made laminate flooring sold from 2011 through May 2015. Since mid-May that puts shares up nearly 43%, though they are still down over 86% from the all-time high: LL data by YCharts. So what: There's no denying that this agreement with the CPSC is a huge deal for the company. A product recall would have cost tens of millions of dollars, further harmed the company's image, and potentially even pushed it into bankruptcy, so it's hard to understate the importance of getting this relatively favorable finding from the CPSC. To the contrary, the CPSC press release makes it clear that removing the flooring could increase exposure to formaldehyde emissions, and that so far, none of the customers who have gone through the testing process, including a group of customers who have had testing done on samples of their flooring, have had their floors test above the remediation guidelines. From the CPSC release: In short, the testing program that Lumber Liquidators put in place will remain in place, with the key change that the CPSC will monitor the process and make sure Lumber Liquidators is quickly working with any customers who have formaldehyde emissions levels above the levels outlined in the agreement. Now what: This is a big step forward -- and away from this awful period for the company -- but it's not the end of the story. Two big risks remain: Continued loss of sales due to negative public perception. Litigation risk. They aren't independent of one another. The bottom line is that the company has continued to struggle to bring customers back, and as long as this story plays out in the press, it will remain difficult to change consumer perception. In other words, it's a bit of a double whammy, and management will need to find the balance between resolving ongoing lawsuits quickly and limiting the financial harm of those suits. The two most important lawsuits are a class action regarding the Chinese-made laminate, and a battle with a group of the company's insurers which are claiming they don't have to pay the company's legal costs resulting from those products. Yes, the agreement with CPSC and a recent agreement with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will help undermine the consumer class action to some degree, and potentially the suit with insurers. But until there's a settlement or a judgement, there's risk that shouldn't be ignored. The good news is the company has some financial cushion. At the end of the most recent quarter, Lumber Liquidators reported it had $22 million in cash, and $61.6 million available on its revolving credit; if sales can hold steady, operating cash flows should be enough to sustain the business. The bottom line: Today's a good day for Lumber Liquidators and its shareholders. The combined results of the CARB and CPSC investigations largely support what the company has said all along. Nonetheless, there are still hurdles ahead. A turnaround could be around the corner, but it's too early to call it just yet. The article Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. Stock Up 23% After Clearing Major Hurdle: Here's What Investors Need to Know originally appeared on Fool.com. Jason Hall owns shares of Lumber Liquidators. The Motley Fool recommends Lumber Liquidators. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Getty Images. What: Teekay Offshore Partners was up 20% at 11 a.m. EDT Friday after the offshore services company issued $200 million in equity securities. That capital infusion fueled a similar surge at its parent company, Teekay Corp. , which saw its stock up 15%. So what: Teekay Offshore Partners agreed to issue $100 million of 10.5% Series D Preferred Units to a group of investors via a private placement. Those investors will also receive 4.5 million warrants to buy common units 33% higher than Thursday's closing price. Further, the company agreed to issue $100 million of common units in a private placement at Thursday's closing price. Teekay Offshore Partners is raising this cash as part of its previously announced financing initiatives to shore up its balance sheet. With this cash infusion, the company now has the financing it needs to cover all of its medium-term liquidity needs and fully finance its $1.6 billion growth project pipeline. By wrapping up its financing initiatives on schedule, Teekay Offshore Partners eliminates the risk of a further reduction, or possible elimination, of its distribution. That risk was also weighing on Teekay Corp., because its cash flow is partially supported by distributions received from Teekay Offshore Partners. It already had to cut its dividend by 90% late last year in response to distribution cuts from Teekay Offshore Partners and another affiliated MLP. Instead of the risk of an additional dividend cut, Teekay Corp.'s dividend is poised to rise when the growth projects at its MLPs start coming online. Now what: After shoring up its balance sheet,Teekay Offshore Partners' focus will now shift to completing its growth projects on time and on budget. Those projects will be key to growing the company's distribution, with that growth then flowing upward to its parent company. The article Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. Soars After Shoring Up its Balance Sheet originally appeared on Fool.com. Matt DiLallo has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Fort Hills construction. Image Source: Teck Resources Ltd Teck Resources Ltd is best known for its coal, copper, and zinc mines. But it's embarked on an oil project that is very different from what most people envision when thinking about oil these days. In fact, Teck is setting itself up for decades worth of oil, something shale wells can't even come close to offering. Here's what you need to know. Headline grabbing change The shale oil revolution has been headline news for some time now. The big story is that by mixing advanced horizontal drilling techniques with hydraulic fracturing, oil drillers are able to economically access oil that was once far too expensive to bother with. Clearly, the oil price decline has changed the economics somewhat, but there are still a lot of shale regions where oil companies continue to drill and even turn a profit. One big problem with shale, however, is that the wells tend to experience a steep decline in production after just a short period of time. For example, the International Energy Agency explains that production from shale wells can fall by as much as 70% or so within just 12 months. That means there's a huge gush of oil at the start, but it quickly slows to a trickle. To maintain production, then, oil companies must drill more and more wells just to make up for natural well declines. Image Source: Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons A different option Which is why Teck's oil investment is so interesting. The first thing you might wonder about is why a miner is getting into the oil space. That hasn't worked out so well for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. , which is struggling to get out from under the debt it took on to acquire two oil companies shortly before the oil crash. Teck, with partners Total and Suncor Energy , started the Fort Hills oil project at around the same. But Freeport's investment was in more traditional drilling businesses. The Fort Hills project is in the Canadian Oil Sands. Essentially, Canadian oil sands are oil soaked earth that gets dug up and processed to release the oil contained within it. So this project is right within Teck's skill set because it's really like an oil mine -- not an oil well. And while Total is more focused on traditional oil wells, Suncor is a great partner for oil newcomer Teck because Suncor has a long history of operating in the Oil Sands region. In fact, oil sands account for roughly 90% of Suncor's reserves. The really big number However, there's one more interesting thing about oil sands projects: longevity. A well requires drilling into the Earth and hoping you get a viable well, with production that lasts a long time -- something that isn't really happening in the case of shale. Oil sands are easier to find and production can last a very long time. Fort Hills, for example, has a reserve life of, get this, 50 years! And the production in any given period is really limited more by a combination of mining activity and throughput capacity than the oil asset itself. Unlike a well, where once it's dry you have to move on. Image Source: Teck Resources Ltd That said, oil sands development tends to be costly. That's been a drag on Teck's shares since the commodity bust left many investors wondering if it could afford to pay its share of the tab for Fort Hills. Teck is on the hook for around $1 billion to complete Fort Hills at this point. But the miner currently looks like it can easily cover that cost since it has about $1.3 billion in cash on hand and $3 billion on a revolving credit facility. And with a 50 year reserve life, there's plenty of time for the oil market to recover and turn this investment into a winner. So as you watch wildcatters hooked on swiftly depleting shale wells go belly up, know there's another option that has longer legs. And Teck is getting ready to tap into that market so it can benefit from an oil investment expected to last five decades -- not 12 months. The article Tired of Short-Lived Shale Well Declines? Teck Resources Ltd. Has the Answer originally appeared on Fool.com. Reuben Brewer has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Verizon has been taken to task for some ad claims regarding the speed of its Internet. Image source: Mike Mozart of TheToyChannel and JeepersMedia on YouTube via Flickr. Verizon has been running ads saying it has the "fastest and most reliable Internet" while also claiming that it's "#1 rated for speed," and rival Comcast has cried foul. Comcast challenged the claims to the National Advertising Division (NAD). The matter then went to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), which is "the appellate unit of the advertising industrys system of self-regulation and administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus." Putting the confusing naming structure aside, essentially Comcast charged that Verizon's ads are misleading, asking for a ruling from NAD, which uses NARB to render such decisions. The cable, Internet, and programming giant charged that its rival misstated the speed of its service because it based its claims on a PC Magazine survey and the ranking "was not based on a comparison of objective Internet speed performance and/or a head-to-head comparison of different Internet service providers." The magazine results were based on customer perceptions, not hard-and-fast numbers. NARB agreed with Comcast and has asked Verizon -- which is not obligated to abide by the ruling -- to change the wording in its ads. According to a statement posted by the Advertising Self-Regulation Council, Verizon said it would consider the NARB's recommendation. This wording still appeared on a Verizon web page as of June 16, 2016. Image source: Verizon. What is Verizon doing wrong? Verizon's ads and webpages made claims that Verizon had faster service with a higher-quality picture for its FiOS Internet service. NARB found that Comcast was correct in charging that Verizon was being misleading with its presentation of the information. The panel "found that the challenged claims reasonably communicated a superiority message with respect to FiOS Internet speed and HD picture quality rather than the message that Verizon customers are more satisfied with their Internet speed and HD picture quality than customers of competing providers." NARB spelled out its decision, pointing out that one of the ads inappropriately featured "a visual that prominently links the #1 rating to Internet speed rather than customer satisfaction." In that contenxt, the board wrote "reasonable consumers may very well take away a message that Verizon's #1 rating is based on a comparison of objective Internet speed performance and/or a head-to-head comparison of different Internet service providers." The panel recommended that Verizon change its ads to make it clear that it has higher ratings based on customer satisfaction. NARB did not say whether Verizon has or does not have the fasted Internet or the best picture quality, but it made it clear that the support materials it cites in the challenged ads do not back up the actual claims made. What will Verizon do? Because NARB is an effort for the industry to self-regulate, Verizon does not have to actually do anything. Comcast brought the charges in part because its service has outperformed Verizon FiOS in tests conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Those tests compare actual versus advertised speeds in both uploads and downloads. According to ASRC, Verizon made a statement after the non-binding ruling was released saying it will consider the NARB's recommendations in future advertising and that it "appreciates the panel's guidance in this matter." The article Verizon Told to Drop "Fastest" Internet Claim originally appeared on Fool.com. Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned. His Internet is not very fast and that's fine. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Verizon Communications. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Here, then, are three things you should know about why FBR likes Government Properties stock. According to our data here at Motley Fool CAPS, FBR Capital spends more time following REIT investments than any other type of company on its coverage list. In fact, with more than 50 active recommendations anyone in the market -- and with a record of outperforming the market by nearly 1,000 percentage points across its field of coverage, they may be more successful than anyone else, too. But maybe it should be. Government Properties stock doesn't rent out this particular government building, but it does rent out a whole lot more like it. Image source: Getty Images. Thing No. 1: 92-72-31 After digging through the filings for Government Properties stock, FBR came to the conclusion that "the market has only recently begun to recognize the value imbedded in this niche office REIT." FBR explains, in a write-up covered by StreetInsider.com 93% of the income Government Properties collects comes from leasing the 11 million square feet contained in these properties to state and federal agencies and government offices. Thing No. 2: Your government for lease -- and on sale FBR values all this real estate at $1.8 billion -- un-depreciated. At the same time, Government Properties stock appears to sell for much less. Most financial information websites (Yahoo! Finance and S&P Global Market Intelligence Thing No. 3: Property and equity In addition to its undervalued physical assets, FBR notes that Government Properties stock owns approximately $624 million worth of stock in the Select Income REIT , and a further $36 million worth "of its external manager," The RMR Group Inc. . Real estate, real cheap? Even accounting for the stock's $1.2 billion in net debt, therefore, the value of the REIT's properties plus its equity interests in related companies comes to nearly $1.3 billion -- not much less than the market capitalization on Government Properties stock. Factor in possible appreciation in the value of the real estate it owns, and the ongoing payments of Government Properties' generous 8.7% dividend yield, and FBR concludes that Government Properties stock is significantly undervalued today, and worth close to 25% more than what the market is currently charging for it -- thus $25 a share. Is FBR right about that? Given the analyst's track record, I'd say the odds are better than 50-50is right about Government Properties stock. But even if it's wrong, there's still that 8.7% dividend yield to fall back on. For investors today, paying tax rates as high as 39.6% The article Want to Buy Government Properties Stock? 3 Things You Need to Know Business messaging start-up Slack , which was valued at $3.8 billion after its latest round of funding in April, could go public But a lot can change over the next year. If Slack's growth stabilizes and it heads toward an IPO, investors will be interested in the company's early investors -- who stand to profit -- and the companies Slack itself has invested in. The prospect of a Slack IPO excited some tech investors, since its daily active user base topped 3 millionin May -- triple the number it had just six months earlier. Nearly a third of its users pay subscription fees, which could help Slack generate $64 million inrecurring revenue this year. However, Slack isn't profitable, and Butterfield stated last year that it was incurring losses of a "couple hundred thousand dollars" per month. the absolute earliest that we could IPO, if everything came together right, would be 18 months from now." the next two years. The company initiated an IPO readiness program last year, which included its first external audit, new rules, and security practices. Last November, founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield told The Australian that " Who has invested in Slack? Slack's major investors include well-known venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Social Capital, Accel, and Spark Growth. Last December, Slack launchedan $80 million app investment fund with several of those firms to fund third-party apps that can be tethered back to its platform via its API (application programming interface). The only investor with a public presence is Comcast , which invested in Slack through its venture capital arm, Comcast Ventures. The business participated in the venture round of funding earlier this year, which raised $200 million from six investors. We don't know how much money Comcast invested, but it probably only accounts for a small percentage of Slack's current valuation. Slack's app directory. Image source: Author's screenshot. Microsoft reportedly wanted to buySlack for $8 billion earlier this year, but eventually abandoned that idea, perhaps because it needed the cash to fund its $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn , announced this week. However, Microsoft also recently launched a venture capital arm called Microsoft Ventures, which gives it more freedom to invest in Slack without buying the whole company. Who has Slack invested in? Slack has been investing in smaller companies on its own. That list includes Lattice, which creates a goal management platform for teams; chatbot makers Awesome and Howdy; and productivity software maker Small Wins. Slack's investments in bots indicates that more parts of its platform could be automated in the near future. Howdy's botruns virtual meetings by asking team members for updates via direct messages, then aggregates the responses to quickly get everyone on the same page. It's an elegant solution to inefficient meetings where people repeat the same bullet points and members don't offer any useful input. Awesome's bot organizes conversations and cuts through the noise with sidebars, highlights, and recaps. These bots, along with many others, are already integrated with Slack to improve its efficiency alongside third-party apps. Slack isn't the only growing tech company investing heavily in bots. Facebook recently integrated chatbotsof traditional apps. While Facebook's target demographic is different from Slack's, both companies believe that bots can make automated assistance and data collection feel more natural and conversation-based. How much bigger could Slack get? Slack is still tiny by enterprise standards, but its rapid growth and disruptive potential could redefine how employees communicate with each other. Slack will probably require much more capital as its user base expands, and an IPO would be the quickest way to raise those funds. However, Slack still has a lot to prove before it can go public. Bigger companies like Microsoft can bake new features into Office 365 to challenge Slack. Rival companies like Atlassian , which went public last December, offer similar services like Confluence and Hipchat. If Slack doesn't rise above these companies, it could get lost in the shuffle as another challenger evolves into the top dog of enterprise communications. The article Who Owns Slack Technologies, and What Does It Own? AsAmazon.com has opened warehouses across the country and expanded its Prime and Prime Now loyalty programs, brick-and-mortar stores are trembling. Sales are falling at department stores and apparel retailers, stores are shuttering, and retail stocks have plummeted. Now, however, it seems that brick-and-mortar chains are finding a way to fight back.Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, became the latest merchant to team up with ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, announcing a pilot program earlier this month. As Wal-Mart extends its efforts to make grocery shopping more convenient, it's testing grocery delivery with the two leading ride-hailing companies starting this month, partnering with Uber in Phoenix and Lyft in Denver. Wal-Mart customers will make their order online, a store employee will fill it and then hand it off to an Uber or Lyft driver. The cost is expected to be $7-$10 per delivery. More than a taxi service While Uber is best known as a taxi service you order from your smartphone, the company is also building out other revenue streams, including UberRush, a delivery service for businesses small and large. Uber counts among its customers 1-800-Flowers,Nordstrom, T-Mobile, and Rent the Runway, as well as hundreds of small businesses. While the service may not seem different from other delivery apps like Postmates or Instacart, Uber's war chest and army of drivers make it the delivery company best equipped to take on Amazon. The ride-hailing service is now valued at $66 billion -- after raising $3.5 billion from the Saudi Sovereign Fund earlier this year -- and had 327,000 drivers as of September 2015.What Amazon has in warehouse space, Uber has in drivers, making the company an especially desirable partner for retailers looking for a quick delivery option. On a collision course with Amazon As Amazon's Prime Now program has expanded to 24 cities across the country, the e-commerce giant has developed its own fleet of drivers. Instead of counting on the U.S. Postal Service and private-sector logistic companies like FedExandUPS,Amazon has built out its own Uber-like service it calls Flex. Like Uber, Flex drivers are independent contractors, and they are paid $18-$25/hour. It's also been expanding the Flex program to ship its regular deliveries. As Amazon increasingly taps its own Uber-like system of drivers, it seems that the two companies are headed on a collision course with each other in the area of product delivery. Rumors have circulated that Amazon may even open up its Flex program to passengers, bringing it in direct competition with Uber. Image Source: Amazon. While Amazon initially gained popularity because of its low prices, convenience now seems to be the e-commerce customer's biggest advantage, thanks to the success of Amazon Prime. Customers who have already joined Prime order from Amazon because of the free two-day delivery and because they've already committed $99 for the service per year. Once a subscriber has joined Prime, Amazon's prices only have to be competitive, not necessarily the lowest. Uber operates under a similar philosophy as the company's prices are better than traditional taxi services, but the convenience of ordering a ride to your doorstep is what's made the app so popular. Like Amazon, Uber has taken that first-mover advantage and run with it, expanding furiously. Wal-Mart is jumping on the convenience bandwagon as well. Its online grocery pickup option is expanding rapidly and the pilot program with Uber and Lyft is its latest attempt to make shopping as easy as possible. Uber last week took its on-delivery app out of beta, which should speed up the service to other retail partners.As the delivery wars continue to heat up, Uber looks set to emerge as the key to challenging Amazon's dominance in convenience. The article You'll Never Guess Amazon's Newest Challenger originally appeared on Fool.com. Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com and FedEx. The Motley Fool recommends Nordstrom and United Parcel Service. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A Tennessee lawmaker on Friday is defending his plans to give away two AR-15 rifles as a political fundraiser. aWe had this planned long before the Florida attack,a said Tennessee State Representative Andy Holt to the FOX Business Networkas Stuart Varney. aWe are going to be giving these two rifles away next Saturday night at a barbecue and also a turkey shoota We thought in addition to of course good barbeque and a marksmanship contesta. what would help draw in a crowd? And we figured that an AR-15 rifle would help do that,a he said.According to authorities, Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen used an assault-style rifle called the Sig Saucer MCX, which is aesthetically similar to an AR-15, during the horrific attack that killed at least 49 people and injured 53. Holt says despite receiving multiple death threats, the giveaway is still happening. aWe are not going to let the intentions of an Islamic terrorist change or divert the plans that we have in place -- and I would encourage all Americans not to allow individuals that have purported these terrible and murderous crimes on U.S. citizens to change any plans. Itas not going to change my devotion to the Second Amendment [and] itas not going to change my devotion to all constitutional privileges weave been given in those rights and the embodiment of those rights,a he said. Meanwhile, the Orlando shooting has sparked a renewed political debate between Democrats and Republicans over gun rights vs. gun control. Trump campaign spokesperson Healy Baumgardner on Friday confirmed on the FOX Business Network that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee plans to meet with the NRA over barring people on the Terror Watch List from legally purchasing guns. Leonardo DiCaprios next role? On the hot seat. The Oscar winner will be deposed in a $25 million defamation lawsuit over his 2013 blockbuster Wolf of Wall Street, a Long Island federal-court judge ruled Thursday. DiCaprio, who earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role as sleazy businessman Jordan Belfort in the flick, is set to be grilled by lawyers for Andrew Greene. Greene sued Paramount Pictures and others in 2014 claiming the flick portrayed him as a toupee-wearing, prostitute-loving degenerate character named Nicky Rugrat Koskoff. Earlier this week, Greenes lawyers, Aaron Goldsmith and Stephanie Ovadia, indicated that they had tried to depose Hollywoods most famous bachelor but couldnt because he was too busy. They said DiCaprio, who co-produced the movie, was a driving force behind getting the flick made and is knowledgeable regarding significant issues in this case, according to a court filing. Judge Steven Locke granted a motion to compel DiCaprios deposition, saying it would take place at a reasonable time and place agreed to by the parties. Greene claims his identity is readily apparent in the movie and that his Wolf character, played by actor P.J. Byrne, was repeatedly mocked for his piece of st hairpiece. The Huntington Station, Long Island resident says he was also depicted as a morally bankrupt drug abuser. Greene worked for infamous boiler-room stock firm Stratton Oakmont from 1993 to 1996 and was a childhood friend of Belfort in real life, the lawsuit says. The motion pictures scenes concerning Mr. Greene were false, defamatory, and fundamentally injurious to Mr. Greenes professional reputation, both as an attorney and as an investment banker/venture capitalist, as well as his personal reputation, the suit says. A rep for DiCaprio didnt immediately return a message. This article originally appeared in the New York Post's Page Six. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly investigating a botulism outbreak affecting 17 Mississippi inmates who became sick after drinking homemade alcohol. Mississippi Department of Health spokeswoman Liz Sharlot told The Clarion-Ledger Monday that inmates at a federal prison in Yazoo City consumed the booze that was made at the prison. Sharlot said the inmates began to show signs of botulism and were hospitalized in Jackson. Each inmate received an anti-toxin, she said. According to the newspaper, 15 of the 17 inmates remained hospitalized Thursday. One inmate was transferred to a federal prison in Oklahoma City before he began to show signs of the virus. He was also hospitalized. Sharlot said the inmates were hospitalized over the course of the week. Botulism symptoms occur six hours to 10 days after ingestion. Symptoms include double vision, blurred vision, droopy eyes, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, muscle weakness and paralysis. Contents of the drink were not immediately clear and its being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Sharlot said. The Yazoo City facility is a minimum security prison housing more than 1,300 male inmates. It is currently on limited operations due to the outbreak. Click for more from The Clarion-Ledger. For many, the Ice Bucket Challenge in summer 2014 was their first encounter with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrigs disease. But while the videos have disappeared from social media timelines, the disease continues to rob patients of their ability to interact with the world. ALS is an invariably fatal disease in which the nerve cells that control movement progressively degenerate, leading to paralysis and death from respiratory failure. It is diagnosed in about 5,000 Americans each year. Up to 10 percent of ALS cases are an inherited form of the disease. In most cases, though, ALS occurs for no known reason. However, thanks to technology like Tobii Dynavox I-15 and the new PCEye Mini, patients are no longer faced with watching life pass them by. Released in 2013, the Tobii Dynavox I-15 is designed for patients with severe communication needs and typically fully covered by Medicaid or Medicare. Its embedded with eye tracking technology and can also be activated by touch. Its really exciting for a lot of reasons because the design and support is pushing people toward living an independent life, with people being able to reach their full potential, Tara Rudnicki, president of Tobii Dynavox, North America, told FoxNews.com. The device is outfitted with software called Wake on Gaze, which enables patients to turn it on from bed by looking at it, eliminating the need for a caregiver to complete the task for them. It can also be used in an emergency situation, as its outfitted with alarm buttons, a speaker and programmed with emergency telephone numbers. Its pretty revolutionary for people to communicate in bed without any interference with anybody else, Rudnicki said. It improves independency and autonomy; they dont have to ask somebody for things we take for granted so much every day. The Tobii Dynavox I-15 also gives patients the opportunity to participate in everyday tasks, as is the case with Kip Jackson, who recently surprised his wife Robin by ordering groceries on Amazon. Jackson, 44, used the device to tell FoxNews.com that one of the things he misses most since being diagnosed with ALS in July 2012 is being able to take care of Robin. Being able to do groceries even though its something little its something that means the world to me because he thought of me and helped me out, Robin told FoxNews.com. Jackson has also used the device to accomplish amazing feats, like producing music and writing a novel. Using the Tobii Dynavox I-15, Jackson told FoxNews.com that as a self-proclaimed geek/electronics hoarder, he has always been interested in producing music. He found a program online called FL Studio that is based on virtual synthesizers and drum machines. With a few twists and turns of knobs, I found I could make original and unique sounds. Then I started making melodies and recording them, Jackson said. Jackson also keeps a blog where hes detailed the happenings of his upcoming novel, a thriller titled Watching You that will be released July 31. He also uses the blog as an outlet to show others what its like to live with ALS. Today, Im a quadriplegic, fed through a feeding tube, ventilator dependent and trached. I cant talk, swallow or smell (this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.) Despite this, I am the happiest that I have ever been in my life, Jackson wrote in his blog. ALS has taken away my ability to move and breathe but it cannot I refuse to let it touch my soul, he added. Robin said the post is true to her husbands nature. With the help of the Tobii Dynavox I-15 the couple, who met in 2007, has been able to keep much of their daily routine, and enjoy a date night each weekend. Every other weekend they typically visit a Barnes and Nobles bookstore Jacksons favorite with a family member who helps carry his equipment. In the store the Tobii Dynavox I-15, which is also fitted with a camera so a caregiver can see what the patient is looking at, plays another vital role in their experience. Its great because Tobii has the ability to speak on it, but also Tobii has the camera on it so I can see what hes looking at, Robin said, adding that if its a particular book she knows to grab it for him. Robin has been able to keep her job as a social worker while Jackson uses his time during the day to work on his book and music. A caregiver stays with him while Robin is at work, but the device, which Jackson has called his everything, meets most of his needs. Robin said the Tobii Dynavox I-15 has helped them keep the spark of their relationship alive. Despite the diagnosis, Jackson has used the Tobii Dynavox I-15 express himself creatively. He still jokes with friends and argues with Robin like any other couple does and its enabled him to live his life the way he wants to, which is something that most believe disappears with an ALS diagnosis. Even though its a terminal disease, you can live with it and have a productive life, Jackson said. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 U.S. health regulators are under increasing pressure to remove restrictions keeping most gay and bisexual men from donating blood, but experts say any change would require years of research to guarantee the safety of the blood supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration enacted a lifetime ban for gay and bisexual men in the 1980s to protect against transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. The agency reduced the ban in December to a 12-month wait since a man's last sexual encounter with another man. Following Sunday's mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, more than a dozen Democratic Party lawmakers called on the FDA to move toward lifting the ban altogether. They argued that it wrongly discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, rather than determining whether a donor's actual behavior puts them at risk of HIV. Their call came after members of the gay community tried to donate blood in the aftermath of the Orlando attack but were turned away based on their recent sexual history. "We're still in an inherently contradictory posture of straight men who are having unsafe sex with multiple partners being allowed to give blood. A gay man in a 30-year monogamous relationship, who practices safe sex, is not," Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who serves as vice chair of the congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, told Reuters. The FDA maintains there is not enough scientific evidence to remove the restrictions. "We empathize with those who might wish to donate, but reiterate that at this time no one who needs blood is doing without it," spokeswoman Tara Goodin said in a statement. "That being said, the FDA is committed to continuing to reevaluate its blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available." Blood supply experts say the FDA will need to determine whether the move to a one-year waiting period for gay and bisexual men made the blood supply less, more or just as safe. That effort will take several years, and only then would the agency be able to consider relaxing its restrictions further, said Brian Custer, who has led a number of studies on the nation's blood supply and is associate director of the Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI) in San Francisco. Removing the waiting period altogether would also likely require a large-scale study that tested blood samples of people who would be banned under current criteria, said Dr. Michael Busch, a co-director of BSRI. Busch helped discover in the 1980s that HIV could be transmitted through blood transfusions. "Those are difficult to design and execute," he said. EXISTING RISK HIV disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men. While only about 4 percent of U.S. men have sex with other men, they represent about two-thirds of the country's new infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All blood donated in the United States is screened for HIV, as well as other transmissible diseases such as Hepatitis C and syphilis. Blood supply experts note that such testing cannot detect HIV within the earliest window of exposure, nine to 14 days. In the past 12 years, as many as six people have been infected with HIV through blood transfusion in the United States, according to Dr. Richard Benjamin, a former chief medical officer of the American Red Cross. "That risk is always going to be there. People who donate blood within two weeks of exposure always will be missed by testing," said Benjamin, now an executive at Cerus Corp, whose technology kills pathogens in blood plasma and blood platelets. One study by FDA researchers published in January suggested that dropping all donor restrictions on men who have sex with men would result in 31 more units of HIV-infected blood being missed by screening tests and entering the blood supply each year. Nearly 16 million blood donations are collected in the United States each year, according to the American Red Cross. Groups representing the nation's largest blood centers, including the American Red Cross and America's Blood Centers, said they support the FDA's current rules, which are in line with policies in the UK, France, Australia and the Netherlands. "Policy at this level moves at a slower pace than people would prefer, but it is years, not decades away," said Custer, one of the blood supply experts, referring to the FDA. Health officials in Michigan are warning residents to beware of ticks after identifying a child case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), a serious and sometimes fatal tick-borne illness. Fox 2 Detroit reported that the child, whose sex, name and age werent disclosed, is from Cass County. The states last case of RMSF was 2009, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. RMSF symptoms include fever, vomiting, and muscle and abdominal pain. Affected individuals sometimes exhibit a rash of small, flat, pink, non-itchy spots on the wrists, forearms and ankles that spreads to the trunk and sometimes the palms of the hands and soles of the feet a few days after infection, the news station reported. But some people with the condition never develop the rash, or the rash may look different than usual. Prompt treatment for RMSF is crucial, as failure to undergo therapy can result in serious illness or death, Fox 2 Detroit reported. A 40-year-old woman vacationing in northeast Oklahoma who mistook her RMSF as the flu was forced to have several of her limbs partially or fully amputated after contracting the disease in July 2015. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the antibiotic doxycycline is the first-line treatment for the condition for adults and children, and it is most effective if started before the fifth day of symptoms. The bacterium Rickettsia rickettsia causes RMSF, according to the CDC. Various ticks, including the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabalis) as well as the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) and the brown dog tick (Rhipecephalus sanguineus) carry RMSF. The most common tick in Michigan is the American dog tick. Incidence of RMSF has increased during the last decade, from less than two cases per million people in 2000 to more than six cases per million in 2010, according to the CDC. However, the proportion of RMSF cases resulting in death has declined to a low of less than .5 percent during that same time period. Methods for preventing RMSF and other tick-borne illnesses include avoiding tick-infested areas, using insect repellent, bathing oneself and washing clothes within a couple of hours of coming indoors from a potentially infested area, and performing daily tick checks. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 A college graduate in Georgia who survived childhood cancer twice has returned to the hospital where doctors saved her life this time, not to undergo treatment, but to help others through similar plights that she endured as a little girl. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that 24-year-old Amelia Ballard, of Macon, Ga., was diagnosed with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), cancer of the bone marrow, at 17 months old. She beat the disease, but it relapsed when she was 3. Health care workers at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta oversaw her treatment, which included chemotherapy regimens, total body and cranial radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, for which Ballards brother was a match. "I remember some of the scans, some of the treatment, Ballard told the news station. But it's mostly like my birthday party that I had here. It was a Lion King theme. I remember all my family and friends coming to the hospital. It was during a psychological evaluation at age 4 that Ballard realized what she wanted to be when she grew up. "One of the questions they asked me was, 'If little boys grow up to be men, what do little girls grow up to be?' And I said, 'Doctors! she told Fox 5 Atlanta, Because all my doctors were female and all my nurses were female, they had such a strong impact on me." Ballard recently graduated from Georgia Southern University, where she studied nursing. This spring, Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta came knocking. The job offer made her cry, and she said a prayer of thanks. Its a miracle, Ballard told the news station of returning to a place that feels like home. I cant believe it. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 A Belgian hospital has just welcomed its newest staff member: Pepper, a humanoid robot that speaks 19 languages. Developed to improve social and health care by the Belgian company Zora Bots, Pepper joined the medical team as a receptionist at Ostend hospital AZ Damiaan. Pepper will introduce visitors to the hospital, provide information and guide visitors and patients to the correct floor and room. With a speed of just 3 km/h (1.8 mph), Pepper is also able to guide slower patients. Fully charged, it can work for up to 20 hours on its own. "The robot itself is a meter 20 high, so it is not like Arnold Schwarzenegger with a leather jacket and an 'I will be back' robot," said Zora Bots' co-chief executive, Fabrice Goffin. "It is a quite nice robot and the reactions are positive for the moment." During the first week, Pepper was mainly used on the hospital's maternity department. Bieke Vandeputte, the mother of a newborn baby, was amazed. "it is another way of making contact and maybe it is reassuring that it is a robot for some people," she said. "The baby was really sure. He did not mind putting his hands on it. It did not frighten him so I think it will be important. Especially for children." Pepper is not the first robot used at the AZ Damiaan hospital, but it is the first to communicate with patients and to have the ability to guide them. Before the arrival of Pepper, the staff had already worked with a predecessor, Zora, for about a year. Zora is smaller and slower than Pepper and used mainly in physical therapy classes. At a price of 30,000 euros, Pepper is expensive. So far, only Japanese customers have bought one to use at home. I am a general surgeon in Aleppo City, on the front lines of the Syrian conflict. This past month has seen an escalation of aerial bombardment on Aleppo that has brought the city to a tipping point of desperation. Over the past two months there has been a tenfold increase on airstrikes on my town, with 600 strikes this week alone. Last Wednesday, one of these rockets tore through an infant care ward in Aleppo. Nine newborns were rushed to the basement of the hospital for safety, their incubators destroyed. It is a miracle they were unharmed. The organization Physicians for Human Rights has recorded 365 attacks on medical facilities and health workers between March 2011 and April 2016. Just last Tuesday the hospital where I work, one of the few remaining in eastern Aleppo, was targeted in an airstrike the second such attack in two weeks. Deliberate and shameful attacks like these put at risk not just doctors, but the more than 18,000 patients we treat and the 125 babies we deliver each month. I have been a practicing physician in Aleppo City since 2012 and I am still in awe of the magic of bringing a baby into the world. There is nothing like it - those first breaths, those first cries. The look in a mothers eyes, having labored to bring this small person into the world. It should be a moment of peace, gratitude and quiet joy -- but in Syria today, giving birth is a nightmare. For 80 years international humanitarian law has deemed hospitals hallowed bastions of safety. In Syria they have now become targets, as has everyone who bravely continues working in them. Our patients -- pregnant mothers, the sick, wounded and elderly - now risk their very lives to seek care. These are no accidents. In the past two months alone 17 medical facilities have been attacked, leaving a mere seven hospitals to care for Aleppos nearly 400,000 residents. We have but 18 incubators left for Aleppos newborns. And while the skies remain perilous, intermittent closures of Aleppos principal access road has impeded the delivery of essential humanitarian aid. Surrounded on all sides and attacked from above, we are running out of time, supplies, doctors and hope. Last week we received a mother and her four children injured in an airstrike. While the children were left with broken bones, their mother was far worse. With multiple internal injuries and numerous shrapnel wounds there was little we could do. In a desperate bid to save her life we tried to rush her to a specialty hospital in Turkey. But the violence along Aleppos main access road made the journey impossible. She died in our care, her children refusing to leave her side. She would be here if we could have made it to Turkey. Exhaustion cannot even begin to describe the weariness of my medical colleagues and I. As physicians we have a sworn responsibility to be strong for our patients they are our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and increasingly the victims of this brutal and depraved campaign. But the bombs have taken their toll, and there are but a few of us to be strong for our communities. On May 3, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for a halt to strikes on health care worldwide, calling on all countries to prevent such attacks and, if unable to prevent them, to investigate them and prosecute the perpetrators. We have not seen the attacks stop; we have seen them increase. We have not heard of an investigation; we have heard a deathly silence. In February, the International Syrian Support Groupa group of 20 countries, including the U.S. and Russia-- negotiated a cessation of hostilities that, though imperfect, offered a ray of hope to the people of Syria. In many places the guns fell silent, if only briefly. Some people reported hearing the sound of birds singing again. Aleppo has not been so lucky. It is far past time that Syrias ceasefire be renewed and extended to my city. These attacks cannot be allowed to continue. Each explosion is an admission of failure by the international community to offer real civilian protection in Syria. With scant outcry, the offensive in Aleppo threatens to destroy what is left of our medical infrastructure, along with countless lives. It is with a hopeless optimism that we once again turn to the international community to do something to stop this before it is too late. Enough babies and their mothers have died. Osama Abo El Ezz, a general surgeon, is Aleppo Coordinator for the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), a non-profit, non-political, professional and medical relief organization Pope Franciss three-year-old papacy, marked by controversy from the beginning, has hit a new low. After Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, he quickly justified his reputation as an unconventional character who put himself on both sides of an argument with vaguely worded pronouncements. From his Who am I to judge? statement on gay people that seemed to offer a hint at a change in church teaching, to his fumbles on contraception, to his recent claim that Donald Trump is not Christian, his off-the-cuff remarks cause headlines across the globe, often followed by some sort of clarification from the Holy See Press Office. His papacy has been a litany of confusing statements for the faithful on the most sensitive and delicate topics. While clear on political topics dear to his heart, but where Catholics can legitimately hold differing opinions, such as immigration, economics and climate change, on matters of doctrine, Francis muddied the waters to an extent that many well-meaning Catholics feel they no longer know where the Church stands on issues of faith. Most recently, in his latest off-the-cuff ramble on Thursday, he was asked about marriage. He said: Its provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say yes, for the rest of my life! but they dont know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they dont know. To say that the great majority of Catholic marriages are null, or invalid, is a statement that is neither true, wise, nor fair. The Vatican has since toned down his remarks in the written transcript to say a part of our sacramental marriages are null, in apparent recognition of the damage Franciss statement might cause. For a pope of the people he certainly doesnt give Catholics much credit. For a Catholic marriage to be valid all that is needed is the freedom to marry, consent from both parties, and the intention to marry for life and be open to children. Thats it. Over the years, some clerics have used an interpretation of canon law to suggest emotional immaturity can be a reason for not understanding the responsibilities of marriage, and therefore as invalid and open to annulment. But marriage is not hard to understand, and the Catholic rite of marriage, as well as the preparation couples go through beforehand, makes clear what marriage involves. For Pope Francis to say the great majority of marriages are null implies that the great majority of Catholic are ignorant fools who cannot understand the responsibilities of a bedrock of society that has existed for thousands of years. It also suggests severe doubt in the mercy and grace of God. The rule of thumb when the validity of sacraments, whether it be marriage, the Eucharist or the priesthood, is concerned, is to assume validity unless something clearly contradicts that. So just like a priest doubting his faith as he is ordained is still a priest, a bride with jitters is still validly married -- God makes up for our frailties. Francis words put the devils doubt into the hearts and minds of good Catholic couples who may be going through a rough time, and who instead of saying Were Catholic, were married, this is until death parts us, may now say, Well, the pope says most marriages arent valid anyway...maybe ours isnt either and give up. Francis statement demonstrates a lack of faith in the Church and its ability to vet couples seeking marriage, to teach them about what marriage is, and to administer the sacraments effectively. If most marriages are invalid because couples dont understand a life-long commitment, does that mean most priestly ordinations are invalid too? If so, are most masses invalid? Most confessions? The Churchs authority rests, in part, on its claim to be able to communicate the sacraments and the teachings of Christ. Francis has cast doubt on the former, has done a poor job of the latter, and by doing so has brought the Churchs legitimacy into question. His comments come after he dealt more confusion to Catholic marriages by allowing the liberal Cardinal Walter Kasper to take control of last years Synod of the Family -- who turned the whole thing into a referendum on gay people and communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. Francis made things worse this year with his vague document on the family -- Amoris Laetitia -- in which he buried the hot topic of divorced and remarried Catholics in a footnote, and muddied the waters some more by saying that such couples could receive sacraments in certain cases. When asked to clarify he said I dont remember the footnote. Wonderful. Once upon a time Catholics would have been stuck with a bad pope, but since Pope Emeritus Benedict opened the door for a pope resigning when he can no longer do his job, it is time for the faithful to look at Francis and ask -- is this man able to lead the Holy Catholic Church? At this point it is clear, Bergoglio has repeatedly proven himself unable to lead, and is doing incalculable damage to the Church that will take decades to heal. Pope Francis should resign, and Catholics should demand it, so the Church can begin recovering from the havoc his ill-advised and arrogant papacy has wrought. Shannon Riggs and her cousins were famished after attending a Donald Trump rally last week in Richmond, Va., so they decided to drop by Cook Out a regional restaurant chain known for its tasty burgers. The group was decked out in Trump swag from T-shirts to those iconic red hats emblazoned with the campaigns slogan: Make America Great Again. Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for conservatives! But apparently the cashier at the Cook Out in Colonial Heights does not believe Trump can make America great again. Nor do they believe his supporters deserve to eat Cook Out hamburgers. Riggs explained what happened during the June 10 incident to television station WTVR. As soon as we got to the window, someone inside said Hell no! Im not serving them, she recounted. They were denied service simply for being Trump supporters! You should not be discriminated (against) based on who you support, whether it be for Bernie, Hillary or Mr. Trump, Ms Riggs told the television station. Click here to get a signed copy of Todds latest book - primer on how to restore traditional American values! The folks at Cook Out disputed the notion that they denied the family service. A company spokesperson told me the manager on duty immediately had someone else take the customers order. But while the family waited for their order they said other workers laughed at them. Disgusted, they demanded a refund and left the restaurant. Once you witness discrimination first hand, its a totally different experience, 16-year-old Lauren Wolfrey told the television station. I was in a state of shock. They had this sense of anger, she added. They were just really rude to us. Cook Out conceded the employee violated their policy on rudeness. The manager on duty apologized and granted the customer a refund, the spokesperson said. The employee that was rude was immediately terminated per policy. The folks at Cook Out tell me they gladly feed everybody regardless of political affiliation Republican or Democrat. This was an isolated action of a single person and does not represent the principles on which Cook Out operates, the spokesperson told me. To deny anyone from eating at one of our restaurants would never cross our mind and of course, would be totally ludicrous. Now had this been an isolated incident -- it would not be all that newsworthy. But there is a very disturbing pattern emerging this political season. Trump supporters have been consistently and methodically bullied and intimidated - beaten and bloodied. Remember what happened in San Jose, Calif., when an angry mob brutally assaulted and terrorized his fans? The effort to silence supporters of Donald Trump is not just outrageous. Its unconstitutional. Its un-American. And it's a mighty sad day in these great United States when a person can't order a hamburger without getting a side of partisanship. The Left has given common sense a great big swirly, America. Consider the plight of Captain Butch Arbin, a 40-year veteran of the beach patrol in Ocean City, Md. Hes facing the wrath of City Hall and militant LGBT activists over his handling of a bathroom controversy involving male and female lifeguards. Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for conservatives! Female lifeguards had complained that male lifeguards were using their dressing rooms. The male lifeguards are not transgender. They are presumed to be men who identify as men, which in PC parlance is called "cisgender." Some of the guys were apparently using the ladies room out of convenience seeing how there are more male lifeguards than female. So Arbin fired off an email to set things straight by referencing a recent dustup over President Obamas decree that men who identify as women should be able to use the porta-potty of their choosing. WE are NOT Target, he wrote to the lifeguards. USE the locker room that corresponds to your DNAIf Youre NOT SURE go to Target. Now, that right there is funny, folks. Target is the national retailer that set off a firestorm when it announced customers could pretty much use whatever bathroom suited them. Its just too bad that the LGBT activists in Maryland dont share our sense of humor. Click here to get a signed copy of Todds latest book - primer on how to restore traditional American values! Someone leaked the captains email to the news media and well, lets just say the veteran lifeguard landed in some mighty hot water. Its nothing short of making fun of transgender people, and its absolutely unacceptable for a city employee or a public employee to make fun of transgender people at all, Equality Maryland Executive Director Patrick Paschall told The Washington Post. Paschall accused the beach patrol captain of demeaning transgender people and suggested the email might result in physical harm to the LGBTQ community. No one should be surprised when the increased drumbeat of harassment increases to discrimination and even violence against LGBTQ people, he said. Oh, please. Arbin said the email had nothing to do with transgender people. I used humor to make the point, he said. I was ONLY looking out for the women of the patrol and was not attempting to put down any group or individual, only maintain a nice facility for the women who choose to use a gender specific facility. He told the Baltimore Sun that the guys were leaving the toilet seats up and that was an issue for the ladies. I dont care about being politically correct, he told the newspaper. Thats one of the problems in the country right now. So the LGBT activists and left-wingers are trying to politically water board this poor guy simply because he was looking out for the female lifeguards. Facing a tsunami of illegitimate outrage, Arbin issued a public heartfelt apology. Still, City Hall threw him under the cabana. Ocean City spokesperson Jessica Waters called his actions completely inappropriate. He just stepped way out of line, she told the Post. Its not a reflection of Ocean City in any way, and we welcome all types of people. Thats a lovely sentiment, dear. But does that mean its city policy to let men who identify as men leave the seat up in the ladies room? Ocean City Today, the official newspaper in those parts, issuing a brilliant defense of Arbin. They suggested that he should tell his critics to pound sand writing in a stinging editorial about having to take special care that we dont put a toe over the line of hurting anyones feelings. Butch Arbin ought to tell those who would see him disciplined for a recent email to take Ocean Citys 10 miles of sand and pound it. They sound like my kind of people. One thing wrong with society in these turbulent times isnt Arbin or anyone like him, but is the increasingly delicate dance of public discourse at a time when those who seek tolerance are themselves intolerant, the newspaper wrote in a staff editorial. I hope they get a Pulitzer for editorial writing. U.S. leaders have developed a disgraceful habit of casting aside those who serve their country with honor and dignity as well as those from other countries who worked as foreign assets when they no longer find them useful. Portugal will soon extradite former CIA officer Sabrina de Sousa to Italy for incarceration. Her crime? She executed the orders of her CIA superiors, who were acting under the direction of the administration with oversight from Congress. A dual citizen of the United States and Portugal, an Italian court convicted her in absentia in 2009 for her alleged role in the kidnapping of radical Egyptian imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in Milan. De Sousa says that she was nearly 200 miles away from the incident when it occurred. Even Nasr, whom the CIA rendered to Egypt where he claimed he was tortured, said de Sousa is a scapegoat. De Sousa followed a command issued by her agency and her country. If the Italians truly believe anyone committed a crime, then they identified the wrong criminal. Their judicial system should target the officials within the United States government who directed the operation. Her spending even one day in a prison cell will stain American leadership. I hope frantic diplomatic efforts are underway to prevent her imprisonment. But recent history does not offer much optimism. Dr. Shakeel Afridi the doctor who proved instrumental in ascertaining the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden continues to languish in a Pakistani prison. Official Washington celebrates the great victory of killing the worlds most wanted terrorist, but they left a man critical to the undertaking in the dust. Even more outrageous is that those same people boasting about the operation disclosed highly classified information that enabled Pakistan to identify Afridis alleged role. The U.S. left Alfridi behind, and it appears they will soon leave de Sousa behind. The rendition program in which de Sousa participated in Italy generated controversy. The raid in Pakistan remains controversial in some circles. Both reportedly caused diplomatic friction among representatives of their governments. However, controversy does not excuse Washington from dropping like dead weight those who implement their national security decisions. Americas leaders should be ashamed. As Afridi languishes and de Sousa likely not far behind, the Leavenworth 10 military service members remain incarcerated for supposed crimes committed during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. To many, the sentences are unjustified given situations in which they are forced to make life-and-death decisions within fractions of a second. Many of those jailed assuredly do not deserve life sentences for erring on the side of protecting their own when threatened. They were simply executing the orders of our commander-in-chief with the full consent and knowledge of Congress to the best of their ability. Meanwhile, the administration works feverishly to release radical Islamist terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility, and close its doors forever. Officials believe at least a dozen detainees released from the facility have launched attacks on allied forces in Afghanistan that left members of the Armed Services dead. A March 2016 summary on recidivism from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence indicates that of the 676 detainees released to other countries, 118 are confirmed of reengaging in terrorism and 86 are suspected of doing so. The administrations priorities are backward. Common sense would dictate the U.S. rehabilitate those who may have committed some crimes while serving in deadly combat zones. Common sense also dictates that the leaders not leave behind those who have sacrificed, often at great personal risk, to support the U.S. and its interests. Prioritizing the rehabilitation and release of Islamist terrorists who have committed themselves to murdering Americans stands at the height of absurdity. Who will ever again jeopardize their life to serve their country when they see how it treats its heroes versus how it treats those guilty of harming and killing its heroes? Americans and foreign assets deserve so much better. Russias strongman is finally feeling some heat. In just the last month several Russian spies and agents have been arrested or sentenced by the U.S. and NATO governments in response to President Putins hybrid warfare on the West. For years the Kremlin has been using every possible asset to undermine NATO, from propaganda, to the threat of invasion, to co-opting government officials of NATO nations. National security analysts, especially those with defense intelligence backgrounds, have been sounding the alarm on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington about Putins activities, and it appears that the alarm bell has now been heard. A recent study by the Army War College recommended that, the United States and its allies must employ a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to address capabilities beyond the scope of the military, such as law enforcement, that are critical to addressing an ambiguous threat coming from Russia. That recommendation is already beginning to be followed and it could signal a long-needed shift in strategy to counter Putins Russia. In May, Italian and Portuguese authorities arrested Frederico Carvalhao, an officer in the Portuguese intelligence services, for passing NATO secret documents to a Russian spy. In a rare occurrence, Carvalhaos handler from Russias Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) also was arrested, since he had been working without the usual diplomatic cover. On May 25, Russian banker Evgeny Buryakov was sentenced by U.S. federal authorities to 30 months in prison, fined, and ordered deported after serving his sentence, for using his position with Russian bank VEB, which has offices in New York to spy for the Kremlin for a number of years. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: Evgeny Buryakov, in the guise of being a legitimate banker, gathered intelligence as an agent of the Russian Federation in New York. He traded coded messages with one of his Russian spy co-defendants, who sent the clandestinely collected information back to Moscow. Buryakovs position working under non-official cover (NOC) distinguishes him as a high-value intelligence asset for the SVR. His two SVR colleagues were also charged, but their official cover afforded them diplomatic immunity and they have left the country. Also in May, Polish authorities arrested the leader of a pro-Kremlin political party on charges of spying for Russia. Mateusz Piskorski, head of the Zmiana party, was the second Polish citizen arrested that month on charges of espionage for Russia. Days later, a Polish court sentenced Col. J. Zbigniew to six years in prison for his role in spying for Russia. Zbigniew had been arrested in 2014, but was only convicted and sentenced last month. An attorney arrested with him has yet to stand trial. In these examples, authorities had direct evidence of spying for Russia. In other cases, admissible evidence of Russian influence is harder to come by and a more creative approach was necessary. Recent moves in the Czech Republic are also worth noting. Earlier this year, officials from the pro-Moscow ANO Party managed to release a Hezbollah terrorist with Russian connections, in defiance of a U.S. extradition request. The Czech government, embarrassed by the release of Ali Fayyad and the strong condemnation by the U.S. government, is now purging those who act against NATO interests. The first casualty is Col. Robert Slachta, head of an elite police force who was involved in Fayyads release and has just been forced to resign as a result of an announced reorganization. This is a positive first step by the Czechs to show that they are independent of Moscow and will not tolerate its meddling in their security affairs. In a recent floor speech, Congressman Chris Stewart, a member of the Intelligence Committee, shrewdly noted, More than anything, we need the president to get off the sidelines and show that he is serious about countering Putin. That could start with a serious effort to determine who cooperated with Russia in releasing Mr. Fayyad, and then issue targeted sanctions on those officials. Mr. Fayyad is likely to continue plotting to harm the U.S., and his release isnt a simple oversight that we should ignore. The administration finally is taking steps in the right direction, led by the military and the Congress. It is encouraging to see that our Eastern European allies are undertaking similar steps as well. For the sake of U.S. and NATO security, aggressive counter espionage tactics within NATO nations must continue. With strong international cooperation Putins bad month can be the new normal for a regime that has long been an unchecked, destabilizing force in the region. Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said Thursday on Special Report with Bret Baier that in the wake of the Orlando terror attack, none of the countrys major political players, including the president and presumptive presidential nominees, are proposing a terror strategy that will succeed. Its remarkable to me that we seem to completely ignore the one example, historical example which would show us what works. Al Qaeda had four major attacks against US interests, Krauthammer said, Afterwards, we decided to go after them. They were then driven out of their sanctuary, physically. We have not had a major attack on that scale from Al Qaeda since. Krauthammer said its essential to fight the terrorists where they live, otherwise we will fail. You can harden all of the soft targets you want in America. You can keep all the Muslim immigrants you want away from our shores. It will make no difference, he said. In the end, the only thing that will work as it worked to a large extent with Al Qaeda you have to go after them where they live, and drive them out. President Obama met Thursday with the families of Orlando terror attack victims as part of a solemn visit to a community still recovering from Sunday's massacre that left 50 people, including the gunman, dead. The visit comes four days after Omar Mateen opened fire at Pulse nightclub early Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. After Obama met with families of the victims, he and Vice President Biden met with the owners and staff of the nightclub who were working the night of the attack. Obama said in remarks after the meeting that the city was "shaken by an evil, hateful act." But today, he said, "most of all, there is love." Obama used his remarks to once again call for gun control measures in Congress. He said while the U.S. will work to destroy ISIS, "it's going to take more than just our military." "Our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist ... to buy extraordinary powerful weapons and they can do so legally," Obama said. "Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families," Obama said, before calling on lawmakers to "rise to the moment and do the right thing." Obama's remarks come as Republicans and Democrats debate gun control measures in the wake of the attack. Some Republicans have shown a willingness to crack down on access to guns for those on terror watch lists, but remain opposed to any move to ban assault weapons. Many Republican lawmakers say the focus should be on the terror threat from radical Islam, and not gun laws. "This is not a gun control issue. This is a terrorism issue," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Democratic lawmaker is offering a twist on calls by Republican colleagues to drug-test people applying for government welfare benefitsproposing to force those in upper-income brackets to pass drug tests to receive tax deductions. Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore introduced the Top 1% Accountability Act on Thursday. The bill calls for individuals who claim itemized deductions over $150,000 to submit a recent and clean drug test or else they may not elect to itemize deductions for the taxable year. Instead, theyd be restricted to the lower standard deduction. Households claiming $150,000 in deductions would likely be earning much more than that. The bill stands little chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled Congress. Republicans who have pushed drug screening for welfare recipients at the state level have said its a way to safeguard taxpayer money. But Moore Communications Director Eric Harris said the congresswoman was sick and tired of Republicans who criminalize poverty. He added, The idea that those battling poverty are more susceptible to substance abuse is as absurd as it is offensive. Moore, a single mother of three, used to be a food stamp recipient. Flipping the script, she told The Guardian: We might really save some money by drug-testing folks on Wall Street, who might have a little cocaine before they get their deal done. Harris said acceptable drug tests would include those from an employer, a certified state program or a medical review officer. FoxNews.coms Liz Torrey contributed to this report. Dozens of U.S. officials have called on the Obama administration to order "targeted military strikes" against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, with the aim of pressuring Damascus to accept a binding cease-fire and engage in peace talks. The Wall Street Journal reported that 51 State Department officials advising Syria policy signed the so-called "dissent channel cable". State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed the cable's existence Thursday, but said he would not comment further until officials have reviewed its contents. The cable expresses clear frustration with America's inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of Obama's reluctance to enter the fray. "Its embarrassing for the administration to have so many rank-and-file members break on Syria," a former State Department official told the Journal. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorized strikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria. While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syria's leader out of power. A series of partial cease-fires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. The U.S. does have military assets available in the region, including two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea and a number of Air Force jets based at Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey. However, Assad has enjoyed the protection of his Russian allies in recent months, and any action against the Syrian regime would likely bring U.S. and Russian forces into direct conflict. Moscow has deployed an advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile system to Syria, as well as dozens of air-to-air interceptors and strike fighters such as the Su-35 and Su-24. Navy Vice-Admiral James Foggo III, commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, told Fox News Thursday that Russia also has two Kilo-class submarines in the Black Sea armed with state-of-the art Kalibr cruise missiles. One kilo boat launched one of these cruise missiles into Syria from the Mediterranean Sea this past December. Since September, Russia has deployed dozens of jets and helicopter gunships to Syria, which are now spread out among four bases. Russia also has dispatched bombers on missions from Engels and Mozdok, in southern Russia, which have launched cruise missiles and dozens of unguided bombs in the last year. Republican and even some Democratic lawmakers have been urging Obama to take greater military action in Syria for years, from air strikes to the establishment of a no-fly zone over rebel-held areas. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton pushed some of these steps, too. But Obama has resisted, fearful of leading America into another war in the Muslim world after finding it impossible to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and keep forces out of Iraq. Military commanders have been similarly reticent, given the lack of a clear alternative to Assad that might unify Syria and advance U.S. national security interests. Nevertheless, Obama has said Assad must relinquish control if there is to be peace. And Kerry, Clinton's successor as the chief U.S. diplomat, has repeatedly said that to defeat ISIS, the U.S. must be able to assure Syria's many other rebel groups that there will be a post-Assad future for their country. The dissent document echoes these sentiments, calling the government's barrel bomb attacks on civilians "the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region." "Failure to stem Assad's flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as (ISIS)," the document continued, "even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield." Click for more from The Wall Street Journal. The Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from Middle Eastern and other foreign governments that criminalize homosexuality but prominent gay rights groups in America have stayed silent on the apparent disconnect between Hillary Clintons rhetoric and the donations. "Unquestionably, they're not standing up for their principles," said Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee frequently talks about her support for the LGBT community, while ripping what she describes as discriminatory policies in the U.S. "It's outrageous that, in 2015, you can still be fired for being gay," she told the Human Rights Campaign in an October 2015 speech. "You can still lose your home for being gay. You can even be denied a wedding cake for being gay." But published reports and figures provided by the Clinton Foundation on its website show the group has accepted millions from countries that prosecute and imprison gay people and worse. The following is an overview of those contributions, as well as policies from donor nations as detailed by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). Algeria: ($250,000-$500,000) Algerian law states: "Anyone guilty of a homosexual act is punishable with imprisonment. Brunei: ($1 million-$5 million) Brunei's penal code states: "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years." Jamaica: ($50,000-$100,000) Gay men caught having sex face up to 10 years in prison. Kuwait: ($5 million-$10 million) Kuwaiti law states: "Consensual intercourse between men of full age (from the age of 21) shall be punishable with a term of imprisonment of up to seven years." Oman: ($1 million-$5 million) Law states: "Anyone who commits erotic acts with a person of the same sex shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to three years." Qatar: ($1 million-$5 million) Sentences for acts of homosexuality range from one to seven years in prison. Saudi Arabia: ($10 million-$25 million) Islamic law in Saudi Arabia enforces penalties for homosexual sex, ranging from public flogging to death. For a non-Muslim who commits sodomy with a Muslim, the penalty is death by stoning. United Arab Emirates: ($1 million-$5 million) Emirati law states: "All sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage are banned in the United Arab Emirates." "The Clinton Foundation probably should have to give the money back because they shouldn't take money from these totalitarian countries that punish and torture and execute gay people for being gay," said Matthew Vadum, vice president of the Capital Research Center, which analyzed donations to the Clinton Foundation. But the outrage elsewhere is muted. Fox News contacted more than a half-dozen prominent gay rights organizations including The Human Rights Campaign; GLAAD; the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission; the Los Angeles LGBT Center; and the Gill Foundation. None would comment on what critics consider Clinton's hypocrisy, promising to protect gay rights while enriching her foundation by promoting ties with repressive governments that violate those rights. Halvorssen said these governments are essentially buying their way into the good graces of someone who could be the next president and underscored the disconnect with Clintons message on the campaign trail. "The Clintons constantly talk about how they are friends and allies of the gay community, yet here they are receiving tens of millions of dollars from governments that actually execute people for being gay," he said. Halvorssen said Clinton should return the money. Foundation representatives did not return calls or emails asking if the organization had any future plans to decline contributions from regimes that repress gay rights. "It doesnt make any sense to me and I think people are starting to realize its internally contradictory," Vadum said. "The hypocrisy lies in the fact that Hillary Clinton's foundation takes money from countries where gay sexual acts can be punished by death or by flogging or by other nasty punishments. And so it doesn't make a lot of sense to get upset about comparatively trivial problems here in America that gays face compared to death and torture and dismemberment as they experience every day in countries where Islamic and Sharia law prevail." Case in point, recall the backlash Clinton received for appreciating Nancy Reagans low-key advocacy on HIV/AIDS, saying it penetrated the public conscience, and people began to say, Hey, we have to do something about this. Clinton faced a swift and fierce backlash from gay rights groups, including the nation's largest, the Human Rights Campaign, which considered pulling its endorsement. Clinton offered an apology within hours. Top House Republicans are raising red flags about Boeing's potential sale of roughly 100 commercial jets to Iran, warning it could end up benefiting Irans military, as well as terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. While the talks have not drawn objections from the Obama administration, Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, fired off a letter Thursday raising concerns about Tehran's history of using commercial planes to support "hostile actors." We strongly oppose the potential sale of military-fungible products to terrorisms central supplier. American companies should not be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian Regime, the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Whether Iran could or would use the aircraft for such purposes is unclear but the letter, obtained by FoxNews.com, seeks more information about the national security implications of the pending deal -- as well as the status of negotiations. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday a tentative agreement had been reached between the American aviation giant and Iran for about 100 jets. Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi also said an agreement was close and would be announced in the coming days. One source told The Washington Post the deal could be worth more than $17 billion. If agreed, the deal would be one of the most significant since the easing of trade sanctions on the country in January as part of the Iran nuclear deal signed last year. But Roskam and Hensarling reminded Boeing in their letter that the State Department recently branded the country the foremost state sponsor of terrorism. They note Irans commercial aircraft are commonly used for military purposes and to back terrorist groups. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) systematically uses commercial aircraft to transport troops, weapons, military-related parts, rockets, and missiles to hostile actors around the world, including, but not limited to, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Houthi Rebels in Yemen, and the Bashar Al-Assad Regime in Syria. These terrorist groups and rogue regimes have American blood on their hands. Your potential customers do as well, the lawmakers wrote. The letter noted Iran Air was designated by the Treasury Department as an entity providing support to the IRGC. Hensarling and Roskam say while it was de-listed, possibly as a diplomatic concession, there is no reason to believe the company has ceased its malicious activity. The lawmakers are seeking information to help determine whether commercial airlines in Iran previously have used Boeing planes to assist foreign terror organizations and what the company will do if it determines the airplanes have been used for something other than civil aviation. The controversy over the potential deal highlights the many pitfalls and ethical gray areas companies are likely to face when trying to do business with Iran in the wake of last years deal that brought the rogue state in from the cold. Despite lawmakers objections, the Obama administration is not protesting a deal at this stage. On Tuesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby walked a fine line on a possible agreement. Without commenting on specific announcements by private companies, I would remind you that under the [Iran deal] we issued a statement of licensing policy that allowed for case-by-case licensing of individuals and entities seeking to export, re-export, sell, lease, or transfer to Iran commercial passenger aircraft and associated parts and services exclusively for commercial passenger aviation, Kirby said. While Kirby would not comment on Boeing in particular, he said were not going to stand in the way of permissible business under the [Iran deal] and we are going to do what we can to meet our commitments as long as Iran continues to meet their nuclear-related commitments. A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment on the letter, and told FoxNews.com that any agreement would be conditional on approval from the U.S. government. We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved by the USG about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplanes and services, the spokesman said. We do not discuss details of ongoing conversations we are having with customers, and our standard practice is to let customers announce any agreements that are reached. Any agreements reached will be contingent on U.S. government approval, he said. Hensarling is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Roskam leads the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight. It seems the moon is not Earth's only cosmic companion. The newly discovered asteroid 2016 HO3 orbits the sun in such a way that the space rock never strays too far from Earth, making it a "quasi-satellite" of our planet, scientists say. "One other asteroid 2003 YN107 followed a similar orbital pattern for a while over 10 years ago, but it has since departed our vicinity," Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement Wednesday (June 15). "This new asteroid is much more locked onto us," Chodas added. "Our calculations indicate 2016 HO3 has been a stable quasi-satellite of Earth for almost a century, and it will continue to follow this pattern as Earth's companion for centuries to come." Indeed, 2016 HO3 is the best example of an Earth quasi-satellite ever found, scientists said. The asteroid was discovered on April 27 by scientists using the Pan-STARRS 1 survey telescope in Hawaii. 2016 HO3's exact size is unknown, but researchers think it's between 130 feet and 330 feet wide. As the space rock circles the sun, it loops around Earth as well, zooming ahead of the planet half of the time and trailing behind the other half, NASA officials said. 2016 HO3's orbit is tilted slightly relative to that of Earth, so the asteroid also bobs up and down through our planet's orbital plane. The path of 2016 HO3 tends to twist and drift over time, but Earth's gravitational pull keeps the asteroid contained: It never comes closer than 9 million miles to our planet, and it never gets more than 24 million miles away, researchers said. "In effect, this small asteroid is caught in a little dance with Earth," Chodas said. This dance is not dangerous: 2016 HO3 poses no threat to the planet, NASA officials said. Original article on Space.com. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Robot explorers have found Mars to be a world of sulfur, acids, magnesium, iron and chlorine compounds, all of which are sunbaked and wrapped in a carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere. But what would this complex and exotic brew smell like? It turns out that everyone not just Mars explorers might be able to find out, because there may be ways to recreate whiffs of the Red Planet here on Earth. Related from Space.com: The 7 Biggest Mysteries of Mars Headspace tech One relatively recent innovation in the perfume business is "Headspace" technology. "It gathers the molecules, and then the sample is brought back to the lab to be analyzed by spectral analysis. The results are typically synthesized to create a scent that mimics the smell of those molecules," said Jacquelyn Ford Morie, founder and chief scientist of the California-based company All These Worlds LLC, which uses virtual reality (VR) and other technology to create "immersive experiences" for a variety of applications. Morie thinks Headspace, or something like it, could be used to decode the smell of Mars. "I think that new artisan fragrance designers would love to design a series of scents that are their own, nonsampled interpretations of what Mars might smell like," she told Space.com. A future mission could take a spectroscopic reading of the Martian atmosphere, then beam that information back to Earth, where Headspace hardware could reconstruct (or evoke) the Red Planet scent, Morie added. "That's the cool thing about the artisan scent designers," she said. "They can add the more stinky elements to make a scent that hints at the real Mars while still being cool to smell. Many top fragrances have small bits of those otherwise smelly elements in them." Eau de Red Planet Morie suspects that the predominant Mars odor is a slightly acrid, gassy smell of sulfur compounds, with a chalky, sweet overtone punching through. This scent would become a big part of Red Planet settlers' lives. "Imagine 30 or 40 years from now, when we have established colonies on Mars, and the colonists have become not only accepting of the scented detritus they track into their habitats, but actually consider it the smell of home," Morie said. Future colonists could perhaps also use finely crafted habitat scents as harmonious counterpoints to the native smells of their adopted planet, she added. Studies have shown repeatedly that smell is intimately tied to memory; whiffs of a familiar scent can trigger nostalgia and other strong feelings about times long past. So, if Mars colonists "need to return to Earth, they would absolutely require a vial or two of 'Eau de Red Planet' to remind them of their life on this distant human outpost," Morie said. Extraterrestrial encounters Decoding or replicating Mars' scent would not be the first extraterrestrial encounter of the odor kind. During the Apollo lunar landing program, for example, some of the moonwalkers noticed that they had brought back rock and dust particles into their lunar module. The material tainted their spacesuits. Once the astronauts took off their helmets, the moon's smell which was likened to wet ashes in a fireplace, or spent gunpowder from a just-fired shotgun was evident. Then, in 1998, scientists with New York-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) sent a miniature rose plant aboard the space shuttle Discovery on its STS-95 mission, to study the effect of microgravity on scent. Using proprietary technologies, the team, led by Braja Mookherjee, tracked radical shifts in the living flower's scent over the course of the shuttle flight. "Ultimately, they discovered and created new-to-world profiles that have since gone on to enormous commercial success," IFF representatives wrote in a blog post late last year. In addition, artisan Carrie Paterson has investigated making scents of life on Earth that can be embedded as olfactory information into multichannel interstellar messages. Then, there's the work of designer Saskia Wilson-Brown, who's interested in finding out what UFOs might smell like. Originally published on Space.com. Doesnt your dad deserve better than a tie? Every year American fathers get the usual gifts. Upgrade from the norm and get him gear designed by and for tactical professionals. Here are four of the very best tacti-cool twists on traditional gifts: belt, pen, bag and briefcase. 1. Belts designed for special operations Lets face it. Belts are boring and are always a go-to around Fathers Day. But why get your dad a boring belt when you could get him a belt fit for Jason Bourne and made by a company named after the God of War? Ares Gear belts are immensely popular with tactical professionals with insider knowledge. There is no better belt on the market. The belts were designed for our nations most elite special operators and now any father can deck out his own pants with their advanced craftsmanship. Related: The 6 best tactical drinking gifts for Father's Day For fathers who need to carry a weapon, this belt will perfectly balance the weight of the pistol. It is so well designed it will feel like he is not even carrying it. It is strong enough to support all of his life-saving gear but dapper enough that he can wear it with his dress pants on date night with mom. This is the one belt that fathers will genuinely be excited to unwrap. Your dad will never want to wear another belt. Kit your Dad out in a belt made for Rangers the Ranger belt with its two layers of proprietary scuba webbing and bead blasted stainless steel buckle goes for $105.99. 2. Bullet Pens If youre leaning towards a pen, then upgrade your game. Get him a pen that will be the envy of all other dads. A Juniors pen is made out of once-fired military brass and it is a must. All the pens are reloadable and use a standard Cross-type refill. The classic 7.62 Bullet Pen comes in brass and nickel with a choice of copper, gun metal, or chrome tips and clips depending on shell color and is available for $19.95. Juniors Pens are made by a veteran whose son served in the US Army Special Forces. During a 54-hour battle, SSG Chris Falkel died saving the lives of his team and 16 members of the Afghan National Army. He was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery and heroism. Related: 7 ultimate tactical graduation gifts Since he never had the chance to see it through, his father made the sons brilliant ideas for bullet pens a reality. And this dad generously donates a significant amount of the proceeds from these pens to military related charities to date donating more than $200,000. Choosing the Bullet Pen as your gift is a chance to show your father how much you appreciate him. But it is also a chance to recognize another amazing father and to support great charitable initiatives for our armed forces. 3. James Bond man bag Why would you give your dad the classic Fathers Day backpack to tote his stuff around, when you could get him the sort of bag designed for the real James Bonds of the world? To the untrained eye, the Grey Ghost Wanderer looks like a cool man bag. This messenger-style bag will tote around all the usual dad stuff, whether it is his laptop or a copy of Guns & Ammo. But this is a bag designed for the most elite covert tactical professionals, so it will also carry around a PDW rifle with the stock collapsed. Its engineered for easy rapid access to an off-body carry concealed pistol. And real Bonds never know when they need to go into one-man-is-an-army mode so there is plenty of rooms for pistols and spare mags. Related: 5 top tactical gifts for Mother's Day For an elite tactical professional who needs to blend in, just about every single detail has been factored in. There is even a pocket for a stabby pen. Enough said. Available for $235.00. 4. The man of action briefcase There is more to your dad than the guy who goes to work. Every Fathers Day there is a rush on nice briefcases all over America. How about rather than getting your dad something to take to work, get him a bag he will love that he can take to the range? The 5.11 Tactical Range Ready bag is a great choice for dads who hit the range to practice for their job or enjoy working on their marksmanship during their time off. This smart bag has segregated, padded storage for multiple pistol and the front flap stores 8 magazines. Available for $99.99. Police in Oklahoma are using scanners that can identify phony credit cards, but critics warn the devices could also allow cops to empty the bank accounts of law-abiding citizens with one swipe. Authorities in the state are using the new devices during traffic stops to freeze and seize money loaded onto prepaid debit cards by alleged drug traffickers, with the potential to net up to $8,000 per portable scanner. Supporters of the program, which has only been in the field for about six weeks, say it's an important tool for law enforcement agencies to interrupt the flow of illegal drugs into Oklahoma. Critics, however, are blasting the machines as a disturbing extension of civil forfeiture laws, with the potential for abuse by police and prosecutors. Opponents say such devices are an infringement on Fourth Amendment prohibitions of unreasonable search and seizure -- and that police departments are in turn stuffing their wallets with the cash from innocent civilians. "We believe its blatantly unconstitutional," Nick Sibillia, of the Institute for Justice, told FoxNews.com. "The Fourth Amendment is unfortunately in tatters in this day and age." The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety signed a contract with Texas-based ERAD Group Inc., to use the devices, which work on "open loop" prepaid debit cards, like those provided by American Express and Visa. But "debit cards attached to a valid checking account or valid credit cards cannot be processed" by ERAD, which stands for Electronic Recovery and Access to Data. The company that manufactures the devices is also promised 7.7 percent of all money forfeited using the machines, according to one contract obtained by Oklahoma Watch. "It's just absolutely appalling that a private company can profit from this forfeited property," said Sibillia. The card readers, which are said to be used in at least 25 other states, have reignited debate over civil asset forfeiture -- a legal tool used by police and prosecutors across the country to take millions of dollars in cash, cars, homes and more every year. Under civil forfeiture, law enforcement can seize property without charging an individual with a crime. Unlike criminal forfeiture, no conviction is necessary to seize assets -- a law opponents say threatens basic rights to property and due process. Further, state and federal statute allows for cash and assets associated with the drug trade to become the property of a policing agency through civil litigation. In many places, cash and property seized boosts the budgets of the very police agencies and prosecutors offices that took it. In 2012, 70 percent of all forfeiture expenditures in Oklahoma funded salaries for law enforcement, according to data obtained by The Institute for Justice. In the case of the ERAD system, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the machines are important in fighting identity theft and credit card fraud. In an interview with FoxNews.com, Capt. Paul Timmons sought to clarify "misinformation" he said has made people panic. "This is a tool for our troopers to use when they suspect theres criminal activity," he said. "We dont have access to anyones personal banking activity -- thats all protected information." On Monday, Oklahoma authorities also held a press conference to dispel rumors about the devices. We can do nothing with someones bank account. We can do nothing with someones debit card, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol chief Col. Ricky Adams. What we can tell is if it is yours, if the information on the back of a gift card is your personal credit card information. Oklahoma State Sen. Kyle Loveless, however, said he has major concerns over the system's use and the potential for abuse. "The manufacturer in its patent and promotional videos said it can get information from any card with a magnetic strip," Loveless told FoxNews.com. "The issue is if it can take money from one card, it can take money from any card." Loveless, a Republican, said many legitimate business use the cards targeted by ERAD machines. He also noted that prepaid cards are the only source of banking for many lower-income and young people and that unemployment, disability and other government assistance programs give money using prepaid cards. Loveless called civil forfeiture a "growing problem" in the state, claiming most forfeitures there average $1200 and that Oklahoma counties are "taking in millions of dollars a year." He said one audit found that an Oklahoma district attorney used forfeited money to pay off his law school loans. "The potential for abuse is basically a slap in the face of Oklahomans and Americans," he said. The B-52 is still flying high after six decades. It became operational in 1955 and was the primary long-range heavy bomber of the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. Even after 60 years it continues to be an important part of the USAF bomber force today. Nearly 750 were built before production ended on Oct. 26, 1962; 170 of these were B-52Ds. The B-52D Stratofortess that is on display at National Museum of the Air Force saw extensive service in Southeast Asia and was severely damaged by an enemy surface-to-air missile on April 9, 1972. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. Transferred from the 97th Bomb Wing, Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., this aircraft was flown to the museum in November 1978. The fiery derailment of an oil train in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge has state transportation officials asking for a halt to the massive trains because of concerns their heavier weight could be putting extra strain on a certain type of bolt that fastens the rails to the tracks. The Oregon Department of Transportation discussed its concerns about the safety of the so-called "lag bolts" in a presentation Thursday to the Oregon Transportation Commission and made public a letter it mailed to the Federal Railroad Administration on June 8 asking for the moratorium. Union Pacific, which operated the train, has said the June 3 derailment was caused by a failure of the bolts, fasteners which are used to attach the rail to the rail tie. The accident forced evacuations in the tiny town of Mosier, about 70 miles east of Portland, and spilled 42,000 gallons of oil into the Columbia River. No one was injured. In a presentation to commission members, ODOT administrator Hal Gard said the lag bolts found at the scene were rusted on both ends, indicating they had been sheared off before the derailment. State officials showed a photo of a pile of lag bolts collected at the site. Trains that carry only crude oil began running in that section of the Columbia River Gorge in 2014 and state investigators are concerned that the heavier weight and shorter length of those trains might be causing the lag bolts to break. The trains' weight is spread out over a shorter distance, increasing the pressure on the tracks. Without the fasteners anchoring the rails to the rail ties, the parallel rails can be pushed further apart by the train's weight, causing a derailment, said Tom Fuller, ODOT's director of communications. The sloshing of the liquid oil inside the tankers might also mean additional stress as the weight of the train's contents shifts on curves, he added. "The liquid is heavier and the weight is even more concentrated because there's a shorter distance between the wheels and that's what allowed one of the cars to literally come off the rails and then it pulled the other cars with it," he said. The lag bolt system was installed on the Columbia River Gorge route in 2001, Gard said, and the rails at the location were replaced in 2013. Tests conducted by both Union Pacific and ODOT for flaws in the tracks didn't turn up the faulty bolts, Fuller said. "Our concern right now is if Union Pacific or ODOT weren't able to determine that these bolts were broken, how do we know there aren't more of these bolts broken in other places?" he said. "Where else are these bolts installed? Where else might this exist ... just waiting to have a derailment?" Matthew Lehner, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said he would issue a press release Thursday but did not have an immediate comment. Union Pacific said it has increased the frequency of inspections since the derailment. The company is doing walking inspections each month on curved sections of track in the Columbia River Gorge and will use a special type of testing to detect problems once every three months instead of once every 18 months, said Justin Jacobs, Union Pacific spokesman. Oil trains are not currently running in the gorge, he said. Jacobs could not provide more details about why the lag bolts failed, but cited a 99.9 percent safety record. "Has a lug nut on a car tire ever failed? Yes, it has. Does it happen very often? No," he said. "Safety is a priority for us." At least 27 oil trains and 11 ethanol trains have been involved in major fires, derailments or spills during the past decade in the U.S. and Canada, according to an Associated Press tally from data kept by transportation agencies and safety investigators from the two nations. Hundreds more rail cars have released smaller amounts of crude following less-severe mishaps. Combined, the accidents released more than 3.6 million gallons of crude and 2.3 million gallons of ethanol, according to safety investigators and an AP analysis of the data. Investigations into some of the accidents are ongoing and release volumes are incomplete. Im a three-time company founder, based in Atlanta, a city where I intentionally chose to start my companies, as opposed to some of the more popular startup hubs. After attending 36I86 in Nashville, a conference (named for its map coordinates) for Southeastern-based entrepreneurs and investors, I realized, again, why my choice was sound. Related: 25 Cities Worth Moving to If You Want to Launch a Business I also recognized, though, how little the world outside of this region knows about the Southeast as a self-contained but burgeoning startup hub. Courtney Corlew, director of 36I86, explained it to me this way: We started this conference in 2013 to celebrate the best in Southern entrepreneurship, investment and culture. It is a unique and efficient way for someone to get a glimpse of the business and cultural climate of the region. It is our hope that this event fosters more entrepreneurship throughout the Southeast. I next asked many of the company reps I met at 36I86: Why did you decide to do business in this region? The consistent themes in their responses included Southern charm, hospitality and the region's spirit of collaboration. But, I wanted to know more. Diving deeper, I asked for, and received, compelling -- and business-related -- reasons why these startup folks now call the Southeast home: 1. Affordable talent and camaraderie The abundance of affordable talent and the mutually supportive atmosphere within the tech community: We really are all pulling for each other. -- Jennifer Silverberg , CEO, SmartCommerce 2. Strong ecosystem Were here because the Southeast makes sense. It has a great pool of talent (plus, people are flocking here from the rest of the country). The cost of living is very affordable. And we have direct flights to everywhere else on the planet. Why would we leave? -- Shane Ballman, CEO at SynapseMX, Inc. 3. Budgets go further We can sell to customers and bring in investors from anywhere, but the Southeast has a much lower cost of living and allows us to stretch our budget much further. -- Ryan Gaines, CFO / COO at Everly 4. People The Southeast was chosen as [our] headquarters location simply because of the people. Our growing team has added a Southern charm to day-to-day business that helps us stand out from the competition. -- Emily Anderson, company cheerleader at mSIGNIA Related: The 25 Best U.S. Cities for Tech Startups 5. Developer talent We are based in Durham, North Carolina, where we find so many talented developers. One of our developers actually moved from Silicon Valley to Durham, where the software development community is great and the cost of living is lower. -- Jose-Ignacio Flores, CEO at SHIPEDGE 6. Public-private sector collaboration The Southeast has seen a powerful emergence of entrepreneurs in the sectors of clean energy, ag-tech, healthcare IT and other health and wellness areas. All of these sectors intertwine with the deep network of support from public and private entities, as well as the academic research institutions. Once a powerful startup community is in place, the infrastructure is in place to support budding talent and brave new entrepreneurs. -- Michael Spinelli , Co-Founder of Nutriati, Inc. 7. Business-friendly local government The Southeast is very business-friendly, both from a political and tax perspective, as well as a culture that celebrates hard work and initiative. -- Kris Kelso, CEO of Healthcare Blocks 8. Talent retention With the attractive cost of living, young adults can afford to buy a home and raise a family here, so it's a great place to retain talent.-- Louise Wasilewski , CEO at Acivilate 9. Underestimated value The Southeast is perennially underestimated, but when you look around, you have access to talent, access to capital and access to markets. Running a business where there is a lower cost of living than [in Silicon] Valley, and [where] so many are driven to make a difference, makes it an easy choice. -- Ali Khoshnevis, managing director of business development, Tesser Health 10. More efficiency with capital You can be more efficient with capital. The overall cost of living is lower in the Southeast, as compared to traditional tech regions. The efficiency can provide additional months of runway, which is great for both entrepreneurs and investors.-- Greg Jordan, CEO, Graph Story Not ready to move your own company to the Southeast, but interested in investing in one that is utilizing the strengths described here to grow a business? Take it from Tyson Clark, partner at Google Ventures, who said he is targeting this region precisely because others are not: Google Ventures is making an active effort to invest in places where we think most of the Silicon Valley VCs arent investing," Clark told me. "We think VCs in the Valley are probably missing opportunities, because this is far away from home. But not jumping on a plane to go to a board meeting isnt a good enough reason not to invest in an awesome company. "Thats why we are going outside the Silicon Valley, and we've come to the Southeast in particular, because theres amazing engineering talent here and an amazing network of universities that provide great technical talent. Theres an incredible entrepreneurial culture here in the Southeast that we want to make sure we are taking advantage of. Related: 9 Hot Startup U.S. Cities That Aren't San Francisco or New York "Sorry boss, I was late because a robot stopped traffic." It's an excuse that's up there with "my dog ate my homework" on the plausibility scale, but some commuters in the town of Perm, Russia, may have had to trot that one out this week. Why? Apparently, researchers on staff at Promobot, the maker of a robot that looks a little like Eve from WALL-E, were testing out the bot's ability to move around on its own, when it seems that one of the engineers left a door open, and it made a great escape into a busy intersection. Related: Robots May Be on the Cusp of Widespread Adoption, Jibo CEO Says The robot was out in the world for just under an hour before its battery died and was returned to the lab. Sure, it could have been simple human error (or the start of the robot apocalypse), but some are guessing that it was just a hoax to raise the company's profile a bit. Two brothers were arrested on New York's Long Island Thursday after police discovered assault rifles, bomb-making instructions and Nazi paraphernalia in their home. The New York Times reported that Edward Perkowski, 29, of Mount Sinai, faces weapons and drug charges after police found marijuana and hallcinogenic mushrooms during a search of the home. Edward's brother, 25-year-old Sean Perkowski, was arrested on an unrelated outstanding bench warrant. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini described Edward Perkowski as a "clear public threat" and said investigators "might have prevented a deadly, violent incident, like the one we recently saw in Orlando." In all, police recovered 10 assault rifles, one handgun, high-capacity magazines, one shotgun, a stun-gun and more than $40,000 in cash. They also discovered multiple flags bearing the Nazi swastika and the emblem of the SS, as well as a framed photgraph of Adolf Hitler. A neighbor, John Leonard, told the Times that the Perkowskis had often been visited by law enforcement, saying "Theres been trouble at the house for a long time." Click for more from Fox5NY.com. Authorities in South Carolina are searching for a 14-year-old boy who vanished after going for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. Myrtle Beach police say the boy is from Georgia and was last seen wearing blue trunks. Crews responded to reports of two swimmers in distress at around noon, WMBF-TV reported. Lifeguards and a bystander were able to rescue the younger brother of the missing teen. I heard curdling, curdling screams, and the one lifeguard came up, and he said, I got the one little boy; I could not get the other little boy. Hes devastated, Terry Caviccho, who is vacationing from Pennsylvania, told the station. Myrtle Beach police Lt. Joey Crosby said resources have been deployed to try to find the missing teen and the U.S. Coast Guard is assisting. Crews are expected to continue the search Friday at dawn. As rescue personnel tried to comb the waters for the boy, bystanders formed a nearly 100-person human chain to help the search efforts. Photos: Search for missing swimmer in Myrtle Beach https://t.co/rq244cYtTd pic.twitter.com/MPmzLdtJjN FOX8 WGHP (@myfox8) June 16, 2016 Bystanders stayed in the water for more than an hour, even while they were being struck by waves. I just see everybody forming a line, Stephanie Kingery, who is visiting from Indiana, told the station. I thought, I have five kids, and I thought, if that were one of my kids, Id want as many people out there looking as possible. Police said the chain helped search efforts because it enabled them to cordon off areas while police do a grid search. Click for more from WMBF-TV. A Walt Disney World resort near where a 2-year-old was snatched out of the water by an alligator this week was made aware that guests were feeding the reptiles, but ignored repeated requests from staff members to put up a protective fence around the lagoon, according to a published report. An insider told The Wrap Wednesday that several employees of Disneys Polynesian Resort Village became concerned about guests feeding alligators over the past 14 months. According to the individual, guests who stay at the most expensive rooms, called the Bora Bora Bungalows, have access to the wildlife at the Seven Seas Lagoon and commonly feed the alligators that swim in the massive body of water. The Polynesian Resort Village is next to Disneys Grand Floridian Hotel, where 2-year-old Lane Graves was killed Tuesday night. Disney has known about the problem of guests feeding the alligators well prior to the opening of the bungalows, the person revealed to The Wrap. With the opening of the bungalows, it brought the guests that much closer to wildlife. Or, the wildlife that much closer to the guests. Mike Hamilton, a custodian at the Polynesian Resort Village, told his employer that gators were swimming too close to guests and that a protective fence should be erected to keep them at bay, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Hamilton confirmed to the paper what law enforcement and wildlife officials have repeated the entire week, There are signs that say, No swimming, but no signs that say gators and everything else in this lake. Duncan Dickson, a former Disney executive, also told the Sentinel the entire property is intertwined by canals making it difficult to keep alligators out. The team attempts to relocate the gators to the uninhabited natural areas as best they can, but the gators dont understand the boundaries, Dickson said. A San Diego man also recalled warning Disney officials about presence of alligators on its property in 2013. David Hinden, a lawyer, told CBS News Thursday that his family was staying at Disney Worlds Coronado Springs Resort, three-and-a-half miles from where Tuesday nights attack happened. Hinden said his five-year-old waded calf deep into that resorts lagoon when he saw a six-foot alligator and grabbed his son and quickly pulled him to safety. He also said he spotted another alligator lurking nearby. Hiden said he told a hotel manager about the incident and even showed the manager pictures of the gator that was swimming in the lagoon. "And the response, I couldn't believe it," Hiden said. "It was, 'Those are resident pets, and we've known about them for years. And they're harmless, they're not going to attack anybody.'" Disney announced Thursday that it would add alligator warning signs around park waters. Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement that the resort was also "conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols." Disney's wildlife management system has ensured "that their guests are not unduly exposed to the wildlife in this area," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said during the search for Lane. Lanes death was the first by an alligator in Disney Worlds 45-year history. Wildlife officials are still unsure whether they caught the alligator that killed the boy. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from The Wrap. Texas authorities say a woman who went to a home to serve court papers was killed when several loose dogs attacked her. The Travis County Sheriffs Office said the victim was Erin McClesky, a 36-year-old process server from Austin who was serving civil papers, Fox 7 reported Thursday. Deputies said a caretaker for the dogs found McCleskys body Wednesday night, several hours after she had gone to a home in Northeast Travis County. There was no one at the house expect for the dogs when she entered the property, sheriffs office spokesman Roger Wade told the station. Wade told the Austin American-Statesman the dogs' owner probably wont be charged. If the homeowners not there and doesnt sic the dogs on them, I dont know what charges would be filed, he told the paper. The paper reported that phone numbers listed for the owners of the property were disconnected and they could not be reached for comment. Deputies said they seized six dogs that appear to be Lab/Great Pyrenees and husky/Australian cattle dog mixes. They also found 14 puppies who werent seized. The Austin Animal Center is checking the seized dogs for rabies. When the dogs are released from quarantine in 10 days, a Travis County judge will decide their fate, Fox 7 reported. Click here for more from Fox 7. A heroic New York City firefighter was laid to rest Friday, nearly 15 years after he died responding to the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 and as the country mourns the victims of the latest terror attack on American soil. Firefighters last saw FDNY Chief Lawrence Stack, 58, assisting an injured businessman as the north tower fell. His funeral was held on Long Island after his family recently found a vial of blood he donated before he was killed, The New York Times reported Friday. Several thousand firefighters lined the street outside the Long Island church where his funeral Mass was held. New York City's mayor and fire commissioner were among the speakers. Afterward, the casket bearing the blood vial was placed on top of a ceremonial fire truck, flanked by Stack's firefighter sons. The strains of bagpipes filled the air as the procession departed for Calverton National Cemetery. Stack's family had put off the funeral hoping that some trace of him would be identified from what was recovered at Ground Zero, the Times reported. Weeks turned into months, son Michael Stack, a FDNY lieutenant, told the paper. Months turned into years, Two years turned into five, turned into 10. Now its 15. A Catholic funeral Mass requires the presence of a deceased's remains and the vial of blood fulfilled that requirement, the Times reported. Stack donated to a blood bank in 2000 when he added his name to a bone marrow donor registry. The funeral was held on what would have been his 49th wedding anniversary. Stacks widow had suggested a small funeral, but the FDNY wanted the chief to have a funeral with full department honors, befitting a firefighter who dies in the line of duty, the Times reported. The burial took place at Calverton in recognition of Stack's service in the Navy. Lt. Stack noted the timing of the Orlando massacre. Who knew the war was going to come to us on Sept. 11? he told the Times. No one knew the war was [coming]. And then we wake up June 12, and find out the war is still here. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Officials in East Coast beach towns popular with the LGBT community told FoxNews.com they are ramping up security at bars and boardwalks ahead of peak summer season, knowing the clientele is shaken and wary following Sundays massacre in Orlando. The attack that left 49 dead at a gay nightclub in Florida appears to have been both a terror attack and a hate crime, as radical Muslim Omar Mateen is believed to have picked his targets for their sexual orientation. That has authorities working to increase security at gay nightclubs located in the Pines and Cherry Grove communities of Fire Island, N.Y., and Cape Cods Provincetown. Authorities are also evaluating emergency medical protocols to prepare for potential instances of violence. The community is very concerned that someone else could target a concentration of gay people, said Jay Pagano, president of the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association, who helps oversee village safety. We feel vulnerable. We would be a target. Although few reside year-round in the Pines or Cherry Grove communities, both on the barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island, tenants typically flock to the area after Memorial Day, adding an element of urgency for revision of emergency plans. The Pines, for instance, sees an influx of around 5,000 people during peak times like the Fourth of July, according to Pagano. After the Orlando attack, Pagano requested increased police presence throughout the Pines and in nightclubs. He said he is confident the local marine police and members of the local police commissioners office will respond. Nightclub owners are also taking initiatives, seeking immediate measures to enhance safety and communicating with Pagano as well as local police. Simple steps, such as banning large bags that could hide weapons, are among the obvious changes that can be implemented right away and without cost. Administrators at Pavilion, a popular gay nightclub in the Pines, have scheduled meetings with local law enforcement and other authorities to implement safety plans, said Kenneth Sullivan, director of the Commercial District of the Pines. We stand with the community, Sullivan said. The safety and security of our guests are a high priority of ours. Although the Pavilion momentarily paused service Sunday evening in tribute to the Orlando victims, Sullivan said the nightclub will remain open as a place to celebrate those lost in the tragedy. Right now, what were focusing on is engaging our community, welcoming everyone embracing the love that were feeling right now, he said. Year-round citizens of Provincetown have also expressed safety concerns in light of the Orlando tragedy, and their fears extend beyond densely populated nightclubs, said Lawrence Yahn, assistant manager at the gay club Atlantic House. It could happen anywhere here in the streets, he said. It's not just limited to the bars. The whole town is like a soft target. Atlantic House, one of the oldest gay clubs in the world, typically fills its 396-person building to capacity on weekends. Although he is hopeful attendance remains consistent, Yahn said he is uncertain about turnout despite the frequent presence of the Provincetown Police Department and the security officers guarding every door. Unfortunately, because some people have [Orlando] on the back of their mind, they may decide to stay home, he said. In reaction to the Orlando incident, American Red Cross personnel will meet on the Cape next week to discuss protocols for the region that encompasses Provincetown. Unlike in Orlando, where OneBlood is the primary blood supplier to victims of mass tragedies, the American Red Cross is the main provider in the Provincetown area, according to Jeff Hall, spokesman for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. Were preparing, said Hall. People are forward-looking right now to be ready to respond. Although there is only one road available for drivers to travel to Provincetown, emergency protocols are already in place because of frequent hurricane evacuation, according to Hall. On the other hand, Fire Island relies on ferries or private boats to transport most visitors. All roads on Fire Island are unpaved and vehicles are banned, posing transportation challenges for medical responders if a large-scale emergency were to occur. The only way an emergency vehicle could come into play would be by boat, Pagano said. Even if a boat were to transport an emergency vehicle, there isnt a hospital on the island. The Pines and Cherry Grove are approximately 30 miles from the nearest equipped hospital, separated by a stretch of sand that Pagano describes as even less than a road. Pagano said delayed accessibility to hospitals is a real problem for Fire Island residents, and said he made his concerns clear to the owner of the Sayville ferry service. For now, Pagano said he believes increased police presence, spot checks and luggage inspection for ferry boarders are possible steps toward improving safety. Fire Island Police Sgt. George Hesse declined to comment on steps his department has taken in light of the Orlando attack. "Stairway to Heaven" and other Led Zeppelin songs have produced nearly $60 million in revenue over the past five years, an economist testified Friday in a lawsuit accusing the band of lifting a passage from another songwriter's tune for its best known work. Michael Einhorn told jurors in federal court in Los Angeles that songwriters Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have received $58.5 million since 2011 for dozens of works, including "Stairway," their band's 1971 hit and most recognizable song. Einhorn was the final witness for plaintiffs in the copyright infringement case brought against Led Zeppelin, Page and Plant by the band Spirit and the estate of Spirit's late guitarist Randy California. The action claims Led Zeppelin lifted a passage from the Spirit instrumental "Taurus." Under cross-examination, Einhorn said some of the $58.5 million in revenues were under terms of a 2008 contract that covered the band's catalog of 87 songs. Led Zeppelin lawyers have challenged the inclusion of the contract in the case, contending it falls outside the statute of limitations. Page has testified that he never heard "Taurus" until years after Led Zeppelin released "Stairway to Heaven." The instrumental was written by California, whose real name was Randy Wolfe and who died in 1997. On the witness stand Thursday, Page was reluctant to compare the harmony, tempo or structure of the two songs, thwarting the lawyer representing Wolfe's estate in the suit that also targets several music companies. "You want to step through it," attorney Francis Malofiy asked as he tried to get Page to discuss the "Taurus" sheet music, which is the work protected by copyright. "Not necessarily," Led Zeppelin's lead guitarist replied, sending a ripple of comic relief through the gallery during an otherwise dull day of testimony. Page, 72, had entered the courtroom carrying a guitar but wrapped up testifying without playing a note. The closest he came was during a break when he briefly struck a jamming pose and played air guitar and laughed with Plant in the courtroom. Jurors and a packed audience in court did get to hear the familiar opening chords of "Stairway," but they came not from Page but from an expert who said he found it strikingly similar to "Taurus." Kevin Hanson, a guitar instructor and former member of Huffamoose, played passages from both songs on acoustic guitar, concluding they are virtually identical. "To my ear, they sound like they are one piece of music," he said. On cross-examination, however, Hanson, who doesn't have a college degree and is not a musicologist, said he can easily tell the songs apart. Another plaintiff expert, Alexander Stewart, a music professor at the University of Vermont, said he found five categories in which both songs had significant similarities, including a descending chord progression, notes lasting the same duration and a series of arpeggios and similar pairs of notes. Stewart said the descending chord progression and other elements have been found in songs dating to the 1600s. But he testified that of more than 65 songs the defense has said have a similar construction, including "My Funny Valentine," the Beatles' "Michelle," and "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from the movie "Mary Poppins," none contained all five elements shared by "Taurus" and "Stairway." "Not one of them came close," Stewart said, though he acknowledged on cross-examination that the notes in both songs didn't all line up in the same places. One of the biggest challenges for the plaintiffs is showing that "Stairway" is substantially similar to the sheet music for "Taurus" because that's what's filed at the U.S. Copyright Office. The recording of "Taurus," which contains a riff very similar to the opening of "Stairway" is significantly different from videos of experts playing the sheet music. Because the recording is not protected by the copyright, jurors can't consider it and it can't be played in court. Malofiy tried several times to get Page, who said he never heard "Taurus" until comparisons began popping up online a few years ago, to compare the two songs. Page's lawyer successfully objected and the question was never answered. However, when Page was asked to compare "Stairway" to the "Taurus" sheet music, he said he preferred to hear it. "I'm asking if I can hear what was played," he said, knowing he couldn't. To demonstrate the shortcomings of sheet music, though, Malofiy showed Page the copyright version of "Stairway to Heaven." Page, who said he composed the music and Plant wrote the lyrics, said he had not written the sheet music he was shown. It begins with the opening lyrics, "There's a lady who's sure/All that glitters is gold," eliminating the famous instrumental introduction that lasts nearly a minute. "It's not there," Page said. Its got to feel pretty good when you have a vote of confidence from Mark Zuckerberg. This week, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the fund currently worth $48 billion overseen by the Facebook co-founder and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan, made its first investment, leading a $24 million funding round for Andela, a 2-year-old startup that trains software developers in Nigeria and Kenya and places them with big name tech companies that include Microsoft, Google and yes, Facebook. Jeremy Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of the company, says that the missions of Andela and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative are closely aligned. "I was impressed by their dedication to wanting to unlock human potential around the world," he told Entrepreneur. "We care about the same things." Related: 5 Steps You Should Take to Prepare for Facebook's 'All Video' Future "We're operating on a continent with 1.1 billion people, [a population] that's also the youngest and fastest growing in the world. We have a lot of work to do," Johnson says. "We're going to continue expanding the pipeline in our existing countries, which means growth in Nigeria and Kenya." Johnson says Andela plans to launch in a third country, with an announcement to come sometime this fall. The 31-year-old founder's previous company, 2U, an online degree platform that partners with institutions such as Georgetown and University of Southern California, went public in 2014. The idea for Andela first came into view before 2U's initial public offering when Johnson was invited to Nairobi to give a talk on the state of online education around the world. Related: Facebook Will Start Scanning 10,000 Posts a Second to Make Comments Less Terrible Upon seeing the tech talent there, Johnson was inspired. He says that his initial thought was that he would help fund the company that ultimately became Andela, but not be a part of the company's day-to-day growth. "After my first trip to Lagos, I spent a day interviewing the finalists for our first pilot class," he says. "I realized I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I had to do it." A man from Chicago who said his own father was murdered decades ago drove to Orlando with a special gift for the city: 49 small, white wooden crosses, one for each of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. "My message today is love your bother, love your neighbor. Dont judge them," Greg Zanis told WFOR. He said he stopped building homes and started making the crosses after his fathers murder some 20 years ago. And he drove nearly 1,200 miles to Orlando to display his work. "I started Sunday right after church and I worked until midnight. So that was a short day. Just building," Zanis told WTVJ. "We're made in the image of God and when you see somebody dead like that it just changes. It's like, how can somebody do this to these people? How much hate was in this guy's heart?" The crosses appear outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center, along a small lake there. Zanis said he also traveled to Newtown after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, with 26 crosses in tow. The nighclub massacre early Sunday also left more than 50 people wounded. Authorities say a Walmart in west Phoenix was evacuated after a group of people set off fireworks inside the store. The Phoenix Fire Department says the resulting flames were extinguished before spreading to a nearby display of charcoal, lighter fluid and propane. Police were still looking for the arsonists Thursday morning. Fire investigators believe at least two men and one woman were involved in the Wednesday evening incident. Fire Department spokesman Capt. Rob McDade says the fire left floor-to-ceiling layer of smoke inside the store. He says the building has extensive smoke and water damage and several employees were treated for respiratory issues at the scene. There's almost nothing harder than walking away when the time comes. Much of entrepreneurship focuses on the rise up, the hard work, grit and scrappiness it takes to get a business up and running and make it successful. Sure, we give mention to failure builds character, and all that -- but we (rightfully) celebrate success even more. But sic transit gloria mundi. Our fame, our professional glory lasts but an eye-blink of universal time. In the end, those accomplishments you hold so dear molder in the ground along with you. They arent worth clinging to. Its an important reminder looking at the drama at Viacom. Sumner Redstone, at an over-ripe age of 93, has decided to fight to retain control of his company, amid questions about his own competency, the loyalty of directors and the direction of Viacom. It is an especially brutal war, with Redstone following the advice of Dylan Thomas that, Old age should burn and rave at close of day. No one can say Sumner Redstone isnt raging against the dying of the light. It may be personal heroism, but it is professional suicide. Redstone literally has nothing to lose from a graceful exit. There isnt a single person who can question what Redstone built at Viacom. Yes, Redstone perhaps made some personal errors, particularly with his wives and girlfriends (our author coughs uncomfortably), and not every deal he did was a good one. But Viacom is a media giant solely through Sumner Redstones force of will, and that is something for which he should sit back and look upon with pride. But he is fighting, and that raises questions about his competency, his sanity, and -- worst of all -- his business acumen. No one wins in a fight this vicious, certainly not the shareholders who have entrusted so much of their personal treasure to Redstones leadership. And thats a shame because, despite how the entrepreneurship world might lionize founders, companies have two higher priorities: their customers and their investors. The best CEOs and founders know this. They spend the vast majority of their time making sure customer experiences are strong and their boards (the highest touchpoint of the investors) are informed about strategy and execution. Related: How an Entrepreneur Should Never Behave Where it goes wrong is when founders dont know when to leave. The best simply fire themselves, stepping aside for the best interests of the company. The worst hold on too long. Gurbaksh Chahal is probably the most extreme example. He stayed head of his startup, RadiumOne, even as he faced 45 felony counts related to charges he assaulted his girlfriend 117 times in a 30-minute period. If anything, he seemed to be more brash during that time, seemingly offended when people didnt want to do business with someone under the cloud of domestic violence. When he ultimately pled guilty to misdemeanor charges, his board fired him, even though Chahal was a significant shareholder. Rather than fade away, he fought back, painting himself -- not the victim of his abuse -- as a victim and blaming everyone around him but himself. RadiumOne wasnt served by such behavior. Related: How to Know When to Change Direction There are cases where a fight back is appropriate. I still believe Mens Wearhouse made a critical error in firing founder and CEO George Zimmer, who remains one of the keenest marketing minds in American business. But, for the most part, when things turn sour, its usually a good idea to step back and leave with your dignity, your reputation and your shareholders value intact. Yet, its usually not in our nature to do that. Most divorced people I know talk about the first time they knew their marriage was over, and it usually predated the actual separation by years, with periods of counselling or staying together for the sake of the kids in between. Many people fight to keep jobs with no growth prospects simply because they dont want to bother making a move. Inertia is one of those laws of physics and business thats difficult to fight. Related: Are You Quitting Too Soon or Staying With It Too Long? Its an even tougher battle because of the nature of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs, after all, are a different breed of cat. Theyre more driven than the average person. Even though they could benefit from a little doubt from time to time, entrepreneurs are more likely to have absolute and unshakable faith in their ideas and their competency in carrying them out. Its what makes them great founders, but its also what makes many of them subpar CEOs. As companies scale, most leaders know that the team that got a company to a certain point is very often not the team that will take you to the next level. Thats especially true of founding executives. Trouble is, they dont see that. Which brings us back to Redstone. Pyrrhus of Epirus handedly beat the Romans in two huge battles but he never conquered Rome. All he got was his name slapped for eternity on the term Pyrrhic victory (which is one you never want to have). Pyrrhus, though, wasnt fighting for his ego alone, like Sumner Redstone is. Conceding this fight will only enhance Redstones justifiably admirable reputation and send an important leadership lesson to other founders and CEOs that the cost of some wars in too high to fight. A Texas man was arrested and accused of being behind dozens of incidents in which cars driving on an interstate have been hit by rocks since 2014, police said Thursday. Austin police Chief Art Acevedo said Patrick Eugene Johnson, 59, faces charges of attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony. More than 80 rock-throwing incidents have been reported in Austin near Interstate 35 since 2014. Earlier this month, police arrested another man, identified as Marquel Raymond Boone, but rock-throwing incidents continued. Fox 7 Austin, citing official documents, reported that a University of Texas at Austin police officer was traveling on Interstate 35 in the early morning hours of May 14 when he noticed a rock was thrown from across the barrier toward his patrol car. The patrol car was equipped with dashcam video and caught the rock-throwing incident. Police were able to catch the suspected vehicle on the camera and tracked down the owner of the car. The station, citing records, reported that Johnson was the registered owner of the suspected vehicle. Furthermore, documents show that Johnson called police about a traffic hazard approximately 16 minutes after the university police car was almost struck with a rock. Police brought in Johnsons roommate Miguel Angel Rodriguez for questioning Wednesday and he admitted to being in the passenger seat of Johnsons vehicle and witnessing Johnson toss a rock at oncoming traffic at least twice. The station reported that Johnson admitted to throwing rocks when questioned by Austin police detectives and named several occasions where he had thrown rocks at oncoming traffic on Interstate 35. A search warrant also revealed that Johnsons Toyota Camry had damage consistent with rock scratches from possible incidents on the driver side doors frame. According to Fox 7 Austin, Johnson also made phone calls to the newsroom with random information and tips regarding the serial rock-throwing case. Other local Austin stations reported similar occurrences. Johnson is being held in the Travis County Jail on $250,000 bond. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Fox 7 Austin. In 2007, entrepreneur and music artist Michael Nova was on top of the world. Hed founded a successful business, Nova Custom Label Printing. He was busy giving back to the community through his work with Metrofly, a non-profit organization hed co-founded to host charitable events. And, he had just begun work on an inspirational film and multi-media project that would garner fans around the world. Related: 8 Great Entrepreneurial Success Stories Then, seemingly overnight, Nova lost his vision due to a mysterious illness. My life changed overnight, he remembers. I was hit with multiple physical ailments all at once. It was when I lost my vision that I could truly see. I became thankful for every breath. Things that we never even think about that we take for granted each day, like the sense of sight, suddenly became precious. I learned to appreciate everything. But Nova's story doesnt end there. Not only did he make a miraculous recovery -- his sense of sight is now restored -- but hes more committed today than ever before to affecting positive change on the world around him. And that starts with his business. In the business world, its easy to focus only on the bottom line, Nova says. We lose sight of how we treat our customers and our employees. We focus on whats good for business, which becomes code for whats good for profits. Losing my vision due to illness and miraculously regaining it helped me 'see' for the first time what matters in life and business. What is important is the relationships we build with one another. Nova has always been a leader in customer satisfaction. His company has received the Best of Manhattan award in label printing for three consecutive years and shows no signs of slowing down. Heres what Nova says are his secrets to success: 1. Believe in yourself above all else. If you dont trust yourself and your instincts, you cant get ahead, Nova says. For years, he worked at a day job he hated until one day he decided enough was enough. He knew that if he didn't believe in himself, no one else would, either. I ate tuna out of a can for a year and hustled 24/7, Nova says. But I never gave up. Through this process, I realized that some people live their lives locked in a cell called 'beliefs.' They let limiting beliefs prevent them from taking any risks to achieve their dreams. Stepping outside that cell is tough and scary, but its necessary to truly live life. Trust that what you are doing will work, despite what anyone says. Believe in yourself. Related: 3 Essential Stories You Need on Your Website to Attract Customers 2. Get serious about business finance. While Nova bootstrapped his business -- going so far as to live off canned tuna for months to make ends meet -- he also knew that he needed to get serious about business credit so his company could grow. "Bootstrapping your business can work for an initial startup period, but at some point you will need to take out a loan to expand or purchase new equipment," Nova says. "You won't be approved for a loan without substantial business credit. Entrepreneurs like to focus on the 'passion' that drives their business, but it's equally important to be realistic about the tools it takes for expansion and growth." Small business loans can help cover cash flow troubles, equipment repairs or upgrades, inventory purchases and even marketing needs. To qualify for a small business loan, you'll need excellent credit. Learn how your business credit score is calculated, how this score is different from personal credit ratings and how to start establishing business credit in the first place. Take the time to learn about credit scores and financing options before you need an emergency cash influx. Learning about business finance may not be as exciting or rewarding as building customer relationships or perfecting personalized service, but it's just as critical for advancing your entrepreneurial vision. 3. Priortize customers over profit, every time. All too often, businesses make sweeping money-back guarantee promises to build trust, but then make customers jump through so many hoops they never actually get their money back. Nova has no patience for this approach to business. His mission: Delight the client each and every time. Clients can always tell when you obsess over every penny, Nova says. Even if it means losing money on a job, if the customer is a good customer, take the hit, and you will be rewarded later. The more people you can make happy, the better it will be for your business. Word-of-mouth is powerful, and you want it on your side. Do right by the customer. 4. Personalization matters. In an age of mass production and mass consumption, Nova's highly personalized approach to business is refreshing. For example, rather than offering one-size-fits-all printing options at his label company, he makes sure every order is custom. He delivers this high level of customization while still providing the fastest turnaround in the industry, proving that you can provide high-touch, personalized services that are profitable. All too often, we assume that automation is necessary for success, Nova says. Yes, certain marketing tasks will benefit from automation. But, never automate customer service. A personal connection still matters. Thats why we still offer custom quotes rather than automated online orders. A real human works with every client to deliver exactly what he or she needs. Personalization can take many forms, depending on your business. Find what works for your customers and deliver each and every time. Related: 6 Stories of Super Successes Who Overcame Failure Bottom line: Nova's journey to entrepreneurial success began like many small business owners journeys do: He was fed up working for other companies and ready to be his boss. But his story took an unusual, and shocking, turn. Only by losing his vision, Nova says, did he become truly able to see what matters most for his business and any other business: people over profits, every time. The Army is rolling up its sleevesliterally. Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas will be taking part in a 10-day pilot program that lets them roll up the sleeves of their Army Combat Uniforms, a rule change that could soon be expanded to the rest of the Army, the Army Times reports. Rolled sleeves? Army policy may change thanks to a #FirstTeam Trooper pic.twitter.com/XLxbyWKKSX 1st Cavalry Division (@1stCavalryDiv) June 16, 2016 "Feedback from soldiers resulted in us wanting to do a trial over the next 10 days to see the feasibility of updating [Army Regulation] 670-1 and incorporating these changes in the future to give commanders flexibility in wear based upon their unit's mission," Lt. Col. Jerry Pionk, an Army spokesman, told the paper. At Fort Hood soldiers were rolling their sleeves before the pilot project even started. It hasnt been Suns Up, Guns Out since the Army Combat Uniform replaced the Battle Dress Uniform in 2005, according to the paper. The Armys official reason for the ban was that the new top was made to protect soldiers forearms from the sun, insects and other elements. It also wasnt designed for rolled up sleeves. Army regulations in 1969 allowed rolled up sleeves in Vietnam at a commanders discretion, based on the heat, according to the Army Times. Marine Commandant Gen. Jim Amos angered many Marines when he banned sleeve rolling in 2011, the Army Times reported. The ban wasnt reversed until 2014. Army Chief of Staff Gen Mark Milley announced the pilot program during a trip to Fort Hood Thursday. "For now, sleeves will be rolled with the inside facing out, similar to the Marines," Pionk told the Army Times. "Future updates to AR 670-1, if any, will further specify the exact manner of how the sleeves can be rolled." When creative couple Janus Cercone, a former screenwriter, and Michael Manheim, an ex-producer, decided they had enough of the Hollywood-film world, they turned their attention to an unlikely market: real estate. Opening California real-estate development company Jaman Properties in 2003, the pair buys forgotten homes -- usually in Malibu, Bel Air, Brentwood and Pacific Palisade -- and gives them a new life using the biography of a fictional character to lead the way. So, rather than creating for someone else or a big wig, its left purely to their own imaginations. These homes are our vision and so far weve been very lucky, Cercone says. For instance, an old beaten down house at the end of a dirt road may present itself to the possibility of becoming an escape for a successful woman in the media industry. The large dumpy house becomes a small cottage with blue walls, white furniture and large windows looking over the beach, as the character is looking for a place to escape, relax and enjoy nature. With more land than house, the property offers her a chance to wander in silence, contemplating her successes and planning her next project. The home ended up selling to Barbara Walters. This sort of approach -- focusing more on the type of person and life a specific home is meant for -- has buyers flocking to them, typically matching their fictional profile with an iry amount of accuracy. With a reputation for creating exclusive boutique homes from the studs to the furniture, high-end luxury real-estate agents and their high-profile clients are already on the look out for their next project. Below Cercone shares her storytelling vision and offers up a few tips entrepreneurs can use to market their own product or service: 1. Take risks. The Revello Home Location: Pacific Palisades Selling price: $1,895,000 in 2012 Their storytelling vision: At the beginning of 2008, when the market started bottoming out, thats when we wanted to start buying. But we could not attract investment partners to save our lives, because everyone was terrified. So, we took our savings and went to auction properties. We go to this auction with a set of expectations. By the time we were done, we had bid our max price. We won. We had just spent our last $920,000. When we imagined the house, we took it down to the stud, tore out all the landscaping and discovered this incredible view of the ocean. It turned it into one of my favorite houses we ever done. We created it for someone in the movie business. Someone who would spend the day in the studio and do their work at home and want to feel creatively inspired and look over the ocean and make it a party house. We ended up selling it to a woman who worked for Disney. The take away: Because Cercone and Manheim were willing to risk it all, they knew they wanted to go all in, no matter what the cost. 2. Own your choices. The Tigertail Home Location: Pacific Palisades Selling price: $10,750,00 in 2008 Their storytelling vision: We knew the guy who buys this house would have a large personality and fill the room with who he is and who he wants to be. So, we designed a two-story living room for that character. We were working along with the theory: you only grow as much as your environment allows. Most people want to keep evolving and growing as people and explore new aspects in their lives. We created a house to encourage that. As we designing and framing it, people were telling us we were crazy. It would make more sense to have another level, more bedrooms and sell for more money. In walks Conan O'Brien with this world-class personality, and hes thrilled with it. He said to Michael after he bought it that finally, Theres a house I dont feel like Im going to hit my head on the ceiling all the time. Its big enough for me. The take away: If you believe in something dont let people talk you out of it. Own your choices. Entrepreneur Magazine is about people who are taking the risks themselves, so those are people who are taking the risks because they believe in themselves. They arent working for someone elses belief system. If youre taking that risk, you better believe in what youre doing. Everyone tried to talk us out of our ideas but we believed in them. If you succeed, you succeed because you really believed in yourself. If you fail, you can at least own it. No one thrust it upon you. 3. Stick to your narrative. The Stone Home Location: Malibu Selling price: $9,985,000 in 2014 Their storytelling vision: In our mind, we knew who was going to buy it. We designed it for a woman who had accomplished a lot in her life and could come and have a retreat where she could reflect on her successes and imagine the next chapter in their life. So, we knew it was going to be for someone mature. Instead of a house with a lot of footage, we created it with a lot of transparency and a huge yard. For example, when taking a bath, youre taking it in front of the beach with a view. It was made for someone to have a rebirth in that house, to open their life to the next chapter. We made the house smaller so there could be more exterior space. If you go to developer university, its like breaking every possible rule. But we knew this character was going to want that and need that outdoor space. Interestingly, there was bidding war between two mature women one of whom being Diana Ross. To our surprisethe house sold to a divorced grandmother in her 70s! We were shocked till she invited us over for drinks one night and we realized she was our bulls-eye buyer---still sexy, uninhibited and utterly childlike in her joy of the beach. The take away: The universe will adjust to you. We created it for a young sexy couple and it ended up selling to a lady in her 70s and is still in the hunt. We thought a sexy buyer looked like one thing but it ended up being completely different even though our vision remained true and accurate. It sold to a lady who wakes up every morning and blows her hair out and is fine taking a bath in front of the pacific ocean. Its the same character in a different guise. 4. Maximize your hand. The Riviera White House Location: Pacific Palisades Selling price: On the market for $33,000,000 Their storytelling vision: Owned by Ronald Reagan, the former president wanted a house where he felt like he lived outside, and we wanted to keep that intact. When we bought it in 2013, we left it unchanged. We got to see this guys intentions: What was he thinking at the time? For example, the house was almost completely glass, because it gave you a sense of being outdoors. We tried to make the connection with his intentions throughout the house asking ourselves, What did this do for him? In addition to that, we were creating the biography of the fictional character. We had this epiphany and could envision the moment when Reagan was standing and looking at this huge view that just goes on forever and thinking, Wait a minute, theres something bigger out there for me. Something more important that I should be doing. It was in that house he decided to run for governor and then president. Taking that moment, we tried to design a house that would offer that same kind of inspiration and motivation for the next group of people that lived there. In the White House, Reagan had this ability to reach across the aisle. The whole idea is this should be a house about getting people together, not keeping people separate. We knew the person who bought the home would be supremely confident. For the house, we wanted to find the best of everything. The range in the kitchen is an $80,000 range. It was handmade in Florence, and it's the best range available in the world. He knows hes got the best. Which is also why we created a show garage. But its not about showing off, its about sharing your passion. Its about bringing people together. The take away: We really went one thats all in with this one. If youre playing cards, you gotta deal with what youre dealt. But if you have a chance to build on kings or fours, you build on the king. With this house, because there is such a spectacular view, we felt we couldnt build the conservative version of what it can be, were built the optimal version of what it can be, built it for a mover and shaker. We highlighted its best hand: what it had to offer. In many indigenous cultures I have learned about, community members who want more resources than they can personally use are viewed as suffering from some kind of mental illness. Why would people want more stuff than they need or could use? Good question, especially in the richest country in the world, where "The Wall Street Journal" reported in 2011 that Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on goods and services they dont absolutely need. It became a personal question at a crucial juncture in my life. During the last 20 years, my focus has been on building The VIA Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Portland, Maine, dedicated to helping clients promote their businesses through creativity. Helping promote high-profile brands like Perdue, TD Bank, Samsung, Welchs, Sams Club and Klondike led to an outside party making me a very attractive offer to sell the agency a couple of years ago. So I had to seriously consider my options. Related: Build a Culture of Ownership at Your Company Selling would have benefited me greatly, but everyone else connected to VIA would have lost a lot: Employees, clients and the communities where we live. While I was thinking about my eventual succession plan, the French proverb Enough is better than too much came to mind. And I remembered how greed was equated with mental illness in other cultures. So my wife, Linda, and I decided to model our actions on the wisdom of the French proverb and turn ownership of the agency over to the employees rather than sell it. A traditional employee stock ownership program (ESOP) would have been the easiest and most obvious vehicle to use. However, it did not provide the flexibility and control I wanted, and because nothing in the DNA of VIA has ever said the easy road is the best road, I decided to rethink the problem and invent a new way to transfer ownership. I was inspired by a friend who often talks about finding the perfect deal, one in which all parties motivations and rewards are aligned and maximized through the perfect balance of shared risk and return. Usually that requires the parties to think deeply about the collective outcome for everyone, not just themselves, and sometimes sacrifice part of their advantage to ensure that everyone gets the optimal upside in the deal. Rather than selling VIA or using an ESOP, I was hoping I could achieve better outcomes for all by creating a different kind of employee-ownership model -- the rare perfect deal. Heres how it works. At the end of each of the next 10 fiscal years, if certain benchmarks are met by the agency (financial growth, profitability and overall company health), Linda and I will transfer up to 10 percent of our equity by granting stock options to all employees based on the same progressive formula we use to distribute employee cash bonuses. These target benchmarks will motivate employees to run the agency profitably, allowing distributions to be made to current shareholders (Linda and I). Once a certain threshold of distributions is reached, employees will be able to convert their options into shares and participate in future distributions. Related: Employees Feel the Love When Companies Embrace BYOD Why its the perfect deal. Employee Owners -- For many agency members, the idea of starting a business is very alluring, but that can be extremely risky. Our model offers employees the opportunity to work for themselves without the risk, debt and very hard work that go into starting an agency while ensuring that they participate in the value they help build in the company. It also creates a competitive advantage in the marketplace that will help VIA attract top talent because new employees know they will be owners right from the start. And they will have the potential to influence the agencys future through its management structure, which allows for all voices to be heard and leads to greater satisfaction for all. For many agency members, the idea of starting a business is very alluring, but that can be extremely risky. Our model offers employees the opportunity to work for themselves without the risk, debt and very hard work that go into starting an agency while ensuring that they participate in the value they help build in the company. It also creates a competitive advantage in the marketplace that will help VIA attract top talent because new employees know they will be owners right from the start. And they will have the potential to influence the agencys future through its management structure, which allows for all voices to be heard and leads to greater satisfaction for all. Clients -- Potential and existing clients consistently work with world-class talent that's highly motivated by having skin in the game. Plus, clients get peace-of-mind knowing that their teams will be more likely to stay in place because of a stronger commitment to VIA as owners rather than just employees. Potential and existing clients consistently work with world-class talent that's highly motivated by having skin in the game. Plus, clients get peace-of-mind knowing that their teams will be more likely to stay in place because of a stronger commitment to VIA as owners rather than just employees. Current Shareholders -- In this case, Linda and I now have 100 people driving the business to make it theirs, which should provide us 10 years of potential distributions that could help us build a nest egg sufficient for our retirement. If all goes well, it could be even more lucrative then the buyout offer we received, though clearly not without risk. This deal also affords us more free time immediately (no earn-out periods) and gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are helping our valued employees create wealth in a way they never thought possible. In this case, Linda and I now have 100 people driving the business to make it theirs, which should provide us 10 years of potential distributions that could help us build a nest egg sufficient for our retirement. If all goes well, it could be even more lucrative then the buyout offer we received, though clearly not without risk. This deal also affords us more free time immediately (no earn-out periods) and gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are helping our valued employees create wealth in a way they never thought possible. Community -- By turning the agency into an employee-owned company, we are setting it up for a much longer life in Maine, our native state we love so much. Were investing in the employees who will in turn join the museums, nonprofit boards and charitable organizations in our communities, giving back in hundreds of small ways. This model is designed to have ripple effects that will give and give, hopefully for generations to come. By turning the agency into an employee-owned company, we are setting it up for a much longer life in Maine, our native state we love so much. Were investing in the employees who will in turn join the museums, nonprofit boards and charitable organizations in our communities, giving back in hundreds of small ways. This model is designed to have ripple effects that will give and give, hopefully for generations to come. Industry -- Other agencies will likely start following this model in their pursuit of a recruiting weapon to help them compete with technology industries in Silicon Valley and the like, powerful magnets for the best talent in the market. In the battle for outstanding strategic and creative minds, ownership offers an incredibly enticing recruitment tool with a built-in retention mechanism. Related: How to Inspire an Ownership Spirit Among Employees Using this model as a guideline, any company can transform itself into an employee-owned entity. It has the power to make a business stronger while sharing the wealth through the entire teams efforts. If everyone contributes, everyone benefits fairly -- not equally, but fairly. By providing personal and collective motivation, this model will ensure the longevity and sustainability of the business for generations to come. Police in Russia's restive Dagestan region in the North Caucasus say at least four officers and six militants have died in a series of clashes. Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said three officers were wounded in a skirmish with a group of militants near the village of Kasumkent in southern Dagestan early Friday, and one policeman later died of wounds. She said four gunmen were also killed. In a separate clash in the Derbent region a suspected militant was killed in a sweep that also left one police officer dead. And in the Tabasaran region, a militant fired at police, killing two officers and wounding four others before being shot dead. Dagestan is the epicenter of an Islamist insurgency still simmering in southern Russia following separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya. The man accused of murdering a member of the British Parliament in cold blood Thursday was a supporter of white supremacist organizations based in the United States and South Africa, according to multiple reports. Thomas Mair, 52, was being held in connection with the death of 41-year-old Jo Cox, a member of the opposition Labour Party. Cox was shot and stabbed outside a library in Birstall, northern England, after a regular meeting with constituents. Late Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center described Mair as a "dedicated supporter" of the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group headquartered in the United States. The organization said that Mair had purchased several publications from the National Alliance's publishing arm, National Vanguard Books, including a manual that included instructions on how to build a pistol. On its website, the SPLC published three invoices for orders placed by Mair with National Vanguard Books. One was dated May 13, 1999, another was dated May 5, 2003 and the third was dated May 29, 2003. In all, the SPLC said Mair bought $620 worth of publications from the National Alliance. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reported that Mair was a longstanding subscriber to "S.A. Patriot" a magazine published by the White Rhino Club, which supports the reintroduction of apartheid in South Africa. It is not clear how Mair, who was born in Scotland and lived most of his life in the English town where Cox was killed, came to support the White Rhino Club. However, the Telegraph cited a blog post attributed to the group that described Mair as "one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S. A. Patriot." At least one witness reported that the man who killed Cox shouted "Put Britain First!" during his attack. The phrase may be a reference to Britain First, an anti-immigrant party founded by former members of the explicitly racist British National Party. The party's leader, Paul Golding, said that the phrase "could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party. We just don't know." However, Mair's brother Scott told reporters Thursday that Thomas Mair "is not violent and is not all that political. I dont even know who he votes for. He has a history of mental illness, but he has had help." Cox was the first sitting member of Parliament to be killed in office since 1990, when Conservative lawmaker Ian Gow was assassinated by a car bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army. She was an enthusiastic campaigner for Britain to remain a member of the 28-member European Union ahead of next week's referendum on the issue. Immigration has been a flashpoint in the referendum campaign, with many "leave" supporters eager to curb the number of migrants to Britain by leaving the EU, which operates on the principle of free movement of people between member states. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An American man fatally stabbed himself in a Taiwan courtroom Thursday after being sentenced to four years in jail for drug possession. The Taipei Times reported that 41-year-old Tyrel Martin Marhanka smuggled a pair of 8-inch scissors into the courtroom, which he separated into two blades. Witnesses told the paper that after a translator informed Marhanka of the sentence, he shouted "Four years?" The translator informed Marhanka that he could appeal the decision, to which he responded, "I don't want to appeal. I don't want to live anymore", before stabbing himself. Marhanka had been arrested in April of 2015 after police found more than 200 cannabis plants, 195 dried cannabis plants, and 10 opium poppies. At the time of his arrest, he told officers that he was growing the plants for his personal use. The Taipei Times reported that Marhanka had lived in Taiwan for more than 15 years, was married to a Taiwanese woman and had two children. Iraqi special forces swept into Fallujah on Friday, recapturing most of the city as the Islamic State terror group's grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants' retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said it was "too early" to say with certainty that Iraqi forces controlled all of the city. "There's still some fighting to be done." Carter said the U.S. military supported the Iraqi forces with advise and air support. As many as 42,000 people have left Fallujah since the military operation against Fallujah began in late May, according to the United Nations. The Iraqi operation to retake Ramadi left that city largely in ruins. The city once was home to nearly half a million people, but the violence forced most of them to flee. PM Al-Abadi received USCENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel and discussed plans for the liberation of Mosul pic.twitter.com/Q11xC5F1jH Haider Al-Abadi (@HaiderAlAbadi) June 17, 2016 Fox News asked Carter about CIA Director John Brennan's testimony Thursday saying the terror capacity of ISIS had not been diminished despite some 13,000 airstrikes, bringing into question the strategy against the group. Carter said the strategy against ISIS had "three parts to it" and defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria was "necessary but not sufficient." He added, "There are other places around the world to which ISIL has spread and then we have to protect our own homeland as well." The terror network has held Fallujah longer than any other city, capturing it in January 2014. Despite the focus on control of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, U.S. military officials have said they want the Iraqi forces to continue plans to recapture Mosul, where the majority of ISIS fighters in Iraq are located. Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi's office tweeted that he was discussing the Mosul operation Friday with Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command. Residents described harrowing escapes even after ISIS fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs that killed several. In some cases, ISIS allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadis' families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that ISIS defenses in much of the city collapsed abruptly. In the early morning Friday, Iraqi forces punched into the city center, meeting intense fighting. But by evening, the special forces commander Brig. Haider al-Obedi told the Associated Press that his troops controlled 80 percent of the city, with ISIS fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward regaining the Islamic State group's last major foothold in Iraq's western Anbar province, the heartland of the country's Sunni minority. It was the first urban area to fall into ISIS hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Pakistani woman has been arrested after allegedly attacking a man with acid because he refused to marry her. Monil Mai, 32, wanted to marry her boyfriend Sadaqat Ali so that she could divorce her husband, a Pakistani police official told Sky News. Mai and Ali, both of whom are married, had been having an affair for several years, according to local news reports. Ali remains in the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Sky News reported. Acid attacks and other so-called honor crimes against women are not unusual in Pakistan, but women are rarely the perpetrators. "It is a rare incident in which a woman has been accused of throwing acid on a man," Zohra Yusuf, who heads the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told Sky News. Click for more from Sky News. The Syrian opposition could be offered seats in the Syrian Cabinet as part of efforts to encourage a dialogue that can lead to new elections being held in the country, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Friday. Speaking to Russia's top economic forum, Putin said that creating a new government that will have the trust of most of Syria's population is key to ending the five-year conflict. He said that this goal can be achieved only through drafting a new constitution and holding new elections. Putin said that Syrian President Bashar Assad, who visited Moscow last year, has pledged to help achieve that. "There is nothing more democratic than elections," Putin said. The Russian leader said he expects the U.S. to work with its allies in the region to encourage the Syrian opposition to engage in a constructive dialogue with the government. He also welcomed what he described as a U.S. proposal to "think about incorporating some opposition representatives in the existing government structures, including the cabinet." "And it's necessary to think what kind of powers that cabinet will have," he said. Putin added, however, that it would be "unrealistic" to expect that such Cabinet would effectively take over power from Assad. Russia has staunchly backed Assad throughout the five-year Syrian conflict that started as an uprising against the Syrian ruler and morphed into an all-out civil war. Earlier Friday, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly warned Washington against striking Assad's forces, saying it would fuel turmoil across the entire region. An attempt to topple Assad's government "wouldn't help a successful fight against terrorism and could plunge the region into total chaos," Peskov said. He made the statement while asked to comment about an internal document in which dozens of U.S. State Department employees called for military action against Assad's forces. President Barack Obama called for regime change in Syria early on in the five-year conflict, but so far has only authorized strikes against the Islamic State group and other U.S.-designated terror groups in Syria. Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since last September, helping Assad's forces regain some ground. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the calls for a military action against Assad "can't but worry any reasonable person." "Who would bear responsibility for that?" he asked. "Or shall we see the same Hollywood-style smile as it happened already in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya?" Bennigans Serves Up Summer Shenanigans Best in Class Oh, Baby Back Ribs showcased on new summer menu starting June 20 DALLAS (June 17, 2016) Hello, sunshine. Meet warm Irish hospitality. On Monday, June 20, Bennigans is rolling out a limited-time summer menu featuring an array of chef-driven food and innovative cocktails fit for a Legendary 40th Anniversary celebration. The new Summer Shenanigans menu includes several hearty entrees that will remind long-time fans why dining at Bennigans is a step above the rest, thanks to the large portions, quality ingredients, affordable pricing and the brands refusal to cut corners from the kitchen to the Irish hospitality, amazing service and family friendly environment. Get ready to fall in love at first bite with the Ultimate Hook-Up, featuring Bennigans Best in Class, savory Oh, Baby Back Ribs a half rack of slow-smoked fall-off-the-bone ribs brushed with zesty BBQ sauce and finished on the grill. Build a delectable combo from the following options: Ribs & BBQ Grilled Chicken This Outrageously Saucy combo includes a Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast, basted with zesty BBQ sauce, topped with melted shredded Colby cheese and sliced green onions. Served with a side of BBQ sauce, Homestyle French fries and creamy coleslaw. This Outrageously Saucy combo includes a Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast, basted with zesty BBQ sauce, topped with melted shredded Colby cheese and sliced green onions. Served with a side of BBQ sauce, Homestyle French fries and creamy coleslaw. Ribs & Signature Chicken Tenders This Legendary Love Story pairs the ribs with three Signature Chicken Tenders, served with a side of BBQ sauce, smoky honey Dijon, Homestyle French fries and creamy coleslaw. This Legendary Love Story pairs the ribs with three Signature Chicken Tenders, served with a side of BBQ sauce, smoky honey Dijon, Homestyle French fries and creamy coleslaw. Ribs & Cajun Grilled Shrimp The Summer Surf and Turf features a Grilled Shrimp Skewer with Cajun seasoning, served with a side of BBQ sauce, Remoulade sauce, Homestyle French fries and creamy coleslaw. The savory summer selections continue with three bold new flavors for Bennigans Premium Buffalo Wings Sweet Honey BBQ, Garlic Parmesan and Brown Sugar Sticky Sauce. You wont need a wingman for this one! Guests can also enjoy a summertime selection of thirst-quenching, handcrafted drinks, shaken tableside, featuring Deep Eddy flavored vodkas, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Blue Moon Belgian White. Theres no better way to escape the summer heat. Bennigans Green Tea Jameson Irish Whiskey, Deep Eddy Peach Vodka, finest call lemon sour and Sprite. Pairs perfectly with the Ribs & BBQ Grilled Chicken. Jameson Irish Whiskey, Deep Eddy Peach Vodka, finest call lemon sour and Sprite. Pairs perfectly with the Ribs & BBQ Grilled Chicken. Ruby Ginger Fizz Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka, Goslings Ginger Beer, fresh strawberries and rosemary. A great complement to the Ribs & Signature Chicken Tenders. Deep Eddy Ruby Red Vodka, Goslings Ginger Beer, fresh strawberries and rosemary. A great complement to the Ribs & Signature Chicken Tenders. Cucumber Citrus Mash Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka, Goslings Ginger Beer, fresh mint, cucumber and lime juice. Refreshingly delightful with the Ribs & Cajun Grilled Shrimp. Bennigans has set the standard for casual dining for 40 years, and we continue to differentiate ourselves from the competition with our uncompromising focus on quality food served with friendly Irish hospitality at a price thats roughly on par with most fast-casual meals, said Legendary Restaurant Brands CEO & Chairman Paul Mangiamele. Our Summer Shenanigans menu is a case in point. These combo meals are a great value and affordably priced, and include our thick-cut fries and coleslaw. I challenge you to find a better dining proposition anywhere! Bennigans limited-time summer menu items are only available through July 31, so come in soon so you can try them all! Now with more than 150 restaurants open or under contract worldwide, Legendary Restaurant Brands LLC is continuing to experience strong growth while simultaneously redefining casual dining. Since the end of 2012, the company has opened new franchise locations in Clarksburg and Frederick, Md; Santa Clara and Fremont, Calif.; Melbourne, Fla., Saddle Brook, NJ; Tysons Corner, Va.; Veracruz, Mexico; Larnaca, Cyprus; and Dubai, UAE. Additional restaurants are planned for California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania and Virginia; and internationally in Mexico, Central America, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar and South America. For your nearest location, menu, hours and additional information, visit Bennigans.com. About Legendary Restaurant Brands Legendary Restaurant Brands owns the iconic Bennigans and Steak and Ale brands the pioneers of casual dining as well as the non-traditional, fast-casual concept, Bennigans On The Fly. Bennigans is a high-energy neighborhood restaurant and tavern that is redefining casual dining. With chef-driven food, innovative drinks and warm, friendly Irish hospitality, this Legendary brand delivers memorable dining experiences to every guest and compelling returns to all its franchisees. Steak and Ale is another American classic poised for a triumphant return. Redefined as a 21st Century polished-casual concept, the new Steak and Ale will once again set the standard for affordable steakhouses. Bennigans and Steak and Ale are celebrating their 40th and 50th anniversaries, respectively, in 2016. For franchising information, visit Bennigans.com or call 855-GOT-BENN. SOURCE Bennigans Contact: Ladd Biro Champion Management Founder & Principal O: 972.930.9933 C: 817.675.3499 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The choice is yours Dr. Beti Thompson, a public health researcher with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said offering people screening choices is a smart move. I think its good because it will give more people an opportunity to do a less-invasive and less-costly test in the beginning, she said. And hopefully that will convince more people its something they should do on a regular basis. Thompson, who lost a son to colorectal cancer four years ago, is a staunch advocate for colorectal screening and awareness. She uses a variety of methods including community events where people can walk through a giant, inflatable colon to educate the public about the importance of finding and catching these cancers early. Her research has shown that when presented with information and less invasive options people are much more willing to undergo testing. We handed out home FOBT tests [fecal occult blood tests] to individuals over 50 who walked through our giant colon, she said. And some 76 percent of the participants returned their home kits [for lab analysis]. Thats a very high percentage. Its one thing to think about going to have a colonoscopy and its another thing to think about doing a FIT [fecal immunochemical test] or FOBT kit at home. The prep [for a colonoscopy, etc.] is something that keeps a lot of people away from getting screened. Colonoscopy and other scope tests require a liquid laxative to completely clean out the colon before the test is performed. The new guidelines offer seven different options for CRC screening, including colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, CT colonography (all of which require prep, although the CT colonography test is said to be less invasive) as well as the fecal occult blood test, the fecal immunochemical test (or FIT), and the multi-targeted stool DNA test. A final option combines a flexible sigmoidoscopy with FIT. With the FOBT, the FIT and the FIT-DNA tests, people gather stool samples at home and send them in for analysis. The other tests, which use a tiny camera or tube inserted into the rectum, require a visit to a doctors office or in the case of colonoscopy, a medical center or clinic. Home tests need to be done more frequently than those performed by a medical professional. (See additional details on the various tests below.) Changing test landscape Thompson said each of the tests has its own pros and cons. Home kits dont require the prep and allow for more privacy. But colonoscopies are more one and done. You dont have to do it for [another] 10 years unless they find something, she said. If you find something abnormal in one of the home-testing kits, then you still have to go have a colonoscopy to check out whether you have polyps or an active cancer. But if the home kit turns out negative, you dont have to go through that screening as long as you continue with the home kits. So far, the only FIT-DNA test available is Cologuard, approved by the FDA in August 2014. On the plus side, the task force said that tests sensitivity and specificity in detecting colorectal cancer was 92 percent and 84 percent, respectively. On the minus side, it might produce more false-positive results, which would require more diagnostic colonoscopies, and it might spur an overabundance of surveillance due to the genetic component of the test. The FIT test is a very good test, said Thompson. But the FIT-DNA also collects information on whether you have any of the genetic markers that have been associated with colorectal cancer, like Lynch syndrome. The FIT-DNA, Im assuming, is going to be much more expensive. According to the Cologuard website, the maximum out-of-pocket cost for their test is $649, depending on the covered benefits of your specific insurance plan. Medicare does cover Cologuards FIT-DNA test but only for eligible patients. Thompson stressed people should discuss the various test options and their family history with their doctors. Those with a family history of colorectal cancer or other risk factors usually need to be screened on a different schedule than those who have no risk factors. In the culmination of an seven-year project, Peichel and her team have now identified the gene that drive those behavioral differences schooling or non-schooling between marine and freshwater sticklebacks. The research team describes their findings in a study published earlier this month in the journal Genetics. This is one of the first times scientists have uncovered the gene that underlies a behavioral change in natural populations of vertebrate animals, Peichel said. Drawing that explicit line between gene and behavior helps researchers understand the true nature of evolution behavioral changes among groups of animals can eventually lead to the evolution of new species. Understanding the genes that are important for evolution tells us something about how evolution happens, she said. We know that evolution is a change in [genes] over time I think its inherently interesting to know, are there particular types of genes that are more utilized in evolution? The particular gene they found could also explain why sticklebacks are so adaptable to new environments, Peichel said. A rare moment you get in science Peichels research team had a daunting task ahead of them. Studying natural animals in the lab is difficult by any measure laboratory animals are typically chosen and bred for their relative ease of working with in an artificial setting but fish schooling added an extra layer of difficulty. To understand the genetics at play, the research team needed to study each fish in isolation. But schooling is a group activity. Dr. Anna Greenwood, formerly a Fred Hutch behavioral biologist working in Peichels lab, and Dr. Abigail Wark, who was pursuing her doctorate in the lab, set out to solve that problem starting in 2009 by tricking the fish. They thought if they could get the stickleback to school with a set of fake fish, theyd be able to study this social behavior in individual animals. But they werent sure the fish would be fooled. To see if their idea had legs, Wark made several gray plastic fish models from casts of real stickleback fish and attached them to a string. Then she dragged the string through a fish tank containing a single stickleback fish. We were just amazed when this little fish, a live stickleback, really started to approach and follow the school. We could tell even in that moment when it was clearly scared by Abbys hand and it was under this bright light that it was probably going to work, said Greenwood, who is now a program manager at Amazon. That was a really exciting moment, one of those rare moments that you get in science. Its just a feeling of pure excitement and fascination. The researchers set to work to make their system more rigorous and repeatable. They wanted to build something that wouldnt look like a predator to the fish (as Warks hand did) and that would cause the plastic fish to always school in the same way. That engineering task itself was a challenge, described previously in the story MacGyvering Lab Equipment, but at the end, Greenwood, Wark and their colleagues ended up with a mechanical fish schooling robot that spun eight of the fake fish models in a circle through a round fish tank. They then looked at the sticklebacks tendencies to join the fake pod of fish, and their ability to school proficiently once they join whether they were able to keep their bodies parallel to those of the models. The robot allowed the researchers to determine that stickleback schooling has a genetic basis and is not a learned behavior. In a previous study, published in 2013, they showed that two components of schooling how well fish school with the models and whether the sticklebacks are motivated to school in the first place are linked to two separate regions of the genome. In the current study, Peichel, Greenwood and their colleagues found the specific gene responsible for sticklebacks schooling skills. Its called Ectodysplasin, or Eda for short. Its also involved in sticklebacks bony plates (marine sticklebacks are heavily armored, their freshwater cousins less so) and in the formation of lateral lines lines of sensory hairs, similar to the hairs in our ears, that run down each side of the fishs bodies and help them orient themselves through touch, much like a cats whiskers. Marine sticklebacks have a pair of these sensory hairs on each bony plate. Freshwater sticklebacks just have a single line of the hairs. The freshwater sticklebacks the fish with fewer bony plates, fewer sensory hairs and that cant school have much lower amounts of the Eda protein in their bodies. So the researchers decided to see what happens when they turn up the gain on the Eda gene. When they genetically manipulated the freshwater fish with high levels of Eda, the fish were suddenly able to school like their marine counterparts, although not quite as well. Theyre not totally marine-like. This is not a single gene that controls behavior, Peichel said. Lessons about evolution The history of biological research is filled with studies of genetic changes, or mutations, and their effect on some physical trait although the list of genetic changes linked to behavior is much shorter. What makes their study stand out, Greenwood said, is that they found a genetic change that affects a natural behavior in wild, not lab-bred and raised, creatures. You cant create a huge mutation that messes up an entire organism. This is a small change thats going on during the natural evolution of a species that has to keep on living as this change is going on, Greenwood said. We just dont have as many examples of the types of genes that are acting during evolution. Peichel thinks the freshwater sticklebacks may have evolved to suppress the Eda protein because fresh water has very low levels of the minerals needed for bone formation, so its taxing for the fish to build bony plates when they can find other ways of protecting themselves. The researchers still arent sure how the plates or sensory hairs might affect schooling there was a weak correlation between increased sensory cells and better schooling in the genetically manipulated fish, but they need more evidence to be convinced these cells are involved in the social behavior, Peichel said. They do know that the freshwater version of the Eda gene lurks in marine populations though, which could explain why these fish can so quickly adapt to new environments, Peichel said. If the marine sticklebacks find themselves suddenly stranded in fresh water, that hidden gene may allow some members of the group to survive. Theyve got the raw genetic variation that they need to adapt, she said. We learn lessons about how evolution can happen by asking questions about what genes are involved. After $498M Verdict, J&J, DePuy's Stay Request on Metal Hip Trials Rejected Following a massive $498 million dollar verdict in a second bellwether trial that settled March 2016, Johnson & Johnson and its unit, DePuy Orthopaedics, requested a stay. The judge refused and chose seven bellwether cases for trial in September. -- National law firm, Parker Waichman LLP notes that U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade, the Texas federal judge who is overseeing a multidistrict litigation (MDL) over the allegedly defective DePuy Pinnacle hip prosthetics just chose seven bellwether cases for trial. This followed a Johnson & Johnson request to stay cases pending its appeal of a massive $497.6 million verdict. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. is a unit of Johnson & Johnson. The MDL is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, case number 3:11-md-02244, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The cases will be prepared for trial beginning September 6, 2016; the remainder of the cases in the MDL are pending until after the trials, said Judge Kinkeade, according to a June 14, 2016 Law360 report. Citing court documents, Parker Waichman noted that, in March 2016, a Texas jury returned the massive multi-million-dollar compensatory damage verdict in favor of the five plaintiffs whose cases were consolidated for the second bellwether. All of the plaintiffs underwent hip arthroplasty, in which a hip joint is replaced with a hip replacement device. All alleged their DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant devices failed and that the Pinnacle caused significant health problems, including bone erosion, inflammation of surrounding tissue, and metallosis (metal poisoning). The Dallas jury returned the verdict on March 17 on the second bellwether following a two-month trial and a number of days of deliberations. The jury found in favor of all of the five plaintiffs holding J&J and DePuy liable. The nearly $500 million verdict included $360 in punitive damages; $240 million of the punitive damages were assessed against J&J and DePuy is responsible for the other $120 million. The $140 million in compensatory damages will be divided among the plaintiffs based on individual injuries. Parker Waichman notes that DePuy called for numerous bifurcations (requests to divide the trial in two parts so as to render a judgment on a set of legal issues without looking at all aspects), and more than 10 requests for mistrial. All requests were denied. The plaintiffs' legal team was also able to show that the DePuy legal team called forth a paid expert who earned over $900,000 consulting for the defendants. In May 2016, both J&J and DePuy asked Judge Kinkeade to delay the pending September bellwether trials. The firms indicated that they plan on appealing to the Fifth Circuit Court over various issues the firms claim will broadly effect the way in which the remainder of cases are tried, according to Law 360, citing court documents. "Metal hip devices have been associated with increased and premature failure rates, as well as an array of alleged, adverse medical reactions," said Matthew J. McCauley, Senior Litigation Counsel at Parker Waichman. "Parker Waichman clients have also alleged that debris from chromium and cobalt hip devices have led to tissue death and increased blood metal ion levels," he added. Regulators have advised metal ion testing in some patients to determine whether the implant has failed, notes Parker Waichman. J&J has already faced litigation over its metal-on-metal ASR hip, which was recalled in August 2010. Many lawsuits point out that metal were not clinically tested before they were approved. In August 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sought to change this by requiring device makers to go through a stricter approval process to ensure that safe metal-on-metal hips were released to the market; Johnson & Johnson followed by halting sales of the metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle device. In the United States, device makers may seek FDA clearance through a 510(k) application if that device is substantially similar to a device that has already been approved. Under this speedier clearance route, device makers are only required to file paperwork with the FDA and pay a fee, Parker Waichman points out. "The firm has long pointed out that not every medical device is safety tested prior to market release. This is a well-known issue in the system and has given rise to increased controversy, especially regarding metal-on-metal hips," said Mr. McCauley. For further information regarding premature failure of a metal hip device, or other health problems associated with metal hip implants, please contact the firm at its Defective Hip Implant page at yourlawyer.com. Free case evaluations are also available by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636). For more information, please visit http://www.yourlawyer.com/long-island Contact Info: Name: Parker Waichman Organization: Parker Waichman LLP Address: 6 Harbor Park Drive Port Washington, NY 11050 Phone: 516-466-6500 Release ID: 119731 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) San Remo Restaurant Marks 18 Years of Serving the Best Italian Food in Red Bank It all began in 1998 with one man and a dream. 18 years later, Giovanni's San Remo Restaurant is widely regarded as one of the finest Italian restaurants in Red Bank, and has received critical acclaim for its amazing food and genuine hospitality. -- Red Bank, New Jersey--San Remo Italian restaurant recently celebrated its 18th anniversary.San Remo opened on Newman Springs Road in Red Bank in 1998, six years after owner Giovanni Bougdour moved from Italy to the United States. Bougdour, who trained in French and Italian kitchens before emigrating, specializes in creative Mediterranean cuisine that has earned praise from The New York Times and the Zagat Survey as well from a wide variety of local media. The restaurant moved to its current location in Red Bank in 2014 after an extensive renovation that replaced the building's gray exterior with a more inviting yellow finish, brightened the dimly-lit dining room and turned the upstairs apartment into an expansive party space. "My goal is to make dining at San Remo feel like eating at a restaurant in Rome or Venice," said Bougdour. "Everything from the menu to the decor is designed with that in mind." Giovanni's San Remo Restaurant is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in Red Bank. It has received critical acclaim for its amazing food and genuine hospitality from the industry's top public reporters including The New York Times, the Asbury Park Press, the Two River Times, the Zagat Survey and many more. San Remo serves hearty portions of classic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Menus feature a wide range of options, from hand-cranked pastas, savory steaks and exotic wild game to elegant desserts. The restaurant is an elegant setting for private parties or a BYOB dining experience. It has a large dining area, an outdoor patio and plenty of parking. San Remo is the perfect place to treat yourself with a memorable meal before or after a theater show. The restaurant is a five-minute walk from the historic Count Basie Theater and right across the street from the Red Bank train station. Visit San Remo at 115 Oakland Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701, or call 732-345- 8200 or visit sanremoredbank.com for more information. For more information, please visit http://www.sanremoredbank.com Contact Info: Name: Giovanni Bougdour Organization: San Remo Address: 115 Oakland Street Red Bank, NJ 07701 Phone: 732 345 8200 Release ID: 119862 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) San Remo Italian Restaurant Participates in Red Bank Restaurant Week San Remo Restaurant was honored to participate in Red Bank Restaurant Week, a 12-day period of prix fixe dining at more than 20 of the town's finest restaurants. San Remo has been serving Italian food in Red Bank for 18 years. -- Red Bank, New Jersey--San Remo Italian Restaurant recently had the honor of participating in Red Bank Restaurant Week, a 12-day period of prix fixe dining at more than 20 of the town's finest restaurants. All Restaurant Week participants offered prix fixe menus including appetizers, entrees and desserts. Options on San Remo's menu included Italian specialties like veal scaloppini and parmesan chicken as well as a variety of seafood and pasta dishes. Also included in all Restaurant Week menus were Good for You from Riverview options, healthy and delicious selections sponsored by Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. Diners could choose from two Good for You dishes at San Remo, including a vegetarian Mista Italiana dish and a Marechiara seafood plate. "San Remo has served the best Italian food in Red Bank for 18 years," said owner Giovanni Bougdour. "We're proud to have been a part of Restaurant Week this year and had the opportunity to showcase our best dishes." Giovanni's San Remo Restaurant is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in Red Bank. It has received critical acclaim for its amazing food and genuine hospitality from the industry's top public reporters including The New York Times, the Asbury Park Press, the Two River Times, the Zagat Survey and many more. San Remo serves hearty portions of classic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Menus feature a wide range of options, from hand-cranked pastas, savory steaks and exotic wild game to elegant desserts. The restaurant is an elegant setting for private parties or a BYOB dining experience. It has a large dining area, an outdoor patio and plenty of parking. San Remo is the perfect place to treat yourself with a memorable meal before or after a theater show. The restaurant is a five-minute walk from the historic Count Basie Theater and right across the street from the Red Bank train station. Visit San Remo at 115 Oakland Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701, or call 732-345- 8200 or visit sanremoredbank.com for more information. For more information, please visit http://www.sanremoredbank.com Contact Info: Name: Giovanni Bougdour Organization: San Remo Address: 115 Oakland Street Red Bank, NJ 07701 Phone: 732 345 8200 Release ID: 119860 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Garmany of Red Bank Celebrates Icons Past and Present Garmany of Red Bank recently hosted a book signing event with Maria Cooper Janis, the daughter of legendary screen actor Gary Cooper. Maria signed copies of her book Gary Cooper: Enduring Style along with co-author G. Bruce Boyer. -- Red Bank, NJ--Garmany of Red Bank, New Jersey's premier luxury clothing store for men and women, recently hosted a dream lineup that included author Maria Cooper Janis, the daughter of legendary American screen actor Gary Cooper. Maria signed copies of her book Gary Cooper: Enduring Style along with co-author G. Bruce Boyer, the former men's fashion editor for Town & Country, GQ and Esquire Magazines. Following the event, a number of copies of Enduring Style signed by Janis were available for purchase at Garmany. One of the highlights of the event included the actual Best Actor Academy Award won by Gary Cooper in 1953 for his portrayal of Will Kane in High Noon which Janis brought with her for Garmany guests to see. Also in attendance were representatives from Garmany favorites J Brand, Eleventy, Pal Zileri and Baz Persaud, the jewelry designer specializing in stunning and stylish cuff links, to give Garmany customers a close look at their latest fashions. To watch video of the event, visit garmany.com/2016/03/oscar-saturday- with-maria- cooper-janis. Visit garmany.com/events for a schedule of upcoming events including trunk shows with some of the world's top luxury brands like J Brand, Canali and Vince. Garmany of Red Bank is an exquisite luxury men and women's clothing store regarded as one of the top 10 among independent retail establishments in the country. A visit to Garmany is a total lifestyle experience and a must for the gentleman or woman who desires the utmost in style, sophistication and personal attention. Featured brands range from moderate to high end, and the Garmany team consists of professional style consultants and master tailors, all of whom are committed to the ultimate in shopping experiences. Garmany has served New Jersey for 40 years and been located in Red Bank since 1989. Garmany is located at 121 Broad Street, Red Bank, New Jersey 07701 and is open between 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. For more information call 732-576- 8500 or visit www.garmany.com. For more information, please visit http://www.garmany.com Contact Info: Name: Andrew Weisbrot Organization: Garmany Address: 121 Broad Street Red Bank, New Jersey 07701 Phone: 732-576-8500 Release ID: 119908 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Dallas Drug Lawyers Help Texans Fight Felony Drug Charges With Help Of New Site Dallas police aware of an increase number of drivers transporting marijuana from Colorado are cracking down on out-of state drivers. New website offers resources for those accused of drug trafficking charges. Call now (214-234-9077) or visit the site here: www.DallasInterstateDrugLawyer.Com -- Now people charged with felony drug trafficking charges in Dallas, have a new website featuring the best criminal defense attorneys experienced in defending drug charges. Thanks to Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer (214-234-9077) the days of spending hours online searching for the top rated drug lawyers are over. See the website at: www.DallasInterstateDrugLawyer.com With the new drug laws in Colorado, Dallas police are cracking down on out-of-state drivers. Law enforcement are targeting out-of-state license plates passing through the Texas highways. Sometimes arresting officers are using bait and switch tactics to find out-of-state drivers guilty of drug possession charges and drug trafficking crimes. These tactics are not only unfair, but also illegal. The harsh drug penalty laws in Dallas then cause the defendant to lose t heir freedom, personal property, money, time and even personal relationships. It is important that if someone is found guilty, detained or arrested on drug trafficking charges they contact help from a qualified drug lawyer as soon as possible. When facing drug trafficking charges, interstate trafficking crimes, felony drug charges or even RICO charges the defendant can now have an experienced drug attorney on their side. Defendents can contact multiple experienced Dallas drug lawyers all on one site, getting up to 4 quotes from some of the best Dallas drug lawyers. While the defendant may not be guilty, fighting any legal matter alone is not a good idea. The top lawyers found on the Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer site will help fight any drug related charge(s). With the experience and the motivation to make every step personalized, these lawyers will have open communication with any client and fight to protect the freedom of those they defend. Call now to learn more (214-234-9077) or see the website here www.DallasInterstateDrugLawyer.com The Dallas drug lawyer website offers resources for every step of the legal process. The new website takes the guesswork out of finding top marijuana lawyers in Dallas and surrounding cities in DFW and the central Texas area. Being charged with a crime can be scary and overwhelming. Learn how to protect against unfair and illegal drug crime charges. This all-in-one website has the resources needed to fight drug related charges. The Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer website has easy to navigation, up-to-date information on Texas laws and how to understand them. Thanks to Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer, hiring the right criminal attorney is easier than ever! Call now (214-234-9077) or visit the site here: www.DallasInterstateDrugLawyer.Com For more information, please visit http://dallasinterstatedruglawyer.com Contact Info: Name: Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer Organization: Dallas Interstate Drug Lawyer Phone: 214-234-9077 Release ID: 119736 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Canada Organic Gluten Free No BHT Quinoa Morning Granola Cereal E-Store Launched Lotus Fine Foods announced the launch of a new e-store providing its range of organic Quinoa Granula cereal packs, available in different flavors and completely gluten, dairy or artificial flavor, color, preservative, trans-fat and refined sugar free without compromising on taste and nutrition. -- The popular Lotus Fine Foods announced the launch of a new online store to provide healthy and natural food enthusiasts with its premier organic, gluten-free and highly nutritious Quinoa Granula cereal, in different flavors and pack sizes. More information is available at http://lotusfinefoods.com/. Lotus Fine Foods is a popular Canadian-based business specializing in homemade and completely natural, organic gluten-free foods and delicacies based on homemade family-friendly recipes using only the healthiest ingredients and not compromising on great taste or nutrition. The business announced the launch of its new e-store where clients can find and order its highly popular range of organic, highly nutritious, vegan and non-GMO delicacies, 100% gluten, refined sugar, peanut & nut, dairy and wheat free, using no trans-fat or artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. The newly launched e-store also provides detailed ingredient descriptions on all the natural delicacies available, including the Quinoa Cereal packs with Dark Chocolate, Spiced Pumpkin, Coconut & Cherry or Cranberry & Cinnamon flavor in 6320 or 300 gram boxes along with premier organic gluten free rolled oats. More information on the newly launched e-store and the Lotus Fine Foods products, highly popular among shoppers of Sobey's, Whole Foods and other renowned stores, markets and retailers across Canada for its commitment to organic ingredients, great taste and valuable nutrition, can be consulted on the website link provided above along with multiple organic and gluten-free recipes for healthy food enthusiasts. The Lotus Fine Foods founder, Lotus, says that "you've heard the old adage: the best things in life are free'. We couldn't agree more. That's why our products are dairy free, gluten free and free of artificial flavors, colors, trans-fat, preservatives and refined sugar. What you'll get are all organic ingredients, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. And when all this goodness is combined, the results is food that you'll feel fantastic about feeding your friends and family". She adds that "proudly made in Canada, Lotus Fine Foods uses only the healthiest ingredients we can find and we believe that amazingly healthy food should not only make you feel amazing but also taste amazing. The goal to provide with a snack your kids will be begging for, a sweet treat that completes a tantalizing sundae and a cereal that starts your day off perfectly every morning". For more information, please visit http://lotusfinefoods.com/ Contact Info: Name: Lotus Ellis Organization: Lotus Fine Foods Inc. Release ID: 119927 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) New Probiotics For Dogs Meet 2nd Month Targets Wagglies' new Probiotics for Dogs have met their 2nd month targets for sales on Amazon. -- Wagglies' new Probiotics for Dogs have met the targets that they set for their 2nd month on Amazon. The targets that the brand hoped to achieve were a consistent amount of product sales every day and an increase in social media engagement. Customers have been positive about the brand new probiotics and have willingly provided their feedback. One customer spoke of what they thought of the product, "This shipped super fast! When I received it was a little worried because it felt like liquid. However it's not, definitely the softest powder! The scoop size is very small so this product will last a very long time which I am happy about. We have 4 dogs...we tested it first on the oldest, within a day or two, I've seen a dramatic change in her entire mood..." Wagglies' new dog probiotics are made in the USA, in a GMP and FDA approved lab. The unique powder mix contains 74 trace minerals, 25 billion CFUs, 5 strains of probiotic and 1 added prebiotic. The added prebiotic acts as an anchor, guiding the probiotics to the area of the gut and intestines where the probiotics will be the most effective. "The feedback that we've had from customers have shown us what parts of our product that they like and which parts that could do with more refinement." said Dan Clayton, Founder of Wagglies, "We welcome all feedback that is both positive and constructive." Each batch of Wagglies' Probiotics for Dogs is carefully quality checked, to ensure that there are no imperfections in the custom formula. "The quality of our products is incredibly important to us so we take steps to ensure that our customers receive only the best from us." continued Dan, "We aim to give every customer a 5 star service and our customer care team are trained to handle even the most complex customer queries." Wagglies' Probiotics for Dogs are not the first product that the popular dog brand have sold on Amazon. The brand previously launched their Puppy Training Pads and Dog Nail Clippers on Amazon UK and USA in 2015. Wagglies' Dog Nail Clippers are still available on both Amazon marketplaces. Wagglies Probiotics for Dogs are now available in a 6oz bag (~ 2+ months supply) from Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/Wagglies-Probiotics-Dogs-Pre... For more information, please visit https://www.wagglies.com/us/ Contact Info: Name: Dan Clayton Organization: Wagglies Release ID: 118789 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) PCS Bail Bonds Weighs In On Spike In Gun Violence In Arlington PCS Bail Bonds discusses spike in gun violence in the early part of this year in Arlington. -- PCS Bail Bonds (www.PCSBailBonds.com), Fort Worth, Texas' most trusted bail bond service, is weighing in on the spike in gun violence in Arlington, Texas. The city of Arlington already has 12 homicides this year, with 10 of those killings having been committed with a gun. This total number of murders through the first five months of this year already exceeds the eight murders the city experienced throughout all of 2015. (Source: Osborne, B., "Police 'very concerned' about gun deaths as Arlington homicides rise," The Star-Telegram, June 6, 2016; http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/arlington/article82058962.html.) "There is always some concern when the murder rate increases even a little bit," says Paul Schuder, owner of PCS Bail Bonds. "However, residents should remain confident that police will figure out what's causing this spike and get back to keeping Arlington a safe city." Last year's figure of eight murders was the lowest since 1993. Experts say that murder rates do fluctuate and that year-over-year figures shouldn't be measured against each other. Instead, a more accurate indication is the 10-year average, for which Arlington averages about 15 per year. "Arlington is a city of close to 400,000, with a relatively low rate of crime," Schuder adds. "While this spike is cause for concern, the long-term trend shows that Arlington should still be okay when it comes to keeping the streets safe." Of particular concern to police is the percentage of these murders that are happening with guns. Authorities are hoping to take measures to get illegal guns off the streets and out of the hands of any gangs. "Texas is a state where carrying a gun is legal," Schuder concludes. "The problem is the illegal guns and the people who are carrying them and looking to harm others. Those are the ones the police and citizens want gone." PCS Bail Bonds has been serving communities within Tarrant County for over 25 years and continues to provide bail bond service for residents in Arlington. For more information, please visit http://www.pcsbailbonds.com Contact Info: Name: Paul Schuder Organization: PCS Bail Bonds Address: 111 E. Rosedale St. Fort Worth, Texas 76104 Phone: (817) 335-1655 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/pcs-bail-bonds-weighs-in-on-spike-in-gun-violence-in-arlington/119933 Release ID: 119933 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Prestige Funeral Plans Publish Comprehensive Guide To Pre-Paid Pay Monthly Funeral Plans Prestige Funeral Plans enables individuals to find the most affordable pre-paid funeral solution, and HAVE published a new guide to the industry to help people understand the choices available. -- An unexpected death in the family can shake loved ones to their core, and right when they are most vulnerable, they must get into the details of funeral arrangements - often at significant cost to themselves. Pre-paid funeral plans enable individuals to set up their funeral and pay for it in advance, saving their loved ones the stress and potential additional costly expense. Prestige Funeral Plans enable people to find the lowest price available on pay monthly funeral plans by having top providers compete against one another to provide the lowest quote for each individual. They have just published a new guide to pre-paid funeral plans, to help people understand what's covered, and why they are so advantageous. The new article explains in full what individuals can expect from pay monthly funerals. The article describes the average price range for pre-paid plans, what is included in a typical plan, what can be included at the individual's request and more. A spokesperson for Prestige Funeral Plans explained, "We understand that our website provides an invaluable service that will be of huge benefit to individuals throughout the UK. This new in depth guide can help other people understand why the website is so advantageous, why pre-paid funeral plans are so helpful, and what individuals and their families stand to gain by creating a pre-paid policy. This resource is an essential read before anyone commits to a policy." About Prestige Funeral Plans: Prestige Funeral Plans is an online business that helps individuals secure the lowest possible quote on a pre-paid funeral plan from a wide range of recommended providers. The website enables individuals to request a quote quickly, based on a few short details, then receive an email from the team with the most competitive quotes. Their database is regularly updated by a committed team of researchers. For more information, please visit https://www.prestigefuneralplans.co.uk/ Contact Info: Name: Prestige Funeral Plans Email: admin@prestigefuneralplans.co.uk Organization: Prestige Funeral Plans Source: http://marketersmedia.com/prestige-funeral-plans-publish-comprehensive-guide-to-pre-paid-pay-monthly-funeral-plans/119972 Release ID: 119972 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Tom Roten Morning Show will be Live June 22 & 23 From Washington DC Popular Huntington WV morning talk show Tom Roten has been invited for the second year in a row to participate in the 2016 FAIR Hold Their Feet to The Fire Radio Row in Washington DC on June 22 & 23. -- Huntington WV listeners are excited to learn that their favorite radio host is invited to Washington DC. For the 2nd straight year News Radio 800 WVHU popular morning talk host Tom Roten has been asked to broadcast his show live, along with dozens of other radio hosts from around the country, at the 2016 "Hold Their Feet to the Fire Radio Row" in Washington DC. Listeners in the Huntington, WV area will be able to hear the inside scoop on the latest information about how the US immigration policies will be affecting them now and in the future by hearing directly from their area lawmakers and much more. The FAIR Radio Row event provides instant in person access to news makers, policy experts, law officials, law enforcement and victims.Topics related to the Immigration Issue include National Security, jobs, the economy, private property, crime, health care & other benefits. The issue continues to be one of the most discussed of the 2016 Presidential campaign. The event is the - (FAIR) Hold Their Feet To The Fire 2016 - which is an annual radio row featuring over 44 of the nations top radio hosts who are broadcasting daily to all 50 states. " It's a great honor to have been invited. " Said Tom Roten Sponsor for the event is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) which is being held this year at the Phoenix Park Hotel 520 North Capitol Street, North West, Washington, DC , right on Capitol Hill in the heart of Washington DC. FAIR has gathered the top immigration experts, members of Congress familiar with immigration policy and members of the National Sheriffs Association. Border residents and crime victims harmed by illegal immigration will also be available for interviews. Tom Roten know to his audience as the Straight Shooter has recently interviewed many local and national politicians like Senator Rand Paul, Representative Thomas Massey, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Representative Bill Johnson and Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, about important issues facing citizens. As always Huntington WV Tom Roten Morning Show regular listeners will be able to look forward to insightful well thought out questions being delivered with his usual candor to the many guests on the FAIR Radio Row. If listeners have any questions they would like asked they are encouraged to leave their suggestions on The Tom Roten Morning Show Facebook Page or Twitter Feed. Listeners are invited to leave suggestions before the June 22-23 show time and during the show as well. Listeners thoughts and participation help to make the show great. For more information, please visit http://www.800wvhu.com/TomRoten Contact Info: Name: Tom Roten Organization: Tom Roten Morning Show News Radio 800 WVHU Address: 134 4th Ave. Huntington, WV 25701 Phone: 304-529-3699 Release ID: 119840 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Boilers and Accessories Market: Analysis, Outlook and Research Report by Radiant Insights Radiant Insights has announced the addition of "Boilers and Accessories Markets in China" Market Research report to their database -- Boilers are sealed containers wherein water & other fluids are exposed to high temperature. The heated fluids & water are used in different procedures or heating applications. Some of these applications include boiler-based power production, central heating, frying, sanitation, etc. Demand for the China boilers and accessories market has risen quickly. The report "Boilers and Accessories Markets in China" is available now at https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/boilers-and-accessories-markets-in-china Both the production & demand of boilers and accessories are estimated to increase in the coming ten years. The financial status of China is also improving. This can be credited to hikes in exports & imports, capital spending, industrial productivity, & client consumption (during the last twenty years). Across China, coal is the primary fuel source for its people & market. Coal burning boilers generally use raw coal. This kind of coal has less granularity and more sulfur & ash. The same leads to combustion ineffectiveness and high pollution. Thus, adoption of gas in lieu of coal is an efficient & quick solution to air contamination. Since the twenty first century, gas fired boilers have grown rapidly. Browse All Reports of This Category @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/machines This was ascribed to fastened gas sales & mining and escalating 'gas pipe network' constructions. However, presently, the China boilers and accessories market, occupied earlier by gas fired boilers, is now led by coal burning ones. Restriction of coal burning boilers, ecological contamination, & government-financed 'coal to gas' shift have propelled the same. With the 'denigration' of heat engine plants in key regions by the end of 2014, utility energy effectivity focused on this market. China has also issued multiple guidelines & regulations. One of these is the 12th Five Year Plan. The plan regulates and prevents air contamination in key areas. This country has also issued the emission standard draft for boilers to lower pollution. Request a Free Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/boilers-and-accessories-markets-in-china/request-sample Various local authorities have accomplished these tasks, with a sequence of undertakings. Commercial gas fired boilers are normally used for big governmental organizations, industrial consumers, medical centers, & general offices. Their potential is widened as a result. The China boilers and accessories market can expand across other nations & harbor cities. It is analyzed further in view of demand & supply, fiscal developments, & spending conditions. About Radiant Insight Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. It assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. The Organization has a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. For more information, please visit https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/boilers-and-accessories-markets-in-china Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc Address: 28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 Phone: (415) 349-0054 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/boilers-and-accessories-market-analysis-outlook-and-research-report-by-radiant-insights/119952 Release ID: 119952 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Oasis Alaska Charters Announces Private Charters In Ketchikan, Alaska The charter company now offers fishing trips and other family activities in the waters of Ketchikan, according to www.oasisalaskacharters.com. -- The state of Alaska, with its multiple islands and 34,000 miles of coastline, has long been known as a fishing destination. Alaskan waters are home to a wide variety of fish, including trout, halibut, and salmon, and they attract both commercial and recreational fishing enterprises. To help more people take advantage of this opportunity, Oasis Alaska Charters is offering chartered fishing trips in the southeastern city of Ketchikan, located on the island of Revillagigedo. Company owner Mark Andrew explained, "I grew up in Ketchikan and spent my youth fishing in the these waters, so I'm deeply familiar with the migration patterns of the fish in the area. Even though I moved to Washington as an adult, I never lost my connection to this place. When I started taking friends and family on fishing trips, I knew there was no better fishing destination, so I brought them up here. Now I'm thrilled to be able to introduce this beautiful area and great fishing opportunity to my clients." Ketchikan has an established reputation for good fishing, especially Salmon fishing. In fact, it's been called "The Salmon Capitol of The World.""One of the things I'm happy to be able to provide for my clients," said Andrew, "is an accurate chart depicting the peak salmon runs. It's an exhilarating experience to be surrounded by fish swimming in all directions, and needless to say, the catches can be phenomenal." Oasis Alaska Charters offers six-hour salmon charters, and clients can fish for King, Silver, Pink, and Chum salmon, depending on the month. Another popular catch is halibut, a common fish in the area that plays a vital role in the local economy. It's also one of the most popular gamefish for anglers. Andrew has a particular appreciation for this nutritious and versatile fish, and is pleased to offer Salmon and Halibut fishing charters. "Another advantage we offer," said Andrew, "is the proximity of Clover Pass Resort. They're happy to process and deliver the fish our clients catch." Andrew emphasized that the charters are not only for fishing hobbyists. In fact, he has worked with many groups who simply want to enjoy a new experience together, like families on vacation and cruise ship guests. "We really want to offer our clients more than just a fishing trip," concluded Andrew. "Being out on the water is an amazing way to experience nature and see things that you would never see elsewhere." According to Andrew, past clients have enjoyed such sights as bald eagles, seals, sea lions, and a Bubble Feeding Whale at the dock. While charters are available year round, the peak times for fishing are in the summer months. Clients can book a charter on the company's website or by phone. About Oasis Alaska Charters Oasis Alaska Charters only runs private charters so that clients will only be fishing with their friends and family. The staff and crew have years of experience in fishing the beautiful waters of Ketchikan, Alaska, which is located in southeastern Alaska and is one of the most spectacular fishing destinations in the world. The Oasis team dedicate themselves to making each trip a true adventure. For more information, please visit https://www.oasisalaskacharters.com/ Contact Info: Name: Mark Andrew Organization: Oasis Alaska Charters Address: 708 North Point Higgins Road Ketchikan, AK 99901 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/oasis-alaska-charters-announces-private-charters-in-ketchikan-alaska/119992 Release ID: 119992 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) New Internet Marketing Software Set to Revolutionize the Affiliate Industry Dave Deib Launches New Internet Marketing Software designed for Affiliate Marketers and Entrepreneurs. -- Dave D Introduces to the market a New Internet Marketing Software. Too much time wasting on tools and blocked ads this is now a thing of the past. For too long, Affiliates and small companies have been playing against an ever changing set of rules from social media companies and search engines. However, Invite Buzz is set to revolutionize the industry, giving Affiliate and Internet Marketers the ability to build viral content that soars to the top of search engines. As with many of the greatest inventions, Invite Buzz was born out of personal experience. Fed up of being banned, ads blocked and random search engine rankings, Invite Buzz was created to allow businesses and marketers access to all the advantage of social media sites, but without the unfair and random systems. Dave drew on his 10 years of web development, SEO and site creation experience to build a system that worked for all marketers. More information is available at http://invitebuzz.net Every successful entrepreneur knows, knowledge sharing is one of the ways that businesses can learn from each other. With this in mind, Dave D has put a huge focus into the education aspect of Invite Buzz. With plenty of video resources, social media help, and weekly webinars included in the package, this is an opportunity to learn the technology behind successful SEO so that entrepreneurs and companies can take control of blogs, website's and content. Dave has worked for companies all over America who have tried to master the art of traffic but just kept losing money to the big social media companies. Launch offer - limited time only To launch Invite Buzz, Dave has created a limited special offer to get a blog or sites content marketing off to the best possible start: o One article in any niche, posted to any WordPress Blog every day! o Get targeted traffic right to any blog or website! o Access to weekly webinars and learn from an SEO expert that has helped businesses all over America get customers. More information is available at http://invitebuzz.net For more information, please visit http://invitebuzz.com Contact Info: Name: Dave Deib Organization: Invite Buzz Address: 297 Kingsbury Grade Suite 100 Lake Tahoe NV 89449 Phone: 775-790-7729 Release ID: 119499 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. The vice president of a Californian software firm, which recently launched in the UK, said over the past year any nervousness about handing over client data has tapered off. InvestCloud was established in the US in 2010, and in January took the leap into the UK market after spending about 12 months building its British business model. It provides trading and client communication portals for IFAs, wealth managers and fund houses, building technology platforms which give firms the ability to plug certain InvestCloud components - known as Applets - into their businesses. Andrew Lewis, senior vice president of the firms European business, said: When we first came to the UK, we felt there was a lot of nervousness from firms about giving us client data, particularly compared to the US. I think that has changed in the past year, and some of the larger UK firms are now very comfortable about giving data to us, he said, adding companies are becoming more trusting of the digital space and realising a specialist tech firm can hold data more securely than internal databases. Mr Lewis said the US tends to adopt new technology faster than the UK, suggesting InvestCloud would not have grown so rapidly had they started up on this side of the Atlantic. While he said fintech is a hot topic in the UK, the majority of fresh digital products are direct-to-consumer, arguing there is a lack of B2B offerings which help with client management and communication, with some firms still using outdated reporting systems. However, Mr Lewis said the UK is ahead of the US in terms of incorporating a broader digital experience, where systems can be accessed and used on mobile phones for example. Despite the US adopting the investment robo-advice model earlier than the UK, he said larger players in the States have realised they can expand this to offer a more holistic service, which UK businesses have been introducing over recent years. The challenge for these overseas robo-advisers will be adapting their propositions to meet regulatory demands. David Stevens, LV InvestCloud has taken on 650 US-based investment and advice firms as clients over the past three years, but its group chief executive believes the B2B gap in the British market, and an increasing openness to digital offerings, means this type of growth can be achieved even quicker in the UK. Mr Lewis said, unlike InvestCloud, a lot of digital firms in both the UK and the US have not modelled products on the entire financial services industry. He said: A lot of these asset management firms have large legacy systems, which they dont want to turn off because they have a lot of data and history they dont want to lose. We are not asking firms to disrupt their current systems, but we incorporate an overlay approach instead and map the data into our own system. Sarasin and Partners Alistair Campbell has focused on diversification and capital preservation in his 100m fund of funds range, recently adding to North American, credit and alternative strategies. The manager said volatile markets made it difficult to find opportunities in areas that he previously relied on, pushing him to look elsewhere. In the three multi-asset portfolios Sarasin Fund of Funds Global Diversified Growth, Global Growth and Global Strategic Growth Mr Campbell added a 1.5 per cent exposure to the Perella Weinberg Partners North American Equity Long/Short fund as part of the alternative allocations and to take advantage of a potential uptake in US M&A deals. With earnings growth pretty slow across the developed world and lots of cash on balance sheets, were seeing a lot of deal flow come through in the US and you can see M&A deal spreads quite wide still, he explained. Since December, the multi-asset funds also increased allocations to TwentyFour Absolute Return Credit, bringing total exposure to 5 per cent. The short-dated sterling-denominated investment grade credit strategy aims to deliver cash plus 2.5 per cent. Mr Campbell said he liked the protection that short-dated credit offered. Its not going to shoot the lights out but holding short-dated, investment-grade credit has been pretty nice. For example, in January and February we saw credit widen but the fund defended pretty well. Youre getting maybe 80 per cent of the upside of traditional corporate bonds but with 20 per cent of the volatility, so we see that trade as quite attractive at the moment. Mr Campbell said he preferred to access income with alternatives, leading him to add 2.5 per cent each to SQN Asset Finance a secured lending portfolio of assets and Sequoia Infrastructure Debt, which lends to infrastructure companies with hard assets as collateral. These both yield around 7 or 8 per cent which is pretty attractive in todays environment. There are plenty of funds that offer this level of yield but its more the fact that each of them has some decent underlying collateral, he said. In Sarasin Fund of Funds Global Equity, Mr Campbell added 5 per cent to Fidelitys Special Situations fund, appreciating manager Angel Agudos defensive strategy. When hes modelling hell spend more time modelling what the worst-case scenario is and what his margin of safety is, which we feel works quite well at the moment when valuations look stretched across the board. Mr Campbell sold out of positions in Legg Mason Opportunities and GAM North America to fund the transaction. He also ended exposure to India by selling the Ocean Dial Gateway to India funds. The manager said he felt, although bullish on India in the long term, the equity market had run too hard in the short term. Since launch in December 2014, the 25m Global Diversified Growth fund has lost 0.4 per cent compared to a 4.6 per cent gain from the IA Mixed Investments 40-85% sector, FE Analytics showed. Barclays recent introduction of a 100 per cent mortgage highlights how issues with financial planning across generations are still intertwined. One of the biggest issue of our times in the UK is how we can help younger people afford new homes. Barclays has taken an initiative to address this, helping first-time buyers onto the mortgage ladder with its offer of the first 100 per cent mortgage in many years. However this should not be seen as a return to the come-what-may attitude of the early noughties when mortgages were given to anybody, which eventually was shown up as the flimsy bedrock that contributed in large part to the financial crisis. Not so this time theres a catch! While there is no need for a deposit, customers need a friend or family member to put up 10 per cent of the homes value in a Barclays savings account for three years (the money returned at the end of this time with 1.5 per cent of interest added). That dream of a second home in the sun has been pushed down the pecking order by your childs future mortgage needs In general, we think this is a very good idea and what in effect has happened is that the risk of default has now been shifted from the bank, and thereby society at large, to the friends and family of the person applying for the mortgage. In reality, of course the people putting up the money will be the parents the Bank of Mum and Dad is now one of the key sources of finance for the younger generation. But money doesnt grow on trees, and for those in their 50s, 60s and 70s to be giving money to their children and grandchildren in order support a house purchase, means that theyll have less for themselves. And its not going to be an inconsiderable amount they will be short with the average house price in my home city of Edinburgh at about 233,000, for the Barclays account alone that would mean people funding a 23,000 deposit in all but name. Of course, many parents are putting up much more than that. Whats the bottom line here? For older people it means that theyll have to save even more for retirement if acting as a guarantor for your childs mortgage becomes a key task in later life. Should this trend continue indefinitely, this means those in their 30s and 40s should now be considering how much they are putting towards the pension that dream of a second home in the sun has been pushed down the pecking order by your childs future mortgage needs. George Martineau is senior financial planner at Tcam With less than a week to go until the European Union referendum vote, I was going to comment today on the tactics used by Brexit and Bremain campaigners. Following the killing of politician and Leave campaigner Jo Cox yesterday (16 June), there is only one comment I feel like I can make about the fast approaching EU referendum. The killing of Ms Cox, a mother of two children who are exactly the same age as my own young children, has pressed the pause button on the campaigns surrounding the referendum on UK membership of the EU. Aged 41, Ms Cox supported the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU. She was shot and stabbed several times in her constituency town of Birstall, near Leeds in northern England, yesterday (16 June) lunchtime. A 52-year-old local man was arrested following the attack. Ms Cox, her husband Brendan and three and five-year-old children took part in the high-profile pro-EU campaigning just the day before the shooting that took her life. Following the death of his wife and the mother of his children, Mr Cox called on everyone to fight against the hatred that killed her. The vast majority of the nation wants to listen to reasoned argument so they can grasp what outcome would result in a better life for us all. Emma Ann Hughes He said Ms Cox, a former charity worker who eloquently used her maiden speech in the House of Commons last year to say Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, had fought for a better world. Mr Cox said his wife had fought to make the world her two young children will grow up in a better place every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. In his tribute to Ms Cox, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, said: Hatred will never solve problems. Jo believed that. Violence against MPs is thankfully rare. It is right that Ms Coxs death brought a halt to the Brexit and Bremain campaigns. But the importance of this vote to our countrys future means the death of Ms Cox will only result in a pause rather than a full stop to the Brexit/Bremain campaigns. By this time next week, the nation will have decided whether to stay in the European Union. The only comment I wish to make is in the run up to that vote is please let us have calm, considered points put across by both the Brexit and Bremain campaigners rather than shouting. I truly believe the vast majority of the nation wants to listen to reasoned argument so they can grasp what outcome would result in a better life for us all. Cutting through the arguments I have seen among friends, colleagues and members of this esteemed industry on social media and our own website what clearly unites these voices is they want to vote for what they believe will result in a better world. One of the most significant farm sales in recent Scottish history sees more than 2,000 acres of commercial land up for sale. CG Greig Farms, owners of Pitlochie, Balcanquhal, Corston Mill and East Kilwhiss farms in Fife, is selling all four units and a country house for 14.295m as a whole, or as individual farms. Agent CKD Galbraith says the seller is focusing on other investments and that the rare offering of quality and location will perk the interest of both investors and farmers. See also: Advice for landowners as coastal path progresses Pitlochie Farm Pitlochie, near the village of Gateside, is an arable enterprise split across two units Nether and Upper Pitlochie with 717 acres of farmland. Deep Grade 3 soils grow cereals, brassicas and seed potatoes, while the farm also supports 250 finishing cattle. Winter wheat yields are 3.8t/acre and potatoes 18t/acre. Nether Pitlochie has modern cold stores with capacity for 5,100t of potatoes and its grain stores hold 1,150t with an 18t/hour dryer. There is also a 60-head cattle court, while Upper Pitlochie can house 200 cattle and has additional storage. There are three houses and four farm cottages. Offers over 6.8m as a whole, or in two lots. Balcanquhal Farm Also in Gateside, Balcanquhal is run as a mixed organic enterprise. The farm splits its 392 acres across cereals and fodder production plus grazing. A yard, central to the ring-fenced operation, allows about 230 cattle to be housed in two recently built buildings. There are two silage pits and handling facilities. Free-draining Grade 3 soils allow cattle to stay at grass late in the year, and all the land is in year two of a five-year organic maintenance scheme. Offers over 1.995m. Corston Mill Farm Corston Mill is a 202-acre block split in to 20 fields growing cereals, potatoes and vegetables. The Grade 3 soils, between Gateside and Strathmiglo, produce broccoli at 4.4t/acre and spring barley at 3.1t/acre. The buildings attached to the land are a semi-derelict stone farmhouse, steading, mill and pair of cottages. Offers over 1.2m. Easter Kilwhiss Farm About seven miles west of the three other holdings, Easter Kilwhiss grows cereals, vegetables and brassicas alongside a 300-head suckler herd. About 310 of the farms 714 acres is ploughable. Seed potatoes have yielded 24t/acre, helped by underground irrigation across much of the farm. The remainder of the holding produces silage and grazing ground; most is Grade 3. The farm has three cattle courts, handling facilities and a large silage pit and more than 200t of grain storage. There is a farmhouse and a pair of cottages. Offers over 3,565,000. Agents share their views on the sale Simon Brown, partner, CKD Galbraith There has not been an opportunity to buy in excess of 2,000 acres of quality land in Scotland for a long time. [The four farms] have a strong arable and vegetable operation, and there are plenty of farms on the east coast where the stock has been removed, perhaps to the detriment of the farm, so this operation has an effective rotation. Four separate farms may appeal to a wider market, or a single buyer could buy it lock, stock and barrel. Weve seen farms and land in Perthshire and Fife this year which have sold well so we know theres strong interest from farmers and investors alike. Tom Stewart-Moore, head of Scottish farm agency, Knight Frank Fife is a big farming county and any farm put up for sale publicly is sought after. This is one of the largest portfolios to come to the market in Scotland in recent years so its an investment opportunity for someone. It could be purchased by a buy-to-let buyer or perhaps someone from England who sees this as an affordable opportunity to farm 2,000 acres. Its a big, commercial operation and there will be a handful of individuals who can afford to buy it as one, but the more likely scenario is that it will be sold as individual farms. Farming in Fife Fife is one of Scotlands foremost farming counties, producing about 15% of the Scottish wheat crop and about 5% of its oilseed rape and barley. Much of the land area is capable of producing arable, vegetable and brassica crops, while being equally adept at growing grass. Its location one hour from Edinburgh means livestock markets and grain merchants are within easy reach. The south of the county includes former coal mining territory and land values for the most marginal land can start at 2,500/acre. To the east particularly in the coastal East Neuk of Fife Grade 2 soils have sold for 10,000/acre. The Farmers Weekly Awards celebrate the very best of British farming by recognising and rewarding innovation, hard work and passion for agriculture. These four finalists for the Farmers Weekly Young Farmer of the Year title are prime examples of the achievements possible if you have a clear vision and the drive and determination to see it through. See also: Keep up to date with all the latest Farmers Weekly Awards news David Cooper Tardoes Farm, Muirkirk,East Ayrshire Increasing his farm size from 190ha to 2,000ha and his flock size from 350 ewes to 3,000 breeding ewes and 700 hoggets is only really the start of what David Cooper has achieved. David was born and bred on the family beef and sheep farm in Devon and realised at the age of 12 that farming was of more interest to him than anything else. So, aged 15, when changes to the grazing rights on Dartmoor meant the family farm had 350 ewes needing a home, he was only too keen to be a part of the plan. David and his father John were looking everywhere for land in Cumbria, Wales and Scotland and eventually came across 190ha of dilapidated opencast mining land in East Ayrshire, Scotland. My dad actually phoned the people advertising and said: I think youve made a typo because it looked so cheap, but they said it was the actual price. So my dad said: Dont let anyone else look at it, Im on my way. The judges liked Transformation of land and expansion process Upskilling in fencing to create a successful business The use of rotational grazing to maximise land and minimise inputs The land was bought by the Coopers and the decision was eventually made that David would be the one to farm it. David was 17 in April 2004, passed his driving test that May and drove his Land Rover Defender the 460-mile, 10-hour journey to the new farm in June, in convoy with his dad. First he had to sort out the derelict farmhouse and then he got to work on the land, a lot of which had not been grazed for years due to lack of fencing. I couldnt afford to pay anyone else to fence it, so I taught myself, he says. He became very good at fencing, started doing it for others and now runs a fencing contracting business alongside the farm. He recently bought a tracked post driver, which allows him to access all terrains. And to date, he has completed about 50,000m of fencing on his own farms. My principal vision is to make sure I leave my land in a better condition than when I started, David says. I feel as a farmer I am a custodian for the future generation and must do everything I can to keep hill sheep farming alive. Farm facts 2,000ha hill farm, 1,750ha owned and 250ha rented 3,000 Herdwick and Welsh Mountain ewes put to tup of same breed and 700 hoggets Agricultural fencing contracting business run alongside farm Lambs sold through farmer co-operative for European market Help only employed at scanning and shearing And that he has done, improving it so greatly that the land is now worth 500,000 more than when he bought it. Key to this success have been the Herdwick and Welsh Mountain breeds he farms, as well as his use of intensive grazing. David has been using rotational grazing almost since he arrived in Muirkirk. He realised early on that when a large mob of his ewes with twins went into his smallest, 2ha field, the grass improved dramatically. In the summer, groups of ewes and lambs will move on a daily basis. I only need to use a sheepdog for a week, then the sheep remember what is going on and gather at the gate when they see me. David knows his market very well. He targets Europe, particularly Italy, and sells through livestock marketing co-operative group Farm Stock. I know Italy want light, lean lamb. I know I have demand there, so thats what I produce. He lambs over a three-week period from late April to early May and lambs are starting to be slaughtered in the third week of July. I aim to have everything off the farm by the end of October, killing at 12.5kg. He has also recently started exploring the restaurant trade and hopes to pursue this avenue. The only jobs David employs others for are scanning and shearing the rest of the time it is just him, his quad bike and his dogs. Its a simple system low input and low cost, with absolutely no feed costs at all, and only trace element boluses given to the stock. He never breeds from twin ewe lambs because a single lamb will do much better in the hill farm environment they have. David believes by fine-tuning his low-input system he will keep his business sustainable for future generations of his family and help ride out any price volatilities. He is so confident in his system, he says if he were given a 400ha arable estate, he would reseed the lot and put Welsh Mountain sheep on it. Stuart Perkins Haywood Farm, Bath, Somerset It all started with a birthday present for Stuart Perkins. The 30-year-old, who grew up on the family dairy farm run by his father and late uncle, was given 12 chickens as a surprise sixth birthday present. This led to him selling eggs at the farm gate in Somerset. This hobby became his business in 2004, when he was granted a Princes Trust loan of 4,000 to buy a mobile layer shed, and he established Castlemead Poultry. The investments since have been rather larger and today the firm, of which Stuart is the sole proprietor, has 7,500 laying hens and processes up to 5,000 birds a week in its own EU-licensed abattoir. The farm kills about 3,500 of its own birds each week and also slaughters for other producers. The judges liked Identification of a gap in the market and maximising that opportunity Constant innovation and improvement Knowledge of market and how to reach it Things really got going when Stuart returned home in 2007 after doing a degree in rural land management at Cirencester. He began to expand his poultry enterprise, which had surpassed the dairy business when it ceased in 2012. It was a difficult decisions moving from dairy to poultry but we didnt really have a choice, says Stuart. Last year was another huge leap for Stuart, when he went from processing about 180 birds/week in a small, on-farm cutting unit to building his new slaughtering facilities. He spotted a gap in the market because there were no local poultry abattoirs. By setting up his own and getting it licensed, he has been able to create a successful diversification, as well as ensuring he gets all the value from producing his own stock. The hard work is in the farming, says Stuart. And processing ourselves unlocks the value in that work. Stuart managed the build from start to finish, from idea to funding to construction, which is an incredible feat. I was just about getting to the brink of losing the plot, he says. When you look at this scale of his business, it is hard to believe Stuart is only 30 and, until last year, was running the whole operation by himself from his bedroom in his parents house. Farm facts 90ha tenanted farm Arable and beef farmed alongside poultry business 7,500 free-range laying hens and finishing 3,500 broilers/week On-farm EU-licensed poultry processing abattoir Castlemead Poultry diversification selling wholesale into shops/butchers Castlemead now employs 18 members of staff to help with farm management, accounts, admin, sales and processing. Some 40% of his workforce is local and the rest of his team are from Poland and Slovakia. Finding good, reliable staff has been one of the main challenges, as he needs a lot of hands on deck, especially on the two weekly slaughter days, when 15 people are needed on the line. Stuart is still in partnership with his father on the farm, where they have 120 head of beef cattle, reared for store and finished trade, and 48ha of crops, 25% of which is maize and the rest cereals. The farm was in the Entry-Level Stewardship scheme and Stuart now intends to apply for Countryside Stewardship. The farm contracts out all the cultivations, spraying and silaging to keep machinery costs to a minimum. Their homegrown barley and wheat all goes into the broiler finishing ration, but as they get through 60t of feed each month, the farm has to buy in additional cereals, as well as soya and vitamin/mineral mixes. Stuarts passion for his business and the poultry industry helps when he is selling the Castlemead range. He looks after most new business opportunities and sales himself, aiming to visit six to eight new customers each week. Marketing and storytelling is a big focus for Stuart now. Were selling to the butcher or shop, not the consumer, so we need to complete that circle with our branding and website, he says. There is obviously no stopping Stuart. He has started trials rearing guinea fowl and ducks for the restaurant market and has employed a sales expert to work with him in this area. Now that the processing facilities are built and complete, Stuart wants to focus on the farm and its costs in order to make the business as profitable as possible. I also want to tidy the farm up a bit, as I would like to do Open Farm Sunday, he says. Not many poultry farms do open days, but I think it would be a good way of engaging with consumers. Richard & Grant Walker Lakehead Farm, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire Richard and Grant Walker experienced a key turning point in their farming careers in 2012. It was the year they conducted a whole-farm review of their 170-cow dairy unit and produced a 10-year strategy for the business. It was this plan that led them to more than treble the herd and today they milk 500 pedigree Holsteins. Both of the Dumfriesshire lads left the farm to go to university. Richard graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in civil and structural engineering and Grant studied agriculture at Newcastle University. Since returning from education and travels, the brothers have farmed in partnership with their mum Shona, who ran the farm after their father passed away in 1999. This awards shortlist is not the only one they have made it into this year they are also finalists for the RABDF/NMR Gold Cup. The Wallacehall herd, milked three times a day in the swingover parlour, is currently averaging more than 11,000 litres. The judges liked Impressive yields and fertility rates Focus on and management of costs Commitment to social responsibility and hosting school visits Keeping a close eye on costs has kept the business profitable Richard has developed his own computer program to monitor daily inputs v litres sold. All cropping and silaging is contracted out in order to keep machinery costs to a minimum and the ration has recently been adapted to make use of cheaper feeds. The cows are fed a total mixed ration of grass silage, wholecrop silage, wholecrop and a blend containing rolled wheat, soya, cheese whey and dark grains from distillers. Richard and Grant have a close working relationship with processor Muller and retailer the Co-operative. At Lakehead there is a big focus on the two Fs fertility and forage. We recognise that fertility is where you win or lose in this business, says Grant. The herd has an average first calving age of 715 days and a 382-day calving interval. Ideally we would get the interval down to one year, but we are happy with that, says Richard. The Walkers have been fairly ruthless in their culling selection in order to keep fertility rates high. Cow body condition dictates a lot of what were doing, says Richard. That is why each cow has a manual veterinary examination three weeks post-calving. Farm facts 329ha 500-strong pedigree Holstein herd, milked three times daily 170ha grass for three cuts of silage, 60ha of wholecrop, winter wheat and barley Five full-time staff with self-employed and relief workers Milk supplied to the Co-operative at 26p/litre (May 2016) Youngstock is one of Grants areas of responsibility. Anyone can rear youngstock if they throw money at it, but the trick is making it economic and finding a balance between cutting them short and overcooking it, he says. If you are not good at rearing youngstock, you dont have the heifers coming through and you wont keep your calving age down. The Walkers host school visits from primary and secondary schools every six weeks or so. They work with their local secondary school on the rural skills programme. Bringing young people in is important for the industry, says Richard. As we are a big diary farm kids going home and telling their mum and dad what we are doing can only be a good thing for our reputation and agricultures. The brothers also see it as a great way of meeting potential employees. Its not all airy fairy we let them know it is not easy, but its a great career choice if you are passionate about it, says Grant. The Walkers have a young team, with five full-time staff as well as self-employed milkers and relief workers. The average age of the dairy team is 24. They also have a very low staff turnover their tractor driver George has been working at Lakehead Farm for 34 years. These proactive farmers are constantly seeking new ideas, looking both globally and nearer to home, and both attend discussion groups. Richard started a discussion group with 12 other farmers in south-west Scotland, while Grant is part of another group with farmers from many different areas. They find this gives them wide-ranging ideas to bring home for discussion. Both Richard and Grant clearly have a fantastic business acumen and a strong plan for the future. The past four years have seen significant growth, expansion and investment for the Walkers and, when you meet them, you leave with no doubt that 2012 wont be the only positive turning point in their business. The Farmers Weekly Young Farmer of the Year 2016 award is sponsored by the Co-operative. The Co-op is proud to sponsor the Young Farmer of the Year award. We have always supported the UK farming industry and promoted British food and now we are supporting young farmers in our supply chain through our Co-op Farming Pioneers programme Ciara Gorst Agriculture manager A deal has been struck to slash red tape for Scottish cereal growers with other cropping enterprises. Currently, farmers who grow cereals in Scotland mainly have their crop audited by the Scottish Quality Crops (SQC) food safety assurance scheme. Meanwhile, fresh produce is audited by the Red Tractor scheme and other schemes, resulting in two separate farm audits and inspections for many. See also: Scotland agrees plan to improve mobile phone coverage But an agreement by SQC means that Scottish cereal growers who grow other crops such as vegetables, fruit and potatoes will be subject to a single audit. Andrew Moir, chairman of SQC, said: Multiple audits absorb farmers valuable time. This deal brokered by SQC will allow all crop schemes to be covered by a single audit. SQC aims to bring back all Scottish cereal growers into the SQC scheme from the Red Tractor Combinable Crops scheme. Multiple audits absorb farmers valuable time. This deal brokered by SQC will allow all crop schemes to be covered by a single audit Andrew Moir, Scottish Quality Crops Red Tractor is in full support of the new agreement, which has also been welcomed by NFU Scotland. No farmer wants more inspections than absolutely necessary so this move by SQC will be welcomed, said NFUS president Allan Bowie. A single inspection for growers can now deliver SQC and Red Tractor Assurance. The union is working with SQC to ensure that the supply chain values our provenance story and the effort we put in to deliver farm assurance. In an eleventh-hour visit to persuade farmers they should vote remain on 23 June, the prime minister met a group of local producers at Mike Wilkinsons arable and free-range poultry unit at Eldmire Ings, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Farmers Weeklys Johann Tasker went along to the farm to hear what the prime minister had to say and to ask the farmers for their verdicts on the meeting. Over tea and biscuits around the farmhouse kitchen table, Mr Cameron listened to their concerns about the future of farming. Leaving the EU is a massive threat to British agriculture, he told Farmers Weekly afterwards, outlining three key reasons for the UK to stay in the EU. See also: Cameron commits to supporting farmers if UK leaves EU Access to the single market of 500 million people was absolutely in the interests of British agriculture, said Mr Cameron. There is not a country in the world outside the EU that has a trade deal with the EU that gives them unrestricted access for meat or for poultry or for processed food. The case for remaining is overwhelming when it comes to farming David Cameron The second reason to remain within the EU was the level of farm payments. Brexit campaigners claim that a UK government outside the EU would maintain support payments (see Farmers verdicts below), but the prime minister said such a scenario was far from certain. We have a deal until 2020 and then beyond. If we are outside the EU we have a smaller economy future British governments would be under enormous pressure to cut agricultural support in order to support the health service, or schools, or other services. The third reason was less well understood but particularly concerning, said Mr Cameron. Outside the EU, it would be very difficult for the UK to overturn a trade ban imposed by another country on farm exports if ever there was a problem such as an avian flu outbreak. I think those are three huge threats. I would say to farmers that I believe in a living, working countryside and I am an enormous supporter of British agriculture. I think the case for remaining is overwhelming when it comes to farming. Acknowledging the heavy-handed nature of some Brussels rules and regulations including the three-crop rule Mr Cameron said the frustrations of being part of the EU had to be weighed against the benefits of membership. There are imperfections, he said. I am not sitting here arguing that the EU is perfect. It is particularly not perfect when it comes to agriculture. We do need to cut bureaucracy. We have reduced farm inspections by 34,000 and I think there is more we can do. Mr Camerons comments came as the Britain Stronger In Europe group published new figures suggesting UK farmers could face border taxes totalling 1.5bn annually if the UK left the single market without a free-trade agreement. This is not some game, he said. Trade talks are not a love-in. You dont sit around singing Kumbaya it is a power play. We are more powerful inside the European Union driving these deals with other countries. Outside the EU, export tariffs could average 36% for dairy products, 16% for cereals and 13% for fruit and vegetables. Mr Cameron said: I would urge British farmers to look at the evidence and look at what the NFU and others are saying and vote wholeheartedly to stay in. Farmers verdict on the prime minister Prime Minister David Cameron talked to three farmers during his visit to Yorkshire. Heres their verdict on their meeting and what he said: Mike Wilkinson, arable farmer and egg producer He was enthusiastic about agriculture and passionate about the need for us to stay in the EU not just as a country but on agricultural principles and needs. He was knowledgable about the industry and positive about the future for farming. I believe we should stay in Europe. Im also a big believer that we need a healthy economy otherwise people will want cheaper and cheaper food. And for that to happen, there is only one person that pays the farmer. If there is one point I would like him to take away from his visit, it is the need to manage regulation and reduce unnecessary red tape. Whether we stay in or come out of Europe, regulation needs to be well-managed. Richard Findlay, hill farmer We need more certainty. I asked him to concentrate more on the governments food and farming strategy. At the moment we dont know which direction we should be going in. I asked for a commitment to a UK strategy that gives us long term goals and indicators. The government keeps altering tax relief on buildings and machinery. One year it goes up and the next year it is cut. It is no good we need a longer-term strategy than that. I asked him to have a word with chancellor George Osborne to see if we can fix something for 10 years. Farming is a long-term business and giving us some long-term security would really help the industry. We are starved of investment if we had more long term security it would encourage investment, improve efficiency and employment. Paul Tompkins, dairy farmer I was struck by how well-informed he was about the dairy sector. There is no silver bullet for the desperately low prices that we receive at the moment, but he seemed keen to help us chip away at the edges and that was encouraging. You can always argue that large government and the EU are great juggernauts that take too long to react to problems that are happening today, but without us engaging with these people to push those cogs along quicker, then they never will turn quicker. Having time with the prime minister was important to remind him of the importance of agriculture what we do and how we feed the nation. People need to eat three times a day and we produce the highest standard of food in the world for the lowest prices. Leave campaign repeats pledge to maintain farm support Brexit campaigners insist farmers will continue to receive the same amount of public money if the UK votes to leave the European Union. Funding projects for agriculture will be continued until 2020 with payments made more efficiently too, according to an open letter by Vote Leave. Money will also be better spent on UK priorities, it suggests. The letter pledges: There is more than enough money to ensure that those who now get funding from the EU including universities, scientists, family farmers, regional funds, cultural organisations and others will continue to do so while also ensuring that we save money. Defra minister and Brexit campaigner George Eustice told Farmers Weekly: The amount of money spent on our countryside and wildlife is very modest when compared with spending on other departments. But we could spend our money more effectively if we had control. Mr Eustice added: We would have more than enough money to fund a national agriculture policy, and all ministers campaigning for a vote to leave have been clear that we would continue to support agriculture and the environment. The UK bought more from the EU than it sold to them, said Mr Eustice. Last year, we exported 7.5bn worth of food to the EU but we imported food worth 18bn, he said. In my view, it is very easy to put in place a free trade agreement to replace our membership of the single market. Outside the EU, there would be no more EU auditors telling the UK what to do. Ministers and their civil servants would be free to start thinking policy ideas through from first principles. We could pilot new ways of doing things and we could actually deliver the change British farming craves. Undecided voters in the upcoming EU referendum said they were more likely to vote remain following a Brexit debate hosted by Old Mill accountants. More than 300 people attended the debate, which was held at the Royal Bath and West Showground on Tuesday night (14 June). Although 56% of the attendees said they would vote for the UK to leave the EU in the referendum on 23 June, 33% said they would vote remain. See also: Video Clear cut results in FWs final EU poll at Cereals Before the debate, only 25% of the audience said they would vote to remain. The figures suggest that when undecided voters are nudged, they are more likely to vote for the UK to remain in the EU. If the vote is mirrored more widely across the UK, it suggests the undecided vote could yet play a crucial role in determining which side wins the vote. We seem to have been very successful in helping people make up their mind, with slightly more of the undecided persuaded by the remain speakers, said Old Mill chairman Mike Butler, speaking after the debate. The implications of remain or leave for the farming community are considerable, so its vital that voters have as much information as possible, rather than unhelpful political rhetoric and spin. MP for North East Somerset Jacob Rees-Mogg and Michael Seals, Derbyshire farmer and chairman of the National Fallen Stock Company, argued the case for the Vote Leave camp. Meanwhile Peter Kendall, chairman of AHDB and former NFU president, and former Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt, made the case for Britain Stronger In Europe. Defra funding gap Remain campaigner Ms Munt urged voters to consider what was likely to happen to Defra funding without the EU. Defra is the smallest government department and it is not protected from spending cuts: Will it be able to go to the chancellor and get that money? However, Mr Seals said the UK did not even have its own agricultural policy, but an EU policy not of its design. The very concept of a pan-European legal system that tries to co-define and regulate everything related to agriculture is fundamentally flawed, he argued. We have one rule for all, which is perfect for none. Both Brexit campaigners argued that a vote to leave would mean clawing back the power from the EU, making the British government accountable for its decisions for the first time in 40 years. Mr Rees-Mogg said that although the UK joined the EU for trade it had now become a European state, adding only the unelected commission has the right to propose new laws or suggest the repeal of old ones. Biggest experiment of our lives But Sir Peter said being part of Europe and having the support of the French, German and Irish farmers was vital. If we leave, farming will be throwing itself into the biggest experiment of our lives, he added. That union of farmers within Europe protected British farmers interests, said Ms Munt. Some 20% of the French population describes itself as farmers and therein lies our protection. The problems UK farmers experienced were more to do with gold plating of EU policy by our government, she added. The regulations around abattoirs arrived from the EU as four sides of A4; when it left our government, it was 84 pages long. Meanwhile, on Thursday (16 June) bookmakers slashed the odds of the UK leaving the EU from 7/2 two weeks ago to 13/8 after more money poured on a Brexit. Remain was still the clear favourite however on 8/13. Story Highlights Republicans offer no better review of Congress than do Democrats Democrats give net positive review of Democrats in Congress Republicans are more negative than positive toward GOP caucus PRINCETON, N.J. -- Americans' assessments of whether Congress is doing an excellent, good, fair, poor or bad job are decidedly negative, similar to a year ago. The majority of U.S. adults (53%) say Congress is doing a poor or bad job, while just 13% call its performance good or excellent. This results in a -40 net positive rating for Congress, similar to the -34 in June 2015. Americans' Ratings of How the U.S. Congress Is Handling Its Job Excellent/Good Fair Poor/Bad Net positive % % % pct. pts. Jun 1-5, 2016^ 13 32 53 -40 Jun 15-16, 2015 15 34 49 -34 ^ Based on combined results from split sample in which half rated "The U.S. Congress in Washington" and half "The U.S. Congress" Gallup In contrast to Congress' negative job evaluation, state and local governments earn net positive ratings of +11 and +24, respectively. Americans' ratings of their respective state governments even improved slightly this year, with 37% rating them excellent or good, up from 31% in June 2015, resulting in an increase in the net positive score to +11 from +4. Americans' Ratings of the Job Their State and Local Governments Are Doing Excellent/Good Fair Poor/Bad Net positive % % % pct. pts. Your state government Jun 1-5, 2016 37 37 26 +11 Jun 15-16, 2015 31 40 27 +4 Your local government Jun 1-5, 2016 44 36 20 +24 Jun 15-16, 2015 39 40 19 +20 Gallup These findings are from a June 1-5 Gallup survey conducted before this week's debate over the role congressional inaction on gun control played in the Orlando terrorist attack. The results are consistent with the broad public disapproval of Congress Gallup has found on a monthly basis for a decade. One reason this negativity has continued is that Americans who identify as Republican have remained persistently critical of Congress even as control of the institution has shifted from Democratic majorities in both chambers to split control, and, more recently, to full Republican control. One would expect Congress' overall approval rating to be lifted because supporters of the majority party typically give it higher ratings, but that has not occurred with Republicans in recent years. Echoing this pattern, Republicans are no more likely than Democrats to say Congress is doing an excellent or good job, nor are they much less likely to say it is doing a poor or bad job. Job the U.S. Congress Is Doing -- by Party ID Excellent/Good Fair Poor/Bad Net positive % % % pct. pts. Republicans 12 36 51 -39 Independents 13 30 55 -42 Democrats 13 31 54 -41 Gallup, June 1-5, 2016 In the same June 1-5 poll, Gallup asked Americans for their separate assessments of the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress. Americans' ratings of the Republicans in Congress match those of Congress as a whole, while their ratings of Democrats in Congress are somewhat less negative. Thirteen percent of U.S. adults say the Republicans in Congress are doing an excellent or good job, while 54% call it poor or bad, giving the GOP a -41 net positive score. That is noticeably worse than the -32 Gallup recorded a year ago. The Democrats in Congress -- currently the minority party in both the House and Senate -- aren't rated quite so poorly, with 21% of Americans giving them high marks vs. 40% low, for a net positive rating of -19. This is essentially unchanged from last year. Job the Republicans and Democrats in Congress Are Doing Excellent/Good Fair Poor/Bad Net positive % % % pct. pts. Republicans in Congress Jun 1-5, 2016 13 30 54 -41 Jun 15-16, 2015 16 34 48 -32 Democrats in Congress Jun 1-5, 2016 21 36 40 -19 Jun 15-16, 2015 19 38 41 -22 Net positive = % excellent/good minus % poor/bad Gallup More Republicans Negative Than Positive About GOP Caucus Rank-and-file Republicans are negative about Congress even when rating its GOP members specifically. Slightly more Republicans say the Republicans in Congress are doing a poor or bad job (30%) than say they are doing an excellent or good job (22%). By contrast, rank-and-file Democrats have a relatively positive view of the Democrats in Congress, with 41% rating them excellent or good and only 13% poor or bad. In short, Republicans are much more critical about their representation in Congress than Democrats are about theirs. Job the Republicans and Democrats in Congress Are Doing -- by Party ID Excellent/Good Fair Poor/Bad Net positive % % % pct. pts. Republicans in Congress Republicans 22 46 30 -8 Independents 10 31 55 -45 Democrats 10 14 75 -65 Democrats in Congress Republicans 6 28 64 -58 Independents 15 35 45 -30 Democrats 41 45 13 +28 Gallup, June 1-5, 2016 Bottom Line Despite solid Republican majorities in Congress, neither rank-and-file Republicans nor Democrats think Congress is performing well. And while the explanation for this theoretically could be that Republicans evaluate Congress more on the basis of how the Democrats in Congress are behaving than on how the Republicans are performing, Republican identifiers are negative toward Congress even when rating the Republican caucus specifically. By contrast, Democrats rate the Democratic caucus more positively than negatively. Somewhat more positively, fewer Americans say Congress is doing a poor or bad job (53%) than say they disapprove of the job Congress is doing (80%) in Gallup's standard approve/disapprove format. The 80% disapproving of Congress therefore includes some whose disapproval is not extremely negative. In the current survey, of those disapproving of Congress on the approve/disapprove question, just 23% rated the job Congress is doing in the worst possible terms, calling it "bad." Another 41% called it "poor," while 31% described it as "fair." In other words, Americans have a broadly negative view of how Congress is performing, but it could be worse. This is the first in a series of Gallup reports investigating Congress' negative image. Future articles in this series will review Americans' specific criticisms of Congress as well as the factors that drive Americans' negative views of Congress. Frank Newport and Mike Traugott contributed to this article. Survey Methods Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 1-5, 2016, with a random sample of 1,027 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total sample of 308 Republicans or 313 Democrats, the margin of sampling error is 7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. Story Highlights 79% of Republicans describe it as an act of Islamic terrorism 60% of Democrats interpret it as domestic gun violence Blocking gun sales to terrorism suspects seen as best prevention PRINCETON, N.J. -- Republicans and Democrats have starkly different interpretations of what the recent mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub represents. While 79% of Republicans view it primarily as an act of Islamic terrorism, the majority of Democrats, 60%, see it as an act of domestic gun violence. Given Republicans' more lopsided views, Americans as a whole tilt toward describing it as a terrorist act. Perceptions of Orlando Mass Shooting Incident From what you know or have heard, do you view the incident in Orlando over the weekend as more -- [ROTATED: An act of Islamic terrorism (or more) an act of domestic gun violence]? U.S. adults Republicans Independents Democrats % % % % Islamic terrorism 48 79 44 29 Domestic gun violence 41 16 42 60 Both equally (vol.) 6 1 9 7 (vol.) = volunteered response Gallup Daily, June 14-15, 2016 The results are based on a June 14-15 Gallup poll, conducted days after a Muslim U.S. citizen, Omar Mateen, perpetrated the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at an Orlando nightclub. Mateen had been listed on the federal government's terrorism watch list in 2013 and 2014, but was later removed. While both President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton described the incident as an act of terror, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump went further, tying the act to radical Islam. Democrats' interpretation of the Orlando shooting may be influenced by Democratic leaders' calls for stricter gun laws in recent days. This was exemplified by a Democratic-led filibuster on the Senate floor Wednesday and Thursday, which ended after Republican leaders agreed to take up proposals on background checks and steps to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. Trump's statements on the event may be contributing to Republicans' views of the Orlando incident as an act of Islamic terrorism, but Republicans' tendency to define it as terrorism may also stem from their greater concern about terrorism in general. Independents are evenly divided as to whether the Orlando shooting was an act of Islamic terrorism (44%) or domestic gun violence (42%). Whether the Orlando incident was inspired by Islamic terrorism or the actions of a killer able to obtain guns is a debate that cannot be easily settled and, regardless, does nothing to diminish the tragedy of the event. But it is clear that Americans' political views influence how they interpret the tragedy and, by extension, shape their views of the policies leaders should pursue to prevent similar incidents. Republicans, Democrats Agree on Denying Guns to Suspected Terrorists Americans are most likely to believe banning gun sales to suspected terrorists would be most effective of seven steps the government could take to prevent future incidents like the Orlando shooting. Eighty percent of Americans believe such a move would be very or somewhat effective, including 84% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans. At least six in 10 Americans also believe increasing U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State or ISIS, changing state gun laws to allow more people to carry concealed weapons, and passing new laws to make it harder to buy assault weapons would be effective in preventing a repeat of the Orlando attack. The last two proposals garner almost identical public support, although one involves tightening gun restrictions and the other loosening them. Many fewer think banning Muslims from entering the U.S., a move that Trump has specifically promoted, or requiring Muslims living in the U.S. to carry special IDs would be effective. Americans' Perceived Effectiveness of Potential Actions to Prevent Incidents Like Orlando Mass Shooting How effective do you think each of the following will be in preventing incidents such as the one that happened in Orlando this past weekend -- very effective, somewhat effective, not too effective or not at all effective? Very/Somewhat effective Not too/Not at all effective % % Banning gun sales to people on the federal no-fly terrorism watch list 80 17 Increasing U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State or ISIS to take out their leaders, heavy weapons and infrastructure 67 29 Changing state gun laws to allow more people to carry concealed weapons if they pass a background check and complete a training program 64 34 Pass new laws making it harder to buy assault weapons 63 36 Limit the sale of ammunition magazines to those with 10 rounds or less 52 46 A new law that would prevent any Muslim from entering the U.S. 32 63 Requiring Muslims, including those who are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID 25 71 Gallup Daily, June 14-15, 2016 A wide partisan divide exists on all proposals except banning gun sales to suspected terrorists. More than eight in 10 Republicans believe increased airstrikes against the Islamic State and changing state gun laws to allow more Americans to carry concealed weapons would be effective in preventing similar incidents. Meanwhile, most Democrats think passing new laws regarding assault weapons and limiting the sale of ammunition magazines would be effective. Perceptions of Potential Actions to Prevent Incidents Like Orlando Mass Shooting as "Very/Somewhat Effective," by Political Party How effective do you think each of the following will be in preventing incidents such as the one that happened in Orlando this past weekend -- very effective, somewhat effective, not too effective or not at all effective? Republicans Independents Democrats % % % Banning gun sales to people on the federal no-fly terrorism watch list 75 80 84 Increasing U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State or ISIS to take out their leaders, heavy weapons and infrastructure 85 62 57 Changing state gun laws to allow more people to carry concealed weapons if they pass a background check and complete a training program 83 65 45 Pass new laws making it harder to buy assault weapons 43 59 84 Limit the sale of ammunition magazines to those with 10 rounds or less 32 50 70 A new law that would prevent any Muslim from entering the U.S. 54 31 14 Requiring Muslims, including those who are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID 35 26 16 Gallup Daily, June 14-15, 2016 A majority of Republicans, 54%, think the Trump-favored ban on Muslims would be effective at preventing similar incidents like the one in Orlando, but only 14% of Democrats agree. Because Mateen was born in the U.S. and lived there throughout his life, such a policy would not have prevented the Orlando incident. Implications The Orlando tragedy will long be remembered for the scope of the attack, ranking as the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. Given that it was orchestrated by a person of the Islamic faith who claimed allegiance to terrorist groups and who targeted gays and lesbians, the crime has elements of a mass shooting, terrorism and a hate crime. In its aftermath, Americans' political leaders are trying to sort out what measures the government can take to prevent a reoccurrence. How Americans interpret the event undoubtedly influences what steps they favor, but it may also be that their policy preferences and partisanship influence their interpretations of the event. Although the proposals members of both parties have put forth are surely well-intentioned, Democrats are focusing their efforts on advancing gun control legislation they long have favored, while Republicans are renewing their calls for tougher anti-terrorism efforts. Where those two agendas intersect -- namely in taking steps to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns -- may be the place where lawmakers are most likely to find enough common ground to pass new laws. It is also the policy Americans are most likely to view as effective in preventing a repeat of the Orlando tragedy. These data are available in Gallup Analytics. Survey Methods Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 14-15, 2016, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 1,021adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total samples of 319 Democrats, 311 Republicans and 349 independents, the margin of sampling error is 7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup U.S. Daily works. 'Fifty Shades Darker' Release Date, News & Update: Amelia Warner Suffering From Postpartum Syndrome Seeing Jamie Dornan's Love Scenes; Dakota Johnson Having An Affair With Rita Ora? There are hearsays that Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan's love scenes are affecting the latter's wife, Amelia Warner. It has been said that the 34-year-old English actress is now suffering from postpartum depression because of his husband's film, "Fifty Shades Darker." There are swirling rumors that Jamie Dornan, who's been playing Christian Grey since the first "Fifty Shades of Grey" film, is fearing for the health of his wife, according to Morning News USA. "Love this girl. #FiftyShades" - @ritaora A photo posted by Fifty Shades Darker (@fiftyshadesmovie) on May 20, 2016 at 3:46pm PDT It looks like the intimate scenes -- as well as gossip regarding a secret affair -- between Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson on "Fifty Shades Darker" are too much to handle for Amelia Warner. In fact, there is ongoing tension on the set of "Fifty Shades Darker," since Amelia Warner is showing signs of postpartum syndrome tendencies. Even the hot teaser photos of "Fifty Shades Darker" featuring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are too much for Amelia Warner to take. Moreover, other reports have claimed that "Fifty Shades Darker" lead star Dakota Johnson, who plays the role of Anastasia Steele, parted ways with her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Matthew Hitt. Apparently, the reason why Dakota Johnson broke up with Matthew Hitt is because of another star from "Fifty Shades Darker," Movie News Guide reported. Aside from Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson is now being linked to Rita Ora, who's portraying the role of Christian Grey's sister, Mia Grey, in "Fifty Shades Darker." Not only that, but it looks like Rita Ora and Dakota Johnson are getting too comfortable with each other on the set of "Fifty Shades Darker." Allegedly, Rita Ora and Dakota Johnson are now more than friends and are having a secret affair. On another note, Dakota Johnson -- who is also known as the daughter of Melanie Griffith -- showcased her slim and natural figure while filming "Fifty Shades Darker" in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday, Daily Mail cited. Dakota Johnson looked very simple in her striped red and blue shirt, which was paired with skinny jeans and a gray hoodie as she remained in character as Anastasia Steele. CSULB alum wins gold at the 38th Long Beach Marathon which was his first When former teacher Mark Martin and his computer programmer wife Laura Bryngelson started the Calapooia Brewing Co. 10 years ago, their goals were simply to supply the Albany area with good beer and support the community. All we wanted to do was to be a little local brewery, Martin said. Ten years ago, it was literally Laura and me. Now were up to 21 employees. And their beers now can be found in bottles and on tap throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. Its been a crazy ride. We just keep expanding. We just keep growing. Our in-house business is doing really great. Our distribution keeps growing, Martin said. On Saturday, the Calapooia Brewing Co. will hold a party to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Pigs on the Wing, a Portland Pink Floyd tribute band, is scheduled to perform and tickets are $15. Weve got about 50 left, Martin said, on Thursday afternoon. Tickets can be purchased at the business, 140 Hill St. N.E. Martin said that one of the keys to success for the brewery has been a slow expansion, rather than rapid growth that couldnt be sustained. The brewery is currently producing about 2,000 barrels a year thats 62,000 gallons but has the capacity to easily make double that amount. Weve got some really exciting times coming in the next year as we continue to expand our distribution. Well start adding jobs in the brewhouse and producing more, Martin said. The brewhouse itself remains the heart of the business, and Martin said it is a fun, casual place for customers to have a pint and relax, he added. We dont take ourselves too seriously, Martin said. Bryngelson credited longtime employees, such as general manager Paul Huppert, with helping the brewery succeed. We have a good culture here, she said, adding that Calapooia gives yearly raises to workers. Martin said the local support has been critical, as well. We just want to thank the city of Albany and Corvallis. We appreciate it and we give back to the community, he added. Calapooias growth coincides with the rapid gains the microbrewery industry has made in the mid-Willamette Valley. When Calapooia started, there was only Oregon Trail Brewing Company in Corvallis as a competitor, and that remains a relatively small operation. Ten years ago, I dont think a lot of people knew a lot about craft brew, Martin said. Now there are eight microbreweries open to the public in Linn and Benton counties, as well as a cidery and meadery. Calapooia opened in 2006, but it is descended from the Oregon Trader Brewing Company, which opened in 1993 at the same location. Technically, were one of the first 20 breweries in the state. Now there are more than 200, Martin said. The leaders of 10 local faith-based organizations will come together Sunday in Corvallis to do more than pray for the victims of the Orlando shooting. An interfaith gathering, candlelight vigil and conversation about gun reform is set for 7 p.m. Sunday in front of the Benton County Courthouse in memory of the victims who were killed during the mass shooting inside a gay nightclub on June 12 in Orlando, Florida. Sundays vigil in Corvallis, which is open to the public, follows a letter circulated on social media, signed by the leaders of 10 area faith-based organizations, including First Presbyterian Church, First Congregational United Church of Christ, First Christian Church of Corvallis, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, First United Methodist Church, the Corvallis Zen Circle, the Beit Am Jewish Community, First Christian Church of Albany, Grace Lutheran Church and the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan. First Congregational Pastor Jennifer Butler said the vigil is intended to offer the community a place to pray, grieve and listen, but also to act. Our hope is to create spaces where real conversation can occur in a context of love, outside of the fear and hate that so often dominate our public conversations, Butler said. We cannot just pray. We cant just offer our prayers. We also have to take action. Sundays vigil is set to include a candle-lighting ceremony recognizing the 49 lives lost in Orlando, the dozens more injured, and the Muslim, LGBTQ and Latino communities. Faith leaders also will provide access to crisis hotline information and offer community members in attendance a chance to speak in an open forum. Butler noted that local faith leaders are hoping to show support of the LGBTQ, Muslim and Latino communities. We want to affirm our solidarity with the LGBT community and we also want to be in solidarity with the Muslim community, with which we have a history of working together in partnership in Corvallis, Butler said. Were really resisting the scapegoating of Islam, and we also want to affirm the Latin community and affirm that the Latin population of the LGBT community was disproportionately affected. In addition to the candlelit ceremony, Butler said faith leaders are hoping to include a call for conversation about gun reform, but they are not trying to point the community toward a specific piece of legislation. We want to have a call to action around the abhorrent easy access to weapons and call for gun reform in a concrete way, she said. We want to have a real conversation about violence that I dont think this country has had. We have to talk about violence and the choice between love and hate. And that is what youll find in every major faith tradition, the consistent and brave choice to choose love over hate. Butler acknowledged that some may disagree with the call for action and that she and other faith leaders are inviting those with differing opinions to join in having a respectful conversation. Its important as a culture and a society that we create safe places where we disagree with one another but hold each other in great respect, Butler said. I think we have all seen how guns and violence have impacted our nation in ways that have completely altered us. In light of that, I believe we have to have a clear call to action about how we respond. I invite voices that are different from my own because faith and civil conversation is so critical. We have to look deeper at these issues. Thats what I care about fostering, is that space of conversation amidst disagreement. The Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center on Monday issued a press release condemning the shootings in Orlando. Here's the text of the release: Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center and the entire Muslim community of the Corvallis unequivocally condemn the senseless murder that has occurred in Orlando, Florida. "Islam does not condone wanton murder or individual vendettas. This heinous act and the like do not in any way represent Islam or Muslims, rather all acts of violence are in direct violation of the teachings of Islam. In Islam, one finds no justification whatsoever for any form of a violent act against civilians even during wars. "Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center and all its members vehemently condemn in the strongest terms such abhorrent acts and all other forms of terrorism, hate, and violence and repudiate all those who call to or commit such acts of mindless violence in the name of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace and these acts are not the legitimate acts of Muslims. "Also, one should not take an incident or few incidents and enlarge them to include everyone, but should realize that these incidents were done by individuals who should be accountable for their actions. If those individuals happen to be from a certain race, country or faith, one should not blame or accuse everyone from that race or faith or country for the crime. One should never generalize or judge all people for the words or actions of only a few of them. What is proper is to identify the accused with reference to his act, and not to his nationality, faith, or race. Stereotyping or generalizing is prohibited in Islam, No soul shall be responsible for the actions of others. (Holy Quran 35:18) "Please let us join others here and throughout our state, nation and world to call for an end to terrorism, hate, and violence. Let us join them to build a future where all peoples can live safely without fearing for their safety. 1928 2016 Genevieve Mae Moshier Erway, 87, died June 7, 2016, at her home in Corvallis. Gen was born in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, to Nina Mastin Moshier and Leon S. Moshier. She had three older brothers: Ralph, Leon, and Ned. After high school she worked as a legal secretary before moving to Manhattan, New York, to attend the New York School of Interior Design. She lived at the YWCA, and graduated in 1948. When she returned to Wellsboro she married Louis Monks Erway. They settled in Wellsboro where daughter Krista was born and Gen took care of them all while Lou operated a gas station. In 1951 they moved to Corning, New York, where Lou started his career with the Corning Glass Co. Their family grew to include sons Nick and Rand, and Gen continued to decorate offices and homes while she and Lou built their home in Corning. Gen was always interested in creating art, both practical and decorative, with sewing, knitting, beading, and ceramics. She and Lou began Hillside Pottery in their home studio in 1967, and with the profits traveled with Elderhostel tours to continue exploring and learning. Gen and Lou spent a year in Korea in 1982 while Lou was working on projects with Corning Glass, and their adventures continued with a year in Monterrey, Mexico. When Lou retired from Corning Glass, they moved to Oak Island, North Carolina, where they built another beautiful home. Gen and Lou moved to Corvallis in 1997 to be closer to family. Gen loved traveling and exploring Mexico and other countries. She traveled to China with her friend, Chucky, to Machu Pichu with her daughter, Krista, and made multiple trips to Mexico with Krista and son Rand. She especially loved exploring the Patzcuaro area in Mexico. Gen studied Spanish for over 20 years, volunteered as a conversant with Korean students and Mexican immigrants, and studied Tai Chi and Shodo. Gen lived her life with much grace and with many friends of all ages. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law Krista and James Botsford of Wausau, Wisconsin; son and daughter-in-law Nick and Vickie Erway of Newport, Pennsylvania; daughter-in-law Marilyn Erway of Corvallis; and grandchildren Brian Erway, David Erway, Tenzin and Stacey Botsford, Katelin and Kevin DeGroot, Anna Erway and Jamie Erway. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Leona Genevieve and Iris Mae Botsford, and Brenden, Bryson and Haven Erway, and Sophie Mae Denierio. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lou, her brothers, and son Rand Erway. A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at the First Christian Church in Corvallis. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to HELP in care of First Christian Church, 602 S.W. Madison Ave., Corvallis, OR 97333. This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise. Corvallis Police Department WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 BIKE THEFT: 5:06 p.m., 645 N.W. Monroe Ave. An officer responding to a report of a bike theft arrested Terry Kim Nickell, 54, no address listed, who allegedly stole a bike to ride home. Nickell was booked into the Benton County Jail. BURGLARY: Midnight, 2900 block of Northwest Fillmore Avenue. A woman reported that several items were stolen from her apartment between midnight and 8:15 a.m. The items, which included a laptop and tablet, were valued at around $2,700. The woman reported the front door had been left unlocked the previous night. TUESDAY, JUNE 14 DOMESTIC ASSAULT: 10:49 a.m., 700 block of Northwest 15th Street. Police responded to a report of a domestic in progress after multiple people called dispatch with concerns at the residence. An officer arrested Dylan Michael Schwartz, 32, of Corvallis and charged him with fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. Benton County Sheriff's Office WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 DOMESTIC ASSAULT: 10:35 p.m., 200 block of Northwest 53rd Street. Deputies responded to a report of a domestic assault at the Corvallis Mobile Home Park and arrested Gabriel Anthony Ramos, 32, of Corvallis who allegedly menaced his mother with a steak knife. Ramos was charged with fourth-degree assault, unlawful use of weapon and menacing. He was booked into the Benton County Jail. David vs. Goliath To the Editor: The St. Pauls debate has been heavily dominated -- in the media and public meetings -- by sermons from save the building advocates. The latter group is... POAs start primary process open to all residents As previously announced, the four Property Owners Associations (Western, Estates, Central and Eastern) have made changes to their processes to nominate residents to serve as trustees for the Village Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Board... Now the time has come To the Editor: The Governance Committee should be appreciated for their work which generated several meritorious recommendations relating to the Village government. I was present when two members of Governance... School tax bill fiasco To the Editor: The county assessments are now in a 5-year phase-in program thanks to our past county executive's changes to the assessment process. Also, the Star program which once... Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Muffendorf refugee home stabbing : Kosovan accused of stabbing Albanian to death Bad Godesbberg The 26 year old migrant accused of stabbing a fellow resident to death on 3 April will face manslaughter charges. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken The senior public prosecutor, Robin Fabender, said the 26 year old man from Kosovo, who was living in the home, has now been accused of manslaughter. He allegedly killed a 32 year old fellow resident from Albania by stabbing him several times in the heart. The man is also accused of assault causing bodily harm and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to another 30 year old Albanian. This Albanian man had originally been thought to be an accomplice and was even detained before it was realized he had only wanted to help his compatriot and had himself been attacked by the Kosovan. According to an official spokesman, the incident allegedly happened around 6.50pm in front of the accommodation on Deutschherrenstrae. There was a verbal argument between the accused and the victim which later became violent. When the 30 year old Albanian wanted to intervene to smooth things out, the Kosovan supposedly headbutted him in the face. According to the prosection, the accused and his victim then fell into a shrubbery and the Albanian fell over backwards onto the ground. The 26 year old then allegedly stabbed him multiple times. Fabender said it was at this point at the latest that the accused acted with an intention to kill. Death was caused by three stab wounds to the heart. The 26 year old also apparently tried to stab the victims 30 year old compatriot in the feet but he managed to get out of the way. Doctors fought to save the 32 year old victim but he died at the scene. Fabender said the 26 year old did not resist arrest. The 30 year old Albanian is now one of the key witnesses and his credibility is not in doubt. Investigators believe him and not the accused, who claims to have acted in self-defence. The background to the incident was an on-going argument between the two men. The accused said the victim had named him as the arsonist who set fire to a rubbish container at the home. The accused, who has a wife and children in the home, is apparently known to police for property and violent crimes. Fabender said before this incident, he was being investigated for robbery. There are also ongoing proceedings against him in Kosovo for allegedly taking part in an attack in 2015. According to media reports, he attacked the mayor of Mitrovica. As a youth, he also supposedly carried out an explosion in a bar in Mitrovica in which many people were hurt. Article Protecting the worlds oceans an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs. Planning for your next trip abroad? These 9 helpful tips can make your trip memorable Tips Tricks oi -Sachin India has the largest number of people visiting our beloved country. We also happen to have the largest traffic at our airports. Travelling in and out of the country using various airline services may be just part of someone's job, or it may be a hobby for some to take a time out of their busy schedules to see the world. There are however 3 types of people who travel around the world. Some hardcore travelers decide to visit places one fine day without any warning. Some want to see the world but still want to save more on the trip. While some others keep a detailed planner, a schedule to follow and the proper cataloging of all information. Here we give tips on how Google Flights can be of help to all three categories of travelers. Search it The first three tips are purely for those of you who plan every aspect of your trip. From start to finish, from departure to arrival, from food to staying. Searching on Google for the trip you wanna undertake and on which dates you plan to leave are all you need to input. The search engine will take care of the rest. Customize your results Just like many other travel sites, Google Flights brings your search results across available airlines operating and the lowest prices are always the first results. You choose the time you want to depart and arrive at your destination. Multi-stops If you plan to make multiple stops on your way, the tool also allows you to add the flights and stops. In this case, however, searching tickets for a large group gets difficult. Also read: Xbox One S: 8 amazing features and why you need to buy it Flexible travel The following tips are for those who want to save big on their trip yet enjoy their time. First and foremost, be flexible to decide on your location. You need to keep multiple options open. Certain locations have multiple airports, and Google will also search for the best options available in every locality. Flexible dates You need to make sure that you're ready to go for the trip on a day that you find the lowest rates. Google shows the lowest rates across all the airlines available and marks out the dates with the lowest rates. Notify me With 'Save Itinerary' you can be sure to get updates of flight charges. You can save the destination you want to travel to and get all the details in the future too. Also read: Here are 7 powerful Chrome extensions you need to have to manage your calendar Map it if you're a person who doesn't care about the place, time and cost. Then you can use the map view that Google has conveniently added to the service. You can browse the cities you love, see what's special about the city and check out the flight prices. If you want to make arrangements for staying, it gives you the available options at hotels too. Also read: Follow these 5 simple steps to get your own new MacBook at a discounted rate Let Google decide So you want to be more adventurous than you already are. Just hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button and Google just might make your next trip the most memorable. Destination plans If you just need to visit a place but have no clue about you need to experience there, you can use the template of the destinations with many of the prime tourist spots and the activities there. Best Mobiles in India U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Transcript Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook June 16, 2016 Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room June 16, 2016 PETER COOK: Good afternoon, everybody. I apologize for being late. Our meeting with the Saudi deputy crown prince just wrapped up a moment ago. Before I take your questions, I do have a couple of important items to share with you. First of all, today at Fort Hood, Texas, a memorial service will take place for the eight soldiers who died in the tragic training accident there on June 2nd. The secretary and all of us here at the Pentagon join with the Fort Hood community in mourning their loss, as well as the loss of the cadet killed in that same accident. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the Fort Hood community. A couple of schedule notes for you. As I just mentioned, the secretary at this hour just wrapped up a very productive meeting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman. They discussed a wide range of security issues of interest to our two nations, including the fight against ISIL, the situation in Yemen, and the Saudi role in the recent successful operations aimed at Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in that country, as well as the kingdom's efforts to upgrade its military capabilities. Today's meeting follows on productive conversations in Riyadh during the GCC summit and many other interactions, including Minister Salman's previous visit to the Pentagon in September. Secretary Carter was pleased to host the deputy crown prince and looks forward to continuing cooperation on countering extremist threats, the counter-ISIL campaign, countering Iran's malign influence in the region, and other shared security concerns. Now, looking ahead to the secretary's schedule tomorrow, Secretary Carter will host an event here at the department announcing the results of the Hack the Pentagon effort. He'll have a chance to personally thank some of the hackers for their help in strengthening our cybersecurity and for helping to make the first bug bounty program ever for a federal agency such a success. We'll have more details on that event to you later on today. And finally, you heard yesterday from Colonel Garver about the latest progress in the fight against ISIL, but I did want to highlight a couple of additional points. First, as Colonel Garver said, Syrian-Arab coalition forces have completed the encirclement of Manbij and are working to complete the isolation of that town to prevent ISIL forces from reinforcing or resupplying. This is obviously good news for the forces who are seeking to wrest their homes from ISIL control. But as we've said before, it's also good news for efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters into ISIL-controlled areas and for ISIL's ability to dispatch potential external attacks across the Turkish border. By encircling and eventually liberating Manbij, these U.S.-backed local forces will help reduce ISIL's ability to threaten its innocent victims in Syria and beyond. And as you know, Iraqi forces are also making progress in a difficult fight to retake Fallujah. Wherever it has tried to spread its influence, ISIL is under intense pressure from an international coalition that continues to gather strength, as is demonstrated by the latest international commitment from Poland to contribute F-16 aircraft to the campaign. We will continue to look for any opportunity to accelerate ISIL's lasting defeat, again, working with the rest of the coalition. And with that, happy to take your questions. Jamie. Q: I just wanted to ask you about CIA Director John Brennan's testimony this morning. Like you, he cited a lot of areas where the United States and the coalition are making progress. He said the trends are in the right direction. But then he came to this conclusion, which I'd just like to read, since I -- to make sure I got it right. He said, and I quote, "Unfortunately, despite all of our progress against ISIL on the battle field and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach. The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses on territory, man power and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly." He's clearly saying that their capacity has declined significantly since the battle began. What does that say about all the effort that the United States has expended over these last two years? MR. COOK: Well, a couple of things. I did not see the director's testimony, first of all, so I'll share that with you. But I think, as we've said, the effort -- the military effort to defeat ISIL is absolutely necessary, but it is not sufficient to deal with this threat in full, and I think we've been quite clear on that. We've been working very closely with an interagency approach, an international approach to dealing with the ISIL threat. And while we believe we have made progress in the military campaign -- we detailed what's going on, the loss of territory in Iraq, the loss of territory in Syria, the loss of ISIL leadership -- it's much harder for them to communicate right now, much harder for them to plot both in Iraq and Syria and beyond, thanks to the efforts to the efforts of the coalition, thanks to the military efforts. And yet, they still pose a threat. I think we've acknowledged that. And will continue to pose a threat. That's why we want to accelerate our efforts to impose more of those losses you just talked about to make it even harder for ISIL to -- to do harm to people in places like Iraq and Syria, and to do harm to people outside of those areas. Q: Is it discouraging, though, that after all -- the billions of dollars, the tens of thousands of bombs, the -- the -- you know, decimation of the leadership that really, its -- ISIL's capability hasn't really diminished significantly, according to the CIA director? MR. COOK: I would say it's -- ISIL remains a concern and a threat, and we've acknowledged that. But we have made progress in this military campaign against ISIL. We will continue to make progress, and we will continue to reduce that threat. But this is going to take time. It's going to take the combined efforts -- our whole of government effort. We're working very closely with our -- our counterparts in the intelligence community, our counterparts in Homeland Security, our counterparts at the State Department to conduct this effort. And of course, we're working very closely, Jamie, with our international colleagues to make this happen. This is not going to be easy, and we've never said it would be. And I think Director Brennan's acknowledging that, and we -- we share that assessment, and -- and -- but we also want to make clear that we believe the military campaign against ISIL has shown results, continues to show results, and will going forward, as well. Q: Follow-up. MR. COOK: Yeah. Q: You said you share that assessment. Is that a specific reaction to Director Brennan's comments when he said that ISIS has -- the U.S. effort has not reduced ISIS capabilities and their global reach? MR. COOK: We just -- we share the assessment. Again, I didn't see his testimony in full. We share the view that ISIL remains a threat, and we're doing everything in our power to reduce that threat, working collaboratively, as I said. And we believe we've made progress in that regard. And -- but ISIL and other terror groups do have the ability to -- to still cause harm. I think we've seen that. And -- so we're going to continue every single effort we can, working with our interagency partners, working with our international partners to try and reduce that threat, to make it even less likely. And there is no way you can look at ISIL today, and look at their -- the geographic territory they control, look at their leadership, look at their ability to communicate and judge that it is -- they are in a better position today than they were, say, a year ago. Q: Would you -- just to be specific, to you agree with Director Brennan's testimony when he said that U.S. has not reduced ISIS' capability and global reach? Just yes or no? MR. COOK: We -- again, I'll leave Director Brennan to speak for himself from the military side of things. We have detailed to you the steps we've taken to reduce ISIL's ability to -- to threaten others. And we continue to believe we're making progress in that effort, and we'll continue to make progress in that effort. Q: Is there some concern in this building -- is the secretary concerned that the longer this war takes -- we're coming up on year two, just saw the attack in Orlando -- that there's going to be other ISIS inspired, potentially inspired attacks? You know, is the secretary satisfied with the timeline right now, with the pace of operations? MR. COOK: You -- I think you've heard the secretary say that he's not satisfied, Lucas. He is constantly looking to accelerate this campaign. To remove ISIL from Iraq and Syria, the territory it holds, and likewise, to do everything we can to reduce the threat to the homeland, to reduce the threat to the United States. And that's something that we're working very collaboratively with our interagency partners to do. A good example is the -- the effort right now in Manbij that I referred to. This is an area where we know that there have been efforts to plot attacks -- external attacks outside of Syria. This is a waypoint, if you will, for ISIL foreign fighters. The fact that this operation is taking place now, that we are putting pressure on ISIL in this particular area is just one step, one step we can take to reduce the threat of -- exactly these kinds of external threats. But it doesn't mean we're going to eliminate that threat. Q: And lastly on ISIS, Director Brennan also said that the number of ISIS fighters exceeds the number that Al Qaida had at its height. Do you agree with that assessment? MR. COOK: Listen, I'll let the director of the CIA speak to intelligence matters in whatever way he sees fit, so. Yes, Joe. Q: Peter, I want to go back to the meeting with the Saudi minister. MR. COOK: Yes. Q: Could you give us more details about what they have discussed -- discussed in -- in regards to Syria? And also, does the secretary still believe that Saudi Arabia and the GCC have to bring more assets in the war against ISIS? MR. COOK: Again, we -- the secretary had a very productive conversation with the deputy crown prince. I will share -- I won't share all the details of their private conversations, but the counter-ISIL campaign did come up. The secretary offered an update on where we think things stand. And the deputy crown prince shared his own assessment. They have very comparable views on many aspects of the campaign, and they discussed additional ways that perhaps the Saudis could play a role in the campaign. And the secretary thanked the Saudis for their contributions to date. Won't get into details, and I'll leave it to the Saudis to discuss their own view on what else they could contribute going forward. Q: So, the secretary -- is the secretary satisfied with what the Saudis are bringing -- bringing for the war against ISIS? MR. COOK: As I just said to Lucas, the secretary is always looking for more contributions, looking to accelerate this campaign. He certainly would welcome any additional contributions from the Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, just as he told all of the NATO partners yesterday, how much he would welcome additional contributions from -- from NATO members, as well. So, the secretary will -- will not be satisfied until the ISIL threat is eliminated. Q: Last question. Do you know if they will be going to Norfolk to visit -- if there was a plan to visit Norfolk -- (CROSSTALK) MR. COOK: I know there were hopes that maybe they might be able to take a trip together to look at some particular capabilities that might make -- be helpful for the Saudis. Weather and other logistical factors have intervened, unfortunately. So we don't think we'll be able to do that tomorrow as we had first hoped. And there's some discussion about trying to reschedule that for the future. Q: Hi, Peter. Captain Antonio Brown, the reserve officer that was killed in Orlando, if this is an ISIS-inspired attack, would he be qualified to receive the purple heart? MR. COOK: Let me look into that, and take that question for you. I know it has to do with the designation, sort of a technical designation. I mean, I think at a minimum, we can -- obviously, we -- we lament his loss and what's happened in Orlando. And it's a tragic situation, but let me get back to you. I think that might be something that we'd have to hear from the Army on specifically. And again, it also, as you know well, it has to do with the definition of the event, the Justice Department's own determination about what was carried out there. So it's not necessarily in our hands in terms of the formal designation that might occur there. Q: And then one follow-up. Since General Nicholson seems to have wrapped up his 90-day review, at what point would we hear about the potential redeployment of soldiers that are in Afghanistan to draw-down to 5,500, given the lead time that would be necessary to get those men and women home before December 2016? MR. COOK: I think we -- you'll hear from General Nicholson. You'll hear from the secretary and the commander in chief on those decisions at some point in the future. We don't feel that there's -- there's nothing that requires a decision now. This is an active conversation that General Nicholson continues to have with his chain of command. And so you'll hear at the appropriate time when and if decisions need to be made. Gordon? Q: Just on that point, we saw the comments the secretary made in Brussels about the decision on authorities and the potential decision on a troop decision for Afghanistan. But just to kind of clarify, on the table at some point this year is a decision, yea or nay, to modify the current plan in Afghanistan. I know that people are always looking at, you know, the situation and reassessing, but there is a decision-point at some point this year on that issue. Is that -- is that correct? MR. COOK: The plan that is in place now is the plan that is operational. And I think you've heard the secretary say -- I think you've heard Josh Earnest say at the White House that we'll continue to review this and that the president will, of course, be open to hearing from his commanders on the ground. And those conversations will continue. But right now, the plan that is in place is the plan that is operational. So, this is going to be a topic of conversation, obviously, we expect in Warsaw with the NATO members as well, and determining their contributions going forward. And we, as I think the secretary made clear, he was pleased with what he heard from some of our NATO colleagues, but we want to find out final details. Because, of course, that shapes a number of factors for us as well. Q: Another quick -- unrelated question. ISIS seems to be claiming responsibility for the death of an individual at Incirlik. Can you speak to that, if there's some kind of a connection, or what happened there? MR. COOK: I'm not aware of any. There's no U.S. service member, no American individual that's been harmed by ISIS in Turkey that we're aware of. Let me move back over and then start here. Sorry. Q: Coming back to Afghanistan, yesterday I believe British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said that Secretary Carter told members at the NATO meeting that he was actively reviewing the drawdown in Afghanistan. Could you confirm those comments that he made those? MR. COOK: I think -- I assume Minister Fallon was referring to the secretary's discussions in the group, in the NAC session about Afghanistan and the picture of what's happening. He discussed the authorities issue and the fact that we are, as always, reviewing what's happening in Afghanistan; hearing from commanders on the ground; and looking at the contributions not just of the United States, but all NATO members going forward. So, the secretary made clear that the plan that is in place right now is the plan that is operational, and we'll continue to assess the situation. He'll continue to hear from his commanders on the ground. He'll continue to engage with Chairman Dunford. And of course, offer his advice to the president as appropriate. Barbara? Q: Peter, can you bring us up to date on something else? I was noticing in your own -- the department's published statistics about the wounded are showing an uptick in the number of wounded. Has there in fact been a combat-related incident perhaps in northern Syria where at least one additional service member in recent days was wounded? MR. COOK: Barbara, let me take that question. I know that there have been some reports that I've gotten of some folks who -- some injuries. I understand that there have been service members who may have been injured and gone right back into the fight. But I'll take that question and get you a more precise answer on it. Q: Well, because you're saying some multiple. So just to be -- your -- your published statistics show an increase of one. You're saying some. MR. COOK: And that -- just so I know what you're referring to specifically there? Q: Right -- wounded in action in Inherent Resolve, which would be Syria or Iraq. And we had heard at least one wounded in a combat incident in northern Syria. So could you get us some clarity, with all due respect, today if you can at all -- MR. COOK: I'll try. I'll try and get information. Q: -- on what we're talking about? And can you also, then -- so that's first. And can you also clarify, what exactly is the department's policy right now with these operations on informing the public -- I mean this genuinely -- about wounded; where they're wounded; how serious; and combat-related incidents? Because I think there's some confusion about whether you do or don't, you know, inform the public. MR. COOK: We do not routinely provide information on wounded. As you know, we, of course, disclose information with regard to casualties in the -- in the course of our operations. But we do not routinely provide information, for a variety of reasons, with regard to wounded. And I'll try and find out any particular about this, but that's been our standard practice for some time. Q: Can you say -- I have two very quick follow-ups. I'll be very quick. Can you get us an answer why the department's policy is not to publicly acknowledge -- because it is policy -- wounded, and also when troops are in a combat incident on these -- these missions? And I -- I'll just go right ahead. My other question is not directly related, but do you know anything you can tell us about an attack against a Free Syrian Army position in southern Syria, possibly by the Russians? And were there any Americans there? (CROSSTALK) Q: So two questions -- why the policy not to disclose; whether there was -- (inaudible). MR. COOK: There are a variety of reasons, Barbara, why we don't share that information about wounded. One is privacy rights of those individual service members and we are -- share a tremendous amount of information. And it's been the practice of this department not to share in particular, information about wounded. For a variety of reasons, and we don't plan to change that at any time soon. Q: When troops are in combat, you tell us about Iraqi troops in combat, local indigenous forces you train in combat, why not tell us, just from a policy perspective, what's the department's rational for not telling us, the American public, when troops are in combat in -- MR. COOK: There may be a variety of reason, Barbara. We share information on a regular basis about those instances. We don't share all of that information, in part, because of individual circumstances in certain cases. Maybe it involves operational security, maybe it involves special operations forces, in which we don't want to disclose certain things and we have a practice of not disclosing certain things. And that is applied on a case by case basis and so that's been our practice and we will continue to be our practice. Q: (off-mic) MR. COOK: We are aware of reports that moderate Syrian opposition were bombed today in southern Syria and we don't know all the details, but if indeed that action was taken by the Russians, we would have serious concerns about that and we are working to gather more information and engage with the Russians as well to try and address this matter, but we have seen those reports and trying to find out what we can about them. Q: Any indication any American troops were nearby? MR. COOK: I'm not aware of any American troops impacted by that situation. Yes? Q: Israeli media is reporting that Israeli Defense Minister Lieberman will be meeting with Carter next week, can you offer any details on that, like what day and what will they discuss? MR. COOK: Yes, I know we're still working on the secretary's schedule, but if we have more information to replay with regard to that meeting, we'll share with you as soon as we can. So I don't have anything right now to share with you. Q: He is meeting with him? MR. COOK: I know that there is a hope to work something out but we're still working on the secretary's schedule so when we're ready to announce something, or able to announce something, we will. Yes? Q: As for China, do you have any comment on the series of Chinese military ship incursion into Japanese territorial, or contiguous, waters? MR. COOK: We are -- we were informed by the Japanese government that a Chinese naval vessel did enter Japanese territorial waters and we're in communication with the Japanese government about that situation. I refer you to them for their particular concerns. I think they've made those known, and so I'll refer you to the Japanese government for that. But we are aware of it and they did inform us of the incident. Q: (inaudible). Do you share the concern by the Japanese government? MR. COOK: Well, again, they informed us of this situation and we believe the people's territorial waters should be respected and we don't know all the circumstances that took place here. So we obviously will be in close communication with the Japanese government about this and I'll refer you to them as to exactly what's taken place here. They've shared their concerns and they shared their concerns with us. Q: Allow me to ask one more things about this. (inaudible) -- Chinese vessel getting into the Japanese territorial water, the ship has been said to follow the Indian naval ship. So do you think in getting to the territorial waters to the -- (inaudible) -- countries following or chasing the military ships could be seen as an innocent passage? MR. COOK: If -- whether following another ship could be innocent passage? Q: Yeah. MR. COOK: I -- again, I'm not familiar with every single aspect of the circumstances here; whether or not they could fall -- it could fall within some nautical rules that allow for this kind of action. So this is something that China and -- or the Japanese government and the Chinese government should engage on to find out exactly what happened here. But there are very particular rules for naval activities, and I think it best for the Japanese government and the Chinese government to try and resolve this. Q: Following up on the Free Syrian Army. You said that that was in southern Syria? MR. COOK: Yes. Q: And you expressed concern. Correct? MR. COOK: Yes. Q: Why? MR. COOK: Because any effort by the -- if there's targeting being done of groups who are taking the fight to ISIL, we would have concerns about that. Anything that's causing harm to -- impeding their ability to successfully fight ISIL, we think would be a problem. And we've made that view known in the past. Q: But the -- I mean, the U.S. military is not providing advise and assist to the Free Syrian Army. Correct? MR. COOK: We are, of course, supporting local forces that are taking the fight to ISIL, and we're concerned if -- if, again, this was an incident that involved the Russians targeting a group that is taking the fight to ISIL, that would be counterproductive to the Russians' own goal, they say, of wanting to fight ISIL as well. So that's our concern here, that they're -- if this indeed was a Russian airstrike, that they're targeting forces that are trying to get rid of ISIL and we think that would be a mistake. That would be our concern and that's why we would share that with the Russians. Q: Were there any forces trained by the U.S. as part of the train and equipping program, affiliated with these fighters that were attacked by -- (CROSSTALK) MR. COOK: I don't have particular detail. I can't answer that from here. Yes, Lucas? Q: One more on Afghanistan. Is it the Pentagon's assessment, Peter, that the Taliban right now control more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since 9/11? MR. COOK: Lucas, I -- let me take that question for you, because I want to give you a precise answer. You've asked a very precise question. What I can tell you is that the Afghan security forces are in a better position today to challenge the Taliban thanks to the support and efforts of not only the United States, but other coalition partners. And we're going to continue to support their efforts to build up their security forces so they can secure their own country on their own. And that's an important distinction today, versus since 9/11. Q: Does the secretary anticipate more U.S. airstrikes to support those Afghan forces? Does he anticipate more U.S. aircraft going to Afghanistan? MR. COOK: I don't believe that the secretary -- there's no announcement at this time about any additional aircraft that are required. You are aware of the change in authorities. And with that comes the prospect for additional airstrikes in support of those Afghan forces. But we're not going to predict from here -- right now as to exactly how that will transit. That will be the discretion of the commander on the ground. But certainly it could happen, Lucas, but we can't say with 100 percent certainty from here exactly how the airstrike totals will change going forward. It will depend on the circumstances. Q: And just switching gears to the fight in Fallujah against ISIS, there have been numerous reports that these Iranian-backed Shia militias are carrying out retribution against dozens of Sunni civilians leaving Fallujah. Is the secretary concerned about those reports? MR. COOK: Of course the secretary is concerned, and we're concerned. And we -- very supportive of Prime Minister Abadi, who has initiated an investigation into what's going on there. We support his efforts. And obviously, we'd have concerns about any reports of atrocities, and think that there should be -- as the prime minister has said in a direct investigation to what has happened there and who's responsible. Q: Is it troubling that some of these Iranian-backed generals once targeted U.S. forces over a decade ago? And does that throw off the strategy a little bit as, you know, you -- the U.S. military is supporting the Iraqi forces, yet here are these Iranian backed forces also in the fight, yet with American blood on their hands? MR. COOK: Lucas, we continue to support the prime minister of Iraq, and the Iraqi forces that, for example, are leading the effort in Fallujah, in particular. We have expressed our view that it is the Iraqi forces that should remain in the lead, should be operationally in control. We have received -- we have every confidence that that's how this is being conducted. And so, our interaction remains with the legitimate Iraqi government forces and with the prime minister, of course, and his leadership. And we're confident that he's approaching this in a correct way. He has talked at length with the secretary about the multi-sectarian approach that -- that he believes is important for Iraq going forward. And we support that, and support his efforts. All right. Thanks, everyone. -END- http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/801708/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Naval Aviation Forces Now Striking ISIL from Two Theaters as USS Boxer Harriers Join the Fight Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160616-12 Release Date: 6/16/2016 3:00:00 PM From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs ARABIAN GULF (NNS) -- U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers flying from USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Arabian Gulf joined strike aircraft operating from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the Mediterranean Sea June 16. This marks the first naval aviation combat strike missions of Operation Inherent Resolve launched from Navy warships in two different operational theaters. The Harriers are assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 166, the aviation combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked in the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. "These missions from the flight decks of USS Boxer, like those from the USS Harry S. Truman, demonstrate the inherent flexibility of naval forces," said Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. "Today, U.S. naval forces are striking ISIL simultaneously from both the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf. Of course the engine of this effort is our nation's Sailors and Marines serving with the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit; they, together with our joint and coalition partners, are dismantling and rolling back terrorist networks in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere." "We look forward to providing our many capabilities to support Operation Inherent Resolve," said Capt. Keith Moore, commodore for the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. "Our Navy [and] Marine Corps team here on Boxer, along with the outstanding Sailors aboard Harry S. Truman in the Med, are ready to support all OIR missions. Together, we will do our part to disrupt and destroy ISIL." "Naval forces' support to Operation Inherent Resolve from the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf demonstrates the range of capacity of the modern Navy and Marine Corps," said Marine Col. Anthony Henderson, commanding officer of the 13th MEU. "The conduct of air strikes supporting Iraqi Security Force operations against ISIL reflects the multiple capabilities the global ARG/MEU team brings to the theater." Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group began combat sorties from the eastern Mediterranean Sea June 3, in support of OIR over Syria and Iraq. The CSG transited the Suez Canal June 2, after conducting operations in the 5th Fleet area of operations since Dec. 14, 2015. The strike group's deployment was extended to support dismantling and rolling back the ISIL terrorist network from the 6th Fleet area of operations before it will return home to Norfolk. The Boxer ARG arrived in U.S. 5th Fleet April 5. Consisting of more than 4,500 Sailors and Marines, the Boxer ARG/13th MEU is composed of its command ship, amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49). In addition to naval aviation missions against ISIL in support of OIR, the Marines and Sailors of Boxer ARG team are supporting theater security cooperation efforts and conducting maritime security operations throughout 5th Fleet. The U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of the Middle East's maritime reaches and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Fleet Forces Command Participates in Ardent Sentry 16 Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160616-13 Release Date: 6/16/2016 3:08:00 PM From U.S. Fleet Forces Command Reserve Public Affairs NORFOLK (NNS) -- U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Command concluded its participation in the Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA)-focused Exercise Ardent Sentry 2016 (AS16) June 16. Ardent Sentry is an annual North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) exercise focused on DSCA scenarios to support civil authorities with military capabilities to save lives, prevent human suffering, and mitigate property damage. In this year's AS16 scenario, a simulated 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Cascadia Subduction Zone followed by a tsunami and several aftershocks along the Pacific Northwest coast of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. More than 100 Navy reservists supported AS16 at USFF, contributing their unique skill set to further help the Navy prepare for a natural disaster like the one in this year's scenario and ensure Sailors are prepared to respond. Reservists served in mission-critical areas including planning, operations, logistics, supply, public affairs, medical, legal, and more. By fully integrating with their active duty counterparts, the combined team of reservists and active-duty Sailors replicated a real-world disaster relief situation in which reservists would be called upon to provide additional support. "Following the initial 72 hours immediately after a situation like this occurs, reserve personnel are critical to sustain longer-term support and operations while enabling our active-duty counterparts to continue other critical missions," said Capt. Gerald Murphy, current operations officer at USFF. Navy reservists at USFF and throughout the fleet consistently leverage both their military and civilian experiences to provide support and help commands achieve their missions. "AS16 provided an eye-opening view on the magnitude of damage that could potentially impact millions of our fellow American citizens," said Capt. Larry Watkins, who served as a Crisis Action Team chief during the exercise. "It's always been an honor to serve, but it's especially satisfying to help right here at home." "It's great to put our reserve training to use in a 'real-world' situation while working directly with our active-duty counterparts," said Cryptologic Technician Technical 2nd Class Dylan Harris. "It gives us a great sense of accomplishment when we can successfully come together to help our country during a time of need." AS16 is part of NORAD and USNORTHCOM's annual exercise program and is designed to provide a highly complex, integrated training environment where the military can interface with federal, state and local emergency responders and practice their procedures and validate their processes. USFF serves as the Navy operational commander for USNORTHCOM during disaster preparedness/response and DSCA type exercises. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian ships 'shadowing' US, NATO vessels in Baltics Iran Press TV Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:13AM A US Navy commander says Russian surveillance ships are shadowing American and NATO vessels in the Baltic Sea where they are staging a drill. "What we have seen is shadowing by two Russian intelligence vessels," Vice Admiral James G. Foggo, who is leading the major exercise, said on Wednesday. The exercise, involving US and NATO vessels, includes more than 40 ships and some 6,000 sailors, airmen and marines conducting training operations from June 3-19. Non-NATO counties Finland and Sweden are also participating. Foggo, who is the commander of US 6th Fleet, said Russian forces had been "well behaved and professional on the high seas as we conducted our exercises." Foggo said a delegation from the US Navy met its Russian counterparts in Moscow last week to discuss the current maritime exercise. They had "candid and frank discussions about how to operate professionally [and] not get in each other's way," he said, calling the meeting "productive." Foggo said the Russians had a habit of conducting sudden large-scale surprise or "snap" exercises in the region "that can make people nervous." Russia announced this week that it would be launching one of its "snap" exercises in the near future without sharing any of the details. The NATO exercise comes amid continued strain in relations between Russia and NATO, which have been at odds since Crimea seceded from Ukraine and joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March 2014. NATO ended all practical cooperation with Russia in April that year over the ensuing crisis in Ukraine. The West accuses Moscow of supporting pro-Russian forces in the Ukrainian conflict but Russia denies the allegation. Tensions, billed by some as a resurgent Cold War, have seen NATO resorting to military buildup in Russia's backyard and the latter staging military maneuvers and flying aircraft close to US destroyers in the Baltic Sea. In April, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said NATO was moving closer to Russia's borders, warning that Moscow would take necessary measures to protect its security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Military Rotation in Eastern Europe Poses Threat to Russia - Envoy Sputnik News 21:15 16.06.2016(updated 21:36 16.06.2016) Moscow does not see a difference between constant rotation and permanent deployment of NATO forces near the Russian borders, and will respond adequately to this threat, Russian envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said Thursday. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) NATO defense ministers agreed Wednesday rotational deployment of four battalions in the Baltic states and Poland. The majority of the contingent, to be deployed as early as in 2017, will comprise military personnel from the United States, Germany and the UK. "NATO officials realize that it does not matter for Russia whether it will be constant rotation or permanent deployment, prohibited under the Russia-NATO Founding Act," Grushko told Russian reporters in Brussels. Grushko stressed that Russia considers NATO rotation plans in Eastern Europe a threat to national security and will respond adequately to such a move. NATO is using propaganda campaign around Russian snap military exercises as a tool to justify the Alliance's increased military presence close to Russian borders, Grushko said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that Russian Army's snap military drills and combat capability checks were jeopardizing military transparency and predictability in Europe. "Our practice of snap military drills does not threaten anyone. NATO is feeding media frenzy around them as another tool to justify the Alliance's plans to strengthen its 'eastern flank,' Grushko told Russian reporters in Brussels. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Malian parties must make peace and reconciliation 'a reality,' UN envoy tells Security Council 16 June 2016 Despite some progress, key challenges to implementing Mali's peace and reconciliation agreement remained, one year after the Government and armed groups signed the accord, the United Nations envoy in the West African country told the Security Council today. "Quite clearly neither the signatories nor the national mediation team are satisfied with the slow pace of implementation," said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). "This slow pace is difficult to understand and it is undermining the whole process, particularly the setting up of joint patrols," he explained. Presenting the Secretary-General's report on major developments in Mali since the end of March, he said that although the peace agreement was a package, for some time now, the process had been reduced to discussions about the establishment of an interim administration, which had been slow to occur. He added, however, that he was pleased with the compromise reached earlier this week, on the side lines of the ninth session of the Agreement Monitoring Committee. MINUSMA remained fully engaged and was ready to use its good offices to help support immediate implementation of the interim authorities. "However, it is obviously clear that it is incumbent upon the parties [to] honour their commitments. It is for them to make the Peace Agreement and reconciliation a reality," the envoy emphasized. Mr. Annadif went on to say that since the 15-member Council's visit to Mali in early March, the situation on the ground had been troubling, with security having deteriorated in the past weeks. "Since its deployment in 2013, MINUSMA has faced the deadliest threats of any United Nations mission ever deployed," he said, recalling that 19 peacekeepers had died following terrorist attacks between February and May 2016, 12 of them in May. The Mission had lost a total of 26, plus a United Nations contractor, when counting deaths due to accidents and disease. The numbers were even more distressing when one added losses resulting from the Barkhane operation and those among Mali's security, defence and civil forces. "Enough is enough," he emphasized. "We cannot continue to accept the unacceptable." Most of the deaths could have been avoided if the peacekeeping contingents involved had been better equipped, particularly with armoured vehicles. The 29 May attack on a MINUSMA convoy illustrated the terrorist threat in central and southern Mali, the envoy said, warning that the trend could spread and should not be forgotten. Despite scepticism, however, there are signs of hope that the situation had improved since 2012, Mr. Annadif stated. Since the signing of the peace accord, all signatories to the ceasefire had demonstrated unwavering compliance and made dialogue a priority. Moreover, efforts are under way to establish a sound juridical and institutional framework, he said, describing the 18 May draft agreement to create a council on security-sector reform, under the Prime Minister's office, and the adoption of a decree establishing a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration commission as significant steps forward. He also told the Council that eight cantonment sites had been set up to allow the disarmament process to begin, noting that the integration of former combatants and the management of violent extremism were also positive steps. Mr. Annadif stressed the importance of reinforcing trust and confidence among the signatory parties, pointing out that the lack of effective control on the ground by other parties in the north had led to a spike in terrorism, organized crime, banditry and intercommunal tensions. The slower the peace accord's implementation, the more likely the peace process would capsize, he said, underlining that MINUSMA's future mandate should take those challenges into account. In light of the deadly attacks, the recommendations of the strategic review called for strengthening MINUSMA's personnel and air capacity in order to save lives, he said, adding that authorizing proactive operations would ensure that the Mission could fulfil its responsibilities and protect its staff. It could not do so alone, however. "Only a surge on the part of Mali's defence forces can tackle such challenges," continued Mr. Annadif, stressing that it must be part of a regional strategy in which various actors, such as the Group of 5 for the Sahel (G5 Sahel), the Nouakchott process, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and others would play a leading role. The situation in Mali impacted the whole of West Africa, he said, adding that recent attacks in Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso demonstrated the fluidity of terrorist groups and the interdependence of States in the struggle against terrorism. "I remain an optimist, a moderate one though," he said, while emphasizing that the status quo played into the hands of the enemies of peace. "The worst is behind us, but we must not forget that time is against us." Calling on all Malians to increasingly take ownership of the peace agreement, Mr. Annadif noted that people who had protested the accord in Kidal a year ago were today celebrating in Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, and calling for its implementation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UAE: War 'Practically' Over in Yemen by VOA News June 16, 2016 The United Arab Emirates announced that the war in Yemen is over for its troops after being a key ally in the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels for over a year. An Arabic version of the statement, however, reads that the war is only "practically" over. The statement by state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash was retweeted by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, who posted both versions on his official account. Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan also serves as deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces. Though Houthi rebels have been pushed out of Yemen's southern cities, where President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi set up base on his return from exile, most of the northern and central highlands and the Red Sea coast are still controlled by rebels. The Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition, made up mainly of Gulf nations, has been launching airstrikes against the rebels since March of 2015, part of an increasingly assertive military policy by the Saudis and the UAE. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ethiopia Dismisses Human Rights Watch Report on Oromia Region by Dan Joseph June 16, 2016 Ethiopian authorities have dismissed a 61-page report by Human Rights Watch that details the killings of more than 400 people over the past seven months in a crackdown on protests in the country's Oromia region. Government spokesman Getachew Reda told VOA Thursday an organization so far from the realities on the ground could not have issued an accurate account of the human rights situation in Oromia. The spokesperson said Ethiopia's national human rights commission issued its own report with death tolls that were significantly lower than the Human Rights Watch report and accused the organization of not checking its facts. Human Rights Watch said soldiers have repeatedly fired live ammunition at Oromia protesters with little or no warning or attempts to use non-lethal crowd control measures. It said many of those killed were students, including children under the age of 18. The rights group also said police have arrested tens of thousands of people since the protests began, and that many remain in detention without charge and access to lawyers or family members. The protests were triggered by concerns about the government's proposed expansion of Addis Ababa's boundaries. Demonstrators feared the plan would displace Oromia farmers. The government canceled the plan in January but protests continued due to what one Oromia resident called the "brutal crackdown." Human Rights Watch noted that some of the protests turned violent, resulting in looting or destruction of government-owned property. The group, however, said its investigation found that most protests were peaceful. Human Rights Watch said its report is based on interviews with 125 protesters, bystanders and victims of abuse. It is calling on the government to free detained protesters, support a credible investigation into the killings and hold security force members accountable for the alleged abuses. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Efforts Doing Little to Dent Islamic State's Global Reach by Jeff Seldin June 16, 2016 Despite losing critical ground in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State terror group has no intention of slowing fading away, and instead it has been shifting its focus to ensure it remains the world's top terror organization, according to a top U.S. intelligence official. CIA Director John Brennan painted a bleak picture for lawmakers Thursday on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, warning that even a considerably degraded IS has the resilience, the manpower and the financial resources to strike at enemies both in the Middle East and in the West. "Our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," Brennan said. "As the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda." A key part of that effort will be additional attempts to strike at Western targets in the hopes of replicating the deadly plots that stung Paris and Brussels, as well as inspiring attacks like the shooting in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week. "ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives," Brennan said, using an acronym for the group, and warning that its leadership in Iraq and Syria has a "large cadre of Western fighters" at its disposal for such infiltrations. Dire warning The CIA director underscored that even as the U.S. and its allies have managed to crack down on the travel of foreign fighters to join IS in places like Iraq and Syria, there are still plenty of avenues for fighters to return. He said likely options include joining the flow of refugees, taking advantage of smuggling routes and even sending terrorists back to the West using "legitimate methods of travel." Brennan's stark warning comes even as other U.S. officials have been touting progress against IS, telling VOA the terror group "is at its weakest point" since rapidly advancing across Syria and Iraqi in 2014. Military officials have also pointed to an IS fighting force visibly on its heels in its self-declared caliphate, having lost 50 percent of the terrain it once held in Iraq and upwards of 20 percent of what it once controlled in Syria. "There is no way you can look at ISIL today and look at the geographic territory they control, look at their leadership, look at their ability to communicate and judge they are in a better position today then they were a year ago," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters Thursday. Defense Department officials have also pointed to diminishing financial resources and low morale among the IS ranks, highlighting reports of some IS leaders stealing gold and trying to flee. IS forces themselves have also been increasingly depleted. Brennan himself told lawmakers the CIA estimates the group is down to 18,000 to 22,000 fighters, slightly lower than other recent estimates and down significantly from an estimated high of 33,000 fighters last year. Financial resources and morale are also a concern, with military officials pointing to reports of some IS leaders stealing gold and trying to flee. "This is an organization that has some very rocky roads ahead despite the adaptations," said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who has warned the group "could be looking at a death spiral that will destroy the organization." Long-term threat U.S. officials agree the self-declared caliphate is in trouble and that outside of Libya and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, IS' branches have struggled to gain traction. Yet the Pentagon acknowledges it may not be enough. "The military effort to defeat ISIL is absolutely necessary but it is not sufficient to deal with this threat in full," Cook said. "That's why we want to accelerate our efforts," he said. And intelligence officials believe the group has more than enough resources to pose a long-term threat. "This is a global challenge," said the CIA's Brennan. "The numbers of ISIL fighters now far exceeds what al-Qaida had at its height. We're talking about tens of thousands of individuals." According to U.S. estimates, often criticized for being too conservative, there could be as many as 40,000 IS fighters and operatives in just Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And despite losses in Iraq, Syria and Libya, Brennan warned that the terror organization continues to attract new adherents, with terror groups in Southeast Asia specifically "increasing their interactions and connections with ISIL." "I don't think strategically they're losing," said Jessica McFate, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer now with the Institute for the Study of War. "The competition is literally global and literally extending to places where al-Qaida has been trying to penetrate, and ISIS is actually penetrating faster," she said. "ISIS has even more opportunity to demonstrate outsized effects just by starting operations in a new place." Fertile recruiting grounds U.S. intelligence officials also worry that continued instability in the Middle East and elsewhere is providing IS, as well as other terror groups, plenty of fertile ground for new recruits. "More and more individuals, because of their feelings of being disenfranchised from their governments are now identifying with subnational groups, whether it be with an ISIL, or a [Jabhat al] Nusra or Boko Haram or others," said Brennan. "They're not identifying themselves as Somalis, Nigerians or Yemenis," he said. "They're identifying themselves as part of a confessional group or a terrorist organization. That is a very, very disturbing trend." VOA's Wayne Lee contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC busts terrorist groups in northwest Iran Iran Press TV Thu Jun 16, 2016 4:1AM Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces have engaged in clashes with two terrorist groups in the country's northwest near the border with Iraq, killing a number of terrorists. IRGC's Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said Wednesday that the two groups were trying to infiltrate into Iran through the Oshnavieh border area to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks. Pakpour said the clashes lasted several hours and some of the terrorists were killed. He added that a pursuit operation is underway to destroy the remnants of the terrorists in the region. Pakpour did not touch on the affiliation of the attackers but such attacks in northwest Iran are often carried out by PJAK, an offshoot of PKK which is active in Iraq and Turkey. Earlier this week, Iranian armed forces killed ten terrorists in two separate operations in the northwest and the southeast. Those operations took place in West Azarbaijan province and the Khash region in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Terrorist attacks are rare in Iran, but al-Qaeda-linked and other groups stage hit-and-run assaults from time to time. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Official Confident EU Will Continue To Back Russia Sanctions June 16, 2016 by Tony Wesolowsky PRAGUE -- The U.S. State Department's chief sanctions-policy coordinator is confident the European Union will maintain its travel and economic restrictions against Russia until Moscow fulfills the terms of a peace agreement to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Speaking to RFE/RL in the Czech capital after a weeklong tour of four Central European states to shore up support for the sanctions regime, Daniel Fried on June 16 called costs to the West of sanctions "the price" of combating "Russian aggression." The United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea in March 2014 and its backing of armed separatism in eastern Ukraine, leaving President Vladimir Putin internationally isolated. Western officials vow the measures will be lifted only after the fulfillment of the 2015 Minsk accords, which set out steps to bring a lasting peace to eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,300 people have died in fighting since April 2014. "Sanctions can be costly, but happily European countries have suffered much less than Russian propaganda makes it out to be," Fried said. "Some have been hit harder than others, the Baltic states in particular, [and] Finland. So we need to stick together. American companies have also been hit. But this is the price we all need to pay if we're to successfully resist Russian aggression." The sanctions have hit Russia's economy most dramatically by closing long-term EU lending to Russian companies and discouraging foreign investment. Some of Putin's inner circle have also been targeted with asset freezes and travel bans. However, European countries have been hit by countermeasures ordered by the Kremlin, including a Russian import ban on meat, vegetable, and dairy products from the EU. That has led to growing calls in some quarters of Europe to lift the sanctions. 'Worse Without Sanctions' At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the European restrictions to be lifted, saying, "We have enough problems without it, and we cannot afford to suffer." In his RFE/RL interview, Fried countered by saying that, at the same forum, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker spoke firmly in favor of sanctions remaining until the terms of the Minsk accords are met. "This was a good statement," Fried said. Fried rejected any suggestion that a recent uptick in violence in eastern Ukraine casts doubt on whether the sanctions are working. "If it weren't for sanctions, things would be much worse. And anybody who thinks that it couldn't be worse in Ukraine simply lacks imagination," Fried warned. "Sanctions did two things: They prevented the Russians from going much further, and I think, without the sanctions, the Russians would have gone much further." Fried said in a reference to a key coastal stretch of Ukraine that Russia-backed separatists "might have attacked Mariupol, they might have driven a so-called land bridge to Crimea." "The second thing sanctions achieved was to provide the conditions for getting a framework, the Minsk accords, to end the conflict. No sanctions, no Minsk accords," Fried added. Working Diplomatic Channels Asked whether sanctions may have played into the hands of Putin, allowing him to blame the West for his country's economic woes, Fried said there was virtually no other course of action available. "How would the Russians have responded if the West had been weak? What conclusions would the Russians have drawn had we failed to resist their aggression?" Fried said. "Would their behavior have been better? Really? I think that a strong response has prevented things from being worse and given us the road to get out of the situation." As for whether Putin's popularity has been boosted by the crisis with the West, Fried was skeptical. "As for popularity, well, I've always had a healthy skepticism of public opinion polls conducted in countries where it is not perhaps safe to say you don't support the leader," he said. Polls of Russians, who are used to seeing media toe the Kremlin line since authorities began silencing independent news outlets soon after Putin was appointed to succeed Boris Yeltsin at the end of 1999, consistently show strong support for the former KGB officer. Fried also rejected suggestions that average Russians were suffering more as a result of the sanctions than some of Putin's cronies blacklisted by the EU and Washington. "As for hurting the Russian people, the West, the EU and the U.S., never considered sanctioning food exports to Russia. We would never do that," Fried said. "It is the Russian government itself that has deprived the Russian people of access to good quality food. You'll have to ask them why they did this." The EU trade and financing sanctions must be renewed every six months, with the next vote coming at an EU heads-of-state summit in Brussels on June 28 and 29. Greece, along with Hungary, Italy, Cyprus, and Slovakia, have been among the most vocal critics within the EU of the sanctions.Russia is the EU's third-largest trading partner. Diplomats in Brussels have expressed confidence that the sanctions will be extended next month. But analysts have wondered aloud whether they will be prolonged again six months later. Moscow is now working its diplomatic channels to erode EU unity to ultimately end or dilute the sanctions regime. Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-sanctions- us-coordinator-daniel-fried/27803461.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US likely to use Nusra terrorists to topple Syria's Assad: Russia Iran Press TV Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:57PM Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the United States is likely seeking to preserve the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorist group as a tool to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Lavrov made the remarks at the meeting of a panel discussion on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 (SPIEF 2016) on Thursday. Russia has long insisted that the so-called moderate opposition groups in Syria, supported by the US, should leave the areas held by Nusra militants. However, Washington has asked Moscow not to conduct airstrikes against the Nusra Front. Lavrov said the US claims to be unable to pull the opposition groups out of the territories controlled by terrorists. "I have the impression that some game is being played here and they want perhaps to preserve al-Nusra in some form and then use it to overthrow" the government of Assad, he added. Elsewhere in his comments, the top Russian diplomat noted that communication is underway between Russia's and US militaries, with daily video conferences between the Russian Hmeimim base in Syria and the US-led coalition command based in the Jordanian capital, Amman. "A round-the-clock joint Russian-US center was set up in Geneva for rapid response to violations of the regime of the cessation of hostilities. By the way, all these channels operate in a rather business-like manner, and there are no hysterics there, in contrast to the public space where, forgive me for being rude, we are being chastised," he said. The nation-wide ceasefire, brokered by Moscow and Washington, was introduced in Syria in February in a bid to facilitate dialogue between rival parties in the country. Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups were excluded from the truce. Washington, along with some of its allies, has been conducting air raids against alleged Daesh positions in Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or the UN. The strikes have failed to disband the extremists. Russia launched an air campaign against Daesh and other terrorist groups last September upon a request by the Damascus government. Furthermore, the Russian foreign minister said he was stunned by US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent remarks on Washington's "limited" patience regarding the settlement process in Syria and Assad's fate. "I've seen this statement and was surprised. John [Kerry] usually [acts] as a self-restrained politician. I don't even know what happened," Lavrov said. Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011. Damascus says Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Islamic State Committing Genocide Against Yazidis by Lisa Schlein June 16, 2016 United Nations investigators said the Islamic State (IS) militant group is committing genocide against the Yazidis, an ethnic Kurdish religious community. The International Commission of Inquiry on Syria accused the militant group of seeking to destroy the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq by subjecting them to horrific atrocities. On the basis of evidence it has gathered, the three-member commission said the abuse of Yazidi men, women, and children by Islamic State amounts to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Chairman of the Commission Paulo Pinheiro said the genocide is ongoing since the terrorist group first attacked the Yazidi homeland in northern Iraq's Sinjar region on August 3, 2014. "ISIS has permanently sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm," he said. "The infliction of conditions of life that bring about a slow death." The commission said IS has reviled this minority group as infidels and forced Yazidis to convert to Islam or be killed on the spot. Pinheiro said women and children were forcibly transferred from Sinjar in buses to locations in Syria and Iraq where they were sold in markets as chattel. "More than 3,200 women and children remain today under ISIS captivity. Most of them are in Syria," he said. "Women and girls, some as young as nine are used as sex slaves. Boys over seven are ripped from their mothers' care and taken to ISIS camps where they are indoctrinated and receive military training." The U.N. investigators said there can be no impunity for crimes of this nature. They said both Syria and Iraq are parties to the 1945 Genocide Convention, which obliges them to prevent and to punish perpetrators of genocide. The investigators are calling on the Security Council to quickly refer the case to the International Criminal Court. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Aid Deliveries to Syria's Besieged Areas Making Progress by Lisa Schlein June 16, 2016 Progress is being made in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to tens of thousands of Syrians trapped in besieged areas. In Geneva, a senior United Nations official said 16 of Syria's 18 besieged areas soon will have been reached. Jan Egeland, the special adviser to U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, said significant progress is being made. This, he said, comes after several weeks where virtually nothing was getting through to the thousands of people in Syria who have been without food and other aid for months or, in some cases, years. Egeland said two convoys are loaded with food and other relief supplies ready to go to several areas including Al Waer, near the town of Homs, and Afrin in northern Aleppo. "Today alone, we hope to reach 110,000 people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas with more than 100 trucks and vehicles," he said. "All of this happens while the fighting has gotten worse. The bombing is worse. The protection needs of the civilian population are being trampled upon across the Syrian map." Egeland said it is a positive sign that a 48-hour truce was declared in Aleppo city to allow aid convoys to go through. He attributed the negotiated truce and the progress in reaching the affected areas to more effective diplomatic pressure from Russia and the United States. "I really hope that this was a turning point for humanitarian access to besieged areas and also to hard-to-reach areas; but we should not be naive," he said. "The war is continuing, and in a war zone everything is fragile." Special adviser Egeland said the United Nations is acutely aware that the access that exists today could end tomorrow. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ankara 'Makes Three Important Steps' Toward Thaw With Moscow Sputnik News 19:50 16.06.2016(updated 20:25 16.06.2016) According to Turkish newspaper Haberturk, over the last week Ankara made three important steps toward the improvement of political, economic and cultural ties with Russia. The steps include a letter from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia's national holiday in which he expressed hope for good bilateral relations as well as the appointment of a new Turkish ambassador to Moscow, the newspaper wrote. "Due to the tensions in relations between the two countries, the leaders had not met face to face and had not sent congratulatory letters to each other," the newspaper wrote, implying that Erdogan's letter might be considered a sign of his readiness for reconciliation. Earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also sent a similar congratulatory message to Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in which he expressed hope that, "in the near future, cooperation and relations between the two countries will reach a level that is essential for the common interests of our peoples." Another important step, according to the newspaper, was the appointment of the new ambassador to Moscow, Huseyin Dirioz. "The appointment of a new ambassador to Moscow is being viewed as 'a new start in relations with Russia'," the newspaper noted. And last, but not least: Russia's ambassador to Ankara, Andrew Karlov, organized a big event at the Russian Embassy in Turkey last week. The event was attended by the assistant of a Turkish Foreign Minister Deputy and three CEOs as well as representatives of the Turkish military. "This year, in an interview with reporters Russian Ambassador to Ankara Karlov expressed his satisfaction with the level of participation and made it clear: 'Our relations are important,'" the article said. Turkish-Russian relations deteriorated after a Turkish F-16 fighter downed a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria on November 24, 2015. The jet was carrying out anti-terrorist operations in Syria. The crew of the plane ejected and one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by ground fire, while the second pilot survived. Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin classified as a "stab in the back." Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that Moscow expects Ankara to apologize for the downing of the Su-24, as well as to explain the incident. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukrainian PM: Maintain Western Sanctions Until Russian Withdrawal June 16, 2016 by Mike Eckel WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman urged Western governments to maintain tough sanctions on Russia until it withdraws forces from eastern Ukraine and cedes control of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow seized from Kyiv in 2014. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington on June 16, Hroysman also heralded his government's steps toward institutional and economic reforms, saying changes to the customs service, public procurement procedures, and the courts will make the country more attractive to investors. "Ukraine needs reforms, and my message is that the new governmentis ready to reform the country, is ready to lead the changes and implement the changes that are needed for Ukraine," he told reporters. Hroysman's visit to Washington -- his first since becoming prime minister in April -- comes amid struggling efforts by Kyiv to shore up support financial and technical support for its fragile economy. Ukraine's economy has been battered by the precipitous drop in trade with Russia that followed Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 after its military seizure of the peninsula. The ensuing war in eastern Ukraine, home to much of the country's industrial base, also eviscerated the economy. Kyiv has been struggling to implement deep structural reforms, including rooting out endemic corruption, to meet conditions attached to International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance. Hroysman's senior economic adviser, Ivan Miklos, said on June 15 that officials are hoping the IMF will release $1.7 billion in delayed aid this year in two installments as Ukraine institutes required reforms. Waning Support For Sanctions? U.S. and EU backing for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia has included sweeping economic sanctions that have helped drive Russia's economy into recession. But support for the sanctions in some Western capitals appears to be waning; the EU is expected next month to prolong its sanctions for another six months, though rhetoric from some of the bloc's leaders indicates that they could be scaled back next year. "The sanctions can be eliminated only when the aggressor returns within its borders, when the aggressor renounces his aggressive plans. Only in such a case can the sanctions can be eased or eliminated," Hroysman said. "The removal of sanctions can be absolutely real if the aggressor demonstrates respect for the international law and leaves the sovereignty of an independent state and returns its troops to its own territory," he added. Russia has consistently denied involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine despite what Kyiv and NATO call overwhelming evidence that it has supported the separatists with troops and weapons. Russia and Ukraine have also been at loggerheads over billions of dollars in debts that each side claims the other owes. Moscow offered Kyiv a $15 billion cash infusion in 2013, in a bid to persuade the government of then President Viktor Yanukovych not to sign an EU association agreement. Moscow had transferred only $3 billion of that infusion before Yanukovych was ousted amid violent street protests, and Russia has since demanded the money back. Hroysman sought to link the debt issue to the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. "In reality, it is Russia that has huge debts to Ukraine, and these debts could be somewhat decreased by the de-occupation of Crimea and withdrawal of Russian troops from the territories of the Donbas," he said, referring to the region in eastern Ukraine where Russia-backed separatists control territory. "And I think after these things happen, we could consider settlement of all other financial debts," Hroysman added. The White House announced a day earlier that Washington would give Ukraine $220 million in new aid this year to support reform efforts, bringing total U.S. aid to Kyiv since 2014 to $1.3 billion. The United States has also provided $2 billion in loan guarantees, and earlier this month approved an agreement allowing Kyiv to use one-third of a $1 billion guarantee in the coming months. Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-hroysman- maintain-western-sanctions-russia/27803562.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Minsk Implementation Seen as Key to EU-Russia Relations by Daniel Schearf June 16, 2016 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's trip to Russia this week has raised further speculation that EU sanctions against Russia, over its actions in Ukraine, are wavering just ahead of a vote on whether to extend the punitive measures. Juncker is the highest-level EU official to visit Russia since it annexed Crimea. His participation in the annual St. Petersburg Economic Forum, along with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, added weight to those calling for a return to "business as usual" in EU-Russia relations. The EC president's trip to the summit, which runs from Thursday through Saturday, has caused major unhappiness among EU member states and colleagues within the commission, said Fredrik Wesslau, director of the Wider Europe program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "The timing days before the expected extension of sanctions could not be worse," he said in emailed comments to VOA. "It sends mixed and confused messages about the EU's position on Russia over Ukraine and Europe's willingness to stick to that position." Wavering in Europe The EU sanctions against Russian officials, finance and defense are set to expire in July, and the 28-nation block will decide next week whether to extend them by another six months. But, while the United States has been steadfast that sanctions should remain in place until a Minsk peace deal is implemented, cracks are beginning to show in Europe's resolve. The French parliament in April voted in a nonbinding resolution to lift the sanctions against Russia. Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in May voiced support for a gradual easing of sanctions as progress was made on the Minsk agreement. And as far back as October, Juncker signaled the possibility of a trans-Atlantic gap forming on sanctions when in a speech he said relations between the EU and Russia should not be dictated from Washington. Advocating dialogue But, while Juncker on Thursday advocated building bridges and dialogue with Russia, he put a damper on the prospect of easing sanctions during a speech at the opening of the forum. "Russia is party to the Minsk agreements. It has made commitments and put them on paper, as have the other signatories. Therefore, the next step is clear: full implementation of the agreements. No more, no less," Juncker said in prepared remarks. "This is the only way to begin our conversation, and the only way to lift the economic sanctions that have been imposed." "And let me be clear," he added. "On Minsk, the European Union is united. And so is the G-7." Russia was kicked out of the G-8 group of major industrial nations shortly after it annexed Crimea. Despite Juncker's clear comments on sanctions, his very participation in the forum was controversial. "The problem with the visit is that it plays into Russia's efforts to split and weaken Europe," Wesslau said. "Russia is trying to create a narrative that relations between the EU and Russia are normalizing and that Europe is coming around to accepting the annexation of Crimea and Russia's intervention in eastern Ukraine. Juncker is now becoming part of this narrative." Split on Ukraine At the forum Thursday, Juncker did not mince words in placing the blame for the deterioration in EU-Russia relations squarely on Moscow's actions in Ukraine. "The illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, and the conflict in and around eastern Ukraine, put the relations between the European Union and Russia to a severe test," he said. "Russia's actions have shaken the very principles of the European security order. Sovereignty, sovereign equality, the non-use of force and territorial integrity matter. They cannot be ignored." But while Juncker's speech underscored respecting a nation's right to choose its future, and that having a stable and democratic Ukraine on its border would only benefit Russia, political analysts have long argued that Moscow wants instability to maintain leverage against Kyiv. "Moscow has no intention of living up to its obligations in the Minsk agreement," Wesslau said. "Instead, it is trying to shift the blame onto Kyiv for the lack of progress. "The problem is that when Europe sends mixed messages to Russia for instance, with Juncker's visit the conclusion in Moscow is that European unity in sanctions will collapse," Wesslau said. "This makes Russia even less inclined to implement the Minsk agreement and more inclined to hold out and wait for the collapse. But this, in turn, means no progress on Minsk and makes Europe even less likely to lift the sanctions." Also at the forum Thursday, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose party members led the French vote to lift EU sanctions, gushed praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He urged Putin to show his strength as a leader by first lifting countersanctions against EU food imports. Russian officials quickly rejected the idea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tenants misplaced by the June 9 fire at Fitzgerald Apartments on West Main Street returned to their homes Wednesday evening, an owner of the complex said Friday. Electric service was turned back on Wednesday and gas service was restored Thursday following city inspections and completion of the Danville Fire Departments investigation, Danville Utilities Director Jason Grey said. Just two apartments were burned, Donna Arnold said during an interview at her office. She and her husband, Tom who live in Florida and co-own the property at 1236 W. Main St. next to Hardees had just returned to their home in Venice, Florida, on June 9 when she heard about the fire the next morning. A tenant called at about 6:45 a.m. June 10 and told Arnold about the incident, she said. I called my electrician, she added. The Arnolds made the 12-hour drive right back to Fitzgerald Apartments that Friday. We got here that evening, she said. The couple bought the complex in 1983 and sold it in 2000. However, they had to foreclose on the property and take it back in 2009 when the owners failed to make their payments, Arnold said. There had never been a fire since the Arnolds have owned the apartments, she noted. Fitzgerald Apartments was built in 1934 by Dan River Inc. to house its unmarried supervisors, Arnold said. Additions were made to the complex through 1936, she said. The two apartments destroyed by the fire rooms 108 and 208 will be demolished, rebuilt and available again in six months, Donna said. The fire caused at least $150,000 worth of damage, she said. Assistant Fire Marshal Richie Guill said the fire originated from an overloaded extension cord. The set-up included an air-conditioning unit plugged into a strip, which was plugged into a drop cord. The drop cord was connected to a multi-plugged adapter plugged into two more adapters. A bed was on top of the drop cord, which caught the bed on fire. The beds occupants escaped. Thirty-five personnel responded to the fire reported just before midnight June 9. The American Red Cross provided residents with hotel rooms in the city immediately following the fire. There are six vacancies at the complex, Donna said. Before the fire, there were just two. The Arnolds will remain at the property until July, she said. This is our investment, she said. Its part of our retirement. WENTWORTH Mickey Dale Snow, who in October fled the country to avoid prosecution on sex crimes involving minors, walked out of the Rockingham County jail on Thursday night after his children paid $1 million in cash and put up $20 million to ensure he wouldnt run away again.Snow, 75, of 318 Bearside Court in Eden had been held since late November on $25 million bail, but he was released after Russell and Katrina Snow paid a non-refundable, bonding-related fee and guaranteed all but $5 million of the original bail.Snow faces six counts each of patronizing a mentally disabled prostitute and statutory rape, one of six Rockingham residents who were being held on those charges since the charges first emerged in September.But Snow, indicted Oct. 5, fled to Thailand, where he was picked up by federal agents and extradited in November after having tried to work his way to Costa Rica.His release came less than three weeks after Rockingham County District Court Judge Edwin Wilson declined to reduce the bail amount. Bankers Insurance Company representative Melissa Jones also signed the bond-release form as guarantors of the $20 million, which would be released immediately if Snow again were to flee.Rockingham County Sheriffs Office spokesman Kevin Suthard and court documents state that Snow remains under house arrest and must wear a GPS monitor administered by the Rockingham County Sheriffs Office until he returns to court on Jan. 4.Snow is believed to be required to wear another ankle bracelet by Bankers Insurance, but telephone messages requesting comment from the company were not returned immediately.Rockingham County District Attorney Craig Blitzer said Monday that Snows release does not change anything from the courts side.His release from bond has no affect on my plan, he said. He shows up to court, and we move on. If he doesnt, he doesnt. But that plan is still the same as of now.The day before his indictment, Snow flew to Thailand, and on Nov. 3 he was picked up on a federal arrest warrant by police in Bangkok, Thailand. He was extradited on Nov. 25.Snows ticket from the United States to Thailand had been purchased in March and involved a return to the United States, but the return flight later was canceled as he flew from Thailand to Amsterdam and Panama before being denied by Panamanian officials to board a flight to Costa Rica, which has no extradition agreement with the United States.Panamanian officials sent him back to Amsterdam, and he returned to Thailand.Maximum possible punishment for statutory rape is life without parole, and he could receive up to 204 months in prison on the prostitution charge.Three people originally arrested and indicted in the case, Teresa Vanover, 52, Thomas Woodall, 66, and Everett James Ferris Jr., 67, remain in jail on $5 million bail.A fifth defendant, Donnie Ray Carter, 55, of Eden has not been indicted but has $5 million bail. All five are scheduled to appear in court Jan. 4.Vanover is charged with 24 counts of child abuse by prostitution and 24 counts of promoting prostitution, and Woodall is charged with 12 counts of statutory sex offense and 12 counts of patronizing a prostitute. Ferris is charged with six counts of indecent liberties with a child and six counts of patronizing a prostitute.Carter is charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a minor, both felonies, and one count of patronizing a prostitute. Piedmont Access to Health Services better known as PATHS has received a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand its oral health programs. Kay Crane, CEO of PATHS, said the money will be used to expand the pediatric dentistry offerings at the Danville and Boydton locations. Weve had more and more demand for pediatric dentistry for Medicaid patients, Crane said. One new pediatric dentist will be hired and three more dental operatories the chair, lights, computer and other equipment that make up the basic dental work station added to the Boydton location. That dentist will be shared with the Danville location, coming to the city one or two days a week, Crane said. There also will be some equipment upgrades at the Danville location, Crane said. Were all very excited about this, Crane said Thursday afternoon. We just found out we were getting this grant everything we have ever done has been driven by need; this region is so medically underserved. Only four health centers in Virginia received funding through this grant, which dispersed nearly $156 million to 420 health centers nationwide, according to a news release, in an effort to be able to hire approximately 1,600 new dentists, dental hygienists, assistants, aides and technicians to treat nearly 785,000 new patients across the country. The time has come, Francophiles, to get in line Parisian star baker Gontran Cherrier has opened his first official Australian store. There are now 27 (and counting) Gontran Cherrier boulangeries around the world, but it's no chain restaurant; the menu at his Collingwood outlet was designed to reflect Melbourne tastes, Cherrier says: it's "a bridge between two cultures." He's using native Australian ingredients like lemon myrtle and pepperberries, and there are Asian influences too: think rye paired with miso, or a sesame and soy-sauce baguette. Star baker Gontran Cherrier. Photo: Supplied Cherrier's been on the ground in Melbourne this month perfecting his croissants, made in enormous Bongard ovens with imported French flour (he sent 6000 kilograms) and rich Lescure butter; head baker Misato Kikushi will fly in from Japan soon to take the reins. Melbourne's is the first Cherrier boulangerie in the world to double as a cafe; there's a cool blue-grey interior courtesy of Eades and Bergman, and Pope Joan alumnus Travis Welch is at the pans mixing top-notch local produce with Cherrier's buttery carbs expect all-day breakfast and St Ali coffee. Open daily 7am-6pm. 140 Smith Street, Collingwood, gontrancherrier.com.au David Schwimmer, who portrays Tommy Moran, has a conversation with and Jim Sturgess, as Dion Patras, in "Feed The Beast." Ali Paige Goldstein/Lionsgate Television/AMC/TNS SHARE Former Friends castmate returns to series television By Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times (TNS) You knew him as Ross of Friends, the voice of the neurotic giraffe from the Madagascar series and, more recently, as a Kardashian (Robert, not Kim) in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story miniseries. Now David Schwimmer is embarking on his first recurring television role in more than a decade with AMCs gritty new series Feed the Beast. A crime drama set in the Bronx, Schwimmer plays a widowed father and former restaurant owner/wine sommelier whos suddenly caught in the middle of an organized crime ring. His life and his sons depend on erecting a new establishment thats a financial success, though he must first overcome his own painful history. Schwimmer, 49, spoke with The Times about returning to series TV, becoming a father and the soft spot he now has for Robert Kardashian. Q: What made you want to take on the role of a grieving, alcoholic single father in Feed the Beast? A: Really, my heart just went out to the guy. Tommys a single parent raising a mixed race, 11-year-old boy, and they both survived this horrible tragedy of losing the love of his life and his boys mother. The boy hasnt spoken in a year since witnessing his mother being killed. I was attracted to the role of being a father because now I am one. I havent really had the opportunity to play a dad since Ive become one, except very briefly as Kardashian in the O.J. thing, but this explores that in much more depth. Q: AMC is now synonymous with two of the decades most celebrated series: Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The bar is pretty high. Any pressure? A: While this show is unique because of the whole cooking aspect and getting a restaurant on its feet, it is a one-hour drama in the traditional sense of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. It is character-driven, theres a crime aspect, and dark comedy comes out of it. Its just going to be a question of getting eyeballs on it, because theres so much to choose from now. Q: Are you a foodie? A: I actually just had this conversation with a writer from Food & Wine. I asked her what qualifies a person to be a foodie? I told her pointedly, I am not a person who will fly to a city or country just to try a restaurant, so if thats the definition of a foodie then I cant say that I am one. She then asked, Once you arrive in a city, do you immediately seek out the most interesting restaurant in the city? I said, yeah, and then she said, Youre a foodie. That was proof, I guess, I am a foodie. Q: What were the challenges of playing Kardashian, or at least playing him empathetically? A: I tried not to have any preconceptions about who he was. I was trying to excavate who this man was. All I knew when I was watching the trial, it was always like, who is this white guy sitting next to O.J. the entire time? He was on the defense team but I didnt get what he did I mean, he wasnt cross-examining anyone. And all the other egos in the room overshadowed him. The attention was on the flashier players. Kardashian seemed to be this private, modest, quiet player that I wanted to know more about. Q: Since Friends ended in 2004, youve done film, theater, TV cameos and directed. Where do you feel most at home? A: I feel equally comfortable on stage as I do in television or film. I dont really have a strategy. Maybe if I did Id be a much bigger film actor or star, I dont know. I go with my gut when I read material sometimes its a film, a play, a cameo, a television series. Ive always thought of this career as a very, very long one. I hope to be doing it until I can no longer see, walk, whatever. Maybe even then Ill be able to take a role Scent of a Woman 2. Q: The success of Friends has been a blessing and a curse. A: Its a paradox for sure. On one hand, Im typecast, or there is the danger of being seen or believed as that one character. On the other hand, it was a piece of pop culture and television history, and it provided financial security. For any actor or artist, financial stability is a huge blessing. It gives you the freedom to choose and not have to take a job because you have to pay the rent or pay health insurance. Theres not a day that goes by that Im not grateful. Q: Have you noticed that since Friends was released on Netflix its now resonating with millennials? A: Ive noticed. Its really lovely to think its appealing to a new generation. My daughters 5 will it still appeal in a decade? Im sure my daughter or her friends will be more than happy to tell me when they get there. Q: Feed the Beast is your first return to a TV series since Friends. So you once again get to develop a character with a potentially long arc. A: Right, fingers crossed the show is picked up for another season. Ive always been fascinated by the job of a wine sommelier. Like what kind of person becomes a somme? What I learned from one of my close friends here in the city who is a top somme is that there is no one path. It was fun to invent Tommys back story and figure out what his journey was from the streets of Queens to this job. Q: Hes so troubled, its impossible to reconcile with the voice of Melman the goofy giraffe from Madagascar. A: First, Im really thrilled to hear that, and I hope others have a similar experience where they can watch this new guy that Im trying to create. Im also highly aware that there will be some people who will not be able to distinguish that this is a different character. Its OK. Its happened my entire career. Even when I did Band of Brothers, or The Iceman, its like, Oh, thats Ross in World War II! Or whatever they want to say. Getty Images Bangladesh police escort Islamist militant Suman Hossain Patowari, (center) 20, after his arrest over an attack on publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul in Dhaka on Thursday. SHARE More than 14,000 arrests made in Bangladesh crackdown, yet machete attacks continue By Mainul Islam Khan And Shashank Bengali, Los Angeles Times (TNS) DHAKA, Bangladesh Police in Bangladesh have arrested more than 14,000 people in the last week and authorities have urged citizens to be vigilant. One district even armed some residents with bamboo sticks and whistles. Yet police said Thursday that machete-wielding assailants had struck again, wounding a Hindu college teacher at his home in southern Bangladesh. As a weeklong crackdown against suspected Islamist militants concluded Thursday, the massive numbers of arrests were not sufficient to stop the relentless spread of machete attacks that have claimed at least 49 lives over the last 17 months in Bangladesh. One suspect in the attempted killing Wednesday night, described as a 20-year-old who had been missing from his home in the capital since earlier this week, was arrested and was being questioned. The teacher, Ripon Chakroborty, remained hospitalized with critical head and hand injuries in the southern town of Barisal. Increasingly, the assailants targets are Hindus, who are estimated to make up less than 10 percent of Bangladeshs 160 million people, the vast majority of whom are Muslim. News media reported Thursday that a priest of the Ramkrishna Mission, a Hindu organization in the capital city of Dhaka, received a death threat a day earlier from a group calling itself a member of Islamic State. The computer-written letter said that if the priest did not stop preaching his religion he would be killed with machetes between the dates 20th and 30th, without specifying the month, according to bdnews24.com, a news website. The report did not name the priest for security reasons. Authorities in Dhaka confirmed that the priest filed a complaint Wednesday night. Two Hindus were among four people killed last week in separate machete attacks across the country, including the wife of a senior police official who had been investigating the wave of militant violence. The Islamic State and al-Qaida have claimed responsibility for many of the killings, which have targeted secular bloggers, activists, foreigners and religious minorities. They have followed a disturbingly similar pattern a few young men on motorcycles accosting their target, hacking them in the head and fleeing the scene, almost always without being stopped. Bangladeshi officials have blamed the violence on domestic militants and political opponents, saying they want to destabilize the country. Following the police officials wifes slaying, authorities announced the weeklong crackdown in which 166 suspected militants have been arrested, according to police. Most are members of Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team, two homegrown extremist groups, said police official Kamrul Ahsan. Ahsan said 14,552 people have been arrested since Friday. The majority are suspected of drug crimes and other offenses that are not directly related to militancy and will be interrogated or prosecuted, he said. Police officials have not said whether any are suspects in the recent slayings. And some police tactics have drawn criticism particularly the decision by officials in Magura district, an area with a significant Hindu minority 70 miles west of Dhaka, to equip villagers with bamboo sticks and whistles to raise morale. Critics say the arrests are politically motivated. Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party that opposes Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, said that many of its members were among those arrested and called the clampdown inhuman and unlawful. The ongoing arrest drive caused severe resentment among the general masses, the Islamist partys acting secretary-general, Shafiqur Rahman, said in a statement. I am calling upon the countrymen to raise (their) voice against these autocratic steps of the government. The governments home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, denied the allegations. No arrest was made with ill or political motive, Kamal said. Analysts said the clampdown was needed to try to end impunity for the killings. We cannot expect militancy would be eliminated in one crackdown, but it would help to stop this ongoing series of murders, said Maj. Gen. Abdur Rashid, a security analyst and retired army officer. Neem Chandra Bhowmik, a University of Dhaka professor and vice president of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a group that advocates for religious minorities, welcomed the police drive. Bhowmik said the group was visiting small towns to reassure fearful minorities and urging them to have confidence in the governments efforts to stop suspected militants. If they dont detain them, how could they find out the mastermind of these murders? Bhowmik said. Khan is a Los Angeles Times special correspondent. Staff writer Bengali reported from Mumbai, India. SHARE This January 2015 booking photo released by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office shows Brock Turner. The former Stanford University swimmer was sentenced last week to six months in jail and three years' probation for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, sparking outrage from critics who say Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky was too lenient on a privileged athlete from a top-tier swimming program. (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office via AP) In this June 2, 2016 photo, Brock Turner, 20, right, makes his way into the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Calif. The six-month jail term given to Turner, the former Stanford University swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman after both attended a fraternity party, is being decried as a token punishment. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group via AP) MAGS OUT NO SALES By Debra-Lynn B. Hook Tribune News Service (TNS) The day 20-year-old Stanford University student Brock Turner was sentenced for raping an unconscious woman behind a trash bin after an on-campus frat party, I stated what I thought was the obvious. My sons would never have sex with an unconscious woman, I commented in a Facebook thread debating Turners culpability. To which one of my friends responded: Never is a big word. I do believe they would never knowingly do so. I allowed myself to fully consider the possibility. And still, I came up with never, as did my elder son, who received a master of public health from Johns Hopkins University this spring in sexual and reproductive health, and may be especially well-positioned to comment. Being really, really drunk means we might do things we wouldnt normally do, but not in the realm of rape, Chris responded when I asked for his thoughts. If this is something you do when youre very drunk, that means some part of you sober believes you are entitled. There was a time when a multitude of rape experts believed even self-respecting males who were raised to know better, who presented with a well-developed sexual response and a strong sense of ethics and empathy, were capable of rape when the opportunity presented, often while on a date and often after consuming alcohol. In recent years, this thinking has been discounted by other researchers, most especially in the area of date rape. Experts include former University of Massachusetts professor of psychology David Lisak, whose landmark survey of 2,000 college men netted a preponderance of narcissistic comments and a sense of entitlement and bravado among men who admitted to raping women. These are clearly not individuals who are simply in need of a little extra education about proper communication with the opposite sex, Lisak told an NPR reporter. These are predators. With or without Lisaks theory, I am not in a position to psychoanalyze the words and actions of an individual person accused of rape. I cannot see what is missing inside the private recesses of Turners psyche that led him to violate a young woman, then lie about the details even after eyewitnesses offered reports. What I am in a position to see is what is missing in the highly publicized aftermath of this case. Turners guilt is clear: A California jury of 12 unanimously agreed three months ago that Turner was guilty on three counts of felony sexual assault for the January 2015 incident. This was after hearing damning testimony from the graduate students who came upon Turner moving up and down atop the victims limp and unmoving body. The two students told police the young woman was so unresponsive they worried she was dead. According to police reports, Turner tried to run when the students confronted him. But one of them tackled Turner and pinned him to the ground until police arrived, while the other stayed with the young woman; he is said to have been so upset by what he saw that he cried several times while giving his account to police. The woman was so decidedly unconscious that it would be more than three hours before she came to at a local hospital, where pine needles and other debris were removed from her bruised and injured vagina. What is not so clear is the presence of responsibility. On the part of Brock Turner. Or either of the people who raised him. Even after he was found guilty and his court date came for sentencing, Turner and his parents, the three of them angling for a light sentence in individual letters and statements to the judge, continued to blame everybody else: It was the campus party culture that pressured him to drink too much, Turner said. It was his buddies fault for teaching him that its accepted, even encouraged, behavior for college boys to prey on drunk women. His mother wrote to the judge with stories of a beautiful son with no reference to the suffering of his victim. Even the perpetrator himself only vaguely referred to the victimization of the young woman in his 11-page statement. In two sentences that hardly constituted a direct apology, Turner said: If I could go back and change things, I would do it in a heartbeat because I never meant to hurt anyone. As for Turners father, instead of acknowledging the victims suffering, instead of helping his son take responsibility for his actions, he focused on the pain of Brocks anxiety and depression since the incident. The words heard around the world, especially in sexual-violence advocacy circles, came when Dan Turner beseeched the judge not to issue a harsh sentence for what he referred to as 20 minutes of action. Such is the coarse language that defines a fathers cavalier attitude about an event so serious as rape. Such is the attitude that must have been present in the home where Brock Turner grew up. The perpetrators parents clearly were not on trial here. At 20, Brock Turner is old enough to take responsibility for his own actions. Except it appears maybe he was never taught how. Those who keep an eye out for progress in the world of violence against women who know that one in five women will experience sexual assault on college campuses, according to a new survey by the Association of American Universities, and that many dont trust the justice system enough to file a report can only hope this highly publicized case, with all its tendrils and tentacles, will move the conversation down the long road of justice and understanding. Activists see momentum when Vice President Joseph Biden calls the victim a warrior and a CNN reporter reads the victims impassioned statement on the air, when a Stanford law professor mounts a campaign to oust the judge who issued Turner an especially light sentence of six months in the county jail. The sentence is further reprehensible, juxtaposed as it is against the upcoming fate of Vanderbilt University student Cory Batey, who faces a 15-25 year-mandatory sentence in a Tennessee prison for the same crimes. Turner is white. Batey is African-American. Parenting experts, meanwhile, suggest we seize the educable moment within our ranks, using this case to reflect on a culture of violence against women that extends beyond the American college campus: The World Health Organization says one in three women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Advocates suggest we discuss with our children where we, and others, may be contributing to this culture, in language, behavior and attitude. We can use this case to talk about the importance of respecting self and other; about the permanence of actions and their consequences; about the gravity of taking responsibility for those actions. We (parents) have to use the opportunity to ask (our children), What do you think is the most important take-away from this (case) for how you conduct yourself? parenting educator Rosalind Wiseman told the Associated Press. We need to ask our children these questions. As parents, we need to ask ourselves the same. Debra-Lynn B. Hook of Kent, Ohio, has been writing about family life since 1988. Visit her website at www.debralynnhook.com; email her at dlbhook@yahoo.com, or join her columns Facebook discussion group at Debra-Lynn Hook: Bringing Up Mommy SHARE By Staff Report San Angelo police are looking for whoever fired shots at one unit in the Harvard House apartment complex in College Hills just after midnight Thursday morning. The building is located at 2465 Harvard Ave. Police, according to a news release, were dispatched at 12:16 a.m. after receiving numerous calls for shots fired at the complex. Officers found the unit at the complex that had been shot at and determined that no one had been injured. Police are urging anyone who has information about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers of San Angelo at 325-658-HELP, online at www.sanangelocrimestoppers.com or download the free Mobile App, "P3 Tips." Reports to Crime Stoppers can be made anonymously. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaks during a news conference Tuesday outside his campaign headquarters in Washington. For Hillary Clinton and Sanders, Democratic unity might take some time. Associated Press SHARE Clinton camp worries theyll stay at home By Eleanor Mueller, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) FAIRFAX, Va. With Bernie Sanders all but out of the picture as a presidential candidate, his crowds of T-shirt-clad, Bernie-chanting college supporters are left wondering what next? The answer may not be what Hillary Clinton hopes. At the finish line of a race ending closer than most anticipated, former Secretary of State Clinton has become the presumptive Democratic nominee, leaving Sanders many university-going supporters searching for what comes next. Notorious for attracting younger and first-time voters, the 72-year-old senator from Vermont has crafted a campaign thats drawn thousands of college students. Those students now are faced with the possibility of a ballot without Sanders name on it and they must make a decision: Vote for Clinton, vote for a third party or dont vote at all. Theyre not into politics theyre into a movement, Robert Guttman, professor and director of the Center for Politics & Foreign Relations at George Mason University, said in an interview. To give that up and vote for a conventional candidate? Thats not cool. With thousands of delegates won in the past months, Sanders support by this key younger demographic is concretely evident, Guttman said. Whether its his uncompromisingly liberal ideology or his uniquely genuine public image, the white-haired, wrinkly clothed politician has become, for lack of a better word, cool. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released in mid-April, during a heated campaign period, Clinton and Sanders were shown as tied, with 50 percent for Clinton and 48 percent for Sanders. However, when responses were split by age group, Sanders came out far ahead among voters younger than 50, with a lead of 31 points. When you look at his positions, they skew younger, Chris Riker, a student at Barry University in Miami and a Sanders delegate in the primary, said in an interview. But when you look at character and when you look at personality Bernie is so uncool that its cool. Its these characteristics that paint Sanders as not an establishment politician, Alex Forgue, research director for College Students for Bernie and a student at Northern Illinois University, said in an interview. Both Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Clinton are commonly viewed as in this category, and thats one reason that facing their names on the ballot is so daunting for Sanders college student supporters, Forgue said. So daunting, in fact, that many may not vote at all. Bernie tapped into a group that wasnt engaged previously, Wayne Lesperance, interim dean of undergraduate programs at New England College, said in an interview. The concern is now that they (college students) just go home. While an MTV poll released June 6 found that a majority of Sanders millennials would vote for Clinton should he concede, 18 percent reported they wouldnt vote at all. Id say between 20 and 30 percent of Bernie supporters are going to stay home, Riker said. The difference between Trump and Clinton will be marginal for these people. Those students who do make it to the polls will probably vote for Clinton rather than Trump or a third-party candidate, Riker said. However, its likely the choice will be a reluctant one; among his peers, Clinton and Trump are seen to both represent a corporate-first ideology, he said. Young people are better at tracking the money, Riker said. Its hard to support the idea that (Clinton and Trump) are radically different things when they have the same donors. In a Quinnipiac University poll released June 1, 59 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 35 viewed Sanders favorably. In contrast, 30 percent in the same age range viewed Clinton favorably. College students interviewed on campuses across the country this week said that though theyd favored Sanders originally, they would vote for Clinton now that she was the partys nominee. However, their support will be less of a vote for Clinton and more of a vote against Trump, they said. Ricky Morales, a student at the University of Maryland, said hed voted for Sanders in the primary. Without Sanders as the Democratic nominee, he would vote for Clinton but only because she isnt Trump, Morales said. Anything but Trump, Morales said in an interview. Ill say I view her favorably, but its a reluctant favorably. In the swing state of Virginia, George Mason University student Rigel Asplund shares Morales perspective. I was hoping for Bernie, Asplund said in an interview. The pro of voting for Hillary is shes not Trump; the con is that shes Hillary. Victoria Walker, a student at Pennsylvania State University in State College, who also voted for Sanders in the primary, said she would vote similarly, seeing as Trump isnt fit for office. Im not a fan for Hillary, Walker said in an interview. But you have to pick the better of two evils. Ravin Hassan, a student at George Mason University, wishes she could vote for Sanders, but without him on the ballot she plans to vote for Clinton. Her rationale? Because shes a Democrat, and I wouldnt vote for Trump, Hassan said in an interview. When asked whether she thought her Sanders-loving peers would do the same, Hassan answered: I dont think theyre going to vote. Most of them hate Hillary, Hassan said. Lalita Kota, a student at George Mason University, said she would vote for Sanders if she could, but as things stand she plans to vote for Clinton. Whether her Sanders-loving peers do the same will depend on Clintons actions in the coming months, Kota said. Hillarys very fortunate to have a bigoted, racist opponent whos alienated everybody, said Guttman, the professor. Its very hard for young people to rally around her, but its harder for them to rally around Trump. Its a hurdle that Clintons campaign recognizes. In the past week, it poached Sanders director of student organizing, Kunoor Ojha, to serve as her national campus and student organizing director. Ojha will be working closely to reach the generation at large, but particularly looking on college campuses, Sarah Audelo, youth vote director for Clintons campaign, said in an interview. Were talking about a third of the electorate, Audelo said. Of course theyre a priority. The campaigns efforts to connect with younger voters labeled the millennial outreach program was launched last week, Audelo said. Its first steps will be hitting the road to go out and talk directly with young people, she said. Its our job to make young people excited, Audelo said. We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us. Standard-Times file Jo Ann Martin laughs and serves up a scoopful of beans during the 2014 Juneteenth picnic at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. SHARE Adam Sauceda/Standard-Times Ralph Powell (left) and Todd Aubrey are president and vice president of San Angelo's Juneteenth Committee. White formed The Minority Alliance Council of San Angelo. By Ngan Ho A simple Internet search for Juneteenth activities last year changed Lauren White's life. White, 30, found a Standard-Times article focusing on San Angelo's Juneteenth celebration, which gradually lost much of its vitality over the years as its aging committee struggled to garner participation and support from the community. "I was pretty much in tears by the end of the article," said White, a recruiter at The Girl Scouts of Central Texas. "It left me in tears to read that so many people in the community come out and participate in the festivity side of Juneteenth, but these handful of elderly volunteers were left with the entire planning, fundraising and organizing process." White said she felt touched yet disheartened to learn that a group of five people, mostly elderly or handicapped, formed the Juneteenth committee. "I was used to having the Juneteenth celebration," White said. "That was something that my mother always wanted to make sure I was a part of growing up." White, a San Angelo resident of since 2004, said she always knew Juneteenth which marks the day Texas learned the South had lost the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation as a huge celebration growing up in the Dallas area. However, after staying in San Angelo last June instead of returning home to celebrate with her family, she learned for the first time about San Angelo's Juneteenth and felt compelled to take action. White formed The Minority Alliance Council of San Angelo using a grass-roots approach, reaching out to friends and co-workers through social media and asking their help to raise support and give back to the Juneteenth Committee. "I felt like I was a concerned citizen since it really pulled on my heartstrings," White said. "We were fortunate enough to have friends who wanted to support and solve the needs. "We owe (the Juneteenth Committee) that appreciation," she said. "They deserve the right to reap the benefits of all these years of work they've put into it." White said Minority Alliance Council, which has 10 members, spent much of the year working with the Juneteenth Committee and shadowing its members at meetings. The council members mostly observed and learned, then took action to raise money. Last weekend the council held a two-day garage sale, with items donated from community members, at the Girl Scout Program Center. About 50 people attended, raising a little over $1,000 for the Juneteenth celebration. "Things have been looking up. We've had tremendous success from the community," said 80-year-old Todd Aubrey, vice president of the Juneteenth Committee. "Probably, financially we're in better shape now than we've ever been, and it's primarily because the people has really come to our rescue. "There really is no way we could put on a feast where we are going to feed 400 or 500 people on our own. So we had to have help from the community, and the community has really come through for us." The Juneteenth Committee spent $1,500 to host the event last year; this year they spent about $2,500, Aubrey said. The support has come from the city, the business community, churches, social clubs even people on the street and a generous personal donation from Angelo State University President Brian May, Aubrey said. "All we're trying to do is make people aware of what the Juneteenth is all about, and we want as many people to come out and have a good time as they possibly can," said Ralph Powell, president of the Juneteenth Committee. "That's all that I'm hoping for that happens." Powell said even though the committee has received more financial support this year than in previous years, the committee is still having a hard time garnering participation. "To tell the truth, it's still hard to get anybody not only the young people it's hard to get anybody to serve on the Juneteenth Committee," he said. "We're not doing it for show. We're doing it because it's coming form our heart." Aubrey said the committee continues to seek out younger participants because the current members eventually will need to step back as they get older. "We don't want it to die," Aubrey said. "We put a lot of work into doing this and a lot of blood has been shed for us to be able to celebrate Juneteenth, and so consequently we want it to be a thing that goes on into perpetuity. We got to have an air of optimism every year that we come into this because if we don't have an air of optimism, then we are not going to be able to do what needs to be done." Aubrey said the great thing about Juneteenth is that it brings the community together. "A lot of times people from other ethnic groups don't really have a lot of this association with people of other ethnic groups, so consequently they don't have that understanding. "Therefore during the Juneteenth celebration we have the black, the white, the Hispanic, the Asians. We have the rich, the poor, in the middle, everybody coming together and just having a great time." White said it is important for younger people to invest in the community because so many people have sacrificed for them. White said reading the Juneteenth article last year introduced her to new opportunities such as forming the council, which she is the president and co-founder of, and seeking to turn it into a nonprofit. "It changed my life. It really did. I would have not known the need if it wasn't for the article," she said. "It really is important for us to invest in our community. There are so many people who sacrificed for us." If you go What: Juneteenth Celebration Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, 2121 Martin Luther King Drive When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Cost: Free SHARE The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's Corpus Christi Caller-Times: The Bible verse, "for whatever one sows, that will he also reap," offered an unintended lesson about the risk of rushing to judgment in the aftermath of Sunday's Orlando massacre. We will go into further detail about the grief caused by the verse here in Texas. But first, consider carefully these known facts about Sunday's attack in which 49 people died and 53 were wounded: Killer Omar Mateen's wife left him in 2009 after four short months of marriage because he was abusive and mentally unstable. Her family had to rescue her from him. He was a steroid abuser who liked guns and knew how to use them. Coworkers couldn't stand to be around him because he kept up a constant barrage of crazy talk about killing people. He was homophobic. ... He was a native-born U.S. citizen of Afghan ethnicity. He pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call during the attack. His ex-wife and his father, in separate interviews, said the attack wasn't about his Muslim religion. The FBI interviewed him in 2013 and 2014 but found nothing to act upon. ISIS, predictably, rejoiced at the attack but after the fact. No contact or direct ties between Mateen and ISIS have been established. He brought no accomplices into the nightclub and as far as authorities knew as of Monday, he acted alone, armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a handgun. President Obama declared the attack an act of terror and a hate crime. That is a sound judgment of known facts upon which we should agree and unite. Blaming Obama, blaming Islam, blaming the FBI and Homeland Security, patting oneself on the back for having recommended banning Muslim immigrants, ignoring the distinction between an assault and an assault-style rifle and between automatic and semiautomatic those are unsound politically opportunistic judgments that divide the nation and dishonor the victims. One of more resonant responses to the attack was from the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, which urged that all Americans "resist the forces of division and hatred" and "stand against homophobia as well as against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry." It probably come as a surprise to some that there is an alliance of LGBT Muslims. "At moment like this," the group said, "we are doubly affected." We can only imagine and embrace them and their appeal for humanity. Resisting the forces of division means also taking the word of our lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, that his tweet Sunday of the aforementioned Bible verse was set up in advance and therefore could not have been meant as a comment against the victims. Patrick has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage and a proponent of the North Carolina-style bathroom law, so it was easy to assume the worst about the tweet. But his explanation rings true and should suffice. The tweet was removed quickly, with apology. Let it be a lesson to Patrick and to those who rushed to judgment against him about reaping what on sows. Out of respect for the victims, this is a time to sow the seeds of unity. The verse itself is an appeal to our better angels rather than a warning of damnation. Patrick, in his written explanation, included the verse in its entirety for context. We all, regardless of faith or lack thereof, should heed this less-often-quoted part of the verse: "As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone." New laws in Florida and Texas set the stage for states to have more control over whats posted on social media, but that could soon be tested at the U.S. Supreme Court and mean potential changes to the First Amendment. Just four weeks from the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump is scrambling to shore up support for his presidential nomination by strengthening ties with governors in states where Republican senators have criticized his campaign.Trump has met in recent days with several governors presiding over states where senators have been outspoken in their recent criticism of the presumptive nominee, including Arizona's Doug Ducey, Tennessee's Bill Haslam and Oklahoma's Mary Fallin.New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a leading Trump ally, said he orchestrated a meeting after Haslam, his successor as head of the Republican Governors Association, made an inquiry. Ducey, Haslam, and Fallin all serve on RGA's 10-governor executive committee.Fallin, who has formally endorsed Trump, told Bloomberg Politics on Thursday that his outreach would help counter deteriorating support among members of Congress."I think it will help him," she said. "Any time there's a conversation with elected officials it's a good thing, for the party and for the nominee."Several officials working on Trump's campaign say solid support from governors could allow him to more convincingly dismiss his congressional skeptics as part of the same Washington establishment that he frequently rails against.The meeting between Trump and Republican governors at Trump Tower in Manhattan earlier this week included Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, who _ like Ducey _ has pledged to support the nominee, and Phil Bryant of Mississippi, who endorsed Trump in May. A sixth governor in attendance, Nathan Deal of Georgia, co-hosted a recent fundraiser for Trump, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Tennessean reported that Haslam was not yet ready to endorse Trump after the meeting.The governors also hold the keys to political networks that can raise campaign cash and boost turnout on Election Day, and they can serve as local advocates for Trump's campaign. In the nearer term, many of them also hold sway over Republican delegates who will be casting votes for the nominee at the convention in July. For example, Arkansas' delegation includes elected officials who need Hutchinson's support to pass laws through the Legislature."I don't take any official role at all," Christie said at a news conference on Thursday. "But Bill Haslam was my successor as RGA chair and we're good friends."In another example of outreach to governors, Trump spoke with Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina at a fundraiser in Greensboro, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has backed Trump's candidacy as a way to ensure the nomination of conservative Supreme Court justices and has defended the presumptive nominee's call to temporarily ban Muslim immigration to the United States. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has called on Republicans to unite behind the presumptive nominee.Trump's response to the Orlando, Fla., massacre on Sunday sparked a backlash in Washington, where Republican senators began losing hope that he was willing to dial back the incendiary style that fueled his primary victories and offer a broader appeal for general-election voters.Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has been a consistent Trump critic, described as "disgusting" the presumptive nominee's response to Orlando. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee told reporters that "we don't have a nominee."The criticism in Washington has reverberated across the party."I would consider it a five-alarm fire," said Holland Redfield, a Republican National Committee member from the Virgin Islands."He was a populist liberal a year ago, he's a populist conservative today, and many of us are worried where he's going to be tomorrow," Saul Anuzis, a Republican convention delegate from Michigan and former RNC committee member, said about Trump.While Trump was attacking a federal judge's Mexican ancestry earlier this month involving cases against Trump University, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he did not "like this type of rhetoric." He also pledged to support the GOP nominee.The Trump campaign has also taken steps to improve tense relations with the Republican National Committee. Chairman Reince Priebus, who was accompanying Trump on his swing through Texas on Thursday, tweeted that reports of discord between the two sides are "pure fiction."About two weeks ago, senior Trump campaign officials say they began having daily calls with RNC communications director Sean Spicer and other party officials to discuss daily messaging strategies. The RNC is also providing the bones of Trump's campaign-finance operation and the bulk of its data operation.Inside the campaign, Trump hired a veteran operative as national political director this month (after a rocky parting with his previous director), and is starting to staff up in battleground states, including Eric Branstad to run the Iowa campaign."The biggest things that need to play out still is that he has to put forward his vice presidential pick, tell us who he's going to surround himself with in his Cabinet, and can we trust him on some conservative, constitutional, pro-family issues?" said Bob Vander Plaats, a conservative organizer in Iowa. "We have until November to make up our minds. But obviously the sooner the better for Mr. Trump."Asked last week what he'd accomplished in the five-week head start he had on Democrat Hillary Clinton as the presumptive nominee, Trump said polls showed the two neck-and-neck and cited the "consolidation" of his staff. New national polls this week, including one from Bloomberg Politics, showed Trump trailing Clinton by double digits."We've got some great people, we're putting on some really good people," Trump said in the interview last week. "One of the things I'm very proud of is that I had a smaller staff than anybody else, and yet I see the press _ a lot of the press _ views that as a negative, not a positive. I mean, in business you'd view that as a positive."Other GOP leaders said it's time to stop the hand-wringing."Trump will be fine," said Florida businessman Marc Goldman, who backed Scott Walker, then Marco Rubio, for president. "The fact that the Democrats have nominated a candidate that's under criminal investigation is far more troubling than the fact that Trump speaks his mind."Goldman, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said it's a testament to the GOP that there's "no fear in speaking freely and openly about Trump," while the Democrats "have no one with anything negative to say about a corrupt, proven liar, hypocrite, who has jeopardized national security."As meetings happen behind the scenes, Trump is not changing his tune on the stump. In recent appearances, he frequently pokes fun of his former opponent Jeb Bush. In Atlanta on Wednesday, he offered a suggestion to his conservative critics: "Be quiet." Defending Wall Street Fees A Down Year for Pensions? Ranking Property Tax Rates The performance fees that public pension plans pay private equity and hedge fund managers are coming under scrutiny. Some say the high fees arent worth the returns on investment and complain that many costs remain hidden. Those two points were part of a critical report last month by the right-leaning Maryland Public Policy Institute on Marylands hidden Wall Street fees.Now, the Maryland State Retirement Agency has issued a lengthy response questioning the institutes conclusions. In a letter published this month by Executive Director R. Dean Kenderdine and Chief Investment Officer Andrew C. Palmer, the systems officials attack the institutes methodology while defending its own financials.Maryland reported paying $85 million in performance fees in 2014, but according to the report it may have actually paid more than $250 million. The policy institute made that estimate by comparing Marylands disclosed performance fee rate against the rate of performance fees disclosed by New Jersey, which has a similarly sized alternative investment portfolio and fairly comprehensive fee disclosure policy.But Kenderdine and Palmer say Maryland's $85 million in reported fees are accurate because New Jersey has been much more aggressive in its pacing of investments. In other words, the private equity funds New Jersey invests in are designed to start producing returns soon after the pension puts money in the fund. Marylands private equity funds, however, havent hit that so-called harvesting period when investments are sold and managers receive performance fees from that profit, said Kenderdine and Palmer. So the performance fees are smaller but could theoretically be larger in the coming years.Though Marylands investment performance is lagging compared with most plans,according to Kenderdine and Palmer, they may be better off later. That's because stock market losses in the 2001 and 2008 financial crises left them feeling too exposed to one of the most volatile asset classes, so Maryland now has less of its investments in public stocks than most other plans . That means that during periods of strong public equity performance, as has been experienced over the past five years, [Maryland] will lag the peer group, the officials said. But, Maryland should perform better during periods of market stress.The pension systems dispute of the figures in the institute's study shows just how murky the issue of reporting Wall Street fees is. In their response, Kenderdine and Palmer also say they support an effort to standardize performance fee reporting . But they join many public pension officials in arguing that even if Marylands fees were higher, they would be worth it.Large amounts of [performance fees] should be considered a positive result, as this would imply much greater gains to the investor, they noted.In other words, the higher a performance fee, according to them, the higher Marylands profit from that investment is. While that's true, many contend that cheaper funds can produce comparable (or better) returns on investment.Kenderdine and Palmers expectations may soon be tested.This week, the New York State Common Retirement Fund released its annual figures and reported an essentially flat year for investments, earning just 0.19 percent. But it gets worse: The plan actually lost more than $5 billion because this years pension contributions from current employees and governments weren't enough to cover the payments owed to retirees.New Yorks fiscal year ended March 31, making it the first pension plan to report annual returns that include the stock market volatility of last summer and early this year. Most plans end their fiscal year this month so watch for more plans to release similarly depressing financials later this summer.This year will be a disappointing one for public pension systems as unfunded liabilities will likely increaseafter a few years of progress in the right direction. Earlier this year, Moodys Investors Service analyzed preliminary returns from pension plans and predicted that under the most optimistic scenario, where investment returns average 5 percent for the 2016 fiscal year, plans overall liabilities will still increase by 10 percent. This is because returns are falling short of the average annual goal of 7.5 percent.Under the most pessimistic scenario -- investment losses of 10 percent -- Moodys says liabilities could shoot up by more than half. new study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy looks at why some places have high or low property tax rates.Among the top five cities that have the highest rate for median value homes, four (Bridgeport, Conn.; Aurora, Ill.; Newark, N.J.; and Milwaukee) heavy rely on the property tax for revenue. Detroit, which ranked second after Bridgeport, had high rates due to lower property values, according to the study."High property tax rates usually reflect some combination of heavy property tax reliance with low sales and income taxes, [or] low home values that drive up the tax rate needed to raise enough revenue, wrote the institute.Additionally, higher local government spending and better public services alone may drive up a rate.Rankings and numbers are generally meaningless without context. So ranking property tax rates and explaining the circumstances behind them gives policymakers something to contemplate when considering changes.Consider the five lowesttax cities for median value homes: Honolulu; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Denver; Birmingham, Ala.; and Boston. Reasons vary and include: low property tax reliance, high property values, a greater reliance on business or other property taxes and low local government spending. The White House is urging states to be more aggressive against health insurance companies as it looks to prevent expected and widespread premium hikes of 10 percent or more this year.The federal health department announced Wednesday that it will dole out about $22 million to boost state-level "rate reviews," considered one of the strongest weapons against premium increases.Under the system, health insurers are required to justify rate increases to state insurance departments, some of which have the power to reject unreasonable increases. With the new funding, federal health officials hope states can hire outside insurance experts to dig deeper into the proposed rates and prove the hikes are unjustified.The administrations latest push to control healthcare premiums comes just as proposed double-digit rate hikes make headlines nationwide.Premiums for the most popular ObamaCare plans are expected to rise by an average of 11 percent next year, according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation released Wednesday.The new federal grants, described as a way to hold insurance companies accountable for unjustified hikes are likely to inflame an already tense relationship with health insurers.Healthcare marketplaces under ObamaCare have had a tumultuous year. Many companies are already dealing with far less than expected in government help because of the shortfall to the ObamaCare risk-sharing funding pool. Several companies are now taking legal action to reclaim the funds.Losses have been so severe for some companies that one of the nations largest insurers, United HealthCare, announced it would be pulling out of the exchanges altogether in 2017. GOP Governors Lose Legislative Allies in Several States Political Novice Pulls Off Stunning Upset Alabama Speaker Convicted of a Dozen Felonies Governors continue to have a mixed record endorsing candidates in this year's legislative primaries.In Nevadaon Tuesday, Republicansaw four of his GOP allies defeated. Last year, Sandoval convinced the legislature to sign off on a billion-dollar tax increase to fund education. Conservatives angered by the tax hike fielded a total of 11 candidates to challenge its supporters.Seven candidates backed by Sandoval did prevail, including state House Speaker John Hambrick and state House Majority Leader Paul Anderson. But the collective share of the vote won by GOP incumbents who were challenged Tuesday was an unimpressive 51 percent.Nevada Democrats, quick to trumpet their sense of lingering divisions within Republican ranks at a post-election news conference, are optimistic about taking back the two legislative chambers in November that they lost in 2014."In our state House, I think the expectation is that the Democrats will win it back," said David Damore, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "The Senate will come down to a few seats."In South Carolina, Republicantargeted several GOP incumbents with whom she has clashed on issues such as ethics reform and raising the gas tax.Her effort was backed by more than $500,000 spent by A Great Day SC, a political action committee run by the governor's former chief of staff.Haley succeeded in taking out state Sen. Wes Hayes, who had served in the legislature since 1985. But two of her other targets, Senate President Pro Tempore Hugh Leatherman and Senate Ethics Chair Luke Rankin, beat back their challengers.Haley-backed candidates in two other Senate races are heading to a runoff in a couple of weeks.Meanwhile, Maine GOP's efforts to elect a more cooperative legislature were also mixed.Guy Lebida, a retired builder who had the governor's backing, unseated Republican state Sen. Linda Baker. But William Howard, a member of the City Council in Calais whom LePage also endorsed, lost a Senate contest to GOP state Rep. Joyce Maker.It's the biggest upset of the year in state politics so far this year. On Tuesday, former Microsoft executive Doug Burgum defeated state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who started the year as the heavy favorite in North Dakota's GOP gubernatorial primary In the end, it wasn't even close.Burgum took 59 percent of the vote to Stenehjem's 39 percent. In a state that hasn't elected a Democrat for governor since 1988, Burgum is now expected to easily defeat the Democratic nominee, state Rep. Marvin Nelson, in November.Stenehjem, who has held state office since the 1960s, started the year with a huge polling advantage over Burgum, a longtime GOP donor but novice candidate. Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple opted not to seek a second full term.Burgum was able to appeal to voters as an outsider, embracing Donald Trump and castigating "runaway spending" by the "good old boys' club" in Bismarck. He spent millions of his own money to spread his message, managing to win over both conservatives happy with his pro-business, anti-tax stance and Democrats who saw him as more moderate on social issues such as abortion and gay rights.North Dakota primaries are open to all voters. But only 13 percent of the votes were cast for Democratic gubernatorial candidates on Tuesday, compared with 35 percent in 2012, suggesting many Democrats decided to cast their votes in the GOP primary."Burgum won because he was able to build an unlikely coalition between the extreme right and the extreme left, working both ends of the political spectrum against the middle," wrote Rob Port, editor of the Say Anything politics blog. "Burgums wink wink, nod nod campaign for Democrat support, even as he ran as a Trump-loving conservative to Republicans, flat-out worked."Burgum quickly turned his attention to fence-mending. After railing against their "runaway spending" throughout the campaign, Burgum praised legislators for "smart spending" on roads, schools and other public works at his victory news conference on Wednesday.But legislative leaders didn't appear ready to forgive -- at least not yet.Republican Mike Hubbard of Alabama has become the latest in a spate of state House speakers who have been convicted of crime.Last Friday, a jury deliberated for seven hours before convicting Hubbard on 12 of the 23 felony ethics charges that he faced. His conviction triggered his automatic removal from office. A judge will sentence him on July 8.Hubbard was found guilty of soliciting and receiving money from lobbyists, as well as using his office as state party chair to steer money toward businesses he was involved in. Hubbard continues to insist that the transactions fell under a friendship exemption and is expected to appeal.As state party chair, Hubbard was credited with engineering the GOP's takeover of the legislature in 2010. He promised to clean up the state's culture of corruption and pushed through ethics laws that ultimately helped bring about his conviction. Alabama continues to reel from a scandal involving GOP Gov. Robert Bentley. The House on Wednesday began an investigation into questions of whether Bentley had an affair with a top aide and interfered with law enforcement. The investigation could lead to impeachment.Separately, Chief Justice Roy Moore is awaiting word of whether he will be removed from that post for a second time because of his refusal to acknowledge the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage."Instead of cleaning up corruption, Mike Hubbard and the Republican leadership in all three branches of our government have embraced corruption," said House Democratic Leader Craig Ford in a statement after Hubbard's conviction. Following the launch of an open data portal earlier this year, Pennsylvania has continued polishing its digital presence with the release of a new version of its website at PA.gov June 16. Now a pilot version, the office of Gov. Tom Wolf announced the commonwealth will seek feedback from the public as the website is improved during the next six to 12 months.The website launch is a piece of Wolfs broader vision to build a Government That Works , a program with initiatives to increase transparency, increase efficiency, reduce waste, and eliminate cronyism and corruption.The upgraded portal strives to further the high-level goals of state leadership through modern design principles like user-centered Web design and prioritizing popular content so its easier for users to navigate. According to Krystal Bonner, digital director at the governors office, the old website was failing on that front.A survey revealed that 60 percent of users claimed they were not able to find what they were looking for on the previous version of the site.The new site puts services first, as the most frequently accessed services are found beneath a search bar and trending searches ticker. Featured articles, blog posts, social media widgets and links to state department websites are among the fare now common in modern government websites.Developed by NIC partner Pennsylvania Interactive, the new website is also specially designed for mobile use. Two years ago, 27 percent of the sites users were on mobile devices and today that number has climbed to 35 percent, Bonner said. This figure approaches federal levels, where mobile users comprise about 40 percent of all visitors to federal government websites, according to analytics.usa.gov.The old site was launched by the previous administration in 2013 and it is responsive, Bonner said. If you open it on your phone, it will scale to your phones layout, but it didnt really do much more than that. Theres not an experience thats designed specifically for mobile. Its just a smaller version of the desktop site and its difficult to navigate and load.Following the lead of the governors website redesign last July, Pennsylvanias new website was designed in WordPress, a deviation from the commonwealths traditional use of SharePoint.SharePoint is a CMS that has its own benefits, but we really wanted to use open source, Bonner explained. There are always challenges when you are trying to change the existing technology and especially in government, but I would say what we learned from that is that just go for it. Just continuing to do the same thing just because its what youve always done is not a good reason to keep doing it. So, if you want positive change, just stick to your guns and if you have a good team like we do here, youll be able to pull it off.As the public spends an increasing number of hours each day with their eyes focused on a screen, websites have effectively become the face of government. And the message that the new governor wants to send is that Pennsylvania can be a better government by embracing technology, said the governors press secretary Jeffrey Sheridan.For a long time we were not leaders in this and even cities in our own state were beating the commonwealth, like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Sheridan said. ... What we are trying to do is really bring our digital operations into the 21st century and modernizing it so that it is in line with other states so that were being a national leader in this. unknown You can bet Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt isnt bored. In January Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an executive order that will consolidate the states IT offices into a new Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). Thats 1,700 employees and an $800 million annual budget for IT services to be controlled by a single operating body (with input from key agencies on how best to spend the IT dollars, including alternate sources for funding, such as federal grant money, according to the Governors Office of Management and Budget). Rauners State of the State speech declared this a necessary move, calling the state a model of inefficiency and ineffectiveness, a statement supported by Illinois ranking as the third biggest IT spender paired with low marks on digital service delivery. Look no further than the most recent Digital States Survey , conducted by the Center for Digital Government, in which Illinois earned a C+.In a sense this is a second try at consolidation, following on a 2003 legislative directive to merge IT into the Central Management Services office. That effort petered out with just 60 percent of infrastructure consolidated over three years, including data centers, end-user computing and help desk services. Either they pushed back or the effort just ran out of steam, Bhatt said of the lackluster efforts from the previous try at consolidation.Infrastructure is a nice start, but with 2,700 apps still running many redundant along with 420 ERP systems, the results were far from spectacular.Now that DoIT will have significant control of the states IT operations and budget, it promises to take steps that include reduction of software redundancy. Why have 11 agencies running 11 different apps to execute the same function? We are essentially spending 11 times more than what we need, Bhatt said.Beyond the technical elements, Bhatt has given a lot of thought to his own role. Whats the state CIO supposed to do in a project that must embrace so many agency IT leaders? They are the 51 percent partner and I am the 49 percent partner, he has decided. They will be deciding what should be done, and I will be giving it to them.To this end, the DoIT effort is being supported by a council made up of all agency CIOs, divided into a dozen working groups of three to seven members, with each group responsible for functional elements, things like enterprise strategy for mobile, cloud, cybersecurity and agile development. The idea right now is for the working groups to identify and address the low-hanging fruit, such as mobile apps for citizens and data analytics for better decision-making.Most employees will remain embedded in their agencies as subject-matter experts, while technically attached to DoIT on the org chart. Its a model that James Joseph and other agency heads are supporting. As director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Joseph can envision a scenario in which his IT team comes up short two or three workers due to attrition or hiring issues. Now if I have any shortages, there will be cross-training among all the agencies at the DoIT level, so there will be people there who can come in and fill the hole, he said.The issues that Illinois is tackling are not unique. Last November, NASCIO ranked IT consolidation, enterprise strategies and cost controls among its top 10 list of priorities for 2016.Illinois state agency CIOs laud the changes, with the hope that the new structure likely will mean a new role for the top information officers. Now you are not on the boat alone, trying to be the captain of the ship on your own, said Keith Schoonover, CIO for the Department of Children and Family Services. I look at it as me becoming part of a strategic team, combined with my driving the implementation of that strategy within my department.Bhatt confirms this interpretation, this back-and-forth process between agency technology chiefs and his own emerging department. For DoIT to succeed, there will need to be a collaborative process that balances strategic development with the ability to deliver. My job is to understand the stresses that a department is under and to bring that to the strategic table where I can be helping to drive initiatives within a larger strategy, he said.At the agency level, CIOs naturally would have some concern about whether the DoIT staff will be ready to help follow through with those proposed initiatives. The last thing they want is a good plan with no follow-through.To this end, the biggest thing is the service-level agreements between DoIT and the agencies, Joseph said. They are making a commitment to us that if we need a report run within so many hours, they are going to make that happen. With those agreements we know we will be able to keep our customer service needs at the forefront.In a larger sense, the role of the agency CIO is as much about the big picture as it is about the details of implementation. In the midst of a major overhaul or significant IT undertaking, the lead technologist needs to be plugged into business needs as much as technological possibilities.Even when the lines on the org chart change, the job of the CIO still remains one of being the interface between business and technology, said Greg Wass , who left his position as CIO of Cook County, Ill., to become an adviser to the state on IT issues, as well as a senior adviser at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.Whats important is that the vision really be clear and that the executive leadership be clear, he said. Then it is up to the CIO to embrace the change. In technology the only thing thats constant is change, so as a CIO you had better be prepared for the idea that there will always be improvements, there will always be innovations.One of those innovations will be to reorganize IT along functional rather than departmental lines. The state has half a dozen verticals including transportation, education and the like. Bhatt wants to build an IT structure that better organizes the technology supporting those verticals in order to fulfill the customers needs.How do we make sure that we are thinking from the customers perspective? Someone who is getting services from the state doesnt think of a particular agency or bureau, they just want to think about the services that they need, he said. Deloitte is on contract to help with best practices in developing this plan, slated to be completed by mid-2016.How can Bhatt feel sure that hell hit that timeline mark? Its because the DoIT initiative is being run along private-sector lines, he said, especially when it comes to long-range planning or, in this case, short-range.Since Feb. 1, the project has run on 75-day cycles , with the first target being exploratory in nature: an effort to launch a center of excellence and an initial foray to explore the Internet of Things. The plan is to assess the situation more thoroughly before launching into specific money-saving initiatives. Why 75 days? I come from business and we think in terms of quarters, said Bhatt, who spent five years as Ciscos Internet of Everything expert.When large public-sector projects sprawl and fizzle, the reason this happens is because these projects are not broken into milestones, he said. Even in government, efficient planning is possible: A governor who is elected in November takes office in mid-January. If they can get ready to run the state in 75 days, we should be able to reach a specific milestone in 75 days.Theres an added bonus on the workforce front. If DoIT can hit its milestones, Bhatt said, Illinois could see a big lift in IT recruiting the perennial issue of technology management. Now they can take a sense of pride in their work, he said. We want to build an IT department where everybody wants to come and work.Observers give the states IT reorganization a tentative thumbs up. Its absolutely the right direction to take the organization. There will be long-term benefits to the people of Illinois, Wass said. Data sharing across agencies should be much easier when the people who manage the data are working together in one organization. And better data sharing should lead to better apps and better service.Wyoming CIO Flint Waters got in just under the gun. Faced with Gov. Matt Meads proposal to roll out broadband for all schools and government offices , he got the $15.8 million job completed in six months, just before the falling price of oil took a bite out of the state budget. Buying, rather than building, helped the project to scoot in under the wire.Wyomings $16 million multi-vendor broadband initiative avoided budget impacts from the falling price of oil by buying rather than building, according to CIO Flint Waters.We didnt build any fiber, he said. We partnered with all the fiber providers in the state, and we had all the contracts in place before the funding was even released, so we could go ahead as soon as we got the money.Those providers had broadband in place that would cover 48 school districts (thats more than 400 individual locations) and more than 400 state sites. Waters new managed service agreements have been able to boost Internet speeds in the schools from 5 kilobits up to 200 kilobits per student.The new strategy broadened competition, taking a delivery system that had belonged to a single vendor and opening it to every provider in the state. Providers could place competitive bids since each had its own consolidated fiber presence, thus allowing Waters to decentralize (and better safeguard) a system whose networks have previously all terminated in Cheyenne. Now all termination points are local.The choice to widen the provider field came from necessity. In response to the states original RFP, no single vendor came forward with a solution, Waters said. No one came through with all the things I felt the state needed.The new broadband availability came with a price, as the project drew some $1.3 million away from other state IT efforts, including an initiative to deliver greater cybersecurity.Still, there may be direct ROI derived from the new bandwidth. Data centers across the state get free access to the backbone, with Waters calling that a win-win. The state attracts data centers, and the centers in turn are poised to deliver database services, file services and other commercial programs to state offices. If their model is selling services, this is perfect for them, he said.are on a mission to consolidate most of the citys technology operations . The new Information Technology Department launched in April and should be fully operational by the end of 2018.We want data-driven, efficient government. We want to be focused on serving the people, without being tied to these silo structures, said Chief Technology Officer Michael Mattmiller.Change management is the most challenging part of Seattle CTO Michael Mattmillers task of centralizing 650 of the citys 750 IT systems.The new department represents the next iteration in a process begun in the late 1990s, with the creation of a central body to manage common services and maintain infrastructure. While a strong start, this effort still left 750 IT professionals in 19 departments largely on their own in the development of function-specific apps. That made it hard to generate efficiency: Something as relatively simple as an upgrade to Microsoft Office 365 for email took three years, when it should have taken six months, Mattmiller said.Now, the plan is to centralize 650 out of 750 systems in the citys executive branch. For departmental IT managers, this will mean migrating to the role of strategist, as they step back from day-to-day tasks and take on the broader role of business relationship manager.As the IT department comes together, Mattmillers efforts will be devoted largely to planning. In his role as top strategist, he will lead conversations throughout the city to bring leadership on board with changes occurring within IT. At the same time, Mattmiller will lead the integration of departmental infrastructure teams to consolidate networking, storage and compute functions. A four-month process will develop recommendations and launch an early pilot to develop shared service desk functions.It helps that the city is already three years into consolidating its data center. The standardization of hardware and networking has proven a good practice run, including the creation of a virtual private cloud and software-defined networking.For the CIO, such technical changes are important. Even more important, though, is the ability to lead the IT organizations through the move to this new business model. Change management is probably the most challenging aspect of all of this, Mattmiller said. Heineken could be set to expand its new F1 sponsorship deal to involve one or more of the teams. That is the claim of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, even though the Dutch beer brand explained in Montreal that the Heineken logo would in fact "not be visible on any F1 cars". But De Telegraaf claims that it was notable that, in the hospitality area of Dutch teen sensation Max Verstappen's team in Canada, "Heineken bottles were already in the fridge". "They (Heineken) are looking for a strategic partnership with one or possibly two teams," the newspaper added. (GMM) Imola chief Uberto Selvatico Estense says the former San Marino GP venue is "ready" and poised to replace Monza as Italy's sole F1 race. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is still warning that intense and typical Italian politics could mean historic Monza loses the grand prix after 2016. "The most humiliating moment was not when Bernie Ecclestone commented on the great mess with the English newspapers, saying the Italians would probably only agree on the Thursday before the race," Selvatico Estense told La Repubblica. "No, the worst was the next day, when I realised that he is right," he added. The Imola chief explained how the circuit 40 kilometres east of Bologna became a very real alternative to Monza. "Simple: after four years of negotiations (with Monza) that made him lose patience, Ecclestone called us that gave us the same conditions. "We accepted," said Selvatico Estense. "So we signed a contract for the Italian grand prix from 2017." La Repubblica said the deal is currently only conditional, and depending on whether funds in the hands of the Italian automobile club Aci can be released. "The Aci argues that the money is only for Monza, but we say that it is intended for the Italian GP," Selvatico Estense said. "If the state had allocated that money to Monza it would benefit a single company, which is illegal." However, Selvatico Estense insists that Imola is "ready" to host the 2017 race. (GMM) Baku's inaugural grand prix is under a cloud due to a worrying problem with kerbs at the brand new street circuit. GP2 qualifying was postponed on Friday, with Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reporting that 90 per cent of the F1 cars in opening practice suffered damage to their tyres. With the subsequent GP2 session red-flagged, Charlie Whiting and his delegation inspected the kerbs and found them loose and with sharp edges. At the unprecedentedly-fast, wall-lined street track with small run-off zones, the risk of failing tyres is a major problem. "I got my puncture on the lap Ricciardo crashed," said Sauber's Felipe Nasr. "When I wanted to get back on track they told me the left rear tyre was damaged and we had no more," added the Brazilian. (GMM) Danas VariGlide technology features a unique planetary, coaxial configuration, which eliminates belts and pulleys used in conventional CVTs. In addition to providing fuel economy benefits relative to 6-, 8-, and 9-speed transmissions, the VariGlide variator has the potential to improve fuel economy by up to 10% when compared with conventional CVTs with belts. Dana Holding Corporation will present its VariGlide planetary variator for beltless continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) at the International VDI Conference, to be held 21-22 June 2016, in Friedrichshafen, Germany. In 2012, Dana formed a strategic relationship with Fallbrook Technologies Inc. under which Fallbrook licensed its NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) technology to Dana (earlier post). VariGlide uses a set of spinning balls fitted between an input disc, driven by the engine, and an output disc, which transfers power from the variator to the drive axle. As power enters the input disc, the balls shift on their axes and change contact ratios, depending on engine demands and controller input. This allows the VariGlide variator to provide shifting that is smooth, fast, and controlled. To efficiently transfer torque, a thin layer of traction fluid flows between the balls. This traction fluid becomes momentarily rigid, allowing the torque to transfer between the balls and discs without slipping. With numerous powerpaths and no abrupt ratio changes, VariGlide technology provides an infinite number of gear ratios for improved shifting, driver comfort, and even greater efficiency when compared to automatic transmissions and CVTs. VariGlide offers superior NVH characteristics through its smooth and seamless operation. The scalable nature of the technology provides solutions for vehicle architectures ranging from subcompacts to pickups and internal combustion to hybrid powertrains. The ability to support more than 300 powerpath configurations provide OEMs the unique opportunity to customize transmission solutions for specific applications and markets to align with critical attribute needs. Developed as a modular, bolt-in solution, the VariGlide variator provides a highly flexible, highly adaptable, power-dense solution that easily integrates into existing front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and rear-wheel-drive vehicle configurations with the added ability to support towing. With more than 70,000 hours of durability testing accumulated on the core technology, the VariGlide variator provides OEMs a superior and robust CVT technology. The VariGlide variator functions without the need for a high-pressure pump and associated complex supporting control system. It also protects against traditional CVT slip-related damage. Thomas Sowell ridicules the idea that diversity is a strength. "Is diversity our strength?" he asks in his column today. "Or anybody's strength, anywhere in the world? Does Japan's homogeneous population cause the Japanese to suffer? Have the Balkans been blessed by their heterogeneity or does the very word 'Balkanization' remind us of centuries of strife, bloodshed and unspeakable atrocities, extending into our own times? "Has Europe become a safer place after importing vast numbers of people from the Middle East, with cultures hostile to the fundamental values of Western civilization?" Sowell is old enough that he should remember his European history. Some Europeans, still alive, remember it all too well. Millions didn't survive the years when Europe was the least safe place in the world at least for those who were seen as unwanted elements on a "diverse" continent. The Nazi ideology elevated a dominant Aryan "master race." Under Hitler and his henchmen, Germany set out to subjugate or outright eliminate those considered inferior Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, gays, others. No "diversity" was accepted. The Balkanization Sowell describes, and the instances of ethnic cleansing or outright genocide that occur all too frequently, result when one group focuses on differences from and superiority to another group, with leaders exaggerating offenses, dehumanizing and igniting animosity toward the other. The United States has tried to avoid that path by creating its "melting pot" not always successfully, or sometimes slowly, but in great hopes of building an ever-improving society. It's important, though, to understand how the United States became such a diverse country. It was, in part ... By importing captured African slaves. Recruiting Chinese laborers for railroad construction and other hard, physical, cheap labor. Inviting Mexican and Japanese farm workers. Steering Irish immigrants straight to Union army recruiters during the Civil War. Opening the West to settlers from all parts of Europe. As generations pass, our country has become more multicultural. People of different ethnic backgrounds have blended together more often than they have remained isolated from one another. So, we're all here together. We can continue to try to make this a national asset, a strength and advantage in a world that is becoming smaller with modern travel, communications and business connections. Or we can accept Sowell's pessimistic attitude and believe that some people just won't assimilate but will try to destroy the culture in which they've come to live like some aggressive virus. We should hope he's wrong, because that is exactly the attitude that has led ultimately to far greater tragedies than what he wants us to fear today. On the day he got his life back, Jerome Ronnie Davis mother wasnt at home. Mama took a fall, and shes been over at the rehab place, Davis said. But shes working on getting out of there. She wants to come back home and see all the stuff yall have done. Eleven homeowners in a half-mile area in High Points Southside neighborhood received much-needed help May 14. Operation Inasmuch, a partnership among the City of High Point, Housing Consultants Group and Community Housing Solutions, orchestrated the one-day neighborhood home repair blitz. Operation Inasmuch is a model built off of Matthew 25:40 that says, In as much as you have done this for the least of these, you have done it for me, which is a statement that Jesus makes to his disciples, said Gene Brown, the president and executive director of Community Housing Solutions. With months of pre-event logistical planning, repairs ranged from replacing a rotted floor under a kitchen sink to removing a dead tree leaning on a homeowners porch. About 150 volunteers from eight churches and businesses gathered at the Southside Recreation Center early that Saturday morning, creating teams of construction crews and helpers. They spent the day working together, supervised by Community Housing Solutions construction experts. Davis is one of the homeowners who got help. By 8 a.m., Davis yard and home were filled with volunteers from Parkwood Property Inspections (Information changed to correct an error. See correction below. 7:53 p.m. 6/22/16), eager to help. With chronic health issues, Davis needs a walker to get around. Not having a functional sink in the kitchen and cooking in the backyard on an old grill have been a challenge. He and his mom have been washing dishes in the bathtub. Some jobs, such as replacing unstable steps that were pulling away from a homes foundation, were completed during the one-day home repair blitz. It took several weeks for Community Housing Solutions crews to complete more major repairs, including a new kitchen for Davis and his mom. That day, while volunteer crews removed the floor from the kitchen, where a major plumbing leak had caused it to rot completely through, Davis spent the day showing other volunteers things in his backyard that he had been hanging on to but now felt he could let go of. Many old pots and pans, dishes, plant pots and other items held stagnant water, creating a major mosquito problem. Davis was delighted to keep my Mama from getting that old Zika virus. As several truckloads of items were removed from his yard, Davis slowly got around with his walker, a big grin on his face. Late that afternoon, Davis looked up at the group of volunteers, saying only six words: You gave me my life back. That just about says it all. Correction: The group that did the work on the Davis home was incorrectly identified when this article first published. Parkwood Property Inspections provided the volunteers for that project. Fred Gregory (Bill would release violent drug felons, Counterpoint, June 11) needs to read more carefully. The statute he quotes refers to a crime of violence or drug-trafficking crime. Mr. Gregory claims this means that drug-dealing is a violent crime. No, Mr. Gregory. It means exactly the opposite. First, it says or, which means that these are two different alternatives. One is different from the other. Second, if the statute understood a drug-trafficking crime to be always a crime of violence, it would not have needed to add or drug-trafficking crime as a second possibility. Mr. Gregory, by reading the statute so wrongly, you persuade this reader to ignore your entire argument. Samuel Johnson Greensboro This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When she was doing rotations in medical school, Dr. Karen Beckman enjoyed working with children more than anyone else. I feel like they have their whole lives in front of them, she said. Since then, the Greenwich-based pediatrician, along with the whole team at Riverside Pediatrics, has developed a strong reputation for quality medical care and customer service, and the practice was recently recognized nationally. Its an honor being recognized for all the work you do, Beckman said. Its nice to know that people are happy with the care that were providing. Beckman, founder and owner of Riverside, was included in a guide of the nation's top 1 percent of medical specialists, Americas Top Doctors, by Castle Connolly Medical. The organization regularly identifies top doctors across the United States and provides detailed information about their education, training and special expertise in printed guides and online directories. Additionally, Beckman was named a Top Doctor by New York magazine in its recent Americas Top Doctors issue the only pediatrician honored in Greenwich. Over the years, Riverside Pediatrics has distinguished itself from others in the region, according to Beckman. She attributes her recent recognitions both to the quality of their care and of the staff. The awards, she said, are a reflection the entire team at Riverside. Were always improving and increasing what we offer and how we offer it, she said. Since its establishment, Riverside Pediatrics has tried to offer a plethora of services under one roof. That includes an after hours program, where the practice stays open until 8 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and is open to the whole community, not just its patients. Beckman said this helps residents avoid a costly and time-consuming trip to the emergency room. Another unique service, Beckman said, is Riversides in-house pharmacy. For most prescribed medications, patients are able to pick it up right in the office. Theyre also able to watch the nurse administer the first dose, alleviating the stress some parents may experience when children needs a specific type of treatment. For Beckman, the most enjoyable part of her practice has been building relationships with her patients and their families. While other practices may focus on seeing as many patients as possible, Beckman says she and her colleagues spend more time with fewer patients. On average, she and her fellow pediatrician, Dr. Alex Mones, each see around 15 to 20 patients a day, while other pediatricians may be expected to see up to 40, she said. The Riverside staff has been able to spend more time with its patients, developing what Beckman refers to as old-fashioned pediatrician relationship. Beckman noted how she has watched patients grow from toddler to teenager in some cases. During a patients visit, the pediatricians and nurses are able to not only check on their physical health, but also discuss related topics such as nutrition, exercise and sleep. I want to teach them about nutrition, exercise and healthy habits at a young age, Beckman said. We can equip them with knowledge to guide them through their lives. Megan.Dalton@scni.com; 203-625-4411 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Amuse bouche, en papillote: Diners often encounter words on a menu that they just don't recall seeing before and can't figure out. Those words and terms that diners don't know impact how they order at restaurants. OpenTable commissioned a Harris Poll survey to find out which menu terms are confusing people when they order at restaurants, and how it affects the dining experience. The online poll surveyed 2,035 diners, according to the Associated Press, and discovered 56 percent of diners worried about ordering a dish that had an unfamiliar word in it, thinking it could ruin their meal. Another 74 percent said they would feel like they wasted money if they didn't like the dish they ordered. The terms that confused diners included a mix of international dishes and condiments, along with "heritage techniques" in cooking that chefs are incorporating into their style of food, the Associated Press reported. "Chefs are reaching back, they're reaching to all corners of the globe," Caroline Potter, OpenTable's chief dining officer, told the Associated Press. "When you talk to chefs, the way they're spending their downtime, they're saying I'm going to Thailand for two weeks and I'm going to eat my way through street food and all these restaurants and come back with inspiration." The Harris Poll also found diners said that they would be more likely to order menu items they were unfamiliar with if the menu had photos (53 percent) or explained the terminology (30 percent). Scroll through the slideshow above to find out which 25 menu terms are confusing diners. To read more about the survey from OpenTable, click here. GREENWICH And the golden jeweled hammers went to the Lumberjackies. In a relay race to raise money for Women Builds 12th home, 10 four-woman teams participated in Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield Countys She Nailed It! ladies-only hammering competition. Among the teams hammering nails into 2-by-4 wooden planks during a special fundraiser Wednesday at the Greenwich Civic Center were Builder Babes, Demo Dames, Dragon Warriors and others. Youve never seen women having this much fun, said Eileen Bakos, manager of volunteer services for Habitat CFC. It was terrific to see such great enthusiasm from corporate groups to book clubs. Although the minimum donation goal for each team was $1,000, the final count is still pending. We are still in the midst of tallying it up, but were up to $13,000, Bakos said. There are also a few pledges that havent come out yet. We were excited to be able to do something so different and never done before in this area, she said. They practiced and proved what we already knew women can build, want to help lift up other women, and this all matters to them very much. Habitat CFC builds between 12 and 14 homes annually within Fairfield County, where, according to their website, a house costs around $150,000 to build. Women Build is hoping to raise at least one third of that to begin its next project this spring. According to Bakos, the goal of Women Build is not excluding men, but including women. Someone afraid to touch a saw in the morning, by the afternoon is asking, What else can I cut? she said. Even the new homeowner of Women Builds 11th home, Carmen Alicea, participated the competition. This was a wonderful opportunity for me and my children, Alicea said about her Habitat house. This was not a handout, but a hand up. I worked very hard for this and I earned it. To be eligible for a Habitat CFC home, Alicea took classes on budgeting, conflict resolution and predatory lending, and completed 500 hours of sweat equity working on her home and others. The newest home is to be built in memory of Beverly Eckert, a former volunteer for Habitat CFC. After her husbands death in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers, she became active in helping victims affected by the tragedies, and volunteering for Habitat CFC. She died in a plane crash in 2009. To the editor, This is in response to Janet Roehmers Thursday letter regarding Jim Himes and others walking out of a pathetic, cowardly, hypocritical, inept piece of usual do-nothing hand-wringing by congressional leadership. Paul Ryan hung his head not in empathy but in exasperation that he cant figure out what can be done before deaths of innocents at the hands of law-biding, assault rifle-owning nut jobs and the realization that anything afterwards is futile. Yes, until he started pulling that trigger, the Orlando killer was an NRA-supported, law abiding citizen carrying the spirit of the second amendment in his two trigger-happy hands. Whether you vote or not for Himes is beside the point. The question is: do you care more for the living or the dead? Himes, Elizabeth Esty and John Larson have stated exactly what Roehmer and other crybabies doesnt seem to get it is only left to politics to slow the slaughter. Theyve decided not to be accomplices. So, get off your knees, check your abdomen to see where your guts used to be and, skip the delusion that the families of the dead think a minute in a pew is a fair trade for the deaths of their children, spouses, sisters or brothers. Jay Louden Old Greenwich Science about rubber infill To the editor, Given the recent debate at Greenwich High School, I wanted to offer a scientific perspective on recycled rubber infill to clear up some misconceptions (news story, Greenwich school board chooses sand, acrylic turf filler, May 31) regarding turf fields. Unfortunately, a number of media reports suggest there exists substantial uncertainty regarding chemical exposures from recycled rubber infill, but in actuality recycled rubber has been studied many, many times. In fact, more than 90 peer-reviewed studies, literature reviews, and reports by state health departments including Connecticuts have not found a connection to cancer or other health risks. The few studies that have raised concerns generally only focus on the presence of chemicals in recycled rubber, without evaluating exposure or risk associated with these chemicals. The mere presence of a chemical does not necessarily create a health risk, and it is important to provide context for these studies that have reported the presence of chemicals in recycled rubber. Studies that have provided this sort of context have found concentrations for some chemicals are similar to, or lower than those found in natural soils. PAHs, for example, are found at levels similar to natural soil, and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead are often found at lower levels than natural soils. We interact with potentially harmful chemicals as part of everyday life, however, when these exposures are below health-based guidelines levels (as they are with chemicals in recycled rubber), there are not generally health concerns. Childrens safety should be paramount, but when making decisions, fear devoid of evidence shouldnt undermine science. The best available evidence shows that there would not be health concerns if Greenwich had selected recycled rubber, so hopefully future decisions regarding field upgrades will be driven by facts and scientific study. Michael Peterson is a board-certified toxicologist at Gradient, an environmental and risk sciences consulting firm. He serves as scientific adviser to the Recycled Rubber Council. To the editor, We are pleased Greenwich Time has shared the exciting news of Greenwich Historical Societys plan to reimagine and enhance its campus at the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob. We know the Bush-Holley House and Archives hold much meaning for Greenwich residents and would therefore like to clarify several points about our Master Plan. Bush-Holley House will not be altered in any way and will continue as a resource for students, teachers, families and visitors who want an authentic experience of Greenwichs early history and later role as home of the Cos Cob art colony. In fact, the plan is designed to provide universal access to Bush-Holley House, the Vanderbilt Education Center and a new Archives and Exhibitions building to be built adjacent to an expanded parking area. The additional historic building recently acquired by the Historical Society will be meticulously restored to its art colony era appearance as Tobys tavern, and will be linked to the new building by an accessible entrance for all visitors to the Historical Society and historic site. Finally, once the new archives and galleries are open to the public, the Storehouse next door to Bush-Holley House, currently used for exhibitions and offices, will be re-purposed for administrative, curatorial and education activities. Thank you for helping us keep the community informed. Debra Mecky Executive Director Greenwich Historical Society Pussy Faggot has become the main hub for queer performance artists, musicians, and comedians. Photo: Ves Pitts Weve given you the best gay bars in Manhattan and Brooklyn, weve given you the best dance clubs, weve given you the best gay dance parties, and now its time to name the best queer night in New York. All are fun, frisky events that embrace the full gender spectrum and beyond. The Absolute Best 1. Pussy Faggot Various locations This roving performance and party, created by downtown impresario Earl Dax, started seven years ago and has become the main hub for queer performance artists, musicians, and comedians. If you are a queer performer from out of town, this is the event that will allow you to introduce your work to an enthusiastic and supportive crowd that is diverse in gender and age. If you are new in town, this is where you come to get a feel for the scene (or perhaps just get a feel). The event is hosted by performance artist and activist Penny Arcade, and past performers comprise a whos who of NYC-based queer artists, including Justin Vivian Bond, Kenny Mellman, Taylor Mac, Dynasty Handbag, Marga Gomez, Shane Shane, Heather Litteer, Carmelita Tropicana, Miguel Gutierrez, Jack Ferver, Joseph Keckler, Erin Markey, and Narcissister, along with talents like Jonny Woo (London), Christeene (Austin), and Las Reinas Chulas (Mexico City). $6 to $10 2. WOAHMONE Cmon Everybody, 325 Franklin Ave., nr. Clifton Pl., Bed-Stuy; cmoneverybody.com A refreshingly diverse gathering of the artistic queer scene, this party has a wonderfully positive vibe thats reminiscent of the best parts of an LGBT student-union dance in the basement of your colleges Great Hall. Everyone on the gender spectrum socializes and fluidly flirts. Hosts Nath Ann Carrera, Savannah Knoop, and Nica Ross DJ and provide live visuals for this quarterly creative be-in, along with DJ Serge Rodriguez. Thursdays (quarterly), next two parties: August 4 and November 3, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; free 3. Nightgowns Bizarre, 12 Jefferson St., nr. Broadway, Bushwick; 347-915-2717 Even the cynical scenesters who have seen it all are walking away from Sasha Velours Nightgowns in awe. The monthly drag show dedicated to smart, artistic, and queer-positive performance reaffirms the power of drag as a smart, funny, and transcendent art form. These artists work hard. Aprils show included a fully scripted drag musical that was Grease meets Female Trouble. Second Thursday of every month, 11 p.m.; $10 (suggested donation) 4. Cissy Macri Park, 462 Union Ave., at Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg; 718-599-4999 Host and DJ Dream Dommu presents a party specifically geared toward femme/trans/non-binary queers at Cissy. As a trans woman, I aim to take a gay male space and occupy it with decidedly non cis gay men for one night a week, Dommu says. Recent performers include the brilliant Hamm Samwich, Nath Ann Carrera, Boywolf, and White Girl Wasted. Wednesdays (weekly), 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.; free 5. Iron Lady Tender Trap, 66 Greenpoint Ave., nr. Franklin St., Greenpoint; tendertrapbk.com The citys comedy scene is bursting, but its still quite straight even in the so-called alt comedy world. Now queer comedy is becoming the edgy, experimental alternative. The tireless and hilarious Max Bernstein recently celebrated his first anniversary hosting this queer-leaning comedy show with a rolling roster of guests, which takes place every first and third Tuesday of the month. Past guests have included John Early, Amanda Duarte, Sasheer Zamata, Josh Sharp, and Michelle Buteau. The next show, Tuesday, June 21, at 9 p.m., will have an especially queer lineup for Pride. First and third Tuesday of every month, 9 p.m.; free Lenovo has recently announced the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus which are both the successors to the 3rd generation Motorola Moto G. The G4 and G4 Plus have a few differences like the storage and RAM configurations with the largest difference between the two is that the Moto G4 Plus also has a fingerprint scanner and a 16MP camera sensor vs the 13MP sensor found on the Moto G4. Currently, though, the Moto G4 Plus is only available in India but that is about to change really soon. Sources at Mobile Syrup have reported that the Moto G4 Plus will be arriving to Canadian carriers Telus, Rogers, Virgin Mobile, Wind Mobile, Koodo, and SaskTel for 450 Canadian dollars, which tallies out to around 349 USD. Mobile Syrup's sources say that the Moto G4 plus will be available for $0 on the $15 WindTab plan, $199 on the $5 WindTab Boost plan, $349 on the Wind Tab, and $449 outright. The Moto G4 Plus was announced last month along with the Moto G4 and both feature a Snapgradon 617 CPU paired with either 2, 3, or 4GB of RAM, 16/32GB of storage on the G4 (up to 64GB on the G4 Plus model), 5.5 inch 1080p screens, and the G4 Plus gets a front mounted fingerprint scanner. Source | Via These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Haiti - Politic : OAS urges parliamentarians to assume their responsibilities Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), takes note "with great concern", that the Haitian National Assembly has failed to pronounce itself within the delays set forth by the February 5th Agreement on the extension or not of the mandate of the interim President or, as the case may be, on other measures to insure institutional continuity. He consequently urges Parliamentarians, in their capacity of elected representatives of the People, to "fully assume their responsibilities by meeting in National Assembly to decide on how to best guarantee institutional stability and the continuation of the elections process." As evidenced by the just concluded OAS General Assembly, the continuation of elections in Haiti in a stable and calm atmosphere is a priority for our hemispheric organization. "It is long past time for Haitian political stakeholders to prioritize the interests of the Nation in order for the aspirations of the People to finally be heard and for the country to be in a position to tackle the great socio-economic challenges it faces," declared Secretary Almagro. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17742-haiti-elections-chancellor-delienne-officially-requested-assistance-of-the-oas.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17686-haiti-elections-oas-will-remains-alongside-haiti-for-the-elections.html HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2016/06/16 | Source 1. Morning of June 4th, Nonhyeon-dong B Ten Cafe Advertisement 2. Eleven people including Park Yoo-chun have a birthday party 3. Park Yoo-chun has intercourse with 'A' in the bathroom 4. 'A' sues him for rape on June 10th 5. Cancels charges on June 14th And here's something they didn't tell us... 6. The things that happened for 7 days since June 4th to the 10th 7. The truth about Park Yoo-chun and 'A's intercourse and if it was forced of not 8. The detailed evidence 'A' submitted to the police 9. Why 'A' cancelled the charges In addition, 'A's identity has been revealed on SNS and rumors have started spreading Hallyu star Park Yoo-chun was accused of rape. He had sex with call girl named 'A' at Ten Cafe on the 4th of June. 'A' sued Park six days later for rape. She said the intercourse they had in the bathroom was 'unwanted'. Then she cancelled the charges 4 days later. Is it over? There are some parts left unclear. Numbers 1~5 are clear but 6~10 aren't. Dispatch took the time to rearrange the case that happened for the past 10 days. We met with 'A's friend and also an employee from the room salon. Regarding number 6, 'A's boyfriend's friend 'C' mediated this case with C-JeS. Gangsters were also involved with this case. 'A' told C-JeS about what happened on the 4th and they met frequently to mediate things until the 10th. 'A' was clear about her stance. She wanted an apology and compensation. C-JeS was also clear about its stance and it was to stop her from suing them. Dispatch went through their conversations too. "We are concerned about how to make her feel better". (C-JeS) "She's ashamed and having a hard time. She doesn't know what to do". ('C') C-JeS sent out the department head on the 4th, the director on the 7th and Baek from the gang organization Yangeun on the 8th to meet with 'C'. Baek is also the father of Baek Chang-joo, president of C-JeS. Baek met with 'C' on the 8th and said, "You should know who I am so you should convince her well". Baek Chang-joo only appeared on the 10th. He met 'C' at a hotel and told him he didn't have plans to compensate. This was 6 days after the incident happened and it was all because they couldn't see eye to eye. 'A' wanted compensation and C-JeS only stalled time. Then what happened that night? Number 7, the truth about their intercourse and whether or not it was forceful came to mind. Dispatch found out that Park Yoo-chun did have intercourse with 'A' in the bathroom. The facts about this are in number 8. The evidence 'A' gave to the police was her underwear with semen on it. It proves that they had intercourse. However, whether or not it was forceful, the police will find out. When 'A' sued Park at first, she claimed she didn't want to have sex. However, she's changed her story. She said she wasn't forced into doing it and that she only sued him because she thought Park and his friend's looked at her pathetically. One more thing... what does she mean by 'looked at her pathetically?' Apparently, the friends asked if she did it with Park in the bathroom and they wanted the same thing. 'A' knew she was being toyed with. 'A' cancelled the charges on the 14th. Her boyfriend revealed why she did so but something's not right. That comes down to the settlement money. Indeed, 'A' and her friends talked about compensation for a week. They met with almost every official in C-JeS in order. However, they couldn't see eye to eye and that's what made her go to the police. Then she cancelled her charges in just 4 days. Apparently she worried that the case has gone too far and was worried that this had inflicted much damage on Park Yoo-chun's name. She was different from the time she wanted heavy punishment for what he did. Some say she was compensated. Now, 'A's identity is going around the web. First of all, the picture of 'A' as mentioned in number 10, is not her. Dispatch checked it out. 'A' is not a full time employee at Ten Cafe. She only does it as a part time job and works there 2~3 times a week. Her boyfriend isn't in that industry as well. He does trading with China. The following are the reasons why she sued Park in the first place. According to 'C', 'A' was crying on the 4th because she thought Park Yoo-chun and his friends had played her. She really wanted to punish them. Finally, the rumors about the 600,000 won tip. Media claimed that Park Yoo-chun gave her 600,000 won in tips after sex. If that is true, that's a violation of the prostitution law. An employee from Ten Cafe said, "There was a girl called Cha Hak-yeon that night and she did a show for them on the table. Park Yoo-chun threw 300,000 won in tips for her. There must have been a misunderstanding". 'A' also denied that she was paid. She claims that she was never paid for sex and it was just rumors. Park Yoo-chun is currently on National Duty at the Gangnam District Office which stated that he was just an ordinary person other than the times he is on duty. The office avoided questions about the sexual intercourse and only said, "That happened after duty and if there's anything regarding his punishment, we will get a call". Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby. 11:52, 25 OCT 2022 By Jessica Isaacs | [email protected] Have you been dying to try some local craft beer and wine but havent had the time to tour them all? If so, the Avery County Chamber of Commerce will bring them all to one spot for you next weekend. From noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, Linville Falls Winery will play host to this years Avery County Beer and Wine Festival, which will draw folks from across western North Carolina for sampling of the areas expert brewmasters and winemakers. Featured vendors will include Banner Elk Winery and Villa, Booneshine Brewing Company, Grandfather Vineyard, Linville Falls Winery, Flat Top Brewing Company and Beech Mountain Brewing Company. Melynda Martin Pepple, the chambers executive director, said the festival ultimately aims to further the chambers mission and support featured local businesses. First of all, this event is to lift up our wine and beer folks who are right here in our back yard, she said. We are very blessed to have wineries and breweries right here in our county and surrounding area. We want these fun events to bring people here so theyll visit our beautiful mountains and enjoy the cooler weather. Now in its fourth year, the festival is hosted by a different participating vendor each year. This summer, wine and beer enthusiasts will enjoy ample parking and gorgeous views on the 40-acre farm at the family owned and operated Linville Falls Winery. Its right off of U.S. Highway 221 in a great location, Pepple said. Youre less than one mile from the parkway. The area is beautiful, you can tour the vineyard and you can cool off inside the winery where they have plenty of space. Featured vendors will set up in the winerys barn, where the show will go on no matter what the weathers like. Rain or shine, well be in full swing, Pepple said. Your $20 tickets ($25 at the door) will go a long way at this event! When you walk through the door and show your ID, youll receive a five-ounce Belgian tasting glass and coupons for a flight of four samples per vendor. If your heart is set on a particular favorite, you dont have to try all the vendors, and you can stick to either beer or wine. No matter what, youve got 28 opportunities to mix and match flavors throughout the day. Bring a blanket or your favorite lawn chair and set up shop for a good time at this years festival! While youre there, enjoy live music from Wayne Taylor and grab a bite to eat from the Poor Man BBQ food truck. Order tickets online now to get them at the $20 rate or call the chamber at 828-898-5605. Linville Falls Winery is located at 9957 Linville Falls Highway in Linville Falls. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Hendersonville has link to oldest person When Susannah Mushatt Jones, the worlds oldest person, died in New York last month the title of worlds oldest person went to Emma Morano, giving Hendersonville a footnote connection. Morano lives in Verbania, Italy, one of Hendersonvilles sister cities. Related Stories The oldest living person in the world, and perhaps the only one left who has touched three centuries, is a raw-egg-eating, brandy-drinking Italian woman who credits her long life to her daily eggs, her early bedtime and being single, the Washington Post reported. Renzo Maietto, the owner of Renzos Italian Ristorrante and a native of Verbania, notified the Lightning of the connection. He said he did not know her personally but thought his parents had known her. The Guinness World Records confirmed that Morano, at 116 years and 169 days old, is the oldest living person. Ms. Morano has experienced things first hand that will soon be consigned to memory, and the record books, Marco Frigatti, the Guinness World Records head of records, said. She can teach us all a lesson of the value of a life well lived. Bin charges are on course to become the minority government's new 'Irish Water' with Opposition parties insisting the implementation of a 'pay-by-weight' system will have to be postponed beyond July 1. The fiasco has resulted in environment minister Simon Coveney "calling in" waste companies for a crisis meeting just two weeks before the new charging regime is due to kick-in. The Government was last night trying to devise a method of capping charges - but this will require discussions with the Attorney General and Competition Authority. "My job in the next few days is to ensure that the significant concern, and stress, and heat that has been created around this issue can be dealt with by government and by me," Mr Coveney said last night. "We'll work through the weekend to come up with a sensible proposal." Fianna Fail TD John Lahart asked his colleague Dara Calleary to raise the bins issue with Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald in the Dail after around 20 constituents contacted him in 24 hours. "We're going to keep the pressure on this. This has the potential if it isn't handled correctly by the Government to escalate very quickly. "There's an awful lot of anger. People have done their sums. They've looked at last year's bills and they've worked it out with the standing charge. They've worked out what additionally it'll cost," he told the Herald. Such is the concern within Fine Gael that Mr Coveney was personally briefing backbench TDs last night about the developments. Dublin North West TD Noel Rock (inset)also told the Herald: It's another Irish Water in the making unless we check it. Everybody is talking about the scale of the increase. "It's crazy. It's the single biggest issue that has come up since the election." He described the claim that 87pc of households will pay less under the new regime as "nonsense". Mr Rock said there was now "a case for debating" whether the bin services should be nationalised again. Sinn Fein has threatened to put forward a Seanad motion to annul the Statutory Instrument which resulted in the new system and the AAA/PBP are planning a series of protests next week. Joe Lyons and his mother-in-law Carmel Lynch with their wheelie bins Picture: Caroline Quinn Dubliners have slammed the controversial new bin charges which could see them forking out more than double the cost for rubbish disposal. As pressures mounts on the Government to scrap the pay-by-weight system - Dublin residents are also worried the city will be plagued by rubbish, which could lead to a rat infestation. From July 1, households will be charged under a new scheme and will have to fork out cash for every kilo they dispose of - and additional service charges. John Lyons, from Clonliffe Road, Ballybough, has said the new charges could see him having to spend an additional 200. The father-of-two reckons people will just dump their rubbish on streets because they won't be able to afford to pay higher prices. John - who lives with his wife Carmel and sons Ciaran and Darragh - currently pays 13 a month for his bins. However, he will now be paying more than 13 a month in just service charges before any of his rubbish is weighed. The system means the Lyons family could be paying almost 360 a year - a staggering increase of over 200. "I don't know what I'm going to do with the rubbish, but that I am definitely not paying that kind of money," John told the Herald last night. "I think it's going to make people put rubbish out onto the road and not pay at all. It's going to generate more rubbish and rats around the area. "They will make sure there is nothing in the rubbish that identifies them and will just throw the stuff onto the street and start illegally dumping. "People are not going to be able to afford the new charges. There are old age pensioners living on this street and I know they will not be able to pay it. My black bin is full every week. How can we afford this, we just can't afford it. I'm not going to pay it, it's as simple as that." Problem Meanwhile, father-of-two Ross Harrison, from Rathfarnham, reckons he will be paying an extra 350 a year. "These amounts seem extortionate when you look at the costs the first year private bin collection came in which were about 240 a year," Mr Harrison told the Herald last night. "We are now facing an annual bill of 770 for a necessary utility, tax relief has not been allowed since 2011." He also believes previous governments made mistakes when waste services were privatised. "I believe bin privatisation by the councils was short-sighted and absolutely no protection for consumers was considered or put in place. "For other utilities that were privatised, such as electricity and gas, there is regulation with pricing to stop companies taking advantage like this. "Regulation on bin charges should be considered immediately and the councils should also consider launching the service again." Mr Harrison said that his family would not be classed as low income and called on the Government to "help taxpayers that consistently pay into the tax system". "Tax relief on bin charges should be reintroduced at the marginal rate. These companies have been allowed increase what they charge threefold in the space of five years," he added. Politicians - including Dublin councillor and former Lord Mayor Christy Burke - have made calls to reintroduce corporation waste collections by local councils. Cllr Burke last night branded the new charges as "outrageous" and warned that people will not be able to pay the hiked fees. "We need legalisation immediately in order to control increased prices," he said. Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed his deep shock at the "appalling" murder of Jo Cox in broad daylight. The Fine Gael leader yesterday suspended his campaign to encourage the estimated 60,000 Irish people living in the UK to vote in the referendum on Britain's future in Europe following the news of Ms Cox's death. "I think it's an appalling crime that a public representative going about her public duty could be shot down in the street and loses her life and has her value to the community and to her family taken away," Mr Kenny said at a event hosted by the Greater Manchester chamber of commerce. At a further event this morning, Mr Kenny will also avoid making any comment on next week's 'Brexit' referendum. Meanwhile, Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said she was "deeply shocked" by the death of Ms Cox and described it as "an attack on democracy and on democratic freedoms which I utterly condemn". "This is truly a disturbing and horrific act," she said. My thoughts are with her family and friends. We also stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Westminster who have suffered this great loss. President Michael D Higgins said he learned of the MP's death with "great sadness". "As all of us sympathise with her family, including her young children, all of us who are committed to democratic politics must also acknowledge our being shocked, appalled and outraged at the attack on her. "To see a young parliamentarian killed in the course of her work is especially shocking. Her loss must not be in vain." he added. Washington County Football: What to watch and who will win in Week 9 KRAKOW, Poland (JTA)-For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow's historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, opened their doors for 7@Nite-or the Night of the Synagogues, a one-night mini-festival aimed at bolstering Jewish pride and promoting Jewish awareness among the public. Each synagogue-from the Gothic Old Synagogue, now a Jewish historical museum, to the ornate 19th century Tempel Synagogue, used for both services and cultural events-hosted an exhibit, concert, film or other event illustrating contemporary Jewish culture in Poland and around the world. "The most important message is that this is an open event, carried out by Jews-for everybody," said Karina Sokolowska, the Poland director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Organized by the JDC, the Krakow Jewish Community Center and the Krakow Jewish Religious Community, 7@Nite first took place in 2011. Since then it has become an annual event that begins with an open-air Havdalah ceremony ending Shabbat conducted from the roof of the JCC. From the conclusion of Havdalah-at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday -- until 2:30 a.m. Sunday, thousands of people troop off to visit the synagogues, all of which are located within a few blocks of each other. Organizers estimated that this year's Havdalah, on Saturday, drew a record 1,400 people who crowded into the JCC courtyard. "Go and enjoy the synagogues," JCC Executive Director Jonathan Ornstein told them. "The Jewish heritage of Krakow does not just belong to the Jews but to all of us. As Cracovians, be proud." The event was advertised with posters throughout the city, and a constant flow of people moved in and out of the synagogues throughout the opening hours. The overwhelming majority were young, non-Jewish Cracovians. With only about 20,000 Jews, Poland has experienced a public fascination with Poland's Jewish heritage, including dozens of Jewish museums and culture festivals often run by non-Jews. Some said they had made it a point to come to Kazimierz to take part. "It's the only day of the year that you can see all the synagogues, and I came last year and two years ago, too," said Natalia Giemza, 23, who is not Jewish but said she had taken university courses on Jewish history. Other visitors made a quick visit to a synagogue or two part of a Saturday night out. In recent years, the Kazimierz district has become the city's liveliest center of youth-oriented nightlife, and pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants were crowded on a warm night. "We were just out drinking and thought, why not?" said Mateus, 22, who joined a group of friends visiting the baroque Izaak Synagogue after 1 a.m. Built in the 17th century, the Izaak has a towering vaulted ceiling and frescoed decoration and is used for regular services. For 7@Nite it hosted an exhibit on Ethiopian Jews with a hummus and pita snack bar in its courtyard. "I've been in other synagogues, but never the Izaak," Mateus said. One of the reasons he had wanted to visit, he said, was "to gain knowledge about our roots." "I'm not Jewish or Catholic, but I think there is some Jewish blood in my ancestry," he said. Mateus said he did not, however, plan to join the JCC or take any other steps toward affiliation. His friend Jakub said he was Catholic, but he and his parents "have always been interested in Jewish things." The 7@Nite event was staffed by volunteers who managed crowds, handed out kippot to visiting men and kept head counts of visitors. Most were not Jewish and, according to the JDC's Sololowska, some had come from as far as the northwestern city of Szczeczin, hundreds of miles away, to take part. "I'm Catholic and I started volunteering at the JCC two years ago," said graduate student Anna Wilkosz, who said that by midnight well over 1,000 people had visited the Kupa synagogue. "I felt it was urgent to be involved." Not everyone who turned out for the event, however, demonstrated a positive interest in Jewish and Judaism. Outside the Tempel Synagogue, where young Poles danced wildly to freestyling by the American Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz, a bald man in his 30s said he was "mad at the Jews." "I'm mad at the Jews because Jews all say that the Poles killed them in World War II, but I know history-Poles saved them," declared the man, who said he was a tour guide. His remarks appeared to reflect a campaign in recent months by Poland's new hard-right government to absolve Poles of charges of complicity in the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. Much of that campaign centers on the Polish-American historian Jan Gross, the author of several books since 2000 that examine episodes during and after the Holocaust, including the murder of Jews in the village of Jedwabne, in which Poles killed their Jewish neighbors or targeted Jews with violence. In October, soon after coming to power, the government opened a libel investigation against Gross based on an article he wrote asserting that "Poles killed more Jews during the [Second World] war than they did Germans." Prosecutors questioned Gross for five hours in April. The investigation was based on an article in the Criminal Code that punishes those who "insult" Poland. Yet most visitors seemed to take part in the Night of the Synagogues in a spirit of good will. At midnight, Giemza and a friend entered the 17th-century Kupa Synagogue, which is decorated with colorful frescoes. It hosted a special photo and interview exhibit about contemporary Polish Jewish identity. They carried hamsas, the hand-shaped Middle Eastern good luck charm, that they had made in an art workshop taking place at another of the synagogues. "I hope to get to all the synagogues tonight," Giemza said. "It's really great for me." Will it NEVER end?... We've all heard and repeated the saying "Never Again" referring to the Holocaust. Correct words... but unfortunately, it will take more than words to stop the rise of anti-Semitism that seems to be repeating itself in Europe and even here and there in this country. The following is just an example of attacks all over Europe in recent months: Manchester, England: While waiting for their train, four young Jews were attacked by four hatemongers, leaving the youngest, just 17 years old, in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage. Paris, France: A group of thugs taunted and viciously beat a 13-year-old Jewish boy outside of his school. Brussels, Belgium: "Jewish Scum." Those words and others accusing Jews of being "thieves, murderers, liars" and "degenerate" were sent in a letter to a member of Parliament. Zurich, Switzerland: A member of the neo-Nazi rock group Amok spat in the face of a man leaving a synagogue while shouting "Heil Hitler." Copenhagen, Denmark: Security guard Dan Uzan, 37, was shot and killed by an Islamic jihadist during a bar mitzvah celebration at a Jewish community center near the great synagogue. Grassina, Italy: In this Tuscan town, anti-Semitic vandals spray painted "Jews to the gas" and swastikas on a Jewish community center. There are many more examples, but you get the picture. I don't know what to do except to be vigilant. A date to remember in Jewish history... On May 6th 1856, Sigmund Freud was born to Jewish parents in the Czech Republic. He and his family lived in Germany and Vienna, but threatened by the Nazi occupation of Austria, emigrated to England in 1938. He died in London in 1939. A Jewish Federation mensch... This comes word for word from the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Day School: Dr. JORDAN STEINBERG has just completed his very successful term as President of the Board of the Jewish Academy of Orlando (JAO). During his presidency Jordan invested a great deal of personal time, energy and resources to help strengthen the JAO. Jordan and his fellow board members have led the school through a crucial strategic transition, and JAO is on a much stronger footing as a direct result of this leadership. A product of a Jewish day school education himself, Jordan understand the vital role that a Jewish day school experience plays in creating and reinforcing a positive Jewish identity for its students. As JAO's president, Jordan has worked closely with Federation leadership. His positive, collaborative, consensus-building approach to challenges has strengthened this important relationship. Jordan "has demonstrated time and again that he is most deserving of our admiration and gratitude," said Federation Executive Director OLGA YORISH. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jordan for his service to JAO, and we congratulate him on his extraordinary accomplishments. Our Greater Orlando Jewish community benefits every day from his leadership, his vision and his wisdom." A reminder... On Sunday, June 26th, beginning at 12:30 p.m., there will be a very special and talented group of musicians performing jazz at the Altamonte Chapel. RICH WALKER is the star and he will be joined by musicians, MARK MCKEE on piano, REX WERTZ on tenor/flute, WALT HUBBARD on drums and CARLOS FERNANDEZ on congas/percussion. ALAN ROCK will emcee. Dr. Jordan Steinberg The Altamonte Chapel is located at 825 East SR 436, Altamonte Springs. The phone number is 407-339-5208. One for the road... Moshe went to Ohev Shalom cemetery to visit his friend Daniel's grave. When he got there, he was shocked to see that Daniel's new headstone was leaning forward by some 45 degrees and could topple over. So Moshe took some wire from his car, tied one end around the headstone and fastened the other end onto a nearby telephone pole. Then he left. Some days later, two more of Daniel's friends, Abe and Izzy came to visit him. Abe took one look at the grave and said to Izzy, "That's just like Daniel. He's only been here a short while and already he's got his own phone." Morchechai Eldar said newly found fellow survivors of an Auschwitz selection in 1944 are 'like my family.' By Hillel Kuttler The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost friends and relatives. (JTA)-For over six decades, Chaim Schwimmer has thrown a kiddush every Simchat Torah, but it's not only to celebrate the joyful holiday. The food and the schnapps also mark the anniversary of Schwimmer's miraculous rescue in 1944 from certain death at Auschwitz. In October that year, the 14-year-old was pulled from a crowd just a few steps from being murdered in the concentration camp's gas chamber. Schwimmer was one of the approximately 50 young men selected for labor after having been forcibly disrobed and preparing to be marched to the faux showers with hundreds of others to their death. The "Auschwitz 50" was the subject of a 2011 "Seeking Kin" column about Mordechai Eldar, an Israeli hoping to locate others like himself who were so dramatically saved that day and may have survived the war and perhaps even remain alive today. Alas that column proved fruitless. But a guest "Seeking Kin" article elsewhere that mentioned Eldar's rescue and search for others resulted in two recent emails within a week. Isaac Schwimmer, a 39-year-old resident of the Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood of Borough Park, mentioned his paternal grandfather, Chaim, who lives a few blocks away and was one of the 50 saved. And Harry Ullman wrote from London to tell of a friend nearby, Hershel Herskovic, also among the 50. My telephone conversation with Isaac Schwimmer then uncovered yet another living person who had survived the selection: Volvish Greenwald, the grandfather of the brother-in-law of Schwimmer's wife. When the initial "Seeking Kin" column appeared in 2011, Eldar, of Herzliya, had already established contact with fellow Israelis David Leitner and Nachum Hoch, and had met Mordechai Linder shortly before Linder died in 2011. And in his email, Ullman mentioned a Manchester, England, resident he had known, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Weiss, another Auschwitz 50 survivor, who had died in 2013. That makes eight of the 50 who have been identified: six living and two now deceased. Each of the three newly found people recently interviewed-Chaim Schwimmer, Herskovic and Greenwald-evinced surprise that Eldar, whom none knew, was searching for them. Each man related personal details of being saved from the Simchat Torah gassing. Chaim Schwimmer, 85, recalled what happened after reaching the gas chamber's building on that rainy afternoon. "They told us to undress. We were expecting right away that they'd take us to the gas chamber. But we stood-and waited and waited and waited," he said. Three German soldiers entered the room. One ordered a young prisoner to sprint to the end of the room-apparently, Schwimmer thought, to test his fitness. Schwimmer boasted of his own ability to work. A soldier berated him, but ordered him to leave the building with the others selected. Herskovic, now 88, was unusually calm that day, not dreading what likely awaited. He mumbled a passage from the Talmud on keeping the faith even when a sword was pressed against one's neck. "I felt that I wouldn't die, for some reason," Herskovic said. After he had undressed, three soldiers appeared. One ordered the boys to line up, three per row. "When he said that, I knew we'd be saved now. I stood in the second row, and I was immediately picked and sent to the right side, where we were to go back to the camp and remain alive," Herskovic said. Greenwald, 87, remembered of his exchange with one officer: "He asked me how old I am and if I was healthy." Each man termed what happened a "miracle." But Gideon Greif, an Israeli expert on Auschwitz, explained it as a routine labor call. The Nazis "needed workers, and there was nothing miraculous or extraordinary about this," said Greif, chief historian at the Shem Olam Institute for Education, Documentation and Research on Faith and the Holocaust. "Life and death were determined by many criteria, including the need for workers... Here were people concentrated in one place. Sometimes it was in the fields, sometimes in the barracks and sometimes in the gas chambers." Greif had heard about the episode of the 50 men saved and said he's come across six similar cases-"but there could have been 70 [cases]; I have no idea." Schwimmer went on to establish a paper products company. He has five sons, 53 grandchildren and approximately 200 great-grandchildren, said Isaac Schwimmer, a property manager who studies Torah with his grandfather every morning. Herskovic was blinded by a combination of a Nazi beating just days before liberation in 1945 and typhus. He became a lawyer and has four children, 22 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Schwimmer is his cousin; the two grew up in Muncacz, Hungary. Greenwald, a native of Hajdunanas, Hungary, worked for 55 years as an administrator at Yeshiva Chasam Sofer in Borough Park. He has 12 children; he did not provide the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While Greenwald lives four blocks from Chaim Schwimmer, he hasn't attended the Simchat Torah spreads at a Satmar shul on 52nd Street. Schwimmer has thrown the annual kiddush there for 38 years, and before that for 29 years in Montreal, where he first settled after the Holocaust. It's what's known as a "seudat hodaya"-a gratitude meal. No announcement is made to proclaim the backstory, but Isaac Schwimmer says that congregants know. They invariably bring children to his grandfather and ask that he relate what happened in 1944. Chaim Schwimmer "I'm thankful to God that I'm alive," Chaim Schwimmer says. Some of his progeny attend the kiddush, while his metaphorical kin extend far beyond the room. Said Eldar, 86, of the fraternity: "It's like my family in the widest possible meaning. We walked out alive." Please email Hillel Kuttler at seekingkin@jta.org if you know of others from among the "Auschwitz 50." If you would like "Seeking Kin" to write about your search for long-lost relatives and friends, please include the principal facts and your contact information in a brief email. "Seeking Kin" is sponsored by Bryna Shuchat and Joshua Landes and family in loving memory of their mother and grandmother, Miriam Shuchat, a lifelong uniter of the Jewish people. Brayola draws upon data to suggest a "perfect match" based upon users' size and preferences. They can also purchase bras directly from the site. (JTA)-They say the best stories happen when a writer gets pushed out of his or her comfort zone. Since the "they" in this case was my editor, this is how I found myself readying to post a topless photo of myself online-all in the name of good journalism. But this isn't a story about-well, whatever you're thinking it's probably about. Rather, this was an investigation into a legit Israeli startup, Brayola, a social network for lingerie shopping. The site, which also sells and ships bras, just received $2.5 million in Series A funding from HDS Capital and FirstTime Capital. Still, when I told colleagues that I was working on a story about a website that involves uploading bra selfies and crowdsourcing underwear advice, I was met with concern. "Are you sure this isn't a site started by perverts?" said one. "Teenage boys are behind this, right?" asked another. Answers: Yes. And no. There's a dedicated businesswoman behind Brayola, Tel Aviv-based Orit Hashay, who is a former venture capitalist with a background in software engineering. And while the premise veers rather close to "Tinder for bras," the inspiration is far more wholesome. Really. A few years ago, Hashay was eager to enter Israel's startup fray and had been casting about for an idea. She knew she wanted to create a consumer-oriented site, something focused on women, when inspiration struck. "There was absolutely nothing about the thing most difficult to buy," she realized. "You can buy everything online-food, clothes for my kids, anything. But for bras, you only go to the store and buy the same one again and again. "I hate bra shopping," she added. "I don't like somebody touching me." And so in 2013 she launched Brayola, which now has offices in New York, Tel Aviv and Manchester, England. The site promises to match users with the ideal bras for their size, shape and preferences by analyzing the reviews of millions of women. Enter your stats and favorite lingerie makes and models, and Brayola will suggest a "perfect match"-or several-for you. Essentially its "crowdsourcing women about the bras they have in their sizes," Hashay said. "I love to think that I'm special and unique-but I'm not so unique that the bra that I have in my drawer, there aren't other women with the same bra, the same size in their drawers." There's also a marketplace where users can purchase "perfect matches" directly from the site, saving bra shoppers the presumed indignity of being touched by a lingerie sales clerk. The recent infusion of funding will be used to double the number of available brands and inventory, Hashay said, along with increasing the site's marketing and reach. Tapping the wisdom of the crowd is something I can get down with. But posting a photo of my breasts and bra-to be clear: no faces allowed-on the Internet? Not so much. So I nearly wept with relief when I learned that the "Fit or Not" part of the Brayola experience-women upload a bra selfie and let real-life women, not an algorithm, perform the scrutiny-was strictly optional. The selfies, Hashay said, have nothing to do with the site's functionality-it grew strictly out of customer demand. According to a much bandied-about statistic, 80 percent of women wear the wrong size bra. Women started emailing bra selfies, Hashay said, worried they were one of them. "If you were asking me [about bra selfies], I'd say, 'No! I'd never do it! It would scare them,'" she laughed. "But it's not about what I think; it's about what they need." There were pleasant surprises regarding Brayola's "Fit or Not" function: Contrary to my jaded expectations, comments on the site are not loaded with vitriol or innuendo-they tend to be of the instructive "try a bigger cup size" sort. Additionally, while one might think only the Kardashian-like nubiles would participate, the actual users (and there are some 150,000 of them, Hashay said) are apparently of every age and size. Instead of uploading photos of myself, I logged into Brayola and created a profile that consisted of my size and my favorite bras. Fortunately, I just recently had a transformative bra-shopping experience at Lord and Taylor, where I was briskly but accurately measured on the sales floor. So I was quite confident in my size and preferences. (Shout out to Wacoal! Why did it take me so many years to find you?) Next, "My Bra Shop" showed me various brands and styles favored by women with my size and taste. Five were deemed "a perfect match." A Le Mystere number was positively drool-worthy but, at $76, a bit out of the budget. One had a sheen that I didn't care for; others weren't available in my preferred color, black, in my size. So I purchased a Warner's racerback bra that was lightly padded-something I usually don't go for; who needs that extra one-eighth of an inch?-but I was eager to trust my fellow comrades-in-boobs. One week later, my bra arrived in the mail. And, well, let's just say that even though this story didn't involve topless photos, it still has taken me out of my comfort zone. My "perfect match" just... wasn't. It was more a bra I'd have a dalliance with. It's not horrible; it's a little too snug around the rib cage, and the straps angle in a way that's not compatible with much of my wardrobe. Nonetheless, it's something I'll continue to reach for, mostly because it's there and does the job well enough. Still, I understand the huge potential in the concept, particularly among women who abhor the brick-and-mortar shopping experience-admittedly, I am not one of them-and largely because of the international reach of the site. Women everywhere, said Hashay, have "the same problem, same issue, same pain-we don't enjoy shopping in stores." Yet their behavior is different. Women in the UK, said Hashay, typically buy more bras then their American sisters. In Israel, the biggest issue is the high price tag-a Chantelle bra that retails for $48 on Brayola is around $150 in Israel, she said. (At the moment, Brayola only ships to the U.S., but Hashay said that will change soon.) Ultimately there's something about undergarments, an everyday necessity thats unite women around the globe. Because no matter where you are-or what you believe, or what your age and body shape may be-you're gonna need something to keep the girls up. "I'm Israeli, but maybe my body, my style, my taste is like somebody who lives in Poland, or in Italy," Hashay said. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and Hashay one day hopes to bring crowdsourcing to another equally fraught garment: jeans. For now, however, she's focused on a future in which buying bras is as easy as shoe shopping. "Women will have as many bras as shoes," she said. "This is what I want." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued the first executive order in the country that forces state entities to drop investments linked to boycotts of Israel. The Democratic governor expects state agencies to divest all public funds from any company or individual with ties to the movement known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). BDS was founded in 2005 to protest Israel's actions toward Palestinians by boycotting Israeli products and companies. Cuomo says New York will boycott anyone who is boycotting Israel. "This order sends the message that this state will do everything in its power to end this hateful, intolerant campaign," the governor said. "New York and Israel share an unbreakable bond and I pray that the Israeli and Palestinian people will find a way to live side by side and find peace, prosperity and security." Cuomo signed the order at Manhattan's Harvard Club before marching in the annual Celebrate Israel parade. Based on the governor's action, state officials must now compile a list of businesses and groups engaged in any "boycott, divestment or sanctions targeting Israel, directly or through a parent or subsidiary." The list will be assembled using "credible information available to the public," according to the order, and those who end up on the list may appeal. A leading constitutional rights attorney calls the action "21st century McCarthyism." The governor said the campaign to cut economic ties to Israel is more dangerous than the traditional physical attacks that country has faced from terrorists. "[A]s frightening as those tunnels are and as radical as the mindset and [obsessiveness] that built those tunnels, this BDS movement is in many ways more frightening," he said. "Because what they're saying is they are not making a physical attack-they want to make an economic attack. And it's not just radicals that are willing to build tunnels. They are going to mainstream businesses across the world to generate a corporate, a corporate enemy for Israel, and we cannot allow that to happen, period." Cuomo said he wanted every governor in the nation to sign executive orders similar to his. Senator Chuck Schumer, at an unrelated event in Manhattan, said Cuomo's executive order was "an excellent idea," and said, "I am looking at introducing a federal law to do the same thing, because one state is one thing, but to do it in the whole country would be much better." The United Jewish Appeal in New York praised Cuomo for being the first governor to issue an executive order opposing BDS. In a statement, CEO Eric S. Goldstein said his organization is "proud that the governor of New York state has taken this historic action to stand with Israel and reject the BDS movement." This article submitted by AP, with files from Politico. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, looking on at the international summit in Paris to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, June 3, 2016. (JTA)-Here a plan, there a plan, everywhere a peace plan. Conditions in Israel and the Palestinian Authority may not exactly seem conducive to peace-Israel just formed what may be its most right-wing government ever, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is aging and becoming less popular. Yet peace plans have been coming at the region from all sides. No less than three Israeli-Palestinian peace proposals have been put forward in recent weeks, spanning a range of countries, leaders and organizations. A conference of some two dozen countries in Paris on Friday reiterated the need for a two-state solution. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi reportedly has been pushing Netanyahu and Abbas to meet in Cairo. This week, the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, a center-left pro-Israel group, presented two plans in tandem that are designed to lay the security groundwork for a peace treaty. And despite their limitations, Netanyahu and Abbas have also said they're game for talks. On Sunday, Netanyahu declared his commitment to a two-state solution and praised the Arab Peace Initiative. Last month, JTA reported that Abbas allegedly sent Netanyahu three separate negotiation proposals in recent years. So is peace in the offing, or is it all talk? Here are the plans on the table, what Israel and the P.A. are saying and why these efforts are coming together now. Three paths to peace: International intervention, a trusted ally or confidence-building steps The Paris summit that took place Friday was more than a year in the making. It was based on the idea that after more than two decades of inconclusive direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, it was time for the international community to take a more active role. Nearly 30 countries attended the summit; neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were invited. It ended after five hours with a statement asking the Israelis and Palestinians to demonstrate "a genuine commitment to the two-state solution in order to rebuild trust." France, which organized the meeting, plans to convene another conference including Israel and the Palestinians by year's end. But while the P.A. has praised the initiative, Israel has demurred, saying the only way to peace is through direct talks. Israel objects in particular to a French pledge to recognize a Palestinian state should talks fail. Sissi's initiative, reported last week in the Israeli publication Ynet, may be more promising. Sissi hopes to organize a tripartite meeting of Egypt, Israel and the P.A. to restart talks. Israel views Sissi as a trusted security partner, and he's an ally of Abbas-so he could be better able to coax both sides back to the table. On May 17, Sissi gave a speech urging relaunched negotiations. Egypt didn't want to lead the initiative, he said, but would "make every effort" to reach peace. A third push, meanwhile, has come from a coalition of American and Israeli military officials hoping to reassure Israelis that a Palestinian state would not degrade their security. They see Israeli security fears as one of the primary obstacles to peace. The plan by Commanders for Israel's Security, a group of pro-peace former generals, calls for Israel to complete its security barrier around the West Bank, freeze settlement construction outside the barrier and provide incentives for settlers outside it to relocate within Israel. The plan calls on Israel to forfeit sovereignty over the West Bank and acknowledge that sections of eastern Jerusalem will be part of a future Palestinian state. A parallel plan from the Center for a New American Security focuses on the details of security arrangements in a future Palestinian state. It calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank based on a timetable and benchmarks. It would also place an American security force in the Jordan Valley, the border between the West Bank and Jordan. Both the CIS plan and the CNAS plans were promoted by the Israel Policy Forum, a group of Jewish community leaders aiming to build support for a two-state solution. Netanyahu and Abbas both say they're ready-but won't meet. Netanyahu and Abbas have not met formally since 2010. Each insists he is not the obstacle to another round of talks. Netanyahu has called several times recently for direct talks and welcomed Sissi's speech. He offered qualified praise for the Arab Peace Initiative, a 2002 Arab League proposal that calls for full relations with Israel in return for a Palestinian state, Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Golan Heights, and a negotiated solution for Palestinian refugees. "The Arab Peace Initiative includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians," he said Sunday at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. "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, but maintains the agreed goal of two states for two peoples." Abbas also says he is committed to peace. Gershon Baskin, an Israeli who has acted as an unofficial conduit between Israel and Palestinian leaders, told JTA last month that he personally delivered three Abbas offers for direct talks to Netanyahu's office over the past three years. Netanyahu's spokesman denied the claim. And in a March interview on Israel's Channel 2, Abbas said he was "prepared to meet Netanyahu anywhere, any time." But the leaders' declarations haven't led to action. Abbas refuses to meet with Netanyahu absent prior Israeli commitments or concessions. He also lacks the support of his constituents. According to a September 2015 poll, two-thirds of Palestinians demanded Abbas' resignation. Netanyahu, meanwhile, refuses to participate in international peace conferences, demanding only direct talks. In addition, the pro-settler Jewish Home faction, as well as many in Netanyahu's own Likud party, oppose Palestinian statehood. Observers worry the window for peace is closing. Despite adverse conditions, advocates for peace say there is an urgent need for another round of negotiations. They say continued settlement growth, as well as growing disenchantment among Israelis and Palestinians, mean a two-state solution may soon be impossible to reach. Israeli and Palestinian actions are "dangerously imperiling the prospects for a two-state solution," said a statement released by the foreign ministers attending the Paris conference, which "underscored that the status quo is not sustainable." Even if talks are unlikely, detailed proposals are still important, said Ilan Goldenberg, lead author of the Center for a New American Security study. By showing Israelis and Palestinians that an agreement is still possible, he said, the study keeps the opportunity for peace alive until Netanyahu and Abbas are ready. "Abbas and Bibi have a complicated personal relationship, and that makes this more difficult in the short term," he said Thursday at a briefing for reporters, using Netanyahu's nickname. "But that doesn't mean this isn't the solution in the long term." Israeli security forces at the scene where Palestinian terrorists opened fire and killed four people at the Sarona market in Tel Aviv on June 8. By Alina Dain Sharon JNS.org After four Israelis were killed on June 8 in a Palestinian terrorist shooting at the Sarona market in Tel Aviv, many international media outlets came under fire for initially reporting misleading information about the attack and in some cases not describing the shooting as terrorism. While many such news headlines and article texts were later amended, the original phrasing has continued to circulate on social media and on the websites of media watchdog organizations. In a breaking news update about the attack on Twitter, the American cable news network CNN placed the word "terrorists" in quotation marks, angering Twitter followers who wondered why the news outlet needed to qualify its description of an incident that was clearly terrorism. The CNN tweet said, "Two 'terrorists' captured after Tel Aviv attack, Israeli police spokesman tweets." One follower responded by calling on the news network to "take the quote marks off terrorists when that is exactly what they are! It's not a subjective noun or adjective; civilians murdered." Another Twitter user said, "Tell your writers that those who open fire in an open market are terrorists." A Washington Post headline stated, "4 Killed in Tel Aviv Market Shooting that Officials Labeled Terrorist Attack," attributing the terrorist nature of the incident only to Israeli officials' statements, rather than acknowledging the terrorist nature as fact. Yahoo News described the shooting as an "apparent militant attack" in its headline as opposed to a terror attack, taking language from another report by AFP, according to an analysis compiled by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). What some commentators considered the most-jarring headline came from Russia's state-funded English-language news network Russia Today, which initially reported about the attack with the headline, "2 'ultra-Orthodox Jewish' gunmen kill 3 in central Tel Aviv." The headline referred to how the shooters, according to Israeli police, disguised themselves as Orthodox Jews. Although the reporter used single quotation marks around "ultra-Orthodox Jewish," the headline could have still been interpreted to mean that the perpetrators might have been Jewish. "Russia Today wins the prize for most off-the-wall, inaccurate headline," Andrea Levin, CAMERA's executive director, told JNS.org. "The unwillingness of the media to provide clear headlines and, in some cases, forthright information, is a reminder of the power of bias even when events are stark and obvious," she said. Russia Today later changed its headline to, "'Harsh terror attack': 2 Palestinians dressed as Orthodox Jews kill 3 in Tel Aviv." In the United Kingdom, the British news networks BBC and Sky News both used language in their reporting that ignored clear facts and implied that there is uncertainty as to whether this attack-or others in the wave of Palestinian terror against Israelis that has engulfed Israel since last September-was orchestrated by Palestinians. The BBC, after already quoting Israeli police and witnesses, initially reported that "it is not clear who carried out the attack. However, there has been a rise in Palestinian attacks against Israelis since last year." The news network also did not use the word terrorism to describe the attack-except in quotes from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the police, and witnesses, implying that whether or not the attack was terrorism is subjective rather than a fact. Sky News initially reported in an article about the attack that "since October, 31 Israelis and two Americans have been killed in attacks allegedly carried out by Palestinians," using the word "allegedly" to imply that the Palestinian identity of the terrorists in all those attacks is debatable, according to the media watchdog HonestReporting. Also in the U.K., The British newspaper The Metro reported about the attack by focusing not on the wounded and murdered victims, but on Israel's treatment of the Palestinian terrorists, noted UK Media Watch. "Gun suspect seized after four die," read the newspaper's headline alongside an image of a bloodied suspect being wrestled to the ground by Israeli authorities, creating the perception that he was the victim instead of the perpetrator. The Independent, said CAMERA's Levin, "should get a special prize for most-tortured obfuscation of Palestinian involvement in terrorism. Its story on the Tel Aviv attack managed never to include the word Palestinian or Arab even though it was known from the outset and reported widely that two Arabs were the killers. A number of news outlets used headlines focusing heavily on the fact that the attack occurred near the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters. France's France 24 network used "Tel Aviv Army HQ" in its headline, implying how the fact that Israel's defense headquarters were in the vicinity of an attack targeting innocent civilians somehow justifies the actions of the terrorists. The U.K.-based The Telegraph said in its headline, "Four people killed in Tel Aviv shooting near Israeli defense ministry." The fact that the two Palestinian gunmen who carried out the attack were wearing suits also confounded the media. Soon after the shooting, a photo of two young men in suits surfaced on news outlets and on social media, alongside claims that they were the terrorists. Almost immediately, however, it was revealed that the men in the photo were actually Israelis and that the photo had been taken last year at the same site. One of the men shown in the photo, 21-year-old Tal Hadad from the southern Israeli town of Ezer, said he was "stunned." "I don't know what to do," Hadad said. "This picture was taken a year ago at Sarona. I have no idea how [the media] got a hold of it." So what might be the takeaway from the news reporting and headlines on the Tel Aviv terror attack? One Twitter user told CNN after its placement of "terrorists" in quotation marks, "This is the reason why no one trusts 'news' anymore." WASHINGTON (JTA)The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging Germany to increase funding for Holocaust survivors. The nonbinding resolution, which passed by a vote of 363-0 on Tuesday, urges Germany to ensure that every Holocaust victim receives all of the prescribed medical care, home care, mental health care, and other vital services necessary to live in dignity and to provide additional financial resources to address the unique needs of Holocaust victims. The resolution, initiated earlier this year by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Ted Deutch, D-Fla., estimates the number of survivors worldwide at 500,000, with 100,000 in the United States, and tens of thousands living in poverty. Holocaust survivors shouldnt have to worry about their medical, mental health or home care needs, but the assistance promised to them by Germany has been slow coming and inadequate to cover the full range of their unique needs, Ros-Lehtinen told JTA in an email. Today, the House passed my resolution urging Germany to honor its promises and obligations to all survivors so that they can live out their final years in the dignity and comfort they deserve, she said. Now Germany needs to do the right thing and show its leadership by resolving this directly and without delay. In her remarks on the House floor, Ros-Lehtinen decried what she depicted as the inadequacy of existing mechanisms in delivering assistance to survivors, singling out for criticism the Claims Conference, the body charged with negotiating claims with Germany and delivering assistance to survivors. The current system is broken and full of fraud and corruption, she said. The Claims Conference has failed survivors, placing caps on assistance and adding unnecessary burdens on those in dire need of assistance. The Claims Conference would not comment on Ros-Lehtinens remarks, although an official told JTA that the conference distributed $800 million last year. Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference executive vice president, praised passage of the resolution in an email to his board, although his statement notably did not name Ros-Lehtinen. It did name Deutch, as well as the sponsors of a parallel Senate resolution still under consideration, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. As you know, we are continuously talking with the government of Germany about the increasing unmet needs of aging Holocaust victims, Schneider said. This bill sends a clear message to Germany that increased home care and welfare services for survivors is a priority to the American people and Congress. The Claims Conference continues to deal with the aftereffects of revelations in 2010 that employees had defrauded the organization of at least $57 million. (JNS.org)-Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is in Israel for a week-long visit to strengthen relations between the two countries. "Throughout my visit with my delegation we wanted to learn about the extraordinary developments which Israel has made, especially in agriculture, which we look at with wonder each time we see it. You have done wonderful things in the field of water. There are a lot of similarities between Liberia and Israel. I wish to thank Israel for its help during our Ebola crisis, when Israel joined other forces and bilateral initiatives for the purpose of helping us beat this disease," Sirleaf said in a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. During a speech to accept an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa on Tuesday she also said in response to a question about solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict that "barriers need to be broken down, not built up," Yedioth Achronoth reported. Sirleaf is expected to meet with other Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Liberia has gained a lot of experience from Israel in regards to our development goals. While this friendship was put on hold during the conflict in Liberia, I am happy because since I was elected President of Liberia in 2006, we have renewed the cooperation between us," said Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected as the head of an African state. Sirleaf and Rivlin also discussed terrorism that Sirleaf said "can undermine the peace we have had," adding that she welcomes any knowledge and intelligence that Israel could provide Liberia on the issue. Rivlin also requested Sirleaf's assistance in encouraging her colleagues to grant Israel observer status in the African Union, to which she noted that African countries have "friends on both sides," but she would help in any way she could. Washington, D.C.A two-page American Jewish Committee ad in June 6s Wall Street Journal lists the 508 U.S. and European mayors and municipal leaders who have signed on to its Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism initiative, pledging to combat the rise of anti-Semitism. There were 35 mayors in Florida who signed, including two from Central Florida: Apopka Mayor Joe Kilsheimer, Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. Bravo to those urban leaders from cities, big and small, across the U.S. and Europe, for their courage, conviction, and commitment, said AJC CEO David Harris of the 189 European mayors from 31 countries, including 26 of the 28 EU member states, and the 319 mayors from all 50 states and the District of Columbia who have so far joined what could be the most far-reaching transatlantic campaign of its kind ever against anti-Semitism. Only a few European mayors refused to sign, disappointing as their stance obviously was, Harris added. The AJC initiative, calling on mayors to publicly address and take concrete actions against anti-Semitism, was launched last July, following AJCs groundbreaking strategy conference, A Defining Moment for Europe, held in Brussels in May 2015. Anti-Semitism is not compatible with fundamental democratic values, the Mayors United statement asserts. As mayors and municipal leaders, we have a special responsibility to speak out against the growing menace of anti-Semitism. Three of the mayors who signed will discuss the initiative at the AJC Global Forum 2016 in Washington, D.C. They are Mayor Setti Warren of Newton, MA, who helped conceive the idea; Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who also serves as President of the United States Conference of Mayors; and Mayor Yiannis Boutaris of Thessaloniki, Greece, who wore a yellow star at his inauguration in memory of the more than 96 percent of Thessaloniki Jews deported to Nazi death camps. The Mayors United statement emphasizes that in a world of global communications where anti-Semitic ideas can and do spread quickly, the impact of the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe does not stop at Europes borders. It affirms a core set of principles, including the condemnation of anti-Jewish hatred in all forms; rejection of the notion that anti-Semitic acts may ever be justified by ones view on the actions or existence of the State of Israel; a declaration that anti-Semitism and any other prejudices due to religious differences are inconsistent with core American and European values; and the belief that the promotion of mutual understanding and respect among all citizens is essential to good governance and democratic life. The signatories pledge to work within and across U.S. and European communities to advance coexistence, and affirm that anti-Semitism is incompatible with fundamental democratic values. Jewish groups in Orlando responded to the mass shooting attack at the Pulse nightclub with messages of sadness and sympathy, and calls to action. "The Jewish community has been impacted many times by terror attacks, and we stand united in denouncing all violence. We are in close touch with local, federal and state authorities, and we have full faith and confidence in our law enforcement," said a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. "At this time we have not been notified of any threats to the Greater Orlando Jewish community. However, in the aftermath of Sunday's attack we ask that you remain vigilant and alert authorities immediately about any suspicious activity you witness." The statement signed by Rhonda Forest, chair of the Board, and Olga Yorish, executive director, extended condolences to all those in the Greater Orlando community affected by the act of terror. It ended by encouraging members of the Jewish community: "If you see something, say something." At least 49 people are dead after Omar Mateen, 29, an American-born citizen living in Fort Pierce, Fla., whose parents are from Afghanistan, entered the Pulse nightclub armed with an assault rifle and a handgun after 2 a.m. on Sunday and opened fire. Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State shortly after the start of the attack. The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando Acting Executive Director Robby Etzkin and Board President Ronnie Bitman expressed a deep sadness about "the senseless terrorist attack very early this morning. Our prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families, along with everyone affected." While the JCC was closed [Sunday] in observance of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, campus leaders were communicating early Sunday morning, coordinating a response and requests for additional services. In addition, the center's leadership participated in a call with the Department of Homeland Security in order to have the most recent and credible information as possible. They shared what they knew about the situation, and also assured us that they do not know of any threats to the Greater Orlando Jewish community. "We are one Orlando community, and as such, we must continue to be vigilant and look out for each other both on our campus and out in our own communities. While on campus, if you see something, please say something to one of our police officers or a staff member." The response by our Orlando community to donate blood was a bright light during a dark time, as lines of generous people created hours of wait time. The JCC has submitted a request to host a blood drive later in the week, and if they are confirmed as a host site, they will notify everyone with the details. The Rosen Jewish Community Center's message extended sympathies to those affected by Sunday morning's "horrific terror attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. " The message read: "We pray for the victims, their families and loved ones." The message said the JCC is working with the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation to organize a community prayer vigil for later this week. "The Jewish community has been impacted many times by terror attacks, and we stand united in denouncing all violence," said the message signed by JCC President Jeff Imber and Executive Director Bonnie Rayman. "In the aftermath of Sunday's attack we ask that you remain vigilant and alert authorities immediately about any suspicious activity you witness." The message on the Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando Facebook page signed by the congregation's clergy, professional staff and board president expressed sympathy: "Orlando-The City Beautiful-has always had the reputation as one of the most welcoming and hospitable cities in the world. Its diversity and sense of hachnasat orchim (welcoming the stranger) are legendary. It is the city where hopes are built and dreams are made. "The tragedy that unfolded at 2 this morning at the Pulse nightclub in Downtown Orlando has rocked the entire community to its core, and we at Congregation of Reform Judaism, stand in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters in the fight against hatred and terror wherever it occurs." The message continued: "Today our hearts are torn for those whose lives were cut short too soon, for their families, for those wounded in the attack and for yet another horrific, senseless tragedy that attempts to rip the very fabric of our society and the importance of chesed (loving kindness)." The University of Central Florida Hillel Facebook page reminded its followers that the attack took place in a nightclub, and called for the whole community to keep on dancing in support of the victims. "As a community, we are still reeling from the brutal mass murder of Israeli's at Sarona in Tel Aviv earlier this week by Palestinian terrorists. Terrorism, whether foreign or domestic is still terrorism and we must stand steadfast, shoulder to shoulder with its victims just as we stand resolutely against its perpetrators," read the message. "In this case, as with the case in the Dolphinarium night club in Tel Aviv when Palestinian terrorists brutally murdered nearly two dozen youth in a night club, the mantra came out (and quickly became a hit song): "don't stop dancing!" "The answer to this sickening terrorist attack at the Pulse is thus to quickly clean up the place and hold an even bigger dance party where the whole community (gay, allies or otherwise) comes together to say to the haters 'we won't stop dancing.'" A later post by Hillel encouraged people to donate blood to help the victims. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders shaking hands with supporters in New York City after outlining his plan to reform the U.S. financial sector, Jan. 15, 2016. (JTA)-Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, The Associated Press reported Monday. With more super delegates telling the AP they're committed to her, Clinton now has the votes she needs to win the nomination. But that's not the end for Bernie Sanders, by far the most successful Jewish presidential candidate in American history. The Independent Vermont senator is defiant and says he's taking the fight to the Democratic National Convention. He's said he'll try to flip the super delegates, party officials who are free to change their minds about how they'll vote, to his side by arguing he's better positioned to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. Whatever happens before or at the nominating convention starting July 25, Sanders made history, winning at least 20 caucuses and primaries. It's worth taking a look back at what we learned, as Jews, from his historic run. Takeaway for Sanders: Don't be afraid to claim your Jewishness I interviewed Sanders two years ago, at about the point he started to think seriously about a candidacy. Setting up the interview, I made clear to a Sanders aide what JTA was and that, while I would focus on his message of income equality, our readers would want to know about the Jewish thing. Sanders shut down the Jewish talk fast, and his reluctance to talk about his upbringing and his beliefs persisted into his campaign. After his victory in New Hampshire, he called his father "Polish," though very few Jews of his father's generation would have described themselves as such, at least not without "Jewish" as a qualifier. In a debate, challenged about the significance of his campaign as opposed to Clinton, who would be the first woman president, he would only say his presidency too would be a "historical accomplishment," neglecting to spell out why. His reluctance was puzzling. Folks close to Sanders in Vermont told me he has no issues talking about his Jewish identity in person. In the 1980s, as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he donned a kippah and blessed a menorah. But once he started running for national office-Congress, then the Senate he pushed his Jewishness into the background. Mainstream media moderators and interviewers were puzzled. Instead of making room for Sander's overarching message of the need to address income inequality, his reticence got in the way. When Sanders finally got around to talk about growing up Jewish and how it had informed his belief system, it enhanced his message. His fierce embrace of the rights of the downtrodden and the voiceless came from a real place. Americans want to know their elected officials act not just from intellectual assessments of what works and what does not, but from the crucible of experience. Takeaway for the Jewish community: Don't be afraid to claim the Jewish candidate The organized Jewish community is agonizing over how to sustain its relationship with the progressive political community, how to patch things up with the Democrats after last year's face-off between the party and the America Israel Public Affairs Committee over the Iran nuclear deal and how to keep the young interested in Jewish life. Here's a clue: Don't incessantly dump on the Jewish, pro-Israel guy young progressive Democrats have embraced with a passion. Yes, he said Israel used "disproportionate" force against Hamas during the 2014 Gaza Strip war without explaining what exactly he meant by disproportionate force. Yes, he hired a Jewish outreach director whose idea of outreach to the Israeli prime minister was a vulgar epithet (and he promptly fired her.) But he stands up to anti-Israel hecklers, he says he's 100 percent pro-Israel and-getting back to the biography thing-when he frames his criticism of Israel by noting that he lived in the country and has family there, he is making it clear that "Israel" and "Jews" are not separate, but linked. Sanders should not be immune from criticism. But imagine for a moment if once this election season a pro-Israel PAC had made viral a montage of Sanders talking about his affection for Israel and ended it with the words: "Progressive. Pro-Israel." How much further would that have gone toward making the pro-Israel case than another reminder that Israelis invented instant messaging and have more gay pride than anyone, ever. Takeaway for everyone: Anti-Semites gonna anti-Semite The biggest Jewish story this election season has nothing to do with Sanders. The open, insistent and abundant anti-Semitism generated by a certain strain of Trump supporters is the most shocking development of this election. How Jewish candidates deal with Jews and vice versa is important in the same way family dynamics are important. Hatred, though, is about more than mishpacha. It's about the world outside our sometimes overheated salon, and how to make it viable. Regardless of how Sanders' campaign ends, that story will continue to be written. It's not really a question of "how" Jason Greenblatt, the real estate transactions lawyer and son of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants who grew up in New York City's Queens borough, became a presidential candidate's adviser on issues related to Israel. For him, it's more a question of "what"-what will he do with the immense opportunity he has been given? Greenblatt-a Teaneck, N.J., resident who in April was named as a primary Israel adviser to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump-spoke to The Jewish Link and JNS.org in a jointly published interview about the honor he carries with him in his role each day. "That phrase, of being a 'light unto the nations,' is in my mind every single day, it's part of the responsibility I feel every morning when I get into the car and drive to work. I run that theme through my mind, to make sure I adhere to that principle," he said. In spite of the fact that many Washington, DC-based political action committees cloak big-donor fundraisers as "advocacy events," the part that individuals have played in the realm of true Israel advocacy cannot be discounted. Profound, history-altering roles have contributed to Israel's very establishment and continued vibrancy by Jewish ad hoc presidential advisers-most notably Eddie Jacobson, who parlayed U.S. president Harry Truman into meeting with future Israeli president Chaim Weizmann, at the point when only a provisional government had been formed in Israel, before it was recognized by any other nation. At this past year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference, a six-minute presentation on Jacobson by Robert A. Cohen, AIPAC's chairman of the board, might have gone unnoticed; after all, there were a number of presentations this year that took over the 24-hour news cycle. Between speeches from Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Paul Ryan, and yes, even Donald Trump, it might have been reasonable to take a break during the video presentation on Jacobson. But was it actually the most prescient presentation of the policy conference? Jacobson had been army buddies, business partners, and Kansas City compatriots with Truman for decades, when Weizmann came to Washington in an effort to gain America's recognition of the Jewish state. It was Jacobson who hopped on a plane after a middle-of-the-night phone call, walked into the president's office, and convinced Truman to agree to speak to Weizmann after America's organized Jewish communal organizations had failed in their efforts. America's subsequent recognition of Israel was a cornerstone of its founding. "You never know who is going to be the next Eddie Jacobson.You never know who's going to be the next Mr. Greenblatt," said Dr. Ben Chouake, national president of NORPAC, a New Jersey-based pro-Israel lobbying and advocacy group that counts Greenblatt as a member. "Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time and it makes all the difference in the world. Our job is to use the great resources and great forum that have been given to us," he said. While a key portion of NORPAC's mission is to organize and use funding groups that work directly to interface with and contribute directly to congressional campaigns, what Chouake believes has the most influence is the training of people like Greenblatt and others who not only advocate for Israel in Congress, but are also knowledgeable enough about the issues to represent Israel in their workplace, in local politics, or in the community at large. As such, NORPAC brings hundreds of people to Washington annually to advocate for Israel on what Chouake called a "grassroots level." Greenblatt attended a few of these types of events when he was in college, and he feels they are essential. "You troop along, you meet the congressman. I think they are very effective if you meet the right people, if you or the people in the room with you are good advocates. I encouraged my kids to do it," he said. Greenblatt added that last summer, he took his children to an advocacy program in Israel run through StandWithUs, during one of literally dozens of trips Greenblatt has made to Israel since his first visit at age 16. "I think it's important to train them young, and I wasn't trained young. They have to know that if they don't advocate for Israel, where is it going to be? There's just too much hate against Israel today," he said. Greenblatt conveyed his awareness that his influence may or may not have the power to alter the course of history. He jokingly placed himself on a type of second tier, noting that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump are the candidate's primary Jewish voices for Israel. Yet the American presidency's significance for Israel is so great, he said, that he has been told his role could be as important as Esther-the Jewish queen of Persia. "We have made tremendous efforts to encourage our children to pursue leadership roles and to seize opportunities when offered," said Greenblatt's wife, psychiatrist Dr. Naomi Greenblatt. "This tremendous appointment offered to my husband puts everything we have tried to teach them into modeling for real life. My husband's commitment to advocate and advise on behalf of the State of Israel in this role is inspiring, as is the achdut (unity) that we have witnessed from the community at large." Jason Greenblatt said his lack of formal policy expertise mirrors that of Trump, and that in some ways, it's part of their plan for success in Washington. "I don't mind if you say I haven't been a policy expert over my lifetime. That's true. But that doesn't mean I can't do a great job or pull together a team, so we have the right group of people, the right minds, to give Donald all the advice he needs. He's the guy who is going to take all this input, from experts and non-experts alike, and propose things that hopefully will work," he said. "That's the beauty of how Donald thinks. Sure, we could hire a bunch of experts and I am not diminishing the role of experts. There are great experts and less-than-great experts. But, I mean, where are we today? Is Israel any better off? Is there peace? Is there a deal with Gaza, that helped us? Lots of experts have been involved, and, no disrespect to them, but we don't yet have peace," said Greenblatt, adding that he is "not saying I will do better than them (the Washington establishment," but that "you get to the right result when you don't only include experts." Greenblatt also shared his perspective as the Jewish adviser who was figuratively standing next to Trump the day after Trump addressed the AIPAC conference, when Lillian Pinkus, AIPAC's president, condemned his speech in strong and even tearful terms. She was referring to one word Trump uttered-"yay"-after the GOP candidate noted that this was President Barack Obama's last year in office. She doubly condemned the audience's 30 seconds of applause that followed Trump's statement. "We are disappointed that so many people applauded a sentiment that we neither agree with or condone," Pinkus said. While he doesn't think Trump is likely to hold a grudge when there is a serious topic such as Israel on the table, Greenblatt felt that AIPAC made a serious error in judgment. "It was wrong of AIPAC to do that. I would not have made that decision if I were them," he said. Greenblatt qualified his comments by noting that the Republican nomination was, in March, still very much up in the air. "When they issued the apology, you remember, there were a lot of other candidates on the stage. And then, very quickly, he won. I am not sure they anticipated that. But it's a question they should have asked themselves," said Greenblatt. Trump's experience as a strong negotiator, according to Greenblatt, is a key to the candidate's game plan on Israel and shouldn't be discounted. "What we do for a living is work out transactions," said Greenblatt said, who has worked with Trump for two decades. "You need negotiating skills, you need to listen to the other side, you have to try to piece together everything to try to address as many issues as you can, with both sides satisfied that a fair and appropriate deal has been struck. Not everyone is happy all the time. I am not diminishing the concept of a peace deal or a U.S.-Israel relationship-they are complicated and there are lots of layers, but people like Donald, who are skilled negotiators, and people on his team who have worked on transactions large and small over the course of their careers, are well-suited to these things." "I am not going to say that someone who has policy experience isn't good," he added. "That would be silly. But similarly, they should not be saying that people like Donald, who have no Washington experience, aren't good, because I think Donald would be phenomenal. He's pragmatic, he thinks outside the box, he sees how Washington is broken, and this could apply to Israeli-Palestinian relationships." Greenblatt said that ultimately, he feels lucky to be able to play whatever role he is destined to play in politics. "Whatever Hashem has destined for me, whether small or large, I feel very fortunate to be in this position," he said. "I hope I do a good job. And I will seek out advice from lots of people as I have been doing over the past months. Really, they've been coming to me for the moment, but I will keep looking and seeking." Elizabeth Kratz is associate publisher and editor of The Jewish Link of New Jersey and The Jewish Link of Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut. (JTA)The U.S. government can file a classified statement to the court in the case of Jonathan Pollards strict parole limitations, a federal judge has ruled. Pollards attorneys, who are trying to have the limitations eased, would not be permitted to see the ex-parte court submission. Judge Katherine Forrest of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled Monday that the government could submit the classified statement, but that it must disclose to Pollards attorneys the gist or substance of its submission... at a high level of generality that will not disclose classified information, the Hamodia newspaper and website reported. Pollards attorneys, who were issued security clearances by the Department of Justice in order to represent Pollard, have strongly objected to the government being allowed to submit a secret filing that they would not be permitted to see, according to Hamodia. Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel while working as a U.S. Navy analyst, was released from jail in November on mandatory parole after 30 years, during which time he reportedly was a model prisoner. The restrictive conditions for Pollards five-year parole include wearing an electronic ankle bracelet with GPS tracking and surveillance of his and any employers computers. He also is confined to his New York home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.a condition, Pollards attorneys argue, that has precluded him from holding a job. Pollard also is not permitted to join his wife, Esther, who he married while he was in prison, in Israel. He is restricted in his computer and Internet use, which has prevented him from accepting a job offer to become a senior analyst at a financial firm, according to his attorneys. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Long before Emma Lazarus quote was mounted on a pedestal plaque for the Statue of Liberty, Native Americans were immigrants to what became American soil. Theres really nothing unique in America about an immigrant background. We all have one; just some more recent than others. On my mothers side, nine generations settled in America before I was born here. On my dads side, Im a first generation. I exist because my Czech Jewish father escaped the Nazis and made it first to China. After nearly two years, he left for America where he later learned that 44 of his relatives perished in the Holocaust. Each immigrant who has arrived in America likely believed, as my dad did, that in this land of freedom, you can triumph over the darkness left behind. After living through seemingly insurmountable odds, my father achieved that dream. Over the past year, Ive had the pleasure to participate as an author guest presenter and observer at Orange County Public Schools Dr. Phillips High School in the 9th grade classroom of English teacher Nilam Patel. The topic: Family History. On my first occasion to be with the students, I shared stories from my nonfiction book, Adventurers Against Their Will. The book relays WWII tales involving my refugee father corresponding from China with friends and relatives. Some of the letter writers were trapped behind in Nazi-occupied Bohemia. Others were refugees like my dad, stranded somewhere in the few places in the world accepting Jewish refugees. After the war he hid the letters away in Chinese antique boxes, only to be discovered after his death. My first book is about my quest to locate seven of the letter writers so that I could learn the rest of their life stories and lessons learned from their experiences. The idea of my presentation was to peak students curiosity in their own family history. I wanted them to learn what brought their various ancestors to America and find commonalities among their classmates. The inspiration worked! After months of research and interviews with family members, the students closed the year out with intriguing presentations where they revealed their own stories, many unknown to them before their search. Witnessing the results was a real gift. Afterward, Nilam B. Patel, English I and II Chair, Dr. Phillips High School Center for International Studies Magnet, sent me a note that made me realize how important the effort was to her students: Mrs. Schirm met with the media specialist and me to provide customized lesson plans to make this unit of learning the best fit for our students. She offered a plethora of primary and secondary resources for teacher and student use to make this a personal and educational experience. She visited the students as we introduced their Genealogy Projects and shared her adventure in writing, researching, and communicating with a network of family, friends, and experts to paint a mosaic of incredible stories tied together by documented evidence and first-hand interviews. As students conducted their own research on an aspect of their family history, such as migration patterns, ancestry, health history, love stories, etc., they emailed Mrs. Schirm for guidance and received a response from her with many ideas and resources to explore. Students spent six months brainstorming, researching, interviewing, collecting artifacts and documents, and building a story to share with their classmates and other faculty and parents. Parents contacted me with appreciation on opening up dialogue in the family with grandparents, great grandparents and family members during the process that led to priceless moments that will be treasured. Mrs. Schirm also visited our students on the last day of presentations to debrief them on continuing to dig deeper and appreciate the information they are uncovering today. Many students shared their enthusiasm, shock, tears, and curiosity throughout this experience and they look forward to building on this project in future years. No matter who we are or when and from where our families came to America, we share dreams for a better future. Our collective hope is represented by Lady Libertys forever-lit torch, meant to carry enlightenment about the noble ideals of freedom and equality that belong to each one of us. Of late, some Americans seem to have forgotten what that promise held for so many of us regardless of cultural, religious, and other differences. With an offering of hope for the hopeless, the American invitation to freedom and safety grows increasingly important as the sea of world events becomes stormier. The students of Nilam Patel now know so much more about their family history. They have empathy for others. Understanding our personal histories helps us realize what weve accomplished as a nation and how important it is to protect human dignity and rights. If we care about each other we are more likely to act if someone is bullied or threatened. Joanie Holzer Schirm lives in Orlando, Florida, and is the author of Adventurers Against Their Will. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton both harshly condemned the recent bloody terror attack in Tel Aviv. Clinton stated in a statement, I condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Tel Aviv today. I send my deepest condolences to the families of those killed and I will continue to pray for the wounded. I stand in solidarity with the Israeli people in the face of these ongoing threats, and in unwavering support of the countrys right to defend itself, she stated, adding, Israels security must remain non-negotiable. Trump was a little more forceful in his statement, I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the outrageous terrorist shootings that took the lives of at least four innocent civilians and wounded at least 20 others in Tel Aviv yesterday. The Israeli security forces investigation is ongoing, but some facts have already emergedand they are grim. The Gaza-based Hamas celebration over the attacks and the terrorists themselves did not go unnoticed by Trump. Just as fast as the condolences arrive from the civilized world is the praise arising out of the uncivilized one. Hamas praised the attack, calling the attackers heroes. Reports out of Hebron indicate that residents of the terrorists hometown lit up the night sky with celebratory fireworks, he stated, adding that it was despicable that one Palestinian news organization called the attacks a Ramadan treat. Reporter Lea Speyer wrote in The Algemeiner, Trump said the world understands all too well the unspeakable horror that terrorism unleashes. To address terrorismand address it we must!the real estate magnate called on the world to recognize the parallel horror of the culture of religious hatred that permeates many Palestinian quarters. From schools that indoctrinate toddlers to grow up to kill Israelis to the daily menu of hate that spews forth from various news organizations, change is long overdue in the Palestinian territories. Trump continued that he hopes to forge a future where peace can take root and terror finds no refuge. The American people stand strong with the people of Israel, who have suffered far too long from terrorism. Israels security is a matter of paramount importance to me and the American people, Trump said. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the four Israelis who were murdered, as well as my wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded. I am by no means a hater, but I know Id want to stand on the side of someone who speaks forthright and calls it like it is, without compromise, than someone who speaks politically correct words. Another voice spoke out strongly after the terrorist attack. Linda Dayan, an IDF soldier who was off duty at the time of the attack, was an eyewitness and one of the injured. The two terrorists were just on the other side of a glass window from her. After she heard how those terrorists were being hailed as heroes in their hometown, she wrote on her Facebook page: Im thinking about all the devils advocates Ive known, the they have no other venues for protest camp, the its justifiable in a conflict like this college students I shared desks with. Please consider, if youve read this far: if we hadnt sat outside, if the shooters came into the restaurant, if one had turned slightly to the left and fired, I would be dead right now. I dont care what side youre on. I dont care about your politics...call out terror for what it is. Call men shooting at screaming civilians who are running for their lives terrorist. Tell the people you know that its never okay to target innocent men, women and children, even if you dont like where they live. Stand up for the people...who will never come home again after tonight. Stand up for the workers, the parents, the grandparents, the friend, the off-duty soldier who laid there on the floor and breathed softly, praying the glass would hold. Stand up to anyone who says my life isnt worth it. Because when they say it, Ive learned, they mean it. This is not meant to be a political endorsement of anyone. The June 8 terrorist massacre in Tel Aviv exposed all five of the major myths that cloud discussions of Israel and the Palestinians. Myth #1: The problem is the settlements This was not a massacre of settlers. The attack did not take place in some disputed territory. Nobody can claim that the victims provoked the violence by living in some predominantly Arab area. These were people drinking coffee in the heart of Tel Aviv. Myth #2: It was a reaction to the occupation The attackers are residents of the village of Yatta. The Israeli occupation of Yatta ended when Israeli troops withdrew from the territories where 98 percent of the Palestinians reside in late 1995. Yatta has been under the rule of the Palestinian Authority for nearly 21 years. Although Israels critics continue to falsely claim that the Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, the Israeli public knows better. The Israel Democracy Institute/Tel Aviv University monthly Peace Index survey for May 2016 found 71.7 percent of Israeli Jews say it is wrong to categorize Israels status in the territories (it rules the areas where Jews reside) as occupation. Myth #3: The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack The Palestinian Authority (PA) never calls such attacks terrorism, and always brackets the attacks on Israelis together with Israeli actions against terrorists, thereby justifying the attacks on Israelis. Its response to the Tel Aviv massacre was no different. It declared: We condemn violence and attacks against civilians on both sides, whatever the justification. The PA not only condemned the attack in south Tel Aviv early on Monday morning, but also the recent Israel Defense Forces strikes on Gaza, and attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Jerusalem, according to Israels Channel 10 television network. Fatah, which is chaired by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, explicitly defended the massacre. According to the Palestinian news agency Maan, Fatah issued a statement calling the attack a natural response to Israeli actions. Fatah media committee head Munir al-Jaghoub explained, Israel must realize the consequences of its persistence to push violence, house demolition policies, forced displacement of Palestinians, raids by Israeli settlers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and the cold-blooded killing of Palestinians at checkpoints. Thats the equivalent of the Democratic Party defending the San Bernardino massacre of 2015. Imagine U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), head of the Democratic National Committee, saying the killings in southern California were the consequences of President Barack Obama sending drones to carry out the cold-blooded killing of al-Qaeda members. Myth #4: Ordinary Palestinians are against terrorism Israel Hayom reports that, In Ramallah, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Jenin, and other cities, people danced in the streets, set off fireworks, and handed out treats while praising the attacks. When the PAs schools, newspapers, television stations constantly praise terrorists as heroes and martyrs, it is no wonder ordinary Palestinians have come to feel the same way. The cities where the celebrations took place would be the heart of a future Palestinian state. They are just a few miles down the road from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Can those who celebrate massacres be trusted with a sovereign, independent state next door to Israel? Myth #5: The major American news outlets are staffed by objective, professionally trained journalists; if their coverage of Israel is unflattering, thats because of Israels own policies, not because of media bias CNNs Twitter announcement of the attack put the word terrorists in quotation marks, stating, Two terrorists captured after Tel Aviv attack, Israeli police spokesman tweets. The Washington Posts correspondents in Israel, William Booth and Ruth Eglash, exhibited the same bias. They described the terrorists as gunmen, assailants, and attackersbut never as terrorists, and only indirectly as Palestinians. And the headline-writers at Washington Post headquarters came up with this gem: 4 Killed in Tel Aviv Market Shooting that Officials Labeled Terrorist Attack. Perhaps copies of the Washington Post should bear labels of their own: Warning: The reporting in this newspaper may be hazardous to the truth. It is often slanted for the purpose of protecting the Palestinian cause against criticism. Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. Every Iraqi Jew has a tale to tell about the Farhud, the two-day pogrom that befell the Jews of Baghdad 75 years ago in June 1941. In the case of my own family, it was a matter of heeding the advice of a Muslim business colleague of my grandfather, who told him that dark days were looming for the Jews, and that he would be wise to get his family out of the country as quickly as possiblewhich my grandfather did. But my grandfather was part of a fortunate minority. When the Farhudwhich means, in Arabic, violent dispossessionerupted, there were around 90,000 Jews still living in the Iraqi capital, the main component of a vibrant community descended from the sages who, 27 centuries earlier, had made the land once known as Babylon the intellectual and spiritual center of Judaism. By the time the violent mob stood down, at the end of the festival of Shavuot, nearly 200 Jews lay dead, with hundreds more wounded, raped, and beaten. Hundreds of homes and businesses were burned to the ground. As the smoke cleared over a scene more familiar in countries like Russia, Poland, and Germany, the Jewish community came to the realization that it had no future in Iraq. Within a decade, almost the entire community had been chased out, joining a total of 850,000 Jews from elsewhere in the Arab world summarily dispossessed from their homes and livelihoods. That the Farhud is even remembered today is in large part down to a handful of scholars and activists who have committed themselves to publicizing this terrible episode. During the week of the Farhuds 75th anniversary, some of themlike the American writer Edwin Black and Lyn Julius, the British historian of Middle Eastern Jewryhave been organizing memorial ceremonies in the U.S., the U.K., and especially Israel, which absorbed the great majority of Iraqi-Jewish refugees. I myself was honored to address the memorial ceremony at New York Citys Safra Synagogue, where 27 candlesone for each century of the Jewish presence in Iraqwere lit and then promptly snuffed out, to symbolize the sudden extinction of Iraqi Jewry. Commemorating the Farhud, and establishing its rightful place as an example of the persecution of the Jews during the Nazi era, has been a difficult task. For several decades after the Second World War, the importance of the Farhud was subsumed by the widely held notion that the Holocaust was something that consumed only European Jews. The truth was that the Nazis had both a direct presence and significant influence across the Arab world. So when, in 1941, the British had suffered a series of blows in southern Europe and North Africa, the time was right for a coup against the pro-British government in Baghdad. The strategic goal of the Nazis was to seize Iraqs oil fields, thereby providing them with the fuel needed for the invasion of the Soviet Union. In April, the month my grandfather and his family left Iraq, a local Nazi lackey, Rashid Ali al Ghailani, seized power, believing that an alliance with Hitler would create the conditions for Iraqs national independence. Rashid Alis principal supporter was the pro-Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who arrived in Baghdad in 1939 having escaped British arrest. Until then, the muftis main role had involved inciting genocidal violence against the Jewish community in British Mandatory Palestine, which was especially pronounced during the Arab revolt of 1936-39. Once in Iraq, the mufti solidified his Nazi loyalties, meeting with Hitler in Berlin in November 1941 and later organizing Bosnian and Albanian Muslims into the Handzar division of the SS. The Farhud itself should not be seen as a spontaneous outburst. For days before the violence, a steady stream of anti-Jewish propaganda was broadcast on the radio. Members of what Lyn Julius describes as a proto-Nazi youth movement, the Futuwwa, began daubing Jewish homes and businesses with red paint in the shape of a palm, in order to make the passage of the rioters easier. Their actions were, in common with all pogromists in all locations, unspeakable. In his memoir of the Farhud, In the Alleys of Baghdad, Salim Fattal recalled the murderers and rapists...who abused their victims to their hearts content, with no let or hindrance. They slit throats, slashed off limbs, smashed skulls. They made no distinction between women, children, and old people. In that gory scene, blind hatred of Jews and the joy of murder for its own sake reinforced each other. Babies and young children were thrown into the Tigris river, some of them butchered with swords only moments before. Ironically, the Farhud occurred a few days after Rashid Ali himself fled Iraq, following a failed attack on a Royal Air Force base. As the violence escalated, British troops, who were just eight miles from the city, could have intervened. But as the historian Tony Rocca explained to the BBC, Sir Kinahan Cornwallis, Britains ambassador in Baghdad, for reasons of his own, held our forces at bay in direct insubordination to express orders from Winston Churchill that they should take the city and secure its safety. Instead, Sir Kinahan went back to his residence, had a candlelight dinner, and played a game of bridge. Thus began the process of making Iraq, like much of Europe, judenrein. It was a process that soon enveloped the rest of the Arab world. Six months after the wars end, anti-Semitic riots broke out in Libya and Egypt. Those Jews who remained in Iraq, around 140,000 of them, endured a raft of discriminatory legislation reminiscent of the Nuremburg Laws. These led, during the early 1950s, to their complete expropriation. As terrible as it is to say this, part of the reason that the Farhud remains a relatively obscure event is because the expelled Iraqi Jews became victims of their own subsequent success, creating new lives in Israel, the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Unlike the Palestinian Arabs, they were not permanently stamped with the mark of the refugee, meaning that their pleas for justice have always been regarded as a historical question, rather than a pressing geopolitical concern. At the New York ceremony for the Farhud anniversary, many of the speakers invoked the post-Holocaust slogan Never Again! As noble as that idea is, when it comes to the Arab world, it is also a simple statement of fact. There will be no more Farhuds in that region, because, outside of the sovereign State of Israel, there are hardly any Jews remaining in the area upon whom to re-inflict the bestialities witnessed in June 1941. Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org & The Tower Magazine, writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His writings have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He is the author ofSome of My Best Friends: A Journey Through Twenty-First Century Antisemitism (Edition Critic, 2014). HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)Normally, to quote the famous song, I love a parade. Except when I dont. This weekend was the celebration of the 49th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. The anniversary was accompanied by gleeful, one might even say ecstatic, observances throughout the capital of the Jewish world. I celebrated as well, in my own way: I discussed the reunification in my Shabbat sermon and offered a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. In less than a month, I am about to visit Jerusalem for the 45th time. My visits have been for as long as a year or, during emergency missions at times of crisis, just three days. Jerusalem is the place where my soul, as well as the soul of the Jewish people, actually lives. It is my spiritual home page. It is the place where I feel most at peace, as well as where I feel most engaged and even enraged. There are times in Jerusalem when I find the air too thick with discussion and argument, and I must flee the burdens of Jewish history and visit, say, Tel Aviv. In celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem, Jewish ultranationalists marched through the citys Muslim Quarter waving Israeli flags and otherwise bringing their jubilation to a place where, to say the least, it may not have been the most welcome. When it comes to Israel, I am not a leftist. If anything, I am a centrist, which means that my politics can be a bit wishy-washy, at least for some, or at least boring and temperate. But this is not about politics. This is not about Jerusalem. This is not even about Israel, or Zionism. This is about Judaism. Or, even more sharply, this is about being human. As I read the reports of the parades through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalems Old City, I find myself asking the following question: What Jewish value are we celebrating here? I am not asking: What moment in modern Jewish and Israeli history are we celebrating? I am asking a deeper question, about how one behaves in victory and treats the vanquished. Like it or not, the Arab residents of Jerusalem lost. Yes, of course, many, if not most of them, would likely prefer to live under Israeli sovereignty than under the authority of any imagined future Palestinian state. And, yes, their municipal services are better than they might have ever imagined. And, yes, Jordan abused Jewish holy sites, including uprooting gravestones from the Mount of Olives to make room for the InterContinental Hotel on its sacred slopes. And, yes, the Jewish Quarter had been decimated in the 1948 war, its residents forced to flee. And, yes, together we should sing Jerusalem of Gold, the Naomi Shemer song that became the anthem of Israels lightning victory in 1967. But can we accept these truths and at the same time acknowledge and imagine the psychic wound that Israels victorya victory that I hasten to say was deservedcaused within the souls of its Arab citizens? Can we Israel lovers ask these questions: What does Judaism have to say about the way we treat the losers in a war? What does Judaism say about the ethics of victory? The trend is clear: Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice. (Proverbs 24:17) A midrash teaches that when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the angels broke into song. God had to remind them that the miracle included the drowning of Egyptian soldiers in the sea and that it was inappropriate for the celestials to sing, saying The work of My hands is drowning in the sea, and you want to sing songs?! The custom of spilling a drop of wine during the recitation of the plagues during the Passover seder reminds us of the tears that we shed for, and the blood that was spilled by, the innocent Egyptians who suffered during the plagues. The deliberate march through the Muslim Quarter was: a, impolitic (truly, was this really necessary?); b, dangerous, given the current state of affairs between Israel and the Palestinians, and c, un-Jewish. Nowhere in our sacred texts do we find any mitzvah to rub the faces of our enemies (excuse mefellow residents and lovers of Jerusalem) in our victories. Celebrations of Jerusalem Day could have been limited to the explicitly Jewish parts of Jerusalemthe Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall plaza or western Jerusalem. Did we have to march through the Muslim Quarter, as if to echo a fifth-grader and taunt Nya, nya ...? Isnt there a Jewish way of celebrating our victory that does not require that we trample not only on human feelings but on the very sources of Judaism itself? Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin is the senior rabbi of Temple Solel in Hollywood, Florida, and the author of numerous books on Jewish thought published by Jewish Lights Publishing and the Jewish Publication Society. His blog is Martini Judaism [jeffreysalkin.religionnews.com]. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ Speaking of Hyderabad, there were some suggestions that Telangana should be called Hyderabad as that was what had been suggested in the report the SRC had submitted in March 1955. The SRC had said, After taking all these factors into consideration, we have come to the conclusion that it will be in the interests of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana if, for the present, the Telangana area is constituted as a separate State, which may be known as Hyderabad State, with provision of its unification with Andhra after the general elections, likely to be held in or about 1961, if by a two-thirds majority the legislature of the residuary Hyderabad State expresses itself in favour of such unification. As it turned out, the unification took place very soon thereafter and Andhra Pradesh came into being on 1 November 1956 itself. On the other hand while some Telangana activists wanted the new state to be called Hyderabad, Seemandhra representatives invoked no less a person than Dr BR Ambedkar to insist on Hyderabad being a union territory. In his thought-provoking book Thoughts on Linguistic States, Dr Ambedkar had advocated that Hyderabad (along with Secunderabad and Bolarum) should be declared the second capital of India after being constituted as a chief commissioners province. He wrote that Hyderabad is a far better city than Delhi and that Delhi should be the capital during the winter months. It was a most interesting suggestion but perhaps too radical to be taken seriously. But I half-jokingly told my Seemandhra colleagues that on grounds of equidistance perhaps, Nagpur is better situated than Hyderabad to be the second capital! The GoM meeting on 12 November 2013 was very interesting. We met the political parties of the state. Indisputably, the best presentation was by Asaduddin Owaisi. I am not always a supporter of his politics, but that day he was superb. The memorandum that he handed over was the best-written, best-researched and best-referenced of all memoranda submitted by political parties. It was also quite amusing to see the CPI(M) and CPI take diametrically opposite views when in the 1940s and 1950s, the communists were united and a formidable force to reckon with both in Telangana and Andhra. It was doubly amusing because Sitaram Yechury was from Kakinada in Seemandhra while Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, the CPI leader, was from Mahabubnagar in Telangana. But it was the presentation by the Congress party that was the most interesting, to say the least. The Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Damodar Raja Narasimha, came and made a case for a separate Telangana. Thirty minutes later, his colleague seated next to him, Tourism Minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar, made an eloquent plea against bifurcation. This, of course, reflected the deep divide within the Congress party which the Antony Committee had been unable to bridge. People celebrate India's 29th state, Telangana, with fireworks in Hyderabad on June 02, 2014. Telangana, was carved out of Andhra Pradesh after a long standing separatist campaign. (Kodam Hari/HT) I had to face an hour of public embarrassment on 20 December 2013 at a function organized by India Today to honour the best performing states in different areas. I was the chief guest and had to give the award for the best performing state in the area of governance to none other than my friend, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Fortunately, he was very restrained in his speech, not mentioning the impending bifurcation of the state even once and the different roles we were playing in the process. He extolled the states achievements and I did likewise. But I could see people in the audience smiling at our discomfiture since our problems with each other were well known In an email, one person accused me of being the new Cyril Radcliffethe man who divided the subcontinent immortalized in WH Audens poem, Partition. Radcliffe stayed in Delhi for less than five weeks and never returned. My reply was that unlike the British lawyer, I knew the region that was being reconfigured very well; that I had close ties with it, with my son having studied in Hyderabad between 2002 and 2007 and with my being an MP from the region since 2004; and that I had every intention of returning to both states regularly. But the mail did get me to re-read Audens haunting Partition. Read:Andhra bifurcation was UPA's most difficult decision:Jairam Speaking of Partition, at a public function in Hyderabad on 24 December 2015, I was introduced by the organizer as the father of partition of Andhra Pradesh. I immediately protested saying bifurcation, not partition, please. Partition has immensely negative connotations in our country and bifurcation does not conjure up the images that partition does. But obviously, a reputation once established, howsoever unjustified, is very difficult to obliterate! Strictly speaking, the 2014 reorganization of Andhra Pradesh is neither partition nor bifurcation but a demerger because the two parts were separate prior to 1 November 1956 Finally, how the wheel of history turns. On 21 September 1973, at the insistence of Indira Gandhi, leaders of Andhra Pradesh had issued the six-point formula to bring back peace and normalcy. As I have explained in chapter 1, this formula followed the agitation launched by coastal Andhra leaders to break away from Telanganaan agitation that had followed a movement started by Telangana leaders to break away from Seemandhra. Forty years later, on 20 February 2014, another Prime Minister who had been Indira Gandhis close economic aide for over a decade announced a six-point package, in addition to the various provisions already contained in the Reorganisation Law, to address the concerns of Seemandhra. Old History New Geography; Bifurcating Andhra Pradesh Jairam Ramesh Rupa Rs 500; PP 242 NEW DELHI: Mobile wallet companies FreeCharge and MobiKwik, battling for the second position in India, were slugging it out on social media since Wednesday. It all started when MobiKwik posted a blog The truth behind Nielsen Mobile Insights that questioned data that showed Snapdeal-owned FreeCharges month-on-month usage is more than that of MobiKwik. Nielsens report was on e-wallet usage. MobiKwiks blog pointed out that FreeCharge officially launched its wallet only in September, while Nielsens survey was for May-July 2015. The statement took Twitter by storm. The statistics of this report always favours one company and are released at regular intervals in the media, the MobiKwik blogger wrote. MobiKwik also questioned the sample size of the survey ie, 6,000 smartphone users. It said the size is too small a sample for an industry that has millions of wallets. To put things in context, Paytm claims 120 million wallets, MobiKwik 30 million, and FreeCharge last claimed it has 25 million. Just a few hours after MobiKwik posted its blog, FreeCharge countered with a blog of its own that claimed it had overtaken MobiKwik to become the second-largest mobile wallet company in India. Realisation has recently dawned upon our friends at MobiKwik that the new kid on the block has overtaken them, the blog said. MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku had told HT earlier: I dont know how FreeCharge will take over the world I dont know of anyone who has 120 million users (read Paytm)... If thats true, it should be bigger than Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, put together. The war of words continued on blogposts of both the companies. Our friends at MobiKwik should focus on creating a great product and great user experience, FreeCharge quipped. Taku said some of its users store up to ` 25,000 in their MobiKwik wallets, and it offers instant credit facility. For example, MobiKwik will pay for a product as a short-term loan, which can he paid back in 15-30 days. Spats over the internet are nothing new. Flipkarts Sachin Bansal and Snapdeals Kunal Bahl trolled each other a couple of months ago. Zomato was dropped from IITs employer list when its founder Deepinder Goyal tweeted against the engineering institute. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Negative news about exports is going to stop soon and fall in outward shipments has bottomed out, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman told HT in a candid discussion on Tuesday. The pick-up in exports may be slow, and not rapid on the back of new markets (Latin America) and revival in sectors (tea, coffee, cotton, automobiles). I am glad to say that it is no longer going to be Oh my god! Whats happening to exports? Sitharaman said. Indias exports have been slipping for the last 17 months, recording a decline of 6.74% in April, mainly due to a sharp fall in shipment of petroleum and engineering products. Total merchandise shipments in 2015-16 fell by 15.85% to $261.13 billion, a five-year low. Expressing confidence over the improving business environment, the minister said the governments efforts are to build a more enabling framework for both foreign and domestic companies. Yes, investor confidence, which will lead to a pick-up in the private sector, has improved, and it is not a hasty yes that I say. It is a cautious yes, soon private sector investments will also take place. On the crucial defence manufacturing sector, she said foreign giants are exploring opportunities for private participation. These players have met PMO officials and the cabinet secretary and we are assisting them. Now, it is for them to choose which state they want to make their manufacturing hub, she said. On pending visa issues with the US and the UK, which have been hurting India for a while, the minister that the government would be cautious and take both the legal route of World Trade Organsiation (WTO) as well as bilateral talks. On the success of signature Make in India programme, she said: Success of Make in India is going to comeMost important was to change the bureaucratic mindset so that you do not get bogged down by red tape. After this, there will be ease of doing business and opening up of new sectors, such as, defence and railways, which have started happening. The government will not be the sole job creator, jobs have to be a mix of both public and private sector. What Make in India does is opening up of sectors, both for foreign investments as well as for private sector, and when this leads to industrial expansion, jobs will be created In order to kick start this process, we have given a boost to public spending in infrastructure, where there is a huge growing demand, she added. Sitharaman said the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) schemes, and assistance programmes for the small and medium enterprises (SME), are aiding job revival at the grass-root level. Speaking on the credit paralysis often cited by the industry, she said the government and the Reserve bank of India are taking measures to help banks and companies overcome the situation. Steps have been put in place so that the burden on the balance sheets of banks and companies is being addressed This will give them some breathing room. Mobile wallet companies FreeCharge and MobiKwik, battling for the second position in India, were slugging it out on social media since Wednesday. It all started when MobiKwik posted a blog The truth behind Nielsen Mobile Insights that questioned data that showed Snapdeal-owned FreeCharges month-on-month usage is more than that of MobiKwik. Nielsens report was on e-wallet usage. MobiKwiks blog pointed out that FreeCharge officially launched its wallet only in September, while Nielsens survey was for May-July 2015. The statement took Twitter by storm. The statistics of this report always favours one company and are released at regular intervals in the media, the MobiKwik blogger wrote. MobiKwik also questioned the sample size of the survey ie, 6,000 smartphone users. It said the size is too small a sample for an industry that has millions of wallets. To put things in context, Paytm claims 120 million wallets, MobiKwik 30 million, and FreeCharge last claimed it has 25 million. Just a few hours after MobiKwik posted its blog, FreeCharge countered with a blog of its own that claimed it had overtaken MobiKwik to become the second-largest mobile wallet company in India. Realisation has recently dawned upon our friends at MobiKwik that the new kid on the block has overtaken them, the blog said. MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku had told HT earlier: I dont know how FreeCharge will take over the world I dont know of anyone who has 120 million users (read Paytm)... If thats true, it should be bigger than Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, put together. The war of words continued on blogposts of both the companies. Our friends at MobiKwik should focus on creating a great product and great user experience, FreeCharge quipped. Taku said some of its users store up to ` 25,000 in their MobiKwik wallets, and it offers instant credit facility. For example, MobiKwik will pay for a product as a short-term loan, which can he paid back in 15-30 days. Spats over the internet are nothing new. Flipkarts Sachin Bansal and Snapdeals Kunal Bahl trolled each other a couple of months ago. Zomato was dropped from IITs employer list when its founder Deepinder Goyal tweeted against the engineering institute. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In the week that his nation was celebrating his grandmothers 90th birthday, Prince William was making his own bit of history by becoming the first royal to pose for the cover of a gay magazine, Attitude. To make clear his concerns, the prince also invited members of the LGBT community to Kensington Palace to talk about bullying and its mental health repercussions. In Mexico, President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed on Tuesday to legalise same-sex marriage across the country, and not just in Mexico City and a few other jurisdictions. For good measure, his Twitter page and other government Twitter accounts were tinted with rainbow colours. Last month, Victorias state Parliament apologised for laws that once criminalised homosexual activity. Earlier, Colombia became the fourth South American country to achieve marriage equality. Its been a reasonably good year for LGBT rights around the world until that horrific carnage at a gay club in Orlando , Florida, left 49 people dead and many more injured. Much of the commentary around the shooting has focused on the religion of the killer, Omar Mateen, his links, imagined or otherwise, to Islamic State, terrorism, gun control and even the political fallout and its impact on the US presidential elections this year. But equally it has focused on the state of gay rights and overt homophobia. Read | Orlando shooting not an isolated event; gay community has been targeted before India, along with 74 other countries, continues to criminalise homosexual activity. In 2013 the Supreme Court reversed an earlier Delhi High Court ruling that read down Section 377, which makes sex against the order of nature, a crime. This has led to an increase in the expression of homophobia. AIDS activist L Ramakrishnan told Scroll.in. Read | SC hearing on gay sex: All you need to know about Section 377 Earlier this month, the NGO Mingle (Mission for Gay and Lesbian Empowerment) released the findings of its study into the workplace experiences of the LGBT community in India. The study makes for grim reading homophobia is rampant and discrimination is commonplace. In our laws, at our workplaces and through our social interactions we continue to discriminate against sexual orientation. Chief among these is a refusal to even acknowledge homosexuality and a thinking among many parents that marriage is a panacea to their sons orientation or an insistence that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured. It is this denial that led to a furore, at least in some circles, over PM Narendra Modis tweet: Shocked at the shootout in Orlando, USA. My thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured. The reaction was vociferous. Theres no point of giving thoughts & prayers to the families of the LGBTQ community in Orlando if you dont walk the talk, tweeted a handle that goes by the name @visualfumble. A tweet that is only a half truth, lamented Apurva Asrani, writer and editor of Aligarh, the film about the real life persecution of Prof Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras for being gay. Read | Grieve for Orlando, Mr Prime Minister, but dont forget LGBT Indians It is possible for a single terror attack to have multiple meanings and ramifications. Orlando is both a terrorist attack and a homophobic attack. Its impact is likely to be felt on both US domestic politics and international security. In the short term it will inevitably influence perceptions of Islam as well as the domestic extremism. How we label a crime says a lot about our own priorities, which is why Modis omission is significant. Yet, Modi was not expressing a lone view as much as a more widely prevalent one. Its the sort of view that led to the defeat of Congress MP Shashi Tharoors bill to decriminalise homosexuality. Its the sort of view that has led to so many of us myself included being unable to shake off our apathy and march at gay pride celebrations. Its the sort of view that allows a moribund British era colonial law to continue on the statute books of independent India. Read | SC was wrong on Section 377, but now theres hope A tragedy can be the starting point of change, and while changing laws doesnt always immediately result in social change, scrapping Section 377 would be a beginning, and a fitting homage to 49 dead in Orlando. It would affirm their humanity and ours. namita.bhandare@gmail.com The author tweets as @namitabhandare The views expressed are personal. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Who in the Congress will own the decision to appoint Kamal Nath as the general secretary in charge of Punjab? Sonia Gandhi? Rahul Gandhi? Strategist Prashant Kishor? Or will it be left to Kamal Nath himself to take the hit for the avoidable embarrassment of holding a party post for less than 72 hours? Was Captain Amarinder Singh consulted on the choice or merely expected to accept the high command remote-controlling his campaign? Surely either Kamal Nath should never have been assigned the mandate for Punjab or having been given, it should have stayed the course. Kamal Nath confirms that the call to offer him the role came from Sonia Gandhi herself. Would she or Rahul or their advisers not have had the commonsensical anticipation that to hand over the Punjab campaign to someone whose name can be linked to the 1984 riots is nothing short of a political death wish? Yes, you could argue, as Kamal Nath has, that there has never been so much as a legal accusation against him. Why regret, I should be applauded, I did a yeoman service during the riots, he told me, dismissing the allegation that he directed the rampaging mob at Delhis Gurudwara Rakab Ganj and arguing that he in fact held them back. But no matter whether you believe him or not, politics is driven by perception; with Kamal Nath at the helm in Punjab, both the Akalis and AAP would have got the perfect opportunity to push the Congress on the defensive. Read: Kamal Nath quits as Congress Punjab in-charge over 1984 riots allegations The Kamal Nath fiasco reinforces the deep crisis in the Congress and begs the question: Who is in charge? The widening gap between the Delhi leadership and the regional satraps is proof that for the first time in 15 years (the last significant rebellion was that of Sharad Pawar in May 1999), the Gandhi family is no longer commanding obsequious, silent assent. The mutinous revolt in Haryana where state strongman Bhupinder Hooda sabotaged the polls; the exit of Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh, the defections to the Trinamool Congress in Tripura, the breakaway factions in Uttarakhand and Arunchal Pradesh, the loss of Himanta Biswa in Assam and the ouster of Jagan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh the sycophantic glue that once sealed lips and locked them in perennial devotion to the partys first family is clearly coming unstuck. There was a time when even off-the-record Congressmen and women were petrified of discussing the Gandhis for fear of their words travelling back. These days, at least, in informal conversations, there is open scepticism; nervous laughs barely camouflage the realisation that this is now an existential crisis. Read: 84 riots: I went to gurdwara to save Sikhs, not attack them, says Kamal Nath Yet every time the party stumbles electoral debacles, factional ruptures or new controversies involving Robert Vadras many property deals party spin doctors attempt to change the headlines with leaky rumours about Rahul Gandhis elevation or Priyanka Gandhis bigger role in Uttar Pradesh. But hang on, lets assume for a moment that this time it isnt cry wolf as it has been for the last several years and this is all going to happen. So Rahul Gandhi will be party president by September and his sister will head the campaign committee for Uttar Pradesh carrying her infinitely more charismatic presence outside of the family pockets what will that really change for the Congress fortunes? Yes sure, there will be whats tritely called a media buzz. There may even be a greater energising of a flagging workers base. But in real terms isnt the opacity and near-feudalism of the way the Gandhis (euphemistically called high command) take decisions at the heart of the party crisis? Which decision has Rahul Gandhi taken recently that can be called a smart political move? Where are the statistics to prove that the easy-going, spontaneous, striking-looking Gandhi sister has been able to swing election results? Read: No Delhi Sikh, except Phoolka, ever complained against Kamal Nath: Capt Institutional memory in the Congress is short whether its the 1984 riots or the 2012 Uttar Pradesh elections. The last assembly elections was when Rahul Gandhi missed a real chance to prove that he was not an entitled dynast but someone willing to work his way up the political ladder. He could have run as the Uttar Pradesh chief ministerial candidate he even wanted to but claims he was overruled. Had he run, even had he lost, he would have signalled to a changing, aspirational India that he was willing to earn his power and not simply inherit it. His sister was the chief campaigner in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli and yet it was the Samajwadi Party that won eight of the 10 assembly segments. This time the party is on the hunt for a chief ministerial candidate who will wear the blemish of a possible defeat, shielding both Priyanka and Rahul from the consequences of a loss, while hoping against hope that the razzmatazz of the still untested sister will bring in new voters. But therein lies the problem you cant keep cosseting the top leadership and making someone else take the fall for an election you worry you cant win. Some in the Congress seek refuge in Newtonian physics. But to sit back and do nothing but wait for the Modi government to falter because what goes up must come down is hardly a strategy for revival. The original idea of the Congress is one worth fighting to keep alive: Centrist, pluralist, messy but largely inclusive even if of a million different ideologies, much like India itself. Its the idea of the Gandhis as political royalty that just doesnt work anymore. Barkha Dutt is consulting editor, NDTV, and founding member, Ideas Collective The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Uttarakhand authorities arrested a 19-year-old Vikasnagar resident who tried to sell a protected species of turtle on the e-commerce website OLX.com, indicating that illegal wildlife trade is picking up online. Mohit Garg uploaded an advertisement for selling a bunch of Indian Roof turtles on OLX, police said. This is a crime because the animal is protected under the wildlife act. The forest department seized three turtles from him. I have directed concerned division officer to serve notice to the website. Its the first incident in the state but to crack the whip on such activities, there should be a specialised agency, Dhananjai Mohan, chief conservator of forest (CCF) wildlife and intelligence said. HT tried to contact the website but didnt get an immediate response. Indian roofed turtles for sale advertisement on a website. (HT Photo) Garg tried to sell turtles under the alias, Bilal and said he had links in Delhi, where the demand of such animals is very high. The turtles are collected from Uttarakhand as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh. Through classified websites these items are sold to customers and even pet shop owners, officers quoted Garg as saying. The significance of turtles is in Feng Shui because of which people want to buy them. But, the online purchase and selling is a new trend in animal part smuggling especially in Utarakhand, said wildlife expert Abhishekh Kumar. Department figures say over 250 turtles were seized since 2011. Besides turtles, experts said reptiles such as red sand boa, ball python and even pangolin scales are traded online. Indian parrots too record high demand. The Indian roofed turtles recovered from accused in Dehradun. (HT photo) The business of turtles, other reptiles and parrots of our country is a global business. Who will crack the whip on such traders? Is it the cyber crime department of police or some other IT department? Sudhankar Sharma, an expert said. Authorities are concerned that such advertisements are uploaded on websites without filter. We are seeking legal aid to know our powers in such situations and whether there could be a clause to filter advertisements before final display on the page, Man Singh divisional forest officer (DFO) Kalsi said. Taking cue from this incident, the department has planned to sensitise pet shopkeepers in Dehradun, Haldwani and Haridwar. We are planning to distribute informative material to pet shopkeepers that will sensitise them about species that are illegal to be traded, Mohan added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked tax officials to knock on the doors of people whose income statements dont reflect the size or grandeur of their property, but they must do so in a gentle and friendly manner, a top government official said on Thursday. Such cold calls by taxmen are part of several suggestions Modi made at a conference of revenue officials, where the Prime Minister also set a target of doubling the countrys tax payer base to 100 million. He did not give a deadline. Successive governments have struggled with under-reporting of taxes, seen as a major hurdle in expanding state revenues, as well as with growing undisclosed incomes, or what is known as black money, to avoid taxation. A 2015 Credit Suisse survey said India had 185,000 dollar millionaires but officially only about 150,000 people are known to have an annual income of above ` 5 million. The Prime Minister asked the officers that in case you know a person who has a big fancy house, but his income is not reflective of the same, do not hesitate to ask him about how he funded this, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia told HT, quoting Modi. Adhia said Modis suggestion would be treated with utmost importance. At his hour-long interaction with revenue officials, Modi did a bit of math to show that of the 250 million households in the country 150 million were agriculturalists, who do not have to pay tax. This still leaves us with 10 crore (100 million) households, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha told reporters after the meeting with Modi, who did not set a deadline to achieve the target. Modi told the officers that they must reduce trust deficit with soft and sober behaviour. If you become taxpayer friendly, then taxes will automatically come to you, he told the conference. Given that 92% of tax was deducted at source of income, came from advance tax or through self-assessment, Modi said, it should allow a substantial number of 42,000 tax officers to focus more on direct tax collection. Modi asked tax officials to focus on five pillars of administration revenue, accountability, probity, information and digitisation (RAPID) and move towards digitisation. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday accused the Prime Ministers Office of running a dirty tricks department amid reports that a senior official may have manipulated a probe into the alleged disappearance of documents related to the controversial Ishrat Jahan case. A report in the Indian Express said a home ministry official tried to tutor a witness to de fame former home minister P Chidambaram in the case, potentially setting the stage for a fresh round of political bickering over the 2004 killing of four suspected terrorists including 19-year-old Ishrat in Ahmedabad. Several Gujarat police officials were later charged by the CBI for staging a fake encounter. The missing documents relate to preparation of an affidavit that did not mention Ishrats terror links and filed by the previous Congress government in the Gujarat high court. An earlier affidavit had linked the 19-year-old Mumbai girl and the three others to the Laskar-e-Taiba. The BJP-led government accuses the previous Congress regime of exonerating Ishrat of terror charges to suit its political agenda of targeting Narendra Modi, who was the Gujarat CM when the encounter took place in Ahmedabad. The Congress latched on to the report to get back at the BJP. There is a dirty tricks department running at the top echelons of the government which is coordinated by the PMO, party spokesperson and lawmaker Anand Sharma said. Their job is to leak and fabricate documents, carry out surveillance of political opponents and officers. Even judges have not been spared, he said. Chidambaram also accused the BJP-led government of creating a fake controversy over the missing documents. Taking full responsibility for filing the second affidavit, he said it was absolutely the correct thing to do. The moral of the story is that even a doctored report (of the inquiry officer) cannot hide the truth. The real issue is whether Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in a genuine encounter or a fake encounter, he added. BJP national secretary Sidharth Singh, however, said the news report does not absolve Chidambaram of his role in changing the affidavit to dilute the fact that Ishrat was a terrorist. In February this year, former home secretary GK Pillai said the second affidavit was changed at the political level hinting at his then boss Chidambaram. Home minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha in March that crucial documents pertaining to preparation of the second affidavit were missing and it included the draft affidavit corrected by Chidambaram. Singh asked additional secretary BK Prasad the officer named in the news report to probe how the documents went missing. The news report reproduced a taped conversation purportedly between Prasad and Ashok Kumar, earlier a director in the home ministry and now a joint secretary in commerce ministry. Prasad allegedly told Kumar the answers he was seeking for his report, which was submitted to the government on Wednesday. Union Home secretary Rajiv Meherishi said in Mumbai that the conversation was misinterpreted. Jumping to conclusions by hearing only one official and without having understood the response from the other side was uncalled for. Prasad told HT on Thursday that there was no evidence to establish that Kumar testified after being tutored during his alleged conversation. Besides, all officers examined by me are or have been senior officers in the government and fully capable of answering questions related to the probe on their own and there is no question of tutoring, said Prasad. In his report, Prasad said it appears that documents were removed knowingly or unknowingly, or misplaced between September 18 and 28, 2009 when Chidambaram was the home minister. I have conducted a free and fair enquiry which my enquiry report will reveal, he said in a statement later. Kumar, however, refused to respond to the allegations saying he was not authorised to speak to the media. A probe by a Gujarat metropolitan magistrate in 2009 found that Ishrat and three others were killed in a fake encounter. The CBI had later charged several Gujarat police and Intelligence officers of murder in the case. NEW DELHI: The apex consumer panel has asked real estate major Parsvnath Developers Ltd to pay over Rs 42 lakh to a buyer for failing to hand over a flat in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, booked around 10 years ago. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) also directed the firm to pay an interest of 18 per cent per annum from the date of each payment till the full amount is refunded. According to the complaint, Aditya Laroia had booked the flat in firms project Parsvnath Privilege in Greater Noida in May 2006 and the possession was to be delivered within 36 months from the date of commencement of construction of the flat. However, Laroia claimed that the construction of the flat was not yet complete and, thus he approached the commission seeking Rs 1.23 crore, including interest. The firm submitted before the commission that it will be in a position to deliver the possession of the flat by the end of December 2016, which was rejected by complainant. NEW DELHI: In the olden days, the Christian nuns in Goa used egg whites to starch their clothes. They did not know what to do with the yolks, so they used them to make a sweet dish. Over time the instinctive cuisine evolved into a seven-layer dessert that came to be known as Bebinca, ostensibly named after a Portuguese desert. If only those nuns of yore could have known this: on Wednesday, Pope Francis, for his dinner at the Vatican, was served the Bebinca, along with 12 other dishes, all cooked by Indian chef Vikas Khanna. I used a pizza oven to make the Bebinca. I could not make all seven layers, I made only four, Khanna told HT over the phone from the Vatican. It has not sunk in yet that I served the Pope a dish created by the Christians in Goa. The other 12 dishes were also taken from the cuisines developed by Indian Christians in the catholic regions. Khannas favourite among them is the vegetable stew made at Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. It is made in mustard oil with paanch phoran, a mix of five spices. Vikas personally dried, roasted, and powdered the spices. After handing over the 13 dishes to the office of the Pontiff, which alone serves food to the Pope, Khanna got to spend seven to eight minutes with Pope Francis and gave him his book, Utsav. It is a 1,200-page, 15-kg tome that brings together dishes of 26 festivals and 50 ceremonies from different parts of the country. The book is organised according to the calendar; Christmas, therefore, comes in the end. The Pope rifled through the pages right down to the Christmas section, which also has a photo of a woman in a burkha carrying a child in her lap and holding anothers hand. Both the children are dressed as Santa Claus. The Pope, who often talks about the importance of pluralism in society, spent time looking at the photo. He said it is really beautiful, said Khanna. The chef spent three days preparing the Popes dinner, with a crew that only spoke Italian. Khanna therefore downloaded a new Google app, which did the trick for him. Everything you speak into that app gets spoken back in Italian. Meri to vaat lag gai, said Khanna with a chuckle, but its been the most awesome three days of my life. The dinner was a culmination of a discussion Khanna started years ago with the Vatican about the hunger initiative, which is close to the Popes heart. His people were delighted that a chef was talking about hunger. At the end of their meeting, the Pope gave Khanna a rose ring. Im going to savour it the rest of life, says Khanna, who attended the mass before leaving the Vatican. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BEIJING: India has to comply with nuclear non-proliferation rules and have an independent foreign policy for China to support its bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), state media said on Thursday, laying down the rules for New Delhi to fulfil its aspiration. New Delhi is not qualified to be a member of the NSG but is inching closer to entering the nuclear trading group with Washingtons support so as to obtain an edge over Islamabad in nuclear capabilities, said an opinion piece in the nationalistic tabloid Global Times. China can push Indias case too but there are riders, it said, indicating that becoming an ally of the United States military will not help New Delhis case with Beijing. As long as all NSG members reach a consensus over how a non-NPT member could join the NSG, and India promises to comply with stipulations over the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons while sticking to its policy of independence and self-reliance, China could support New Delhis path toward the club, said the piece by Fu Xiaoqiang of the influential state-run think tank, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). The state-controlled media has focussed on Indias NSG bid and Chinas position but has been looking at the issue through the Pakistan prism how Islamabad will lose out if New Delhi enters the nuclear club, and If India can become a member, why cant Pakistan? Once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken. As a result, Pakistans strategic interests will be threatened, which will in turn shake the strategic balance in South Asia, and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia -Pacific region, the article said. Yet before that, a fair and just principle must be made through common consensus of all current members of the NSG, rather than US and Indias reckless pushing at the cost of rule-breaking. Fus article described India as a defence ally of the US and said is it is getting American support and this is clearly not something that Beijing likes. Over the years, the US has been bending the rules to back Indias nuclear projects. Against the backdrop of Washingtons accelerated pace of promoting its pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, it will be highly likely to keep supporting New Delhis nuclear ambitions, in order to make it a stronger power to contain China, it said. China, the article said, is a crucial defender of the international system against nuclear proliferation. It added: China does not wish to see the political and legal foundation of global nuclear security to be challenged by any party who does not abide by rules. The article further said: So far, all NS G members have signed the NPT. So the question is, if any non-signatory-of-the-treaty wants to join the group, under what condition can it be accepted? If such a standard is to be made one day, then it will be possible for both India and Pakistan to become part of the group. The article did not mention that it is China which has consistently helped Pakistan build its nuclear technology and plants; the same Pakistan that is not a signatory to the NPT. NEW DELHI: Starting Monday, the Congress will hold a door-to-door campaign in all the 21 assembly constituencies from where Aam Aadmi Party MLAs were appointed as parliamentary secretaries, seeking their resignation and demanding re-election in all these seats. The party will also highlight the issue of right to recall--- a major electoral reform the AAP has been a votary of. T he decision to launch the campaign was taken in a meeting chaired by Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken. Presidents of the partys block and district units participated in the meeting. The door-to-door campaign by the Congress workers will expose the Kejriwal government. Kejriwal made tall promises to the people and vowed to practice clean politics. Nowhere in the country one-third of the total strength of a legislative body have been appointed as parliamentary secretaries to ministers with facilities like government vehicles and office space in the secretariat, said Maken. The Congress leader, who has also held the post of parliamentary secretary to chief minister Shiela Dikshit in 1999, also said that the AAP was running away from elections in the 21 assembly constituencies because of the fear of defeat. NEW DELHI: The father of 40-year-old Delhi Police constable, Deepak Kumar, who was killed in RK Puram, was also a policeman. His father, Rajendra Kumar, died 18 years ago. He was a sub-inspector. Rajendra had died during the investigation of the 1998 Dropsy Scam that was related to adulterated mustard oil poisoning in Delhi. It had resulted in widespread dropsy. As many as 60 people died and 3,000 fell ill. Incidentally, Rajendra too had become a victim of the adulterated mustard oil poisoning after he and his colleague, SI Amar Singh, had eaten food prepared with the adulterated oil. Family members say Rajendra and Amar Singh were in the police barrack when the incident occurred. After the death of Rajendra Kumar, Deepak was employed in the force as a constable on compassionate grounds. NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal government on Thursday approved the formation of 2,972 Mohalla Sabhas across the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi. Aimed at decentralization of governance, development works worth Rs 350 crore under the Citizen Local Area Development (C-LAD) will decided through mohalla sabhas. The Rs 350-crore fund will be distributed equally among all the Mohalla Sabhas. The number of sabhas will vary depending on the size of the constituency. There will be 40-70 local units in each constituency, sources said. The Delhi cabinet, which approved the decision, also cleared the proposal to appoint two coordinators for each mohalla sabha -- one male and one female -- who will be local residents of that area. The coordinators will organize and facilitate monthly mohalla sabha meetings. The revenue department will soon notify the decision, paving the way for the organisation of the Mohalla Sabhas. Besides choosing development projects, the Mohalla Sabhas will coordinate with different government agencies for the execution of local development projects, identify and facilitate beneficiaries for welfare schemes such as old-age pension, and resolve grievances with the help of local officers. The idea is to empower the citizens to discuss, deliberate and decide on the works to be undertaken in their locality. The Delhi government conducted a pilot project of Mohalla Sabhas in 11 districts last year. Local residents were delegated the power to take decisions under C-LAD fund for executing development works in their areas. Based on the success of pilot project the government has decided to form Mohalla Sabhas in all parts of the city, an official said. Officials said the government conducted a detailed ground survey based on the inputs gathered from local citizens, public representatives and local officials according to which mohalla sabhas have been demarcated. GIS mapping of each mohalla was done by a dedicated team of experts using satellite maps and data was collected during the ground survey through My Tracks-a google enabled android application to ensure precision in delimitation, an official said. The government has also signed an MoU with Janaagraha, a Bangalore-based organisation specializing in citizen participation platforms, for the development of a dedicated software for the Mohalla Sabhas to ensure digital/IT enabled systems for better coordination and execution of works that will be demanded by the Mohalla Sabhas. NEW DELHI: Plantation drives in Delhi are around the corner with the monsoon expected to hit the city by the first week of July. The Delhi governments environment department has plans to go big with the drive this year. According to government officials, the department is planning to monitor the drive closely and make sure that plantation targets of all agencies are met. A special push will be given to native tree species such as Amaltas, Kadam, Sakar, Peepal and Shahtoot. In Delhi, the environment and forest department, the municipal corporations, PWD, Delhi Metro and NDMC are the primary plantation agencies. Of these, the municipal corporations have the biggest quantum of plantations followed by the forest department. NDMC has also announced that it will shift focus to native plant species this year. The council is known for planting exotic plant species in its parks. Last year, the target was to plant 13 lakh tress but it was not met. This year, the government plans to monitor the drive to make sure it is met. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced earlier this month that last years plan to audit plantation drives will be revived. Under the plan, each plantation site will have to be audited by a third party to see how many saplings survive. The plan was to conduct an audit last year but the agencies involved in the drive did not respond well to it. The vision is to increase the green cover in Delhi in the coming four years. The government is keen on it and will make sure that the plantation targets are met. The CM had outlined his vision to cut pollution in December last year. Increasing the green cover is an important part of the initiative. Right from central verges to open areas, plantation drives will cover everything. He (Kejriwal) will take a special interest in the projects this year, said an official. NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung has forwarded the Delhi governments fact-finding report on the alleged Rs 400-crore tanker scam to the anti-corruption branch for further probe. The alleged scam happened between 2008 and 2011 when Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister. Jung also forwarded to the ACB leader of opposition Vijender Guptas complaint against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who according to the BJP leader deliberately kept sitting on the file for about 10 months, sources said. As requested by the government and the leader of opposition, the L-G has forwarded both the complaints for further probe, said a senior official. The government reacted sharply to Kejriwals name being dragged into the row. The letter of BJP leaders alleged that the Delhi government was not taking action on the fact-finding report. How does the BJP know before hand what is there in the report. The matter is related to the previous government. The AAP govt inquired it and prepared the fact-finding report. How come that becomes an issue of corruption that L-G has forwarded it for probe, said Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra. The Delhi government had on Monday recommended that the Centre and the L-G should initiate either a CBI inquiry or an ACB probe against Dikshit in connection with the scam. Mishra had written to the PM and the L-G and forwarded a copy of the fact-finding report. The Delhi governments 125-page preliminary report on the scam has copies of tenders, minutes of meeting and findings about the alleged role of some politicians and bureaucrats. Diskhit was also the DJB chairperson during that time. Mishra had handed over a copy of the report to Gupta on the floor of the assembly on Monday and challenged him to get an FIR registered against the Dikshit as the CBI and ACB reported to the BJP-led central government. Moving a calling attention motion in the assembly, Gupta had alleged that the Delhi government was deliberately sitting on the report prepared by an empowered committee constituted by Mishra. A delegation of BJP leaders, including Gupta, approached the L-G on Wednesday, demanding the inclusion of Kejriwals name in complaint. They said he was guilty of protecting the persons involved in the scam as he sat over the file for 10 months. Shiela Dikshit should be behind the bars now for corruption. The only barrier between Shiela and Tihar is her agents in BJP. We have filed 3 FIRs against her for various corruption cases and one in depth enquiry report which is with ACB now, (sic) Mishra tweeted. NEW DELHI: Classrooms for medical students at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) have gone high-tech with the hospital soon installing cameras in its operation theatres (OTs). The students will now be able to watch all surgeries from their classrooms and pose questions to the surgeon in real time. Due to the risk of infections and logistical constraints, only six or seven can observe a surgery at the moment. We are not able to provide hands-on training to all the students at once. However, when this technology is installed all students will be able to see the surgeries live in great detail with the state-of-theart cameras that will be installed in the OTs, said Dr Rajeev Sood, dean of post-graduate institute of medical education and research, Dr RML hospital. Live-streaming of surgeries is a part of the e-education initiative of the hospital, which will start functioning by the end of the year, for which the government has allocated ` 60 lakh to the institute. The funds will be used to set up virtual classrooms, where a lecturer will be able to take 17 classes together. At present, whenever a guest lecturer comes to a medical college the PG students, who work in the hospital as residents, take leave to go to the institute. With this system in place, students will be able to attend the lectures from the hospitals where they work, said Dr Sood. The system will be able to stream expert lectures from across the world. Another major benefit of the system is the archiving facility. If a student is on vacation or misses a lecture, they will be able to find it in our archives. This way nobody will miss out on their training, Dr Sood said. More than 300 medical journals will be available free of cost to the students on the system. Right now, the students have to go to the library to access the free copies of the journals, even the ones that are available online. With the e-education system, the students can log in through their own laptops or mobile phones and access these journals, Dr Sood explained. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON GREATER NOIDA: A 45-year-old man allegedly shot dead his 22-year-old daughter suspecting that she was having an affair with a man from the neighbourhood at Garhi Azampur village of Greater Noida on Friday. During the altercation, the mans wife also sustained a bullet injury and had to be rushed to a hospital. The police said Devendra, a farmer, used a countrymade pistol to shoot his daughter Rita. She was declared brought dead at Kailash Hospital in Sector-27 in Noida. Devendras wife, Sarsa, 42, who was injured during the alter cation, is presently undergoing medical treatment at Yathartha Hospital. Her condition is not stable yet. The police said Devendra shot his daughter in the chest and Sarsa in her pelvis. Prima facie, Devendra suspected that his daughter was having an affair with a man in their neighbourhood. They quarrelled on Friday morning, after which Devendra shot his daughter and wife. Two bullets were fired from the weapon , said Ravindra Rathi, station house officer, Dankaur police station. He added the victim s father fled the spot after the incident. We have filed an FIR for murder and attempt to murder against Devendra. As of now, we are trying to find him, said Rathi. The police said Sarsas relatives filed the complaint in connection with the incident. Their neighbours were not willing to divulge any details about the fight. The identity of them an involved in the affair is not clear as of now, said Rathi At Yathartha Hospital, doctors said Sarsa was being operated upon. A team of doctors are currently treating Sarsa. We can only be sure if she is out of danger after conducting the operation, said the hospital staff. Five men broke into a bungalow in south Delhis posh DLF Farms early on Thursday, drugging the guard and strangling a 38-year-old man as they ransacked the house. Armed with knives, a pistol and cutters, the men put chloroform-soaked handkerchiefs to the noses of the elderly owners of the house, Kishan and Rashmi Gupta, the moment they entered the house, sources said. But the couple both cancer patients pretended to be unconscious for over two hours and held their breath intermittently as the men looted the house, treating themselves to juice, fruit and meat from the fridge, they added. The Guptas told police they pretended to faint to avoid any further violence, especially to their son, 38-year-old Rohan Gupta, but in vain. The first thing they asked was if their son was alright but unfortunately, the men tied his limbs with rope, stuffed a cloth in his mouth and throttled him to death, after he tried to resist them and inform police, an investigator said. The men Ajay Kumar (18), Vipin Kumar (22), Shivnath Sahni (20), Shyambabu (29) and Vinod Sahni (38) could not escape and were nabbed at the exit gate of the DLF Farms when they were trying to flee. Police said they got information of the break-in after a driver, who had come to drop his boss to an adjacent bungalow, spotted the guard lying unconscious and raised an alarm. The driver brought the guard to his senses and found out about the ransacking. The driver made a PCR call and asked the guards at DLF Farms to seal all gates. One of the robbers saw the driver and knew police may arrive any moment, so they left the house in pairs, the investigator said. But they were nabbed at two gates while trying to escape. CCTV footage also caught the men trying to escape. Sources said after collecting the loot, the men sat around and relaxed in an air-conditioned room on the ground floor and even played music. It is only after they saw the driver with the security guard that they panicked and left the house in pairs. Police said the men first entered an adjacent bungalow and scaled the wall to reach bungalow number3. Two of them caught the security guard, posted at the main gate, from behind and the other two held a handkerchief drenched with chloroform to his nose. After the guard fell unconscious, they dragged his body to one side and entered the kitchen area, cutting the window grilles with cutters .They straight went to the bedroom, where the elderly couple was asleep, and put the handkerchief to their nos es , the investigator said. The couple pretended to be unconscious as the men then searched their room and took out cash and jewellery. Sources said the men ransacked the ground floor and collected whatever they could before proceeding to the first floor where Rohan was asleep. They entered his room and tried to make him unconscious but he woke up and resisted. As he tried to reach out to his phone, one of them stabbed him with a knife and then throttled him to death. The men left the body on the bed and ransacked the first floor. Police said the five men came from Bihars Muzaffarpur and are trying to find out if they belonged to a gang. NEW DELHI: The municipal corporations will include data from private hospitals in managing dengue cases this year. Till last year, the civic bodies used to consider cases from government hospitals only while collating data of dengue cases, which led a massive mismatch in the claims and situation on the ground. Private hospitals get as many dengue cases as the government hospitals, if not more. Officials of the municipal corporations said the move will help them devised far more comprehensive policies to combat the vector-borne disease. Last year, the capital witnessed its worst dengue outbreak in the past 20 years. The city saw 60 deaths and 15,867 cases in 2015. According to the official website of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, such a massive outbreak was last seen in 1996 when about 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported. Municipal officials said that while it was mandatory for every hospital to report dengue cases, the different methods used to diagnose the disease led to confusion as to how many people are affected. The civic bodies depend on Elisa test for diagnosis of dengue but most private hospitals rely on the Rapid Diagnostic Kits. The Elisa test has been recommended by the Union government. However, owing to the RDKs being cheaper the private hospitals largely rely on them, although its results are not considered by the municipal corporation, said senior municipal official. The corporation officials said that they are now planning to send notices to the private hospitals asking them to send all dengue data to the municipal corporations. The hospitals will have to send all the data to us and we hope that it will help us form better policies and improve the anti-dengue drives. Also, it will give us the exact idea of the size of the problem, said Jitender Choudhary, standing committee chairman, East Delhi Municipal Corporation. NEW DELHI: In partial relief for students and the administration of Delhi University, protesting teachers on Thursday decided to evaluate answer sheets of final-year students. Teachers said the exception had been made only for final-year students and the boycott of the evaluation process will continue. The teachers are protesting against the UGC Gazette Notification (3rd Amendment), which would have increased the workload and let to retrenchment of ad-hoc teachers. On Wednesday, the University Grants Commission rolled back the changed workload criteria. Since the panel did not take any action on the Academic Performance Indicator (API) the teachers are continuing their protest. The agitating teachers have not only boycotted the evaluation process but have also refused to participate in the ongoing admission process and the staff council committee as well. The evaluation boycott has been on since May 24, leading to fears that the announcement of undergraduate courses results, which usually come out by June 30, will be delayed this year, affecting the curriculum progress. The admission process for the undergraduate courses would begin by the end of next week. Teachers are responsible for the verification of documents during admission as well as other related operations. However, for the final-year students, the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) batch, teachers have promised to complete the evaluation within a week. They are demanding a complete withdrawal of the API point system that forms the basis of the promotions of the teachers. It is unfortunate that the government had decided to continue with the API based promotion scheme (PBAS), despite its proven adverse impact on teaching, learning and research, as well as the service conditions of teachers by large scale denial of promotions for the last eight years, said Nandita Narain, president of the Delhi University Teachers Association. The teachers had said the boycott will continue till June 20. The future course of action will be decided after a general body meeting. To express their discontentment, teachers will hold a candle light vigil at Mandi House on Saturday. For teachers both the workload and AP I issues are important. We cannot talk of one at the cost of the other. We will continue our protest till all our concerns on API are addressed, said Ashwini Shankar, teacher at Deshbandhu College. CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: A drug-themed film at the centre of a political controversy cleared all legal hurdles for its scheduled release on Friday but a leaked version of the movie appeared online in a fresh twist to the script. Bollywood showman Anurag Kashyap, the films co-producer at the forefront of a battle with the censor board, appealed to people not to watch the leaked version of Udta Punjab, a Shahid Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer showcasing the problem of drug abuse in the state. Kashyap said he believed it was a case of vested interests trying to demoralise the filmmakers in their fight. The films producers had lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police in Bandra on Wednesday. The entire film has been leaked on various torrent sites which allow downloading from the internet with for censor written on the top left corner of the copy. I am not sure whether it was a CBFC copy. But if its a censor copy then its a shame on CBFC, it reflects very badly on them. Piracy is an issue, which we all have been fighting for a very long time , superstar A am ir Khan said. CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani facing allegations of trying to stifle creative freedom said rumours about the online leak should not be believed. Earlier in the day, the Punjab and Haryana HC gave final clearance to the film and dismissed two petitions against it. The Supreme Court also refused to entertain the plea of an NGO seeking to stay release of the film that had earlier fallen foul of the censor board for allegedly portraying Punjab in a bad light and glorifying drug abuse. Drug menace can be in any state and the film does not glorify drugs, said Sanjay Kaushal, who represented the films producer Phantom Films in the high court. The Bombay high court had earlier allowed release of the film with just one scene deleted as against nearly 90 cuts sought by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The censor boards suggestions had triggered a backlash against Nihalani whom many accuse of toeing the BJP-led governments agenda while certifying films. The Congress and A am Aadmi Party (AAP) accused Punjabs ruling alliance of BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of trying to influence the censor boards decision to hide the states drug abuse problem that has allegedly crippled a generation. Advocate Sujoy Kantawala, who watched the movie as the amicus curie of the Punjab and Haryana high court, also presented his report to the bench. I have clearly mentioned in my report which was read out in open court that there is absolutely nothing in the film which could lead any such sort of apprehensions which the petitioner entertained. The movie gives the social message that drugs are a menace. If you consume drugs you can lose your loved ones in future and its basically a thing you dont want to do in life. The high courts ruling came in response to a plea by Jalandhar-based advocate Wattan Sharma who said the film had done negative branding of Punjab and its people and was therefore unfit for exhibition. Another petition was filed by the Punjab State Commission for Women chairperson Paramjit Kaur Landran alleging that the movie portrayed women in an obscene manner. The apex court asked the NGO to approach the high court over the films release. We are not interfering in the matter. We are not going into the merit. Liberty granted to the petitioner to approach the Punjab and Haryana high court which is seized of the matter, a vacation bench of justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and L Nageswara Rao said. NEW DELHI: Three men allegedly abducted and gang-raped a 23-year-old woman in south Delhis Vasant Vihar area before dumping her on a road early on Thursday. The woman was allegedly picked up by the men while walking back home with a friend after watching a movie at the popular PVR Priya Multiplex around 3.15am on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred just two kilometers away from the spot where another 23-year-old woman, a medical student, was brutally gang-raped, tortured and murdered in 2012. The woman was also travelling back home with a friend after watching a movie at south Delhis PVR Anupam multiplex four years ago, in a case that shook India. Hours after the crime, police arrested three people, who were sent to judicial custody. In her statement to the police, her friend said they were walking towards Munirka when three men pulled her friend inside their car and drove off, a senior police officer said. The womans friend then called the police and gave them the registration number of the car, whose owner was immediately traced to Geeta Colony. When we reached Poorvi Marg, we found the woman standing there. She alleged the three men took turns to rape her inside the car and then dumped her, the officer said. Detailed statements of the woman and her friend have been recorded but the woman couldnt provide the exact sequence of events to the police and is reportedly changing her version, sources said. The woman was taken for a medical examination that confirmed rape, following which a case of abduction and rape was registered against the men, the officer added. The police team tracked the car and arrested the owner from his residence in Geeta Colony. His friends were also arrested. Four years ago, another 23-year-old, a paramedical student, had been gang-raped on a bus late at night when she was returning home from a movie with a friend. The 2012 gang rape and the horrific images of injuries that resulted in the medical students death catalysed waves of protest. The case inspired changes in Indias rape laws and amendments in the legislation that governs juvenile offenders after an underage convict in the case was sentenced for three years as opposed to the life sentences given to the others. The ensuing outrage ensured offenders between 16 and 18 can be tried as adults in case of heinous crimes such as rape and murder. A three-and-a-half-year old boy was run over outside his house in southwest Delhis Najafgarh, allegedly by a speeding tempo driven by a drunk driver, on Friday morning. Chinmay was playing outside his house and his father Devinder (30) stood just a few metres away when the accident took place, said police. Chinmay was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he died of injuries. A senior police officer said a drunk Dabbu did not see Chinmay playing and did not stop his vehicle after running him over. In his statement to the police, Shah claimed he did not realise the boy was crushed under his vehicle. Shah kept on driving even after the boy was run over by his vehicle. He stopped the tempo only when locals screamed and alerted him about the accident, said a senior officer. A mob caught the errant tempo driver, Dabbu Shah (30), and beat him up before a police team could arrive. Dabbu was admitted in a nearby hospital with multiple injuries. Some agitated residents caught hold of him and brutally beat him up before our team reached and took him into custody, the officer said. Police sources said Shah was alone in the tempo and liquor bottles were found inside it. Shahs medical examination confirmed he was drunk at the time of the accident. Shah drove fast even and didnt honk though the lane outside Chinmays house was narrow. We arrested him for rash and negligent driving causing death, said the officer. If not for Neerajs presence of mind, the five armed robbers would have successfully escaped from bungalow number 3 in south Delhis posh DLF Farms on Thursday after drugging the guard and strangling a 38-year-old man as they ransacked the house. Armed with knives, a pistol and cutters, the men put chloroform-soaked handkerchiefs to the noses of the elderly owners of the house, Kishan and Rashmi Gupta, the moment they entered the house, sources said. But the couple both cancer patients pretended to be unconscious for over two hours and held their breath intermittently as the men looted the house, treating themselves to juice, fruit and meat from the fridge, they added. Read more: Man strangled as robbery goes wrong in Chattarpur The driver, who alerted the police, encircled the bungalow with the help of locals and systematically informed the security guards posted at the entry-exit gates of DLF farms, ensuring that the men were not able to escape. Speaking to HT, Neeraj said that he had come to drop his boss to the bungalow and as he reached the main gate, he honked but the security guard did not open the gate. He then stepped outside to open the gate himself and take the car inside. I knew something was amiss at that very moment as the security guard is very alert and does not go anywhere leaving the gate. After I dropped my boss, I returned to the gate to check if everything was fine. When I searched for him, I found him lying on the floor in a corner. I went to him and splashed water on his face to wake him up. It is then when he told me that five men have barged inside the house, he said. He added, The guard told me that he held his hands from behind and pointed a gun to his temple. One of them then put a handkerchief to his nose and after that he fell unconscious. He told me that the men were dangerous and that I should not go inside. Neeraj immediately informed his boss and also made a PCR call. While he was standing outside, making calls, he saw of the men coming out from the house. As soon as he saw Neeraj, he ran back inside. After a few minutes, two more men came out of the house and when Neeraj asked them who they were, they said that they had come to the house for some work. I asked them what were they doing inside the house so they said that Rohan sir had called them for some work. When I got suspicious, they ran inside the house. This reconfirmed my doubt and I called other drivers, my friends in the area for help. All of them came and we encircled the house. We also informed the colony guards and told them not to let anyone leave the premises and also check all cars, he said. The five men, however, managed to escape from the back gate of the house. Neeraj, then received a call from one of the security guards, who told him that they have stopped two persons who were trying to get out. After sometime, three more were stopped at a different gate. A day after five men broke into a bungalow in south Delhis posh DLF Farms, drugged the guard and strangled a 38-year-old man as they ransacked the house, investigators zeroed in on down on three suspects who initiated the plan and passed on information to the five men. Ajay Kumar (18), Vipin Kumar (22), Shivnath Sahni (20), Shyambabu (29) and Vinod Sahni (38) said in their interrogation that they came from Muzzafarpur on specific input. Sources said they identified three people, including a former driver and cook, who could have passed on information to the five men. Sources said the former driver, who worked with the family for over three years, was the mastermind. Senior police officers refused to divulge more details. The alleged robbers, before entering the house, had a full blueprint of DLF farms area and a count of the number of exit and entry gates to the house. They were aware of the spot where the guard is posted and also the way to the kitchen from where they broke into the house, sources said. Read: Businessman strangled as robbery goes wrong in Chattarpur The men were aware of the number of rooms inside the bungalow and the spots where they will find the cash and other valuables. The men said they had been planning the robbery for the past few weeks, said a police officer. He said the men had gone to the area for a recce in pairs. They had come on three different scooters at different hours to observe the movement of the guards and to check the entry-exit points of the colony, the officer said. The police sent teams to Muzzafarpur and UP to nab the masterminds of the case. We have received some information on the men who planned the robbery and we have sent our teams to nab them. The entire sequence of events on how the robbery was planned will be clear once the arrests are made, a senior police officer said. The five men, armed with knives, a pistol and cutters allegedly barged into the bungalow, made the security guard and an elderly couple unconscious by putting a chloroform-drenched handkerchief to their nose, and strangled their 38-year-old-son Rohan Gupta to death, when he tried to resist the bid on Thursday. In the wake of the municipal elections which are due next year, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has opened parking facilities which are yet to be completed. The move is to woo voters. Last week, an incomplete multilevel car parking at New Friends Colony (NFC) was made operational. It is yet to get necessary sanctions. Out of three floors, two were thrown open for users while work in the basement is still on. Surprisingly, the project has not received building clearances and several services are yet to be placed in order. More importantly, the basement is flooded due to seepage, allege residents, and the agency has not resolved the issue. The project was first conceived eight years ago. Although the fire fighting equipment is in place, elevators are still missing. The officials informed that the no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department has been taken. However, at present only one gate is open which is used for both entry and exit. The parking lot is located adjacent to the Sarai Julena Village and about a kilometre away from the main market of NFC. While justifying the opening of the facility, Indu (who goes by her first name), a Congress councillor from Sriniwaspuri, said that the project was started eight years back, but the civic agency was not able to start the facility. Apart from the shortage of funds, constant waterlogging in the basement was the major reason responsible for the delay. The basement often gets waterlogged. To avoid it, the SDMC installed suction pumps. However, the agency has failed to find a permanent solution to the problem, said Indu. The SDMC is also racing against time to officially inaugurate two more projects in Munirka (above) and Kalkaji (below). (S Burmaula / HT Photos) She added, We cant let people suffer. Parking is one of the biggest issues in the area. Thats why I insisted on opening the facility and met the commissioner to convince him. At the inauguration, SDMC commissioner Puneet Goel, Indu, former Delhi Vidhan Sabha speaker Subhash Chopra and other senior officials were also present. Blaming the agency for not carrying out proper survey before finalising the site for the underground multilevel parking lot, Indu said, This is a low lying area where waterlogging has been a regular issue. I objected to the project soon after becoming the councillor, but it was too late as 50% work had already been completed by that time. She said that a test was conducted and it was found that the quality of water seeping through the ground is of good quality. The lab reports say it is fresh water . Following this, I advised the officials to set up a pumping station in basement with the help of the Delhi Jal Board and supply that water to the neighbouring areas, but nothing happened, said Indu. MORE FACILITIES TO BE STARTED The new facilities which are already open, partially, can accommodate 400 cars each and can be useful in handling the parking space crunch The New Friends Colony parking facility has space for 604 cars. Till May 2015, Subhash Arya, former mayor SDMC, promised that the project will be completed by August, 2015. According to Arya, it got delayed due to lack of funds, shifting of DJB lines etc. The Rs40 crore parking lot turned out be another hopelessly-late project. The SDMC received flak for the ill-conceived multilevel car park project in Hauz Khas. It was completed in 2014 and inaugurated last year, but couldnt be of any use due to design flaws. The exit point wasnt wide enough for a big car to move through. So, there are few takers for it. To encourage the use of this parking facility, it is planning to increase the rates of surface parking to Rs100. KALKAJI The new facilities which are already open, partially, can accommodate 400 cars each and can be useful in handling the parking space crunch Apart from NFC, the SDMC is racing against time to start two more projects next month. And this includes the multilevel car parking lot at Krishan Market, Kalkaji. The project has received all clearances and people are already using it for parking cars on the first floor though it hasnt been made operational officially. At present, the installation of lifts is still in process. It will be done in a month and after that the place will be inaugurated. The parking lot has space for parking 406 cars and constructed at the cost of Rs35 crore. Soon after inauguration, SDMC would try to hand over the site to private contractor. MUNIRKA The other parking lot is in Munirka. Though it was thrown open by Parmila Tokas, MLA from RK Puram in January 2016 without electricity connection and security guards, the official inauguration is expected to happen next month. Explaining the reason for the delay, the SDMC officials said that the work of installing the lift has not started here. But it will be completed in a month. The place has capacity for 400 cars and constructed at the cost of Rs28 crore. As of now, visitors are parking vehicles at two floors, free of cost. Regarding the oozing of water from the ground we have already written to the DJB. They can distribute the water. Once the matter is sorted, we will receive the building clearance for the parking lot, said Puneet Goel, commissioner, SDMC. On the other hand Feroz Ahmed, chief engineer, project, SDMC, said that the agency is working on a formula to fix the problem. Over the years, the water level here has risen. While this was not the case eight years back when the project was designed and digging work started at the site. But we are working on a plan to utilise the water for watering neighbouring parks, he said. However, residents are unhappy with the development and said that both BJP and Congress are competing with each other to take credit for these projects as the municipal elections scheduled for next year. Why would anyone be interested in leaving his vehicle inside a waterlogged complex? The place remains flooded with water and this must have weakened the foundation of the structure. It can lead to serious accidents, said Rohit Alug, an member of NFC Residents Welfare Association. However, the SDMC officials claimed that the structure is strong. Residents also expressed concern over inadequate security arrangements at the facility. Except at the entrance, there is no guard deployed at the complex. The CCTV cameras are non-functional. Only one entrance is open which is used for both entry and exit , which can lead to accidents. There are no proper signages inside the complex. In the existing circumstances, no one feels safe in leaving their vehicles here, said a resident of NFC. Initially, parking here is free of cost. We are yet to install elevators, but the rest of things are in place. After finishing the work we will handover the place to a private agency, said Ahmed. Residents also raised question over the site chosen for the construction of the parking facility. They said it is of no use for villagers of Sarai Julena as they would not come here to park their vehicles. The visitors coming to the main Market, NFC will not drive all the way to come here and then walk to the market, they said. Ideally, the parking lot should have been constructed at the park facing the D block market, NFC, said a resident of the area. Prior to the construction of the parking lot, the place was used for organising functions by the villagers. And the councillor plans to continue the trend. The villagers have no other place and thus, we will allow events to be organised at the surface of the parking lot, said Indu. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jamia Millia Islamia has invited applications from students for admission to four vocational courses under the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Kaushal Kendra Scheme. Students can apply for Bachelor of Vocational (B Voc) in Medical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Electrophysiology at Center for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences. The course aims at providing the graduates of higher education system to have adequate knowledge and skills for employment and entrepreneurship and also to fulfil the emerging needs of the economy. The course aims to incorporate the requirements of para-medical sector in the country with specific job roles in its curriculum in an innovative and flexible manner. The other two courses are B Voc in Solar Energy at the Center of Physics and Diploma in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning at University Polytechnic. Read more: Jamia Millia introduces new courses for fresh batch These are three-year programmes and admissions will take place on the basis of an entrance examination. The last day to fill the application is July 15, university said in a statement on Friday. Meanwhile, the University said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tehrans National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB) for academic co-operation. Jamia Millia vice-chancellor Talat Ahmad said the academic collaboration between the two partnering institutions would open new opportunities for young researchers working in the frontier areas of genetic engineering and biotechnology and the research outcomes would impact the global society favourably. The United Kingdom has 650 MPs in Parliament for a population of 64 million. The average population in an MP constituency is around 70,000, allowing lawmakers to be intimately involved with constituents in a manner somewhat unfamiliar to Indian citizens. MPs divide their time between parliament in London and their constituencies, engage voters in various ways and take written correspondence seriously. It is a setting that facilitates different forms of political ambition and allows committed activists to take to politics as a form of public service. Labour Party MP Jo Cox was a shining example of commitment to the public good and because of that her senseless murder is being mourned deeply in Britain and across the world. Read | A great star, brilliant young woman: World leaders mourn Jo Coxs killing There is so much in Coxs life to admire. A proud Yorkshire lass as she described herself, she was the first in her family to go to university. She said she lacked social connections and the right accent at Cambridge but the university shaped her political convictions. She became an aid worker and went on to be the head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam and worked for the Freedom Fund, an anti-slavery charity, travelling widely and pursuing her passion for social justice and equality. Cox was universally liked, the media has reported MPs weeping in Westminster, candle-lit vigils are being held and voters have tearfully related how she helped them out. Read | 10 things to know about British MP Jo Cox who died in stabbing, shooting Cox straddled different worlds. She was attacked when she was offering advice to constituents in a village but as a first-time MP she made her mark lobbying on humanitarian concerns in Syria. She set up an all-party parliamentary group and drew attention to the 95,000 unaccompanied Syrian children stranded in Europe and urged the UK government to take in 3,000 children as refugees. She nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour party leadership but did not eventually vote for him and did not hesitate expressing her disagreements with him. Not yet 42, Jo Cox showed all that an parliamentarian can be. Her death will scar Britain in ways that are difficult to anticipate. It is likely that she was a victim of a hate crime. Her assailant reportedly has links with a far Right group and shouted Britain First repeatedly while he shot and stabbed her. Britain has had intense policy debates ahead of next weeks referendum to decide if it would Remain in or Leave the European Union. But a political murder in a Western democracy arising from differences on immigration throws fresh light on the effects of polarising rhetoric on communities. Columnist Polly Toynbee has written that the referendum campaign has stirred up anti-migrant sentiment that used to be confined to outbursts from the far fringes of British politics. The UK has again bitterly discovered the upheaval that results from the fringe being appropriated by the mainstream. It is a lesson we in India cannot forget. Read | Referendum campaigning suspended after pro-EU MP dies in attack The special investigating team (SIT) of the Bihar police on Friday moved a local court in Patna seeking to declare absconding former chairman of the Bihar State Examination Board (BSEB) and his wife as proclaimed offenders in connection with the intermediate toppers scandal. Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh and his wife Usha Sinha, a former MLA of the ruling Janata Dal(United), are accused in the scandal that rocked Bihar early this month. The controversy broke out late last month when a television channel showed Rubi Ray Bihars topper in political science unable to answer the most basic questions pertaining to her chosen academic discipline. Police also asked the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to cancel the duos passports. A son of the couple is believed to be in the United Kingdom. They have already registered a case of forgery, while moving the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to issue a look out notices against them. Read more | Masters at 15: Intermediate scam co-accused Usha is a child prodigy We are requesting the MEA to cancel their passports and have sought proclamation orders, as the couple is untraced, Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj said. We will paste court notice at Sinhas house and if they still do not appear before the court within the stipulated time, the police will move the court to seek an order for attachment of property, the SSP added. A warrant of arrest is pending against the couple. Read more | Bihar intermediate exam scam: Board officials, toppers, college face FIRs A person can be termed a proclaimed offender in a criminal case if the court has reasons to believe that the accused against whom a warrant of arrest has been issued is evading arrest. Usha was the principal of the Ganga Dev Mahila College before being eased out on Thursday. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On the first day of new school session in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, students in over 400 schools failed to attend classes as their institutions are being used as centres for different examinations. But the students, who were fortunate to attend classes, had to clean their schools. At least 225 schools were occupied as examination centre for the Ruk Jana Nahi scheme, which allows those students to take exams who could not clear the board examination. The Madhya Pradesh State Open School is conducting the examination. Examinations under the scheme will be held till June 25. Besides, more than 200 schools were made centres for the examinations of Bachelor of Education and Diploma in Education. Teachers in particular were very upset about students time loss in the current academic session. No one says that the examination should be halted or stopped midway, but when the authorities knew that the session will commence by June 16 then why not alternative arrangements were made for exams, Madhya Pradesh Shikshak Congress secretary Ashutosh Pandey said. In many government schools in Bhopal, students had to clean chairs and tables to make rangolis despite assurance from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday that students would get a clean surrounding to study under Swachh Bharat Swacch School Abhiyan. In a school, students waited for more than 2 hours for the local corporator to inaugurate the session. At some schools, children were seen sorting out books and copies. Sanjay Gandhi Middle School in Bhopal, which is also alma mater of the chief minister, remained locked in the morning while children kept waiting outside. Chief minister Chouhan on Wednesday launched School Chalen Hum campaign with much emphasis on a conducive atmosphere for students in schools. He also made promises of imparting quality education for holistic development. Were pretty sure Nephi Garcia is the dad of every young Disney-obsessed fans dream. This talented dad is next level #DadGoals and hes giving us all the feels just in time for Fathers Day. (FYI: Fathers Day is Sunday and if you still havent figured out a gift for the big guy, make use of our large, and hopefully fail-proof, Fathers Day gift guide.) Garcia, 32, is a California-based fashion designer, husband, and father-of-three, who has recently been getting a ton of attention for his incredibly intricate Disney costumes, especially the ones he makes for his children. And as soon as you get a look at some of his work, its easy to see why. Pure magic. So this is love #Cinderella and Princecharming #designerdaddy A photo posted by Designer Daddy (@designerdaddy_) on Jan 16, 2016 at 2:49pm PST In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, Garcia explained that while he used to work in high fashion, once he had kids, the industry wasnt really working for him anymore. However, he soon found renewed inspiration when his daughter, Lilli, now aged six, asked him to make her a costume for a family trip to Disney World in 2015. That #magical #moment!!! #fairygodmother #Disneyland #disneyworld #designerdaddy #fairy #magic @thedisneycentral A photo posted by Designer Daddy (@designerdaddy_) on May 12, 2015 at 2:07pm PDT The Fairy Godmother costume that he created for Lilli was so flawless that by the next day hed gotten almost a dozen orders from parents whod seen his handiwork at the park. Our bird fiends are back!!!! #designerdaddy #cinderella #cosplay #costume #disneycosplay #disneyland A photo posted by Designer Daddy (@designerdaddy_) on Feb 20, 2016 at 5:48pm PST Garcia puts in a ton of work to make these gorgeous costumes, and it definitely shows. He told Buzzfeed that each childrens outfit takes anywhere from four to six hours work; while the adult versions (sample below) of these costumes can take a jaw-dropping 12 to 48. Of course, they dont come cheap. But Garcia assures he only uses the highest quality materials for his costumes, and never uses the same design twice. His childrens costumes start at $600, and his adult looks begin at $1,800. To be honest, it looks like his costumes are worth every penny. After all, Disney magic is priceless. And her famous Cindy Wedding Dress..... A photo posted by Designer Daddy (@designerdaddy_) on Jan 31, 2016 at 4:46pm PST Just look at some of his Disney creations that are guaranteed to have you in ya feelings. To see more of his brilliant designs, check out @designerdaddy_ on Instagram. Interested in ordering one of Garcias creations? Checkout his website. Anastasia Tremaine loves her pink house dress, and your little one will love this fluffy pink dress too! (littlebrightdress.com) Its off to Neverland with Peter Pan in this beautiful Wendy Darling costume, inspired by her blue nightgown from the Disney classic! (littlebrightdress.com) Drizella Tremaine loves her green house dress, and your little one will love this fluffy green dress too! (littlebrightdress.com) Ponyo loves Sosuke! Your little Ponyo will have fun on land and sea in this adorable dress inspired by the Disney cartoon. (littlebrightdress.com) This beautiful Mulan dress will have your sweet little girl looking at her reflection all day! (littlebrightdress.com) So much work to do, but your little one will look adorable doing it! This Cinderella rags dress comes with an apron. (littlebrightdress.com) Relive the magic of Cinderella in this famous Disney inspired classic ball gown complete with a beautiful French lace! Just dont forget to be home before the stroke of midnight! (littlebrightdress.com) Follow the writer on Twitter: @SanyaHoon SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Actor Scarlett Johansson is one of the highest paid actors among stalwarts like Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L Jackson in Avengers. The 32-year-old actors portrayal of the Black Widow also got her the first-ever woman superhero film a feat that many thought wouldnt have been possible had she not played the role of Natasha Romanoff in the superhero flick. Read: Scarlett Johansson is horrified by social media Scarlett started in the industry at a young age and by the time she was 22, her choice of roles had pushed her to take up parts that were beyond her age. Scarlett Johansson in a still from Lost In Translation (2003). She played the role of a married 25-year-old in Lost in Translation (2003), after which she suggested that she would want to be in a relationship with an older man, and true to her wish, she began dating actor-director Benicio Del Toro who is 17 years older to her. Read: Jennifer Lawrence: What makes her the Queen of Hollywood Having been voted as one of the sexiest actors in Hollywood by multiple magazines and tabloids, Scarletts life, off the camera, too has been of keen interest. She has always been blunt on camera and doesnt bother about her reputation. The actor has been vocal about how female actors are perceived off-screen, and was even instrumental in raising the pay gap because of the gender debate in Hollywood. Did You Know? 1. An avid fan of Tom Waits, she recorded an album comprised entirely of Tom Waits covers, titled Anywhere I Lay My Head in 2008. 2. She was cast in Iron Man 2 (2010) after Emily Blunt dropped out due to other commitments. 3. She was 8 months pregnant with her daughter Rose when voicing scenes for The Jungle Book (2016). 4. She suffers from a morbid fear of birds (ornithophobia) and cockroaches (katsaridaphobia). 5. Her lips inspired Katy Perrys I Kissed A Girl. She later told Allure, I should get a cut! 6. Her signature smoky voice got her rejected from a commercial she auditioned for when she was a 7-year-old. 7. Her first role was a skit on Late Night with Conan OBrien in 1993. She was 8. 8. She is three minutes older than her twin brother Hunter Johansson. She says these three minutes are the most important in her life. 9. Dislikes the nickname ScarJo that is commonly used by the media in reference to her. Quote Hanger: 1. The people who have told me that my voice is distinctive, its unusual... those people have always been close to my heart. 2. I have an obsessive character. I manicure my nails at three in the morning because nobody else can do it the right way. 3. I was always terrible at commercials because my voice was so deep. At the age of 9, I sounded like a whiskey-drinking, chain-smoking fool. 4. I definitely believe in plastic surgery. I dont want to be an old hag. Theres no fun in that. 5. I hope they make a video game of me. At least I wouldnt have any cellulite then. 6. I dont go to McDonalds anymore. After I saw Super Size Me... no way! 7. Whose life would I like to step into for the day? The Presidents. I could probably get some things done in the Oval Office. 8. I think its hard for actors to date each other because they are so damn moody. You are away from people constantly and having a relationship that is strictly by phone, it is miserable. Or if you say to him/her, Hey, (even though) I am doing a very sexy scene with this very sexy girl/boy, I love you and Im going to be thinking of you when I am rolling around in bed with this person!. Follow @htshowbiz for more. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 21-year-old Mumbai woman was arrested for allegedly drunk driving and ramming her car into a divider near Podar Hospital early on Thursday morning, police said on Friday. The accused identified as Gauri Bhide also allegedly assaulted at least six policemen posted with Worli police station when she was being interrogated. Police said the incident took place at around 1.15am when Bhide, who was accompanied by three friends - Chirag Bhothra (21), Kapil Rathod (21) - and a 17-year-old minor, rammed her Verna into a divider near Podar Hospital. The girl appeared drunk and was accompanied by three male friends who were seated in her car, an officer from the Worli police station, who was at the scene, said. After the incident the accused got down of the car and started abusing the locals who gathered to see whether the four were fine, the official said. Bhide even bit some of the policemen who tried to stop her as she randomly started abusing everyone and as we tried getting hold of the accused, she started spitting, kicking and throwing punches on the policemen, he added. Officials said that the four even ransacked the police station when they were finally taken there by the policemen. Their medical check-up confirmed that they were under the influence of alcohol. Police are yet to ascertain the place where the four got drunk. The girl has been changing her statement constantly as initially she claimed that she consumed alcohol in Chembur, the second time she said that they drank at Ghatkopar while in the third version she said it was at Pali Hill. However, we are trying to find out further, an officer said. Bhide, whose father works with a private company, was about to leave for Bengaluru where she has got admission into an architecture college. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of drunk driving, rash driving under the motor vehicle act and also for obstructing an officer from performing their duties under the Indian Penal Code. Bhide was produced in court on Thursday and was remanded to police custody. . Graduating students at Ranchi University (RU) are in the midst of a pitched fight between authorities and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) over what pupils should be asked to wear at the convocation ceremony on July 5. The ABVP the youth wing of the RSS has demanded dhoti-kurta for boys and saree for girls as the dress code for the ceremony, saying the traditional gowns are a British cultural import and should be discontinued. But the varsity administration has made it mandatory for all student stoweara gown during the ceremony. We will stage a mass protest against the use of gowns on the day of convocation and halt the proceedings. India has been free for over 60 years now, but the varsity wants us to follow British culture, which is unacceptable, said Atal Pandey, Ranchi convener, ABVP. This is the latest in a series of campus unrests across India this year. Students clashed with police at Delhis JNU and the University of Hyderabad earlier this year over controversies ons edition and ca ste discrimination, respectively. In March this year, the ABVP threatened to protest against a lecture by former JNU professor MN Pa nini at the Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ), accusing him of having mentored the anti-national movement in JNU. The students union also reportedly played a role in suspension of CUJ professor Shreya Bhattacharji who had invited Panini to address a gathering at the Ranchi-based university. The fresh controversy may play a crucial role in the RU students elections likely this year, say students. The ABVP claims to have handed over at least three memorandums to the vice-chancellor demanding for the dhoti-saree dress code. But the administration has denied their request. It will be mandatory for all students getting degrees on this convocation day to wear a gown, otherwise they won t get their degrees on that day , said RU vice-chancellor, Ramesh Pandey. Hesaid the varsity had set rules for conducting convocation ceremonies and changes could not be made in such short notice even if it wanted to. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A grocery shop in Ambala was raided on Friday on the suspicion that it was selling beef powder even as the shopkeeper said it is sattu and attributed the wrong label to printing error. A team led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shakti Singh raided the grocery shop on the direction of the Deputy Commissioner. An anonyms complaint sent to states health minister Anil Vij said that beef powder was sold at the shop, and this Vij ordered a raid. The team found sealed packets of suspicious powder, officials said. The packets were labelled as corned beef. Civil Surgeon Vinod Gupta, who accompanied the team, said the sample has been sent to state laboratory. He said, manufacturing and expiry date were not printed on these packets. The shopkeeper, however, said corned beef was printed on the packet while in fact the product sattu (powder of roasted wheat and gram) was filled in it. However, the owner said, even though it was written corned beef, the product inside was sattu (powder of roasted wheat and gram). He said, he had purchased those empty packets from Delhi and he was not aware about the printing error. He said he had mentioned sattu on the packets with black marker. Vij has ordered an inquiry. Under the Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, passed in March last year, cow trafficking, slaughtering and eating beef are banned in Haryana. Cow slaughter may invite 3 to 10 years of jail term. Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that instead of issuing statements on a sensitive issue like Kairana, it is better to act cautiously and find a solution to the problem. I personally feel that instead of issuing statements on a sensitive issue like this it is better to act with caution and seriousness on the matter. If there is a fire somewhere, dousing the flames should be the first priority, Singh said making it clear that finding a solution to the problem was more important than issuing a statement. The home minister was replying to a question on Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, the town at the centre of the alleged Hindu exodus, at an interactive programme in Dehradun. On Friday, BJP MLA Sangeet Som gave a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to bring back the Hindus who have migrated from the town. Weve given a 15-day ultimatum. Either the [UP] government gets back the people whove migrated or well have to [again] take to the streets, Som said. Replying to another question, Singh said there had been a drop of 50% in infiltration bids from across the border since Modi government took charge. More terrorists are being killed now than earlier.Indian Army and para-military personnel are performing their duties along our frontiers with great efficiency. There has been a 50% drop in the number of successful infiltration bids from across the borders, he said. Claiming terrorist and Maoist activities have both come down in the country, he said while there has been a 37-40% slump in Maoist activities, terrorist activities have also been substantially reduced. However, he admitted that a lot more needs to be done to further rein in such activities. On the issue of black money, he said the Centre has launched an amnesty scheme for those possessing undeclared wealth under which they can declare it between June 1 and September 30 and turn the rest into white money by paying 45 per cent tax. Singh was in the Uttarakhand capital as part of a programme by Union ministers to tour the country on completion of two years of Narendra Modi governments tenure. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the exodus complaints and reports about Kairana in Shamli district and other parts of the state. A BJP delegation met UP governor Ram Naik on Friday and submitted to him the report made by the partys fact-finding team. BJP state president Keshav Prasad Maurya said that Governor Naik assured the delegation that he will send both the six-point memorandum of demands and the investigation report to the Uttar Pradesh government and President Pranab Mukherjee. The investigation report submitted to Naik called the scenario in Kairana terrifying and told him that it was the responsibility of the state to empathise with the migrants instead of trying to prove the list motivated and false and must stop attributing exodus to livelihood. The report said that criminal elements of a particular community were responsible for the Hindu exodus and the criminal gangs are being protected by the ruling party. Khanna released the three-page report at a press conference later in the day and said: The exodus has happened in the last four years of the SP government. In 2014, three people were killed for not paying extortion money which sowed the seeds of constant terror in the area. The main accused Mukim Kala and Furkaan were running extortion racket from behind bars. It was under such atmosphere that extortion became a trend and many more families are ready to leave and police were not acting to check the menace. The report also said that the government was treating Hindu and Muslim victims differently. The state government gave Rs 15 lakh to the family of one Qureshi who died in celebratory firing but did not fulfil the promise of Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of iron traders who were killed in a crime, the report mentions. Khanna said that Kandhla too has exodus report under similar circumstances. The report also states, Kairana traders were so terrified that they couldnt send their daughters to school or hold religious events such as Kirtans. The report also cited the example of a trader, Anuj Mittal. Mittal was once a flourishing trader who owned four movie theatres. He also had a political connection but now he has migrated and is living in some of place in a rented accommodation. One Mula Pansari, who once owned a famous shop with a turnover of `1 lakh per day, have also migrated from Kairana due to extortion terror. The BJP fact-finding team led by party leader Suresh Khanna had started investigating the Kairana incident on Tuesday morning and completed it by Wednesday evening. Apart from the CBI probe, the memorandum demanded that those who have migrated should be brought back and rehabilitated, security and law and order should be improved and those responsible for the exodus must be punished. A five-member team of Opposition parties, which visited Kairana to look into the allegation of migration of Hindus from the area, on Friday attacked BJP chief Amit Shah, saying he wanted to re-enact the script of post-Godhra riots and Muzaffarnagar killings to reap electoral harvest in Uttar Pradesh. In a joint statement, members of the five parties JD(U), CPI, CPI(M), RJD and NCP, which visited Kandhla and Kairana on Thursday, said that they held extensive meetings with a cross section of people, community associations and members of the local bar association. On the basis of the feedback and the insightful interaction, the members are of the unanimous view that BJP is trying to create a Muzaffarnagar-like context in Kairana and Kandhla, they said in a press release. Alleging that the BJPs top leadership has unleashed the politics of demonisation and polarisation, the Opposition members said that the BJP and in particular its national president Amit Shah wanted to re-enact the script of post-Godhra riots and Muzaffarnagar killings as a precursor to reap electoral harvest in the impending UP elections. JD(U) MP and spokesperson K C Tyagi, D Raja of CPI and Mohammad Salim of CPI(M), D P Tripathi of NCP and RJDs Manoj Jha went to the western UP town to make an on-the-spot assessment. Attacking them, BJP said that these parties went there to vitiate the atmosphere and accused JD(U) and RJD in particular of failing to run Bihar. Read | Kairana exodus: BJP demands CBI probe, SP hits back citing Gujarat riots The Opposition delegation, however, claimed that the people said that as far as a few cases of migration from both communities, are concerned, the triggers were poor facilities for education, lack of proper medical care, unavailability of employment opportunities apart from grim law and order situation. The members were also happy to see the nature and extent of positive bonding between the communities in spite of the forces committed to divide them. The members also appealed to the UP government to tone up the law and order situation and take all the necessary steps so that the BJP and the Sangh Parivaar fail to create wedges between communities, the statement said. Taking a dig at the trend of branding people as anti-national for not toeing a certain line, Nobel laureate professor Amartya Sen on Friday said casteism that divides India is anti-national. Addressing a special event at the London School of Economics (LSE) to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit rights activist Babsaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Sen said: One issue that keeps coming up in India is people being branded as anti-national for not toeing a certain line. I would say caste is anti-national because it divides the nation. We want to be national, not anti-national, for which it is important to eliminate all divisions, the 82-year-old economist and philosopher said. Referring to Ambedkar, a former LSE student, as a great social revolutionary and an intellectual powerhouse, he added: It is through education we can truly bring about change in the world. That is the vision which Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us for a united nation. Dr Ambedkars Relevance Today and in the Future was organised by the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK) in collaboration with the Inequality and Poverty Research Programme, department of anthropology at the LSE and the India Observatory at the LSE to coincide with the centenary of Dr BR Ambedkar joining the LSE. Read | As Modi completes 2 years, a tale of 2 crematoriums at Ambedkar birthplace The aim of the day-long conference was to bring together academics, economists, business leaders, equality champions, politicians and women leaders to highlight the relevance of Ambedkars work on the economic and social reforms in India and beyond. London holds a special place in the life of Babsaheb Ambedkar and his home at King Henrys Road will serve as memorial dedicated to social justice. He was a great intellectual, jurist, human rights champion who struggled against all odds in his goal of nation-building. The best way to honour him is to try and follow his ideals, said Dr Virander Paul, the deputy high commissioner of India to the UK. Read | In Hyderabad, Kanhaiya pitches for Rohith Act to end casteism Ambedkar, referred to as the architect of the Indian Constitution, registered for a masters degree and took courses in Geography and Political Ideas alongside Social Evolution and Social Theory and went on to complete a PhD thesis at LSE. The year 2016 marks the centenary of his first visit to LSE in 1916. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday ordered a probe by Kolkata police into the Narada sting operation, in which several Trinamool Congress leaders were allegedly shown accepting bribes. After a meeting with the chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee and home secretary Moloy Dey at her office, Banerjee said during the recent Assembly election, a conspiracy was hatched by inciting people and creating suspicion among them with the help of a so-called sting operation. I still believe that there was a conspiracy. We want the truth to come out. That is why I gave an order today to the chief secretary that the police will conduct an enquiry into the total episode. They will investigate and act according to law, the chief minister said. She reiterated that they wanted the truth to come out in the case, in which the names of several Trinamool Congress ministers were purportedly shown as accepting cash from a fictitious company. We are transparent. We want the truth. The police will conduct the probe impartially. The guilty should be punished, Banerjee said adding that the police would find out who was behind the conspiracy. The government had earlier formed an enquiry committee to probe the sting operation, but the members had left the issue to her, she said. Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said that after a preliminary enquiry conducted by a team of Kolkata police led by police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, action would be taken according to law and that it is upto the administration now and the police will act impartially. We have also informed the speaker of the Assembly and obtained his permission, she said. Asked if the sting tapes were fake, she said, Why should I comment on that? It will be decided through enquiry. It needs to be understood what was the context of the conversation in the tapes, she said. A fight over an objectionable caricature of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a WhatsApp group turned into a full-blown battleon the streets of Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur overnight, leaving a Congress worker dead and five others injured. A group led by Congress municipal councillor Jatin Raj and another by young advocate Prashant Naik clashed on the streets of Jabalpur, resulting in killing of 33-year-old Congress worker Umesh alias Guddu Verma and injuries to five others, including Prashant Naik. Jabalpur Superintendent of Police(SP) Dr Ashish said: While cases have been registered by both sides in the matter, we are also probing whether it was just posting of a caricature or something more than that which provoked violence. It is also being investigated as to how the violence, which happened outside Vijay Nagar police station, couldnt be controlled promptly. Primary investigations revealed that a caricature of Sonia Gandhi shown washing dishes with a comment Modi ne kya bana diya (see what PM Modi has done) was posted by one of the group members on the group. It triggered a war of words between Jatin Raj andPrashantNaik. GudduVerma quit the group in anger. Acase of murder has been registered against Prashant Naiks friend Sanju Thakur and his aides, while a case of assault and rioting has been registered against Jatin Raj and his aides, the SP said. Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 killed in Gulberg society massacre, on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict in the case, saying the court did injustice to her. She also said that she will approach the high court against the verdict of the special SIT court which sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case. Zakia was particularly unhappy with the seven-year jail term awarded to 12 convicts and 10-year sentence to one other convict, who were held guilty for lesser offences not including murder. She is also disappointed with the acquittal of 36 others in the case. I dont understand why 11 were given life imprisonment and some are given just seven or ten years of imprisonment. Why this selective approach as they all were part of a violent mob which killed people inside the society. This is wrong justice. The court did injustice to me, Zakia said while talking to reporters. I was there in the society when the violent mob brutally killed my husband (Ehsan Jafri). He was an MP, yet he was hacked to death and burnt alive in the middle of road. Todays verdict is not sufficient for such crime. I wished that court had given lifer to all of them who were involved in the crime, she said. According to her, those who were acquitted were also guilty and should be punished. My fight for justice will continue. Why these 36 were acquitted? Did they save any resident of the society? They were also part of the mob. I am not at all satisfied with todays verdict. I will approach the high court against it, Zakia said. Read | Gulberg massacre verdict out: Here are the key facts about 2002 Gujarat riots A special SIT court in Ahmedabad on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case of burning alive of 69 people, including former Congress MP Eshan Jafri, in the 2002 post-Godhra violence. The court awarded ten-year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. However, her son Tanvir Jafri said there was definitely some sense of closure at the convictions but it would have to be seen why some of the accused were not convicted. We will definitely contest in the high court some of the acquittals, he said. Former SIT chief RK Raghavan who had probed the incident, welcomed the judgement. Read | Gulberg verdict: Sentencing too lenient, will approach HC, says SIT counsel The Centres recent proposal to popularise Hindi as the main medium of official communication by asking government officials in the South and the North-East regions to speak in it has angered Tamil leader M Karunanidhi. The 93-year-old chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the main opposition in Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi on Monday called the proposal an atrocity, and said every Tamil would take a whip and stand ready to eradicate the language (Sanskrit/Hindi). We will not allow the domination Sanskrit in any state, including Tamil Nadu, the veteran politician further said, referring to the proposed Ved Vidya Board Scheme, an optional Sanskrit-only medium under the Central Board of Secondary Education. The DMK patriarch also promised to launch anti-Sanskrit agitations in the same vein as the anti-Hindi riots which reached their peak during the 1960s should the proposal come through. The comparison is interesting given that it was these riots which first gave the nonagenarian the chance to distinguish himself as a political leader in the context of Tamil politics. Anti-Hindi movement The anti-Hindi agitations of yesteryear first began in the 1930s as a natural extension of the Dravidian movement spearheaded by Tamil firebrand E Ramaswamy Naicker, better known as Periyar. At a time when the Independence movement was searching for a way to project a united front, the adoption of Hindi as a universal language was suggested. This was received less than graciously by Periyar, who called for agitations in the Madras Presidency which continued sporadically post-Independence. Naicker and his followers were resisting what they perceived was an imposition of a language almost as alien to Tamil as English was in etymological, linguistic, and communicative terms. His Self-Respect movement also refused to entertain the idea that the government of a newly liberated nation would conduct its business in a language that more than half the country didnt call its mother tongue. The front page of Periyars periodical, Kudiyarasu, from September 1939. The headline reads Veezhga Indhi! (Down with Hindi) (Anna Library Archives) These agitations were carried on by the DMK, and Periyars once-loyal disciple, Annadurai. In response to the argument that Hindi was spoken as a first language by a significant percentage of the population, the veteran leader famously said, If we had to accept the principle of numerical superiority while selecting our national bird, the choice would have fallen not on the peacock, but on the common crow. The ferocity of the agitations prompted Jawaharlal Nehru to sign the 1963 Official Languages Act, which stated that English would continue to be used, but in addition to Hindi. But the may outraged the DMK, whose leaders, including an eloquent writer called Muthuvel Karunanidhi, argued that future governments may also choose to eschew English as an official language. Karunanidhi helped raise the call for state-wide agitations in 1965, a period marked by a great deal of violence as student agitators clashed with lathi-wielding policemen. It finally took an assurance from Lal Bahadur Shastri that Hindi would not be imposed to finally quell the riots. The agitations finally ceased when, in 1967, Indira Gandhi amended the act her father had signed to ensure that both Hindi and English would be the official languages of the Indian Republic. The riots brought Karunanidhi into prominence among his party, as well as highlighting a new generation of potential leaders - such as a young, 14-year-old MK Stalin. It also provided the impetus for the DMK to storm into power in the 1967 elections, heralding the end of the Congress partys fortunes in Tamil Nadu. But Karunanidhis veiled threats could merely be more bark than bite. It is a dead issue now, says Sampath Kumar, a veteran journalist who saw the riots which brought the DMK to power firsthand. Karunanidhi is flogging a dead horse. At 93, the DMK patriarch is one of Indias longest serving politicians. But the last Assembly Elections, where his bete noir Jayalalithaa managed to buck history and retain a majority, may be his last: And if so, his threat may simply be a last snarl from the grand old man of Dravidian politics, and not a serious declaration. Read more | Mind your language: Why the Hindi debate matters in India? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The June-September monsoon has been slow and 25% below average until June 15, delaying sowing, but forecasters say thats just a temporary glitch. Instead, a rainfall surge is on the cards in the second half of June, after which rains are expected to quicken its spread across the rest of the country. Read | What, when, where? The essential monsoon guide Predictions by the state-run India Meteorological Department said a surplus monsoon was expected this year. Though it made a delayed start on June 8, the rains steadily progressed over south India. However, in other parts of the country, it is behind schedule. In the first 15 days of the rainy season, only south India recorded surplus rainfall of 12%, while showers in central, northwest and eastern parts have been deficient, ranging between 14% and 46%. Read | Its raining good news: Normal to excess rainfall this monsoon says IMD This means the rains have yet to sufficiently drench drought-hit areas in central and western states, despite intermittent pre-monsoon showers, causing disappointment. After two years of drought that stoked rural distress, millions of farmers await the showers to start summer sowing. For Asias third-largest economy, the rains are vital for it is an important source of drinking water, power generation and agriculture. That aside, two-thirds of Indians depend on farm-linked income. Read | Why even a good monsoon may not bring food prices down A monsoon-boosting, wind-cloud weather pattern known as the MaddenJulian Oscillation, one which sweeps the tropics and dramatically enhances precipitation, is likely to push rains across India. The MaddenJulian Oscillation has already arrived, so we expect a third monsoon surge, which will then cover the whole of the country, BP Yadav, the Meteorological Departments deputy director-general, told Hindustan Times. Read | Monsoon hits Kerala, its time to get your umbrellas out After hitting Kerala, the rains branch off into two streams: One takes the Arabian Sea route to soak the southern states, while the Bay of Bengal arm covers the rest of the mainland. The Bay of Bengal branch has been sluggish, affecting the monsoons speed. Till June 11, farmers planted 7.1 million hectares, lower than last years 7.7 million hectares. The area under rice lags too: 0.57 million hectares, compared to last years 0.64 million hectares around this time. So far, the monsoon has penetrated only up till Andhra Pradesh in the south and Gangtok in the northeast. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Gujarat Minister Shankar Chaudhary misspelt the word elephant (he spelled it as elephent) while testing students during a school enrolment drive launched by the government, but later claimed the error was intentional. On Thursday, Chaudhary visited a government-run primary school in Deesa town of Banaskantha district, around 150km from Ahmedabad, as part of the Shala Praveshotsav (school enrolment drive) of the government, a programme carried out every year. The episode came to light when a picture showing him writing a wrong spelling of elephant while teaching English as part of the drive went viral on social media. The Minister of state for urban housing, health and transport, in the picture, is seen seen writing elephent instead of elephant on the blackboard. After it started trending on social media, Chaudhary, who claims to hold an MBA degree, came out with a clarification, saying he deliberately misspelt the word to test the ability of schoolchildren to detect spelling mistakes. My objective was to check the English grammar and spelling proficiency among school children. I had intentionally written wrong spelling of elephant to check whether the students can find out the error and learn to write the right spelling, the BJP leader said in a statement today. After writing elephent instead of elephant, I gave example of Deesa. I wrote two spellings of the town -- Deesa and Disa -- on the blackboard and told them to choose the correct one. It was my attempt to make them understand language and spellings. Since media only showed the photo with wrong spelling, it appeared otherwise, said the statement. Recently, a petition was filed in the Gujarat high court alleging Chaudharys MBA degree was fake. However, the petition was disposed off by the Court. A special court on Friday sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for the murder of 69 people during the 2002 Gujarat riots, terming the Gulberg Society massacre as the darkest day in the history of civil society. The court sentenced 12 other people to seven years in jail for arson and rioting while another was handed a 10-year sentence for the incident in Ahmedabad when communal riots swept through Gujarat after 59 Hindu activists were killed in the burning of a train in Godhra. Justice PB Desai, however, acquitted 36 people including the alleged main conspirator and BJP councillor Bipin Patel and rejected prosecutors claims that the attack on the predominantly Muslim residential area was planned. Among those killed in the Gulberg incident -- considered one of the worst single massacres during the post-Godhra bloodshed -- was former Congress parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri besides women and children, most of whom were burnt to death. Jafris wife Zakia said she was unhappy with the quantum of sentence and would challenge the order in a higher court. After so many people died, thats all the court could decide? Just 11 guilty? I will have to fight this, Jafri said. File photo of a bomb blast near a building during 2002 Gujarat riots. (PTI Photo) The judge refused death penalty saying, If you look at all aspects, no previous antecedent has been placed on record. Post the incident, 90 per cent of the accused was released on bail. Yet no complaints against them have been given even by victims, and there is no record to show that they committed any offence during the time of bail. The 12 convicts given a seven-year jail term include Atul Vaid, a leader of the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). In pics: Tears and sorrow: Aftermath of Gulberg massacre sentencing The Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) also said the sentence was too lenient. We feel the sentence is lenient and inadequate...We are not convinced with the penalty awarded, said SIT special prosecutor RC Kodekar who expressed anguish over the courts refusal to add till death clause in the life sentence awarded to 11 convicts. The SIT probed nine cases of the Gujarat riots including the massacre at Naroda Patiya where 97 people were killed by a mob. A sitting BJP MLA and former minister Maya Kodnani was sentenced to life along with 31 others for the incident, considered the single biggest massacre during the riots. After arguments in the Gulberg case concluded on June 10, the court had acquitted 36 charged by SIT for lack of evidence. Five accused died during the trial period and one went missing. Read: Gulberg Society massacre ruling highlights the problem with delayed justice Activist Teesta Setalvad who has been fighting for justice for the victims, also expressed disappointment with the lesser sentence. Relatives of the convicts, on the other hand, claimed they were innocent and that they would appeal the sentence in higher courts. The verdict sparked a war of words between the BJP and Congress. The entire incident of Gulberg was barbaric and anti-human. Instead of protecting people, the BJP government at that time gave a free hand to (the) violent mob. The government failed to do its constitutional duty. People were incited by some big leaders of BJP, who saw the violence as a tool to acquire power, said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi. Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya, however, said that there was no conspiracy behind the massacre. The Congress as well as people like Teesta (Setalvad) tried hard to prove that it was conspiracy, so that it can be used against the BJP. But, the court had ruled against their wishes. Read: A gripping but difficult read on Gujarat riots and their aftermath Gulberg massacre verdict out: Here are the key facts about 2002 Gujarat riots A special court on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment ,12 to seven years and another to 10 years in jail in the Gulberg Society massacre case, in which 69 people were killed. The special investigation court found 24 people guilty on June 2, 11 of them of murder, in the 14-year-old case. The Gulberg Society Massacre was one of the deadliest single incidents during religious riots that killed more than 1,000 people in some of the worst violence since Independence in 1947. Sixty-nine people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed on February 28, 2002 in the communal violence that ravaged Gujarat. In pictures: Gulberg society post-2002 Gujarat riots Here are some key facts about the deadly riots: Godhra train fire On February 27, 2002, a fire ripped through a train at Godhra station in Gujarat, burning 59 Hindu pilgrims alive. Blaming Muslims for the blaze, furious Hindu mobs rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in several cities seeking reprisals during three days of bloodshed. The cause of the train fire remains a chief area of dispute between the two religious communities. An angry Muslim crowd had gathered at Godhra station to protest against the taunting of Muslim porters by Hindu passengers, but they deny setting the train ablaze. One inquiry concluded the fire was an accident, but other official probes said it was a conspiracy, and 31 Muslims were convicted over the blaze in 2011. Violence spreads During the slaughter in Ahmedabad and hundreds of other towns and villages, Hindu mobs rounded up and raped Muslim women. They poured kerosene down their throats and those of their children and threw lit matches at them. Many eyewitness reports suggested police directed rioters to Muslim homes and also turned fleeing victims back towards their killers. According to official data, 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed, while 223 people went missing and 2,500 others were injured. Rights groups say the numbers were much higher. Gulberg Society massacre The Gulberg Society was a Muslim housing complex in a lower middle-class neighbourhood, attacked by a mob acting on rumours. On February 28, a day after the train fire, rioters packed in trucks breached the boundary wall of the complex and set houses ablaze. They dragged people out and burned them alive. It was one of the two biggest massacres during the riots -- the other was in Naroda Patiya suburb, where more than 90 died. Read: Gulberg massacre verdict: 11 awarded life, 12 others to be jailed for 7 years Blind eye? Hindu nationalist Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, was widely accused of turning a blind eye to the violence. One senior policeman even testified Modi ordered officers not to intervene as the killing spread. Indias premier has always denied wrongdoing and has never been convicted over the violence. However, the bloody riots tarred Modis international image, leading him to be blacklisted for a decade by the United States and the European Union. Official probes also absolved the state police and government of any collusion in the violence, which left 200,000 people homeless. Many Muslims never returned. Convictions More than 100 people have been convicted over the riots in a series of trials over the past 14 years. An Indian court in 2011 found 31 Hindus guilty of murdering 33 Muslims who were seeking shelter in a single house. And in 2012 a former minister in Modis state government was handed a life sentence for her role. Yet activists say many guilty have been acquitted, notably following a 2003 trial described as a black day for Indias justice system amid reports of witness coercion. Read: A gripping but difficult read on Gujarat riots and their aftermath Special Investigation Team (SIT) counsel in the 2002 Gulberg massacre case, R C Kodekar, said the special courts verdict was too lenient A special court on Friday sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment ,12 to seven years and another to 10 years in jail in the case, in which 69 people were killed. The prosecution had argued that all the 24 convicts should be given death penalty. Kodekar was upset after the court refused to add till death clause in the life sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the case. Todays verdict is not that satisfactory. We feel the sentence is lenient and inadequate. During arguments, we had appealed to the court that life imprisonment till death should given to all. We are not convinced with the penalty awarded, said Kodekar. 12 convicts were given only seven years, which is very lenient too. It should be either ten years of life imprisonment, he said. We will appeal in the high court, said Kodekar. Read | Here are the key facts about 2002 Gujarat riots Gulberg is one of the nine cases that was investigated by Supreme Court appointed SIT, headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan. The Gulberg Society massacre, which took place in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002 when Narendra Modi was the Gujarat chief minister, shook the nation when a mob of 400 people set about attacking the society in the heart of Ahmedabad and killed 69 residents including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. India and Thailand have agreed to deepen cooperation in tackling terrorism, cybersecurity, narcotics, transnational economic offenses and human trafficking. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a joint statement with his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha, said the two countries will step up their cooperation in defence and counter-terrorism. Today, Prime Minister (Chan-ocha) and I reviewed the full range of our bilateral engagement. From culture to commerce; from closer contacts between our peoples to deeper connectivity; and from counter-terrorism to defence and security. We are both aware that rapid spread of terrorism and radical ideology poses a common challenge to both our societies. And, we also recognise that our close security partnership would help us to secure our peoples from these threats, said Modi. Chan-ocha is on a three-day visit to India. He met with Modi in New Delhi on Friday and plans to visit the Buddhist pilgrim center of Bodh Gaya on Saturday before returning home. Modi told reporters that information technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components and machinery are some other areas of promising economic collaboration between the two counties whose bilateral trade in the last 15 years has grown eight times to about $7.93 billion. (With inputs from ANI and The Associated Press) Government has decided in principle to allow export of missile systems to certain countries who have friendly relationship with India, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday. The government had taken a very conscious decision about 4-5 months ago that 10 per cent of the missile capacity will be permitted to be exported if producers manage to get export orders subject to parameters set by the union government and External Affairs Ministry, he told reporters here. Policy of export was always existing earlier, but the problem was lack of spare capacity after meeting requirement of the countrys armed forces, he said, adding that the production capacity for various missile systems like Akash had been been improved now. In-principle decision has been taken to allow exports to certain countries who are in friendly relationship with us... if they manage to export, then we would enhance the capacity by 10 per cent so that the forces are not deprived, he said. Parrikar, here for the inaugural flight of indigenous basic trainer aircraft Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), was responding to a question on export policy. On possible export of BrahMos missiles to Vietnam, which he had visited earlier this month, he said the Southeast Asian country had expressed interest and a group would be set up to discuss about their requirement. About Rafale fighter plane deal, the defence minister said discussion between both sides had concluded and he was waiting for a report from the Indian team which had held negotiations. ....may be next week I should receive their report, once the report is received, the Ministry will analyse it and then it will go to the government, he said. The deal was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year during his visit to France when he said India would purchase 36 Rafales in a government-to-government contract. To a question about the delay, he said ...I think we are now fast coming to a conclusion. Asked about the standby, if the deal does not come through, Parrikar said: I dont think you should see it from the negative side, because it is a declaration by two governments and we have signed in principle memorandum also. Noting that the finalization of the deal was not very far, he said we waited almost 14-15 years for acquisition. This is not a big time if you compare;...it is a big purchase we have to be careful. The report of the one-man probe panel investigating the missing files related to Ishrat Jahan case is likely to be made public in the wake of a controversy over tutoring of a key witness. A senior official said the Home Ministry is actively deliberating on the possibility of uploading the 52-page report on its website on Monday. The move came after a newspaper report yesterday suggested that the panel head, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry B K Prasad, tutored a key witness, setting off a fresh storm with Congress pushing for suo motu action by Supreme Court, accusing the Modi government of creating a fake controversy. The inquiry panel has concluded that the papers were removed knowingly or unknowingly or misplaced in September, 2009, a period when Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Home Minister. Only one paper out of the five documents related to the controversial alleged Ishrat fake encounter case that went missing from the Home Ministry was found, said the inquiry report submitted on Wednesday. It is evident that the documents were removed knowingly or unknowingly or misplaced, the inquiry committee has concluded. The inquiry panel, however, made no reference to Chidambaram or anyone in the then UPA government. Congress leader Chidambaram was the Home Minister then. Based on the statements of 11 serving and retired officers, including the then Home Secretary G K Pillai, the report said the documents went missing between September 18-28, 2009. Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday greeted Hillary Clinton for becoming Democratic Partys candidate for the upcoming US Presidential election, and vividly recalled the meeting between the two in 2011 in Chennai. It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction for all the women in the world and in particular, women in democratic electoral politics, that you have become the first woman to be a candidate of one of the two major political parties in the United States for the Presidency, she said. In a letter to Clinton, Jayalalithaa said the former Secretary of State, while creating history, had given voice and hope to the cause of women empowerment across the world. I have fond memories of your visit to Chennai on 20th July, 2011, as the Secretary of State, and our warm and cordial interaction on the occasion on a range of issues of mutual interest. My best wishes are with you for the further stages of the campaign and for the Presidential Election in November this year. I have no doubt that as your political career peaks, you will continue to be a role model for women across the world, she told the Presidential hopeful. A firebrand BJP legislator on Friday gave a 15-day deadline to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring back Hindu families who have allegedly migrated from a small town that has emerged as the latest political flashpoint in the poll-bound state. The party also released the report of a fact-finding team to Kairana and demanded a CBI probe into criminal gangs hounding out Hindus from the predominantly Muslim township in western Uttar Pradesh, around 100 km from Delhi. The ruling Samajwadi Party was quick to hit back, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to stop worrying about Kairana and instead concentrate on bringing back people who fled Gujarat during the 2002 riots. The ultimatum by Sangeet Som, an MLA accused in the 2013 communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, signalled the BJPs intention of keeping the issue alive despite a climb down by the party MP who first raised the bogey of Hindu exodus. The UP government has accused the BJP of giving a communal angle to a law and order problem, allegedly to polarise voters on religious lines ahead of next years assembly polls in the politically crucial state. Som, who was stopped by the administration on Friday from leading a march to Kairana from adjoining Meerut district, warned that if the state government failed to bring back the Hindu families within a fortnight no one will be able to stop BJP workers from going to Kairana or to any other place. While Som attempted a Nirbhay rally to Kairana, the SPs Atul Pradhan sought to counter it with a Sadbhavna rally. The administration barred both from entering Shamli district. Read | Only 3 Kairana families shifted, that too over crime, reports DM The state BJP leadership, however, steered clear of Soms yatra saying it was a personal act. On Wednesday, an eight-member BJP team led by legislator Suresh Khanna had visited the town on a fact-finding mission. Meanwhile, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said in Dehradun that it was better to act cautiously and find a solution to the problem instead of issuing statements on a sensitive issue like Kairana. If there is a fire somewhere, dousing the flames should be the first priority. SPs UP in-charge and senior minister Shivpal Yadav, who quoted intelligence report to deny any exodus from the town, said the BJP should first try and bring back the people who fled Gujarat during the 2002 riots, when Narendra Modi was the chief minister. He said the party has asked five eminent seers to visit Kairana to find out the facts and added that if some people (have indeed) migrated, it was because of occupational and livelihood reasons. The SP found support from the Congress which too rubbished the BJPs claims of migration from Kairana on communal lines. Our district and city units have sent us reports as per which there is no migration. The BJP is out to vitiate the atmosphere for polarising votes at the behest of their top leadership, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Pradip Mathur said. Kairana, with a population of 86,000, shot into the limelight after BJP parliamentarian Hukum Singh released a list of 346 families who allegedly migrated over the years from the town. After discrepancies were found in the list, Singh said those who migrated from the town included both Hindus and Muslims and clarified that Kairana was not a communal issue but a law and order problem. Read | BJP trying to create a Muzaffarnagar-like context in Kairana: Opposition (With inputs from PTI) A medical student of Kashmiri origin was detained at the Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi on Friday after security staff claimed they saw carrying bomb written on her check-in luggage. The girl, a resident of Rajbagh in Srinagar, was questioned by the police after the airport security raised alarm about her luggage. The girl and her three friends, were travelling to Srinagar from Dhaka, via Kolkata and New Delhi. She landed at the IGI airport at about 11 am on Friday. Security agencies carried out background checks at Bangladesh and Srinagar. The girl was released after everything checked out, the police said. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh to look into the issue. @HMOIndia @PMOIndia kindly look into the matter of the detention of two Kashmiri girls at Delhi airport. Their parents are very concerned. he tweeted. @HMOIndia @PMOIndia Any assistance and information will be greatly appreciated by their families & loved ones. Thank you in anticipation, Omar tweeted. @HMOIndia @PMOIndia The grounds, as explained to me seem rather flimsy given that they flew from Dhaka to Delhi via Kolkata & then detained, he said in another tweet. The home minister responded with, @abdullah_omar please send the details to pstohm@nic.in. There were four girls who were returning from Bangladesh. They flew from Dhaka to Kolkata and then to Delhi. Their luggage was checked and cleared at all the airports, Bilal Ahmad, father of one of the girls, said in Srinagar. After they were detained, the airport authorities or the police did not inform their families. We fear for their safety. We have only talked to them once so far, he said. Her friends decided not to board the flight to Srinagar and waited till she was released. Delhi Police released her after a few hours of questioning. However, between all this, the girls missed their connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi and will now take a flight tomorrow, the official said. A 45-year old woman in Jharkhands West Singhbhum district was allegedly stripped, beaten up and gang-raped by men, who suspected her of practising witchcraft, police said on Friday. A resident of Serengsia village under Tonto police station, the woman registered a complaint against the six men five days after the incident on June 15. Four men have been arrested and two are absconding. The men forcibly took the woman away on June 10 while she was sleeping with her three children in her house. Her husband, who works as a contract worker, was away in Jamshedpur. They accused her of bringing misfortune to a villager and branded her a dayan or a witch. She was taken to the house of Luria Laguri, who was ill, and was asked to cure her. She was beaten up mercilessly, stripped and asked to dance. When she fell unconscious, Ramesh Laguri and Mangal Singh Laguri allegedly took her to a nearby schools toilet and raped her. The next morning they paraded her in the village and branded her a witch. Police on Thursday arrested Ashish Laguri, Ramesh Laguri, Mangal Singh Laguri and Bahadur Laguri in connection with the crime. Two others, Mantri Laguri and Jingi Laguri, are absconding. The four arrested accused have been sent to jail and other two will be arrested soon. The victim has been sent to her brothers residence after medical examination, officer-in-charge of Tonto police station, Bamshankar Yadav, said. She is safe there and the police will ensure she gets justice, the officer said. Prima facie it seems to be a case of superstition and ignorance. The woman was charged with witchcraft practices earlier too. The villagers are afraid of the accused youths for their violent approach in day to day village affairs. Police are investigating if they have victimised other women earlier too, Yadav said. He said that police are investigating the involvement of others villagers in the incident. Incidents of witch-hunting continue to occur in Jharkhand despite a statewide ban. In March, minister of state for home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha that as many as 127 women were lynched in Jharkhand between 2012-14 after being branded as witches. Branding women as witches is particularly prevalent among tribal communities in the state. The person branded a witch is often held responsible for illness, crop failures, property loss, or a natural calamity. Experts say superstitious beliefs are behind some of these attacks, but there are occasions when people are targeted for their land and property. Villagers charge women of practising witchcraft to make them dance to their tune and subject them to torture in the name of dayan, Basanti Besra, convenor of West Singhbhum Zila Mahila Samiti said. Literacy and campaign against superstition are required to save women from such heinous crime. Health facilities in also needed to cure villagers of diseases and let not women being charged for illness or death of a particular person, Besra added. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2014, tribal-dominated Jharkhand accounted for over 30% of Indias murders for witchcraft. The Central Administrative Tribunal issued a notice to the Union information and broadcasting ministry and Prasar Bharati on a petition challenging the appointment of IAS officer Supriya Sahu as the director general at Doordarshan. The order, issued on June 14, came on the plea of Doordarshans additional director general, Mahesh Joshi, who was also in the running for the position, contending that Sahu was recommended despite being ineligible as per the recruitment rules. The tribunal, which also issued a notice to Sahu and Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar, has asked all parties, including the ministry, Prasar Bharati and the appointments committee of cabinet (ACC), to submit their views before the next date of hearing on July 8. In the meanwhile, any appointment made to the post of director general (Doordarshan) would be subject to the outcome of the case, the tribunal said. On Wednesday last, the ACC approved Sahus appointment as the full-time director general (DG) of the state broadcaster after the seat lay vacant for nearly two years. Tripurari Sharan was the last DG who completed his tenure on July 27, 2014. During the hearing on June 14, the ministry opposed Joshis plea saying there was no illegality in recommending Sahu for she had completed the required three years of regular service as joint secretary as mandated under appointment rules. Sahu, a 1991 batch IAS from the Tamil Nadu cadre, was chosen by Prasar Bharati in February this year after which the broadcaster had recommended her name to the ministry for approval. Prasar Bharati first advertised for the post in the employment news in January 2014. Joshi alleged that on the cutoff date on January 1, 2014, Sahu had not completed three years regular service as joint secretary to the Government of India cadre. He further claimed that Sahu was appointed as joint secretary in ministry with effect from October 31, 2011. Joshi stated that Sahu falls short of nine months and two days with regards to meeting the eligibility criteria. He also alleged that this fact was concealed by Sircar so as to mislead the Prasar Bharati Broad. Joshis petition also sought an inquiry against Sircar. In response to the advertisements of the Prasar Bharati, 23 candidates applied for the post, of which 11 were found eligible. Alleging that Sahus appointment was done on account of favouritism, the petition said the Prasar Bharati Board recommended only her name for the post despite the department of personnel and training guidelines mandating it to recommend a panel of names in order of merit to the ACC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday will meet his Thailand counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is on a three-day visit to India. The meeting between the two leaders is likely to focus on exploring ways to expand maritime security cooperation, deal with the threat of terrorism, and boost trade. Prime Minister Modi will also host lunch in his Chan-on-chas honour. There are indications that the situation in the South China Sea will be discussed. The Thai Prime Minister will also call on vice-president M Hamid Ansari, and visit Bodhgaya on Saturday before returning to Thailand. Earlier, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra paid a state visit to India in January 2012 and was the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations. Thailand has shown keen interest in joint ventures in defence production and procurement of defence platforms from India. The Thai Prime Minister, who arrived here on Thursday, is accompanied by his spouse, Naraporn Chan-o-cha, and a high-level delegation comprising cabinet ministers, senior officials and a 46-member business delegation. When Nirav Bariya, a Class 7 student of Kevadaiya Colony Primary School at Kevadiya in Gujarats Narmada district, came home after attending his classes, he had some questions for his parents. He asked them why their home does not have a toilet and why do his family members go to the fields to answer natures call. I suddenly popped this question because today at school, in front of the whole class, I had to declare that there is no toilet at my home, Nirav said. The new school attendance system implemented in government primary schools in Narmada is a part of the awareness campaign initiated by the local administration under its open defecation free (ODF) drive as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Under the new system, instead of a simple present students can mark their attendance by saying We have a toilet at home, Do not have a toilet at home or It is under construction. A circular regarding changes in the roll call has been issued for all the 690 schools in the tribal district. According to the authorities, the idea behind the month-long rigorous exercise is to catch them young and ensure that every home in the district has a toilet. The objective is to initiate debates in homes by the young ones. When every day these children have to declare the status of toilet facility at their homes, they will also pressurise the parents to have at least one toilet, district primary education officer BB Bariya said. The families will also be made aware about the subsidy under the Swachch Bharat Mission. In the second phase, the students will be visiting homes of their those classmates who do not have the facility and talk to the family about it, district education officer (DEO) Ranjit Kumar said. Officials say being a tribal district, building sanitation infrastructure calls for extra effort in Narmada. A lot of open space is available in the tribal areas and for the same locals are more willing to continue the old habit of going out in the field instead of a unit. The district needs intense awareness campaign compared to developing rural areas, Bariya said. Indias ambitious toilet-construction programme part of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) mission to make India open defecation free by 2019 is slipping, according to government data submitted to the Lok Sabha. However, Gujarat constructed 327,880 individual toilets until December 2015, more than any other state. Some 5,000 of the total 13,000 villages in the state now boast of 100% houses with toilet. The state ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still has a long way to go. According to a recent data by the state government, more than 4,500 anganwadis government sponsored child and mother care centres out of the nearly 53,000 such centres in Gujarat do not have drinking water facility while over 5,600 of them are running without toilets. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the death threats to a priest of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka by suspected militants claiming to be from the Islamic State. The Ramakrishna Mission received a letter on Wednesday which said the priest would be killed if he continues to preach his religion, amid string of targeted murders across the country by suspected militants in the recent months. A police official in Dhaka said the priest received the letter on Wednesday evening on a IS letterhead with the perpetrator identifying himself as one AB Siddiqui. Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You cant preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, youll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th, the officer quoted the letter as saying. The letter, he said, did not mention any month. External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Friday that the Indian high commission has taken up the issue with Bangladeshs foreign ministry and police. High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and have been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka, Swarup said. He said police presence at the complex has been strengthened. Swarup said the first secretary (consular) in the high commission visited the RK Mission this morning to review the security. The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission is a branch of the Belur Math in Kolkata. Suspected Islamists have killed a number of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown since Friday. Bangladesh authorities have detained nearly 12,000 people in a nationwide crackdown to halt a spate of deadly attacks. Some of those arrested were linked with outlawed Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh. Though most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State or its affiliates and other similar extremist groups, the Bangladesh government has repeatedly dismissed the claims and said the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits linked to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Terming the verdict in the Gulberg Society massacre as diluted and weak, civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad on Friday said she would appeal against it. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) court sentenced 11 of the 24 convicted to life in jail for burning 69 people to death, including then MP Eshan Jafri on February 28, 2002, when communal frenzy gripped Gujarat following the Godhra carnage. Read | Gulberg massacre verdict: 11 awarded life, 12 others to be jailed for 7 years 11 people had to be given life imprisonment since they were convicted in serious offences, but the biggest disappointment for us (was) that rest of them including those 12 people have been given seven years of imprisonment, Setalvad said. The court further awarded a 10 year jail term to one convicted for lesser offences while 12 others were given seven-year sentences each. We believe, when a person is convicted under Section 436 of wilful arson and 149, then there should have been a life imprisonment under these also. And in that sense, it is very much diluted judgement and a weak judgement to which we will surely be appealing, she said. Setalvad said that they had also asked for compensation for the survivors under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code. We dont know how the judge has dealt with it. Though is acknowledged the day was the darkest in the history of civil society, the SIT court rejected the prosecutions demands for the death penalty for all the convicted. Read | 24 including VHP leader convicted in Gulberg case: 10 things to know The court said it has decided to award imprisonment for life without any time frame to 11 of the accused, who were convicted for murder, while requesting the state not to use its power to remit the sentence after 14 years of imprisonment. The massacre, which took place when Narendra Modi was the Gujarat chief minister, shook the nation when a mob of 400 people set about attacking the Gulberg society in the heart of Ahmedabad. It was one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT. UDTA PUNJAB Director: Abhishek Chaubey Actors: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh Rating: *** On the face of it, Udta Punjab has everything going for it. Shahid Kapoor spends much of his screen time shirtless: win. Hes in a film with Kareena Kapoor Khan: another win (even if they dont have a single scene together). Alia Bhatt delivers a virtuoso performance as a migrant worker. Diljit Dosanjh makes his Bollywood debut, shows off his comic timing as well as hero-wallah charm, and gets the girl (sort of). The cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is stylish, clever and breathtakingly beautiful in moments, without seeming contrived. The soundtrack is catchy. The subject drug abuse in Punjab is provocative and the controversies surrounding the films certification have generated at least double the publicity of a conventional campaign. Theres a lot in Udta Punjab that director and writer Abhishek Chaubey gets right. Perhaps his biggest achievement is the wry tone of his storytelling. Udta Punjab is made up of depressing stories, but even while being sensitive to this toxic problem thats clogging Punjabs veins, Chaubeys direction and co-writer Sudip Sharmas punchy dialogue manages to keep despair at bay. A thread of humour runs through the darkest moments as in the conversation between two cops have about whether a truck driver is trying to turn Punjab into Mexico. Chaubey also draws powerful performances from almost everyone on his cast except Shahid and Kareena. If Udta Punjab was an average Bollywood film, then these two stars wouldnt have stood out. Unfortunately for them, Alia Bhatt and the supporting cast particularly the dirty cop Jujhar Singh and the young addict Balli are brilliant. Theyve all immersed themselves in their roles, even if those playing just a two-bit junkie. Bhatt downplays her natural cuteness and brings out exquisitely the vulnerability and grit of a migrant woman trapped in a drug lords mansion. Alia Bhatt brings out exquisitely the vulnerability and grit of a migrant woman trapped in a drug lords mansion. Read More: Did Udta Punjab to break the stereotype, says Alia Bhatt Along with Bhatt and the Punjabi cast of the film, Udta Punjabs decision to attack the political establishment deserves the loudest round of applause. The film bravely lays bare how selfishly Punjabs politicians have encouraged drug abuse, particularly while campaigning ahead of elections. Bhatt is incandescent when, as the dispossessed and exploited, she rants about all the awful, self-destructive decisions shes taken because she fell for the promise of achchha time. And yet, for all the flash, dazzle and power of Udta Punjab, the film is ultimately deeply dissatisfying. The pace is uneven and it struggles to do justice to the many strands of the plot. For instance, it begins with a beautiful little episode involving a Pakistani shot putter, but the across-the-border angle is left unexplored. The love stories in the film waste precious time and are half-baked. Post-interval, coincidences are as prevalent as drugs, making it ludicrously simple for an earnest doctor-cop duo to unearth the nexus between politicians and drugs suppliers as Chaubey rushes to tie up the many loose ends. Udta Punjab may be Chaubeys most ambitious film so far, and even though its also his weakest, its still head and shoulders above the average Bollywood fare. Go watch it. (Deepanjana Pal is managing editor of NewsLaundry) ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop MUMBAI: Until a year ago, Malwani, with its thick mangrove cover and slums in the vicinity, was a perfect location for bootleggers. While slum dwellers helped them smuggle out the hooch, a cheap substitute for country liquor, mangroves gave them cover from the police. But the death of 106 people from the area after consuming a toxic concoction of methanol and water sold to them as hooch on June 18, 2015, changed the scenario. Within 10 days of the incident, the Malwani police registered 71 cases and arrested 73 people, including 27 women, who sold hooch in the area. Soon, a team of 25 policemen, including senior inspector Milind Khetle and inspector Mahesh Thakur, began the first reconnaissance of Dharavli village. They found distilleries on the outskirts of the village, eight kilometres away from the police station. Over the past one year, the police have conducted over 150 raids around the slums of Rathodi, Kharodi and Laxmi Nagar, the areas that recorded maximum casualties. So far, the police have registered 127 cases and arrested 99 men and 45 women hooch sellers from the areas under sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act and Indian Penal Code for causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence, including the 22 cases and 32 arrests this year. The success didnt come easy. For their first recce, the police team, dressed in three-fourth pants and without footwear, had to wade through a mud rivulet, with the support of sticks made of tree branches. After almost an hour-long trek through the thick mangrove cover, they reached the base, where hooch was prepared. Constable Virendra Lokhande, almost drowned in the deep waters, but was saved by fellow constable Kailash Patil. But the efforts werent in vain the team found the chemicals and raw material used to brew hooch, along with another distillery in the mangroves. Three tribesmen from Dharavli were ar rested in March around holi celebrations. They led the police to the raw material supplier in Versova. To avoid being spotted, the men use the sea route between the Dharavli mangroves and Versova to bring in the raw material. The brewed hooch is transported from Malwani slums to other locations in neighbouring areas, said Thakur. A senior officer said the raids have been intensified now, as the sale of hooch is on the rise during the monsoon. Slum dwellers take up odd jobs. While they consume country liquor through the year, they need something with stronger effect through the rains. Hooch, which has higher amounts of ethanol, gives them the desired effect, said a senior officer. Last year, the dealers used methanol thinking it will be stronger than ethanol, the usual ingredient in hooch, which led to casualties. Last week, the police conducted their third raid on the mangroves. Although the workers fled, the police found a metal drum used for boiling and storing hooch. It took them four hours to get the drum, with a capacity of 1,000 litres, out of the mangroves. When HT visited Malwani slums to check the effect of polices measures, we found neither methanol nor hooch was available in the area. BEIJING: India has to comply with nuclear non-proliferation rules and have an independent foreign policy for China to support its bid to join the NSG, state media said on Thursday, laying down the rules for New Delhi to fulfil its aspiration. India is not qualified to be a member of the NSG but is inching closer to entering the nuclear trading group with Washingtons support so as to obtain an edge over Islamabad in nuclear capabilities, said an opinion piece in Global Times. China can push Indias case too but there are riders, it said, indicating that becoming the USs military ally will not help New Delhis case with Beijing. As long as all NSG members reach a consensus over how a non-NPT member could join the NSG, and India promises to comply with stipulations over the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons while sticking to its policy of independence and self-reliance, China could support New Delhis path toward the club, said the piece by Fu Xiaoqiang of the influential state-run think tank, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). The state-controlled media has focused on Indias NSG bid and Chinas position but has been looking at the issue through the Pakistan prism how Islamabad will lose out if New Delhi enters the nuclear club, and If India can become a member, why cant Pakistan? Once New Delhi gets t he membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken. As a result, Pakistans strategic interests will be threatened, which will in turn shake the strategic balance in South Asia, and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region, the article said. Yet before that, a fair and just principle must be made through common consensus of all current members of the NSG, rather than US and Indias reckless pushing at the cost of rule-breaking. Fus article described India as a defence ally of the US and said is it is getting American support and this is clearly not something that Beijing likes. MUMBAI: Clashes between rival gangs in the Arthur Road jail refuse to stop and after one last month, another fight which the police say is connected with the incident on May 30 left two inmates injured on Thursday. Gopal Shetty, who is in jail in connection with an extortion case, was attacked by Salim Faizal Khan, under the orders of inmate Papa Nayar as revenge for the attack on Nayars aide in May, police said. On Thursday, both Khan and Shetty were standing near barrack number 7. Shetty was being taken to JJ Hospital for a checkup while Khan was being taken to a sessions court. Khan then attacked Shetty with a blade and in retaliation, Shetty assaulted Khan, police said. Deputy commissioner of police Pravin Padwal (zone 3) confirmed the incident and said they were investigating the matter. Shetty sustained injuries on his forehead and right elbow while Khan too sustained injuries, said police. They were both admitted to JJ hospital following the incident. T he animosity between Shetty and Nayar stretches back to before they were both arrested in separate cases and sent to jail where they formed their own gangs. Nayar was the intended target of the May attack but Vishal Amkar who is his bodyguard, intervened and ensured nothing happened to Nayar, police said. After getting to know about the attack on Amkar, Nayar plotted an attack on Shetty on Thursday. He took the help of Salim Faizal Khan, a source said. On May 30, Muddassar I smail Ansari, 30, Sarvar Maksud Khan, 32 and Suleman Mehmood Patel assaulted Vishal Amkar, 31, and Murgan Mani Nadar, 52. The clash left all five injured and they were admitted at JJ Hospital. The three of them attacked Amkar and Nadar with a kapri [a sharp weapon made from aluminium plate and tin sheet]. The fight was brought under control by the jail police within seven minutes. All these accused who were involved in the brawl last month were shifted to Taloja jail after the incident, said an officer. Amkar sustained injuries to his cheeks, chest and left thigh while Nadar sustained injuries from his lower lip to chest. Mudassar sustained a head injury and a self-inflicted injury on his wrist, according to police then. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MUMBAI: The Shiv Senas strong arm tactics were on display again after the party found itself in two controversies on Thursday, involving two elected representatives of the party. The first instance involved a Sena Zilla Parishad member from Yavatmal, Pravin Shinde, who is seen in a video clip assaulting a bank official, ostensibly after an argument over issuing crop loans to farmers. The other instance involved Dadar Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, who is seen flailing his arm towards a woman. While some reports alleged Sarvankar had assaulted a woman standing next to him, the MLA denied it. Shinde allegedly assaulted a Central Bank of India official in the agrarian-crisis hit district of Yavatmal on Wednesday. Shinde had led a delegation of Sena leaders and workers, who were protesting against the failure of the bank to give out adequate crop loans to farmers. According to the party, Shindes protest was aimed against the banks red tape and its malpractices. Explaining this sequence of events, a Sena leader said, Shinde and the local party unit were protesting against the banks refusal to give farmers due loans. The bank was forcing farmers to go to agents and approving only those loans that were pushed by agents. When questioned, the bank employee started behaving arrogantly, leading to a ruckus. While Shinde couldnt be contacted for his comment, the Sena stood behind him and has decided not to take any action against him. The cause was just. Often, at such occasions, a Shiv Sainik gets emotional. Its the way the party functions, said a party leader. In the second instance, Sarvankar is seen flailing his arm towards a woman standing next to him, as seen in a short video clip HT accessed. Sarvankar later issued a statement and said, I was talking t o residents when someone pointed a phone towards me, while another person pointed a laser light towards me. As a reflex action, I pushed the mobile away with my hand. I dont know what happened next. I was shocked when news channels starting alleging I had hit the woman. Sarvankar, in f act, also circulated a statement by the woman in question, who dismissed t he alle g ations and said the mobile phone accidentally hit her, after Sarvankar pushed it. The Sena described the event as a non-starter. This is a very trivial event. Sarvankar had no intention to hit her and that is clearly shown in the video. He only tried to stop someone from recording the event. An argument over the presence of a man in the womens compartment of Gorakhpur Express led to a 22-year-old engineering student being pushed out of the moving train between Thakurli and Kalyan railway station on Thursday. The student is in critical condition at a Kalyan hospital after suffering serious injuries to her head and other parts of her body. The accused was arrested and produced in court where he has been remanded in police custody. The accused, Dinesh Yadav, 30, who works for a private mobile company, was on his way back to his residence in Thane from Bihar. The victim, Rekha Navle, was also travelling on the same train with her mother Sarita, 45, after a trip to Nashik. The police said around 7.30pm on Thursday, when the train reached Kalyan station, Yadav, who was travelling in the mens compartment, decided to enter the womens compartment. Rekha objected to his and an argument allegedly ensued between the two. Datta Pable, senior police inspector from Dombivli government railway police (GRP) said, After the argument, Yadav stood near the toilet in the same compartment. Rekha wanted to use the facility and asked Yadav to move aside because he was blocking the door. Yadav, who was angry to begin with, held both her hands, dragged her to the door and allegedly began pushing her out of the train. Rekha eventually lost her balance and fell on the tracks along with her mobile phone. When the train reached the next station, Thane, Rekhas mother Sarita along with other women in the compartment got down and called the police. Yadav was caught and eventually handed over to the Dombivli government railway police. The police said Rekha, who was lying unattended on the tracks, was rescued by Dombivli resident Amit Mahamunkar, who was heading home with his wife on his bike. He rushed her to Fortis hospital in Kalyan in an autorickshaw. Amit then called up Sarita from Rekhas mobile phone and informed her of their whereabouts. The accused has been booked under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In politics, it is said that there are no permanent friends or foes but only permanent interests. For the past one-and-a-half years after the Shiv Sena broke off with the BJP, its ally of 25 years, ahead of the 2014 assembly polls, only to join with them later, many obituaries have been written on the saffron alliance. There is little doubt that the Senas trajectory from being the big brother to the smaller one in the alliance post the ascent of PM Narendra Modi and the fact that BJP won 122 seats in the 2014 elections has threatened to weaken the fragile ties between the allies. The deaths of senior BJP leaders, mainly Pramod Mahajan who was the architect of the alliance and his brother-in-law, Gopinath Munde, has only worsened BJPs ties with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray after the demise of his father, Bal Thackeray. The only reason they continue to stay together is as the political maxim suggests, permanent interests, which is to continue to be in power in the state instead of ending the alliance and braving elections. But as the Sena celebrates 50 years on Sunday and the BJP goes into a huddle, the question is for how long can a common interest drag an unhappy marriage? Analysts say that if the Sena has to survive it will have to break the alliance soon. Pramod Mahajan forged the alliance with clear political calibration, to piggyback on the Sena and Bal Thackerays popularity, to spread its base in Maharashtra. They have similarly used regional parties in Goa, Rajasthan, Orissa and Bihar. Orissas chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Bihars Nitish Kumar realised where this was heading and called it quits. Uddhav has to do the same. His chance will be before the Mumbai and Thane municipal elections, the source of strength for the party, said analyst Prakash Bal. Whether Uddhav can revive the party, which runs on Thackerays popularity and the philosophy of street violence, is another question altogether. Party cadre are keen on a clean break now while its leaders are worried about being out of power for another two years. In between, its the mini-elections to 26 zilla parishad and 9 municipal corporations including Mumbai that could prove to be a make or break point for this two-decade-old relationship as both parties will assess the ground situation before taking a final call. BJP insiders admit that the agenda from the top is Shat Pratishat BJP or 100 per cent BJP. Its not just us, even Thackeray hijacked our Hindutva plank to further his image and party. Politics is about opportunism. We have to expand our base in Maharashtra now at the cost of Sena as there wont be a second chance. But, if we couldnt manage to do it on our own in 2014, when there was a Modi wave, can we do it in 2019?, said a BJP functionary. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON It may have been a year-and-a-half since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) snapped their 25-year-old ties with the Shiv Sena ahead of the 2014 elections, but for the latter, the wounds havent healed. In an interview to Hindustan Times, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party has learnt its lessons on friends and enemies. Thackeray said his partys experiences have made him wary of calling anyone a friend. Call it good fortune or bad, but the entire picture is clear to all -- who are ours, who arent; who are friends, who are enemies. We are wary to call anybody friends now. Is there anybody whom we can actually call friends? While he didnt name any party, it was clear the reference was to the BJP. Sena leaders agree the party felt betrayed by the BJP. Read more: HT Exclusive: Waves came, went but Sena remained firm Insiders said the sense of betrayal is manifested in the aggression the Sena constantly shows towards the BJP governments in the Centre and state. This is unlikely to change and will only lead to heightened tensions between the two in the run-up to the civic polls next year, said sources. Interestingly, the Sena feels a similar emotion towards its arch-rival, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). When asked if it was time to forge new friendships, Thackeray said, I have already said we are clear on who our friends and enemies are. There is no confusion in the minds of the people and the average Shiv Sainik. This stand, however, is a change of heart. Soon after the BJP called off the alliance, both the Sena and the MNS had tried to enter into an understanding with each other, something that MNS chief Raj Thackeray had admitted to. Thackerays stand indicates his confidence in his own skills and his partys strength, especially after taking on the BJP in the Assembly polls and winning 63 seats, and suggests he doesnt want to consider the prospect of a tie-up with the MNS. Within just eight months to go before the all-important civic polls in February next year, the states political equations could change. Thackeray may just give an inkling of whats on his mind when he addresses the party cadre on Sunday, when the Sena completes 50 years of existence. Read | HT Exclusive: I have not merged my party with the BJP, says Uddhav LUCKNOW: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and newly-appointed in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Thursday hinted at elevation of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the top post at an appropriate time and a bigger role for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying he hoped she would campaign beyond Amethi and Rae Bareli in the 2017 assembly elections in UP. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will become party president at one point. So far the campaigning is concerned, Sonia Gandhi (even if she ceases to be party president) and Rahul Gandhi as party president or vice-president will campaign for the party. He added, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been working for the party in Amethi, Rae Bareli and has also campaigned in adjoining districts like Pratapgarh. We hope she will certainly take out time to campaign beyond these constituencies. Azad, who was here on the first day of his visit to Lucknow after being appointed the partys state in charge to achieve Mission UP, raised the hopes of his party men. He declared that the victory in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had come as a ray of hope when the party was reduced to nearly a zero in 1977. This time, the Congress revival will begin from the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, said Azad. Asked about projecting a Brahmin as a chief ministerial candidate, Azad said the Congress did not believe in caste-based leadership. Azad also attacked the BJP, saying the party had tried to unnecessarily play up the Kairana and Bisara incidents at its national executive meet that concluded in Allahabad on Monday. He called upon his party men to tighten their seat belts to work for the 2017 assembly elections. He also gave a subtle warning to the leaders who camped in New Delhi, saying only those who worked at the grassroots level would be given priority. Ghaziabad For this doctor from Kaushambi, treating the underprivileged and the needy has become a way of life. Dr Subhash Goswami, an ophthalmologist who did his MS in ophthalmology from AIIMS, does consultation and treatment of eye disorders free of cost. A retired practitioner, Dr Goswami has opened a clinic at Satpura Tower in Kaushambi where, every day, hundreds of patients from nearby Bhovapur village and other slum areas come to get their vision corrected for free. For Dr Goswami, his place of practice is not a mere clinic, but a medium to serve society. After I retired from professional consultancy in 2006, I have found solace in working for society. This way, I can also practise my profession as each day I learn something new. It fills my heart with contentment to be of service to someone without giving them the burden of paying me, said the 70-year-old. Even as people queue up outside his clinic to get their eyes examined, Dr Goswami welcomes them with a wide smile. Apart from testing their eyes and getting them spectacles made for free, he also educates them on how to take care of their eyes and vision. A cost of Rs 500-Rs1,500 involved in making spectacles is a huge amount for people who come to me. I have observed that in order to avoid this expense, they continue to harm their vision without getting it rectified. When such people come to me, I appreciate them on their awareness and also tell them to bring more such people to my clinic who might be suffering from weak vision, he said. Dr Goswami has worked in renowned organisations all over the world during his career. However, he says the most satisfactory work for him was to hold eye checkup camps in the country for the underprivileged. When I was in practice, I could not find time to dedicate my service full time to society. Hence, I used to hold free three-day eye checkup camps for the needy and get them glasses made, Dr Goswami said. According to patients who come to him to get their eyes tested, the word about Dr Goswami has spread through villages and slums. Since most of us are skilled labourers, we dont find the need to get our vision rectified. But when someone told us that we can get ourselves spectacles made for free, I decided to get my eyes tested and came along with a neighbour who had the same problem, said Geeta Devi, a patient at the clinic and resident of Bhovapur village. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Opposing the screening of the movie Udta Punjab while its first show was on inside the cinema hall, a Shiv Sena faction, Hindu Suraksha Samiti and other radical Hindu organisations held a protest outside Omaxe Mall here on Friday. Videos: Udta Punjab mirrors drug menace... learn from it, say viewers in state Protesters against Udta Punjab outside a mall in Patiala on Friday. (Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo) Carrying the national flag and also some placards against the film, activists of the, held protest and raised slogans against the producers and director. Also read I Flying start to Udta Punjab in Badal backyard Bathinda Heavy police force was deployed around the mall as the administration was anticipating the protest. Harish Singla, who led the protest, said, The film is depicting Punjab in a wrong way as it is portraying that the entire state is in the grip of drugs. The film is full of vulgar dialogues, which is against Punjab. However, despite the protest, a large number of viewers, especially students, were seen standing in queues buy tickets. Also read I Udta Punjab: State govt welcomes any effort for drug awareness As Udta Punjab finally takes flight today, Chandigarh youngster Bhawsheel Singh Sahni is sure his Bollywood debut will strike a chord with the audience in Punjab. Bhawsheel, 21, has been cast as the youngest son, Lucky, in a family of drug suppliers.He admits he couldnt have asked for a better film to debut with. Describing himself as a diehard movie buff even as a child, he was always keen to be a part of the world of cinema.While I want to focus on acting at the moment, I would love to get into production one day, says Bhawsheel. He has also dabbled in advertisements. A former student of Chandigarhs St Johns High School and Bhavan Vidyalaya, he went on to pursue film-making and TV production from St Xaviers College, Mumbai, after finishing his BCom from DAV College, Chandigarh. Excited to have shared screen space with a big star cast, Bhawsheel says he didnt see it coming off as easy. I was neck-deep in my final-year exams when I got to know that the films casting director, Honey Trehan, was on the lookout for young actors from the region and that is when I decided to audition, he says, over the phone from Mumbai. The next day I got a call from Honey sir, saying I had been selected and I couldnt believe it! Bhawsheel has four scenes in the film, out of which he shares screen space with actors Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in three. He shot these scenes over 10 days in March and April 2015. Though he grew up in Punjab, the youngster shares how he was taken aback by the gravity of the drug problem in the state that came to light while shooting for the film. I was shattered by the statistics. A lot of research and hard work has gone into the film. It is important not only for the youth but for people of all age groups to watch it, he says. Watch | Udta Punjab mirrors drug menace... learn from it, say viewers in state Bhawsheel will also be seen in Vishal Bhardwajs Rangoon, starring Shahid Kapoor, and Vipul Shahs Commando 2. He is currently playing the character of a musician in a first-of-itskind web series on Facebook. Meanwhile, he is looking forward to watching the film on the day of release with his friends in Mumbai and cannot wait to get feedback from his parents who will watch the film in Chandigarh. His father, Gurmeet Singh, a teacher at a Chandigarh school, said the family was equally excited. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Amidst the tension that prevailed in Ludhiana after the death of Dera Sacha Sauda follower Gurdev Singh at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Friday, the family members and dera followers have decided not to take the body for cremation till the culprits are nabbed. Gurdev was declared dead by the hospital at around 3 am on Friday. Post mortem was conducted in Ludhiana and his body has been kept at a civil hospital mortuary in the city. A meeting of members of the dera committee will be held after which the further course of action will be decided. 35-year-old Gurdev was shot in the back of the head by an assailant soon after he had opened his grocery shop on Monday at 5.30am in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village, 25 km from Faridkot town. Read: Tension in Faridkot after Dera Sacha Sauda follower shot at After his demise, dera followers gathered at the hospital and a huge posse of police was pressed in for service to prevent any untoward incident. However, the situation in Ludhiana was under control as the followers said they did not want the general public to have any kind of inconvenience. Read: Year after bir theft, village loses peace again with attack on dera follower Meanwhile, Faridkot deputy commissioner (DC) Malwinder Singh Jaggi visited the house of Gurdev at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village to offer his condolences to the bereaved family. The dera followers had earlier in the day made assurance that they would not create any kind of violent situation in the region. However, according to sources, more than 5000 people were expected to gather at the Naam Charcha Ghar in Kot Ke Hazure village. On Thursday as well, the Faridkot administration and police had remained on toes throughout the day after dera followers from nearby towns had started gathering at the Naam Charcha Ghar on the Faridkot bypass since morning. By noon, around 1,500 followers had gathered there, demanding the arrest of persons involved in the attack on Gurdev. Sensing the situation, DC had met the dera followers at his camp office and assured them that the police was close to cracking the case. The DC had also assured the delegation of nabbing the accused soon. After the meeting, the dera followers had deferred their protest. Jaggi further said proper security arrangements had been made and he himself would sit in Kotkapura to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, situation in Faridkot was normal till the filing of this report. The recent hike in fuel prices has not gone down well with the farmers in the region as they fear that it will lead to an increase in input cost for farmers in the paddy season. Over the last one-and-a-half month, this is the fourth time that the fuel prices have been hiked by the government. The petrol price was hiked by Rs 1.06 a litre on May 1 and by Rs 0.83 on May 17. Similarly on diesel, the price was increased by Rs 2.94 on May 1 and by Rs 1.26 a per litre on May 17. It was again hiked on June 01 when the petrol price rose by Rs 2.58 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.26 per litre. On Wednesday another hike was announced with diesel prices going up by Rs 1.26 per litre and petrol by 5 paise. In Mansa district, the area under paddy cultivation has increased from 85,000 hectares (2015) to 95,000 hectares this year and the hike in diesel prices will only increase the financial burden on farmers. A farmer utilises around 2,000 litres of diesel on every acre of his land in the paddy cultivation season. For drawing water, most farmers use tubewell connections, which are run with the help of fuel, said BKU (ugrahan) leader Ram Singh Behnibagah. Another farmer from Moosa village said that the hike in fuel prices only shows the the Centre is least concerned about farmers. Punjab Kisan Union leader Ruldoo Singh attacked the state government for not opposing the hike in fuel prices. The state government should oppose the move, he said. Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal, who was in Mansa to mobilise supporters for the protest rally at Muktsar, criticised the state government. Its high time that Parkash Singh Badal, who calls himself pro-farmer, speaks up against this injustice. Either the fuel prices are hiked or taxes are increased which only burdens the consumers, he said. Read: Paddy sowing begins, power demand up in Punjab by 20% SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The easy analysis is that unemployment is at the root of rising drug abuse in Punjab. Thats more of perception, in fact. Opulence coupled with easy availability is equally behind this juggernaut. And the lack of an effective de-addiction drive is deflating the anti-drug drive. From sweeping out drugs as part of a clean-up, the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government has shifted policy and is seeking to brush the issue under the carpet. Opposition parties see in drugs a sure-shot recipe to checkmate the ruling combine in assembly elections due early next year. Who suffers in the end? PAWAN SHARMA meets young men, hooked to drugs, who want to escape its clutches. In Class 8, seniors told me to try it, and I did Akashdeep Singh, 20, school dropout, Mehmudpur village, Batala; landowner I had barely begun walking when my father died, my mother told me. He was a sarpanch and a thekedar (contractor), and left behind enough money for the four of us my mother, two sisters and I. As a student I was bright, at the government school at Balpurian in Batala. When I was in Class 8, I left school a few months after I was introduced to chitta (smack/heroin/mixture). It was raining that day. Three Class-9 students of my school from Jandiala village persuaded me to taste once... I had seen them using it... I gave in. Within two months I began injecting heroin. My friends taught me how to. Initially, friends provided the daily fix; the cost was Rs 700 per dose, which now costs Rs 4,200 per five grams. I got into the taxi trade but spent every penny on heroin. When samaan (stuff or heroin) was not available for two years due to police strictness, prices went up. Now, its easily available. I underwent a de-addiction course four times without much success. A fortnight ago I sold my new Indica for Rs 15,000 as I desperately needed money. I am slipping inside this daldal (quagmire); slowly, I will slip out of this world as yet another heroin addict. Also Read | Drugs, the devil that has Batalas Gandhi Camp slum in its clutches It was difficult to get the stuff for while, but now the supply is open! Baljeet Singh, 26, studied till Class 10, Manayala village, near Gurdaspur; farmer It has been five years since I began using heroin. I have seven acres of land and my younger brother is settled abroad; he supports the family. When I turned 20, my father died and shortly after that I was married. My wife turned out to be mentally deranged. We had been deceived. That destabilised me. Legally, I got separated. But I began mingling with other amlis (addicts) of my village due to the shock. In between, I got married to a beautiful girl. I have two sons. But even before the second marriage I had got hooked to heroin. Most addicts here get it from Buta village near Subhanpur. Khand ni milugi per chitta jaroor miluga othey (You may not get sugar but will certainly get drugs there). When I started, the price was Rs 1,000 per gram. Now, the rate is Rs 2,400 per gram. Its a fixed rate in Buta. It became difficult to get the stuff for while, but now the supply is open! My daily fix has been minimum one gram. Pure heroin is not available. Otherwise, one gram can kill a person! Despite this deadly disease, my mother and wife cooperated with me and I in turn kept working in my fields. I have tractors and I plough land of others also to make more money. I have spent Rs 30 lakh on heroin so far. You can identify me in the newspaper. I will be happy if my plight saves some youth. We are 15-20 heroin users in my village. Many have died. Every addict wants to get out of it; but how? Supply should be stopped. Also Read | Drugs killed my nephew; save your kids: Punjabi NRI tycoon on drug menace Every house in that village sells heroin; police know it Varun, 28, studied till Class 12, Gurdaspur, runs shoe shop I hear politicians making noises that unemployed youth are into drugs. But anybody in a weak moment can get into this dark world. How will a penniless person buy drugs; that too heroin? Rs 3,000 a gram! I started five years ago, just for fun... My friends were into it. But the death of an addict in front of me on June 12 has shaken me... I with two friends had gone to Channi Beli village, 10km from Pathankot in Himachal. It has about 30 houses and every house of Channi Beli sells heroin. Police know it. While the three of us bought one gram in all, another youth who had come alone bought one gram from the same peddler. We sat at a lonely place and began taking our daily fix. That man who was alone suddenly collapsed. He was dead. Two of my friends also fainted. I was terrified. I thought I would die too. I shook my friends, rubbed their feet. They began regaining consciousness. And I heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately, we fled. But that man was dead. Perhaps, the quality of heroin that we bought was too high. One gram of pure dose can kill. Three of us had divided one gram in three parts. That saved us. That very moment I decided to rush to a de-addiction centre before this poison kills me. But where are the good centres? Also Read | Udta Punjab: Facts, figures and falsehoods of states drug problem I left home, am absent from army job for 3 yrs...all for Bhukki 35, absentee from army, Naushera Bahadur, Tibri Cantt, Gurdaspur I got into the army in 1999. Once I was even a special security guard of Major General HS Hooda (now a Lt General and army commander of Northern Command). My first posting was in Kashmir where people grow poppy. During searches, soldiers take away poppy pods. Back in the barracks, we would grind the pods to make poppy husk. It would keep tiredness at bay. By the time I realised I was addicted, it was too late. In 2003, my unit was shifted to Mamoon cantonment in Punjabs Pathankot. I began procuring poppy husk from Channi Beli village, 10km from Pathankot, in Himachal Pradesh. Then my unit was sent to Mumbai, where I did not get my dose. I came home feigning a family emergency. My wife sensed I was hiding something. She found that I had taken a weeks leave, while I had told her that I was on a very long leave. She informed the army authorities. I ran away, and have been absconding from the army for three years now. I had been in Madhya Pradesh, where bhukki is legally available. I drove trucks between MP and Karnataka. I snapped all connections with my parents, wife, daughter (14), son (8)... All for bhukki! Two months ago, my wife managed to contact me. She threatened to commit suicide along with the children. Fortunately, when she called I was not high. I came back and went straight to a de-addiction centre. Also Read | Chitta ve? Study shows Punjabi songs driving youth towards drugs SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Three days after abducting a five-year-old boy from the Golden Temple, a couple returned the child at the shrine and surrendered to the police, apparently due to pressure create by the social media. The five-year-old had been taken away by a woman on June 14, as was visible in the security camera footage. The child was taken to Delhi, by the woman named Ranjit Kaur and her husband Sahib Singh. In the wee hours of Friday, they came to the shrine and returned the child to officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). It happened because the news and the images had gone viral on online networks, said SGPC officials and the cops. The police that had already registered a case of abduction against the woman detained her, said station house officer (SHO), Division-E, inspector Sanjeev Kumar. Daljit Bedi, SGPC additional secretary, said, Ever since the child was abducted, our teams were regularly monitoring the CCTV (closed-circuit television) camera footage. After the video grab went viral, the couple was pressurised to bring the child back. In their defence, Sahib Singh said, My wife took away the child as he was roaming around alone; and she thought that someone wrong must not take the child. However, the couple had no answers to why the child was taken to Delhi and why they did not report to the police or the SGPC when they saw the child alone and crying on June 14. With Chitta Ve, the theme song of Udta Punjab, lyricist Shellee has described the Punjab state of mind by using the key word of the states drug problem chitta, Punjabi for white. It is the colloquial name for smack or heroin, the addictive narcotics that are a white powder. With this, the Chandigarh-born, Ambala-bred theatre arts graduate has also lent a new Punjabi idiom to Bollywood, for better or for worse, beyond the happy-go-lucky, bhangra-dancing stereotype. Video: Udta Punjab mirrors drug menace... learn from it, say viewers in state With chitta, I added ve, a way of lovingly calling out to a dear one in Punjabi. The drug is very dear to the addict, you know. Asked if he has ended up glorifying drugs, the 40-something writer says, While the dependence on drugs comes out in the song, so does the desperation, and the devastation. There is a line in the song that says, Pehle maza par phir mazar ban gaya (First it was fun, then it turned into a grave). Shellees 15-year-old son Anhad is also humming this song at home in Mumbai and has liked the beat. But he explains: I have taken care to explain the sorrows of drug usage to him, and he has responded well. The songs have got appreciation from his Chinese-Indian wife Meiying, who has stood by him as rock through his years of struggle. Even Chitta Ve went through 10 revisions before Shellee, born Shailender Singh Sodhi, finally heard his song on air. And, he admits, he had no idea it would turn out to be the hit it has become today. It was difficult to bring everyone on the same page. When director Abhishek Chaubey liked it, someone from Phantom Films would reject it... There was a time when composer (music director) Amit Trivedi and I had started doubting our talents. I had to write 10 versions of the song before it was finalised, Shellee says. He admits he never thought that the song would do this well: It all started with a phone call from Amit when I was chilling with friends in Pune. We have worked together in Dev D and he told me to reach Mumbai the same day. I read the script and loved it though I found it dark. It took him a month and a half to convince the Phantom team about Chitta ve. But its been worth the effort. Shellee has three other songs on the album of seven. He specifically explains Hass Nach Le that has Sufi overtones. This is a song on the long spiritual tradition of Punjab and the call of the good earth, which goes, Panj dariyavan de paida, sun bandea ve; Ais mitti ton bakaida, Sun bandea ve, leyy ton na ho alaida (Born to the land of five rivers, you, listen now; take heed of this earth, listen now, do not strike a false note in the sonata). Dark side of Punjab The film depicts the dark side of Punjab. So far, Punjab has been shown in a cliched happy-go-lucky light in Hindi films, complete with bhangra and sarson de khet. So its important that the audience are familiarised with this side as well, says Shellee. The Punjabi that he is, Shellee had put a condition that he would only take on the project if he was allowed to write the rap in the songs himself. Usually, they engage rappers but I knew I had a dark side and wanted to explore it. I did a lot of research and even visited some places to meet drug addicts. It helped me write some of these songs, he adds. Shellee, whose father is the late Punjabi scholar Himmat Singh Sodhi, graduated from the department of Indian theatre at Panjab University, Chandigarh, after studying at DAV School, Ambala cantonment. Also read | HT Spotlight: Dark side of chitta, in words of victims Heres a brave one. What do you do when you spot your stolen bicycle in a market? You go after the thief ! Thats what a bunch of kids aged between nine and 12 did. Nine-year-old Gurshan Singhs bicycle went missing from the government flats near Dugri Canal Bridge three days ago, when he and his friend Tushar Sood were visiting another friends place for a round of computer games. Gurshan parked the bicycle near the stairs, only to find it missing when it was time to return home. On Wednesday, as luck would have it, Gurshans friends Tushar, 10, and Anmol Singh Grewal, 9, spotted the stolen bike on a road near their residence. That is when the adrenaline rush kicked in. Tushar and Anmol chased the thieves and nabbed them at the dargah near CRPF Colony, Urban Estate. Tushar and Anmol were shocked to find two teenagers riding the stolen bicycle near CRPF colony. Tushar was skating nearby, and immediately raised an alarm. He, along with Anmol, immediately started running behind the thieves to catch them. Tushar and I stopped the duo and asked them to return the bike. They threatened us and asked us to go back. One of us held the handle of the bicycle and the other got into a tussle with one of the boys. Soon after that, they fled leaving the bike behind, said Class 5 student Anmol. Tushar said he identified the bicycle from the signs made on it by Gurshans grandfather. He said they did not even think twice before rescuing the bicycle that belonged to their friend. Relieved on getting his bicycle back, Gurshan said The tape on the cycle was intact and so was the wire my grandfather had tied around it for identification. I have now removed the paint that the abductors had put on it. I am very thankful to my friends. Surinder Kaur, Gurshans mother thanked Tushar and Anmol for their courage and presence of mind. She said they had looked for the cycle all over the place. The family did not lodge a police complaint when the cycle went missing three days back. Ramesh Srivastava, president of NGO Samaj Sewa Society and a neighbour said they never approached the police because such complaints were largely ignored. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Its a peculiar situation to be in, but in India anything is possible.What happens if someone renovates a property or constructs a house and realises that the title of the property is defective? What if the person is evicted from the property by the lawful owner who has a better property title? In such a situation, what rights does the person (who has made improvements in the property) and been evicted, have? To make it clearer, suppose X acquires a plot of land under the will executed by his father. He believes he is the lawful owner of the property and constructs a triple storey building on it. However, he soon discovers that the property belongs to his paternal uncle and that it was wrongly willed to him by his father. He is then evicted from the property. In such a situation, Section 51 of Transfer of Property Act, 1882, comes into play. The Act states that in such circumstances the person who has made improvements in the property but is now being evicted has alternative rights against the person with the better title.He has three options: To pay the estimated value of the improvement at the time of eviction, or To secure to him the estimated value of the improvement at the time of eviction, or To offer to sell the property to the person being evicted, at the then market value thereof, exclusive of improvements The High Court of Madras in the case of Vijayalakshmi vs Sulochana and others, dated October 7, 2010, dealt with a case such as this. A plot of land measuring 3,600 square feet was sold by KB Padmanabhan (owner) to Sulochana who was the first buyer vide sale deed dated August 10, 1966. She and her husband lived in a house which was 15 km away from the plot. They had fenced the plot and installed a gate on one side. On January 28, 1980, MB Murugappan, who was the son of the owner, sold the same plot to Vijayalakshmi. She purchased the plot unaware of any prior sale. Since the execution of sale deed dated January 28, 1980, the second purchaser and her husband constructed a building on the plot in good faith believing themselves to be the lawful owners. When Sulochana discovered that a building had been constructed on the plot by the second buyer, she approached the court asking it to declare her title to the plot and vacate it. The trial court decreed that Vijayalakshmi, the second buyer, had to pay Sulochana the value of the plot along with interest after which she (Vijayalakshmi) would have valid title over the plot of land and the house. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Sulochana filed an appeal before the appellate court. The appellate court held that the first buyer was entitled to recovery of possession and declaration of title. Since the second buyer had made improvements to the plot by construction of the building, Sulochana had to pay the second buyer, Vijayalakshmi, the value of the building constructed by her. Then the second buyer, unhappy with the decree passed by the first appellate court, filed a second appeal before the High Court of Madras. After assessing the facts and going through the documentary evidence available on record, the court concluded that the first buyer was the first purchaser of the property and the purchase made by her was true and valid in the eyes of law. The second buyer was directed to hand over the plot along with the building/improvements to the first buyer. However, the court on the basis of principles of justice, equity and good conscience directed the first buyer to pay the value of the building constructed by the second buyer on the plot, which was to be determined by the court. The author is a senior partner at Zeus Law, a corporate commercial law firm. One of its areas of specialisations is real estate transactional and litigation work. If you have any queries, email us at ht@zeus.firm.in and htestates@hindustantimes.com. Read More: All about tenancy at sufferance A gastronomic exhibition replicating dishes from some of the top restaurants around the globe has opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, allowing visitors to embark on a global culinary experience without leaving the city. The vision of chef Corey Lee, who helms the triple Michelin-starred San Fran restaurant Benu, In Situ brings the cuisine of superstar chefs from France, the UK, Italy, Hong Kong, Denmark, Spain and Japan to diners at the recently opened museum. Read: Ramzan: The time Delhi loves to fast, feast and celebrate For the exhibit-restaurant, Lee worked with chefs to faithfully recreate each dish. Dishes were either chosen from a chefs existing repertoire, or created especially for the In Situ exhibit. The menu will rotate between chefs and restaurants according to seasonality. Opening the exhibit this week, for example, is a caramelized carrot soup from Nathan Myhrvold, author of Modernist Cuisine. Brown Oyster Stew, Benne, and Charleston Ice Cream, by Sean Brock of Husk. (Eric Wolfinger) Diners can also travel to Paris without leaving town and tuck into a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich filled with Saint-Nectaire cheese and black truffle, from Astrance restaurant. To cap off their meal, they can also sample the pastry wizardry of Dominique Ansel, who contributed his recipe for a sage smoked dark chocolate brownie. The concept is an interesting extension of an emerging trend in the world of haute gastronomy: restaurants and chefs swapping kitchens or hosting pop-ups around the world and breaking down the barriers of brick and mortar restaurants at fixed addresses. Read: Things to see, do and eat in Euro 2016 host city Bordeaux Overall, the list of participating chefs represents a powerhouse of some of the most influential cooks in the upper echelons of haute and trending gastronomy today. They include chefs Massimo Bottura, whose Italian restaurant Osteria Francescana was named the worlds best restaurant this week; Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen; Albert Adria of Tickets in Barcelona; Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in Yountville; and Seiji Yamamoto of RyuGin in Osaka among dozens of others. The space can accommodate up to 70 guests and is open during lunch hours but will expand to dinner in the future. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more. Brazil-born striker Eder overcame an otherwise patchy performance to score a late goal in a 1-0 victory over Sweden that sent Italy into the last 16 of Euro 2016 on Friday. Eder, playing in his first major finals for Italy after being naturalised last year, came close to being substituted by Antonio Conte after a dismal opening half up front alongside Southampton striker Graziano Pelle. But the Inter Milan striker had the Italy bench celebrating wildly on the pitch at the Stadium de Toulouse with a well-taken 88th minute strike after running on to Simone Zazas header to beat Andreas Eriksson at his far post. Italy, 2-0 winners over Belgium last week, now top Group E with six points, leaving Sweden, who had late claims for a penalty waved away, realistically needing to beat Belgium on Wednesday if they are to have any hope of making it to the knockout phase. After a mediocre display in Swedens 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, all eyes were on captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the towering striker sought to make his mark by becoming the first man to score in four editions of the competition. But a cautious Italy restricted the former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain striker to few real chances in front of a huge army of yellow-clad Sweden fans. Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed to make a mark. (Reuters) They were given hope after just two minutes when Ibrahimovic rose to meet a high cross, but Giorgio Chiellini cleared with his head. It was one of few real chances for Erik Hamrens men in a tight first half that saw Italy strikers Pelle and Eder fail to shine on their few real forays up the park. Italys formidable three-man defence meant Gianluigi Buffon had little to do until he dived to collect Kim Kallstroms curling shot, and the Juventus keeper was happy to see Olssons drive whistle past the post soon after. When Daniele De Rossi fouled Ibrahimovic in midfield, the striker got his head to Kallstroms 40-yard free kick but he was flagged offside. The Azzurri broke the monotony when Candreva collected Florenzis cross-field ball to fire in an inviting cross, but Erik Johansson was quick to intercept. At the other end Sweden edged closer, Sebastian Larsson chesting a long cross into the path of Celta Vigos John Guidetti only for the striker to skew wide. Italy started the second half in positive fashion, Pelle controlling Eders cutback from a Marco Parolo through ball, but his volley dipped over the crossbar. Parolo did well to control De Rossis pass and set up Candreva on the right, but the Lazio mans drive into the area was collected by Isaksson, who got down quickly to smother moments later after another Candreva delivery. On that occasion, Eder was well out of position but it was Pelle who was replaced on the hour, by Simone Zaza. Minutes later, Florenzis high delivery across goal found Candreva at the back post, yet Isaksson again got down low to smother the Lazio mans low first-time effort. Italian hopes looked to be dying out and the Azzurri breathed a sigh of relief when Ibrahimovic fired over from a yard out at the back post although he was ruled offside. Parolo raised Italian hopes on 82 minutes with a header that came off the woodwork. But it was Eder who rescued Contes men with a fine run that took him past the Swedish defence to fire the ball into the net with two minutes to play. Defending European champions Spain booked their place in the last 16 round of Euro 2016 on Friday with a convincing 3-0 win against Turkey in Nice. Vicente del Bosques men bossed the Group D tie from the kickoff, with a double by Juventus Alvaro Morata and a first competitive international goal from Nolito sealing a comfortable win. We showed our winning mentality and great team spirit here tonight, said Andres Iniesta, who was awarded man-of-the-match. It depends on ourselves how far we go here, the feelings we have are very positive at the moment, he said. Turkey could also face UEFA sanctions after sections of their support lit flares and threw firecrackers onto the pitch at full-time. Spain, aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive Euros title, can seal top spot in the pool with just a draw against Croatia in their final group game on Tuesday. Turkey need to beat the Czech Republic in their final match and hope other results go their way to have any chance of progressing as one of the four best third-placed sides from the six groups. We have completed our first objective, to qualify for the next round, we controlled the game almost for the whole 90 minutes and we scored goals, so it was perfect, Del Bosque said. But we havent won anything yet, we are on a good path but there is still a long way to go, he added. Before the game Turkey coach Fatih Terim had called for more fight from his side to keep their Euro 2016 hopes alive after an out-of-sorts display against Croatia on Sunday, and for a while his players responded. Sitting deep and launching the occasional counter-attack, Hakan Calhanoglu roused Turkeys raucous fans by sending a free-kick just over David de Geas crossbar on 25 minutes. From the half-hour though, Spain moved up a gear, starving Turkey of possession and, with Iniesta pulling the strings in midfield, carving out chance after chance. And Terim lambasted his players for not giving their all for the cause. Today our national team threw in the towel, I didnt like it, he said. Spain's Nolito scores his side's second goal during the Euro 2016 Group D soccer match between Spain and Turkey at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, France. (AP Photo) Spain are a special team, one of the strongest sides in the tournament, the first 30 minutes was ok but afterwards we didnt play well, he said. First Sergio Busquets teed up Nolito for a right-footed curler just wide of left post. Then the busy Celta Vigo winger scuffed wide under pressure after a cutback from Juanfran. On 34 minutes, though, Nolito turned provider to greater effect. Looking up, he spotted Morata unmarked in front of goal and curled a pass over the defence to the marksman whose header gave Spain the lead. Three minutes later, Vicente del Bosques men went two-up, this time with Nolito as the finisher. A chip into the box by Cesc Fabregas should not have reached its target but Mehmet Topal, off-balance, headed backward to the lurking Nolito who half-volleyed on the turn past Volkan Babacan. After the break, despite some brief flurries of Turkish resistance, Spain quickly added a third on 48 minutes. Iniesta, immaculate throughout, threaded a ball through the Turkish defence to Jordi Alba who squared to Morata for his second of the night, a tap-in through Babacans legs. It was all too easy after that for the two-time defending champions. Substitute Bruno Soriano nearly scored a fourth midway through the half, forcing a Babacan to tip round the post. Then two minutes from the end he ballooned over when well-placed. It was another desperately disappointing day for Turkey who had come into the tournament in fine form. Individual mistakes caused at least one of the goals, said the 62-year-old Terim who guided Turkey to the European Championship semi-final in 2008. One of them was unbelievable, even the smallest chances you cant give Spain, otherwise there is no way to resist them. Fancied by some as dark horses to at least escape the group, they didnt manage a shot on target, while their fans even took to booing their star player Barcelonas Arda Turan late on. Bernie Sanders has vowed to work with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to defeat Republican Donald Trump in the November polls, but declined to bow out of his race to the White House. Vermont Senator Sanders, 74, said he is committed to fight for the values and policies that he espoused during his campaign. Our vision for the future of this country is not some kind of fringe idea. It is not a radical idea. It is mainstream. It is what millions of Americans believe in and want to see happen, Sanders said in a live video address to his supporters from Vermont on Friday. Sanders highlighted his campaigns support for liberal priorities including the labour, civil rights, environmental, womens and gay movements. Thats what the political revolution is about and that is why the political revolution must continue into the future, he said. He captured more than 12 million votes, won 22 State primaries and caucuses and came very close, within 2 points or less, in five more states. Sanders did not announce to suspend his campaign, but vowed to work with Clinton, 68, to defeat Trump, 70, saying in the next five months, his main focus would be to ensure Trumps defeat. The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. This campaign is about defeating Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president. After centuries of racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms in our country we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign, he said. We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, Muslims, women and African-Americans. We cannot have a president who, in the midst of so much income and wealth inequality, wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very rich. We cannot have a president who, despite all of the scientific evidence, believes that climate change is a hoax. Sanders said. He said that defeating Trump cannot be his only goal. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become. We must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia where we will have more than 1,900 delegates, he said. Referring to his recent meeting with Clinton, Sanders said they discussed some of the very important issues facing the country and the Democratic party. I also look forward to working with secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors, he added. British lawmaker Jo Cox was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing shock across Britain and leading to the suspension of campaigning for next weeks referendum on the countrys EU membership. The Kingdom was plunged into sorrow over the bloodshed in the otherwise peaceful campaign. Here are some prominent reactions to the death of Cox Brendan Cox, Jos husband Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. Brendan Cox, husband of Labour MP Jo Cox, and their two daughters ride an inflatable dinghy as they take part in a counter-demonstration to support the Remain campaign on the river Thames in London on Wednesday. (Reuters) She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. British Prime Minister David Cameron We have lost a great star. She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is right that we are suspending campaigning activity in this referendum, and everyones thoughts will be with Jos family and her constituents at this terrible time. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn Weve lost a wonderful woman, weve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, well work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (C) stands amongst colleagues as he attends a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London. (AFP) Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve. In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jos husband Brendan and their two young children. Finance minister George Osborne Jo fought to help the refugees from the Syrian civil war she gave a voice to those whose cry for help she felt was not being heard. It changed attitudes and I know it contributed to a change in policy. She will never know how many lives she helped transform. Today, doing that job, she senselessly lost her own life. A police forensic officer picks up a bag from the crime scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot in Birstall, northern England on Thursday (AFP) US presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England. By all accounts, she was a rising star. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. It is critical that the United States and Britain, two of the worlds oldest and greatest democracies, stand together against hatred and violence. This is how we must honour Jo Cox -- by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together. German Chancellor Angela Merkel The incident is terrible, dramatic and our thoughts are with the people affected the Labour lawmakers, the politicians. I dont want to connect this with the vote on Great Britain staying in the European Union. Messages from well wishers for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen on a board in Parliament Square, London (Reuters) French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Deeply sad for Jo Cox and the British people. Through her its our democratic ideals that were targeted. Never accept that! US secretary of state John Kerry I join you in expressing my deep sorrow that a young parliamentarian, who obviously was a young woman of enormous talent, has been killed in the conduct of her duties with her constituency. It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy. And our thoughts are profoundly with the family her husband, her children and with all of the British people, who I know feel the loss profoundly. At a vigil in Parliament square in London on Thursday. (AFP) Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairperson of group of Euro Zone finance ministers The UK is a beacon for peaceful politics, and we hope that the British public ... can make their democratic choices serenely and in a safe way next week. Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen My thoughts are with her family, her friends, and the British people. It was a true shock to me that a British politician was killed during the campaign. A school girl arrives with flowers to leave in tribute to Jo Cox, near the scene where she was killed in Birstall near Leeds. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon This is utterly shocking and tragic news, which has left everyone stunned. She was held in huge regard as a brilliant young woman, who had already contributed a huge amount in her time in Parliament, and today she was simply going about her job as a local MP. US ambassador to Britain Matthew Barzun We are heartbroken by the loss to her family and country of MP Jo Cox. My love and our love to them, in this time of unbearable grief. Former US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived shooting in 2011 Absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of Jo Cox. She was young, courageous, and hardworking. A rising star, mother, and wife. People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox (Reuters) Max Lawson of Charity Oxfam, who worked closely with Cox Jo was a diminutive pocket rocket from the north. She was a ball of energy, always smiling, full of new ideas, of idealism, of passion. She gave so much to Oxfam. David Miliband, Former British foreign secretary People in need around the world have lost a tireless, effective and redoubtable champion today following the murder of Jo Cox MP. Her passionate advocacy, first of all working in NGOs and then in Parliament as an elected representative, on behalf of vulnerable and displaced people was a study in effective activism. John Curtice, polling expert and politics professor at University Of Strathclyde Its fairly clear no one is quite sure what has happened. Until its clear who was responsible and what their motivation was or it might have been, all it does is stop the campaign when the Remain side probably would not want it to be stopped. A card in tribute to Jo Cox (Reuters) Mujtaba Rahman, Europe practice head at Eurasia Group This will hurt the momentum of the Leave campaign, which has been gaining steadily in recent polls. It will allow British Prime Minister David Cameron an opportunity to act like a statesman and retrieve the agenda, something he has lost over the last week. If the incident is confirmed to have been motivated by Brexit, it will also reflect poorly on the more strident elements of the Vote Leave campaign, potentially swinging undecided voters towards Remain. Alan Ruskin, global co-head of FX Research at Deutsche Bank Certainly people are talking about the possibility that this does influence the Brexit vote in favour of Remain. It is a tragic event all around. There is a sense, there is an immediate emotional reaction, but there is still a week before the referendum itself. It definitely is seen as part of the story, the recovery of risk. Generally you are seeing so-called riskier assets recover. All the assets, whether equities, aussie/yen or sterling/yen are recovering. They are up on the perception of a higher probability of a Remain vote. Read | 10 things to know about British MP Jo Cox who died in stabbing, shooting The alleged killer of British lawmaker Jo Cox was a dedicated supporter of a neo-Nazi group based in the United States, a civil rights group reported Thursday. The Southern Poverty Law Centre said that the man named by British media as the attacker, Thomas Mair, had a long history with white nationalism. Read: Pro-EU British MP dies after street stabbing, shooting in constituency According to records obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center Mair was a dedicated supporter of the National Alliance (NA), the once premier neo-Nazi organization in the United States, for decades, the legal advocacy group said on its website. Cox, a 41-year-old lawmaker with the opposition Labour Party who was known for campaigning for refugee rights, was killed in a daylight attack Thursday in her home constituency in Yorkshire in northern England. Police said an investigation was underway to establish the motive for the murder, which halted campaigning a week before Britains referendum on whether to leave the European Union, a debate marked by divisions over immigration. Read more: 10 things to know about British MP Jo Cox who died in stabbing, shooting The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that Mair had spent more than $620 on reading material from the National Alliance, a group which called for the creation of an all-white homeland and eradication of Jewish people. Images of two invoices published on the advocacy groups website appeared to show orders for magazines from Thomas Mair, with an address in West Yorkshire. One handbook Mair purchased included instructions on building a gun from everyday materials, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. British media reported witnesses of the attack as saying that the assailant had used a gun of old-fashioned or homemade appearance. One witness, cafe-owner Clarke Rothwell, told the Press Association that the gunman had shouted put Britain first repeatedly during the attack. Britain First is the name of a far-right anti-immigration group, which released a statement saying it was obviously not involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort. Mairs brother, Scott Mair, told the Daily Telegraph that Thomas is not violent and is not all that political. He has a history of mental illness, but he has had help, Scott Mair said. Separately, the newspaper reported that Mair was a subscriber to S.A. Patriot, a South African magazine published by a pro-apartheid group with an editorial stance against multiculturalism. Bernie Sanders is not going away, not yet at least, even if the rest of the 2016 race for the White House, and all that comes with it such as close media attention, has moved on. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has pivoted fully to the general election, focussing on Republican candidate Donald Trump, and is vetting candidates for running mate. But Sanders vowed on Thursday to press on and defeat Trump in a speech live-streamed to around 200,000 viewers. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become, he said. And we must take that energy into the Democratic National Convention on July 25 in Philadelphia, where we will have more than 1,900 delegates. While Sanders may appear girding up for a fight at the convention, its probably not for the party nomination, which he has lost to Clinton by a wide and unbridgeable margin. Sanders and his advisers want to continue the race to ensure their agenda and policy postures are adequately reflected in the party platform to be issued at the convention. And the party nominee accommodated them in her policy pronouncements too some of which she has already adopted, such as attacks on big banks and campaign reforms. The Sanders campaign is not ready to concede and endorse Clinton yet. We would like to get to a place where we could very actively support the nominee, campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Bloomberg Television. He implied they were not there yet. But some of Sanders supporters are such as Senator Jeff Merkley, one of his earlier endorsers who has announced his support for Clinton. The media has moved on too, as The New York Times noted: CNN ignored Sanderss speech, and stayed focussed on its Orlando coverage; Fox had a panel discussion on terrorism at the time, and MSNBC, which went live, cut away after a bit. The Democratic nominee, who needs Sanders supporters, is not waiting either, and is fully focussed on the general election and her Republican rival. While neither of them has yet announced their running mate, they are likely to shortly typically, as is the practice, before their party conventions in early July. The Wall Street Journal has reported the Clinton campaign is vetting Senator Elizabeth Warren for the vice-president slot. Others include Senators Tim Kaine and Sherrod Brown. Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed Britains support for Indias application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Britain is among several countries including the United States that support Indias entry into the elite nuclear trading club. A Downing Street spokesperson said: The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indias application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support Indias application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity. The two leaders also agreed the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit to India by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. India recently applied for membership of the NSG but the move has run into rough weather because of opposition from China, which has linked the issue to New Delhi signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. China has also backed a move for its all weather ally Pakistan to be admitted to the NSG at the same time as India. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India and Pakistans long-running differences over Kashmir and terrorism could destabilise the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which the two South Asian neighbours are expected to join soon, a top research body has said. With Pakistan announcing on Thursday that it will become a member of the six-member bloc during next weeks summit in Tashkent, that disruption could begin sooner. The SCOs current members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, while Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. The SCO is scheduled to hold a summit on June 23 and 24 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where Pakistan will join the group, Pakistans foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria has been quoted as saying. The 2015 summit in Ufa had passed a resolution on starting the procedures for granting India and Pakistan full membership of the SCO. Though it is expected India and Pakistan will become members of the security-focussed grouping at the same time, New Delhi is yet to make any formal announcement. Chinas top think-tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), had words of caution before the two countries join the group. An opinion piece by Sun Zhuangzhi, secretary general of CASSs SCO Research Centre, hinted at Beijings worries on the inclusion of the two countries, and the diplomatically rocky path for the multilateral forum that is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. Thus, observers are concerned about SCO expansion, especially the admission of India and Pakistan. The two nations, which are hostile over the issues of Kashmir and anti-terrorism, have long been locked into a state of military confrontation, and share conflicting views over the Afghanistan issue and other regional affairs, Sun wrote in the state media on Friday. Diplomacy within the multilateral forum could be further complicated because of the complex relationship of India and Pakistan with China and Russia, Sun wrote. Sun was talking about the fact that while Pakistan and China are all weather allies, India and Russia have had close ties, especially in defence, for many decades. The hostility between the two states is unlikely to be dispelled in the short time. Together with their complicated relations with China and Russia, analysts believe their admission may have negative effects on the SCO, bringing more internal conflicts and lowering the level of mutual political trust and the efficiency of multilateral cooperation, Sun wrote in the nationalist tabloid Global Times. All, however, is not lost, the author said. Both countries, for one, attach great importance to SCO and have pledged to contribute on security and economic matters. Sun wrote: Noticeably, expansion could also bring many benefits to the SCO. The scope of the group will be expanded from China, Russia, and Central Asian countries to South Asia, covering over 60 percent of Eurasia. In addition, more opportunities will be brought to the SCO. With more geopolitical and geo-economic influence, the SCO will play a vital role in the process of multi-polarisation. In the Tashkent summit, the SCO will demonstrate its special global influence again to the world. The probe into the death of a two-year-old boy killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, is not criminal in nature, the local sheriffs office said on Thursday. Police divers recovered the body of Lane Graves on Wednesday from the man-made lake where he had been snatched by the alligator as he played at the waters edge the night before. He was found intact underwater. Orange County Sheriffs Department spokeswoman, Rose Silva, said an investigation is on but is not criminal in nature at this time. She did not provide further details. Read | Divers find body of toddler snatched by alligator at Disney resort A source told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that Disney World plans to install signs warning visitors of alligators. A Disney spokeswoman said the company would review the posted signs that ban swimming in Seven Seas Lagoon but do not specifically warn about alligators. The spokeswoman declined to confirm the newspapers report, however. The toddler was grabbed by the reptile at about 9:15 pm on Tuesday while his family, on vacation from Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, authorities said. His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, tried to save the child but were unable to free him from the alligators grip. A complete autopsy was conducted on Thursday afternoon. The cause of death was ruled as a result of drowning and traumatic injuries, the medical examiners office said in a brief statement. The Graves family released a statement praising local authorities and added: Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time. The aquatic predators often roll their larger prey beneath the surface until their victim stops breathing, experts say, and then stash the body away to eat later. Walt Disney Co chief executive, Bob Iger, spoke with the family by telephone on Wednesday and expressed his sympathies, the company said. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said on Thursday that resort beaches would be off-limits to guests until further notice. They were closed off after the attack. All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols, Wahler said. This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings. Sixth alligator caught The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators on Wednesday for sign of the boy before his body was recovered. The trappers remained at the lagoon on Thursday after removing a sixth alligator from the water late on Wednesday in an effort to find the one that snatched the child, said Greg Workman, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commissions executive director, Nick Wiley, has said there is a good chance they had already captured the alligator in question. But officials said the search would go on until that was proved by forensic tests such as DNA studies, teeth measurements and comparison of bite marks. Workman said the commission also has wildlife officers on the scene around the clock. Though search operations are on through the day, they are especially vigilant at night when alligators are more active because of cooler temperatures and less human activity. Disney shares gained 11 cents to close at $98.38 on Thursday. Its Orlando resort is the most visited theme park in the world, drawing more than 20 million visitors last year. The incident came ahead of Thursdays opening of the companys first theme park in China, a $5.5 billion project in Shanghai that boasts Disneys tallest castle. An 11-year-old boy was charged on Thursday with attempted murder after stabbing and seriously injuring a classmate in the central city of Lyon, a source close to the case said. The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted the facts in court, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The incident took place on Wednesday at the Anatole-France primary school in a poor, high crime area of the city. The 11-year-old stabbed a 12-year-old in the stomach in front of their classmates, said a police source, adding that the victim had allegedly tried to extort money from him. The child was temporarily placed with a foster family after being charged. The incident took place outside a secondary school in Venissieux when the victim "threatened a 10-year-old pupil whom he was trying to scam money from," a police source said. (AFP) Under French law children between the ages of 10 and 13 can be held criminally responsible, but will not be imprisoned. Instead they can be punished with a warning, be made subject to house arrest or forced to undergo compulsory civic training. These two students were not known for being violent. They dealt with matters among themselves and the only response was violence. That means the community failed and that makes me angry, said communist local mayor Michele Picard. A man scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Friday, sparking traffic chaos, before being coaxed down by police negotiators and arrested. Reports said he got out of a taxi in the middle of the busy bridge and began climbing a pillar of the giant structure, which has its own security amid fears it could be a potential terror target. He climbs on of the pillars to the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (REUTERS) Ian Wallace from the Traffic Management Network said the man went up about 75 metres (246 feet) and refused to come down. We have this person, hes climbed up onto the Harbour Bridge, I can actually see him sitting up there at the moment, he told ABC radio at the time. (Reuters) Television pictures showed a man, who appeared to be middle-aged, sitting within an arch on the iconic iron landmark, dubbed the coat hanger by locals. Police said in a statement that emergency services descended on the scene, closing several lanes of city-bound traffic in Australias largest city as negotiators worked to bring him down. Then he sits there. (REUTERS) He eventually returned to the ground on his own accord after almost two hours, where he was arrested and taken to hospital for a medical assessment. No charges have yet been laid. Security on the bridge was boosted in 2011 after a man paralysed rush-hour traffic for hours by scaling it to hang two banners in a protest linked to a custody dispute over his children. Police in Nepal have arrested an Indian national and seized 109 tortoises and 162 birds of different species from his possession. Mohammad Usman, who hails from Patna in Bihar, was arrested on Thursday when police raided a house in Kathmandu and recovered the reptiles and birds kept in boxes and cages. Officials said the tortoises, which weigh three to five kilograms each, and the birds, including several varieties of parrots, were smuggled into Nepal from India and were on their way to China and Vietnam. It is believed the seized animals were to be illegally transported to China, where they would end up in restaurants or thriving markets in Vietnam selling animals and birds. This is the third time Usman has been arrested on charges of smuggling reptiles and birds from India to Nepal. The rescued animals were handed over to the Central Zoo at Jawalakhel near Kathmandu. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A former US Marine sergeant who now works as a bouncer, is being hailed as a hero for his quick action that saved many lives at the Pulse club where a man opened fire and killed 49 people. Imran Yousuf was on duty that fatal night of June 12 when Omar Mateen struck, an American of Afghan descent who pledged allegiance to the terrorist group, Islamic State. Read | Orlando gunman Mateen raged against filthy ways of the West On hearing the gun shots, Yousuf immediately sprung to action and opened the backdoor through which many people managed to escape. The ex-serviceman of Indian origin has had military experience fighting in Afghanistan. Read | Obama meets nightclub massacre survivors, victims relatives in Orlando Speaking to CBS News, he said that when the first gun shots went off, he screamed to those at the back of the club to open the door. However, panic and fear had frozen most everyone and no one moved. There was only one choice. Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch We got everyone that we can out of there, he said. Yousuf couldve easily drawn Mateens attention to himself when he went to open the door, risking his life. But, because of him, close to 70 people escaped the line of fire. The network reported that Yousuf cried as he said, I wish I could have saved more to be honest. There are a lot of people that are dead. Read | Therapy dogs in Orlando to help a shocked community after mass shooting Given his formal military training, Yousuf has since brushed off the praises coming his way. Marine Corps Times newspaper reported that Yousuf posted on his Facebook page: There are a lot of people naming me a hero and as a former Marine and Afghan veteran I honestly believe I reacted by instinct. ... While it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted. According to the paper, he had left the Marine Corps only last month. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal during his service. Yousuf was initially identified as Hindu by CBS News, causing some confusion over his identity. However, in an interview with a California-based newspaper, his uncle clarified that Yousufs mother and paternal grandmother are Hindus and he identifies with their religion. His family emigrated from Guyana, where his ancestors had gone from India. The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York, reported that he grew up in the nearby town of Niskayuna and joined the Marine Corps after he finished high school at the age of 17 and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraqi forces raised the national flag over the main government compound in Fallujah on Friday, top commanders said, a breakthrough in the nearly four-week-old offensive against the Islamic State groups bastion. They met limited resistance from IS fighters, who were fleeing the city, the commanders said, leaving the organisation on the brink of losing one of the most emblematic strongholds in its two-year-old caliphate. It is the latest setback for the militants who have also lost territory in neighbouring Syria and in Libya in recent weeks, although US Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan warned on Thursday that they remain a formidable force with global reach. The counter-terrorism service and the rapid response forces have retaken the government compound in the centre of Fallujah, the operations overall commander, Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, said. Raed Shaker Jawdat, Iraqs federal police chief, confirmed the advance. The liberation of the government compound, which is the main landmark in the city, symbolises the restoration of the states authority in Fallujah, he said. Saadi said the Iraqi flag was raised above government buildings in the compound and claimed that Iraqi forces have now liberated 70% of the city. In the deserted, recently reconquered neighbourhoods of the insurgent bastion known in Iraq as the City of Mosques, elite forces were consolidating positions, stocking up on food and weapons. Dozens of bodies of IS fighters were left to rot under blankets amid the rubble of homes destroyed by airstrikes, rockets or controlled explosions of the hundreds of bombs the militants themselves laid across the city. The government lost control of Fallujah in 2014, months before the IS took second city Mosul and swept across large parts of the country. Fallujah, which lies just 50 km west of Baghdad, is one of IS key historical bastions and its loss would leave Mosul as the only major Iraqi city under its control. Protesters demanding changes to Nepals new Constitution have put forward fresh conditions to the government for talks to end a 10-month-long impasse on the statute. The Federal Alliance, which comprises more than two dozen groups from the Madhes region bordering India and other indigenous and marginalised communities, has refused to join talks till the demands are met. The governments failure to take any concrete steps on the list of demands we had given earlier shows that they are not interested to solve the issue through talks, said a statement issued by the alliance on Thursday night. The fresh list of demands, including several submitted to the government earlier, was the alliances response to a new call for talks made by Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis government. The anti-Constitution protests began in August last year and there have been nearly three dozen rounds of talks between the government and protesters, but no solution has emerged yet. Violent protests between September last year and February in the regions bordering India, where protesters were seeking fresh demarcation of federal states, left 55 dead, including policemen. The protesters, who had blocked key border trade routes with India for five months, have resorted to other methods of protest, including rallies and relay hunger strikes. The protesters are demanding, among other things, implementation of past deals with them, free treatment of people injured in protests, compensation for the families of those killed and a judicial inquiry into alleged killings by security forces. The withdrawal of cases against protesters, unconditional release of those imprisoned and the amendment of the Constitution to address its demands are other terms put forward by the alliance. If the government creates conducive atmosphere by addressing these demands, we are ready to sit for result-oriented talks, the statement said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Dozens of state department employees have endorsed an internal document that advocates US military action to pressure Syrias government into accepting a ceasefire and engaging in peace talks a position that is at odds with US policy. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 mostly mid-level state department officials who deal with US policy in Syria, according to officials who have seen the document. Many of them are career officers in the foreign service who have been involved in Syria policy over the past several years. It expresses clear frustration with Americas inability to halt a civil war that has killed perhaps a half-million people and contributed to a worldwide refugee crisis, and goes to the heart of President Barack Obamas reluctance to enter the fray. Obama called for regime change early on in the conflict and threatened military strikes against Syrian forces after blaming President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons in 2013. But Obama only has authorised strikes against the Islamic State and other US-designated terror groups in Syria. While Washington has provided military assistance to some anti-Assad rebels, it has favored diplomacy over armed intervention as a means of ushering Syrias leader out of power. A series of partial ceasefires in recent months have only made the war slightly less deadly, and offered little hope of a peace settlement. Dissent document calls for targeted air strikes The dissent document was transmitted internally in a confidential form and since has been classified, said officials who werent authorised to discuss such material and insisted on anonymity. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both quoted from the document on Thursday, saying they had seen or obtained copies. The Journal said the document called for targeted air strikes. The Times quoted a section urging a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons to advance the US diplomatic effort led by secretary of state John Kerry. The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the Times quoted the document as saying. The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges. State department spokesman John Kirby said the department is reviewing the cable, which arrived via a vehicle in place to allow state department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues. The dissent channel mechanism, which allows officials to offer alternative views on foreign policy without fear of retaliation, was established during the Vietnam War in the 1960s so that senior officials of the state department could access alternative policy views. Sources familiar with the memo said officials had been discussing sending it for some time but they finally decided to move forward because negotiations with Russia over a political transition in Syria have all but collapsed and the fragile ceasefire continues to disintegrate, CNN reported. Views of diplomats mirror those of John Kerry Some sentiments expressed in the cable mirror arguments Kerry has made in internal administration debates. Kerry, a forceful advocate of Obamas initial plan to launch airstrikes after Assads use of chemical weapons, reversed course after the president opted against them. He has complained privately that White House resistance to more intervention has hurt efforts to persuade Russia, in particular, to take a tougher tone with Assad. Kerry, speaking to reporters in Copenhagen on Friday, said I havent had a chance to see it yet (the cable) but I agree with the process. But its a great process. It gives people a chance to express their views. I think its an important statement, he said, and I respect the process very, very much. While defending the administrations overall approach to Syria, Kerry has on more than one occasion told associates and colleagues that he doesnt have a lot of arrows in his quiver when he tries to persuade Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to put more pressure on Assad to comply with the truce, allow more humanitarian aid deliveries or begin negotiations on a genuine political transition. At the same time, Kerry has hinted that more robust US intervention is a distinct possibility. In Norway this week, he told a conflict resolution conference American patience with Assad and Russia was running out and suggested a greater American role might be inevitable unless things changed. Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite, Kerry said at the Oslo Forum on Wednesday. In fact, it is very limited now with respect to whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable. Later that day, after meeting Norways prime minister, Kerry said: The US is not going to sit there and be used as an instrument that permits a so-called ceasfire to be in place while one principal party is trying to take advantage of it to the detriment of the entire process. Were not going to allow that to continue. Republican and even some Democratic lawmakers have been urging Obama to take greater military action in Syria for years, from air strikes to the establishment of a no-fly zone over rebel-held areas. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton pushed some of these steps too. But Obama has resisted, fearful of leading America into another war in the Muslim world after finding it impossible to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan and keep forces out of Iraq. Military commanders have been similarly reticent, given the lack of a clear alternative to Assad that might unify Syria and advance US national security interests. Nevertheless, Obama has said Assad must relinquish control if there is to be peace. And Kerry, Clintons successor as the chief US diplomat, has repeatedly said that to defeat the Islamic State, the US must be able to assure Syrias many other rebel groups that there will be a post-Assad future for their country. The dissent document echoes these sentiments, calling the governments barrel bomb attacks on civilians the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region. The Syrian president, who is a member of the Shia-linked Alawite minority and is backed by Russia and Iran, has vowed to maintain power. The rebels are led by Syrias Sunni majority, though they include representatives of other groups. Crucially, Syrias Sunni population continues to view the Assad regime as the primary enemy in the conflict, the document said, according to the Times. Failure to stem Assads flagrant abuses will only bolster the ideological appeal of groups such as (IS), even as they endure tactical setbacks on the battlefield, the Journal quoted it as saying. There was no sign of the acrimonious EU referendum campaign resuming on Friday as a stunned Britain mourned the murder of popular Labour MP Jo Cox, who had celebrated the presence of Muslims from Gujarat in her constituency in her maiden speech in Parliament last year. As tears flowed and vigils and prayers were held for the pro-EU MP, some columnists in mainstream newspapers linked her murder in Birstall on Thursday to the toxicity generated by rival camps before the June 23 referendum. Both camps remained shaken by the murder. Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared together in Coxs Batley and Spen constituency to pay tribute. Reports said the Conservative Party had decided not to put up a candidate in the by-election that will follow. Cox, 42, died after being shot and stabbed by a man in her constituency on Thursday. Elected in May 2015 from west Yorkshire, Cox set out her passionately held liberal world-view as a first-time member of the House of Commons on June 3, 2015. She began by celebrating immigration and the diversity of communities in her constituency. Popular among Indian and Asian-origin voters, Cox said in her speech: Batley and Spen is a gathering of typically independent, no-nonsense and proud Yorkshire towns and villages. Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration, be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us. Coxs murder made headlines across Europe, where the referendum is being keenly watched. German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged British politicians to moderate their language in the campaign. She told journalists: The exaggerations and radicalisation of part of the language do not help to foster an atmosphere of respect. Thats why we all value democratic game rules. And we know how important it is to draw limits, be it in the choice of speech, in the choice of the argument but also in the choice of partly disparaging argument. Otherwise the radicalisation will become unstoppable. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON When mourners filed in to a prayer vigil in Orlando this week, they hit a friendly roadblock: A team of golden retrievers sent to help soothe a community in shock with their calm, reassuring presence. As people knelt down to pet and nuzzle the gentle creatures, burying their hands in their soft yellow coat, many breathed more easily, taking a moment to forget the horror gripping their city. In the wake of the Pulse club massacre that left 49 dead and 53 injured, a pack of therapy dogs were flown from Illinois to the Florida city to offer comfort to traumatised victims and their families. Read | Orlando shooter railed against filthy West in Facebook post On Wednesday night, the dozen golden retrievers were stationed outside Trinity Downtown church. Shelby Gerber, a bubbly young girl who attended the vigil, lives right near the crime scene. My anxiety level is pretty high right now, she said. Sometimes you are too overwhelmed to say anything. I didnt realise how much it really was nice to sit after service and just pet them (the dogs) for an endless amount of time. It just alleviates the pressure off your chest. For nearly a decade ever since a February 2008 shooting stunned Northern Illinois University such comfort dogs have become a familiar sight in the aftermath of major tragedies throughout the United States. The Illinois team has become famous on social media for the therapy they provide. Phoebe, for one, has her own Twitter account. In Orlando the dogs, accompanied by 20 volunteer handlers, were visiting three hospitals where patients wounded in the Pulse attack are being treated. Read | Obama to meet Orlando victims families of mass shooting at gay club As well as visiting survivors, the dogs have consoled emergency caregivers, paramedics and doctors, as well as many families of victims and Pulse staff members. People will talk to us and ask if we can visit a family, said Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, the group that sponsors the dogs work. There are some individuals who lost somebody and theyre just scared to go out of their house. So were going to bring comfort dogs to them. The dogs owned by the Lutheran Church are distinct from those managed by the Therapy Dogs International program, which brings together about 25,000 dogs volunteered by their owners to provide therapy without special training. Hetzners dogs belong to the parish and are subject to training with multiple handlers that sometimes lasts over a year. He said the training includes teaching the golden retrievers a breed known for its gentle and affectionate manner not to bite, lick or bark while providing therapy. The Lutheran church program funds itself with donations, and owns about 120 Golden Retrievers in 23 states. Three dogs from the organisation still reside at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 young children and six of the staff in December 2012. Read | After Orlando, US tries once again to fix gun laws Hetzner originally conceived the idea after a mission to New Orleans in the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when he saw the tremendous bond those rescued had with their pets. In a fresh push to Indias NSG bid, the US on Friday called on members of the 48-nation elite grouping to support Indias membership during the crucial meeting of the atomic trading club in Seoul next week. The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, State Department Spokesman John Kirby said. Read: China think-tank says India in NSG bad for South Asia peace Im not going to get ahead of how thats going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where its going to go, but weve made clear that we support the application, Kirby said in response to a question at his daily news conference. Indias case is being strongly pushed by the US which has written to the NSG members to support Indias membership at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. Read: China can push Indias NSG bid, but there are riders: State media opinion piece US Secretary of State John Kerry recently wrote a two-page letter to member countries who are sceptical towards Indias membership of the NSG to agree not to block consensus on Indian admission to the group. During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, President Barack Obama welcomed Indias application to the 48-member grouping. A joint statement issued after the talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG plenary. While majority of the 48-member group backed Indias membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to Indias admission. China has opposed Indias entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. BEIJING: China criticised US President Barack Obama on Thursday for hosting the Dalai Lama at the White House, despite efforts to avoid irking Beijing by holding the meeting off-camera and out of the public eye. No matter in what way the US leader met with the Dalai Lama, the meeting violated the US promises of acknowledging Tibet as a part of China, not supporting Tibet independence and not supporting separatist activities, Lu Kang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters in Beijing. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BEIJING: The wife and son of Chinas former security chief Zhou Yongkang, the senior-most leader to be jailed on corruption charges in decades, have been sent to prison after being convicted of bribery and related accusations, state media reported on Thursday. Zhou Bin, the son of Zhou Yongkang, a member of the elite Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) Politburo -- was given a 18-year prison term by a court in central Hubei province, which accused him of taking bribes and making illegal business transactions. He was also fined $53.5 million. Zhou Yongkangs wife, Jia Xiaoye, was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined 1 million yuan. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON DHAKA: Detectives in the Bangladesh capital on Thursday announced the arrest of a suspected member of the banned Ansarullah Bangla Team for his alleged involvement in an attack on a secular publisher last year. Police produced Mohammad Sumon Hossain, who has several aliases such as Shihab, Sakiband Saiful, before journalists in the detective branch headquarters in Dhaka amid a nationwide crackdown on militants. Hossain was arrested on Wednesday night from near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said Monirul Islam, head of a police counter-terrorism unit. He said Hossa indirectly took part in the attack on publisher Ahmed Rashid Tutul in October as he had published books by a prominent Bangladeshi-American writer who promoted atheism. Tutul survived the attack in his office in Dhaka. Two of his friends were seriously injured. The police official said Hossa in was an employee of a private company in the port city of Chittagong. Islam said detectives learnt about Hossain from two other suspected militants who were arrested earlier this week from Kamrangir Char area near Dhaka .They gave us many vital information and we acted on the basis of that, he said. Hossain was in a list of suspected militants allegedly involved in such attacks that was announced by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police last month. Police also announced a bounty of 200,000 takas for his capture. On the day of the attack on Tutul, another group separately killed another publisher in his office in Dhaka. ISLAMABAD : The government of Pakistans restive Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province has set aside funds in its annual budget for conducting a census of the transgender community, whose members have been the target of a string of brutal attacks. Provincial finance minister Muzafar Said, who belongs to Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, announced the allocation in the state assembly while presenting the budget for 2016-17. The government said on Tuesday it will allocate Rs 200 million ($2 million) for the census and a separate housing scheme for transgender people. The minister said the government intends to set up special wards for transgenders in several hospitals of the province. But the proposals were greeted with criticism by the community. Nadra Khan of the Shemale Association in Mansehra, where a transgender person was attacked last week, questioned the proposal to set up a rehabilitation centre for the community. We do not need rehabilitation, she said. We need gainful employment and protection like any other citizen of the state. Others questioned the motive of the census and said such an exercise would be a waste of money since the government had already allowed them to be registered as transgenders on their national identity cards. The proposal for special wards in hospitals, however, was welcomed. Transgender people have pressed authorities for equal treatment in hospitals and medical centers, which they say is consistently denied to them. NEW YORK: The father of a young woman killed in the Paris massacre last November is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter, claiming that the companies provided material support to extremists in violation of the law. Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter Nohemi was among 130 people killed in the Paris attacks, filed the suit on Tuesday in the US district court in the Northern District of California. The suit claims the companies knowingly permitted the Islamic State (IS), referred to in the complaint as ISIS, to recruit members, raise money and spread extremist propaganda via their social-media services. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON TARINKOT: The Taliban are using child sex slaves to mount crippling insider attacks on police in southern Afghanistan, exploiting the pervasive practice of bacha bazi -- paedophilic boy play -to infiltrate security ranks, multiple officials and survivors of such assaults told AFP. The ancient custom is prevalent across Afghanistan, but nowhere does it seem as entrenched as in the province of Uruzgan, where bacha bereesh -- or boys without beards -- widely become objects of lustful attraction for powerful police commanders. The Taliban over two years have used them to mount a wave of Trojan Horse attacks -- at least six between January and April alone -- that have killed hundreds of policemen, according to security and judicial officials in the province. The Taliban are sending boys -- beautiful boys, handsome boys -- to penetrate checkpoints and kill, drug and poison policemen, said Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, who was Uruzgans police chief until he was removed in a security reshuffle in April amid worsening violence. They have figured out the biggest weakness of police forces -- bacha bazi, he told AFP. The assaults, signifying abuse of children by both parties in the conflict, have left authorities rattled, with one senior provincial official who echoed Rogh Lewanais view saying its easier tackling suicide bombers than bacha attackers. The killings illustrate how bacha bazi is aggravating insecurity in Uruzgan, a remote province which officials warn is teetering on the brink of collapse, unravelling hard-won gains by US, Australian and Dutch troops who fought there for years. These bacha attacks have fuelled deep mistrust within police ranks, Seddiqullah, a police commander at a checkpoint near the provincial capital Tarin Kot, told AFP. The insurgents are using boys as honey traps, said Matiullah, a policeman who was the only survivor from an insider attack in Dehrawud district in spring last year. WASHINGTON: In the aftermath of the Orlando killings, the US is taking another shot at fixing its notoriously lax gun laws to prevent weapons from falling in wrong hands, such as suspected terrorists. Senate Democrats won a small victory in that battle on Thursday, extracting the promise of a vote on two crucial legislations on the issue after a 15-hour emotional speech-athon. Ive had enough of the ongoing slaughter of innocents, and Ive had enough of inaction in this body, Democrat Chris Murphy said starting the speech-athon, called a filibuster. He vowed to remain on the Senate floor until we get some signal, some sign that we can come together. And that came on Thursday with the Republican leadership promising a vote. Democrats have sought two legislative changesone, prevent those on terror watchlists, such as Orlando massacre perpetrator Omar Mateen, from buying weapons. And two, extend background checks to cover buyers at gun shows and exhibitions and on the internet, who are currently not covered, to turn away criminals and the mentally ill. The US Congress tried the terror block last after the San Bernardino shootings in December, but failed. And the background checks effort failed after the Newtown school massacre in 2012. Both efforts were foiled by the powerful gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association, which turns any gun control effort into an attack on the constitutionally-mandated right to bear arms. President Ba rack O ba ma, who was travelling to Orlando to meet survivors, relatives, victims and first responders, has been pressing for these changes and renewed his call after Orlando. He spoke on Tuesday of a need to make sure that we think about the risks we are willing to take by being so lax in how we make very powerful firearms available to people in this country. Obama expressed frustration at the NRA, saying it accuses him of ignoring terrorism if he speaks of gun control, and others accuse him of ignoring gun control if he focusses on terrorism. Gun law reformers may have their best shot yet this time, having found an unlikely ally in presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has backed calls for blocking terrorists. He supported what is widely called the no fly, no buy clause, which says those on the terror watchlist, and prevented from flying, should be barred from buying arms as well. I will be meeting with the NRA, who has endorsed me, about not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns, Trump said in a tweet. This is one of few issues on which he agrees with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has said if youre too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America. They continue to spar over other differences stemming from the Orlando carnage such as Trumps call for suspending immigration from areas known to have exported terrorism to the US. But they may have found one other are a of agreement recently the use of the phrase radical Islam, which Trump and other Republicans insist. Horse-drawn carts plied the streets with a call to bring out the dead in the city where bodies lay unburied for days. The afflicted died by the thousands, and survivors lived in fear. But this wasnt medieval Europe being stalked by the Black Death. This was Philadelphia, October 1918, and the city was under siege from a new variant of one of mankinds oldest specters: influenza. The flu lurking in the midst of this patriotic fervor, however, would prove far more lethal than trench warfare and poison gas. Most alarming was the fact that the disease ravaged previously healthy young adults in their 20s and 30s: the men and women who worked the factories, cleaned the streets, tended the sick and fought the wars. Many assumed, wrongly, that the flu had originated in Spain, where 8 million fell ill during a wave of relatively mild flu that had swept the globe in the spring of 1918. Because Spain was neutral and its press uncensored during the war, it was one of the few places in Europe where news about the epidemic was being reported. Whatever its origins, the flu was taking a toll on frontline troops. Commander Erich von Ludendorff blamed the disease for the failure of Germanys major spring offensive.It was a grievous business, he said, having to listen every morning to the chiefs of staffs recital of the number of influenza cases, and their complaints about the weakness of their troops. Influenza wasnt Ludendorffs only obstacle. General JohnBlack Jack Pershing, commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, pushed relentlessly to build up troop strength. The U.S. Army had fewer than 100,000 soldiers when it entered the war the generals plans called for approximately 4 million. The Americans would not simply plug holes in the British and French lines. The AEF would stand alone, and march to victory under the American flag. To do that, Pershing needed more men, more materiel. Always, endlessly, more. Back home, the ramp-up hit a snag. On March 4, 1918, the Army installation at Camp Funston, Kan., reported a single case of flu. Before the end of the month, 1,100 men had been hospitalized, and 20 percent of those men developed pneumonia. Flu spread rapidly among Army camps as troops were rushed through on their way to the front. But the outbreak had subsided by summer, and it looked like the worst was over. It wasnt. Only a Matter of Hours Camp Devens, 35 miles northwest of Boston, was seriously overcrowded. Built to house 36,000 troops, it contained more than 45,000 in early September 1918. The flu struck there with a suddenness and virulence that had never been seen before.These men start with what appears to be an ordinary attack of LaGrippe or Influenza, and when brought to the Hosp. they very rapidly develop the most vicious type of Pneumonia that has ever been seen, wrote Roy Grist, a doctor at the Camp Devens hospital.Two hours after admission they have the Mahogany spots over the cheek bones, and a few hours later you can begin to see the Cyanosis extending from their ears and spreading all over the face, until it is hard to distinguish the coloured man from the white.It is only a matter of hours then until death comes.We have been averaging about 100 deaths per day.We have lost an outrageous number of Nurses and Drs. Flu victims were wracked by fevers often spiking higher than 104 degrees and body aches so severe that the slightest touch was torture. Cyanosis was perhaps the most terrifying hallmark of the pneumonia that often accompanied this flu. A lack of oxygen in the blood turned ones skin a bluish-black leading to speculation that the Black Death had again come calling. While Devens tried unsuccessfully to contain the outbreak, a similar situation was developing at Commonwealth Pier, a naval facility in Boston. Flu was reported there in late August, but the war would not wait. Sailors were shipped out to New Orleans, Puget Sound and the Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago. Josie Mabel Brown was a young Navy nurse living in St. Louis, Mo., when she was called to duty at Great Lakes.There was a man lying on the bed dying and one was lying on the floor, she said of her first visit to a sick ward.Another man was on a stretcher waiting for the fellow on the bed to die.We wrapped him in a winding sheet and left nothing but the big toe on the left foot out with a shipping tag on it to tell the mans rank, his nearest of kin, and hometown.Our Navy bought the whole city of Chicago out of sheets. There wasnt a sheet left in Chicago. All a boy got when he died was a winding sheet and a wooden box; we just couldnt get enough caskets. Three hundred sailors from Boston landed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 7; on the 19th the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that 600 sailors and marines had been hospitalized with the flu. It should have been apparent to city officials that a potential crisis loomed. In Massachusetts the flu had spread rapidly from military encampments to the public at large. Medical practitioners in Philadelphia called for a quarantine, but Wilmer Krusen, director of the citys Department of Public Health and Charities, declined. There was recent precedent for such action: Quarantines were regularly enacted during a terrifying polio epidemic in 1916. But that was in peacetime. No civilian deaths from flu had been reported locally, and a Liberty Loan parade perhaps the largest parade Philadelphia had ever seen was scheduled for the end of the month. A quarantine would only cause panic, and the city would most certainly not meet its quota of war-bond sales. Every American seemingly had a personal stake in winning the war. Even children were eager to do their bit. Anna Milani, who was a child in Philadelphia during the epidemic, remembered the rhyme she and her friends would sing in the street: Tramp, tramp, tramp the boys are marching I spied Kaiser at the door Well get a lemon pie And well squash it in his eye And there wont be any Kaiser anymore The parade stepped off as planned on September 28 with marching bands, military units, womens auxiliaries and Boy Scout troops. Some 200,000 spectators thronged the two-mile-long parade route in a show of civic pride. Three days later, 635 new civilian cases of flu, and 117 civilian deaths from the disease and its complications, were reported in Philadelphia. Worry is Useless October 1918 was brutal in the City of Brotherly Love. Schools, churches, theaters and saloons were closed. So many Bell Telephone operators were home sick that the company placed notices in city newspapers pleading with the public tocut out every call that is not absolutely necessary that the essential needs of the government, doctors and nurses may be met. Krusen authorized Bell to discontinue service to those making unnecessary calls, and 1,000 customers were eventually cut off. Even if emergency calls did get through, there werent enough people to answer them. A quarter of Philadelphias doctors and nurses were away serving in the military. Volunteers were called, but many were too sick themselves or too frightened of contracting the disease to be of much help. Entire families were stricken, and the prognosis was often grim.My mother called the doctor because the whole family was sick with this flu, said Harriet Hasty Ferrell.And I, being an infant baby, was very sick, to the point that the doctor thought that I would not make it. He told my mother it wasnt necessary to feed me anymore. Still, there were those who tried to quell panic. An October 6 editorial in the Inquirer advised:Live a clean life. Do not even discuss influenza.Worry is useless. Talk of cheerful things instead of the disease. No amount of happy talk could make the nightmare go away. Between October 12 and October 19, 4,597 Philadelphians died of the flu and related respiratory diseases, and survivors struggled to carry out familiar mourning rituals.We couldnt go inside the church, one city native remembered.The priest would say Mass on the step, and we would all be congregated outside.They figured maybe outside you wouldnt catch the germ. Another recalled that her 13-year-old cousin, who was sick with the flu, had to be carried to the cemetery wrapped in a blanket in order to say the traditional Jewish prayers at his mothers funeral service. Hundreds of unburied corpses posed another serious health risk. Caskets were in such short supply that the J.G. Brill Co., which manufactured trolley cars, donated packing crates to fill the need. The Bureau of Highways used a steam shovel to dig mass graves in a potters field. By the end of the month, the Spanish flu had claimed 11,000 victims in Philadelphia and 195,000 nationwide. The tragedy played out with varying degrees of severity across the country. The city of San Francisco, where the flu hit hardest in late October, mandated that gauze masks be worn in public at all times. The mandate was widely followed, though in reality, masks did little to prevent the spread of flu. They were also uncomfortable and inconvenient, and the public would not tolerate them for long. Even officials showed a less than vigilant attitude when the mayor, a city supervisor, a Superior Court judge, a congressman and a rear admiral were photographed at a prizefight sans their protective masks. And there were those who claimed the act was an unconstitutional attack on personal freedom: If the Board of Health can force people to wear masks, said the San Francisco Chronicle, then it can force them to submit to inoculations, or any experiment or indignity. Doctors searched desperately for a cure, or at least a stop-gap measure. But they were on the wrong track. Conventional wisdom held that the flu was caused by bacteria; vaccines to fight bacterial infections, however, had no effect on the disease. (Flu was not identified as a virus until 1933.) The epidemic was a crushing blow to medical science, which had only recently come to be seen as a professional discipline. Government agencies fared no better. Surgeon General Rupert Blue, head of the U.S. Public Health Service, was aware that an outbreak of flu was possible. But in July 1918, he denied a request for $10,000 to be dedicated to pneumonia research, and he made no other preparations. Blues first public warning came in mid-September and included such tips as avoid tight clothes, tight shoes, tight gloves seek to make nature your ally not your prisoner and help by choosing and chewing your food well. Congress appropriated $1 million in emergency funding for USPHS; Blue eventually returned $115,000 to the government. Worse still, the government contributed to the national paranoia surrounding all things German. The USPHS officer for northeastern Mississippi planted stories in the local papers that the Hun resorts to unwanted murder of innocent noncombatants.He has [at]tempted to spread sickness and death thru germs, and has done so in authenticated cases. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Doane, head of the Health and Sanitation Section of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, which oversaw U.S. shipyards, theorized that U-boats had delivered German spies to America to turn loose Spanish influenza germs in a theatre or some other place where large numbers of persons are assembled. So persistent was the belief that Germany had somehow launched a biological attack that USPHS laboratories devoted precious time to investigating claims that Bayer aspirin, which was manufactured in the States under a German-held patent, had been laced with deadly flu germs. Let the curse be called the German plague, declared The New York Times in October.Let every child learn to associate what is accursed with the word German not in the spirit of hate but in the spirit of contempt born of the hateful truth which Germany has proved herself to be. Over There The death toll mounted at home through September and October even as President Woodrow Wilson was faced with General Pershings demands for more soldiers. Through the summer, Americans were being sent to Europe at the rate of 250,000 a month. But flu was running rampant on troopships, and those who survived the interminable voyage simply spread the disease to frontline staging areas. Wilson was urged by several advisers not to dispatch additional troops until the epidemic had been contained. The president consulted with his chief of staff General Peyton March, who conceded that conditions on the overseas transports were hardly ideal. He would not, however, concede anything that might stand in the way of winning the war.Every such soldier who has died [on a troopship], said March, just as surely played his part as his comrade who died in France. Wilson relented. The transports continued. Wilson had won a second term in 1916 because he had kept the United States out of the war. Once war was declared in 1917, however, he could not afford to waver in his commitment to seeing the conflict through to Allied victory. To shore up public support, Wilson created the Committee on Public Information a week after declaring war on Germany. (One of its lasting contributions was the Uncle Sam I Want You recruiting poster.) The CPIs news division issued thousands of press releases and syndicated features about the war that made their way, often unedited, into newspapers across the country. The CPI also had a pictorial publicity division, an advertising division and a film division. In short, it used every possible media source to influence public opinion. Wilsons zeal for advancing democratic ideals abroad was secured by his willingness to suppress them at home. Dissent was not tolerated. Under the 1917 Espionage Act, roundly criticized as being unconstitutional, Socialist leaders Eugene Debs and Victor Berger were sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison for their antiwar protests. The act also gave the postmaster general the right to determine what constituted unpatriotic or subversive reading material and ban it from the U.S. mail. The Justice Department authorized the 200,000 members of a volunteer group called the American Protective League to report on suspected spies, slackers who didnt buy war bonds and anyone who voiced opposition to the government. In this hyper-patriotic atmosphere, fighting the flu came second to winning the war. Public officials, and the public itself, downplayed the seriousness of the silent enemy within and focused on the more tangible enemies of a nation at war. The Germans could be defeated on the battlefield overseas and by surveillance at home. Nothing could stop a disease that immobilized great cities for weeks and carried off hundreds of thousands in the prime of life. And then, it was over. By the end of 1918, deaths from flu and pneumonia nationwide had subsided greatly, and a third wave in the spring of 1919 left far fewer casualties in its wake.In light of our knowledge of influenza and the way it works, explained Dr. Shirley Fannin, an epidemiologist and current director of disease control for Los Angeles County, Calif.,we do understand that it probably ran out of fuel. It ran out of people who were susceptible. Those who survived their exposure to the flu developed immunity to the disease, but not to its lasting consequences. William Maxwell, writer and longtime editor at The New Yorker, was a 10-year-old in Lincoln, Ill., when the flu struck his family, killing his mother.I realized for the first time, and forever, that we were not safe. We were not beyond harm, he remembered eight decades later.From that time on there was a sadness, which had not existed before, a deep down sadness that never quite went away.Terrible things could happen to anybody. For all the advances in medical science, it is still not clear where the 1918 virus originated, or why it took such a toll on healthy young adults. Flu viruses are extremely adaptable. According to the National Institutes of Health, one new strain of flu appeared in humans between the Hong Kong flu outbreak in 1969 (the last flu pandemic) and 1977. Between 1997 and 2004, five new strains appeared. Modern researchers agree that it is probably impossible to prevent an outbreak of flu, but it is possible to prepare for one if the public, health officials and government agencies can agree on a plan of action. Today, as in 1918, a global conflict demands an ever-increasing amount of resources. The government has enacted extraordinary measures in the name of national security. And a public health crisis of the magnitude of the 1918 epidemic is almost incomprehensible. After all, its only the flu. This article was written by Christine M. Kreiser and originally published in the December 2006 issue of American History Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to American History magazine today! A German Partisan Ranger SUBMITTED BY FRED BARBER OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA NAME: Wenzel Ernst DATES: 1839 to 1863 ALLEGIANCE: Confederate HIGHEST RANK: Private UNIT: 30th Texas Cavalry, 1st Texas Partisan Rangers SERVICE RECORD: Enlisted in the 30th Texas Cavalry, Company E, on July 12, 1862, at Camp McCulloch near Buchanan, Texas. Patrolled the plains of Texas and the nearby Indian Territory for a year. Grew ill while serving near the Arkansas border in the summer of 1863. Died in late August or September. The decision was inescapable: sooner or later, each Southern man had to choose between the Union and his state. Recent immigrants tended to side with the Union rather than forsake their newly adopted country. But Wenzel Ernst, a native of Germany, was one of the minority who chose state over country. On July 12, 1862, 23-year-old Ernst mounted up and rode from his farm near Meridian, Texasleaving behind his wife, Mary, and five-month-old daughter, Matildafor Camp McCulloch, near Buchanan, about 30 miles to the north. There, he enlisted in the 30th Texas Cavalry, also known as the 1st Texas Partisan Rangers, and was assigned to Company E. This photo was taken in late 1862 in Palo Pinto County, north-central Texas. He is holding an 1844 Colt revolver and wearing a leather coat over his Sunday vest. Ernsts enlistment papers alternately misprinted his surname as Earnst and Earnest, but Ernst apparently never bothered to have them corrected. Like many immigrants, he could neither read nor write English, and he signed his papers simply with an X. Assigned to the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the 30th Texas Cavalry was sent out to patrol the wheat fields of northeastern Texas and the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). In early August 1863, Major General John B. Magruder, commander of the district, ordered the regiment to Fort Smith in east-central Arkansas, because more danger of an invasion lay in that quarter. Ernst never reached Arkansas. As the men of the 30th approached the border, Ernst became gravely ill. His condition worsened rapidly, and he died sometime in late August or early September. Records do not name his illness or specify his date of death. They show only that he received his final pay on June 30. Ernsts body was never sent home. He was probably buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in northeastern Texas. Ernsts widow later remarried, but received an unusual reminder of her first husband toward the turn of the century: a check arrived from the U.S. government in payment for Ernsts military service. Even today, his descendants do not know why a Federal check was sent to a Confederate widow, and 30 years after the war. An 1839 mutiny aboard a Spanish ship inCuban waters raised basic questionsabout freedom and slavery in the UnitedStates. By Howard Jones Around 4:00 a.m. on July 2, 1839, Joseph Cinque led a slave mutiny on board the Spanish schooner Amistad some 20 miles off northern Cuba. The revolt set off a remarkable series of events and became the basis of a court case that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The civil rights issues involved in the affair made it the most famous case to appear in American courts before the landmark Dred Scott decision of 1857. The saga began two months earlier when slave trade merchants captured Cinque, a 26-year-old man from Mende, Sierra Leone, and hundreds of others from different West African tribes. The captives were then taken to the Caribbean, with up to 500 of them chained hand and foot, on board the Portuguese slaver Tecora. After a nightmarish voyage in which approximately a third of the captives died, the journey ended with the clandestine, nighttime entry of the ship into Cubain violation of the Anglo-Spanish treaties of 1817 and 1835 that made the African slave trade a capital crime. Slavery itself was legal in Cuba, meaning that once smuggled ashore, the captives became slaves suitable for auction at the Havana barracoons. In Havana, two Spaniards, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes, bought 53 of the Africansincluding Cinque and four children, three of them girlsand chartered the Amistad. The ship, named after the Spanish word for friendship, was a small black schooner built in Baltimore for the coastal slave trade. It was to transport its human cargo 300 miles to two plantations on another part of Cuba at Puerto Principe. The spark for the mutiny was provided by Celestino, the Amistads mulatto cook. In a cruel jest, he drew his hand past his throat and pointed to barrels of beef, indicating to Cinque that, on reaching Puerto Principe, the 53 black captives aboard would be killed and eaten. Stunned by this revelation, Cinque found a nail to pick the locks on the captives chains and made a strike for freedom. On their third night at sea, Cinque and a fellow captive named Grabeau freed their comrades and searched the dark hold for weapons. They found them in boxes: sugar cane knives with machete-like blades, two feet in length, attached to inch-thick steel handles. Weapons in hand, Cinque and his cohorts stormed the shadowy, pitching deck and, in a brief and bloody struggle that led to the death of one of their own, killed the cook and captain and severely wounded Ruiz and Montes. Two sailors who were aboard disappeared in the melee and were probably drowned in a desperate attempt to swim the long distance to shore. Grabeau convinced Cinque to spare the lives of the two Spaniards, since only they possessed the navigational skills necessary to sail the Amistad to Africa. Instead of making it home, however, the former captives eventually ended up off the coast of New York. Cinque, the acknowledged leader of the mutineers, recalled that the slave ship that he and the others had traveled on during their passage from Africa to Cuba had sailed away from the rising sun; therefore to return home, he ordered Montes, who had once been a sea captain, to sail the Amistad into the sun. The two Spaniards deceived their captors by sailing back and forth in the Caribbean Sea, toward the sun during the day and, by the stars, back toward Havana at night, hoping for rescue by British anti-slave-trade patrol vessels. When that failed, Ruiz and Montes took the schooner on a long and erratic trek northward up the Atlantic coast. Some 60 days after the mutiny, under a hot afternoon sun in late August 1839, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Gedney of the USS Washington sighted the vessel just off Long Island, where several of the schooners inhabitants were on shore bartering for food. He immediately dispatched an armed party who captured the men ashore and then boarded the vessel. They found a shocking sight: cargo strewn all over the deck; perhaps 50 men nearly starved and destitute, their skeletal bodies naked or barely clothed in rags; a black corpse lying in decay on the deck, its face frozen as if in terror; another black with a maniacal gaze in his eyes; and two wounded Spaniards in the hold who claimed to be the owners of the Africans who, as slaves, had mutinied and murdered the ships captain. Gedney seized the vessel and cargo and reported the shocking episode to authorities in New London, Connecticut. Only 43 of the Africans were still alive, including the four children. In addition to the one killed during the mutiny, nine had died of disease and exposure or from consuming medicine on board in an effort to quench their thirst. The affair might have come to a quiet end at this point had it not been for a group of abolitionists. Evangelical Christians led by Lewis Tappan, a prominent New York businessman, Joshua Leavitt, a lawyer and journalist who edited the Emancipator in New York, and Simeon Jocelyn, a Congregational minister in New Haven, Connecticut, learned of the Amistads arrival and decided to publicize the incident to expose the brutalities of slavery and the slave trade. Through evangelical arguments, appeals to higher law, and moral suasion, Tappan and his colleagues hoped to launch a massive assault on slavery. The Amistad incident, Tappan happily proclaimed, was a providential occurrence. In his view, slavery was a deep moral wrong and not subject to compromise. Both those who advocated its practice and those who quietly condoned it by inaction deserved condemnation. Slavery was a sin, he declared, because it obstructed a persons free will inherent by birth, therefore constituting a rebellion against God. Slavery was also, Tappan wrote to his brother, the worm at the root of the tree of Liberty. Unless killed the tree will die. Tappan first organized the Amistad Committee to coordinate efforts on behalf of the captives, who had been moved to the New Haven jail. Tappan preached impromptu sermons to the mutineers, who were impressed by his sincerity though unable to understand his language. He wrote detailed newspaper accounts of their daily activities in jail, always careful to emphasize their humanity and civilized backgrounds for a fascinated public, many of whom had never seen a black person. And he secured the services of Josiah Gibbs, a professor of religion and linguistics at Yale College, who searched the docks of New York for native Africans capable of translating Cinques Mende language. Gibbs eventually discovered two Africans familiar with MendeJames Covey from Sierra Leone and Charles Pratt from Mende itself. At last the Amistad mutineers could tell their side of the story. Meanwhile, Ruiz and Montes had initiated trial proceedings seeking return of their property. They had also secured their governments support under Pinckneys Treaty of 1795, which stipulated the return of merchandise lost for reasons beyond human control. To fend off what many observers feared would be a judicial massacre, the abolitionists hired attorney Roger S. Baldwin of Connecticut, who had a reputation as an eloquent defender of the weak and downtrodden. Baldwin intended to prove that the captives were kidnapped Africans, illegally taken from their homeland and imported into Cuba and thus entitled to resist their captors by any means necessary. He argued that the ownership papers carried by Ruiz and Montes were fraudulent and that the blacks were not slaves indigenous to Cuba. He and his defense team first filed a claim for the Amistad and cargo as the Africans property, in preparation for charging the Spaniards with piracy. Then they filed suit for the captives freedom on the grounds of humanity and justice: slavery violated natural law, providing its victims with the inherent right of self-defense. The case then entered the world of politics. It posed such a serious problem for President Martin Van Buren that he decided to intervene. A public dispute over slavery would divide his Democratic party, which rested on a tenuous North-South alliance, and could cost him reelection to the presidency in 1840. Working through his secretary of state, slaveholder John Forsyth from Georgia, Van Buren sought to quietly solve the problem by complying with Spanish demands. Van Buren also faced serious diplomatic issues. Failure to return the Africans to their owners would be a violation of Pinckneys Treaty with Spain. In addition, revealing Spains infringement of treaties against the African slave trade could provide the British, who were pioneers in the crusade against slavery, with a pretext for intervening in Cuba, which was a long-time American interest. The White House position was transparently weak. Officials refused to question the validity of the certificates of ownership, which had assigned Spanish names to each of the captives even though none of them spoke that language. Presidential spokesmen blandly asserted that the captives had been slaves in Cuba, despite the fact that the international slave trade had been outlawed some 20 years earlier and the children were no more than nine years old and spoke an African dialect. The court proceedings opened on September 19, 1839, amid a carnival atmosphere in the state capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut. To some observers, Cinque was a black folk hero; to others he was a barbarian who deserved execution for murder. Poet William Cullen Bryant extolled Cinques virtues, numerous Americans sympathized with the noble savages, and pseudo-scientists concluded that the shape of Cinques skull suggested leadership, intelligence, and nobility. The New York Morning Herald, however, derided the poor Africans, who have nothing to do, but eat, drink, and turn somersaults. To establish the mutineers as human beings rather than property, Baldwin sought a writ of habeas corpus aimed at freeing them unless the prosecution filed charges of murder. Issuance of the writ would recognize the Africans as persons with natural rights and thus undermine the claim by both the Spanish and American governments that the captives were property. If the prosecution brought charges, the Africans would have the right of self-defense against unlawful captivity; if it filed no charges, they would go free. In the meantime, the abolitionists could explore in open court the entire range of human and property rights relating to slavery. As Leavitt later told the General Antislavery Convention in London, the purpose of the writ was to test their right to personality. Despite Baldwins impassioned pleas for justice, the publics openly expressed sympathy for the captives, and the prosecutions ill-advised attempt to use the four black children as witnesses against their own countrymen, Associate Justice Smith Thompson of the U.S. Supreme Court denied the writ. Thompson was a strong-willed judge who opposed slavery, but he even more ardently supported the laws of the land. Under those laws, he declared, slaves were property. He could not simply assert that the Africans were human beings and grant freedom on the basis of natural rights. Only the law could dispense justice, and the law did not authorize their freedom. It was up to the district court to decide whether the mutineers were slaves and, therefore, property. Prospects before the district court in Connecticut were equally dismal. The presiding judge was Andrew T. Judson, a well-known white supremacist and staunch opponent of abolition. Baldwin attempted to move the case to the free state of New York on the grounds that Gedney had seized the Africans in that states waters and not on the high seas. He hoped, if successful, to prove that they were already free upon entering New York and that the Van Buren administration was actually trying to enslave them. But Baldwins effort failed; the confrontation with Judson was unavoidable. Judsons verdict in the case only appeared preordained; as a politically ambitious man, he had to find a middle ground. Whereas many Americans wanted the captives freed, the White House pressured him to send them back to Cuba. Cinque himself drew great sympathy by recounting his capture in Mende and then graphically illustrating the horrors of the journey from Africa by sitting on the floor with hands and feet pulled together to show how the captives had been packed into the hot and unsanitary hold of the slave vessel. The Spanish government further confused matters by declaring that the Africans were both property and persons. In addition to calling for their return as property under Pinckneys Treaty, it demanded their surrender as slaves who are assassins. The real concern of the Spanish government became clear when its minister to the United States, Pedro Alcantara de Argaiz, proclaimed that The public vengeance of the African Slave Traders in Cuba had not been satisfied. If the mutineers went unpunished, he feared, slave rebellions would erupt all over Cuba. Argaizs demands led the Van Buren administration to adopt measures that constituted an obstruction of justice. To facilitate the Africans rapid departure to Cuba after an expected guilty verdict, Argaiz convinced the White House to dispatch an American naval vessel to New Haven to transport them out of the country before they could exercise the constitutional right of appeal. By agreeing to this, the president had authorized executive interference in the judicial process that violated the due-process guarantees contained in the Constitution. Judson finally reached what he thought was a politically safe decision. On January 13, 1840, he ruled that the Africans had been kidnapped, and, offering no sound legal justification, ordered their return to Africa, hoping to appease the president by removing them from the United States. Six long months after the mutiny, it appeared that the captives were going home. But the ordeal was not over. The White House was stunned by the decision: Judson had ignored the great [and] important political bearing of the case, complained the presidents son, John Van Buren. The Van Buren administration immediately filed an appeal with the circuit court. The court upheld the decision, however, meaning that the case would now go before the U.S. Supreme Court, where five of the justices, including Chief Justice Roger Taney, were southerners who were or had been slaveowners. Meanwhile, the Africans had become a public spectacle. Curious townspeople and visitors watched them exercise daily on the New Haven green, while many others paid the jailer for a peek at the foreigners in their cells. Some of the most poignant newspaper stories came from professors and students from Yale College and the Theological Seminary who instructed the captives in English and Christianity. But the most compelling attraction was Cinque. In his mid-twenties, he was taller than most Mende people, married with three children, and, according to the contemporary portrait by New England abolitionist Nathaniel Jocelyn, majestic, lightly bronzed, and strikingly handsome. Then there were the children, including Kale, who learned enough English to become the spokesperson for the group. the supreme court began hearing arguments on February 22, 1841. Van Buren had already lost the election, partly, and somewhat ironically, because his Amistad policy was so blatantly pro-South that it alienated northern Democrats. The abolitionists wanted someone of national stature to join Baldwin in the defense and finally persuaded former President John Quincy Adams to take the case even though he was 73 years old, nearly deaf, and had been absent from the courtroom for three decades. Now a congressman from Massachusetts, Adams was irascible and hard-nosed, politically independent, and self-righteous to the point of martyrdom. He was fervently antislavery, though not an abolitionist, and had been advising Baldwin on the case since its inception. His effort became a personal crusade when the young Kale wrote him a witty and touching letter, which appeared in the Emancipator and concluded with the ringing words,All we want is make us free. Baldwin opened the defense before the Supreme Court with another lengthy appeal to natural law, then gave way to Adams, who delivered an emotional eight-hour argument that stretched over two days. In the small, hot, and humid room beneath the Senate chamber, Adams challenged the Court to grant liberty on the basis of natural rights doctrines found in the Declaration of Independence. Pointing to a copy of the document mounted on a huge pillar, he proclaimed that,I know of no other law that reaches the case of my clients, but the law of Nature and of Natures God on which our fathers placed our own national existence. The Africans, he proclaimed, were victims of a monstrous conspiracy led by the executive branch in Washington that denied their rights as human beings. Adams and Baldwin were eloquent in their pleas for justice based on higher principles. As Justice Joseph Story wrote to his wife, Adamss argument was extraordinary for its power, for its bitter sarcasm, and its dealing with topics far beyond the records and points of discussion. On March 9, Story read a decision that could not have surprised those who knew anything about the man. An eminent scholar and jurist, Story was rigidly conservative and strongly nationalistic, but he was as sensitive to an individuals rights as he was a strict adherent to the law. Although he found slavery repugnant and contrary to Christian morality, he supported the laws protecting its existence and opposed the abolitionists as threats to ordered society. Property rights, he believed, were the basis of civilization. Even so, Story handed down a decision that freed the mutineers on the grounds argued by the defense. The ownership papers were fraudulent, making the captives kidnapped Africans who had the inherent right of self-defense in accordance with the eternal principles of justice. Furthermore, Story reversed Judsons decision ordering the captives return to Africa because there was no American legislation authorizing such an act. The outcome drew Leavitts caustic remark that Van Burens executive order attempting to return the Africans to Cuba as slaves should be engraved on his tomb, to rot only with his memory. The abolitionists pronounced the decision a milestone in their long and bitter fight against the peculiar institution. To them, and to the interested public, Storys eternal principles of justice were the same as those advocated by Adams. Although Story had focused on self-defense, the victorious abolitionists broadened the meaning of his words to condemn the immorality of slavery. They reprinted thousands of copies of the defense argument in pamphlet form, hoping to awaken a larger segment of the public to the sordid and inhumane character of slavery and the slave trade. In the highest public forum in the land, the abolitionists had brought national attention to a great social injustice. For the first and only time in history, African blacks seized by slave dealers and brought to the New World won their freedom in American courts. The final chapter in the saga was the captives return to Africa. The abolitionists first sought damage compensation for them, but even Adams had to agree with Baldwin that, despite months of captivity because bail had been denied, the regular judicial process had detained the Africans, and liability for false imprisonment hinged only on whether the officials acts were malicious and without probable cause. To achieve equity, Adams suggested that the federal government finance the captives return to Africa. But President John Tyler, himself a Virginia slaveholder, refused on the grounds that, as Judge Story had ruled, no law authorized such action. To charter a vessel for the long trip to Sierra Leone, the abolitionists raised money from private donations, public exhibitions of the Africans, and contributions from the Union Missionary Society, which black Americans had formed in Hartford to found a Christian mission in Africa. On November 25, 1841, the remaining 35 Amistad captives, accompanied by James Covey and five missionaries, departed from New York for Africa on a small sailing vessel named the Gentleman. The British governor of Sierra Leone welcomed them the following Januaryalmost three years after their initial incarceration by slave traders. The aftermath of the Amistad affair is hazy. One of the girls, Margru, returned to the United States and entered Oberlin College, in Ohio, to prepare for mission work among her people. She was educated at the expense of the American Missionary Association (AMA), established in 1846 as an outgrowth of the Amistad Committee and the first of its kind in Africa. Cinque returned to his home, where tribal wars had scattered or perhaps killed his family. Some scholars insist that he remained in Africa, working for some time as an interpreter at the AMA mission in Kaw-Mende before his death around 1879. No conclusive evidence has surfaced to determine whether Cinque was reunited with his wife and three children, and for that same reason there is no justification for the oft-made assertion that he himself engaged in the slave trade. The importance of the Amistad case lies in the fact that Cinque and his fellow captives, in collaboration with white abolitionists, had won their freedom and thereby encouraged others to continue the struggle. Positive law had come into conflict with natural law, exposing the great need to change the Constitution and American laws in compliance with the moral principles underlying the Declaration of Independence. In that sense the incident contributed to the fight against slavery by helping to lay the basis for its abolition through the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. Howard Jones is University Research Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Alabama. He is the author of numerous books, including Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy, published by Oxford University Press. On Sunday night, September 14, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee issued orders for his much scattered commands to rally at Sharpsburg, Maryland. His ambitious plans to cut the railroad bridge near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had been thwarted by Major General George McClellans unusually quick response to his raid into Maryland. Lees Army of Northern Virginia, thinly spread across south-central Maryland and northeastern Virginia, faced the very real threat of being beaten in detail. All spring and summer the Confederate Army had stymied its blue-frocked adversaries, first in the Peninsula Campaign, where McClellans Army of the Potomac was repulsed before Richmond, and then during the summer at Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas, where Maj. Gen. John Popes ill-starred Army of Virginia was routed by the swift-marching Rebels. Now it was Lee who was caught short. Major Generals James Longstreet and D.H. Hill had barely held the passes on South Mountain two days earlier; the heroism of their worn and hungry troops had given Lee time to reunite his army. It was an urgent matter that required Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson to march his command all night from Harpers Ferry. It was a hard march that left stragglers all the way from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburgeven Stonewall referred to it as severe. The divisions of Longstreet and Hill had arrived first and established their lines on what would be the Confederate right, due west of Antietam Creek and east of Sharpsburg. Major General Lafayette McLaws division from Longstreets command, assigned to Jackson for the Harpers Ferry siege, had been forced to turn and fight Maj. Gen. William B. Franklins VI Corps at Cramptons Gap; as a result his division would be late in arriving. Major General A.P. Hills famed Light Division had been assigned the responsibility of paroling Federal prisoners taken at Harpers Ferry and shipping captured war materiel south. It seemed doubtful the division would be able to make it up the following day. On the morning of Tuesday, September 16, McClellan had nearly 60,000 soldiers facing Lees 15,000. His heavy 20-pound Parrott rifles were sending case shot across the creek, feeling out the enemy. As Longstreet ordered a vigorous response more for bluff than effectLee realized his one chance for salvation lay with McClellans reverting to his old, timid behavior. McClellan did not disappoint him. Across the creek, the commander of the Federal Army rode about on his horse, Dan Webster, taking the salutes of his admiring infantry and superbly equipped artillery. His boys would pay dearly for their generals indecisiveness. By noon, Jackson and Brig. Gen. John Walker began to arrive, taking up the Confederate line on the left along the Hagerstown Pike near Dunker Church, north of town, then sweeping southeasterly to a worn farm lane on the Mumma property a mile away. The rest of the afternoon, well into the evening, Confederate stragglers came in. Neither slackers nor deserters, these were the sick and starving who had been unable to keep up with the swift-marching columns. Lees ranks had been thinned by casualties, sickness and large-scale desertions, but he had the advantage of position. Hed selected an excellent defensive field in which to fight. The lay of the land permitted the Rebels the opportunity to transfer troops under cover and allowed them to select the most advantageous artillery positions. On the left flank, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. (Jeb) Stuart placed Brig. Gen. Fitz Lees cavalry brigade with his three batteries of Captain John Pelhams Horse Artillery and three additional batteries on an unpretentious hillock known locally as Nicodemus Hill. East of the Hagerstown Pike, Brig. Gen. Evander M. Laws brigade had taken position in the East Woods. Law sent his videttes well to the north and east, keeping a close eye on the Upper Bridge. By 10 p.m. the artillery fire had nearly ceased, and only intermittent musketry ravaged the night air. Just after midnight it began to rain, a drizzle at first, then a cloudburst that drenched both armies and made everyone miserable. However, the men of Brig. Gen. John Bell Hoods division were elated; they had been given permission to withdraw to the West Woods and cook rations. It would be the first time in nearly three days that the case-hardened soldiers would have the opportunity to eat a warm meal. Throughout the night, the sudden flash of musketry or the roar of cannon deprived everyone of a decent nights rest. The opposing soldiers made peace with their God, wrote letters to loved ones, and waited. The battle would be joined in the morning. Between the two armies lay a cornfield owned by David R. Miller. The cornstalks were turning from green to brown, ready to be harvested, 30 acres of corn fodder for Millers cattle, perhaps a cash crop that would provide a few of the essentials for his family. Whatever plans Miller had for his corn were destined to go awry; his cornfield would soon be transformed into an altar where men in blue and gray would sacrifice their all for honor, duty, and love of regiment. Fog shrouded the field the next morning, and artillerists on both sides had to wait until the rising sun had burnt off enough fog to permit sighting. Just after dawn, the Confederate guns at Dunker Church, Nicodemus Hill and the North Woods, and the Federal reserve artillery across Antietam Creek, opened with a cacophonous roar, sounding the knell for Americas bloodiest day. Brigadier General A.R. Lawtons division had replaced Hood during the night; to his left, Brig. Gen. John R. Jones soldiers took up the line sweeping across the cornfield and Hagerstown Pike into the northern tip of the West Woods. Jacksons nearly 8,000 troops were evenly matched with Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers 8,500 effectivesthe Confederate advantage lay with their artillery. Pelhams guns on Nicodemus Hill could take any massed infantry moving south out of the North Woods in a murderous flanking fire. Colonel S.D. Lees guns at Dunker Church would be able to strike them head-on, and both positions would easily be able to bracket any troops within the area of the cornfield. Jackson was quick to understand the importance of Nicodemus Hill and ordered Brig. Gen. Jubal Early to move his brigade in support of the artillery. The rattle of skirmish fire and the thunderous roar of salvos fired by battalion filled the air as the Union I Corps entered the North Woods. Brigadier General Abner Doubledays 1st Division followed his 4th Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, moving parallel with the Hagerstown Pike. On his left, Brig. Gen. James B. Ricketts 2nd Division followed the 1st Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Abram Duryea. Immediately in the rear, Brig. Gen. George Meades 3rd Division stood ready to support the advance. Pelhams canoneers quickly got the range on Gibbons leading regiments. The 6th Wisconsin began taking heavy fire; a shell burst among the ranks, killing two men and knocking down 11 others. The regiment never faltered, however, closing ranks and continuing forward. Just south of their position, Hooker had detected the flash of sunlight reflecting off bayonets and ordered up two batteries of Federal artillery. Battery F, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery, and the Independent Pennsylvania Battery each boasted four 3-inch rifled guns. Lawtons and Jones skirmish line opened on the cannoneers with galling and accurate musket fire that dropped horses and men with fearful rapidity. Still, the two Federal batteries threw back the Rebel skirmish line, leaving mangled corpses and wounded scattered throughout the cornfield. The way had been cleared, or so the Federal infantry hoped, for an advance, and the order to go forward was sounded by buglers and drummers. Regimental color companies with their prized battle flags took the lead, while taut-faced infantrymen with their kepis and slouch hats pushed hard against their heads, marched deliberately across Mr. Millers clover field toward the cornfield and their destiny. On the right, Gibbon had maneuvered the 4th Brigade, the famed Iron Brigade, into an assault formation, with the 6th and 2nd Wisconsin leading and the 7th and 19th Indiana in close support. On Gibbons left, Duryeas brigade debouched from the North Woods nearly at the same time, moving across the clover field purposefully, taking incoming shells and musketry, but still advancing. Stonewall Jackson faced the foe with only Hoods division as reserve. In permitting Hoods withdrawal from the line during the night, Jackson had secured a promise from the brigadier that his command would come without delay when summoned. East of the Hagerstown Pike, Lawtons brigade of Georgians, commanded by Colonel Marcellus Douglas, followed by Brig. Gen. Harry Hays five Louisiana regiments, swept across the southern section of the cornfield toward the Smoketown Road, where Brig. Gen. Issac Trimbles brigade, commanded by Colonel James A. Walker, held the line all the way to the Mumma Farm Lane. West of the pike, Colonel A.J. Grigsbys brigade formed a line running west toward the Potomac River, with Colonel B.T. Johnsons brigade on their left. The front ranks of Duryeas Federal brigade came on steadily through the cornfield, with their muskets leveled at the waist. The rear ranks carried their rifles over their shoulders to prevent injuring those in front. All plodded forward with a determination that impressed their Southern foes. Colonel Walter Phelps 1st Brigade was closing fast on Gibbons boys and the massed Federal formations were easy targets for the Confederate artillery that had long since bracketed the cornfield. The Union soldiers moved forward, heads bent against the torrent of shells and musketry being poured into them, their regimental flags being shot to pieces and friends and messmates knocked down with every step. Duryeas three regiments made for the cornfields southern edge, wavering with each incoming volley fired into them by the Rebels. Suddenly, Lawtons troops rose up en masse and fired point-blank into their thinned ranks. The Federals staggered to the left and made for the fence along the Smoketown Road. But Duryeas brigade was already used up. In its 20-minute journey through the cornfield, the brigade had lost nearly 300 men. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Braggs 6th Wisconsin straddled the pike, with five companies on the west side of the road and the remainder spread eastward. The two Rebel brigades on their right opened a deadly enfilade fire that swept the ranks of Braggs exposed troopers. The Southerners were fighting desperately for control of the cornfield. Confederates, individually and in groups, crept through the bloodstained stubble, fog and battlesmoke, laying ambushes, killing at point-blank range, and escaping into the gray-white mist to repeat their deadly game. The fighting became frenzied, neither side knowing when the enemy might suddenly appear out of the fog. The heavy, close-in fighting completely halted Gibbons advance. Jones and Grigsbys brigades moved left and charged to the west side of the pike fence, firing volleys into the 6th Wisconsins exposed flank and the forward position of the 2nd Wisconsin. Across the road, in the northern portion of the West Woods, the 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana saw their comrades predicament and poured a devastating fire into the Confederates. The gray lines were swept with heavy musket and cannon fire. The two Rebel brigades quickly deteriorated, struck from three sides by musketry and artillery, and the order to withdraw was quickly given and carried out. First Division commander Abner Doubleday ordered Brig. Gen. Marsena Patrick to move his brigade across the pike and drive into the West Woods. As the movement was being made, Patrick picked up the 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana, adding weight to the assault. Jacksons left and center were in imminent danger of collapse. At great sacrifice, Doubledays 1st Division had punched a salient in Jacksons line, its epicenter in the southwest corner of the cornfield. While this looked propitious to McClellan and his staff as they watched through binoculars from the Pry House across the creek, the fact remained that the Federal position within the salient had not been solidified, and four Confederate brigades were still putting up a stiff resistance. The fighting in the southwest corner of the cornfield became desperate. The pockets and cartridge pouches of the dead and wounded were ransacked, and soldiers handed muskets to those with better shots at the enemy. The smoke, heat and roar of battle deluged the senses, obliterating all rational thought. Men laughed and giggled, screamed and cried. All sense of time was lost, and even the desire for survival was set aside. All that mattered now was the regiment and its colors. Lieutenant Colonel Bragg was hit by musketry and severely wounded. Command of the 6th Wisconsin devolved on Major Rufus Dawes, a native of Marietta, Ohio, and a fighting officer if ever there was one. On Dawes left, Duryeas brigade was pulling back from the fence along Smoketown Road through the cornfieldGibbons flank was in the air. Phelps 1st Brigade moved up in close support of Gibbon as the Iron Brigade wheeled through the bloodstained cornfield parallel with Hagerstown Pike and swept the brave remnant of Jones and Grigsbys Confederates with a deadly fire. The hard-hit Rebels broke and ran the Union gauntlet toward sanctuary in the West Woods. Across Hagerstown Pike, Jackson sat on his horse in perfect Christian peace as bullets and shell fragments whizzed and whined about him. Couriers and staff officers ran to and from their commander as he sat immobile, seemingly immune to human frailties. Hood would have to go inhe was the only reserve available. Lawton ordered Hays brigade into the gap left by Duryeas withdrawal. Hays men plowed through the cornfield and fired an enfilading volley into the thinning ranks of the 2nd and 6th Wisconsin. The combined efforts of Hays and Lawtons infantry halted the Federal advance and stabilized Jacksons front. Hays Louisiana Brigade had done its usual ferocious fighting in support of Lawton, but their right-wheel maneuver had exposed their right flank and the fighting had depleted their ammunition pouches. The brigade was helpless when Colonel Richard Coulters 3rd Brigade came storming out of the corn stubble, too late to help Duryea, but determined to sweep the field of Rebels. The Federals opening volley hit Hays line, piling corpses one atop the other. One of the casualties was Colonel Henry Strong, commanding the 6th Louisiana, who was killed while mounted on his beautiful horse. An officer running to his assistance was hit twice, and the command was forced to withdraw, leaving the colonels body and possessions behind. A Union infantryman commandeered the colonels gloves, and following the battle Alexander Gardner, famed Civil War photographer, captured the colonels dead horse for posterity. It was now just before 7 a.m. Doubledays 1st Division had been halted on the south end of the cornfield near Hagerstown Pike, while on his left Ricketts 2nd Division was being fed into the battle piecemeal and taking a terrible pounding from the Confederates whod been able to rush troops to trouble spots. Smoke from the artillery and musketry inundated the field. Soldiers in the thick of the fight were covered with the black, greasy stain of burnt powder, which gave a deadly, ghostlike appearance to the participants. The pungent smell of trampled vegetation, sweat, powder and bodies imposed a surrealistic perception that survivors carried with them the rest of their lives. Above Dunker Church all that was left of Jacksons line was a remnant of the old, trusted Stonewall Brigade, under the watchful eye of Old Jack himself. The division commander, General Jones, was with the brigade, trying desperately to hold when he was wounded by shrapnel, and command of the division devolved on Brig. Gen. William E. Starke. Starke was moving his brigade out of the West Woods in support of Jackson when he was mortally wounded, and command of the division devolved in turn on Colonel Grigsby. The assault of the two Confederate brigades petered out under a hail of shot and ball on the west side of the pike, where the infantrymen formed behind the fence bordering the road. They fell there by the score, and within a short time their position became untenable and they withdrew into the West Woods. Gibbons and Phelps men had checked the Rebel thrust into their flank, but had taken severe losses in return. Now they too were low on ammunition and forced to scour the cartridge pouches of the dead and wounded. Doubledays entire division was nearly used up, and supports were not at hand. Deep in the West Woods, Hoods little division was still busy preparing rations. Normally this wasnt an unusual act for Civil War soldiers, especially Rebels, but these men were literally starving. Pressed by forced marches and heavy fighting the past few days, the division had long since eaten up all their victuals and were now about as hungry as heavily armed men could get. But Hood had given his word to Jackson to bring up the command as soon as the request was made and now Jackson was calling. Hood gave the order and the two brigades began to re-form. Men threw down half-cooked pones and bacon or shoved the beginnings of greasy fatback biscuits into their mouths as they moved out. Hoods 2,300 men swarmed into the field north of their position at Dunker Church. They halted momentarily and volleyed into Gibbons line, reloaded and fired again. Hoods appearance on the field broke the Federals back, and they began to withdraw. The bravest gathered up wounded messmates and fallen battle flags and returned fire as best they could. Evander Laws brigade swept northeastward with its right anchored on Smoketown Road by the 4th Alabama. On Laws left and rear, Colonel William T. Woffords renowned Texas Brigade came on with two regiments, picking off fleeing Yankees while the 18th Georgia, 1st Texas and Hamptons Legion charged due north, firing into the enemy as they came. On the east side of the cornfield the two Union brigades were in full retreat. The 12th Massachusetts, which had fought bravely, took a staggering 67 percent casualties in less than 30 minutes. I Corps gains had been swiftly wiped out, and all that stood between it and annihilation was Meades 3rd Division. Hurriedly, Meade got Robert Andersons 3rd Brigade formed along a fence north of the cornfield, with its muskets resting on the bottom rail, just as Hood was ordering Colonel P.A. Works 1st Texas over to the left to support Hamptons Legion. Works soon lost control of the 1st Texas as the men outraced the line and charged straight for Andersons position. As the Texans cleared the battle smoke, Anderson ordered, Fire! and the brigades musketry swept the Texans with deadly accuracy, while Union 12-pounders struck them on the flank, halting the charge and driving them to ground. Meanwhile, north of the cornfield, Major Dawes was busy rallying the survivors of his beloved 6th Wisconsin. The regimental colors were brought up, the line eagerly formed, and the men sent forward on the double-quick. Dawes charge cleared the Texans, who had advanced to within 45 feet of the Union guns, and he ordered several to stay and help the artillerists while the 6th moved on toward the pike. Meade got his remaining two brigades, Colonel Thomas Gallaghers 3rd and Colonel Albert Magiltons 2nd, in line and pushed them straight for the 1st Texas. A few hundred yards southwest, someone retrieved the four Federal regiments that 30 minutes earlier had sallied into the West Woods, and directed them toward the left flank. The 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana led the assault, supported by the 35th and 21st New York. Their combined musketry soon swept the left flank of the 18th Georgia, Hamptons Legion and the 4th Texas. On the northwest corner of the cornfield, the 1st Texas lay dying. The regiments casualties were fast approaching 50 percent as the Texans rose up and fired, point-blank, into the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves. The entire color guard was shot down, while all along their line Rebel artillery walked salvos of case shot. The Federal line buckled and swayed but somehow kept coming, closing over their dead and wounded, pressed by the screams of those closing up their files. Nearly out of ammunition, Work tried to get permission from Hood to withdraw, but couldnt reach him. Work could see that his supports were under attack and withdrawing and that if he was going to get out at all it would have to be now. He gave the order just as the 9th, 11th and 12th Pennsylvania Reserves fired a volley into his decimated line. Of the 226 soldiers hed led in the assault, 186 had fallen dead or wounded within 45 minutes. South of his position, the 18th Georgia, Hamptons Legion and the 4th Texas were also quitting the field. The command had given all that they hadof the 858 effectives in the Texas Brigade, 472 would be listed as casualties in what may well have been the grandest charge of the entire war. The fearless Butternuts of the 6th North Carolina, the famed Bloody Sixth, held the Confederate right, anchored in the northeastern portion of the East Woods. Hidden in the bushes and among the trees, the 6th awaited the fast approaching 8th Pennsylvania Reserves and at a range of 30 feet opened a fusillade that swept the Pennsylvanians ranks and knocked down half the regiment. The Federal assault was quickly renewed, and Laws left was uncovered, rendering his line untenable and forcing his withdrawal. With Laws retreat the cornfield was ceded to the I Corps. Both Jackson and Hooker had one brigade left that hadnt been heavily usedbeyond that the flower of their commands lay strewn among the blood-splattered corn stubble, the fields north and south of the cornfield, the Hagerstown Pike and the East Woods. The field of honor had become a sacrificial slaughter pen, with the cornfield as its gory hub. Major General Joseph K.F. Mansfield had officially taken over command of the Union XII Corps two days earlier. The corps, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks old command, had suffered mightily at the hands of Jackson a few months earlier in the Shenandoah Valley, and its losses had been made up with green regiments, some with only 30 days training, and most from Pennsylvania. While Mansfield slowly maneuvered the corps toward the front, General D.H. Hill, commanding the Confederate center, led Brig. Gen. Roswell Ripleys brigade into the void created by the withdrawl of Hoods decimated division. In the East Woods, the Confederates had a hodgepodge collection of regiments waiting in ambush for any unsuspecting Federals who might wander into their field of fire. They didnt have to wait long. Brigadier General Alpheus Williams 1st Division led the advance, followed by Brig. Gen. George S. Greenes 2nd Division. Mansfield had the corps marching in columns of division, which allowed for swift movement but left the command practically defenseless in the face of attack. Williams split his division, sending Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawfords 1st Brigade due south toward the East Woods and Brig. Gen. George Gordons 3rd Brigade toward the North Woods. Crawfords six regiments pressed toward the East Woods. The 124th New York, one of the raw regiments, inadvertently moved westward and lost touch with the rest of the brigade. The 10th Maine, a veteran outfit, held the lead, and though still in column was returning fire on Rebel skirmishers busily harassing their every step. The ubiquitous Joe Hooker came riding up and shouted to Colonel George Beal, commanding the 10th, that they must hold the woods at all costs. Immediately, Beal disobeyed Mansfields order to stay in column and ordered the command to advance by regimental front. The Rebels challenging Beals 10th Maine were from the 21st Georgia, commanded by Captain James Nisbet. Nisbets plan was to fire and fall back, drawing the 10th into an ambush. Accordingly, the 10th was drawn into a slight depression when all of the Georgians muskets cracked in the sultry morning air, driving the New Englanders into the ground and halting their advance. Meanwhile, the rest of Crawfords brigade pressed on. The 46th Pennsylvania and 28th New York debouched from the East Woods just above the fighting and poured into Millers field, while the 128th Pennsylvania, yet another green regiment, came up on the right. Just as the 128th broke through the tree line of the East Woods, the 4th Alabama poured a devastating fire into their ranks, killing their colonel and second-in-command. Leaderless and in combat for the first time, the Pennsylvanians milled aimlessly about the field, taking killing fire. At the same time, Ripley got his entire brigade into line of battle after theyd moved north of Smoketown Road. They were moving at the double-quick, making for the southern end of the cornfield, when four Union regiments, the 27th Indiana, 2nd Massachusetts, Pennsylvania Zouaves dAfrique and 3rd Wisconsin, halted on the northern edge of the cornfield and waited for the 128th Pennsylvania to clear their field of fire. Ripleys left opened first, driving the remnant of the 19th Indiana northward along Hagerstown Pike and killing the regiments commander, Lt. Col. Alois Bachman. Ripleys assault struck Meades Pennsylvanians and initially drove them back. But Ripleys right was exposed in the attack, and Crawfords 12th Corps brigade fired coordinated volleys into his exposed flank, splintering and fragmenting the attack. Williams and officers from other regiments finally got the 128th Pennsylvania into a good line, and when the 3rd North Carolina advanced on them the soldiers, just a few weeks from civilian life, opened fire, sweeping the Rebel line with accurate and murderous musketry. On the 128ths left, among the trees and bushes of the East Woods, the 10th Maine was making headway. Fighting with an open front, advancing a few feet at a time, the New Englanders were having some success shoving the three Confederate regiments out of the woods. Captain Ike Turner, commanding the 5th Texas, tried unsuccessfully to get reinforcements or else obtain permission to withdraw from the woods, but could not reach Hood. Meanwhile, the 4th Alabama shot off its last rounds and made for the safety of the West Woods, while the 6th North Carolina moved into position to the left of the 21st Georgia, still contesting the Federal advance. After leading Ripleys brigade into the cornfield, D.H. Hill returned to the Mumma Farm Lane and ordered Colonel Alfred Colquitts brigade into the battle. As Colquitts fine brigade, flushed with victory over Gibbons Iron Brigade two days earlier at Turners Gap, advanced through the cornfield in support of Ripley, Colonel D.K. McRaes brigade moved northward parallel to the East Woods, firing as it advanced. Just as McRaes men entered the cornfield, the 28th Pennsylvania emerged from the woods and swept McRaes line with a devastating enfilading fire. McRae reported that this produced great confusion. . . it [the brigade] commenced to break and a general panic ensued. In the meantime, Colquitts infantry was fully engaged. Most of Ripleys brigade had been knocked down or forced from the field. Two regiments, the 1st and 3rd North Carolina, remained intact, supporting Colquitt and allowing him time to prepare the charge. The colonel got his lines dressed under a murderous crossfire and ordered the command forward. The charge swept northwesterly across the cornfield, picking up speed and ferocity as soldiers were cut down by ball and shell. The battle lines closed over the fallen as the colors moved across the bloodstained cornfield. On Colquitts left, the 13th Alabama struck the 124th Pennsylvania, while on his right the 6th Georgia collided with the 5th Ohio. The Ohioans and Georgians piled into each other so swiftly and furiously that after firing off a round they grappled with muskets, knives and fists. The Ohioans prevailed, driving the Georgians out of the East Woods and into the eastern portion of the cornfield. The 7th and 66th Ohio advanced with the 5th as Colquitts line passed across their front. The 2nd Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Zouaves dAfrique, posted at the Miller Farm, now formed a line just south of Millers backyard and went on the double-quick into the smoke-filled cornfield. On their left, the 3rd Wisconsin and 27th Indiana were hit with well-aimed musketry by the 27th Georgia, but held their line and advanced with the Zouaves. Not only had Colquitts charge been broken, but now he was hard pressed on his front. Unsupported, its ranks being thinned every second, Collquitts brigade was deprived of choices. The matter became a question solely of survival, and the Southerners broke into small groups and ran the gauntlet in much the same manner as their fellow Confederates had done earlier. Tears of rage and frustration streamed down Colquitts cheeks, but to no avail. The rout could not be halted. They had given their all, just as their predecessors had, but the Army of the Potomac had finally seized Mr. Millers cornfield. This article was written by Robert C. Cheeks and originally appeared in the September 1998 issue of Americas Civil War. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Americas Civil War magazine today! The Confederate general didnt want to fight he wanted to pray. It was, after all, the Sabbath, and if the Good Lord found it necessary to rest a day after Creation, then the least mankind could do was refrain from killing each other on the Lords Day. If, however, an uncooperative Union commander got in the way on Sunday, then that must be Gods will, after all. Those were the thoughts of Maj. Gen. Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson on the afternoon of March 23, 1862, as he surveyed the ground around Kernstown, Va. The religious yet pragmatic Jackson knew a battle was upcoming, and despite his preferences, he deployed his troops accordingly outside the tiny Shenandoah Valley town. About to get under way was a strange little fight, one that very well may have lengthened the war to its ultimate four-year life span, adding hundreds of thousands of names to the melancholy roll of the dead. The preliminaries for the Battle of Kernstown began the previous day. Jacksons cavalry commander, the brilliant if undisciplined Colonel Turner Ashby, had been leading his small group on a reconnaissance foray in the strategic Winchester area, some three and a half miles north of Kernstown. Winchester, Va., was important because of its location at the head of the Shenandoah Valley. Besides being a valuable Southern breadbasket, the Shenandoah was also a key overland route for Rebel armies to outflank Washington to the north, or for Union forces to drive deep into the Confederacy to the south. Both sides quickly recognized its significance. Indeed, Winchester, as the northern gate to the valley and the hub of nine major wagon roads and the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, was so important that it changed hands 72 times during the war. To keep the valley out of Union hands, Jackson was ordered there in November 1861. Under his command at his first Valley headquarters in Winchester were 2,000 mostly inexperienced troops. His gunners were so green they did not even know how to load their only two cannon. By the end of the year, however, he had 10,000 men of varying degrees of quality, including his old command at Bull Run, the 1st Virginia (Stonewall) Brigade. By March 1862, his army had dwindled again to less than 5,000 men due to a bitterly cold winter campaign waged in northern Virginia along the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley. Although Jackson had suffered few battle losses during the campaign, most of his men had been left behind to garrison several towns recaptured from the Federals. Union commanders were not idle during this time, either, but their attention was focused farther to the east, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. From there, Union forces could either defend Washington, or if the Confederates remained quiet, launch an invasion of their own into the Valley. Over the winter, three divisions were quietly assembled along the Potomac. With their support personnel, they numbered 38,000. By the end of February 1862, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks had crossed some of them into Virginia at Harpers Ferry. Jackson had been back at Winchester for about a month now; after hearing of Banks move, he realized his force of 4,200 men was no match for the Federals. They pulled out of Winchester on March 11. It was none too soon. Banks, although slowed by the problem of getting his heavy equipment across the Potomac, arrived in Winchester on March 12. With the Confederates in retreat, Banks felt comfortable in sending some of his command to aid Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in his upcoming Peninsular Campaign. On March 14, Brig. Gen. John Sedgwicks division started marching east. Then, on March 17, Banks sent Brig. Gen. James Shields division after Jackson, who had retreated 18 miles to Strasburg. Shields, like his commanding officer, was a political appointee to military office. Unlike Banks, however, Shields was also an aggressive soldier. In 1842, he had challenged an out-of-office politician to a duel over an alleged libel. Fortunately, the duel never took place the politicians name was Abraham Lincoln. By the time war broke out, the men had settled their differences and become friends. In addition, Shields had some practical military experience, having served as a brigade commander during the Mexican War. Shields wasted no time marching his men to Strasburg, then another five miles southwest to Woodstock the next day. Jackson though, was not in the neighborhood. Stonewall had brought his command to Mount Jackson, some 37 miles southwest of Woodstock. Between Jackson and Shields were Ashbys cavalrymen, acting as a very effective screen for the tiny main force. A few of Shields own cavalrymen actually reached the Mount Jackson area, but were prevented by Ashbys men from learning anything about Jacksons deployment. Over March 19 and 20, Shields brought his entire division back to Winchester. There, the first of a number of faulty intelligence reports that led eventually to the Battle of Kernstown was delivered. In it, Shields affirmed to Banks that only a small Confederate cavalry contingent remained in the Shenandoah Valley. Banks couldnt have been happier. His assignment had proven far easier than expected. He ordered a second division, under Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams, to leave for McClellans command the next day. Banks himself returned to Washington on the 22nd. This left only Shields 7,000-man division in the Valley. In addition, he had 750 cavalry and 900 artillerymen with 24 guns. Offhand, that appeared to be plenty. With the Union confidently pulling out of the Valley, having barely raised a sweat, the stage now belonged to Ashby. He and his troopers had done a magnificent job screening Jackson from Union horsemen and had followed Shields back down the Valley to Winchester. On the evening of the 21st, Ashby sent word to Stonewall that large numbers of enemy soldiers were leaving for the east. Jackson, as incensed as Banks was elated, had his much-vaunted foot cavalry marching back northeast by dawn. Besides defending the Valley, his orders had been to tie down excess Union troops that could be used to threaten Richmond. So far, it appeared he had failed. That galled him. Except for Jacksons movement, most of the 22nd was quiet. Late in the day, however, Ashby became antsy. Around 4 p.m., he moved up his artillery (Chews Battery, Virginia Horse) and began shelling Union skirmishers posted on the southern outskirts of Winchester. At first, Ashby was successful, forcing the Union troops back toward the town. However, Shields reacted immediately and brought up reinforcements, leading them himself. Skirmishing was heavy, but eventually Ashby was forced back. The shooting died out around sunset, with the Union troops halting about halfway between Winchester and Kernstown. Shields, however, was out of the fight. He had suffered a broken arm from a shell fragment. As he was leaving the battle, Shields ordered Colonel Nathan Kimball, commander of the First Brigade, to take command of the division. Kimball, also a veteran of the Mexican War, thus became the third commanding officer to lead the division in just three weeks. (The original commander, Brig. Gen. Frederick Lander, had died of illness on March 2.) Shields himself had taken command only two weeks earlier. Overnight, Shields sent Kimball orders to clear Ashbys observation force from the area. The wounded commander also sent a brigade north to confuse the enemy, but kept it within marching distance of Winchester. In the meantime, Ashby delivered another report to Jackson. Based on his observations and some intelligence from misinformed Confederate sympathizers, the cavalry officer told Stonewall that the Union forces before them numbered only 3,000 men in four regiments, a small cavalry contingent and one battery of artillery. And even these were scheduled to return to Harpers Ferry on the 23rd. Shields ruse had worked all too well. On the 23rd, the fighting resumed early. Kimballs First Brigade continued to push back Ashbys cavalry, although it had been reinforced with four companies of early arriving infantry. At this point, the key event of the day occurred. The pressure on Ashby was enormous, and he continued to retreat all the way to the other side of Kernstown. In so doing, he abandoned the single most important piece of terrain in the area, a small knoll called Pritchards Hill just north of the village, which happened to be the only high ground in the area and was also centrally located. Realizing the hills importance, Kimball stationed his entire brigade plus two batteries of artillery in a strong defensive position. From here, he had full command of the battlefield below. Kimball, probably in an effort to paint himself as an energetic, bold leader, later put the completion time of these movements as early as 8 a.m. Other sources set the action between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. In any event, what cannot be disputed is that Kimball spent several hours awaiting developments and ignoring orders streaming from Shields back in Winchester. In this, he was correct Shields information about ongoing events was inevitably out of date by the time Shields orders in turn reached Kimball. In the meantime, Kimball completed his preparations, moving one brigade and some artillery to his left flank, even with the southern edge of Pritchards Hill, and holding one brigade as a reserve out of sight behind the hill. His right flank was left open. Kimball then determined to remain on the defensive. About midafternoon, Jackson arrived at Kernstown. After conferring with Ashby, he was content that the majority of thesmall Union force was entrenched on Pritchards Hill, directly in front of him. Unfortunately, he broke one of his own rules and failed to reconnoiter the situation for himself, opting to accept Ashbys report at face value. (Ironically, it was one of these personal reconnaissance missions that was later to cost Jackson his life at the hands of his own troops at Chancellorsville, Va.) To his right, Jackson knew, was another contingent of enemy troops. Although it appeared obvious to him that this force couldnt be very large, the terrain was forbidding. The Union soldiers were deployed along Hogg Run, which ran east to west. In addition, Confederate troops would have to cross large areas of open territory before reaching the run, exposing them to fire from Pritchards Hill. An assault up the hill directly in front of him was enticing because the important Valley Turnpike ran along the eastern foot. But Jackson quickly realized that such an attack by his dog-tired men would be futile. Still, the left flank held much promise. It was free of enemy troops and its commanding feature, Sandy Ridge, was covered by dense forest that would provide cover from the guns on the hill, although the Confederates would have to cross through some wheatfields to reach the woods. In addition, Hogg Run broke into two forks between Kernstown and Pritchards Hill, neither of which was much more than a stream. The northern fork snaked back toward the hill where Jackson didnt want to go anyway, while the southern fork was both short and shallow. The troops who couldnt march around it could easily ford it. The woods to the west, then, would be where Jackson would try to outflank the Yankees. He gave the orders to deploy. A few of Ashbys men were sent to skirmish along Hogg Run and hold that flank while the rest of the cavalry and his three brigades wheeled left and marched for the woods. Almost from the first, however, things began to unravel. Jacksons lead brigade, under Brig. Gen. Samuel Fulkerson, marched off smartly under the covering fire of Rebel cannon in the vicinity of Kernstown. The return fire, however, was deadly and far more hearty than anticipated. The Southerners ran for the safety of the ridge. Jackson, chastened, reacted with something close to panic. He ordered one regiment of the Stonewall Brigade to move forward to support Fulkerson. The brigades commander, Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett, later to become a key figure in the battle, hurried off to get the 33rd Virginia under way. While he was away, a second command arrived from Jackson ordering him to move up the entire brigade. Unfortunately, Garnett wasnt around to receive it. Jackson saw only a quarter of Garnetts men moving and grew furious. He personally took command of the stationary units and ordered them forward. Garnett now got news of Jacksons second set of orders and, totally confused, halted the 33rd Virginia in place while he went off to get clarification. Meanwhile, two of the three regiments Jackson was commanding wandered off, their officers unsure if they should be following Garnetts or Jacksons orders. Kimball, in the meantime, was enjoying an eagles eye view of the Confederate confusion. Although he certainly must have enjoyed the spectacle, especially since some of it was occurring within range of his guns, he was also shrewd enough to realize that his right flank was being threatened. He ordered his hidden reserve brigade to counter the enemy movements. Eventually, Jackson got his command somewhat straightened out. Fulkersons two tiny regiments (only 400 men) had plodded on and found themselves emerging from the woods. Halfway across a clearing ran a stone wall half a mile long. At the same time, Kimballs reserve brigade emerged from the other side of the clearing. The Confederates won the race for the wall. The situation stabilized. The Union attempted two assaults on the wall, but both were repulsed. Garnett brought up most of the Stonewall Brigade, taking up position along the wall to Fulkersons right. Kimball moved his own infantry off Pritchards Hill and attacked Garnett. The fighting now became furious as the stone wall changed hands twice over the next two hours. Meanwhile, Jackson had become painfully aware of the trap. A subordinate had found a high clearing from which he could see Kimballs men coming off Pritchards Hill. His report was far more accurate than Ashbys he saw 9,000 to 10,000 Federals in the area. Say no more of it, Jackson replied. We are in for it. The impasse at the stone wall continued until around 6 p.m. Union troops came on in wave after wave while the Confederates resolutely counterattacked and then defended their ground, until finally the Stonewall Brigade ran out of ammunition. In addition, Union cavalry were beginning to demonstrate around the Southern left flank. The crisis was reached. Garnett later said that if he had only been able to confer with Jackson, Stonewall would have concurred with his subsequent decision to withdraw. Jackson, however, was in the rear, bringing up a reserve regiment in an attempt to break the stalemate. Garnett held off as long as he thought possible, but felt compelled to eventually sound the retreat. Unfortunately, the retreat soon became a rout. Suddenly, Jackson found himself swimming in a ragged sea of frightened soldiers now headed in the opposite direction. Moving on, he found Garnett, but between the two of them, they were unable to rally the troops. Jacksons antiquated admonition to give them the bayonet! held no sway with soldiers who were out of bullets. In short order, Fulkersons men, too, were forced to retire; their right flank was exposed. They, too, ran off in panic. Fortunately, the two brigades that had borne the brunt of the Union fighting were too disorganized for effective pursuit. Jackson, ever an optimist, hoped that the 5th Virginia Regiment might still win the day, but Garnett made the decision that later led to his court-martial. Instead of ordering the 5th Virginia forward to attack as Jackson wished, Garnett had it deploy in a defensive position to cover the retreat. It was gratifyingly effective in this role, garnering enough time to allow Jackson to move his last brigade into the area in support. That night, Jackson pitched his camp four and a half miles back down the Valley Turnpike at Newtown. Beginning that night and continuing to the end of his life, Shields bragged that he was the only Union general to defeat Jackson in an open battle. While technically correct, the honor, if not the rank, more accurately belonged to Kimball. On the day Shields resumed command after recovering from his injuries, April 30, Kimball was promoted to brigadier general for his victory over Jackson. The hapless Garnett, however, had incurred Jacksons wrath. Although widely regarded as Jacksons best general, Garnett was arrested immediately after the battle for his unauthorized retreat. The affair actually got as far as a court-martial in August, but after only two officers testified (one of them Jackson), the war intervened and nothing more came of it. Garnett remained an admirer of Jackson and was even an honorary pallbearer at Stonewalls funeral, despite his well-publicized difficulties with him. Kernstown was not the first run-in between the two, only the most serious. It is fair to say that, at the least, Garnetts admiration of Jackson was not mutual. Garnett returned to command, but was killed at Gettysburg a year later while he was leading a brigade in the famed Picketts Charge. The Battle of Kernstown was, all things considered, a minor one. According to Jackson, he had 3,087 infantry and 27 cannon under him. Ashbys cavalry numbered only 290, which Jackson generously attributed to heavy cavalry duty and the extent of the country to be protected in his official report. However, a month later, Jackson relieved Ashby of command for his lack of discipline. Among the charges was that Ashby allowed the other half of his troops to wander about the Kernstown area on their own because Ashby did not believe they would be needed until the next day. Ashby got his command back three days later after a vigorous protest. The total Confederate losses over the two days numbered just 80 dead, 375 wounded, and 263 captured or missing. On the other side, Shields reported his losses at 118 killed, 450 wounded, 22 captured or missing. Yet, despite these small numbers, Kernstown was one of the most decisive engagements of the war. The Confederates, though soundly defeated, ultimately gained the most. As historian Bruce Catton observed: The victory meant nothing at all, whereas the mere fact that the battle had been fought meant a great deal. Indeed, the ramifications of this odd little affair reached all the way to President Lincoln. None of the Union generals with an interest in the Shenandoah Valley Shields, Banks or McClellan could believe that Jackson would attack while being so outnumbered. They never realized that Jackson thought he outnumbered them. In their eyes, Jackson must be a far greater threat than in fact he actually was. Banks was ordered to return immediately to the Shenandoah with Williams 9,000-man division. But that wasnt enough. Lincoln, who suffered from an almost pathological fear of a Confederate attack upon the capital, withdrew a 40,000-man corps from McClellans command. These troops would protect Washington from the Fredericksburg area. Meanwhile, McClellans Peninsular Campaign would just have to do without them. In addition, Lincoln took a further 10,000-man division and sent it to join 5,000 other Union troops guarding against Jackson in west Virginia (not yet a Federal state at this time). At the very least, Jacksons 3,600 men had tied up almost 65,000 Union troops at a time when a decisive campaign to end the war quickly was being undertaken. Later, 10,000 men from Fredericksburg reinforced McClellan, but so great was Lincolns fear that he never allowed the remaining 30,000 men to march south and support McClellan with an attack on Richmonds north side. Despite this heavy-handed interference, McClellan came within six miles of the Confederate capital and came very close to defeating the main Confederate army that June. With those extra troops, the war might very well have ended in 1862. Indeed, the ultimate reason McClellan was repulsed was that Robert E. Lee felt confident in leaving his northern flank exposed, allowing him to march his entire army east to meet the threat. Thus, Stonewall Jacksons Valley Campaign, of which Kernstown was the first major fight, had gained for the Confederacy three more years of precarious existence and bloodletting. All of which leads back to Kernstown and one of the great causes for speculation in the Civil War. Early on the morning of the 23rd, Kimball moved a brigade under Colonel Jeremiah Sullivan to hold the flank along Hogg Run. There they sat all day while the battle raged far to the west. Their only contribution was to prevent Confederate movement toward Pritchards Hill after Kimball moved his own brigade off the hill in support of the reserve brigade that was fighting along the stone wall. Other than that, Sullivans 2,000 men did little more than skirmish with about 150 of Ashbys men. Had Kimball been truly aggressive, it would have been an easy matter to send these men across the run toward the Valley Turnpike south of Kernstown, thus cutting off Jacksons retreat. Earlier in the battle, Jackson had left behind 1,100 men to guard against exactly this situation. But by late in the afternoon, these men had moved to their left to cover their retreating comrades. The path to the Turnpike remained virtually unguarded. It seems that, at the very least, a more accurate appraisal of Jacksons strength might have been obtained. At best, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy Jacksons army was lost perhaps, indeed, an opportunity to take Jackson himself out of the war. And who can say how much more successful McClellan might have been in the Peninsula with all those extra troops that Stonewall kept tied up? For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost. This article was written by Lee Enderlin and published in Americas Civil War magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Americas Civil War magazine today! Penicillin helped win World War II. Peoria made it possible SERENDIPITY has long been one of medicines most steadfast collaborators. Arguably, the most potent example of an influential accident was when Dr. Alexander Fleming returned to his London laboratory after a summer break in 1928 and noticed that mold growing in a petri dish containing Staphylococcus aureus was inhibiting the bacterias growth. Fleming wondered if the furry, blue-green lump, later identified as Penicillium notatum, could possibly be a new germicide, and, after further testing, he determined that it was, in fact, an extremely effective antibiotic. None of his colleagues showed much interest, so Fleming immersed himself in other projects. Almost a decade later, England was bracing for war and British scientists urgently sought new treatments for battlefield infections, which often killed more troops than bombs and bullets combined. Dr. Ernst Chain, a Jewish refugee from Hitlers Germany who resembled a young Albert Einstein, stumbled by sheer luck, he later said, across an article Fleming had published in 1929 and showed it to his boss at Oxford Universitys School of Pathology, Dr. Howard Florey. Florey agreed that it warranted more study, and the two men, along with Dr. Norman Heatley and Dr. Margaret Jennings, secured a Rockefeller Foundation grant to research penicillins medical applications. Unable to persuade the British government or private companies to underwrite their efforts, Florey decided he would have to look for a partner outside of war-torn Europe with the resources, manpower and scientific wherewithal to produce this new wonder drug on a massive scale. He knew just who to callthe U.S. Department of Agricultures research lab in Peoria, Ill., a Depression-era institute that devised new ways of putting surplus crops to good use. Today its known as the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), and when I contact them, Im greeted on the phone by the lovely Scottish voice of Jackie Shepherd: Good morning, USDA, how may I help you? I tell her I am researching NCAURs role in manufacturing penicillin after English doctors had discovered it. Jackie verified that, yes, I had the right place, and she then connected me to communications officer Katherine OHara to schedule a visit. But before patching me through, Jackie playfully admonished me. I dont believe that Fleming was English, she said, her native lilt sounding stronger than before. He was a Scotsman. When I arrive weeks later at 1815 North University Street, Katherine gives me a packet of penicillin-related materials from NCAURs archives. Heres what started it all, she says, pulling out a July 9, 1941, telegram. Its from Department of Agriculture administrator Dr. Percy Wells to NCAUR director Dr. Orville E. May: Heatley and Florey of Oxford, England, [are] here to investigate pilot scale production of bacteriostatic material from Flemings penicillium in connection with medical defense plans. Can you arrange immediately for shallow pan setup to establish laboratory results in metal [containers]. Heatley and Florey had landed at LaGuardia Field on July 2 wearing thick wool suits more appropriate for Englands cooler climate than Manhattans sweltering heat. But neither man let go of his jacket; smeared into their coat pockets were the backup spores they would use in the event that Floreys briefcasepacked with notebooks and carefully wrapped vials of freeze-dried penicillinwas heisted. The doctors made their way to Peoria, and on July 14 they met with Dr. Robert Coghill, director of NCAURs fermentation division, and Dr. Andrew Moyer, an expert on the nutrition of molds. Within 48 hours, Moyer and his team were hard at work cultivating the samples smuggled over from Oxford. After an initial scare, when the spores that had blossomed so quickly in England didnt take to the research centers balmy, 80-plus-degree temperatures (the new air conditioning system wasnt operational until that September), the Peoria scientists were finally able to grow the first tiny batch of mold by Julys end. To mass produce penicillin, Moyer first suggested utilizing corn steep liquor in the fermentation process. The idea was as much practical as it was scientific: The thick, syrupy liquid was rich in nitrogen, and it could be acquired easily because nobody wanted the stuff. A byproduct of cornstarch, it was often just dumped by local corn mills into the Illinois River. Adding corn steep liquor alone upped the yield a stunning 1,000 percent. The Peoria crew then experimented with brewing up penicillin in 10,000-gallon vats. Moyer recommended adding lactose to the corn steep liquor and aerating the broth with a constant supply of sterile oxygen to produce penicillin not just on the surface but throughout the culture. This, too, increased yields substantially. Moyer realized, however, that to maximize results they needed a more resilient mold. Leading the hunt for this new, tougher strain was NCAUR mycologist Kenneth Raper, who instructed members of the U.S. Army Transport Command to bring him mold extracts and soil samples from wherever they traveled around the world. After working 70-hour weeks sifting through a malodorous array of decaying fruits, old cheeses, breads, meats and clumps of dirt, Raper finally isolated the super mold hed been searching for. Approximately 50 times more potent than anything previously tested, the strain eventually became the primogenitor for almost all of the worlds penicillin. And it was found, by chance, on an overripe cantaloupe purchased at a Peoria grocery store. (The exact location, alas, isnt recorded. Robert Coghill only noted the source as a fruit market near the lab.) The miracle melon itself was neither preserved for posterity nor disposed of with any kind of ceremonial pomp befitting its significance. After cutting the mold off the rind, staff members sliced up the cantaloupe and ate it. By June 1944, right in time for the D-Day landings at Normandy, drug companies were churning out an estimated 100 billion units of penicillin per month, enough for an estimated 40,000 U.S. and British combatants. Hitlers forces had to rely on less effective sulfa drugs and, consequently, experienced higher fatality rates, more amputations and longer recovery times for injuries, diminishing their overall troop strength. On and off the battlefield, penicillin cured an ever-expanding range of afflictionspneumonia, strep throat, gas gangrene, septicemia, spinal meningitis, scarlet fever, puerperal sepsis, to name just a fewand with virtually no side effects, the new drug became as indispensable to the Allied war effort as any weapon. One of Dr. Moyers successors, Dr. Cletus Clete Kurtzman, took me on a tour of the laboratories. Cletes been working at NCAUR for 42 years and oversees a collection of 100,000 different microbes. He opens the stairwell door to the third floor and we walk into a bright, fluorescent-lit hallway. All of this has been newly renovated since the 1940s, and even the walls have been offset by the new construction, but Moyers lab would have been around here, he says in front of Room 3118. We peek inside, and Clete explains that this is where they now store NCAURs cultures. About 80,000 of the microbes are fungi, he says, and the other 20,000 are bacteria. Large, double-door steel refrigerators, like those found in any modern household kitchen, line both sides of the laboratory, and down the middle are liquid nitrogen containers the size of industrial drum barrels. Clete starts talking about another medical innovation developed during the early 1950s by Dr. Allene Jeanes in the lab right across from Room 3118: dextran, the blood plasma substitute originally intended for U.S. troops fighting on the front lines in Korea. Its commonly used in hospitals today and has prevented countless patients from bleeding to death. The lifesaving blood extender was created out of a slimy bacterium, Clete tells me, that wasnt exactly drawn from the labs official collection of microbes. Another NCAUR scientist had shown the mold to Dr. Jeanes after spotting it inside a half-empty bottle of old root beer that someone, fortuitously, had neglected to throw away. If you would like to share a little-known site where history happened, please visit www.HereIsWhere.org. BUFFALO SOLDIERS WEST: BLACK SOLDIERS IN THE FRONTIER ARMY,(Old Army Press, Inc., $24.95). An exhibition hosted in 1996 by the Colorado Historical Society forms the backdrop for this video history of the Buffalo Soldiers, the African-American troops of the U.S. Army that first gained fame during the nineteenth-century Indian Wars. Bill Gwaltney, a re-enactor, historian, and descendant of two Buffalo Soldiers, served as the honorary curator of the exhibition and guides the viewer through the museum displays, expounding on the enviable service recordwhich included, among other things, the highest re-enlistment and lowest desertion and alcoholism rates in the entire frontier armyof the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 23rd and 24th Infantry. The second company to be established later this year when Xerox splits will be called 'Conduent.' The declaration of the new business process outsourcing organization was announced Thursday morning. In January this year Xerox announced it would split into two publicly traded companies later in 2016. Xerox will stay as the original company name and work as a document technology company that handles document management as it has been. Conduent will become a business process outsourcer that will assist companies with automating and simplifying business processes. "Conduent will begin its next chapter as a standalone company with a name that conveys the vital business we conduct every day," said Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns. This week, Xerox said that Ashok Vemuri will be the CEO of the Conduent . There was no announcement regarding who will lead the Document Technology. With roughly $7 billion in 2015 revenue and 96,000 employees worldwide, Conduent will be a Fortune 500 scale business process services company. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (moved from Stamford, Connecticut in October 2007), though its largest population of employees is based around Rochester, New York, the area in which the company was established. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Three babies have been born in the US with birth defects connected to likely Zika virus infections in the mothers during pregnancy and three cases of lost pregnancies caused by Zika, federal health officials said on Thursday. The pattern that were seeing here in the U.S. among travelers is very similar to what were seeing in other places like Colombia and Brazil, Dr. Denise Jamieson, co-leader of the CDC Zika pregnancy task force. The six cases reported as of June 9 were included in a new U.S. Zika pregnancy registry made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency mentioned it will start regular reporting of poor result of pregnancies with laboratory proof of possible Zika virus infection in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Despite seriousd warnings from public health officials and professionals about the spread of the virus this summer, Congress has balked at approving the Obama administrations $1.9 billion request for Zika funding request. The Senate approved $1.1 billion in funding in May. The House passed legislation that would fund $622 million, which would be taken from money already set aside for Ebola treatment. In February, the CDC published a report on a range of results in nine pregnant travelers from the United States who had lab-confirmed Zika infections. Two women miscarried in their first trimester, two women had abortions, two pregnancies were continuing without any known complications, and, of three live births, only one had microcephalypresumably the baby born in Hawaii. While most adults report only small symptoms with the mosquito-borne disease, infection with the virus during early pregnancy can be far more serious. Zika has been clearly linked to a devastating birth defect known as microcephaly -- a condition where an infant is born with an extremely small head and brain. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits. Tuesday, October 25, 4:30 7 p.m. Orr Area EMS Open House Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798. Orr Fire Hall 4540 Lake St., Orr Tuesday, October 25, 12 6 p.m. Essentia Health Job Fair Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org. 901 9th St. N., Virginia It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Googles Focus on Mobile Brings About Advertising Opportunities for Hoteliers Google recently announced the companys plans to use mobile-focused technology to drive business growth in a digital world where now, more than half of all web traffic comes from smart phones and tablets. The announcements were made at Googles annual Performance Summit, where executives also talked about and demonstrated the major enhancements to Search, Display, AdWords and Analytics platforms that will position Google to better serve advertisers and users in the coming year. Heres an overview of advertising features that will soon be available to you. Expanded Text Ads for Search Later this year Google will make Expanded Text Ads available to all advertisers. This will expand available ad text by 50%. Longer text ads are more useful to mobile users, especially for users looking for information about a hotel or restaurant. By extending the character limit for headlines and description lines, advertisers have the opportunity to provide users with the best possible first impression in mobile search, enticing them to tap the link and visit your website. Thus, longer headlines are more likely to deliver relevant users to your site. Local Search Ads In the near future, ads based on local intent can appear across local Google.com search and Google Maps, helping advertisers to connect with users searching for a physical business location. Hotels and restaurants using location extensions will be able to promote their location with promoted pins when users search on mobile for things like hotels near me or restaurants near me. On Maps, this means branded pins and promotional text, and a great opportunity to increase walk-in foot traffic and conversions. Similar Audiences in Search With Similar Audiences in Search, an expansion of Googles existing display product, its now possible to identify and market to online users showing similar interest in your hotel or restaurant as users in your existing remarketing lists. By using powerful data to match online search behaviors, you can expand the reach of your remarketing campaigns and attract valuable users to your site with little effort. Demographic Targeting for Search Google will release this segmentation tool to all advertisers this year. Youll be able to target your bids based on the demographics of the online users most likely to be interested in your restaurant or hotel. Initially, gender and age will be available segments, but sources claim it likely for additional targeting groups to be announced later this year. Display Ads on Mobile It is now possible to provide Google with a headline, ad copy and image; which Google will use to automatically create responsive display ads that adjust to any site or app on the Google Display Network. The ads have a native-like appearance on the GDN, providing a better impression of your ad for users. In addition, this change opens up the opportunity for your ads to be present at nearly any moment across a magnitude websites and not limited by device. Cross-Exchange Inventory Google has extended its reach for remarketing campaigns beyond its own Display Network. Your ads now have the opportunity to appear on sites within an addition 20-30 networks. This expansion represents the ability for advertisers to access a much larger ad exchange inventory (meaning more available sites to show ads on) with the same precision as before. Flexible Bidding In the coming months advertisers will be able to set separate bid adjustments for mobile, desktop and tablet. Your campaign may be more effective on one device over another, so having the flexibility to bid by device gives you the chance to focus your spend on the device that yields the best return. For example, restaurants and hotels with a high level of foot traffic may want to focus bids on mobile. Once you establish which device is most valuable, you can then set bid adjustments for other devices important to your campaign. AdWords Interface Changes to the AdWords interface will include a redesigned dashboard that will make it easier for Vizergy specialists to sort through data most important to clients. As a Google certified partner, exclusive insights, betas, and tools are provided to Vizergystraight from Google in order to meet specific goals and market demands. These insights and tools include the latest paid search and display optimization methods, new platforms and products for our clients, and access to exclusive beta product trials and whitelisted products and upgrades direct from Google.In addition to the insights and tools, we have a dedicated Google strategist to educate our team on upcoming products, best practices, and more. If youre looking to generate revenue from digital advertising, we can help. Contact us today. Contributors: Whitney Simms, Corporate Marketing Coordinator, Vizergy and Nicole VanNienwenhove, Team Lead, Paid Search, Vizergy It appears Flying Lotus comments yesterday about producers rights have inspired another production clique to speak up as well. Earlier today, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League took to their twitter accounts to voice their frustration at the music industry, even calling out famed independent rapper Chance The Rapper in the process. Unclear of which of the three members actually tweeted it (Rook, Colione or Bart), J.U.S.T.I.C.E League went a rant Thursday afternoon calling out artists for not wanting to pay the right amount of fees & giving due credit, specifically Chance The Rapper. Then when producers, Nascent & Jake One responded to the tweet, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League made it clear that theyve actually never been paid for their work by the Chicago rapper. Good to hear, we still waiting, a response to Nascent read. idk if u did or not. Hopefully lol. But I know on OUR end what happened, the League wrote in another at Jake One (see below). Adding to it all, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. later touched on the new streaming services, which they say doesnt pay out royalties, as well as racism in the industry, calling out record labels for giving white artists trips to Monaco, and black artists bottles of Hennessy and weed. Read their entire rant below and let us know what you take from it. JUSTICE LEague Today marks the 22nd anniversary of O.J. Simpsons white Bronco police chase. O.J. is locked up now at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada for committing armed robbery. Even from behind bars, O.J. is still able to capture Americas imaginations like few else. He was recently the subject of the FX show, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story; he is currently the subject of ESPNs stunning 5-part documentary O.J. Simpson: Made in America. Rappers frequently mention O.J.s murder trial in their lyrics. O.J. himself couldnt resist hopping in the booth in in 2008 to rap about himself in a song called Get Juiced for MTVs Punkd: Dont you know theres no stopping the Juice When Im on the floor Im like a lion on the loose Better shoot me with a tranquilizer dart Dont be stupid, Im not a Simpson named Bart Bars! Click through the gallery to listen to the 11 greatest O.J. references in rap history. Eminem Role Model (1999) Me and Marcus Allen went over to see Nicole When we heard a knock at the door, must have been Ron Gold Jumped behind the door, put the orgy on hold Killed them both and smeared blood in a white Bronco (we did it) Kanye West Stronger (2007) You know how long Ive been on ya? Since Prince was on Appolonia Since O.J. had Isotoners Clipse Virginia (2002) In Virginia, we smirked at that Simpson trial Yeah, I guess the chase was wild But whats the fuss about? See, plenty my partners feelin like O.J. Beat murder like the shit is okay Camron Cuffin feat. Gucci Mane (2010) Homie, you can have her I dont wanna marry her Like O.J. Simpson, i just wanna stab her Like O.J. the Juiceman, im flier than a sparrow Gucci Mane Lil Wayne Marvins Room (Remix) (2011) I aint a killer but dont push me I O.J. Simpson-ed that pussy Kendrick Lamar Backstreet Freestyle (2012) I look like OJ, killing everything from pussy to a mothafuckin Hit-Boy beat Tyler, the Creator Blow (2009) Got stretch marks like she got four kids Her legs cant close like the four door hinge Bronco That O. J. killed the white hoes with Did it on the top flo with a light blonde ho, yeah Yeah, I hit it and forget it, bloody murder OJ in the white Bronco I never ever ever made a ho stay But Im down with Dre like AC is down with OJ Ice Cube Nas These Are Our Heroes (2004) Uh, Massa used to breed us to be bigger to go play Athletes of today in the NBA Make me proud but theres somethin they dont say Keep gettin accused for abusin white pussay From OJ to Kobe, uh lets call him Toby Earl Sweatshirt Luper (2010) Ma said Wake up son, good morning I rolled out of bed, greeted mama with a yawn then Paused to scratch an itch and went, down to the kitchen Fixed a plate of eggs and bacon, glass of OJ Simpson All proceeds from the single will be donated to the National Compassion Fund in honour of the victims. On June 16, Aguilera posted a compassionate letter to her website addressing the Pulse shooting in Orlando. Like so many, I want to help be part of the change this world needs to make it a beautiful inclusive place where humanity can love each other freely and passionately, Aguilera writes. Change is a much needed reminder that even in the darkest of tragedies, hope can be found. Aguileras single reflects this hope that one day things will be better, but until then all one can do is keep spreading the message of love and acceptance. Advertisement Aguilera co-wrote the song with Fancy and Flo Reutter. All of their earnings on U.S. iTunes downloads for the next three months will be donated to the National Compassion Fund in honour of the lives lost in this horrific tragedy. Culture 17 Jun 16 WATCH: The Official Trailer for Athropoid is Here This article can only be read with a Premium Account A group of Texas leaders on Thursday joined a national coalition to fully lift the United States' trade embargo against Cuba, aiming to stimulate trade between the pro-business state and the communist-ruled island. The politicians, business leaders and advocates joined the new Texas State Council for Engage Cuba, which lobbies from Washington, D.C., to end the U.S. travel ban and trade embargo with Cuba. Texas represents the group's eighth statewide effort. The Texans who joined Engage Cuba's new council include leaders from the Port of Houston Authority, the University of Texas, the Texas Association of Business and Houston city government. The group plans to hold events this fall to push for free trade with Cuba. "We feel that calling for an end to the travel ban and trade embargo is a necessity for Texas business," Texas Association of Business president Chris Wallace said during a media call Thursday. "They frankly need the products we are known for here in Texas, particularly around agriculture." Engage Cuba's main efforts center on pushing for three bills currently before Congress, the Agricultural Export Expansion Act of 2015, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act and the Cuba Trade Act of 2015. For Texas, opening free trade would give the state's agricultural products a wider market. During the first half of the 20th century, Cuba was the largest market for U.S. long-grain rice exports, with many producers concentrated on the Gulf Coast. The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that U.S. exports to Cuba could reach $6 billion a year nationwide. U.S. trade with Cuba would also increase exports through the Port of Houston. Port of Houston commissioner Theldon Branch said Thursday that the port has long shipped non-embargoed items, mainly grains and agricultural products, but that full trade would greatly increase business for the port. "It would mean increased jobs and have a great impact on the local economy," Branch said. "I think Houston is uniquely situated to be the port of choice for Cuba as it relates to products like grain, rice and corn being shipped there." Cuba's proximity to Texas also positions the state to be a key player if Cuba becomes a full trade partner with the U.S. Dave Shaw, president of the statewide leadership group Texas Lyceum, called it "an extraordinary and rare opportunity" for Texas "to develop a new trading partner in our region." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houstonians awoke to flooding on Tax Day, unsure if they should attempt to drive to work. They didn't know the storm's severity, nor if roads were submerged. Victor Cintron said his company, DimDrop, could have helped. DimDrop, he said, would have allowed government officials to send mobile alerts directly to Houstonians who downloaded an app on their smartphones. It also could have sent specific alerts to users who were driving toward flooded roads, telling them to turn around. "This will actually provide data, or information, that people can use to make much better decisions," Cintron said. DimDrop is among the companies local experts named to this year's list of tech startups to watch. The list was compiled as part of the Chronicle 100 look at the region's top companies. The Chronicle 100 will appear as a special section inside the Sunday newspaper. Founded in 2013, DimDrop provides a platform that government agencies, universities and businesses can use to create and track mobile communications. This can improve their operational efficiency and deliver time-critical information using location-based technology. Its largest local customer is Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services. About 10,000 people have downloaded its app to search nearby restaurants and check for health inspection violations. They can also report issues, such as bugs or hair in their food. This app will one day expand to include health and wellness, animal services, preparedness and response, and mosquito concerns. "Houston is still one of the very best places to be a startup," said Walter Ulrich, president and CEO of the Houston Technology Center. "We have a vigorous and robust ecosystem to support startups." But energy startups, he said, have found it more difficult to attract larger energy companies as investors or customers amid the oil price slump. "They may have to hunker down and survive longer with less investment," Ulrich said. A-76 Technologies, which creates an anti-corrosion coating and lubricant to prevent rust, decided to diversify its business as low oil prices hindered the company's growth. A-76 Technologies originally designed the product to prevent rust on newly manufactured equipment, but it recently expanded into household products. CEO Lauren Thompson Miller said the idea came from industrial workers who were taking the product home and using it in ways she wouldn't have expected before seeing their results. Customers have successfully used it on trucks, boats and stainless steel appliances. A-76 has silenced squeaky gates, and it can be used as a gun lubricant. "Getting into the household side let us see some of the applications in other industries, too," she said. Ulrich said there is an upside to low oil prices. Layoffs have made it easier for startups to find experienced employees at a lower cost. Energy executives forced to retire early are starting companies or volunteering to help other startups. When oil prices stabilize at a reasonable level, Ulrich expects tech companies that have been efficient with their capital will see a surge in demand. "When the demand comes, there will be much less competition for their products and technologies, and they'll do very, very well," Ulrich said. "There's not just a light at the end of this tunnel. There is the sun at the end of the tunnel." The health care sector, he said, has remained strong. Johnson & Johnson Innovation's incubator JLABS @ TMC opened in March at the Texas Medical Center. More than 20 businesses have joined. JLABS can house about 50 companies, depending on their size, and provides tenants with laboratory equipment and business services, such as internet or shipping and receiving. It also provides educational sessions on topics including funding and the regulatory environment. Lesley Stolz, head of JLABS California who helped create the agreement for JLABS @ TMC, said Houston has potential to be a globally competitive life sciences cluster. It has a large population of patients, there is money flowing into life sciences technology and the Texas Medical Center is nurturing the area's research. "We just thought it was the next place that really exciting work was going to be done," she said of Houston. Next door at the Texas Medical Center's business accelerator, TMCx, Aprenda Systems has developed a cloud-based software that allows health care providers to update information, such as changes in office hours or plan coverage. This will then update databases used by hospitals and health insurance companies, eliminating the need for providers to be frequently contacted by organizations trying to verify their information. Aprenda Systems CEO Alexander Izaguirre said inaccurate databases can cause headaches for patients. Patients often go to a doctor listed as an in-network provider and later learn the physician no longer accepts their insurance. Izaguirre chose to locate the business in Houston because the Texas Medical Center has shown a serious commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, he said. "They've invested a lot of resources to make the TMC an entrepreneur and investor friendly world," he said. See the Chronicle's annual report on the top public and private companies. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston's economy may be slowing, and white-collar workers in the energy industry are suffering, but the demand for blue-collar workers shows no signs of declining. Industrial construction remains strong in Houston and along the Gulf Coast, partially because low energy and input prices boost the profitability of refineries and petrochemical plants. A master pipe fitter, welder or electrician has a better chance of finding a job today than a seismologist or petroleum engineer. Demand for skilled laborers in Houston is forecast to grow by 7,000 new openings a year, according to industry estimates. Training program enrollment is down 15 percent over the last decade. "There really isn't a robust supply of workers in any of the technical crafts," said J.D. Slaughter, vice president at S&B Engineers and Constructors. "It's a great opportunity, not only for kids coming out of school, but for people who are under-skilled or underemployed, to find their way into our market." Governments, chambers of commerce, construction contractors and plant operators are scrambling to expand the skilled workforce. But understanding why the shortage exists is critical. Employers cut pay and benefits and drove out labor unions in the 1980s and 1990s, making blue-collar careers less attractive. A first class pipe fitter earned $13.50 an hour in 1979, saw that pay drop and then settle at the same wage in 1990. But the purchasing power of $13.50 in 1990 was equal to only $6.50 in 1979 dollars, Slaughter said. "By 2000, the first class pipe fitter was making $16.50 but in earning power it was still $6.50," he added. "Today, that pipe fitter can make $32 an hour, and because of demand, they are earning a per diem. But that's maybe $11 or $12 an hour in 1979 dollars." Slaughter points out that $32 an hour is still a good wage, and his company is recruiting and sponsoring training programs to help people earn it. Labor unions, though, say they have plenty of skilled laborers, but that many contractors refuse to work with them. High-profile scandals, extensive overreach and union-busting by conservative politicians damaged the labor movement's reputation. "There's still that stigma about the union," said Domingo Barron, an organizer with Insulators and Allied Workers Local 22. "But we're not the unions of the past. We train our people, we want our people to do a good job, and that's what's going to keep us in those plants." Parents have also discouraged children from seeking blue-collar jobs, and schools have focused on preparing kids for college, eliminating vocational programs. Obtaining blue-collar jobs is also tougher, with stricter background checks and drug screening that many people from impoverished neighborhoods can't or won't pass. Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions works with local governments, employers and prospective workers to solve these problems. The group's director, Mike Temple, said everyone agrees that until young people believe learning a trade can offer a long-term middle-class career, they won't pursue it. Overcoming poverty is also a challenge. "Often, the training is going to take longer than they might be able to sustain and still support their families," Temple said. "We're trying as hard as we can to find more opportunities for what we call work-based learning." Changing perceptions, providing training and creating career paths should be the industry's top priorities, said Scott Marshall, vice president for human relations at Jacobs, a global engineering and construction company. It recently launched a training program called Jacobs JumpStart. "We worked with Workforce Solutions to get 19 people screened and enrolled in the program, then we provided them with the basic skills training they would need, free of charge, in order to be successful when they step on one of our projects," he said. "We've also worked on incumbent worker training, getting our helpers into journeyman qualifications ... then taking the certified journeymen and getting them into leadership training programs." Unions are expanding apprenticeship programs and trying to prove their value to employers by reliably supplying qualified workers, said Edward Gonzalez, member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 54. "Our selling point is that when you have a more educated workforce, a more skilled workforce, the company makes money," he said. "If the company makes money, then our members make money." The Texas Higher Education Board's 60x30 plan is community colleges, and the industry has created SteelToePro.com to help workers manage their careers. There is plenty of blame to go around for the skilled labor shortage. Replacing the retiring workforce will take an all-of-the-above approach, with pre-K through 12th-grade programs graduating career-ready students, community colleges teaching the latest skills, and employers investing in training or agreeing to hire union labor. Parents and young people also need to recognize that learning a trade can reap greater career benefits than a four-year degree. Other cultures honor their skilled laborers. We should do the same with good pay and greater respect. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A campaign by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to end the investigation into Exxon Mobil Corp. and other fossil fuel companies over false statements on climate change is gaining support among other state law enforcement officials. Attorneys general from 13 states signed an open letter Wednesday, arguing that climate change is a public policy debate, not a criminal matter, and urging law enforcement officials in other states to "stop policing viewpoints." "We all understand the need for a healthy environment, but we represent a wide range of viewpoints regarding the extent to which man contributes to climate change and the costs and benefits of any proposed fix," the letter reads. "Nevertheless, we agree on at least one thing - this is not a question for the courts." Attorneys general from Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and South Carolina signed the letter. Paxton made headlines last month when he and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange filed a motion seeking to block a subpoena by the U.S. Virgin Islands for Exxon Mobil's internal documents related to climate change. Paxton called the probe "a fishing expedition of the worst kind." Led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, attorneys general from 15 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, announced earlier this year they are pursuing investigations into whether fossil fuel companies misled the public and their shareholders on the threat of climate change. That has generated support from environmentalists who have argued for years that oil and coal companies had muddied scientific debate, delaying government efforts to slow carbon emissions and the rate of global warming. "It's time for all of us to step up and demand true accountability for one of the worst cases of corporate fraud in history," May Boeve, executive director of the activist group 350.org, said in a statement. The letter from the Paxton group of attorneys general was sent the same day Exxon Mobil filed a federal lawsuit in Fort Worth to block a subpoena from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, who is seeking documents related to Exxon Mobil's research and internal discussions on climate change. Exxon Mobil claimed in its suit that the Massachusetts investigation is "nothing more than a weak pretext for an unlawful exercise of government power to further political objectives." Hanover Post Oak, a new 30-story apartment tower in the Galleria area where some units rent for upward of $5,000 a month, took a Cornerstone award at the Houston Apartment Association Honors Awards recently. Skyline views, 24-hour concierge service and state-of-the-art fitness facilities were some of the things that propelled it to the top. Texas isn't losing jobs yet, but it's getting awfully close. The state created a paltry 200 seasonally adjusted jobs in May and private sector payrolls actually decreased by a hair from the month before, following an abysmal nationwide jobs report issued by the U.S. Labor Department two weeks ago. Strong growth in local, state, and federal employment barely made up for the losses. That makes it the worst recorded number for the month of May since the state collecting jobs numbers in this format in 1990. Mining and logging continued to shrink, dropping 2,800 jobs in May, as did manufacturing, which shed 2,200. But the rate of job loss seems to have slowed from last year, with year-to-date cuts coming in at substantially less than they were in 2015, indicating that the crash in oil and gas may be bottoming out. Still, losses in mining and logging have come to a total of 16.7 percent of the industry since May 2015 and 20 percent since December of 2014. The goods-producing sector has now dropped for 16 months in a row. It's been a terrible year and a half for Don Lower, chief executive of the Houston-based offshore fabrication company Duron Systems Inc. He says he's had to lay off three-quarters of a staff that only a few years ago was 200 strong -- some of them who'd been at the company for more than a decade. "They have mortgages, they have kids, they have car payments, and it's tough times," Lower says. "It's heartbreaking." Parts of the service sector are also struggling. Leisure and hospitality employment, which had showed strong growth last year, shed jobs for the third month in a row. Houston also avoided job loss in May -- barely. Payrolls in the metropolitan area stayed at 2,995,100 jobs, which is precisely what they were in April. Growth in educational and health services as well as leisure and hospitality balanced out continued declines in mining and logging, manufacturing, and construction. That's also the worst May performance since numbers started being recorded in 1990. And it's unlikely that the downward momentum will slow there. "I would be very very surprised if we were able to bounce back off it," said Parker Harvey, regional economist at Gulf Cost Workforce Solutions. The city usually loses jobs in July, so it would have been necessary for Houston to post solid gains in May and June to avoid ending up in negative territory by the end of the year. If that happened, it would be a symbolic setback. "It's a blow to your self confidence," says Greater Houston Partnership senior vice president Patrick Jankowski. "It sends a signal to the business community that the economy is weaker than we thought. You pull purchasing power out of the region, which has an impact on retail and restaurants." Jankowski notes some positive signs in the data -- the number of hours that manufacturing workers put in per week has ticked up, for example, and a rising rig count may boost oil and gas jobs soon. The Labor Department also revised its estimates for April up slightly. Still, the Dallas Federal Reserve also delivered a bleak outlook for Houston yesterday, as the weakening in its economic base starts to undermine related sectors. "With Houston's core energy-related industries still hemorrhaging jobs, construction activity beginning to decline and layoffs suppressing demand for goods and services, Houston's economy will likely weaken further this year," wrote economist Jesse Thompson. But Houston's unemployment rate has grown by 0.4 percent over the past year, reaching 4.8 percent -- 0.6 percent above the statewide average, and 0.3 percent above the United States. This map of unemployment rates shows how the pain of job loss has played out across the state: And it's not just jobs, as we highlighted earlier this week. Texans' wages are dropping too, dragged down by the loss of well-paid oil and gas positions. The Dallas Fed highlighted a glum intersection in its monthly report on the Southwest economy: Weekly earnings in Texas, which surged past the national average in 2012, have fallen behind again. In Pixar's hands, the ocean - equal parts danger and wonder - is a vast metaphor for the choppy waters of parenting. Cloistered coral reefs of home are surrounded by frightful drop-offs and strong currents that can sweep a little fish out to an immense sea. When the difference between survival and shark bait is flipper-thin, how much line do parents give before reeling in? "Finding Dory," a sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo," shifts the tale from Nemo, the clownfish with a weak fin, to Dory, the blue tang with short-term memory loss - or, as the baby Dory seen early in the film says, "remembery loss." The adventures of both Dory and Nemo are born out of straying too far from anxious parents. The gulf of separation stretches wider and longer in "Finding Dory," but it's covered the same way: by pluckily overcoming genetic handicaps and trusting in the Pacific-size love of family. In the Pixar brood, the sweetly sentimental "Finding" movies are the most ready-made for parent-kid bonding; they would surely inspire countless father-son fishing trips if that didn't mean hooking the movies' heroes. "Finding Dory" promotes the original's daffy supporting character (so perfectly voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) to protagonist. But it's not a simple switch in perspective: In seeing through her forgetful fish-eyes, you realize how terrifyingly disorienting it is to be Dory. "Finding Dory" is "Memento" under the sea, with a much more chipper lead forever at pains to remember why and where she's going. More Information 'Finding Dory' Rated PG: for mild thematic elements Running time: 97 minutes xxx See More Collapse The film, directed by Andrew Stanton, picks up six months after "Finding Nemo." Dory is living with Nemo (Hayden Rolence, replacing Alexander Gould) and Marlin (Albert Brooks), but she's nagged by flickers of memory of her family. A flashback of Dory's childhood follows. Though it doesn't reach the gentle poetry of the famous montage in "Up," it movingly reveals Dory's origins: a challenged fish whose parents (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) teach her mantras for coping ("Just keep swimming") but are helpless when a current sucks her away. Dory grows up a lost and confused orphan. Energized by clues of remembrance, Dory, Nemo and a reluctant Marlin travel from Australia to California, where her search leads to the Marine Life Institute. So much of the dazzle of "Finding Nemo" was the colorful richness of its aquatic life: sharks in recovery, pelicans interested in dentistry, Willem Dafoe's battle-scarred striped angelfish. So why, with oceans to explore, does "Finding Dory" cling so closely to the shore? The trip across the Pacific goes in a flash. The action takes place almost entirely jumping between tanks at the institute (subbed in by Pixar for an originally planned SeaWorld-like location) and in a number of less exotic (and less creative) scampers on land. The sidekick here is a sullen seven-legged octopus named Hank (Ed O'Neill), who helps Dory navigate the complex to facilitate his own escape. But the movie's high point unquestionably belongs to the pair of British sea lions (Idris Elba and Dominic West, "Wire" veterans reunited) who bark at any creature that dares approach their sunning rock. "Finding Dory," bright and clever like most all Pixar releases, has the animation studio's familiar blend of wit, heart and visual detail. But it's missing its own magic. Like Dory's questions, it feels a bit like a repeat. It's certainly no "Cars 2" (Pixar's low point), but neither does it approach the glory of "Toy Story 2." Pleasant as it is, if "Finding Dory" feels a little disappointing, it's partly because the appetizer upstages the main course. "Piper," Alan Barillaro's six-minute short that precedes the film, is about a baby sandpiper learning to feed, scampering in an out of the surf. The photorealistic imagery may be the best yet for Pixar. In the 13 years from "Finding Nemo" to last year's clunky but gorgeously animated "The Good Dinosaur," Pixar - all the while making us tear up - has effectively mastered water. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The crack in the concrete running through Morningstar in the Heights has a golden glint, an homage to the Houston architect and professor who consulted on this coffee shop's interior design as the final project in his lengthy career. It's a fault in the foundation that John Zemanek, who died April 18 at the age of 94, relished. A collector of antique Japanese pottery, Zemanek followed the "kintsugi" aesthetic, appreciating the normal wear of an item by repairing damage with gold to enhance its value. So when David Buehrer and his crew were finishing work on the strip mall site for its May 10 opening, they knew that Zemanek would consider that squiggly crack as a gift: Instead of hiding it, they would show it off by using a filler laced with gold flake. Morningstar isn't the young barista's first business endeavor, and it won't likely be his last. While planning it, though, he stumbled into Zemanek's life, and the experience was transcendent. "I started spending as much time as I could with John; he became the most influential person in my life," Buehrer said. "Because of him, I see everything differently." Buehrer was at a coffee competition in Atlanta in mid-April when pounding rains flooded much of Houston. He got a call that Zemanek was dying, and the timing seemed fitting: "He went out like the force of nature that he was." West meets East Zemanek was born in 1921 in Fort Bend County, the youngest of 12 children of Moravian immigrants John and Frances Zemanek. He was a student at Texas A&M University and in the Army Air Corps Reserves when his unit was called up in January 1943. Through the end of the war, Zemanek was a bombardier on B-24 Liberators flying out of southern Italy. He returned home to finish his undergraduate degree and a master's degree in architecture at the University of Texas, then earned another master's in city planning at Harvard. He worked for Houston architect Kenneth Franzheim for a time, but it was the years he worked for American modernist architect Antonin Raymond in postwar Tokyo that added polish to his agrarian roots. The man who grew up playing in a barn on a cotton farm and riding to school in a horse-drawn buggy had become a world traveler, immersing himself in Asian and Middle Eastern culture. He applied what he'd learned about form and function in places as sophisticated as Tokyo and as primitive as rural Pakistan. When he finally returned to Houston, he worked for the architecture firm that designed the Astrodome. Then in 1964, he was asked to teach at what is now the University of Houston's Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, starting what became a 48-year teaching career. Jim Herd was a student there from 1969-'74 and is known for his own architectural work on notable Houston restaurants, including Underbelly, Hay Merchant, Bernie's Burger Bus, Cuchara and Ricebox. "John was one of a group of men who were really fabulous teachers - Howard Barnstone, John Perry, Donald Barthelme, Burdette Keeland," Herd said. "These guys had all gone to Harvard, Columbia, Yale and colleges in Texas, too, but they had an unshakable belief that middle-class kids could go to architecture school and learn how to design and build things." Their devotion to their craft was not lost on Herd or his classmates. "Every time I draw, these men are looking over my shoulder," said Herd, who asked Zemanek to work on the Morningstar project with him. "I graduated in 1974, and my whole life has been trying to do what those men held up in front of us. They didn't care if we were architects or photographers or made doughnuts; they wanted us to be smart and do it well." At home On the way to his dentist's office, Whitt Barkley noticed an interesting-looking home. Cinderblock walls and moongate door and window openings caught his eye each time he passed. Then one day he noticed a "for rent" sign on the place. He inquired, only to discover that a new tenant had already been found. Undeterred, Barkley, a fan of modern design, wrote a letter to the landlord hoping to change his mind. The home was Gaea II on Peden Street in Montrose; its owner/landlord was John Zemanek. Then 92, Zemanek summoned the gas and oil trader to his home for a conversation. A couple of weeks later, Zemanek offered him the lease. "The other guy wanted to change some things, and I wanted to change nothing, so I got to rent the house and that was that," Barkley said. Zemanek designed the one-story Gaea II for himself when his first home, the two-level Gaea I, became difficult to navigate. The homes have a similar feel, though Gaea I is made of wood and glass and Gaea II is made of concrete blocks, corrugated metal and recycled building materials. Rectangular rooms are separated by sliding doors, often large and unadorned like a barn door. Windows are round and lead to a view of nature. Those exterior concrete blocks also form the interior walls; Zemanek saw no need for drywall. There are no ceilings, only the occasional pergolalike fixture to make an area feel more intimate. Barkley talks about his home as a masterpiece. The many hours he spent talking to Zemanek, a master class in life. While Barkley collects furniture and decor made by Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nakashima and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Zemanek actually knew the men. "I could never learn enough from John," said Barkley, 31. "If he had time to talk, I sure wanted to take advantage of it." Zemanek walked every day, virtually up to the day he died, and sat outdoors on Sundays to read the New York Times. He fed the birds that flew around his home and chased away the predatory cats. The farm boy in him didn't believe in indoor plants, so everything went in the ground outside - that's where it belonged. Gaea III, Zemanek's pride and joy, was an update of his earlier homes, but with solar panels that made it virtually self-sufficient. His work benefitted others, too, including Project Hope in the 1960s and the 3H Services Center in Bordersville in the 1970s, which earned Zemanek his most significant peer recognition: the 1978 American Institute of Architects Honor Award. For Project Hope he led fourth-year design studio students through an off-campus project to renovate a dilapidated youth center in the Fifth Ward into a safe place for children to gather and play. The attention it drew pulled Zemanek into another effort in Montgomery County. Bordersville was an impoverished area that had just gotten paved streets and running water. Zemanek designed a facility with several low-rise buildings that offered day care, a health clinic, tutoring, public bathing facilities, summer recreation and other services. Strong to the end While architecture and design are certainly careers, Zemanek was never interested in training students for jobs. Ever idealistic, he wanted to teach them to think, create and make the world a better place. "His challenge to students was to question assumptions and question the status quo, and that fed into their interest in improving the world," said Patrick Peters, Zemanek's longtime friend and a UH professor and director of its Graduate Design/Build Studio. "He didn't just tell them, he showed them how to do it." Understanding Zemanek's take on architecture and design meant understanding his deep connection to the land. In fact, when people admired his designs, he'd often reply that it was nothing more than a barn. Joe Mashburn, Zemanek's former student who returned years later to be dean of UH's architecture school, described his friend as unique. "John had his view," Mashburn said. "He could be absolute, and I'll even say difficult. But you learned something in the journey and in the discussion." Before he died, the discussion was presidential politics, and Mashburn said that his friend at 94 was much like the anti-establishment professor he knew more than 40 years ago. "I saw him six days before he died and he was right in there. He had read the New York Times editorials and was ready to talk about them," Mashburn said. "He was obviously a very, very special person. I miss him dearly." NEW YORK - When our synagogue heard about the horrific tragedy that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, it was at the same time that we were celebrating our festival of Shavuot, which celebrates God's giving of the Torah. As Orthodox Jews, we don't travel or use the Internet on the Sabbath or on holidays, such as Shavuot. But that Sunday night, as we heard the news, I announced from the pulpit that as soon as the holiday ended at 9:17 p.m. Monday, we would travel from our synagogue in Washington to a gay bar as an act of solidarity. We just wanted to share the message that we were all in tremendous pain and that our lives were not going on as normal. Even though the holiday is a joyous occasion, I felt tears in my eyes as I recited our sacred prayers. I had not been to a bar in more than 20 years. And I had never been to a gay bar. A congregant told me about a bar called the Fireplace, so I announced that as our destination. Afterward, I found out it was predominantly frequented by gay African-Americans. Approximately a dozen of us, wearing our kippot, or yarmulkes, went down as soon as the holiday ended. Some of the members of our group are gay, but most are not. We did not know what to expect. As we gathered outside, we saw one large, drunk man talking loudly and wildly. I wondered whether we were in the right place. Then my mother, who was with me, went up to a man who was standing on the side of the building. She told him why we were there. He broke down in tears and told us his cousin was killed at Pulse. He embraced us and invited us into the Fireplace. We didn't know what to expect, but it turned out that we had so much in common. We met everyone in the bar. One of the patrons told me that his stepchildren were actually bar-mitzvahed in our congregation. Another one asked for my card so that his church could come and visit. The bartender shut off all of the music in the room, and the crowd became silent as we offered words of prayer and healing. My co-clergy Maharat Ruth Friedman, shared a blessing related to the holiday of Shavuot, and she lit memorial candles on the bar ledge. Then everyone in the bar put their hands around each other's shoulders and we sang soulful tunes. After that, one of our congregants bought a round of beer for the whole bar. Everyone in the bar embraced each other. It was powerful and moving and real and raw. After that we moved to the outdoor makeshift memorial service at Dupont Circle. There, too, we did not know what to expect. But as we gathered around the circle, people kept coming up to us and embracing us. One man we met there told us that his daughter sometimes prays with us. Others were visiting from Los Angeles but joined in full voice clearly knowing the Hebrew words to the song we were singing. As we were singing, I looked over at some gay members of our congregation and saw tears endlessly flowing down their faces. I felt the reality that we are living in a time of enormous pain. But I also felt that the night was a tremendous learning experience for me. I learned that when a rabbi and members of an Orthodox synagogue walk into a gay African-American bar, it is not the opening line of a joke but an opportunity to connect; it is an opportunity to break down barriers and come together as one; it is an opportunity to learn that if we are going to survive, we all need each other. As a group, Jewish Latinos don't get much attention - either from Jews or Latinos - in the U.S. The first detailed survey of Americans who are both Latino and Jewish aims to shed light on this minority within a minority, who number more than 200,000 people. Among the conclusions of the recently released study: Latino Jews are proud of their dual identities but also distinct within the larger communities of American Jews and Latino Americans. "They don't really fit in Latin America, and they don't really fit here, either," said Rabbi Juan Mejia, a Colombian-born convert to Judaism who now works in Oklahoma and speaks and writes about Latino Jews. In Latin America, "they were religiously deviant in mostly Catholic countries," continued Mejia, who said the new survey resonated with him. And American Jews, whose ancestors mostly came from Europe, often "don't know how to relate to them, either." Latin American Jews are, in the whole, highly educated and wealthier than American Jews, in general. Nearly 7 in 10 Latino Jewish households earn more than $100,000 a year, compared with 30 percent of American Jewish households. The study's authors also found that the group feels strongly connected to Israel and their families' Latin American homelands, even if they weren't born there. "They are looking for a space of their own to articulate their multiple identities," said Dina Siegel Vann, who is originally from Mexico City and directs an institute for Latino affairs at the American Jewish Committee. The AJC commissioned the study, which was conducted by Latino Decisions, a public opinion firm that convened 10 focus groups of Latin American Jews in five cities with significant Latino Jewish populations: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. According to the survey, Latino American Jews feel very connected to the American Jewish community through Jewish culture and ritual. At the same time, focus group members consistently described American Jews as more formal in their social and religious practices, "making it difficult to relate at a personal level." Many Latino American Jews doubted that most American Jews knew of their presence in the U.S. "Every time I say, 'I'm a Mexican Jew,' they say, 'Oh, so your mom converted,' because they don't think we exist," said one focus group participant. Latino Jews said they related to the Latino American community through the Spanish language and a shared love for close families, great parties and the entrepreneurial spirit. They cited class and socio-economic differences as barriers between Jewish and non-Jewish Latinos. "Most felt that non-Jewish Latinos have limited experience or information about Jews altogether," the survey concluded. Jewish communities in Latin America were built out of migrations that started in the late 19th century. The descendants of these immigrants, who now live in the U.S., are overwhelmingly American citizens: 81 percent. Latin American Jews are not necessarily Sephardic Jews, those whose families originally came from Spain. Many Latino Jews in the U.S. are Ashkenazi, descended from German and Eastern European Jews. Focus group participants talked about strong and enduring ties to Latin America. They frequently visit family, conduct business and keep up with current events and the Jewish communities in those nations. Latino Jews also reported a particularly strong affinity for Israel and said their Jewishness centered more on ties to the Jewish state and Jewish culture than on synagogue or religious practice. "News from Israel does not feel like it's 'over there'; it's right here," said one focus group member. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is coming to Houston Friday, and he needs money. Where does a billionaire celebrity mogul go to raise funds in the Bayou City? To River Oaks, of course. But even for residents of the metro area's most expensive neighborhood, it's no small feat to hold a fundraiser for a man who famously casts his name in gold block print. Executive Trump fans will pay up to a quarter million dollars to gather at the $14 million "English cottage" of Tony Buzbee, a prominent local, cigar-smoking trial lawyer who recently won a $41 million verdict for the victim of a spider-bite death. Seems like a nice place for a party. According to the Chronicle, the home "includes five wood-burning fireplaces, a 17th Century French mantle, limestone floors, mahogany ceiling beams and a slate roof that was cut in Spain." It set a record for single-family home sales when Buzbee bought it in 2013. RELATED: Mansion sets market price mark So who is Tony Buzbee? He's claimed a high profile in recent years, first defending former Governor Rick Perry on felony charges, then getting booked in Houston for DWI. Before that, he made a name with his successful, domineering courtroom style, as seen when he shouted at a lawyer for BP to "make an objection, otherwise shut the hell up." See the clip: He attributed that spunk partly to the fighting spirit of his father, a butcher who raised him and his siblings among livestock in little Atlanta, Texas, according to a 2014 profile by the Austin American-Statesman. Buzbee's legal career sprouted and flourished with local rootsa bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University, a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, work in South Texas federal courts and a Houston-area private practice founded in 2000. His landmark victory came in 2009, when he won $100 million for Texas City residents affected by toxic discharge from the local BP plant. It was heralded as the largest verdict ever against the oil giant, winning Buzbee much acclaim, even though a federal judge cut the award by $99 million months later. Well established as a Texas legal titan, Buzbee expanded his reach, founding a national real estate investment firm and taking seats on numerous non-profit boards, including the Boy Scouts of America, Bay Area Council. Perry also appointed Buzbee to the Texas A&M Board of Regents in 2013. He's been a steward of political funding before, opening the doors of his River Oaks mansion to raise more than $100,000 for mayoral candidate Adrian Garcia in 2014. He'll elevate his game with the Friday eventTrump's first Houston fundraiserwhich charges couples between $5,400 and $250,000 to attend, with a Trump photo op available to top spenders. Longtime prosecutor Phil Grant has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to fill the vacancy in Montgomery County's 9th District Court. The appointment Friday comes a day after Judge Kelly Case resigned from the bench. Case, who didn't seek re-election, announced his plans last month after Grant captured the Republican nomination for the seat in a runoff. Flood victims can meet with Red Cross caseworkers at two Montgomery County locations Saturday. Caseworkers will work with them individually to help meet their immediate needs and develop plans for recovery. The locations are at the Bull Salas Park Fair Association building, 21675 McCleskey in New Caney; and the Magnolia community building, 422 Melton in Magnolia. Caseworkers will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those needing assistance also can call the Red Cross at 866-526-8300 and press option 1. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. battle against the Islamic State has not yet curbed the group's global reach and as pressure mounts on the extremists in Iraq and Syria, they are expected to plot more attacks on the West and incite violence by lone wolves, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday. In a rare open hearing, Brennan gave the Senate intelligence committee an update on the threat from Islamic extremists and shared his views on a myriad of other topics, including encryption, Russia and Syria. Brennan said IS has worked to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, as in the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels ones the CIA believes were directed by the top IS leaders. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West," Brennan said, using a different acronym for the group. "Furthermore, as we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers who have no direct links to the group." Brennan said the CIA has not been able to uncover any direct link between the Orlando shooter and a foreign terrorist organization. He said the U.S.-led coalition has killed IS leaders, forced the group to surrender large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and that fewer fighters are traveling to Syria and others have defected. While the group's ability to raise money has been thwarted, it still generates at least tens of millions of dollars every month, mostly from taxation and sales of crude oil on black markets in Syria and Iraq. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," he said. He said IS is slowly cultivating its branches into an interconnected global network and that the number of IS fighters now far exceeds what al-Qaida had at its peak. The CIA estimates there are 18,000 to 22,000 IS fighters in Syria and Iraq down from about 33,000 last year. The branch in Libya, with between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters, is the most advanced and most dangerous, but IS is trying to increase its influence in Africa, Brennan said. He said Boko Haram is now the IS branch in West Africa and has several thousand fighters. Brennan described the IS branch in the Sinai as the most active and capable terrorist group in Egypt, attacking Egyptian military and government targets as well as foreigners and tourists, such as in the downing of a Russian passenger jet last October. The Yemen branch, with several hundred fighters, has been riven with factionalism. And the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch, also with hundreds of fighters, has struggled to maintain its cohesion, in part because of competition with the Taliban, he said. The issue of encryption arose several times during the nearly two-hour hearing. Law enforcement officials say data encryption is making it harder to hunt for terror suspects and intercept their messages. They say they need access to encrypted communications and that tech companies should maintain the ability to unlock the data from their customers. They face fierce opposition from Silicon Valley companies that say encryption safeguards their customers' privacy rights and protects them from hackers, corporate spies and other breaches. Lawmakers have weighed in on both sides of the dispute and are working to find the appropriate role for government in an area where the private sector operates the internet. Committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said the "feud between the tech companies and the intelligence community and law enforcement has to stop." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said that requiring companies to build back doors into their products to weaken strong encryption will put the personal safety of Americans at risk. "I want to make it clear I will fight such a policy with everything I have," Wyden said. In the House, wary lawmakers on Thursday rejected a measure that would have prohibited the U.S. government from searching the online communications of Americans without a warrant. The vote came days after the mass shooting in Florida. Opponents of the amendment to the annual defense spending bill said the measure would have blocked investigators from searching lawfully collected information to determine whether the Orlando gunman had contacted terrorists overseas. The CIA chief embraced a bill that seeks to set up a commission to bring together intelligence, law enforcement and the business and tech communities to work on the issue. Brennan also expressed his views on other issues: RUSSIA Brennan said Russian military forces have bolstered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are carrying out attacks against the U.S.-backed forces trying to unseat him. He said Assad is in a stronger position now than he was in June 2015 and that the agreed cessation of violence is "holding by a thread." TORTURE Brennan said individuals within the CIA have been held accountable for problems in the agency's former detention and interrogation program set up after Sept. 11. He said he could elaborate in a classified setting. TWITTER Brennan confirmed a May report in The Wall Street Journal that the data mining company, Dataminr Inc., had ended its contract with the CIA. The New York-based company, which monitors information streaming across Twitter and sends alerts to clients, continues to provide data to Russia Today, a television network backed by the Russian government. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The bomb threat at Beaumont's ExxonMobil refinery Wednesday that put the facility on lockdown and kept surrounding residents inside their homes was staged by a 23-year-old man who had "a personal connection" to someone who worked at the refinery, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Lance Giovanni Fontenot, of Beaumont, was arrested around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, less than 12 hours after a bomb threat was phoned in at ExxonMobil. Fontentot made his initial federal court appearance Thursday and is expected to enter a plea at an arraignment hearing on Monday. Fontenot is accused of burglarizing the home of an employee at the refinery on Tuesday night, according to an arrest affidavit for Fontenot. ExxonMobil received a call about 10:30 a.m. from a male who said the employee's brother placed boxes around the facility's perimeter that were set to explode 30 minutes later, according to the affidavit. The caller said he was concerned because the ExxonMobil employee he mentioned "had been talking about ISIS," the affidavit states. More for you 'Suspicious package' at refinery did not contain explosives Brit Featherston, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, called the bomb threat an "unfortunate and unnecessary event," adding that authorities believe Fontenot acted alone and there is no future threat. Investigators did not have a cost estimate on how Wednesday's incident affected the local economy, but Featherston said such an analysis will be done as part of the case against Fontenot. The bomb threat came just a few days after a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub killed 49 people and wounded at least 53 others. Beaumont Police Chief James Singletary said bomb threats are somewhat common, but the recent event in Florida was fresh on the minds of emergency responders. "It's right on your brain and you say, 'What if this is the real deal?'" Singletary said. "Most of the time, it's not the real deal in this area but it's happening all over the United States. So that was in the back of a lot of our officers' minds when responding to this." A Houston PD bomb squad and a Port Arthur PD bomb-sniffing dog examined the package left outside the refinery and determined it contained no explosives. Even though it was a false alarm, the threat brought attention from the FBI, ATF, Coast Guard, and Beaumont and Port Arthur police departments. Featherston said Wednesday's event was similar to many other bomb threats in which a vendetta, or something personal, motivates the suspect. ExxonMobil spokesman Patrick Trahan declined to answer specific questions about the bomb threat. "We have to respect the investigation," Trahan said. "ExxonMobil Beaumont thanks the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the other local, state and federal authorities for their quick action and thorough response to the event." Fontenot was indicted by a Harris County grand jury in 2013 on a felony charge of assault of a family member. He was accused of striking the mother of his child in the face, slamming her head into a wall and choking her after she fell to the floor, according to the charging document. Fontenot was sentenced to 20 days in Harris County jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott EBesson@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/EricBesson_News This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The city of Houston, fairly or not, has long had a reputation as a bit of a regional bully. The biggest, bossiest guy in the room is not necessarily the most popular. Among those frustrated with Houston are thousands of Fort Bend County residents caught in a sort of municipal tractor beam. They've been waiting for years for the nation's fourth most-populous city to annex them or to cut them loose, enabling them to incorporate or to become part of neighboring Katy. They're tired of waiting. "My constituents who live in the Fort Bend County portion of the Katy area have been asking me for some time to assist them in creating their own city or joining an existing city," says county Commissioner Andy Meyers. Neither option is readily available now because these neighborhoods lie within Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. Texas cities have used such buffer zones since the 1960s to exert some control over development on their fringes. In theory, areas in a city's ETJ can expect eventually to be annexed. But Houston's once-aggressive annexation push slowed dramatically in part because the Legislature changed applicable laws after Houston's controversial annexation of the Kingwood suburb in the 1990s. The city had sound reasons for its policy shift, but it left these Fort Bend County residents - and others in unincorporated areas throughout the region - in limbo. "They want to have the opportunity to be a part of a city, with the same services, power and authorities," Meyers says. The frustrations of these suburban families reflect the idiosyncracies of governance in the Houston area, where a mishmash of city and county agencies and special purpose districts enforce inconsistent rules with questionable efficiency. This can lead to some odd combinations, as former Houston city planner Jerry Wood told me: Parts of Houston lie within Fort Bend County, and half of these residents have a Missouri City ZIP code. Go figure. 'Incentive' needed This probably wasn't what then-Houston Mayor Lewis Cutrer had in mind in 1963, when his administration oversaw a series of "strip annexations" that extended Houston's ETJ throughout Harris County. (Later annexations pushed the ETJ into neighboring counties.) Cutrer and other leaders wanted to prevent Houston's growth from being constrained by a series of small, incorporated cities on its fringe. The scenario that Cutrer envisioned began to crumble when Houston scaled back its annexations, even as regional population growth continued unabated. This created an urban region with the nation's largest population in unincorporated areas - 1.9 million people in Harris County alone. "This is the law of unintended consequences," says Wood, who worked on annexations as an aide to Mayor Kathy Whitmire in the 1980s and later as an official in the city planning department. Plenty of people living in unincorporated subdivisions and master-planned communities seem perfectly happy with the services they get from county government, volunteer fire departments and municipal utility districts. Who needs all that bureaucracy? But others want to be part of a city. Meyers says his constituents are particularly concerned about services such as building code enforcement, fire protection and public safety. The commissioner says he has spoken to previous Houston city administrations about releasing portions of his precinct from its ETJ, but they weren't interested. "They need some kind of incentive," he says, such as the 1997 deal in which Houston ceded land for the Katy Mills Mall in exchange for a $1.2 million payment. Meyers intends to ask area legislators to introduce bills that would make it easier for his constituents to free themselves from Houston's grip. This is partly a bargaining tactic, he concedes, to induce Houston to agree to relinquish the area voluntarily. Plans strayed off course Andy Icken, Houston's chief development officer, pointed out that even though residents of surrounding unincorporated areas aren't part of the city, about 700,000 of them come into Houston every day and benefit from its roads and amenities. The city's authority to enforce development rules in its ETJ also benefits these residents, he said. However the Fort Bend County matter plays out, it's clear that plans set into motion decades ago have strayed off course. Perhaps it's time to rethink the whole system. Considering the competing agendas and lingering resentments among the players, solving Houston's regional governance issues could be about as challenging as reaching an international accord on climate change. Yet 195 countries managed to pull off that very thing in Paris last year. Perhaps their work could be an inspiration to leaders in the Houston area. Citing statistics showing that more than one-fourth of Democrats are "nonreligious," the Secular Coalition of Texas will stage the nation's first "Secular Caucus" at this weekend's Texas Democratic Convention in San Antonio. The caucus will meet Friday, one day before the party's Permanent Resolutions Committee votes on possible additions to the party platform. The secularist group has submitted three proposals for consideration: resolutions to repeal religious exemptions to child protection laws, strike language from the Texas constitution barring non-theists from holding public office and support "secular reproductive health care policies." If approved at the state level, the resolutions will be considered at the party's national convention in Philadelphia. "This is the very first time in history a major political party has hosted a non-theist organization at a convention," said Secular Coalition for America executive director Larry Decker. "We are very confident that it won't be the last." Other caucuses at the convention will include those called by military veterans, gun owners, progressive Hispanics and the United Auto Workers. Coalition spokesman Casey Brescia cited Pew Research Center statistics showing that 28 percent of Democrats identify as religiously unaffiliated. The group includes atheists, agnostics and those researchers dubbed "not much of anything." Nationally, almost 23 percent of adults told researchers they were religiously unaffiliated; in Texas, 18 percent. More than one in three of so-called millennials identify as secularists. In Texas, more than four in 10 secularists are 18 to 29 years old. More than two-thirds of Texas secularists believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases; almost three-fourths support same-sex marriage. "The nonreligious are the largest religious demographic in the Democratic Party, outnumbering evangelicals, mainline Protestants, non-Christian faiths and Catholics," Decker said. "This is a demographic trend that politicians and lawmakers cannot ignore." A 3-year-old boy apparently looking for a toy died on Thursday afternoon after being found in a hot car parked outside his family's home in north Houston. Houston Fire Department spokesman Ruy Lozano said the call came in at 1:55 p.m. The boy was found in the 1200 block of Hopper. He was rushed to a local hospital The child, whose name has not been released by authorities, got into the car through a front door and went to the back seat while apparently looking for a toy, police said. Police said it seemed the boy could not get out of the vehicle because child safety locks were engaged. Neighbor Chris Johnson, who lives across the street, said the child managed to make it out of his home to the car, a Volkswagen Passat, without anyone seeing or hearing him. He was later found inside the vehicle. "He was the poster child for the Energizer Bunny. He was full of energy and definitely full of life," Johnson said, adding he has known the boy's mother since elementary school. "All we know is that he was in the car and no one was there with him." Johnson said the boy's mother has stage 4 cancer and is recovering from chemo treatment. The family had been home all day, Johnson said, and the child was able to get outside unnoticed. "Anybody that knows anyone with cancer knows chemo will wear you out," Johnson said. Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith said charges probably would not be filed against any member of the family. He said the death appears to have been a tragic accident. They are awaiting results of an autopsy. The family noticed the child was missing after half an hour. They called 911 and immediately performed CPR. It's unclear where the parents were when the child got inside the car. Johnson described the mother as kind and a longtime resident in the community. The temperature reached nearly 100 degrees as neighbors watched HPD officers investigate the scene of the boy's death in a residential neighborhood. A heat advisory is in effect in the region until Saturday. According to the group Kids and Cars, 13 children in the U.S. have died this year due to heat stroke. The group said in a press release that five children died in the first half of June 2015. "If you have kids, and it's summer time and you're not going to be outside, make sure your car is locked," Johnson said. "It's a bad situation, it's a tragic situation but it's something that puts into light something you don't think about on a regular basis." The Houston school board voted 5-2 Thursday to approve a budget that closes a $95 million shortfall caused in part by the fact that the district is now considered so property-rich it must, for the first time, forfeit local money to the state. The $1.8 billion budget spares most teachers' jobs, but strips funding from some campuses and eliminates administrative and tutoring positions. With the split vote, the board also ended two of the Houston Independent School District's major initiatives, reflecting philosophical differences among trustees. The budget eliminates a controversial program that awarded bonuses to teachers based on student test scores. It also abolishes former Superintendent Terry Grier's signature reform effort, Apollo, which spread $20 million to a few dozen low-performing schools for tutors and longer hours. Instead, the budget from interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt awards more funding to campuses based on their percentage of low-income students, with the highest-poverty schools getting the most per pupil. Trustees generally united over their concerns with the state's school-finance system, which considers HISD a property-wealthy district even though most of its students are economically disadvantaged. HISD now is considered so property-rich that it is supposed send money to the state next year - an estimated $162 million - aimed at helping poorer districts. More Information By the numbers $20 million: Amount HISD saves by scrapping the Apollo program for low-performing schools. $162 million: Amount HISD must pay back to the state under Robin Hood 490: Central office jobs and tutoring positions cut. The number of cuts at individual campuses has not been made available. See More Collapse "This is the product of the growth of the economy and wealth here in Houston," HISD board president Manuel Rodriguez Jr. said before approving the operating budget for the 2016-17 school year. Next, the HISD board must decide whether to call an election seeking voter approval to send the "recapture" payments to the state. The election, if approved by the HISD board, likely at a meeting in August, would take place in November. If the board decides against calling an election or if voters deny authorization, the state education commissioner is charged with detaching pricey commercial property from HISD and assigning it to poorer districts to be taxed at their rate. The detachment option would be unprecedented, according to the Texas Education Agency. 'Change that formula' The Texas Supreme Court ruled in May that the state's school-finance system was constitutional, though it acknowledged flaws. HISD had joined about 600 other districts in suing the state, saying the system was inadequate given rising academic standards. Huewitt, asked how HISD could get out of recapture status, said: "We've got to get (Texas lawmakers) to change that state funding formula." House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has called for an interim study of school funding, specifically citing HISD's situation, before lawmakers reconvene in January. HISD's first recapture payment to the state would not be due until late spring, Huewitt said. The HISD board will not vote on the tax rate until October, but Huewitt's proposal calls for a 1-cent increase to the part of the rate that pays down debt. The proposed hike - bringing the total tax rate to $1.2067 per $100 of assessed property value - is tied to the bond issue that voters approved in 2012 to build and renovate schools. HISD's budget cuts include the elimination of 80 central-office jobs currently staffed, 51 vacant central-office jobs and 359 tutoring positions from the Apollo program. Many of those whose positions were cut have found other jobs in the district, according to officials in the finance department. The district has not specified what positions were eliminated at individual campuses, lacking an immediate tally as principals craft their own budgets. Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers union, said he believes that most teachers whose jobs were cut have found other positions in HISD. Capo praised district officials for helping the displaced teachers but noted that HISD still had layers of management not working directly with students. 'Where are we going?' Trustees Greg Meyers and Anna Eastman voted against the budget. Eastman expressed concern that the district was not prioritizing teacher quality enough, citing the end of the $10 million bonus program. The district had one of the nation's largest and longest-running teacher bonus systems, with the first payouts in 2007. The board also demonstrated a shift earlier in June when a tie vote killed a contract that helped the district use student test data for the bonus program and for its job evaluation system for teachers. Meyers said he was concerned the budget stripped out reform programs without a clear plan. "It troubles me, where are we then going to go as a district?" Meyers said. Trustee Jolanda Jones, a newer board member who took office in January, countered: "We need to stop that reform train that started." About 20 percent of HISD schools failed to meet the state's academic standards in 2015. Trustees Harvin Moore and Diana Davila were absent for the budget vote. To help cover the shortfall, the budget takes $10 million from a reserve fund and also scales back a contract with a private company than runs the district's alternative school for students with discipline problems. Huewitt said Thursday that he still must find about $6 million in savings to balance the budget after abandoning a cost-cutting plan to change bus routes and the times that schools start and end. Houston's homicides jumped 25 percent last year, joining a "nearly unprecedented" increase nationwide, according to a federal report released this week. The number of homicides in Houston rose to 303 from 241 in 2014, according to an analysis of 56 U.S. cities by the National Institute of Justice. Houston ranked third among the nation's large cities for the increase in the number of homicides but ranks 18th for the percentage increase. "The homicide increase in the nation's large cities was real and nearly unprecedented," notes the report, which was released Wednesday. "It was also heavily concentrated in a few cities with large African-American populations." Chicago and Milwaukee joined Houston in tallying exactly 61 more homicides each in 2015 compared with the year before, notes the report. "Over the past year, the increase in homicide in several American cities has captured the attention of the nation," said Nancy Rodriguez, director of the institute, which is part of the Department of Justice. "Although many debates have ensued and commentaries abound, objective, scientific work to inform such conversations has been limited." Rodriguez said she commissioned the report to examine the data. The Houston Police Department, which annually reports the number of homicides to the U.S. Department of Justice, declined to comment on what may have fueled the increase. An analysis by the Houston Chronicle in December indicated that the murder rate sharply last year, about 23 percent based on preliminary numbers, but the reasons for the rise were thought to be varied. Homicides in 18 of the cities studied increased by 25 percent or more, according to the report, which was prepared for the government by Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Rosenfeld looked at three plausible explanations for the nationwide increases: an expansion of urban drug markets fueled by the heroin epidemic, reductions in incarceration resulting in a growing number of released prisoners, and a "Ferguson effect" resulting from widely publicized incidents of police using deadly force against minorities. The Ferguson effect refers to riots and protests that broke out in the Missouri city in 2014 after an officer shot an unarmed black man there. Some critics at the time believed police had reduced patrols in some urban areas to avoid controversy, but law enforcement widely disputed the allegation. "Whatever caused the increase has to itself have changed pretty abruptly," Rosenfeld said the Chronicle. He said that drug markets have grown in recent years and the number of people being released from prison has increased. He said his work was based on numbers gathered from news media, think tanks and other organizations for the 56 cities but that FBI data, which would include an array of crime statistics from all over the nation for various size populations, won't be available for a few more months. He said that the data needs to be made available more quickly so that authorities can see what is happening and make adjustments. Larry Karson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, said that murder rates have been dropping nationwide since the 1990s, so it is too soon to know what might cause a one-year jump. "No one at this point can put their finger on why there is a jump, but a lot of people will use their ideology to claim a reason with no evidence to substantiate it," he said. "What happens is that this becomes fodder for people pushing their agenda." More than 1,400 state prison inmates - mostly elderly and disabled at the Wallace Pack Unit in Grimes County - will be included in a federal lawsuit that claims they are suffering "cruel and unusual" punishment by enduring extreme summer heat behind bars without air conditioning, a judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison granted class-action status late Tuesday to a lawsuit filed by six inmates at the Pack Unit, saying the suit will include the general prison population at the Pack Unit as well as inmates who are heat-sensitive or disabled. The class-action status means the state must face the possibility of "really having to solve the problem for everyone at the prison," said Scott Medlock, one of the attorneys for the Pack Unit inmates. The case will not directly impact inmates at other state prisons, but it could set a precedent for future cases, Medlock said. State prison officials said in written statement that they will appeal the judge's decision. "The Texas Department of Criminal Justice takes extensive precautions both with our staff and the offender population at all facilities including the Pack Unit to help mitigate temperature extremes," according to the statement emailed to the Chronicle. "Their well-being is a top priority for this agency, and we remain committed to making sure everyone is safe whether it's hot or cold outside." The suit was filed in 2014 after a spate of heat-related deaths at state prison facilities in 2011 and 2012. Experts called on behalf of the inmates testified in a hearing earlier about the impact of heat on the body's ability to regulate its temperature. Dr. Michael McGeehin, a former director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified that heat is the No. 1 cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S., and 43 percent of those deaths occur in the South. He said air conditioning is the best remedy. Dr. Susi Vassallo, a physician who specializes in heat exposure, also testified that heat in the prison dormitory in the summer months poses "a substantial risk to the health of any individual under any circumstances held in these kinds of temperatures for prolonged periods of time." The heat index indoors at the Pack Unit in the summer of 2014 went as high as 105 degrees, according to heat monitoring equipment installed there as a result of the lawsuit. State prison officials do not dispute claims that medications or certain conditions such as diabetes, morbid obesity or hypertension put people at a greater risk of heat-related illness. But the medical expert called by the state said the facility is providing ample water and access to fans to help inmates stay cool. The judge dismissed the expert's testimony outright, noting in the sharply worded ruling that her testimony was not credible and appeared to acknowledge only data that substantiated the state's claims. The other experts largely agreed that "all of the inmates at the Wallace Pack Unit are at substantial risk of harm from prolonged exposure to extreme heat," the judge wrote. Texas inmates aren't the only ones seeking relief through the courts because of conditions in the state's prison system. A former TDCJ corrections officer is taking the agency to federal court in a lawsuit filed Thursday. Sam Hulon said he was fired because TDCJ officials would not provide him with "reasonable accommodations" as a person with a disability. He has clinical obesity and is diabetic. Hulon was assigned to the Stiles Unit in Beaumont. The inmate housing areas there are not air conditioned. Both prisoners and guards have to deal with brutally high temperatures in the summer. During the time he was working in the Stiles Unit, the heat index reached 120 degrees. Mike Glenn contributed to this report. While Republican stalwarts in Texas remain ever-loyal to favorite sons George Bush and Ted Cruz, that did not deter presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump from bringing his oft-colorful road show to the state's three largest cities this week, in the hopes of mining them for a lot of cash and a little free publicity. Trump's rapid-fire tour of Texas began Thursday in Dallas, where a private reception was followed by a rally at a country-and-western night club. Today he travels to Houston for a replay, with a 5 p.m. gathering at the River Oaks home of a prominent lawyer and a 7:30 public appearance at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Public events had been dropped from Trump's itinerary because of logistical problems caused in part by lack of advance notice. Then Gilley's Southside Ballroom stepped up to offer its facility, giving about 3,800 supporters a chance to see their candidate in the flesh. Likewise, for his Houston visit, arrangements were made at the last minute to book the convention center ballroom in the The Woodlands. Its capacity is approximately 5,000. About 300 protesters showed up in Dallas, as expected, but no major incidents were reported as police created a human barrier to keep Trump supporters and protestors apart. Organizers stressed security was to be tight in all locations. They urged those attending the appearance in The Woodlands to bring little with them into the venue. Explicitly prohibited are homemade signs, banners, professional cameras with a detachable lens, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, backpacks or large bags. Texas' political establishment has been relatively cool to the Trump campaign, which finished a distant second to Cruz in the March GOP primary, and some prominent elected officials showed little interest in appearing with Trump at the public rallies. Both U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Greg Abbott said they had other previously scheduled activities that conflicted. Ultimately, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick agreed to join him on stage. A supporter of Cruz's bid for the presidential nomination, Patrick has criticized Trump for what he called "wild and personal attacks on just about everyone." But he says he is supporting him now in the interest of party unity. 'He's not a politician' Little of that matters to 18-year-old Josh Gremillion, for whom Trump's quick trip to Houston was a belated high school graduation present. He joined the Trump campaign last year as soon as it began to organize - before he was able to vote - and he hopes to get a chance to meet the real estate mogul backstage tonight. "I like his background in business and the fact that he was a multibillionaire who did not need to do this," said Gremillion, who just finished high school in Sugar Land and will attend the University of Houston in September. "He has everything he could want. He's not a politician. He is not being paid by these big donors and special interests to do this." Gremillion said he believes Trump's long and successful business career makes him an ideal candidate for the White House. "Strength is the biggest thing," Gremillion said when asked about Trump's best attribute. "He's been doing these business deals for a long time, and he never settles for anything less than winning. That's what we need. He's not afraid to be politically incorrect. One of the things wrong with this country is that people are afraid to say what they think because they are worried about offending someone. He is going to do what he thinks is right, and he's not afraid to speak the truth." Trump's intimate, high-dollar reception will be hosted by Tony Buzbee, who in recent years has emerged as one of best known plaintiff lawyers in Houston. Asked by friend and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to provide a venue for the exclusive event, Buzbee was happy to oblige, having been won over to Trump's candidacy by his stand on security issues. "I think that if you are concerned about terrorism within the United States, Donald Trump is the only choice," Buzbee said. "There are bad people in this world, unfortunately, and I applaud Mr. Trump for having the courage to tell it like it is. Most people are tired of the 'packaging' we get from most politicians from Washington. Donald Trump is no politician, and that is refreshing." Bringing in big bucks As for the reception his is hosting, Buzbee predicted it will go well despite the chaos that Trump's candidacy has caused in the Republican Party. "I think we are going to have a good crowd," he said. "It prices a lot of people out when you have a minimum of $5,400 (per ticket), but I think we are going to raise a good amount. Some people are giving big money, some the minimum, but I think we are going to quadruple the $600,000 that Hillary raised here recently, so I'm happy about that. And people will get to meet The Donald." Buzbee said he is not worried about the possible protests that could materialize near his home. He said the Secret Service and local police have assured him they will keep protesters away from the front of his house and provide a way for those attending the event to come and go without being confronted. Buzbee said members of Trump's family are expected to attend the gathering, after which Trump is scheduled to go to San Antonio for another private fundraiser Saturday at Oak Hills Country Club. He then will travel to Las Vegas and Phoenix for public rallies. In the Texas primary in March, Trump was clobbered by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. But he is expected to have no trouble claiming the state's electoral votes in the fall general election. With Texas not in play, presidential candidates rarely hold campaign rallies here, limiting their trips to fundraising events - and for good reason. In the 2012 race for the White House, Texas led all states except one - California - in contributions for GOP nominee Mitt Romney. For the Democrats and President Obama, the state ranked fifth. The same was true in the 2008 race between Obama and John McCain. ORLANDO, Fla. - It was a wrenching ritual that has become all too familiar for President Barack Obama. One by one Thursday, inside an arena in downtown Orlando where friends and relatives of the victims of the nation's deadliest mass shooting had congregated, Obama embraced mourners sick with loss. He told them that the nation stood with them and that his own heart was broken, offering words of comfort for a tragedy that he confessed he could not fathom. "Their grief is beyond description," Obama said after a two-hour meeting with the mourners. "Through their pain and through their tears, they told us about the joy that their loved ones had brought to their lives." Behind closed doors, Obama told the grieving that it was the 15th time during his 7 1/2-year tenure that he has had to offer these sorts of condolences after a shooting, according to those who attended. "There were times when he choked up," said Angelica Jones, a performer at the Pulse nightclub, where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 on Sunday. "And it's a hard thing to do when you've got mothers crying out. He was up to it." Obama has had plenty of practice for this particularly grim task. The settings vary, but the pattern is chillingly constant. Obama's armored limousine deposits him at a nondescript building big enough to hold a large number of families whose loved ones have died in a mass shooting somewhere in America. Away from the news cameras that normally track his every interaction, he enters rooms thick with grief and the hushed voices of people in shock. He grasps for words of sympathy, comfort and condolence and offers long, tight embraces that the mourners will remember far more vividly than his words. Mourners asking, 'Why?' His visit to Orlando came four days after the massacre. Accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, the president entered the Amway Center, about two miles from the club, and the two men took turns hugging and grieving with the scores of people who lost sons, daughters, siblings, partners and friends. "Our hearts are broken, too," Obama said he told them, after placing 49 white roses at a makeshift memorial nearby to commemorate each of those killed. In an emotional statement to reporters before he returned to Washington, Obama said the encounters with mourners underscored his determination to change the debate over gun restrictions and enact the sort of measures that might have prevented the tragedy. "As has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, 'Why does this keep happening?' " Obama said. They pleaded for more to be done to stop the carnage, he said, adding, "Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families." Beyond politics, the trip was a moment for the president to play the somber official role of consoler in chief. It was also the setting for a deeply personal and private set of encounters in which Obama, better known for his cool and unruffled temperament, dispenses with the trappings of his office and becomes an emotional father identifying with parents who have lost children. "The president understands that he is a symbol of the country, and when he travels to a community and meets with a family that has endured a terrible tragedy, he's offering a message of condolence and comfort on behalf of the American people," Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday. "But it would be impossible for him to not be personally affected by these kinds of conversations and these kinds of interactions," he added. In such instances, Earnest said, the president "draws on his faith." As Obama comforted the mourners, his critics in Washington were blaming him for Sunday's tragedy. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., his 2008 presidential rival, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Obama, through his policy decisions, was "directly responsible" for the carnage because he had failed to thwart the rise of the Islamic State. 'It felt like he cared' The president has called visits like the one to Orlando among the most difficult duties he performs. Spending time with families who lost young children in the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012, was the "hardest day of my presidency," he said afterward. "And I've had some hard days." So over and over again Thursday, the president hugged the mourners tightly, relying on body language almost more than words to convey his support. "He took time to go to each family individually and embrace them, and there was no rush or a sense he wanted to be anywhere else," said Azsia Finn, a manager at Pulse. "It was embracing, hugging, just very warming. It felt like he cared." Amid a blur of sorrow and disbelief, these embraces have stood out to many of the mourners Obama has met after earlier tragedies. "He hugged each one of us individually - and I mean hug, so that I was able to smell his cologne," said Sharon Risher, 57, who lost her mother, Ethel Lance, and two cousins in the shooting in Charleston, S.C., last year, and met privately with Obama the next week. "It was not a little pat on the back. The intimacy of that hug is what I'll always remember." DALLAS - Describing the nation's leadership as weak and ineffective, Donald Trump said Thursday that he would protect America against terrorism by controlling the country's flow of immigrants. "We have to stop people with hate in their heart from coming into our country," Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally at Gilley's in Dallas. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, and he has famously said he would build a massive wall along the country's southern border and make Mexico pay for it. He echoed those proposals at his Dallas rally, adding that the terror attack in Orlando and similar incidents were born out of disrespect for America. "It's weakness on behalf of our leadership. People don't respect our country anymore," Trump said. "They're going to respect you, folks. Things are going to change." Referring to the weekend nightclub attack in Orlando that left 49 dead, Trump was characteristically blunt: "You saw what one sleazebag can do. No more." Trump brought his campaign to Texas for the first time since he clinched the party's nomination - a feat few predicted when he entered the Republican presidential race exactly one year ago. Earlier in the day, he raised millions of dollars of campaign cash from top Texas GOP donors, accompanied by the party's national chairman, Reince Priebus. Hundreds protest The visit prompted an outpouring of protests, with hundreds demonstrating outside Gilley's and more earlier at the site of the fundraiser at the Highland Hotel in northeast Dallas. Protesters armed with signs and chanting decried his comments about Mexican immigrants and other groups. Dallas police maintained a major presence, and few incidents were reported. "Donald Trump's message to the Latino community is clear: You are not American," said Housing Secretary Julian Castro, frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "In Trump's America, Latinos wouldn't be welcome, our LGBT brothers and sisters wouldn't be able to marry who they love, and Americans would be discriminated against because of their religion." Trump will hold similar fundraisers in San Antonio and Houston on Friday, and another public rally in The Woodlands. Politically, the rallies are unusual - Trump is all but certain to beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Texas in the fall, and at this stage of the campaign, most candidates focus their time and energy on the battleground states that could go to either candidate and decide the election. But the New York billionaire was sure to hit all the Lone Star notes. He came onstage to "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and joked about selling cowboy hats emblazoned with his slogan, "Make America Great Again." And he took note of the heat on the hottest day of the year in Dallas so far, though he overestimated the temperature by more than 20 degrees. Rips Obama, Clinton Trump spoke in his usual scattershot style, jumping from policy notes to anecdotes about his primary victories - he noted that he dispatched more than a dozen Republican rivals but didn't mention by name the Texan who was one of the last challengers standing, Sen. Ted Cruz. At least five protesters interrupted and were removed. He took Obama to task for focusing on guns in the Orlando massacre. "I'm going to save your Second Amendment, folks," Trump said. And he took his usual swipes at the rival he calls "Crooked Hillary," even pointing out that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, pushed for the North American Free Trade Agreement. "It destroyed the manufacturing in this country," Trump said. During his sprawling, off-the-cuff speech, he said it was important to react to Russia modernizing its nuclear weapons. And he offered to negotiate directly with North Korea's leader. "You got to be careful," he said. "You got to be smart." Trump had several moments of levity. At one point he asked if there were protesters in the audience, egging on the person who eventually was removed from the room. "Do you want to stay?" he asked, perhaps realizes he had asked for the person to act out. Though he said he wished he was at a larger venue, he told the thousands at Gilley's, known for its mechanical bull, that he was tempted to ride the legendary machine. "Even if I make it, they will say I fell off the horse and it was terrible," Trump said. Praise from supporters Linda Sherwood Bates, 50, of Commerce said she came to see Trump with her son, Servando Varela IV, 18. She woke up at 5 a.m. to pick him up in Austin so they could be at the rally together. Trump "is going to make great deals," she said. "He's a strong leader." Micah Woodson, a 24-year-old mechanic from Dallas, came to the rally dressed like Paul Revere to highlight the Second Amendment. "I'm riding to warn of an international interest coming to disarm this country and every country in the world," he said. "The main threats are the U.N. peace treaty and international regulations that override our Constitution" Outside the rally, hundreds of protesters were waiting on Trump. Ahead of the visit, Dallas police evaluated how they'll respond to protests and drilled for crowd and riot control. More than 500 officers participated in training drills Wednesday at Fair Park. Police wore riot gear and carried shields as plainclothes officers tossed bottles and other objects at them. Other officers on horseback tried to keep their animals calm as smoke bombs were set off around them. The protests remained peaceful, though. Along with the rally, Trump had several fundraising meetings in North Texas, including a Dallas event sponsored by the Republican National Committee. Donors were invited by Dallas businessman Ray Washburne, who is vice chairman of Trump's finance committee. Few details were provided to the media about the evening reception at the Highland. "It has been a grueling past year with a crowded field and many of us supporting different candidates," wrote Republican fundraiser Alison McIntosh in an invitation to donors. "Today it is time that we unify to defeat the Democrats this November." For his primary campaign, Trump didn't have the support of a super PAC, and he largely self-funded his campaign. But that strategy is impractical in a general election - Clinton is expected to spend more than $1 billion. In 2008, more than $1 billion was spent on behalf of both Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. At the rally he said the event was successful and included banker and investor Andy Beal. Analysts say Trump needs the boost. "If you look at the folks on the various host committees, he'll do well for his first trip," said Republican consultant Dave Carney. "He will need lots of help in Texas and across the nation to keep up with Clinton." Dallas donors were asked to raise up to $250,000 per couple. The cheapest ticket was $50,000. WASHINGTON - More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administration's policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar Assad to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the country's 5-year-old civil war. The memo says U.S. policy has been "overwhelmed" by the unrelenting violence in Syria. It calls for "a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process." Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administration's approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Barack Obama has plans to change course. Obama has emphasized the military campaign against the Islamic State over efforts to dislodge Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed. But the memo, filed in the State Department's "dissent channel," underscores the deep rifts and lingering frustration within the administration over how to deal with a war that has killed more than 400,000 people. The State Department set up the channel during the Vietnam War as a way for employees who had disagreements with policies to register their protest with the secretary of state and other top officials, without fear of reprisal. While dissent cables are not that unusual, the number of signatures on this document, 51, is extremely large, if not unprecedented. The names on the memo are almost all midlevel officials - many of them career diplomats - who have been involved in the administration's Syria policy over the last five years, at home or abroad. They range from a Syria desk officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to a former deputy to the U.S. ambassador in Damascus. While there are no widely recognized names, higher-level State Department officials are known to share their concerns. Kerry, himself, has pushed for stronger action against Syria, in part to force a diplomatic solution on Assad. The president has resisted such pressure and has been backed up by his military commanders. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN - More than two decades since they last won a statewide office, Texas Democrats are putting their focus on strong big city leaders. Republicans have an iron grip on the most prominent elected positions in Texas, controlling the governor's mansion, every statewide office and both chambers of the Legislature. However, the biggest population centers in the state - Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio - are all run by Democrats, a trend that also plays out nationally. That stronghold on big city mayors is set to be a major theme at the Texas Democratic Party convention this week, intended to build on the idea that a foundation exists for the long-beleaguered minority party eventually to become competitive in statewide campaigns. Mayor Sylvester Turner and Austin Mayor Steve Adler, along with a list of other local leaders from around the state, are set to play starring roles at the three-day confab in San Antonio. Turner, a former veteran state lawmaker, and Adler, a longtime aide to an ex-state senator, are joining congressional and legislative leaders and the host city's native sons - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and his twin, Congressman Joaquin Castro - on the convention's big stage Friday. State party officials are looking to home in on the idea that Democrats not only run the biggest cities in Texas but that local leaders play an important role in the daily lives of Texans. "We know that people know their mayors," Crystal Perkins, the state party's executive director said at a news conference blocks from the state Capitol earlier this week. "And we know our cities are run by Democrats and they are effective." SA mayor absent Absent from the lineup of speakers: Ivy Taylor, the convention host city's mayor. Taylor, a registered Democrat who has stressed that her position as mayor is nonpartisan, declined an invitation to speak to a women's caucus on Friday. The messaging from the Texas Democrats is part of an effort to showcase local leaders, including some possibly being groomed to run for higher office in the future. Aside from big-city mayors, the convention also will feature Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Jenkins garnered attention at the Democratic convention in 2014 by announcing his county would house 2,000 refugee children held by federal officials along the border during a humanitarian crisis. It made him an instant target for conservatives and one of the party's most prominent local leaders, putting him on a list the party could look to run statewide. In an interview, Jenkins said it is local leaders who are driving solutions across the state. "We hear a lot from our Austin elected officials about the Texas Miracle," Jenkins said, "but when we look at Texas, it's the urban areas that are driving economic expansion." That Democratic mayors run most of the big Texas cities is nothing new. Progressive voters are concentrated in the state's urban areas, as well as in the Rio Grande Valley. Last elected in 1994 Even with Democrats in place as mayors at major cities across the state, it has yet to translate into success at a higher level for the state party. Texans have not chosen a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, when Bob Bullock was re-elected lieutenant governor. "It's great that we have these people in major cities, but until someone demonstrates they can expand their footprint beyond city limits, I don't know how much success we're going to have with it," said Colin Strother, a Democratic strategist. "Too often, mayors with Democratic DNA have been too reluctant to flex their partisanship and put that rubber to the road." Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said the fact that a mayor's job largely is nonpartisan "weakens the narrative" that Texas Democrats are pitching to thousands of delegates this weekend. "They are not elected as Democrats and several of them also project images of nonpartisan(ship)," Jones said, noting that the real power in the bulk of Texas' big cities is wielded by city managers. Adler, elected Austin mayor in 2014, said most of a mayor's work is nonpartisan. "We're focusing on the nuts and bolts on what people need and what people want," he said. "At the city level, we don't have a lot of time to deal with wedge messaging." Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who previously was the Republican tax assessor-collector for Tarrant County, is the only GOP mayor in Texas' five largest cities. She said staying away from party labels is key to running a city. "On certain issues, you'll see mayors identify more as Democrat or Republican but overall that's not our daily job," she said. "The mayor's job is to be impartial and run the city for best of all the citizens." AUSTIN - A federal judge tossed Texas' attempt to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees by dismissing a case accusing the federal government and a nonprofit agency of operating without consulting with state officials. The final ruling was issued by Judge David C. Godbey, of the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas, on Wednesday. Godbey last December denied the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's request for a temporary restraining order to prevent refugees from settling in Texas. "I am disappointed with the court's determination that Texas cannot hold the federal government accountable to consult with us before resettling refugees here," Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Thursday. "We are considering our options moving forward to guarantee the safety of Texans from domestic and foreign threats." Gov. Greg Abbott has been an outspoken critic of Syrian refugee settlement in Texas and wanted to block their settlement here. He was one of 30 governors who declared similar opposition citing security concerns in the aftermath of the November attack in Paris that killed 129 people after reports surfaced that at least one of the perpetrators could have been posing as a Syrian refugee. Abbott's office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Representing the nonprofit International Rescue Committee Inc., which has contracted with the state to settle refugees, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas said they hoped the ruling discourages other states from taking similar actions to oppose people fleeing Syria for their safety. "Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton didn't have a legal leg to stand on here, and they knew it. The goal of this wasteful lawsuit had nothing to do with public safety, and everything to do with scoring political points on the backs of desperate refugees. We trust Judge Godbey's ruling will dissuade other states contemplating similar discriminatory measures," said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. While the state asserts Texas is concerned about the safety and security of its residents, Godbey ruled in December the state's evidence was "largely speculative and hearsay." He said in this week's order that the court found no valid cause of action to support judicial review and determined that language in the Refugee Act of 1980 was not strong enough to illustrate an expressed duty to give states veto power over refugee placements. He also found the state failed to provide a "plausible claim" against the IRC for a breach of contract. The U.S. State Department said last fall it expects to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees across the country. Texas has become a top destination for refugees in the past three years due to the state's job market and relatively low cost of living. The same year that Texas won its independence from Mexico, two young and ambitious hucksters arrived from New York of all places and founded a city in the midst of a mosquito-ridden, malarial swamp. One hundred eighty years later, the city named in honor of the hero of San Jacinto continues to thrive and prosper on a scale that no doubt would amaze the brothers Allen (and most everyone since). It's unfortunate that on your quick cash-and-carry campaign swing today you won't get to see much of that city, soon to be the nation's third-largest - unfortunate because, with due respect to you, Houston represents values and principles that are strikingly antithetical to the divisive, intolerant positions you have loudly and proudly espoused since announcing your candidacy a year ago. This great city could not function if we allowed the hateful attitudes the world is coming to identify as Trumpism to prevail. Neither can this country. Nativist fear, anger, bellicosity - Trumpism, in other words - is not America. The sprawling place we call the Bayou City is a port, open to the world. The Chronicle wrote a few days ago that the Port of Houston is the nation's largest in foreign waterborne tonnage. More than 8,000 vessels and 200,000 barges move 200 million tons of cargo through the port each year. Those brawny arms open to the world generate jobs for Texans, more than 1.2 million, in fact. As the largest export market in the United States, we're well aware that your straitened, protectionist views on trade and your isolationist inclinations would cost us dearly. A huge amount of that trade is with a nation you presume to know well: Mexico. Our southern neighbor - and, yes, "neighbor" is the apt word - is the United States' third-largest trading partner; it's second only to Canada as a destination for exports. For both Texas and Houston, Mexico is trading partner No. 1. Another fact about U.S.-Mexico trade: Many of the manufactured goods that flow across the border are products that U.S. and Mexican firms assemble together in shared supply chains. In a recent Chronicle opinion piece, Andrew Sele of the Woodrow Wilson Center noted that 40 percent of the content in finished goods that Mexico exports to the U.S. is actually made in this country. And you wonder why Houstonians disdain your rampages about walls, disease-ridden Mexicans and rapists? Trade with our next-door neighbor is one thing, but just as important are a shared culture, cross-border family ties spanning generations and a long border that blends rather than congeals. Those are reasons why your border proposals are anathema. Houston is a diverse city, more diverse than your hometown, more diverse than Los Angeles. In fact, its jumble of races and nationalities from around the world makes it the most diverse city in America. We are an international megalopolis, a city that "runs about 10, 15 years ahead of Texas, 30 years ahead of the U.S. in terms of ethnic diversity and immigration flows," a Rice University sociologist told the Chronicle not long ago. When that article was written, by the way, Houston's female mayor was one of the few openly gay politicians in America; our current mayor is African-American. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and every other belief under the sun call Houston home. Divisiveness doesn't work in this town. Houston today is America tomorrow, and the richness, the roiling energy and, yes, the prosperity of an immigrant-welcoming city are what this nation can anticipate if it follows Houston's lead, not yours. Why in the world would Houston - or any other American city - choose to rely on the rancor and divisiveness that your campaign promotes? You're the fellow who wants to wall us in from the rest of the world, who wants to "protect" us from Muslims, including Syrian refugees desperately seeking respite from a horrendous civil war. We welcome refugees; we welcome their energy and ambition, their earnest desire to make new lives for themselves and their enthusiastic commitment to American values. Our concern about you - again, with due respect - is that you don't share those values of openness, tolerance and good will. Your attack on an American-born federal judge of Mexican descent, your continuing call for a ban on Muslims and your recent statement questioning President Obama's loyalty to this nation are only the most recent outrages that fuel concern. More and more Americans - Republicans, Democrats and independents - are coming to share that concern. "Houston is far from perfect," four local faith leaders reminded us in the Chronicle in anticipation of your visit. "We have a yawning chasm between the haves and have-nots. We face environmental challenges, social challenges, educational challenges, even infrastructure challenges, and yet for all that we remain a city relatively free of rancor." We say: Amen. We're pleased you've come to Houston, although we wish you could stay a while. A Tex-Mex meal at Ninfa's on Navigation, a stroll through the United Nations that's Bellaire Boulevard or a visit to a mosque or a Hindu temple might offer you a bit of exposure to the open, tolerant, city that we call Houston. That we're proud to call America. Sincerely, The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board During the early days of Watergate, the scandal that forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon, Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein tried to fact-check a particularly damaging article he was writing by giving a call to then-Attorney General John Mitchell. Instead of getting a confirmation or denial, Mitchell told Bernstein that, if the report ran, Post publisher Katharine Graham was "gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer." That sort of crass media intimidation was a hallmark of the disgraced former president's time in office. But Donald Trump has no need for the subtle nuance of the Nixon administration. Instead of relying on phone calls with reporters, Trump makes his disdain for a free press loud and clear over the internet, to reporters and watchers around the globe. Earlier this week, Trump pulled The Washington Post's credentials to cover his events because the paper upset the presumptive Republican nominee with some of its headlines. Barring specific news organizations is practically unprecedented in modern politics, but Trump has been quick to boot any media outlet that gets under his rapidly thinning skin. Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Politico, Univision, the Daily Beast, The Des Moines Register and others have all been subject to a blacklist in one form or another. Trump has also threatened to use the power of the federal government, if elected, to go after the Post's owner Jeff Bezos. The idea of a president using his authority to settle a personal score should send a chill down your spine. Trump could stand a remedial class in civics. The U.S. Constitution entrusts the press to serve as constant skeptical check on government power to help preserve liberty. This check has been under sustained attack. The Obama administration has been rebuked by leading news organizations for restricting press coverage of the presidency. The Department of Justice under former Attorney General Eric Holder used illegal wiretaps of the Associated Press to prosecute government whistleblowers. Presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton goes months at a time without holding a press conference. But Trump's blacklist of antagonistic media doesn't seem to be animated by a politician's desire to control the narrative or the suffocating fears of a post-9/11 security state. Instead, he acts out of revenge. It is an attitude that became crystal clear when Trump promised to "open up" the nation's libel laws if elected - apparently intending to circumvent Congress - so that he could sue people who mock and critique him. It is an attitude that's trickled down to his supporters. Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire and Trump delegate, used his wealth to fund an invasion of privacy suit against news and gossip website, Gawker, which bankrupted the company. According to Forbes magazine, Thiel sought to crush the site by any means necessary in revenge for outing him as gay. Now Thiel's lawyer is threatening to sue Gawker for running an interesting, if not particularly important, article about the styling secrets behind Trump's so-called "cotton candy hairspray labyrinth." A free society is not one where people can be sued for discussing a presidential candidate's hair. But that is the society where Trump and many of his key supporters want to live. As the Republican Party makes it way to the national convention in Cleveland this July, we encourage delegates and leaders to rescue the press credentialing process from Trump's ego-driven impulses. By reasserting the constitutional values of a free press, Republicans can help make their party great again. Miners digging in Regarding "Miners hold rally to protect benefits" (Page B2, Wednesday), President Kennedy said at his inauguration: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." United Mine Workers president Cecil Roberts told his members that "America owes us and we will collect on that debt." Avid Democrat that JFK was, he would be disappointed by such a democratically supported union as the UMW and that position. That said, the article goes on to say that coal miners worked all their lives in dangerous places to supply the nation's electricity and steel. While that is certainly very true, those hardy and brave miners chose that dangerous and dirty work as their livelihoods, and we do owe them our admiration and all benefits that they worked so very hard to earn. Robert L. Gabler, Kingwood Neighborly advice Everything that needs to be said about the Orlando massacre has been said, with one notable exception. It was not the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Wounded Knee was in 1890, when more than 150 and as many as 300 men, women and children were gunned down. I suppose we conveniently overlook that one though because the victims, the original inhabitants of this wonderful country, were not of European descent. As a person who is the second generation born here on my father's side and the 13th generation born here on my mother's side, I am advocating that we give up the idea that people of European heritage are some how destined to determine the affairs for the world. We are not the only ones created the image of God; nor the only ones God loves. We all now live in a global village. If we're going to survive as a species we better quit over-identifying ourselves as members of a particular ethnic, religious, or political group and start seeing one another as neighbors. Some of our neighbors are trouble-makers to be sure. We need to work together to prevent them from causing chaos for the rest of us. Kathy Haueisen Houston Passing the VP test Regarding "Fiery Trump, sober Clinton at odds over attack in Orlando" (Page A10, Tuesday), vice presidential nominess are thoroughly and formally vetted prior to their selection announcements. Presidential candidates are self-declared and are not formally vetted by their major political party. Is it not a sad irony that none of the candidates of the two major political parties could be reasonably expected to survive a formal vetting process for a VP nomination? Hillary Clinton is the subject of an FBI criminal investigation. Bernie Sanders has never, until now, identified as a Democrat, and Donald Trump is far too, too controversial. Craig A. Lehman, Kingwood You might think that the state of fatherhood in this country is abysmal, or you might believe it looks good and dads are more involved in their children's lives than ever before. In either case, you would be right. Both of these statements are accurate at the same time. But more of us need to understand why. Doing so will help children get the most out of life. Newspaper articles, magazine features and blog posts decrying the number of absentee dads are plentiful. Their concerns are borne out by research showing that more and more fathers are breaking up with their children's mothers - if they are even partnered with them in the first place - and having children with multiple partners. These things dramatically increase the likelihood that fathers will have little consistent contact with their kids. At the same time, there are newspaper articles, magazine features and blog posts glorifying today's "new" dad, who is much more involved in his children's lives than his father was in his. Again, such pieces are grounded in research demonstrating how fathers are getting up in the night to feed infants, reading to young children and managing older children's educations, among other things. Such involvement promotes the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Unfortunately, many children who have little contact with their fathers already are disadvantaged, or poor and isolated. Not having a father makes that worse. Conversely, many children with involved fathers already are advantaged with a good financial foundation and access to high-achieving schools. Their fathers' presence compounds those advantages. As a result, the gap grows between the haves and have nots. These growing inequalities have inspired action. But efforts to do something face an uphill climb. Programs to increase the number of fathers living with their children have not seen much success, and they do not go far enough - being present is good, but being involved is better. Programs directly targeting fathers' involvement, in turn, also face barriers. These barriers are practical and cultural. Getting involved takes time that many fathers do not think they have. And lingering views of parenting as feminine discourage even enlightened men from trying. How do we make progress? Two ways provide a good start. First, family-focused programs to increase paternal involvement cannot succeed without changes in policies that are work-focused. Most fathers want to be involved, but work won't let them. I say this as a father who feels that conflict between job and family. Paid parental leave policies are a start, but many men don't take the full time. They fear that taking leave will cost them at work. Quebec might provide the best example of what to do. The Canadian province created a leave program specifically for fathers. An analysis for the Council on Contemporary Families showed that this policy change increased how much time men took off after the birth of a child and how involved they were at home. For those fathers who are in insecure jobs with poor or no benefits or are in and out of jobs, money is often more important than time. They see the question of whether to take leave as "rich people problems." We need to design policies that support parents in more lines of work and that address the economic instability that keeps many on the sidelines. Second, even when fathers want to be involved, they may not know what they are doing. Unlike women, men rarely receive lifelong socialization into the role of being a parent. Troublingly, they are often discouraged from engaging in some parenting tasks. Consequently, parenting is a skill that men need to develop. That is what happened to me, and I still feel clueless sometimes. Psychologists have designed parenting education programs to help facilitate positive parenting skills, and these programs could be better-tailored to the special needs of fathers. It is a worthy cause to give fathers the help that they need to stick around and get involved. It might take a lot of time and effort, but that help would be good for fathers, good for children and good for society. Crosnoe is chair of the Department of Sociology and a research associate in the Population Research Center at the University of the Texas at Austin. He is also the deputy editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family and president-elect of the Society for Research on Adolescence. Our world-class, international city is faced with a growing threat to the lives of our citizenry and our economy, a threat that is obvious to anyone who lives in the Houston area, and there is a way you can actively become a part of the solution. Expensive, life-taking floods are becoming commonplace in Houston. Last year's Memorial Day Flood took eight lives and cost taxpayers more than $100 million. This year's Tax Day Flood took nine lives and cost approximately $2 billion. Based on past weather occurrences, it's not so far-fetched to believe that Houston will face more flooding, more damage and potentially more lives lost. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center, Harris County had 96 days with reports of flooding or flash flooding from 1996 through 2015, with at least one report of flooding for each of those years. This is an average of four to five days of flooding each year, four to five days of pain and suffering, four to five days of destruction of personal and real property, as well as four to five days of lost business productivity. Although Houston has a recurring flood problem, there is a lifesaving solution that will cost far less than the catastrophic economic losses the area has experienced. The Harris County Flood Control District has a number of flood control projects under construction which, if expedited, could eliminate or mitigate a good deal of flooding as well as save lives and money. Congress can and should help with federal funding. The district estimates that existing flood prevention and mitigation projects would require approximately $311 million to be completed. This is a common-sense approach, and while it would not eliminate all of the flooding problems in our area, completion of the projects would begin to address the crisis. H.R. 5025, the 2016 Tax Day Floods Supplemental Funding Act, is bipartisan legislation that would appropriate the $311 million for flood control projects in the Houston area. The funds would be available until 2026, and returned to the U.S. Treasury if not used for these projects. This timeline will provide some degree of certainty that the additional funds will be used timely and efficiently to expedite the completion of these vital projects. Additionally, if properly implemented, H.R. 5025 could create approximately 6,000 jobs in the Houston area and save untold amounts in future flood-recovery tax dollars. Congress has supported disaster relief in the past, and Houston should be no different. Congress appropriated an estimated $16 billion for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav and Ike; $5.35 billion for Hurricane Sandy relief; and approximately $6 billion over the past 30 years for flood control projects. We have provided monetary relief for other disasters such as oil spills, wildfires, tornadoes and earthquakes. We have supported our friends around the world, including $90 million to the Philippines after the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan, $150 million to Pakistan after the 2010 summer floods, $3.1 billion to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, as well as $950 million to aid countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. Houston deserves no less. H.R. 5025 has experienced a groundswell of support, with more than 80 members of Congress signing on to support this legislation, including Reps. Brian Babin, R-Woodville; Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands; Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio; Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; John Culberson, R-Houston; Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes; Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston; Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land; Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso; Ted Poe, R-Humble; Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth; Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and Randy Weber, R-Friendswood. In Houston, exigent circumstances created by inclement weather may be inevitable, but with the right proactive solutions we can reduce risk while making preparedness and increased safety the norm. More important, we will save lives as well as reduce the recovery funding after a future tragic event. We have an obligation to our city and our future generations to do all that we can to minimize expensive, deadly flooding in our city. In the midst of this process to find solutions, we are constantly asked, "What can I do to help?" You can help by reaching out to your family and friends across our country and asking them to contact their members of Congress about the importance of cosponsoring and ultimately voting to approve H.R. 5025. This is an issue that affects the welfare of our great city. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to be tireless advocates for Houston. Al Green, a Democrat, represents Texas' 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Gene Green, also a Democrat, represents the state's 29th Congressional District. The first Texas Democratic convention since Wendy Davis lost big to Greg Abbott in the 2014 gubernatorial race has left the former Fort Worth senator with a new role: the party's inspirer-in-chief. Davis still is deeply beloved by delegates and party officials here, where she and her running mate, former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, addressed the party's convention Friday morning. Own the vision of what we want to see in this state, she told delegates, recalling the lessons she learned after her loss two years ago as backdrop to talk about her support of Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. Davis said she leaned on Clintons experience after the contentious and ultimately unsuccessful health care reform fight of the 1990s, when the former first lady, then leading the Clinton administrations effort, failed to get universal health care. We all need to grow up with people that (we see in power), Davis said. For me, that person was Hillary Clinton. She also was well received at a young Democrat gathering on Thursday night, where she urged the crowd to work on behalf of the partys candidates across the state, especially those in close races. Echoing her concession speech in 2014, the former senator said the partys youngest supporters cannot let their energy wane in the face of Republican domination at the statehouse in Austin. She took some time after her bruising loss to figure out what she would do next. When it comes to the political world, her future is an open question. Her support for Clinton, for whom she has campaigned for months, could make her a strong contender for a high-profile job in a Clinton administration next year. For now, though, she seems intent on staying in the conversation, rousing party loyalists and using this weekends convention to show she can still put up a fight. A new manufacturer at Cabool is seeking employees for its operation. Sunrise Bakers will hold a job fair next Thursday and Friday at 503 Second St., which is behind Drury University. The hours are 9 a.m. until noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Thursday. Hours on Friday are 9 a.m. until noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Resumes are recommended. The new commercial bakery is seeking entry-level and qualified applicants for permanent employment. It will employ up to 79. Departments include production, packing, shipping and sanitation. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. According to a report by SDL, a staggering 45% of customers cant even remember the last time they had a positive customer service experience. This is a staggering number that explains why so many businesses are forced to go under each year when most of the communications with customers are negative ones, its difficult to expect success in the long term. In order to rise above the competition and maintain its customers, a company has to give careful consideration to the people it hires to handle customer support they are the ones that will be entrusted with nurturing the relationship between the company and its customer base. However, this is not an easy process, as is proven by the awful customer service that is present in so many otherwise well-run companies. So, here are some tips on how to find the best customer service employees, as well as how to retain them long term and build an appealing working environment. Look for the Right Personality Its hard to understand why so many companies insist on hiring their customer service reps based on unsubstantiated merits. Looking for specific diplomas or qualifications in a customer support representative is simply narrowing your pool of candidates without improving the selection in any way. After all, the customer support people are the face of your company they are the ones that the customers turn to when they face day-to-day problems related to your produc... slower economy has hit the financial industry again with CIMB laying off a dozen staff from its broking business in Singapore.The layoffs, which occurred a week ago, were mostly from back-end support functions, the bank told The Business Times. Half of those affected were contract staff.None of the retrenchments came from CIMBs banking business, the spokesperson added.Similar to our industry peers, we are not spared from the harsh realities of the deteriorating capital markets.We need to adjust to the realities of todays market conditions and we are continually looking at ways to reduce costs through streamlining of our broking operations.Although the banks decision to lower its headcount was not easy, it was necessary to ensure CIMB remained nimble and robust amid uncertain economic conditions, the spokesperson added.This is the latest in a series of headcount reductions occurring at CIMB over the past two years.In February last year, 103 Australian staff were affected with CIMB closed its offices in Sydney and Melbourne. This was followed in March by an additional 50 job cuts. Fifteen of these were in Singapore with the rest occurring in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and India.In July 2015, 3,599 staff left firm voluntarily under the Mutual Separation Scheme (MSS). Singapore staff were not affected in this move as 1,891 employees left in Malaysia and 1,708 left in Indonesia.In January this year, the bank also cut 32 staff from its cash equities and investment banking division in Hong Kong. This represented 25% of the local staff.Also in January, CIMB group chief executive Zafrul Aziz said that there would be no more job cuts from the Malaysian and Indonesian businesses in 2016. r the next 15 years, high-income countries will see their aged population (those over 55) increase by an incredible 25 per cent and, according to one leading expert, employers that fail to adapt will undoubtedly be left behind.Ultimately any business or organisation will only reach its maximum potential if it harnesses all the positive characteristics of each employee, said Age Concern CEO Stephanie Clare.To find these positive characteristics, decision makers must involve their older employees in every way they can, she added. If they dont, they will miss opportunities to develop.Clare says some employers may need to take their head out of the sand and recognise that New Zealand has an aging population.Health care is constantly getting better so people are more and more likely to be working past the retirement age, she stressed. If this is the case, employers that start being inclusive when it comes to age will be respected in the long run.While New Zealand is currently ranked second among OECD countries for its ability to harness the talents of older workers, the PwC report that placed it there pointed to some possible areas of improvement including stamping out labour market discrimination.Age discrimination does exist in the workplace and in the interview process, Clare told HRM. In a perfect world it wouldnt.According to the Wellington-based CEO, employers that are looking to get the best out of their older employees already have everything they need to improve.Give older employees every opportunity to speak up when making decisions, she suggested. Ask them for their advice. Talk with them about their careers, talk to them about how things were done in the past and how systems and technology has progressed in the workplace. Use this information to set a path into the future.As the old saying goes how can you understand where you are now if you dont understand where you came from? Premier Philippe Couillard was rushed away by police after a disruption during a vigil for the victims of the Orlando mass shooting in Montreals gay village on Thursday evening. Federal Heritage Minister Melanie Joly was also quickly removed from the scene. Esteban Torres, a member of activist group Pink Bloc and a speaker at the event, was caught on camera swinging his arm in Couillard's direction towards the end of the vigil in a surprise outburst. According to police, Couillard was unharmed.The 20-year-old was charged with assault with a weapon and causing a disturbance. On Friday, he appeared in court to plead not guilty and was released on $500 bail. He was given a long list of conditions as part of his bond, including a ban on communicating with the premier and anyone else involved with a political party. He was also told he cannot be involved with the Pink Bloc until his case is closed. If convicted, Torres could face 18 months in prison. Geste pose contre PM @phcouillard ce soir pendant vigile est inacceptable et honteux.Tout geste d'intolerance et violent est inadmissible DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) June 17, 2016 Torres spoke to CTV Montreal earlier in the evening and said he was showing solidarity with those killed in Orlando. "There was a lot of people of colour that were killed over there, and for me it's really important to stand up and say 'hey, these are people of colour that are being attacked by hate," said Torres. "It's not only homophobia that played a part in this, but I also think it's racism. It's both that are connected." Torres's colleague Jess Noriega-Lessard said she wasn't sure if she was "for the act or against it." "The reason why I figure he did that is because Pink Bloc is aware there's a lot of cops around, cameras around and the people invited, politicians and stuff, take too much space," when talking about minority groups like LGBTQ," she added. Montreal Pride Vice-President Jean-Sebastien Boudreault said he was "shocked and ashamed" by the incident. He said his organization, which co-organized the event, has been in contact with Couillard's office and that they understood Montreal Pride had nothing to do with Torres's actions. He described Pink Bloc as a left-wing organization whose members had promised to behave themselves and who were included in the spirit of inclusion. "The idea was not to switch the focus," said Boudreault. "We have to reply to violence with love." The incident marred what had been a peaceful commemoration of the tragic events in Orlando, during which the names of the 49 people killed at gay nightclub Pulse were read aloud. Boudreault said the main idea of the vigil was to bring together people from all kinds of communities in solidarity against homophobica, transphobia, racism, sexism and Islamophobia. "We all say in one voice that this needs to stop, all violence, not just against the LGBT community, but all sorts of violence needs to stop," he said. OTTAWA The Liberal government rejected a Conservative MP's bill this week that sought to establish a national organ donor registry. The Tories said the Grits could have "helped save hundreds of Canadian lives" but instead chose to defeat a bill "for absolutely no other reason than partisanship." Advertisement "The Liberals should be ashamed that they chose to play petty politics over the well-being of those who need an organ transplant," Oshawa MP Colin Carrie said. Health Minister Jane Philpott speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill on Thursday, June 16, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) Health Minister Jane Philpott defended the government's recommendation to its caucus that the bill be defeated and not sent to committee for further study. Advertisement "This is a matter that is under provincial jurisdiction, and it is for that reason that the bill was unsupportable," Philpott responded, while urging Canadians to consider committing to becoming an organ donor. The Liberals noted that $64 million has been spent since 2008 by the previous Conservative government to develop a Canadian transplant registry, which already exists. While the government supports the objectives of the bill, said Andrew MacKendrick, Philpott's press secretary, its passage would infringe on national, provincial, and territorial responsibilities and create jurisdictional issues. Bill wouldn't save lives: parliamentary secretary It would also duplicate an existing initiative managed by the Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec that is focused on kidney transplants, said Kamal Khera, Philpott's parliamentary secretary. She told the Common in April that work was already "underway to formalize existing guidelines for interprovincial sharing of high-status organs such as hearts and livers." Advertisement Khera said the bill should be defeated because it will do nothing to save lives. "The evidence has found that there is no relationship between the number of registered donors and donor numbers," she said. Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif is shown with his son, Tyler, in this handout photo. But the MP behind the bill, Edmonton Manning's Ziad Aboultaif, said he is convinced his bill, C-223, Canadian Organ Donor Registry Act, would educate and encourage new donors and family members to sign up. "Liver, heart, lung and kidney, you need them while the body is kicking," he said, "so if someone is getting in the hospital and dies from an accident, that person could save eight lives immediately. Co-ordinating organs across different parts of the country could be huge." Aboultaif's first private member's bill was inspired by his own family's experience. His 23-year-old son, Tyler, suffers from a rare genetic liver disorder called ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. It was diagnosed when he was three years old and causes excess ammonia to accumulate in the blood, which can become toxic to the body. Advertisement Two years after Tyler's birth in 1992, Aboultaif said, doctors at the University of Alberta brought up the idea of an organ transplant as a possible way for him to survive. Conservative MP donated to his son But the success rate at the time was "very low" and "it was scary." So they waited. But by 2001-2002, Tyler was much sicker. He suffered seizures and could barely eat. His family made several trips to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "We went everywhere, we explored every possibility. Then, finally, a doctor in D.C. said: If it was my son, I would do it before he turns 12 years old," Aboultaif told The Huffington Post Canada Thursday. Aboultaif was tested and found to be a good fit. The thought crossed his mind that he might not save his son's life and he might lose his own. "The liver is very sensitive organ," he said. But the doctors told him waiting for another donor would take four or five years. "I didn't think we had that time." Advertisement The operation with success but then everything that could go wrong did go wrong, he said. "We lost the first liver." 'We were able to save his life' Three weeks later, on Christmas Eve, 2003, another partial liver was found, and Tyler bought several more years of life. Partial transplants can be successful because the liver is the only organ able to regenerate itself within several weeks. In 2012, a full liver from an anonymous donor of the similar age and similar blood type was found. "It was a blessing from God that we were able to save his life and get him some good quality of life, because we had a tough time," Aboultaif said. The five years before 2012, he said, "were a disaster. His internal bleeding was beyond anything anyone could imagine." After Tyler's transplant that October, Aboultaif said, doctors told him that, without it, they didn't think Tyler would have lived beyond December. "We were lucky." The loss in Wednesday's vote was devastating, he said. "This low-level of politics I never thought would exist, regardless of which government. I didn't think this was possible." Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif A number of Liberal MPs came up to him after the vote and apologized, he said. MPs only have one chance to have their private member's bill passed during a parliamentary session. The next opportunity he may have to push it forward again is if he's re-elected in 2019. "This low-level of politics I never thought would exist, regardless of which government. I didn't think this was possible." He believes Philpott made a political decision and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government did not allow a free vote because several Liberal backbenchers had pledged their support if they could give it. But one of the five Liberals who voted in favour of Aboultaif's bill told HuffPost the vote was free. Advertisement The Liberal government's voting preferences on two private member's bills. (Photo: The Huffington Post Canada) "In principle, it appeared to me something we should send to committee," said Toronto's BeachesEast York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. "The idea of the bill was to improve organ donations in Canada and hopefully increase organ donations. That is a worthy goal. Whether that mechanism is the right one, I have no idea, but it deserved further study." Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and the NDP caucus supported Aboultaif's bill, although the Bloc Quebecois did not. Feeling a bit deflated, Aboultaif said he believes an organ donor registry, like the one he proposed, would have helped his son. 'This was more important than anything' "We suffered as a family for 20 years, until 2012, the last operation, and we've seen the worse. We've seen all different types of cases at the University of Alberta," he said, estimating he has probably spent six years worth of his life pacing hospital halls several months at a time. "We've seen it first hand. We've heard people die because there was no organ available. Our son could have been one of them." Advertisement "This was more important than anything," he said. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that 2,346 transplants had been performed in 2014, helping only slightly over half of the 4,500 people waiting for treatment. Of those 4,500 people, 3,400 were waiting for a new kidney. Liberals who voted in favour of creating a national organ registry: CumberlandColchester MP Bill Casey LavalLes Iles MP Faycal El-Khoury BeachesEast York Nathaniel Erskine-Smith FleetwoodPort Kells MP Ken Hardie KingVaughan MP Deborah Schulte Also on HuffPost Sled Island/Facebook Summer festival season is coming into full swing and there are so many wonderful things to see and do around the province. Yes, there's the Calgary Stampede and Edmonton's K-Days, but there are so many more diverse and exciting festivals to check out. Advertisement Here are some of the best festivals to help you maximize your fun in the sun in Alberta this summer: Waterton Wildflower Festival (June 19 to 24) Waterton National Park is one of Canada's most beautiful destinations, and it's also the country's wildflower capital. The park is home to over 1,000 plant species, some of which are rare and only blossom in the Waterton area. But you do more than just gaze at perennials at a wildflower festival. Creative types can try out photo workshops, while scientific-minded visitors can learn about the important roles that bears play in wildflower ecosystems. Advertisement Sled Island (June 22 to 26) Sled Island might be Alberta's most eclectic festival. From music of all genres, to art, film and comedy, it has something for everyone. Peaches is the festival's guest curator this year, and she has some exciting picks joining the 250 bands that will play in Calgary venues in June. One of the best parts of Sled is its bike-friendly vibe. A noise band is wrapping up at an art gallery just 15 minutes before you need to be an an intimate, acoustic set in a hot dog joint? No problem. Just cycle over there's bike parking provided at nearly every venue. Lethbridge Dragon Boat Festival (June 24 to 26) What an amazing close race as we begin the 2015 rose ceremony #LDBF15#Lethbridgepic.twitter.com/rWoXi3Hmgi ATB Leth Dragon Fest (@LethDragonFest) June 27, 2015 Advertisement Ready, set, row. Lethbridge is home to the largest dragon boat festival in Alberta, attracting over 60 teams to compete from around western Canada. Just as exciting as the races are the drum performances and dragon dances on the main stage. Cyclepalooza (July 1 to 10) Cyclepalooza is a DIY bike festival that means anyone can create an event. Want to organize a pub crawl along the bike lanes? How about a game of bike polo? It can be whatever you make it. One of the festival's most enjoyable staples every year is Bike Prom, where attendees dress up in their snazziest prom wear and ride to the party together. Edmonton International Street Performers Festival (July 8 to 17) Advertisement A wild whirlwind of tightrope walkers, breakdancers and improv actors have taken over Edmonton in July for the past 30 years. The festival attracts some of the world's top street performers, and admission is free (but tips are appreciated). Kanfest (August 5 to 7) Not every summer festival has to involve loud bands and cold beer (although that sounds pretty great). Kanfest or the Kananaskis Whitewater Kayaking Festival is perfect for those seeking a bit more adventure. There are plenty of activities for both beginners and pros, including races, workshops, and style competitions. Advertisement Cariwest (August 5 to 7) Cariwest initially started as part of Edmonton's Klondike Days for Caribbean immigrants to celebrate their culture. Now, it's grown to a three-day extravaganza that attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. Enjoy some incredible jerk kebabs while checking out the spectacular costumes and steel drums at the Great Parade. Edmonton Airshow (August 6 and 7) Canada's first airport was located at Edmonton's Blatchford Field. It's the perfect city to learn all about the history of aviation, and watch pilots perform death-defying feats. Advertisement If you've always wanted to be a pilot (or have a kid who dreams of taking to the skies), there are opportunities to chat with the navigators and check out their planes first-hand. Calgary Omatsuri Festival (August 13) "Omatsuri" is Japanese for "traditional festival." Visitors will have the chance to enjoy and learn about traditional Japanese culture, including music, cuisine and martial arts demonstrations. Paro, a brand of robo-seals popular in Japan (yes, that's right) will be making an appearance. It's worth grabbing a selfie with one of the world's cutest droids. Globalfest (August 18 to 27) Advertisement Dozens of countries from around the world serve up incredible eats at this international event. But the real fun starts after dark. Globalfest is a primarily a fireworks competition countries compete with elaborate, explosive displays set to music. The dazzling shows shine over Calgary's Elliston Park, giving it an ethereally beautiful dimension. Also on HuffPost: Chris Clor via Getty Images Glowing Earth floating in space An Ontario dad who threw a bunch of stuff including a propane tank into a fire during heated debate about the Earth's shape has been charged with mischief. CBC News reports the defender of the Earth's roundness said the argument was "stupid." The flat and the furious The 56-year-old made headlines earlier this week after Brockville, Ont. police revealed they were called to a park after a debate over the Earth's shape got out of hand. Advertisement The man began hurling things into the campfire after his son's girlfriend, a woke individual, insisted the third rock from the sun was flat. In his frustration arguing with a round-Earth denier, he chucked a propane take into the campfire. But by the time firefighters arrived and put out the flames, the man was gone, according to Inside Brockville. CBC News gloriously points out that it's unknown whether the woman involved has changed her views about the planet's shape. The man will be appearing in court this summer, likely with the giants of the scientific world watching over him proudly from the heavens. Advertisement Is this the ultimate case for live broadcasts from inside Canadian courtrooms? Probably. Also On HuffPost: Katie Holmes daughter has more in common with her mother than just her looks! She also has an interest in bringing Hollywood films to life. On Thursday, the former Dawsons Creek star shared a photo of her 10-year-old daughter Suri Cruise joining her on the set of her latest project in Toronto. Advertisement In the adorable snap, Suri is sitting beside her famous mom in a directors chair that is personalized with her name. Wearing matching headsets, the mother-daughter duo is pictured looking intently at whats happening on set. My sweetie, Holmes wrote on Instagram. A photo posted by Katie Holmes (@katieholmes212) on Jun 16, 2016 at 12:59pm PDT Holmes is currently filming a TV miniseries called The Kennedys: After Camelot, about the aftermath of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in Toronto. Holmes is an executive producer for the show and also stars as Jacqueline Kennedy. Katie Holmes looks unrecognisable as Jackie Kennedy on set of miniseries After Camelot https://t.co/HKVEVa3kXypic.twitter.com/exguuOle3b Daily Express (@Daily_Express) May 26, 2016 Advertisement The 37-year-old was originally spotted filming for the show in May and looked almost unrecognizable as Jackie O. This is the second time Holmes will play the iconic First Lady. The first was in the miniseries The Kennedys in 2011. It wouldnt be surprising if Suri chose to enter the Hollywood scene when she grows up. After all, her parents are Holmes and Tom Cruise. The former couple tied the knot in 2006, but divorced in 2012 when their daughter was just six years old. A number of celebrity kids have also chosen to follow in their parents famous footsteps. For instance, Kate Hudson became an actress just like mom Goldie Hawn, and Willow Smith inherited her dad Wills knack for music and pursued a singing career. Other famous kids have also starred in films with their parents. Flip through the slideshow below to find out who! If you were lucky enough to get MuchMusic on your television, you no doubt looked up to the video jockeys (a.k.a. VJs) on what was basically Canada's answer to MTV. Not only were these hosts super cool, hip and oh-so-personable, but they were also really stylish. How cool was it when you would randomly bump into them on Queen Street? Don't lie, you probably asked for a pic (or an autograph, depending on which era of VJs you grew up with). Advertisement But we digress. Let's get back to the fashion. Erica Ehm's badass '80s ensembles inspired us to channel our inner rock chicks in school, while Leah Miller's outfits were the epitome of peak 2000s fashion (think suit vests over T-shirts worn with black work pants). And we'll never, ever forget when Rick "The Temp" Campanelli sported those frosted tips. So, in honour of our fave MuchMusic VJs (and the upcoming iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards on June 19), we decided to take a trip down memory lane and relive our fave VJ style moments from years past. Check them out below! Erica Ehm Dick Loek via Getty Images Steve Anthony Facebook/MUCH Christopher Ward Facebook/MUCH Catherine McClenahan Facebook/MUCH Dan Gallagher Facebook/MUCH Tony Young (a.k.a. Master T) Michael Stuparyk via Getty Images Juliette Powell Facebook/MUCH Natalie Richard Facebook/MUCH Michael Williams Facebook/MUCH Jeanne Beker Keith Beaty via Getty Images Terry David Mulligan Facebook/MUCH Monika Deol Facebook/MUCH Laurie Brown Facebook/MUCH John Roberts Facebook/MUCH Oliver Walters Facebook/MUCH Rebecca Rankin Facebook/MUCH Denise Donlon Facebook/MUCH Kim Clarke Champniss Facebook/MUCH Lance Chilton Facebook/MUCH Sook Yin-Lee Facebook/MUCH Rachel Perry Facebook/MUCH Nadine Ramkisson Facebook/MUCH Rick Campanelli The Canadian Press Ed the Sock Facebook/MUCH Nardwuar Facebook/MUCH George Stroumboulopoulos Facebook/MUCH Leah Miller and Matte Babel Facebook/MuchMusic Devon Soltendieck Bernard Weil via Getty Images Amanda Walsh (left) Tannis Toohey via Getty Images Sarah Taylor George Pimentel via Getty Images Tim Deegan Facebook/Tim Deegan Hannah Simone Malcolm Taylor via Getty Images Wanna know what your fave VJs are up to now? Find out in the gallery below: MuchMusic VJs Then and Now See Gallery There's nothing like a celebrity getting candid, especially when they're talking about their love affair with carbs and alcohol. In an interview with Us Weekly for her new upcoming drama, "Greenleaf," on OWN, Oprah Winfrey told the magazine she still has an obsession with bread. "There is a seeded bread that I bring from South Africa. I bring home 10, 20 loaves. I am so bad with this bread," she said. "Ive literally been in hotels and brought my own: 'Please, can you toast this? I have my own bread.' Theyre like, 'You have your own bread?' And Ill pull it out!" Advertisement Favorite birthday gift.. 7 loaves of freshly baked 7 grain! Thank you my friend @daryl_roth. #ilovebread A photo posted by Oprah (@oprah) on Jan 30, 2016 at 3:30pm PST The 62-year-old television host, who has lost 30 pounds since joining Weight Watchers last fall, said her other indulgences include drinking tequila shots or having a glass of wine. Earlier this month the "Selma" actress shared her adorable weight loss secret with several members of the Weight Watchers community over the phone. Advertisement During the call, Winfrey credited maintaining her weight loss to having the right workout buddy her life partner Stedman Graham. In the interview with Us Weekly, the philanthropist also touched on how she is currently in the best shape of her life. "Yesterday, I was in the gym working on my triceps, and I was thinking, just as I did the 50-pound pulldown, 'I am going to be in better shape by the end of the year than Ive ever been in my life.' I really just smiled at the notion: 'Wow, what a thing.'" Keep doing you Oprah, and keep eating that bread! ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Mark your calendar, because a major bank has set a date for Vancouver and Toronto real estate to cool off, if only a little bit. TD Economics issued its quarterly economic forecast on Thursday, and it has some promising news for anyone who hopes to see housing simmer down in those cities in the near future. The bank said the twin factors of affordability and higher borrowing costs could lead to a "cooling in domestic and foreign housing demand." Advertisement But it added that any slowdown is unlikely to happen until next year, unless governments introduce new regulatory measures to bar property speculation in 2016. TD also said that, even with a slowdown, "There tends to be a lag before weaker resale demand translates into a moderation in building activity." Nevertheless, "the party will come to an end," TD said. Advertisement TD chief economist Beata Caranci said that home prices such as those that have been seen in Vancouver are usually "followed by a period where prices cool," The Globe and Mail reported. B.C. prices could fall as much as two to four per cent next year, she noted. "Given the high levels, this is pretty small and will maintain elevated levels," Caranci said, adding Ontario could also become a "sideways market" next year due to "affordability erosion." The housing analysis came as part of a report that predicts Canada's economy will grow by 1.3 per cent this year. That's down from growth of 2.4 per cent in the first quarter alone. It has largely been attributed to slackening economic activity from the end of the quarter, and a slowdown in oil production due to the Fort McMurray wildfire. Advertisement Canada's economy could "rebound" to two per cent next year, TD said. Dean Mitchell via Getty Images Portrait of worried young couple reading financial documents in kitchen Each of us has our own unique preferences and matters of importance in working with financial professionals. Have you taken the time to consider what is most important to you? The CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals, recently released their survey "From Trust to Loyalty: A Global Survey of What Investors Want." The results of this survey reveal on a global basis what both retail and institutional investors are looking for in their financial professionals. We will focus here within on the retail perspective to provide you with a comparison of your own thoughts towards the financial services industry. Advertisement While the overall trust within the financial services industry has generally increased on a global basis, we have seen Canadian retail investor trust fall from 76 per cent in 2013 to 64 per cent in 2015. Half of Canadian retail investors indicated they would recommend their existing firm to others, yet the conviction of this recommendation is lacking. With 59 per cent of those who have a personal financial adviser looking to that professional as their most trusted source of professional investment advice, we will examine the four most important factors of Canadian retail investors in working with their financial services firm. 1.Ethical standards ranked of highest importance in Canada, the highest rating by any country surveyed Investors want to know that their financial adviser is doing what is right for them at all times. They are looking for forthright communication, upfront dialogue on fees and any potential conflicts of interest. Finally, a clean record of regulatory and compliance violations is also of great importance. Advertisement 2.Fees continue to be of critical importance in working with a financial adviser Of greatest importance with regards to fees, is that the financial advisers are very clearly disclosing all fees and other costs in advance of the fees being charged. In fact, 46 per cent of retail investors claimed they would consider leaving their investment firm due to an increase in fees. Investors want to feel that the fees they are being charged as reflecting the value they are receiving in the relationship. 3.Client Service ranked of third highest important in evaluating investment firms in Canada Investors cite a lack of communication and responsiveness as one of the top drivers to leave an existing firm. Clients are looking for a full understanding of why their portfolio is positioned in the way it is and expect to be provided with performance reports that are easy to understand. Investors also want to be assured that reliable security measures are in place to protect their data. 4.While Performance is noted overall as the fourth most important factor, underperformance is cited as the #1 reason a client will consider leaving a firm This goes to show that while other factors such as service, fees and ethics are of great importance to investors, performance, or rather underperformance remains of key consideration. Clients expect to generate returns similar to or better than both competitive firms and the target benchmarks. Given the volatility experienced in recent years, protecting client portfolios from losses is also of significant importance to these investors. Canadian retail investors feel that financial services firms are falling short in the areas of ethics, fees and performance. With more alternatives that ever before, investors expect open communication and transparency in working with their advisers. Advertisement In the end, this continues to be a business of people and trust. In Canada, 80 per cent of investors reported a greater importance of having people they can count on, versus just 20 per cent emphasizing a brand they can trust. And 81 per cent expect that in three years' time, having a person to assist with financial and investment strategies will remain of greatest importance over access to the latest technology platform. Investors want to know that financial professionals are committed to their overall well-being. As industry charges and investor preferences continue to evolve, the financial advisory professions will need to change with them to avoid being left behind. Getty The tale of two-year-old Lane Graves, snatched by an alligator from a lagoon near the Grand Floridian Hotel in Florida, is a tragedy. A family has lost a child and no amount of "could have" or "should have" will change that. My heart goes out to them. Advertisement These types of situations have a tendency to spark outrage and create division, especially in the realm of social media. The practical outcomes are regularly the same, too: Fingers are pointed, parents are vilified, and the animals are hunted. We saw it only weeks ago with Harambe, the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo into whose enclosure a young boy fell. The zoo has been accused of inadequate barriers, the child's mother was brought under legal scrutiny (though eventually absolved), and Harambe was shot and killed for acting like a gorilla. Luckily, in this case, the boy survived. Sadly, the latest incident didn't end the same way. As parents, these stories strike fear into our hearts. We've all lost sight of a child for a moment while tending to another or had two toddlers shoot off in separate directions at a theme park. Advertisement The simple fact is, we don't take our kids to the zoo so they can come into harm's way. We don't take them to a movie night on the beach to be snatched by an alligator. We do these things out of love, out of a desperate need for a vacation, because we want to spend time with our families and expose them to another part of the world. The trouble is, oftentimes "being away" means we let our guards down. It's why we, while vigilant about childproofing our homes, often head off on holiday and, in our excitement, forget we're in an unfamiliar place--one with different risks, different behavioral norms, and different emergency resources than we're used to at home. Whether we're on an African safari or at an all-inclusive Disney resort, vacation has a way of imbuing us with a false sense of security. Something in our brains says, "Nothing can go wrong." But it can and it does. And it's when those missteps make the front page, family therapist, Huffington Post parenting expert and book author Alyson Schafer tells me, that the world turns its head to judge. Advertisement Schafer is quick to point out that the final outcome almost always dictates how we evaluate the actions that precipitated it, citing a burning building as an illustration of this concept in action. "If you run into the building and save someone, everyone thinks you're a hero," she says. "If you die, they'll ask 'Why did that guy go into a burning building?'" Had Lane survived the alligator attack, the miracle would have made the news and images of the toddler wading in the lagoon would have been a highlight of the family photo album. (Search your vacation videos. Chances are high that you'll find Lane was not the first two-year-old to splash in potentially dangerous water on a hot night.) The hard truth is that risk is a part of life, whether we're at home or abroad. But in the wake of this latest vacation horror story, let us take a moment to review a few key strategies parents can use to help them keep safety front of mind when they're traveling with their kids. Read the six things to consider to keep safety top of mind when travelling with kids at National Geographic Travel. Advertisement Stuart Dee via Getty Images Rainbow flags in the wind. The rainbow flag, sometimes called 'the freedom flag', is commonly used as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity. I remember first hearing about transgender people when I was eleven years old. So-and-so's 'father' had undergone a 'sex-change' operation. This was related to me through hushed, smiling voices, spoken in a tone of ridicule. 'He' had a mental illness, and we weren't supposed to mention it. I implicitly understood that this was an underlying fissure contributing to a broken family. I think I spent about ten years in the closet, if you measure from the first time "gender" entered into my internal vocabulary for describing what was wrong with me. When I finally came out to everyone, right in the middle of Pride month, the idea of pride felt distant and unfamiliar -- all I had was shame. Advertisement I didn't look in mirrors, I told people it was okay to misgender me (after all, I knew what I looked like), and I had resigned myself to transitioning purely for my own sake, without expectation of validation from the outside world. I stayed at home during the parade. "Another common word I've heard transgender people use to describe themselves is 'monster.'" Too many people feel this way. Even in the queer community, being transgender can be like being one of those fake Christmas trees -- pulled out and celebrated once a year, but largely kept in a corner in the basement, and not really seen as good as the "real thing." I knew that transitioning would be like that. I expected it. I knew about the radical feminists who would hate me, and the straight cis men who would only see me through their own ego. You might know that the number one word associated with being transgender is "dysphoria," a vague medicalized word used ascribed to transgender people to describe how mirrors and people you thought were your friends now make you cry. Advertisement But another common word I've heard transgender people use to describe themselves is "monster." As I said, I knew to expect all that pain before I told a single person. But what nobody had prepared me for was the joy. "Have you ever completely altered the course of your life to improve it and be more true to yourself?" The first time I met someone who completely validated who I was, regardless of what I thought I looked like, or was wearing, or was talking like, I had the fleeting thought, "Maybe if I had just one day where everyone treated me like this, it would be enough." And then that day came, and I was surprised to find that yes, it actually was enough. There comes a point that someone calls you beautiful (or handsome, my trans men brothers), and you can see in their eyes that they actually mean it. Your life starts turning into science fiction as people forget your old name, start talking about the old you as if it was another person, and when you meet new people they only know the right pronouns. They only know the real person. Advertisement You start looking in mirrors again. One day you find that even on the days when you disdainfully think you look too much like the wrong gender, you know that you're not. That you're real. For me, it became not only a transformation of the body, but of the spirit. In the beginning, I attended LGBTQ events feeling like an outsider. Over time, I began to be pushed forward by the voices of queer PoC I always should have listened to, by bearing witness to stories from the queer elders who had lived through the AIDS crisis, by drinking in the anger of someone reciting a poem who was born the right gender and in the right body, but still feels like a monster. A small feeling grew in me, like a smooth round stone you run your thumb over when you're a kid, a special thing I didn't know I could feel: Community. "For many, coming out as transgender means that you're choosing to live in a more dangerous world [...] and that you'll inevitably be exposed to people who view your body with disgust. But for me, it also represents community with other queer women and the ever growing love for people who have faced struggles and still pushed on." There are countless transgender people like me, whose lives are not ancient Greek tragedies, but comedies, moving from isolation to community. I increasingly find myself in a place where people will act patronizing and greet me with, "Hey, gorgeous LADY," if they know about me, or offer me help, or tell me they can't imagine how difficult my life is, when almost every day my life is better than it has ever been. Advertisement After all, have you ever completely altered the course of your life to improve it and be more true to yourself? There was some point where I reflected on the idea of pride, and it had crept up on me, growing like a flower from that smooth round stone I'd been cradling. Yes, for many, coming out as transgender means you'll always have tension with your family, that you're choosing to live in a more dangerous world, and that you'll inevitably be exposed to people who view your body with disgust. But for me, it also represents community with other queer women and the ever growing love for people who have faced struggles and still pushed on. A few days ago I had a conversation with a well-meaning ally (?) who told me that if no one had been thrown out of their houses by their parents, if no one was called slurs in washrooms, that there would be no need for a LGBTQ community -- the community would be integrated and accepted into society at large. I wasn't sure how to express it at the time, but after some thought I know why I took issue with the idea: What many people don't seem to understand is that queer community is often better. Advertisement We want to integrate you into our society. I know that there are problematic elements even in the queer community, but for me, and the lovely people I have been lucky enough to meet since I came out, "intersectional feminism" is not a dirty phrase. It is okay for men to cry. If there is someone facing something you don't understand, you are supposed to listen to them, and not talk over them. And being true to yourself, as I am learning to, is seen as beautiful. This year I will be attending pride. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll meet someone new and show them how beautiful they are too. Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images Female cyclists on road bikes at sunset There comes a point in your life when you look mortality straight between the eyes and square off outside a saloon on a dirt road. Hands on the holster, feet firmly planted shoulder width apart, with a slight bend in the knees, you tilt your 10-gallon hat backwards, and with a drawl, you say: "Sooooo, how will you live your life, pardner? Now draw!" Last December I was invited to a friend's Christmas lunch. After introductions were made to the six women in the room, conversation soon turned to the topic of death. A guest just arrived from a funeral and wanted to share the gravitas of the moment with us. Advertisement The clergy talked about the year of passing and how it is preceded by a dash and the year of our birth. It's a blank canvas upon which we plan our life and plot out our hopes and dreams. Therefore, how we live our dash will determine the content of our eulogy. However, six months later I am still lost in my thoughts, thinking of the chat. Recently I attended a children's production of The Little Prince. In the puppet play, the Prince meets interesting characters in his pursuit to uncover the truth about life, true love and loyalty. So I begin to contemplate lives lived by others and how they may have said it best. The Bucket List How you live your dash may boil down to the bucket list, first coined in 1785. The film The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, is a story about a billionaire and a car mechanic who are complete strangers until fate lands them in the same hospital room with terminal cancer. The men find they have more in common than they first thought. The two strangers leave the hospital and set out on the adventure of a lifetime before they die. The Freeman character believes: "You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." How profound. So I continue in my quest for truth among the sages. The Career Path This month Canadian film producer Robert Lantos received the Governor-General's Performing Arts Award at a National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa for his Lifetime Achievement. In a recent story, Lantos ponders the things "that I have wanted to do with my life that I haven't done." At 67, he is thinking more about his mortality, but still hungry for the buzz of his film-making craft. But the yardage ahead must now seem like a shorter sprint to the finish line, than the road just travelled. Perhaps I am onto some kernel of truth, so I explore the movies. Advertisement From The Mouths of Babes In the Academy-winning film, Birdman, Michael Keaton plays washed-up actor Riggan, whose better days are behind him. His daughter, Sam, played by actress Emma Stone, is a recovering drug addict who doodles her time away by penning dashes on strips of toilet paper. But in a heated father-daughter moment, Sam tears up two panels of the toilet roll and hands it to Riggan: "These dashes represent the six billion years the planet has existed. Each dash represents 100 years," she states emphatically. But Riggan now destroys the entire human race, plotted out on bum wipe, by wiping the mustard off his face with it! Riggan is indifferent. Sam is incensed. And I am confused by this film. But I carry on in my search to hear from real people. The Advice On my Facebook news feed, I meet 101-year-old Leo Goodman, a Torontonian who is reflecting back on his life. Leo states the obvious: "I don't have a damn thing to worry about. It's done. It's over with!" Meaning, he's lived a life fulfilled and let's just enjoy the moment. But make no mistake; Leo is no slouch waiting for Father Time to stop ticking. When he watches TV or makes toast, he doesn't lollygag... he exercises by stretching against the wall or channeling David Carradine with his walking stick. What are his life lessons to pass down? "Be good to people. Be good to the children." Wise words from a century well lived; Kung Fu would be impressed. The Last Wish While watching the evening news, I come across the extraordinary story about a California couple who died in each other's arms on their 75th wedding anniversary... just as they always wanted. When the 95-year-old husband passed away, his loving wife said goodbye to the children and got into bed next to her beloved. She turned to the deceased and spoke: "See this is what you wanted. You died in my arms and I love you. I love you. And wait for me. I'll be there soon Roel Smart via Getty Images Long-term care insurance information, form and stethoscope. Funding home care and long-term care is fast becoming the main challenge of our outdated medicare system -- a system developed in the mid-twentieth century for a young population that mostly required acute care from hospitals and physicians. But that need is changing rapidly with our aging population. The Canada Health Act states that all "medically necessary" services should be covered by public funding. The chronic diseases of today's aging population render the existing definition of medicare coverage obsolete. Our health system routinely fails to address the complex needs of seniors. Advertisement Let's face it: Canadian baby boomers are getting older and many will soon require home care and long-term care. We need important reforms now to fund the health care system that they will need in the all-too-near future. In the current funding paradigm, which prioritizes hospital and acute care, it is unrealistic to expect that home care will be prioritized. The perverse effects of our current system of health funding result in the use of costly resources from hospitals and other institutions to respond to disabilities and chronic conditions instead of using more cost-effective home care services. In the current funding paradigm, which prioritizes hospital and acute care, it is unrealistic to expect that home care will be prioritized. It is equally unrealistic to believe the elderly will have the fundamental freedom to choose their living environment or care providers without basic reforms in how the health system is financed. Advertisement As it stands now, many older Canadians in most provinces have to endure the tyranny of public institutions which decide the level of home care services provided, the limits of any home care provided, and even the time a senior should leave their home for long-term care and where they should move to. This is unacceptable. After a long career of research in health services for older people, I became minister of health and social services in 2012 in the minority government of Pauline Marois. In a recently published article in HealthCarePapers, I outline how one of my top priorities was to implement an Autonomy Insurance (AI) plan. It was an attempt to introduce publicly funded long-term care insurance, which includes home care coverage, in the health care system. Similar funding systems have been introduced with success in many European and Asian countries, such as Germany, France, Japan and South Korea. The design of the AI plan was based on the assessed needs of the elderly and those with disabilities, using a disability scale. Under the proposed plan, the benefit would fund public institutions or purchase services from private providers. Case managers, already in place in Quebec as part of the integrated service delivery system, would be responsible for performing assessments and helping users and their families plan services and decide how to best use the AI benefit. The funding of the AI plan was based on general tax revenues without any capitalized funding ("pay-as-you-go"), under a separate and protected budget program. Cost projections were made; although requiring additional budget increase, the AI would be affordable and less expensive than the status quo. All the legal, administrative, funding, training and contractual issues were dealt with in anticipation of the plan's implementation in April 2015. Advertisement Bill 67, creating the AI plan, was introduced in the National Assembly of Quebec in December 2013. Unfortunately, the minority government of the day was defeated in April 2014 and the bill died on the legislative agenda. Bill 67 demonstrated that a long-term care insurance plan is feasible within our universal tax-funded health care system. While Bill 67 was stillborn due to political circumstances, its underlying concept still has merit today. Clearly, our hospital- and physician-centered health care funding model is not appropriate for our aging population. A different approach must be taken to ensure that home care and long-term care is funded appropriately. An insurance plan like the one conceived by Quebec should be implemented by the provinces. Should it be a federal program? It is technically feasible for the Government of Canada to put forward a long-term care program and partially fund it, as was done in the 1960s for the health insurance system at that time. This would be a major step to improving health care in this country and a judicious use of federal health transfer payments in the coming years. Politically, however, is the federal government ready to negotiate with the provinces on an issue that has historically been a political minefield? To improve an antiquated health care system, ensure its long-term sustainability and responsiveness to the needs of older Canadians, it is worth trying to get a consensus around this issue. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Jamie Grill via Getty Images Father and son Father's Day is the perfect time to say this: I regret the name of my last book, The MomShift: Women Share Their Stories of Career Success After Kids, because for the past year or so every time I say the title I feel like I am unintentionally further sidelining dads from the conversation and issue of work, parenting and care. And that's the exact opposite of what's needed. While Canadian dads are more involved with family life than ever before, currently, only one in 10 eligible Canadian fathers claims parental-leave benefits (a number that has held constant since the mid-2000s). Advertisement It's a problem because dads are the untapped potential catalyst that could actually disrupt the current undervaluing of family and care, and correspondingly increase everyone's choices around flexible, result-driven work. Amplifying both of these phenomena would ultimately create better lives for more Canadians -- and a mandatory national paternity leave would be the most effective, efficient and enjoyable way to do this. The benefits that come with mandatory paternity leave are an incredible web of interwoven and reinforcing benefits. "Canadian uptake of paternity leave has remained so low because as long as paternity leave remains discretionary, cultural stigma and the threat of financial penalties mean that the majority of men will opt out of using it." said Mike Moffatt, assistant professor of business, economics and public policy at Ivey Business School at a panel of dads I hosted last year on the issue of care, career and gender. "That's why the most successful paternity leave schemes, such as those in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany, make it mandatory for men to take a number of weeks' leave -- if they don't, their family isn't eligible for the full amount of leave available," he said. "When Quebec introduced a similar scheme, with reserved 'daddy-only' time, participation increased by more than 250 per cent. In 2010, 80 per cent of Quebecois dads were taking paternity leave," continued Moffatt. "Once the stigma is gone, more follow. When Germany legislated that of a possible 14-month parental leave, two months must be taken by fathers, the percentage of men taking paternity leave went from three per cent to more than 20 per cent -- in only two years," he finished. I appreciate that the word "mandatory" is off-putting (no one likes to be told what to do), but the benefits that come with mandatory paternity leave are an incredible web of interwoven and reinforcing benefits -- in terms of improved gender equality, child's health, the valuing of care, as well as greater life happiness and deeper relationships. Advertisement Here are five reasons why mandatory paternity leave is a magical nudge point that would actually be the best gift we could give dads, kids -- and, really, all Canadians. 1. More Flexible Workplaces Taking care of an infant gives you front-line experience on the unpredictable nature of care, and dads who take paternity leave come back to their workplaces with a new insight and understanding on the demands of care and the need for flexibility around how and when work happens. And since research shows that dads who take paternity leave remain more engaged in their child's lives -- the issue will continue to remain relevant to them and they will drive change in the workplace to reflect their own best interests, something that hasn't happened in significant concentrations as of yet. Increasing the number of men who share the experience of direct care will have a positive ripple effect in terms of work norms and styles. 2. Healthier Kids Engaged dads helps strengthen a child's ability to thrive physically, emotionally and mentally. Research shows that children who grow up with fathers who are involved have higher self esteem, better cognitive and social skills, fewer behavioural problems, as well as higher academic achievement. Advertisement These outcomes are true across income levels and regardless of how involved mothers are (making the traditional model of moms trying to compensate for distant dads is inherently flawed). Girls with engaged dads have higher self esteem and boys are better equipped to cope with stress and less likely to get into fights. Mandatory paternity leave would give permission to men to openly value and invest in the quality relationships that ultimately form the foundation for happier and more fulfilling lives. 3. Disrupt The Gender Gap Mandatory paternity leave would disrupt the status quo on the gender gap in Canada where women still earn 72 cents to a man's dollar and struggle with the motherhood penalty: where being a mother means, despite equal qualifications and experiences, women are offered fewer interviews, job opportunities and an on average $11,000 less than identically qualified men and women who have no children. Accelerating dad's engagement on the homefront would also mitigate the challenge of the "second shift." Despite high expectations for a new generation entering the labour market and women taking on significantly more in the workforce the U.S. Bureau of Labor found that the number of hours which men and women spend on housework, cooking and child care has hardly moved between 2003 to 2011. Advertisement The accumulation of these additional hours of care and work have direct detrimental impact on a woman's career, earnings, health, mental well-being and choices. Mandatory paternity leave would prompt families (many of whom may not have grown up seeing equal partnerships themselves) to re-frame their own lives, and by doing so, set up of for a broader societal change. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Bengt Westerberg first introduced a month of paternity leave in Sweden in 1995 explaining that, "Society is a mirror of the family." The only way to achieve equality in society is to achieve equality in the home. Getting fathers to share the parental leave is an essential part of that. 4. More Choices For Everyone In her recent best-seller, Unfinished Business, Anne Marie Slaughter calls for a men's movement. She argues that the majority of gender inequalities will only be solved when both men and women have the same range of choices in terms of careers and caregiving. Similarly, Brigid Schulte, best-selling author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has The Time, advocates that the conversation this International Women's Day should be on men, since that is the only way to effectively disrupt the current paradigm where women are confusingly expected to act like professional men as well as traditional women. Advertisement Changing deeply entrenched and traditional cultural norms on care, masculinity and the stigmas that dads still describe facing when they are pushing a stroller at 9 a.m. on a work day towards a park instead of a daycare all suggest that men need help -- mandatory paternity leave would create a normal that would benefit everyone. 5. Better Relationships Father's Day can be a difficult day. So many of us have grown up with distant, disengaged or removed dads who saw their role as primarily that of the breadwinner and now in their later years struggle to build deeper relationships with their children. We can do better than that and a national policy like mandatory paternity would help establish the frame or better relationships. While researching this piece, I came across numerous studies and data that form the business and policy case for mandatory paternity leave -- but one of the most powerful was a point that Anne Marie Slaughter makes in Unfinished Business, where she references Bonnie Ware, the Australian palliative care nurse and author of The Top Regrets of the Dying. Slaughter shares that the second most common regret she heard from every male patient she nursed was that they wished they hadn't worked so hard and missed their children's youth. Mandatory paternity leave would give permission to men to openly value and invest in the quality relationships that ultimately form the foundation for happier and more fulfilling lives for more dads, their children and families -- which, to me, seems like the best reason of all. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: This summer, consider adding whiskey to the melange of beers and wines at your next barbecue. Although it may seem intimidating to include such a strong spirit into the mix, once you know the tips to serving whiskey, it can elevate your drink game and impress your guests. I asked the Manager and Head Bartender at The Carbon Bar, Brendan Piunno, for advice on how to serve whiskey flights or cocktails with grilled and sizzling meats. At their restaurant, they've paired their BBQ with a flight of Jack Daniel's and cocktails to match the multi-coursed meal. They're currently offering this menu experience until the end of June. I asked Piunno how one could recreate a similar experience at home. What are some general rules to pairing whiskey with BBQ? Would you say that straight-up flights are not for the faint of heart? Advertisement Piunno:It's all about pacing (with water) and savouring the flavourful notes in each whiskey. Do not down it like a shot! Even though it may be served it one, you need to treat it like a fine wine. Breathe it in, sip it, and roll the liquid around on your tongue. With a bit of practice you can begin to detect the subtle flavour nuances in each type. But yes, as a general rule, go for the cocktails if you're not a seasoned whiskey drinker; it's intense stuff. Why Jack Daniels? Do you recommend it to those who are new to the brand? Piunno: For us, Jack Daniel's is an ideal choice because the flavour profile in each whiskey echos that of what you would find in barbecue: notes of caramel, wood, and spices. Similar to our restaurant philosophy, Jack Daniel's carries that iconic barbecue spirit. It is from the south, straight out of Tennessee, which happens to be one of the barbecue holy lands in the United States. The norm there is to be gracious and charming -- that southern hospitality. Those are the elements we emulate at The Carbon bar, so for us, it was a natural pairing. Advertisement If you're new to the brand, give the Old No.7 Classic a try: the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. It has a rounded flavour, is mellow on the palate with notes of vanilla, and very cocktail friendly. Its versatility will prove useful to the user -- you can also add it to your BBQ sauces for an extra kick. For those who want to play bartender at home, which whiskey cocktail would you pair with each dish? Piunno:If you're serving pulled pork sandwiches or tacos, try it with a Lynchburg Lemonade; we use the classic Jack Daniel's whiskey in it. It works together because the pork itself is rich and sweet, so the lemonade helps to cut through all the heavy flavours. And that's another important thing to note: all of our cocktails aim to lighten the heaviness of the BBQ meats which have ample amounts of smoke and fat. Keep in mind that citrus fruits (lime, lemon, orange) are your best allies for summer cocktails. The acidity balances everything out and the slight tang helps to cleanse your palate. For robust meats like spicy sausage, beef brisket and even pork ribs, I recommend drink enthusiasts make our Wild Tennessee Mule that uses Gentleman Jack. This whiskey has been charcoal-mellowed (aged) twice which results in the liquid's smooth, rich texture. The ginger beer used for this cocktail echoes the spices we use in our meat and offers a refreshing flavour profile. Even if you think you're not a fan of ginger, give it a try. This cocktail will change your mind; it's not that harsh assertiveness you get from raw ginger but more of that light, sweet spice you find in gingerbread. Advertisement For the perfect finish, something sweet is expected; however, I've personally never been a fan of drinking straight liqueurs with it. In general, I find the sweetness of both dessert and drink to be overpoweringly sugary. The one exception is with spiked iced coffee. The Carbon Bar recommends a Kentucky Pecan Pie but for something with a bit more summery charm, a classic Strawberry Shortcake pairs perfectly with a Tennessee Honey Iced Coffee. Here, the liqueur is used with appropriate restraint. A bit of boozy-addled pleasure with notes of honey to sweeten your chilled coffee. Lynchburg Lemonade Recipe courtesy of The Carbon Bar 1 oz. Jack Daniel's 1 oz. Lemon juice 1/8 Cucumber (chopped) Tonic Water (soda) Add 4 cubes to the bottom of a tall glass. Add Jack, fresh lemon, and cucumber together. Top with tonic. Wild Tennessee Mule Recipe courtesy of The Carbon Bar 1 oz. Gentleman Jack 1 oz. *House Falernum Ginger Beer (*simple syrup- equal parts water and sugar brought to a boil. Off heat and add mint leaves, whole cloves, ginger sliced, grated nutmeg, lime zest, and high proof rum to taste. Pour into mason jar and keep in fridge.) Advertisement Mix first two ingredients together in a copper mug filled with crushed ice, top with ginger beer. Tennessee Honey Iced Coffee Recipe adapted from AllRecipes 1/3 cup fresh, medium-coarse ground coffee 1 1/2 cups filtered water Ice cubes Evaporated Milk or half & half 1 - 2 oz. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey To Make Cold-Brewed Coffee: Place the coffee in a glass jar, add the water, and stir to combine. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight. Strain the coffee through a large-size paper coffee filter. Cold-brewed coffee can be refrigerated in a covered jar for up to 24 hours. To serve: Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Pour in the cold brewed coffee. Add milk and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Brian Stablyk via Getty Images One of the Worlds most Densely Populated Areas, Vancouver-Canada Written by Stephanie MacDonald For such a smart, friendly, funny person, Bob Rennie has experienced more than his share of being vilified by the public. He's often seen as the face of the development industry (despite not being a developer) in a city with a very limited amount of land, and a reputation as one of the most desirable, and expensive, places in the world to live. Rennie has been a vocal cheerleader for the city, writing open letters to the newspaper in favour of the 2010 Olympics, and was instrumental in creating the global demand for land and condominiums we're seeing today. He's one of the most phenomenally successful and visible businesspeople the city has ever seen. Advertisement But in this year's highly anticipated speech for the Urban Development Institute he made one thing clear -- he's pretty much over talking about real estate. In fact, he announced that this would be his last speech; despite the over 1,000 enthusiastic listeners gathered at the Hotel Vancouver to hear what he had to say. Last year at the 2015 UDI luncheon, Rennie spoke extensively about the issue of affordability in the city and the 19 factors he believes contribute to the crisis of affordability we're experiencing. He bravely said what everyone else was thinking: without an adequate supply of housing types, prices will continue to go up, and in order to create this supply we will have to sacrifice single-family neighbourhoods. Rennie himself lives in a condo, preferring to spend his considerable wealth on philanthropic causes and his contemporary art gallery, so he is walking the walk when he's talking about the benefits of densification. But now many people are thinking: Vancouver embraced density, so where's the affordability? If last year's speech was controversial for being blunt about how we need to change our housing expectations to live in the city, this year's speech was surprising for another reason -- Rennie insinuated that Vancouver was inevitably going to get too expensive for middle-class people and they should just be resigned to moving out into the suburbs. The prices are so high that the middle-class consumer cannot even afford the multi-family units created. It seems a bit defeatist compared to his statements only a year ago, though it was good news for the many companies creating housing in the Fraser Valley. He mentioned the millennials' increasing penchant for working from home, the acceptance of densification around suburban transit centres, and the fact that in cities like New York, the population doubles every work day with commuters from the 'burbs. It did seem a bit odd that in one year we're supposed to go from "densification is the answer" to "urban sprawl is inevitable, so we better get used to it." He seems visibly weary of talking about the huge market demand for condos which he helped to create. He also passed on really discussing the issue of foreign ownership, saying that it only affects the single-family home market. But if single-family homes need to go by the wayside to make room for more density, all the foreign speculation is just driving up the prices so that developers cannot even afford to assemble the land, and if they can, the prices are so high that the middle-class consumer cannot even afford the multi-family units created (see the Cambie Corridor). Being the "condo king" (a title he hates) is clearly not where Rennie's heart is anymore -- and it has been several years since he has really been at the helm of Rennie Marketing Systems. What he does obviously feel passion about is the Rennie Gallery, where his collection of contemporary art is considered one of the most carefully curated in North America. He's also on the acquisitions board of the Tate London and various other galleries. His focus is on art that explores difference, race, exploitation and social justice issues -- issues that are often the result of the financial inequity we're experiencing right now in the world and, ironically, in our housing market. Certainly his considerable talent and energy will enliven the important conversations around these topics, and the contemporary art world in general, in the future. Advertisement Read the original story at YPNextHome.ca. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: A court hearing to consider claims of domestic violence made against actor Johnny Depp by his estranged wife has been postponed. The Hollywood star was issued with a temporary restraining order last month following allegations that he abused actress Amber Heard, who has filed for divorce, saying she lives "in fear" of her husband. Advertisement Johnny Depp A spokeswoman for Los Angeles Superior Court said the case - which had been due to be heard on Friday - will take place on August 15 and 16, after a telephone discussion between the judge and lawyers for Depp and Heard on Thursday. A "status conference" in the case will held on August 2, but neither Depp nor Heard are expected to attend, the spokeswoman said. The temporary restraining order against Depp will remain in effect until August 15, a court spokeswoman said. Advertisement Heard filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, on May 23, three days after the death of Depp's mother, Betty Sue. Amber and Johnny In papers filed with the court, Heard said Depp, 53, had a "history of drug and alcohol abuse" and had been "verbally and physically abusive" for all of their four-year-relationship. The 30-year-old actress submitted photographs to the court last month appearing to show her bruised face, which she said was a result of Depp throwing a mobile phone at her on May 21. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carl H Moor granted a temporary restraining order on May 27 and ruled that Depp must stay at least 100 yards away from his wife and should not try to contact her. Advertisement Heard has since dropped her claim for spousal support. In the court papers, she wrote: "I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him. "He is often paranoid and his temper is exceptionally scary for me as it has proven many times to be physically dangerous and/or life-threatening to me. "I live in fear that Johnny will return ... unannounced to terrorise me, physically and emotionally." Heard added that in one incident in December she "truly feared for her life". Depp's lawyer, Laura Wasser, said in court documents related to the restraining order that Heard was "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse". Depp has been in Portugal with his band The Hollywood Vampires in recent weeks. He and Heard married in February last year after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary. The pair were caught up in controversy last year after Heard illegally smuggled Depp's pet dogs, Boo and Pistol, into Australia while he was filming the next Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. Advertisement They recorded a 40-second apology as part of a deal with prosecutors which allowed Heard to avoid a conviction, but the video was widely ridiculed for Depp's wooden delivery. I landed on a chair whose smooth texture and tough hardness I once knew so well. Approximately 50 pairs of eyes were starring at me, as I placed my non-recyclable lunch box and chopsticks on the equally familiar-looking desk. Time machine? It felt surreal yet so real. So familiar yet so estranged. Even the pair of cheap, un-environmentally-friendly chopsticks have rendered themselves part of a rather distant past, though appearing infrequently from time to time. In a similar manner do I dream from time to time about returning to the ancient temples of this elementary school that proudly preserves 700-year-old works of remarkable architecture in the heart of China's modern capital today. Revisiting my elementary school around eight years after I graduated from here had always been on my agenda. This was a much-anticipated homecoming. Ms. Liu, who taught me Chinese for my entire six years at Fuxue, had invited me to 'teach' her current class and 'watch over' them over the lunch period. She introduced 'Ms. Xu' (indeed, a literal translation would be 'Teacher Xu', which made me blush) to the class and ran to a meeting. Advertisement I took out my Murakami book while the fifth-graders started their assignments. Lunch break is around one hour long in most local schools, but it never really is a break per se. From my experience, we would finish eating as quickly as we could, hoping to get back to work so that we could enjoy a few minutes of play after our teachers checked it. It is a good incentive, despite its superficiality in creating a mentality where 'getting work done early' equals 'more play time', and in retrospect, a clever approach to cultivating a strong work ethic from early on. 'Be quiet!' 'Shut up!' The elected class monitors stood next to me, in front of the classroom, emotionless and cold. I once belonged in a group like the one sitting in front of me, perhaps not knowing how much of a group the individuals collectively form. Whilst Western schools often capitalise on the value of individualism, Chinese schools stress on the significance of group identities that naturally go along well with nationalism that is taught rather than felt. 'Silence!' 'Focus on your homework!' They yelled at their peers and quickly decided to use a common strategy to govern this mini-polis, writing down the names (hmm, actually, numbers -- each student gets a number at school to simplify this process) of any first-degree schoollawbreakers on the blackboard, which their teacher would be sure to see later and chastise those individuals -- '11, 9, 40, 30, 21, 48, 1, 34', etc. 'Hey, tell him to stop talking. How can I focus on my homework?' A frustrated schoolgirl said to her classmates in charge. Some of these student leaders and 'ordinary masses' of the class approached me to seek my approval on certain things, such as using the restroom, turning on the AC, etc. Although only eight years older, I felt as though I had travelled through a strange time machine to land in a different time in a place that I once knew so well. Advertisement 'Ms. Xu, you need to step in now!' The boy sitting close to me hinted, annoyed by my incompetence in governing their classroom. Often enough, I pictured my classroom as the daunting room in a giant palace back in ancient China, where a roomful of civil servants would report to the emperor nervously every morning. The teacher often seemed like the emperor/empress to me, as if in a heartbeat, he/she may condemn one to death. As I did not wish to become that empress, I gently smiled at the boy, and continued reading A Wild Sheep Chase. My primary function of this little homecoming was not to spy on the kids for my teacher, surely. Ms. Liu organised a mini-Q&A session upon returning. 'What's the learning atmosphere like in the U.S.?' 'Is the Western education system preferable to ours?' 'How did you get interested in politics?' 'Is racial discrimination serious there?' ... Forget the stereotype that Asian kids as shy and reserved. I was surprised myself at the level of enthusiastic participation from across the classroom: whilst I was expecting a few outgoing students to speak up for their friends, the majority of the cohort had raised a question, and even two or three at times. Whilst it is not at all uncommon for high school and university alumni to return to their schools, primary school 'alums' are rare creatures for all parties involved. It was a truly peculiar experience for me, yet beautiful in many ways. I had also travelled across time and space, having just flown in from the United States, where I attend college, and inevitably being oh-so-jet-lagged. Five years ago on 16 June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, articulating the roles of States and businesses in preventing and remedying corporate abuses. Today, there is a widespread and growing recognition of the commercial, legal and moral imperative for businesses to take this responsibility seriously and take meaningful action. This is demonstrated particularly clearly by the scourge of modern slavery. There are more people - the majority of them women - ensnared today than ever before. In the UK alone there are thought to be some 12,000 people trapped in modern slavery today and over 30million globally, generating illegal profits of $150billion. Advertisement Only last week, the High Court provided a poignant reminder of the reality and risks of this cruel practice, ruling for the first time that a British company must compensate victims of modern slavery. On 10 June, the Court found in favour of six Lithuanian men trafficked to the UK to work on chicken farms across the country. Their employer was found guilty of a range of exploitative practices, including unlawfully low pay and withheld wages, charging prohibited fees, and providing inadequate facilities for washing, eating, drinking and resting. Belatedly, governments and international organisations are recognising that existing efforts to address industrial-scale abuse of human rights are insufficient. Increasingly, they are looking to harness the purchasing power of the private sector to drive the slave masters out of business. The EU Commission is expected soon to publish its new strategy on corporate social responsibility and the French Parliament is currently discussing a bill requiring companies to develop due diligence plans for their supply chains. Advertisement The UK has again taken the lead with the Modern Slavery Act. Passed last year, a key new requirement began to take effect only this spring. Large enterprises doing business in the UK - regardless of where they are based - must now publish an annual statement setting out the steps taken to prevent slavery in their businesses and supply chains in the UK and overseas. The statement must be approved at the highest levels within the organisation and accessible via a prominent link on its homepage. But the law deliberately leaves businesses to decide on the content. Rather than imposing sanctions, the Government hopes that a combination of pressure from civil society, consumers and investors will kickstart a race to the top amongst businesses, ushering in real changes in corporate behaviour. In a room packed with corporate leaders brought together recently by our firms, we examined what the new "transparency in supply chains" provision means in practice for businesses. It is a sad truth that slavery may exist in the supply chains of most major businesses. The example of the Lithuanians is, sadly, by no means unique. The challenge for all businesses will be to put into practice effective means to identify and to address this. This raises hard-edged legal and practical questions. For example, how far should companies focus their efforts on their suppliers in the UK rather than those overseas? (Some are arguing that the Act only applies to slavery in the UK - we disagree.) If a company finds slavery in one of its suppliers, what would be the consequences of either breaking the contract or continuing it? Advertisement While businesses are starting to wake up to this challenge, it is clear from looking at the first of the statements to be published that there remains a long, long way to go. There is no one-size-fits-all easy fix. But some major companies are beginning to give a lead in implementing proportionate, practical policies. Others cannot afford to get left behind, and the latest decision from the High Court again highlights the risk. The human cost is simply too great. Plus, with the added legal, financial and reputational risks - and the spectre of new sanctions if companies do not act themselves - the business case for taking action is now compelling and urgent. Cherie Blair CBE, QC is Chair of Omnia Strategy LLP As those of you who read these blogs regularly will know, plans to cut pharmacy services by what might be anything up to a quarter threaten our sector and our health service. The Department of Health announced these plans just before Christmas (quite the gift!) and ever since, pharmacists and patients have been campaigning hard to ask ministers and officials to reconsider. Last month, over 1.8 million signatures were delivered to 10 Downing street, with MPs from three political parties backing the campaign. Pharmacists, patients and MPs stood together to show the huge breadth of support for pharmacies across the country. Michael Dugher MP then led a parliamentary debate with the Minister of State for Community and Social Care, Alistair Burt, discussing the impact that they may have on patients across the country. One aspect of these plans was the introduction of "hub and spoke" dispensing - an idea that was designed to save pharmacies money through a central dispensary which would theoretically reduce operating costs. Our research found no evidence that operating costs would be reduced, indeed that costs may actually rise through procurement and end up adding costs to the taxpayer. There are many issues, both legal and otherwise, that need to be resolved before hub-and-spoke dispensing could become a practical reality. The NPA has been at the forefront of the independent pharmacy sector in raising a growing chorus of concerns. Advertisement Thankfully, these concerns were heard. Alistair Burt has agreed that responses to the consultation have raised issues and now does not plan to implement the changes in October as originally planned. I applaud the government for listening and for putting a hold on these plans. It is a victory for common sense. This hub & spoke idea was however one of the cornerstones of the government's plans for pharmacies, and since they believed it could save money, must represent some proportion of the proposed 170 million cuts to the pharmacy budget. At the very least the announcement to delay it surely calls into question the timing of the funding cuts, proposed to come into effect in October. If the government now recognises that a hub and spoke dispensing model will actually cost more money, then the entire policy package that they proposed should be implemented in December must be sense checked in the light of this development. Advertisement It's to the credit of Ministers and officials that they have shifted the position in response to overwhelming evidence and reasoned arguments. The whole pharmacy sector now hopes that they will show the same degree of mature reflection in relation to other elements of their proposals. Since Christmas, nearly 2 million people have signed our petition to ask the government to reconsider its plans. MPs from all parties have shown their support to this vital and in some cases life-saving frontline NHS resource. Instead of cutting the pharmacy budget, as GPs and A&E departments all over the country strive to keep up with record numbers while implement ever-increasing efficiency savings, we propose that the government continues to work with the NPA and the rest of the sector in listening to all of the ways that pharmacy could actually alleviate pressure on a health service that is already struggling. BrasilNut1 via Getty Images Like most people, when I get a text, I feel popular, "Who's messaging me? What do they want?" - It's all very exciting. Normally, it ends up being Domino's latest offer, my bank texting me I've hit my overdraft or a message that my local gym is missing me - life's three ways of reminding you you're fat, skint and addicted to pizza. Advertisement Last week I received a text from my union, Unite. "The EU helps your Union fight for better jobs and rights." At least that's what the message said anyway. After overcoming my disappointment that it wasn't 50% off any large pizza, I felt the need to vent my frustration on twitter - ".@UniteTheUnion; The EU undercuts wages, increases prices, and has crushed heavy industry. I'm voting Leave, mate." I also added that I was considering leaving Unite because they were pressuring me to vote Remain but as expected, I didn't get a reply. I work in the Chemical Industry on Teesside and the next day I mentioned it to one of my colleagues. Upon doing so, I discovered I wasn't the only person who had received this text and, to Unite's disappointment, I wasn't the only one voting to Leave. Advertisement The text had achieved one thing. It had started a big discussion around the plant. Almost everyone was voting to Leave and were passionate about expressing their reasons for doing so. For many, they had seen what had happened over the last two years with a local power plant that was being built. The company building the plant had hired unskilled European workers, refused to pay them the going rate and used them for work that should really be done by skilled tradesmen. In the North East we have some of the highest unemployment levels in the country, and for months we had lads lining up the gates, picketing the site to allow local, skilled workers to do those jobs. For others, it was our contributions to the EU. Whether it's 361million a week, 350million a week, or 276million a week - it's a heck of a lot of money. Given that when the Redcar steel works closed, the government only allocated an 80million support package; the fact that we give more than three times that in one week to the EU is shambolic. Some people mentioned how the EU's green taxes were harming industry, like ours, in the UK. Both SSI and Tata attribute pulling out of UK steel operations to energy costs and high taxes. And in standing up to Chinese steel dumping the US employed a tariff of over 250%, whereas the EU opted for a measly 25%. Redcar is a coastal town, so many pointed to the fishing policy of the EU and how it has destroyed fishing towns all around our coast. Like many aspects of the EU it favours big industrial trawlers, while penalising smaller fishermen and fishing communities. Advertisement Then it came to me to say why I was voting Leave; and for me their arguments mattered - but for different reasons. The way I see it, this whole debate boils down to a question of sovereignty and democracy. I am voting Leave because I believe our policy on immigration should be set by our national parliament, not by Brussels. I think immigration works best when the opportunity to come live and work here is open to all nations based on our needs and their skills, without regard for geography. An Indian doctor should find it just as easy - if not easier! - to come here, than an unskilled Polish worker. I am voting Leave because no matter what figures you believe, we give at least 276million to the EU per week. Regardless of how much they hand out in various subsidies for different EU projects, we hand over control of that money - and don't get a great deal back. Surely it should be up to our national parliament to decide how to spend that money, not down to Brussels. I am voting Leave because I want out national parliament to set our fishing policy, our agricultural policy, our carbon emissions policies - I want our national parliament to be able to decide whether or not to charge VAT on tampons! And here's the crux of it all - I want our national parliament to be able to decide all of these things, because at the heart of it, is democracy. Every 5 years, we choose who sits on our green benches and who gets the boot. Last year I was honoured to stand for parliament - unfortunately I didn't win - but had the good people of Redcar wished it so, I could've been representing them. Advertisement We don't get to vote on who represents us in the EU commission, we don't get to vote on who the Presidents of the EU Commission, the EU Parliament or the EU Council are, we have no feasible way of removing these people from their positions of power and as such - we do not live in a democracy! So, in response to Unite's text, the EU has done nothing to protect the jobs of the local lads lining the gate, the steel workers at SSI and the fisherman across our coast. It has undermined democracy and skirted accountability. I believe one of the most important rights in any society is the right to vote on who governs you (and for that vote to count). And so, to put it as one Geordie did to me; I'm voting to gan! As violence erupted at the Calais Jungle earlier this year and temporary homes were destroyed in a heavy handed police operation, it was pertinent to reconsider rights and responsibilities on all sides. Indeed does a refugee have rights? And if so what are they? And if those rights are not being upheld what recourse to action does a refugee have? As the wet and cold winter months dragged on into spring, the ad hoc refugee camps at Dunkirk and Calais continued to be front page news with police stand offs, high profile visitors including Jeremy Corbyn and Jude Law, to name but a few, and a steady stream of aid convoys mustered by trade unions, faith groups, other organisations and concerned individuals. After months of prevarication and local politicking, Damien Careme, the Mayor of Grande-Synthe near Dunkirk, managed to seize the initiative and find the means to relocate the refugees who had been living in a sea of mud in his commune. But what happens at one refugee camp is not necessarily a blue-print for another as we shall see, and even Careme's well-intentioned gesture has been fraught to say the least . Meanwhile, on February 25th, a court in Lille upheld the eviction order that was served on a large area of the Calais Jungle despite the best efforts of NGOs and human rights lawyers to protect the community that had established itself on the toxic wasteland just outside the port. Scenes of burning shelters and people throwing stones made front page news. A legal advice centre, which helped refugees access much needed information about the asylum process, was mysteriously burnt down. I had taken a photograph of this only weeks before. Advertisement Meanwhile, 40 kilometres away, back in Grande-Synthe a very different story was playing out then; Damien Careme had persuaded his peers that they should, and indeed could, do something to help the refugees who had found themselves on his patch. The result is a partnership with Medecins Sans Frontieres to relocate the 3000 or so refugees in proper tents on a strip of land adjoining a disused farmstead, with the farmhouse itself being kitted out as a health centre and a large shed rigged out as a mobile phone charging station. "They will like this," said one MSF doctor proudly as he showed me round, and I knew that he was genuinely pleased at the thought and effort that had gone into trying to make life more than tolerable for camp inhabitants. I have visited both camps twice, seeing with my own eyes the squalid conditions made worse by heavy rainfall, ever increasing numbers, government inaction and inter-governmental failure. At the same time I have observed heavy-handed police behaviour and was myself on the receiving end of rough treatment at the Calais Jungle when attempting to exit through a police cordon that appeared designed to protect the Front National rather than the visiting aid workers. If the police could act in such a way to manhandle a woman in her 50s who is an elected politician, heaven knows how they must treat young, frustrated refugees. On my second visit to both camps during February half-term I sat in on language classes in the cramped hastily constructed 'school' in the Calais Jungle. Dozens of teachers from all over the UK had given up their holiday time to volunteer, not only to teach English but also other subjects. Inside the dome where two British theatre workers had established Good Chance Theatre there is a daily programme of activities. I watched an 'image theatre' workshop where refugees were exploring the meaning of 'hope', a poignant exercise for people who have lost so much. The Goid Chance was nominated for several awards in recognition of its humanistic response to the situation at Calais https://awards.indexoncensorship.org/indexawards2016-good-chance-theatre-gives-refugees-a-place-to-be-heard/ . I also popped into the library and passed by the women and children's centre, the Eritrean church, the mosque, the vaccination centre, the legal advice centre and various pop-up shops and cafes. Advertisement The Calais Jungle was one of the most functional communities I have encountered; against all the odds the dispossessed had managed to establish a semblance of normality in extremis, supported by compassionate individuals such as Clare Moseley who set up Care4Calais http://care4calais.org to collect and distribute food, clothing, tents, bedding and so on. But life is neither desirable nor sustainable in a limbo land surrounded by Marine Le Pen supporters. Many people have asked me why the refugees at Calais are so intent on reaching Britain, preferring to seek refuge there rather than in France. There are many varying reasons, with family ties and friends being one of the main motivations, plus most of the refugees speak fairly good English. A large majority of the Jungle inhabitants are Kurdish or Afghani and feel a close link to Great Britain because of our military action in their countries. For example, some Afghans that I met had acted as interpreters for the British armed forces, effectively keeping them safe from the Taliban; the Kurds have long been the eyes, ears and man-power on the ground for the British offensive in Iraq and Syria, not to mention the UK participation in the Iraq war from 2003 onwards. I met a Kurdish man who showed me his battle-scarred legs, injured fighting with the British and now disabled. It stands to reason that if you risked your life for the UK, you would expect to benefit from a special relationship and be welcomed with open arms, but sadly there has been nothing forthcoming from Westminster. Making my second visit to the Dunkirk Jungle in the company of Sarah Wilson, a volunteer from Penrith in Cumbria, I could see that the misery and mud was continuing. We met a very distressed male refugee by the main gate. He told me that his wife was heavily pregnant and had spent the whole night crying in their flimsy tent. Surely, this woman should be receiving some proper health care? The right to a healthy life, along with access to education, is part of a raft of human rights that refugees should be accorded. Many have decried the way these refugees have been treated, along with the thousands that continue to come into the EU by land and sea. The European Commission and the European Parliament have adopted plans and repeatedly called for relocation of refugees from overcrowded arrival zones, or the creation of safe passage corridors, and for their humanitarian needs to be met, and guarantees to be given that their human rights will be upheld. Many European governments have refused to implement plans that they themselves approved in the EU's Council of Ministers, and are blocking progress for narrow national interests, or surrendering to the populist right. Indeed, it is easy to blame "the EU" for not dealing with the refugee crisis effectively, but what we have seen is EU institutions taking the lead, while certain Member States have blocked progress. Sadly, the Conservative British Government has refused to support any combined European effort to tackle the refugee crisis, and after Jeremy Corbyn visited the Jungle, Cameron (in)famously referred to the refugees there as "a bunch of migrants" and a "swarm". Advertisement According to an EU directive on reception conditions for asylum seekers, the French government is responsible for guaranteeing basic humanitarian conditions for these refugees on its territory, until it can process their asylum claims. It is clear that the French government has been in breach of European laws, and in that case, it is up to the European Commission to begin infringement proceedings and bring the French government before the European Court of Justice. However, such a move would be drawn out, complicated, and politically sensitive. Even if it were to take place, it could take many years to resolve, and the intolerable condition of these refugees cannot be allowed to linger. While the European Parliament and other European bodies might issue calls and warnings on the situation in the makeshift camps on the French coast, the EU has no direct power to intervene and enforce laws themselves. Civil society organisations must step into this vacuum and fight for the rights of those in the camps who have no voice. Those who need that voice, and most urgently need the protection of EU laws are the many hundreds of children living in the Calais Jungle and Grand-Synthe. The European Parliament has always emphasised that access to education is a key part of the basic humanitarian conditions that refugees must be provided with. Indeed, the difference that education makes to refugee children and their futures is enormous. The European Parliament also has insisted that special attention be given to the situation of women and girl refugees, and their gender-specific needs, with Labour MEPs leading on the subject. The access of girls to education will have a dramatic impact on their futures, and must be guaranteed. French authorities must take up their responsibilities to ensure refugee children receive the education they are legally required to receive. Europol has estimated that 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children have gone missing since arriving in Europe. These children, trying to escape poverty and war, are feared to have fallen into the hands of human traffickers, exploiting them for sex and slavery. In April, I gave evidence to the House of Lords making recommendations on how to resolve this issue. The fight continues to remove child refugees from this desperate situation. Back in Grande-Synthe I was checking out a new pop up school building that Sarah was trying to construct with fellow volunteers, and then we went to see the Mayor's new replacement refugee camp. Rows of neat white tents were pegged out on dry ground waiting for their inhabitants. There had been a minor setback when a fierce storm ripped out some of the moorings but overall the site looked clean, dry and orderly with the farmhouse and its outbuildings creating a welcoming focal point. However, back at Calais where temporary homes were destroyed along with community facilities, many refugees remain, some in the prison-like containers reached through high security metal turnstiles and others in the sad remnants of the camp. Some refugees have left, given up the dream of a better life in Britain and headed off for more welcoming cities in Europe such as Berlin. The volunteers continue to do what they can and always need more of everything. In March I met with a group of dentists in Manchester who organise regular missions to undertake dental screening and emergency treatment of the Calais refugees. They have fundraised for a mobile surgery and they shared some of their findings with me regarding the dental health of the refugees. The evidence does not look good, denoting malnutrition and overall poor health as well as specific dental problems. So what can you or any of us do? It is important for human rights activists to speak up when they see that the human rights of refugees are not being protected. Meanwhile politicians and governments must work together to tackle the refugee crisis in a compassionate way that reflects European values and upholds human rights. I myself gave evidence to a recent House of Lords Enquiry on Unaccompanied Minors using knowledge gained by visiting refugee camps in Northern France and Bavaria, and from my close working relationship with NGOs and volunteers. Advertisement It is important to keep raising awareness of the situation and you can do this by joining local, national and international actions to show solidarity with the refugees. This weekend the People's Assembly had planned jointly with trade unions and the LGBTI movement to mobilise a mass aid convoy to Calais to show solidarity with the refugees. As we go to print it is uncertain as to whether the French police will allow the convoy vehicles to cross the channel. For further information about a range of aid projects check out this website. To read about my work with refugees please visit my website. Endless reports have referred to an imbalance in funding between higher education and vocational education and the traditional stigma that is associated with FE. Not least, the recent Lords Select Committee for Social Mobility report which found recent government policy has protected schools and university funding "but the same is not true for post-16 institutions". My recent post referring to the 'other 50%', the term referring to young people not going to university when they leave school, looked at just this. AAT recently commissioned research to analyse the public perception of the value of different educational routes for better career progression. We were told that young adults (18-24) and older adults (55-64) fundamentally disagreed about what route was best for career progression. Young adults overwhelmingly favoured going to university whereas older adults said people could progress their careers further through vocational routes. Irrespective of age, 63 per cent of UK adults said vocational education prepares people most effectively for work. These findings come as part of our most recent report, 'Roadmap for 2016: Supporting Social Mobility through Vocational Education'. The positive message about vocational education clearly isn't filtering down through the system to our youth. So what is being done about this? Nicky Morgan has taken steps to end 'outdated snobbery' towards alternative routes and the two tier system of careers advice where only the lowest-achieving pupils are recommended apprenticeships or alternative pathways. Advertisement One central pillar to broadening access to the best jobs can be achieved through a genuine effort to improve careers advice. Getting this wrong comes at a cost; young people can suffer by making an uninformed decision about their career path or even underestimating their potential. The current system is unevenly weighted in favour of the university pathway, which is not suitable for all. Information must be presented fairly, and our recommendation for the Government to explore the possibility of integrating higher and vocational education opportunities into one UCAS style online portal, asks for just that. Ultimately, the Government must wake up to the problematic status quo, as equipping the next generation with the skills they need to find meaningful employment fits the Government's pressing desire to increase the UK's poor productivity levels, which lag badly behind our G7 partners. The Government is moving in the right direction, but employers, schools and young people need to be given the tools and incentivised appropriately to realise their ambition. As it stands, barriers to entry into the job market limits upward mobility, and AAT are calling on the Government to work with employers to end recruitment specifications that exclude candidates from non-higher education backgrounds. In tandem to this, employers should be encouraged to carry out 'blind interviews' where the school and/ or university background of the candidate is only revealed to the recruiter once they have been offered the job. Not only will this remove a barrier to entry that dictates the choices of school leavers, it will make access fairer and provide employers with a valuable source of talent and skills honed through vocational education. Incentivising employers to take this step is crucial and we'd like to see the Government establishing a 'Social Mobility Employer' accreditation to encourage employers to adopt inclusive recruitment measures. Advertisement Nicky Morgan's actions are overwhelmingly supported by our research, which suggests nine in ten adults think the Government needs to do more to recognise vocational education and UK employers need to do more to promote access to jobs through alternative routes. If there are restrictions limiting access to work, it is little wonder young people perceive university to be the best pathway to employment - for most it is the only route. via Abi Begum on Flickr The Leave campaign argues that Brexit would signify the rejection of an undemocratic super-state run by unelected bureaucrats, and a return to the utopia of UK democracy, which is run for the people by the people. Neither of these assertions are true. The kind of nationalism behind promises to 'make Britain great again', obscure the fact that we by no means live in a perfect democracy, mainly due to the House of Lords and our voting system. Advertisement The nature of democracy in this country must be questioned when our parliament's upper house is a semi-hereditary, unelected, overcrowded chamber of over 800 members, which still reserves places for nearly 100 hereditary peers (of which the vast majority are men), and 26 Bishops from the Church of England. As John Harris has argued in the Guardian, "even if the Lords is a better place than it was 20 years ago, it remains a ludicrous affront to the most basic ideas of democracy and accountability." The House of Lords consists of exactly what the Leave campaign criticises in the EU- an unelected elite. Another reason why it is deceptive to depict leaving the EU as a victory for democracy is our unjust voting system. First Past the Post is designed to maintain a two-party system that is dying out. In a time when disillusionment with mainstream political parties is on the rise, it is all the more important that smaller and newer parties get the representation and the voice they deserve. Examples as recent as last year's general election clearly highlight the disparity between votes and seats for smaller parties. Advertisement In 2015 over a million people voted for the Greens, but they only held onto their one seat. As their only MP, Caroline Lucas said, "the political system in this country is broken. It's ever clearer tonight that the time for electoral reform is long overdue, and it's only proportional representation that will deliver a Parliament that is truly legitimate and better reflects the people it is meant to represent." On the other side of the political spectrum, UKIP, the main critic of the EU as an undemocratic union, got nearly 13% of the vote but came away with only one seat. How can we call Britain a truly representative democracy, when the system is designed to create this unfair disparity? Is the EU really undemocratic? As well as painting Britain as the perfect democracy, which will be the answer to everyone's problems, the Leave campaign depicts the EU as a totally undemocratic, authoritarian political union that is completely controlled by Brussels. If you look at the complicated inner workings of the EU, you find that this is not the case. The European Commission, which has executive powers, but also acts like the civil service of the EU, is unelected, but so is our civil service. These 'unelected bureaucrats' that the Leave campaign constantly refers to do have some power, which is set by treaties agreed on by member states, but do not pass any laws. Advertisement Leaders of the member states, democratically elected representatives of EU citizens, have an important role in the policy direction of the EU, and meet regularly to form the European Council. EU laws are then agreed by the Council of Ministers, comprising ministers from 28 EU governments and the European parliament, which unlike the UK parliament is directly elected using a democratic voting system- proportional representation. There may be a disconnect between voters and their MEPs, and low turnouts at European elections, but this is largely because voters realise how much say the member states and the European parliament have in the running of the EU. According to Full Fact, an impartial fact-checking website, the political leaders and ministers of the member states are the "main decision-makers when it comes to policies", and they decide the EU's overall direction and political agenda. Another prominent claim by Brexiters is that Brussels decides most of our laws. An article on Full Fact that looks into this claim, concludes that any statistic on what percentage of our laws are influenced by the EU is unhelpful, because of the complexity of law making and the varying importance of individual laws. Advertisement It also concludes however that in agriculture, fisheries, external trade, and the environment, it's fair to say that EU legislation and policy is indeed the main driver of UK law and policy, although the UK retains some freedom of action in these areas, and that in other important areas--for example, welfare and social security, education, criminal law, family law and the NHS--the direct influence of the EU is far more limited. Even in areas where the EU has more influence, the UK still has a considerable say in this decision making process. Research by the London School of Economics found that even though the UK is more likely than other countries to vote against the majority in votes by the European Council, it was on the winning side 87% of the time between 2009-15. Additionally, in Cameron's negotiations, he persuaded EU leaders to introduce a measure that would force the Commission to adapt or drop a law if more than half of national parliaments objected, but this will only come into effect if we vote to remain in the EU. The EU may not be perfect, but it is by no means as undemocratic and dominated by the commission as Leave campaigners argue. Voting to leave the EU is not a vote for democracy, because just like the EU, the UK political system is certainly not completely democratic. Advertisement These issues highlight how crucial it is not to rely on nationalism or even patriotism in such a pivotal decision on the future of this country. Instead of using our hearts, it is important to use our heads as we go to the ballot box. Like so many in the UK today, I am mourning the death of Jo Cox - an active member of our parliament, who was assassinated yesterday by a member of her constituency reportedly shouting "Britain first". I am quite certain I am not the only one today also reeling over the fact this potentially politically driven act of violence happened mere days after 49 were shot dead in a LGBT nightclub in Orlando. And whilst this list could go on - the increase in these kinds of attacks (whether media-depicted or in actual quantitative terms) is worrying; both in terms of a representation of societal cracks and as a potential driving force of them. Advertisement Speaking to a primatologist this week, I was reminded that violence always bubbles under the surface of any primate society. And especially in those where large numbers form the backbone. The tensions between individualistic, biologically-driven goals and those of a collective, culturally-driven nature reaps many rewards. They also often wreak havoc on the individual trying to mediate them. These two driving wheels of humanity are under constant and dynamic strain, mediated, in part, by a third evolving phenomenon; the law. A collection of ever-changing rules and codes that importantly, punish those who break them. Importantly, this code of conduct is enforced entirely by the state; a monopolisation of violence, if you will. After all; punishment is a threat of violence against the freedom to choose and act according to your own individual preferences. For those familiar with Norbert Elias' 'Civilising Process' - the taking back of violence from the state is a worrying sign. In his 1939 theory, Elias stated (in the most simple terms here) that the control of violence within a society by a central, governing body is reflected in a control of violence in the people who exist within that society. Advertisement Thus; as a society becomes more 'civilised', the culture (and thus; law) that sits at its heart further quash the biological impulses and urges that exist within each of us. But what happens - like in the case of Jo Cox - when individuals start to take back some of that power and act according to the laws and morals they have created themselves? And importantly, what happens when others hear about it? We are social beings and like all social beings, our behaviours can often be collective. One only needs to glance across the European political stage to see that extremist is the new populist, and xenophobia has gone from side to centre stage. Add this to the possible interpretation of violence (and thus violent acts) returning from the state to the hands of the masses, and the potential for more politically-driven attacks seems alarmingly high. And whilst it's all good and well spouting sociological interpretations upon the current state in which we live, the real (and only) question becomes - what can we do about it? I don't know. Neither do you. Neither does anyone. What I do know is that like any other animal - when we are threatened, we fight back. When we are cornered - whether physically, emotionally, or morally - we lash out. Advertisement We are animals after all. And no matter how hard we try to escape that, we need to stop pretending this is not the case. That - in the six million years of our existence as a species - we have somehow moved beyond that. That our art, culture, and global economic trade, have somehow allowed us to transcend the bounds of biology. They haven't. And they never will. And so; whether it's the upcoming EU referendum or attacks on members of a minority or murders of those in power - we need to unpick why these things are happening. In a country that boasts a fair democracy and voice for all - why is that certain people feel the only way their voice can be heard is through acts like the one that stole the life of Jo Cox? As is quite rightfully said in a brilliant Spectator piece by Alex Massie; "When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, don't be surprised if someone takes you at your word. You didn't make them do it, no, but you didn't do much to stop it either." "Sometimes rhetoric has consequences" he writes. And yet, it's the rhetoric of the citizen, and the causes of their actions that are not being attended to. Labelled as 'freak attacks' or 'fundamentalist violence' - the real ignorance is coming from those in power who refuse to see less extreme cries for help as anything but that. Is this what it takes for those in power to realise that the system isn't working for everyone? "Hi, my name is Carney - Right now you are reading this and all you see is the name of someone who once suffered. Let me take a name on a screen and turn it into a person. I'm 22 and a student at the University of Gloucestershire. I've suffered with suicide attempts, self-harm, and self-destruction. I didn't want to open up about what happened to me because I was worried that people wouldn't look at me the same way. I was worried they would judge because a man shouldn't show his soft side. I was wrong. Looking back on my experience, if I'd have spoken sooner I would have got help a lot sooner. It's not easy to be open but it is important to talk to a person you trust. I started to talk to my best friend, Matty. We are told men shouldn't cry, shouldn't hurt but why? I still have feelings, I still get upset and I still have my dark days but know that you are never truly alone. I am now making my way through university. When I was going through all my problems at school, I was told I would be lucky to live, lucky to even be able to make it out of school alive. But I am more than a name on a screen, more than a name in a file, I am much more than the problems that come my way, and I was able to get over them and build. We will always build, our fight with mental illness isn't always going to be filled with wins, but the first breath you take today, the first step that got you out of your bed, and now the first sentences you are reading are your win. We win with making the first step, so please from me to you, don't be scared or worried to show what is behind the mask because behind the mask is a more beautiful person, a strong person, a fighter. Together we build." It wasn't long living in Beijing before learning what the Chinese thought of the Brits. I was teaching English, a not uncommon rite of passage for many Europeans, to an elite group of teenage students. Whilst only three quarters could place Britain on a map, nearly all had been taught their country's chequered past with its old foe. Opium wars. Naval blockages. The bai nian guo chi (100 years of shame). The colonial legacy of Britain's interventions had been brandished on the impressionable minds of China's generation Z. The Britain of today, in their eyes, was a funny little island of Burberry and Harry Potter, the Queen and Manchester United - all emblematic of our country's soft power in Asia. While its navies and generals had faded into history, its real power was characterised by its influence on the world stage, particularly Europe. Advertisement It is curious, therefore, that London's former Mayor Boris Johnson has chosen China as the country to save a lonely Britain should, as he believes, we leave the EU. "Locked in the EU", Boris writes, "we cannot do free-trade deals with some of the fastest growing economies [including] China." The Boris doctrine has it that free from the shackles of the Europe, his Britain would usher in a spectacular new era of trade with our Far East cousins. There's a partial truth in his canon. Trade between the UK and China is booming. In part thanks to repeated overtures by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to a phalanx of billionaires and state owned enterprises looking to invest their gains here. Advertisement In the past 5 years Britain has become the top European destination for Chinese foreign direct investment. Some $16.6bn (11.7bn) has flowed into businesses from Leeds to London in that time. Barclays. Thames Water. The controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. Heathrow and Manchester Airports. Even Weetabix has been a benefactor of its breakneck economic development. Consider also the number of Chinese companies with headquarters in London. Electronics giant Huawei and both Chinese telecoms majors employ thousands here. The Bank of China has not one but two branches in central London. SinoChem, a Chinese energy giant, has an office just off the Embankment. We only have to gain from these solid foundations, Boris would argue. Not quite. There has been only one intervention from China in a British policy debate in recent memory and that was over Brexit. During his most recent visit to the UK Chinese President Xi Jin Ping's urged for a "united EU" with Britain at its heart. A rare intercession from a regime which asks other governments not to comment on its own affairs, as it returns the favour. As Xi began, others have followed. The real estate billionaire and founder of Dalian Wanda group, Wang Jianlin, went on record to comment Brexit was "not a smart choice for the UK". His reasons were simple. The UK leaves the EU, Chinese companies leave the UK. Or would at least consider moving their headquarters abroad. So it leaves the Boris doctrine with a simple question. Why would China, its companies, and its not inconsiderable number of billionaires want a Britain inside the EU? Advertisement The arguments are multifaceted but essentially boil down to a simple maxim. China sees its "golden era" relationship with the UK as a lynchpin for influence in Europe. The Communist Party does not regularly dispatch its head to a foreign country one twentieth its population and less than one third its GDP out of politeness. China has assiduously and patiently built not only an economic relationship with the UK but one which ties our two countries closer together. This, it could be argued, has allowed the Middle Kingdom greater influence within the EU. The UK is by no means China's proxy, but it might be considered one of its economic cheerleaders within the bloc. An EU with active participation from the UK means a stronger Europe. And a stronger Europe, in Beijing's view, acts as a ballast against what it perceives as growing US and North American interference in Asian affairs - a sphere China would much rather handle without scrutiny or intervention. The simple fact is that the Boris doctrine is flawed. China does not want Britain to leave the EU, for reasons both good and bad. Advertisement Whether an isolated Britain could negotiate separate trade deals with the world's second largest economy remains questionable. One thing is certain, however. There would be much less zeal from Beijing to do so without the broader sphere of influence Britain brings within Europe. Matt Cardy via Getty Images Jo Cox's death has cast a terrible shadow over British public life. Coming exactly a week before the EU referendum, the brutal killing has undeniably had a short-term impact, as both sides in the Brexit debate suspended their campaigns. Normal party politics, as well as the Europe issue, have rightly been put aside as her family, friends and the nation mourn their loss. But the unspoken question in both Leave and Remain campaigns is this: will it in any way affect the outcome of the referendum next Thursday? Advertisement All campaign events were cancelled for Friday, and big set-piece rallies due on Saturday have also been scrapped. Battlebuses will stay in their garages. "Low-level" campaigning will continue, in the form of leafleting and street stalls, but no national messages or media opportunities will take place until Sunday. BBC Radio 4's Any Questions was due to feature the potentially very lively line-up of Nigel Farage, his old foe Anna Soubry, Lord Owen and Alan Johnson. It was swiftly axed. Both camps had planned the final Saturday before polling day to be a big deal, both in terms of photo-opportunities and as a way to galvanise the grassroots. 'Vote Leave''s Gisela Stuart and Priti Patel are still expected go ahead with a planned visit to a Mosque, although that won't be a campaign event as such. It will instead be a chance for both women to pay their respects to Jo Cox - as well as explain how they too have faced hate crime as MPs. The Labour Party, which has obviously felt the loss of one of its own particularly keenly, will not be campaigning in any form until Monday at the earliest. Jeremy Corbyn had been due to pack in a series of speeches and rallies this weekend, but that will no longer happen. Advertisement 'Britain Stronger In Europe' are making decisions on when to resume full campaigning on a day-by-day basis. Like the Leave camp, planned national events featuring the Prime Minister have had to be ditched for Saturday. Will Straw, Executive Director of BSIE, said only local leafleting would be allowed on Saturday. And while there will be no street stalls, he added that "we will also be making available tribute books for volunteers and members of the public who wish to mark their respects." Sunday is the first time when the EU referendum will be allowed to resume, albeit in a much more toned down form. Corbyn is on the Andrew Marr show, as is Michael Gove. A big event for Leave is still set to go ahead on Sunday afternoon, and Cameron faces possibly his biggest TV audience of the campaign when he appears on BBC's Question Time on Sunday evening at 6.45pm. Yet the recall of Parliament on Monday will again put things on hold. All MPs are expected to be in London for a moment of national unity, and so only small-scale local referendum campaigns will occur. Vote Leave will have a regional business event to highlight small businesses who think the UK is better off out of the EU. National campaigning will only resume again on Tuesday and on Wednesday the final day is when the main messages of both sides will be heard. Thursday itself will see a massive 'get out the vote' (known as GOTV' to the parties) push. Advertisement But will the halt in campaigning affect the undoubted momentum that the Leave campaign has built in recent weeks? It has been buoyed by opinion polls showing a strong swing to its argument, and most have given it a healthy lead of upto seven points. The sombre mood could affect Leave in two key areas: in reducing the rhetoric on immigration and in checking the mood of "anti-politics" that has grown in recent months in the UK as it has in the US and the rest of Europe. Brexiteers are acutely aware of the need to be more careful with language, given Jo Cox's long association with helping refugees. And if any strong evidence emerges of her killer being linked to anti-immigrant groups, the narrative could still change. But they believe that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have been consistently clear that taking control of migration can actually stop the issue from being hijacked by far-right extremists, by winning democratic support for immigration levels. The case for a points-based system will continue to be made. Migration may not feature as prominently, but the damage to Remain may already have been done by all those leaflets about 80 million Turks "set to" join the EU. And while some will think a renewed focus on the economic issue can only benefit the In camp, a new emphasis on not going on the attack could rob it of its tactic of pointing to scary recessions and spending cuts. At the same time, the focus on MPs' safety and security could fuel a wider sense that now is not the time to take risks - of any kind. The Leave camp believe that few of the public are linking Jo's killing to the EU issue. And there is an example in history that may be in some minds on both sides. Days before the Swedish referendum on the euro, foreign minister Anna Lindh was tragically stabbed to death while shopping in a department store. Lindh was a vociferous campaigner for a 'Yes' vote, but the Swedes still voted 'No' to joining the single currency. Advertisement Given Vote Leave's recent poll lead, even if its momentum is halted, many Brexiters will take that. Their campaign had no big new policy message 'in the locker' for the last few days of the referendum and had always only intended to repeat the cut-through themes already out there. And in some ways, the lack of attention on the economy in the last 24 hours has perhaps had more impact on the Remain camp. The Bank of England's minutes got little coverage, the Chancellor's Mansion House speech had to be scrapped and the IMF report - expected to add yet another warning of Brexit damage to the economy - has been delayed from 2pm to a midnight embargo. Yet some campaign strategists, who do not want to be named for obvious reasons, believe that Remain could benefit as the tone of the referendum becomes less angry, less partisan. It's message on the economy will be pitched as a positive one, rather than the perceived Project Fear, by stressing how many new jobs will be created by new free trade deals within the EU single market. And its other key message - that it is has cross-party and non-party, independent expert support - may benefit as normal political knockabout takes a back seat. Even the final big event of the campaign - the Wembley Arena BBC debate - is now unlikely to feature the anticipated booing and heckling that some in Remain had feared. Instead of attacking opponents, the debate will have to see participants make their own positive case. Jeremy Corbyn, who has refused to share a platform with Cameron throughout the campaign (fearing a Scotland-style backlash from voters), today appeared alongside the PM in Birstall. The symbolism was powerful and may remind voters that they are actually on the same side in the EU debate too. Advertisement The PM, like all those involved in both campaigns, will do nothing that looks like it is linking Jo's death to the referendum. Today he said: "We do have peace, we do have stability, we do have a measure of economic wellbeing better than other countries obviously still to be spread far more widely. And it is all underpinned by tolerance". He didn't need to add that all that peace, stability, and prosperity will be put at risk by Brexit - it was just left hanging in the air by implication. Every Labour MP would be horrified by the suggestion that anyone will exploit their beloved colleague's death for political gain. But when those deserved tributes are read out in Parliament, the voting public - particularly undecideds - will be told just how passionate she was about both refugees and the European Union. One significant impact of the tragedy may be to boost turnout, by raising the profile of politics in general, and possibly even a national feeling that it's public duty to take part. This could prove invaluable for Remain, which has worried that Leave voters are more highly motivated. Yet higher turnout may not be enough to counter the real problem that worries many Tory and Labour MPs in the In camp: a lack of voter ID. Labour MPs say their canvass returns just don't tell them accurately enough who is in which camp, and they don't want to risk inadvertently helping Leave get their vote out. And there's a fear that in Tory seats, there simply isn't the grassroots network to get out the vote of Tory Remainers - as few Conservative Associations will actually be coordinating 'knocking up' on the day (as they normally would in any election). Advertisement It's too early to tell just what medium- or long-term impact Jo's death will have, if any, on the way we conduct our politics. Whether we stay in the EU or leave it, it would be nice to think she will have somehow civilised out public discourse. It feels strange writing an article about the play I saw in Liverpool recently - a play about the First World War - because the news is filled with so many shocking killings: the shooting of 49 young people in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the vicious murder of Jo Cox, a young Labour MP in Yorkshire. These recent deaths are horrific and thinking about them makes it difficult to write about the First World War, when the number of casualties was off the scale - even by the standards of the day when death on the battlefield was an expected outcome of war. The play I saw was set in the Battle of the Somme which took place a hundred years ago. On July 1st 1916, the first day of the battle, there were 57,470 British casualties (including 19,240 dead). By the end of the two-month battle there were 419,654 British and Commonwealth casualties, of whom 95,675 had died. Advertisement How do you Make Sense of a Massacre? How do you make sense of such numbers? All I have are questions: why did they order so many people to march slowly towards German machine guns? Has our country ever experienced such a slaughter? How do you organise funerals for so many people? Did all the families of the bereaved get a letter and, if so, how long after their son was killed? How did the government react? My biggest question is: how do you write a play about such a massacre? Do you address the big strategic issues? Characterise the generals and politicians? Try to explain what happened? Portray a family or a military unit? Patrick McGuinness, author of Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, didn't address any of my questions. He did what playwrights and authors have been doing for generations: he wrote about a small group of people who were involved. In portraying their hopes and fears and loves, by focusing on a microcosm, he brought the whole thing to life. It was produced by four theatre companies -- Everyman & Playhouse (Liverpool), Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Citizens Theatre (Glasgow) and Headlong (London) - and will be playing in Ulster, Ireland, and Cambridge until October this year. You can see the schedule and booking details here. It's well worth looking out for. Advertisement Haunted by WW1 The play starts with a mad-looking old man who, barefoot and ragged, shouts at God in the style of King Lear: "I do not understand", he bellows to the heavens, "your insistence on my remembrance." This angry monologue with God continues and it becomes clear that this old character, Kenneth Pyper, is the only survivor among his group of friends at the Somme. Although he has survived the massacre he has been haunted by the memory of it ever since. His 7 dead comrades start to appear on stage, in full WW1 battle-dress, but he can't talk to them. They are ghosts; they move slowly and don't speak. By the end of the scene they briefly point their guns at the audience, as if about to go into battle. This is one of the most disturbing parts of the show, but it's over in a moment. One-by-one the 7 other characters come in and, as they banter with one another, we get to know them. They each appear in their own civilian clothes and slowly change into military gear. Despite this uniformity they each establish their own characters and get paired up, so the group of 8 becomes four groups of two. An important scene takes place in Northern Ireland when they are home on leave. Their dedication to the war becomes clear, as well as their prejudice against Catholics and it's strange to think that all the Irishmen who fought in WW1 had volunteered to fight and were Protestant. The Catholic majority were considered too untrustworthy to join the army and the Easter Rising (a Catholic rebellion in Dublin against British colonial rule) which took place in 1916 only reinforced this prejudice. The production itself was slick: the set was minimalist, adaptable and served well as barrack room and trench; the lighting and sound were subtle, vital for the atmosphere but strangely unobtrusive (I hardly noticed them); the WW1 costumes seemed authentic; but the best thing about this play was the casting, acting and directing. It all fitted together perfectly. Advertisement Some may argue this acronym is a little OTD; the rest, however, are too busy tweeting about how their friend is "a little OCD. Lol." I can empathise. I'm a little OCD, a tad anxious and a bit anorexic; I starved myself for two hours, before eating symmetrical carrot sticks. Oh, I'm also a little bit diabetic. I give an insulin shot now and then, but nothing serious. In a trivialised list of my own health conditions, one particular statement stands out. My claim over diabetes is no more shocking than that of anorexia, or OCD. However, it differs in that it doesn't exist; neither does "a little heart diseased" or "I'm so cancer". In modern day society, physical health isn't an adjective. Advertisement For OCD, it is a very different story. It is the cutesy character quirk in sitcoms and a default synonym for neat-freaks. Search "OCD" on twitter, and you are inundated with the "so OCD" adjective. As an assessment, I responded to the first three tweets I saw on the tag. All of them presented a stereotyped view of OCD, but one exchange stood out: @beeing_sophie twitter If only a "day off" existed in mental illness. Perhaps, in this world, it would not account for 25% of deaths each year. According to the World Health Organisation, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is one of the top 10 most debilitating illnesses; yet in a list of the 'top 10 most trivialised', where sufferers qualify for an OCD vacation, it would be a strong contender for first. The situation has not been helped by the comments of public figures. Katy Perry has "OCD on tour. If there is broken makeup in my purse I freak out," while Naomi Cambell is "too OCD to trash a hotel room." Last November, on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Ultimo creator Michelle Mone claimed: 'It [OCD] can prove really useful in business. It makes you really organised. So I love having OCD.' She was criticised for her comments, but they typify the misguided beliefs of society. Advertisement The celebration of OCD is epitomised by Channel 4's Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners. Now on its seventh series, the show effectively endorses a compulsion for cleanliness, with little regard for the devastating reality of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Compulsions, in isolation, create the mythical "so OCD". They are generalised by the continual sound of a hoover, or 'perfectly' aligned coca cola cans. What it fails to acknowledge is the cause. Sufferers of OCD do not gain pleasure from rituals. They do not have a Monica Gellar love of cleaning. The compulsions only secure momentary relief from intrusive thoughts. The obsessions are triggers target your mind, never hearing your plea for a ceasefire. Does Katy Perry create a bulletproof case for her makeup, because she fears one spillage will cause her to fall on stage? Has Michelle Mone ever blamed low sales on the messiness of a single cupboard? The Secret Illness For many, OCD is more debilitating than I could ever imagine. It can leave people housebound, isolated and, in some cases, cost lives. Nonetheless, my own experience does highlight the danger of the stereotype. In short, I'm not a particularly tidy person - just ask my sister. Misguidedly, I associated OCD with cleanliness and repetitive behaviours alone, echoing the misrepresentation in society. I was guilty of this; in turn, I was also left in the dark about my own mental health. OCD is a complex illness. Advertisement As I type, loose strands of knitting wool surround me and my mug sits on a marked coffee coaster. Yet as I pick up the mug, I will do so with two hands. Earlier this year, when I was receiving inpatient treatment for anorexia, it wasn't the food that reduced me to tears one mealtime. It was sensation of heat running through only one of my hands. I envisioned the whole left side of my body burning. In my mind, I was contaminated and unbalanced. This intrusive thought of contamination soon triggered a compulsion to scratch my skin. It was not deliberate self-harm, but the only way I found momentary respite from the storm in my mind. It doesn't bring pleasure. My arms hurt for days after and I wore long sleeved tops during the latest heatwave. Through numerous coping strategies, which have included stress balls and dressings over my arm, I have learnt to manage it better. Other areas are more difficult to address. Coffee cups aside, my need to have balance can turn a hundred-metre stretch of paving stones into a minefield. For as long as I can remember, my feet cannot touch the lines. My legs will unnaturally stretch that little bit farther, or awkwardly shuffle in order to reach the next 'safe' slab. Balance; it can turn the most innocent of shopping trips into a constant anxiety-trip. Only yesterday, a simple knock of my left foot saw me hide in a coffee shop an hour later. From holding a shopping bag in one hand, to picking up clothes in Zara and those delightful pavements, I needed to stop. The thoughts didn't stop. Yet it was only this year, during treatment, that OCD was identified. After confronting the exhaustive list of eating disorder behaviours, I saw how much of my day was tied to these scripts I didn't write. Lines that could be traced back to my diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, at the age of 7. When I give my insulin injections, they last six seconds. No more, no less, or I panic the insulin will fail to deliver. One of the initial catalysts for my eating disorder was a pervading fear of high blood sugars. I change my clothes multiple times because I feel dirty inside. The cause? My blood sugar was in double figures, or it ended in an odd number. The urge to scratch my skin is also intensified by higher readings. While tweeters take their OCD vacations, I counting down the hours until my next test predicting extreme hyperglycaemia; no distraction can alleviate this fear. Advertisement I am currently working with my CPN on ERP therapy. It sounds quite technical, but the philosophy is simple: Exposure. Staying in the outfit I put on that morning, or listening to my voicemail. It is a proven treatment for OCD, but often distressing in practice. ET Online As the United States reels from its most recent atrocity- the cruel murder of 49 innocent lives in an innocuous nightclub- the West once more finds itself stumped by a question that has constantly rebounded in recent decades: what is the most effective method of quashing Islamic extremism? The chilling events that have unfolded in Orlando- in an environment that should have been convivial and cheerful- is nor the first, and certainly not last, attack perpetrated by Islamic extremism in an attempts to destabilize the West and impose a fundamentalist and ethnocentric ideology. International state ministers scramble for potential solutions to quell the spread of terror throughout the Middle-East - though despite their best efforts, they will prove to be in vain; deep-set, unalterable ideologies and the strong, pervasive influences of Islamic fundamentalism within the Middle-East and the entire world will almost undoubtedly breed terrorism for years to come. Advertisement Potential suggestions to counter terrorism are abundant in the U.S. as they are abroad. The British government's recent plans to bolster online surveillance of the public (whilst simultaneously encroaching upon the privacy of its civilians) highlights the gravity with which it treats the situation. Divisive though the United States Patriot Act- established in 2001 to bolster surveillance of potential extremists- may be, it too has been conducive in monitoring terror suspects: in 2011 Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was detained by the FBI after placing an order for the toxic chemical phenol. Private emails later revealed that he created a list of locations to bomb, including nuclear power plants, military targets, and a nightclub. The life-saving effects of the Act (despite the de trop side-effects of privacy invasion) are doubtlessly conducive, though act only as a single barrier in the face of the giant waves of terror. Irrespective of political allegiances, the majority of MPs in Britain have suggested a restriction on immigration levels to curtail extremists- Labour have highlighted the desire to deploy an extra one-thousand border control personnel. A more comprehensive, 'grass-roots' operation that examines mosques, schools and Islamic establishments has also been instigated by Home Secretary Theresa May in order to root out developing radicals. Although these measures have shown efficacy- an estimated fifty deadly terror attacks have been stopped in the United Kingdom since the 7/7 bombings- these too provide only temporary resistance against the inevitability of terrorism. Today, ISIS is estimated to have up to 200,000 militants in the Middle-East; that this is only the presumptive 'official' number and excludes the drones of unregistered members and recruited child-soldiers makes for a worrying reading of the definite number. The Islamic State continues to exert its influence and extreme ideology onto ordinary Muslims; 1,600 Brits have now left the United Kingdom to join its ranks. Oftentimes statistics pertaining to the relative harmlessness of Islamic terrorism are cited: the statistic that less than 1% of Muslims worldwide propagate fundamentalist beliefs does little to supress peoples' unease, despite the almost universal good nature of Muslims worldwide. Indeed, a proportion of one percent is more than enough to inflict monstrosities on countries- the past two decades have regrettably demonstrated this. The tentacles of extremism have also reached beyond Asia: in Africa, Boko Haram inflict death on an almost weekly basis. The counterinsurgency methods deployed by the UN and NATO only tackle the tip of a colossal iceberg; young men vulnerable to indoctrination and yearning a 'purpose' in life are radicalized with ease by the mass presence of roaming preachers in Asia and Africa, something that the West have not been able to restrain. Advertisement No matter how strenuously the international order attempts to curtail extremism, valiant and commendable efforts will be prove to ultimately be futile. Philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli's observation- that evil is a condition inherent in man - is as pertinent as it is correct, and this will forever exist within particular people. The belief of a person indoctrinated is so blind and resolute that nothing will deter them from committing terror: arguments about American gun laws, deeply flawed though these regulations are, are situated at the periphery rather than focal point of this scenario, and serve as a microcosm of the attacks that religious fantasists perpetrate throughout the international sphere. Gun laws in the U.S. do require reform, though multiple terrorist attacks on nations with far stricter gun laws- such as Belgium and France- evidences that terrorists' desire to obtain arms and inflict damage will supersede the strictest of gun laws. The Madrid and London attacks a decade ago catalysed the strengthening of security from international state leaders- despite this, terrorist attacks have only continued; The Global Terrorism Index recorded almost 18,000 deaths last year, a jump of about 60% over the previous year. Historical trends thus display a patent, and bleak, foresight for what the future holds. After Sunday's addition to mounting number of attacks recently exacted on the West, a perturbed friend exclaimed 'The world is ending'. This is perhaps an over-exaggeration. But the world as we know it is about to change- and significantly so. "Getting in" seems to be what everyone is trying to do. "Becoming" an actor/writer/director/architect. We perpetuate the myth that the people doing it are somehow different to the people who want to do it. There are people on the inside and people on the outside. This might have been true 25 years ago, when a union card was the one guarantee of acceptance. I remember long rainy nights downstairs in the Intrepid Fox in Wardour Street, waiting while the Assistant Directors branch of the ACTT met upstairs to see if you would be one of the lucky ones to get a ticket. It took me three years to get mine. Three years as a runner, stopping traffic in the rain, buying fags for the director, and making tea. When I finally got my union card, I still stopped traffic in the rain, but now I was a Third Assistant Director, so I was in. What a con. We are often asked how to 'get in' to the industry. It's a question we have never questioned. After this year's SohoCreate it's important we do. There is no 'in' and there is no 'out'. Actor Denise Gough talked with Director Jeremy Herrin about her 'Siberia years', the years without work, when she almost stopped being an actress. She didn't. She went on to win an Olivier for her role in Duncan Macmillan's People, Places and Things. Duncan himself has talked about winning the prestigious playwriting Bruntwood prize and then "not a lot happened for two years." Advertisement Denise Gough talking with Jeremy Herrin and John Kampfer at SohoCreate 2016 Our challenge is that if our work isn't seen, we don't feel creative. Is a performed play any better than an unperformed play? A film unseen any worse than one seen. Well it might be, but the play is still a play, the film a film, the novel and novel, the song a song, even if it is not witnessed. A creative act has still taken place. To all those who want to know how to 'get in' I would say, you are already in. Just write, just design, just sing, and keep doing it day in day out for about five years. At some point in those five years, people will accept you as a creative person and pay attention to you. But even if they don't, you are still an artist, and an artist must practice their craft. The best way of doing that is to find people you like, who like you work, and do stuff with them. It's simple. Don't wait for permission or recognition or acknowledgment or money. Collaboration is the most important function in creativity, practice your craft and practice collaboration and you are an artist, and no one can say you aren't. Advertisement Beyond being creative you may want to work in the creative industries, this is a whole different blog. Chris Gratien and Emrah Safa Gurkan Telling history use to be the preserve of a small group of academics writing books for other academics. There are more popular histories told by journalist and filmmakers, but the two worlds of popularism and academia remained separate. 5-years ago, two post-Grad students at Georgetown University, Chris Gratien and Emrah Safa Gurkan, changed all of that and set-up the Ottoman History podcast (OHP), The format is simple enough, invite authors and researcher onto the show and interview them about their work. What started off with two guys turned into an international success with the last season boosting one million downloads. They have recently expanded and now include students in the UK as among its producers, but why has it proven so popular and what does the future hold for the podcast? I cannot remember when I first encountered the Ottoman History Podcast (OHP), but my heavily redacted memory tells me that it must have been in the autumn of 2013. It was not long after my first visit to Istanbul, a city I had visited many times in my imagination through the words of Turkish novelists that I came across the podcast which forced me to visit the past in much the same way. I was gripped by tales of intrigue, cutting edge research and the welcoming manner of the conversations. Advertisement For many people the academic world can be summed up by the Princeton recruiter played by Earl Boen in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, "We frown on that at Princeton." Of course this was not my experience of academic life but academia can at times feel like an independent kingdom where anything that does not involve publication in inaccessible journals is akin to breaking the law. But the academic world is full of young and idealist people who want to change things and be creative. The Ottoman history podcast is a microcosm of that youthful energy that lurks in libraries at ungodly hours on campuses across the world. What makes the OHP unique is its focus on social history and the fact that its not chronological but theme based. Some of the more popular episodes concern Justice in Ottoman Courts, Intellectual and scientific state of the Ottoman empire. But the episodes go beyond standard Ottoman history and tackle topics from contemporary issues such as education for Syrian refugees in Turkey. It has also dealt with non-Ottoman history such as prostitution in the medieval Arab world, Iranian non-Muslims parliamentarians during the constitutional revolution, historical Palestinian villages, Moroccan Berber folktales and Kurdish Alevi music. Some have contemporary value such as Sectarianism in Lebanon. Available in English and Turkish on Itunes, their website, Soundcloud and Hipcast. Susanna Ferguson, a PhD candidate of Middle Eastern history at Columbia University in New York, podcast host and tipped as Chris Gratien's successor as head of the OHP, "I met Chris in the summer of 2014 in Lebanon through a mutual friend. We went on a hiking trip up into the Lebanese mountains, I noticed he had brought with him a recorder and he was recording soundscapes of the environment. I looked at him and I thought to myself that it would never occur to me to do something like this. We started talking about it, he told me about the podcast and within a week he had sold me on it." Susanna is an Arabist by training who has expertise in histories of thought, feminist movements in the Arab world and the modern history of Lebanon and Syria. "The stereotypical view of academia is that there is a fetish for archives and journals. But this podcast has enabled me to meet with young and fun researchers who I might not have met otherwise. A lot of work goes into producing the episode from editing to locating interviewees. Sometimes they are a little nervous, not use to speaking about their research, are afraid of saying things that might be controversial, and so as a host my job is to make them feel comfortable and encourage them to speak. I am usually excited by the research and so I think that helps when I interview researchers." Advertisement Gender politics and history is something that Susanna is actively involved with, she use to volunteer at a Woman's rights magazine in Jaramana Syria and now produces research on feminist movements in the Arab world. "I studied under people like Abu Lughod, read Saba Mahmood, and met with women in Damascus, Cairo and Beirut, which has made me re-think feminist politics in the West and how we can make it more inclusive of women's voices from outside the west. The conversations are similar even if feminists in the Arab world have different concerns that does not make them backwards, and I think they have a lot to teach us (in the west) about what it means to be a woman in today's world." Wanting to explore these voices through history is in part what Susanna brings to the podcast, "In the future I want to continue brining in young scholars to the podcast, I want to expand it, incorporate more voices from the Arab world and I am interested in building on connections between the present and past." Perhaps unsurprisingly the OHP has attracted a following in Turkey, when the podcast began it was doing episodes exclusively in English but with the increasing popularity in Turkey, a Turkish language podcast was initiated. Turkish audiences were surprised by some of the content as Emrah Safa Gurkan told me, "Traditionally when Turks think about history, especially Ottoman history, they tend to think of Sultans, high politics and royal courts. We (OHP) tend to focus on social histories such as Ottoman bathhouses or Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire and so on. Actually our most popular download in Turkish was on housewives who poison their husbands." He paused for a moment and jokily looked around at the closed door of the room he was in. "As you can see I have closed my door so that my wife cannot poison me," he laughed and continued, "It's actually one of the greatest fears for Turkish men historically speaking. In terms of our audience in Turkey, I can say that we mostly get younger people and researchers both listening and participating. Older Turkish historians don't really understand what it is we do. Also History departments in Turkey are quite conservative in much the way history departments would have been 40 or 50 years ago in America." Emrah teaches at Mayis University in Istanbul and was one of the founders of the podcast. Reflecting on the resurgence of popularity of Ottoman history in Turkey through television shows like the Magnificent Century, "The job of the historian is to depoliticise history, the study of history cannot solve contemporary political problems. However, in Turkey the past is politicised and depending on which government we have, the past is politicised in different ways. The current one promotes Ottoman history and the Islamic past whereas governments before it did not and instead prioritise pre-Islamic history. Among the people the reason for the popularity of shows like the Magnificent Century is that here in Turkey there is a strong identification with the State. We love having a strong state; it makes us feel good, but what we are doing is reinventing history to suit these desires." Advertisement However the OHP is not all serious and does have its lighter side too, "We have discussed doing April Fools podcasts and pranking people," Emrah says. "We tried to do an April Fools' joke about the Illuminati. In Turkey conspiracy theories are quite popular and we tried to do an episode on the history of the Illuminati and its plots against Turkey. We spent all day recording it and we made all kinds of wild claims thinking we could prank those who believe in these conspiracies. But when we tried to play the recordings back we discovered that nothing had been recorded. We pretended to be scared and joked by saying maybe the Illuminati is real and they got into our recording equipment." One of the many reasons that I love listening to the Ottoman History Podcast is that they will explore issues that are rarely talked about. Some of my favourite episodes are on the enlightenment, science and intellectual history of the Ottoman Empire. But as Nir Shafir was telling me the topic is underexplored. "I specialise in intellectual history and its one of the things I bring to the podcast. The episode I did on the Ottoman enlightenment was one of our most popular. But in terms of the state of knowledge on Ottoman science very little is written or produced on it. There is a narrative about the Islamic world and the golden age in the eighth century, which ends with the decline in the thirteen and fourteen century, and this has created a narrative that nothing intellectually or scientifically important came out of that part of the world. The result of this has been a lack of interest in Ottoman intellectual culture and science. Very little has been published on it in the last 50 years. Also when historians do research the science of the golden age, they tend to focus on the science that directly influenced and shaped Europe and so a value judgement is placed on scientific knowledge and its usefulness to European science. The rest is disregarded and so there are huge gaps in our historical knowledge. I do hope the podcast can get more people interested in doing research into topics like this." Expanding on new knowledge and attracting new voices is what founder, Chris Gratien, had hoped for, "The initial drive was to create a situation where the researcher is being interviewed by an interviewer who understands where they are coming from. We did not have any other agenda besides that. When I set Ottoman History Podcast up, I had no idea what it would be; it was not done for commercial or professional reasons. It was just a bunch of grad students who enjoyed reading books and research papers who wanted to talk about it. I didn't realise how popular it would become and I remember attending an academic conference on the Middle East and people would approach me and tell me how much they loved the show. We also have a strong social media presence and we would get followers from different backgrounds, which forced me to re-examine the questions we were asking. This is how it grew into what it is today, audience participation and feedback is huge for us." Advertisement Reflecting on the future, "Working on the podcast has been awesome and I cannot imagine not doing it. In the immediate future we will better organise our online catalogue into themes and not just series. Hopefully by the end of the sixth season every episode will fit into ongoing themes that will stimulate discussions about these topics. We are also trying to branch out geographically and interview scholars who work on Iran, South Asia, early modern Europe and questions beyond the Ottoman Empire. At the moment we just have a strict interview format and I would love to do more multi-segmented, well produced, professional, radio episodes. The project belongs to a large number of people and I am trying to increase those working on the project." One person who Chris sees as expanding on the future of the podcast is Taylan Gungor, "The podcast explores areas that I work on. I found their episode on food in Anatolia very interesting and it's interrelated to what I study. But as a historian we tend to look at numbers, facts and figures, we don't think as much about what the reality of things like wine production were like. The podcast brought this home to me and made me think about these questions in different ways. I am always surprised by how popular the podcast is and how far its reach extends. It's really needed and makes so much sense and I think this is why it attracts so many volunteers. We never promise what we cannot deliver on. I want to be part of that expansion and look at new areas from the history of trade to other areas, but crucially, it has to be content lend and we will do nothing unless the right quality is there." "The Ottoman History Podcast is relevant. Academia needs to follow suit and not just rely on that article in that journal which is published only bi-annually and can only be found at the bottom of the library. History should belong to everyone and not just academics. We are changing the study of Ottoman history worldwide." Advertisement The only thing certain about the refugee crisis in Idomeni, Greece is you never know what is going to happen next. Idomeni was the first official land border crossing for Afghani, Iraqi and Syrian refugees traveling from the Greek islands to Northern Europe. And after two months of working in Idomeni everyday (bar one) I thought I understood the situation. Nothing however prepared me for the crisis that unfolded next. The end of February started off quiet. Bad weather on the islands and open borders meant that refugees passed quickly through camp and the once busy gas station was nearly empty. However, by the beginning of March the situation had changed dramatically. Advertisement As soon as the waves decreased people who had been waiting in Turkey began to arrive on the islands. Simultaneously the number of people per day allowed to cross the border slowed and new restrictions came into effected. Step by step the gates of 'Fortress Europe' closed. At first everyone from Afghanistan was stopped. Suddenly they were no longer considered in danger or in need of European asylum. In reality the growth of the Taliban in Afghanistan and suppressive politics means thousands of people are being forced to flea in order to survive. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Afghanis had arrived to Greece during the first weeks of February in the hope of reaching Northern Europe. However, without pre-warning the border closed to them and they became stuck in Greece. Next anyone without a passport was denied permission to cross. There are many thousands of people who made the journey without a passport. This could be for a number of reasons: documents had expired and couldn't be renewed because of little or no official government in war-torn regions: children were born during the war or whilst traveling and not documented: documents lost when boats capsized in the Aegean Sea: documents were issued by unrecognized authorities (ISIS): family books (official Syrian documents) were not recognized by Macedonian authorities: destroyed when homes were bombed. Now they too were stuck in Greece. The next requirement was a short stay in Turkey. Those who had passports but had a Turkish stamp in their passport for more than 30 days were prevent from travelling on. Turkey has been recognized by the European Commission as a 'Third-Safe Country'. Essentially, those who had stayed over a month in Turkey were not seen as in need of protection and asylum in Europe as they could have applied for asylum in Turkey (see http://www.unhcr.org/56f3ec5a9.pdf). They too were told they couldn't continue in their travels and became stuck in Greece. Advertisement Macedonian authorities also started checking phones. Anyone with a photo that could have associated them with fighting was stopped at the border. Many people have images on their phones of fighters or weapons, as it had just become a part of daily life for many. However, now this could mean that they were considered a danger to Europe and they too became stuck in Greece. Finally on the 8th March the 10foot metal gates closed for all. Suddenly thousands of people who had arrived to Greece with the aim of travelling to Europe to seek refugee were stuck. According to the UNHCR when the border closed 50,000 people were trapped in Greece. They suddenly had nowhere to go. Many people set up camp in the ferry port, some moved into the city of Athens and ended up sleeping outside in Victoria Square, many were taken directly to military camps, and many found their way to Idomeni. Fuelled by the hope that this was only a temporary closure, people turned up in Idomeni to wait for the border to open. For weeks after the border shut people continued to arrive at the border. Private buses were independently organized from the ports, Athens and Thessaloniki. However, about 20km away from the border, at the infamous EKO gas station turned camp, the police stopped the buses. From this point everyone was forced to walk. Walking on the edge of the main highway connecting Greece to the rest of Europe, traffic streaming past, thousands continued their journey north. Carrying everything they owned, with young children on shoulders and babies on backs, people were determined to get to the border in order to wait. I stopped one family to ask why they were still moving North when the border was closed, 'Because maybe on the 1st April it will open' I was told by Fahtima, a young Syrian lady with her 2 young boys and husband. I pushed further asking what if this was not true, 'But where else can we go?' was the response I received. For many people there was no option, and being at the border provided hope. Advertisement By the middle of March over 14,000 people were in Idomeni waiting. However, the official camp can accommodate 1500 people. This means enough toilets, hygiene facilities, food and shelter for just over 10% of the population. Small camping tents popped up, covered the fields and spread down the train tracks to the station. MSF, Aid Delivery Mission and the Red Cross provided emergency food, aiming to provide a minimum of 28,000 meals a day. However, we were not prepared to deal with the influx of people and many were hungry, cold and without shelter. Duncan Hunter said Donald Trump "saying things about things is different than him saying what hes going to do," which we think is a serious cry for help. The Trump campaign has only 30 paid staff, though it has a plan to conceal the deficiency with an elaborate weave. Today's the first anniversary of the Charleston church massacre, and it's hard to believe how much our society has changed since then, how we've grown and learned to put massacres behind us faster than ever. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, June 17th, 2016: PAUL RYAN IS FOR DONALD TRUMP, BUT ALSO AGAINST HIM - It's very clever. Matt Fuller: "House Speaker Paul Ryan has limits to what hell accept from presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump its just that, apparently, Trump hasnt crossed that line yet. In a sit-down interview in his ceremonial Capitol Hill office on Thursday, Ryan told The Huffington Post that Trump does not have 'a blank check' with his endorsement. 'I dont know what that line is,' Ryan said, 'but right now, I want to make sure that we win the White House.' Ryan originally withheld his endorsement of Trump in early May, citing a desire to have 'real unity,' not 'fake unity,' with the likely GOP nominee. Four weeks later, Ryan endorsed. But the speaker doesnt seem to think he and Trump have found authentic harmony. 'Its something that has to be worked at,' Ryan said, 'and we still got work to do.'" [HuffPost] Advertisement Tim Scott has a good video commemorating the Charleston massacre. #NEVERTRUMP CROWD APPARENTLY STILL TRYING TO EXIST - Ed O'Keefe: "Dozens of Republican convention delegates are hatching a new plan to block Donald Trump at this summers party meetings, in what has become the most organized effort so far to stop the businessman from becoming the GOP nominee. The moves come amid declining poll numbers for Trump and growing concerns among Republicans that Trump is squandering his chance to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Several controversies including his racial attacks on a federal judge, renewing his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and support for changing the nations gun laws have raised concerns among Republicans that Trump is not really a conservative and is too reckless to run a successful race." [WaPo] Lockheed Martin has retained former House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to lobby on defense spending, which is in no way unusual or upsetting. Move along. BEHOLD THE SHORTLIST OF PEOPLE UNQUALIFIED ENOUGH TO BE TRUMP'S VP - Eli Stokols and Burgess Everett: "John Weaver, who served as the campaign strategist for Kasichs presidential bid, was more blunt: 'I can't imagine a truly credible person agreeing to be his running mate, because it would be the end of his or her political career.' Ironically, the presumptive nominees own toxicity is making the job of finding a vice presidential nominee that much easier, because the short list is so short. Multiple high-level Republican sources said it is topped by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions a distant third and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin also in the mix." [Politico] It's Newt Gingrich's birthday! We hope someone gave him the $4 million he still owes all the small businesses that provided signs and other stuff for his vain and hopeless 2012 campaign. Advertisement ENDORSING DONALD TRUMP SURE MAKES A GUY LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE MORON - Here's Mike DeBonis describing himself trying to talk to Duncan Hunter, who endorsed Trump and apparently lost his dang marbles: "The Post reporter asked him, 'So what should we believe when he says something? What should we believe when it comes out of his mouth?' 'What he said,' Hunter replied. 'But you just said you dont necessarily believe what he says is what hes going to do,' said the reporter. 'Right,' Hunter said. 'True. But him talking about things and saying things about things is different than him saying what hes going to do. I think hell do what he says hes going to do. Im not trying to parse words; I think hell do what he says hes going to do. But he says things about things that I dont endorse, and Im not going to try to articulate for him.'" [WaPo] Jill Stein, Tim Black and Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) joined the HuffPost Politics podcast this week. Enjoy Ribble's reaction to Arthur's offensive campaign joke. Haircuts: Arthur Delaney, Dave Jamieson, Samuel Levine, Zach Carter, Laura Barron-Lopez. Everyone's looking great, too. DELANEY DOWNER - Stunning essay by Kim Stradone from Virginia: "I am the lady you judged for buying groceries with her SNAP card. I am the lady who raised her two sons with no child support. I am the lady who wore clothes from Goodwill while making sure her children had nice new clothes. I am the lady who has always had an excellent credit score. I am the lady who used to live in a very nice neighborhood in the suburbs. I am the lady who was terrified when she found out that her liver disease had progressed to full-blown cirrhosis in just two years. I am the lady who has lost everything and is now homeless. I am the proud proud lady who has had to swallow her pride and ask for help from friends, family and the government." [HuffPost] Advertisement Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill DONALD TRUMP IS NOT EVEN TRYING - Thomas Beaumont and Steve Peoples: "Trump is largely outsourcing what's typically called a campaign's ground game, which includes the labor-intensive jobs of identifying and contacting potential supporters. Ed Brookover, recently tapped to serve as the Trump's liaison to the RNC, says the campaign is making progress on adding its own staff in key states. The campaign estimates it currently has about 30 paid staff on the ground across the country. 'There are some holes,' Brookover said. 'There are fewer holes than there were.'" [Associated Press] Trump tweeted a chart of himself losing to Hillary Clinton as part of his clever strategy to not win the election. UNITY - Jake Sherman: "Hillary Clinton will hold a fundraiser with the entire House and Senate Democratic leadership next week, the first event of its kind for the presumptive Democratic nominee. The event will be held June 21 in Washington, and will feature Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.)." [Politico] Advertisement REPEAL AND REPL- LOOK, A SQUIRREL! - Has there ever been a can kicked down the road more than the Obamacare "replacement" has? Jeffrey Young and Jonathan Cohn: "What we already know from news reports -- and history -- is that the contents of the House GOP proposal likely will be cribbed from previous Republican health care plans. Because these ideas are all old and warmed over, theyve all been analyzed ad nauseam, which makes it possible to evaluate the Ryan-backed plan -- or at least get a sense of its general impact -- before it even comes out." [HuffPost] ATTEMPTS TO PROFIT FROM OPIOID EPIDEMIC HIT SNAG - A whole lot of Americans are hooked on prescription pain pills and/or heroin, but there aren't enough places to get treatment. Enter the private sector! Ryan Grim: "Drug treatment is now big business, and a wave of consolidation is sweeping the industry, as private equity firms and publicly traded companies look to cash in on the surging rates of addiction. Federal regulators, meanwhile, are pushing to reform the very nature of the services offered by treatment centers. How the addiction industry faces up to all these changes will help set the course of drug treatment for years to come." [HuffPost] JIM CLYBURN IS VERY TOLERANT - Emma Dumain: "The day after Fox News pundit Bill OReilly said he wanted to 'slap' U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn for his position on the nations gun laws, the South Carolina Democrat offered a withering reply. 'Tolerating haters is the story of my life,' Clyburn said in a statement to The Post and Courier Friday. The third most senior House Democrat and highest-ranking black lawmaker in Congress, Clyburn grew up in the segregated South. He was heavily involved in the civil rights movement and has countless stories to share of his confrontations with racially motivated hatred and violence. OReilly immediately came under fire from Democrats and allies of Clyburn for threatening on live television to inflict physical harm on an elected official, even if in a hyperbolic capacity." [PostandCourier.com] BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - This is the best political satire of the week. GARY JOHNSON HASN'T SMOKED WEED IN LIKE, ALMOST TWO MONTHS - He revealed his pot abstention in an interview with Susan Page: "'I haven't had a drink of alcohol in 29 years because of rock climbing and the notion of being the best that you can be, and in that same vein I've stopped using marijuana of any kind.' For how long? 'It's been about seven weeks,' he says, a decision to abstain that he would continue as president, if elected. 'I want to be completely on top of my game, all cylinders.'" There's really only one kind of marijuana -- the kind that gets you high -- but okay. [USAToday] Advertisement COMFORT FOOD - Eighth grader does awesome presidential impersonations. - Dads competing to see who can stack the most Cheerios on their babies. - A truck carrying deli meat collided with a truck carring bread. TWITTERAMA @SchreckReports: On the phone with a former Trump adviser: "I bet if someone offered him $150 million to drop out, he would." @BillKristol: Done. Dinner in NY Monday, private room at Daniel, reservation under name of @Reince. 15 billionaires, $10m each. @mollyesque: "Yes ma'am, it's Representative Harold Watson Gowdy III. But you can call me Trey." Like many with hyphenated identities, Israeli-Americans have proven to be uniquely capable bridge builders. In recent years, the Israeli-American Council (IAC), and its partner advocacy organization, the Israeli-American Nexus (IAX), have been able to tap into our community's unique fluency in both the Israeli and American cultures to build unprecedented partnerships between the people and governments of Israel and the United States. As Chairman of the IAC, I take great pride in the many ways that we are bringing together our two countries by sharing solutions that address our mutual challenges. This week, the IAC will take an important step forward with this work, as it sponsors a groundbreaking tour to Israel for public and private sector leaders in California's agricultural sector, including Karen Ross, head of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Craig McNamara, President of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Sixteen California leaders will spend a week travelling across the Jewish state, learning about Israel's cutting-edge farming practices, which have enabled the country to become an agri-tech superpower in a land that was known a century ago for swamps in the north, deserts in the south, and very little water anywhere. The IAC has helped them to build an itinerary jam-packed with agri-tech and innovation. Top scientists at the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture's research center will present advancements in cultivating specific crops like wheat and citrus, along with new technologies, like using energy-efficient greenhouses to control humidity or using drones to detect pests. California leaders will also tour Israeli organic farms - and see the facilities of companies that have created plant-breeding techniques, such as a non-GMO start-up that drastically increases plant productivity, as well as ones that pioneered drip technology manufacturing and implementation. Advertisement Southern California is in its fourth consecutive year of a severe drought. It can no longer rely on its traditional sources of water of rain and snow from the Sierra Nevada mountain range for its growing population of nearly 23 million. The California delegation will tour Israel in search of solutions to these challenges. They will meet with experts at Israel's National Water Company to learn how the country has put in place next generation technology and drastically reduced water waste. They will tour Jerusalem's water supply company, visit a cutting-edge research center created by Ben Gurion University, and meet with representatives at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, who will present the technicalities of their water conservation efforts and explain how they work to protect natural resources, safeguard the environment, and maintain biodiversity. This trip builds on a wave of success in increasing collaboration between the U.S. and Israel, which has advanced rapidly since 2014, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and California Governor Jerry Brown signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate this collaborative innovation between the two states. Driven by the leadership of Israel's Consul General in the Southwest David Siegel, and a range of partners, including the IAC and the IAX, we are translating the spirit of the MOU into tangible outcomes on the ground. Advertisement And just this month, the IAC helped to bring together the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) with the Federation of Local Authorities (MASHAM) in Israel, who signed a partnership agreement that will deepen the relationship between more than 250 municipal governments in Israel and the members of SCAG, which includes municipal governments stretching across 191 cities in six counties. This partnership will foster research collaboration and enable the sharing of strategies in areas of mutual interest in urban development, safe cities, community diversity, and in particular, on sustainability projects, such as water conservation and sourcing alternative energy. I'm confident that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of potential collaboration between these two entities. By combining resources, sharing knowledge, and exchanging expertise, California and Israel - two hubs of exceptional innovation - can advance solutions together that address their mutual challenges, while changing the world in the process. The Israeli-American community is proud to serve as a bridge to make this collaboration possible. Nearly a week after the horrific act of violence that claimed 49 lives in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, my heart remains broken. It is hard to make sense of the extreme homophobia, the audacity of privilege, and the tremendous loss of lives and potential that this act brought to the world stage during LGBT Pride Month, which pays homage to the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. In this Hemisphere it seemed that we were moving forward: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in the U.S., and in Bolivia, the government approved a landmark law recognizing transgender rights. But, justice and progress are not always linear. As Justin Torres points out in his excellent piece in the Washington Post, liberation is not a permanent state; "this world constricts," and so much more must be done until every individual is able to express their sexuality and gender identity freely and without fear. Advertisement In the region where I work, South America was the first continent to have a majority of its inhabitants living in a jurisdiction that afforded same-sex couples the right to marry, most recently, in Colombia. Still, discrimination remains rampant throughout the region: the average Latin American transgender woman will die before she turns 35. In the Caribbean, anti-sodomy laws remain on the books in eleven countries and gay rights activists like Belize's Caleb Orozco live in isolation and fear. After a tragedy like the Orlando shooting, it is hard to believe in love or a better future. It is tempting to feel defeated, but there are always people reaching out with love and help. Vigils were held around the world and more than 100,000 people donated to a Pulse victims fund created by LGBT rights organization Equality Florida in the last four days alone. And, my co-workers wrote us from the field to tell us that despite these terrible injustices, these horrific murders, there is hope. In Brazil, my colleague attended the launch of a new sexuality education phone appPartiu Papo Reto created by young people working with our local partner CEPIA in Rio de Janeiro. As part of a messaging exercise, she showed the more than 60 young peopleages 13 to 20 in attendance to view two HIV prevention campaigns. She asked them what they thought of the first one, which depicted two men spooning in a coffin. Hands shot up. Discriminatory. Hateful. Wrong. Advertisement At the end of the event, the youth did a rap about sexual rights and a presentation on their hopes for the future. What do they want? Human rights for all. Happy, consensual sex lives. And end to homophobia, transphobia, violence and sexual assault. My colleague was moved by their knowledge, their resolve and courageousness as the stained glass wall behind them bathed the youth in rainbow light. Americans woke up today to some good news in the fight to enact common-sense gun reforms. After Democrats seized control of the Senate floor yesterday and held a nearly 15-hour filibuster demanding action on two pieces of pending legislation, a compromise was reached early this morning. Senate Republicans have finally agreed to hold votes on two measures that would ban people on the government's terrorist watch list from obtaining gun licenses and expand background checks to gun shows and internet sales. Great news for sure! But haven't we been here before? Just a few years ago, in the wake of another gun violence tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, the Senate found themselves poised to vote on a gun reform proposal. The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, required background checks on most private firearm sales. The proposal was bi-partisan. The vast majority of Americans supported enacting it. And the Senate passed it overwhelmingly. I know. That's not what happened. Despite overwhelming public support for enacting universal background checks and the bi-partisan nature of the bill, the Senate still voted down the legislation 54 - 46. In fact, only four Republican Senators crossed the aisle and voted in favor of it. To be fair - five Democratic Senators also voted against it. It was clear to everyone watching that the rigid opposition and deep pockets of the NRA trumped the will of the electorate. Advertisement Is anything going to be enough for these Republican Senators? If 20 first graders and six educators shot down at Sandy Hook Elementary; or nine worshippers in a North Charleston church shot to death because of the color of their skin; 12 moviegoers in Aurora enjoying the newest Batman film; or 14 coworkers in San Bernardino at an office holiday party wasn't enough-- will 49 people in Orlando out for a fun weekend night of dancing and socializing at an LGBT club make the difference for these legislators? Clearly, part of the reason this is moving faster is because of organizations like Moms Demand Action. They have energized millions of people to reach out to their lawmakers and have created the grassroots pressure to make these politicians take action. If Senate Republicans refuse once again to pass commonsense gun reform, there's only one solution. They've got to go. When over 90 percent of Americans support background checks (including 87 percent of Republicans), but Republicans in the Senate can only muster four votes, something is seriously broken. These new pieces of gun reform legislation will fail for the same reasons the last measure did. The wrong people are in office. Luckily, we can do something about it. We can show Republicans that we reject their obstructionism and unwillingness to work across the aisle by voting them out and voting in Democrats that get it. It starts this November when we all head to ballot box. Remember Sandy Hook when you vote for local school board and city council members. Think of the victims of the Orlando shooting when you vote for your county council and state legislators. Electing these people locally is part of an important, long-term plan that will help us eventually get to where we need to be nationally with gun reforms. We may not get Republican lawmakers to see the light on this issue, but we can certainly show them the door. In the wake of the shootings in Orlando, Florida last weekend, many of us were stunned at the magnitude of violence that occurred in a place where people were gathered to have fun dancing and hanging with friends. Many of us wondered how someone could be so deliberately heinous and discriminatory to attack members of the LGBT community without provocation. While most people have been very sympathetic and compassionate toward the victims of the nightclub shooting, there are a few sad souls who have expressed satisfaction with the deaths of the 49 innocent people believing because of their lifestyle, they got what they deserved! How cruel. Members of the LGBT community are entitled the same unalienable rights as everyone else--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They have a right to live how they choose to live and to love who they choose to love without fear of judgment or the threat of death. In fact, no one should have to live in fear because of who they are whether they were born that way or choose to be a particular way; it doesn't matter. Advertisement "I don't know how I feel about the shooting because hate is hate. I don't think it is just a gay thing, but a hate thing," said Sylvia McAfee of Atlanta and a member of the LGBT community. In addition, to being shocked and outraged at the deaths of 49 people in one night, what disturbed me just as much was hearing those who were spared lament over the fact that Pulse nightclub was the one place where members of their community could go and feel safe and free to be themselves. Now that is gone. Surely, an unprovoked attack like this has a disturbing effect on the LGBT community just law enforcement often over the top attacks on Black men disturbs the Black community. Everyone is subject to some biases and prejudices that we may not be proud of, but it doesn't give us a pass to be violent or hateful. What right did the shooter have to snuff out lives because he had a chip on his shoulder? What right did he have to leave so many loved ones in pain over losing their family or friends in his vicious attack? None! "It's an unfortunate situation but you can't stop living your life. I don't think this will set our community back, but will strengthen it instead. The LGBT community is a resilient group of people," McAfee added. Hence, it matters not if you agree with the lifestyles of LGBT community, we all have a duty to be advocates for what is right and what is fair. We have a duty to help another human being who needs help and to treat that person with decency and respect. It doesn't cost you a thing to treat someone the way you want to be treated. After all, we all bleed red. Advertisement This interview is part of a series on Trailblazing Women role models (Entrepreneurs and Leaders) from around the world and first appeared on Global Invest Her. You have to see what you can be. "I would tell younger people to trust their gut about what they think is best for them and not be afraid to try and fail." Bedy is Managing Partner at 500Startups. 500Startups is a leading seed and incubator fund in Silicon Valley with vibrant spaces in Mountain View and San Francisco. It provides early-stage companies with funding and mentorship from over 200 experienced startup mentors. Bedy has invested in over 50 startups, not only in Brazil and Spanish speaking countries, but also in Kenya and Russia. Advertisement In addition to 500 Startups, Bedy founded Brazil Innovators, an organization that became the epicenter and resource for Brazilian tech founders. Through her leadership, her work has been featured in leading media such as Exame, Veja, Folha de Sao Paulo, Estadao, Techcrunch, TNW, Washington Post, Globo. She was selected as America Quarterly Innovator, featured as women leader on Forbes. Bedy has been active speaker in conferences including Berkeley, Bloomberg Link, Dell Women Entrepreneur Network, Endeavor, Instituto de Empresas, FGV, Startup Chile. Before 500 Startups and Brazil Innovators, Bedy worked as management consultant specializing in distribution and go-to-market strategies for Fortune 500 companies in Brazil. She has also worked as social entrepreneur creating opportunities for women and indigenous tribes in Brazil and China. Bedy holds a BA at Fundacao Getulio Vargas and MLA (East Asian Studies) from University of Pennsylvania. She speaks Chinese, English, Portuguese and Spanish fluently. She is also a member of the Society of Kauffman Fellows and graduated with recognition for her leadership. Visit the 500 startups website or Brazil Innovators website and follow Bedy on Twitter @bedy Who is your role model as a leader? The first role model who is my foundation is my Mom, because she is very entrepreneurial. She moved from Taiwan to Paraguay without speaking a word of Spanish or other Latin languages. She has very strong leadership and built a few businesses. I really looked up to her as I was growing up. She was always very supportive of us to learn foreign languages, travel and explore new things (Bedy speaks Portuguese, Chinese, English, Spanish and some Taiwanese and German) and provided us with an important foundation. When I look at how much she achieved and her leadership, she is a big reference for me. I really admire my other fellow Managing Partners at 500 Startups. Starting with Dave - he will never stop on his vision. He is very smart and is the inspiration behind the vision for the organization. With Christine, one thing I really enjoy about her leadership is that she's very anchored and has a great balance of being successful and being a mom and wife. She's not talkative or social at all, but it's great to see her as a different leadership role model. You may think that every leader has to be loud, out there, but a lot of success at 500Startups is because of her. I really admire her being so centered given the craziness around us. Another great member of the management is Khailee, he is the most energetic person I know! One thing that's important for me regarding role models, is that a lot of role models come from small moments of interactions with other people around me, including the founders of startups I work with. Advertisement What is your greatest achievement to date? For me, it's really important to create optionality and opportunity for other people at scale. My biggest achievement is that I know exactly what I want and I have found ways to fulfil my purpose. I am co-creating a venture fund that is different: global and scalable. I have also started some organizations that I know have created impact for founders which make me very happy! For me as an individual, what is important is the capacity to empower a lot of other people and level very different environments. For example, if I'm in the Bay area that is rich in terms of resources and mindset, I think 'how can I take that and bring it to a lot of other places?' I like to see how I can take different vehicles and bring them to fruition. For instance Brazil Innovators, the organization that I founded, now has a team that makes magic happen. We have 10,000 entrepreneurs and investors in a very vibrant community. I wouldn't say that one person 'owns' it, but I feel that the beginning vision, the first spark was important and has created the seed for a lot of things I see today in the Brazilian tech ecosystem. Being able to create a platform where we are not just helping 5 people but thousands of founders, I feel that is a really big accomplishment and I am proud of that. What has been your biggest challenge as a woman leader? I think it's a mix between being a woman and being a constant immigrant. My parents are immigrants and I have been moving to a different country every 10 years since I was young. First they moved from Taiwan to Paraguay. Then from Paraguay to Brazil and then on to the US. Very often, I've come from a minority perspective coming in to change the status quo. The immigrant/minority/woman perspective gets blended so it's very hard for me to pinpoint what's what. It's hard for me to point out an environment where being a woman has been a challenge for me. I spend the majority of my time at 500 Startups which is really an environment that allows different backgrounds to grow. So I don't feel any difference within my work environment. Also we are an organization that is constantly trying to disrupt, so the way we invest is very different from traditional venture capitalists. I really fit in at 500 so don't feel any pressure from the outside. How do you grow people in your organization? The way I look at it, 500 Startups is not just a VC fund - we are a platform, so we need to have a network and scale. Very often when I think about a platform/marketplace, it doesn't count on one single item, it's a balance of several different factors. What we think about when we are growing the team or the organization, is more from the founders' perspective. So at early stage, what do founders need most? They need cash and being fast about whether you will invest or not is important, even if it's a small check. The other thing that's important at that stage is 'how do I build my company so that it reaches the customer?' Internally we call that team the Distribution team - who help startups get user acquisition, growth hacking, leverage pre-existing platforms to reach the audience they want to reach (eg via google search or using video). Another important component we help startups with is when they Exit (with follow-on cash and on how to exit). So when we are growing the organization and the core team, we are always thinking about how can we help startups from a growth and capital perspective and ensure to give them the right resources. We have 300 mentors who really help founders and the founders help each other out too as peers. That's an important part of our community. Advertisement If you could do 1 thing differently, what would it be? I would like to find better work life balance. I do think I have made significant shift in my first years, from being a runner to a leader. In the past, I always used to think I needed a lot more time, now I need a lot more team. The team fulfils the lack of time you have. I like to learn and have a very systemic way of thinking, where I see the system as a whole. Building a community, environment and platforms is something I like doing, because that's the way I learn. Before, I was learning from role models and now that I know what to do, I want to run as fast as I can and I need more time. I moved from being inspired and needing more time, to now needing the right people to work with as a peer. I see everyone in our organization as a peer, a co-worker. My mindset on worklife balance has shifted. I know it's still not sustainable, but in years to come I do want to be able to look back and not just see what I have done in terms of work, but also my family and friends. That's really important to me. What differences do you notice between men and women's leadership styles? That's a hard question because I think it's always biased. I think it comes down to confidence. I always have a matrix of confidence and competence when looking at founders. I think back to that imposter syndrome and how it affects women differently. Even when men are less confident, in their communication style they can still come across as more confident. However, we have to be aware of bias and not put people into boxes. How would you describe your leadership style? I am open minded and really want my team members to be successful and accomplished in life. In general, I have a high bar for results and look for entrepreneurial and resourceful people and try to make sure they can become successful at their role. Advertisement What advice would you give to your younger self? The key thing for me, what I would have told my younger self is, to trust my gut about what I wanted to do. I've always challenged myself to do new things, different things, but for a long time I wasn't really sure because I was always and outsider that broke into new networks. I would tell younger people to trust their gut about what they think is best for them and not be afraid to try and to learn with the journey and not the final result. What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years? I link it directly to what I'm doing at 500, because that's a great conduit for what I believe for life in general. What I'd like to see in 5 years, is that globally (and not just the organization) access to technology, capital and resources for startups will level up. 500's work moves the needle forward in that direction and as an organization, we are still learning about how to sustain ourselves. We are always looking at what more resources we can add (in comparison to traditional VC's) and checking to see if what we have done is well established yet. In 5 years, I'd like to see more organizations, funds, build capital and how you provide funding, knowledge in different countries and women (for whom it is harder) to really level up opportunities globally. We are using 500 as a product/conduit to increase this diversity and access to global opportunity. 3 key words to describe yourself? driven positive builder "Don't be afraid to try new things to find out who you are and where you are going." ----------------------------------------------------- Watch Anne Ravanona's TEDx talk on Investing in Women Entrepreneurs. American politian US Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (1908 - 1957) speaks from behind a bank of microphones, mid 20th century. (Photo by Photoquest/Getty Images) There's a virus infecting our politics and right now it's flourishing with a scarlet heat. It feeds on fear, paranoia and bigotry. All that was required for it to spread was a timely opportunity -- and an opportunist with no scruples. There have been stretches of history when this virus lay dormant. Sometimes it would flare up here and there, then fade away after a brief but fierce burst of fever. At other moments, it has spread with the speed of a firestorm, a pandemic consuming everything in its path, sucking away the oxygen of democracy and freedom. Advertisement Today its carrier is Donald Trump, but others came before him: narcissistic demagogues who lie and distort in pursuit of power and self-promotion. Bullies all, swaggering across the landscape with fistfuls of false promises, smears, innuendo and hatred for others, spite and spittle for anyone of a different race, faith, gender or nationality. In America, the virus has taken many forms: "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman, the South Carolina governor and senator who led vigilante terror attacks with a gang called the Red Shirts and praised the efficiency of lynch mobs; radio's charismatic Father Charles Coughlin, the anti-Semitic, pro-Fascist Catholic priest who reached an audience of up to 30 million with his attacks on Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal; Mississippi's Theodore Bilbo, a member of the Ku Klux Klan who vilified ethnic minorities and deplored the "mongrelization" of the white race; Louisiana's corrupt and dictatorial Huey Long, who promised to make "Every Man a King." And of course, George Wallace, the governor of Alabama and four-time presidential candidate who vowed, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." Note that many of these men leavened their gospel of hate and their lust for power with populism -- giving the people hospitals, schools and highways. Father Coughlin spoke up for organized labor. Both he and Huey Long campaigned for the redistribution of wealth. Tillman even sponsored the first national campaign-finance reform law, the Tillman Act, in 1907, banning corporate contributions to federal candidates. Advertisement But their populism was tinged with poison -- a pernicious nativism that called for building walls to keep out people and ideas they didn't like. Which brings us back to Trump and the hotheaded, ego-swollen provocateur he most resembles: Joseph McCarthy, U.S. senator from Wisconsin -- until now perhaps our most destructive demagogue. In the 1950s, this madman terrorized and divided the nation with false or grossly exaggerated tales of treason and subversion -- stirring the witches' brew of anti-Communist hysteria with lies and manufactured accusations that ruined innocent people and their families. "I have here in my hand a list," he would claim -- a list of supposed Reds in the State Department or the military. No one knew whose names were there, nor would he say, but it was enough to shatter lives and careers. In the end, McCarthy was brought down. A brave journalist called him out on the same television airwaves that helped the senator become a powerful, national sensation. It was Edward R. Murrow, and at the end of an episode exposing McCarthy on his CBS series See It Now, Murrow said: "It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one, and the junior senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men -- not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular." There also was the brave and moral lawyer Joseph Welch, acting as chief counsel to the U.S. Army after it was targeted for one of McCarthy's inquisitions. When McCarthy smeared one of his young associates, Welch responded in full view of the TV and newsreel cameras during hearings in the Senate. "You've done enough," Welch said. "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?... If there is a God in heaven, it will do neither you nor your cause any good. I will not discuss it further." It was a devastating moment. Finally, McCarthy's fellow senators -- including a handful of brave Republicans -- turned on him, putting an end to the reign of terror. It was 1954. A motion to censure McCarthy passed 67-22, and the junior senator from Wisconsin was finished. He soon disappeared from the front pages, and three years later was dead. Here's something McCarthy said that could have come straight out of the Trump playbook: "McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled." Sounds just like The Donald, right? Interestingly, you can draw a direct line from McCarthy to Trump -- two degrees of separation. In a Venn diagram of this pair, the place where the two circles overlap, the person they share in common, is a fellow named Roy Cohn. Cohn was chief counsel to McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the same one Welch went up against. Cohn was McCarthy's henchman, a master of dark deeds and dirty tricks. When McCarthy fell, Cohn bounced back to his hometown of New York and became a prominent Manhattan wheeler-dealer, a fixer representing real estate moguls and mob bosses -- anyone with the bankroll to afford him. He worked for Trump's father, Fred, beating back federal prosecution of the property developer, and several years later would do the same for Donald. "If you need someone to get vicious toward an opponent," Trump told a magazine reporter in 1979, "you get Roy." To another writer he said, "Roy was brutal but he was a very loyal guy." Cohn introduced Trump to his McCarthy-like methods of strong-arm manipulation and to the political sleazemeister Roger Stone, another dirty trickster and unofficial adviser to Trump who just this week suggested that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin was a disloyal American who may be a spy for Saudi Arabia, a "terrorist agent." Advertisement Cohn also introduced Trump to the man who is now his campaign chair, Paul Manafort, the political consultant and lobbyist who without a moral qualm in the world has made a fortune representing dictators -- even when their interests flew in the face of human rights or official US policy. So the ghost of Joseph McCarthy lives on in Donald Trump as he accuses President Obama of treason, slanders women, mocks people with disabilities, and impugns every politician or journalist who dares call him out for the liar and bamboozler he is. The ghosts of all the past American demagogues live on in him as well, although none of them have ever been so dangerous -- none have come as close to the grand prize of the White House. Because even a pathological liar occasionally speaks the truth, Trump has given voice to many who feel they've gotten a raw deal from establishment politics, who see both parties as corporate pawns, who believe they have been cheated by a system that produces enormous profits from the labor of working men and women that are gobbled up by the 1 percent at the top. But again, Trump's brand of populism comes with venomous race-baiting that spews forth the red-hot lies of a forked and wicked tongue. We can hope for journalists with the courage and integrity of an Edward R. Murrow to challenge this would-be tyrant, to put the truth to every lie and publicly shame the devil for his outrages. We can hope for the likes of Joseph Welch, who demanded to know whether McCarthy had any sense of decency. Think of Gonzalo Curiel, the jurist Trump accused of persecuting him because of the judge's Mexican heritage. Curiel has revealed the soulless little man behind the curtain of Trump's alleged empire, the avaricious money-grubber who conned hard-working Americans out of their hard-won cash to attend his so-called "university." And we can hope there still remain in the Republican Party at least a few brave politicians who will stand up to Trump, as some did McCarthy. This might be a little harder. For every Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham who have announced their opposition to Trump, there is a weaselly Paul Ryan, a cynical Mitch McConnell and a passel of fellow travelers up and down the ballot who claim not to like Trump and who may not wholeheartedly endorse him but will vote for him in the name of party unity. Advertisement As this headline in The Huffington Postaptly put it, "Republicans Are Twisting Themselves Into Pretzels To Defend Donald Trump." Ten GOP senators were interviewed about Trump and his attack on Judge Curiel's Mexican heritage. Most hemmed and hawed about their presumptive nominee. As Trump "gets to reality on things he'll change his point of view and be, you know, more responsible." That was Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Trump's comments were "racially toxic" but "don't give me any pause." That was Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Republican African-American in the Senate. And Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas? He said Trump's words were "unfortunate." Asked if he was offended, Jennifer Bendery writes, the senator "put his fingers to his lips, gestured that he was buttoning them shut, and shuffled away." Here's a simple bedtime tip: count your blessings because blessings count when it comes to sleep. In honor of Father's Day, this post was going to be a collection of memories about how my dad had an impact on my bedtime ritual. It was huge -- for one thing, he got me to stop sucking my thumb by telling me I would end up looking like Bugs Bunny. I trusted him because he said I could keep my blankie -- just don't suck my thumb. My blankie was my BFF at the time. I wanted to describe how my grandfather showed up at my hospital bedside when I had my tonsils out at the ridiculously young age of three. I was terrified -- remembering the clinical atmosphere, lights on all night, the cold sheets and flimsy blanket instead of my cozy bed, and the slats on the crib in the shadow of the overhead light made me feel as if I was in prison. The hospital room with my older brother and other children was shared, so I don't know what those others thought when the tall grey-haired man with the Swedish accent told us a story so we could know someone cared, home was waiting for our return. An assurance that life would be okay in a bit. When I was interviewing parents - well, all moms to be candid - about bedtime, I heard similar memories of fathers participating in tuck-in time and a yearning to share the joy of this lovely ritual. Advertisement Then I remembered something else. I was teaching music at a nursery school outside New York City in 2005. One of the songs I enjoyed singing with the children was the Scottish lullaby "Ally Bally Bee". Ally Bally, Ally Bally Bee Sitting on your daddy's knee Greeting for a wee penny To buy some Coulter's candy I would pass out soft toys or scarves for the children to feel the rhythm by rocking and explore their voices by singing softly. In my experience, children enjoy soothing calm activities as much as they enjoy fun with a capital "F". Kids crave balance in their lives as much as adults. At the end of the 4-year-old class, the teacher took me aside, asking me gently not to sing that song with the children. Little Maggie - bright, exuberant, whimsical Maggie - had never met her father. Her mother was pregnant when the Twin Towers fell and her dad was in one of them. Advertisement How foolish and short-sighted of me. That community lost nine people in September, 2001. This post was going to be about dads, but then I also remembered my experience as a single mother for the first 5 years of my child's life and all the single moms out there in the world. I remembered that there are people for whom Father's Day - or Mother's Day - is a difficult time. And then the Irving Berlin song "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" popped into my head. My memory of the song wasn't Bing Crosby singing it in White Christmas but rather attending a closing ceremony at a children's summer camp and hearing the kids sing this classic from the American Songbook. Count your blessings - what a powerful message to give kids. Particularly in a culture that target markets to children and wants them to yearn for more stuff. Think about the good events of the day - not the future because that creates anxiety. Gratitude works. Daily we are getting more messages about gratitude as a foundational practice for true happiness. Gratitude works to turn off the negative motor mind - you know, the inner voice that judges and totals up all the worries that keep you from falling into a deep sleep. Advertisement Worry is interest on a loan never taken. I know this works as a way to get to sleep - I've done it myself. I go through the day and surrender in gratitude for all the blessings during my waking hours. And I'm grateful for the memories of my dad and grandfather and the other positive male presences in my life. Approaching those memories with gratitude rather than nostalgia can get you through difficult times. Yes, even charming, funny, and handsome dads like mine can be problematic because relationships are a journey. Imagine the possibilities for kids - sweet dreams, positive attitude, stress-free - if we taught them the habit of gratitude. Start with tuck-in time, put the day to bed with thanksgiving. Once you start counting your blessings, you won't want to stop. Get ideas for practicing gratitude below. I like to visit cultural institutions as a place of inspiration, and I loved the idea of sharing that experience with my children, watching them grow to feel the same way I do. Museums are one of the few places where I can marvel at breathtaking monumental artworks, challenge myself with experimental conceptual pieces, and see the world through different eyes, as I consider why and how an artist made the choices they did. Now, hoping to share that feeling with my kids, I make a concerted effort to seek out quality art programs and art events around the city that we can experience together. One year when they were young, as we got ready to go to a yearly family event for a local arts organization, I realized with dismay that my girls were not only not very enthusiastic about attending, they were actively complaining. "What's wrong?" I asked, confused. "I thought you liked making art." "But it's boring!" they complained. And you know what? They were right. I thought about the activities they were asked to do year after year -- stringing plastic beads to make a keychain, or slapping some cheap paint on a tote bag emblazoned with the logo of some sponsor. I realized that it was much more about the sponsor than about engaging my kids. They were completely secondary. Thinking back even farther, I thought about the throwaway cut-out snowmen, the coloring sheets, the uninspired finger-painting projects they did at school. No wonder they were disinterested in art. This began to bother me. It was a deep unease and persistent concern, not just for my own children, but for their peers as well. If my kids, who had an art booster and enthusiast for a mom had this disregard for the arts, what was happening for kids across our nation? And, what was different about my upbringing? As a young girl, I had a transformative experience that really paved the path towards the arts for me. At the now-defunct Los Angeles Children's Museum, I was able to make a painting with the artist Chuck Arnoldi, who was a successful Los Angeles based artist. He wasn't just standing there, telling me to make something, he was actually creating a painting collaboratively with me. It didn't feel like a "kids" project at all. One of his signature styles is a painting composed entirely of brightly colored sticks, arrayed in splayed abstract shapes. We made the painting together, and both signed it at the end. I was so incredibly proud of this work, I even used it on the cover of my Bat Mitzvah invitation. Not only that, I had experienced an unusual new creative technique, and got to actually interact with a respected professional artist, and question why he made the work he did. That set me off on a lifelong love of art, and I knew that I wanted my kids to experience that same feeling -- of pride, curiosity, and the desire to seek new creative experiences. Los Angeles is such an incredible treasure trove of artistic activity, and I knew I wanted to find a way to engage another generation of Los Angeles youth in everything artful and wonderful that was going on in our city. I had an idea for a "happening" where kids could engage with contemporary artists, like I had with Mr. Arnoldi, and make inspiring, critical artwork that would give them a window into new creative processes. I also wanted this special, intimate experience to be a fundraiser to support free family programming at art museums around the city Luckily, I found a willing partner in Annie Philbin, the director of the Hammer Museum at UCLA, who was interested in growing her organization's family programs. Together we founded the annual Kids Art Museum Project (K.A.M.P. at the Hammer), and all the funds raised were directed to support their free family programming. Over 7 years, we have engaged more than 100 artists to dream up creative workshops for children, and raised over $1,000,000. These workshops, which take place in the Hammer courtyard, have included wildly inventive projects such as "Urban Lava Factories" by Max Hooper Schneider, "Sand Mandalas" by Jennifer Guidi, and "Amazing Sock Creatures" by Catherine and Oliver Opie. My daughters have loved every event and project, and even as teenagers, they still look forward to it. One day, one of my daughter's friends came over to roast marshmallows, and told me, "My favorite museum is the Hammer Museum." I knew she had been to K.A.M.P. a few times, and I was so gratified by those words. She was comfortable in an art environment, not intimidated, interested in experimenting, and curious about how the artists were thinking. That's exactly what I had hoped for. But it's not enough. K.A.M.P. was always meant to be a fundraiser, and it requires a donation to attend. Hammer has other excellent free family programming, but even with all of their incredible options, its capacity is limited. The family programming at Los Angeles art museums combined is not enough to serve the next generation of children in the city (not to mention the country) who need exposure to creative skills, critical thinking, empathy, and the experience of innovating and inventing on a daily basis in order to solve the incredibly complex challenges the future holds for them. These are all capacities that the arts provide, and they can't just happen in museums alone. These experiences need to happen regularly all year long -- at school, and especially at home. Spending time together making and talking about art demonstrates for our children the value that we place on creativity. My next chapter is to take on access to the arts as a broader mission, and I have good company. I believe that everyone, parents and kids together, teachers and their students, can participate in great art experiences together. All they need are the right projects that push their creativity, and the right materials to make it happen. Working with a team of arts educators and talented contemporary artists, I recently launched Markybox, a monthly membership box that sends members complete materials and instructions for a high-quality art project for two (parent/adult and child) each month. Our first box is hand-casting -- and believe me, a beautiful cast hand (a sculptural technique that has been used for centuries) is a far cry from a cut-out snowman. My daughter hasn't even done the project yet, and she's already Googling artists from Auguste Rodin to Robert Gober. Now that is what I'm talking about. The urgency of creativity is that as we get older we lose our willingness to be free. To think freely, create freely, and be free and empathetic with one another must be preserved in our children. To borrow a phrase from Lincoln, that is indeed the last, best hope of the world. BROOKE KANTER Learn more about Markybox at http://www.marky.com. The tragedy in Orlando called forth amazing and eloquent responses. But we think the most powerful - certainly of the responses from public officials - came from a Utah Republican, Lt. Governor Spencer Cox. We urge you to read it. He reminds us that our humanity is measured by our response to hatred and terror. He quoted Muhammed, "You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another," as well as Jesus, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you..." Huge numbers of Americans -- not just Cox -- have reacted to Orlando in this spirit. Gay Muslims are seeing a breakthrough in recognition of their struggles from mainstream Muslim organizations. The Gay community in Orlando reached out to combat Islamaphobia and show solidarity. A Google search for "Vigils, Orlando, images" produce scrolled page after scrolled page of Americans expressing this solidarity, this belief that as President Obama said, we must come together around "respect and equality for every human being." Religions - all of them - honor and respect love and peace. They do throw off cancerous sects that embrace hatred and violence - whether it is Jim Jones leading his followers to mass murder/suicide in Ghana, the murdering cult of Thugee in India, or the massacres of other Christians led by a Catholic Pope in the medieval Albigensian Crusade in France. Narrowness and intolerance take over; anyone who differs becomes an enemy. Hatred and fear replace love. Violence drives out peace. Trust is replaced by paranoia. Instead of seeking security in broad social bonds, cults turn in on themselves and prepare for war. As David Brooks put it Friday , what he called the spirit of dominion seeks "to heal injury through revenge and domination." The Islamic State in Syria and the Levant is such a cancer within Islam. But Americans must confront our own homegrown "spirit of dominion" sect - the worship of guns. SHAHNAZ: I'M A MUSLIM Omar Mateen, a devout Muslim was clearly deeply disturbed - uncomfortable in his own skin, perhaps unclear about who he even was. But who taught him and is teaching other Muslims that they can get away with murder - not just metaphorically but literally as Omar Mateen thought he could? The tragedy here is that 49 people died in the course of his deathly rampage. Precious lives were lost, families were torn apart and for what? Islam condemns this kind of brutal killing. But ISIS does not. Too many people hear it as the voice of their faith. The why, what and how of this massacre will affect not only the families of the 49 victims who died, not only loved ones left behind, but the fabric and well-being of entire communities, not only in Orlando. This planned but senseless act destroyed the integrity of so many families, and put the bonds that connect us all as Americans at risk. I'm a Muslim woman of Indian origin. Nowhere did I learn, study or hear a hint that mass killings are being acceptable in our Islamic faith. In my family we think of Islam as a religion of peace--even as I realize that the world views Islam now as a faith that has become fraught with violence. I sat glued to the TV most of this week, there was much to absorb. One of the quotes by an imam from Florida being interviewed on TV struck me: "I don't consider a terrorist to be a Muslim." The imam is right on. In her speech this week, Hilary Clinton warned that "Hate crimes tripled after Paris and Brussels." She urged action to "prevent on-line radicalization." She went further to say: "You will have millions of allies who will always have your back and I am one of them." She continued: "America is strongest when we are not a land of winners and losers." She is right - marginalization is not a plus. As Clinton says: "We are a country in which all Americans need to stand together and we need to bridge our divides." CARL: WE WORSHIP GUNS Shahnaz, a Muslim, feels terrible because her faith was invaded by the cult of ISIS. I feel equally terrible because my country has been permeated by a culture of guns. A disturbed young man filled with hate and confusion, placed on a terrorist watch list, but alone, was able to carry out the worst massacre in our history only because our gun cult empowered and encouraged him to buy a military assault weapon and ammunition with no legitimate civilian use. (From 1994-2004 such weapons were banned. American freedom was not notably disturbed.) But for the NRA, and the gun cult it leads, we cannot rely on a peaceful society for protection, but on arming ourselves against an invasion of our homes.The NRA claims that the writers of the constitution would have wanted us to own assault weapons (if they had been invented), because "the only way for us to stay free was by having whatever guns the bad guys have." There it is, the logic of a cult: fear; hatred of diversity, with those who are different "bad guys"; violence as the solution. The day after Orlando, the NRA urged Americans to buy more assault weapons. We should hold more vigils instead, vigils with the kinds of people we don't really know. That, not arming up, is how the Founding Fathers - as well as the prophets of our faiths -- would have wanted America to respond. TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 14 : People pay tribute to victims of shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando by holding banners and lighting candles, on June 14, 2016 at Shinjuku Ni-chome neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. Omar Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub early Sunday, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others before dying in a shootout with police. (Photo by DAVID MAREUIL/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) My initial reaction to the Orlando shootings was numbness. Like many Americans, I could not go beyond the shock that one individual can kill so many people with legally purchased weapons in the most powerful nation in the world. Death on the scale of that in Orlando-49 killed by one lone gunman and about 50 people injured-some seriously, inevitably renders one silent. At least I know I did not have the language to express what has transpired. How does one understand the death of so many, the maiming of so many others, not in a war zone where my family escaped from violence, but in Florida, where I took my children for vacation last year and where we had planned to return to next year. My numbness was accompanied by a struggle arising from my identity-Somali of origin, but also an academic who writes about issues pertinent to the Muslim world. I live and work in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has been the epicenter of a crisis with young Somali men who joined or were accused of planning to join terrorist groups around the globe. Advertisement My struggle with this massacre also included my recognition that I am not a spokesperson for any one group, for Muslims, for Islam, or for immigrants and that I have a right to mourn this deadly shooting as a personal attack like any other American without feeling that I have to explain or apologize for it. My reaction of shock and loss was no different than that of all other citizens; my incomprehension of such senseless massacre and the fact that a man, Omar Mateen, who was under the FBI radar could still so easily acquire military-grade weapons and wreak havoc was very much the same as that of everyone else shell-shocked by this shooting. My reaction of the fact that Mateen targeted a minority group that is still struggling for so many basic rights was also no different than that of millions of other Americans. But then, why should I be expected to understand his motivations any better than mainstream non-Muslim Americans? Why should I be expected to apologize for Mateen's actions when I find his violence abhorrent and contrary to who and what I stand for? With the wisdom of a few days since the massacre, I cannot help but tie the Orlando massacre to the attack on the church in Charleston where Dylann Roof, a 21 year old white man killed 9 African American worshipers. I cannot help but tie this Orlando massacre to Sandy Hook Elementary school slaughter of 26 victims committed by a 20-year-old white man, Adam Lanza. We can list dozens of other massacres over the last decade, all committed by lone White gunmen filled with hate and convinced that they have the right to inflict terror on their own communities. Fortunately, not all white Americans wake up to the news of mass shootings committed by white citizens and worry about how they will have to show remorse when one of their own commits such violence. Advertisement Muslim Americans do not have that luxury. The act of one lone hate filled man becomes the responsibility of millions. We are expected to explain and apologize for something that is beyond comprehension for us as it is for our fellow countrymen. The media and politicians and indeed, the public assumes a collective guilt the moment a Muslim name is mentioned in connection with an act of violence. This goes against all that is American and it needs to stop. Therefore, I am not going to write here that 'this is not Islam'. Nor am I going to state that 'he does not represent Muslims'. I know that to be true and I dream of the day when no one will expect all Muslims to explain or apologize for the acts of individual Muslims. Just as we do not expect all Christians to account for the massive sexual abuses of children in churches, the massacres committed by young Christian men in our cities from Charleston to Newton to Columbine to the Oklahoma bombing. What I can and will do and hope that every Muslim will strive to do, however, is to combat homophobic attitudes that are pervasive in our own families and communities; I hope we can combat and speak out of the anti-Semitism expressions that we hear within our families and communities. I hope we hold ourselves accountable, not because the larger society asks us to do so, but because we know that this is the right thing to do. I hope we can flag any of our own family or community members who might express hateful and violent threats against a specific group. I hope we can flag any individual who might be going through a mental/religious/existential crisis so that an intervention might be made before it is too late. Our struggle to combat Islamaphobia should be aligned with the struggle for equality and justice for all, be it the LGBT, Black Lives Matter, Anti-Semitism, drug addicts, the poor, persons with disabilities and all those whose lives are affected by hate, violence, and marginalization. Wildin Acosta remains in detention after he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officals in January. Credit: Morgan Whithaus By Morgan Whithaus Open Letter to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson I graduated from Riverside High School on June 8. As my classmates and I walked across the stage at Cameron Indoor Stadium, we graduated with one less student. Advertisement For Wildin Acosta, June 8 was the day he saw his dreams of graduating from high school slip through his hands. It was the day that Wildin's goal of becoming an engineer felt even more unreachable. June 8 was just like the previous 163 days that Wildin sat in his cell at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. There he has been mistreated and emotionally and mentally drained. He continues to live in unhealthy conditions for a teenage boy and receives absolutely no schooling. I traveled to Washington D.C. in May to speak on Wildin's behalf at a Congressional briefing and spoke with several members of Congress and the Department of Education and met several of your assistants from the Department of Homeland Security. My three classmates and I explained to your staff members as well as to members of Congress, White House staff members, and Secretary of Education John King that Wildin is receiving no lessons or educational opportunities other than the homework that his teachers send him while he is at Stewart. Despite your staff being aware of this, you continue to detain Wildin. I heard time and time again, including from your staff, that immigration reform is a monstrous task and that many of the people in power, including you, Secretary Johnson, are only following the law. As much as I agree with the statement that immigration reform needs to take place, large scale immigration reform is not what I am writing to you about today. Advertisement I am writing to you about Wildin Acosta, Yefri Sorto Hernandez, Pedro Salmeron, Bilmer Pujoy Juarez, Alexander Josue Soriano Cortez, and the other detained youth in North Carolina, Georgia, and across the United States. And let me remind you, Secretary Johnson, some laws, even though they had good intentions when they were passed, are not morally right. Slavery was once allowed by law, followed by Jim Crow, and right now, taking students away from their high school education in the name of immigration is law. But not all laws are right. Additionally, Secretary Johnson, as I am sure you are aware, America's public schools, including Riverside High School, are legally bound to teach anyone, regardless of race, religion, or legal status. Schools across the United States pride themselves in teaching "whoever walks through the door." Riverside is one of those schools. Moreover, I know that it is in your power and discretion to release Wildin at this very moment pending resolution of his immigration appeal. How much damage is educating young immigrant students really going to cause? Shouldn't we want our youth to have a high school diploma regardless of their immigration status? Wildin was in good academic standing while he was at Riverside. He was active in clubs and organizations and held a job after school to help support his family. Before January 28, 2016, for me, a white, middle class, United States citizen, the most I knew about America's current immigration policies was that some of the undocumented students at my school qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), while others did not. Advertisement I knew that many of the students at my school spoke English as their second language. Some were new to the United States, while others had lived here for years. As I learned their stories while covering them for the school newspaper, I realized that many of the students had fled violence and corruption in their home countries, taking perilous risks that many Americans cannot even begin to fathom. Then, on January 28, 2016, the day that Wildin was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials as he was leaving his house to come to school, these immigration issues became even more personal. Since Wildin's detainment, I have seen some of my classmates stop `coming to school. Others knew they or their family members could be arrested at any moment, but despite their fear, they came to school anyways. This made it clear to me that immigration and education should be separate issues and that ICE's new policies do not deserve to destroy classrooms, schools, and communities. The emotional and mental stability of so many of my school's students has severely deteriorated as they have shaken in terror of what the future holds for them and their families. So many of these students have already been through horrific events in their home countries as they watched their fathers, brothers, and uncles slaughtered before their own eyes. They have experienced firsthand how drug-trafficking and gang-related activity consumes their cities and their countries. The emotional trauma that these students have already sustained before they fled their home countries, combined with the fear of being arrested and deported at any time during these raids, has pushed many Latino students in the Durham community past their breaking point. Advertisement Terrorizing society's youth does not line up with the American values that the United States government, and specifically the Department of Homeland Security, are supposed to uphold. Additionally, the lives of young people seeking asylum in the United States are being torn apart. It is singularly deplorable that these young people who were living productive, responsible lives are being detained and deported while this country was built upon young adults coming to a new land as they were escaping religious persecution. It is horrendous that Wildin was placed in solitary confinement for three "minor violations" on June 7, the day before he was supposed to graduate. It is horrendous that he was in solitary for more than a week and was not released June 16 after allies in North Carolina and Washington D.C. placed extreme pressure on your department. As Wildin's detainment stretches on, I ask you, Secretary Johnson, to rethink the reasoning behind keeping Wildin and the other young people detained as their high school education slips past them. I ask you to question why someone like Wildin, who has the backing of the Durham City Council, Durham Human Relations Commission, Durham Public Schools' School Board, and countless schools and community members, are considered threats to their communities. Secretary Johnson, as a student who recently received my diploma, I call on you today to allow students like Wildin to finish their high school education while their cases for asylum and their appeal processes play out. Advertisement Stop the raids, free these youth. Rethink a new approach to curb undocumented immigration that does not tear apart schools and communities across the United States. Do not allow these students to miss another day of school. Sincerely, Morgan Whithaus Riverside High School Class of 2016 Durham, North Carolina Let's talk about something that is truly extraordinary. On April 13, nearly 40,000 workers walked out the door at Verizon. After ten months of fruitless bargaining, their backs were against the wall. They did not know how long they would be on the street, or how long their families would have to survive without a paycheck. But they were determined, they were militant, and they were creative. And their strike--the biggest in the country in years--captured the imagination of the labor movement and our allies across the country. On June 1, those 39,000 strikers walked back in the door, having faced down the 15th largest corporation in America. Today workers overwhelmingly ratified new contracts that protect their job security and pensions, roll back contracting initiatives, keep call centers open, add 1,300 new call center jobs and 200 new technician jobs, bring back work from overseas, and win a historic first contract for 75 Verizon Wireless retail stores in Brooklyn, New York, and Everett, Massachusetts. Verizon workers knew that this fight couldn't be won alone. Unions and community groups joined them on the picket lines. Municipalities passed resolutions applauding workers and condemning management. Solidarity actions stretched from Massachusetts to Virginia, from bustling financial districts to rural 1,500-person towns. Kids and grandparents joined demonstrations. New Mexico and Arizona showed up in force for the Verizon shareholders' meeting. All across the country, our members adopted Verizon Wireless stores and drove down business by 25 to 30 percent. Local businesses delivered free pizzas to strikers, and neighbors wrote supportive letters to the editor. The strikers showed the entire labor movement, and all of America that when workers stick together and fight, there is no greater power anywhere beneath the sun! Advertisement It is proof that we are still living in a historical moment defined by Occupy Wall Street, a time when you can feel the anger on the street about income inequality, about the corruption of our democracy by the 1 percent, about the destruction of good jobs by rotten trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). These are movement times, times when the fight for fundamental change in our system is on, and all of us must join. There are many fighters in this movement -- the young activists of Occupy Wall Street, the brave strikers of the Fight for $15, the activists of Black Lives Matters, the DREAMers fighting for immigration reform, the Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina, the campaigners for voting rights and against TPP, campaign finance reform, and so many more. We understand that we cannot rebuild our labor movement or reclaim our economy and democracy by ourselves. We can only do that by bringing together many diverse constituencies, everyone from environmentalists to groups fighting to get big money out of politics. And bringing these groups together means much more than each group simply supporting the issue priorities of the others. A real movement is based on a shared understanding that we all have common enemies and common struggles. That is why, four years ago CWA helped found the Democracy Initiative, along with the leaders of Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the NAACP, and Common Cause. Together we're working on campaigns to change the ridiculous Senate rules, restore the Voting Rights Act, increase access to the ballot, and get big money out of politics. Advertisement Our belief in movements is also why we helped convene a coalition of 30 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, MoveOn, People's Action, and the Working Families Party, to launch a new campaign called Take on Wall Street. It's a movement to break up the Big Banks and close the tax loopholes that enrich the hedge fund billionaires and the CEOs. The power of that kind of movement building is also reflected in the fact that the TPP has still not been ratified. When we launched our campaign against the TPP in January 2014, we feared it was only a matter of months before Fast Track and then TPP would pass. But we mobilized like never before, building strong alliances with environmentalists, faith leaders, consumer advocates, seniors, and farmers. We eventually lost the vote on Fast Track last summer by just five votes in the House of Representatives, but we are actually still winning because we delayed any action on TPP until this year. Our coalition is holding Democrats that turned against us -- like Ami Bera, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Michael Bennett -- accountable. I have never seen a moment when the potential for progressive change has been greater. Verizon isn't the first, nor the last, company to treat its workforce like a commodity that can be relocated and replaced whenever it's most convenient or cost efficient. But Verizon workers showed us a real way forward. When we stand together, we can defend our livelihoods and improve our communities. United, the little guy can take on a multimillion-dollar corporation -- and triumph. This is the power of working people. We will not tolerate attacks on our dignity. Workers will not standby as our hard work is devalued and dismissed. The American people understand that a short-term uptick in stock performance comes at great long-term costs to employees and customers. We demand that corporate America see us -- all workers -- as human beings. Advertisement Over the past few weeks four incidents involving law professors coming out strongly against trans civil rights have occurred. It's a surprising phenomenon, considering that the law is pretty clear today and these so-called legal experts are going public in support of bigotry grounded in ignorance. One would think that professors of law, particularly from elite universities like Harvard and Georgetown, would make the effort to study the topic before they embarrass themselves. Alas, no. The most recent was Professor Gregg Bloche of Georgetown in The Washington Post, entitled "Transgender Law Shouldn't be Written by Psychiatrists." Professor Bloche followed the common theme of attacking the Justice Department's expansive modern interpretation of the phrase "because of sex" from the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Missing the point that federal courts of the past twelve years have increasingly defined "sex" to include gender identity, and, therefore, putting the onus on the "intrusive" federal government, he states that sex deals only with anatomy. What he, trained in psychiatry, by the way, fundamentally misses is that anatomy (and physiology, to be more precise) is not just limited to genitals; human beings are composed of more than just genitals, and in this instance the other, more important, organ for consideration is the brain. Advertisement Gender identity, as is well known and was described by the Department of Justice in their recent complaint against Governor McCrory and the state of North Carolina, is a function of brain sex. It is not a function of "identity," as Professor Bloche blithely proclaims. The brain is a human organ, just like the genitals. Gender identity is rooted in the brain, as proven by two decades of brain research, and every human being has a gender identity. Even Professor Bloche has a gender identity. I presume that he's male, and I also presume, based on statistics, that his genitals are also male. I don't really know, however, and it doesn't matter. His gender identity makes him a man, just as mine makes me a woman; our genitals are irrelevant. That is the science of gender identity, science that is now recognized by the American psychiatric, psychologic, and general medical professions. When the psychiatric community acts on the basis of science research, updating its understanding from the 70's, we call that science. It's not politics, as Professor Bloche believes, describing trans civil rights protections as simply the result of the American Psychiatric Association's rewriting the diagnostic code in 2011. (He conveniently ignored the fact that they did so with homosexuality in 1973, but in the aftermath of Orlando I suppose that's to be expected). That's called progress, not uncontrolled liberalism or political correctness or federal government overreach. And it didn't happen "with one stroke," as he claims, but after decades of education of the psychiatric community (I happen to be in Amsterdam today for the biannual meeting of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health where all those psychiatrists gather) by the likes of Kelley Winters and others, including myself, bringing the latest scientific data to bear on a very conservative institution. The professor should be praising the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for having taken so long to get it right, not inferring that they acted in the dead of night so the Obama administration could "smuggle in" trans protections. It also must be stated that the administration did not wait for the APA; they acted, beginning in 2009, based on federal court decisions such as Smith v. City of Salem, Schroer v. Billington, Glenn v. Brumby, Macy v. Holder, and Lusardi v. Department of the Army. If anything, the President and Justice were late to the party, at least in their public trumpeting of the modern interpretation of "sex." Advertisement And it is that interpretation of "sex," based on science, that has become determinative; not, as Professor Bloche says, Whether "sex" is a matter of anatomy or identity is a cultural or moral question, not a matter of medical fact. "Sex" is a matter of medical science, not a moral question, and it might help the professor and this country if he left his phallo-fixation at home. The second bizarre attack was by Jeannie Suk, a professor of law at Harvard. An Asian-American woman, you'd think she might be a bit more sensitive. But she writes, in The New Yorker, about the "looming Title IX crisis." As a professor of law she should understand the history from 2004 as I laid it out above, and recognize that there is no crisis except in the fevered mind of southern medievalists. She, too, beginning in her lede, makes the fatal definition of "biological sex" as being solely determined by genitalia. Starting from this false premise, she continues to define trans women as men, and claims that some women may have a Title IX claim that men in female-segregated spaces create a hostile environment; in that case, the Feds would be caught between a rock and a hard place. But since there is no conflict, as trans women are not men, the problem disappears. Advertisement I give her credit for having her heart in the right place, because she recognizes that The common denominator in all of these scenarios is fear of attacks and harassment carried out by males--not fear of transgender people. But since the only fear is that of trans women being forced into men's rooms, (and not, by the way, that trans men would be assaulted in men's rooms; few trans men are worried about that), the problem is easily fixed by having professors like her explain the concept of gender identity. Then cisgender girls won't fear transgender girls. Unless, of course, they are the children of the former Executive Director of the Georgia ACLU, and now a poster girl for the religious right, Maya Dillard Smith. An African-American woman, who clearly should know better given the history outlined by Attorney General Lynch in her announcement of the suit against North Carolina, she quit her position after discovering that she was "principally and philosophically unaligned with the organization," specifically its dedication to achieving equal rights for transgender people. Here was a civil rights activist from way back in her California days who jumped to the conclusion that several women with deep voices had malicious intent towards her daughter in the women's room. How is that possible? How can the leader of a state ACLU chapter be so ignorant? I generally refrain from calling anyone bigoted, but given the haste with which she signed onto the anti-trans referendum campaign in Washington state I see no alternative. This is absolutely stunning coming from a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. Finally, we have the member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Gail Heriot, a white woman, who teaches at a Catholic college in San Diego. Law professor Heriot had the gall to pull a full-Zucker, claiming Advertisement If I believe that I am a Russian princess, that doesn't make me a Russian princess, even if my friends and acquaintances are willing to indulge my fantasy. Former Director of the former Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Dr. Ken Zucker, was notorious for using a similar analogy, calling it Racial Identity Disorder - if a black child comes to me and insists he's really white, I'm not going to coddle him and feed his fantasy. Variations used by reactionary psychiatrists have included children believing they're chickens, rabbits, etc., with the analogy always being used to denigrate and shame the trans child and her parents (its always her parents, because gender-variant girls don't present any problems to Dr. Zucker and his colleagues). Fortunately, California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren would not hear of it, and called Professor Heriot a bigot: I think you're a bigot, lady, I think you are an ignorant bigot. I will sum it up with two quotes, the first from Jelani Cobb in The New Yorker, who sounds as if he's speaking directly to Ms. Smith: Consider the political implications of an African-American woman, the first to hold the office of Attorney General, informing a white Governor that his state's policy toward the transgender population is reminiscent of the days of de jure racial discrimination. North Carolina - with its banking center in Charlotte, its substantial black middle class, and its elite universities - esteems its identity as part of the South too forward-looking to be defined by bygone bigotries. Lynch called that premise into question. She could have taken the point further: North Carolina was more than willing to countenance "all-gender" bathrooms when they served the purposes of racial segregation. Jim Crow legislation culminated in separate bathrooms for white men and white women, but only a single "colored" rest room for African-Americans, whatever their gender. (italics mine). The second comes from Vanita Gupta, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, who simplifies the issue and completely mitigates any social or legal problems: Transgender men are men - they live, work and study as men. Transgender women are women - they live, work and study as women. Elephants are equipped to survive pretty much every challenge except us. But because human beings slaughter close to a hundred elephants every day to sell their tusks for the ivory, it's possible the elephant might not survive at all. Every part of the message isn't that bleak in Nat Geo Wild's Mind of a Giant, an intriguingly scientific elephant documentary that airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. But Caitlin O'Connell, one of the experts interviewed on the show, warns that it could be. "The ivory trade is in no way sustainable," says O'Connell, a consulting faculty member at Stanford who has studied elephants in the wild for 25 years. "If we're serious about protecting elephants, I believe ivory should not be sold at all." Advertisement O'Connell notes that as long ago as 1989, Kenya staged a public ivory burn, torching 12 million tons of illegally harvested tusks and rhinoceros horns. The Kenyan government hoped to show it was serious about stopping poachers and protecting its elephant population, which had become a major tourist attraction. "I was hopeful after that burn," says O'Connell. "But you look around today and we're back at the [poaching] levels of 25 years ago. "There are more awareness programs now to educate people on how special and intelligent these animals are. But they're still being killed." Advertisement Mind of a Giant shows footage of Satao (above), an elephant for years said to be the largest in Africa. The producers note that his tusks, because of their size, could bring up to $250,000 in the illegal ivory market. In 2014, Satao was killed by poachers. Mind of a Giant, while it addresses the poaching issue, primarily focuses on elephants themselves, concluding that by any measure, elephants are remarkably intelligent. Herds of elephants have figured out where they are protected, and where they are threatened by poachers. These herds will queue up in the protected zone at twilight and when it gets dark, hurry across the unprotected area to reach another safe zone. Elephants recognize their image in mirrors (above). Elephants can figure out how to retrieve food from a setup that requires two elephants to pull on separate ropes simultaneously. In one study, one elephant figures out that she doesn't have to pull at all, simply stand on the rope while the other elephant does the pulling. "Elephants can assimilate and assess data," O'Connell notes, enabling them to solve problems in ways we might assume are unique to humans. Advertisement On an equally interesting plane, the elephants in Mind of a Giant gather around and mourn fallen family members. On a lighter note, O'Connell says they have a sense of humor. "I've worked with an elephant at the Oakland Zoo," she says, "who would straighten his trunk and jab it into you, like a playful punch to the shoulder. It startled me the first time - and after he did it, he rocked back and forth from side to side, like he was enjoying that he'd 'gotten' me." Some of O'Connell's longer-term studies have shown that elephants are highly sensitive to vibrations in the ground, which enables them to set up a relay system of warnings when there's danger ahead. "They have extremely well-developed auditory and olfactory senses," she says. "We've found elephants can identify specific humans they know could harm them, by the color of their clothes or their smell. "If you measured elephants against humans by the acuity of their senses, elephants would come out ahead. The only reason we think of ourselves as superior is that humans value vision so highly. In many of the other senses, we'd be far behind." Advertisement An obvious question here, then, is that if elephants understand people are often a threat, why don't elephants simply avoid us? "Often in places where they can, they do," O'Connell says. "They'll wait until dark to travel in many populated areas. The problem is that humans are spreading out so much that there are fewer and fewer areas where it's possible not to come in contact with us. So elephants, like other wildlife, have to adapt." The consequences of this interaction can get complicated. "When I was working in Namibia," she says, "the government instituted a ban on shooting elephants. But that created a problem for farmers. If you're a poor farmer trying to grow corn in Namibia, you need some way to protect your crop from elephants or you will have nothing." Still, it's the elephants that usually get the shorter end of the interaction stick, and even beyond the disturbing numeric toll, that creates a whole chain of further problems. . When poachers kill the older elephants, which have the larger and more valuable tusks, it leaves a herd with a younger population. That creates the same kind of crisis chat would arise with a human family consisting mostly of teenagers. Advertisement "Studies have shown that younger male elephants behave very differently when there aren't bulls in the herd," says O'Connell. "In some ways they don't know how to behave. Since elephants live in family groups, that's a big problem." Like Mind of a Giant, O'Connell says she'd like to be optimistic that people and elephants can eventually work it out. She just hopes we recognize the value and importance of elephants - and other wild animals - before our greed and indifference kills them off. "Waldo, you're the best son money can buy." No. Come on. Not him. Not now. I did not sign up for this. No way. My wife and I do a lot for our daughters, 8 and 10, but I draw a firm line at having to watch Donald Trump in a movie cameo. It's bad enough that I'm forced to think about Trump incessantly in the age where he is as dangerously close to the American presidency as we are to at least four years of having to stare at his hair. It's bad enough that after the tragic Orlando hate crime we have to listen to Trump's bluster-filled pronouncements (hooray for the Politifact fact check!). It's bad enough that I can do a "find and replace" with Charles Lindberg for Donald Trump while re-reading Philip Roth's The Plot Against America and find both narratives equally terrifying. It's bad enough that when I walk North on Wabash Avenue in Chicago's Loop I have to stare stupidly at giant "TRUMP" lettering emblazoned on his building, with the absurd serifs hanging off the letters like dull switchblades protruding from the fist of a snappish child. Advertisement And yet there we were--my family, which should be Trump-free--on a recent morning in the lazy interlude between the end of the school year and the start of camp. To pass some time, we screen the The Little Rascals move (1994). Like most casual observers, I know only the most famous Our Gangers--Spanky, Darla, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Froggy. I thought, perhaps, that the screening of the 1994 film in 2016 would offer some abstract object lesson for my children in the original culture of Hollywood youth-sploitation and that perhaps--I went in clueless--a remake might provide enough acerbic meta-commentary to justify the attention. Don't waste your time. It's dreadful. Yet what makes The Little Rascal's movie interesting, and I am really stretching here, is the obvious pastiche of its uncritically assembled set pieces. I couldn't fathom whether it took place in a hyper-stylized version of the Great Depression, as the clothes and mannerism of the large Rascal gang suggest, or in an early 1990s bland-scape where everyone else dresses like they were raised in an enormous indoor mall. The desperate cameos--Lea Thompson, Reba McEntire, Whoopi Goldberg--could all well be valedictorians from The Gap. The Rascals all speak in absurd adult double entendres while remaining trapped in the bodies of the characters they have come to inhabit decades later. It's like the entire pack of children were frozen on the lot only to be thawed out in a Hollywood microwave. Instead of tiny Captain Americas in cold storage or Animaniacs now defrosted to wreak, in a better program, Groucho Marx style word-havoc, these characters are merely warmed over. But wait, there's more. Who can forget the hilarious scenes? Spanky and Alfalfa dress as female ballerinas in an attempt to avoid the bullies, Butch and Woim, in one misogynist insult to movie watchers everywhere (6-year old bully to the boys-dressed-as-ballerina: "Babe, you got a burger to go with that shake?"). Not your bag? Ok. How about Alfalfa performing his trademark off-key vocal stylings after drinking dish soap (bubbles!). Advertisement And yes, sigh, there's a plot: Waldo, a snooty Richie-Rich rip-off, competes with Alfalfa for the heart of Darla. Alfalfa, as in the classic Rascals, is a reluctant member of Spanky's He-Man Woman-Haters Club, and Waldo is the antagonist who tries to win Darla. In yet another moment of really uncomfortable grownup-ness, Waldo and Darla sit like lovers in a hot tub, sipping indistinct drinks, striking a puberty tableau that comes across as just plain creepy. Eventually, the "plot" climaxes in a go-cart race that, in the form of three go carts, brings three narrative strands to their unholy fruition. The bullies ride in The Rascal's previously undefeated roadster, stolen and painted; the Rascals sport a new-yet-untested Frankenstein model, assembled in minutes from neighborhood detritus by the scrappy members of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club; Darla, hidden under a sleek astronaut-style racing suit, rides with Waldo in a souped-up silver machine. To describe it anymore would be further demeaning to everyone involved, but that's when things go really off the track. That's when Trump makes his cameo. Waldo, mid race, reaches for a primitive cordless phone and (while driving) dials his father. Cut to the stands and it's The Donald, caricaturing his reputation as businessman convinced that all a person needs to succeed, ultimately, is a tenacious inability to connect with others. Waldo: "Hi Dad, it's me. You're gonna be so proud of me. I'm gonna win this race." Trump: "Waldo, you're the best son money can buy." Of course, Waldo loses, as do Butch and Woim, bested by the heartfelt antic of Spanky and Alfala. We never see Trump's reaction, but you can imagine the scene later on: "That was a bad race, believe me, and Waldo, right now you're a complete nobody. Those Rascals are even worse though. They're a disgrace. Look at Spanky, he's overweight. Fat. And there's the other one, Bean Sprout, with the hair. It looks like he used a fork for a comb. Sad." Advertisement What's really sad is that my daughters are aware enough of who Trump is that they recognize him. I'm spilling my coffee. I'm indignant he's even on the screen. He's gone in moment, but his appearance fits the grim specter of our horrible political moment. Even in 1994, Trump is a figure out of central casting. He's not Froggie, Buckwheat, or Stymie. According to Never Trump Republican operative Rick Wilson, he's got a new rascal nickname: "Cheeto Jesus." He's a giant word pasted on a skyscraper. He's the ugly American that we worry will take the phone call at 3am, perhaps on an oversized cordless phone. He's the image I have to explain to my children even in the midst of what should be an otherwise throwaway film. He's always on set. He's always ready for his close up. In the closing credit bloopers, Trump spits out a bit of food he steals from a neighbor's bag, and with a smile, tells us how to read the scene: "That is bad popcorn." Girls--what do I even say?--let's forget everything we've just seen. Colonoscopy It happens to almost everyone eventually. You're going along living your life, dreaming your dreams and merrily walking around without ever having a tube inserted in your personal regions, when all of a sudden . . . BAM! It's time for your first colonoscopy. Yes, despite your best efforts to avoid such a situation, chances are you will one day find your brown eye staring down the business end of a colonoscope -- a long flexible tube with a small camera -- either due to your age or the fact that you're having GI problems. Here at the Center for Too Much Information (CTMI), we've put together a handy guide for women in the latter situation, as we, um, have a woman "friend" who had this experience. Read on: Advertisement Suffer painful symptoms for several weeks. Dread telling any doctors about it, because you think it will lead to medical staff poking around in your coal hole, although you will soon find out you're wrong about this. Be sure to begin worrying incessantly and imagining the worst. Google your symptoms on WebMD, otherwise known as www.It'sProbablyFatal.com. Obtain lots of information, all of which basically boils down to "Could be nothing. Could be cancer." Proceed to have nervous breakdown. A month later at your annual OB/GYN appointment, discuss problems with physician. Although he used to briefly examine your rear prison purse in addition to your front lady garden, he tells you insurance companies no longer allow him to open the back door until after age 50. "It's probably nothing. You'll be fine," he says, recommending fiber and water (which you already consume) and sending you on your way. Two months later, head to family doctor and tell her about ongoing problems. "It's probably nothing. You'll be fine," she says, also prescribing water and fiber (which again, you already consume). She doesn't examine area either. You're finding out that oddly, no one wants to look inside your butt, even when you're paying them. Symptoms continue for several more months, so you make an appointment with a specialist, who is concerned enough to prescribe a colonoscopy. You are relieved that someone will finally be looking at your balloon knot. You are horrified that someone will finally be looking at your balloon knot. And snaking a hose all the way up your Hershey Highway. As colonoscopy approaches, begin dreaming of snakes -- in doctor's offices, in toilets, in your underpants. For good measure, make repeated visits to WebMD/It'sProbablyFatal.com and continue to scare yourself silly. Chant It's probably nothing. You'll be fine until you fall asleep. On day before procedure, limit diet to such satisfying items as water, tea and lemonade. Obtain can of chicken broth. This is your lunch. Later that afternoon, open giant prescription bottle of MoviPrep, a.k.a. Colon Blow. This is your dinner. Gather fully charged iPad, ten-pack of toilet paper and a change of underwear. Sprint to bathroom and strap yourself to toilet, for it will be your new home. Over the next eight hours, you will excrete digested food from as far back as the Carter administration exiting your rear at speeds approaching the sound barrier. At times you think you will be done with your terrifying mission.But lo -- you will be wrong. Around midnight, attempt to sleep. Note the word "attempt" here, because thanks to the fact that you can't eat, drink, or take any of your usual fun array of sleeping pills, you will be wide awake, starving and riddled with worry. Your partner's snoring keeps you up, so you head to the couch, where your growling stomach keeps you up. Seriously contemplate eating throw pillows. Arrive at hospital the next morning and check in. Thanks to anxiety and eight hours of tossing and turning, you're half asleep, yet still conscious enough to be scared, well, shit-less. (See what we did there?) Allow medical staff to prep you for procedure, and smile weakly at their attempts to cheer you up with poo-related humor. You're desperately trying to forget the fact that they'll soon be doing things to you that are almost illegal in several states, so you ask for anesthesia. The nurse obliges, but you feel nothing at first and tell her, "I don't think you gave me enough. I'm-really-nervous-so-you'll-probably-need-to-inject-more-'cause-I-don't-feel-a-thing-and . . .Zzzzz." Wake up groggy and half-naked with faces all around you, as if you've slept through your first orgy. The doctor says everything looks fine, and you're suddenly very happy because of the great news, not to mention the awesome anesthesia. Despite your liaison with the pooper python, you feel no pain in your ass. In fact, you feel no pain at all. Head into recovery area. A nurse checks your vitals and says that you have to pass a large amount of gas before she can let you go. You cheerfully oblige her request in front of God and everybody, because you know this is the quickest route to food. Also you are still high as a kite. Giggle as spouse helps you dress and ties your shoes. As you haven't eaten since dinnertime two days ago, demand that he takes you to Taco Bell at once! and post-haste! He reminds you that you've recently drank 64 ounces of MoviPrep/Colon Blow. Hmm. Taco Bell . . . Colon Blow. Even in your purple haze, you realize this is not a wise combination, so he takes you to Bob Evans, where you consume everything on the breakfast menu. And the contents of the butter dish. With a spoon. Well, there you have it, folks, a handy guide for your first trip down the old dirt road. You can see that a colonoscopy is a pain-free way to lose a little weight and freak way the hell out about nothing, as well as a chance to get naked, sleep and fart. In front of total strangers. ___________________________________________________ We at the Center for Too Much Information do not advise doing what our, um, "friend" did. Between the start of the problem and and the symptoms being waved off by two doctors, it was eight months before, um, "she" found a specialist who took her concerns seriously. Remember, some insurance companies don't even require referrals for specialists -- hers did not. And as another dear friend once said, if something isn't right, get checked. It's probably nothing. You'll be fine. Butt (see what we did there?) . . . Rainbow flag against sky during gay pride parade An open letter to the queer community (and the straight world we live in): This letter is for all the queer people out there who are angry, shocked, scared, depressed, nervous, anxious, terrified, and in tears; it for those who find themselves unable to function normally in light of recent events; it is for the friends, families, and significant others of those affected; it is for the 49 victims of the Orlando massacre as well as the many who were held hostage, wounded, traumatized, and/or hospitalized. This letter is written primarily for the queer community, but straight and cisgender people should read it well, for if this event has taught us anything, it is that the straight world has a lot to learn. For all non-queer people out there: this massacre is not about you. Do not appropriate this tragedy. Do not use it for your own means. Do not claim ownership over it. Do not show shallow support. Do, however, become educated and involved--right now your silence is very loud. Advertisement We are saddened and outraged (but sadly, not shocked) by the homophobic massacre that occurred in Orlando this past weekend. As if the tragic events at Pulse were not horrific enough, much of the media coverage has only made this situation worse. Initially, it was only reported as a shooting at a nightclub. Later, it was noted that this is the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. Early coverage emphasized the shooter's religion, his former place on a terrorist watch list, and his last-second pledge to a terror organization. Soon, it became all about Islam; it became an act of terror; it became a hate crime. Then, the focus shifted to gun control, with people critiquing the government for refusing to limit access to guns, especially in light of the staggering number of mass shooting this year alone. But in reality, this isn't about religion, it isn't about guns, it isn't about clubbing. This is about being queer. It is about hate. The shooting was most certainly a hate crime, but not against alcohol, or Americans, or Christianity; it was a hate crime against queer people, queer and trans people of color especially. Pulse is a gay club that was having a Latin night with headlining trans women of color scheduled to perform. The mainstream media is choosing to ignore many pertinent facts. They are whitewashing, erasing the queer and trans reality of the events, and hiding the nature of the hatred. Newscasters and politicians are not telling the whole story; instead, they are using this tragedy as a political event, as a springboard for endorsements, legislation, and election campaigns. This is not about them. This is about victims--and they should not be talked about in the abstract, or have major parts of the identity and life ignored. We need to have vigils for them; we need to cry for them; we need to remember them; we need to say their names: Advertisement Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old Amanda Alvear, 25 years old Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old Cory James Connell, 21 years old Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old Frank Hernandez, 27 years old Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old Kimberly Morris, 37 years old Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old We as a community need to help to spread the word about the true nature of the crime, about the lives of the victims, and about the effects this will have on the entire community. We need to make the world understand that this was an attack on our community--on a community that has been repeatedly attacked, threatened, abused, arrested, and raped by the hating majority. We have endured--and will continue to do so--more hatred, bigotry, and acts of violence than our hetero and cis counterparts. We cannot forget the lessons taught to us by pipe bombs in Atlanta, London, and other places, the gruesome torture of Matthew Shepard, or the grim reality of the repeated raids at Stonewall--more importantly, we cannot let the world forget all the violence we have endured and the battles we have fought. Just because legislation has passed, we are not equal; we and our advocacy groups still have a great deal to fight for. We have never been equal, and abstract laws cannot change the fact that society treats us as inferior. We must inform the world that we do not feel safe; that our homes, our places of work, our schools, our clubs, and our "safe spaces" offer us no protection. Advertisement It is not that we do not feel safe "anymore" for violence against queer people is nothing new; we all have been harassed, assaulted, bullied, or threatened in some way. Just because queer bashings, job discrimination, arrests over bathroom usage, and sexual assaults due to queer appearances and clothing are being hidden from media coverage--more example of the homophobic censorship of the media--does not mean that they have stopped. Although we've made progress towards equal rights (with a very long way to go), we still are being victimized by an us-versus-them mentality. This tragedy proves that we are being physically victimized, that regardless of what the press says, we are not safe. Even if we did previously feel safe, in light of Orlando, how can queer people feel safe? How can we not fear every day that we may end up a victim of a queer-targeted mass shooting? Even worse, how are we supposed to feel comfortable in our "safe spaces," our affinity locations, our jobs, our homes, our bathrooms, our LGBTQIA+ centers, our sanctuaries, our gay clubs? How are we supposed to assume that we are physically safe while attending a pride event? The timing of the massacre was no coincidence. To murder a group of queer people during pride is an extremely hateful act, purposefully done to inspire fear in queer people everywhere, during a time in which we are supposed to be celebrating and reveling in our queer identities. But pride will go on, and so must we. We should not hide in our houses, we should not skip the parade, we should not avoid the clubs, we should not stop public displays of (queer) affection, we should not go back to acting straight or wearing "normal" clothes, we should not give up on pride. We cannot give up on our queer identities. Now more than ever, we need to be proud. We need to show the world that we will not give up, that we will not be silenced, and that we are strong. So please, go to pride. Don your sequins and rainbows and glitter and heels. March in the parades. Wave your flags. Cheer at the rallies. Help raise money at the fundraisers. Attend the performances. Most importantly, go to the clubs, and the dances, and the parties; stay out late and dance your heart out. In honor of the victims of the Orlando massacre--may they rest in pride--show that you are proud to be queer and that you refuse to back down. Advertisement With hope in our hearts, Christian and Derrick two upset queers Christian J. Lewis Editor-in-Chief, Queer Voices Contributor, The Huffington Post Derrick De Lise Publisher, Queer Voices Contributor, The Huffington Post News flash: The latest effort to boost female desire with a pill is a flop. No surprise to me. I've been there, done that, did it years ago. Here's my story; it begins with a bath. Next, a half hour to dither between dresses, and then a half hour for make up. Finally, the perfume, wait ... I need perfume ... for a phone call? What you need to know is, I'd never made a phone call like this before. I dialed. He answered. Now what? Just say it, I told myself. "I'm wondering if you would care to move to the flirting stage with me?" I said to him. And without missing a beat, he replied, "I've only been waiting since 1982." Eighteen years? That was it. We would meet in two weeks at a bus stop in the Berkshires. And of course we both knew why: sex. Not "swept away" sex, not "eyes meeting across a crowded room" sex, but stone cold sober sex ... in two weeks. Advertisement And that's how a woman in her 60s made a date to have sex that would change much in her life. It is said that love begets love. It was my beloved daughter who set me up for this. What you should know is that she has inner fire, courage, and imagination. When she talks, I listen. And shortly before she left for college, she asked me why I wasn't in a committed relationship, her father and I having parted ways some time before. I'd bumbled around. "Oh, sweetheart ... men can take a lot of time and no end of trouble...." "Uh huh ..." She raised an expectant eyebrow. "And I don't seem to meet the right ones...." "O.K...." "Really, I'm enjoying my life as it is.... " She waited. Finally, I mentioned a certain lack of libido. Right. Thinking about that conversation now, I realize she wanted to hand me off. She wanted a reliable presence to ground me and keep me on track. Mother management was going to be difficult at a distance, even for her. "He says that women in their 60s should have the same sexual responses as women in their 30s." And with that my daughter handed me the name of my new gynecologist, along with a piece of advice, "Call now, it takes months to get an appointment." Do you remember "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?" Ah, sex in the old days: sex pre-Pill, pre-Woodstock. The permanent weather report: moisture everywhere. Sweaty faces and damp hands clutching you on the dance floor, wet, slobbery kisses aimed at you in the back seat of taxi cabs, on sofas, while being pressed against the door that's between you and disentanglement. Refuse the grabby young man, but charmingly, in a no-offense-to-his-manly-ardor, no-hurt-feelings kind of way. Advertisement Does she or doesn't she? It was a statement of the never-ending dilemma back then. Popularity versus risk: disrespect, pregnancy, isolation (from "nice" people). Young men had hormones, their behavior was natural. Young women were supposed to be desire-free zones, especially to the adults who noticed their smeared lipstick when returning to their homes or dormitories. Libido? For what? I'm an obedient mother in general, but I had my doubts. A doctor for my libido? What was he going to do? Give me a pill? In a word, yes. I made the appointment, and came away with the magic prescription. The pill was white back then, but just like today's version of "female Viagra," it was supposed to boost desire in women. I took it every day as directed. I felt nothing, absolutely nothing. What had I expected? Two weeks later, I woke up with a strong impulse to call M, now. He was a man I'd known for years. We'd met in a support group, one of the many to emerge in the late 1970s New Age moment. The goal was self-knowledge and liberation from patterned behaviors. It was a revelatory process that had some startling aspects, for example, workshops were held in a former chicken coop. But when M, a tall, handsome actor, joined the group, I became noticeably more steadfast in my attendance. When he became my listening partner, it occurred to me to think, "What if?" Advertisement I was in New York to pursue my acting career. I got an agent. My agent didn't call. I floundered. Support group time. We held hands, we wept, we thumped pillows. Above all, we listened: to ourselves, and to each other. We took equal-time turns. I listened to M., and began to register a different kind of energy. M. listened to me, calmly, and remarkably, without directives or solutions. In the light of his quiet gaze, I began to send out tendrils from the cave of my anxiety. My failed marriage, my fear of motherhood, my frustration with my life as an actress ... he appeared to think I could sort it out for myself. He thought I needed to be listened to, not told to. I wondered if the emotional closeness I experienced with M. might expand to include other expressions of a trusting relationship? Unfortunately there were strict no-socializing rules in the community, and I was fairly sure this would include sex, still.... But it became a moot point when he left for London to pursue his dream of classical theatre. Settling in to my new life as a social worker. Good. Grounding. But ... what about what we now refer to as heteronormative love? Anything? Politically correct and liberated, then what? And I was facing an empty nest.... Reenter M., 18 years later, he was back, and I was waiting for him at the bus stop. "Carry your suitcase, lady?" M. loomed up and smiled his beautiful smile. I tried to be cool, and wasn't, but it didn't matter. One thing duly led to another. He carried my suitcase, and then he carried me ... down in the deep easy chair. Advertisement I was feeling something after all: my trusted ally became my lover. We're 15 years into our happiness now. Has it all been due to better living through chemistry? Was it the pill, or was it him, or was it me? I think it was time. Time and the freedom that comes when we simply follow the energy as it moves between two particular people. Sex without a script, sex without a mental picture. We use our friendly older bodies to express a final layer of desire: the completion of our human longing to belong to each other. We call it love. I stopped taking the pill some time ago. It had done its job: I initiated the phone call that changed much in my life. After that, why bother? Earlier on Huff/Post50: The U.S. flag flies at half-staff over the U.S. Capitol later in the day following the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in Washington June 12, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan In a gloomy news week dominated by the slaughter of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. and its aftermath, it is understandable that Congressional approval of unrelated legislation easing access to government records has not garnered tons of public attention. But Monday's House passage of the bipartisan Freedom of Information Improvement Act previously approved by the Senate (also by a unanimous vote) now sends to the White House a major FOIA reform bill and blast against Washington's culture of unwarranted government secrecy. President Obama has said he'll sign the measure -- a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary of the nation's premier transparency law this July 4th. The bill's foremost accomplishment is that it will embed in federal law a "presumption of openness," making it clear that "sunshine, not secrecy, is the default setting of our government" and "government information belongs in the hands of the people," as Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the Senate's foremost Democratic champion of the legislation puts it. Advertisement Other key players in the multi-year reform effort included Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House members Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Darrell Issa of California, both Republicans, and Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland. In all, an impressive example of productive bipartisan cooperation. The legislation was also pressed by a coalition of nine media groups, including the Associated Press, the American Society of News Editors, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. The idea is to make it harder for agency officials deny release of government information sought under the FOIA. The "presumption of openness" was first laid out as executive branch policy by President Bill Clinton, only to be reversed by his successor, President George W. Bush. President Obama reinstated it in 2009 as one of his first acts upon taking office, but his administration has been criticized for straying from the commitment to openness in practice, even lobbying against a similar version of the legislation that nearly passed both houses of Congress two years ago. On top of putting the force of law behind the presumption of openness, another noteworthy provision will impose a 25-year sunset on the withholding of documents under a much-overused FOIA exception covering the government's deliberative process in reaching decisions. A quarter of a century is a long time for the public to wait to know the truthful background of their government's actions, but it is better than keeping citizens in the dark forever, as current law allows regarding many documents revealing of the government's decision-making process. Another key advance requires creation of an online portal for submitting FOIA requests, which are now handled differently by separate agencies. Frequently requested records must be posted online. Advertisement Only time will tell how well the new changes work and there are some needed fixes to the FOIA the legislation omits. Work on strengthening the FOIA and protecting hard-won gains needs to continue. When the Berlin Wall fell, Warsaw Pact dissolved, and Soviet Union split apart, U.S. foreign policy became obsolete almost overnight. For a brief moment advocates of a quasi-imperial foreign policy seemed worried. For instance, NATO advocates were reduced to talking about having the anti-Soviet military compact promote student exchanges and battle drug smuggling. But advocates of preserving every commitment, alliance, and deployment quickly recovered their confidence, insisting that the status quo now was more important than ever. Advertisement Since then NATO has expanded, Washington has "rebalanced" toward Asia. The U.S. has fought a succession of wars. Despite public disquiet over multiple foreign disasters, the political elite remains remarkably united in backing America's expanding international military role. Leading Republicans simply refused to acknowledge George W. Bush's mistakes, instead shamelessly blaming Barack Obama for the Iraq debacle and all that followed. Democrats who opposed Bush's Iraq invasion said little as the current president escalated old wars and initiated new conflicts and drone campaigns. GOP presidential candidates competed over how much murder and mayhem they would wreak. Hillary Clinton pushed for U.S. military intervention in the Balkans as First Lady, voted for the Iraq war as Senator, and orchestrated the Libya campaign as Secretary of State. Breaking with this pro-war consensus is Donald Trump. No one knows what he would do as president and his foreign policy pronouncements fall far short of a logical and consistent foreign policy program. Nevertheless, his perpetual bombast and bluster could not disguise the fact that he was the most pacific GOP contender, perhaps save Sen. Rand Paul. Trump criticized the Iraq and Libya interventions, opposed confrontation with Russia, and, even more strikingly, denounced "war and aggression" in his recent foreign policy address. He also criticized multiple alliances which seem only to serve as conduits for U.S. aid to populous and prosperous states. Advertisement Trump criticized the Iraq and Libya interventions, opposed confrontation with Russia, and, even more strikingly, denounced 'war and aggression' in his recent foreign policy address. Unsurprisingly, Trump's views have dismayed the guardians of conventional wisdom. Democrats could be counted on to be critical, despite his sharp attacks on Bush. The usual GOP suspects were even more hostile, in part because of his attacks on Bush. More than 100 Republican foreign policy practitioners wrote an open letter denouncing him. Some of them are hoping for an independent candidate or planning to vote for Clinton. More significantly, however, for the first time in years, if not ever, many advocates of American dominance believe it necessary to defend their views, which they had previously considered to be self-evident. For instance, NATO supporters are trying to explain why the U.S. must defend European states which, collectively, are wealthier and more populous than America. Friends of Saudi Arabia are attempting to justify backing a nation which maintains political and religious totalitarianism at home and promotes hostile Islamic fundamentalism abroad. Promoters of the Asian pivot are searching for arguments to explain why Washington pays to protect South Korea and Japan, which skimp on their own defense. Despite the irritated harrumphing which uniformly accompanies their arguments, all have felt the need to respond. Nevertheless, the downsides of Trump as messenger are obvious. While his opinions on allied free-riding are well-established, on other issues he has shifted back and forth. Who knows if he means what he says about much of anything? Advertisement Moreover, even when he is right conceptually, he often misses the mark practically. For instance, the answer to allied free- (or cheap-) riding is not to charge other countries for America's efforts. Washington should not hire out the U.S. military How much is the blood of American military personnel worth? The answer is to simply turn the defense of other nations over to them. Serious countries should defend themselves, and not expect military welfare from the globe's superpower. Trump also mixes sensible foreign policy opinions with misguided and overwrought attacks on trade, immigration, and Muslims. Even if he strengthened the U.S. by scaling back Washington's imperial pretensions, he would weaken America in other ways. And his manner is more likely to repel than attract. Insulting people's parentage while telling them that they are idiots rarely is a good strategy for converting opponents. Thus, a debate has arisen among critics of current foreign policy: Is Trump helpful or harmful in promoting an alternative to promiscuous military intervention and constant war-making? Whatever happens in November, will he advance the cause of implementing a more rational and realistic foreign policy? No doubt, proponents of realism, non-interventionism, and other forms of restraint would prefer to have a different representative. But they have to fight the policy wars with the politicians America has, not the ones it needs. Rep. Ron Paul challenged the GOP's pro-war orthodoxy for years, but never could break out of his niche and threaten to grab the nomination. Sen. Rand Paul was more nuanced in his views this election cycle, unfortunately attracting far less public attention and winning far less electoral success. Beyond them there has been no other responsible Republican presidential contender going back to 2004. Even the seeming rational John Kasich went rogue, advocating a 15-carrier navy and proposing to shoot down Russian planes in Syria. Everyone else might as well have performed the Maori Haka before talking about foreign policy, when they inevitably threatened to bomb, invade, and occupy much of the known world. Advertisement At least there now is an advocate of sorts for restraint, and one headed for a major party nomination. It is hard to see how supporters of a more reasonable international approach could end up worse off. Imagine Trump living down to expectations and losing badly. Then the usual war-happy crew would insist that his foreign policy approach has been discredited and seek to squelch any further debate. Yet it might not be so easy for them to eradicate from the public arena proposals for a more sensible foreign policy. And even if so, everything would simply go back to normal: proponents of restraint would be limited to writing occasionally for an occasional publication here or there, while their views were excluded from any government office that mattered. Just like today. If Trump does respectably but loses narrowly, he will have demonstrated popular discontent with a policy in which average folks pay and die for utopian foreign policy fantasies advanced by Washington policy elites. If Trump does respectably but loses narrowly, he will have demonstrated popular discontent with a policy in which average folks pay and die for utopian foreign policy fantasies advanced by Washington policy elites. That would encourage future political leaders to seek votes by challenging today's interventionist consensus. And likely would spark an ongoing debate over the future of U.S. foreign policy. Those whose policies have consistently failed might still dominate the commanding heights of the think tank and publishing worlds, but they would face meaningful competition. Finally, if Trump triumphs he will be in a position to transform U.S. foreign policy. What he would actually do is anyone's guess. But he would not likely accept the status quo. In which case for the first time in decades there would be a serious debate over foreign policy and a meaningful opportunity to change current policies. Given his avowed hostility to the existing elite which he blames for today's manifold problems, Trump likely would open positions to people breaking with conventional wisdom. No doubt, the result would fall short of a non-interventionist nirvana. But at least some advocates of restraint might grace some corridors of power in Washington. Almost anything would be an improvement over the situation today. Advertisement Like the rest of the world, I was horrified and saddened by the shootings that took place earlier this week in Orlando. It is impossible to make sense of a tragedy like this. In the face of such extreme adversity, it was important for our Accenture family to stand united in our commitment to LGBT workplace equality. Families accept, celebrate, and care for one another. It was in this spirit that Accenture moved forward with our plans to host a global webcast, Pride Across Borders, in partnership with our clients at The Procter & Gamble Company, to celebrate this month of Pride. There can be no better response, at a tragic time like this, than to remain joyously proud and all the more resolute in pursuit of true equality. I was honored to speak during the webcast and share Accenture's unwavering belief that our diversity makes us smarter and more innovative. And while constantly improving our policies and programs is essential, what matters most is how we connect with each other as human beings so everyone feels free to bring their authentic selves to work each day. Our people can be their best, knowing the full power of Accenture supports and embraces them. Advertisement During my webcast remarks, I shared an email I received from one of our analysts, Ryan Shanabarger, who was just starting his career at Accenture. While volunteering at a recruiting event, Ryan had reached out with some questions about Accenture's diversity hiring efforts. I was delighted our culture made him feel comfortable reaching out to me, but what really made an impact was how he ended his email. He said, "I have had great experiences with Accenture so far, and our LGBT initiatives were one of the main reasons I joined the company." Emails like Ryan's are what make me excited to do my job every single day. And, there are hundreds of stories just like his - proving our diversity efforts don't just make our company better but also allow us to touch and improve people's lives. As it turned out, Ryan was watching the webcast, heard me talk about his email, and tweeted this response: Ryan and I started chatting, and we thought it would be a great time to co-author this blog as a way to share what an inclusive work environment really looks like from an employee's perspective. Advertisement Here are Ryan's thoughts ... As Ellyn said, the past few days have been a trying time for us all: a time for mourning, a time for anger, a time for pain. Yet, it is also a time for PRIDE. As a gay man, I am proud of our community's capacity for love, and I am proud of our community's history of overcoming immense challenges. If this weekend has taught us anything, it is that there are still challenges ahead; challenges that we must face together, in solidarity and love. That feeling of community was exemplified by the Pride Across Borders webcast. Watching it reminded me of why I chose to work for Accenture in the first place. As I was finishing up the CICS master's program at Ball State University, I researched and explored many companies, but Accenture stood out. While most, if not all, of the companies I was considering were "adequate" in regard to LGBT equality, Accenture was exemplary. The Human Rights Campaign had just awarded Accenture a perfect score on their Corporate Equality Index for the 9 consecutive year. The company website had page after page of information about the Accenture LGBT community, including policy information, employee testimonials, and more. A YouTube search yielded videos of C-suite Accenture executives talking about their passion for diversity and LGBT inclusion. Even one of my interviewers, an LGBT Ally, raved about her own experiences with the LGBT resource groups Accenture supports around the globe. It was obvious that if I joined Accenture, I would be supported not just as an employee but as a gay man. Having now been with the company for nearly a year, I can say with certainty I made the right choice. From my first meeting with my office's LGBT employee resource group at a putt-putting extravaganza to the outpouring of compassion and donations from colleagues around the world following this week's massacre in Orlando, Accenture has proven time and again to be a place of support, love, and celebration. And that matters. It matters because what makes us each unique is valued. It matters because you cannot do your best work if you don't feel comfortable being your best self. It matters because it's the right thing to do. Companies now face a two-part challenge as they seek to transform both their policies and culture. Policy reform must come first, as a company's culture has no chance of changing if its policies don't support it. We must be aware of how our policies have a real effect on the day-to-day lives of employees. Words are important. Dress codes should empower employees to present themselves at their best, whatever their gender expression. Discrimination and bathroom policies should provide a backdrop of compassion and safety. Benefits and healthcare policies should give employees and their families the security they need to thrive. These changes are not things to discuss and consider. They are fundamental necessities that must be implemented immediately. Advertisement It is important to note this movement cannot just be top-down but must work from the bottom-up as well. Another great thing about my Accenture family is that the people I have met are engaged and ready to work toward a better future for the company. In my own small way, I have been working as the Gender Authenticity Advocate for Northern California. I'm part of a team of amazing people from around the world who have been working hard, and successfully, to advance some of the changes mentioned above. Companies must encourage and reward these types of initiatives. Give your people time to organize and work together, provide support for events and activities and, most importantly, listen - and act - when they raise concerns. Even before this week, we knew we had a long way to go and much work to do, but now the urgency and vital importance of these efforts cannot be ignored. I know how fortunate I am to be at Accenture, working with the best people and knowing my company has my back. In this month of Pride, let's celebrate. In this month of mourning, let's get to work. It's Ellyn again ... Thank you, Ryan, for your incredibly powerful and insightful words. I'm proud we are colleagues and that Accenture is a place that celebrates and embraces authenticity. Much of what Ryan describes at Accenture is because our LGBT employees are empowered to raise their hands. Our ability to move the dial is a direct result of our LGBT and Ally employees sharing ideas about how our company can do more to support all of our people. And, our leadership listening to and acting on those ideas at speed. We know our work does not stop within the walls of Accenture. Given our size, scale and voice, we have theopportunityand theobligationto help lead change around the world. To extend our reach, earlier this year we announced our partnership with 11 other companies as founding members of the Human Rights Campaign's global coalition to accelerate LGBT workplace equality across the globe. Advertisement This week marks the fourth and final convening of Forward Cities. Hosted by the rock 'n roll capital of the world, Cleveland is a perfect venue to reflect on where we started, where we are going, and the promising practices that we can build on to get there. When we kicked off Forward Cities in New Orleans, in December 2014, five specific goals were driving us: 1) Identify ways to develop/support more business entrepreneurs, social innovators and neighborhood change-makers from low income communities of color, and working in them, in addition to ensuring that there is a vibrant pipeline for the next generation of local entrepreneurs and citizen problem solvers, including opportunity youth; 2) Figure out best strategies for harnessing the talent and creativity of our local entrepreneurial/innovation ecosystems in order to address the most critical issues/challenges that exist in our cities' most distressed neighborhoods/communities; 3) Strengthen existing networks and accelerate entrepreneurial activity within the participating cities, and their surrounding areas; 4) Foster best practice sharing, relationship building, and entrepreneurial activity among the participating cities, and their surrounding areas; and 5) Serve as a dynamic knowledge resource for others that are looking to build out their innovation ecosystems. After two years of multi-city collaboration, two additional convenings in Detroit (June 2015) and Durham (December 2015), and through the hard work carried out by our local Forward Cities' council members, , significant progress has been made towards achieving these goals. Examples include: Collaboration among local organizations -In Cleveland, the 17 organizations participating in Forward Cities worked together to develop a comprehensive list of more than 1,200 minority businesses in the city. This list is being provided to public and private sector entities, in addition to projects, conventions and events, that are seeking to hire minority entrepreneurs; Sharing of best practices among the four cities - Detroit tripled participation in its 2016 Entrepreneur Week based on lessons learned from the successful New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week (NOEW). Following the New Orleans model, Detroit planners expanded outreach beyond current business owners to include those with a business idea looking to get started, in addition to moving the event to later in the year, and enhancing marketing efforts. Advertisement Technology sharing - New Orleans' Fund 17 will be using mapping technology developed by Detroit-based Loveland Technologies to identify home-based businesses, in New Orleans' 7th and 8th Wards. That information will be used in a Forward Cities New Orleans led effort to provide technical assistance and support for place-based minority business owners. Introduction to donors and investors - Durham-based iNvictus, which provides mentoring, consulting and office space for local entrepreneurs of color, recently launched the Masters of Fate Fellowship Program through grants the organization was able to secure from relationships developed through Forward Cities. Coordinating services to help local entrepreneurs - Detroit Forward Cities Council members coordinated programs to assist Detroit-based Posh Fashions. Through their efforts, owner Aisha Warren was able to secure technical support, obtain a loan for facade improvements and participated in a local entrepreneur program to expand her business. Having honest discussions on race - Forward Cities has generated honest and open discussions about race among local leaders. One such discussion took place in Durham as a result of a training led by the Racial Equity Institute last December. Thanks to Forward Cities, this Racial Equity Institute training has subsequently been held in Cleveland and New Orleans to create more open and productive dialogue, and strengthen working relationships, among local leaders and funders involved in the innovation ecosystem. Advertisement This week we will be learning from the great work happening in Cleveland's neighborhoods to accelerate inclusive innovation. On a tour with Jeff Epstein, Director of Cleveland's Health Tech Corridor, we'll hear from local entrepreneurs from Cleveland Culinary Launch & Kitchen, the Women's Business Center and Bad Girl Ventures. With Michael Fleming, Director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, we'll check out the country's first Urban Grazing Program, we will learn how UpCycle Shop has created art from recycled materials, and we will see how food and beer can bring different people together at Hub 55. We will meet with Victor Ruiz and other Latino leaders and entrepreneurs at the San Lorenzo Social Club, in the heart of the Puerto Rican neighborhood. We will visit Ohio City Farm and learn from Darren Hamm how refugees from the other side of the word have gotten a new start to life in Cleveland. And at our first dinner, Peter A. Reiling, head of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network, will lead a conversation with experts from Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans and Durham, about how globalization and immigration can be used as effective strategies for urban rebirth. This will be followed by visits of Cleveland's East 105th Street and Opportunity Corridors, where local leaders such as Freddy Collier and Marie Kittredge will show us both the challenges at hand as well as the opportunities that exist in these parts of town. On the last night of our convening, we will be treated to a presentation by Aspen Institute's President and CEO and best selling author, Walter Isaacson on his book The Innovators. And on our last day, we will explore how our cities' local innovators are making a difference. In short, our Cleveland convening promises to be an amazing finale to a truly remarkable journey. But as reflected in this newsletter's interview with Cleveland's Innovation Council co-chairs, Randy McShepard and Deb Hoover, there is much to do and our work has really just begun... Our sincere hope is that the conversations coming out of Cleveland - and the Forward Cities shared learning, newly developed working relationships, and outcomes over the last two years - fuel a national conversation and lead to collective commitment and action in cities around the world. After all, we're all in this together. So rock on Cleveland, and show us the way! To see the bios of everyone that is attending the Cleveland Forward Cities convening please use this link. You can follow the unfolding conversation @forwardcities. Use the hashtags #forwardcities and #roadtogrowth to share your insights and happenings during the Cleveland Convening. When we look at Forward Cities' focus on inclusive innovation, and its place in Cleveland's emergence, we recognize the key part small businesses play in making Cleveland's, as well as America's, vision a reality. Small businesses have been the cornerstones of our local communities and aid in economic strength and recovery. Families lived over them. Children got their first summer jobs from them. Little League teams were sponsored by them. Further, they create two out of every three jobs in the U.S. and half of all working Americans own or work for a small business. That says a lot. For seven years now, we have been working to recover from the financial crisis and credit freeze, which took a toll on this sector and our communities. And, the faces of entrepreneurship have been changing with more belonging to women, Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, veterans and seniors. These diverse businesses add economic value because they meet the needs of the changing population. However, many run into barriers during startup and struggle with sustainability. Initiatives like Forward Cities and the U.S. Small Business Administration's efforts are working to change that and build new economic pathways that can potentially lift whole communities and empower talent. Capital is vital to small business success and through the years the SBA's lending support has helped businesses like Great Lakes Brewing, Mitchell's Ice Cream and the Women's Business Center, all featured in the Forward Cities Cleveland program, grow and succeed. In fiscal year 2015, we supported $33 billion in loans, which is a more than 15 percent increase from 2014. This record level of lending supported nearly 730,000 jobs and illustrates America's small businesses are yearning to grow. In the Great Lakes region, which covers six states and includes two Forward Cities - Detroit and Cleveland - we supported $5.3 billion in loans. More importantly, capital got out the door to those that need it most, including women and other underrepresented groups. Along with access to capital, the SBA continues to tailor our programs to embrace the nation's dynamic demographics and promote job growth, capital investment and economic development. In just the last year, we automated lending processes with tools such as the LINC platform that matches borrowers and lenders, waived fees on small dollar loans, introduced in-language materials in Spanish and for the deaf/hard of hearing, launched a Startup in a Day initiative, and supported accelerators with grants. Our inclusive efforts continue to reach those changing the face of entrepreneurship via our network of more than 1,100 counseling centers and targeted initiatives. Our Boots to Business | Reboot and Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship is expanding veteran training. Our partnership with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is encouraging the LGBT community to pursue entrepreneurship. Further, our Business Smart Toolkit is providing a foundation for community and faith-based leaders, as well as small non-profits, to help their constituents start a business. We also are working to unlock opportunities by encouraging small businesses to seek growth in new areas - specifically in federal contracting and exporting, as 95 percent of consumers live outside America's borders. In FY15, small businesses received more than one quarter of the federal government's contracts. That amounts to nearly $91 billion, which supports 540,000 jobs. We doubled our goal for contracts to disadvantaged small businesses and broke our record for contracts awarded to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans and women. And, through our State Trade and Export Promotion grants and our trade counseling, small businesses are learning how to tap into the global marketplace. The SBA reached 1.1 million clients last year with online and in-person advising and mentoring. That's quite impressive, I think and speaks to our efforts beyond providing capital, with our 10 regional and 68 district offices, including in Cleveland and Detroit, working diligently to assure opportunities and success for America's small businesses. We know that by embracing an inclusive vision of entrepreneurship - one that draws from all demographics and backgrounds and is based on hard work and perseverance - we'll grow our economy, create good jobs, be more globally competitive, and continue our record-breaking trends. I look forward to working with Forward Cities' leaders, donors and entrepreneurs, and witnessing the job creation, economic growth, globalization and true small business success in the Great Lakes region and beyond, as well as leveraging these collaborative and inclusive efforts nationwide. I hear a version of that question over and over again when I tell people that I work with refugees from Darfur. Of course, there are also many that wait for me to say more since they do not know where or what Darfur is. After more than 13 years of violence, displacement, and starvation, the "problem from hell" in Darfur is nowhere closer to being solved, and survivors and veteran advocates wonder if there's really any way to get the world to care enough to act. I asked friends that I met through working on this cause to reflect back on 13 years of Darfur. Below are answers from fellow activists in the U.S., refugee friends in camps in Chad, and Darfuris living in that remote, mostly forgotten land: From genocide history, until today, and in Darfur in particular, I believe in this one sentence: Dictators who are addicted to committing atrocities, will not stop until they are STOPPED. --Mohamed Suleiman, Darfuri living in the U.S. * * * I became an activist for Darfur because a friend from Sudan asked me to try and help. I didn't get involved in a cause, I got involved with people that my friend cared about and now, people that I care about. Life is difficult, but it is even harder when it is burdened with dysfunction, violence, selfishness and greed. Those are problems that will take a long time to fix, but that is not my job - it is theirs. My job is to be a friend, to help however I can, and to be forever thankful for the way my Sudanese and South Sudanese friends have enriched my life. --Esther Sprague, activists, Sudan Unlimited * * * Everyone is looking only for his own interests, not for humanity's. --Alim, 16 years old, living in Darfur * * * Every country does [what?] is best for itself and forgets about the weaker ones. --Raya, 15 years old, living in Darfur * * * During this entire slow-motion genocide, there have been no consequences for the perpetrators and orchestrators of the atrocities. It is no wonder, then, that it still bleeds on. Until the international community -- led by the United States -- gets serious about creating real accountability -- both legal and financial -- for the human rights crimes, then the Sudan government surely will continue to prosecute its war against the people of Darfur... by any means necessary." --John Prendergast, activist, Founding Director, Enough Project * * * I'm proud to be part of a movement and a family of people who believe that there will one day be peace in the hearts and lives of all Darfuris, but sad that violence continues today. What keeps me going is knowing that we have been able to support efforts of peace through education and Darfuri-led programs that puts them on a path towards peace. I believe so strongly that they deserve peace and that they can achieve it with support. --Katie-Jay Scott, activist, iACT * * * I think such behavior from the world community could only lead to more violence in Darfur. --Mohamed, living in Darfur * * * Since the UN has failed to bring peace and justice to Darfur, we have none to help except our creator. --Adam, 58 years old, living in Darfur * * * Such failure from the world community could encourage to more genocides elsewhere . --Adou, living in Darfur * * * I am getting crazy to see the UN behaving like this. --Adam, 60 years old, living in Darfur * * * I thought my children will live in peace since there is UN. Then I realized that was only a dream. --Sawra, mother of six, living in Darfur * * * Thirteen years we lost education, our homeland, our future and so much more. All of this not because of the war only, but because we have been forgotten by the international community and big countries' governments. So they closed their eyes to the Darfur crisis. Violence. Rape. Killing. Resettlement of Arabs in our land. War was and is everywhere, but Darfur is being forgotten. --Tarbosh, living in Darfuri refugee camp * * * My faith and hope. The words of John Wesley: "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." I live by these words and so I cannot stop working for peace for the men, women, and children of Darfur. --Marv Steinberg, activist, Genocide No More, Save Darfur, Redding, CA * * * My first thought is always: how can it be 13 years and worse than ever? How can the serial genocides in Sudan have happened and keep happening with the full knowledge of the world? I feel like I can't really do anything anymore due to my illness. I sign e-petitions and letters and try to keep up with the news somewhat but feel mostly useless. My heart broke a long time ago for the survivors and their descendants who will never have anything close to a life and continue to bear the scars--all types--for generations into the future. --Martina Knee, activist, San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition The western world is being forced to confront the refugee crisis. It is not only at our front door, it has actually walked (or sailed) right through it. The "problem" is no longer only in far away, isolated camps, where we can throw money and bags of food at it--and then not be bothered. Europe and, in a less direct way, the U.S. are deciding what to do with the masses of people who are fleeing extreme violence and hopelessness. These decisions are more often than not guided by political concerns--not humanitarian ones. The crises are only seen as immediate emergencies, and there is not enough concern for the long-term. BYLINE: Co-authored by Gary Mendell, founder and CEO of Shatterproof, and Gary Henson, president and chief investment officer of Mariner Holdings. In honor of Father's Day, I'm pleased to host Gary Henson, Shatterproof board member, successful businessman and fellow father personally impacted by addiction. We are thrilled to have Gary's support to help further our fight against today's growing epidemic: February of 2015 was the last time I saw my son. I visited him at his rehab facility in Carbondale, Colorado. We skied Snowmass on the last day I was there. We had a nice dinner with one of his friends who was also in recovery. I felt hopeful. We discussed what he would do after rehab. We made plans for his stepsister to come live with him in the summer. I recognized the Garrett that I had once known - quick-witted, wicked smart, loving, full of life. Advertisement But on April 22, 2015, my wife answered a late evening knock on the door only to see two police officers. I was on a business trip in New York City, and horrifically she had to deliver the life-shattering news confirming my worst nightmare. My oldest son, Garrett, had died from an accidental overdose of a lethal combination of sedatives and opioids - just one week after leaving rehab. I agonized over whether I should fly to the rehab facility in Colorado or to my home in Kansas City. Finally, I chose Kansas City as I needed to tell my parents face-to-face. By the time I arrived, word of Garrett's death was already surfacing on social media. Panicked my parents might see the posts on Facebook, I raced to their house to break the painful news. When my parents asked what I planned to tell people about my son's death, I chose the truth. I wasn't ashamed and I didn't care if people judged me. In the Midwest, we tend to avoid uncomfortable conversations. We sweep things under the rug to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the shame and judgment of others, but in reality we only perpetuate the issue. Addiction is a chronic brain disease, yet society scorns addicts as if it is a moral failure. Individuals who suffer from this disease, and their families, are isolated by this judgment and shame - even long after recovery. Advertisement And make no mistake - addiction can touch any family. In 2016, addiction to prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and alcohol will take the life of approximately 135,000 Americans annually, regardless of race, creed, religion, wealth or status. Drug-related overdoses has quadrupled in the past 15 years, and is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. - exceeding gun violence and car crashes. Despite startling statistics and troubling trends, I discovered a major philanthropic gap related to addiction, specifically opioid abuse. After Garrett's death, I took a leave of absence from my job as president and CIO of Mariner Holdings, a national financial services company, to start a non-profit dedicated to four pillars: advocacy, stigma reduction, prevention and scientific research. I wanted to take my experience as a business executive and apply it to this epidemic. In my ongoing research I learned about Shatterproof, a national non-profit devoted to the same four pillars. Shatterproof, founded by Gary Mendell, former CEO of HEI Hotels and Resorts and president of Starwood Lodging Trust, was several years ahead of me, funded and scalable. I met with Gary and decided to leverage my efforts and fold my foundation into Shatterproof. I was thrilled to be appointed to Shatterproof's board of directors last month and we have been working closely ever since. As businessmen, Gary and I share the understanding that in order to make change, we need a clear plan and sufficient resources. There is no easy fix, but there are clear, evidenced-based steps we all can take to help dramatically slow this preventable disease. I've heard too many parents say, "not my child" or "not in my town" - and too many principals say "not in my school." Kansas City is no exception. Just recently I met with Garrett's friends. In the short span since I last spoke with them, two more kids have overdosed in our metro region. Advertisement To reduce the devastation caused by addiction, we need to get to our kids before they are addicted. There has been momentum building, but more is needed to create meaningful change. Please join me in supporting Shatterproof. I was invited to speak at one of Orlando's largest and most progressive employers, Lockheed Martin for their ERG PRIDE Month. Despite the heinous violence our community was enduring this week, it was decided to proceed. As I was leaving I was handed this powerful letter written by David Tod Boudreaux. An Open Letter to The Pulse Shooter It is not much more than 72 hours since you walked into Pulse Orlando and opened fire. You took 49 young lives right in front of us - in our backyard. People who were playing, laughing, and loving. People who had so much to offer the world - to you. Omar, you don't know this, but the painful irony of your actions is that the people you gunned down would have invited you into our world and called you friend if you had let them. They would have played, laughed, and loved with you. That you and others like you couldn't see that is perhaps the most tragic aspect of this event. But we move on. Advertisement Perhaps you were trying to instill fear in us, but you failed. We will not fear. Did you think the GLBT community would capitulate? You picked the wrong community for that. We have faced the hate as a community that eroded your soul for as long as we have been on this earth - much longer than you. We have learned that your hatred does not define us. We define ourselves, and long before ISIS and your skewed worldview became prolific, we chose to carry the banner of love. That can never be taken away. You should know - you tried. I only wish you had lived to see how miserably you failed. We are the GLBT community. We do not run. We do not cower. We do not break. You may have taken 49 lives and injured so many more who are fighting for their lives at this very moment in our hospitals... but their ambition, their spirit, their love will, as it always has, live on in all of us. We will be stronger for it - for them. If you thought you could teach us a lesson, you were wrong. There is no lesson in this that we have not already learned. We are a community that has been forged in fire. We choose love always as our response. Perhaps you were trying to stoke the flames of war - create such animosity toward your cause that we would lash out and exacerbate the global crisis that continues to plague humankind, but you failed. Do you think we will cry out against Islam? Against Afghanistan? Advertisement The thing about us is that we are not an ethnic, religious, or political group - we are everyone. We are Islamic, so you can't make us hate Islam. We are Afghan, so you can't make us hate your home. We are Jewish, and Buddhist, and black, and white, and Latino. We are European and Asian, we are Christian and atheist. We are your brothers and sisters, even if you don't know us. We are mothers and fathers. We are sons and daughters. We are everywhere - from every walk of life that humanity has created. We are here to stay, and we will not hate. We are too busy loving. Loving each other, loving those who are gone, and finding within ourselves the courage to love even those like you. You see, we know from personal experience that hate will destroy us and love will save us. You simply cannot erase that fact with an assault rifle, and we will not acquiesce to your demands. We will show the world what it means to love. I wish you could have seen the world stand still and bow their heads in prayer for our well-being. I wish you had seen the thousands of our neighbors who stood in line for hours to give their own blood to help your victims. I wish you had seen the very humanity you attempted to snuff out, overflowing from every corner of The City Beautiful, this great state, and our beloved country. I wish you had seen our nation - your nation - get it right in the wake of your sad, misguided acts. As early as a decade ago I cannot say that I am sure we would have seen the same reaction to what you did, but you didn't kill 49 young men and women a decade ago, you did it now - and America has come so very far. Our allies, our friends, outside the community who support us, encourage us, love us - they stepped up, too. They didn't let this be an attack on the GLBT community, they acknowledged that this was an attack on us all. You see we are a part of them as they are a part of us. We are One Orlando, One America, One Community. Just a day after your rampage, and where are we? Yes, you will find some of us still with tear-stained faces. You will find some of us still trying to make sense of what seems like a changed world. You will find some of us are gone. And you will find the rest of us holding them always in our hearts, running with their banner, and never ever letting hate prevail over the love in which we have fought our entire lives to live. You picked the wrong target. While you may have wounded us, we respond with love and action. Advertisement For ourselves, for our friends who became your victims, for future generations, for humanity. Saint Francis of Assisi said "All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." You tried, but the destruction you brought only fired up more candles shining bright across this world. The White House State of Women Summit was an awe-inspiring gathering of more than 5,000 leaders in business, politics, and social justice activism all working to reduce barriers to women's opportunity. I had the the privilege of joining a panel of women representing nonprofit organizations, investment firms, financial technology companies and more to discuss how to expand women's access to capital. While we are all working to address this issue in different ways, we can all agree on the fact that women entrepreneurs are great investments - and that more people need to realize it. Companies with gender and ethnic diversity on their leadership teams perform better than their peers in the field, and the companies represented at the conference were a testament to this fact. Nina Vaca, CEO of The Pinnacle Group, noted that 64 percent of the critical decision makers in her company are women. "When you allow women to unleash their leadership potential, they're going to deliver," she said. The Pinnacle Group, which earns more than $650 million in annual revenues, is 100 percent women and minority-owned. Melanie Whelan, CEO of SoulCycle, attributed much of her company's success to the fact that 86 percent of its leadership team is made up of women. Soul Cycle expanded its total revenue from $36.2 million in 2012 to $112.0 million in 2014. Nevertheless, women-owned and minority-owned firms continue to receive a disproportionally low share of financing to start their businesses. Just 14 percent of SBA-backed loan dollars went to women-owned businesses in 2016 and 30 percent went to minority-owned businesses as of June 10. The numbers are even worse for venture capital. Only 2.7 percent of venture capital-funded companies had a woman CEO between 2011 and 2013. A 2010 study found that 13 percent of venture-capital backed firms were minority owned. Advertisement Leaders in the financial inclusion space can help close this financing gap by recognizing the factors that contribute to it, and the solutions that are helping to narrow it. Adjust for credit score disparities Accion's data reflects what we see nationally and globally - that women generally have lower credit scores than men, but they also have higher repayment rates. What's behind this discrepancy? One reason is the wage gap - U.S. women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn, and this gap is even greater for women of color. That translates to women having less available credit and debt, both factors that influence credit score. Organizations providing capital need to adjust their risk model to account for this disparity. At Accion, our investments in entrepreneurs aren't made according to a simple algorithm. We have found that women are determined to make a difference in their lives, their families, and their communities - and this determination contributes to the success of their businesses. Combat the effects of "pattern recognition" Kelly Williams, President of GCM Grosvenor, highlighted the concept of "pattern recognition," which leads investors to gravitate toward ventures that are similar to those they funded in the past. This tendency can be damaging, especially given that only 6 percent of venture capital decision makers are women. One way to combat this effect is to improve the diversity of investment teams. Venture capital firms with women partners are more than twice as likely to back companies with women executives. Crowdfunding sites are also promising equalizers of investment opportunity - a greater percentage of women-led ventures are successfully funded through these platforms than male-led ventures, especially among technology startups. Debbie Sterling, whose company GoldieBlox was funded through Kickstarter, noted that crowdfunding sites are particularly valuable for women entrepreneurs because they provide an opportunity to prove there is demand for a product. And given that women control 64 percent of global spending and 73 percent of U.S. spending, it makes sense that women are the best suited to understand what products will do well. Advertisement Value humility A study by UNC and Penn business schools found that women's humility led to them founding 23.2% fewer ventures in their sample than they would have if they were as "immodest and overconfident" as men. Sallie Krawcheck, chair of the Ellevate Network and CEO and Co-Founder Ellevest, noted that investors should take this disparity into account when evaluating the potential of women-owned companies. "The numbers will lead you to where the crowd isn't," she said. In fact, at Accion we see this humility as a positive predictor of performance. We've found that borrowers who proactively identify weaknesses in their applications have better repayment rates. You read about them all the time and perhaps shake your head a little. Thrill seekers who challenge themselves with dangerous adventures such as climbing Mount Everest, jumping out of airplanes, and even scaling frozen waterfalls. But what is it about these daredevils that make them so fearless? In fact, experts say they're not fearless at all. It's fear that keeps them so intrigued with such arduous journeys. Glenn Sparks, Ph.D., of Purdue University explained that thrill seekers take part in such dangerous journeys because of the gratification they feel from mastering something that is so frightening. Advertisement "They might engage in this sort of thing because they crave the intense adrenaline rush or thrill that comes with doing it," Sparks told Healthline. Death on Mount Everest This fascination has come under a spotlight following the death of Maria Strydom while climbing Mount Everest last month. Strydom, 34, and her husband Robert Gropel set out to reach the world's highest summit together. However, Strydom stopped once she realized she was suffering with altitude sickness, and encouraged her husband to continue without her. After reuniting with her husband, Strydom collapsed and died on their way down the mountain. Why would anyone do such a thing knowing the potential risks that come with it? Advertisement "The risks are actually an essential part of it," Sparks said. "Without any perceived risk, there can't be a feeling that any significant challenge has been conquered. As for sensation seekers, no risk -- no adrenaline." Gropel told journalists he felt responsible for his wife's death, but thrill seeking experts explained that determining how sick one is under the conditions on Everest is not a laboratory diagnosis. Strydom may have died anyway if Gropel had stayed with her and began the descent. "It was a decision between two people who loved each other that outsiders might never comprehend," said Frank Farley, Ph.D., professor at Temple University in Philadelphia and former president of the American Psychological Association. "Life, and death, is like that," said Farley. Personality of a Thrill Seeker Farley told Healthline there are various motives people have for doing something like climbing Everest, but one predisposing quality that is almost required is risk tolerance. "Situations of high risk will always be encountered. Risk averse people will never be seen on Everest," said Farley. Advertisement He explained that the height of Everest carries its own health risks such as oxygen and altitude sickness problems, and exhaustion. But for elite mountaineers, personality makeup is a big factor, with the Type-T thrill-seeking/risk-taking personality a prime candidate. "T-Types are usually motivated by such factors as novelty, variety, challenge. They're often innovative/inventive, optimistic with high self-confidence, believe they control their fate, and have high energy," said Farley. According to Farley, summiting Mount Everest is the gold standard for an elite climber and most elite climbers are risk takers. "It is for many the jewel in the crown of climbing. Summiting Everest has got to be in an elite climber's CV," he said. "There are a lot of dead bodies on Everest. Despite the known number of deaths, they feel confident they can do it. And they also feel that summiting Everest is one of the most glorious moments and accomplishments in their life." It's in the Brain Where does this thrill-seeking personality trait stem from? "This high sensation seeking personality trait has genetic roots. It runs in families and appears to be caused by dopamine dysregulation," Keith Johnsgard, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and author, told Healthline. Advertisement While the brain encompasses several distinct dopamine pathways, one pathway plays a significant role in reward-motivated behavior. For sensation seekers, engaging in life-threatening activities is gratifying. "Lazy dopamine receptors located in the pleasure centers of the brain require far greater than normal stimulation to deliver the highs needed by those with those aberrant dopamine receptors -- so they jump out of airplanes," said Johnsgard. Johnsgard added that the sensation seeking personality trait, which includes thrill and adventure seeking, grows in a steep manner in both boys and girls until it peaks in the late teens. After that, it declines in a constant way until age 60. Johnsgard was a thrill-seeker himself and although he has never desired to climb Everest, he did climb a nearby Nepal peak above 20,000 feet without oxygen at age 60. He's also done a dozen high exit parachute free falls near the Arctic Circle in Norway, as well as kayaked the Zambezi in Zimbabwe. Johnsgard began a series of studies in the 1970's of the personality makeup of men and women who were thrill seeking risk-takers. He tested hundreds of racecar drivers from novice to world-class and dozens of elite parachutists. Advertisement He explained that back then, racecar drivers and the like were widely labeled in the media as being stupid, crazy, or possessed with a death wish. "My studies conclusively proved that they were just the opposite -- above average in intelligence, remarkably emotionally stable, and non-neurotic. They are characterized by a unique personality profile, whether stunt pilots, downhill ski racers, or mountain climbers," said Johnsgard. Seeking New Heights Joe Arvai, Ph.D., professor, thrill seeker, and director of Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, told Healthline that he gets an emotional rush from such arduous journeys. "I'm driven by new experiences that test my own limits," said Arvai. Arvai is an ice climber, motorcycle rider, and high elevation mountaineer. He has climbed in the Cascades, Canadian Rockies, Denali, and Eiger. "I guess I would say, I'm a risk seeker, in addition to being a decision scientist," he said. Arvai said that his reaction to the prospect of an adventurous trip simply appeals to him on an emotional level. Advertisement "I like challenges, but I do my best to work within my limits. This means tempering my emotional attachment to these activities with some rational thinking during the lead-up to the trip, and while its happening," said Arvai. Arvai said that one warning sign individuals should be wary of when taking such a trek is overconfidence. "This is the big one for me. This occurs primarily in younger men, but women may exhibit it also. The basis for this is what we call a motivational bias. That is, many people are motivated to think of themselves as 'special' -- talented, skilled, etc.," said Arvai. He said that this is a motivational bias because we are motivated to think this way because "special" people tend to be highly valued in society. "The reality is, sadly, most of us aren't really that special," Arvai added. "So, the trick is to recognize this, and work within our limits. Accidents can still happen, but we can dampen, not eliminate, the risks if we are prudent." Advertisement Arvai stresses that explorers should train extensively when planning to climb Everest. "Training, training, and more training. This entails physical training to withstand the stress on the body. It entails skills training to master the many complex moves that are needed on a long climb. It also entails training the mind to think clearly in the lead-up to, and importantly during, the activity, and mindfulness while the activity is actually happening." The experts said that climbers must plan carefully with a plan of ascent and descent, full understanding of weather projections, etc., and climb in the right season for Everest. "In many people's lives, to stand atop the highest peak would be a 'transcendent thrill.' But you need all the personal qualities and preparation I've noted. If not, don't go. Try something less risky," said Farley. By Angelina Tala "You simply cannot prance around Guatemala like you are in LA," the Board Director chastised, after she expelled me from my study abroad program. Imagining my homosexuality as a transgressive frolic and mistakenly confusing my home state LA for liberal Los Angeles-LA, she framed my dismissal as protection in Guatemala's "conservative political climate." The organization gave me twenty-four hours to leave and no opportunity to respond -- ignoring the fourteen phone calls and three e-mails I sent in desperation for answers. I cringe with anxiety when I think about this abrupt end to my participation in a six-month gap year program in Xela, Guatemala. This time last June I was boarding my plane with three suitcases of required supplies, clothing, and medical anthropology books I had read for my college degree. Based out of an elite university in Southern California and structured around social justice in the medical humanities, this selective program marketed itself as combining both intensive language instruction and inclusive health politics seminars. I had just come out as gay my senior year, so I was drawn to this program's advertised curricula on discrimination, social determinants of health, and healthcare reform. When I arrived in Quetzaltenango, I met the other participants and local directors: two white, cisgendered American women with male Guatemalan partners. They opened orientation by explaining how sexism, racism, and xenophobia manifest in Guatemala, and instructed the women and students of color to contact the group any time discrimination presents. They then prescribed how 'men who date women' and 'women who date men' should behave while going to bars or engaging in romantic relations. Homosexual, transgender, and non-binary identities were ignored during all orientation programming. As the program commenced, I began to experience an overwhelming amount of heteronormative jokes in the classroom, probing in my household, and harassment on the streets. Whenever I brought up these issues to my participant peers, they responded with irritation or apathy. At the beginning of August I called one of the directors to express my discomfort by homosexual prejudice within and around the program. Bothered by the idea that she or the students could be homophobic, she promptly rejected my experiences as "petty" and "personal." She feared that my sexual identity and associated experiences might disrupt ties between the program and my family homestay, and so required that I leave my house to find a new place to live immediately -- lest I "wished to fly back home." Alarmed by this threat, I obediently complied and moved out by way of taxi: a displacing turning point that filled me with new fears. Advertisement In the subsequent weeks, my feelings of isolation built. Our lectures reduced "Guatemalan Culture" to a rigid checklist of generalizations: machismo, heterosexual, Catholic, poor, unstable. Healthcare disparity seminars acknowledged human variation but blatantly ignored sexual diversity and discrimination. Upon asking the directors why this was so, I was told, "PLG...er, whatever...issues are non-existent in Guatemala, since there are no gay people here." Yet while being lectured on the non-existence of LGBTQ people in Guatemala by day, I was out meeting a sizeable community of gay Guatemalans in Parque Central by night. Xela has had five Pride parades since 2011, and Guatemala City has celebrated sixteen. There is wide documentation of LGBTQ violence and related health problems across the country. After our weekly seminar one Thursday in mid-August, I shared my concerns to the group with director permission. Because it seemed that mention of sexual health politics stirred discomfort in ways other topics did not, I inquired if it was something I should not discuss. I desired transparent boundaries in order to understand which lines to not cross, and to ascertain whether or not the program was a space I could access support from. To my sudden surprise, the director loudly scorned my question and dismissed me from the room. I heard no answers: only laughs and murmurs. Two days later, I got an e-mail from the Board Director at the California university, who also happened to be the Dean for Science and Health and former Associate Dean for Admissions and Educational Affairs at the medical school. In this ambiguously-written letter, she told me I had been dismissed from the program effective immediately. I was un-enrolled from my classes, cut from communications, and mandated to fly home straightaway, even though all roads from Xela to the Guatemala City airport were blocked that week from political demonstrations. My only option was to drive overnight. Advertisement These unwarranted actions of expulsion and silencing devastated my mental and physical health. What's worse, my experiences are not unique. As June -- National Pride Month -- unfolds once again, I reflect on three lessons this trip taught me: First, I faced a traumatic reminder of the daily injustices exercised against LGBTQ people around the globe, fueled by ignorance and power. "Liberal" labels and "awareness" proclamations exempt no institution. While it can be energizing to focus on progress -- especially during Pride month -- it is equally important to remain vigilant of the extensive enduring injustices less visible by law. Second, I witnessed how damaging American programs can be to international advancement by generalizing and assuming knowledge of different cultures. Doing so promotes false cultural competency (while displacing cultural humility), dismisses local experience, denies cultural overlaps, and reinforces institutional violence against people with marginalized identities. Many of my gay Guatemalan friends relied on discrete technologies to stay connected, feared family and job rejections, and received minimal access to sexual health education and support. Although sexual identities and socialities vary across the world, these are common threads experienced by sexual minorities everywhere: much like what I experienced growing up in Northern Louisiana. Lastly, these events made me realize how little research there has been on studying abroad as LGBTQ. Prevailing heteronormativity in US higher education contributes to this absence of information, partly by discouraging many students from disclosing sexual identity and discrimination. Myriad reports, like the GSLN, have documented sky-high levels of stress and lack of safety LGBTQ students feel in schools, instigated by verbal harassment, discriminatory policies, and physical violence. Meanwhile, more than fifty percent of students do not report these incidences for fear either nothing will change or matters will worsen. Speaking up carries risks, as my study abroad experience evidences. Advertisement After being mistakenly abducted in Macedonia and detained in a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan, Khaled El-Masri told his interrogators that his ongoing detention was like "a Kafka novel." A cable to CIA headquarters reported that El-Masri said he "could not possibly prove his innocence because he did not know what he was being charged with." Much has been reported on this tragic case of mistaken identity at the hands of the CIA. But this week, additional details on El-Masri's case emerged when the CIA released a new batch of documents in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Among the many disturbing details relating to the CIA's post-9/11 torture and rendition program was a revealing investigation carried out by the CIA's inspector general into the rendition and torture of El-Masri, an innocent German citizen who was disappeared, detained, and abused by the CIA for over four months in early 2004. (The ACLU now represents El-Masri in a pending case against the U.S. before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.) Advertisement The investigation makes clear that El-Masri's unlawful rendition and detention were rife with neglect, abuse, and incompetence, reaching to the highest levels of the CIA. It reveals that even as the CIA "quickly concluded he was not a terrorist," two CIA officers who had been involved in his rendition justified his continued detention "despite the diminishing rationale, by insisting that they knew he was 'bad.'" The document also confirms that former CIA Director George Tenet "was informed about the ... January 2004 ... rendition shortly after it happened and then again in late April 2004." Yet El-Masri was not freed and allowed to return to his family in Germany until May of that year after former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice ordered it. The CIA didn't inform Congress of the mistaken rendition until after his repatriation and after it learned that he had retained an attorney. The report confirms the grueling psychological torture that El-Masri was subjected to, along with the CIA's blatant disregard for his physical and mental health while in custody. In protest of his wrongful detention, El-Masri went on a hunger strike and lost 50 pounds. A CIA psychologist described him as "openly tearful and speechless" and suffering from "feelings of helplessness, hopeless ... [and] wishing he was dead." Another psychologist confirmed the intensity of his "depression, loneliness, hopelessness, and anger." The source of his deteriorating mental health, the psychologists believed, was "the unknown status of his case and the uncertain length of his detention, complicated by lack of interaction with Agency personnel." The psychologists recommended releasing him. Their reason was not his innocence or his mental health, but the need to avoid "potential long-term issues for HQs." Advertisement The CIA's inspector general report confirms that El-Masri's prolonged arbitrary detention and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment included solitary confinement in a "small cell with just a bucket for his waste." The report concludes: "[T]here was an insufficient basis to render and detain al-Masri and the Agency's prolonged detention of al-Masri was unjustified. His rendition and long detention resulted from a series of breakdowns in tradecraft, process, management, and oversight. CTC and [redacted] failed to take responsible steps to verify al-Masri's identity. ALEC Station exaggerated the nature of the data it possessed linking al-Masri to terrorism. After the decision had been made to repatriate al-Masri, implementation was marked by delay and bureaucratic infighting." Yet after it was decided that El-Masri should be freed, he languished in the CIA prison for more than two months because of "bureaucratic infighting" and "bureaucratic differences." At one point, the CIA considered transferring El-Masri to the custody of the U.S. military. This option was ultimately ruled out because "such a move could complicate matters"; "the U.S. military would register al-Masri and notify the Red Cross of his detention"; and, without grounds to suspect he had a role within al-Qaida, "the US military would have no grounds on which to detain him" and "he could be a free man within hours." Despite recognizing a terrible mistake had been made, the Bush administration pressed the Supreme Court to refuse to hear El-Masri's case (brought by the ACLU) against Tenet. The court acquiesced, deciding not to review the case -- which had been dismissed by the lower courts on "state secrets" grounds -- the very same month the inspector general report was submitted to the administration. Beyond an "oral admonition" given to three CIA attorneys, no one has been held accountable for El-Masri's ordeal. The CIA's inspector general referred El-Masri's case to the Department of Justice for prosecution -- but in May 2007, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to pursue the case. Advertisement This report confirms what the ACLU has said for years: At the height of the so-called "War on Terror," the CIA made grave mistakes and committed outrageous violations of domestic and international law. Yet no one responsible for these acts has been held accountable. Despite the CIA's best efforts to keep this and so many other stories secret -- the CIA told El-Masri that a condition for his release was "that he would not reveal his experiences to the media or local authorities" -- the truth is steadily coming out. FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2015 file photo, former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling leaves federal court in Alexandria, Va. A former CIA officer convicted of leaking details of a secret mission to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions is making his final pitch for a lenient sentence.Sterling of O'Fallon, Mo., is scheduled for sentencing Monday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria. He faces a recommended sentence of 20 years or more under federal sentencing guidelines for violations of the Espionage Act. A jury convicted him of telling New York Times journalist James Risen about a classified plan to trick the Iranian government by slipping flawed nuclear blueprints through a Russian intermediary. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) Yesterday, June 16th, marked one year since Jeffrey Sterling began his 3.5 year prison sentence for divulging classified information to a New York Times journalist, a crime he did not commit. One year he was deprived of the freedom that so many of us take for granted every day; one year separated from his loving wife, his friends and his family, and one year of wasted talent as a licensed attorney, a former CIA case officer fluent in Farsi, and a successful investigator who uncovered over 32 million dollars in healthcare fraud. Today we want to remind the American people that Jeffrey's conviction and sentence were unjust and renew our appeal to President Barack Obama to pardon him. Advertisement Why has he had to suffer such an injustice? Because the United States government wanted to punish Jeffrey for blowing the whistle and for fighting for his civil rights against the CIA? Jeffrey is a beloved husband, a brother, a friend and an honorable man who consistently worked to keep our country safe. Jeffrey is a beloved husband, a brother, a friend and an honorable man who consistently worked to keep our country safe. He was one of the few African Americans to work as a CIA case officer, and he was incredibly proud of this accomplishment. But he soon became disillusioned by a work environment characterized by racial disparity and was dismayed to learn that the government he worked for was shrouded in mistruths and secrecy. The CIA planned to use a former Russian nuclear engineer to pass flawed designs to Iranian scientists, a program that was revealed in New York Times Journalist James Risen's book "State of War." Jeffrey had grave concerns about the mismanagement of this program and the potential harm to the citizens of our country and so he used proper legal channels to inform the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Advertisement During Jeffrey's trial, the Department of Justice was unable to present any direct evidence proving that he divulged classified information to James Risen. To convict him, the DOJ relied solely on circumstantial evidence -- emails and telephone conversations -- to try to prove that Jeffrey was Risen's source. In the end, Jeffrey was severely punished for merely communicating with a journalist, which caused public outcry from press freedom organizations like Reporters Without Borders. How did the government justify that Jeffrey was their only suspect when over 90 additional individuals had access to the same classified information and could have easily leaked it to James Risen? As Jeffrey repeatedly made clear throughout his trial, his relationship with Risen was related to his interest in Jeffrey's discrimination lawsuit against the CIA. When Jeffrey was preparing for his first overseas post for the agency in Germany, his supervisor told him "we are concerned you would stick out as a big black guy speaking Farsi" and informed him that another person would be taking the assignment. When he filed an Equal Opportunity Employment complaint, the CIA fired him. Shortly afterwards he became the first African American to file a racial discrimination lawsuit against the CIA, but his suit was never allowed to go forward because the government claimed it would reveal "state secrets." According to the United States government, Jeffrey then "retaliated" against the CIA by leaking classified information to James Risen. The moment that the administration felt there was an opportunity to incriminate him for fighting for his civil rights, every finger pointed to Jeffrey and no amount of evidence or lack thereof could defy the verdict that followed. Advertisement Jeffrey's case drastically differs from that of former CIA Director General David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to divulging huge amounts of classified information to his biographer and lying to an FBI agent, far more egregious acts than Jeffrey was accused of. Yet Petraeus was able to walk away with two years probation and a fine. If one strips away the race, financial status, and political clout of each of these men, and solely compares their alleged crimes, it is glaringly obvious that this was selective prosecution and sentencing. One of the few African Americans to work as a CIA case officer... he soon became disillusioned by a work environment characterized by racial disparity... Petraeus' treatment solidified the belief in this country that the white man is presumed to be innocent and can do no wrong, and at worst receives a slap on the wrist, while the black man is guilty until proven innocent and belongs behind bars. Never in the history of this nation has there been a black person who had the courage to fight racial discrimination in the CIA, and a black man in the White House that would allow him to go to jail unjustly. Justice must be served for this mockery of the truth. Jeffrey is innocent, and always has been. Our appeal to the President to pardon Jeffrey is a request for the acknowledgment of this undeniable injustice done to Jeffrey and amends to the wrongful conviction that changed our lives forever. Please don't forget him as he serves time for a crime he didn't commit. To learn more about Jeffrey's case, click here. To sign the petition asking President Obama to pardon him, click here. "To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart." - Eleanor Roosevelt You know the saying, "Success in business is all about making connections." Old school thinking would relate that to the "who you know" scenario, but in feminine leadership it's so much deeper. My friend and business strategist, Lou D'Alo founder of PowerUp! Coaching, describes it as "doing business at the speed of love." Lou and I sat one afternoon on his wooden high-deck with the sun directly above and chatted about how connections are made. With tea in hand, birds chirping in the background and the wind lightly blowing through the beautiful Toronto landscape, we examined how we've both arrived at this point in time in our careers with the success and incredible networks we both cherish. Over laughter and fond memories, we identified that all of the truly successfully entrepreneurs in our networks are very connected. How have these entrepreneurs developed such incredible networks? It's simple. Go on a quest to deeply learn about people - what are their values, what do they care about, and what are they up to in the world. I've found that slowing down to 'read the story' of each person I connect with provides me with the gift of an opportunity to identify where we align with values, outlook, and objectives. With this information, I have the clarity needed to offer my support utilizing my strengths and superpowers. Advertisement Adopt A Giving And Serving Attitude Building a strong network is about giving first. Andrew Sobel, author of Power Relationships, believes that if you want to connect with someone you should find a way to help that person. Adam Grant's book Give and Take offers some science to show that the most successful people have learned the art of giving as well as how to set healthy boundaries around their generosity when necessary. "At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." This quote by Maya Angelou really sums it up. People want to feel like you really care, like you've got their back, like you want to help them. A recent article on Inc.com published by Jeff Haden explains that people who build extraordinary business relationships are open enough to roll up their sleeves and step in to help solve a specific problem, "Not because they want to build a better relationship, although that is certainly the result, but simply because they care." Advertisement What happens after people feel supported? They want to understand what makes you tick and what's important to you. After I spend the time to know and support those in my network, I find that most often what follows is collaboration, celebration, gratitude and/or reciprocation. When you take time to slow down and do business at the speed of love you create powerful connections who in turn have your back. In 2013 I came across Claudia Chan's SHE Summit, an annual women's empowerment conference in New York City. After a bit of research, it was clear that Claudia's mission is closely aligned with my own and I wanted to support her efforts. During this time, I was the co-founding CEO of the national chocolate company, NibMor, which provided me with the opportunity to reach out to Claudia and sponsor her event by featuring our chocolate. I took it a step further, and reached out to Claudia about 3 weeks before the event to ask her what her biggest challenges were in getting everything finalized for the conference. She told me that her biggest challenge was sourcing other food vendors for the marketplace as sponsors. Wanting to support her deeply, I made the necessary calls to my network and was able to garner interest. Claudia and I soon became good friends. In fact, fast forward a few years and Claudia reached out to invite me as her guest on a trip to Toronto where she was being featured as a keynote speaker. This event was a pivotal moment in my life. I've met some of my closest friends and colleagues as a result of the Toronto SociaLight event led by Theresa Laurico. Through the connections I met at this event, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Lou D'Alo, my friend mentioned at the beginning of this article. The incredible human beings I've connected with and the deals I've closed as a result of adopting a giving spirit in my relationship with Claudia has been a 10x return. Yet, I expected nothing. Advertisement "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want," says author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. Love Yourself Building a strong connection with others begins with accepting and valuing all the unique gifts that we each bring to the world--and believing that we are meant to share them. Accepting the beauty of ourselves lets others see who we really are, which makes them more ready to trust and receive what we have to offer. The act of loving ourselves enables us to bravely reach out and positively impact life after life after life. Self-love and an attitude of service creates deep, long-lasting connections that positively impact the world--and pull in an army of people who will have your back! This is feminine leadership; this is doing business at the speed of love. President Obama and the FLSA have mandated that effective 12/1, anyone earning less than $47,500 a year must be paid overtime (there is one glaring exception but more on that later). For those who don't know me, I'm a successful entrepreneur, all around supporter of increased minimum wage, single-payer healthcare and more. That said, this new FLSA rule is nuts. Another entrepreneur/friend of mine with hundreds of employees who will be eligible for OT under the new rule said his plan is to fire a third of his eligible team, give the rest raises to get them over the $47.5k threshold and then require those employees to work 50-60 hours/week. Advertisement That's not my plan, but it's certainly going to happen somewhere. Our Merry Band of Artists We are one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America according to Inc. Magazine. In less than ten years, we have grown from my wife and I plus one part-time employee working out of our house to 75+ employees including 50 white collar jobs and 25 factory jobs. We are in the business of creating and curating art for hospitality and provide good paying local jobs - with benefits - to artists, among others. Why The New Rule Was Created Near as I understand it, this new FLSA rule is aimed at a range of businesses including but not limited to large corporate firms (e.g., Walmart) who pay managers less then $47,500/year and schedule them for 50-60 hours/week, plus weekend, holidays, etc. and in markets where other jobs are scarce. By way of example, I'm met a woman who was promoted at a local McDonald's franchise to where she was managing five stores, paid $24,000/year, and told she would never get a raise (or overtime). This woman may never be capable of succeeding at true white collar office management work, but she was certainly capable of leading a group of hourly labor employees. The Cost to Us We have 32 young, promotable employees who fall under the $47.5k cap. If each of them worked just one hour of OT/day, then our annual exposure would be +$280k. Quite simply, that money does not exist in my organization. Advertisement The Challenge for a Client Driven Service Business We built our business by saying "yes" to clients. our clients are all over the country - every time zone. And we work on spec. Which means we create art and then, if the clients like it, months later, and after a raft of approvals, we'll see a purchase order and eventual revenue. Think of it as what we do as if you're drafting a bill - all the time and effort that goes into crafting legislation. Months, sometimes years later, and after a lot of back and forth and eventual approvals, the draft is voted into law. Getting art into a hotel isn't much different - with the key distinction that if all the approvals don't fall into place, instead of a bill failing, we don't get paid for our work. Add to this that we're in a highly competitive field and we must respond when clients call with requests. While we are largely a 40/hour a week shop, we are not always. That's the nature of being in the client service field. Our Regular Hours = 37.5/week - New FLSA Law Will Force Us to Make that 40! Our standard hours are 9-5:30 with an hour for lunch. That totals 37.5 hours/week. Clearly some folks come in early and stay late. Now, imagine a scenario in which 30 non-eligible people work 37.5 hours and 15 people eligible for OT work 45 hours in a week. That would be bad for our bottom line, so effective 12/1, our new hours will be 9-6 with an hour for lunch. That's less time that folks have with their families and is effectively mandated by the new FLSA laws. Cutting Minimum Wage Workers Wages to Pay OT to White Collar Workers We may have to cut wages at our factory. This is not trivial. The minimum wage in North Carolina is $7.25/hour. The living wage for single person in Alamance County, where our factory is is $11/hour. Our current self-proclaimed minimum wage is currently $10/hour and we're stair stepping it higher as profits permit. Our goal is actually $14/hour which is the living wage for a double income/2 kid HH in Alamance County. That said, if we need to find money to pay white collar workers OT, it has to come from somewhere, the result may well be that we are forced to cut factory labor to the minimum wage. I can't imagine that's the intent of the new FLSA rule. Advertisement It's Friday. The end of the work week for a lot of folks. Which means that they're finally able to get away from jobs that they don't necessarily enjoy. But what if there was a way to take an unpleasant employment situation like that and then transform that chore into a joy? And not by physically transforming one's workplace. But - rather - by changing the way that you view said workplace. That's the creative conceit behind Inner Workings, the delightful new short from Walt Disney Animation Studios which had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market earlier today. Advertisement Okay. Given that Disney introduced the world to "Whistl(ing) While You Work" back in 1937, this is not exactly a new idea from the Mouse House. But what is new & fun about Inner Workings is the way that first-time director Leo Matsuda decided to tell this story. Which shows officer worker Paul's internal struggle. His pragmatic logical side wants Paul to show up on time for his job at Boring, Boring & Glum. Whereas his more free-spirited adventurous side wants Paul to spend the day at the beach or scarf down a big breakfast calorie-laden pancakes. So how does this 6-minute-and-23-seconds-long tale end? Not in the way that you might expect. And to hear Matsuda talk, that has a lot to do with the fact that his Japanese parents decided to raise Leo in Brazil. "So there's the Japanese part of me that loves order. It's very strict, logical, systematic," Matsuda explained during a recent phone interview." But I also have this Brazilian side to me that loves the fun things in life like parties and carnival. So because I live Japanese but have a Brazilian soul, I have this constant culture clash going on in my life." Between these two extremes, Leo thought that there might be the makings of a fun animated short. And the Story Trust at Walt Disney Animation Studios obviously agreed. Given that - out of the 73 people who pitched projects to them back in 2014 - Matsuda was the one that they then selected to make his directorial debut. Advertisement "One of the main reasons that WDAS' Story Trust really sparked to Leo's pitch was the story idea at the very core of this animated short. Which is that - while we all have jobs that we need to do - it's also important to make time in your life for the things that really make you happy," explained Inner Workings producer Sean Lurie. "That - coupled with his genuinely unique design sensibilities and storytelling style - is why this particular pitch was ultimately put into production." And given that Inner Workings was supposed to blend CG and traditional hand-drawn animation as it told a fast-paced tale ... Well, that meant that this animated short quickly became an all-hands-on-deck situation. With not only WDAS veterans like Mark Henn & Dale Baer lending their expertise to this project but also talented newcomers like Ami Thompson. (According to Matsuda & Lurie, Thompson's "Little Golden Books" -inspired versions of Paul's brain visions are some of the comic high points of this new short.) After six months of production, "Inner Workings" had its world premiere in Annecy's Bonlieu Grande salle earlier today. It was screened as part of a presentation for Moana, the feature-length Walt Disney Animation Studios production that this new animated short will be paired with later this Fall. And based on the reaction of those in the room (as well as all those who crowded into the Bonlieu Forum post-screening in order to get Leo & Sean's autograph), WDAS may just have another Best-Animated-Short contender on its hands. Fresh from this short's world premiere, Matsuda & Lurie reached out from France to say "The reaction of the Annecy audience was really heartwarming. We are so grateful for the opportunity to premiere Inner Workings in such a wonderful place, and we were blown away by the crowd's enthusiastic response." Inner Workings bows in U.S. theaters on November 23, 2016, in front of Walt Disney Animation Studios' Moana. ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 15: People attend a prayer service for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting at Delaney Street Baptist Church, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The shooting at Pulse Nightclub, which killed 49 people and injured 53, is the worst mass shooting in American history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Today is the one-year anniversary of the Charleston massacre -- a moment that shocked the nation into considering our collective complicity in a culture of white supremacy and its continuing violence against people of color. The anniversary stands in the wake of another massacre, this time in Orlando, this time targeting the LGBTQ community. For people of faith in particular, this is a moment to consider our complicity in a culture that otherizes a whole swath of our society. It's appropriate that we apply some theology to these tragedies. For people of faith in particular, this is a moment to consider our complicity in a culture that otherizes a whole swath of our society. We have all seen the incredible depths of love that human beings are capable of. Beyond mere attraction and affection, we've seen love go so deep into unconditional commitment to those we love, amazing service to those who need our love, and even heroic self-sacrificial love to others -- sometimes to strangers who need the protection of love. "God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." (1 John 4:16b) I believe that is true whether those who love are religious or not, or even have rejected religion for its sometimes painful absence of love. We have also seen the appalling and frightening depths of hate that human beings can descend into. Far beyond disagreement, debate, and opposition to one another's ideas or behaviors, hate degenerates into vicious attack, verbal abuse, and physical violence against other human beings. Ultimately, the violence of hate is the denial of the image of God in the other human beings we have decided to use, abuse, and even kill. "Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:8). Hate is not only the anti-thesis of love; hate is the anti-thesis of God. On the evening of June 17, 2015, a 21-year-old white man named Dylann Roof, filled with the hate that he'd been taught, entered the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Emanuel) in downtown Charleston, S.C. He went to the basement of the church where a weekly Bible study and prayer service was taking place. Invited to join by members of the church, the young man sat at the table during the Bible study then pulled out an semi-automatic handgun and killed nine Christians as they started to pray, including the senior pastor, Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney. Roof later confessed that he committed the murders with the hopes of igniting a race war; but he also admitted he almost didn't go through with the shooting because the church members were so nice to him. When one tried to talk him down before he began shooting, Roof replied, "I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go." Those killed were shot multiple times at close range while Roof shouted racial epithets at his victims. Advertisement Such a horribly direct, personal, and hateful act immediately stunned the country and the world. After Charleston, every African-American I spoke with concluded that black people are still not safe anywhere in America -- even in their own most sacred and safe places. Hate always creates fear. But at the legal hearing for the killer two days later, both survivors and relatives of five victims spoke to Dylann Roof directly. They told the young white supremacist who killed their families and friends that they forgave him and were "praying for his soul." The nation was stunned again with the totally unexpected power of love and forgiveness. Both the appalling crime and the loving response to it from African-American Christians began changing hearts and minds across the country. As the new pastor now at Mother Emanuel Rev. Dr. Betty Deas-Clark says, forgiveness is a theological decision following the way that God changes the world. Love always reveals the face of God. But Deas-Clark goes on to say and forgiveness does not preclude feeling anger, which is justified, and it certainly does not remove the requirements of justice. The memorial services for the Charleston massacre will be a critical moment for reflection of where we are now in the American struggle for racial justice and reconciliation in a nation where a presidential election is focused on issues of racial bigotry. But less than a week before the Charleston memorial services were to take place, another massacre occurred -- this time in Orlando, Fla. A single gunman, named Omar Mateen, entered a gay club and, using a semi-automatic assault-style rifle, shot and killed 49 people and wounded at least 53 others. He attacked the Pulse Nightclub on Latin night; most of the victims were Latino/a. The 29-year-old shooter seems to have been a mentally unstable and violent man who shouted his allegiance to ISIS as he murdered one person after another -- part of the new pattern of lone-wolf terrorism. Again the nation was stunned by this brutal act of both terror and hate -- this time aimed directly at LGBTQ people, during Pride month and almost a year to the date after celebrating a civil rights victory in the Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Just as black Americans felt unsafe after Charleston, LBGTQ Americans are feeling unsafe now. The club served as a safe space for an LGBTQ community that too often feels unwelcome in our pews. It is important for Christians, evangelical Christians in particular, to stand up for the safety, humanity, and dignity of LBGTQ people -- human beings bearing the image of God. This should wake us all up and cause a re-examination of Christian conscience and compassion in our treatment of all LBGTQ people. Just as black Americans felt unsafe after Charleston, LBGTQ Americans are feeling unsafe now. The club served as a safe space for an LGBTQ community that too often feels unwelcome in our pews. Also fearful are American Muslims who feel attacked by the language of many people -- even the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Since the Orlando attack, Donald Trump has renewed his call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country, and extended it to suspend immigration from all areas of the world "where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States." Suggesting the incident resulted because the American-born shooter's family is from Afghanistan, Trump is laying blame at the feet of the entire American Muslim community. He even went so far as to imply that our sitting president is sympathetic to the agenda of "radical Islam" and that he may support the terrorist's agenda more that protecting the people of the United States -- frankly, suggesting that our president is guilty of treason. Trump has now transferred his campaign of incoherent lies and racial bigotry into a campaign of hate - against the rule of law and, certainly, the antithesis of Christian values and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hate always creates fear. Only bold acts of love can overcome violent acts of hate. Acts of love look like the Orthodox Jewish congregation that went to a gay bar to show solidarity and mourn with the LGBTQ community -- embracing those in the club and offering prayers. Bold acts of love. This is indeed about our theology, our faith, our spirituality. Advertisement Love always reveals the face of God. This is much more than politics; it is about the kind of country we choose. The moral choice is between love and hate. Does it want to cave to the rebuke Trump challenged them with on Wednesday in a campaign speech Atlanta? "You know, the Republicans , honestly, folks, our leaders -- our leaders have to get tougher," he said. "This is too tough to do it alone. But you know what? I think I am going to be forced to." Does the party want to roll over in the face of the stinging criticism it received from Sam Clovis , Trump's campaign co-chair? "Either they want to get behind the presumptive nominee, who will be the nominee of this party, and make sure that we do everything we can to win in November, or we're just asking them if they can't do that, then just shut the hell up," he said. Following Trump's outrageous statements about an American born judge of Mexican heritage, and his statements about Muslims, he has seen his support among Americans sharply decline. An astonishing 70 percent of Americans surveyed recently by ABC News now have an unfavorable view of Trump. Yet Trump intends on doing nothing to address this problem. Instead, he is using the same narrow strategy that brought him victory in the Republican primaries--attack, divide and bully. But in order to win in the general election he will need to attract independents, Democrats, women and minorities. A growing number of Republicans at all levels are distancing themselves from Trump. Asked to comment on Trump's ridiculous statement that President Obama was responsible for the terrorist massacre in Orlando, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded, "I am not going to be commenting on the presidential candidate today." Last week, when McConnell was asked who Trump should pick as his running mate, he said, "He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it's pretty obvious he doesn't know a lot about the issues." House Speaker Paul Ryan, who announced his support of Trump after many weeks, still has not fully embraced the candidate. In an interview with NBC News, which will air Sunday, Ryan was asked whether Republicans should follow their conscience? "The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience," he said. "I get that this a very strange situation. He a very unique nominee. But I feel as a responsibility institutionally as the speaker of the House that I should not be leading some chasm in the middle of our party. Because you know what I know that'll do? That'll definitely knock us out of the White House," he added. Fundraising is now a problem for the Republican Party. And many major companies that sponsored the GOP's 2012 convention have announced they will not be sponsoring its upcoming convention. Down-ballot races are now threatened because Trump's behavior is undermining Senate and House candidates across the country. The problem is so severe that the party has turned to former President George W. Bush, who was very unpopular when he left office, to help save its most vulnerable senators. Stopping Trump from becoming the Republican presidential nominee will not be easy at this point. Trump received more than 13 million votes in the primaries, and he has won more than enough delegates to be nominated. If the party gives its nomination to someone else, and there is no clear alternative, it will risk revolt. But would the GOP really be worse off if it did so? Cost effectiveness analysis (CEA), as applied to health care, attempts to estimate the value of expenditures on procedures or treatments that is returned to patients, such as longer life, better quality of life, or both. Given that the U. S. has the most expensive health care in the world, with comparatively low value and outcomes compared to many other advanced countries, you would think that CEA would be a major part of health policy in this country. Sadly, the opposite is true, and it is notably absent from the way we do things. This is not to say that no attempts have been made in past years to introduce ways to evaluate effectiveness of health care services, whether involving comparative efficacy or costs. Two national organizations were established in the 1970s--the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1975 and the National Center for Health Care Technology (NCHCT) in 1978--but both were later abolished after a strong backlash from powerful vested interests, especially the medical device industry and some medical professional organizations. (1,2) The FDA remains our main regulatory body, but it is handcuffed by political forces preventing it from using CEA in its coverage policies. It has been underfunded over the years, and is largely dependent on user fees from the industries it supposedly regulates for much of its annual budget, with obvious built-in conflicts of interest analogous to the fox in the henhouse. Advertisement The Affordable Care Act (ACA) postured toward the need for comparative research on health care services by establishing the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). It was intended to pursue clinical effectiveness research (not cost-effectiveness), but it was hobbled from the start by specific bans in the legislation on any authority to dictate coverage or reimbursement policies. A recent study found that it has had minimal impact, with only one-third of its funding going to clinical effectiveness research. (3) It will also disappear in 2019 unless reauthorized by Congress. As we know, up to one third of all health services provided each year are either unnecessary, inappropriate, or even harmful. (4) Here are some examples of why we need a much stronger approach to research on comparative efficacy and cost effectiveness of health services being provided in this country: A 2008 study of 90 drugs approved by the FDA between 1998 and 2000 found that only 394 of 909 clinical trials were ever published in a peer-reviewed journal. (5) Much of the research done by drug manufacturers are in for-profit commercial networks, conducted by their marketing departments, without rigorous scientific methods and with unreliable results; unfavorable results are typically not reported. Two-thirds of new drug applications to the FDA each year aren't really new, but instead are reformulations or minor modifications of existing drugs or requests for new uses, hyped as new drugs. (6) Between 2003 and 2012, the number of defective Class I recalls of medical devices, which carry a significant probability of death, increased from 7 to 57. (7) The FDA approved expanded marketing of off-label cancer drugs in 2009 despite the lack of clinical evidence of their effectiveness. (8) Testosterone drugs for men are widely marketed by the drug industry, claiming their own "research" shows no adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, but major studies over the last 30 years have documented an increase of more than 50 percent of these events among men taking these drugs. (9) Spending on prescription drugs in the U. S. rose to457 billion in 2015, one-sixth of total health care spending. (10) We should ask why we still don't have an ongoing, evidence-based mechanism to evaluate the comparative clinical and cost effectiveness of health services. The answer is that it has been opposed successfully to date by the economic and political power of the vested interests that profit from the status quo of our deregulated marketplace. The Citizens United decision has enabled the infusion of even more money into politics, in both major parties, and massive lobbyist campaigns are launched by corporate stakeholders defending their interests whenever new legislation for CEA is being contemplated. Meanwhile, the insurance industry blames the drug industry for accelerating costs even as it increases its own costs and profits at the expense of its enrollees and taxpayers. Whenever the need for comparative clinical or cost effectiveness research is raised, corporate stakeholders bring up a number of myths, such as "CEA would stifle innovation," "it would lead to rationing of care," and "how can you measure the value of health services anyway"? CEA is an established but underused discipline in this country. As one response to these myths, wouldn't it be a good idea to address the widespread overuse of full-body CT scanning as a screening technique, since more than 30 million such scans are performed every year, posing potentially harmful radiation exposure, without evidence of benefit or approval by the FDA or the American College of Radiology? (11) The big unanswered question is who and how to decide on the cost effectiveness of health care services-- market interests and politics driven by money vs. science and evidence. We have seen how poorly the first approach works. We can look to science-based models around the world for better examples, such as The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the United Kingdom. In this country, sooner than later, we need an independent, non-partisan, science-based national commission, free from political influence, funded on a long-term basis, and with authority to recommend coverage and reimbursement policies in the public interest. It would logically be part of single-payer financing reform with national health insurance coupled with a private delivery system. As we finally deal with this important issue, we should heed this advice by Sir Michael Rawlins, chairman of NICE: The United States will one day have to take cost effectiveness into account. There is no doubt about it at all. You cannot keep on increasing your health care costs at the rate you are for so poor return. You are 29th in the world in life expectancy. You pay twice as much for health care as anyone else on God's earth. (12) References: 1. Perry, S. The brief life of the National Center for Health Care Technology. N Engl J Med 307: 1095-1100, 1982. 2. Leary, WE. Congress's science agency prepares to close its doors. New York Times, September 24, 1995: A 26. 3. Emanuel, Z, Spiro, T, Huelskoetter, T. Re-evaluating the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Center for American Progress, May 31, 2016. 4. Wenner, JB, Fisher, ES, Skinner, JS. Geography and the debate over Medicare reform. Health Affairs Web Exclusive W-103, February 13, 2002. Advertisement 5. Holtz, RL. What you didn't know about a drug can hurt you: Untold numbers of clinical trial results to unpublished; those that are made public can't always be believed. Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2008: A16. 6. Field, RI. Mother of Invention: How the Government Created Free-Market Health Care. New York. Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 51. 7. Burton, TM. Recalls doubled of medical devices. Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2014: B4. 8. Abelson, R, Pollack, A. Medicare widens drugs it accepts for cancer care: more off-label uses. New York Times, January 27, 2009. 9. Ryan, A. Empty promises from dangerous testosterone-containing drugs. Public Citizen News, March/April 2014, p. 6. 10. Reuters. U. S. health agency estimates 2015 prescription drug spending rose to $457 billion. New York Times, March 8, 2016. Advertisement 11. Brenner, DJ, Hall, EJ. Computed tomography--an increasing source of radiation exposure. N Engl J Med 357: 2277-2284, 2007. (Photo via REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson) "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death." (Lamentations 1:20) Words fail this week. In our Jewish community at Harvard, we have lost a wonderful young person - a 2015 graduate of the College and recent president of our undergraduate community at Harvard Hillel, just at the outset of his adult life, whose heart suddenly stopped as he finished a charity triathlon event in Connecticut. And in the wider scope, there is the atrocity in Orlando, whose horror is perhaps especially relatable as we bury and mourn our own friend, grieve with his parents and siblings, and know that so many families and circles of friends are suddenly bereft this week of unique, inimitable, irreplaceable, cherished loved ones. Call the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando an act of terrorism, call it a hate crime, a mass murder - it is an abomination, in the truest sense of that word, an act of craven disregard for the image of the Divine in each human being. And to whatever degree it is connected to the misguided twisting of a spiritual tradition, it is a desecration of religion and a defamation of God's name. Advertisement Words fail. But this week anyone blessed with anything of a public platform, a pulpit, a blog, must speak and even shout against the spirit of unrighteousness that seems to have broken loose to roam about at will in the land. "No way to prevent this, says only nation where this regularly happens," runs the spot-on headline from The Onion, written about I-can't-even-remember-which of the previous mass shootings, and circulating now again - while a current headline announces that Walmart voluntarily has decided to discontinue its sales of AR-15 assault rifles and high capacity ammunition cartridges. Walmart. One popular gun retailer reports that, since the Orlando shooting, its sales of AR-15s have increased from "three or four a day" to "about ten an hour, and round about lunchtime fifteen an hour." The numbering of Israel in the wilderness, in the midst of which we pick up our Torah reading this week in the book of Numbers, is often described as a 'census of the people.' In fact, per the verses, it is a counting of those fit to turn out for military service and for duty in the Tabernacle. Advertisement One can argue over whether the founding fathers of the United States considered a right to bear arms to be self-evident, but even the most conservative of Supreme Court justices have conceded that it cannot be unlimited. More to the point, the ill-regulated cycle of well armed criminal psychopathy and legislative inaction in which we find ourselves is long past smacking of a failed state - heaven forbid. It is instructive to hear Ehud Barak, a recent Prime Minister of Israel and military Chief of Staff say on American television that, speaking as the former head of one of the most militarized and service-ready populaces on the face of the earth, he finds U.S. gun laws - or rather the lack of them, arming hate-criminals to the teeth - incomprehensible: "People probably understand the American ethos about having weapons, but foreigners cannot understand why the hell you have to equip them with assault rifles." Meanwhile, in the prophetic reading paired with our portion from the Torah this week, we read of a couple praying for a child - the wondrous story of the heavenly visitor who announces to them that they will become parents underscoring the miraculous aspect in every story of family-building. The child in this case grows up to be the mighty Samson, self-arming vigilante on behalf of his people; but the point in the story of his birth is how his parents resolve that their child will be sacred. Advertisement Five and a half years ago, I wrote an op-ed in this space in which I urged Congress to apply retroactively the recently passed Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA). The FSA reduced the indefensible disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences from 100:1 to 18:1. Every member of the U.S. Senate, including Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), supported the FSA because they recognized that there was simply no scientific or public safety rationale for the disparity and yet ample evidence of its racially discriminatory effect. Yet five and a half years later, Congress still has not approved FSA retroactivity. There are approximately 4,900 individuals still serving the crack cocaine sentences Congress repudiated when it passed the FSA. They are the people whose cases we used to illustrate why the law needed to change, yet they did not benefit. After the FSA passed, the U.S. Sentencing Commission fixed all of the non-mandatory minimum crack sentences by lowering its guidelines consistent with the new law. But the Commission only has authority to changes its guidelines, not mandatory minimum punishments set by Congress and found in statutes. Today, legislation to make the FSA retroactive is included in a broader sentencing reform bill, which was introduced by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and is pending in the Senate. FAMM supports bold sentencing reform, including elimination of all mandatory minimums. Accordingly, we have strongly endorsed various sweeping reform proposals introduced in this and previous Congresses by Senate leaders Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Rand Paul (R-KY), and House champions Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Bobby Scott (D-VA). While Congress has struggled to act, despite historically high levels of public support for repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, at FAMM's urging and with FAMM's support, has done all it can to reduce drug sentences and make those reductions retroactive for tens of thousands of federal prisoners. Notably, those who received retroactive relief from the Commission have reoffended at a lower rate than those who served their full sentences. Advertisement We recognize that bipartisan consensus and compromise are essential to passing criminal justice reform through the Congress. Because of the hard work of key senators and outside advocates from across the ideological spectrum, we believe that Senator Grassley's bill would receive more than the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture and would probably receive closer to 70 votes on final passage. But in an election year, especially a presidential election year, consensus is not enough. The bar is much higher. Unanimity, not broad consensus, is required. Without unanimity, any reform bills will require floor time and will be subject to hostile amendments that could significantly weaken them. Unanimity is lacking today because of a number of factors. A couple of vocal but mistaken members of Congress insist that any drug sentencing reform will endanger the public, an election-year fearmongering tactic that has no basis in fact. There is also strong disagreement about whether to include minimum criminal intent requirements ("mens rea") in any final reform bill. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) support broad mens rea protection; the White House and most Democrats strongly oppose it. The congressional calendar presents an equally daunting challenge. We are in June of an election year. The Senate only plans to be in session for roughly 40 days between now and the November election. None of these challenges should stop us from seeking the boldest, most meaningful reforms we believe are needed. But we should be mindful that presidential election years are often the time when Congress succumbs to the temptation to make criminal sentences worse, not better. For 4,900 people serving sentences Congress itself deemed unfair, members of the Senate and House need not wait a day longer. If prospects for passing a larger package of criminal justice reforms do not dramatically improve in the coming days, Congress should at least pass narrow legislation making the FSA retroactive. Those serving discredited, excessive sentences for crack offenses should not be forced to wait any longer for justice. The Sentencing Commission's evidence suggests that giving retroactive relief to those serving excessive crack sentences does not harm public safety. To the contrary, making the FSA retroactive would save lives, money, and right a terrible wrong. That is a legacy both parties can be proud to share with their voters this Fall. In the wake of the Orlando shootings, the AR-15 and weapons like it are in the spotlight because, once again, a semi-automatic rifle was used in the shooting. This time, it was technically a Sig Sauer MCX, but it's in the same classification of gun. It's a category of weapon called "military" or "assault rifles." And while some people would like to blame that nomenclature on the "ignorance" of liberals, it's how they are actually marketed. Advertisement But there is also a technical distinction between an assault weapon and the "semi-automatic rifles" which the gun advocates want you to know about. I will quote the Blaze here, so as to not be called "gun grabber" or be accused of any bias in my definition: For the purpose of this article, we'll focus on AR-15s since it is what CBS calls "the most popular rifle in America" and one often designated an "assault" rifle. An AR-15 is the civilian equivalent to the military's M-16. So what's the difference? Kelly Alwood, a firearms trainer and consultant, told TheBlaze the only difference is that one is fully automatic and the other is semi-automatic. It's a small yet simultaneously big distinction. Firearms for use by the military are able to shoot continuously with one pull of the trigger, machine-gun style. Civilian firearms, on the other hand, only allow one shot per trigger pull. So one is semi-automatic, and the other is fully automatic. Got it. See, with a semi-automatic weapon, you have to pull the trigger each time you want to fire a round. You can't just hold the trigger down and have a steady stream of bullets come out like you can with a fully automatic. Advertisement Doesn't that sound a lot less deadly? This, to the gun-rights advocate, is the quintessential distinction between them. But that's a distinction without a difference. Then there's what's called a "bump stock." You can buy one right here for just $135.95. So what is a bump stock, you ask? I'll let this guy tell you because he seems like he knows what he's talking about. After all, he's selling them, right? At about the 20-second mark, what did he say? "This stock will let you use your semi-automatic rifle to bump-fire--or mimic automatic firing--without breaking any laws." "Mimic automatic firing... without breaking any laws." Those are his words, not mine. And while he goes on to adhere to the semantic distinction, he's doing it emphasizing that in practicality, there is not one. Alright, so what does that mean. At 38 seconds: "Bump firing is the use of a recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to simulate the effect of firing fully auto." Advertisement So basically, it lets you do the same thing as a fully automatic weapon; it just lets you do it in a slightly different way. Each time the gun recoils, it bounces back, which causes it to automatically pull the trigger again, which causes another recoil and so on. With both an automatic weapon and a bump stock, you're holding your finger still while the gun automatically fires, but on a technicality, the trigger is being pulled each time with a semi-automatic. Using the word "automatic" as an adjective, you can describe a semi-automatic with a bump stock as an automatic weapon, even you can't call it one by its technical definition. Perhaps a visual will help. Here's a guy bump-firing 100 rounds in a matter of seconds: Visually, does that seem any different than an automatic gun to you? Would you feel terrified if you were pinned in with a crowd as someone fired into it with a gun like that? Or would you feel safe and secure in knowing that it's not really an assault rifle? But there's a problem with the guy in the last video. He's using what's called a double drum, and they suck. They tend to jam up, and that's the last thing you want to happen if you're trying to murder 100 people in a matter of minutes. Just ask James Holmes. Advertisement So what's a would-be psychopath to do? Well he could go buy himself the top-rated AR-15/M16 50RD 223/5.56X15 DRUM Magazine which sells for $215.00 and describes itself as: Rugged, reliable 50-round drum magazine designed for .308/7.62x51mm & .223/5.56x45mm, full metal jacket ammunition provides plenty of capacity and reduces reloading time. Rated for full-auto fire, the low-profile drum is still compact enough for shooting from the prone position. Integral hand wheel makes it easy to crank back the spring for quick loading/unloading. X-15 magazine fits AR-15/M16 style rifles, and functions with .223/5.56x45mm & 300 Blackout ammunition. The X-15 is also shorter than a standard 30rd magazine. It's designed to reload quickly, and it's rated for full auto fire--their words, not mine. Becuase in case the first 50 rounds that went into the deer didn't do the job, you need to be able to dump another 50 into him fast, or Bambi might get away. Look, let's stop with this nonsensical distinction without a difference between automatic and semiautomatic. With a bump stock, it's effectively the same thing. The "gun rights" people know it because they're the ones buying it; the gun manufacturers know it because they're the ones selling it. And the killers know it because they're using them to shoot over 100 people in a matter of minutes. Do you think those victims feel any less "assaulted" because they weren't "technically" shot by an assault weapon? Advertisement What they're hoping for is that the rest of us won't know, and we'll just buy into the "one pull per bullet" nonsensical rhetoric and let it go. I don't think the founders had the Orlando shooting in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment. Originally posted in MyMediaDiary. When a tragic event happens, we've changed from a nation of mourners to a nation of soldiers in foxholes. We're stunned by the first noise then dive for cover and peek above the rim and fire away, perhaps taking aim. Hurry! Which hole will be yours--the gorilla's, the parent's or the zookeeper's? Gorillas don't kill people, the zoo does! Do the same people in favor of shooting the Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla support banning AR-15s? After all, neither is by default a man-killer, but, in the wrong circumstances they can be as deadly as a seven year-old driving your minivan. If you're in favor of keeping zoo patrons safe from the tigers, why should a semi-automatic weapon be able to be purchased legally by someone investigated by the FBI? Again, pick a foxhole! Sunday morning America woke to the news of the deadliest massacre in US history. If you took to Facebook like I did and expressed your sorrow and bewilderment, you might also have quickly been led down the path of choosing sides. 49 were dead; more than fifty wounded. It seemed enough to me to work through the shock confronting thousands of relatives, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Advertisement After President Obama delivered his fifteenth post-massacre statement, I added my confusion over our nation's lax gun laws and underfunded mental health programs. I felt certain that Sandy Hook would have at least provided the catalyst for change--that first-graders with 20 bullets in them would convince an angry nation that enough was enough. Sure enough, within minutes two people who never write anything else to me on Facebook, took the predictable path of immediately defending the Second Amendment--both ignoring my mental health clause. It was so immediately clear to both of them who was at fault and, far more importantly, who wasn't at fault. America has developed an unbelievable amnesia capable of erasing in just two weeks a Kalamazoo Uber driver who guns down innocent people between fares. These bi-weekly slaughters soon feel as distant as the New Deal, the shockwave of Columbine more like Lewis and Clark. By City of Orlando Police Department And two days later, just miles away from Orlando's Pulse nightclub, a two year-old is dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. The immediate finger points "Where were the parents?" cutting short the empathy and sense of loss we really ought to feel. When it was discovered that the parent actually fought the gator, we have our next finger ready to extended, "Well, they should have held on tighter--or been packing a weapon!" Nineteen years ago, seemingly yesterday, my wife and I looked up then quickly down to discover we had somehow lost our own two year-old at a high school tailgate. Moments later he was at the top of the bleachers waving down at us before my student Jessica rescued him as we sat frozen, ready for him to fall to his death. Advertisement I, Fredhsu [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) Like the nightclub shooting, I can't begin to imagine the horror of these Nebraskan parents on their family's dream trip to Disney World. It's a terrifying thought that must cross every parent's mind daily this generation--if you can't go to a shopping center, a movie theatre, a dance club or a Christmas party, where can you go--besides into the pit of despair. Given the choice between a child dying or an endangered gorilla, sadly, the question cannot even be a question. But the blaming can certainly be explosive and occupy all of our time on social media and beyond. The assassin's confusing series of 911 calls and it's an ISIS plot, 24 hours ahead of compelling evidence of mental illness, spousal abuse and what could be the killer's own struggles with his sexuality. Facebook, Twitter, cable news and talk radio gives us about three minutes for serious discussion--lost between the poles of "It's too soon to talk about it" and "Look, we can't dwell on the past--we just have to look forward." And if we stay quaking in our foxholes and never look above except to fire at the unseen enemy, how can we really go anywhere but down? Advertisement A demonstrator protesting against anti-Muslim cartoons. (Voyou Desoeuvre/Flickr) The more we learn more about the Pulse nightclub tragedy and shooter Omar Mateen, the murkier the picture seems to become. The Orlando shooting is being treated and investigated as a terrorist attack. But the language around terrorism can be seriously complicated. Politicians can't even agree on a universal description for terrorist groups. "Radical Islam" is an especially fraught expression after the Orlando attacks. Here's what it means and how our leaders--and wannabe leaders--are talking about it. Advertisement At the very least, Omar Mateen is an ISIS sympathizer Omar Mateen was a second-generation Muslim American. The 29-year-old was born in New York to parents who had immigrated to the US from Afghanistan. Although he didn't have a criminal record, Mateen was investigated by the FBI at least two times for possible terrorist connections. Whether or not he had direct ties to radical groups, we know that he pledged allegiance to ISIS and their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during Sunday morning's horrific attack. Does that make him a terrorist? Or just an ISIS fanboy? While we don't know if Mateen was directed or funded by the terror group, he seems to have been inspired by the notorious Islamic terrorists. ISIS has of course masterminded and carried out other attacks on Western targets recently, including ones in Paris and Brussels. President Obama won't say "radical Islam" What's in the name "radical Islamist"? (Speaker resources/Flickr) President Obama called the shooting an "act of terror and an act of hate" on Sunday. He was diplomatic, stating that the only sure thing so far was that Mateen was filled with hatred. Advertisement President Obama on #Orlando shooter: What is clear? He was a person filled with hatred https://t.co/OfmsxqcYz6 https://t.co/kJfLRMWPnD The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) June 12, 2016 What we didn't hear was Obama denouncing or even mentioning "radical Islam" or "radical Islamic terrorists." He never has. Here's why, in Obama's own words about the Islamic State: "They are not religious leaders; they are terrorists ... We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam." President Obama has said that ISIS is "desperate" to portray their members as the holy defenders of Islam. He wants Americans to reject this fantasy. He prefers to use the term "violent extremism" when he talks about terrorists. (Some world leaders, like Francois Hollande of France, use the nickname Daesh to refer to this group instead of Islamic State, ISIS, or ISIL, to avoid any reference to the religion altogether. And also because the terrorists supposedly hate it.) In Obama's opinion, evoking Islam in the name of terrorism and legitimizing what the terrorists are doing in the name of Islam does a huge disservice to the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world who reject violent, terror-based groups. Advertisement Obama also maintains that generalizing about Muslims might mean that we are feeding into ISIS propaganda--and alienating allies in the Muslim world. There's no magic to the phrase 'radical Islam.' It's a political talking point, not a strategy. @POTUS https://t.co/HjrzagH8xA AJ+ (@ajplus) June 15, 2016 Whenever you say, "radical Islam," a duck resembling you comes down and terrorism stops. pic.twitter.com/r4WaGBTSXi pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) June 14, 2016 On subject of Islam, Obama is so insightful, so knowledgeable, so sophisticated that he sometimes can't do anything. https://t.co/QvMad01EPL Byron York (@ByronYork) June 15, 2016 Some believe Obama is trying to deny the connection between terrorism and Islam Literally all Fox News has talked about for the past 48 hours is Obama not saying "radical Islam". It's pathological with these people. Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) June 14, 2016 Advertisement Obama has many critics who believe that he is denying a clear link between Islam and extremist terrorism--and that to do so is dangerous. Critics also say Obama's avoidance of the term reflects a larger failure to defeat terrorism and keep America safe. .@stephenfhayes: Pres Obama's failure to use 'radical Islam' speaks to a larger failure to defeat the enemyhttps://t.co/4sehDQJi5P FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 15, 2016 .@brithume: "@POTUS certainly has not fulfilled the role of someone who reflects the nations anger & anxieties about radical Islam..." Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 15, 2016 Advertisement Trump went way beyond insisting on the term "radical Islam" to blaming all Muslims Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's own response to the Orlando shooting was one of his most divisive speeches yet. He reaffirmed his zero tolerance, anti-immigration stance as strongly as ever. He reiterated his desire to ban all immigrants from any country with a "proven history of terrorism" against the US or its allies. And Trump also hinted that President Obama has some secret agenda that causes him to willfully ignore terrorism ... or even sympathize with extremists. No matter where you lie on the political spectrum, those are some wild allegations to make about a two-term leader of the free world. Trump painted a picture of radical Islam seeping through the US like a plague. He blamed Muslim Americans--many of whom have held vigils and donated blood in the wake of the Orlando attack--for failing to warn the government about Mateen's plans, as if they should have somehow known about it. Trump also claimed Clinton wouldn't use the term "radical Islam" In an interview on Monday, Trump sharply called out both President Obama and Hillary Clinton--Trump's rival for the White House--for failing to use the term "radical Islam." He argued that it's impossible to fix the problem of terrorism if we tiptoe around and refuse to call a spade a spade. He had some pretty strong words for both Obama and Clinton. Advertisement Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn't he should immediately resign in disgrace! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016 There's one small problem with this: Clinton had used this exact term earlier. On the same television show. Remarkable. On CNN, Trump is told that Clinton did use words "radical Islam" and seems or pretends not to hear pic.twitter.com/QW6DG7eGK4 Candace Smith (@CandaceSmith_) June 13, 2016 One Democrat who has no problem talking about "radical Islamism": Hillary Clinton Unlike Obama, whose administration she served as Secretary of State, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won't shy away from linking radical Islam to terrorism. But she also argues that it's more important to act than to sit around and quibble over word choice: Advertisement "From my perspective, it matters what we do more than what we say. And it mattered we got bin Laden, not what name we called him. I have clearly said we--whether you call it 'radical jihadism' or 'radical Islamism,' I'm happy to say either. I think they mean the same thing." Our piece tonight from Cleveland, standing next to Rock N Roll hall of fame https://t.co/CSv3zOn75x Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 14, 2016 It's not "radical Islamism" or "radical jihadism." It's "Islamism,""jihadism," or "radical Islam."@HillaryClinton Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) June 13, 2016 She has also called the Pulse shooting a terrorist attack. Although she did use the divisive term, Clinton made sure to distance herself from Donald Trump. A few other Democrats prefer to use this controversial term too. Some Republicans distanced themselves from Trump after his comments If you were listening for GOP leaders' support for their presumptive nominee after his speech, you heard a whole lot of nothing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to comment on Trump's remarks. Other big names who distanced themselves from Donald Trump were House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. Advertisement Mitch McConnell: There are a lot of patriotic, loyal American Muslims https://t.co/RsGZgJ7IAa pic.twitter.com/7SXWGuMWNX HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) June 15, 2016 One Republican who might agree with Trump is his formal rival Senator Ted Cruz. What we need is for every American Dem & GOP to come together and unite to defeat radical Islamic terrorism: https://t.co/OTmvA9jlH2 Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 13, 2016 He made "radical Islam" a big talking point in his presidential campaign. Last December, he gave a speech outlining his plans to defeat ISIS and other terrorist groups. He said that we can't avoid talking about Islam if we want to tackle terrorism: "The strategy to defeat the enemy begins with calling it by its name. We need to take off the blinders of political correctness that prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us. That enemy is radical Islamic terrorism and it is trying to destroy our country and our way of life." So here's where we are on "radical Islam" and "radical Islamic terrorism" Numerous top Republicans have repeatedly criticized Obama over his refusal to talk about "radical Islamic terrorism." Advertisement Meanwhile, Obama wants to fight back against persecution and Islamophobia and avoid alienating allies. He says his choice not to use the term has nothing to do with political correctness and fought back against Trump's line of criticism, saying that anti-Muslim rhetoric like Trump's is "not the America we want." "Enough talking about being tough on terrorism. Actually be tough on terrorism." Obama let Trump have it today. https://t.co/STBU0L81rV Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 14, 2016 Although the debate over words and terrorism has intensified this week, some believe that "radical Islam" shouldn't be the focus after Orlando's attacks. If we're talking more about "Radical Islam" than homophobia in relation to the Orlando massacre than we're not having the right conversation billy eichner (@billyeichner) June 15, 2016 And others just as strongly believe it should. Stop blaming Orlando shooting on everything but radical Islam https://t.co/4ZMCPUxo0K via @nypost Vicki Mckenna (@VickiMcKenna) June 15, 2016 Rise of alternative political thought in Nepal creates new hope to end poverty within seven years, to make Nepal a middle-income country by doubling the income in 15 years, and to convert Nepal into one of the richest countries in the world within 25 years. Nepal is among the world's poorest countries and one of the least developed countries in the world. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics Nepal, annual Growth Rate in Nepal averages 4.36 percent from 1994 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 8.60 percent in 1994 and a record low of 0.16 percent in 2002. Based on the GDP (PPP) of a country, Central African Republic is the top poorest country in the world and Nepal is 30th. The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Nepal was last recorded at 2,516 US dollars in 2015 when adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP). According to the World Bank, GDP per capita PPP in Nepal averaged 1663.42 USD from 1990 until 2015, reaching an all-time high in 2015 and a record low of 1240.16 USD in 1990. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Nepal averaged 4.36 percent from 1994 until 2015, reaching an all-time high of 8.60 percent in 1994 and a record low of 0.16 percent in 2002. GDP in Nepal expanded 3.40 percent in 2015 from the previous year. Advertisement In the last 32 years, Nepal was able to attain an annual growth of more than 7% only in two fiscal years 1987/88 and 1993/94. In the last 10 years after political movement, Nepal was able to attain an annual growth of more than 6% only in 2008. Otherwise, the annual growth rate has steadily declined and less than 5.5%. After being hit by two disastrous earthquakes in April and May 2015, some research and reporting are listing Nepal among top poorest countries in the world. After the earthquake, Nepal's economy has dropped to an all-time low. Dream of double-digit growth in Nepal is still a dream and Nepal is being poorest day by day in the world. In the last 32 years, Nepal was able to attain an annual growth of more than 7% only in two fiscal years 1987/88 and 1993/94. In the last 10 years after political movement, Nepal was able to attain an annual growth of more than 6% only in 2008. Otherwise, the annual growth rate has steadily declined and less than 5.5%. In Nepal, 25.2% of the population lives below the national poverty line according to Asian Development Bank. Political instability, leadership crisis, lack of long-term vision, political leadership, and corruption are principal reasons for Nepal's financial weakness and poverty. Nepalese people are disappointed with all political parties because of corrupted leaders and lack of vision. Meanwhile, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has announced the formation of a new political party Naya Shakti Nepal (New Force Nepal) on June 12, which is able to create new waves of hope. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai was the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal. He had completed his Ph.D. degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) in 1986 on 'the Nature of Underdevelopment and Regional Structure of Nepal' Photo : Sudhan Panthi The political party is carrying the agenda to make Nepal one of the richest nations of the world within a period of 25 years. To end poverty within seven years, to make Nepal a middle-income country by doubling the income in 15 years, and to convert Nepal into one of the richest countries in the world within 25 years, Naya Shakti Nepal has been launched with economic prosperity as a singular focus. With this commitment, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai administered the oath to thousands of members at the party launching ceremony which is creating new hope for optional political thought and economic development in Nepal. Advertisement According to the leaders, Naya Shakti Nepal is not only a new political party but also an alternative movement, which shall usher in a new era of national capitalism. The party will neither follow liberal democracy nor state socialism but it will support inclusiveness and participatory democracy leading to enhanced socialism using dialectical and historical materialism to achieve its goal. In the present context, all political parties with their old methodology of leadership, party functioning and structure and plans are not able to address the challenges of the 21st century, this political thought of new force could be an alternative thought and could be able to replace outdated political thoughts. It's around this time each summer that I always get a handful of calls from concerned parents, asking the same thing. These parents have by now read the Baylor headlines, they've heard about the Stanford rape survivor, and they've seen the statistic that one in four women are sexually assaulted while in college. These parents want to know how they can keep their daughter safe. They want to know what they should tell their daughter to do, or not do, so she won't become a statistic. But, the truth is, these parents are asking the wrong question. Asking what tips to give your daughter implies that victims of sexual assault are somehow responsible for keeping themselves safe. And that's not only untrue, but it's sexist. No one is responsible for rape except the rapist. As someone working on a campus to prevent sexual assault, I do have a few tips - for the parents of sons. (Because the statistics tell us that 99 percent of perpetrators are men.) Here are the top three conversations you need to have with your student this summer, before he heads off to college. Advertisement 1. Your student is never entitled to sex from anyone, anytime. Our students have grown up in a media-dominant culture where men are often socially valued for being sexual aggressors and women are valued for being sexy. It's part of rape culture, and it can feel difficult to defy the influence of these social norms when you are delving into your first real experiences of adulthood, especially when it comes to sex. Students need to hear and understand that only a willing and enthusiastic partner makes for consensual sex. Talk to your student honestly - if their partner is not giving an unequivocal yes to keep moving forward with each sexual activity, then STOP. Remind your student that the comfort of their partner and communication are key to consensual sex. And consent is not a single yes before clothes come off. It is an ongoing conversation throughout sexual activity. And not only when it's someone you've just met.. In eight out of ten cases, the victim knew the person who sexually assaulted them. Clear, enthusiastic, and voluntary consent is required from each partner, each time. 2. Drinking is a big part of the college experience for so many students. It's also a big impairment to decision making. And I don't mean for the victim. In sexual assault cases, alcohol was consumed by the perpetrator at least 50% of the time. Alcohol inhibits cognitive thinking and escalates aggressive tendencies. And most alcohol related sexual assaults tend to be between men and women who don't know each other well or at all. It's a dangerous combination. Help your student to think ahead about how they want to be involved in this part of college life, how they plan to handle alcohol, what are their hopes and expectations around alcohol, and realistic limits on consumption. Try to help them formulate a plan for fun and safety, and most of all make sure they know you have expectations of them to consume responsibly - and be explicit about what responsible drinking looks like. Lastly, make sure your student understands that drunk sex is never consensual sex. Advertisement 3. Bystander Intervention isn't always a big action; more often, it's a small action that can change the course of events. The Swedish students who ran down Brock Turner after seeing him sexually assault an unconscious woman are to be applauded. They did the right thing by getting involved. But, more often than not, bystander intervention can happen earlier in the evening and on a smaller scale - encourage your student to take responsibility, from interrupting a sexist comment by his friends, to letting a friend know that he's being too creepy with that woman on the dance floor, or just making sure his intoxicated friend goes home alone. This is men doing their part; calling other men into account and shifting the culture of misogyny that supports rape in the first place. I do have one last tip, for parents of daughters: Make sure your student knows that sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. We need to say it out loud and often. And then find out where your student can turn in a moment of need. Are there counseling services on campus? Is there a victim advocate to help your student navigate an unhealthy relationship or the aftermath of a trauma? And if your student wants to help make a difference when it comes to sexual assault prevention on campus, help them get connected to student activism, as well. Their Women's Resource Center is likely a great place to start. These are tough topics for conversation. But then again, heading off to college can be a tough time anyway. Now is the moment to get real and get honest with your student about sex and sexual assault. U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) takes questions at a news conference after his meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Washington, US, May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Purple Nation June 16, 2016 Where's Paul Ryan's "Declaration of Conscience" on Trump? by Lanny Davis Throughout American history, there are pivotal moments where a leader of one of the two major parties rises up to put conscience and moral principles over party loyalty. One such moment for the Republican Party occurred on June 1, 1950. Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, the only woman in the U.S. Senate and a conservative Republican, took the floor of the U.S. Senate four months after Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wis.) accused the State Department of harboring communists in an infamous speech given in Wheeling, W.Va. Advertisement Although McCarthy was a friend, Smith denounced him and his reckless attacks and smears -- the first Republican brave enough to do so. At the end of her speech, she introduced her famous "Declaration of Conscience" resolution, co-sponsored by six other GOP senators. In her speech, she repudiated McCarthy by saying: "I don't like the way the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity." Another such moment is upon us as a result of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. And the most important member of Congress in the best position to follow in Sen. Smith's historic footsteps is the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan (Wis.). I disagree with Ryan's conservative policies strongly. But I, along with most Democratic members of Congress I know, respect him for his civility, his decency and his moral principles. Ryan exhibited these traits last March, when Trump refused to immediately repudiate the endorsement of his candidacy by Ku Klux Klan racist David Duke. "If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games," the Speaker said. "They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on people's prejudices." Advertisement Yet on June 2, Ryan decided to endorse Donald Trump for president. He did so despite the billionaire's prior statements calling all undocumented Mexicans "rapists" and criminals; his call for a ban on all Muslims entering the country, strictly on the basis of their religion; and his ridiculing of Fox's Megyn Kelly, after she asked him during a GOP presidential debate to explain his references to women he did not like as "fat pigs," "dogs," "slobs" and "disgusting animals." http://time.com/3988288/republican-debate-megyn-kelly/ Trump responded by saying "there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her whatever." Just five days later, on June 7, Ryan criticized Trump for challenging the impartiality of U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, in a case involving charges of fraud against the real estate tycoon's "university," because of the judge's Mexican heritage. "I regret those comments he made," Ryan told the media at a press conference. "Claiming a person can't do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment. I think that should be absolutely disavowed." Trump has refused to disavow or apologize for his racist statement. So why has the Speaker continued to support Trump for president despite the fact that Trump's own words shown him to be racial and religious bigot and a misogynist? How can Ryan or any thoughtful American not express revulsion that the GOP standard-bearer chose to politically exploit the Orlando tragedy with boastful and demagogic bombast? Over this past weekend, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who chose Ryan to be his running mate, issued his own version of Smith's "Declaration of Conscience," announcing why he could never vote for Trump: "I don't want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following. Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America." Advertisement So, to Speaker Ryan and all thoughtful Republican conservatives everywhere, I suggest that you read Romney's words carefully, as well as Margaret Chase Smith's declaration, made almost exactly 66 years ago this month, and repudiate Donald Trump's presidential candidacy. Some in your party might argue that you need to support Trump to save the Republican Party. But Romney has it right when he concluded exactly the opposite: You need to join him in opposing Trump to save not only the party but your own conscience. # # # # Mr. Davis is a weekly columnist for The Hill newspaper, writing under the name, "Purple Nation". This column appears first and weekly in The Hill at http://thehill.com/. Hire just one military spouse for remote employment and it can save you more than $15,000 each year, according to a telework calculator provided by TeleworkResearchNetwork.com. For the employer these savings are attributed to employee-related overhead costs. This isn't too good to be true, it's just not mainstream. My mission is different than my husband's Army mission. Mine is to change the rules of employee "engagement" and make remote employment mainstream by asking companies to Hire Just One military spouse for remote employment. Outsourcing is a corporate phenomenon rising with the increased connectivity of our global world and the demands of cutting employee related expenses. Companies frequently produce outsourced services overseas only to be sent back home for the services to be provided over the internet or telephone. This is done to stay competitive in our changing market by integrating technology, collaboration and global mobility to support our 24/7 economy. We are lucky in today's world in that we are able to harness technology and use it to gain a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, companies aren't utilizing all the technology and talent at their disposal because the processes aren't yet mainstream and therefore it takes some time, energy and resources to fill that void. Remote careers reduce employee-related expenses, channel the technological resources at our fingertips and support our 24/7 economy because regardless of geographic location a remote employee is hard at work. Advertisement Finding dedicated and talented employees is a major task and keeping those employees is even more challenging. There is a major push within the corporate sector to find new ways to retain employees who share common values. Companies want to go back to the "old days" of retaining employees through their career lifecycle and have spent millions trying to determine what makes an employee stay. Work/life balance is a top contender and more and more people will take a job that pays less if the position is a remote position because it provides greater flexibility. Jonathan Spira, Chief Analyst at Basex, a New York research firm, estimates companies lose more than $650 billion each year due to employee related distractions at work with employees coming in early and staying late to combat the daily distractions. However, companies see increased productivity from remote employees because the distractions are significantly reduced. The solution is clear, hire dedicated and talented employees for remote employment. Companies task entire HR departments to resolve the disconnect, but the cycle still continues. Stopping the cycle and resolving the disconnect is so simple. Companies need to hire just one military spouse for remote employment to realize the difference. The Military Spouse Employment report of 2014, found that compared to the general public, military spouses have a higher level of education with 35% of military spouses having an undergraduate degree, post-graduate degree or advanced degree. Yet 85% of military spouses are currently seeking employment. Military spouses are unemployed because we live such a transient lifestyle and consequently traditional careers are nearly impossible. Our world of technological advances goes beyond borders and geographic location. Remote careers are the simple solution to military spouse unemployment and a company's bottom line and retention rate. There are more than 6 million businesses across America and nearly 1 million active duty military spouses. Companies can still use the outsourcing model to save money, but instead of going overseas to find those remote employees, "insource" and hire America's Military Spouses. Hire Just One military spouse for remote employment and a company will save more than $15,000 each year. Military spouses are inherently committed to our Nation and loyal to a cause, an absolute benefit for employers worried about retention rates. Stop the revolving door and Hire Just One military spouse for remote employment and embrace the technological advances at your fingertips. Advertisement By John Rivera In the villages around Kambu in eastern Kenya, farmers look to the heavens with brows furrowed with concern. The two rainy seasons each year are critical to these farmers in one of Kenya's driest regions, who depend on these showers to water their crops. Now, white, puffy clouds dot the sky, but no rain is falling. The ground where they will sow their seeds in the coming weeks is dry and dusty. But there is a group of farmers who believe they will fare well during the dry spell. They are part of a coalition of 54 farmer groups called Muungano Nguvu Yetu, which is a Lutheran World Relief partner. They have less anxiety about the lack of rain because of a farming technique called "ripping" that has dramatically increased their farm production, even when water is scarce. It is part of an approach called conservation agriculture, which is a set of soil management practices that minimize the disruption of the soil's structure, composition and natural biodiversity through the application of three principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations. Advertisement Ripping is done by a tractor-towed plow that digs a foot-deep furrow, allowing seed to germinate in soil that retains much more moisture, even in dry conditions. This allows for great harvests during a good rainy season, and at least some production when rains fail. The plow is made up of a first blade that cuts existing vegetation, a second vertical blade that cuts deeply into the soil and breaks up the soil hardpan, and a third blade that breaks up clods of dirt. The space between the troughs is undisturbed, helping to reduce erosion and channeling water into the troughs. David Mbungi, who is 68, said the farming techniques LWR introduced -- known as conservation agriculture -- have quadrupled his production of mung beans, a highly valued cash crop. It's so useful to him because even with barely any rain this season, his mung beans are still sprouting thanks to the soil's retained moisture. In these agricultural communities, farming is never far from mind. One Sunday at a small Lutheran congregation in Makindu, a tiny white stucco church with a big blue cross over the front door, a choir sings hymns in Swahili. Before Pastor Bernard Kyambo begins his sermon, he reads a passage from the Gospel of Mark: the Parable of the Sower: Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. These farmers spend their days sowing in the hope that their seed would find fertile soil. While they have seen success, there is still plenty of land in other Kenyan farming communities that is hard, rocky and thorny. Conservation agriculture will give them a fighting chance. The shooting in Orlando was the deadliest attack on American soil since 911. An estimated 50 people died, and many more injured at the hands of a gunman. Media pundits and politicians criticize lax gun regulations, ISIS, and the FBI, while others spout anti-LGBT commentary and call for tighter immigration laws. Donald Trump spewed inflammatory comments about radical Islam advocates, extolling reasons why immigrants "have no place in our society". We can all talk about the shooter's parenting, being an abuser, his mental health, and our horror at what occurred on Sunday. However, the responsibility of what happened does not rest solely on the shooter's head, but the blood of those 50 plus souls lies on all of us. Look in the Mirror. Acts of terror are intrinsically intertwined with personal biases and intolerance of others' differences; our indifference to things that don't directly affect us; the unwillingness to act on things that matter; not shifting our consciousness; and not demanding change of an antiquated educational system to one that would integrate, as the Dalai Lama said, "the education of the heart...where children learn, as part of the curriculum, the indispensability of inner values: love, compassion, justice and forgiveness." The change must first begin with each one of us. Invest more in mental health. According to the National Association of Mental Illness, in a given year, approximately 61.5 million Americans experience mental illness. An estimated 20 percent of youth ages 13 - 18 experience mental disorders. Roughly 2.4 million people live with schizophrenia; 6.1 million people live with bipolar disorder; 14.8 million people live with depression; and 42 million live with anxiety disorders; yet, unless something terrible happens, people make jest of, or ignore those living with these issues; but it's never funny - especially when it leads to abuse, suicide or murder. Advertisement Personally invest in social change. How much time do we each spend investing in social change? Change requires stepping out of one's comfort zone and tackling critical issues that are affecting our globe. We tweet about tragedies. Facebook timelines are flooded with reactions to the horrors, then we go back to posting selfies, adjusting Instagram filters, and watching YouTube videos about song parodies, eyebrows and makeup contouring. Something's broken with our current culture. Imagine if a tenth of that time was spent making the world better? Let's not make the word "diversity" a fad. The UNITED States of America is a melting pot where most of us are immigrants and inter-mingled culturally. We have to stop negatively pointing out differences based on race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or political affiliation. America is idealized because of its diversity, yet the very things we stand for, are what we use to destroy one another. Conversations about inclusion can foster understanding and create solutions. Invest in global conversations about spirituality and consciousness. At the heart of senseless killing are people in pain; who don't vibrate at a high level of consciousness that allows them to make decisions that would help and heal, rather than destroy. Developing higher consciousness, self-love and inner awareness should be a global discussion. If we teach intolerance and hate, that's what feeds people's souls. If we water the minds of our youth with love, compassion and optimism, that's what grows. Co-creating global, socially conscious citizens must become our legacy. We must become teachers of love, seekers of knowledge and messengers of what's possible for the human race. Be the change we seek. Dr. King said, "When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words or hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love." Don't become the bomber. Don't become the shooter. Don't spew hate. Elevate. Vibrate higher. Advertisement Great change is preceded by chaos - Deepak Chopra. Our country is in chaos and it's time for change. In this election year, we need leadership that is not incendiary, but level-headed. This recent attack shouldn't demonize Muslim Americans or place a ban on immigration. We cannot declare war on an entire group of people or religion. It's dangerous and anti-American. We can impose proper restrictions on firearms. We can work to ensure that people are not targeted because of their ethnicity, religious views, and sexual orientation or gender identity. We can stop gossiping, bullying, calling people weird, bipolar, fat or stupid. As immigrants, my friend Mali Phonpadith and I, who fled Liberia and Laos, respectively as refugees, know firsthand the terrors of war, yet we chose to respond by building up our communities, leading with compassion and love. It is time for a new type of response ...of active love and higher consciousness that will make these acts of rage unimaginable to future generations. We can no longer afford to be silent bystanders. How we act today is the investment we're making for the future. Mashrou' Leila. Photo by Leva Saudargaite As we make our way through the United States on this tour for Ibn El Leil, which translates to "Son of the Night," our fourth album, we wanted to share some of our more personal experiences. The North American tour began with a sold out concert at the Music Hall of Williamsburg at the end of May, and we've played in major cities like Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C. since. Now we're on the West Coast for a few concerts and then Mashrou' Leila is headed back to New York City, to be followed by Canada. We try to take it all in -- each city has its own vibe, flavor, and energy, and our experiences have been as varied. Advertisement Tour Notes -- Ibrahim Badr, bass guitarist: Going through customs at JFK airport is always a pain. The line is always too long, too crowded, and things are a little chaotic. This time was particularly bad. I finally got to the custom officer's desk and handed him my passport. He swiped it into his machine and started looking up my background information. He spotted a man in the queue behind me talking on his cell phone, despite the very large sign that said that it was not allowed. The customs officer shouted at him, asking him to put down his phone. The man didn't notice. The officer then shouted again -- the man stared back with a puzzled look. He clearly did not speak English. The officer looked at me and said, "When Donald Drumpf becomes president all these problems will go away," and pointed to the huge line of people. Not sure how to reply, I assumed he was joking and replied with a short laugh. Advertisement The officer spoke again: "You're laughing, but it's the truth. What, you think I am going to vote for Hillary?" He handed me back my passport and finished, "Oh, and you're good to go." I politely said thank you and quickly walked away. I know from experience it is always better to keep conversations with U.S. customs as short as possible. While waiting for my suitcase at the baggage carousel, I couldn't help but think through what just happened. I naively imagined Drumpf supporters to be crazy racists. This man seemed normal, but then again, what was he hoping Drumpf would do? Come and manage the airport personally? Or stop all the tourists from coming to New York? Photo courtesy of Mashrou' Leila Tour Notes -- Firas Abou Fakher, guitarist and keyboardist: It's usually around 1 a.m. after a show that we hear the first silence of the day. Cases have been re-filled with instruments and harsh house lights hammer the hall with a bright white, sanitizing all the powerful energy of the roaring crowd a few hours ago. But it's mainly that our ears stop ringing around 1 a.m. And on this night, we're in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, our first stop on a month-long tour. Interviews and soundcheck and jet lag mean that the day has been especially long. Our tour manager speaks from a corner, lobby call times, and planes, and trains, and from the red leather couch in the upstairs hall I see some posters hanging on the wall: LCD Soundsystem, James Blake, Metronomy, Arctic Monkeys, Chairlift, The National, Bon Iver, Sanitgold, and more, more, more. On the left, on a small board, a piece of paper reads "Mashrou' Leila -- Live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg" and with diagonal red letters "Sold Out." Not a bad place to start. Advertisement Photo courtesy of Mashrou' Leila Tour Notes -- Carl Gerges, drummer: When you approach the intersection of Lawrence and Broadway in Chicago, a large glittering neon sign with "Green Mill Cocktail Lounge" illuminates the street in a green glow. A quarter-century ago, the Mill was a notorious shooting gallery where drug addicts collapsed in the booths and various forms of vice unfolded in the dilapidated, shoe-box-shaped room. We played our show in New York and just arrived to Chicago. It has only been one show out of fifteen, but I'm in a very strange state -- a mixture of jetlag and fatigue. I cross the green, illuminated intersection and get in the Mill. The front of the Mill features a bar lining the left side of the room, curving around the corner, and capped off by a retro jukebox. Near the curve of the bar is the booth once preferred by Al Capone. (With a view of the main and side exits, it allowed him to keep a watchful eye on both doors.) There are several green velvet-upholstered booths around the bar area and more seating near the stage, but the space is intimate and fills up quickly. When that happens, live jazz music floods the vintage smelling air, and the dance-floor gets filled with strangely dressed people. This place seems to be frozen in the 1940s. I try to dance, but I'm too tired, everything seems blurry and glittery, I hold on tight to my drink, scramble for a seat and fall asleep while Ibrahim passes out on the floor... Photo courtesy of Mashrou' Leila A few weeks ago, on a warm night, I was sitting with an old friend drinking wine on a rooftop. This friend is a longtime Republican, and I, a long time Democrat have been close for many years, and often love to have debates about the politics of the day. However, this most recent hangout, we got into a discussion about "he who shall not be named." Just kidding, we were talking about Donald Trump. I asked her, "Who are your parents voting for?" She paused, and said, "We are voting for Trump." I almost fell out of my chair. My friend, and her wonderful parents are very thoughtful, compassionate and politically savvy people. I was baffled. I spent the rest of the night trying to figure it out. Me: "How could you vote for a racist?" Friend: "Oh, he's not racist, he's just lying." Me: "Ok, how could you vote for a person using racism to win angry white voters!? The conversation didn't really go beyond that. I was literally too speechless to proceed. It has bothered me since. I didn't know how to manage the many feelings this brought up for me. So I decided to write a letter to my friend, and share it with all of my Republican friends. Advertisement Dear Republican Friends and Family, This is regarding your decision to vote for Donald Trump. It is a problem, and here is why. #1: He is racist. But so are you. We all have a racist lens from which we see the world. The structures of American society are based on what Bell Hooks refers to as White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy. It is engrained in our institutions, our cultural norms, and our social customs. I am not interested in pointing out the racist, here and there, it is more necessary to point out, and fight against the social, political, economic, educational and legal structures that perpetuate and reinforce racism and white supremacy. What makes you and I different from Donald Trump is that he is using the basic tenets of racism, fear and anger to become the leader of this country. He is using his white male privilege to buy his way into the Presidency. So let's get past this part quickly. You are racist. Accept it and move forward. Now that we've solved the basic arithmetic on this, it is time to consider the calculus. Advertisement There is no middle ground with this issue. You are either racist, or anti-racist. Your support for Donald J. Trump (DJT) is not only a sign that you are complacent with racism (despite your suggestion that his "tax plan" is better for you than Hillary's, I promise you, Hillary will take care of the rich), but that you have lost faith in the democratic process. You have lost faith in your party, and a country that has privileged and supported you for so long. This is clear in your unwillingness to heed the advice of prominent Republican leaders, who have not uniformly condemned DJT, but are being applauded for making general statements against his racist language. Big Whoop. Romney, perhaps the most pointed voice on this, has been explicit about his unwillingness to support Trump's racism. Paul Ryan, a man whom I totally disagreed with in regards to policy, but that I once believed had some integrity, has endorsed Trump. He is now starting to smell the Trump and turn up the criticism. Neither of the two living Republic President's support him and pressure from other Republicans has increased in light of Trump's horrible response to the Orlando Shooting. Just to give you a quick rundown of some of Trump's antics over this election cycle (not an exhaustive list): Advertisement Not to mention his incitement of violence at political rallies, his complete inability to tell the truth, and the fact that he has no actual policy plans for this country, except to "Build a Wall" and "Ban Muslims," two ideas, which 1) are completely racist and xenophobic, classic scapegoating, and 2) impractical and just lies. This election will be historic. Perhaps you will read this, feel bad, but still cast your vote for DJT, and that is your right. But I urge you to first consider, that this decision will go down in history. It will first, be the moment we elected our first women president (a fact, not an opinion), and second, when we rebuked racism and fear: Two pillars of Donald Trump's campaign. He will lose; you will lose. In 10 or 20 years, your daughter, or granddaughter will ask you if you voted for the first women president. And you will have to either lie and say "yes, of course!" or say, "No honey, I supported a racist, misogynistic liar." You must understand this election is not just about the longstanding differences in policy. This election is about the character of our nation, our values, our morals, and our collective desire to fight for equality. #2: He is a racist. And yes, so are you. However, this does not mean you cannot learn to be anti-racist. It is up to you to decided if he stands for what you believe in. If you still decide to support him, I understand, in no way did I believe this letter would have the ability to change an already made mind. But I must tell you, that I won't be angry. I will be hurt and incredibly disappointed in you. And I will challenge you to be open about it. Discuss it. Explore it. And I promise that I will try and always be constructive and supportive of those discussions. Advertisement Sincerely, Guilt is an interesting feeling. Everyone I know has felt guilt, guilt as a feeling is hard to identify and we may not even be aware that the unsettling feeling we are vaguely aware of is actually guilt. Guilt in psychology is defined as a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person believes or realizes--accurately or not--that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard and bears significant responsibility for that violation. It is closely related to the concept of remorse. ("Guilt". Encyclopedia of Psychology. 2nd ed. Ed. Bonnie R. Strickland. Gale Group, Inc., 2001. eNotes.com. 2006. 31 December 2007) Donald L. Carveth, Phd from York University in Canada in the abstract of his article The Unconscious Need for Punishment: Expression or Evasion of the Sense of Guilt? states: In Civilization and Its Discontents and other writings, Freud equates the unconscious need for punishment expressed in various patterns of self-torment and self-sabotage with the unconscious sense of guilt. But there are cogent clinical and theoretical grounds for distinguishing between genuine guilt and the unconscious need for punishment that serves as a guilt-substitute the function of which is precisely to ward off an unbearable sense of guilt You can feel guilty about many things, eating an extra bar of chocolate, letting your kids watch TV while you do work, about breaking your spouse's tool, scratching their car, forgetting to pack the kids' lunches, fighting with your mom or dad over some ridiculously unimportant reason. I also feel guilty when I read about starving refugees who have no food, shelter and medical care. I feel guilty about the dying Syrians while comparing their destinies with my own fortune in escaping the atrocities in Bosnia at least physically unharmed. I can tell you, I felt and still feel guilty about all these things, this guilt that has various degrees of hurt inside my gut. When people tell you that you feel something inside your gut, women probably can relate to it more than men. Women carry their emotions in the tightness of their stomach muscles, not realizing that they are holding all their frustrations close to their center. Perhaps, it is because they are meant to carry children, there, under their hearts, so by nature their carry all their emotions there too. There are days when I come home after a long and stressful day filled with dealings with annoying, obnoxious and unproductive work colleagues, dealings with annoying customers and bank operatives (dare I say refinancing process) stressed and exhausted. On those days, when my husband hugs me for comfort and I felt some of the tension leave my body, I feel that my stomach muscles are sore, as if I managed to do a hundred sit-ups during the day. Free exercise?! So I felt guilty about these little things, in my center. Feeling self-imposed guilt (even if the reasoning is false) is one thing. People tell you," Hey, don't feel guilty. It's ok. Your children will survive one day without that special lunch you forgot to pack for them." These are well meaning people, your peers and friends on social media who post various opinion pieces how things we feel guilty about are small change when it comes to things of greater importance (such as life, death and health). Feeling guilty about something that you could not have influences and stop is another matter. And here lies my dilemma and what has been occupying my thoughts in the wake of the Orlando shooting. Advertisement Earlier I mentioned Freud and how he was claiming that human beings would go through great lengths to avoid feeling the unbearable guilt, through feelings of the unconscious need for self-punishment. I would risk a guess that many Muslims in the US have been feeling guilty, consciously or unconsciously about what has happened in Orlando and Paris and Brussels and what has been happening in the areas of the world that don't get reported that often (Turkey, Nigeria). As intellectual beings we understand that this feeling of guilt is unfounded and that Islam and our beliefs do not support in any way this senseless destruction of innocent lives. But Freud knew that our conscious feelings are often guided by our unconscious selves and that this feeling of guilt that develops from trying to apologize for our entire belief system is something that we cannot control unless we confront it with reasonable arguments founded in logical thinking. I see Muslims in media trying hard to blog and write articles about how they stand with the families of victims and how they condemn this act of violence and all the other terrorist acts that we are made aware of through media portals (mostly Western based). This collective feeling of unconscious guilt is manifesting itself through this collective narrative "Sorry world! We are Muslim, but we promise we are not bad". I wonder if white Christian Norwegians were feeling this collective masochistic guilt or need for self-punishment when in 2011 Anders Breivik shot and killed 69 people and bombed various government buildings. Not sure, but I do not recall massive outpour of articles and opinion pieces stating that they are standing with victims' families and that Christianity is a peaceful religion. Islamic scholars have given us contributions in philosophy, mathematics and medicine and it was not until the Sykes-Picot agreement and the division of the Middle-Eastern lands including Palestine did we see a true decline in the cultural illumination of the Islamic regions. Now we have war ridden territories with power driven dictatorships that curb any efforts in cultural growth and the human rights awareness. These territories are ripe grounds for terrorist development and growth with the help of the Western countries that are consciously taking sides and sometimes even arming those exact people who want to cause the destruction (remember America arming Taliban to fight the Russians). And through this, Muslims are blamed for the present status we find ourselves in. Perhaps the white Christian population should start feeling guilty about the entire colonization fiasco that is now unfolding years after it has ended. White Christian population should perhaps feel guilty about the slavery and the racism that we still feel today. But they know better, they should not feel guilty for the sins of their fathers, but they should be guilty for casting judgment and blame on the entire Muslim population for the actions of the few. Advertisement Photo by Robert Sakatani As a Los Angeles native I spent most of my life apologizing for my hometown, caving to the stereotypes and misconceptions of the city for the sake of social expediency. Now, as a post-college adult with a bit of experience living elsewhere, I can comfortably and proudly claim LA as my home. This is in no small part due to the blossoming of a new, exciting culture of queer art, music, and performance in Downtown Los Angeles and the East Side in general. Areas of the city many Angelenos wouldn't have known about or had cause to visit are now bastions of an incredible alternative queer scene, and orbiting right around the center is the imitable Ambrosia Salad. Ambrosia's arrival in Los Angeles coincided with what many consider to be Downtown Los Angeles' queer renaissance. Her blend of otherworldly looks, truly next-level lip-syncing skills, and fantastic DJ sets, have people lining up in droves to get a taste of her salad. Her newest club night, Ambrosia Salad's Wet Burrito, a night of specially curated all Spanish-language rock, pop, disco, cumbia, ranchero, banda, and rarities, is primed to become another staple of LA nightlife. Illustration by Juan Martin Matamoros Take a look at what Ambrosia had to say about her move to Los Angeles, the difference between the West Hollywood scene and what's going on in other parts of the city, and what inspires her as an artist. Advertisement What initially brought you down from San Francisco to Los Angeles? Basically just something and anything new. San Francisco was an amazing incubator for a young artistic faggot. A real Disneyland for gays. But after 11 years it was time to move on. I'll be forever grateful for all that city allowed me to do and become. Getting my start at Trannyshack, forming the House of Salad, and collaborating with countless artists was so vital. But I felt it was time to bring this complete package that I spent years collectively creating to a new market. I knew I didn't want to live in New York, and being a California native, LA just seemed like an easy jump. I came down here with zero expectations really, and I've been pleasantly surprised that I've really found a home and most importantly a community here. What are the biggest differences between the West Hollywood nightlife scene and what's going on in Downtown and other areas of LA? I almost feel like I've found a little bit of San Francisco in Downtown LA or even Silver Lake/Echo Park. The grittier, artsier, not-so serious approach to nightlife. Not as image driven. The bars, the parties, the drag, the crowds are all more my style. I don't feel like I'm walking into a circuit party every bar I go into. I kinda feel like Weho is for the tourist gay. Photo by Shot In the City Who and what are your biggest influences when performing as Ambrosia? Shit I could write an American novel answering that question. Like all queens I'm sure, endless hours growing up watching MTV and movies, looking at fashion and music magazines. The list goes on of all the divas that struck a cord in me. Bjork, Lady Miss Kier, Shirley Manson. And all of them get regurgitated on stage, truly capturing their nuance. But my staple influences today in a nutshell are Roisin Murphy, Miss Piggy, and Jerri Blank. Advertisement How is it different for you when you DJ as Sindri than when you DJ as Ambrosia? Oh haaay, good question. Well, you'll get the same type of music. That doesn't change really. Of course when I'm in drag you also get to watch a monster in heels and wig behind the decks. But quite honestly if I'm not in drag and DJing, you'll still get somewhat of a show. When I'm not being weighed down by pounds of costume, I feel more free to bust a move in the DJ booth, and you'll often catch me doing a twirl or high kick (if there's room). However, if the DJ booth is on the same platform as the stage and I am in drag, it's not uncommon for me to mix a surprise performance or two into my set. Leave the booth for an impromptu lip-sync, then go back and resume DJing! Photo by Gabe Ayala Do you think there is such a thing as an "alternative" drag scene, and if so what do you think differentiates alternative drag performers from the variety of drag one might see heavily represented on RuPaul's Drag Race? Well I'm sure many of the queens who've been on RPDR were once themselves part of an "alternative" drag scene. Now they're mainstream. Which I guess in essence is the point of the show. I think for a while what the show was doing was portraying what 5 judges on a panel felt were their own personal idea of what drag is supposed to be. At least that's how I saw it. But maybe now they're starting to steer away from representing something so particular. (That's still debatable). But basically in my eyes what differentiates alternative drag versus drag on the show is, this is what "we" are doing and that is what "they" are doing. Whatever that may be. You've performed all over the country - what cities have you enjoyed the most and why? All over the world if you count Mexico, Italy, and Japan! But my favorite city to visit and perform at is Provincetown, Massachusetts. This July will be my 5th summer going and performing at Fagbash. It's just such a magical little town. And so full of history, both old and new. It really does attract a lot of like minded people and I've made so many amazing friends there. I can even say that a big part of how I've traveled all over the country has began with partying with people who were vacationing there just like me. Then they're inviting me to come to their town for some more party time! Photo by Kevin Kauer As the host of your own night in DTLA, you have a unique opportunity to see the changing scene there up close and personal. What are some of the biggest changes to nightlife in DTLA you've noticed since you first came to LA? Advertisement I mean I remember coming to LA 10 years ago and going to an underground party downtown and being like, "OMG where the fuck am I?!" Even when I moved here 3 years ago downtown still wasn't as bustling as it is now. But these days I spend a lot of time there. In fact as of a year ago I left my daytime job and have been living off of nightlife. Whether that's hosting parties, performing, DJing, etc. If it wasn't for the 3 new gay bars downtown, Precinct, Redline, and Bar Mattachine, which all opened last summer, I don't think that would be possible for me. And now that I have my own night at Bar Mattachine "Salad Saturdays", which is a weekly party I DJ with a different queen co-host performing every week, it really has turned downtown into a second home. Where are some of your favorite spots in Los Angeles to enjoy yourself on a fine weekend evening that many people might not have heard of? I love a good dive bar. Living in Koreatown there's a few little gems walking distance from my place that I like to take out of town guests to. The HMS Bounty is a cute little nautical themed bar on the bottom floor of the Gaylord building. Down the street from there The Prince is really gorgeous and has bomb fried chicken. It was even used in a scene from Chinatown. And I really like The Short Stop in Echo Park, where some friends and I throw a monthly party every third Tuesday called The Cafeteria. That bar also has a lot of mid-century scandals about murders and crooked cops! Good Times at Davey Wayne's in Hollywood is like walking onto the set of That 70's Show! But I also love a good underground warehouse party, like Spotlight or Making Shapes. Photo by Shot In the City Where do you see the future of queer LA nightlife heading? I think LA is having it's own little renaissance right now. What's making it special is there's so many new people moving here and adding their own little flare to it. What's nice about it is that all the LA natives are very welcoming of that. So I see potential for a lot more to happen. New bars, clubs, parties, queens, shows, art, etc. It's anyone's game right now. Even downtown LA is having their own Gay Pride this summer! It's called DTLA Proud Festival, and it's happening on August 7th at Pershing Square. You can definitely find me there with the Bar Mattachine stage! It's a pretty rad time to live in LA right now. ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 16: People visit a memorial for those killed at the Pulse nightclub last Saturday night on June 16, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Omar Mir Seddique Mateen shot the victims in what appears to be an ISIS inspired attack in which 49 people were killed early Sunday and 53 people were wounded. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) "Are you guys OK???" On July 21, 2012, I woke up to that text from my cousin, Brett. I texted him back that we were fine. My first thoughts were, "Where? Who?" But not why or what. Because I knew it was a shooting. What else would it be? And the why... there is no answer to that. The only "why" that I need an answer for is why do we allow it to keep happening? WHY? The theatre that James Eagan Holmes shot up in Aurora, Colorado is twenty minutes from our house. Twenty minutes. Advertisement I didn't see a movie in a theater after that for a long time. "Look if something happens, just don't do anything stupid, okay?" I say to Roy the first time we see a movie after the shooting. "What do you mean?" Roy asked. "Just don't try to be a hero. If something ever happens, you just do what you need to get out safely." "Michael..." he started and gave me that look. I knew the look. "You can't ask me that." But I was. I wanted to be selfish and it was such a Roy thing to do -- for anyone. Without thinking. And my only thoughts were: It can't happen to you. But would I act any differently? Probably not. But if Roy promised me that he would just go - escape, I would promise him the same. Advertisement "Well I'm not leaving if you don't," I huffed. "Just know that. You stay, I stay. You die, I die." Because I would die for him, just like I would live for him. And then the movie started. *** I grew up in Nebraska, and was openly gay from a very young age back in the nineties. You know before things "got better." Before I was a teenager I had been threatened, ambushed and beaten in public. In school, I was teased harassed and mercilessly bullied, by both students and a few teachers. "He's chosen a hard life," Ms. K said to my parents at Parent-Teacher conferences. Last I knew, being gay isn't a choice. Did I choose for people to call me a faggot? Did I choose to be slammed against lockers or book-checked, to have my things stolen or destroyed; to have people put glue in my hair? Did I ask for kids to pull pranks and then say I was the culprit to try and get me expelled? Did I choose to have to switch buses? What about my "hard life" was a choice I made? Because really, it seems that my "hard life" was actually caused by a lot of others making choices based in fear and ignorance and hate. Those are choices I choose not to make. *** I don't understand. On June 12 this thought played on a loop in my head. On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut with a Bushmaster XM15-E2S. And he opened fire. Twenty-eight lives were stolen that day. Twenty of them were children who were only six or seven years old. I wonder what those twenty children would have achieved had they lived. Advertisement After we as a country cried, "Never Again!" We lied. Since Sandy Hook there have been 998 mass shootings in the United States, as defined by Gun Violence Archive. Three of the ten deadliest mass shootings in the United States, including the shooting in Orlando on June 12, have occurred AFTER Sandy Hook. I don't understand. *** I've never understood religious extremists or those who do hateful things in the name of God. I'll admit God and I aren't all that tight in an official capacity. We used to be, until the priest at my church told me being gay was an instant access pass to Hell. When a Catholic becomes of age (eighth grade) they are supposed to get confirmed. Confirmation is all about the person being old enough to pledge their life to God in the Catholic faith. Why would I want to be a member of an organization that told me my very existence was a sin? But my parents were insistent and arranged for me to talk with the monsignor at my church. The meeting did not go very well (who would have thought, right?). "What are some of your concerns with our doctrine," Monsignor started, folding his hands. "I think there is a lot of contradictory teachings and that the church actively promotes prejudice that I'm not okay with." "Such as?" "Well for example, homosexuality. I completely disagree with the church's stance on that." "Well, what is there to be confused about? Homosexuality is unnatural and not what God would want. Man and woman were created to procreate and that is what the act of love is for nothing else." Advertisement "How is it unnatural?" "Well, you cannot conceive a child through homosexual..." "Sex," I finished. He turned red, "Yes, that." "So for couples who cannot have children, or older couples who have been married for four decades and can no longer procreate; people like that should not express love physically for one another?" "N-no, that's not what I meant," he began. "But you said the act of intercourse was only meant for procreation. So straight couples who can no longer procreate shouldn't have sex. By your definition it is the same sin as homosexual sex." "The act of intercourse between a man and a woman is like this." He took a finger on one hand and put it through the circle that his fingers on the other hand made. "It is natural and works." Then he stuck out a finger on each hand and said, "See this doesn't work." "Actually," I corrected, "that is not how gay men have sex, it works like this," and I made the same motion he had for the straight couple. "It's just a different hole." Even though I feel like Catholic leaders are misguided in their viewpoints they don't exactly spread the message, "Shoot 'em up!" But I have met my fair share of Catholics and Christians who truly feel like that is a solution. "We should just round them all up and put them on an island, and nuke it!" Do you want to know who said this? Fine, but I'll need to know which time. I've been told this by "believers" (in person) more than fourteen times by eight different people. Did you want the time on the school bus when I was in sixth grade? Ninth grade? In my college dorms? Freshman, sophomore or junior years? Advertisement With different religious cult and hate groups, it is hardly a surprise that such hate exists. But it doesn't mean I have to understand it, because I don't. I think I'd be afraid if I did. *** Before people started talking... Aug. 1, 1966: University of Texas Tower in Austin, Texas. 14 people killed; 31 wounded. July 18, 1984: McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California. 21 people killed; 19 wounded. April 20, 1999: Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. 15 people killed; 24 wounded. In the midst of a conversation... April 16, 2007: Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. 33 people killed; 17 injured. Nov. 5, 2009: Fort Hood military base in Fort Hood, Texas. 13 people killed; 30 wounded. Dec. 14, 2012: Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 28 people killed; 2 injured. What "Never Again" could have prevented... Sept. 16, 2013: Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. 13 people killed. Dec. 2, 2015: Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. 16 people killed; 24 injured. June 12, 2016: Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 49 people killed; 53 injured. Gun sense is common sense. No one is trying to take away a person's second amendment rights, but those rights should be come with rules to protect people -- as well as limits. No civilian needs to have access to weapons of mass destruction. They don't need machine guns or assault rifles that can kill dozens in seconds. They just don't. Advertisement If they're weapons collectors - so what. A nuclear device is a weapon, are we going to permit civilian weapon collectors to have access to those too? Where does it end? After every mass shooting there is some call to action. People who believe and say, "Enough is enough." So why is this still happening? We need to ban the types of guns that no one has a legitimate reason to own. This seems to simple to me, but it's not. Gun reform organizations like Everytown and Moms Demand Action haven't even touched that yet. Why? Because they're fighting for background checks on gun licenses and permits. But shouldn't this be easily obtained? It's not a law already? According to Everytown.org 92% of the public and 82% of gun owners support background checks, so what's the deal? Each time a background check bill is introduced, it's blocked by the NRA. Because they have the right to make money. But how can money matter more than all the lives touched by gun violence? Advertisement Wake up, America! How many more lives need to be sacrificed before we do? *** I'm so used to hate geared at me that it kind of runs off upon impact. That shouldn't be the reaction I have. Shouldn't being called a faggot still bother me? Deviant? Pervert? Should I feel threatened when some redneck in his truck acts like he is going to run me down? After Roy and I got engaged we both invited every member of our families, knowing that many would not attend because of their personal objections. My family didn't bother to RSVP back - they ignored it. Others just said they did not plan to attend. Roy's Aunt Jane however chose to let Roy know she was superior and his deviance made her terrified for his soul. I opened the letter she sent to him. I knew what was in it. Misguided, ignorant hateful garbage in the name of God. I thought, "No big deal." It would be entertaining. If it had been me, it would have been entertaining. As she wrote about "praying" for him and begging to let her help him repent and save him from eternal damnation I became enraged. How dare she say these things to Roy! I wanted to write some witty apology actually quoting the Bible, which I know quite well. I wanted to write her such a letter saying I was praying for her because she was twisting the words of the Lord for some petty hateful crap. I wanted to spare Roy the letter but he already knew it arrived. When he got home he read it. It rolled off his back. But I was still angry. I realized it was fine for someone to come at me with a bat, but say an offhanded comment to Roy and I would lose my shit. Love is funny that way. The rest of Roy's family is great, overall much better than my own. But sometimes there is still that disconnect. Last month when we were visiting, we had dinner with Roy's aunt, uncle and grandmother. His aunt is wonderful: loving, welcoming and I feel very close to her. But she doesn't understand that it's still us against the world. We got married when it wasn't legal. Because screw being legally married, it was a promise we made to each other in front of our loved ones. That was all that mattered. Advertisement At dinner she wanted to know why I was voting Democrat, regardless of who won the nomination and my feelings for that person. "But are you really happy with where our country is headed?" She asked me. (She meant economically.) There was nowhere to go with this. I would never change her viewpoint and she would never change mine. And quite frankly I didn't want to talk about it because it hit too close to home. For me politics are personal. "I understand what you're saying," I said, "but the economy or every other issue will always take a backseat to my civil rights. Every GOP candidate makes my life a political issue. Each one has stated they intend to fight the Supreme Court ruling, which was just made last year, stating I had the right to be married. In some places we can't adopt kids. In many places we can be fired for just being gay." "You can be fired?" "Yes." "Where?" "I don't know offhand, but I can send you a list," I said, hoping that would be the end. I didn't want to tell her that I didn't know EVERY state that still allowed this type of discrimination, but I knew that her home state of Florida is one of them; so is Nebraska. The answer is 28 states. You can be fired for being gay in 28 states. Ironically just two weeks after the visit, Congress voted against passing a non-discrimination amendment protecting LGBT people. All the no's were from Republicans. Advertisement I haven't sent her the email because I love her. But she doesn't get it. My life - Roy's life will always come first on every other political issue. Maybe after Orlando I need to rethink this. In 45 states, you can openly carry a firearm. In 37 states, you can buy and use that firearm without a license. In 32 states, you can buy a gun at a gun show from a "private seller" without a background check. I don't understand how the rights of gun owners supersede my right to breathe. To go on living. To not being gunned down for no other reason than being who I am; than living in America. *** Around 2:00 a.m. on June 12, 2016, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen opened fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He killed 49 people, and injured 53 others. But this is just another shooting, right? I mean they're part of our culture in America. What's one more? Why is this an understandable reaction? "Another" should not be a word we use so casually with such a tragedy. Why do we need gun safety drills instead of severe weather or fire drills? Why are so many people accepting of the use of "another"? I want a day when a mass shooting is novel. It's awful and horrible and so "strange" and unfamiliar. But in all honesty, this was not just another shooting. It was "special". This attack is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. It is the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people. It is the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. Please take a minute... let that sink in. Advertisement Now do you find this to be tragic? Upsetting? Are you thinking of the victims and their loved ones? Are you thinking the victims deserved to die? Because there are quite a few people who do. "Gays don't deserve to live." "Good thing... less gays in the world today." "Homosexuality is condemned by God that's why he let it happen ppl." "God opened his armory to deal with proud fag America." "I think the gunman did a good job." "Gays should be shot for disrespecting the natural order." "I'm so happy someone decided to start shooting perverts instead of innocent people." "The shooter is my hero." Never has a mass shooting elicited so much support -- for the shooter. You think these voices are the few, but they're not. They are many. But these voices are important. They show exactly what it is like to be gay in the world today. And let's not forget that any one of these people can go out and buy a gun. I mean, what's stopping them? June is LGBT PRIDE Month. A lot of people wonder why we need to have PRIDE. This is WHY we need PRIDE. This is why we come out. This is why we stand up. Because we cannot live in fear. Because we are who we are and just want what the same rights as everyone else. We love who we love, but it is still love. This attack -- this is why we keep standing up. We keep fighting and celebrating who we are. Why we don't back down and refuse to stay silent. This is why. Advertisement *** Love is the point -- of everything. It is the meaning to life -- to love and be loved. It drives us, keeps us going, whether in a quest to find it or being aware and grateful for all of the love around us. The greatest achievements and contributions to humanity have come from love. Love of others, love of self, love as a passion or calling. I wonder what would happen if everyone who hated someone decided to love them instead. I think then the NRA would be screwed. No more need for guns at all. Because I do agree that guns don't kill people, people kill people. But wow, do guns make it so much easier to kill a great number of people quickly and effectively. For now I am taking my love and I am sitting here just not understanding. I don't understand hating someone so fiercely you want to end their life. Even someone who has wronged you in the vilest ways. But strangers? People just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time? People you are judging as sinners, when most religions promote love and acceptance before people twist it to fit their ignorant agendas? I don't understand the loss. Why it has to keep happening. I don't understand. The hate. The senseless death. Any of it. I don't. My heart is (breaking) with Orlando and the rest of my community as we grieve and seek to understand what cannot be understood. Close-up of rainbow gay pride flags On July 4, 1976, I clutched my father's hand as we watched Archibald Willard's iconic painting The Spirit of '76 come alive at the Bicentennial Day Parade in Washington, DC. As the three revolutionary war patriots playing drums and a fife marched carrying the American flag (in Willard's painting the flag is in the background), I cheerily sang the "Yankee Doodle" nursery rhyme. My father proudly explained to me that we were celebrating America's 200th birthday. Despite the recent shadow of Watergate, the atmosphere on Constitution Avenue was brimming with hope and possibility. That evening (and for every July 4th for as long as I could remember), my family gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the annual fireworks display. Each year my siblings and I planned our red, white and blue outfits, while Mom prepared a picnic dinner of our favorite Indian foods. After settling on a grassy knoll for our picnic, my father and I would walk around the Reflecting Pool enjoying and marveling at the scenes of people from all walks of life, races and nationalities around us. It felt like a massive, communal picnic celebrating America's freedom and diversity. Advertisement America At A Crossroads America in 2016 is standing at a unique precipice. On one hand, the Supremes are singing "Love is Love is Love" and ruling in favor of marriage equality. Our first African-American president just endorsed the first female presidential nominee of a major party. On the other hand, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has tapped into a nativist fear of the other, scapegoating Muslims and Mexicans. Despite our increasing diversity as a people (and perhaps in a backlash to it) we're confronted with near daily violent incidents borne out of homophobia, misogyny and racism. This week, before Americans could process the callus horror of the Stanford rape case, we were hit with the deadliest massacre on American soil. One out of three people at Pulse, a LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando was either killed or wounded. What Kind of Country Do We Want? Two thousand sixteen is more than an election year, it's a critical moment for Americans as we chart the future trajectory of our country and decide: What kind of country do we want? If we want a safe, peaceful country that continues to model democracy and egalitarianism for the rest of the world, then we need to take steps to ensure that happens. 1)Increase Gun Control. Since when is it okay for a terrorist suspect to legally purchase firearms as the shooter did in Orlando? According to a 2016 study that surveyed 292 incidents of mass shootings, 90 of them occurred in America. If we define mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are wounded or killed, then America has witnessed 137 mass shootings in the first 165 days of this year (I'm including Tuesday's downtown Oakland shooting). At more than 300 million guns, America has more guns per capita than any Western nation. We have more stores selling guns, than we do grocery stores. Despite the Donald's recent press conference spluttering, 94 percent of terrorist attacks in the U.S. from 1980 to 2005 were carried out by non-Muslims. Advertisement A recent national Public Policy Polling survey of gun owners finds overwhelming support for background checks. According to the survey, gun owners believe the NRA is "out of touch with them on these issues, and many believe the organization has lost its way altogether." Despite the battle lines drawn in Congress, this poll shows support for key gun violence prevention policies, even among gun owners. 2)Provide A Multi-Religious, Multicultural Education. We live in a heterogeneous and connected new world. It's time we learned about the neighbor living in the house next door to us and about the co-worker sharing the cubicle next to us. Religious fanaticism occurs when one believes there's only path to heaven and a particular religion alone holds the exclusive passport to get there. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has long advocated a multi-cultural, multi-religious education for children. His words after the Paris attacks bear repeating now: We have seen in numerous instances around the world that these attacks are carried out by youngsters, who have been brainwashed into this ideology of hatred. To counter this, religious leaders can play a big role in imparting a multi-religious education and an education in peace. There is a need to bring a shift from the idea of "sole ownership of heaven" to an ideology of "many paths to one goal." Diversity is an essential characteristic of our planet and it through an education that honors its diversity that children can grow into responsible global citizens. When we take the time to learn about different traditions and listen to each other's life stories, we start seeing the unity amidst diversity. Raising children with knowledge about other religious traditions, cultures and lifestyles helps them have a broader vision about life. Advertisement 3)Nurture Human Values. As you watched the injured victims being carried out of Pulse Nightclub, did your eyes also fill with tears? While we may identify with a particular gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, region and country, we are much more than the sum of all these parts. The sum of all these parts binds us together in a shared humanity. We need to return to the values that are common to our human experience--compassion, love, acceptance, kindness, generosity and so on. Every tragedy creates heroes. The Orlando shooting is no different, men and women took care of lovers, family members and strangers risking and, at times, sacrificing their own lives. I was a child when an Air Florida Flight crashed into a bridge over the Potomac River during a snowstorm killing 78 people in 1982. As I watched the live television coverage, I was riveted to a man who kept refusing aid as he passed the rescue rope to other victims. Arland Dean Williams saved five people before succumbing to the icy river. When children hear stories of bravery, they're reminded that goodness trumps evil. Love will always triumph over hate. As Nelson Mandela said, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." The mass shooting in Orlando this week underscores several serious challenges that we as a society must face. The three most important ones in my view are homophobia, radicalism and gun violence. But before I explore these critical issues, let me first address the legions of Islamophobes in America who still accuse Muslims of not condemning terrorism. I, Muqtedar Khan, a professor who teaches at University of Delaware, President of the Delaware Council on Global and Muslim Affairs, senior fellow of the Center for Global Policy, an aspiring Sufi and an occasional Khateeb (Islamic sermon giver), unequivocally condemn this act of terrorism, and I also condemn the values that inspire such hateful violence and I reject and condemn those who teach and preach such hate. As is evident from the outpouring of anguish, horror, condemnation, vigils and prayers from many many Muslims in all walks of life, Omer Mateen, does not represent most of American Muslims who abhor such hate and such violence. Omer Mateen's terrible act of violence not only killed forty-nine innocent people and wounded fifty-three more; the targeting of the GLBT community during the gay pride week suggests that it was a hate crime. As more details emerge there is evidence that Mateen himself may have been gay, his father often called him gay, he visited gay clubs and used gay dating Apps, and the shooting may be a desperate act of a man who was himself gay and unable to come to terms with this reality. His two pilgrimages to Mecca in 2011 and 2012 suggest that he was also religious. Advertisement The facts are still unfolding but there is enough to suggest that Omer Mateen may have acted more out of homophobia than anti-Americanism. The possibility that he might himself have been gay does not mitigate this possibility. It is ironic that it appears that Mateen may have attacked the nightclub either because he hated gays or that he hated the fact that he might be gay. While the latter possibility would make the motivation a case of social and psychological maladjustment, the former possibility brings the limelight back on Islam and how Muslims perceive homosexuality. HOMOPHOBIA? According to certain studies nearly 42% of American Muslims have reasonably progressive views towards homosexuality. But the orthodoxy and the mosque centered Muslims by and large have a loathing and deeply rooted distaste for the lifestyle. Search all the major Muslim traditional scholars of Islam's views on homosexuality on YouTube and you will notice a consistent pattern of rejecting the naturalness of homosexual tendencies and treating them as perverted choice driven by immoral Western culture. Preacher after preacher condemns homosexuality invoking scripture and traditions to such a point that some Muslims literally despise homosexuals. And when young people who have now been conditioned to dislike the gay lifestyle go to YouTube and listen to foreign Imams, who are unrestrained by the American legal and political culture, they learn that death is the Islamic punishment for homosexuals. This is not really true, there are major dissenting voices and alternate interpretations in the Islamic tradition but they are rarely mentioned. Preachers rarely show nuance in their sermons. We find that there is heady mixture of religion and cultural approbation involved in being Muslim and gay, which may have driven Mateen to take extreme action. But we must also remember, there are lots of gay Muslims in North America, inside and outside the closet and they all have access to guns but none of them is resorting to such measures. There is more to Mateen than just his discomfort with his sexuality and the accessibility of guns. We have to consider the possibility that he was radicalized and his horrible actions maybe a combination of his sentiments towards alternate lifestyles and his political radicalism. Advertisement RADICALISM? Mateen has grown up in the shadow of his father's crazy politics, which are sympathetic to Taliban in Afghanistan. He himself has a record of radical outpourings and he is reported to have claimed that he pledged allegiance to ISIS. It is not clear, whether he was influenced by ISIS and their ideology or not. But once again attention is focused on the issue of radicalism amongst American Muslims. The year 2015 has been the worst year for terrorist activities by American Muslims. There were two mass shootings, in Tennessee and San Barnardino, over fifty were arrested for trying to join ISIS and many more left to join ISIS (over 250 since 2014). The case of Omer Mateen is going to make the life of American Muslims and of FBI and law enforcement so much more difficult because it is a hodgepodge of motivations and we may never know fully know if this was a hate crime or an act of foreign or domestic terrorism. The lone wolf has now become a more difficult puzzle to decipher and therefore even more difficult to profile and preempt. We may not be able to identify potential lone wolfs, but can we not at least ensure that they do not have access to deadly weapons. WEAPONS OF MASS KILLINGS If Mateen was not a Muslim, this would have been just another mass shooting, albeit the biggest ever. In the year 2016 we have had 180 mass shootings in the US with 287 dead and hundreds injured. Since the shooting in Orlando we have had four more shootings. What does this say about our society? Guns, specially the assault variety, are clearly weapons of mass killings. I am amazed at the tolerance and appetite we have for gun related violence and gun related deaths. We are allowing the politics of second amendment to make our country the most violent place on earth and mass killings a prominent cultural phenomenon. Advertisement What happened in Orlando is more about the accessibility of guns and their devastating power than about Islam or Muslims. What would have happened if Mateen in his moment of rage could not get his hands on a gun? Being a parent is simultaneously rewarding and scary. I never thought it was possible to feel so much love, joy, happiness, and fear at the same time. When I heard the news of the Sandy Hook massacre and that a gunman had killed 20 children my heart could not grasp the enormity of the hole left in the hearts and lives of the parents of those murdered children. It is something I struggle with every time I hear of a murdered child. It was what I felt when I first heard the news of the Orlando mass shooting at Pulse nightclub and the same feeling I had when I heard of the young boy snatched by the alligator at the Disney Resort. I think about Brenda Marquez McCool, the mother who attended Pulse Nightclub with her 21 year old gay son, Isaiah. McCool jumped in front of her son, told him to run, and was killed trying to protect him from the gunman. What parent, if in the same situation, wouldn't do the same? I think about the Graves Family who on a family vacation had to bear witness to their son get snatched by an alligator and killed. What started out as a fun time has ended in the most unimaginable way possible. These parents must now return home without their son and find a way to continue life without him. They will forever be haunted by this. Losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare turned reality. How does one recover from the loss of a child? It's safe to say one doesn't. When a child dies, the grief journey does not end in a week, a month or even a year. I don't believe it ever ends. I believe it is something these parents must learn to go through and all they can do is try their best to muster up the strength to wake up each morning and make it through that day. Today I stand in solidarity with every parent who has ever lost a child to a senseless killing or tragedy, or has ever had to bury a child, or every parent who must find a reason to get up every day. Though I do not know the magnitude of your loss, as a mother I can empathize. I am holding each one tight and praying that somehow and some way you find the strength and courage to continue living. I trained to be a teacher back in 2012, but I am not a teacher -- instead the power of travel pulled me away from the only job I thought I would ever do -- and now I have qualified as an personal home-working travel counsellor. I love to travel and now I get to help others have amazing holidays as my job! Finishing my PGCE (teaching qualification in the UK) back in the summer of 2012 was a real achievement. I won't lie, the year had been the hardest of my life. There had been so many highs and lows, often in the same day, or even the same hour. Training to be a Secondary English teacher was such incredibly hard work and also so rewarding too. There were so many moments I loved -- lessons that had gone really well, getting praise from fellow teachers, school trips, student achievements, making a positive difference to students' lives, taking our year 9 girls on an adventure to Paris. However, being a perfectionist I wanted every lesson to be good, to be amazing even, to be the best it could be. I wanted to do the best I could for every single child in that class. I didn't want to cut corners, but the reality is teachers need to cut corners. In my opinion there aren't enough hours in the day to do every single thing that is expected of teachers. Advertisement I started applying for jobs after finishing my qualification and for one reason or another I wasn't getting them. Without sounding arrogant I knew I was a strong candidate (my previous pupils and teachers vouched for my excellent teaching style and aptitude for teaching) but somehow these jobs weren't being offered to me. I started to question myself, and I thought, I was so right for teaching. Yes it was hard, but I had felt I wanted it. But did I? Did I just think I wanted it? Maybe the alternative was just too scary, too unspecific, too unlike me? I had been sensible my whole life -- reliable and trustworthy Nicola, always doing well at school and succeeding in everything I did. Teaching was just next on the list and I would soon be a teacher. But then I stopped and I asked myself the most important question of all, was I truly truly passionate about it, deep in my heart? And my answer was no. Maybe it was time to find another path, the path I was passionate about, and destined for. I spoke to my sister (who was living in Australia) on the phone, and she asked me, somewhat out of the blue, if I could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Without hesitation I answered, Queenstown, in New Zealand. Having been lucky enough to have travelled all over the world, this was the place that came to mind. We had visited New Zealand twice before, once back in 2006 on a round the world trip and again in 2010 on our honeymoon. After two previous amazing trips I always felt like I had left part of my heart in New Zealand -- and in Queenstown in particular. It had just never crossed my mind before to go back to live. One thing led to another and the next thing I know I am suggesting to my husband John that we move to New Zealand to live for a year! Within a month we had booked our flights to leave a few months later and I started planning. We were going to have a 5-week holiday first before settling down somewhere we could get work. I loved planning our itinerary for the trip (I had spent the last 15 years planning and booking trips all over the world, including our honeymoon, as well as various trips for friends and family). The time had soon come to leave the UK on a jet plane and not look back. Some might call the decision rash; I was turning my back on a teaching career after all, and after such a challenging year training to be a teacher, but it just felt right, really right. We had a really amazing first few months in New Zealand. It was during this time that I was inspired to set up my own business helping other people to have their own amazing travel adventures in New Zealand. Advertisement I got to work, a strong passion burned inside of me like never before, an entrepreneurial passion. It felt like, although it might sound cheesy to some, this is what I had been destined to do. Over the next few months I worked with branding and IT experts and a logo design company. I created a logo, wrote all the copy for and designed my own website, designed packages and services to offer my clients, collected feedback on my idea and website, set up a Facebook page, created a youtube video for my website, and much more. My business, and my passion -- Blue Penguin Travel -- was born. For the next three years and a half years I was lucky enough to work with clients all over the world in helping them arrange bespoke itineraries for their trips around New Zealand -- including a Christmas honeymoon. I loved working on their itineraries and being a part of their own life-changing travel adventures. After living in New Zealand for a year we moved back to the UK in 2013 and the following year had a wonderful baby boy called Elliott (now 20 months old), who is just amazing -- so sweet and cheeky and he fills my days with smiles and laughter. Since having Elliott, and despite loving my business with a passion I have felt that I could do so much more. The idea of working as an independent travel agent is one I often thought about but had never made into a reality. I felt that if I did this then I would be able to not only plan trips for people, but book them too -- with full financial protection behind me. This idea repeatedly came back to me -- and so after much research I found the amazing Travel Counsellors. They provide the option to run your own business, using their own amazing support system (both in terms of their incredible IT system with access to all areas of travel, and their support teams). Advertisement Travel Counsellor's focus is on personal tailor-made holidays for travellers -- where we as travel counsellors get to know the client and tailor the holiday of their dreams just for them and will always go that extra mile. This ethos very much fitted with my own, and as a result I have qualified to work as an personal travel counsellor -- where I can book any kind of trip anywhere in the world! New Zealand, and travelling in general have changed me, inspired me and I'm excited for the future -- I am ready to finally be who I am supposed to be. Nicola works as a personal travel counsellor and has over 15 years experience of planning and booking trips - including her own destination wedding to Lake Tahoe, California, and her round-the-world honeymoon. Nicola has specialist experience in planning bespoke off-the-beaten-track New Zealand itineraries. Stressful people waiting for job interview I remember during my job search feeling overwhelmed; there are so many people in the country looking for jobs right now at this very moment... Look at how many other young, educated and unemployed people there are that just graduated. How will I stand out? Yes, this is another one of those pieces. You are either reading this because you have been placed in the position of being a recent graduate from a university and are struggling to find a job or you're just curious about what this article will entail. In any case, this piece will detail my job hunting experience, lessons I have learned and hopefully there will be a take away for you or something you can share with others as they continue on their journey to be "gainfully" employed. Advertisement Where Do I Begin? In the beginning, I struggled with trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do. I had completed many internships throughout undergrad and grad school, and had so many different areas I was passionate about, but I had trouble narrowing my search. I was embarrassed every time someone asked, "What would you like to do?" and I could not give an adequate response. I kept saying, "Well, my background is in Political Science and Religion, and I am interested in serving the community. Public service is what I've been doing since I realized the world wasn't going to fix itself." That sort of explanation is "cute," but will not land you a job. At that point, I realized it was time for me to "up my game." From LinkedIn to Zip Recruiter to Indeed, I submitted 100's of application through my profile, my resume and references in hopes of someone getting in contact with me. My simple keyword search of "community" "outreach" and "development" led me to a list of possibilities and opportunities I would not have otherwise thought of. There were so many positions within companies and organizations that served my passion for helping others, and even helped me realize skills I had that I did not list on my resume. After two weeks of researching jobs, I realized that when someone asked what line of work I was interested in, I could firmly state, "A position as an outreach coordinator within a nonprofit serving underserved communities," or something similar is the right response for me. The first lesson: Knowing exactly what you want to do is half of the battle. Once you are sure about what it is you want to do, it will become much easier to convey this to others. The Power of Networking Let your energy and personality guide you into finding your job. Sure using social networking and job sites are important but there comes a time where you have to leave the computer alone, and get out there and network! This lesson is probably the most important in this technological age. Advertisement Networking can be scary to some and empowering to others, but the most important thing to remember is networking is key. A person can have a 4.0 GPA, a presidential commendation and have completed more internship opportunities than anyone you know, but if that person does not have social capital, they will be sifting through online applications all day. Don't be that person! One of the easiest ways I transitioned from online to real life, was speaking to any and everybody, everywhere I went. Whoever stood in line next to me, I talked to them, when I was trying to figure out if I wanted 2% or 1% milk in my local grocery store and someone was near me, I talked to them, and even when I waited in line at the gas station to pay the clerk, I talked to whoever would listen. Breaking out of your shell and speaking to anyone can truly open up unknown doors. I do believe there is more good, than evil and the world, and someone can be a resource to you. Whenever I had an opportunity to be around people in a social setting, I always found a way to ease in that I was looking for a job. Simple conversation starters like, "I just finished school and relocated back to Los Angeles," was my gateway to ask for references to places that are currently hiring. What I found was people were more likely to listen to the kind of work I was interested in doing, especially if it was in a field they were in (always know the stakeholders in the room). I also kept copies of my resume with me in the trunk of my car. If anyone asked if I had a copy on me, I was always prepared to give one. Looking at your Rolodex Rolodex: a desktop card index used to record names, addresses, and telephone numbers, in the form of a rotating spindle or a small tray to which removable cards are attached. Informal: a person's list of business contacts and friends. We may be past the age of flipping through the rolodex to be in contact with someone you know, butgetting in contact with someone you know is the 3rd and final lesson. In a world filled with Androids and iPhones, there is no excuse not to be in contact with someone you know regarding your search for a job. We now can Google a person and find their LinkedIn profile to get in contact with them and catch up on what they are doing. We hear it all the time, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," that secures you the job. Now, your work experience and your skills do matter, but knowing someone who "may" know someone helps as well. Advertisement It's important to get in contact with any and everyone who knows you, your work ethic and who will advocate for you to be employed. I sat down with many people as soon as I returned home to let them know that I was young, educated and unemployed and seeking to change that sooner, rather than later. People I sat down with would email me job leads, places to be (and network) and direct people to be in contact with. Once again, someone can truly be a resource to you, but you have to seek them out. Remember as you continue your job search to: Know exactly what you want to do is half of the battle. Leave the computer alone, and get out there and network! Get in contact with someone you know It may not be easy, but in due time, something will come your way. Be sure to follow Jobs R 4 You, Inc. on Twitter and Facebook for updates on available jobs in the Los Angeles area and universal job tips! Happy hunting! This post was originally blogged on the Jobs R 4 You, website Create a record of your own life for free. Go to OurPaths.com June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968 Helen Keller ignored deafness and blindness, became a world traveler, suffragist, pacifist, author, rights activist and birth control supporter To say that she overcame a disability is an understatement. Without sight or or the ability to listen, and speaking haltingly, she walked with presidents, swapped stories with Mark Twain, won an Oscar and battled for the causes she believed in. Helen Keller was a healthy child in Tuscumbia, AL, on June 27, 1880, or 96 years ago this month, . At the age of 19 months, Helen became deaf and blind as a result of an unknown illness, perhaps rubella or scarlet fever. As Helen grew from infancy into childhood, she became wild and unruly. Advertisement That changed on March 3, 1887. On that day, Anne Mansfield Sullivan came to Tuscumbia to be her teacher. She was a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, and stayed with Helen until her death in 1946. Compared with Helen, Anne couldn't have had a more different childhood and upbringing. The daughter of poor Irish immigrants, she entered Perkins at 14 years of age after four horrific years as a ward of the state at the Tewksbury Almshouse in Massachusetts. With Anne Sullivan, 1888. Library of Congress photo She was just 14 years older than Helen, and she too suffered from serious vision problems. Anne underwent many botched operations at a young age before her sight was partially restored. Her success with Helen remains an extraordinary and remarkable story and is best known to people because of the film "The Miracle Worker". The film correctly depicted Helen as an unruly, spoiled--but very bright--child who tyrannized the household with her temper tantrums. Advertisement Anne believed that the key to reaching Helen was to teach her obedience and love. She saw the need to discipline, but not crush, the spirit of her young charge. As a result, within a week of her arrival, she had gained permission to remove Helen from the main house and live alone with her in the nearby cottage. They remained there for two weeks. Anne began her task of teaching Helen by manually signing into the child's hand. Anne had brought a doll that the children at Perkins had made for her to take to Helen. By spelling "d-o-l-l" into the child's hand, she hoped to teach her to connect objects with letters. Helen quickly learned to form the letters correctly and in the correct order, but did not know she was spelling a word, or even that words existed. In the days that followed, she learned to spell a great many more words in this uncomprehending way. On April 5, 1887, less than a month after her arrival, Anne sought to resolve the confusion her pupil was having between the nouns "mug" and "milk," which Helen confused with the verb "drink." Anne took Helen to the water pump outside and put Helen's hand under the spout. As the cool water gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other hand the word "w-a-t-e-r" first slowly, then rapidly. Suddenly, the signals had meaning in Helen's mind. Advertisement She knew that "water" meant the cool substance flowing over her hand. Quickly, she stopped and touched the earth and demanded its letter name. By nightfall she had learned 30 words. In 1890, when she was just 10, she expressed a desire to learn to speak; Anne took Helen to see Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Boston. Fuller gave Helen 11 lessons, after which Anne taught Helen. Throughout her life, however, Helen remained dissatisfied with her spoken voice, which was hard to understand. Helen's extraordinary abilities and her teacher's unique skills were noticed by Alexander Graham Bell and Mark Twain, two giants of American culture. Twain declared, "The two most interesting characters of the 19th century are Napoleon and Helen Keller." With Mark Twain who famously said, "The two most interesting characters in the 19th Century are Napoleon and Helen Keller." National Archives photo Advertisement The closeness of Helen and Anne's relationship led to accusations that Helen's ideas were not her own. At the age of 11, Helen was accused of plagiarism. Both Bell and Twain, who were friends and supporters of Helen and Anne, flew to the defense of both pupil and teacher and mocked their detractors. From a very young age, Helen was determined to go to college. In 1898, she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe College. She entered Radcliffe in the fall of 1900 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1904, the first deaf-blind person to do so. Graduation from Radcliffe College, 1904. Library of Congress photo While still a student at Radcliffe, Helen began a writing career that was to continue throughout her life. In 1903, her autobiography, "The Story of My Life", was published. This had appeared in serial form the previous year in Ladies' Home Journal magazine. Her autobiography has been translated into 50 languages and remains in print to this day. Helen's other published works include "Optimism," an essay; "The World I Live In"; "The Song of the Stone Wall"; "Out of the Dark"; "My Religion"; "Midstream--My Later Life"; "Peace at Eventide"; "Helen Keller in Scotland"; "Helen Keller's Journal"; "Let Us Have Faith; Teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy"; and "The Open Door." She was a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers. Reading Braille. National Archives photo From an early age, she championed the rights of the underdog and used her skills as a writer to speak truth to power. A pacifist, she protested U.S. involvement in World War I. A committed socialist, she took up the cause of workers' rights. She was also a tireless advocate for women's suffrage and an early member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Advertisement She was a suffragist, a pacifist, an opponent of Woodrow Wilson, a radical socialist and a birth control supporter. In 1915 she and George Kessler founded the Helen Keller International, an organization devoted to research in vision, health and nutrition. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was a member of the Socialist Party and actively campaigned and wrote in support of the working class from 1909 to 1921. She supported Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs in each of his campaigns for the presidency. The American Foundation for the Blind, which she joined AFB in 1921 and worked for the organization for over 40 years, provided her with a global platform to advocate for the needs of people with vision loss and she wasted no opportunity. As a result of her travels across the United States, state commissions for the blind were created, rehabilitation centers were built, and education was made accessible to those with vision loss. During seven trips between 1946 and 1957, she visited 35 countries on five continents. She met with world leaders such as Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Golda Meir. Advertisement In 1948, she was sent to Japan as America's first Goodwill Ambassador by General Douglas MacArthur. Her visit was a huge success; up to two million Japanese came out to see her and her appearance drew considerable attention to the plight of Japan's blind and disabled population. "She will live on, one of the few, the immortal names not born to die. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith." - Sen. Lister Hill Wherever she traveled, she brought encouragement to millions of blind people, and many of the efforts to improve conditions for those with vision loss outside the United States can be traced directly to her visits. Helen was famous from the age of 8 until her death in 1968. Her wide range of political, cultural, and intellectual interests and activities ensured that she knew people in all spheres of life. She counted leading personalities of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries among her friends and acquaintances. These included Eleanor Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Albert Einstein, Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, Charlie Chaplin, John F. Kennedy, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Katharine Cornell, and Jo Davidson to name but a few. Advertisement With Eleanor Roosevelt and Friends at Martha's Vineyard in 1954. National Archives photo She was honored around the globe and garnered many awards. She received honorary doctoral degrees from Temple and Harvard Universities in the United States; Glasgow and Berlin Universities in Europe; Delhi University in India; and Witwatersrand University in South Africa. She also received an honorary Academy Award in 1955 as the inspiration for the documentary about her life, Helen Keller in "Her Story." Helen suffered a stroke in 1960 and from 1961 on she lived quietly at Arcan Ridge, her home in Westport, Connecticut, one of the four main places she lived during her lifetime. (The others were Tuscumbia, Alabama; Wrentham, Massachusetts; and Forest Hills, New York). She made her last major public appearance in 1961 in Washington, D.C. During that visit to Washington, she also called on President John F. Kennedy at the White House. President Kennedy was just one in a long line of presidents Helen had met. In her lifetime, she had met all of the presidents since Grover Cleveland. She died on June 1, 1968, at Arcan Ridge, a few weeks short of her 88th birthday. Her ashes were placed next to her companions, Anne Sullivan Macy and Polly Thomson, in St. Joseph's Chapel of Washington Cathedral. On October 7, 2009, a bronze statue of Helen Keller was added to the National Statuary Hall Collection. It is displayed in the United States Capitol Visitor Center and depicts Keller as a seven-year-old child standing at a water pump. The statue represents the seminal moment in Keller's life when she understood her first word, W-A-T-E-R, as signed into her hand by teacher Anne Sullivan. Advertisement The pedestal base bears a quotation in raised Latin and braille letters: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." Senator Lister Hill of Alabama gave a eulogy during the public memorial service. He said, "She will live on, one of the few, the immortal names not born to die. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith." Silhouette of Female Muslim praying in mosque during sunset time "The fact that it took place at a club frequented by the LGBT community I think is also relevant," said President Obama after the unspeakable tragedy in Orlando, when a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The identity of the victim has been either dimly acknowledged or not acknowledged by two groups - Republican leaders and Muslim imams. The pattern of many GOP politicians muting the identity of the victims is in sharp contrast to their dogged attacks on anyone, particularly President Obama, for not mentioning the "Islamic" identity of the perpetrator. By one report, not a single congressional Republican who tweeted about the Orlando shooting mentioned the obvious identity of the victims. Neither has the Rick Scott, the Governor of Florida where the shooting took place. Many, if not most, GOP leaders have spent their political careers fighting to deny LGBT people their due civil rights. Sympathizing with the people they have been bashing is a bridge too far for many. Advertisement Muslim imams and scholars, in general, have condemned the mass shootings in Orlando. But I am struggling to find even one who acknowledged and empathized with the identities of the victims. Noted scholar Yasir Qadhi on Facebook talked at length about the unfair expectations levied on the Muslim community, which he defines as "the problem of being a minority under pressure." But conspicuously missing from his post was any mention of the actual victims of this tragedy. This is especially troubling because what unfolded in Orlando serves as a potent reminder that the LGBT community is also a minority group "under pressure." They too are imperiled by the unjust treatment of minorities that Qadhi is denouncing. In foregrounding the menace that is Islamophobia and brushing past the salient reality of homophobia, Qadhi ignores the bitter truth of why this tragedy happened in the first place. Another leader, Zaid Shakir, who just a few days ago led the memorial services for Muhammad Ali a person who strove mightily for the human dignity of all people, in his Facebook post failed to condemn the bigotry or spare a single sentiment of solidarity with the only subgroup in America who today suffers from legalized discrimination. Not naming the primary identity of the victims is not just an omission; it adds to the oppression. Erasing their identities from the narrative reinforces a bigoted society's desire to erase their existence. It is as callous as saying that 9-11 is an act against all humanity while discounting the fact that Americans were targeted simply because of who they are. Or saying that the murder of three Muslim students in North Carolina was just another mass murder when it was obvious that the identity of the victims played an important role in their deaths. Advertisement Tragedies are often crossroads of choice. We can allow ourselves to retreat into the comforts of our preconceptions. Or we can question the norm and seek to carve a better path. In Orlando, the Muslim community chose the latter. They rallied not only to distance themselves from the ideology of the perpetrator but more importantly, to express solidarity with the LGBT community. Muslim groups banded together in a coalition to raise funds for the victims and have pledged to handover those funds to Equality Florida, a pro-LGBT group. Last time I checked, their efforts have raised over $60,000 from over 1000 supporters. In a recent interview on CNN, a local Muslim leader Rasha Mubarak, underscored camaraderie between the Muslim and LGBT communities while sending her heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed or injured. And yet, the group she represents, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has been notably silent on the many initiatives for LGBT rights, from marriage equality nationally to civil rights protections for LGBT people in local human rights ordinances. Groups who demand equal accommodation of Muslims at workplaces do not yet have policies protecting against the discrimination of LGBT people in their own organizations, oblivious of the civil rights of LGBT Muslims. In the face of violence in the name of Islam by deranged lone wolves and the demonization of Muslims by unhinged demagogues, American Muslims will continue to struggle against Islamophobia. In this struggle, the LGBT community will remain a valuable ally. Many LGBT leaders have courageously reminded people that in their moment of anger and anguish they should not turn against Muslims, who are, in a smaller way, also victims of this tragedy. A couple Mondays ago I spent a day at the Auburn West Public School on the outskirts of Sydney. The school came highly recommended, yet it surpassed my expectations. The students' autonomy was particularly impressive; the school puts data to good use, and kids embraced their work with joy. At Auburn West, many students are of Lebanese, Iraqi, and Turkish descent, some having arrived in Sydney multiple generations ago and others more recently. The school seems to work to sustain their students' cultures through the development of their native language, as some students take English classes while others take Arabic or Turkish. The school is mostly low-income and at times has struggled on federally mandated tests. In a U.S. city, this might generate calls for drastic reform. In contrast, The New South Wales state government provides Auburn West lots of leeway and significant funding, Relieving Principal Leanne Hodges said. For a school of 730 students, the school has two deputy principals, five assistant principals, an Instructional Leader, three learning and support teachers, five ESL teachers, three Reading Recovery teachers and a number of other literacy/numeracy specialists. Advertisement Armed with significant capacity to support students and teachers, the school has mapped out a clear vision for teaching and learning. If students own their learning and keep track of their growth, the school's decided, then students will be much more likely to progress. As I stepped into a Kindergarten classroom, two students emerged from a small learning support classroom where they'd been working with a reading specialist. I asked them what they'd been working on, and they held their papers out to me. "The cat made a big problem," a boy read haltingly. Two stickers sat at the top of his work. One said "I can put spaces between my words." The other read "I can write full sentences." A smiley face was circled on one, while a 'working on it' icon was colored in on the other. Everyone in their school, an older student later explained to me, is working on their own goals. Students' progress towards learning goals was featured centrally in nearly every classroom. In a fifth and sixth grade classroom, a boy led me to a wall that exhibited all of the students' names. Across the top were the many areas of mathematics students would be working on that year. Nearly all students were at the highest level in whole numbers; in multiplication and division students were more spread out. I asked one teacher whether the public nature of students' achievement and homogenous grouping by goals created status issues in the classroom, but she insisted that wasn't the case. The students, she explained, really support each other. Kids help others who are in lower groups, and everyone's trying to improve. Advertisement The data, I observed, seemed to be put to good use. In nearly all of the classrooms I went in to, students were abuzz with activity. In a first grade room students were scattered about working in groups. Three read the same book together on bean bags in the corner, while another four worked with the teacher at the kidney table. Two recent arrived students worked on an app targeted at beginning English speakers. I saw very little whole class teaching. At times, this was on purpose; "Why teach the whole class when everyone needs something different," one teacher told me. Auburn West seemed to couple their focus on student progress with a well-rounded educational experience. The previous Friday, a children's author visited; many students told me they were trying to write stories like hers. The science teacher is teaching 3rd and 4th grade students using Big History, a curriculum that leads students through the history of earth from the big bang towards the present. In an era of shrinking recess in the U.S., and particularly for poor schools, students at Auburn West have twenty minutes of mid-morning recess, then nearly an hour more for lunch. I often refer to my late mother, Prof. Dr. Charusheela Gupte, as the most important influence in my life. A scholar, author, playwright, and social activist for women's empowerment and children's rights, she died on December 31, 1985; my father, Balkrishna Gupte, a lawyer and banker, died in February of that same year. I have yet to meet a man who was so supportive of his wife and her ambitions and activities. A few years after her demise, my mother was honored by Mumbai by naming one of city's busiest intersections after her. This sign is prominently displayed at the intersection, which is right in front of Charni Road railway station in South Mumbai. Advertisement I was fortunate to have parents like them; perhaps they paid even more attention to my upbringing because I was an only child. I can only imagine their grief when I left Mumbai -- then known as Bombay -- in 1967 when I was 18 to travel on a scholarship to the United States for higher studies. It would be five years before I saw my parents again: there were no cheap airfares in those days. Phone service to India from the US was fitful; email and the Web hadn't arrived for popular consumption; letters were the only form of communication -- letters and the love that my parents sent through their thoughts from 10,000 miles away. They may have gone from their temporal existence more than three decades ago, but they endure in my mind and heart. Over these long years since they died, when faced with personal or professional crises, how I have wished that Charusheela and Balkrishna Gupte were there to advise me. They both came from humble families, and they both climbed the ladders of life on their own; they fully understood the vicissitudes of life in the India of their time, an age when the country was economically underdeveloped and socially infused with huge biases against women who attempted to tackle those prejudices. The country's population was a third of today's 1.3 billion. However much I miss my parents, I also realize that when people you love are gone, they are gone. So cherish the people you love and those who love you, embrace them, celebrate them while they are still around. Love's chords can be capriciously cut at any moment. You can honor memories as much as you want, but nothing will bring back those who loved you unconditionally. Nothing can bring back deceased parents. Advertisement As for me, I am left with this wonderful plaque honoring my mother -- that and the memories of my relatively brief life with my parents, memories that are as vivid today as in the years since I left India four decades ago. Those memories are vivid because I used my eyes as a camera, because I have held on to those memories in my mind's private album, because time can never diminish the value -- and values -- of parents like Charusheela and Balkrishna Gupte. But I still wish every day of my life that my parents were still living in Mumbai; I wish that I could reach out to them and hug them; I wish that I could hear their voices in real time, and not just through memories of a time very long ago, however sharply etched in my mind and however powerful in my heart they may be. by Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP and Joanne Lynn, MD, MA, MS On June 9th, 2016, California became the latest state to allow physician-assisted suicide. For all of the recent debate over legalizing physician-assisted suicide, one point often fails to be mentioned: Americans who choose to take lethal drugs will be unable to afford it. In February, Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased rights to secobarbital, the medication most used for prescription aid in dying (PAD; more commonly known as physician-assisted suicide) in the United States. Shortly after, Valeant doubled the price of secobarbital to $3,000 per lethal dose. Lack of effective alternatives and inconsistent insurance coverage contributed to secobarbital's price increase, just as they do for other generic medications. However, three unique factors complicate any response to high prices of drugs used in PAD: the public divide over its acceptability, existing socioeconomic disparities in its use, and the historical ties to drugs used in the death penalty. Unless policymakers address these factors, individuals hoping to access legal prescription aid in dying may be unable to do so. Authorization, use, and support of PAD are increasing. PAD is currently authorized by statute or court opinion in five U.S. states: Oregon (since 1994), Washington (2008), Montana (2009), Vermont (2013), and, most recently, California (2015). Most of these states authorize PAD for adults who submit a series of oral and written requests and who are certified by physicians to be mentally capable and have a terminal illness with estimated prognosis of six months or less. In Oregon, PAD is increasing in frequency as more people become aware of the practice and more physicians are willing to participate. Between 2011 and 2015, the number of prescriptions (114 to 218) and deaths from PAD (71 to 132) nearly doubled. Advertisement In the U.S., PAD requires patients to self-administer lethal drugs orally. Before 2015 in Oregon and Washington, most PAD cases used secobarbital (54 percent in Oregon; 64 percent in Washington) or pentobarbital (45 percent and 36 percent, respectively). Years of experience helped determine optimal doses of these drugs for PAD and other uses. Secobarbital's original patent was in 1934 to treat sleep disorders, and it is currently only available in an oral form. Pentobarbital has been used for many years as an anti-seizure medication. However, pentobarbital also has an intravenous form; in this form, it has been the drug most used for death penalty executions in the U.S. and physician-administered voluntary euthanasia in Europe. This association with the death penalty has had important implications for access to PAD. In 2011, the Danish manufacturer of pentobarbital, Lundbeck, stopped manufacturing pentobarbital in the United States over concerns that it was used in lethal executions for prisoners, which is illegal and condemned in much of Europe. The subsequent drug shortage caused the price per lethal dose to rise from $500 in 2012 to over $15,000. As a result, pentobarbital essentially stopped being used for PAD in Oregon in 2015, with over 80 percent of PAD patients relying on secobarbital. An alternative three-drug cocktail of a long-acting barbiturate, a hypnotic, and an opioid -- reported to cost approximately $400 per lethal dose -- began to be used in 2015 in Oregon and accounted for 20 percent of PAD cases that year. However, only a few willing specialized compounding pharmacies can supply this cocktail. Furthermore, the effectiveness and safety of this new cocktail are less well established. No drugs have been approved safe and effective in PAD. This is in part because of a 1985 Supreme Court opinion in Heckler v Chaney, stipulating that the Food and Drug Administration is not required to regulate drugs used for lethal injection or PAD. As more medications or formulations enter the field, states could require evidence of safety and efficacy by mandating the reporting of doses, adverse effects before death, and time to death. However, no states yet require this, and layperson witnesses to the death might find reporting these measures to be difficult. Advertisement Public sensitivities regarding PAD also yield uneven and sometimes uncertain insurance coverage of PAD drugs. The Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997 prohibited federal program coverage -- including Medicare, the federal component of Medicaid, and the Veterans' Health Administration. Insurance coverage has thus been left to individual state Medicaid or commercial plans. A recent bill in California proposes to mandate Medicaid coverage for drugs used in PAD, but state Medicaid and commercial insurance coverage remains unpredictable. Insurance coverage for PAD would protect patients from costs by distributing risk to a large population, but it would not reduce the costs of lethal medications. To actually reduce the cost will require developing PAD drugs that are reliably effective and inexpensive. Perhaps the three-drug cocktail will accomplish this, as experience, use, and availability grows. However, this could take years -- over which time many more states are expected to legalize PAD. Furthermore, a serious initiative to control the price of PAD drugs could be more difficult than similar efforts to cut costs of other drugs, since such a negotiation will reopen the fractious debate on PAD itself. Further escalation in PAD drug costs may exacerbate existing disparities in its use. In Oregon, of those who died via PAD, 71 percent had some college education or more, compared to 58 percent of the national population. These deaths were also more likely to be older white males dying from cancer. Fears of institutionalization or impoverishment could drive resource-poor individuals to want to accelerate the timing of death. However, inconsistent insurance coverage and higher prescription costs may make PAD unaffordable for poor people. Ironically, high costs for lethal medications might balance the effects of coercive financial situations, though long-term care costs still overwhelm the costs of PAD drugs. Research to develop other PAD drugs that can only be ingested orally might engender competition and bring down prices. Currently, the number of individuals utilizing PAD is far too low to incentivize new drug alternatives. However, public support for PAD could spur demand to develop alternatives. Importantly, none of this would affect the price and availability challenges affecting death penalty cases, since those require injectable drugs. Making secobarbital a focus of drug company profits is unsettling, even for those who have opposed legalization of PAD (including one of us). One would reasonably want people to live well as long as they can and to have little cause for seeking an earlier death. But in states where PAD is authorized, one would also reasonably want people to make choices about treatment and survival without being pressured by the high costs of PAD or of long-term assistance. This debate is vigorous enough when considering ethics and emotions. Drug pricing should not play a role in it. Advertisement I remember where I was when I heard about Sandy Hook, one of the most horrifying occurrences in this country in my lifetime. And I remember the panic I felt thinking of my son, Sam, who was six and sitting in his first-grade classroom. And I remember lingering at his school for days afterward when I would drop him off, barely able to let him go. I realized that the issue of guns would be one I would spend the rest of my life working on. When pretty much anyone can get a military-style assault weapon with ease, including homegrown terrorists and individuals with an agenda of hate so severe they kill, the horror of gun violence doesn't end, even as the public becomes more and more desperate that it does. And Wisconsinites are desperate that gun violence end and common sense measures be adopted. In a January Marquette poll, 85.3% of Wisconsinites indicated they support universal background checks for gun purchases, with strong support in every corner of our state. And 65% of Wisconsinites want to keep concealed guns off school grounds. Advertisement Yet in Wisconsin, Republican legislators wouldn't even allow a vote on my resolution to honor the children and staff killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Instead, in the five years they have been in charge, Republicans have repealed our 48 hour waiting period for handgun purchases, legalized concealed guns, which research from Stanford University shows has increased instances of violent crime, and tried but thankfully failed to allow more guns in our elementary schools and college classes. They will try again next session. Republican policy makers insist that guns make us safer. If that were the case, the U.S., with the most civilian gun ownership in the world, would be the safest country among industrialized nations. Instead, we are the most deadly by far. And a gun owner has a far bigger risk that their gun will accidently kill someone they love than ever save a life. As Stanford gun researcher John Donohue has stated, "A loaded, unsecured gun in the home is like an insurance policy that fails to deliver at least 95% of the time you need it. . ." But Democrats in the state legislature have to get more courage too. Perhaps if we talked more about creating safe communities and keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals through waiting periods, comprehensive background checks and no buy fly laws, we might start winning elections. On the day that U.S. Senator Chris Murphy concluded his 15-hour filibuster, I began preparing a resolution for the victims in Orlando, almost exclusively LGBTQ members and people of color who have been killed, and tortured and abused throughout a shameful history of discrimination which continues to present day. Orlando was a hate crime that turned into a hate massacre because of the guns used. Next session, will Assembly Republicans block this resolution from even being considered? What about a reinstatement of the 48 hour waiting period for handgun purchases? Or universal background checks? Advertisement The question to ask now, is what are our elected officials going to do to curb this epidemic of gun violence? Praying for the devastated families isn't enough. It's not enough when gun violence claims 88 lives every day in our country. It's not enough when 52 women each month are gunned down by their intimate partners. It's not enough when 7 children lose their lives daily. It's not enough when there has been 186 school shootings on school campuses since Sandy Hook. In April, presidential candidate and billionaire Donald Trump predicted a "massive recession" and a "terrible time" to invest in the stock market. Whether it is Trump's incessant belief that under his presidency he could erase the $19 trillion United States debt by imposing tariffs on goods originating in Mexico and China, his claim that the United States was once "a nice country because it was based on a gold standard," or the extravagant decor in his Trump Tower residence in New York, Trump loves gold. A possible Trump presidency could be good for the precious metal and not just because he would need to redecorate the White House in gold. While economists have balked at the belief that a massive recession is imminent, and that Trump's economic plan could erase the national deficit, others have postulated a Trump presidency would cause a recession instead of preventing one. The next leader of the free world may or may not be able to avoid a recession. Other signs persist that a recession is likely to greet the next president regardless of their party affiliation. What are these signs and what impact will this have for investors in precious metals? Economists at JPMorgan believe there is a 36% chance that a recession begins within the next 12 months, based on their proprietary model. This percentage is a new for the model that accounts for economic indicators like consumer sentiment, manufacturing sentiment, building permits, auto sales, and unemployment. Recently, the spot price of gold has gone up based on the disappointing news that U.S. companies added far fewer nonfarm payrolls than analysts were projecting. Advertisement A recent article in Investopedia attributes uncertainty in Europe, issues within the Chinese economy, debt problems associated with student loans, a not so optimistic outlook on unemployment and hindered central banks as all indicating a recession is on the horizon. Economic data is beginning to mimic data before the previous recession. Retail and wholesale sales have dropped, real U.S. GDP growth is slowing, U.S. exports growth has weakened, and corporate profits are declining, all of which occurred before the recession in 2008. These may indeed be signs that another global recession is imminent. Historically, the U.S. experiences a recession every five years, our economy is currently in an eight-year recession free streak. China's economy accounted for 34% of global growth but is may not be growing at all. The Chinese economy has ramifications around the world, but China in isolation would not bring about the next recession in the U.S. The real issue, according to Michael Pento of CNBC, is that incomes and GDP can no longer support equity prices and real estate values. The result is that first-time homebuyers are no longer able to afford to make the down payment, which causes a domino effect preventing existing home owners from moving up. The average market drop, peak to trough of the previous six recessions, has been 37%. With a similar drop, the next recession would take the S&P 500 down to 1,300. If a recession is inevitable, then it is important for investors to understand the impact a recession has on precious metals. Historically, during most recessions the spot price of gold is inversely related to the performance of the S&P 500. During the most recent recession, from December 2007-June 2009, the S&P 500 fell approximately 36%. In contrast, the spot price of gold increased 15%. Advertisement According to the U.S. Gold Bureau, the market for gold is trending upward in the month of June, going from $1205.90 on May 30th to $1286.00 on June 15th. Contrary to popular belief, gold investors are not necessarily "doomsday preppers," but regular retail investors who are looking to protect their wealth against another loss. @2016 World Vision/Kari Costanza When I visit poor communities around the world, it's usually the mothers I see. They're doing the tough, hands-on work, ticking off a daily to-do list to care for their children despite difficult conditions. Often the men are somewhere else, maybe contributing to the family, maybe not. It's easy to develop a dim view of dads in this context. But on a trip to northern Iraq last month, I met a man who lives up to the high calling of being a father. He reminded me of how a family draws strength from their father's faith. Raad, 48, lives like a refugee in his own country - the technical term is "internally displaced person." He is a wheat farmer forced off his farm, and now he and his wife and four children live squeezed together in one room of an abandoned building in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Advertisement But at least they are all together and safe. In August 2014, Raad and his neighbors fled their village, Qaraqosh, near Mosul. Armed groups were spray-painting the Arabic letter "N" for Nazarene on Christian homes like Raad's, targeting them for abuse and maybe death. Raad loaded his family and few belongings in their car and drove for safety, but at one of the checkpoints, his vehicle was confiscated and they had to continue on foot. That wasn't possible for Raad's oldest, 13-year-old Marlien, who is disabled. So Raad picked up Marlien, the apple of his eye, and carried her in his arms for most of the arduous three-hour walk to Erbil. Now living in their cramped, single room, Raad built beds for the kids - he and his wife, Entisar, sleep on the floor. Their room is close to one of the two bathrooms shared by several families, and through the thin walls the sound of the flushing toilet wakes the children at night. There are some small mercies. Living on the ground floor makes it easy to take Marlien outside. "She wants to see the world," says Entisar. Raad has a part-time, minimum-wage job as a security guard. The two middle children, Ramina and Mirna, go to school. Still, it's easy to see what Entisar means when she says, "We live in an open prison." Advertisement My father's heart grieves for this family. I can't imagine the uncertainty they wake up to every day. They miss their home, their farm, their church. Someone has to have hope, and in this family that's Raad. His eyes twinkle with plans and possibilities. He fashioned a series of shelves on one end of their living space for their meager possessions, and he pounded studs into the walls in preparation for sheetrock and plaster to cover the rough cement, when he has the money to do so. Raad clings to a faith that is unshakeable despite his bleak circumstances. "Nothing is impossible with God," he told me. I have to admit that being in Iraq left me pretty hopeless. Thousands of families like Raad's, as well as Muslims and those of the Yazidi minority, have been living a squatter's existence in Erbil for nearly two years now, with no prospect of going back. Ten years ago, there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq; now there are fewer than 300,000. Believers are vanishing from the cradle of Christianity. Can it be stopped? Advertisement Nothing is impossible with God. This is an interview with Rebecca Bedford, whose first yoga teacher training was at The Integral Yoga Institute NYC in 1995. She now teaches prenatal yoga in Toronto for immigrant newcomer women in a program called Parents For Better Beginnings. Many of the women are Muslim, Chinese, Somalian, and South East Asian, in the diverse neighborhood of Regent Park. Rebecca grew up in England, studied child development and had jobs in a multi-cultural community on the outskirts of London, which were her first introduction to working in diverse and underserved populations. She is a registered prenatal yoga teacher, and certified by the Integral Yoga Institute in New York. Rob: What originally motivated you to do this work, and what continues to motivate you? The teacher of my first Integral prenatal yoga training at Satchitananda Ashram shared with us her stories of teaching yoga in a men's prison. I was in awe listening to her; I felt so much respect for her courage and skill to be able to do that work. I've never forgotten her dedication. More recently, I'm motivated to teach new immigrant moms-to-be prenatal yoga for this reason: I've become frustrated with yoga, and in particular the structure of the yoga studio environment, and how it can alienate and out-price certain populations who'd benefit from yoga the most. I wanted to turn that self-serving ideal around and put yoga for underserved diverse populations at the forefront, making that the priority in my teaching. And it's been wonderful! Advertisement How, if at all, has that motivation changed over time? I've become more motivated. I understand myself better, know my strengths, and know the populations I have most to offer to. I feel even more strongly that yoga is for everyone. In particular prenatal yoga can be very elitist -- available to a certain demographic, and only in yoga studios. In my opinion, all pregnant women should be able to experience the wonderful benefits of prenatal yoga, regardless of income and socio-economic circumstances. Is there a standout moment from your work with Parents For Better Beginnings? There are many beautiful moments; one that stands out is perhaps the first time I taught there. I learned the power of simply closing the eyes. For those in a constant state of hyper-vigilance, simple things we take for granted -- like closing the eyes, breathing calmly, and feeling safe -- are very important. The guided meditations for bonding with the baby are really special also. It is lovely to see the women really connect to the baby developing inside them, and feel a sense of peace. What is the most rewarding aspect of your teaching experience? The feeling I get is hard to put into words; just to be able to share knowledge that can support these women through pregnancy, labor, and birth is incredibly rewarding. To gather with these women and to witness how yoga transcends social, cultural, and religious differences is a spiritual insight I would rarely experience elsewhere in the yoga world. What are some of the things your students have taught you? This is a great question because whenever I go to Parents for Better Beginnings, I ask myself "What will I learn today?" The women have taught me how to modify and adapt yoga for their community, and how the ability to hold the space in a deeper mindful way is more beneficial than teaching a sequence of asanas that they may be too scared to attempt, and may never do again. Advertisement In what ways do you think yoga addresses some of the societal factors at play in the diverse neighborhood you work in? When yoga is at its true essence, when it is inclusive, accepting, when it is joyful and loving -- when it is a circle, not a line -- then it can be of benefit in a diverse neighborhood such as Regent Park. When it meets people where they are and adapts to their uniqueness, it touches them and they feel it and know it, whether for a moment, a day, or longer, this can have a positive ripple effect on a community. Individuals in a neighborhood like this one may then begin to know what 'safe' means, and understand what even a minute of peace actually feels like for the first time in their lives. In what ways does yoga not address these societal factors? One perception of yoga may lead to anxiety, because of the prevalent ideal of perfection that is often associated with yoga, partly driven by the media. This can be a block to teaching (and learning) in a diverse community, as anxiety increases about "getting it wrong." People may also give up before they start for fear of not being able to do yoga "because it looks hard." The first thing I share is other aspects of yoga, in particular pranayama; and the benefits in birth and labor. My students are relieved, the pressure is off. This alleviates their worry, and then they begin to enjoy it. What advice would you give to anyone who is going to teach in the population you work with? I think it is really important to have some training or understanding of how trauma can present itself when teaching in this population. Make time for self-inquiry and reflection, meet people where they are, and become familiar with some cultural and/or religious understanding of the population. Teaching women prenatal yoga in this community will obviously differ from teaching teenagers in the same community. I also think it is important to observe and/or meet with those you will be teaching ahead of your first class. It helps both you and them to feel prepared, and develops an initial connection. Advertisement What are some of your ideas about, or hopes for, the future of "service yoga" in Canada in the next decade? I hope that "Service Yoga" will continue to grow in Canada in the next decade, and that more teachers will reach out to many underserved populations to offer yoga and mindfulness. I'd like to see more teacher trainings include "service yoga" as a component, with an opportunity to gain Continuing Education Units. I think when people admire someone else for the work that person is doing in underserved communities, they are being inspired, and it is a call to discover their own way to do the same. Editor: Alice Trembour Stay connected with Give Back Yoga Foundation as we share the gift of yoga with the world, one person at a time, by following us on Facebook and Twitter, and by subscribing to our newsletter. He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. John Stuart Mill Orlando now joins San Bernardino, Paris, Fort Hood and many others. Attempts to understand these atrocities focus on the ideology and theology of the killers - issues around ISIS, radical Islam, and hate crimes. But those issues beg a bigger question. How have our own ideology and theology immobilized our ability to respond? We lament that the enemy does not change their ideology while we steadfastly hold on to ours, leaving us unable to act. In light of that old adage, "It's not what happens to you, but what you do about it" - we are failing. It is our country's own ideological divide that makes many of today's headlines. Presidential candidate Donald Trump accuses President Obama of stupidity, indifference or "something else." Obama goes on a tirade denouncing Trump's statement about Muslims. Trump retorts that Obama is angrier at him than at the Orlando shooter. Our gravest risk is not that terrorism will destroy us but that it will provoke us to destroy ourselves. We keep asking: When are we going to wake up and take action about - fill-in-the-blank. For some the blank is filled in by stricter gun laws, limits on immigration, more effective mental health programs, or more aggressive police or military action. But as a nation we are immobilized by the depth of our disagreement. Our response is heightened worry, but not heightened action. Advertisement Our inability to agree on a holistic, strategic response means that we eventually become a part of the problem - but at least it is a part we can do something about. We have met the enemy and it is not just guns, bad guys, ineffectual military efforts or dysfunctional mental health system. The enemy is also us and our broken relationships that prevent constructive engagement and thus constructive solutions on behalf of future innocent victims. The first one or two incidents - shame on the perpetrator. The last ten, shame on them AND on us and our disabled relationships. We may not be able to control "them" but what to do about "us"? That should be a different story but it requires leadership. It is time for leaders and followers to stop asking: How do I convert others to think like me? The more constructive question is: What about your ideology or theology would you be willing to repurpose in order to reach a shared solution that would save lives and save our Union? What would you be willing to concede, not by forfeiting your personal beliefs, but in support of a shared higher-purpose solution for the country. Until leaders and followers humble ourselves regarding our own imperfect beliefs, we will remain stuck. Let me suggest three keys for thinking more relationally about ideology. Recognize broken relationships as our greatest long-term risk. No matter how you disdain violence, loss of innocent lives, and any opposition you consider the enemy - ISIS, gun lobby, religious extremism, immigration policies - we are stuck unless we come together enough to craft solutions. Advertisement Years ago General Peter Pace, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff commented on the sectarian violence in the midst of the Iraq war: "If the Iraqi people as a whole decided today that, in my words now, they love their children more than they hate their neighbors...this could come to a quick conclusion." If we could decide we love those future people who will be gunned down and blown up more than we hate our fellow citizen's solutions, that would be the starting point. Place relationships at the center of ideology and theology. The preamble to the U.S. constitution begins with these words: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...". Our Constitution - the supreme law of the land - seeks union. As a nation of individuals with diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and needs - the founding hope was union and relationship as the best means to serve and benefit from our diversity. Theologically, we all have beliefs, be they faith-based or secular. I am a Christian and since that is the largest group in this country, let's start there. In Matthew 22 Christ was asked what is the greatest commandment. His answer was relationship: Love your God with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. Then he added: All the law and all prophets hang on these. The Bible is the supreme law of Christianity and Christ described the law as a means to a higher purpose - relationship. To disagree is human. To deploy our differences as weapons trained on each other is self-destructive. Making productive relationships our highest priority is crucial to creating broader, more holistic strategic solutions. Sacrifice for the purpose of relationship. Sacrifice is the acid test of commitment. If productive relationships represent higher purpose, we must be willing to sacrifice some of our favored ideology if we are to reach common ground with those who have their own favored ideology. Remember John F. Kennedy's famous question: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." Said differently, ask not what you can get others to do for your belief, ask what you can do to "sacrifice" for shared belief that increases safety for all. Assault rifles, immigration policy, more invasive law enforcement -- it is a fool's errand to ask others to sacrifice what they hold sacred if we are unwilling to also. The arrogance of our self-righteousness is daunting - I am righteous and of God and thou art an evil idiot. It is the ideology we disdain in our enemies and it must cheer the hearts of those who would kill us to see its disabling effect on us. Advertisement Summer is upon us, and many people are making vacation plans to enjoy the weather and soak-in the sun. Airlines for America estimates that U.S. Airlines will carry a record 231 million passengers this vacation season. Whether you plan to fly to the end of the world, or to the next town over, it's a well-known fact that credit card points can help offset the cost of your trip. Ideally, you would have been saving up miles or points throughout the year. That way you can easily pay for a vacation, and save hundreds of dollars. Haven't been saving points at all? There's still a way you can save big. How? Credit card bonuses. If you sign up for a credit card and quickly qualify for its welcome offer, you can significantly reduce the cost of your summer travels. The Biggest Savings: Airline Card Bonuses If your vacation involves a plane ride, take a look at airline credit cards. Generally, these have the best bonuses around. It's not uncommon to save anywhere between $500 and $700 with the right welcome offer. First, identify the carrier you expect to fly with, and then look at their offers. You'll need to pay close attention to the requirements for the bonus. Some will require you to spend upwards of $3,000 within 3 months to qualify. If you know you can't reach that, don't bother signing up. Advertisement You should specifically look for credit cards that offer companion tickets as a welcome offer. Companion tickets are the holy grail of credit card bonuses. They act as a "buy one get one free" deal on airline fares. Companion tickets can potentially lead to savings of over a thousand dollars, depending on the type of ticket you buy. Note that some aren't exactly free, and require you to put down $99 for the extra ticket. Even in those instances, however, you will end up saving big. When Cash Back Bonuses Make Sense Cash back credit cards, even the best ones, have relatively low bonuses. While airline-branded cards can get you bonuses as high as $700, cash back offers rarely push $150. Despite this, they shouldn't be discounted. Cash back credit cards can still help you save on upcoming travel plans - especially in two scenarios. If you don't spend enough money to qualify for the big bonuses. As we mentioned above, while airline sign-up offers are lucrative, they often require you to spend a lot of money to qualify. Cash back bonuses, on the other hand, will typically not require you to spend more than $500/$1,000. This comes in especially handy for those with limited time. For most people, it will be easier to quickly spend $500 than $3,000 - especially if you're hoping to earn the bonus within a month. Most drivers understand the role a clean and safe driving record plays in keeping your auto insurance rates low. What you may not know, however, is that something entirely separate from driving can increase your rates -- your credit score. In recent years auto insurance companies have began using credit scores to determine yearly premiums. This brief guide goes over how drivers are affected by this, and what they can do to lower their premiums. "I Was Never Asked For My Credit Score" A company will not directly ask for your credit score, which is the reason why many people may not realize it affects their rates at all. When filing out a quote, insurers will ask for your social security or driver's license number. As your application is processed, the insurer will run your credit report based off the information you gave them and translate it into a "insurance score". Simply put, an insurance score is how the insurance company translates your qualitative credit report into a number -- much like a FICO score. Advertisement How Big of an Effect Does it Have? We conducted a small study where we took a sample 30-year-old male driver, and obtained auto insurance quotes for him based on excellent, good, fair, bad and poor credit scores. We considered drivers in both New York City and Salt Lake City. What we found was quite staggering. In Salt Lake City, a premium was nearly twice as expensive for someone with poor credit (below 500) than someone with excellent credit (above 720). The quotes from New York followed the same pattern. Based on these findings, having a bad credit score affected our driver more than having a DUI on his record. Can All Insurers Do This? Mostly. Some states have laws preventing the use of insurance scores. However, not many do this. California, Hawaii and Massachusetts are the only states to currently outright ban the practice. In other states, there are varying restrictions, which allow companies to use certain parts of credit reports to determine rates. Also, some companies only look at particular line-items on your credit report. Allstate, for example, uses factors such as "Number of 30 days Past Due Payments in the Past Year" or "The Current Amount Due" which is your outstanding balance for all open credit lines. How Can You Improve Your Insurance Score and Lower Your Premiums? Getting an affordable rate will be harder to do if you have poor credit. The best thing you can do is to work to improve your credit score. Paying back your current bills and squaring any debts is a great start. Make sure all your payments are made on time. Also, keep your total credit utilization low. If you consistently max out your credit cards, it will have a negative impact on your score. Advertisement "The scariest moment is always just before you start." Stephen King on writing. If there is one thing I hear from every parent or applicant I speak with from now until December it's this: "How do you even start to write the Common Application Essay?" It's a perfectly reasonable question to ask when staring at a blank computer screen trying to come up with a story which will help that applicant get admitted to the school of their choice. Inherent to the question is a certain amount of panic. This is an important essay to write - there's a lot riding on it. I felt the exact same way when I sat down to write my college application essays. My job as a college application essay consultant is to calm nerves and be a voice of reason. I see myself as an editor, tutor, shrink, and cheerleader. My role is to tell students in no uncertain terms, "You have nothing to worry about, everybody has a good story to tell. You are no exception." To help navigate the treacherous waters of the college application process stress-free, I've come up with five steps every applicant should take before working on their personal essay. Starting with these five steps will ensure their essay will be a memorable one - one which will make admissions officers say, "Wow! We need to admit this applicant!" Advertisement 1) Read the prompts! Don't rush through them. Take your time. Read them carefully. Read one prompt per day. Let each one sink in. Talk it through with someone you know. Try to understand what the prompts are asking for. The number one complaint admissions officers have is: "They didn't really answer the prompt." Answer the prompt! 2) Think about some seminal moments in your recent past. Did you have an experience which resonated with you? Was there something that happened in which you were challenged, transformed as a person? It doesn't have to be big and showy moment, it just needs to be meaningful to you. Can the telling of that story be conveyed in 650 words? Write it down! Take good notes. Where were you? Who were you with? Details are vital to making a story interesting and memorable. 3) Read as many Common Application Essays as you can find! Ask your friends from the year ahead of you if you can read their essays. There have been numerous books published about application essays and you'll find many examples there. The New York Times solicits application essays every spring and publishes what they feel are the best. These essays worked! The authors of them were accepted to the best schools in America. You'll see what works.. Be inspired by them. Learn from them. 4) Talk to your friends and family! Because often times friends and family have insight into who you are and what makes you special - focus group your life. An inquisitive outsider has a perspective you don't have. You'll hear, "remember the time..." They'll jar your memory bringing to the forefront experiences you had which you had forgotten. A little brainstorming goes a long, long way. Advertisement 5) After you have done 1-4, DO NOT start writing! You heard me right. Do not start writing! Let all of the research marinate in your brain for a while. Think it all over. Ask friends and family what they think of your ideas. Let them advise you on which one they feel would make for a memorable personal essay. Unless you look at the calendar and see November 1st bearing down on you, there's plenty of time. No reason to choose a prompt and a story if you're not committed. Rainbow flag against sky during gay pride parade When a bomb went off at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama in September of 1963 taking with it the lives of four young Black girls, it was not attack on our nations children. It was an attack on their skin color. It was a crime motivated and carried out by white supremacy. It was a crime fueled by our nations allowance of treating brown bodies like they are disposable; no matter their age. When Pulse nightclub in Orlando rang out with hundreds of bullets in the early morning hours of June 11th 2016 killing 49 it was not an attack on nightlife, or "our religious freedom", it was actually religious freedom personified. It was an attack on the brown queer community. A community that religion and government goes out of its way to erase. It was an attack fueled by aggressive religious rhetoric. It was an attack that we as Americans need to hold our government responsible for. Advertisement We do not need to look overseas and condemn ISIS. We need to go into our courtrooms and condemn those who represent us. Those who are by the day passing more and more laws that restrict the basic human rights of LGBTQ people. Half of our government is homophobic and transphobic. We must stop using Islam as an escape for rhetoric the GOP and far right conservative Christians have been spewing for years. We must hold them accountable. We must not allow them to use our tragedy as a means to start a war against more brown skinned folks. Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community happen every day in America; in our court rooms, in state houses, and in congress. Was it not only a month ago that we saw people posting photos of themselves standing outside of bathrooms with guns, threatening to "stop" trans people from using the facilities? Are we supposed to ignore that these people are a very real part of our American fabric? They aren't in a cave in the Middle East as our government would like us to believe; they are in line behind us at the grocery store mumbling under their breath and calling us faggots as we shop with our lovers. When you feed and feed and feed a fire and allow people to truly believe that they are above other citizens death happens. It has happened. It will continue to happen. And no religion is to blame here; except for the zealous Republican who has utilized the bible and fear mongering mixed with lax gun laws to further not just an agenda but an entirely sound and reasonable way of behaving and existing as a "God-loving Christian". All I ever wanted was to be 21. I wanted to get in where I actually fit in. Young and gay and figuring it out. 18+ nights were sought after, fake ID's were currency. How could I get in? How could I be? How could I release? Every single week I went to Tilt in Rochester. I would rush to the bathrooms and wash off the X's on my hands, and then I would join the chorus. My family. We were all in that moment strangers that could very well become best friends or lovers. And we did. It didn't matter much if you were shy, you had something to talk about with every single person in that room. You shared common ground with both the bartender and the drag queen. You all had a rainbow thread sewn into your heart. Advertisement When I finally did turn 21 I found my sanctuary in New York City nightlife. Every single week, I went to Cubby Hole in Manhattan. Every single week I played "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn. I fell in love in that bar; I would many times over the years. Both with friends and partners. I grew up there. I became who I am. This past year I stood at the bar in Lexington Club in San Francisco as hundreds came to say goodbye to an institution. I cried with them because I imagined what it would feel like to watch Cubby Hole shutter. Like your parents moving out of your childhood home. Yes, we would relocate but it wouldn't be the same. It never could be. I thought that night I was seeing death. I thought that was the closest I would come in nightlife to witnessing grief over a space. But then I woke up Sunday morning, and everything I knew to be "the worst" was turned on its head. Tribunal judge hammer,with law books The violent murder of innocent civilians by Omar Mateen, a psychotic and ideologically deranged individual, has led to further polarization in American politics. It has also opened up the wounds that so many citizens in the LGBTQ community have suffered at the hands of sanctimonious ideologies. Yet when such wounds are opened and the pain is laid bare to the world at large, there can be moments of introspection and learning for even the most inveterate ideologues. Within the Muslim community, the radical Islamists terrorists (and Yes, they deserve to be called such since they use Islamic scripture as a misguided excuse for their actions) remain defiant about their views on homosexuality. However, many moderate Muslims have started to ponder about the limits of scripture as a literal guide. Social media is awash with intense debates about this issue. Many Muslims are taking on the usual Christian refrain of "love the sinner but hate the sin" to modulate their views on homosexuality, embarrassed perhaps that scripture could be used as an excuse for such mayhem. Advertisement Some scholars are arguing that Muslims should have the "freedom of religion" to object to certain lifestyle choices but still be on cordial terms with the perpetrators. On his public Facebook page one professor compared homosexuality to alcohol consumption, noting that he has many close friends who consume alcohol, even though he does not approve of that action personally. Other Muslims and subscribers to traditional "heterosexual-centric" worldviews are trying to differentiate between biology and psychology in differentiating their approvals. There is ostensible compassion for biological causality but an impulse for curative intervention for psychosocial causality. And then there are those who relegate this all to a matter of choice and heap scorn on those who "choose" to lead such a lifestyle. The LGBTQ community is all too familiar with this spectrum of acceptance and rejection. The negotiation of these norms which society struggles with is an essential process of change but unfortunately encounters inertia due to a fear that accepting one change will lead to an irrevocable process of accepting all changes - this fear factor is often termed "the slippery slope." In common parlance, we use a fear of the "slippery slope" when we don't have the time and energy to invest in an argument. It is an easy excuse for absolutist perspectives and all too often used across the political spectrum. Often progressives and conservatives alike use it to justify their own perspectives on "freedom of speech." The National Rifle Association uses it to justify unfettered access to guns lest prohibition of one weapon might lead us down a slope to a gun-free chasm. Religious detractors of homosexuality use the same argument to suggest that sympathizing with LGTBQ lifestyles would somehow lead us down the slippery slope of public fornication on streets! Sadly, the Orlando massacre has highlighted all these various attributes of how the "slippery slope" argument impedes progress. Advertisement Here's an especially timely news release for today: The British Independent reports: President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the White House has said. [The meeting was scheduled for 10:15 a.m. EDT.] "Mr. Obama is expected to discuss tensions in the Middle East, in particular the trouble posed by Islamic State and potential ways to tackle it. "Prince bin Salman, the son of King Salman, who has been described as the most dangerous man in the world, will join the President at his home as part of a visit to the United States aimed at improving relations with Washington and to put plans into motion to reduce the country's dependence on oil revenues." Advertisement See: "Obama, Heeding Close House Vote, Should Press Saudis to End Yemen War" by Robert Naiman. Also see "Kerry and Saudi prince pledge to fight extremism after Orlando shooting, while LGBT Saudis face execution," by Ben Norton. WILLIAM HARTUNG, williamhartung55@gmail.com, @williamhartung Hartung is the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy and a senior adviser to the Security Assistance Monitor. The New York Times recently published his piece "Obama Shouldn't Trade Cluster Bombs for Saudi Arabia's Friendship," which states: "He should avoid doing what he did at Camp David last May, the last time he met with [the Gulf Cooperation Council]: promise more arms sales. Since Mr. Obama hosted that meeting, the United States has offered over $33 billion in weaponry to its Persian Gulf allies, with the bulk of it going to Saudi Arabia. The results have been deadly. "The Saudi-American arms deals are a continuation of a booming business that has developed between Washington and Riyadh during the Obama years. In the first six years of the Obama administration, the United States entered into agreements to transfer nearly $50 billion in weaponry to Saudi Arabia, with tens of billions of dollars of additional offers in the pipeline. ... Advertisement "Human Rights Watch has reported that two Saudi strikes on a market in the Yemeni village of Mastaba in mid-March killed at least 97 civilians, including 25 children. This was just one in a series of Saudi strikes on marketplaces, hospitals and other civilian targets, attacks that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said may constitute war crimes. ... Sanjay Wijesekera with baby in Homs City, Syria As the UNICEF team gathered at a shelter for displaced families on the outskirts of Homs City, in central Syria, a woman hygiene promoter told me: "Despite all the troubles, we can still laugh. We are stronger than this conflict." That is in a way the defining demonstration of the resilience of the inspiring Syrian people I met on a visit recently. I sat with Ahlam, a young mother of four, one of over 100 families who live in two neighboring unfinished apartment blocks. They are among about 1,000 displaced families who fled nearby rural Homs, and part of the more than 6 million people inside Syria displaced by the fighting. Advertisement Alham was pregnant two years ago when she fled the violence of her village and moved into this dilapidated, rat-infested building. She told me how she used to carry a heavy 20-liter jerrycan of water up the four flights of stairs every day. Was she complaining? Not at all. She was merely stressing the difference the water tanks and piped water installed by UNICEF have made, and mentioning how the pipelines connecting each apartment to the town sewerage system had bettered all their lives. UNICEF team outside apartment block She suggested some further improvements. "Catch-up education over the summer for the girls would be good," she told me. Her 8- and 10-year-old daughters had left school behind when they left their village. "And nappies are expensive." Ahlam's 8-month-old baby crawled towards me, and a neighbor commented: "The babies like to go to the men." Advertisement I learnt that, like Ahlam, many of the women here are widows. Providing safe drinking water and basic sanitation is a priority for UNICEF in Syria. They help prevent disease and save children's lives. Having water in the home means that children and women do not have to walk miles carrying heavy loads - risking their lives from possible bombs and airstrikes. And you cannot run schools and health centers without these basic services that not so long ago most Syrians took for granted. Last year, UNICEF helped provide drinking water to over 10 million Syrians. This went from trucking water; to repairs and maintenance to damaged and degraded water systems; to drilling wells; to providing disinfectant for the water treatment needs of almost the entire country. As a result, Syria did not suffer cholera outbreaks in 2015, when neighboring Iraq did. But, more than five years into one the world's most damaging conflicts, the obstacles for safe drinking water and sanitation remain. Advertisement Fighting prevented us from visiting Aleppo, where UNICEF has its largest water programs, and where water has been used as a weapon of war - as it has in many other places. Between January and March this year, the main water treatment plant which served the city and surrounding areas from the Euphrates River was deliberately shut down for 48 consecutive days, cutting daily water to 2.5 million people. Without water, sewerage systems could not function properly. Women and children braved the violence to fetch water from water tankers sent in by UNICEF to keep the city going until a deal was worked out between the warring parties. This is why UNICEF is helping to develop alternative sources like wells. Diversifying the sources of water helps people become less vulnerable to deliberate attacks on the system. We visited villages in Al Salamiyeh in rural Hama, struggling with water cuts from a pipeline which runs through contested areas. Advertisement In one town a community group told me that without the water assistance from UNICEF, the 22,000 people there would have had to pack up and move. Well water is available but it has a high sulphur content and smells like rotten eggs. UNICEF provided a reverse osmosis treatment plant to make the water drinkable, and reduce dependence on the vulnerable main pipeline. This is an expensive solution, but where there is not enough, every drop counts. Back at the Al Zarzouria shelter, a 20-year-old volunteer hygiene promoter told me she was studying to be a teacher. She believes her work with children, engaging them in activities to improve their hygiene habits, has also helped them deal with the traumas they have faced and has improved her nascent teaching skills. "The seeds that we have planted, we should take care of them till they grow up," said one of her colleagues. I'm always annoyed when the typical newspaper travel article takes up space describing three meals a day eating cuisine that can be found in any major U.S. city. In between, the writer shops for something that almost sounds worth the customs hassle, lies on a beach with the same sand that can be found at home, and reviews bars that have drinks that be concocted anywhere. If I'm going to travel halfway around the planet, I probably am never coming back, so I want to experience what is unique about the place: a world-class art museum, a religious festival, a stunning vista, the site of a major historic event. It's important for our trade, politics, and cultural enrichment to get outside Fortress America once in a while, yet most Americans seem to think that if they can get to London, Paris, or Rome, they're done. Here are a few unusual memories of the 34 countries I've visited (many with my wife, Sandra). Northern Ireland Mythology. In 1991, I toured Navan Centre in Armagh, from which Ulster's ancient rulers generated history and legends as exciting as those of King Arthur. They were brought alive by immersive audiovisual presentations and the Centre continues to use the latest technology to illuminate everything from Celtic spirituality to ancient warfare. The beautiful north of Ireland remains one of the great undiscovered destinations, now that political violence is very rare. Advertisement Renaissance Italy. In 1996, I was stunned to discover that Italy has 40% of the world's art, but I wasn't prepared to fully understand it, being rusty on the Greek mythology on which so much is based. And it was only when I listened to a record of the relevant volume of Will Durant's The Story of Civilization that I came to fully appreciate that the Renaissance was a cultural supernova. Some memories need to be enhanced afterwards. Cuba, Tropical Communism. In 1998, I had State Department permission to go to Cuba to interview Fidel Castro. However, by the time I was ready to go in July, my PR contact was on a long vacation and everyone else on the staff was terrified to make a decision without his approval. I went without a press pass to write a travel article, risking arrest, which put us in the same paranoid mindset as the Cuban public. We did get to listen to Castro speak for several hours on Revolution Day, participated in Mardi Gras, and our fortunes were read by a Santeria priest. The Glory of Greece. In 2001, we wrote a background piece for those who were preparing to go to the Olympics in Athens three years later. On the flight there, we read Edith Hamilton's The Greek Way, which explained how the Golden Age of Greece became the fountainhead of western civilization. Modern Greece may be dysfunctional, but the people are fiercely and justly proud of their heritage and we came back with a new perspective on history. Eternal Egypt. We thought we were going to see the pyramids, which turned out to be rather boring and very difficult to get into. But we left the tour group that was going snorkeling to visit the legendary temple at Abydos, whose walls are covered with paintings that are still vivid, and it is the only place where the symbols of all the pharaohs are inscribed. On our last night, we were put into a trance by Cairo's uniquely colorful version of the Sufi whirling dervishes. Advertisement Sacred and Secular India. In 2004, we toured Northern India with some trepidation, after decades of stories about health hazards. What we found were not beggars, but street entrepreneurs. The ambition and educational values of Indians have resulted in some of the world's best medical schools and the ability to occupy of a quarter of the CEO seats at Silicon Valley tech companies. At the same time, religion remains intertwined with daily life, whether on the sidewalk or in the boardroom. Turkey, Crossroads of History. In 2005, we spent three weeks in Turkey, which has 40,000 historical sites (most excitingly me Troy, since I aspired to be an archaeologist as a boy). It also has a modern Muslim culture, the perfect introduction to a modern Islamic society for Americans. Istanbul is an extraordinarily dynamic (and clean) city (despite the news, you're less likely to be killed there than if you stay home). Glorious Samarkand. In 2008, we finally made it to Uzbekistan (my original visa application was denied because my name is the same as a reporter who been critical of the government). Samarkand, the legendary ancient capital, is full of stunning Islamic tile art and metalwork, alone worth the price of a trip (photo is of a ceiling of a madrassah in Registan plaza). Mighty Malta. We visited this tiny Mediterranean island in 2009, which has been the site of battles that changed the course of history. The Knights of Malta inflicted the first defeat on the Ottoman Empire in 1565 and in 1943 was bombed for 100 days by the Nazis, as the Allies used it as the staging ground for the invasion of Sicily. It has a fascinating history, starting with the world's oldest freestanding buildings, temples that were constructed around 3600 B.C., a millennium before the Great Pyramid (see photo of Mnajdra temple). Underrated Toronto. As we prepared to go to Toronto in 2011, we kept hearing that it was like New York City run by the Swiss: the good news was that it was clean; the bad that it was boring. It turned out to be the first, but not the second. It is an economic powerhouse that provides a high quality of life and lots of cultural options, while doing an excellent job of preserving its history. Two museums sounded worth skipping, but we're glad we didn't: the Bata Shoe Museum (the history of footwear is quite fascinating) and the Gallery of Intuit Art (powerful sculptures of shamans in the act of turning into animals--see photo). Advertisement South African Safari. In 2013, we flew to South Africa, but had only two days for a safari at the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, which was nevertheless supposed to be the centerpiece of the story. We'd heard stories of tourists who saw little except gazelles in a week. We needn't have worried: we literally came face-to-face with a leopard, were nearly charged by a mother rhino protecting her baby, and got trapped in the middle of a ferocious cave buffalo herd. The animals reminded us that all living things flourish when they adapt to their environment, something humans seem determined not to do as we refuse to change our ways in the face of climate change. The Maya of Guatemala. I was a guest lecturer at UCLA on the Maya of Central America for years. The one press trip I had signed up to see their cities was cancelled. I finally had a chance to go to Guatemala in 2015 to visit Tikal, but equally fascinating was that Mayan shamanism is continues to be practiced by Catholics. For many reasons, I see Guatemala as the next hot Latin destination (here's the full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-s-smith/the-magnificent-maya-of-guatemala_b_7118234.html). Ayubowan. Welcome to Sri Lanka. An island country in the Indian Ocean and a jewel nation with a history of over 3000 years. This country is symbolic in beauty and nature, and an important region for business. Before business, let's explore this fascinating nation the size of West Virginia with numerous World Heritage Sites. As with all great journeys, preparation is key. Electronic Travel Authorization, VISA & Cellular Plan: One of the most important actions to take before boarding your plane is to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). Implemented January 2012, the Sri Lankan government requires this whether you're coming as a tourist, for business, or through transit. Check out the government websites for more info and links for visa registration. After arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport and exiting baggage claim, there'll be a line of telecom vendors like Etisalat, Dialog, or Airtel. Check out their tourist plans for cellular and mobile data packages. Advertisement Language: What's interesting is that there are two official languages: Sinhala and Tamil. Nearly 75% of the population (13 million) speak Sinhala. About 4.7 million Sri Lankans speak Tamil. When travelling around Sri Lanka, you'll see signage in 3 languages: Sinhala, Tamil, and English. English is included, not just because 10% of the population is fluent, but because English is used for official and commercial purposes. Currency & Exchange Rate: When preparing finances, check Sri Lanka's currency exchange rate here. Currency is the Sri Lankan rupee (Rs or ).10USD equates to approximately 1450 Rs. 100, 500, and 1000 Rs notes are used, just like1,5, and10 bills. Health precautions: Each country has unique bacteria, so 8-12 months, or as soon as possible before departure, get vaccinated. Defend yourself against typhoid, tetanus, polio, rabies, malaria. The CDC distinguishes necessary vaccinations depending on your form of travel. Consult with a specialist, like the Austin Travel Clinic, about vaccine timing; Tetanus requires pre-departure time for effectiveness. Check our International Travel Blog for more info. In addition, Sri Lanka is a very hot country. Its capital, Colombo, is only 476 mi (766 km) from the equator. It's extremely important to guard against heatstroke, prickly heat, and sunburn. Sri Lankan beaches are wonderful and a marvelous way to unwind, but all that's lost when you haven't taken care of your body. Advertisement Stay hydrated, drink plenty of bottled spring water, wear 50 SPF sunscreen, and take shade breaks before it's too late. Clothing: Sri Lankan climate changes throughout the regions. Along the coast, the weather is hot and humid, especially during the summer. However, in the central region like Kandy or Nuwara Eliya, the high hills are a stark contrast with hot and cold climates. Good cotton or linen fabrics are advised. When visiting Sri Lanka's temples, wear white clothing to show respect. Sturdy sneakers and sandals are advised when hiking, walking long distances, or taking a stroll along the pristine white sands. Leave room in your luggage for new clothing from fantastic shops like , and . Be sure to browse the roadside shops and stalls that sell authentic Sri Lankan apparel. Sri Lanka is a remarkable country full of vibrant energy with a rich culture that is sure to leave a lasting impression. Whether you are a business traveler or touring around, take advantage of these tips to ensure a fantastic journey through the Jewel Country. Stay tuned for more on Sri Lanka 2! Suba gaman! The cities that come to mind when one thinks of words like innovation, startup, fablab, fintech, greentech, cleantech, or smarttech, are often New York or San Francisco--but rarely Paris. Nevertheless, France, as the world's sixth largest economy and Paris, as a hub for businesses that are mobilizing the sharing economy, is a place where startups are booming and where it is just as likely the next world-changing innovation could come from. Building a Bridge Across the Atlantic With this in mind, serial entrepreneur Gael Duval, launched La French Touch Conference (#LFTC) in 2014 with a goal to bring Paris and New York together and help innovative startups in both cities gain visibility. Now in its third year, the event brings together French and American startups, investors, and inspirational speakers at the AXA center in New York, for motivational talks, workshops, and of course, pitches--with one event, "pitch in the plane," even taking place during an eight-hour flight across the Atlantic. With events running from June 17th through to the 22nd, the conference hopes to amplify the activities of innovative French entrepreneurs and inspire investors attending in New York to dish out the big bucks that could make a groundbreaking initiative a success. Advertisement However, in an era where young entrepreneurs are increasingly concentrated on finding profitable ways to have a positive social and environmental impact, there is also another focus at the conference. Sparknews, a Paris-based social enterprise pioneering solutions journalism and bringing visibility to 100 solutions on June 25th during Impact Journalism Day, will take part in LFTC with the goal to shed light on positive innovation. Considering this focus, It's interesting to identify why New York is such an attractive city for entrepreneurs and what positive steps are being taken by its residents to make the city a cleaner and a safer place for to live. Working to Make New York a Better Place As the world capital of finance and investment banking, it can't be denied that New York is an incredible place for startups to be. Surrounded by business angels and venture capital funds, it only makes sense that ambitious entrepreneurs would want to set up shop in the concrete jungle. But for entrepreneurs looking to innovate in a world threatened by various environmental challenges, NYC is even more interesting than that. Since Hurricane Sandy ravaged the five boroughs in 2012, many people in NYC have begun to focus on urban resilience and urban sustainability, and some notable incubators are now concentrated on the development of clean technology. ACRE, run by NYU's Urban Future Lab, and Power Bridge NY, are the city's premier proof-of-concept incubators that aim to promote sustainable urban development. By supporting the emergence of clean-tech projects, like BlocPower, a company that reduces energy use in old buildings, they're speeding up the transition to a more sustainable world. Another initiative, RISE: NYC, is a competition that supports projects using new technologies to protect the city. The organization is working to sustain projects that reduce the impacts of future destructive storms and other effects of climate change, like Go Electric, which can store a building's unused electricity supply overtime and eventually maintain power in an emergency. Advertisement As the world moves towards mass urbanization and climate change increases the risk of destructive weather events, we need to develop more solutions to make our cities resilient and sustainable. Luckily, urbanization fosters innovation and with events like La French Touch Conference shedding light on positive innovation in other megalopolises, the growth of innovative start ups could help us protect the cities we live in. At the St. Gallen Symposium Summer Discussion in Zurich, leaders from the Swiss business community today discussed Switzerland's short- and mid-term growth prospect. This comes at a time when Switzerland is anxiously looking at the outcome of next week's Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. A leave vote would not only put additional pressure on Switzerland's already strained relations with the European Union but would also bring the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in a delicate position. As Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of SNB pointed out in his speech, the Swiss franc would serve as a safe haven and appreciate strongly against the Euro. The SNB is ready to defend the Swiss franc on the exchange markets. But monetary policy can only partially influence Switzerland's growth prospect. Jordan applauded the Swiss business community for having done their homework after the franc shock of January 2015. Positive export data show that, although still struggling, companies have trimmed themselves fit against the backdrop of a long-lasting strong Swiss currency. rotate="90"> Image credit: PIlgrimage of the Heart Yoga Each week at our yoga studios in San Diego over 150 people come and enjoy our meditation, mindfulness and pranayama classes. Many of these students are brand new to this type of practice. Two of the questions I get asked most often are: "How do I know if I'm having a good meditation?" and "How do I know if this is the right technique for me?" These two questions are intrinsically connected, and they are the same questions that I asked myself many years ago when looking for a spiritual teacher and an approach to meditation into which to invest my time and energy. The sheer number of teachers and approaches available today can be overwhelming, and as a beginner, sitting in meditation can be a puzzling experience. As your mind whirls and you feel the urge to fidget again and again, it is natural to wonder: is this working? After all, choosing a meditation technique is a big decision. If you select an approach which is not a good fit, you are unlikely to continue with your spiritual practice. If you dabble in technique after technique without ever settling on a path, you may never see benefits. On the other hand, when you find an approach that really resonates, you will enjoy your practice more. Through consistent and ongoing practice, you will begin to see results: relaxation, focus, and peacefulness, among many others. Advertisement Once you have found a path, it is important to have tools with which to evaluate your experience. The challenge is that unless you're hooked up to biofeedback equipment or inside an MRI machine, the experience of meditation is entirely subjective. You need a benchmark to evaluate both your own efforts and the techniques you are using. My meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy, was asked the same questions about meditation many years ago. His answer was simple yet profound, and forms the basis for the advice I offer to seekers at our studios and when I lecture around the world. I've taught meditation is 25 countries, and we are all dealing with the same basic challenges. My teacher said: "We can easily know whether we are meditating well or not just by the way we feel about the world around us." How we feel about the world is a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Meditation, if done correctly, will make us more conscious of our deeper nature, which will make us feel good about ourselves. When you feel good, the world is a happy place. When you are down on yourself, everything will annoy and bother you. He continued: "Right after our meditation, if we have a good feeling for the world, if we love the world or see the world in a loving way in spite of its imperfections, then we can know that our meditation was good." Notice how my teacher says "in spite of its imperfections." True meditation allows you to love unconditionally, and yet at the same time, see reality clearly. In seeing things clearly, we know some things need to be transformed both in the world and in ourselves. The meditation that is right for you will give you the ability to love both yourself and the world "in spite of its imperfections." Advertisement Of course, the practice of meditation will also bring up unresolved issues that you need to deal with. As Bob Marley said, "You're running away, but you can't run away from yourself." Through meditation you not only stand your ground, but you consciously turn and face the challenges. For me, meditation is synonymous with transformation. Genuine meditation gives you the energy, patience and wisdom to tackle those situations that need to be changed. At the end of his answer, my teacher said: "Also, if we have a dynamic feeling right after meditation, if we feel that we came into the world to do something and become something good, this indicates that we have done a good meditation." Look for that dynamic feeling in your practice. The meditation that is right for you will give you energy. It will not make you lethargic or lackadaisical. Meditation enhances and energizes your mind and body, and gives you the impetus to take action towards the transformation you desire. I see dozens of new-to-the-world inventions every month. Behind each invention is an everyday person trying to make it big. They had a frustration in their daily life, something they felt could work better, and spent the time and energy to solve it. That solution is their invention, and they are hoping it will change the world, and their place in it. Here's the unfortunate rub for most new inventions, they will fail. Is it because the invention doesn't work. Nope. Could it be that the inventor didn't work hard enough. No way. Is it possible that they just didn't get the power of social media? Maybe, but unlikely. The reality is that most new ideas never make it past SameCity, the place where inventions go to die. Advertisement The hard truth is that there are dozens of inventions that do exactly what yours do, in the way yours does it. They are even targeted at the same people to buy it. That creates a lot of SameCity. I've tested thousands of new products and services on TheShuuk.com. In all that testing, I discovered 7 critical keys that separate those that rise to the top from those that stay in SameCity. And, if you apply these keys, you'll increase your chances of success. KEY #1: BE DISRUPTIVE Create a new consumer behavior or redefine category boundaries. Uber changed how we get from point A to point B. We don't have to call or wave down a yellow cab anymore. Now we whip out our phones and get rides from everyday people. Cirque Du Soleil changed what it meant to be a circus. What was once defined as clowns and animal acts, expanded to include full story-lines, human acrobats and upscale prices. KEY #2: BE DEFEND-ABLE Find ways to be where your customers are, but your competition isn't and deliver your product in a novel way. In other words, make your entire business hard to copy. Advertisement As of right now, Murad is the only beauty product in Massage Envy lobbies. I'm there enjoying a massage, and then I want to take the experience home with me. I only have one option to pick from so that's what I go with. Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery put their wine in single serve cans, not bottles.That's a hard one for those with glass bottle manufacturing to copy. KEY #3: RECOGNIZE CUSTOMERS PAIN AND SYMPTOMS Customers buy for the symptoms, and stay for the pain. Market to the symptom and then solve their root pain once you have them, not the other way around. A chiropractic office will advertise that they can solve headaches and hip pain (your symptoms). Once you are there, what they are really solving is your root pain, being out of alignment. The mistake I often see entrepreneurs making is moving too quickly to the pain. Your customers aren't there yet, they have a symptom to solve so address that first. KEY #4: HAVE AN ANCHOR Innovative concepts need a familiar anchor to minimize the learning curve and increase comfort. Silk Soy Milk, a liquid made out of a beans. When that launched it was an extremely new concept and hard to wrap your head around. But, the word "milk" gives us something to hold on to, a way to say, "this is like that thing I already buy, but kind of different." If you are going to be totally disruptive make sure you give your customers an anchor that gets them to your new world faster. In other words, don't make it hard for them. KEY #5: HAVE A LARGE BUT HYPER SPECIFIC ECOLOGY Extreme niching, having a highly specific community within a target audience, is critical to success. You can't be everything to everyone, or even to most. You need to be something of value to a select few. Advertisement Crossfit is the fitness craze sweeping the globe. Crossfit is for a very specific type of person in the health and wellness arena. I would submit that it's for people that love extreme challenges, dynamic movements and measuring their progress in a community-driven, challenge-based program. That's not the same person that goes to 24 HR Fitness to run on the treadmill, and that's a good thing. When you are hyper specific, you and your community know what you stand for. KEY #6: HAVE ONGOING, REAL WORLD FEEDBACK CONVERSATIONS Ongoing access and feedback from early adopters in your category. Oxiclean is now a household name. They built the business by, among other things, always connecting with their customers. In fact, back in the day they hosted weekly mom panels. All to often I have inventors tell me that their product is done and their garage is full of 72 palettes for sale so they are past the feedback point. That couldn't be more wrong. You are never done. Whether it is a small tweak in your product, your packaging or your marketing language, or even coming up with the second product, successful inventors know that getting feedback from early adopters, those willing to engage and help you take it to the next level, is an ongoing part of the process, not a point-in-time exercise. KEY #7: GROW CHAMPIONS Internal and external advocates continually hawking it for you. BulletProof Coffee is delicious. Seriously, this coffee is suddenly everywhere. Why? Because people that used it loved it so much they told everyone they knew about it. It wasn't TV ads or even social media posts that powered the momentum behind this brand, it was advocates eager to share their new find. And how about Tough Mudder? You know this extreme challenge was just in your city because for the next week everyone that did it is wearing their orange headbands around town, just waiting to spread the love about their experience. Your employees and your customers are your best marketing tool. I certainly can't guarantee you success, but I can guarantee that if you apply these 7 keys your chances are significantly greater. In my Entrepreneur LaunchKits I give you a blueprint for getting out of SameCity because that's where your money, energy and dreams go to die. A week ago we were hit by the news that a group of happy young people enjoying a safe space were killed in a horrific attack on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGTBI) community. We still live in a world where these safe spaces are important. For many individuals, these may be the only place to express themselves. As in many other aspects of their lives they may still not be accepted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Many lost their lives in this tragedy. Twenty three were from Puerto Rico. A country that is also in mourning and trying to support their families in this difficult moment. The world is still deeply in shock. Advertisement This is no isolated incident. Acts of discrimination and violence against LGTBI are still a big issue globally. From bullying, to narrow legislation on same- sex marriage, lack of gender recognition of trans people and protections around sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. In this generation, we have made huge strides for LGBTI rights, but the battle isn't yet won. It won't be until LGBTI rights are acknowledged everywhere and no lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex individual lives in fear or is subjected to vindictive legislation or regressive court rulings. We cannot be complacent. Almost 80 countries continue to criminalize same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults, including countries where homosexual acts are punishable with the death penalty. We still need to progress towards greater equality. In all countries, LGBTI people continue to face stigma, discrimination and violence, and difficulties accessing healthcare and other basic services. Advertisement Stigma, discrimination and violence related to sexual orientation and gender identity negatively affects also affects overall mental health and wellbeing. This has a significant impact on young people, who are particularly vulnerable of being exposed to homophobic or transphobic attitudes and expressions within the family, educational institutions, the health system, and social settings. Take for instance, Emmanuel's experience in Cameroon where he was rejected by his family when he told them he was gay. Feeling alone he was recommended to visit one of our Member Association branches, where he could go to safely meet with others and receive non-judgmental counselling, support and sexual health information. For Emmanuel, this was a turning point, where he got to meet people who accepted him and gave support. This helped him to build his confidence, be happy and even start dialogue with his parents. Everyone has a role to challenge the stigma, discrimination and myths that make personal spaces negative. This requires speaking up and supporting people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, on a daily basis and from every level, in our work, in our personal lives and through our relationships. Let's not forget that sexual rights are human rights, and people should be able to determine how they live their lives without fear of attack, legal sanction or bigotry of any kind. Advertisement We should take stock and remember that even when LGTBI people are marginalized, they are an inclusive and loving community that doesn't judge and accepts all in their diversity. They face negativity in many forms yet are incredibly strong and resilient. There is a lesson in that which is to challenge hate not embrace it. As International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), we will continue to push for a world in which sexuality is recognized both as a natural and precious aspect of life and as a fundamental human right. A world in which choices are fully respected and where stigma and discrimination have no place. We are proud to be part of a movement that stands for love and dignity. Orlando has long been characterized as a place of transients, a perpetual churn of people moving in and out. Orlando is a stop, a stepping stone, not a destination. The city once even referred to its homeless as "transients" - as if they were something temporary, rather than permanent. I certainly felt temporary when I took my first job in journalism as a reporter for The Orlando Sentinel in 1974. Three years here, five tops, and then on to a bigger paper in a bigger city. But as happens, Orlando took a hold of me in ways subtle and significant. Forty-one years later, I retired from the paper in June 2015 and took a job teaching journalism and mass communication at the University of Central Florida. Advertisement Yet even as I stayed in one place, I wondered why I felt no strong sense of place to Orlando. That's always been the rap on Orlando: There's no there there. Well, there is now. The mass murder attack on a gay club filled with young Hispanics is very much an attack on Orlando itself, a city with a young demographic, racially and ethnically diverse, and gay friendly. Over the past four decades, I've witnessed a city reinvent itself as the result of seismic social, cultural and demographic change. A place for reinvention Pulse was a place where people could be themselves. Indeed, Orlando is that city where people come to reinvent, or discover, who they are. Advertisement They move here from Iowa, Georgia, New York, Puerto Rico and Great Britain, looking for something better than what they left behind. If they stay, they end up changing the character, the culture, the identity, of Orlando. When I arrived in the mid-'70s, Orlando was a city still struggling with integration. It was predominately white, largely Republican and overwhelmingly conservative. It had an Old Guard who ran the town, but they had the vision to make the place hospitable to Walt Disney. As Carl Langford, Orlando's then-mayor, quipped: Show me a mayor in the United States who wouldn't just love to have Walt Disney sitting on his doorstep as a neighbor. Orlando today has a young demographic. Unlike South Florida and the Gulf Coast, Orlando, a former citrus trade town that transitioned into a tourism hub, was never a retirement destination. Advertisement With a median age of 32.8, Orlando is a city of 240,000, of which the largest group (11 percent) is between 25 and 29 years old. Many of them are employed at the area's theme parks or attend the University of Central Florida - the nation's second-largest university. Others, like my sons, were born here and stayed here because of job opportunities, friends, family and familiarity. Orlando is racially, ethnically and internationally diverse: 41 percent white, 27 percent black, 25 percent Hispanic, 18 percent foreign-born. The growth of the Hispanic population - from 4.1 percent in 1980 - is largely Puerto Rican and comes from two directions - the island itself and transplants from the Northeast. Of the 60,000 Hispanics who live in the city, more than half are of Puerto Rican ancestry. Politically, Orlando is solidly Democratic. Registered Democrats in Orange County outnumber Republicans 42 percent to 29 percent. The last Republican presidential candidate to win Orange County was Bob Dole in 1996. The city of Orlando is much more liberal than the rest of Central Florida and the state. Buddy Dyer, a liberal Democrat, was first elected Orlando mayor in 2003 to replace Republican Glenda Hood. He has now won reelection four times, most recently in 2015 with 63 percent of the vote. Advertisement A seminal cultural battle The city is also among the most accepting of gays. In 2014, Orlando was listed as the 13th "gayest city" in the nation by Advocate, a gay magazine. But while Orlando may be accepting, it is also home to the LGBT-bashing Liberty Counsel, which challenges gay rights in court and has been vocal in the transgender bathroom debate, as well as other conservative and fundamentalist organizations. In 2002, those opposing forces faced off in a bitter and vitriolic fight over an Orlando ordinance that proposed banning discrimination against gays in employment, housing and public places The law won a narrow 4-3 passage, but the victory set the stage for all that followed: the city's domestic partnership registry in 2012 and an anti-discrimination ordinance in Orange County in 2010, making Orlando one of 255 cities and counties in the U.S. to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of this is the influence of Disney, Orlando's largest employer with 60,000 workers, which began offering same-sex partners health benefits in 1995. And while Walt Disney World doesn't formally sanction Gay Days, it has done nothing to discourage the annual six-day event that attracts 150,000 LGBT visitors to the theme park, all wearing red t-shirts, despite an eight-year boycott of the attraction by the Southern Baptist Convention. These gay-friendly policies are also, however, the result of gay community leaders convincing elected officials that anti-discrimination ordinances made the city more attractive to many corporations looking to relocate. Advertisement "If you're not an inclusive, diverse and fair-minded city, you're going to have trouble attracting the quality talent that makes your city successful," Mayor Buddy Dyer told the Watermark Online, Orlando's gay newspaper. "As much as it's a fairness issue and an equality issue, it's also an issue of how are you going to make your city succeed?" Looking to the past, this is a similar approach to the practical, image-conscious decision by Orlando leaders in the 1960s that prevented racial violence during the civil rights movement by working with local civil rights activists and business owners to voluntarily desegregate motels and restaurants. At that time, Orlando established an identity closer to Atlanta than Birmingham, more like Miami than Jacksonville. But Orlando lacks the sense of history of an Atlanta or the ocean of a Miami. The transient nature of Orlando, with its tourists and turnover, works against a natural sense of place. It takes some time, and effort, to discover the city's true identity. I found my sense of place when I recognized Orlando for what it is: an amazingly clean, relatively new, progressive, medium-sized city that is welcoming to both visitors and newcomers. Advertisement Young people, and the multitude of "cool" bars and restaurants that cater to them, give the city an energy and vitality that was missing when I first walked down Orange Avenue in a downtown emptied by the suburbs and malls. The diversity - all those people from all those different places - gives the city something of a cosmopolitan feel and counteracts the tendency to become provincial. In my years of reporting, I met people from all over the world, and every corner of the country, who chose Orlando over their hometown or nation of origin because there was something here (safety, jobs, a good place to raise children) that they didn't have back home. In 2005, I decided to explore why after all these years I didn't feel a strong attachment to Orlando. I wrote a series in search of what creates connection and community. One of the stories was about the community of disaster: how traumatic events bring people together. Neighbors who never knew each other grew close after the tornado, the hurricane, the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Carlos Allegri/Reuters You can have a neighborhood, but community occurs only when the people living there realize they have something in common beyond mere proximity. Those inside Pulse felt that sense of community on the dance floor and at the bar. They shared an ethnic heritage, a sexual identity, a generational perspective. They shared a place, a drink, a moment of joy. Advertisement And when a madman tried to take that all away, he created a greater sense of community that comes from a shared grief. There is a there there in the hearts and tears of Orlando. Jeff Kunerth, Visiting Instructor, Journalism, Nicholson School of Communication , University of Central Florida On Thursday June 16, 2016, Fran Drescher visited AOL BUILD. For many, it was a throwback Thursday. One of the best 90's sitcoms was The Nanny and fans were delighted to remissness with her. This article is for us to remissness a little further. Below, are arguably the top five episodes of The Nanny. 1. "The Nanny" The pilot episode is what started it all. Ms. Fine met Mr. Sheffield and became the nanny. This episode showed exactly what The Nanny was all about. She took care of the kids like no one else before her could. Brighton didn't scare her off, she gave Maggie the confidence she needed, and she started to become Gracie's best friend. The viewers also started to fall in love with the relationship that was Max and Fran. 2. "Where's the Peals" Elizabeth Taylor guest stars in this fantastic episode. Maxwell and CC both try to get Fran out of the house, since Elizabeth Taylor is coming to meet with them. However, that doesn't work. Not only does Fran meet Elizabeth Taylor, her mother and grandmother sneak into the house as well. When Maxwell is finally aware of the situation, Fran is given an important task by Ms. Taylor. She's to give her black pearls to a courier. Sylvia tells Fran that she should deliver the pearls herself. Those pearls never get delivered because Fran bumps her head when her cab driver (Rosie O' Donnell) stops short. Fran wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and has no idea what happened to the pearls. Seeing Maxwell deal with Fran while she has amnesia (especially because she thinks she's Mrs. Sheffield), is sure to give the viewers many laughs. Advertisement 3. "The Wedding " The episode that everyone was waiting for, the wedding. This is a two part episode that starts with Fran leaving the Sheffield residence, since she believes it's bad luck for Max to see her twenty-four hours before the wedding. Fran, Val, and Sylvia go to New Jersey to pick up Fran's wedding night lingerie, but On their way back, they get a flat tire. Val, being Val, forgot to replace the tire she used to fix a flat she got a few days ago. They're rescued by Maxwell and everything seems to be going well.....until part two where Maxwell's sister Jocelyn tells her she's getting divorced from her husband due to their different social statuses. Again, Maxwell saves the day and reassure Fran that he loves her and will always love her. The wedding episode was everything a Max and Fran shipper could hope for (Sylvia's remarks and looks during the ceremony were an added bonus). 4. "The Bank Robbery" While dealing with the news that Yetta is engaged to Sammy (Ray Charles), Sylvia thinks it's best to ensure that Yetta cannot take money out of their joint account without both of their signatures. Fran accompanies her and while they're there, a first time bank robber (Peter Scolari) attempts to rob the bank and take everyone there hostage. Fran ends up befriending him (after he tells her he needs money to get a condo for his mother in Florida to get her out of his life). They order food and discuss her relationship with Mr. Sheffield. When he attempts to escape, he takes Fran and Sylvia outside with him. This is where Maxwell tells her that he's not sorry that he told her that he loves her. While Fran and Maxwell make up, the robber takes Sylvia....but that ends up being his downfall, since she makes him stop for Mongolian barbecue. This episode gives not only Fran, but the fans, hope that they would soon hear Mr. Sheffield say, "I love you", to Fran and not take it back this time. Advertisement 5. "Canasta Masta" This episode of the second season earns a spot here just for the ending alone. Niles is left home alone while the family goes on a trip to Atlantic City for the canasta tournament Brighton, Sylvia, and Yetta are competing in. While they're away, Niles decides to parody the dancing scene in Risky Business.....that is until CC catches him. He, of course, says that he now has to kill her for what she has just seen. Besides Fran and Max's relationship, CC and Nile's relationship was a big part of the show. Fans loved their banter and the pranks that Niles would pull on CC. Few stories make the headlines in every major newspaper in the world. Even fewer inspire people to actually change the way they live in response. A year on from its original publication, it is increasingly clear that Pope Francis's Encyclical Laudato Si'- yes, on climate change, but also on what it is to be human, on the social implications of the environmental crisis and on the complex web of things we usually treat separately for convenience's sake - has begun to do just that. Important debates have started. Amazing feats of political will have been achieved. And all over the world, as events this week have shown, more and more Catholics and non-Catholics are feeling empowered to act and care for our common home. At first glance, when it comes to climate change, things have only got worse since Pope Francis issued his call to action to 'all people of good will'. In the past three months alone, wildfires have ravaged Canada, floods have caused loss of life and severe damage in Europe, heat waves have scorched India and the Philippines. Globally, two months ago we experienced the warmest April on record. News like this is becoming the new normal - the 11 months before April 2016 also broke the monthly temperature records. The Global Catholic Climate Movement petition is handed to Pope Francis. Other events since June 18th 2015 have provided the world with hope, however. By signing last December's Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Heads of State of nearly 200 countries - including big emitters like China, the US, the EU and India - effectively agreed to end the fossil fuel era and attempt to save the world from the worst effects of climate change, although much more ambition is still urgently needed. Pope Francis's effect on negotiations has been described as 'transformative'. The Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM), which I serve as its Global Coordinator, played a part, delivering a petition signed by over 900,000 Catholics urging political leaders to commit to ambitious climate action to the French president and the UN climate chief during the Summit. Advertisement More and more countries are already prospering while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier this month it was revealed that 2015 was a record year for the growth of renewable energy, with investments in renewables more than double those in new coal and gas-fired plants. Developing countries spent even more on renewables than developed ones on their paths to sustainable development. Many other successes on a more local level have been driven by Catholics working in harmony with people of other faiths and none, inspired by Laudato Si'- at a time when religious persecution around the world is rife, this is cause for celebration. On April 18th, 270 religious leaders from all of the world's major faiths quoted the Encyclical when calling on their own communities to divest from fossil fuels and reduce emissions in their homes, workplaces and centres of worship. Solar panels are increasingly powering churches. According to CAFOD, parishes in half of all Catholic dioceses in England and Wales have made efforts to live sustainably and in solidarity with people living in poverty. More and more church communities are turning to renewable energy. Image source: greenfaith.org This week, on the same day that the Catholic world's first joint divestment announcement was made, GCCM launched its 'Live Laudato Si' campaign to get even more communities inspired. Catholics the world over are being encouraged to reduce their energy consumption, change to clean energy providers, eat less meat, and share their pledges on social media with the hashtag #LiveLaudatoSi. Young GCCM members will also be in Poland for World Youth Day at the end of July to share with others how they've been living more sustainably. Laudato Si' does not provide all the answers on exactly how we should combat climate change and other socio-economic and environmental problems, though it does give some sensible suggestions. Scientists, engineers, economists and others are coming up with ever more innovative and cost-effective ways of meeting the challenge - even since the Pope's intervention in June 2015, costs of solar have declined rapidly, for example, making it increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. What makes the Encyclical so powerful is its recognition that we have an incontrovertible moral responsibility to act - this moral imperative must direct our political and economic discussions, not the other way round. Advertisement Every picture tells a story. This photo was taken in April this year, but the story started in January 2012. At the start of each training we encourage people to do a number of things. One of these is to share the training with at least 20 people in the community within the next month; another is that they would start a project that benefited their community. In January 2012 we ran our first pilot in Kenya. In the audience were two mothers whose jobs were to pack vegetables as fast as they could to be sold in European supermarkets. Each evening they returned to Dandora, their home community, built on the very edges of the City refuse dump. The difference on this January day, was that the two ladies returned home seeing themselves as leaders, story writers, ladies who now had the pen to create a different story within their own lives and the lives of those around them. Thy looked around the community wondering who they could teach and what community project they could do. Right in front of their eyes were youth - many, many youth - unemployed, angry, hopeless, drug and alcohol numbed youths. Youths that were making the community unsafe for the very young and old. Advertisement So that is where the ladies began. Courageously, fearlessly, they began to share what they had learned with these youth and to everyone's amazement the youth listened. They liked what they were hearing. It was waking them up; it was giving them a taste of hope rather than the future of an early death that they knew was the fate. They wanted to hear more, so each evening they were taught more. Over the next 12 months the lives of the youth began to change in fundamental ways and the community of Dandora changed with them. The unemployed got themselves back to education or set up business to generate income. Community projects were initiated around urban agriculture, community security and arts. Up to this point there was one rape or death each night in Dandora Phase 4. Now, three years on, there's only one a month at most. But it didn't stop there. Amongst this youth group (now called The Dandora Uprising), was a young man called Peter who confessed to me recently that if it hadn't been for the Emerging Leaders training he would have been dead by now, like many other youth in the area. In September 2013 we invited Peter, one of the founder members of the youth group to attend a week long Train The Trainer. From there Peter started training other youths. As of the end of April 2016 Peter has now trained 1500 people himself. His training has an estimated impact on the lives of up to 9000 people. The wider impact of the training that Peter and his friends have carried out has reached over 20,000 people. 203 of the youth are sustaining their lives from revenue collected from the community through projects 20,100 community members enjoy safe and secure environment 1,200 people have increase saving More than 5 Million Kenyan Shillings (just under $50,000) have been saved through table banking 25 youth have gone back to university and colleges, including Peter Initiation of more than 100 small scale businesses, Improved livelihoods due to additional income because of youth leading their finance A clean environment, safe for children to play Increase in enrollment of children in school Increased trust between youth groups and government institutions Creativity and innovation - people want to start leading their own projects like the Uprising Library (see below) In Peters words "this would never had been possible if Leadership for Life had not been introduced to Dandora" Advertisement I once asked Peter ,"What is the legacy you want to leave with your life". He asked for time to think about it. A few months later he said, "I have the answer to your question. I want to build a library in Dandora because there isn't one. Children have no safe, lit place to go and do homework after school". At that time there was nothing. Now there is Dandora's first ever community library that he and his team have created, with over 500 books and a few computers, with 25 children attending each evening. So, what about the picture at the start of this blog? In the centre is the only male, Peter. This was his April 2016 group. All unemployed women. They came in hopelessness. They told Peter that they found their food each day by picking over the City rubbish dump nearby and they simply waited to die because they saw absolutely no hope for their lives. Peter started with 35 women and this soon became 50 women as word spread of the hope the training was bringing. By the end of April, 6 of them had started businesses to create their own income. Peter pointed out to me the smiles on their faces. "There were no smiles when they started. They now have hope" Stephen (in the green shirt) also trained as a trainer and here is is with a gang of ex criminals he trained in Leadership, now all in jobs or back in education. Cross-posted from UN Women Maria Alejandra Martinez performing on stage. Photo courtesy of Maria Alejandra Martinez Originally from El Bordo, Department of Cauca, Colombia, Maria Alejandra Martinez, is the daughter of fighters for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). After they died during military operations, she was trained for guerrilla warfare. She was recaptured at the age of 16 and today, at 26, she writes, performs and participates in an artistic-political project that brings together displaced/demobilized survivors, police and military to build peace, reconciliation and reconstruction. In New York to speak at the UN Women-hosted launch of a book by another former child soldier on 15 June, she shares her story, in her own words... Ive lived among weapons since I was born. In December 1994, my mother and other relatives were killed during military operations by the Colombian Government against the FARC-EP. This event, which I survived, changed my life. At 5 years old I was an orphan in the midst of a war. The guerrillas took me in as a protection measure, as I was alone. During my first years with the guerrillas my life was marked by intense military training and transfers to different cocaine farms. Advertisement War was all I knew then. I learned to handle weapons such as rifles and explosives. I also learned first aid, how to handle communications equipment, food resource management, finances and operational organization. Each moment of my life with the guerrillas was marked by different social constructs. To be able to adapt, I had to be on the same level as men, essentially adopting a male role. In 2006, I was recaptured by the national army. After a long process, I joined the Programme for the Prevention of Recruitment and Use of Boys, Girls and Adolescents by Organized Armed Groups on the Fringes of the Law, run by the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare. During my reintegration, different projects transformed my expectations and interests. Art was cleansing. It helped empower me to look for spaces in which I could participate using my voice, where I could express myself not only as a victim, but as a girl or young woman. In 2008 I started living on my own. I got involved in various social initiatives and opportunities to prevent child soldier recruitment, drawing on my own life experiences. I took on leadership roles aimed at caring for, supporting and encouraging the participation of girls, boys and adolescents no longer involved in the armed conflict. I founded a network of young people called Aliarte with other colleagues, supported by WarChild-Holland, which through art and participation aims to prevent youth involvement in the armed conflict. Most of us were women. In 2010, I wrote a script about my life, called Olive Green, which told the story of what happens to children in conflict, and particularly what happens to girls, because their story is always invisible. Advertisement This same year I became a mother and my son Juan Pablo was born. His birth humanized me. I have lived my childhood with him, something I couldnt do before. I understood that he deserved a different story, and I pushed myself to work harder to prevent recruitment. Maria graduated in 2011, among the top of her class. Photo courtesy of Maria Alejandra Martinez I graduated from high school in 2011, among the top of my class, and the following year I completed a technical degree in theatre set construction and assembly at the Escuela Taller of Bogota. I participated in the Consultancy for Social Change, a project that promotes youth and child participation in political and social spheres. It allowed me to tell my story and travel to Africa for the first time. In 2015, I wrote a story called: Maria working to get work, which was published by the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) in the book Warmipura (among women): Stories of real women. I recounted the difficulties that women, particularly those coming out of the conflict, face when trying to get a decent job. Maria ... is trying to rebuild her life, to get a job and continue the struggle, this time to realize her dreams. In 2011, at a meeting with the victims of the armed conflict in Colombia, Maria met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Photo courtesy of Maria Alejandra Martinez I currently work for a cultural project called Casa de Arbol (Treehouse) and participate in a political art project called VICTUS, which brings displaced/demobilized victims together with police and military, with the goal of building peace, reconciliation, memory, truth and reconstruction strategies. Advertisement This project helped me to understand how to live with myself and reconcile with my past, with those who were also responsible for what happened to me. The first step towards peace is built from within each individual and this is only possible if we learn to live together, both with our enemies and our victims. The views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of UN Women. This essay was submitted to the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity and can also be found here. Last fall, all 193 Member States of the United Nations agreed to work towards achieving inclusive and equitable education for all by 2030 as part of the UN's 2030 Development Agenda. This effort builds on significant global progress in primary education made over the past 15 years which helped to ensure 9 out of every 10 children in developing regions are in primary school, with girls now enrolled at almost the same rate as boys. Yet today, we face formidable challenges in achieving the global community's bold new sustainable development goal to achieve inclusive and equitable education for all. Around the world, 250 million children still lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, while gender parity is only rarely achieved beyond primary school. Advertisement Achieving our shared goal by 2030 requires innovative approaches that dramatically increase the pace of progress. One approach that has yet to receive the attention or investment it deserves -- but is critical to accelerate and sustain progress -- is an intentional effort to develop a diverse set of leaders within developing countries who are committed to fighting for improved outcomes for children. In the 40 countries where Teach For All's network partners are at work, we have found that the communities showing the most promise benefit from a constellation of diverse leaders who drive interventions and innovations from a range of vantage points, both within and outside education systems. In the United States, where Teach For America has been at work for more than 25 years, we have already seen the transformative effects of intentional efforts to develop leadership on improving educational outcomes. Advertisement One of the most striking stories of transformation is taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana -- and leadership is at the center of that story. New Orleans was one of the first places where Teach For America began placing corps members. Just 12 years ago, 62 percent of New Orleans' schools were failing. Less than a third of students performed at grade level, only half graduated from high school, and only one in three continued on to college. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, requiring the school system to be rebuilt from the ground up. Alongside many others in the community, hundreds of New Orleans-area Teach For America corps members and alumni returned to the city in the wake of the storm's devastation, determined to continue their work re-imagining what was possible for the children of New Orleans. Ten years later, New Orleans was the fastest-improving education system in the country. Today, the percentage of failing schools has dropped from 62 percent to 7 percent, and twice as many students are performing at grade level. Graduation rates have jumped by more than 20 percentage points, with three out of four students now graduating from high school on time, while the percentage of students continuing on to college has hit 63 percent. The progress New Orleans has made in just ten years is nothing short of extraordinary. Many people deserve credit -- community leaders, veteran educators, parents, students themselves. Alongside them, Teach For America corps members and alumni -- almost 1,200 of them -- comprise a full 20 percent of the New Orleans teaching force and a third of school and school system leadership, while dozens of alumni lead social enterprises that provide a range of support services to schools and children. There is no question the return of hundreds of committed individuals, who came to know New Orleans' schools through their time as Teach For America corps members, has been integral to the city's remarkable pace of change. Advertisement New Orleans' story proves that progress can happen faster than anyone might believe possible--if there are leaders, who are from or live and work in partnership with local communities, who are committed to creating and sustaining it. As with Teach For America, Teach For All's unifying theory of change is that an individual who successfully teaches in a high-need community will be inspired to a lifetime of leadership and advocacy on behalf of children. Through teaching, they come to understand the complex challenges that face their students and their schools, see first-hand the incredible potential of all children to succeed when met with high expectations and provided with necessary support--and develop a sense of urgency and conviction for fighting the range of inequities they see holding their students back. Even though many Teach For All partner organizations are young, we are already seeing that an intentional approach to cultivating leadership has enormous potential to improve learning outcomes in developing countries. In India, where Teach For India has been active for nine years, 71 percent of alumni work directly with children or educators, and another 28 percent are organizational leaders--like Chaitra Murlidhar, who founded a teacher professional development program that aspires to institutionalize development models that improve student outcomes across India's school systems. In Peru, where EnsenaPeru has been active for seven years, 90 percent of its alumni are still working in education, with 53 alumi serving in the Ministry of Education-- women such as Angela Bravo, who led a successful national effort to reimagine life skills and vocational courses required by every high school in the country. Advertisement And in the Philippines, where Teach for the Philippines has been active for only three years, several alumni are already working in the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education--like Chess Carlos, who advises the Commissioner on teacher development initiatives. The importance of leadership for creating change is corroborated by several studies, although further research in this area should be undertaken. A ground-breaking 2010 McKinsey & Company study that analyzed 20 diverse education systems around the world found that "leadership is essential not only in sparking reform but in sustaining it...improving systems actively cultivate the next generation of system leaders, ensuring a smooth transition of leadership and the longer-term continuity in reform goals." And Professor Michael Fullan, who was instrumental in devising the approach that helped Ontario's school system make gains faster than almost anyone thought possible, has found that "system transformation of the type educators now aspire to cannot be accomplished without first ensuring solid leadership at all levels." Despite the critical role of leadership in creating and sustaining progress, intentional efforts to develop leadership are not yet high on the agenda of the international development community. If we are to meet our goal to achieve inclusive and equitable education for all by 2030, that must change. At every level--in schools, education systems, advocacy, government--we should be focused on identifying, developing, and supporting the leaders who will accelerate our progress towards achieving inclusive and equitable education by 2030. Advertisement We would be well-served to support global and regional civil society organizations, local social enterprises, and local governments that are testing innovative new ideas for developing leadership or working to scale up existing programs to foster leadership development. As we know all too well, no silver bullets are waiting for us when it comes to our shared work towards inclusive and equitable quality education for all. That means there is all the more reason to make an unprecedented investment in growing the force of local leaders who will pioneer the range of solutions needed to tackle this issue in its full complexity. A strong commitment to pursuing innovative ways to support leadership development is one of the most high-impact investments we, as an international community, could make. Aerial View of the Pentagon in Virginia Defending the United States and its allies is serious business. That's all the more reason Congress should stop playing games with Pentagon spending. A good place to start would be to put aside proposals to add billions to the department's already ample budget. The Senate took a step in the right direction earlier this month when it beat back an amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would have added $18 billion in Pentagon spending beyond the amount agreed to in last year's bipartisan budget deal. A good place to start would be to put aside proposals to add billions to the department's already ample budget. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives has shown no such restraint. During the consideration of the defense authorization act, House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) pushed through a proposal to steal $18 billion from the war budget and use it to pay for pet projects that the Pentagon hasn't even asked for, like 11 additional F-35s and 14 more F/A-18s. This raid on the war budget is fine for Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the builders of the F-35 and the F-18. But what happens when the war budget runs out of funds to support the troops in the field? Thornberry's answer is to let the next administration worry about it. The House inserted a $16 billion raid on the war budget in its appropriations bill, setting up a fight over the issue in the House/Senate conference committee on Pentagon spending that will convene later this year. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has denounced Thornberry's maneuver in no uncertain terms, calling it a "terrible distraction" that "undercuts stable planning and efficient use of taxpayer dollars, dispirits troops and their families, baffles friends, and emboldens foes." To add insult to injury, Thornberry and his colleagues claim that they are robbing the war budget because there are insufficient funds for readiness -- the training and maintenance activities needed to sustain our armed forces. Yet an analysis by the Project on Government Oversight has found that the net result of Thornberry's proposal would be to cut operations and maintenance - the funding source for readiness activities -- by over $11 billion. Advocates of higher Pentagon outlays claim that the rapid pace of change in the world -- from the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino to the continuing threats posed by ISIS and Russian aggression in Ukraine -- has rendered last year's budget deal obsolete. This is a questionable proposition. With total resources of over $600 billion proposed for the Department of Defense and related agencies, the Pentagon's FY 2017 request has allocated just $7.5 billion in direct funding to fighting ISIS, and an additional $3.4 billion to the European Reassurance Initiative, the primary U.S. response to Russia's military moves along its borders. Even allowing for indirect expenditures devoted towards these purposes, ISIS and Ukraine account for a modest portion of the Pentagon's budget. The truth about the current level of Pentagon spending is not that it is inadequate, but that there are tens of billions in unnecessary expenditures tucked away in the department's budget. A coalition of 17 government watchdog groups has identified $38.6 billion in cuts that can be made without compromising our security. Items targeted for cuts include the F-35 combat aircraft, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the new nuclear-armed cruise missile, and the Pentagon's overuse of private service contractors, which now number more than 600,000. Taking even some of these steps would eliminate the need for engaging in budget maneuvers of the kind being promoted by Rep. Thornberry. Advertisement Unlike its counterparts, the Senate Appropriations Committee was able to find $15 billion in savings in the Pentagon budget. The committee's action shows that with a little bit of effort, a way can be found to stave off the large increases called for by Rep. Thornberry and Sen. McCain. Adding billions of dollars to the budget beyond what the Pentagon has asked for is wrong in its own right, but it is also troubling because it is just the latest example of undisciplined budgeting on the part of the Congress and the Pentagon. Hopefully the House and Senate conferees will eliminate the war budget shell game when they meet later this year. If not, President Obama should follow through on his threat to veto any bill that diverts funds from the war budget to pay for non-war related projects. Image Source According to Referral-Candy, a Singapore company that automates marketing programs for online retailers, as of 2013, there were 102,728 eCommerce retailers based in the U.S. that generate at least $12,000 per year. One of the most notable differences between an online shop and a brick-and-mortar is the ability for an eCommerce shop to scale rapidly. Rocket Internet, a German internet company, brought together five companies to create the eCommerce site Global Fashion Group, a website that receives 400 million visitors each month and has 10,000 employees. If scalability isn't enough incentive to start an e-commerce shop for your small business, market trends might be convincing. E-commerce sales are rising by almost 20 percent each year. Advertisement As of February 2015, U.S. e-commerce sales were over $300 billion. Nearly 200 million people shop online in the United States alone. Small business owners can use these 10 tips to create an e-commerce business blueprint. 1. Not Testing Before You Invest: Before forking over the money to create a functioning eCommerce website, it's a good idea to test the demand for your products or services. One way you can do that is by creating a blog for your company or product and test the market and demand. You can solicit feedback from readers and even give the product to readers and ask them to send in testimonials. 2. Not Doing the Research: It is important to research the competition before investing in your own similar product. If your products or services are too general, you may not be able to compete with established competitors. Online, the more specific you can get the better. Find your niche! 3. Choosing the Wrong Platform: When it comes to choosing an eCommerce platform, the three most important things are: the web hosting agreement, shopping cart software, and a credit card processor. Choosing the wrong platform can result in slow page loads, excessive downtime, security breaches and lost data. Advertisement 4. Being Lazy About Product Descriptions: It's the creative aspects that can help set your small business apart from the many online retailers buyers have to choose from. Investing in great product photos and engaging product descriptions can help customers see the differences in your products compared to those already on the market. 5. Underestimating the Power of SEO: A good SEO strategy can be responsible for the majority of the traffic your website experiences, which translates into increased revenue. To get the most out of your SEO and drive traffic to your website, make sure your content is sharable and linkable. Also, you might want to allow guest posting to increase credibility and improve the customer experience. 6. Making Checkout Difficult: If your checkout process is too confusing or requires too much effort from your customer, you are likely to lose them. In addition to making their path to purchase easier, making sure your website runs efficiently is also important. According to KissMetrics, 40 percent of people will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. 7. Not Using Social Media: Social Media platforms allows businesses to target more specific audiences while gaining the trust of their current customers. A new business with a large following on social media appears more credible to newer customers. Social media also provides a way for businesses to engage with their customers and personalize their experience with the brand. 8. Lacking an About Page/Contact Info: Another way to earn trust with your customers is by providing an 'About' page - or at least an easy to find contact information. Sharing a personal story about your small business, your products, or who you are can greatly impact a visitor's likelihood of making a purchase. 9. Low-Profit Margins: Businesses new to the eCommerce world often do business at a loss until they achieve profits at economies of scale. However, they often neglect to remember that expenses like inventory, employees, shipping and advertising chip away at their newly acquired profits. Providing discounts in the beginning, may be a fast way to gain customers, but it only pays off if you're prepared. Advertisement Mint via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - JANUARY 4: Nobel laureate and economist professor Amartya Sen giving an inaugural lecture at the launch of the International Centre For Human Development on January 4, 2013 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images) LONDON -- Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen today criticised the practice in India of branding people who don't "toe a certain line" as anti-national. Addressing a special event at the London School of Economics (LSE) to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit rights activist Babsaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Sen said: "One issue that keeps coming up in India is people being branded as 'anti-national' for not toeing a certain line". Advertisement "I would say caste is anti-national because it divides the nation. We want to be national, not anti-national, for which it is important to eliminate all divisions," the 82-year-old economist and philosopher said. Referring to Ambedkar, a former LSE student, as a "great social revolutionary and an intellectual powerhouse", he added: "It is through education we can truly bring about change in the world. That is the vision which Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us for a united nation." 'Dr Ambedkar's Relevance Today and in the Future' was organised by the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK) in collaboration with the Inequality and Poverty Research Programme, Department of Anthropology at the LSE and the India Observatory at the LSE to coincide with the centenary of Dr B R Ambedkar joining the LSE. The aim of the day-long conference was to bring together academics, economists, business leaders, equality champions, politicians and women leaders to highlight the relevance of Ambedkar's work on the economic and social reforms in India and beyond. Advertisement "London holds a special place in the life of Babsaheb Ambedkar and his home at King Henry's Road will serve as a memorial dedicated to social justice. He was a great intellectual, jurist, human rights champion who struggled against all odds in his goal of nation-building. The best way to honour him is to try and follow his ideals," said Dr Virander Paul, the deputy high commissioner of India to the UK. Ambedkar, referred to as the architect of the Indian Constitution, registered for a Master s degree and took courses in Geography and Political Ideas alongside Social Evolution and Social Theory and went on to complete a PhD thesis at LSE. Film Still On Thursday night, a man from Andhra Pradesh, aged 65, died while watching a night show of the Hollywood horror film The Conjuring 2 in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. The man had gone to catch the film with another friend, who has disappeared with his body, reported The Times Of India. Advertisement The report also said that those two people were both natives of Andhra Pradesh, and were watching The Conjuring 2 in Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas, Tamil Nadu. During the climax of the James Wan-directed movie, one of them complained of chest pain and fainted. The man was immediately rushed to the Old Government Hospital nearby where the doctors declared him brought dead. According to the report, the hospital's paramedical staff then asked the friend to take the body to the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital on the town's outskirts, but the man allegedly disappeared with the body. The police are currently investigating the case and talking to lodge owners to determine the identity of the deceased. According to The Hindu, the man was living in an Ashram in the same town. Advertisement People dying while watching movies is quite a rare phenomenon and surprisingly, the deaths haven't been only because of horror films. In 1989, a Danish audiologist named Ole Bentzen started laughing so hard during a show of A Fish Named Wanda that he hyperventilated and elevated his heart rate to about 200-500 beats per minute. The strain gave him a fatal heart attack as he died in the theatre. Here's a list of some of the other people who died while watching movies. Also See On HuffPost: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR via Getty Images Amit Shah, national president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gestures as he answers questions during a press conference in Kolkata on March 29, 2016. / AFP / Dibyangshu SARKAR (Photo credit should read DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) NEW DELHI -- Now that BJP MP Hukum Singh's tale about hundreds of Hindu families "fleeing" Kairana due to the terror unleashed by the Muslims has been shown up to be a rather tall tale, Bhartiya Janata Party President Amit Shah looks like a man who is happy to make an incendiary claim without cursory checks. For a man who runs India's ruling party, that's something of a disappointment. India fell into the grip of the Kairana fever after Amit Shah took up the matter at BJP's Parivartan rally in Allahabad on Sunday. Advertisement Do you want such an exodus from U.P.? If you do not want that, then remove this SP government from power, he said at the meeting, referring to the Samajwadi Party in the context of the upcoming U.P. election. As president of the BJP, Shah knows that his words carry tremendous weight not just in Uttar Pradesh, but across the nation. The BJP sent a fact finding team after media and state government reports exposed Hukum Singh's claims. There now seems to be broad agreement that there has been an exodus over the years, of both Hindu and Muslim families, and it has happened due to deteriorating law and order and bleak prospects of jobs and industry. But before ascertaining any of this, why did Shah air such an incendiary claim? Not only did Shah give credence to Hukum Singh claims, the BJP President highlighted it as a campaign issue for the U.P. polls. Advertisement It is all the more troubling that he didn't pause to consider the sensitivity of the regions--western Uttar Pradesh is among the most communally sensitive regions in the country, with a history of sectarian violence, large and small. Kairana is located in Shamli district, where deadly religious violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in 2013, the bitterness of which still pervades the area. Shamli is around 150 kilometers from Bisada village, another communally sensitive hotspot, where a Muslim ironsmith was murdered by a mob alleging that he slaughtered a cow, last year. Tensions in Bisada village are once again on the rise after the meat in question was identified as belonging to a cow, and Hindu families are calling for the arrest of Mohammad Akhlaq's family members. Hukum Singh was booked for making hate speeches which caused the religious violence in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in 2013. When this reporter visited Bisada village on Tuesday, Kairana was the talk of the village, even though media reports had already rubbished Singh's claims. "Do you see what is happening in Kairana, the Muslims are driving out Hindus, but this government doesn't give a damn," said a young Hindu man, in his early twenties, spitting on the ground to show his wrath for the Samajwadi Party. Advertisement "Do you see Bisada village, here we have Hindus in majority and Muslims are less. But do you see us driving out Muslims?," he said, surrounded by several of his friends. On the Internet, this misinformation had spread far and wide, with #StopHinduExodus trending on Twitter. Later on Tuesday, Singh retracted his previous claim. "It is not about communal incidents... It is not about Hindus or Muslims," he said. Several newspapers have reported that among the 350 Hindus, there are some who alleged harassment by Muslims gangs, but the vast majority have left for more mundane reasons such as better jobs and better schools for their children. BJP was forced to backtrack after the fact checks by the media and local police exposed glaring gaps in their claims about Kairana. Advertisement The Uttar Pradesh police was already refuting Singh's claim even before Shah made it an election campaign issue, but this the BJP could have attributed to pressure from the ruling Samajwadi Party. But when one news outlet after another reported that Singh's theory was not true, the BJP dialled back on its divisive rhetoric. From hundreds of Hindus fleeing Kairana, now BJP has changed it story to Hindu traders facing harassment by Muslim goons and extortionists in Kairana, who are operating out of jail. The district administration's report now says only three families have left Kairana due to the threat of criminal gangs. Hukum Singh's original claim was 386. Also on HuffPost India: ASSOCIATED PRESS India's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati smiles as she addresses journalists at a press conference in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to soon question the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state and BSP chief in connection with alleged swindling of funds running into millions of US dollars in the implementation of National Rural Health Mission under her watch. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) Theres been wide-spread speculation of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress. The speculation became serious after the BSP gave support to the Congress in Uttarakhand. Even earlier, after the Bihar assembly election results in November last year, there was a lot of talk about a possible Grand Alliance in Uttar Pradesh, just like Bihar. The idea of a Grand Alliance is to keep the BJP out, but even the BJP wouldnt mind a pre-poll alliance with Mayawati. Speculation of pre-poll alliance with the Dalit-led party has included the Jat-led Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Muslim-led AIMIM. Advertisement Politics is the art of the possible. Facing anti-incumbency, a desperate Samajwadi Party also made overtures to Mayawati. The idea of a Grand Alliance is to keep the BJP out, but even the BJP wouldnt mind a pre-poll alliance with Mayawati. Speculation of a pre-poll alliance with Mayawati is always rife before every election in Uttar Pradesh, both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, but such speculation does not understand the BSPs politics or history. The only time the BSP entered into a pre-poll alliance was in 1993, with the Samajwadi Party. The BSP had played a junior partner, contesting 164 of 420 odd seats. Advertisement That alliance was formed in the post-Babri demolition mood where parties wanted to come together to keep out the Kalyan Singh-led BJP. For BSP founder Kanshi Ram, it was an experiment in trying to uniting Dalits, Muslims and OBCs basically everybody other than the Hindu upper castes who form a core vote-bank of the BJP. The experiment didnt last long, and ended bitterly, both because of the ideological differences between the two parties, and the reality of the contestation between Dalits and OBCs for power and privilege in UPs towns and villages. Peoples mindset hasnt changed, she said, hinting that non-Dalit voters of other parties dont easily vote for a Dalit-led party. After giving support to the Congress in Uttarakhand recently, Mayawati made it clear she had no intentions of a pre-poll alliance with anybody. She clarified that while the BSP vote (read Dalits) was transferable, votes of other parties didnt transfer well to the BSP. Peoples mindset hasnt changed, she said, hinting that non-Dalit voters of other parties dont easily vote for a Dalit-led party. Advertisement (Mayawati displays her voter identity card and ink-marked finger after casting vote outside a polling station during the fourth phase of the state assembly elections, in Lucknow February 19, 2012. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar) Despite Mayawatis denials, speculation of pre-poll alliances with the BSP continues because the BSP is seen, for good reason, a power hungry party that will do anything to come to power. Except that the BSP behaves this way only after elections, because elections are sacred. This goes back to the founding of the party by Kanshi Ram, who observed and agonized over the state of Dalit politics. In Pune, he had closely observed the Republican Party of India, which had been founded by BR Ambedkar himself. Ambedkar had passed away soon after forming the party, and the party collapsed bit by bit in factions. Key to its collapse was doing pre-poll alliances with the Congress, as a result of which the RPI was reduced to becoming a tokenistic overture for Congress to win Dalit votes. In Maywatis speeches as much as in the training workshops of BSPs Dalit workers, the betrayal of Ambedkar at the hands of the Congress is a big issue even today. In Maywatis speeches as much as in the training workshops of BSPs Dalit workers, the betrayal of Ambedkar at the hands of the Congress is a big issue even today. Another reason why the BSP doesnt like pre-poll alliances is that it views elections differently from other parties. Kanshi Ram famously said the BSPs strategy was to contest the first election to lose, the second one to cut votes and make someone else lose, and the third to win. In a pre-poll alliance, a party simply does not contest many seats, affecting the morale of its workers in those constituencies, and weakening the party organisation. The BSPs power-hungry image is true, but it is also ideological. The BSP believes that Dalit empowerment can only happen if a Dalit-led party comes to power. Power is the key that opens the lock of empowerment. Ever election in every constituency is thus an opportunity to politically mobilise Dalits towards the BSPs ideology. This is part of why, even in the worst of times, the BSP retains the bulk of the Dalit vote in Uttar Pradesh. (A supporter holds a cutout of the Indian parliament with an image of Mayawati, chief of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), during a rally addressed by Mayawati in Lucknow January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar) This is what Mayawati meant when she said, after supporting the Congress in Uttarakhand, "Contesting the elections and supporting a party to form the government are two different issues. The BSP is not only a political party, it's a movement. And our idea behind this movement is to walk on the lines of B.R. Ambedkar, who struggled to bring equality in all section of the society and political power is very important for ensuring the implementation of such ideology." Advertisement The BSPs use of elections as ideological mobilisation of Dalits is also the reason why it contests as many seats as possible across India, in both Lok Sabha and assembly elections, with little hope of winning more than an odd seat. Mayawati further explained after Uttarakhand, "We don't believe in alliance for the sake of elections, when my party did not ally with any other political outfit in the states where the BSP strength is weak then no question arises that we will ally with any party in our strong region. The BSP will not ally with anybody for the upcoming elections in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, we will fight the polls alone." ALBERTO PIZZOLI via Getty Images Indian actress Richa Chadha smiles as she arrives on May 15, 2016 for the screening of the film 'Mal de Pierres (From the Land of the Moon)' at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. / AFP / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images) Richa Chadha may not boast of 'family connections' in Bollywood, yet she's climbed up the ranks by appearing in 'offbeat' films and has successfully managed to carve a niche for herself. A few weeks ago, the actress delivered a TEDx talk and among the several topics she touched upon was Bollywood's notoriously nepotistic ways. Advertisement Come to think of it, the new generation of actors largely belong to Bollywood families Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, with the most notable exception being Kriti Sanon, who was launched in 2014, and Anushka Sharma, who made her debut 8 years ago. While the industry has now opened up to outsiders, and Chadha's career itself is some evidence of Bollywood becoming more inclusive, the actress' grievances lie in the bias that exists and the difficulties that an outsider has to endure to make it to an audition, let alone getting a film. She said, "It's not a level playing field. While I had to diligently finish my education, then move to Bombay and start the audition process. Whereas someone born into the industry, starts getting groomed in their puberty, trained in their late teens and finally launched in a tailor-made author-backed film, while the rest of us are still finding our bearings and learning the hard way." She further added, "The industry provides an intense inner-circle-support system to their kith and kin. They recognise which angles work best for the camera, have gleaming teeth all while the perfect hairstyle is decided upon by the powers that be, through years of trial and error." Advertisement However, in the same vein, she also said, "The industry today is far more accepting of outsiders than it has ever been. I chose this career knowing this reality. I get to take credit for my achievements I may not be a star-kid, but my civilian parents, IMHO, are still stars." Watch the full talk here. If you want to directly skip to the nepotism bit, go to 15:35. Also see on HuffPost: ASSOCIATED PRESS Indiaas opposition Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, centre, leads other Congress party lawmakers during a protest in the parliament premises, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015. Tuesdayas protest followed after the speaker of India's Parliament on Monday barred 25 opposition legislators from its sessions for the rest of the week for causing JABALPUR -- A 33-year-old man was killed and six others injured in a clash between two groups early Thursday over an objectionable photo of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in a WhatsApp messenger group, police said. Police said that one Umesh Verma, who was injured in the clash, died later at a hospital here. According to Congress corporator Jatin Raj's group, the rival group clashed inside the Vijay Nagar Police station where they had gone to lodge a complaint. Advertisement However police said they had to call their colleagues from other police stations after the two groups turned violent, but the stabbing took place outside. Police said Raj had created a group named 'Vijay Nagar Friends' on WhatsApp for people to stay connected in his locality and a Prashant Nayak allegedly posted a photo on WhatsApp, showing Sonia doing the dishes, with a satirical caption saying [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi has reduced Congress President to such a position. The two groups gathered at Ahimsa Chowk a little after midnight and a heated argument took place between them over Sonia. Someone tipped off the police, who went to the Chowk and asked the two groups to come to the police station to sort out their differences. Advertisement When the two groups reached the police station, an alleged altercation took place between them and Umesh Verma was stabbed, according to Animesh, a member of the Congress corporator group. Udta Punjab/Poster The controversial drug-themed film Udta Punjab will finally be released across 2000 screens in India today, capping weeks of tense courtroom drama over cuts suggested by the censor board, even as the head of the Central Board of Film Certification in India, Pahlaj Nihalani, dismissed as "baseless" allegation that the CBFC was involved in the leak of a copy of the film online. Investigators said they have obtained "some leads" in the leakage of the film in the centre of a debate on creative freedom of filmmakers. A senior police officer told PTI that the producer lodged a complaint with the cyber crime cell in this matter. Advertisement "This is baseless, we abide by rules," the Indian Express quoted Nihalani as saying on Thursday. "A team of our cyber cell experts is working on the case. Very soon we will find out the people responsible for illegally releasing the video online. Legal action will be initiated against whosoever is found guilty," Mumbai Police spokesperson Ashoke Dudhe told PTI. (Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor gestures as he poses during a news conference for his upcoming film 'Udta Punjab' in Mumbai on June 14, 2016. PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images) Dudhe said a case under relevant sections of the Companies Act and IT Act has been registered. "We are investigating the case as per the legal provisions. We have got some leads, but there is no suspect (identified) yet," he said. Advertisement Meanwhile, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has written an appeal on Facebook, asking audiences not to download the leaked copy of the film on torrent before Friday. "This time its a different fight, its a fight against censorship and if you are that audience that always downloads a film, then I won't ask you to not do that, please do, but wait till Saturday which is the day you would normally download a film. Piracy happens because of lack of access and in a world of free internet, I do not have a problem with it," Kashyap wrote. The film stars among others, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, and Kareena Kapoor. The Bombay High Court on June 13 cleared the decks for the release of the film with only one cut, a scene in which Kapoor is urinating, while the Punjab government said they had no objection to the movie's release. The court also directed the filmmaker to make additions to the disclaimer to the effect that the movie, its characters and the filmmakers do not promote the use of drugs and abusive language, and the film is only attempting to depict the reality of drug abuse. The Supreme Court also refused to entertain an NGO's plea seeking a stay on the release of film, and asked it to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is seized of the matter. Advertisement On Thursday, the NGO moved the Supreme Court to stall the screening of the film, while another plea by it had prompted the Delhi High Court to direct the producer to modify the promos by adhering to the Bombay High Court order. The plea filed before the apex court bench sought a direction to restrain the screening of the movie on the ground that it depicted Punjab in a bad light. Buhler JV and freshman football will not be defeated The Buhler JV squad capped its unbeaten season with a 34-22 victory at McPherson Monday night with help from members of the freshman team. DMCA Shields Vimeo From Record Label Lawsuits, Rules Appeals Court The US Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit has overturned parts of a District Court's ruling which were in favor of the record companies in the important DMCA case Capitol Records vs. Vimeo. _________________________________________ In a major victory for Internet service providers, the Second Circuit on Thursday rejected claims by a dozen record labels that Vimeo ignored red flags of infringement when employees encountered recognizable recordings on their website. The New York-based federal appeals court also affirmed that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, grants providers safe harbor from infringement claims, regardless of whether the recordings were published before or after 1972. Vimeo faced a threat to its online video-sharing website when major labels led by Universal Music Group's subsidiary Capitol Records sued it in Manhattan Federal Court for copyright infringement. Other labels joining the lawsuit included Caroline Records, Virgin Records, Stone Diamond Music Corporation and several EMI subsidiaries. The DMCA, passed under President Bill Clinton's administration, has typically shielded Internet providers and other intermediaries from such claims through so-called "safe harbor" provisions. A New York state appeals court chipped away at these protections three years ago in Universal's lawsuit against the music-sharing service Grooveshark, in an opinion finding that the DMCA's protections did not extend to unlicensed music recorded before 1972. In the wake of that ruling, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams granted partial summary judgment to Capitol Records in 2014. Her opinion found that DMCA's safe-harbor provision did not apply to pre-1972 recordings, as these were protected by state rather than federal law. For recordings made after that year, Abrams found, Vimeo avoided infringement claims for content that their employees did not view, but they remained potentially liable for claims that they showed willful blindness toward other potential copyright violations. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights group, warned at the time that the ruling would jeopardize online speech and innovation at online hosting sites. "The safe harbors are critical to the Internet's success as a forum for innovative art, discussion, and expression of all kinds, forestalling crippling litigation that would force most websites to close their doors," the group's intellectual property director, Corynne McSherry, wrote in 2014. "Yet the district court created new liability, contrary to the law and the intent of Congress." The foundation joined forces with the Organization for Transformative Works, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Public Knowledge, and New Media Rights in urging the ruling's reversal. On Thursday, the Second Circuit unanimously overturned Abram's decision in a 55-page opinion. Lead author Judge Pierre Leval, who also wrote the influential copyright treatise "Toward a Fair Use Standard," found that excluding state copyright infringement would misread the DMCA and misconstrue Congress's intent in passing it."The purpose of the compromise was to make economically feasible the provision of valuable Internet services while expanding protections of the interests of copyright owners through the new notice-and-takedown provision," he wrote. "To construe 512(c) as leaving service providers subject to liability under state copyright laws for postings by users of infringements of which the service providers were unaware would defeat the very purpose Congress sought to achieve in passing the statute." The court noted that potential liabilities for music recorded before 1972 are hardly insignificant."Some of the most popular recorded music of all time was recorded before 1972, including work of The Beatles, The Supremes, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, and Marvin Gaye," the opinion states. Judges Peter Hall and Gerard Lynch joined the ruling. The labels claimed that Vimeo should also be held liable for videos uploaded onto its site that a "reasonable" employee should have known had red flags of copyright infringement. Rejecting this argument, Leval wrote: "The mere fact that an employee of the service provider has viewed a video posted by a user (absent specific information regarding how much of the video the employee saw or the reason for which it was viewed), and that the video contains all or nearly all of a copyrighted song that is 'recognizable,' would be insufficient for many reasons to make infringement obvious to an ordinary reasonable person, who is not an expert in music or the law of copyright." Since Vimeo monitors only video content for signs of infringement, the labels argued that the site showed willful blindness toward audio infringement. Leval said that this would punish the company for good behavior. "We see no reason why Vimeo's voluntary undertaking to monitor videos for infringement of visual material should deprive it of the statutory privilege not to monitor for infringement of music," the judge wrote. Vimeo's spokesman Kevin Turner called the ruling "a significant win for not just Vimeo, but all online platforms that empower creators to share content with the world." "The court rightly preserved the balance struck by the DMCA in protecting rights holders and service providers, and we are very pleased with the decision," he said in a statement. Universal Music Group did not immediately reply to an email request for comment Thursday. via Courthouse News Service Share on: Learning The New Rules Of Indie Music Management One of the best ways to get new strategies for your music career is to look at what others are doing. So Dave and Lindsay of the New Artist Model put together a series of case studies from musicians pushing the envelope. The 6th installment is pop punk band The Magnifiers and their manager Margaret Dombowski. ____________________________________ By Dave Kusek and Lindsay McGrath of the New Artist Model: Turn your passion for music into a rewarding career. Music is a family affair for manager Margaret Dombowski. The band she represents pop punk phenom The Magnifiers is made up of four of her five children. Elliott,16, and Eden, 15, play guitar and sing, Eliza, 12 plays the bass and Everett, 10, handles drums. Together these siblings write and perform edgy alternative music that is winning fans at concerts and online. The Magnifiers EP Report Card sells on their website http://themagnifiers.com for $5 and is filled with original songs like Zombie Raid on America. In addition, the group offers individual songs on iTunes and Bandcamp. The band performs regularly at festivals and clubs in Chicago and beyond. In June 2015, they won the Illinois Teen Battle of the Bands. In May, The Magnifiers appeared for the second consecutive year at the Hong Kong Pizza Party Music Festival in Piano, Illinois. Then in June they will grace the stage at Reggies Rock Club in Chicago. Margaret made the decision to manage The Magnifiers right away even though she had no prior experience as a manager, booking agent or publicist. Initially I didnt have a clue what I was doing. Google Drive was my best friend, she says, adding that identifying herself as a manager and not a mother helps her succeed. Ive gone out of the way to be really professional. If I tell them I am the Mom there is a stigma that Im the Mom-ager. New Artist Model is great, Margaret says. I came across it when I was looking for a degree program in all of this. This is exactly what I was looking for. Ive learned so much. Margaret says she decided to have the band do a cover of a Weezer song for its YouTube channel after watching the DJ video on New Artist Model. She also found important information about how to protect The Magnifiers name with a trademark. Recently, Elliott has jumped on board, reviewing New Artist Model lessons and videos as well. While The Magnifiers is a band made up of young people, it is not a group in search of a childrens audience, Margaret says. They want to play for everyone everywhere. That is one of the hardest things to communicate to promoters, producers and others. The Disney Channel isnt us, Margaret says. This is the biggest challenge in managing a kids band, she says. Sometimes they are not old enough to play a certain club. That makes it harder for them to develop a fanbase. A major label could give them a bump up but I dont want them to lose creative control. Margaret uses Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reverb Nation and Bandcamp among other social media tools to spread the word about The Magnifiers. She has even used Periscope to share performances with people out of state. Recently, Elliott took over much of the social media work, communicating with other bands online and responding to posts on all of the groups channels. Instagram and Reverb Nation are two of the most effective tools she has used to promote the band, Margaret says. Not long after the band was born, Margaret used Instagram to connect with the originators of The Aquabats, her kids favorite band. Margaret struck up a friendship with show co-creators, Christian Jacobs and Jason Devilliers, and The Magnifiers were invited to Salt Lake City to appear as extras on The Aquabats Super Show television program. Margaret says there have been discussions about the possibility of the band opening for the Aquabats during a future tour. Their audience is our audience. In our mind, we should tour with them. Margaret also used Instagram to establish a relationship with Threadless, a t-shirt company in Chicago. As a result of this connection, The Magnifiers were invited to play at their warehouse and then at the companys holiday party. That is where I was introduced to Brian Keller (aka Brian Killer) who recorded our video for Zombie Raid on the USA, Margaret says. Reverb Nation is great for messages out of the blue, Margaret says, adding Last year, a big time producer contacted us and now we are talking about working together. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Who you know makes a huge different in this business, so Id tell any parents helping their kids pursue their dreams, make connections, lots of connections, Margaret says. Do lots of online research. Attend lots of local seminars and build relationships with people in the industry. Read the Magnifiers full story on New Artist Model. Check out the Magnifiers here http://themagnifiers.com New Artist Model is an online music business school developed by Dave Kusek, founder of Berklee Online. The online school is a platform for learning practical strategies and techniques for making a living in music. Learn how to carve a unique path for your own career with strategies that are working for indie artists around the world. Learn to think like an entrepreneur, create your own plan and live the life in music you want to live. New Artist Model provides practical college-level music business training at a mere fraction of the cost of a college degree. Programs start at just $29/mo. For more info on the New Artist Model visit http://newartistmodel.com Share on: Networked Insurance Agents announced this month that it has awarded the first of what company officials say will be an annual scholarship honoring the late Wendy Foucht, a Networked employee who died last year of cancer.The $2000 award went to a graduating senior at Grass Valley, CAs Nevada Union High School. More than 40 students applied for the scholarship, which is awarded based on academics. The annual scholarship will always be awarded to a student from Nevada Union. This years winner will attend Scripps College to study Genetics/Pre-Med/Human Biology.We are pleased to be able to honor Wendys memory through giving back to the community where she lived, said George Biancardi, president and CEO. The best part is that each and every Spring, the scholarship will provide us with a gentle reminder of the beautiful person who passed through our lives.Wendy worked as a Customer Service Representative on Networked Insurances Service Team. For the inaugural presentation, her fiance presented the check at the award ceremony.Networked also sponsors the Alford Lee Johnson Scholarship Award on behalf of the companys founder. It is also for $2000 and is always awarded to graduating senior from Nevada Union, which Johnson and many members of his family attended. The first Johnson scholarship was awarded in 2008. The years winner, the 7, will be a biology major at the University of California, Santa Cruz.Headquartered in California, Networked has more than 1000 members in 10 states and is appointed by more than 50 national and regional insurance carriers. EMTs carry victim Eleonora Giavazzi in Thursday's mass-casualty incident drill. More than 60 people participated at the site. Amalio Jusino, one of three exercise controllers, fills in the participants and evaluators on what will happen. Firefighters remove the bus driver pinned under the bus. Elizabeth Bona has her head wound treated. Truck driver Bruce Richards is decontaminated of diesel fuel. PreviousNext North Berkshire Mass Casualty Drill Tests Emergency Plans The tested the communication and coordination of multiple agencies in North County and beyond. See more photos here. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The call came in shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday: collision of a bus full of Drury High School students and a city truck, multiple casualties. Most accidents happen in seconds and emergency responders are on the scene in minutes. But this particular accident took nearly two years to come to fruition. More than 60 people, 40 of the first-responders, were on the scene for the mass casualty incident drill being hosted by the Northern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee at the former North Adams Plaza on Curran Highway. "There's going to be a lot of activity, emergency responders will be coming in hot with lights and sirens," cautioned Amalio Jusino, assistant chief of the North Adams Ambulance Service and coordinator of the drill, early Thursday morning. Behind him, an obsolete bus donated by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority was flipped on its side and pushed into the back of a big Department of Public Works dump truck. Gray blow-up medical dolls were scattered around the site and the bus driver, a more complex mannequin, lay crushed under the bus. Real-life "victims" were painted up to indicate bleeding and bruising and instructed on their positions. A cadre of observers, evaluators, safety officers and controllers took up positions to document the exercise. This drill had moved from table-top exercise, to limited training with many of the same participants to full-scale activation. While the first-responders had participated in past drills focusing on hazardous materials, accidents and live shooter, this one was integrating yet another element: reunification. Incidents particulary involving children add a further layer of contacting parents and getting families back together. "We know how to respond to a motor vehicle accident, we know how to decon, we know how to transport people to the hospital, where we're failing, though, if it's a bus and we have 20 students that aren't injured, how do we get that reunification to occur?" said Jusino. "Parents showing up, vehicles showing up, how do we manage that scene? So really today's objective is to practice that reunification." Much of that was done offsite with Drury High School as the gathering point for "students" who could be released from the scene. A representative from the public schools was also on hand for coordination. It was important, said Jusino, to get people accustomed to procedures in the case of such incidents. Each agency has its own decision-making process that is integrated into the emergency planning process. Drury has a good reunification plan so in this case, the school was notified, a bus supplied and uninjured students taken directly the school. The committee is also working to develop swift communications to the general public, primarily through its Facebook page. "Our plan is to get a notification out on our site in the first 15 minutes of any event," he said, but he and Police Sgt. James Burdick noted that it was difficult to control information once it gets out on social media or "scannerland." But reunification was only one part of the complex drill, which began with the first responder, a police officer, notifying dispatch. From there, North Adams and Adams firefighting units and North Adams, Adams and Village ambulances began to arrive on scene; Berkshire Medical Center was notified, activating MCI protocols at the main and North Adams campuses and bringing County and Action ambulances and Pittsfield Police into the pool. BMC makes determinations of where patients are taken based on communications with other hospitals and triage at the scene, with patients coded Green, Yellow, Red, with red being the most critical. "We can't send 25 red critical patients to Berkshire Medical Center ... why would we tax that system?" Jusino said. Victims are color coded according to injuries. There's a lot going on beyond the scene. Burdick described the drill as a snowball rolling down a hill, getting bigger as more agencies become involved. For the police, it's a two-car accident that has to be contained in terms of evidence; that means other law enforcement agencies such as the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. Rerouting traffic may involve calling in other police units from neighboring towns. At least eight agencies were involved on the police side. Overall, Jusino said he was pleased with how the operation had unfolded although there were some problems. Those will be brought up in hotwash briefing and detailed in the action plans for correction. "We have issues today, I know it. I already see it. We have new employees. Look at North Adams Ambulance alone, we had maybe 30 employees when the hospital closed and now we have 59 employees," he said. "We have a whole bunch of new faces that have never drilled with us before. We have communication issues, we have complexities in terms of transport decisions, we have who's in charge?" The Rev. David Anderson, pastor of First Baptist Church and Fire Department chaplain, was also on hand to calm "victims" and offer support for first-responders. Burdick and Jusino said it was important for personnel overwhelmed by a crisis to step back and get some support. "We deal with acute stress and we want them to tell us," said Jusino. If this had been a real incident, the critical response team would have been called in to provide emotional support. "I've been here a long time. I've been to a number of mass casualty incidents in real life," said Burdick. "Some of our officers here today, this is their first training for a hazardous incident. They were very nervous ... you have to boil it down to this, 'as bad as this is, it's a two-car accident.' ... This is how you give them the taste so they know how to handle it when it's the real deal." Blair Mahar's timber framing class at Hoosac Valley High School designs and builds a structure each year. Joe Nowak offers assistance during construction at Bowe Field. PreviousNext Hoosac Valley Students Raise Structure For Aggie Fair The timber-frame class poses for the traditional topping off ceremony. ADAMS, Mass. This year's Adams Agricultural Fair will have a more suitable structure for welcoming fairgoers to Bowe Field thanks to Blair Mahar's timber framing class. Mahar said the introductory class at Hoosac Valley High School just finished its third year and the students designed and built the post-and-beam structure. He said students can learn a lot through building the simple structure. "It offers elements of math, science, history, engineering, and tech-ed," Mahar said. "It encourages our students to work collaboratively in small groups using information and technology to create an original product." Timber framing is a sustainable form of construction. Each frame is composed of large wooden beams held together with wooden pegs. Mahar said along with the tech skills, students have to work together. "Students are required to communicate verbally and to work independently as they assume different leadership roles throughout the project," he said. 'Maggie's Plan': Has a Comic Twist Because it is very New York, sophisticated, intelligent, witty, provocative and well written, I think Woody Allen would like director Rebecca Miller's "Maggie's Plan," just in case he's reading. It is of course about love among the scholarly and introspective, the whys and wherefores therein, with a smart meditation on that emotion as life's essentially indefinable motivator. Though Miller, who wrote the screenplay with Karen Rinaldi, doesn't add to anything Shakespeare has already apprised us of, she gives it a good, seriocomic rummage. Meet Maggie, the sweet, unassuming administrator at The New School in quiet, innocent and hopeful search of her destiny. Skillfully portrayed by Greta Gerwig, she's a real lambie pie and easy to quickly embrace as our heroine. Thus, when she meets Ethan Hawke's John Harding, the wolfish bad boy of esoteric contemplations whose anthropological specialty will chidingly elude us for the length of the movie, hope springs eternal. It's gabbed throughout the halls of academia that he's in a horrific marriage with a notably evil genius. Perhaps Maggie can rescue him. Along its pensively studious way, the story wends its way through the intricacies, foibles and uncertainties of higher thought, and asks which alleys of ambition those so gifted should explore. Specifically, John, who's made a bit of a name for himself in scholarly non-fiction, longs to complete a novel he's begun. After all, that's where the real fame resides, not to mention the big money. So we figure Cupid has a hand in it when Maggie offers to read the recently completed first chapter. She loves it, and he loves the adulation. He's spurred to continue. By this time we've visited the cold, antiseptic home John inhabits with his two brainy kids and Georgette, a celebrated prof at Columbia played by Julianne Moore. While Moore's Danish accent isn't as zealous as Meryl Streep's in "Out of Africa" (1985), you can call the egocentric's inflections humorously correct. She is ruthlessly critical, but probably accurate. Hurtfully implied in her every diatribe is the fact that she is the breadwinner. It's as if she's fashioned this picture only to please Dostoevsky's theory that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. We don't like her. Hence, while opposed to swaying from our stance on the sanctity of the family unit, but also acknowledging that all is fair in love and war, we can't help but offer our dispensation. On with the affair! The extramarital bond grows with every new chapter of John's presumptive novel that Maggie inevitably adores. But while unsurprised at the upshot, we will ultimately be treated to a turn of events that entertainingly steers the saga clear of the predictable. Southwestern Vermont Health Care's Chief Nursing Officer Honored Carol Conroy BENNINGTON, Vt. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's Chief Nursing Officer Carol Conroy accepted the 2016 Nursing Excellence in Administration Award from the University of Vermont's Kappa Tau Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. "This is a tremendous honor for me," Conroy said. "Sigma Theta Tau's work to encourage scholarship in the nursing profession is closely aligned with Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's approach to nursing excellence and one of the primary reasons for SVMC's having been named a Magnet Center for Nursing Excellence for four consecutive times." Nominees for the award possess clinical expertise and scholarship in an area of nursing leadership, advance the scope of nursing practice, develop creative nursing approaches that contribute to quality care, participate in the development of clinical nursing leaders, interact collegially with both nursing and non-nursing practitioners, and participate in community affairs. The mission of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International is to support the learning, knowledge, and professional development of nurses committed to make a difference in health worldwide. Membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing. We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector Edward Price Non-Resident Senior Fellow NYU Center for Global Affairs Contact email linkedin Edward Price, a former British economic official, teaches international political economy, financial systems and international relations at NYUas Center for Global Affairs. He is also an economic advisor for BritishAmerican Business (BAB). Educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), Edward holds an MSc in Finance and Economic Policy and an MA in German History. He has worked in both the British and European parliaments, was Americas editor at IFLR and has worked in the City of London. He speaks German, gets by in Italian and is a member of the Economic Club of New York (ECNY). The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Press Release: IMF and Partners Launch New Phases of the Managing Natural Resource Wealth and Revenue Mobilization Trust Funds Press Release No. 16/288 June 16, 2016 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its development partners launched new phases of the Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW-TF) and the Revenue Mobilization (RM-TF) trust funds during the annual steering committee meetings held in Washington from June 1415, 2016. Subject to contributions from development partners, the MNRW-TF and RM-TF are expected to provide about US$30 million and US$60 million, respectively, over six years for technical assistance and training to help low- and lower middle-income countries strengthen tax capacity and mobilize natural resource wealth. Partners expressed strong support for the new phase of RM-TF, which responds to the international call to raise domestic revenue mobilization. Most donors to the successful predecessor program Tax Policy and Administration expressed their eagerness to continue and most will increase their support to the new program. Japan was the first to confirm an initial contribution of US$5 million, while the European Commission (EC) expressed its readiness to substantially increase its support to the trust fund in line with its commitments made during the 2016 Spring Meetings. Discussions with new development partners on joining the RM-TF are also promising. The chair of the RM-TF steering committee, Mr. Hubert Perr of the EC, emphasized that the fund will be a key tool for the IMF and participating partners in supporting the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, he stated that the fund fits well with the Commissions own Collect More, Spend Better agenda. The chair of the MNRW-TF steering committee, Mr. Trond Kvarsvik from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, explained that the funds second phase will significantly boost resources available to resource-rich low- and lower middle-income countries at a time when these countries face challenges in achieving their development goals in the face of the global commodity price slump. During the steering committee meeting, partners confirmed sustained support to the funds second phase. At the steering committee meeting for the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) on June 16, 2016, members discussed the successes and ongoing development of the tools implementation, and agreed on next years strategic work and operational program. Background Information The MNRW-TF was launched in 2011 to help countries mobilize and manage their natural resource wealth effectively and sustainably, and to date has supported 34 projects in 19 countries. Current partners are Australia, the European Commission, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, and Switzerland. The RM-TF was launched in April 2011 as the Tax Policy and Administration Trust Fund (TPA-TF). Its main objective is to help low-income and lower middle-income countries establish well-designed and administered tax systems that generate sustainable revenue to pay for essential public services. In partnership with Belgium, the EC, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland, the fund has met increasing demand from beneficiary countries and currently supports 20 programs, the majority in Sub-Saharan Africa. TADAT is an internationally-supported tool that provides an objective and standardized performance assessment of a countrys tax administration system. It is a collaborative effort of the EC, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the World Bank and the IMF. The G20 Development Working Group on domestic resource mobilization supports the continued development of the TADAT and, as part of its monitoring framework, reports on progress with the tool. Global thematic funds support the IMFs capacity development activities (technical assistance and training) in specialized thematic areas that complement the work of the IMFs regional technical assistance and training centers. Follow IMF Capacity Development on Social Media: Twitter: @IMFCapDev Facebook: IMFCapacityDevelopment www.imf.org/capacitydevelopment IMF Survey : IMF Lauds Strong Partnership with Austria on Capacity Development Joint Vienna Institute is a leading regional center for building policymaking capacity More than 20,000 public sector officials have taken its courses since 1992 Basic goal is to help improve economic policies, institutions, and outcomes Developing economic policymaking capacity in its member countries is one of the IMFs most critical jobsand a key means of preventing crises, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in Vienna, Austria. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Speaking to course participants at the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI), the oldest of the IMFs regional training centers established with partners, Lagarde said that the IMFs efforts to build macroeconomic policymaking capacity in its members is less well known than other aspects of its work, such as lending and surveillance. Spanning a period of years, capacity development rarely makes headlines. But cultivating a countrys capacity through training and technical assistance is crucial to bring about more favorable economic outcomes. Building the human capital to develop and implement sound policies for sustainable growth is one of the IMFs most important functions, Lagarde told about 60 participants in two ongoing JVI courses during her visit. If we get it right, lending in crisis situations may be less often needed. Joint effort The JVIfunded jointly by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), and the IMFwas created 24 years ago to assist countries in the region, including the former Soviet Union, with their transition from planned to market economies. It offers an extensive array of courses of a hands-on, applied nature on macroeconomic policy formulation and management and related topics. During her visit, Lagarde thanked the Austrian authorities and the JVIs international partners for their generous financial and intellectual support as well as the JVIs staff for their dedication and commitment. Our cooperation has been immensely successful, she said. This success is borne out in the numbers. The JVI delivers about 70-80 courses each year, and since its founding, more than 20,000 public sector officials have participated, many of them visiting the JVI several times, resulting in an overall training volume of close to 40,000 course participants. They are mostly from central banks and ministries of finance from 30 target countries in the JVI region. The JVI has fostered the development of strong networks across the region, with many alumni in senior government positions and close to twenty currently serving as Governor or Minister. Innovation is key Innovation in training is key, Lagarde emphasized. As the global economy evolves, so too do country officials training needs. With the issues facing economies becoming ever more complex, policymakers need to keep pace. As a result, the JVI updates and seeks feedback on its curriculum on a regular basis. And the IMF Institute for Capacity Developmentwhich together with other IMF departments offers some 60 percent of the training at the JVIis currently revamping its curriculum, focusing on streamlining and updating its portfolio. The modalities of training are likewise evolving, Lagarde said. Courses have become more interactive, focusing more on workshops and applications. Online courses have also become an integral part of capacity development for both the JVI and the IMF, allowing the reach of training to extend far beyond what was possible with exclusively classroom delivery. In recent years, the IMF has introduced massive open online coursesor MOOCsto complement its traditional training. While the content and delivery of training may be changing, Lagarde said, Our core objective remains unchanged: to bring our knowledge and practical experience to the classroomphysical or virtualso we can help improve policies and macroeconomic outcomes in our member countries. JVIs international partners The JVI was uniquely placed to respond to increased demand for training in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, thanks to the expertise of its primary membersthe IMF and Austriaand its 5 contributing membersthe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. The European Commission is an observer. In addition to the IMF, the Austrian authorities, and its other members, the JVI also works with several central banks (such as the Bank of England, Banque de France, and Deutsche Bundesbank) to deliver courses. Drawing on the expertise of its partners, a few specialized courses are offered jointly by three or more partners; a course on structural reforms is offered jointly by all primary and contributing members. In addition to support from its sponsoring organizations, the JVI has received financial support from some bilateral donors, namely the National Bank of Belgium, the Czech National Bank, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, and the Central Bank of Malta. California delegation set to learn about conservation strategies in a semi-arid land Sacramento, California - Israel is regarded as perhaps the most climate-smart agricultural region in the world. It has to be, with annual rainfall of about 17 inches (source: World Bank). By comparison, portions of the Sierra Nevada, the source of much of Californias water, can receive more than four times that amount. However, the drought and the prospect of climate change has us challenging our long-held assumptions. Thats why I am pleased to be leading a delegation to Israel (June 17-25) to learn more about the countrys climate smart strategies, especially irrigation technologies and extensive use of recycled water. Our travels will include a tour of a water management facility in Jerusalem, a visit to a nursery just north of Gaza, and a trip to Netafim, an Israeli Ag technology company in the Negev Desert that also does business in California. The delegation furthers a relationship between California in Israel that was cemented in 2014, when Governor Brown and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a memorandum of understanding to develop joint projects and conduct mutually beneficial research. Israel innovates with technology, efficient irrigation, recycled water, and plant breeding for drought conditions and salinity. And it all works the country is able to produce the most of the food it requires to feed its citizens, yet its per-capita water use is only one-third of Californias. Eighty-five percent of the countrys wastewater is recycled for agricultural use, compared to just 9.5 percent in California. Well be providing updates during our trip. I hope youll follow along. I see this as just the beginning of a more extensive and fruitful Climate Smart Ag relationship between Israel and California. The California Climate Smart Delegation to Israel -Jason Sharett, California Strawberry Commission -Robert Bob Curtis, Almond Board of California -Don Cameron, Terranova Ranch, Helm, CA; member, California State Board of Food and Agriculture -Craig McNamara, Sierra Orchards, Winters, CA; president, California State Board of Food and Agriculture -Sean McNamara, Sierra Orchards, Winters, CA -Hank Giclas, Sr. , Western Growers Association -Timothy A. Jacobsen, Center for Irrigation Technology, CSU Fresno -Khaled M. Bali, Ph.D, Irrigation/Water Management Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension -Steven Moore, Board Member, State Water Resources Control Board -Kamyar Guivetchi, P.E, Manager, Statewide Water Planning, California Department of Water Resources -Brooks D. Ohlson, Director, Sacramento Center for International Trade Development -Alvar Escriva Bou, Public Policy Institute of California -Dillon L. Hosier, National Director, Israeli-American Council -Carlos Suarez, State Conservationist for California, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service -Abby Browning, Governors Office of Emergency Services Karen Ross, Secretary, CDFA -Amrith Gunasekara, Ph.D, Science Advisor to Secretary Ross, CDFA -Josh Eddy, Executive Director of California State Board of Food and Agriculture The California Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy Mission is funded in part by the California Department of Food and Agricultures Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Naval War College Examines 'Strategy in Complex and Uncertain Times' Newport, Rhode Island - Students, staff, faculty and distinguished guests participated in the 67th Current Strategy Forum (CSF), June 14-15, at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island. The two-day event, focused on "Strategy in Complex and Uncertain Times," served as the academic capstone event for students graduating June 17. It brought together NWC students with national security speakers from the military, academia, government and private industry to explore a wide range of national and international issues. This year's event provided students with "an opportunity to connect their 10 months of schooling to something larger," said Michael Sherlock, CSF director and NWC professor of academic affairs. According to Sherlock, NWC students were introduced to some of the key aspects of the Chief of Naval Operations' "A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority" by participating in three panel discussions -- "Lessons of the Masters," "Successes and Failures," and "The Strategic Environment and Challenges for the Indo-Pacific Region." "CSF gives students an opportunity to step back and see the bigger picture, not only from some of the instructors that we had, but also from outside academics and professionals who deal with strategy everyday," said Air Force Maj. Andrew Cook, a NWC student and CSF participant. The Honorable Janine Davidson, Under Secretary of the Navy, attended the event and provided a keynote address that stressed future strategy and deterrence. "We need a strategy that works," said Davidson. "As I think of the type of Navy and Marine Corps we need for the future, I think about what we want that future to look like. At a minimum, I think about what we are trying to preserve -- our security, values and very way of life." Additional keynote speakers included Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr., Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, Council on Foreign Relations; Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant, U.S. Marine Corps; and Elizabeth C. Economy, Council on Foreign Relations. "Since CSF was established it has provided the opportunity for our nation's public servants, leaders of industry, leaders within the military and world of academia to join our nation's Naval War College student body and capture an event that focuses on strategies for America and its allies," said Rear Adm. P. Gardner Howe III, NWC president. Blue Angels Begin Training for Return to Season Schedule Pensacola, Florida - U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, announced it will begin training flights in preparation to resume the team's Pensacola practice and air show season schedules, today. The team will fly its first training flight in a "Big V" formation, with five aircraft over downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, Florida, June 16. The training flight will be visible to the general public and take place at approximately 9:30 a.m. The formation will fly over Perdido Key toward Pensacola Beach, then over Palafox Street in downtown Pensacola, from South to North, then North to South before returning to Forrest Sherman Field at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach. Naval Aviation Forces Now Striking ISIL from Two Theaters as USS Boxer Harriers Join the Fight Arabian Gulf - U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers flying from USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Arabian Gulf joined strike aircraft operating from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the Mediterranean Sea today. This marks the first naval aviation combat strike missions of Operation Inherent Resolve launched from Navy warships in two different operational theaters. The Harriers are assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 166, the aviation combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked in the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. "These missions from the flight decks of USS Boxer, like those from the USS Harry S. Truman, demonstrate the inherent flexibility of naval forces," said Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. "Today, U.S. naval forces are striking ISIL simultaneously from both the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf. Of course the engine of this effort is our nation's Sailors and Marines serving with the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit; they, together with our joint and coalition partners, are dismantling and rolling back terrorist networks in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere." "We look forward to providing our many capabilities to support Operation Inherent Resolve," said Capt. Keith Moore, commodore for the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. "Our Navy [and] Marine Corps team here on Boxer, along with the outstanding Sailors aboard Harry S. Truman in the Med, are ready to support all OIR missions. Together, we will do our part to disrupt and destroy ISIL." "Naval forces' support to Operation Inherent Resolve from the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf demonstrates the range of capacity of the modern Navy and Marine Corps," said Marine Col. Anthony Henderson, commanding officer of the 13th MEU. "The conduct of air strikes supporting Iraqi Security Force operations against ISIL reflects the multiple capabilities the global ARG/MEU team brings to the theater." Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group began combat sorties from the eastern Mediterranean Sea June 3, in support of OIR over Syria and Iraq. The CSG transited the Suez Canal June 2, after conducting operations in the 5th Fleet area of operations since Dec. 14, 2015. The strike group's deployment was extended to support dismantling and rolling back the ISIL terrorist network from the 6th Fleet area of operations before it will return home to Norfolk. The Boxer ARG arrived in U.S. 5th Fleet April 5. Consisting of more than 4,500 Sailors and Marines, the Boxer ARG/13th MEU is composed of its command ship, amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49). In addition to naval aviation missions against ISIL in support of OIR, the Marines and Sailors of Boxer ARG team are supporting theater security cooperation efforts and conducting maritime security operations throughout 5th Fleet. The U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of the Middle East's maritime reaches and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. This Isnt Our Last Love Letter Dear Don Don, Way back in 92 I walked into the room and knew Never felt this way before I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes And the feeling grew As I took a seat I knew A love that would have my heart Forever I knew Way back in 92 They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true We were the exception to that rule Our love had no where to hide A spark set fire As if this is how the universe started I never doubted our love or what we could do Together we grew Forming a bond everlasting That became our glue My euphoria was YOU Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared For how fortunate we were : to have and to hold through sickness and in health Til death do us part Until we are together again This isnt our last love letter I love you with all my heart and soul Yours forever, Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow) Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus. A True American Hero I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus. I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years. I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years. But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us. In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about. Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle. I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life. I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life. No one will ever do what he did. I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO David Jurist IMUS IN THE MORNING FIRST DAY BACK! Watch: Snake Attacks Owner As She Tries To Release It From Cage Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} At the age of 19, Tye Sheridan has worked with more reputable filmmakers than several actors do in their entire career. Terence Malick (The Tree of Life), Jeff Nichols (Mud), David Gordon Green (Joe) all saw potential in Sheridan's abilities as young actor in Hollywood, a stroke of good fortune that has since earned him the role of Scott "Cyclops" Summers in recent blockbuster X-Men: Apocalypse and the lead in upcoming Steven Spielberg adaptation Ready Player One. Before that, the Texan was part of the ensemble in The Stanford Prison Experiment, a big-screen reenactment of the study that saw students assume the role of a prisoner or prison guard under the inspection of psychology professor Philip Zimbardo in 1971. We spoke with Sheridan about the 'authentic' on-set atmosphere of such a film, his new opportunity to work with Spielberg and joining the X-Men franchise. Was there a strange atmosphere on set considering you were all playing characters who themselves were playing roles? I think the atmosphere was quite authentic actually. The environment that we created was - we actually went to Stanford and took measurements of the actual halfway and the classrooms where it took place and they built this stage in front of the studio. It was very claustrophobic. I think we had 12 cast members on set at all times. It was very real. Did you escape into the role more than you believed you could? Yeah, I think so. IWhen watching the film, [you see] these guys arent taking it seriously, it's kind of a joke, then one thing leads to another. It quickly escalates and hte movie's just relentless; it never really gives you a moment to come up for air. So it was quite similar when were shooting it. There were moments we'd joke around but it was easy for me to go to that [darker] place because it was environmentally very true to what was on the page. Youre 19-years-old and have already worked with so many incredible actors and directors. Have you always had a love of film and envisioned yourself one day working with these people? Not always. I didn't really grow up watching a lot of films. I grew up in the middle of Texas in a very rural area so we were always outside fishing or playing a sport - we were never in front of a TV watching films. There are still a lot of classics I haven't seen. I think my passion for cinema really started when I was on the set of Mud and my third film Joe. That's when I really started to fall in love with the art of filmmaking. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Do you seek advice from the actors and directors you work with? Yeah absolutely. That's what's been so special about my career: I get to spend quality hours offset or behind the camera with incredible directors, actors or producers. It's nice to just have a conversation with them and ask them questions; you've just got to get out your pen and paper because there is so many people you can learn from. I'm so fortunate to work with all these people. When were you first star on set between takes thinking this is crazy, this is happening? What's weird is I don't think I ever had that feeling until I was on the set of X-Men [Apocalypse]. I think that's the first time I was like "Holy crap, this is strange." I think it was just the whole thing of being part of a [big] cast and walking around the set; it all just hits you like a load of bricks. Was joining the X-Men franchise an easy decision for you? Oh man, absolutely. I was late to the franchise; Days of Future Past was the first X-Men movie I saw. To me, it's rare because of all the superhero movies, it's kind of the only one that... All superhero movies are stories about underdogs, but in this one, you see people deal with real world issues and problems that we can relate to so we really invest in characters that we really care about emotionally. I feel like X-Men is probably the arthouse franchise of that genre. You're about to start shooting Ready Player One in London. Working in a Steven Spielberg film must be exciting. Yeah, it is. I'm really looking forward to the summer. I can't wait to get on set and ask questions. Your family must be so excited that you're joining the likes of Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks in the ranks of 'Steven Spielberg leading man.' Well, I hope so. But my family are supportive; I wouldnt be here without them. It's funny, when I found out I'd got Ready Player One, my sister was texting me and she was asking me how my day was. I said 'Yeah, I've just heard some really exciting news.I just found out I'm gonna be shooting this new movie and Steven Spielberg is directing it' and she went 'Whos that?'. I said, "Are you kidding me? Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T.' and she goes, 'Oh yeah, I know that guy.' My sister's probably the only human being on this planet who doesnt know who Steven Spielberg is. I was like, 'Okay, how was school..?' The Stanford Prison Experiment is out now in cinemas and on digital download. It'll be available to own on Blu-ray and DVD from 27 June. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} With news breaking that Indiana Jones would return for a fifth cinematic adventure, thoughts naturally turned to the fate director Steven Spielberg would deal the iconic adventurer. Since there's no word (yet) on plans for Indiana Jones 6, some started to assume the director would pull a Star Wars: The Force Awakens on everyone and have Indy meet his maker by the final reel. Yet, clearly, Spielberg's seen - and acknowledged - our mass distress over Han Solo; deciding very kindly to spare us all that misery. As part of The Hollywood Reporter's major profile on the director, came the query as to whether he could reveal any tantalising details about his plans for Indiana Jones 5. "The one thing I will tell you is I'm not killing off Harrison [Ford] at the end of it," is all he'd say, but it's a pretty major relief all the same. There's definitely a sense in the air that this coming sequel will somehow tie up Jones' story, while potentially opening the door for a new lead to take over the franchise. Sure, that backfired rather spectacularly with Crystal Skull's introduction of Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), but that doesn't mean Disney won't attempt the same. Nor does it mean the decision would inevitably spell disaster. Though Ford's Jones is utterly iconic as an onscreen character, the world he inhabits - where history and the supernatural mix in spectacular fashion - is just as rich as he is; there's plenty of potential here to expand the franchise, without disrespecting Ford's legacy with the archaeologist. Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Show all 8 1 /8 Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Indiana Jones The last of the original Indy trilogy. It opened the same year as an early collaboration with Disney - the Stunt Spectacular! at Walt Disney World in Florida Disney Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office The Lion King The peak of the Disney Renaissance, The Lion King spawned several spin-offs and a hit musical that's still running in the West End Disney Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Toy Story John Lasseter has worked at all four of these studios. His first movie - distributed by Disney - was the first in a run of critical and box office Pixar hits AP Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Star Wars George Lucas's prequels were huge money-spinners but ruined the originals' legacy. The 2015 JJ Abrams reboot is expected to avenge the memory AP Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Home on the range The late Nineties/early 2000s were a nadir for Disney Animation, with this its lowest-grossing film since The Rescuers Down Under Buena Vista Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Avengers Assemble The end of phase one of the Marvel Universe project. The superhero supergroup smashed box-office records and its 2015 sequel will do the same Disney Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Iron Man The first Marvel Studios film - others, like Spider-Man, were licensed out to other studios. A huge hit leading to the birth of the Marvel Universe Disney Disney's empire: 25 years at the box office Frozen The unparalleled singalong success of Frozen made it Disney's biggest ever animation. And vindication for John Lasseter's approach to animation Disney Indiana Jones 5 hits cinemas 19 July, 2019. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Heres an unsettling thought: stress is inescapable. Coming to a sudden halt on the side of a motorway en route to a career-changing interview, or fighting against the clock to clean Nutella off a toddlers bridesmaid dress an hour before your sisters wedding is never going to be pleasant. But lifes pressures are not always negative. While intense, prolonged, stress undeniably raises the risk of serious health problems, world-leading neuroscientist Professor Ian Robertson argues in his latest book, The Stress Test, that lifes pressures can in fact help us to flourish, with the help of the bodys complex chemical processes. Stress can help to motivate us, and even strengthen the brain. Peter Clough, professor of psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, agrees, and says that we have become stress-phobic as a society, by inextricably connecting it to anxiety. In reality, most of us seek out more pressurised lives chasing pay rises, promotions, and raising families to reap the emotional benefits of satisfaction. Professor Ian Robertson argues that stress can help to boost the brain (Maxwell Photography) Launching his discussion with the words of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche that which does not kill us makes us stronger Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin, unpicks why some of us struggle to cope with stressful situations that others appear to withstand with relative ease. This is partly down to our physical, neurological and environmental differences, which change what pushes our buttons. Some find repetitive tasks too much to bear, while others balk at strict deadlines and large workloads. In the end, stress itself is not the issue, but how we deal with it. In The Stress Test, Professor Robertson extinguishes the idea that our brains are hard wired from birth, and instead suggests that our thoughts and emotional experiences reshape the organ by turning genes on and off. We have between our ears the most complex entity in the known universe and the amazing fact about it is that our brains can self-programme. We have the ability to change not only the functioning of our brains, but the very chemistry and structure of them by the way we use them, he says. Inside our brains are two competing mechanisms. The approach system on the left front part encourages us to seek rewards and triggers the release of anxiety-tackling dopamine. The avoidance area at the right front part of the brain meanwhile avoids punishment, prompting the release of noradrenaline, which is linked to the fight or flight response. Balancing the two creates the perfect cocktail of chemicals to transform stress from debilitating into brain-boosting, with those who are most in control of their emotions best equipped to exploit this. We have between our ears the most complex entity in the known universe

Professor Ian Roberston

Research shows, for example, that the stress caused by plunging your hand into ice-cold water can help with remembering a list of words, thanks to the release of cortisol and noradrenaline. The first step is that you have to believe that you have control, says Professor Roberston, citing the fixed and growth mind-set concept pioneered by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Those with a fixed mindset, for example, view their skills rigidly while those who allow themselves to repeatedly practise and fail until they improve can cultivate a range of talents. Demonstrating control over your thoughts even for a few seconds is the second step. With perserverance, this can gradually extend for minutes, hours, days, and years. (Bloomsbury (Bloomsbury) This all seems rather abstract. But Professor Robertson is emphatic that there are countless methods and techniques individuals can use to address their stress. Some, like cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), are relatively new, while others, such as meditation and mindfulness, have been practised for centuries. A recent study showed that, like CBT, diligently practising meditaton can help to positively re-structure the brain. For others, allotting worry time in their schedule can block racing thoughts from disturbing our days, suggests Professor Robertson. Changing ones attitude towards pressures is also important. A 2007 study at Harvard found that chambermaids who regarded their work in hotels as exercise were able to lose weight and experience a drop in blood pressure. Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Show all 10 1 /10 Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 30 per cent of people deal with anxiety by talking to a friend or relative, or by going for a walk. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report Almost one in five people feel anxious all or a lot of the time. PA Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 22 per cent of women feel anxious a lot or all of the time, compared to 15 per cent of men. Roman Levin/Flickr Creative Commons Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 45 per cent of people who feel anxious in everyday life cite financial issues as their biggest cause of worry. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report And 26 per cent of people who feel anxious say fearing for the welfare of their children and loved ones leaves them burdened with worry. And 26 per cent of people say fearing for the welfare of their children and loved ones leaves them burdened with anxiety. Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 27 per cent of people who suffer from anxiety say work issues, such as long hours, are the source of the problem. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report But 16 per cent use alcohol to cope, while 10 per cent turn to cigarettes in the face of anxiety. Unemployed people are more likely to resort to these harmful strategies: 27 per cent use alcohol and 23 per cent use cigarettes. AFP/Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report Only seven per cent of people who say they suffer from anxiety seek help from their GP. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report People are thought to be more anxious than they were five years ago. Alessandra/Flickr Creative Commons Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report The stresses of modern life are thought to have created "The Age of Anxiety". Getty Professor Clough, meanwhile, simply suggests treating yourself as you would your best friend: If your best friend does something wrong, you pick them up, youre realistic, but you dont give them a beating. You say oops that wasn't your best moment, but If we aren't our own best friends then we struggle in a fairly demanding world. Its not just all in the mind, either. Adopting a power stance with your body outstretched before a nerve-wracking situation, or squeezing a stress ball in the right hand can temporarily boost mood and confidence. But this attitude towards stress could easily be exploited at a time when it is easier than ever for our jobs to bleed into our personal lives. Should burnt-out employees quit complaining and just toughen up? Professor Robertson is adamant that this is not the intention of his book, and warns against the breakdown of the working week and the pollution of private time by work. Any ideas can be abused by unscrupulous people and this one is no different. Moderate stress can be beneficial, severe stress not. Most people with mental illness suffer extreme stress and just getting over it is not and should not be an option. Khadija Abdelhamid struggled to cope with stress as a teenager (Abdelhamid) Khadija Abdelhamid, a public speaker and entrepreneur from Wembley, London, knows firsthand that snapping out of it is not possible. Now 25, stress debilitated her teen years, exacerbated her depression and cast her into a cycle of panic attacks. However, she agrees that Professor Roberstons approach is the right one, and she copes by listening to calming music, using tips learned from her therapist, and piecing apart her problems when she feels relaxed. I felt like I lived in a box where I always cared about how everyone perceived me, but I never pointed the finger and looked at me and what I am doing for myself instead," she says. Professor Clough concurs, and believes that Professor Robertsons findings should encourage bosses to cater jobs to employees, rather than load them with more work. Throwing people in the deep end and putting them under pressure just isn't sensible or effective, its destructive," he says, adding that stepping out of your comfort zone is important, but that it should be done sensibly, carefully, and gradually. Perhaps that which does not kill us makes us stronger is a little extreme, but Professor Robertsons message is clear. Everyone can learn to control their emotions not completely, not always but everyone, absolutely everyone, can learn to do this better. The Stress Test by Professor Ian Robertson is out now. The Stress Test Do you See Stress as a Threat or a Challenge? Take Professor Robertson's quiz to find out. 1. When you feel under pressure from too many directions, do you: a. ..with pounding heart and churning stomach, worry about the effects the stress is having on you. b. ..plead your case on Facebook c. ..focus single-mindedly on just the next small goal and dont think about all the bigger tasks and goals. . 2. You are about to give an important presentation about which you feel nervous, do you: a. Notice your dry mouth, sweaty hands and beating heart and think I feel anxious. b. Think about how happy you will feel when it is over. c. Feel your dry mouth, sweaty hands and beating heart and think I feel excited. 3. Its Monday 3 pm at work and you are feeling jaded and bored, do you: a. Browse some YouTube videos. b. Fill in an expense claim. c. Stretch, go for a fast five minute walk and drink a shot of coffee. 4. Your boss just told you that you arent the star she thought you were when she recruited you. Do you: a. Feel miserable and anxious and start looking for a new job. b. Message your partner to meet for a drink after work. c. Go for a coffee make an honest list of your achievements, and think shes wrong what can I learn from this? 5. Your life feels a bit stalled and you are wading through mud with not much to look forward to. Do you: a. Go for a good few drinks to drown your sorrows. b. Eat. c. Grit your teeth, square your shoulders and think somethings around the corner. 6. A colleague makes a snide, demeaning remark about you, do you think: a. Hes right Im no use. b. I have to get out of this place. c. I am proud of myself for not rising to the bait. Hell get his come-uppance. 7. You feel jaded and dont seem to be making much headway in life. Do you: a. Shrug your shoulders, shed a tear and resign yourself to your lot in life. b. Check whats on television tonight. c. Set a small, achievable goal any goal for yourself and make a plan exactly when and how you are going to do it. 8. Youre a nervous wreck waiting for the interview or appraisal. Do you: a. Keep sipping from your water bottle and wishing for the meeting to be over. b. Surf the internet on your smartphone. c. Fake it: stand up straight and fake a smile even though you are a jelly inside. 9. Your boss tells you that you are to move out of your present department where you are very happy into to a new part of the company. Do you think: a. Thats terrible, Im good at my job and am happy here whats going to happen? b. Whats the commute like to the new place? c. Hmm, thats a challenge Ive been in this place for a long time now and even though it might be uncomfortable, I do probably need a change. 10. Someone close to you is diagnosed with a bad form of cancer. Do you think: a. Its not fair shes such a good person. b. Thats terrible but theres nothing to be done. c. Theres no such thing as fairness in nature Im going to help her rise to this huge challenge and deal with this. 11. A colleague says something insulting to you in front of others. Do you: a. Quietly pack up your things, slam the door on the way out and go home to brood on it. b. Phone your partner and vent your anger. c. Respond with firm, controlled anger requesting an apology and threatening a formal complaint if not given. 12. It is your boss who insults you in public and there is no one to complain to; if you are angry with him, there could be bad consequences, you realize. Do you: a. Just try to bottle up the anger and distract yourself from it. b. Phone your friend and vent your anger. c. Try to work out what made him do it for example, maybe his own job is at risk could your competence be showing him up? 13. You are confident and happy in your job when suddenly you are asked to learn a completely new set of skills. Do you: a. Feel panicky and plead not to have to change because youre really good at your present job. b. Start looking for another job. c. Feel excited by the challenge of learning something new, even if difficult and unfamiliar. 14. A long term friend you thought you were very close to, suddenly and without explanation drops you. Do you think: a. Whats wrong with me? b. These things happen. c. Whats wrong with her? 15. You are made redundant. Do you: a. Feel useless, abandoned and hopeless. b. Resign yourself to watching daytime TV. c. Use the anxiety as a spur to rethinking who you are and what you want to do. 16. You are in the middle of severe family crisis, turmoil and stress: Do you: a. Seek medication from your Doctor to calm your nerves. b. Think about how you can escape. c. When things get too frantic, step back and watch events with a somewhat detached, observer perspective. 17. You suffer a major failure. Do you: a. Withdraw from the fray to avoid any more humiliation. b. Focus on your hobbies. c. Rethink your goal, check if its really for you and if so, work out what you can learn from the failure. 18. When you hear the dictum, What doesnt kill you, strengthens you, you think: a. Nonsense bad things diminish me. b. I was never one for generalizations. c. Its true within limits people can grow because of the challenges that bad experiences throw up. Scores 0 points for every a) response 1 point for every b) response 2 points for every c) response Stress: Challenge or Threat? 0-12 Where you arent under pressure, you do just fine most of the time. But even small stresses can be daunting and perhaps you tend to try to avoid them more often than you than deal directly with them. And big stresses are even more daunting to you. At times you might not feel like your emotions are under your full control, which can itself be a little stressful and make dealing with other pressures more difficult. Perhaps you lack a little faith in your ability to shape your emotions by what you think and do. But the good news is that you can certainly build that confidence by changing your thoughts as well as focusing your attention on small, achievable goals for yourself. 13-24 For you, stresses are a mix of challenge and threat and at times you zone out from the stress and immerse yourself in other things, which can be a very positive way to deal with pressure. Some stresses, however, have to be faced up to if you are going to deal with them, and sometimes you find this tough to do, particularly the very big stresses. Importantly, however, you do feel in control of your emotions some of the time and this opens you to more control by learning to harness the benefits of stress: these arise when you treat stress as a challenge more than a threat. 25-36 You tend to see stress as a challenge rather than a threat which puts you more in the driving seat when facing up to pressures in your life and work. You feel you have quite a lot of control over your emotions by the goals you set yourself, the thoughts you choose to think and what you focus your attention on. While this doesnt work all the time, you tend to see setbacks as external problems to be solved rather than as failures inside yourself. This means that you can rise to the challenge of big stresses if and when they arrive. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} HSBC Holdings Plc plans to record a $585 million pretax charge for settling a 14-year-old shareholder lawsuit over allegations that executives of a business acquired by the bank in 2003 misled investors. The HSBC Finance unit agreed to a $1.58 billion deal to resolve the litigation, which the parent company inherited through the 2003 acquisition, the bank said Thursday in a statement. The settlement is subject to court approval. Investors of Household International sued in 2002, alleging the company and three executives made misleading comments about mortgage-lending practices. A federal jury in Chicago in 2009 ruled that executives at Household, which was acquired by London-based HSBC in March 2003 for $15.5 billion, made recklessly misleading comments. In October 2013, a judge entered a $2.46 billion judgment against HSBC on some claims. Biggest business scandals in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Biggest business scandals in pictures Biggest business scandals in pictures Volkswagen emissions scandal VW admitted to rigging its US emission tests so that diesel-powered cars would looks like they were emitting less nitrous oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and contribute to respiratory diseases. Around 11 million cars worldwide were affected. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals Martin Shkreli became known as the most hated man in the world after his drug company, Turing, increased the price of a 62-year-old drug that treated HIV patients by 5,000% to $750 a pill. He was charged with illegally taking stock from Retrophin, a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. Shkreli, who maintains he is innocent, and says there is little evidence of fraud because his investors didn't lose money. Biggest business scandals in pictures Panama Papers: Millions of leaked documents expose how worlds rich and powerful hid money - April 2016 Millions of confidential documents have been leaked from one of the worlds most secretive law firms, exposing how the rich and powerful have hidden their money. Dictators and other heads of state have been accused of laundering money, avoiding sanctions and evading tax, according to the unprecedented cache of papers that show the inner workings of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which is based in Panama. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Google's tax avoidance Google reached a deal with the HM Revenue and Customs to pay back 130 million in so-called back-taxes that have been due since 2005. George Osborne championed the deal as a major success. But European MEPs have since called for the Chancellor to appear in front of the committee on tax rulings to explain the tax deal. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures UK to crack down on bank money laundering after reports of 65bn Russian scam, City minister says - March 2017 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has vowed that the Government will crack down on money laundering practices, after several of the UK's biggest banks were accused of processing money from a Russian scam, believed to involve up to $80bn (65bn). Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former HBOS bankers convicted of bribery and fraud over 245m loan scam - February 2017 Two former HBOS bankers were among six people found guilty of bribery and fraud that cost customers and shareholders hundreds of millions of pounds, the BBC reports. Lynden Scourfield, 54, a manager at HBOS, forced struggling clients to use the services of his friends David Mills, 60, and Michael Bancroft, 73. In return, the two businessmen arranged sex parties, cash and lavish gifts. On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Christine Lagarde faces court over 340m Bernard Tapie payment - July 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, must stand trial in France over a payment of 403 million (now 340m, then 290m) to tycoon Bernard Tapie, a France's highest appeals court has ruled. The court rejected Ms Lagarde's appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial over allegations of negligence in her handling of the affair. Ms Lagarde could risk a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if convicted. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures HSBC senior manager arrested in FX rigging investigation at JFK airport in New York - July 2016 A senior executive at HSBC has been arrested at New York's JFK airport for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to rig currency benchmarks, according to reports. Mark Johnson, global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday. He will appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bloomberg said. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Former PwC employees found guilty in 'Luxleaks' tax scandal - June 2016 Two ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers staffers were found guilty in Luxembourg of stealing confidential tax files that helped unleash a global scandal over generous fiscal deals for hundreds of international companies. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet face suspended sentences of 12 months and 9 months and were ordered to pay fines of 1,500 (1,230) and 1,000 (822) for their role in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal. Despite the minimal sentences, the ruling was described by Deltours lawyer as shocking and a terrible anomaly. The ruling puts on guard future whistle-blowers, Deltour told reporters.The LuxLeaks revelations sped beyond Luxembourg, causing European Union regulators to expand a tax-subsidy probe and propose new laws to fight corporate tax dodging, while EU lawmakers created a special committee to probe fiscal deals across the 28-nation bloc. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Goldman Sachs dealmakers lavished Libyan officials with prostitutes to win contract - June 2016 A former Goldman Sachs dealmaker trying to persuade Gadaffi-era Libya to invest $1 billion with the investment bank procured prostitutes and invited Libyan officials to lavish parties in the hope of winning the business, the High Court heard on Monday June 13.The Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs for inappropriately coercing its naive staff into giving its sovereign wealth fund cash to the bank to invest in products they did not understand. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. The company founder said that workers were paid less than the statutory minimum because of bottlenecks at security in an admission that could result in sanctions from HMRC. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Mitsubishi admits improper fuel tests - April 2016 Mitsubishi has admitted to using false fuel methods dating back to 1991. The scale of the scandal is only just coming to light after it was revealed in April that data was falsified in the testing of four types of cars, including two Nissan cars. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Quindell, the scandal-ridden insurance firm Quindell was once a darling of AIM but its share price fell in April 2014 when its accounting practices were attacked in a stinging research note by US short seller Gotham City. In August the group was forced to disclose that the 107 million pre-tax profit it had reported for 2013 was incorrect, and it had in fact suffered a 64million loss. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Toshiba Accounting Scandal The boss of Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, resigned in disgrace in the wake of one of the countrys biggest ever accounting scandals. His exit came two months after the company revealed that it was investigating accounting irregularities. An independent investigatory panel said that Toshibas management had inflated its reported profits by up to 152 billion yen (780m) between 2008 and 2014. Biggest business scandals in pictures FIFA Corruption Scandal Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since the summer of 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty HSBC won a new trial in the case in May 2015 after an appeals court said the investors hadnt shown that a drop in the companys share price wasnt the result of other factors. That trial had been scheduled to begin last week. The case is Jaffe Pension Plan v. Household International Inc., 02-cv-05893, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Microsoft is partnering with a software company that supports the cannabis industry, marking the first time a major company has put its money behind legal weed. Microsoft is teaming up with Kind Financial, a Los-Angeles based start-up founded in 2013. Kinds mission is to make it easier for marijuana related businesses to make safe and secure transactions, within the law. Kind will be running a new software for governments in Microsoft's cloud, Azure Analysts have said that the move could be an important step as marijuana becomes accepted as a legal drug in the US. David Dinenberg, Kinds CEO, said no one can predict the future of cannabis legalisation. He expects that the industry will always be subject to strict oversight and regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco. Kind is proud to offer governments and regulatory agencies the tools and technology to monitor cannabis compliance. First legal cannabis sales in Washington Show all 10 1 /10 First legal cannabis sales in Washington First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Kevin Nelson, of Bellingham, Wash., holds a sign that reads "Drug War Ends Here," outside Top Shelf Cannabis, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Bellingham, Wash. on the first day of legal pot sales in the state. Nelson says he is a long-time activist opposing drug laws, particularly those targeting marijuana users, and he he feels the legalization of marijuana will lead to less crowded jails and be less of a burden on the court system. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores A pamphlet titled "Marijuana Use in Washington State," is displayed at the Cannabis City recreational marijuana shop in Seattle. The store will be the first and only store in Seattle to initially sell recreational marijuana when legal sales begin on Tuesday, 8 July, 2014. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Customers shop for marijuana at Top Shelf Cannabis, a retail marijuana store. Top Shelf Cannabis was the first retail marijuana store to open today in Washington state, nearly a year and a half after the state's voters chose to legalize marijuana. David Ryder/Getty Images First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Cale Holdsworth, in town from Kansas to visit family, celebrates after purchasing two grams of marijuana strain "OG's Pearl" for $26.50 at Top Shelf Cannabis, a retail marijuana store David Ryder/Getty Images First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores A sign noting the Washington state law that prohibits opening packages that contain marijuana or marijuana-infused products in public rests on a glass case displaying bongs for sale at the recreational marijuana store Cannabis City AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Brian Travino, a student at Western Washington University wears a Washington state flag, as he waits with other customers to purchase recreational marijuana at Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham, Wash., in the first half-hour of legal sales in the state. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Amber McGowan, left, and Krystal Klacsan, right, work at the recreational marijuana store Cannabis City in Seattle to apply a state-mandated frosted film to the front of a display case that will contain pot varieties when legal sales begin on Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The store will be the first and only store in Seattle to initially sell recreational marijuana on Tuesday. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores A customer, who declined to give his name, sniffs a strain of recreational marijuana at Top Shelf Cannabis, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Bellingham, Wash., during the first half-hour of legal sales in the states. Customers cannot be given samples, but are allowed to use "sniff jars" to help make their purchasing decisions. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores Julian Rodriguez, right, of Everson, Wash., holds his two-gram packet of recreational marijuana outside Top Shelf Cannabis, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Bellingham, Wash., on the first day of legal sales. At left is Tom Beckley, the owner of the store. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren First legal cannabis sales in Washington Washington's cannabis stores The price of two grams of a strain of marijuana named "Sweet Lafayette," is displayed at Top Shelf Cannabis, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Bellingham, Wash., on the first day of legal sales of recreational marijuana in the state AP Photo/Ted S. Warren I am delighted that Microsoft supports KIND's mission to build the backbone for cannabis compliance, Dinenberg said. A Microsoft spokesperson told the Independent that the company is supporting governement customers and partners to help them meet their missions. "KIND Financial is building solutions on our government cloud to help these agencies regulate and monitor controlled substances and items, and manage compliance with jurisdictional laws and regulations, Microsoft said. The Independent has contacted Microsoft for additional comment. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, voted for the legalisation of marijuana in Washington, his home state. It's an experiment, and it's probably good to have a couple states try it out to see before you make that national policy, he told Buzzfeed in 2014. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state, and Washington DC, have already legalised recreational, as well as medical, marijuana for adults. Twenty more states have legalised marijuana for medical use only. A recent study carried out by a panel of experts including scientists, academics and police chiefs, called for the UK to follow the lead of some US states and allow the sale of cannabis to over-18s in licensed retail stores. Legalising the sale of cannabis in specialist shops would generate 1bn a year in tax revenue and reduce the harm done to users and society, the report said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Angelina Jolie Pitt has revealed that her six children speak a combined total of seven languages between them. The actress guest edited BBC Radio Fours Womens Hour on Friday morning where she told her co-hosts Jane Garvey and Jenni Murray that none of her six children wanted to take after their mother and father, Brad Pitt, and become an actor but prefer music and are all interested in improving their language skills. Its been very interesting, all the kids are learning different languages, she said. I asked them what languages they are learning and wanted to learn and Shis learning Khmer, which is the Cambodian language, Pax is focusing on Vietnamese, Mad has taken on German and Russian. Zs speaking French. Vivienne really wanted to learn Arabic and Knox is learning sign language. Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily. It suppose it just means you dont know who youre children are until they show you who you are and theyre just becoming whoever they want to be, the 41-year-old said, adding "they are interested in other cultures". Jolie Pitt has six children with Pitt. She has three biological children Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox who are seven. She also adopted Maddox, 14, from Cambodia, Pax, 12, from Vietnam, and Zahara, 11, from Ethiopia. Jolie Pitt, who is a Special Envoy for the UNs refugee agency, also discussed her continuing work with refugees. She is continuing to focus on the health of refugees in camps and recollected when she was pregnant with her daughter Shiloh in Namibia. The humanitarian said she was able to afford an ultrasound but she probably wouldnt have made it this far if she was a refugee. The actress also spoke about the other health issues she has faced in recent years. In 2013, Jolie Pitt revealed her decision to have a double mastectomy after learning she carried the BRCA1 cancer gene which doctors said increased her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. She later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. She said she decided to be so public about her decision because of her belief in the importance to pass on any health information to fellow women and because she wished her mother, Marcheline Bertrand who died of cancer in 2007, had known about the operation. "I thought that I had gained information that I wish my mother would have known, I wish she'd had the option, I wish she'd had the surgery, in fact, it might have given her more years with my family," she said. "I think it's really important that we all share anything we learn and we stay connected. I believe in the way women can share and support each other." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The organisers of Miss Great Britain have defended their decision to strip the current Miss Great Britain of her title after she had sex on a reality television show. Those behind the beauty pageant were accused of slut shaming after they said they were left with no choice but to de-crown Zara Holland, who slept with fellow Love Island contestant Alex Bowen. The 20-year-old had no idea her title had been revoked, but a spokesperson for ITV has since told the Independent: Zara was informed of the news off camera this morning. She is now back in the villa and has chosen to remain on the show. Love Island: Zara Holland criticised after sleeping with fellow contestant Following the announcement, many social media users criticised Miss Great Britain for slut-shaming Holland and branded the decision to de-crown her misogynistic. Organisers insisted the had "no problem at all with sex but claimed they allowed Holland to take part in the series under the stipulation that she did not have sex on TV. They also denied they had slut-shamed Miss Holland and said they would treat a man in the same way. Recommended Read more Miss Great Britain stripped of title after having sex on reality TV Here is the full statement issued by organisers to The Independent: We feel it important to explain that we have no problem at all with sex and our contestants/winners being sexually active and exploring their sexuality with another consensual adult; this has never, and will never be a problem, however we simply cannot condone a reigning title holder doing so on TV. "To put it into context, for those outside of the pageant industry, if a school teacher took part in the show, that person would have a level of responsibility they would be expected to uphold because of their role, and are certain they would face similar consequences if they took part in similar actions on National television. People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015. For those saying going into Love Island, its inevitable that she would have sex', that is not true, it is not a prerequisite of the show that you have sex. We gave our permission for Zara to enter, as our current winner, under the stipulation that she did not have sex on TV. Zara fully agreed to this and knowingly went against our wishes. Recommended Read more Dethroning Zara Holland as Miss GB for a sex act is absurd Those stating we are slut shaming: we have never, and would never ever use this word to describe Zara, it is a huge shame that people are attempting to put words into our mouth. "Zara is a lovely girl, we understand that this is out of character for her and that she truly regrets her actions; however, the decision simply comes down to the fact that she has broken the rules of the competition. Miss Great Britain works with charities, children & young, impressionable people; our title holder must be an ambassador and this public behaviour does not support the ethos of our brand. For people claiming : You wouldnt do this if it was Mr Great Britain and No ones said anything about Alexs part in this, We most certainly would take the exact same course of action had our brand representative been male and this is why we have not mentioned Alex, as he is not an ambassador of our brand. "The same goes for the other people within the villa (men & women), we wouldnt pass comment on their actions or decisions as they are not there as a representative of Miss Great Britain, in a current position. We did not take the decision to make this announcement whilst Zara was still in the show lightly, and agonised over it for almost 24 hours. "We fully understand peoples feelings regarding this. But we had to act quickly with our statement as the press were already made aware of the decision and were going live. Of course, ideally we would have preferred to let Zara know face to face, but as we are allowed no contact with her whilst she is in the villa, this was taken out of our hands. Zara could potentially be in the show for another three or four weeks, we could not leave this amount of time before making an announcement. We wholeheartedly agree, that other than the incident that has forced our decision, Zara was, and is handling herself very well on the show and we still hold her in the highest regard as a friend, and are thrilled to see the support she is now receiving. "We genuinely hope she goes on to win the show; she is a lovely girl with a great future ahead of her. Whilst we fully expect Zara to be upset when she learns of our decision, she also knows the pageant industry well and were confident she will completely understand why we have taken this course of action in time. Zara is not going to be erased from our history, she will always be one of our winners, but her reign has been cut short at this time and we will be standing by our decision. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jo Cox had been targeted with a stream of threatening messages and harassment in the months before her death, sparking a police investigation. Additional security was considered at her constituency and at her houseboat in London, The Times reported, but was not put in place before she was attacked outside Birstall Library on Thursday. The killing came three months after a man was cautioned for sending her malicious communications, but the Metropolitan Police confirmed the person arrested in March was not the suspect arrested in connection with Mrs Coxs death. The Labour MP for Batley and Spen, who was elected in last years general election, was shot and stabbed after she left a constituency advice surgery. Tributes paid to Jo Cox Mrs Cox, the mother of two children aged three and five, had been vocally campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU ahead of next weeks referendum and was also known for advocacy for victims of the Syrian civil war and calls for Britain to welcome more refugees. The 41-year-olds husband, Brendan Cox, said she was killed by hatred. Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous, he added. Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full. Politicians have been warned to review their security after the attack and Downing Street said a reminder of safety guidance had been sent out to all MPs. It includes steps representatives can take to stay safe when they are "out and about" and suggests if they have any concerns they should contact their local police. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS Female MPs said security was a key concern when in a survey for the Commons Administration Committee carried out in August. It recorded that politicians had dealt with incidents involving stalkers and people with knives and guns, while a separate survey found one in six MPs had suffered attacks or attempted attacks and more than a half had received threats. In January, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority announced that MPs were to get an enhanced security package following a wave of protests outside constituency offices and homes over the Commons vote on bombing Syria. Tributes have been pouring in for Mrs Cox from around the world, with Jeremy Corbyn describing her as a much-loved colleague and David Cameron among others praising her work and legacy. Campaigning for the EU referendum was suspended as a mark of respect and vigils were held in Mrs Coxs constituency and Parliament Square last night. Downing Street said flags across Whitehall will fly at half-mast, while flags at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will also be lowered in tribute. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Investigations are continuing into the death of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was killed on Thursday in her constituency in Birstall. Here are the latest updates: Please allow a moment for the live blog to load Mrs Cox, the mother of two children, was attacked by a man reportedly shouting Britain first at lunchtime on Thursday after an advice surgery in her constituency. Witnesses said her assailant kicked and stabbed her and then shot her several times, the final shot aimed at her head. The alleged gunman was arrested near the scene soon after the attack. Tributes paid to Jo Cox The MP's husband, Brendan, said his wifes family and friends would work against the hate that killed Jo for the rest of their lives. Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people, he said. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now: one, that our precious children are bathed in love, and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous. "Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full." Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said the country was in shock, while David Cameron and politicians of all parties have paid tribute to Mrs Coxs work and legacy. The killing led to the suspension of campaigning in the EU referendum, where Mrs Cox had vocally supported the Remain campaign and joined an anti-Brexit counter-protect on the Thames the day before her death. She was also known for her campaigning for victims of the Syrian civil war and calls for more refugees to be accepted in the UK. Mr Corbyn and a number of other MPs attended an impromptu vigil in Parliament Square and flowers were laid nearby in tribute, while people have gathered for memorial services in her constituency of Batley and Spen. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Former British National Party leader Nick Griffin has caused outrage after suggesting that the Remain campaign will seek to exploit the death of Labour MP Jo Cox as a means of supporting its campaign to stay in the European Union. After news of the attack on Ms Cox broke, Griffin tweeted: If #JoCox dies (& we all pray she doesn't) just watch #Remain exploit the tragedy in attempt to shore up their crumbling blackmail campaign. Ms Cox died after being shot and stabbed while running her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. Cox murder suspect arrest The suspect in the MPs death is believed to have had long-term links to the Springbok Club, a hard-right group that has campaigned against the EU. He also purchased a gun-making manual from a far-right neo-Nazi group, new documents suggest. Witnesses at the scene in Birstall say they heard the suspect shout Britain First as Cox was shot and then stabbed. Britain First, the far-right organisation founded five years ago by former BNP members, has condemned the attack. Before her death Ms Cox had been an active member of the Remain campaign and had called for the UK to accept child refugees stranded in mainland Europe. Following her death her husband Brendan Cox released a statement urging people to unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Griffin responded to news of the MPs death, tweeting: Just heard Jo Cox has indeed died. That is very sad & a dark day for Britain. Let's hope all agree to keep this tragedy [out] of the campaign. After receiving an outpouring of disgust at his tweets, he added: No more memes from me v #Remain for rest of today. As I said before, I disagreed with Jo Cox's politics, but her passion commands respect. However on Facebook, Griffin continued to attack the Remain campaign, posting links to articles claiming the suspect had mental health problems, and from other far-right groups claiming the Remain campaign was already looking to capitalise on Ms Coxs tragic death. Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Show all 7 1 /7 Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Media reports said Jo Cox, 41, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, had been attacked as she prepared to hold an advice surgery for constituents in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene A handbag and shoes lie on the ground as police cordon off an area after Jo Cox, was shot and stabbed by an attacker at her constituency in Birstall Getty Images Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Medical equipment lies on the ground behind a police cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds. A British lawmaker Jo Cox was in critical condition after an incident in her constituency in northern England REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother of two was left lying in a pool of blood on the pavement after her assailant struck in Birstall PA Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Shame on the leftists who attempted to exploit this [killing] for political purposes, Griffin wrote. Griffin was ejected as president of the BNP in 2014 after being accused of trying to destabilise the far-right party and of harassing members. EU campaigns are currently on hold following Ms Coxs death. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Counter terrorism experts from the Crown Prosecution Services headquarters in London are advising police on what charges could be brought against the alleged killer of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Independent has learned. The CPS revealed its Specialist Crime and Counter Terrorism Division was supporting and advising police in their investigation". Given the nature and victim of the crime, the departments involvement suggests charges under terrorism legislation are among the options under consideration. The division deals only with terrorism and high-profile and complex crimes, whereas a more straightforward killing would be handled by a local or regional CPS branch. While the killing of an MP could in itself could fall into the category of a special crime, there is no automatic hard and fast rule, a source told The Independent. Detectives from West Yorkshire Police are continuing to investigate 52-year-old suspect Thomas Mair who was arrested in aftermath of Thursday afternoons killing. The force confirmed on Friday afternoon that it was investigating on more than one front: We are aware of the speculation within the media in respect of the suspects link to mental health services and this is a clear line of enquiry which we are pursuing," it said on its webpage. We are also aware of the inference within the media of the suspect being linked to right wing extremism which is again a priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo. We are keeping an open mind and I do not wish to add to the speculation as we need to ensure that we conduct a professional investigation and do not compromise the need to bring the person responsible to justice." It is understood Nazi regalia has been found at the suspect's home, while police are examining his links to far right groups and mental health services. Witnesses said the words Britain first were heard as Ms Cox was shot and stabbed at her Batley and Spen constituency surgery in Birstall. The Independent revealed within hours of the killing that Mair appears to have had links to the far right for at least a decade. He was listed by one organisation as a subscriber to SA Patriot, a magazine produced by backers of white supremacist South Africans. Corbyn on Jo Cox It has also alleged that he once bought a gun-making manual and Nazi literature from a far-right group in the US. The Southern Poverty Law Centre, a US civil rights group, published receipts and invoices bearing Mr Mairs name that it says are from the neo-Nazi National Alliance group. He is also said to have a history of mental illness. The owner of the Birstall Wellbeing Centre told the Telegraph that Mair visited the evening before the killing "looking for alternative therapies for his depression". Rebecca Walker said she had asked him to come back the next day. She said: "He appeared to be quite a troubled man, didn't say very much to anyone while he was there." The death of Ms Cox, the first female MP to be killed in Britain, has prompted shock and emotion throughout the country. She was 41, had two young children aged three and five, and was considered a rising star of the Labour party. Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Show all 7 1 /7 Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Media reports said Jo Cox, 41, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, had been attacked as she prepared to hold an advice surgery for constituents in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene A handbag and shoes lie on the ground as police cordon off an area after Jo Cox, was shot and stabbed by an attacker at her constituency in Birstall Getty Images Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Medical equipment lies on the ground behind a police cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds. A British lawmaker Jo Cox was in critical condition after an incident in her constituency in northern England REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother of two was left lying in a pool of blood on the pavement after her assailant struck in Birstall PA Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Her husband Brendan has urged people to fight against the hatred that killed her. Campaigning in the EU referendum has been suspended across all parties as a mark of respect, while David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn today stood together to pay tribute in Birstall. The prime minister said: Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics, our public life, and our communities. Mr Corbyn said: We all need to come together to understand that everyone must have protection and security in order to function in a democratic society. Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had some much to give and so much of her life ahead of her. Its a tragedy beyond tragedy what happened yesterday. In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society, we will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech. Floral tributes have been left in her constituency and at her Thames houseboat in Wapping, east London. PA contributed to this report For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} By the time authorities noticed that Tyrel Martin Marhanka had a sharp metal object in his hands, it was too late. The 41-year-old American -- who was sitting in a courtroom in Taiwan during his sentencing on drug possession charges -- plunged the object deep into his neck, unleashing a gush of blood, according to the Taipei Times. Some witnesses identified the object as a pair of scissors, but others said they saw Marhanka using two objects, both metallic. Court officials told the Times that the American separated a pair of scissors into two sharp blades. The shocking act occurred moments after a judge gave Marhanka a four-year prison sentence for smuggling poppy seeds into the country and growing marijuana, according to the paper. Marhanka was arrested in April 2015 after police discovered a large stash of illegal drugs at a rented house, which included hundreds of cannabis plants and 10 opium poppies, according to the Times. He told police the plants were a "hobby" that he intended to use on his own, the paper reported. Witnesses told the Times that, after the judge read the sentence out loud, Marhanka turned to the interpreter, who informed him of the sentence. "Four years?" a shocked Marhanka was heard saying. Witnesses told the paper that the interpreter explained to Marhanka that the sentence could be appealed, but Marhanka said he didn't want to do so. A year on: Marijuana in Colorado "I don't want to live anymore," he yelled, before stabbing himself in the neck and severing at least one artery, witnesses told the Times. He was taken to a hospital, but doctors were unable to revive him, according to Agence France-Presse. "We deeply regret that Tyrel Martin Marhanka killed himself during the sentencing," the court said in a statement, according to the AFP report. "He was cooperative during the investigation and the trial. His attitude was mild and he did not show any signs that he would commit suicide." Where cannabis is and isn't legal Show all 10 1 /10 Where cannabis is and isn't legal Where cannabis is and isn't legal UK Having been reclassified in 2009 from a Class C to a Class B drug, cannabis is now the most used illegal drug within the United Kingdom. The UK is also, however, the only country where Sativex a prescribed drug that helps to combat muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis and contains some ingredients that are also found in cannabis - is licensed as a treatment Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal North Korea Although many people believe the consumption of cannabis in North Korea to be legal, the official law regarding the drug has never been made entirely clear whilst under Kim Jong Uns regime. However, it is said that the North Korean leader himself has openly said that he does not consider cannabis to be a drug and his regime doesnt take any issue with the consumption or sale of the drug MARCEL VAN HOORN/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal Netherlands In the Netherlands smoking cannabis is legal, given that it is smoked within the designated smoking areas and you dont possess more than 5 grams for personal use. It is also legal to sell the substance, but only in specified coffee shops Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal USA Although in some states of America cannabis has now been legalised, prior to the legalisation, police in the U.S. could make a marijuana-related arrest every 42 seconds, according to US News and World Report. The country also used to spend around $3.6 billion a year enforcing marijuana law, the American Civil Liberties Union notes AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Where cannabis is and isn't legal Spain Despite cannabis being officially illegal in Spain, the European hotspot has recently started to be branded, the new Amsterdam. This is because across Spain there are over 700 Cannabis Clubs these are considered legal venues to consume cannabis in because the consumption of the drug is in private, and not in public. These figures have risen dramatically in the last three years in 2010 there were just 40 Cannabis Clubs in the whole of Spain. Recent figures also show that in Catalonia alone there are 165,000 registered members of cannabis clubs this amounts to over 5 million euros (4 million) in revenue each month Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Uruguay In December 2013, the House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill legalizing and regulating the production and sale of the drug. But the president has since postponed the legalization of cannabis until to 2015 and when it is made legal, it will be the authorities who will grow the cannabis that can be sold legally. Buyers must be 18 or older, residents of Uruguay, and must register with the authorities Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Pakistan Despite the fact that laws prohibiting the sale and misuse of cannabis exist and is considered a habit only entertained by lower-income groups, it is very rarely enforced. The occasional use of cannabis in community gatherings is broadly tolerated as a centuries old custom. The open use of cannabis by Sufis and Hindus as a means to induce euphoria has never been challenged by the state. Further, large tracts of cannabis grow unchecked in the wild Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Portugal In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the use of all drugs, and started treating drug users as sick people, instead of criminals. However, you can still be arrested or assigned mandatory rehab if you are caught several times in possession of drugs Getty Where cannabis is and isn't legal Puerto Rico Although the use of cannabis is currently illegal, it is said that Puerto Rico are in the process of decriminalising it RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images Where cannabis is and isn't legal China Cannabis is grown in the wild and has been used to treat conditions such as gout and malaria. But, officially the substance is illegal to consume, possess and sell Getty Marhanka was married to a Taiwanese woman and had two children, and they were longtime residents of the island, AFP reported. Court officials told the Times that they plan to improve security by installing an X-ray machine that will be used to scan people before they enter a building. The court's current facility, AFP reported, lacks adequate space for the equipment. Anyone in need of confidential support can contact the Samaritans in the UK 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90. Copyright: Washington Post Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man has died following a gas "blow-out" accident at a deep mine in Cleveland, its owner ICL UK says. According to police, the incident occured at around 5:20am at Boulby mine in north-east England. Boulby mine is one of the deepest mines in Europe, which produces potash, an important ingredient in fertilisers. The emergency services and the mine's rescue team are working at the scene, where ICL UK said the employee died following a sudden and powerful release of gas in the early hours. Tom Blenkinsop, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said on Twitter the man had been named as miner John Anderson. "ICL name John Anderson, my constituent, as miner who was killed this am at Boulby. Thoughts and prayers with his family," he wrote. All other employees were safely evacuated, the firm has said. Earlier, Mr Blenkinsop said: There has been a serious incident believed to be a gas explosion and we are waiting for further details about what has happened. He said his thoughts and prayers were with the workforce. In a statement, ICL UK said investigations had begun with senior mine management and the police, with Her Majesty's Mines Inspectorate going underground to examine the scene, according to local newspaper the Gazette. Boulby potash mine pictured in November 2014 (Getty Images) There was an underground fire at the mine in April, which left seven workers affected by smoke and they were taken to hospital for checks. Last year the company announced job losses in a significant restructuring of its operations, including moving from producing potash to polysulphate fertiliser. Boulby mine, built in 1968, is 1,400 metres deep and its tunnels go far out under the North Sea. It has been part of the ICL group since 2002. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} There will be an increased visible police presence at next weekend's Pride parade to reassure LGBT people in the wake of the Orlando shooting. The Metropolitan police will have more officers visible at the parade and in Soho to "provide reassurance" and "show support" following lone gunman Omar Mateen's attack on Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 people dead. There was "no intelligence to suggest an increased threat" to the parade in the capital next Saturday, the Met police and Pride in London emphasised in a joint letter released on Friday. "Whilst the tragic events in Orlando last weekend have caused huge shock and concern across the world, there is no intelligence to suggest an increased threat to the Pride parade in London," the letter read. "The Met police and Pride in London recognise that people in the LGBT+ and wider community may have increased concerns at this time. In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather at a vigil in solidarity for the victims of the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, at Taylor Square in Sydney EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Brett Morian, from Daytona Beach, hugs an attendee during the candlelight vigil at Ember in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People and members of the gay community holding the peace rainbow flag gather for a vigil near the Beaubourg art center in downtown Paris AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man places a hand print on a makeshift memorial in a parking lot near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People place candles by a statue of Abraham Lincoln during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Tel-Aviv city hall lit up with rainbow flag colors in solidarity with Florida's shooting attack victims AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Juan Mantilla (L) stands with his partner during a vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting, in Miami Beach AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple shares a kiss as they embrace each other under a pride flag while residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area gather to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Austin Ellis, a member of Metropolitan Community Church, carries a cross with a sign in memory of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting as he marches in the 2016 Gay Pride Parade in Philadelphia Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A rainbow flag flies at half mast on the Space Needle in Seattle, in honor of the victims of the nightclub shooting in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People at the LA Pride event in West Hollywood, write signs and light candles showing solidarity with victims of the mass killings in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida people hug outside the Stonewall Inn near a vigil for the victims in New York AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A woman offers free hugs in Washington, in reaction to the mass shootings at a gay club in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A U.S. flag is flown at half staff at the White House after the Orlando mass shooting Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays flowers on a rainbow flag in front of the embassy of the United States in Madrid, to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting of Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Michael Fowler Centre is lit in rainbow colours by the city council during a candle lit vigil across the road at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Participants hold candles during a vigil at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Vixon Noir (R) consoles Trashina Cann, both of San Francisco, during a vigil at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro district of San Francisco AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather in the Castro District for a vigil for the victims of the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub, in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple joins residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Mourners pay tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting during a memorial service in San Diego AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Orlando Eye observation wheel lights up in rainbow colors, to remember the people killed and injured in the Pulse nightclub shooting AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People sit by the water with candles during a vigil in a park following a mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Members of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence carry a sign of remembrance for mass shooting victims in Orlando, at the 46th annual Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade in West Hollywood REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Shawn Lang of Hartford embrace after Segarra spoke, during a vigil organized by the state's Muslim and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, on the steps of the state Capitol building in reaction to the mass shooting in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The City Hall Building is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims One World Trade Center is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People hold a vigil after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history at a gay nightclub in Orlando, in front of the White House in Washington REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays down 50 roses to honor each victim of the gay Orlando night club shooting as people gather outside of the Stonewall Inn as a vigil is held following the massacre Getty Images "Therefore, to help provide additional reassurance and to show support for the Pride event, the Met police will have an increased visible policing presence at the parade and in Soho." The announcement follows a meeting at Heaven nightclub where Met police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe gave members of the LGBT business community advice to reduce people's vulnerability. Vigil in Soho for victims of Orlando shooting Sir Hogan-Howe said the threat level has not risen since the "shocking" attack but warned people to stay alert, adding: "The public should take reasonable caution." "There will be more people, it is more likely people will come out to show solidarity, to show they are not scared and we would encourage that. "We have looked at the intelligence and there is nothing to say that there is someone out there wanting to attack London or the Pride march." Jeremy Joseph, owner of London gay clubs G-A-Y and Heaven, described the Orlando shooting as "my worst nightmare come true". "We also have to think about the fear there is in London of something like this happening here - people do need reassuring," he said. A record number of groups are registered to participate in the parade on June 25, including more than a hundred Met officers, according to the force. The security situation will be "continuously monitored" and remains under review, the letter, signed by Met police commander Mak Chishty and Michael Salter-Church said. Pride in London are to provide extra stewards on the day. Press Association Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The issue of online abuse towards women in the public eye has been highlighted following the killing of Jo Cox, the Labour MP stabbed and shot outside a library in her west Yorkshire constituency on Thursday. Social business executive Beth Murray pointed out the double standards of those on social media who turn a blind eye to violence directed towards female MPs online, yet take an outraged stance in the case of real-life attacks. Female MPs get daily death and rape threats: It's just online, why can't you ignore it? Female MP is murdered: An unexpected tragedy, she wrote in a tweet which has been shared thousands of times. Ms Cox, 41, died just before 2pm on June 16 outside Birstall library, where she was holding an advice surgery for constituents. A 52-year-old man named locally as Tommy Mair has been arrested in connection with the attack and police have said they are not looking for anyone else. There has been an outpouring of tributes to the politician, who in November 2015 shared a picture of herself and a group of Labour MPs holding up signs saying '#ImaFeminist' on Twitter with the caption: Happy to join my UK Labour colleagues to stand up against online abuse. Another female politician, Natalie McGarry, the MP for Glasgow East, has been advised by police to step up security at her office after receiving online death threats. She spoke to The Independent after hearing news of Ms Cox's killing. Its all very well to say that what happens on the internet stays on the internet, but today weve seen in real life that people are prepared to take heinous actions against people in public life, Ms McGarry said. I dont think enough of an issue has been made that people in the public eye, particularly women, suffer from threats, and gendered sexual violence. Tributes paid to Jo Cox While Ms McGarry stressed it was too early to say whether there was any online factor in the motivation of Ms Coxs attacker, she said there was not enough recognition of violent online threats towards those in the public eye. The reality is that MPs and people in the public sector are always to a certain degree at the mercy of the people they go to see, she said. "Everyone is absolutely devastated, regardless of party politics, she added. Its a community of people in public service. We cant even imagine the tragedy. Ms McGarry, a former member of the Scottish National Party, called the police after receiving sickening messages online including murder and rape threats. She is one of a growing number of MPs speaking up against online abuse, including Labour MP Jess Philips - who recently revealed she had received more than 600 rape threats in one night. Referring to Ms Murray's tweet, Ms McGarry said the online response had been predictable. Unfortunately the response to it is women should shut up about abuse, because men get abused too. That is simply not the case. Men dont have the same comments about their appearance, threatened to be raped - I dont even want to go into details of the ones Ive seen. I dont think [the same level of online abuse towards men] exists, and part of it is because society doesnt stand up enough for women who are abused. Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Show all 7 1 /7 Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Media reports said Jo Cox, 41, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, had been attacked as she prepared to hold an advice surgery for constituents in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene A handbag and shoes lie on the ground as police cordon off an area after Jo Cox, was shot and stabbed by an attacker at her constituency in Birstall Getty Images Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Medical equipment lies on the ground behind a police cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds. A British lawmaker Jo Cox was in critical condition after an incident in her constituency in northern England REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother of two was left lying in a pool of blood on the pavement after her assailant struck in Birstall PA Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Ms Cox experienced online abuse in May 2014, after she became the Labour candidate for the Batley and Spen constituency. In response to her selection, one Twitter user said: Another one on the gravy train." Ms Cox replied: Youre my first twitter troll, thank you. Another user wrote in response to that message: You should know these screechy Labour (so called but a fraud) women are very touchy." In light of the tragedy, her husband Brendan Cox has called for a fight against the hatred that he said killed his wife. Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives," he said in a statement. "More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. "I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo." In a BBC tribute to Ms Cox, Nick Robinson, presenter of the Radio 4 Today programme, wrote: Her death is a reminder that our elected representatives, who are so often demonised for living separate lives from the rest of us, actually all too often live in our communities, in our streets worrying about the same things that we do. Unlike us, though, they open themselves up not to just to criticism and abuse but to assault by those who disagree with them. Four out of five MPs have been victims of intrusive or aggressive behaviour, a study by psychiatrists working with the Home Office found in January. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A fundraising page set up following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox has raised tens of thousands of pounds within hours of being launched. At the time of writing, more than 200,000 had been donated by members of the public. The donations will be directed towards three charities chosen by Jos family which she supported or admired. They are the Royal Voluntary Service, a charity working to combat loneliness in her constituency, Hope Not Hate, which fight extremism and community divisions in Britain and The White Helmets, a volunteer and rescue workers group based in Syria. The GoFundMe page says: In celebration and memory of Jo Cox, we are raising funds to support charities closest to her heart, chosen by her family. Let us come together and give what we can to help create that world. One donator wrote on the page, Any cause of Jos must be a good cause, please support it if you can. Another wrote: We wont forget you Jo and the best way we can do that is to keep up the fight. Recommended Read more Thomas Mair charged with murder of Jo Cox The West Yorkshire MP was shot and stabbed yesterday outside a library where she was holding a constituency surgery. A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident. She was the mother of two young children. Her husband Brendan said: Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS Politicians from across the political divide have paid tribute to her. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: Jo was universally liked at Westminster, not just by her Labour colleagues, but across Parliament. In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died. But for now all our thoughts are with Jos husband Brendan and their two young children. They will grow up without their mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved and what she stood for. Prime Minister David Cameron offered his condolences to her family, describing her as a committed and caring MP. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An ex-soldier who died after being tasered by police was suffering from mental health problems, friends have said. Police were called to a street in Llanelli, South Wales after residents expressed concern about the man's behaviour. Witnesses claimed they saw 43-year-old Spencer Beynon holding a kitchen knife, looking "totally out of it" before stabbing a dog and himself. Police officers then used a taser on Mr Beynon after which he died, the Independent Police Complaints Commision (IPCC) has confirmed. A former Royal Welsh Regiment soldier, he served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan during a 15-year military career. He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Friend Brendan Goddard, 34, said: "Spencer was a lovely bloke. I've known him most of my life. He was a good guy but I think he had been struggling with his mental health since leaving the Army. "Since he's come back home he's not been the same." UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA According to people who knew him, Mr Beynon had lost friends to a roadside bomb attack in Basra, Iraq, leaving him traumatised. Local councillor Robert Davies described him a "nice guy" who "always had time to say hello". "I think he found it hard coming out of the Army. So many of our soldiers who serve their country are forgotten about," Mr Davies added. Body cam footage shows man tasered Dyfed-Powys Police said they referred the matter to the IPCC which is now conducting an independent investigation into the incident. An IPCC spokesman said: "Officers attended and, during engagement with the man, it is understood a Taser was discharged. "The man became unresponsive and was subsequently pronounced dead. The IPCC has begun an independent investigation." Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The extraterrestrial photography of British astronaut Tim Peake can now be viewed on an online interactive map. Mr Peake, the first person from the UK to serve aboard the International Space Station with the European Space Agency, returns to Earth on Saturday. During his six months in orbit, he took numerous photographs of the home planet. Some of his best have now been arranged on a map of the earth by cartographers at Esri UK. Drag the map to see the images around the world. The stunning selection includes dramatic pictures of what Peake described as yellow rocket flames across the Erg Iguidi desert, which stretch from Algeria to northern Mauritania. Mars-like sand dunes also can also be seen in the Saudi Arabian desert. In colder climes, the vast expanses of Antarctica and the snowy wastes of Patagonia are also beautifully captured. Also in the South American region, there is a mesmerising shot of a plankton bloom off the coast of Chile. The most incredible space images of Earth Show all 30 1 /30 The most incredible space images of Earth The most incredible space images of Earth Striking Africa Explore ESA astronaut Tim Peake's stunning photos of Earth, taken from the International Space Station during his six month mission (captions by Tom Peake) "The striking colour and texture of Africa Illizi, Algeria" The most incredible space images of Earth Favourite Reef "Every day spent living in space is a great day, but today was particularly special. I got to speak with one of my inspirational heroes Prof Stephen Hawking and his amazing daughter Lucy, who developed the Principia Space Diary to engage children with STEM subjects. As well as talking about dark matter, quantum entanglement, alien life and light beam powered nanocraft we also got to see an amazing pass over the Bahamas and this - my favourite reef smile emoticon" The most incredible space images of Earth Russia's north-east coast "Sunrise approaching Russia's frozen north-east coast" The most incredible space images of Earth Hello London "Hello London! Fancy a run? :) #LondonMarathon" The most incredible space images of Earth Bahamas "50 shades of blue: Bahamas" The most incredible space images of Earth Yinchuan "Snow on the mountains next to Yinchuan in China" The most incredible space images of Earth Rocket flames in Africa "Is it just me or do I see some rocket flames down there? These strange land features are in the Erg Iguidi desert, with its yellow stripes of sand stretching from Algeria to northern Mauritania in the Sahara" The most incredible space images of Earth Stunning colours "Sunlight reflecting the stunning colours of this Himalayan lake" The most incredible space images of Earth The real Everest "The real thing: found Everest! Last picture turned out to be third-tallest mountain Kanchengjunga" The most incredible space images of Earth Go Exomars "Go #Exomars have a great mission. Earth has more in common with Mars than you might think #AfricaArt" The most incredible space images of Earth Tenerife "Amazingly clear view of Tenerife" The most incredible space images of Earth Midday winter sun "Some midday winter sun glinting off Greenlands snow-capped peaks" The most incredible space images of Earth Sand dunes "Great texture in these huge sand dunes, Saudi Arabia" The most incredible space images of Earth Dragon Dam "The dam makes this river look like a dragons tail. Oahe Dam north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. (North is to the right)" The most incredible space images of Earth Smoking volcano "Spotted volcano smoking away on Russias far east coast this morning heat has melted snow around top" The most incredible space images of Earth New Zealand "New Zealand looking stunning in the sunshine. Mt Cook centre left with the Grand Plateau to the front and Mt Tasman (3,497m) to the right of the Grand Plateau. Fox Glacier in the middle then Franz Josef curving right. Tasman Lake (largest at front) is at the foot of the Tasman glacier which runs along the front of them. The Hooker Glacier flows out behind Mt Cook coming down to meet the Mueller Glacier on the left of the photo. The Murchison Glacier is at the front of the photo running parallel with the Tasman Glacier" The most incredible space images of Earth Plankton bloom "Another great pass over Patagonia and a swirling plankton bloom off the coast" The most incredible space images of Earth Alaska "We dont often get such clear views of Alaska" The most incredible space images of Earth Lights along the Nile "Lights along the Nile stretching into the distance from Cairo" The most incredible space images of Earth Kamchatka "The Pacific Ring of Fire clear to see amongst the volcanoes of Kamchatka, Russia" The most incredible space images of Earth Cumulonimbus "Im guessing there was an impressive storm going on under that cumulonimbus cloud" The most incredible space images of Earth Night Sahara "Night-time Sahara you can really see how thin the Earths atmosphere is in this picture" The most incredible space images of Earth Japan "Tokyo and Japanese coast. This image shows most of Japan with the largest mass of light corresponding to Tokyo. The white lights on the left are fishing boats" The most incredible space images of Earth Morning sun volcanoes "Morning sun striking active volcanoes in Guatemala" The most incredible space images of Earth Tapajos River "The vast waters of the Tapajos river, Amazonia" The most incredible space images of Earth Patagonia "Beautiful glacial river water flowing from this Patagonian ice field Lake Viedma, West is up" The most incredible space images of Earth Dubai Palms "Minus the #Dragon photobomb this time..." The most incredible space images of Earth Sediment in Ethiopia "Sediment spilling into this mountain lake, Ethiopia" The most incredible space images of Earth Italy "We have phases of short nights on the International Space Station sunlight is nearly always visible right now. No prizes for guessing where this is" The most incredible space images of Earth Panama Canal "From one mighty ocean to another ships passing through the Panama canal" In urban areas, lights illuminate the crowded towns and cities of India, Kyrgyzstan and Egypt. Even some news events are captured including the floods of winter 2015, which ravaged parts of Britain. Passed over UK today, Mr Peake wrote on 27 December. Thoughts are with all those affected by flooding in Northern England. The vast area in view in the shot includes Edinburgh, Lincolnshire and the River Humber, Whitehaven, Liverpool, Anglesey, the North Pennines, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. All photos are from Mr Peakes Flickr page. The map can viewed in its entirety here. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} People are putting aside their political differences to show gratitude for the work of their MPs in reaction to the death of Labour's rising star Jo Cox. Social media was flooded with the hashtag "#ThankYourMP" in response to the tragic death of Ms Cox, killed after leaving a constituency meeting in Yorkshire. The public service performed by members of Parliament and the relentless barrage of criticism often faced by them was lauded in a rare moment of gratitude for politicians by Twitter users. Tributes paid to Jo Cox The move was picked up by British actor Hugh Laurie, who tweeted the hashtag to his 1.24 million followers. One user, Maurice Morgan, wrote to her MP in Wakefield in west Yorkshire: "Thank you Mary Creagh for all the hard work you do in my area. You make a difference. You are appreciated." Another thanked shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry for once helping him with a litter of kittens, while others thanked Jeremy Corbyn and David Lammy for their "clear love" of the area they represented. Numerous people also crossed political party allegiances to show their appreciation for MPs they did not necessarily vote for. In addition, the thankless nature of representing a constituency, attending Parliament, influencing policy as a backbencher, giving media interviews, leading a team and often raising a family, was also recognised by many of the British public. One user, Stephen Drew, said: "Our democracy is precious and those who lead it for us deserve our thanks." British actor Hugh Laurie also gave his support from across the Atlantic, tweeting simply: #ThankYourMP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS Another tweet, from David Williams, called the role a "mortifyingly hard job", while Andrew Puddephatt said the UK should realise that "the vast majority of MPs on all sides are decent people doing their best." An MP's basic annual salary is 74,962, and the role involves on average between 40 and 69 hours of work a week, with noted impacts on private and family life. Not everyone was convinced of the move, however. The comments in support of MPs came in the wake of the first killing of an MP for a quarter of a century. Ms Cox's death, which is under investigation, has led to politicians from all parties expressing their shock and condolences, and led to divisions over the EU referendum to be temporarily suspended out of respect for her and her family. Ms Cox came from a working-class background and studied social and political sciences at Cambridge University, was a "tireless campaigner" for Syrian refugees and had two children aged three and five. Reports have emerged that an attacker at the scene of her death shouted "Britain first", which are now being investigated by police. Social media users also urged others to thank local councillors, who decide on housing, utilities, education and social care in an area. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The alleged killer of Labour MP Jo Cox purchased a gun-making manual and Nazi literature from a far-right neo-Nazi group, new documents suggest. 52-year-old Thomas Mair was detained by police after the multiple shooting and stabbing of the MP in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on Thursday. Ms Cox, a former aid worker, campaigned tirelessly for Syrian refugees and was a vocal supporter of the European Union and the benefits of multicultural immigration. Recommended Read more Man arrested over Labour MP killing named locally The Southern Poverty Law Centre, an established US civil rights group, has produced receipts and invoices bearing Mr Mairs name that it says are from the neo-Nazi National Alliance group. The receipts suggest Mr Mair bought $670 USD in printed material from the white supremacist group, which was until 2013 was one of the largest neo-Nazi organisations in the US. He appears to have purchased a handbook on building improvised weapons, explosives, and incendiaries, according to the records. In addition, the receipts suggest the purchase of Ich Kampfe, a handbook written by Adolf Hitler formerly given to all Nazi Party members. (Southern Poverty Law Centre (Southern Poverty Law Centre) The text of that book was drawn up by leaders of paramilitary organisations within the Nazi machine - including the infamous SS and SA - and describes their actions and methods. The receipt documents, which date from between 1999 and 2003 show Mr Mairs name and an address in Batley, in Ms Coxs constituency. The cover of Ich Kampfe, the Nazi paramilitary handbook listed in the invoices The Independent reported yesterday that Mr Mair may have also had links to the Springbok Club, an organisation which has defended the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa. That group, which says it is pro-free market capitalism and patriotism and anti-political correctness, has also campaigned against the European Union. The group has condemned Ms Coxs killing. Jo Cox in the Commons, June 2015 Speculation has raged about the motive for the attack after a number of separate eyewitnesses said Ms Coxs attacker shouted Britain first a longstanding far-right slogan during the assault. Britain First is also the name of a far-right organisation in Britain which recently publicly advocated direct action against Muslim elected officials. The group says it condemns Ms Coxs killing. (Southern Poverty Law Centre (Southern Poverty Law Centre) The attacker was also said by eyewitnesses to have used a gun of antique appearance. Eyewitnesses say Ms Cox was shot either two or three times outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall Library. She was left lying in a pool of blood and then taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary, where she died. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS Eyewitness accounts from the scene paint a confused picture of events, with some reports suggesting Ms Cox intervened in a fight between two men. Others say she was directly targeted by her attacker. There has been speculation over whether Mr Mair had a history of mental health problems. Political friends and supporters of Ms Cox gathered in parliament square on Thursday evening for an impromptu vigil. Stood amongst tearful colleagues, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in an opening address that Ms Cox was an exemplary MP, a real servant of democracy in every way. Cox murder suspect arrest A second vigil will be held on Friday night, with others also set to take place across the country. West Yorkshire police said on Thursday that the incident was localised and that they were seeking nobody else either than Mr Mair in relation to the killing. Campaigning during the European Union referendum has ceased until this weekend as a mark of respect to Ms Cox. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Bill Gates has waded into the European Union referendum debate claiming that Britain would be a significantly less attractive place to do business and invest in the event of a Brexit. The intervention from Mr Gates, the worlds wealthiest man who has invested more than a billion dollars in the UK, came after several polls throughout the week suggested the Leave campaign had edged ahead. On Thursday a poll showed Leave with 53 per cent of the vote while Remain slipped behind with 47 per cent. In a letter to the The Times the American businessman said Britain would be stronger, more prosperous and more influential inside the EU. EU Referendum: Latest Poll Recommended Read more The world is on hold over the EU referendum Mr Gates, who founded Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation a philanthropic organisation also said Britain's EU membership and access to the single market played a role in the decision to place the company's research facilities in Cambridge. While ultimately a matter for the British people to decide, it is clear to me that if Britain chooses to be outside of Europe, it will be a significantly less attractive place to do business and to invest, Mr Gates added. It will be harder to find and recruit the best talent from across the Continent; talent which, in turn, creates jobs for people in the UK. What has the EU ever done for us? Show all 7 1 /7 What has the EU ever done for us? What has the EU ever done for us? 1. It gives you freedom to live, work and retire anywhere in Europe As a member of the EU, UK citizens benefit from freedom of movement across the continent. Considered one of the so-called four pillars of the European Union, this freedom allows all EU citizens to live, work and travel in other member states. What has the EU ever done for us? 2. It sustains millions of jobs A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, released in October 2015, suggested 3.1 million British jobs were linked to the UKs exports to the EU. What has the EU ever done for us? 3. Your holiday is much easier - and safer Freedom to travel is one of the most exercised benefits of EU membership, with Britons having made 31 million visits to the EU in 2014 alone. But a lot of the benefits of being an EU citizen are either taken for granted or go unnoticed. What has the EU ever done for us? 4. It means you're less likely to get ripped off Consumer protection is a key benefit of the EUs single market, and ensures members of the British public receive equal consumer rights when shopping anywhere in Europe. What has the EU ever done for us? 5. It offers greater protection from terrorists, paedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime Another example of a lesser-known advantage of EU membership is the benefit of cross-country coordination and cooperation in the fight against crime. What has the EU ever done for us? 6. Our businesses depend on it According to 71% of all members of the Confederation of British Influence (CBI), and 67 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the EU has had an overall positive impact on their business. What has the EU ever done for us? 7. We have greater influence Robin Niblett, Director of think-tank Chatham House, stated in a report published last year: For a mid-sized country like the UK, which will never again be economically dominant either globally or regionally, and whose diplomatic and military resources are declining in relative terms, being a major player in a strong regional institution can offer a critical lever for international influence. And, it would be harder to raise the investment needed for public goods such as new medicines and affordable clean energy solutions, for which we need the scale of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and financial backing that the combined strength of the EU provides. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain's main political parties have announced that they will not contest the parliamentary seat left vacant by the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. The Conservatives said this afternoon they would stand down in Batley and Spen "as a mark of respect" to the MP ahead of an unprecedented joint statement by Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron. The two party leaders, normally bitter rivals, jointly asked the nation to unite in a joint address in the constituency on Friday afternoon. The Liberal Democrats and Ukip soon after confirmed that they too would not contest the seat, meaning Labour's candidate is very likely to be elected unopposed - barring a challenge by independents or minnows. The news comes as it is announced that Parliament will be recalled on Monday to allow MPs to pay tribute to Ms Cox. This afternoon's joint statement is a reversal of Mr Corbyn's policy of not sharing platforms with the Prime Minister, which has been in effect during the European Union referendum campaign. Mr Cameron said the way to honour Ms Cox was to redouble her values of tolerance in the face of her killing. Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics, our public life, and our communities, the Prime Minister said. Jo Cox the day before her killing (Brendan Cox/Twitter) If we truly want to honour Jo what we must do is recognise that her values service, community, tolerance the values she lived by and worked by; those are the values we need to redouble in our public life in the months and years to come. Mr Corbyn said the correct response to the killing was to strengthen Britains democracy and free speech. We all need to come together to understand that everyone must have protection and security in order to function in a democratic society, the Labour leader urged. Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had some much to give and so much of her life ahead of her. Its a tragedy beyond tragedy what happened yesterday. In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society, we will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech. The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, who was also present, spoke of his admiration of the slain MP. Today I think everybody is united in grief, in horror, and in an overpowering respect for someone we came to know, whose talents we admired, and whose passion we admitted on a daily basis, he said. A Conservative spokesperson said this morning that the party "has decided not to contest the forthcoming by-election as a mark of respect to a much-loved and respected politician. Cox murder suspect arrest Such a by-election would normally give other parties a chance to wrest control of the seat from Labour. Former party chair Grant Shapps on Friday morning however suggested that Ms Coxs replacement should be elected unopposed as a mark of tribute to her public service. I hope that in the sad by-election to follow, Jo Cox's constituency is left uncontested as a tribute to Jo's extraordinary public service, he said in a tweet. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS The date of any by election will not be set until Labour moves the writ to schedule it in the House of Commons. Other parties have not yet said whether they will contest the by-election or not. A vigil was held in Parliament Square last night to commemorate Ms Coxs life. Another will be held on Friday evening, with thousands expected to attend. West Yorkshire Police have arrested 52-year-old Thomas Mair in connection with the killing. They say they are not seeking any other individuals and that it was "localised" in nature. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Syrian activists have been paying tribute to the life and legacy of Jo Cox after the Labour MP was killed in her constituency. The countrys brutal civil war and the refugee crisis were among the 41-year-olds most prolific campaign issues after she was elected to represent Batley and Spen in the House of Commons last year. Members of the Syria Solidarity UK group said humanity had lost a champion with Mrs Coxs death on Thursday, praising her work across party lines to minimise civilian casualties. Mourners at a memorial service for Jo Cox (REUTERS) (Reuters) An open letter signed by the leaders of organisations including the Syrian Association of Yorkshire, Scotland4Syria and the Syrian Welsh Society called her view of the crisis both moral and realistic. British politics sacrificed its own humanity in its response to the Syria crisis. Jo Cox did her best to redeem it, it continued. We will miss her deeply. Salim Salamah, a Palestinian blogger born in Damascus, wrote a blog praising Mrs Cox as part of the principled minority swimming against the political current to try and help Syrians. Syrians today did not only lose a friend, they lost one of very few allies and it is tragic on many levels, he said. Many Syrians send their love, support and condescendence to Jos husband and her children; may her politics of humanity and solidarity become the norm. Rime Allaf, a Syrian writer, said her countrymen and women would mourn Mrs Cox in a tweet, adding: May you rest in peace. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS The White Helmets, a group of search and rescue volunteers in Syria, were among three charities to benefit from a crowdfunding page set up in Mrs Coxs name after death. The founders of Jo Coxs Fund, which raised more than 50,000 within three hours of going online, said it was one of the groups closest to her heart. Mrs Cox, who travelled to several conflict zones while working for Oxfam, launched the All Party Parliamentary Friends of Syria group within months of the general election. As well as calling for the need for no-bombing zones, she demanded the investigation of alleged war crimes on all sides of the conflict, including within the Syrian regime, and for all parties to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. She was also among a handful of MPs to abstain on a vote to extend British air strikes into Syria last year, arguing that the intervention did not form part of a comprehensive strategy to end the conflict, defeat extremists and deal with Bashar al-Assads regime. Smoke rises over the wreckage of buildings after a suspected barrel bomb attacks on Beyan hospital and a bazaar in Aleppo, Syria on 8 June, 2016 (Ebu Leys/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) In an article co-authored with the Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell in October, she argued that military intervention could be used to create safe havens protecting civilians from all belligerents inside Syria. There is nothing ethical about standing to one side when civilians are being murdered and maimed, they wrote. Mrs Cox was also vocal in calling for the British Government to resettle more refugees from Syria and other conflict zones, particularly unaccompanied children. In one of her final appearances in the House of Commons on 24 May, she made the passionate case for international action as bombing continued to kill civilians in both regime and rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Many people were sharing footage of her address to fellow MPs today as shock over her killing continued to reverberate. Without international action, on current trends, at the end of this short debate, another two Syrian civilians will be dead and four will be badly injured, Mrs Cox said. I do not believe that either President Obama or the Prime Minister tried to do harm in Syria but, as is said, sometimes all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An anti-immigrant poster unveiled by Nigel Farage has been reported to the police under the pretext that it allegedly incites racial hatred. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said the vile poster, which depicts a column of impoverished refugees under the text BREAKING POINT, breached race laws. Side-by-side comparison between the poster and Nazi propaganda from the 1930s have been widespread on social media since its launch by the Ukip leader on Thursday in central London. What to believe about the EU referendum The advert provoked a strong reaction across the political spectrum, with Conservative MP Boris Johnson distancing himself from it its content, saying it was not my politics. Labours refugee lead Yvette Cooper condemned its content, as did Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon. This is scaremongering in its most extreme and vile form. Leave campaigners have descended into the gutter with their latest attempt to frighten working people into voting to leave the EU, Mr Prentis said. To pretend that migration to the UK is only about people who are not white is to peddle the racism that has no place in a modern, caring society. Thats why Unison has complained about this blatant attempt to incite racial hatred and breach UK race laws. The photograph shows migrants crossing the Croatia-Slovenia border in 2015. The fact that every visible person in the photograph is from an ethnic minority has led to accusations of dog-whistle racism. The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. With friends like these, who needs enemies? PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. Cameron says were safer in the EU. Well Im in the centre of the EU and it doesnt feel very safe. Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. Were voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration. Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: Love Actually to dishonour the US stance on the EU. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldnt not find work because of uncontrolled migration. The European Union is a force for social injustice which backs the haves rather than the have-nots. EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the womens clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Goves in which he compares the EU to badly designed undergarments. So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Lets say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down. Getty Images Mr Farage however defended the poster. This is a photograph an accurate, undoctored photograph taken on 15 October last year following Angela Merkels call in the summer and, frankly, if you believe, as I have always believed, that we should open our hearts to genuine refugees, thats one thing, he told reporters. A spokesperson for Ukip said: "Ukip utterly reject the association, and would like to point out that Godwin's law applies here." "Godwin's Law" is the idea that as discussion on the internet progresses, the liklihood of a comparison being made to the Nazis approaches one. But, frankly, as you can see from this picture, most of the people coming are young males and, yes, they may be coming from countries that are not in a very happy state, they may be coming from places that are poorer than us, but the EU has made a fundamental error that risks the security of everybody. The European Union referendum will take place on 23 June next Thursday. The deadline to register to vote has already passed. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The second black box from a crashed EgyptAir plane has reportedly been found in the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian investigators said a specialist vessel had recovered it from the aircrafts wreckage, where it had been found tucked into the planes tail. A statement said the John Lethbridge, a ship contracted by the Egyptian government, managed to successfully retrieve the memory unit but did not give details of its condition. The flight data recorder is hoped to provide vital clues to investigators attempting to establish what caused the aircraft to crash on its journey from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board. EgyptAir crash wreckage spotted on seabed Experts have already started analysing the cockpit voice recorder, which arrived in Egypt after being recovered on Thursday. The EgyptAir Airbus A320 disappeared between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast on 19 May, with the cause of the disaster still unknown. Automatic messages sent in the minutes before the plane disappeared from radar appeared to indicate smoke on board, as well as problems with the cockpit windows, autopilot and the flight control system. Egypts civil aviation minister initially said he believed terrorism was a more likely explanation than equipment failure but so far no hard evidence has emerged and no group has claimed responsibility. A forensics official said body parts retrieved were small and pointed to a possible explosion on board, but the head of Egypts forensics authority dismissed it as mere assumptions. Phil Giles, a former air safety investigator who worked on the Lockerbie Bombing case, told The Independent that images of wreckage added to mounting indications the plane broke up mid-air. In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 EgyptAir wreckage The Egyptian army published photos showing wreckage and debris from EgyptAir flight 804 on 21 May Egyptian army In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 EgyptAir wreckage The Egyptian army published photos showing wreckage and debris from EgyptAir flight 804 on 21 May Egyptian army In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 EgyptAir wreckage The Egyptian army published photos showing wreckage and debris from EgyptAir flight 804 on 21 May Egyptian army In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 EgyptAir wreckage The Egyptian army published photos showing wreckage and debris from EgyptAir flight 804 on 21 May In pictures: Wreckage from EgyptAir flight 804 EgyptAir wreckage The Egyptian army published photos showing wreckage and debris from EgyptAir flight 804 on 21 May All the evidence so far, including the pictures, indicates that the aircraft broke up at altitude rather than when it impacted the sea, he said. Aircraft do infrequently break up as a function of severe weather; however, this wasn't a factor in this accident. Modern aircraft such as the A320 don't have a habit of suffering major structural failure unless there is some external factor like a BUK missile as in the case of MH17, or an internal device." Claims by Greece's defence minister that the plane swerved and rapidly lost altitude before it disappeared from radar have also been challenged by an Egyptian official. Among the victims was Richard Osman, a father-of-two from Wales, and a Frenchman who almost missed the fated flight after losing his passport. EgyptAir said 30 Egyptians, 15 French passengers, two Iraqis, and one passenger from Britain, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were on board. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Kenyan High Court has upheld the use of anal examinations to determine sexual orientation despite arguments that the procedure amounts to torture and degrading treatment. Two men being tried for having gay sex in Kenya lost a petition which argued they had been forced into undergoing anal examinations by security personnel in a public hospital in Mombasa in February 2015. The unnamed men, who deny the charges, said the anal examinations and HIV and hepatitis B tests they were forced to have, amounted to being subjected to torture and degrading treatment. Recommended Read more Kenya could be about to end forced anal examinations of gay men Mombasa High Court Judge Mathew Emukule ruled there was no violation of rights or the law in the examinations, saying there was sufficient justification under Kenyan law to allow the intrusion into the human body for the purpose of gathering evidence to prove sexually related crime. I find no violation of human dignity, right to privacy and right to freedom of the petitioners," he said. The petition has no merit and is dismissed. The judge said the petitioners should have used their lawyers to seek injunction orders to avoid undergoing the tests. Human rights attacks around the world Show all 10 1 /10 Human rights attacks around the world Human rights attacks around the world China Escalating crackdown against human rights activists including mass arrests of lawyers and a series of sweeping laws in the name of national security. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Egypt The arrest of thousands, including peaceful critics, in a ruthless crackdown in the name of national security, the prolonged detention of hundreds without charge or trial and the sentencing of hundreds of others to death. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Gambia Torture, enforced disappearances and the criminalisation of LGBTI people; and utter refusal to co-operate with the UN and regional human rights mechanisms on issues including freedom of expression, enforced disappearance and the death penalty. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Hungary Sealing off its borders to thousands of refugees in dire need; and obstructing collective regional attempts to help them. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Israel Maintaining its military blockade of Gaza and therefore collective punishment of the 1.8 million inhabitants there, as well as failing, like Palestine, to comply with a UN call to conduct credible investigations into war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Kenya Extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and discrimination against refugees in its counter-terrorism operations; and attempts to undermine the International Criminal Court and its ability to pursue justice. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Pakistan The severe human rights failings of its response to the horrific Peshawar school massacre including its relentless use of the death penalty; and its policy on international NGOs giving authorities the power to monitor them and close them down if they are considered to be against the interests of the country. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Russia Repressive use of vague national security and anti-extremism legislation and its concerted attempts to silence civil society in the country; its shameful refusal to acknowledge civilian killings in Syria and its callous moves to block Security Council action on Syria. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Saudi Arabia Brutally cracking down on those who dared to advocate reform or criticise the authorities; and committing war crimes in the bombing campaign it has led in Yemen (pictured) while obstructing the establishment of a UN-led inquiry into violations by all sides in the conflict. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Syria Killing thousands of civilians in direct and indiscriminate attacks with barrel bombs and other weaponry and through acts of torture in detention; and enforcing lengthy sieges of civilian areas, blocking international aid from reaching starving civilians. Getty Images The two men were arrested in a bar near Ukunda along Kenyas Indian Ocean coast in early 2015 on suspicion of engaging in gay sex, which is a criminal activity in Kenya and punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Law enforcement officials and some medical personnel in Kenya claim that by forcibly penetrating or otherwise examining the anuses of men accused of homosexuality, they can determine the tone of the anal sphincter and draw conclusions as to whether these men have engaged in homosexual conduct. However, many human rights groups have discredited the practice. Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights at Human Rights Watch said: Anal examinations prove nothing, and they accomplish nothing, other than humiliating and demeaning people who are considered moral outcasts. Its frankly shocking to see such archaic methods used in Kenya in the 21st century. The Independent Forensic Experts Group (IFEG) has also condemned the anal examinations in a recent statement. Dr. Vincent Iacopino, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights and member of IFEG said: Anal examinations to detect homosexuality have no scientific value, are unethical, and constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and possibly torture. Sexual identity and orientation is not a disease or a crime and health professionals have no business diagnosing it or aiding State officials in policing and punishing people on the basis of their sexuality. Following the ruling, Eric Gitari, the executive director of the Kenyan National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, which has supported the petition said: I sat in court holding my chin in disbelief. Its so painful when we are trying to encourage the gay community to go to court to affirm their rights; the courts are instead affirming violation of their rights. On a visit to Kenya in July last year US President Barack Obama equated discrimination against gays to treating people differently because of race, adding: Thats the path whereby freedoms begin to erode. The mens trial is on-going. Mr Gitari says they will appeal. Additional reporting by agencies Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fifty-one US State Department officials have issued a letter of dissent criticising the Obama administrations policy in Syria and called for further military action against President Bashar al-Assads regime. The memo, sent through the departments dissent channel, calls for a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process, the New York Times reported. The cable adds that US policy in the region is overwhelmed by the violence carried out by Mr Assads government, as it has violates partial ceasefire agreements set with Secretary of State John Kerry in Munich last year. President Obamas approach to the Syrian conflict amid the states five-year civil war has focused on military action against Isis, rather than unseating the Assad regime. It is the hope of the State Department officials who released the dissent cable to use military action as a tool to reboot diplomatic talks. Mr Obama has shown no indication of straying from his current policy in Syria despite the seeming failure of diplomatic efforts in the region. Syria's war: Civilians hit in Aleppo airstrikes The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the cable reads. The status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges. State Department officials who signed the memo were cognizant of the fact that further military response could cause complications with Russia, who have had a longstanding military and diplomatic relationship with Syria for decades. They added they were not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had only seen media reports about the memo, but said: Calls for the violent overthrow of authorities in another country are unlikely to be accepted in Moscow. The liquidation of this or some other regime is hardly what is needed to aid the successful continuation of the battle against terrorism. Such a move is capable of plunging the region into complete chaos. In the US, it is not unusual to see members of the State Department issue their grievances about the Secretary of State or the presiding administration through the dissent channel, established during the Vietnam War. The channel allows for personnel to protest their disagreements with state policy without the fear of retaliation. The State Department received a 30-page dissent cable in the 1990s regarding then-President Bill Clintons seeming hesitation with intervening in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After dissent letters were issued as well as a number of resignations within the State Department - Mr Clinton launched his campaign against Serbian forces. But what sets the most recent dissent cable apart from previous others is the sheer number of officials 51 rank-and-file members, diplomats, and long-serving officers who have signed it. State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the Syria cable was being "reviewed" but that he added he would not comment on its contents. What remains unclear, however, is what the State officials suggest happens next. Its quite clear that the current military balance favours the [Assad] regime with Russian and Iranian support and the regime is essentially said to shirk the UN talks, Daniel Serwer, Middle East scholar and professor of conflict management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told The Independent. So some rebalancing of the military situation is going to be vital in getting the talks restarted. I think they are absolutely correct on that. The question is, What happens after that? he added. How do you go about this? Do you simply bomb and abandon the situation? Do you try to establish a safe area for the opposition to Assad to govern in? Whats the whole plan? Its not enough to simply say, Lets bomb them. Still, Mr Obama is likely to remain steadfast in his pursuit of Isis, rather than engage in a conflict with another state. But the officials insist that tougher actions against the Assad regime would likely prove to be effective not just in ending the overwhelming violence in Syria, but in tackling Isis. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Barack Obama will meet with Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the White House has said. Mr Obama is expected to discuss tensions in the Middle East, in particular the trouble posed by Islamic State and potential ways to tackle it. Prince bin Salman, the son of King Salman, who has been described as the most dangerous man in the world, will join the President at his home as part of a visit to the United States aimed at improving relations with Washington and to put plans into motion to reduce the countrys dependence on oil revenues. Eric Schultz, a spokesperson for the White House, said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss issues including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and "our cooperation with the Saudis in the campaign against ISIL". The US has expressed unease about the Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has resulted in large-scale civilian casualties, according to the United Nations and human rights groups. Prince bin Salman, whose influence in Saudi governing councils appears to be growing rapidly, is being given wide access to Mr Obama's administration. He met with Mr Obama's National Economic Council at the White House on Thursday afternoon to discuss the plan the prince is championing to transform the Saudi economy by 2030. The White House said in a statement after the meeting: "US officials welcomed Saudi Arabia's commitment to economic reform and underscored the United States' desire to be a key partner in helping Saudi Arabia implement its ambitious economic reform program. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty Prince bin Salman, who is also the Saudi defence minister, also is due to meet US Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon. Earlier this year, he poured cold water on suggestions to end the world's only ban on women driving cars, saying the Saudi community "is not convinced about women driving". Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two active duty marines are under investigation after they posed with a gun, threatened a gay bar and posted it on Facebook. In the photo, which was uploaded onto a private Facebook group for male marines with 25,000 members, a marine poses with a gun, biting his lip and his finger near the trigger. The caption underneath reads: Coming to a gay bar near you! In the comment, one of the marines asked: Too soon?, possibly referring to the deadly attack on gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, which left 49 people dead and more than 50 people injured. The marines are being investigated by the California-based I Marine Expeditionary Force, who vowed to take appropriate action. Spokesman First Lieutenant Thomas Gray, told the Marine Corps Times that the marines have been identified. We cannot discuss details of an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you the command is taking this incident seriously, Mr Gray said. The Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion, a statement said. ...This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis. The incident has occurred less than a week after the worst shooting in modern US history, in which a lone 29-year-old gunman burst into the gay nightclub with two weapons and shot down more than 100 people. He was killed by the police. The incident has sparked a renewed national conversation about gun laws as well as discrimination faced by the LGBT community. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The FBI has offered a $50,000 (35,000) reward for information leading to the capture of the East Area Rapist a California serial killer who may be Americas most prolific violent offender. The unidentified man, whom officials believe would now be between 60 and 75 years old, is suspected of 12 murders and 45 rapes in a spree lasting at least a decade, from 1976 to 1986. The man, said to be white and around 510 tall with blonde or light brown hair, committed his first recorded rape in the Sacramento area in June 1976. He has been variously dubbed the East Area Rapist, the Golden State Killer and the Original Night Stalker, a reference to the Night Stalker serial killer who operated in Los Angeles from 1984 until his capture in 1985. On 2 February 1978, he chased down and murdered a US Air Force Sergeant and his wife as they walked their dog in Rancho Cordova, a Sacramento suburb. In its statement the FBI said he may be trained in military or law enforcement techniques and had some skill with firearms. Linked by DNA to a string of rapes and murders, the unknown man is also thought responsible for more than 120 burglaries and often stole valuables from his victims, who ranged from 13 to 41 years old. He was known to surprise sleeping couples in bed, tying up the man and raping the woman. He killed couples and women at home alone or with their children. Burglaries in a neighbourhood tended to precede clusters of sexual assaults, the FBI said. From 1976 to 1978, the killer terrorised Sacramento, said Special Agent Marcus Knutson, who was born and raised in the city and is now in charge of the FBIs investigation. We had people sleeping with shotguns, we had people purchasing dogs, he said. People were concerned, and they had a right to be. This guy was terrorising the community. He did horrible things. Between 1979 and 1981, the attacks shifted to the San Francisco Bay Area and then down the California coast. He killed in Irvine, Orange County in 1981, after which the murders ceased for five years. His final known victim an 18-year-old girl was also killed in Irvine, in 1986. Sacramento County Sheriffs Department detective Sergeant Paul Belli said: Regardless of the amount of time that has passed, the sheriffs department never gave up on the investigation. This person ruined a great number of lives, and he should be held accountable." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Canadian MP and friend of Jo Cox broke down in tears as he delivered a tribute in parliament to the Labour MP who died after being shot and stabbed outside a library in her constituency. Nathan Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley in British Columbia, west Canada, described Ms Cox as a mum of two beautiful children and a friend. She was a dedicated Labour MP and long advocate of human rights in Britain and around the world, who was murdered today, he said in a statement given at the Canadian House of Commons and broadcast by Canadian TV station CPAC. Jo used her voice for those who have none. She dedicated her passion to those who needed it most, and she harnessed her limitless love, even and especially for those who allowed hate to consume them, he said. Mr Cullen, a member of the left-leaning New Democratic Party, met Ms Cox three years ago at a leadership conference near Washington DC, according to the Huffington Post. They remained in touch after the conference, which Ms Cox attended as she was considering setting up her own charity. Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London AFP Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes to Labour Party MP Jo Cox are placed on her houseboat in Wapping in London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures The Union flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House in London after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (2R) and deputy leader Tom Watson (L) light candles as they attend a vigil to slain Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament square in London AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson (rear) arrive to leave tributes at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People leave St Peter's Church after a vigil in memory of Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flowers left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminste, following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People react as they look at tributes left for Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A man writes a message at Parliament Square PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People stop to look at tributes left at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman arrives to lay flowers at a statue to Joseph Priestly in Birstall near to the scene where Labour MP Jo Cox was shot AFP/Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A woman places candles in tribute to Labour Party MP Jo Cox REUTERS Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A member of the public signs a memorial for British MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London EPA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People sign messages of condolence for MP Jo Cox during a vigil in Parliament Square in London Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Flags at half mast outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in the street outside her constituency advice surgery in Birstall PA Jo Cox tributes - in pictures People arrive in Market Square with floral tributes after the death of Jo Co Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are placed in Market Square next to the statue of Joseph Priestley following the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures Floral tributes are brought to the scene after the death of Jo Cox Getty Images Jo Cox tributes - in pictures A police officer carries bunches of flowers at the scene of the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox in Birstall REUTERS To Brendan, to Jos beautiful children, we express our deepest condolences. Excuse me, said Mr Cullen, his voice cracking. His speech was followed by a standing ovation. A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the attack. He has been named locally as Tommy Mair. Earlier on Thursday, Mr Cullen tweeted: Praying for my friend [Jo Cox] who was shot by a radical rightwing attacker today in UK. Shocked at the violence. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man was arrested after police found assault rifles, instructions on how to make bombs and a trove of Nazi paraphernalia at his home in New York. 29-year-old Edward Perkowski faces weapons and drug charges after police also found $40,000 in cash, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms at his house in Long Island. Authorities said his arrest meant they had neutralized a clear public threat. His 25-year-old brother, Sean, who lives in the same house was also arrested for an outstanding bench warrant that was unrelated. Todays search warrant might have prevented a deadly, violent incident, like the one we recently saw in Orlando, the Suffolk County police commissioner, Timothy Sini, said at a news conference, according to the New York Times. He added the brothers clearly subscribed to a hateful ideology, with an illegal arsenal at their fingertips. The discovery comes just days after a 29-year-old gunman who pledged allegiance to Isis burst into a gay nightclub called Pulse in Orlando and shot dead 49 people and injured 53. America's worst mass shooting incidents Show all 11 1 /11 America's worst mass shooting incidents America's worst mass shooting incidents pp-orlando-victims-1-ap.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents ohio.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents hance.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents westroadsCCTV.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents virginia.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents gale.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents red-lake.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents beltway.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents columbine.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents hennard.jpg AP America's worst mass shooting incidents Pough.jpg AP The trove of weapons in Long Island included handwritten bomb-making instructions, six assault rifles, a handgun, a shotgun, four rifles and a stun gun, and some of the guns had high-capacity magazines, said Mr Sini. The weapons and a leather-bound binder, described as a racist manifesto, were lined beside a framed picture of Adolf Hitler and flags with swastikas. The Brookhaven town supervisor, Edward Romaine, said the brothers' house was infected with the disease called hate, and authorities want to stop hate in this country. A third brother denied that Mr Perkowski was a Nazi or neo-Nazi, as reported by CBS news. A friend, who only identified himself as Bob, told the network: What the hell are they talking about, theyre going to plan some attack?! Ive known them my whole life. Theyre not going to do anything. Neighbours had said they had dealt with trouble for years and made multiple complaints of alleged assault, traffic, noise and partying. The incident also comes just a few days after a man from Indiana, James Howell, was arrested after driving nearby the Los Angeles gay pride march with a stash of weapons in his car. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords said she was sickened by the violent assassination of British MP Jo Cox, calling the attack a manifestation of the coarseness in our politics. In a series of tweets, Ms Giffords expressed her grief and sympathy for Ms Cox, 41, after the Labour Party politician was beaten, stabbed, and shot while speaking to her constituents in West Yorkshire. Witnesses say the attacker yelled, Britain first, during his assault. The assassination of MP Jo Cox at the hands of a man driven by hatred is a manifestation of a coarseness in our politics that must stop, Ms Giffords wrote in a tweet. I grieve for Jo Coxs family, friends, constituents, and for the people of Great Britain. Ms Giffords came close to death after a gunman shot her in the head while she, like Ms Cox, was speaking with voters at an Arizona supermarket in 2011. Since Ms Giffords survival of the brutal attack that killed six people in the supermarket, she has become a vocal proponent of gun control in the US. The former Democratic representative recently came out in support of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with whom she aligns with in the ongoing gun debate. NRA once supported gun control For far too long, the gun lobby has had a stranglehold on Washington. Members of Congress and even some of our presidents have been intimidated into inaction, Ms Giffords wrote in a Medium post. Only one candidate for president has the determination and toughness to stand up to the corporate gun lobby - and the record to prove it. That candidate is Hillary Clinton. Ms Clinton also issued a statement Thursday night in response to the death of Ms Cox, and spoke out against political hatred and violence. I am horrified by the assassination of British MP Jo Cox, murdered earlier today in her district in Northern England, she said. It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance. [We must honor Jo Cox] by rejecting bigotry in all its forms, and instead embracing, as she always did, everything that binds us together. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Joanne Barnaby was deep in the deadfall, smeared in mosquitoes and blood, dehydrated and near exhaustion, when she heard the call of a mama bear searching for its cub. Barnaby couldn't believe her luck. Twelve hours earlier, she had been picking mushrooms in the remote Canadian wilderness when she had heard a growl behind her. She turned around and saw Joey, her faithful mutt, locked in a snarling standoff with a skinny black wolf. For twelve hours, the wolf had pursued Barnaby and her dog through the wildfire-scorched forests of the Northwest Territories. And for twelve hours, the starving animal had tried to separate Barnaby and Joey, driving them all deeper into the bush. Night settled around Barnaby, hiding the swarms of mosquitoes that blanketed her arms, legs and face. And still the wolf snapped and growled, waiting for the woman or her dog to drop their guard. Barnaby was near collapse when dawn began to creep across the sky. That's when she heard the bear grunt. And that's when she got an idea. It was an idea so outrageous, some critics would later accuse her of making the whole ordeal up. Yet, Canadian officials and close friends confirm Barnaby was missing in the woods. And she is sticking by her story that a preposterous idea -- of pitting one predator against another -- saved her life. From hunting morels to being hunted Joanne Barnaby knew better than to leave her gun at home. She had grown up in the Northwest Territories, a huge and rugged region of Canada stretching north of Alberta to the Arctic Ocean. Part Dene Indian, or "mixed blood," as she would say, Barnaby spent much of her childhood in a residential school, run by the Catholic Church and designed to assimilate Inuits into mainstream Canadian culture. "They tried to take the Indian out of us," she told The Washington Post. When she grew up, Barnaby chose to work with indigenous communities. She often went hunting and hiking through the wildlife-rich forests, always remembering to pack her rifle. On the morning of June 10, she and a friend, Tammy Caudron, decided to hunt for morels. They climbed into Barnaby's truck and drove east from Hay River along the highway. Barnaby didn't want her rifle on her back as she stooped to pick up the pricey mushrooms. So she left it behind. "It was a stupid mistake," she said. "I paid a big price." The incredible story of how that small mistake nearly cost Barnaby her life was first reported by CBC Wednesday. Barnaby spoke to The Post by phone on Wednesday night. Barnaby parked her truck near the highway at around 11 a.m. The two foragers then walked in different directions in search of morels. Barnaby had with her a basket, a can of beer and Joey, her black and yellow mutt. Joey was Barnaby's guard dog. When a bear would approach her log cabin-style house in Hay River, Joey would race outside and chase them off. So when, after about five hours of mushroom hunting, Barnaby heard a growl behind, she knew there could be trouble. She turned around and saw Joey muzzle-to-muzzle with a black wolf. The wolf was skinny -- probably cast out of its pack, Barnaby thought -- but still twice the size of Joey. And it was between her and the highway. "He looked old to me, but he was smart," she said. "It took me a while to realise how smart he was, and that he was actually being very, very strategic in trying to separate me from my dog and wear me down. I don't think he was strong enough to take us both on. And I think he knew that." Joey tried to scare away the wolf, as he did with bears, but it didn't work. The wolf was just watching them, legs spread apart as if ready to pounce, lips curled back to show sharp teeth. "It scared the hell out of me," Barnaby said. The wolf was hunting her. Whenever Barnaby tried to angle back toward the highway and her truck, the animal cut her off. She found herself drifting deeper into the woods. "He was directing me. There was no question about it. He was pushing me further and further from the highway," she said. "He was stalking me. He was literally stalking me." That's when it dawned on her. She might die. 'Jo knows the bush' Tammy Caudron didn't worry when she walked back to the truck and found it empty. She and Barnaby had a system. Caudron honked the horn, had something to eat and waited. When Barnaby didn't emerge from the forest, Caudron decided to go back to picking morels. She returned an hour later with more mushrooms, but there was no Barnaby. This is not good, she thought. Caudron walked into the woods, yelling and whistling. Nothing. She walked back to the truck and honked the horn. Nothing. Now she started to panic. Caudron flagged down a passing truck. When she told the men inside who was missing, they didn't seem too concerned. "Jo knows the bush," one said. It was true. Joanne Barnaby knew these woods better than almost anyone. It was nearly impossible that she had gotten lost. But Caudron worried that her friend had broken a leg or, worst of all, encountered an animal Joey couldn't scare off. The men agreed to help. They spread out in the woods, firing their shotguns to alert Barnaby to their location. Barnaby knew where she was, however. She even heard a few of the gunshots. But she was powerless to heed them. A dangerous gamble As the wolf drove Barnaby and Joey deeper into the woods, the landscape shifted. The relatively flat, burned forest floor gave way to thicker foliage. Dusk fell and still the animal pursued them. Barnaby had only her now empty beer can: no food, no water. A cloud of mosquitoes followed her. Even as the wolf watched, Barnaby developed a habit of rubbing her hands over her exposed face, arms and legs. "My hands were just full of blood and mosquitoes," she said. So many swarmed her face that "at some points it was hard to see." She tried rubbing poplar powder on her skin to keep the insects away, but it did little good. She was exhausted, hungry and dehydrated. The day had been hot. The night was cold. She was nearing her breaking point. Then the sky began to brighten in the east, and she heard a grunting sound. She could barely hear it over the whine of the mosquitoes, but it was there, in the distance: a sound she recognized well: the call of a mother bear. "I actually sat down on a log and really concentrated," she said. "I heard the cub's response. It was coming from another direction, away from the mother, so obviously the mother was calling her cub." The wolf, meanwhile, was watching. "I sat there and I thought about it and I prayed about it," Barnaby said. She struck upon a seemingly insane plan. She would put herself between the mother bear and her cub in the hope that the mama bear would drive off the wolf. "I decided I would take a chance," she told The Post. Of course, her plan could backfire. The bear could attack her instead. As she walked toward the cub, she could hear its calls getting louder. Before she ever saw the animal, however, the forest erupted behind her. "All of a sudden I could hear this crashing behind me and this yelping and growling and howling," she said. "I just got out of there as fast as I could--from all of them, the cub, the mama bear and wolf." Not out of the woods yet For half an hour, Barnaby and Joey took a beeline away from the bears. For once, the wolf didn't follow. When she felt they were safe, she paused to rest. But Joey began whimpering, so she let him lead her on through the forest. He took them to a small lake. The water was muddy and tepid, but it was better than nothing. She filled her empty beer can and drank. Her stomach cramps subsided and she felt some strength return. She then climbed up a small hill. In the distance, less than a mile away, she could see cars stopped on the highway. A search party. She descended the hill and headed toward the highway, only to find her path blocked by a vast field of deadfall, or tangled, dead trees. "I don't know if you know that game Pick-up Sticks," she said. "It was kind of like that but on a massive level." Barnaby tried to climb through the deadfall. Ten minutes into it, however, she fell and hit her back. She turned back, away from the search party and salvation. "It was devastating," she said. "There were about three points at which I cried. That was definitely one of them." "I didn't think I was going to make it," she said. "I started talking to both my sons, one of whom died when he was a baby, and my other son, who is a young man now. I was talking to all kinds of people that I love, and I was crying the whole time." But she was also walking. Eventually, Barnaby got to a muskeg, or marsh, with a stream running through it. She filled her beer can again and again. "That water was amazingly delicious," she said. "It didn't look great, but it sure tasted better [than the lake water]. It was so pure and so delicious and so cold." It took her an hour to cross the marshland. At the other side, there was a wall of willows "so thick I literally had to untangle them. "When I broke through those willows, I knew I was close." A final mistake After the willows, the forest opened up again. She could tell from the recent burn that she was nearing the highway again. At 8 a.m., 14 hours after encountering the wolf and four hours after escaping the bears, Barnaby felt pavement beneath her weary feet. Less than a mile up the road, she could see Royal Canadian Mounted Police cars. She waved at them but they were busy searching in the other direction. "I came up behind them," she said with a laugh. "I surprised them." Mounties gave her food and water, but they didn't have what she was craving most. "They didn't have any mosquito spray in that damn truck," she said. "That's what I was dying for." Barnaby said she was so "pumped up on adrenaline" that she made one final mistake. She turned down a ride back to her house, opting to drive herself instead. "I just about passed out on the highway from exhaustion," she said. She made it, however, pulling into her drive to find Caudron and her family waiting for her. "I thought you were dead," Caudron yelled as she hugged her friend. "It was the biggest hug, the biggest cry I had ever had," Caudron told The Post later. Caudron seconded her friend's story. Although she never saw the wolf, she recounted hours of searching for her friend. At one point, she saw a shape coming toward her on the highway, but it turned out to be a pair of buffalo. "I took a couple of photos," she said. Joanne Barnaby (Courtesy of Joanne Barnaby) Joanne Barnaby (Courtesy of Joanne Barnaby) Barnaby posted her remarkable survival story to Facebook on Tuesday, along with a photo showing her covered in dirt, blood and poplar powder. "In the hopes that by posting this, I can reduce how many times I will have to tell this story," her post began. More than 150 friends and family members commented on it, praising the survival skills and smart thinking that kept her alive. Some even offered jokes. "Morel mushrooms $5/lb," one friend wrote. "Your incredible brave dog Joey priceless." Her story was also picked up by CBC, which ran an interview with Barnaby on Wednesday. Some readers questioned her story, however, finding its confluence of wild animals too much to believe. "The boy who cried wolf is an old parable, but the only morel to this story, is that it comes from the same stuff the mushrooms were growing out of," one reader wrote. "This story is more fiction than real," wrote another. "You have a greater chance of turning into a werewolf under a full moon than you do of being attacked by a wolf." But both Barnaby and Caudron insist it really happened. "We should have planned it out a little better. A lot of things went wrong. But at the end of the day, she did a lot of things right. And that's why she is here," Caudron said, adding that she didn't pay attention to the "few naysayers here and there." Barnaby said she had also given her account to the Mounties. "I saw them on the highway and I basically told them what happened," she said. "They didn't even take an official statement. They didn't ask me many questions." A RCMP spokesperson confirmed to The Post that Barnaby was, indeed, "missing in Wood Buffalo National Park." "We can confirm that the RCMP participated in the search," the spokesperson said in an email. "One RCMP member was on scene when she was located." Barnaby didn't seem bothered by doubts about her incredible account. She said she went looking for morels, not celebrity. Although she did admit that "the whole situation with the wolf is pretty bizarre. I've never heard anything like that." Meanwhile, many of the people trying to pick holes in her story don't have a clue what life is like in the Northern Territories. "I've lived in the north all my life and I've spent a lot of time on the land," she said to a reporter in Washington. "We interact with the natural world more often than you do down there." Copyright: Washington Post Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The infamous Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to demonstrate outside of an Orlando church while funerals for two victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings are underway. Recommended Read more Slain Orlando couple who planned to marry to receive joint funeral LGBTQ community leaders are calling for a counter protest to dampen the shouts of the WBC protestors, who became known for their hate speech against homosexuals. The WBC said they plan to protest beginning Saturday morning at the Cathedral Church of St Luke. We are asking that the community form a counter protest to block out the WBC at this location, said Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the GLBT Community Center. Obama Rails at Pro-Gun Lobby on Orlando Visit Following Mass Shooting Mr DeCarlo told the Orlando Sentinel the The Center obtained a permit to counter protest on the other side of the street, so as to prevent grieving family members from seeing and hearing the WBC protest. I'm not surprised evil reared its ugly head, Mr DeCarlo said. We'll make sure they are not heard. Orlando Police did not indicate whether or not WBC obtained a permit for their protest. "Westboro Baptist Church does not need a permit if they intend to have fewer than 100 people come to town," a spokesperson for the department told The Independent. "In the past they have brought only a handful." The WBC issued a statement on Thursday announcing the protest of the funerals, with an image of a sign that proclaims, God sent the shooter. Their protests generally consist of claims that tragedys happen to victims as a penance of sorts. No coincidence that God is smacking Orlando with grievous sorrow, killing your children with shooters and alligators, when you are about to belly up to fathers day! the WBC said in a statement. DONT DO IT! Your faithless dads are to blame for your horrible sorrow. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Kansas-based organisation as extremist hate group, and say that they are arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America. But the GLBT Center plans to not let the WBC steer them away. Counter protesters are expected to bring homemade angel wings and supportive signs to obscure the signs of the extremist group. Lets shower them with our love, Mr DeCarlo asked of his community. We have the ability to counter this hate and show the world once again why we are the City Beautiful and we cannot be broken by hate and those that would challenge our way of life. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A PE teacher has been sentenced to jail and an extended probationary period after having sex with two of her male students. Lindsay Himmelspach, from California, who has been a teacher for 10 years, will spend 120 days in jail and then move into probation after the judge noted her remorse over her actions. The 33-year-old teacher had sex with two of her 17-year-old students at Las Plumas High School in California between May and September 2015. In California, sex with people under 18 is considered statuatory rape. The mother of one of the boys, who cannot be named, said the woman was a "sexual predator" and that when she had questioned her son about the incident he had said: "She was my teacher, mum. What was I supposed to do?" She also criticised some of the officers' conclusions about the male students, including that the victims were "not particularly vulnerable", according to the Chico Enterprise Record. But the mother of one of the boys told the court that her child had shown signs of anger, depression and even threatened to kill himself since the relationship with Himmelspach. Las Palmas High School in California, where the 33-year-old teacher had been for a number of years The prosecutor added that the teacher had abused her position of power and trust by having relationships with the two victims, and had deliberately organiesd places to meet away from the school so as to avoid being caught. Himmelspach had reportedly also shared sexually explicit videos with both boys. A decision over whether Himmelspach should be placed on the sex offenders' list has been postponed by the judge until a hearing in August. Her defence had said it was unlikely she would commit another sexual crime, while the prosecution said the case showed a "pattern of events" and was "not an isolated act". She had pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, or statutory rape. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Republican leaders in the US have blocked a vote on a measure to protect LGBT workers from discrimination just days after 49 people were killed in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, a member of the US House of Representatives, had proposed an amendment to a defence spending bill to prevent federal contractors from discriminating on grounds of sexuality. But despite a number of high-profile Republicans expressing outrage and sadness after the attack on the Pulse nightclub early last Sunday, the party moved to stop a vote on the amendment. As an LGBT American Im at a loss. Our community suffers tremendous loss, now [Republican] lawmakers refuse to even allow a vote, Mr Maloney wrote on Twitter. Mr Maloney is openly gay and represents the 18th district of New York in the northern suburbs of New York City. This is about basic civil rights, he said in a statement. My amendment is simple, it says that no Department of Defense dollars can go to federal contractors who contravene President Obamas 2014 Executive Order, which extended basic workplace protections to LGBT Americans. Orlando Shooting Would Have Been Stopped if Clubbers Had Guns Trump The 2014 order prohibited employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to previously existing measures banning discrimination by sex and national origin. More than 300 people were at a Latin music event at Pulse nightclub when Omar Mateen opened fire, killing 49 people died and leaving 53 injured. The so-called Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. After the attack, Republican politician Mitt Romney offered a special prayer for the LGBT community that was the focus of this attack, he said in a tweet. And Florida Senator and former Republican Presidential nomination hopeful Marco Rubio expressed outrage at the targeting of LGBT people by terrorist groups in an interview with The Advocate. "I don't need investigators to tell me the gay community was targeted in this attack," Mr Rubio said. Referring to Isis, he said: "We are dealing with some evil, nasty human beings who are motivated by an ideology of hatred that needs to be defeated". Mr Maloney told US political news site The Hill a decision to reaffirm President Obamas order in law would have been a very positive step to take after the horrific events in Orlando. Hate has no place in our flags, in our workplace, or in our country. And it should have no place in federal law, he said. In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather at a vigil in solidarity for the victims of the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, at Taylor Square in Sydney EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Brett Morian, from Daytona Beach, hugs an attendee during the candlelight vigil at Ember in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People and members of the gay community holding the peace rainbow flag gather for a vigil near the Beaubourg art center in downtown Paris AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man places a hand print on a makeshift memorial in a parking lot near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People place candles by a statue of Abraham Lincoln during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack against a gay night club, held in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Tel-Aviv city hall lit up with rainbow flag colors in solidarity with Florida's shooting attack victims AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Juan Mantilla (L) stands with his partner during a vigil in memory of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting, in Miami Beach AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple shares a kiss as they embrace each other under a pride flag while residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area gather to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Austin Ellis, a member of Metropolitan Community Church, carries a cross with a sign in memory of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting as he marches in the 2016 Gay Pride Parade in Philadelphia Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A rainbow flag flies at half mast on the Space Needle in Seattle, in honor of the victims of the nightclub shooting in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People at the LA Pride event in West Hollywood, write signs and light candles showing solidarity with victims of the mass killings in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims In reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida people hug outside the Stonewall Inn near a vigil for the victims in New York AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A woman offers free hugs in Washington, in reaction to the mass shootings at a gay club in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A U.S. flag is flown at half staff at the White House after the Orlando mass shooting Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays flowers on a rainbow flag in front of the embassy of the United States in Madrid, to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting of Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Michael Fowler Centre is lit in rainbow colours by the city council during a candle lit vigil across the road at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Participants hold candles during a vigil at Frank Kits Park in Wellington, in remembrance of victims after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Vixon Noir (R) consoles Trashina Cann, both of San Francisco, during a vigil at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro district of San Francisco AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People gather in the Castro District for a vigil for the victims of the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub, in San Francisco REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A couple joins residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area to mourn, honor, and remember the victims of a mass shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando EPA In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Mourners pay tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting during a memorial service in San Diego AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The Orlando Eye observation wheel lights up in rainbow colors, to remember the people killed and injured in the Pulse nightclub shooting AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People sit by the water with candles during a vigil in a park following a mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Members of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence carry a sign of remembrance for mass shooting victims in Orlando, at the 46th annual Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade in West Hollywood REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims Former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Shawn Lang of Hartford embrace after Segarra spoke, during a vigil organized by the state's Muslim and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, on the steps of the state Capitol building in reaction to the mass shooting in Orlando AP In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims The City Hall Building is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims One World Trade Center is lit in the rainbow colors in New York, in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims People hold a vigil after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history at a gay nightclub in Orlando, in front of the White House in Washington REUTERS In pictures: The world mourns Orlando shooting victims A man lays down 50 roses to honor each victim of the gay Orlando night club shooting as people gather outside of the Stonewall Inn as a vigil is held following the massacre Getty Images This is not the first time Mr Maloney has attempted to add a clause protecting LGBT workers rights to a US government spending bill. Last month, he proposed the same amendment to a Department of Veterans Affairs bill, which went through to a vote but was narrowly rejected. According to Politico, Democrats from the House of Representatives chanted shame after Republican leaders barred the amendment by just one vote. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have condemned Hillary Clintons accusations after a mass shooting in Orlando that the two countries are among those that need to stop funding terrorism. Speaking earlier this week in Ohio, Ms Clinton unveiled her plan to defeat Isis and said: It is long past time for the Saudis, Qataris and Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organisations. Her comments came shortly after a 29-year-old gunman who pledged his allegiance to Isis and burst into a gay nightclub in Orlando, shooting dead 49 people and injuring 53. In letters addressed to Fairfax Media, the two embassies in Canberra, Australia, said they strongly objected to Ms Clintons call that they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world. Accusations leveled against the Kingdom of being lax or of supporting extremism fails to recognise the Kingdom's leadership role in combating terrorism, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia wrote, as reported by Canberra Times. The Saudi embassy said that Saudi Arabia suffered 26 terrorist attacks in the last two years, and has a national priority to stop the men, the money and the mindset that foremost extremism, especially violent extremism. It added that the government ensures that mosques do not incite extremism or collect money and transfer it abroad into the wrong hands. The letters from the two embassies come after it was revealed that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen had made two pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia before he opened fire in Pulse nightclub. Saudi Arabia has faced increasing anger as a classified report from the US government after 9/11, read by a select few politicians and still unavailable to the public, has revealed links between Saudi Arabian officials and the hijackers who took down the Twin Towers. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty Human rights organizations have criticized Saudi Arabia for using "counter-terrorism" to crack down on peaceful activists, and it has one of the worlds lowest rankings for media freedoms. The Kingdom also still employs the death penalty: Amnesty International recorded at least 158 executions in 2015 alone. The Kuwait embassy said it had come a long way to help dry up terrorist funding sources since it was liberated in 1991 by a US-led coalition from an Iraqi invasion led by Saddam Hussein, and that Ms Clintons comments do not comply with reality. Amnesty International has also criticised Kuwait for passing a recent law to require all citizens to provide DNA samples in the name of combatting terrorism. In her speech in Ohio this week, Ms Clinton vowed to make it a priority to "stop lone wolves" from committing atrocities, by working with allies abroad and doing more to support domestic law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A judge has thrown out a lawsuit from Texas which sought to ban Syrian refugees from the state. Federal judge David Godbey said that the plaintiff, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, had failed to state a plausible claim for relief. Texas sued the US government and nonprofit organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) in December after it was notified that Dallas was to welcome six refugees - one family - from Syria. Recommended Read more Syrian refugee shot by border guards trying to enter Slovakia Todays decision upholds and affirms Americas proud history in providing refuge for the worlds most vulnerable, said Jennifer Sime, senior vice president of US programs with the IRC in a statement. Refugees are fleeing violence and persecution and want nothing more than to live a safe and peaceful life. Cecilia Wag, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, said the ruling sends a clear message to other states that such lawsuits are not only un-American, they are contrary to the law and will fail in court. Texas and Alabama are the only two states to sue federal officials over refugee concerns, but states including Indiana and Oklahoma have publicly refused to accept Syrians too. The Lone Star state argued that under the Refugee Act of 1980, the US government is required to consult regularly with state officials on the refugee sponsorship and relocation before they are placed in new homes. It also sued the IRC, claiming it had breached its contract with the state. The full story of a family of six Syrian refugees, who were supposed to arrive in Dallas on 3 December, is below. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who spoke against president Obamas plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the US, said he is disappointed with the ruling. We are considering our options moving forward to guarantee the safety of Texans from domestic and foreign threats," he said. Lieutenant governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, added in a statement: Texas has a right to know who the federal government is bringing to Texas, where they are being placed and what they are doing to guarantee the safety of all Texans. Both Mr Paxton and Mr Patrick said they were concerned about Isis-affiliated terrorists exploiting the refugee process to enter the US, and had asked for more personal information to be released about the incoming Syrians before they were sent to the state. Federal officials said in January that Texas had failed to prove the refugees are a threat to the public, and rejected a motion from the state for a preliminary injunction blocking more refugees. The IRC responded that the state government should not conflate terrorists with the Syrian refugees who are seeking sanctuary. Apart from swimming the Atlantic Ocean, the refugee resettlement program is the most difficult way to enter the United States, the IRC said in a statement on 1 December. Refugees go through rigorous security screenings. Multiple intelligence agencies are involved and the screening process can take up to two years. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trumps nascent fund-raising efforts are flailing as traditional Republican donors flee their partys presumptive nominee in hordes for fear of a backlash if they are seen to support him. While the campaign is insisting that money is pouring in, there is evidence the opposite is true. Its believed that an initial fund-raising goal for his current two-day swing in Texas had to be revised downwards after fewer donors than expected indicated any willingness to open their wallets. Recommended Read more Trump convention funding falters as major corporations balk Mr Trump is known to dislike intensely having to solicit money from party supporters, not least because it demolishes one of the main pillars of his primary campaign that he does not take money from special interests and will be beholden to no one if elected president. On the other hand, if he fails to ramp up his fund-raising machine soon, he will face sure disaster competing against Hillary Clinton, who, by contrast, has already raised $204m (142m) from private donors and has set a goal of $1bn for her campaign. Just last week, she paid for more than 3,000 TV and radio spots eviscerating Mr Trump. He did not run a single ad against her. Already, the fund-raising pressure on the candidate is forcing him to spend precious time in states that are already deeply red and will never be competitive in the general election. Texas is a prime example. While he also scheduled two rallies in Texas the first at a honky tonk ballroom in Dallas on Thursday night it is far from clear why he bothered, unless it is out of a belief that public events will continue to give him free national exposure as they did during the primary season. Mica Mosbacher, an old-school Republican cheerleader in Houston and widow of a former Secretary of Commerce for former President George H. W. Bush, Robert Mosbacher, is leading the effort in Texas and has said she expects to raise as much as $4m for Mr Trump in the state. Whether they get anywhere near that amount remains to be seen, however. That would be a decent haul, but I am told that even that was revised down from their internal goal, said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas Republican consultant and founder of the Potomac Strategy Group. It is his understanding that few of the usual Texas donors are playing with Mr Trump. They are probably just getting people already supporting him or who are attracted to his celebrity, he added, but they are not getting the traditional Republican money they should be getting. Mr Trumps problems include persuading headline supporters to form host committees for individual events, to draw in other interested donors. At this point the nominee should really have almost all, if not all of the names, and he is not getting them, Mr Mackowiak told The Independent. Many have been turned off by the property tycoons response to the Orlando massacre when he doubled down on his anti-immigrant message as well as his recent claims that the judge in charge of a civil case against his now defunct Trump University is unfit because of his Mexican heritage. Perhaps more potent however is the fear of public scorn, and harm to their businesses, if they are seen to be helping Mr Trump. That may be particularly so in Texas, with its very large Latino population that has been stung by the candidates anti-Mexican rhetoric. This is not just anecdotal. When it emerged last week that Ray Washburne, owner of a beloved chain of Mexican restaurants in Dallas called Mi Cocina, had signed up to help raise money for Mr Trump, he was instantly assailed by calls for a boycott of all his eateries on social media. Much of the opprobrium showed up on his Facebook page. Customers the past 20 years or more. Absolutely deplorable that the owners of an incredible Mexican establishment would lend its support to Donald Trump, wrote one former customer. Will not return, ever. Mr Trump held one fundraiser at the Highland Hotel in Dallas on Thursday afternoon, which drew a throng of protestors on the street outside. The cost simply to walk through the door was $2,700 for adults and $500 for a young professional. Notably, however, one Republican activist posted a social media message that he could get people in for far less if they contacted him directly. Other events were scheduled for Friday in Houston, hosted by Ms Mosbacher, and also in San Antonio, before Mr Trumps departure on Saturday from the Lone Star state. Controversy was meanwhile flaring around plans for an event on Saturday at the former Arizona home of Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee remembered for inciting racial tensions and who lost that years general election by a landslide, after loud complaints from his widow. Ugh or yuck is my response, Susan Goldwater Levine told The Washington Post. I think Barry would be appalled that his home was being used for that purpose. Barry would be appalled by Mr Trumps behaviour the unintelligent and unfiltered and crude communications style. And hes shallow so, so shallow. The house in Paradise Valley, a wealthy enclave near Phoenix, was opened up to Mr Trump by its new owner, Robert Hobbs. Barry was a good, solid Republican and was conservative, Mr Hobbs said. Im not sure that Donald Trump is conservative, but hes who our nominee is. The campaign, based at Trump Tower in New York, is refusing to offer details of its fund-raising progress, although more will emerge when it will be obliged to file a campaign finance report on 20 June. There are no (fundraising) concerns whatsoever, Hope Hicks, its main spokesperson, has commented. The money is pouring in and Mr Trump has received tremendous support. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One year after the launch of his campaign, Donald Trump is attempting to broaden the base of his appeal, paying extravagant tribute to Senator Bernie Sanders and arguing he is better placed than Hillary Clinton to champion gays and lesbians and women voters. I think I am going to pick up a lot of Bernie supporters, he boasted to a ballroom of fans in a famous vintage Dallas honky tonk ballroom, Gilleys, still remembered as the main filming location for the 1980 cult hit Urban Cowboy that featured John Travolta and his ride on a mechanical bull. Wheres that horse? Lets get that horse, Ill ride the horse, a clearly ebullient Mr Trump declared rhetorically midway through the rally (and mixing his equine and his bovine.) The trouble is, even if I make it, they (the press) will say I fell off that horse. At his first public event in a two-day swing through Texas that also includes three fund-raising private events, the presumptive Republican nominee lamented last weekends Orlando mass shooting . Look what one sleaze-bag can do, he said of the Orlando murderer. The horror that he wreaked on us, on us as a nation, laughing as he is shooting, doing Facebook as he is shooting. Reporting having watched Barack Obama visiting Orlando earlier on Thursday he elicited instant boos from the audience at the mere mention of the president. To a large extent he is blaming guns, he went on before vowing to protect the second amendment of the Constitution that includes the right to bear arms. As he had earlier in the week, he sought to use the tragedy to bolster his calls for a tougher stance on immigration and withdrawing the welcome mat for political refugees from Syria and elsewhere. We are letting thousands and thousands of people to come into our country from countries that are terrorist countries, he argued. We have to stop people with hate in their hearts from coming into our country. It wasnt clear whether this was a variation on his 6-month-old call for barring all Muslims from entering the United States or some kind of addition to it. But while the mega-mogul can be entirely vague on points of policy, he can also bombard his fans with minutiae when it comes to his progress - and success - through the primaries. For more than ten minutes he took the Dallas crowd through every state he had won since declaring on 16 June 2015, replete with margins of victory and sometimes tallies of individual counties he won. Nothing, though, bothers die-hard Trump supporters, who revel in his pantomime performance. Many in the signature red caps emblazoned with his campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, they gleefully chanted his name when protestors one by one revealed themselves. Trump, Trump, Trump, they squealed, as one young man yelled out from the back, Youre being fooled, he doesnt care about you, before being summarily escorted out by security. Trump supporter - 'I love everything about him' Who is going to build the wall for us? he asked. Mexico, the room returned as one. Do we have a great time at a Trump rally? Unbelievable. Then to a women near the stage who was inaudible to reporters in the press pen: She likes my hair. Let me tell you. Its all my hair, I can tell you. As a candidate who will only beat Ms Clinton if he broadens his base of support, Mr Trump went further than before to suggest he could offer a home to supporters of Senator Sanders, who is still vowing to take his campaign to the party convention even if the Democratic nomination is beyond his grasp.The overlap between them, he said, was their disdain for current US trade policies. He understands that our country is being totally ripped off like never in history, and I understand it, Mr Trump said. Youve got to give him credit, he doesnt give up. And in a jibe at the 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, he added We could have used a guy like that four years ago, one that didnt give up. But it isnt just Sanders supporters Mr Trump has his eyes on. He suggested that Ms Clinton has no right to lay claim on either the L-G-B-T community - he spelled it out with great deliberation - or women, because her and her husbands foundation accept money from Saudi Arabia another countries which, he said, throw gays from buildings and enslave women. So tell me, who is better for gays and lesbians and for women than Donald Trump? he asked. Mr Trumps assertion that calls in the wake of the Orlando tragedy for more gun control were misplaced was always going to resonate in Texas perhaps more than anywhere else. In Texas we love our guns, said Patrick Laird, 45, an oil and gas engineer, who had come to cheer on Mr Trump. I have a ton of assault weapons. None of them have shot anyone, because I dont want to do that. The shooter in Orlando had proclaimed his support for Isis. The first instinct of Democrats is to take away our guns, but we are ordinary Americans, we are not terrorists. Nor is there going to much love lost with the leadership of the Republican Party, including House speaker Paul Ryan, if it cant bring itself fully to embrace their candidate. My concern is Paul Ryan and the other Republicans and not Hillary are going to have him assassinated before he can even get to November, averred Mr Laird. He is a huge threat to Hillary but he is an even bigger threat to the Republican Party. He meant assassinate in the literal sense. An overwhelming police presence and searing heat met a modest phalanx of protestors who were fenced off from the event venue but still brandished signs declaring their disgust at Mr Trump, Dump Trumps racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamaphobic, xenophobic, toxic ideology, one said while another declared, Respect women, unlearn racism. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Bernie Sanders has signalled that he is winding down his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, suggesting he would work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump but without explicitly endorsing her or suspending his own campaign. In an online address to supporters on Thursday evening, Mr Sanders said his most pressing task was to make certain that the controversial Republican billionaire "is defeated and defeated badly at November's general election. He added: I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. The socialist Vermont Senator has repeatedly insisted he will continue his campaign as far as the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, despite Ms Clinton claiming the mantle of the partys presumptive nominee last week, at the climax of a long and often contentious primary season. The rivals met face to face in Washington DC on Tuesday, as the results of the final primary in the nations capital were counted, granting another comfortable win to the former Secretary of State. Mr Sanders implied that they had found common ground as they discussed some of the very important issues facing our country and the Democratic Party. Recommended Read more Bernie Sanders soldiers on amid calls for party unity It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very important issues, he said. It is also true that our views are quite close on others. However he becomes involved in the general election, it will not be as Ms Clintons running mate. A list of the Clinton campaigns potential VP picks was leaked this week to the Wall Street Journal, which included progressive Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown, but not Mr Sanders. Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Bloomberg that the campaign no longer planned to lobby super-delegates to try to overturn the result of the primaries, which Ms Clinton won by a convincing margin of delegates and individual votes. Rather than press the case for his own candidacy, Mr Sanders said he would use the influence he has accrued with his successful insurgent campaign to push the partys policy agenda further to the left. I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history, he told supporters. He will also argue for a change in the party leadership, with whom he has clashed frequently in recent months, insisting that Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz ought to be replaced. During the 23-minute address from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, Mr Sanders also outlined a plan to spread and secure his agenda for posterity, by encouraging his grassroots followers to run for local and state office. We need to start engaging at the local and state level in an unprecedented way, he said. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers helped us make political history during the last year... Now we need many of them to start running for school boards, city councils, county commissions, state legislatures and governorships. State and local governments make enormously important decisions, and we cannot allow right-wing Republicans to increasingly control them. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A special court has handed down life sentences to 11 people for their part in a massacre of mostly Muslim citizens during a mob riot in India. The court in Gujarat imprisoned almost half of the 24 people convicted for the killings for the rest of their lives, while 12 more received seven-year sentences and one man received a 10-year sentence. Known as the Gulbarg Society killings, after the compound of bungalows where Muslims were living, the 2002 attack was called "the darkest day in the history of civil society" by the court. Those convicted, who were mostly Hindu, were described as going on a "rampage" after a group of Muslims were believed to have started a fire on a train which killed 60 Hindu pilgrims. The retaliatory attacks 14 years ago on Muslims in Ahmedabad, in India's westernmost state, were part of wider riots in which 1,000 people are believed to have been killed, with 69 murdered in the Gulbarg Society compound. Some of the victims, who were reported to be middle- and upper-class business families, were hacked with machetes and then burned to death by the mob. Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Show all 32 1 /32 Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, paint an elephant statue at Kaziranga Discovery Park in Panbari village, in Kaziranga, some 250 km from Guwahati, the capital of the north-eastern state of Assam Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, feeds a baby elephant at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari reserve forest in Kaziranga in the northeastern state of Assam, during the royal visit in India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge, meet a rhino calf at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari reserve forest in Kaziranga in the northeastern state of Assam Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine and Prince William take a Game drive at Kaziranga National Park at Kaziranga National Park in Guwahati Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William visit a contact centre run by the charity Salaam Baalak, which provides emergency help and long term support to homeless children at New Delhi railway station Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge meet a young dancer as they watch dancing by the fireside during a Bihu Festival Celebration at Diphlu River Lodge Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet Prime Minister of India Narenda Mod in New Delhi's Hyderabad House during day three of the royal tour to India and Bhutan Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine and William visited the Banganga Water Tank. They were given a traditional welcome at Bangana Water Tank and met representatives from SMILE, an organisation working in an economically deprived urban area to support local enterprise Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess Of Cambridge enjoys a game of cricket during a visit to meet children from Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep, at Mumbai's iconic recreation ground, the Oval Maidan Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge at India Gate in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and his wife Catherine take part in an event at the Gandhi Smriti, a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge meet young entrepreneurs during a visit to Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prepare to lay a wreath at the Inida Gate in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge remove their shoes at Gandhi Smriti in New Dehli, India before paying their respects at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess toured the museum housed in the Old Birla House and paid their respects at the place where Mahatma Gandhi's life ended on 30 January 1948 Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William pose for a picture at India Gate Memorial Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine pay their respects at the place where Mahatma Gandhi's life ended on 30 January 1948, at Gandhi Smriti, the Old Birla House museum Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge poses with local school children as they tour Old Birla Hous in Gandhi Smriti in New Dehli Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke Duchess of Cambridge meet children from local charities Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep, and join game of cricketwith boys from the Dilip Vengsarkar Academyat the Oval Maidan recreation ground Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are garlanded as they arrive at the Banganga Water Tank in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge plays football during a visit to meet children from Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge react after playing football during a visit to the Banganga Water Tank in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William play football games during a visit to the Banganga Water tank, where they met representatives of SMILE Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at a Bollywood Charity Gala hosted by the British High Commission and the British Asian Trust at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrives for a Bollywood Inspired Charity Gala at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge speak with Boman Kohinoor during a meeting in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stand after laying a wreath on the martyrs memorial at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai One of these was Ehsan Jafri, a former Indian National Congress party MP, who is understood to have repeatedly tried to call the police but to no avail, before the mob broke into the buildings and systematically killed residents and destroyed homes. Accusations at the time also swirled around Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat in 2002 and now prime minister of India, for failing to prevent the riots because of Hindu nationalist sentiment on his part - accusations which have since been dismissed. Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, is from the Hindu nationalist BJP party, which took power from the centrist Congress in 2014 (Getty) Hindu and Muslim relations in the south Asian subcontinent have long been strained, particularly since the partition of India into Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1947 by the British. Rising Hindu nationalism in the form of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has led many Muslims to voice fears of further discrimination in employment and before the law, but Mr Modi said in 2015 that the nation would only prosper "when Hindus and Muslims unite and fight" against poverty rather than one another. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Giant spider crabs have gathered in their thousands to moult in a moving mass of shells and pincers in Australia. The crustaceans, which have characteristically long, spiny legs, have been filmed stretching for hundreds of metres in Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne. Footage of the giant spider crabs shows them piled 10 deep on top of one another in places, while others move around the edges trying to get closer to the general mass. Scientists are studying the behaviour to determine the cause, but suspect the crabs are shedding their outer shells as these become too small while seeking safety in numbers during the process. A spider crab slowly pushes out of her old shell. She will be vulnerable for some time until her new shell hardens (YouTube) Sheree Marris, an aquatic scientist, said that watching the phenomenon was "spectacular". "I've seen the aggregation so many times but it never ceases to amaze me," she said. "This was by far the largest I have ever seen and it's going going to get bigger and better as the crabs are still on the march." Spider crabs scramble to get out of the way of a ray as it passes through Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne (YouTube/The Nature of Science) Australia is one of the most biodiverse continents on the planet, with 30 marine mammals and 1,500 species of fish living on the Great Barrier Reef alone. Spider crabs, which are eaten by larger prey including octupus, larger fish and seagulls, move slowly on their six legs and have long, thin pincers which are not as strong as those of many of their cousins. They usually gather seaweed and algae to stick to their shells in a bid for camouflage. But when shedding their old shells and waiting for their new ones to harden, giant spider crabs are relatively vulnerable to predators. Comedy Wildlife Show all 13 1 /13 Comedy Wildlife Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Julie Hunt) Comedy Wildlife Silver Runner up (by William Richardson) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Charlie Davidson) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Alison Buttigieg) Comedy Wildlife Bronze Runner up (by Oli Dreike) Comedy Wildlife Winner (by Julian Rad) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Mohammed Alnaser) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Julian Rad) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Yuzuru Masuda) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Tony Dilger) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Megan Lorenz) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Marc Mol) Comedy Wildlife Highly Commended (by Graham McGeorge) The video shows many of the creatures on the edge of the gathering scuttling away from a huge sting ray which passes through. Gathering together makes them much harder to pick off as they lose their old armour, scientists have said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard has been convicted of being an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people, at the end of what is likely to be one of Germany's last Holocaust trials. Reinhold Hanning was sentenced to five years' jail for facilitating the slaughter at the death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, having served at Auschwitz during the Second World War between January 1942 and June 1944. He had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years. During his four-month trial, Hanning admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that he was aware Jews were being killed but did nothing to try to stop it. Hanning showed no reaction as the judge, Anke Grudda, read her justification for the verdict and sentence. You were in Auschwitz for two and a half years, performed an important function. ... You were part of a criminal organisation and took part in criminal activity in Auschwitz, she said. Last Holocaust-Related Case? 94-Year-Old Former Auschwitz Guard Stands Trial The nearly four-month long trial in Detmold included testimony from around a dozen Holocaust survivors, many of them extremely elderly, who detailed their horrific experiences, recalling piles of bodies and the smell of burnt flesh in the death camp. It is a just verdict, but he should say more, tell the truth for the young people, said Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin who had spoken at the trial. He is an old man and probably won't have to go to jail, but he should say what happened at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was like something the world has never seen, Mr Schwarzbaum told the Associated Press Mr Schwarzbaum added that he does not want Hanning to go to prison and is happy that he apologised, but had hoped that he would provide more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. Auschwitz survivor Hedy Bohm, who came from Toronto to testify at the trial and for the verdict, said she was grateful and pleased by this justice finally after 70 years. It is my dream to be in Germany, in a German court, with German judges acknowledging the Holocaust, the 88-year-old said. Remembering the Holocaust Show all 16 1 /16 Remembering the Holocaust Remembering the Holocaust 119165.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119169.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119229.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119167.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119162.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119166.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119163.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119224.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119168.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119228.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119152.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119226.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119150.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119151.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119147.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119231.bin Hannah Bills The defence had said Hanning should be acquitted as the former SS officer had personally never killed, beaten or abused anyone. Hanning is said to have joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War II before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, and so sent him to Auschwitz, without his knowing what it was. Speaking at the trial at end of April, Hanning apologised to the victims, saying that he regretted being part of a criminal organisation that had killed so many and caused so much suffering. I'm ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it, he read from a prepared speech. Hanning was not charged with direct involvement in any killings. But prosecutors and dozens of joint plaintiffs from Germany, Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain and the United States said he had helped Auschwitz function. The indictment against him is focused on a period between January 1943 and June 1944 for legal reasons, but the court has said it would consider the full time he served there. A precedent was set in a similar case in 2011, when camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted. Last year, Oskar Groening, known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz, was sentenced to four years in prison after he was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. None of the convictions are definitive. Demjanjuk had appealed but died before the German Federal Court of Justice ruled on the case, and the court is still considering an appeal filed by Groening. Both sides in Hanning's case have a week to appeal Friday's verdict, and Hanning will remain free while any appeals are heard. The defence had asked for a six-year sentence. Germany is holding what are likely to be its last trials linked to the Holocaust, in which the Nazis killed more than six million people, mostly Jews. Besides Hanning, one other man and one woman in their 90s are accused of being accessories to the mass murder at Auschwitz. A third man who was a member of the Nazi SS guard team at Auschwitz died at the age of 93 in April, days before his trial was due to start. Dr Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, welcomed the news. We must once again use this opportunity to educate about the horrors of the Holocaust and show that hatred, fascism and anti-semitism must be rooted out. It should never be too late for the guilty to be held to account, he said. Reuters For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Bulgaria is set to ban niqabs and burqas in a crackdown on women wearing face veils in public places. A new bill, which was tabled by the nationalist Patriotic Front party (PF), was backed by 108 MPs, with just eight voting against it and no abstentions, at its first reading. Bulgaria's second-largest opposition party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), attempted to postpone the reading by suggesting the measures be covered in counter-terrorism legislation instead, but the calls were rejected. If passed, Bulgaria will join fellow European countries Latvia, France and the Netherlands in prohibiting clothing that covers the face. The law states that clothing which obscures the face cannot be worn in government offices, schools, cultural institutions, and public places of recreation. Tuncher Kardzhaliev, an MP for the MRF, told the Sofia Globe the bill had "no value" because the way it was drafted meant it could even apply to beekeepers not just religious clothing. Fines of 200 leva (80) for the first and second offences will be incurred, and further offences will receive a 1,500 leva fine and deprivation of social benefits. About 12 per cent of Bulgaria's 7.2 million population are Muslim, most of whom belong to a centuries-old community of ethnic Turks, which does not generally wear full-face veils. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty In 2010 France banned full-face veils, and in May, the Netherlands introduced a partial ban on wearing a veil in schools, hospitals and on public transport. Earlier this year, Latvia banned women from wearing the Islamic full-face veil in public, despite only three people being known to wear them in the entire country. In January, David Cameron refused to introduce a blanket ban but said clear individual organisations can choose to stop Muslim women wearing veils. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Tenants of a Dutch housing association are being offered a 100 rent cut if they become a buddy to a refugee. Trudo, a housing association in Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands, will ask tenants to help refugees adapt to everyday Dutch life. Natives will show refugees how to do chores like using the different kinds of bins and help them with Dutch bureaucracy for ten hours a week. In return they will have the equivalent of 80 deducted from their monthly rent. For the average tenant, they will make a saving of almost a quarter. Thom Aussems, director of the housing association, told Dutch broadcaster Omroep Brabant: If refugees are given legal status we are required to house them. We want to find someone in the housing complex who can help them feel at home in the neighbourhood and let them know the customs of our country. They will be able to raise the alarm if they see something going wrong with their financial affairs, healthcare or education. Recommended Read more The Labour MP who campaigned tirelessly for refugee children The housing association hopes the adopt a newcomer scheme will help to encourage diversity in neighbourhoods and prevent whole areas from becoming disadvantaged. Social landlords own around 30 per cent of the housing stock in the Netherlands. Trudo currently houses 85 refugees and expects to take in double the amount next year. The refugee plan is part of a 430 million investment by the company, which will also build almost 1,800 social homes in five years. The idea for the system emerged earlier project in the city which rewarded students with discounts if they mentored local children for ten hours a week. After the scheme successfully helped 350 children, Aussems looked for other areas where the scheme could help. Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images Since asylum applications in the Netherlands doubled last year to 59,000, anti-refugee sentiment has become apparent, with protests taking place outside sites due to host asylum seekers. Following the January sex attacks in Cologne, the leader of the right wing Freedom Party currently enjoying a surge in support, called for all male refugees to be locked up. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Istanbul's annual gay pride parade will not be allowed to go ahead this year for security reasons, city administrators say. The event, which attracts tens of thousands every year, was planned to take place on 26 June but has been cancelled amid threats from conservative groups to intervene and stop the march. It is understood from some media organs, websites and social media that LGBT members called for a march held to take place between 19 and 26 June at Taksim," the Governate of Istanbul said in a statement, according to the Daily Sabah. "Such a meeting and demonstration march will not be allowed to take place by our governate, taking into account the security of our citizens, in particular the participants, as well as the public order. In a press conference on Tuesday, far-right youth group Alperen Hearths said it would do "what is needed" to stop the event from taking place, according to Al Jazeera. Dear state officials, do not make us deal with these. Either you do what is needed or we will do it. We are ready to take any risks; we will directly prevent the march from happening, Kursat Mican, the group's leader, is reported to have said. Alperen Hearths is linked to the Turkish nationalist Great Union Party (BBP). Omer Akpinar, a Turkish gay rights activist, told The Independent hardline Muslim youth associations and ultra-nationalist groups regarded Istanbul's gay pride event as immoral. "Religion is always used as an excuse to start riots on freedom," he said. Recommended Read more Muslims states block 11 LGBT groups from attending UN Aids meeting "The LGBT community in Turkey is a little divided about whether people should march or not," said Mr Akpinar. "Its not only about this latest threat of ultra-nationalists who might attack people, but if you look at the recent history of Turkey, weve had so many bombings and attacks. "So people are afraid it might be an occasion for IS or another terrorist group to kill thousands of people." On 7 June, a bomb attack on a police bus killed 11 people in the fourth major attack in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, this year. Istanbul's LGBT community Show all 6 1 /6 Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community A giant rainbow flag held during a Trans Pride march in Istanbul, June 2014 Bradley Secker Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community While Isis hurls gay men to their deaths from the tops of towers, Secker has photographed them on rooftops overlooking their new homes, including the Iraqi Bissam in Damascus before his flight to Turkey to represent their newfound strength Bradley Secker Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community Like many other Syrian LGBTs, Sami is waiting for his resettlement case to be processed Bradley Secker Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community Nader, a 25-year-old gay Syrian from Homs, is one of LGBT Arabie's co-founders Bradley Secker Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community Salah, from Damascus, now lives in Istanbul alongside thousands of displaced Syrians Bradley Secker Istanbul's LGBT community Istanbul's LGBT community Syrian participants at Istanbul Pride, June 2013 AFP/Getty Last year's gay pride march was violently broken up by police with water cannons and rubber pellets, despite the previous year's event taking place peacefully. "This is a continuation of the story that started last year when the police attacked gay activists," said Mr Akpinar. "Police waited for people to get together, then used tear gas." According to Al Jazeera, a group that calls itself the Anatolia Muslim Youth Association also made threats on social media earlier this week. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One of the largest charities helping migrants across Europe has announced that it will no longer accept funds from the European Union and its member states in protest against the shameful response to the refugee crisis. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has long called for the creation of safe routes into the continent and joined countless other humanitarian organisations condemning the deal made with Turkey to detain and deport asylum seekers in Greece. Jerome Oberreit, the charitys International Secretary General, said: For months MSF has spoken out about a shameful European response focused on deterrence rather than providing people with the assistance and protection they need. The EU-Turkey deal goes one step further and has placed the very concept of refugee and the protection it offers in danger. UN urges Greece to improve living conditions for refugees An estimated 8,000 people, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, are currently trapped on Greek islands under the terms of the EU-Turkey deal, which will see them deported if their asylum applications fail, without legal aid. MSF said their plight shows the human cost of the controversial agreement made in March, which is seeing migrants held for several months in overcrowded camps, where fights, fires and violent protests have broken out. The number of people crossing the Aegean Sea in smugglers boats has steeply declined since the new rules came into force but asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, continue to arrive. Most of the almost 3,000 deaths recorded this year have been in a sucession of disasters on the Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy. Proponents of the EU-Turkey deal, which the European Commission is considering replicating across more than 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East, argued that it aimed to reduce drownings at sea. A fire burns at the Moria detention camp following clashes (AFP/Getty Images) Deterrence policies sold to the public as humanitarian solutions have only exacerbated the suffering of people in need, Mr Oberreit said. Recommended Read more More than a third of refugees arriving in Europe are children There is nothing remotely humanitarian about these policies. It cannot become the norm and must be challenged. MSF will not receive funding from institutions and governments whose policies do so much harm. We are calling on European governments to shift priorities - rather than maximizing the number of people they can push back, they must maximize the number they welcome and protect. A spokesperson for MSF said its refusal of European state funding would take immediate effect and apply to its projects worldwide, condemning the unacceptable instrumentalisation of humanitarian aid. The charity accused the EU of setting a dangerous precedent attempting to force people to stay in the countries they are desperate to flee, sparking border closures leading back to Isis territory near Azaz in Syria, where 100,000 civilians are trapped between the closed Turkish border and front lines. Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily. Europes attempt to outsource migration control is having a domino effect, with closed borders stretching all the way back to Syria, Mr Oberreit said. People increasingly have nowhere to turn. The organisation has treated an estimated 200,000 people in Europe and in boats on the Mediterranean Sea over the past 18 months and is working with refugees across the continent, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. As well as running clinics at borders and in refugee camps, it operates three search and rescue ships in the Mediterranean that picked up more than 1,300 in just 36 hours last week. It said its rejection of EU funding would not affect patients, and that its activities are already 92 per cent privately-funded. MSF received 19 million from EU institutions in 2015 and another 37 million from member states, as well as working in partnership with the UK and nine other countries. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Iraqi forces say they have retaken the main government complex in Fallujah as battles to drive Isis militants out of the city continue. Special forces entered the city centre early on Friday morning, seizing a compound including the town hall that had been used as a base by the so-called Islamic State. The Iraqi national flag has replaced the black banner of jihad above the council headquarters, according to a military statement, and a special forces commander said they were laying siege to a nearby hospital where Isis had stationed snipers. Iraqi forces make gains in Fallujah offensive Haidar al-Obeidi told the Associated Press militants resistance had collapsed, suggesting that most of them fled after the Iraqi forces moved in on al-Nazzal district. Iraqi forces are now in the center of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014, he added. The al-Nazzal area served as a base for Isis and housed weapons warehouses and command centres, allowing Iraqi forces to pass into the city centre when it fell. Troops entered at around 6am local time (4am BST) on Friday amid intense battles, with air support from the US-led coalition. Iraqi forces were clearing roadside bombs near the government complex, which includes municipality offices, a police station and other government buildings. In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Smoke rises after airstrikes by US-led coalition planes as Iraqi security forces advance against Islamic State extremists in Fallujah, June 15, 2016 AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Iraqi security forces advance during heavy fighting against Isis militants in Fallujah, Iraq, on 14 June AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia militia say that moving resources from Fallujah towards the area near Mosul was a 'betrayal' of the battle for the city GETTY In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Hospital sources said 18 bodies were recovered from the river over the weekend AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Up to 60,000 civilians were feared trapped in Fallujah at the start of the Iraqi operation AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters hold an Isis flag in an operation east of Fallujah the terror group has lost ground in both Syria and Iraq AFP/Getty In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters hold their weapons as they gather near Falluja, Iraq, June 4, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Pro-government forces bid to take back ground from Isis in Fallujah MOADH AL-DULAIMI/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Smoke billows on the horizon as Iraqi military forces prepare for an offensive to retake the city AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah A member of the Iraqi security forces fires artillery during clashes with Isis militants near Fallujah, Iraq, 29 May, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Iraqi government forces fire a rocket near al-Sejar village, north-east of Fallujah, on May 26, 2016, as they take part in a major assault to retake the city from the Islamic State group AFP/Getty In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters and Iraqi security forces advance towards Fallujah Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly raised concern for around 50,000 civilians feared to remain trapped inside Fallujah, which has been under Isis control for more than two years and is the groups last major stronghold in western Iraq. Displaced families have reported extremists forcibly moving them to be used as human shields, and killing anyone caught attempting to flee. Countless residents have been shot, while others have drowned attempting to swim to safety across the Euphrates River. The United Nations estimates that about 42,000 people have fled since the assault on Fallujah started last month but other aid organisations put the number closer to 30,000, documenting reported abuses of fleeing families by pro-government militias. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned that emergency provision, water and services at displacement camps were in danger of being overwhelmed as they reached full capacity. Some of the people who fled on Thursday reported seeing Isis fighters suddenly retreat from key checkpoints, including at Halabsa and Albo al-Wan, allowing civilians to leave in much larger numbers than previously seen. Countless civilians have drowned trying to cross the Euphrates (AP) A 69-year-old Fallujah resident, who escaped al-Joulan quarter said they noticed militants evacuating early in the morning, taking vehicles loaded with food and fuel. The news started spreading quickly and we prepared to leave from as early as 5am, he added. The Iraqi army was some 3 kilometres away from my home. We were thousands leaving the citywhen we reached the armed forces we were given food and water but the army trucks transporting families to the camps were full. Nasr Muflahi, the NRCs director for Iraq, said he was concerned by reports of refugees being hit by an improvised explosive device, which killed at least one person. While we welcome with relief the news that thousands of women, children and men have made it to safety, we are concerned that the journey remains largely unsafe because of explosive devices along the way, he added. Aid services in the camps were already overstretched and this development will push us all to the limit. International donors need to act now to release the funding necessary so that we can help Iraqi families who have been through long hellish months of widespread hunger, terror and despair. Shia fighters hold an Isis flag in an operation east of Fallujah the terror group has lost ground in both Syria and Iraq (AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty) Routes out of Fallujah have been barred for civilians since December and Isis tightened its grip as the Iraqi government advance started last month, worsening a humanitarian crisis seeing some people starve or kill themselves. Stories of extreme desperation have emerged, with rocketing food prices of more than $40 for a kilo of flour forcing people to search rubbish for rotten food, or eat pet food and grass. More than 22,000 civilians have been killed and 43,500 wounded in Iraq since Isis advance in early 2014. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi promised a swift victory when he announced the start of the operation on 22 May but the complexity of the task quickly became apparent. British air strikes are among those hitting the city as part of the US-led coalition as Isis continues to use the civilians trapped inside as human shields. The Ministry of Defence said the RAF had destroyed seven terrorist teams as fighting continued on Wednesday, while the US Central Commands record for Thursday included strikes on Isis assembly areas and fighting positions in Fallujah. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Egyptian accident investigators have found one of the black boxes from flight MS804, the jet that crashed in the Mediterranean on 19 May with the loss of 66 lives. The Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee announced that that the deep-ocean search vessel, RV John Lethbridge, had found the cockpit voice recorder. Even though it was damaged, the vessel equipment managed to pick up the memory unit. It has been taken to the city of Alexandria to be interrogated by the technical investigation committee. The search team is working in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean, at around 10,000 feet below sea level. They are believed to have already found wreckage of the fuselage, wings and tailplane in several locations. With the help of photographs taken from the seabed, and pinger transmissions from the cockpit voice recorder, investigators were able to direct the extraction of the device. A race is now on to find the second black box, the flight data recorder containing all the commands made by the pilots. It is believed the battery on the automatic beacon will expire within about a week. The EgyptAir Airbus A320 was at 37,000 feet and nearing the end of a routine scheduled flight from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared from radar screens about 180 miles north of Alexandria. No distress calls were made from the flight deck. If the memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder is successfully downloaded, it will reveal the conversations that took place on the flight deck in the two hours before the crash. In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo overnight cries as family members are transported by bus to a gathering point at Cairo airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Security personnel are seen outside an Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight grieve as they leave the in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport AP In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives leave the Egyptair in-flight service building where they were held at Cairo International Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 is escorted at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport In pictures: EgyptAir flight MS804 crash Flight path of EgyptAir Flight MS804 Investigators will focus on the latter stages of the flight. Greek officials have said that the plane made a 90-degrees left turn and then made a complete 360-degree right-hand circuit as it descended. Seven minutes before radar contact was lost, a sequence of automated messages sent from the doomed aircraft indicated multiple threatening events on board - possibly including fire in a lavatory and the main electronics bay. The range of possible causes of the loss is still wide, encompassing anything from hijacking to mechanical failure. While investigators in Alexandria analyse the cockpit voice recorder, the team aboard the RV John Lethbridge will be mapping the wreckage field. The distribution of wreckage will help investigators decide whether an on-board explosion may have taken place. No extremist group has claimed responsibility for the crash. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Q I am at a loss how to deal with Brussels Airlines, who failed me so completely that I was unable to attend a family reunion in Brussels. The facts are, briefly, that we scheduled a reunion in November but, because of the security situation following the Paris attacks, decided to postpone. I contacted Brussels Airlines, who agreed that, although my flight from Manchester was non-refundable, they would allow me to travel at a later date up to 25 November 2016. The Ibis hotel I had booked and paid for did the same. The family agreed a new date for the weekend of 9 April and, starting on 5 February, I tried to contact Brussels Airlines to rebook my flights. I had enormous difficulties in finding somebody at their service centre who knew what to do, spending well over 20 in phone calls. Eventually, on 20 February, a booking was made and I was given a reservation number, but the agent said she didnt know how soon I would get my ticket. By early March I still had no ticket and, when I checked their online reservation system, my reservation was unrecognised. I had an exchange of emails with the service centre culminating in an email from them on 10 March which, apart from apologies, said "Please be advised that we will expedite on this and ensure that your ticket is issued accordingly. Two days before my flight I called the service centre and they took down my details and promised that somebody would call me back; they didnt. The next day I phoned again with the same result. I thus had no documentation and I abandoned the trip. I should like to claim for the flights, hotel and telephone costs but dont know how to proceed. I should also like compensation for the general inconvenience and disappointment but, most of all, I should like an apology. Peter Pauwels, Merseyside A Sorry to hear about your experience. I imagine that the disarray you describe towards the end of your story was one of the many consequences of the terrorist attack on Brussels airport in March, which temporarily shut down the airlines operations and wrecked the travel plans of more than a million passengers. If you have proof that Brussels Airlines promised you something but did not deliver, and as a result you suffered financial loss, you can of course make a legal claim - either against the airlines UK office or against the HQ in Belgium through the European Small Claims procedure. But that will cost you money. I should point out that it is possible a judge may decide the airline has no case to answer: it was not obliged to let you postpone flights in the first place, and did so only because of the Belgian connection with the Paris attack. You will need to judge the strength of your case. Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a readers question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} You wouldn't think a nature reserve like this would exist so close to somewhere like Bridgend. But the sand dunes of the pretty thatched village of Merthyr Mawr, just a couple of miles out of the town, will amaze you. First a bit of cooing at the general prettiness of Merthyr Mawr is in order: its a gorgeous estate village that once largely served nearby Merthyr Mwr House and is home to a lovely 19th-century church and medieval cross, and surrounded by a host of Neolithic remains. Beyond the village, you can park at a small car park, in front of which lies an army of massive sand dunes the second highest in Europe, no less, which provided the setting for parts of David Leans film of Lawrence of Arabia, and are one of the most remarkable dune and woodland habitats around. Make a day of walking around the dunes and exploring the adjacent ruins of medieval Candleston Castle. You're also just a small bridge and short walk away from the stunning ruins of the Norman Ogmore Castle and its 52 stepping-stones across the Ogmore river. Locals believe that the stones were laid for a girl who lived in the castle and used the stones to meet her lover across the river. You can stumble back and forth a bit before settling down for a picnic the conclusion, we hope, to a fabulous day. Cool Places is a new website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk). Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When, on 14 May 2010 the Labour MP Stephen Timms was attacked by Roshonara Choudhry during a constituency surgery and almost murdered, was that because the climate of political discourse had grown especially coarse and violent, around the time of that years general election? And when, on 28 January 2000, Robert Ashman visited Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones surgery in Cheltenham, and seriously injured Jones and murdered councillor Andrew Pennington with a samurai sword, was that because people had started to get unduly strident about their politics? Or the many times when "lone wolf" crazies have taken a pot shot at the Queen or Prince of Wales? Was that because of some outbreak of extremism? Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Show all 7 1 /7 Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Media reports said Jo Cox, 41, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, had been attacked as she prepared to hold an advice surgery for constituents in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene A handbag and shoes lie on the ground as police cordon off an area after Jo Cox, was shot and stabbed by an attacker at her constituency in Birstall Getty Images Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Medical equipment lies on the ground behind a police cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds. A British lawmaker Jo Cox was in critical condition after an incident in her constituency in northern England REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mother of two was left lying in a pool of blood on the pavement after her assailant struck in Birstall PA Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS Jo Cox shooting - pictures of the crime scene Police stand behind a cordon in Birstall near Leeds REUTERS No. These were murders and murder attempts, more or less politically motivated, and carried out by individuals who predominantly weren't of sound mind. Sadly, history is full of other assassinations, whatever the tenor of public debate was at any particular time. Politics has always been an unpleasant business, and people have always harboured the deepest suspicions about their elected representatives probity, resented their power, and nursed conspiracy theories. Theyre all in it for themselves is not a novel remark directed aganst elected and unelected officials. So why then do some commentators, such as Polly Toynbee, persist in suggesting that the corrosive atmosphere in debate engendered by the Brexit campaign has uniquely and viciously led to the murder of Jo Cox, such that one can register shock at what has happened but not complete surprise? Canadian MP tears up in tribute to Jo Cox Actually, it was a complete surprise, and, as the other examples demonstrate, MPs have been subject to attempts on their lives throughout history, which are always unexpected. We should not dismiss from this discussion the murders of Ian Gow or Airey Neave by Irish republicans, and a string of Northern Irish politicians too, as special cases. Or the 1984 Brighton bombing, when the aim was to take out the entire cabinet, including Margaret Thatcher. It very nearly succeeded, even before the era of social media, trolls and stalkers. Moreover, just because it was a very long time ago and illustrated by engravings, we should nether forget the assignation of a British Prime Minster Spencer Perceval, shot dead in the lobby of the Commons by a man named Bellingham, who held a grudge against the authorities. Politicians always have been the targets of terrorists and malcontents and they always will be. Nigel Farage, Michael Gove and Chris Grayling are not in any way to blame for this, any more than Thatchers hard line on Ulster was the reason why Gow and Neave were blown up. Political violence is, we have to face it, as old as politics itself. Brexit really has little to do with it. To suggest otherwise is itself rather a debasing of the debate. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} In 1996 the CIA set up a special unit called Alec Station with the aim of targeting Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network. It was headed by Michael Scheuer who found the Saudis less than cooperative. When we set up the unit in 1996 we asked the Saudis for some basic material on bin Laden, like his birth certificate, his financial records obvious stuff, recalled Mr Scheuer many years later. We got nothing. The CIA unit pursuing bin Laden kept on requesting this mundane but necessary information about their target from the Saudis for the next three years but got no reply. Finally in 1999, we get a message from the [CIA] station chief in Riyadh, a Mr John Brennan, Mr Scheuer said in an interview published in Kill Chain: Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins by my brother Andrew Cockburn. He said we should stop sending these requests as it was upsetting the Saudis. The story is important because John Brennan has been director of the CIA since he replaced David Petraeus in 2013 and last week he was once again avoiding any upset to the Saudis by telling the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television station that the 28 pages in the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry relating to Saudi Arabia that have never been released contain no evidence to indicate that the Saudi government as an institution -- or as senior Saudi officials individually -- had supported the 9/11 attacks." This is not the impression of others who have read the report and dodges the question of indirect Saudi support for or tolerance of al-Qaeda in the past. But the important point is that in the 20 years between 1996 and 2016, the CIA and British security and foreign policy agencies have consistently given priority to maintaining their partnership with powerful Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia, the Gulf monarchies, Turkey and Pakistan over the elimination of terrorist organisations such as al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, Isis and the Taliban. This contradiction between what is required to destroy the Salafi-jihadi Sunni fundamentalist networks and the need to maintain the alliance with these Sunni states goes a long way to explain the failure of the vastly expensive War on Terror. Commentators focus their criticism on Saudi Arabia and with good reason, but it was Pakistan that was crucial to the rise of the Taliban and Turkey to that of the extreme Islamists in Syria. Mr Brennan does not take responsibility for this calamitous failure but he did admit its extent in revealing evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability, he said. The group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower, and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly. Inside Isis secret tunnels Show all 7 1 /7 Inside Isis secret tunnels Inside Isis secret tunnels Network of underground tunnels was discovered by Kurdish forces after they regained the town of Sinjar in Iraq Inside Isis secret tunnels A member of the Peshmerga forces inspects a tunnel used by Isis militants in the town of Sinjar, Iraq Reuters Inside Isis secret tunnels An entrance to the tunnel used by Islamic State militants is seen in the town of Sinjar, Iraq Inside Isis secret tunnels The secret tunnels allowed militants to freely move underground Inside Isis secret tunnels The tunnels appear to be wired with electricity Inside Isis secret tunnels Some of the tunnels are 30 feet deep Inside Isis secret tunnels Concerns remain that parts of the tunnels are rigged with explosives Isis is certainly weaker than it once was at its apogee as its divided but numerous enemies press forward on multiple fronts in Iraq and Syria. Its call for lone wolf attacks by Isis militants in their own countries is because it is more difficult for them to pass to and fro across the Turkish border, which has been progressively sealed off by the advance of the Syrian Kurds backed by US air power. But Isis leaders are all too aware that an atrocity like the one committed in Orlando - as in Brussels in March, and Paris last November - propels their movement to the top of the news agenda for weeks at a time and, for all the obloquy they receive, augments their strength and acts as a recruiting tool. Isis is transmuting into more of a terrorist movement using guerrilla tactics as the onslaught against the self-declared Caliphate grinds slowly forward. The slaughter of civilians abroad is designed to mask a real weakening of the de facto Isis state compared to a year ago when it was still capable of launching offensives that captured Ramadi and Palmyra. President Obama is much more realistic than his critics allow in his claim that his campaign against Isis is showing real gains. Unfortunately, the credibility of his administration in convincing people of this is undermined by past exaggerations about victories over Isis that were swiftly contradicted by events. What makes the current wave of terrorism different is that it is backed by the resources of a de facto state which, even in its current battered condition, can mobilise money, expertise, equipment and communications. The possession of territory with its own well-organised administration makes a great difference to the punching power of Isis when it comes to either terrorism or war. Jo Cox MP speaks on Aleppo crisis It is helped also by its enemies divisions, which are graphically on display at the moment in the battle for Aleppo where the CIA and the Pentagon pursue radically different policies. The Pentagon holds that its prime aim is to fight and defeat Isis, while the CIA maintains that Isis can be only be eliminated by first overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad and his regime. The defeat of Assad is a necessary precondition to ultimately defeat [Isis], a US intelligence official told Nancy Youssef of the Daily Beast. As long as there is a failed leader in Damascus and a failed state in Syria, Isis will have a place to operate from. This makes the dubious assumption that there would be less of a failed state in Damascus after Assad than there was before his fall. Much the same argument is made by 51 US State Department diplomats in an internal memo calling for military strikes against Assads forces to compel him to abide by a ceasefire. It says that the Syrian governments barrel bombing of civilians is the root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region. It calls for a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US diplomacy. The mid-level diplomats, taking advantage of a State Department channel for officials to diverge from official policy without damaging their careers, say that at present Assad feels under no pressure to agree to a ceasefire, known as a cessation of hostilities, which excludes Isis and al-Nusra. The diplomats demand for air strikes appears extraordinarily naive and ill-considered since the last thing that Syria needs is yet more violence. Their protest avoids the problem that the Syrian armed opposition is dominated by Isis, al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham. It is understandable that the diplomats should denounce Assad for carrying out atrocities, but they should also accept that the only alternative to his rule is the Islamists. The US has found to its cost over the last few years that there is no moderate armed opposition fighting Assad which it can support aside from the Syrian Kurdish paramilitary army and some Arab units under Kurdish control. The dissident US diplomats may genuinely believe that peace will be brought closer by adding a US-Syrian government war to the cats cradle of existing wars in Syria and Iraq. The CIA has a long dismal history since Afghanistan of being manipulated by jihadi groups and their Sunni government backers in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Before anybody talks of starting new conflicts, the priority should be the complete destruction of Isis. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theres something distinctly un-British about a vigil. These open displays of fresh, still-glistening hard to be close to grief. No, not British at all. "Seventy-two baps Connie, you slice, Ill spread", was Victoria Woods beautifully observed joke about British grieving. When death took one of our own, the inner circle retreated for five days, emerging for an emotionally reserved funeral between 11am and 1pm with a light buffet. In bygone British days those halcyon times so many of us long to find a path back to we did not take to the streets with our sadness. We kept our grief under-wraps and our lips stiff and let our unsaid things strangle us like knotweed. And grief had its own strict hierarchy he can mourn, shes got no right to be sad, you should be mourning harder etc. The modern vigil, on the other hand is a come one, come all scenario. Im beginning to like the modern way much better. Corbyn on Jo Cox The modern vigil denotes the wonky unfairness of tragedy. Death happens, it proves, when you were busy making other plans. Its all there in the scattering of Poundland tea lights and newsagent bought bouquets which were harvested in a haze and tied to railings with childrens hair ribbons. And the notes. Those notes. The ones attached to lamp-posts, written evidently in a mist of numbness, with a non-ideal pen perhaps a neon pink Sharpie as I saw at Jo Coxs Westminster vigil saying the things we didnt get to say face-to-face, but are now scribbled through tears and Sellotape to a railing. Like "I love you", or "You were a great colleague". Or "Im worried about your children". Or "I didnt really know you, but from afar I secretly thought you were ace". When humanity seems to be at rock bottom, the vigil exposes us to human beings at their best. Yesterday in Wapping at a vigil close to Jo Coxs houseboat, ship horns rang out in unison for two solid minutes, while her neighbours stood up on their decks. A mere five years ago it would have been unthinkable for Westminster mourners to leave laptops on the grass outside parliament playing footage of Jo Coxs speeches. Or for someone to leave an enormous blank sheet of cardboard entitled the "Banner of Love for Jo" inviting passersby to exude some words of warmth and light. But at a point in British history where were knee-deep in words, in mutual-antagonism, glued to social media screens filled with bile-soaked tit for tat, this old-school request for "positive vibes" in felt tip pen seemed oddly healing. The power of togetherness cannot be underestimated. Orlando may be 4000 miles away, so not many of the thousands who attended the Old Compton Street this week had lost a very good friend, but this rendezvous was vital. Vigils like these remind us that good people, on almost every occasion on this planet, powerfully outnumber the bad. And when we move away from our laptops, drop our Twitter personas and set aside our Facebook posturing, we are, almost all of us, in the flesh merely odd shaped, damp-eyed vulnerable human beings in constant need of love. There is, we must remember, more love and unity than hate in this world. Sometimes it takes a death to force us out into the streets and admit it. Enda Kenny said 'good politics and strong leadership' is needed to deal with problems within the EU, rather than walking away A vote by the UK to quit the European Union (EU) would take the country on an "unknown journey", Ta oiseach Enda Kenny warned. The Irish politician accepted the EU faces a number of "challenges" but said "good politics and strong leadership" is needed to deal with them rather than simply opting to quit Europe. He made the comments with less than a week to go until voters across the UK decide the issue in a referendum on June 23. Mr Kenny, speaking after the British-Irish Council meeting in Glasgow, stressed: "I t's not for me as the leader of the government in the Republic of Ireland to lecture anybody on something which is the responsibility of the British electorate." He added: " Because of the unique nature of the ties between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, the closeness of the nations socially, economically, politically and in so many other areas of business, we feel it is important to speak to the Irish community who are entitled to vote in the referendum and to say to them that we believe very strongly that they should vote to stay as a member of the European Union." The politician said he had the " privilege of sitting round the table at the European Council", adding that Britain "has always been a strong central voice there". He added: " If the vote were to leave .... attending at the European Council meetings, there would not be any representatives there to speak for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland." While he said "there are challenges" within Europe, he also said that "the way ahead might be to continue to remain a member". Mr Kenny cautioned: "To take a different path is an unknown journey that might have unknown consequences." President Michael D Higgins has urged people to reconsider how prosperity is measured. The President also defended speaking out on political and economic issues and criticised the 10 years the European Commission was headed by Jose Manuel Barroso up to 2014. He said the period from 2004-2014 was in many respects the "antithesis of social Europe". "Inequality is not inevitable," he said. "The just redistribution of the fruits of the earth and of human labour is not a dismissible utopian project. Nor should it ever be reduced to mere philanthropy. "It is a moral obligation for all of us who believe in solidarity - an obligation we must, as a society, do our very best to fulfil." President Higgins told a conference organised by the think-tank Tasc that the philosophy of sustainable development urges a rethink on what is "value and prosperity". "It invites us, in other words, to be the artisans, in this new century, of a historic reconciliation between economics, ethics and ecology," he said. The President said there is extreme concern over how discussions on the future of Europe are defined based on the movement of cheap labour, trade and consumption. And he said Europe would continue to disintegrate unless the focus turned to solidarity and cohesion. But he added: "I convince myself to have trust in the capacity for rebirth and renewal of Europeans. "As they seek to respond to the challenges of our time, my hope is that they will know how to turn again to implement in a meaningful manner those human rights treaties our countries have ratified, and that we will succeed in giving them full expression in our plans, policies and budgets, but also in our public discourse." The President also hit out at mainstream economics. He said none of the standard indicators and measures assess the cost to future generations of the depletion of resources and degradation of living conditions. "Thus we have very valuable statements of evidence on climate change, destructive development models, deepening inequality - but little forensic investigation of how it came to be; how money came to be distributed to influence politics and to challenge the science on climate change," he said. As President he is supposed to be above politics and not to dictate or influence government policy but following other speeches on the issue he has been accused of championing left-wing ideologies. Mr Higgins said: "My own words have sometimes been distorted. "In my speeches on these themes, I have never crudely dismissed economic growth. I have, rather, sought to point to the need to look at the quality and sustainability of economic growth in terms of its environmental, social and cultural consequences. "Increasing national income in an appropriate manner is, of course, necessary and desirable, but such economic growth must always be assessed in light of its ability to fulfil social objectives." MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in a horrific attack in her Yorkshire constituency Ireland will back keeping Britain in the single market, even if the country votes to leave the European Union. Opening the door to a post-Brexit free-trade deal while the UK vote hangs in the balance runs the risk of making British Prime Minister David Cameron's effort to shore up faltering support for the 'Remain' side even harder. His campaign is focused on highlighting the economic risk to Britain, especially the possible loss of access to EU markets. However, Finance Minister Michael Noonan says Ireland will lobby for Britain to stay part of the single market. He is playing down the tough stand of Germany's Wolfgang Schauble, who says the UK would be locked out of the common trade area if the Brexit vote is carried. "What Mr Schauble says is legally and technically correct, but I don't think it is the end position," Mr Noonan told the Irish Independent at an EU meeting in Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the Brexit campaign has been suspended following the murder of MP Jo Cox. The 41-year-old mother-of-two died after she was shot and stabbed in a horrific assault in her Yorkshire constituency. Eyewitnesses heard her attacker shout "put Britain first" at least twice as he killed her. President Michael D Higgins led Irish tributes to the MP. Aer Lingus is helping to bolster IAG's ambition to become a leader on the transatlantic market, IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Madrid. And he also insisted that a possible Brexit will have no material, long-term impact on the airline group. Mr Walsh said that integration of Aer Lingus has gone well, and that the airline is in a "really strong position" to grow from its Dublin hub. IAG acquired Aer Lingus last year for 1.36bn and has since expanded its transatlantic services from Dublin. Mr Walsh told IAG shareholders that Aer Lingus is a "profitable, well-run company with a strong brand, resilient business model and a low cost base". "Leadership in the transatlantic market has always been a key goal for IAG. Aer Lingus will help bolster our ambition. "It is blessed with a geographic advantage, a strong brand... and US preclearance for immigration and customs at both Dublin and Shannon." This year, Aer Lingus has relaunched its service from Dublin to Los Angeles and will also relaunch its route from the capital to Newark in New Jersey. Later this year it will commence its route between Dublin and Hartford, Connecticut. It's expected that Aer Lingus will later this year announce another new route to the United States. A planned 320m runway development at Dublin Airport will help IAG's transatlantic ambition out of Ireland. But Mr Walsh has previously warned that Aer Lingus is close to its limit in terms of the transatlantic expansion it can offer out of Dublin until overall infrastructure at the airport, including taxiways and stands, is improved. The new runway is slated to be complete by 2020, with initial pre-construction work set to start later this year. At IAG's agm, chairman Antonio Vasquez also said that Aer Lingus is "allowing us to grow in our core markets". IAG, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, posted a record 2.3bn operating profit last year, helped by lower fuel costs. But Mr Walsh warned yesterday that oil prices will eventually rise again. "It was a year of extreme volatility in both the oil and currency markets," he said. "While the oil price declined, sharp increases in the value of the US dollar, the currency we use to buy fuel, meant some of the cost benefit was offset. "No one believes that the oil price will remain at low levels long term. And with volatility likely to remain, we continue to hedge fuel to give us time to manage any uncertainty." The chief executive also said that IAG has undertaken a risk assessment of a possible Brexit and said the group does not believe it will have any major impact on the company. "IAG believes that the aviation industry and consumers in Europe, including the UK, have benefited from free trade within a common aviation area," he told shareholders. "As a responsible business, we've undertaken a risk assessment and at this stage have concluded that should Britain vote to leave the EU, this will not have a long-term, material impact on our business." He added: "IAG has taken business, not a political view on the referendum. "We believe it is a decision for the British electorate and we're not going to advise people about how they should vote." The Irish Government has no firm information on when the European Commission will rule on the Apple case, but speculation and "rumour" is that it could be next month, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said. Speaking ahead of a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg, Mr Noonan said the Government has cooperated fully and that the Department of Finance and Revenue Commissioners have provided all requested data. The Minister said there had been speculation that a decision could come next month. But he added: "That's speculation and rumour. There may be [a decision] before the summer but we're not sure." A decision was initially due before the end of last year. The case has been running since 2014. In April, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said it was difficult to say when the case would be ready for a decision. Brussels has accused Ireland of striking a tax arrangement with Apple that was based on keeping jobs here but which gave the company an advantage that amounted to state aid and went against international guidelines. Michael Noonan has repeatedly said Ireland has done nothing wrong, and any negative decision will be fought in the courts. In October, the Commission announced in a separate state aid ruling that tax advantages granted to Fiat in Luxembourg and to Starbucks in The Netherlands were illegal. Ireland's leading business women are split over the question of whether to introduce gender quotas in the workplace to help break down barriers to success. Many of the country's leading business names packed the fifth annual Women's Executive Network's (WXN) Leadership Summit in Dublin yesterday, followed by a gala awards dinner. While there was universal support at the event for the need to encourage and promote more women to senior roles, a straw poll of attendees showed an even split between those in favour and those against gender quotas. At the event 25 of the most powerful women in Ireland - in the private and public sectors - were honoured. Winners included Rose Hynes of the Shannon Group and Origin Enterprises; Breege O'Donoghue of Primark; Dell's Niamh Townsend; PayPal's Louise Phelan; Disney's Una Fox; Ann Nolan of the Department of Finance; RSA chief Liz O'Donnell; and Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon. Keynote speaker Rose Hynes backed the idea of a formal quota to shake up the status quo. "There is significant inequality right across Irish business, and the only way to address it in any meaningful way is to introduce a series of quotas. We need to unblock the blockages that are currently stopping women progressing," Ms Hynes said. Google's Irish director of people operations, Helen Tynan, said ensuring women have a say in the hiring process is an essential means of bridging the gender gap. "It's pity we have to be talking about gender quotas. I have been in business for 20 years and unfortunately the world is not changing as fast as we would like. "I do believe in quotas, but not at the appointment stage. I believe in quotas only at the panel stage for making appointments," said Ms Tynan. However, Bronwyn Brophy, vice president, early technologies EMEA at Medtronics, said: "I don't believe in playing the female card. I think we need to think of ourselves as equal. "It is imperative to have everyone within the organisation cognisant of the gender situation within the company. "We have tried forced quotas in the past, and what tends to happen is that you have females who are not the best candidate for the job, or they are not suited to the job, and they tend not to stay in the role." Marguerite Sayers, managing director at ESB Networks, said there was a risk women might find themselves not being given a full level of the respect they deserve if they were appointed on the basis of a quota. "In the long term I think it can be quite damaging because people might think that women are only in a particular role because of a quota and that's the only reason that they're there," Ms Sayers said. "Given where we were years ago there was probably no choice other than to have quotas because that meant at least there was a critical mass. "But I think that has become less of an issue. "I think we definitely have to keep an eye on the overall figures but I wouldn't be in favour of quotas," she said. Among those honoured at the event in the Intercontinental Hotel were the winners of the Trailblazers Awards: Mary Fitzgerald, foreign correspondent with Independent Newspapers; Susan McKenna-Lawlor, director, Space Technology Ireland; and Margot Slattery, president of Sodexo Ireland and LGBT advocate, WXN's global chief executive Sherri Stevens said that "this year's winners are true leaders in their field. "It is essential that we keep promoting and celebrating their success because the sad truth remains that progress is still slow. "In Ireland, women only comprise 10pc of board seats on ISEQ companies and the gender pay gap remains at 14.4pc," she said. Entrepreneurs honoured at the event were: Anne Marie Caulfield, of Caulfield McCarthy Group; Caroline Keeling, ceo, Keelings; and Sarah Kent, ceo of Kentech International Limited, The Davy Business Leaders awards went to Una Fox, vice president, The Walt Disney Company; Shannon Group's Rose Hynes; Breege O'Donoghue of Primark; and Louise Phelan of PayPal. In the Arts and Culture, the work of author Anne Enright, designer Louise Kennedy and artist Camille Souter was celebrated. The Public Sector awards were given to Liz O'Donnell, chair of the Road Safety Authority; Irish ambassador to the UN Patricia O'Brien; Ann Nolan, of the Department of Finance; and Helen Dixon, the Data Protection Commissioner. Dublin-based Mainstay Medical has raised 30m through the placement of over 2.3 million new ordinary shares, the company has said. In a statement to shareholders this morning, the firm said it will look to use the money to support European commercialisation and to conduct clinical trials for its flagship back pain product, ReActiv8. ReActiv8 is an implantable neurostimulation system that is used to treat disabling chronic back pain. The funding will be used for a clinical B-trial of the product to help gather data for a pre-market approval application for the US. Mainstay chief executive Peter Crosby said the fundraising will allow the company to "further progress" its commercilisation. "This fundraising will allow us to further progress towards our objectives of commercialisation of ReActiv8 in Europe and the United States, and help improve the lives of millions of people who suffer from chronic low back pain." The cash raised from the sale of shares is in addition to the $10.4m cash pile the company had at the end of May. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron sips from an "I'm In" mug as he meets television presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May during a visit to W Chump & Sons Ltd TV studio in west London. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Brexit could have serious political and economic implications for Ireland, Northern Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations, according to a new report. The disruption of trade links, re-introduction of customs controls and loss of millions of pounds in aid funding would impact the economy and affect security, it has been claimed. British Influence, which published the report, said: "These are issues that have only been considered on the periphery of the referendum debate until very recently and yet represent some of the most serious, considering the potential effects Brexit could have on the Irish peace process and north-south co-operation. "Those who argue for the UK to leave the EU have for the most part dismissed the Irish dimension of Brexit as either irrelevant or inconsequential, a worryingly passive stance. Considering the seriousness with which people on both sides of the Irish border are taking the possibility of the UK voting to leave, Brexit advocates need rapidly to reconsider that stance and begin providing answers for these legitimate concerns." According to the think tank, the economic consequences for Northern Ireland include an exposed economy left isolated from its second biggest market and more reliant on a poorer and pre-occupied Britain. The potential loss of foreign direct investment, which has seen some 800 international companies set up in the region, has also been highlighted, as have claims the business community could be at a disadvantage. The ending of the European Arrest Warrant may also make it more difficult to extradite terror suspects, while the loss of crucial EU funding for cross border projects could disrupt the peace process, the report said. Meanwhile, British Influence has argued that a vote to leave the EU could have ramifications south of the border, where the economy is still recovering from the downturn. "A Brexit could be the kind of shock that causes real difficulties," the report said. While both countries would continue to trade, the volume - presently 30% of Ireland's imports, totalling some 27.86 billion - is likely to be impacted, it is claimed. Agriculture prices may also be forced down, as the UK would no longer be subject to the Common Agricultural Policy. And, there would also be consequences for broader relations between the UK and Ireland, which have improved immeasurably in recent years, partly down to mutual membership of the EU. The report said: "No doubt the British and Irish Governments would seek to maintain their current strong relationship, and it is to be hoped that they would succeed. "But ... Britain and Ireland would have chosen profoundly different paths and there would be no guarantees that the current relations would remain as they are." Here are the main business stories from this morning's papers: Irish Independent * Ireland will back keeping Britain in the single market, even if the country votes to leave the European Union. Opening the door to a post-Brexit free-trade deal while the UK vote hangs in the balance runs the risk of making British Prime Minister David Cameron's effort to shore up faltering support for the 'Remain' side even harder. * Ireland Inc needs to get over the idea of buying and owning a home, PayPal executive Louise Phelan has said. At a time when the housing crisis and access to credit for home-buying is a key talking point and a priority for Government, Ms Phelan said that concentrating on making convenient accommodation available to people is more important. * Ireland's leading business women are split over the question of whether to introduce gender quotas in the workplace to help break down barriers to success. Many of the country's leading business names packed the fifth annual Women's Executive Network's (WXN) Leadership Summit in Dublin yesterday, followed by a gala awards dinner. The Irish Times * Ireland has been warned that its over-reliance on foreign direct investment is becoming a bigger problem for the country. According to a report in The Irish Times, Tasc warned the state that a low-tax rate is becoming one of the most prominent ways in which firms differentiate Ireland from other EU member states. * UK property firm Hammerson alongside its partners, the German insurer Allianz, have entered into the final tranche of discussions relating to taking equity control of Dundrum Town Centre. According to a report in The Irish Times, the pair are looking to complete the deal for the underlying assets tied to the centre this summer. * A ruling on Apple's tax dealings in Ireland is expected next month, the minister for finance has said. According to a report in The Irish Times, Michael Noonan said that the commission will look to make a decision on the matter in July. Irish Examiner * Discount retailer Poundland, which trades here as Dealz, will look to invest heavily in Ireland as it focuses its expansion plans here. According to a report in the Irish Examiner, Poundland expects its capital spend to exceed 25m (32m) by the end of its financial year. * PayPal Ireland head Louise Phelan has said gender quotas are needed to increase the number of women sitting on boards of Irish companies. According to a report in the Irish Examiner, Ms Phelan said she typically didn't agree with the notion of quotas, but suggested they may be required to incur a change at board level. * Profits at the company owned by One Direction star Niall Horan hit 7.75m last year according to the firm's latest accounts. According to a report in the Irish Examiner, the Irish star's firm had its best year ever due to the band's lengthy tour. Ireland Inc needs to get over the idea of buying and owning a home, PayPal executive Louise Phelan has said. At a time when the housing crisis and access to credit for home-buying is a key talking point and a priority for Government, Ms Phelan said that concentrating on making convenient accommodation available to people is more important. "Ireland Inc needs to get over the idea," she said. Ms Phelan was speaking at the latest Dublin Chamber of Commerce Dublin 2050 breakfast event, which is examining how Dublin will look in 34 years' time. She went on to clarify that she was "talking about Dublin 2050". "In Dublin 2050, we have to keep looking forward," she said. "We have a number of challenges - infrastructure, housingall of these need to be thought through with planning, politicians and with industry. "When we're bringing businesses into Ireland, we have to think of the aftercare, [that's] the key thing to think about." Google has opened its second data centre in Ireland, with a 150m investment at Clondalkin in west Dublin. Taoiseach Enda Kenny described it as a "new chapter" in Google's story in Ireland. Google employs over 3,000 people in Ireland, with its European headquarters in Dublin. It has now completed 750m of capital expenditure here. The new centre will be used to help run services such as Google's search engine, as well as Gmail and Google Maps. The internet giant's latest investment is one of a number of data centre projects under way in Ireland that involve a total investment of well over 2bn. Facebook recently began construction of a huge 200m data centre in Clonee, Co Meath, while Apple is planning to build an 850m complex in Athenry, Co Galway. Amazon is currently building at least two data centres in Dublin to add to its existing facilities here. Construction is under way of an Amazon data centre beside Dublin Airport, and another at the former Jacob Biscuit factory in Tallaght. Last month, Microsoft was given the go-ahead to build four new data centres in Clondalkin that will probably involve an investment of around 900m. About 1,800 construction jobs are expected to be supported by the project, which Microsoft has had to bring forward because of a big increase in demand for internet-based services. Ireland is popular as a data centre location because the temperate climate helps to reduce cooling costs typically associated with such facilities. Mr Little is set to be in charge of the social networks European headquarters in the capital, which already employs more than 200 people and is expanding. Photo: Sam boal/RollingNews.ie Storyful founder Mark Little has been appointed as the new managing director of Twitter in Ireland. The former RTE broadcaster, who left Storyful in June 2015, has taken up the role with current chief Stephen McIntyre leaving the company. McIntyre will stay on at Twitter until the end of the month, before moving to Irish tech finance business Frontline Ventures. McIntyre said it was "a very difficult decision" to leave but he is ready for something new. Mr Little is set to be in charge of the social network's European headquarters in the capital, which already employs more than 200 people and is expanding. He has previously worked as RTE's Washington correspondent and left the State broadcaster in 2009. He started news-sourcing agency Storyful that year and subsequently sold the company to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for 18m in 2013. The entrepreneur then stepped down as Storyful's director of editorial innovation last year. Business / Economy by Staff Reporeter Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has said the current cash crisis is not an issue to worry about.According to Mangudya, the prevailing cash crisis is just but a symptom of the problem.Mangudya said the country was consuming more than what it exports."Cash crisis is not the problem, but symptom of the problem, as Zimbabweans we spend more time on the symptoms and not the problems. The country has been in deficit since 2008 as imports are higher than exports and compounding effects of 2008 that's what we are seeing today," Mangudya said.According to official statistics, Zimbabwe's cumulative trade deficit since dollarisation was estimated at around $20 billion.The current account balance reflected a negative $1,2 billion in 2009 and has progressively worsened to a negative $3,1 billion in 2015. Volkswagen will invest more than 10bn by 2025 in areas such as electric cars and ride-hailing as it seeks to reshape its business in the wake of its emissions-test cheating scandal, it said yesterday. Europe's biggest carmaker said it would fund "the biggest change process in the company's history" with an efficiency drive, including integrating components businesses that currently employ 67,000 people in 26 locations worldwide. "The Volkswagen Group will be more focused, efficient, innovative, customer-driven and sustainable - and systematically geared to generating profitable growth," ceo Matthias Mueller said, launching a plan called 'TOGETHER - Strategy 2025'. Volkswagen is battling to recover from the biggest business crisis in its 79-year history after admitting in September to cheating US diesel emissions tests. The company has set aside $18bn to cover the cost of vehicle refits and a settlement with US authorities, and analysts expect more fines and legal costs. The scandal has cast a shadow over the entire market for diesel cars, which account for about half of new vehicle sales in Europe, and has ramped up pressure on Volkswagen to cut costs at its namesake brand, which lags rivals' profitability . The company said it planned to launch more than 30 electric vehicles over the next ten years, forecasting they would account for 2-3 million unit sales in 2025. It also said it would build a services business encompassing areas such as ride-hailing and car-sharing that it expects to generate sales in the billions of euro by 2025, as well as developing its own autonomous driving and battery technologies. (Reuters) Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan on their wedding day Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan on their wedding day Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France An Irish couple weren't going to waste their honeymoon on the beach when they could be cheering on Ireland at the Euros. Newlyweds Alan Keegan and his wife Jennifer, from Dublin, wed on April 29 and postponed their honeymoon to coincide with Euro 2016. And they're literally flying the flag for Ireland at France, with a tricolour that reads: "This is our honeymoonher idea. Alan said he wasn't surprised when his wife suggested they celebrate their first holiday as husband and wife with thousands of other Irish fans. Expand Close Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France It was the night Ireland qualified she suggested it. I wasnt really surprised, Alan told independent.ie while on a bus to Bordeaux. We have season tickets and were at the last Euros in 2012. We go to all of the matches together. Unsurprisingly, the couple and their flag have been a major success in France. The reaction to the flag has been great. Mainly lads congratulating me on having the best wife ever, which I do, he said. Expand Close Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan at the Euros in France There has been lots of people taking pictures too. One guy told Jenni I should get her some gloves because shes a keeper, which we enjoyed. The couple flew to France last Friday and are attending the Ireland vs. Belgium match on Saturday. Our trip has been great serious fun. Our voices have gone from the singing. We had to take a detox by going to the coast but we ended up cheering on Wales in a pub full of Welsh fans. But their holiday doesn't end there as the couple will be jetting to Bali on Sunday after a night of celebrating what they hope will be an Irish victory. Expand Close Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan on their wedding day / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Newlyweds Alan and Jennifer Keegan on their wedding day Video of the Day Were heading to Bali on Sunday, Alan said. We latched the Euros on before it. A win would top it all, he finished. Talk about the best of both worlds. The State has launched an appeal against the High Court ruling which struck down the law governing the activation of suspended sentences The State has launched an appeal against the High Court ruling which struck down the law governing the activation of suspended sentences. The decision by Mr Justice Michael Moriarty last April to find aspects of the law unconstitutional has caused a major headache for authorities. Since then the courts have not been activating suspended sentences, while over a dozen prisoners have issued legal proceedings seeking to be released. Amid fears of a crisis, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald promised emergency legislation. However, the Court of Appeal was told yesterday that the Director of Public Prosecutions was appealing the judgment. The appeal will seek to overturn conclusions reached by Mr Justice Moriarty in test cases taken by six prisoners against the constitutionality of parts of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Sean Ryan, said the issue was "a matter of priority" and fixed a directions hearing for next week. Criticised Barrister Feichin McDonagh SC, who represents four of the six prisoners, said he believed the appeal could be dealt with in a single day. He observed that the Supreme Court had already criticised the struck down section of the law. Despite the fact an appeal has been lodged, justice officials say new legislation is still being prepared. Under Section 99, someone found guilty of reoffending while serving a suspended term could be swiftly committed to prison to serve out the suspended portion of their initial sentence. Mr Justice Moriarty found the law was unfair as it denied people the right to challenge their second conviction before being committed to prison in relation to their first. At least two prisoners who had been due to have suspended sentences activated had to be set free. The DPP has informed State counsel not to seek activation orders until the issue is resolved. Earlier this week five prisoners seeking to be released had their cases adjourned to various dates in the coming months. However, several more abandoned their bids to be set free. These included Alan Hutch (33), son of Eddie Hutch Snr, who was gunned down in a gangland feud earlier this year. His lawyers told the High Court he was withdrawing his application. General view of junction of Howth Road and Clontarf Road, Marino/Clontarf, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn A man in his 20s is to appear in court charged in connection with a fatal road traffic collision in Clontarf, Dublin last summer. The cyclist died in the incident on 30 June 2015, a man was killed in a road traffic collision on the Clontarf Road. The victim was named locally as Eugene Maher (62) from Griffith Downs in Whitehall. A man who fatally knocked down a cyclist when he drove a car at speed through a red light had been banned from driving at the time, a court has heard. Eugene Maher (62) died from head injuries hours after being struck by a car driven by 27 year old Christopher Coleman. Expand Close Eugene Maher / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eugene Maher Judge Melanie Greally said she would take a week to consider the evidence before sentencing Coleman. Coleman of Reuben Street, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Maher at Clontarf Road, Dublin on June 30, 2015. He also admitted leaving the scene of the crash and to driving without insurance. Numerous witnesses from the scene described the car coming out of nowhere on the inside bus lane while traffic was stopped at the red lights. Witnesses also saw the car travelling at speed earlier along the Clontarf Road. They also saw a front seat passenger hanging out of the window of the car gesturing towards another car. There was cheering and roaring coming from the car shortly before the collision. One witness said he then heard screeching of brakes and screaming before the sound of the impact. Expand Close Christopher Coleman (of Reuben Street, Dublin 8, charged with dangerous driving causting death and failure to remain at the scene) leaving CCJ, Parkgate Street, Dublin. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Christopher Coleman (of Reuben Street, Dublin 8, charged with dangerous driving causting death and failure to remain at the scene) leaving CCJ, Parkgate Street, Dublin. Coleman tried to stop the car by doing a handbrake turn and the car ended up spinning around. He drove off at speed from the crash, dangerously overtaking a number of other cars. He went to gardai six days after the collision and told them that he took full responsibility. He said he was very sorry for not having the courage to stop at the scene and claimed he was trying to make an amber light at the junction. He said he knew he was driving too fast but didn't know how fast. The court heard that if he had been driving at the speed limit of 50kph emergency braking would have stopped the car in 15 metres, five metres short of hitting Mr Maher. Skids marks showed that the car stopped in just under 30metres. Garda Linda Connaughton told the court that Coleman has 15 previous convictions including four for driving without insurance. In November 2012 a court disqualified him from driving for six years. He was also disqualified from driving in January 2012 and in February 2009. Coleman told gardai that he was so sorry for the family of Mr Maher. He said he panicked after the crash because he had been banned from driving. During an emotional sentence hearing the victim's daughter, Lisa Maher, read out three impact reports in which the Maher family described the torture of having to wait six days before their father's body was released to them. The body could not be released because a suspect would have the legal right to carry out an independent autopsy on the body. After Coleman came forward his full admissions of guilty meant the body could be released. Ms Maher said her father lay on a slab in a morgue for six long, agonising, painful days. She said Mr Maher was her hero, her mentor and her guide and was a generous and selfless man. Marie Maher said her late husband always said forgive and forget. My life will never be the same again. Right now I cannot find it in my heart to forgive. she said. Mr Maher was the father of Drogheda United star, Stephen Maher. Stephen Maher said that while death is inevitable and that we will all experience the death of a loved one, his father had been left for dead on a busy road. News / Africa by Staff Reporter Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) has expressed worry that Botswana government is supporting the violation of workers' rights in neighbouring Zimbabwe and Swaziland.Mmegi reported that BFTU said that they were shocked when Botswana stood to support the two Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states for violation of workers' rights at the recent International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.BFTU president Bohithetswe Lentswe said that the governments of both Zimbabwe and Swaziland appeared before the committee of application of standards for violation of right to organise and collective bargaining and right to freedom of association and protection of the right to organise respectively.He said that in the case of Zimbabwean government it was observed that the committee had for the past years discussed the government's flagrant disregard for the most basic freedom of association rights.He said that Botswana speaking on behalf of SADC as the chair of the regional bloc said that there is no need for any intervention from the ILO as it noted progress in addressing the issues by both governments.In the Swaziland case, Lentswe said that it was noted that it is the seventh consecutive time the case was discussed in the conference committee and the country had been examined 14 times, but Botswana government again said that the Swaziland government was progressing to implement the convention."The government said that there is progress in Zimbabwe as there are constitutional amendments adopted in 2013, which formed a good basis for addressing the concerns raised by the commission of inquiry regarding compliance with the convention," said Lentswe.However, Lentswe said that BFTU does not agree with the government on the situation in Zimbabwe, as it has been a recurrent case before the committee due togross breaches of the provisions of conventions and called for the conference to send a delegation to Zimbabwe to assess and help the Zimbabwean government address its issues with trade unions."There are severe breaches, notably the serial and brazen physical and psychological attacks on workers and their trade union leaders," he said."The situation had not changed substantially as harassment and intimidation were still waged against workers and trade unions and had impacted the process of collective bargaining. The government had failed to align its laws and practices with the requirements of the convention.""The Botswana government noted with satisfaction the significant progress made by the convention as amendments have been tabled in Swaziland parliament to create a conducive environment for effective social dialogue while saying this was evidenced by the registration of federations of trade unions. Botswana expressed confidence that SADC would address the issues."Lentswe said that this was wrong coming from SADC chair. He said as the World of Work actors, they strongly believe in social dialogue and condemn the decision of Botswana to condone "bad-boy behaviour". He added that the failure by Zimbabwean government to implement the convention has resulted in high number of illegal immigrants to Botswana.He said that the situation in Swaziland is bad and needs ILO intervention as the government continue to violate the fundamental right of freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. He further said that they were happy that the conference heeded their plea for intervention to send a commission to assess the situation in both countries. AN Irish vet who runs a stud farm in Japan has sued the University of Limerick (UL) alleging defamation and reputational damage as a result of how it reacted to allegations by two female students about his behaviour towards them while on placement at the farm. Dr Harry Sweeney, with addresses at Dunshaughlin, Co Meath and Hokkaido, Japan, and Y K Paca Paca Farm, Hokkaido, Japan, are, in three different cases, suing UL and each of the students over alleged defamation. The plaintiffs claim there is no basis to claims by the students about the behaviour of Dr Sweeney towards them while on placement there between January and March 2014 as part of their UL courses in equine studies. The plaintiffs also claim, with no warning to them, two of the three UL students on placement, were collected by taxi and driven away from the farm on March 19, 2014. That occurred after the two students contacted their parents seeking to go home and the parents in turn contacted UL which sought assistance from the Irish embassy, Luan O Braonain SC, for UL, said. As a result, Dr Sweeney and the farm claim the Irish Ambassador to Japan decided at short notice to cancel a high-profile visit by the Minister for Children to the farm scheduled for that same day and this, they claim, damaged the reputations and standing of the plaintiffs internationally. The plaintiffs also claim difficulties had emerged with the two students during their placement and Dr Sweeney had informed one of them, following an incident on March 16th 2014, she should consider herself suspended while her behaviour on the farm was being considered. The following day, St Patrick's Day 2014, Dr Sweeney says he sent emails to UL notifying it of "extremely serious difficulties" with some students on placement and stating consideration was being given to sending one of them home. He claims he had a long conversation with an agent of Ul on March 18th about difficulties being experienced with the students. UL has yet to deliver a defence to the case against it. The High Court heard on Thursday solicitors for one of the students have alleged in correspondence she will claim Dr Sweeney was inappropriate, offensive and bullying towards her and had sexually harassed her. The solicitors also wrote the student will allege that, some months before the placement started, she was interviewed in Ireland by Dr Sweeney during which she and other interviewees were asked to stand up mid interview and slowly turn around so she might be inspected physically. It also claimed he had engaged in inappropriate conversation, including asking her whether she was in a relationship. The solicitors further alleged no university representative was present. In correspondence on behalf of Dr Sweeney, all those claims were strongly denied. It is also claimed the students had fabricated claims against Dr Sweeney to avoid repercussions about their alleged behaviour. The plaintiffs case against UL was before Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan on Thursday via a pre-trial application by UL to have all three cases consolidated. Jessica Nelkin, from Rathfarnham, who sat the Leaving Cert Business Higher Level paper at Stratford College in Rathgar. Photo: Steve Humphreys LC Business and LC Art - Very practical, up-to-date and relevant was how Padraig Doherty of Moyne Community School, Co Longford, and Business Teachers Association of Ireland described the Leaving Certificate Business Higher Level paper. Philip Curry, a teacher at Ashfield College in Dublin, agreed, although he thought part C of the Applied Business Question, which focused on business expansion, would have been challenging for weaker students. Keith Hannigan of the Institute of Education, Dublin, said in Section 3, Question 3, for the first time, the European Union wasn't examined but the question that did appear was manageable. Mr Doherty said there was "something for everyone on the ordinary level paper". At Mount St Michael School, Roscarberry, Co Cork, teacher Liz Morissey, of the ASTI, said her pupils were "very happy" with Leaving Certificate Art papers, at both levels. Ample choice and a paper that gave students the opportunity to display their knowledge and visual awareness was how teacher Angela Griffith described the higher level paper. Ms Griffith, of the Institute of Education in Dublin, said, in the Irish section, students should have been pleased that there was no comparison across periods or media, which has happened on past papers. While both the Impressionist and Surrealist questions in the European section looked at lesser-known works, they were illustrated, allowing students to demonstrate their visual analysis skills, she said. She said that given the popularity of graphic novels, many should have enjoyed the animation question in the Appreciation section. JC Science and JC Religion If teacher Mairead Glynn's students represent the mood of Junior Certificate Science candidates after yesterday's papers, they should all be happy. Ms McGlynn of Tallaght Community School, Dublin, and the TUI said those she met were "very positive". Another teacher, Ger Curtin of Beneavin College, Finglas, Dublin, and the ASTI agreed that both papers were straightforward, with good diagrams and no surprises. He thought the higher level Question 8 on two heat experiments was "very nice". Commenting on the afternoon's Religious Education papers, Jane Craig Elliott of St Patrick's College, Cavan, and the ASTI said there was nothing out of the ordinary on the ordinary level paper, while the higher level paper was "fairly doable with some nice questions". She raised an issue about a higher level question on world religions, covering Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. It asked students to profile the religious beliefs expressed in a prayer associated with one of those religions and she wondered how many students would know such a prayer. The mother of missing Philip Cairns forgives the man linked to his disappearance but has only recently accepted that she will never see her child again. Philip went missing 30 years ago, aged 13, and gardai believe he may have been abducted by late convicted paedophile Eamonn Cooke. Cooke (79) died a number of weeks after first being questioned by gardai over the disappearance of Philip. However, speaking to RTE radio's 'Today with Sean O'Rourke', Philip's mother Alice said that to make peace with herself, she must forgive Cooke if he was involved in any wrongdoing. "That other man is dead now so he's not going to affect anyone in the present, Lord have mercy on his soul," she added. "You still have to forgive haven't you?" "To have my own peace, I have to forgive so I don't think about it," she added. Ms Cairns said she feels "robbed" of her son and that he was robbed of a life. She thinks the potential breakthrough in his case is "a bit late in the day" but that it may bring some closure for her family. Her husband Philip Cairns Snr died two years ago and she has five other children. Read more: Mum of missing schoolboy Philip Cairns on suspect Eamon Cooke: Lord have mercy on his soul, you have to forgive, dont you?' Burial "I'd like the whole episode to come to a conclusion - to know exactly where he is," she said. "You would like to know and give him a Christian burial...to give us some consolation." Ms Cairns believes her son was abducted when he went missing on October 23, 1986, but she in unsure what happened to him after that. She said that up until recently she always believed there was a chance her son would one day return to the family home. "It was only in the last year or two that I've come to terms with the fact that he probably won't come back. I don't know, possibly since my husband died," she said. "We did (talk about him) and for a long time we couldn't talk too much about him because it was too painful. I've had to continue on. "You're always hoping. He (her husband) gave up on seeing him ever again much quicker than I did," she added. On the day Philip went missing, he had come home from secondary school for lunch. However, Alice, who would usually be there to see him off to school after the break, had to bring another one of her children to the dentist in the city centre. She said she thought nothing of it until she came home that evening. "When I came back from town in the evening, which was about six or seven o'clock, he wasn't here, he hadn't come home from school since," she said. "I went over to his friend's house and lads he would have known, to see if he'd have gone with them, but they told me they didn't know. "He didn't come home with them at all. Then I was told he didn't go back to school at all. I couldn't get over it, I was completely shocked," she added. Philip's schoolbag was found some days later in a laneway between Anne Devlin Road and Anne Devlin Drive. Gardai, who are following 160 lines of inquiry, believe it had been placed there - something that Ms Cairns agrees with. "You always have hope if there's something (the bag)," she said. "I don't think Philip left the bag there," she added. Since the link to Cooke was first reported, the family has received strong levels of support from friends and neighbours. "I was hoping it wasn't true," Alice said. "I still don't know what the story is or whether it's true or not. "People have been sending flowers and good wishes and Mass cards." It is understood that gardai are now searching a field on the Tallaght side of the Dublin Mountains. Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. Belfast Zoo has welcomed its first penguin chicks of the year. Excited keepers at the zoo announced the successful hatching of eight fuzzy chicks, who have not yet been named. The babies are nestled in with their parents at the penguin enclosure, where visitors can see them enjoying their fish suppers. The penguin breeding season started way back in February. Around that time every year, we install nest rings for the penguins, senior keeper Raymond Robinson said. Expand Close Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. The male gentoo penguins then set to work to fill the nests with pebbles and stones. The nests are so prized by females that often male penguins can obtain a mate by offering the female a nice pebble. Female penguins can lay up to two eggs which are then incubated by the male and female birds for approximately 30-40 days. Mr Robinson explained that because of the recent spot of warm weather, zoo keepers installed umbrellas and sprinklers into the enclosure to protect the parents and eggs from the heat. There are 17 species of penguin in the world, two of which gentoo and rockhopper can be found at Dublin Zoo. Expand Close Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eight gentoo penguin chicks have hatched at Belfast Zoo. As well as the Antarctic, gentoos can be found in warmer climates such as the Faulklands, South Georgia, Kerguelen, Marion, Macuarie and other remote islands. Mr Robinson warned that all penguins face increasing threats from marine pollution, habitat loss, global warming and over-fishing. Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday suspended his campaign to encourage the estimated 60,000 Irish people living in the UK to vote in the referendum following the news of Coxs death. Peter Byrne/PA Wire TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has signalled plans by the Government to extend extend voting rights to Irish emigrants. Mr Kenny said he has asked the new Diaspora Minister Joe McHugh to prioritise allowing Irish living abroad to vote in Presidential elections. This is an issue that has been around for a very long time but there have been quite sophisticated advances made in terms of voting from abroad and we need to set out a terms of reference as to the conditions that would apply in terms of who should be eligible to vote," Mr Kenny said. Speaking at an event in the Irish World Heritage Centre in Manchester today, Mr Kenny again offered his condolences to the family of murdered MP Jo Cox. He said he will once again refrain from campaigning as a mark of respect to the Cox family. He said the practice is being adopted by both the 'Leave' and 'Remain' camps. Its appropriate to pay tribute to the life and times of Jo Cox who was murdered on the street in West Yorkshire, a mother of two young children going about her business as any councillor or MP or public representative would do and to be shot down and taken away from her family and children is an appalling crime, Mr Kenny said. Mr Kenny is due to travel to Glasgow for the British Irish Council (BIC). Primary schools have sent a warning message to parents after two attempted abductions in the south Dublin area Primary schools have issued a warning to parents after a man attempted to abduct two children in south Dublin this week. Two children were approached by a man in a dark car in separate incidents this week in Booterstown and Monkstown. Now two schools, both based in the nearby area of Shankill, have sent a text message to parents asking them to be vigilant. The message reads: "We have had reports of children being approached by a man in a dark car in the Shankill area. Please be vigilant." Local Fianna Fail councillor Vinny Duran-Kearns told Independent.ie that he received one of the warning messages from Scoil Mhuire, Shankill. The areas are so close together that its likely that its the same man, Cllr Duran-Kearns said. Please collect your kids from school and be on the look out." A concerned parent described one of the reported incidents on Facebook. He told of how his nine-year-old son was walking on his own from his grandparents' house on St. Patricks Crescent Road, Monkstown on Wednesday when a man tried to get him into his car. A man in his twenties with blonde hair and well-spoken asked [my son] to get into his car and offered him sweets. When [my son] said no and ran away the car followed him. [He] ran back the opposite way to his grandparents and told them what happened, the father wrote. The parent said the man was driving a black car with a 99 registration. The other pupil, who attends a school in Booterstown, was also reportedly approached by a man in a black car on Thursday. It is understood the man approached the child saying that her dad had asked him to pick her up after school but the young girl ran away. Gardai confirmed that they are investigating two suspicious approaches in the area by a man in a black car. One of Eamon Cookes victims who went through two trials to put him behind bars said Cooke was a vile, evil, psychopathic individual who was definitely capable of the murder of missing schoolboy, 13-year-old Philip Cairns. The woman, who was referred to as Sophia on today's Newstalk Lunchtime, said that Cooke absolutely had it in him to kill. Eamon Cook was the most vile, evil, violent, psychopathic individual youre ever likely to meet. He had no conscience and, yes, he had it in him. I dont know if he did kill Philip Cairns or not but I know that he certainly had it in him, she said. Sophia was sexually abused by the paedophile radio DJ Eamon Cooke when she was seven years old and the abuse continued for three years. Eamon Cooke was a neighbour of ours. I knew him for as long as I remember. I first came into contact with him when we went into his garage as children. It was a playground for children really. There was a small door in the garage and as children we were curious and we went in. We played there for a while, there were lots of telephones and TV screens and we just played. I was around seven years of age when he started abusing me and that went on until the age of ten by which time he had set up his radio station in his house that was in our neighbourhood. There was a mutiny at that time with his members of staff and that was the end of the abuse for me but it went on for three years. Expand Close Eamon Cooke pictured outside his Radio Dublin studio in Clondalkin in 2001. Photo: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eamon Cooke pictured outside his Radio Dublin studio in Clondalkin in 2001. Photo: Collins Read More Sophia said it was a gradual process with grooming and an initial building of trust for a child. We had no idea. No child has any idea that theyre being groomed because it mirrors so well the normal everyday things that parents and adults do with children, gifts, kind words, its a very difficult lie to see. We didnt even know about sex or puberty. Expand Close Grief: Alice Cairns talks to a reporter on the first anniversary of her sons disappearance. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Grief: Alice Cairns talks to a reporter on the first anniversary of her sons disappearance. Sophia said she was aware that it was happening to other children too, which fostered a sense of secrecy among them. I was aware that it was also boys and girls. He was the kind of paedophile who also liked to pair children. He liked to pair girls together and boys together, particularly girls so that was his method of operation. Expand Close Eamon Cooke: jailed in 2007 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eamon Cooke: jailed in 2007 "He really did like to pair and in doing that he almost created a greater sense of secrecy because two children had to keep the secret, two children would be threatened, she said. She said as the abuse went on it became worse and more sexual. Expand Close Prime suspect: Pirate DJ Eamon Cooke at his Inchicore studios from where Radio Dublin was broadcast. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime suspect: Pirate DJ Eamon Cooke at his Inchicore studios from where Radio Dublin was broadcast. He would show me porn and then eventually by age nine he was taking me naked into his bed along with another victim. The mutiny within the radio station made Sophia too afraid to go back into the house and thats when the abuse stopped. She said Cooke still threatened her and the other victims that if they told anyone they would be hurt or sent to childrens homes. The last people we felt able to tell were the people who could protect us the most which was our parents. Expand Close The area of land in the Dublin mountains once owned by Eamon Cooke where gardai will begin a search for the remains of Philip. Photo: Damien Eagers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The area of land in the Dublin mountains once owned by Eamon Cooke where gardai will begin a search for the remains of Philip. Photo: Damien Eagers I was very very angry. I was angry once I realised what he was doing was wrong. I was 18 before I told my parents. She said her fathers reaction was immediate and he brought her to the Rape Crisis Centre. She went to the guards at 18-years-old and tried to gather a group of victims to make statements but everyone was too afraid so she went alone. Expand Close Phillip Cairns / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Phillip Cairns Read More One of things you need to understand about Eamon Cooke was that he engendered incredible fear not just in children but in adults, in parents, the church, the guards. He was a powerful man in the dark underbelly of society, she said. No action was taken by the guards and she spent three years under awful intimidation from Cooke. Expand Close Flashback: Students arrive back at Colaiste Eanna on the Ballyroan Road, Rathfarnham after their mid-term break, days after Philip Cairns went missing. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flashback: Students arrive back at Colaiste Eanna on the Ballyroan Road, Rathfarnham after their mid-term break, days after Philip Cairns went missing. Once I made that statement, throughout my teens a car crawled along aside me constantly trying to frighten me, but when I was 18 he turned up at my work place. I was working in a shop; he had never come in before. He turned up, he stepped inside the shop and I was very frightened, my legs turned to jelly. But my way to deal with fear was to not show it. The shop emptied and the only thing I could do was pick up a knife. It was only him and I and I told him to get out, I wouldnt serve him and he got very enraged with me and told me I couldnt do this to him and that hed get me. The guards were informed but he didnt stop, nothing changed. She said she was angry when she heard he was starting a child line on his radio station. I got very drunk at the news and I acted. I broke the law. I went to his home in the middle of the night to confront him and to damage him and thats was happened. There was quite a confrontation. It was a very hurtful time and I ended up in court. I ended up two weeks later being exported to the UK and that was that. In 2000 she said she was contacted by the guards while she was in the UK and was asked if shed make a statement again against Cooke. She said she only agreed to it for the protection of other kids. During the pre-trial she encountered Cooke on the stairs and confronted him. He was convicted in 2003 for sexual assault but was released in 2006 on a technicality. Sophia said she was devastated when he was released as she had returned home to Ireland. I cant describe the fear that I felt. Everything had changed. My life was beginning to transform again after coming home. My life crashed. The manner in which he had been released was not just terrifying but it was a nightmare for our minds every night knowing what he was capable of doing. This was not someone who was going to come out and leave children alone. Read More A second trial was held in 2007, where Sophia was called to testify against Cooke again. I had given the trial six years of my life," she said. Cooke was allowed to walk around freely during the second trial which led to more confrontation. Because I was so afraid the only way I could deal with him was to not let him see that I was afraid, said Sophia. Cooke was sentenced to jail for 10 years but his victim felt no sense of victory. I just felt glad that he was gone back behind bars but thats all. My life is devastated. So theres no sense of victory. When Sophia heard that Cooke had died recently she said she couldnt believe it. You still have this fear of such that you think he is playing some kind of game. I had 40 years of conflict with this man. The fear that hed come after me or my children, it lifted and I suppose for me thats liberation. Sophia said she knows that there is still a silent mass of victims out there. Just have courage and go to the guards, go to your family. Its never an easy process but have courage," she said. She said during the re-trial she carried the other victims in her heart. She urged parents to be vigilant of their children online and to not be afraid to take charge of what you expose your children to. There are very few sex offenders on the level of Cooke, most men with a sexual interest or tendency towards children may never offend but may operate on the internet. She said: Courage for me starts now living in a world where he isnt present. Bin charges are on course to become a new 'Irish Water' -style fiasco as the Government desperately scrambles for a way to cap charges. Housing Minister Simon Coveney is expected to examine the possibility of introducing regulations to ensure people end up paying no more than they have to date. Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Video footage from one waste operator shows that paper, glass, cans, clothes and food waste is routinely thrown out in black bins Video footage from one waste operator shows that paper, glass, cans, clothes and food waste is routinely thrown out in black bins Video footage from one waste operator shows that paper, glass, cans, clothes and food waste is routinely thrown out in black bins Video footage from one waste operator shows that paper, glass, cans, clothes and food waste is routinely thrown out in black bins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Video footage from one waste operator shows that paper, glass, cans, clothes and food waste is routinely thrown out in black bins This will require discussions with the Attorney General. The minister is also expected to investigate waivers for families in extenuating circumstances. Read more: Coveney calls bin companies to meeting over daylight robbery of families Opposition parties and backbench TDs were last night insisting that the new 'pay by weight' regime for rubbish be postponed beyond July 1 amid allegations of "price gouging". The debacle has resulted in Housing Minister Simon Coveney "calling in" waste companies for a crisis meeting today . "My job in the next few days is to ensure that the significant concern, and stress, and heat that has been created around this issue can be dealt with by Government and by me," he said. "We'll work through the weekend to come up with a sensible proposal." However, Fianna Fail's Public Expenditure spokesman Dara Calleary told the Irish Independent the debacle "shows all the hallmarks of being this Government's Irish Water". "There is very little they can do except suspend its introduction until they can figure out what is going on. "Bringing them in is a bit like when Enda Kenny brought in all the insurance companies and Michael Noonan brought in the banks over the variable-rate mortgages - it didn't achieve anything," he said. Such is the concern within Fine Gael that Mr Coveney was personally briefing backbench TDs last night about the developments. One of those who raised the issue at a meeting of the party on Wednesday, Noel Rock, said: "It's another Irish Water in the making unless we check it. Everybody is talking about the scale of the increase. "It's crazy. It's the single biggest issue that has come up with me since the election." He described the Department of Environment's claim that 87pc of households will pay less under the new regime as "nonsense". Much of the blame in the Dail yesterday was pointed at former environment minister Alan Kelly, who signed a Statutory Instrument last January to introduce the new system. However, in a statement Mr Kelly said he "made it perfectly clear to the waste companies at the time" that if they exploited the situation by charging householders more than they were already paying, then the terms and conditions of the Statutory Instrument would be "revisited and revised to force their hands". "As far as I was concerned, this was always the sword of Damacles to be held over their heads, that would incentivise them to grow up as an industry. Unfortunately, as we have seen in recent weeks, they have failed to do so," he said. Sinn Fein has threatened to put forward a Seanad motion to annul the Statutory Instrument next week and the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit are planning protests outside the Dail. Mr Coveney insisted that the 'pay by weight' was supported by "every environmentalist in the country". "My approach is about trying to ensure that we have a new system of paying for waste that actually benefits the householder in terms of rewarding good practice around conservation and the management of waste. "And also to ensure that we don't allow any company to use that change in the system, or the confusion that may come with that change, to increase their margins or unfairly increase their charges." Read more: Sinead Ryan: What did you think was going to happen with rubbish idea, Minister? News / Education by Thobekile Zhou Government is in the process of hiring close to 10 000 additional teachers.The new recruits would be posted in rural areas to ease current shortage of qualified teachers in the country, Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora, told Parliament on Wednesday.Currently, about 120 000 teachers are employed against a required 130 000.Dokora said the cash strapped government is in a position to pay the extra teachers."The directive was given at the beginning of the second term. That is when we were told that we are supposed to recruit teachers and headmasters. From that period, we were working hard on the recruitment of teachers so that these teachers would be deployed in resettlement areas, rural areas and other areas that have teacher shortages," said Dokora.Dokora said whenever discussions for recruitment of staff are held, the Government takes into consideration that those who would have been hired should be paid."There was a time towards the end of last year when we were told of ghost teachers who were said to be in my Ministry. To avoid getting into the same problem, there should be concurrence between my Ministry, Treasury and the Public Service Commission," he said A British dinner party of the 1920s was not considered a truly grand affair without the presence of "both a pineapple and Lady Curzon". That's according to Francesca Beauman, author of The Pineapple: King Of Fruits. Lady Curzon is no longer a dinner party option, but the pineapple is here to stay. The exotic and shapely fruit has been an interior design motif since the 18th century and it's still going strong. You'll find pineapples on wallpaper, upholstery and cushions, and in the shape of storage jars, candle-holders and tea lights. This summer, it's hard to find an interior design outlet without them. Tropical-themed interiors are hot this summer and the pineapple is part of the trend. You'll also find that ferns, flamingos, palm trees, and parrots are widely available, both as patterns and accessories. But the jungle-themed interior is not for the faint-hearted. "It's quite a loud look with large-scale prints and really full-on colour," says interior designer Jackie Carton. "Interiors can take themselves too seriously and this is a bit of fun." Tropical interiors are meant to be over the top, but it's a trend that calls for a bit of jungle management. Big leafy patterns and quirky accessories need to be balanced with quiet space or you'll end up with a room that would give Tarzan a headache. "The people who like the trend tend to be very adventurous and sometimes they get carried away. The trick is to get the balance right, especially if you're combining patterns," Carton advises. Companies like House of Hackney use the same jungle prints throughout their ranges. Their Palmeral print, for example, comes in wallpaper (210 per roll), cotton linen fabric (110 per metre) and velvet (145 per metre). Cleverly combined, these can create a very sophisticated look. Throw them together injudiciously and the patterns will diminish each other. Plus your room will look like you just bought everything in the same shop. Strong patterns, Carton suggests, stand out best when used against a block of plain colour. If combining patterns is one of the main challenges of the tropical trend, you also have to negotiate a careful balance between patterns and accessories. Matthew Williamson's Turquoise Flamingo Club wallpaper (115 per roll) is wreathed in palms, orchids, and flamingos that look like they've just rolled out of a 1970s nightclub. It's deliberately treading a delicate line between camp and kitsch. Flamingos, I admit, are the business. And there are lovely flamingo accessories in all the shops. But a room can only take so many long-legged pink birds. Combine the wallpaper with tempting flamingo accessories and you're liable to ruin the look. "Too many tropical patterns and the room will look like a zoo," says Carton. "Too many accessories and it'll look like you're having a children's party." On the other hand, turning your living room into a full-on tropical jungle is the perfect antidote to the mind-numbing blandness of white walls and beige carpets. "Tropical is a maximalist trend," says Sarah Drumm of Dust, an interior design shop in Dublin. "The underlying theme is that it's fun. So who cares - give it a go! See how it turns out. If you're sick of it in five years' time, you can always paint over the wallpaper." If you're still feeling shy, she suggests you test-drive the look in the downstairs bathroom. "It's nice to have an element of surprise in there and you can bring it to another level by using the wallpaper on the ceiling as well as the walls." But even Drumm admits that not everyone is going to want to rock the 1970s Palm Springs look. "It's nice to pare it back too - it's not like we're living in the tropics and there are ways of creating the look that aren't too overwhelming." One of these is to embrace pattern, but go easy on the colour. Barneby Gates Pineapple Wallpaper (145 per roll) comes in charcoal, a restful colourway with pale pineapples against a dark grey background. "It's not too in your face. It might make an impact when you walk into a room but it wouldn't take over the space," says Drumm. There's a more extrovert version of the same pattern in pink on white. Another way of creating a tropical flavour without having to change the underlying decor, is by using indoor plants in combination with exotic bird and animal accessories. These range from the high-camp statement lamps by Abigail Ahern for Debenhams (a flocked turquoise toucan with a velvet lampshade sprouting from its head costs 120) to a life-like cockatoo from Dust. The cockatoo has wired feet so it can perch on a plant or a shelf and a free-standing flamingo in the same range costs 45. Little touches could include a cactus candle (2) and flower lights (4) from Penneys. When it comes to animal accessories, my personal favourite is the expressive range of monkey lamps by the Italian design company, Seletti (205 to 275 from Dust). They're white, made in cast resin and very finely detailed. In the table lamp version, the monkey sits on a flat surface, a bare light bulb in its hand, looking a bit depressed. There's also a standing version (he's looking up at the light) and another where the monkey swings from a bracket on the wall, the flex hanging down like a tropical vine. It's an impactful piece and the monochrome surface makes it look abstract, despite the naturalistic texture. It would look great against jungle-print wallpaper. Jackie Carton agrees: "I must have lost my marbles altogether, but I just have to have one of those monkeys." See: dust.ie; stylemyroom.ie; matthewwilliamson.com; debenhams.ie. Ireland's recession is firmly in the rear-view mirror, if two new reports on holiday spending are to be believed. Data released today by the Central Statistics Office reveals that overseas trips by Irish people were up 13.1pc for the first quarter of 2016. In the three months from January to March, Irish residents took almost 1.5 million overseas trips, with their spending up by a whopping 22pc. Travel and tourism expenditure rose to 971m, up from 794m in the same period last year - or to more than 1.18 billion when all fares are included. All of this, and peak holiday season hasn't even started. Meanwhile, 66pc of respondents to a survey by travel insurance provider Multitrip.com said they would spend up to 2,500 on their main holiday this year. One in four (26pc) plan to spend up to 5,000 on their getaway. 45pc of respondents told Multitrip.com that they would take two or more foreign holidays in 2016, with 18pc planning three or more overseas breaks. Expand Close Holidaymakers view flowers left on Marhaba beach where 38 people were killed in a terrorist attack in June 2015 in Sousse, Tunisia / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Holidaymakers view flowers left on Marhaba beach where 38 people were killed in a terrorist attack in June 2015 in Sousse, Tunisia With the holiday boom has come a problem, however. Increasing visitor numbers, combined with the impact of terrorist attacks on destinations like Egypt, Tunisia (above) and Turkey, are placing an extra squeeze on traditional hotspots like the Canaries, Majorca and the Costa del Sol. There were almost 1.7m Irish visits to Spain in 2015, according to CSO figures. Pat Dawson, chief executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), recently told the Irish Independent that he expects the number of Irish people going to Spain to increase by 200,000 this year, as foreign holidays return to Celtic Tiger levels. By contrast, Multitrip.com saw Egypt named this year's least popular destination for 25.6pc of respondents, followed by Israel (22.7pc), Turkey (20.3pc), Russia (10.5pc) and Mexico (9.3pc). The holiday map is changing. The ' Costa del Crowded' effect is being felt on the ground, too. Last year, Barcelona put a cap on tourist accommodation. Recently, Italy's Cinque Terra restricted visitor numbers, and Majorca is introducing a tourist tax that could reportedly cost a family of four 85 over a two-week holiday. Dublin Airport can expect a record summer, but late bargains are in short supply. The holiday landscape is set to change - just how dramatically, remains to be seen. Read more: Donald Trump speaking in New Hampshire. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has hoovered up millions of votes by refusing to be cowed by the rules of political correctness. Getty Images If you want to know one reason why the obnoxious and abominable Donald Trump is so popular with very large numbers of Americans, look no further than the refusal by US President Barack Obama to publicly criticise radical Islam following the massacre at the gay nightclub in Orlando last weekend. Obama would not attack it because he felt it would serve no purpose, but this kind of attitude frustrates lots of people. It was the same when he reacted to the murder of 13 people at Fort Hood army base in 2009. Like Omar Mateen, who carried out the nightclub massacre, the Fort Hood killer - Nidal Hasan - was a Muslim. But when Obama spoke about the Fort Hood murders, he again refused to point the finger of blame squarely at radical Islam. Instead, he said: "It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know - no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favour." The trouble is that there is a version of a faith, a version of Islam, that does justify these killings and this version is not followed by an infinitesimally small number of Muslims. Al Qaeda has (or had) plenty of supporters. Isil has plenty of supporters, plus sympathisers. So does Hamas. So does Hezbollah. These organisations have lots of Imams they can call on to give them theological justifications for their actions, and the two most important countries in Islam - Saudi Arabia and Iran - both support militant versions of that religion. So to say "no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts" is just not true. In the past, the Christian religion was used to justify indefensible acts of violence. In the recent past and present, militant atheism has justified extreme acts of violence against all religious believers. Think of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, China under Mao Zedong and North Korea today. Last year on a campus in Oregon, Chris Harper Mercer went on a killing spree, gunning down 10 people. It was reported that he tried to target Christian students in particular. Obama would have been better advised to say that no moderate and reasonable belief system - secular or religious - justifies murderous and craven acts. Defending his refusal to name radical Islam after the Orlando atrocity, Obama said: "That's the key they tell us. We can't get Isil unless we call them 'radical Islamists'. What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make Isil less committed to trying to kill Americans? Would it bring in more allies?" One wonders if Obama had been US president at the height of the Cold War, would he have been willing to blame the radical egalitarian belief system, ie communism, for the atrocities committed in its name, or would he have felt that doing so would be unnecessarily provocative and would serve no good purpose. What is really behind the reluctance to point the finger of blame at radical Islam when so many massacres are explicitly carried out in its name? To find the answer we have to understand the very simple but very far-reaching calculus of political correctness. Once a group is deemed to be a minority, it is protected from criticism at virtually all costs, including at the cost of free speech. You dare not open your mouth. Trump, in his own mad, bad way, has hoovered up millions of votes by refusing to be cowed into silence by the rules of political correctness. He has made a virtue out of giving offence, not merely accidentally, but absolutely deliberately. Political correctness does serve a purpose when it tries to stop us giving unnecessary offence. But it goes way too far when it decides that any criticism of a perceived minority group, such as Muslims, is out of bounds and is, ipso facto, 'Islamophobia' and an act of hate. Much the same kind of thing goes on in debates about immigration. If you are opposed to immigration, or even if you prefer controlled immigration as distinct from open-door immigration, you must be a racist and a hate-monger. Many Labour supporters in the UK from working-class areas look set to vote in favour of quitting the EU because they believe uncontrolled immigration is against their interests and because they believe Labour is not listening to their concerns in this regard, preferring instead to see them as 'racists'. In frustration, these voters are turning to the extremes. We see it in America, in France, in Austria and even in countries like Denmark. The refusal by mainstream politics to acknowledge the concerns of ordinary voters about radical Islam and about mass immigration is giving many of these voters nowhere else to go. We see the same thing at work in concerns about globalisation. Factory workers have seen their jobs relocated to low-cost countries and believe that mainstream politicians don't care about them. Mr Trump is taking advantage of this. So is the far left here and in countries like Greece and Spain. Mr Trump and the far left disagree bitterly about immigration, but they agree about globalisation. If they want to counter the rise of the far left and the far right, mainstream politicians must become better at addressing concerns about globalisation and be less craven in the face of politically correct attempts to shut down debate across a whole range of issues. A man grieves at a memorial site for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Once again, we are in a period of mourning for innocent lives, this time in the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida - the latest gun massacre in the US. Once again, there are various reactions, much as before: genuine sorrow, politicians' promises, crocodile tears and much glee by gun dealers at the prospect of sales rocketing again at the threat of gun-control measures. The main problem is the easy availability of guns. This is due to America's gun culture, which, historically, has been sustained by many groupings and interests: the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Ku Klux Klan, the Black Power movement etc. Of these, the NRA is the most prominent and challenging. Its members regard themselves as "the tireless defenders" of the Second Amendment and somehow have enormous political and societal clout. When confronted, their defence is as bamboozling as a maze: for example, a gun owner said on the radio lately that it is not the gun that is the problem, it is the bullets that cause the harm. Another argument is that it is not the gun, it's the individual firing the gun that is the problem. What the NRA is effectively saying is that widespread availability of guns is essential to rid the country of "bad" people, regardless of how many innocent lives it takes to do so. When is all this slaughter going to stop? There are vested interests promoting gun culture and making vast fortunes as a result. There is also a paranoia among residents, encouraged, no doubt, by the gun makers, causing them to buy weapons for personal safety. On the other hand, it could be argued that "the home of the brave" is still only emerging from the Wild West period, where guns were an everyday fact of life. The US is a relatively young conglomeration of states and maybe it has teething problems, which, perish the thought, could take hundreds of years to settle. Europe was in a similar position for hundreds if not thousands of years, with disparate interests, groupings, clans etc. fighting among themselves and with outsiders before only recently settling down to a reasonably civilised state, without the gun. How long will it take to get over these growing pains in America? Ted O'Keeffe Ranelagh, Dublin 6 The Donald versus the press In his latest act of petulance, 'The Donald' bars the "phoney and dishonest 'Washington Post'" from the rest of his attempt to become US president after accusing it of "incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record-setting Trump campaign" (Irish Independent, June 14). This wonderful non sequitur immediately brings to mind any number of ironic soundbites, such as "the reflection in the mirror comforts the hypocrite" or my personal favourite, "the disqualifier disqualifies based on his own fault". However, on a more serious note, as David Foster Wallace points out, "the great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates". If Trump's arrogant and outrageously selective choice of media coverage does nothing else, surely it indicates his utter contempt for the democratic process. By barring the paper that exposed the corruption of Richard Nixon's presidency, Trump gives the middle finger to the First Amendment to the American Constitution. Amongst other guarantees, this enshrines "the freedom of speech, or of the press" to freely and publicly express the will of the people. Just imagine how Trump will trample other freedoms if he wins. Dr Kevin McCarthy Kinsale, Co Cork Councillors and PRSI Niall O'Connor's piece (Irish Independent June 16) on Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar looking at councillors' PRSI payments shows little understanding of PRSI or local government. The issue at hand here is category K PRSI, which is the social insurance payment made by councillors. For this payment, we are entitled to... nothing, nada, zilch. It is a bone of contention for councillors and the minister is right to address it - either councillors continue to pay and receive benefits or we don't pay it. The minister is simply considering putting councillors into the same PRSI bracket as, say, a self-employed journalist. Cllr Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) Gorey, Co Wexford Captain Bob's Remain flotilla Regarding the face-off between the Brexit and Remain flotillas on the Thames on Wednesday (Irish Independent, June 16), Bob Geldof is a much bigger loudmouth and is far more off-putting than Nigel Farage. It appears that the Remain-friendly broadcast media see any attack on the Leave campaign as legitimate, while the Remain folk and the British government get a much easier ride. And Geldof is neither English, Welsh, nor Scottish, so why doesn't he just butt out? Oh, he's a typical Paddy, all right, trying to show he is more British than the British themselves. Robert Sullivan Bantry, Co Cork Abortion and absurdity Ivan Yates declares our abortion laws "absurd" (Irish Independent, June 16). That may well be the case if you think the unborn child is not a human life; but if you do, then they are not only eminently sensible but essential to protect the fundamental rights of human beings at a very vulnerable stage of their development. The facts, I believe, are in favour of the latter position. DNA testing shows that a new human individual, separate from that of his or her mother, comes into existence at the moment of conception and ultra-sound scans show that that life takes a recognisable human form only a few weeks of gestation on - and, of course, it is only after this point that most abortions take place. Given this, it is not our laws that are absurd, but rather claims such as those made by Mr Yates. Revd Patrick G Burke Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny Dundalk rotary club is again participating in the 'jole rider bikes for Africa' project which operates throughout Ireland and Britain. It is simple but very effective. The Dundalk club will collect bicycles which are then serviced and made usable before being transported to Africa. The bicycles are distributed free to children to enable them travel to school. It is generally accepted that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, so the project fits perfectly with this project. Repair and services of the bikes takes place in one of the country's open prisons where the inmates gain valuable skills and are accredited to this effect. Dundalk rotary donates 12 per bike to help cover transport costs to Africa. On this occasion, the Dundalk and Newry clubs are joining forces in arranging transportation, with the assistance of Newry rotarian and CEO of Warrenpoint harbour authority, Peter Conway, and Cronus Logistics. So, if you wish to donate a bike, please contact Seamus on 087-2634942 or any rotary member to arrange collection at your convenience. Since its first involvement, Dundalk rotary club has secured 130 bicycles, and is hoping to surpass that amount on this second attempt. Jeff Walbarn and Gary OBrien from Specsavers with members of the Dundalk Community Mens Shed Dundalk Community Men's Shed had an opportunity for a vital hearing test when the local Specsavers branch offering members free tests and expert advice last week. To celebrate the fifth year of Sound Check, Specsavers recently launched two mobile hearing vans which will travel the length and breadth of the country highlighting the importance of hearing health. Audiologist Jeff Walbran said: 'We were delighted to meet with the members of the Dundalk Community Men's Shed and were really impressed with the standard of their work. People with untreated hearing loss can often experience isolation and depression so it was great to visit a place that encourages social interaction and has a strong sense of friendly camaraderie.' Jeff spoke to the members, many of whom are retired tradesmen about noise-induced and age-related hearing loss and answered any questions that they had. He also encouraged the men to take a proactive approach to their hearing and avail themselves of the free hearing test services available at Specsavers Dundalk. Speaking about hearing loss Jeff explains: 'As we get older, our hearing becomes less acute but exposure to high decibel levels can also be detrimental. Unfortunately, hearing loss is often overlooked by people when it comes to their healthcare routine. 'We encourage everyone over the age of 55 to get a hearing check every two years. Sound Check Ireland is designed to ensure that anyone who is concerned about their hearing has access to free and professional advice and to make it even easier to take the first step to better hearing health.' Specsavers Dundalk provides a professional and vital care service to the local community, offering a comprehensive audiological service, with a clinic every Wednesday and Friday, and some Thursday evenings. The hearing clinic is overseen by highly skilled audiologist Jeff Walbran. All hearing tests are free and there is no requirement to book an appointment in advance. The Dundalk Community Men's Shed is a dedicated and welcoming meeting place where men get together to share their skills and knowledge with others and learn new skills such as wood turning, art, horticulture and wood work. It is open to all men regardless of age, background or ability. The shed can also be a place to just come and sit for a while, have a chat over a cup of tea or play a game of pool. The Migraine Association of Ireland is pleased to announce that a migraine information evening will take place on Monday next, June 20th at 7pm in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk. The event will feature Dr Raeburn Forbes, Consultant Neurologist at the Southern HSC Trust, in Portadown County Antrim. An expert in the field, Dr. Forbes is also the author of the hugely informative book 'The Headache Friendly Lifestyle'. The information evening is free to attend, and all are welcome. To register your interest in attending just email info@migraine.ie or telephone the Migraine Helpline: 1850-200-378. Migraine can be a very debilitating condition, and is the sixth ranking cause of all disease associated disability worldwide Migraine is a primary headache disorder affected up to 500,000 people in Ireland, characterized by recurrent headaches that are moderate to severe. Typically, the headaches affect one half of the head, are pulsating in nature, and last from two to 72 hours, symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell. The Migraine Association of Ireland exists to provide information, support and reassurance to sufferers in Ireland, while seeking further research, better treatments and increased public awareness of the condition. For further information on migraine, visit www.migraine.ie DKIT staff and students were recently delighted to welcome two visitors from DKIT's partner college in Le Havre in France. The very successful exchange between DKIT and the IUT du Havre dates back over 20 years and generations of students from Dundalk and its surrounding region had the opportunity to study there for a year there, while every year DKIT welcomes several French students from Le Havre. Visitors Helene Le Roux who works in the International Office of the IUT du Havre and lecturer Marie Raoult were impressed by the DKIT campus and the facilities. They met business students Padraig McGrane from the Avenue Road and Chloe Scott from Ardee, who are going to Le Havre in September as part of the Erasmus Programme. It won't be Padraig and Chloe's first time to visit Le Havre however, as they participated in a class trip with the second year French class to France in January. Despite some initial consideration about whether to go or not given the attacks in Paris, the trip turned out to be a great experience. The nine DKIT students got the chance to see student life in France. They also had the opportunity to visit the nearby beauty spot of Etretat, courtesy of the French students, and to see the historical city of Rouen. DKIT students got the chance to return the hospitality when a group of Le Havre students visited Dundalk in February. DKIT is committed to the Erasmus Programme and encourages students to take advantage of the chance to broaden horizons and get valuable international experience. Several expert skills reports have highlighted the importance of languages for Irish graduates. DkIT offers French and Business or Marketing. News / Local by Stephen Jakes Matabaleland South MDC-T senator Bheki Sibanda has said the government of Zimbabwe which took from Rhodesia a good road network has allowed it to deteriorate to a point where it becomes a trap to the vehicles and causes their damage.Speaking in parliament Sibanda said on the issue of road network, the country used to have the second best road network in Southern Africa."We have allowed it to deteriorate. It will take us time to rehabilitate those roads. One day I had an unfortunate assignment to go to Sanyati. It took me two hours and Sen. Komichi knows it. It took me two hours to do a 60 kilometre journey and another two hours back. When I got to Harare, I sold that vehicle because when I went for a quotation, it was $4 000.00. To make things worse, I had persuaded my wife to give me her vehicle. That is how bad our roads can be," he said."We have a document called the MIDP which we produced with the motor industry and handed it over to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Unfortunately, we chose to ignore the MIDP because it was designed for our local industry and to serve Willowvale from erratic operations and limit the number of grey imports. The problems that we are creating are monumental. The shortage of spares in that industry is unbelievable, but the point that he makes is valid."Sibanda said when a young man walks up to him and says mdala, ngitholi licence or ndawana licence, his first and straight question is how much did you pay for it?"The answer comes back straight that I paid $300.00. That means we have no drivers on our roads. We have products and I am sorry to refer to this as products of corruption. I will not extend that. The other threat that we have due to the type of road network that we have is the transfer of business through Zimbabwe to Kazungula," he said."It is a reality, it is going to happen, it is in the process of happening and unless we do something about our road network, we will lose a huge chunk of our transit fees. Unfortunately, at the moment our capacity is very low. I do not know how it will take us to modernise, but I agree in total that we need to take steps to modernise our infrastructure. With those words, I lend my support to his motion and congratulate him for bringing up the subject." Declan and Kate Henry at the Topflight Travel Photographer of the Year awards, which took place recently in Dublin, in association with Canon. Declan, from Knockbridge, won the award after an initial 4,000 entries were whittled down to 24 A stunning picture of an illuminated Italian village with the swirling skyscape of the Milky Way has landed a local amateur photographer a number of prestigious awards in Ireland and Britain. Declan Keane from Knockbridge was last week named the Topflight Travel Photographer of the Year 2016 for his image called 'Stars Over Manarola'. In addition, the teacher at St Kevin's NS in Philipstown, also landed awards from the Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph for his picture. He told the Argus: 'Stars Over Manarola' was taken in Cinque Terre, Italy. I had seen pictures of Cinque Terre online before and I just had to photograph it. 'It is an amazing and truly unique place. Cinque Terre translates as 'Five Lands'. It is made up of five villages, Manarola, Vernazza, Monterosso al Mare, Corniglia and Riomaggiore. 'All the villages are built into the cliffs and until recently were only accessible by boat or by a train journey through tunnels cut into the cliffs'. He was holidays there at Easter 2014 and inspired by the pictures he's seen online, he was determined to get his shot. He said: 'I had the shot nearly imagined in my head. I went out one evening with my fiancee, Kate Henry, around the bay, across from the village. 'The sun was setting, the light was getting better and changing all the time and when I got home, I had a look at the pictures. Most of the pictures taken previously are in the sunlight, while the stars make it stand out'. He spent four hours at the bay trying to get the picture he wanted, and it has paid off. He was awarded the Topflight Travel Photographer of the Year, in association with Canon, after being whittled down from an initial 4,000 entries. He won a seven night luxury holiday to Sorrento and a Canon DSLR camera'. In addition, Declan, who lives in Stabannon, received a camera from the Telegraph and a cash prize from the Times. The three awards came in the space of 14 days. He hadn't entered competitions before now and is encouraged by the awards. Declan said: 'It's a hobby for me that I got into about six years ago. It's something that I took up when I was teaching and it's great to be able to combine the twin passions of travel with photography. I try to get abroad and see different places. The photographs are my way of remembering the trips'. Declan, who teaches senior infants and first class at St Kevin's NS, is getting married next month. He and Kate are planning a honeymoon to Croatia and picture-perfect Venice. Kate is very supportive of his photography. Declan's Topflight image, along with the 23 other finalists', are now on display in the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar until the end of June as well as in Dublin Airport, Terminal 1 mezzanine level. More of Declan's beautiful work can be seen at declankeanephotography.com and at facebook.com/declankeanephotography. There would be 'a democratic imperative' to have a border poll on a united Ireland in the wake of a Brexit, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has said. Mr Adams made the remarks at a well-attended Sinn Fein conference in the Carrickdale Hotel last week to discuss Brexit and its implications for the island of Ireland. The panel included Matt Carthy MEP, Dr Conor Patterson, and Executive Junior Minister Megan Fearon MLA. Mr Adams called for a clear vote in support of remaining in the EU and said that in the 'event that the referendum result is for leaving the EU Sinn Fein believes there would then be a democratic imperative for a border poll to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote for an end to partition and to retain a role in the EU'. He said: 'The referendum is less than two weeks. The decision that the electorate in the north and in Britain will take will have consequences for all of these islands for years to come. 'As an Irish Republican party Sinn Fein is critical of many aspects of the EU and of the profound lack of democracy at its core. 'Sinn Fein's approach to the European Union can best be described as a critical engagement. 'Where measures are in the interests of the Irish people, we support them. Where they are not, we oppose them and campaign for change. 'We want a social Europe, a Europe of equals, in which citizens and sovereign national parliaments have a greater say in formulating positive policy positions. The referendum asks voters if the north and Britain should 'remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" Sinn Fein is asking for a clear vote in support of remaining. 'In the event that the referendum result is for leaving the EU Sinn Fein believes there would then be a democratic imperative for a border poll to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote for an end to partition and to retain a role in the EU'. Three men from the Dundalk area have been chosen as escorts for the Rose of Tralee festival, which takes place in Tralee in August. Two are from North Louth - Shane Quigley is from Ravensdale, while Niall Brennan is from Knockbridge. The third, Ronan Costello, is originally from Cavan but has worked as a Garda in Dundalk for the past seven years. The trio, who are all single, are among 65 escorts chosen from 200 applicants for this year's Rose of Tralee festival and recently met up with their co-escorts, the highest number ever, at the annual boot camp in Dingle, Ballybunion and Castlegregory along the Wild Atlantic Way in Kerry. The lads had to carry out a range tasks including a cycle over Connor Pass, a hike up Mount Brandon, turf-footing, abseiling, kayaking, surfing, ironing and sewing in order to prove they will have the stamina to be a rose escort. But even before that, there was a rigorous assessment process, which included an application, a Skype interview, official interviews in Portlaoise, and one-on-one interviews with the organisers. After the fun-filled weekend, the three have already made dozens of new friends and are looking forward to August's extended festival. Ronan, (28), said it was his first time applying to be an escort. His sister was involved in the Cavan leg of the contest, and encouraged him to apply. He said he was delighted to have been chosen and, despite the good-natured slagging from colleagues in Dundalk station, they, along with his family and friends, are supportive of his new, temporary summer job! Niall, who is sponsored by Cluskeys Bar and Restaurant, Little Ash, Knockbridge and Peadar Callan O'Cathalain Menswear, Culloville, said he had grown up watching the Rose of Tralee and 'a few friends from other counties' had told him about their positive experiences of being a Rose escort so he decided to enter this year. He said he really enjoyed the boot camp and learned how to get showered, shaved and into a tux' in 11 minutes flat! Having completed a degree in Agricultural Science in 2014, Niall went travelling before returning to Ireland to take up a position with All-Tech, the company founded by Dundalk man Pearse Lyons. Niall (23) currently works in the renewable energy section of the business, which is based in Dunboyne and they are one of his sponsors. Ravensdale man, Shane Quigley (30) is taking part thanks to his appearance at the Pat's Strictly competition, where he came second with Rachel Gosling. That helped give him the confidence to apply. In addition, a friend was a former Rose in Mayo and encouraged him to take part. He is an accountant at the Insomnia Coffee Company, who are also one of his sponsors, having formerly worked for ABP. There was tight security at Dundalk District Court last week ahead of the appearance of a 33-year-old Dublin man charged in connection with a double murder in Ravensdale Park more than four years ago. James O'Driscoll, with an address at Richmond Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3, had been arrested at Dublin Airport shortly after midnight on Wednesday last by Dundalk-based officer Detective Inspector Pat Marry after the accused was extradited from Spain. He had been arrested in April in Alicante after he arrived there on a flight from Belfast. Members of the Armed Response Unit as well as plain clothed detectives and uniformed officers brought the defendant to court from Dundalk Garda station shortly before 10.30am. Dressed in a black top, grey tracksuit bottoms and blue trainers, O'Driscoll spoke once to tell Judge Conal Gibbons who his solicitor was. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by DI Marry. He said at 12.24am on Tuesday he arrested O'Driscoll on two warrants. At 1.35am, DI Marry charged O'Driscoll with the murders of Anthony Burnett (32) and Joseph Redmond (25) at Ravensdale Park on March 7 2012. The defendant made no reply to the charge. O'Driscoll was granted legal aid after DI Marry said he had no objection. The bodies of the two Dublin men were found in a burned out car in the early hours of the morning. They had been shot before the vehicle was set alight. There was no application for bail and he was remanded in custody to Cloverhill District Court this (Wednesday) morning. Gardai are hunting a crime gang responsible for the theft of a shotgun, ammunition and cash from a house raided in Rathmore in broad daylight on Monday. The Kerryman understands the house was unoccupied when thieves struck during working hours on Monday - sometime between 7.30am and 5.45pm. The owners of the home on the Kerry/Cork border in the townland of Lyreaoune, Rathmore, made the shocking discovery when they returned from work on Monday evening to find the premises ransacked and the gun, cash and ammo stolen. Now gardai are urging anyone who might have noticed anything unusual in the general area at the time to come forward. The information could prove vital in tracking down the gang and recovering the firearm and cash. It's an incident that has led to shock in the ordinarily quiet Rathmore area, once again underlining how vulnerable the homes of law-abiding rural citizens are to roving crime gangs. It's possible the callous thieves had identified the home as a target prior to striking on Monday. They ransacked the house, moving from room to room in search of valuables until they got their hands on the lucrative plunder. The Kerryman understands the double-barrelled shotgun was held legitimately under licence, but it is not clear if it was under lock and key in a gun safe at the time of the raid. A spokesperson for the gardai was unable to confirm whether the thieves had forced a safe open to get the gun and ammo or not. Gardai would not say how much money was stolen from the premises. but The Kerryman understands it was a substantial amount. The thieves broke into the home through a side window on the gable of the building. "We would appeal for any assistance members of the public in the area might be able to provide, if they noticed anything suspicious in the area on Monday," the garda spokesperson said. There were no reports of any strange vehicles at the time of press. Tom Hiddleston attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) Who would have thought a kiss could cause so much controversy? After Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston were pictured kissing on the grounds of her Rhode Island home, many were quick to call showmance. But why? Here are 5 of the most interesting reasons She wants to plug her upcoming album Expand Close Taylor Swift during the "1989" World Tour at the 3Arena in Dublin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taylor Swift during the "1989" World Tour at the 3Arena in Dublin Every time Taylor has a new album to launch, she has either ended or begun a brand new high profile relationship. This could be down to the fact that as a successful artist in todays market, you need to churn our albums more frequently and as a young woman when you date different people and sometimes it just doesnt work out. The Taylor truthers of the internet think she conveniently lines up a famous other half just in time to stir up enough buzz around it you cant avoid talking about it. Her and Calvin were never really dating Expand Close Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris on holidays. Picture: Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris on holidays. Picture: Instagram Was Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris romance ever the real deal? Or was it another publicity stunt? Fans of both never really bought the relationship, despite them gushing over each other at every opportunity. And carefully timed, perfectly orchestrated selfies posted together on Instagram only added to the speculation that this was more about making them into musics new power couple instead of budding young love. Tom just wants to be more famous to become Bond Expand Close Tom Hiddleston attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tom Hiddleston attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) Hiddleston has been considered a shoo in for Bond since he was first linked to the role earlier this year, but bookies seem to think Irish actor Aidan Turner is all but a guarantee to be the next 007. The British actor might have a cult fanbase thanks to The Night Manager, but he doesnt have the worldwide acclaim you might expect from one of the most iconic roles in film. You know what would fix that? A fling with the most powerful squad leader in pop music. Video of the Day She wants to sing on the Bond soundtrack Expand Close Taylor Swift arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taylor Swift arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Adele won an Oscar for Skyfall and while Taylor might be a bonafide superstar, Bad Blood isnt winning any Academy Awards anytime soon. A link to Hiddleston might bring her to the top of the list. Taylor wanted attention back on her Expand Close Taylor Swift arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards in LA (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taylor Swift arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards in LA (AP) After confirming her split with Harris, who announced it via a spokesperson, released a statement on Twitter and seemed to be controlling the narrative in the media, Taylor was uncharacteristically quiet. Did she tire of yet another, Taylor is devastated and wanted to marry Calvin headline? Maybe. Maybe she felt she let the Scottish DJ have his moment in the sun and now the limelight is back where it belongs on her. Maybe not. Actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Justin Theroux arrive at the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok Jennifer Aniston is seen out in the West Village on June 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images) Actress Jennifer Aniston is seen walking in Soho on June 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images) Actress Jennifer Aniston is seen walking in Soho on June 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images) Jennifer Aniston has quashed reports she's expecting her first child. The 47-year-old actress was pictured soaking up the sun with husband Justin Theroux in Mexico and a photo of her in a bikini sparked pregnancy rumours. A representative for the former Friends star said her "baby bump" was simply down to her lunch. "What you see is her having just enjoyed a delicious big lunch and her feeling safe on private property," the spokesperson said. Expand Close Actress Jennifer Aniston is seen walking in Soho on June 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actress Jennifer Aniston is seen walking in Soho on June 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images) It was claimed by In Touch magazine Aniston was pregnant with her "miracle baby". "Their baby news came at a bad time in her life, too she just lost her mother, and she and Justin almost broke up. But now this surprise pregnancy has turned the worst of times into the best of times," the friend said. Read More And what better way to dispel any rumours then wearing a midriff baring top? Aniston was pictured back in New York with her husband of seven months, wearing a pair of jeans and white t-shirt. Expand Close Jennifer Aniston is seen out in the West Village on June 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jennifer Aniston is seen out in the West Village on June 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images) She is reported to be pregnant more often than most people get a haircut, with a tabloid fixation on her having a family ever since she split with Brad Pitt in 2005. "That's a topic that's so exhausted. I get nervous around that, just because it's very personal. Who knows if it's going to happen? It's been a want. We're doing our best," she said in 2015. Video of the Day A police van carries some of those who were convicted to jail (AP) An Indian court has sentenced 11 people to life in prison for murder in connection with anti-Muslim riots that swept across the state of Gujarat in 2002 and left more than 1,000 dead. Special Court Judge PB Desai rejected the demand for the death penalty as the prosecution failed to prove the charge of a criminal conspiracy against the defendants. The judge sentenced 12 more defendants to seven years in prison and one to 10 years in connection with the same deadly riot in a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmadabad, in which dozens of homes were set on fire and 69 people were killed. The dead included a former lawmaker from the opposition Congress party, Ehsan Jafri. His widow, Zakia Jafri, expressed her disappointment with the verdict. "This is hardly the punishment for the crime they have committed." Activist Anand Yagnik said the death penalty would have been a proper punishment for the convicts. The Gujarat riots, which erupted after a railway carriage full of Hindu nationalists was engulfed in a fire that killed 60 people, pitted mobs of Hindus against Muslims, who were widely blamed for starting the fire, though arson was never confirmed. The riots have dogged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Gujarat's top elected official at the time, amid allegations that authorities allowed and even encouraged the bloodshed. Mr Modi has repeatedly denied having any role, and India's Supreme Court has said it found no evidence to prosecute him. But criminal cases against participants in the riots have moved slowly through India's creaky legal system. The first high-profile convictions came in 2012 when Maya Kodnani, a former state government minister, and 31 others were found guilty of charges ranging from rioting to murder linked to an attack in a small industrial town on Ahmadabad's outskirts in which 95 people were killed. Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in prison but has been freed on bail pending her appeal. News / Local by Staff Reporter A Harare woman is regretting having a love affair with a soldiers' husband as she continues to received threats to the ex-love's wife.Mucha Chimiti has claimed to be under fire through the thrashings and threats she is receiving from Yvonne Muchekedzese the legitimate wife to sergeant Tendai Mapuranga.Both Yvonne and Tendai are soldiers based at Artillery Brigade in Domboshava.Mucha claimed that Yvonne sent threatening messages to her through mobile phone."The problem is that Yvonne is failing to believe that I have since ended things with her husband. She came to my house in Ushewonkunze with her colleagues and ransacked my place. They took my cash which was about $3 760 and I reported the case to the police in Waterfalls. They left just $3. Yvonne said it was her husband's money so she had a right to take it. They also destroyed my furniture," Mucha said.Yvonne confirmed Mucha's affair with her husband saying she was after her down fall."I know the woman as my husband's girlfriend . The thing is she wants to tarnish my image and destroy my life. I am a soldier and she is trying all she can to bring me trouble," Yvonne said. The parents of a US toddler killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World have said they are "devastated" by the loss of their son. A statement by Matt and Melissa Graves of Omaha, Nebraska, said words cannot express the shock and grief their family is enduring. "We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time," said the statement, released by a family friend. The brief statement also thanked authorities in Orlando, Florida, for their assistance after the alligator grabbed two-year-old Lane Graves from shallow water in a lake at a Disney hotel on Tuesday. An animal described as being as long as seven feet snatched the little boy as he waded in shallow water. The beach, located at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa across a lake from the Magic Kingdom, had "no swimming" signs but no warnings about alligators. The company said it will now add alligator warnings. The resort's beaches remain closed. A statement by Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said the company was also conducting a "swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols". While it is an unwritten rule for Florida residents to keep small children away from ponds and lakes in a state with an alligator population estimated at more than 1 million, many out-of-state visitors are not aware of threat posed by the reptiles. Kadie Whalen of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, said her three young children and niece were playing on a resort beach at the water's edge four years ago when a seven-foot alligator appeared in a lake a few feet away. She immediately alerted the children to the danger and no one was hurt. "We knew that Disney was aware that this was a problem, and yet they encourage people to be there," she said. State wildlife officials say they receive nearly 16,000 alligator-related complaints a year. Last year, they removed more than 7,500 alligators deemed to be a nuisance. Depending on the size of an alligator, the state may send out a trapper, as happened after the alligator grabbed the boy at Disney's Seven Seas Lagoon. Officials said five alligators were removed from the lake during the search for the child, whose body was found in the water on Wednesday. Hallee looking at some of the mail Some of the mail which was delivered A heartbroken teenager who celebrated her 18th birthday alone is smiling again after thousands of kind-hearted strangers responded to a Facebook appeal. Hallee Sorenson invited classmates to her party last year but was left heartbroken, beyond sad and hurt when nobody turned up. Expand Close Hallee Sorenson's birthday party last year when nobody showed up / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hallee Sorenson's birthday party last year when nobody showed up Her cousin made it her mission to give Hallee a birthday to remember this year and asked people from around the world to send birthday messages to her home in Maine. There was an amazing response from kind-hearted internet users who sent more than 10,000 cards, notes and gifts. Expand Close Hallee looking at some of the mail / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hallee looking at some of the mail She received messages from countries including Indonesia, Germany and Japan, with her cousin, Rebecca Lyn, thanking those who have answered her appeal. Hallees aunt, Robyn, wrote in a message: Your continued cards, letters and posts are flooding in (I think the mail carriers are getting nervous!) and our gratitude is hard to put into words. Please know that we are reading everything and will respond as we can; meanwhile, remember that this is all reaffirming that most people are kind and loving and that we all have the capacity for caring about others, even if they're many miles away. We're all extended family! She added: Your outpouring of love and kindness for Hallee over the last 48 hours or so has been overwhelming, and on behalf of the family I'd like to thank you most sincerely from the bottom of our hearts. Expand Close Thousands of letters arrived / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Thousands of letters arrived We want you to know we're reading every one of your messages and posts, and appreciate them more than we can say. So many of you are sharing your own stories, and it's both affecting and a privilege to read them. Mail is already pouring in from everywhere-Hallee has been so delighted. Please know how very much this has already meant to her, but just cards are fine, or messages here. No gifts are necessary! Her cousin had initially shred a photo of her celebrating alone with the message: Hallee is funny, sweet, caring, smart, an athlete, a jigsaw puzzle champion, a wonderful student, and a best friend to all. She is an amazing person-a person I am proud to be related to. She is also a person who just happens to have Autism. She has never let that small detail define who she is as a person-which is why I refuse to use it as something to describe her. The gunman who opened fire in the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando used Facebook to search for news of the atrocity while he was carrying it out, it was disclosed yesterday. In an open letter, Ron Johnson, chairman of the committee on homeland security and governmental affairs, asked Facebook to release the full details of Omar Mateen's postings on the site before and during the Orlando attack, during which 49 were shot dead. Mateen apparently searched for 'Pulse Orlando' and 'Shooting' while the attack was taking place, according to the letter. A source close to the investigation said Facebook had already handed over the details from Mateen's posts about the attack, which were made just moments before he began firing, to law enforcement and were cooperating fully with the investigation. "Now taste the Islamic State vengeance," he wrote on Facebook, denouncing "the filthy ways of the West" and adding: "May Allah accept me". He also called a local television network during the attack to make sure they were aware of his actions, and called 911 to pledge allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Expand Close Undated handout comp of photos taken from Facebook of (top row left to right) Stanley Manolo Almodvar III, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis Vielma and Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. (bottom row left to right) Kimberly Morris, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera and Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, who were all victims of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Photo credit should read: Facebook/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Undated handout comp of photos taken from Facebook of (top row left to right) Stanley Manolo Almodvar III, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Luis Vielma and Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. (bottom row left to right) Kimberly Morris, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera and Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, who were all victims of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Photo credit should read: Facebook/PA Wire Mr Johnson asked Facebook to release further details on Mateen's Facebook usage by June 29. The senator said that Mateen had used five Facebook profiles. In what Mr Johnson described as the gunman's final post, he wrote: "In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic State in the USA." Yesterday it emerged that the shop where Mateen tried to buy body armour had called the police, after he demanded military-grade equipment then made a phone call, talking in what they believed to be Arabic. President Barack Obama arrived yesterday in Orlando to visit survivors and relations of victims. Fifty-three were injured in the attack. "The president believes that there's no more tangible way to show support than by travelling to the city where this horrific incident occurred," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One en route from Washington. "He'll be standing with the citizens of Orlando during this difficult time, during this path of recovery." Orlando began to mourn the dead after what was the worst attack in America on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Wakes were under way for at least three victims: Kimberly Morris, Anthony Luis Laureano Disla and Roy Fernandez. Twenty-three of the wounded remained hospitalised, six in critical condition, according to Orlando Regional Medical Centre. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] A 13-year-old Australian schoolgirl received thousands of signatures on a petition asking for her school to intervene with her bullying. Tayla Sekhmet, who attends Dysart State High School in central Queensland, said shes the most unpopular kid at school and people make my life a living hell. Every day people call me fatso, weirdo, ugly, freak, and tell me I should kill myself, she wrote on change.org asking people to help her by signing her online petition. I've been pushed to the ground, had people go through my bag, or break my scooter when I rode it to school. Even people in other grades who I don't know do these things to me too. The 13-year-old said her classmates throw things at her and record it on their phones and put it online. Tayla and her mother Kali have both contacted the school but the bullying hasnt stopped. I've been told to just ignore these people, but I can't take it anymore. I don't know what else to do or where else to go for help, she said. My life is hell. I only beg for you to please sign my petition to ask Dysart State High School to take a stronger stance against bullying and for the Government to stop the school getting away with this. Tayla and her mother are asking the public to sign her petition which they will take to a government board and demand the bullying stops. Croatia's president has urged the country's parliament to dissolve itself and pave the way for early elections after the government fell in a no confidence vote. Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic addressed the nation on Friday after holding consultations with all major parties on whether any has a majority in the 151-seat parliament to form a new government. She said that no party has given her proof that they have the necessary support and urged the parliament speaker to hold a session on the assembly dissolving itself "as soon as possible". Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic and his government fell on Thursday after weeks of political deadlock that has stalled much-needed economic reform in the newest European Union member state. Croatia joined the EU in 2013 after fighting a war for independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The ruling right-wing Croatian Democratic Union, which brought Mr Oreskovic to power in January but later turned against him, has said it wants to form a new government with a new prime minister. Party leader Tomislav Karamarko said after consultations with Ms Kitarovic that the party has asked the president for another week to try to garner support. Mr Karamarko said said: "We want to try. We are offering a better and more functional government than the previous one." Opposition parties, however, said they collected enough votes in the parliament for the dissolution and the holding of early elections. Opposition politician Vesna Pusic said elections could be held in September, 10 months after the last vote. "The parliament will meet on Monday and dissolve itself," Ms Pusic said. An EgyptAir Airbus A320, as investigators examine the black box from a plane that crashed in the Mediterranean last month (AP) The voice and data recorders from the EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean are "extensively damaged" and will need repairs before they can be analysed, an Egyptian official has said. The official did not elaborate on how long the repairs would take but said if this cannot be done in Egypt, the so-called "black boxes" would be sent abroad. With the flight's wreckage 3,000 metres under water, the cockpit voice and flight data recorders are vital for piecing together the last moments of the flight, which plunged into the sea between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on May 19, killing all 66 on board. Earlier on Friday, Egypt's investigation commission said the flight data recorder had been pulled out of the sea, a day after the cockpit voice recorder was also recovered. Both were taken to Cairo for analysis. The memory units inside the recorders can provide key data, including the last conversations inside the cockpit, information about auto-pilot mode or even smoke alarms. They might also give answers as to why the pilot made no distress call before the crash. Experts say the data, combined with previously obtained satellite and radar images, debris analysis, the plane history and the pilots' records, can shed light on the most possible scenarios. The cause of the crash of the Airbus A320 has not been determined and no militant group has claimed responsibility for bringing down the aircraft. "We will be having a wealth of information that helps the investigators eliminate some possibilities while giving priority to others," said Hani Galal, an Egyptian aviation expert. He is not involved in this crash investigation but has taken part in other similar probes. Both France and the United States are sending investigators to Cairo to help with the probe. EgyptAir Flight 804 en route to Cairo from Paris disappeared on May 19 from radar at about 2.45am local time, just as it had entered Egyptian airspace. Radar data showed the aircraft had made violent moves after cruising normally in clear skies, plummeting from 38,000 feet to 15,000 feet. It disappeared when it was at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. 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. Egypt's civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathi, has said terrorism is a more probable cause than equipment failure or some other catastrophic event. News / National by Stephen Jakes House of assembly member for Binga South Prince Dubeko Sibanda has accused the government of distributing the resources on tribal grounds amid revelations the Southern part of the country was being sidelined.Sibanda said the government deliberately put in funds in that programme which was meant to resuscitate both the infrastructure and the equipment of our health programmes in this country.He said while the budgeted amount of money went over $200m, it is proven that about $107m of public funds were released with an aim to try and revive our health infrastructure.Sibanda said what is sad is to note that today, not half of whatever was intended to be achieved was achieved by the disbursement of that amount of money."The reasons behind that are the two issues that have created curiosity to some Honourable Members like myself. First to noteif you look into the report on at the disbursement of figures, you will see that it is indicated that Mnene hospital which is in the Midlands Province received $670 658.76. Mtshabezi hospital which is in Matabeleland South received $37 450.00. Kariangwe hospital in Binga where I come from received $37 500," Sibanda said."I want to repeat, it received $37 500 against $670 658.00 that was disbursed to Mnene hospital. St. Alberts Mission hospital which is in Mashonaland Central received $709 200.00 against a background where Mtshabezi hospital in Matabeleland South received only $37 450 and Kariangwe hospital only received $37 500. Mutambara hospital in Manicaland received $439 313.00 at a time when Kariangwe hospital received $37 500 and at a time when Mtshabezi hospital received $37 450.00. Chikombedzi hospital in Masvingo Province received $250 000." The Leader of Britain First has distanced the far-right group from the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, despite several witnesses confirming that the killer shouted "Britain First" three times during the attack in Leeds on Thursday. "At the moment that claim hasn't been confirmed - it's all hearsay, Paul Golding said. "Jo Cox is obviously an MP campaigning to keep Britain in the EU so if it was shouted by the attacker it could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party - we just don't know. "Obviously an attack on an MP is an attack on British diplomacy - MPs are sacrosanct. We're just as shocked as everyone else. Britain First obviously is NOT involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort. In a video on the partys website he said the media had an axe to grind. He added: We hope that this person is strung up by the neck on the nearest lamppost, thats the way we view justice. What we know about the group Formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party, Britain First has grown rapidly to become the most prominent far-right group in the country. While it insists it is not a racist party, it campaigns on a familiar anti-immigration platform, while calling for the return of traditional British values and the end of Islamisation. The party says on its website: Britain First is opposed to all mass immigration, regardless of where it comes from the colour of your skin doesnt come into it Britain is full up. Although it claims to have just 6,000 members, Britain First has managed to build an army of online fans, mainly by using social media to campaign for innocuous causes such as stopping animal cruelty, or wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day, and appealing for users to like its messages. It now has more than 1.4 million likes on Facebook, more than any other British political party. In a bid to garner newspaper coverage, the group has carried out mosque invasions and so-called Christian patrols. A march in January targeted Dewsbury, near Jo Coxs Batley and Spen constituency, and featured 120 Britain First members carrying crucifixes and Union Jacks through the town. Mrs Cox wrote on Twitter at the time: Very proud of the people of Dewsbury and Batley today - who faced down the racism and fascism of the extreme right with calm unity. Britain Firsts current leader, Paul Golding, stood against Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election earlier this year. After Khans victory, the group announced that it would take up militant direct action against elected Muslim officials. In a chilling warning on its website, the group said: Our intelligence led operations will focus on all aspects of their day-to-day lives and official functions, including where they live, work, pray and so on. The party has a vigilante wing, the Britain First Defence Force, and last weekend carried out its first activist training camp in Snowdonia, at which a dozen members were given self defence training. Iraqi special forces have swept into Fallujah, recapturing most of the city as the Islamic State group's grip crumbled after weeks of fighting. Thousands of trapped residents took advantage of the militants' retreat to flee, some swimming across the Euphrates River to safety. Residents described harrowing escapes even after IS fighters abandoned some checkpoints that had them bottled up in the city. On the river, some boats packed with people overturned in the water. Others picked their way down roads laced with hidden bombs that killed several. In some cases, IS allowed people to leave only if they took the jihadis' families with them. After weeks of heavy battles since the offensive began in late May, it appeared that IS defences in much of the city collapsed abruptly. In the early morning on Friday, Iraqi forces punched into the city centre, meeting intense fighting. But by evening, the special forces commander Brigadier Haider al-Obedi said that his troops controlled 80% of the city, with IS fighters now concentrated in four districts on its northern edge. It was a major step toward regaining the Islamic State group's last major foothold in Iraq's western Anbar province, the heartland of the country's Sunni minority. The militants overran the city in early 2014, the first urban area to fall into its hands before it overran most of Anbar and much of northern Iraq. Over the past year, Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have city-by-city regained large parts of that territory - though the biggest prize, Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and surrounding territory in the north, remains in IS control, liked to its holdings in neighbouring Syria. On Friday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke on national TV from the joint command centre, congratulating the troops on their victories. "We promised to liberate Fallujah, and it has returned to the embrace of the nation," he said. Iraqi forces have "tightened their control over the inside of the city, and there are some pockets that need to be cleaned out within hours," he said. In the early hours, special forces pushed into Fallujah's central al-Nazzal district, which had served as a base for the militants with weapons warehouses and command centres, Brig al-Obeidi said. Backed with air support from the US-led coalition and Iraqi air force, the troops were able to move into the centre at around 6am. They seized the main government complex, which includes municipality offices that IS had torched, the police station and other government buildings. "Iraqi forces are now in the centre of the city. They had not been there since the beginning of 2014," Brig al-Obeidi said. IS fighters were still holding out in the nearby central hospital, Brig al-Obeidi said. Throughout the day and into the night, Iraqi forces surrounded the hospital, clashing with snipers on adjacent buildings. But they were holding back from storming the building, fearing there were patients inside that the militants would use as human shields, he said. Meanwhile, troops were clearing roadside bombs from recaptures areas, including the government complex and the highway west of the city, linking it to Baghdad, Brig al-Obeidi said. Aid groups had estimated that 50,000 civilians had been trapped inside Fallujah when the assault began several weeks ago, and they say that 30,000 to 42,000 of those had fled since then. They have largely been staying in camps in areas around the city. The Norwegian Refugee Council said the thousands more people fleeing the city were overwhelming services at the camps, with many sleeping in the open and drinking water in short supply. The group cited a 69-year-old Fallujah resident saying IS fighters suddenly disappeared from many streets on Thursday evening, as neighbours saw them evacuating checkpoints and driving away in vehicles loaded with food and fuel. The news prompted many residents to prepare to escape. One resident, Ali al-Mohammadi, said he fled on Friday with more than a dozen other relatives, including several children, but ran into IS fighters deployed at the banks of the Euphrates, which runs along the western edge of Fallujah. The militants beat them and fired shots in the air to drive them back, but finally as a crowd grew, the fighters relented and began allowing them to cross in small boats. The 29-year-old said that meanwhile he went to another part of the river and swam across to safety along with others. As he swam, he saw two boats capsize, spilling passengers into the water. They seemed to all make it to land, some using inner tubes they had brought with them, he said. Others tried to flee down a road leading out of the city to the south, only to find it mined with explosives. Mohammed Ismail, a 32-year-old trying to escape with his family, said militants on the road fired in the air to stop them. "They forced us to stay until they could bring out the families and children of Daesh to come with us," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. "The price of our leaving was to bring their families with us." In the pre-dawn darkness, an IS fighter led them down a road past the explosives. Still, Mr Ismail said, he saw one mine blow up, killing at least two people, before the crowd made it to Iraq military-controlled territory. There, Iraqi troops separated women and children from the young men, who were then questioned to find any escaping militants. The conflict in Iraq has forced more than 3.3 million people to flee their homes. Iraq is also hosting up to 300,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Most are living in camps or informal settlements. Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Country Director in Iraq, called for more international aid to help those fleeing Fallujah. Services in camps are already overstretched, and more will be needed, he said. "International donors need to act now," Mr Muflahi said, "so that we can help Iraqi families who have been through long hellish months of widespread hunger, terror and despair." The killer who knifed to death two police officials in their home tracked the couple days before the murders and uploaded his claim of responsibility on the family computer, a judicial official in France has said. As the investigation into the deaths on Monday continued, France paid tribute to the couple, Commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, an officer in Mureaux, a town west of Paris, and Jessica Schneider, a police administrator in nearby Mantes-la-Jolie. Hundreds of officers attended a sombre ceremony at the prefecture of Versailles, the region where the two had lived and worked. President Francois Hollande praised the couple at the ceremony as "two heroes of daily life". Larossi Abballa, 25, convicted in 2013 of a role in a jihadi network along the Pakistan-Afghan border, was killed by a police intervention unit which had surrounded the home and tried in vain to negotiate. The couple's three-year-old son was found alive inside. Signals from Abballa's recently-purchased phone were captured in the town where the couple lived, Magnanville, and around the Mureaux police station on three consecutive days before the killings - on June 8, 9 and 10, the judicial official said. "One can imagine that (he) was tracking" Salvaing, said the official. The investigation also disclosed that Abballa uploaded his video claiming responsibility and pledge of allegiance to Islamic State, on Facebook Live, using the family computer. It also appears he took photos of Salvaing from the family computer, the official said. France has been on tenterhooks about potential attacks by Islamic State after two waves of attacks last year, including the November massacre in Paris that killed 130. "France will continue its implacable fight against terrorism with even more determination in memory of their sacrifice," Hollande told police mourning their colleagues, calling police "sentinels of the Republic". Isil is committing an ongoing genocide against Yazidi men, women and children in Syria, the United Nations said yesterday as it called for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court. The report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria - 'They Came to Destroy' - describes the mass killing of men and boys who refused to convert to Islam, their throats cut or heads severed in front of wives and daughters who then disappeared into a network of sexual torture and slavery. "Genocide has occurred and is ongoing", said Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Commission, as he described how civilians had been gassed to death and starved in their homes. Carla Del Ponte, a member of the UN commission producing the report, said it was viewed as a "road map for prosecution". The document says the UN Security Council should "consider engaging its Chapter 7 powers", which could authorise a further use of force against Isil. Isil killed, captured or enslaved thousands of Yazidis when it overran the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq in August 2014. The UN report - based on interviews with survivors, smugglers and medical personnel - said Isil had systematically captured Yazidis in Iraq and Syria, seeking to "erase their identity" through a campaign of genocide. It is a historic designation, marking the first time the UN has recognised genocide carried out by a non-state actor. "Isis permanently sought to erase the Yazidis through killing, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm," Mr Pinheiro said, using an alternative acronym for Isil. Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer and wife of Hollywood star George Clooney, said last week she would be representing victims of the Yazidi genocide. More than 3,200 Yazidi women are still being held by Isil. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that air strikes hit a number of neighbourhoods in rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo just hours into a 48-hour ceasefire announced by Russia. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] A 94-year-old former SS sergeant who served as a guard at Auschwitz has been found guilty of more than 170,000 counts of accessory to murder. Reinhold Hanning was sentenced to five years in prison by the Detmold state court , though he will remain free while any appeals are heard. During his four-month trial, Hanning admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that he was aware Jews were being killed but did nothing to try to stop it. He had faced a maximum of 15 years. Hanning's defence had called for an acquittal, saying there is no evidence he killed or beat anyone, while prosecutors sought a six-year sentence. He said during his trial that he volunteered for the SS when he was 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944 but said he was not involved in the killings in the camp. "It disturbs me deeply that I was part of such a criminal organisation," he told the court in April. "I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it and I apologise for my actions." Despite his age, Hanning has seemed alert during the four-month trial, paying attention to evidence and occasionally walking in to the courtroom on his own, though usually using a wheelchair. Several equally elderly Auschwitz survivors gave evidence at the trial about their own experiences, and were among about 40 survivors or their families who joined the process as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin who was used as slave labourer to help build a factory for Siemens outside the camp, told the court at the start of the trial that he regularly saw flames from the chimneys of the Auschwitz crematoria. "So much fire came out of the chimneys, no smoke, just fire," he told the court. "And that was burning people." Mr Schwarzbaum later said he does not want Hanning to go to prison and is happy that he apologised, but had hoped that he would have provided more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. "The historical truth is important," Mr Schwarzbaum said. Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13, then volunteered at 18 for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in the Second World War before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, and so sent him to Auschwitz, without his knowing what it was. Though there is no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the camp operate, and thus could be tried for accessory to murder. Though the indictment against Hanning is focused on a period between January 1943 and June 1944 for legal reasons, the court has said it would consider the full time he served there. The same argumentation being used in Hanning's case was used successfully last year against SS sergeant Oskar Groening, to convict him of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving in Auschwitz. Germany's highest appeals court is expected to rule on the validity of the Groening verdict this summer. Groening, 95, was sentenced to four years in prison but will remain free while his case goes through the lengthy appeals process and is unlikely to spend any time behind bars, given his age. In Hanning's case, prosecutor Andreas Brendel recommended six years in prison while his defence lawyers argued for an acquittal, rejecting the new legal reasoning. Hanning showed no reaction as the judge, Anke Grudda, read her justification for the verdict and sentence. "You were in Auschwitz for two and a half years, performed an important function. You were part of a criminal organisation and took part in criminal activity in Auschwitz," she said. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS A woman sings at a worship service in Cuba. SHARE Bev Gunter, a chaplain at Anderson-based AnMed Health, poses with a Cuban girl she met in her travels to that nation as she and other seminary students learned about ministering to the hurting and the poor. People gather inside a sanctuary in Cuba. Gunter said she was amazed at the beauty and faith of the Cuban people when she took a recent trip there. She and seven other students from Gardner-Webb University's School of Divinity went to Cuba in May. A classic car is parked along a neighborhood street in Cuba. By Charmaine Smith-Miles of the Independent Mail Bev Gunter, who serves as a chaplain at AnMed Health, was in awe that the people of Cuba closed their eyes during worship, that they walked blocks to church, and that more than 1,500 people tried to fit into sanctuary built for 300 causing them to spill out into the streets. And they all showed up to service wearing their best outfits. "People were out in the street, waiting to get into the service," Gunter said. "That was thrilling to my soul." Gunter, who lives in Piedmont, is a second-career seminary student at Gardner-Webb University's School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. In May, she and seven other students from the seminary traveled to Cuba to learn more about how to care for people spiritually. All the students were part of the seminary's pastoral care class, Gunter said. She provided pastoral care to a church congregation in which the pastor had just experienced a death in his family. She also helped a group of women who work in cleaning to see their worth, and to relax and have fun. But what she received in return, Gunter said, was incredible. When she arrived, she said, she saw a place that seems set in another time because of the nation's overall poverty. Cars, many in pristine condition, date to the 1960s or earlier. Stores are few because of the country's socialist government. Many of the people live in poverty. "They are poor, but they are not poor in spirit," Gunter said. "They have a hunger and a thirst for the things of God. They are joyful. What they live for is their faith." For Gunter, the work in Cuba helped her grow in her new role as a chaplain at AnMed Health. Gunter grew up as the child of a preacher. She said she felt the pull to serve in ministry when she was 13 and would accompany her father, the Rev. Robert L. Babcock, on visits to people's homes and in the hospital. "I loved it when dad would pray with people," Gunter said. "I knew what God meant to me. I knew for him to invite God into their situation, that meant a lot. I felt then, that God wanted to use me." But at that time it wasn't entirely clear where she was meant to serve, she said. When she was college age, women did not have the roles in church and other ministries that they do today. She did not think about going to seminary then. She became a teacher and volunteered in the church, serving as a Sunday school teacher and a youth leader. From 1999 until 2005, she worked as a teacher in Anderson and Pickens county schools. She also raised her two sons, Brad and Mitchell, as they fought cancer and dealt with Type 1 diabetes. Now her boys are grown. Brad has received his master's degree from Clemson University, and Mitchell is a senior there. Gunter is 55, and women have a different role in church today. In 2014, with encouragement from her brother, Gunter began training to work in chaplaincy. She has completed classes in pastoral care at AnMed Health, and she is about halfway through the three-year Master of Divinity program at Gardner-Webb. The trip to Cuba helped her see people practicing their faith with a dedication and joy that she said wants to emulate in her own life. She learned how cultural differences don't change the fundamentals of who we are as people, she said. She watched a group of women in Cuba lower their guard when they realized that they were valued as much as someone else as she and other students on the trip invited them to play games and to pray with them. "These ladies didn't think they were second-class citizens by the time we left," Gunter said. "We started off joking about our shoes, and before it was over, they were sharing burdens and prayer requests. Before we left Cuba, those women sang to us, and one of the ladies made earrings and bracelets for each of us. "They reminded me to focus on God." Follow Charmaine Smith-Miles on Twitter @Charmaine_AIM SHARE By Ron Barnett, rbarnett@greenvillenews.com Pickens County Council is questioning the legality of Tri-County Technical College's proposal to make students from Pickens County pay a tuition surcharge if the county doesn't pay its share for a new student center and other renovations at the college's main campus. The county, in a statement issued Thursday, argues that Tech is using "an installment purchase arrangement" similar to what school districts in Greenville and Pickens counties used for countywide construction programs a financing method which was later outlawed by the General Assembly. "Pickens County notes that the repayment provisions in the (South Carolina Jobs Economic Development Authority) bond issue do not include the imposition of any special student fees," the statement says. "Pickens County is not aware of any legal authority for the use of the special student fee in an installment purchase arrangement as already finalized by Tri-County Tech." Tri-County Tech spokeswoman Rebecca Eidson said the county's statement indicates a misunderstanding of the project's financing plan and the law. The tech system's policy manual, established under Section 59 of the state code, states that such targeted fees are allowable for "in-service-area students originating from counties that do not provide sufficient funding to support the local obligation for Plant Maintenance, Operations, and Capital needs." "Tri-County Technical College has not entered into an installment purchase arrangement with its foundation," Eidson said. "It is a lease-purchase agreement, which is different from the reference made to the process formerly used by school districts. "There are no legal issues. This is the same method the college used to construct its Anderson campus in 2007." The county also claimed incorrectly, according to Eidson that the college is already paying interest on money borrowed for the project. Eidson said bonds have been issued, but no interest payments will be due until six months after the first installment of funds is drawn down, which is estimated to be in January or February 2017. "Additionally, there is no stipulation for JEDA bonds to cite fees in repayment provisions. That's not relevant to the bond acquisition process," she said. The same state law same law that gives Tri-County Tech the authority to charge students a special fee to pay the debt, Section 59-53-53, also states that the Tri-County Technical College Commission is the governing body that would need to approve any special fee to students, not the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, as Pickens County argues, Eidson said. The County Council continued its insistence that the college hasn't been forthcoming with complete plans and costs of the proposed project. "Tri-County is attempting to force Pickens County to make payments on these JEDA bonds without specific site plans as Pickens County has repeatedly requested," the county's statement says. "In response to the county's natural hesitancy to pay for something before it is fully designed, Tri-County Tech is now threatening to charge Pickens County students a higher tuition rate than our neighboring counties' students in order to repay these bonds." Tech officials say final plans are nearing completion, but that the college has shared the specifications for the project. "We are confident that we have responded to and provided all of the information requested by Pickens County," Eidson said. "We have not received any written requests, and we have responded to every verbal request. "It would be more positive and productive if a representative of Pickens County would contact the college directly to explain what information they believe is missing rather than contact the media and repeat many of the same statements included in the press release dated June 6, 2016." Anderson and Oconee counties already have agreed to pay their share of the project, which includes a new student center, renovation of the Ruby Hicks Administration building and several major infrastructure overhauls. The original plan was for Tri-County to pay $15 million toward the center's construction, and the remaining $27 million was to be divided among Anderson County ($13.5 million), Oconee ($6.75 million) and Pickens ($6.75 million). Pickens County Council supported the project in writing last fall, but cautioned Tri-County officials that the money would have to be voted on when members took up budget deliberations in the spring. Pickens County Council didn't include money for the project in its budget for 2016-17, which is up for a final vote Monday. News / National by Staff reporter American Envoy Harry Thomas Jnr said Zimbabwe's economy already at its decades, will get worse before it gets better with the US envoy saying it will take time before liberalizing reforms turn net positive and Harare needs to bite more such bullets for a sustainable turnaround.He urged the government to stop blaming sanctions and get its house in order saying the economy was in a deep hole. The diplomat said unless and until the government comes up with sound economic policies, strong anti-corruption and transparency policies, the southern African nation's crisis was not going to end anytime soon.Thomas Jnr 1 conceded that the illegal sanctions his country imposed are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans and admitted the US never carried out a cost benefit analysis of the ruinous embargo.Thomas Jnr 1 said the sanctions imposed on 98 individuals and 68 entities may have come with "unintended consequences."Some local businessmen took the ambassador to task outlining how they were failing to do business with US companies because of the sanctions with former Hurungwe West legislator Temba Mliswa and Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard) leader telling the US envoy that sanctions were hurting ordinary Zimbabweans. Ambassador Thomas Jnr is the first envoy to admit that sanctions may. SHARE By Robert Techo, Hartwell, Ga. Soviet Russia and Cuba are communistic by revolution. Venezuela is by election. What is our path? Look at the symptoms. Heard today on college campuses, my right to not be offended by what you say cancels your right to speak. In other words the right to free speech is nullified. Also we hear it is my right that you cannot deny providing services to me based on your religious feeling. Your right to religious freedom is nullified. Now, if you offend a Muslim, the U.S. Justice Department will prosecute you for a "hate" crime. Posting a picture from a public medium of a Muslim beheading a Christian falls into this category. Selling pork or alcohol that offends Muslims would be hate crimes. This is a new low of our government personnel abusing our Constitution that they swore to defend. Our children in elementary schools are being taught that your government provides all your services. At the college level students are taught by leftist professors that socialism and communism are the best forms of government. The Constitution and its meanings are not taught anymore. The younger generation is being indoctrinated to vote accordingly. That is how Mr. Sanders is getting a large block of the Democratic Party vote. We are truly on the path to serfdom and communism. By: Tracie Frost A recent study by Moodys titled Indian Public Sector Banks: Weak Financial Performance Highlights the Banks High External Capital Needs outlines a potential solvency and liquidity crisis in Indias public sector banks (PSB). PSBs account for roughly 73 percent of Indias domestic banking sector assets. The report indicates that capital requirements for Indias public sector banks are far higher than the 450 billion rupees (US$6 billion) in the governments budget for capital distribution. Moodys suggests the actual amount may be close to 1.2 trillion rupees (US$17 billion) more than double the amount set aside by the government to prop up state banks. The report gives little reason for optimism that capital requirements will lessen for PSBs over the next several years as bank shares are trading below book value, which constrains their ability to use public offerings to raise capital. The public sector banking system has long been in need of reform. Stressed assets at PSBs have risen sharply over the last decade fueled by delays in projects at industrial conglomerates and failed or stalled projects primarily in the energy and metals sectors and textiles and agriculture sectors. Loans for projects that have not been completed or have significant cost over-runs have resulted in an increase in impaired debt levels at PSBs from six percent in 2011 to more than 14 percent in 2016. But the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December 2015 argued that PSBs disclosed stressed asset levels were in fact far below the actual non-performing loan rate. The December asset quality review audit forced banks to recognize visibly nonperforming debt as bad and charged PSBs to clean up their balance sheets by March 2017. The result so far has exceeded forecasts. Analysts who at first predicted bad loans would peak in the first quarter of 2016 have begun to talk about March 2017 before the cycle turns. According to Credit-Suisse, non-performing assets (NPAs) at PSBs are currently 30 to 75 percent of their capital, and loans which could become NPAs are even higher at 65 to 200 percent. The new flood of bad debt (and higher provisions to cover for them) resulted in PSBs reporting combined losses of 153 billion rupees (US$2.3 billion) for the March 2016 quarter. The high degree of bad debt combined with the weak capital position of Indias PBSs threatens the overall credit profile of Indias banking system. In order to clean up their balance sheets and continue productive lending, banks must have adequate capital. However, because of crushing amounts of stressed assets, credit costs for banks have increased further dampening profit potential, investor interest, and deposit growth. PSBs critical position has not only affected bank stock prices and profitability, but it has also weakened the governments planned overhaul of Indias infrastructure. And this is where foreign investors will primarily feel the impact of Indias underperforming public sector banks. The impact may be two-fold. Foreign investors struggle to meet the demands imposed on their bottom line by the lack of infrastructure in India. Costs to move goods and services can deter market entrants and force others out of business. However, because Indian businesses receive the majority of their finance through the banking system instead of through capital markets, a credit crunch at public sector banks could also open a window of opportunity for foreign direct investment, especially as the government has simultaneously increased foreign direct investment limits across the board. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email india@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Managing Your Accounting and Bookkeeping in India In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we spotlight three issues that financial management teams for India should monitor. Firstly, we examine the new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) system, which is expected to be a boon for foreign companies in India. We then highlight common filing dates for most companies with operations in India, and lastly examine procedures and regulations for remitting profits from India. Tax, Accounting, and Audit in India 2014-2015 Tax, Accounting, and Audit in India 2014-2015 offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in India. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who need to be able to navigate the complex tax and accounting landscape in India in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their India-based operations. An Introduction to Indias Audit Process In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we provide readers with an overview of Indias annual audit process and offer important tips for the smooth navigation of the countrys audit regulations and accounting standards. We begin by first explaining the two most common types of audit in India, statutory and internal audits, and then outline the standard steps and procedures an Indian auditor will follow in each. Director Pa.Ranjith who is busy with the release related work of his mega venture 'Kabali' with Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role will be soon flying to Singapore. Does it have any connection with 'Kabali' or his future projects? Now the 'Madras' director will make this visit to honor his commitment towards friendship within the industry. Ranjith will take part as the chief guest and release the music album and trailer of 'Parandhu Sella Vaa' a new Tamil film starring Luthfudeen Basha the son of veteran actor and Nadigar Sangam President Nasser. The event will be held at Singapore on June 18 that is tomorrow. It is to be noted that Nasser has acted in Ranjith's 'Kabali' and this is the first time they have worked together. The film has been directed by Dhanapal Padmanabhan. This is the filmmaker's second film after 'Krishnaveni Panjaalai' that released in 2012. 'Prandhu Sella Vaa' stars Aishwarya Rajesh as the female lead. Sathish, Karunakaran, RJ Balaji, Manobala, Ku.Gnanasambandhan and many others are part of the supporting cast. The presence of these actors prove that this film will be an out and out comedy entertainer. Dialogues have been written by Peyon a writer famous in Tamil literary circles for his satirical essays and blog posts. To serve the needs of the growing number of Indian visitors to the Czech Republic, VFS Global has launched the Czech Republic Visa Application Centre in Bengaluru. With the opening of this centre, applicants no longer have to travel to Mumbai or New Delhi to apply for Schengen visas if the main country of their travel to Europe is the Czech Republic, and can submit applications in Bengaluru itself. Bengaluru is the third city in India where VFS Global has set up a visa application centre for the Embassy of the Czech Republic, enabling greater accessibility to visa application facilities for leisure, MICE, and business travelers. In the coming months, VFS Global will launch more such centres for the Czech Republic - namely in Chennai, Hyderabad and also in Kolkata, in a phase-wise manner. The newly inaugurated centre in Bengaluru is centrally located at Unit No. 302 & 303, Level 3, Second Floor, Prestige Atrium, No. 1 Central Street, Bengaluru - 560001. VFS Global first commenced visa services for the Czech Republic in the Indian metropolises of Mumbai and New Delhi, in September 2015. The setting up of a third centre in less than a year since commencement of services for the client government in India signifies the company's strengthening association with the Embassy of the Czech Republic. Addressing the media during the inauguration of the centre in Bengaluru, HE Mr Milan Hovorka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, said: "It is my honor and privilege to inaugurate officially the third Visa Application Center of the Czech Republic in India. This step is yet another example of the importance the Czech Republic attaches to the case of expanding people-to-people contacts between our two great nations. It also testifies the Czech authorities readiness to take appropriate measures to facilitate sustainable tourism exchanges. I am confident that citizens of Bengaluru and surrounding cities and areas will appreciate the launch of the center as it will save their time and resources. For those, who live in other parts of India I have a good news. The center in Bengaluru is not the last one. Very soon we will be introducing similar centers elsewhere." Speaking about the launch, Mr Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer South Asia, VFS Global, said: "We are pleased to launch visa services for the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bengaluru. The new centre will serve the ever-increasing volumes of visa applications for the Schengen country, and illustrates the emerging popularity of the Czech Republic as a tourist destination. This centre brings the visa application services closer to home for applicants in Bengaluru and surrounding cities, and streamlines the process for them." The key features of the centre include: Convenient and centrally-accessed location Well-trained staff with local language capability to handle queries and applications Automated queue governance for smooth flow of applicants Dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories, requirements, checklist and applicable fees 100% secure handling of passports, documents and Personal Information Visa status update via website or SMS alerts Doorstep delivery of passports News / National by Staff reporter Former Vice President and now Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) leader, Joice Mujuru, yesterday launched a blistering attack on President Robert Mugabe describing the Zanu-PF strongman's recent rant against war veterans, that invoked ugly memories of Gukurahundi, as "reckless".The popular widow of the late liberation struggle icon, General Solomon Mujuru, also bluntly told the increasingly frail nonagenarian that his injudicious tirade risked threatening the country's relative peace and stability.Speaking through her spokesperson, Gift Nyandoro, Mujuru also said the ill-thought utterances were testimony that Mugabe was not remorseful about the killing of an estimated 20 000 innocent civilians by the army, mainly in Matabeleland and the Midlands, in the early 1980s."We note with grave concern as the Zimbabwe People First family the reckless utterances by Mugabe when he threatened war veterans with the use of violence in the manner he did during the 'alleged dissidents' era."Such utterances have no place in today's global village that seeks to establish love, peace and harmony, as the ever-lasting foundation of humanity's togetherness. We believe that a leader who trusts the use of force and violence in crushing opposing views is a hallmark of intolerance to say the least."It is on public record that people who were Zimbabwean citizens and civilians for that matter, were killed, raped, tortured and had their homes and properties destroyed by the notorious and infamous Fifth Brigade mainly in and around Midlands and Matabeleland," Mujuru chided Mugabe.She added that she was "disturbed" that her former boss was keen to "evoke memories of the Gukurahundi era in a manner typical of a president boasting of a genocidal record, wherein documented evidence suggests that over 20 000 civilians were killed on unfounded allegations of supporting dissidents".Mujuru also pointed out that there were many citizens who were still "traumatised" by the Gukurahundi atrocities and that many children had grown up without parents "because of the heinous act of political barbarism".She vowed that when she was elected into power in 2018, she would work to close "the sad chapter", by ensuring that all perpetrators of the massacre were made to account in their individual capacities, while victims were compensated.She said real closure of the matter could only be achieved through "honest engagement" of victims and affected communities in apparent reference to Mugabe's previous description of Gukurahundi as "a moment of madness"."Each and every one of those who were involved should be able to explain the role they played in those atrocities if we are to put closure to the Gukurahundi chapter and move forward as one country."If anyone is to be found on the wrong side of the law, then as a law-abiding nation we should let the law take its own course," Mujuru said, adding that there was need to set up "a genuine and non-partisan" commission of inquiry to look into the Gukurahundi atrocities.She said such commission would ideally involve all stakeholders, including churches, civil society bodies and political actors among others, because Zimbabweans had "fought for people power and not one-man power".Mujuru also said political atrocities that had been committed since 2000 against opposition MDC supporters, including the abduction of journalist-cum human rights activist Itai Dzamara, would also be investigated under the ZPF government."The painful disappearance of people like Dzamara, a democracy activist among others, should not be taken lightly. Wrong doers need to be held accountable. That also goes to the victims of illegal operations like Murambatsvina, wherein people were displaced and traumatised."Only then, if we genuinely come together as Zimbabweans, the dream to have another prosperous Zimbabwe should be possible a Zimbabwe that does not live in fear of its leadership and a Zimbabwe that is driven by wishes of the people," she said.Mujuru also expressed sadness that the 1987 Unity Accord between Zapu and Zanu had up to now failed to address the Gukurahundi atrocities."It has failed to bring closure to the sad Gukurahundi chapter but it is simply a decoy of political supremacy by one man over the rest. Our heart bleeds when the president of a country threatens sons and daughters who went to war to liberate our country from the yoke of oppression and suppression with violence."May our well-meaning war veterans know that we are together in making Zimbabwe prosperous again. Genuine war veterans know that in whatever we do, we put 'People First' and not 'fight first'."Genuine war veterans know that we fought for freedom of association, assembly and expression. We never fought for the creation of a family dynasty. I therefore urge genuine war veterans to remain steadfast in safeguarding the gains of our independence," she said.During his Zanu-PF central committee rant a fortnight ago, Mugabe launched one of his fiercest attacks on members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, who are agitating for embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to succeed him.Mugabe described the war veterans' remarks as tantamount to a rebellion, threatening to deal with them severely if they continued on their stubborn path."The dissidents tried it. They were war veterans, and you know what happened. Lots of trouble, lots of fighting, lots of suffering of course, to our people and these dissident activities cannot be allowed," he thundered ominously. HDFC Life and Max Life are in talks to create the country's biggest private life insurer, according to reports. Both the companies may announce plans in the next few days. If talks fructify, the merger will be the first among life insurers in more than a decade, the report added.Government imposed 20% customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply and check prices which are ruling high at Rs 40/kg.Indian Oil Corp is reportedly planning to acquire the largest 37.5 per cent stake in the proposed joint venture to manage fuelling facilities at all airports.The company has now informed BSE that the issue of Basel III Compliant Tier 2 Bonds of Rs.10,00,000/- each for cash at par aggregating to Rs.500 crore with an option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs. 500 crore shall be open from June 17, 2016 to June 22, 2016 and the deemed date of allotment shall be June 24, 2016. The Bonds have been rated AA by ICRA & CARE and bear coupon rate of 9.05% p.a.The Board of Directors of the Company has approved the Sub-division of the equity shares of the Company from Rs. 2 each fully paid up to Re. 1 each fully paid up. Details required as per Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligation and Disclosure Requirements) Regulation, 2015 is enclosed. This is however, subject to the approval of the shareholders.The company is scouting for acquisitions in Indonesia and has shared a wish list of assets with various investment bankers as part of its inorganic growth strategy in the South East Asian nation, says report.CCI has approved the proposed amalgamation of McNally Bharat, its subsidiary McNally Sayaji Engineering and EMC Ltd with Kilburn Engineering, says report.The company reportedly said it will continue to scout for companies and listed out digital technologies as a key focus area.SBI has set up a Rs. 200 crore fund to invest in fintech startups, according to reports. The stock would remain in action following its decision to merge its subsidiaries with itself.The company is planning to add 2,500-MW of conventional capacity and at least an equal amount of renewable plants every year, as per media report.The company informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company to consider and discuss the overall financial viability of the Company.International Finance Corp is looking to invest up to $75 million or about Rs.500 crore, in Glenmark Pharma which is raising $200 million to reduce debt and expand operations.The company said it is seeking legal advice to take appropriate steps after the Enforcement Directorate attached properties worth Rs,1,411 crore belonging to the company and its promoter Vijay Mallya in the IDBI Bank loan default case, as per media reports.Moodys Investors Service has revised to negative from stable the outlook on the Ba3 corporate family rating and senior unsecured rating of Tata Power, days after the company said it will buy Welspun Renewable Energy at an enterprise value of Rs 9,249 crore.The company announced an association with Paytm, to sell movie tickets to moviegoers.IT major Wipro has asked for government's nod to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) over an area of 19.76 hectares in Kolkata, as per reports.Ujaas Energy Ltd has received an order for Designing, Engineering, Procurement & Supply, Construction & Erection, Testing & Commissioning and Comprehensive Operation & Maintenance for 10 years of 3MW (AC) Solar PV Power Plant on Turnkey Basis in UP.Reserve Bank on Thursday allowed foreign investors to buy more equity in Carborundum Universal as their shareholding had slipped below the prescribed limit.The company said that market regulator Sebi has allowed it to sell 42,565 shares to maintain the minimum public shareholding requirement.The company has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on June 16, 2016, considered and approved the proposal for splitting of equity shares of the company, subject to the approval of the shareholders in respect thereof, in the 20th Annual General Meeting of the Company.Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd has announced that the Company proposes to issue 2000 Secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures with a face value of Rs. 10 lakh each. Crompton Greaves is selling its global automation business, ZIV, at a valuation of USD112mn (Rs7.54bn) by September, to focus on its India businesses. (BS) The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has ordered suspension of the manufacturing licence of the Mahad unit of Sequent Scientific. (ET) Tata Sponge Iron said it has won the bid for delivery of 24,000t of coal from Coal India (CIL). (ET) GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare said it has resumed operations at its manufacturing facility. NTPC announced incorporation of a joint venture with Coal India - Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayn Ltd - to revive Gorakhpur and Sindri plants of Fertilizer Corporation of India. (ET) Glenmark is planning to raise around USD200mn, of which International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest upto USD75mn. The company plans to raise the money through market issuance of quasi-equity instruments. (BS) In order to fund start-ups in the financial technology (fintech) space, SBI has set up a Rs2bn fund. (BS) Wipro has sought the government's nod to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in Kolkata. (BL) Days after it announced takeover of UK-based Target Group for GBP120mn, Tech Mahindra said it will continue to scout for companies and listed out digital technologies as a key focus area. (ET) Concerned over no takers for the coal produced by Coal India (CIL), the Centre asked state-owned power generation firms to immediately stop imports of the fuel and instead buy coal from the company. (BS) Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered suspension of manufacturing at drug firm Sequent Scientific's Mahad facility for a period of 15 days, starting July 1. In a regulatory filing, the company said after inspection, the FDA has passed an order to suspend manufacturing licences at Mahad unit for 15 days, from July 1 to July 15, 2016. All of the procedural matters have been addressed by the company, and as a process we have filed an appeal with the minister of health and medical education of Maharashtra for staying and subsequent revocation of this order, Sequent Scientific said. (FE)Dr Reddys Laboratories on Thursday bought back 8.84 lakh shares in a bulk deal at Rs 3,076.83 a share, according to a notification on the NSE. Shares of Dr Reddys Labs ended 1.2 per cent lower at Rs 3,048.25 on the NSE. In April, the pharmaceutical giant had announced buyback of shares between April 18 and October 17 for an aggregate amount of up to Rs 1,570 crore at a price of up to Rs 3,500 a share. At the maximum price, the company would buy 44 lakh shares. Kotak Mahindra Capital Co is the merchant banker for the buyback. (HBL)International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, on Thursday said it was looking to invest up to $75 million, or about Rs 500 crore, in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which is raising $200 million to reduce debt and fund expansion plans. The Mumbai-based drug-maker is raising the capital by selling quasi-equity instruments. The company plans to use the money to expand manufacturing capacity, mostly in India, build research and development (R&D) capacity for new products and reduce debt. (Mint)Promoters of Ajanta Pharma will be investing Rs 100 crore in their recently launched restaurant business. Around 100 restaurants will give Wok Express considerable presence in five top cities. Wok Express is modelled after New Yorks Wok to Walk that allows customers to make their own Asian recipes. There are similar resaurants in Europe as well. Wok Express started off its operations in Mumbai with seven restaurants. In the next phase the company will be opening 20 restaurants in Mumbai before moving into four other cities Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore. (FC) GMR Infrastructure has denied sale of controlling stake in Hyderabad Airport and as a matter of policy we do not comment on any such market speculation.Earlier report says that it is in talks with PE groups KKR and Apollo Global Management along with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADIA and Canadian pension giant PSP Investments to sell controlling stake in Hyderabad airport, according to reports. The company said that it has been continuously exploring the opportunities to raise necessary funds for the group. We keep stock exchange informed of any concretedevelopment which are definitive in nature. Report says that the company is planning to monetise the airport. GMR Infrastructure Ltd ended at Rs. 12.8, up by Rs. 0.04 or 0.31% from its previous closing of Rs. 12.76 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 13.03 and touched a high and low of Rs. 13.25 and Rs. 12.72 respectively. A total of 30744637(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 7701.87 crore. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 18.6 on 03-Dec-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 9.58 on 04-Sep-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 13.07 and Rs. 11.6 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 61.61 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 27.18 % and 11.21 % respectively. The stock traded above its 200 DMA. The equity valuation of the Hyderabad airport is expected to be Rs. 5,000-5,500 crore, says report. HDFC Life and Max Life are in talks to create the country's biggest private life insurer, according to reports. Report says that both the companies may announce the plans in the next few days. If talks fructify, the merger will be the first among life insurers in more than a decade, says report. The board of HDFC Life is meeting in Mumbai to discuss the proposal. Country's largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM), on June 17.During the meet, Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry stressed on the company's digital initiatives saying that the company is well positioned to lead the digital revolution."TCS started tracking digital revenues four years ago and this year they grew 52% crossing $2 billion. The company has been investing heavily to train, acquire talent and building intellectual property in digital services," he said.The company has presented an industry leading performance this financial year, witnessing solid customer metric as well as investing in new products across emerging services, he stated.TCS survived the impact of extreme weather in Chennai, Mistry further said.Talking of the attrition rate, Mistry said, "TCS is showing a downward trend in Attrition rate over last two quarters ending the year with 3,53,843 employees. The company remains industry benchmark for talent retention."TCS informed that it has successfully completed amalgamation of CMC. The EPS (earning per share) of the company increased by 10.2% this year.Tata Consultancy Services Ltd ended at Rs. 2603.5, up by Rs. 46.4 or 1.8% from its previous closing of Rs. 2557.1 on the BSE.The scrip opened at Rs. 2559 and touched a high and low of Rs. 2609.8 and Rs. 2559 respectively. A total of 9.8 lakh (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 503858.13 crore.The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2769 on 05-Oct-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 2119 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2602.2 and Rs. 2517.7 respectively.The promoters holding in the company stood at 73.4% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 22% and 4.5% respectively.The stock traded above its 50 DMA. News / National by Staff reporter Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) elder Dzikamai Mavhaire has said Joice Mujuru joined the liberation struggle against minority white rule at least four years earlier than President Robert Mugabe.Addressing thousands of people at a rally held at Mawungwa Business Centre near Mpandawana in Gutu, Mavhaire blasted Mugabe for surreptitiously anointing himself life president."VaMugabe 1976 ndokuenda paMozambique asi vana Mai Mujuru vanga vatovapo 1972, saka mukuru wehondo ndiyani ipapa? (Mugabe went war in 1976 yet Mrs Mujuru was already there in 1972, who is the lord of the war between the two?) he asked rhetorically.He said Zimbabweans must resist attempts to let Mugabe continue ruling even after he was bedridden."Takapa munhu nyika kusvika aita sekuru, ikozvino ava tateguru, mukadzi wototi kunyange apinda muguva achatonga arimo, ndingataurirwe izvozvo nanaMarujata ini (We gave him the mantle to rule and now he is old, he is now an ancestor, and his wife now tells us that he will rule even from the grave, can we take that nonsense from Marujata?)" he said referring to an unstable, loose, sharp-tongued and divisive village woman in a famous Shona novel Gara Ndichauya.Mavhaire, who has been in and out of government since 1980 due to his sharp tongue, also admonished traditional chiefs to stop being agents of coercion for Mugabe's Zanu-PF, contrary to their much-vaunted role as custodians of national culture and traditional values. Hatred. It is a word with deep emotions that many people use to describe a multiplicity of things and people. However, as deeply troubling as the word hatred is, the action behind hatred is even more devastating. America has seen its share of hatred. For centuries, weve experienced hate of one form or another. What Ive come to realize is hate and superiority often go hand-in-hand; when someone hates another individual, its usually because they feel superior to that person. This was the case during slavery, and were seeing examples of it in the present with people who think they are better than others or that their views and beliefs are better than another persons perspective. People, including the president of the United States, have called the massacre at Pulse a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida an act of terrorism. I certainly agree with that, but hate is also a motivating factor. The gunman, Omar Mateen, has a story with several twists and turns: He was interviewed by the FBI twice, he was known to frequently say disparaging things about African-Americans, he claimed his family was linked to two terror groups, he had profiles on several gay websites and, according to his ex-wife, he could be extremely violent. Only someone with immense hate in their heart could savagely kill dozens of innocent people; however, as more details of Mateens life are revealed, it is difficult to see where his hatred was rooted. Did he hate members of the LGBT community because of his religious beliefs? Was he conflicted about his own sexuality and hated people who freely embraced theirs? Was he bitter because he couldnt become a police officer, so he acted out? Or was his disdain geared toward America, with his true allegiance going to ISIS? Theres no way at this time to accurately pinpoint the why, as the only thing certain right now is the what. What occurred was the slaughter of innocent people, and that incident could have been prevented if people had alerted police of Mateens behavior. One such person is his second wife, Noor Zahi Salman, who told investigators she tried to stop her husband from carrying out the attack. Salman admits to being with her husband when he purchased an assault rifle and a holster. She also said she dropped Mateen off at Pulse at least once to scope the place out. If Salman sincerely tried to prevent the attack, she should have alerted authorities beforehand. Indiana has a campaign titled, If you see something, say something. The campaign is part of a national initiative by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and several local entities. If you see something, say something is a tip line that encourages Hoosiers to call (877) 226-1026 to report any type of suspicious criminal or terrorist activity that they may see or hear. Radio One Indianapolis is also launching the Keep Indy Safe campaign. The goal of both campaigns and others like them is to encourage residents to individually contribute to combating crime. The attack in Orlando could have been prevented if Salman and others had said something, but so can crimes in our local communities. All the drug deals, Black-on-Black homicides and even abuse and harassment instances would drastically reduce if we, as individuals, were more vigilant in fighting crime. We cant leave this form of activism solely on the shoulders of politicians and high-ranking officials; we have to take a more active approach. Local and federal law enforcement and even media entities have made it easy to report wrongdoings anonymously, so I encourage you to deliberately strive to be a more socially conscious, responsible and committed member of your community and report what you see. Call (877) 226-1026 or 911 to report suspicious or criminal activity. Twitter Ever since the motion poster of Mohenjo Daro has been released, everything about the film is trending. The internet has been buzzing with the look of actor Hrithik Roshan, and its mystical music. Hrithik himself has happily shared the first look with his fans, leaving them, well, yes, berserk! Check it out. Hrithik looks dripping hot e ven in that rugged look ! And then we had the first look of leading lady Pooja Hegde. Trust us when we say she looks like a regal princess! The film is based in the historic era of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It's title is way too suggestive. Right? Wrong! There are enough things about the film you still don't know about. After all, it is an Ashutosh Gowarikar product, a filmmaker known to keep the details about his projects under tight wraps. But we made attempts to collect some information about Mohenjo Daro. Don't blame us if it makes your wait unbearable! Read on. 1. It is touted as an "Indian epic adventure-romance" film. Indian - Epic - Adventure - Romance... It already seems to incorporate enough elements in one film. We just hope it doesn't become a case of "Jack of all trades, but master of none!" All we are looking forward to is how Gowarikar has woven a love-story within a period drama. youtube Its plot traces the romance through the cultures and ancient civilisation of Mohenjo Daro. In fact, understanding the demanding filmmaker Gowariker is, he took over three years to develop the film. He even sought the help of seven archaeologists who have been closely involved in documenting the discovery of Indus Valley civilisation for him. "While the plot will follow the discovery of Mohenjo-Daro and the culture and the vibe of the ancient civilisation, it will largely centre on a love story." - Ashutosh Gowarikar 3. Hrithik plays an orphan who falls in love with the daughter of his enemy. Heard about it before? Well yes, the plot doesn't seem quite new to us. But trust Gowarikar for bringing out the most unique stuff from the simplest of storylines. According to reports, Hrithik plays a young orphaned child who resides with his uncle close to the areas of Mohenjo Daro. "When he learns that there's a fair in Mohenjo Daro, he sneaks out of his house and joins the fair with the ambition of becoming a trader. There he meets Pooja Hegde's character and it's love at first sight." - Source 4. Guess who plays the girl's father and the main villain - Kabir Bedi! indianexpress The twist in the simple story comes when the father of our hero's lady-love turns out to be Kabir Bedi. And he is the same man who was responsible for the death of Hrithik's father. That's when the period love story turns into a revenge drama. Knowing how dashing and ever-charming Bedi himself is, we know it's going to be a clash of drooling looks on the big screen. 5. Replicas of real locations were erected for the film. Gowarikar visited the archaeological site of Dholavira to take references. Considering the film belongs to a certain period, they recreated the entire site in a film studio. The film's shooting took place in Bhuj, Mumbai, Jabalpur and Thane. 6. The action bits of Mohenjo Daro are on the lines of Hollywood standards. Glen Boswell, who choreographed stunts for films like The Matrix has been roped in to train Hrithik. The film has already made news for its power-packed stunts, including many hand-to-hand combat sequences. Some reports say the actor will be fighting a crocodile, a tiger and even bulls in the movie. We hear the scene where he will be taming two bulls (like Rana Daggubati did in Baahubali) in a market place would be crucial because he will meet Pooja's character of Chaani for the first time. 7. A team from Hollywood has also done the VFX for the film. Gowarikar roped in Karen Goulekas, one of the most renowned visual effects artists in the world, for his film. And the list of Goulekas' films include Titanic, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC, Godzilla and Spiderman. *breath* 8. There is even a love scene inspired by the epic Game Of Thrones cave sequence! ew.com Remember Jon Snow from GoT in his sensuous love-making scene in a cave? Seems like even Gowarikar got inspired from it, and incorporated a similar romantic sequence in his film too! We so want to see how he has associated the cave location with the theme of the movie around the oldest civilisation of mankind. 9. AR Rahman's background score has already caught our imagination from the teaser. Hear it to believe it, how Rahman has managed to teleport us to the ancient age with the sheer magic of his music. It's haunting, intriguing, yet gives a feel that the movie is no less than magnanimous. And we know what a stupendous team Rahman and Gowarikar make. refer to their earlier projects together - Lagaan, Swades and Jodha Akbar. It smells of a grand project! Check out its first teaser here. 1. Shah Rukh Khan responds to Karan Johar's column in an awesome way. indiatoday Friends for decades, SRK and KJo's camaraderie is a benchmark in Bollywood. And King Khan stood like a strong support for Karan regarding all the internet trolls the filmmaker faces. @karanjohar u G** Ma******.Ur sensitivity,drive & ur talent makes me say u truly Got Machismo more than most.But BlueSteel is pushin it! Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 16, 2016 2. Aamir Khan has said Salman Khan looks "hot" in a langot! Referring to Salman's wrestler look in Sultan, his friend Aamir admitted that he looks much better in a langot. Aamir said "I have just tried to be like him in 'Dangal' but I don't feel, my body is as good as him. He is the original body builder. Salman is anyway a handsome actor. He looks more handsome when he is without clothes... He is a gifted human being and very charming." Aamir is also set to play a wrestler in his upcoming Dangal. 3. A history scholar has lashed out at the makers of Mohenjo Daro over its new poster. An M.Phil student from JNU has literally ripped the new poster from the period film that features lead actress Pooja Hegde. According to her Pooja's look is fictional and has no credibility to real facts. Everyone knows the the (migrating) Aryans had a fair complexion.Not the Harappans. But fair is all that works for BTown.Thoroughly disgusted Ruchika Sharma (@tishasaroyan) June 16, 2016 4. A 65-year-old man died after watching Hollywood film Conjuring 2! The man couldn't handle the horror flick and died while watching it in a theater in Tiruvannamalai Town on Thursday night. While watching the climax of the movie, the man complained of chest pain and fainted. Doctors later declared him brought dead. 5. The trailer of Great Grand Masti is under scanner for its adult content. Ever since its trailer released on Friday, people have been talking and guessing about how the Censor Board will take the film. Referring to the recent controversy over Udta Punjab, people took to the internet trolling CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani over how he will certify the film. bustle Since its release recently, the horror flick from Hollywood, Conjuring 2 has been creating quite the waves. And even while some of the audience maintain that it couldn't match up to the first part, seems like the sequel is still pretty scary. So much so that a 65-year-old man in Tamil Nadu died during the film's climax. In a shocking incident, a 65-year-old man died while watching a horror movie in a cinema theatre in Tiruvannamalai Town on Thursday night. According to police, two persons, both natives of Andhra Pradesh, had gone to watch the night show of the newly released horror movie - The Conjuring 2 - in Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas in the town. While watching the climax of the movie, one of them complained of chest pain and fainted. He was rushed to the Old Government Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The paramedical staff in the hospital asked the person to take the body to the Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital on the outskirts of the Town for postmortem. However, he disappeared with the deceased's body. The police are inquiring with the auto drivers and lodges in the town to establish the identity of the deceased. One person was stabbed to death and five others injured after two groups of Congress workers clashed in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh following a dispute over sharing a caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on a WhatsApp group, police said on Thursday. BCCL The incident happened on the premises of Jabalpur's Vijay Nagar police station on Wednesday night, and the deceased has been identified as Guddu Verma, 33. Five others sustained minor injuries in the incident. Police have registered two FIRs against the group members - for assault and murder. According to police, the dispute started with heated arguments on a WhatsApp group 'Vijay Nagar Fans Club' -- created by local Congress corporator Jatin Raj. Reuters/representational image CSP Indrajeet Bakalwar told TOI that the group had several members, most of them Congress workers. "Conflict triggered over the caricature in which Sonia Gandhi has been shown washing dishes with a comment 'Modi ne kya haal bana diya' (see what Modi has done)" said the CSP. This image was allegedly shared by a local advocate Prashant Nayak. lakana/representational image A fraction of Congress workers who were in this group objected to it and this led to a dispute. Group administrator and advocate Jatin Raj reached Vijay Nagar police station with the opposing groups. More people joined them and started attacking each other with knives and other sharp edged weapons. Guddu Verma who was from Jatni Raj's group sustained multiple stab injuries. He was referred to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at 3 am. Police had to deploy additional staff and use mild force to control the situation. Efforts are being made to arrest those involved in the clash. Delhi police have arrested three people in connection with the gangrape of a 25-year-old woman in South Delhi on the wee hours on Thursday. PTI The incident happened in south Delhis Vasant Vihar area when the victim, a native of Himachal Pradesh accompanied by a female friend, was returning home after watching a movie. While they were on their way, the accused men in a car blocked their way. According to her friend, the woman was pulled into the car which then drove away. The friend immediately alerted the police, who traced the car using the registration number provided by her. "With the help of its registration number, we traced the car owner in Geeta Colony (east Delhi). The accused were arrested within hours after the medical examination of the woman confirmed rape," a police officer said. panoramio/ Representative Image The arrested persons were identified as Udit Kumar, Vineet Kumar and Rajvir. Udit, is a cab driver, he was reportedly partying with the other accused, Vineet, his brother-in-law and Rajvir a friend of theirs. In a significant judgment that expands the boundaries of the right to self-defence, the Supreme Court has ruled that a person would be right in taking the law into his hands if he witnessed his parents or relatives being assaulted. Reuters The landmark ruling came in the case of two persons who had been convicted by the trial court for assaulting some of their neighbours in the villagers. The Rajasthan High Court upheld their conviction and sentenced them to two years' rigorous imprisonment. Reuters But the Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh found the facts to be a little different: It was true that the two convicts had assaulted others, but police failed to point out why the two had resorted to assault and how they had so many injury marks on their bodies, the SC reasoned while acquitting the two of all charges. Also Read: Supreme Court To Decide 'Green Tax' On All New Diesel Car Purchases Political slugfest over the allegation of migration of Hindus from Kairana because of the terror of Muslims still continues. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Som on Friday embarked on Nirbhaya Yatra and marched towards Kairana - where prohibitory orders are in place - with hundreds of his party supporters but he was stopped barely two kilometres away from his home in Sardhana, his assembly constituency. Calling off the march, he said he is not marching ahead because he is a law-abiding citizen. He issued a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to ensure return of those who have been forced to migrate from Kairana (a subdivision in Western Uttar Pradeshs Shamli district near UP-Haryana border). Som, who was arrested in 2013 for allegedly spreading inflammatory videos during the Muzaffarnagar riots that left more than 60 people dead, warned that if the government fails to bring back the Hindu families, he and his supporters would be forced to hit the streets in protest again. The lawmaker is currently out on bail. Responding to the ultimatum, the Samajwadi Party government in the state said it will not tolerate any violation of law. People have migrated for work, education and better opportunities. The BJP is blowing the issue out of proportion, senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav told the media on Friday. Kairana, not far from Muzaffarnagar, has been tense since another BJP MP Hukum Singh released a list of 346 people alleging that they left the area after attacks and threats of extortion. He had called it a Hindu exodus from the Muslim-dominated Kairana, but later took a U-turn adding that the exodus of Hindus from Kairana was not communal but was rather connected with the poor law and order situation in the region. Indiatimes hit the ground to check the veracity of the lawmakers claims. While no resident of Kairana, this correspondent spoke to, accepted the claims of forced migration of Hindus, a report sent by a top police official to the DGP Headquarters corroborate the local versions. The report even goes on to allege that Singh has released the list to polarise the communally sensitive society of the Western UP district with an aim to get political benefit. The report prepared by DIG (Saharanpur Range) AK Raghav says Singh wants to field his daughter in the upcoming UP Assembly elections and therefore wants to polarise the society so that consolidation of Hindu votes can take place. DIG Raghav indicated the possibility of some big communal incident in the near future. In his report, the DIG said that these groups are giving the communal angle to every small incident. In one particular case, where a woman was raped and murdered, two Hindu names cropped up as the accused but there was political pressure to drop their names and arrest Muslims instead for the crime. But the MP contested the allegation arguing that he has no plan to field his daughter in the UP elections. She is busy and happy with her business in Noida, said Singh. Famous for its role during the 1857 revolt and the 19th century Indian classical music Kirana Gharana, the town's population has 80.74% Muslims, 18.34% Hindus and the rest belonging to other faiths according to the 2011 Census. This is the area which had given temporary refuge to the large number of Muslims displaced during the anti-Muslim Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013. politicalmann Indiatimes found several people named in the BJP MP Hukum Singhs exodus list still living in Kairana. People from among the BJP MPs list verified by this correspondent have either left the area 10-15 years ago mainly for jobs, education, better opportunities or had died. Several of them are still living in Kairana. Few families had migrated to Shamli and other places in 2014 out of fear, due to the activities of a local goon Muqeem Kala. Locals say migration has been on for over a decade mostly for employment opportunities, education, better options, not because of communal hatred or tension. But law and order also had a role to play. Indiatimes located 29 people named in the list. Twelve of them are no more while four left the area for better opportunities. Vijay Jain passed way 10 years ago. His son Deepak has been living in Saharanpur for the past five years. Pramod Jain has been living in Kairana since he was born. Interestingly his name is mentioned in the MPs exodus list. "A misinformation is going around about me and my family. I am here since my birth and was never forced to leave the area," said 52-year-old Jain. The names of Jai Kumar Dhiman and Poni at serial numbers 165 and 166 respectively. "My two brothers are named in the list. I am shocked. They left Kairana for better employment opportunities," said Manu Dhiman, a resident of Bisatyan village. Ishwar Chand alias Billu, whose name is mentioned in the list, left Kairana on August 19, 2014 because of the death threat he received if he failed to pay an extortion of Rs 20 lakh. "I am a businessman and deal in cold drinks. Five-six criminals knocked the door of my house on August 14 and demanded a sum of Rs 20 lakh. They threatened to kill me and my family if I failed to pay the amount. I approached all influential leaders of the area, including Mr Hukum Singh for help. When one extended a helping hand, I left Kairana on August 19 along with my family," described Chand. Asked if there was any communal angle behind his migration, he replied in NO saying that "out of 26 employees in his workshop, 22 were Muslims. The caretaker of the property I have left in Kairana is also a Muslim". Anil Jain, who is named at serial number 33 in the list, said he shifted his business to Shamli market four years ago and therefore, he also settled there. He has a magnificent house at Gagan Vihar in Shamli. Dr Manoj, whose name is also listed, runs a factory in Gujarat and therefore, he shifted there. His brother Kamal runs a medical store in Kairana. The list of alleged migrants mentions the names of advocates Subodh Jain and Sushil at serial number 231 and 232 who were murdered seven and fifteen years ago respectively. The accused of both the cases were Hindus. Jaipal Singh shifted to Panipat 15-20 years ago in search of a good job. "Kairana mein 15% Hindus aur 85% Muslims hain, phir bhi hum safe hain (Kairana is a town with 15% Hindus and 85% Muslims, still we are safe here)," says Rajkumar Singhal, secretary of Vyapaar Mandal, Kairana. The 50-year-old man looked determined not to let any Muzaffarnagar riots-like incident - where members of Muslim and Jat community had clashed over an alleged incident of eve-teasing - happen in his town. A grocery shop owner and chairman of Vyapaar Mandal, Arvind Kumar Singhal says, "Our town has not seen communal tension for the past 30 years and we will maintain the communal harmony. We will not allow communal forces to disturb the secular fabric of our town." Describing the careless attitude of Kairana MP Hukum Singh, who is accused of the Muzaffarnagar violence, Dharamveer Singh, a retired employee of Canara Bank, says, "Ironically, our representative should visit his constituency instead lending ears to rumours of forced migration. If people are migrating, he should be ashamed of not doing anything for the development of the constituency which elected him seven terms as MLA and now sent him to Parliament." Singh is the BJP leader who is accused of inciting violence in Muzaffarnagar by delivering inflammatory speeches in the mahapanchayat organised by Jats. A criminal case has already been lodged against him under various section of the IPC. Following her last Twitter controversy involving Bihar's Education Minister, Ashok Choudhary, HRD Minister Smriti Irani wrote an elaborate Facebook post where she directly addresses all her detractors. swarajyamag In an attempt to silence her critics, who continue to bash her at the slightest opportunity, Irani talks about the success of initiatives taken by her in the ministerial capacity. With a message to the women of the country, she writes, "So to those girls walking with their heads down, look up and speak up; those women cracking the whip in their offices and asking their counterparts to finish the work assigned in the time frame prescribed, lead on. As for me, next time you blog remember the sagely advice given when you joined politics, till you dont have your own coterie of journalists, dont expect support to come pouring in through editorials 'kyunki nuksaan tumhara hoga unka kuch nahi bigdega' (because the damage will be yours, they won't suffer anything)." She signs off her post as 'Aunty National' - a clear dig at a newspaper headline. The Hindu In her post, some of the many initiatives she mentions include: 1. First time ever all NCERT school text books from classes 1 to 12 available free online - ePathshala- check 2. First time ever all Kendriya Vidyalayas are providing SMS to alert parents of student attendance and lesson details- Shala Darpan- check 3. First time ever benchmarking of student performances in CBSE schools-Saraansh- check 4. First time ever, school evaluation system focused on learning outcomes-Shaala Siddhi- Check 5. First time ever, a mentoring and scholarship program to send our girls to technical institutes- UDAAN- check 6. First time ever, all teachers trained in inclusive education to facilitate students with special needs- check 7. First time ever, 10,000 undegraduate scholarships and exposure visits for students from the Northeastunder Ishan Uday and Ishan Vikas- check 8. First time ever, focused interventions to improve Math and Science levels- Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan- check 9. Over 4 lakh 17 thousand school toilets made in one year check You can read her entire post here. Maharashtra government has decided to use plastic waste along with tar in a bid to improve the durability and longevity of asphalt roads and reduce soil pollution. "The Centre in its recommendations has stated that using plastic waste along with tar to build roads improves the quality. It also helps reduce soil pollution caused by plastic. Thus, the state government has decided to include plastic waste along with tar while building roads," a Public Works Department official said. 1. In Another Horrific Incident, 25-Year-Old Woman Abducted And Gangraped In A Moving Car In Delhi PTI Delhi police have arrested three people in connection with the gangrape of a 25-year-old woman in South Delhi on the wee hours on Thursday. The incident happened in south Delhis Vasant Vihar area when the victim, a native of Himachal Pradesh accompanied by a female friend, was returning home after watching a movie. 2. 11 Convicts Get Life Imprisonment, 12 Others Get 7 Years Jail Term For Gulbarg Society Massacre BCCL A special court has sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment, 12 others to seven years and one more to ten years in jail in the Gulbarg Society massacre case. In addition, one convict was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The lawyer for the victims, S M Vora, had also sought the maximum punishment for the accused and argued that sentencing for each offence should not run concurrently. That's so that the convicts spent their entire life in jail, he said. 3. America's Gays & Lesbians Are Buying Guns In Record Numbers, And Gun Owners Are Teaching Them How To Shoot! skyandsea876 flickr The hub of gay Los Angeles is suddenly brimming with posters with the LGBT flag and one hashtag - #ShootBack. And its not just the rainbow flag waving breed of activism - Americans are rallying behind their nation's gays and lesbians after the homophobic attack at Pulse, a gay Orlando nightclub. Gun owners are coming together to teach people of "all backgrounds and stripes" to use and carry firearms after the Orlando shooting proved how unsafe America can be. Following her last Twitter controversy involving Bihar's Education Minister, Ashok Choudhary, HRD Minister Smriti Irani wrote an elaborate Facebook post where she directly addresses all her detractors. In an attempt to silence her critics, who continue to bash her at the slightest opportunity, Irani talks about the success of initiatives taken by her in the ministerial capacity. 5. Deep Inside The Swiss Alps Is A Hydroelectric Plant That Can Produce As Much Energy As A Nuclear Reactor Antonis Lamnatos Hidden deep inside the Swiss Alps is a hydropower plant like nothing the world has seen before. It makes as much as electricity as a nuclear power plant and can, with just a button, act as a giant battery. HOLLYWOOD, Calif.Busty 24-year-old Sara St. Clair will be in Los Angeles for the rest of June and looks forward to working with a variety of producers during her trip. Sara St. Clair first signed with Plush Talent in April of this year and has already done a handful of scenes, including one she particularly liked for New Sensations which should be released in the coming months. We are ecstatic to be working with Sara St. Clair, said Scottie Platinum of Plush Talent. She is a super star in the making and we have some great things planned for her. Im honored that Sara St. Clair made Plush Talent her agency of choice. Fans can follow Sara St. Clair on Twitter. Directors and producers interested in booking her should contact Scottie via email at [email protected]. Plush Talent is a fully licensed and bonded agency (LIC #TA-000213308). Those interested can visit their website, PlushTalent.com and follow them on Twitter. If you know a thing or two about the Chinese mobile industry you might know that there are hundreds if not thousands of smartphones in the markets across China that looks exactly like iPhone, but costs just a fraction of the price. RT In fact every second Chinese phone manufacturer will have at least one, if not more, device in their line-up that has ripped-off the iPhone's design. But what if we told you that some random Chinese mobile company has accused the Apple of stealing its design? By 'random' we mean literally random! To start with the company is called 100+ (that is actually its name). We jumped into the unknown depths of Google to find an actual devices by this company, and it is real. Alibaba So according to 100+ the design of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were inspired its 100C smartphone. You won't believe what happened next! 100+ has managed to stop Apple selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing! According to the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, the reason the sales ban is because "it would be difficult for buyers to tell the minute differences between the two phones". Well, you thought this was the first time Chinese people thought that the Californian company is stealing 'their design' you are wrong! In 2012, Apple was sued by GooPhone, a Hong Kong-based company who said the iPhone 5 was originally their design. Shanghaiist Also earlier this year Beijing-based tech company Xintong Tiandi Technology managed to win a case against Apple in China to sell bags and cases under IPHONE brand. Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Josh Stone Productions, with distribution by Pure Play Media, releases Interracial POV MILFs Supreme today. For some, nothing is hotter than having beautiful MILFs in interracial action with a great point of view. The cover features the big ass of Virgo Peridot, and joining her are Carmen Valentina, Jade Jamison, and Periona. These seasoned ladies devour some black cock and viewers have a great view as they suck and fuck their way to a happy ending. Josh Stone Productions is an established Miami-based company and features such titles as Miami MILFs, Ramon Rules the World, and Josh Stone Amateur Adventures, to name a few. "This DVD was really fun putting together since the ladies are so professional to work with," said Stone. "Interracial and MILF porn are both such popular genres, why not combine them in POV action and make fans even happier?" Fans may follow Josh on Twitter and join his websites joshstonexxx.com and trans500.com. For DVD distribution, contact [email protected]. The Africa Energy Forum (AEF) will come to London for the first time in its 18-year history in 2016, taking place at the InterContinental London O2 hotel from 21-24th June. The 17th Annual Africa Energy Forum took place in Dubai from 8-11 June 2015, gathering together over 1500 investors, power developers, African governments, utilities and regulators at the most established meeting place for decision-makers in Africa's power sector. AEF came to the UAE to capture the massive potential of Middle Eastern investment, and to learn from a region that has successfully built its gas based economy into a booming global empire. Now in its 10th year, CRUs Wire and Cable Conference has established itself as a must-attend event for those working in the wire and cable industry and end-user markets with past attendees describing it as the best opportunity during the year.The event offers unique insights into the trends shaping the industry and fantastic networking opportunity, to meet with industry peers. Join us in Milan, for your chance to catch up on what is happening all over the world in the cable industry. Barbaric Conditions That Led to a Detainee's Death Are Laid Bare in CIA Reports By Jason Leopold June 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Vice" - The CIA black site prison had 20 cells. Described as "stand-alone concrete boxes," the cell block was outfitted with stereo speakers that played music 24 hours a day to prevent captives from communicating with each other. Captives, who first arrived there in September 2002, were often held in total darkness. Some were subjected to mock executions. Four of the cells at the black site it was located in Afghanistan and code-named COBALT, but it was also referred to as the Salt Pit had "high bars... to which prisoners can be secured." These four cells were designed specifically for sleep deprivation. The prison is where a 34-year-old Afghan militant and suspected al-Qaeda operative named Gul Rahman froze to death in November 2002 after undergoing a brutal torture regimen that included being beaten, doused with cold water, and left half-naked while chained to the floor of his cell. Several of the techniques CIA interrogators used on Rahman were unauthorized; in August 2002, a Department of Justice attorney named John Yoo had written a legal memo sanctioning nearly a dozen torture methods for use on high-value captives. The graphic description of the conditions of Rahman's confinement and the disastrous operations of COBALT were laid bare in 14-year-old, closely guarded CIA reports that probed the circumstances of his death; those reports [pdf at the end of this article] were just turned over to VICE News in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. Separately, the CIA also declassified and publicly posted to its website a trove of other documents related to its so-called "rendition, detention, and interrogation" program and the treatment of detainees in custody of the agency in response to separate FOIA lawsuits filed by VICE News and the ACLU. One of the documents is an email from the CIA's chief of interrogations, who described the torture program as a "train wreak [sic] waiting to happen. I intend to get the hell off the train before it happens." In a statement provided to VICE News, US Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who has sparred with CIA director John Brennan over the veracity of the committee's blistering December 2014 report that probed the efficacy of the CIA's torture program, said, "It's important that more of these documents are being made available to the public, and many of them will help illustrate how the CIA's statements about the effectiveness of torture were inaccurate." The release of the reports on Rahman's death is hugely significant. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against the architects of the torture program on behalf of Rahman's family, alleging human experimentation and torture. One of the two architects, retired Air Force psychologist Dr. Bruce Jessen, was present at COBALT prior to Rahman's death and performed a psychological evaluation on Rahman, deciding what torture techniques should be used on him "to render him compliant." "Headquarters was motivated to extract any and all operational information on Al-Qa'ida and Hezbi Isl-ami from [Rahman]," the report said. "It was the assessment of the debriefers that Rahman may need to be subjected to enhanced interrogation measures to induce him to comply." Jessen also participated in Rahman's interrogation and provided instruction to the manager of COBALT, Matthew Zirbel, on the use of certain techniques. Jessen is identified in both reports as a psychologist, but his name is redacted. Jessen told one of the interrogators assigned to COBALT, "You cannot harm or kill the detainees, but you can handle the debriefings/interrogations as you see fit." "The new details are sickening," said Dror Ladin, an ACLU attorney who represents Rahman's family and two other torture victims suing Jessen and his former partner, Dr. James Mitchell. "The CIA and Jessen considered Gul Rahman to have a 'sophisticated level of resistance training' because he 'complained about poor treatment' and said he couldn't 'think due to conditions (cold)....' When they decided he wasn't sufficiently 'broken,' CIA personnel brutalized, starved, and froze him to death, then lied about it." * * * Two weeks ago, VICE News exclusively reported on Rahman's last hours, the lack of accountability at the CIA after his death, and the fact that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) visited the black site and trained guards on a shackling technique, a "safer alternative to hog-tying prisoners." That story was based on other internal CIA reports declassified for us as part of our FOIA lawsuit. The heavily redacted January 28, 2003 report from the CIA's Associate Deputy Director for Counterintelligence/Operations, titled "Death Investigation - Gul Rahman," and the IG report, titled, "Death of a Detainee," prepared by the CIA's theninspector general, John Helgerson, contains the most detailed description to date about the torture to which Rahman was subjected after he was rendered to COBALT. Both reports said Rahman was slapped, punched, given cold showers, dragged through the dirt while hooded, and hung by his arms in a stress position. Rahman's death was also highlighted in the Senate's torture report, which concluded that torturing detainees did not produce any "unique" or "valuable" intelligence about pending terrorist attacks. According to the newly declassified CIA Inspector General (IG) report, a CIA detainee "begins his confinement with nothing in his cell except a bucket used for human waste." "Prisoners are given rewards for cooperation," the report said. "Rewards can consist of a light, 'foamies' for the prisoners' ears (blocks out the music), a mat to sleep on, extra blankets, etc. Additionally, a luxury room has been built which has a light, a rocking chair, a table, and carpeting on the floor. Prisoners are not punished for lack of cooperation. Instead, rewards that they have received for cooperation are taken from them if they become uncooperative." Rahman, his interrogators wrote in CIA cables, was "resolutely defiant... the most stubborn individual detained" at COBALT, who had threatened to kill guards, according to the 2003 CIA counterintelligence official's report and the CIA IG report issued two years later. The report said that during the flight to COBALT from Pakistan, where he was captured in October 2002, Rahman was wearing an adult diaper because detainees are prohibited from using the bathroom on the airplane. Upon arrival at the black site, detainees were given a physical examination and their heads and beards are shaved. They were fed on an "alternating schedule of one meal on one day and two meals the next day." But the IG found that Rahman was not given a physical examination after he was rendered to the black site. He was subjected to sleep deprivation "almost immediately" after his arrival at COBALT and was often held in a "sleep deprivation cell" when he wasn't being interrogated. "According to [redacted], Rahman's clothes were taken from him... and he was left wearing a diaper," the IG report said. "During this period of sleep deprivation, Rahman's arms were shackled to a bar that ran between the walls of the cell. This prevented Rahman from sitting down." The January 2003 report into Rahman's death explained that sleep deprivation "is also used to enhance successful interrogation." "The decision to use sleep deprivation is made by the individual CIA officer who is working with a particular prisoner," the report said. "When sleep deprivation is utilized, the prisoner is chained by one or both wrists to a bar running across the ceiling of the cell. This forces the prisoner to stand. [redacted] stated that he consulted with and was told that no prisoner should undergo more than 72 hours of sleep deprivation because lucidity begins to decline and questioning becomes ineffective." During his first two days of detention, he underwent "rough treatment," consisting of being "pushed and shoved" while hooded in order to "disorient him." At one point, Rahman complained "about the violation of his human rights," the reports said. At the same time, he "remained consistently unemotional, calm and composed." He "calmly picked at his skin/nails during confrontation with damning evidence against him" and was "unfazed by physical and psychological confrontations." Even when Rahman "was depleted psychologically, he would routinely respond that he was 'fine.'" CIA interrogators interpreted Rahman's demeanor as a sign he had received a high level of training on resistance to interrogation techniques. The report, partially based on CIA cable traffic (which the IG said contained "material omissions and inaccuracies"), said that Rahman was given a cold shower "because the heater at the black site was not working." But, according to the report issued by the CIA's Associate Deputy Director for Counterintelligence/Operations, investigators interviewed a person at the black site who said Rahman was "deliberately given a cold shower as a deprivation technique." He then began to show signs of hypothermia. According to the reports, when a detainee is removed from his cell for an interrogation session, "usually guards enter the cell with a flashlight" and a "hood is placed over the prisoner's head and he is lead to the interrogation room in shackles." "The guards do not speak to the prisoners and all communication between the guards is completed with hand signals," the report said. "Once the detainee is placed in the interrogation room the guards depart, and the hood is removed by [redacted] personnel. Every effort is made to ensure that the only person a detainee communicates with is his CIA interrogator." Detainees like Rahman, who the CIA believed "possessed significant or imminent threat information," are "stripped to their diapers during interrogation and placed back into their cells wearing only diapers." "This is done solely to humiliate the prisoner for interrogation purposes," the report added. "When the prisoner soils a diaper, they are changed by the guards. Sometimes the guards run out of diapers and the prisoners are placed back in their cells in a handcrafted diaper secured by duct tape. If the guards don't have any available diapers, the prisoners are rendered to their cell nude." Initially, a cable sent back to CIA said Rahman did not provide his interrogators with any intelligence despite his brutal treatment. However, the IG report later said there was a "small interrogation breakthrough" that resulted in Rahman admitting something: that his name was Gul Rahman. The CIA attributed this to the torture techniques to which he was subjected. That, along with the name of the village he came from (Kolangar), which he revealed after being subjected to at least six brutal torture sessions during his monthlong confinement at COBALT, were the only concessions he made. (The ACLU maintains that Rahman fled Afghanistan after the US invaded in 2001 and settled in Pakistan with his wife and four daughters at the Shamshatoo refugee camp outside of Peshawar, earning a living by selling wood to other Shamshatoo camp refugees.) Both the CIA counterintelligence report and the IG report also contain additional details about the role the BOP played in training guards who worked at COBALT. Between August and September 2002, according to the report, CIA headquarters "was able to make arrangements with the BOP to provide training." The reports said the BOP instructors were assigned to temporary duty at COBALT, training guards in "restraint techniques, escort procedures, security checks, entrance procedures, cell searches, watch calls, and patdown searches." BOP also "made a number of recommendations to improve the security" at COBALT. The Senate's torture report noted that a delegation of BOP personnel conducted an assessment of COBALT and the CIA's operations there, which they characterized as disastrous, but the report did not state that BOP personnel also provided training to interrogators and guards on specific interrogation techniques. "Following the November [redacted], 2002, through November [redacted] 2002, visit, CIA officers in [Afghanistan] remarked that the Federal Bureau of Prisons assessments, along with recommendations and training, had 'made a noticeable improvement on how the day to day operations at the facility are performed,' and made the detention site a 'more secure and safer working environment for officers,'" the Senate report said. A BOP spokesperson did not respond to VICE News' requests for comment about the report on Rahman's death. After the Senate report was released, VICE News filed FOIA requests with the BOP seeking documents pertaining to the presence of BOP personnel at COBALT and other black sites. The BOP responded by saying it could not locate any records. * * * On November 19, 2002, at about 3pm, guards brought food to Rahman's cell. The last meal he'd eaten had been the day before. When the guards entered the cell, he was nude from the waist down. The captive threatened to kill the guards and proceeded to throw his food, water bottle, and waste bucket at them. The guards, acting on BOP recommendations, shackled Rahman to the wall "in a short chain position, which prevents prisoners from standing upright." Rahman was chained to a "metal grill located low on the wall of his cell" on orders from the CIA officer who managed the black site. The next morning, at about 10am, Rahman was seen lying on his side. The guards tried to rouse Rahman by banging on his cell door with their nightsticks, but he didn't move. The guards then "notified several CIA officers who were present at the facility in conjunction with the interrogation of another prisoner." Related: After a Detainee Died at a Black Site, the CIA Blamed Training From the Federal Bureau of Prisons When the officers entered Rahman's cell, they saw "a small amount of blood coming from his nose and mouth." A CIA officer checked Rahman's pulse, but there was none. They unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the detainee before he was pronounced dead. Rahman, according to an autopsy performed by a CIA pathologist, likely died of hypothermia, a "diagnosis of exclusion." On the night Rahman died, the outside temperature was 31 degrees Fahrenheit. The black site was not insulated. Remarkably, the CIA's Associate Deputy Director for Operations/Counterintelligence concluded that Rahman's "actions likely caused his own death." "By throwing his last meal he was unable to provide his body with a source of fuel to keep him warm," the report said. "Additionally, his violent behavior resulted in his restraint which prevented him from generating body heat by moving around and brought him in direct contact with the concrete floor leading to a loss of bodyheat through conduction." But the IG reached different conclusions and referred Rahman's case to the Department of Justice, which declined to prosecute. Rahman was secretly buried; the location of his remains remain unknown. In a statement provided to VICE News two weeks ago, CIA spokesperson Ryan Trapani said Rahman's death "is a lasting mark on the Agency's record." Four months after Rahman died, the CIA station chief in Afghanistan recommended that Zirbel, the manager of COBALT who conducted the interrogation sessions with Rahman, be awarded $2,500 for his "consistently superior work," according to the Senate's torture report. Follow Jason Leopold on Twitter: @JasonLeopold See also - CIA medical staff gave specifications on how to torture post-9/11 detainees : Office of Medical Staff detailed exactly how to enforce sleep deprivation, limit food intake, waterboard and use confinement boxes, declassified report revealed Interventionism, Not Islam, Is the Problem By Jacob G. Hornberger June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " FFF " - President Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and others of the mainstream interventionist ilk continue to debate whether the terrorist problem that America is facing is due to radical Muslims or regular Muslims. Depending on where they come out on that question, their solutions inevitably encompass more destruction of American liberty and privacy, such as with gun control, immigration controls, or surveillance schemes. There is one big problem with their analysis, however: The terrorism problem America has been facing even before 9/11 isnt due to Islam, Muslims, or the Koran. Instead, the anti-American terrorism problem is rooted in U.S. interventionism in the Middle East and Afghanistan, specifically the ongoing death and destruction that the U.S. military death machine has been wreaking in those parts of the world on an ongoing basis for the past 25 years. Why is that distinction important? Because gun control, immigration controls, and secret mass surveillance are not going to solve the problem. Theyre only going to bring about a greater suppression of liberty, privacy, and prosperity for the American people. Equally important, theyre not going to bring an end to anti-American terrorism. As long as the U.S. death machine is killing people in the Middle East and Afghanistan, there will be the continuous threat of anti-American terrorism here at home. Why do interventionists spend so much time discussing things like radical Muslims, regular Muslims, Islam, and the Koran? Heres why: Their supreme goal is to maintain the U.S. national-security states continued intervention in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Nothing must interfere with that goal. The entire well-being of the national-security establishment depends on it. Without the old Cold War or at least a renewed Cold War with China or Russia, the Middle East intervention is the only thing that can guarantee ever-increasing budgets, influence, and power for the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA and the rest of the military-industrial complex. So, thats the goal: to make the Middle East intervention and the occupation of Afghanistan a permanent feature of American life. Thats what the Persian Gulf War some 25 years ago was all about. And the sanctions on Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. And the illegal no-fly zones over Iraq, which also succeeded in killing children. And the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. It all guaranteed massive anger and rage among people over there, which ultimately manifested itself in anti-American terrorism. That blowback, as the noted analysis Chalmers Johnson titled his great book, has then been used to (1) generate deep-seated fear among the American people; (2) increase the budget, influence, and power of the national security establishment; (3) destroy the fundamental rights of freedom and privacy of the American people; and (4) make Americans more unsafe, both from terrorists and the government itself (through, for example, the national-security states official anti-terrorist programs of assassination, torture, and indefinite detention that apply to Americans citizens too). Its really the perfect racket. But its important to note that essential to the racket is the propaganda and indoctrination regarding Muslims, Islam, and the Koran. The propaganda and indoctrination, including the debates on radical Muslims vs. regular Muslims and the debates over gun control and surveillance, are all designed to distract the publics attention from the root cause of the problem: continued U.S. interventionism in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Here is where one government program public schooling intersects with another government program foreign interventionism. The most successful aspect of public (i.e., government) schooling is the mindset of conformity and deference to authority that is inculcated into every child. One beauty of the system is that the child doesnt even realize whats happening. Another beauty is that he doesnt even realize what they did to him after he becomes an adult. When his mind automatically conforms to whatever national-security officials are saying, he thinks that he is arriving at his decision independently. He has no idea that it is a consequence of the deference-to-authority mindset that was molded in him during his 12 years under government control and tutelage. There is no better example of this phenomenon than how so many Americans have bought into the governments suggestion that anti-American terrorism is caused by the Koran, Islam, radical Muslims, or regular Muslims. Equally important, thanks to propaganda and indoctrination, all too many Americans are convinced that U.S. interventionism in the Middle East and Afghanistan is necessary to fight the terrorists before they come to the United States. In other words, their minds do not permit them to even entertain the notion that the interventionism comes first and that it produces the anti-American terrorist blowback. How can we tell that this mindset has been brought about by propaganda and indoctrination? Easy. Just consider the following two factors: First, recall the Cold War, when the official bugaboo of the national-security establishment was communism and communists. Throughout the 45 years of the Cold War, the national-security establishment inculcated Americans with the same deep seated fear of communists that they have today with Muslims. The communists were everywhere. Americans had to go fight and die in Vietnam to prevent a communist takeover of America. Cuba was a communist dagger pointed at Americas throat. Communists were taking over regimes all over the world. Everything had to be done to prevent more communist takeovers, including the destruction of democratic regimes and partnerships with brutal dictatorial regimes and even a criminal organization like the Mafia. Now, ask yourself this question: Throughout the Cold War, how many Americans expressed any concern about radical Muslims, regular Muslims, Islam, or the Koran? Answer: It would be hard to find anyone who did. Thats because everyones mind had automatically conformed itself to what the national-security establishment said was the official bugaboo communism. No one talked about the centuries-old war that Muslims had been waging to establish a world-wide caliphate. No one called for color codes to tell people about the latest threat of a Muslim terrorist attack on America. No one talked about restricting immigration for Muslims in particular. No one talked about the violence in the Koran. It was all about communism and communists. Americans were even exhorted to look for communists, not Muslims, under their beds. In fact, recall when the Soviet communists, rather than the U.S. national-security state, were the invaders and occupiers of Afghanistan. Take a wild guess who the U.S. national-security state partnered with to oust the commies from Afghanistan. Yep: radical Muslims! The U.S. national-security establishment was actually sending those radical Muslims weaponry, including Stinger missiles. Radical Muslims in Afghanistan, believe it or not, included Osama bin Laden. How many Americans objected to that U.S. partnership with and support of radical Muslims in Afghanistan? Answer: Very few. Most everyone supported the partnership with and arming of radical Muslims because the official bugaboo was communism. Then, watch what happens when the Cold War suddenly and unexpectedly ends. Suddenly, both the national-security establishment and the American people are left without an official bugaboo. That changed with the Persian Gulf War. Suddenly the new official bugaboo became Saddam Hussein. In their current obsession with Muslims, Islam, and the Koran, people forget that the national obsession in the 1990s was not Muslims, Islam, or the Koran but instead Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, who, ironically, had been a partner of the U.S. national-security establishment during the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, Saddam! Saddam! Saddam! was the official lamentation being expressed by the American people, at the urging of the national security establishment. He was the new Hitler. He was going to conquer the world. He was going to unleash a WMD attack on the United States. In other words, the mindset of Americans had automatically conformed to the new official enemy, which had gone from communism to Saddam. What happened after they got Saddam? They needed a new official enemy. That became Osama bin Laden, which then morphed into terrorism, which then morphed into Muslims, Islam, and the Koran, which then morphed into ISIS, until today we have a combination of all them as the new official enemy that holds Americans in its grip. Second, I would venture to say that most Americans have no idea about the type of government that the U.S. interventions in Iraqi and Afghanistan brought into existence in both countries. Both countries now have official Islamic regimes. Yes, believe it or not, official Islamic regimes! If you dont believe me, just Google it. How many Americans have objected to the U.S. installation of two official Islamic regimes? How many have participated in protests and demonstrations against U.S. troops for fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan to preserve two official Islamic regimes? Answer: None, not even those who say that Americas new official enemy is Islam, the Koran, and Muslims. In fact, its the exact opposite. Ever since the installation of official Islamic regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans have effusively thanked the troops for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan, notwithstanding the fact that such service has consisted of installing and protecting two official Islamic regimes. Isnt that ironic and, well, somewhat humorous? If Islam is the problem, if the Koran is the problem, if Muslims are the problem, then how is that no American is protesting the installation and protection of two official Islamic regimes? Why isnt anyone objecting to the fact that thousands of U.S. soldiers have died in the protection of two official Islamic regimes? Indeed, why isnt anyone calling on the U.S. national-security state to fight the enemy by effecting regime changes in Iraq and Afghanistan that would oust those official Islamic regimes from power? Its all the product of indoctrination and propaganda, all designed to make the interventions in the Middle East and Afghanistan permanent, by causing people to focus on Muslims, the Koran, and Islam rather than on U.S. interventionism, which is the cause of anti-American terrorist blowback. Consider Switzerland, whose citizens are among the best armed in the world. Most everyone has an assault rifle in his home, in order to defend the nation in the event of an invasion. Do you see any terrorist attacks on the Swiss? Do you see gun massacres? No, you dont. And there is a simple reason for that: The Swiss government is not an interloper or an intervenor. It isnt killing people in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Consequently, people from the Middle East and Afghanistan arent killing Swiss citizens in terrorist attacks. There is no anti-Swiss terrorist blowback because there is no Swiss intervention in the Middle East and Afghanistan. One more important thing: Given that Trump, Obama, Clinton, and their interventionist ilk want to make U.S. intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan a perpetual thing, their focus increasingly is on how to prevent terrorist blowback here in the United States. Thats what the expanded efforts at gun control are all about. And the surveillance schemes. And the extraordinary emergency powers that have now been made a permanent part of Americas governmental structure. It will not work. It will only make the destruction of American freedom and privacy worse. As I wrote soon after 9/11, the war on terrorism will be like the war on drugs never ending, always failing, and increasingly destructive of American liberty, security, and prosperity. Can they protect every nightclub in America? Every bar? Every retail store? Every mall? Of course they cant. And remember: Under Americas system, they cant arrest people just because they are suspicious of them. Under our criminal-justice system, a person cannot be arrested until he actually commits a crime or attempts to commit a crime. America is not like totalitarian regimes or Guantanamo, where authorities can incarcerate anyone they want for as long as they want. So, as long as the U.S. death machine is killing people over there, there are going to be people over there or over here who are going to retaliate. Get used to it. Its a fact of life for people living under an interventionist regime that is killing people over there. Keep the interventions going and continue to suffer the deadly ravages of terrorist blowback. If Americans want to rid the nation of anti-American terrorist blowback, there is but one way to accomplish that: End U.S. interventionism in the Middle East and Afghanistan, stop the U.S. death machine from killing any more people, and bring all the troops home now. Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. in economics from Virginia Military Institute and his law degree from the University of Texas. The Pentagons Real $trategy Keeping the Money Flowing By Andrew Cockburn June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Tom Dispatch " - These days, lamenting the apparently aimless character of Washingtons military operations in the Greater Middle East has become conventional wisdom among administration critics of every sort. Senator John McCain thunders that this president has no strategy to successfully reverse the tide of slaughter and mayhem in that region. Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies bemoans the lack of a viable and public strategy. Andrew Bacevich suggests that there is no strategy. None. Zilch. After 15 years of grinding war with no obvious end in sight, U.S. military operations certainly deserve such obloquy. But the pundit outrage may be misplaced. Focusing on Washington rather than on distant war zones, it becomes clear that the military establishment does indeed have a strategy, a highly successful one, which is to protect and enhance its own prosperity. Given this focus, creating and maintaining an effective fighting force becomes a secondary consideration, reflecting a relative disinterest -- remarkable to outsiders -- in the actual business of war, as opposed to the business of raking in dollars for the Pentagon and its industrial and political partners. A key element of the strategy involves seeding the military budget with development projects that require little initial outlay but which, down the line, grow irreversibly into massive, immensely profitable production contracts for our weapons-making cartels. If this seems like a startling proposition, consider, for instance, the Air Forces determined and unyielding efforts to jettison the A-10 Thunderbolt, widely viewed as the most effective means for supporting troops on the ground, while ardently championing the sluggish, vastly overpriced F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that, among myriad other deficiencies, cannot fly within 25 miles of a thunderstorm. No less telling is the Navys ongoing affection for budget-busting programs such as aircraft carriers, while maintaining its traditional disdain for the unglamorous and money-poor mission of minesweeping, though the mere threat of enemy mines in the 1991 Gulf War (as in the Korean War decades earlier) stymied plans for major amphibious operations. Examples abound across all the services. Meanwhile, ongoing and dramatic programs to invest vast sums in meaningless, useless, or superfluous weapons systems are the norm. There is no more striking example of this than current plans to rebuild the entire American arsenal of nuclear weapons in the coming decades, Obama's staggering bequest to the budgets of his successors. Taking Nuclear Weapons to the Bank These nuclear initiatives have received far less attention than they deserve, perhaps because observers are generally loath to acknowledge that the Cold War and its attendant nuclear terrors, supposedly consigned to the ashcan of history a quarter-century ago, are being revived on a significant scale. The U.S. is currently in the process of planning for the construction of a new fleet of nuclear submarines loaded with new intercontinental nuclear missiles, while simultaneously creating a new land-based intercontinental missile, a new strategic nuclear bomber, a new land-and-sea-based tactical nuclear fighter plane, a new long-range nuclear cruise missile (which, as recently as 2010, the Obama administration explicitly promised not to develop), at least three nuclear warheads that are essentially new designs, and new fuses for existing warheads. In addition, new nuclear command-and-control systems are under development for a fleet of satellites (costing up to $1 billion each) designed to make the business of fighting a nuclear war more practical and manageable. This massive nuclear buildup, routinely promoted under the comforting rubric of modernization, stands in contrast to the presidents lofty public ruminations on the topic of nuclear weapons. The most recent of these was delivered during his visit -- the first by an American president -- to Hiroshima last month. There, he urged nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles to have the courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue a world without them. In reality, that logic of fear suggests that there is no way to fight a nuclear war, given the unforeseeable but horrific effects of these immensely destructive weapons. They serve no useful purpose beyond deterring putative opponents from using them, for which an extremely limited number would suffice. During the Berlin crisis of 1961, for example, when the Soviets possessed precisely four intercontinental nuclear missiles, White House planners seriously contemplated launching an overwhelming nuclear strike on the USSR. It was, they claimed, guaranteed to achieve victory. As Fred Kaplan recounts in his book Wizards of Armageddon, the plans advocates conceded that the Soviets might, in fact, be capable of managing a limited form of retaliation with their few missiles and bombers in which as many as three million Americans could be killed, whereupon the plan was summarily rejected. In other words, in the Cold War as today, the idea of nuclear war-fighting could not survive scrutiny in a real-world context. Despite this self-evident truth, the U.S. military has long been the pioneer in devising rationales for fighting such a war via ever more modernized weapons systems. Thus, when first introduced in the early 1960s, the Navys invulnerable Polaris-submarine-launched intercontinental missiles -- entirely sufficient in themselves as a deterrent force against any potential nuclear enemy -- were seen within the military as an attack on Air Force operations and budgets. The Air Force responded by conceiving and successfully selling the need for a full-scale, land-based missile force as well, one that could more precisely target enemy missiles in what was termed a counterforce strategy. The drive to develop and build such systems on the irrational pretense that nuclear war fighting is a practical proposition persists today. One component of the current modernization plan is the proposed development of a new dial-a-yield version of the venerable B-61 nuclear bomb. Supposedly capable of delivering explosions of varying strength according to demand, this device will, at least theoretically, be guidable to its target with high degrees of accuracy and will also be able to burrow deep into the earth to destroy buried bunkers. The estimated bill -- $11 billion -- is a welcome boost for the fortunes of the Sandia and Los Alamos weapons laboratories that are developing it. The ultimate cost of this new nuclear arsenal in its entirety is essentially un-knowable. The only official estimate we have so far came from the Congressional Budget Office, which last year projected a total of $350 billion. That figure, however, takes the modernization program only to 2024 -- before, that is, most of the new systems move from development to actual production and the real bills for all of this start thudding onto taxpayers doormats. This year, for instance, the Navy is spending a billion and a half dollars in research and development funds on its new missile submarine, known only as the SSBN(X). Between 2025 and 2035, however, annual costs for that program are projected to run at $10 billion a year. Similar escalations are in store for the other items on the militarys impressive nuclear shopping list. Assiduously tabulating these projections, experts at the Monterey Center for Nonproliferation Studies peg the price of the total program at a trillion dollars. In reality, though, the true bill that will come due over the next few decades will almost certainly be multiples of that. For example, the Air Force has claimed that its new B-21 strategic bombers will each cost more than $564 million (in 2010 dollars), yet resolutely refuses to release its secret internal estimates for the ultimate cost of the program. To offer a point of comparison, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the tactical nuclear bomber previously mentioned, was originally touted as costing no more than $35 million per plane. In fact, it will actually enter service with a sticker price well in excess of $200 million. Nor does that trillion-dollar figure take into account the inevitable growth of Americas nuclear shield. Nowadays, the excitement and debate once generated by President Ronald Reagans Star Wars scheme to build a defense system of anti-missile missiles and other devices against a nuclear attack is long gone. (The idea for such a defense, in fact, dates back to the 1950s, but Reagan boosted it to prominence.) Nevertheless, missile defense still routinely soaks up some $10 billion of our money annually, even though it is known to have no utility whatsoever. We have nothing to show for it, Tom Christie, the former director of the Pentagons testing office, told me recently. None of the interceptors we currently have in silos waiting to shoot down enemy missiles have ever worked in tests. Even so, the U.S. is busy constructing more anti-missile bases across Eastern Europe. As our offensive nuclear programs are built up in the years to come, almost certainly eliciting a response from Russia and China, the pressure for a costly expansion of our nuclear defenses will surely follow. The Bow-Wave Strategy Its easy enough to find hypocrisy in President Obamas mellifluous orations on abolishing nuclear weapons given the trillion-dollar-plus nuclear legacy he will leave in his wake. The record suggests, however, that faced with the undeviating strategic thinking of the military establishment and its power to turn desires into policy, he has simply proven as incapable of altering the Washington system as his predecessors in the Oval Office were or as his successors are likely to be. Inside the Pentagon, budget planners and weapons-buyers talk of the bow wave, referring to the process by which current research and development initiatives, initially relatively modest in cost, invariably lock in commitments to massive spending down the road. Traditionally, such waves start to form at times when the military is threatened with possible spending cutbacks due to the end of a war or some other budgetary crisis. Former Pentagon analyst Franklin Chuck Spinney, who spent years observing and chronicling the phenomenon from the inside, recalls an early 1970s bow wave at a time when withdrawal from Vietnam appeared to promise a future of reduced defense spending. The military duly put in place an ambitious modernization program for new planes, ships, tanks, satellites, and missiles. Inevitably, when it came time to actually buy all those fancy new systems, there was insufficient money in the defense budget. Accordingly, the high command cut back on spending for readiness; that is, for maintaining existing weapons in working order, training troops, and similar mundane activities. This had the desired effect -- at least from the point of view of Pentagon -- of generating a raft of media and congressional horror stories about the shocking lack of preparedness of our fighting forces and the urgent need to boost its budget. In this way, the hapless Jimmy Carter, elected to the presidency on a promise to rein in defense spending, found himself, in Spinneys phrase, "mousetrapped," and eventually unable to resist calls for bigger military budgets. This pattern would recur at the beginning of the 1990s when the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War superpower military confrontation seemed at an end. The result was the germination of ultimately budget-busting weapons systems like the Air Forces F-35 and F-22 fighters. It happened again when pullbacks from Iraq and Afghanistan in Obamas first term led to mild military spending cuts. As Spinney points out, each successive bow wave crests at a higher level, while military budget cuts due to wars ending and the like become progressively more modest. The latest nuclear buildup is only the most glaring and egregious example of the present bow wave that is guaranteed to grow to monumental proportions long after Obama has retired to full-time speechmaking. The cost of the first of the Navys new Ford Class aircraft carriers, for example, has already grown by 20% to $13 billion with more undoubtedly to come. The Third Offset Strategy, a fantasy-laden shopping list of robot drones and centaur (half-man, half-machine) weapons systems, assiduously touted by Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, is similarly guaranteed to expand stunningly beyond the $3.6 billion allotted to its development next year. Faced with such boundlessly ambitious raids on the public purse, no one should claim a lack of strategy as a failing among our real policymakers, even if all that planning has little or nothing to do with distant war zones where Washingtons conflicts smolder relentlessly on. Andrew Cockburn is the Washington editor of Harpers Magazine. An Irishman, he has covered national security topics in this country for many years. In addition to numerous books, he co-produced the 1997 feature film The Peacemaker and the 2009 documentary on the financial crisis, American Casino. His latest book is Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins (just out in paperback). Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardt's latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World . Editorial June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " IBD " - Terrorism: Less than 48 hours after President Obama reassured the nation that his strategy against ISIS is working, Obamas CIA director told the Senate the exact opposite. ISIS is, he said, as formidable a threat as it ever was. Obamas remarks came after a meeting with his National Security Council, during which he spent a significant amount of time detailing all the many successes his strategy is having against the Islamic State (which Obama calls ISIL instead of ISIS), progress that he thinks is being obscured by recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. committed in the name of ISIS. Here are the relevant parts of Obamas statement. We are making significant progress. ... This campaign at this stage is firing on all cylinders. ... ISIL is under more pressure than ever before. ISIL continues to lose key leaders. ... ISIL continues to lose ground in Iraq. ... ISIL continues to lose ground in Syria as well. As ISIL continues to lose territory, it also continues to lose the money that is its lifeblood. ... ISIL is now effectively cut off from the international financial system. ISILs ranks are shrinking as well. Their morale is sinking. ... The flow of foreign fighters -- including from America to Syria and Iraq -- has plummeted. In fact, our intelligence community now assesses that the ranks of ISIL fighters have been reduced to the lowest levels in more than 2-1/2 years. Obama went on to say that lone actors, like the Orlando terrorist, or small cells of terrorists are very hard to detect and very hard to prevent. And the best way to deal with this threat, he went on to argue, is with stricter gun-control laws. Sounds like Obamas really on top of the situation, doesnt it? Except that on Thursday, CIA Director John Brennan told a far different story about ISIS. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Brennan said that, yes, the U.S.-led coalition has made important progress against ISIL. As Obama said, it's lost territory, its finances have been squeezed, and a growing number are becoming disillusioned. But Brennan went on to say that despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach. (Emphasis added.) If anything, he said, those gains that Obama brags about increase the risk of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other European nations. As the pressure mounts, he said, the group will intensify its global terror campaign. He told the Senators that ISIS is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks (and) has a large cadre of Western fighters, and is busy trying to infiltrate the West through refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate means of travel. No wonder Obama wants to make the two most recent attacks on U.S. soil -- both of which were inspired by ISIS and which claimed a total of 63 innocent lives -- a debate about gun control and lone wolves. Otherwise, hed have to admit that his war against ISIS isnt actually making any progress. Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter Putin Thinks West Supported Coup in Kiev to Justify Existence of NATO The president says the West continues to escalate the conflict By TASS June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " TASS " - ST. PETERSBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks that the West supported the coup in Ukraine to justify the existence of NATO. "After the Arab Spring they have already moved closer to our borders. Why did they need to support the coup in Ukraine? There is a complicated internal political situation there, and the opposition that is in power today would have most likely come to power by democratic means, through elections, as well. Thats it, we would have worked with them just like we worked with the authorities before (former Ukrainian) President (Viktor) Yanukovych," Putin said on Friday at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "No, they had to take it to the coup with victims, to cause bloodshed, civil war, to intimidate the Russian-speaking population in Ukraines south-east and in Crimea. What for?" he asked adding that Moscow "just had to take measures to protect certain groups of population," he continued. The president noted that the West continued to "spin this spiral, to escalate." The Russian leader thinks that such actions were dictated by the necessity "to justify the very existence of the North Atlantic Alliance. "They need an external enemy, an external opponent - or why else would this organization be needed?" Putin wondered. "There is no Warsaw Pact anymore, no Soviet Union, whom are they (NATO) against?" Putin wondered. "If we continue to act in the framework of this logic - escalate and build up efforts to intimidate each other - we will soon come to the Cold War," he said. "We have an absolutely different logic, it is aimed at cooperation and search for compromises," he concluded. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. True Reason for Kerry's Warning to Russia, Assad Over Syria Truce By Sputnik June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Sputnik " - As President Obama nears the end of his second term, his administration's patience over the Syrian state of affairs is running out: indeed, a five-year war has not resulted in ousting Syrias legitimate president Bashar al-Assad. On Wednesday US Secretary of State John Kerry "warned" Damascus and Moscow that Washington's "patience was not infinite," while commenting on ceasefire violations in Syria. "Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite, in fact it is very limited with whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable," Kerry told reporters after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Oslo, Norway. In his interview with Press TV James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, dubbed Kerry's remark as a "very mixed message." "It is unclear what Secretary Kerry means about either holding Russia or the opposition groups accountable for violating the ceasefire. We know who these terrorist groups are, groups like Ahrar al-Sham, that are allied with al-Nusra [Front] which is [an affiliate] of al-Qaeda. And in effect, the Obama administration has been protecting these people from the Syrian government, army and the Russian Air Force because they are allied with al-Qaeda and they need to be treated as what they are as terrorist groups," Jatras underscored. Indeed, in early June Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told Moscow's '360 gradusov Podmoskovye' broadcaster that Washington asked the Kremlin not to target al-Nusra Front, because there were also "moderate Syrian opposition" groups in these territories. Surprisingly, the aforementioned "opposition groups" have not yet separated from the al-Qaeda affiliate, remaining deaf to the White House's orders. Lavrov stressed that Russia and the US "have long agreed" on that. "It is Russia's unwillingness to conceive that, that has Mr. Kerry evidently threatening to run out of patience and to double down on support of these terrorist groups. And we know that our [the US'] so-called allies, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have been suggesting this very thing, the so-called Plan B to step up their terrorist campaign in Syria, and to arrange for some sort of partition of the country," Jatras emphasized. Following the inking of the Syrian ceasefire agreement by Washington and Moscow, Kerry announced that the Obama administration had a so-called "Plan B" that envisioned the partitioning of Syria as the way to settle the conflict. Apparently, the current president's administration is itching to implement the plan before Barack Obama leaves the Oval Office. This version could be possibly proven by the fact that in early May Kerry gave a de-facto ultimatum to the Syrian government and its allies, saying that they face an August deadline for starting a "political transition," that obviously meant Assad's stepping down. "The target date for the transition is August 1. So we're now coming up to May. So either something happens in these next few months, or they are asking for a very different track," Kerry told journalists at the State Department, as quoted by the Associated Press. "And it's unlikely that the Obama administration, so long opposed to an active American combat role in Syria, would significantly boost its presence beyond the 300 special forces it has authorized thus far in the heart of a US presidential election season. It may be more feasible for US allies like Saudi Arabia to give the rebels new weapons to fight Assad, such as portable surface-to-air missiles," Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press suggested. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are sponsoring Islamist groups like Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam and are interested in Syria's partition. Remarkably, following Kerry's Wednesday "warning," State Department spokesperson John Kirby rushed to clarify that this "wasn't a hollow threat. It wasn't even a threat." June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " RT " - Not a day goes by without some sort of turmoil in the South China Sea. Lets cut to the chase: war is not about to break out. In a nutshell, the non-stop drama, as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) diplomats told me, is all about escalation-management protocols. Translation: how to prevent any unilateral outburst that could be interpreted as warlike. Compounding the problem is that ASEAN cant seem to manage its own internal protocols. This past Tuesday offered a graphic illustration, after a special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers meeting in Yuxi. First ASEAN issued a communique. Then it retracted it. As much as that reflects internal dissent among the 10 nation group, it also happens to puncture the Pentagon myth of Chinas isolation. Meanwhile, a D-Day is approaching; the ruling, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, on a territorial dispute brought by the Philippines in 2013. The ruling should come by late July or early August. Even if as expected it goes against Beijing that still should not be reason to install an insurmountable ASEAN-China divide. Connie Rahakundini, president of the Indonesian Institute for Maritime Studies (IIMS), framed the question for Xinhua. There is an ASEAN plus mechanism already in place which is a sort of debate forum including China. And ASEAN is also establishing a code of conduct to prevent unilateral moves. The problem with the case in The Hague is that the Philippines did not try to solve it bilaterally; off the record, ASEAN diplomats admit that would be the only solution. So no wonder Beijing decided not to be a part of the arbitration procedure, and preemptively rejects whatever ruling (which is non-binding anyway), insisting the court has no jurisdiction. The Philippines case is about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation; these are subject to general international law, not the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). All about positioning At the recent Shangri-La dialogue, Beijing once again detailed its complex strategy in the South China Sea. PLA Major General Yunzhu Yao stressed that freedom of navigation for commercial ships in the South China Sea has not been challenged and would never be challenged. And she hit the heart of the matter; the US has not ratified UNCLOS, so its in no position to impose its interpretation of the treaty on any nation, in Asia or beyond. Compare it to Rahkundini, speaking for ASEAN as a whole: "The United States actually has nothing to do in the South China Sea; moreover it does not ratify the UNCLOS. So it is not appropriate for the United States to meddle or, even worse, demonstrate military might there. The United States has to be wiser and fairer to see the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea." Everyone knows this is not going to happen. On the contrary; the Obama administration and the Pentagon are engaged in all out meddling, deploying freedom of navigation operations. For his part new Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte very well knows that the arbitration, at best, might give him a better bargaining stance. But still he will have to negotiate with China. And Beijing knows exactly what Manila needs to soften the pill; massive Chinese investment. Both China and the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, are signatories of UNCLOS. But steeped as it is in history, Beijing also stands by its 9-dash line map, with sovereign claims that reach as far as the Vietnamese coast and along Borneo. And yet even the Chinese map as well as the drive towards an aerial defense identification zone does not mean Beijing wants to imperil freedom of navigation in the South China Sea as Washington insists. This is all about positioning. Meet mobile national sovereignty International law does not specifically forbid reclamation at sea. What China is applying is a quite audacious, self-described blue soil strategy. Vietnam, Malaysia and even the Philippines had been carrying out reclamation in the South China Sea for a while. China arrived later, but in full force building airstrips, lighthouses, garrisons in neglected or abandoned islets in the Spratlys and the Paracels. Once again, this is all about energy; to harness an astonishing unexplored wealth of 10 billion barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. In its search for energy, Beijing is focusing a significant part of its strategy on areas already identified, for instance, by PetroVietnam. And its using a game-changer: the HYSY 981 mobile deepwater drilling rig, which the chairman of CNOOC, Wang Yilin, describes as a strategic weapon that is part of Chinas mobile national sovereignty. President Xi Jinping has emphasized over and over again that China will not militarize any reclaimed land. Yet the Pentagons insistence on those innocuous freedom of navigation operations coupled with USAF overflights can only be interpreted as provocations leading to further militarization. The Pentagon has never been accused of being geopolitically savvy. Their planners after all fail or prefer to fail - to see that Chinas island building, in the long run, is all about finding enough oil and gas to perform an escape from Malacca, a central plank of Beijings energy strategy. Beijing would rather have enough energy closer to home, in the South China Sea, than having its fleet of tankers at the mercy of the US Navy crossing the Strait of Malacca non-stop. No one knows how the removal of the US weapons sale embargo on Vietnam will result in practice. In Southeast Asian cooperation terms, it might be useful to observe the actions of Singapore that trade/services hub doubling as a US aircraft carrier parked by the Strait of Malacca. Singapore happens to perform a superb balancing act between Washington and Beijing. Russia, by the way, is also officially neutral on all matters South China Sea. China is the top trading partner of the overwhelming majority of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia nations. It is a prominent member of the East Asia Summit. It is driving its own, Asian-based response to the Obama administrations Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pet project; the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Beijing knows that the principled security network proposed by lame duck Pentagon head Ash Carter in Singapore has no chance whatsoever of becoming a Southeast Asian NATO. What this all means is that the notion of an isolated China does not even qualify as a bad joke told at a stuffy Council on Foreign Relations meeting. And that brings us back to what happens after the arbitration in The Hague. Something very Asian; Beijing and Manila will sit down again and try to reach a deal, without ever bothering to refer to the ruling. Face will be saved on both sides. China will continue to go mobile - in search of all that oil and gas. UK The European Union Referendum and the Parliamentary Dirty Tricks Brigade By Felicity Arbuthnot June 17, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Global Research " - The referendum on whether the Britain leaves or stays in the European Union is just eight days away. A glossy leaflet dropped through my letterbox headed: Vote Leave The European Union and Your Family: The Facts. The Vote Leave campaign (1) has a Board and Committee comprising of broadly the sort of far right Little Englanders that comedies derive from. There are a handful of Lords, there is Iain Duncan Smith who called for the invasion of Iraq within two months of 11th September 2001, who by November 2001 was holding meetings on the topic with then Vice President Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Condoleeza Rice. Ironically he also became Conservative Party Leader in September 2001. Announcement of his victory in the leadership contest was delayed until 13th September 2001 due to the World Trade Centre disaster. By 2003 his MPs had passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership forcing his resignation. Another Vote Leave heavyweight (literally) is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, MP, former Mayor of London and the UKs Donald Trump (without the orange hue but with the mouth and hair.) Born in New York, educated at the European School in Brussels amongst other educational establishments, with Turkish, French and Swiss forbears and a former Brussels correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, there nevertheless appears to be nothing remotely outward looking or international about him. In Feb 2015 he stated he was to relinquish his US passport (2) having had residency and dual nationality, either or both of which he seeks to deny Europeans or indeed British wishing to work and live in Europe. He stated that: he would approach US ambassador Matthew Barzun about the change. It is a laborious business. They dont make it easy for you, he stated. Cynics speculated that this move was actually due to his having an eye on being Prime Minister in anticipation of questions being raised raised as to his loyalties. However, according to the Daily Telegraph, aides said his priority was to avoid paying more to the US tax authorities, after he was forced to settle a large US capitol gains bill (see 2.) Another on the ant-transnational relations, pull up the drawbridge Vote Leave wagon is the Minister of State for Employment, Priti Patel. She was born in the UK to parents who were immigrants to Uganda of Gujarati origin who then emigrated to the UK shortly before Idi Amin announced the expulsion of Ugandan Asians in the 1960s. They established a chain of newsagents, founding a thriving business as have so many who have come to the UK. However, Patel is hell bent on stopping others from far closer to home doing the same thing, or again, UK residents who wish to travel the other way. A Hindu with close ties to Gujarat, in January 2015 she was announced there as being among the celebrated Jewels of Gujarat Leading Global Gujarati Personalities. Double standards abound. Ironically, in 2003 she was quoted as saying that: racist attitudes do persist within the (Conservative) party. (3) Look in the mirror Madam. A small example of the utter hypocrisy of Vote Leave. Then there is the blatant disregard of the truth. This was contained in the delivered leaflet under The Facts: While were in the EU, the UK isnt allowed to negotiate our own trade deals. This means we currently have no trade deal with key allies such as Australia, News Zealand or the USA or important growing economies like India, China or Brazil On the Australian governments website is: Imports from UK A$ 12,559 million. Exports to UK A$ 8,585 million. (2014 figures.) The New Zealand government website records: Imports from United Kingdom $889 million, up $38 million. The UK was the in top five exporters to NZ. Exports from New Zealand to the UK totaled 3,128 million NZ $s and was also fifth in the twenty top export markets. (2014 figures.) As for the USA and China, this from the UK government website: The importance of China to the UK economy as a trading partner has increased consistently since 2004, with both imports and exports increasing. Following a growth of imports from 11.4 billion to 37.6 billion in 2014, China has become the UKs second largest import partner behind America, accounting for 7.0% of UK imports in 2014 compared with 3.3% in 2004 Further, according to the United States Census Bureau (4) US imports from the UK, January to April 2016 were valued 17, 398.2 million US $s, with US exports to the UK worth 18,403.8 million US $s. For 2015, total exports from the US to the UK were worth 58,114.6 million US $s and imports from the UK to the US 57,962.3 million US $s. Trade between India and the UK (2014) equaled 4,301.46 million US $s according to UK government websites and regarding Brazil: 400 of the worlds 500 largest companies operate in Brazil. These include many UK companies, such as Rolls Royce, BG Group, Shell, BP, JCB, Rexam and Experian. As this is finished I tripped over another Vote Leave scam. They have placed an ad on various sidebars on emails and other sites (5.) It asks: Do you agree with Jeremy Corbyn? (UK opposition Leader and campaigner for staying in the EU.) There is a yes or no click on. Click on yes and a page opens with a picture of Corbyn and: If you agree with Jeremy and will vote Leave on 23rd June, sign up below, with the usual spaces for name, email etc underneath is I agree with Jeremy. Apart from being clearly legally actionable, Vote Leave is trying to sell to the gullible that Corbyn who has multiplied Labour Party members in order of magnitude since being elected, who listen to his views is advising them to vote to opt out of the EU. It can only be hoped that those in the Labour Party Cabinet are reaching for their lawyers. The EU has undoubted imperfections, but is a cosmopolitan, outward looking paradise compared to being left on a small island with a misinformed at best, untruthful at worst, isolationist cabal like Vote Leave at the helm. Notes: 1. http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/campaign 2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11413801/Boris-Johnson-clears-way-to-Number-10-by-renouncing-US-passport.html 3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6206132.stm 4. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c4120.html 5. http://action.voteleavetakecontrol.org/stand_with_corbyn The original source of this article is Global Research Copyright Felicity Arbuthnot, Global Research, 2016 BIRMINGHAM, U.K.Kevco Wholesale, the international distributor for brands like Baci Lingerie, received two trophies at the recent ETO Awards. This show was very successful for both Baci and Envy Menswear in the Kevco Booth, we are extremely proud to be a part of such a prominent distributor, said Helle Panzieri, Baci and Envy Global Sales Director. Founded in 2008, Kevco Wholesale is one of the leading suppliers of lingerie and costumes. They have a vast arrange of customers, from long established national customers to new smaller businesses in the U.K. and throughout Europe. For more information on Baci, visit Baci.com. For more information on Kevco, visit KevcoWholesale.co.uk. Nemesis has finally caught up with members of a deadly cult gang that killed three students of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) with two of the victims beheaded on March 12, 2016. Four cult members that participated in the evil mission were yesterday paraded by the Department of State Services (DSS) after two months of painstaking investigation that led to their arrest. The state Director of DSS, Mr. Korede Kamoju, who paraded the suspects at government house Umuahia, said the suspects were members of the Burkina Faso cult group, who planned and executed the deadly operation at Chido Lodge, an off campus hostel where their victims resided. The paraded suspects included Chikezie MacDonald (a.k.a Walking Dutch), 22; Chidozie Obi (a.k.a Small Boy), 21; Chukwuemeka Awom (a.k.a Archangel), 25; and Chigozie Francis Eberendu (a.k.a Star Boy), 23. In the deadly attack on the victims, who were members of the Maphite cult group, the suspects killed Ebuka Nwaigbo and Samuel Ethelbert Chuka and beheaded them, took the severed heads and used them to mount goal posts in the lawn outside the university gate. The third victim and member of the Vikings cult group, Isaac Chigozirim, who was shot and wounded in the operation, later died in the hospital on March 18. The suspects who confessed to the crime, narrated how the attack was planned and hatched, said the DSS state director, adding that MacDonald who is the current capon of Burkina Faso cult group in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) supplied the gun used in the operation. Kamoju said the confession of the suspects revealed that the killing of the ABSU students was a reprisal attack to avenge the death of Collins Agwu Kalu (a.k.a Biggy) a 400 Level student of Microbiology, ABSU, who was the leader of Burkina Faso. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who witnessed the parading of the suspects, lauded the state command of DSS for the wonderful investigation which resulted to the nabbing of the deadly cultists. He vehemently condemned the activities of the cultists, whom he described as very fierce and heartless people adding that the operation they carried out on March 12 represented how far our society has degenerated in disrespect for human life. The governor, who was visibly angry with the suspects, noted that they represented every genre of criminality including kidnapping, armed robbery and fetish practices. They represent everything that is evil in the society, he said, adding that anybody capable of shooting and beheading the victim and using the head as goal posts has gone beyond human limits. Ikpeazu vowed that the suspects would be made to face the music and used to set good example to others who are involved in cult activities. He said: It is our duty to make sure they (suspects) are not allowed to return to the society. The fight against crime is ongoing (and) we will not rest until we battle them to a standstill. The suspects, who were interviewed by journalists, admitted involvement in the planning and execution of the deadly operation at ABSU for which they were arrested Source: Thisday The Akwa Ibom State Government has debunked rumors of pipeline bombing in Ikot Osute, calling for calm among citizens who may have been troubled by the purported development. The militant group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) claimed Thursday to have blown up a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at Ikot Osute, Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom. Refuting the claim in a statement, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information and Communications, Aniekan Umanah, said: There is no iota of truth in the claims making rounds in the social media. He said what happened was an eruption caused by leakage in the old pipeline of the Nigerian Gas Company, NGC, which traversed the area. No pipeline has been bombed in Akwa Ibom State; those peddling such rumours are ignorant of the true situation in the affected area. As at yesterday morning, when security operatives and officials of the State government visited Ikot Osute, the state Ministry of Environment, NGC personnel and other gas companies operating the area were on site, working round the clock to ensure safety in the area, Mr. Umanah stated. The commissioner enjoined Akwa Ibom people and Nigerians to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses as government was committed to protecting lives and property of all citizens. He assured that security agents had cordoned off the area to forestall any eventuality. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will today name the lead players in the foreign exchange market, following a new foreign exchange policy introduced this week. The lead players would be known as Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPD), according to a document released by the CBN. Vanguard investigations (considering their books) showed that only about four banks are fully qualified as FXPD. The CBN had said it would appoint 10. To determine which bank qualifies, the CBN would consider shareholders funds, liquidity ratios and volume of foreign currency assets of banks. Additional requirements may include capital adequacy ratios and historical volume of bids recorded in the CBN weekly forex market regime due to be phased out today. According to Vanguard, the four banks that have fully met the criteria are FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. It added that about four others may have also qualified and an additional four close to meeting the benchmark. The banks are Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, FCMB Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc. Access Bank, GTB, FirstBank, Zenith and UBA have been leading in volume of bids and allocation of foreign exchange from the CBN weekly foreign exchange trading since last year. Nigerians have been told to blame the activities of desperate politicians for the recent spate of inconclusive elections in the country. The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made the call on Thursday, said politicians desperation to win elections at all cost, usually lead to irregularities and electoral violence with innocent citizens killed and maimed during polls. Prof. Yakubu, however, stated that INECs determination not to overlook the infractions in the conduct of elections in line with the tenet of electoral law, was another reason for inconclusive polls. He, however, corrected the erroneous impression in some quarters that his six months tenure in office as INEC chairman or advent of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, marked the beginning of inconclusive polls in the country. Yakubu, who spoke at a one day civil society/stakeholders roundtable on INEC and inclusive elections organised by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG), pointed out that before his appointment or coming of the Buhari administration, there were instances when elections were declared inconclusive. Represented by the Director of Voters Education at the commission, Mr. Oluwale Osaze Uzzy, the INEC chief also advocated a 10-year ban for politicians found guilty of electoral offences from aspiring to any public office. Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Thursday denied ownership of the $18million mansion at Asokoro area of Abuja said to have furnishings worth $2million and a bulletproof gym, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, purportedly seized from her. The ex-minister, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in the United Kingdom, also denied a statement attributed to her in which she allegedly justified her affluent lifestyle, having worked hard and being successful before she was called to serve in the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The multi-million dollar palatial residence with its furnishings and expensive jewelries, were shown in a documentary recently by Qatar-based television station, Al Jazeera, in recognition of the efforts of the EFCC in recovering public funds allegedly stolen by Mrs. Alison-Madueke and former officials of the immediate past administration. Claiming that the information being peddled by Al Jazeera lacks any modicum of truth, the former Petroleum Minister, who is under investigation in Nigeria and the U.K, also denied stealing any public money, as was also alleged in the documentary, to facilitate the procurement of any such phantom property or for any other matter, whatsoever. These denials were made on behalf of Alison-Madueke by her counsel, Dr. Chike Amobi, who wondered why a respected media organisation of the calibre of Al Jazeera could not conduct further investigations to ascertain the ownership of the property, which it purportedly claimed was owned by his client. According to Amobi, rather than steal any money, the honourable minister, our client, did her utmost best to protect the interests of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, adding that however, in their haste to achieve high ratings from publishing sensational stories, the producers of the Al Jazeera programme had mischievously neglected to conduct a cursory investigation of the readily available property records, which would have revealed the names and identities of the true owners of the property. The lawyer also rubbished the so-called reaction attributed to the embattled former minister when the documentary by Al Jazeera went viral, saying that the statement, which attempted to explain off the fact that it was not out of place for a person of her status to afford the reported expensive jewelries allegedly seized from her by the EFCC, could not have originated from Mrs Alison-Madueke, even if only for the pedestrian language and syntax employed in the so-called reaction. Anyone who knows or has spent time with our client would readily attest to the fact that she neither thinks nor speaks in that manner, the former ministers lawyer said. He stressed further that, we therefore, find it disturbingly worrisome that someone would take the time to publish these seemingly favourable statements and attribute them to our client, without obtaining her consent, nor her imprimatur on the statements. Mrs Alison-Madueke also condemned in strong terms what she described as the irresponsible journalism of Al Jazeera for broadcasting what her lawyer said were verifiably false statements against the ex-minister as much as she distanced herself from and disclaimed the reactions that were attributed to her. A former Acting Governor of Adamawa State, James Bala Ngilari, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the N450million poll bribery funds allocated to the state by ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. SEE ALSO: EFCC Grills Former Customs Comptroller General Ngilaris detention was sequel to a warrant secured by the anti-graft agency yesterday to keep him in custody. The former minister is accused of spending about $115million oil cash (N23.29billion) on poll bribery scam. The commission also quizzed Nigerias former Ambassador to the United States, Amb. Hassan Adamu (Wakilin Adamawa), who was a co-signatory to the collection of the cash. The former Nigerian Ambassador reportedly acknowledged his involvement at the stage of signing to receive the money but he did not take part in its sharing, neither did he personally benefit from the funds. Adamu claimed the cash was taken in a bullion van to the Adamawa Government House where it was handed over one Hamman, the then Chief of Staff to Ngilari and the Accountant to the Government House, Mrs. Aisha Waziri. He said based on Acting Governor Ngilaris instructions, the duo of Waziri and Hamman were made custodians of the cash. An EFCC source said when confronted with these details when the former Adamawa acting governor visited the commissions zonal office in Gombe yesterday, he denied authorizing his former aides to take custody of the funds. But we need to dig more. Already, a detention order had been signed and most likely, he would spend the night in EFCC custody, the source added. Former Kaduna State Governor and Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has reiterated his position that external forces are to blame for the leadership crisis rocking the party. The caretaker chairman was reacting to recent events in the party, which saw Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who was sacked as the national chairman of the party, storm the Wadata Plaza National Secretariat of the party with his supporters to takeover power. The forceful takeover of the national secretariat by Sheriff precipitated a series of protests by opposing groups, who besieged the Wadata Plaza on Wednesday and reportedly chased the occupants away from the building. Speaking after a meeting of PDP leaders, which ended in the early hours of yesterday at the Ondo State Governors Lodge in Abuja, Makarfi said Nigerians could no longer afford to stand aloof and watch Sheriff and his group threaten the nations democracy. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to rise in defence of democracy, saying the party would pursue its court cases against Sheriff to a logical conclusion. He said: We reviewed all that have been going on in the party, especially since Monday. You are all witnesses to the thuggery that took place. Actually, those who remember would know that that was how Boko Haram started. Thugs were brought into Abuja and some people forced themselves into the secretariat. In the process, documents and some properties belonging to be party cannot be accounted for. This cannot be without support from some quarters, definitely not from the PDP. We have the former chairman recorded saying that he was going to go beyond the Inspector General of Police in order for him to gain access into the Secretariat. We dont know what he meant by going beyond the IGP but all of you are sensible enough to decide the person beyond the IGP could actually mean. We are at a loss. Therefore, we deliberated on this and we have taken a position to stand by democracy, to stand by our right and to stand by our party. The caretaker committee chairman called on the security agencies to rise to the occasion and checkmate illegalities, no matter how highly placed the perpetrators may be. Makarfi restated the partys position that Sheriff was being sponsored by unnamed individuals in the All Progressive Congress (APC) to destabilise the party. And those elements that may be interfering in our internal affairs, whether they belong to any particular party or they do not belong to any at all, they should let us be, as we are not interfering in any other bodys affairs. We have it on record that the former Chairman, a day or two before he forced himself into the secretariat, had a meeting with one of the governors of the party in power and then the next day this event took place. If he claimed to be chairman of PDP, what meeting could he have had with the governor? Did he get any encouragement, facilitation, any guaranty for him to go ahead and do what it did? This is for Nigerians to think on and take a position on, Makarfi said. According to him, despite the difficulties and the lukewarm attitude of the security agencies, the PDP would overcome its challenges. We are confident that at the end of the day, justice will be done. We are confident that justice will be done in all the issues before the judiciary. We are also confident, even if there are slips from the security agencies, they will see reason and know that is it in the best interest of everybody that they stand on the side of what is right, what is just and that is on the side of the legitimate leadership of the party so that peace can reign. The Federal Government has expressed readiness to address infrastructural constraints in the nations tourism sector. The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed made this known on Friday at a meeting in Abuja with the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Alonso Sebastine. According to him, the government is set to introduce a form of subsidy to encourage private sector involvement in tourism development. Also speaking, Sebastine revealed ongoing plans to engage other ministries under the Presidential Council on Tourism, to turn the creative industry to a creative economy with lessons from Spain. He said Spain considers Nigeria an example to emulate in electoral processes, as the countrys elections will hold in a few weeks. A civil society group, June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations (J12CODEF) has demanded that the Federal Government approve the portrait of late Chief M.K.O Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, on the countrys N50 currency or future currencies. The Federal Government should posthumously recognize late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and immortalize the memory of the custodian of the mandate and the day by declaring June 12 every year as M.K.O. Abiola day, group chairman, Mr. Alfred Ilenre said. Speaking at a briefing in Lagos, Ilenre also noted that the state of insecurity in the country was due to lack of successive governments since 1999 to address issues pertaining to the annulled elections. This criminal annulment of the election was an assault on the collective sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who freely gave their mandate to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola via the ballot box. Thus, the failure of successive governments since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 to address the issue of June 12 on the side of justice has resulted in sundry crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state such as Boko Haram, Indegenous People Of Biafra, IPOB/Biafra, Corruption, militancy in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen menace, kidnappings and others, he said. The Youth Wing of the Kaduna South Local Government Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Thursday denounced recent attacks targeted at christians in the north. The group said the rise in attack is a deliberate ploy to intimidate and enslave them. At a convened meeting of stakeholders held at Albarka church premises in Kaduna south, participants expressed displeasure over the incessant attacks and killings of Christians without any punitive punishment against the attackers. Members, therefore say that mere condemnation of the act perpetrated against Christians would no longer be accepted. PHILADELPHIAFeature dance agency The Lee Network presents Penthouse Pet and Axel Braun Productions contract star Riley Steele at Cheerleaders Philadelphia this weekend. Steele will perform on Cheerleaders main stage for the first time on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18. Cheerleaders is located at 2740 S. Front St. in Philadelphia, PA 19148. I cant wait for my first time at Cheerleaders Philly! exclaimed Riley Steele. Ive heard so many great things about the club and the people who show up each weekend for a great time. Im excited to put on a great show for them and my fans. The buxom blond has returned to the feature dance circuit after a yearlong absence with new moves that showcase her award-winning body and trademark pole tricks. Riley Steele will be available for lap dances, fan photos, and autographs between performances. Rileys return to feature dancing has been an unqualified success, and now Cheerleaders Philadelphia patrons will be able to watch the superstar perform for the first time and see why she is drawing record crowds across the country, said Derek Hay of The Lee Network. With her beauty, charm, and innate dance abilities, Riley is a dynamic force who engages and connects with the audience in a genuine way. Steele joined the adult industry in 2008 after meeting adult star Jesse Jane at a store signing. She made an immediate impact on both the adult industry and Hollywood, earning her a role in Piranha 3D. She went on to appear on Spike TVs Manswers, Life on Top, and NTSF:SD:SUV, earning her the AVN Award for Crossover Star of the Year in 2011. For more on Riley Steele, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Riley Steele is represented by The Lee Network for feature dance appearances. For a complete list of talent represented by The Lee Network, click here. For more information about Steeles appearance at Cheerleaders Philadelphia, the clubs VIP amenities, and more, click here or call (215) 467-1980. To book Riley Steele for feature dancing, contact Derek Hay of The Lee Network at (323) 850-6111 or [email protected] The funeral of the late Osei Tawiah, who was allegedly brutalised to death at Krofrom, a suburb of Kumasi, Ghana by some personnel of the Ghana Police Service, was held today. According to Adom Online: Relatives of the deceased who have suspected a foul play in his death despite an autopsy report by pathologists at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) claiming he died of natural causes, rained all forms of curses on suspected killers of the young man. The relatives after reigning the curses, armed the corpse with offensive weapons including a machete and a bullet. Eggs, sponge, a pair of shoes, a cap, pepper and other items were also placed in the coffin of the late Osei Tawiah. The items, according to the relatives of the deceased are meant to aid Yaw Tawiah in the spirit world to avenge his death. Nhyira FMs Kwasi Debrah reported that the items were given to the corpse because he through another person requested that he should be given these items so he can effectively avenge his death. Relatives of the deceased were earlier denied the body last week after they had contested the autopsy report performed by KATH. The autopsy report made public by Dr Osei Sampane, Head of the Pathology Department at KATH on June 1, 2016, said Tawiah,27, died of a heart attack. KATH explained that the family had by then not complied with procedure and presented the necessary documentation for the body to be released. KATH said since the matter was in the hands of the police, it expected the family to have gone for a copy of the death certificate before coming for the body. Subsequently, the family spokesman Kofi Boadi said, the police had submitted all the necessary documents which necessitated the family to go for the death certificate for the body to be released. We have submitted the death certificate together with a burial permit for the body to be released and, hopefully, we will lay him to rest today, he said. Following their rejection of the autopsy report, the hospital gave the family an option of either go to a private pathologist to conduct an independent autopsy or present a letter to KATH indicating it had accepted the first autopsy report based on which the body would be released. The Public Relations Manager of KATH, Mr Kwame Frimpong, told the Daily Graphic that, since the matter has a legal implication, KATH needed to have a written document to tender in court in case it was being challenged. But after the family submitted the death certificate with the necessary documents last Tuesday, KATH appeared to have softened its grounds to enable the young man to be laid to rest. He was sent to Kentinkyiren-Kyiransa in the Atwima Kwanwoma district for burial today. Source: Report Naija Punch A former Governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, says Buharis military background in addressing ethnic agitations in the country is affecting his performance. Vanguard ABUJAFormer President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to win the prestigious $5 million Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meeting a key criterion. The Sun The immediate past minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison- Madueke has denied the ownership of the $18 million residential mansion at Asokoro area of Abuja, with its reported furnishings of two million dollars and a bullet-proof gym. Thisday The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed that it is on the verge of certifying the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Daily Times Christian leaders from Baptist Church walked out of a meeting expected to broker peace between them and members of Osun Muslim Community. Guardian The Joint Military Force deployed to protect oil installations in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, on Friday said it foiled an attack on Agips oilfield and arrested 19 suspected vandals in several operations in May and June 2016. Daily Trust The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arrested a former Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, over allegations of financial crimes, Daily Trust has gathered. The Nation The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians of the latest antics of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Tribune MINISTER of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday, said the recent attacks on gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region by militants had made the nations power sector vulnerable. National Mirror A community based organization of sex workers, Ohotu Diamond Women Initiative (ODWI) has called on the Nigerian Police to stop abuse on sex workers. In a statement made available to newsmen, the organization laments over the widely misunderstanding status about sex work. The illegal status of sex work in most countries, including Nigeria has not eradicated prostitution. Instead, criminalization has increased sex workers vulnerability to human rights abuses and created fertile ground for police exploitation, especially of brothel and street-based sex workers. Sex workers deserve the basic respect and protection from violence that each nation owes its citizens. But in many settings, police abuse of sex workers receives scant public attention despite its entrenched global reality. Street and brothel-based female sex workers, one of Lagos and Abuja most vulnerable populations, find themselves targeted for arrest by police, and they experience high levels of violence that go unpunished. Current city and law enforcement policies towards sex workers create a cycle of arrest that does not result in appropriate or long term solutions for the community or sex workers, the statement reads in part. On the challenges sex workers face, it said: The challenge that we face as 50 participants from different L.G.As are almost similar. Many of us face violence and discrimination on a regular basis. Regardless of which State or tribe we are from, many of us have experienced being raped, verbally, emotionally and physically abused by police, clients and community members. There is an unfair discrimination from service providers. Sex workers are not protected or defended by the law when they are exploited and abused. We demand that these violations stop immediately and decisive action is taken against perpetrators. The statement further revealed how sex workers suffer abuse from the Nigerian Police Officers. Thirty percent of sex workers interviewed told researchers that they had been threatened with violence by police officers, while 27% actually experienced violence at the hands of police. Reported incidents included officers physically grabbing and kicking, as well as beating them; one incident of rape; one woman was stalked by a police officer; and throwing food at one subject. Sexual harassment included handling of body parts; giving women cigarettes in exchange for sex; and police offering not to arrest sex workers in exchange for sexual services. Several times the Police have raided our hotels beating, stealing and having sex with us without protection. In a bid to curtail the abuses sex workers suffer from Policemen, the Executive Director of SafeHeaven Development Initiative, Margaret Onah has criticised the method of which Policemen uses to extort money from sex workers and abuse. According to Onah, the Nigerian Policemen are not mindful of the fundamental human rights that should be accorded to sex workers. It is dehumanising when Policemen abuses, sex workers the way they do. We are using this channel to voice out our pains in the course of survival. The government needs to do something about it. It is better if sex workers are charged to court than naming them, harassing them, stealing their money, stealing their properties, and having sex with them unprotected. Speaking on what could be done to end the abuse by Policemen, she said: the Police needs to re-strategise. The fact that sex work is illegal doesnt mean that they should kill anyone find doing the job. Sex workers are citizen of this country first of all, and they need to be respected like every other citizen. Speaking on harassment faced with Policemen, Esther Eghosa said: Time without numbers, the Policemen break our doors to start packing us like goats to the station. If you dont have money to bail yourself, they will say they want to sleep with you unprotected which is very bad. Eghosa, who is a sex worker further stress, As a woman in the brothel, we protect ourselves, we use condoms, but with the Policemen, you dont have a say. Source: The Nation The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution was not intended to dent the solemnity, integrity and infallibility of the Constitution. He made the clarification on Friday at a two-day retreat in Lagos organised by the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, with the theme: Towards Ensuring Governance Accountability in Nigerian Federalism. According to Saraki, the National Assembly was by the process, celebrating and affirming the inviolability of the Constitution and its integrity, adding that the process was in no way a ritual or routine. The Senate President was quoted as saying This National Assembly is seeking to further consolidate and entrench the essence of our Constitution as the only basis for the exercise of all powers under a constitutional democracy forged under the rule of law. Since independence, our nation has sought to develop for itself workable constitution on which her unity can be perfected. Other nations have trodden a similar path. For instance, following the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War in 1776, the original 13 States of the United States of America operated an Article of Confederacy. This is a necessary but unwieldy document that institutionalised a central government. The Article lasted for eight years before it was jettisoned for the current Constitution of the United States. Senator Saraki said constitution making had always been a challenging issue in any polity. (NAN) Governor of Borno state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, has threatened to revoke the N890 million Bama market projects, if work is not completed in two months time. The governor issued the threat yesterday at Bama while inspecting the level of completing the ultra-modern market destroyed in 2012 by Boko Haram. The reconstruction of infrastructures including markets, schools, hospitals, police stations and barracks in Bama town, which is the second largest in the state after Maiduguri, the state capital, began in April following the destruction of the town due to the activities of insurgency. Gov. Shettima though satisfied with the quality of work on the market, however, frowned at the pace of work by the contractor, which he said does not guarantee the completion of the project this year. The quality of work of the job is commendable, but the pace of work is too slow for our liking. Ordinarily, we should give them one month with an additional three weeks or so to complete this market projects, awarded at N890 million. Im giving you the grace period of two months to complete these market projects. I will hold you personally responsible, engineer, Mr. Shettima warned. He added: If you can deliver in two months, I will compensate you and if you fail to do so, I will even demote you straight. On this day in 2013, 48 persons were killed in three separate coordinated bomb attacks on churches in Kaduna, Zaria and retaliatory attacks. According to reports, the first attack was at a Children Sunday School at ECWA Church, Wusasa, Zaria, which left the Sunday school teacher, and 10 children dead. Four children playing outside the church were among the first victims of the blasts at the church. A witness said that five men ran up to the church and hurled home-made bombs through its open door. They were allegedly chased down and reportedly beaten to death. Police could not confirm this. At Christ the King Catholic Cathedral, Zaria, also attacked by a suicide bomber, 11 worshipers were killed, narrated a member of the church, who escaped through the window. Malachy Achu, a dentist, a member of the church, said those injured in the blast could not be less than 40. In Kaduna, Shalom Church International, Trikania, Kaduna was hit by another suicide bomber, leaving about five worshippers dead and scores injured. A former U.S Chairman of House Intelligence Committee, Pete Hoesktra has issued a rejoinder to President Buharis op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. President Buharis article which is titled The Three changes Nigeria Needs states the three ways in which his administration would restructure Nigerias ailing economy. The Buhari administration has received severe criticism for the handling of the economy, its shambolic handling of the 2016 Budget and its one sided anti-corruption campaign which is fast becoming little more than a media circus. Despite grandiose promises of change, Nigeria and Nigerians are undoubtedly worse off than they were a year ago. Although the present administration has halted the advance of Boko Haram, the militancy in the Niger Delta is back amid agitations in the South East by Biafrans. An unwillingness to devalue the Naira and strict foreign exchange policies has seen the Nigerian currency take sustained losses and for Pete Hoesktra, perhaps Buhari is Nigerias problem and not its Messiah. In his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Hoesktra writes; The Bauchi State Government has explained the purpose of viral pictures of stacks of cash said to be about N20 million, placed on the table of a serving Commissioner for Religious Affairs in the state, saying it is not illegal money or has any traces to corruption. The commissioner, Abdullahi Mohammed Idris, was seen in photos seated behind his table while the large stacks of cash in N1,000 and N500 denominations, were on the table and seemed to be disbursed to some unknown persons. Explaining the source of the cash and its purpose, Special Adviser to the Bauchi State Governor on Communications, Shamsuddeen Lukman Abubakar, said the money was duly earmarked for feeding during the Ramadan fast. In a statement issued in Bauchi on Thursday, Abubakar said the money was presented to the people by the commissioner on behalf of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi on Wednesday. The statement reads in part: It has come to my attention, the circulation of certain photographs online of money found on the table of a serving Commissioner of Bauchi state. I wish to assure you all that the said picture is no implication of corruption or illegal money transactions. This period of Ramadan teaches us to extend love to the poor, less privileged and the non-buoyant. In line with this, and as has always been done, the Bauchi State Government releases funds to mosques in Bauchi state for the provision of iftar to faithfuls. These funds are disbursed through the Office of the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, to assist faithfuls who are not buoyant enough to afford iftar. Once again, we understand the insensitivity of the image, surfacing at a time like this when we as a Government are working hard to achieve a corruption-free and transparent administration. We want to assure the good people of Bauchi state that all and sundry is being done to make the best use of resources, fight corruption within the State and ensure that all our promises to the people are fully delivered. From net neutrality to set-top boxes to privacy regulations, cable companies seem to be on the ropes in their bout with an uncharacteristically aggressive FCC intent on a pro-openness, pro-consumer agenda. But don't expect them to throw in the towel -- not when they have Congress and a bevy of lobbyists in their corner. This week's net neutrality ruling was a win for everyone who championed the idea that ISPs should not function as gatekeepers, blocking or throttling the flow of information and content. [ Read 'em and weep: 5 ways your ISP is screwing you | Cut to the key news in technology trends and IT breakthroughs with the InfoWorld Daily newsletter, our summary of the top tech happenings. ] "The ruling is a victory for consumers and innovators who deserve unfettered access to the entire web," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "It ensures the internet remains a platform for unparalleled innovation, free expression, and economic growth." Or as Stephen Colbert put it, "This ruling means that cable companies can't slow down streaming services and blah blah blah blah, whatever." Game over, you say? No sooner had a federal court upheld the FCC's open internet regulations than the National Cable and Telecom Association called on "leaders in Congress to renew their efforts to craft meaningful legislation that can end ongoing uncertainty, promote network investment, and protect consumers." Pounding away on that same theme, the CTIA vowed it would "pursue judicial and congressional options to ensure a regulatory framework that provides certainty for consumers, investors and innovators." And AT&T said it would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court -- which has uncertainty issues of its own. Many would argue that telecoms' refusal to give up a decade-long fight against an open internet is itself a major cause for uncertainty. "This decision should lay to rest what has become a needlessly contentious issue," said Gene Kimmelman, CEO of advocacy group Public Knowledge. "We hope that rather than refight old battles, Congress and the industry will turn toward the problem of ensuring that all Americans have access to broadband that is 'fast, fair and open.'" What are the odds on that actually happening? You do the math -- bearing in mind that since net neutrality rules were passed in February 2015, Republican lawmakers have tried to pass more than a dozen bills or amendments to weaken or kill the regulations. But an open internet is not the only punch in the FCC's arsenal. Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the telecom industry who was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2009, has gone from industry hero to turncoat since he was tapped to be FCC chairman. Now, with an eye on the clock, he's pushing hard to bring competition to the cable set-top-box market. Consumers are being ripped off under the current system because they don't have an easy way to own their boxes like they do with computers, routers, smartphones, and every other electronic device. Congress recognized this and passed a law 20 years ago that empowered the FCC to fix the problem. What happened? The agency allowed cable companies to keep some control, and today customers wanting to ditch their set-top box must obtain a descrambling device called a CableCARD that goes into devices like TiVOs. "But the CableCARD era has been riddled with endless examples of how cable companies frustrate consumer switching away from rented set-top boxes because they controlled the means to switch," the EFF says. The FCC's Unlock the Box proposals "are designed to let ... subscribers watch what they pay for wherever they want, however they want, and whenever they want, and pay less money to do so, making it as easy to buy an innovative means of accessing multichannel video programming ... as it is to buy a cellphone or TV." While no one expected cable companies to give up the $21 billion it makes each year off its set-top-box monopoly, their bob-and-weave aimed at obfuscating the issues has been worthy of Muhammad Ali. Industry lobbyists have been "attacking the FCC's plan with a two-pronged approach," says TechDirt. Their low-blow tactics include paying for "an absolute torrent of hysterically misleading editorials that claim set-top competition will hurt consumers, scare the children, ramp up piracy, and knock the planet off of its orbital axis. The other prong of their attack involves a lobbying mainstay: throwing money at politicians to take positions they don't have the slightest actual understanding of." Cue the industry's water boy -- er, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was quick to parrot the cable industry line that "the FCC would require existing programming distributors to provide the copyrighted programming they have licensed from content providers to third-party manufacturers and app developers, none of whom would be bound by the agreements to protect the content." The FCC proposals are about promoting competition, not changing copyright law. But the cable, movie, and recording industries and their "parakeet allies" would rather "keep the conversation on their made-up version of copyright law," the EFF says. "According to the pseudo-copyright regime that Big Cable and Hollywood believe in, your television manufacturer needed a contract to show you a movie, your router needed a license to stream video data to your smartphone, and before you activated your personally built computer at home you would need a license to view content on the internet." Although the shift away from the traditional cable box and legacy TV is already well underway, don't count cable companies out too soon. There's plenty of fight left in them -- and their army of lobbyists. Q4 Rally Confirmed Monica Kingsley - 50 minutes ago S&P 500 made the move, breaking above the key 3,795 3,810 zone. Given the outside markets, the pullback would represent a buying opportunity, and the MSFT, GOOG earnings have indeed provided a profit... The Worst Energy Crisis The PRICE Futures Group - 1 hour ago It is kind of a sad day when Saudi Arabia is the country speaking the truth about the global energy crisis when we here at home continue to disparage the US oil and gas industry and live in a green fantasy... Bitcoin/Ethereum, is the party over as quickly as it started? ONE44 Analytics - 1 hour ago These markets had explosive moves in the last few days relative to the past 6 weeks and it has taken it into the first key resistance areas ^BTCUSD : 20,872.49 (+3.40%) ^ETHUSD : 1,576.502 (+6.89%) Cattle Cool Off Blue Line Futures - Wed Oct 26, 8:02AM CDT Cattle futures took a breather yesterday, will we see more profit taking today? Soybean Meal Wednesday Forecast Kolhanov.com - Wed Oct 26, 7:36AM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 419.1, which will be followed by reaching support level 406.5 and if it keeps on moving down below that level,... Natural gas Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Wed Oct 26, 7:35AM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 5.259, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 6.305. LOS ANGELESSaya Song will be attending Exxxotica Chicago, July 8-10, and is signing at the Inked Angels booth. Since airfare and hotels can be expensive, Saya is having a contest for her fans to help get her there. The contest is "Win A Date With Me At Exxxotica Chicago." Fans can donate money towards her Exxxotica expenses, and one lucky fan will be chosen at random to have an hour-long lunch date with Saya. Saya's recent scene for Jonni Darkko's Asian Fuck Machines from Jules Jordan Video has been quite popular, and the DVD recently received a positive review from adult industry website XCritic. Saya's scene can also be purchased separately for those who prefer instant gratification. Producers and directors who may wish to get Saya on their set should know that she will be in LA June 25-29. Saya is available for BG, GG, interracial, cream pies, squirting, BDSM, fetish and more. She can be reached personally at [email protected] for all booking inquiries. Fans may follow Saya on Twitter and Instagram, and visit Sayas store at xosaya.com, where they may buy videos, scene-worn clothing, her Snapchat, and more. She is also on FreeOnes, and is always happy to receive a gift off her wishlist. The racial dimension of health equity has long preoccupied top funders in the healthcare space and it's not hard to see why. Spend five minutes looking at health data for the United States and you'll be blown away by the scope of racial disparities in all aspects of health, including how long people live, the chronic conditions they face and whether they have health insurance. In turn, it's not hard to trace these inequities back to larger social and economic disparities by race, not to mention gross inequities in who has power in American society. As we report often, national health funders like RWJF and Kresge operate very much with this larger context in mind, and aren't afraid of getting into some edgy advocacy work. Lately, more state-level health care funders have been getting with the same programand, in some cases, taking things even further. Just the other day, we wrote about how the Missouri Foundation for Health is making a $6 million push to address racial equity issues raised in the wake of the police shooting in Ferguson. We've also written about the huge investments by California funders to improve the health, and broader well-being, of that state's Latino population. Related: Then there's the Connecticut Health Foundation, which made a shift in 2013 to focus its grantmaking laser-like on the non-white residents of this New England state. It was the Affordable Care Act that prompted the $100 million foundation to make a strategic turn from its original mission, improving the health of the people of Connecticut, toward getting more peoplespecifically those of coloraccess to better care. Connecticut has long struggled with a major health equity problem. People of color, roughly 30 percent of the population, were shut out of the healthcare system before the ACA. Poverty and a lack of communication served as barriers. Like many other state health funders, the Connecticut Health Foundation made a big push to ensure that the ACA succeeded. It committed resources to the Obamacare enrollment period, supporting grassroots organizations that were active in the underserved communities of African-Americans, Hispanics, African-Caribbeans and people of mixed races. The foundation is proud of the results: The insured rate for Connecticut rose to 97 percent after a health insurance marketplace opened, which simplified the enrollment process and costs of coverage. But getting people covered, it turns out, is only part of the challenge. The other part is ensuring this coverage actually works for people. It is now critical to help the newly insured understand how to use their coverage and the health care system to achieve the promise of the Affordable Care Act, the Connecticut Health Foundation says, and that's what it's doing that through its grantmaking, with a focus on those who still struggle the most with health systems: underserved people of color. Notably, the foundation isn't afraid to push into contested terrainand the hallways of powerin pursuit of this mandate. Like another state funder we keep a close eye on, the Colorado Health Foundation, it has a keen eye on whose voices are getting heard in healthcare debates. It believes that people of color lack a say in policymaking, somost recentlythe foundation is putting up as much as $200,000 to recruit leaders of color who can engage in health issues at this level, either by pushing for better data or through policy analysis. The deeper idea here, the foundation says in an RFP, is that that the inclusion of the voices of consumers of color in health reform will ensure that the needs, values, and preferences of consumers who experience health inequities will be represented and reflected in opportunities to change the healthcare system." This is the third round of grants offered through the foundation's Diverse Advocacy program. The foundations spokeswoman, Elizabeth Krause, told us a bit more about the thinking here. What we noticed in Connecticut is that there is not a lot of diversity among the organizations that have a presence not only at the legislature when its in session, but also around other policy tables where important decisions are being made or debated. State-based nonprofits that advocate for the African-American, Latino, Caribbean and mixed race communities have an opportunity to gain a seat at the big table. Grassroots leaders in the cities of Bridgeport, Hartford and New Havenall over 100,000 population with sizable black and Latino neighborhoodsare invited to partner with Connecticut Health and network with other consumer-engagement groups that specialize in health reform for the states 3.6 million people. Connecticut Health anticipates funding two to four grants, ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, and will assist those grantees with training and any technical assistance they need. Related: Pak Rat Mini Storage Owner B.F. "Dutch" van Rijn was running out of self-storage units to rent at his facility in North Bonneville, Wash. To continue growing the business, he purchased an adjacent parcel of land and considered building additional units. Then he stopped to consider his options. Thats when he discovered the possibility of adding portable-storage containers to his property instead of constructing new buildings. After carefully researching portable-storage options, van Rijn decided to purchase quick-build containers from BOS Container USA. He even traveled to San Francisco International Airport to see the containers in action, being used by United Airlines. I was impressed by the quality of the units. Theyre well-built and designed, easy to construct; and they offer size flexibility, as units can be linked together, van Rijn says. The unit fit and finish is very good, and theyre sturdy, utilizing 20-gauge steel. van Rijns order of BOS containers arrived in May, flat-packed in three sea containers. The units ranged in size, including 7-by-7, -10, -13, -20 and -27. The 7-by-27 container (two 7-by-13 containers joined end-to-end using a proprietary connection kit) took a team just 20 minutes to assemble. van Rijn altered the units to fit his corporate image by painting the doors and trimming the side of the roof panel. Taking the Plunge There were several factors that led van Rijn to choose BOS containers, which are manufactured in Germany and made of galvanized, recycled steel. The units have a high degree of flexibility, with the ability to connect multiple containers together. Future market-size requirements might change, and the BOS units can change with it, van Rijn says. Further, many portable units on the market don't allow for adequate ventilation, which is important for long-term storage. While a sound, weathertight unit is essential, the container must also be able to breathe to avoid moisture buildupparticularly in the Pacific Northwest, where variable weather conditions mean air-tight isnt an option. Pak Rats site also features rocky soil, making it problematic for pouring a foundation. Building such permanent structures wouldve been more labor-intensive, costly and time-consuming. Finally, the portable units are a tax consideration because they can be depreciated over seven years. The recently purchased units have been well-received by the market, and we will be doing business with BOS in the future, van Rijn says. To learn more about BOS Container USA and its line of products, view this video or visit www.boscontainer.com. Update 8/2/16 Team Apex surpassed its fundraising goal by collecting 1,100 in online contributions, with further donations still coming in, according to a company press release. The fastest team member completed the race in less than 40 minutes, while the final racer finished at one hour and 40 minutes. The team included staff from the companys head office as well as its storage facilities. Employees of Apex Self Storage of Manchester, England, are participating July 17 in the Race for Life 5k, a charity event to raise money for cancer research. Team Apex consists of 12 runners whove been regularly training for the race, according to the Apex blog. The team has raised 479 of its 500 goal, according to its donation page at JustGiving, an online fundraising platform. Cancer is something that affects almost everyone, not just us personally, but also future generations, said Kirsty Rigby, a manager at the Apex Congleton facility. The race will begin at 11 a.m., winding through Heaton Park, a mixed terrain of footpaths, grass and paved roads. Its open to women age 16 and older as well as children of both genders. Apex Self Storage operates seven facilities in Ardwick, Cheadle, Congleton, Eastlands, Glossop, Radcliffe and Warrington, England. An eighth facility is under development in Hulme, England. Apple Self Storage, which operates 26 locations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario, Canada, has purchased two facilities in Niagara Falls, Ontario, totaling 46,437 rentable square feet of storage space in 458 units. The facilities are at 4655 Kent St., close to the Ontario Highway 420 junction, and 7017 Oakwood Drive, along Queen Elizabeth Way at the McLeod Road exit. Both offer drive-up and climate-controlled units. This strategic acquisition is accretive to our portfolio in many categories, including our expansion in to the Golden Horseshoe. At 97 percent occupancy, these two properties represent a proven income stream with imbedded operational upside, said David Allan, who handles business development and acquisition for Apple. "The Niagara Falls area is a wonderful place to live and work, and has so many exciting things happening here already. These two facilities will complement our St. Catharines facility nicely, and will allow us to engage with the community in a more intimate way. Were looking forward to being a part of the community. Founded more than 35 years ago, Apple Self Storage is family-owned and -operated. Its properties comprise more than 1.2 million square feet of rentable space. The company currently has more than 350,000 square feet of self-storage under development. Update 5/4/17 The Sokol family has completed its conversion of the former Sokols Market grocery store and opened Queensbury Storage for business. The family did much of its own interior demolition and remodeling work in preparation for the installation of 68 units, according to the source. The facility features electronic access using key fobs and video cameras for security. The conversion required the removal of four layers of ceiling tiles and the installation of a new roof. Some grocery-store remnants remain including shopping carts, which customers can use to transport items to and from their units, the source reported. Brothers Michael and Tim Sokol will oversee the self-storage operation. 6/17/16 The owner of a former grocery store in Queensbury, NY, is seeking a zoning amendment to convert his now vacant property to a self-storage facility. Matt Sokol hasnt been able to secure a new retail tenant for Sokols Market space at 340 Aviation Road since the family-owned supermarket closed in February 2013. He and his attorney, Michael Borgos, discussed the proposed storage development with the Queensbury Town Board in workshop meetings on May 18 and June 13. For the project to move forward, the board would need to amend the citys zoning to allow interior self-storage units as a special-use, according to the source. Sokols plan is to leave the majority of the buildings exterior as is and add self-storage units to the interior, keeping them invisible from the street. The front windows would be frosted or painted over with murals. Customer would load and unload their goods at the back of the property, the source reported. We mean something totally different from what we all view as traditional self-storage, Borgos said. We want to keep the look the same and preserve the architectural heritage of the neighborhood. During the planning meetings, board members voiced their concerns about the buildings aesthetics. If were going to do it, we want to do it in a way that what you see from the road is something that is respectful, said William VanNess, councilman for Queensburys fourth ward. They also discussed how the zoning change might affect other commercial developments in the area. Doug Irish, councilman for the third ward, suggested interior storage should only be allowed for existing buildings in a neighborhood-commercial zone. Land in more intensive commercial areas should be reserved for developments that bring in a higher assessment, VanNess added. Town supervisor John Strough asked the towns lawyers to review the language for the proposed zoning change to ensure the amendment would be restricted to interior self-storage units, and prohibit retail or industrial warehouse use. You dont want it to be a warehouse [with] trucks going in and out of there every day, he said. A public hearing will be set after the zoning-amendment language is approved by the board, Strough said. Sokol is also considering a former fire house on Ridge Road in Queensbury as a possible storage-development site, Borgos said. Sokols Market opened in the neighborhood in the 1970s. It offered weekly grocery delivery to community residents. Increased competition and economic pressures were factors in the business closing, Sokol said. SAN FRANCISCOOakland, California, is now on its third police chief in two weeks, amid a growing scandal where police officers had sex with an underage sex worker in exchange for her not getting arrested, while their supervisors looked the other way. And now the investigation has widened to include three officers in Richmond, four Alameda County sheriff's deputies, and a federal officer. This is just the tip of the iceberg, said Maxine Doogan of the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project (ESPLERP). Anti-prostitution laws corrupt police. Sex workers will tell you this is going on in police departments across the country. We have long called for laws making it illegal for cops to have sexual contact with us under any conditions, but especially as a means to gather evidence of prostitution. When police are allowed to act in this duplicitous manner, all public safety has been compromised. It is especially ironic that this happened in Alameda County, said Norma Jean Almodovar of the International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education (ISWFACE). They claim to be leaders in fighting human trafficking. Usually that translates into harassing and arresting sex workers. But when they did stumble across an underage sex worker seeking help escaping a pimp, the police officer didnt write her up as a trafficking victim or help her obtain social services, and didnt charge the pimp. Instead, he slept with her and passed her on to his pals on the force. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon within law enforcement agencies around the world. Recently, two (now retired) police officers were charged with running prostitution rings. They did so because they believed other cops would protect them. Police abuses are an inevitable consequence of the criminalization of sex work. And one of the compelling reasons to decriminalize sex work is to remove this corrupting influence on law enforcement. In its recent policy statement, Amnesty International identified police abuse as one of the reasons why sex work should be decriminalized. New South Wales, Australia, moved to decriminalization in 1995, because they recognized that removing police as regulators of sex work addressed police corruption. New Zealand decriminalized sex work in 2003, since when police no longer enforce laws against sex workers, they can work with sex workers to solve crimes such as violence. ESPLERP has long called for the decriminalization of sex work in the USA. In March 2015, it filed a groundbreaking court case ESPLERP v Gascon arguing that Californias anti-prostitution statute 647 (b) is unconstitutional. The case is largely based on Lawrence v Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court landmark decision that held that intimate consensual sexual conduct between adults was constitutionally protected. On May 24, ESPLERP filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where, Doogan stated, "We are confident the merits of our case will finally be recognized and we will be granted our basic human rights." The assassination of U.K. Labour Party parliamentarian Jo Cox yesterday has halted the campaign on both sides of the Brexit debate for a second day and delayed the release of voter survey polls, casting additional layers of doubt over next weeks referendum on U.K. membership in the European Union. Cox, an outspoken advocate of remaining within the EU, was murdered by a man who appears to support an exit based on nationalistic politics. The aftershocks of Coxs death have also affected decisions outside the U.K., with the International Monetary Fund delaying the scheduled release of a report analyzing the potential economic impact of an exit today. In a speech in Vienna earlier Friday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, an outspoken critic of an EU exit, reiterated her stance while indicating that she had concerns over discussing the topic because of the tragedy. The Brexit debate is now central to global market narratives and investors must wrestle with whether the emotional impact of the death of Cox a young, charismatic and well-liked lawmaker will sway undecided voters in the run-up to the vote. Revlon to acquire Elizabeth Arden. Yesterday cosmetics giant Revlon announced an agreement to purchase cosmetics firm Elizabeth Arden for roughly $870 million in combined cash and assumed debt. Revlon management expressed confidence that it can revive Ardens perfume franchise, which has languished in recent years. CDB Leasing to raise $1 billion in IPO. Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported today that the upcoming Hong Kong initial public offering for China Development Bank Financial Leasing will be heavily skewed towards a handful of key investors, with up to 70 percent of shares allocated to state-affiliated entities including China Three Gorges Corp. The IPO is expected to bring the aircraft and ship-leasing firm $1 billion in new capital. Cloud boosts Oracles earnings. First-quarter results from Oracle Corp. was roughly in line with consensus analysts estimates at earnings of $0.81 per share with stronger underlying revenues than expected. Critically, cloud-based storage revenues increased by almost 50 percent versus the same period last year. Redstone moves to clean house. Sumner Redstone-controlled media company Viacom announced yesterday that five board members, including CEO Philippe Dauman, would step down. Independent board member Fred Salerno filed a lawsuit in Delaware, where Viacom is incorporated, attempting to block the move on the claim that Redstone is being manipulated by family members. Redstone, aged 92, successfully defeated a lawsuit questioning his mental competency earlier this year. Fed reveals dot plot source. A report released yesterday by the St. Louis Federal Reserve revealed that the banks President James Bullard was the FOMC member who projected no rate increases in 2017 during the last meeting. The report indicates that Bullard and his colleagues anticipate that growth and inflation will remain muted in the U.S. in the coming years. Insurance magnate Warren Buffett has revealed that the anonymous bidder who agreed to pay $3,456,789 in a charity auction to have lunch with him is a woman.The winning bid, which was part of a five-day auction on eBay that ended last week, matched one made by an anonymous bidder for the same amount in 2012, which was the most expensive single charity item sold on eBay.Buffett, 85, let the detail slip while at a United State of Women conference in Washington:The one thing I will tell you, because were in this crowd: Its a woman, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman said.The winner and up to seven friends can dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in midtown Manhattan, Fortune website reported.Diners will be briefed that all topics are fair game, apart from where Buffett, otherwise known as the Oracle of Omaha, will invest next.Proceeds go to Glide, a San Francisco charity that provides food, healthcare and other services to people who are homeless, poor or struggling with substance abuse.Glide is run by the Rev Cecil Williams, who said Buffetts involvement had attracted more interest in the charity and helped it fund its $17 million annual budget.Buffett has raised roughly $23.6 million for Glide in 17 auctions since 2000.Previous winners include at least one woman. In 2009, Courtenay Wolfe of Canadas Salida Capital prevailed with a $1,680,300 bid.Buffett described Glide as a remarkable social organisation and encouraged higher bids in 2017.If youd like to buy it next year, $3.5 million is just a suggested price, he told the audience. Plus tip, of course, for the lunch. EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property/casualty brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has hired Mark Millard as principal and senior producer for the EPIC Risk Solutions team. Millard will be based in EPICs Morristown, New Jersey, office and report to Steve Levene, managing principal of EPIC Risk Solutions. Millard joins EPIC from EY where he was senior manager in the firms Insurance Risk and Claims Practice based in New York. At EY, Millard led a team of risk professionals on Fortune 1000 and public entity insurance risk program assessments as well as specialty projects for clients that included the development of an insurance purchasing framework; authoring a manual to negotiate insurance provisions in contracts; evaluating a commercial loan portfolios exposure to construction defect and warranty claims; and M&A due diligence. In addition, Millard developed and led EYs initiative in cyber insurance risk advisory services. San Francisco-based EPIC has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing property/casualty, employee benefits, specialty programs and private client services to more than 13,000 clients. Topics New Jersey The parents of a woman who died in a crash involving a duck boat urged Massachusetts state officials on Wednesday to require new safety rules for the amphibious sightseeing vessels. Ivan and Martha Warmuth joined several lawmakers at the Statehouse to announce the filing of legislation that would prohibit duck boat drivers from simultaneously serving as narrator and tour guide for passengers. The bill would also mandate that the vehicles be equipped with blind-spot cameras and proximity sensors. We are convinced that if these two requirements had been in place, our daughter would be alive today, Ivan Warmuth said. Allison Warmuth, 28, was riding a scooter when she was struck and killed April 30 near Boston Common. A passenger on the scooter was injured. The operator of the duck boat, Boston Duck Tours, said that safety was its top priority and that it had begun taking steps to address the concerns. We have already installed a new camera on each duck, which will complement the eight existing mirrors to address any blind spots, the company said. We also plan to add sensory equipment to the front and back of the vehicle in the near term. The statement did not directly address the call for separating the duties of driver and tour guide. Boston Duck Tours said it was awaiting the conclusion of a police investigation of the fatal accident before determining if additional steps were needed. A Boston police spokeswoman said the investigation remained open. No charges have been filed. Seattle imposed new rules, including separate tour guides, after a duck boat crashed into a charter bus last year, killing five passengers on the bus. Ivan Warmuth said without the rules the duck boat driver is trying to do too many things at once. The duck boat driver is responsible for operating the vehicle while at the same time conducting a history tour, ensuring passengers remain safely seated and entertaining the passengers, he said. Surely this leads to distracted driving. The Warmuths called Allisons death an unspeakable tragedy for their family. Their daughter, a health insurance underwriter, was planning to start an MBA program and often volunteered at a facility that assists homeless women. The couple began researching duck boat regulations across the country after her death. Safety of the people on the streets is the most important thing to us right now, Martha Warmuth said. We cant get our daughter back. With the legislative session scheduled to end July 31 and dozens of major bills still pending, its unclear if lawmakers will have a chance to act on the measure filed Wednesday. The bills chief sponsor, Sen. William Brownsberger, said he hoped it would receive swift attention and stressed that his goal was not to stop the popular tourist activity. There is no reason to believe that (duck boats) cant be a perfectly safe presence in the streets of Boston and in other places around the state, the Belmont Democrat said. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Massachusetts AmTrust Financial Services Inc. announced that it has acquired Total Program Management LLC in Ronkonkoma, New York, for cash. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2005, Total Program Management is a managing general agency focused on programs that offer workers compensation insurance to the health care industry. The firm operates primarily in New York. In 2015, Total Program Management was responsible for insurance premium totaling $47.1 million. AmTrust has been the insurer for the majority of premiums written through Total Program Management. AmTrust said the acquisition represents the companys continuing strategy to vertically integrate product distribution and expand its fee-based businesses. AmTrust is a multinational insurance holding company based in New York City. It offers specialty property/casualty insurance products, including workers comp, commercial auto, general liability and extended service and warranty coverage through its primary insurance subsidiaries. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions New York Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, announced that it is continuing its partnership this year with the Arbor Day Foundation with a goal of planting 80,000 trees for the second year in a row. PHLY reached its 2015 goal of planting 80,000 trees through the combined efforts of its employees, independent agents and brokers, and policyholders. In January 2016, 50 PHLY employees traveled to Bastrop, Texas, to complete the 2015 PHLY 80K Trees campaign. The group joined TreeFolks and Texas Parks & Wildlife to plant the final 6,000 trees in Bastrop State Park, a park and community devastated by wildfires. To achieve the goal of planting 80,000 trees in 2016, PHLY is inviting its independent agents and brokers and policyholders to sign up for paperless statements. PHLY said it will plant 10 trees for each agent who enrolls in direct deposit of commissions and plant 15 trees on behalf of each customer who enrolls in electronic billing. Environmental changes have drastically affected our industry, requiring that we closely look at how to best serve our customer, said President and CEO Bob OLeary. PHLY 80K Trees addresses the imperative need to build healthy forests and ecosystems to provide greater security to communities, including PHLYs policyholders. There are over one million acres in desperate need of replanting due to natural disasters according to the U.S. Forest Service. PHLY said its efforts to support the planting of 80,000 trees will help provide greater security to communities, including PHLYs policyholders. Topics Agencies Texas Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC), the London-based reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker, announced the appointment of Wendy Kilminster as head of strategy and change. She takes up her role in September and will report to Andy Wallin, group commercial director. Kilminster brings over 15 years of strategic planning and execution to CGSC. She joins from Lloyds where she served most recently as head of strategy & planning. In this role she was responsible for leading Lloyds strategy development and determining its response to market environment issues. Prior to this, Kilminster held the position of strategic development manager at Zurich where she spearheaded a series of initiatives to enhance its distribution strategy. She began her insurance career in 1995 with Endsleigh Insurance Services Our business has already undergone immense change and is now stronger and better positioned to realize our aspirations, said Wallin. Wendy brings the expertise and skill-set to help ensure that we maintain this momentum. She will play a key part in implementing our strategy to continue to transform and enhance our offering to enable us to offer a service that is set apart from our peers. I am very pleased to welcome her to the team, he added. Source: Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford (CGSC) Zurich Insurance will sell its general insurance operations in Taiwan to Hotai Motor Co. Ltd., with the business to become part of the Hotai Group, subject to approvals and conditions from the supervisory regulator. Hotai Motor Co. Ltd. has become the successful buyer following a rigorous bidding process aimed at ensuring all the rights and obligations of customers will be safeguarded and fully protected, said Zurich in a statement. At the groups Investor Day in May 2015, Zurich stated that reshaping its geographic footprint would be one of its highest priorities over the next two years as it seeks to build a more sustainable business while also improving overall profitability. Zurichs decision to sell its general insurance business in Taiwan follows a comprehensive assessment that found, while the market in Taiwan remains attractive, there was limited scope for Zurichs general insurance business to achieve an operating scale that warranted continued investment, the company said. Hotai Motor Co. Ltd is a highly reputable brand name in Taiwans motor vehicle industry, and sees great synergy with its current business operations as it seeks to establish a multi-line insurance platform, according to Zurich Taiwan Chief Executive Office Eva Ip. Zurich General Insurance chief executive officer for Asia Pacific, Stuart A. Spencer, said: Zurich was focused on developing sustainable businesses that were built around meeting the growing needs of customers across the Asia Pacific region. The sale of our general insurance business in Taiwan marks an important milestone in our efforts to solidify our geographical footprint in Asia Pacific. We are proud of Zurich Taiwans heritage and pleased that such a respected company as Hotai is the buyer, Spencer added. Source: Zurich Insurance Related: American Family Mutual Insurance Co., headquartered in Madison, Wis., announced the filing of a plan to create a mutual holding company that it says would provide more flexibility to pursue customer-driven initiatives while preserving the companys founding principle of policyholder ownership. The plan was recently approved by the companys board of directors and filed with the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). The plan is subject to OCI review and approval, as well as approval of existing policyholders of American Family Mutual Insurance Co. Coverage, premium rates and claims handling under existing American Family insurance policies would be unaffected by the change to a mutual holding company. Company and agent operations would also be unaffected, according to the companys announcement. American Family operates as a mutual company and is owned by its policyholders. Under the proposed restructure, American Family would continue to operate under the principles and culture of a mutual company. A mutual holding company would be the groups new parent company, with American Family Mutual Insurance Co. (AFMIC) becoming a stock subsidiary with 100 percent of the stock ultimately controlled by the mutual holding company. Policyholders of American Family Mutual Insurance Co. would exchange their membership rights for similar membership rights in the mutual holding company. Certain membership rights, as permitted by law, would also be extended to policyholders of certain other American Family group subsidiaries. Through the years, American Family has established new subsidiaries to facilitate expansion into new states and offer new products through our American Family agents, said David Holman, American Family chief strategy officer and corporate secretary. Policyholders of certain subsidiaries dont have membership rights now, but would have these rights under the new structure. In addition, a mutual holding company structure would allow American Family to extend membership rights to policyholders of new subsidiaries it could create to offer new products in the future. The mutual holding company would be legally domiciled in Wisconsin, joining American Family Mutual Insurance Co. and other subsidiaries, including several that are being re-domiciled to Wisconsin for efficiency and tax reasons. The board of directors and officers of the holding company would be the same as the board of directors and officers of American Family Mutual Insurance Co. prior to the change. Also, American Family board members, officers and other employees would not receive any additional compensation, stock or benefits as a result of this change. A mutual holding company would create additional flexibility to invest in or acquire non-insurance companies, using an intermediate holding company that would facilitate those transactions. A mutual holding company structure would also better position American Family to consider future potential mergers and acquisitions with other mutual insurance companies, the company said. Under Wisconsin law, conversion to a mutual holding company is subject to a public administrative hearing and prior approval from the insurance commissioners office. Following those steps, the company would seek approval from eligible policyholders who would vote by proxy, mailed to them with an information booklet that thoroughly explains the conversion plan, or in person at a special policyholder meeting. Dates for the administrative hearing, proxy mailing and policyholder meeting are still to be determined. The company hopes to complete the process by the end of 2016. Source: American Family Insurance Co. Topics Wisconsin All of you are part of a 'restoration' that will enable the face of the Church Author: Pope Francis | Source: Vatican.va ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE ASSEMBLY OF ORGANIZATIONS FOR AID TO THE EASTERN CHURCHES (R.O.A.C.O.) Clementine Hall Thursday, 16 June 2016 Dear Friends, I offer you a warm welcome and I thank Cardinal Sandri for his kind words of introduction. To each of you, and the communities from which you come, I offer a cordial greeting. I am grateful for the zeal that all of you have shown in carrying out the mission entrusted to you, and for your attention to the needs of our brothers and sisters in the East. Present at this meeting, too, are the Papal Representatives in Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan, and Ukraine. They accompany the life of the Churches and peoples of those countries, demonstrating the closeness of the Pope and the Holy See not only through their contacts but also through gestures of concrete charity, in coordination with all the concerned offices of the Holy See. I also greet with fraternal good wishes Father Francesco Patton, the successor of Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa as Custos of the Holy Land. I take this occasion to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the Friars Minor, who for centuries have maintained the holy places and shrines, also with the help of the yearly Good Friday Collection providently instituted by Blessed Paul VI. May the Lord bless you and grant you his peace! It is my hope that, with the generous help of so many people, including the contribution of the other Christian communities, the restoration of the Basilica of the Nativity and the aedicule of the Holy Sepulcher will be brought to conclusion. I have been told that in the course of restoration work in Bethlehem, on one of the walls of the nave a seventh angel in mosaic has come to light, forming with the other six a sort of procession towards the place commemorating the mystery of the birth of the Word made flesh. This can lead us to reflect on how the face of our ecclesial communities can also be covered by incrustations as a result of various problems and sins. Yet your work must unfailingly be guided by the certainty that, beneath material and moral incrustations, and the tears and bloodshed caused by war, violence and persecution, beneath this apparently impenetrable cover there is a radiant face like that of the angel in the mosaic. All of you, with your projects and your activities, are part of a restoration that will enable the face of the Church to reflect visibly the light of Christ the Word Incarnate. He is our peace, and he is knocking at the doors of our heart in the Middle East, as he does in India and in Ukraine, a country for which I determined last April that an extraordinary collection should be taken up among the Churches of Europe. Your reflection in these days centres on the presence of the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Manlankara Churches in the territories of India outside Kerala. It is a sign of hope that, following the indications set out by my Predecessors, progress can be made in respect for the proper rights of each, without a spirit of division, but rather fostering communion in witness to the one Saviour, Jesus Christ. That communion, in all those parts of the world where Latin and Oriental Catholics live side-by-side, needs the spiritual riches of East and West as a source from which coming generations of priests, men and women religious, and pastoral workers can draw. For, as Saint John Paul II observed: The words of the West need the words of the East, so that Gods word may ever more clearly reveal its unfathomable riches. Our words will meet forever in the heavenly Jerusalem, but we ask and wish that this meeting be anticipated in the holy Church which is still on her way towards the fullness of the Kingdom (Orientale Lumen, 28). As I invoke upon all of you the Lords blessings, I ask for your prayers, for in a few days I will go on pilgrimage to a land of the East, Armenia, the first nation to welcome the Gospel of Jesus. I thank you most cordially. May Our Lady watch over you and accompany you. Thank you. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants you to believe it is looking out for the little guy in its fight against new government regulation of the retirement investment advice industry. But that is a facade as one consumer advocacy group found out when it checked the Chambers claims of grassroots support for its battle to stop the U.S. Department of Labors new best interest standard for retirement advice. This fight is really about something else $19 billion in potential lost revenue now controlled by stock brokerage, life insurance and other companies that do not want to make drastic changes in their business models. That is the amount of money up for grabs, according to Morningstar, in the wake of the new DoL rule. The so-called fiduciary standard requires any adviser working with retirement accounts to avoid conflicts and act in the best interest of clients in the products they recommend. The final rules were released in April following years of study and input from the financial services industry and others. They are set to be phased in next year. But opponents of the fiduciary rule continue their resistance. Last week President Barack Obama vetoed legislation approved by Congress in April to overturn the rule. Opponents also are pressing their case in court, filing lawsuits challenging the Labor Departments power to impose the rule and calling it unworkable. Applying Spin For public consumption, opponents of the rule spin their campaigns as friendly to small investors, and to small businesses. They have argued that the rule will force the industry to stop offering advice to small account holders. But what these retirement savers often receive is not advice at all. It is selling. A report by the White House Council of Economic Advisors estimated that small investors lose $17 billion annually due to conflicted advice that places them in risky or inappropriate investments by conflicted advisers. The second argument is that the DoL rule will hurt small business an especially odd point given that small employers and their workers often are sold on the most expensive, least competitive retirement plans and actually stand to gain from higher professional industry standards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a key backer of the legislative and court fights, launched a public campaign themed Fix the Rule. It purportedly showcases 25 small business people speaking out against the rule. But the campaign appears to be more AstroTurf than grass roots. Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group that is fighting the Chamber on the fiduciary issue, attempted to contact all of the small business owners quoted (skipping those who actually are chamber lobbyists around the country). One leader of a Chicago nonprofit told Public Citizen he did not have a view on the rule and asked what he needed to do to get himself removed from the website (he has since been removed). One small-business owner told the watchdog group he favors an even tougher rule. Eight people listed actually are officials at local chambers of commerce or lobbyists, according to the group. All in all, Public Citizen received return phone calls from just four of the people featured on the site who stepped up to speak out against the best-interest rule. I found not one person that could legitimately be described as saying what Chamber is saying, said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, who conducted the research for a report the group published on the matter. A U.S. Chamber spokeswoman declined to comment specifically on Public Citizens findings. She did reiterate the Chambers arguments about the fiduciary rules impact on investors and small businesses, adding: Given that Public Citizens Chamber Watch has made it their mission to misinform the public regarding the Chambers work, it is no surprise that they continue to mislead on an issue that will negatively impact businesses. Off the Astroturf It may help to get off the AstroTurf and look at what this fight really is about. A recent Morningstar report assessing winners and losers from the Labor Department rule finds that it will affect $3 trillion of assets held by wealth management clients, and the aforementioned $19 billion of revenue to wealth management firms. The biggest battleground will be the market for rollovers at the point of workers retirement of 401(k) assets to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Any advice from an adviser to do a rollover will have to be demonstrably in the clients best interest and Morningstar estimates that $200 billion in IRA rollover money will be affected annually. The report forecasts a massive shift more than $1 trillion away from commission to fee-based accounts, robo-adviser and low-cost passive index funds. The big losers will be life insurance companies peddling expensive variable annuity and fixed-index annuities, and money management firms specializing in actively-managed accounts. Also on the losing end of the stick will be alternative asset managers or products such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and derivatives. The ongoing rear-guard fight against the rule is especially unfortunate because the need for real, holistic planning services has never been greater and the new rule offers a massive opportunity for industry players who are able to adapt. Some apparently recognize that, and are quietly preparing for the new fiduciary world. Just a few months ago, we were hearing from a lot of companies that they were fighting it, and not preparing for it, said Tricia Rothschild, head of global adviser and wealth management solutions at Morningstar during the companys annual investment conference this week. But all that energy has shifted in the last two months. The firms we work with are very much focused on what they need to do to meet the new requirements. She added: The large firms can hope and pray, but they need to prepare. If theyre not ready, they will be caught flat-footed. (Editing by Matthew Lewis) (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Topics USA Legislation Authorities say one traveler was killed and several were hurt in a 13-vehicle pileup during a dust storm in the Texas Panhandle. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the accident Wednesday night closed Interstate 40 near Conway, 30 miles east of Amarillo. Trooper Cindy Barkley says all lanes of I-40 reopened Thursday. Barkley says six cars, one motorcycle and six tractor-trailer rigs crashed when the dust storm caused zero visibility. She says Tammy Page of Medina, N.Y., was killed in the wreck. Page was riding in the back seat of a car that was pinned between two trucks. The trooper said several people were taken to hospitals, but she didnt provide a number. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Texas Windstorm A Native American tribe in North Carolina is suing Anheuser-Busch, saying the beer company is illegally using the tribes logo. Media outlets reported the lawsuit was filed by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina this week in federal court. The lawsuit says the brewer is using the tribes four-color circular Heritage, Pride & Strength logo and slogan above beer coolers in Lumberton and Raeford. The Lumbee tribe says Anheuser-Busch did not ask permission and using the logo makes the tribe look like it condones drinking. The tribe says the actions are especially disturbing because alcohol abuse is often association with Native Americans. Neither Anheuser-Busch nor the local distributor of the companys products responded to questions from media outlets. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits North Carolina Hundreds of firefighters battled a 1,400-acre fire moving through coastal canyons in California on Thursday. Hot, dry weather across the Western U.S. challenged firefighters with blazes in Arizona and New Mexico. In California firefighters were forced to do battle with the fire in rugged coastal canyons west of Santa Barbara. Roughly 140 homes and ranches were at risk. The fire was expanding and a freeway, U.S. 101, was closed for a second night. Some 800 firefighters and a fleet of aircraft were assigned to the battle. In central New Mexico, a blaze expanded to 25 square miles and forced residents of some small communities to flee. Several communities in Bernalillo and Torrance counties were placed under a mandatory evacuation orders. A small community in central Arizona was evacuated and thousands of other residents were told to prepare to leave after a wildfire burned more than 12 square miles. The fire broke out Wednesday 12 miles south of Show Low, and gusty winds pushed it into brush and ponderosa pine. In Nevada, a 300-acre brush fire in Reno that threatened dozens of homes was 75 percent contained by Thursday evening. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Two more workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have received medical evaluations for possible vapor exposure at the former nuclear weapons production site. The Tri-City Herald reported that the workers said they had symptoms after smelling suspicious odors near the C Tank Farm on Wednesday. They were evaluated and released to return to work. In total, 52 Hanford workers have received medical evaluations for possible exposure to chemical vapors. Some had respiratory symptoms, some smelled a suspicious odor and others were checked because they were in the vicinity when vapors were suspected. Workers have expressed concerns because the vapors are believed to come from Hanford waste stored in underground tanks. The toxic waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Washington The Oregon Shakespeare Festival can go to trial or pursue a settlement under a judges ruling that an insurer should have covered damage and cancellations related to wildfire smoke. The Mail Tribune reported Judge Mark Clarke dismissed the festivals claim that Great American Insurance Co. was negligent. OSF spokesman Eddie Wallace said the festival is discussing whether the next step will be a trial or pursuing a settlement. He said the festival has switched insurers. The insurance company argued that the case should be dismissed because cancellations were voluntary and the policy did not cover air quality inside buildings. Smoke from five lightning-caused wildfires canceled events in southern Oregon in the summer of 2013. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Carriers Legislation Oregon One of the countrys largest utility companies is set to face a jury in a criminal trial accusing it of obstructing investigators in the wake of a deadly pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area. The September 2010 blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline in San Bruno sent a giant plume of fire into the air, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. During the investigation that followed, prosecutors say the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about how it was identifying high risk pipelines. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to start Thursday. The standard the company used violated pipeline safety regulations and led to a failure to classify the San Bruno pipeline and other similar pipelines as high risk and properly assess them, prosecutors said in a 2014 indictment. The company is also facing charges that it violated pipeline safety laws by ignoring shoddy record keeping and failing to identify threats to its larger natural gas pipelines. PG&E faces a $562 million fine if convicted. The company has pleaded not guilty and said its employees did not intentionally violate pipeline safety laws or obstruct an investigation. Regardless of the next legal steps, we want our customers to know we are focused on the future and on re-earning their trust by leading in safety, reliability, affordability and clean energy, the company said in a statement. Weve made unprecedented progress, and were committed to maintaining this focus. Investigators have blamed the 2010 blast in part on poor record-keeping at PG&E that they say was based on incomplete and inaccurate pipeline information. Company records, for example, indicated the pipe that ran through San Bruno was seamless. But a laboratory examination later showed that the pipe was constructed with seam-welds that failed during the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board determined. California regulators fined the company $1.6 billion for the blast last year. PG&Es attorneys fought to block any reference to the San Bruno blast from the trial. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson did not grant that request, although he barred prosecutors from showing jurors the segment of the pipeline that exploded and saying how many people died and how many homes were destroyed. Henderson also excluded the NTSBs conclusions about the blast, saying jurors might wrongly substitute the NTSBs findings about PG&Es alleged regulatory violations for their own. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Panoramica privacy Questo sito web utilizza i cookies per fornire all'utente la miglior esperienza di navigazione possibile. L'informazione dei cookie e memorizzata nel browser dell' utente, svolge funzioni di riconoscimento quando l' utente ritorna nel sito e permette di sapere quali sezioni del sito sono ritenute piu interessanti e utili. What Is Corporate Culture? Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires. A company's culture will be reflected in its dress code, business hours, office setup, employee benefits, turnover, hiring decisions, treatment of clients, client satisfaction, and every other aspect of operations. Key Takeaways Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management interact. Corporate culture is also influenced by national cultures and traditions, economic trends, international trade, company size, and products. Corporate cultures, whether shaped intentionally or grown organically, reach to the core of a companys ideology and practice, and affect every aspect of a business. 1:17 Corporate Culture Understanding Corporate Culture Alphabet (GOOGL), the parent of Google, is well known for its employee-friendly corporate culture. It explicitly defines itself as unconventional and offers perks such as telecommuting, flextime, tuition reimbursement, free employee lunches, and on-site doctors. At its corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., the company offers on-site services such as oil changes, car washes, massages, fitness classes, and a hairstylist. Its corporate culture helped it to consistently earn a high ranking on Fortune magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." History of Corporate Culture Awareness of corporate or organizational culture in businesses and other organizations such as universities emerged in the 1960s. The term corporate culture developed in the early 1980s and became widely known by the 1990s. Corporate culture was used during those periods by managers, sociologists, and other academics to describe the character of a company. This included generalized beliefs and behaviors, company-wide value systems, management strategies, employee communication, and relations, work environment, and attitude. Corporate culture would go on to include company origin myths via charismatic chief executive officers (CEOs), as well as visual symbols such as logos and trademarks. By 2015, corporate culture was not only created by the founders, management, and employees of a company, but was also influenced by national cultures and traditions, economic trends, international trade, company size, and products. There are a variety of terms that relate to companies affected by multiple cultures, especially in the wake of globalization and the increased international interaction of today's business environment. As such, the term cross-culture refers to the interaction of people from different backgrounds in the business world; culture shock refers to the confusion or anxiety people experience when conducting business in a society other than their own; and reverse culture shock is often experienced by people who spend lengthy times abroad for business and have difficulty readjusting upon their return. To create positive cross-culture experiences and facilitate a more cohesive and productive corporate culture, companies often devote in-depth resources, including specialized training, that improves cross-culture business interactions. The current awareness of corporate culture is more acute now than ever. Examples of Contemporary Corporate Cultures Just as national cultures can influence and shape corporate culture, so can a companys management strategy. In top companies of the 21st century, such as Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Netflix Inc. (NFLX), less traditional management strategies such as fostering creativity, collective problem solving, and greater employee freedom have been the norm and thought to contribute to their business success. Progressive policies such as comprehensive employee benefits and alternatives to hierarchical leadershipeven doing away with closed offices and cubiclesare a trend that reflects a more tech-conscious, modern generation. This trend marks a change from aggressive, individualistic, and high-risk corporate cultures such as that of former energy company Enron. High-profile examples of alternative management strategies that significantly affect corporate culture include holacracy, which has been put to use at shoe company Zappos (AMZN), and agile management techniques applied at music streaming company Spotify. Holacracy is an open management philosophy that, among other traits, eliminates job titles and other such traditional hierarchies. Employees have flexible roles and self-organization, and collaboration is highly valued. Zappos instituted this new program in 2014 and has met the challenge of the transition with varying success and criticism. Similarly, Spotify, a music-streaming service, uses the principles of agile management as part of its unique corporate culture. Agile management, in essence, focuses on deliverables with a flexible, trial-and-error strategy that often groups employees in a start-up environment approach to creatively tackle the companys issues at hand. Characteristics of Successful Corporate Cultures Corporate cultures, whether shaped intentionally or grown organically, reach the core of a companys ideology and practice, and affect every aspect of a business, from each employee to customer to public image. The current awareness of corporate culture is more acute than ever. The Harvard Business Review identified six important characteristics of successful corporate cultures in 2015. First and foremost is "vision": from a simple mission statement to a corporate manifesto, a companys vision is a powerful tool. For example, Googles modern and infamous slogan: Dont Be Evil is a compelling corporate vision. Secondly, "values," while a broad concept, embody the mentalities and perspectives necessary to achieve a companys vision. Similarly, "practices" are the tangible methods, guided by ethics, through which a company implements its values. For example, Netflix emphasizes the importance of knowledge-based, high-achieving employees and, as such, Netflix pays its employees at the top of their market salary range, rather than through an earn-your-way-to-the-top philosophy. "People" come next, with companies employing and recruiting in a way that reflects and enhances their overall culture. Lastly, "narrative" and "place" are perhaps the most modern characteristics of corporate culture. Having a powerful narrative or origin story, such as that of Steve Jobs and Apple, is important for growth and public image. The "place" of business, such as the city of choice and also office design and architecture, is one of the most cutting-edge advents in contemporary corporate culture. What Is Corporate Culture? The term corporate culture refers to the beliefs and practices associated with a particular corporation. For instance, corporate culture might be reflected in the way a corporation hires and promotes employees, or in its corporate mission statement. Some companies seek to associate themselves with a specific set of values, such as by defining themselves as an innovative or environmentally-conscious organization. What Are Some Examples of Corporate Culture? There are many examples of companies with well-defined corporate cultures. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), for example, is known for its employee-centric culture and its emphasis on working in a creative and flexible environment, whereas Amazon (AMZN) is known for its relentless pursuit of customer service and operational efficiencies. Often, national cultures will play a role in determining the kind of corporate culture that is prevalent in society. For example, Japanese corporations are known for having markedly different corporate cultures as compared to those of American or European companies. Which Stock Rises and Which Stock Falls? When one company acquires another, the stock prices of both entities tend to move in predictably opposite directions, at least over the short-term. In most cases, the target company's stock rises because the acquiring company pays a premium for the acquisition, in order to provide an incentive for the target company's shareholders to approve the takeover. Simply put, there's no motive for shareholders to greenlight such action if the takeover bid equates to a lower stock price than the current price of the target company. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Namely: if a target company's stock price recently plummeted due to negative earnings, then being acquired at a discount may be the only path for shareholders to regain a portion of their investments back. This holds particularly true if the target company is saddled with large amounts of debt, and cannot obtain financing from the capital markets to restructure that debt. Key Takeaways When one company acquires another, the stock price of the acquiring company tends to dip temporarily, while the stock price of the target company tends to spike. The acquiring company's share price drops because it often pays a premium for the target company, or incurs debt to finance the acquisition. The target company's short-term share price tends to rise because the shareholders only agree to the deal if the purchase price exceeds their company's current value. Over the long haul, an acquisition tends to boost the acquiring company's share price. 1:06 What Happens To The Stock Prices Of Two Companies Involved In An Acquisition? On the other side of the coin, the acquiring company's stock typically falls immediately following an acquisition event. This is because the acquiring company often pays a premium for the target company, exhausting its cash reserves and/or taking on significant debt in the process. But there are many other reasons an acquiring company's stock price may fall during an acquisition, including: Investors believe the premium paid for the target company is too high. There are problems integrating different workplace cultures. Regulatory issues complicate the merger timeline. Management power struggles hamper productivity. Additional debt or unforeseen expenses are incurred as a result of the purchase. It's important to remember that although the acquiring company may experience a short-term drop in stock price, in the long run, it's share price should flourish, as long as its management properly valued the target company and efficiently integrates the two entities. Pre-Acquisition Volatility Stock prices of potential target companies tend to rise well before a merger or acquisition has officially been announced. Even a whispered rumor of a merger can trigger volatility that can be profitable for investors, who often buy stocks based on the expectation of a takeover. But there are potential risks in doing this, because if a takeover rumor fails to come true, the stock price of the target company can precipitously drop, leaving investors in the lurch. Generally speaking, a takeover suggests that the acquiring company's executive team feels optimistic about the target company's prospects for long-term earnings growth. And more broadly speaking, an influx of mergers and acquisitions activity is often viewed by investors as a positive market indicator. When A Company Is Bought, What Happens to the Stock? The stock of the company that has been bought tends to rise since the acquiring company has likely paid a premium on its shares as a way to entice stockholders. However, there are some instances when the newly acquired company sees its shares fall on the merger news. That often occurs when the target company had been going through financial turmoil and, as a result, was bought at a discount. When One Company Buys Another, Why Does Its Stock Fall? The acquiring company's stock tends to slide in the short term because it has paid a premium for the target company, using up some of its cash reserves or perhaps taking on debt. Sometimes the stock slides because investors don't think the merger is a good idea, or that the acquiring company overpaid relative to the target's value. What Is the Law of Supply and Demand? The law of supply and demand combines two fundamental economic principles describing how changes in the price of a resource, commodity, or product affect its supply and demand. As the price increases, supply rises while demand declines. Conversely, as the price drops supply constricts while demand grows. Levels of supply and demand for varying prices can be plotted on a graph as curves. The intersection of these curves marks the equilibrium, or market-clearing price at which demand equals supply, and represents the process of price discovery in the marketplace. Key Takeaways The law of demand holds that the demand level for a product or a resource will decline as its price rises, and rise as the price drops. Conversely, the law of supply says higher prices boost supply of an economic good while lower ones tend to diminish it. A market-clearing price balances supply and demand, and can be graphically represented as the intersection of the supply and demand curves. The degree to which changes in price translate into changes in demand and supply is known as the product's price elasticity. Demand for basic necessities is relatively inelastic, meaning it is less responsive to changes in their price. 1:27 Law of Supply and Demand Understanding the Law of Supply and Demand It may seem obvious that in any sale transaction the price satisfies both the buyer and the seller, matching supply with demand. The interactions between supply, demand, and price in a (more or less) free marketplace have been observed for thousands of years. Many medieval thinkers, like modern day critics of market pricing for select commodities, distinguished between a "just" price based on costs and equitable returns and one at which the sale was in fact transacted. Our understanding of price as a signaling mechanism matching supply and demand is rooted in the work of Enlightenment economists who studied and summarized the relationship. Importantly, supply and demand do not necessarily respond to price movements proportionally. The degree to which price changes affect the product's demand or supply is known as its price elasticity. Products with a high price elasticity of demand will see wider fluctuations in demand based on the price. In contrast, basic necessities will be relatively inelastic in price because people can't easily do without them, meaning demand will change less relative to changes in the price. Price discovery based on supply and demand curves assumes a marketplace in which buyers and sellers are free to transact or not, depending on the price. Factors such as taxes and government regulation, the market power of suppliers, the availability of substitute goods, and economic cycles can all shift the supply or demand curves or alter their shapes. But so long as buyers and sellers retain agency, the commodities affected by these external factors remain subject to the fundamental forces of supply and demand. Now let's consider in turn how demand and supply respond to price changes. The Law of Demand The law of demand holds that demand for a product changes inversely to its price, all else being equal. In other words, the higher the price, the lower the level of demand. Because buyers have finite resources, their spending on a given product or commodity is limited as well, so higher prices reduce the quantity demanded. Conversely, demand rises as the product becomes more affordable. As a result, demand curves slope downward from left to right, as in the chart below. Changes in demand levels as a function of a product's price relative to buyers' income or resources are known as the income effect. Naturally, there are exceptions. One is Giffen goods, typically low-priced staples also known as inferior goods. Inferior goods are those that see a drop in demand when incomes rise because consumers trade up to higher-quality products. But when the price of an inferior good rises and demand goes up because consumers use more of it in place of costlier alternatives, the substitution effect turns the product into a Giffen good. At the opposite end of the income and wealth spectrum, Veblen goods are luxury goods that gain in value and consequently generate higher demand levels as they rise in price because the price of these luxury goods signals (and may even increase) the owner's status. Veblen goods are named for economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, who developed the concept and coined the term "conspicuous consumption" to describe it. The Law of Supply The law of supply relates price changes for a product with the quantity supplied. In contrast with the law of demand the law of supply relationship is direct, not inverse. The higher the price, the higher the quantity supplied. Lower prices mean reduced supply, all else held equal. Higher prices give suppliers an incentive to supply more of the product or commodity, assuming their costs aren't increasing as much. Lower prices result in a cost squeeze that curbs supply. As a result, supply slopes are upwardly sloping from left to right. As with demand, supply constraints may limit the price elasticity of supply for a product, while supply shocks may cause a disproportionate price change for an essential commodity. Equilibrium Price Also called a market-clearing price, the equilibrium price is the price at which demand matches supply, producing a market equilibrium acceptable to buyers and sellers. At the point where an upward-sloping supply curve and a downward-sloping demand curve intersect, supply and demand in terms of the quantity of the goods are balanced, leaving no surplus supply or unmet demand. The level of the market-clearing price depends on the shape and position of the respective supply and demand curves, which are influenced by numerous factors. Factors Affecting Supply In industries where suppliers are not willing to lose money, supply will tend to decline toward zero at product prices below production costs. Price elasticity will also depend on the number of sellers, their aggregate productive capacity, how easily it can be lowered or increased, and the industry's competitive dynamics. Taxes and regulations may matter as well. Factors Affecting Demand Consumer income, preferences, and willingness to substitute one product for another are among the most important determinants of demand. Consumer preferences will depend, in part, on a product's market penetration, since the marginal utility of goods diminishes as the quantity owned increases. The first car is more life-altering than the fifth addition to the fleet; the living-room TV more useful than the fourth one for the garage. What Is a Simple Explanation of the Law of Supply and Demand? If you've ever wondered how the supply of a product matches demand, or how market prices are set, the law of supply and demand holds the answers. Higher prices cause supply to increase while demand drops. Lower prices boost demand while limiting supply. The market-clearing price is one at which supply and demand are balanced. Why Is the Law of Supply and Demand Important? The Law of Supply and Demand is essential because it helps investors, entrepreneurs, and economists understand and predict market conditions. For example, a company considering a price hike on a product will typically expect demand for it to decline as a result, and will attempt to estimate the price elasticity and substitution effect to determine whether to proceed regardless. Top News - Investor Idea REE Stock News - Defense Metals (TSX-V: DEFN.V) (OTCQB: DFMTF) Drills 113 metres of 2.50% Total Rare Earth Oxide at Wicheeda Vancouver, British Columbia - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mining / Metals / Green Energy Stock News - Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN / OTCQB: DFMTF/ FSE:35D) is pleased to announce high-grade Rare Earth Element ("REE") assay results from one additional core hole, totalling 383 metres (m), collared within the northern area of Defense Metals' 100% owned Wicheeda REE Deposit. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) FIVE 'Strikingly Different' EV Crossover Tour Starts Tomorrow, Oct. 27, in Pasadena, California; New Los Angeles Area Stop Added BREA, Calif. - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) ("Mullen" or the "Company"), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today the beginning of the Mullen FIVE Strikingly Different EV Crossover Tour, which will commence on Oct. 27 in Pasadena, California. Due to overwhelming interest, new dates have been added for Nov. 1 and 2 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire The British government has launched an investigation into one of its own spies, Stakeknife, who was the British Armys most high-ranking agent in the IRA and is said to have operated undercover for 25 years. The Bedfordshire police chief, Jon Boutcher, is leading the investigation which will exclude those who have served in or are currently serving in the RUC, PSNI, Ministry of Defense or MI5. Operation Kenova, as the inquiry has been named, will examine if there is evidence of collusion, murder, attempted murder, perjury or other criminal offences by state agent Stakeknife, the British army, the security services or other government agencies. Boutcher said he did not underestimate the challenge he faced but was committed to finding the truth and aimed to bring those involved to justice. He said he would follow the evidence wherever it led him. This is expected to include looking at the IRA and its involvement in up 50 murders under investigation. Stakeknife worked for the top secret Force Research Unit (FRU) of the British Army. He was linked to the IRAs fearsome punishment internal security unit, which reportedly tortured its victims, usually in abandoned buildings in the Republic, before killing them He had his own dedicated handlers and agents, and it has been suggested that he was important enough that MI5 set up an office dedicated solely to him. It is speculated that he was being paid at least 80,000 sterling a year. West Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci fled Northern Ireland for Britain in 2003 after he was outed as the agent known as Stakeknife. Scappaticci has denied the allegations. There are reports that he later moved to Italy. Recruitment for the London-based Operation Kenova team began last weekend after the announcement was delayed by a day so it did not detract attention from the publication of the Police Ombudsmans report into the 1994 Loughinisland massacre where collusion was identified. Operation Kenova is expected to last up to five years at a cost of 5 million-7 million sterling a year. Updates will be posted on opkenova.co.uk. The death of British MP Jo Cox in the most awful circumstances by a right-wing nut with a gun may well swing the upcoming referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU to the remain voters when it has looked like leave was going to win. Tommy Mair, arrested for the killing, had subscribed to right-wing and fascist publications, most notably white South African ones. A recent picture showed him clad in a camouflage jacket. He seemed to be an oddball living alone, no friends, like so many of these nuts are. The Guardian reported Thursday he had links to Neo-Nazi groups in the US. He allegedly shouted "Britain First" when running from the scene, the name of the extreme right-wing party that is pushing for Britain to leave. This killing will give many British pause, I predict. The real nature of the right-wing phonies has been revealed in this killing. While the vast majority of leave voters hold sincere views, there is a right-wing cabal of parties who will not be happy until every foreigner leaves the "Sceptred Isle." Ignore the fact that Britain occupied for centuries many of the countries now sending immigrants to Britain, including Ireland, India, Pakistan, and you face a harsh reality. Like in America, where Donald Trump is stirring up hate and racism, the right-wing parties in Britain are doing the same. Read more: A Yes to Brexit would be disastrous for Irish / British relations The explosion of hate in Orlando and now in a quiet town in Yorkshire makes clear that the scare tactics are impacting. Jo Cox was a hugely talented British politician who welcomed immigrants, and who spent her pre-political life working with humanitarian organizations. In her maiden speech in the House of Commons she referred warmly to the immigrants in her constituency, including "Irish Catholics," Indians and Pakistanis. For that reason alone she became a target. What is most shocking is that she was killed by a gun, a very rare occurrence in Britain, where only .06 of homicides are carried out by guns. Jo Cox was leaving a drop-in meeting at a library yesterday when she was shot and stabbed multiple times by the 52-year old suspect, named locally as Tommy Mair. Taken to Leeds General Infirmary, 41-year-old Cox was pronounced dead at 1.48pm UK time while police confirmed that another man in his 70s had also sustained injuries in the attack. Prime Minister David Cameron and Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster both paid their respects to Cox whom they described as a hardworking and dedicated politician. PM on Jo Cox: Weve lost a great star. Jo was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion & a big heart. My thoughts are with her family. UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 16, 2016 Devastating news about Jo Cox MP. Thoughts and prayers with her family and colleagues at this sad time. Arlene Foster (@DUPleader) June 16, 2016 Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan also paid tribute stating: The fact that Ms Cox was attacked in this vicious way in the course of carrying out her duties for her constituents is deeply shocking. The suspension of the Remain and Leave campaigns for today is an apt recognition that todays horrific incident was an attack, not just on Ms Cox personally, but on the practice of democratic politics. The world is changing and not for the better. Immigrants, gays, anyone who is different is now a target. Like in the 19th century, the latest to arrive are viewed with suspicion and are handy fodder for demagogues. Just eight years ago Americans elected a black president. It's been a long way down. Read more: British Chancellor of the Exchequer warns Brexit would shock Northern Ireland Irish bars and pubs across the world have decked themselves out with tons of Guinness memorabilia through the years in tribute to the famous Irish stout. But has it ever crossed your mind, while enjoying a pint, that the beer mat its sitting on be worth more than the pint itself? Guinness has created some highly memorable icons over the years and produces everything from beer mats to lamps sporting their latest advertising ploys. Some of these products, with thanks to their rarity or the artist who designed them, have become highly prized objects, and memorabilia collectors pounce on the chance to own them, often handing out hefty sums of money to do so. Such is the price that certain objects now fetch at auction that the second half of a Guinness collection put together by Englishman Steve Smith is expected to reach as much as $127,000 (90,000)! Smith began collecting beer mats from the pubs in which he played darts during the 1980s. Over time Smith focused his collection on Guinness beermats and, later, Guinness-only memorabilia. Smith died of cancer two years ago at 58-years of age, leaving behind his collection as a windfall the rest of his family were certainly not expecting. Known under the username theguinnessman, Steve was a regular on ebay and in auction rooms across England and Ireland as a Guinness advertising collector. He started off his collection before other Guinness collectors joined in making it trendy. His house was converted into a shrine. He sold off the first half of his memorabilia collection in September 2015. It reached $52,000 (37,000) with certain pieces in the second set believed to attract even more attention. Read more: Guinness clock housed by Irish gov that plays God Save the Queen fetches $129k In particular, pieces designed by artist John Gilroy, who worked for Guinness from 1929 until the 1960s, are expected to attract big buyers on the lookout for his famous toucan, ostrich, pelican and sea lion illustrations. An laminated showcard featuring the Toucan, for example, fetched an incredible $917 (650) in the first auction. Its status [Guinness memorabilia] reflects the fact it is seen as one of the mightiest advertising campaigns, particular[ly] from the classic period in the 1950s and 1960s, said auctioneer Alan Blakeman. And these pieces can be found anywhere. One of Smiths prized pieces was one found in the trash, Smith's brother Paul told the Daily Mirror. One very rare item being sold this week is a big Guinness toucan that lights up. It was actually found during a house clearance from a loft in Wales! he said. Theres always something thats been found in a drawer, or loft, or in a shed. Advertising show cards, for instance, often turn up in the back of an old picture frame, continued Blakeman. Theyve been used as they were made of stiff cardboard but if its a now rare advert a collector will pay a decent price for it. Although they can be picked up the strangest of places, it doesnt mean that anything with Guinness brand on it is going to earn you a bit of extra cash. In fact, theres a guide to whats good and whats not The guide to Guinness collectables authored by David Hughes, Britains foremost expert on Guinness memorabilia. Theyve got to have some age and got to have some rarity, he explained. There are some wonderful Guinness items to collect from artwork of the original Gilroy posters from the 30s through to waiter trays, ashtrays, clocks and even thermometers. Guinness was always getting sent prototypes by manufacturers, many of which were never taken up, meaning there are many one-off and extremely rare items, Hughes continued. Hughes knew Smith personally and was also happy to learn that his feat will not be forgotten. We have lost a valued collector but maybe now as his collection is sold and spread around the world (all items carrying an identifying Steve Smith Collection sticker) it will perhaps inject new life into the hobby, he wrote. I think Steve would very much like that. Read more: Over 700 items are up for auction from the Guinness familys house in Co. Kildare H/T: Joe.ie The company was set up to commercialise pre-eclampsia screening technology developed by professor Louise Kenny at Cork UCC. Affecting almost 7.5 million pregnancies per year, pre-eclampsia is the single greatest cause of premature births and is still responsible for the deaths of more than 75,000 mothers and half a million babies each year. The Little Island-based companys PrePsia blood test will be able to detect the risk of pre-eclampsia early in the pregnancy, and it is hoped, ultimately save the lives of women and their babies through personalised medical interventions. Metabolomic Diagnostics chief executive Charles Garvey heralded the funding round as a significant milestone in the companys development which would allow it to finalise the commercialisation of its screening test. Securing this new funding will allow Metabolomic Diagnostics to complete the development of PrePsia with a view to bringing the product to market in 2017, Mr Garvey said. The funding round has been supported by existing investors including Cork-headquartered venture capital firm SOSV - formerly SOSventures - which was founded in 1993 by entrepreneur Sean OSullivan. The AIB Seed Capital Fund Enterprise Ireland as well as a number of private investors also backed Metabolomic Diagnostics again in the latest funding round. The same three main backers were involved in the companys first two funding rounds. Last February, it rose a second round of 750,000 which doubled its initial investment. The biotech company also announced that the countrys leading diagnostics entrepreneur, Jim Walsh has joined its board. Dr Walsh serves as executive director of Trinity Biotech and has made a number of significant investments in diagnostics and medical device companies over the years. In the modern world, there is no excuse for having a medical complication that can result in the deaths of otherwise healthy mothers and their unborn babies. "The technology being developed by Metabolomic Diagnostics is of enormous global significance and represents a substantial market opportunity to help combat pre-eclampsia, Dr Walsh said. Ms Kenny had been researching the condition in UCC four years prior to the company being established in 2011. Mr Garvey recognised the global potential in the early detection test she was developing. In the US alone, $7bn (6.29m) is spent annually on prenatal care associated with pre-eclampsia. Mr Little, who took up the role of vice president of media for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take over on July 1 after current managing director Stephen McIntyre departs. The former Prime Time presenter will also continue to lead the Twitter media team in Europe. Mr McIntyre is to join early-stage venture capital firm Frontline Ventures as a partner after four and a half years with Twitter in what he described as a very tough decision to leave. Writing on the publishing platform Medium, Mr McIntyre said building companies from an early-stage was what he enjoyed most, adding that he felt his move to Frontline would afford him that opportunity. Frontline is an early-stage VC firm with offices in Dublin and London and ambitious plans for the future. They have made 22 software investments in the UK and Ireland in the past three years, and I see a lot of potential in that portfolio. Mr McIntyre, who worked with Google before joining Twitter, touched on the interaction of multinationals and start-ups in Ireland which has caused debate among some stakeholders who feel it could be much stronger. His career, in which he was tempted back to Ireland from the US by a major multinational based here, is evidence that both attract talent to the country to the benefit of all companies. European authorities opened the probe in 2014, and in preliminary findings, said Apples tax arrangements were improperly designed to give the company a financial boost in exchange for jobs in Ireland. The speculation now is that the commission may make a decision sometime in July, Mr Noonan said in an interview in Luxembourg yesterday. But we dont know that with certainty. Its the general feel around Brussels that theyre walking toward a July decision, Mr Noonan added. Ireland will fight any negative commission decision to the EU courts, Mr Noonan said. The Government will vigorously defend any adverse Apple tax decision, he has said previously. The EU has gathered information on hundreds of companies and their agreements with national authorities as part of a clampdown on sweetheart tax deals that may be illegal state aid. While the commission continued its probe after its preliminary findings, asking for more detailed documentation, Irish authorities continue to expect a negative finding. That sense was likely heightened by three decisions since October, where the EU ruled that other governments elsewhere in the region had illegally provided aid to companies. In a worst-case scenario, Apple may face a 17bn bill if the government ultimately loses and is forced to recoup tax from the company, according to JPMorgan Chase analyst Rod Hall. Matt Larson of Bloomberg Intelligence puts the figure at more than $8bn (7bn). Brussels lawyers speculate that the final amount could be much less, in the hundreds of millions range large enough to send a message to companies like Apple and the countries that dole out tax breaks, but not too large to risk creating havoc in case the decisions get overturned in the EU courts. The reality is that nobody knows for sure, and its worth noting that the re- payment orders in other state aid cases have been relatively small. The commission in January ordered Belgium to recover about 700m in illegal tax breaks to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev and BP. Last year, Starbucks was ordered to pay just 30m in back taxes to the Dutch government. While Ireland notionally stands to get the cash, the bigger picture is a negative decision would hurt the countrys reputation and create uncertainty around its tax offering, which has been a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment. Given that Apple employs about 5,500 people in Ireland and the country is so reliant on US investment, the Government can ill-afford not to be seen to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Apple. Ireland could be sitting on the cash for several years, according to briefing notes, indicating that the money will move from Apples bank account to Irelands while lawyers make millions arguing over the decision. The EUs decision will only be the end of the beginning, rather than the beginning of the end. The Co. Meath-headquartered prospecting firm recently hinted commercialisation of the long-awaited, but potentially lucrative, Barruecopardo tungsten mine near Salamanca was likely to be delayed until next year. However, recent test drilling results also suggested the natural life of the mine should be extended from nine years to around 14 years. The move follows the Live Nation firm that operates the 3Arena, Amphitheatre Ltd, lodging an appeal with Bord Pleanala against a decision by South Dublin County Council to give Citywest the go-ahead to stage concerts. The decision by the local authority also allows Citywest to increase the capacity at the centre from just over 4,100 to 6,000 guests. The hotel is Dublins largest with 789 bedrooms. It was purchased for a reported 29m by Tetrarch Capital in 2014. Damien Gaffney, managing director of Tetrarch Hospitality, the operator of Citywest, said yesterday: Since acquiring Citywest in late 2014 we have initiated a 10m investment programme in upgrading the hotels facilities. There has been a very material spend on the hotels infrastructure and car parking and we also continue to oversee a significant amount of internal upgrade works. "We are very excited about the potential to increase the capacity of the convention centre which will widen the range of events we can host, he said. Consultants for Citywest told South Dublin County Council that the South Dublin County Development Plan supports the appropriate development of Citywest and that the proposed development is in accordance with the existing development on the site. However, Amphitheatre has retained planning consultants, John Spain & Associates to oppose the plan. In a submission, Amphitheatress consultants state the site is almost 15km from Dublin city centre and a concert venue in this location is likely to detract from venues in the city centre such as the seated area of the 3Arena, the Gaiety Theatre, the Bord Gais Energy Theatre and the Olympia and as a result have a negative impact on the vitality and primacy of the city centre. The planning consultants also state that the use of this edge-of-city site for public concerts is highly inconsistent with the overall character of the area which is typically residential, including local amenities and uses such as schools and convenience retail. The firm stated that a previous appeals board permission for the convention centre restricted the capacity to 4,161 and prohibited its use as a concert venue. This application is a direct contravention to the permission granted by the bord and seeks to reverse the condition without any material change in circumstances, the submission states. The widow of the late Jim Mansfield, former owner of Citywest, Ann Mansfield has also appealed the councils decision. She implored the council to refuse permission raising concerns over noise impacts from planned concerts at the venue on her property which is located 140m from the venue. A decision is due on the application in October. A spokesman for Amphitheatre declined to comment. Europes biggest carmaker said it would fund what it dubbed the biggest change process in the companys history with an efficiency drive, including integrating components businesses that currently employ 67,000 people in 26 locations worldwide. The Volkswagen Group will be more focused, efficient, innovative, customer-driven and sustainable and systematically geared to generating profitable growth, chief executive Matthias Mueller said, launching a plan called TOGETHER Strategy 2025. Andrew Shannon, aged 51, was previously jailed for damaging a 10m Monet painting at the National Gallery in December 2014. Shannon, of Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the books at his home while knowing or being reckless as to whether they were stolen on March 3, 2007. He was convicted by a jury last February. Judge Petria McDonnell sentenced him to one year in prison with the final six months suspended. Shannon was previously sentenced to six years imprisonment with the final 15 months suspended for damaging the Claude Monet painting. He had denied the charge but was convicted following trial. He moved to appeal his conviction in December of last year but judgment is still awaited. Shannons 35 other convictions include theft and burglary. The court heard that the 57 stolen books had originated in the library of Carton House in Kildare, the historical family seat of the FitzGerald family. Detective Garda Des Breathnach told Maurice Coffey, prosecuting, that in November 2006 the owner of Carton House reported that the books had been stolen after they were put in storage during the restoration of the country house. The distinctive books were later found openly on show in the house of Shannon in March 2007. Shannon was arrested in November of the same year. Counsel said the books were an antique gem and included a 1660 edition of the King James Bible. There was an agreement at the trial that the total overall value of the books was 6,500. Shannon told gardai he purchased these books at a fete in the Midlands in 2002. John Fitzgerald, defending, said his client suffered from a heart condition and asked the court to take this into account. Judge McDonnell said that Shannon trained as a French polisher and was an amateur antiques dealer who had a propensity based on previous convictions of acquiring things. Mr Lawless, a Chicago-based immigration advocate was one of 11 nominees appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, despite being based in Chicago. However, speaking in the Seanad yesterday on the order of business on the anniversary of the Berkeley tragedy, Mr Lawless read the letter from Mr Obama into the record of the House: Dear Billy, please accept my congratulations on your appointment to the Seanad. As Ive noted before, your story is a powerful one, and it reflects the enduring ties of friendship between the peoples of the United States and Ireland. Despite her diagnosis, she went ahead with her plans and had her haircut at her home in Coolboy, Co Wicklow, with Gorey hairdresser Christine Doyle visiting for the occasion and cutting Rias waist-length locks into a stylish bob. I saw little children that needed it and I saw that they needed it more than I did so I wanted to give it to them, Ria said before her haircut. The 5th class student from St Marys National School in Coolafancy, Co Wicklow said that she likes to imagine someone else getting it after its been turned into a wig, adding that she doesnt mind if she loses the rest of her hair herself and will wear a bandana until it grows back. Ria Molly is the first child in the Republic of Ireland to receive a new combined chemotherapy to treat her acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML) and mum Lynsey Shelly said doctors are unsure whether or not her treatment will make her lose her hair, so she opted to donate her ponytail while it is still usable. We saw a story of a little girl online who had alopecia and she read about it, and about other kids who had cancer, and she said, Im going to do that with my hair, Mrs Shelly said. But in May, Ria developed unexplained bruises and was quickly diagnosed with APML. Fortunately Ria is responding well to treatment and has a good prognosis, Mrs Shelly said. To look at her you wouldnt think theres anything wrong because shes so positive, Mrs Shelly said. Shes always got a smile on her face and asks how everyone else is and doesnt worry about herself. Shes really strong. Shes only 11 but shes taken everything in her stride. Im so proud of her. Anna Furlong, the founder of the Rapunzel Foundation, the charity to which Ria donated her hair, praised the 11-year- old for her kindness. In the midst of her own trauma, to be able to think of giving to others is a very generous act, Ms Furlong said. Even before her diagnosis, the effort and commitment to grow her hair for so long is amazing. A network of 350 registered salons throughout the country will provide a free cut to donors, and Ms Furlong says they receive an average of 100 ponytails a week. The charity only takes hair that is over 14 inches (35.5cm) long. The Rapunzel Foundation then sells the hair to Freedom Wigs, a company in New Zealand, where they are made into specialised prosthetic hair pieces, and uses the proceeds to fund the purchase of completed wigs for those who cant afford them. The incident occurred at the Rathmore Rd jail overnight on Wednesday, just months after the new 43m purpose-built facility became operational. Prison authorities said it appeared as if a stop-cock in a roof-top water tank malfunctioned, sending water cascading into the school area, and leaving about an inch of water swirling on the floor area. The area around the station had to be sealed off, a section of the Luas Red Line closed, and a nearby hostel evacuated while gardai called in the army bomb disposal team. Gardai conducted a stop and search on a man at Store St, in Dublins north inner city, right beside Store Street Garda Station, shortly after 6am. Sources said the man, aged in his mid-40s, is a dissident republican but indicated he was not connected to the Kinahan-Hutch feud, which has claimed seven lives, four of them in the north inner city. Hes a dissident, but is not linked to the Hutch gang, said one source. A number of dissident republicans, including murdered Michael Barr, have been associated with the Hutch gang and some were involved in the Regency Hotel attack on February 5 last, which claimed the life of Kinahan lieutenant, David Byrne. That sparked five revenge murders by associates of the Kinahan cartel, four in the north inner city. A Garda statement said that the gardai arrested the man following an incident which occurred just after 6am on Store Street. A man [mid-40s] was stopped and searched and is currently detained under Section 30, Offences Against the State Act 1939 at Irishtown Garda Station, the statement said. It said that the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called in and had removed a suspect package. A statement from the Defence Forces said the team removed component parts of an Improvised Explosive Device from the scene. The Army Bomb Disposal Team arrived on scene at 06.50am, where an assessment was made on the components, the statement said. The area was cordoned off in the interest of public safety. The component parts were removed to a safe military installation for further examination. The scene was declared safe at 07.30am. It said all items of evidential nature had been handed over to the gardai. These items have been taken to the Technical Bureau at Garda HQ for ballistic and forensic analysis. The find followed the separate discovery of bomb parts in Donabate, north Dublin, on Wednesday. Tributes were paid last night to the 21-year-old woman from Mayfield, on the northside of Cork city, who died after falling from a balcony on the holiday island of Tenerife on Wednesday. Her distraught friends took to social media to pay tribute to her, with one describing her as a gorgeous young girl with a contagious smile, while another said she was a sweet, beautiful and genuine girl. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is providing consular assistance. At the request of the family, the Irish Examiner will not yet be naming or publishing a picture of the woman. Meanwhile, Mr Fitzgerald is in a critical condition in hospital in La Coruna after falling onto rocks while on holiday in the north of the country. Its understood he sailed with friends from Dublin to Galicia where he was to meet up with his wife Evelyn - the couple had planned to walk part of the famous Camino de Santiago. But soon after he arrived in Spain, he is said to have felt faint before sitting down on a low wall where he lost his balance and fell onto rocks damaging his spine. He had surgery at a La Coruna hospital, but its understood complications arose. He has now been placed in a medically-induced coma; with family at his bedside. A native of Glin in County Limerick, and a past award-winning RTE reporter, he served as head of communications and research for the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) from 2007 until he was appointed to GSOC in December 2011. He is a former producer, reporter, and researcher with RTE, having worked on popular television and radio programmes, including The Late Late Show, Prime Time, and Liveline. He was named News and Current Affairs Journalist of the Year in 1999, and is a former chairman of the Dublin Broadcasting Branch of the National Union of Journalists. Dr Harry Sweeney with addresses at Dunshaughlin, Co Meath and Hokkaido, Japan and Y K Paca Paca Farm, Hokkaido, Japan, are in three cases, suing UL and each of the students over alleged defamation. The plaintiffs say there is no basis to claims by the students about the behaviour of Dr Sweeney towards them while on placement there between January and March 2014 as part of their UL courses in equine studies. The plaintiffs also claim, with no warning to them, two of the three UL students on placement, were collected by taxi and driven away from the farm on March 19, 2014. That occurred after the two students contacted their parents seeking to go home and the parents in turn contacted UL which sought assistance from the Irish embassy, Luan O Braonain, counsel for UL, said. Dr Sweeney and the farm claim the Irish Ambassador to Japan decided at short notice to cancel a visit by the Minister for Children to the farm scheduled for that same day and this, they claim, damaged the reputations and standing of the plaintiffs internationally. The plaintiffs also claim difficulties had emerged with the two students during their placement and Dr Sweeney had informed one of them, after an incident on March 16, 2014, she should consider herself suspended while her behaviour on the farm was being considered. The following day, St Patricks Day 2014, Dr Sweeney says he sent emails to UL notifying it of extremely serious difficulties with some students on placement and stating consideration was being given to sending one of them home. He claims he had a long conversation with an agent of UL on March 18 about difficulties being experienced with the students. UL has yet to deliver a defence to the case against it. The High Court heard yesterday solicitors for one of the students have alleged in correspondence she will claim Dr Sweeney was inappropriate, offensive and bullying towards her and had sexually harassed her. The solicitors also wrote the student will allege that, some months before the placement started, she was interviewed in Ireland by Dr Sweeney during which she and other interviewees were asked to stand up mid-interview and slowly turn around so she might be inspected physically. It also claimed he had engaged in inappropriate conversation, including asking her whether she was in a relationship. The solicitors further alleged no UL representative was present. In correspondence on behalf of Dr Sweeney, all those claims were strongly denied. It is also claimed the students had fabricated claims against Dr Sweeney to avoid repercussions about their alleged behaviour. The plaintiffs case against UL was before Ms Justice Miriam ORegan yesterday via a pre-trial application by UL to have all three cases consolidated. The consolidation application was resisted by Miriam Reilly, for the plaintiffs, on grounds including the UL case raised very different issues from those in the cases against the students. UL had also said in correspondence it does not know anything about what occurred between Dr Sweeney and the two students and could not offer evidence in that regard, the court heard. The judge will hear final arguments on the application today. Mairead Glynn said the higher level science paper should have allowed reasonably well-revised students manage it with ease. The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) subject representative said a broad range of topics was examined. Although one chemistry question was wordy, she thought that there was nothing too difficult in the exam, and her students at Tallaght Community School in Dublin mostly agreed. Ger Curtin said that students had a fair tailwind behind them going into the exams, having already accounted for up to 35% of marks in science with the earlier completion of their course work. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) subject spokesperson described the higher level science exam as very manageable, as students could work their way through it and do quite well. He said the ordinary level exam had a lot of visual aids to prompt students, including many good diagrams. Many of the tasks to be expected at this level were required, such as drawing a graph and describing experiments. Ms Glynn also found no surprises in the ordinary level paper, with a good range of topics from the syllabus covered. Jane Craig Elliott of the ASTI said that the religious education exams at both levels were not too challenging. The ordinary level exam had many of the traditional questions about stewardship and images of god in different religions. Higher level students accounted for nearly 24,000 of the 27,800 registered to take the exams yesterday. Ms Craig Elliott said the comprehension about stewardship introduced a different context to the usual understanding of the topic around care of the environment or resources. The piece was about a child sharing the tiny piece of food she was given after queuing at a soup kitchen. A question about religious festivals might have risked some students writing about Christmas but veering off the religious aspects, she suggested. In the section on major world religions, Ms Craig Elliott was concerned that students of a Christian background might have struggled to know enough about prayers of other faiths to answer a question about the belief in one of them. However, she said students had an option to pick another question to answer from that section. Following reports in the Irish Examiner yesterday about the pending increase in fees, the matter dominated Leaders Questions in the Dail. Standing in for the Taoiseach, Ms Fitzgerald expressed her concern and the concern of the Government at the reported increases of over 80% to charges. She said Housing Minister Simon Coveney will put it up to the companies as to why such increases are being imposed on homeowners. He will put it up to them to explain their justification for what is happening and for such significant price increases and hikes. This was never the spirit of the legislation, she said. It was never meant to be an excuse for hiking up charges. The minister in the first instance will discuss this with the companies next week, she added. Fianna Fails Dara Calleary called on the Government to freeze the charges until clarity can be established on the issue. Will the Government agree to freeze these charges until people can realise where the savings are, or if the savings actually exist? he asked in the Dail. Mr Calleary referred to his colleague, Dublin South West TD John Lahart, who had correspondence from constituents who said their bills are set to soar from 420 a year to 700. Can the Tanaiste say whether she and her Government colleagues agree with the increased bin charges? Do they agree with companies profiteering from Government incompetence by adding to standing charges in the way they are doing in this city and this country today? Are they aware of and do they understand the level of anger and worry that exists regarding these charges? Mr Calleary asked. Responding to Mr Calleary, Ms Fitzgerald said this is an issue of how certain companies are behaving. This is a competitive market. If this is seen as taking advantage, the minister will introduce regulations if necessary, she added. We accept it is an urgent issue. We do not wish to see consumers being exploited in any way in this change of policy to pay-by-weight. As I said, this policy was intended to reduce costs for householders and this was the spirit behind the legislation, Ms Fitzgerald told the Dail. Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald sought to pile pressure on Fianna Fail saying without their support this incompetent crew would not be in a position to continue their incompetent governance. Ms McDonald said either the minister acts to bring in a new regulation, or Sinn Fein senators will bring forward a motion to the Seanad to ensure the regulation its annulled. Is he playing a dangerous game bowing out now? Can his show succeed without his own sweat sprinkling the front row? Can the replacements match the twinkling toes of Lord Michael? Can his proteges carry the spectacle without his special swashbuckling swagger? Will their hair, head and chest varieties, be as mesmerising? To be fair, Flatley has been making magic on stage for a long time now and he had to bow out at some point. The honorary Corkonian chose St Patricks Day in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, for his swansong. Sure, Cork is totally the Las Vegas of Europe, so I cant help thinking he missed a trick there. Julia and Donal Mulcahy from Cathedral Road, Cork, arent concerned the show will be missing Flatley. Julia saw the show last year, but Donal missed it as he was, funny enough, in Vegas for his 60th. So they both wanted to catch the show together this year. Last year was absolutely fantastic. My 11-year-old grand-daughter came with me and she loved it, says Julia. It was the first time at a Flatley show for Patsy McEnerys from Glanmire, Cork and at the Marquee. She doesnt mind that Magic Mike wont be on stage and just wants to make sure therell be room for her to do her own jig. After a 30minute wait due to a technical error we were off. I cant help but notice theres an awful lot of blondes in the show. Katrina ODonnell from Mayo and Galway girl Nikita Cassidy, two of the high-kicking stars, have been quoted as saying blondes look better on stage because their hair stands out more. As a brunette, it kills me to say it, but its true. At one point, the demure lady dancers rip off their fairy costumes to reveal black sparkly bras, knickers and tights. The sound of every male spine straightening in unison is something to behold. The lads highstepped on next, alas, not even the ole peaky hats came off them. Boo. It was schmaltzy and snazzy, it was fun, fast, frenetic. It was very entertaining. Flatley may not have been front and centre last night, but you could see his mark on every bit of the show in the Marquee. Vegas, eat your heart out. The concerns were raised after the bodies of two women were found in a dinghy off the coast of Libya by the crew of LE Roisin and many of the other 111 other migrants onboard collapsed as they were rescued. Just over a week ago LE Roisin came across a migrant vessel in the same area in which they discovered a dead man. It has now emerged that he was Eritrean and had been moved around by people-smugglers for three months. He was then detained in a holding centre for a further month before being herded onto an unseaworthy craft. The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was convicted in August 2010 of 87 counts of sexually assaulting and raping his two daughters when they were aged five to 11 and sexually assaulting his son when he was aged three to six from 1997 to 2002. He had denied the charges. He was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury following a seven-week trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice George Birmingham on October 4, 2010, for the rape of his daughters. He was given further determinate sentences for other offences. For the third time this week, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail found themselves to be on the same side in terms of a vote on legislation. The Rent Certainty Bill was defeated in the Dail by 87 votes to 43. Fianna Fails housing spokesman Barry Cowen said he and his party voted against Sinn Fein as the party sought to preempt the Oireachtas housing committee report. He said: It was wrong to put this forward ahead of the final report from the housing and homelessness committee. Mr Cowen described the Sinn Fein bill as old politics and stated it was an effort to upstage the all-party response of the housing committee. The proposed Sinn Fein Rent Certainty Bill sought to link rises in rent to the Consumer Price Index in an attempt to keep prices from continuously creeping upwards. Its housing spokesman, Eoin O Broin said in the aftermath of the vote he was deeply disappointed that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have voted against this legislation. He said the bill would have provided much-needed stability in the private rental market, for both landlords and tenants. Families facing rent reviews in the coming months could see their rent jump by 10 to 20%. The bill, he claimed, would have saved renters up to 1,000 yearly. Mr O Broin argued Fianna Fail, in the past, called for rent certainty measures. He said Fianna Fails decision to side with the Government was unfortunate. While it is not surprising that Fine Gael is opposed to rent certainty, Fianna Fails opposition to our bill is hard to understand. He said Sinn Fein will continue to pursue fair rents and security of tenure for renters struggling with rising costs everywhere. Mr O Broin, who sat on the housing committee, said Sinn Fein was not trying to preempt the housing committee or the minister. The Oireachtas housing and homelessness committee will, later today, release its report into the housing crisis and set out a series of recommendations to begin to tackle the problem. Housing committee chairman John Curran said the scale of the challenge facing Ireland is immense. In advance of the report, he added as well as those who are already homeless, there are thousands of others who are at risk of losing their homes. The Taoiseach had travelled to the UK yesterday to encourage Irish communities in Liverpool and Manchester to vote to remain in the European Union. However, news of the shooting and stabbing filtered out as Mr Kenny was speaking at St Michaels Irish Centre in Liverpool. I have heard about the shooting and the stabbing of Jo Cox in West Yorkshire. This is an appalling crime on a public representative going about her duty, a mother of two young children. he said. I hope and pray that she will be ok, he said, shortly before the fatal injuries claimed her life. Before the death was announced, Mr Kenny had described the attack as an atrocity and outrageous behaviour. The Taoiseach said he would not be commenting further on Brexit out of respect. However, he fulfilled a prearrangement engagement at a business evening in Manchester, last night, where he did not talk about Brexit. With both the Remain and Leave camps cancelling their campaigns immediately after the attack, the Taoiseach had said: Out of respect for those decisions, I will not make any further reference to the referendum to be held next week during the course of my remaining duties here. Husband of murdered MP Jo Cox urges people to 'fight against hatred' https://t.co/XJc1ZSg2B2 pic.twitter.com/MQtDT03ai3 Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) June 16, 2016 Earlier in the day, he had told the Irish community in Liverpool to think of Ireland and the implications a Brexit would have on trade, borders and other relations between both countries. This is a really important vote because if you are living in Wigan or St Helens, or Liverpool and you are Irish when you go to vote next week if your vote is to stay to remain a member of the European Union, you are making things a little bit easier for our own country. The freedom of movement between Ireland and Britain has been very important for business, for trade, for friendships, for family and hospitality. He said 1.2bn in trade was recorded between Ireland and Britain each week, with 200,000 jobs in Ireland dependent on the UK business. The Taoiseach said most of the consequences of Brexit were unknown but he had warned it would mean increased costs and loss of competitiveness. If that were to happen movement over and back across the Irish sea would be affected one way or the other. Earlier in the day, Labour leader Brendan Howlin, also in Liverpool in support of the Remain campaign, questioned whether the Irish Government would be prepared in the event of a Brexit. Mr Howlin said he was not sure if robust enough preparation had been carried out by Ireland in the event of a no vote next week. I think most people have been working under the assumption that Britain will vote to stay, I still hope passionately that that will be the outcome and I believe it will be the outcome, but we certainly have to prepare for other eventualities and I am not sure we have done robust preparation. World: 14 Senior officials said it is inevitable incidents of illegal dumping will increase when the new charging system, where average households could face bin charges of up to 500 an 80% hike in some cases kicks in on July 1. In Cork City, council officials are regularly monitoring up to 100 dumping hotspots across the city. The councils dedicated fly-tipping unit collects an average of 90 tonnes of illegally dumped material every month, senior engineer Eamonn Walsh said. Director of services in the councils environment directorate, Jim ODonovan said fly-tipping has always been a problem. But he said it was less of an issue when the council was responsible for waste collection and had a generous waiver scheme in place. Almost half the citys 25,000 domestic waste customers availed of either a full or partial waiver, a system which cost the city just over 4m to provide. The city sold its loss-making domestic waste collection service to Country Clean in 2011 with a condition the waiver scheme be continued until April 2013. Mr ODonovan said there was a slight increase in illegal dumping after the service was transferred to the private operator. When the waiver system was discontinued, there was some increase in fly-tipping, he said. The problem of illegal dumping was less when city was operating the waste service and the waiver was in place. Mr Walsh says the council investigates all cases of illegal dumping but he said the number of successful court cases is not as high as they would like. In Cork county, its dedicated fly-tipping unit collected more than 60 tonnes of waste in the first four months of this year alone. That was across 138 working days, the councils director of environment services, Sharon Corcoran, said. They responded to 577 complaints in that period. That is in the present climate when waste is not charged per kilogramme, so you can draw your own conclusions about what effect the changes will have. We will have to wait and see what impact it has, but we will be vigilant. At least initially, we expect waste (illegal dumping) levels to increase. While some waste management companies have published details of their new pay-by-weight prices, others, including Country Clean, one of the largest operators in Cork, have yet to finalise their charges despite the fact the new system comes into effect in just over two weeks. It is also understood some waste management companies have been discussing the need for some form of waiver for households on low income, or for those with specific medical needs. Several companies have flagged this issue with their representative body, the Irish Waste Management Association, but no decisions have been finalised. It is understood this will be among the key issues on the table for discussion when the industry meets minister for local government, Simon Coveney, next week. Mr Coveney said the Government will deal with waste management companies found to be abusing the new pricing system and hiking prices. We will be watching to see whether companies are using the change to increase charges, he said. And if we see companies abusing that, we wont be slow to act. Clearly, we dont want to encourage a system that treats people unfairly. The minister also said the industry will have to consider specific cases, but he refused to be drawn yesterday on whether that means he wants to see the introduction of some form of waiver scheme. Editorial: 10 ANY parent with a small child has at least one brush with death. Or at least that moment where you think that your kids temperature is so high and they are so agitated that they must have a life threatening disease. VIRAL INFECTION Newstalk Presenter Jonathan Healy had just such a heart stopping moment when his son Matthew was twelve months. The infant got a viral infection and was rushed to hospital where doctors promptly informed himself and his wife Colette that their darling child would have to be transferred to Crumlin. Cue sweaty hands and an anxious drive to Dublin. Luckily Jonathan says the whole episode was the traditional false alarm that children are so adept at in their early years. He went in to the ambulance like a dying swan. We were terrified. Of course we got to Crumlin and he practically danced out of the ambulance. We went in to the surgeon and he said he was grand. Children can scare the living daylights out of you. I will shame him about that story at his wedding. Jonathan is father to Jack (8), Matthew (5) and two-year-old Aoife. So as he says he is firmly in the zone of hands-on full-on parenting. Sleep deprivation is part of the whole experience. At one stage when Aoife was teething he and Colette were up more times a night than when she was a newborn. However, he is doing everything he can to enjoy the transient moments of childhood. He is conscious stages pass quickly and the clock is ticking as to when his kids decide dad isnt cool anymore. Jack bought a teddy bear in Fota and he loved it and I thought there will come a time when he wont want a teddy bear or to go to Fota. I wont be cool. When Aoife wants a tea party she will just come and grab you by the hand. You are doing it and that is it. I know we probably give them too much. We have invested in the future of Thomas the Tank Engine. At last count there were 112 trains in the house. We have put Thomas the Tank through college. The Healy kids arent a bit impressed that dad is on the radio. They are under the impression that everyones dad is a broadcaster. Matthew has even latched on to the idea that his dad works in the Burlington Hotel as the family had an overnight stay there. Initially, Jonathan said he and his wife tried to have a policy of no children in the bed but when Aoife came along that went out the window. They know when to catch you. When you are at your weakest. The two-year-old is the best at it. They know how to wrap you around their finger. FOUR IN A BED Meanwhile, TV3 journalist Paul Byrne is father to Callum (6) and Charlie Mai who will celebrate her second birthday this month. Paul jokes that whoever invented Calpol should be given the Nobel Peace prize. However, he is relishing his new role with all the rough and tumble that comes with it. Sure there are four of us in the bed most nights as the kids come in with myself and Deirdre. We got bunk beds but more often than not I end up in the bottom bunk.. You would be in bed at night with the kids legs in your face. But thats all part of it. Paul said he and his dad were inseparable growing up and he has the same bond with his kids. He is dead 30 years and there isnt a day that goes by that I dont think of him. He was an auctioneer and with the showbands. Callum plays the drums and I would love my dad to see that. I come from a close-knit family and I took that with me in to the big bad world of parenting. I say to Callum if you have any problems just talk to me. And then he will say something and it will be so so innocent. One day I talked to him about something my dad did and he asked where is your dad? and I just said up in heaven. He is great. Paul celebrated his 50th birthday recently and says parenting is a young mans game. But he would still love another addition to his cherished family. When he was younger he was out working seven nights a week so he is in a better place for parenting and knows that there has to be a work/life balance. That said the inquisitive reporter is always lurking. Paul admits he is a devil for checking rolling news updates on his phone to the point where he gets told off by the kids for his bad habit.. Paul and Deirdre have an au pair to help them with the kids and he says she is a lovely girl who has become part of the family. The worst feeling he stresses is when you see your children sick. They can be full of joy on a Monday and dying on a Tuesday and you feel so helpless looking at them. It is terrible to see your kids sick. A hands on dad he changes nappies but admits it is something he could only do for his own kids. He is keenly anticipating his beloved Charlie Mais second birthday on June 28 and is loving every minute of his new life. EASYGOING CHILD RTEs Daithi OShea is dad to two-year-old Micheal Og. He says he and wife Rita are blessed with a toddler who sleeps from 7pm to 7am. You are afraid to tell people that in case they will hate you. He is a very easygoing child. He is fierce entertaining. And so good. You would tell him to pick up toys at bedtime and he will do it. Daithi, who presents the Today show with Maura Derrane, says once he leaves work he puts it out of his head to concentrate on parenting. Once I am home I am home. I have a two hour drive home so I have it well left behind me when I go in the door. I can wind down on the way home. When I am with Rita or the small boy I dont care who said what during the day. Daithi said he would like baby number two but has the attitude of if it comes it comes. He acknowledges life is hectic and that like any toddler Micheal Og can have flu every week and you are up and down to the doctor. He stresses that there is great solace in knowing that every parent experiences these hiccups. Like Paul, Daithi says having Micheal Og makes him nostalgic for his late father and the idyllic days of his childhood. He puts on Irish music in the house to replicate the happy times of his youth so he is unconsciously passing on his fathers legacy. Daithi adds that parenting is all about give or take and that ultimately everything is about the child as it should be. You might be sitting down expecting to watch the match but by God you are watching Tractor Ted and that is that. But he is great craic. I am loving it. Everyone assumes that living with a chef would be a dream come true but having a professional cook in the house doesnt mean their other half never has to lift a finger. We spoke to the partners of some of Irelands best-known chefs to find out who is slaving over a hot stove, and what its like preparing a meal for an expert. SALLYANNE CLARKE ON COOKING FOR DERRY Who does the cooking? There are just the two of us at home now, and we are rarely there due to the hours we work. But if Derry is putting a new dish together, he usually uses my Mum and me as guinea pigs during Sunday lunch. I do a great Irish breakfast and even Derry cant match my poached eggs. But I dont cook it too often because otherwise, he begins to ask what I am looking for. Is it scary cooking for Derry? Derry is not at all difficult to cook for. In fact, he is usually the opposite very relaxed and happy that someone else is doing the cooking. Even beans on toast get his approval. There was a time when he would interfere and suggest other ways to cook or even prepare meals, but I stopped cooking altogether for a while doing the preparation and washing up instead. So nowadays, he is very appreciative and happy to let me be in charge. Do you ever attempt any of his recipes? No I am not that brave. But I can tell you how to cook most things, as customers ask all the time about preparation and cooking. However, I prefer to leave the cooking to the professionals. Have you ever had any culinary disasters? Once I made a chicken dish with chilli and limes from a magazine recipe. But it was a disaster and we had to order a takeaway Derry though it was hilarious and I havent attempted anything new since. Who chooses the wine? Whichever of us cooks I always choose the wine Derry leaves that to me even when we dine out, as he says I always know what he likes and he trusts my judgement. I believe women tend to have better palates for wine and one of the joys of my job is that I get to taste new wines regularly so its a nice perk. CATHERINE DUNDON ON COOKING FOR KEVIN Who does the cooking? Most of the day-to-day cooking is done by me. I tend to favour one-pot-wonders such as stew, shepherds pie, lasagne and curry the less cleaning-up the better. We all love roasts in our house so again I love to throw everything in the roasting pan along with the meat and mix roast potatoes with honey-roasted carrots and parsnips for example. Leftovers then get transformed into something like chicken biryani or a hearty lamb stew. The kids all love pasta of course so again Im happy to see everything in the one pan. On a lazy night Ill do Spanish potato omelette with green salad and garlic bread. Kevin will always take charge of major events like Christmas and other full-on family celebrations and he seems to just throw everything together at very short notice and with very little effort yet still produces something mouth-watering, which is really annoying for me. Do you ever attempt any of his recipes? The kids and I have tried quite a couple of Kevins recipes with all his cookbooks on the shelf, we have a big stock to choose from his brown bread and scones and the fish cooking techniques are spot on. Is it scary cooking for Kevin? When things go wrong there is no point in Kevin telling me off as I will just abandon the effort and happily have beans on toast if necessary. He will usually roll his eyes and mutter under his breath but knows theres no point losing the head with my cooking as hell end up having to do it himself otherwise. Have you had any culinary disasters? I made a chocolate souffle once with the kids but the less said the better on our result. I usually try to hide any evidence of a total disaster before Kevin even sniffs it and we have a big golden retriever who happily helps me out. Who chooses the wine? Wine is usually my domain but with our new craft brewery here at Dunbrody, Kevin often brings up new recipes [beers] to sample with our dinner. MARIA CORRIGAN ON COOKING FOR RICHARD Who does the cooking? When the children were young, I did most of the cooking, making things that kids like to eat like pasta, roasts and shepherds pie. Now that the family are older, they all like to chip in and help out with cooking so whoever gets in first in the evening will usually make a start on preparing dinner which is great as it is lovely to come home to a meal already cooked. Is it scary cooking for Richard? He is not difficult to cook for at all he is easily pleased and often likes basic things like beans on toast or a toasted sandwich if he has just come in from work. He does, however, interfere when others are cooking and feels the need to jump in. It doesnt help that our kitchen-diner is open plan so unless he leaves the room he can see whats going on. Do you ever attempt any of his recipes? I have tried the soda bread recipe which turned out fine and tasty, but havent ventured beyond that yet. Have you had any culinary disasters? There have been lots of culinary disasters but the one that sticks in my mind was a risotto which turned out like glue. While making it I got distracted on the phone and when I got back to the dish it was stuck to the pot it was a disaster which I havent attempted since. Who chooses the wine? Richard likes to choose wine which is fine as he knows more about it than me. If my son Richie is around I will ask his advice on what wine to choose as he also has a good knowledge of wines. AMELDA MAGUIRE ON COOKING FOR NEVEN Who does the cooking? Neven does most of the cooking, making big batches for the twins to eat when they come home from pre-school, or for us to have during the week. I experiment with healthy recipes such as gluten-free and sugar-free options and Neven passes on great tips to me. Is it scary cooking for Neven? He really appreciates anything anyone else prepares for him. He has a very sweet tooth and loves my coconut and chocolate bars. When we were in Thailand last winter we had some delicious food which Neven loved and I have been attempting to re-create some of the dishes. He is great to show me what to do, but does find it difficult to then step back and let me take over. Do you ever attempt any of his recipes? I have attempted quite a few of his recipes, particularly from his new healthy home chef book I made a hummus and tuna bruschetta which I turned out to be really good but the twins informed me that Daddys was better. Have you had any culinary disasters? Yes, I have had more than a few disasters even last week, I was trying to make a stock and put the bones on to boil but completely forgot about them and when I remembered and went to turn down the pan, the juice had completely evaporated. I also had a disaster with some sweet potato which again I forgot about and the pan burned so badly that Neven had to take it in to work to put it into an acid bath to try and get the black off it I think I just try to do too many things at once. Who chooses the wine? We both like the same white wines and both like pinot noir reds, but Neven has a much better memory for remembering a wine we have had and liked before, so he will usually have a quick look. If he doesnt see anything which catches his eye, I will make the decision. MAIRE FLYNN ON COOKING FOR PAUL Who does the cooking? I actually do most of the family cooking especially the everyday dinners for the kids during the week. Is it scary cooking for Paul? Paul doesnt interfere when I am cooking and isnt the slightest bit difficult to prepare a meal for, as long as its all perfect. Do you ever attempt any of his recipes? I often use the recipes Paul has created for Lidl Ireland and they always turn out well, as they are perfect for fast family food. Otherwise I like Domini Kemp and Nigel Slater cookbooks. Have you had any culinary disasters? We have an Aga and I found it a bit tricky at the beginning I remember cremating a roast chicken in the hottest oven, but generally I dont have too many culinary disasters as usually I have someone to turn to for advice. Who chooses the wine? Paul is hopeless at choosing wine so when we are having dinner, I generally take care of that side of things. In revolutionising access to information, the internet severely disrupted the business model of journalism. This is of critical concern because well-resourced, quality journalism is a vital component of a democratic society. It may not always be perfect, but journalism does inform the public and hold power to account. Essentially, the funding crisis in journalism emerges from three overlapping trends: the publics unwillingness to pay for online news, the low rate of return for online advertising, and the growing power of online technology companies. Results from the second Oxford Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland) 2016, the largest ongoing study of news consumption in the world, highlight the extent of the difficulties facing news publishers. Results from the second Oxford Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland), the largest ongoing study of news consumption in the world, highlight the extent of the difficulties facing news publishers. Although the Irish public are keenly interested in news - 84 per cent assess some news every day - 71 per cent are unwilling to pay for online news. Among those who do currently pay for news, almost half pay less than 50 a year. Undoubtedly, the widespread availability of free news in the global English-language market influences peoples willingness to pay. All English-speaking countries surveyed for the Reuters Digital News Report have low rates of paying for news. Undoubtedly, the widespread availability of free news in the global English-language market influences peoples willingness to pay. All English-speaking countries surveyed for the Reuters Digital News Report have low rates of paying for news. With so few people willing to pay for news, advertising is a key alternative revenue source. But this fragmented market is also beset with problems. Online advertising generates far less revenue than traditional offline advertising and many people find adverts on news sites intrusive. While some 42 per cent of consumers are willing to view adverts in return for free access to news, this attitude is largely negated by the growth of ad blocking software. Ireland has the highest level of ad blocker penetration among English-speaking nations and more than half of 18-24s in Ireland use some form of ad blocker. Evidence suggests that people rarely go back once they have installed an ad blocker. Ireland has the highest level of ad blocker penetration among English-speaking nations and more than half of 18-24s in Ireland use some form of ad blocker. Evidence suggests that people rarely go back once they have installed an ad blocker. In this scenario, news publishers may push further into social media platforms where ad blockers have limited impact. Of course, this also means that publishers will become even more dependent on a small set of online technology companies. These companies can change their algorithms at any time and they attract the majority of new online advertising revenue. In the US, Brian Nowak, a Morgan Stanley analyst, notes that 85 cents of every new dollar spent in online advertising goes to Google or Facebook. To a large extent, publishers are already dependent on social media. More than half of Irish consumers now get their news from social media. Convenience is a major factor as the ubiquity of smartphones goes hand in hand with easy access to social media apps. In essence, news publishers are left at sea in a market they used to control. They no longer control distribution or readers access to content and they cannot control advertising. So what options are available to publishers? Paywalls limit access unless the reader pays. This strategy can work well for special interest publications, such as the Wall Street Journal or the Irish Farmers Journal, because readers have a good reason to pay for articles they cannot get elsewhere. The wisdom of a paywall is not as obvious for general news publishers. After all, if one publication restricts access to the latest news, the same content is freely available elsewhere. And if they restrict access altogether, web traffic decreases, fewer people share articles, and the hoped for monetisation of that traffic disappears. Publishers that deny access to people using ad-blocker risk a similar fate. Native advertising, or advertising disguised as a news article, has attracted much attention within industry. Such adverts have been a major feature of magazines and lifestyle supplements for decades. The willingness of quality publications to integrate native advertising into serious news content is a new development and one that risks undermining the credibility of journalism. The willingness of quality publications to integrate native advertising into serious news content is a new development and one that risks undermining the credibility of journalism. In some countries, particularly non-English-speaking ones, publishers experiment with crowd-funding. In the US, and to lesser extent the UK, philanthropy is a major source of funding for investigative journalism. Neither of these appear workable models for a small English-speaking nation like Ireland at least not on the scale required for a vibrant national fourth estate. Neither of these appear workable models for a small English-speaking nation like Ireland at least not on the scale required for a vibrant national fourth estate. Currently, much of the discussion about the future of journalism takes place within industry, academic and regulatory spaces. But the issue is one of public importance from the local to the national level. As global corporations, Google and Facebook have little reason to be concerned with investigative journalism and reporting in Ireland. How to fund Irish journalism is not a pressing question for US corporations. It is a question for the Irish public for those who pay and those who wont pay and it is a priority for the new Minister of Communications. Dr Eileen Culloty is a researcher at the DCU Institute for Future Media and Journalism (FuJo). With support from the BAI, FuJo conducted analysis for the Ireland chapter of the Oxford Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland) 2016 . The last time the atmosphere held as much carbon dioxide as it does today was about 3m years ago a time when sea levels were 10 to 30 metres higher than they are now. Climate models have long struggled to duplicate those large fluctuations in sea levels until now. Indeed, for the first time, a high-quality model of Antarctic ice and climate has been able to simulate these large swings. That is smart science, but it brings devastating news. The new model shows that melting in Antarctica alone could increase global sea levels by as much as one metre by the end of this century well above prior estimates. Worse, it suggests that even extraordinary success at cutting emissions would not save the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, locking in eventual sea-level increases of more than 5m. As little as 1m could put at risk entire cities, from Miami to Mumbai, and cause enormous economic disruption. We need to turn down the heat and fast. To this end, albedo modification a kind of geoengineering intended to cool the planet by increasing the reflectivity of the earths atmosphere holds tremendous promise. Injecting synthetic aerosols that reflect sunlight into the stratosphere, for example, could help counter the warming caused by greenhouse gases. But even in the best-case scenario, solar geoengineering alone could not stabilise the worlds climate. For that, we must both stop pumping carbon pollution into the atmosphere and learn how to remove what is already there. That is why emissions cuts should receive the lions share of resources devoted to combating climate change. However, as the recent study shows, emissions cuts alone cannot save the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and prevent a drastic sea-level rise. If they are pursued in conjunction with moderate albedo modification, however, there is a chance of halting rising temperatures, helping to keep the world under 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the more ambitious target agreed at the Paris climate talks last December. (It should be noted that, given carbon-cycle feedbacks, such as the thawing of permafrost, there is a chance that the world would face a 1.5C rise, even if emissions were eliminated today.) Most of the worlds state-of-the-art climate models have explored albedo modification, and each of them has found that the process does have the potential to mitigate climate change. Beyond limiting total warming, it can help to check the rise in peak temperatures, decreasing the risk of destructive heat waves. And it seems to be particularly effective at reducing extreme rainfall, which holds profound implications for minimising flood damage. Albedo modification remains uncertain and risky, owing partly to a dearth of organised research into the subject. And, in fact, albedo modification would undoubtedly make some things worse. But there is not a single climate model run that shows that a moderate intervention would make any region worse off overall. Moreover, the large potential upside, measured in trillions of dollars, contrasts with low direct costs in the single-digit billions for full-scale deployment. In fact, albedo modification is so cheap that direct costs will not be the deciding issue. Instead, it is a risk-risk trade-off one that will require more research to assess. Given the lack of knowledge, no sensible person would push for deploying albedo modification today. But it would make no sense to ignore its potential. After all, no-one would argue that we should abandon research on a promising cancer drug because it is unproven. The US National Academy of Sciences first called attention to what it then described as climate modification in a 1983 report. It recommended careful research in 1992 and again in 2015. Major environmental groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council support careful, small-scale research. Yet no such programme exists. One reason for this is concern about the diversion of resources from other approaches. And, of course, there are tradeoffs. But the US, for example, has an annual climate science budget of around $3bn. An exploratory solar geoengineering programme, costing only a few tens of millions of dollars per year, is entirely feasible. A larger obstacle to progress is fear that more attention to geoengineering solutions would sap motivation to cut emissions. Maybe so, but it would be barking mad to take up smoking simply because an experimental cancer treatment showed some promise on a lab rat. And, in fact, it is conceivable that a concerted effort to advance research on albedo modification could spur action to cut emissions, much like a graphic look at the side-effects of chemotherapy prompts some to stop smoking. Whichever reaction prevails, the moral imperative to explore a technology that can protect the poorest and most vulnerable this century would seem to trump amorphous concerns that doing so could weaken the incentive to pursue solutions that would largely benefit future generations. China has initiated a limited research programme on albedo modification. The US has not. Given that albedo modification is the kind of technology that necessitates an open, transparent, and international research effort precisely the kind of effort in which the US excels this is a serious failing. The US government should take the lead in researching albedo modification. Even if the result was that it does not work, the dividends of such research would be enormous, owing to the added pressure to cut emissions. And if it turned out to be successful, the social, environmental, and economic returns would be tremendous. There has been much squealing from our politicians over Taoiseach Enda Kennys plan to pass the Repeal the 8th parcel to a bunch of regular folk. But we are the ultimate citizens assembly, many of them have been saying; their outrage made all the more righteous by the fact they were so recently either elected or re-elected. The truth is though, our politicians have been ultimate failures over the decades when it comes to addressing the issue of abortion in this country claiming they are the ones to sort it now has an almost comic quality, if the events surrounding it were not so tragic. Of course, in a mature democracy, the national parliament would be the ideal place to address this. But when it comes to abortion, maturity gets checked in at the Dail cloakroom. This latest instalment of our long-running saga is being led by two blokes in power who are staunchly anti-abortion Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. I include Micheal Martin here, because he now too has significant power. As a result, when it comes to what should replace the 1983 8th Amendment which as article 40.3.3 of the Constitution guarantees the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn, it is the proposed citizens assembly, comprised only of citizens, and with no political involvement, that may now be the perfect place for that to be decided. But lets get rid of any notion that we would establish such an assembly and get a bunch of citizens together to give of their time, and to get experts to appear before them, only for their recommendations to return to the black hole of Leinster House. Katherine Zappone: 'Most optimistic prediction' for abortion referendum 'the end of 2017' https://t.co/jY8stLjZP2 pic.twitter.com/JYvVTQ74Gw Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) June 15, 2016 The politicians have had their time (decades of it) and theyve had their day. Sure, let them appear before the assembly and outline party and individual positions. I for one would love to hear Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin being questioned closely on this, not least their exact positions on the issue of fatal foetal abnormality. But after that, whatever recommendation is made by the assembly on Repealing the 8th and whatever should happen subsequently, should be automatically dealt with by our legislators, minus any attempts by them to tinker with it or alter it, to suit their own electoral purposes. Would this way of doing this sticking to a tight timescale mean there is a very high chance of Enda Kenny being the Taoiseach on whose watch abortion is introduced in Ireland? The straight answer is yes, but he must have recognised the likelihood of that as he was fighting tooth and claw to get back into power. He has made history in being the first ever Fine Gael Taoiseach to get re elected and as part of that he will just have to swallow hard and recognise that there can be no more obfuscation on abortion. Otherwise, there is a strong case for stating that he should have stood down and allowed one of the others interested in leading Fine Gael show the necessary leadership. When he looks across at the Fianna Fail benches, there must be comfort for the Taoiseach to know that he and Micheal Martin are kindred spirits on this issue. Still he must be envious of Micheal having the luxury of the attitude of give me anything to deal with but just dont give me abortion. As we know this era of new politics means Fianna Fail will have an important role, and we can only hope that their leader too will show leadership, and his party will follow him. This column isnt long enough to go into the many and varied reasons over the decades as to why abortion has not been dealt with, but what is particularly vexing at the moment is the cynical manner in which it has been kicked to touch to suit the personal agendas of those two men. What a joy it was, though, to see AAA deputy Ruth Coppinger and PBP deputy Brid Smith tag teaming in the Dail earlier this month as they tackled the Taoiseach and indeed Micheal Martin on the need to Repeal the 8th. Add to that mix women deputies like Clare Daly, Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald, and indeed the new Fine Gael TD Kate OConnell and that pair of gentlemen will soon realise that stalling and distractionary tactics simply wont be quite as easy to pull off anymore. It was a marvel really to see the Fianna Fail leader say in the Dail, with a straight face, that he is in favour of a judge-led commission to deal with the issue of what to do with the 8th Amendment. How does he miss the irony of his own failure, and those elected alongside him over the years, when he says that it is not at all clear how a citizens assembly could work on an issue so dramatically more complex than anything examined by the previous Convention on the Constitution. But then he is handed a huge comfort blanket by the Taoiseach in their subsequent exchanges when Micheal Martin asks the question: It [the Dail] will not be under any obligation to take anything from the citizens assembly? Correct, answers his comrade in arms the Taoiseach, saying at another point: Of course, they will be free to make whatever conclusion or recommendation they wish, but it is in here that the eventual decision will have to be made, namely, if a referendum is to be held, in what form and asking what question. This pair are either choosing not to see how Irish public opinion has moved on, or are very much out of touch. Of course this is not black and white, but weve seen enough opinion poll results now to realise that there is a groundswell of support for a liberalising of the laws on abortion. Built into their grand plan as it stands right now is the opportunity for even further indecision and prevarication which would be facilitated by the recommendations of the citizens assembly having to first go to the Oireachtas Health Committee before being brought before the Dail. It is only once that committee has kicked around the recommendations for a number of months, or who knows, we cant rule out years, that it would come before all our elected deputies. Abortion move may occur in September https://t.co/FhSADjLCYr pic.twitter.com/ey4f97IpRS Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) June 14, 2016 This week Ruth Coppinger in the Dail majored on the issue again referring to the United Nations Human Rights Committees finding that Amanda Mellet, who was carrying a foetus with a fatal abnormality, suffered discrimination cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in the Republic. Deputy Coppinger believes that a citizens assembly would be a charade. Her cynicism is understandable. However, a citizens assembly, established with the guarantee that what it recommends would happen, and within a reasonable timeframe, is a far different reality. Enda and Micheal would no doubt baulk at this suggestion, but they need to get out of their time warp on this one. The mother of two children aged three and five was attacked by a man reportedly shouting Britain first at lunchtime yesterday in Birstall, West Yorkshire. Eyewitnesses said he kicked and stabbed her and then shot her several times, the final shot aimed at her head. The alleged gunman has been named locally as Tommy Mair, 52, who neighbours in Birstall have described as a loner. He was arrested near the scene soon after the attack. The MPs husband Brendan said: Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jos friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo. A two-minute silence will be held in memory of Jo Cox during by-election count https://t.co/DReJ118Pwz pic.twitter.com/l3bq71mi8v Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) June 16, 2016 Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it everyday of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesnt have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous. Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the country would be in shock at the horrific murder of the MP, who was a much loved colleague. The killing shocked Westminster and led to the suspension of EU campaigning. Prime Minister David Cameron said: The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children. Taoiseach Enda Kenny led condolences on the death of Ms Cox yesterday describing it as appalling. He will still attend a breakfast event in Manchester today nut will not canvass on Brexit. Sinn Feins Sean Crowe said Ms Cox had a deep commitment to humanitarian issues having worked for Oxfam and anti-slavery charity the Freedom Fund before being elected in 2015. World: 9 Unicef said sexual exploitation, violence and forced labour were a constant threat for children travelling alone and urged the authorities to do more to protect them. We know this has been a long-running problem for over a decade but its got much more extreme and severe in the last year with the increase in the global refugee crisis, said Melanie Teff, senior humanitarian advocacy and policy adviser at Unicef UK. We heard sad stories of girls charging 5 to be sexually exploited in order to get into the camp, or to start paying towards their passage to the UK, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Of the roughly 206,200 people who arrived in Europe by sea this year to June 4, one in three was a child, Unicef said on Tuesday, citing figures from the UN refugee agency. Many eventually end up in camps such as the shanty town nicknamed the Jungle outside Frances northern port of Calais. Unicef said there were an estimated 500 unaccompanied children living in seven camps on the northern coast of France, including Calais and Dunkirk. Some 2,000 children have passed through the camps since June 2015, it said. Several children told the aid agency they were held by different criminal groups who demanded ransom from their families, while others were forced to work under almost slave-like conditions to pay for their journey. Children from Afghanistan told Unicef that being raped was their biggest fear. Faced with demands from traffickers to pay 5,000-7,000 each to cross to Britain, children were looking for alternative ways to make the journey with some hiding in refrigerated lorries, Unicef said. There isnt schooling being provided, and most nights the children are walking for hours and trying to jump into lorries, Teff said. Theyre living in a very, very tense situation and a lot of them talk about how theyre going crazy from the boredom. Teff said children living in migrant camps often had to pay to access showers or were forced to open lorries so others could jump in. On average children stayed in the camps for five months before moving on, although some remained there for nine months and one child was stuck there for over a year, Unicef said. The agency interviewed 60 children between 11 and 17 from Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Vietnam living in camps along the English Channel, between January and April 2016. Asia Malaysia Detains 7 Suspected IS Members Plotting Attacks Malaysian police have detained seven men suspected of being an Islamic State militant cell that was plotting attacks, authorities say. KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian police have detained seven men suspected of being an Islamic State militant cell that was plotting attacks, authorities said Sunday. The seven Malaysians were detained over the past three days in a follow-up operation after the Jan. 15 detention of a man who was planning a suicide attack in Kuala Lumpur, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said. Among the items seized were 30 types of bullets, jihad books and Islamic State flags and videos, he said. All the suspects are members of the same [terror] cell, which is responsible for planning to launch terror attacks in strategic locations across Malaysia, Khalid said in a statement. The suspect thought to be the cell leader is a 31-year-old assistant housekeeping manager at a hotel in southern Johor state, Khalid said. He said one of the suspects, whom he didnt identify, received orders from Bahrom Naim, an Indonesian based in Syria who had a role in planning the Jakarta attacks. Malaysia raised its security alert level following the attacks Jan. 14 in neighboring Indonesia. More than 150 people suspected of having ties to the Islamic State group have been detained in Malaysia over the past two years, including some accused of plotting attacks in Kuala Lumpur. Asia Police Fail to Arrest Popular Thai Monk After Tense Showdown Thai police raid a Buddhist temple complex to arrest a popular abbot accused of accepting embezzled money but are thwarted by his followers. BANGKOK Thai police raided a Buddhist temple complex Thursday to arrest a popular abbot accused of accepting US$40 million in embezzled money but were thwarted by thousands of his followers who said he is too ill to be taken into custody. The raid at Wat Dhammakaya, a monastery north of Bangkok known as one of the wealthiest in Thailand, began at 5am and was broadcast live on TV, in a tense showdown following a months-old standoff. But hours later police couldnt arrest the abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, after searching all the areas in the complex but one. There is a last area we could not enter because the followers would not allow us, said police Maj. Suriya Singhakamol, the deputy chief of the Department of Special Investigations. Dhammachayos case has enthralled the nation with its twists and turns and the conflict between law and religion it has posed. Several scandals in recent years have cast a shadow over the Buddhist clergy in Thailand. Although the police withdrew for the day after the fruitless raid, Suriya said our operation has not ended. The [arrest] warrant is still valid so we will have authority to carry out the operation. According to our information, he is still inside. Dhammachayo is accused of money laundering and links to embezzling 1.4 billion baht ($40 million) from a now-defunct credit union. He has barricaded himself inside his temple, ignoring three police summonses and an arrest warrant. He has avoided arrest for over two months, claiming he was too ill to report to police for questioning. Outside of Thailand it may seem odd that a monk should be able to defy law-enforcement officials so brazenly. But a law which forbids arrest of a monk in his robes, for fear it would mar the sanctity of the clergy, has repeatedly put police in an awkward position. Authorities are also reluctant to force a showdown with the monks thousands of supporters, fearing violence. Buddhism is the national religion and one of three core pillars of Thai society along with the monarchy and nationhood. Monks occupy a privileged position and are granted many concessions, including not paying taxes and being exempt from arrest until they are defrocked. Their position in Thai society was reflected in the police operationthey paused the raid to allow the monks to eat their once-a-day meal at 11am Since this morning, we have given full cooperation to the police, temple spokesman Phra Sanitwong Wuttiwangso told an afternoon news conference on the temple grounds. But he said groups of followers were refusing to let police enter certain areas. A number of followers, no matter what we tell them, they will not listen. They are asking [police] for consideration, because the abbot is ill. He has not fled the temple. The main gates to the temple, a futuristic construction resembling a golden UFO-like dome, were blocked with shuttle buses brought in by the monks followers. Police still managed to enter in as thousands of devotees held up signs condemning the police for what the devotees say is a politically motivated investigation. Dhammachayo leads the largest religious sect in Thailand and has a cult-like following. He first got into trouble two years ago when it became known that the former head of the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, a Dhammakaya devotee, had donated such large sums to the temple that it sent his business into insolvency. The official was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Burma Burma Army Raids Mon National Liberation Army Base In the midst of tensions over an annual local donation drive by the Mon armed group, the Burma Army has conducted a raid in an otherwise stable area. The Burma Army has seized two guns and a handheld transceiver from a Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) base on Thursday afternoon in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State. This was a surprise raid in what has been, over the last twenty years, a zone of largely quiet coexistence between the Burma Army and the non-state ethnic armed group. The annual collection of donations by the MNLA from local residents had contributed to recent tensions with the Burma Army, but a formal link with the raid has not been established. Nai Hong Sar Bong Khaing, a spokesperson from the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the political wing of the MNLA, told The Irrawaddy: They raided our base and took one AK 47 assault rifle, one 9mm pistol and one walkie-talkie. But they did not detain our members. [The Burma Army] threatened our members, saying, Who allowed you to come here? Our members responded that they had been ordered to by their leaders, said the NMSP spokesman. The MNLA has maintained bases in the area since a ceasefire was signed with the Burmese military government in 2005. The area has been free of conflict in the years since; this is the first time tensions have prompted such an aggressive maneuver. The NMSP spokesman said they did not know exactly what prompted the Burma Armys raid. We have already informed the [union-level] security and border affairs minister about the incident over the phone. We will ask [the Burma Army] why they did it, the spokesman said. The Security and Border Affairs ministry is one of three ministries controlled by the Burmese military, in accordance with the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. The NMSP spokesman reported on growing tensions between the Burma Army and the MNLA in the area in recent weeks, connected to the MNLAs yearly revenue-acquisition drive. Our members asked for monetary donations from our people in the area. This is our yearly donation drive. The Burma Army objected and told us to stop, he said. In recent months, tensions have developed in Mudon, Thanbyuzayat and Kyaikmayaw townships of Mon State: the Burma Army ordered the MNLA to withdraw from some bases, claiming were beyond the lines agreed to in the ceasefire. In the ceasefire reached in 1995renewed in 2012 under the nominally civilian, military-backed government of President Thein Seinthe MNLA and the Burma Army agreed to share control of the area, separated by lines of control. The NMSP/MNLA did not sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement reached between the Thein Sein government and eight ethnic armed groups in October last year. It is part of the United Nationalities Federal Council, an alliance of ethnic armed groups whose members the present government is trying to woo into the upcoming 21st Century Panglong peace conference. Burma French Minister of Foreign Affairs Praises Burmas Path to Democratization French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault acknowledges the role of the Burma Army in democratization process and offers support to peace efforts. RANGOON French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Jean-Marc Ayrault acknowledged the role of the Burma Army in contributing to Burmas ongoing process of democratization in a visit to the country on Friday. The Burma Army took part in the countrys political reforms as well as in the electoral process. Therefore, we acknowledge it for its role in Burmas reform process, Jean-Marc Ayrault said at joint press conference in Naypyidaw. He said that France respects the provisions of Burmas 2008 Constitution and that it is very satisfied with the publics participation in bringing about reform. State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi thanked France for its consistent political, economic and development assistance. There is a very good relationship between us and France. I am especially interested in their culture. The French Institute in Rangoon is a fun, relaxing and interesting place for our people. I am especially grateful for it, Suu Kyi said. The French foreign affairs minister said that the French people support Suu Kyis human rights endeavors and that France is proud of her efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Burma. The strength of Burma is its people. We expect that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be able to make Burmas reforms a success with the strength of the people. And France always supports the people, who are the strength of Burma, Jean-Marc Ayrault said. He added that France plans to provide 200 million euros (over US$2.25 million) in aid for Burma, and in the beginning of 2016, doubled its assistance for Burmas socio-economic development. Ayrault said that French companies are responsible investors keen to promote cooperation with Burma in various sectors. France is also willing to engage in urban development in Rangoon and in strengthening the energy and health sectors of across the country. Wed like to offer assistance in housing, transportation, water supply and other related urban sectors. Wed like to help develop the major cities of Burma, especially Rangoon. The Paris City Mayors Office in France is ready to assist Rangoon with development, Jean-Marc Ayrault said. He added that France is willing, at Suu Kyis request, to contribute to Burmas peace process as well. France is ready to give a hand in the peace and national reconciliation process if asked. And we respect what Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is doing to ensure the equitable development among a diverse society and the success of Burmas political process. He said that a festival to mark the 55th anniversary of the French Institute will be held in an effort to promote the economic and cultural ties between the two countries. Correction: French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Jean-Marc Ayrault said that France plans to provide 200 million euros (more than US$225 million) in aid for Burma, not US$2.25 million as an earlier version of the story misstated. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko Burma Lawmakers Fight Concession Contracts on Public Land Rangoons divisional Parliament approves a proposal designed to prevent the government from granting concessions on public lands. RANGOON Rangoons divisional parliament approved a proposal designed to protect public spaces put forward on Thursday by Nay Phone Latt, a lawmaker representing Thingangyun Township. The proposal called to end public-private partnerships between the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) and private companies that lease public lands in order to build shopping malls, recreation centers, high-rise condominiums and other development projects. The partnership businesses, which have been linked to crony companies, subcontract or develop the land and then charge entrance fees to the public. Fifteen National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmakers supported the proposal and contributed additional examples of land disputes, confiscation and corruption tied to former government officials. Lawmaker Hla Htay from Rangoons Minglar Taung Nyunt constituency said YCDC had given out similar concessions for years, offering cheap leases on popular public spaces like Kandawgyi Lake, Inya Lake and Peoples Park. When I was a university student, Inya Lake was a legendary venue where people went to relax. Now it is a commercial place for businessmen, Hla Htay said. Lawmakers pointed out numerous other instances of the misappropriation of public lands. Lawmaker That Htar Nwe Win of Thaketa Township said Shwe Yap Won Construction Company is trying to fill in a lake in her township to build a housing development, despite objections from locals. Lawmaker Than Naing Oo from Pabedan Township pointed out another build-operate-transfer project between YCDC and Phoo Pwint Saing Company in Rangoons North Okkalapa Township, which has begun construction on a 10-acre plot of public land. I saw a game center there. Children were playing there during school hours, he said, adding that he saw a sign that read, Coming Soon Water Park, and that a water park should not be built on a public lake. Than Naing Oo said that North Okalappa residents and the local fire department rely on the lake during water shortages and emergencies. He added that renovating the lake as a sustainable water supply would be preferable to constructing new buildings in its place, and that in any case, the government should be transparent and release detailed information about the development project. Lawmaker Hla Htay brought up the iconic Secretariat building in downtown Rangoona 19th century government complex built under the British, where independence hero Aung San was assassinated with his comrades in 1947whose premises are currently barred to the public. Hla Htay called on the government to turn it into a public space, citing the successes of other countries in developing such resonant public sites. Rangoon Mayor Maung Maung Soe said lawmakers presented strong evidence and that he would seek a resolution to the problem, realizing the value of public areas and public institutions. He added that some projects were already underway, and that many public areas have maintenance costs, which is why YCDC has sought private business partnerships. The key is not to exploit or misuse the areas for personal benefit, Maung Maung Soe said. Nay Phone Latt said he recognizes the difficult situation the government faces in correcting these problems, and wants to prevent the same misuse issues from happening in the future, adding that he will continue to fight for a law that protects Rangoons public spaces. Burma Police in Rangoons Dala Township Seize 2-Ton Jade Slab Dala Township police have intercepted a large piece of unworked jade being carried on a cargo truck. RANGOON On Wednesday, police in Rangoons Dala Township intercepted a 2-ton piece of unworked jade that was being carried on a cargo truck. Police official Thet Naing told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the driver of the truck, Kyan Khaing, was arrested on Dala Twan Tae Street in the townships Kamarkasit ward. He was an employee at Royal Water World International Trading Co., Ltd, a vehicle rental business. Police have launched an investigation and have filed the case with the township court. According to police, the stone is some six feet in length and two feet in width. While police have been unable to obtain proper documentation verifying the stones owner, it reportedly belongs to Aung Soe, who allegedly bought it from the Raza Nyi Naung Gems and Jewelry Enterprise at some point within the last three months. The stone is valued at some 20 million kyats (US$16,870). We cant estimate the value of the jade because we arent jade experts, said Thet Naing, although Aung Soe supposedly bought the stone for more than 20 million kyats (US$16,870). The Naypyidaw-based Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association has been brought onto the case to determine whether the stone was purchased legally. Police said that this sort of jade seizure is unprecedented in Dala, a township situated on the southern bank of the Rangoon River, across from downtown Rangoon. When locals heard about the stone, they became fascinated with the case, said Tin Hla, a Dala resident. Burma Unseen Pressures Behind Refugees Voluntary Return A reduction in aid and a denial for third country resettlement pressure refugees living in Thailand to return to Burma, NGOs say. RANGOONThe Thai government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have repeatedly insisted that the return of more than 120,000 Burmese refugees from Thailand should be voluntary. According to NGOs, some refugees have returned and others have shown interest in doing so, but there are unseen pressures prompting these so-called voluntary returns. A reduction in aid and a denial for third country resettlement has placed pressure on refugees to leave the camps. Many refugees in the nine camps along the Thai-Burma border lack sufficient assistance to support their daily lives. Some rely on small scale remittances and those who do not have a back-up return to their abandoned villages. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in May that growing numbers of refugees in Thailands camps were encouraged by the peace process and reforms in Burma and were seeking support to return and rebuild their lives. Sources in the camps said refugees were returning home if conditions appeared safe, but not because they were encouraged by the peace process. They added that lack of aid, denial of resettlement options and pressure from the Thai government were the actual motivating factors. In preparation for refugee repatriation, houses are being built for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Karen State, southeastern Burma. According to a report by Karen News, an ethnic Karen media outlet, a Japanese charity foundation called the Nippon Foundation funded the construction of more than 1,200 low-cost houses, seven schools, three clinics and one health center in Karen National Union (KNU) controlled territories in Mon State, Karen State and elsewhere. In spite of ongoing preparations for repatriation, many of the refugees from these areas were displaced by conflict and said they did not want to return home because their villages and farmlands were still occupied by the Burma Army. Burmas government has been unclear on its policy regarding the return of disputed landsome of which is still littered with mines left from the conflictto its original owners. Model villages have been constructed, but many refugees said these were glorified domestic refugee camps and they preferred to return to their original lands where they could farm, raise livestock and run other small-scale businesses. Aside from refugees displaced by conflict, there are economic migrants in the camps from urban areas, including the commercial capital Rangoon, who sought resettlement in the United States, Canada, Australia or the European Union. Refugees who were not displaced by conflict are unqualified to register with UNHCR and face no choice but to return home. Recognizing the new democratic reforms in Burma, the Thai government appears unwilling to keep hosting the 120,000 refugees on its soil. However, critics argue that unless there is a guarantee that war refugees can opt to live safely in their origin areas, the return is more of a forced repatriation than a voluntary one. Burma USDP Denies Using Ma Ba Tha for Political Gain After a public rift within the nationalist group Ma Ba Tha, the Union Solidarity and Development Party denies using the monk-led organization to get votes. Khin Yi, a central executive committee member and spokesperson for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), has denied speculation that his party used the Association for Protection of Race and Religionan association of nationalist monks better known by its Burmese acronym Ma Ba Thafor its own political gain. The speculation followed the resignation of monk U Parmaukkha, previously a senior-ranking member of Ma Ba Tha, who has condemned the association for supporting only one political party in last years election. He has already left Ma Ba Tha and is planning to officially resign by the end of this month. Ma Ba Tha allied itself with then-president Thein Seins USDP in last years election and campaigned against Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy. Probably, they [Ma Ba Tha] did this according to what they believe. We did not use them to solicit votes for us. We would not use a religious organization for that purpose, Khin Yi, who also served as immigration and population minister in the previous government, told The Irrawaddy. While political parties should not use race and religion organizations and monks for their partys interests, race and religion organizations and monks also should not be partisan, Galonni Sayadaw Kawira, a senior monk who is not a Ma Ba Tha member, told The Irrawaddy. Monks should not be the stooges of a party. They should not do it. As monks, they receive the respect of all Buddhists, so it is a very bad thing if they are biased. Doing so might lead to unnecessary conflicts. It is also not good for Buddhism, he said. Though the USDP has said they did not use any race and religion associations including Ma Ba Tha in last years poll, there have been many allegations of the then-ruling party using Ma Ba Tha during campaign season and the 2015 November election. Ma Ba Tha proposed a so-called race and religion protection law, which was ratified by the USDP government. In gratitude, Ma Ba Tha encouraged the people to support the USDP during the election, said Parmaukkha earlier this week. The USDP has said the party is undergoing reforms after it suffered a crushing defeat in Novembers general election. Burma YCDC Policy Hits Developers, Workers Last month, the Yangon City Development Commission halted work on more than 200 buildings. Now developers and workers are complaining about lost income. RANGOON A month after the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) announced the suspension of certain high-rise construction projects across Rangoon, developers have complained that the move is hurting their businesses and workers. Without giving the developers prior warning, on May 14 the YCDC announced a halt to the construction of more than 200 buildings in Rangoon that were to be nine or more stories high. Developers like us are facing big problems, said Myo Myint, M.K.T Constructions chairman, who was forced to stop work on at least five construction sites around Rangoon. We have no idea whether we should keep our skilled laborers at the sites or not. We have at least 300 workers per site. According to the YCDC, the previous Rangoon divisional government and municipal council had given initial approval for proposals to build 204 high-rises (classified as buildings with nine stories or more) from 2013 to March 31 this year. There are many related industries and people, like construction workers, who have also been impacted by this suspension, Myo Myint said. Were not breaking any rules. What we want is to be allowed to continue working on the projects while [the YCDC] conducts its inspections. Authorities said they will form a committee to review these suspended buildings soon, but its been more than one month now, Myo Myint said. If the delays continue, how can we survive? Developers said there have been many consequences following the YCDCs announcement: labor issues, complaints from buyers of the unfinished apartments, delays on repaying bank loans, cash flow issues and lack of business for construction suppliers. Kyaw Kyaw Naing, director of i-Green Construction, which has now stopped two high-end properties in Yankin and Hlaing townships, said he has no idea how to resolve his customers complaints, as his company has sold more than 200 rooms at each site. Who will take responsibility for this? Most developers have lost the trust of our customers because we dont know how to explain what has happened or when construction will recommence, he said. Some customers stopped payments on their apartments, which will make our continued operations difficult. We have started work at each construction site many times, and we have had to fill out a lot of paperwork and wait for government approvals on different occasions, Kyaw Kyaw Naing said. It is a convoluted process, but we are not breaking any laws. Khun Naung Myint Wai, chairman of Waminn Group of Companies, said the developers are not blaming YCDC, they are just hoping for more rational policies. For my site, I tried hard to receive approval to build, and the land was won at an auction by the government. Weve been making a massive investment, and Im worried that now that its the rainy season, the site needs care to prevent landslides, he said. Were not cronies and tycoons. Were just small- and medium-[level] businessmen. If government policy harms us, it means many people will suffer, so the government should address this problem as soon as possible. There are more than 100,000 construction workers who have been affected by this policy, he said. In construction industry, workers daily wages range from 7,500 kyats (US6.40) per day to 12000 kyats, while architects and engineers earn 3 million kyats (US$2,500) per month. We dont earn money every day like we used to, said Aung Htoo, a construction worker for developer Naing Group. This is a big loss, and now school is starting, so we will really have problems supporting our children, and might not be able to cover some of the costs of daily living. Most workers came here from rural areas and dont know how to survive in Rangoon without a job, he said. But developers have been lucky that workers have not protested yet. Actually, construction workers are still holding out hope, Myo Myint said. Than Htay, head of YCDCs building department, said the Rangoon government will solve this problem very soon as they are aware of the impact the policy is having on the bottom rungs of the construction industry. The Rangoon government will form a committee very soonas soon as possible, he said. Friday, June 17th, 2016 (7:53 am) - Score 766 The Government has begun seeking proposals for its new Broadband Investment Fund (BIF), which was first announced in last years Autumn Statement (here) and is designed to help alternative network ISPs secure funds for building ultrafast (100Mbps+) broadband infrastructure. Under the plan the new BIF would be supported by both public and private investors, and would be managed by the private sector on a commercial basis. Its hoped that the fund itself could be used to address a perceived lack of suitable finance in this area and thus act as a catalyst for private investment in alternative networks. Last year the Government were still trying to decide if the BIF, which would also receive a cornerstone public investment from HM Treasury (on commercial terms) that would need to be at least matched by the private sector, was even feasible (i.e. gauging investor appetite). At the time the Government promised that, if it were deemed feasible, they would develop a fund mandate and look to appoint, through a competitive process, a fund manager to raise and manage the fund. Todays proposal reflects the hunt for such a fund manager and as such we assume that the BIF is now moving past the drawing board stage. Crucially we note that the proposal appears to be focused on building investment for ultrafast broadband networks and in keeping with that its worth pointing out that the word rural doesnt even crop up once in the entire document, which perhaps hints that this not exclusively about tackling the problems of the final 5% (UK premises). However it should be noted that some ultrafast FTTP/H/B ISPs, such as Gigaclear, do focus on rural areas and there doesnt appear to be a specific restriction on the funds use in respect to urban vs rural locations. Extract from the BIF Document Supporting the market to deliver ultrafast broadband (roughly defined as providing speeds greater than 100 mbps) to as many premises as possible is a government manifesto commitment and the Fund is a key element in delivering this. The main policy objective, therefore, is to increase the amount of capital invested in the sector, particularly (but not exclusively) more debt-like capital that would enable faster expansion of ultrafast broadband networks. Funds that do not focus on debt-like investments will also be considered but HMT has a preference for a majority of the Fund being focused on debt or debt-like investments. HMT will consider a variety of structures and investment mandates as proposed by applicants with the aim of selecting a proposal that has the best prospect of meeting the governments aims and policy objectives. In terms of structure, this could include government becoming a cornerstone investor in a new fund focused exclusively on the sector, or structures that involve government investing in a side-car to a fund with a broader investment mandate. This could also include more than one fund, each focusing on different parts of the capital structure (for example a debt focused fund and an equity focused one). All applicants should construe the requests in this RFP for information relating to Funds and Managers as requests for information relating to the specific structure or structures being proposed and should provide the information relating to such structure/s which most closely corresponds to the information requested in relation to Funds and Managers in this RFP. HMT will also consider structures with more than one tranche, where different tranches have different risk and return profiles, and could invest in any or all of them (for example, in a senior capital tranche within a fund or a more junior first loss tranche, if that sort of structure is proposed). It will be important, however, that if HMT does invest it has additional, private sector capital invested alongside it, pari passu, in any tranche it invests in and that, in aggregate, HMT makes up no more than 50% of the total capital, and cannot exercise any control over the Funds or investments. In such a structure, HMT must have the option to invest in any tranche (even if the Manager is proposing HMT invests in a particular tranche). The Fund is also intended to complement other government programmes rather than duplicating or competing with them and by other programmes they mean the UK Guarantee Scheme, which is available for certain UK greenfield infrastructure projects (e.g. Virgin Medias 3bn network expansion and BTs G.fast / FTTP roll-out) and exists to help infrastructure projects raise debt finance (Guarantees for up to 40 billion in aggregate can be offered), and of course the more familiar Broadband Delivery UK based Superfast Broadband Programme. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 29th July 2016, with the target being to select a Manager by Autumn 2016 and for Funds to be closed and in a position to begin investing by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2017). BIF: Request for Proposals https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/broadband-investment-fund/.. UPDATE 22nd July 2016 The deadline for receipt of proposals has been extended to 8th August 2016, albeit with no reason given. On Thursday, June 16, Samsung Electronics Co. has announced its interest in buying the U.S. cloud services company Joyent Inc. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed. According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung is looking to acquire the U.S. cloud services company in order to expand its core mobile phone business with new apps and services. Injong Rhee, chief technology officer of Samsung's mobile division, told the publication that the company intends to shift its focus more on services and software after it has been traditionally focused on hardware. Rhee said that today cloud-based computing are handling applications in areas like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Despite smartphones integrate ever more sophisticated and powerful chips, handsets are becoming simply "interface devices." The world's biggest smartphone maker is not intending to compete with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services. Samsung is, in fact, planning to use cloud computing in order to drive innovations in its smartphone software, particularly around virtual reality and artificial intelligence applications. According to International Business Times, the 11-year-old, San Francisco-based Joyent will continue its main operations as normal after the acquisition by Samsung. Joyent is currently selling access to private and public cloud computing services. Samsung will leverage Joyent's expertise in order to improve the services and software offered to its smartphone customers. The U.S. cloud computing firm will continue to operate independently. Samsung will effectively become Joyent's biggest customer in order to remove its current dependence on Microsoft's and Amazon's cloud services. Thanks to the launch of the Gear VR headset and the partnership with the Facebook-owned Oculus VR, Samsung is the leader in the mobile virtual reality market. The company aims to capitalize on this lead in order to increase flagging smartphone sales. By offering more immersive and graphically impressive experience, Samsung hopes to attract more customers. With Joyent, Samsung is already at its third acquisition of a U.S. startup. The company previously acquired LoopPay and SmartThings. Samsung Pay services are now based on LoopPay payment technology. The connected home offering of the South Korean company is based on smart home technology developed by SmartThings. The largest and deadliest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 has shaken the nation, and many are wondering what the government is doing to prevent them. True enough, terrorist attacks all over the world have been surprising everyone, which could mean terrorist intelligence is far more advanced. Luckily, the FBI and several intelligence agencies have reportedly come up with an algorithm to help predict future attacks. According to Engadget, a physicist from the University of Miami has come out with an algorithm he and his team have used to look over questionable social media posts. The team of Dr. Neil Johnson observed a year's worth of posts on Vkontakte, a Russian-based social network site. The data they have taken has allowed them to build "a statistical model aimed at identifying behavioral patterns among online supporters of ISIS." Rather than quickly going through all posts, the model looks at how smaller, self-organized groups suddenly appear online before real-world campaigns. Following these groups could potentially make it easier for intelligence agencies to make a stop at terrorist attacks. As Mashable explains, it is like looking at "the smaller numbers of large hay bales" instead of a needle in a haystack. The model is able to remove "background chatter," according to Dr. Johnson. The team has, since the model's creation, uncovered 196 pro-ISIS aggregates with more than 108k followers. The lesson that larger intelligence agencies and the government can take is that the disbanding of smaller groups can help stop the growing momentum of a group. Unfortunately, because social media is a big factor, the algorithm is incapable of weeding out lone attacks like that in Orlando and San Bernardino. However, in hindsight, the model could have predicted a large scale attack like the 2014 Siege of Kobani in Syria, which killed numerous civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. In the wake of the Orlando shooting, which killed 49 innocent civilians, people around the world mourned and questioned the attacker's actions. Survivors shared their stories as did family members of the deceased. Instead of keeping quiet, hacker-activist group Anonymous took it upon themselves to right what it condemns wrong. As Techly noted, Anonymous took over hundreds of pro-ISIS accounts and gave them a very colorful makeover. One member that goes by the name of WauchulaGhost is responsible for most of the hacks. For one particular account, the hacker changed the profile picture to a rainbow flag and tweeted, "Hello World. It's time I share with you a little secret...I'm Gay and I'm Proud!! #GayPride #OrlandoWillNotBeForgotten !!! #GhostOfNoNation." When asked about the motivation, WauchulaGhost simply said, "I did it for the lives lost in Orlando." The hacker went on to say that because ISIS has been rejoicing the events, that he/she would defend those that were lost. He/She also went on to explain that the actions taken against ISIS is not aimed for all Muslims, but are directed at Jihadist extremists. WauchulaGhost has even gone as far as to share the information of the accounts he was hacking, including contact information, in order to make it easier for other hackers. Twitter, as a company, has also done their part to try and mitigate accounts that are pro-ISIS. According to CBS News, Twitter has not admitted that the accounts were hacked, but the company did confirm it has closed thousands of accounts because of violent activity. A spokesperson of the company told the publication that Twitter condemns the use of the site in order to promote terrorism. Further, Twitter's rules make it very clear that violent or threatening behavior is not welcome. The spokesperson also confirmed that in just a year, Twitter has suspended as many as 125,000 accounts "for threatening or promoting terrorist acts, primarily related to ISIS." Google, despite its capabilities, has not made a real move to bring the Android system into desktops. Perhaps this was to eliminate the competition for Chrome OS. So instead, it has been Jide Technology that has been bridging the gap between an Android OS and PCs. Jide redesigned Android to fit the display and format of a PC and is continuing to move forward. Gaining some momentum, Jide Technology has now released a 2-in-1 tablet, called the Remix Pro. According to Yahoo!, the Remix Pro will be the first device to support Remix OS, which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The tablet will have a 12-inch display with 2,160 x 1,440 pixels resolution. The gadget will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor, 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. A microSD card slot is present as well should users need more storage space. As Tom's Hardware reports, the Remix Pro 2-in-1 will first be released on the Chinese market, with availability coming to other countries soon after. Jide has also started a partnership with Acer and the two companies will make the Remix OS compatible with the Acer Aspire ES1-131. The Acer Aspire will have sport a 11.6" 1366 x 768 screen and an Intel Celeron N3150/4-ccore/1.50GHz CPU. It will have 4GM RAM of memory and as much as 500GB of internal storage. All in all, the unit will weigh just 1.25 kg and will take up just 291mm x 211 mm x 21.2 mm of space. The Remix OS PC Box OEM solution has also been released by Jide. Its CPU is Amlogic S905/4-core/64 Byte/ARM Cortex - A53/2GHz. It comes with the option of 1GB or 2GB of memory, and either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage. Again, there is a slot for microSD cards should users need extra space, until 128GB. Jide will also be coming out with three all-in-one PCs that run on Remix OS. Screen sizes vary from 22, 24 and 32 inches. Sanford Wallace, dubbed Facebook "Spam King" for sending more than 27 million spam messages and compromising 500,000 Facebook accounts, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 14, to 30 months in jail. According to PCMag, the Department of Justice announced that the Las Vegas man was sentenced to a 2.5-year prison term after he has admitted to sending tens of millions of spam messages on Facebook. The "Spam King" will begin serving his sentence in September. Sanford Wallace was also ordered to pay $310,628.55 in restitution and to follow a five-year period of supervised release after serving his prison term. In August 2015, the "Spam King" pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt and one count of fraud related to his Facebook spamming activities. Wallace admitted in his plea agreement that he compromised from November 2008 through March 2009 around 500,000 Facebook accounts and used them to send more than 27 million spam messages. The "Spam King" set up a fictitious Facebook account using the name of "David Frederix." He also created an automated process to access other people's accounts and retrieve a list of their friends. A message was then sent to each one on the list, tricking them to visit a website, enter their personal information, then being redirected to an affiliate site. In 2008 and 2009, Wallace also accessed Facebook's own computer network three different times in order to send out hundreds of thousands of spam messages. Wallace and two other spammers were sued by Facebook in 2009. The social media network won $711 million in damages. The case was referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office for possible criminal charges. After the 2011 indictment, Wallace turned himself in to the FBI that same year. According to the Verge, Wallace's spamming career did not begin with Facebook spam messages. In the '90s, Wallace used to send junk fax messages. Later on, in 2007 and 2009, respectively, he faced civil suits from both Facebook and Myspace. Wallace was fined nearly $1 billion in fines from the two companies. However, he was not able to pay. With his recent sentence, this is the first time when Wallace has been convicted of a crime. According to reviews, the OnePlus 3 selling at $399 is an important step forward for the company. Carl Pei is the 26-year-old co-founder of the Chinese company called OnePlus. According to TechCrunch, the first OnePlus phone was announced in April 2014, just five months after launching the company resulted through the partnership of OnePlus with Cyanogen. Since then, the upstart Chinese handset manufacturer company's story has been one of hardware successes. In just over two years, the OnePlus 3 is the company's fourth smartphone. With the mobile device's release, the company drops its invite system. This has been a hardware take on public betas used by the Chinese company startup to launch applications like Gmail. The invite system has served to both develop a kind of scarcity and to engage consumer interest. As a result, both the invites and phones have become popular auction items on sites like eBay. The company's latest flagship phone, the OnePlus 3, is scheduled to arrive on the market in less than a week. Pei said that this year, the company is using a different marketing approach. He added that as expectations change and the company grows, at this point in the company's history they cannot sell anymore on an invite system. The new phone is available for orders direct from OnePlus. The OnePlus 3 aims to be the first affordable phone that is as great as the high-priced flagships from HTC or Samsung. The flagship phone from OnePlus comes with everything users could only expect from high-end Android phones. The mobile device features premium design, fast processor, great display, quick charging and capable camera, but sells unblocked for just $399. At this price, it costs around $300 less than you would pay for a HTC 10 or Samsung Galaxy S7 with similar specs and features. According to the Verge, the OnePlus 3 is a well-built device, with a good proportions, aluminum finish, unibody and tight tolerances. The device is thin and comfortable to hold. The OnePlus 3's design is attractive and functional, even if it is far from being original. The OnePlus 3 comes with a fingerprint scanner that is fast and reliable and a 5.5-inch AMOLED 1080p display at 401ppi that is bright, vibrant and easy to see outdoors. The OnePlus 3 comes with an NFC chip that works for anything that supports NFC, including accessories that have tap-to-pair features and Android Pay. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and comes with 6 GB of RAM 64 GB of storage. It also supports expansion through microSD. The phone offers quick charging called Dash Charging and also charges through a USB Type-C port. The 3,000mAh battery is good enough to keep the device going for a full day of heavy use. Samsung Pay has launched in Australia on Wednesday, June 15, as part of the company's long-term service strategy. TechCrunch reports that Samsung smartphone owners in Australia can now use the Samsung Pay service since Wednesday, June 15. Its launch in Australia came just the day before Samsung Pay is set to debut in Singapore. Up to date, the mobile payment service is already available in The United States, South Korea, Spain and China. Elle Kim, Samsung Pay global vice president, said in a press release that Samsung Pay has reached over five million registered users in the first six months of launching in the U.S. and Korea. Kim added that today, in South Korea alone, the mobile payment service has processed more than $1 billion of transactions. Based on this success of the Samsung Pay service, the company has big expectations on the Australian market that is seen as a great opportunity since there "contactless payments are already in strong demand." The research company RF Intelligence Group has estimated in a May 2015 survey that 53 percent of Australians have already made a transaction with a contactless payment method. Mobile payment providers strive to tap into the Australian market, where Square, Android Pay and Apple Pay are already available. But mobile payment apps are not guaranteed to have an easy time just because contactless payments are already popular in Australia. Since many consumers use already to make accustomed to making contactless payments with tap-and-go credit cards such as MasterCard PayPass and Visa PayWave, Samsung Pay and its competitors may encounter difficulties in convincing new users to sign on. ZDNet reports that in order to attract Australians to sign in to Samsung Pay, the South Korean company plans to provide more services, going beyond the ability to just pay with smartphones. As Kim explained, Samsung Pays not only strive to replace customers' wallet, but will also provide additional features such as gift cards. Samsung Pay will be first available in Australia to customers of Citibank and American Express. The service is compatible with Galaxy S6 and S7 smartphones, as in other markets. Samsung has quietly purchased cloud computing minnow Joyent. It portends its entrance into IoT, big data, public cloud, and the transformation from predominantly a hardware company. Joyent is a regarded as a very small but nimble competitor to AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure. Ten years ago it rose from the ashes of Sun Microsystems and leveraged OpenSolaris, building a cloud that delivers exceptional performance for Java, Node.js, and Docker containers. It is based in San Francisco and its management team, and development staff are all there. Samsung will become an anchor tenant for Joyents Triton and Manta solutions, and will help fuel the growth and expansion of its worldwide data centre footprint. By bringing these two companies together, it creates the opportunity to develop and bring to market vertically integrated mobile and IoT services and solutions and will accelerate the speed of innovation for both companies in high-growth market segments. Joyent has built a loyal following it has Adobe and Telefonica as key clients, and its software development platform Node.js is the world's most widely used programming tool. Samsung needs to change its products are under assault on almost every front, so it needs to open up new revenue streams. With its might behind Joyent, anything is possible. As Samsung is increasingly focusing on software and services as part of its offering to users, its very important to build out our internal capabilities in the cloud, not only in infrastructure but also in great talent, says Jacopo Lenzi, a senior vice-president at Samsungs global innovation centre. In Joyent, we saw a combination of a proven platform that has been a leader in the forward-thinking elements of this space as well as a team that is world class. The Samsung acquisition could give Joyent the boost it needs to survive in this new world. The partnership with Samsung gives us the global reach, the economic scale, the financial resources to not only innovate but also extend our footprint globally, says Joyent chief executive Scott Hammond. Well be building data centres around the globe. Dont be surprised if you hear a lot more about this company as it challenges the big guys. Microsoft has joined hands with a start-up named Kind Financial to develop software for tracking the legal growth of marijuana. The joint entity is named Kind Government Solutions. The software will be hosted on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. The use of marijuana is now legal to varying degrees in the US. Both recreational and medicinal use is fine in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Ten other states plus Guam, and Puerto Rico have legalised medical marijuana. Another three states and the US Virgin Islands have only decriminalised possession laws. In 22 other states and two inhabited territories both marijuana possession and sale are illegal while 12 states have both medical marijuana and decriminalisation laws. In a media release, Kind said the two companies aimed to provide state, county, and municipalities with purpose-built solutions for track and trace ('seed to sale' in the cannabis industry) technology. The former senior leader of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division and author of Colorado's groundbreaking medical marijuana laws and regulations, Matt Cook, will serve as the special adviser on government matters. "It is an honour to advise Kind Government Solutions as it helps governments tackle the issue of cannabis compliance," Cook was quoted as saying. "As a regulatory expert in the legal cannabis industry, I have chosen Kind Government Solutions as my preferred choice for track and trace solutions. "In my opinion, their technology offers the most advanced software solution available and it provides government with critical tools to ensure transparency and accountability, which is imperative for government agencies managing a successful cannabis program." Kimberly Nelson, the executive director state and local government solutions for Microsoft, said that Kind had agreed that Azure was the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs. "No-one can predict the future of cannabis legalisation. However, it is clear that legalised cannabis will always be subject to strict oversight and regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco," said Kind Financial founder and chief executive, David Dinberg. "Kind is proud to offer governments and regulatory agencies the tools and technology to monitor cannabis compliance. I am delighted that Microsoft supports Kind's mission to build the backbone for cannabis compliance." Ransomware poses a growing threat to Australian businesses, with CompTIA warning that organisations must take steps sooner rather than later to protect themselves. The non-profit IT industry trade association cautions that no matter how robust an organisations security measures, if employees arent aware of the potential threats, internal best practices, and protocols, the organisation is vulnerable to a ransomware attack. As CompTIA explains, ransomware is a cyber attack that encrypts business information so that users cant access the files, effectively locking the business out of its own systems and data, with the attackers then demanding a fee to unencrypt the data, returning the systems to normal. Moheb Moses, co-founder, Channel Dynamics, and director, ANZ Channel Community, CompTIA, says at a minimum, organisations should have adequate backup and disaster recovery plans in place. This negates the need to pay the ransom so the business can simply restore its files from the most recent backup. This proves how important it is to have a recovery plan in place and to make sure it works. Moses says that channel organisations can play a key role in helping businesses protect themselves and managed service providers (MSPs) must help their clients and employees understand the threats they face and the methods they should follow to protect against those threats. CompTIA has also identified the top three less-conventional but high-value measures that every MSP should consider offering their clients: 1. A comprehensive security assessment 2. Disaster recovery and backup plan development 3. End-user training. By covering these three areas, MSPs can help ensure their customers are protected from ransomware and similar attacks. Everyone who has access to a companys email and business systems needs to know and follow standard best practices for preventing malware infections and data breaches, Moses says. People remain the weakest link when it comes to securing networks. This makes end-user training one of the most valuable security measures a company can implement. "Conversation as a platform" is Microsofts next big thing. Wand is an integral part of that. Microsofts corporate vice-president David Ku announced that the Wand Labs team will be joining Bings engineering and platform group. It will primarily work on Microsofts push to enable the creation of intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants. The Wand teams expertise is around semantic ontologies, services mapping, third-party developer integration and conversational interfaces. It is currently an iOS developer. It was founded in 2013 by chief executive Vishal Sharma, a well-respected, experienced leader and entrepreneur in the field of search and knowledge. Wand Labs has already been developing in areas specific to Conversation as a Platform. Sharma said, Its an exciting time to be working in the area of semantics and conversation an area that Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella has highlighted as core to the future and calls Conversation as a Platform. As such, Im truly pleased to announce that Wand has been acquired by Microsoft. Im proud of the work my team has done and what weve already accomplished in this emerging space and Im delighted to be joining a company that shares our passion and enthusiasm for this new era where conversation is the central focus. Making experiences for customers more seamless by harnessing human language is a powerful vision and one that motivates me and my team. "Our deep experience with semantics, messaging and authority are a natural fit for the work already underway at Microsoft, especially in the area of intelligent agents and cognitive services. he added. OK what does "conversation as a platform" really mean? Nadella announced this at Build 2016. "It is a simple concept that's very powerful in its impact. We think this can have as profound an impact as the previous platform shifts have had. He inferred that conversations could follow the graphical user interface, the mouse, and touch screens, as the next big way to interact with computers. Microsoft is not thinking small here. It is not so much a new platform as a new user interface, he said. In essence and this is dumbing it down a little too much its the use of conversational bots to interact with humans and machines. No, it is not about digital assistants like Cortana or Siri (as these become bot connectors) as much as it's about purpose-specific function bots that can be more expert to handle specific tasks, such as booking hotel rooms or ordering pizza. Call them productivity-centric bots. Making bots that understand natural language the next big way to use computers. What does a digital service design company do? It falls into the marketing/PR/Advertising arena. It combines strategy, marketing, ergonomics, design, technology and performance optimisation and necessary skills for a successful B2C (business to consumer), B2B (business to business) or B2E (business to enterprise) project. At the launch Nicolas Aidoud, chief executive of Capgemini Australia and New Zealand, said, The launch of Backelite in the region is a natural extension of our capabilities, leveraging Capgeminis global footprint, ability to deliver at scale, and its deep industry expertise locally to address the growing demand for digital design and innovation services. With Backelite, it will bring speed to value and innovation to its clients through creativity and technology to build unforgettable digital services. The business launches with Coca-Cola Amatil as one of its anchor clients, with the bottling arm of the Coca-Cola business using the agency to overhaul its digital and e-commerce capabilities for its B2B business. Samantha Mitchell, general manager at Coca-Cola Amatil, who works primarily in digital transformation and e-commerce at CCA, said, This partnership benefits CCA as we like to work with one partner that houses all capabilities. This makes things easier when working with agencies that understand the CCA vision. We've been working with Capgemini for a couple of years now, to understand our audience and align communication avenues. Our B2B platform was the first thing we worked on with Capgemini, to help move customer ordering online and create a self-service portal. We want to be the best at shopping and browsing, and so started working with Capgemini because it was about getting the customer experience right. Our investment needed to be short and sharp, as technology is constantly changing, and has, in turn, changed the way we partner. Working with a tech-based agency makes sense. You used to have agency people and then you have the people who build the engine, and you had to manage so many different businesses, and they all had to coordinate their timelines. So it's great just to go to one person, one company and say: 'You own it all now you're on the hook', Mitchell added. I was still confused so I spoke to Susan Beeston, vice-president, digital services at Capgemini Australia and New Zealand, who will lead Backelite Australia. Backelite (pronounced Back Elite) is located in Sydney and Melbourne as well as in France (launched in 2006), the Netherlands and Sweden. It is all about digital and that pretty much covers everything. We start with a deep understanding of the users experience, and the right performance methodologies agile, iterative, co-creation, hackathon, experience design, prototyping ... she said. As a former PR/advertising/marketing person, I would loosely say that these are cutting edge strategies for this industry most relate to fast development and deployment. I asked Beeston: "You talk about teams of UX and UI designers. What does that mean?" User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) in an omnichannel world mean we work closely with clients and their customers to design human experiences to solve business problems. With a mix of experience strategy, UX and UI design, development, and continuous optimisation, we work with clients to co-create perfect bespoke digital products and services that add value to their business, she said. I then asked: "A traditional agency offers reliability, stability and security what is your difference?" Backelite offers agility, flexibility and creativity and we do it fast. Sure we also do what traditional agencies do and have long term relationships. We engage deeply with the end users to understand the experience and discover the issues; we create high-value digital responses (e.g. prototypes, web/mobile apps), and we launch and optimise (via data analytics, performance monitoring) the products, services and/or campaigns. Backelites solutions are scaled by Capgeminis proven global capability in implementing, transforming and running new business models. Then it is on to the next discovery fail fast and succeed sooner, she said. Comment I can see the sense a powerhouse global IT consulting firm horizontally integrating more digital services. It has worked well in the international sphere for Capgemini so it is sure to make waves here. Investment in machinery and equipment and to a lesser extent technology is a priority for Australian small businesses in the next 12 months, according to a survey by the Commonwealth Bank which reveals that 41% of SMBs plan to reinvest in their business in the 2017 financial year. Despite the increasing role of technology in business, just one in five small business operators surveyed said they would prioritise a review of their technology. Of the different business sectors, retail and hospitality businesses were the most likely to prioritise the evaluation of technology at the close of FY16, closely followed by those in the professional and business services sector and, interestingly, small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $100,000 were more likely to prioritise a review of their business technology than operators with a higher turnover. According to Clive van Horen, executive general manager small business, Commonwealth Bank, small businesses understand the difference technology can make to their lives and the customer experience, but finding the time to research and invest can be difficult. Van Horen says todays challenging marketplace calls for innovation, which requires leveraging digital technologies to maintain a competitive advantage. The bank surveyed small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $1 million, finding that almost half of SMB owners felt "confident and calm", with reviewing the performance of their business their top priority (50%). Van Horen said: the overwhelming majority of all Australias businesses are small operators so its pleasing to know they are looking to reinvest back in their business. We typically see a spike in the number of our business transaction accounts opened in June and July, as small businesses gear-up for the new financial year. The research indicates this trend may continue this year. Van Horen says cashflow management is a major pain point for small business, with the research showing that almost one-third of small business owners managing cash flow issues by dipping into personal funds and a third of businesses said they do not use any form of credit facility for business investment, working capital or cash flow. Small business operators are typically very passionate about their product or service, which sometimes means their day-to-day banking needs dont get enough attention. Given the research indicates small businesses are looking to ramp up expenditure in equipment and technology in the new financial year, there is a big opportunity to realise the potential of their business through a range of asset financing options, which can significantly alleviate cash flow issues. The research also found small businesses are not adequately future-proofed. While the majority of small businesses (57%) expect their operations to continue on after they exit the business, two-thirds lack a succession plan preparing them to do so. And, sole traders are least likely to have a plan (74%), and are also most likely to expect the business to close upon their exit (60%). No matter what operating system one uses, security professionals are generally agreed on one thing: when it comes to online security, the user is the weakest link. This may well be the reason why many help-desk support people have coined a term to explain the most stupid of user acts: luser error. The fact that users of digital devices are their own worst enemies when it comes to security is what drives companies that supply the code that runs these devices to act in an anal-retentive fashion when it comes to security updates. And in the light of that, Apple's behaviour, of nagging its users to patch when patches are available, is understandable. There are several reasons why Apple and every other major or minor vendor is taking the right approach, even though users (lusers?) may think otherwise. Of course, as iTWire's Ray Shawlast week, there are people who are "up in arms" against Apple's "pesky, annoying iOS update nag screens". Sure. There are also people around the world who, after nearly eight years of a Barack Obama presidency, still believe that he is a Muslim and was not born in the United States. These people as the Christ of the Bible once pointed out about the poor: "they will always be with us" are always going to be around. As proof of that I offer you one Donald Trump. Nuff said. There was a time, pre-Internet, when the approach to security was lackadaisical. But as computer use became common in the workplace and also at home in the late 1990s, following one horrific Windows worm after another, pressure started to build on software companies to lift their game. Once bug bounties started being paid, the security space got much bigger. These days, there is lots of money to be made through black-hat activities. That is why the snake oil salesmen at anti-virus companies are appearing more and more frequently in the media, acting out their chicken little routines. But even in this milieu, there are companies that try to evade the responsibility they have to issue patches for security vulnerabilities, a good example being Google. After releasing its Android mobile operating system in 2007, Google was silent on the question of patching until mid-2015 when Android was hit by the Stagefright bug. That Google managed to evade questions over Android security till then, despite the spotlight being squarely focused on secure computing after the revelations from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in mid-2013, is testimony to the teflon-like behaviour that the search engine behemoth exhibits. But back to Apple. Any default to not updating security patches would be plain stupid. Users have to be kept safe at all costs, even if they are stupid. If, as Shaw's article pointed out, they have to occasionally pay for their downloads, serve them right. Taking personal responsibility was never a fashionable thing and is less so in this day and age. It's time for these whingers to wake up and smell the roses. Of course, some may ask, then what about Microsoft? Is it not doing the right thing by forcing its users to upgrade to Windows 10? In this case, the upgrade may well break an existing system that is running fine on Windows 7. There are cases where an updated version of a single DLL can cause a working application to stop in its tracks. This update needs to be done with the utmost care, not just because Microsoft wants the Windows 10 take-up rate to look good. No matter who writes code, be it a human or a machine, there will always be holes to exploit. And as long as that situation exists, patching is the only way to avoid getting screwed. On the other hand, you can be obstinate, curse Apple or any other company, and give up your data to a black hat. That cross, my dear luser, is entirely yours to bear. At 6 pm on 17 June, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition leader Bill Shorten will go head-to-head in an interactive leaders debate hosted by Facebook and news.com.au. This is the first time in Australian history that the leaders of both major political parties will face off online, and one wonders if the medium will affect the message or performance of either. Turnbull is known to be tech-savvy. Both news.com.au and Facebook have announced details of the 2016 federal election campaigns third and final public debate, which will be streamed in real time via Facebook Live on news.com.au and news.com.aus Facebook page. It will be moderated by News Corp Australia columnist and Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand; the debate will be hosted at Facebook Australias headquarters in Sydney. This debate will be different to any youve seen before. It is a chance for millions of everyday Australians to not just to watch the debate, but to actively participate by asking questions and giving their instant reactions, news.com.au managing director Julian Delany said. The leaders will face off in front of an in-person audience consisting of undecided voters from a diverse range of electorates around Australia that Galaxy Research has identified will determine the election outcome, as well as many more Australians online via the live stream. Voters will be able to submit questions before the event, but in practice the earlier you put a question up, the more chance you have of getting it included. Naturally all political parties are encouraging their more vocal members and lobby groups to submit questions. So far the majority of questions seem to be on the bigger issues like border protection, budget black holes, and economic management, but a few have snuck in about FttN/MTM/NBN. In any case, the questions will alert all players of what issues are critical to address in the remainder of this long, drawn-out campaign News.com.au has an article on why this debate is different and its being hailed as the "way to the future" given Facebook's 1.7 billion audience (number of Australians unknown) and news.com.au getting about 5.5 million unique browser hits each month. It will help democratise democracy. FLocker Frantic Locker appeared in May 2015. Over 7000 varieties have evolved, and it has jumped to Android OS for smart TVs which is used by Sony, Sharp, Philips and more. But most of you wont have to worry unless you use the TV to read email, SMS, or surf the Internet straight use as a dumb TV should be fine. There is some question about installing apps from non-authorised app stores but as far as I can ascertain major brands lock that up pretty tightly. The interesting thing is that when it detects Android TV, it simply locks the screen making the TV useless until a ransom is paid. It can also steal data from the device. It portends the beginning of ransomware for any IoT device. Trend Micro said the latest batch of 1200 variants came in April and masquerades as the Cyber Police or another law enforcement agency. It accuses potential victims of crimes they didnt commit. Then, it demands US$200 worth of iTunes gift cards. When launched for the first time, FLocker checks if the device is located in Eastern European counties: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, and Belarus. If so it deactivates itself. If FLocker reaches a compatible target, it waits for 30 minutes after infecting the unit before it runs the routine. After the short waiting period, it starts the background service which requests device admin privileges immediately. This bypasses Androids dynamic sandbox. If the user denies this request, it will freeze the screen faking a system update. Norton by Symantec has also warned of FLocker in the wild. Ironically it was one of the first companies last year to warn of ransomware for smart TVs. It is an interesting read as it also covers things like unsigned firmware updates and how a smart TV could be hijacked to become part of a Botnet or cryptocurrency mining operation. While the initial version is "defeatable" via a computer with the Android developer tools using the ADB command to kill the process and revoke its administrator access, very few have that expertise. There is some talk of a hardware (not a software menu) factory reset, but depending on set that may not be possible. Smart TV manufacturers can tell you which combination of buttons to press at power on. Dave Jevans, Vice President Mobile Security at Proofpoint, has provided some insights into this threat and user tips: The biggest risk will be on mobile devices where users surf the Internet or receive SMS messages that can spread malicious apps. Typically SMS messages are not enabled on TV sets running Android. It could be possible to get infected by visiting an infected malicious website on your Android TV," he said. Consumers can protect themselves by: not accepting apps for installation that are sent by SMS messages being very wary of accepting apps for installation from web pages and not an App store be very wary when apps request for increased access privileges be extremely wary or do not install apps on Android that have permissions such as: RESTART_PACKAGES SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES GET_TASKS Enterprises can protect employees mobile devices by deploying an App Reputation and Security service in conjunction with their Mobile Device Management service. Robots have already invaded the operating room in some hospitals, but in Belgium they will soon be taking on the potentially more difficult task -- for robots, at least -- of greeting patients and giving them directions. The Citadelle regional hospital in Liege and the Damiaan general hospital in Ostend will be working with Zora Robotics to test patients' reactions to robot receptionists in the coming months. Zora already has experience programming the diminutive humanoid robot Nao to act as a chatty companion for the elderly, offering it as a form of therapy for those with dementia. Now the Belgian company is working with Nao's newer, bigger sibling, Pepper. Both were developed by French robotics company Aldebaran, now owned by Japanese Internet conglomerate SoftBank. Like Nao before it, Pepper has already found work as a receptionist in Japanese hotels, an environment where visitors are likely to be less nervous and more familiar with their surroundings than those arriving at a hospital. Pepper has a couple of advantages over Nao in the hospital environment. It's a lot taller -- about 1.2 meters high -- making it more visible and less likely to be knocked over in a crowded lobby. It also has a tablet computer mounted on its chest, so if spoken communication fails due to background noise or language problems, it can always fall back on the written word, images, and maps. "From the moment Pepper is not understanding you, everything is shown on the tablet and you can click on the button: You have the same information," Zora co-CEO Tommy Derrick said. Zora will begin by putting a robot in each hospital, initially for a couple of hours a week as it gathers data on the robots' performance, then gradually increasing their presence, Derrick said. In the first phase, Pepper will just welcome people. "Normally you will have a letter telling you to come to the hospital, so you can go to Pepper and say, 'I am patient X, here is my card, tell me where to go,'" Derrick said. Pepper will then tell the patient where her appointment is and explain, perhaps using videos, how to get there. In the second phase of development, the robot could accompany the visitor to her destination, he said. Ultimately, Derrick hopes Belgium's data protection authorities will grant the robots permission to handle personal information. Then, said Derrick, "We can have one-on-one conversations with patients to help them fill in forms, see if they need special stickers on their paperwork, if they need to make an appointment to come back, and so on." Zora has sold more than 300 Nao robots running its custom software in the healthcare market, something Derrick said the company achieved by listening to its clients. "Each month we would talk to our customers and ask, 'what did you like, what didn't you like, do you have new ideas,' and those we programmed into new behaviors for the robot," he said. There will still be limits on how Pepper can interact with people. "Having a natural emotional conversation with a robot isn't possible, anywhere in the world, not even with IBM Watson," he said. "Pepper will have capabilities of recognizing emotion and carrying on a natural conversation, but in five or ten years, not today." That absence of emotion doesn't mean Pepper has to act and sound, well, robotic. "We can play with the voice, we can pitch it, we can lower it. The movements we can make, we have a whole database of moments like on the Nao," Derrick said. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wowed both Democrats and Republicans, receiving a long standing ovation June 9, when he addressed a joint meeting of Congress. He jokingly told our politicians that you are well known for your bipartisanship. Well, you are not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in the Indian Parliament. As you can see, we have many shared practices. The laughter was long and loud! Unlike almost all other emerging market countries, we do have much in common with India its national language is English and it is totally committed to democracy. It is now the worlds fastest growing large economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that India surpassed Chinas domestic growth last year for the first time and will expand 7.4 percent this year compared with Chinas 6.5 percent. By 2018, the IMF predicts that gap will widen as Indian expansion hits 7.6 percent while China slows to 6 percent. (The other two large emerging markets Brazil and Russia are struggling with less than 1 percent annual growth predicted through 2020.) India has a young, hard-working labor force with favorable demographics its average age is 27 compared with Chinas 37, our 38, Europes 43 and Japans 46. Last year, world No. 1 Chinas population was 1.37 billion, 90 million more than runner-up Indias 1.28 billion. Given Indias annual population growth of 1.41 percent compared to Chinas 0.51 percent, it be the worlds largest country by 2030. At least a decade or more behind China, Indias consumption lifecycle is still in its infancy, and there is massive potential to grow rapidly. Also on track is the revival of the manufacturing sector, which would support sustainable growth and job creation. (EGA Investment Strategy Commentary, April 2016, p. 1). India lags far behind China because it wasted nearly 50 years after gaining independence from Great Britain in 1946. Its first leader after independence, Jawaharial Nehru, and later, his daughter Indira Gandhi, were committed socialists who supported tariffs to limit foreign trade. It wasnt until the mid 1990s that India began to open up its economy. The Chinese began their switch to promoting capitalistic growth much earlier, in 1979. However, India did not have a leader committed to cutting government regulations and reducing its deficit until Modi was elected prime minister two years ago. His overwhelming win propelled the top India 50 stock ETF (PIN) to a 33 percent gain in 2014, However, Modi has struggled to overcome the entrenched Indian bureaucracy and political opposition in Parliament. Last year, Indias top 50 stocks lost 8 percent and have only gained 1 percent this year through May 31. Amazon has invested $2 billion in India and just announced it would commit $3 billion more to expand its presence there. Indian consumers are just beginning to embrace internet shopping. The World Bank estimates that Indian online retail sales will grow from $6 billion last year to $70 billion by 2020. Indias poor infrastructure has limited the growth of manufacturing and value-added agriculture. Its 2016-2017 government budget projects a huge 22.5 percent spending increase on total infrastructure investment. (Almost all U.S. economists support significant increased government infrastructure spending, but, as usual, the Washington politicians cant agree.) Investing in India is high-risk but provides excellent diversification away from the U.S. market. I have owned two excellent no-load India funds for more than two years Matthews India (MINDX, 800-789-2742) and the higher-risk, smaller-company-oriented Wasatch Emerging India (WAINX, 800-551-1700). MINDX specializes in buying large-company Indian growth stocks and ranks in the top 1 percent of its peers for 10 years, averaging 9 percent annually. It soared 64 percent in 2014 when Modi was elected in May, but it has been up only 1 percent since then. The newer Wasatch Emerging India (WAINX) that began in 2011 is more aggressive than MINDX, given its emphasis on small and mid-size Indian stocks. Its 5-year average of 8 percent is 1 percent better than MINDXs 7 percent, However, for three years (through May 30), MINDX wins, averaging a terrific 16 percent compared with WAINXs 13 percent. MINDX can be bought in an IRA for only $500 while WAINX is available for a $1,000 IRA minimum. Some readers may prefer an all-purpose diversified less-risky emerging markets fund. I strongly recommend Andrew Fosters Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income (SFGIX, 855-732-9220) that is the only emerging markets fund we buy for our clients at Woodard & Co. Foster had a great record at Matthews before he opened his own firm in 2012. He is up 7 percent so far this year and ranks in the top 3 percent of his emerging-market manager peers for three years, yet his fund is typically lower risk than its competition. It is available for a $1,000 minimum IRA purchase without fees at discount brokerages or directly from Seafarer. The strength of the U.S. dollar, lower commodity prices, and political problems have all contributed to making emerging markets a lousy investment for the past five years. The Vanguard Emerging Market Index has posted an average loss of 5 percent annually since 2011 (through May 31). However, India has been the star emerging-markets exception and is expected to continue its outperformance given the countrys favorable demographics and Modis commitment to economic reform. Larry Hungerford is a partner at Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group in Bermuda Run. He can be reached at larry@wcamg. com. OnRamp OnRamp offers conversation and connections among the entrepreneurs who are shaping Wisconsin's economy, and brings corporations and start-ups together at statewide events. To contribute to this blog, contact Joe Kirgues at joe@gener8tor.com or Matt Cordio at matt@skillspipeline.com or Scott Resnick at resnick@hardindd.com. SHARE By , When ReviewTrackers started growing 250% annually, raking in millions of venture financing, growing out of their office every nine months, and expecting to triple their staff by the end of 2016 (yes, that means theyre hiring!), it would have been easy for co-founder and CEO Chris Campbell to become overconfident or start to feel entitled. However, through all the good and bad hands these past few years have dealt Chris and his team, theyve stuck to their good ol Midwestern values, a key ingredient to the companys success. Stay Practical The Midwestern work ethic is unwaveringly pragmatic work hard and do what works best. ReviewTrackers has remained in Chicago, a place where natural strengths and corporate services heritage are perfectly aligned with the B2B companys business model. Maybe its sexier to be in Silicon Valley or New York. But staying practical means staying suitable for a particular purpose, and for Chris, no other place in the world makes more sense for ReviewTrackers to call home. Be Nice In the heartland, people are nice and friendly to strangers. While some may see this as a not-so-nice quality to have in business, the Midwestern sense of community has allowed ReviewTrackers and other incredible startups to interact and connect with each other in serendipity-conducive spaces like 1871 in Chicago, Ward4 in Milwaukee, or 30 W. Mifflin Street in Madison. More importantly, this niceness also means theres no shortage of Midwesterners willing to invest their time and resources, share their networks, and help other entrepreneurs with a stick of butter and a smile. Maintain Integrity The idea that your reputation is your most prized possession holds true in the Midwest and at ReviewTrackers. Its not only that the company is literally in the reputation business; its also how Chris and his team take pride in their daily work and make it their mission to solve real-world problems and help other businesses succeed. About Abby Taubner Abby is the director of gBETA Milwaukee at gener8tor, a nationally ranked Wisconsin-based accelerator program. gBETA gives young companies with a Wisconsin college or university affiliation free resources to help them grow within the state. She is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. Im incredibly proud of the work Chris and our portfolio companies have been doing in the midwest and how they've expanded that across the country as they grow. Weve been fortunate to work with not only some of the most hardworking entrepreneurs we know, but also the nicest! Public Schools Employee Fatally Shot In The Head Outside Elementary School By Mae Rice in News on Jun 17, 2016 3:00PM Milosh Kosanovich A Chicago Public Schools employee was fatally shot outside an elementary school in South Austin on Thursday. Denzel Thornton, 25, was shot at 12:30 p.m. at McNair Elementary School while getting into his parked car, authorities said. Thornton's attacker approached on foot and shot Thornton in the head in the 4800 block of West Walton, according to police. Afterwards, the attacker fled the scene in a black sedan. Thornton was pronounced dead on the scene. Following the shooting, the school was locked down until dismissal at 2:30 p.m., with no one allowed to enter or exit, according to the Tribune. All parents at McNair also received an automated call, or "robo call," alerting them to "an incident" at the school, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. (We've included the full script of the call below.) Chicago Public Schools will provide crisis counseling to McNair studentsmany of whom, the Tribune reports, peeked out the window at Thornton's body as it was removedand to employees at its central office, where Thornton worked. Thornton had worked for CPS for 10 months as part of the Nutrition Services team, Claypool said in his statement. Thornton had no criminal history or known gang connections, Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told the Tribune. David Blackmom, program coordinator of culinary arts for CPS, told ABC Thornton was one of his favorite students and a promising one, amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships after graduating from Corliss High School in Pullman. On behalf of all of Chicago Public Schools, we were devastated to learn today about the tragic death of one of our employees," Claypool said. "Denzel Thornton was a member of our Nutrition Services team, and like many CPS employees, he worked hard every day to serve our children." The script for the call McNair parents received was as follows: ttention McNair Families. This is an important message from Chicago Public Schools. The Chicago Police Department is currently investigating an incident that took place outside our school today. No McNair students were injured as a result of this incident, however students may have questions or be upset by what happened. The CPS Crisis Support Team will be at school tomorrow to provide assistance to any students needing support, as well as an increased presence from CPS Safety and Security. We will continue to update you as we learn more, and thank you. Markable Inc. raises $1.9 million in equity funding Markable Inc., a Madison fashion technology company, has raised $1.9 million of a proposed $2.8 million equity funding round, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. Markable has an app that helps users instantly buy fashion items they see online or on the street. The app analyzes a photo and finds instantly a shopping site and best matches for the item. The company was co-founded in 2014 by Joy Tang and Fiona Wang. Tang, chief executive officer, has an undergraduate degree in math and economice from MIT and was a 2002 China Math Olympic Gold Medalist. Wang, a vice president, has a graduate degree in finance from Illinois Institute of Technology. Both executives work in Chicago and Madison. Gearbox Express raises $1.5 million Gearbox Express LLC, a Mukwonago wind turbine service company, has raised $1.5 million to fund future growth, the company said Thursday. Privately-held Gearbox Express was founded in 2011 to remanufacture wind energy gearboxes and have them ready for utilities to install when their wind turbine gearboxes wear out or fail. The money raised was all equity, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. "Our growth is exceeding our expectations and the additional capital will fund more inventory and new products so we can better serve our customers," said Bruce Neumiller, chief executive officer. FluGen begins clinical trial on universal influenza vaccine FluGen Inc., a Madison biotechnology company that is developing flu vaccines, said Wednesday it has begun a clinical trial of its RedeeFlu universal influenza vaccine. The trial involves 96 healthy adult subjects between the ages of 18 and 49. It will evaluate the safety of the vaccine and the antibody and T-cell responses it prompts. The vaccine has in animals induced robust antibody and cellular immune responses without producing any infectious virus particles, the company says. "We believe that Redeeflu could be the first influenza vaccine to show robust protection from drifted or mismatched flu strains," said Paul Radspinner, the company's president and chief executive officer. Simple gizmos come from complex journeys The thing looks simple a gadget that holds small items tightly to a bicycle frame using industrial-grade rubber bands. But behind the "SuperBand," the latest product from a little Mequon firm called BiKASE, stands a complex mix of inspiration, doubt, sweat and trial-and-error. "These products, even though they don't look like much, they can be quite costly to develop," BiKASE owner Chad Buchanan said. Madison pharmaceutical company raises $3 million from investors Madison pharmaceutical technology company Invenra has raised another $3 million from 27 investors, according to a filing with securities regulators Wednesday. Invenra has a proprietary platform that allows for rapid screening of potential new drug candidates without using living cells. The new money will be used for "research and development and general corporate purposes," the company said in the filing. Chamber launches HealthTech Capitol website to promote Madison area The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce announced Friday the launch of the HealthTech Capitol website healthtechcapitol.com as part of an initiative dedicated to establishing Madison as a leader for health innovation by allowing companies to leverage talent, capital and mentoring. "With a robust ecosystem of world-class research, the market leader in electronic medical records, entrepreneurs and a strong network of payers and providers, Greater Madison is already a leader in health innovation," said Chamber President Zach Brandon. "HealthTech Capitol will help build on these strengths by supporting companies and talent in our region and building an infrastructure that will amplify our health discoveries to the world." HealthTech Capitol represents efforts begun in 2012 by entrepreneurs to make greater Madison the best place to start and grow a health technology company. The effort brought together a group of emerging health tech companies and providers from the Madison area, including HealthX Ventures, Moxe, Healthfinch, Forward Health Group and Wellbe. HealthTech Capitol is sponsored by the Godfrey and Kahn law firm, with support from UW Health and CUNA Mutual Group. Xemex attracts attention from angel investors Xemex, a soon-to-be company that has developed an adhesive mixing nozzle with no moving parts, has attracted interest from four angel investing groups, a University of Wisconsin-Madison official said Tuesday. Xemex is one of seven projects that recently emerged from a program aimed at turning university research into commercial endeavors, said John Biondi, director of Discovery to Product, or D2P. D2P was formed as a partnership between UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in 2014. It has produced 12 start-ups so far, Biondi said. Neenah entrepreneur to appear on West Texas Investors Club James Oliver, a Neenah entrepreneur, will appear Tuesday night on CNBC's "West Texas Investors Club." In the episode, Oliver pitches his company, WeMontage Inc., to Rooster McConaughey and Butch Gilliam. The self-made Texas multimillionaires invest in those they view as promising entrepreneurs, but only on their turf and their terms. WeMontage has an online service that turns photos into large, removable wallpaper panels. The company raised $310,000 from angel investors in 2013. Madison chamber leader touts Wisconsins high-tech Third Wave Starting with his very first interview for the job of president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Zach Brandon made it clear: His was not a traditional plan. Rather than focus solely on established businesses, Brandon wanted to embrace start-ups, the "scalable and salable" companies, as he called them. Some called it a flash-in-the-pan strategy. They criticized how he never even mentioned major local employer Oscar Mayer in his vision statement. Wisconsin got more venture capital deals in 2015, but amount invested fell At least 128 state companies raised more than $209 million of angel and venture capital in 2015, with the results indicating what the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council described as a generally improving picture for early-stage financing. "I think most of the trends here are quite good," said Tom Still of the council, which puts together the annual accounting. Angel and venture financing marks an important measure of how well a state is doing at growing high-potential companies, and Wisconsin's record has been mediocre at best. WMC launches contest to find 'coolest thing' made in Wisconsin To drum up interest in manufacturing and engage young people, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce is holding a contest to determine the "coolest thing" made in the state. The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest will accept nominations through Aug. 31, organizers said. "We want manufacturers and Wisconsin residents to start nominating products on our website, and we want people, especially young people, to start a conversation about manufacturing and participate in voting in September," said Kurt R. Bauer, president and CEO of WMC, a major business lobbying organization that says it represents 3,800 employers in the state. Jendusa donates $1 million to UWM for entrepreneur-in-residence program Jerry Jendusa, co-founder of aerospace products maker Emteq LLC, has donated $1 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to fund an entrepreneur-in-residence program, the school said Wednesday. The Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship , which was establishged in 2015 with a $10 million gift from Marianne and Sheldon Lubar, is constructing a new building on UWM's campus. "I am proud to support entrepreneurs in residence, who will bring real-world experience to the classroom and introduce students to innovators who are shaping Milwaukee and our region," Jendusa said. "Big entrepreneurial ideas start as a dream, and I want to encourage students to chase their dreams." WISC Partners raises $8.2 million WISC Partners LP, a venture capital fund with an unusual, consulting-driven business model, has raised $8.2 million, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. The fund raised the money from 29 investors, the filing said. This brings to $9.2 million the total amount the fund has raised, according to www.formds.com. WISC Partners in April said it had, with Capital Midwest Fund of Mequon, led a $1.2 million funding of Pegasus Sustainability Solutions, a Fitchburg company that is building an online marketplace for buyers and sellers in markets such as hazardous waste, medical waste and environmental remediation. IDAvatars merges with Colorado company IDAvatars, a Mequon start-up that develops health care apps featuring an avatar, or animated character, has merged with CodeBaby, a company based in Colorado Springs, Colo., that develops so-called virtual assistants. The two companies, which combined will employ about 35 people and 10 contractors, have complementary technologies, said Norrie Daroga, the founder and chief executive officer of iDAvatars. CodeBaby, which also has an office in Edmonton, Canada, has focused on developing products for websites, while iDAvatars has focused on developing mobile applications. All Politics Blog From Milwaukee, Madison and beyond, a daily dose of political news and glimpses behind the scenes SHARE By of the Former President George W. Bush is coming to the aid of Republican U.S. Senators up for re-election, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to The New York Times. Bush will appear at a fundraiser for Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri next week and similar events are being planned to help Johnson and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, the newspaper reported late Thursday. Johnson told The Times that he was looking forward to the reception with Bush. The two men have never had a conversation, Johnson said. All the Bushes are people of integrity, Johnson told the newspaper. A Johnson spokesman had no further details. SHARE By , The slow transition to chip credit cards by U.S. retailers hasn't gone unnoticed by criminals. Counterfeit-card fraud will rise to $4.5 billion in 2016, up 12.5% from last year, as crooks ramp up their thievery before all merchants and banks have moved to accept the more secure chip technology, said Julie Conroy, an analyst at financial-industry researcher Aite Group. The theft is especially hurting retailers that hadn't equipped their stores to accept chip cards by Oct. 1, when banks stopped footing the bill for fraud committed at non-compliant locations. "There's a fire sale, to try to burn through all of the stock of card data that they've seen," Conroy said. Criminals are using personal credit-card data stolen during previous breaches at Target Corp., Michaels Cos. Inc. and other retailers. The thieves can use the data to create fake plastic cards with magnetic stripes for shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. Known in industry parlance as EMV, chip cards prevent such duplication, the primary reason for the switch. Fees for fraudulent credit-card charges, called chargebacks, are hitting small and large retailers alike. Recognizing the problem, Visa Inc. on Thursday changed its policies to offer some relief to merchants that haven't yet installed new chip-card readers. From October through February, fraud-related costs at Milam's Markets and Grove Liquors in Florida have jumped by about $10,000, the companies said in a lawsuit. Milam's operates four grocery stores in the Miami area, while Grove runs one liquor store. Nordstrom Inc., which operates 118 department stores and 200 Rack outlets,saidin May that fraud chargebacks were "significantly higher than planned," because it completed rolling out chip-card equipment only in February. On June 7, payment-terminals maker VeriFone Systems Inc. said many retailers were "suffering" from chargebacks. "We certainly got a good look at what the realities are," said Carman Wenkoff, chief information and digital officer at Subway Restaurants, which will finish adding the technology to its U.S. stores this month. "It's been significant. It does not make sense to wait to install. Every merchant should be thinking about how they should deploy EMV as soon as they can." He declined to disclose Subway's chargeback costs. Merchants that have implemented EMV have seen a reduction in fraud. In January, chip-enabled merchants tracked by Visa had seen a 26% year-over-year reduction in dollar volume of counterfeit fraud, the payments network said. "The problem is, in most consumers' wallets there's still a magnetic stripe," said Kimberly Little Sutherland, a senior director at fraud-detection vendor LexisNexis Risk Solutions Inc. "And those are targeted more heavily by the fraudsters. Now the focus on the fraudsters is totally going after those kinds of cards that do not have a chip." Many retailers that have wanted to implement chip acceptance faster couldn't do so because of long lines to install and certify the software and equipment needed to process chips. Many delayed implementing EMV until the last minute, or began making plans to adopt it only after being hit with chargebacks. Next week, Mastercard Inc. will announce measures that will make it easier for retailers to get their equipment certified, according to Chiro Aikat, a senior vice president at the company. "It should cut it down to hours, not days or weeks," he said. On Thursday, Visa said it was simplifying its equipment- certification process and changing its chargeback policies to reduce liability faced by merchants who haven't yet moved to accept chip cards. Effective July 22, Visa will block all counterfeit-card chargebacks under $25. And starting in October, it will allow banks to charge back only 10 counterfeit transactions per account, and will require them to assume liability for all transactions thereafter. "These two changes together will significantly reduce the number of chargebacks that merchants are seeing," Visa said in a statement. "Merchants can expect to see 40% fewer counterfeit chargebacks, and a 15% reduction in U.S. counterfeit fraud dollars being charged back." To combat counterfeit fraud, more retailers need to install and turn on new EMV equipment, and banks must issue more chip- based cards. Almost 70% of U.S. consumer credit cards now have chips, and 76% of the 200 biggest merchants are able to accept them, according to MasterCard. Smaller merchants have been slower to migrate to EMV. "It's still in the early stages," said MasterCard's Aikat. "The tipping point is where 60% of terminals are chip-enabled. When you get to that tipping point, that's when on a market level you see the benefits. We are not there yet." SHARE By of the Marshfield Clinic Health System plans to build a hospital and cancer clinic in Eau Claire, taking another step in its move to become an integrated health system with its own hospitals, clinics and health plan. In March, Ministry Health Care, part of Ascension Wisconsin, tentatively agreed to sell St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield to Marshfield Clinic. Marshfield Clinic has said that owning its own hospitals will give it more control over the cost and quality of care. That could become increasingly important as government health programs and commercial health plans move toward paying health systems a fixed amount to manage the health of a specific group, or population, of patients. Under the current system, known as fee for service, hospitals, doctors and other providers are paid based on the type and volume of services they provide. Marshfield Clinic has a large clinic and several smaller clinics in the Eau Claire area. It also owns Security Health Plan of Wisconsin. Owning its own hospitals "puts us in an excellent position to make a real difference on care levels and cost for patients in the region," Susan Turney, chief executive officer of Marshfield Clinic, said in a statement. The projected cost of the hospital was not disclosed. Mayo Clinic Health System and Hospital Sisters Health System each have hospitals in Eau Claire. Most of Marshfield Clinic physicians in the Eau Clair area practice at Sacred Heart Hospital, part of Hospital Sisters Health System. The planned hospital will be built at 1202 W. Clairemont Ave., site of the Plaza Hotel & Suites, near Marshfield Clinic's main clinic in Eau Claire. The hotel is scheduled to be razed this winter and construction on the hospital and cancer center would begin in the spring. The cancer center is projected to open in the fall of next year and the hospital in 2018. Marshfield Clinic also owns Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake and in a partnership with Ministry Health Care, Flambeau Hospital in Park Falls. Riders with disabilities worried about county's paratransit cuts Milwaukee County's paratransit taxi service is on the chopping block with MCTS facing a fiscal cliff. SHARE Being a Beast: Adventures Across the Species Divide. By Charles Foster. Metropolitan Books. 256 pages. $28. By , Charles Foster wants to know what it's like to be a wild thing. Not a man six feet above ground describing wild things from a man's perspective (anthropocentrism) or assigning human qualities to bunnies and bears (anthropomorphism). Foster wants to be the wild thing, living as wild things live. In "Being a Beast," Foster nearly convinces us that such shape-shifting is possible in the way he lyrically tells his stories uncensored, intensely descriptive and often hysterical and by referencing literary works and undisputed physiological facts. He structures the book around the four elements of Western culture. Through Foster, we become a badger and red deer (living below or on the earth), an urban fox (the fire of city lights), an otter (water) and a swift (air). We burrow in a Welsh hillside and eat earthworms, become hunted by a bloodhound and nearly die of hypothermia, sleep on London's streets and narrowly avoid arrest, catch fish in our teeth and follow the migration route from England to Africa, riding thermals two miles above earth. The experience is trippy. Foster invites us to contemplate and vicariously live the previously unimaginable. Take depositing spraint, for example. Spraint is dung that otters leave to signal their presence. We can learn about spraint what it is, what it looks and smells like, and how long it lasts in the sun and rain but Foster insists that you can't be an otter without depositing spraint. So he and his six children repeatedly do just that across a moor in Devon. (He must have a patient wife. He also refrained from trimming his toenails for months to mimic deer hoofs.) Calling Foster batty is tempting. Certainly, a man with a doctorate in medical law and ethics from the University of Cambridge and who's a fellow at University of Oxford should have something better to do than deposit man-spraint. Yet without warning and a bit reluctantly, we begin to acknowledge that Foster's observations and conclusions are shifting our mind-sets just as his experiences are shifting his own. Badgers, we learn, have superb hearing and can pick up on the sound of a traveling earthworm. "Just think what the obscene tsunami of a nearby motor vehicle does to an animal that can do that." He suggests we find out by sitting in an isolated place, then walking quietly to a road. "The first car will seem like a regiment of tanks. You'll feel violated, and feel that the land is violated. You'll note in yourself, perhaps with surprise, that since both you and the land are violated, there must be a previously unrecognized solidarity between you and the land." He also challenges perceptions by telling how he changed appearance to create less attention as he rummaged through garbage as a fox in the highbrow East End of London. "Someone in unstained trousers and an unripped sweater looks criminal if he's raking through a herniated bin bag, but if you're dirty, tired, and slumped, no one minds. You're translucent. People look through you." While empathy plays a notable role in the book, the overall question that Foster raises has more to do with how we as humans are anchored to our planet and how we can better understand the man-beast-earth interrelatedness. He offers an answer, too. He admits that no man can be a beast. No matter how hard we try to be something else, we're human. Achingly human. Before Foster even begins his first chapter, he already apologizes for what the book became. "I had hoped to write a book that had little or nothing of me in it. The hope was naive. It has turned out to be (too much) a book about my own rewilding, my own acknowledgment of my previously unrecognized wildness, and my own lament at the loss of my wildness. I'm sorry." He shouldn't be. AJ Dixon AJ Dixon grew up on Milwaukee's south side and attended Bay View High School. When it was time to open her own place, she knew exactly where she wanted to be. In 2014, she opened Lazy Susan MKE, her cozy 40-seat casual fine dining spot in the heart of Bay View. When she started high school, she planned to study law. After her mother died at the end of her freshman year, she set a new course and never looked back. Now, Dixon's weekly KFC special Korean fried chicken draws fans, and one of her favorite things to do every summer is a pig roast that lands in her Tuesday night grab-and-go picnic boxes. Dixon lives in St. Francis with her husband, Jefferson, and their children, Leela and Zachary. Memories, meals and mom Growing up with my mom, I would always cook with her. Dinner was a big thing in our house. She liked to eat. She was always watching cooking shows. She had a lot of different friends of different ethnicities. She'd get their recipes and try them at home. When I was 14, she died on the last day of school my freshman year. I decided to go to culinary school to do what she should have done. I went to MATC right from high school. Birthday tradition In our house it was a birthday meal of whatever we wanted. My birthday is in August, and every year my mom would make ribs and Coca-Cola cake for me. Every year that's what I'd ask for. To this day, I still try to figure it out. She showed me how to do them when I was little, but I can't quite get it. ... I took a trip with some friends of mine down to Louisville. We went to this restaurant, and I cried when I ate their ribs because they tasted just like hers. It was pretty amazing. I come close to making them. Same thing with her Coca-Cola cake, I still to this day can't quite get it. Her workspace I'm short and everything is where I can reach it. It is a comfortable working space because I have windows. That was really important. When you're inside all day long, it is nice to open the window or look out the window. It is also really clean. I polish the stainless all the time, because when you put a lot of money into a restaurant you want to keep it nice. I've also got two pictures of Vince Lombardi in there for a little inspiration. The carrot test When I interview people (for kitchen jobs), I always ask, "If you were to create an entree out of carrots, what would it be?" The carrots have to be the focal point. People look at me like I'm crazy. Egg peeling pointers Watching people fail sometimes is really hard, but we see if they'll learn not to make that mistake next time. Eggs are a good example. We do deviled eggs. I spent months trying to have the best method for peeling eggs. Old eggs always peel better, but we go through so many eggs we never have old eggs. Now we put a ton of baking soda in the boiling water, and I boil the water first, then put the eggs in, then go 10 minutes from the time the water starts to boil, then I put cold water in. The minute you can put your hand in the water, start peeling them. I tell all my cooks that. It probably took us eight months to figure that out. Travel and taste We have kids now, so it's hard. Now we'll take little trips to see my husband's parents. He's from Minnesota. One of my favorite trips was to Minneapolis/St. Paul. I did a dinner there as a guest chef for the American Liver Association. It is such a great food city. The Hmong Market in Frogtown is one of my favorite places. Of course, Bachelor Farmer is a favorite. I still think about that restaurant and the food. Her Milwaukee meal If I'm going to take people to dinner, there's always take-out from Royal India involved. Then Anmol on Mitchell St., because it is so good and so cheap. Current cookbook obsession Magnus Nilsson ("The Nordic Cookbook"). It is so vague but awesome. It gives me a lot of ideas of things I could do if I had time. My dream trip would be going to his restaurant. Her indulgence I have a tiramisu obsession. If I go somewhere and see it on the menu, I get it. Most memorable meal My husband and I went to Las Vegas to get married. Rather than spending all the money on a wedding, let's take that money and use it for a down payment on a house. That's smarter. One friend came with us. We were late for our own wedding because we took the bus. We took it the day before to time it, but it took longer the next day. We went to Nobhill in the MGM Grand, that was our reception. We drank a bottle of champagne, had this really nice meal. They knew I was a chef and gave us a tour of the kitchen. Her mission Whether vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or a meat eater, you should be able to come here and get a nice, good, complete meal. When we put together the menu, we think "Can we make this vegetarian too? Can we make this gluten-free?" Everyone should be able to enjoy a meal and not feel awkward about ordering things. If you're the person with allergies who can't go out to eat, every chef's worst nightmare, we can cook for you. Just give me two or three days' notice. Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email nstohs@journalsentinel.com. SHARE By of the Milwaukee police are searching for suspects in two nonfatal shootings that occurred Thursday night on the city's west side. The first shooting took place around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 5600 block of N. 87th St., according to a police news release. The 25-year-old male victim was driving when a suspect in another car fired several gunshots at the victim. The victim took himself to the hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police responded to the second shooting at 10:50 p.m. Thursday in the 2900 block of W. Fond du Lac Ave., the release said. The suspect attempted to rob the 29-year-old male victim and displayed a gun. The victim was shot while struggling with the robber. He was taken to the hospital by the fire department and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. State schools Superintendent Tony Evers (right) will have to rely on his staff attorneys to defend him in a federal lawsuit brought by a religious school, after the state Department of Justice withdrew from the case and Gov. Scott Walker barred him from seeking outside counsel. Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE By of the State schools Superintendent Tony Evers will have to rely on his staff attorneys to defend him in a federal lawsuit brought by a religious school after the state Department of Justice withdrew from the case and Gov. Scott Walker barred him from seeking outside counsel. Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel through their spokesmen said they acted because the legal position taken by Evers' staff in the case is not defensible. But Evers suggested the motivation was political, noting that the schools' attorneys the conservative special interest law firm Wisconsin Institute of Law & Liberty had sided with Walker and the DOJ in a recent state Supreme Court case decided in the superintendent's favor. "Frankly, I was surprised and disappointed that the DOJ bailed on this," said Evers, who called the DOJ's action unprecedented. "We never received a legal analysis in writing. And I'm not quite sure yet what caused them to come to this erroneous conclusion" that the Department of Public Instruction's position was not legally sound. Schimel issued a statement Thursday denying the accusation and saying the DOJ could have unilaterally settled the case, but instead gave Evers the option of seeking outside counsel. "DOJ made a legal determination with which DPI disagreed," he said. "No action taken by DOJ lessened DPI's ability to assert its position in court, but DOJ is not able under the circumstances to advocate on their behalf." The federal case stems from a lawsuit, initially filed by WILL in Washington County Circuit Court on behalf of St. Augustine School in Hartford and the parents of three of its students. The lawsuit accuses Evers and the Friess Lake School District of abridging the family's free exercise of religion by refusing to provide the students free transportation to and from their Catholic school. State law requires public school districts to provide transportation to private school students who live in their geographic area if they meet certain criteria. However, districts can refuse students if their school's attendance area overlaps with another of the same denomination that is already being served. Friess Lake and Evers argue that St. Augustine's attendance area overlaps that of St. Gabriel School, which is operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and therefore isn't eligible. WILL counters that the courts have interpreted "denomination" to mean sponsoring organization and, since St. Augustine operates independently of the archdiocese, the restriction should not apply. "We suspect the reason DOJ is not representing Superintendent Evers is that his actions are so blatantly inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent that establishes a separation of church and state for this dispute," WILL spokesman CJ Szafir said. Last year, WILL filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Walker and Schimel's position in a state Supreme Court case that was decided in Evers' favor in May. In that decision, the court found unconstitutional a 2011 law passed by Republicans that would have diluted the power of the independently elected state superintendent of schools and given the governor and lawmakers a greater say in education policy. Evers said it is the first time in his 15 years at the Department of Public Instruction seven of those as superintendent that a state attorney general has walked away from a case. "In the past, with (Republican Attorney General J.B.) Van Hollen, there were lawsuits that he always participated in," Evers said. "I know some were politically charged. But he always stepped to the plate. It makes you wonder if this is going to be a concern going forward, if this is going to be an ongoing thing." Ordinance To Require Paid Sick Leave Moves Forward In City Council By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 17, 2016 3:02PM Facebook / Arise Chicago Nearly all Chicago employers would be required to grant workers paid sick leave under a measure approved Thursday by a City Council committee. Under the proposal, workers would receive one paid sick hour for every 40 hours worked, with a cap of five sick days per year. Most part-time workers would qualify as well, as employees who work at least 80 hours over four months would be included. (Some exemptions are in place, including one for the construction industry.) The measure heads to a full Council vote next Wednesday. A coalition that included local labor organization Arise Chicago introduced a similar bill in 2014, which failed to clear committee at the time, but led to a task force that spearheaded the current bill. Adam Kader, Worker Center Program Director at Arise Chicago, said Thursday's passage through committee was a critical hurdle. "The bill remained in tact. The main lobby groups opposing it weren't able to add amendments. We're definitely pleased," he told Chicagoist. Alderman Tom Tunney, 44th Ward, on Thursday reflected the objections of pro-business factions, claiming the measure would raise operating costs and hurt competition. But Kader denies that small businesses would face adverse consequences. "We didn't put forth anything unrealistic. Hurting businesses doesn't further employees' interests. We believe companies will adapt and remain robust. Less turnover will create savings." The bill is expected to pass the City Council, which would make Chicago the 27th city to approve such a measure. "There should be a federal law. One way that can happen is by proving viability at a local level," Kader told Chicagoist. Players in the debate over the the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program in Milwaukee: Demond Means (clockwise from upper left), commissioner; County Executive Chris Abele; MPS Superintendent Darienne Driver; and state Rep. Dale Kooyenga. Credit: Journal Sentinel files By of the Milwaukee Public Schools on Friday rejected an invitation to turn over some of its poorest performing schools to a new state-mandated recovery district run by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and his appointed commissioner, Demond Means. Instead, MPS Superintendent Darienne Driver and board President Mark Sain proposed an alternative that would allow Abele and Means to create a charter school offering an early childhood program in the former 35th Street Elementary School. Driver said they could not accept the Abele-Means proposal, which called for MPS to partner in the turnaround of the schools, because the proposal was vague, the funding plan unclear and elements conflicted with state law. The early childhood program, to which parents could voluntarily send their children, would meet a critical need in the community and align with work the district is already doing to improve its schools, she said. "We know the fundamental needs of our families include greater access to high-quality early childhood education, sustained resources and support, stable school communities ... and having a voice in the decisions that impact their children," Driver said. "We are disappointed that Dr. Driver has rejected our proposal to protect MPS jobs, funding, enrollment, and governance," Abele said in a statement following the announcement. He said he and Means would have to "move forward with implementing the law" a suggestion that they may bring in outside operators to run the schools. But he said they would wait until after a previously scheduled June 23 meeting with district staff. Means, superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District, said he was unaware of the district's decision and would need to review its position before commenting. Both have said the failure of MPS to accept their proposal could force them to bring in outside operators to run the schools. Friday's announcement sets the stage for what could be a contentious showdown in the next Legislative session with Republican lawmakers bent on education reform. Both Abele's office and MPS officials accused the other of refusing to respond to overtures to sit down and discuss their proposals. Means said he was contacted by an MPS official last week, and agreed to a June 23 meeting, the earliest time the official said Driver could be available. The decision represents a defeat, at least for now, for Abele and Means, who had characterized the plan as a compromise that was least-harmful to MPS and had been making the rounds of church and civic groups in an effort to drum up support for it. The two had floated the plan in an effort to comply with a new state law drafted by Republican Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Rep. Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield and passed as part of the 2015-'17 state budget. The law created what's known as the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program, which required Abele to appoint a special commissioner who would take control of up to five poorly performing MPS schools a year and turn those over to outside operators. Kooyenga voiced disappointment, but not surprise, Friday and said he believes the district is in violation of both the state statute and a new federal education law that requires districts to devise plans to improve their poorest performing schools. "It's very obvious they want to retain the status quo," said Kooyenga. "What's really remarkable is the small scope ... MPS has 155 schools and we're talking about doing something different with three to five schools a year when it's totally ramped up. ... We're targeting schools with zero-percent reading proficiency. And yet there's this absolute hesitancy to try something different." He said he would watch MPS in the coming months and would propose changes in the law "based on what we see." Abele and Means had said from the beginning that they would not mount a wholesale takeover of MPS. They initially proposed creating an early childhood program in a vacant MPS school but abandoned that, saying it would not comply with the law. Instead, Abele and Means had proposed what they described as "a partnership" in which Means would run the schools as a consultant to the district. They would become so-called community schools in which students and families are provided intensive wraparound services, from health care to housing and job training. Teachers would keep their jobs and union membership if they belong. And MPS would keep the per-pupil funding, albeit less than it currently gets because the schools would be considered charters. At the same time, the district's elected School Board would lose at least some of its oversight of the schools. And at least some costs would likely be borne by MPS. Under the plan, the schools would revert to MPS after five years if they met their improvement goals. Driver said Friday she believes an early childhood program created by Abele and Means would comply with the Opportunity Schools law. However, the MPS proposal would provide no funding or staff for the program. That will make it a challenge for Abele and Means, since the Legislature provided no start-up funding for the Opportunity Schools program and Abele has yet to secure philanthropic dollars as he had hoped to do. A school offering the early childhood program would receive state funds based on its student head count. But the per-pupil amount is less for charter schools and early childhood programs and payments don't kick in until, at the earliest, the third Friday in September. It's not clear what happens now. Abele and Means had warned that failure to accept the terms would force them to implement the law as written. Kooyenga said as part of a debate on the subject at Marquette University last month that he would urge Abele and Means "to take a more aggressive approach" with MPS if it refused to cooperate. Luring high-quality outside operators may be more difficult than it appears, reform advocates and observers in Milwaukee and nationally said. They said the change may not yield the results the Legislature envisioned when it created the law. Charter school operators generally prefer to create schools from the ground up, rather than take over existing operations, they said. In addition, the lack of seed money, the lower per-pupil funding for charter schools, Milwaukee's competitive school market and highly charged political environment could make it difficult to attract quality operators. Most independent charter schools in Milwaukee Bruce Guadalupe and the Milwaukee College Preparatory schools, for example are homegrown and run by people with deep ties in the community. But those often take years to plan and develop. Only four of the more than 20 independent charter schools are run by so-called charter-school operators. One of those, North Point Lighthouse, will close at the end of the school year. Only one of the four Rocketship Southside Community Prep has posted the type of academic results Means and Abele would likely tout. The process has brought unwanted scrutiny of Means, a Milwaukee native and MPS graduate who was once considered a likely candidate for Driver's job. Last month, he was uninvited as commencement speaker by his alma mater, Milwaukee's Riverside High School, after school staff objected. He apologized to the Mequon-Thiensville School Board last month after a group of protesters showed up there asking them to rein in their superintendent. The Mequon-Thiensville board said it had no control over Means' outside consulting work. Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. In Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, a woman holds up a sign and listens to speakers at a memorial gathering for those killed in Orlando, Fla. Credit: ERIKA SANTELICES SHARE Of course I'm going to talk about Orlando. How could I not? It's almost all that's been on my mind since I woke up to read the gut-wrenching news last Sunday morning. I was in Milwaukee for the Pride festivities. As I sat there trying to process the horrific reality that a lone gunman had shot and killed 49 of my queer brothers and sisters, wounding dozens of others, I couldn't help but feel my heart break, over and over, at the thought that the sun never came up for so many beautiful lives that day. That they wouldn't get to enjoy the rest of Pride month, or ever dance or go out to a gay club or anything ever again. That there were countless other people, family and friends left behind, who now faced a life without those lights, those stories, those loves. We lost so many worlds that day, so much promise and possibility. Most of the dead were black and Latino, queer and transgender and probably even some straight allies. It's crucial that we hold those facts up, because they matter. It was not a coincidence that this angry man chose that gay club on that Latin-themed night to exercise his rage and open fire. LGBTQ people face so much discrimination and violence, but it is especially true for LGBTQ people of color. The whys and hows are tied up in centuries of intersectional discrimination. It's complex and difficult and messy, but it is very real. All the thoughts and prayers in the world will not change that, will not improve the lives of those people forced to live in the margins and in fear for their lives and safety simply because of who they love or how they identify or the color of their skin or how and if they choose to worship. It's sick and twisted that so many politicians who've spent their careers seeking to deny basic rights and protections to LGBTQ people of color are now paying lip service to the dead in Orlando. Because that's all it is: talk. What's demanded by this tragedy and all the others, large and small, that came before (the UpStairs Lounge in 1973, the Otherside Lounge in 1997, the Backstreet Cafe in 2000, countless incidents of schoolyard bullying and back street bashing) is action. We've already seen politicians and activists on all sides blame the Orlando incident on everything from access to automatic weapons to so-called radical Islam to the shooter possibly being a closeted homosexual to untreated mental illness. All of these are symptoms of a much deeper disease. They're symptoms that require thoughtful response, for sure, but in the meantime we keep missing the larger point. Every time an angry young man (because it's almost always men) picks up a gun or sets a bomb and determines to kill people for whatever motive or excuse he can come up with, our media and personal narratives tend to conveniently skip the root problem. America is steeped in toxic ideas about what it means to be a man. Does this excuse the shooter from responsibility for his reprehensible actions? Certainly not. But they might have been avoided entirely, and he might have lived a healthier, happier life were this not the case. We teach our boys to hold in their emotions, to "tough it out" and not to cry, so men are statistically far less likely to seek out medical or mental health help when they need it. Self-reliance over everything, except that it means they tend to die earlier than women because of it. We teach our boys (and girls) that it's OK to show you like someone by harassing them ("he pushes you down on the playground because he likes you!"), that they're somehow owed emotional and sexual gratification by dint of being male, that women are "things" to be "won" and owned. We teach them that to love another man is wrong, is weak, is something to be avoided at all costs whether that's romantic or even platonic love. We teach them that to show any bit of what's considered feminine is just as bad, just as weak. It's no wonder men are far more likely to commit suicide than women, more likely to commit rape and sexual assault, more likely to commit violent crimes. Turning to a radical ideology (and let's be honest, it could just as easily have been extremist Christianity that the shooter in Orlando pledged allegiance to, or any other perversion of an otherwise peaceful religion), venting your insecurity and anger through physical violence, refusing to seek care for a mental illness these are tied up with toxic masculinity. Because there are plenty of non-hateful, law-abiding people with mental illness. And there are so many peaceful, patriotic Muslims. They're just all-too convenient scapegoats for our national desire to lash out and blame someone, something, for our pain. But we're allowing the real cause to fester, unattended and ignored. We must raise our children to respect themselves and those around them, even and especially those people who are different. We must teach our boys how to deal with rejection and failure without turning to violence and anger in response. We must teach them that their humanity is not invalidated by having emotions, by seeking help when needed, by loving all the parts of themselves, by expressing those things even (and especially) if they're outside the norm. The sun will rise again tomorrow and the tomorrow after that, regardless of what we do. But we can help ensure that more of our kaleidoscopic community of humans is around to witness more of those sunrises. Change starts in our own hearts, in our own neighborhoods, in our own country. It's high time we took that hard look inward in order to take a real step forward. Emily Mills is a freelance writer who lives in Madison. Twitter: @millbot; Email: emily.mills@outlook.com Reddit Email 0 Shares By Jack Serle | ( Bureau of Investigative Journalism) | US drones hit Taliban more than terrorist networks despite end of Afghan war The majority of US airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2016 have been in support of ground troops including Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, rather than targeting suspected terrorists. An investigation by the Bureau reveals that more than 200 strikes, the majority by drones, have been conducted to defend ground forces battling a rising insurgency, despite the fact that combat missions came to an end in 2014. These strikes represent more than 60% of all US airstrikes in the country. Since the US ended combat operations against the Taliban at the end of 2014, leaving that to Kabuls security forces, the American military presence in Afghanistan has been largely confined to a support role. They are there to train, advise and assist Afghan soldiers and police as part of Natos US-led, non-combat mission. US rules of engagement do allow force to be used against the Taliban, but only in self-defence. US combat operations have continued in Afghanistan but only as part of a separate, smaller counter-terror mission targeting al Qaeda and Islamic State. But the extent of US air attacks conducted outside the counter-terror remit, revealed by the Bureau today, suggests the US has been drawn quietly yet significantly into fighting the Taliban-led insurgency. Last week Washington appeared to make its airwar against the Taliban official by relaxing its rules in Afghanistan. The military now has explicit permission to proactively support the stretched Afghan security forces on the battlefield. Between January and May 2016 451 weapons were released compared to just 189 in 2015. Under the new policy, the US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, who took control in March, will be able to assign troops to accompany regular Afghan soldiers at key moments in their offensive campaign. Until now only Afghan special forces have had such close cooperation. US commanders will have greater discretion to carry out airstrikes against the Taliban as well. There are currently around 15,700 international troops in Afghanistan with nearly 12,800 working on Resolute Support, Natos train, advise, assist mission. These soldiers are drawn from Nato members and non-Nato partner countries, such as Georgia and Ukraine. The extra 2,900 are US soldiers in the country on offensive combat operations as part of a parallel counter-terror mission. The US Air Force (USAF) carries out strikes for both Resolute Support and the counter-terrorism operations. In January 2016 the rules governing the counter-terror operations were changed to allow the USAF to hunt out Islamic State fighters as well as al Qaeda fighters. The US has been aggressively pursuing these targets from the air, according to Brigadier Charles Cleveland, Resolute Supports deputy chief of staff for communication. But of the 347 air strikes in the first five months of the year, 213, equivalent to 61%, were described as defensive, force protection strikes, according to the US press office in Kabul. US officials generally describe these strikes as being used to counter a threat to the force. They do not elaborate on what threat or what force. Data also shows that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of hits by the US Air Force. Between January and May 2016 451 weapons were released in these airstrikes compared to just 189 in the same period in 2015. Working closely with Afghan partners puts Coalition troops into harms way and in such a situation the US can carry out airstrikes to protect ground forces under attack. The ground troops do not have to be engaged in combat situations for the US to strike, Cleveland added. These defensive strikes can be conducted against the Taliban if we identify that a threat to the force is developing, he told the Bureau. Kate Clark of the Afghan Analyst Network, a highly respected think tank said the rise in the proportion of airstrikes against the insurgency was a pragmatic response to a deteriorating situation. The contradiction between the reality and the political position in Washington that combat operations are over was the result of having a conflict between military needs and political imperatives, having to say one thing and do another, she added. From their mandate you would assume foreign forces would not be putting themselves in harms way as part of normal daily routine, Clark told the Bureau. But clearly last year as the conflict got worse and the Taliban got stronger and the weakness of government forces became apparent, there was an obvious need for American support. That support comes from intelligence, surveillance and help with logistics, as well as close mentoring by US forces, important for boosting moral of the Afghans they work with. However airstrikes have been crucial, Clark explained. As soon as you have that threat from the sky, the Talibans fighting ability is reduced. Last month a US military drone killed the Talibans leader, Akhtar Mansour, for example. The strike was particularly controversial as US military operations crossed over the border into Pakistan where Mansour was based. All strikes in Pakistan before this point had been conducted as part of the US covert war on terror operated by the CIA. The May 21 strike, which caused much outcry in Pakistan, was justified by the US as a defensive action. Obama commented on Mansours threat to American lives. In September and October last year a team of Green Berets also took part in an operation to retake Kunduz, the first provincial centre to fall to the Taliban since 2001. The attack was widely reported after a US airstrike flattened a hospital operated by the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. Troops were operating with both mandates during the effort to retake Kunduz. US forces conducted 22 strikes in the city as the Green Berets and Afghan partners battled to liberate the city. Nine were conducted using counter-terrorism rules, 13 under a self-defence remit. US troops in Afghanistan are due to be cut to just 5,500 by the start of next year. A White House press officer said the policy shift last week to widen the remit of US troops in Afghanistan was not a reflection of a change to this plan. At a press conference last Friday the White House spokesman said: The US combat role in Afghanistan ended at the end of 2014, and the President is not considering restarting it. But the question is, is it possible for us to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan security forces? And we anticipate that by offering them more support in the form of advice and assistance, and occasionally accompanying them on their operations, that they are likely to be more effective on the battlefield. Via Bureau of Investigative Journalism) - Related video added by Juan Cole: Wochit News from last month: Drone Warfare Dominates In Afghanistan Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | The assassin shouted Britain First! as he repeatedly stabbed Jo Cox in the stomach with a hunting knife and then shot her with an old revolver several times. He also cut a 77-year-old man who unsuccessfully attempted to intervene. Cox, 41, and mother of two, served as a Labour member of the Mother of Parliaments from the constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire (north-central Britain). Cox had been campaigning for the United Kingdom to remain part of the European Union, opposing what is being abbreviated as Brexit or a British Exit from the EU. The far right in Britain sees European Union membership as having opened the floodgates to millions of immigrants. Anyone from any of the other 27 European Union member states can go to Britain in search of a job. It is true that lots of French, Poles and others have gone there, but as always with immigration it isnt at all clear that they have taken jobs from Britons a lot of times they are doing menial work it would be hard to find a Briton to do. New businesses have been made possible by this expansion of the work force, making the UK economy more dynamic and robust. Moreover, only about half of the immigrants to the UK come from Europe the other half come from the former British Empire and Asia. A discourse of Britain First (the name of a far, far right political group that denies any connection to this crime), hatred of immigrants, and Islamophobia have all poisoned British politics for several years. The assassin, 52, is being looked at for connections to the far right, as well as for mental problems (with the white terrorists, it is always mental problems). There are reasons for which ultra-nationalism leads to violence. It is a black and white view of the world, with good and evil and nothing in between. The in-group is exalted, those defined as being in the out-group are debased. As Brian Porter argues, there can develop a hopelessness and impatience that ultra-nationalist goals can be reached in any relevant time frame, or will necessarily ever be reached at all and so direct action must be taken. Now. In contrast, Liberal politics (in the 19th century sense that includes both US conservatives and liberals of today) believes that universal suffrage can extend the nation to all citizens of all backgrounds. Liberal politics is inclusive, not divisive and hateful. And, Liberal politics holds that things can be improved over time despite momentary setbacks. Donald Trump is much more like the virulent turn-of-the 20th century Polish nationalists that Porter describes, who became racists and extremists and gave up liberalism. Trumps slogan is America First, by which he means that the interests of the white Protestant elite of the US must be put first, over all other foreign policy considerations. Trump demonizes members of minorities undocumented Mexicans are rapists e.g. He tars all Muslims with the brush of terrorism even though 99.99% of them are perfectly peaceful law-abiding people. He advocates torture. He urges followers to physically attack protesters and promises to pay their legal fees. He wants to kidnap and perhaps torture innocents related to bad guys. And, Trump does not view the presidential campaign as a friendly contest between two political visions. It is apocalyptic. America, he says, will go to hell if Sec. Clinton is elected. Trump does not respect the rule of law or the constitution. His policies must be enacted even if they are illegal or unconstitutional because we have to have a country. Nationalism trumps all else, even the organic law of the nation itself. This kind of talk has an underlying logic of violence, and it is no accident that violence has broken out at Trumps increasingly poorly attended rallies. The British far right speaks the language of Trumpism, as well. For at least one of its members, that language and that logic has led to a shocking murder of a politician who supported a more open Britain. That kind of violence is latent in the discourse of Trump and his acolytes in this country, as well. Jo Coxs assassination should make us all wary of ultra-nationalism and where it can take our countries. - Related video added by Juan Cole: Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack BBC News Reddit Email 0 Shares TeleSur | In an interview with Brazilian TV, the ex-wife of Omar Mateen claimed the U.S. agency told her to keep quiet about his homosexuality. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation told the former wife of the Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, Sitora Yusufiy, not to speak of his homosexuality or the fact that she, his family and others believed he was gay, Yusufiys current fiance, Marco Dias, told a Brazilian TV channel in an interview. Dias told the Brazilian television station SBT Brazil Tuesday that Yusufiy believed Mateen was gay and that his father called him gay several times in front of her. However, the FBI asked her not to tell this to the American media. Since the attack, Mateen has been dubbed an Islamic terrorist by politicians, senior officials and commentators in the U.S. following reports he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. However, the idea that he could have been a closet-homosexual indicates that the Orlando shooting might have been a deeply felt and personal act of hate. The FBI and law enforcement in the United States have so far been pursuing the Islamist terrorism angle and their alleged demand from Mateens ex-wife to keep mum about his homosexuality suggests they want to downplay the personal and self-hating nature of the attack in favor of the Islamic terrorism-related one. Since his attack on the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, the developing narrative surrounding Mateens life is that of a troubled human being who had a history of domestic violence, a struggle with his sexual orientation, as well as an inclination toward a radical version of Islam. However, in addition to recently pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group, Mateen had previously shown support for both al-Qaida and Hezbollah, who have radically different interpretations of Islam and are in fact bitter enemies. This suggests Mateen had an extremely shallow and confused understanding of Islam as he failed to comprehend the social and political differences between the diferent groups. Hezbollah are currently fighting against the Islamic State and other radical Sunni groups in Syria. Furthermore, Yusufiy has told the media that her ex-husband started to emotionally and physically abuse her just months into their marriage. She said he exploded in anger and often beat her while also keeping her hostage, which led her family to literally rescue her from the abusive relationship and Mateens mental instability. To add to this a former male classmate of Mateen said he had been asked out romantically by the mass shooter, who was reported to be a regular at the Pulse nightclub, having visited it more than a dozen times over the years. Reports also suggest the attacker used several gay dating apps and communicated with several users. Kevin West, a regular at Pulse, told the Los Angeles Times he had exchanged messages with Mateen on an app. And now, it seems the overwhelming reports and testimonies pointing to Mateens personal motives are forcing the FBI to pursue a different angle. On Wednesday gay dating apps Jackd and Grindr said they had been contacted by the FBI as part of the Orlando shooting investigation. They also said they could not provide information on whether Mateen had profiles on those sites as such details are now part of a classified investigation. A spokesman for dating app Grindr also indicated they have been contacted by authorities. In response to an inquiry from BuzzFeed News, the company announced: We will continue to cooperate with the authorities and do not comment on ongoing investigations. Similar attacks by troubled white men in the U.S. against minorities are rarely referred to as terror attacks by either law enforcement agencies or the media, which points to a troubling trend that links the label terror to non-white Muslim attackers only. Via TeleSur Related video added by Juan Cole: CNN: Orlando Mateen was spotted in gay nightclub, on apps Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / June 17, 2016 -- AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now acquired fifteen additional Mineral Claims under the B.C. Mineral Tenure Act aggregating 15,028 hectares or 150.28 sq.km, in close proximity to its Yellowjacket Gold Project 9 km East of Atlin, B.C. (the "Project"). The new Mineral Claims cover hard-rock deposits in an area of interest to the South and South-East of the Company's existing claims and encompass the highly prolific Spruce Creek placer mining area. Several of them are contiguous to the Company's existing license area. Together with the existing license area covering 7776 hectares or 77.76 sq.km, the Company now controls 41 mineral claims, placer claims and placer leases covering an aggregate of 22,804 hectares or approximately 228.04 sq. km of strategic ground comprising the Project. Addition of the new Mineral Claims effectively triples the size of the Company's exploratory land position in the Atlin area, creating the potential for a District scale gold project if the Company's exploration efforts are successful. Management views the new ground as highly prospective for its potential to host commercially viable hard-rock gold deposits in its underlying greenstone belt. As previously announced by PR dated August 11, 2015, the Company completed its acquisition of the Project pursuant to the terms of an Asset Purchase Agreement dated August 5, 2015. Acquisition of additional Mineral Claims were announced by PR dated October 15, 2015. The Project includes all mineral rights, claims and leases comprising the Project, all equipment located thereon and reclamation bonds associated therewith. The Project is in one of the Province's most prolific historic gold mining camps and includes a permitted mining operation with both hard rock and placer exploration targets. The Company is presently formulating its plans for exploration, development and potential mining of the Project. It has already commenced its 2016 exploration program at the Project and targeting for its upcoming core drilling program is underway. Acquisition of this additional ground in close proximity to its existing license area further secures the Company's land position in the Atlin District and provides additional potential exploration targets. According to Irwin Olian, CEO of the Company, "Acquisition of the new ground to the South and South-East of the Yellowjacket mine now gives the Company the predominant exploratory hard-rock land position in the Atlin District. While this ground has been a prolific placer mining area for some time, it is largely unexplored and underexplored for its hard-rock potential. We view this as creating an exciting opportunity for the Company and its talented technical team to potentially make an important major new discovery." About African Queen The Company is an exploratory resource company engaged in exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada and Africa. It is presently focusing on development of its Yellowjacket Gold Project in Atlin, British Columbia, which covers an aggregate of approximately 228.04 sq. km. The Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada on April 30, 2008, and received certain southern African assets in a spin off transaction related to the acquisition of Pan African Mining Corp. by Asia Thai Mining Co., Ltd. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AFRICAN QUEEN MINES, LTD. "Irwin Olian" Irwin Olian Chairman & CEO The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of the information contained herein. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations. Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. TORONTO, June 17, 2016 /CNW/ - Richmond Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: RMD) ("Richmond" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Phase II diamond drilling will resume on or about July 8, 2016 at the Company's Ridley Lake Gold Project located in the west central area of the Swayze Greenstone belt approximately 35 kilometres east of Goldcorp's Borden Gold Project. Phase II of diamond drilling will be focused on targets identified within the Company's 100%-owned claims located immediately east of the Aguara gold showing. Specifically these holes will be collared to test for depth extensions to wide zones of gold mineralization intercepted in holes RMD15-14, RMD15-15, RMD15-16 and RMD15-19 during Richmond's Phase I drilling program conducted last fall. As reported gold-bearing intervals associated with mafic to intermediate metavolcanic units and a porphyry intrusion were encountered in all four of these Phase I holes. A review of the geological and assay data from Phase I drilling suggests that the gold-bearing zone plunges to the east, with indications of an increase of width and grade of gold mineralization with depth (0.67 g/t in hole 19 versus 0.42 g/t in hole 16 for the same vertical section). Richmond is planning to drill a minimum of 1,500 meters for this phase of diamond drilling and results will be released as they become available. The Company also announces its annual and general meeting for fiscal year end 2015 will be held at Richmond's corporate head office located at 133 Richmond St. W, Suite 403 on August 12, 2016 at 11 am. Warren Hawkins, P.Eng, a "Qualified Person", within the meaning of Nation Instrument 43-101- Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Hawkins is not considered to be "independent" of the Corporation (as defined in National Instrument 43-101), as he currently holds securities of the Corporation. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosure in this release constitutes forward-looking statements. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by 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 news release. On Behalf of Richmond Minerals, Franz Kozich, President Warren Hawkins, P. Eng, Exploration Manager SOURCE Richmond Minerals Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Prophecy Development Corp. (Prophecy or the Company) (TSX:PCY, OTC:PRPCD, Frankfurt:1P2N) is pleased to announce that it has commenced its sampling program at the Paca deposit within its Pulacayo silver-zinc-lead project in Bolivia. The Pulacayo project is located in southern Bolivia, close to major silver mining projects operated by Coeur Mining Inc. (San Bartolome), Pan American Silver Corp. (San Vicente) and Sumitomo Corporation (San Cristobal). Pulacayo is fully permitted for mining and processing up to 560 tonnes of ore per day. Paca Sampling Description: Samples were obtained at one meter intervals from near surface drifts within the Paca mine which appears to have limited historic development. The area of sampled drifts has an estimated dimension of 90 metres length (east to west) and 75 metres width (north to south) and occurs at an average depth of 100 metres. Mineralization mainly consists of silver sulphides (mostly tennantite), galena and sphalerite in the pores of the sedimentary rocks and in breccias. The sampled area is within the Paca resource boundary, but was not included in the block model used to estimate the resources[1] recently disclosed according to National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Approximately 90 samples are expected to be obtained and analyzed in an accredited chemical laboratory with results expected in July. Paca Mineral Resource Statement Effective September 9, 2015 Ag Eq. Cut-Off (g/t) Category Tonnes[2] Ag (g/t) Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag Eq. (g/t) 200 Inferred 2,540,000 256 1.10 1.03 342 300[3] Inferred 1,260,000 363 0.98 1.02 444 400 Inferred 650,000 462 0.90 1.00 538 500 Inferred 330,000 558 0.79 1.04 631 Inferred resources do not have demonstrated economic viability, are speculative, and are not to be relied upon. The mineral resource estimate was prepared by Mercator Geological Services Limited (Mercator) under the supervision of Michael Cullen, P.Geo., who is an independent Qualified Person as set out in NI 43-101. The Paca mineralization starts from surface, with approximately 95% of the resource existing at the cut-off value of 300 g/t Ag Eq. occurring within 100 metres of surface (refer to the Companys news release dated September 21, 2015). [1] Paca Mineral Resource Statement Effective September 9, 2015. [2] Tonnes are rounded to nearest 10,000. [3] The resource estimate cut-off value is 300 g/t Ag Eq. and resource estimate values are presented in bold type. Please refer to the maps at: www.prophecydev.com for plan and cross section views of the drift sampling area. Pulacayo Underground Project Update: Further to the Companys news release dated November 24, 2015, Prophecy is pleased to provide the following update on other progress at its Pulacayo project: After Mercator produced the technical report compliant with NI 43-101 disclosing the resource estimate for the Pulacayo deposit prepared according to the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves (the CIM Standards) and filed by the Company on July 31, 2015 which outlined 1.27 million tonnes of indicated resource grading 530g/t Ag, 2.51% Pb and 3.63% Zn and a further 350,000 tonnes of inferred resource grading 419g/t Ag, 2.47% Pb and 4.58% Zn[4] (refer to the Companys news release dated June 18, 2015), the Company has undertaken studies (for production scenarios ranging from 200 to 500 tonnes per day) with the aim to bring Pulacayo into production at minimum capital expense given the current challenging metals market. During 2016, Prophecy continued its discussion with concentrate off-takers based on the results of the 2013 Pulacayo trial mining and has received updated term sheets, possibly reflecting the potential tightening of future zinc-silver and lead-silver concentrate supplies. Prophecy has also received an improved term sheet from a custom milling and processing facility in Potosi, approximately 180km from the Pulacayo project and that is connected by a recently paved highway which is in excellent condition. The Company continues to study optimal mining production and processing scenarios and intends to announce a production decision at the conclusion of the study in conjunction with a financing plan should a positive production decision be reached. Management Comment: A recent Reuters article[5] noted that zinc was the best performing metal this year, with zinc prices climbing to a fourth successive peak over the previous 10 months based on persistent concerns about declining supplies. Zinc is by far the best performing metal tracked by the London Metal Exchange this year, rallying 25% on forecasts that tightening supplies may cause shortages. Recently during March, at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto, Prophecy met with Bolivias Mining Minister, Mr. Cesar Navarro Miranda who expressed full support for the start-up and development of the Pulacayo mine. The Company continues to maintain good relations with the Pulacayo Mining Cooperative, with both parties sharing the common objectives of bringing the Pulacayo mine back into production, and employment and prosperity to the town of Pulacayo. [4] Inferred resources do not have demonstrated economic viability, are speculative, and are not to be relied on. Qualified Persons The technical content of this news release was reviewed and approved by Christopher M. Kravits, CPG, LPG who is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Kravits is a consultant to the Company and serves as its Qualified Person and General Mining Manager. About Prophecy Prophecy Development Corp. is a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange that is engaged in developing mining and energy projects in Mongolia, Bolivia and Canada. Further information on Prophecy can be found at www.prophecydev.com. PROPHECY DEVELOPMENT CORP. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD JOHN LEE Executive Chairman For more information about Prophecy, please contact Investor Relations: +1.604.563.0699 +1.888.513.6286 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.prophecydev.com Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, estimates, or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect managements expectations regarding Prophecys future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These estimates and assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and other uncertainties and contingencies, many of which, with respect to future events, are subject to change and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by Prophecy. In making forward-looking statements as may be included in this news release, Prophecy has made several assumptions that it believes are appropriate, including, but not limited to assumptions that: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, such as due to labour disruptions; currency exchange rates being approximately consistent with current levels; certain price assumptions for coal, prices for and availability of fuel, parts and equipment and other key supplies remain consistent with current levels; production forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of Prophecys current mineral resource estimates; labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Prophecys current expectations; and that any additional required financing will be available on reasonable terms. Prophecy cannot assure you that any of these assumptions will prove to be correct. Numerous factors could cause Prophecys actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including the following risks and uncertainties, which are discussed in greater detail under the heading Risk Factors in Prophecys most recent Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form as filed on SEDAR and posted on Prophecys website: Prophecys history of net losses and lack of foreseeable cash flow; exploration, development and production risks, including risks related to the development of Prophecys mineral properties; Prophecy not having a history of profitable mineral production; the uncertainty of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; the capital and operating costs required to bring Prophecys projects into production and the resulting economic returns from its projects; foreign operations and political conditions, including the legal and political risks of operating in Bolivia, which is a developing jurisdiction; amendments to local Bolivian laws which may have an adverse impact on the Companys operations; title to Prophecys mineral properties; environmental risks; the competitive nature of the mining business; lack of infrastructure; Prophecys reliance on key personnel; uninsured risks; commodity price fluctuations; reliance on contractors; Prophecys need for substantial additional funding and the risk of not securing such funding on reasonable terms or at all; foreign exchange risks; anti-corruption legislation; recent global financial conditions; the payment of dividends; and conflicts of interest. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on Prophecys forward-looking statements. Prophecy believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although Prophecy has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Prophecy undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 17, 2016) - Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE:FSM)(TSX:FVI) hereby announces the voting results at the Company's annual general meeting held yesterday. A total of 87,428,866 common shares were represented at the meeting, being 67.0% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares. Shareholders voted in favour of all matters brought before the meeting including the appointment of auditors for the ensuing year, and the election of management's nominees as directors. Detailed results of the votes on the election of directors are as follows: Director Votes For Votes Withheld Jorge Ganoza Durant Simon Ridgway Michael Iverson Mario Szotlender Robert Gilmore Thomas Kelly David Farrell 63,289,809 (92.5%) 60,591,557 (88.6%) 66,025,445 (96.5%) 35,989,820 (52.6%) 66,060,418 (96.6%) 46,857,061 (68.5%) 66,072,109 (96.6%) 5,119,387 (7.5%) 7,817,639 (11.4%) 2,383,752 (3.5%) 32,419,378 (47.4%) 2,348,777 (3.4%) 21,552,136 (31.5%) 2,337,088 (3.4%) About Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. Fortuna is a growth oriented, silver and base metal producer focused on mining opportunities in Latin America. Our primary assets are the Caylloma silver Mine in southern Peru and the San Jose silver-gold Mine in Mexico. The company is selectively pursuing acquisition opportunities throughout the Americas. For more information, please visit our website at www.fortunasilver.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Jorge A. Ganoza President, CEO and Director Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. Forward looking Statements This news release contains forward looking statements which constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "Forward looking Statements"). All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are Forward looking Statements and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the Forward looking Statements. The Forward looking Statements in this news release may include, without limitation, statements about the Company's plans for its mines and mineral properties; the Company's business strategy, plans and outlook; the merit of the Company's mines and mineral properties; mineral resource and reserve estimates; timelines; the future financial or operating performance of the Company; expenditures; approvals and other matters. Often, but not always, these Forward looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as "estimate", "estimates", "estimated", "potential", "open", "future", "assumed", "projected", "used", "detailed", "has been", "gain", "upgraded", "offset", "limited", "contained", "reflecting", "containing", "remaining", "to be", "periodically", or statements that events, "could" or "should" occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations. Forward looking Statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward looking Statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; changes in prices for silver and other metals; technological and operational hazards in Fortuna's mining and mine development activities; risks inherent in mineral exploration; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral reserves, mineral resources, and metal recoveries; governmental and other approvals; political unrest or instability in countries where Fortuna is active; labor relations issues; as well as those factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward looking Statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to expectations regarding mine production costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource and reserve estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained; that there will be no significant disruptions affecting operations and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward looking Statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any Forward looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that Forward looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on Forward looking Statements. JURIST Guest Columnist Mahmudul Hasan, an LLM student at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, discusses the impact of climate change on vulnerable world populations and its relation to international migration and refugee situations As global climate change and the resulting implications on ecosystems and livelihoods affect the viability of traditional lifestyles in many parts of the world, some global bodies are taking notice of the substantial exodus of populations from areas that are more vulnerable to climate change. While much of environmental law is developed in piecemeal fashion at both global and national levels, the urgency of climate migrants may cause governments and institutions to develop legal and infrastructural solutions with an ad hoc approach. Nonetheless, guidelines and responsibilities provided by international organizations such as the International Bar Association (IBA)], the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) may offer a set of norms for the global community to address the migration caused by global environmental change. These norms will create a space where discourses over environmental laws and humans rights laws are no longer treated as totally separate from one another. This will stimulate a paradigm shift when this entanglement is publicly and widely acknowledged. However, in order for this change to occur, logistical problems nations now face must be approached with legal intersectionality in mind; the paradoxes, divergences and conflicts between different legal regimes needs to be actively acknowledged to address the complex nonlinear issues of climate change and human rights. In fact, any kind of legal infrastructure should always have an explicit cognizance of climate change as a fundamental condition in the Anthropocene. One key challenge in preparing for the expected humanitarian crisis triggered by climate change is understanding the ways in which environmental laws and human rights laws may intermingle, especially when it concerns migrants driven out by environmental change. While it is expected that, due to unfeasible living conditions caused by climate change many communities will be forced to move elsewhere, the designation of these communities as refugees still causes contention. Traditionally, the UNHCR identifies and defines refugees as people leaving conflict areas or escaping persecution by seeking asylum in another country. However, climate change refugees present several challenges to this traditional definition. First, many of these communities are expected to flee their places of residence not because of armed conflict among humans, states, communities, tribes or organizations, nor because of persecution based on their lifestyles, sexualities, gender, religion and other identities, but because of natural circumstances that threaten their livelihood and security. Of course, many of the social threats they may face, like persecution or armed conflict may be exacerbated by the effects of climate change, such as: food insecurity, drought, floods and other naturally derived phenomenon, the essential cause of their emigration will remain something that is anthropogenic in nature, and yet still outside of human political and social control. Consequently, the notion of climate change refugees poses various paradoxes in the understanding of agents and actors within the realm of international environmental law, as well as the understanding of refugees in the framework of international human rights laws. For instance, the number of people fleeing their localities due to environmental change has been estimated to be between 25 million to 1 billion people [PDF, report]. However, because terms such as climate refugee and environmental refugee are still not classified as legal categorizations, [it is] difficult to determine whether a person is fleeing their home because of an environmental disaster, lack of work, or the established, long term impacts of climate issues like drought or rising sea levels.. Thus, it is particularly challenging to ascertain the nature of climate change-driven migrants, and provide for their needs and safety through formal international legal and logistical means. Although many cities such as Mumbai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Miami are expected to receive many of these migrants over the next several decades, environmental and climate migrants are still not considered in urban development plans, and there are no binding global agreements among states to address this impending issue, even though the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has explicitly outlined mass human migration as one of the major impacts of climate change . While international legal norms and procedures exist to ensure the right to life, and by extension, right to food, water, shelter and safety of communities around the world, there has yet to be an explicit set of norms established between states to handle what will eventually be an enmeshment of environmental and human rights laws. This is perhaps driven by the perceived separation between the different legal regimes and the illusion that environmental laws, trade laws, and human rights laws can operate separately without impacting the overall survival and sustainability of societies. The immediate and most obvious result of this is many individuals who are trapped in deteriorating environmental conditions do not have the legal means, resources, or capacities to escape their conditions by adapting to climate change or by migrating as a refugee elsewhere. Until an explicit acknowledgement of intersectionality between different legal regimes is put in place and made widespread, many of these problems will remain unresolved. In an effort to address some of these gaps in international law, IBA formed a task force to address the upcoming crisis of climate justice, which offers some means to reconcile the sometimes divergent aims of international, environmental and human rights legal regimes. The IBA report and task force on climate change justice aims to: ensure communities, individuals and governments have substantive legal and procedural rights relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and the means to take or cause measures to be taken within their national legislative and judicial systems and, where necessary, at regional and international levels, to mitigate sources of climate change and provide for adaptation to its effects in a manner that respects human rights. Implicit in the definition of climate change justice for the IBA is the understanding that climate change does not affect populations around the world equally, and that the biggest perpetrators of climate injustice (that is, the nations with the largest carbon footprints that ultimately lead to climate change) are often frequently shielded from the graver impacts of climate change due to their larger pool of resources that make adaptation to climate change far more feasible. Consequently, nation-states with smaller carbon footprints face tremendous logistical and socioeconomic challenges to responding effectively to climate change. Thus, climate change justice as advocated by the IBA, wishes to center human rights discourses within climate change mitigation and adaptation conversations. The IBA climate justice report outlines their approach further, stating that: [b]y adopting a justice and human rights-centred approach, the IBA intends to shift the focus of much-needed reform from purely economic and scientific considerations to the human rights and equity consequences of climate change. In doing so, the IBA hopes to advance equity and justice by listening to the human rights concerns of the communities most vulnerable to climate change. The Report reminds its audience that failure to address the challenges posed by climate change will have devastating consequences for hundreds of millions around the globe, in both the industrialized and developing world, and that, in the drive to confront this potentially existential threat to our civilization, not a moment should be lost. One of the key changes that the IBA advocates is a paradigm shift that will treat climate change as an external, environmental problem in the realm of environmental laws and governance. This means that climate change will be treated as an environmental problem that should be under consideration from all forms of governance, moving it from the realm of economic and scientific problems to one that affects all domains of society. In the past, we have observed how environmental laws sometimes came into being as an extension of human rights laws such as right to life discourses. Now, there is a reintegration of environmental governance with other areas of human governance, which presents an interesting turn for paradoxes previously present between the civic/human laws and environmental laws. The reconciliation, or rather reintegration between international environmental law and human rights laws create new responsibilities for states and other governing bodies. The IBA report also highlights that: While human rights laws may provide an avenue for individuals and communities to seek redress for harms caused by global climate change. There is little doubt that climate change affects peoples human rights directly. Rights to life, health, food, shelter and water are all plainly affected by the ravages of climate change. These effects can be characterised as rights violations (rather than mere bad luck) because climate change is a preventable manmade phenomenon. Nevertheless, it is not easy, as a matter of law, to join up the dots between those emitting excessive greenhouse gases and those suffering the consequences the law is not designed to that end, and difficult questions of causation and standing arise. Possible avenues of redress may include class actions, targeting major groups of emitters or holding public officials responsible for failures of due diligence. Many of these strategies are currently being explored. Another possible avenue may be the development of environmental rights, now recognised in a number of national constitutions. It is not clear how to set up mechanisms for provisions and accountability within international environmental law, as some schisms between international law (such as each nation states control over its resources) and environmental law (i.e. right to good environment for neighboring nations) and human rights laws (i.e. right health and good livelihoods, right to security); however, IBA has noted the intersectionality of these somewhat fundamentally related but ultimately divergent legal regimes. Accordingly, new procedures and mechanisms need to be proposed to account for an increasingly intertwined international legal regime. When discussing climate change justice, specifically related to the fate of climate change refugees and environmental refugees, the principle of intersectional-systems-thinking must be at the core of all decision making and governance processes in both domestic and international levels. Climate change is a fundamentally multiprocess development that implicates ecosystems, societies, and economies of various scales. Thus from a legal stand point, it no longer makes sense to treat climate change as part of discrete international legal regimes. The awareness of climate change as an underlying condition should be stipulated within legal infrastructures, so that it is always considered as an important variable when making decisions. Such an approach of environmental intersectionality would revolutionize the way human rights policies are drafted, especially in cases where environmental justice concerns are intimately intertwined with those relating to social and economic equity. By removing bureaucratic hurdles presented by the narrowness of certain definitions within human rights laws, more robust processes and infrastructures may be created to address the complex human nature relations in the Anthropocene. Fundamentally at its heart, these processes need an acknowledgement of the crucial intersections between human societies and ecosystems. Mahmudul Hasan is an LLM student at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Suggested citation: Mahmudul Hasan, Climate Justice & International Migration Issues, JURIST Academic Commentary, June 5, 2016, http://jurist.org/forum/2016/06/mahmudul-hasan-climate-justice.php. Yet Another Dead Body Pulled From Lake Michigan By Mae Rice in News on Jun 17, 2016 4:55PM Photo via Kevin Dooley on Flickr A dead body was pulled from Lake Michigan in the Lincoln Park area Friday morning. At 8:21 a.m., authorities pulled the corpse, an undentified male, out of the lake in the 1800 block of North Lake Shore Drive, police said. Area Central detectives are investigating. On Monday, another dead body was pulled from the lake in the Gold Coast, just six blocks away from where authorities found this one. At the time, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office told Chicagoist that Chicago authorities had pulled at least eight corpses out of the lake in 2016; the count is now at least nine. This is troubling from a safety perspective (among other reasons), and because Lake Michigan is Chicago's water sourcethough, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel made clear in an April statement related to lead testing, Chicago's water is treated and purified before it's distributed to residents. [JURIST] The Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau ordered Apple to stop sale of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing due to claims by Chinese regulators that Apple Inc. violated a patent held by a Chinese company. According to Chinese media, the phones infringe on a Chinese patent [WSJ report] for exterior design held by Shenzhen Baili for the 100C smartphone. A source associated with Apples production plans says that Apple plans on ending production of the restricted models. Apple has stated that it plans to appeal the decision, but assuming that Apple fails, some believe that the ruling will create a harmful precedent [Bloomberg report] for Apple throughout the entire country. All this comes at a time when Apples shares have dropped significantly, largely thought to be a result of Chinas recent restrictions on the tech company. Apple has been embroiled in controversy in China ever since it started operations in the country. In July 2013 New York-based labor rights group, China Labor Watch [advocacy website] accused [JURIST report] Apple, and its affiliate Pegatron [corporate website], which assembles products including the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, of withholding employees pay and imposing excessive working hours at factories in mainland China. In December 2012 a Beijing court ordered Apple to pay damages of 1.03 million yuan (USD $165,908) to eight Chinese writers and two companies for copyright infringement. The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Peoples Court [official website, in Chinese], a regional court directly below Chinas appellate level courts, held [JURIST report] that software available on Apples app store contained unlicensed digital copies of the writers books in violation of the plaintiffs right of communication through information networks. That decision was the second in four months from the same court ordering Apple to pay USD $83,000 in damages for alleged copyright infringement of a Chinese encyclopedia publisher. In July of the same year, the Guangdong Hich Peoples Court in China confirmed a settlement [JURIST report] reached the previous week in a trademark case whereby Apple agreed to pay $60 million [NYT report] to Shenzhen Proview Technology for the use of the iPad trademark in mainland China. Although Apple had already paid $55,000 for the trademark in 2009 to the companys Taiwanese affiliate, Proview Taipei, the Chinese affiliate argued that Apple misled it by buying the name through a smaller company, IP Application Development. [JURIST] Canadas Liberal government said Thursday that it would strike an amendment expanding the definition of who may seek physician-assisted suicide. The bill [bill, PDF], which was passed Wednesday by the Senate [official website], would allow individuals that are not terminally ill to seek physician-assisted death. Current legislation only extends this right to terminally ill patients or those who face reasonably foreseeable death. Canadas Health Minister, Jane Philpott, stated [WSJ report] that the amendments were not appropriate at this time, particularly because they would put certain disadvantaged groups, like the elderly and disabled, at heightened risk. The current contentious atmosphere surrounding the bill follows in the wake of a Canadian Supreme Court ruling [judgment, PDF], in which the court held that individuals with grievous and irremediable medical conditions had a constitutional right to physician-assisted death, but did not provide a more detailed framework for determining which individuals fall within this category. The aid-in-dying movement has garnered substantial legal debate around the world in the past few years. In the US, four states currently have legislation that allow physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to some patients: California, Oregon, Washington and Vermont. In Montana the states highest court has ruled that assisted suicide is not explicitly banned [JURIST report] by state law or public policy, meaning consent could be raised as a defense in a potential prosecution of a physician. Last June the European Court of Human Rights [official website] upheld [JURIST report] a French courts decision allowing Vincent Lambert the right to die, stating it did not violate article 2 of European Convention on Human Rights. In May 2015 a Dutch court acquitted [JURIST report] a man of all criminal charges for assisting his 99-year-old mother in committing suicide. Also that month, an 84-year old attorney, businessman and political candidate filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in Tennessee challenging a law that makes it a felony for a doctor or another person to help someone commit suicide. [JURIST] According to a colleague familiar with the case, prominent Chinese civil rights lawyer Xia Lin was put on trial for fraud on Friday during a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent. Xia had been detained in 2014 by Beijing police and later charged with Fraud. He is believed to have been defending human rights activist Guo Yushuan before this detainment. While not much is known at the moment, as journalists were barred entry [Reuters report] to the court, it is believed this case is the most recent in a string of attempts by President Xi Jinpings administration to crackdown on political opposition and activists. A research for Amnesty International in Hong Kong, William Nee, believes this case could set a precedent for how future cases on rights activists and lawyers will be handled. This news comes only a day after Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement [HRW report] asking Chinese authorities to drop cases against rights lawyers. Xis administration has been noted for increasing censorship of political opposition and rights groups. In April a civil rights lawyer was arrested and released [JURIST report] for posting an image online mocking Xi in relation to the Panama Papers release. Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiangon announced in Aprilnthat his license to practice law was revoked [JURIST report] by the judicial bureau. Chinese lawyer and professor Chen Taihe fled China [JURIST report] in March and arrived in San Leandro, California, after he was detained last July as part of a crackdown on rights lawyers. The crackdown culminated in at least 242 people detained or questioned throughout the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed concern [JURIST report] in February over Chinas recent crackdown on lawyers and activists. In January Chinese authorities arrested [JURIST report] high profile human rights lawyer Wang Yu and her husband on charges of political subversion. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] on Tuesday declassified [press release] 50 documents related to its detention and Interrogation program pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text] request. This several hundred-page release [FOIA archive] covers internal CIA documents as well as other documents that were cited in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence [official website] report on the program. The files expose details [NYT report] about the agencys treatment of terrorism suspects after the 9/11 attacks. One account included a detailed internal investigation in the interrogation and death of Gul Rahman, a militant suspected of ties to al Qaeda, who died at a CIA prison in Afghanistan in 2002 after being doused with water and chained to a concrete floor as temperatures dropped below freezing. The files also include detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the CIAs black site prisons, messages from field officers who expressed misgivings about the treatment of detainees, secret memos objecting to medical treatments later condemned as torture, and mistaken arrests of innocent civilians and subsequently attempted cover-ups. The documents also include memos filed by senior CIA officials defending the interrogation program as saving thousands of lives. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website], which filed the request for the documents, stated that these documents underscore the cruelty of the methods used in its secret, overseas black sites. The use of torture as an interrogation technique has created many legal problems for the US government. Last April, a federal judge from the ruled [JURIST report] that a lawsuit [brief, PDF] against two former military psychologists who developed the CIAs interrogation program under George W. Bush may proceed. In February Amnesty International USA [advocacy website] alleged [JURIST report] that Mustafa al-Hawsawi, one of the accused 9/11 ringleaders, was in desperate need of medical care in a letter to the Pentagon. In the letter the agency stated that Hawsawi was in severe rectal distress due to interrogation methods that amounted to torture and that he had yet to receive adequate medical care. In December Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called [JURIST report] for the criminal prosecution of CIA and other US government officials for their participation in torture programs following the 9/11 terrorist attack. In August 2014 10 victims of the CIAs extraordinary rendition program [JURIST news archive] signed an open letter [JURIST report] to President Barack Obama urging him to declassify the Senate Intelligence Committees report on the program, which ultimately led to the release. JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law recently discussed [JURIST op-ed] the barriers that survivors of torture face in obtaining redress through the US court system, which HRW hopes to eliminate. [JURIST] A three-judge panel in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] rejected the appeal [ruling, PDF] of former Connecticut governor John Rowlands corruption charges on Friday. In its ruling, the court stated that Rowland was properly convicted because he created or participated in the creation of documents that misrepresentedor falsifiedhis relationships with Congressional candidates, [Lisa] Wilson-Foley and Mark Greenberg. Rowland had arranged to provide political consulting work for the aforementioned candidates in contravention of current campaign finance law, particularly in receiving payments from outside sources, such as Wilson-Foleys husbands nursing home company, so as to avoid reporting the payments to the Federal Election Commission. The court rejected arguments by Rowlands attorney that principles of contract law prevent [the court] from concluding that documents styled as contracts are falsified within the meaning of the statute and that the government had failed to disclose statements by Wilson-Foley which could have potentially prejudiced Rowland. Rowland faces a potential two-and-a-half year prison term. This would not be the first time Rowland has served a prison sentence for corruption charges. In 2004 he pleaded guilty to corruption charges and served 10 months [JURIST reports] of a one-year sentence. At that time, Rowland had admitted to receiving more than $100,000 in gifts from state contractors. [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas [official website] on Wednesday signed an order [text] rejecting Texas attempts to halt Syrian refugee [JURIST report] resettlement in the state. The order provided a factual summary stating that because Texas fails to state a plausible claim for relief the court would dismiss the case. The court held that the Refugee Act did not confer a private right of action for the States to enforce its provisions and the Administrative Procedure Act did not provide a cause of action because advance consultation under the Refugee Act is not agency action within the meaning of the statute. The court also held that the Declaratory Judgment Act did not provide a cause of action. While the ruling has been praised by some, such as Jennifer Sime, senior vice president of US programs for the International Rescue Committee, as an affirmation of Americas proud history in providing refuge for the worlds most vulnerable, it has not been lauded by all. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick believes that the ruling will hamper state efforts to acquire necessary information before refugees arrive in Texas. The rights of migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issue around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. In March a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana blocked [JURIST report] Governor Mike Pences order keeping Syrian refugees from settling in Indiana. In February the same federal judge in Texas preliminarily rejected the Texas lawsuit seeking to halt the federal resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state. The judge ruled that Texas officials had failed to show a substantial threat of irreparable injury in their request for an injunction to stop further Syrian refugee resettlement. Refugee resettlement is also controversial in Europe. Also in February the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that new measures put in place by many European countries are too restrictive and place undue hardships [JURIST reports] on refugees and asylum-seekers. [JURIST] Former Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina and former vice president Roxana Baldetti are among 70 people facing charges in relation to an scheme embezzling millions of dollars of government money. The most recent charges [BBC report] for the pair, who are both facing charges resulting in their resignations, set out illegal financing, embezzlement and money laundering. According to Prosecutor Julio Barrios, shell companies were used to hid the laundering and the money was used to buy goods and services for [Perez Molina] and Baldetti including real estate and luxury vehicles, as as $4.3 million in gifts. Baldetti is also alleged to have received $38 million in bribes [Washington Post] between 2009 and 2015 for public work contracts. Both Molina and Baldetti have denied all charges brought against them. Perez Molina and Baldetti have faced a swath of legal challenges since their resignation. In April Aldana accused Perez Molina of accepting part of a $25 million bribe while in office. In December Perez Molina was charged [JURIST report] by prosecutors, suspected of illicit association, customs fraud and bribery. Perez Molina was jailed [JURIST report] pending investigation in September following an indictment over corruption charges. Also in September Perez Molina sent [JURIST report] a letter [El Periodico materials, in Spanish] to both the Guatemalan congress and reporters announcing his resignation and his intention to stand before justice. The day before his resignation, Perez Molina was stripped of his presidential immunity [JURIST report] in a unanimous vote by congress. After Perez Molina announced [JURIST report] in August that he had no plans to resign, Guatemalas Supreme Court approved [JURIST report] prosecutors requests to impeach the president. [JURIST] Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 400 citizens since November, and arrested tens of thousands more, in hopes of squashing protest in the Oromia region, according to a report [HRW report] by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [official website] Friday. The report calls the killings the latest in a series of abuses against those who express real or perceived dissent in Oromia. It also discusses the Ethiopian governments attempts to restrict media freedom and access to information in Oromia. Most notably the government has restricted access to social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and also any diaspora-run television stations, as these have been the most used means for dissemination of information. HRW called for the government to drop charges and release all those individuals detained as a result of their protesting, as well as a credible, independent and transparent investigation into the use of excessive force by its security forces. The report also recommends the government address the violence used against protesters, eliminate restrictions to expression, remedy abuses to development programs, which have been used to displace certain families, and respectfully handle the detention of individuals. It also urges members of the international community to help coerce the Ethiopian government to take these concerns seriously and make changes. In January several Ethiopian rights groups called on the international community to address the killing [JURIST report] of protesters. In December HRW reported that activists had witnessed security forces firing into throngs of protesters [HRW report]. That report came a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn [BBC profile] warned [IBT report] of merciless legitimate action against any force bent on destabilising the area. Ethiopian officials have been claiming that the demonstrations are a front for those involved in the protests to insight violence and threaten the stability of the nation. Ethiopia has used its broad anti-terrorism laws to detain political opposition before. In October five Ethiopian bloggers were acquitted of terrorism charges [Zone9, in Amharic] relating to publications on their website. The publications, critical of the government, landed nine bloggers in jail [JURIST report], and one charged in absentia, in April 2014 for violation of the laws. That same month UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Emmerson [official profile] expressed concern [press release] over the rising use of counter-terrorism measures [JURIST report] around the world. Many nations have used counter-terrorism as an excuse to restrict public assembly and stop the activities of public interest groups, Emmerson said. A court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, sentenced 11 people to life in prison Friday for the murder of 69 Muslims during religious riots in 2002. Over the course of the riots, which lasted for days, nearly 1,000 people were killed. A total of 24 people were convicted of the murders, which took place at a housing complex called the Gulbarg Society. Of the 24 convicted, 11 received life sentences [WSJ report], 12 were sentenced to seven years, and one person was sentenced to 10 years. The prosecution asked for the death penalty, which the court rejected-finding that the massacre was not planned [Reuters report]. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the states chief minister at the time. Accusations that Modi did not do enough to stop the rioting continue to haunt him to this day, although the prime minister has so far denied any wrongdoing. As recently as September 2014, Modi was sued [JURIST report] by the American Justice Center, on behalf of unnamed survivors of violence in India, who claimed [complaint, PDF] that he failed to stop the riots. A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit [JURIST report] last year, agreeing with the US State Department that Modi is entitled to immunity from lawsuits in US courts. Modi was elected [Guardian report] prime minister in May 2014 in a landslide victory. The election of the Hindu nationalist and 282 members of his conservative Bharatiya Janata Party [official website] was called historic, as no party has won by such a margin since 1984. [JURIST] A Kenyan judge on Thursday upheld the use of anal examinations to determine the sexual orientation of an individual. Judge Mathew Emukule said [Guardian report] I find no violation of human dignity, right to privacy and right to freedom of the petitioners. The case was initiated when two men suspected of engaging in a consensual, homosexual act, a crime in Kenya, were arrested and given anal examinations and HIV and hepatitis B tests, which they described as humiliating and amounting to torture. The ruling has raised concerns throughout the area, drawing the ire of Amnesty International Director for East Africa Muthoni Wanyeki, who called [press release] forcible anal examinations of men suspect of same-sex relationship abhorrent, and in violation of international laws against torture and ill-treatment, as well as to the basic right to privacy. The two men currently face up to 14 years in prison, if convicted. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals have gained increased rights globally in the last decade, but many still face discrimination and criminal punishment throughout the world. In July US President Barack Obama called on Kenya and other African countries to provide for the equal treatment [JURIST report] of LGBT individuals. In August JURIST Guest Columnists Anneke Meerkotter of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and Graeme Reid of Human Rights Watch discussed how recent court rulings in Botswana, Kenya and Zambia illustrate significant progress [JURIST op-ed] in human rights in general and in LGBT rights in particular. Homosexuality is currently outlawed in 34 African countries and is only explicitly legal in South Africa. You are here: Home The Ministry of Culture has just released its plan for an upcoming expo in Gansu province. The first Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, which will open on Sept 20, will include summits, performances, youth exchange programs and forums to promote dialogue among countries along the ancient trade route. The two-day expo, which is being jointly promoted by several ministries, is expected to attract visitors from more than 50 countries, with France being the event's guest country. About 1,500 delegates, including at least 16 ministers or vice-minister level officials from abroad, are expected to attend the event. Dunhuang, which is a key point on the ancient Silk Road, is expected to hold the expo annually. [JURIST] Brazil must place more emphasis on remedying and preventing business-related human rights violations, according to a report [text, PDF] presented Friday by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights [official website]. In its report, the Working Group focused upon several issues affected by business operations within the country, including the displacement of indigenous populations, increased death threats against human rights activists where their rights are compromised by economic interests, and failure to effectively address both child and slave labor. While the Working Group noted several state-initiatives directed at remedying these current violations, including the National Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and the 1996 Program to Child Labor, it discussed several policies counter-intuitive to human rights in business. Among the most notable of these policies were an attempt by the Senate to weaken the definition of slave labour and an injunction against publishing a dirty-list. The Senate [official website] had attempted to remove provisions including degrading working conditions and exhaustive working hours. Publication of the dirty-list, which listed companies found to be using slave labor in their supply-chain, and banned said companies from gaining government contracts, was suspended in 2014 by the president of the Supreme Courts [official website] injunction, which is currently facing challenges by several human rights organizations. Brazil will likely continue to face publicized challenges to human rights violations on the cusp of the 2016 Olympics, set for this summer. Large business ventures have been an issue in Brazil in recent history. Brazil recently filed a lawsuit against several mining companies [JURIST report] in relation to a dam collapse earlier last year, which killed 19 people and polluted a vast 400 miles of the Rio Doce basin. In March a UN Special Rapporteur stated that while Brazil has made strides in protecting indigenous peoples, it has not gone far enough [JURIST report] to prevent ousting of indigenous peoples from their land. Brazil is also one among many countries that have been urged by the UN [JURIST report] to remedy human rights violations arising out of the Paris Agreement, signed during the COP21. [JURIST] UN expert Maina Kiai [UN profile], in presenting his report [text, DOC] on religious, free market, political, and nationalist or cultural fundamentalism, said Friday that fundamentalist intolerance is growing throughout the globe and is directly contributing to infringements of the rights to association and peaceful assembly. In advocating for a broader understanding of fundamentalism, one which includes any group that advocate[s] strict and literal adherence to a set of basic beliefs or principles, and not just religious groups, Kiai stated that free market fundamentalism is an urgent threat [UN report]. He stated a core purpose of the rights of association and peaceful assembly is to preserve peoples ability to peacefully express their grievances with political leaders. He cited the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and China as two examples of states harming these rights through political fundamentalism. While acknowledging that this sort of freedom may challenge or even threaten a government regime, it should not be confused with a threat to the State itself. Likewise, Kiai stated that economic fundamentalism can have drastic effects upon the ability to exercise the right to association or peaceful assembly. He hopes addressing these issues will quell the discontent festering within marginalized groups, often times leading to violent backlash. In examining the merits of Kiais report on fundamentalisms impact on the right to association and peaceful assembly, one need not look far. In May Human Rights Watch pleaded [JURIST report] for the Myanmar Parliament to make changes to a proposed law which would significantly hamper the right to peaceful assembly. The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights also recently called for the release [JURIST] of protesters detained by the Gambian government for simply having exercised their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and assembly. The protesters in Gambia were calling for free speech and an electoral forum. [JURIST] Three human rights experts of the UN Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) [official website] on Friday echoed previous calls for a stop to violence [press release] after their second visit Burundi. There has been a considerable drop in the number of executions in Burundi following a warning issued by the UN rights chief. After noting this significant drop, one of the experts, Christof Heyns [official website], was emphatic that this relative calm [in Burundi] should not be confused with long term stability. The experts drew attention to the continuing human rights violations,including politically-motivated detentions, disappearances, and torture, stating that [f]or Burundi to move away from violence and conflict, it needs a truly inclusive political dialogue that will address the roots of the political crisis. While visiting Burundi, the members of the UNIIB were able to meet with national authorities, victims of human rights violations, and even visited Mpimba prison in Bujumbura. UNNIB was founded by the Human Rights Council in December 2015. Violence in Burundi began in the wake of President Pierre Nkurunzizas announcement that he would seek a third term of office, to which he was elected [JURIST report] in July. Last month UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed concern over increased violence and rights violations in Burundi and called for an inclusive political dialogue [JURIST report] to end the 11-year struggle. Speaking to the council about his trip to Burundi last month, the secretary-general stated, I cannot stress enough the profound humanitarian consequences that political unrest, violence and impunity carry for the population. In January the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report stating that Burundian authorities barred entry [JURIST report] into Burundi to independent rights experts dispatched by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate violations in the nation. Also in January Zeid warned [JURIST report] of increasing violence in Burundi. In December the UN Human Rights Council approved [JURIST report] a resolution to dispatch experts to investigate human rights violations in Burundi, condemning violence in the country, use of excessive force by officials and restrictions on freedoms. In November the UN Security Council unanimously adopted [JURIST report] a resolution condemning the political violence and killings currently afflicting Burundi. A group of independent UN human rights experts urged [press release] India on Thursday to repeal a law increasingly being used to obstruct civilian access to foreign funding. This news comes in the wake of a six-month suspension on the registration of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Lawyers Collective [advocacy website], under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) [the Act, PDF]. The suspension was ordered based on allegations that its founders, human rights lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, used foreign funding for impermissible purposes in violation of FCRA provisions. Jaising was a former member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Grover was the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health from 2008 to 2014. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website], despite detailed evidence provided by the NGOs to prove that all foreign contributions were spent and accounted for in compliance with the FCRA, the suspension was still imposed. The Special Rapporteurs stated: We are alarmed by reports that the suspension was politically motivated and was aimed at intimidating, delegitimising and silencing Lawyers Collective for their litigation and criticism of the Governments policies. We are also concerned about procedural irregularities surrounding the order, including repeatedly leaked information to the press of suspension notices against the Lawyers Collective months before those were formally served to the NGO. Urging the government to reverse its decision and recognize the invaluable contribution of Jaising and Grover as human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in India, the experts stated that India must ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society, which play a critical role in holding the Government to account and buttressing the Indian democracy. India has previously faced international criticism. In February the Supreme Court of India [official website] agreed to review [JURIST report] its 2013 decision reinstating [JURIST report] an 1861 law prohibiting sex between consenting adults of the same sex. A month earlier, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] issued a letter [text, PDF] to the Indian Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment [official website], urging [JURIST report] it to strengthen provisions of the 2015 Rights of Transgender Persons Bill. Last August India, after widespread international criticism, ordered Internet service providers [JURIST report] to allow access to the 857 previously banned pornography and humor websites provided they did not include child pornography. Earlier last year Indias Supreme Court struck down [judgment, PDF] a law that gave authorities the power to jail people for offensive online posts. That ruling was welcomed and commended [JURIST report] by Prime Minister Narendra Modi [official website]. Ferrero appears set to be barred from selling its Kinder chocolate eggs in Chile. Regulations to come into force next week will forbid producers from including toys in the packaging of food products, with the Chilean government considering these a hook for children to consume lines that have high levels of sugar or calories. The company is willing to fight the legislation in Chilean and international courts. Ferrero received with consternation the announcement of a high member of the Health Ministry of Chile, regarding sales of the product Kinder Sorpresa, which will be banned from being sold in Chile from 26 June, it said. The law is part of a package regulating food labelling and advertising, especially products aimed at children. It states labels must clarify excess of critical nutrients in foods that are high in sugar, sodium, saturated fats or calories. The products are not permitted to use in their advertising, labels or packaging any elements that attract children who are under 14-years-old. This public health policy will help consumers to make a better informed decision about the food they choose. It also protects children from overexposing to advertising of food with high levels of sodium, sugar, saturated fats and calories, Dr. Lorena Rodriguez, chief of the nutrition and foods department in Chiles Health Ministry told just-food. With this new regulation, along with other sanitary measures, we expect the population to diminish consumption of foods with excess of nutrients which are harmful for their health, starting in early childhood. Ferrero insisted the toys inside Kinder Sorpresa are an essential and integral part of the product, which constitutes a single unit. It said: The surprise is the essence itself of the chocolate egg, and in no case can be considered a hook for its consumption. The Italy-based group added it reserves the right to activate national and international institutions to obtain a legal solution to this situation, which affects the reputation of one of its most popular and better-quality products. According to Chiles Health Ministry, one in every three children under the age of six in the country suffers are overweight. They have also pointed to studies that show over 60% of the population does not understand the current nutritional labels in place. Toyota retained its title as the world's most valuable car brand, followed by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to an annual report released by advertising research firms WPP and Millward Brown. Toyota, whose brand value rose 2 percent to $29.5 billion, has been the number one for 11 consecutive years. Tesla, with a valuation of $4.4 billion, entered the top 10 for the first time. It overtook Lexus and was ranked the 10th most valuable global car brand. Let's take a look at 10 most valuable car brands in the world: No 10 Tesla (valuation: US$4.4 billion) Visitors look at a Tesla vehicle during the 2nd China Shanghai International Technology Fair (CSITF) in east China's Shanghai, April 24, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua] Foreign students from the International Masters of Business Administration program listen to a presentation during a symposium with Kunshan local officials on June 15, 2016, in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. [Photo by Lin Liyao/China.org.cn] On the afternoon of June 15, Zhang Yuelin, deputy secretary of the Kunshan Municipal CPC Committee, welcomed another foreign delegation in the meeting room of the Times Hotel in Kunshan City in southeastern China's Jiangsu Province. This is the second time in the month he has introduced his city and shared Kunshan's experiences with visiting foreign friends. The delegation consists of 34 foreign students -- from 21 different countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America -- who participated in a one-year International Masters of Business Administration (IMBA) program sponsored by the Chinese government. To help these foreign students get a detailed and thorough understanding of economic and social development in different areas around China, especially in small and medium-sized cities, the Emerging Markets Institute at Beijing Normal University organizes two in-depth research trips every year. After visiting Shaanxi Province in March, they next visited southeast China. Lying in the southeastern region of Jiangsu Province, Kunshan covers 931 square kilometers with a population of 2.55 million. It is only 55 kilometers away from Shanghai to the east, and 35 kilometers from Suzhou to the west. Just as Zhang said during the symposium with the foreign students, "Although it is a county-level city, Kunshan is located at the forefront of China's reform and opening-up around the Yangtze River Delta." Once a poor place in the province during the 1980s, Kunshan now ranks No. 1 in overall economic competitiveness, and has done so for many consecutive years, among over 2,000 county-level cities throughout China. In 2015, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) was registered at 308 billion yuan (US$46.8 billion), and per-capita GDP reached US$29,957, and the per-capita disposable income reached US$8,148. Zhang said that Kunshan has passed through five stages since China's reform and opening-up policies implemented in 1978. During the 1970s and 1980s, Kunshan promoted the development of its rural industries, and transformed into an industrial city from one relying on agriculture. After 1992, Kunshan started to build economic development zones (EDZs) and attract overseas investment. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. China's giant pandas are susceptible to canine distemper virus, and surveillance and vaccinations are warranted to support conservation efforts, according to a new report. Photo taken on Jan. 21, 2015 shows giant panda "Long Long" receiveing treatment at the Shaanxi rescue, breeding and research center for rare wild animals in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Giant panda "Long Long" died from canine distemper virus at the center on April 8, the fifth panda dead because of the disease. (Xinhua) Published by the journal Nature on Thursday, the report said that due to the limited supply of some vaccines and the potential risks associated with others, most giant pandas in the Shaanxi Rare Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center, as well as those with other organizations involved in giant panda breeding programs, are not routinely vaccinated. CDV was reported to have caused the deaths of captive giant pandas as early as 1997 when three pandas died at Chongqing Zoo. The most recent outbreak in Shaanxi province caused the deaths of five pandas from December 2014 to April 2015. The single panda to survive had been vaccinated. Xia Xianzhu, one of the authors of the report and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the immune responses elicited by vaccination were not sufficient to prevent naturally-acquired CDV infection, but may have lessened the severity. The giant panda is native to China and is categorized as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. According to the fourth national panda survey, there are 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity in China at the end of 2013. Zhang Hemin, chief of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, said every panda in the center is vaccinated. Zhang's center was established in the Wolong National Natural Reserve in Sichuan province in the wake of an agreement between the World Wide Fund and the Chinese government in 1980. It is home to 210 pandas. Wang Chengdong, director of the animal hospital at the reserve, said that the vaccine came from a company in the United States. "From 2013 to 2014, the company cut the production of CDV vaccine due to slim profits and small demand, and we had to stop giving the vaccine to pandas. Though it resumed production, we are not sure whether it will cut the production line again," Wang said. "So the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is working with the authors of the report to develop a CDV vaccine specifically for China's giant pandas." Viral threat Canine distemper virus is a single-stranded RNA virus of the Morbillivirus genus and family Paramyxoviridae. Several fatal outbreaks of CDV have been reported in captive wild populations, including lions, tigers and leopards, as well as in free-ranging, wild populations of endangered species such as African wild dogs and wild Amur tigers. CDV transmission to captive animals may occur via direct or indirect contact with infected domestic dogs or wild carnivores. However, the source of the CDV that caused the outbreak among giant pandas remains unclear. Police have detained four kindergarten employees following the death of a student who was left unsupervised on a school bus in south China's Hunan Province, local authorities said Friday. The kindergarten head, bus driver, bus monitor and the child's teacher were all taken into police custody after the four-year-old child died on Thursday while under the care of a private kindergarten in Sixingang Township, Linli County, according to a spokesperson for the Communist Party of China county committee. The boy got on the bus around 7 a.m., and was found unresponsive at 3 p.m. Thursday, when his relative came to collect him from school. The cause of death is being investigated, but the spokesperson said as temperatures reached 32 degrees Celsius on Thursday, fatal heat stroke had not been ruled out. Land, an incredibly valuable, yet vulnerable resource. It is vital for producing food, preserving biodiversity, facilitating the natural management of water systems and acting as a carbon store. While we all enjoy the prosperity brought by economic, social and technological development, the land that much of our livelihood depends on is degrading, and fast. Only 30 percent of our planet is covered by land, yet a staggering quarter of this has been badly degraded, with this figure continuing to increase by 12 million hectares every year. The situation in China is not promising either. More than 40 percent of land suffers from desertification, soil erosion, and reduced fertility. Once land is degraded, it loses its ability to cultivate and support life and it has been estimated that around 40 percent of degraded land occurs in areas with the highest percentage of impoverished population. However, the future is not all doom and gloom, by working together on land degradation we have an unexpected opportunity to introduce an integrated approach and subsequently tackle some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges, such as climate change and ecosystem preservation. In 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established to halt land degradation and today, the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, can be used to highlight the linkages among land degradation, climate change and the ecosystem. As the carbon store, soil contains more carbon than all vegetation and the atmosphere combined. Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is a means to continue productive yielding while minimizing and preventing negative impacts on the vegetation and soil, therefore preserving its capacity in adapting to and mitigating climate change. Since joining the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China, I have been continually impressed at how UNDP has adopted the SLM approach for environmental protection in China. One of our projects, in Miyun District, Beijing has restored the ecological function of mis-managed trees on the barren mountains, and tested out a sustainable method that could increase the forest' ecological function, and improve the land by tree-relocation and better maintenance of the trees. The approach has also increased the forest' capacity to capture and store CO2 from air and therefore has successfully contributed to the mitigation of climate change. To add to this story, a recent UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported initiative in the headwater area of Huaihe River Basin has demonstrated how addressing land degradation can also help us protect the ecosystem. By introducing inter-cropping and other environment-friendly tea cultivation techniques to over 11 tea farms, the project helped protect the local biodiversity and improved the quality of over 3,000 hectares of land and soil, and increased the income of 2,100 households. However, this is not always simple, and addressing land degradation needs to have effective policies and programs in place. Not only do we need to work on improving the techniques in restoring and managing the land, but also we need to find an effective way to engage the local communities to participate in this effort. By changing their old practices on the land, and showing the communities the actual benefits changes can bring to them and to the environment, we can ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal No.15 "Protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation and halting biodiversity loss". Desertification is a phenomenon that ranks among one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, yet by integrating our policies and programs, we can use this as an opportunity to protect our land, while at the same time combating climate change and biodiversity loss. Ms. Agi Veres is the country director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia Friday for a state visit as China seeks to carry forward traditional friendship and step up economic engagement with the country. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Serbia in 32 years, and also Xi's second trip to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in less than three months. During his ongoing visit, Xi will meet his counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic, and other Serbian political leaders for discussions on bilateral relations, the Belt and Road Initiative and China-CEE cooperation, as well as global and regional hot-spot issues of common concern. A number of cooperation deals covering economy, trade, industrial capacity and finance are expected to be inked. You are here: Home Flash Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan met with a Japanese delegation led by Yoshifumi Hibako, former chief of staff of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces on Friday afternoon. Chang said China-Japan relationships are complicated and fragile, and it will be a long and arduous task to bring bilateral ties back on track. He urged the Japanese side to learn lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development and do more to improve bilateral ties. Yoshifumi Hibako said improvement in Japan-China ties is important to both countries and regional stability, and the members of the delegation are willing to play a positive role. LEXINGTON The former Cozad High School secretary accused of stealing more than $300,000 from school funds was sentenced to seven to 12 years in prison Monday. Sigler, 45, pleaded guilty in June to three counts of theft and four counts of second-degree forgery, according to court records. All seven charges are Class III felonies, each punishable by one to 20 years in prison, a $25,000 fine or both. District Judge James Doyle sentenced Sigler to seven to 12 years on each of the seven counts Monday, with the sentences to be served concurrently. Sigler originally pleaded not guilty to all the charges in a March 5 hearing. She is accused of diverting money from school funds between 2002 and July 2009 while employed as a bookkeeper at the school She had issued payments to herself and credit card companies using school funds and made unauthorized payments using Cozad School Superintendent John Grindes signature stamp. This was a crime of greed, Dawson County Attorney Liz Waterman said in her statements before sentencing, pure and simple. She has been cooperative, Ill give her that, Waterman continued, but added that Sigler was charged with only seven counts, but she had committed 20 times that many. Waterman said the theft was brazen and showed bold disrespect for the community. Defense attorney Charlie Brewster of Kearney argued that Sigler was an excellent candidate for probation. No one needs to fear she will be out to hurt anybody, Brewster said. She has an excellent work history. In sentencing, Doyle deemed Sigler an unfit candidate for probation, citing the amount of money she took and the period of time over which it was taken. When the defense and prosecution finished their statements, Sigler said through sniffles and tears she was remorseful and wanted to make it right. I apologize for the betrayal of my trust, she said. The school district filed a civil suit against Sigler in September 2009 alleging that she fraudulently and improperly diverted to herself and for her benefit the sum of $337,874. The school district became aware of the missing funds in August 2009 when an audit revealed that money began disappearing from the districts accounts in 2004. In the suit, the district asks for judgment against Sigler in the amount of $337,874 along with legal fees and interest. Scott Trusdale, an attorney representing the school district, said a judgment in the case issued by Doyle Monday ordered Sigler to pay restitution in the amount of $325,000 to the school district. Sigler had been free on a 10 percent of a $50,000 bond or $5,000, of which $4,500 was refunded to her attorney Monday as she was taken to Dawson County Jail. Sigler will serve her sentence at the Nebraska Department of Corrections in Lincoln. e-mail to: The Lexington Clipper Herald contributed to his story. The Elkhorn boy who was killed by an alligator at Disney World died of drowning and traumatic injuries, according to an autopsy completed Thursday. Two-year-old Lane Graves had been wading and splashing in the Seven Seas Lagoon at a Disney World resort Tuesday night when an alligator dragged him under the water. His body was recovered Wednesday afternoon 10 to 15 feet from the shore. Lane, his 4-year-old sister, Ella, and their parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, had been in Orlando since Sunday night for a family vacation. The Graves family issued a statement Thursday afternoon to ABC News: Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. To all of the local authorities and staff who worked tirelessly these past 24 hours, we express our deepest gratitude. All the beaches on Disney grounds remained closed Thursday. Officials have said no swimming signs were near the shore, but resort visitors said there were no warnings about alligators. Disney officials said Thursday that the company has decided to add alligator warning signs. We are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols, Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the investigation into the alligator attack continues, and results will be made public when it is complete. The agency is analyzing evidence to ensure that the alligator responsible for the deadly attack has been captured. The Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday that trappers have caught six alligators so far and are examining them for any evidence of an attack, but they havent found anything. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said there was no indication that Matt and Melissa Graves committed any crime that contributed to the attack. Thursday morning, dozens more people than usual attended the scheduled Mass at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Elkhorn to pray and grieve for the Graves family. About 150 people attended the somber 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Patricks, 20500 West Maple Road. Roughly half stayed for the rosary dedicated to the Lane and the family. The Rev. Gary Ostrander said prayer is the best way to offer support for the family as it moves forward with Lanes funeral. Ostrander said he received an email from a man in California who wanted to help. Ill tell him, pray, he said. Many of those at the Mass hugged one another and wiped tears away. Friends of the family declined to comment. Nearby, in the Ranch View Estates neighborhood where the family resides, blue ribbons adorned trees and yards to show support. Neighbors will sell lemonade and cookies Friday to raise money for a memorial. Lemonade for Lane will be from noon until 5 p.m. in the entrance of the neighborhood near 214th and Pacific Streets. A Mississippi woman who also asked for prayers for the Graves family posted photos on Facebook of her young son, who she said was wading in the same spot of the lagoon less than an hour before Tuesdays attack. Its a tiny beach, surrounded by pools, water slides, a restaurant and a fire pit, Jennifer Venditti wrote. I cant conceive that an alligator would be in such a busy, small space. This report contains material from the Associated Press. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form 18K Shares Share Shhh. I think this is supposed to be a secret, but this Wednesday at the super-elite AMA House of Delegates meeting in Chicago, where only the mostly highly connected and AMA devoted doctors get to attend, they actually stood up for us. It is now AMA policy that the AMA opposes mandatory ABMS recertification exams. Crazy, right? News of this random act of fortitude trickled out to us on Twitter by the small handful of delegates who very helpfully tweet updates for those of us on the outside. But other than those little tweets, no word from the AMA on this incredibly good news. This is HUGE folks! The AMA opposes ABMS recertification exams! Its time for celebration, and press releases, and emails asking us to rejoin the AMA. And yet, no word from the AMA. Its not listed in the Top 10 Stories from the AMA 2016 Meeting. Its not mentioned in the coverage of the MOC resolutions that passed. By looking at the AMA website and news coverage, the only MOC resolutions that passed were the typical mushy kind. Heres how the AMA reported their newsworthy MOC resolutions. Hold on to your knickers, these are some groundbreaking resolutions. Delegates adopted policy to further these efforts, including: Examining the activities that medical specialty organizations have underway to review alternative pathways for board recertification Determining whether there is a need to establish criteria and construct a tool to evaluate whether alternative methods for board recertification are equivalent to established pathways Asking the American Board of Medical Specialties to encourage its member boards to review their MOC policies regarding the requirements for maintaining underlying primary or initial specialty board certification in addition to subspecialty board certification to allow physicians the option to focus on MOC activities most relevant to their practice. Whoa Nelly. And the AMA wonders why theyre bleeding membership. Nearly every doctor in the real world is saying STOP MOC. And the AMA flitters about asking for more studies and playing footsie with the ABMS. In defense of the authors, these resolutions probably started out strong. But once the board-member packed committees hacked them to impotent pieces, theres no meat left. So what about that resolution opposing ABMS testing? Well, if you go to the AMA website and create a secure login and scroll through the hundreds of pages of amended resolutions from the nine reference committees, youll find Resolution 309 presented by Florida, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, New York, & Virginia hidden in Reference Committee C. The language is strong: RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association call for the immediate end of any mandatory, recertifying examination by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or other certifying organizations as part of the recertification process (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That our AMA support a recertification process based on high quality, appropriate CME material directed by the AMA recognized specialty societies covering the physicians practice area, in cooperation with other willing stakeholders, that would be completed on a regular basis as determined by the individual medical specialty, to ensure lifelong learning (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That our AMA reaffirm Policies H-275.924 and D-275.954 (Reaffirm HOD Policy); and be it further RESOLVED, That the AMA voice this policy directly to the ABMS and other certifying organizations (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That there be a report back to the AMA HOD by the 2017 Annual Meeting. (Directive to Take Action) Awesome, right? Well, as soon as the committee got ahold of it, they butchered into, RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association call for the immediate end of any mandatory, recertifying examination by continue to work with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) to encourage the development by and the sharing between specialty boards of alternative ways to assess medical knowledge other than by a secure exam or other certifying organizations as part of the recertification process (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That our AMA support a recertification process based on high quality, appropriate CME material directed by the AMA recognized specialty societies covering the physicians practice area, in cooperation with other willing stakeholders, that would be completed on a regular basis as determined by the individual medical specialty, to ensure lifelong learning (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That our AMA reaffirm Policies H-275.924 and D-275.954 (Reaffirm HOD Policy); and be it further RESOLVED, That the AMA voice this policy directly to the ABMS and other certifying organizations (Directive to Take Action); and be it further RESOLVED, That there be a report back to the AMA HOD by the 2017 Annual Meeting. (Directive to Take Action) Funny how that works. The resolution was dead. Gutted. But between testimony in Reference Committee C on Sunday, and final voting on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Medical Society melted the meeting down with a blistering two hour expose on the abuses of the ABIM and the boards in general. It was standing room only, with Dr. Wesby Fisher and Charles Kroll presenting their financial data, Dr. Bonnie Weiner discussing NBPAS, and Dr. Scott Shapiro announcing the PA Medical Societys vote of no confidence in the ABIM and plans to pursue legal action against the boards. Full report on the meeting and PowerPoint presentations can be found here. With a much-needed boost in morale and the data to support strong action, the full house convened on Wednesday and the delegates soundly rejected the Committees butchering of the resolution, extracted it to a full vote on the house floor, and restored the strong language of the first resolved. It passed easily. RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association call for the immediate end of any mandatory, secured recertifying examination by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or other certifying organizations as part of the recertification process for all those specialties that still require a secure, high-stakes recertification examination. Boom. This is amazing! So why isnt the AMA announcing this from the rooftops? Why is this hiding in hundreds of pages of resolution verbiage, only accessible via secure login? Because theyre hoping you dont know. If you dont know, then they can ignore this policy exists and they wont have to fight their friends at the ABMS on your behalf. But now you do know. You know that your colleagues from Florida, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, New York, & Virginia wrote a strong resolution and fought it to the end. Now their resolution is policy. Bravo to Texas and Michigan standing strong as well. Obviously, Im not good at keeping secrets, and I hope the rest of my physician colleagues spread this secret policy far and wide. While Im not yet ready to jump on the AMA bandwagon, I am warming to the realization that the AMA is made up of individual doctors. If we fill the AMA with the right physician delegates who will fight for us, we might actually win a few battles. Meg Edison is a pediatrician and can be reached on Twitter @megedison. This article originally appeared in Rebel.MD. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 331 Shares Share Dear Dr. Wible, Thank you for the work that you do. I have been following your push for humane medical education for several months now. I finally decided to contact you after reading your article about how burnout is actually abuse. I am a med student entering my third year. I have been consistently hearing horror stories from other students about the treatment we will receive on our clinical rotations doctors belittling us, calling us names, screaming and yelling everyday, throwing scalpels in the operating room, not giving bathroom or lunch/dinner breaks, manhandling patients under anesthesia, and many other things that students are too scared to even describe. When I have brought these concerns up, I have been told by peers and even administration that the best way to handle this behavior is to keep my mouth shut and my head down. The school is very aware of the problem. Weve asked the administration to establish a formal student mistreatment policy (we currently do not have one), but I sincerely doubt that any changes will come as they claim that they dont have less abusive clinicians to teach us. I came to medical school specifically to work with underserved populations and to further social justice in health. I am very concerned about being broken by this abusive system in my third year. I am already exhausted, experiencing depression and anxiety, having panic attacks and insomnia. I am torn between my intrinsic desire to fight against abuse and what everyone is telling me; to stay quiet to survive. I know that it will kill a part of me to just take it, but I dont know how I can get through this training any other way. I honestly dont know what writing you will accomplish, but you seem to be one of the few people willing to acknowledge the rampant and ingrained culture of abuse in medical school. Thanks again, Matt *** Dear Matt, Silence will not save us. The health care cycle of abuse is perpetuated by those who do nothing to stop it. Victim blaming and shaming with labels such as burnout actually perpetuate the mistreatment by deflecting attention from institutional abuse and making individuals feel defective. You are having the normal reaction anyone would have to an inhumane health care system. Heres what I recommend (in no particular order): 1. Keep a daily journal. List all incidents of abuse and mistreatment of students and patients. Writing has been the best therapy for me. Helps you process and get the pain out of your system. 2. Publish your experiences in training. You can do this (even anonymously) through popular blogs such as mine or KevinMD. Submit an op-ed to local, regional, even national newspapers (under a pseudonym if you must). I called my med school and residency out on their cruel vivisection experiments in the local newspaper and still graduated! (Some of my superiors even thanked me for being courageous). 3. Start a petition with your classmates to present to your dean demanding that your human rights be respected during training. Theres power in numbers. They cant scapegoat the entire class. I petitioned for my rights successfully in med school. Read how I did it here. 4. Advocate for humane treatment of attendings. They are injured and need help too. So many docs have Stockholm syndrome, and see themselves as strong and capable, while seeing med students as whiny, lazy kids who need to grow thicker skin. They need to be cared for and educated so that they see themselves as survivors of abuse and empowered to break the cycle of abuse. 5. Remember that you are not defective. Dont take threats and abusive comments personally. Most of what they say has nothing to do with you. Theses folks need therapy. 6. Invest in your health so you can help others. Get routine counseling and massage. Sleep and eat well. Do what you can to stay resourced and strong so you can think clearly. 7. Report unsafe and inhumane working conditions to OSHA and other oversight agencies that are involved in accreditation of our medical institutions. 8. Give positive reinforcement when abusive instructors actually behave. Your feedback may help them to be better teachers. These folks are seriously wounded. As weird as it seems, they need your help. 9. Start a Balint group, peer counseling, or other support system among your classmates. Maintain cohesion. Intimidation and public humiliation work best when students are divided and conquered. Stick up for your peers. Speak out as a group if a student or patient is mistreated. 10. Most importantly do something. Hope that helps! Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Physician Suicide Letters Answered and Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. She hosts the physician retreat, Live Your Dream, to help her colleagues heal from grief and reclaim their lives and careers. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 1 of 4 Amazing, Pool party of Dogs Introducing Beja, the socially awkward dog. Beja attends Happy Tails Resort in Norfolk, Virginia - an upscale dog care that recently introduced a 'spa' or paddling pool to their facility. Only while all the other dogs jump around in the water playing and chasing after balls, Beja prefers to stand on her hind legs and just chill out, alone. Read More... Wage inequality remains one of the hottest issues of the 2016 presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, supports a federal minimum wage of $12 an hour; she has also shown support for local rates of $15 an hour. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has been less clear. During a November GOP primary debate, Trump said, Wages [are] too high. We're not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it where it is. In a Meet the Press interview last month, Trump showed support for an increase of some magnitude, although he argued that this increase should come from the states rather than federal legislation. The federal minimum wage has remained the same since it was raised to $7.25 an hour in 2009. In lieu of federal action, many states have started to raise wages on their own. For instance, New York will gradually raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, with large businesses in New York City reaching the benchmark by the end of 2018 and other jurisdictions reaching it on an indexed schedule beginning in 2021. California will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour as of January 1, 2022, for large employers and January 1, 2023, for small employers. Washington, D.C. will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour as of July 1, 2020. Hawaii, Maryland and Vermont all will have minimum wages higher than $10 an hour as of January 1, 2018. By the start of next year, 29 states and Washington, D.C., will have minimum wages higher than the federal level. In the infographic below, we compare minimum wages, as of 2017, across the states: Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up View larger image SHARE By Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun SEATTLE A rudder problem has forced a ferry off the Port Townsend-Coupeville route for the second time in as many months. The 64-car Kennewick was removed Wednesday, leaving just sister ship Salish on the route. Repairs would take just a couple of days, but must be performed in dry dock. Dry dock space isn't available until mid-July, Washington State Ferries spokesman Ian Sterling said. Fortunately, the 124-car Issaquah is wrapping up an annual maintenance period and is expected to be available to return by Sunday morning to the Southworth-Vashon Island-Fauntleroy route. That will free the 87-car Tillikum to move from the triangle to Point Defiance-Tahlequah and the Chetzemoka to shift from Point Defiance-Tahlequah to Port Townsend-Coupeville. Only the three Kwadi-tabil class boats Chetzemoka, Kennewick and Salish can operate on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route because special rudders enable them to enter tricky Keystone Harbor. The articulated rudders have a flap on the end to make them more maneuverable, Sterling said. They have bearings and pins designed to wear out, similar to break pads, but they're not lasting as long as expected. "They're new vessels, so we don't have a track record on how long, but we expected it to be longer," Sterling said of the 5-year-old ferries. "It may turn out that we have to replace these wear parts sooner." The first of the Kwadi-tabils, Chetzemoka, entered service in November 2010. The Chetzemoka cost $79.4 million to build. The Kennewick and Salish cost $57 million each. The Point Defiance-Tahlequah route was suspended early Thursday so divers could inspect whether the Chetzemoka's rudder experienced similar wear. It didn't, and service resumed at 7:35 a.m. The Salish wasn't available for the Port Townsend-Coupeville route during the month of May for the same reason. Rear Adm. Dave Kriete salutes as he departs the change-of-command ceremony for Submarine Group 9 on Thursday at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. He was replaced by Rear Adm. John Tammen. SHARE Rear Adm. Dave Kriete (left) gets help from Rear Adm. John Tammen with his ceremonial sword during Thursday's change-of-command ceremony for Submarine Group 9 at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Rear Adm. Dave Kriete gets a kiss from wife Kathleen after Thursday's ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Rear Adm. John Tammen talks with a sailor after Thursday's change-of-command ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent surprises Rear Adm. Dave Kriete with a city coin after the Submarine Group 9 change-of-command ceremony Thursday at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. By Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun BANGOR A single person can't run one of the nation's most important Navy bases by himself. It requires a multitude of sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, government civilians, families and community members to prepare submarines and crews to patrol the Pacific Ocean, Rear Adm. Dave Kriete said. The Submarine Group 9 commander thanked most of them during a change-of-command ceremony Thursday morning at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor's Deterrent Park. "I'd ask that we all look at today's ceremony as an opportunity to celebrate all of them," said Kriete, who was relieved by Rear Adm. John Tammen. Rear Adm. Frederick Roegge, commander of the Pacific Fleet submarine force, highlighted Kriete's achievements and welcomed Tammen. Kriete led Team Bangor, a group with diverse missions. The base is the only one where all three types of subs ballistic missile, guided cruise missile and fast attack are based. The base is home to eight of the Navy's 14 ballistic missile subs. Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia has the others. They deter nuclear warfare because enemies know they're hidden in the ocean and able to retaliate. "With eight SSBNs, and a national-level commitment to keeping a number of them at sea continuously, this mission creates an unrelenting pace of crew predeployment training periods, ship refits and at-sea patrols," Kriete said. Two guided-missile subs, USS Ohio and USS Michigan, gather intelligence, deliver Navy SEALs to distant hot spots and stand ready to launch conventional Tomahawk strikes. When a crisis broke out, combatant commanders would ask where the nearest aircraft carrier was. "They still do, but now they also want to know where's the nearest SSGN," Kriete said. He's also responsible for fast attack subs USS Seawolf, USS Connecticut and USS Jimmy Carter, but like the other boats, often doesn't even know where they are. Nor does anybody else who isn't aboard. "We grow our submarine skippers to know how to operate independently," Kriete said. "You have to let the others do it and focus my time on the bigger-picture things we do to have an effect on all of the boats and to make their lives better. Kriete, who took command of Submarine Group 9 on July 11, 2014, will report to his next assignment as director of strategic capabilities policy at National Security Council in Washington, D.C. Tammen previously served as deputy director of plans and policy at U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. In his 32 years in the Navy, Kriete said he's never been embraced more by the community. "I've loved the relationships I've made with the folks in Kitsap County and I truly appreciate the love you've shown for your Navy," he said. "... This is your Navy and these are your sailors. Love them and support them in all they do." Stuff reports: Richmonds Salisbury School could close in January in a move its board says is unbelievably short-sighted. Education Minister Hekia Parata on Thursday announced she had initiated consultation with the schools board over its future. The boarding school has a long history of educating girls with high and complex needs but the successful implementation of the Intensive Wraparound Service [IWS] has reduced the demand for residential schooling, Parata said. Salisbury School caters to girls from years 3 to 11 who have high, complex needs. The schools board of trustees chairman, John Kane, said the announcement was not surprising, but was devastating and unbelievably short-sighted. Schools exist if students wish to go to them. Their roll has dropped from 72 to nine. Parata said since 2011, the roll at Salisbury had fallen from 72 to nine, pushing the per-student cost of educating girls at the school up to $214,909. In comparison, the average cost of providing support through the Intensive Wraparound Service was $27,000. The high cost of continuing to fund Salisbury School for a very small number of students versus the significantly lower cost and higher demand for IWS raises questions about the most effective use of resources for students with high and complex needs, she said. At $215,000 per student you could hire each of them two dedicated teachers at home! Nelson MP Nick Smith said he accepted the school could not go on in its current form. You cannot justify $2 million a year, 42 fulltime and part-time staff and the use of a prime eight-hectare site for nine pupils, Smith said. The situation next year becomes even more untenable, with seven of the nine pupils completing their programme under the usual practice for residential schooling. Smith said the decline in the roll at Salisbury to unsustainable levels was because most families were choosing intensive, localised support. So next year the school may only have two pupils, yet they still demand to remain open. And if parent choose intensive localised support over sending their kids to Salisbury thats their decision. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr The Herald reports: A disturbing picture is emerging of Orlando nightclub shooters troubled childhood, as former teachers and classmates share confronting memories of him from his primary school days. Their stories reveal Omar Mateen, then known as Omar Seddique, was having homicidal and misogynistic fantasies as early as age 10. Leslie Hall, who was Mateens classmate at Mariposa Elementary School in Florida and target of his bullying, remembers him getting suspended in the fifth grade for threatening to shoot up the school. Other classmates and a former teacher have similarly unpleasant recollections of Mateen, describing a boy who was driven to school in a limo, often taunted less affluent kids and even stole toys. They remember how all the girls were scared of him, even his mother and sister. According to staff members, numerous attempts by the school to intervene failed because of the enabling nature of Mateens father, Seddique Mateen, who was considered to be the source of his attitude towards women and girls. The Herald reports: The Government has vetoed a Labour Party bill which would have extended paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks. Finance Minister Bill English confirmed this afternoon that he had exercised the financial veto the first time he has used it to sink an entire piece of legislation. Labour MP Sue Moroneys bill had broad support in Parliament and was expected to pass into law this month. But Mr English said it was unaffordable. Treasury estimates the cost of this legislation amounts to $278 million over the next four years, a significant extra unbudgeted cost, he said. Thats on top of the $251 million a year (net of tax) taxpayers are expected to spend by 2020 under the existing paid parental leave framework. United Future leader Peter Dunne, who wants an eventual increase in paid leave to 52 weeks, said there was a delicious irony in the Governments veto. Yesterday Government was saying that putting children at the centre of policy was priority. Today they ban a bill on paid parental leave. Like Us On Facebook NEWS SENTINEL Le Noir, A Southern Belgian Bistro, is located on East Broadway in the heart of downtown Lenoir City. SHARE By Chambers Williams of the Knoxville News Sentinel Lenoir City, Wartburg and Crossville are the three East Tennessee cities to win grants from the state Department of Economic and Community Development under the Tennessee Downtowns program, the department said Friday. The program provides money to help in downtown revitalization in small towns that have seen deterioration in their central business districts, and are working to bring them back to life. This is the fifth round of the program, which has already provided money to 34 other communities. "Tennesseans are passionate about their communities, and because of the overwhelming support from our General Assembly through the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, we are able to provide funding to twice as many communities this round," TNECD Commissioner Randy Boyd said. "We applaud these communities for making efforts to revitalize their downtown commercial districts." In Lenoir City, the $15,000 Tennessee Downtowns grant will go to help merchants with their marketing efforts as the city winds up a separate $500,000 downtown streetscape project that has been underway about three years, said City Administrator Amber Scott. "Our streetscape project, which uses state and federal money, should be finished by September," Scott said. "We're getting stamped concrete at intersections to look like brick, and also going underground with our electric utilities. We're also going to have a landscaping element." The new money will help downtown merchants with marketing efforts, including new signage, Scott said. Among the newer downtown businesses, she said, are the Le Noir Bistro, Sparkly Pig and Backdoor Gallery. "We're trying to build the retail base back up, and breathe new life into our downtown," she said. "Our downtown merchants association met in January for the first time since 1997. We have a lot of exciting things going on in our downtown, and this will help push it forward." Other Tennessee communities selected to participate in the fifth round of the program are Ashland City, Dickson, Gainesboro, Hohenwald, Humboldt, Livingston, Lynchburg, Manchester and Woodbury. The state said in a release that the 12 cities selected for this round of funding "have downtown commercial districts established at least 50 years ago and have demonstrated their readiness to organize efforts for downtown revitalization. The highly competitive selection process was based on historic commercial resources, economic and physical need, demonstrated local effort, overall presentation and probability of success." Tennessee Downtowns is an affiliated program of Tennessee Main Street, and is described as a community improvement program for towns and cities seeking to revitalize traditional commercial districts. The communities work through volunteer committees in a two-year program supported by the National Main Street Center. Five year-old Stone Buckner in Corryton Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Stone suffered from a heart attack in May. His father David Buckner performed CPR until emergency workers arrived, which saved Stone's life. SHARE photos by AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL The Buckner Family, Nikki, David, Stone and Tessa, Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Five year-old Stone suffered from a heart attack in May. David Buckner performed CPR until emergency workers arrived, which saved Stone's life. By Kristi L. Nelson of the Knoxville News Sentinel Stone Buckner was a fighter from the start, his parents said. He started his life in East Tennessee Children's Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, recovering from some trauma during birth that left him oxygen-deprived for a brief interval. See a schedule of upcoming American Red Cross CPR classes But he bounced back, and parents Nikki and David Buckner sometimes had trouble reconciling the memory of the limp, seemingly lifeless infant in the delivery room with the robust 5-year-old who loves action figures, rough play, fishing and all kinds of sports. Until May 20. The house was quiet early that morning, the still before an exciting day. The Buckners, with about 25 members of their families on both sides, were readying for a beach trip together. David Buckner, who works in sales and also sells real estate with his wife, had risen early, made coffee and eggs and busied himself in his home office, finishing some last-minute work before vacation. But he needed a pen. He crept through the room Stone was sharing with sister Tessa, 9, but stepped on a creaky board, startling his son awake. And as David retrieved the pen and started back, Stone, en route to get into bed with his mother, fell forward on his face. Thinking his son was still half-asleep, he scooped Stone up and took him into their bedroom. He was back downstairs when he heard Nikki Buckner scream, "Stone! Wake up! Wake up!" The boy had gone into cardiac arrest. As Nikki's parents called 911, David drawing on training he'd gotten when Stone was in the NICU started chest compressions. For 17 minutes until the paramedics arrived at their rural home David performed CPR on his son. East Tennessee Children's Hospital cardiologist Dr. Michael Liske said it was those chest compressions that saved Stone's life and kept the blood and oxygen flowing to his brain. Ultimately, the cardiac incident didn't result in any brain damage, as it could have. But the Buckners didn't know that at the time. An ambulance took him to Children's; two days later, he went by jet to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he underwent surgery to have a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted, then stayed several days to recover. Though Stone's heart was structurally strong, Nikki Buckner said, it wasn't pumping blood correctly. The Buckners said doctors still aren't sure what caused Stone's heart to malfunction. On a long list of potential warning signs, they said, Stone had none before. And though Stone ultimately did "great after surgery," Nikki said, seeing her baby unconscious, intubated, awaiting a serious, life-changing operation was horrifying. The Buckners thought back to Stone's birth. As he was being born, limp and in distress, David said, he sent Nikki's mother to the waiting room at Parkwest Medical Center. "We had, like, 50 people out there and everybody dropped to their knees and prayed," David Buckner said. "By the time she got back, he was taking his first breath, and then he just started breathing." This time, they used social media to harness the power of prayer. A Facebook group, Stone Strong, ballooned to more than 9,000 members, most pledging to make a point to pray for the little boy and his family. A hashtag, #stonestrong, often accompanied their supportive posts, and eventually friends of the family made and sold T-shirts with the slogan, giving the proceeds to the Buckners. More than 100 people welcomed Stone home from Nashville at a May 30 celebration. His pacemaker automatically dials up his cardiologist at night, recording information from throughout the day, and he takes medicine three times a day, his father said something he doesn't enjoy but is getting used to. In the daytime, his arm is often in a sling, to help his chest heal, and he won't be able to play contact sports, like tee-ball, anymore. Otherwise, "they said, 'He's going to be a normal kid, and you've got to let him be,'" said Nikki Buckner, who is due to give birth to their third child, son Ridge, next week. David Buckner said he and about 20 other members of their family plan to take classes to be certified in CPR this summer, and he urges others to do the same. "I never thought I would have to do something like that," he said. "You never know when it's going to happen." But he also believes it was God's hand guiding his as he pressed on Stone's tiny chest that morning. Because more than five years ago, after the moment he saw his son inhale and come to life, Buckner committed his own soul to the Lord. "That's what changed my life," he said. "Five years ago, Stone saved his father's life," said Nikki's mother, Teresa Boyer. "Now his father has saved his." A scene from the British documentary "Dark Horse." SHARE By Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times Oh, just try to resist this one. The British documentary "Dark Horse" is a delightful story well told and, like so many good stories, it begins with a dream. In Louise Osmond's film, set in a depressed former mining village in Wales, we meet Janet Vokes, a barmaid and a cleaner who pictured herself as a racehorse owner. Those around her, including husband Brian, scoffed, but she had a plan: saving up to buy a scarred, weary mare, negotiating a discount stud fee and recruiting a syndicate of 23 working-class locals to pay 10 pounds a week each to raise the resultant foal named, appropriately, Dream Alliance on their slag-heap allotment. (That slag heap is, by the way, about as posh as it sounds.) The sport of kings, suffice to say, didn't know what hit it, and the "Dark Horse" tale cheerfully unfolds, with just enough of real-life fairy-dust sprinkled. (Did Dream Alliance become the greatest racehorse who ever lived? No. Did he achieve something remarkable? Yes. Now go watch the movie already.) Along the way, you'll enjoy getting to know this friendly community and realizing how much this spindly legged horse meant to them. "When I went to the races, I wasn't Janet the cleaner," says Vokes, wonderingly. "I was Janet the racehorse owner." Even the hired trainer, who seems a bit sneery early on about his charge's working-class origins, gets emotional toward the end. Hollywood could have crafted this story but didn't. For once, I can't wait for a sequel. Colin Firth, left, and Jude Law in "Genius." SHARE By Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post Making movies about writers is treacherous business: There's next to nothing cinematic about someone tapping away on a keyboard, then staring into the distance to think. And it's just as disastrous when an ambitious filmmaker tries to liven things up by confecting a dramatic piece of business to demonstrate the writer's plight, the most ludicrous example being Jane Fonda's Lillian Hellman throwing her typewriter out a window in a bout of writerly pique. "Genius," Michael Grandage's stalwart if staid biopic about literary editor Maxwell Perkins and author Thomas Wolfe, largely sidesteps the Scylla and Charybdis of inertia and burlesque through which any film about an artist must pass. Anchored by a quietly sympathetic performance by Colin Firth the most reliable actor on the planet when it comes to personifying diffidence and moral rectitude this attractive, ultimately affecting portrait of friendship and creative collaboration may lack the dynamism and fire of the work it celebrates, but it provides an absorbing account of a relationship that, although obscure to most viewers, radically reshaped the American literary landscape of the 20th century. Based on A. Scott Berg's 1978 biography of Perkins, "Genius" begins in 1929, when the editor was working at Scribner's, where he had already discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. As the movie opens, Perkins is quickly and ruthlessly crossing out sentences in red pencil when an associate dumps a 1,100-page manuscript on his desk. Perkins begins to read and, in the graceful montage that ensues, keeps reading, through his commute home to Connecticut, through greeting his wife, Louise (Laura Linney), and five daughters, and practically through dinner, during which he forgets to take off his hat. "That's a very long paragraph," one of the Perkins girls observes, reading over her father's shoulder. "It started four pages ago," he replies in a New England drawl. So begins the literary bromance between Perkins puritanical, concise, self-effacing and conservative and Thomas Wolfe, the garrulous, expansive, self-sabotaging wunderkind from North Carolina, portrayed with puppyish overeagerness by Jude Law. Temperamental opposites who have an almost telepathic mutual understanding, the two would collaborate on that first manuscript (which would become "Look Homeward, Angel") and Wolfe's only bestseller, "Of Time and the River," an even more unwieldy continuation of his autobiographical oeuvre that arrives at Perkins's office in crates. "Genius," adapted for the screen by John Logan, suffers from some common afflictions of the bookish biopic. Grandage, a fixture of the London theater scene making his film-directing debut here, often makes the proceedings feel more like a play than a movie, a stageyness that extends to Law's often teary, declamatory delivery. Nods to the Depression that forms the backdrop to "Genius" feel perfunctory and patronizing. "What's happening to our country, Max?" Wolfe asks balefully as the two pass a soup line. The arrival of Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) and Hemingway (Dominic West) resembles a dutiful tableau-vivant pageant of Great Authors Through History. For all that, though, "Genius" possesses an autumnal beauty both in its visuals and a lovely, Coplandesque musical score by Adam Cork that feels appropriate to the melancholic spirit of the story. In addition to Firth's sensitive, foursquare portrayal of Perkins, "Genius" is made much more interesting by Nicole Kidman, who as Wolfe's married lover and patron, Aline Bernstein, throws out stinging shards of competition, rage and jealousy. She thoroughly dominates one of the film's finest scenes, when Bernstein confronts Wolfe over the devastating emotional cost of his casual, self-involved cruelties. When Kidman starred in "The Hours" several years ago, sales of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" spiked. One can only hope the same holds true for this Wolfe, whose lambent, sonorous prose weaves through the film like the river that served as the author's most cherished metaphor. "Genius" may be a bit stodgy and safe, but it tells a story of beauty as it plays out in an improbably fruitful friendship, and as it's discovered within vast expanses of raw language by a craftsman who was arguably an artist in his own right. Frank Munger, Knoxville News Sentinel, makes a video of Cray computer employee Michael McNamara, left, doing quality control checks on components during installation of the new Cray XT5 system at The Oak Ridge National Labatory. Behind them is Dr. Thomas Zacharia, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's associate laboratory director for Computing and Computational Sciences. It is supposed to operate at a petaflop level (1,000 trillion calculations per second) and the new system will also be called Jaguar, same as earlier Cray machines. Jaguar would be the first petaflop machine for open science. (MICHAEL PATRICK/KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL, Friday, October 3, 2008) As I finished up a recent Chinese dinner of chicken with black bean sauce, I cracked open my fortune cookie and glanced at the message inside. "All things have an end," it said, fittingly enough as I get ready for retirement at the end of the month. For the past 35 years, maybe a little more, I've covered the U.S. Department of Energy and its Oak Ridge operations. It's a news beat I created at the News Sentinel after serving as state editor and realizing the wealth of news potential at the government facilities. It's been a pleasantly bumpy ride these many years, with a lot of highlights and some unusual happenings. I'm kind of proud of some of the things accomplished. My reporting, beginning in the early 1980s, helped reveal the nature and extent of the environmental scandal in Oak Ridge although it may be decades still before there's a true understanding of the mercury contamination and radioactive dirtiness that exist in hidden places and an actual cleanup price tag for U.S. taxpayers. Also, I'd like to think I made it possible, or least easier, for folks in East Tennessee to discuss the operations and national security missions at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. More than three decades ago, when I wrote an initial series of articles about Y-12 activities, including the weapon systems then in production and detailed accounts of how bomb-grade uranium is recycled from dismantled parts, I received a small flood of hate mail. Workers who'd been trained to say nothing about anything as part of their security education were outraged, and some accused me of helping the enemy. In truth, this information was unclassified, and much of it was a foundation for discussions in Congress, where decisions were being made on how much to spend on the nation's nuclear deterrent. Over the years, I've had a chance to write about some of the nation's biggest projects and had the extraordinary experience of tracking the Spallation Neutron Source from its conception as an idea at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, through its funding battles and construction to first operation as one of the world's unique tools for materials research. In the process, I hope the work imparted some useful information and maybe inspired others to find a relationship with science. Even bigger projects are on the way in Oak Ridge: most notably the Uranium Processing Facility that's currently under development at Y-12 with a price tag approaching $6.5 billion. There are days, of course, when work is work, and you have to bang your head against the wall to report the news. But I don't ever want to underestimate the fun I've had. Next week I'll share some of the joys this job has brought me. SHARE Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel East Tennessee's chief federal judge has banned an imprisoned crack dealer from filing any court action without his approval. The unusual move came after Eric Houston has filed more than 100 civil petitions in federal courts across the U.S. all handwritten, filled with profanities, and some drafted on toilet paper. Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan this week issued a permanent injunction that bars Houston "from filing any motion, letter or civil action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee without first obtaining approval from the chief district judge." PDF: Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan's injunction order involving Eric Houston PDF: An example of inmate Erc Houston's filings The injunction also bars court clerks from accepting any filings by Houston without Varlan's approval and threatens to hold Houston in contempt if he violates the order. Courts across the country have long struggled with balancing the rights of citizens to access the justice system without legal counsel against the need to shut the door on an abuse of the system through frivolous filings. It is especially tough when those seeking free access are inmates with plenty of time on their hands and a law library at their disposal. Federal and state laws passed in the past few decades have sought to deal with the thousands of inmate filings received by courts across the U.S. each month. Congress in 1996 passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act. That law allows judges to toss inmate lawsuits as "frivolous" based solely on the claims in the filing. The law also has what's known as the "three strikes provision" under which an inmate with three prior "frivolous" filings cannot claim poverty and must pay what can amount to hundreds of dollars before a lawsuit will be filed. Tennessee passed a similar measure in 1996. The law gives judges the power to charge fees and court costs against an inmate in any "frivolous" filing. A 2001 amendment barred an inmate from filing anything frivolous or not if the inmate owes money to any civil court in the state. A year later, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld the amendment in the case of rapist Antonio Sweatt, who filed more than a dozen lawsuits in state and federal court alleging his rights were being violated because he was forced to bunk with a smoker. The Tennessee Supreme Court is taking a fresh look. The panel last month heard arguments on the constitutionality of that amendment in the case of killer Reginald Dion Hughes, who is serving a 60-year sentence. Hughes has filed lots of civil court lawsuits and petitions since he was jailed in 1987, many deemed frivolous. He hasn't paid filing fees despite being ordered to do so, and his latest case against the Tennessee Board of Parole for denying him early release was dismissed outright. Federal inmate Houston began filing letters with the federal courts almost immediately after he was indicted on a charge of dealing crack in Knoxville in 1999. In the years since, he has sued the U.S., "unnamed defendants," the "wife of" a federal court clerk, President Obama, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and even U.S. District Judge James Jarvis, despite Jarvis' death in 2007. Houston scrawls his complaints on forms, notebook paper, toilet paper and paper towels. Nearly all allege a "life threatening situation" an exemption to prison litigation reform law but are largely incoherent. "Do y'all courts hear me, Mr. Houston, judges?" he wrote in one. In another lawsuit against a female attorney, Houston wrote, "This tramp is always ineffective assistance of counsel." "For Mr. Houston and his civil rights, ain't no God (expletive) ones is willing to fully protect or go hard for his rights," he wrote in one of his more recent lawsuits. Varlan has had his fill. "Eric Houston has a history of repetitive litigation and excessive filing while incarcerated," the chief judge wrote. "The court has attempted to review the filings to determine the nature of (Houston's) allegations, but due to the partially indecipherable handwriting, the threatening language, the profanity, and the nature of the filings some of which were submitted on what appears to be toilet paper the court has been unable to fully discern (his) allegations." SHARE Dr. Gregory Jicha By News Sentinel Staff For 30 years, the Knoxville-based nonprofit Alzheimer's Tennessee Inc. has drawn Alzheimer's experts in for a daylong symposium, to help health care providers better understand the baffling disease. "Primary-care physicians, nurses and other health care professionals are on the front lines treating dementia," said Janice Wade-Whitehead, executive director of Alzheimer's Tennessee. "Our presenters include leading scientists involved in the search for Alzheimer's treatments, and physicians with unique personal perspectives on treating and living with dementia." The 30th anniversary Alzheimer's disease Research and Management Symposium will be June 23-24 at the Clayton Center at Maryville College. The fee, $99 per day, includes lunch and continental breakfast. Attendees can attend one or both days. A key presenter this year is Dr. Gregory Jicha of the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's disease Center, one of 10 original centers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Jicha will present on research advances in diagnosis and treatment of dementias. "There are medications being tested, and not just for symptoms," he said. "These medications are disease-modifying. They help nerve cells regrow. These aren't medications of the future they are being given to patients today." Area physicians Drs. David Compton and Brenda Nicholson, both of whom have received diagnoses of early-stage Alzheimer's, will sit on a panel discussion about the disease to "allow us to look at Alzheimer's through the eyes of health care professionals as well as their patients'," Wade-Whitehead said. Other topics on the agenda include mediation management for Alzheimer's patients; driving assessments for those with dementia; innovations in dementia care; how doctors and lawyers can collaborate; understanding mild cognitive impairment; frontotemporal dementia; vascular dementia; and the dementia associated with Parkinson's disease. Continuing education credits are available. To register, call 865-544-6288, or visit www.alzTennessee.org. ALZHEIMERS MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM What: National and local speakers When: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. June 23-24 Where: Clayton Center, Maryville College, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville Cost: $99/day; go one or both. Includes lunch, continental breakfast Register: 865-544-6288; www.alzTennessee.org SHARE By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel WARTBURG Morgan County Executive Don Edwards has allegedly made it a practice to send emails to a select group of eight of the county's 18 commissioners, one of those recipients said Friday. And one such missive, which was forwarded to the email queue of a former commissioner, has ignited a storm of controversy. It came during budget preparation season and included this phrase: "Warning, we must guard against becoming n___r rich," Edwards wrote. First-term Commissioner Dennis Freels forwarded the email to a former commissioner, Kay Johnson, who has launched a campaign to publicize what she perceives as a racist slur. Edwards on Friday expressed profuse regret. "The inference was there, but it wasn't spelled out," he said. "It was a terrible choice of an idiom even if I didn't spell it out. "That's the only time I've ever used that expression," Edwards said. "It was never meant to be anything racial. I have biracial, close kin folks," he said. "I have never written or said anything meaning to denigrate or be disrespectful to anybody. This one little blank in an email should not say 'He's a stinking racist' and this kind of thing, and that is far from what I am. "It was a poor choice on my part, and it'll never be repeated by me." Freels said he became "real uncomfortable with the emails" that he and seven other commissioners had been receiving from Edwards. "He was marking them as confidential, do not share, and all this kind of stuff. "I felt what he sent to one, he ought to send to all of us," Freels said. "He was kind of slandering some of the former commissioners and some still on the commission. He was talking about liberals spending money and this and that. I didn't think that was too good." Freels said he didn't understand why Edwards was only emailing a select group of commissioners. "The only thing I was trying to do was simply share some communications," Edwards said. "If I sent it to eight (commissioners) that's the ones I wanted to share information with." The 18-member panel is one of the state's larger County Commissions. Kimberly LaRue, 34, left, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, 32, and Jennifer Milam, 43, pose for a photo outside the Tennessee Theatre before South College's commencement ceremony Friday, June 17, 2016. South College's Yellow Ribbon program helped the veterans acquire a college degree and transition from military to civilian life. (TRAVIS DORMAN/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE Jennifer Milam of Rockford receives her diploma during South College's commencement Friday, June 17, 2016, at the Tennessee Theatre. Milam served as an air transportation specialist in the Air Force, and now she works as a physical therapist assistant. (TRAVIS DORMAN/NEWS SENTINEL) Thomas Jonathan Jackson of Knoxville acquires his bachelor's degree in criminal justice during South College's commencement Friday, June 17, 2016, at the Tennessee Theatre. Jackson trained and handled explosive detection dogs in the U.S. and abroad. (TRAVIS DORMAN/NEWS SENTINEL) Former University of Tennessee president Joseph E. Johnson speaks at South College's commencement ceremony at the Tennessee Theatre Friday, June 17, 2016. "One can be a leader in whatever role they fill a nurse, a teacher, a legal aid," Johnson said. "Leadership is not defined by your title, how big your office is or how much you make. It is defined by causing good things to happen." (TRAVIS DORMAN/NEWS SENTINEL) William T. Snyder performs a piece on the Mighty Wurlitzer during South College's commencement ceremony Friday, June 17, 2016. Snyder was the chancellor of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville from 1992 to 1999. (TRAVIS DORMAN/NEWS SENTINEL) Related Photos Photos: South Colleges commencement ceremony By Travis Dorman of the Knoxville News Sentinel For an explosive detection dog trainer, an Air Force paralegal and an air transportation specialist, crossing the Tennessee Theatre stage Friday was more than a symbolic graduation ceremony it was an important step of returning to civilian life. Knoxville's South College is a participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which allows veterans who seek college degrees to have their tuition and fees funded fully or in part by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As part of the program, the college also helps military personnel relate the skills they acquired in service to the civilian jobs they hope to obtain. One such veteran is Thomas Jonathan Jackson of Knoxville, a military policeman who served for five years before returning home and earning his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Jackson, 32, trained and handled explosive detection dogs stateside for the Secret Service and the Secretary of the Army and abroad in a special forces unit in Afghanistan. "There's nothing yet on the battlefield that's as effective as the canine for detecting explosives," Jackson said. "It saves lives." Jackson said the dogs view the hunt for explosives as a game of hide and seek where they search for the treats they are given as a reward for finding bombs. But while they're having fun, the handlers are on edge any bark or signal could mean the possibility of danger. "We teach the dogs to hunt for a specific type of odor," he explained. "When they find that odor and they recognize that that's what they've been trained to smell, they give a response to the handler. ... We can call the dog back to us, go forward and assess the situation and demolish the device that's in place so there's no loss of life or injury." Now Jackson works for a company called K-9 Search on Site, performing similar services for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He said his criminal justice classes at South College proved essential in helping him make the transition from military to civilian life. "South College and the program they had, I can't say enough wonderful things about the instructors and the professors," Jackson said. "They were incredibly helpful in correlating my knowledge because there are a lot of differences between the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Tennessee law and state law." Kimberly LaRue, 34, of Tyler, Texas, graduated with an associate degree in paralegal studies after serving as a military paralegal at Robins Air Force Base in Houston County, Ga. LaRue agreed with Jackson that South College's curriculum was effective, and she said it helped her secure a job at a family and criminal law office in Clinton. "South College explains all the ins and outs of Tennessee law, and it is completely different," LaRue said. "A lot of the court systems are different, a lot of the processes are different, so South College did help me get a great job and actually work in the civilian world and know what I'm doing." Jennifer Milam, 43, of Rockford served in the Air Force as a transportation specialist, coordinating airdrops and the loading of cargo planes. Unlike Jackson and LaRue, Milam decided to branch out from her military profession and become a physical therapist assistant. "I hop around a lot," Milam said. "Blessings are for a season, not always for a lifetime. You have to be flexible." President Barack Obama pauses while speaking to members of the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 13, 2016. Obama said there's no clear evidence that the shooter at an Orlando nightclub was directed to conduct his attack or part of a larger plot. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) The primaries are over, it looks like its going to be Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump, and a lot of people are unhappy. Don't let anyone steal that disgust from your heart," Michael Brendan Dougherty writes in The Week. "Don't let anyone tell you that the nearly uncontrollable urge to retch at the thought of this election is disproportionate, or somehow uncivil. When you contemplate the fate of your country in 2016, you have the right to be depressed, or even despairing. Well, as Adam Smith observed centuries ago, there is a lot of ruin in even a great nation. But it does feel like were putting that observation to the test right now. Voter dislike for both Clinton and Trump is record-breaking. Now, being disliked doesnt necessarily make you a bad candidate or a bad president. As writer Ashe Schow points out, the most-disliked candidate usually wins. And hey, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan were both disliked by an awful lot of people. Even so: Its hard to look at Clinton and Trump and seriously believe that, out of a nation of more than 300 million people, these are the very best two people to lead the country. Clinton has moved from the still-unfolding email scandal (which is really a mishandling secrets scandal overlaid with an obstruction of justice scandal), to a cronyism scandal also involving national-security risks in which an unqualified donor, Rajiv Fernando, was put on a sensitive government intelligence panel involving nuclear weapons. Trump, meanwhile, finds himself in the unusual position of being basically called a racist by his partys previous nominee, Mitt Romney. Its true, of course, that most every GOP nominee gets called racist every four years. But usually its by Democrats, not high-ranking fellow Republicans. Trump and Clinton like every presidential candidate before them in my lifetime are products of a grueling and demanding multistate, multimonth evaluation process. And yet its hard to say that this process, for all its demands, is doing a good job at finding good presidents. Instead, it filters for people who are good at winning primary elections, which doesnt have much to do with actually governing as chief executive. (In fact, given how different primary electorates are from the general public, its not even especially good at filtering for people who are good at winning national elections. Mike Dukakis won the 1988 Democratic nomination, after all, and Bob Dole was the Republican nominee in 1996.) In my lifetime there have been a number of lousy presidents, and few really good ones. A company that consistently picked leaders whom many people disliked, and whose performance was often poor, would probably reevaluate its selection process. Maybe we should do so, too. But how? We could limit the presidency to people who have been governors. That way, everyone involved would have experience as a chief executive. (It would also have the advantage of making senators focus on doing their job instead of running for president, as so many of them do from day one so even if it didnt produce better presidents, wed probably get a better Senate). We could also eliminate the popular vote and let the candidates be elected solely by the Electoral College, which in fact elects them now using the popular vote as guidance. They could actually interview for the job. With no national campaign, theyd have to make the case to small groups of people, face to face. Or maybe we should just conduct a lottery among registered voters. How much worse could it be? But these kinds of suggestions, aimed at the people doing the job, probably miss the real problem, which is the job itself: The presidency as it exists today is a mess. Presidents have too much power, too little accountability and too high a public profile. That makes the job attract the wrong sort of people, and then ensures theyre not up to it. If we were to shrink the government, and shrink the presidency, we might find that what was left would attract better people and would be easier even for lesser mortals to execute. When your political system consistently delivers bad results, its time to look at a change. Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor and the author of The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Do you feel it? PrideFest, Knoxville's big annual celebration of LGBT culture, arrives this weekend with a sense of something in the air post-Orlando. A Muslim terrorist slaughtered 49, wounded more than 50 at a gay night club in the Florida town famous for DisneyWorld, the "happiest place on earth." Sadness emanated out of Orlando, but something else settles over us. PrideFest noted the heaviness of the situation on its webpage. "We've always taken security seriously at PrideFest since Orlando is certainly not the first act of violence against our community," the page says. "We're working closely with KPD and the City administration to ensure that everyone has a fun and safe day out at PrideFest." Untethered anxiety is about. Even those of us who do not identify with LGBT culture cannot help but fret for our friends, our neighbors, our kin, our community after Orlando. And Chattanooga. And San Bernardino. And Paris. And Brussels. And Paris (again). And D.C. And New York. Muslim terrorists kill again and again and again and again. They kill with guns, with bombs, with planes, with box-cutters, with swords, with knives, with gravity. In Paris (again), a policeman and his partner were killed in their home. So the West worries. Our unsettled angst is nothing compared to the Middle East. In village after village, town after town, country after country, year after year, Christians have lived and died with this imminent threat to their very existence. Our State Department finally labeled this systematic eradication of Christians what it really is genocide. Radical Islamist jihadists plainly tell us their goals. They want to eliminate Christians, Jews, gays and non-adherent Muslims. They want to subjugate women the world over. No wonder we feel darkness lurking, lingering, somewhere out there. The mathematics of probability are irrelevant to psyches. We feel the threat to our existence. Yet our leaders devolve into demagoguery. The Republican candidate for president continues crazy. The Democratic candidate for president talks semantics, proving she can say "radical Islam" and "Islamic jihadist." The current president mocks his opponents for challenging his refusal to link the carnage to Islam, the religion of his stepfather. "Groups like ISIL can't destroy us, they can't defeat us," President Barack Obama said in March. "They're not an existential threat to us." Then why, Mr. President, do we have this untethered anxiety? Why our existential angst? Why this sense of lurking, lingering darkness? Why would the organizers of PrideFest and the Knoxville Police Department feel the need to reassure ahead of a weekend celebration? Simple. Because we know Islamic jihadist terrorists want to kill Christians, Jews, gays and non-adherent Muslims. We know because they've told us. We know because we've seen gays thrown to their deaths from rooftops. We've seen a Mediterranean beach run red with blood from slit Christian throats. Whether our president acknowledges it or not, Muslim terrorists are a threat to modern existence. Nineteen Chippewa County students participated this past week in the 75th annual Badger Boys State at Ripon College, where it has been held since 1941. The program is sponsored by the American Legion and designed for students interested in government and citizenship. Students were selected by high schools throughout the state based on their qualifications as being good students, exhibiting leadership skills and placing in the top third of their class. Participants developed their own party platforms, passed local ordinances and utilized a judicial system to enforce the laws and constitution of the 51st state. They elected municipal, county and state officials, and prosecuted or defended cases in front of their own judges. Local American Legion posts sponsored the delegates, and they are chosen based off the same criteria as Badger Girls. A previous Badger Boys State graduate, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from 1985, was scheduled to appear at the inauguration ceremony Thursday night. County students are as follows: Chippewa Falls: Nathaniel Kuepfer, Erik Sworski, Isaac Brenner, Taylor Hakes, Bronson Roshell, Maxwell Gibson and Benjamin Blake. Cadott: Bryce Erickson, Ty Weiss and Henry Wojtczak. McDonell Central: Timothy Buchmann, Peter Stoffel and Samuel Zwickel. Stanley-Boyd: Gabriel Denzine and Isaac Marion. Bloomer: Dirk Bruxvoort and Eli Olson. Cornell: Levi Boehm. New Auburn: Mason Kollwitz. SHARE Politicians are baffling. Orlando is in crisis. So are other communities and cities around the country and around the world. Anywhere assault rifles can be purchased with little or no vetting of the would-be purchaser, something is vastly amiss. Politicians have to do something about this kind of loophole in gun-purchase policies and practices, and stop kowtowing to Wayne LaPierre's version of the National Rifle Association. Just this week, this newspaper reported that one of our legislators, in the wake of Orlando, proudly announced his offering of two AR-15 rifles as door prizes at a fundraising event. He and others must take appropriate, positive action that help us be a civilized society. A moment of silence in honor of the victims of Orlando is honorable. However, the days, weeks, months and years of silence on easy access to military-style assault weapons is not. The political climate in this country and this state is baffling. The way Congress operates and the way our Legislature fails to lead in Nashville are national and state travesties. Most are there for their own selfish reasons that eventually harm the rest of us. Shutting down government, being obstructionists and micromanaging are not governing. Instead, compromise is the needed language of government, but whoever heard of that? Also, the junior senator from Georgia recently publicly referred to a Bible verse, insinuating President Barack Obama should die and his family be left penniless to wander as vagabonds. This is a blatant racist threat. This type of speech has happened many times in Obama's term. I would expect better of our elected leaders, especially Christians. My hope and prayer is that we can stop this madness by electing people known for their goodness, fairness, understanding and compassion. Before we vote, we must vet their credentials ourselves, not just trust CNN, FOX or MSNBC. Tom Gutridge, Powell Pick Tennessee Products celebrates 30 years Image courtesy of TN Department of Agriculture. NASHVILLE Thirty years ago, Danny Shelton grew cantaloupes and peppers on his farm in New Market, near Knoxville. Thats when he heard the Tennessee Department of Agriculture was launching a brand new program called Pick Tennessee Products. The new program would help food growers and makers finds new markets and new marketing strategies to keep their Tennessee businesses growing. Now, as Pick Tennessee celebrates thirty years of success, Shelton Farms stone ground cornmeal, grits and flours are the choice of top tier chefs and cooks around the nation and particularly at home in Tennessee. A lot of this is Pick Tennessees fault, Shelton said with a smile. I started with cantaloupes, then went to tomatoes, and now its this. Pick Tennessee has pointed me in new directions, sent me to a lot of tradeshows and put my products in a lot of places. Theyve been with me all along and I owe a lot to Pick Tennessee. Shelton still uses the original logo, which features a banjo, on his artisan products. Pick Tennessee also helps consumers find local farmers like Shelton, along with local foods, recipes, farm products and farm activities. Rapid changes in technology and consumer interests influence the direction of the program. People want to know where their food comes from, Commissioner of Agriculture Jai Templeton said. Pick Tennessee Products puts our farmers, programs and products right in front of those customers. In its modern form, Pick Tennessee reaches people where they already go for information every daytheir phones, mobile apps and other devices. The Pick Tennessee Products website launched in 1995 and was the states very first online consumer site. It remains the home to all Pick Tennessee farmer-to-consumer information. Pick Tennessee is active across social media, and users of the free mobile app search for the local foods, farmers markets and on-farm fun near them, then use the apps GPS mapping to get there. The latest feature of the Pick Tennessee app is a directory of restaurants committed to supporting local farmers and foods. Pick Tennessee is a not-for-profit service and provides critical exposure and marketing opportunities. Pick Tennessee does not charge anyone for services or generate income for any agency, Commissioner Templeton said. Tennessee farmers and producers list products on Pick Tennessee for free. For many producers, this is their only presence online. Pick Tennessee now lists nearly 2,500 Tennessee farmers and farm-direct businesses with almost 10,000 products. All Tennessee producers of agricultural products are eligible and can apply online. To be included, farmers and food producers must be in compliance with all permits, licenses and inspections administered by TDA. Learn more about Pick Tennessee Products and the free mobile app at www.PickTNProducts.org. Published June 17, 2016 By Choi Sung-jin Heads of the nation's 10 largest family-controlled conglomerates have received cash dividends of nearly 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from their affiliates in the past five years. On the other hand, six out of every 10 nonprofit foundations affiliated with the top-30 chaebol reduced their spending on public services, or did not spend a penny for that purpose, last year, triggering criticism about fattening the pockets of the richest people while ignoring corporate social responsibility. Chaebul.com, a website on large business groups, said Thursday the tycoons running the big-10 conglomerates received dividends totaling 1.46 trillion won from their listed subsidiaries between 2011 and 2015. The actual amount could be far bigger if dividends paid by "unlisted" affiliates are added, the site said. The yearly dividend fell from 257.1 billion won in 2011 to 241.1 billion won in 2012 but rose to 245.4 billion won in 2013, 331.8 billion won in 2014 and 385.8 billion won last year. The rankings of dividend income largely coincided with the chaebol standing. Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Group topped the list with five-year dividend income of 681.1 billion won, followed by Chung Mong-koo of Hyundai Motor Group with 306.4 billion won, Chey Tae-won of SK Group with 160.4 billion won, Koo Bon-moo of LG Group with 102.3 billion won and Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group with 41.2 billion won. Later in the day, CEO Score, a corporate assessment site, released a report that analyzed the performances in the past two years of 46 nonprofit public corporations affiliated with the 30 largest conglomerates. According to the report, their net spending on public services, excluding management and personnel expenses, totaled 279 billion won last year, down 12 billion won, or 4.2 percent, from 2014. Twenty-five of them, including those related to the Samsung and SK groups, reduced their spending, and four, including Lotte's scholarship foundation, had no expenditure. This means 63 percent of the nonprofit corporations reduced or eliminated their expenses for public services, the website said. Lotte Scholarship Foundation, in particular, recorded the steepest fall in public service expenses, from 14.5 billion won to 5.2 billion won over the period. "This is because the scholarship foundation, which donated 10 billion won to an in-house welfare foundation in 2014, made no such contribution last year," said an operator of the site. "Instead, the former transferred assets worth 8 billion won to the latter, which was not included in the expenditure for public services, however." Shin Young-ja, an elder sister of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and who prosecutors suspect has been involved in the group's creation of a slush fund, is chairwoman of both foundations. SK Group's nonprofit foundation reduced its expenditure by 38.6 percent, and those of Doosan and Hyundai Motor groups cut down on their spending by 6.3 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. The Samsung Group pared its public service spending by 17.8 percent to 5.7 billion won but offset the reduction by sharply increasing its expense for nurturing technological talent to 19.4 billion won. Likewise, LG Group curtailed spending by its welfare foundation but increased the expense paid by its cultural foundation at a higher rate. "Most of these conglomerates have been bent on increasing the benefits for their owners while negligent on their social donations," said Chung Sun-seop, CEO of chaebul.com. "The government needs to come up with measures to encourage chaebol to return more to society by, for instance, expanding tax breaks for social donations." Taking a page from the playbook of Republicans like Gov. Scott Walker, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore wants to drug test people who receive support from the government. But rather than targeting welfare recipients, the Milwaukee Democrat is looking at the country's wealthiest citizens. Moore on Thursday introduced the "Top 1% Accountability Act," which would require any taxpayer claiming an itemized deduction of more than $150,000 to submit to the IRS a clear drug test, or to take the lower standard deduction. "As a strong advocate for social programs aimed at combating poverty, it deeply offends me that there is such a deep stigma surrounding those who depend on government benefits, especially as a former welfare recipient," Moore said in a statement. "It is my sincere hope that my bill will help eradicate the stigma associated with poverty and engage the American public in a substantive dialogue regarding the struggles of working- and middle-class families." According to the Congressional Budget Office, mortgage interest is the second-largest itemized deduction, coming behind state and local taxes. Seventy-three percent of that tax expenditure goes to the wealthiest 20 percent of taxpayers. Moore told The Guardian she was inspired in particular by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who recently unveiled a set of proposals to fight poverty. "When he stood in front of a drug treatment center and rolled out his anti-poverty initiative, pushing this narrative that poor people are drug addicts, that was the last straw," Moore said of the Janesville Republican. Walker's proposal to drug test for some recipients of public benefits was approved in the state budget last summer. The proposal requires applicants for state-run job training programs such as Wisconsin Works to answer a questionnaire that screens for drug abuse. Based on the results of that screening, a drug test could be required. Those who fail the test would be required to receive state-funded treatment in order to remain eligible for job training. One positive test would be allowed during treatment. Those requirements would also apply to some recipients of federal SNAP benefits who are required to participate in the FoodShare Employment Training Program and to some applicants for unemployment insurance. "As Ive said time and time again, the notion that those battling poverty are somehow more susceptible to substance abuse is as absurd as it is offensive," Moore said in a statement. "If anything, our nations opioid crisis continues to underscore how substance addiction knows no social, racial, or economic distinctions. The time has come to stop vilifying vulnerable American families for being poor and start focusing on the policies that will help create an economy that works for everyone." Walker has said his proposal is intended to help people qualify for family-supporting jobs, "moving them from government dependence to true independence." A federal waiver is required in order to test FSET participants, creating a roadblock for the governor. Following the passage of the budget, Attorney General Brad Schimel filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to declare the requirement to drug test food stamp recipients to be legal. The lawsuit is ongoing. By Jhoo Dong-chan Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is expected to face resistance from union members amid its battle to normalize management, suggesting another hurdle in its tough restructuring program. Unionized workers of HHI said Friday that they have decided to stage a walkout, claiming that the company did "not sincerely cooperate with workers in this year's wage negotiations." But experts say that the workers' intention is to oppose the shipbuilder's latest self-rescue plan which they say will result in massive layoffs. "HHI, which is said to have the strongest finances of the three biggest shipbuilders, is pushing the toughest plans," union head Baek Hyung-rok said Wednesday. "The despair of laborers in the area is turning to rage." Hundreds of unionized shipyard workers held a massive rally at the company headquarters in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Also, the union representatives said they will request labor-management dispute settlements with the National Labor Relations Commission next week. The unionists' walkout is the third of its kind in the last three years. Representatives of the union also participated in a meeting with the Hyundai Motor union Thursday, suggesting a "collective struggle" against management and the government. Such moves by unionized workers are expected to face strong opposition from the public due to the shipbuilder's embattled efforts for management normalization. "It is regrettable that the unionized workers have decided to stage a rally regardless of the company's situation. If they persist in staging a walkout, creditors may halt ongoing efforts to salvage the firm," said a market analyst. "They are one of the most highly paid worker groups in the country. Staging a massive rally when the company is struggling to stay afloat is just a selfish decision." Unionized workers of neighboring shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries recently decided to entrust this year's wage negotiations and employment rules to the company. "There won't be any workers without the company," said union head Kim Ui-wook. "We have decided to work together with management to overcome the current difficulties." HHI announced a self-rescuing plan that includes asset sales and a cut in the workforce to save 3.5 trillion won. Under the shipbuilder's self-rescue plans, temporarily approved by its creditors and led by KEB-Hana Bank, it will sell stock investments, non-core assets and cut its workforce, which will reduce its debt-to-equity ratio to below 100 percent by 2018. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) decided on a similar path, but also faces strong opposition from its unionized workers. Officials of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office carry items they confiscated after raiding the office of Nonghyup Chairman Kim Byung-won at its headquarters in downtown Seoul, Friday. The prosecution is looking for evidence of allegations that he was involved in illegal activities during the chairmanship election held in January. / Yonhap By Yoon Ja-young The prosecution has raided the Nonghyup Bank chairman's office and residence, searching for evidence of illegal election campaigning. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched Kim Byung-won's office at Nonghyup's headquarters and his home in Mapo District, Seoul, Friday morning. The prosecution confiscated documents and records related to election campaigns, Kim's personal diary and computer files. A prosecution official said the raid aimed to secure evidence of illegal election campaigning. Kim, 63, made headlines in January when his election brought about the first leadership change in eight years for the farmers' cooperative. The large financial institution has 2.35 million members, 432 trillion won in assets, 31 subsidiaries and 88,000 employees. In a six-way competition, Kim, who led a Nonghyup branch in Naju, South Jeolla Province, for three consecutive terms between 1999 and 2014, competed against candidates including Choi Deok-gyu, who led the Hapcheon Gaya Nonghyup branch in South Gyeongsang Province, and Lee Sung-hee, who headed the Naksaeng Nonghyup branch in Gyeonggi Province. As none garnered a majority vote in a preliminary round, Kim, who received the second-most votes, and Lee, who led in the preliminary round, competed in a runoff. Choi was eliminated because he was third in the first round of voting. Kim beat Lee in the runoff, to be inaugurated as 23rd chairman of Nonghyup. But it emerged that some representatives got text messages from Choi seeking their support for Kim before the runoff vote. It stirred controversy because the election procedure law for public entities such as Nonghyup bans campaigning by a third party or campaigning on the day of voting. The prosecution jailed Choi and those who worked in Choi's election camp. It plans to summon Kim next week, to find out whether he was aware that Choi sent the text messages, and whether Kim promised compensation to Choi. The leaders of the farmers' cooperative have been confronting the government regarding revision of the Nonghyup Act. The heads of Nonghyup branches have said that the revision weakens the authority of the Nonghyup chairman and its member cooperatives while giving more room for government intervention. While the Nonghyup chairman is now elected by around 290 representatives at the general meeting, the board of directors selects the chairman after the revision. The agriculture ministry plans to submit the revision to the National Assembly in August or September. Strategy and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, right, greets heads of major economic think tanks from around the country ahead of a meeting held at the Press Center in downtown Seoul, Friday. Yoo hinted that the government is considering setting a supplementary budget to sustain the economy. / Yonhap By Yoon Ja-young Strategy and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho hinted Friday that the government is considering setting a supplementary budget to prop up the economy amid concern that it will further deteriorate following corporate restructuring. At a meeting with the heads of major research institutes, Yoo said the government will seek measures to enhance vitality in the economy, including aggressive fiscal measures. "Amid a delay in the global economic recovery, uncertainties are growing in the global financial market due to a possible United States' key rate hike, financial uncertainties in China and the possibility of Brexit. Downward risks to the economy and employment may increase following corporate restructuring," he said. This follows his remark the previous day when he said the government is considering "a policy mix including supplementary budget." It contrasts with a week ago when he was negative about supplementary budget. The government has been facing pressure for a supplementary budget that analysts say is needed to prop up the economy. While the government is still targeting 3.1 percent economic growth this year, most think tanks estimate that growth will fall to the mid 2 percent range. Economic conditions are feared to deteriorate with corporate restructuring of ailing shipbuilders and shipping companies. The minor opposition People's Party has been most supportive of the supplementary budget, telling the government "not to lose the golden time" to cope with the impact of corporate restructuring. The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea says that a supplementary budget should not lead to the issuance of government bonds, while the governing Saenuri Party is rather lukewarm about the idea. The Bank of Korea also has been stressing that it is the government's turn to prop up the economy through fiscal policy, as it has done its role by cutting its key rate. The central bank slashed the key rate to historically low 1.25 percent, June 9. However, the government has been hesitant for several reasons. First of all, it is doubtful whether the economy meets the conditions for a supplementary budget. The relevant law states that such a budget can only be set in the case of war, natural disasters, an economic recession, massive unemployment, changes in relations with North Korea or other major changes in economic conditions. While the sinking of Sewolho Ferry in 2014 or the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) led to a supplementary budget, the government isn't sure whether it is right to set a supplementary budget in advance to buffer against effects of corporate restructuring. It also fears that it will face criticism at the National Assembly that the administration is responsible for poor management of the economy. Economists estimate a super-sized supplementary budget, amounting to between 20 and 30 trillion won, many be needed to attain the 3.1 percent economic growth target, but it will lead to surging government debt. Hence, market watchers estimate that the government may lower its economic growth target in economic policy directives to be announced around the end of this month. "The latter half of this year will be a watershed for the economy. Rapid corporate and industrial restructuring as well as economic renovation will provide an opportunity for the economy to make another leap forward," Yoo said. By Kim Jae-won The sale of Woori Bank will resume as early as August as the government pushes to unload its controlling stake by the end of the year, sources said Friday. Yoon Chang-hyun, head of the financial regulator's state funds management committee, said earlier this week he is considering announcing the sale of Woori in August or September. The Financial Services Commission owns 51 percent of the bank through the state-run Korea Development Insurance Corp. Market watchers wonder whether the sale will be successful this time because it has failed four times due to lack of investor interest and low stock price. Analysts said conditions are now much better and Woori's shares have risen in the past few months thanks to an improved performance. The lender posted a 443.3 billion won net profit in the first quarter, up from 219 billion won in the previous three months, well exceeding market expectations. Its net interest margin, a key indicator of a bank's profitability, rose to 1.44 percent from 1.4 percent during the period, while Woori's ratio of non-performing loans dropped to 1.38 percent from 1.47 percent. As the bank becomes more profitable, foreign investors are rushing to buy shares, expecting them to rise further. As of Friday, foreign investors own a quarter of the bank's stock, up from 20 percent a few months ago. "Woori Bank was ranked second in the net buying ratio by foreign investors. Monday, only behind Hyundai Home Shopping," said Kim Kyung-hoon, an analyst at IBK Securities. "Foreign investors bought shares worth 6.5 billion won that day, raising the net buying ratio to 65.3 percent." But obstacles remain on the bank's way to privatization, including the Brexit vote. Foreign investors may pull their money out of local markets should Britain decide to leave the European Union, which may increase volatility in global financial markets. How many investors are willing to buy the lender is another issue, because the government is sticking to its multiple-bidder principle in selling the stake. In the last bidding in 2014, Anbang Insurance Group of China wanted to buy Woori, but the government declined to negotiate with the insurer because it was the only bidder. Kim In, a senior analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said he is pessimistic about a sale of Woori. "I cannot see any change in the sales plan this time compared to the previous ones," Kim said. "Few investors have shown interest in Woori, except some from China." Meanwhile, Samsung Securities, lead manager of the sales process, is looking for potential investors from sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and institutional investors in Japan. The Institute of Korean Christianity History (KICH) reveals a manuscript of the Bible, believed to be the oldest copy translated by Korean, on June 16, 2016. / Courtesy of the Institute of Korean Christianity History. By Kim Da-hee A manuscript of the Bible, believed to be the oldest copy translated by Korean, has been discovered, the Institute of Korean Christianity History (KICH) said Thursday. It is believed to have been written between June and September 1885. Park Yong-kyo, chief of the KICH, said the manuscript was found at Rutgers University in New Jersey and was believed to be handwritten by Seo Gwang-beom, a representative of the Gaehwapa, a group of people who pursued national civilization in the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It has been said that Scottish missionary the Rev. John Ross translated the Bible into Korean for the first time in 1882 and that Lee Su-jung was the first Korean to translate it with his version of the Gospels of Mark in February 1885. But Lee's original document has not been passed down to his descendants. "It is presumed that the newly discovered manuscript was written in September 1885 when Seo stayed in the U.S.," Park said. "Compared with Lee's version, Seo's version seems to have more Buddhist influence." According to Park, the translated manuscript of John 3:16 was sent to the university after William Elliot Griffis, who published several Korea-related books, including "A Modern Pioneer in Korea" and "Korean Fairy Tales," preserved it. "The manuscript is important evidence to understand the relation between the Gaehwapa and Christianity," Park said. "Until now, it had been widely accepted that the group had a positive view of Christianity because it believed the religion helps enlightenment in Korea. However, the document shows Seo turned to Christianity." Seo sought asylum in the U.S in 1885 after the Gapsin revolt, in which he played an important role in the bid to topple the old-fashioned ruling system, failed in 1884. He settled in the U.S. with the help of the first missionary in Korea, Horace G. Underwood. By Choi Sung-jin The Defense Ministry denied a rumor Friday that a suicide bomber has killed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A foreign Internet site spread the rumor. "As far as we know, that is not true," a ministry spokesman said during a press briefing. "The intelligence authorities believe the rumor has low credibility." Asked whether Kim is alive, the official said: "We presume so." A Unification Ministry official also said, "You can judge it by comments about the reliability of the Internet media company (the East Asia Tribune)," presuming it has produced a "fake news item" related to the North Korean leader. By Jung Min-ho In the wake of a recent accident that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old subcontract worker at Guui Station run by Seoul Metro, the government will push ahead with a law revision to better protect subcontracters' safety. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Friday that it will propose a revision to the Industrial Safety and Health Act by the end of the month. If passed, prime contractors will bear greater responsibility for failing to protect subcontracted workers from accidents. The bill was first proposed earlier this year, but was discarded with the close of the 19th National Assembly in May. According to the bill, prime contractors should take measures to prevent accidents in all areas where subcontract workers do their jobs. Currently, only 20 "risky areas" such as construction sites are subject to the law. If violated, the prime contractors could face up to five years in prison or be fined up to 50 million won ($43,000). If someone is killed on the job, the penalty is a sentence of up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won. Currently, violators get a maximum one-year prison term or a 10 million won fine. The revised bill will also require prime contractors to obtain government permission to renew its contracts with subcontractors every three years. The ministry believes this will force prime contractors to pay more attention to safety risks at work sites. Moreover, owners of prime contractors could face up to one year in prison or a fine of 10 million won for any attempt to cover up an industrial accident. Often, this has been an issue as they are known to pressure subcontractors to cover up accidents. The ministry's move came after a series of accidents that highlighted the poor work environment of subcontract workers. The 19-year-old employee of Eunsung PSD, a subcontractor performing screen door maintenance for Seoul Metro, was killed after being hit by a train while repairing one of the screen doors at the station. Later, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said he will make the city's subway operators directly manage safety. On June 1, four workers were killed in a gas explosion at a subway construction site in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. The victims worked for the subcontractor Maeil ENC constructing a subway line for POSCO Engineering & Construction. Pressured to cut costs, major companies have outsourced their work and responsibilities to subcontractors to enable them to get the job done for less money. Meanwhile, among workers killed in industrial accidents, the rate of subcontract workers increased to more than 40 percent last year from 37.7 percent in 2012. By Jung Min-ho A district court has rejected a prosecution request to issue an arrest warrant for John Lee, the former head of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, Friday. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the request, saying that it does not see the necessity of the warrant after having reviewed evidence collected so far. The court's decision is expected to slow down the prosecution's investigation over the British firm's toxic humidifier sterilizer, blamed for the deaths of at least 70 Koreans. It is unclear whether the prosecution will continue to seek the warrant after collecting more evidence. Prosecutors believe Lee, who headed Oxy from June 2005 to May 2010, knew the risks of its products and deliberately ignored them. During his tenure, the sales of sterilizer products hit record highs. Lee, who is now head of Google Korea, was summoned twice for questioning, but denied allegations that he was aware of the product's health risks. Prosecutors worry that the court's decision will also make it harder to summon Gaurav Jain, another former Oxy CEO who is currently residing in Singapore. He has refused to cooperate with the investigation. The humidifier disinfectant scandal, the nation's worst consumer scandal in recent history, came to light after four pregnant women died of lung problems from unknown causes in 2011. The government has so far confirmed 221 people as victims, though some claim the actual number is higher. The government believes Oxy products are responsible for 177 of the cases, including the 70 deaths. By Kim Da-hee A group of drunken Chinese men assaulted two ethnic Koreans from China with beer bottles for eating Korean food, police said Friday. The attackers fled before police arrived. The victims had minor injuries. Police are tracking down the attackers using CCTV footages. Police said the incident happened about 9 p.m. at a restaurant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, where two Korean-Chinese were eating Korean BBQ. Then, four Chinese men assaulted them with beer bottles. Polices said the alleged reason for the assault was odd: having Korean BBQ. "After asking us why Chinese people are eating Korean food, the drunken Chinese men hit us," a victim, 31, told police. "They then ran away." Park Yu-chun, the scandal-ridden member of popular K-pop boy band JYJ, is facing another investigation as a third woman filed a complaint Friday, saying he sexually assaulted her in 2014, police said. The complainant, whose identity was withheld, filed the case with the Gangnam Police Station, claiming Park raped her in the bathroom of his house in June 2014. She claimed the incident took place after she, along with Park and other companions, moved to Park's house from a local bar in southern Seoul where they had been drinking, according to police. The two did not know each other previously. Just Thursday, another woman filed a similar complaint against Park, saying she was raped by him in the bathroom of a bar in December 2015. The two cases came only a few days after a woman in her 20s first filed a police report last week, saying she was sexually assaulted by Park earlier this month in a bathroom located within a barroom where she works. Activists post messages on a contaminated water collector from the Yongsan military base near Noksapyeong Station in Seoul, Thursday, urging the U.S. military to clean up any waste. The Seoul Metropolitan Government collects the water twice a week from the collector. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong The Seoul Administrative Court ruled Thursday that the Ministry of Environment (MOE) should disclose the results of pollution studies conducted last year on the U.S. military base in Yongsan, Seoul. In May last year, a team of experts from the ministry tested soil and groundwater at the base, and in August NGOs, including Green Korea United and Lawyers for a Democratic Society, filed a complaint with the court after the ministry refused to release the findings. The ruling came amid the Yongsan base's relocation to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2017. The MOE is expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The ministry's refusal to share the information with the public has in its favor the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), an accord between Korea and the U.S. that bans sharing information about ongoing matters with the public. The ministry also argued that the release of information could jeopardize Korea's diplomatic ties with the United States. The civic groups objected to the government's argument. Green Korea United argued that the people's right to know should prevail, especially when the extent of contamination is considerable. On Thursday, activists gathered near Noksapyeong Station, accusing the government of acting against the interests of citizens. It also urged the U.S. military to clean up the base. According to SOFA, the U.S. military is responsible for any environmental pollution occurring within the military base. What happens outside the base is Korea's responsibility. Many reports have shown that groundwater and soil near the Yongsan base are heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals, suspected of coming from the base. According to Seoul Metropolitan Government which has been cleaning up the contaminated soil since 2001, the average concentration of benzene in groundwater near Noksapyeong Station was 9.707 mg/L in 2015. The figure is 647 times more than the environmental standard of 0.015 mg/L. Near Camp Kim close to Noksapyeong, the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons was 8,633 times the government standard at 1.5 mg/L. The U.S. military never officially recognized its role in the contamination, which some believe is because of the high cleanup costs. The city government has spent 5.6 billion won on cleanups near the base since 2001. Negotiations to determine who will pay for the cleanup on the Yongsan base haven't yet begun. Last year's study was to establish the facts before the negotiations start. "It would be more difficult to get them to clean up the contamination after they move out," Shin Soo-yeon from Green Korea United said. She pointed to instances of other installations that have been returned to Korea, which had to be cleaned up using taxpayers' money. Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, said Friday it will join forces with Europe's Airbus Helicopters to develop its Surion chopper to carry out maritime operations. A senior official at Airbus Helicopters told reporters in Paris that the two companies plan to co-develop a naval version of the Surion (KUH-1), saying there would be demand for about 250 such choppers over the next 10 years, according to pool reports. KAI and Airbus are among an estimated 1,600 defense-related suppliers attending the biennial Eurosatory defense expo, which kicked off in Paris on Monday for a five-day run. A naval helicopter, whose global market is estimated to reach some 70 trillion won ($60 billion), is designed to detect and attack surface ships or submarines. The Surion chopper was produced as part of a 1.3 trillion won military procurement project designed to create the country's first locally built helicopter. Since its first flight test in 2010, the helicopter has been adapted for both military and non-military missions. KAI and Airbus Helicopters (AH) have maintained a strategic partnership over the last 10 years as the European firm has joined KAI's projects such as the development of light civil helicopters (LCHs). (Yonhap) The U.N. office on North Korea's human rights is intensifying its investigation into Pyongyang's dismal rights record ahead of the first anniversary of its establishment, government officials said Friday. The United Nations opened its field office on June 23 last year in Seoul in a bid to monitor North Korea's human rights violations, recommended by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI)'s landmark report on the North's rights record. Signe Poulsen, representative of the office, and her colleagues, have been conducting interviews with North Korean defectors at a resettlement center since February. The Seoul office is conducting written interviews with defectors at Hanawon, a facility where defectors receive a three-month resettlement education after coming to South Korea, according to Seoul's unification ministry. If required, the office is carrying out in-depth face-to-face interviews to further glean evidence of North Korea's widespread violations of human rights. North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world. Pyongyang has bristled at such criticism, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime. The communist regime does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps tight control over outside information. The COI report accused North Korea of committing "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights." In December, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution for the second consecutive year that calls for referring the North to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations. In March, the U.N. Human Rights Council set up a group of independent experts which will seek ways to punish North Korean human rights violators. "The establishment of the group is aimed at finding ways to bring North Korean rights perpetrators to the ICC," said a ministry official. A new law aimed at improving the North's dismal treatment of its people was passed in March after years of being held up in parliament due to political wrangling between conservatives and liberals. In accordance with the law, Seoul is seeking to establish a center tasked with investigating the North's human rights violations and creating a relevant archive. (Yonhap) South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) on Friday resumed their joint operations to eject Chinese fishing boats that are operating illegally in neutral waters between the two Koreas, military officials said. The military police team started its operation in the waters of the Han River's estuary and the Yellow Sea to drive away Chinese fishing vessels which are trespassing in the tense, closely monitored no man's land. "Earlier in the day, the joint team resumed the crackdown as two Chinese fishing vessels sailed into the waters around the mouth of the Han River," said a military official. "One boat retreated from the area while another vessel fled northwards." A week ago, South Korea and the UNC conducted their first joint crackdown on Chinese fishing boats illegally operating in the area. The region is a rich fishing ground that has been left largely untouched since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Friday's crackdown came three days after South Korea's military seized two such Chinese vessels. A growing number of Chinese fishing boats have trespassed into the military buffer zone as the peak season for blue crabs has arrived. Chinese fishing boats often cross into South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea during peak crab season in search of bigger hauls, regularly leading to crackdowns by the South Korean Coast Guard. Chinese fishermen are presumed to have bought the right to operate in the waters on the North Korean side of the border, but they often intrude into the South Korean side. (Yonhap) North Korea has called on the nation to secure self-sufficiency in food as the international community moves to impose stiffer sanctions on the country for its nuclear provocations, the country's main newspaper reported Friday. Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), said food self-sufficiency is "like a hydrogen bomb that can intimidate enemies trying to suffocate North Korea through various sanctions and threats." The daily urged the people to make their utmost efforts to solving food problems by all means possible. In recent articles, the newspaper claimed farmers, agricultural workers and volunteers are all banding together to increase crop yields, which can solve the country's food shortage problem. "Our farmers suffered the most in the past under the extreme sanctions and oppression of the enemies," the paper stressed, adding that Pyongyang has now made all preparations to divert past misfortunes into new blessings. It said that the country's agriculture today has changed a lot vis-a-vis the past. The daily then said the country's agriculture this year will depend on the success of the new five year economic plan as outlined by the seventh congress of the WPK held in early May. The North has placed top priority on solving the food issue and improving the lives of ordinary people. It also said the country has actively introduced scientific farming methods and is speeding up the comprehensive mechanization of agriculture to double the grain production by 2030. In another recent editorial, the Rodong Sinmun, also said, "We will devote all our wisdom and energy to solving the food problem under the guidance of the ruling party and finish the rice production as required by the Juche (self-reliant) method of farming and attain the goals of grain production for this year under any circumstances." Grain output numbers have gained more urgency as the country has been slapped with the toughest sanctions yet by the U.N. for its fourth nuclear test earlier this year. Pyongyang's provocations have, moreover, hurt the inflow of food aid from abroad which can pose serious challenges for the country down the road. (Yonhap) Seoul must be more open to having talks with North Korea, said Russia's envoy to South Korea on Friday, adding that imposing excessive pressure on Pyongyang will not help improve the inter-Korean relationship. During his meeting with officials from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Amb. Alexander Timonin said South Korea should seek political and diplomatic solutions to resolving the nuclear issue. The tension between the two Koreas has been rising this year after Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January and the firing of a long-range missile the following month. Seoul shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name in February in response to the test. While North Korea has recently called for military talks to diffuse tensions, South Korea declined to respond to the request, adding Pyongyang must make formally commit itself to denuclearization first. The reclusive country's leader Kim Jong-un recently claimed the North is a "responsible nuclear power," making it clear that he has no intentions of giving up his weapons. North Korea is one of the most dangerous states for the religious, says an international human rights organization. /Courtesy of Yonhap By Lee Jin-a North Korea is one of the most dangerous countries for religious people, according to an international human rights organization. Radio Free Asia (RFA) said Human Rights Without Frontiers International (HRWF) designated the communist state among 20 countries that suppress religious activities and persecute followers, along with Iran and China. "We found at least four foreign religious people were jailed last year for their religious beliefs," HRWF said in a report. The organization said the North Korean government does not allow any religions, but only the "juche" (self-reliance) ideology for its citizens. The country's late founder, Kim Il-sung, developed juche as the official political ideology. "Christians in underground churches are regularly arrested by the police," HRWF director Willy Fautre told RFA. "It is just the tip of an iceberg that foreign religious people were jailed." By Chang Se-moon My answer is yes. I will explain why, what happens then, and what South Korea should do now. A July 9, 2015 article by Chris Pleasance, published in DailyMail.com of United Kingdom, states that Kim Jong-un had ordered the executions of 70 officials since taking power in 2011. There is no doubt that the number is higher by now. Some of high profile executions include Jang Song-thaek who was once the second most powerful man in North Korea and was married to Kim's sister, and Army chief Ri Yong-Ho who was executed in 2012, but not before a firefight with North Korean soldiers dozens of whom were killed. In July 2015, Ma Won-chun, the designer behind North Korea's new airport terminal in Pyongyang, was reported to have been brutally executed, allegedly because Kim was not pleased with the design for the new building, U Dong-chuk who was first deputy director of the State Security Department, Kim Yong-chun who was first deputy defense minister, and Armed Forces Minister Kim Jong-gak reportedly are all missing or banished. Among the most brutal execution was that of Hyon Yong-chol, former Military Minister, who was shot to death using an anti-aircraft gun allegedly after falling asleep during a meeting. Stories on high profile executions keep surfacing with no end in sight. Dentist proposes 'mud spoon' paradox, debunks Cold War in East Asia Dentist Park Se-dang / Park Se-dang photo Showing his own drawing of a colorful phoenix based on a map of East Asia, Park Se-dang explains that Korea is the bird's head, while west China and Japan are the two wings and northeast China is the body. By Kang Hyun-kyung Dentist and geopolitical observer Park Se-dang, 55, said some trend-based theories may be invalid owing to their faulty generalizations or flawed assumptions. He cited the so-called "spoon theory," a theory about success based on inherited wealth, and the foreign policy debate about the neo-Cold War on the Korean Peninsula after the rise of China as two outstanding examples of problematic trends, or those with erroneous assumptions. "Contrary to the popular inherited wealth theory, real cases show that many people who were born with silver spoons in their mouths do not live fancy lives as many people think they do," he said. Park, the author of eight books about history, culture and the arts, debunked the popular spoon theory, which categorizes people according to the amount of inherited wealth they have, with the diamond spoon as the highest stratum. He cited "Seven Princes," a term coined in the 1970s to refer to seven spoiled children of the founders of the 30 largest businesses in the country at the time, as an example of faulty generalization. "All of them were born with silver spoons in their mouths, but as you see, most of them have lived miserably. Some had illnesses, some met tragic ends and some went to jail," he said. The Seven Princes made the headlines in 1977 after Park Dong-myeong, then president of Taekwang Group, was jailed for violating the foreign currency law. His and the six other "princes"' scandalous lifestyles, which included sordid extramarital affairs with top actresses, were exposed during the investigation of Park's violations. The full names of the six other princes have not been made public, albeit some media outlets have identified them by their initials. According to Park Se-dang, the successful business scions, such as Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, are either products of strict parenting or survivors of tough sibling rivalry. "Hyundai and Samsung families are well-known for their strict parenting," he said. "Samsung Chairman Lee was groomed by his father, the late founder Lee Byung-chul, to succeed the business after he survived the tough competition with his brothers. He was able to build a stronger global business empire, the influence of which goes far beyond that of the original empire built by his father, thanks to his father's tough leadership training." Park said inherited wealth itself doesn't guarantee success and thus, the assumption of the spoon theory is not valid. This inherited wealth theory reflects young people's frustrations during an economic recession. According to the theory, those born into the lowest stratum, the mud spoon stratum, that is, those born into poor families, find it much harder to succeed in their careers than those born into the diamond or gold spoon stratum because of the structural barriers they face. Park instead proposes the "mud spoon paradox." According to him, those born into poor families or who face numerous hardships in their childhoods or early adolescent years are blessed because the challenges will teach them valuable lessons and skills, and they will emerge from those trying times wiser and more mature than those from superrich families. "I think being born into superrich families is a curse rather than a blessing because people who are given many things without exerting effort tend to be spoiled," he said. The 55-year-old multitalented Park is also an art collector, author, IT entrepreneur and inventor. He oversees his start-up, which develops IT devices to help people learn foreign languages. As an inventor, he has acquired over 40 patents since the 1980s. Park, who also considers himself a culture critic, said he is enthusiastic about discovering cultural, political and economic trends, based on which he can develop suggestions to help the public understand current events and make forecasts for the future. A self-taught historian and a keen foreign policy watcher, he cited the popular debate about the impact of a rising China on the Korean Peninsula as another example of a flawed assumption. Some foreign policy watchers characterized Korea as being sandwiched between the United States and China two world powers with conflicting interests concerning the Korean Peninsula. For example, their clashing views on the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in South Korea puts pressure on the country from both sides. Some European historians claim that East Asia has become unstable since the start of China's rise and that now, the region's geopolitical landscape is similar to that of Europe before World War I following the emergence of Germany. Back then, Germany was similar to what China is today in terms of influence and foreign policy. And just as the misguided German foreign policy led to the outbreak of the war in 1914, a diplomatic miscalculation by China could lead to catastrophic results in East Asia at a time of escalating tensions amid China's growing geopolitical influence in the region. Phoenix theory' Park disagrees with this view, however. "A peaceful East Asia is neither unrealistic nor unfeasible," he said. "Once the two Koreas are unified, they, together, can mediate between the continental and maritime powers to influence the region to be peaceful." According to Park's "phoenix theory," East Asia, from a bird's eye view, looks like the mythological bird, which is an icon of mercy, peace and grace. Showing his own drawing of a colorful phoenix based on a map of East Asia, he explains that Korea is the bird's head, while west China and Japan are the wings and northeast China is the body. His book, "The Phoenix Opens Its Eyes," was selected by the Ministry of Culture ,Sports and Tourism as one of the best children's books of the year in 2014. "The phoenix opening its eyes means that Korea will awaken and find its role as a peacemaker," he said. The public, which is not familiar with the phoenix theory, may question its validity as an explanation for the evolving East Asian geopolitical landscape since the rise of China. And their skepticism is not necessarily unfounded. For one, Korea has limited influence in the region. It has a lower standing in the global economy than the other East Asian powers China and Japan. So the skeptics ask: How can the smallest country in the region play the central role? Park said history has the answer. "Korea had been a strong country until the mid-Joseon era, and many Koreans from that time were multilingual, speaking Chinese, Japanese and other foreign languages," he said. According to him, historical trends show that the entire region was peaceful when "the southerners" with humble backgrounds gained power, referring to the Silla Dynasty, which was located in the southeastern part of the peninsula and was smaller than its rivals, Goguryeo and Baekje. Despite being the smallest, it was Silla that unified the peninsula. He said there are several other historical examples showing that East Asia was peaceful when Korea had a strong presence in the region. Japanese chemical company Kuraray held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to build a production facility for polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film at a plant of its South Korean unit in the southeastern city of Ulsan. PVB is a glass interlayer used in creating safety glass in the automotive and architectural industries. The company plans to complete the construction of the PVB production facility by the end of next year with an investment of $50 million. Kuraray's expansion of the local plant is part of its efforts to make the Ulsan plant a production hub for its entry into the Asian market. The chemical leader set up Kuraray Korea in February 2014 before acquiring the PVB film business of DuPont's South Korean unit. (Yonhap) 'I was hungry and you fed me': The legacy of Norman Borlaug 17 June, 2016 by Vijay Jayaraj , | INDIA (Christian Examiner) In the last two weeks, I have asked more than 500 people from different walks of life in India if they knew who Norman Borlaug was. Tragically, no one did. Yet many of them owe him their lives. Norman Borlaug was responsible for saving a billion lives with his advances in agricultural science, such as increasing crop yields in wheat over 700 percent, and his willingness to freely spread that information around the world. But he didn't stop there. He advised governments on economic policies to ensure not only that the food could be grown, but also that it would be available to the population. Borlaug had humble beginnings in the prairies of Iowa. Then and as a university student in Minnesota, he witnessed the sorrows of poverty. These experiences and his Christian faith greatly shaped his heart for the poor, and he wanted to help. Giving up a stable job at DuPont in 1944, Borlaug headed to the fields of Mexico, where he began developing high-yield, disease-resistant, highly efficient varieties of wheatthe world's largest cereal crop. By 1963, these accounted for 95 percent of wheat production in Mexico. The production was so high that Mexico began to export it. In the early 1960s, India faced famine. The wheat cytogeneticist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, M.S. Swaminathan (whom Time magazine called one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century), was aware of the developments in Mexico and wanted India to take advantage of Borlaug's work. He invited Borlaug to India. Leon Hesser recounts in The Man Who Fed the World a story that shows what kind of man Borlaug was. Dr. Borlaug went into a meeting knowing he would have to be honest about bad government policies contributing to famine. He was so blunt with the Deputy Prime Minister of India, he feared being thrown out of the country. But that fear did not silence him. Almost miraculously, instead of throwing him out of the country, the government changed policies, and famine was averted. Borlaug's new varieties of wheat became commercially accessible in India by 1966. The impact of these high-yielding, disease-resistant seeds was staggering. Prior to 1966, India was an importer of wheat, many millions of tons of it from the U.S. Food for Peace Program, and its production was nowhere near sufficient for its growing population. In less than 5 years, India's wheat production doubled, and it became a self-sufficient wheat-producing country. India was not the only country to benefit. Pakistan's wheat yields rose from 4.6 million tons in 1965 to 8.4 million in 1970. Soon Borlaug's colleagues also developed high-yielding rice varieties that led to a rice revolution. Currently more than 60 million hectares are cultivated with seeds that Borlaug developed. China and parts of South America could not have fed their populations without Borlaug's seeds. Today, India and China produce enough wheat to feed their populations with leftovers for export. Borlaug's attempt at increasing productivity depended on the use of modern agricultural technology. His methods included appropriate use of fertilizers, improved irrigation, and various means for governments to support farmers economically, including a call for competitive market rather than fixed prices. Much to the disappointment of his critics, who opposed the use of fertilizers and genetically modified crops, Borlaug's methods gave the maximum yield in the most environmentally safe way possible. The resulting high yields meant less land needed to be cultivated, and thus less deforestation. Organic farming, with its much lower yields, would have meant clearing an unprecedented amount of forest cover to support the agricultural needs of the growing global population, and it still would not have been enough to prevent starvation for millions. Swaminathan said of him, "Norman Borlaug is the living embodiment of the human quest for a hunger free world. His life is his message." Borlaug's life was his message, yet he used his voice as well. "One of the greatest threats to mankind today," he said, "is that the world may be choked by an explosively pervading but well camouflaged bureaucracy." Today this bureaucracy has embraced a worldview that undermines the importance of human life and promotes ideologies that see man as the cancer of the world. The inherent worth of human beings, as traditionally understood by modern society, is being radically reduced to suit the Malthusian principles Borlaug opposed. But Borlaug stood up for the life of every human being, and he proved the naysayers and the proponents of forced population control wrong. Borlaug received the Padma Vibhushan Award (India's second highest civilian award) in 2006, having received the Star of Distinction from Pakistani President Ayub Khan (1968); been named an Honorary Fellow of the India Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding (1968); received the Recognition Award of the Punjab Agricultural Research Institute (1971) and the first Honorary Memberships of the Bangladesh Botanical Society and of the Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science (both 1978); and at least 48 other awards from many countries whose people benefited from his work. It was a no surprise when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He is one of only six people ever to win that, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was also a voted member of the academies of agricultural science of 11 nations, receiving 60 honorary doctorates. Borlaug died at age 95 in 2009, but his legacy lives on in the food grains India consumes today, in the highly efficient agricultural practices that he developed, and in the billion people whose lives he saved. We were hungry and you fed us. Thank you, Dr. Borlaug! Vijay Jayaraj (M.S., Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, England), Research Associate for Developing Countries for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, lives in Udumalpet, India. By Lyman McLallen Many Korean people say they reach a point in their English studies when they no longer have to translate every single English word into Korean. They begin to think in English. Koreans who are good with English and there are many say they still translate English into Korean, then translate the Korean back to English again, because they just can't ignore their Korean sensibilities even when they're thinking in English. Living in the same land, on the same ground, where all the generations of their ancestors lived, influences them so deeply that when they use English, they do it in Korean ways with Korean idioms and phrases that come straight from their Korean hearts translated into English, of course. I don't see that they can help doing this and see no reason why they should stop. This is what makes the English that the Koreans use Korean-English. I hadn't been in Korea even a week before a young man asked me if I'd had lunch. Nobody had ever asked me that back home, at least not as casually as he did, and it was unsettling, if only just a little. Yet I knew he wasn't being rude. "Have you had lunch yet?" he said, and I didn't know what to say. It was the first time anybody I'd just met ever asked me that (many Koreans since then have asked me the same thing, and still do). "Have you had lunch yet?" Soon after I got to Korea, I became friends with a man who was 30 years older than I Mr. Cho who during his working life was a high school music teacher in Masan on Korea's southern coast not far from Busan, now part of Changwon. Mr. Cho was a child at the beginning of the Japanese military occupation and a grown man by the time the Japanese left. Without the benefit of formal classes in English or even a tutor, Mr. Cho taught himself English by listening to tapes and talking with American servicemen whenever he could. Mr. Cho taught me a lot about Korea and one of his history lessons was about the greeting, "Have you had lunch yet?" By Bambang Susantono MANILA Many parts of Asia have been gripped by searing temperatures and the worst drought in decades. Millions of people face shortages of food or water, leading to the loss of lives, livelihoods, crops, and livestock. As water shortages depress productivity, reduce energy output at hydro plants, and cut food exports, economies are suffering. To find relief, we must look to the skies but not in the way one might expect. While rainfall would obviously be welcome, there is a tool for coping with extreme weather over which we actually have some control: satellites. The extreme weather confronting Asia is not expected to abate anytime soon. The current drought can be blamed partly on an unusually strong El Nino that has been warming the Pacific Ocean since mid-2015. More and stronger El Ninos are expected this century, reflecting the impact of climate change. This will aggravate Asia's already serious water problem, which is becoming particularly serious in cities, owing to rapid urbanization. The region's urban population is set to double, to 3.2 billion people, by 2050, by which time nearly three-quarters of its total population could face water stress. Controlling these forces may seem impossible. But preventing further water shortages is not. What is needed now is bold action to improve our understanding of the nature and scale of Asia's water crisis, thereby strengthening our capacity to respond to it. A lack of data about, say, riparian flows, including how much water is diverted for agriculture and human consumption, undermines efficient resource management. Likewise, the absence of detailed rainfall records, particularly in remote areas, impedes efforts to assess flood and drought risk. Accurate data are also needed to design the right irrigation systems, dams, and embankments not to mention building them where they will have the greatest impact in terms of mitigating the effects of climate change. Missing data frustrate sound policymaking in myriad ways. Though agriculture consumes about 80% of freshwater stocks in Asia, most countries cannot correctly measure how much water is used to grow a crop, and how much of that water is re-used downstream. Greater clarity about how much water enters and leaves catchments, and for what purposes, would enable smarter policies, just as savvy investors rely on good financial accounting. As some water-scarce countries, such as Australia, have already shown, such accounting helps countries to allocate water more efficiently among agriculture and energy producers and urban consumers. Here is where satellite technology comes in. Regular sweeps over cropped areas using remote sensing something like a full-body health scan can quickly gather information on rainfall, land temperature, and even groundwater levels that would otherwise take months to obtain. When combined with physical measurements on the ground, these data can help governments gain a better accounting of water resources, prepare for droughts and floods, and plan future water use. Already, the Water Accounting Plus software system developed by UNESCO-IHE, the International Water Management Institute, and the Food and Agriculture Organization uses open-access remote-sensing data to assess land use, rainfall, and temperature. The data enable the system to determine how much water is available in a river basin, how much is being used for various purposes, and how water use has changed over time. With such information, countries like Cambodia and Vietnam can confront the surge in water demand they face. To help propel them toward that goal, UNESCO-IHE, with support from the Asian Development Bank, has been working with their governments as well as the authorities in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan to create a pilot program to answer key questions about land and water use. More such initiatives are needed and quickly. One area of focus must be agriculture. In Vietnam's parched central highlands and coastal provinces, for example, there is an urgent need to harvest "more crop per drop" and improve emergency responses. If satellite technology is fully exploited, farmers could receive real-time information on their mobile phones about how much water to use and when. Moreover, the region's most productive farmers could be identified and encouraged to share their best practices with other farmers. Another key step will be to map water stocks and usage across entire countries, and to make this information available online. Rather than allowing vital data to gather dust, as has occurred in the past, we must augment it, update it, and share it widely, so that it can be put to use. Breaking the data drought will not by itself end Asia's water crisis. But it is a crucial first step to ensure that the region's destiny is not dictated by its weather. Bambang Susantono is the Asian Development Bank's Vice-President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. Korea needs a strategy to catch up with Asian rivals Asia has emerged as a center of theme park development, with Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and China rushing to build large-scale theme parks. But Korea remains behind in this area, as it has been left out of the Asian expansion of global brands like Disneyland. With the opening of the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disneyland this week, it is feared that Korea may lose Chinese tourists, who make up a large portion of visitors to Korea. Analysts expect Shanghai Disneyland to become the world's most-visited theme park, attracting up to 50 million visitors yearly, compared with 19.3 million visitors to Disney's flagship Walt Disney World in Florida in 2014. Because of the size and potential of the Chinese market, Disney CEO Bob Iger rightly called the Shanghai opening "one of the proudest and most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Co." In contrast with the huge excitement in China, the fourth Disneyland outside the U.S. is generating some concerns among Koreans about Korea's place among Asian theme parks and the country's tourism competitiveness compared to neighboring rivals. Many Koreans are wondering why such a facility has yet to open in Korea. Korea's previous efforts to bring Universal Studios and Disneyland have failed due to various regulations and lack of attention from the central government. It was recently reported that preparations have re-started to bring Universal Studios to Gyeonggi Province by 2020. Like the Chinese government, our government should make an ambitious investment in the plan and clear regulations to facilitate the massive tourism project. With the perception that theme parks are crucial for tourism growth, Beijing has extended full support for a rush toward large-scale theme parks. Aside from the Shanghai Disneyland, China is on its way to be a theme park powerhouse by also opening a Universal Studios in Beijing in 2019 and 15 "Wanda City" parks owned by Wanda Group in 2020. It is noteworthy that the Chinese government is actively promoting tourism even at a time of slowing economic growth as seen in its staunch support for a smooth opening of the Shanghai Disneyland, a cooperative venture with the state-backed Shanghai Shendi Group. It is high time for Korea to build a global-brand theme park, which will be a useful addition to the country's underdeveloped leisure infrastructure. Theme parks are a major component of tourism campaigns. They are crucial for the growth of the surrounding community by creating jobs and new infrastructure. Also, theme parks offer a great opportunity for families to spend time together. The need for a global brand theme park is also highlighted, considering the lack of competitiveness of homegrown ones like Everland, run by Samsung Group, and Lotte World that have led the local theme park industry. They have become a must-see destination among foreign tourists, but that's only because Korea does not have a wide range of tourism attractions, not because Everland offers a unique experience. Everland visitors have complained about the mundane animal-themed programs, outdated rides and a lack of basic visitor services, such as restaurants or toilet maintenance. Competition with global brands will motivate local theme parks to improve their services. If the Gyeonggi Province's renewed drive for Universal Studios goes as planned, its opening in 2020 will come on the heels of the opening of Universal Studios in Beijing. As Korea is falling behind, it will be crucial for the country's first global brand theme park to establish its own appeal. Theresa Hyun By Kim Bo-eun Novelist Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" winning the Man Booker International Prize last month has shed light on Korean literature, but a Canadian Korean-language poet and scholar says she wishes to contribute to further promoting literary works here. "Western people are not very familiar with Korean literature. I would like to make it better known," Theresa Hyun told The Korea Times in an interview in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Hyun said she will do this by continuing to study literary translation, teach related courses as well as create festivals and events to which she will invite Korean writers to in the future. "Translation is a difficult, painstaking process, but is important for Korean literature," she said. Hyun is currently teaching Korean studies at York University in Toronto and is an honorary member of the Korean Canadian Writers' Association. She is visiting Seoul for the publication of her second poetry book. Hyun first came to Korea in 1980 to teach English and French literature at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. She wrote her first poem in Korean a decade later at a seminar offered by a local publisher. "I was very nervous but all the participants were very encouraging. Writing poems became an addiction since then," Hyun recalled. Hyun composes her poems in Korean first and then translates them into English. "Peace on the Korean Peninsula" is a key theme for Hyun. The title of her latest compilation of poems is "Riding the Peace Express," which is based on the "Peace Train" exhibited at Imjingak near the border between the Koreas. The train has been preserved since the end of the Korea War (1950-53). "The train is damaged by gunfire and is rusty but it is not just a remnant of war it is a symbol for Korea to strive for something better," she said. Hyun added that as a poet she is making an effort to shift the paradigm people have of unification. "Most people approach it from a realistic perspective, but I think the mission of the poet is to go beyond that," she said. In her poems, Hyun attempts to highlight the common history and traditions that the two Koreas share, instead of focusing on the differences. One of the poems in her latest book describes the traditional ancestral rites conducted both in the North and the South, and another envisions ancestors of the Goryeo and kings of the Joseon kingdoms, while depicting a temple. These are based on her observations of the nooks and crannies of Korea. Hyun is now based in Toronto but comes to Korea every year to conduct research. Hyun also has interest in the literary works of female writers in the North. "Although many are centered on praising the government, some poems show emotions shared by not only South Korean counterparts and Canadians but also women around the world," Hyun said. She mentioned a poem by a working mother, who depicts the struggles she faces at work and at home. As such, Hyun aims to show the human side of people in North Korea, contrary to negative views of the regime generated by reports by the foreign press. By Lee Min-hyung Samsung Electronics is seeking to bolster its competitiveness in cloud computing by taking over an emerging cloud service operator, Joyent. Samsung said Thursday it acquired Joyent in its bid to seek synergy for its cloud-based services _ including Samsung Pay and its mobile security solution Knox _ in the North American market. Local reports said this is part of Samsung's strategy to diversify its revenue sources by taking advantage of Joyent's capabilities in cloud computing. "The acquisition came as Samsung needs to strengthen its own capabilities in data center management amid the growing importance of data ownership in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT)," Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at IBK Investment Securities, said in a report. "But we cannot help laughing over some market outlooks forecasting that Samsung is going to grow Joyent to challenge Amazon Web Services (AWS)." A Samsung Electronics spokesman said: "The acquisition came as our demand for cloud infrastructure is growing. At the center of the deal is our decision to forge our own ability to brace for ever-growing cloud needs. "Joyent will continue to do its own business as a separate entity, offering services not just for Samsung, but also for its own clients." Samsung is expected to strengthen its cloud services _ including Samsung Pay, S-Health and Knox _ in the American and European markets through Joyent's data centers in the United States and the Netherlands, according to the report. The analysis reflects that Samsung Group's information technology (IT) service affiliate, Samsung SDS, is short of capabilities to manage overseas data management. Samsung Electronics has so far relied hugely on AWS for its mobile business in the U.S. The report said: "Samsung can now cut expenses for using Amazon cloud-hosting services, which we believe will help the electronics company report positive performance on a mid to long-term basis." Samsung's Global Innovation Center (GIC) in San Francisco has played a central role in finalizing the deal. The GIC manages acquisitions of innovative start-ups and firms in the U.S. Samsung said Joyent would continue its own business as an affiliated organization of Samsung Electronics America (SEA). Samsung did not disclose the value of the deal. By Lee Min-hyung LG Uplus is facing punishment for hindering an investigation over its alleged offering of excessive subsidies to attract more subscribers. The controversy started earlier this month when the mobile carrier declined to respond to questions from the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), citing no prior notification given to the company. LG Uplus claimed watchdogs should give a seven-day notification in advance of an investigation. But the KCC said it applies the rule only when there is no concern over the potential destruction of evidence. "LG Uplus delayed responding to request to submit documents, citing legal terms, but we identify this as an illegal act," Park Noh-ik, the head of the division for user policy at the KCC, said in a meeting with reporters, Thursday. "We are going to focus on whether LG Uplus violated the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act," he said. Amid mounting controversy, the company retracted its earlier posture and said it would fully comply with the investigation. KCC Chairman Choi Sung-joon said the watchdog would finalize the investigation at the earliest, by saying: "We will decide whether to fine those involved in the case, as soon as officials finalize the investigation under due legal procedure." Under the law, the watchdog can fine those, who violated the subsidy cap regulation, up to 50 million won. This is not the first time a mobile carrier refused to be under investigation over providing excessive subsidies. In 2014, the KCC fined SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus 800 million won, separately, for offering illegal subsidies to attract more iPhone users. SK Telecom was fined an aggravated fine of 23.5 billion won in March, after hindering an investigation. Meanwhile, LG Uplus refused to allow KCC officials to enter its headquarters, Jun. 1. The company did not respond to the investigators the following day, but mounting controversy led the firm to comply with the KCC request. home Tech Apple iPad mini 5 release date, specs news: Tablet to boast longer battery life even with thinner frame; Fall launch expected Despite virtually no signs of it being out in the tech world soon, the Apple iPad mini 5 is still one of the most highly anticipated devices for this year. The tablet hasn't showed up at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but Apple is allegedly eyeing a September launch instead. The iPad mini 5 has no place at the WWDC reportedly because the big event is focused on Apple's software front. This makes a September launch more likely. The iPhone 7, which has also been in the rumor mills for a while, is expected to be unveiled on the same month. The iPad mini 5 will make for an exciting release with the smartphone. Previous iterations of the iPad mini were released in the fall. The first two versions came out October 2013 and 2014 respectively, a month after new iPhone s of those years were introduced. Last year, the iPad mini 4 was unveiled in September last year along with the iPhone 6. If Apple is going by the schedule this year, then an iPad mini 5 will likely be ready for show by Fall. With regards to the specs, the iPad mini 5 is rumored to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, like the iPhone 7. It is reportedly getting Lightning-type port instead. Apple is also rumored to manufacture its very own earpods that will connect with the Lightning port. That should make the new iPad mini the thinnest in its family. Despite the insane slimness of the iPad mini 5, it is also expected to still be very durable. Apple intends to do that by using a 7000-series aluminium chassis on the tablet. The software giant from Cupertino is reportedly developing a superior battery technology that will lengthen the battery life of the iPad mini 5. Its thinness will certainly require a smaller battery, but Apple is finding ways not to compensate battery life for thinness and to get the best of both worlds. The iPad mini 5 is expected to be unveiled this September. The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary Read more Im always really tuned in to what this evil albino squirrel is doing, says author Drew Nellins Smith, gesturing to a scary-looking creature on top of his backyard fence in Austin, Texas. Squeak, Smiths 14-year-old Papillon, eyes the rodent impassively. He always wreaks havoc, Smith says, more amused than annoyed. He would always knock these birds out of their nests. Hes a little anarchist. Smith talks about the squirrel with what sounds like grudging respect. The novelist, after all, has a soft spot for people (and animals) who go their own way. Advertisement Take Sam, the misfit narrator of Arcade, Smiths debut novel, released in paperback original this week by Los Angeles-based independent publisher Unnamed Press. After his heart is broken by a policeman who wasnt quite his boyfriend, Sam starts to explore the world of anonymous sex in the video booths of an adult bookstore. The novel is funny and chilling by turns, and because of its subject matter, necessarily dark. But if theres any darkness in Smith himself, its hard to find wiry, boyish and enthusiastic, he moves around with the energy of a teenager, and looks much younger than his 38 years. Its still hard to come out, however progressive this era might be. Drew Nellins Smith Talking at the home he shares with his partner, Smith recalls the genesis of the novel, inspired by an actual adult bookstore off U.S. Highway 290 on the eastern edge of town. Its an industrial-looking building with three Xs on the roof. Its out there in this weird cul-de-sac next to a strip club, he says. During a much more closeted phase of my existence, I would go out there. I wasnt much of a participant, but I was so curious about everything. For a while, I became sort of obsessed with it. Adult bookstores, like parks, rest stops and bathhouses, have long been associated with cruising, a term used for men seeking anonymous sexual encounters with other men. In Arcade, Sam who, like Smith, works as a hotel clerk cant keep himself away from the bookstore, although his interest is as much anthropological as sexual. Some of the men cruising for sex in Arcade consider themselves straight. These guys just assume its a secret that everyone has, Smith explains, about both his characters and men hes encountered in real life. Its a funny mix of things, whatever theyre doing internally, the rationalizations they must be operating with. Certainly, many of the people who go out there are married, but almost all of them are definitely living lives as straight men. It wasnt easy for Smith, who grew up in the small central Texas town of Hillsboro, to come out as gay. There was nothing there, he recalls. The closest thing is 40 minutes away; you could drive to Waco. I graduated high school in three years just to get out of there as fast as I could. He moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas, where he majored in English. But even in the states most famously liberal city, it took him a while to feel comfortable with his sexual orientation. He came out when he was in his late 20s. Its still hard to come out, however progressive this era might be, he says. I just couldnt confront being a gay person myself for a long time. I knew I could sleep with women, so I thought, Ill just make that work. I was one of those guys who knew they could pull it off. For a lot of these guys, thats just the way it is. But theres definitely an emotional toll. In Arcade, Sam goes through a similar trajectory, and Smith acknowledges that the novel was inspired by his own life story. I vacillate between saying its 40% fiction and 60% true, and 60% fiction and 40% true, he says. But the more I think about it, the less I really care what people perceive. For a while, Smith assumed the point was moot. He wrote Arcade in less than nine months, never holding out much hope that it would be published, despite his frequent bylines in publications like Tin House, the Millions and the Los Angeles Times. One major press seemed interested, Smith says, but only if he agreed to cut most of the explicit sex scenes from the novel. He did, but they passed anyway: [The publisher] finally called me and said, Its not happening. They just dont get it. Its not going to work. They think its too hardcore. But Arcade found a sympathetic reader in Olivia Taylor Smith (no relation), the executive editor of Unnamed Press. Her first suggestion: Put all the sex scenes back in. The two Smiths worked on the book when Olivia visited Drew in Austin. We read the entire book aloud during that period it was in a very late stage of its final version then, he recalls. I feel lucky that Arcade got so much attention from Olivia. I know it was more than I would have gotten from almost anyone else. Eyeing an advance review copy of the book, Smith sounds as if he still cant quite believe that it exists. He admits that it took him a while to tell his partner that his debut novel had sold. My partner didnt read it until it was out in galley, he says, referring to advance copies of books that are sent to journalists and librarians. I never even told him what it was about until just before it was finally sold. The idea of it being published just seemed so remote to me. Smith said he was initially concerned that some readers might think some of the books more shocking scenes are just thinly veiled autobiography. In the novel, Sam has a series of sexual encounters with strangers, including one with a one-eyed good ol boy in the parking lot of an adult bookstore, and one with a barely coherent tweaker strung out on speed. I borrowed so recklessly from my life, not imagining that it would be published. [But] if people think the whole thing is true, what do I care? he says. I dont know these people, and they dont know me. I guess I just learned that the best way to get rid of shame is to openly talk about the thing that youre most ashamed of, he says. Which is so hard to do the first time you do it, but it gets easier. And this is something that gay men are largely pretty good at. Im so much happier to be part of a culture of expression rather than repression, because I spent so much of my life in a culture of repression. Schaub is a writer in Austin, Texas. A premium luxury sedan born from the ashes of the Fisker Karma a Tesla rival that wowed the automotive world before collapsing into bankruptcy three years ago will soon begin rolling off a production line at Californias newest car factory. When it is up and running, the Karma Automotive factory in Moreno Valley will produce as many as 3,000 of the high-end Karma Reveros annually. The cars, again compteting with Tesla, will be four-door luxury electric sedans priced above $100,000. Karma Automotive joins Tesla on a list of locally based car and bus manufacturers, including Faraday Future, BYD and Atieva that together are making California ground zero for the electric vehicle market. Advertisement Like those companies, Karma is backed by Chinese money. The bankrupt Karmas assets were purchased in 2014 by Wanxiang Group, a Chinese auto parts giant that also owns A123, the battery company that produced power packs for the Fisker cars. Faraday, which recently announced its plan to build cars at a $1-billion facility in Nevada and another smaller factory in the San Francisco area, is owned by Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting. Atieva, a Silicon Valley-based electric car company, is controlled by the Chinese state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. BYD, which employs 160 workers at a plant in Lancaster that builds electric buses, is owned by the Chinese BYD Auto Co. On a recent weekday morning, inside a massive, anonymous warehouse just east of the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, bits and pieces of aluminum-bodied cars moved slowly along broad conveyor belts. Karma Cars In one area, welders behind heavy masks were being trained to turn rectangular sections of metal into a working chassis. Across the way, 15-foot-tall robots were using rivets to join the frame sections to body parts. Further down the production line, car bodies that had been dipped in paint tanks were baking in a super-heated drying oven. Technicians wearing hard hats and goggles watched the welders and robots, fine-tuning their efforts, making sure the practice vehicles were up to premium luxury automotive standards. When theyre done, the Reveros will look and drive a lot like their predecessor Karmas. Though the new car will have its own front and rear fascia design, it will be powered by the same engine and same A123 battery, and contain many of the Karmas interior and exterior design elements, as the car built by honored designer Henrik Fisker. That car had a combined 400-plus horsepower and 960 pound feet of torque, and a top speed of 125 miles per hour. It could travel about 50 miles on electric charge alone, and 230 miles using its combined gasoline and electric power trains. Sleek and low-slung, the Karma won Automobile Magazines Design of the Year award in 2011, and was named Luxury Car of the Year for 2011 by Top Gear Magazine. Chassis and body meet on an assembly line at the Moreno Valley Karma Automotive factory. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times ) The Karma was loved and revered, said Jim Taylor, the energetic auto veteran who, after decades with General Motors, is now Karmas chief marketing officer. They nailed the design. Youd be crazy to change it. Taylor and a Karma team scouted factories and courted governmental assistance in Tennessee, Texas, Indiana, South Carolina, Michigan and other locations before settling on Moreno Valley. In the end, Taylor said, it was location more than hand-outs than lured Karma to California. While other states offered cash and tax incentives, Southern California offered the good weather and cultural amenities that help lure the best engineers and designers. Even a low-volume car factory requires an enormous footprint. Karmas Moreno Valley facility has 32-foot ceilings and occupies 550,000 square feet. When full production begins, 100 workers will build cars here, in addition to 600 other employees at Karmas Costa Mesa design offices and as many as 150 more engineering and sales staff in an office in Troy, Mich. Building the factory, inside an existing warehouse, involved complications. A fully-functioning production line was among the assets orphaned by the Fisker bankruptcy. But the assets were still in the shuttered Fisker Scandinavian factory. See the most-read stories in Business this hour The good news is that weve got it, Taylor said he was told. The bad news is its in Finland. The Finnish production line was broken down into parts, boxed and sent by ship to the U.S., then brought by train to California, where it was reassembled inside the Moreno Valley warehouse. Also in the Fisker inventory were 120 finished Karma cars, and parts and pieces to build dozens more though these too were scattered between factory, warehouses, dealerships and parts suppliers, and were in what Taylor called varying degrees of rust and disrepair. Those bits were all shipped to California, and became the test vehicles Karma would use to train its workers and robots to make new cars. Some will become crash test vehicles. Others will be scrapped. Still others might actually become new Reveros. When they are for sale, Taylor said, the first vehicles may go to people who still own their original Karmas. There are 1,300 owners in the U.S. who are fanatics, Taylor said. They want to have the first crack, and there should be a way to do that. Designer Henrik Fisker unveils his new Karma at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times ) Taylor said that what goes around doesnt necessarily have to come around, and that Karma will not be forced to make the mistakes its predecessor car company made which he said included having to put cars into the market, in order to satisfy investor demands, when they werent ready to sell We have no pressure that this car has to be in showrooms by Thanksgiving, Taylor said. Well reveal the car this summer, and the pricing. Even at this late date, in fact, Taylor said the company has not decided whether its distribution system will be modeled on the Detroit tradition, selling cars through franchised dealerships, or go Tesla-style, selling cars direct to the consumer. Karmas solution might be a little of both, Taylor said, or might vary region to region. Stressing that the Moreno Valley factory investment underscores Karmas parent companys long-term commitment to building electric vehicles, Taylor said Wanxiangs founder and president, Lu Guanqui said to be worth $6.5 billion, and to be the 18th richest person in China is no short-term flipper. Asian companies are taking the long view, Taylor said. This is a mission in his mind, for his kids, and for their kids. Karma Automotives owners may need all the patience they can muster. Despite the rapidity with which Karma has gotten up to speed producing vehicles in a factory that was empty less than a year ago electric vehicles account for less than 3% of all U.S. auto sales, and even industry leader Tesla has still not turned a profit. The ability of a company like Tesla to generate excitement, and high stock prices, has a lot of other companies convinced theres money to be made in the EV space, said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer. Thats somewhat ironic because Tesla has never actually made money, and several other EV start-ups, including Karmas predecessor, all went bankrupt. The challenge for the Karma will be convincing people to give it another try after a fairly high-profile failure. ALSO Regulators probe reports of Tesla Model S suspension problems Elon Musk announces plan to revolutionize factories After emissions cheating scandal, Volkswagen steers toward electric vehicles A state Assembly bill that would allow motorcycle lane-splitting in California has moved closer to a vote. Californias AB 51, sponsored by Assembly member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), intends to create guidelines for safe lane-splitting, a practice the proposed legislation describes as a motorcyclist passing other vehicles by riding between them along the lane line. Lane-splitting, while not technically legal nor illegal in California, has long been treated as acceptable by law enforcement agencies. The California Highway Patrol published guidelines on the practice until last year when a disgruntled citizen complained that the CHP should not be allowed to create public policy. Advertisement Quirk stepped in with AB 51, which proposes that the CHP create safe, official guidelines for the practice. As stated by Quirks office, AB 51 defines lane splitting and makes it clear that CHP has the authority to draft educational guidelines for safe lane splitting. On Tuesday, Quirks bill was passed by the Senate Transportation Committee with unanimous support, the lawmakers office said. It will go to the Appropriations Committee, to determine its financial effect. If it passes there, Quirks office said, the bill would proceed to the Senate floor for a vote, and if approved at that level move to the Assembly for a final vote. The bill has come near to a vote once before. Last year, Quirk decided to hold AB 51 at the Transportation Committee level after multiple interest groups expressed concern about the bills details. At that time, AB 51 included specific language, based in part on the CHP guidelines, about speeds at which legal lane-splitting could take place. See the most-read stories this hour Among other things, the bill proposed that lane-splitting could occur legally only when the motorcycle was moving not more than 15 mph faster than the traffic around it, and that no lane-splitting could occur legally at speeds above 50 mph. Several motorcyclists groups objected to that language, finding the speed limit too low. Other groups and individuals, who believe lane-splitting is dangerous at any speed, objected to the bill on principle. The revised bill defines the practice as driving a motorcycle that has two wheels in contact with the ground, between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, including on both divided and undivided streets, roads, or highways. The bill would leave the determination of speeds for safe lane-splitting to the CHP. Quirks office said the current bill has the expressed support of more than a dozen key organizations, among them the American Motorcycle Assn., the Motorcycle Industry Council, and the California chapter of ABATE which defines itself as a motorcyclists rights organization dedicated to preserving individual freedom and promoting safety. ABATE is principally known for its vociferous opposition to mandatory motorcycle helmet laws. The bill also has the support of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Fraternal Order of Police of California, the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Assn., the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Assn. and the Santa Ana Police Officers Assn. While the practice of lane-splitting is common in most European countries, California is the only U.S. state where it is not expressly illegal. A bill to legalize lane-splitting in Nevada was voted down in 2013. A similar bill in Oregon was voted down in 2015. Other bills have surfaced and died in Arizona and Texas. charles.fleming@latimes.com ALSO Woman carries toddler into burning SUV, both are killed Backup cameras havent stopped drivers from backing into stuff California lawmakers unplug the states electric car program Lets put this in terms that even an attorney with peerless loophole-seeking skills would consider straightforward: the California State Bar is a mess. In recent years, the organization has been the target of withering state audits documenting misspent fees by the millions, overpaid executives, and inept management of its all-important duty of licensing lawyers and managing professional discipline. Its reputation is at a low ebb among state legislators, who last month placed on hold the organizations yearly authorization to collect annual fees because the measure didnt go far enough to achieve reform. The Bars dual role as licenser and ethics enforcer as well as trade organization pushing policy changes, critics say, leaves it hopelessly mired in a conflict of interest. Advertisement You dont delegate regulatory power to a special interest group, says Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the University of San Diegos Center for Public Interest Law and a frequent critic of the Bar. To let them be the decision-makers is obscene. The Bar should have only one purposeto rid the profession of bad apples. Dennis H. Mangers, non-attorney board member of the California Bar These issues seem to crop up every few years, but seldom with as much urgency as now. Thats because a 2015 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has put professional licensing bodies on notice that they could be guilty of antitrust violations if a majority of their members are participants in the business they regulate. The California State Bar is governed by a 19-member board of trustees, 13 of whom are lawyers. You do the math. The Court decision isnt the only driver of potential change. People can suffer irreparable harm from attorneys, says Fellmeth, a lawyer. They can be deprived of their liberty by inadequate representation in criminal court or immigration cases. But the Supreme Court ruling sharpens the argument for splitting the Bar in two into a trade association with voluntary membership, and a government body controlled by non-lawyers and responsible for professional licensing and discipline, much as medical professional standards are overseen by the Medical Board of California and political advocacy is left to the independent California Medical Association. A measure passed by the State Assembly in June 2 would place the deunification of the Bar firmly on the front burner. The bill would create a commission to reconsider the Bars governing structure and report back to the legislature by April. The bill also would restructure the Bar board as a 13-member body with at least seven non-lawyer members an effort to comply with the Supreme Courts 2015 ruling. Deunification is the only real solution to the state bars chronic dysfunction, says Dennis H. Mangers, a non-attorney Bar trustee who has submitted just such a proposal to the legislature. The Bar should have only one purpose to rid the profession of bad apples. That function often takes a back seat to the policy and social purposes that make the Bar resemble more a professional club than a regulator, according to critics. In legislative testimony last April, Fellmeth observed that the Bar sponsors 30 different programs offering professional services to its members, often at a group discount, including financial advice, insurance, consumer products and software. No other occupational licensing agency offers any of these goods and services to its licensees, he said. The Bar tends to hold itself exempt from state rules applied to other state agencies on grounds that its an arm of the State Supreme Court; critics say it still regularly violates the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, which requires at least 10 days public notice of any meetings and forbids members to discuss business with each other except in an open forum, despite a measure passed last year bringing it under Bagley-Keenes jurisdiction. Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, the former dean of McGeorge School of Law who took over as executive director of the Bar last September, T described herself as agnostic on deunification. The organization hasnt taken a formal position. But Parker argues that as officers of the court, lawyers have responsibility for the good features of our rule-of-law system. Their duties include making sure the legal system is functioning well along with educating and informing the public and the legislature on technical issues in the law. Breaking up the Bar, she says, could hamper programs to improve access to the courts for underprivileged clients, since these are funded from mandatory fee revenue that might not flow from a voluntary organization with a smaller membership. Still, she acknowledged that all these functions might be accomplished via a different set of structural arrangements than the present. In the mid-1980s, the legislature imposed an enforcement monitor for the organization. Fellmeth, who served in that role for five years, found that clients were systematically discouraged from pursuing complaints. For example, the Bar had established a toll-free hotline, but hadnt listed the number anywhere a consumer might logically look to find it. State Auditor Elaine M. Howle has been turning up the heat. In a report last year, she ripped into the disciplinary system, especially the Bars ham-handed management of a crippling backlog of nearly 5,200 cases in 2010: it reduced the backlog by two-thirds the following year mostly by settling cases hastily with light penalties. (Backlogged cases are those in which no action has been taken for six months or more.) Some had to be reexamined; of 27 settlements rejected by the State Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiter of lawyer discipline, 21 had to be renegotiated with harsher punishments, including five disbarments. About 10% of the attorneys who were allowed to continue practicing after the settlements faced new complaints subsequently, and 28 were eventually disbarred. Howle found that the Bar was squandering resources that should have been spent on hiring more enforcement staff. In 2012, the organization spent $76.6 million to buy and refurbish a Los Angeles office building to supplement its San Francisco headquarters about twice what it spent on discipline that year. Meanwhile, the case backlog was creeping back up from 1,742 in 2011 to 2,174 in 2014. Bar officials say the backlog was reduced by about 24% last year, but they warn that further reductions will require as many as 48 more lawyers and investigators, in addition to the 118 employed at the end of last year. The Bars structure as a combined trade association and enforcement body dates from 1927 and isnt unique. But their day may be passing, says Ted Schnayer, an expert on Bar governance at the University of Arizona. I want to clear up any perception of a profession being permitted to regulate itself, says Mangers, a former state legislator who will be leaving the board this summer. Most attorneys never have a blemish, but the bad ones are beyond your imagination. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. That curious silence you may have detected in the fabric of public discourse Thursday had a simple explanation: Donald Trump was off the campaign trail. Instead, he was locked behind the doors of a Washington, D.C., law firm, giving a deposition in a lawsuit. Trump filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Geoffrey Zakarian, the celebrity chef and restaurateur. Zakarian had pulled out of a deal to open a restaurant in Washingtons Old Post Office building, which Trump is renovating as a luxury hotel, shortly after Trump made bigoted remarks about Mexican immigrants. The remarks, which Zakarian maintains would make it impossible to attract the staff and clientele necessary for the restaurants success, came as part of Trumps announcement that he was running for president as it happens, one year to the day before his deposition. Only Mr. Trump made the statements that led to this lawsuit; only Mr. Trump knows why he made those statements and what he meant by them. Lawyers for restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian, regarding Trumps statements about Mexican immigrants Advertisement Its proper to take another look at those remarks, since theyre at the center of not one but two lawsuits against eateries that pulled out of the Trump project: Zakarians and another restaurant planned by Washington celebrity chef Jose Andres. Heres what Trump said on June 16, 2015: When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. The lawsuits over Trump University, an alleged scam, are getting the lions share of publicity in the category of Trumpian legal proceedings, but the Washington restaurant cases are notable because of how they directly relate to issues raised by his presidential campaign. First, insofar as the remarks about Mexicans date to the very inception of the campaign, theyve played a big role all year in defining that campaign as one based on bigotry, immigrant-bashing and nativism. Second, the lawsuits are entwined with Trumps claim to be an extraordinarily successful hands-on entrepreneur whose name is the very definition of glamour and class. Among Trumps claims in both lawsuits is that he, in fact, had nothing much to do with the hotel development, which he turned over to his son and daughter, Donald Jr. and Ivanka. Therefore, he says, nothing he has said personally could possibly be relevant to the fortunes of his business tenants. But its also true that executives in Trumps organization could see trouble brewing as soon as the utterances left their boss mouth. According to court filings, after an executive in Andres firm, ThinkFoodGroup, emailed a complaint about them to Ivanka, another Trump executive predicted in an internal communication that Trumps campaign speeches would be a continuing cross to bear: Ugh, he wrote. This is not surprising and would expect that this will not be the last we hear of it. At least for formal, prepared speeches, can someone vet going forward? Hopefully the Latino community does not organize against us more broadly in DC / across Trump properties. Within weeks of Trumps announcement, Zakarian and Andres announced they were pulling out of the Old Post Office project. Trump sued both and seized their deposits about $250,000 from ThinkFoodGroup and close to $500,000 from Zakarians company, CZ-National. Since then the war of words between them and Trump has shifted mostly to D.C. Superior Court, where both cases are being heard. See the most-read stories in Business this hour In a legal filing in February reported by the Washington Post, Andres said that Trumps comments essentially torpedoed his restaurant, which the Post described as a 212-seat, 9,000-square-foot dining room, expected to cost $7 million to trick out in travertine limestone and gold trim. Suddenly, Andres asserted in the filing, he was confronted with the task of recruiting Hispanics and Hispanophiles to work at a place closely identified with a man whose statements had made him a pariah for the great majority of the Hispanic community. Zakarian says in legal papers filed in February that Trumps remarks, made to pander to a particular political segment, were made with absolutely no regard to the effect they would have on Zakarians ability to run a restaurant in a project that bears Mr. Trumps name and that is intertwined with him and his brand. If Trump has grounds to claim damages from the restaurateurs, apparently they rest on the absence of an explicit morals clause in the leases that would hold Trump responsible for the image of the hotel project. The restaurateurs say that responsibility is implicit in the linkage between Trumps name and reputation and the success of the hotel. The most interesting aspect of the legal battle is the lengths to which Trump has gone to avoid testifying. He sought to quash Zakarians deposition demand by asserting that he had no unique, first-hand knowledge of the facts and issues in dispute that couldnt be learned from his underlings after all, his lawyers said, there is no dispute that Mr. Trump made these comments. Zakarians only goal, Trumps lawyers said, is to harass him. Zakarian responded that Trump is indisputably at the center of the case. He claimed to be personally involved in the hotel development and he personally signed the bank order seizing Zakarians deposit. Furthermore, only Mr. Trump made the statements that led to this lawsuit; only Mr. Trump knows why he made those statements and what he meant by them; and only Mr. Trump knows whether he considered their impact on Zakarians rights as a tenant. D.C. Court Judge Brian F. Holeman agreed. He ruled that Trump is a critical witness in this case, and gave short shrift to Trumps argument that as a presidential candidate, hes too busy to take time out for a deposition. After all, Holeman said, Trump is the one who brought the lawsuit in the first place. He doesnt get a pass because he may have a busy schedule as a result of seeking public office. That wont be the end of it. A second D.C. judge is poised to rule in the next two weeks over whether the Andres case can move forward. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. ALSO What it could look like if Donald Trumps broader immigration ban were implemented In aggressive speech, Donald Trump broadens his proposal to ban more foreign visitors to U.S. Donald Trump doesnt brag about his poll numbers anymore, and no wonder Trumps art of the deal with Native Americans: Racial insults or flattery, whichever was good for business UPDATES: 10:55 a.m.: This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Andres name. The U.S. Justice Department has reportedly dropped an effort to bring a civil suit against Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of loan giant Countrywide Financial that made billions of dollars in risky loans that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The department informed the former head of the Calabasas lender in a letter that it would not bring a case, according to Bloomberg News, which cited unnamed sources. A spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles declined to comment. Advertisement Federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation but shelved that inquiry in 2011 after deciding Mozilos actions did not amount to criminal wrongdoing. According to Bloomberg, the Justice Department has been investigating its civil case since 2014 but dropped its effort just weeks after an appeals court overturned a civil fraud verdict against Rebecca Mairone, a former Countrywide and Bank of America executive. Mairone had overseen a program begun at Countrywide nicknamed the hustle that encouraged underwriters to approve loans faster. She had been the only executive since the housing bust to be found liable for mortgage fraud Mozilo, a hard-driving son of a Bronx butcher, built Countrywide into the nations top mortgage originator. Though the company specialized for many years in relatively low-risk loans, it later jumped into subprime and other risky mortgages that helped fuel the housing bubble. When that bubble popped, Countrywide suffered huge losses and Mozilo became a symbol of the industrys excesses. In 2008, Bank of America acquired Countrywide. See more of our top stories on Facebook Two years later, Mozilo agreed to pay $67.5 million as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC had accused Mozilo and other former Countrywide executives of downplaying the risks of subprime and other high-risk mortgages they were writing to homeowners and selling to investors. Bank of America and insurance companies covered the majority of Mozilos payments and he did not admit wrongdoing. The civil case dropped by the Justice Department, which could have led to larger penalties, essentially ends the governments investigation of Mozilo, Bloomberg said. An attorney representing Mozilo did not respond to an email requesting comment. andrew.khouri@latimes.com Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter MORE BUSINESS NEWS California adds jobs, unemployment falls to 5.2% Backup cameras havent stopped drivers from backing into stuff Apple iPhones violated Chinese firms patents, Beijing bureau rules Canadian developer Onni Group has entered into a preliminary agreement to buy the landmark Los Angeles Times building near City Hall with an eye toward redeveloping the property into modern offices and retail, according to a person familiar with the deal. The acquisition of Times Mirror Square would be a significant gain for the Vancouver company, which has been on an acquisition spree in downtown Los Angeles, where it owns at least eight properties including offices, apartments and an extended-stay hotel. Advertisement Tribune Media announced the sales agreement in a news release last month but did not disclose the buyer or the price. A downtown real estate expert valued the roughly 750,000-square-foot complex at more than $100 million. The deal with Onni could still fall apart. A previous agreement to sell the property collapsed earlier this year, Tribune Media said. However, Onni has progressed further in the sales process than the previous potential buyer, which was another investment group, the person said. A spokesperson for Tribune Media, which owns the Los Angeles Times building at 202 W. 1st St., declined to comment. Dan Bell of Onnis acquisitions group also declined to comment, as did Stephen Somer of Eastdil Secured, who is representing Tribune Media. The entrance on W. 1st St. (Jerome Adamstein / Los Angeles Times ) Onni has been increasingly active in downtown Los Angeles. Its working on a high-rise residential tower near the corner of 8th and Hill streets. And last year it opened Level DTLA, a 33-story extended-stay building with fully furnished apartments at 888 S. Olive St. a project valued at $200 million. Onni also owns a Beaux Arts loft building on 8th Street, a 1926 office tower on 9th Street and three more modern office buildings in the area. This spring, the company acquired the Western Pacific Building near the corner of 11th Street and Broadway an area awash in development. They are really big believers in the future of downtown, said Justin Weiss, a senior associate with real estate brokerage Kennedy Wilson, who has not represented the company in a deal. Onni was named for founder Inno De Cotiis, whose first name spelled backward is Onni. The family-owned company started developing in Canada and now has offices in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago and Mexico. It has built more than 6,000 residences in North America over the last decade and owns and manages 6.5 million square feet of commercial space and more than 4,600 apartments, according to its website. The person familiar with the Los Angeles Times deal said Onni is interested in redeveloping the property at 202 W. 1st St. into a collection of modern offices, retail and possibly some residential units. The historic Globe Lobby (Jerome Adamstein / Los Angeles Times ) In addition to The Times, the building is also routinely used for television and movie filming and is rented out to other tenants. Although the Los Angeles Times building is located in an increasingly popular city center, the layout of the property presents complexities for any revamp. It is a mix of five interconnected structures built between the 1930s and the 1970s. The buildings stretch an entire city block, bounded by Broadway and Spring, 1st and 2nd streets The biggest single challenge to the building is the depth, said Hal Bastian, a downtown L.A. development consultant. Deep in the bowels there are spaces that have no natural light whatsoever. How do you make that a pleasant work environment? The Los Angeles Times newsroom (Jerome Adamstein / Los Angeles Times ) Still, a redevelopment is possible and could bring needed vitality and retail options to the Civic Center, Bastian said. After a sale, its unclear if the Los Angeles Times would stay in the building it has called home since the 1930s. The newspaper has a lease until 2018, with two consecutive five-year options beyond that, said a person familiar with the terms. In 2014, Tribune Co. spun off the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other newspapers into a separate company, Tribune Publishing. Tribune Co., which was renamed Tribune Media, retained the Los Angeles Times building and other real estate. Tribune Media is also looking to sell the L.A. Times downtown printing facility off Olympic Boulevard. A buyer has agreed to purchase that property as well, according to Tribunes news release. andrew.khouri@latimes.com Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter Wanita Holmes could win $21,000 for solving a simple math puzzle. She also could join a club that, in return for her sending $20 to three people, will result in her receiving hundreds or even thousands of $20 gifts in the coming months and years. Or the Hancock Park resident could claim $5 million awaiting her from the Rich Secret and Occult Bank, as revealed by mystical signs at Mt. Rushmore, Niagara Falls and the U.S. Treasury Department. Advertisement Holmes, 87, has a ready answer to all this: They must think Im a damn fool. Or maybe the people behind these rackets think Holmes, because of her age, represents an easy mark for get-rich-quick schemes that run the gamut from highly deceptive to utterly laughable. Wednesday was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, aimed at educating the public about various ways seniors can be taken advantage of. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week declared June 2016 Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month. Its not that older adults are stupid. So the question is, what is it about the aging brain that makes them more vulnerable to being scammed? Dr. Laura Mosqueda Financial scams figure prominently among pitfalls to watch for. Seniors lose more than $36 billion a year to financial abuse, according to a survey by True Link Financial, a San Francisco firm that focuses on protecting the elderly from fraud. Nearly $13 billion of that amount is lost to scams. Its not that older adults are stupid, said Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor of geriatrics and family medicine at USC and director of the National Center on Elder Abuse. So the question is, what is it about the aging brain that makes them more vulnerable to being scammed? New research at USCs Keck School of Medicine suggests theres a physiological reason that seniors fall victim to financial scams. Mosqueda said complex financial decisions require connections between different parts of the brain, and those connections break down as we get older. Science is just figuring this out, she said. Scammers have known about it for a long time. The so-called grandparent scam is a good example. A call is received from someone purporting to be the victims grandchild, or perhaps a police officer, and the victim is informed if he or she doesnt wire some bail money pronto, grandkid will stay behind bars. Another widespread scam of late has been a call from someone claiming to be with the Justice Department or Internal Revenue Service demanding unpaid tax money. Then theres all the stuff that arrives in the mail. Holmes shared with me the various pitches shes received over the last few months. Taken together, the mailings represent an aggressive campaign to separate her from the limited supply of money that gets her through her sunset years. While Holmes had no trouble identifying the letters as rackets, she said she worries about all the people who might fall for these things. Such as the official-looking letter from Wynfel Advisory Services letting Holmes know that her name has been identified from a list of thousands of sweepstakes participants, and that shes eligible to receive $1.2 million in cash and awards. All Holmes has to do is send in a $19.99 report fee. Then theres the letter from Helena Bright, voted clairvoyant of the millennium, who foresees that if she performs a fluidic purification and energetic recalibration, Holmes could receive more than $400,000 in lottery winnings. All Holmes needs to do is provide a modest offering of between $15 and $34.99. Not to be outdone, psychic Karl de Vista tells Holmes he will confide secret astrological numbers that will enable at least $15 million in lottery winnings. Theyll cost Holmes just $20 as will each of the equally ludicrous schemes at the top of this column. Many of these scams originate overseas, making the perpetrators hard to catch. But the occasional arrest does get made. A South L.A. man was arrested last week on federal fraud charges for allegedly participating in a lottery scam that targeted seniors, according to the U.S. attorneys office. The man allegedly duped victims by promising lottery and sweepstakes winnings if the victims wired money to cover taxes and fees. Nearly $200,000 was lost by 25 known victims, authorities said. Much of the cash ended up in Jamaica. Richard Franco, program manager for L.A. Countys Adult Protective Services, said the fact that many seniors are on fixed incomes makes them attentive to the possibility of a sudden windfall of cash. Their frequent isolation from others prevents them from seeking a reality check when an offer might be too good to be true. And theres another thing, Franco said. Todays seniors come from a very trusting generation. Rigo Reyes, chief of investigations for the L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, said that once a con artist gets through to an isolated senior, hell have answers to any questions the senior might raise. He and Franco advised seniors to approach all interactions with strangers with a healthy measure of skepticism. Be especially careful in responding by phone to a fast-money offer. Once they get you to respond, it becomes very hard to avoid being scammed, Reyes said. Just as important, report any losses to authorities. Reyes and Franco said its impossible to know precisely how large a problem elder financial abuse is because many seniors are too embarrassed or ashamed to make their victimization known. Keeping things to themselves, the experts said, only makes it likely that theyll be hoodwinked again down the road. I asked Holmes her advice for anyone who gets the kind of mailings shes been receiving. Thats easy, she replied. Throw them away. Theyre garbage. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. MORE FROM DAVID LAZARUS Lesson 1 at Trump University: The hard sell Republicans cook up plan to cripple consumer agency Even if you have health insurance, you may want to pay cash China is providing Apple with one of its most lucrative markets. Its also giving the tech giant no shortage of headaches. In another hiccup with regulators, Beijings patent office has ordered Apple to stop selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the city because its design too closely resembles that of a Chinese phone. Apple is appealing the ruling, which marks the latest challenge to the Cupertino, Calif., company in its second-largest market after the Americas. The two iPhone models violated design patents held by Chinese device maker Shenzhen Baili because of similarities in external design with the companys 100C phone, the Beijing Intellectual Property Office wrote in a statement on its website. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour Apple said in a statement it will continue to sell those iPhone models in Beijing as it appeals the decision. Because the ruling applies only to sales within the city of Beijing, analysts doubt the ruling will affect Apples bottom line. We do not think the case will have any negative impact on Apples revenue and margin in China, Amit Daryanani and Shawn Yuan, of RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research report. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray said the spat illustrates the ongoing friction between Apple and the Chinese government. Even if they do get banned, theyll come out with new phones and theyll be selling those phones, Munster said. Its a little bit of a carnival going on between Apple and China. Apple shares closed at $95.33, down $2.22, or 2.3%. Angelo Zino, equity analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the markets reaction shows investors arent greatly concerned about the patent issue itself. Does it impact anything on the fundamentals today? No. Could it alarm investors of other issues that could potentially happen in the future? he asked. I think thats why maybe you see the stock trading where it is. Apple had to shut down its iBooks and iTunes Movies services in China in April because of violations of foreign publishing regulations. In May, Apple lost the right to maintain exclusivity of the iPhone name, as a Beijing court ruled that an accessories maker could use it on a line of luxury leather goods. While Apple jousts with the Chinese government, Chinese consumers have delighted in the companys products. Sales in Greater China including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan amounted to 25% of Apples revenue in the second fiscal quarter. Apple, which makes around two-thirds of its revenue from iPhone sales, has cashed in on the mobile phone boom in China, the worlds largest smartphone market. There, its iPhones have been seen as a status symbol. But the Chinese market has become increasingly competitive, with local rivals offering similar products at much lower prices. In March, Apple responded to that pressure by unveiling a smaller, 4-inch version of the iPhone, called the iPhone SE, which will retail at $399. The iPhone 6 retails for $549, and the iPhone 6 Plus for $649. helen.zhao@latimes.com ALSO Apple lets appmakers use Siri within limits amid gigantic batch of iPhone updates Yahoo puts more than 3,000 patents up for auction Chinas Didi Chuxing raises $7 billion to fend off Uber UPDATES: 3:06 p.m.: This article was updated with additional context. 10:38 a.m.: This article was updated to include additional comment from analysts and information about Apples stock price. This article was originally published at 8:11 a.m. East West Players chief Tim Dang has heard that 12 or 13 years is the average length in a post like his. Hes led East West for 23 years. Ive overextended my stay, he says with a smile. Hes lingered so long at the nations oldest Asian American theater, he says, because, it is really my passion to give opportunity to raise the visibility, to give voice to the Asian Pacific experience. He has kept East West at the forefront of L.A.s cultural life and, with a hard-to-resist combination of tenaciousness and warmth, hes advocated for social inclusiveness. That passion, he says, will continue to motivate him as he moves on to other items on lifes to-do list. Advertisement As the location for a sort of exit interview, Dang, 57, suggests one of the theaters dressing rooms an apt choice. He joined East West in 1980 as an actor, having just graduated from USC. I love the environment here, he says. All of this feels like home to me. Around him, costume racks brim with spangled and boa-trimmed dresses. On a counter a cluster of cotton-candy-pink wigs stands like an exotic bouquet. Shortly, actors will arrive for the evenings performance of the musical La Cage aux Folles, celebrating family values as practiced at a St. Tropez drag nightclub. Dang directed the show, which closes June 26. His last day as the theaters leader is June 30, though hell stay on briefly as a contractor to help his yet-to-be-named successor transition into the job. Dang leaves at the end of a five-year strategic plan and the close of East Wests 50th season a nice time, he says, for new blood to come in and take over and have a theater for the next generation. During his tenure, at least half of each four-show season has been built of new or existing plays about Asia Pacific communities, with some of the scripts emerging from the theaters development lab. The lineup tends to be rounded out with contemporary classics (such as Equus) and beloved musicals (Pippin, Passion). People of color account for about 85% of East Wests artists and production personnel, but Dangs commitment to equitable representation doesnt end there: More than half are women and close to half are younger than 35. These groups are the future, and in Dangs view, theaters are overlooking them. He lists the statistics: The U.S. Census Bureau projects that people of color will surpass 50% of the U.S. population by 2042. Women constitute slightly more than half of the population, and those younger than 35 are tomorrows audiences and national leaders. Yet swaths of these populations see no sign of themselves on Americas stages, Dang says. He worries about the message this sends to young people. If they dont see themselves onstage, what is our community saying? That they are totally invisible. Hes used to resistance along the lines of: Well, were doing Shakespeare, and Shakespeare meant to do the show like this. He flips this around. Hell look at a play like Bent about gay Germans imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp in 1934 and think, What if there were people of color? Could this work? It may or may not work, but lets talk about it. Dang is noticing more multicultural casts these days, and like many others he is heartened by a certain Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical. You can look at Hamilton as one of the beacons, he says. It has proved that the story of our forefathers actually works with artists of today. But theres a long way to go. There is a lot of thinking and conversation its something that I call cultural navigation that needs to happen. Dang plans to continue these conversations after he steps down from East West. The blueprint will be his 51% Preparedness Plan for the American Theatre, which urges theater leaders to commit to at least 51% casting and participation of people of color, women or those younger than 35 within five years. When he unveiled the plan in 2015, critics including some theaters and lawyers said it sets quotas and would violate state and federal employment laws. It asks, for instance, that funders consider giving only to groups that meet 51% in at least one of the three proposed demographics. But Dang says that the point is not so much getting organizations to hit an actual percent as getting them to think and 51%, which represents a majority, grabs peoples attention and gets them talking. I dont think were necessarily telling people that you have to hire 51%, but because the population already tilts toward that number, it should be a natural process if you are indeed including everyone who is applying for a job. Bill Rauch, artistic director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival and another believer in equitable representation, says Dang is the right man for this kind of work. Hes absolutely visionary in terms of his commitment to increasing opportunities for artists of color, absolutely unwavering, and thats made a real impact in L.A. and nationally, Rauch says. Dang is co-chairman of a committee advising the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and Board of Supervisors in diversifying art-making, audiences and leadership a commitment made in the countys Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative. And in October hell head to Ashland, Ore., to help lead the fifth National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival, a biennial confab that he was instrumental in founding. Some downtime also is in order. A year from now, Dang says, Ill look and see what the next chapter is. Dang has held the title of producing artistic director, heading both the business and artistic sides of East West Players, since 2009, having served solely as artistic director since 1993. His dual role will be divided again. East West board of directors Co-Chairman Daniel Mayeda says, Its kind of unusual to have someone like Tim, who can operate both sides of his brain who has a terrific artistic sense; at the same time he can put together a budget. The board hopes to name a replacement artistic director by the end of the month, Mayeda says, then seek someone to handle business matters. As his top achievement, Dang lists East Wests 1998 move from a 99-seat theater in Silver Lake to its current 230-seat rented home in the city-owned Union Center for the Arts (the former Japanese Union Church) in downtown L.A.s Little Tokyo. The expansion meant stepped-up union contracts and bigger expectations, but it followed through on one of East Wests early hopes: to pay artists a living wage, with access to health insurance and a pension plan. The budget quadrupled from $350,000 a year when Dang assumed leadership to about $1.4 million today. Resources have always been a challenge, Dang says, though the theater lives lean. But hes happy that board members currently represent such companies as Disney, Sanrio and Wells Fargo, and hes proud to have an endowment, though admittedly small, of under half a million dollars. Tim Dang visits with Nancee and Roy Iketani before a recent performance. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times ) A patron awaiting the evenings production of La Cage is quick to point out another of Dangs signature achievements. Sharon Kamiya, an East West subscriber since the mid-1990s, says that when she began visiting, stories skewed heavily toward the Japanese American experience. More recently, ethnicities have included the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and India. Its wonderful to see that diversity, she says. Fellow theatergoer Maciek Kolodziejczak praises Dangs ability to make theatergoers feel like a tightknit community. Dang can often be found mingling with theatergoers before performances, creating a sense of togetherness. He makes that connection so personable and warm, Kamiya says. Dang fosters the same feeling backstage, says Gedde Watanabe, an East West veteran who portrays lead drag chanteuse Zaza in La Cage. East West, he says, is a family. People love to come here and work. daryl.miller@latimes.com Twitter: @darylhmiller A historical face-off is the congenial centerpiece of Andrea Bowers exhibition of recent work at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. On one side of the room is an adaptation of a late-19th century graphic, blown up to monumental scale. On the other is a wall mural made from 168 color snapshots. The subject of both is May Day, a traditional springtime festival that, given associations with natures potential productivity, merged into a celebration of industrial age workers by international trade unions more than a century ago. Bowers has used labor images by British Arts and Crafts illustrator Walter Crane before; here it is his epic parade of allegorical figures and people who work with their hands, The Triumph of Labor. She has transferred the image by hand in black paint onto a surface 22 feet wide and made from flattened shipping boxes. The shipment now delivers an artistic message. Advertisement Across the way, inkjet photographic prints of mostly smiling marchers at social justice events are pinned to cover two walls. Virtually every person shown carries a sign in support of their cause, making the photo mural a big sign composed of smaller signs. The sly metaphor of a union is apt. Nearby, five delicate pencil drawings isolate sign-wielding individuals on sheets of white paper, while a folding table is stacked with printouts of email correspondence concerning pay negotiations for adjunct teachers at a local art school. Handmade signs, after all, are the province of artists including Bowers. One compelling example is an electric wall-sign. The housing for its rainbow of shifting colored lights is likewise cobbled together from cardboard packing boxes for beer, home appliances, soda and other domestic supplies. Education should be free, the sign declares in dancing lights, reiterating a prominent political issue today. In the shows May Day context, this declaration resonates with current tensions around educational philosophy. Is education primarily a tool for enhancing a society of free people, or is it for training workers? In Bowers gifted hands, the answers would not seem to be mutually exclusive. ------------ Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Through July 9. Closed Sunday and Monday. (310) 837-2117, www.vielmetter.com christopher.knight@latimes.com Twitter @KnightLAT Odd Mom Out (Bravo, Mondays); The Jim Gaffigan Show (Sundays, TV Land). New York City stories, more or less about grown-ups more or less grown up, uptown and down. It isnt over for the old town yet. One would not necessarily expect one of TVs sharpest sitcoms to be hiding out on Bravo, in that networks customary thicket of money-worshipping, nightmare reality shows -- but there it is. Odd Mom Out, whose second season begins this week, stars its creator, Jill Kargman, in a partial adaptation of her 2007 novel Momzillas, as Jill Weber, a well-to-do but pointedly not super-wealthy child of the Upper East Side, now there with her own three children and husband (Andy Buckley). Somehow, if only by contrast with the blond blandness of their upper-crust friends and relations, the series makes them, believably, relatively bohemian. They are a step or two out of step with the neighborhood, too afflicted with good sense and self-awareness to buy what everyone else is buying. (It helps that Jills best friend, Vanessa, played by KK Glick, is merely a doctor.) The new season finds Jill, a photographer, looking to get back to work, while her lawyer spouse, unemployed or on sabbatical, learns what its like to take care of the kids. (There are no nannies in evidence.) Show runners Elisa Zuritsky and Julie Rottenberg (Sex and the City, Smash) keep things spiky and semi-topical there are riffs on Uber ratings, power posing and The Joy Manifesto, which is apparently a real thing and which seems to have affected everyone Jill meets. (Thanks to Joy, says Abby Elliotts Brooke, recently separated from Jills brother-in-law, I have manifested an entirely new philosophy; women need to stick together, to demand equal pay, equal rights, equal everything its what I am calling shedonism. You mean feminism? replies Jill.) Hamilton is also here, unavoidably: I saw it twice last month, says brother-in-law Lex (Sean Kleier). It changed my life but then, the second time it changed back, so Im going again. Kargman, who had not acted before 40, is wonderful in the only part shes ever played (shes got a fine singing voice too, it transpires). And though she is surrounded by excellent players, also including Joanna Cassidy and, as her parents, Blythe Danner and Dan Hedaya, she does not need their support. Advertisement Farther down the island we find stand-up comic and author Jim Gaffigan in his The Jim Gaffigan Show, living, as in life, in a two-bedroom walk-up with his wife and five kids and his issues with food. (Wife to Jim, who is eating from a box: Jim, arent those the babys teething cookies? Jim: Um, did the baby buy them?) Like Louis C.K., whose Louie roams similar streets, he is a pale, doughy, bearded, balding man in his late 40s whose fictional counterpart is more put-upon and less successful than his actual self. (His agent sends him out to read for a movie part as a balding, pasty, repulsive troll of a man named Ugly; a fellow comic replies, Email me, we should think about it, when Jim suggests himself as a guest on his radio show.) But Gaffigan is more of a traditionalist than C.K., and his show, though it plays easily with form, is, at bottom, a straight-ahead work-and-family sitcom. Ashley Williams plays his wife, Jeannie, usually but not always smarter than he is; each has the traditional best friend, Michael Ian Black for her, Adam Goldberg for him. (Goldberg, angry and unevolved, is well used here. It must be nice to be as delusional as you, says Jim. It isnt bad, says Adam.) In one Kafka-burlesque episode relating to the real-life tweetstorm the comedian called down in 2013 with a one-liner about womens nails, he finds himself on trial for being a dumb, ignorant, stupid, idiot, white guy, locked up in social outrage jail with Carrot Top, Gilbert Gottfried and Nickelback. In another, left off a list of New Yorks 100 best comics, he crosses the East River into descending circles of millennial alt.comedy, where his jokes about avocados and corned beef fall flat. Normally, I find the idea of punchlines confrontational, says one young person, but by the end I got it I felt the impulse to laugh, but I didnt want you to project your expectations onto me. The show, of course, is smarter than its characters. Dateline: On Assignment (NBC, Friday). In which David Letterman and Tom Brokaw, two men of the Midwest and the media (retired), sit down and stand up and walk and talk, just a little over a year from the formers leaving his Late Show. Brokaw, who met with Letterman over Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis, Lettermans hometown, was one of the last of the superstar news anchors sorry, Lester Holt, Scott Pelley and (I had to look it up to remember) David Muir, I just dont think of you that way while Letterman, now one-third beard, has turned into a kind of friendly Sasquatch. Most days hidden in the bush, hes sighted now and again, appearing before a camera or a crowd to unpack whatever barbed quips, timely observations and philosophical koans have been collecting in his mind; Jon Stewart, less abundantly bearded, has followed a similar path. We have come to depend on the late-night people of cable and of broadcast to cut through the nonsense, to be straight with us when only straight talk will do or to share their confusion when confusion is the only available response. Letterman, who lived in the hosts chair as comfortably as anyone ever has, was, on camera, unusually present as a person, even as he somehow remained a private one; he didnt tell all, but what he did always felt honest. Appearing alongside Brokaw in a baggy green T-shirt, he evidently feels no need to put on a show. Sample of preview dialogue: Brokaw: Did they ask you about who should replace you? Letterman: No. Oh, no. No, they didnt ask me about anything. They were just they were just happy I was going. Originally scheduled to air June 12, this edition of Dateline was preempted by the Orlando shootings, of which Letterman surely would have had something valuable, if not necessarily comforting, to say. Also on Fridays episode: Lester Holt goes riding in Watts with a special community police unit, and theres something about drug industry insider, Steven Francesco, whose son died suddenly from a rare side effect of taking antipsychotics. (I am quoting the press release, lazily, but thats all I know about it in any case.) Decker: Unclassified (Adult Swim, Fridays). Tim Heideckers meta-fictional, satirical, secret-agent series moves from the Web to traditional television this week. Given the shootings in Orlando and the sort of things that shoot out of Donald Trumps mouth, a comedy about terrorism and jingoism may not be the comedy you need right now. Or it might be just the comedy you need. Spun off from On Cinema at the Cinema, the parody online film review series Heidecker co-hosts with Gregg Turkington, Decker presents itself as the amateurish work of a flag-waving lunkhead with a conspiracy-shaped worldview whose hero resembles its creator the fictionalized Heidecker, that is in every respect. Heidecker and Turkington play double roles, both as their passively aggressive On Cinema selves and their Decker characters, who also incorporate the complicated personal histories and preoccupations they have elsewhere developed not only in On Cinema but in Heideckers and Turkingtons warring Twitter feeds, in personal appearances and in the press. This burgeoning mythology now includes Heideckers hard rock band Dekkar, Turkingtons Victorville Film Archive and the birth and death of Heideckers son Tom Cruise Heidecker, which, through a life insurance policy and a self-awarded arts grant has supposedly helped to fund the current season of Decker, which has a bigger budget and better, but still bad, special effects. It is the rare instance in which the death of an infant has been employed as a device for comedy, though Heideckers work, including various series with sometime partner Eric Wareheim, is full of rare instances. The new season is the fourth or the third, depending on where you stand on the canonicity of Decker vs. Dracula, the Turkington-helmed, Heidecker-aborted season that followed Decker and Decker: Port of Call: Hawaii; this is a subject of heated debate within the audience-participating Deckerverse. (All the previous seasons are available online at AdultSwim.com; seven seasons of On Cinema at the Cinema, plus a recent On Cinema Town Hall, can be seen here.) Unclassified begins in the future, on July 4, 2076, as Jack Decker finally expires in perfect physical condition then moves on to a series of flashback episodes in which he fights terrorists on a plane, travels back in time to stop Pearl Harbor, and first meets Turkingtons code-breaking Agent Kington. Joe Estevez returns as both President Davidson and President Davidson Jr. Guests this year include Sally Kellerman as a scheming future first lady and former Beach Boy Al Jardine as a science adviser selling the hoax of global warming:. Dont you understand? Decker protests. A weak energy policy based on hippie-dippy tutti-frutti quack green science will only lead to the terrorists getting the upper hand. Then he goes out to burn some fossil fuels. (Full declassified disclosure: I moderated the 2015 and 2016 two editions of Decker-Con, a panel discussion with the stars in character; improvised narrative may have occurred.) Jack Aiellos middle-school graduation speech (YouTube). Chicago eighth-grader Jack Aiello remotely auditions for the 2026 cast of Saturday Night Live or next seasons Americas Got Talent by delivering his graduation speech in the style of some of the 2016 presidential candidates -- Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and President Obama. Its the classic impressionists proposal What if so-and-so were to do such-and-such well, I think it would go something like this and Aiello, who is good at this and not just good for a kid puts it across. More than 600,000 people have viewed it on YouTube since it was uploaded June 8. We have a winner. robert.lloyd@latimes.com On Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd Outside of Seoul, Los Angeles is one of the best places in the world to eat Korean sashimi. As with the Japanese style, this involves a parade of raw sliced fish, often of different varieties, the utterly fresh fish accompanied by various Korean dipping sauces. However, unlike most Japanese sushi, Korean sashimi prizes live fish swimming in restaurant tanks often just moments before it arrives at your table. We like it fresh, right when that rigor mortis hits, says chef Deuki Hong, who co-wrote with Matt Rodbard the recently published cookbook Koreatown: A Cookbook, of Korean live sashimi. The flesh kind of firms up its got this bite and texture and its that freshness that Koreans love. L.A. has the best Koreatown, Hong says of why he chose to concentrate much of his book on this citys vibrant and food-centric Korean neighborhood. If I had to go to one Koreatown for the rest of my life, it would be Los Angeles. Advertisement Live fish tanks at Koreatowns Chung Hae Jin compete for space with tables. (Glenn Koenig/ Los Angeles Times ) A good Korean sashimi restaurant will have fish tanks competing for space with tables, which sometimes makes them look more like an aquarium or fish store than a place for a meal. Theres plenty of raw fish and seafood in these sashimi-centric restaurants, most of it served with the chili paste gochujang and other Korean accouterments such as banchan or corn cheese. Several of these restaurants dot L.A.s vibrant Koreatown neighborhood, and the fish served is often imported from South Korea live. Most of this live seafood arrives by air at LAX (as well as other airports around the world for other markets), about a dozen miles away from L.A.s Koreatown. Several varieties of live Asian fish, such as flounder and grouper, are regularly transported in crowded tanks by air cargo to be sold in Asian markets and restaurants in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Luis Yanez hauls a basket full of flounder out of a saltwater tank that is used to transport live fish from South Korea. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times ) But to meet the high demand for live Asian fish within Southern California specifically, one local company is changing the landscape by engineering a more environmentally sustainable and cost-efficient method: shipping containers specially designed for live fish transport. The Pacific American Fish Co., a nearly 40-year-old, family-run seafood importing business, recently developed this innovative technology after years of government-funded research with scientists at Gyeongsang National University in South Korea. In the last four years, the company, also known as PAFCO, has built 15 standard-size (40-foot-long) industrial shipping containers outfitted for live fish transport. Each container takes about one month and $100,000 to build. They essentially serve as farm-spas for Korean fish: flounder, rockfish, cod, mullet, turbot and other farmed varieties specific to Asian waters. Our fish dont even know theyre transiting, says second-generation PAFCO Chief Executive and Chairman Peter Huh. Its an idyllic environment: We monitor the oxygen levels and the temperature, and the water is filtered continuously. So the fish arrives stress-free. Jesus Durand, a live fish specialist, checks out a crate of farm-raised flounder that came in from South Korea. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times ) It takes 10 days to transport the fish from South Korea to Long Beach, a far more environmentally conscious method than by air, even with varying efficiencies by specific ship. From an energy efficiency and carbon emissions standpoint, Brad Schallert, senior program officer of the International Climate Change Policy of the World Wildlife Fund says, aviation has been shown to be at least an order of magnitude less efficient than shipping. Each container to date, the only such containers approved by the USDA and the FDA houses four built-in tanks that together hold approximately 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of fish and 48,000 gallons of water. To put it another way: Korean sashimi in L.A.s Koreatown exists in large part because PAFCO is shipping water over water. The company even purchases approximately 5,000 gallons of California ocean water each month to help filter the full tanks, as the fish wait for a short time for distribution at the companys headquarters in Vernon, just south of downtown Los Angeles. Even though younger chefs like New York City-based Hong prefer the more sustainable, if untraditional, options of local fish, Korean and Chinese cultures both of which have large communities in Southern California prize not just live fish, but live fish of varieties that are native to Asia. Steve Han, owner of Chung Hae Jin in Koreatown, plucks a live octopus from one of his tanks. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times ) Driving much of this market is the Korean sashimi restaurant experience, which begins with sea-food-inspired banchan and pro-gresses to the sliced raw fish, freshly killed, as well as sometimes the cultish dish of live octopus and other seafood, such as Santa Barbara sea urchin. Its nearly impossible to replicate this cuisine without live fish, particularly the subtle and sweet Korean sashimi favorite, live flounder. While Hong wonders how this all disrupts the terroir of the seabed eating live fish farmed in waters far away on the other hand, he notes, its cool that youre getting fish from Korea. If this seems like a lot of trouble for a prized delicacy, it is. But considering that the United States imports 90% of the seafood Americans eat (the vast majority on ice or frozen), while exporting a third of what it catches, according to fishing industry author Paul Greenberg, shipping live fish by sea might be a better alternative to flying live fish overseas everyday. Huh and his PAFCO colleague Young Soo Kang, who heads up the companys live fish division, say this will reduce fuel usage, translating into lower costs, and transport more fish at a time, which they say results in healthier fish as well. Which is why PAFCO will add 25 more live fish containers in the next two years, with plans to ship to markets farther away such as Vancouver, Canada, Houston and even New York City via the Panama Canal a trip that takes 22 days. Meanwhile, unless youre reading this in Seoul, L.A.s Koreatown is still one of the best places in the world to find actual Korean sashimi that is, with your meal still swimming as you pull up a chair. food@latimes.com :: Chung Hae Jins sashimi is fresh from the tank. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times ) Three restaurants in Koreatown to sample (nearly) live seafood: Chung Hae Jin: This family-owned strip-mall restaurant offers a traditional live Korean sashimi experience. Be sure to save room for the impressive rainbow-hued sashimi platter that arrives after the generous banchan, which might include clam soup, raw shrimp or raw lobster, a chopped raw fish and lettuce salad, oysters, snails and other seafood served on their half-shells. 3470 W. 6th St., 8-A, Los Angeles, (213) 819-0078. LA Hwaluh: What looks like a fish market is actually a bustling restaurant (also known as LA Sashimi) with most of its business devoted to elaborate takeout orders packed on ice. Ask for the sashimi platter and live octopus, but dont forgo the sesame oil dipping sauce for the latter, which acts as both a flavor enhancer and helps slide the octopus down. 2707 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, (212) 387-8589. New Shogun Sushi: A more upscale restaurant, with Japanese-inspired flourishes like private dining rooms to fit small groups. Along with the sashimi, regulars prize the maeuntang, a spicy fish and vegetable stew thats made with the fish heads and bones that the kitchen pragmatically saves from the production of your sashimi. 987 S. Vermont Ave., Suite D, Los Angeles, (213) 365-0213. ALSO Where to go for ibrik coffee, also called Arabic or Turkish coffee, in L.A. Jonathan Gold reviews Kali Restaurant: Its too much of a good thing This new Little Tokyo restaurant is bottling its cocktails and putting strawberries on your pizza A sweltering heat wave will broil Southern California this weekend and early next week, prompting heat alerts and excessive-heat watches for some areas, according to the National Weather Service. It will be very hot, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the service. People should limit their time outside during the day. So how hot will it get? Temperatures in downtown Los Angeles are expected to climb from the mid-80s Saturday to the mid-90s by Sunday, while triple-digit temperatures are on tap for the valleys. Advertisement But its Monday, the first day of summer, that is expected to be hottest. The looming heat has prompted the National Weather Service to issue excessive-heat watches for L.A., the valleys and mountains Monday. Dangerous, heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke are possible, the weather service said, especially among those who plan on spending Monday outdoors or people without access to air conditioning. Forecasters warned against leaving people or pets in enclosed vehicles even for a short period of time. Power outages are possible as well, the weather service said. Other agencies have also issued warnings against the heat. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommended frequent rest and breaks in shaded or air conditioned areas. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department said it plans to issue a heat alert Sunday through Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to start to decline. The dry and warm conditions come as firefighters continue to battle a massive fire in Los Padres National Forest, just north of Santa Barbara. The blaze forced the temporary closure of 30 miles of Highway 101 on Thursday night. The blistering heat is the result of an upper-level ridge of high pressure that is building slowly over Southern California. Sirard said the system should start to weaken by Tuesday and temperatures should start to drop. Despite the hot weather, Sirard said he doesnt expect any records to be broken, except possibly in the valleys. ruben.vives@latimes.com sarah.parvini@latimes.com For more Southern California news, follow @latvives ALSO Steely Dan with strings at the Hollywood Bowl? President Obama: Orlando shooting was act of terror and an act of hate Trump doesnt brag about his poll numbers anymore, and no wonder UPDATES: 12:30 p.m.: This article has been updated with details about how to deal with the heat. The article was originally published at 5 a.m. Six years ago, Los Angeles lawmakers decided to bar employees from traveling to Arizona on city business, avoiding the state in reaction to a hotly contested law targeting illegal immigration. They also urged city departments to refrain from entering into contracts with Arizona businesses. But in the years since, the City Council has repeatedly loosened those rules to allow travel to the state for meetings and training and to keep buying Tasers and other made-in-Arizona products. The last time that city employees sought such an exemption, City Councilman Gil Cedillo complained that the so-called boycott had become a farce. And in an unexpected move, he said it was time to end it. Advertisement Now city lawmakers are locked in a debate over whether to roll back the rules -- and what a boycott should accomplish. The question of whether to undo the Arizona restrictions has arisen as L.A. lawmakers have embraced another boycott, this time swearing off business with North Carolina and Mississippi over recently passed laws that they denounced as discriminatory against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. My question is, were moving forward to continue to do boycotts or bans and yet were rescinding another? asked City Councilman Jose Huizar at a committee meeting Friday. He argued that rolling back the rules without carefully scrutinizing how they had worked would send a horrible message. The committee ultimately held off on taking action Friday, instead asking city staffers to return with more information on how the ban had worked. Cedillo might seem like an unlikely advocate for lifting the Arizona restrictions: As a state lawmaker, he called for California to boycott Arizona over the disputed law, SB 1070, which expanded the powers of local authorities to stop people suspected of being in the country illegally. U.S. judge dismisses challenge of Arizonas SB 1070 immigration law But Cedillo argued it was time for the city to end a dishonest charade. At an April meeting, he said that he wasnt upset about the city using exemptions to ensure it could carry out important business. However, what I find offensive -- or unnecessary -- is for us to pretend that we have a boycott while approving exemption after exemption, Cedillo said. His staffers later added that seeking to roll back the Arizona ban did not mean that Cedillo wanted to reverse L.A.s stand against SB 1070 or any other law that promotes racial profiling -- only the city restrictions tied to it. Those restrictions have halted some city travel to Arizona over the years: The L.A. Police Department once decided not to send a team of helicopter pilots to a Phoenix training conference, for instance, and the City Council ultimately decided not to pursue an exemption for a National League of Cities event five years ago. But just a year into the ban, other exemptions had already spurred complaints that the gesture was an empty one. Since L.A. first took action, many parts of the controversial law have been struck down by the Supreme Court. However, Arizona still requires police to determine the immigration status of someone who is arrested when there is reasonable suspicion that the person is not in the United States legally. The idea of rolling back the city restrictions troubled some immigrant advocates who are ordinarily allied with Cedillo: Joseph Villela, policy director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, argued that Arizona had continued to take actions that were harmful to immigrants and the Latino community. At the Friday meeting, Villela contended that L.A. should update the wording of its boycott instead of canceling it. Huizar and other lawmakers, in turn, said they wanted more information on how often the restrictions had been lifted before deciding what to do. City staffers are supposed to report back with that information in 45 to 60 days. I support a ban but I mean a real ban, not one that is laden with loopholes, Council President Herb Wesson said Friday. ALSO Editorial: Why should immigration detainees be denied access to telephones? What it could look like if Donald Trumps broader immigration ban were implemented Immigration law cant discriminate against habitual drunkards, court rules Nearly 16 years after Gilbert Rubio was sentenced to death for killing a popular high school vice principal in Downey, the condemned man died Thursday at San Quentin State Prison. Rubio, 55, was discovered unresponsive in his one-person cell during a security check and pronounced dead in a medical treatment area at 6:34 a.m., according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Marin County Sheriffs Office Coroner Division will determine Rubios cause of death. A Los Angeles County jury sentenced Rubio to death on Sept. 20, 2000, for the murder of George Skipper Blackwell. The 46-year-old was a popular administrator at Earl Warren High School in Downey who had devoted his life to education. Known for his gentle manner with troubled teens, Blackwell avoided suspensions and preferred talks with parents. Advertisement George would have gone a long way in education, said the schools then-principal, Earl Haugen, at the time. Blackwell was sitting in his newly purchased home near the Long Beach waterfront on the evening of Jan. 12, 1998, when Monica Chavez, the high schools night custodian, knocked on the door, authorities said. Blackwell knew Chavez and Rubio because he had given them work at his home. Chavez, accompanied by another man and Rubio, who was Chavezs boyfriend at the time, entered the home and forced Blackwell to write a $2,000 check, prosecutors said. They then robbed him and bound him with duct tape and a dog chain. Chavez and the other man, Alex Vega, left Rubio alone with Blackwell as they went to cash the check. Rubio then shot and killed Blackwell, authorities said. Neighbors reported hearing a series of shots before Blackwell was found. At the time, Rubio, a former Los Angeles resident, was a parolee who had recently finished a three-year prison term for possessing cocaine. Blackwell didnt know about Rubios long criminal history and that he spent time in and out of prison for a decade, authorities said. See the most-read stories this hour Soon after Blackwells killing, Long Beach police arrested Rubio. He was convicted of first-degree murder with the use of a firearm with the special circumstance of robbery and burglary. Chavez, 59, was sentenced on March 30, 2000, on a charge of first-degree murder with the use of a firearm. She has been serving a life-without-parole sentence and is incarcerated at the Central California Womens Facility. Vega, 61, was sentenced on March 24, 2000, on a charge of first-degree murder with the use of a firearm. He is serving a life-without-parole sentence at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran. Since California reinstated capital punishment in 1978, 13 inmates have been executed, 70 have died of natural causes and 25 have committed suicide. There are now 747 inmates on Californias death row. For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter ALSO Woman carries toddler into burning SUV, both are killed Navy SEAL accused of deadly stabbing tried to do the right thing, attorney says Shooting in Redondo Beach leaves one dead and another wounded UPDATES: 9:35 a.m.: This article has been updated with information that Rubio died in a prison medical treatment area. This article was originally published June 17 at 11:47 a.m. Los Angeles Countys latest efforts to needle Sacramento into giving more aid to the local fight against homelessness appear to be falling flat, with Gov. Jerry Brown saying he wont declare homelessness to be a statewide emergency. The county supervisors voted Tuesday to pursue a declaration from the state, which would open the door to more state money and staff time to be put into fighting homelessness. Before that, the county had been lobbying unsuccessfully for a change in state law that would grant the county authority to seek a special tax on incomes over $1 million to pay for programs to address homelessness. Brown has opposed that as well, saying he has deep concerns about the plan and about giving additional taxing authority to local governments in general. Advertisement In a statement via a spokeswoman, the governor said Thursday that a gubernatorial declaration of emergency is not appropriate. We recognize the importance of addressing homelessness in our cities and will continue to support local governments, which remain best positioned to tackle challenges like this and tailor solutions to the needs of their communities, the statement said. The budget the governor and state lawmakers agreed on this week would set aside $400 million for affordable housing, to be spent only if a separate deal can be reached on streamlining the process for new construction. The state is also considering issuing a $2-billion bond to build supportive housing for mentally ill homeless people, of which $267 million would be included in the coming years budget. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has led the push for the so-called millionaires tax and for a declaration of emergency, said the county would receive only $30 million or $40 million a year from the bond proceeds to build new housing, while the estimated cost to ramp up homeless services in the county enough to significantly decrease the numbers on the streets is $450 million a year. The proposed half-cent levy on taxable income over $1 million would bring in an estimated $243 million a year to the county. The countys homeless population has grown over the last several years and stood at about 47,000 in this years count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. There were an estimated 115,738 people homeless statewide in 2015. Ridley-Thomas said the county will continue to push the governor for more action. This is the second time that he is saying no to an effort to address a crisis in the largest portion of the state of California, he said. Well, what is he inclined to say yes to? A previous, behind-the-scenes attempt by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti last year to get a state declaration of emergency on homelessness ahead of the winters anticipated El Nino rains also failed. At the time, Brown said it would be unwise to declare an emergency before the rains which ended up being far less severe than predicted arrived. The city is now contemplating placing a bond measure on the November ballot to pay to build more housing for the homeless. With efforts to pursue a high-earner income tax foundering, the county is also considering a sales or property tax measure on the November ballot for homelessness, but those measures polled less favorably than the millionaires tax, and the sales tax would require a four-fifths vote of the board to put it on the ballot, which means it could be blocked by the panels two Republicans. abby.sewell@latimes.com Twitter: @sewella ALSO Family questions circumstances leading up to deadly police shooting in South L.A. Father of woman killed in Paris terror attacks sues Google, Twitter and Facebook Strong winds push wildfire in Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara to 1,250 acres A Honduran citizen charged with murdering five homeless people in an arson fire was in the United States illegally and had been arrested three times in the months before the blaze in a vacant Westlake building where transients were squatting, officials said Friday. Johnny Josue Sanchez, 21, started the fire to avenge a beating he took in a dispute over occupying a room in the building, a law enforcement source said. Sanchez was among a group of people arrested by border patrol agents in 2012 for illegally entering the country at the southeastern California border, officials said. He was released a week later after agents determined that he had no previous immigration violations or criminal history, officials said. Advertisement Sanchez was placed under supervision and ordered to report regularly to immigration authorities, though for unknown reasons deportation proceedings were never begun, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice. He quit reporting to immigration officials in August 2014, Kice said, adding that the agencys policy is to focus on individuals who pose a public safety threat and not search for those who fail to report unless they have a criminal background or a history of repeated illegal entry. ICE generally does not issue requests to law enforcement to hold people like Sanchez who are in the country without legal authorization but have no criminal history, Kice said. The Los Angeles Police Department arrested Sanchez in January on suspicion of domestic violence, and again in May and June on suspicion of drug possession -- most recently on June 8, days before Mondays blaze. He was released the next day. See the most-read stories this hour The Los Angeles Police Department stopped honoring immigration holds in 2014 unless a warrant is issued or a judge has vetted the request. Federal officials at the time warned the policy could lead to the release of dangerous criminals, but police said it would build community trust and encourage citizens to report crime. Sanchez now faces murder and attempted murder charges, which could bring the death penalty. The fire came as city officials struggle to identify funding to house a growing homeless population, and street encampments stretching from the Tujunga Wash to San Pedro. At several tent cities around Westlake, near MacArthur Park, homeless people said they and other friends had been holing up for months in the abandoned building, a former medical and acupuncture clinic, to sleep and use drugs. The fire was a chilling reminder of the hazards they face living in the streets, several said. I dont go in abandoned buildings; I dont trust them, said one woman, who gave her name only as Honey Bunny. But when it comes to being homeless, theres a certain desperation. Some people make it in tents, other people have to be inside, whether its to hide what theyre doing or just to say they have a place to live. Acquaintances and law enforcement sources said Sanchez confronted a transgender squatter who entered part of the building he considered his territory. After being beaten by the squatter. Sanchez became enraged and set several fires near his room, the sources said. Sanchezs assailant and a companion escaped through a window, but five other homeless people three men and two women died as fire engulfed the building, authorities said. Jerry Dean Clemons, 59, and Mary Ann Davis, 44, were found in a back room on the buildings second floor, and died either from smoke inhalation or by being crushed when the roof collapsed, authorities said. The bodies of another man and woman were also found in the room. A close relative said Davis and Clemons were from Ottumwa, Iowa, a town of 26,000, and had come to Los Angeles just days before the fire to join her son. The son was tentatively named as a fire victim based on his ID card, but authorities are awaiting dental records for a positive identification. See more of our top stories on Facebook Fallen debris blocked escape for a fifth person who burned to death in a hallway, authorities said. The person remained unidentified Friday. Homeless people in the neighborhood said they were mourning one of the arson victims, a Watts native they called Jokerface because of his broad smile. Jokerface was a very good-hearted person, very outgoing and very loud, said Sahara McFadden, 30, who sometimes cared for his gray pit bull, Gucci. McFadden said she had used drugs with Jokerface in the abandoned building in the days leading up to the fire. At the site, purple bandannas were tied cowboy-style around a pole, a hand-made RIP Jokeface poster was decorated with grape clusters and loose grapes were scattered on the sidewalk, an apparent reference to the victims roots on Grape Street in Watts. I will remember him as laughing and joking with me, not as what happened, Honey Bunny said. I wouldnt wish what he went through on anybody. gholland@latimes.com Twitter: @geholland richard.winton@latimes.com Twitter: @lacrimes ALSO One dead in fire at Westlake office building Santa Barbara fire bad omen for dangerous California fire season Owner of Maywood metal recycling facility faced charges for dumping waste before massive blaze Newsletter: Essential California: Extinguishing L.A.'s fire dangers Los Angeles voters will likely be asked to approve either a new parcel tax or a $1.1-billion housing bond this fall to help fund the citys struggle to reduce homelessness. A key City Council committee on Friday cleared a final pair of money-raising options to put before voters. The decision sets the stage for the full council to vote next week on the parcel tax and bond, only one of which city officials say will ultimately appear on the November ballot. The councils coming vote will mark a critical stage in the citys struggle to deal with a homeless population that has grown steadily in recent years and according to recent estimates now stands at more than 26,000. Some council members have already expressed strong support for a bond, which at least one poll has shown to have a better chance of passing in November on a ballot that will be crowded with local tax measures. Advertisement Though general-obligation bonds are typically accompanied by a property-tax increase, California voters have historically shown themselves more likely to approve them than initiatives labeled straightforwardly as taxes. Both the bond and parcel tax would require two-thirds approval. However, a report released this week by city analysts questioned whether income from a bond devoted specifically to housing would provide the flexibility necessary to enact a city homelessness strategy that includes social services and potential partnerships with private developers. A parcel tax would offer more freedom, the report concluded. To give city officials more time to decide, Council President Herb Wesson said he would resort to an unusual procedural maneuver that would extend the end-of-month deadline to approve a final ballot initiative for voters consideration. Instead of voting to advance just one option, Wesson said, he would urge the full council to approve measures for both the bond and parcel tax. The city would then have until mid-August to pick one and withdraw the other from the ballot. Column: Tired of homelessness? Here are some opportunities to take action Every second, every minute, every day that we can give ourselves to continue to vet this issue, I think its in our best interest to do that, Wesson said at the Friday meeting of the Rules Committee. I think its important that we not allow ourselves to be rushed by deadlines. Earlier this year, the city adopted a plan to reduce homelessness that would require at least $1.85 billion over the next decade to build or lease housing for those who live on the streets. With the citys budget still in fragile condition -- and despite Mayor Eric Garcettis significant increase in funding for homelessness initiatives in his most recent budget -- a consensus has taken hold at City Hall that a new source of revenue is needed to fund the plan. The bond being considered would begin boosting property taxes in 2018, according to a report from Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso and City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana. For a home assessed at $327,900, the property tax to fund the bond would rise to a maximum of $88.01 per year by 2026, then gradually decline until it ends in 2045. On the streets of Sacramento you can see it, and on the streets of Los Angeles you can feel it. And this cannot be solved by local government alone. Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles A parcel tax, unlike a standard property tax, is assessed at a flat rate and not as a percentage of a propertys assessed value. The parcel-tax proposal discussed Friday would levy an annual tax of about $102 per parcel, generating $80 million a year in revenue for the city. Garcetti said in a brief interview Friday that he would actively support whichever of the two prospective city initiatives would bring in the most money. However, he suggested he is still holding out hope that the county and state could help offset a major portion of the cost for the citys plan. In recent weeks, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has been forcefully lobbying in Sacramento for permission for the county to impose a millionaires tax on large incomes that would fund homelessness programs. The proposal appears all but dead, however, and Gov. Jerry Brown has said he would not support it. The question I have for the state is, If not that, what? Garcetti said. What role, and how will the state contribute significantly and for a series of years to both the services and housing needs that you see in this state? On the streets of Sacramento you can see it, and on the streets of Los Angeles you can feel it. And this cannot be solved by local government alone. Jerry Jones, director of public policy at the Inner City Law Center, praised the council for moving forward with a final round of funding options. He said a $1.1-billion bond would not be enough to address homelessness but that it was a start and seemed to have higher odds of success at the ballot box than a parcel tax. I think thats the whole calculation going on right now, Jones said. Based on talking to people here [in City Hall], that seems to be the dominant concern: We dont want to put something on thats going to lose. Also on Friday, the councils Rules Committee formally approved two other measures to appear on the November ballot: A charter amendment restructuring the governing board and hiring process at the citys Department of Water and Power, and a measure backed by labor unions that would tweak the citys development regulations to encourage the building of more affordable housing. peter.jamison@latimes.com Follow @petejamison on Twitter ALSO os Angeles Countys quest for a milionaires tax to help the homeless is premature, says Senate leader San Diego places rocks under freeway to move out homeless ahead of baseballs All Star Game Editorial: Theres money for homeless people to rent apartments but not enough landlords who will take it L.A.'s homelessness math is a bit off totals are the same but increases are smaller A coalition of state and local lawmakers, LGBT advocates and police officers gathered in Los Angeles on Friday and called for tougher gun safety laws in the wake of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida that killed 49 people. Gun control is now a priority for the LGBT community, they said at a news conference on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall. Let me be very clear, this is part of the gay agenda, said Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), a member of the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus. The gay agenda is now firearm safety and ensuring that we will continue to advocate for the rights and the dignity of our humanity. Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, said one of his groups board members is a cousin of a woman who was shot at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday and remained in serious condition. https://twitter.com/haileybranson/status/743864005584896000 This horrific shooting is a call to action for the entire LGBT community ... to end gun violence and to do everything we can to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals, people who hate and other disturbed individuals, Zbur said. The coalition, organized by Equality California, announced its support for and intention to aggressively lobby for -- a package of gun control legislation at the state level. The bills included measures that would ban possession of large-capacity magazines, mandate background checks for Californians buying ammunition and mandate that gun owners report lost or stolen guns to law enforcement within five days. Supported legislation also would require owners of homemade guns to get a serial number for their firearms and register them with the state. Other laws would prohibit the sale of semiautomatic, centerfire rifles with a bullet button, a recessed button that allows removal of the magazine. The bills supporters call it a loophole in Californias assault weapons ban because such guns are legal since a small tool or pointed object, rather than a finger, must be used to release the magazine and insert another. Let me be very clear, this is part of the gay agenda. The gay agenda is now firearm safety. California Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) California Senate leader Kevin de Leon said that in addition to targeting the LGBT community, the Orlando shooting was an attack against Latinos, against African Americans, against immigrants, against Puerto Ricans and Dominicans and other shades of brown at that Pulse club that evening. De Leon said military-grade assault weapons were designed for the battlefield and have no place on our streets. This is not a debate about gun ownership, he said. This is a debate about who should be able to access weapons and ammunition and what types of weapons the public should have access to. We could keep the most dangerous weapons off the streets without infringing on the 2nd Amendment. FULL COVERAGE: Orlando nightclub shooting Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said he had reviewed all of the bills the group advocated and that he too supported them. Beck said he thought assault-style weapons with quickly detachable magazines should be banned, as are other assault weapons. Bullet button guns, no matter what anybody says, are quickly-detachable magazines; it just takes a little dexterity, Beck said. The chief said 1,000 people were shot in Los Angeles last year and that 210 were fatally shot. The city, he said, is on pace to achieve the same numbers this year. Its not just Orlando. Its not just Florida. The United States has a gun problem, Beck said. LGBT advocates said the Orlando attack came as the community is fighting a wave of legislation nationwide that they say is dangerous to them including laws banning transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity and so-called religious freedom laws that allow businesses and individuals to refuse service to LGBT people. Editorial: Mend, don't end, a religious-freedom law Maria Roman, a member of the TransLatin@ Coalition, said that in 2011 she was attacked in a restroom in a Nevada nightclub, kicked and beaten as she was told she was a man and did not belong in that restroom. Im one of the lucky ones, she said. I survived an attack that was fueled by hate. Orlando is an example [of] hate armed with fire, firepower that no American should have access to. In West Hollywood this week, a proliferation of signs and posters featuring a rainbow-colored version of the Gadsden flag and the hashtag #ShootBack has caused concern in the city with a famously large LGBT population. The Abbey Food & Bar, a well-known West Hollywood gay lounge, is considering making armed guards a regular presence. The bar had armed guards at all entrances during Sundays LGBT Pride parade, just hours after the Orlando attack. On Friday night, a vigil and rally calling for an end to violence has been scheduled by LGBT Latino leaders from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson ALSO After its own mass shootings, Germany beefed up gun control laws. The number of shootings dropped. Poll watch: After Orlando shooting, Americans back stricter gun controls Editorial: Banning firearm sales to suspected terrorists is a distraction. America needs real gun control Tempers flare as lawmakers move forward with a dozen gun-control bills in wake of Orlando shooting A social media post that seemingly references Sundays mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub has led to an investigation of two active-duty Camp Pendleton Marines. The Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force said Thursday that it is looking into a photo posted in a Facebook group called Camp MENdleton Resale, which advertises itself as a private forum for male troops and veterans. The photo, which has since been removed, shows a uniformed Marine corporal pointing a rifle toward the camera. A caption at the bottom says, Coming to a gay bar near you! Advertisement Based on other features in the post, it appears the photo also was sent through the instant messaging program Snapchat. The post has since been shared on several other Facebook pages. Its an open question as to whether the post was a tasteless joke or a genuine threat. According to the Marine Corps Times, which first reported on the issue, the Marine who posted the photo did so with the comment, Too soon? Whatever the motivations, Marine Corps officials were not amused. We are currently investigating a threatening social media post and will take appropriate action, said a statement from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis. Both the corporal in the photo and the person who posted it on Facebook are active-duty troops at Pendleton, a Marine spokesman said. He declined to name them. First Amendment free-speech rights are restricted for the military, noted Thomas Umberg, who served in the Armys judge advocate general corps and is now in private practice. To the extent that this was meant to either intimidate somebody or bring discredit to the Marine Corps, it could be a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Umberg said. That could be a career-ender for an officer, he said. For a junior enlisted Marine, it might not automatically mean discharge, but it wouldnt be good for promotion prospects. Moderators of the Camp MENdleton Resale group on Facebook deleted the post and banned the person involved, said Caleb Moss, cofounder of the group. We believe that it was a very insensitive and possibly dangerous photo that needed to be taken seriously given the nature of the possible threat, he said. We responded to the photo as soon as we were alerted to it. We have 25,000 members and get about 3,000 posts every seven days. We rely on our members ... to help moderate, which they did. As a group, we do not condone any type of hate speech or threats, he added. Moss said someone took a screen shot of the post and shared it outside of the group, which is when it gained broad attention. He also said the groups moderators had deleted the post by then. According to organizers, the MENdleton Facebook group is intended to be a forum to help the veterans community. We support veterans and service members, especially calls for help when they are in a bad place, Moss said. We have a huge support network and have gotten homeless veterans back on their feet, unemployed veterans jobs, and other projects. jen.steele@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @jensteeley Steele writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. ALSO West Hollywood plastered with rainbow #ShootBack signs Navy SEAL accused of deadly stabbing tried to do the right thing, attorney says Strong winds push wildfire near Santa Barbara to 1,700 acres; Highway 101 closed again An intense search that includes the California National Guard is underway for two experienced hikers and their dog who have been missing since Tuesday when they failed to return from a three-day trip in the Stanislaus National Forest. Rescuers from at least 11 agencies are traversing treacherous terrain in search of Modesto residents Donna Hallberg, 55, and Mark Smallwood, 59. Four scent dogs and a trail dog were tasked with tracking the couple, who left Sunday for a hike on the Crabtree Trail to several lakes near the community of Pinecrest. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> Donna and Mark are experienced hikers who have hiked the trail numerous times in the past, the Tuolumne County Sheriffs Office said. Helicopters flew over the massive wilderness Friday, looking for any signs of the hikers within the national forests meadows, snowy valleys, creeks and steep granite bluffs, according to the sheriffs office. There had been no signs of Hallberg, Smallwood and their black-and-white dog, Lulu. Their gray Chevy Tahoe remained parked at the Crabtree trailhead. The couple had packed enough supplies and equipment to last for a three-day hike. A friend of the couple called Tuolumne sheriffs officials on Wednesday afternoon, notifying them that Hallberg and Smallwood had not returned Tuesday as planned. The pair have cellphones, but rescuers are unable to track them because of the lack of service in the area. Anyone with details about the couples whereabouts is urged to call the sheriffs office at (209) 533-5815. For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Woman carries toddler into burning SUV, both are killed Forecast for Southern California: Hot this weekend, even hotter Monday Santa Barbara County declares state of emergency after wildfire grows to 4,000 acres overnight A man who allegedly died at the hands of a Navy SEAL in Santa Monica over the weekend was a UCLA staff member, officials said. Kris Anderson, 57, of Santa Monica worked in the Student and Alumni Services and Arts departments at UCLA Extension for about 35 years, spokeswoman Helen Williams said. Colleagues said he was known around campus as a gentle giant, who would never hurt a fly. This is devastating news for the entire UCLA Extension community. Kris was always committed to helping our students, and an absolute delight to work with as a friend and a colleague. We miss him, " said Wayne Smutz, dean of UCLA Extension. Colleagues on Facebook pleaded for the publics help with the police investigation. Staff and faculty were offered counseling services this week for those who were grieving. Walen Ngo said Anderson was tragically and senselessly murdered. Theo Andrew Krah, a Coronado-based SEAL, has been charged with murder in Andersons death. An autopsy is pending, but prosecutors and police allege a knife was used in the attack. Krah is being held on $2-million bail. Krah, 28, was arrested Monday in San Diego, two days after the attack. Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said officers were called to break up a confrontation between Krah and Anderson on the pier about 4 p.m. Saturday. Nobody was arrested or injured in that incident. Police separated the men, who then went their separate ways, Rodriguez said. An hour later, Anderson was found lying in the 1300 block of 5th Street suffering from head trauma and stab wounds, police said. He died the next day at an area hospital. Krah and Anderson did not know each other before Saturdays fight, Rodriguez said. Krahs attorney Anthony Salerno said his client was on the pier Saturday afternoon for a paddleboard competition when he saw Anderson eyeing young girls and taking pictures of them. Krah confronted Anderson and demanded to see his camera, he said. He then restrained Anderson and asked a bystander to call police, his attorney said. Police, he said, asked Anderson to delete the photographs and let him go. Krahs attorney said his client is innocent and remained at the pier for a short time after the incident, then drove back to his home in San Diego. Anybody could have done this, Salerno said. The question is who. A Navy Personnel Command spokeswoman this week said she couldnt comment on Krahs arrest because he was a SEAL. Krah is a petty officer 2nd class assigned to a West Coast-based special warfare unit, according to Navy spokesman Zach Keating in San Diego. Krah enlisted in 2012 and was awarded a Korean Defense Service medal. He also earned a sea service deployment ribbon. The Navy SEAL website describes the Naval Special Warfare Command as a small, elite force. For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. They were strangers, federal investigators said, hired by a mastermind to plan a series of heists targeting jewelry stores in Southern California. They stormed in, smashed glass display cases with hammers and lifted $6 million in Rolex and other luxury Swiss watches. It had the makings of a classic Hollywood heist film whose cast of characters went by nicknames: Macc Attack, Tiny Bogart, Janky Bone, Green Eyes, Bully Bad Ass and Hang Out. On Thursday, the U.S. attorneys office announced that nine men suspected in a series of brazen smash-and-grab robberies had been named in a federal indictment. Four had been arrested, three already had been in custody and two others were on the run, federal officials said. Advertisement The organizers of this ring carefully planned and executed a series of daylight robberies that terrified and endangered store employees and bystanders, U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. Those named in the 13-count indictment were: Darrell Dent, 39, of Inglewood; Keith Walton, 45, of Los Angeles; Robert Johnson, 27, of Inglewood; Stanley Ford, 47, of Los Angeles; Justin Henning, 28, of Inglewood; Evan Scott, 27, of Inglewood; Kenneth Paul, 21, of Los Angeles; Jameson Laforest, 24, of Inglewood and Marshawn Marshall, 18, of Inglewood. All are charged with violating the Hobbs Act by conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery. Allegedly led by Dent, also known as D, the group targeted jewelry stores in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties that were known for carrying high-end watches -- including those made by Rolex, Audemar Piguet and TAG Heuer. Jewelry, including engagement rings, also were stolen. In all, 10 robberies that occurred between August 2015 and April of this year were connected to the group, prosecutors said. According to a U.S. District Court indictment, Dent, Ford, Walton, Scott and Paul recruited young men who were financially desperate and promised to pay them large sums of money to carry out the robberies. The men were provided with firearms, ski masks, gloves, hammers or sledgehammers, backpacks, construction uniforms for disguises, dark clothing and stolen vehicles for getaways. Dent, Walton, Ford and Henning then laid out a plan on how the robberies would be conducted and assigned roles, according to the indictment. In one robbery, two men wearing ski masks stormed into Rolex Boutique Gearys in the Westfield Century City mall on Aug. 24, 2015, fired one round to intimidate a security guard, then used hammers to smash glass displays. They stole 40 Rolex watches, approximately worth $1.63 million, according to the indictment. After each robbery, Marshall allegedly would wait in a getaway vehicle at a nearby location, then drive to a meeting point where the stolen watches were handed off to Laforest. Dent, the indictment said, sold the stolen watches for cash, and a small portion was given to the men. Federal prosecutors said the men often were paid significantly less than what was promised. veronica.rocha@latimes.com For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Shooting in Redondo Beach leaves one dead and another wounded Navy SEAL accused of deadly stabbing tried to do the right thing, attorney says Family questions circumstances leading up to deadly police shooting in South L.A. The National Park Service is turning 100 in August this year and to celebrate the vast beauty of Americas wildlands, the first family will tour Yosemite this weekend. President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, will be arriving in Atwater, Calif., on Friday evening. The next day, Obama will deliver remarks at Yosemite National Park. I want to make sure that the American people are able to enjoy the incredible national parks, the incredible beauty, the mountains, the oceans that have been one of the greatest gifts that we have ever received, Obama said in a Facebook video last week about the trip. I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass on to future generations the God-given beauty of this planet I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass on to future generations. Advertisement Yosemite National Park as seen from Valley View. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times ) The familys visit is one of two stops on a summer trip that is focused on Americas outdoors and national heritage. The other stop will be at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. During Obamas presidency, 22 sites have been added to the national parks system under the Antiquities Act, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The new sites not only helped diversify the parks system, but also protected sites that are critical components of the American story but for too long have been under-represented in the system, according to Eric Bontrager, spokesman for the National Parks Conversation Assn. With these designations, our National Park System is more inclusive, and better reflects the diverse, important history of our country and the visitors to our parks, he said. But more work remains before our national parks tell the complete American story. The organization called for the designation of a park site that recognizes the history of Americas lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. More work remains before our national parks tell the complete American story. Eric Bontrager, spokesman for the National Parks Conversation Assn. In May, Obama was preparing to approve a proposal that would make the Stonewall Inn in New York City the first national monument honoring the LGBT community. The inn is the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. Earlier this year, Obama declared three sites in Riverside and San Bernardino counties national monuments. The Snow National Monument, Mojave Trails National Monument and Castle Mountains National Monument helped connect protected wilderness in the area that stretches hundreds of miles. About 443 million people visited national parks, national wildlife refuges, national monuments and other public lands in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of the Interiors Economic Report for Fiscal Year 2015 released Friday. The department supported $106 billion in recreation, water, conservation and renewable energy investments and more than 860,000 jobs. Much of the value of our lands and historic sites cannot be expressed in dollars, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. Beyond their contributions to clean air, clean water and wildlife habitat, many are priceless treasures that belong to all Americans and help define our cultural heritage for present and future generations. For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO California woman is sentenced for vandalizing national parks Yosemites main east-west road to open for the season Terry Tempest Williams thinks, breathes and writes deeply in our national parks The Sherpa fire in Santa Barbara County is being fueled by notorious sundowner winds. The sundowners have been the cause of numerous devastating fires along Santa Barbara's mountainous east-west coastline, bringing strong Santa Ana-like winds around sunset. Sundowners caused a 1990 blaze that destroyed hundreds of homes in Santa Barbara County. https://twitter.com/shelbygrad/status/743816280952569857 The sundowner effect can be so destructive because of the violent clash of hot air from the Santa Ynez Mountains and the cool air of the Pacific Ocean. The sundowners can produce wind gusts that top 80 mph and increase temperatures. https://twitter.com/shelbygrad/status/743822226550493184 Sundowners are similar to the Santa Ana winds that have fueled many brush fires around Southern California. Both are formed by strong surface high pressure over the great basin, according to the Montecito Fire Department. The department, which battled a 2008 sundowner-fueled fire that destroyed dozens of homes, described the winds this way: Sundowners are also formed by building high pressure, however, this high pressure is much weaker but much closer to the Santa Barbara South Coast. Usually when the winds are fairly strong along the Central Coast of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties to the north, high pressure builds near Santa Maria behind the Santa Ynez range. As this high pressure builds, the same rule comes in play ... air flows from high to low pressure. Air pushes through the passes and canyons of the Santa Ynez Range, especially through the Gaviota Pass, San Marcos Pass, Montecito foothills, and some smaller canyons. The wind that results is more of a northwest to northeast wind and is usually quite strong. MORE ON SHERPA FIRE Santa Barbara fire bad omen for dangerous California fire season Watch as the Santa Barbara fire jumps Highway 101 and firefighters seek shelter Fire burning in Santa Barbara County more than doubles to 4,000 acres overnight The former head of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County has been ordered to avoid contact with juveniles for the next 16 months as part of a plea bargain with county prosecutors in a case involving the distribution of pornography, officials said. Scott Hounsell was initially charged with a felony for distributing pornography to a minor late last year after a mother in Pennsylvania told local prosecutors Hounsell had exchanged inappropriate Facebook messages with her daughters. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Hounsell on Tuesday pleaded no contest to the charge, which was reduced to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to participate in a 52-week sex offender counseling program, said Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County district attorneys office. Advertisement Hounsell was also ordered to avoid all contact with juveniles who are not family without adult supervision for the next 16 months and to 30 days of community service with Caltrans. His attorney did not return a request for comment. It was the second time in three years that Hounsell was accused of an inappropriate relationship with teenage girls. In 2013, Los Angeles police detectives informed Hounsell they were investigating allegations that he had sent inappropriate messages online to a teenage girl. Hounsell, 33, has a wife and two children and lives in Los Angeles. As a nationally ranked speaker while attending Cal State Northridge, he earned an internship with a Republican assemblyman during his senior year. By 2011, he had founded his own Los Angeles-based political and public relations consulting firm Del Cielo Group. See more of our top stories on Facebook The district attorneys office declined to file charges in the earlier case, but referred it to the city attorney, who brought misdemeanor charges in August 2013. The complaint accused Hounsell of exchanging Facebook messages with the intent of trying to seduce the girl. When the accusation went public, the backlash hit Hounsell hard. One websites headline read, Ex-GOP Leader Who Made Fun of Weiner Arrested for Sexting a Minor. Hounsell maintained his innocence. Eventually, he agreed to attend counseling sessions and make a $2,000 contribution to a local charity in exchange for the charges being dropped. Hounsell then filed a federal lawsuit against the city claiming defamation and announced it on social media. He said he was a political target of Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer, a Democrat, because he was Republican. Hounsell noted the intense media scrutiny he came under after his arrest. In the field of politics, any hint of impropriety, especially sexual impropriety with a minor, makes a person almost entirely unemployable, his lawsuit said. Scott was arrested at the time two Democrats Anthony Weiner of New York and Bob Filner of San Diego were both in trouble for sexual misconduct. The L.A. city attorneys office chose to make a public case of the filing in an effort to defame Scott and Republicans, Hounsells lawsuit claimed. But his declarations of innocence caught the eye of Robin Smiths daughters in Pennsylvania. The Smith family knew Hounsell because he had spent time with them during his mission with the Mormon church in about 2005, Smith told the Times. One of Smiths daughters, who was about 16 at the time, said Hounsell had exchanged hundreds of intimate messages with her on Facebook. One of Smiths other daughters made the same claim. I was floored, I couldnt believe it, Smith said. It infuriates me. Look what you did to my little girls. Look what you did to my family. We trusted him. Smith alerted authorities in Los Angeles, who began to investigate. Technicians recovered the messages that had since been deleted, Smith said. Hounsell was arrested in November. Authorities said he had been grooming the girls for a physical relationship. There is no political agenda, Smith said. This is about my children and that other girl that didnt go where it shouldve gone. For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna. ALSO Report links Oakland police chiefs resignation to officer sex scandal Sexting: what it is, who it affects, and how it affects them Man found with weapons, explosives before L.A. pride parade now charged with molesting Indiana girl The fire started smoldering Wednesday afternoon off a curvy mountain road in the coastal hills north of Santa Barbara. Then, infamous sundowner winds started blowing fiercely, and the Sherpa fire suddenly exploded. Authorities frantically shut down the 101 Freeway and evacuated hundreds of homes within a 15-mile path of the blaze, which was being pushed by 50-mph gusts. The fire was able to move so far because it was racing through overgrown hillsides and canyons that had not burned in more than 60 years. Advertisement Those grasses are like chest-high, really set to go off. They quickly go from green to brown to black, said Andrew Madsen, a spokesman for Los Padres National Forest. We may just be seeing the beginning of that. The state is in its fourth year of drought, and officials say the Sherpa blaze is a grim omen for what could be a summer and fall of fire. So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 30,000 acres on state and federal land. That is about equal or slightly higher than the same period in 2015, a particularly destructive year of fire that burned 307,598 acres and hundreds of homes and left at least nine people dead. You add a little bit of wind and these continued drought conditions and fires are going to threaten more homes and do more damage and take more resources, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Firefighters are going to be alert this weekend as a heat wave hits Southern California, bringing triple-digital temperatures through Monday. Forecasters said the conditions will further dry parched brush, heightening the fire risk. The last heat wave, a few weeks ago, helped fuel a dangerous fire in the Calabasas area that forces thousands to flee their homes and damaged several properties. The blazed exploded after temperatures in the area spiked 10 to 20 degrees. While Southern California experience a bone-dry winter and spring, parts of Northern California saw significant rain and snow. But those factors dont necessarily offer a guide to the fire season ahead. Last year, Northern California was hit much harder by fires than Southern California, even though the south was relatively drier. In Central California, experts have said heavier rainfall might have actually heightened the fire danger because hillside grass has grown taller. In the Sierra Nevada foothills, a big risk lies with the 29 million trees dying or infested with bark beetles. The National Interagency Fire Center forecast that the Central Valley might have a more active fire season in 2016, in part because of the worsening beetle infestation. In Santa Barbara, firefighters and residents were playing a waiting game. For the next few days, they are at the mercy of the sundowner winds. The sundowner effect can be so destructive because of the violent clash of hot air from the Santa Ynez Mountains and the cool air off the Pacific Ocean. During the day, the fire has somewhat predictable patterns, following topography. But when the sundowners arrive with sunset, the fire can become unpredictable and grow rapidly. The fire has burned more than 1,200 acres, but that number was expected to grow significantly Thursday night. Residents in the area are all too familiar with the devastation these powerful winds can bring. In 1990, in the wake of strong winds, the Painted Cave fire burned 5,000 acres in three hours and destroyed 427 homes. In 2008, sparked by a smoldering bonfire on a ridge line overlooking Montecito, the 1,940-acre Tea fire damaged 219 homes. Campers in the area, such as Charlie Hatten at El Capitan State Beach, were among those forced to leave Wednesday night. He knew it wouldnt be long before the small brush fire fellow campers told him about erupted. Hatten learned of a mandatory evacuation for El Refugio. I knew it was only a matter of time before they would come and tell us to leave, he said. A park ranger did evacuate them when he and his wife, Elizabeth, were sleeping in their car, seeking refuge from the ash. I woke up and the flames looked so close, he said. You couldnt see the moon anymore. Elizabeth said she was scared. The fire was so bright and orange, she said. I couldnt breathe. The couple headed to Santa Barbara Community College, where the American Red Cross had cots and water for the evacuees. Gayle Robinson, a volunteer for the Red Cross, said the college was the fourth place she called seeking an shelter for evacuees. There were a dozen RVs in the parking lot last night, she said. This place can hold up to 120 people who are lying down. The Hattens, who are from Santa Barbara, said theyre used to the fires that fill the air with smoke every summer. They were expecting El Nino and that didnt quite happen, Charlie Hatten said. Fires are going to get worse this season. This weathers going to make the perfect storm. Stopping a fire is going to be an enormous challenge and were definitely bracing those areas for a difficult fire season for years to come, Berlant said. The blaze is burning on the western face of the Santa Ynez Mountains, a swath of forest that hasnt been touched by flames since the devastating 1955 Refugio fire that burned for 10 days, scorching 77,000 acres. Thats a result of the increasing urban population living closer to the forest and our need to suppress a fire as soon as we get the call, Madsen said. It hasnt had the natural burn cycle that existed before. Its just kind of marching around up there, he added. A heat wave forecast from the weekend to Tuesday is only going to complicate matters, authorities said. Temperatures are expected to climb into the triple digits, further sapping any remaining moisture from the area. Song and Fernandez reported from Santa Barbara County; Serna from Los Angeles. Veronica Rocha contributed to this report. ALSO West Hollywood plastered with rainbow #ShootBack signs Navy SEAL accused of deadly stabbing tried to do the right thing, attorney says Forecast for Southern California: Hot this weekend, even hotter Monday Oppositional. Lacks remorse. Verbally abusive. These are some of the terms teachers and school counselors used to describe a young Omar Mateen, according to elementary and middle school records. Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, had a troubling record of behavioral issues throughout his elementary and middle school years, ranging from simply disrupting class to outright aggressive conflicts with classmates. Signs of trouble came as early as kindergarten, when a teacher wrote, Omar is basically intelligent student but does not always follow through his responsibility. Advertisement Records show that he had difficulty concentrating on assignments, had poor grades for years and displayed aggressive behavior as he moved among various schools in St. Lucie County from kindergarten through seventh grade. He transferred to the Martin County School District for eighth grade. When he was in third grade, teachers wrote, he talked a lot about violence and sex and used obscenities. He also was active, moving about the classroom with his hands all over the place, including on other children. He also sang Marijuana, Marijuana, rather than Mariposa, Mariposa, as the school song correctly goes. In fourth grade he continued to hit other students, as well as scream at them and his teacher, records show. During seventh grade at St. Lucie Countys Southport Middle School, he was switched from one class to another to avoid conflicts with other students, and his parents were given an intervention syllabus that said he was having behavioral problems including lack of self-discipline and self-control leading to academic failures, according to school records. Mateen, the New York-born son of Afghan immigrants, was bilingual and was enrolled in an English program for speakers of other languages. He did poorly in that program along with math and science, typically getting Ds and Fs as the years progressed. He fared no better in standardized testing. In the fifth-grade test he scored in the sixth percentile for reading vocabulary. The main factor prohibiting Omar from success in school is not that the work is too hard but rather his difficulties in conforming to class/school rules, wrote one of Mateens teachers. FULL COVERAGE: Orlando nightclub shooting According to school records, most of Mateens behavioral concerns stemmed from his failure to focus unless given one-on-one attention from his teachers. Mateen, who decades later would check social media during his shooting rampage to see how it was being covered, frequently attempted to draw attention to himself in class, jumping and flapping his arms about in a fourth-grade computer class. School records also show what appears to be a handwritten letter by Mateen addressed to his fourth-grade teacher complaining that two classmates bullied him, with one twisting his shoulder, requiring his father to massage it for him, and the other pushing fingers and nails onto Mateens neck, which led Mateen to write that he almost died. Records show that teachers and counselors kept Mateens family abreast of his behavioral and academic issues throughout his elementary and middle school years, but that there was little, if any, improvement. By seventh grade, a teacher wrote to Mateens father that if the boy improved his self-control, he will find greater social acceptance amongst his peers and thus gain self-confidence. ileana.najarro@latimes.com ALSO Families of Orlando victims gather for funerals as authorities seek answers about shooter His head is always down, and his lips is moving: Disturbing portrait emerging of Orlando shooter A night of terror: How the Orlando nightclub shooting unfolded Flashbacks floated through Josh Replogles mind as he drove through darkness toward the crime scene Sunday morning. As a reporter and video journalist for the Associated Press, he has covered a lot of tragedy deadly floods in Texas, more shootings than he can remember. But this time it was personal: Replogle paid to put himself through college working at Pulse. Advertisement The two years Replogle spent selling shots of alcohol at the gay nightclub changed his life. Replogle, who is straight, stumbled into the job upon the suggestion of his girlfriend now wife who knew a bouncer at Pulse and figured it would pay more than his gig at Chuck E. Cheeses. Replogle was studying broadcast journalism at the University of Central Florida and had an unpaid internship at a local TV station. So, without giving it much thought, he emailed the manager and included a picture of himself. The manager asked him to come in for an interview. This was 30 pounds ago, Replogle, now 29, said with a laugh. He didnt know what to expect from the job and felt a bit apprehensive. He grew up in rural North Carolina, where people often spoke of homosexuality and damnation in the same sentence, and while he never felt that way, he simply hadnt had any experience with the gay community. Hed certainly never gone to a drag performance like the ones he ended up watching at Pulse. On his first day, he remembers huge gusts of wind pushing against his body as he walked toward the clubs double doors. He paused for a moment and entered. People smiled and immediately introduced themselves. Before long, a group of male cheerleaders he recognized from campus showed up. Oh, wow, these are people I know, he recalled thinking. That realization was beautiful. He settled into a routine: Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. until last call at 2 a.m. The clubs energy was infectious. Now, whenever he hears Just Dance by Lady Gaga on the radio, he nods his head, transported back to the clubs dance floor, where he meandered the crowds, hawking shots of tequila, vodka and rum. He loved looking into the mesmerized crowd during drag shows. The way everyone stared intently, not wanting to miss a beat, reminded him of people glued to the screen during the Super Bowl. It was contagious, the feeling, he said, adding that he sometimes threw a couple dollars from his tips as encouragement for the performers. It didnt take him long to warm to the attention from flirting patrons. He remembers thinking: Hes eyeballing me, but so what? More than anything, Pulse gave him a community a community of people who genuinely wanted to know him. I felt loved, he said, his voice cracking. I felt acceptance, and Id never really had that before. The job softened his heart, he said, and made him open, more loving. I truly believe if everyone could have the experience I did, the world would be such a different place, he said. You say the word Pulse and its like a flash of happy times. Its a big chunk of who I am. Replogles cellphone rang around 3 a.m. Sunday. Hed returned 10 hours earlier from Louisville, where he covered Muhammad Alis funeral, and was looking forward to spending time with his four-week-old daughter. Ive been gone half her life, Replogle said, sighing. But he could tell his boss voice sounded somber as he asked him to head to a crime scene in Orlando the nightclub, he said, adding an extra article, was called the Pulse. What did you say? Replogle asked. His boss repeated the answer. As Replogle rushed to pack his bag, his whole body felt stiff. He drove from his home in suburban Fort Lauderdale to Pulse not needing GPS and cried along the way. Before arriving, he sent a Facebook message to two friends he knew still worked at the club. Hey guys! he wrote, I saw there was a shooting at pulse!! A longtime Pulse bartender responded: Yes. Please send prayers. When he pulled onto Orange Avenue, where Pulse is located, Replogle saw two men on the side of the road sobbing. He did a U-turn and asked if they were OK. No response, he said. Just wailing. One of the men had just learned that his brother Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 had died. Replogle had heard the death toll was 20. But around 9 a.m., after Replogle and other reporters had set up their cameras near the scene, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer walked slowly to the microphones. It is with great sadness, he said, that I share we have not 20, but 50 casualties. Some reporters gasped, one woman yelped, Oh, my God! Tears fell from Replogles eyes and he turned his back to the news conference to regain composure. He spent the next few days covering breaks in the FBIs investigation into the accused shooter, Omar Mateen, and by Thursday, big, dark circles had formed under his eyes. But he wanted to keep covering the story, and he did. marisa.gerber@latimes.com ALSO Security footage shows killing rampage at Orlando nightclub Even in third grade, Orlando shooter was troubled and aggressive In a week of mourning in Orlando, members of the LGBT community vow to stay resilient Good morning. It is Friday, June 17. The barista at San Franciscos Elite Audio Coffee Bar may be the best coffee artist in America. Heres what else is happening in the Golden State: TOP STORIES Fire dangers Advertisement The Sherpa fire north of Santa Barbara could be a bad omen for the upcoming fire season. So far this year, 30,000 acres have burned across the state. You add a little bit of wind and these continued drought conditions and fires are going to threaten more homes and do more damage and take more resources, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Los Angeles Times Preventing blackouts The L.A. Department of Water and Power will be allowed to burn diesel at three power plants this summer if it means avoiding blackouts. The South Coast Air Quality Management District agreed to exempt the utility from emissions standards for 90 days. Utility officials have warned there could be blackouts this summer if natural gas deliveries are curtailed because of problems at Aliso Canyon. Los Angeles Times Corporate shake-up Media mogul Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone announced they are removing five members of the Viacom Inc. governing board. In response, Viacom accused Shari Redstone of trying to wrest control of the company. Sadly, it is now clear that Mr. Redstone is being manipulated and used by his daughter in an attempt to accomplish her long-held goal of gaining complete control of Viacom, said Viacoms lead board member Frederic Salerno. Los Angeles Times DROUGHT AND CLIMATE Collateral damage: Californias millions of dead trees could mean more wildfires, which trigger mudslides and diminish water quality. No amount of rain is going to bring those dead trees back, said the chief of Cal Fire. Wired L.A. AT LARGE Olympic competition: The people behind Paris Olympic bid paid a visit this week to Los Angeles a rival for the 2024 Games. The group was spotted taking pictures and videos of potential venues at USC, the Coliseum and the Galen Center. While surprising, we have no objection to Paris 2024 leaders wanting to tour our venues because they are not secrets, said Jeff Millman, a spokesman for LA 2024. Los Angeles Times Changing scene: Sunset Boulevard is becoming the newest stretch of luxury living. The areas shift toward luxury residences reflects a national trend in which young professionals and empty nesters are selling in the suburbs and embracing urban living. In Los Angeles, skyrocketing prices for single-family homes make renting more attractive. Wall Street Journal Street signs: Rainbow-colored versions of the Gadsden flag with the hashtag #ShootBack are popping up all over West Hollywood. Theres a lot of frustration, a lot of rage, a lot of sadness, but we firmly believe that love conquers hate, said Mayor Lauren Meister. Los Angeles Times Getting around: What happens when a writer moves to Los Angeles without a drivers license? He spends a lot of money on Uber and finds love along the way. I also feel no shame now in telling people that Im unable to drive and I meet more fellow non-drivers every day, he writes. Refinery 29 Whats for lunch: What was Pamela Anderson doing at an LAUSD school board meeting? Supporting vegan lunch options. This is my first time to speak to the LA school board, and I think its so important to teach children to be vegan, Anderson said. Its unclear just how persuasive the appearance was by the A-lister. Im hooked on meat and ice cream, said school board member George McKenna. LA School Report POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Studying guns: State lawmakers approved $5 million for the creation of a new research center on firearm violence. The National Rifle Assn. opposed the decision, arguing it would use taxpayer dollars to fund a political agenda. It is a big step for us, frankly, and for the country to step in where Congress has failed, said state Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis). Los Angeles Times Not an emergency: Gov. Jerry Brown will not declare a state of emergency over homelessness in Los Angeles County. We recognize the importance of addressing homelessness in our cities and will continue to support local governments, which remain best positioned to tackle challenges like this and tailor solutions to the needs of their communities, said a spokeswoman for the governor. The declaration had been requested by the Board of Supervisors. 89.3 KPCC CRIME AND COURTS Dead sheep: Officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are seeking information about the killing of a Bighorn sheep in Northern California. The head and the horns of the animal had been removed. The animal is believed to be from a group of sheep planted near the upper Klamath River canyon. Siskiyou Daily News Musical minutiae: Led Zeppelin lead guitarist Jimmy Page got into it with an attorney Thursday morning when he took the witness stand in a copyright dispute over Stairway to Heaven. Page and Francis Malofiy, the attorney representing the estate of Randy Craig Wolfe of the Los Angeles rock band Spirit, sparred in sometimes sharp exchanges as Malofiy tried, largely in vain, to extract incriminating concessions from the 72-year-old, white-haired rock star. Los Angeles Times Terror lawsuit: The father of a 23-year-old Long Beach woman who was killed in a terrorist attack last fall in Paris is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter for providing material support to extremists. The fact of the situation is that while these companies do something to try to curtail terrorist use of the websites, they dont do enough, said an attorney for Reynaldo Gonzalez. Los Angeles Times Smash and grab: Remember last summer when two men used assault rifles to rob a Rolex store in Century City? The suspects were part of a ring that hit high-end stores and stole more than $6 million in Rolexes and watches, authorities said. Now three members of that crew are behind bars while two remain at large. LA Weekly Mayors daughter: The daughter of Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts was charged with arranging an attack on her landlord. Ashley Melissa Butts is accused of hiring Israel Rios to attack the landlord with a metal bat back in April. The victim suffered cuts and bruises. If convicted, Ashley Butts could face seven years in prison. Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA CULTURE Cannabis culture: Anything you want to know about marijuana you can learn at the Oakland Museum of California, which spent two years putting together an interactive exhibit on cannabis, writes Robin Abcarian. Marijuana is often misunderstood, or people have a very limited perspective based on what they think they know. We are going to put the debate out there, said museum director Lori Fogarty. Los Angeles Times Newsroom for sale: A Canadian developer is in talks to purchase the building that has been home to the Los Angeles Times since the 1930s, according to a person familiar with the deal. Onni Group has an eye toward redeveloping the property into modern offices, retail space and possibly residential units. Its unclear if the L.A. Times will remain in the building. Its lease goes through 2018. Los Angeles Times Cultural resurgence: The former head of L.A.s Department of Cultural Affairs is helping bring neon signs back to Havana. Half a century ago, Cuba had as much neon as New York and Paris but after Fidel Castro came to power, the signs were seen as too commercial and ultimately became too expensive to maintain. Los Angeles Times On the dance floor: For young gay men in the Latino community, clubs can often provide a sense of home and belonging. The best part of the gay Latino club was that the DJ was one of us he knew how to tap into the memory banks of our childhoods by surprising us with a cumbia, a merengue, a bachata and our bodies sprang into action. BuzzFeed Doesnt sound right: Players with the new L.A. Rams tried to pronounce the names of city streets and neighborhoods like Tujunga and Sepulveda. They could use some practice. KFI AM 640 Im so fancy: Disneyland has a secret menu of experiences for high rollers. But some visitors dont like the idea of paying for perks on top of a $100 admission ticket. Its all part of the one-percenting of Disneyland. Im a Bernie Sanders so far as Disneyland is concerned, said one man. Los Angeles Magazine CALIFORNIA ALMANAC It will be partly sunny and 67 in San Francisco. Sacramento will be sunny and 80. Los Angeles will be mostly sunny with a high of 79. Itll be sunny and 89 degrees in Riverside. There will be patchy fog in San Diego as temperatures reach a high of 79. AND FINALLY Todays California Memory comes from Marybeth Vergara-Garcia: As a young girl growing up in South L.A. under the LAX flight path near Manchester Boulevard, I always wondered how the view looked from above and would even try to outrun the shadow of the planes as they passed. My father would pick us up from school and wed go straight to Playa del Rey beach. Wed pick up a loaf of bread from Webers bakery, take a watermelon and head out towards the west. My brothers and sisters always competed to see who saw the ocean first. Thats how I learned to swim in the ocean. It was our special place. If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad. More than two decades ago, Democrats and Republicans united around a bill designed to provide an extra measure of protection for Americans whose religious beliefs made it difficult for them to comply with some laws. The 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (or RFRA) says that a person may be exempted from laws that substantially burden the free exercise of religion. The government can compel compliance only if the law furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. The law was passed in response to a Supreme Court ruling that the 1st Amendment didnt protect two members of the Native American Church who were fired from their jobs for using peyote, an illegal hallucinogen, in a religious rite. In signing the bill, then-President Bill Clinton said that it established the principle that the government should be held to a very high level of proof before it interferes with someones free exercise of religion. This judgment is shared by the people of the United States as well as by the Congress. Advertisement But the consensus Clinton referred to has come apart, to the point that some former supporters of the law now think it should be repealed while others are proposing that it be amended to make it clear that it cant be used to excuse discrimination against others. What happened to undermine support for a bill that passed the Senate by a 97-3 vote and was approved by a voice vote in the House? One factor is the overly broad way the Supreme Court interpreted RFRA in its 2014 Hobby Lobby decision. By a 5-4 vote, the justices held that a family-owned for-profit corporation was a person under RFRA and could use the law to object to including contraceptives for female employees as part of its company health insurance despite the fact that such coverage is mandated under the Affordable Care Act. Justices who dissented from that decision also raised the possibility that RFRA might be used to justify discrimination, despite an insistence by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., the author of the majority opinion, that racial discrimination couldnt be cloaked as religious practice. Congress ... should rectify the error the Supreme Court committed in the Hobby Lobby case when it ruled that for-profit corporations are persons under RFRA. The second development that has undermined support for RFRA isnt a Supreme Court decision but the reaction to one. After the court ruled last year that the Constitution required same-sex couples be given marriage licenses, legislators in various states sought to enact state versions of RFRA so that merchants with religious objections to gay marriage could seek to be excused from providing services to same-sex couples such as a baker who believed baking a wedding cake for two men would violate his religious rights. Some progressives who had previously defended protections for religious beliefs developed second thoughts when it seemed possible that religion-freedom laws could be used as a cudgel against gays and lesbians. We continue to believe that RFRA and a similar federal law protecting religious freedom in prisons serve a legitimate purpose. The beneficiaries of those laws have included a Muslim prisoner who successfully challenged a rule preventing him from growing a beard; a Native American who sued to force the federal government to return ceremonial eagle feathers it had confiscated; and a Sikh employee of the Internal Revenue Service who was sent home for carrying a kirpan, a ceremonial blade emblematic of her faith that posed no danger to her co-workers. But in those cases, accommodating the religious scruples of one person didnt intrude on the civil rights of others. Those who want to amend RFRA insist that Congress should make it crystal clear that the law cant be used to justify discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. We agree. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass.) has introduced the Do No Harm Act, which would clarify that RFRA couldnt be used to impose the religious views of one person on another or to exempt a believer from compliance with federal civil rights laws. Another bill, the Equality Act sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), is primarily designed to expand current civil rights laws to cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, a long-overdue expansion of civil-rights law, BUT THE Cicilline bill also says that RFRA cant provide a defense for acts of discrimination in violation of all civil rights laws. That should be the principal focus of any effort to amend RFRA. But Congress also should rectify the error the Supreme Court committed in the Hobby Lobby case when it ruled that for-profit corporations are persons under RFRA. A revised RFRA would protect the free exercise of religion by individuals but not at the expense of the rights of other individuals. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook Last week Sen. John McCain accepted an award also bestowed on Vice President Joe Biden for civility in public life. I wondered earlier today if Allegheny College, which honored McCain for arguing passionately but respectfully for his beliefs, might be having second thoughts. Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, McCain said that President Obama was directly responsible for the murder of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub. The full quote: Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, Al Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obamas failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq. So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies. Advertisement Perhaps realizing that he sounded a bit like Donald Trump, the presidential candidate he has endorsed, McCain backtracked. I misspoke, McCain said in a press release. I did not mean to imply that the president was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obamas national security decisions, not the president himself. In other words: Never mind. But even the revised version of McCains indictment isnt very persuasive. In that do-over, the Arizona senator said: President Obamas decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011 led to the rise of ISIL. I and others have long warned that the failure of the presidents policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando. Several problems with this: U.S. troops were withdrawn from Iraq pursuant to a deal reached with the Iraqi government by the George W. Bush administration (though Obama arguably could have tried harder to persuade the Iraqis to allow a residual U.S. force). But even if the U.S. withdrawal is the cause of the rise of Islamic State, it doesnt follow that Obamas decision directly caused the shooting rampage in Orlando. At most Obama can be faulted for what lawyers call but-for causality: But for the decision to withdraw (according to McCain), Al Qaeda in Iraq wouldnt have mutated into Islamic State and that group wouldnt have been in a position to seduce Omar Mateen into pledging allegiance to the group by committing a massacre. But McCain is on the defensive not because of dodgy causality but because he accused the president of being directly responsible for an atrocity against Americans. Thats a slur of Trumpian dimensions and McCain didnt even bother hedging by saying, Trump-style, that some people think Obama is directly responsible. So McCain can keep his civility award, but its looking a little tarnished. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION Mend, dont end, a religious-freedom law Gun and self-defense statistics that might surprise you -- and the NRA Banning firearm sales to suspected terrorists is a distraction. America needs real gun control The Federal Bureau of Investigation added Omar Mateen to its terrorist watch list twice, in 2013 and 2014, then removed him after closing its investigations. Even if Mateen had remained on the list, he would have been allowed to buy a handgun and a Sig Sauer MCX, which he used in last weekends mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Opinion asked two writers who follow the gun debate closely to consider whether watch lists, and the no-fly list in particular, should be used to deny Americans the right to purchase firearms. Below, Timothy Edgar of Brown University says the answer is yes. Click here for an essay by Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review, who takes the other side. Our laws prevent many dangerous people from buying firearms or explosives even if they have never been arrested or convicted of a crime. We bar habitual drug users, people under restraining orders for stalking and domestic violence, and dishonorably discharged veterans. Suspected terrorists, however, are allowed to buy as many guns as they want. Advertisement That makes no sense. When law enforcement and intelligence agencies say they have specific and credible information that a prospective gun buyer may be a terrorist, we should listen to them and block the sale. National security often requires hard choices. This is not one of them. The FBIs Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) is perhaps the governments most important information-sharing tool for preventing terrorist attacks. It was created by order of President Bush in 2003. Names of known or suspected terrorists might come from a police raid in Brussels, a terrorist safe house in Yemen, an NSA intercept or an FBI investigation. Agencies are required to share such intelligence by nominating suspects to the watch list. At the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center, analysts vet the intelligence to see if it is specific enough to meet a standard of reasonable suspicion. If so, the suspect goes on the list. If there is a threat the suspect will carry out a violent attack, he is placed on the smaller no-fly list, a subset of the TSDB. The list is then shared with agency systems that screen travelers and with the FBIs information system for state and local law enforcement. How does a police officer on the beat know if she encounters a suspected terrorist? The TSDB is the answer. If an officer runs a check during a routine stop, she will be alerted of a hit and will be directed to call the FBI. Because the background check system for firearms is the same as the one used by the police, it includes names from the TSDB. In the past decade, there have been thousands of matches. Because there was no other reason to bar the purchase, the vast majority of these sales were approved. We have no idea how many of these weapons have been used in crimes, terrorist or otherwise, in the United States or elsewhere. In 2007, the Bush administration urged passage of a law giving the government authority to block suspected terrorists from buying guns. Congress rejected Bushs sensible terror gap proposal, bowing to the National Rifle Assn. President Obama has fared no better. Right now, people on the no fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun, he said after the San Bernardino attacks. That is insane. While using the terrorist watch list to prevent gun sales would inconvenience those on the list by mistake, there is no reason to fetishize the 2nd Amendment. Todays terrorists have shifted from planning spectacular attacks involving airplanes. They prefer to radicalize followers on the Internet, encouraging easily planned carnage. We knew of this trend long before San Bernadino and Orlando. In a video in 2011, an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda put it bluntly. America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. ... So what are you waiting for? Its true, as critics claim, that the watch list is far from perfect. In 2014, the TSDB had 800,000 entries, of which 64,000 were on the no-fly list. One in 10 were Americans. The size of the list raises questions about quality. The system also lacks many ordinary due process safeguards. There is a redress process, but those who complain lack access to the full information often highly classified that put them on the list. Do these problems mean that using the TSDB to screen gun buyers would violate the Bill of Rights? No more than using the list to screen travelers. According to the Supreme Court, both the right to keep and bear arms and the right to travel are fundamental liberties. The right to travel is exercised far more frequently. While there were 23 million gun sales requiring a background check in 2015, there were almost 900 million travelers on domestic and international flights serving the United States in the same year. Despite the burden the watch list imposes, federal judges have been unwilling to strike it down, recognizing the governments national security interests as compelling. In March, a federal judge in Oregon upheld the governments revised redress process, rejecting the latest challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union. While using the terrorist watch list to prevent gun sales would inconvenience those who may be on the list by mistake, there is no reason to fetishize the 2nd Amendment over other rights. The no-fly list causes inconvenience and hardship, but not even the ACLU thinks it should be abolished because it understands the need to keep terrorists from boarding airplanes. Preventing terrorists from buying weapons is just as necessary. The man who sold Omar Mateen the weapons he used in the deadliest mass shooting in American history is Ed Henson, a former police officer who was working in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. The National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York includes many images of Hensons fallen comrades in the NYPD. The museum also preserves the chilling videos of hijackers walking unmolested through airport checkpoints as they prepared to mount the deadliest terrorist attack in American history. The terrorist watch list could prevent the next 9/11. It might also prevent the next mass shooting by a terrorist if we allow Henson and others who sell guns to use it. Timothy Edgar is a visiting fellow at Brown University. He served as the director of privacy and civil liberties for the White House National Security Staff under President Obama. From 2006 to 2009, he was the deputy for civil liberties for the director of national intelligence, reviewing the terrorist watch list, among other programs. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook ALSO Op-Ed: Guns and the no-fly list: Whatever happened to due process? Opinion: We can learn from the Orlando attack, but only if were willing to be brave Editorial: Banning firearm sales to suspected terrorists is a distraction. America needs real gun control Before she won this years Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton was a loser. Her defeat by Barack Obama in 2008 was painful and public. She had entered the campaign with an aura of inevitability that disintegrated torturously with every primary loss and superdelegate defection. As journalist John Heileman summed it up at the end, Her legacy has been tarnished, her status degraded, and her reputation diminished. Eight years later, Clinton is back on top. Analysts have chalked up her rise to grit, political acumen and the backing of the Democratic establishment. But as elemental to her resurgence as any other factor is Clintons exemplary approach to failure. For many a politician, a high-stakes rout can be career-ending. Clintons dexterity in defeat holds lessons for anyone faced with coming back from a harsh setback that is to say, for all of us. A Hillary Clinton primer on the art of losing would have several tenets. First, nurse your bruises in private; jettison any public evidence of the emotional detritus of defeat, including frustration, embarrassment and bitterness. En route to her 2008 concession, Clintons most severe stumble was a shocking third-place finish in the Iowa caucus. After letting a tear roll down her cheek during a public appearance at a New Hampshire diner, Clinton regained her composure and was focused, substantive and even witty at a debate. She expounded on the hunt for Osama bin Laden and managed a chuckle when Obama called her likable enough. Anyone who has to address a crowd right after hearing bad news would do well to channel Clintons poise in that debate. Advertisement Her feelings remained firmly in check six months later when nary a smirk, never mind a tear, crossed her face in a soaring concession speech to supporters. Whatever family, friends and staff did to get her past campaign heartbreak was neither seen nor heard. Although leaders are expected to get emotional when reacting to tragedies, they cannot be seen to grieve over blows to their own ambitions. Her equanimity in those early post-concession days convinced Team Obama that she could handle the emotional jujitsu of helping propel his campaign. When the person who is fired, passed over or rejected keeps cool, she avoids overlaying extra guilt and awkwardness on an already fraught dynamic and makes it easier for the winner to pull her back into the fold. The second tenet in the Clintonian art of losing is to project towering self-confidence. Her address to the 2008 Democratic National Convention crackled with the electricity of someone whose political future was far from over. She held fast to the self-assurance that had led her to think she could win the White House in the first place, leaving Obama acutely aware of her potency. A third tenet is rejection of vengefulness and recrimination. The harsh tone of the hard-fought campaign vanished the moment Clinton lost. Her calls for unity went beyond pro forma and she did not let members of her team bite back, even anonymously. Her husband, Bill, once lapsed into a caustic reference to Obama as the best man for the job, but that only underscored Hillarys self-control. Her discipline earned her the esteem of Obama supporters who at first fretted about whether party unity could be restored and then credited her when it was. Fourth, understand the value of a consolation prize. After the primaries, Clinton supporters openly touted her as a deserving running mate. The thinking went that nothing less than veep would befit a candidate who got 18 million votes for president. But when the vice presidency went to Joe Biden, Clinton recognized that losers cant be choosers and became secretary of State. With each achievement at Foggy Bottom, Clinton put 2008 farther back in the rearview mirror. Ordinary mortals in defeat dont get offered Cabinet posts; they face demotions or lateral moves. They should take a page from Clinton by digging in, doing well and writing their own next chapter. Clintons service at State allowed her ample opportunity to demonstrate a fifth axiom: commitment to the larger cause. Whether it is to a profession, a sport or a political platform, showing that your dedication transcends personal setbacks earns respect and, eventually, permission to succeed again. If Clinton had given Team Obama any reason to doubt her motives at State, the hatchet buried at the end of the campaign would have resurfaced. With a general election victory seemingly within reach, failure might seem to be a thing of Clintons past. But even the most successful presidents fail. Lost votes in Congress, midterm election reversals, deadlocked negotiations, delayed votes and elusive targets are unavoidable. The ability to regroup, retire grudges and rally wavering supporters are essential to surmounting rough patches. Moreover, the pivotal moments of a presidency are always haunted by the prospect of failure. President Obamas decision to greenlight the raid that killed Bin Laden was courageous precisely because it could well have ended in catastrophe. Although no president aims to fail, all need the confidence that failures can be endured. That mettle allows leaders to press forward on efforts ambitious policy reforms, peace plans that are as uncertain as they are consequential. We need a president who can win, but also one who knows how to lose. Suzanne Nossel is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook ALSO Analysis: Bernie Sanders never came close to beating Hillary Clinton, but his campaign still mattered. Heres why Oprah endorses Hillary Clinton: Its a seminal moment for women How Hillary Clinton won California To the editor: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a great great idea: We have to check, respectfully, the mosques. And ... other places. (What it could look like if Donald Trumps broader immigration ban were implemented, June 15) Great, great idea. And Christians. Millions are streaming across state lines every day to kill abortionists. Millions. We have to go in and check Christian congregations, respectfully. We have to go into Catholic churches too, since billions of priests are molesting people. We have to check if the pope knows whats going on. Hes a socialist by the way, and I hear hes a Mexican, but thats OK. Everybody has to report on people in their own religion. So as a Jew, Im reporting that trillions of religiously trained Jewish functionaries are ritualistically slaughtering innocent animals every day. We have to check the synagogues. And Trumps daughter, a converted Jew, we have to check her too, respectfully. Advertisement Some Trump fans might not realize: This letter is called political satire. Ira Spiro, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Trump has said we must be smart about dealing with terrorism. However, Trumps xenophobic rhetoric on Muslims has appeared in jihadist recruitment videos. It can be argued that Trumps proposal for a Muslim immigration ban is doing more to help create new terrorists. Is this smart? Does throwing gasoline on the fire of hatred against the U.S. while simultaneously alienating Muslims sound like an intelligent strategy? There are some who believe that simply because Trump employs tough talk, he might be a more effective president in acting against terrorism. I would argue the opposite: By stoking the fires of hate against the U.S., Trumps behavior poses a danger to the United States. Matthew Singerman, Newbury Park .. To the editor: Why would anyone, including public officials such as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), claim to know what is reflective of our principles? Is unfettered population growth an American principle? Is more people competing for increasingly scarce jobs a desirable outcome? Trumps only mistake in calling for a temporary ban on some refugees and immigrants is that he did not go far enough. There ought to be a moratorium on all immigration to allow time for an open and honest national debate. The objective would be to achieve consensus on a long-term strategic immigration plan that is in the best interest of the United States and an outcome that accurately reflects the abiding principles that 320 million Americans share. David Goode, Manhattan Beach Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook When Bernie Sanders took an early, exploratory trip to Iowa, a curious crowd of 150 or so turned out at a college-town bookstore, where they listened politely as he raged against the billionaires and oligarchs he said were destroying America. The angry aria from the wild-haired, slouch-shouldered senator from Vermont was delivered beneath a sign reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, which seemed an apt, if unintended, metaphor. How many people would take seriously a 73-year-old Jewish grandfather and democratic socialist, vying for the presidential nomination of a party he never joined and trying to topple one of the countrys most powerful political dynasties? Advertisement Plenty, it turned out. Sanders thick Brooklyn baritone became a clarion call for the angry and the economically aggrieved, his rallies a sprawling coast-to-coast spectacle that blended the hippie vibe of Woodstock with the militancy of Occupy Wall Street. His improbably strong White House bid won him more than 12 million votes and 22 states, made Sanders a household name and turned him into a cultural phenomenon, with a doppelganger on Saturday Night Live and a retinue of celebrity endorsers that made old, bespectacled and grumpy seem almost chic. Sanders, who effectively ended his campaign in an online speech to supporters Thursday night, never came close to actually winning the Democratic nomination. Still, he forced Hillary Clinton to embrace his populist economic agenda and echo his views on financial regulation, raising the minimum wage, reining in college costs, overhauling the campaign finance system and casting a more skeptical eye on foreign trade. He showed something real and powerful, said Ben Tulchin, who conducted polling for the Sanders campaign. That you can succeed politically by tapping into economic anxieties and frustration with Washington and offering bold, principled, progressive solutions. Sanders defied the notion that only millionaires and billionaires can wield their wallets and have a political impact, raising more than $200 million from mostly small donors without the help of a super PAC scooping up five- and six-figure checks. He also became a cult figure to millennial voters, who swelled his crowds to stadium size, many of them tuning in and turning on to politics for the first time in their young lives There is, however, an important difference between leading a movement and becoming the presidential standard-bearer of a major political party. He showed ... you can succeed politically by tapping into economic anxieties and frustration with Washington and offering bold ... progressive solutions. Ben Tulchin, pollster for Bernie Sanders campaign. One requires passion, a resonant message and the power of exhortation. The other calls for that and more: tactical maneuvering, intensive organizing, the massaging of political insiders and the nuts-and-bolts machinations of ensuring supporters turn out and cast their ballots. Sanders proved brilliant at the former. The latter, not as much. He started his long-shot campaign with some advantages. Anyone who thought Democrats would simply coronate a candidate any candidate without a contest was either ignorant or chose to ignore the partys fratricidal history. The front-runner this time was singularly vulnerable to an insurgent challenge. Clintons resume Ivy Leaguer, first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of State fairly screamed establishment and status quo at a time many voters harbored a curdling animosity toward both. But the institutional support Clinton enjoyed within the party which her husband led through two terms as president and abiding doubts about the viability of Sanders candidacy were twin hurdles the political independent-turned-Democrat never managed to overcome. The skepticism pushed a substantial majority of superdelegates party leaders and others with a guaranteed vote at the Democratic National Convention into Clintons camp, however reluctantly, and gave her an enormous mathematical advantage over Sanders from the start. The way the party awards its delegates, on a proportional rather than winner-take-all basis, meant that once Clinton began to pull away there was no way her rival could catch up short of notching one landslide victory after another. The result was a self-reinforcing negative loop, at least among party insiders holding sway over the nominating process: Because Sanders never pulled close in the delegate count, many were unconvinced he was a truly viable candidate. Because he wasnt seen as viable, there was no reason to abandon Clinton, who ran a far better, more disciplined campaign than in 2008. To shake up the race, Sanders needed to do something dramatic. His hopes rested on consecutive victories in the first three contests: Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. A string of losses might have fatally wounded Clinton and would certainly have dispelled the air of inevitability that helped buoy her candidacy. Sanders lost narrowly in Iowa and clobbered Clinton in New Hampshire, Vermonts next-door neighbor. Nevada, which voted next, proved a turning point. Sanders battled from far behind polling by both campaigns gave Clinton a 25-point lead and pulled within striking distance. But lacking her strong on-the-ground operation and the longstanding political ties she enjoyed in a state her husband won twice, Sanders lost decisively, with 47% to Clintons 53%. His defeat helped contribute to a Clinton romp a week later in South Carolina and opened the door for her to sweep the South, which proved vital. With strong support from black voters, many loyal from her White House days, Clinton rolled up massive victories she carried Mississippi by a margin of close to 70 percentage points and built an insurmountable delegate lead. The pattern would repeat itself. Though Sanders made inroads among younger black and Latino voters, he lacked the deep ties that Clinton enjoyed with those communities and tended to fare less well in states with sizable, ethnically diverse populations. He was unable to translate his basic message beyond younger white voters into a larger and more deeply reflective constituency of the Democratic Party, said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster who nonetheless lauded Sanders candidacy. He lit a fire with a whole lot of people who were convinced the Democratic Party had grown sort of stale, Maslin said. There is real promise there for the future. The positive side of him should not be discarded. Sanders also made a strategic decision early on that worked to Clintons considerable benefit. He lit a fire ... with a whole lot of people who were convinced the Democratic Party had grown sort of stale. Democratic strategist Paul Maslin In more than 40 years in politics as the mayor of Burlington, a 16-year member of the House and two-term senator he had never aired a negative television ad. It was a source of pride, and Sanders publicly committed himself to running a positive, issue-oriented presidential campaign. Back in October, in their first debate, Sanders brushed aside a question about Clintons use of a private computer server while secretary of State, emphatically declaring that people were sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails. Clinton beamed; in a stroke, her rival laid aside one of the most politically nettlesome issues she faced. He would eventually loosen the strictures of his no-negativity pledge, assailing Clintons judgment, questioning her qualifications and demanding she release transcripts of the high-paying closed-door speeches she delivered to Wall Street executives. They must have been Shakespearean to earn that kind of money, he scoffed, to the derisive laughter of audiences. He even circled back to the email issue, suggesting on the final weekend before Californias June 7 primary that the controversy and pending legal questions were certainly something superdelegates, among others, were keeping in mind. By then, though, the tide of the race had long been all but irreversible. Sanders scored scattered victories, most notably an upset in Michigan and wins in Wisconsin and Indiana. The results, however, did little more than encourage Sanders to keep campaigning on the chance a mass of superdelegates would suddenly defect from Clinton and throw Julys convention open to a floor fight. That was never likely to happen. Democrats may be fractious, but few were eager for that kind of spectacle, knowing the damage it could do to the partys chances in November. Sanders, for all his talk of political revolution, apparently isnt holding out for that either. He said Thursday night he would work to push the Democratic Party in a more leftward direction but not, he suggested, at the expense of winning the White House. He made his thinking clear back in the spring of 2015, when his candidacy still seemed a fantasy and not yet a phenomenon. I will not, he said, play the role of spoiler. mark.barabak@latimes.com ALSO One week later, almost 2 million California primary ballots still must be reviewed Bernie Sanders lists his demands and declines to praise Hillary Clinton but how much leverage does he have left? Sanders voters in California look for concessions from Clinton, but most will support her if reluctantly Bernie Sanders presidential campaign ended with what had become his standard pitch in recent months as his odds of defeating Hillary Clinton dimmed: a long list of demands for the Democratic Party, a host of thinly veiled insults against party leaders and no recognition for the woman who outdistanced him in the popular vote and delegates en route to clinching the presidential nomination. Sanders never mentioned Clintons historic accomplishment except by inference when he said that his campaign henceforth would be about defeating Donald Trump. He never actually said that Clinton had defeated him, or even that he was bowing out of the race, despite the fact that there are no more primaries to contest. The absence of typical political grace by the defeated candidate was reminiscent of another insurgent inveighing against the establishment: Democrat Jerry Brown never got around to endorsing Bill Clinton in 1992 after the future president became his partys nominee. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook But if Sanders pitch Thursday night was consistent with his entire pursuit, it also came after his power seemed to have ebbed. In the last 10 days, Clinton has won the endorsement of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a competitor with Sanders for the affections of the liberal left. Clinton won all of the big contests in June--and decisively, despite Sanders confidence that he would do well and public claims that he would win convincingly. Those developments have solidified the Democratic Party into something approaching unity. Also weakening Sanders position have been Donald Trumps recent stumbles. Even with only a portion of Sanders voters lining up behind her, Clinton has taken a strong lead over Trump in polls taken over the last couple of weeks. That has lessened for now the urgency with which Clinton needed Sanders to deliver his mostly young adherents and thus has reduced the leverage he once had. Democrats, however, remain uncertain about what might come next in this unprecedented political campaign. So full unity with Sanders acknowledging Clintons win, however grudgingly remains a deep desire of party activists. Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter Rather than be a participant in that, however, Sanders on Thursday appeared to be an isolated survivor of the campaign whirlwind, delivering his swan song via video before a plain blue backdrop bearing his name, a performance that lacked the energy and enthusiasm that had marked his campaign while it lived. Sanders clearly was intent on maintaining some ambiguity about his plans. The only way in which his Thursday night remarks deviated from his standard stump speech occurred when he recounted his Tuesday meeting with Clinton. But that mention was leavened with some barely veiled insults. It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues. Bernie Sanders It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very, very important issues, he said, before adding that their views on others were close. I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history--and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda. The wording echoed comments that Sanders has made before--in particular after his supporters took part in a near-brawl at a party convention last month in Nevada. In a response days later, he laid much of the blame for his supporters actions on Democratic leaders who he said had not adequately embraced his backers. He claimed then, as he implied Thursday, that only his side was willing to fight for what have been Democratic goals of long standing, in some cases for decades. Those earlier remarks enraged Democratsand Thursdays were likely to rankle, as wellbecause many have been fighting to change the party from within even as Sanders, a longtime independent, remained outside of it. As they tell it, Sanders has basically suggested that a party that includes civil rights legends like John Lewis and longtime economic and environmental battlers like Barbara Boxer has been far less interested than he is in racial, economic and environmental justice. Sanders also none-too-subtly criticized Clinton, who as he spoke Thursday had a 919-delegate lead over him--more than 400 over the majority required to win the nomination. He said he looked forward to working with her to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people and not just wealthy campaign contributors, the latter being an alliance for which he has criticized Clinton in every speech. The party should be one, he said, that has the guts to take on Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry and other powerful special interests that dominate so much of our political and economic life. All of those interests were ones that, in every speech, Sanders has accused Clinton of promoting. The Thursday night remarks offered Sanders a public opportunity to clarify his priorities for the partys platform, which he plans to try to influence at the July Democratic convention in Philadelphia. There was little in the way of prioritizing, however, as Sanders listed every issue he emphasized in his campaign. The issues include some, such as pay equity for women and abortion rights, which Clinton has championed for at least as long as he has. Others, including equal rights for same-sex marriage, comprehensive immigration reform and expansion of benefits for Social Security recipients, now have broad acceptance in the party. A third group of issues, such as breaking up the big banks, a ban on fracking, making public colleges and universities free and imposing a universal Medicare-style healthcare plan, remain points of contention on which the Clinton camp probably will offer some concessions, but not full agreement. Sanders gave no indication of what steps toward compromise he might offer. In making his list a set of demands, Sanders put himself in the awkward position of a distant second-place finisher insisting on fealty from the winner. Sanders blamed the current leadership of the Democratic Party for a host of failures, persisting in his long battle against party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. (There was some irony to his claim that Democrats needed a 50-state strategy, since earlier this year Sanders repeatedly dismissed Clintons romping victories in Southern states because they occurred in the most conservative part of the country that would vote Republican in November.) He did, however, encourage his followers to become engaged in the process in order to increase Democratic success in local and state races, which Republicans increasingly have won during the Obama years. Its not solely for the reasons Sanders suggestedthe failure of Democratic leaders to competebut marshaling his troops in that endeavor might help smooth over the views of Democrats smarting over Sanders strategies. Without saying that his candidacy was ending, Sanders closed his remarks by saying that his campaign was beginning the long and arduous process of transforming America. He hoped, he said, that when future historians look back and describe how our country moved forward they will note that to a significant degree that effort began with the political revolution of 2016. As to whether those historians would also note the first presidential nomination of a woman by a major political party or, with Sanders help, her election in the fall, Sanders was silent. ALSO Californias presidential party is over, and here are some lessons Sanders voters in California looking for concessions from Clinton, but most plan to support her Hillary Clinton up, Donald Trump down after a week that flipped the presidential campaign Updates on California politics Live coverage from the campaign trail cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker If Donald Trump loses the 2016 election, this past week may be the one chroniclers identify as the time his quest irretrievably headed downhill. Yes, nearly five months remain until the election, much can happen and Trump has amply proved his ability to seize a moment. Just as hes risen before, Trump could rise again. Advertisement But right now, Trump has set himself on a losing path, and its worth looking back at why and how. Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories. WHY TRUMP IS IN TROUBLE In an article Thursday, I ran through the polling evidence of Trumps decline. His problems are stark and manifold: As Lisa Mascaro reported, his attacks earlier this month on Gonzalo Curiel, the federal district judge handling the civil suit against Trump University, revived Republican leaders fears that Trump could alienate Latino voters for a generation. As they distanced themselves from Trump, Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan validated Democratic attacks on his stability and deepened the doubts of Republican voters who had not supported Trump in the primaries. Democrats have started to unify behind Hillary Clinton. She currently holds about a five-point lead over Trump in polling averages slightly larger than the margin by which President Obama defeated Mitt Romney in 2012 and her support has further room to grow if more of Sen. Bernie Sanders backers come over to her side, which history suggests many will do. The vastly disproportionate level of coverage that Trump benefited from during the primaries a new study from Harvards Shorenstein Center documented how much no longer is assisting him in the general election. Finally, Trumps characteristic response to events seize the moment and go on the attack which served him so well during the GOP primaries, appears to have backfired in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando last weekend. As Evan Halper wrote, the responses by Clinton, President Obama and Trump tested the new norms for American politics. So far, the two Democrats, who escalated their attacks on Trump during the week, appear to have passed the test, while Trump has not. Its not clear that Trump can adopt a more modest rhetorical style and even less clear that he would retain the ardent loyalty of his fans if he did so. They like him the way he is, as Mascaro reported from his Southern rallies this week. None of that means the election is over. Even as voters say theyre likely to side with Clinton, many dont trust her; economic growth remains tepid at best; and the Democrats are trying to win the White House for a third consecutive election, which is a rare feat. But as Clinton begins an advertising barrage in eight battleground states something the Trump campaign currently lacks the money to match she is clearly playing from a position of strength. Those eight states hold 100 electoral votes; Clinton would need to get only 23 of them to win the presidency, assuming she holds the other states that Obama won twice. BERNIE BOWS OUT SORT OF Meantime, on the Democratic side, the dance between the Sanders and Clinton camps continues to play out. In statements Tuesday, which Mike Memoli wrote about, and in his video message to supporters Thursday night, Sanders hinted at a new role, but said nothing to formally acknowledge that he had lost the race to Clinton. Odds are he wont actually say so in public until the two sides reach an agreement over the party platform: A formal endorsement is the leverage he has in those negotiations. But as Cathy Decker noted, Sanders leverage is a dwindling asset. The more Trump struggles, the less the Clinton camp will be inclined to concede to the Vermont senator. For a great analysis of what Sanders accomplished, and why he fell short, check out this piece by Mark Z. Barabak. POLLS WE GOT EM Our preelection poll with USC of California voters found Clinton up by 10 points among likely voters. As of today, with the count almost complete, Clintons lead stands at 10.5 percentage points. The poll also asked about California voters views on healthcare and found that costs are the top issue, outpacing concerns about having insurance. The Times and USC also conducted a post-election poll to analyze how Clinton put together her victory. Read Deckers excellent analysis of the results. As Decker also reported, the post-election poll shows California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in strong position to win election as Californias next senator. Her challenger in the all-Democratic runoff in November, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, has a steep hill ahead of her. TRUMP AND THE TRIBES Noah Bierman and Joe Tanfani have a fascinating story on Trumps dealings over the years with Native American tribes. His rhetoric of insults, many racially tinged, and denunciations of political correctness go back decades and preview much of what weve seen in the campaign. THE LIBERTARIAN MOMENT One persons problem is anothers opportunity. Right now, the Libertarian party hopes that Trumps difficulties will boost their chances. Its a very long shot, but as Melanie Mason reported from Utah, there are some states where GOP antipathy toward Trump may give the Libertarians a significant opening. LOGISTICS If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox daily. Representatives from several organizations congregated at the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center Wednesday to discuss how to care and protect for seniors. The event coincided with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The initiative encourages communities throughout the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect, according to the U.S. governments National Center on Elder Abuse website. Advertisement Jo Ann Ekblad, Laguna Beach Seniors program and communications director, wanted to inform the public of the various agencies that strive to help a significant portion of Lagunas population. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Nearly 9,000 of Laguna Beachs 22,723 residents in 2010 were 55 or older, according to the U.S. Census. Fraud is such a big story, Ekblad said. Seniors can be susceptible to healthcare and financial abuse. As with social security numbers, officials caution seniors to protect their Medicare numbers. Medicare is the federal healthcare insurance program for people 65 and older and the disabled. Seniors should make a copy of their Medicare card to take with them to appointments and file their original in a secure safe, said Shari Langer, education outreach specialist for the nonprofit Council on Aging Orange County. Langer advised seniors to cross out certain numbers on their copies so if they lose it, thieves will not be able to use the account number to impersonate the cardholder. The council provides programs and services for more than 215,000 adults per year, including counseling to help people understand Medicare and maximize their benefits, and opportunities for isolated adults to socialize with others in their communities. Another area seniors may need help with is preparing meals, to which the Laguna Woods-based nonprofit fills the need. Age Well Senior Services delivers more than 300,000 annual meals to seniors who are either unable to prepare their own meals, or have little or no assistance to do so. But in addition to providing food, agency volunteers have helped in other ways, Susan Hickok, Age Wells home-delivered meals manager, said. Hickok recalled a day when a volunteer dropped off food at a Laguna Beach womans home. The driver rang the doorbell and called the woman, but received no answer. The volunteer opened the door and found the woman lying on the floor, unable to get up, Hickok said. The driver immediately called 911 and the woman eventually received necessary help. Hickok said she was probably on the floor for a couple of hours. She had hit her head and had a little concussion, Hickok said. If a driver notices physical changes with a client, such as bruising, they should tell someone, Hickok said, adding Age Well staff works with the countys Adult Protective Services agency to investigate possible abuse. Age Well also serves lunch five days a week at 11 senior centers in Orange County, including the Susi Q. -- Bryce Alderton, bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce ALSO Water users still cutting usage, report says Getting to know Laguna Beach by foot Flags pop up all over Main Beach A connection between business and culture was the theme of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Leadership Awards Dinner. The recent evening gathering at the center welcomed some 300 guests who came to salute Zee Allred, receiving the Distinguished Leader Award, and Ashleigh Aitken, honored with the Rising Leader Award. John Ginger, chairman of the centers board, commented: When a community fosters a strong arts sector, neighborhoods transform, attracting new businesses and bright minds. Allred and Aitken, representing two distinct generations of philanthropy, were surrounded by multigenerational O.C. fans over a dinner of hearts of palm and avocado salad followed by a duet of beef tenderloin and barramundi. The upbeat program was chaired by Rick Multh and Will Meehan, both Segerstrom Center board members. Afterward, the crowd was invited to join the public in Segerstrom Hall to enjoy a concert by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne. Funds raised will benefit the centers community outreach programs, mainly focusing on exposing O.C. youth to the vast and diverse world of performing arts. Children are our most precious resource For the past 19 years, the indefatigable O.C. PR pro Gloria Zigner has executive produced the CHOC Follies that benefit Childrens Hospital of Orange County. Millions of dollars have been raised. More than $8 million, in fact. This past spring, the 19th installment in the Zigner run, billed as Carly and the CHOCO Factory, brought in an impressive additional $700,000 for the cause. A very dedicated volunteer team led by Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, Dale Skiles and Sue Ann Cross joined the production staff of John Vaughan, Doug Austin and Lee Martino in making the show possible. Zigner is currently in discussion with CHOC President Kim Cripe to bring the Follies back for a crowning finale and 20th anniversary run next spring 2017. The tacos were the stars Share Our Selves did it again. The 23rd annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night attracted some 750 taco lovers in a massive sampling created by 31 top O.C. chefs. Organizers called it a delicious success. And it was. More than $72,000 was raised in support of the Costa Mesa-based SOS food pantry that feeds the hungry. Major sponsors and underwriters included James Atkins Jr., Jim and Diane Bailey, Theodore Robins Ford, the Frome Family Foundation, Dr. Richard and Sandra Haskell, Michael and Diane Stephens, Karen Klein and Bob and Anne Cross, to name only a few. The definition of mercy Mercy House Living Centers, one of the So Cal agencies assisting the homeless, invited some 300 supporters to join the cause at a recent dinner fundraiser held at the Fairmont Newport Beach hotel. Organizers billed the event as their Living With Heart gala, raising a substantial $320,000 for Mercy House programs. Executive Director Larry Haynes shared with supporters that Mercy House placed some 1,055 individuals over the past year into housing and the numbers are increasing. Overall, the agency assisted some 5,700 men, women and children during the last fiscal year. Founded in 1988 by Father Jerome Karcher, Mercy House has been led by Haynes for the past several decades with facilities in Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties as well as in Phoenix. Major support for the cause comes from local citizens including Michael Ray, Mladen and Jennifer Buntich, Tim and Madeleine Clyde, Ray and Lisa Bukaty, Ruth Sully, Carl and Paula Karcher, Les and Teresa Whitney, and Rich and Susan Masterson, to name only a few. Strong families protect kids Downtown Disney was the place, as the House of Blues opened its doors for Olive Crest. More than 300 guests converged for Olive Crests spring concert that starred country musician Jimmy Wayne, who sang his hits like Sara Smile, Do You Believe Me Now and I Love You This Much. Wayne charmed his audience who had come to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged families and children. He shared his personal journey with the crowd, as he too was a former foster kid who found himself homeless. Net proceeds from the concert event, which are reaching the $120,000 mark, are slated to support Olive Crests Project Independence, which directly assists foster youth ages 14 to 24 with the support needed to become independent and successful adults. Olive crest founders Dr. Donald and Lois Verleur welcomed special guests, including Dave Hirz, William Meehan and Lisa Neal, who all accepted honors for their support of Olive Crest. Rutan and Tucker LLC was also honored as a corporate champion for children. Founded in 1973 Olive Crest has served some 70,000 at-risk children and their families. -- B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has retained a private investigations firm to examine the accuracy of claims that the principal of Mariners Elementary School made on an application for a statewide award, district officials said. In a complaint filed by the teachers union, some Mariners teachers allege the application for a Gold Ribbon Award contained inaccurate statements about programs offered at the Newport Beach school. A district official said Dana Point-based Nicole Miller and Associates will perform an independent evaluation of the allegations. Join the conversation on Facebook >> In March, on-site teachers raised concerns over the application with the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, asking it to file a formal complaint with the school district. The award application states that certain programs are being piloted. However, the March 28 complaint filed by the union said some of the programs, such as technology and reading programs, had not, in fact, been fully implemented. The complaint also points out goals and practices in the application that teachers said they have not been made aware of, such as a goal of a one-to-one ratio of devices for K-6 students and staff collaborations with businesses like Google and SpaceX. The current investigation comes after Mariners teacher Tamara Fairbanks voiced her concerns over the application at a May 24 school board meeting with around 30 fellow teachers and parents standing behind her in support. The application was filled with programs that did not exist, ideas that were not implemented and goals that were never discussed, Fairbanks said at the meeting. The staff at Mariners was instantly placed in a quandary of standing up for what they actually do in the classroom, versus putting a show on for the Gold Ribbon committee. We had to choose our educational integrity over an award. We had to choose our educational integrity over an award. Tamara Fairbanks, Mariners Elementary School teacher Laura Sacks, who is completing her first year as principal of Mariners, submitted the application for the award to the California Department of Education in the fall. She could not be reached for comment Thursday. The application was also sent to Mariners staff, but only after it had already been completed, said Federation of Teachers Executive Director Nicholas Dix, who wrote and submitted the complaint in late March. What the teachers have been seeking is a district-level intervention, Dix said. Theyre working at a great school. They wanted the application to include programs that had been implemented. As part of the application process, a site validation team visited Mariners April 1 to confirm the applications information. The validation team from the Orange County Department of Education wrote in its site report that the information in the application was consistent with its findings at the school. Mariners went on to win Gold Ribbon designation. Fairbanks stated in the May school board meeting that some of the programs mentioned in the application were not in place until a week or two prior to the site visit. It is my understanding that the Think Tank wasnt completed in terms of furnishing and set up until the day before the site visit, Dix said of the Think Tank technology space referenced in the application. For the past few weeks, the investigative firm has been interviewing school staff and administration relevant to the complaint, according to district spokeswoman Annette Franco. Once that process is complete, theyll respond to the complaint and to the [federation], Franco said. The Orange County Department of Education does not have plans to intervene. As a county office, were here to support the districts, were not an overseer, said Ian Hanigan, Department of Education communications officer. This year, 780 elementary schools statewide received the Gold Ribbon Award. Twelve campuses out of that pool are Newport-Mesa schools. -- Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com Twitter: @AlexandraChan10 ALSO Boys death prompts Newport to examine bike safety near schools Sanitary district raises qualms about exploring merger with Mesa Water Longtime employee named Costa Mesas city engineer The long-in-the-works merger of the Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area and the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana is a done deal, with the two nonprofits fusing their resources, facilities and experience into a regional force with footholds in Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Orange and Santa Ana. The umbrella entity, dubbed the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast, was officially unveiled Tuesday during the Santa Ana clubs annual leadership breakfast at the Newport Beach Marriott hotel. Today as we launch our new club, I cant help but think about the thousands and thousands of kids that are depending on us, said Robert Santana, chief executive of the Santa Ana club who also will helm the merged organization. Theyre depending on us to be their mentors. Theyre depending on us to be their role models. Theyre depending on us to be there when they struggle. The new main gym at the Lou Yantorn Branch of the girls and boys club in Costa Mesa. (Don Leach / Don Leach | Daily Pilot) The result of the merger will be an institution with the infrastructure, the strength and the expertise of a regional nonprofit, with the focus, the passion and the accessibility of a local organization, Santana said at Tuesdays breakfast. The Harbor Area club has four branches two in Costa Mesa and one each in Newport Beach and Irvine. It was founded in 1941, making it the oldest operating boys and girls club in Orange County. The Santa Ana club was established in 1954 and has sites throughout the Santa Ana Unified School District. Its operations are centered at its flagship facility, the Joe MacPherson Center for Opportunity. The merger, along with a planned expansion of the Santa Ana clubs College Bound program into the city of Orange, will create a regional network able to provide services for children ages 6 to 12 at 50 locations and for teenagers at 13 sites. The two clubs talked about a possible merger for months, and their boards voted earlier this year to officially pursue a union, said Gary McArdell, a Harbor Area board member. Though joining forces has benefits from a business standpoint less administrative overhead, for instance McArdell said Tuesday that the motivation was simple: Reach more kids in an effective way. We need to make sure that were moving our clubs forward and our vision forward, he said. And we felt the best way to do that was to combine and have that greater impact. While some of the Santa Ana clubs offerings will likely be exported to the other branches, such as the Early Literacy Intervention and College Bound programs, the goal isnt to make the Harbor Area clubs a carbon copy of whats in Santa Ana, Santana said. Instead, he said, the focus will be on augmenting existing strengths and building up programming while identifying ways to upgrade facilities to provide needed space and services. The entryway, carpet, paint, and game tables at the newly refurbished clubhouse at the Lou Yantorn Branch of the girls and boys club in Costa Mesa. (Don Leach / Don Leach | Daily Pilot) Public input and outreach will be key components of that effort, he said. This is a true merger, Santana said. This is us looking at collective impact. This is us looking at all the talent and all the resources we have and pointing it in one direction under one vision. McArdell said keeping the identity of the different clubs intact is vital as well. Its extremely important because were really a local organization on a micro level, he said. The kids that come to the clubs, the parents that bring their children to the clubs, identify with each individual site. The unified club will have about 125 employees and a budget exceeding $4 million. One of the first orders of business is renovation work in Harbor Area branches. The interior of the Lou Yantorn branch in Eastside Costa Mesa has been repainted, Santana noted during a tour of the facility following Tuesdays breakfast. New carpet has been installed and new furniture put in place. The venues old gym will be repurposed into a space for teenagers. But Santana said that work pales in comparison with what will eventually be done to modernize and upgrade the Harbor Area branches. Santana and McArdell said a capital campaign is planned to raise money for those efforts but that its too soon to say what form the campaign will take. We should always be evolving to the needs of kids; we should always be evolving our approach, Santana said. Whats exciting to me is our commitment to being a 21st century Boys & Girls Club, because what that means is its not a destination, its a journey. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter: @LukeMMoney The word coast has prompted a Newport Beach-based auto financing company to file a $3-million trademark infringement lawsuit against a nearby competitor. According to court documents filed last month in the Santa Ana federal courthouse, Coast Acceptance Corp., a subprime auto lending company, got its name in 2002 because its founder loved the Newport Beach coast. But early this year, Coast Acceptance management learned of an auto finance company in Irvine that has been using the coast label, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges that Coast Financial Counseling has been going by the name Coast Financial Auto, which is similar to Coast Automotive Finance, the name Coast Acceptance Corp. uses to do business. According to the lawsuit, this has already caused confusion with at least one customer who called the wrong business by mistake. This appears to be a very clear-cut and blatant case of infringement by a direct competitor, Coast Acceptance Corp.'s lawyer William Levin said in a statement. The parties are in the same industry in the same geographical area, using an essentially identical name, which the other Coast must realize will mislead customers in the automotive finance arena. In addition to $3 million in damages, Coast Acceptance has asked a judge to bar Coast Financial from using the word coast in its branding. Coast Financial Counseling was founded in 2010, according to the lawsuit. The company did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Thursday. -- Jeremiah Dobruck, jeremiah.dobruck2@latimes.com Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck ALSO Boys death prompts Newport to examine bike safety near schools Sanitary district raises qualms about exploring merger with Mesa Water Longtime employee named Costa Mesas city engineer More than four years after a jury found former Newport-Mesa Unified School District Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard guilty of misappropriating public funds, the state Supreme Court has affirmed the decision, according to court records published Thursday. The ruling came two years after a state appeals court overturned the jurys verdict. In January 2012, Hubbard was convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court of two felony counts of misappropriating public funds while superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District from July 2003 to June 2006. He joined Newport-Mesa after leaving Beverly Hills and was fired the day after he was convicted. Hubbard appealed the trial court decision to the states 2nd District Court of Appeal, and in 2014, a three-judge panel reversed his conviction. Prosecutors then petitioned the states highest court to review the decision. Join the conversation on Facebook >> The charges stemmed from allegations that Hubbard paid Karen Christiansen, then-district director of planning and facilities, an unauthorized bonus and increased her car allowance while the two worked for Beverly Hills Unified. Christiansens monthly car allowance was boosted from $150 to $500 in 2005. She was granted a $20,000 stipend in 2006, according to court documents. The main legal question addressed by both the Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court was whether, under state law, Hubbard was responsible for the receipt, safekeeping, transfer or disbursement of public moneys in his role as superintendent. The core of Hubbards argument before us an argument the Court of Appeal accepted is that the evidence failed to establish that he was so charged. We disagree, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar wrote in the Supreme Court decision. In their ruling, the justices indicated there was sufficient evidence to convict Hubbard because, as superintendent, he had a degree of control over public money. Hubbards attorney Philip Kaufler contended that others in Beverly Hills Unified failed to follow proper protocols when Christiansens compensation was enhanced. Jeffrey Hubbard was very transparent in making the request, Kaufler said. He sent memos to the assistant superintendent and business services. It was their job to get board approval. Hubbard testified in the lower court that he discussed Christiansens compensation boosts with school board members in closed meetings. However, the minutes of the meetings did not reflect those conversations. Two board members testified that they did not discuss or approve the increases. Other district personnel stated they could not remember the payments or whether the board approved them, according to court documents. The Court of Appeal ruled that because Hubbard lacked the formal authority to approve the payments to Christiansen without board approval, he was simply the first step in a process that results in the expenditure of public funds, court documents state. However, Supreme Court justices stated that the control of public funds doesnt need to be an officials primary responsibility for the law to apply. Hubbard was sentenced in February 2012 to 60 days in jail and served four. He also was sentenced to 280 hours of community service and three years probation and ordered to pay $23,500 in restitution to the Beverly Hills school district and a $6,000 fine. Had the Supreme Court ruled in Hubbards favor, the charges would have been removed from his record. Theres nothing more he can do, Kaufler said. He already did the community service and fulfilled the courts requirements. It was really about his reputation. Hubbard did not respond to a request for comment made through his attorney. -- Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN ALSO Costa Mesa man is on the case to block radiation from phones and laptops Storage and food hall proposal for Autoplex site opposed by Costa Mesa Planning Commission Costa Mesa man killed by SUV on sidewalk is remembered as a great example of what it means to be a man June is here, the weather is warming up, and that means not only is summer quickly approaching, but National Beach Safety Week and Rip Current Awareness Week has begun. With access to so many beautiful beaches along the Southern California coast, its important to know how to safely enjoy the sun, sand and waves. Project Wipeout was created with that intention. More than 35 years ago, Hoags intensive care unit admitted five young men with neck and spinal cord injuries related to surfing and swimming accidents at the beach. This number of accidents and injuries prompted Dr. Jack Skinner and other concerned Hoag physicians and nurses, local paramedics and lifeguards, to create a program that educates the community about beach safety. Today, Hoags Project Wipeout program has reached millions of people and continues to promote practicing beach safety and teaches about the potential dangers that exist at our beaches, the types of injuries that can occur and how to prevent them. Here are a few tips to make sure your days at the beach are fun and safe: Apply sunscreen regularly. Thirty minutes before hitting the sand, apply a waterproof sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to prevent sunburns. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or more frequently if youre sweating or swimming. Sunburns can cause skin blisters, eye damage and skin cancer, so its always important to keep your skin protected. Check in with a lifeguard before entering the water. Lifeguards are on duty to ensure your safety. Be sure to stop by the lifeguard tower when you arrive and find out what the ocean conditions are like, whether its a good idea to swim in the area and if there are any hazards to be aware of. Know your swimming capabilities. The ocean is a powerful force and treading water can be exhausting. If you cant swim an overhead stroke for at least 15 minutes, do not attempt to swim in the ocean. Enjoy the ocean from the shore. Dont jump or dive into the water or waves headfirst. The ocean floor is uneven and can easily change. Test out the depth of the water with your feet, entering the water slowly. If you are boogie boarding or bodysurfing, keep your arms out in front of you to protect your head and neck. When caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore. Stay calm and dont fight the current. A rip current will pull you away from the shore, but it will not pull you under water. To escape, swim parallel to the shore, until you are out of the current. Then swim at an angle away from the current toward the shore. Rip currents are one of the biggest reasons for drowning, and the untrained eye can easily miss them. Avoid swimming in choppy, brown water which indicates a rip currents presence. For more information, see www.hoag.org/ProjectWipeout -- LAUREN TABIOS is the Program Coordinator at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. The darker corners behind the story of Los Angeles are not limited to shadowy noir movies like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential, but are based as much on history as fiction. Some of that story leads to the popular Cliftons Cafeteria in downtown L.A., recently refurbished and reopened to great fanfare by nightclub impresario Andrew Meieran. One member of the family behind Cliftons wants to make sure that history is preserved, and recounts the commitment, charity and death-defying local activism of cafeteria founder Clifford Clinton. His grandson, Edmond J. Clinton III, an internist and longtime La Canada Flintridge resident, has released a book, Cliftons and Clifford Clinton (Angel City Press), and will discuss that history Feb. 3 at the Glendale Public Library. His entrepreneurial grandfather arrived in Los Angeles in 1931, and within a decade would become a leading crusader against corruption. As a result, his Los Feliz home was bombed in 1937. He didnt stop, a mayor was recalled, the city and region matured politically, and the eccentric, imaginatively decorated Cliftons remained open to this day. The author spoke with Marquee about the book and the history he grew up knowing. Marquee: Why has the history of Cliftons Cafeteria kept the attention of people so long after the fact? Edmond J. Clinton III: A great many people remember Cliftons, having been there as children or adults, and they remember the exotic quality of the cafeteria. It struck peoples imagination when they went there. I remember as a high school student, people telling me Cliftons was a terrific place and it stuck in their memories. Recently, members of my medical staff have come to me and said their parents took them there as kids and still remember it. It was such an unusual place to go. And people loved it in retrospect as much as they did when they were there. Could you have foreseen the story around the cafeteria would still have this kind of resonance today? I grew up in Los Feliz. That was a hotbed of L.A. history stuff. A lot of people even then talked a lot about the history of Clifford Clinton and his home at Los Feliz and Western that was bombed when he got involved in politics. My dad used to drive us by and show us the house. There was a hole on the bottom of the house from the kitchen where this bomb went off. My dad used to tell us stories about the fight Clifford Clinton had with the city and how that put him in the public spotlight. Most dramatic when I was growing up were the records that my father had of the radio broadcast that he and Clifford did together for the recall of Mayor Frank Shaw in that era of 1937-1938. When you heard as a kid that your grandfathers house was bombed, thats pretty dramatic thing to hear. The whole story was dramatic. He was trying to get this corrupt government out and get good government into Los Angeles. When Clifford Clinton came to Los Angeles in 1931, did he have any notion that he would get so involved in the city? It happened by accident, but I think it was his religious and philosophical upbringing that created this impression that he was part of a larger community, and that he was grateful to Los Angeles for providing him an opportunity to run this business. So when his people came in to eat during the Depression, it was his duty to feed them. And it was his duty to get involved in things once they came to him. He didnt believe in Christianity by words, but more by actions and deeds. He was prepared by his upbringing to confront anything that came his way. When people are bombing your house, that says something about how deeply involved you are. That made him so angry. He said, They think they can drive me out of here by bombing my house? Theyre just making me more committed and more deeply concerned with whats going on. They cant stop me. He was a bulldog when it came to dealing with this stuff. You had his memoirs to work from while writing your book? I learned a lot but I also had to go back and tie in some kind of time frame about what was going on in Los Angeles during those periods. It took me seven years and a lot of research to try out aspects of this L.A. history. What was your personal connection to the restaurant? There was a lot of time spent there when I was a kid growing up. I didnt have any money so I had to earn money for clothes and for stuff over the summer, and for most of that I worked at Cliftons. It was hard work. I started at 95 cents an hour and I eventually got it up to $1.50 an hour. I was busing tables. I got to know a lot of the associates that worked there. It was a great experience for a kid growing up in San Marino. It exposed me to the way most people live. I kind of left Cliftons way behind when I decided to go to medical school, and I didnt have much contact after that. My mother-in-law said somebody has to write this story about Clifford and the bombing and all this stuff, so we started taking those [Clifford Clintons] memoirs down from the dusty shelves to figure out a way to write this up. Im in a good spot to write this because I had a personal connection to the story. When did the family sell the business? Clifford sold his part in 45, and that was to my father, my uncle and my aunt. My uncle sold it to Andrew Meieran who is the current owner at least six or seven years ago. What was your reaction to all the attention for the reopening? A lot of people have a superficial knowledge of Cliftons, but they dont have an understanding of the history of L.A. and how that was influenced by Cliftons and the other way around. It helps peoples understanding of the whole era, which I think is fascinating. There was a lot of history I had to learn on this book. I couldnt believe how much there was. -- What: Cliftons and Clifford Clinton signing and talk When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale More info: (818) 548-2020 -- Steve Appleford, steve.appleford@latimes.com Twitter: @SteveAppleford Plans to build a six-story hotel on Brand Boulevard near a residential neighborhood were upheld by the City Council Tuesday after nearby homeowners tried to appeal its initial approval. Last month, the citys Design Review Board gave the go-ahead for an Aloft hotel at 1100 N. Brand Blvd., the site of the now closed Recess Eatery. The council upheld the boards decision with a 4-1 vote. But residents who filed the appeal claimed the development is too big for the area and would negatively impact their quality of life. One of the appellants, Sean Bersell, told council members the inclusion of a rooftop bar could pose one of the biggest concerns. "[The hotel] is going to tower over the neighborhood, he said. All that noise and light is going to go right into the neighborhood. Bersell and the appellants requested an independent environmental impact report be conducted on the proposed project, but council members agreed with staffers that one wasnt necessary. The staffs own review found none of the impacts on issues such as traffic and noise surpassed state standards in order to trigger an environmental impact report. The Aloft hotel will have 85 rooms and a ground-floor restaurant, which Councilman Vartan Gharpetian said would be good for promoting foot traffic. Rodney Khan, a consultant on the project said the hotel and its height around 80 feet is permitted by right. Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said while the design might be too big for the area, a hotel might have the least impacts. Theres other things the developer can do with this lot by right, which can be I think for the neighborhood be far worse than what the neighbors perceive this project to present for them, he said. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Councilman Ara Najarian said Brand Boulevard is where projects like the Aloft belong, despite the proposed site, which is just outside the main hub of downtown. It is still in our downtown, he said. It might not be in our business district, but this is still part of downtown Glendale. Im sorry for the folks that live a few streets down, but this abutts our highest-density residential [neighborhood]. Not just residential, highest-density residential. Najarian also pointed out that there were other six-story buildings near the project site. But Councilwoman Laura Friedman, who cast the sole dissenting vote, said she believes the hotel is a large, boxy building that might be a better fit in another part of downtown Glendale or along San Fernando Road. -- Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com Twitter: @ArinMikailian -- ALSO: What should become of Rockhaven? The Glendale City Council is open to new ideas Glendale City Council skips groundbreaking for Godzilla of all development projects Downtown Glendales last remaining used bookstore reaches its final chapter After 40 years of serving the catch of the day in downtown Glendale, Clancys Crab Broiler has gone out of business. The red-brick seafood house that was at the corner of Central Avenue and Salem Street quietly shuttered in recent months, despite posts on social media stating that it was just undergoing a remodel. Commercial Realtor Lynn Fields confirmed the closure and said theres already a number of interested parties, including restaurateurs and developers who want to convert the property for other uses. The news was somewhat of a surprise for Judee Kendall, chief executive of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, which has held numerous events at Clancys. She said the recession was likely tough on the seafood eatery. But things looked even slower than usual in the months leading up to the closure with the absence of a line forming out the door. Inside, ropes, antique diver masks and other nautical-themed decorations abounded. Kendall described the interior as a home restaurant. When I heard about [the closing] I was talking with our chairman of the board, and I said now where are going to get our fish and chips? Kendall said. It was a comfortable place. It was just always there. Clancys first opened its doors in 1975 and moved to the Central and Salem location in 1983. It was a joint father-and-son venture between Jack and Jeff Williams the latter owns several other Glendale restaurants such as Black Cow Cafe and Star Cafe. Jeff Williams told the News-Press in 1999 that he wanted to open Clancys because there was a small offering of specialty seafood spots in the San Fernando Valley. He did not return phone calls this week for comment. City of Glendale spokesman Tom Lorenz said there still arent that many seafood options locally. The fish and chips at Clancys was also a favorite for Lorenz, who started dining there in the early 1980s, when he was a rookie cop. Lorenz said Clancys was one of the last remaining longtime establishments of Glendale, along with two other spots just around the corner in downtown. If you were looking for a particular type of atmosphere with seafood, it was Clancys, [for] jazz, its Jax [Bar and Grill], Hawaiian-themed with a good mai tai, its Damons, he said. Jeff Williams also owns Jax. While Clancys was never an official hangout for city employees, it did often serve as the setting for occasional meetings outside City Hall and for lunch breaks. Fields said the Clancys property is still up for sale. -- Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com Twitter: @ArinMikailian I stopped by Walgreens in La Crescenta the other day to buy a red nose so I could get my silly on. What is that, you might ask? Today, May 26, is Red Nose Day, a fundraiser to make a difference for kids who need our help the most. My red nose cost $1. All the funds raised through the sale of the red noses is earmarked to help lift kids out of poverty. In the past 25 years, Red Nose Day has raised more than $1 billion globally. I first became aware of this special day when I was visiting friends in London back in the early 90s. We were sitting at the dinner table and everyone suddenly popped on their fake red noses. They explained to me what it was all about. It was several years before the fundraiser hit our shores and Walgreens got on the bandwagon. Tonight on NBC there will be a special star-studded broadcast with stand-up comedy performances, short films and music performances. Last year, more than 100 celebrities gave their support to Red Nose Days inaugural campaign here in the U.S. Ive also been inspired to wear this shiny red proboscis by all the TV ads that Ive been seeing lately. I especially loved all the white dogs in the commercial with their red noses. I figured that my own white dog, Lola, would want to be part of the in crowd, so she has one too. -- The other night I went to the opening of Los Angeles Operas La Boheme and the cast party that followed. Ahh, composer Giocomo Puccinis work is so lyrical and beautiful. La Boheme is one of my favorite operas of all time I can never get enough of it. I have seen it here on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage several times but I had also seen it at the Opera Bastille in Paris and also from a royal box seat at Vienna, Austrias magnificent opera house, the Staatsoper. (By the way, if you are planning to be in Vienna in November, you can see La Boheme.) It was a full house the other night. Sitting next to me was a lovely young woman. She and her husband were there to celebrate her birthday. This was her first opera what a way to celebrate. She said she was especially excited to see what she called the real deal, because she had seen the Broadway production of Rent, which of course is based on this opera. The cast party, held in the Founders Circle Lounge, was especially lively. I met not only one Mimi, but two: Nino Machaidze, who sang the role that night, and Olga Busuioc, who sings the role on alternate nights. Some of our local kids who participate in the Los Angeles Childrens Chorus were part of the cast. Singing in the joyful Christmas Eve scene were La Canadans Anica Erickson, Soren Ryssdal, Finn Brakeley and Sydney Brakeley. Local residents in the orchestra pit included Terry Cravens, Ryan Darke, Alvin Veeh, Heather Clark, Shawn Mann, Daniel Kelley and Jenny Kim. Area Los Angeles Opera Chorus members in this production included Mark Beasom, Lisa Crave, Sara Campbell, Scott Levin and Sal Malaki. This beloved opera will run through June 12. -- Il Fornaio Restaurant in Pasadena was the setting for the recent Los Altos Auxiliary installation of new officers and the introduction of new members. Los Altos raises funds for the children and adolescents who are in residential treatment at Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services Ed Nido campus in Altadena. Special speaker at the meeting was Debbie Manners, president and chief executive of the treatment center at Hathaway-Sycamores and Family Services. New members of the auxiliary introduced that day were Sandi Saeger, Allison Weir, Cynthia Bengtson-Budyzn, Lisa Dick and Darlene Larin. Incoming officers installed were Kelly Williams, Diane Moldafsky, Susan Peterman, Betty Stanfill, Carol DeFond, Laurie Rodli, Cynthia Bengtson-Budyzn, Darlene Larin, Allison Weir, Julie McCarty, Melissa Oeschel, Gayle Penrod, Chris Goetz, Sandi Mellin, Karen Sellergren, Jennifer Herzer, Laura Campobasso, Lisa Dick, Andi Sica and Linda Yaussi. Laura Campobasso, outgoing president, provided an overview of the Auxiliarys accomplishments over the past year. In addition to hands-on activities; the Auxiliary raised funds that were used to enrich the lives of the youngsters who call Hathaway-Sycamores home. Highlights of the activities, projects and special treats funded by Los Altos include fulfilling the boys holiday wish lists and delivering homemade treats, sponsoring special spring and summer activities, a Christmas Day trip to Disneyland for residents and chaperones, gift cards and cupcakes for each childs birthday, hosting the annual Halloween carnival, and providing a Thanksgiving Dinner for the boys and staff at El Nido. -- JANE NAPIER NEELY covers the La Canada Flintridge social scene. Email her at jnvalleysun@aol.com. A group that has vowed to start high-quality schools across Los Angeles on Thursday announced its first grant recipients: a charter school that is expanding, an after-school and summer enrichment program for children, and an organization that recruits recent college graduates for two-year teaching stints. None of the money went to the Los Angeles Unified School District, although its likely to benefit from the teacher-recruitment effort. The grants are the first concrete indication of the direction of Great Public Schools Now, a recently formed nonprofit with a particular formula for school reform: Take a school that works and make it larger or build a new one just like it. Advertisement The work is vital, say organizers, because 160,000 students in low-income neighborhoods attend failing public schools. The reform effort grew out of a preliminary, confidential proposal, circulated last year among philanthropists, to move half of L.A. Unifieds students into charter schools over eight years. The proposal, which called for building 260 new charter schools, was developed under the auspices of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and provoked widespread controversy when The Times obtained a leaked copy and wrote about it. The plan, however, evolved over time, the group says, and the current strategy is to support any kind of successful school, including those in L.A. Unified. This is a fantastic opportunity for all of Los Angeles, Executive Director Myrna Castrejon said at a news conference at Heart of Los Angeles, the Westlake enrichment program slated to receive $500,000. Great Public Schools Now said earlier this week that its grant money would go to creating and expanding effective schools and training teachers and principals. Heart of Los Angeles does not fit in those categories, but it does well-regarded work. A second recipient is Equitas Academy Charter Schools, which serves the low-income Pico-Union area, just west of downtown. Equitas already was building its third small campus. The $2-million grant will make the project more affordable by reducing long-term debt, leaving more money for academic programs, said founder and Chief Executive Malka Borrego. Charters, most of which are non-union, are run independently of L.A. Unified. The third recipient, Teach For America, also will receive $2 million, which will pay for part of the training and support for 130 college graduates-turned-teachers. Great Public Schools Now said Thursday that the TFA dollars exclusively will benefit L.A. Unified. But that is not precisely the case, said Lida R. Jennings, executive director of TFA-Los Angeles. The grant money will go into the organizations general budget. Still, several dozen recruits are likely to work in L.A. Unified, which has asked TFA to provide as many as 50 teachers for mild to moderately disabled students, Jennings said. That $2 million would be enough to cover most of TFAs cost for the L.A. Unified contingent. Major funders of the announced grants are the W.M. Keck Foundation, the Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. Walton already was providing about $1 million to TFA-LA this year. TFA, which was founded to address a teacher shortage in urban and rural schools, has been a major provider of faculty to charter schools across the country. In Los Angeles, about 60% of the corps works in charters. Great Public Schools Now has not yet developed a grant application process. The first recipients were handpicked after discussions with local organizations. Whether the group ultimately works to improve L.A. Unified or undermine it by taking away students and funding remains open to question, said Charles Kerchner, a research professor at Claremont Graduate University who studies institutional change in public education. If you just look at the priorities that are laid out in the new plan and at least where the first money went, it looks a lot like the original Broad plan in more diplomatic language, Kerchner said. howard.blume@latimes.com Twitter: @howardblume Editors note: Education Matters receives funding from a number of foundations, including one or more mentioned in this article. The California Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles administer grants from the Baxter Family Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the California Endowment and the Wasserman Foundation. Under terms of the grants, The Times retains complete control over editorial content. After nearly eight months in solitary confinement, one of five Hong Kong booksellers who vanished after their detention in mainland China has given a detailed account of his ordeal, defying not only a gag order but also authorities demand that he remand himself to custody. Lam Wing Kee, manager of Causeway Bay Books, which specializes in titles that irritate Chinese Communist Party leadership and are banned in mainland China, was among the last Hong Kongers to be released. Gui Minhai, the mainland-born, Swedish co-owner of the bookstore, remains in detention. Lam said he was detained on Oct. 24 soon after he had crossed into the mainland. He was handcuffed, blindfolded and detained overnight in the holding pen at a police station in Shenzhen, a city that is a subway ride from Hong Kong. He said he was coerced into waiving his rights to notify his family or seek legal representation. Advertisement I couldnt believe it had happened to me. It felt surreal, or like a dream, said Lam, 61, at an impromptu news conference Thursday at Hong Kongs legislative building. As a Hong Konger, Im used to being a free man. Ive never broken any Hong Kong law in all my life. A former British colony turned semiautonomous Chinese territory, Hong Kong has maintained an independent judiciary and law enforcement apparatus under a transitional framework known as one country, two systems. The Hong Kong government issued a statement Thursday chiding the mainland over the bookseller case. Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies do not have the authority to enforce laws in Hong Kong, the statement said. The government will resolutely safeguard the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents in accordance with law. Mainland authorities have maintained that the booksellers were properly detained for violating the law. Lam said officials told him it is a crime for him to have mailed books to mainland customers, but he maintained he had operated legally under Hong Kong law. An employee arranges books about Chinese politics in a Hong Kong store in January 2016. (Philippe Lopez / AFP/Getty Images ) Lam looked relaxed in his white dress shirt, with his crown of salt-and-pepper hair largely trimmed. Besides him, co-owners Lee Po and Lui Por and another employee, Cheung Chi Ping, have also been released on bail. But Lam was the first one to have spoken out. After they were detained, the booksellers whereabouts were a mystery for months. All were last seen in January on Chinas state TV, giving confessions. I had a script, a director and the whole shebang. And I was given time to memorize my lines, Lam said. All along, Lam said, he had been interrogated by plainclothes officers, including two from Beijing, but at one point, he said, one let it slip that they all were from a central committee on special cases. He has exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese authorities to go after the booksellers Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong The committee was an extralegal entity created by Mao Tse-tung in the 1960s to investigate political enemies and was officially abolished in 1978, according to Ching Cheong, a longtime local commentator and reporter on Chinas politics. Its extremely rare for it to be deployed to target nonparty cadres and Hong Kongers, Ching said. During the last three months of his detention, Lam said, he was placed in a room customized for suicide watch. Even his toothbrush and nail clipper were tethered to a minder for fear Lam would use them to harm himself, he said. After a long negotiation with authorities seeking to see his family, Lam said, he was released Tuesday on the condition that he returned Thursday with an original copy of his stores customer list -- to be used in court as evidence. Lam said he will not do so. Most of the stores 600 customers live on the mainland, he said. He added he also was interrogated about authors who had written books for the stores publishing arm. He has exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese authorities to go after the booksellers, Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said in a news release. Last month, Angela Gui, daughter of the bookseller still in custody, testified at a congressional hearing in Washington. She said Thursday that she received a call from her father last week. He told me my campaigning is going to put more pressure on him, Gui said. I know he was ordered to say that, and I told him I cant sit there to wait and do nothing. Later this month, she is to appear at Britains Parliament about the case. After Lams appearance, hers is no longer the lone voice speaking out on the issue. He is very brave, she said. Law is a special correspondent. ALSO Bangladesh crackdown: more than 14,000 arrests, yet machete attacks continue British lawmaker Jo Cox killed in shooting, had campaigned against leaving EU A German rape case with overtones of Stanford and a twist: Accuser is fined over her testimony Park Tae-won has a salt-and-pepper crew cut and the leathery skin of someone who has spent his life at sea. Six days a week he pushes his creaky boat, covered in peeling sky-blue paint, out into the waters off this weather-beaten island. He and his colleagues stay at sea for hours at a time, using rectangular metal cages to catch blue crabs, which later end up on restaurant tables throughout mainland South Korea. But these days, it is another tool, his cellphone, that has become crucial to his struggle to salvage his livelihood. Parks phone is full of dozens of videos of gray, rickety boats flying red Chinese flags. He takes the videos out of a sense of helplessness as he watches his hauls of crab drastically diminish because of illegal Chinese competition. He regularly sends the video to South Korean government agencies, hoping to create momentum to push the government to dispatch more vessels to shoo away the Chinese boats, which are prohibited from fishing in the area. Advertisement The Chinese vessels have been driven to the South Korean fishing grounds by declining stocks in their home waters. The result has been a dramatic drop-off in blue crab catches, leading local fishermen to fear for their futures. Chinese fishing boats operate off the northern coast of South Koreas Yeonpyeong Island on June 12, 2016. (Steven Borowiec / For The Times ) Yeonpyeong is a dot in the waters where China and South and North Korea come together. It has a population of fewer than 2,000 and total area of less than 4 square miles, but feels even smaller, because its population is almost entirely concentrated in a small residential area near the port. When returning from sea, Yeonpyeong fishermen dock their boats at the islands main port, a concrete and asphalt space that smells of salt water and decomposing fish. After unloading their catches, the fishermen gather at one of the islands few restaurants, a short distance down the road, to commiserate. There, they sit cross-legged on the floor around tables covered in boiling pots of fish soup, using chopsticks to eat pickled vegetables while knocking back shots of soju, a distilled Korean liquor that is comparable to vodka. Park said the fishermen are working longer hours and coming home with less. Pretty soon, there will be nothing left, said Park, 56, dressed in a salt-stained black tracksuit and chain-smoking cigarettes. South Koreas Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on June 10 that the crab catch in April was 69% lower than for the same month last year. The ministry has also said that in recent years more Chinese vessels have been spotted in the area. In response, on June 10, South Korea dispatched navy speedboats to chase off Chinese boats near the coast. Last week, some Yeonpyeong fishermen became fed up and dragged two Chinese boats to shore themselves. The Chinese fishermen were deported, but two captains face arrest in South Korea. June is peak crab season, before fishing is suspended in July and August to allow the crabs to spawn. Amid the stiff competition, fishermen are trying to catch enough to last them through the off months. The Chinese boats and South Korean coast guard play a testy game of cat and mouse. The Chinese boats travel in packs, moving to comparatively crab-rich South Korean waters, then scurrying into North Korean waters when the South Korean coast guard chases them, knowing the South Korean boats risk sparking a military clash with North Korea if they follow them north. The waters have long been a hot spot in the simmering conflict between South and North Korea. In 2002, six South Koreans and an unknown number of North Koreans died in a battle that broke out when a North Korean patrol boat crossed into South Korean waters. In 2010, an artillery exchange with North Korea caused four deaths on Yeonpyeong. With the situation getting more dire, Park has become a de facto spokesman for the fishermen. Throughout an afternoon interview at his seaside office, his cellphone rang constantly with calls from fellow fishermen. He took each call, often raising his voice and gesticulating as he complained that the government wasnt doing enough to keep the Chinese boats out. Park worries that the Chinese boats are doing permanent damage to the ecosystem he relies on, saying they use a method called bull trawling, which is illegal in South Korea. Bull trawling entails dredging up everything in the ships path and damages the seabed. They take everything, Park said. Even the babies. Some residents of Yeonpyeong believe the Chinese vessels pose an existential threat to their lives on the island. People here have always lived from their boats, and now theyre going to be left with nothing. Its scary, said Yang Yoo-seong, 59, a construction worker specializing in pipe installation. Yeonpyeong has had its existence threatened before. The island was almost completely evacuated for weeks after the 2010 shelling brought the peninsula to the brink of war. Song Young-ok, the middle-aged owner of a small guesthouse, remembers that day well. The sound of the explosions was horrifying. We ran for cover and prayed, Song said. The shells fell just a few hundred feet from the guesthouse Song operates with her husband. Shells hit the islands main commercial district, a narrow street lined with cafes and restaurants. Six years later, the street has no visible scars. The rubble has long been swept away, and reconstructed buildings gleam with fresh coats of paint. The commercial street on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, on June 10, 2016. (Steven Borowiec / For The Times ) Given its history and proximity to North Korea, Yeonpyeong has a large military presence. Truckloads of soldiers rumble along the otherwise quiet streets, and the north of the island has several military observatories that face North Korea. Amid the barbed wire and rock-face cliffs on the islands northern rim is a small museum that details the exhaustion of a seafood staple by overfishing. Yeonpyeong was once a hub for yellow croaker, a small fish that was the islands lifeblood until stocks all but disappeared in the late 1960s. An exhibit explains that the people of Yeonpyeong turned to blue crab fishing after the yellow croaker ran out. On a recent hazy, humid afternoon, just behind the museum, a cluster of more than a dozen fishing vessels flying Chinese flags floated off the coast. Weve always found ways to get by, Song said as she walked in a park just outside the museum. But I dont know what Yeonpyeong people will do when all the crabs are gone. ALSO Steely Dan with strings at the Hollywood Bowl? President Obama: Orlando shooting was act of terror and an act of hate Santa Barbara fire explodes to 1,700 acres and again closes Highway 101 Borowiec is a special correspondent. A 94-year-old former SS sergeant who served as a guard at Auschwitz has been found guilty of more than 170,000 counts of being an accessory to murder for helping kill 1.1 million Jews and others at the Nazi death camp. The Detmold state court sentenced Reinhold Hanning to five years in prison, though he will remain free while any appeals are heard. Hanning showed no reaction as the judge, Anke Grudda, read her justification for the verdict and sentence. During his four-month trial, Hanning admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that he was aware Jews were being killed but did nothing to try to stop it. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook You were in Auschwitz for two and a half years, performed an important function. ... You were part of a criminal organization and took part in criminal activity in Auschwitz, she said. Several elderly Auschwitz survivors testified at the trial about their own experiences, and were among 58 survivors or their families who joined the process as co-plaintiffs as allowed under German law. 1 / 25 Delegations and survivors make their way to lay candles at the Birkenau Memorial during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland, on Tuesday. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images) 2 / 25 German President Joachim Gauck, left, puts a candle on a memorial for Auschwitz victims. (Janek Skarzynki / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 25 A giant screen displays a picture of a Holocaust survivor as survivors and dignitaries sit in a tent erected in front of the entrance of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during the main ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp on January 27, 2015 in Oswiecim, Poland. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 25 Auschwitz survivor Michal Habas, left, attends the main remembrence of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. (JACEK BEDNARCZYK / EPA) 5 / 25 Auschwitz survivor Miroslaw Celka walks out the gate with the sign saying Work makes you free after paying tribute to fallen comrades at the death wall execution spot in the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 25 A watch tower stands along a barbed wire fence at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 25 The gate to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp still stands with the words Arbeit macht frei (Work makes you free) in Oswiecim, Poland. (Joel Saget / AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 25 A barbed wire fence surrounds the former Nazi concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Events will be held to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 9 / 25 A watchtower still stands at the site of the former Nazi death camp, which was liberated by the Soviet army on Jan. 27, 1945. (Joel Saget / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 25 At the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, a photograph taken clandestinely by a prisoner in summer 1944 shows the bodies of prisoners being burned next to crematorium V. (Joel Saget / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 25 Visitors walk between detention buildings at Auschwitz. A decade ago, 1,500 Holocaust survivors traveled to the death camp to mark the 60th anniversary of its liberation. This year, organizers expect 300 survivors to attend, the youngest in their 70s. (Alik Keplicz / Associated Press) 12 / 25 Visitors walk between barbed wire fences at the Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland. The aged sign warns of an electrified fence. (Alik Keplicz / Associated Press) 13 / 25 Holocaust survivor Mordechai Ronen is overcome as he arrives at the former concentration camp in Poland. Ronen, who now lives in the U.S., was 11 when he was sent to the camp; his mother and sister died there. (Odd Andersen / AFP/Getty Images) 14 / 25 Holocaust survivors pray upon arriving at Auschwitz for commemoration ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the camps liberation. (Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press) 15 / 25 Johnny Pekats, who arrived as a prisoner at Auschwitz when he was 14, walks through the former Auschwitz I concentration camp. Pekats later moved to New York and became a barber. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 16 / 25 Jack Rosenthal points to the identification numbers the Nazis tattooed on his arm. Rosenthal, who was born in Romania and imprisoned at age 14 in Auschwitz and other concentration camps, returned to Auschwitz for the 70th anniversary of the camps liberation. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 17 / 25 Rose Schindler, 85, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and her husband, Max, who was held in the nearby Plaszow camp, show their tattoos. The two met as refugees in Britain after the war. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 18 / 25 Igor Malitski, who was imprisoned at the Auschwitz complex, speaks to journalists. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 19 / 25 Ukrainian Holocaust survivor Igor Malitski walks past a photo in one of the old camp barracks, at Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Oswiecim, Poland. (Odd Andersen / AFP/Getty Images) 20 / 25 Miriam Ziegler, 79, holds out her tattooed arm just as she did when she was photographed with other children at Auschwitz when she was 9 years old. She is second from left in the photograph. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images) 21 / 25 Miriam Ziegler, 79, left, Paula Lebovics, 81, Gabor Hirsch, 85, and Eva Kor, 80, pose on Jan. 26 with an image of them as children taken at Auschwitz at the time of its liberation in 1945. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images) 22 / 25 A visitor walks past a display of prisoners shoes at the memorial and museum now on the site of the former Auschwitz complex. (Janek Skarzynski / AFP/Getty Images) 23 / 25 Shoes of children imprisoned are displayed in an exhibit at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Well over a million people were killed at the concentration camp complex. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 24 / 25 Suitcases confiscated from Auschwitz prisoners lie in an exhibition display at the former concentration camp. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) 25 / 25 Guard towers and barbed wire fences stand at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) Leon Schwarzbaum, a 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor from Berlin, said he does not want Hanning to go to prison and is happy that he apologized, but had hoped that he would provide more details about his time in Auschwitz for the sake of educating younger generations. It is a just verdict, but he should say more, tell the truth for the young people, Schwarzbaum said. He is an old man and probably wont have to go to jail, but he should say what happened at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was like something the world has never seen. Hanning had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. His defense attorneys had called for an acquittal, saying there is no evidence he killed or beat anyone; prosecutors sought a six-year sentence. Hanning said during his trial that he volunteered for the SS at age 18 and served in Auschwitz from January 1942 to June 1944. But he maintained that he was not involved in the killings in the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it, and I apologize for my actions. Reinhold Hanning, former Auschwitz guard It disturbs me deeply that I was part of such a criminal organization, he told the court in April. I am ashamed that I saw injustice and never did anything about it, and I apologize for my actions. Despite his age, Hanning has seemed alert during the four-month trial, paying attention to testimony and occasionally walking into the courtroom on his own, though usually using a wheelchair. Hanning joined the Hitler Youth with his class in 1935 at age 13. He said he volunteered for the Waffen SS in 1940 at the urging of his stepmother. He fought in several battles in World War II before being hit by grenade splinters in his head and leg during close combat in Kiev in 1941. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj He told the court that as he was recovering from his wounds he asked to be sent back into combat but his commander decided he was no longer fit for front-line duty, so he was sent to Auschwitz, without his knowing what it was. Though there is no evidence Hanning was responsible for a specific crime, he was tried under new legal reasoning that as a guard he helped the death camp operate, and thus could be tried as being accessory to murder. The indictment against Hanning is focused on a period between January 1943 and June 1944 for legal reasons, but the court has said it would consider the full time he served there. 1 / 9 A man enters the Sachsenhausen Nazi death camp through the gate with the phrase Arbeit macht frei (work sets you free) in Oranienburg, Germany. International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp on Jan. 27, 1945. (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) 2 / 9 A group of visitors gather inside the Holocaust Memorial on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Berlin. (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) 3 / 9 Soldiers hold a wreath at the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland. (Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press) 4 / 9 Holocaust survivors walk with others through the main gate of the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on the 71st anniversary of the death camps liberation by the Soviet Red Army in 1945. (Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press) 5 / 9 Visitors stand next to a ramp at the former Nazi German concentration camp KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau during a ceremony in Oswiecim, Poland. (Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press) 6 / 9 Former Nazi German concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. (Andrzej Grygiel / EPA) 7 / 9 Visitors look at photographs of the March of the Living exhibition, part of the ceremonies marking the 71st anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. (Andrzej Grygiel / EPA) 8 / 9 Inmates of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp stand behind barbed wire in this photograph taken by the Soviets. (Yad Vashem / AFP / Getty Images) 9 / 9 Russian liberators march German uniformed prisoners past mass graves at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the 1945 liberation. (Yad Vashem / Associated Press) The same reasoning being used in Hannings case was used successfully last year against former SS sergeant Oskar Groening to convict him of 300,000 counts of being an accessory to murder for serving in Auschwitz. Germanys highest appeals court is expected to rule on the validity of the Groening verdict sometime this summer. Groening, 95, was sentenced to four years in prison but will remain free while his case goes through the lengthy appeals process, and he is unlikely to spend any time behind bars, given his age. The precedent for the Groening and Hanning cases was set in 2011, with the conviction in Munich of former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk on allegations he served as a Sobibor death camp guard. Although Demjanjuk always denied serving at the death camp and died before his appeal could be heard, it opened a wave of new investigations by the special prosecutors office in Ludwigsburg responsible for Nazi war crime probes. The head of the office, Jens Rommel, said two other Auschwitz cases from that renewed effort are still pending trial another guard and also the commandants radio operator, contingent on the defendants health, which is currently being assessed and a third is still being investigated by Frankfurt prosecutors. Rommels office, which has no power to bring charges itself, has also recommended charges in three Majdanek death camp cases, and has sent them on to prosecutors, who are now investigating. Meantime, the office is still poring through documents for both death camps, and is also looking into former members of the so-called Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads, and guards at several concentration camps. Rommel said even though every trial is widely dubbed the last by the media, his office still plans on giving more cases to prosecutors, and politicians have pledged to keep his office open until 2025. That seems to me to be the outside boundary, said Rommel, whos not related to the famous German general of the same surname. If the cases will make it to trial, thats hard to say. You cant really look into the future but we have the mandate to keep investigating as long as theres still the possibility of finding someone. ALSO Islamic State claims it killed American working at air base in Turkey British lawmaker Jo Cox killed in shooting, had campaigned against leaving EU In the West Bank, Orlando gunmans widow is remembered as sheltered, simple our flesh and blood Iraqi forces Friday recaptured the strategic city of Fallouja from Islamic State after more than two years, a key victory for the government and a U.S.-led coalition eager to remove the extremist group from power. Thousands of civilians who had been trapped in the city fled in search of safer surroundings, food and water as pro-government forces moved in to clear out Islamic State, Iraqi and humanitarian aid officials said. Officals said brigades from three Iraqi army divisions, federal police and tribal fighters encircled the city before counter-terrorism forces fought their way in, cleared it of fighters and ultimately raised the Iraqi flag over the citys main government building. The forces were backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, which conducted strikes on Friday and have provided more than 85 airstrikes in the last four weeks in Fallouja in support of a government offensive. Advertisement By late Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi had declared the military push a de-facto victory for the government. Fallouja returned to the bosom of the nation, Abadi said in a televised address. Our forces control the district of Fallouja and have secured their control inside the city. See more of our top stories on Facebook The city, which fell to Islamic State in January 2014, has been a hotbed of Sunni extremism for years and may be best remembered as the place where a mob in 2004 killed and mutilated the bodies of four workers with a private company, Blackwater, contracting with the U.S. military. Falloujas fall to Islamic State came only months before the Iraqi army collapse that resulted in the groups control of several cities, including Mosul, which remains its stronghold in Iraq about 250 miles north. The loss of Fallouja, as the government presses a major offensive across key parts of the country aided by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coaltion, is considered a significant blow to Islamic State. The citys closeness to Baghdad, which is about 35 miles to the east, has made it an effective place for militants to prepare attacks on the capital. Fallouja was known for antigovernment feelings during the sectarian violence that came with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which overthrew the Sunni-dominated government of Saddam Hussein. Abadi, who Friday said there are still some areas which require cleansing in the coming hours, also insisted that there would be peace and security in the city despite fears of sectarian-fueled reprisal attacks by pro-government forces against city residents. This is your city and you will return to it safe and sound, he said. The offensive on Fallouja that began late last month came as Islamic State, which adheres to a harsh interpretation of Sunni Islamic law, branding Shiites as well as other religious groups as apostates or infidels who must be killed, has suffered setbacks throughout its self-proclaimed caliphate. Over the last week, various forces arrayed against the group have taken control of the Libyan port city of Sirte, and are poised to take the strategic town of Manbij in northern Syria. The apparent success in Fallouja seemed to have emboldened the government to refocus on launching its long-delayed assault toward Mosul. We are determined to liberate Mosul and expel the last remnants of #daesh from #Iraq in 2016, Abadi tweeted. He referred to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym, which is considered to be a pejorative by the groups members. Capturing Mosul, a city of more than 1 million, also has been a goal of U.S. commanders and White House officials. Taking back the city would deal a decisive blow to the militants before President Obama leaves office in January. Colonel Christopher Garver, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad, said a lot of work remained to be done in Fallouja, as fleeing militants have rigged houses and streets with bombs much as they have with other cities they abandoned in the past. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters at the Pentagon that the retaking of Fallouja was an important objective. And its important that it was accomplished by the Iraqi security forces under the command of Prime Minister Abadi, because thats an important principle for us: For Iraq to put itself back together as a whole in the long run, Carter said. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj Fridays breakthrough followed weeks of slow progress by Iraqi troops, whose advance was blunted by Islamic States signature tactics of booby-traps and snipers. Yet activists in contact with Fallouja residents said that much of Islamic States cadres had withdrawn before Fridays battle. Only a few foot-soldiers remained behind and they were killed, said the administrator of We are all Fallouja, a community page on Facebook. Known as the city of mosques, Fallouja once had 300,000 residents; aid groups estimated that until recently roughly 50,000 people had remained in the city. Tens of thousands of civilians have evacuated the city in recent weeks, according to the United Nations, via safe corridors established by government forces and Shiite irregular units known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Those fleeing the city also spoke of a retreat by the extremists, said Karl Schembri, Regional Media Advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council. The displaced people weve spoken to said that yesterday, early morning, they noticed that the ISIS fighters were withdrawing from key checkpoints around the city, said Schembri in a phone interview from Baghdad on Friday. Their withdrawal, he said, emboldened thousands of civilians to flee Fallouja and risk being killed by explosive devices left behind by the extremist group. Between yesterday and today, an estimated 20,000 people have left, Schembri said. Its a tidal wave of the displaced coming to the camps. But the new influx of refugees has threatened to overwhelm assistance efforts. There are thousands stranded without tents, and they are sleeping in the middle of nowhere. Were waiting for new stocks of tent, and we need to open new camps, Schembri said. Its a totally chaotic situation. Special correspondent Bulos reported from Beirut and Times staff writer Hennigan from Washington. UPDATES: 3:08 p.m.: This article has been updated with staff reporting. 11:16 a.m.: This article has been updated with news that Iraqi forces have gained control over most of Fallouja. This article was originally published at 8:48 a.m. For years, the United States has been viewed as a haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world, with immigration authorities approving asylum for LGBT people fleeing violence, LGBT students coming for college, and wealthy internationals choosing the U.S. for vacations. But after the massacre at Pulse, the gay club in Orlando, Fla., where 49 people were killed and 53 wounded this week, some in the international LGBT community are questioning the countrys reputation as global leader in acceptance and safety. Others, watching tearful vigils against backdrops of rainbow flags and the forceful repudiations of homophobia, have marveled with hope at how the nation is responding to anti-gay violence. FULL COVERAGE: Orlando nightclub shooting Advertisement Via social media, in houses of worship, and through public demonstrations and vigils all overin Bangalore, in Nairobi, in Singapore--the Orlando killings have brought together global LGBT communities like rarely before, and opened up a quiet debate on gay life in America. What has surprised me is the bigotry and racism and hate that has been exposed because of the Orlando attack. As a gay Muslim man, I would be terrified to live in the U.S. Im thankful to God that I dont, said Qasim Iqbal, 45, executive director of Naz Male Health Alliance, an LGBT social services organization in Lahore, Pakistan. As a gay Muslim man, I would be terrified to live in the U.S. Qasim Iqbal, executive director of Naz Male Health Alliance in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan is now seeming more and more to be a better place, said Iqbal, who lived in the U.S. until a decade ago. Yes, we may not have gay rights here, but the U.S. recognized gay rights [such as same-sex marriage] just a few years ago. For Gourab Ghosh, a gay rights activist and student at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the Orlando shooting points to larger issues in society. The massacre is sad and horrific, but it also highlights several kinds of phobia and discrimination, he said. Gay sex is illegal in 73 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Assn. In 13, the punishment for homosexual activity is death. ------------ FOR THE RECORD 11:27 a.m.: An earlier version of this article said gay sex is illegal in 75 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Assn. The correct number is 73 countries. ------------ Join the conversation on Facebook Although activists in the U.S. campaigning for anti-discrimination laws and legal protections for transgender people say the country still has strides to make on LGBT rights, the U.S. places high on global rankings of LGBT friendliness. A 2013 Pew Research Center survey named it 13th among 40 countries for residents acceptance of homosexuality. The U.S. is one of 22 where same-sex marriage is legal nationally, and several states allow gay couples to adopt children. Gay clubs like Pulse are common in major American cities, and not unknown in smaller ones too. Ghosh said that, although segments of society continue to shun and condemn gays, there is still a sense in other countries that that the U.S. is an LGBT-sympathetic country. The migrants from Turkey to Syria to Uganda to India look [toward the U.S.] for a space that they can call a rainbow home. Nicholas Lim, a 36-year-old gay Singaporean who helped organize a Tuesday vigil of 400 people, said the American response to the tragedy gave him faith amid sadness. The LGBT community has always been a visible target and, for a shooting to take place in a location where gay men gather and be themselves, to many of us it was inevitable, said Lim, who runs GLBT Voices Singapore, a Facebook page with 48,000 followers that put together the vigil. But we have no doubt that Americans will come back stronger from this, he said, adding that the LGBT community has been most loudly championed by people in the U.S. We have no doubt that Americans will come back stronger from this... [the] LGBT community has been most loudly championed by people in the U.S. Nicholas Lim, a 36-year-old gay Singaporean The Orlando killings were not only one of the largest mass shootings in the U.S., but also the largest attack on a U.S. gay club. The last major one was in 1973 when 32 people died after an arson at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans. With scant coverage at the time, the news also didnt have the advantage of social media to spread it. Thats how Zayan, a 19-year-old student in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first heard of the Orlando deaths via Twitter. Initially, I was like oh, well, another shooting in the U.S. What else is new? said Zayan, who asked that his last name not be used because his family does not know hes gay. But when we started getting more information on the whole situation like about the fact that it was a hate crime against LGBT people, I legitimately broke down, crying at his desk while in class. Growing up in a Muslim country, you know, you see all these countries in the West as probably the safest for LGBT people. Although it was this one incident, after the shooting Im having a hard time trying to figure out the difference between how LGBT people are treated there and how theyre treated here, said Zayan, who studies accounting and finance and had dreamed moving to live with relatives in New York City. Im leaning more towards Canada now, he said. Ishalaa Ortega, a transgender Mexican immigrant and activist in New York, said many of her friends were discussing the Orlando killings this week. But she noted the conversations were more optimistic. At the end of the day, its still the best country for an LGBT person, Ortega said. Here, everyone is horrified and people are rallying to protect the community. In Mexico there was a shooting where seven people were killed in a gay bar last month and nobody heard of it. Such violence happens every day around the world and nobody talks about it, added Ortega, who is from Tijuana and was granted asylum in January. This is why we are coming here asking for help. Jaweed Kaleem is The Times national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. ALSO State, local and LGBT leaders call for gun control after Orlando attack How the Orlando attack could mark a shift for gay Muslims In a month of pride, the gay community becomes a target of terror Opinion: LGBT Americans have always lived under the threat of violence. Will Orlando force straight people to acknowledge it? The governor of the Turkish city of Istanbul has banned gay, lesbian and transgender individuals from holding pride parades at their usual venue, citing security concerns. The governors office said Friday that marches departing from Istanbuls iconic Taksim Square would not be allowed for the safety of our citizens and the participants. The LGBT community has called for demonstrations on Sunday and June 26, bookending pride week. Advertisement Turkish Islamist and nationalist groups have threatened countermarches to stop the parade from taking place. The governors office has said other locations for demonstrations have been previously designated. Istanbuls pride parade has been celebrated every year since 2003 with participants converging in Taksim. Last year, the march was banned and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. ALSO West Hollywood plastered with rainbow #ShootBack signs In a week of mourning in Orlando, members of the LGBT community vow to stay resilient Ohio State pulls mascot Brutus Buckeye from LGBT Pride event, citing safety concerns Russian warplanes hit Pentagon-backed Syrian fighters with a barrage of airstrikes earlier this week, disregarding several warnings from U.S. commanders in what American military officials called the most provocative act since Moscows air campaign in Syria began last year. The strikes hit a base near the Jordanian border, far from areas where the Russians were previously active, and targeted U.S.-backed forces battling the Islamic State militants. No U.S. forces were present in the area, but the U.S. military scrambled fighter jets and used an emergency communications channel set up to avoid air accidents to tell Russian officers to end the strikes, according to the officials, who spoke Friday about the incident after requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Advertisement The Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers left the area at first, but came back for a second strike after the U.S. F/A-18 fighters went to refuel. The second attack killed several Syrian rebels attempting to provide medical support to the survivors of the initial one, officials said. Its an egregious act that must be explained, a U.S. official said. The Russian government either doesnt have control of its own forces or it was a deliberate provocative act. Either way, were looking for answers. The incident came amid calls within the U.S. government for a tougher approach to the Syrian conflict. On Thursday, an internal State Department memo became public in which 51 diplomats, using the State Departments long-standing dissent process, criticized President Obamas policy and called for U.S. military strikes against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russias ally. State Department spokesman John Kirby on Friday conceded that such a large number of signatures on a dissent memo was unusual. No ones content with the status quo, he said. Too many people are dying. Assads army continues to bomb civilian neighborhoods as the bloody civil war plods toward its fifth year. Russian bombing and intervention by Iranian-backed forces have helped give Assads embattled government an advantage over rebel groups in recent months. Nearly all the Russian airstrikes over the past nine months have hit northern Syria, in the region around Aleppo, the countrys second-largest city. The Free Syrian Army, a loose grouping that has received aid from Washington and its allies in the Persian Gulf and Turkey, has battled government forces for control of the city. The U.S. has carried out its own air campaign against Islamic State positions in eastern Syria. These latest strikes occurred on the other side of the country from the usual Russian operations, around Tanf, a town near where the borders of Jordan, Iraq, and Syria meet. U.S. officials believe the strikes were launched to pressure the U.S. into working with Russia. Moscow has long wanted the U.S. to combine its air campaign in Syria with Moscows so they can share intelligence and targeting information. The Obama administration has rejected that idea because it would put U.S. forces on the same side as Assad. The administration says Assad must leave power, although officials have said he could remain for a period of managed transition. The Russian strike hit a small rebel base for staging forces and equipment in a desolate, unpopulated area near the border. About 180 rebels were there as part of the Pentagons program to train and equip fighters against Islamic State. When the first strikes hit, the rebels called a U.S. command center in Qatar, where the Pentagon orchestrates the daily air war against Islamic State. U.S. military commanders called their Russian counterparts on a special hotline set up to ensure the two countries pilots will not mistakenly run into or fire upon one another as they conduct daily bombing runs in the skies above Syria. Two Navy fighter jets were scrambled from one of two U.S. aircraft carriers stationed in the Mediterranean Sea. The U.S. pilots visually identified the pair of Russian jets,which briefly left the area but returned once the American planes went for additional fuel. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter briefly addressed the incident with reporters at the Pentagon, saying the U.S. military was attempting to clarify the facts on why the communications channel wasnt professionally utilized. Pentagon officials have said in the past that the U.S. military would defend forces it trained if they were threatened inside Syria by Assads government. This was an attack on forces, first of all, that were fighting ISIL, Carter said, using an acronym for Islamic State. Obviously thats the first thing thats problematic about this Russian conduct. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to confirm the attack Friday, telling reporters it was difficult to distinguish different rebel groups from the air. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscows air campaign is aimed at Islamic State. But the strikes, instead, have focused on moderate opposition forces and to some extent on the Nusra Front, a group aligned with Al Qaeda, according to analyses by U.S. intelligence officials. The Russian military has launched a relatively small number of airstrikes against Islamic State, mostly for propaganda purposes, U.S. officials say. Putin has called for a broad international coalition to fight Islamic State, including the United States and other Western countries already waging airstrikes on the militants. He has insisted, however, that Assad be involved in the campaign and that any foreign interventions be subject to the approval of the Syrian leader, whom he has described as a bulwark against terrorism. Its about ensuring Assads hold on power and weakening his enemies, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a senior research scientist on Russia at CNA, a think tank based in Arlington, Va. The Russians feel that having accomplished a great deal in the north, theres no reason not to do something similar in the south, he said. william.hennigan@latimes.com Twitter: @wjhenn ALSO Iraqi prime minister says Fallouja retaken from Islamic State extremists Ramshackle South Korean island faces a threat more urgent than North Korea British authorities look at possible links to right-wing extremism for suspect in lawmakers slaying On 16 June Senator Jaime Orpis became the first Chilean politician to be jailed for alleged corruption since the countrys return to democracy in 1990.This is a watershed moment in Chilean politics. Chile has sat proudly atop most regionally adjusted global league tables for years, especially the corruption perceptions index compiled by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International. By regional standards, corruption is still relatively low but a series of campaign financing and influence peddling scandals have rocked the political establishment to its core over the last 18 months and deepened a growing public disenchantment and disconnect with national politics. Orpis belongs to the ultra-conservative opposition Union Democrata Independiente (UDI), whose president, Hernan Larrain, wasted no time in denouncing his preventive imprisonment as an extreme decision, constituting unequal treatment which is an unacceptable form of justice. Larrain focused not on the corruption itself, which Orpis has admitted, but rather resentment that the Right was, in his view, being unfairly singled out. End of preview - This article contains approximately 349 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Two people injured during a disturbance and subsequent shooting Thursday afternoon in Allentown remained hospitalized Friday, city police said. Detectives had identified a person of interest in the shooting probe but were not immediately releasing a name or description of anyone sought, department spokesman Capt. Daniel Wiedemann said. A man taken into custody at the scene was wanted on a warrant, but was not charged in relation to either injury, Wiedemann said. The woman suffered a head injury from a fall during a disturbance in the West End Hotel boarding house portion of the building at 1327 Chew St., also home to Jabber Jaws Bar and Grille, Wiedemann said. She was not shot, he confirmed. "She was injured in there and then the incident spilled out to the outside," the captain said. Shots fired outside injured a male victim, who was taken with the woman to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. Their conditions were stable Friday, Wiedemann said. The woman had to be rescued from the roof of a patio off a fire escape on the building. Police were also continuing to investigate a shooting Wednesday night, in which a 55-year-old woman was wounded when she answered the door of her apartment at 941 W. Hamilton St. WMFZ-TV 69 reported Friday that victim, Dora Dominguez, is the mother of murderer Jesus "Playboy" Dominguez. He was sentenced last September to 15 to 40 years in state prison for strangling 60-year-old Shirley DiLeo while high on crack cocaine. City detectives can be reached at 610-437-7721 if anyone has information to share on either incident. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. One by one, the names of all 49 men and women shot dead early Sunday inside an Orlando, Florida, nightclub were read aloud. Some 200 area residents gathered Thursday night at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem to remember them. A bell tolled for every name, every person lost to the senseless violence. A candle was lit beside 49 pairs of shoes set up before the altar, shoes chosen to represent the victims who had come out on a Saturday to dance alongside other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said the Rev. Elizabeth Goudy, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church. The name of the American citizen responsible for the deaths was not uttered. He was no Muslim, said Aqeel Syed, outreach director of the Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley. A Muslim would not have been out looking for partners with a wife at home, as was alleged about the shooter, a known patron of the Pulse nightclub where he opened fire. He would not have been out at all Saturday night into the early morning hours of Sunday, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. To Muslims, all life is sacred, Syed said. "Those that commit murder in the name of Islam do not represent Muslims," he told those gathered. Robert LaBarre, of Bethlehem, is a regular at services at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley, which describes itself as "a radically inclusive Christian serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual ally community since 1984." He was impressed at the turnout and the diversity of those in attendance Thursday: Among those joining Syed in addressing the service were the Rabbi Seth Phillips, of Congregation Keneseth Israel; the Lehigh County Conference of Churches ecumenical director, Larry Pickens; and Goudy herself. "I like seeing all the faces that I have never seen here on a Sunday," LaBarre said. He sat beside McNair Randall, also of Bethlehem, who said she'd come to see a restoration of hope. A candle is lit Thursday, June 16, 2016, at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem, alongside a pair of shoes symbolizing all 49 people killed during a shooting Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. (Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com) Jake Glessner, of Bethlehem Township, was at a queer pride event Saturday night into Sunday in Philadelphia, and the tragedy of what had occurred in Orlando hit him hard when he began to realize how many were killed. It could have been him, the 25-year-old said. "I just happened to be in the right city at the right time," Glessner said, adding that this period of mourning is not a time to be angry, but for respect for others: "We're not victims, we're going to grow from this ... . I feel the best is yet to come." Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez spoke Thursday night, saying the murders in Orlando took him back to other mass shootings, at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina; a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. "I just can't understand what would drive someone to commit such a crime," Donchez said, calling Sunday's murders clearly a hate crime. "I stand with everyone here and across the country and say no to intimidation, no to fear and no to hate." Adrian Shanker, executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, called on those gathered to grieve, but also to keep dancing. Goudy, too, offered a call for hope that the violent nature of humanity can be overcome. "This week is a coming out of our country's addiction to the sin of violence," Goudy said from the pulpit, to applause. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A diagnosed pedophile was sent to Northampton County Prison on Friday for a sex offense against an 11-year-old girl. Charles Helton, 32, of Florida, admitted he exposed himself to the girl and ordered her to perform a sex act on April 21, 2015, at a home in Northampton. Northampton County Senior Judge Leonard Zito sentenced him to nine to 23 months in prison followed by four years of probation. The sentencing conformed to a plea deal negotiated by Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson. He pleaded guilty in January to indecent assault and corruption of minors. In exchange for the plea, charges of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children were dropped. Zito found Helton to be a sexually violent predator. He will have to register his address with authorities for the rest of his life. He based that decision on a recommendation from psychologist Veronique Valliere, who said Helton suffers from pedophilic disorder. "It can only be managed," she testified. "It can't be cured." Defense attorney Eleanor Breslin argued Valliere based her opinions on claims made by the victim that Helton abused her over several years. Helton was not convicted of such conduct, only for one incident. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. A tractor-trailer and a Jeep Wrangler crashed early Friday on Interstate 78 West just before the toll bridge that connects New Jersey to Pennsylvania, authorities report. Injuries were reported. The crash was reported at 3:02 a.m. by a driver at the toll plaza in Williams Township; a Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission officer in charge set up the traffic pattern with a closed right lane, commission spokesman Joe Donnelly said. At least one injured person was transported to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill. New Jersey State Police handled the investigation, although Pennsylvania State Police also responded because the crash was so close to the border, Donnelly said. The driver of the Jeep, Ashley Berger, 28, of Washington, was in the right lane before striking a front tire on the truck's trailer in the left lane, New Jersey Stare Police Capt. Steve Jones said. Berger's passenger, Joel Fatjo, 33, of Phillipsburg, was injured, Jones said. The Jeep was towed, Jones said. Fatjo was stable in good condition on Friday morning, a St. Luke's supervisor said. The hospital had no record of Berger. The truck, driven by Kevin Foltz, 47, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, wasn't disabled in the crash, Jones said. The investigation is continuing and alcohol may be factor in the Jeep hitting the truck, Jones said. No charges have been filed and no tickets processed, he said. The right lane was closed for about an hour, Donnelly said. The Easton Emergency Squad, Phillipsburg EMS and the Williams Township Fire Department also responded, Donnelly said. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. We continue to develop our situational understanding. That little gem of verbal mundanity was provided by a US army officer to Senator John McCain. The man was replying to a question from the politician about military activity in the Middle East. At the time it sounded impressive, more so when the archetypal stern demeanour of the soldier was taken into account. On reflection though it was a holding statement about what the US army was getting up to in a war zone or theatre of operations as they might prefer to describe it. It was either an exercise of kicking into touch or maybe the army man simply had little to add by way of illumination. One imagines too that Kildare County Council is continuing to develop its situational understanding of the impasse that has envelopied the Naas Shopping Centre. Youd imagine that on some level progress is being made. We know interest has been expressed by at least one US investor in buying and opening the centre which, few of you need reminding, was to open six-and-a-half years ago. What, in all probability, it will come down to at the end of day is money. When the price is cheap enough it will be bought, hopefully to open as a shopping centre. In the meantime NAMA, which like Kildare County Council is saying nothing about a possible offloading of the building, is understood to be keen to get it off its books NAMA is understood to be concerned about the arbitration process that is taking place over two relatively small pieces of land one (the larger of the two) has been resolved. The Leader reported recently that the second hearing has been adjourned , possibly for a year. Kildare County Council intimated that it has not tried to pull out of the process. The arbitrator dealing with case is not willing to comment either for the understandable reason that he is involved in it. It would be like a judge commenting on a case she is presiding over. It wouldnt happen. KCC has a serious interest in this case. It or Naas Town Council to be precise gave permission for it; it CPOd the land and it lost a car park. And it is awaiting payments from the developer Marshalsea for the operation of an alternative car park. It sometimes seems that the very future of the town will be decided by the fate of the Naas Shopping Centre. Because the story of the centre has impacted on so much in Naas. The towns parking problems too few public ones and the aforementioned loss of the most centrally located one are tied up in the centre. So too is the health of retail business. The recession is also a factor in all of this as are decisions to build out of town centres at three locations around Naas and not one as far out of Newbridge town. KCC is aware of the disquiet. Its slow and frustrating, but were working tirelessly and making progress, KCC official Niall Morrissey said recently of whats happening towards a sale or opening of the NSC. The cranes have got to go; they dont create a good image. While little has been said, KCC is prioritising the centre as much as is possible or at the very least developing its situational understanding. After nearly 40 years in teaching, local principal Seamus O Ceanainn (Jim as he is widely known) has decided to step down as head of Gael Cholaiste Chill Dara and retire. In his second floor office above the school he spoke to me about the uphill battle to get the school from its humble beginnings in 2003 to where it is today. The concept of the school was formed by parents of children leaving the Gaelscoil who wanted their kids to be able to continue their education through Irish at the second level. We were ready to open in September 2003 with nine students in Curragh Grange after being in consultation with the Department of Education for about nine months and were expecting recognition, but that didnt happen. After a bit of a battle with the department they granted us recognition but said they wouldnt activate the school until next September. We couldnt officially take in any students. It was like having cigarettes with no matches. He and the other teachers finished out the school year unofficially (and unpaid) and come September 2004 they welcomed 25 new students. By 2004 the Department still didnt give their full support but they did begin to pay teachers wages and capitation grant. The school was kept going mostly because of the local communitys willingness to help, most of our equipment and furniture came from donations and I made many of the old desks by hand or by taking old desks and making them suitable for secondary aged students. NUI Maynooth granted us the use of their labs for many years when we had none of our own to carry out science projects. It wasnt until 2010, seven years after the opening of the school, that the Gaelcholaiste began to get the support that other schools typically receive. The Board began to pay for accommodation but would only do so for six months in Herbert Lodge, where we were based at the time and told us we had to move into St Patricks in Naas if we wanted to continue to receive the payments. The building was in disrepair when we first moved in but has since been renovated to the highest standard. Talking about what the school has become he said that he believes it is a reflection of the wider community that lives along the Dublin, Kildare, Portlaoise corridor (Irish and non-Irish speakers alike), who supported the school from its inception. On the future of the school he spoke glowingly of the soon to be principal Amanda Ni Dhuibhir, who has been with the school since the beginning. Shes somebody who understands the development of the school and is also very active in the local community with irish language organisations ... One of the best candidates you could ever interview for any job. He feels the school serves the ideals of Pearse and leaders of 1916 who understood the huge importance of language and cultural integrity as an essential part of a nations identity, theres a demand for institutions like the school reflecting this growth in language and culture in the country, the census data from the last 20 years shows that Kildare has the fastest growing Irish language community in the country. My Grandmother was beaten in school for speaking irish, thats how close we are to that generation. The developers behind the extension of Newbridge Retail Park will have to shell out 1.79 million to Kildare County Council in development levies. In granting the go ahead for the extension of the development on the Athgarvan Road last week, the council said the levy was determined due to a shortfall of 358 car parking spaces at a rate of 5,000 per space. The local authority said it was considered reasonable the developer should make the contribution under the current County Development Plan and the Development Levies contribution scheme. Curtmount Properties Ltd has been given the go ahead to demolish units 10 and 11 to facilitate access to the area behind Lidl for the construction of three units in the first block comprising retail space on the ground floor. It also plans to build six units in the second block comprising retail space on ground floor and eleven apartments on the first floor. The project also includes modifications to unit 12 as well as the provision of carparking and landscaping. Kildare County Council had asked the company for clarification on the further information it had submitted on November 5. The council requested the applicant submit a visual impact analysis and traffic impact assessment. It also stated high quality architectural design and detailing is required as the site transition from a retail warehousing type design to the higher quality Whitewater development. Curtmount then submitted a master plan showing pedestrian links between neighbouring properties and streets including vehicular access connecting Military Road, Athgarvan Road to Edward Street, and the retail park to the Courtyard Shopping Centre. It also submitted details of finishes, the redesign of the apartments and revised car parking. The directors of Curtmount are listed as Thomas and Sean Tracey. KCC granted permission on May 30 with 38 conditions. It also asked the applicants to submit detailed drawings for the link road between the Athgarvan Road and Edward Street prior to construction. In 2014 Curtmount Properties Ltd was given permission for a discount food store at Edward Street/Gandouge Lane. The foul stench emanating from the gullies in Mohill town is having a negative affect on business, last Monday's meeting of Carrick-on-Shannon Municipal District heard. Cllr Enda Stenson raised the matter again, asking what steps have been taken to find out why the foul smell still lingers on Main Street. He was told the sewer on Main Street is a combined sewer, a single pipe taking both the foul sewage and the storm water from the street. Occasionally in periods of dry weather, when the water in the gully traps has evaporated, foul odours emanate from the gullies. The sewers would ideally have to be separated which would be a matter for the Leitrim County Council's Roads Department and Irish Water to fund. The Council will discuss the problem with Irish Water, he was assured. Cllr Stenson said this problem had been brought up several times by himself, Cllr Logan and Cllr McGowan and by previous councillors. The smell is horrid. This smell would not encourage anyone to come into Mohill to set up a business, he said. There is a stench in the middle of the town and I don't think we've tackled it properly. We need this to be sorted out, he added. Cllr Sean McGowan asked if the type of gullies in place could be changed. Shay O'Connor, Senior Engineer, Roads, said he was not sure if that could be done. Cllr Sinead Guckian also supported the motion. Cllr Seadhna Logan said in 2015 he was told the Council would get on to Irish Water about it and that it was part of a development plan for 2017-2021. If this was in Carrick-on-Shannon it would not happen, he said. Cllr Logan added that the issue was having a serious impact on business and said there has to be some way of dealing with it. He asked for a better insight into what could be done for the next meeting of the Municipal District. Mr O'Connor said they would have a more detailed report for the next meeting. The Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD, has today published part 1 of the report which examines the GSOC investigation of Sgt Mick Galvin and other Gardai in Ballyshannon in 2015. The report of the inquiry has now been forwarded to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission GSOC and the Garda Commissioner. In June 2015 the Minister for Justice and Equality initiated an inquiry following public concern after the tragic death of Sergeant Michael Galvin who had been the subject of a GSOC investigation into Garda interaction with Ms Sheena Stewart who died as a result of a road traffic incident on 1 January 2015. The inquiry was conducted by Mr Justice Frank Clarke of the Supreme Court. A number of legal issues arise in relation to publication of the full report at this stage, including possible prejudice to pending criminal proceedings, which will require further examination. The report contains a number of recommendations, including the need to review the 2005 Act to address issues related to the scope of inquiries by GSOC. It also makes a number of recommendations related to practices and procedures by GSOC concerning how investigations are designated as criminal or disciplinary investigations and the conduct of those investigations. Addressing the report, the Tanaiste said: Sergeant Galvins death was a tragedy for his wife and family, for his Garda colleagues and for his community. This week I again met Mrs. Galvin, along with her family and solicitor. I know that no words of mine can heal the hurt that so many feel at his loss. Details of the report will be published in Wednesdays Leitrim Observer. The tragic killing of Jo Cox tells us three things about this campaign. First, that it has become bad natured. We are perhaps all guilty: I tweeted a picture of the England-Russia Sebastopol replay last Saturday under the headline English nationalists in France show the other side of Vote.Leave. In the end, demeaning our opponents demeans us too. Its time to tone down the rhetoric, as Paddy Ashdown reminded us on Twitter a few hours ago. The second thing it tells us is that MPs security needs review. Jo is the third victim in recent years, after Andy Pennington of Nigel Jones MPs office and the attempted murder of Stephen Timms MP; though I believe she is the first MP to die since Ian Gow was a victim of the IRA in 1990. She had previously received death threats, as many in elected office do (as did I). Third, that such attacks are in fact extremely rare in European politics. In Africa, Latin America, the Indian sub-continent and more widely in Asia they are tragically commonplace. Being a progressive politician in most countries carries an ever present risk to ones own safety. The definition of a true liberal democracy might be a society where people are generally safe even if they are unpopular. In Germany a knife attack on a local councillor in Cologne recently caused similar shock and outrage to yesterdays assault. But this last point underlines the extent to which Europeans share common values. In the many many public meetings at which I have spoken since last November (when I started referendum campaigning) I have found one argument to carry with all audiences: we live in a difficult and sometimes dangerous world where barely half a billion EU citizens seek to defend and promote values which do not hold sway elsewhere. European solidarity alone is sufficient reason to remain in the EU. As we share the grief of Jo Coxs family, let us rejoice in what she stood for. * Sir Graham Watson was a MEP from 1994 to 2014. He led the EP's Liberal Democratic Group from 2002 to 2009 and presided the ALDE Party from 2011 to 2015. He is now a Member of the European Economic and Social Committee. Our party leader, Tim Farron has just sent this moving message to Liberal Democrat members: This morning with my kids all I could think about was the family whove woken up with their lives changed forever. Yesterday a mum, who left home to do her job to serve her constituents, was cruelly and brutally taken from them. Her husband and their children are in my thoughts and prayers. When something terrible happens, I feel it. I am not one of those who shies away from emotion. And I, like so many others, am really feeling it today. In Orlando, when all those people were massacred for simply being themselves, the hurt was overwhelming. And here in Britain, we have seen terror on our streets and lost an incredible woman. Grief, sorrow, anger, frustration, confusion. Jo Cox was a wonderful MP. Much will be written about her and she deserves all the tributes that are being paid. Very few politicians had her vision and courage when it came to standing up for Syria and for refugees. She was really affected by their plight and when she spoke in Parliament I was deeply moved. She came to the Commons to make a difference, for something she believed in. For too long we have allowed division and hatred to thrive. Vitriol has risen, and only yesterday we saw the shameful and sickening sight of England fans taunting child refugees, while public figures went out of their way to fan the flames of prejudice. I am angry and upset at all those politicians, public figures and newspapers who wilfully stir up fear and hatred. Political debate has become a nasty place where personal attacks, blaming foreigners, migrants, the poor, the different, have become palatable. Where has all the hope, and optimism, and decency gone? It will be quoted many times over, but Jos words in her maiden speech couldnt be clearer and couldnt be more poignant we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us. Today I wont be campaigning in the referendum, but Im going to be in my constituency doing what MPs do; I will be holding an open-air surgery. This is how I, in my small way, can pay tribute to Jo. This is what I encourage all people in politics to do today. Be in your constituency, be in your ward. Be part of your community. Reach out, lend a hand, support, listen, comfort and help. This is what were here to do. Tomorrow I will begin again to make the positive case for Europe. I am fed up with the anger and the hatred. Its gone on for too long. I am a passionate believer that being part of Europe is better for our country, yet this debate has been suffocated by ego and dirty politics. We must turn a corner. Let this be a turning point for our country. When the world around us is fearful, confusing, and clouded, let us be the beacon of tolerance and hope. Tim Farron IN just a few days time, Britains electorate will go to the polls to vote in the most important referendum in a generation. On Thursday, June 23, voters will be faced with the choice of whether the United Kingdom (UK) should remain part of the European Union (EU), or leave the 28-member bloc. Opinion polls show a tight race, and in what has been a bitterly fought campaign, any significant leads for either side, have been tempered by the fact there are still a significant number of undecided voters. Indeed, with every vote so important, there has been a strong campaign to ensure British citizens abroad including the 8,000 or so based in Limerick are eligible to vote by post, proxy or in person. Here in Limerick, fears of a British exit (or Brexit) are most connected to changes to business and agricultural conditions, rather than any emotional reasons. But Mayor of Limerick City and County, Liam Galvin has made a direct appeal to British people or indeed Limerick people based in Britain eligible to vote next Thursday to back Remain. A farmer by trade, he said a Brexit could devastate his community. From an agricultural point of view, it could be the start of a disaster for our product in Ireland if they leave, he told the Limerick Leader. Bill Doherty, the chief executive of medical devices manufacturer Cook Medical, which employs 800 people in Plassey, acknowledged the EU referendum is a matter for the British people. However, he admitted if Britain did vote to leave, it would lead to question marks over the med-tech industrys trade deals with the UK. At present, all 28 member states have medical device directives which govern the sale of medical devices throughout Europe. Would there be another set of medical device regulations for the UK market alone, Mr Doherty asked. For small business owners like Annette Staunton, a dentist based in OConnell Avenue, but born in London, Britain leaving the EU would be an unwelcome extra cost. She relies on trading with partners in London to secure high-tech medical equipment for her surgery, and has concerns over possible tariffs that would arise from Britain not being in the EU. However, Wolverhampton-born Gary Cotter, whose consulting firm, CS has offices in Limerick, Dublin and London, does not believe much would change if Britain voted to leave. While he said he would prefer Britain to remain, he added: In my view, the ties between Britain and Ireland are strengthening and I think this can continue whether they remain or leave. I will get on with it, whatever their decision. The chief executive of the Limerick Chamber, Dr James Ring said it is the fear of the unknown, which is haunting local businesses. He rejected a commentary that Brexit would provide Ireland with the opportunity to attract US multi-nationals. You can understand the theory, as Ireland would be the only English-speaking nation in the European Union, and that would be attractive for foreign direct investment. It is a fair point. But on the other side of it, the UK is our biggest trading partner. And if our biggest trading partner is no longer in the European Union, and there are tariffs on trade, that is a serious concern. Remain campaigners were spooked this week when The British Sun newspaper often seen as a bellwether of national opinion backed a vote to Leave. In a strongly worded front-page editorial, the newspaper wrote: Throughout our 43-year membership of the EU, it has proved increasingly greedy, wasteful, bullying and breathtakingly incompetent in a crisis. Next Thursday, at the ballot box, we can corect this huge and historic mistake. Fianna Fails Niall Collins says while the union is not perfect, its values stand strong. In an opinion piece for this newspaper last week, he wrote: The values of the European Union, those of liberty, equality, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights has served us well. The Fianna Fail position to remain is reflected by the other political parties represented in Limerick. However, Cllr Cian Prendiville, of the Anti-Austerity Alliance, has sided with Rupert Murdochs publication, at least in terms of how to vote. He said: Over recent years, the undemocratic, anti-worker agenda of the EU has been exposed. As a socialist and an internationalist, this is not the king of Europe I believe we need. It is a bosses club that has pushed privatisation, water charges and austerity and turned its back on refugees and working people. Expat Britons share their views on the issue Paul Durban, originally from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, REMAIN: Living in Ireland, I would want Britain to remain in the European Union, because it would probably have a negative effect on Ireland otherwise. The last thing we want is for the economy over here to dip again. Tristan Magedera, Watford, England, REMAIN: I have just sent my postal vote off today. My sense is that any problem we get from staying in are temporary fluctuations. Essentially, the club we belong to, Club Europe, is a good one. "Once you join something, it is like a marriage. You go through thick and thin. I am glad of the position Britain is in: we are in an ideal position because we have retained the pound, yet we have free trade with Europe. This is something you cannot buy. Cllr John Loftus, Port Glasgow, Scotland, REMAIN: I voted to join the European Union when I was 18 it was my first vote. In the 100 years before that, we had the two most catastrophic situations in history two World Wars because we were not together. I think if you do not understand your neighbours, you will never get anywhere. We have to stand together. Garry Hyland, Ealing, London, England (pictured), LEAVE: The reason I would vote to leave the EU is I feel Brussels is telling the country what we have to do. These are the rules we have to follow, when governments should be allowed govern their own countries. Look at Norway, and they are doing brilliantly. Ben Panter, Nottingham, England, REMAIN: I feel the Leave side are using historical facts like our relatives fought in the Second World War or whatever, and it is completely irrelevant to what is going on now. It seems a lot of people are getting the wrong end of the stick. If Britain leaves Europe, it would be their loss. I love having Polish and Spanish neighbours. My child can say hello in multiple languages. I think it is wrong to be insular. Robbie Russell, Hollywood, Belfast, Northern Ireland, REMAIN: I am not too sure how a Brexit would affect the border between Ireland north and south, and what restrictions there would be on trade. I think Britain should remain part of the European Union. A lot of the arguments for leaving the European Union focus on agriculture, and agricultural trade. I dont know how many people that would affect. Steve Jones, Blackpool, England (pictured), LEAVE: A friend of mine is going to vote for me by proxy on June 23. I feel Europe has lost total control of its borders. It is mainly due to this situation that I want to leave. They are letting anybody and everybody into the countries. "If refugees need help, we should of course help them. But there needs to be stricter controls. My problem is with the economic migrants from the poorer parts of Europe who are flooding in to the west. A big fear for me is also allowing Turkey become part of the EU. There is a lot of scaremongering, people saying if we leave the EU, we are going to be at the back of the queue for trading. "This will not happen: people will not bite their nose off to spite their face. Emma Parry, Welshpool, Wales, REMAIN: I absolutely think we should remain. I was a bit disappointed, as I tried to register to vote, and I discovered when I went online that because I had been out of the country more than 15 years, I was not entitled to vote. "The main reason I would vote for us to remain is because I now live in Ireland, and can see the knock-on effect it would have on my country from the point of view of trade. I can see the effect it will have on tourism side, with border controls coming in at the north. I think Britain removing itself from the EU is not a good idea. "I do not think that people realise the ripple effect a Brexit would have on other countries, and in particular one of those really close to us. Margaret ODonoghue, Stockwell, South London, England, REMAIN: If I had a vote, I would be staying in the EU. I know it costs a lot of money to be in the union, but look around and see what they have done: look at the motorways, the improvements. It is better to be part of a bigger group. I feel Ireland will miss out on a lot of Britain leaves. Lil Burnell, Holyhead, Wales, REMAIN: The idea we will be better off on our own is completely based on assumption and ridiculous. The cost of living will go up, raising taxes more cuts for example to the NHS to fund the change over. Overall I think the move would be a bad one. THE contest to replace Senator Maria Byrne on Limerick council has descended into controversy with one of the candidates lodging a formal complaint over the process. Fine Gael members in City West were expected to meet last Thursday to decide who should be co-opted onto Limerick City and County Council in Ms Byrnes place. But the convention at the South Court Hotel in Raheen was cancelled with just hours to go after Patrickswell man Fergus Kilcoyne, who was due to face Elenora Hogan from the South Circular Road, lodged an official complaint with Fine Gael headquarters, who will now launch a probe. Given the fact Ms Hogans James Reidy city branch has four times the number of members as local election candidate Mr Kilcoynes Patrickswell branch, many in the party felt she would be the overwhelming favourite to take the seat. However, in the days leading up to the convention, Mr Kilcoyne wrote to Fine Gaels headquarters expressing concern over whether some members in the James Reidy city branch were eligible to vote, given their addresses and length of membership. His intervention means Fine Gael will be one member light in the two upcoming mayoral elections. As a result, the party will be more reliant than ever on its grand coalition with Fianna Fail. The Limerick Leader understands Mr Kilcoynes complaint relates to the addresses of some members in the James Reidy branch, which stretches from the Hunt Museum to the Ballinacurra Creek. There would be some members who would have not been active in the organisation for years, and some new members who would not be eligible to vote, said one source close to the process. In the past, the James Reidy branch would have covered areas like Mulgrave Street and Childers Road, which are not part of City West. Since the amalgamation, Fine Gael has realigned the boundaries of the James Reidy branch, but members from these areas now part of City East still remain. Neither Mr Kilcoyne or Ms Hogan commented when contacted by the Leader. Limericks metropolitan district meets next Friday to elect its mayor, with Fine Gael set to rubber-stamp its candidate likely to be Michael Hourigan this Monday. As part of a deal with Fianna Fail, it is their turn to hold this mayoralty. Between them, the two parties have ten votes at present, meaning if the other half of the council can unite behind a candidate, the outgoing metropolitan mayor, Fianna Fail councillor Jerry ODea would be left with the casting vote. He said the two parties have worked well together in providing leadership on the council, and I hope that partnership approach will continue. The Mayor of Limerick City and County will be elected the following Monday in what will likely be less dramatic circumstances, with veteran Fianna Fail councillor Kieran OHanlon set to take the chain. I never envisaged when I was elected 25 years ago I could possibly be the mayor of Limerick City and County, he said this week. ALLEGATIONS of a sexual nature against an internationally renowned stud farm owner in Japan - who facilitated co-op placements for University of Limerick students - will be heard next month, when an international line-up of witnesses across political, academic and horse-racing fields is expected to be called. Three sets of legal proceedings taken by Dr Harry Sweeney, of Paca Paca stud farm in Japan, against the University of Limerick and two of its equine science students are to be consolidated into one hearing later this month at the High Court. Ms Justice Miriam O'Regan detailed this Friday morning that the case will be listed for mention in two weeks' time, on Thursday, June 30. UL has to date failed to deliver a defence in the case, but their legal firm said they would not do so until the three sets of proceedings were consolidated, which was achieved today. Ms Justice O'Regan said this was an appropriate case where all the proceedings would be consolidated due to common facts, an overlap of legal issues and a commonality of witnesses. Witnesses due to be called in the case will include Japanese nationals, a Government minister, and members of the international horse-breeding industry. Dr Sweeney is suing UL for damages for negligence, breach of contract, breach of fair procedures, breach of natural justice and defamation, as a result of actions taken by UL in choosing to withdraw two of its equine science students from a placement programme in 2014. Dr Sweeney, a veterinary surgeon and bloodstock breeder from county Meath, is also seeking an injunction restraining UL from "repeating untrue and defamatory allegations". In two other sets of proceedings, Dr Sweeney and Paca Paca are seeking damages for defamation and malicious falsehood against the two students concerned, to include compensatory damages, aggravated damages, and punitive damages. The allegations by one of the UL students against Dr Sweeney, who runs a "highly respected, prestigious and successful stud farm in Japan" and has been featured in the New York Times, Japan Times and Irish Times, relates to allegations of bullying, offensive and inappropriate behaviour, and alleged sexual assaults. One of the students has claimed that when she was interviewed by Dr Sweeney in October 2013 she and other interviewees were asked to stand up and slowly turn around in order for Dr Sweeney to inspect them physically. "The content of the conversation was no less appropriate. The line of questioning instead of being related to matters of equine science was about the student's relationship history," it was outlined in court. No UL representative was present at the interview, nor present at a later meeting in Dr Sweeney's home with his wife in Meath, where he had invited the students for dinner to brief them fully as he wouldn't be present in Japan to meet them on arrival there. Allegations by the students against Dr Sweeney have been vehemently denied. Ms Justice O'Regan heard that Dr Sweeney had offered placements to UL students since 2009 as part of its equine science course, and on average took approximately four students a year. Three students began their placement in Japan in January 2014, but for two students that placement came to an end in March 2014. No UL students were thereafter sent on placement in 2015. On March 18, 2014, the parents of the students made a complaint to the university regarding Dr Sweeney and asked for their "safe return to Ireland via the Embassy in Tokyo". Dr Sweeney had a day earlier informed staff in the university of his "difficulties with the students", in terms of their behaviour and demeanour, which his defence claims had been ongoing for some time but only communicated to the university in March. Miriam Reilly, SC, of behalf of Dr Sweeney, argued that there was an onus on UL to assess the credibility of the students' claims. She said matters "came to a head over St Patrick's weekend", following the Emerald Ball in Toyko. As a result of the actions of one of the students, she was told to consider herself suspended, and Dr Sweeney's concerns were communicated to the equine science department in an email on March 18. Ms Reilly maintained that her client's position is that the claims by the two UL students were "false, malicious allegations made in concert, and that this fabrication of a story was sold to Professor Paul McCutcheon to avoid other repercussions". Prof McCutcheon, vice president academic & registrar in UL, liaised with the Embassy in Tokyo, and a taxi was sent to collect the students in Paca Paca. Senior counsel for Holmes O'Malley Sexton solicitors, on behalf of UL, said that while Prof McCutcheon believed that Paca Paca was a prestigious placement, UL had to act in the best interests of its students. The relationship between Dr Sweeney and UL is "now fraught, to put it mildly", the court heard. Following their removal from Japan, the Irish Ambassador to Japan made a decision to cancel a high profile ministerial visit to the farm, which had been scheduled for the same day, March 19, to which a significant number of high profile guests had been invited. "The sudden cancellation of the said Ministerial visit caused untold damage to the plaintiffs' reputations and standing internationally," said his defence. Ms Reilly said Dr Sweeney has now suffered "loss and damage, including to his reputation", as a result of "UL's failure to observe fair procedures and hear his views". She added that UL had an "enormous deficit of information" when the decision was made to remove the students from Japan. While noting that UL has an obligation to its students who are far from home, she said UL has had a contractual obligation to Dr Sweeney as a result of a long-standing relationship. "No note has been produced by UL based on what it decided to do. UL then unilaterally decided there would be no further placements, as a result of the breakdown in this relationship". In a letter to UL president Don Barry in May 2014, agents for Dr Sweeney stated that to avoid litigation they were seeking a statement of clarification and an apology, to be disseminated by Dr Sweeney as he saw fit. His solicitors also sought proposals of redress from UL for the damage and loss caused. None was forthcoming. STAFF from Limerick radio station Live 95FM were evacuated this Friday afternoon after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat. It is understood that, at 1.55pm, Live 95fm staff alerted gardai at Henry Street that an anonymous caller had warned the radio station that a bomb was going to go off at its offices in the next 10 minutes, during the Afternoons with Declan Copues radio show this Friday. Radio staff and HSE pensions staff, who work in the same building, were forced to evacuate the premises as a number of gardai inspected the city centre building, which is located on the Dock Road. At 2.15pm, radio and HSE staff remained outside the building when the Limerick Leader arrived at the scene. The incident, which is the fourth bomb scare to happen in Limerick city in the last number of weeks. Customers and staff at Ulster Bank on O'Connell Street were evacuated on May 25 after gardai received a call from a woman who claimed there was a bomb inside the premises. That incident happened just 24 hours after a similar hoax call to Milford National School, when 500 pupils and teachers were evacuated following a threat at the school. There was also a bomb scare at the former St Joseph's hospital on Mulgrave Street in early June, which transpired to be a hoax. SHANNON Group chairman Rose Hynes has won a top business leader award. The Clare native, who lives in Limerick and has been chair of the group since 2014, has been chosen as one of Irelands most powerful female business leaders of the year at the annual WXN Womens Executive Network awards. Ms Hynes won one of four Davy Business Leaders award winners in the Most Powerful Women Top 25 Award Winners for 2016, held in Dublin this Thursday. The Leadership Summit heard from thought leaders, including Ms Hynes, across a variety of industries this Friday. The gala awards tonight are being attended by 450 industry leaders from across Ireland. The awards celebrate the accomplishments of women in business in Ireland and were celebrated at the Networks Leadership Summit and Awards Gala in Dublin. A former Shannon Airport Authority chair, Ms Hynes played a central role in the separation of Shannon Airport from the State airports group in 2013 and in the Group chair role has overseen the airport return to strength in recent years. Last year she became the only Irish female chairman of a stock exchange listed company, Origin Enterprises Ltd and is the former Chairman of Ervia and a Senior Independent Director of Total Produce plc, One Fifty One plc and Mincon plc. Ms Hynes previously held a number of senior executive positions with GPA Group plc and is a law graduate of UCD. Ireland celebrated the U.S. bicentennial with an attractive set of four stamps: Editors Insights Jun 17, 2016, 7 AM The 5 Albany, N.Y., postmasters provisional essay is shown on this 15-penny stamp issued by Ireland May 17, 1976, to commemorate the American bicentennial. By Donna Houseman Among my favorite stamps in my collection of Ireland is the set of four stamps (Scott 389-392) issued May 17, 1976, to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States. In the United States, the bicentennial celebrations culminated on July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Ireland was only one of many countries to pay tribute to the bicentennial by issuing stamps. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Given the close relations between Ireland and the United States because of ancestral ties and heritage, it came as no surprise that Irelands Department of Posts and Telegraphs (which became An Post and Telecom Eireann in 1984) would issue stamps to honor one of the most significant events in the birth of our nation. The set of four stamps features two historical representations of the American flag: 13 stars and stripes on the 7-penny denomination, and 50 stars and stripes on the 8p. My personal favorites are the 9p and 15p stamps, both of which feature the 5 Albany, N.Y., postmasters provisional essay, or unaccepted stamp design (Scott 1Xa-E1). The essay is in blue against a red background on the 9p, and in orange against a blue background on the 15p. The design shows a profile of Benjamin Franklin sporting a beaver-pelt hat. The essay is believed to have been produced by Gavit & Co. of Albany. In the end, no postmasters provisional stamps were issued by the Albany post office. Franklin was the first postmaster general under the Second Continental Congress and was appointed by the congress to the committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence. The 7p and 8p stamps bear the inscription American Declaration of Independent 1776 in silver at the bottom of the design. The 9p and 15p feature the same inscription placed on the left side of the design with the added name Benjamin Franklin. The stamps also were issued in a souvenir sheet of four. Unfortunately, I do not have in my collection the color-omitted errors associated with this set. Stamps from the panes of 100 and from the souvenir sheet, which were printed in sheets of nine, exist with the silver omitted. The error stamps are rather pricey, valued in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue at $950 for the 15p and $2,000 each for the 7p, 8p, and 9p stamps. This year marks the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This historic event announcing the independence of the 13 American colonies has been the subject of paintings, a Broadway musical, books and postage stamps. In the July 4 issue, Linns managing editor Charles Snee takes a look at U.S. stamps that honor the Declaration of Independence. We wish our readers a happy and safe Fourth of July. If you would like to read the Declaration of Independence, you will find it here. Related articles: World Stamp Show-NY 2016 comes to a close: Editors Insights Vol. 3 of 2017 Scott Standard catalog now available: From The Scott Editors New U.S. stamp market report makes debut: Editors Insights Birds of Canada take flight (and land safely) on new Canada Post series Apr 29, 2021, 9 PM The official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador, the colorful Atlantic puffin is shown on one of five new permanent-rate (85) Canadian Bird stamps to be issued July 12. The great horned owl, the official bird of Alberta, swoops silently on the hunt. This self-adhesive booklet stamp also is part of a series of 15 to be issued in annual installments over the next three years. Issued July 12, the Official Birds of Canada booklets contain two panes of the five different self-adhesive, die-cut, permanent-rate stamps in the set, each of which pays Canadas domestic letter rate (currently 85). Sold in sets of five, nondenominated Official Birds of Canada picture postal cards pay the international rate and can be used to any destination Canada Post reaches. The cards reproduce the complete bird paintings from which the stamps were taken, with a Perforated five-stamp Official Birds of Canada souvenir sheets with moisture-activated gum show the complete image of each bird. Representing Canadas Yukon Territory, a common raven sounds its shrill alarm as it wings its way across this booklet stamp. The most recent of Canadas official birds, the rock ptarmigan was selected by the legislative assembly as a symbol of Nunavut Territory in 2011. While the other stamps show birds in flight, this one for the official bird of Saskatchewan shows an aggressive male sharp-tailed grouse strutting his stuff in his annual spring mating display. By Fred Baumann On July 12, Canada Post will issue the first installment in a three-year series celebrating the official birds of Canadas provinces and territories. The first five stamps in the series were given wings by design manager Susan Gilson, designer Kosta Tsetsekas, and senior illustrator Keith Martin of Vancouvers Signals Design Group, which has been designing Canadian stamps since at least 2009. To help create the series, Martin learned about the birds, their physicality, characteristics, and distinctive individual details, with special attention to how they would be depicted on the stamps. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter I didnt want the birds to appear passive, he said in Canada Posts Details magazine of his decision to picture them at their most energetic. Takeoffs and landings were my opportunities. Designer Tsetsekas saw a key part of his role as making sure that the finished stamps focused squarely on Martins detailed artwork. We didnt want to add elements to the stamps that could detract from the birds, he explained, accounting for the absence of customary stamp design elements such as background illustration and elaborate frames on these striking stamps. The stark white background sets the birds off to maximum advantage. The birds depicted in this years installment are the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), the common raven (Corvus corax), the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), and the sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). The Atlantic puffin, the Atlantic Oceans only native puffin, is the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador, which share almost 11 thousand miles of coastline. A small bird with a large, colorful bill, the Atlantic puffin can fly at up to 55 miles per hour, and is an adept diver for fish. This puffin is very much at home in clifftop colonies, where nesting pairs incubate, hatch, and raise a single chick each year. The stamp portrays a puffin taking off from a nesting colony. The great horned owl, a majestic raptor with its signature ear tufts and penetrating glare, was chosen by children throughout the province of Alberta as its official bird in 1997. Found throughout Albertas southern grasslands and boreal forests, the great horned owl is an efficient predator at home throughout most of North America south of the treeline. It is also known as the hoot owl for its distinctive call. The stamp shows a hunting owl in flight with its ear tufts raised. The official bird of the Yukon Territory since 1986, the common raven is a clever and familiar character in the folk tales of many of Canadas native peoples, often humorously outsmarting those who seek to outsmart him. Larger and heavier than its cousin the crow, ravens are problem-solving, opportunistic omnivores that make the most of whatever food they can find, much as some eagles do. The stamp portrays a raven vocalizing while in flight. The most recent of Canadas official birds, the rock ptarmigan was selected by the legislative assembly of Nunavut Territory in 2011. (This relative of the grouse also is the official game bird of Newfoundland and Labrador.) The rock ptarmigan is well-suited to year-round life in Canadas least populous and most remote territory, living on seeds, buds, and foliage of seasonal plants in similar arctic, subarctic, and mountainous northern terrain around the northern hemisphere. The stamp features an aggressive male rock ptarmigan in breeding plumage, with enlarged red combs above the eye. A year-round resident in all but extreme northeast Saskatchewan, the sharp-tailed grouse has been its official bird since 1945, and is referred to by the provincial government as one of Saskatchewans most popular game birds. It is best known for dramatic displays males put on each spring at flat, close-cropped patches of prairie called leks, where up to 20 males strut their stuff for the prospective mates in an elaborate dance that sometimes turns violent. The male on the new stamp shows an aggressive part of that display. Martin believes that all of the character as with any animal is in the face. However, he also said he enjoyed creating more complete illustrations on the stamps in the larger souvenir sheet and on the picture postal cards. I wanted the whole illustration to reveal the rich patterns, colors and textures that come together to create the character and warmth of these birds, he said. With two more years of Official Birds of Canada to come, Tsetsekas cant wait to see the remaining issues leave the nest. Before a single image was finalized, Keith and I worked together to plan each bird in the 15-stamp series, he said, So, naturally, were eager to see them take flight. Collectors may be eager to see what the 15th stamp could be. Canada has 10 provinces and three territories, and will announce and presumably commemorate its new national bird for the first time in 2017 a total of only 14 stamps. Perhaps the 15th stamp will be a return fly-by of the venerable Canada goose, the first bird to grace a stamp from Canada, on a 7 airmail issued 70 years ago this September (Scott C9). Permanent-rate Official Birds of Canada stamps, each paying Canadas basic domestic letter rate (currently 85), are featured in self-adhesive, die-cut booklets of 10. The 20-millimeter by 24mm stamps were printed in seven-color offset lithography by Colour Innovations, and are believed to be the first Canadian stamps for this 25-year-old Toronto printing firm. The quantity printed was 400,000 10-stamp booklets. They are Canada Post order No. 414022111. The issue also is available in perforated five-stamp souvenir sheets measuring 114mm by 92mm with moisture-activated PVA gum, order No. 404022145. On the souvenir sheet, the complete body of each bird extends through the perforation and onto the selvage between stamps, rather than fading out at the edges of the stamp design as depicted on single stamps from the booklet. The cancel image on Canada Post first-day covers shows a stylized bird in flight, and the cancellation site is Witless Bay, Newfoundland. It is the home of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, four islands that comprise North Americas largest Atlantic puffin colony. More than half a million puffins and millions of other seabirds nest there during the late spring and summer each year. Some 11,000 FDCs of the souvenir sheet have enlargements of the raven, owl, and grouse depicted on the stamp and a pale grayish background that ties the postage to the cover. Priced at $5.25, these are Canada Post item 404022144. Nondenominated picture postal cards paying the international rate will be issued in 2,000 sets of five, each card displaying an image of the entire bird from which the stamp designs were taken. Canada Post order No. 262448, these are priced at $12.50 per set. Canada Post products are available online. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550. Canadas stamps and stamp products also are available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Posts agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557. Keep reading about Canada Post issues: Kirk and Enterprise on Canada's Star Trek stamps Dinos of Canada stamps: more faces only a mother could love Canada has celebrated many remarkable women on its postage stamps Weather front and center on new stamps from Norway, Poland Jun 17, 2016, 7 AM Norway issued two stamps June 10 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. One stamp depicts a wave and trees, and the other shows a thunderstorm. Poland displays different cloud formations on a pane of four stamps issued June 15. By Denise McCarty Norway issued two stamps June 10 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Founded Dec. 1, 1866, the institute provides weather forecasts for the public, aviation authorities and military purposes for Norway and the adjacent seas and polar areas. According to its website, the institute also focuses on research and development. In announcing the new stamps, Halvor Fasting, stamp director for Norway Post, said: The weather means a lot to Norwegians, and few institutions have been as important for a society as the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter The institute has its headquarters in Oslo and also has two additional weather forecasting centers in Bergen and Tromso. Stamp designer Bruno Oldani based the designs on his own photographs. The 33-krone stamp pictures a wave crashing in the background and a green tree in the foreground. The 17kr stamp shows lightning and clouds during a thunderstorm. Joh. Enschede of the Netherlands printed the stamps by offset in sheets of 50. Poland Poland shows storm and other types of clouds on four stamps issued June 15. The stamps are se-tenant (side-by-side) in a pane of four with the designs extended onto perforated labels. The 2-zloty stamp at the bottom of the pane features the storm clouds. More specifically, these clouds are Cumulonimbus capillatus praecipitatio arcus, according to the inscription at the bottom of the stamp design. This stamp, like the other three in the pane, also includes the inscription chmury, which is Polish for clouds. Puffy, white Cumulonimbus capillatus clouds are shown on the 2.50zl stamp at the top of the pane. Pictured below them are pinkish Cumulonimbus mamma clouds on another 2.50zl stamp. In The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, wrote that mamma clouds, named for the Latin word for breasts, appear on the underside of a number of different cloud types, adding that they are at their most impressive when wed to a mighty cumulonimbus. The other 2zl stamp in the pane, second stamp from the bottom, features the high-level Cirrus uncinus clouds. The word uncinus is Latin for hook, describing the shape on the tail of these clouds. Marzanna Dabrowska designed the stamps. They were printed by offset by the Polish Security Printing Works, known by its abbreviation PWPW. Read more about new stamps of the world: Stamp pane for U.N. Industrial Development Organizations anniversary Stamps from Great Britain to feature Pink Floyd album covers, performances New stamps from Great Britain combine animal designs and mail We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. Recently, a group of students from University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom, staged an archaeology experiment to learn how ancient peoples may have moved the stones of Stonehenge. The massive megaliths at Stonehenge have fascinated scholars and tourists for centuries, but one of the most enduring mysteries about the site is how the ancient builders of the monument moved the giant stones into place some more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where they were quarried. In the Middle Ages, a legend arose that Stonehenge was built by giants on the orders of the wizard Merlin, as a tomb for British nobles who were slain by the invading Saxons. Now, a group of university students in the United Kingdom has come to grips, literally, with how the Neolithic people of Britain might have transported the huge stones over such distances. Using only rope, wood and stone tools, in front of a cheering crowd in a park in central London last month, they put their theories and their muscles to the test. In an archaeological experiment that combined the public demonstration with feats of strength, dozens of students joined an effort to haul a sycamore-wood sled carrying a 1-ton stone block over a wooden trackway. The experiment took place in Gordon Square, which is located next to the University College London (UCL) Institute of Archaeology. [Stonehenge Photos: Investigating How the Mysterious Structure Was Built] The students said that they found the task much easier than they had expected: Just 10 people were needed to haul the sled and block over the short trackway. They pulled the apparatus at a rate of around 10 feet (3 meters) every 5 seconds, which works out to a continuous hauling speed of about 1 mile per hour (1.6 km/h). "All we can really tell from experiments like this is the minimum number of people involved," the event organizer, Barney Harris, a Ph.D. student at UCL's Institute of Archaeology, told Live Science. "My preliminary calculations led me to believe it would take slightly more people. In the event, what I thought would take 15 people, at a minimum, actually needed only 10 people." Mysteries of the stones In recent years, questions about the techniques and labor that were required to build Stonehenge have deepened with the revelation that the famous stone circle is just one part of a vast complex of Neolithic monumental circles made from stones and wooden posts, processional "avenues" and burial mounds.. Most have left little trace on the landscape and were discovered with the aid of modern archaeological techniques such as aerial surveys that use geomagnetic instruments and ground-penetrating radar. In 2014, researchers identified the site where the 2-ton dolerite bluestones from Stonehenge were quarried, in the Preseli Hills of western Wales, about 140 miles (225 km) northwest of their eventual destination at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, England. The giant "sarsen" stones, which make up the main ring of Stonehenge, weigh up to 32 tons and are made from a local sandstone that is thought to have been dragged from the Marlborough Downs, 20 miles (32 km) to the north. Harris, who also conducts tours of Stonehenge for a company called Tours from Antiquity, said a scaled-up version of the wishbone- or Y-shaped wooden sled that was used in the recent experiment may have also been used to drag the larger sarsen stones, but over a much shorter distance than the smaller bluestones. Given the hilly terrain that the Stonehenge builders had to cover, he estimated that a group of around 20 people would have been able to transport a single 2-ton bluestone by sled from Wales. Similar sleds are still in use today in India and Indonesia to build large stone monuments, Harris said, and the recent discovery of a Y-shaped wooden sled at a megalithic site in Japan that dates back to around 2000 B.C. shows that the technology was known in prehistoric times. [In Photos: A Walk Through Stonehenge] "Although that's very far away from Stonehenge, at least we have some very convincing evidence that these kinds of sleds were used during prehistory, which is a lot better than we have for many other suggested techniques," Harris said. Rocks and rollers Whatever technique was used to move the megalithic stones, Harris thinks it's unlikely the builders laid cylindrical wooden rollers in front of the stone blocks as they moved forward an idea that has been commonly proposed. In previous experiments, researchers have tried to move large stones with rollers, but "with absolutely terrible consequences," Harris said. They found that unless the rollers were exactly the same diameter, any larger rollers would be crushed into the ground and jam, while any skewed or misaligned rollers would quickly make the whole arrangement unstable, he added. Harris's experiment used sawn wooden logs only as a static trackway for the sled, to prevent damage to the grass in Gordon Square, and not as rollers. Future experiments in a less sensitive location could dispense with a trackway, giving researchers a better estimate of the labor needed to move the sled and stone block directly along the ground, he said. [Stonehenge: 7 Reasons the Mysterious Monument Was Built] Data from the latest experiment and others will eventually be used in modeling software to produce a revised estimate of the number of people and length of time it took to build Stonehenge, Harris said. In a study conducted by the British archaeologist Richard Atkinson in 1951, the researcher estimated that it would have taken around 30 million combined hours of labor to build Stonehenge, but Harris said he expects that his research will revise that figure down "significantly." The completed research would set the probable length of time it took to build Stonehenge in "a wider study of the time required to build the hundreds of monuments in the region, so we can contextualize its impact on the society that built it," he said. Original article on Live Science. This business card-sized papyrus contains a line that says, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife..." Written in Coptic, an Egyptian language, the papyrus is now considered to be a modern-day forgery. A papyrus holding text that suggests Jesus Christ was married and whose authenticity has been a matter of intense debate since it was unveiled in 2012 is almost certainly a fake. Karen King, the Harvard professor who discovered the Gospel of Jesus's Wife and has defended its authenticity, has now conceded that the papyrus is likely a forgery and that its owner lied to her about the provenance and his own background. The concession comes after Walter Fritz, a resident of North Port, Florida, revealed that he is the owner of the papyrus that claims Jesus had a wife. Fritz said this to Ariel Sabar, a journalist for The Atlantic who wrote an expose published June 15. Less than a day after that article was published, more documents came out revealing a fake Greek manuscript the owner had posted on his website and a blog in which the owners wife talks of restoring a second century Christian gospel, a project that apparently left part of the manuscript in fragments. Then on the evening of June 16, King conceded that the papyrus is likely a forgery. The new evidence "tips the balance toward forgery," King told Sabar. [6 Archaeological Forgeries That Could Have Changed History] The Gospel of Jesus's Wife contains the words "Jesus said to them, 'My wife...,'" suggesting that some people, in ancient times, believed that Jesus had a wife. King announced its discovery in September 2012. A number of scholars suspected that Fritz was the owner; Live Science's prior investigations also revealed that he might have been the owner. With Fritz's ownership confirmed, new documents related to the Gospel of Jesus's Wife were published on the blog of Christian Askeland, a research associate with the Institute for Septuagint and Biblical Research in Wuppertal, Germany. Additionally, Live Science had obtained several documents that were being withheld until Fritz was confirmed as the owner of the papyrus. These documents can now be published. Authenticity debate The papyrus received extensive media coverage after it was first revealed in 2012. Scientific tests published in April 2014 in the journal Harvard Theological Review supported the authenticity of the papyrus. However, another series of studies published in the journal New Testament Studies in July 2015 suggested it was a forgery, having been copied, in part, from an online translation of the Gospel of Thomas published in 2002. Fritz claims to have purchased the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, along with other papyri, in 1999 from a man named Hans-Ulrich Laukamp, the owner of ACMB-American Corporation for Milling and Boreworks in Venice, Florida. The two men worked together at the company, with Fritz becoming president of its U.S. operations. In 2014, Live Science interviewed Laukamp's stepson, Rene Ernest, who said that Laukamp did not own the papyrus and had no interest in antiquities. Axel Herzsprung, a friend and business partner of Laukamp, also told Live Science that Laukamp did not collect papyri. Sabar, of The Atlantic, also interviewed Ernest and Herzsprung for his article. Again, the two denied Fritz's claims, saying that Laukamp did not own the papyrus. Ernest told Sabar that Laukamp was a kind-hearted individual with minimal education who drank a lot and had no interest in antiquities. Herzsprung described Fritz as a smooth talker who suckered Laukamp into giving him an executive position at ACMB. Fritz "was very eloquent," Herzsprung told Sabar, adding that "Laukamp was easily influenced he didn't have a very high IQ and Fritz was successful in talking his way in." "Herzsprung made no effort to hide his hatred of Fritz," Sabar wrote. "I was so angry at him that I thought it was better we never meet in the dark somewhere," Herzsprung told Sabar. Nefer Art In 1995, Fritz founded a company called Nefer Art. (The word nefer is an Egyptian word for beauty; the company offered an array of services to art collectors.) "Our customer database is substantial, and our discreet and confidential services are perfect for the distinguished collector and seller who likes to avoid the pushy atmosphere of the big auctions [sic] houses," an old page of the company's website read. Another page (which can still be seen) from the company website shows an array of artifacts, including a Greek text that multiple scholars identified as a fake when asked by Live Science. There is also an Arabic manuscript that is shown horizontally inverted. The Arabic manuscript has reddish spots on it; what they are is unknown, however, "orange spots" were found on the back of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife during an examination, King wrote in an article published in 2014 in the journal Harvard Theological Review. Whether the spots on the Arabic text have any relation to the spots on the Gospel of Jesus's Wife is unknown. The Arabic text has been unpublished until now. The Greek text (seen here) is a terrible forgery, Askeland wrote on his blog. The text is written in a script "appropriate to a modern printed edition," he wrote, noting that "the cut along the left-hand side resembles one on the GJW [Gospel of Jesus's Wife]." Anitra Williams-Fritz Fritz is married to Anitra Williams-Fritz, an author who recently published a book of "automatic writing," which, as described in the book's summary, "involves allowing the spirit or higher self to simply flow through, to create, or guide the words that she writes. These writings are a very effective way for her to channel, as the message comes directly to her hand from her higher being and others." Walter Fritz, the owner of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife. (Image credit: Lisette Poole/The Atlantic) Askeland found a web page suggesting that Williams-Fritz was also involved with papyri. She ran a business called Cute Art World, which, on Aug. 31, 2009 just a few months before her husband Fritz contacted King (of Harvard) for the first time advertised pendants showing illustrations of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Images on the pendants contained a tiny scrap of papyri. Williams-Fritz said the fragments are from a restoration project that involved a Coptic Christian gospel. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus] "These fragments are really old and come from a larger Christian papyrus, dating back to the 2nd Century A.D," Williams-Fritz wrote in the descriptions of the pendants. "The larger papyrus was probably part of a gospel or an early Christian text, written in the Sahidic Coptic language. The fragments were left over and couldn't be incorporated into the big papyrus any more because they were so small." A fake letter Fritz provided King with a contract he signed with Laukamp, as well as a typed letter, supposedly from 1982, saying that Peter Munro, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, and colleagues had examined Laukamp's papyrus. Sabar got a copy of this letter from Fritz and obtained copies of Munro's archived correspondence comparing the two. Sabar concluded that the letter was a fake. "The problems were endemic. A word that should have been typed with a special German character a so-called sharp S, which Munro used in typewritten correspondence throughout the '80s and early '90s was instead rendered with two ordinary S's, a sign that the letter may have been composed on a non-German typewriter or after Germany's 1996 spelling reform, or both," Sabar wrote. "In fact, all the available evidence suggests that the 1982 letter isn't from the 1980s," Sabar continued. "Its Courier typeface does not appear in the other Munro correspondence I gathered until the early '90s Fritz's final years at the [Free University of Berlin]. The same is true of the letterhead. The school's Egyptology institute began using it only around April 1990." Egyptology background Sabar found that Fritz started studying for a master's degree in 1988 at the Free University of Berlin, before dropping out a few years later. Before he dropped out, Fritz published an article in German in 1991 in the journal Studien zur Altagyptischen Kultur. The paper detailed a study of the Amarna tablets, diplomatic correspondence between the pharaoh Akhenaten and other ancient leaders. Fritz also has a technical degree in architecture, Sabar found. While Fritz denied forging the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, he admitted that he had the capability to do so. "Well, to a certain degree, probably," Fritz told Sabar. "But to a degree that it is absolutely undetectable to the newest scientific methods, I don't know." Although Fritz was willing to talk to Sabar and disclose his ownership, he was unwilling to talk to Live Science. When we called him in April 2014, Fritz denied being the owner of the papyrus or knowing Laukamp. Fritz and his wife refused to communicate further with Live Science. Porn business Sabar also revealed that Fritz had started a pornography business in 2003. "Beginning in 2003, Fritz had launched a series of pornographic sites that showcased his wife having sex with other men often more than one at a time," Sabar wrote. Apparently, according to Sabar, the couple would advertise free "gangbangs," asking interested men to email "Walt" so they could be cleared to attend. Though these sites seem to have been taken down between 2014 and 2015, archived images and video still exist online, Sabar found. "He lied to me" King has conceded that Fritz lied to her about the provenance of the papyrus but said she cannot be certain yet that the papyrus itself is a fraud. "King said she would need scientific proof or a confession to make a definitive finding of forgery," Sabar wrote. However, King added that the evidence now "presses in the direction of forgery." "I had no idea about this guy [Walter Fritz], obviously," King told Sabar. "He lied to me." This article was originally published on Live Science. The Milodon Cave in Patagonia, where many of the bones in the study were excavated. The saber-toothed cat, large ground sloth and other ice age giants of South America didn't go extinct solely because of climate change or prehistoric human activity, but because of a perfect storm of the two that hit the giant beasts at the same time, a new study finds. For years, researchers have debated what felled many of the megafauna animals that weigh more than 100 lbs. (45 kilograms) shortly after the end of the last ice age. Some scientists blamed humans, who had newly colonized the Americas, while others pointed to the warming climate that followed the last ice age. But now, research shows it was an interaction of the two that doomed the megabeasts. [10 Extinct Giants That Once Roamed North America] "This explains why the two sides of the debate have been so vociferous they were both partly right," said study leader Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Carbon-dating detectives The researchers used a combination of genetic data from ancient bones and temperature information from ice core samples to figure out the big picture. They sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (DNA passed down through the maternal line) of 89 megafaunal bone and teeth samples that were recovered from cave and rock shelters in Patagonia, the researchers said in the study. Then, they used an advanced type of radiocarbon dating on 71 bone, teeth and coprolite (fossilized poop) samples, also from Patagonia. With radiocarbon dating, researchers can measure the amount of remaining carbon-14 (an isotope of carbon, or an element with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus) because they know the rate at which it decays. However, they can only do this for once-living organisms that are 50,000 years old or younger, although there are special methods for older specimens. As the researchers were dating the specimens, they noticed that many of the carbon dates from the youngest specimens were from the same period, meaning they all died around the same time. A later analysis showed that these animals all died around 12,300 years ago, the scientists found. "[This is] the first time we've had any idea of the timing of the South American extinctions," Cooper told Live Science. Human arrival Humans arrived in South America about 1,000 to 3,000 years before the megafaunal extinction, archaeological evidence suggests. However, these humans arrived just before a 1,700-year-old cold phase, called the Antarctic Cold Reversal, which lasted from about 14,400 to 12,700 years ago. Only when the Antarctic Cold Reversal ended, and a rapid warming phase began, did the megafauna begin experiencing massive extinctions in South America. The saber-toothed cat, Smilodon, is one of the South American megafauna that went extinct. (Image credit: Copyright AMNH D. Finnin) "As soon as the cold spell stops, and the rapid warming phase starts after it, the megafauna are dead within a few hundred years," Cooper said. Cooper immediately thought of the 2015 study he and his colleagues published on the extinction of North American megafauna. In that study, published in the journal Science, the researchers found that the mighty megafauna of North America largely went extinct because of rapid climate-warming events, called interstadials. When temperatures rapidly increased, it caused dramatic shifts in global rainfall and vegetation patterns, which led to entire population die-offs, and in some cases, extinction, Cooper told Live Science last year. In contrast, temperature drops, such as from the last ice age, showed no association with animal extinctions. The new study "confirms that rapid warmings are the causative agent of genetic upheavals [such as] extinctions and replacements [of animal populations] but this time we get to see it in high resolution," Cooper said. When the South American climate warmed after the last ice age, it was likely challenging for the megafauna, the researchers said. But, when humans were thrown into the mix, it made the situation untenable for many megafauna, leading to their extinction, they said. [Wipe Out: History's Most Mysterious Extinctions] That's because humans likely disrupted the animals' environments, with human societies and hunting groups making it difficult for megafauna to migrate to new places and refill areas once populated by animals that had gone extinct, Cooper told Live Science last year. North versus south The 2015 study and the new study helped the researchers untangle the effects of climate change and human influence on the megafauna extinction within the Americas. That is, North and South America weren't always cold at the same time, and didn't always have human inhabitants at the same time, they found. "The Americas are unique in that humans moved through two continents, from Alaska to Patagonia, in just 1,500 years," study author Chris Turney, a professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales, said in a statement. "As they did so, they passed through distinctly different climate states warm in the north, and cold in the south. As a result, we can contrast human impacts under the different climatic conditions." In addition, the researchers discovered several new animals that were unknown to Patagonia until now. By examining each fossil's genetic data, they found a distinct camelid species, a previously unknown group of guanaco and a genetically distinct giant South American jaguar subspecies. However, these animals went extinct. The only large South American species that survived were the ancestors of modern llamas and alpacas, and even these animals almost went extinct, the researchers said. "The ancient genetic data show that only the late arrival in Patagonia of a population of guanacos from the north saved the species, all other populations became extinct," study lead author Jessica Metcalf, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in the statement. Great insight The new study disproves the idea of blitzkrieg, the concept that "a wave of advanced human hunters wiped out all megafauna in their path, due to [the animals'] naivety to humans and hunting," Cooper said. He added that the 2015 study and the new findings show that rapid warming phases seem to be "major disruptive forces in the past, and quite possibly the present." "Perhaps the last 1,100 years of human-caused warming may have been doing similar things to global animal populations, but we haven't been able to see it due to the impacts of primary human interaction, [such as] hunting, shooting, burning [and] general destruction," Cooper said. [Image Gallery: 25 Amazing Ancient Beasts] The new study is an important one, said Ross MacPhee, a curator of mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, who was not involved with the new research. "The point that they're making is a really substantial improvement in conceiving how these extinctions occurred," MacPhee said. However, he noted that the researchers used ice core samples from western Antarctica and northern Greenland as proxies for the prehistoric climate in South America. But these ice core samples were "thousands of miles away from where the [fossil] data was collected," MacPhee said. It's possible that the temperature changes weren't as dramatic in South America as they were in Antarctica and Greenland, he said, adding, "I'm not denying the effect, I'm simply questioning the scale of the effect." The study was published online today (June 17) in the journal Science Advances. Original article on Live Science. A city in Japan has announced that it will pay a large part of the cost of egg freezing for women who live there, as part of a program aimed at raising the country's low birth rate. Egg freezing is the process of extracting egg cells from a woman's ovaries and storing them for later use. Urayasu, a city near Tokyo, will provide the currency equivalent of $850,000 over a three-year period to fund a research project on egg freezing, according to the Associated Press. Women who take part in the program would pay just 20 percent of the total cost of freezing their eggs, or about $960 to $1,150. The total cost of the procedure in Japan is around $4,800 to $5,760. (In the United States, the price of egg freezing can range from $5,000 to more than $15,000, not including the cost of the required medications.) So far, about 12 women have started the egg-freezing process as part of the Urayasu program. The city wants to help turn around Japan's falling birth rate, which is currently at 1.4 births per woman, according to the World Bank one of the lowest worldwide. (The birth rate in the United States is 1.9 births per woman, according to the World Bank.) [Conception Misconceptions: 7 Fertility Myths Debunked] Egg freezing is viewed as a way to improve women's chances of conceiving at older ages. But the procedure is far from a perfect fix. Here are five surprising facts about egg freezing. Egg freezing is not recommended as a way for women to delay having children. Despite a growing interest in egg freezing, the procedure is still not a recommended way for women to postpone having children, at least not in the United States. In 2012, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) said there is not enough data to recommend that women freeze their eggs for the sole purpose of delaying childbearing. That's because studies are lacking "to support the safety, efficacy, ethics, emotional risks and cost-effectiveness" of egg freezing for this purpose, the ASRM said. Still, the ASRM does recommend egg freezing for several other groups of people, including women who, for example, have cancer, and may lose their fertility during chemotherapy. Very few women who freeze their eggs actually use them. Fertility centers have reported that the percentage of women who freeze their eggs and then come back to use them is relatively low. In a recent study, researchers at a fertility clinic in Santa Monica, California, found that, from 2007 to 2012, 232 women froze their eggs at the clinic to delay childbearing, but 95 percent of these women still had not used their eggs by 2015. In a survey of 49 of these women, 16 percent said they were able to have children by other means, 30 percent said they were still not ready to have children and 53 percent said they hadn't used the eggs yet because they were still single. Pregnancy is still not a guarantee with egg freezing. Many women who freeze their eggs say they think of the procedure as an "insurance policy" in case they aren't able to become pregnant at older ages. But freezing eggs does not guarantee pregnancy success. Studies conducted in Europe on frozen eggs from donors under age 30 found that women's pregnancy rates ranged from 36 to 61 percent. The chances of pregnancy depend, in part, on how old women are when they freeze their eggs, and the number of eggs they freeze. An online fertility calculator developed by researchers at New York Medical College and the University of California, Davis estimates that a woman who freezes 15 eggs at age 30 has about a 30 percent chance of giving birth to a child if she uses these eggs. And a woman who freezes 25 eggs at age 30 has about a 40 percent chance of giving birth to a child, the calculator estimates. Egg freezing works best if it's done at younger ages. The chances of pregnancy are greater if a woman uses "younger" eggs meaning eggs she froze in her 20s or early 30s, rather than later on, Dr. Wendy Vitek, a fertility expert at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told Live Science in an interview in June 2014. Studies tend to find that pregnancy rates for women who freeze their eggs after age 38 are significantly lower than for those who freeze their eggs at younger ages, according to ASRM. One study from Italy found that pregnancy rates for women who had their eggs frozen after age 38 was about 10 percent. Babies born from frozen eggs are still not that common. It's not clear exactly how many babies have been born from frozen eggs, but by some estimates, it's in the low thousands. The procedure was first used in 1986. According to the USC Fertility Center, part of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, about 5,000 babies have been born from frozen eggs worldwide. Original article on Live Science. One of Longfords strongest little fighters is on the hunt for some fighters of his own as he battles cancer for a second time. Little Max Wenman, the son of Cathy Bermingham and Roy Wenman, was taken into the countys and indeed the nations heart in 2012 at the age of two when he was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. Just under three years ago, the family got the life-changing news that Max was cancer free but earlier this year, he sadly suffered a relapse. It was discovered that Max has a tumour on his femur. Max was completing his fifth and final session of chemotherapy for a few weeks when Cathy spoke to the Leader last week. Max also suffered a little fall at school and broke his leg, and is now in a cast from the stomach down to his ankle on one side. Max, who turns six later this month, is a huge wrestling fan, and to help him keep bravely fighting, Cathy appealed to people to sell any wrestling memorabilia that their children had outgrown. The response was instant and unexpected, with donations of toys pouring in. If it keeps his spirits up during this whole thing, that will be all that matters, Cathy smiled. The wrestling community have even got behind the young warrior, with Aoibheanns Pink Tie and Make-A-Wish arranging for Max to meet his favourite wrestler, Sheamus when Maxs dad Roy surprised him with tickets to a WWE event in Dublin. Furthermore, Low Blows wrestling party company have turned their event at the Woolshed Baa and Grill in Dublin on June 19 into a #MemorabiliaForMax collection. People have never forgotten what he went through, a grateful Cathy added. The people of Longford and Ireland have always been good to us. Pharmacists have come out in force this week to advise members of the public not to purchase prescription drugs online. Members of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) have warned the public that they may be putting their health at serious risk if they buy prescribed medicines online or from unauthorised sources. The Union said there was no way of knowing whether the medicines - purchased online - were counterfeit or genuine and counterfeit medication was not produced to appropriate standards. The results, they say, could be detrimental to patients as the drugs could contain either too much, too little or none of the active ingredients required for effective treatment. Furthermore, these drugs could also contain ingredients that pose a serious risk to a persons health. Longford pharmacist, Padraig Loughrey told the Leader that it was risky buying medication online because the drugs were not checked by the relevant authorities. The medication is not checked by doctors or pharmacists or by the various bodies that govern medication in the first instance, continued Mr Loughrey who runs a pharmacy in Longford town and another in Drumlish. With regards to the online purchase of medication, nobody knows whats actually in the products and while we all have a role to play in the health of our nation, doctors and pharmacists are professionally qualified to ensure that the highest standard of medication is dispensed in this country. The local pharmacist went on to say that onerous criteria was necessary to pass medication in Ireland, criteria, he added, that was simply non existent online. Meanwhile, the IPU insists that patients must consult face-to-face with their pharmacist or doctor before taking prescription medicines. Pharmacists are medicines experts and are available for consultation, in confidence, without an appointment, an IPU spokesperson added. Before dispensing any medication to a patient, a pharmacist will carry out a number of safety checks including the suitability of the medication for the patient, any possible drug interactions or incorrect dosage to ensure that the medication is safe for the patient to take and it should also be noted that pharmacists purchase medicines from authorised suppliers operating in the legal supply chain. The State Examinations are now well underway for some 1,245 Longford students. 656 Junior Certs and 589 Leaving Certs kicked off the exams last Wednesday amid the glorious exam weather. In this, the second entry in a four-week series, Leaving Cert student Jeffrey Kok discusses the three exams he has completed so far and shares his outlook for the coming days and weeks. At the time of writing, I have three exams out of 11 done and dusted! Was it as brutally impossible as it was made out to be? Well, I actually couldn't be any happier with the way I have performed so far. I got zero hours of sleep before English paper 1. Yet I guess that's all it took to get the nerves out of my system and to get the last of the sleepless nights out of me. Higher level English paper 1 was the beginning of my Leaving Cert tale: set on the day of my birthday (lucky me), it began in the land of Lanesboro, to be specific, in a fear-ridden exam hall, amidst the summer weather that no-one expected. Yet my story had a happier ending than others'. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of that paper. From 'roasting' and ranting about Barack Obama's space initiatives (possibly taking it a bit too far) to writing a compelling, lighthearted speech on 'what makes us Irish'. It was a paper that allowed me to play all my cards, and I guess I was able to throw a 'full house' on the table. Paper 2 had a huge wildcard to it... Only four poets come up every year and some people only studied for one of them. Everyone thought WB Yeats was going to make a guest appearance but he never made it to the show. It wasn't like I wanted him to appear. It's ironic how everyone banked on him because of the anniversary of the Rising, yet as Yeats himself once said; "life is a long preparation for something that never happens". Unlike the rest of Ireland, I didn't anticipate Yeats. Instead, I had my heart set on a Paul Durcan question and avoiding Elizabeth Bishop simply because I feel there are plenty other more captivating poets. With that said, the Bishop question that came up was something I had already done and succeeded in before, so I suppose I had to play the role of the hypocrite to get a good grade. The rest of paper 2 went as beautifully as paper 1. The 'King Lear' question was straightforward, yet engaging. The 'Cultural Context' question for my comparative studies was about 'success and failure' (I know I fit into one of those categories right now). Finally, Higher Level Maths paper 1 was not the bone-crushing, frantically impossible task I once expected. I thought Maths was my Achilles' Heel, but I didn't collapse on it during that test. The paper was remotely fine, a handful of tricky bits to dismay your soul, but by no means was it painful. The only pain came when I (and the entire country) realised financial maths wasn't on the paper at all. This week I have seven exams in 5 days! How do I feel? Well, I guess after the way I have performed thus far, luck is on my side, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 'Til next time! Jeffrey. Family & Parenting, Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: June 17 2016 The New York State Assembly and New York State Senate unanimously approved financial coverage of donor breast milk. Assemblywoman Solages with advocates from New York State Donor Breast Milk Bank and Emily Bell, a woman who lost her child due to the lack of access to breast milk. Albany, NY - June 15, 2016 - The New York State Assembly and New York State Senate unanimously approved financial coverage of donor breast milk. Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Health, Kemp Hannon, and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages were joined by Chair of the Assembly Standing Committee on Health, Richard N. Gottfried and Assemblymember Steve Englebright in calling for the passage of A9353A/S.6583. This legislation will allow Medicaid funds to cover the cost of donor breast milk for premature infants who cannot receive breast milk or whose mothers cannot provide breast milk. The funds will cover the cost of milk from a certified milk bank, plus a handling fee. New York will join California, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Utah and Washington D.C. in providing insurance coverage for donor human milk. Equal access to donor breast milk will positively impact the life chances of our states tiniest and most critically ill babies, said Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages. I applaud my colleagues in the Senate and Assembly for supporting New York States progressive agenda to support, women, families, and new mothers. Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to provide a child a healthy start in life. While a mothers own milk is the optimal nutrition for her baby, donor breast milk is the next best option for mothers who are unable to produce breast milk or infants who are unable to receive maternal breast milk. This legislation will ensure infants in need of such nourishment are able to receive donated, pasteurized breast milk. stated Senator and Senate Health Committee Chair Kemp Hannon. Providing Medicaid coverage of donor breast milk is a health equity issue, said Assemblymember and Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried., More than 70% of pre-term births in New York State are covered by Medicaid, he added. Based on New York State live birth data, approximately 3,500 infants would be eligible for this treatment under the new legislation. Access to affordable donor breast milk for these infants could save the state an estimated $10.5 million in direct hospitalization costs, said Assemblymember Englebright. Of the approximately 250,000 births in New York State, roughly 3,500 (~1.5%) are born at very low birth weights. These infants spend months in neonatal intensive care units. Very low birthweight infants suffer primarily from respiratory, neurologic and nutritional disorders. And for mothers who cannot provide breast milk for medical or other reasons, donor milk is simply better suited to the fragile digestive systems of these newborns than commercial formulas. Due the high costs associated with securing donor breast milk, some hospitals allow parents to purchase donor human milk from a certified donor human milk bank. The purchase option creates an unjust, significant healthcare disparity as wealthy mothers can afford this treatment while babies to poor mothers on Medicaid are denied this best quality of care. "The NYS legislature passed A.9353C/S.6583B; legislation that addresses a life threatening health disparity, said Elie Ward, Director of Policy & Advocacy for the NYS American Academy of Pediatrics. "Providing insurance coverage for very sick and very small newborns will help some of our most fragile babies from low income families survive." she continued. Serving 18 hospitals and countless outpatient families in New York, we at Mothers Milk Bank Northeast welcome the state legislature's passage of this important donor breast milk bill, stated Naomi Bar-Yam the Executive Director of Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast and President-Elect of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Now, all of New Yorks tiniest patients will have the strongest chance for the best possible health outcomes, regardless of their economic status. Only about 1.5 percent of babies born in the state will meet these requirements, but critically-ill, very low birth weight babies like those eligible constitute the majority of the Medicaid budget for neonatal care. Providing coverage for donor milk from a certified milk bank for use in feeding extremely high risk, very low birth weight infants, whose moms cannot for medical reasons provide breast milk, will provide New Yorks neonatal physicians with a successful, cost-effective method for helping our states babies prevent complex infection, illness and even death. The bill now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk for consideration. School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: June 17 2016 At the General Meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature on June 1st, Elysia Tiess from the Longwood School District was honored as the Be Pool Smart poster contest winner. Hauppauge, NY - June 16, 2016 - At the General Meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature on June 1st, Elysia Tiess from the Longwood School District was honored for winning the Be Pool Smart poster contest. Each year, with a resolution sponsored by Legislator William Spencer, the county hosts the Be Pool Smart contest to raise awareness about the important of pool safety and to help prevent incidences of drowning. Students are asked to participate by creating a poster with relevant pool safety tips. The winning poster is displayed on the front cover of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services pool safety brochure. I am proud of all the students who submitted entries for the Be Pool Smart contest. The posters will help raise awareness about pool safety throughout Suffolk County, said Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker. I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Elysia for her hard work and dedication to safety. She is an exceptional role model for all of her peers. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the Department of Health Services pool safety brochure, please contact the office of Legislator Anker at (631) 854-1600. Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: June 17 2016 Laws banning conversion therapy have been passed in other states. Governor Cuomo announced executive actions to ban insurance coverage of conversion therapy earlier in the year. Hauppauge, NY - June 16, 2016 - Suffolk County Legislature Health Chairman William R. Spencer, M.D., was joined by LGBT Network CEO David Kilmnick and Legislators Calarco, Hahn, Fleming and Lindsay at a press conference on Wednesday urging the New York State Senate to take action and pass Senate Bill 121, banning the practice of conversion therapy. Currently the legislation is at a standstill in the Senate Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee and would require Senate leadership to release it from committee to bring it to the floor for a vote. With the legislative session slated to close Thursday, June 16, 2016, time is off the essence. This practice is a relic of the dark days when homosexuality was considered a mental illness and it perpetuates the damaging lie that sexuality is a condition that needs to be treated. New York should be a leader on the issue and put an end to this pseudoscience that has harmful lasting impacts on LGBT youth, stated Legislator William R. Spencer M.D. The medical community stands in opposition of these practices as they are damaging and unethical; its about time that our laws follow suit. Numerous organizations have issued statements against sexual orientation and gender identity conversion efforts including, the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American School Counselor Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists. "Conversion therapy is a dangerous practice that sends a message to LGBT people and the greater world that there is something wrong and flawed with being LGBT and something that needs to be 'fixed'. It is this kind of ancient thinking that leads to hate and violence and results in tragic events in our country like the massacre in Orlando of 49 people at an LGBT club. The time has long passed to stop all anti-LGBT rhetoric and practices and instead focus on how we can make sure everyone is fully equal under the law and safe in our communities. We applaud Legislator Spencer and the members of the Suffolk County Legislature for their continued leadership in ensuring the well-being and safety of the LGBT Community" said Dr. David Kilmnick, CEO of the LGBT Network. Years of research and experience have demonstrated that ones sexual preference or gender identity does not change in psychotherapy and the scientific validity of psychotherapeutic attempts to repair homosexuality are damaging. Additionally, such treatments can pose dangerous risks to the well-being of patients, especially minors. Potential risks of conversion therapy include: depression, guilt, suicidal ideation, helplessness, shame, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem, increase self-hatred, sexual and emotional intimacy problems, loss of friends and romantic partners, high risk behaviors, feelings of anger and betrayal, hostility and blame toward parents, and substance abuse. Conversion therapy is the opposite of therapy. At a time of vulnerability, individuals seeking psychological support in the face of intolerance should be met with support and guidance not be subjected to further conflict, stated Deputy Presiding Officer Legislator Robert Calarco. I am horrified by last Sundays tragedy in Orlando. My heart is aching for the people of Orlando and the LGBT community. There are concrete steps that New York State can take to correct systemic injustices that affect the LGBT Community and among them are banning conversion therapy which is an extremely harmful practice. Majority Leader Kara Hahn went on to say, As a mother and social worker, I am devastated by the thought that parents are going underground to try to torture the gay out of their children and that people are posing as therapeutic helpers when in fact they are contributing to long-term psychiatric harm. I was pleased to join all of my colleagues in the Legislature in calling on New York State to finally outlaw this practice. "The practice of conversion therapy is based on two falsehoods, first that being LGBT is a flaw that needs to be fixed, and second that being LGBT is something that can be changed. I urge the State Senate to ban this cruel and alienating practice, especially in the wake of tragedy that took place in Orlando this past weekend." said Legislator Bridget Fleming. Laws banning conversion therapy have been passed in California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, and the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Earlier this year Governor Cuomo announced executive actions to ban insurance coverage of conversion therapy. The actions banned public and private health care insurers from covering the practice in New York State, and also prohibited various mental health facilities across the state from conducting the practice on minors. Passage of S121 would make the ban the law of the land. School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: June 17 2016 Suffolk County Correction Officer Thomas Miller recently engaged in a special project with 6th and 7th grade students at the William Paca Middle School. Mastic Beach, NY - June 14, 2016 - Suffolk County Correction Officer Thomas Miller recently engaged in a special project with 6th and 7th grade students at the William Paca Middle School in the William Floyd School District. The initiative was a part of the Sheriffs Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program, a curriculum the Sheriffs Office conducts in schools throughout Suffolk County. During his time teaching in the classroom, the students expressed an interest in giving back to their community, and decided to write letters of support for our United States military serving abroad. Officer Miller offered to coordinate the effort with one of his colleagues, Correction Officer Jose Moreno, who is currently serving in the Air Force overseas and is on military leave from the Suffolk County Sheriffs Office. The students created drawings, cartoons, letters, cards and many other special items, and Officer Miller mailed the package to Officer Moreno, who then distributed it to his fellow Airmen, who were serving in Kuwait at the time. To commemorate the students heartfelt best wishes, the Airmen commissioned an American Flag in the name of the students from the William Paca Middle School and the G.R.E.A.T. Program, and it was flown over their military base in Kuwait. Officer Moreno then mailed the flag to Officer Miller, who presented it along with Correction Officer, Ricardo Flores, to the students during the schools Awards Night ceremony on June 13, 2016. Officer Flores also serves in the Air Force. Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent F. DeMarco had nothing but praise for the students and the Officers who organized the effort. He stated, The Officers involved in our G.R.E.A.T. program help build trust between law enforcement and the youth in our communities, and amazing things can happen when we all work together for a common goal. I am very proud of the students at the William Paca Middle School for expressing their concern and patriotism for our military, of our staff deployed overseas, and for the special dedication shown by Officers Miller, Moreno and Flores. Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com Columnists Press Releases A bomb blast exploded in Beiruts Verdun neighborhood on Sunday, outside of the headquarters of the Banque du Liban et dOutre-Mer (BLOM). No fatalities were reported from the attack, but two people suffered minor injuries. Commenting on the bombing, Lebanons Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said that it is clear that the target was BLOM Bank only. Though no group has yet claimed the attack, the target of the attack has led many to suspect that Hezbollah was behind the bombing. As the Foundation for Defense of Democraciess Tony Badran notes, the bombing comes as Lebanese banks, in compliance with U.S. law, began closing accounts of individuals and institutions belonging to or affiliated with Hezbollah. Badran also points out that the day before the attack, pro-Hezbollah daily al-Akhbar which has a history of setting the stage for Hezbollahs attacks and carrying the groups threats against intended targets singled out BLOM in a piece saying that implementing the sanctions was tantamount to an attack on the organizations weapons. Further strengthening suspicions that Hezbollah was behind the attack is an overlooked article titled, The Monetary Aggression Against Hezbollah: A Lahad Banking Army, which appeared in Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Fars News Agency, two hours before the bombing. The titles reference is to the late General Antoine Lahad who commanded the Israel-allied South Lebanon Army (SLA) from 1984 until the IDFs withdrawal from South Lebanon in May, 2000 its obvious implication being that Lebanons banks, like the SLA, are fighting an Israeli proxy war against Hezbollah. The article carried a threat by a close associate of the party, that if the banking sector continued to press Hezbollah, it would be faced with expected and even unexpected reactions, from the Shiite organization. It added that if the banks did not stop targeting Hezbollahs host environment, then, we could be faced with a new May 7, or perhaps even the 25th of that month. The dates are significant, because they are a thinly veiled threat by Hezbollah against the Lebanese banking sector, subtly manifesting its willingness to go to war over its compliance with US-imposed financial sanctions on the group. May 25th marks the completion of Israels withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, an event that Hezbollah claimed as a victory over the IDF. More relevant to the articles title, the date also recalls the collapse of the South Lebanon Army led by General Lahad in the face of Hezbollahs rapid advance on positions which had been handed to them by the withdrawing Israeli forces in the south Lebanon security zone. The May 7, 2008 date references the 2008 Lebanon Conflict. After the Lebanese government discovered that Hezbollah setup a secret surveillance system at Beirut International Airport around the main runway, it moved to shut down Hezbollahs military telecommunications network and remove Beirut International Airports (BIA) security chief Wafiq Shuqeir over alleged ties to the group. In response, armed Hezbollah protesters blocked the roads with burning tires throughout Beirut. They cut off the road towards BIA from the rest of the city and occupied Beirut Port. By the end of the day, Hezbollah completely controlled West Beiruts streets, blockaded the houses of pro-Western majority leader Saad Hariri, and declared that its armed action would continue until the government backed down. In a speech the next day, Hezbollahs Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah described the governments move as a declaration of war against the resistance and its weapons for the benefit of America and Israel. In language reminiscent of the rhetoric Hezbollahs media outlets are using against the current financial sanctions, Nasrallah called the communications network a, significant part of the weapons of the resistance, and threatened to cut off the hand of the hand that targets the weapons of the resistance Today is the day to carry out this decision. And similarly to how Hezbollahs media outlets are framing the current crisis, Nasrallah then stressed that the government had created the impasse and should pull itself out by acquiescing to Hezbollahs demands. Minutes after his speech, heavy street battles erupted in Beirut and pro-Hezbollah militants overran and burned down three pro-government offices and set up major barricades, closing major highways. The fighting continued for one week until May 14, during which Hezbollahs forces spread throughout the city and occupied pro-government media outlets, forcing them to close. By then, the fighting spread into the southern city of Sidon, north to predominantly Sunni Tripoli, and into the Druze district of Aley, where Hezbollahs offensive was backed with katyusha fire from its stronghold in southern Beirut. At the end of the clashes, 27 pro-government militiamen, 28 Lebanese civilians, 17 soldiers and 2 policemen were killed. It was the closest the Lebanon had come to civil war since its bloody 1975 internecine rivalry ended with the signing of the Taif Accords in 1989. Hezbollah was using these thinly veiled hints as warnings to force the banking sector and Lebanons Central Bank to back down from their application of U.S. sanctions. In line with that, the bombing of BLOM was meant not to maim or injure it was carried out at the time of the iftar meal when the area would be empty but as a further warning: acquiesce to Hezbollahs demands, or face potential violence. With the Governor of Lebanons Central Bank walking back anti-Hezbollah comments and BLOM softening its implementation of anti-Hezbollah US sanctions the day after the attack, it seems the message was received. David Daoud is an Arabic-Language Analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. A senior advisor to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force vowed that Iranian forces would continue to fight in Iraq and Syria until the last Islamic State and takfiri fighters are killed. The statement, which was made by Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, signals the entrenchment of Iranian military assets in Iraq and Syria and the two countries continue to be mired in civil wars. Masjedi serves as a senior advisor to Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who has directed Irans intervention in Iraq and Syria and has organized Shia militias to battle the Islamic State, Al Nusrah Front (al Qaedas official branch in Syria), and other jihadist and rebel groups. Masjedi delivered remarks earlier today at the 40-day commemoration of the deaths of the 13 Guardsmen from the IRGCs 25th Karbala Division who were killed in the Syrian town of Khan Touman, south of Aleppo. The ceremony was held in Sari, Iran. Aleppo, Fallujah, and other areas in Syria and Iraq are the front lines of the Islamic resistance, and as the defenders of the shrine, Iranian Guardsmen [IRGC] and Basijis [a paramilitary force loyal to the IRGC] will stay in these fronts until the killing of the last of the takfiris and DAISH [Islamic State], Masjedi proclaimed. Iranian forces are engaged in fighting to defend the borders of our country, and accused Saudi Arabia and Israel of backing the Islamic State to conquer Iraq and Syria with the goal of getting close to the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masjedi said. He also said that Iranian forces are battling the Islamic State and other jihadists alongside other brothers from Islamic countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. Lebanese Hezbollah has committed significant resources to support the Syrian region, while Shia fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan also are known to fight in both Iraq and Syria. Masjedi noted that a united Islamic resistance front, likely a reference to Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces which are backed by the government and led by a Qods Force agent has secured all Shia areas of Iraqi. Karbala, Najaf, Kazemein, and Samarra are secure with the presence of Islamic resistance forces, he continued. Qods Force has helped establish numerous Iraqi militias, many of who are openly loyal to Soleimani and Irans supreme leader. Some militia leaders have indicated that they want the Popular Mobilization Forces to serve as the nucleus to an Iraqi analogue of the IRGC. The Islamic resistance front has completely surrounded Islamic State forces in Fallujah, according to Masjedi. Iraqi forces are said to have seized Fallujahs government center today. The government has claimed that the Shia militas will not participate in the battle for Fallujah, however Popular Mobilization Forces units have been spotted in numerous locations around Fallujah. The fight against DAISH and takfiris will be long and hard, Masjedi concluded, preparing his audience for a protracted fight in Iraq and Syria. This is an urban, irregular, and guerrilla warfare. We must be present in the scene to defend our ideological movement until the killing of the last of the DAISH. Iran has benefited from the ongoing chaos and civil wars in Iraq and Syria to increase its military footprint in the countries. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Kochi: Ameerul Islam (23), the culprit in the controversial Jisha murder case, was nabbed by the police from Palakkad and taken to Aluva Police Club on Thursday. The culprit was caught on the 50th day of the murder. According to the police, he had fled to his home state Assam on the next day, but had frequently phoned his acquaintances in Kerala for information on the case investigation. The motive for the murder was stated as provocation when Jisha laughed at him which he avenged by killing her. The culprit confessed to committing the crime alone, and also said that when Jisha asked for water after being stabbed, he gave her alcohol. Thiruvananthapuram: Labour Minister T.P Ramakrishnan said that registration will be made mandatory for all migrant labourers in the state and assured domestic labourers of legal protection. He added that measures in these directions will be expedited. The Minister was talking to the media in the backdrop of the arrest of a migrant labourer in the Jisha murder case. Muscat: Six Omani nationals were arrested by the Oman Royal Police in connection with the abduction and murder of a Kottayam Manarcad native, John Philip. Johns body was found from Masrooq and is kept at the police mortuary. John, who was working as a supervisor at a petrol pump in Oman, went missing last Friday. The theft and abduction happened around 10:00 p.m that day when John was entering his office at the pump. John was alone at the pump at the time of the incident. Cash amounting to 5000 Riyal was also reported lost. London: A British member of parliament was shot dead in the street on Thursday. Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour party was attacked as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents in Bristall. According to the media reports she was shot and stabbed by the assailant. A 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby in connection with the incident. Cox who was married with two children had worked on US president Barack Obama's 2008 Election campaign and also chaired the all-parliamentary committee on Syria. Following the attack, both sides in Britain's upcoming referendum on European Union was suspended. Marie Claire newsletter Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Thank you for signing up to . You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) and are aged 16 or over. MP's husband and father of their two children pays tribute to Jo Cox, saying: 'Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.' Jo Cox, the MP who has died after an attack in the street in her Yorkshire constituency, described herself on Twitter like this: 'Mum. Proud Yorkshire Lass. Labour MP for Batley & Spen. Boat dweller. Mountain climber. Former aid worker.' Jo, 41, was elected to Parliament in the safe Labour seat in 2015. Before that she had been a political adviser, then worked for Oxfam, rising from being an aid worker in danger zones including Darfur and Afghanistan to becoming the charitys head of policy. She also worked with Sarah Brown on her campaign against global maternal and child death rates, as well as for anti-slavery group the Freedom Fund. She was the first in her family to go to university, winning a place at Cambridge to study social and political sciences. Her mother was a school secretary and her father worked in a factory. Jo stood out at Heckmondwike Grammar School, where she was head girl. Headteacher Mike Cook said that Jo '[made] an impact everywhere she went,' adding: 'Driven by a deep urge to do what is right, and to stand up for the disadvantaged and those in our world least able to represent themselves, Jo gave a voice to the powerless. She did so with great compassion and tireless determination, and she did so peacefully.' When in London, Jo and her family, husband Brendan and two young children, lived on a houseboat moored at Tower Bridge. In her maiden speech to Parliament, Jo, who was campaigning passionately for the 'Remain' camp in the EU referendum, spoke about the multiculturalism in her constituency and how communities had been 'deeply enhanced' by immigrants ranging from Irish Catholics to Muslims from India and Pakistan. She added: 'While we celebrate our diversity, what surprised me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.' Jo was also a campaigner for womens rights and was a national chair of Labours womens network. It has emerged that the MP had been being harassed with abusive messages for three months and that police had been due to increase security. Her husband Brendan, made a moving statement immediately after her death on Thursday 16 June, saying: 'Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo's friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo. Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.' He continued: 'She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn't have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous. Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.' The NATO buildup in the Black Sea is part of the alliance's strategy to expand its military presence along Russia's borders. The move would destabilize the situation in the region, says a report in Sputnik. Russian state media reported earlier this month that the USS Porter, a U.S. naval destroyer, had entered the Black Sea on a routine deployment, a move it said raised hackles in Moscow because it had recently been fitted with a new missile system. Under the Montreux Convention, countries which don't have a Black Sea coastline cannot keep their warships there for more than 21 days. NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria are all Black Sea Basin countries, says Reuters. Russia is closely watching the US and NATO military activities in the Black Sea which may also involve Ukraine and other countries, Russias Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said. "It is clear that we are going to react to such things with an aim to ensure reliable security on Russias southern borders," he added. NATO is considering what more it can do to deter what it sees as growing Russian aggression. Moscow says it poses no threat to the alliance. Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is sailing into the THE Alliance. With the new charter deals it is now one step closer to becoming a member of THE Alliance, from which it was excluded when the mega-alliance was announced last month. According to a report in Business Korea, HMM president Lee Baek-hoon met with K Line president and CEO Eizo Murakami in Tokyo to discuss the formers joining the THE Alliance. At the meeting, K Line mentioned that it would approve of Hyundai Merchant Marines membership in the THE Alliance sooner or later. At present, K Line is the only one of the five non-South Korean members of the alliance that is scheduled to be launched next year. Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, MOL and Yang Ming already gave a nod, and Hyundai Merchant Marine can join the alliance once K Line and Hanjin Shipping give their approval. Korea Development Bank (KDB), HMMs creditor, said that it would provide full support so that HMM could promptly join THE Alliance, while it would progress with the debt-for-equity swaps, to normalise the companys business as quickly as possible. Now HMMs path into the THE Alliance is not expected to hit any roadblocks as the other alliance members are reportedly in agreement to allow the South Korean shipping lines entry. THE Alliance was formed in response to the new Ocean Alliance of China Cosco Shipping, Orient Overseas Container Line, Evergreen Line and CMA CGM. MSCs California Express service is now to feature a new port of call Manzanillo in Mexico. The addition brings a significant customer benefit in transit time and reliability, and provides a direct route to the port as part of the route from Balboa to Long Beach. Previously, the service had offered only a transshipment facility for Manzanillo. The change to the California Express service will come into effect on Saturday 9th July with the vessel MSC ANS MC623A. MSC has also revealed details of its revised Canada Gulf Bridge service. The changes, which come into effect from Sunday 19th June, will now feature a Southbound transit from Houston, to the two Mexico ports of Altamira and Veracruz. The Northbound service will then leave Veracruz, destined for Philadelphia and Montreal. Providing direct routes to and from Mexico allows MSC to acknowledge the significant change taking place in the manufacturing sector in this part of the globe. It is estimated that by 2017, as many as one in four American cars will have been built in Mexico. Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 17.8 percent to $540 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. It was the second consecutive week with falling rates. Market leader Maersk Line, part of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in May its profit in the first quarter fell 95 percent from a year earlier to $37 million due to weak demand and record low freight rates. Reporting by Teis Jensen Enormous quay cranes, which arrived at DP World London Gateway on Wednesday morning, will enhance U.K. trade infrastructure Two more of the U.K.s most technically advanced quay cranes were brought up the River Thames on Wednesday, completing the sea voyage from China on vessel Zhen Hua 10 via the Cape of Good Hope to arrive at DP World London Gateway Port, just 25 miles from Central London. The new cranes are for the third Berth at the DP World London Gateway container terminal, providing additional trade infrastructure for the U.K. when the berth opens later this year. When installed, they will match container terminals existing cranes in providing the greatest lift-height above water of any quay cranes in the country. Another two cranes for the third berth are due to arrive in London next week, moving development of the terminals third berth onto the next stage. At their highest point, the quay cranes stand at 138 meters tall the same height as the London Eye. They weigh 2,000 tons and are unloaded from the vessel onto DP World London Gateways quay wall using pulleys and winches at high tide. The process of moving these mega-structures safely onto the quay takes 45 minutes. A further 20 automated stacking cranes and additional 10 modules have already been installed, while in April, the port took delivery of a fleet of hybrid shuttle carriers. Once the third berth is open, DP World London Gateway will have 1,250 meters of quay wall, providing three deep-water berths and more ultra-large container vessel capacity than any other port in the U.K. As an island nation, it is absolutely vital that the UK has world-class port infrastructure to facilitate trade, said Cameron Thorpe, CEO, DP World London Gateway. In addition to the eight already in operation here, the arrival of these quay cranes and further investment in supplementary infrastructure such as our fully automated truck handling capability, ensures that the UK is able to efficiently and reliably handle the largest container ships afloat. These cranes are unique in the U.K. They are safer, more wind resilient, able to lift more containers in one movement and comfortably reach out across and above the largest container ships, Thorpe said. The United States will maintain its presence in the Black Sea despite a Russian warning that a U.S. destroyer patrolling there undermined regional security, the U.S. Navy Secretary said. The USS Porter entered the Black Sea this month, drawing heavy criticism from Moscow. Turkey and Romania are expected to push for a bigger NATO presence in the Black Sea at the NATO summit in Warsaw next month. Aboard the USS Mason, another U.S. destroyer, in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told Reuters that it was the U.S. Navy's job to deter aggression and keep sea lanes open. "We're going to be there," Mabus said of the Black Sea. "We're going to deter. That's the main reason we're there -- to deter potential aggression." Mabus spoke days after Russia criticized NATO discussions about a creating a permanent force in the Black Sea. "If a decision is made to create a permanent force, of course, it would be destabilizing, because this is not a NATO sea," Russian news agencies quoted senior Foreign Ministry official Andrei Kelin as saying. Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, has its own Black Sea Fleet based at Sevastopol. The NATO summit takes place as relations between Russia and the alliance are severely strained over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and in Syria. While Russia says it poses no threat to alliance, NATO is considering what to do to counter what it sees as growing Russian aggression. Mabus said the United States follows the rules of the Montreux Convention, which states that countries without a Black Sea coastline cannot keep their warships there for more than 21 days. NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria are all Black Sea Basin countries. Bulgaria appeared to buckle to Russian pressure on Thursday. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said he would not join a proposed NATO fleet in the Black Sea because it should be a place for holidays and tourists, not war. Also increasing tensions with Moscow is the U.S. Navy's deployment of two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean ahead the NATO summit as Washington seeks to balance an increase in Russian military activities in the Mediterranean. "We've been in the Mediterranean continuously for 70 years now, since World War Two," Mabus said. "We've been keeping the sea lanes open...It's what we do." (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Angus MacSwan) U.S. drillers this week added oil rigs for a third week in a row for the first time since August, according to a closely followed report on Friday, as producers seek more drilling permits after crude prices hit an 11-month high over $51 a barrel last week. Despite a decline in U.S. crude futures to one-month lows to under $47 this week, analysts and producers have said oil over $50 was a key level that would trigger a return to the well pad and drilling permits are a leading indicator of future drilling. Drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to June 17, bringing the total rig count up to 337, compared with 631 a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said. Before this week, drillers added rigs in only three out of 23 weeks this year, cutting on average nine oil rigs per week for a total of 208. That compares with cuts of 18 rigs per week on average in 2015 for a total decline of 963, the biggest annual decline since at least 1988 amid the biggest rout in crude prices in a generation. The rig count has declined since hitting a peak of 1,609 in October 2014. The slide came three months after U.S. crude futures began crumbling from a high of around $107 in July 2014 to reach a near 13-year low of about $26 in February this year. Since the February price low, U.S. crude futures have almost recouped half their losses. On Friday, they were trading at around $47, or 3 percent lower on the week, amid anxiety over Britain's possible exit from the European Union. To figure out how many rigs U.S. producers will likely add, analysts said they look to drilling permits, which they forecast rising. In most states, producers drill a land well about two months after the state issues a permit because the firm has already incurred significant expenses to secure the acreage and conduct geologic surveys, among other things, analysts at U.S. investment banking advisory Evercore ISI said this week. "Land operators are restless after a year and a half of declining activity, and we expect the recent crude rally to bolster permit application totals heading into the warmer (and dryer) months," Evercore said, noting the Permian and Eagle Ford will likely be the first-move shale plays for producers looking to put rigs back to work in 2017. After falling to 1,807 permits in February, the lowest monthly level since at least 2006, Evercore forecast the number of land permits would rise to a year-to-date high around 2,119 in June from 2,033 in May. That put total annual land permits on track this year to fall below 2015's lows. Land permits peaked at 86,955 in 2008 and bottomed at 43,940 in 2015, according to Evercore data going back to 2006. Pioneer Natural Resources Co said this week it expects to boost its 2016 capital budget by about $100 million to $2.1 billion as a result of rig additions. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Broward County's Port Everglades today welcomed Nordana's newly built cargo ship MV Frijsenborg on the vessel's maiden call to South Florida. Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steve Cernak and Deputy Port Director Glenn Wiltshire presented a traditional plaque and port challenge coin to Frijsenborg Master Francesco Rafanelli to mark the occasion. Built by Cantiere Navale Visentini of Porto Viro, Italy, the Frijsenborg is 179.46 meters long with gross tonnage of 21,970. It is equipped with modern air emissions control scrubbers, and can handle heavy lift, yachts, rolling stock and containerized cargoes. Portus is the stevedoring company for Nordana at Port Everglades. 1815 - Commodore Stephen Decatur's squadron engages the Algerian flagship Mashouda near Cape de Gatt, Spain. Though the Algerian frigate maneuvers actively to escape, she surrenders after 20 men, including her commander, are killed. 1833 - The ship of the line, USS Delaware, becomes the first warship to enter a public drydock in the United States when secured at Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Va. 1870 - Under the command of Lt. Willard H. Brownson, six boats from the steam sloop-of-war USS Mohican attack a group of pirates in the Teacapan River, Mexico. 1898 - President William McKinley signs into law a Congressional bill authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps. 1944 - PB4Y-1 aircraft (VB 109) from Eniwetok sinks Japanese submarine RO 117, north-northwest of Truk. 1944 - TBF (VC 95) from USS Croatan (CVE 25) damages German submarine (U 853) in the North Atlantic. On May 6, 1945, USS Atherton (DE 169) and USS Moberly (PF 63) sink (U 853) off Block Island. (Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division) The Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC) and the Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport of the University of the Aegean have signed a signed a Bilateral Agreement to develop faculty and student exchange programs as well as marine-related training initiatives between Greece and Canada. The collaboration aims to boost educational and maritime opportunities between both nations while continuing to build on Canadian-Greek relations. The partnership was announced during an event in Athens, Greece during last weeks Posidonia 2016, where more than 250 industry professionals attended a reception co-hosted by the VIMC, the Embassy of Canada and the Hellenic Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Senior Trade Commissioner David Mallette, representing the Embassy of Canada, opened the event. The University of the Aegean, Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport is a well-known international academic department based on the shipping island of Chios, one of six islands in the Greek Archipelago where the University has campuses. We have more than sixteen undergraduate programs, multiple postgraduate programs and over 16,000 students, said Professor Helen Thanopoulou, Head of Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport at the university. Young people are our future and strong international programs that actually cross boundaries will enhance education and training for the upcoming global leaders of tomorrow, said Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Executive Director of the VIMC. During Posidonia, the VIMC showcased the economic, business and lifestyle advantages of Vancouver, Canada, to shipping leaders looking to expand their reach to North American and Asian markets. Without question, Posidonia is one of the most important shipping conferences in the world and Greece is the largest ship owning nation on the planet. It is crucial that Vancouver and Canada make it known we are open for business, said Graham Clarke, Chairman and CEO of the VIMC. Green Marine, an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry, elected Port of New Orleans Chief Operating Officer Brandy Christian to its Board of Directors during its annual conference last month. Brandy Christians nomination shows a high-level of commitment to sustainability from the Port of New Orleans, said Green Marine Executive Director David Bolduc. We are pleased to have an administrator with her level of expertise sitting on our Board. We hope that her involvement with our organization is a sign of increased commitment from the Gulf of Mexico maritime industry. The Port of New Orleans earned its first environmental certification with Green Marine in May of 2015 and was the eighth U.S. port to achieve the milestone at the time. I am proud of the ports involvement with Green Marine and excited to be a part of its leadership, Christian said. The growth of the port and maritime industry is exciting; however, we want to do so in an environmentally friendly way. As a port, we want to be a leader not only within our jurisdictional boundaries, but throughout North America. Other Green Marine Board members include Terrence Bowles, President and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.; Stephen Edwards, GCT Global Container Terminals Inc.; William D. Friedman, President and CEO of Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority; Paul Gourdeau, President of Federal Marine Terminals; Don Krusel, President and CEO of Prince Rupert Port Authority; Allister Paterson, President of Canada Steamship Lines; Jim Quinn, President and CEO of Saint John Port Authority; and Ron Tursi, President of TBS Ship Management. The Port of New Orleans will host a Green Marine seminar October 27 immediately following the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Annual Conference in New Orleans. The seminar aims to educate the maritime industry in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast on innovative efforts of ports, terminal operators and vessel owners to operate in a more sustainable manner. Strengthening its policy and regulatory affairs team, the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has appointed John Bradshaw as Policy and Regulatory Affairs Manager to lead on worldwide policy and legislative issues, with responsibility for developing and delivering the international trade associations policy and regulatory strategy, including representing members with regulators and other third parties. Bradshaw joined the IMCA Secretariat as one of its strong team of Technical Advisers in early Autumn 2015. This followed four years at Lloyds Register as Principal Technical Specialist and a career at sea. He has a strong track record as a specialist in the field of marine engines and emissions as well as an advocate of policy development in the marine industry. Johns background at Lloyds Register where he was rapporteur on a number of European Commission expert groups; and a regular attendee at IMO to support development of regulations, together his involvement with ICAS and makes him the ideal person to take on management of our policy and regulatory affairs. He will be working with Emily Comlyn our Policy and Regulatory Affairs Technical Adviser. Together they make a very strong team explains IMCAs Chief Executive, Allen Leatt. PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) and VTB Bank have signed a $260 million 13-year loan agreement, providing financing of construction of an Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker for the Yamal LNG project. The agreement was signed on June 17, 2016 by Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot, and Andrey Kostin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank, as part of the 20th International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg. The new tanker, due for delivery in the first quarter of 2017, will be able to carry up to 172,600 cubic meters of LNG and has an Arc7 enhanced ice class, enabling independent navigation in ice fields of up to 2.1 meters thick. The vessel will have a 45 MW propulsion system, which is comparable to that of the nuclear ice breakers. We are completing the construction of an innovative vessel, which has no analogs in the world to date, and we have concluded a unique transaction to finance this project, said Sovcomflots CEO Sergey Frank. This is one of the first such agreements ever signed in Russia, to finance a vessel construction, which is traditionally a very capital-intensive and long-term investment project. I am confident that the solid performance delivered by our company will enable it to continue to be a reliable and attractive partner for Russian banks. Andrei Kostin, President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, said, VTB Bank always takes part in innovative and high-tech projects with great interest. The loan to Sovcomflot, Russias largest shipping company, will be used to build a unique new ice-resistant LNG tanker for the Russian Arctic. Im confident it will help Russia further develop this harsh territory. The world's largest bulk vessel fleet in terms of both ship numbers and deadweight tonnage COSCO Shipping Bulk Co is officially launched in Guangzhou. Its a merger between two companies - COSCO Bulk Carrier Co and China Shipping Bulk Carrier Co. According to a report in China.org, with a total of 382 self-operated and controlled bulk vessels and a capacity of 34.58 million deadweight tons, COSCO Shipping Bulk will be able to ship iron ore, coal, grain and other commodities to more than 1,000 ports in some 100 countries and regions. Its annual freight volume will exceed 340 million metric tons. It now has 18,500 employees, including 13,000 mariners. The average ship age in its fleet is eight years. Many countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative need natural resources and commodities to support their ongoing urbanization and industrialization, the new company is keen to build more partnerships with both governments and businesses along these trading routes. COSCO Shipping Bulk also signed cooperative agreements with six domestic companies, including China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd and Hunan Valin Steel Co Ltd on Thursday. They will work together to further expand client networks and to develop overseas businesses, especially in emerging markets. Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE:NAT) entered into a 30 months charter contract with a subsidiary of ExxonMobil (EM) for one of the NAT suezmaxes. The firm period is 18 months with an option of further 12 months. The gross revenue from the contract of 30 months is about $25 million, reflecting a time charter rate between $25,000 and $30,000 per day. The charter is scheduled to commence in a few days. The cash breakeven level of NAT, including all G&A costs and financial items, is now about $11,000 per day per vessel, spread across 30 units. This type of a solid employment base strengthens NAT and is sustaining our dividend distribution policy. This new contract supplements the contract of affreightment we already have with a subsidiary of EM. Including the newbuildings to be delivered in August 2016 and in January 2017, from a Korean shipyard, and the four vessels recently acquired, the NAT suezmax fleet now stands at 30 units. Commented the Chairman & CEO, Herbjrn Hansson: "The expanded cooperation secures increased flexibility and better customer service". Mr. Hansson commented further: "At this time, we also change the name of our chartering department from Orion Tankers (which was initially established as a chartering pool with external participants) to NAT Chartering. All the suezmax tankers under our umbrella are now owned by NAT. We have no plans to invite other companies into the chartering arrangements of NAT. NAT Chartering is headed up by Erik Tomstad who is reporting to me". NAT Chartering has been strengthened further with two persons who have relevant experience from London and Oslo. This is an indication that further expansion can be expected. Based on a fleet of 30 vessels, we do not plan to issue new equity. As posted on the Kings Point Alumni Web Site: Announcement from the Academy While the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) have made consistent efforts to address sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus over the last few years, weve grappled with appropriate means of extending these efforts during Sea Year when the Midshipmen are off campus training on working U.S. merchant marine vessels. The safety of these young women and men are our highest priority, and the USMMA is standing down having Midshipmen serve on these vessels until it is assured that their training will be carried out in a safe environment. On June 24th, MARAD is convening a Call-to-Action with the maritime industry to address these issues, as well as their overall safety, as we begin to develop a comprehensive plan that protects the Midshipmen. We are making every effort to ensure an on-time graduation for any affected students. Note: Marinelink has contacted the U.S. Maritime Administration for official comment on this announcement. In a prepared statement this morning U.S. Maritime Administrator Paul "Chip" Jaenichen said, "There is no specific incident prompting this action. Sea Year is a unique situation for these young men and women, and we believe there continues to be a need to address the culture onboard vessels to better ensure Midshipmen are in an environment that is both safe and respectful. This is not just about Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment, but an effort to ensure the Sea Year is an appropriate training and work environment for the Midshipmen." The U.S. Navys Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) completes shock trials; Austal USA receives LCS contract modification for 'Sea Giraffe' Radar The Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program continues to progress, with the U.S. Navy reporting that USS Jackson (LCS 6) has completed the first of three scheduled full ship shock trial (FSST) blasts the first ship to do so since 2008. The shock trials are designed to demonstrate the ships ability to withstand the effects of nearby underwater explosions and retain required capability. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy has modified shipbuilder Austal USAs Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract to enable the procurement of a spare Sea Giraffe radar for the Independence variant LCS program, Austal Limited announced. The modification sees the LCS contract value increase by the fixed-price amount of $6,801,290, the shipbuilder said. The future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy later this month, while six additional LCS vessels are at various stages of construction in Mobile, Ala. as part of an 11-ship contract worth over $3.5 billion. Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), Omaha (LCS 12) and Manchester (LCS 14) are all preparing for sea trials, while assembly is underway on Tulsa (LCS 16) and Charleston (LCS 18), and modules for Cincinnati (LCS 20) are under construction in Austal USAs Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF). Over the next decade the maritime sector is likely to see one of the largest changes since sail gave way to steam. Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) are now being considered for various marine roles and the drivers for rapid development are significant. Unmanned or autonomous vessels have passed through the trial and evaluation stage and are now being adopted for civilian and military applications. The maritime sector now has the opportunity to shape technology developments from legislative and end-user standpoints. As the maritime sector is often the last to adopt new technology it is important to identify genuine innovations from other transport sectors. The driverless car is being pioneered by some of the largest companies in the world including Google, and small unmanned aircraft are being considered as a delivery method for global retailers including Amazon. As these innovations pass through rigorous regulatory approval processes there will be wider acceptance from the public when they are adopted. The military has already learned a lot about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and the systems required to operate them. During the war in Afghanistan the US went from a UAV inventory of 100 to 10,000 over a ten year period. There are several terms in use for unmanned aerial vehicles, including Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) which has generally been adopted by defense and civil aviation authorities. UAS emphasizes the importance of other elements beyond an aircraft itself including ground control stations, data links and other support equipment. The maritime sector has the opportunity to gain extensive knowledge from numerous civil aviation uses including aerial surveying of land and crops, search and rescue operations, inspecting power lines and pipelines, monitoring wildlife and delivering medical supplies to remote or otherwise inaccessible regions. Utilizing fixed wing or rotor aircraft, the technology is usually referred to by aviation professionals as an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) in preference to the military term drone. Beneath the surface Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) operate independently of direct human input. Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) are controlled by a remote human operator and tethered by an armored umbilical cable that carries electric power, video and data. ROV technology was developed in the 1960s to perform deep sea rescue operations and recover objects from the ocean floor. The offshore oil & gas industry created work-class ROVs to assist in the development of offshore oil fields. Small Unmanned Surface Vehicles Lead The Way On the surface the COLREGS (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea) are a major and ongoing issue as mariners and legislators debate whether unmanned vessels can operate safely in the vicinity of manned vessels. While confidence is building in the wider shipping community a USV platform is required that will do minimum damage to another vessel if a collision should occur. Small, light vessels often with inflatable or foam collars, have tended to be used to prove the unmanned concept. Creating defined sea and waterway areas where unmanned vessels can operate will enable further evaluation of their capabilities. The first adopted vessels are mainly in the sub 12 meter (40 feet) range. The vessel technology is mature in this size range with numerous hull forms to choose from. The sensor technology is also mature and aviation has proved that it can be fitted into relatively small platforms then deployed over long distances. These small, lightweight vessels are flexible enough to fulfill a number of roles, plus their size and weight characteristics enable them to be easily transported by road, rail and air. Lightweight advanced materials, including composites, for hull and superstructure are likely to become the norm as this enables the onboard technology or fuel payload to be greater. Davit and crane lifting specifications plus storage space on mother vessels are important considerations that for now will keep USV dimensions similar to current deployed vessels such as ships boats. Launch and recovery is a challenge for any unmanned platform and this will be important when integrating USV activities with larger ships when underway. Launch is the easier part of the process but there is still the issue of releasing the USV and pulling away from the suction effect of the mother vessel. Recovery can result in damage from collision with the mother vessel. Potential solutions range from simple nets to sophisticated high tech capture systems. Civilian roles include surveying, scientific research and pollution response. The likelihood is that the oil and gas sector will lead the adoption of this technology. As this industry is highly regulated and risk adverse this will raise confidence for the wider maritime community. Port security is likely to expand the use of fixed location CCTV and situational awareness technology to mobile unmanned platforms that can patrol specific locations or cover large areas of a harbor on a 24/7 basis in all weathers. Military roles include Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR), target practice and mine hunting with a growing desire to explore all possibilities to keep personnel out of harm way. Unmanned Boat Design and Systems Integration The innovators of first generation USVs tended to use existing floating platforms ranging from plastic kayaks to RHIBs to accommodate bespoke electronics and controls in waterproof housings. Once command, control and communication had been proven the next generation of USV developers required bespoke craft to demonstrate task specific applications. From the naval architect and boat builders perspective there have been opportunities to adapt proven craft and for new designs which have evolved into the USVs that are available today. COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) procurement is now driving many military and government decisions, therefore the objective will be to create standardized marine platforms that can easily be adapted to carry modular technology payloads as the vessels role changes. This may include switching vessels from unmanned to manned as the task requires. As the industries of boat building and autonomous system development are so different, it is proving essential to develop strategic alliances to enable cost effective systems integration. The industry recognizes that a key enabler will be getting the systems architecture right from the start. A well designed open architecture will provide a flexible and modular system that can be expanded incrementally. U.S. based Liquid Robotics has a vision to instrument the ocean with fleets of networked, wave-powered ocean robots. Wave motion is greatest at the waters surface, decreasing rapidly with increasing depth. The Wave Gliders unique two-part architecture exploits this difference in motion to provide forward propulsion. Wave Gliders have spent over 15,000 days at sea with the longest mission covering over 9,000 nautical miles. The Liquid Robotics Open Oceans Partner Program is a global technology program designed to accelerate the creation, integration and deployment of new technologies and applications for unmanned ocean systems. Building upon the Wave Glider, the worlds first wave and solar powered ocean robot, this program offers participating partners a comprehensive suite of open integration and development tools. Gary Gysin, President and CEO of Liquid Robotics, said, We are bringing the open systems, rapid innovation model of Silicon Valley to a maritime world of special purpose systems. Working with our partners, we will create entirely new solutions for defense, commercial and scientific customers by opening up access to the world of maritime systems. Autonomous Vessels and the Ocean Environment In November 2015 a brand new Marine Robotics Innovation Centre was opened in Southampton, UK. Run by the National Oceanography Centre, the center will be will be a hub for businesses and technologists developing autonomous platforms with novel sensors that will be used to cost-effectively capture data from the worlds oceans. One of the first occupants is UK based company ASV, a leading provider of unmanned vessels with more than seventy platforms in the field globally and a wide variety of associated payloads. ASV designs, builds and operates a range of platforms for industrial, scientific and military applications worldwide. The first use of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) to perform bathymetry for updating the US nautical charts for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office) occurred in the Alaskan Arctic in the summer of 2015. Surveying alongside TerraSonds mother-vessel, the ASV collected data simultaneously on adjacent survey lines, effectively doubling the production rate. The ASV also surveyed by itself in areas too shallow and dangerous for the larger vessel to work. Tom Newman, President of TerraSond, said, This is a force-multiplier for data acquisition. Operated in a semi-autonomous mode, unmanned but supervised, one person can replace the three person crew it would normally take to operate a survey launch. It is definitely the future of seafloor mapping. Unmanned Capability Enhances Naval Operations Unmanned technology with the potential to change the face of naval operations within a decade has successfully been demonstrated for the first time by BAE Systems in partnership with ASV at a site near Portsmouth Naval Base. The new system will allow crews to carry out vital tasks such as high speed reconnaissance and remote surveillance while keeping sailors out of harms way. The technology is designed to be fitted to the RHIBs already used extensively by the Royal Navy. The modified boat is capable of operating autonomously for up to 12 hours at a time, on either a pre-planned route or via remote control. It can reach speeds in excess of 38 knots, providing unique ship-launched maneuverability and enhanced situational awareness to support the decision-making of its operators. Underpinning the systems ability to operate autonomously is its complex array of sensors, including a navigation radar, 360 degree panoramic infrared camera array and laser range finder. Dan Hook, Managing Director of ASV, said, The algorithms that we are developing with BAE Systems allow the boat to perform complex missions and navigate through waters avoiding collisions. This gives it the flexibility and sophistication to operate in a number of different tactical roles, whether its patrolling areas of interest, providing surveillance and reconnaissance ahead of manned missions, or protecting larger ships in the fleet. Les Gregory, Product and Training Services Director at BAE Systems, said, This technology delivers an extremely robust and fast-moving unmanned boat that is able to perform a number of surveillance and reconnaissance roles, even when operating at high speed or in choppy water. While other programs are primarily designed for larger, slower boats to tackle mine counter-measure scenarios, this system provides an extremely maneuverable multi-role vessel. In 2015 Atlas Elektronik UK were awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to supply an autonomous minesweeping capability to the Royal Navy. The ARCIMS mission system, based on a specially designed 11 meter (36 feet) vessel, can be operated from shore with the minimum of support or launched and recovered from an RN Hunt Class mine countermeasure vessel. These USVs will create underwater influences to detonate mines in a controlled manner. The system will include autonomous Sense & Avoid capability to enable safe operations at sea. The benefits of these modern unmanned sweeping systems are that they can safely clear sea lanes from mines therefore removing the man from the minefield. Dull, Dirty and Dangerous Tasks for Workboats US based company Sea Machines are developing unmanned work boats for a number of applications in the maritime and offshore industries. Sea Machines Autonomous Control Systems (ACS) provide algorithmic supervised autonomous control to enable unmanned operations of a vessel relative to a local base station or mother ship. The ACS is designed to perform repetitive and quantifiable marine tasks more reliably when compared to direct human control. Michael Gordon Johnson, Sea Machines CEO, likens their new control system to the advances made by Dynamic Positioning (DP), A skilled master can keep a vessel in position, but it is much easier for a computer to do it. Sea Machines system is a further advancement beyond DP. The next step is to have unmanned vessels working beyond the line of sight using satellite communications. Regarding utilising unmanned vessels for oil spill operations Johnson added, The challenge is that you never know where the spill is going to occur. Typically what happens is that boats of convenience and crews of convenience are used, which is not necessarily the most efficient outcome. Working surrounded by crude oil is absolutely miserable, it is also hazardous and can cause health problems. Creating vessels and systems that can perform dull, dirty and dangerous tasks has been a driver for many of the vessels that we have seen introduced to date. With autonomous systems highlighted as one of the most significant technologies for the future, this current crop of small unmanned vessels are only the tip of the iceberg for the maritime sector. The Author John Haynes is an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute, a Yachtmaster Ocean and Advanced Powerboat Instructor. Subject matter expertise includes high speed craft consultancy, product development and specialist training. He is Operations Director of Shock Mitigation www.shockmitigation.com and founder of the RIB & High Speed Craft Directory that brings together specialist boats and equipment for the sub IMO / sub 24 meter professional sector worldwide www.ribandhsc.com The Port of Virginia processed 219,398 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May, bringing the port to 2 percent growth in TEU volume for the calendar year and 2.6 percent growth in the fiscal year, which ends July 1. Volume for May was not as high when compared with last year, but that was anticipated, said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. We are still tracking for a very modest gain for the fiscal year and our volume expectations for the balance of the calendar year are realistic. Well end the fiscal year in positive territory and our effort will be to maintain and build upon that position as we begin to look at on-terminal construction projects that are aimed at increasing capacity one million containers -- and driving greater productivity at The Port of Virginia. The first large-scale capacity project will be to rebuild the upland operation at the South Berth of Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). Reinhart said the $350 million project will increase annual throughput capacity at NIT by 46 percent, or 696,000 TEUs In May, rail volume was up 8 percent and conversely, truck volume dipped 12.6 percent. Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT) barge traffic was up 28.6 percent and containers moving across Virginia Inland Port (VIP) were up 2.5 percent. On a fiscal-year basis (July 1 May 31) the ports rail container volume is up 9.4 percent; ship calls, up 2 percent; VIP containers up, 14 percent; RMT barge traffic up 20.5 percent; and vehicle units processed at Newport News Marine Terminal, up 11.3 percent. Wartsila welcomed cadets from the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College to its Trieste factory during the school's summer sea term Italian port stop in June. The students use the summer sea term to gain practical experience on board the SUNY Maritime training ship, the Empire State VI. Upon arrival in Trieste, the Wartsila Italy management team welcomed the group of close to 600, which in addition to the cadets, included the crew, faculty from SUNY Maritime College, as well as its president, Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis. This visit marked a return to Trieste for SUNY Maritime as the group was also hosted by Wartsila in 2013. An extensive agenda was coordinated by Wartsila and the SUNY Maritime leadership with the aim of offering the cadets the opportunity to learn first-hand how Wartsila manages its production facility. Technical presentations highlighted key topics of interest for the students, including dual-fuel technologies, Wartsila Fuel Gas Handling solutions, Wartsila's LNGPac(TM) systems, and Wartsila technical support team activities. Rear Adm. Alfultis joined the 100 students for a guided tour of the Wartsila manufacturing facility, which offered the group an up-close view of the various stages involved in assembling a Wartsila engine. The majority of the engineering cadets on the tour had earlier completed a medium speed diesel engine course, and had experience in performing maintenance work on a diesel engine. This was in part made possible by the donation of a Wartsila 26 engine to the university in 2011 for their shore side laboratory in New York City. "Over the years, Wartsila has been a generous and committed partner in giving SUNY Maritime students the hands-on training and applied learning opportunities that they will need as they enter the maritime industry," said Rear Adm. Alfultis. "Our cadets always enjoy Trieste and the chance to visit Wartsila, and I was delighted to experience it with them." "Wartsila is committed to supporting the future well-being of the maritime industry through encouraging and helping to educate its future leaders. This visit of the SUNY Maritime cadets has, therefore, been a pleasure for us to arrange. We wish the students every success in their future careers," says Aaron Bresnahan, Managing Director, Wartsila North America, Inc. In appreciation of the factory tour, Rear Adm. Alfultis hosted the Wartsila Italy management team and others from the local office on a visit aboard the Empire State VI, which included a tour of the ship. The training ship is a 565-foot, steam-powered vessel that serves as a floating laboratory during the school year when not in use for the summer sea term. The Empire State VI will return to the SUNY Maritime College campus in early August for the start of the new academic year. For the cadets, visiting the Wartsila factory in Trieste provided an insight into the skills needed for their future studies and careers in the marine industry. History comes in waves. Photo by Elisabeth Dellinger. Fragments of history are pouring through my head today. They always do when the world looks messy, and what a mess we have now. Dozens slaughtered in a Florida terrorist attack. An assassination in the UK, the first murder of an MP since The Troubles. Borderline fascist far-right parties on the rise throughout Europe. Increasingly vitriolic campaigns on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the 20th century's greatest political achievements at risk of fracturing. War and strife in Syria and Iraq, displacing more and more souls each day. Terrorism in Egypt, France, Belgium, Lebanon and Indonesia. Ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine. An economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. The drug war continually claiming casualties in Mexico. People losing faith in democratic institutions. Aspiring dictators flouting the rule of law. Human rights abuses. The entire world seems on knife's edge, in need of a timeout. As markets react, I hear people ask: Has it ever been this bad? This much, all at once? And then, I think of history-from my own life and the books I've read. And from the sad truth comes comfort: It has almost never not been this bad, yet life goes on. We wake up, go to work, live, eat, laugh, love. Businesses continue. Economies grow. Markets survive. If recent news has you feeling blue, wondering how markets could ever withstand the storm, perhaps history can lift your spirits, too. As Solomon wrote, there is nothing new under the sun. History might not repeat perfectly, but as the cliche goes, it rhymes. Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and too many others-and the related protests-are echoes of Rodney King, Eula Mae Love and Watts. Where today we have Orlando, San Bernardino and South Carolina, in the 1990s we had Columbine and 101 California. I'll never forget February 16, 1988, when as a child I stood in front of the Sunnyvale Public Library, frightened and confused as police cars tore out of the lot across the street, racing to the ESL shooting. In history class we studied the upheaval of 1968-MLK, RFK, the Chicago Seven and so much more. Where boats ferry frightened Middle Eastern refugees across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, during World War II, the boats went the other way, carrying Europeans to safety in Syria and Egypt. And surely I needn't remind you of Pan Am flight 103, Korean Air flight 007 or TWA flight 847. The settings, characters and motives change, but the basic plot doesn't. The history of the world is tragedy. But also, triumph. Triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Freedom over tyranny. Technology over toil. 400 miles north of the Watts riots, in 1965, Gordon Moore and the Intel lads were writing the future on a microprocessor. As war raged in Vietnam, Richard Branson opened his first shop. Tragedies mark our lives, giving us the where-were-you-when moments. They shape our worldview. I am who I am because I was a child of the Cold War. But over time, the good is what shapes markets. The Moores and Bransons of the world, building businesses and technology. Creating jobs and opportunities. Growing their companies and inviting investors along for the ride, to share in their spoils. It's a beautiful thing. Good times and bad are cyclical. Always have been. I was born in late 1981, during a bitter recession. Some of my earliest memories are from 1983, the Cold War's last great nuclear scare. Air raid siren tests punctuated my childhood. The Pacific Fleet patrol squadron, stationed at nearby Moffett Field, was a fixture in the sky. I was too young to watch The Day After when it first aired, but its cultural impact filtered into my universe. Before I reached age five, I had a strong sense that the world could end. But then came Morning in America! A new optimism. Yuri Andropov was out, Mikhail Gorbachev was in. Margaret Thatcher said he was a man she could do business with. That was new! Things happened. Each computer my father brought home from work did more than the last one. Ronald Reagan stood at Brandenburg Gate and told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall. Before I knew it, my mom was replacing the world map that hung by the kitchen table-the one with a massive Soviet Union dominating the upper right quadrant-with one that simply said, "Russia," with a bunch of unfamiliar shapes around it. Azerbaijan. Ukraine. Georgia. A bunch of places that ended with "stan." Poland was free. So was Romania. The iron curtain was gone, and a brave new world stood in its place. But the triumph-symbolized forever in my mind by David Hasselhoff singing at the soon-to-fall Berlin Wall-soon gave way to strife. My country went to war-the first of my lifetime-in Iraq. It ended soon, but then came the first World Trade Center bombing. Waco. Oklahoma City. World news brought me images of Rwanda and the Manchester bombing. Bosnia and the horrors of Slobodan Milosevich. The word "refugee" entered my vocabulary as displaced souls from former Yugoslavia teemed through Europe. Yet today we recall the 1990s not just for their many horrors, but for their wonders and achievements. Galloping technology. The Internet. The Good Friday Accords. Astounding growth and history's longest bull market. Judging from the numbers alone, you'd think the entire decade was one big party. But it wasn't. Until euphoria took hold at the tail end, folks were mostly of a miserable mindset, discounting the fact the good was simply more powerful, economically, than the bad. That we think so fondly of the decade today is a example of how time and distance change our perceptions. Nine months after the euphoria of the new millennium, I learned why tragedy doesn't stop the world. Early one September morning, my roommate woke me up, screaming of terrorists and airplanes. I stumbled out of bed, switched on the TV, and we watched in horror as 9/11 played out before our eyes. The second plane hit. The towers fell. The stories poured in. I'll never forget CNBC's Ron Insana reporting live, covered in ash. It felt like the world had stopped, frozen in terror forever. But it hadn't. Summer classes at UCLA weren't canceled. My part-time job beckoned. So I set my jaw, grabbed my backpack and walked across Westwood to get on with life. I clocked in and did my work. So did my colleagues and everyone at neighboring businesses. And so it went, not just for us, but for all of America. Life went on because it had to. And once we realized it could, that was that. As the records now show, the recession that began the previous March ended two months later. And so it remains. We hear of horrors, but unless our particular geography bears the brunt, our routines don't change. We go to work-creating, making, thinking, helping, serving, healing. We shop, travel, eat. That activity, that human resilience, is what powers economies through. Markets are resilient because the people who power them are resilient. Simple as that. Volatility is a constant and bear markets happen. But over time, stocks rise far more often than not because the human spirit triumphs far more often than not. Creation outlasts destruction. Remember this whenever the news gets rough. As you go about your routine, remember most of the world is doing the same, and it will keep on turning and growing, and markets will carry on. Greater Bassetts Community Market at the Bassett Train Depot brings the community together over produce, crafts, and friendship every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ruby Davis, one of the coordinators of the market said, "Were more than a farmers market; weve got a little bit of everything." At Greater Bassetts Community Market, vendors do not have to pay setup fees. "We ask for a 10 percent donation based on what was sold if people can do it, but its not required," Davis said. Wanda Motley and Fern Taylor from Handmade from the Heart set up at the market every week. Motley and Taylor, along with friend Anne Harris, handcraft cards for all occasions. "Each of us are different, and our personalities make our cards unique," Taylor said. "Its fun. Its just fun!" Karen Stout and Autumn Joyce of Stitching Post have a variety of items at their mother-daughter booth. Eight year old Joyce said that she makes "tie-dye stuff." "You get some rubber bands; then you get some dye. Then you put it on the things and squirt the rubber bands," Joyce said about the tie-dye process. "It doesnt take that long, but when youre done, you have to wait twenty-four hours." Stout who crochets, beads, and works with paracord said that Thursday was her first time setting up at the market. "I like the atmosphere and the people," Stout said. Sandra Brooks, the vendor at Bread, Cakes, and More, bakes goods like white yeast bread, pecan pies, and rolls. "I also sell miscellaneous things that people might be interesting in buying. Greater Bassetts Community Market is very good about letting us vendors bring whatever we want to sell," Brooks said. After getting compliments from her relatives about the taste of her homemade desserts, Brooks decided to start selling her creations. "I use the talents I have to share with other people," Brooks said. Dianne and Jerry Brim of The Brim Farm sell their produce at the market. "We grow all the regular vegetables squash, cucumbers, potatoes. We sold out of almost everything today," Dianne Brim said. "My favorite part about farming is riding the tractor," Jerry Brim said. Steve Stone, Vice President of disAbilities Unlimited, brought candy bars to raise money for the nonprofit organization. "Were trying to make people more aware of the disabled. Wed like to improve the community by making places more handicap accessible," Stone said. Along with advocating for updated handicapped parking signs and more wheelchair accessible ramps in front of businesses, the sale of the candy bars funds the groups annual summer picnic and Christmas party. "When we get together, we have a big time," Stone said. Amber Davis, a masseuse, sets up her massage chair at the market. "My husband was joking around one night when I was giving him a back massage and suggested I become a masseuse. That sparked an interest, and I looked into it. I graduated from PHCCs massage therapy program and started working about a year ago at Primland," Davis said. Currently, Davis is looking into starting a massage therapy business, Knead to Relax, in her home. Bob Tuggle of Tuggle Farms brings his homemade preserves and salsa to the market. "When I retired, I wanted to do something different," Tuggle said. "I grow some of the fruits in the preserves on my farm, and I get a lot of the ingredients for my salsa from Windy Ridge Farm in Martinsville. If I dont grow it, I buy it from local farmers." Although Tuggle makes typical flavors of preserves, he also makes preserves with a twist, like his champagne strawberry preserves. Selling at the market for four years, Tuggle looks forward to setting up his booth every week. "These are good people to work with," Tuggle said. Like Tuggle, who shops locally for his ingredients, Jay Coburn shops at small businesses for his everyday needs. "Not only is this the closest place I can come, but this is also where I can get the freshest food," Coburn said. "And the prices are great, too." Clara and Joey Craig, who have been married for 59 years, enjoy their weekly date to Greater Bassetts Community Market. "We buy and come to meet our friends and fellowship. All these people have become our friends," Clara Craig said. One of Clara Craigs friends, Pakssi Foley, is a vendor at the market. Foley sells plants and crocheted hats. "Thats a hardworking girl," Clara Craig said about Foley. "My love for crocheting started when I crocheted for my children," Foley said. "But my real passion is for plants. I love when hummingbirds, bluebirds, and finches visit my flowers." Arthur Spencer, a farmer at a local, family owned farm, had success at the market on Thursday. "I sold a truckload of beets this morning," Spencer said. In addition to beets, Spencer grows potatoes, cabbage, corn, squash, cucumbers and hot peppers. Judy and Larry Foley of Foleys Farm in Horsepasture also set up at the market. "We have chickens on our farm, too, so we sell a lot of eggs and veggies," Judy Foley said. My husband does a lot of the work; I do the picking and coming to the market." Lisa Iten sells her crafts both at the market and at Junk Babies in Martinsville, a store owned by Emily Hughes. Itens items at her booth known as Emerald City Treasures include scraps of various materials that the crafter recreates into different items. "Everything I have is made out of something people would normally have thrown away," Iten said. Lisa Watlington, who owns Our Daily Bread and So Much More, bakes, cans, and makes crafts. "I have been in the kitchen since I can remember with my grandmother, but my dad actually taught me how to cook," Watlington said. Annie Washburn also enjoys cooking. At her booth, Grandmas Homemade Goodies, she sells pies and cakes. "I make everything from scratch. Ive been baking for years," Washburn said. "I enjoy when people say they like it; that picks me up." Shirley Walker makes dishcloths, grocery bag holders, and hand towels that hook onto stoves and refrigerators. "I like making these while Im watching TV because I cant just sit still; Ive got to be doing something," Walker said. Pat Coleman, who owns Pats Treats for Pets, noticed that no vendors were selling treats for the furry friends, so she decided to start a booth. "Pets are our little babies, so weve got to treat them, too," Coleman said. "The cheesy and peanut butter treats are furry fan favorites, and dogs eat the sweet potato jerky like potato chips." James Ridgeways booth had a variety of different items ranging from sunglasses to snack foods to adult coloring books. "I bring new items here for the community at a lower cost," Ridgeway said. Sherry McCoy, who mans Sherrys Delights, sells homemade cakes, cupcakes, candies, jams, jellies, relishes, and pies. McCoy also sells homemade ice cream. Popular ice cream flavors include vanilla, chocolate peanut butter cup, strawberry, peach, and cherry. "Ive been baking ever since I was in high school. I took baking classes for three years in high school. Its been a twenty-five year passion," McCoy said. Jane McCoy, Sherry McCoys sister-in-law, sells cakes, jellies, and pickles. Charles Stegall, who vends as Charles Walking Sticks, makes walking sticks out of limbs he finds in nature. His favorite sticks have natural grooves in them where vines have wrapped around the tree over the years. "People ask me, Did you do that? No, God did that," Stegall said. However, Stegall does add designs into the walking sticks. "I do wood burning. I write Bible verses, names, anything people want," Stegall said. Outside of the market, Jack Gralow sets up his hotdog cart, Grampys Dawgs, every Thursday. Jo Anne Philpott, one of the managers at Greater Bassetts Community Market, said that Gralows hotdogs are "the best around." "I have dozens of repeat customers. They cant get them as good anywhere else," Gralow said. "I use all name brands, and I dont skimp on anything." LIV BRIAN WILSON MOLNAR.JPG Brian Wilson performs at The Calvin Theater in Northampton in 1999. Photo by David Molnar. (DAVID MOLNAR) Boston Beach Boys fans, rejoice: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh proclaimed Friday, June 17 will be "Pet Sounds Day" in the commonwealth's capital. Walsh posted the declaration on Twitter. Hear ye - tmrw is #PetSounds50 from the @TheBeachBoys & Boston has proclaimed it Pet Sounds Day cc: @BostonSymphony pic.twitter.com/q5r9OX6y6s Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) June 16, 2016 The holiday, the proclamation said, is in honor of the album's 50th anniversary, which Wilson is celebrating with a world tour. Wilson will perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall on Friday, June 17, and Saturday, June 18. This is not the first time Boston's mayor has declared a citywide holiday in celebration of a pop culture staple. In 2015, April 9 was proclaimed "Riot Grrrl Day" in celebration of Kathleen Hanna, Aug. 1 became "Stan Lee Day" and October 10 was declared "Patti Smith Day." WESTFIELD Hundreds of hand-printed posters featuring a riot of color and design by some of the most prominent poster artists in the U.S. will be on display in Westfield next month. No, not that NPR. We're talking about the other NPR: The National Poster Retrospecticus, an "internationally traveling poster show" that prides itself on showing its work in venues as varied as "bombed out basements" and "fancy art galleries" to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (Hello, Cleveland!), Adobe headquarters in San Jose, and even Austin's hip SXSW festival. Westfield is about to join the long list of places that have hosted NPR shows, thanks to the handiwork of local designer Susie Howard, Westfield born and bred. After attending a past NPR show in Northampton, Howard was blown away by the experience. "This is awesome," the Westfield State University graduate said in an interview with The Republican, recalling her reaction to the show. "Floor to ceiling, plastered with posters," she said. And we're not talking about fuzzy, black-velvet rock posters from the 1970s (Zeppelin, Kiss, Skynyrd, et al.). We're talking Wilco, The Roots, Calexico, Phish, Death Cab for Cutie, The Head and the Heart, Gotye, the Black Keys, and many more current musical acts. "After that show, I think it just stuck with me for a while," said Howard, owner of Walton Read, a local branding and graphic design company. Howard, who's beyond passionate about design and dogs reached out to John P. Boilard, aka JP Boneyard, NPR's producer, art director, designer and curator, who also happens to be a hometown kid from Palmer. Boilard agreed to do a one-night show on July 15, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Westfield's Rinnova Building, 105 Elm St. "It's been awesome teaming up with our new friend Susie Howard, who extended the invite to visit Westfield," he said. "She's done everything from book the venue to help raise funds to make the event happen. Her passion for design and her community is inspiring to say the least." Howard credits Boilard for being so receptive to the idea. "I knew that I could kind of appeal to him," she said. "It is John's event, but I requested that it to come to Westfield, so we've both worked hard together to bring it here." She said it took "over a year of back and forth" to bring the show to Westfield, including lining up local sponsors like Westfield Bank, Avalanche Landscape Design, Two Rivers Burrito Co., Rocky's Ace Hardware, and Mina's Wine & Spirits. "It's something I'm really really excited to see come to life," Howard said. Boilard is equally enthused. "We're stoked to follow up the excitement of our 2015 tour," he said. "We've traveled to big cities all over North America, but nothing beats being back home and experiencing the show with friends and family in Massachusetts." The show will feature work by such well-known poster artists Aaron Draplin and Jay Ryan and locals like Daniel Danger and Nate Duval . Boilard, a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, got his start setting up music events and screen-printing posters in his hometown of Palmer. "I've always loved a good challenge and I take pride in my craft," he said. "I'm a firm believer that if you work hard, have faith in what you're doing and remain honest with yourself and others, you can't go wrong." owen1.jpg Twelve-year-old Owen Foley has gone missing from his residence in Georgia, Vermont, according to authorities. Anyone with any information should contact the Vermont State Police. (Vermont State Police photo) GEORGIA, VT A twelve-year-old boy has gone missing from his home in Georgia, Vermont, according to Vermont State Police. Owen Foley was last seen near his residence in the area of Ballard Rd and Rt 7 near exit 18, around noon, on Thursday, according to police. A number of agencies are said to be involved in investigating the boy's disappearance, including the Georgia Fire Department, the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue, and the Vermont Army National Guard. Anyone with any information on Foley's whereabouts should contact the Vermont State Police at (802) 524-5993, or dial 911 if information can be provided. Rare is the occasion when an honored speaker delivering a keynote address chastises the audience. But if anyone deserves the right to do so on any issue, it is Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the matter of Americas ignorance about Islamic-supremacist ideologyignorance on display again this week, in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre, when American liberals have argued for gun control rather than jihad control. The moment occurred during the New Criterions Edmund Burke Award Gala honoring Ali for her conspicuous contributions to the defense of civilization. Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, asked the audience if it knew what Sharia was. Many hands rose. Ali then asked if the audience knew what jihad was. Practically every hand shot up. Finally, she asked how many knew what dawa was. Only a few hands went up. Ali responded: And there you get a smattering of hands. You see, this is it. Almostwhat?15 years from 9/11 . . . a decade-and-a-half, and most Americans and most Europeans know what jihad is, but they dont know what dawa is. And if you dont know what dawa isthe process of Islamization, the strategy of Islamization, what leads to jihadthen you will never be able to understand jihad. You do not understand the threat of the day if you do not know what dawa is. And here we areIm in a setting . . . in the companionship of friends, conservatives, people who care about the idea of Americaand you do not understand, you do not know what dawa is. You dont know what the competing idea is. You are honoring me and I am thankful, but I almost want to say to all of you who do not know what dawa is, Shame on you. . . . Do you know why I want to say shame on you? Because if you look back in history when our fathers and grandfathers and our ancestors were confronted with bad ideas, and we read those history books and . . . we sit there and we think: How did they not see it? How could they not know it? How didnt you know what Hitler was up to? Well, you may not have known it in the 1930s, but then in the early 1940s you should have known it! And here we are in the information age, and we dont know it. If you dont know your enemy, you cant hope to defeat him. Our enlightened Washington theologians tell us that non-Muslims have no right to speculate as to the nature of Islambut they simultaneously declare Islam a religion of peace that has been hijacked and perverted by nihilists. Perhaps we should put less stock in politically correct Islamic exegesis and listen instead to Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She spent her formative years living under Sharia in Africa and the Middle East, where she joined the Muslim Brotherhood. As is the custom in many such locales, she was subjected to female genital mutilation. Rather than submit to an arranged marriage in Canada, Ali escaped to the Netherlands, where she applied for political asylum. She won a seat in the Dutch parliament. In effect, she reasoned her way out of the Islamic-supremacist ideology once she arrived in the West by comparing the teachings of the core Islamic texts to those of the Western canon, which she found far superior. Today, Ali lives under the threat of death from her former coreligionists. She is protected by around-the-clock security. For her unwillingness to accept a Western progressives distorted vision of Islam, she is censured and often censored. It must baffle Ali that, even as she speaks in defense of Western civilization, her fellow Westerners often seem to reject the principle of free speech. I had the privilege of interviewing Ali prior to the Burke gala. She told me that she doesnt wish to be treated as a hero. Speaking the truth, she said, ought to be the norm rather than the exception. She was troubled by the Wests lack of confidence in its own ideas. Free expression, she said, is the great deterrent to the global jihad. In her devotion to classical liberal ideals and her willingness to die in defense of them, Ali is in many ways more American than those who were born here. She sought to become an American citizen because she studied intently and embraced wholeheartedly the American Idea. America is more than a landmass; it is an exceptional belief system that enables human flourishing. Islamic supremacism is not only incompatible with America but also seeks its destruction. Ayaan Hirsi Alis life is a testament to the notion that ideas matter, and great ideas are worth defending. If America is to remain the last, best hope on Earth, we must heed her words. Photo by Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images John Brennan CIA Director John Brennan made a statement on Thursday about ISIS and their probable future plans for attacks on the U.S. and the West. (The Associated Press) The terrorist organization known as the Islamic State is most likely planning future attacks on the West and the U.S., according to CIA Director John Brennan. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," said Brennan during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, on Thursday, according to CNN. Indeed, despite the fact that multiple media outlets say ISIS has suffered significant losses in territory and leadership over the past several months, the group still seems capable of motivating dangerous people of swearing allegiance to their cause. The Orlando "shooter," Omar Mateen, allegedly swore allegiance to the group on the day that he entered a gay nightclub and killed 49 people, according to NPR. The CIA Director also noted that terrorism isn't necessarily an expensive pursuit, making it a fairly durable operation. "The resources needed for terrorism are very modest," Brennan said, during his statement. "The group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly." Brennan also warned that he believed the group would "intensify" its efforts, even as they continue to lose territory and manpower. "As the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda," said Brennan. Part of the Islamic State's strategy may be to use people already in the West to initiate attacks, according to Brennan. "We judge that ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks," Brennan said. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel." page ax.jpg Springfield firefighters and police work to free a woman who was trapped in a car in an accident Friday morning on Page Boulevard. (Photo by Brittany Decker / Western Mass News ) SPRINGFIELD - Two drivers were injured, one seriously, in a two-car head-on collision at Page Boulevard and St. James Boulevard, just before 9 a.m., according to a fire official. Deputy Fire Chief Ralph Guyer said firefighters needed to extricate one of the drivers, a woman whose name was not released, with Jaws of Life hydraulic equipment. She was taken to Baystate Medical Center by ambulance and is believed to have suffered serious injuries, he said. The other driver was treated at the scene, he said. She did not require hospitalization. The accident forced the closing of St. James and Page until the scene could be cleared. The road is open now. The accident remains under investigation by Springfield police. FRAMINGHAM Officials say a Framingham probation officer is alleged to have given a woman a firearm in exchange for sex, according to The Boston Globe. Paul F. Collins, 62, who is an associate probation officer for the Framingham district court, has been accused of giving a woman a handgun on the condition that she have sex with him. Police say that the same weapon was later recovered during an investigation into a suspected drug dealer, and that the woman involved with Collins had exchanged the firearm for drugs, according to the paper. Collins pleaded not guilty to four charges at his arraignment in Framingham district court. The charges included trafficking in firearms, carrying a firearm without a license, conspiracy, and possession of ammunition without a license. Collins' attorney has allegedly defended his client by saying that "little links him" to the case other than the woman's accusation of his involvement. Coria Holland, spokeswoman for the Framingham probation department, says Collins has been placed on administrative leave, according to the paper. 403 Forbidden 403 Forbidden Code: AccessDenied Message: Access Denied RequestId: 313F1ECDC533E473 HostId: /Jzuhs8a9CL89c6H2N+n0jjY1oGM0ZfVqFF6FSJ3A+Crimg5vtqOeYIhc/9NdmrO3lW386L+XkM= An Error Occurred While Attempting to Retrieve a Custom Error Document Code: AccessDenied Message: Access Denied MOUNT TABOR, Vt. -- A stolen dog named Fred was safely recovered Thursday from an encampment where the annual gathering of the Rainbow Family of the Living Light is being held, state police said. Fred, a 1-year-old terrier mix, was stolen from the Rutland County Humane Society early Thursday afternoon, state police said. An investigation, conducted by state police with assistance of the Rutland County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Forestry Service, led to the Mount Tabor Federal Forest, scene of what's known as the Rainbow Gathering, where they found the dog. Melanie Vangel, 20, of Camden, Maine, was issued a citation to appear in Rutland Superior Court, Criminal Division, on July 25 to answer the charge of petite larceny. Vermont Public Radio reported that more than 10,000 people are expected to attend the Rainbow Gathering, which will be held near Mount Tabor during the week of July 4. The Rainbow Gathering is a one- to two-week encampment, according to NPR. Attendees build kitchens and medical tents, play music and offer workshops. Attendees are already starting to gather there. Gretchen Goodman, executive director of the Rutland County Humane Society, said Fred, tired and hungry following his big adventure, was clearly happy to be back in his own kennel Thursday night. "I have never seen a dog run as fast into his kennel as Fred did," Goodman said. Fred, before his alleged theft, was in the process of being adopted. Since his safe return, a number of other people have made inquiries about adopting him as well, Goodman said. "Fred is as good as adopted," she said, adding that the facility has "lots more dogs" available. greenfield town hall.jpg Greenfield Town Hall (Mary Serreze photo) GREENFIELD -- Police are investigating after town officials received a series of emails containing racist Photoshopped images of At-Large Town Councilor Penny Ricketts, who is black. According to the Greenfield Recorder, Ricketts said one of the photographs, taken of her at a vigil for victims of the Orlando massacre, was altered to show her with a watermelon under her arm. Another, taken of her at a Human Rights Commission meeting, showed Ricketts with a lip plate such as those worn by women in certain African tribes. The third showed Ricketts with her head superimposed on a line of African women, naked from the waist up, with a caption "Republic of the Congo, Graduating Class, 1968." Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh said his department is trying to determine who sent the emails, and called the matter a potential hate crime. Rickets delivered a statement at Wednesday's Town Council meeting, saying, "If this act of cowardice is meant to silence me, I will only speak louder now." She said she wasn't sure whether to go public, but decided to step forward, saying, "It's not a time to hide; it's not a time to be, 'Oh, woe is me' or whatever. I am who I am, I'm black." Rickets posted the following statement on Facebook: Ricketts, also a member of the town's Human Rights Commission, has been speaking out publicly against prejudice and bullying, and recently drafted a "resolution of respect," which was adopted unanimously by the Town Council on Wednesday. "Our goal is to create an inclusive community by promoting unity and respect, and empower businesses and people to reduce bullying, name-calling and other expressions of bias," the resolution reads. "Greenfield has no place for hate." The news comes days after the Human Rights Commission heard from a pair of Hope Street business owners who said their employees were the targets of anti-Semitic harassment. NORTHAMPTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren's endorsement of Hillary Clinton has sparked more backlash in Northampton -- this time in the form of roadside graffiti. On Sunday, a small crowd of Bernie Sanders supporters dressed in black and demonstrated silently as Warren delivered a speech at the World War II club, in outrage over Warren's support for Clinton. And now, graffiti reading "#JudasWarren Sellout" in large red letters marks a concrete structure on Route 5 just before the entrance to I-91. Warren, long hailed by the Democratic party's left wing as one of the caucus' strongest progressive voices, endorsed Clinton following her victory in the California primary -- a result that granted Clinton a majority of the pledged delegates in the race and established her as the party's presumptive nominee. But while the Massachusetts Senator has proven willing to jump into the campaign fray, launching public broadsides on Twitter against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, she had largely stayed quiet on the Democratic race prior to her endorsement of Clinton. Jamie Guerin, a Sanders supporter and organizer of Sunday's demonstration, said that while she supported Warren's positions she felt betrayed by her endorsement of Clinton. "A lot of us are very disappointed," Guerin said on Sunday. "We were kind of shocked that she didn't step up and endorse Bernie Sanders sooner before the Massachusetts primary." In the same interview, Guerin said the demonstration outside Warren's speech was not a personal attack against her. After the group met and spoke with Warren after her speech, Guerin said. "[The graffiti is] nothing that I'm a part of, or anybody in my group is a part of," Guerin added Friday. "That's nothing that we would do to get our message across the Elizabeth Warren." Both Sanders' campaign and Warren's office did not return requests for comment prior to publication. Northampton Police Capt. John Cartledge said he was not aware of any complaints about the graffiti, but would send an officer to take a report. #JudasWarren, the Twitter hashtag included in the graffiti, includes Sanders supporters displaying anger and disappointment about Warren's endorsement while describing her as a sellout and a backstabber. This is why @elizabethforma is now #JudasWarren and should take her 30 coins of silver and leave. #Turncoathttps://t.co/5bVbINyPv7 #DumpTheSpeaker (@BernBrigade) June 14, 2016 Sanders has left open the possibility of taking his campaign to the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia in late July, despite Clinton's pledged delegate lead and a survey showing overwhelming superdelegate support for her candidacy. Sanders met with Clinton Tuesday night and promised to help defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in the general election, but has not dropped out of the race or endorsed her. Before her speech on Sunday, which focused on income inequality, Warren expressed grief over the mass shooting that morning at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, which claimed the lives of 49 victims during a Latin night. She declined to comment on the Sanders demonstrators outside, saying it was not a time for campaign chatter. "There will be other chances to talk about politics," Warren said. The Supreme Court decided Thursday that the Department of Veterans Affairs must set aside more contracts to be filled by veteran-owned small businesses. By Robert Barnes Full Story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/high-court-says-law-requires-more-contracts-for-veteran-owned-small-businesses/2016/06/16/170399aa-33ef-11e6-95c0-2a6873031302_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-business%3Ahomepage%2Fcard State regulators voted Thursday to allow NorthWestern Energy to temporarily negotiate contracts with companies that propose building solar energy projects in Montana, rather than paying the set rate that the utility complained was too high. "Our action today to protect NorthWestern Energys customers from unreasonably priced solar power is a compromise that still allows solar energy development to continue across the state," PSC Chairman Brad Johnson said in a statement. Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/regulators-suspend-required-rate-for-new-solar-projects/article_b310ccc9-e908-5df5-b526-f666b33aaf0a.html Les ministres du gouvernement ont pris note que le Securities (Collective Investment Schemes and Closed-end Funds) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 sera promulgue, la hausse des licences pour les diffuseurs de Subscription Television Broadcasting Licence, de lamendement du Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017, des travaux dembelissement de Gros Bois a Nouvelle France, du lancement prochain du Youth Ambassador Programme ainsi qu;un don de Usd 25,000 au Malawi touche par la depression tropicale Ana. 1. Cabinet has taken note that the Securities (Collective Investment Schemes and Closed-end Funds) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 would be promulgated. The Securities Act was amended in 2021, inter alia, with respect to Investment Funds. Amendments are being made to the Regulations to align the existing Regulations with the Securities (Amendment) Act 2021 and to cater for an appropriate regulatory framework to allow other securities exchanges as well as clearing and settlement facilities to operate in Mauritius. 2. Cabinet has taken note that the Board of the Independent Broadcasting Authority has approved an upward revision of the annual licence fee of holders of Subscription Television Broadcasting Licence from Rs2M to 0.25 percent of their Gross Annual turnover figures or Rs2M, whichever is the higher. The Independent Broadcasting Authority (Licence Fees) Regulations 2002 would be amended to reflect the above revised fees. The Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation on 01 June 2022. The new rates would be applicable as from 01 July 2022. 3. Cabinet has agreed to the Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Regulations 2017 being amended in order to allow companies holding a Premium Investor Certificate issued by the Economic Development Board to import second-hand motor vehicles for the purpose of exhibition and display only, without the requirement of an import permit. 4. Cabinet has taken note of the commencement of greening and embellishment works from Gros Bois to Nouvelle France along the Motorway M2 in line with recommendations made under the consultancy services for the preparation of a Masterplan for greening and embellishment of Motorways M1 and M2 from the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport to Grand Baie roundabout, commissioned by the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change in year 2021. The objectives of this project are, inter alia, to implement a sustainable state-of-the-art landscaping project along the Motorways, which would enhance the driving experience of road users while contributing to the greenhouse gas sink capacity of Mauritius. 5. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation would launch a new programme to be called the Youth Ambassador Programme. The objectives of the Youth Ambassador Programme would be : (a) to provide a platform for the youth to be represented thereby promoting youth empowerment; and (b) to help in the dissemination of information related to government policies, programmes, events, activities, legislation especially to other youngsters. A group of 10 young people aged between 17 to 25 years old coming from different parts of the country and representative of the Mauritian population has been designated as Youth Ambassadors. In their capacity as Ambassadors, and on a voluntary basis, these youngsters would, inter alia : (i) collect information pertaining to policies, programmes, events, activities, and legislation, amongst others, from Ministries and Departments; (ii) be active on social media platform (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) and the media by posting and sharing information relevant to the youth; (iii) communicate with other youngsters through social media platforms and collect feedbacks on ideas; and (iv) attend national youth events throughout the year. The Youth Ambassadors would be expected to hold an annual conference on 12 August each year to mark the International Youth Day. 6. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Permit and Licences Fast Track and Facilitation Committee for Renewable Energy projects at the level of the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities with a view to ensuring the timely implementation of such projects in order to meet the renewable energy targets set by Government by year 2030. The Terms of Reference of the Permit and Licences Fast Track and Facilitation Committee are, inter alia, to : (a) identify the bottlenecks hindering the issuing of licences and permits for Renewal Energy project and facilitate the processing of application expeditiously; (b) take up the matter with the relevant stakeholders for EIA licence, Land Conversation Permit, Planning Clearance, Way Leave and Building and Land Use Permit; (c) develop guidelines and timelines to facilitate the application for Permits and Licences; (d) hold bilateral meetings with the promoters; and (e) refer major bottlenecks in project implementation to the Fast Track Committee with proposals to address same. 7. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius approaching the United States, through its Inland Revenue Service (IRS), to become an approved jurisdiction for the purpose of the IRS Qualified Intermediary programme. Under the US tax law (Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act FATCA), a person who makes a payment of certain US-sourced income such as interest, dividends and royalties to a foreign person is required to deduct 30 percent, or such other lower amount as applicable, as withholding tax from the payment, and remit same to the IRS together with relevant supporting documentation. In 2001, the IRS established the Qualified Intermediary programme. The objective of the programme is to streamline and simplify the withholding tax payments and tax information reporting process in respect of US-sourced income made to a foreign person. In order for an entity based in Mauritius to be entitled to submit an application under the Qualified Intermediary programme, there is a need for Mauritius to be first designated as an Approved Jurisdiction for the programme by the IRS. 8. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) on the organisation of the ADEA 2022 Triennale. The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding is to provide a legal framework and define the responsibilities of the Parties to prepare and organise the ADEA 2022 Triennale in Mauritius from 19 to 21 October 2022. The main objective of the ADEA 2022 Triennale is to foster continental, regional and cross-country interactions in support of peer learning and knowledge exchange around Africas key educational priorities in its quest to build back better resilient education systems for the Continent. 9. Cabinet has agreed to Government making a symbolic donation of USD25,000, as a gesture of solidarity, to Malawi which was badly affected by tropical storm Ana. 10. Cabinet has agreed to the review of the age limit for entry in the Public Service for Medical Specialists and other professionals in strategic positions from 40 to 50 years. The age limit for entry in the Public Service would be reviewed for all grades except for Workmans Group, from 40 to 45 years. For grades requiring a postgraduate degree together with years of post-qualification experience as core qualification, the age limit would be increased from 40 to 50 years. 11. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness in the context of the commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed on 26 June. The theme for this year is Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises. The Ministry of Health and Wellness would, inter alia : (a) launch a Methadone Day Care/Residential Rehabilitation Centre for Women Who Use Drugs at Brown Sequard Mental Health Care Centre on 02 July 2022; (b) launch the National Electronic Register of patients of the Methadone Day Care Centres at the Mahebourg Methadone Day Care Centre; (c) launch a Capacity Building Programme for Prison Officers; and (d) hand over videos used in the context of Mass Media/Social Media Campaign against synthetic and other drugs to the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, to be used in educational institutions for sensitisation and awareness of in-school youth regarding substance abuse. 12. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms to mark the UN Public Service Day, observed on 23 June 2022. The theme for this year is Building Back Better from COVID-19 Enhancing Innovative Partnerships to Meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Ministry would organise the following activities : (a) a workshop on 23 June 2022 which would focus on the evolution of the Public Service since Independence, the future of Public Service in the post COVID-19 era and the role and contribution of public institutions and public servants in building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic; and (b) welfare activities, namely domino and scrabble tournaments and quiz and essay competitions by the Public Officers Welfare Council. 13. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage would participate in the celebration of the 8th International Day of Yoga on 21 June 2022 from 0830 hours to 0930 hours being organised by the High Commission of India in Mauritius on the wharf near the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site at Trou Fanfaron, Port-Louis, together with the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. The programme would be livestreamed around the world and would further the promotion of Mauritius as a cultural destination. 14. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. Some 542.5 million cases have been reported globally, of which 517.9 million persons have been successfully treated. With regard to Mauritius, as at 15 June 2022, there were 169 active cases of COVID-19, out of which 14 were admitted at the New ENT Hospital. Over the period 9 to 15 June 2022, one death was attributed to COVID-19. 15. Cabinet has agreed to the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) holding its 18th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials in Mauritius from 11 to 13 October 2022. ARLAC is an international organisation which was set up jointly by the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Development Programme in 1974 for the development of labour administration in Africa. The mandate of ARLAC is to strengthen labour administration systems in Member countries. Around 60 delegates from 19 countries, including Mauritius, are expected to participate in the meeting. 16. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the participation of the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting and the International Economic Forum on Africa held recently. The Secretary General of the OECD highlighted that, despite all difficulties arising from the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, countries should remain focused on structural reforms such as securing the green transition to reach net zero emissions, optimising the digital transformation, responding to the challenges posed by population ageing and rebuilding fiscal buffers and resilience. He emphasised that these reforms can be achieved through effective global cooperation. The Minister attended the session chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy on international tax challenges arising from an increasingly digitalised and globalised world economy. He also attended events held in the margins of the Ministerial meeting where discussions were held around the topics of Building resilient value chains for Africa and OECD and Africa: A future together. The Minister was also invited to intervene as a speaker on a panel How can Africa become the next investment frontier? as part of the 21st International Economic Forum on Africa. During his intervention, he elaborated on the difficulties Mauritius encountered during the pandemic with regard to the closure of borders and on how Mauritius managed to get back on a recovery path. 17. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the online participation of the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, as Speaker in the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-21) in the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable organised by International Telecommunication Union. The WTDC-21, which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 06 to 16 June 2022 provided Member States and other key stakeholders, a platform to engage in high-level discussions around the challenges and opportunities related to digital development, to make concrete pledges and forge new partnerships. The theme for this year WTDC-21 was Connecting the unconnected to achieve sustainable development. The main areas of the intervention of the Minister in the Roundtable included, among others, the following : (a) elaborating on the position of Mauritius with regard to digital development in an inclusive manner; (b) digitalisation as the key to economic development and its importance in the delivery of services; (c) sharing data on internet coverage, broadband penetration percentage, mobile penetration and Fibre to the Home; and (c) launching of 5G technology in Mauritius. 18. Cabinet has taken note of the constitution of the National Environment Cleaning Board with Mr M.G. Bruno Lebreux as part-time Chairperson. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, June 16, 2016 Millennials are leading a trend to get news stories through social media -- and that means that in more than one in two instances, they don't even notice the brand the news come from. In Korea and Japan, where using social for news is more established, the news brand is only recognised in one in four stories consumed. As social aggregation of news becomes more common, and Facebook is used in one in two cases of news sharing on social, it is clear that news brands will struggle to stand out. In fact, it's the one of the points made clear in the latest research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. In a world where Millennials are already saying social is more important a news source than television, it is inevitable that headlines will attract -- as will advice from a friend to read the story -- but the brand name is being pushed way back into the background. advertisement advertisement Interestingly, the study confirms that more than half of all respondents of all ages are now receiving news on their mobile device -- way above tablet use, which has waned. In just a couple of years, the tablet has declined in value, and so too has the importance place to tv news. Instead we have a mobile-first world where content is being shared through social. There is some relatively good news for brands in that the majority of the content being consumed through social is still from the large, well-known news groups. However, you only have to look at the huge rise of sites such as YouTube and BuzzFeed to get an idea of how quickly digital organisations can become news disruptors. For news brands there are several hurdles here. They have to rely on people using their home page as a destination. People, particularly younger consumers, simply don't go to a brand for news nearly as much as older generations did. So news brands are less in control of who comes to them. Instead, it's up to regular readers to share content and for the news brand to have a large enough organic reach on social media to get noticed. This, of course, coincides with one in seven now having installed an ad blocker -- which puts a very large spanner in the works when it comes to publishers making money -- and that proportion looks to be only set to increase. As for subscriptions, well, the UK in particular is at the bottom of an international league table on willingness to pay for news. Just 7% of the online population in the UK are willing to pay for news -- and when they do, they spend around 82 per year. If you're looking internationally to improve subscription rates, you may find it difficult because no English-speaking country has a proportion of people paying for digital content above 10%. So less than one in ten are willing to pay for content and at least one in seven are blocking ads. It's a perfect storm for publishers as reach with readers extends into social networks where they exert little control and get little brand recognition at the same time that people are unwilling to pay for content, yet are increasingly reluctant to accept ads as well. If any publisher reading this has yet to realise that this means the future must be native, they might as well leave the building now. This column was originally published in the London Blog on June 15, 2016. by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 16, 2016 A vacuum cleaner brand is just about the only brand in the world that -- day after day, year after year -- strives to truly suck at what they do because, you know, vacuums are supposed to...OK, OK, I beat that one to death. Anyway, Electrolux North America has announced an agency review "to better align with changing consumer behaviors and position the company at the forefront of marketing innovation." Of the review, Electrolux North America SVP of Marketing John Weinstock said, "This review is part of a long-term goal to ensure we have the right partners and agency structure in place to achieve our aggressive growth goals and to better engage consumers with the Electrolux and Frigidaire brands." The review aims to "evaluate the industry's strongest practices, resources and agencies to determine a structure that will best deliver a remarkable 360 consumer experience." The f*ck? Why can't people just say what they mean? How about try, "We want to sell more sh*t." That works succinctly, doesn't it? advertisement advertisement Prattling on about a brand that sucks crumbs off the floor as if it delivered some kind of nirvana which placed you in a constant state or orgasm, Weinstock added, "As a company, Electrolux strives to be at the forefront of innovation and design. We intend for our full marketing approach to reflect our company's vision, products, and commitment to serving our consumers. We also want to enhance the experience consumers have with their products and that starts by engaging them in a powerful and meaningful experience across all brand touch points." Electrolux will be working with The Burnett Collective to manage the review. If you think you can turn a brand into some kind of halcyon moment, you can contact The Burnett Collective at 917.789.6820 (New York) or 310.928.3320 (Los Angeles). And yes, Electrolux does make more than vacuums but still. It's an appliance brand. by Tobi Elkin @tobielkin, June 17, 2016 Chocolate by Vdopia, a global programmatic platform for mobile video advertising, on Thursday said it launched a partnership with Pixalate, a provider of fraud protection and data intelligence, to integrate a pre-bid fraud prevention capability using Pixalate data. The deal will focus on Chocolate by Vdopia's proprietary ifilter technology, which filters auctions in the marketplace to match active demand with quality supply. The benefits for demand partners include higher win bid ratios and reduced infrastructure costs, according to Chocolate by Vdopia. The ifilter technology allows Chocolate to optimize the performance of its marketplace and scale globally, while keeping high quality supply, stated Giuseppe Di Mauro, SVP of engineering, Chocolate by Vdopia. Mobile video is one of the fastest growing segments in programmatic media, and the ifilter technology is considered one step toward fraud prevention. "We've enhanced our ifilter product to be able to integrate with industry leading partners like Pixalate to enable us to better serve our advertising partners and help our publishers," stated Martin Price, SVP of product. advertisement advertisement Pixalate's fraud-protection technology suite was built specifically to combat mobile ad fraud and block non-human traffic in mobile apps and devices, according to Jalal Nasir, CEO, Pixalate. Vdopia Inc. is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Fremont, CA, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, India, and Australia. by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, June 17, 2016 They may look cute and innocent (as gummy bears almost always do), but the stars of The Real Gummies of the Black Forest (#RGOTBF) are wont to gossip about neighbors, argue among themselves, and make thinly veiled allusions to sex, nudity and plastic surgery. The digital reality series 3D CGI videos created by Chicago-based Tom, Dick & Harry Creative Co. is the first national campaign for Ferrara Candy Companys Black Forest Organic brand, launched late last year. The candies are the first nationally available USDA-certified organic confections, Jill Manchester, SVP marketing and brand strategy for Ferrara, tells Marketing Daily. The company recognized an opportunity for confections to achieve a 5% to 10% share of the overall organic food category, which hit $39 billion in retail sales in 2014 and is growing at 15% annually. Looking to pioneer the estimated $400-million market for non-chocolate organic confections, Ferrara invested $25 million to create an organic infrastructure, and will spend $10 million to market them during 2016, according to Manchester. advertisement advertisement So far, its looking like a good bet. The line is off to a monumental start, driving new users to the category at a rate seven times greater than other new non-chocolate confections, Manchester reports. Its also currently driving 17% of gummy peg-bag growth and ranking in the top 25% of all non-chocolate pegged items. And repeat purchase rates are 2.8 times higher than those for other organic snacks. The campaign is designed to appeal to the lines core consumer target: female Millennials (ages 25 to 34) who lead healthy lifestyles, and opt for gummies when they allow themselves a treat. These thoughtful candy enthusiasts are heavy consumers of reality TV, as well as digital video and social media. The reality concept also ties into the totally real (no artificial flavors or colors) nature of the organic products, explains Manchester. The videos feature a family of gummy bears, The Organics, who view themselves as special and superior because theyre organic. In the first 30-second video (below), the son, Junior, asks his parents what it means to be organic. But he also lets it slip that dad (Mr. O) has eyes for the next-door neighbor, causing Mrs. O to hurl her shoe at her husband. Two other videos will be released later this summer. One has Mrs. O again worried about a neighbors appeal to her husband this time, because the neighbor has had certain enhancements. That allows for discussion of the kinds of artificial enhancements that some non-organic gummies use. The third video has a streakers theme that lends itself to reinforcing that Organic Black Forest gummies are comfortable going au naturel. Ferrara ran a 30-second teaser trailer on its Instagram and Facebook channels prior to launching the first video episode on June 15. The team also created 15-second episode recap spots. The video episodes will be pushed out across Black Forests social media, YouTube and other digital video channels. Ferrara will also use the brands social media channels to build up each characters personality with quotes and photos, says Manchester. In addition, the Black Forest Organic Web site has been updated with Real Gummies content, including a page dedicated to introducing The Organics family. by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, June 17, 2016 Both parties are transitioning to general election mode. This means a singular focus: beat Hillary or beat Trump. The Democrats have started strong, with ads targeting women and Hispanics in a number of swing states. Republicans are now starting to test different ad strategies with which to attack Hillary Clinton, while also hoping to mitigate the serious divisions presumptive nominee Donald Trump has created within their party. Conservative super PAC Rebuilding America has taken its first swing at the former Secretary of State with an ad titled More of the Same. Red, White & Blog spoke with the CEO of Ace Metrix, Peter Daboll, to discuss the effectiveness of recent political ads. More of the Same which juxtaposed Hillary talking about her emails to Bill discussing his scandal while in office, received the strongest marks of any pro-Trump ads we have seen since January 1 among Independent voters, explained Daboll. advertisement advertisement The scores reflecting how much swing voters learned from the ad and how motivated they were to seek out more information about the issues presented, were the highest of any pro-Trump ad this year. Ace Metrix also saw a positive reaction from Millennials. It garnered the highest Attention, Agreement, Learning and Relevance scores in that demographic group, so far, among Trump ads. A Koch Industries ad Its Time to End the Divide, was found to be the most successful presidential ad overall, so far this cycle, according to the Ace survey. The minute-long spot takes more of a brand approach to the issue of the growing divide in Washington and throughout our country, Daboll noted. Without mentioning either presidential candidate, the Koch ad seems directly targeted to the moderate voter uninspired by either candidate. Whether this is a call to vote Republican or for an Independent like Gary Johnson, it is difficult to tell. Regardless, the reactions to the ad, which takes a different approach than most this cycle, were overwhelmingly positive, pointing to a rejection of the extreme negativity pervasive throughout the political advertising sphere. Daboll notes that negative ads can often have a depressing effect on voter engagement. Their goal is sometimes to suppress, rather than encourage, voting. He wonders if super PACs and campaigns will learn from the largely successful Sanders ads earlier in the cycle, that focus on issues and positivity, and the newer Koch ad, which employs more subtle tactics to attract voters. by Sara Guaglione , June 17, 2016 Conde Nast has acquired Backchannel, a tech business brand from social publishing platform Medium. Backchannel will continue to live on the Medium platform and will be ad supported through that platform, a similar model to Bill Simmons The Ringer. Conde Nast will combine Backchannel, Wired and Ars Technica under a newly formed group called Wired Media. A huge draw for Conde Nast to acquire Backchannel was to get its founder, respected tech business journalist Steven Levy, to return to the publisher. In 2014, Levy left his position as a foundering writer at Wired to launch Backchannel, one of the first publications built on the Medium blogging platform. advertisement advertisement Backchannel executive editor Sandra Upson and writer Jessi Hempel will also make the transition with Levy. We intend to make money, Levy wrote in a blog post announcing the deal. At Medium, Backchannel hosted a few experiments in sponsorships. Now its for real. The formation of Wired Media Group gives Conde Nast scale, helping it sell digital advertising. The publisher has formed other groups with its brands, like the Food Innovation Group, which includes titles such as Bon Appetit and Epicurious. Backchannels unique and highly-engaged audience of tech enthusiasts also creates new opportunities for our advertisers, stated Fred Santarpia, chief digital officer of Conde Nast. According to The Verge, Backchannel is one of the last of the major sponsored publications built on top of Mediums publishing platform. Comics web site The Nib split with Medium in 2015, while Archipelago and The Message have both shuttered. This deal is one of many of Conde Nasts acquisitions of digital-native properties. Last year, it acquired online music brand Pitchfork. by Ben Frederick @mp_benfred, June 17, 2016 iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are too similar to the design of a Chinese phone, according to Beijings intellectual property regulator. Sales of the models in the city have been stopped after the designs apparently bore more than a passing resemblance to the 100C, made by the Chinese company Shenzhen Baili. The phones are still being sold nationwide until a higher court makes a final decision. According to this weeks ruling, Apples iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have minor differences from Bailis 100C. The differences are so tiny that the average customer could not notice. So, this case falls into the patent rights protection category. Apple tried to make nice with the country by investing $1 billion in Chinas version of Uber, called Didi Chuxing Technology Co., but China is still taking a contrarian approach to the company. advertisement advertisement Apple apparently planned to end production of both models soon anyway, as the release date of the iPhone 7 creeps closer. But the ruling is another slap in the face. The company lost a trademark battle regarding the iPad and had to fork over $60 million to a different Chinese company. Regulators also shut down iTunes Movies and iBooks back in April, reportedly saying the company didnt have the right licenses. Apple has appealed the ruling in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. by Josh Engroff , Op-Ed Contributor, June 17, 2016 When it comes to word pairings, oligopoly and delightful are not a natural combination. The synonyms of delightful include marvelous, wonderful and splendid. An oligopoly refers to a state of limited competition in which a few firms control the market -- hardly a marvelous state of affairs. Recent (and decidedly undelightful) oligopolies include credit ratings agencies, health insurance firms, and oil companies. After reading the combined 313 slides of Mary Meekers "Internet Trends 2016" and Luma Partners "State of Digital Media 2016," one would be hard-pressed not to describe the Google-Facebook lock-up as a duopoly. Putting some numbers to this assertion: -- 76% of all Internet advertising growth over the past year has gone to Google and Facebook. -- While the value of most publicly traded ad-tech and marketing-tech companies declined considerably in the past year, Google and Facebook together added $250 billion to their market cap. advertisement advertisement -- This single-year increase in the combined value of Facebook and Google is greater than the entire market cap of P&G and WPP put together. Add Amazon and Apple to that mix, and you have an oligopoly. But so what? Is this state of affairs bad for consumers? Not obviously. Though fierce competitors, these four companies share the same DNA: They are all extremely good at creating (and acquiring) delightful products and services, often at low or no direct cost to consumers. YouTube, Instagram, FB Messenger, Amazon Prime, the iPhone -- the list is of great products is long and growing. Whats more, these companies often reinvest their profits into things that further improve the consumer experience. This is one way to understand their intense focus on, and investment in, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The point of AI in a consumer-centric context is to deliver frictionless, highly personalized experiences that correctly anticipate a users future needs. As a case in point, Googles vision for Google Home, revealed during its recent I/O event, was unusually compelling because it landed precisely at the intersection of sci-fi dreamscape and near-term reality. If Nest, Google Now and the Amazon Echo got together and had a love child, it would look like Google Home. Google Now has become Assistant, and Google Assistant is at the heart of Home, which seems well-poised to deliver on its promise of an ambient experience that extends across devices to cars, wearables and living rooms. Watching the video, I wondered how Sonos, Amazon Echo and products made by smaller companies would avoid getting steamrolled by Home. And theres the rub. All this consumer delight translates into consumer attention that is spent across a wide range of products, each leading their respective fields, whether consumer electronics, software, ecommerce, advertising, content distribution, video, or mobile messaging. And this wide range of products is controlled by a very small group of players. This dynamic is fundamentally changing the business landscape for a whole group of companies, from direct competitors losing market share as their business models get torpedoed, to noncompetitive companies firmly situated in the media and advertising ecosystem. This latter group includes marketers, media companies, and agencies. Even if you focus very specifically on digital content and advertising, a number of tough questions present themselves: Content Distribution: the experience of publishers like Buzzfeed illustrates the dominance of a new model of content consumption in which only a fraction of content gets consumed directly on the site itself. If consumers engagement with your content overwhelmingly occurs on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat, whats the point of having your own Web site and mobile app? Third-Party Targeting and Measurement: Part of the point of both Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles is to improve the users content experience of content by stripping out third-party Javascript and other code that negatively impacts rendering time. As the old workhorses of ad-tech measurement thus get forced out of the picture, will third-party pixels go the way of third-party cookies? What will that mean for independent third-party attribution and verification partners, and for third-party independent ad servers? Creative Innovation: If the future of digital advertising is native experiences -- at this point, its pretty clear that it is -- and those experiences are consolidated within a small group of platforms and publishers, does creative innovation shift away from rich media companies and agencies and to the platforms themselves? Will everything just end up being video? Transparency for Marketers: If the majority of digital ad spend ends up flowing through the large platforms that have aggregated not only audience reach but also all measurement, analytics and ad spend reporting, what does that mean for marketers that have come to expect transparent, independently verified views of advertising economics and performance? Confounding questions, indeed. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, June 17, 2016 Artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way into all types of media and platforms. The latest is a content search engine that just launched this week. Since marketers create about six times more content per month these days compared with 10 years ago, social media company Unmetric built a search engine that helps marketers identify what competitors have done. Discover, a search engine and research tool, aggregates content posted by more than 40,000 brands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during the last four years, and displays it as tiles in a database. Marketers can search for content by keywords, time, level of engagement, industry and other parameters such as geography, as well as identify the content or the topics that did well for specific brands such as the most liked piece of content. advertisement advertisement "Customers interactions with your brand rest on content, whether they are discovering answers to a problem, trying to understand your products, or engaging with your brand or community," writes Forrester Research Analyst Ryan Skinner in a research note titled "Content Marketing Must Support Customer Experience." While there are a variety of creative tools, this one focuses on the content and the creative process. Lakshmanan (Lux) Narayan, CEO of Unmetric, said the platform presents themes and helps marketers gain ideas to generate their own concepts, especially around important retail events like Father's Day or back-to-school. It also reduces the chance of becoming a content copycat. "The last thing Target wants to do is redo an ad that Kohls ran last year," Narayan said. The search engine just launched, but future versions of Discover will determine the success of the content before using it, Narayan said. Today the platform guides decision, but in the future it will help make some of those decisions through artificial intelligence, he said. The engineering team build the capability to predict engagement and impression values, but has not integrated the code into the platform. That should happen in about three months, Narayan said. At the risk of navel-gazing, Snapchat is backing Real Life -- a new site dedicated to the thoughtful discussion of social media trends and their broader cultural and commercial implications. When the site officially launches on June 27, the plan is to post one article every day of the work week. Nathan Jurgenson, a Snapchat researcher and self-proclaimed social media theorist, will run the site as editor in chief. Real Life will publish essays, arguments and narratives about living with technology, Jurgenson notes in a new blog post. But dont expect gadget reviews or industry gossip, according to Jurgenson. Rather, the site will be about how we live today and how our lives are mediated by devices. Why did Jurgenson like the name Real Life for a site about the virtual world? Its partially a reference to REALLIFE Magazine -- a downtown New York art magazine that was written by and about artists back in the 1980s. advertisement advertisement By publishing writers who may not think of themselves as tech writers, but are acutely aware of how they use and are used by their devices, we hope to make room for a wider, better understanding of the Web. Something neither good nor bad, neither net negative nor net positive, but human in all the weirdness and complexity of that word, Jurgenson explains. Looking ahead, Jurgenson said the site may eventually expand to other media and formats. Its not clear whether Snapchat has plans to back more publications, but the effort does not appear to be financially motivated. Early-stage breast cancer patients receiving a shorter course of whole breast radiation with higher radiation doses per fraction reported equivalent cosmetic, functional and pain outcomes over time as those receiving a longer, lower-dose per fraction course of treatment, according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their study, published in Cancer, found patient-reported functional status and breast pain improved significantly following both radiation schedules, and there were no significant differences in physician-reported cosmetic evaluations. With a more convenient treatment schedule and equivalent outcomes, the authors suggest the shorter course as the preferred option for patients. In the United States, women historically have been treated with conventionally fractionated whole-breast irradiation (CF-WBI), given in smaller doses over a longer period of time, rather than hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (HF-WBI), which consists of higher doses for a shorter treatment period. Large randomized trials from Canada and the United Kingdom have established HF-WBI as a safe and effective treatment for nearly all patients with early-stage breast cancer. In previously published research, the authors showed patients receiving HF-WBI experienced less acute toxicity and post-radiation fatigue compared to those treated with CF-WBI. However, the adoption of HF-WBI has been limited in the U.S. In fact, researchers note only one-third of patients for whom HF-WBI is currently recommended by the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) actually receive the shorter course of therapy. "This trial is particularly important because there is still some hesitation among clinicians in the U.S. about adopting the hypofractionated schedule," said lead author Cameron Swanick, M.D, resident, Radiation Oncology. "Because American patients tend to have a higher prevalence of obesity, and because prior trials excluded certain patients with high body mass index, there has been this concern that the shorter radiation treatment course may not be as safe for American patients." For the prospective, unblinded trial, 287 women with stage 0-II breast cancer were randomized to receive either CF-WBI (149 patients) or HF-WBI (138 patients). All women also received a "boost dose," an additional treatment targeting the tumor bed with a higher dose, which has not been systematically analyzed in previous HF-WBI studies. The trial accrued over half of its patients from the MD Anderson Cancer Network. In addition to MD Anderson, patients were enrolled from the institution's Houston-area locations, Orlando Health (formerly MD Anderson Orlando) in Orlando, Fla. and Banner MD Anderson in Gilbert, Ariz. "This was the first investigator-initiated randomized trial conducted in the network," said Benjamin Smith, M.D., associate professor of Radiation Oncology. "It was a success because of the support of our partners and illustrated the potential, promise and power of our network to help achieve our mission." All participants were at least 40 years of age and previously had been treated with breast-conserving surgery. Seventy-six percent were overweight or obese according to their body mass index. The researchers used validated tools to gather patient-reported outcomes (PROs) on cosmetic, functional and other quality-of-life measures; physicians rated cosmetic results following treatment. Assessments were performed at baseline, six months, and at one, two and three years following treatment. "There were no significant differences between the treatment arms for any PROs at baseline, six months, one year or three years," said Swanick. "At two years, outcomes from the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast trial outcome index were modestly higher in the hypofractionated group." There were no significant differences in physician-reported cosmetic scores at any time point. Additionally, both patient groups reported similar improvements in breast pain and functional assessments over time. The researchers continue to follow tumor control outcomes, though no meaningful difference in survival has been found, to date. The study has several limitations, such as a lack of complete data through three years for all patients at the time of last follow up. All outcomes will be reported once all patients have completed three-year follow up. Further, patients and physicians were not blinded to treatment arms, which has the potential to bias the reporting outcomes. The results of this and previous studies further support the use of HF-WBI as the preferred radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer patients, explained Smith. "At MD Anderson these shorter courses have become the standard of care." Smith currently leads an ASTRO guideline panel on whole-breast irradiation, and hopes these and other data will support development of evidence-based treatment guidelines for early breast cancer. This work was supported by a Career Development Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Conquer Cancer Foundation, funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Employment more likely for those who can change their thinking. Unemployed people were more likely to land a job if they used skills commonly taught as part of cognitive therapy for depression, a new study found. These skills included identifying negative thoughts and countering them with more positive responses and planning enjoyable activities to improve mood. This study is the first to show that cognitive behavioral (CB) skills not only predict changes in depression symptoms, but also real-life functioning, said Daniel Strunk, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at The Ohio State University. "Searching for a job is difficult in any circumstance, but it may be even more difficult for people who are depressed," Strunk said. "But we found that there are specific skills that can help not only manage the symptoms of depression but also make it more likely that a person will receive a job offer." Strunk conducted the study with Benjamin Pfeifer, a doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State. Their results appear in the June 2016 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. The study involved 75 unemployed people, aged 20 to 67, who participated in two online surveys taken three months apart. The participants completed a variety of questionnaires that measured depressive symptoms and a variety of psychological variables, such as dysfunctional attitudes, brooding and a negative cognitive style. They also completed an instrument that measured how often they used CB skills such as countering their own negative thoughts. About a third of the sample reported symptoms that would put them in the moderately to seriously depressed category, although they were not formally diagnosed. The remaining two-thirds had scores that ranged from mild depression to no symptoms. The results showed that participants who reported more use of CB skills were more likely to show an improvement in depressive symptoms in the three months between the surveys - and were more likely to report they had received a job offer. Many of the skills taught by cognitive behavioral therapy involve rethinking one's negative automatic thoughts, which are maladaptive thoughts that often pop into one's head without effortful reflection. Other skills focus on behavior, like breaking up daunting tasks into smaller parts in order to help a person get started. "The people who got jobs in our study were more likely to be putting into practice the skills that we try to teach people in cognitive therapy," Strunk said. The researchers didn't ask specifically if participants were receiving therapy, but it is likely that few if any of them had received any training in cognitive behavioral therapy, he said. "Some people just naturally catch themselves when they have negative thoughts and refocus on the positive and use other CB skills. These are the people who were more likely to find a job." Strunk said most job seekers probably feel some discouragement as they look through job ads and get rejected for jobs. But those who keep persisting and use CB skills to boost their mood were the ones who were most likely to succeed. "Rejection is so much a part of the process of job seeking. Using cognitive behavioral skills are an important way one can deal with that." The other variables that the researchers studied, such as dysfunctional attitudes and negative cognitive style, did not predict improvement in depressive symptoms or higher odds of receiving a job offer. Strunk said this was surprising, but it will take further research to figure out why. But the results do offer a way for job seekers - especially those who are depressed - to improve their chances of finding work. "Using cognitive behavioral skills, people can overcome some of the negative thinking that may be holding them back and making it less likely to succeed in their job search," Strunk said. Scientists at Staffordshire University are a step closer to understanding how foot problems experienced by diabetes patients can lead to life threatening ulcers. A study led by Dr Roozbeh Naemi, Associate Professor in Biomechanics at Staffordshire University, has demonstrated a link between the mechanical properties of soft tissue on the sole of the feet and foot ulceration. Working with patients in India who suffer with diabetic neuropathy - a type of nerve damage affecting the feet - researchers used ultrasound elastography to measure the soft tissue stiffness of the heel pad under the foot. The results, which are published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, reveal that the patients with active ulcers had a significantly lower heel pad stiffness compared to the patients without foot ulcers. Dr Naemi said "Our data contributes to understanding the role of tissue biomechanics in the formation of ulcers under the foot in patients with diabetes". "These results pave the way for identifying the link between the mechanical properties of the tissue and development of ulcers to allow for early intervention and clinical management of feet complications in diabetes patients." On average, 300 new foot ulcers are diagnosed every day in the UK and 120 people undergo an amputation each week. Although ulcers are preventable, prognosis for diabetes patients suffering with foot ulcers is poor. Nachi Chockalingam, Professor of Clinical Biomechanics added: "This is a landmark finding, which can contribute to the development of diagnostic tools and treatment options for patients with diabetes and neuropathy." "I am pleased that our portfolio of work is not only helping patients with treatment options using footwear interventions but also helping the clinicians to identify patients who are at risk of developing foot ulcers. Ultimately this could substantially reduce the annual bill for amputations and the significant costs of treating each foot ulcer." The study was conducted at AR Hospitals in Chennai, South India - with 39 patients, 10 of which had active foot ulcers. The study forms part of the wider EU funded DiaBSmart project which was dedicated to discovering new foot-friendly materials which can be used to prevent painful and life threatening diabetic foot ulcers. Article: Differences in the mechanical characteristics of plantar soft tissue between ulcerated and non-ulcerated foot, Roozbeh Naemi, Panagiotis Chatzistergos, Lakshmi Sundar, Nachiappan Chockalingam, Ambadi Ramachandran, Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, doi:10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2016.06.003, published online 8 June 2016. Researchers have identified certain modifiable and non-modifiable factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The findings, which appear in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), could help physicians protect the health of these young patients. Vitamin D deficiency is common in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In an attempt to understand why, a team led by Anke Doyon, MD and Franz Schaefer, MD (University of Heidelberg, Germany) looked at how various factors relate to vitamin D levels in 500 children with CKD who were residing in 12 European countries. Among the major findings: Two-thirds of the patients were classified as vitamin D deficient. Patients who took vitamin D supplements had vitamin D levels that were 2 times higher than those who did not take supplements, and they had a lower prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D levels were lower for certain kidney abnormalities, such as glomerulopathies. Vitamin D levels were lower in winter months than at other times of the year. Certain genetic variants were also associated with vitamin D levels, but to a lesser extent than disease-associated factors and vitamin D supplementation. "Vitamin D levels are influenced more strongly by seasonal factors, the type of disease and nutritional supplementation than by common variants in vitamin D regulating genes," said Dr. Doyon. "Supplementation practices should be reconsidered and intervention studies are needed to define guidelines how to monitor and treat vitamin D deficiency in children with chronic kidney disease." Article: Genetic, Environmental, and Disease-Associated Correlates of Vitamin D Status in Children with CKD, Anke Doyon, Bettina Schmiedchen, Anja Sander, Aysun Bayazit, Ali Duzova, Nur Canpolat, Daniela Thurn, Karolis Azukaitis, Ali Anarat, Justine Bacchetta, Sevgi Mir, Rukshana Shroff, Ebru Yilmaz, Cengiz Candan, Markus Kemper, Michel Fischbach, Gerard Cortina, Gunter Klaus, Matthias Wuttke, Anna Kottgen, Anette Melk, Uwe Querfeld, Franz Schaefer, for the 4C Study Consortium, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, doi: 10.2215/CJN.10210915, published online June 2016. Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. Advertisement The biguanide metformin is generally used as first line treatment for type 2 diabetes, either given alone or in combination therapy. It is seen that metformin treatment generally reduces levels of both circulating glucose and insulin in patients with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin circulating in the blood).Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have now found a link between metformin treatment and cancer prognosis particularly thetype. Studies proved that a slow escalation of metformin dose added to chemotherapy and radiation treatment regimen could have a beneficial effect in head and neck cancer patients. However if the dose is escalated too quickly, then it might not be well tolerated by patients.The findings of the study were presented via poster presentation in American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting: Collective Wisdom held in Chicago.Trisha Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, who is the lead investigator of the study and assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the UC College of Medicine, a member of both the Cincinnati Cancer Center and UC Cancer Institute said that retrospective studies have shown improved outcomes in tumors treated with chemotherapy and radiation when patients were also given metformin for diabetes.Dr. Wise-Draper stated, "In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which develops in the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat, diabetic patients taking a medication called metformin had better overall survival compared to those not on metformin when also treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Additionally, pancreatic cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and metformin required higher doses of metformin - 1,000 milligrams twice a day - to experience positive results".She further commented "In basic science studies, metformin has been shown to stop mTOR, a molecular pathway present and active in this type of head and neck cancer, and pretreatment with metformin resulted in a decrease in the occurrence of oral cavity tumors in animal models. In this study, we wanted to see if the combination of escalating doses of metformin with the chemotherapy agent cisplatin and radiation for head and neck cancer tumors in non-diabetic patients would be effective."Hence, thewas modified to allow slower escalation over a period of 14 days. No substantial change in T cell or glucose levels was seen with the administration of metformin in the small sample of patients, but it was noted that there was increased C-peptide levels in response to metformin administration.Commonly reportedin patients included nausea (71 %) and vomiting (43 %), increase in creatinine (57 %), decreased white blood cell count (43 %) and pain when swallowing (43 %). The researchers attributed only nausea to metformin and the rest to cisplatin and radiation therapy.Thesedemonstrated that the combination of metformin and cisplatin and radiation was poorly tolerated when metformin was escalated quickly. However, no significant increase in side effects was seen with the addition of metformin.The authors are continuing the study for a longer period of time with a possibly increased sample size in a quest for providing more definitive and conclusive evidence in the near future.Source: Medindia Ankle pain can be a sign of injury or impairment in some part of the ankle joint. The ankle joint is a complex junction where the bones of the foot and the leg meet. It consists of three different joints: the talocrural joint or the ankle proper joint, the subtalar joint and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ankle consists of both a hinge joint for up and down motion - as well as a joint that allows for a slight rotation or side-to-side movement. The movements involved in this joint are dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of the foot. The bones of an ankle joint include the tibia, the fibula and the talus (ankle bone). The important ligaments of the ankle joint are the anterior talofibular ligament, the posterior talofibular ligament and the calcaneofibular ligament. The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon involving the ankle and connects the back of the calf to the heel bone. Pain in the ankle can result from injury to or inflammation in any of the bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles involved in the ankle joint. Possible locations of injury or inflammation that can cause ankle pain include the ankle, the heel, or any part of the foot or toe and the area along the edge of the toenail. The types of pain in an ankle joint can be: Pain and throbbing sensation Difficulty in pushing of with toes Inability to bear weight Swelling Redness or discoloration of the joint Stiffness Numbness and tingling Weakness Looseness of the joint Ankle pain can be a symptom of various conditions such as sprain, nerve injury, osteoarthritis or even ill-fitting shoes. Reasons for Ankle Pain Achilles tendinitis: This is an injury due to overuse of the Achilles tendon, and typically begins with a mild pain above the heel and back of the leg. The pain increases with prolonged walking, running, climbing or sprinting. Advertisement Achilles tendon rupture: This is an injury that ruptures the back of the lower leg, and is often caused by strenuous physical or sports activity. The rupture occurs with a pop or a snap, and is accompanied with severe pain and swelling near the heel. An Achilles tendon rupture injury can make one unable to stand on ones toes, unable to bend the foot downwards or to push off from the ground while walking. This is an injury that ruptures the back of the lower leg, and is often caused by strenuous physical or sports activity. The rupture occurs with a pop or a snap, and is accompanied with severe pain and swelling near the heel. An Achilles tendon rupture injury can make one unable to stand on ones toes, unable to bend the foot downwards or to push off from the ground while walking. Ankle edema: This is an abnormal buildup of fluid, i.e. edema, in the ankles, feet or legs. Sometimes, a dull ankle pain is felt with ankle edema. The most common causes of ankle edema are pregnancy and being overweight. Infections, a surgery involving the leg, ankle or foot and increased age can also contribute to ankle edema. Sitting or standing for long periods of time, especially during travel, can also cause edema in the ankle and feet. Some medical conditions such as heart failure, kidney failure or liver failure may also cause a buildup of fluid in the body that can accumulate in the joints, especially in the ankles, causing ankle edema. Arthritis: Four types of arthritis, namely osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis and reactive arthritis can cause acute or chronic ankle pain, as well as stiffness and swelling of the affected joints. Four types of arthritis, namely osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis and reactive arthritis can cause acute or chronic ankle pain, as well as stiffness and swelling of the affected joints. Bone spur: Bony projections that develop along the edges of bones of the feet could cause pain in the sole of the feet that can then radiate to the heel and the ankle. Bony projections that develop along the edges of bones of the feet could cause pain in the sole of the feet that can then radiate to the heel and the ankle. Bursitis: Fluid-filled sacs called bursa cushion the bones, tendons and muscles that meet at a joint. Inflammation of the bursa, known as bursitis, rarely affects the ankle joint. Pain, stiffness and swelling are the classic symptoms, which worsen on movement. Fracture of the ankle: Avulsion fracture is a type of fracture in which a fragment of bone tears away from the main mass of bone due to physical trauma. Stress fracture refers to tiny cracks in the bone caused mainly by overuse. Since the ankle is a joint that bears the entire weight of the body, there is a high risk of these types of fractures occurring, leading to pain and swelling in the foot and the ankle. A fracture in the bones of the ankle or the foot can be caused by something as simple as a single misstep or from a more serious accident, and can range from tiny cracks to broken bones. Avulsion fracture is a type of fracture in which a fragment of bone tears away from the main mass of bone due to physical trauma. Stress fracture refers to tiny cracks in the bone caused mainly by overuse. Since the ankle is a joint that bears the entire weight of the body, there is a high risk of these types of fractures occurring, leading to pain and swelling in the foot and the ankle. A fracture in the bones of the ankle or the foot can be caused by something as simple as a single misstep or from a more serious accident, and can range from tiny cracks to broken bones. Gout: Gout is a condition in which urate crystals accumulate in the joints, due to high levels of uric acids in the blood. This causes intense joint pain, lingering discomfort and inflammation and redness of the affected joint. If an ankle joint is involved, there is presence of calcium pyrophosphate dehydrate crystals in the affected joint, causing stiffness, swelling and pain. Ill-fitting Shoes: Shoes that do not fit properly can often cause foot and ankle pain; ankle injury may also occur. Both shoes that fit loosely and tight-fitting shoes can put a lot of strain on the ankle and lead to foot problems and pain in the ankle. Walking for long periods of time in high-heeled shoes can put a lot of pressure on the toes and heels, and cause the ankles to bend at an awkward and unnatural angle, resulting in chronic ankle pain. Shoes that do not fit properly can often cause foot and ankle pain; ankle injury may also occur. Both shoes that fit loosely and tight-fitting shoes can put a lot of strain on the ankle and lead to foot problems and pain in the ankle. Walking for long periods of time in high-heeled shoes can put a lot of pressure on the toes and heels, and cause the ankles to bend at an awkward and unnatural angle, resulting in chronic ankle pain. Sprain and strain: A sprain is a stretching or tearing of ligaments and an ankle is often a common location for a sprain. Strain refers to a stretching or tearing of muscles or tendons and most commonly occurs in the lower back or in the muscles at the back of the thigh. A sprain is a stretching or tearing of ligaments and an ankle is often a common location for a sprain. Strain refers to a stretching or tearing of muscles or tendons and most commonly occurs in the lower back or in the muscles at the back of the thigh. Tarsal tunnel syndrome: The tarsal tunnel lies inside the median bump of the ankle, through which the tibial nerve travels and splits into three parts. Compression of this nerve can give rise to pain in the ankle or in any part of the foot it supplies. Symptoms include numbness, shooting pain, tingling, burning or sometimes a feeling similar to an electric shock. These sensations are typically felt on the inside of the ankle or at the bottom of the foot, but can also be felt in the heel, arch, toes or even the calf muscle. The pain or discomfort is aggravated with prolonged standing, walking or exercising. Advertisement Ankle Pain Clinical Evaluation Physical examination: Physical assessment includes that of gait pattern, standing posture and shoe wear pattern. The physician also looks out for any gross deformity, misalignment, atrophy, injuries, swelling and the development of ecchymosis (black and blue area due to blood vessel injury and escape of blood into the tissues). Palpation: All the parts of the lower leg, ankle and feet are felt with fingers to look out for any structural injuries. All the parts of the lower leg, ankle and feet are felt with fingers to look out for any structural injuries. Assessment of range of motion: Active, passive and resistive ranges of motion are examined. Active, passive and resistive ranges of motion are examined. Talar Tilt Test: This is a ligamentous stress test to determine the integrity of the lateral ankle ligaments. This is a ligamentous stress test to determine the integrity of the lateral ankle ligaments. Anterior Drawer: The anterior talofibular ligament is a frequently injured ligament during an inversion ankle sprain and this test is done to determine the extent of injury to the ligament. "Our brother Omar Mateen, may Allah accept him, has massacred the enemies of Allah - how many broken hearts of the bereft, the widows, and the orphans has Allah healed with this operation! ... He waged jihad in his place [of residence, in the U.S.] and lifted the distress from his soul...The commander of the faithful, Al-Baghdadi, and the brave and noble Sheikh Al-'Adnani - may Allah protect them - have called the youth to jihad, and the hero Omar has responded [to the call], listening and obeying." - Al-Wafa' Foundation media company, June 15, 2016[1] Every day, the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor team is working 24/7 monitoring all online jihadi activity, including dozens of important Islamic State (ISIS) communications - among them, as of this writing, celebrations of and claims of responsibility for the June 13 Orlando nightclub massacre take place on online forums and social media platforms. Some of these Twitter, YouTube, Internet Archive, Instagram, and, now, Telegram accounts belong to ISIS members and sympathizers here in the U.S., such as 22-year old Bronx, NY resident Sajmir Alimehmeti, who this month was charged with "providing support" to ISIS. Many videos produced by the group were found on his phone. Since the March 22 Brussels attacks, ISIS has issued a steady stream of videos and news reports, in English, Arabic, and French, celebrating the attacks, giving the reasons for them, and divulging its plans for the future. These plans include more hits in France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, the U.K., Portugal, The Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere, including the U.S. This was confirmed by National Intelligence director James Clapper, who, in a May 4 interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, said of the possibility of a Europe-style ISIS attack in the U.S., "That's something we worry about a lot in the United States, that they could conjure up a raid like they did in Paris or Brussels." On June 16, CIA director John Brennan testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the Orlando attack, adding a warning: "We judge that ISIL was training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks. ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West, and the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West... Further, as we have seen in Orlando, San Bernardino, and elsewhere, ISIL is attempting to inspire attacks by sympathizers who have no direct links to the group. Last month, for example, a senior ISIL figure [spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani] publicly urged the group's followers to conduct attacks in their home countries if they were unable to travel to Syria and Iraq." ISIS leaders are in tune with and paying close attention to such statements, and, more specifically, to Western security efforts and discussions - because its main targets remain major cities in the West, among them Washington D.C. On March 25, the White House was mentioned as a target in a video by ISIS's Al-Kheir Province, that featured the group's fighters distributing sweets to celebrate the Brussels attacks and promising more of them, including "turn[ing] the White House into a black one." The video goes on to detail Belgium's role in the founding of NATO and its participation in the second Gulf War, the post-9/11 war on terror, and the war against ISIS. Addressing the U.S., one of the fighters in the video promised continued attacks, saying: "You will see more from us... because your blood is delicious... Allah willing, we will drink from all of your blood ..."[2] It has now been almost two years since ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani warned the West, in a September 2014 address, of coming ISIS attacks and why they would be happening: "The Islamic State did not launch a war against you, as your lying governments and your media claim. You are the ones who initiated hostilities against us... You will pay dearly when your sons are sent to fight us and return crippled and damaged, in coffins or as lunatics. You will pay when each of you feels afraid to travel abroad. You will pay when you walk the streets in trepidation, for fear of the Muslims. You will not be safe in your own beds."[3] Al-Adnani's statements were recycled for a March 28 video released by ISIS's Al-Furat Province in Iraq, titled "An Eye for an Eye" and showing staged scenes of ISIS fighters choosing their target on a map and donning suicide belts in preparation. An ISIS fighter, speaking French, states: "This is a message to the Crusader peoples, the Europeans, Americans, and Russians. We [Muslims] are a fifth of the world population, we are everywhere, and we can strike wherever we want, whenever we want, and whoever we want."[4] These statements have deeply impacted ISIS followers, as was made clear following the June 14 Paris stabbing attack in which a police officer and his partner were killed. A video of the attacker, Larossi Aballah, before he set out on his mission featured him urging "the Muslims of France": "Oh you who have everything to gain, go forth and answer the call of your emir, Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani... Those who are in contact with brothers of ISIS and who are safe, tell them we have heeded [the call of] Sheikh Al-'Adnani." Addressing the "infidel French authorities," he added: "This is the consequence of your actions. You have closed the doors of hijra [emigration to ISIS-controlled areas] to us, you have closed the doors of the Caliphate, so we have opened the door of jihad on your land."[5] It is important to note that before ISIS, including its lone-wolf supporters, began carrying out attacks in the West, the group's No. 1 objective was to build its caliphate; attacking the West was secondary. Hijra - immigration to the Islamic State, growing its population, and bringing in the manpower needed to support it - was always first priority. Another priority was attacking the nearby enemy - the Saudi royal family, Shi'ites, Jabhat Al-Nusra, and the Assad regime in Syria. This is in contrast to Al-Qaeda, which has always prioritized attacking the distant enemy - the West and the U.S. Why did ISIS change its priorities, and how did we arrive at what may be an era of attacks across the West? Statements by ISIS leaders, including Al-Adnani, have been either disregarded or not taken seriously. While ISIS threats contain fair amounts of bluster, its fighters believe in what they say, and each one of these threats should be properly translated and analyzed. A series of articles praising the Brussels attacks and warning of more in the future was published March 24 by the ISIS-affiliated media company Al-Wafa'. One writer promised that the U.S. was next in line after Belgium, that ISIS fighters would soon attack it, and that all American citizens worldwide were legitimate targets. Another article stated that ISIS members would soon target at nightclubs, stadiums, and schools in European countries and cities, among them Portugal, Hungary, Madrid, Rome, and Amsterdam, and would indiscriminately strike women, children, and the elderly. Another article, "America, You Are Next," hints that ISIS lone-wolf attackers would strike in the U.S. again: "Look at what the caliphate supporters living among you have done. Examine what [San Bernardino attacker] Syed Farook, may Allah have mercy on his soul, and his wife did. They killed many of you. Then how about we send you 10 Syed Farooks? ... Your security apparatuses will be unable to expose these quality and precision attacks before they are executed..."[6] In a video released March 25 by ISIS's Ninawa Province celebrating the Brussels attacks, an ISIS fighter from Belgium said: "Realize that you have a long bill and that you have to pay it with your blood." Another fighter added: "This is the beginning of your nightmare. Today we enjoy this beautiful [act of] vengeance... after the [9/11] New York [attacks] and [the November 2015] Paris attacks, we present to you a new 9/11." The fighters also promised more attacks unless the West ceased attacking Muslims.[7] ISIS's Tripoli Province in Libya released a video on March 26, featuring an English-speaking fighter threatening more attacks and stating that the wave of ISIS terror in Europe is revenge for Western interference in Arab countries: "We have soldiers everywhere. And as long as you continue to drop your bombs, God willing, we will continue to slaughter you on your streets, we will continue to kill you... This is just revenge, this is just a payback. As long as you do not leave our countries, we will come to your lands... This is just the beginning." [8] Over the last few months, ISIS's threats against the U.S. and Europe have only grown more strident. It wrote in the 14th issue of its English-language magazine Dabiq, released April 13: "Paris was a warning. Brussels was a reminder. What is yet to come will be more devastating and more bitter."[9] On April 17, an official ISIS media wing, Furat Media, released a new nasheed (Islamic religious song) by the well-known German ISIS operative Denis Cuspert, aka Abu Talha Al-Almani, who was allegedly killed in October but who, according to reports this week by the German government, may still be alive.[10] It went: "Europe, a new battlefield, go ahead and get your reward... Become martyrs over there, the virgins in paradise are already waiting you... Kill police officers, or apostates... Paris, New York and Moscow, bomb in Berlin."[11] And on April 20, ISIS's weekly news bulletin Al-Naba featured an article setting out the group's long-term vision of war against the U.S., with a warning: "The caliphate soldiers today... are infiltrating deep into Europe, while their eyes are on America, awaiting any breach in their opponents' lines in order to focus the attack against it..."[12] An article in the ninth issue of ISIS's French-language magazine Dar Al-Islam, released April 26, concludes with praise for the use of terror as a tactical means for triumphing on the battlefield: "It is necessary to terrorize the infidels and cast dread into their hearts" including by "cutting the throats of the enemies lustily."[13] Days later, on April 29, Al-Hayat Media Center published a music video featuring a nasheed in French sung by its young Caliphate cubs. The video, which is subtitled in English, includes images of Western leaders such as Presidents Obama and Hollande, with statements such as "Our warriors are everywhere, ready to sacrifice themselves... Our sabers are sharpened to slice necks... Beware, those who are submitted [to Allah] are ready to blow themselves up."[14] On May 21, Al-Furqan, one of ISIS's leading media arms, released a new audio statement by Al-'Adnani in which he urged "Caliphate soldiers" and ISIS supporters to target civilians in the U.S. and Europe: "If the tyrants have shut the doors of hijra [immigration to ISIS territories] in your face, then open the gate of jihad in their faces and make them regret their action."[15] Heading this call a week later, a self-proclaimed ISIS fighter known as "Amriki Muhajer" encouraged his Telegram followers to carry out lone-wolf attacks in the West, instead of immigrating to ISIS-controlled territory.[16] At the same time as it threatens the West with attacks, ISIS is also telling us how to keep these attacks from happening. When it warns that the West is facing what is just the beginning of a wave of ISIS attacks against it, and that the U.S. will be the next to be targeted, by both regular ISIS fighters and lone-wolf operators, it also clearly states that if the U.S. and its allies stop bombing and attacking ISIS, ISIS will in turn stop attacking the West. ISIS is highlighting this in its videos and other propaganda - and it is reverberating among its online followers as well as its lone-wolf attackers. This was underlined when, during the June 13, 2016 Orlando nightclub massacre, gunman Omar Mateen, who in a call to 911 had sworn allegiance to ISIS, was heard by hostages saying on the phone that he wanted the U.S. to "stop bombing ISIS in Syria." ISIS is strongly motivated to stop attacking the West, by both religious conviction and by its original objective of dealing with the closer, more immediate enemy. It also wants to get back to focusing on growing and strengthening its caliphate. As with the Brussels attacks, ISIS, in the year leading up to and following the November 2015 attacks in France, warned several times that it would be carrying out attacks in the West. With the 15th anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching, the U.S. and the rest of the West can only hope that the brave men and women involved in counterterrorism efforts - who are rarely recognized for the public safety that they provide - will be able to stop the next attacks by ISIS, that are surely already in the works. *Steven Stalinsky is the Executive Director of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). He is the author of the upcoming book American Traitor - The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda's U.S.-Born Leader Adam Gadahn. Endnotes: The Cottrellville Township couple appears to have been breeding, showing and rescuing dogs, according to St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon. The animals Norwegian Buhund, Norrbottenspets and Norwegian Spets mix were covered in feces and urine, but in overall good physical condition, the sheriff's office said. "I think somewhere along the line, things got out of control," Donnellon told WJBK-TV. A neighbor complained to authorities about a foul odor and loud barking at the home, about 50 miles northeast of Detroit. The homeowners allowed deputies inside and 22 dogs were taken out Tuesday by Animal Control officers. "Really, what set it off was the stench," neighbor Greg Bosel told the television station. "It just got to be so nasty the stench you couldn't sit outside and enjoy yourself if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction." The homeowners turned over another 23 dogs Tuesday to a Colorado-based Norwegian Buhund rescue, the sheriff's office said. The organization arranged temporary housing throughout Michigan for the dogs. The homeowners gave nine more dogs to the St. Clair County Humane Society. "On Wednesday, deputies and the Animal Control officer returned to remove the remaining dogs," the sheriff's office said Thursday in a release. "This time, a search warrant had to be served to enter the home, as the residents refused to cooperate." Animal Control removed 38 dogs and three cats Wednesday. Officers also learned that six dogs had been given to another humane society. Authorities in Cottrellville Township will consider possible code violations, while the St. Clair County Health Department is investigating possible health code violations. The St. Clair County prosecutor's office will consider filing criminal charges. UPPER THUMB Ten years ago an event unique to the Thumb took place along the shore of Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay; the Thumb Artists Studio Tour. The premise is for local artists to open up their galleries and workshops to visitors, who would then travel from artist location to artist location over the course of two days. This year is no exception. On Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., a wide variety of artists will be showing their work. Many of these artists will be demonstrating how they create their artwork. We are proud to announce that this will be our tenth annual Studio Tour, said Laurie Conger, a talented pottery artist who conceived the idea of having a studio tour in the Thumb. For those who may not have heard of, or participated in, the tour, it is absolutely free. Every year, the route changes, with different stops featuring different artists. Over the course of the past 10 years, the tour has featured core artists, such as Conger, jeweler, Lynne Wiencek, potter, Deb Maxwell, and wood turner, Dave Thuemmel. Other artists have been a part of the studio tour multiple times, while this years tour features a few new artists. There will be 12 stops on the tour this year, beginning with the White Church Gallery, located at 8686 Rouse Road, in Grindstone City, where visitors can see the creations of Mike Zaitz. The second stop is Dave Thuemmel, a retired dairy farmer who works out of his home at 2090 Grindstone Road. Thuemmel has become the premier wood turning artist in the Thumb. The next stop is Bird Creek Farms, located at 282 Grindstone Road. This unique venue will host realist oil painter, David Tyndall and videographer, Coulter Mitchell. This will be the second year on the tour for Bird Creek Farms. Visitors following the tour will make their next stop 1424 Point aux Barques Road, the home of the Port Austin History Center, where artists Claire Logan, Sharron Rutz and Patricia Duever will be displaying a variety of artistic work called Sticks, String, and Fiber Things. Next is Port Austin Kayak, located at 119 East Spring St. in Port Austin. This is the second year on the tour for this venue. Featured will be photographer Steven Grewe and painter Terry Boyle. Stop No. 6 will be at 215 West Spring St. in Port Austin, the home of stained glass artist, Alice Yaroch. Yaroch will display her creations, and demonstrate how they are made. Pottery artist, Deb Maxwell and jeweler, Colleen Chaplinski, will be on hand at the next stop, Red Mudd Studio North, located at 1062 Port Austin Road. Maxwell and Chaplinski will provide demonstrations of their techniques, as well as displaying a variety of their work. Just around the corner, at 1118 Bayside Trail, jeweler, Lynne Wiencek will be showing her unique creations. Wiencek is an inspired artist who incorporates everyday items into her work, including a new line of beach glass jewelry. The next stop on Studio Tour 2016 is the home of the events creator, Laurie Conger, located at 2839 Port Austin Road. Conger will be joined by weaver, Cathy Phaneauf. Conger will be demonstrating her method of creating pottery on her wheel, and will offer the opportunity for visitors to get their hands dirty. The Lodge at Oak Pointe, 5857 Port Austin Road, will be the next stop. This beautiful Bed & Breakfast will host Mimi Nicol, a glass and mixed media artist, and painter, Marilyn Biefer. Caseville photographer, Bill Diller, will be the next stop on the tour. Hell have his photo creations on display at his home, located at 6757 Elm St. Diller will be available to answer any and all questions photography related. The final stop on the 2016 Thumb Artists Studio Tour will be at 6733 Prospect St., in Caseville, the location of the Historical Society of Caseville Museum. The museum will host two artists new to the tour this year, fiber artist and basket weaver, Barbara Murray, and painter, photographer, and author, Duane Wurst. The concept of a studio tour is that the artists open up their studio so people can watch them in the act of creating, and purchase their artwork, Conger said. The 2016 version of the studio tour will feature a Swag Bag, comprised of various pieces from the artists. Visitors are encouraged to sign up for the Swag Bag at each venue. A drawing will be held after the event is finished, and the winner of the 10th Annual Thumb Artists Studio Tour Swag Bag will be notified. This bag is sure to contain artwork to make any art lover drool. The Studio Tour is supported by a variety of businesses, organizations, and individuals in the Thumb area, along with the Port Austin and Caseville area Chambers of Commerce. Visitors to the tour are encouraged to stop at these locations along the shore. Brochures, with a map of the artist locations, will be available at local chambers of commerce and participating sponsors leading up to the tour. Further more information about the 2016 Thumb Artists Studio Tour, visit www.thumbstudiotour.com or call 989-738-0144. HURON COUNTY Local sheriffs deputies made three arrests this week in connection to different drug investigations. According to Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson, his office and the Harbor Beach Police Department served a drug search warrant Monday ata residence in the 700 block of S. Second St. in Harbor Beach. Taken in the search which was conducted based on information generated from a tip to police were marijuana, crack pipes and syringes. That resulted in the arrest of 48-year-old William F. Walden of Harbor Beach, on misdemeanor-related marijuana charges. On Wednesday, the sheriffs office executed a search warrant at a residence in the 4800 block of Cottick Drive in Caseville Township. This search resulted in the seizure of fentanyl, suboxone, prescription pills, syringes, marijuana paraphernalia and a 2001 Cadillac. From that find, a 33-year-old Caseville woman, Tikia Bowers, was arrested for felony delivery of fentanyl. A 35-year-old Caseville man and a 55-year-old Bad Axe woman were questioned and released. Several felony drug related charges between the pair will be sought from the Huron County Prosecutors Office. Deputies on this search warrant were assisted by the Caseville City Police. On Thursday, the sheriffs office executed two search warrants both in the 1200 block of Hume Township. Confiscated during the first search was what appeared to be acid, psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana, prescription pills and packaging material. This confiscation lead to the felony arrest of a 55-year-old Port Austin woman identified as Terry A. Glowacki. Further drug related charges will also be sought. The second search did not result in any seizures, but evidence and statements were gathered, which will likely lead to felony charges, which will be determined by the Huron County Prosecutors Office on a 44-year-old Port Austin man for felony delivery of fentanyl. Assisting the sheriffs office in these two search warrants were Port Austin village police and a Michigan conservation officer. Our office always encourages illegal drug tips by calling your local police department or by calling our office during regular business hours at 989-269-6500 or Huron Central Dispatchs non-emergency number anytime at 989-269-6421, Hanson stated in a news release Friday. Confidential callers can use our TIPS Line of 989-269-2861. Were also available on Facebook through our Huron County Sheriffs Office Drug Task Force page. Submitted to the Tribune HURON COUNTY The Huron County 4-H Council has awarded four $500 scholarships to the following students: Jacob Aymen, son of Ric and Mary Aymen of Port Austin, and a member of the 4Bs 4-H Club for the 13 years. Aymen attends Bad Axe High School and plans to attend Central Michigan University to major in public administration. Elizabeth Booms, daughter of Andrew and Dawn Booms of Harbor Beach, and a member of Country Corners 4-H Club for the past nine years. Booms attends Harbor Beach Community High School and plans to attend Eastern Michigan University to major in speech-language pathology. Alexandria Camp, daughter of Lawrence and Kelly Camp of Harbor Beach, and a member of Rebel Riders 4-H Club for the past 12 years. She attends Ubly Community High School and plans to attend Grand Valley State University to major in bio-med sciences. Brianna Hunsanger, daughter of David and Kelly Hunsanger of Bad Axe, and a member of 4Bs 4-H Club for the past nine years. She attends Bad Axe High School and plans to attend Alma College to major in biotechnology. These four recipients have been active teen leaders in the 4-H program participating in various project areas at the fair, 4-H Club participation, leadership and community service programs. These students have made outstanding achievements in 4-H work and are planning to attend a college/trade school in the fall. For information on the Huron County 4-H Youth Development Program, call 4-H Program Coordinator Cathryne Goulet at 989-269-9949 ext. 609. Submitted to the Tribune UPPER THUMB Seven area students have been selected as Anthony L. Rapes Memorial Scholarship winners. Local students receiving the $500 scholarships for the 2015-16 year are Victoria Gentner, Grant Gremel, Devin Koroleski, John Lutz, Shannon Particka, Sheridan Pawlowski and Blake Schumacher. Gentner is the daughter of Ken and Gwen Gentner of Ruth, and will be attending Michigan State University to major in animal science. She attends Harbor Beach Community High School; is actively involved in 4-H and FFA activities, as well as extracurricular community activities; and has received many awards. Gremel is the son of Joel and Lyndsay Gremel of Sebewaing, and will be attending Michigan State University to major in agribusiness management. He attends Unionville-Sebewaing Area High School; is actively involved with school, FFA activities, as well as many extracurricular community activities; and has received numerous awards. Koroleski is the son of Steve and Mitzi Koroleski of Kinde, and will be attending Michigan State University to major in agribusiness management. He attends North Huron High School; is actively involved in school, sports, and FFA activities; and has received many awards. Lutz is the son of Matt and Terri Lutz of Sebewaing, and plans to attend Michigan State Institute of Ag Tech to major in livestock industries. He attends Unionville-Sebewaing Area High School; is very active in school, extracurricular, community and church activities; and has received several awards. Particka is the daughter of Timothy and Joan Particka of Ubly, and plans to attend Michigan State University to major in animal science with a focus on pre-veterinary science. She attends Ubly Community High School; is actively involved in school activities; and has received several awards. Pawlowski is the daughter of Brian and Tricia Pawlowski of Filion, and plans to attend Baker College and then Michigan State University to major in entrepreneurship and beef management. She attends North Huron High School; has actively participated in FFA activities; and has received numerous awards. She is also actively involved in her community. Schumacher is the son of Paul and Noreen Schumacher of Ubly, and plans to attend Saginaw Valley State University to major in engineering technology management with a minor in agricultural studies. He attends Ubly Community High School; is active in FFA activities; and has received numerous awards. He is also very active in his church, community, and 4-H. The scholarships are sponsored by the Anthony L. Rapes Memorial Scholarship Fund. Anthony L.Tony Rapes was an agricultural agent in Huron County with Michigan State University Extension for 15 years until the time of his death in 1980. The scholarship has awarded $58,400 since 1981 to Huron County young people pursuing an occupation in agriculture. To the editor: I want to express how appalled I am with the Sebewaing Village councils decision to ban collection on roadways for our veterans. What a slap in the face of every veteran that took up arms to protect the freedom and lives of people back home. I hope the members of the Sebewaing Village Council toss and turn every night, as they dont deserve the peace of mind that our veterans have given the rest of our citizens. Did they worry about liability when humping the bush in the jungles of Vietnam or crossing the deserts of Iraq in scorching heat, or how about digging out the enemy in the mountains of Afghanistan. I guarantee liability was the last thing on their mind. They were asked to do a job and did it with pride, honor and a belief in the way of life we enjoy here in the U.S. And now that our veterans need help, they are kicked aside like a dead rodent on side of the road. Sebewaing Village Council should be ashamed of themselves. What are you going to do for Fourth of July, tell everyone they cant fly their flags? I urge all my fellow veterans to join me in one last battle, a battle to wipe out this form unpatriotic cancer. Write to the Sebewaing Village Council and express your displeasure. Also boycott any and all events the council endorses. I urge the citizens of Sebewaing to write these people dishonoring our brave veterans. Sende letters to: Sebewaing Village Hall, 222 N. Center St. Sebewaing, MI, 48759, and ask them to rescind that ordinance! Terry L. Heck Sebewaing CIA Director John Brennan on Thursday blamed the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt last October on the ISIS affiliate in Sinai, a group that's also suspect in the loss of EgyptAir Flight 804 over the Mediterranean Sea in May. "We do attribute the downing of that Russian airliner to this group" called the Sinai Branch, Brennan said Thursday in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, referring to the Oct. 31 crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 that killed all 224 aboard. The flight originated in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh and was headed to St. Petersburg. Sinai branch operatives were "able to get on board that aircraft an improvised explosive device and to bring it down," Brennan said in stressing the growing threat from ISIS affiliates and "lone wolf" sympathizers around the world. "We have great concern about ISIL in other countries," he said, using another acronym for the terror group that has proclaimed a "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria. Brennan testified as Egyptian officials announced that the voice recorder from EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 enroute from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard, had been recovered from the sea floor. The Sinai branch has not claimed responsibility for the downing of EgyptAir Flight 804 but Egyptian officials have not ruled out terrorism. "If you analyze the situation properly, the possibility of having a terror attack is higher than the possibility of having a technical" failure, Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy told The Guardian newspaper. In testimony that at times contradicted the assessments of the Pentagon and White House of overall progress in the campaign against ISIS, Brennan warned that a resilient ISIS maintained the ability to counter-attack while spreading its influence across the globe to threaten the U.S. and the West. Among ISIS' affiliates worldwide, Brennan rated the ISIS militants in Libya as the "most dangerous" and the Sinai branch as the "most active." "We judge that ISIL is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks," he said. "ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West. And the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel. "Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group's terrorism capability and global reach," Brennan said. "The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly," he added. "In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda." At a news conference following Brennan's testimony, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook did not dispute the CIA Director's pessimistic analysis. Cook said that "the military effort to defeat ISIL is absolutely necessary but it is not sufficient to deal with this threat in full. "ISIL remains a concern and a threat. We've acknowledged that," Cook said, but inflicting a lasting defeat on ISIS "is going to take time. This is not going to be easy. We never said it would be. I think Director Brennan is acknowledging that." Despite progress made by the U.S. military against ISIS, Brennan said that the group remained "a formidable, resilient, and largely cohesive enemy, and we anticipate that the group will adjust its strategy and tactics in an effort to regain momentum." "Moreover, the group's foreign branches and global networks can help preserve its capacity for terrorism regardless of events in Iraq and Syria," Brennan said. "In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda." Brennan concluded that ISIS' Sinai Branch "has established itself as the most active and capable terrorist group in Egypt. The branch focuses its attacks on Egyptian military and government targets, but it has also targeted foreigners and tourists, as we saw with the downing of a Russian passenger jet last October." On Thursday, two Egyptian policemen were killed by gunmen in the city of al-Arish in Egypt's North Sinai province, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Four masked men stormed the policemen's house and fired at them, the ministry said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet, but the Sinai Branch has been implicated in most of the previous attacks in the area. The increasing attacks by the Sinai Branch have raised concerns for the 700 U.S. troops in Sinai with the Multinational Force and Observers group that has continually monitored compliance with the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Twelve nations currently contribute a total of about 1,700 troops to the force. Last September, several U.S. troops were wounded by an improvised explosive device suspected of being planted by the Sinai Branch. The Sinai Branch, believed to have about 1,000 jihadists in its ranks, was previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis before pledging allegiance to ISIS in November 2014. Under questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and the former chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, Brennan gave a brief rundown of the agency's estimates of the strength of ISIS and its affiliates worldwide. "We're talking about tens of thousands of individuals" under the ISIS brand, Brennan said. The CIA estimates ISIS had about 18,000-22,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, which was lower than the White House estimate of 25,000-30,000 and significantly lower than the CIA's previous estimate of a total of 33,000, he said. In Libya, there were about 5,000-8,000 ISIS adherents, mostly concentrated around the port city of Sirte, which is now under siege by Libyan government forces backed by the U.S. and European allies, Brennan said. "Inside of Yemen, you have several hundred," and another several hundred in Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said. In Nigeria, there were about 7,000 militants with the Boko Haram group, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS, Brennan said, and there was also increasing concern at the agency over ISIS' growing influence in southeast Asia. All told, "the numbers are significant," Brennan said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related Video: CIA Director John Brennan on Thursday told U.S. senators that agents and managers have been held "accountable" for widespread abuses in the interrogations of terror suspects but he declined to say how. "The agency over the course of the last several years took actions to address the shortcomings that we have fully acknowledged," Brennan said in response to questions from Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. "In the detention and interrogation program, there was individual accountability that was taken as well as accountability for some of those management and systemic failures," he added, but didn't say how many agents had been disciplined, how they had been punished, or whether they were still on the payroll. The director said he would be "happy to address" those details in a classified session. CIA agents involved in the interrogation programs dating to the administration of George W. Bush have essentially been kept out of prosecution by U.S. courts as opposed to the military, where numerous service members have been court-martialed on charges stemming from the military's detention of suspected terrorists and enemy combatants. For example, 11 U.S. service members faced courts-martial over the abuses at the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq in 2003. Wyden began his questioning by citing new documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act request detailing more abuses by CIA agents in the use of what were called "enhanced interrogation techniques," including waterboarding. Wyden noted that the CIA's own internal investigation three years ago found that there were "significant shortcomings" in the conduct of the interrogations and also concluded that agency "must ensure that accountability extends to those responsible." Wyden said he was unaware of any CIA agent being held responsible and asked Brennan if that were still the case "for the systemic failures that the CIA has acknowledged." Brennan responded, "Any type of systemic failure is going to be related to the individual's failure either to provide the type of management and oversight, or the performance" of the interrogations. Wyden then asked for a "yes" or "no" response on whether individuals had been held accountable, and Brennan said, "yes." President Barack Obama in 2009 banned the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" to include waterboarding, but the question of how the CIA, law enforcement and the military should deal with detainees and suspected terrorists to gain intelligence has resurfaced in the presidential campaign. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has called for a return to the extreme methods, as well as new, undescribed methods that are "a hell of a lot worse" than waterboarding. In March, Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford was asked at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing by Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a foe of Trump, for his thoughts on a return to harsh interrogation techniques and on the killing of the families of terrorists, which was also advocated by Trump. "Our men and women -- they go to war with the values of our nation," Dunford said. "Those kinds of activities that you described are inconsistent with the values of our nation. And quite frankly, I think it would have an adverse effect. One of them would be on the morale of the force. And frankly, what you are suggesting are things that actually aren't legal for them to do anyway." Dror Ladim, a staff lawyer for the ACLU, said, "The military has been better for sure than the CIA" in holding individuals responsible for abuses of detainees and suspects. "It's certainly true that there have been a substantial number of courts-martial coming out of Abu Ghraib" and other cases, he said, "but even with the military, they've focused on low-level people" rather than those in charge. There has never been a criminal prosecution for abuses by the CIA in the war on terror, Ladim said. If the CIA has held agents accountable in other ways, "they should explain it publicly, not in private," he said. The only disciplinary action taken by the CIA that he was aware of was in the case of two CIA lawyers who were given "verbal admonitions," he said. In his 2014 memoir, "Worthy Fights," Leon Panetta, the former CIA director and later defense secretary, wrote that Obama rejected his advice by opting to release documents related to agency's enhanced interrogation program. Obama took pains to steer clear of jeopardizing his relationship with the agency, Panetta wrote, and "had comforting words for officers of the CIA: 'In releasing these memos it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution.'" During a subsequent meeting with top agency officials at the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Obama "acknowledged that his decision to release the memos had come over my objections, and stressed that he understood the reservations CIA officers had regarding a review of practices that he had deplored but that they had undertaken with authorization," Panetta wrote. "As he had a few days earlier, he stressed that no one would be prosecuted who had stayed within the legal authority laid out in the memos," Panetta wrote. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. A second U.S. Army victim has been identified among the casualties of the deadly shooting at an Orlando nightclub. Angel Candelario-Padro served in the Puerto Rico National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, officials said. "It is again with our deepest sadness, our heartbreak that we inform you that National Guardsman SPC. Angel Candelario-Padro was among the victims we have lost," said Matt Thorn, executive director of OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents the U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Candelario-Padro, whose home of record at the time of enlistment was Guanica, Puerto Rico, served as a member of the Puerto Rico National Guard and was assigned as a musician to the 248th Army Band, officials said. He also played clarinet with his hometown band and had just moved to Orlando from Chicago, Thorn said. He served as a specialist in the Guard from Jan. 12, 2006, until Jan. 11, 2012, at which point he transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Houk, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, confirmed in an email to Military.com. Candelario-Padro was then in the Inactive Ready Reserve until April 2013 and served in the 49th Multifunctional Medical Battalion in Puerto Nuevo, Puerto Rico, until April 2014, according to information provided by Wayne Hall, a spokesman for the Army. His awards include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (two awards), and the Army Service Ribbon. The 248th Army Band posted a condolence message and photo of Candelario-Padro on its Facebook page. "Very painful to mention this but we have to recognize and do a tribute to one of our own," it stated. "With great sadness I want to report the loss of who was in life the SPC ANGEL CANDELARIO. The Band 248 joins the sadness that overwhelms your family and we wish you much peace and resignation. Spc Candelario, rest in peace." Candelario-Padro for two years prior lived in Chicago, where he worked at the Illinois Eye Institute and had side jobs at Old Navy and as a Zumba instructor, according to an article in The Chicago Tribune. He was at the Pulse nightclub frequented by the LGBT community when the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history occurred. Authorities say 29-year-old Omar Mateen, who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 911 calls, killed 49 people and injured another 53 before being killed in a shootout with police. Army Reserve Capt. Antonio Davon Brown was also killed in the attack and may be eligible to receive the Purple Heart, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday. -- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry. COLUMBUS A main thoroughfare could have an aesthetically improved look welcoming travelers into town following a construction project. Adding new light poles, colored concrete and native grasses along a stretch of U.S. Highway 30 in Columbus might be included in the plans for a reconstruction project by the Nebraska Department of Roads. It isnt likely that NDOR will get to the project that involves completely removing and replacing the street and curbs on 23rd Street from 33rd to East 11th avenues until 2019 or 2020. A design for the project has yet to be finalized, but the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Streetscaping Committee has been working for months to come up with ideas to make visual improvements to the street. Dennis Grennan, chairman of the chambers transportation committee, said the reconstruction project provided a good time to consider making other enhancements to 23rd Street. Doing so will improve the appearance, particularly for those driving into town on Highway 30 from the east. It is kind of a first impression aspect everybody gets as they come into Columbus from that direction, Grennan said Thursday during a chamber transportation committee meeting at Ramada-Columbus. Even though reconstruction is years away from beginning, starting early on the planning phase has been important because only part of the beautification could be included in the state-funded project. The NDOR will typically include a certain amount of streetscaping, and if you want to go above that, locally you have to come up with the funds. That is part of what we have to figure out. Wheres the level NDOR says, 'Well pay for that?' Anything more it will be paid for locally, Grennan said. Part of the project includes making improvements to water, sewer and sanitary lines that are underneath the street. City Engineer Rick Bogus said he recently met with a consulting firm working with NDOR on the project. They were in the other day finishing up discussions with us about the scope of services they are writing so they can provide us with a proposal to look at and subsequently give to the city council for their approval to do the city stuff, Bogus said. Also part of the discussion were streetscaping ideas and cost. Additional meetings will be held with the chambers streetscaping committee and public before a plan is created to be included in the 23rd Street project. We talked about different kinds of streetscaping and what I call hard streetscaping like different types of street light poles or stamped colored concrete and there is soft (streetscaping) like planting, Bogus said. Without a design in place, it is a challenge to determine what can be done because of the layout of 23rd Street. You start out on the west side by 33rd Avenue. Its tight and urban and the parking lots are right there. We get farther to the east and you have a wide-open area. There is not going to be one type of streetscaping that will be good for every spot. I think it will be a bit different as we go, he said. The plan is to tie the look together, whether that be with the same light poles or color stamped concrete for the walkways along the corridor. Grennan said the whole reconstruction project could take a year to complete, and there will have to be a lot of coordination with businesses located along 23rd Street that could be affected. Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV. The acting head of the Veterans Benefits Administration is retiring, leaving the position he has held since his predecessor left under a cloud in 2015. Danny Pummill, a retired Army colonel who joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2010, had planned to retire in 2015 but stayed on as acting undersecretary of benefits after his predecessor resigned last October, VA said in a statement. Allison Hickey called it quits after a long period of criticism from lawmakers and veterans organizations, most recently for allowing VA senior executives to move into jobs that they reportedly coerced others leave. Pummill, the principal deputy undersecretary for benefits at the time, was suspended without pay for 15 days in March in connection with the same scandal. VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson saidPummill failed to exercise proper oversight when Kimberly Graves and Diana Rubens forced lower-ranking managers to take job transfers and then took over the vacant positions themselves, even keeping their senior level pay though the jobs held less responsibility. Yetthe demotions and job transfers handed to Graves and Rubens by the VA were overturned when they appealed the disciplinary actions to Merit System Protection Board. In the VA statement released on Thursday, Pummill called his 33 years in the military and his time with the department and the Veterans Benefits Administration serving veterans "the greatest fulfillment of my life. "In my time at VBA, I continued to be impressed by the dedication and selfless sacrifice of the employees in service to our nation's veterans," he said. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as their acting under secretary for benefits and it is with mixed emotions that I leave this great organization to begin the next phase of my life." Thomas Murphy, who took over as principal deputy undersecretary for benefits last year when Pummill moved up to take over from Hickey, is now the acting undersecretary for benefits, the VA said. Murphy previously was a director of compensation service at VBA. He joined the VA in 2009 as the director of the San Juan Puerto Rico Regional Office. VA Secretary Bob McDonald called Pummill "the consummate veterans advocate" who had a hands-on approach to making sure veterans were central to department operations. "I am saddened to see him go but deeply appreciate that he agreed to stay on and lead VBA as long as he did," McDonald said. -- Bryant Jordan can be reached at Bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at@BryantJordan. LINCOLN A special legislative committee has asked Gov. Pete Ricketts for emergency funding to hire and train additional corrections officers for Nebraska's prisons. "Between numerous recent incidents of violence against correctional staff, along with high staff turnover and the regular use of mandatory overtime, action needs to be taken immediately to assure Nebraskans that these lapses of security will not be tolerated -- not one more day," the 11 members of the Department of Correctional Services Special Investigative Committee said in a letter sent to the governor Thursday afternoon. The state employees union blamed the June 10 escape of two inmates from the Lincoln Correctional Center on understaffing there, senators said in the letter sent after the committee met Thursday morning with state Corrections Director Scott Frakes. High levels of turnover have led to large amounts of overtime and overextended prison staff, putting them and the community at risk, senators said. Ricketts' office is reviewing the letter, said spokesman Taylor Gage. "As Director Frakes said earlier this week, the fugitive convicts were able to escape because corrections staff failed to follow procedure, not because of overtime or staffing," he said. The prison was fully staffed at the time of the escape, and neither of the two employees officials who failed to follow procedure was working overtime, Gage said. The director is preparing his first two-year budget request since taking office and looking at the department's needs, he said. At the committee meeting, Ombudsman Marshall Lux gave senators an email his office received from a prison employee, saying the prisons have been critically understaffed for at least six years. Very little has been done to solve the problem, said the employee, who Lux did not name. Lack of staff allows inmates to pay attention to gaps in security and then take advantage of them, the employee said. A large problem is the department's failure to pay correctional officers for experience, the email said. "We need to have pressure from everyone to have the governor reopen the contract with the union immediately to give corrections step raises ... ," which reward employees for longevity, additional education, etc. "We cannot wait until the new contract to solve this problem." Overtime and lack of experience contribute to the problems, the employee said. "Guess how attentive employees are on the second half of a double shift," the employee told the ombudsman. At the Thursday meeting, Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus said the cost of fixing problems in Nebraska prisons could take $100 million -- or much more -- for staffing, programming, facilities and parole needs. But senators are still in the dark as to exactly what the department needs. And Frakes, who has been in the director's position for 16 months, continues to tell them he'll let them know about budget needs in September, when analyses and studies are complete and the request is due. Committee members have been frustrated with the lack of answers. "We should have all the metrics, all the numbers that we need at this point ... to bring our prison system up to snuff," Schumacher said. "We're not getting that." The only reason senators are not getting the answers is that someone wants to delay because it would have a significant impact on spending, and any lowering or raising of taxes, he said. Presumably Schumacher was talking about Frakes' boss, Ricketts. Omaha Sen. Bob Krist told Frakes he expected to see a budget that outlined how the department was going to fix each problem. And he hoped the director was in charge of his own budget, he said. Frakes was hired to fix the state's prisons, said Schumacher. "You've got a lot of training, a lot of experience. You came with high expectations, the endorsement of many of us who are on the committee, because you knew your stuff," he said. It's time now to give the Legislature straight talk, he said. Still, Frakes said he's not prepared. "I hear the word 'stall,'" Schumacher said. Sen. Ernie Chambers got up and left the committee meeting, upset that Frakes was staying to answer questions for less than 30 minutes, apparently because he had to go to a budget meeting. "I'll come back after this part of the charade is over," Chambers said after telling Frakes he and others should be fired over the escape incident. But Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks told Frakes many people at the meeting feel positive about him. "I think you're in a tight spot," she said. "My feeling is your hands are tied." Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz said she feels the recent escape was related to a stressed system in which there is overcrowding, understaffing, inexperience. Lux told the committee all systems have weaknesses and flaws that will be discovered and exploited. And stress on those systems can lead to catastrophic failures. "I do not believe that reassigning a warden and firing a few overworked employees at LCC is going to address the real problem," Lux said. "The real problem is much bigger than that." The Yangon Region government will finish scrutinising suspended high-rise projects within the next week, Yangon Regions chief minister told yesterdays parliament session. YCDC told some 200 high-rise projects to suspend development on May 14, as the Committee will review high-rise building permits closely through a coordination team to see if the projects correspond with Yangon development plans. U Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region chief minister, told parliament yesterday that the government will finish reviewing high-rise projects and start issuing construction permits within a week. U Than Htay, head of the department of engineering at YCDC, said that his organisation had already inspected all stopped projects for structure and design, but had to make on-site inspections before issuing construction permits. We dont want to take long but we need to inspect [in] detail. As soon as we finish inspecting we will allow permitted construction to resume, he said. The initial suspension sent waves of alarm through the construction sector, with U Khin Shwe, president of the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA) and chair of Zaykabar Company, telling The Myanmar Times that the order could put thousands out of work. Developer U Than Naing said previously that the decision could scare foreign investors. But the new policy will also help architects avoid taking flak from people complaining about the profusion of high-rises across the city, said U Zay Win Htut, an architect at private company. It used to be that architects followed the law, but when developers received their permit from they built a high-rise, he told The Myanmar Times. So architects were put in a difficult situation. He hopes that the new stricter laws will help create a clear demarcation between the responsibilities of developers and architects. A woman in Bogale township, Ayeyarwady Region, became the deltas first crocodile victim of the year when she was killed on June 11 by a reptile reportedly measuring more than 12 feet in length. The attack occurred near the Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary. U Mya Lwin, a forestry official stationed at the park, was called to investigate the case and recover the womans body. The victim, 29-year-old Ma Khaing Khaing Oo, was believed to have been attacked while she was cleaning a bucket in a river adjacent to the sanctuary. This is the first time this year that someone has died from a crocodile attack in the delta, U Mya Lwin said. This is a crocodile region, and every year one or two people are killed by the animals. Although he did not see the crocodile himself, an eyewitness reported its length at 13 feet (4 metres). The victim was attacked at around 6pm. A neighbour saw the crocodile bite her and carry her along the river. Then the crocodile disappeared and never came back, he said, adding, Just one month ago we made an announcement about the dangers posed by crocodiles at this time of year, when females are searching for a place to lay their eggs. U Mya Lwin said he did not know the number of crocodiles in Bogale township, but nearly 40 are believed to live within the boundaries of Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary. The park, located near the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River, is famous for its crocodile hatching sites and mangrove forests. Wildlife conservation groups are alerting villagers that crocodiles pose a threat in the area, which has also become an increasingly popular destination for eco-tourists in recent years. We visit this area with tourists every year, said U Soe Min Naing, general manager of SST Tourism Myanmar, which has run trips to Meinmahla Kyun since 1998. According to forestry data, the number of crocodiles is increasing. But when we go there, sometimes we have to wait up to three days to see a big crocodile. He added that signs have been posted in some villages warning about the danger posed by crocodile attacks. During monsoon season the water level becomes very high and dangerous. I have heard that people have been attacked by crocodiles while they are swimming in the river or standing near the banks. As rainy season descends, children are increasingly at risk for one of the nations biggest preventable killers drowning. Already police have tallied 132 deaths by drowning in Yangon Region alone in the first five months of the year. Last year, there were 317 drowning cases reported [in Yangon Region]. This year, there have been 132 cases from January to May, including 14 females and 118 males. The cases include many children who died after falling into water, said a police captain of the Yangon Region Police Force who asked that his name not be used. According to the World Health Organisations Global Report on Drowning, drowning ranks among the 10 leading causes of death of children in every region of the world, but Southeast Asia is particularly at risk, with the highest rate of child drowning fatalities. The WHO called the issue a serious and neglected public health threat that garners less attention than many communicable disease, yet is the third leading cause of unintended deaths globally after car accidents and falls. According to Myanmars Health Management Information System, drowning is the leading cause of injury deaths in the country, with 1257 to 1511 deaths per year since 2005. More than 90 percent of the estimated 372,000 drowning around the world each year occur in middle- or low-income countries, with children under five and males disproportionately affected. The police have not disaggregated the Yangon Region data for the ages of the victims, but four incidents within the first two weeks of June highlight the danger for infants. According to the police, the incidents most often occur when children are bathing or playing near a river, stream or lake, but also happen when children wander off and fall into puddles or flooded areas near their homes. On June 5, a child went with his father on a trip to buy farming equipment in Twante. While the father was negotiating the deal, the child drowned. In Dala township on June 14, an eight-month-old baby was left with his 10-year-old brother while their parents went to the Kyan Sitt Thar ward market. The children, Ko Bo Bo Aung and Ko Aung Htoo Myaing, went outside to play. The baby, Ko Aung Htoo Myaing, got lost and was found dead in a five-foot puddle, according to a police report filed by Police Lieutenant Thet Naing. In another incident on June 13, a one-year-old child from Kyauktan township, who was sleeping with her mother, crawled out of bed and died in a puddle in front of their house. In the same week, a 10-year-old riding a bicycle on the Mawtin Kaing Dan jetty bridge slipped, fell and died. By looking at all the reports, the cases involve mostly infants and children up to 10 years old. Teenagers also skip school to swim in dams, rivers and streams with their friends and die, the police captain said. Various surveys have found that parents or guardians are often nearby during the deadly accidents. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, in 10 percent of all drowning cases adults witness the incident but do not recognise the signs of what is occurring. Stereotypes of drowning symptoms such as thrashing about and gasping for air are not actually indicative of the real, often less dramatic event. Drowning victims are almost always unable to call out for assistance, and cannot, except in rare circumstances, wave for help. Health officials suggest preventative measures, include educating parents and caregivers about the signs and symptoms of drowning as well as how to respond in an emergency situation. Dr Aung Thein Htay, a trauma project manager at the Ministry of Health, said that while training bystanders on rescue and response efforts is important, the department is not able to focus on drowning when traffic accidents are the number-one killer. We cannot do a lot of activities or campaigns around drowning because vehicle accidents are the priority, he said. Now we are trying to compile a list of [drowning] patients who came to the general hospitals in Yangon, Mandalay, Magwe and Nay Pyi Taw. Nurse Daw Phyu Phyu Aye from Thaketa township suggested parents take action by creating barriers to separate children from water. In houses with children the floors must be repaired Wooden dowels can be made to put at the bottom of doors so children cannot get out unsupervised, she said. These cases are preventable and should not happen. Translation by Khine Thazin Han and San Layy, additional reporting by Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Laignee Barron Police in Mandalay Region reported the seizure of more than K2 billion (US$1.7 million) worth of pseudoephedrine powder and tablets on June 14. Two men were transporting the drugs between Kalay and Mandalay when their vehicle was checked for illicit narcotics in Sagaing Region. Police found 14 bags of white powder identified as pseudoephedrine, which can be used for medical treatment but also for the production of methamphetamines. The drugs were trafficked by Ko Thu Soe Oo and Ko Htet Nay Zin, also known as Lone Lone. A case against them has been opened at Myo Ma Police Station in Sagaing under section 15 and 16 of the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. Ko Htet Nay Zin confessed to holding more illicit narcotics in his house, upon which officers including narcotics police inspected his residence. They found 125,000 pseudophedrine tablets and 20 bags of powder. Interrogation of the suspects led the police to another house in Mandalay, where over 1 million pseudoephedrine tablets were found. The house owner said he had been paid K100,000 to store the narcotics. On June 15, a case was opened against 7 people related to the drug seizure under the sections 15, 16(b) and 21 of the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law at Aung Myay Tharzan Police Station. During a major drug bust in Mandalay in the first weekend of March more than US$30 million worth of illicit substance, including heroin and Ecstasy, were found. Halting the trafficking of illicit narcotics has been made a priority under the new governments 100-day plan. Deputy director general of the Presidents Office U Zaw Htay said on June 15 that State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had directed state and region chief ministers to take serious efforts to eradicate drugs. Narcotic are a huge danger for the people and state and region chief ministers have started the implementation of a drug eradication measures as part of the 100-day plan, he said at a press conference at the presidential palace. This issue has been ordered to be conducted in collaboration with the Myanmar Police Force, U Zaw Htay said. He added that readily available liquor at shops around the country was undoing the youth. Around the country, police forces have been advised to take up increased anti-crime measures, including boosting the number of staff on patrol and focusing on eliminating gangs, drug trafficking, gambling and illegal massage parlours and KTVs. Translation by Khine Thazin Han North Korea is prepared to offer Myanmar assistance in improving rice production and in the construction and maintenance of dams, The Myanmar Times has learned. Sources stressed that at this point, the two governments are in preliminary negotiations and there is no decision yet on the signing of an agreement. A statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation on June 14 said the talks primarily concerned Myanmars agriculture sector. Union Agriculture Minister U Aung Thu received North Koreas ambassador, Jong Ho Bom, on June 14 and discussed plans to develop Myanmars agriculture with the introduction of new technology, including a superior strain of paddy. Sources said the improved rice strain could help overcome a possible drawback inherent in the governments agricultural policy. North Korea has methods to increase the yield per hectare. They also have good strains. Theyre offering to collaborate with our agricultural sector by sharing them and providing technology, and theyre prepared to do business in a joint venture, said one source on June 15. In accordance with current agricultural policy, farmers are no longer forced to grow rice but can cultivate any crop they wish, deputy minister U Tun Win told the Pyithu Hluttaw last week. While this may increase individual farmers profits, it could also lead to rice shortages as more land was diverted away from paddy production. The government has yet to decide whether to proceed with the North Korean offer, which could help maintain rice production levels. These are preliminary negotiations. Were not signing an agreement, said the source. The ministry statement said North Korea also offered to share its technology to build and maintain dams and reservoirs, to the potential benefit of villagers whose homes and fields are subject to regular flooding. Mr Jong has also met with Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than to discuss enhancing friendship between the two countries, the statement said. He also met with Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker U Win Myint. State media in North Korea, where a drought-exacerbated famine in the 1990s killed up to 3.5 million people, warned its citizens in March that they may have to chew on the roots of plants once again this year. Translation by Thiri Min Htun Following a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on June 15, the scandal-hit Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association has launched an internal investigative committee. The eight-member committee will examine how 10 million euro (US$11.3 million) allotted for holding emporiums was spent. The internal committee includes the associations deputy director, secretary and entrepreneur association executive member U Kyaw Kyaw Oo, according to the chair of the association, U Yone Mu. U Kyaw Kyaw Oo has led a complaint against the alleged disappearance of vast sums from the gems and jewellery industry body. His complaint accused senior members of the previous administration, including the former president, of draining 86 million euros from an association account. In May, more than 80 members of the Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association called for an investigation into the funds disappearance. The associations chair has denied the allegation, while the mines ministry members tasked with leading the probe have filed an internal report about the matter. The person who reported the complaint has been included in the [internal] committee so that he can audit the account. The committee will audit where and how the 10 million euros were spent and determine how much was used, association chair U Yone Mu said. He added that he is confident no errors will be found related to the handling of the fund, because foreign-qualified auditors had conducted checks every month. Entrepreneur association executive member U Kyaw Kyaw Oo said the committee is preparing to hire outside auditors, engineers and lawyers, and the committee will take two weeks to get organised. The audit is the first step. Later, all accounts will be uncovered, he said. Translation by San Layy Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj yesterday urged Myanmar government officials to avoid bribery and other forms of corruption. As bribery is against the law, your political activities need to be free from it. It depends on you, he said during a meeting at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Nay Pyi Taw. Mr Elbegdorjs statement was in response to a question from a staffer from the Ministry of Transportation and Communication about the extent of corruption in Mongolia. For me, I never work for my own interest. I always look at whats best for the people. Trying to make money using your power is not good. It is not the work of politicians, Mr Elbegdorj said. There is no one involved in bribery among my family members, he added. Assistant lecturer from Magwe University Daw San Moh Moh Thu, who attended yesterdays speech, said the first priority should be to ensure the people of Myanmar know what democracy is, rather than focusing on reducing graft. Here, people think they can do what they want under a democratic system. They should understand first what democracy is, she said, adding that democratic change would be more difficult in Myanmar than in other countries due to a lack of transparency. The government needs to tell people what they are doing. In the past, people did not know everything that was going on. If people are told what the government is doing, then they will collaborate with the government by giving suggestions, she said. Translation by Thiri Min Htun President U Htin Kyaw yesterday announced an 11-member committee of parliamentarians, financial experts and ministers to coordinate economic policies. For a stable and strong economic policy, reforms are needed in the trade, finance, banking, investment, agriculture, forestry and industry sectors, read a statement released by the Presidents Office yesterday. Led by National Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win, the committee includes outspoken parliamentarians like Daw Khin San Hlaing and business analysts from the private sector, ruling party figures, and retired and incumbent government officials. President Offices deputy director general U Zaw Htay said, They will work together with the ministries as well as with businesses in private sectors for economic development. The committee is responsible for reviewing trade, monetary, fiscal and investment policies. It will convene every month and submit reports on economic policies to the Union government. The committee will also be tasked with coordinating with a government policy and planning think tank in the works. U Khin Maung Lwin, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said his ministry has received suggestions from businesses to ease and clarify rules and regulations on imports and exports. The Ministry of Commerce introduced a 2 percent advance income tax on the custom value of nearly all imports and exports with the intention of scrutinising income tax on trades. However, traders complained the rule caused a bottleneck and stymied investment in the industry, as money has to be paid in advance. If that is removed, there would be a reduction in the national income and the question is how we replace that, U Khin Maung Lwin said. U Kyaw Win, minister for national planning and finance, told a workshop in Yangon this week that the ministry will soon unveil Myanmars economic policies, which will include easing foreign investment restrictions and ending monopolies. Minister for Commerce U Than Myint will serve as vice chair of the new committee. Daw Sandar Oo, director general of the financial regulatory department under the finance and planning ministry, will serve as committee secretary. Members include U Sat Aung and U Soe Min from the Central Bank of Myanmar and U Khin Aye and Daw Khin San Hlaing from the Pyithu Hluttaws Banks and Monetary Development Committee, as well as U Han Thar Myint, a senior figure of the NLD, and U Myo Myint, former deputy director general of the now-merged National Planning and Economic Development Ministry. The two private sector investors on the committee are U Soe Win, a member of Deloitte Myanmar Association, and U Bo Bo Nge, department head of research and risk management at KBZ Bank. Amid hopes that President U Htin Kyaw himself might attend, ambitious preparations are going forward to mark the 69th anniversary of Martyrs Day on July 19, including plans to renovate Martyrs Mausoleum in Yangon before the ceremony. The mausoleum was built to honour the national heroes assassinated in 1947, including Bogyoke Aung San, Mahn Ba Khaing and U Razak. U Nay Win, deputy head of the Department of Engineering (Building) of Yangon City Development Committee, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the large-scale renovation was being carried out on the instructions of the Union government. We usually renovate the mausoleum before Martyrs Day, but this year we will undertake large-scale repairs. Architects are drawing up new designs, which we will implement pending a decision from the Union level, he said, adding that the proposed design entailed decorating the rocks with images of the nations martyrs. On June 6, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein met with YCDC committee members and chief engineers at the mausoleum to discuss the renovation plans. The government will soon set up an organising committee to decide who should be invited to the event. U Zaw Htay, the spokesperson for the Presidents Office, said no decision had been taken yet to invite the nationwide ceasefire agreement signatory groups, and it was not known whether the president himself would appear. It would be the first such appearance by a Union president. However, the spokesperson was quoted in The Voice Daily on June 15 saying that the government intended to invite ethnic armed groups to attend the Martyrs Day ceremony. The ethnic armed groups could not be reached for comment on the matter. Last year, vice president Sai Mauk Kham attended the ceremony in Yangon, the highest-ranking official to have attended the ceremony. The Yangon Region government has announced that it will revise Yangons urban planning and make it into a more livable city by conserving heritage buildings and green spaces. U Phyo Min Thein, the regions chief minister, told parliament yesterday that the focus will be on areas that are not decided at the Union level but that constitute important public services, such as the citys drainage system, public transport, electricity and industrial development. A group will be formed and tasked with ensuring traffic lights and bus lines operate systematically. An attempt will also be made to set up a committee in charge of increasing discipline among taxi drivers, the chief minister said. To develop water transport, the regional government will rehabilitate and maintain the Yangon, Bago and Namoe-yeik rivers that run through the city. The citys deadly electricity wires, which continue to cost lives during the rainy season due to electrocution, will also be part of the plan. After a review of the production, distribution and wiring of the electricity cables, a strategy will be developed to improve the system. In the hope of creating job opportunities, the government will continue to develop small and medium industries and invite foreign investors. People will be able to get a lot of job opportunities in the country, said U Phyo Min Thein. Under the former government, urban planners and Yangon City Development Committee drafted a zoning plan for the citys urban development in 2013 and created a zone in which high-rise construction would be limited. An urban planner involved in the process said last year the goal was to legislate the proper use of urban land and limit high-rises. It was not implemented, however, and was deferred for the new government to deal with. Last month, an official at YCDCs Department of City Planning and Land Administration said the plan is almost ready to become law. Every day, policymakers around the world face a dizzying array of choices. The more they spend on, say, education, the less there is to run hospitals, fight pollution or boost agricultural productivity. Lobby groups, activists and the media promote certain causes solar panels, the Zika virus, closing tax loopholes immediately while less fashionable issues, like nutrition or non-communicable diseases, can slip beneath the radar. And most countries politics have proverbial third rail issues policies or programs (say, state pensions) that are so sacrosanct that any policymaker who touches them faces instant political death. Part of the problem is that when governments invest in economic analysis, they tend to do so for one policy at a time, asking simply, Would this be cost-effective? Yes? Lets do it. But what if policymakers looked at a range of options simultaneously comparing bridge-building with spending on school textbooks to figure out where first to direct any additional money? This approach was used for the first time at a national level last month in Bangladesh, where my think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Center, collaborated with BRAC, the worlds largest development organisation, on the Bangladesh Priorities project. The idea was to provide constructive input to the Bangladeshi government and donors by determining where extra resources would do the most good. Bangladesh has been making immense strides. Economic growth has averaged nearly 6 percent over the last decade, and the poverty rate has declined rapidly since the 1990s. Gains in average life expectancy have been astounding, steadily rising from around 48 years in 1980 to more than 70 years in 2014. The country has many compelling policy options, making our initiative even timelier. Beginning in early 2015, the Bangladesh Priorities project commissioned dozens of teams of specialist economists from Bangladesh and around the world to study 76 concrete solutions to improve the countrys future. Education economists, for example, analysed the best education solutions for Bangladesh, estimating the costs and benefits of each. Last month, an eminent panel of four top economists three leading Bangladeshi scholars and a Nobel laureate in economics met in Dhaka to examine the results. Having read all the research, the panel spent three days discussing and challenging the findings with the specialist economists. So, when the education economists provided an analysis on putting children into classes according to ability, the eminent panel would question the assumptions and probe the outcomes to see whether the finding stood up. The panel identified some remarkable investments. At the top of their list of priorities was treatment of tuberculosis, which kills about 80,000 Bangladeshis annually one in every 11 deaths in the country. The main cost comes from getting almost 60 million more people screened, but it is indeed a cheap disease to treat: Spending just about US$100 per patient on standard drugs and community clinic follow-up can avert TB transmission. The total benefit is at least 21 times higher than the total cost. When one considers the impact on families of not losing their breadwinner, and on communities of not losing their experienced workforce, the real benefit could be even higher. In second place was e-procurement, a digital solution implying improved oversight of the 720 billion takas ($9.1 billion) the government spends each year to pay for everything from new bridges to pencils. Creating something similar to an online bidding system can boost competition and reduce corruption, lowering government costs by an estimated 12pc. And the relatively low cost of implementing e-procurement implies low risk. Each taka of spending stands to do more than 600 takas of good. Early nutritional interventions vital in determining long-term outcomes were ranked third. Nearly one in four children in Bangladesh under the age of five is malnourished to the point of being stunted, which hinders mental development, lowers school performance, and leads to lower productivity, worse health outcomes and more disease later in life. The benefits of nutrition-focused improvements are estimated to be 19 times higher than the costs, which are low. When we say what should come first, we also need to say what should not come first. This may seem uncaring. But if we do not prioritise explicitly, we end up spreading resources thinly, or allowing opaque bureaucratic processes and the vagaries of media attention and the pressure of lobby groups to prioritise for us. For Bangladesh, the panel pointed out that cervical cancer, for example, should not come first. This is hard. It kills about 10,000 Bangladeshi women each year; but it is very costly to treat. More than twice as many women die from TB, which also kills many men and children. What works best for Bangladesh will not necessarily work best for, say, Colombia, Finland, Haiti or Canada. But the same analytical approach can be used and extended to cities, states and regions. Economics should never be the sole decision-maker. But without evidence about costs and benefits, decisions are made in the dark. Providing a price list helps elevate the conversation about priorities. Bangladeshis and people everywhere deserve the most efficient allocation of scarce development resources that can be achieved. Project Syndicate Bjrn Lomborg, a visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School, is director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, which seeks to study environmental problems and solutions using the best available analytical methods. Nairobi (AFP) - Eight Kenyan politicians were charged Friday with hate speech and incitement to violence following public comments and calls to supporters made in recent days. Three lawmakers from the ruling Jubilee party, and four MPs and a senator from the opposition CORD alliance, denied the charges at Nairobi's Milimani Law Courts. Police guarded the area around the court where supporters had gathered. The detained Jubilee MPs, Moses Kuria, Kimani Ngunjiri and Ferdinand Waititu, are loyalists of President Uhuru Kenyatta and members of his Kikuyu tribe. The CORD politicians are MPs Timothy Bosire, Aisha Jumwa, Junet Mohammed and Florence Mutua, and senator Johnson Muthama. All eight were arrested on Tuesday and have been held in custody since then, with Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo warning their power and influence meant they might interfere with investigations. Prosecution lawyer Leonard Maingi on Friday argued the eight should be refused bail as they would likely repeat the alleged offences if allowed out. But Ogembo, while noting that these are "serious charges", approved their release on bail. Jubilee MPs Kuria and Waititu are accused of making public statements threatening the life of opposition leader Raila Odinga, a member of the Luo ethnic group, while Ngunjiri is said to have called for Luos in the central town of Nakuru to return to western Kenya, their traditional homeland. On the CORD side, Mohammed, Mutua and Muthama are accused of inciting the storming of police headquarters, while Bosire and Jumwa are alleged to have predicted chaos and violence as a result of Kenyatta's failure to unite the country in the wake of widespread and deadly political violence following the 2007 elections. Tensions are already rising ahead of elections due in August 2017. Lubumbashi (DR Congo) (AFP) - DR Congo's disbanded M23 rebel movement Friday called on the government to agree a new demobilisation scheme following deadly clashes near a camp housing former rebels dissatisfied with their conditions. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement that the deaths of several people in clashes this week between the army and ex-rebels showed the need for a new disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. "Repetitive serious fatal incidents, the inability of the government to achieve its own programme, poor conditions of life maintained in the demobilisation centres have transformed these places in real jails or in open-air prison where the dead are up to hundreds," Bisimwa said. M23 wanted to work with the government to set out a "more realistic" and attractive demobilisation programme for the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said. But asked by AFP to respond, government spokesman Lambert Mende said "M23 doesn't exist. We don't need to respond to non-existent entities." Tension had been mounting for days at the military base in Kamina, in the southeast, where more than 2,300 former rebels from various groups are stationed as part of a government disarmament programme. - Toll not clear - After the defeat of M23 in 2013, the government launched a programme known as DDR3 to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate more than 12,000 former rebels. But the programme, the third of its kind since the end of the Second Congo War in 2003, has been hit by delays and funding problems. Kamina has previously faced a mutiny from the disgruntled former rebels, who have complained about the living standards on the base. It was unclear however how many died in this week's clashes. A source at the local military hospital who asked not to be identified said Wednesday there had been "some dead" but declined to give a figure. On Friday, the head of the Bill Clinton Foundation, Emmanuel Cole, told AFP 12 people were killed, nine of them former rebels and three soldiers. He said the rebels were angry because their food rations had been cut and the integration process was too slow, meaning they faced an uncertain future. The government however says the only fatality was a soldier. Mende said the tension rose when rebels demanded to be allowed to leave the camp and return home. A Western military source said the latest clashes expose the limitations of the DDR3 programme and may deter other rebels from laying down arms and hamper the repatriation of former M23 refugees to Rwanda and Uganda. A natural, uncultivated and an uninhabited region, as wild as it can possibly be, is the doppelganger of South Africas Wild Coast, along the Eastern Cape Provinces northern coastline. The remote stretch that has over the years won the hearts of those who have had the privilege of visiting; stretches from East London in the Eastern Cape to Port Edward and the southern border of KwaZulu-Natal. The picturesque is like nothing you've ever seen; with green lush hummocks, sea cliffs embraced by effervescent waterfalls whose roaring waves leave a lifetime memory. This piece of heaven on earth is a mix of all aspects of nature; lakes and rivers, woods and fields, mountains and the sea, that make an excellent getaway for hikers, bird watchers and fishers. A ride on the horseback across the fields will also give you an illusion of the cowboy adventure that any swashbuckler would want to embark on. Its shipwrecks are a testament of a wild and tempestuous nature that forms part of the Wild Coasts legacy. Go wild at the Wild Coast that hosts striking coastal topography with traditional Xhosa thatched huts along desolate white-beaches. This forms a creation of traditions and customs that date back to the 18th and 19th centuries; when the region was a battlefield between British colonists and the rural Xhosas who were protecting the existence of their rich cultural heritage. The zing is even more as Wild Coast is the birthplace of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Visit Umtatas Nelson Mandela Museum and get a glimpse into the childhood life of the statesman who literally delivered South Africa from apartheid to modern democracy. Wild Coasts quaint splendor has over the years contributed greatly to the region's and the countrys tourism industry. With further investment to develop the area while aggressively guarding its natural resources and heritage, Wild Coast will further attract tenfold of tourists from across the world; as they seek to explore this astounding gem. Credit: Josephine Wawira, Jovago Ghana government has factored the needs and concerns of Persons with Disability in all national programmes in order to give meaning to the implementation of Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development goals. Consequently, Persons with Disability have been mainstreamed in Ghanas National Social Protection strategy and poverty reduction interventions. Mr. Kwesi Armo-Himbson, Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection stated this today (June 15, 2016) when he presented Ghanas position at the on-going ninth session of the conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CPRD) at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Under the theme Implementing the 2030 development agenda for all persons with disabilities: Leaving no one behind, the three-day programme is discussing the implementation of the Convention, apart from an interactive dialogue on implementation of the Convention between States parties and the United Nations system: celebrating the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. . The Chief Director, who is leading Ghanas 8-member delegation announced that under the Government of Ghana Livelihood Empowerment Against poverty (LEAP), cash transfer programme more than 52,082 Persons with Disability are benefiting from 20,932,788 Ghana cedis transfers to meet their basic needs. To enhance access to economic and livelihood creation opportunities in the districts, he stated that government has increased the allocation of the total national revenue to the disabled from two to three per cent. Mr. Kwesi Armo-Himbson mentioned that the Ministry of Education has launched a policy and guidelines on Inclusive Education (IE), which is being implemented in 20 districts in the country with support from UNICEF. Aside that, all children in public basic schools including those with disabilities enjoy free education. Despite efforts made, he mentioned that the negative perception that disability is a curse and non-productive still persisted in some communities, but said education has been intensified to correct it. Ghana, the Chief Director said wanted the state parties to ensure that women are adequately represented on the committee in the coming years in order to give true meaning to affirmative action, which is one of the cardinal principles of the United Nations and the Convention. Ghanas candidate to the nine-member committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Mrs. Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, a member of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) lost her bid, in a keenly contested election, when she bagged 54 of the expected 81 votes. The only two other women among the 17 contestants also failed to secure the necessary votes for the 9-member committee. Ghanas delegation include Mr. Kwamena Dadzie-Dennis, Executive Secretary, NCPD, Mr. Benjamin A. Otoo, National Director, Department of Social Development, Mr. Alex Tetteh, Executive President, Centre of Employment for Persons with Disability. Energy Access Ventures (EAV), the Paris-based, impact-focused, venture firm which backs entrepreneurial companies that increase access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced a $2 million investment in PEG, the leading off-grid solar pay-as-you-go (PAYG) company operating in Ghana. The partnership with PEG is EAVs second investment and represents the start of its investment activity in West Africa. After a Series A-1 round of $3.2M closed in September 2015, EAV led a $4.3M Series A-2 round, joined by Blue Haven Initiative. Existing investors Engie Rassmbleurs dEnergie and Investisseurs & Partenaires also participated in the round. PEG offers customers a solar product on an affordable 12-month payment plan, with an initial $35 deposit, followed by daily or weekly repayments, through mobile money. After completing the payment plan, customers own the solar home system, with multiple lights, mobile charging facility, a lantern and a radio. Dr Michael H Gera, Managing Partner of EAV said We are immensely proud to be investing in PEG. Their technical and financial innovation and unmatched distribution capability provide a unique opportunity to bring electricity to thousands of people in Ghana and beyond who have no access to grid-based power. Very importantly, PEG enables families to switch away from use of kerosene with its associated health and safety hazards. PEG has grown rapidly into the largest PAYG solar provider in Ghana, and currently has over 10,000 customers, serviced from 29 service centres in seven regions of Ghana. PEG targets customers who typically earn $1-$6 a day in semi-urban or remote rural areas, the overwhelming majority of whom are unbanked. PEG has pioneered a PAYG business approach that focuses on building value through a focus on distribution, financing and branding. PEG licenses its technology from MKopa, the global leader in PAYG technology. EAVs investment will help PEG expand its operations in the region, and Dr Gera will join the PEG Board. PEG CEO Hugh Whalan said, We are thrilled to have closed this latest funding round and look forward to working closely with our investors to leverage their unique skills so as to deliver reliable and convenient power to the millions of Ghanaians who need it, and at a price that poor consumers can afford. At Schneider Electric, cornerstone investor of the EAV fund, Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Senior Vice President, said We are delighted that EAV has made its second investment, consolidating the vision and promise that began within Schneider Electric. The expansion from east to west Africa shows that access to energy is indeed a basic need to foster development as well as support a growing consumer market. Schneider Electric reinforces its strong support to EAV and its portfolio companies to deliver a significant impact to communities and regions across Africa." Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Surrounded by mountains, Gembu is a quiet and ancient town domiciled in Sardauna local government area in Taraba State. It is noteworthy to say that Gembu is not a place to visit for the timid especially if you cannot stomach the climb of the mountains as well as the heart-thumping drive along the road linking the town to the world outside. Upon arrival, you are ushered into a tourism haven featuring warm climate, mixed Nigerian-Cameroonian culture, hospitality to a tilt, tasty cuisine and much more. From Lagos , you can fly to the Adamawa airport where you may join a bus heading to Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State . Jovago.com, Africas No.1 hotel booking portal unveil Gembu. Top three sites Mambilla Plateau The Mambilla Plateau is a poster-destination for Gembu and Taraba at large. This widely known plateau has one of the best weather conditions in Nigeria. With an elevation of 5,249 ft above sea level making it the highest Plateau in Nigeria, the plateau is frequented by all and sundry. For the best experience, a climb atop the Plateau which will give you a picturesque, unforgettable and lifetime view of Gembu. Chappal Waddi Mountain The Chappal Waddi Mountain is just a stones throw from the Mambilla Plateau. It is the highest peak in Nigeria with an elevation of about 2,419 meters. For tourists visiting Gembu, they have to decide which theyd rather hike Mambilla Plateau or Chappal Waddi Mountain as the fact is you cant climb both at in one day. Mbamnga and Ndumyaji Cave The Mbamnga-Ndumyaji Cave is a popular cave in Gembu. Displayed on the cave is a conspicuous footprint of an ancient warrior at the rock at Kabri, the rock with a horse footprint at Hienary, and the historic site of the ancient blacksmith. Hotels Hotels in Gembu are very affordable. You can get a comfy room for less than N3,000. Alternatively, you can decide to return to Jalingo if you do not want to spend the night in Gembu. Some of the Jovago hotels in Jalingo include Bizare hotel, Camp Lavet Hotel, Jankada Motel, Alkun Suite and Dove City Suite among others. Shopping The only shops or stores you can find at Gembu are chalets where they sell only consumer goods. These small stores are dotted in different parts of Gembu. If you want, you can also decide to check out the Gembu Old Market Square. Eating Dhanwate,Miyan Tushe, Tuwo Shinkafa, and Fura de nunu are some the cuisines you will find in Gembu. Like the stores, there are small restaurants where you can have a taste of these aforementioned foods. The best way to get a good place to eat is to talk to a local to recommend a restaurant. Fun fact The Mambilla Plateau is also free of mosquitoes and tse-tse flies. President John Dramani Mahama 17.06.2016 LISTEN President John Dramani Mahama, before I begin with my deliberations on the reasons why you must be impeached, let me take this opportunity to commiserate with you on the loss of your mother, the first mother of the land. May her soul find solace in ALLAH's mercy. Fellow Ghanaians, President Mahama must be impeached to save the nation unwarranted embarrassment on all fronts, locally and internationally. Quite a fantastic case of corruption was unravelled by Joy fm's Manasseh Azure. It seemed to suggest that John Mahama told a blatant lie during the interview by the Nigerian-born BBC journalist at the recent anti-corruption summit in London. This expose almost vindicates the effusions of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who said that Nigeria and Afghanistan were fantastically corrupt, except that he should have added Ghana. Or was it a slip of mind? As if by some sort of divine ingenuity, a call that I made some three years ago has suddenly found resonance amongst the masses since this unsurprising revelation. I almost saw it coming. It was damning, and downright shamming! This is not the first case of sole sourcing done by President John Mahama. Unfortunately, it appears that it has happened numerous times. If the President could take a Ford Expedition from a Burkinabe contractor for a small contract such as erecting a perimeter wall around the Embassy of Ghana in Burkina Faso, then by what percentage was the contract inflated? The contract for the job was valued at $650,000 (six hundred and fifty thousand US Dollars). For that much money, it was possible to build an ultra-modern Embassy, with fence wall and state of the art security system, a clear indication that the price was over bloated, as is normal with all the NDC government's contracts. This revelation has premised the mockery that is ongoing in Burkina Faso against Ghanaians. Kwame Nkrumah circle Interchange is no exception; The Kasoa interchange wears the same cap; The Ridge hospital extension and renovation was kwashiorkorly inflated. Kwashiorkorly is my signature adjective to describe the absurd corruption of over-priced projects. John Mahama neither knew the Burkinabe contractor nor had any relationship with him. Djibril Kenazoe had lost his bid to get the project. However, after a few manipulations, he landed it and as a result, sent A Ford Expedition as a gift of bribery to President Mahama. Initially, at the time that the story broke, there was a lot of denial, but when the laissez-Passer for the vehicle was adduced, a different angle was adopted in defense of this red-handed act of corruption. Lo and behold another indictment on President Mahama was unveiled. he had personally called Djibril Kenazoe to thank him for the $100,000 USD Ford expedition gift. How about Amandi that has over three billion US Dollars in contracts? And the Brazilian construction company that is doing an abysmal job? How much was given to John Mahama and his cronies? By the way, the circle interchange is sinking. The Brazilian company is hurrying to reinforce the pillars with concrete to stop the sinking, but that is futile because no matter how much the columns are reinforced, the problem of soft ground remains, and the sinking will continue. At this stage, the Burkinabe contractor must be arrested on charges of collusion to cause financial loss to the State. The Minister of roads and highways at the time, Mr Inusah Fusseini, must be sacked and investigated for justifying the direct appointment of the Burkinabe contractor to surface the Hamile road. He is on record having said that the contractor, being in Burkina Faso, was in close proximity to Hamile, and that made it convenient for the execution of the job because if the crew needed extra equipment, same could be fetched easily without delay. What a farce! Is he saying that construction companies in Ghana are not well equipped to do the job? I call on parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against President John Mahama to act as a deterrent to future Presidents, and to strengthen our democracy. Ghanaians must wake up from their slumber and act to prevent such blatant aggression on the reputation of our Motherland. Impeachment is the only recourse to resolving this mess. Our President seems to be very corrupt based on the revelations thus far exposed. The Presidential Advisor, Mr Batidam, stated in no uncertain terms that receiving a gift is tantamount to bribery and it is a breach of the codes of conduct of office holders. That is IMPEACHABLE! He also said that under no circumstances must a President take a gift that might serve to influence him in any way in favour of the briber. That confirms that John Mahama must be impeached. The propagandists, Okudzeto Ablakwa and other nauseating characters, are equating the President's act of corruption to Ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor's acceptance of a Mercedes Benz from the late Mu'ammar Gaddafi in 2002. Unfortunately for them, their futile attempt flies right back in their face because President Kufuor took it and ordered that the vehicle be added to the Castle fleet in the full glare of the media. So what is the beef of the NDC mongers of corruption? #ImpeachJohnMahamaNow #ImpeachJohnMahamaNow #ImpeachJohnMahamaNow Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) Youth League has dissociated itself from comments by its flagbearer, Ivor Greenstreet who has said he sees nothing wrong with President John Mahama accepting a gift from a contractor. In a statement signed by John Osei, the League says the president has embarrassed himself and should resign from office. Allegations of conflict of interest and corruption have been hanging around President John Mahama after Joy News Manasseh Azure investigations showed the President in 2012 received a gift from a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe. The contractor had been awarded a contract from government. Government has acknowledged the president received the Ford Expedition (2010 edition) but does not use it personally. Ivor Greenstreet has defended President Mahamas conduct and has dismissed talks of an impeachment. I dont have a feeling that there is a breach of protocol or conflict of interest The CPP Youth have however expressed disappointment in their flagbearers comment and have asked that it be ignored. The CPP statement below PRESIDENT MAHAMA MUST RESIGN As Ghanaians, we are totally embarrassed by the misconduct of the President and demand his immediate resignation. The President has breached his own code of ethics for Ministers and other Public Appointees. The President has breached the Public Procurement Act. The President has breached the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Guidelines on Conflict of Interest. The President has breached the 1992 Constitution. The President has breached his own Oath of office and is therefore no longer fit to hold himself as a worthy leader of our country. There is no way the President can absolve himself from this mess. It's interesting that the year Mr. Djibril Kanazoe, the Burkinabe contractor, gave a Ford Expedition to the President was the very year he won the Jericho wall contract. President Mahama has breached his own code of ethics which states that gifts that are to be accepted without any conditions should not exceed 200 cedis or 50 dollars. The said vehicle is within the range of 100,000 dollars. We are of the same opinion of Mr. Daniel Batidam, the Advisor on Governance at the Office of the President who in answering a hypothetical question on this issue said that the President should have known better and that any responsible leader would not need to be advised on that. The advice the president would certainly need from Mr. Batidam is that he, the president, should honour the words of his oath and resign. Fighter John Osei, Head of Finance and Administration, (00233266692006) CPP Youth League Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah Workers of Dangote Cement in Tema have laid down their tools in protest against what they call poor conditions of service and low salaries. According to the workers, since 2010, their salaries have not seen any increment, as they continue to earn poor wages. According to them, the highest a worker in the category of factory hands and others take home, is Ghc505, whiles the lowest earners take home Ghc165 before tax. The workers, numbering about 700, were clad in red arm bands, and wielded placards. Some of the placards read; 'Tunde must go', 'We are dying in our own country', 'Mr President, please come to our aid', among others. The local Union Chairman of the company, Thomas Ngba, noted that the workers can no longer take the maltreatment been meted out to them by the management, as they can no longer foot their bills at home. Today we decided to demonstrate to send a signal to the management that we are not happy with the way they are treating us He said, last week we went on hunger strike where we failed to eat throughout the week thinking management would even call us for a discussion but nothing was heard from them. Mr. Ngba continued that since they were employed in 2010, there has been no increase in salary, adding that their working conditions are also very bad. Some drivers of the company who also spoke to Citi News said drivers who cart the cement across the country, would have to use their own money for their hotel bills, to be reimbursed later, but according to them, it takes months to receive the monies. Attempts by Citi News to speak to management of the company proved futile. The multinational Dangote Cement Company is owned by Africa and Nigeria's richest man, Aliko Dangote. By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that the seven-member prize committee could not find a winner for the 2015 award because no President in Africa met the criteria. The award which is to honor former African heads of state who have excelled in leadership has been awarded four times since it was established in 2006 but has not found a winner since 2014. The business mogul Mo Ibrahim told the BBC the biggest concern is that there is a leadership challenge on the continent. There is an issue about excellence in leadership and it is not an African phenomenon but a global one. Look at Europe, look at Asia over the nine could they have picked up five exceptional leaders in Asia or Europe? he said. He told Sophie Ikenye that it is not an ideal situation that the Foundation is looking at that an African leader must win it every year. It is not that because we are Africans we have to accept some standards; excellence means excellence and it is a price for excellence. It is not an entitlement or a pension, Mr Ibrahim explained. According to him, the award is to give those leaders the opportunity to continue to serve the public ostensibly because our leaders when they leave office they dont have the opportunities leaders in Europe or North America have. They dont have directorship in big organizations, banks, etcetera. Some past winners include; Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique (2007), Nelson Mandela also got an honorary award (2007), Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana (2008), Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires (2011) and Hifikipunye Lucas Pohamba (2014). In 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 the Prize Committee, after in-depth review, did not select a winner. Price Criteria The leader must be a former African executive Head of State or Government who should have left office in the last three years. Also, the leader should have been democratically elected, served his or her constitutionally mandated term and demonstrated exceptional leadership. Prize The award recognises and celebrates African executive leaders who, under challenging circumstances, have developed their countries and strengthened democracy and human rights for the shared benefit of their people, paving the way for sustainable and equitable prosperity Also, it highlights exceptional role models for the continent and ensures that the African continent will continue to benefit from the experience and wisdom of these exceptional leaders It is an award and a standard for excellence in leadership in Africa and it is not a first prize, there is not necessarily a Laureate every year. The Prize amount is $5million over ten years and $200,000 annually for life thereafter. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected] President John Dramani Mahama 17.06.2016 LISTEN Member of Parliament for Atwima Mponua, Isaac Asiamah, says President John Mahama stands accused of bringing disgrace to the high office of the presidency with his decision to accept a bribe from his Burkinabe friend and contractor. The MP is, thus, calling on the president to resign for not acting per the oath he swore to be the leader of this country, and for accepting a Ford Expedition car from the contractor he assisted to obtain contracts to execute for the country. Djibril Kanazoe gave the car to President Mahama after he had won and executed the contract to construct fence wall around of a piece of land in Burkina Faso belonging to the Ghanas Mission in the country. The project cost of $656,248.000 was described by many as very outrageous. According to Mr Asiamah, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, through a report from the Auditor-General, made the house know that the state, on behalf of President John Mahama, had been involved in a fraudulent act. He recalled in a radio interview that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bank of Ghana were invited into Parliament to be part of the discussion to clarify the issue that had come up. It was in this meeting that the house got to realize that the state has paid some money to Ghana mission in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to be used for the construction of a fence wall. He explained: The money involved amounted to Six Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Two Hundred and Forty Eight Dollars ($656,248). In fact, we were all surprised about how such a huge amount would be used for such a project on behalf of this nation when there are a lot more important things to be done in the country. We never understood and asked for further explanations from both the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, but have not up-till date received any breakdown. In the view of the MP, This is an issue that should not be left unexplained especially when the president has recently declared himself as a clean man when it comes to corruption matters; this shows the kind leader we have. Meanwhile, the Minority Spokesperson on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Joe Osei-Owusu, insists the car gift given to the president was a bribe to influence him to give out juicy contracts to his friend. In a number of radio interviews, he described the presidents acceptance of the car gift as a shameful and corrupt act, which is impeachable. "The man [contractor] is getting favours as a result of the kickbacks he has paid to the president. We should keep telling Ghanaians that the president is corrupt and taking bribes for petty things like this, he said on Class FM. According to him, President Mahama should not have even encouraged that kind of relationship such that the person will deliver a vehicle intended for you in Burkina Faso and then it will be driven through the borders with official letters requiring that the vehicle be allowed because it is a giftI mean it is shameful. Was the gift intended for the state? And it was received by him, not the state. It is not registered in the name of the state, I guess. Also, in the view of Lawyer and Criminologist Prof Ken Attafuah, the president cannot be extricated from a scandal in which he has been accused of receiving a Ford Expedition from a private contractor. He says the conduct was a "palpable violation" of the code of conduct governing public officers. Dr. R. D. Boye-Bandie 17.06.2016 LISTEN The decision by the 2016 New Patriotic Partys parliamentary candidate for the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency, in the Upper-West Region, not to contest in the November general election, on grounds of ill-health, ought to be heartily applauded (See Bagbins NPP Challenger Steps Down Citifmonline.com / Modernghana.com 6/15/16). To be certain, the decision taken by Dr. R. D. Boye-Bandie could not have come at a better time. One actually wonders why he had not arrived at this most intelligent decision late last year. Not that it would have made a heck of a lot of a difference, especially coming in the wake of the inexcusably nihilistic decision by Messrs. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and Dominic Nitiwul to go to bat for the perennial Nadowli-Kaleo parliamentary incumbent and the National Democratic Congress substantive parliamentary majority leader who has held onto his seat since 1992 or the inception of Ghanas Fourth Republic. What the preceding observation means is that even had his ill-health not prompted him to bow out of the race, there is absolutely no way that the New Patriotic Partys Nadowli-Kaleo parliamentary candidate would have had a fighting chance against an entrenched political opponent who also had the cronyistic backing of the NPPs own parliamentary minority leader and his deputy. In other words, the message that Messrs. Mensah-Bonsu and Nitiwul unmistakably sought to communicate by their very self-interested decision to back Mr. Bagbin, was simply that where the personal interests of their old friend across the aisle were concerned, the New Patriotic Partys electoral presence in the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency was as good as effectively non-existent. Not very long ago, a commentator wrote to reprimand yours truly for presuming to tendentiously overlook the fact that Mr. Bagbin had also vigorously campaigned for Mr. Mensah-Bonsu during the latters Kumasi-Suame breakneck parliamentary primary umpteenth run last year. The critic had not mentioned his name, but one can equally be certain of Mr. Bagbins having vigorously campaigned for Mr. Nitiwul in the latters Bimbilla Constituency. I am not here to second-guess or demand that Dr. Boye-Bandie submit any medical report from his doctors certifying that, indeed, the delicate condition of his health makes it inadvisable for Dr. Boye-Bandie to subject himself to the considerable level of stress that attends an electioneering campaign, especially one against a Gibraltarian candidate like Mr. Bagbin. Besides, it goes without saying that Dr. Boye-Bandie has an inalienable democratic right to decide what to do with his life, talents and time. In deciding to back Mr. Bagbin against a candidate of their own party, Messrs. Mensah-Bonsu and Nitiwul had clearly indicated to the general public and the nation at large, that after literally serving in the august House since the beginning of time, the NDC capo had acquired some vital parliamentary experience and procedural skills that effectively trumped any ideological or partisan differences between the countrys two major political parties to warrant their flagrant disregard of the need for even the most astute and viable parliamentary candidate to be fielded and staunchly supported in a bid to capturing the Nadowli-Kaleo seat, and thus enhancing the chances of the New Patriotic Partys clinching both a parliamentary majority in the November general election and the latters attendant logical occupancy of the Flagstaff House. It is within the preceding context that the decision by Dr. Boye-Bandie not to contest the Nadowli-Kaleo parliamentary seat ought to be envisaged. Put more tersely and poignantly, had he decided to run for the Nadowli-Kaleo parliamentary seat this November, Dr. Boye-Bandi would have found himself up against three of the most formidable parliamentary incumbents, two of them from his own party, namely, Messrs. Bagbin, Mensah-Bonsu and Nitiwul. Talk of a house divided! *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs 17.06.2016 LISTEN A GNA feature by Alexander Nyarko Yeboah Tema, June 16, GNA - The image and circumstances of the African child is not a pleasant one. Posters of an emaciated orphan of war or drought with a filthy bowl begging for alms is what reminds many people of him. The African Child's condition may have improved over the years but he is still deprived, dispossessed and desperate. This situation is so due to the enormous challenges he faces growing up as a child. It is obvious that underdevelopment is the reason why he goes through all that, but other factors could account for this situation. To begin with, it is clear that years of mismanagement and poor policy crafting and implementation of most African governments have culminated in gross deficiencies in social and economic services such that there is always not enough for anything let alone to talk about the welfare of children. The dire situation has been compounded such that, in Ghana as in other African states, children even go to school under trees and have to write by lying on their stomachs because there are no desks. A well balanced meal is even out of reach for many. The United Nation's day for the African Child which falls today was instituted to honour the memory of the children killed by the apartheid South African government security agents forty years ago because they asked for better conditions for their schools and refused to be taught in Afrikaans, the language of the white minority. The apartheid government ignored the fact that majority of those protesting were children hoping for a free and better future and massacred them. This tendency of brutality has unfortunately become the lot of African leadership who do not care much about the plight of their citizens, most especially children. One could put the South African experience in a historical context and use it as reminder of the evils of oppression especially when the aparthied government had made its intentions clear that it was not ruling in the interest of the black majority. But it is sadder in a situation where the rhetoric of nationhood and condemnation of our colonial past have been loud yet black governments fail to save their own children from been killed daily by cholera, malaria and many preventable medical conditions. Indeed, Nigeria sat down for Boko Haram, a jihadist group, to abduct over 200 female children without a struggle. It has now taken Gordon Brown, a former British Prime Minister and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, to dedicate this year's day of the African Child to their memory. The theme for this year's celebration,"A child friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa", is but a welcoming one. This is because the plight of the African Child needs to be addressed for him to grow up properly and use his God given mental faculties to earn his own happiness and the embrace of the human society. He is a ready tool for political vendetta even in his childhood innocence and confused adulthood as he subscribes to all kinds of criminal activities simply because he never had the opportunity to educate himself to appreciate his self-worth and creative abilities. In the end he may never reach his God-given potential and purpose in life and would become a pale shadow of himself. As we celebrate this year's day for the African Child, it is incumbent on us as Africans to remember that if things go on this way, the future of our continent would be bleak because the child we failed to feed, nurture and educate would grow up to be a hungry adult who would be so deprived that he would not be able to use his spiritual, mental and physical qualities to create a conducive environment for himself and generations that may come after him. What it would therefore mean is that we may never match the west in our quest to contribute meaningfully to human civilisation and survival of our race. It is about time our governments took issues of the African Child more seriously by keeping him in the classroom and playgrounds and not on the battle and labour fields. GNA 17.06.2016 LISTEN By Ken Sackey, GNA Accra, June 17, GNA - The ECOWAS Community Court, has ordered Ghana to pay $ 250,000 in compensation to the family of Augustine Chukwuebuka Ogukwe, 15, a Nigerian Student, who died in a swimming incident on October 2013 in Ghana. The Court said that the compensation is for the failure of the Ghana's police to carry out a proper investigation into the death of the student thereby failing in its obligation to protect and defend all persons within its territory. According to a release from the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, Mr Obioma Ogukwe, father of the deceased had brought an action in which he alleged that he was given an autopsy report issued by the Ghana Police Hospital without his consent or knowledge, which revealed that the basic cause of death was drowning while the direct cause was asphyxia by submersion. Led in evidence by Femi Adedeji, the plaintiff also alleged that the physical appearance, contrary to the Autopsy report, showed evidence of torture on the body and the wounds on his face and sides, which he said were evidence of beating, torture, and gruesome murder. The suit filed in February 2014, the plaintiff claimed that Ghana neither took steps to investigate the matter nor to set up a Coroner Inquest to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of the deceased and prosecute any person found culpable in violation of the country's obligations under international human rights instruments. Consequently, Mr. Adedeji submitted that the right to life of the plaintiff's son had been violated by the State. But Counsel to the Defendant, Mrs Dorothy Afriyie-Ansah submitted that 'given the peculiar circumstances of the death of Master Austine Ogukwe where no finger prints could be taken, nobody saw how it happened and the tip off was from an unknown informant, no arrest could have been effected'. She refuted the claims that the State failed or refused to investigate the matter and to conduct a coroner's inquest to unravel the strange occurrence, but that a report of full scale investigation had been submitted to the office of the Attorney General for advice. She then contended that the plaintiff was not entitled to his claim for compensation for a death caused by drowning and not unlawful causes. Mr Justice Micah Wilkins Wright, delivering judgment, acknowledged that though the defendant may not be liable for acts of private institutions operating in its territory, the State has a duty to protect all persons in its territory and to properly investigate or institute an inquiry and punish all acts of violence and violations committed in its territory. The judges also noted the defendant's failure to provide evidence in support of its argument, including the documentation of the crime scene, to explain the marks on the body of the deceased, which could have been as a result of several factors. The late Augustine, who was until the tragedy a Student of Ideal College, Tema near the country's capital was said to have died during a jogging exercise involving 45 other students who later went swimming. Also on the panel were Justices Friday Chijioke Nwoke and Alioune Sall. GNA Franklin Cudjoe, IMANI Ghana President 17.06.2016 LISTEN "...The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades. Seeing as there does not appear to be significant private sector interest..., and given the unemployment situation..., it is completely understandable that government would want to reactivate the project...". That is your opening sentence, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe... So, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, with all your college degrees and the brainy powers you control at IMANI, would it not have been a little useful if you had bothered to educate "young" Mr. Mahama about the true antecedents of the Komenda Sugar Factory?..Or, are you, Franklin Cudjoe, simply too young yourself, too ignorant, bitter, and too superficially boastful in your no-holds-barred, property-owning capitalist suit-and-tie?...So, IMANI man, tell Ghana how much of that UK-DFID money you and IMANI have taken to keep your consequential IMANI mouthpiece shut about the $6 billion lost oil revenue, as you dwell on little sugar crumbs from the high tables, whilst Ghanaians are made the poorer...(Frankin Cudjoe, IMANI, and commentary by Prof Lungu, 9 June, 16-rev). Dear reader, still in the matter of industrialization of Ghana, do not miss our next essay on these same pages/media this week, titled "They Stole Ghanas Industrial Revolution as Nation Toiled to Close Technology Gap!". For emphasis, you've just read again, the opening sentence to Franklin Cudjoe's critical essay on the Komenda Sugar Factory. "The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades...da da da...da da da"! We decided to revise, update, and re-publish our essay because of comments received from two individuals in particular, Kwabena Yeboah, and someone using the moniker "Prophet true or true". With the usual insults and "disjointed article" comment, Kwabena Yeboah added three new ones, singing (1) Prof Lungu has "hi-jacked" the agenda of the country, (2) Prof Lungu must apologize to Franklin Cudjoe, (3) "LUNGU...MUST BE STOPPED". So, we've started wondering what planet Kwabena Yebaoh lives on, exactly, and how rationally competent he truly is. When did Prof Lungu ever control Ghana's agenda, let alone the Ghanaweb agenda? As we said, it is in fact Kwabena Yebaoh and his like who must, if they have any conscience, apologize to Kwame Nkrumah for all those bogus, fraudulent, coup-plotter smears on Nkrumah's memory and his legacy to Ghana and Africa, all those years. Which brings us to "Prophet true or true" whose comment was: "Sources are Web posts on history. please refer to substantive studies. Web posts are but opinions that cannot stand objective critique. This follows many discourse in Ghana. No substance." By those comments, "Prophet true or true" actually knocked down the Franklin Cudjoe essay, which itself was a "web post" that did not have a single citation or reference, not even a link to that "web post". In fact, lack of citations is the other important issue with IMANI "Think Tank" corporate essays - they never provide references or citations. What source, what "World Bank,...expert consensus" said "...it will take about $90m minimum to do a good job of bringing the factory and plantation/out grower scheme up to scratch...? What does that mean, what would that buy, when, how, and why? To cut to the chase, we believe strongly that even articles intended for publication on Ghanaweb and other online media by Think Tanks ought to have some references, weblinks, and other information so readers can follow the sources, even to the Think Tanks' own websites, if necessary. So, when they fail in those attribution responsibilities, they are in fact acting the same as the government officials they are critiquing whose stock in trade is concealing information, repressing data, and persistently neglecting to prove their statements with official data and sources. That ought to change for the IMANI-types. Therefore, it is the comment from "Prophet true or true" that has absolutely "No substance"! Again, in our last "Only Mad 60-Year Olds Blame Nkrumah" essay in the series, we touched on the fact that some youth and others are aggrieved for a good reason. They are still aggrieved that Kwame Nkrumah's legacy and his commendable achievements for Ghana have largely been censored, repressed, out of official records in Ghana. Those repressed records include government-approved reading materials used by Ghanaian students and youth. From our vantage position, we understand perfectly why coup plotters and "rascal civilians" like Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, abetted and bankrolled by the Johnson CIA, would destroy public records, proscribe the CPP for a generation and more, and censor all the remaining public records they did not, or could not, destroy. Their goals, as we enumerated the last time: (1) To hide the fact that they directly acted as agents for Johnson's CIA (2) To justify their treasonous actions against Ghana through lies and fabrications (3) To install their version of Darwinian, property-owning plunder and sale of Ghana's natural and cultural resources (4) To physically erase Kwame Nkrumah's achievements from the Ghanaian memory. However, in 2016, more than 50 years after Kwame Nkrumah's government was overthrown, it is still difficult for us to understand how Franklin Cudjoe of IMANI, representing a "Think Tank" operating in Ghana that professes objectivity, fairness, and accuracy, thinks that starting a policy critique from "the 75%" is not a discredit to himself, to his "Think Tank", and to every other "Think Tank" organized and/or operating in Ghana. "The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades..."? Da da da...da da da! How did it all begin, Franklin Cudjoe? Again, how is it that assume you can usefully educate "young" Mr. Mahama and your readers starting at that "75%"? We know! The Komenda Sugar Factory was commissioned in 1960 under the leadership and government of Kwame Nkrumah. And it was a very useful economic project, the type they call "industrial". Millions of cubes and bags of sugar from Komenda served nearly a generation of Ghanaians, adding to their economic gains, welfare, and happiness. The Komenda Sugar Factory was never a Guggisberg factory. So, Mr. Cudjoe, tell us how it hurts if you are not totally ignorant of the "real situation". Tell us how bitterly it hurts to learn from GraphicOnline, a "Government-owned mouthpiece nonetheless, that a far superior, more historically grounded, and objective introductory sentence/paragraph about the state of the Komenda Sugar Factory is of this nature: "...The sugar factory, which offered employment to the community and others from far and near, was established by Ghanas first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and became defunct in the 1980s as a result of inadequate funding and bad policies....", (GraphicOnline). Or, you, Franklin Cudjoe, using your IMANI mouthpiece, could even have gone nuclear! You could have gone nuclear and borrowed for the style of Mr. Eric Bawah who began his 8th June essay on the same subject, thus: "President Mahama told Ghanaians that he was the only President of Ghana, who was born after independence...the president was born too late to see the Komenda Sugar Factory, which was established in the early sixties by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah...I was schooling in Takoradi when the Komenda Sugar Factory was operating fully and even had the opportunity to do some vocational employment there anytime we had our long term vacation....Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a visionary leader who thought ahead...To begin with, the CPP government brought in specialist to make feasibility study of the intended sugar factory...", (Eric Bawah). Imagine, Mr. Eric Bawah, still living, directly reports that while in school, he "even had the opportunity to do some vocational employment" at the Komenda Sugar Factory. That, "Prophet true or true", is a direct source! Dear Reader, we encourage you to read Mr. Bawah's article (referenced under Sources). We also recognize that the reader knows that most grade school students understand that to objectively communicate information about a case as may be demanded of a student by a teacher, one must objectively start from the beginning. One simply cannot ignore the beginning and hope to receive an "A", or even a "B". We like to think that is the brilliant, intellectual, downright honest way - to begin your story, your critique, your analyses, with a meaningful record of antecedent(s). The intellectuals, when it is full-throated, call it "Literature Review", but a simple sentence would have sufficed in this case for "Background". In college and within business and professional circles as well, one does not dismiss or ignore the beginning, the background, the forerunner, unless one is a political pimp, or ideological hack, or just plain mad. The way we see it, only bitter politicians and others with self-serving ideological agendas render accounts of events and episodes starting from the "75%", or from the middle at best, neglecting all antecedents. But, that is precisely what Franklin Cudjoe did, for reasons best known to the IMANI man. And so, we will again underscore that IMANI's Cudjoe has now joined the ranks of the bitter ones, those who neglect pertinent Ghanaian history when Kwame Nkrumah is concerned, those who destroy Ghanaian history, those who repress Ghanaian history for ideological and political reasons. While the Cudjoe-types articulate at the 75%, the likes of Akufo Addo and Bawumia simply ignore the middle. They ignore the middle when it serves their interests because they and their followers can't bring themselves to appreciate what Kwame Nkumah did, what Kwame Nkrumah left for all Ghanaians no matter where they come from, from Komenda to Adomi, to Yeji. That is why more than a decade into the 21st century, they talk in the fashion of Rip Van Winkle: "... We have to make a deliberate effort to move on from the Guggisberg, raw material-exporting economy to a new economy that can deliver prosperity for our people. And this is the path the next NPP government hopes to pursue, if, by the Grace of God and your votes, we are elected into power..." (Nana Akufo Addo, 2012). And this: "... Dr. Bawumia assured the Diaspora of the NPPs plans to ensure real macroeconomic stability underpinned by fiscal discipline indicating that the resulting economic transformation will move Ghanas economy from the Guggisberg economy to an economy that will add value to our natural resources..." (http://politics.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201207/89914.php). Yep, start re-building Ghana from that "Guggisberg economy". Nice try, fellas! MEMO TO FELLAS: It is the foundation Kwame Nkrumah built that Ghana needs to develop upon, not a self-serving colonialist's pet dream for their colony, stupid! That, in fact, is the total essence of the Komenda Sugar Factory, today. And the recently re-constructed Adomi Bridge, too. For, perhaps if young Mahama and his team had bothered to learn about those antecedents, they would have spared us all these electronic and tabular missives. Plan ahead! But more important, plan with the people and share with them the planning and the plans! Informatiom matter. So does symbols and semantics, if we must remind the bitter ones! So, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, with all your college degrees and the brainy powers you control at IMANI, would it not have been more useful if you had bothered to educate the young ones, including "young" Mahama, about the true antecedents of the Komenda Sugar Factory, how we all got here, in the first place? Isn't there a background to "thing"? Or, are you, Franklin Cudjoe, simply too young yourself, too ignorant, bitter, and too superficially boastful in your no-holds-barred, property-owning capitalist suit-and-tie? We will end, finally! But before that, tell us IMANI, tell us about the $6 billion lost oil revenue and about your astounding silence. Tell Ghana, Mr. Cudjoe, tell Ghana, IMANI, tell 'em how much of that UK-DFID money you have taken thus far to keep your consequential IMANI mouthpiece shut about that $6 billion-plus lost oil revenue, as you dwell on little sugar crumbs from the high tables, whilst Ghanaians are made the poorer, thirsty, and bitter, from Komenda to Adomi, to Yeji. "...Has any governments house been in order in this country first before venturing into profitable business?...", you ask at the end of your 7th June essay. If we may indulge, at some time not too far-gone, "governments", including US federal and state governments, etc., were in the "profitable business" of selling and guaranteeing the sale of our forebears. They gave freely, huge wardrobes of money and chunks of land to connected " profitable businesses", and in the latter days, they even took away even the semblance of social responsibility of "profitable business". So tell us, IMANI man, is there a difference between a "public good", even a quasi public good, and "profitable business" when "governments house" is controlled by/for "profitable business"? And so, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, our dear IMANI man, we must leave to you and the brainy minds at IMANI your own question, to answer in full. It's also in the history, in the background of Komenda Sugar Factory, Asutsuare, GIHOC and others that you repress, even from the young and less privileged, under trees in school. But, answer completely your own self-important and self-absorbing question, in your luxury and privilege, Franklin Cudjoe. And you, Kwabena Yeboah, it is you who must apologize. Apologize to Kwame Nkrumah for all the smears you and your ilk have championed against him, the Founder of Ghana, since 1966. Till then, so it goes, Ghana! SOURCES: 1. Prof Lungu. 10 June 2016. IMANI represses history with bitters not from Komenda Sugar Factory, (http://spynewsagency.com/imani-represses-history-with-bitters-not-from-komenda-sugar-factory). 2. Franklin Cudjoe. IMANI: Komenda Sugar Factory and unforeseen challenges, (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/IMANI-Komenda-Sugar-Factory-and-unforeseen-challenges-445595 ). 3. Eric Bawah. Sugar Factory without sugarcane = White elephant, (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Sugar-Factory-without-sugarcane-White-elephant-445923). 4. Daily Graphic. Welcome back, Komenda Sugar Factory, (http://www.graphic.com.gh/editorials/welcome-back-komenda-sugar-factory.html). 5. StarrFMOnline. Komenda Sugar factory was commissioned for votes Minority, (http://www.starrfmonline.com/1.9288521 ). VISIT FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.GhanaHero.com. Read Mo'! Listen Mo'! See Mo'! Reflect Mo'! Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered/Ghana-Proud! Subj: IMANI represses Kwame Nkrumah with "Bitters" not from Komenda Sugar Factory. Twitter: https://twitter.com/professorlungu. Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana Campaign/Petition. https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/. Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com16 June 16-rev. 17.06.2016 LISTEN "....While the detractors of African independence are predicting that the continent will revert to the jungles once it is left on its own peoples rule, Ghana is wasting no time refuting that prophecy.... Instead, with its own financial and manpower resources and technical and financial aid from the U.S. and other nations around the world, it is toiling around the clock, building an industrial economy the likes of which colonial Africa had never seen....[ Dear Reader, that was precisely the planned industrial take-off for Ghana...By 1964, Nkrumah's development plans had begun to bear fruits for Ghana...Sadly, all of that success and promise, the Take-Off of Ghana's industrial revolution, was stolen from Ghanaians...].... " (Ebony Magazine report, May 1964; plus commentary by Prof Lungu, 2 June 2016). As far as we are concerned, critics, including those who call themselves "learned", those who will attempt to compare Ghana to Singapore (or Korea, for that matter) looking at the window when Kwame Nkrumah was at the helm of government in Ghana, can never prove their case. In our series "Only mad 60-year olds fault Kwame Nkrumah for Ghana's development quagmire" essays on that topic, we proved that their thesis is false at best, and a fraud, at worst. There is no data to support their thesis. Rather, on all important metrics, the data shows that Kwame Nkrumah's performance and leadership of Ghana was superior during that same "window". Fact is, 40 years and counting, none of those critics have ever presented data that actually, fairly, rationally, compared "equal" data precisely for the period Kwame Nkrumah's CPP ruled Ghana, compared to the same period under Lee Kwan Yew, of Singapore. In our "Only mad 60-year olds fault Kwame Nkrumah" essays, we proved that in actuality, the objective data that shows that under Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana actually witnessed sharper increases in GDP per capita during 1963-1965, compared to Singapore for the same period; that there was sudden loss of economic performance beginning with the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in February of 1966. For Ghana, the period 1962-1965 can actually be represented as the beginning of the lift-off of Ghana's Industrial Revolution". That is, until the CIA-sponsored coup d'etat in 1966. Regrettably for Ghanaians and Ghana's "industrial revolution", one of the major reasons documented in official US State Department records for the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah is this: The Johnson administration and CIA, at the same time they were branding Martin Luther King a communist, positively did not want Kwame Nkrumah to receive any credit, to earn "political capital", in the minds and faces of Ghanaians and Africans for the biggest industrial project in Sub-Sahara Africa. That project, the Akosombo Hydro Electric Dam, was planned as the major driver for Ghana's "Industrial Take-Off". It was officially commissioned 22 January, 1966. Practically 1 month and 2 days later, Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown. In "There Was No 'Dum-Sor' Under Kwame Nkrumah!", we noted last year that: "...the comprehensive, integrated "Akosombo Hydo Electric Power-Volta Lake-VALCO" project was the planned industrial, agricultural, and service industry 'take-off' initiative for the fast-track development of Ghana in accordance with the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah..." We stand by that statement! Fact is, in all of the 80 plus years the British controlled Gold Coast, the British never bothered to construct an oil refinery in their "Crown Colony." Yet, the same British, in 1936, constructed that massive (54.39 square kilometer (21 square mile)) naval base in Singapore. That project cost the British and its Empire, the Gold Coast included, a whopping 60 million...($3.8 billion in 2016 dollars), cementing Singapore as a major commercial, trading, and industrial port, at that time. (Using Nkrumah's back envelop calculations, the Gold Coast probably contributed 25% of that 60 million). On the other hand, per credible sources and data, the cost for the most expensive industrial project the British ever constructed in the Gold Coast, ever, the Takoradi port, probably did not exceed 3 million. And all of that, exactly to the penny, was paid for by the People of the Gold Coast. As one authority observed 10 years after the overthrow: "...from 1919 to 1928 because of trade recession after the first world war, he ...(Gordon Guggisberg)... retained the construction of the Port with two other projects namely, 4800 km motor roads construction and the Kumasi/Accra railway line...The funds for the three projects totalling about 12million were generated locally and farmers contributed a great deal of it..." The Akosombo Hydro Electric Power project was constructed with $324 million. Even now, though poorly managed and maintained over the years, Akosombo still provides enormous benefits to Ghana's industry, service, and residential needs. And so, we thought it was fortuitous when we found an article in the May, 1964 issue of Ebony Magazine, published 2 years before Nkrumah's overthrow. The Ebony magazine article was titled, "Ghana's Industrial Revolution: Nation Toils to Close the Technology Gap." (Luckily, Google Books (weblink), has excepts of that Ebony report, also referenced below, #3). READ EBONY, May, 1964: "....While the detractors of African independence are predicting that the continent will revert to the jungles once it is left on its own peoples rule, Ghana is wasting no time refuting that prophecy with words. Instead, with its own financial and manpower resources and technical and financial aid from the U.S. and other nations around the world, it is toiling around the clock, building an industrial economy the likes of which colonial Africa had never seen....". Dear reader, that period represented the second year, the beginning actually, of dramatic increase in economic productivity for Ghana: through industry, hard work, and belief by Ghanaians in themselves. READ EBONY FURTHER: "...Key projects in Ghanas effort to close the technology gap that separates it from the industrial world community are the already completed $81 million Port of Tema and the giant $210 million Volta River dam to be operational in 1966. The Tema harbor and adjacent Tema town, built on a site once occupied by a tiny fishing village, were officially opened early in 1962. Where only a decade ago indigenous fishermen had plied their ancient craft, thousands of Ghanaian men and women work today in ultra-modern industrial plants, live in comfortable homes and spend leisure hours in modern recreation....Ghanas people know that much work remains yet to be done. But, they are willing to keep up the hectic pace until the last vestiges of their colonial past have been removed. Said one young Ghanaian woman in summing up the spirit of her generation: We in Ghana have accepted the principal of hard work as the only solution to a better way of life... (Ebony, May 1964). Dear Reader, that was precisely the planned industrial take-off for Ghana. And it did, for Ghana! By 1964, Nkrumah's development plans had begun to bear fruits for Ghana as GDP figures confirm. Sadly, all of that success and promise, the Take-Off of Ghana's industrial revolution, was stolen from Ghanaians through that Johnson-CIA-induced coup d'etat. That overthrow was fronted by a soldier-police Benedict-Arnold-elite group (Ankrah-Afrifa-Kotoka-Nunoo-Harlley, and rascal Busia), a traitor bunch who lied to Ghana and the entire World. Yes, Ankrah-Afrifa-Kotoka-Nunoo-Harlley, and rascal Busia, lied to Ghanaians. Yes, beginning somewhere is 1963 and ending in February, 1966, they planned and stole Ghanas "Industrial Revolution" as Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, "toiled to close technology gap". SOURCES/NOTES 1. Prof Lungu. 2015. GhanaHero.com (http://www.ghanahero.com/Visions/Nkrumah_Legacy_Project/Prof_Lungu/There_Was_No_Dum-Sor_Under_Kwame_Nkrumah-v2.pdf/). 2. David Meredith. The Construction of Takoradi Harbour in the Gold Coast 1919 to 1930: A Case Study in Colonial Development and Administration. 1976, Transafrican Journal of History, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1976), pp. 134-149. 3. Ebony Magazine. Ghana's Industrial Revolution: Nation Toils to Close the Technology Gap, May 1964. ( https://books.google.com/books?id=V80UF6hDhCcC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=While+the+detractors+of+African+independence+are+predicting+that&source=bl&ots=P6JctfuJZb&sig=PBNNtVCXtoWa9Ojcr_co8jRxN3Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-m87kmozNAhXJ8z4KHaJ0BXUQ6AEIIDAA#v=onepage&q=While%20the%20detractors%20of%20African%20independence%20are%20predicting%20that&f=false/ ). Visit for more information: www.GhanaHero.com . Read Mo'! Listen Mo'! See Mo'! Reflect Mo'! Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered/Ghana-Proud! Subj: They Stole Ghanas Industrial Revolution as Nation Toiled to Close Technology Gap! (Definitive Serial). Twitter: https://twitter.com/professorlungu Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana Campaign/Petition https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/ Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com17 June 16. File Photo 17.06.2016 LISTEN Wars and conflicts put children in situations where childrens rights are violated, including the right to life, the right to live in a family environment, the right to health, the right to education and the right to survival and development. New trends in armed conflicts in Africa have resulted in new challenges for the protection of children .Africa is officially the fastest growing continent in the world. Sadly, it is also the most conflict-prone region with three out of 10 African children living in fragile, conflict-affected regions or countries, and an estimated 12 million children internally displaced throughout the continent and with 40% of Africans aged 14 or younger. During conflict situations, children are affected, in that they are subject to killing or maiming as civilians, despite taking no active role in the conflicts. Therefore, it is considered inhumane to perpetuate violence to civilians including children, in particular murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture in terms of customary international law. The Geneva Conventions provide for the protection of civilians against hostilities and the prevention of unnecessary collateral damage resulting from combat operations. These protocols apply to both states and non-state armed groups and in all situations of armed conflict. At all times children need to be protected from serious injury as a result of the armed conflicts, and they should be afforded an inherent right to life regardless of hostilities surrounding them. During conflict children are often denied the right to access universal primary and secondary education, thus limiting their chances for better education. The proportions of school going children and the out of school children becomes unbalanced when the conflicts continue, school dropout often increases due to security reasons, thus increasing the number of illiterate children. It is therefore an international call that the targeting of schools and hospitals must be forbidden because it violates childrens rights to access the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. To a large extent, the challenges in ensuring the elimination of armed conflicts and crises in Africa, center around the social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and religious factors. Therefore, any intervention to curb Africas challenges in eliminating conflict and crises should place the best interest of the child as a primary consideration Africa is endowed with an abundance of minerals and natural resources, which have a potential to change societies. The development of the African natural resource base requires improved governance, in order to avoid conflict. Environmental degradation due to extraction of natural resources such as water resources and climate change, have the potential to increase conflict. The global challenge of climate change requires a global solution as it depletes Africas natural resources. The sustainability of Africas natural resources is at risk and children may be robbed of the chance to enjoy and benefit from the natural resources of the continent if the climate change challenge is not resolved. The challenge of poverty and inequality cannot be separated from conflicts and fragility. Africa has currently many conflicts and instability as a result of inequality, where the gap between the rich and poor continues to increase exponentially. The social-economic situation of many of African communities requires political and economic solutions that will proactively deal with the high levels of poverty and inequality, resulting in local level violence. The celebration of the DAC 2016 focusing on Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting all childrens rights, comes at an opportune time as the continental study on the impact of armed conflict on children in Africa would have been completed. This provides a deeper understanding of the impact of armed conflict on children in the continent. In the celebration of the DAC 2016, focusing on conflict and crisis in Africa: Protecting all childrens rights with the plight of African children in conflict situations characterized by six grave child rights violations: recruitment into armed forces; killing and maiming; sexual and gender-based violence; attacks against schools or hospitals; abduction; and denial of humanitarian access, it must be understood that in the devastation that accompanies conflicts and crisis, children, being one of the most vulnerable segments of the civilian population, are negatively affected in various ways. The protection of all childrens rights is therefore critical and must be prioritized. African conflicts are characterized by a large number of child soldiers employed by governments and rebel groups. Boko Haram carried out mass abductions including the kidnaping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. The students were allegedly forced to convert to Islam and into marriage with members of Boko Haram. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility of the kidnappings vowing, among other things, that the girls should not have been in school and instead should have been married since girls as young as nine are suitable for marriage. As a result of the activities by Boko Haram, an estimated 10, 000 pupils have been forced out of state schooling by the groupshit-and-run attacks. IDAY calls on human rights bodies, the governments, regional economic communities, and the international community to urgently elevate the Child Protection Agenda for children affected by conflict situations and to prioritize the protection of life and wellbeing of African children, specifically: Emphasize the importance of creating and maintaining a safe and conducive environment for children to grow, develop and mature properly during the period of childhood Establish an integrated stakeholder forum, where governments, international organizations, regional organizations and civil society can work collaborative to strengthen the mechanisms for ensuring that the Six Grave Violations against Children are eliminated. Establish a systematic framework for the coordination of humanitarian responses for children in conflicts and crisis in Africa. Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Troops from the UN peacekeeping force in Central African Republic, MINUSCA, have been sent to the northwest where at least 10 people died in the worst violence in months, MINUSCA said Friday. "In response to the escalation in violence, MINUSCA intervened," it said, adding it was concerned about this week's trouble between Christian "anti-Balaka" militia mad Fulani herdsmen backed by mainly Muslim Seleka fighters. The chronically unstable nation is struggling to overcome the legacy of three years of trouble between Christians and Muslims that has driven half a million people from their homes. The latest violence was the worst since presidential and parliamentary elections in February and March, viewed as a key step to reconciliation after the sectarian conflict. "At least 10 people died and several others were hurt by armed Fulanis and members of the former Seleka during an attack in the Ngaoundaye region in the northwest," an officer from the gendarmerie security force told AFP on Thursday. He said the Fulani herdsmen travelling from the far north towards Cameroon had asked for permission to cross Ngaoundaye but had "faced refusal from the residents". The Fulani herders, backed by militia, attacked the town centre on Tuesday "shooting at residents and torching homes and the barracks". MINUSCA, which has some 12,000 troops and police in the country, said it had boosted its presence in the town and was planning to send extra troops to areas bordering Chad and Cameroon. One of the world's poorest countries was plunged into chaos by the March 2013 ousting of long-serving president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance. The coup sparked revenge attacks involving Muslim forces and Christian vigilante groups known as "anti-balaka" (anti-machete) militias. Thousands were slaughtered in the spiral of atrocities that displaced about a tenth of the population of 4.8 million. Fears of a bloodbath led to a military intervention by former colonial power France and the deployment of UN peacekeepers. 17.06.2016 LISTEN The Director of Research for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) says a call by the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) for President John Mahama to step down for receiving a vehicle from a Burkina contractor will not wash. Dr William Ahadzie advised the PPP to shelve its scheme to ride on the controversy surrounding the Ford Expedition presented to the President for political gains. We still insist that this is a non-issue and they want to seek political relevance, said Dr Ahiadzie. The NDC Research Director was reacting on Top Story on Joy FM to a call by the PPP that the President, Friday. PPP Chairman, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, said the President cannot be trusted to sign corruption-free contracts in an election year after he received a gift from a contractor who is doing business with government. The Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, says he presented a Ford Expedition valued at $100,000 to the President as a gift. Communications Minister, Dr Omane Boamah, has confirmed that the President received the gift, but explains the luxury vehicle has been added to the Presidential pool of cars. He says the gift did not influence the decision to award Mr Kanazoe the contracts he was awarded. The contractor was awarded the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road contract, worth 25.9 million in 2012, the year in which he gave the gift. That was before he was given a $650,000 for the construction of a wall in Ghana's mission in Burkina Faso. Government was also in the process of awarding a GH82 million contract on a sole sourcing basis for the construction of a 28-kilometer road at Hamile close to Burkina Faso but the contractor has since backed out of the contract following the revelation. The PPP and other commentators have sought to say acceptance of the gift has violated laws that govern public office holders and does same to the Presidents own code of ethics to Ministers. Dr Ahadzie says the PPP's call for President Mahama to step aside is only an opinion that is only being presented to Ghanaians as having a legal basis. General Secretary of PPP, Kofi Asamoah Siaw, who also spoke on the matter on Top Story said Dr Ahadzie's stance was unfortunate, promising that the NDC has not heard the last of it. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected] By Lydia Asamoah/Ernestina Asante Accra, June 17, GNA - Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Founder of the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, has asked government not to deprive private universities of educational interventions since they also deserve such assistance. He said interventions such as the Ghana Education Trust Fund, state scholarships and research grants as well as subsidies for infrastructure expansion, should be given to private universities which are playing equally critical roles in preparing the human capital needed for the development of the country. 'As at now a large number of students study in private universities and they also deserve to benefit from education grants, subsidies, scholarships and other facilities that are financed by taxes paid by their parents and guardians,' he said. Speaking at the inauguration of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Regent University of Science and Technology in Accra, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said both private and public universities could be described as not-for-profit institutions in that they both reinvest their profits into the activities of the institutions to serve the public interest. The year-long anniversary celebrations would be celebrated on the theme: 'Raising Change Agent through Holistic Education,' would feature events like lectures and panel discussions on topics including; Ghana's search for Industrialisation; Christianity and Development in Contemporary African Society; and the Challenges in funding Private Universities in Ghana. It would also witness a musical extravaganza and praise and thanksgiving services. Prof Frimpong-Boateng who spoke on: 'Funding Private Universities in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities,' congratulated Regent University for bracing the economic difficulties and becoming a pillar in providing tertiary education in science and technology. He, however, urged governments, especially those in developing countries to consider all universities, both public and private, as public good that have to be supported in equal measure. He said government could also help private universities to thrive by abolishing the corporate tax that it wants private universities to pay as well as waiving all taxes on inputs required for teaching, learning and innovation materials imported for infrastructural development. Prof Frimpong-Boateng appealed to the National Accreditation Board and mentoring institutions to reduce the fees they charge the private institutions since that is having a serious dent into the finances of these academic entities. To the private universities, the Professor, advised them to step up efforts to improve their fundraising infrastructure to enable them secure donations from Alumni, organisations and businesses to help develop their institutions. 'Private universities should work diligently to uphold and strengthen their image and also engage in programmes that will shape the national dialogue on the contributions of private universities in national development,' he said. The Reverend Prof Emmanuel Kwabena Larbi, Founder and President of the Regent University of Science and Technology, said the institution that started its pilot classes in January 2005, as the first private science and technology university operating within four satellite campuses has now moved into its main campus at McCarthy Hill on the main Kasoa road, near the Weija Dam. He said Regent could also pride itself as the first University in the country to mount a master's programme in technical computer science and for mounting the first-ever MBA in Ghana accredited by the Association of MBAs. He announced that the University would commence a Doctor of Business Administration programme in conjunction with Maastricht School of Management this September. Prof Larbi also reiterated the need to put the funding of private university at the centre of state affairs and not at the periphery. 'A well-resourced private university can bring a revolution in the tertiary education system in our country. This will directly affect the development of the nation,' he said. To mark the inauguration of the anniversary, Regent University donated textbooks to various schools including St Mary's Senior High School, Accra Academy SHS, Accra High SHS, Odorgonno SHS, in the Greater Accra Region and the Suhum Presbyterian Technical SHS, the Methodist Junior High School at Larteh and Adimadim Kyeku Larbi DA Primary School, all in the Eastern Region. GNA Presidential candidate for the People National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Mahama says he would have rejected the offer of a gift if he were President John Dramani Mahama. His comments come against the backdrop of Joy News' Manasseh Azures revelation of a Burkinabe contractor who sent the President a gift of a Ford Expedition in 2012. According to Djibril Kanazoe the president called him to say thank you after recieving the vehicle valued at $100,000.. The contractor was later awarded the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road contract, worth 25.9 million in 2012, the year in which he gave the gift. Before then, he had been given a $650,000 contract for the construction of a wall in Ghana's mission in Burkina Faso. Communications Minister, Dr Omane Boamah, confirmed that the President received the gift, but explained the luxury vehicle was added to the Presidential pool of cars. He said the gift did not influence the decision to award Mr Kanazoe the contracts he was awarded. But in a reaction Dr Mahama told Nhyira Addo on the Super Morning Show on Friday that he does not think the President was right in taking the gift. The PNC flagbearer said when people occupy the position of a president, they get all sorts of gifts but they have to determine what it is that the person who gave the gift wants. He said the decision lies with the taker of the gift to either take it or reject although he thinks the President should have rejected it. Dr Mahama said the fact that Mr Kanazoe continues to do business with the government shows the president has not held himself high on anti corruption. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected] The 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination started on Monday but was marked by delays of materials at some centres. Also, a mentally unstable mother killed all her eight children under mysterious circumstances. On Tuesday, some Kantamanto traders clashed with city officials over a planned demolition exercise. On the same day, President John Dramani Mahama lost his mother . The late mother of the president, late Hajia Abiba Nnaba On Wednesday the President was cited in an investigative piece by Joy News' Manasseh Awuni-Azure as the receiver of a Ford Expedition car from a Burkinabe contractor. Mr Kanazoe The Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe said President Mahama called to thank him for the gift and government admitted that the gift was received by President Mahama but it had been added to a fleet of vehicles at the Flagstaff House. Also, many dignitaries visited the President to extend their condolences to the president for the demise of his mother. The Rawlingses with the President On Thursday, the Ho West MP, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah said he would champion a process to impeach the President if it was established that he was influenced by a gift from a Burkinabe contractor. But the Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akomea said President Mahama disappointed Ghanaians by receiving the gift. Also, Black Stars' skipper, Asamoah Gyan refuted claims that he was financing the New Patriotic Party. On Friday, a BECE candidate, mother and one other were burnt to death in a Santasi fire. Also, the President's mother was put to rest at Busunu in the Northern region. The week was crowned with calls from the Progressive People's Party that the President should withdraw from the 2016 Presidential race . There was also a call from some youths of the Convention People's Party on him to resign. Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com| Akosua Asiedua Akuffo| [email protected] Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL. 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. you are here: The word hedge means to reduce your risk. But what many hedge funds actually do is increase their risk on a daily basis. If youre unfamiliar with hedge funds, think of them as very influential private investment firms. The reason why theyre so influential is because they trade in such large volumes. A great example of their influence can be demonstrated by the destructive George Soros. 16 September, 1992 in Britain is known as Black Wednesday. It was the day that speculators broke the pound. They didnt literally break it. But they forced the British government to pull it from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Britain entered the ERM wanting to keep its currency above 2.7 marks (German currency) to the pound. However, speculators, George Soros among them, began heavily shorting the pound. The British government gave in and withdrew from the ERM. It became clear that it was losing billions trying to keep its currency afloat. Soros pocketed $1 billion on the deal and cemented his reputation as the premier currency speculator in the world. Increasing capital to increase returns Lets say you want to make a trade on the ASX, using a small-cap company. You put in $500 and, in the space of three months, the stock goes up 100%. This is not unusual for small-caps. In fact, Sam Volkering, the editor of Australian Small Cap Investigator, has picked many small-caps that have done exactly thisand then some. Your profit on the trade is $500, therefore in total you can cash out for $1,000. Its not a bad bit of chump change for the weekend. However, this is still quite a small scale in the grant scheme of things. So instead of investing $500, what would happen if you invested $50,000? The returns stay the same; so you can cash out for $100,000, as you just made $50,000 on your original investment. So while it might be riskier to invest with more capital, it can also increase the total cash received. And this is exactly what many hedge funds do. They increase the size of capital they trade in order to create more profits. Now, this might seem contradictory. The word hedge means to reduce your risk. But what many hedge funds actually do is increase their risk on a daily basis. But thats not to say these hedge fund managers are punting the market. They have many smart analysts and traders behind the scenes working on trades and strategies. But when they dont pay off, then millions, if not billions, can be lost. How long can hedge funds tread above water? Hedge funds are now shrinking at the fastest pace since the financial meltdown. They face a challenge of reviewing their go-to revenue strategy of smart beta. In this model, money is pooled from private investors in whats called assets under management. The hedge fund then charges a fee on this total pool of capital. In most cases this levy charge is a quarter of the pool; however, any profits made will remain untouched. Think of it as a marketing ploy. Instead of taking a clip out of profits and charging a fee on assets under management, hedge funds can advertise lower fees with the smart beta model. The reason why they have resorted to such drastic measures could be because of competition. But its also largely due to their inability to create positive returns this year. Hedge funds are now in the firing line. Their performance has been horrible this year. A profit warning from GAM, the Swiss asset manager, shows just how bad things are. GAMs revenues come from fees. Last year, those fees dropped by 5%, to 0.65% of GAMs average assets under management. Their performance fees (provided they make a profit) accounted for roughly 14% of total revenues. GAM has resorted to streamlining their product offering. However, asset outflows have continued for GAM. And this has not just affected a couple of hedge funds. As reported by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research: Investors pulled a net $15 billion between January and March, reducing assets under management to $2.86 trillion from $2.9 trillion. Hedge funds suffered the worst withdrawals last quarter. The last time outflows were higher was in the second quarter of 2009. The tail-end of the financial meltdown and falling commodities have caused losses at some of the best known firms. Its simple really. Hedge funds cant protect investors from market turmoil. Because of that, more and more investors are fleeing money managers. Why not then take control of your own money? Sure, you might not have the capital that hedge funds have. But why put your money into the hands of managers who are losing money? Instead, you could potentially make great returns off small-cap stocks. There are always risks involved, but thats the reality when youre hunting for high returns. If youre unsure how to get started, then check out Sams report, Top Three Aussie Small-cap Stocks. In it, Sam reveals which small-caps you should be looking at. Now not every single one of Sams stock recommendations for Australian Small-Cap Investigator is going to return large gains. No one can do that. But all up, the stocks currently on Sams buy list have made average returns of above 50%. Take that, fund managers. The results speak for themselves. To get your free copy of Sams report, click here. Harje Ronngard, Junior Analyst, Money Morning June 17, 2016 Know-Nothing "Diplomats" Prepare For Hillary's War On Syria There are at least 51 stupid or dishonest "diplomats" working in the U.S. State Department. Also - Mark Lander is a stupid or dishonest NYT writer. The result is this piece: Dozens of U.S. Diplomats, in Memo, Urge Strikes Against Syrias Assad WASHINGTON More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administrations policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the countrys five-year-old civil war. Note that it was Ahrar al Sham, Jabhat al-Nusra and other U.S. paid and supported "moderates" who on April 9 broke the ceasefire in Syria by attacking government troops south of Aleppo. They have since continuously bombarded the government held parts of Aleppo which house over 1.5 million civilians with improvised artillery. Back to the piece: The memo, a draft of which was provided to The New York Times by a State Department official, says American policy has been overwhelmed by the unrelenting violence in Syria. It calls for a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process. ... The names on the memo are almost all midlevel officials many of them career diplomats who have been involved in the administrations Syria policy over the last five years, at home or abroad. They range from a Syria desk officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to a former deputy to the American ambassador in Damascus. While there are no widely recognized names, higher-level State Department officials are known to share their concerns. Mr. Kerry himself has pushed for stronger American action against Syria, in part to force a diplomatic solution on Mr. Assad. ... The State Department officials insisted in their memo that they were not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia, but rather a credible threat of military action to keep Mr. Assad in line. These State Department loons have their ass covered by Secretary of State Kerry. Otherwise they would (and should) be fired for obvious ignorance. What "judicious" military threat against Russian S-400 air defense in Syria is credible? Nukes on Moscow (and New York)? In the memo, the State Department officials argued that military action against Mr. Assad would help the fight against the Islamic State because it would bolster moderate Sunnis, who are necessary allies against the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Would these "diplomats" be able to name even one group of "moderate Sunnis" in Syria that is not on the side of the Syrian government? Are Ahrar al-Sahm and the other U.S. supported groups, who recently killed 50 civilians out of purely sectarian motives when they stormed the town of Zara, such "moderate Sunnis"? These 50 State Department non-diplomats, and the stinking fish head above them, have obviously failed in their duty: "Diplomats" urging military action do nothing but confirm that they do not know their job which is diplomacy, not bombing. They failed. These "diplomats" do not know or do not want to follow international law. On what legal basis would the U.S. bomb the Syrian government and its people? They do not name any. There is none. To what purpose would the Syrian government and the millions of its followers be bombed? Who but al-Qaeda would follow if the Assad-led government falls? The "diplomats" ignore that obvious question. The NYT writer of the piece on the memo demonstrates that he is just as stupid or dishonest as the State Department dupes by adding this paragraph: [T]he memo mainly confirms what has been clear for some time: The State Departments rank and file have chafed at the White Houses refusal to be drawn into the conflict in Syria. How is spending over $1 billion a year to hire, train, arm and support "moderate rebels" against the Syrian government consistent with the claim of a U.S. "refusal to be drawn into the conflict"? It is obvious and widely documented that the U.S. has been fueling the conflict from the very beginning throughout five years and continues up to today to deliver thousands of tons of weapons to the "moderate rebels". All the above, the "diplomats" letter and the NYT writer lying, is in preparation of an open U.S. war on Syria under a possible president Hillary Clinton. (Jo Cox, the "humanitarian" British MP who was murdered yesterday by some neo-nazi, spoke in support of such a crime.) The U.S. military continues to reject an escalation against the Syrian government. Its reasonable question "what follows after Assad" has never been seriously answered by the war supporters in the CIA and the State Department. Unexpected support of the U.S. military's position now seems to come from the Turkish side. The Erdogan regime finally acknowledges that a Syria under Assad is more convenient to it than a Kurdish state in north-Syria which the U.S. is currently helping to establish: "Assad is, at the end of the day, a killer. He is torturing his own people. We're not going to change our stance on that," a senior official from the ruling AK Party told Reuters, requesting anonymity so as to speak more freely. "But he does not support Kurdish autonomy. We may not like each other, but on that we're backing the same policy," he said. Ankara fears that territorial gains by Kurdish YPG fighters in northern Syria will fuel an insurgency by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an armed struggle in Turkey's southeast for three decades. The Turks have suddenly removed their support for their "Turkmen" proxies fighting the Syrian government in Latakia in north west Syria. Over the last few days the "Turkmen" retreated and the Syrian army advanced. It may soon reach the Turkish border. Should the Latakia front calm down the Syrian army will be able to move several thousand troops from Latakia towards other critical sectors. The Turkish government, under the new Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, is now also sending peace signals towards Russia. The situation in Syria could rapidly change in favor of the Syrian government should Turkey change its bifurcating policies and continue these moves. Without their Turkish bases and support the "moderate rebels" would soon be out of supplies and would lack the ability to continue their fighting. The Russians and their allies should further emphasize the "Kurdish threat" to advance this Turkish change of mind. The race to preempt a Hillary administration war on Syria, which the "diplomats" memo prepares for, is now on. May the not-warmongering side win. Posted by b on June 17, 2016 at 5:14 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page Asias leading provider of sustainable urban and business space solutions Ascendas-Singbridge Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Sanjay Dutt as Chief Executive Officer for its India operations, with effect from 1 August 2016. Mr Dutt will succeed Mr Lee Fu Nyap, who is relocating to Ascendas-Singbridges headquarters in Singapore to assume a new role as Executive Vice President, Real Estate Investment & Funds. Dutt has over 22 years of experience in the real estate business in India and spearheaded major strategies across cities. In his new role, he will lead the Groups India operations through its next phase of growth and development. He will oversee operations, business development, strategic planning and significantly contribute to expand and enhance the Groups portfolio of assets in the country. Miguel Ko, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ascendas-Singbridge, said: India is among the Groups largest overseas market and we are happy that Sanjay is joining us to lead our operations in the country. Sanjay is a proven leader in the industry and we believe that he is well placed to take our India operations to the next level. We also thank Fu Nyap for his contributions in building our India business and leading a competent and cohesive team on the ground. In his current role as the Managing Director of India at Cushman & Wakefield, Mr Dutt provides end-to-end real estate solutions across State Government and State owned entities, Occupiers, Developers and Investors. The businesses include Research, Valuation, Consulting, Transaction Services, Project Management and Asset Management Services. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield in 2012, he was the CEO of Business with Jones Lang Lasalle (2008 2012). Earlier in his career, Mr Dutt also worked for Cushman & Wakefield (2001 2008) and CBRE. He also had a short stint working in the logistics sector in the late 1980s, as an entrepreneur. Dutt holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Accounting & Business Management from Delhi University, India and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Human Resource from the International Management Institute, New Delhi, India. He was awarded Fellowship by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and is Co-Chair for CORENET, India Chapter. Ascendas-Singbridge has over two decades of experience operating in India, under its subsidiary Ascendas. The Group currently manages close to 10 million square feet of assets across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurgaon, with seven operational IT parks catering to over 400 clients and 90,000 skilled professionals. For further media queries, please contact: SINGAPORE Crystal Seah Email: crystal.seah@ascendas-singbridge.com INDIA Anirban Choudhury Email: anirban.choudhury@ascendas-singbridge.com About Ascendas-Singbridge Group Ascendas-Singbridge Group is Asias leading provider of sustainable urban and business space solutions. With the combined capabilities of Ascendas and Singbridge, the group is uniquely placed to undertake urbanisation projects spanning townships, mixed-use developments and business/industrial parks. Headquartered in Singapore, Ascendas-Singbridge has projects in 29 cities across 10 countries in Asia, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea. Ascendas-Singbridge Group has a substantial interest in and also manages three Singapore-listed funds under its subsidiary Ascendas. Besides these listed funds Ascendas REIT, Ascendas India Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust, Ascendas also manages a series of private real estate funds, which hold commercial and industrial assets across Asia. Jointly owned by Temasek and JTC Corporation (JTC) through a 51:49 partnership, Ascendas-Singbridge Group is the asset and investment holding arm of the integrated urban solutions platform formed by Temasek and JTC to capitalise on urbanisation trends in the region. Ascendas-Singbridge India Ascendas-Singbridge India (formerly Ascendas India) specialises in developing, managing and marketing IT parks, industrial & logistics parks, business parks, science parks, hi-tech facilities, offices and integrated developments offering a level of service and quality to its tenants which stand way above the rest. Ascendas-Singbridge India has close to 10 million square feet of assets under management valued at S$1.9 billion. The portfolio includes the International Tech Park Chennai and CyberVale in Chennai; International Tech Park Bangalore; CyberPearl, The V and aVance in Hyderabad and International Tech Park Pune. In addition to IT Parks, Ascendas-Singbridge is also developing integrated projects with sector specific Special Economic Zones, commercial, industrial, residential and supporting social amenities in Chennai and Gurgaon. In 2005, Ascendas-Singbridge launched its first India-focused fund, Ascendas India IT Parks Trust. In 2007, Ascendas India Development Trust, a private real estate fund focusing on integrated property development projects and Ascendas India Trust, the first Indian property trust listed in Asia, were launched. In 2013, Ascendas India Growth Programme was launched with Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited as a principal investor. One of the recurring problems with using the FTSE 100 index as a yardstick is that it often seems to be dominated by one sector or another at various times IT, banking and more recently oil and commodities so it can give a distorted view of the state of the stock market. I was reminded of this when reader Peter Hood alerted me to a sharp rise in the average price/earnings (PE) ratio in the blue chip index since the end of January, when it stood at just under 17. He says the ratio was 27 by the end of February and topped 30 early in May, distorted by some companies hitting a PE as high as 80. He also points out that some yields have also been bloated, in some cases to 8% or more. Shouldnt the two figures, as a general rule, move in the opposite direction? I reckon that, as a general rule, larger companies should trade on a P/E of about 13-14 on an historic basis, perhaps a little higher when the economy is growing and certainly a little higher on a prospective basis. I also regard 3.5% as the norm for judging yields, perhaps a little higher in times of doubt and a little lower if there are genuine reasons to expect dividends to rise sharply in the next year or two. Where a yield falls below 2% I am reluctant to invest; above 6% I am suspicious because the market is presumably factoring in a reduction in the dividend. It is true that a rise in a share price will raise the P/E ratio and reduce the yield. To have both figures at a higher level is a warning sign. Something will have to give, and it will probably be the dividend. I think some distortion has arisen in the Footsie because of the sharp fall in oil and commodities shares and some investors are starting to factor in a recovery in those sectors. Also banks, particularly Lloyds (LLOY), are seen as recovering as previous misdeeds are (we hope) going to fade into the past. This week a time limit was agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority for PPI (payment protection insurance) mis-selling claims. I do not, however, look at P/Es and yields for a whole index. In fact, I wouldnt know where to find such figures and Ive never looked for them. I prefer to look at these figures, plus dividend cover, for individual companies and would urge all investors to do likewise. You invest in a company, not an index, unless you are buying a tracker fund and I always encourage investors to build their own share portfolio. Berkeley Squared Even if you narrow your perspective down to sectors, you still need to assess individual companies. Regular readers know that I have invested in three housebuilders and have seen the sector as an essential ingredient in any portfolio for the past five years or so. However, I would avoid Berkeley Group (BKG), the housebuilder that is most geared up to the London market a great position in the recent past but not where I would want to be right now as London comes off the boil and other regions play catch-up. Berkeley reported a 20% fall in reservations following the rise in stamp duty and Chancellor George Osbornes moves to curb buy-to-let. The shares are already down by a fifth this year. Im not tempted to call the bottom. Brexit is the New Weather Clothing seller N Brown (BWNG), which issued two profit warnings last year, blamed the Brexit debate for a decline in revenue in March-May. Unfortunately, on the very same day the Office for National Statistics revealed a 6% rise in retail sales in May and an upward revision to 5.2% in April. While retail sales were boosted by price reductions, there was an improvement in volumes as well. Brown shares gained because investors had expected worse. I would not chase them any higher. After next Thursdays vote, retailers will go back to blaming the weather. Rodney Hobson is a long-term investor commenting on his own portfolio; his comments are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive. To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research. Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at... Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all... Tigers soon to prowl in new enclosure The brand-new Bengal tiger exhibit at Americas Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is nearly complete, and some other animals hangouts are getting a makeover, too. Mara Rodriguez, zoo development coordinator,... Nonprime loans, once a cash cow for mortgage originators, came screeching to a near-halt in the wake of the financial crisis. From $600 billion in nonprime loans written in a single year during the run-up to the meltdown, the once-lucrative loans plummeted to well under $1 billion per year after the collapse. But nonprime loans are finally coming back and in a big way, according to Tom Hutchens, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions. A new, safer nonprime is increasingly becoming a part of originators toolboxes. Nonprime is setting records every month simply because of the growth in awareness, Hutchens recently told MPA. And investors in the secondary market are getting back on board. Credit Suisse announced this week that it would market the first agency-graded subprime mortgage-backed bond since the meltdown. And even as far back as December, Angel Oak itself announced its securitization of more than $150 million in nonprime whole loans. When Angel Oak was founded, we aimed to take advantage of dislocations in subprime residential mortgage-backed securities that were deeply undervalued following the financial crisis, managing partner and co-CEO Michael Fierman said of the securitization. As those legacy products started to regain popularity, however, supply started to dry up. Strict credit standards put in place following the crisis made it extremely difficult for borrowers with imperfect credit to get a loan. This created a void in new originations and the corresponding securitized mortgage instruments. One reason nonprime loans are making a comeback after years of near-dormancy is simple: todays nonprime loans arent like the nonprime of the wild West years before the meltdown. Todays non-agency loan requires a higher credit score, for instance. In times past, the average credit score for a subprime loan was 580. Today its between 670 and 680. And many subprime loans prior to the financial crisis were zero-doc loans that didnt require any money down, or even proof of income. Today, Angel Oak requires at least 10%-20% down and a fully documented ability to repay. With those safeties in place, and nonprime loans increasing in popularity again, they can be a boon to originators. Originators need to know that this is a way for them to grow their business, Hutchens told MPA. If theyre not providing these solutions to their real estate agents, someone else will. EL PASO, Texas (AP) Two more former West Texas school district administrators have pleaded guilty in a testing scandal and could face up to five-year prison terms. Vanessa Foreman and Maria Flores pleaded guilty Thursday in El Paso to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. Heres a good bet: After resisting for a year, Hillary Clinton soon will release copies of some of the lucrative paid speeches she made to big Wall Street interests three years ago. Heres why: -- She is assailing Donald Trump for not releasing his tax returns. One of his rejoinders is her refusal to let the world know what she told the fat cats. Its true that virtually all candidates release their tax returns but not transcripts of private speeches. Still, keeping the speeches under wraps undercuts Clintons criticism. -- Trust remains one of Clintons major problems with the public and the speeches reinforce it. In this weeks Bloomberg Politics poll, when asked about a series of criticisms of Clinton, the one that voters cited as most bothersome was the paid speeches, more even than her use of a private e-mail server while Secretary of State. Half of likely voters said they were bothered a lot about the speeches; only a quarter said it didnt bother them. -- With Bernie Sanders out of the way, theres less political risk. The Vermont senators full-throated attacks on Wall Street appealed to a lot of Democratic primary voters. Its safe to assume that Clintons speeches were more conciliatory, making them a potential liability in her campaign against a socialist opponent. On the stump, by contrast, Clinton has struck a tough tone on Wall Street: I have the toughest most effective campaign plan to take on the entire financial industry, she has declared. Thats probably not what she said privately to the bankers -- few people take money for speeches and then criticize their hosts. Clinton, after she left the State Department in 2013, collected well over a million dollars in speaking fees, including $675,000 at Goldman-Sachs functions. Sanders and others pressured her to release what she said in these speeches. She refused, at one point saying shed only do that if others did. Then she dropped the issue. A Texas Supreme Court ruling has spared the state from having to issue billions of dollars in tax refunds to oil and gas drillers a prospect that had threatened to shake up the next legislative session. The justices on Friday sided with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar in an arcane tax dispute that the Republican feared could have far-reaching consequences for the states budget outlook. Denying Midland-based driller Southwest Royalties request for a refund, the court ruled that state law did not exempt metal pipes, tubing and other equipment used in oil and gas extraction exempt from sales taxes. Southwest did not prove that the equipment for which it sought a tax exemption was used in actual manufacturing, processing, or fabricating of hydrocarbons within the meaning of the tax code, Justice Phil Johnson wrote in a unanimous opinion that affirmed decisions in lower courts. Thus, Southwest is not entitled to an exemption from paying sales taxes on purchases of the equipment. Though Southwest Royalties, a subsidiary of Clayton Williams Energy, sought to recoup less than $500,000 from purchases between 1997 and 2001, the stakes were far higher. A Texas loss could have spurred up to $4.4 billion in refund filings for 2017 alone, Hegars office estimated, and $500 million each subsequent year that the exemption remained in place. If accurate, the $4.4 billion transfer would have wiped out the states projected budget surplus. In a statement released after the ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the courts ruling. The Comptroller is faithfully executing the law and treating taxpayers fairly, in accordance with the wishes of the Texas Legislature, Paxton said. Bottom line: we saved the State, and taxpayers across the State, over $4 billion. Petroleum industry representatives expressed disappointment in the ruling. It is undeniable that oil and natural gas exploration and production today is more and more a manufacturing process, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said in a statement. For a healthy oil and natural gas industry, our operators, who compete globally, need equitable tax treatment. The high-dollar case involved a mix of accounting terms and science. In oral arguments last March, attorneys on both sides sparred over the mechanics of petroleum extraction and how it related to a tax exemption for goods and services used in the actual manufacturing, processing, or fabrication of tangible personal property. Southwest Royalties argued that the companys equipment processes West Texas crude by separating it into marketable oil and gas. Once the crude is brought up from the ground, it is no longer part of a mineral owners estate, its legal team argued. The state contended that minerals are not tangible personal property, and that Southwests equipment was not necessarily responsible for transforming the crude. The justices agreed. There is no evidence that the equipment acted upon the hydrocarbons to modify or change their characteristics, Johnson wrote. The changes in the substances were caused not by the application of equipment and materials to them, but by the natural pressure and temperature changes, as oil travel through the equipment to the surface. DENVER (AP) New data on air pollution from fracking wells in Colorado will be a big help in assessing whether the emissions are harmful to human health, state officials say. A three-year study released Tuesday measured methane a greenhouse gas and ozone-causing compounds that were released from new natural gas wells in western Colorado. The research, by Colorado State University professor Jeff Collett, didnt measure the emissions health effects, but state officials will use the data in computer modeling to assess the risks, said Mike Van Dyke of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. This study is incredibly useful, said Van Dyke, chief of environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology for the health department. The state expects to hire outside researchers by the end of next month to begin modeling the human health risks, using the western Colorado research as well as data from a second study Collett is conducting at wells near the states urban Front Range. The state risk study is expected to be completed in January 2018. Colletts study is the first time researchers have been able say with certainty they were measuring pollution only from drilling operations and not from other sources, Van Dyke said. Van Dyke believes Colletts study is the first of its kind in the country. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, uses pressurized water, sand and chemicals to break open underground formations and release oil and gas. Critics say air pollution, spills and leaks from fracking operations are a threat to public health and the environment, but the industry says the procedure is safe. Garfield County, in the heart of western Colorados biggest gas field, contributed $1 million toward Colletts study. Oil and gas companies donated another $700,000 and allowed researchers access to drilling sites. Collett said that access was essential. Quizzed by the county commissioners in Glenwood Springs on Tuesday, Collett said neither the companies nor anyone else influenced his research. Colletts team took air samples and measurements from the plume of air emissions downwind from new natural gas wells during three phases: drilling, fracking and flowback, when the natural gas began flowing out of the fractured formations and up the well, pushing the water and fracking chemicals back out. They also released a tracer chemical acetylene at the well site, which helped them identify which direction the emissions were blowing. Since they knew how much acetylene they released at the well, they were able to calculate how much of it was dispersed before it got to their sampling stations. That data allowed them to calculate how much of the well emissions were dispersed, also. Researchers measured the same pollution upwind from the site so they could determine how much of the emissions were from the well and how much were already in the air. Collett said the highest level of well emissions came during the flowback phase. Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott. Nominations are being sought for the Petroleum Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The Petroleum Museums hall of fame committee will accept nominations through Aug. 15 for those individuals or teams whose contributions helped make the Permian Basin what it is today. Committee members will then select up to four individuals or teams to take their place alongside the 142 already enshrined. A dinner to induct the new members is planned for May 9. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) A 49-year-old East Texas man set for execution next week for the slaying of his 2-year-old daughter 14 years ago has won a reprieve. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted the scheduled Tuesday lethal injection of Robert Roberson III. WASHINGTON (AP) Republican Sen. John McCain said Thursday that President Barack Obama is "directly responsible" for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president's watch. McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, made the comment Thursday while Obama was in Orlando visiting with the families of those killed in Sunday's attack and some of the survivors. "Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama's failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq," a visibly angry McCain told reporters in the Capitol as the Senate debated a spending bill. "So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies," McCain said. The gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and injured more than 50 in the attack at a gay nightclub. The 29-year-old Muslim born in New York made calls during the attack saying he was a supporter of the Islamic State. But he also spoke about an affiliate of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, both of which are IS enemies. In the aftermath of the shooting, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused Obama of putting U.S. enemies ahead of Americans. Trump also has suggested that Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements. Democrats criticized Trump and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from his remarks. McCain is seeking a sixth Senate term from Arizona and is locked in a tight race. Questioned on his startling assertion, McCain repeated it: "Directly responsible. Because he pulled everybody out of Iraq, and I predicted at the time that ISIS would go unchecked and there would be attacks on the United States of America. It's a matter of record, so he is directly responsible." However, McCain later sought to clarify his comments, saying over Twitter: "To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obama's national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself." Democrats quickly pounced on McCain's criticism. Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said McCain's "unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump." We have independently selected these offers and products because we love them and we think you might like them at these prices. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may earn a commission if you buy something through our links. Items are Speaker is totally wrong in his ... Congressman Tom McClintock View Photos Congressman Tom McClintock took to the US House Floor earlier this week, to talk about the threat our nation faces from Islamic terrorism. McClintock was Fridays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words: Mr. Speaker: The terrorist attack on Orlando should bring into sharp focus the growing threat our nation faces from Islamic terrorism. Although Islam is a religion, it is often accompanied by a poisonous political ideology that is antithetical to everything our country stands for. That ideology now poses a direct threat to the liberty and safety of our people, and we have every right to defend ourselves against it. We knew for years that the terrorists father was broadcasting pro-Taliban and anti-American rhetoric aimed principally at a large and growing Afghan Islamic population within the United States. We knew that the terrorist himself had travelled repeatedly to Saudi Arabia under mysterious circumstances; that he associated with known terrorists and Islamic radicals in the United States; and that he had expressed the most virulent anti-American views. And we took no action because there are far more instances of such threats than we can begin to assess or address. This administration has drastically increased the admission of refugees from regions where overwhelming majorities believe in imposing Sharia Law. Those who are fleeing Islamist ideology should be welcome in this country at assimilable levels; but those who are coming here to impose it are a direct threat to our Constitution and have no business being admitted to our shores. Yet this administration sees no difference between the two. Earlier this year, when Governor Rick Scott of Florida, acting on behalf of law enforcement, requested information on the Islamic immigrants being inserted into his state, he was refused that vital public safety information. While seeking to radically increase the number of Islamists being admitted to this country, this administration has failed not only to enforce our immigration laws but it has actively undermined those laws. As a direct result of these deliberate government policies, we are enduring Islamist attacks within our borders that will continue to increase in both frequency and severity. These policies have encouraged a large and growing fifth column that is violently hostile to our country, and it has become deeply imbedded within our communities. San Bernardino and Orlando were just the first bloody foretaste of what is to come until and unless these policies are stopped and reversed. Last year, the House passed the SAFE Act an acronym for Safety Against Foreign Enemies. It was the first, tentative step toward properly screening refugees from hotbeds of Islamic extremism. It merely required affirmative verification of a refugees lack of hostile intent if they are coming from Islamist strongholds in Iraq and Syria. 135 Democrats in this House opposed the SAFE Act, and Senate Democrats killed it in January at the behest of their President. The very same politicians who will not allow us even to confirm the intent of Islamists entering America are at the same time using the Orlando atrocity as an excuse to disarm loyal and law-abiding Americans. Within hours of the attack, the Left began to use this terrorist atrocity to justify more restrictions on the rights of Americans to defend themselves. They would have us believe that terrorists who are bent on destroying our country by savagely killing Americans will somehow make one exception to their contempt for our nation by meticulously obeying our gun control laws. The leftists tell us to leave it to the police. Really? In Orlando, it took more than three hours for police to secure the scene and confront the attacker, while hostages were being shot and the wounded were left to bleed to death. Three hours. In San Bernardino, the terrorists had already fled before police even arrived at the scene. The first line of defense against an armed terrorist is an armed American. Yet the Democrats seek to make it harder for Americans to arm themselves while increasing the threat posed by mass immigration from those countries where Islamist ideology is rampant. Is it possible they dont understand that there is an international arms market and that terrorists can get their hands on any kinds of weapons they want as effortlessly as teenagers can buy pot? While the Orlando terrorist got his guns legally, he could just as easily have gotten them illegally. Thats not the case for a law-abiding American citizen. Law abiding citizens obey our laws. Terrorists do not. The Lefts vision for our country is one in which Americans are forbidden from fighting back and must helplessly wait to be rescued while they are terrorized by Islamic extremists who should never have been in this country in the first place. And that is going to continue until this country wakes up to the danger it faces and takes decisive action at the ballot box. That is ultimately the choice before us: we can either suffer increasingly violent attacks on increasingly defenseless Americans or we can chose to finally take seriously the nature of the enemy we face and finally demand leaders who will secure our borders, empower Americans to defend themselves and act forthrightly to defend our country. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM. CHP San Andreas logo View Photos West Point, CA Four people were injured in a rollover accident in Calaveras County Thursday evening, and two of those individuals were arrested. The single vehicle accident occurred in West Point on Highway 26 east of Main Street, according to the CHP. 20-year-old Rachel Thom of Oak Park, California was driving the 2004 Honda Civic, and a person in the passenger seat, 19-year-old Jairon Mendez of San Francisco, allegedly grabbed the wheel of the vehicle, causing it to spin around and overturn off the highway. Thom suffered major injuries in the crash and was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Mendez suffered minor injuries. Two others in the vehicle, both females, ages 18 and 19, also suffered minor injuries. The CHP reports that both Thom and Mendez were suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and will face criminal charges. The crash occurred at 6:20pm. Sonora, CA A motorists call alerted Sonora police to a reckless driver who was taken into custody for DUI. Sonora Police Department say the report came in just after 10 p.m. Thursday regarding a 1998 Chevy Silverado truck, with Nevada license being driven erratically. An officer spotted the pickup on S. Washington Street and pulled the pickup over. The driver, Robert Santos Jr., 47 of Sacramento initially gave a false drivers license to the officer and failed field sobriety tests, according to SPD, and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. During a search of the truck, the officer discovered another five false drivers licenses with Santos Jr.s picture but different names on them. However, the officer also found his actual identification card too. A records check revealed Santos was wanted on a felony no bail warrant for DUI out of Sacramento, along with a misdemeanor warrant for driving on a suspended drivers license. It was also discovered that he had served prison time for multiple DUIs convictions and his drivers license is suspended. Santos was booked into the Tuolumne County Jail for felony possession of forged identification, misdemeanor driving under the influence, misdemeanor driving on a suspended license as the result of a DUI conviction, as well as several other misdemeanor violations. He also faces an additional charge for the outstanding felony warrant. Its a terrible reality for families who lost loved ones in the Pulse Nightclub shooting: the sudden need to plan a funeral. But one Orange County church is attempting to alleviate that burden. Apopka church offering free funerals for victims, live streaming for families out of town Church originally posted offer on Facebook, reaching more than a million people RELATED: Greenwood Cemetery Offers resting place for victims Its just a matter of us responding to a need we became aware of, said Pastor Bernie Anderson, of Forest Lake Seventh Day Adventist Church in Apopka. If indeed there was some places who were going to refuse services to LGBT, we werent going to be that place. Pastor Anderson said his wife called him Monday morning, after talking with chaplains caring for victims families. She told him that the families were concerned that they wouldnt have places in which to have their funerals. She said, Our church would be a place that would have these funerals, and I said, of course, absolutely. Faith, sexuality is not a factor, he added. Anderson, and other church pastors, put together a simple Facebook post, not knowing if anyone would see it. It really caught fire, connected with people and reached over a million people, Anderson said. Its not about our church, its about being a part of the community responding to horrific devastation. For those who cant attend--perhaps family or friends who live far away--theyve found a way to make them a part of the service. The church upgraded their audio visual equipment several weeks ago, allowing for online service streaming via eight cameras throughout the building. You can get people that maybe people online havent seen for a generation, said Michael Fisher runs the media for Forest Lake Seventh Day Adventist Church. It really gives people a sense of being there they wouldnt of had otherwise. For Pastor Anderson, seeing Orlandos response to the shooting is touching. That just restores a bit of hope and faith. And certainly for the faith community, that speaks well that were willing to step in, he said. In the face of such horrific evil being done, you do have a sense of hope. Pastor Anderson said several families have reached out after seeing their initial post. They also have connections to people who have offered services, like flowers, for free. For more information, families can call 407-869-0680. In this case, Orlando has really wrapped their arms around this event, and around this group of people in this community, he said. Valente Sillero and his family impressed their Hays County neighbors as a hardworking lot that made their living at day jobs and running a popular cafe in the Niederwald community, about 20 miles south of Austin. That wasn't the half of it, federal prosecutors say _ Sillero, his wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law ran a more successful venture, smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. Over the past four years, the family helped thousands cross the border illegally, harboring them in Central Texas before moving them on to destinations throughout the country, officials say, according to a story in Friday's editions of the Austin American-Statesman. During that time, they received more than a quarter million dollars in payments and used two businesses as a front for their operation. Wednesday, four members of the Sillero family sat in a U.S. District Courtroom in Austin, charged with 10 counts of federal crimes, including conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants, transporting and harboring illegal immigrants and money laundering. Police are still looking for Valente Sillero, federal agents said. The investigation _ a joint operation among the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Internal Revenue Service and Hays County Sheriff's Office _ has been ongoing for more than two years, officials said. Silvia Llano de Sillero, 39; Marcos Sillero-Llanos, 20; Juan Valente Sillero-Llanos, 23; and Linda Baneullos de Sillero, 21, are being held in the Travis County Jail, with a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Investigators, who interviewed several detainees and a confidential informant, said they began investigating the Silleros after they were seen retrieving thousands of dollars at a time in separate Western Union transfers. Mike Lamberth, an IRS criminal investigator, said in the affidavit he found wire transfer records totaling nearly $270,000 over a 16-month period in each of the Sillero's names. Many transfers came from the relatives of illegal immigrants making payments to the Silleros, Lamberth said. Witnesses said Valente Sillero shuttled illegal immigrants by van from Mexico to Austin for a fee _ about $800 for Mexican immigrants, much more for those from Central America or the Middle East. He hired as many as 10 drivers at a time, bringing as many as 50 immigrants or more into Central Texas each week. Valente's wife, Sylvia, and daughter-in-law, Linda, worked as well, renting rooms at the Interstate Motel in Buda. Illegal immigrants would stay temporarily, sometimes for several days, the affidavit said. If they couldn't pay the fees, the illegal immigrants would live inside vans parked behind Sillero's wrecking yard, working for $200 a week to repay the debt, officials said. Sometimes, they would work at his restaurant, often frequented by residents in Hays and Caldwell counties. One detained immigrant said at one point, he and about 55 others were kept in a room behind the restaurant for several hours while waiting to be taken to California. Officials say the family opened an account at a San Marcos bank, depositing thousands at a time and putting various documents, including meticulous records on financial transactions and the smuggling operation, in a safe deposit box. They owned seven vehicles, including three trucks. Sylvia Sillero, who had three vehicles in her name, recently paid cash for a Toyota Solara. This week, investigators obtained a warrant to search the Silleros' Kyle home, Niederwald restaurant and wrecking yard. They found address books, credit card statements, cell phone records and carbon copies of money orders, among other items, officials said. Residents in the small community of Niederwald were stunned. Shirley Whisenant, a member of the Niederwald City Council, said she knew Sylvia Sillero from their family cafe. "I had the impression that they were hardworking, regular people and the cafe was what they made their living off of," she said. "I'm struck speechless." Sylvia was friendly and outgoing, and the family had appeared in person before the council to ensure the cafe's sign complied with city ordinances, Whisenant said. After local and area residents sweltered in triple-digit heat Wednesday, the region was battered by a quick-moving storm that included high winds, blowing sand and dirt, heavy rain and marble-sized hail and larger. Plainview recorded almost an inch of rain Wednesday evening as the community was peppered with pea- to marble-sized hail that was preceded by a wall of dirt pushed by 60 to 82 mph winds. Wind was the main issue, reports Blayne Reed, Texas A&M AgriLife Extensions Integrated Pest Management agent for Swisher, Floyd and Hale counties. Particularly in the southwestern part of the county, it appears that we might have lost whole fields after that sand blasting and from static electricity. Reed received reports of wind speeds in the Cotton Center area in excess of 90 mph. We had GPS and weather station readings of 97 and 94 mph in that area, with 72 mph in the Edmonson area. If a field could blow, it did Wednesday night. Although its too early to accurately determine crop losses, Reed expects 15 to 20 percent of the crop in southwestern Hale County was lost. We normally hold off on crop evaluation for three to four days after an event, but in some cases this is an easy call. After suffering storm damage, there can be regrowth and some recovery. By waiting a few days, we should be able to determine if the remaining population is strong enough to keep that crop, or if the producer needs to consider going a different direction, such as a late crop of grain sorghum or corn. To this point, insect pressure has been generally light with thrip the biggest concern from Plainview northward. Sprays have been working real well, he noted. And we are trying to stay on top of the weeds as well. While some wheat growers suffered weather losses, the overall crop yields have been good, Reed said, with dryland yields running 15 to 38 bushes per acre. Irrigated wheat yields have been ranging 25 to 60 bushels. Theres expectations for 80 to 90 bushels per acre in fields where farmers increased their inputs. Weights have come back good, and in most cases above normal, he said. Thats because late spring rains helped to feel out the kernels. Much of the area recorded the first of what is expected to be a series of 100-degree days on Wednesday. High temperatures Wednesday for the region include: Abernathy, 100; Floydada, 98; Hart, 96; Lubbock, 102; Olton, 99; Plainview Water Treatment Plant, 100; Plainview Herald, 102; Silverton, 100; Tulia, 99; and Turkey, 101. Rainfall totals Wednesday night include: Abernathy, 0.20; Floydada, trace; Hart, none; Lubbock, 0.33; Plainview Water Treatment, 0.33; Plainview Herald, 0.83; Silverton, 4.45; Tulia, 0.32; and Turkey, 1.16. Peak wind speeds on Wednesday include: Abernathy, 56 mph; Aiken, 69; Floydada, 49; Hart, 60; Olton, 75; Plainview, 62; Silverton, 40; and Tulia, 39. The wind caused varying degrees of damage, with tree limbs blown off and light structures overturned. Several utility poles were blown over, including a series of four along FM 400 in the Happy Union vicinity. June 17, 1946: T5 Wendell C. Wardlow, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Wardlow of Plainview, is on his way home on a 60-day furlough after re-enlisting for 18 months. He was stationed with the 472nd Glider Field artillery battalion of the 11th Airborne Division. --LaVern Roach, Plainview ex-Marine and outstanding welterweight contender, defeated Buddy Newby, 156-pounder from Newark, N.J., in a six-round fight Thursday in South Orange, N.J. Roach is to fight again later this month in Washington, D.C. --Joe Allen Hatch of Plainview was admitted to the hospital here Friday for treatment of injuries received when a pickup belonging to L.R. Bain Furniture overturned 10 miles west of Plainview on the Olton Highway. He suffered a skull fracture, spine injuries and bruises. His brother, Harley Hatch, suffered cuts and bruises. The two were returning from Olton after making a delivery. June 17, 1956: Burglars who entered the Beech Street Grocery on Tuesday took or damaged an estimated $125 in merchandise. O.L. Collins operates the store at 700 Beech. --Dr. J. Irvin Gaynor has opened his private dentistry practice in the Hi-Plains Hospital in Hale Center. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Dentistry and did postgraduate work at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. A WWII veteran, he has been in private practice in Chicago for the past nine years. --Lee Dye, son of Dr. and Mrs. Everette L. Dye, is home from Dallas where he completed his university course at SMU. He reports to work Monday at Temco Mfg. Corp., in Grand Prairie. June 17, 1966: Dr. Mary Bublis, local psychiatrist, is listed in the current edition of Whos Who Among American Women. Also listed is Dr. Dorothy Long, Plainview pediatrician. --J.B. Duckett, 45, will join the Wayland Baptist College staff on July 15 as director of the physical plant. --Glenn Harrison, 50, has been named superintendent of Plainview Public Schools. He has been director of secondary education for PISD since 1962. He was awarded a three-year contract with an annual salary of $16,500. He began teaching in the local school system in 1939, and has been principal at Central Elementary and both junior high schools. June 17, 1986: Recent PHS graduate Donna Burns has been awarded the Mary Jones Houston Endowed Scholarship for 1986-87 from Wayland. Last years recipients were Dana Halbleib West, Sidney Snelling and Jeff James. --Tommie Sue Quebe, representing First Methodist Church Vacation Bible School, has presented a $200 donation to Richard Ligon of McDonalds Restaurant. The donation will go toward construction of the Ronald McDonald House, to be built at Indiana and the Brownfield Highway in Lubbock. --Domingo Cantu, 69, of Plainview died Monday in a Lubbock hospital of injuries he suffered in a work-related traffic mishap earlier in the day south of Plainview. He was driving a water truck as part of a road construction crew when it overturned. Cantu was thrown from the vehicle. Compiled by Doug McDonough BERLIN While the states new retirement security law and corresponding retirement savings program are meant for workers of all ages, Democratic lawmakers feel one group in particular needs it the most. We need to take it to the younger workers in the workplace and talk about retirement, talk about retirement security, talk about compounding, how a small amount moving forward can make retirement more secure, said House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin. Aresimowicz, Senate President Martin Looney, Sen. Terry Gerratana and AARP volunteers held a press conference to hail the new law Thursday at the Berlin Senior Center. I have three children and I looked at what are my children doing to save for retirement and I was disappointed and surprised, (it was) not very much, said AARP volunteer Bob Cave. Starting in January 2018, workplaces with five employees or more and with no retirement or pension programs will be required to participate in the retirement program. Three percent of individual employees pay will be deducted from their paycheck and placed into a private Roth IRA account. Employees can opt out after being automatically enrolled. Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano believes it shouldnt be a one size fits all plan that employees are placed in whether they want it or not. Its that arrogance that we know better than the people, he said. Millennials are extraordinarily smart, theyre the ones creating new businesses. Republican senators presented their own retirement proposal as an alternative to the Democratic bill. Fasano says the Republican plan was completely voluntary to employees and gave participants more independence in deciding what sort of plan worked best for them. The bill was voted down and the Democratic plan was signed into law recently by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The Senate vote on the Democratic plan initially resulted in a tie, which was broken by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman. The bill was created in response to what Aresimowicz says is a retirement savings crisis in the state. We have a real problem, we have almost 600,000 people in the state that have no retirement savings other than Social Security, the average Social Security being $17,000 to $18,000 a year, he said. Its just barely above minimum wage. The cost of living here in the state of Connecticut is substantially higher. According to the plan, employers will not be required to match contributions. Fasano, however, sees the plan as negatively impacting economic growth in the state. Its another mandatory burden on businesses, he said. We are the most unfriendly business state in the country. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association also opposes the law. In a statement in April, the CBIA explained that the plan would take jobs away stating that Despite their superior expertise and retirement savings products, its not hard to figure out what will happen to the people making their living selling retirement plans once the market is taken from them by the state. The law will include the formation of a quasi-public group to oversee the plan. The actual program takes effect in 2018. The Rotary Club of Harrisburg will host the Sweet Bites for Better Sight event Monday, which will pit area bakers against one another to benefit a new childrens eye clinic at Hamilton Health Center in Harrisburg. More than 15 bakers will compete in the fundraiser sponsored by the club. Contestants include those from Bridgewood Catering at Central Penn, Cafe 1500, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Cornerstone Coffeehouse, HACCs culinary program, Harrisburg Hilton, Leadership Harrisburg Area, Messiah College, Metalaye Hospitality, Sophias on Market, The JDK Group and Wegmans. The event will include tasting from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Monday, with judging starting at 1:30 p.m. at Harrisburg Hilton, 1 N. 2nd St., Harrisburg. The public will have the opportunity to sample the sweets before the judging begins. Tickets are $20 each and are available at the door. The money will go toward the eye clinic, which will offer free vision screening and other services for area school students, as well as help some adults. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane's office Friday warned state residents to be cautious when giving money in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando. "Many Pennsylvanians will want to offer financial support to the people who have been affected by this tragic loss of life," Kane said. "It is important for those who give to take the proper precautions to ensure they are donating to reputable organizations." Kane said residents should consider donating to an established disaster-relief charity or aid organization based in the Orlando area, contact the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance at www.Give.org, check to see how much of the donation will go to help over expenses, and determine if a charity soliciting money is legitimate and check to see if it is registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at www.800HelpFla.com. Kane also said residents should be cautious of charities created in response to a specific event, be wary of charity messages on social media, confirm any request made via text or email and be aware of look-alike websites. Many states require charities to register with a state government agency before they solicit for charitable gifts, which is the case in Pennsylvania. To check on registration, go to www.charities.pa.gov or call 1-800-732-0999. Residents who suspect questionable charitable activity or believe they have been a victim of a scam can file a complaint with the Attorney General's Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section at www.attorneygeneral.gov or by calling 717-783-2853. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Melanie Aquino's cafe mochas are dazzling masterpieces. The barista at Elite Audio Coffee Bar in San Francisco's SoMa uses a metal skewer and a pot of chocolate to draw remarkably detailed sketches of everything from sweet-faced pugs to London's Big Ben atop the frothy foam. Aquino first started experimenting with coffee art four years ago when she took the job at the coffee bar by drawing faces and bears. "When I first started doing it, I didn't think it looked that good," Aquino says. "But customers started to come in and really liked it and would ask for a bear for their kids and it would make them so happy and it would brighten my day." Over time, Aquino, who grew up in Hawaii and moved to San Francisco 10 years ago, has perfected her art and Mashable recently named her the best coffee artist in the world. "I thought that was a really bold statement..." Aquino says. "I may be one of the best, but I don't think I'm the best. It's a lot about perception." And while Aquino would never say she's creating the best coffee art in San Francisco, it seems as if she probably is, as she's ranked at the top on both Yelp and FourSquare. What's more, we checked in with Sarah Allen, the editor of Barista Magazine, who has judged coffee art competitions for over 10 years, and asked her to look at Aquino's work. "Melannie would stand a real chance at nabbing an international title for this kind of work!" Allen wrote in an email. Most coffee art is made by "free pouring" steamed milk into a shot of espresso and adjusting the pour to create certain patterns and designs. The drawing method, Aquino says, is unique and she knows of only a few "drawing" artists through Instagram. Aquino posts her schedule on her Instagram account and says Elite charges $5 extra for her sketches, which take about three to five minutes to make. She used to offer the art on both lattes and mochas, but now only does the chocolate coffee drinks because the design lasts much longer. "With a latte, the picture starts degrading after a few minutes," she says. "Whereas with a mocha it sticks together for about 20 minutes." Whole milk works best, while almond doesn't cooperate. Corgi dogs are currently the most commonly requested, and unicorns were popular for a while. R2D2 is also a favorite because a video of her creating the droid was featured on Instagram on Star Wars Day. She won't do portraits or company logos. The most unusual request she has ever received was for Marvel Comics character Baymax holding a turtle and wearing a party hat. Once a girl used one of her creations to ask a boy out to prom. "While he was in the bathroom, she ordered his drink and asked me to write 'Prom?'" she says. "He said yes." Aquino has always been a doodler, but she says her ability improved when she was studying film at the Academy of Art and required to take a drawing class. "I've always been doodling throughout my life, but that class really showed me the basics of shape and shadowing and that's where I learned to make my drawings a little more refined," she says. Moving to San Francisco and going to art school wasn't what Aquino's parents had in mind for their daughter. "It's one of those things where they wanted me to go to college and get a stable job," she says. "And they wanted me to stay in Hawaii." But now that Aquino has over 22,000 followers on Instagram, websites calling her the best at her craft and people from all over the world coming to Elite to order her creations, she says her parents are proud, and most importantly she's happy with what she's doing. PINECREST, Calif. (KCRA) Crews are searching for two Modesto hikers who went missing while hiking in Tuolumne County. Donna Hallberg, 55, and Mark Smallwood, 59, left Sunday to hike the Crabtree Trail and were supposed to return Tuesday. When they didn't return Wednesday, friends reported them missing. "Friends have notified us that they are experienced hikers, and they have hiked this trail numerous times in the past. So, they're not sure what could have happened this time," Tuolumne County sheriff's Sgt. Andrea Benson said. Hallberg and Smallwood started the 3-day hike at the Crabtree Trail Head and were expected to hit Lake Gem and the Long Deer Lakes near Dodge Ridge, in the Pinecrest area. Investigators also released a picture of Hallberg's blue backpack and Smallwood's dog, Lulu, who went with them. Investigators said the area Hallberg and Smallwood went hiking has mixed terrain that could have snow. The pair packed for inclement weather but only packed enough food for three days. Investigators are hopeful they'll find them. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Courtesy Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 3 of 3 "Our search and rescue team does go out on many missions," Benson said. "Sometimes on 3 to 4 days where someone is lost in the area, and they are found alive and well." The search was suspended Thursday night and will resume Friday morning. This story originally appeared on KCRA.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For several days now, The Crafty Monks doors have been closed, but they wont stay that way for long. After closing on Sunday, the year-old Bridgeport restaurant will be replaced next month with Hub & Spoke, a new eatery under the management of the Montanaris, of Norwalk. Jennifer Montanari said she and her family, which includes husband Lou and his brother Bob, have been looking for a location for their next venture since they reluctantly closed the Sono Brewhouse Restaurant in South Norwalk last year. We looked from Norwalk to Redding to Darien to Bridgeport to Milford, Montanari said. This is the neighborhood that really interested us the most. Bob and Lou Montanari purchased the Brewhouse from the New England Brewing Co. in 2001 but closed it after rents in the thriving South Norwalk neighborhood became too high and the business became financially unsustainable. The Brewhouses closing and The Crafty Monks opening in January 2015 were just days apart. Patrick Hogan said he and his wife, Lisa Doherty, owners of the Bridgeport business, are also leaving reluctantly. But after a recent health scare, Hogan said he began to re-evaluate the long hours he spent at the Black Rock restaurant and away from his family. Its a bittersweet moment, Hogan said. The married couple, who live in Milford, first came to Black Rock in 2005 and opened The Field restaurant. Just three years later, though, they sold the business in order to focus on their growing family. The Crafty Monk was a chance to return to what they loved best the neighborhood bar business. But Hogan said his family has decided to move back to their native Ireland for a few months, a move that could become permanent. We are going to miss the Black Rock area, Hogan said. And you never know, we might come back again. Returning in some capacity was the promise the Montanari family made to their customers when they closed the Brewhouse. But Jennifer Montanari said they didnt decide on a location until they discovered the Fairfield Avenue space was available. We were looking for a neighborhood, she said. We were looking for a community, which is really what we felt we had in South Norwalk. Montanari said they found that same feeling in Black Rock. We really fell in love with this area, she said. Montanari said they dont plan on making many changes to the interior of The Crafty Monk space and even plan to keep the craft beer selection that the restaurant was known for. The menu, however, will change to a focus on American tapas, with smaller plates and every dish made from scratch. And we are going to bring back the Sunday brunch, Montanari said. She said they dont plan to recreate the Brewhouse experience in the new location, which, at 4,500 square feet, is about half the space of the former South Norwalk restaurant. The atmosphere will be reminiscent of the Brewhouse but it wont be the Brewhouse, Montanari said. She said they expect to open mid-July. ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Grocery store chain H-E-B is moving forward with plans to close its location in downtown Laredo on June 26 after city officials proposed offering tax and other incentives to keep the store open, the company announced Thursday. City officials had feared the San Antonio-based grocery giants decision to close the 51,158-square-foot store would create a "food desert" and leave downtown residents and workers without fresh groceries. H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said challenges with refrigeration and other equipment at the store, which opened in 1992, and the buildings deteriorating condition prompted the chains decision to shutter the location. This current facility will not even allow us to renovate the way that we would want to renovate in order to provide a superb shopping experience as we do in our other stores, Campos said. H-E-B is working with officials and non-profit groups to provide transportation for some of the area's elderly residents to the chain's other stores in Laredo, pay for bus transportation for residents who live within a mile of the closing store and delivery medicine from H-E-B pharmacies to residents at elderly homes near the downtown store among other intiatives, Campos said. The stores 88 employees have received similar positions at H-E-Bs six other Laredo stores, Campos said. The company and officials are mulling how to repurpose the downtown building while the chain looks for property to expand its presence there. Laredo officials had proposed offering a package of tax other incentives to convince H-E-B to keep the downtown location open after the chain announced its closure May 27. We are deeply saddened by the decision of H-E-B to close their downtown store, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said in a statement. The city of Laredo did everything in our power to try to convince them otherwise. However, we understand that this was a business decision on their part. H-E-B has other stores in Laredo and is part of our community and we will continue to work with them in the future. Officials will now pursue efforts to bring local and national grocers into downtown Laredo, said Laredo City Councilman Roberto Balli, who represents the citys downtown district. jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports This story was updated to correct information provided by H-E-B . The grocer has already found new jobs for the 88 displaced employees. Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Chinese electronics maker LeEco said Friday it has finalized steps to buy roughly 50 acres from Yahoo in Santa Clara. LeEco has been expanding in the Bay Area, opening up a North American headquarters in San Jose in April. The purchase will help Yahoo, which has been exploring sales of its patents and real estate as it takes bids for its core Internet properties. A Wisconsin-based resort is making waves after issuing a joint announcement with the City of Round Rock Wednesday detailing intentions to build a convention center, resort and water park across from Dell Diamond. Kalahari Resorts announced plans to make Round Rock home to its latest expansion effort with an African-themed family friendly resort that will have up to 1,000 rooms, a convention center, restaurants and indoor and outdoor water parks. Express-News file photo University Health System has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to boost the number of Bexar County children enrolling in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program. About 10 percent of Bexar County children are uninsured, an improvement from 2009, when the rate of children lacking coverage was 14 percent. But in some San Antonio census tracts, up to 40 percent of children are still uninsured, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The owner of a Brentwood construction company pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of manslaughter, more than a year after one of the companys employees tumbled to his death while remodeling a building in the Tenderloin. Prosecutors in the San Francisco District Attorneys Office have charged Pedro Flores, 48, with involuntary manslaughter and two felony labor code violations, saying his negligence and unsafe equipment caused the death of construction worker Antonio Pimentel, 53. Pimentel fell from an Ellis Street building while standing on a wobbly piece of scaffolding on December 20, 2014. Court documents allege that Flores failed to lock the wheels and install a safety rail. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A summer book is traditionally a quick, mindless read, a book you wouldnt mind leaving buried in the sand or forgotten on a shelf at the lake cabin. Summer books can and should be so much more. Heres a look at some books that should eep you from dozing off as youre roasting by the pool. And while youre at it, you might just find a good read for dad as well. The City of Mirrors By Justin Cronin Random House, $28, out now Houston writer Cronins terrifying series about an apocalyptic world overrun by bloodthirsty virals comes to a close with the light-vs.-dark clash of Zero, the father of the ravenous zombified creatures, and Amy, the girl whos lived 1,000 years and is humanitys final hope. End of Watch By Stephen King Scribner, $30, out now Where the first two books in Kings latest trilogy Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers were fairly straightforward police procedurals about a crusty retired detective trying to catch a twisted young man who murderously drove a car into a crowd at a job fair, the final chapter is more like the King weve come to expect. Ret-Det. Bill Hodges is back, but his nemesis, Brady Hartsfield, has developed some pretty effective new mental gifts, including the ability to move objects and people with his mind. The Fireman By Joe Hill William Morrow, $28.99, out now Horns author Hill is back with his most ambitious book yet, a 700-plus-page novel that has already hit No. 1 on the best-seller lists. The son of Stephen King is back with a macabre tale of a plague that affects millions, literally like wildfire: Victims of the highly contagious Dragonscale spore spontaneously combust. Only a mysterious stranger known as the Fireman has figured out how to battle the plague. Heat & Light By Jennifer Haigh Ecco, $26.99, out now The author of the best-selling Baker Towers returns to Bakerton, a played-out coal town that is sitting atop the Marcellus Shale, one of the countrys largest deposits of natural gas. To drill or not to drill? Fracking, says Haigh, is just the catalyst for a story about human relationships and how they change when money is involved. The Second Life of Nick Mason By Steve Hamilton Putnam, $26, out now Two-time Edgar Award winner Hamilton introduces a new character who will likely carry the underrated author through many sequels. Nick Mason is a Chicago petty hood sent to prison for participating in a robbery in which a drug agent was killed. Five years into his sentence, he is miraculously released, the crime wiped from his record on a technicality. But theres a catch. A crime kingpin in prison wants Mason to be his avatar in the outside world, which means Nick has to get his head around murder. Lawyer for the Cat By Lee Robinson Thomas Dunne, $24.99, out now Hill Country poet Robinson, a former attorney, did well last year with her first novel, Lawyer for the Dog, about a couple in an acrimonious divorce fighting over custody of Sherman the schnauzer. Sounds silly, you say? Not in Robinsons hands. Now, equal time, shes back with the feline angle in Lawyer for the Cat, about Beatrice, a black cat who is the disputed beneficiary of a million-dollar trust and a plantation. Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution By Nathaniel Philbrick Viking, $30, out now If he were alive, George Washington himself couldnt get tickets to Hamilton. Heres a cheaper alternative: Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) offers a new look at the first American president and contrasts him with our most famous traitor. Homegoing By Yaa Gyasi Knopf, $26.95, out now The story of two half-sisters born in 18th century Ghana one married to a wealthy Englishman, the other sold in the slave market kicks off this multi-generational saga that travels to America and encompasses the Civil War, the Great Migration and the Jazz Age. Rich and Pretty By Rumaan Alam Ecco, $25.99, out now Can friendship survive adulthood? Thats the question Alam examines in this smart, enticing novel about two childhood friends in Manhattan one rich, one pretty who navigate the ebb and flow of their relationship as young 30-somethings. Barkskins By Annie Proulx Scribner, $32, out now Well be talking about Proulxs latest fictional work for a while those of us who like our lit long, epic and historical. If you do, too, dive into this 700-plus-page behemoth about woodcutters in 17th-century Canada. Here Comes the Sun By Nicole Dennis-Benn Liveright, $26.95, July 14 The sun and the seas of Jamaica are beautiful, but theres a dark side to paradise in Dennis-Benns debut, about three women whose village is threatened by a hotel development. How to Set a Fire and Why By Jesse Ball Pantheon, $24.95, July 5 Balls last novel, A Cure for Suicide, made the National Book Awards long list for fiction in 2015. Now hes back with an intriguing story about a teenager who joins her new schools Secret Arson Club. The Light of Paris By Eleanor Brown Putnam, $26, July 12 So you cant afford tickets to Paris (although theyre easier to come by than Hamilton tickets). Perhaps the follow-up to Browns delightful dysfunctional-family comedy The Weird Sisters will cure your stay-at-home blues. Its about a frustrated wife who creates a special summer for herself in the City of Light. White Bone By Ridley Pearson Putnam, $27, July 19 The unlikely pair John Knox, an ex-military contractor, and accountant Grace Chu find themselves in deep trouble this time around in Kenya. In White Bone, the new white-knuckle thriller from Pearson (Peter and the Starcatcher), Chu is abandoned in the bush with little chance of survival. Shes tracked by Knox, who must face ivory poachers, Al-Shaabab militants, national rangers and morally questionable safari sahibs to save her. Truly Madly Guilty By Liane Moriarty Flatiron, $26.99, July 26 Fans of the best-selling Big Little Lies and The Husbands Secret cant wait to get their hands on the Australian Moriartys latest novel. She takes on her favorite subjects once again marriage, friendships, parenthood and how theyre plunged into disarray when life goes badly wrong. First Comes Love By Emily Giffin Ballantine, $28, July Giffin is back with the touching story of two childhood friends who grow up to live very different lives as a first-grade teacher and a lawyer. They learn that the book title is more than just an old adage as the anniversary of an old tragedy looms. American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst By Jeffrey Toobin Doubleday, $28.95, Aug. 2 New Yorker staff writer Toobin, who wrote perhaps the smartest book about the O.J. saga in The Run of His Life, tackles the truly weird tale of Tania and the Hearst familys roller-coaster ride in trying to secure Patty Hearsts freedom. The book features a cast of characters ranging from Bill Walton to the Black Panthers, the largest police shootout in U.S. history and a theatrical trial that introduced us to the term Stockholm syndrome. The Bones of Paradise By Jonis Agee William Morrow, $25.99, August Author of The River Wife, Agee is a beautiful writer whos back with a multigenerational saga set in the Nebraska Sand Hills this is Cormac McCarthy country in the years after the massacre at Wounded Knee. Agee has created idelible characters and a story that will stay with you for a long time. LaRose By Louise Erdrich Harper, $27.99, out now Erdrich, whose previous novel The Round House won the National Book Award, returns with LaRose, the complex story of two tribal families inextricably entwined by the murder of a 5-year-old boy. A North Dakota man hunting a buck hes been tracking all summer discovers he has instead shot and killed his neighbors son. He finds an ancient solution in giving his own son, LaRose, to his neighbors. Our son will be your son now, he tells them. The Girls By Emma Cline Random House, $27 The recipe is irresistible: Late-1960s California, a cult, a charismatic leader and the girls who fall under his spell. Clines debut novel isnt specifically about the Manson family, but the horrific true crime echoes throughout its pages. Pierced by the Sun By Laura Esquivel AmazonCrossing, $14.95, July 1 The author of Like Water for Chocolate and Malinche returns with a novel about a woman who runs afoul of the corrupt Mexican government and seeks peace in discovering her cultures old ways. sbennett@express-news.net Connie Ogle of the Miami Herald contributed to this report. Lowell Bennett never tried to portray himself as larger than life. Yet the pride he felt in telling the American story abroad inspired in his son a deep love of the country that continues to this day. I wanted to be like him, David Bennett said of the war correspondent turned career diplomat who was his birth father. He had a very strong influence on me, the Carlisle man added. He favored education, hard work, integrity and consistency. They formed the core of my own values. David was about 10 years old and living in Paris in 1954 when Lowell was transferred from Berlin, Germany, to the U.S. embassy in the French capital to serve as the press attache. It was the first real opportunity for father and son to spend quality time together since Lowell had divorced Davids mother, the former Enid Elizabeth Walker, in 1948. He encouraged me to ask questions and be inquisitive, David recalled. He was pleased by my interest. It made for some fun conversations. Lowell was straight-forward and honest. He answered every question in a matter-of-fact way. This helped his son assemble the pieces of a life spent in service into an example worth following. Mission over Berlin Born April 19, 1920, Lowell Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Chicago before moving to New Jersey as a teenager. There he graduated from high school and attended Montclair State Teachers College before boarding a tramp steamer to South Africa and Australia. Because his mother was a native of France, Lowell felt duty bound to join the French Army, but he was captured when that country surrendered to Nazi Germany in June 1940. The United States was neutral at the time, and being an American by birth, Lowell was released and ended up in London. There he met Enid Walker who was serving doughnuts at a Red Cross canteen. The two dated, fell in love and got married in February 1941. During this time, Lowell served as an ambulance driver with the Free French military that was being organized in England to eventually liberate France. Lowell then became a war correspondent with the International News Service a forerunner of the Associated Press. He covered the American and British campaign in North Africa, David said. He went off to Tunisia from November 1942 to spring 1943. Lowell returned to England and wrote his first book, Assignment to Nowhere, about his adventures in Africa. From there, he covered the strategic bombing campaign against Germany with articles detailing the missions, the damage and reasons for the aerial offensive. An opportunity became available in early December 1943 for Lowell Bennett, Edward R. Murrow and other journalists to fly over Berlin during a night raid by Royal Air Force bombers. His plane severely damaged by anti-aircraft artillery, Lowell was forced to parachute into German capital. Truth defies lies He landed in a marsh up to his waist, David said. Within a half hour, an old man and a young guy rode out to him and turned him over to the authorities. They realized he was a war correspondent and assigned a Luftwaffe officer as his guardian. That officer escorted Lowell to various sites in a propaganda tour of the Nazi capital designed to convince the American reporter the Allied bombing campaign was having no effect on German war industry, civilian morale or the will of the Third Reich to press on to its eventual oblivion. His father managed to escape and smuggle out of occupied Europe a feature article detailing his firsthand account of conditions in Germany. Published in newspapers across the United States, this earned Lowell Bennett 15 minutes of fame in spring 1944, according to his son, David, but his father was betrayed and arrested in Prague. Someone turned him in, David said. It was the third time the Germans had gotten him. This time Lowell became an inmate at the Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp. While there, he took a chance at reporting the truth in the midst of an oppressive dictatorship. Lowell started an underground newspaper using content an accomplice transcribed from Allied radio broadcasts picked up by an illegal and hidden receiver. Printed on both sides of a big sheet of writing paper, the Powwow was published most every night from March 1944 to May 1945 using carbon paper and a Swedish made typewriter. It circulated in three languages to seven different camps Not one edition was missed because of enemy interference, David said. The Red Army came through on May 2 and liberated the camp. Rather than wait for the Russians to repatriate him, Lowell stole a Jeep and drove himself to Paris. Telling the story Free again, he resumed work as an INS correspondent operating first out of the Paris bureau before transferring to Germany where he covered the Nuremburg trials of Nazi war criminals. All this time away from his wife and two sons created a strain in the marriage, which resulted in divorce. Both spouses eventually married French citizens. Lowell joined the State Department and saw service in Germany during the Berlin Airlift. The former Enid Walker retained custody of David, and the family settled in Paris where David had an opportunity to finally bond with his birth father after Lowell was transferred in 1954. I really got a chance to know him and see him more often, David recalled. I would talk to him about those pieces of his story that fit into an academic interest of him. He used his job to tell the American story abroad. Lowell worked for years with the U.S. Information Agency tasked with promoting U.S. culture and society during the early decades of the Cold War with the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact. Assigned to the embassy in Paris from 1954 to 1960, Lowell was a source of information for French journalists. From 1960 to 1961, he was a student at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle before he was transferred to Washington, D.C. David was 17 at the time and decided to move back to the United States to live with his father. He inspired me to join the Foreign Service, David said. David was a Marine helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He later went to college and graduate school before joining the diplomatic corps of the U.S. State Department. The career paths of father and son parallel each other in several respects. Like Lowell, David was a U.S. Army War College student who came to Carlisle from the U.S. embassy in Paris. Both men served for a time with the U.S. embassy in Iran. David first arrived in Carlisle in 1989 and later returned to teach on the war college faculty in 1995 and again in 1998. He has since retired from the federal government. During his career, Lowell Bennett also served in India and Pakistan before retiring from the State Department in 1973. He lived on a property owned by his second wife near the village of Lafat in France. Though retired, Lowell continued to promote the United States. Local journalists would often contact him for comment whenever a major story broke out in the states. Lowell died in 1997. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This weeks restaurant inspection reports were highlighted with wacky violations vegetables stored in a mop sink and tape used as an alternative to fix broken equipment. A total of 24 eateries earned enough demerits to make this weeks dirty list, including Taqueria Jalisco at 7504 Marbach Road, which was cited for storing a cutting board and a container of carrots in the mop sink, and Volcan Panaderia at 359 Bustillos Drive, which was in trouble after using tape to fix a broken freezer lid. To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below or anything less than an "A" during a random city inspection. Other out-of-the-ordinary violations this week include fly paper dangled above food prep areas at Wok Inn at 8733 Grissom Road, and uncovered food stored in a public hallway at Happy Town Chinese Restaurant at 7616 Culebra Road. Get all the highlights from this week's dirtiest restaurant list in the slideshow above. RELATED: San Antonio restaurant inspections: The worst reports from last week The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below. Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where 100 is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division. Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and are surveyed at random. rsalinas@mysa.com Twitter: @RebeccaLSalinas Here is the full list of establishments on this week's list, see slideshow for information from the reports: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT Rondell Jones and Antoine Sistrunk are the kind of candidates the citys police recruitment drive aimed to attract. Both men were born and raised in Bridgeport. They are black, and known and trusted in the minority neighborhoods they might patrol. And they currently work as security guards at Bassick and Harding high schools, respectively. But the pair were disqualified from continuing the police examination process Jones for not revealing he was the plaintiff in a slip-and-fall lawsuit, and Sistrunk for what sources called police record issues. On Thursday, the citys Civil Service Commission, in a 2-1 vote, gave Jones a second chance, backing his appeal to be placed back on the list of recruits for Bridgeports police academy. Commissioners delayed a hearing for Sistrunk until later in the month. I thank you guys so much, an elated Jones said as he worked the conference room in City Hall. He shook not just commission members hands, but also those of the labor and police officials who minutes earlier defended their decision to try to block him from the force. You will not be disappointed, Jones said. Omission causes concern He looked fine for someone who had allegedly suffered major injuries after taking a bad fall a few years ago. His handling of that lawsuit landed him in trouble with the Office of Internal Affairs. According to information presented Thursday, when filling out a questionnaire to become one of Bridgeports Finest, Jones answered no when asked if he was named as a plaintiff, defendant or witness in a civil action. And yet at the time he was the plaintiff in a slip-and-fall lawsuit that claimed Jones had endured and will continue to endure great mental and physical suffering. According to the city, when confronted over his answer, Jones claimed he did not understand the question. That and other answers lead the police departments Office of Internal Affairs to conclude Jones was being evasive. Jones argued Tuesday that he made an unintentional mistake, and that in subsequent interviews with the police department he was forthcoming about the lawsuit. Both Jones and Sistrunk are represented by ex-Mayor Tom Bucci, who has become a go-to labor attorney. Besides passionately arguing that Jones is an exemplary candidate for the force He passed every test Bucci said members of the legal profession exaggerate. To hold it against him what his lawyer put in a court complaint is totally unfair, Bucci said, arguing the description of Jones post-fall problems was boiler-plate language used by personal injury attorneys. He is physically capable of doing the job, Bucci said. He forgot to mention he had the lawsuit. Sgt. Tjuana Bradley-Webb with the internal affairs office told the Civil Service Commission, Its not about the lawsuit. She said the police recruitment questionnaire is clear and concise. The problem we ran into with Mr. Jones is his truthfullness, Webb said. A matter of trust John Mitola, an attorney for the city, added that while Buccis point about the boiler-plate language in Jones lawsuit is true, One of the most important things a police officer must do is be truthful all the time, because they have to testify in court. Jones and Bucci were accompanied by some high profile character witnesses: Police Captain Roderick Porter, Public School Security Supervisor James Denton and Michael Testani, director of adult education for the public schools. Porter said he has dealt with Jones on the job and found him to be a man of high character, integrity, honesty, professionalism. ... Given the benefit of the doubt, I think Rondall would be a fine police officer. Testani said Jones is probably the best security officer at Bassick. Youd be making a big mistake if Rondell doesnt get an opportunity, here, Testani said. Tuesdays vote supporting Jones appeal means he will now be in the running to join the second of three classes of cadets recruited last year. The first class is currently at the academy, with two more expected before next summer. Though Sistrunks appeal is still pending, commissioners got a preview of what to expect when they reconvene. Sitting ready to speak on Sistrunks behalf were prominent black community leaders Ernie Newton and Ralph Ford. Hes the type of person you would want on the streets, Newton said afterward. Hes a part of our community. The light show of war had a strange air of beauty for Boiling Springs native Jim Baker. It would look like rain almost ... like fireworks at night, the Air Force veteran recalled. We put out a lot of lead. The rate of fire was so rapid from each of the four mini-guns that the tracer rounds made the hail of bullets appear like a solid mass washing over the enemy. Forty-five years ago, Baker was a navigation and communications officer flying close support missions in an AC-119 Shadow gunship in the skies over Vietnam. Most times Baker was seated in the cockpit with the pilots where he maintained a radio link with Marines or Army soldiers on the ground. His job was to help direct the fire from the quartet of Gatling-style guns mounted on the left side of the plane. The position of the weapons required the pilots to tilt the aircraft and to fly it in circles around patches of ground where enemy soldiers were concentrated and engaged in firefights with friendly forces. This low and slow flight path made the Shadow vulnerable to ground fire, so all of his 150 missions were flown at night where the cover of darkness added protection to the aircraft painted black. We only flew at 2,500 feet, recalled Baker, who served in Southeast Asia from January 1971 to February 1972. Anytime there were troops in contact, we supported them. The typical day began around supper time when Baker rolled out of bed. From there, it was off to the flight line and a briefing on the location of trouble spots for that night. The Shadow would then take flight and loiter over a region of territory until called to action by a Marine or Army unit engaged in battle with the enemy. Once we got in the area, they would talk us through it, Baker said. They would direct us from the ground. We would zoom in, unload, go back, refuel and rearm. There were many nights when he went out on two missions. The VC would attack our fire bases, Baker said referring to Viet Cong guerillas. We would keep them from being overrun. Seated behind Baker, in the main fuselage, was a second navigator tasked with monitoring the situation on the ground with night vision equipment. There was another crewman toward the back of the plane whose job was to release flares on cue. Each flare would descend slowly on a parachute, turning day into night. It was on such occasions that Baker saw the enemy soldiers clearly, often on the run from the incoming mini-gun fire. Other times friendly troops would mark the target for the Shadow with a well-placed round of Willie Pete or white phosphorus. Every so often, enemy soldiers would fire on his plane and put bullet holes through its fuselage. Baker could not recall any casualties. We had no Purple Hearts on that plane. Most of this ground fire came from rifles, but there was at least one occasion when the enemy opened up with anti-aircraft artillery. It would be a bright flash of light like a blossom, Baker said. We never got close to being hit. He recalled one mission where his Shadow was called in to provide close air support for 15 to 20 US Army soldiers separated from their unit and surrounded by hostile forces. His plane was one in a sequence of aircraft that attacked the enemy who were trying to destroy this small pocket of American infantry. They had several wounded and were traveling, Baker recalled. I dont think they would have gotten out without our assistance. There were also missions that took his Shadow over the famed Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main supply route of the enemy. With the night vision equipment, the air crew could easily spot trucks and other vehicles on the move. Off-duty time was often spent listening to audio tapes from his family. An Air Force captain, Baker had a wife and two small children living in an apartment in south Texas during his tour of duty in Vietnam. It was a scary thing, Baker said of their time apart. It was tough for the kids. But the recordings also kept his spirit up. There were married men in his unit who had lived in south Texas prior to their deployment overseas. Their wives got together to form a Waiting Wives Club to provide mutual support. A 1954 graduate of Boiling Springs High School, Baker graduated from Shippensburg University where he earned a teaching degree in English prior to enlisting in the Air Force in 1962. For eight years starting in high school, Baker was in the Navy Reserve. Prior to Vietnam, Baker served in an air/sea rescue stationed in North Africa. After Vietnam, he served in California as a flight school instructor before transferring to Alaska where his third child was born. He retired from the Air Force as a major in 1981 the same year he returned to Boiling Springs. He then taught English full-time at Big Spring High School until 1999. 'New York Now' covers the legislative session Don't miss this week's episode of "New York Now," the award-winning coproduction of WMHT and the Times Union. Highlights include: The Times Union's Casey Seiler and Matthew Hamilton join Karen DeWitt of New York State Public Radio to discuss the deals and disappointments of what's supposed to be the last week of the legislative session. WMHT's Jenna Flanagan offers an update on the water contamination crisis in Hoosick Falls, including residents' emotional visit to the state Capitol. Allegiant is adding flights to Myrtle Beach NEW WINDSOR Allegiant Air is kicking off its new nonstop air service to Myrtle Beach, S.C., from Stewart International Airport in the Hudson Valley. The flights will operate twice a week until Sept. 25, with fares as low as $44. The first flight was Thursday. - Associated Press Clearwater in final stretch of overhaul POUGHKEEPSIE The sloop Clearwater headed up the Hudson River on a barge on Thursday as crews prepare to complete a major overhaul of the 47-year-old vessel's hull. The sloop spent the winter in dry dock in Kingston, where workers stripped planks off the hull and replaced parts of the frame. The $850,000 work comes after musician Pete Seeger helped launch the Clearwater in 1969 as a symbol of efforts to rid pollution from the Hudson. It will be relaunched in July. Associated Press Long Island raid nets arsenal of weapons MINEOLA A raid at a Long Island home has uncovered an arsenal of weapons, ammunition, drugs, cash and instructions on how to make a bomb, as well as neo-Nazi paraphernalia, police said. Two men, identified as Edward Perkowski, 29, and Sean Perkowski, 25, were arrested at their Mount Sinai home at about 6 a.m. Thursday, based on a search warrant. "This was a public threat on multiple fronts because we have two individuals who clearly subscribe to a hateful violent ideology, who had an illegal arsenal at their fingertips," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini. "Today's search warrant may have prevented a deadly violent incident like the one we recently saw in Orlando." Associated Press Miami Here's what you need to know about daylight saving this fall In the days following his son's massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Seddique Mateen has given periodic press briefings in which he pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic State for poisoning his son's mind, at the guards who allowed his son to walk into a Pulse nightclub while armed, and at his son's disgust upon seeing two men kissing in Miami's Bayside Marketplace. In one of the odd sidelights to this week's tragic events, the elder Mateen has maintained a steady Facebook presence, continuing to post not so much about the killing spree, but about a personal issue that he has touted for years: Pashtun nationalism in his native Afghanistan. It was not until Thursday, four days after the mass shooting, that Mateen deactivated his account. Until that point, the elder Mateen continued his posting about long-standing political tensions in his homeland, notwithstanding the vigils, media frenzy and national mourning engulfing Florida and the United States resulting from his son's actions. CBS News reported that he had long hosted a California-based satellite television show aimed at ethnic Pashtuns from Afghanistan living in the United States, and that the show had a Pashtun-centric nationalistic bent opposed to both Pakistan and the United States. Sometimes dressed in fatigues, he would refer to himself as the head of a revolutionary government-in-exile that would one day return to take rightful control of Afghanistan. In the wee hours Sunday morning, about 15 minutes before the first gunshots went off at Pulse, he posted a video featuring himself, dressed in military garb and seeking to inspire a sense of urgency among his 10,925 Facebook followers: "To the revolutionary people in Afghanistan, country is in danger," he wrote. 1 Black box found: The second black box of the EgyptAir plane that crashed last month killing all 66 people on board was pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, a day after Egypts investigation committee said the planes cockpit voice recorder had been recovered. The find significantly raises hopes that investigators will finally be able to determine what caused the disaster of the Airbus A320. Both France and the United States are sending investigators to Cairo to help with the probe. Its still not known what brought the plane down between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast or whether the aircraft broke apart in the air or stayed intact until it struck the water. 2 Religious riots: An Indian court on Friday sentenced 11 people to life in prison for murder in one of the many deadly religious riots that swept across the western state of Gujarat in 2002 and left more than 1,000 dead. The Gujarat riots, which erupted after a train car full of Hindu nationalists was engulfed in a fire that killed 60 people inside, pitted mobs of Hindus against Muslims, who were widely blamed for setting the fire. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A jury in San Francisco heard sharply conflicting portrayals of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. at Fridays opening session of the companys criminal trial on charges of violating federal pipeline-inspection laws, with one attorney calling it a deceptive scofflaw that chose profits over safety, and her adversary describing it as a community benefactor that did its best to comply with unclear government standards. After the September 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, PG&E made a deliberate choice to not follow these ... safety regulations, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman, the lead prosecutor, said in her opening statement in a packed federal courtroom. PG&E attorney Steven Bauer countered that the laws the company is charged with knowingly violating, on testing, maintenance and record keeping for gas pipelines, were so vague that some federal regulators had been debating some of the very same issues that had confused the utility and its engineers. These folks (PG&Es 20,000 employees) live in the communities where these pipelines are, Bauer told the jury. They have families. They have kids. They cross these pipelines every day, and have no reason to endanger themselves and their neighbors. But Hoffman maintained that the utility simply decided to cut safety expenses at the same time it was taking actions to maximize profits. The prosecution arose from the National Transportation Safety Boards investigation of the San Bruno explosion. PG&E is charged with 12 violations of federal laws that require gas pipeline operators to maintain accurate records, identify risks to lines and inspect or test when pipe pressures exceed the legal maximum. The company is also charged with obstructing justice in the San Bruno investigation by trying to conceal an allegedly illegal policy of testing older lines for welding problems. Prosecutors say the company conducted tests only if pipeline pressure reached at least 10 percent above the maximum allowed by federal law. If convicted of all charges, PG&E could be fined $562 million, which prosecutors say is twice the amount the company saved by sidestepping safety standards. The state Public Utilities Commission has already fined the company $1.6 billion for the San Bruno explosion. Hoffman, in her half-hour introductory statement, told jurors the company made knowing and intentional choices to violate the pipeline laws. PG&E officials knew exactly what they had to do (under the law) but they didnt like it, so they chose not to do it, the prosecutor said. She said the company corruptly misled the federal Transportation Safety Board in the boards San Bruno investigation. At first, Hoffman said, PG&E told the board it had examined its pipeline and found no leaks. Months later, she said, the company admitted having leaks, but said it couldnt locate them. She said the company knew its records were faulty, but relied on them in deciding which pipelines to inspect and repair, ignoring emails from employees about more widespread hazards. Bauer, the lead defense attorney, described a company in which safety comes first, compliance comes first. In an opening statement that lasted an hour and 45 minutes, he said PG&E had elaborate procedures for identifying defective pipelines, and any that were omitted from its reports involved only pinhole leaks posing no safety hazards. He mocked prosecutors for their decision to charge only the company and not any individual employees or executives. A corporate logo is easy to attack, Bauer said, but its harder to look somebody in the eye and say, You committed a crime. Youll notice the government didnt do that. Bauer also said the obstruction-of-justice charge was unfounded. The alleged policy of testing only lines that exceeded the federal maximum level by 10 percent was outlined in a draft document that was mistakenly sent to federal regulators in 2011 but was never implemented. Hoffman disputed that. The 10 percent practice was PG&Es practice for years, starting long before the San Bruno explosion, she said. Jurors also heard from a prosecution witness, Stephen Klejst, who oversaw the National Transportation Safety Boards San Bruno investigation. He said PG&E executives assured him the company was willing to cooperate, but it was slow in providing information and presented some records that didnt correspond with the pipelines they purported to describe. PG&E attorney Margaret Tough questioned Klejst about his description of his agencys investigation as cooperative and nonadversarial. A few days after the San Bruno explosion, she noted, the FBI had contacted the transportation board and said it was beginning a criminal investigation. You never talked to PG&E about it, Tough said. No reason to, Klejst replied. The trial resumes Tuesday. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: egelko Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility between India, Bangladesh becomes operational Published: June 16, 2016 Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility under the revised Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol between India and Bangladesh became operational. The transit facility was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Dhaka in June 2015. It was officially inaugurated on 16 June 2016. As part of it, the first ship from Kolkata carrying 1000 tonnes of steel and iron sheets reached Ashuganj river port in Bangladesh. From the port the cargo will transit throughout Bangladesh territory to reach its destination in Tripura. About Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility The facility running through a land and river route crossing Bangladesh territory cuts the Kolkata-Agartala distance via Siliguris chicken neck from 1600 km to 800 km. It also has reduced the time of the journey from 30 days (via Siliguri corridor) to just 10 days. It has cut the transportation costs from mainland India to the north-eastern state from 67 US dollars to 35 US dollars per tonne. However, as per the protocol India pays transit fees of 192.25 dollars per tonne as negotiated between the two countries. Comment With the formal inauguration of the transit facility, both friendly neighbours have crossed yet another milestone in their bilateral relations and regional connectivity . The Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura tranist route gives mainland India cheaper and easier access to the seven landlocked northeastern states. Regional Connectivity Under the India-Bangladesh Bilateral Trade Agreement, the revised Inland Water Transit & Trade Protocol gives both countries right to use each others territory for transiting goods to third countries. Thus it allows Bangladesh to transit goods to Bhutan and Nepal while India can access Myanmar via Bangladesh giving impetus to Act east policy. The protocol also facilitates trade and development not only between Bangladesh and India but also in the entire sub-region facilitating trade and development in the sub-region. Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016 Topics: Current Affairs 2016 India-Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Trade Transit Corridor Latest E-Books Orlando, Fla. It was a wrenching ritual that has become all too familiar for President Barack Obama. One by one Thursday, inside an arena in downtown Orlando where friends and relatives of the victims of the nation's deadliest mass shooting had congregated, Obama embraced mourners sick with loss. He told them that the nation stood with them and that his own heart was broken, offering words of comfort for a tragedy that he confessed he could not fathom. "Their grief is beyond description," Obama said after a two-hour meeting with the mourners. "Through their pain and through their tears, they told us about the joy that their loved ones had brought to their lives." Behind closed doors, Obama told the grieving that it was the 15th time during his 7 1/2-year tenure that he had had to offer these sorts of condolences after a shooting, according to those who attended. "There were times when he choked up," said Angelica Jones, a performer at the Pulse nightclub, where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 on Sunday. "And it's a hard thing to do when you've got mothers crying out. He was up to it." Obama has had plenty of practice for this particularly grim task. The settings vary, but the pattern is chillingly constant. Obama's armored limousine deposits him at a nondescript building big enough to hold a large number of families whose loved ones have died in a mass shooting somewhere in America. Away from the news cameras that normally track his every interaction, he enters rooms thick with grief and people in shock. He grasps for words of sympathy, comfort and condolence and offers long embraces that the mourners will remember more vividly than his words. As Obama comforted the mourners, his critics in Washington were blaming him for Sunday's tragedy.Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., his 2008 presidential rival, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Obama, through his policy decisions, was "directly responsible" for the carnage because he had failed to thwart the rise of the Islamic State. The president has called these visits among the most difficult duties he performs. "He took time to go to each family individually and embrace them, and there was no rush or a sense he wanted to be anywhere else," said Azsia Finn, a manager at Pulse. "It was embracing, hugging, just very warming. It felt like he cared." : ; This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro said he is not being vetted to be presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons running mate Friday at the Texas Democratic Convention at the Alamodome. The former San Antonio mayor did not say who he thought would be a good pick for Clintons vice president telling reporters, Im not going to answer that, and, when asked whether he'd gotten any phone calls from Clinton, he said no, not at all. RELATED: Caucuses for women, Hispanics, LGBT members headline Friday at Texas Democratic Convention Castro was joined by his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio who said Donald Trump, who visited the Alamo City for a private fundraiser earlier Friday afternoon, is not liked by Texans. Donald Trump is the Republican Party and Texan Republicans laid the groundwork for him by moving so far to the right that theyve left the average Texan behind, Joaquin Castro said, adding that Texas government is the most corrupt in the country. MORE: Up to 500 demonstrators gathered outside Donald Trump fundraiser in San Antonio Joaquin Castro cited Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons 2015 indictment for alleged securities fraud and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Millers use of taxpayer dollars to travel to Oklahoma for a Jesus Shot, which claims to cure any and all pain, as two examples of the states corrupt government. Paxton is also the target of a federal civil lawsuit, which was initiated in April by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, for alleged securities fraud. It was clear Friday afternoon at the Alamodome that Texas Democrats are not big fans of Paxton there was a cutout of the attorney general wearing handcuffs for attendees to take selfies with at a booth run by Austin-based Progress Texas. MORE: Democrats take selfies with handcuffed Ken Paxton cutout at state convention Julian said there was a time when Rick Perry would go around bragging about how much better Texas was than big, bad, liberal California. He said that today, however, California is kicking (Texas) butt. This is what happens when one party has had absolute control of this state for two decades, Julian Castro said. Were seeing corruption, cronyism and misuses of state funds. Looking ahead to the general election, Julian Castro said Bernie Sanders and Clinton supporters are united in defeating Trump for the White House. Julian Castro said that while Sanders had runs a good race that has motivated millions and millions of people, the party is in the process of coming together to support Clinton, who is she wins in November, will be the first woman to be president of the United States. MORE: Mayor Ivy Taylor facing backlash from LGBT community ahead of Orlando vigil appearance (Sanders) has been very clear that he can do everything he can to make sure Donald Trump is not elected President of the United States,Julian Castro said. Im confident, at the end of the day, were going to come together. Julian Castro is set to speak at the convention Friday night at 9 p.m. where he will be introduced by former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who spoke on her support of Clinton at the womens caucus Friday morning. Houston Chronicle reporter Brian Rosenthal contributed to this report. kbradshaw@mysa.com Twitter: @KBrad5 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Legendary Texas Ranger and best-selling author Joaquin Jackson, originally from Anton, died at age 80 Wednesday after battling cancer for a short time. Jackson was the inspiration behind many Western film characters including Nick Nolte's character in the motion picture Extreme Prejudice and Jeff Bridges' Texas Ranger character in a not-yet-released film, Hell or High Water. RELATED: 50-year veteran San Bernardino reserve police officer dies Lonesome Dove star Robert Duvall called Jackson a "legendary lawman and one of the most famous Texas Rangers of the twentieth century." Jackson was best known for the 23 years he spent as a Texas Ranger in Uvalde and Alpine before retiring in 2003. RELATED: Man shot by tribal police officer in emergency room dies After retiring, Jackson made appearances in numerous films including The Good 'ol Boys that featured Tommy Lee Jones, and wrote a best-selling memoir, "One Ranger." According to his obituary published by the Texas Rangers, Jackson was a longtime director of the National Rifle Association, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, numerous law enforcement organizations and he was a member of the Masonic Lodge. MMedina@mySA.com Twitter: @MariahMedinaaa Officers from a San Antonio suburb have some advice for a man facing an aggravated robbery charge following an attempted robbery of a Shell gas station Wednesday: "make sure it's not the gas station across the street from the local police department." Hollywood Park Police Chief Shad Prichard posted details of the incident, which led to the arrest of 20-year-old Ramiro Talamntez, to the city's Facebook page on Thursday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A prayer vigil Thursday night at Crockett Park turned into a momentary protest as San Antonios mayor offered a prayer for the victims of the Orlando massacre. Allie Trigoso was among a group of at least 10 people holding signs and yelling Shame! as Mayor Ivy Taylor said her prayer for the 49 killed and 53 wounded Saturday at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Trigoso said the groups disapproval of Taylor was the result of her decision to vote against San Antonios non-discrimination ordinance, which ultimately passed, in 2013 that would have given members of the LGBTQ community the same protection from prejudices as other groups are offered. For her to use religion, which she used against the NDO to feel she could come here and play nice is disgusting, Trigoso said, adding that she felt Taylors motives were purely political. During the protest, some members of the LGBTQ community could be seen turning their backs to the mayor as she spoke. Some prayed alongside Taylor, while others told the protesters to be quiet and that they were being disrespectful. I dont think they understand were upset because of the rights she stripped from us, Trigoso said, noting that had Taylor simply intended to show her support, but not speak, things may have been different. Vigil attendee Lia Payne said the prayer vigil was not the proper place to raise that type of concern. If shes extending an olive branch, then for us to be responding with the same hatred we felt isnt helpful, Payne said. After her prayer, Taylor told media she did not come here to discuss politics with the protesters, only to show her support for the community. Well, I thought it was very important to be here and God doesnt give me a spirit of fear, so I walked in that power, Taylor said. Taylor noted she worked with several community leaders to hear the concerns of the LGBTQ community prior to attending the vigil. Throughout the vigil, members of the community from artists to poets and various religious leaders stepped in the middle of the crowd to offer prayers and rally the group. The names of each of the 49 victims of the Orlando massacre was read by various audience members, followed by a person bringing a candle to a table in the center of the group as they read a description of the individual who died. One the victims announced was Jonathan Camuy, 25 an assistant producer at Telemundo who worked on La Voz Kids, according to the Poynter Institute. He was also a former member of a student chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Others talked about how it important it is for members of the LGBTQ and Latino communities to stand their ground and not deny who they are to others. One person walked around the outside of the park with a sign that had a slogan against the LGBTQ community. San Antonio Police Department officers said there was a confrontation between the man and one of the vigil attendees. The man was eventually led away from the vigil by authorities after the disruption became violent but was not arrested, according to police. No one was injured in the confrontation. Marlon Anderson, a Pride Center of San Antonio board member, ended the night saying the meaning of the vigil was to love and support each other. Weve all cried this week. I could be no more proud of the showing here today, Anderson said, adding that everyone should raise a glass of thanks. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man already serving a 135-year sentence in federal prison on child pornography charges was sentenced to five life terms plus eight 20-year sentences after a Bexar County jury found him guilty Thursday of several charges related to the sex assaults of two minor girls. The jury found Carl Wade Bailes, 40, of 13 of the 14 state charges he faced. Five of them were aggravated sexual assault counts, the rest were sexual assault charges carrying 20-year prison maximum sentences. State District Judge Melisa Skinner sentenced him to the maximum life in state prison on each of the five aggravated sexual assault charges, and gave him 20 years on each of the eight sexual assault charges. She then ordered two of the life sentences and one 20-year sentence to run consecutively. The rest will run concurrently with the federal sentence, Bailes attorney said. Bailes cried upon hearing the sentence as one of his victims and her relatives sighed in satisfaction. Bailes was convicted in federal court in July 2015. He was indicted October 2012 in the state case, which stemmed from an investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. BCSO deputies arrested Bailes, a Marine and Navy veteran, in February 2014 after two girls, then 16 and 6, made an outcry that Bailes repeatedly molested them. In his closing argument Thursday morning, defense attorney Charles Bunk told the jury that the facts presented by the state are not sufficient to prove the remaining allegations. He disputed testimony given by the oldest accuser because she could not remember specific dates or times of the alleged abuse, and that the prosecution did not submit into evidence medical records that proved the assaults. I dont know what happened, neither do you. I know you dont like him, Bunk told the jury. I was disgusted by what I heard, but hes not charged with being disgusting. In her closing argument, prosecutor Kristina Escalona told the jury they heard from the person who experienced the abuse, and also saw pictures from videos allegedly shot by the defendant while he had sex with a child under 17. She also reminded the panel of evidence presented of an extended chat on Facebook between the defendant and the accuser using coded language about the sexual encounters and his request for five minutes of time. She told you what happened, that five minutes of time ... we have some time. Escalona told the jury. That disgust can only be cured by one word that word is guilty. The oldest accuser, now 19, testified Tuesday that Bailes began molesting her when she was 5, several times a week. She said the abuse evolved to sexual intercourse that continued until she was 16 years old. She also said he videotaped several of the encounters. The Express-News does not identify victims of sexual abuse. Bailes was convicted July 15, 2015, by a federal jury on charges that included distributing, receiving and producing child pornography. FBI agents became aware of Bailes in September 2012 during an undercover operation that led them to San Antonio and to him. He was sentenced in November to 135 years in federal prison. FBI agents and BCSO investigators found Bailes used software to wipe more than 200 files of child pornography from a laptop he used. Some also were recovered. Agents also discovered that Bailes produced images of the two girls the same ones in the state case being sexually abused. Staff Writer Guillermo Contreras contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A pregnant 29-year-old died at the hands of her boyfriend on Thursday night following a domestic dispute on the North Side, according to the San Antonio Police Department. SAPD Chief William McManus said the suspect in the case, identified by police as 29-year-old Charles Haltom, called police around 10 p.m. and confessed to killing his wife. Family members of the victim, who has not yet been publicly named, said that the couple was not married. Officers arrived and found the woman dead inside the home in the 3300 block of Nacogdoches Road. Two young boys, 8 and 11, were also inside the house at the time of the slaying, but were unharmed, police said. RELATED: 3rd suspect in fatal shooting of girl, 7, who was walking with family arrested Authorities also confirmed that the woman, who has not yet been identified, was pregnant. McManus said the condition of the unborn child was not immediately known. Right now (Haltom is being charged) with murder, but that could go up to capital murder, he said. SAPD spokesman Sgt. Jesse Salame said the two children are currently in the care of their grandmother, and Child Protective Services is working with the family. Fewer than 12 hours after the incident, another couple died in an apparent murder-suicide on the Southeast Side. Police said a man followed 45-year-old Rose Lee Rodriguez into her driveway and shot her multiple times before turning the gun on himself. READ MORE: Police find man, woman dead in San Antonio driveway with gunshot wounds mdwilson@express-news.net Twitter: @MDWilsonSA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO Police say a man fatally shot a woman on Friday morning before turning the gun on himself outside a home in the Southeast Side. Officers received reports of the shooting in the 2500 block of Schley Avenue around 5:30 a.m. and found the pair dead in the driveway of the home, according to a San Antonio Police Department sergeant at the scene. The woman has been identified by police as Rose Rodriguez, 45. The 44-year-old man has not been identified, pending notification of family. RELATED: S.A. man found guilty of killing pizza delivery driver gets life in prison Officers are still trying to piece together exactly what happened, but preliminary details are that the man arrived at the home shortly after the woman, and followed her into the driveway where he opened fire. SAPD Chief William McManus said man and woman were involved in a romantic relationship, but specific details on the current nature of their relationship weren't immediately clear. MORE: Mexican authorities probe 'El Chapo' after prison guard found brutally killed near Texas border McManus said the woman had been shot multiple times, and that authorities are trying to determine whether she was dropped off at the home by another man. Fewer than 12 hours prior to the incident, another woman died at the hands of her boyfriend miles away on the North Side, police said. According to McManus, the suspect stabbed the woman inside their home in the 3200 block of Nacogdoches Road while two children were inside. Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA mdwilson@express-news.net Twitter: @MDWilsonSA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Two active-duty U.S. Marines are under investigation Friday for a social media post seemingly implying a threat against gay bars following Sundays massive deadly shooting in Orlando that left 49 victims dead and 53 others injured. The post under investigation originated on Snapchat, a photo and video sharing app, that shows a Marine in uniform pointing an assault rifle toward the camera with the caption, Coming to a gay bar near you! RELATED: SAPD to increase security after shooting at gay club in Orlando The picture was posted to the closed Facebook group called Camp MENdleton resale, which is for male Marines located on or around Camp Pendleton in California, north of San Diego. The Facebook group has more than 25,300 members. The person who reportedly posted the screenshot to the Facebook group included the comment, Too soon? with the photo. The photo has since been deleted from the closed group and the person who posted it was banned, a co-founder of the group told the Los Angeles Times. RELATED: Local activists, community members react to Orlando shooting Camp Pendletons 1st Marine Expeditionary Force said Thursday the organization is investigating the threatening social media post and will take appropriate action. The Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion the Facebook statement said. This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis. The Marine Times reports that there are currently two active-duty Marines being investigated in regards to this social media post. RELATED: KTSA radio host Jack Riccardi: Calling Orlando massacre a hate crime is huge mistake A spokesman for the I MEF, First Lt. Thomas Gray, told the Marine news organization that two people being investigated are the Marine in the photo and the Marine who posted the photo to the closed group. Both people have been identified. Gray said the details of the investigation cannot be discussed, but the incident is being taken seriously. The news of this social media post comes just days after a Craigslist ad was found threatening violence toward the LGBT community in San Diego. Officials have told media outlets they dont believe the two cases are related. The shooting at the gay night club, Pulse, on Sunday in Orlando resulted in 50 deaths, including the shooter, and 53 injuries. It is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite We may never know what was in the twisted mind of Omar Mateen when he opened fire with an assault rifle in a gay nightclub in Orlando in the early hours of Sunday, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others. Whether homophobia or jihadist radicalism or both, the motive was not as important as the fact that we had one more mass shooting. Donald Trump wasted no time in politicizing the event. Within hours of the mass murder, as the president was about to address the nation, Trump tweeted: Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn't he should immediately resign in disgrace! To suggest the hate crime was motivated by Islamic beliefs plays into the prejudice of those who cannot or will not make the important distinction between radical jihad and the Muslim faith. It fosters antagonism toward all Muslims and fears of foreigners. The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, which tracks extremist groups of all kinds in this country, counted 892 hate groups in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, the number of anti-Muslim hate groups increased by 42 percent. While a number of Ku Klux Klan chapters have disbanded or gone underground in response to surveillance by the FBI, extremists carried on alone under the anonymity of the Internet. While it seems unthinkable to relate these murders to presidential politics, the link to a toxic political environment that engenders fear of foreigners appears evident. Within three months of launching his campaign for president with a promise to build a wall, it became clear that (Trump) was very much the preferred candidate of virtually the entire white nationalist movement in America, according to SPLC. Trump stirs nativist sentiments by saying outrageous things that would emerge from the lips of only the most virulent racists. The truth of his statements is unimportant to him because he understands that emotions trump facts. An emotion all too common in todays polarized partisan politics is anger. Even before the start of the primary campaigns, partisan anger lurked below the surface. New York Times researchers studied news articles from November 2014 to March 2015 and found the number of stories about angry voters increased by 200 percent. And when partisan politics becomes polarized along racial and ethnic lines, it is not unreasonable to expect to find angry extremists drawn into the political fray. Republicans completely ignored their own post-2012 election autopsy, which suggested strategies that would soften their image as the party of no and win over Latino voters. Rather than adopt policies that might expand their party by welcoming minorities, they chose to continue to restrict voting measures by stiffening voter ID requirements, and refusing to support bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform, instead spending billions on border security. That the perpetrator of the massacre of the LGBT community in Orlando was a native-born American acting alone should tell us we dont need to look beyond our borders to find hate expressed in acts of terror. That an unstable person who was once on the terrorist watch list could legally buy an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle should tell us that we must hold Congress responsible for not extending the ban on assault weapons. We need to confront hate in its most subtle as well as most violent forms at home, whether based on race, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. And we need a Congress that is willing to act on gun control to protect the public safety. Robert Brischetto is former executive director of the Southwest Voter Research Institute. There are myriad reasons why the term illegal alien should have no place in library subject headings, casual conversation or even legal code. The issue has once again entered the spotlight after the Library of Congress announced it would drop illegal alien and alien from its subject headings. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives then responded by advancing legislation that would require the library to use aliens, which is the word choice in the U.S. Code of Laws. It should be dropped. It is an offensive, clunky bit of language. People might be foreigners who enter this country illegally, but that does not strip them of their humanity and thus make them aliens. They did not arrive from outer space. They are people. The term is unnecessarily caustic, only sowing division in the overheated topic of immigration reform when this country desperately needs unity and vision. There are plenty of other words that fit the bill without stoking fear and offending huge swaths of people. Unauthorized immigrant and undocumented immigrant are suitable alternatives. Such wording balances the inherent human dignity of a person who may have entered the country illegally and often for the most humane reasons. Why choose to institutionalize a phrase that so many people find offensive? Its not a matter of political correctness. Its a matter of basic dignity and civility. Its hard to imagine ever achieving comprehensive immigration reform if the basic language we use is offensive and dehumanizing. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, a Democrat who opposes the GOP effort, captured this in describing his personal history: In 1922, the only grandparent I would come to know came from Mexico to the United States. She was not a rapist or a murderer or an alien. She was a 6-year-old girl whose parents had died around the time of the Mexican Revolution, and the closest relatives that could take them in, her and her sister, were in Texas, he said, according to Express-News reporter Bill Lambrecht. I bet if we went around this chamber, I know there would be beautiful stories, similar stories, of ancestors who came from Germany and Italy and Ireland and Africa and Asia and every corner of the world. They are the immigrants to this country. They are the strength of this country. And language matters. Language does matter. Illegal alien is a pejorative. There are better ways to talk about this. In response to the horrific killings in Orlando, the Interreligious Council of San Antonio stands with its Muslim sisters and brothers in affirming that to almost all the worlds Muslims, such terrorism is against Islam, against God, against the Quran and against Sharia (Muslim law). Peggy Starkey Ali no hero Re: Ali fought inside, outside the ring, Editorial, Monday: So, according to the Express-News Editorial Board, Muhammad Ali was more enlightened than those less pious, less courageous fools who answered the call of their nation and fought and died in the rice patties of Vietnam? What cowards! Why couldnt they all be as brave and wise as Cassius Clay? How insulting to the memory of those brave men, and the fact that it came from the paper of record in a city that calls itself Military City, USA is all the more galling. As for Ali being some kind of humanitarian: Uh, is this the same guy who called Joe Frazier a gorilla (thats black pride?) and made fun of Howard Cosells hairpiece? The same guy who time and time again showed absolutely zero sportsmanship, calling opponents ugly and stupid, among other things? Whats ironic is that Ali would have been the first to make fun of a person with Parkinsons. Thats the kind of person he was. I certainly never saw him as a hero. Calling a black man a gorilla and dodging the draft hiding behind the racist Elijah Muhammad isnt exactly Martin Luther King Jr. Shannon Deason Your vote counts Now that both major parties have announced their presumptive candidates for president, many citizens find themselves disenchanted and have taken a stance to not vote for any presidential candidate. It is their right to not vote. But voting is not just a right. It is also a responsibility, a responsibility millions of citizens have paid a heavy toll to guarantee. By not voting for president, you not only insult those who sacrificed for your right; your action is also misplaced logic. Whatever your political inclination, a no vote is essentially a vote for the other party. Being a participating citizen is not easy. Often our choices are not what we would prefer. In the end, the outcome will impact your life, and if you have not voted, you have abrogated your right to complain about the result. If you are a victim of your own misplaced logic, I encourage you to reconsider. Think harder about who would best represent your view, and vote. Ross L. Smith Economic fascism Re: Food stamp rules get beefed up, Business, Short View, Feb. 17: This item reports the Agriculture Department is going to force stores that accept food stamps to stock a wider variety of healthy foods, even though food stamp users will be not be required to purchase them. The stated purpose is to require stores to give food stamp customers more options or lose business. If customers demand healthy foods, stores will stock them to avoid losing business to competitors. This is the free-market principle of supply and demand. It is unprofitable for stores to supply goods for which there is no demand. When businesses do not operate profitably, they fail. If the government wants food stamp users to consume healthy foods, it should restrict the use of food stamps to those items. The government dictating the kinds of foods stores must stock is private economic enterprise under centralized governmental control. That is the definition of economic fascism. Bob Barton, Kerrville This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Christopher Gregory/New York Times Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Doug Mills/New York Times Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Alex Wong/Getty Images Show More Show Less 5 of 5 President Obama will be at Stanford University in Palo Alto on Friday for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, a gathering of business leaders. Obama will address the gathering, the seventh version of the summit, which returns to the U.S. after previous versions were held in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Morocco and Kenya. WASHINGTON Summertime means more freedom for kids and teens, which in turn can mean more students will be frequenting their local convenience or drug store. However, some retailers in the Washington, D.C., region havent been as welcoming to young people as others, posting signs to limit the number of teens in the store at one time or forbidding entry to those under the age of 18 without an adult. Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at NACS, recently appeared on The Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss the issue. Restricting entry to kids or teens isnt limited to convenience stores and drug stores, he pointed out. You also see this sometimes at malls and restaurants. I think its somewhat of a dated policy that you dont see nearly as much as you used to because if you look at the customers that [retailers] want in the stores, it is the younger customer, the millennials and the future customer. Lenard reiterated that convenience retailers have other, more effective ways to address the problem those signs are aimed at. But he conceded that some stores still post such signs because when you have a small format and an awful lot of people come in at the same time, [clerks are nervous] about shoplifting. In addition, Lenard focused on the role convenience stores have of bringing people together. When you are in every neighborhood, its important to feel like youre part of the neighborhood, he told host Kojo Nnamdi. We recommend for retailers to have discussions with people in the community, [asking them] whats important to you and communicating how you give back to the community. You want to create the glue that makes the community like you more, not like you less. You can listen to the entire segment here. Yves here. This post is yet another reminder of how short-sighted the elites in the US have become. For instance, the UN regards universal health care as a critical first line of defense against impending health disasters. Yet the wealthy appear to operate from the delusion that they can isolate themselves from the rest of society. Even if they repair to compounds with their own butlers, nannies, cleaning and maintenance staff, they would still want services from people they would not have as employees, like trainers and medical professionals, and theyd need to get deliveries of food and supplies, or have their staffs procure it. Any option puts them in contact with the larger community, which means communicable diseases. Similarly, if they have an accident, medical emergency, or need surgery, they will have to go to a hospital. Even if their room is in a wing for the rich, they will still be cared for by nurses and orderlies that go back to modest income neighborhoodsagain meaning they cannot isolate themselves from communicable diseases. Remember that even now, infections like pneumonia and MRSA contracted in a hospital are a major cause of death. In 2010, a conservative estimate was 48,000, 50% more than died in car accidents that year. By Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, Geneva. Originally published in The Star The global health situation is facing many critical challenges, and urgent action is needed to prevent crises from boiling over. This is the impression one gets from this years World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva last week. The WHA is the worlds prime public health event, attended by 3,500 delegates, including Health Ministers from most of the 194 countries. In her opening speech, World Health Organisation director-general Dr Margaret Chan gave an overview of what went right and what is missing in global health. First the good news: 19,000 fewer children dying every day, a 44% drop in maternal mortality, the 85% cure rate for tuberculosis, and 15 million people living with HIV now receiving therapy, up from just 690,000 in 2000. Then Chan described how health has become a globalised problem, with air pollution becoming a transboundary health hazard, and drug-resistant pathogens being spread through travel and food trade. The recent Ebola and Zika outbreaks showed how global health emergencies can quickly develop. The world is not prepared to cope with the dramatic resurgence of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Chan said the global health landscape is being shaped by three slow-motion disasters: climate change, antimicrobial resistance and the rise of chronic non-communicable diseases. She described these as man-made disasters created by policies that place economic interests above health and environmental concerns. Unchecked, these disasters will reach a tipping point where the harm done is irreversible. For antimicrobial resistance, we are on the verge of a post-antibiotic era in which common infectious diseases will once again kill. On moving ahead, Chan pinpointed universal health coverage as the target that underpins all others in the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The assembly agreed that the WHO set up a new Health Emergencies Programme to enable it to give rapid support to countries and communities to prepare for, face or recover from emergencies caused by health hazards including disease outbreaks, disasters and conflicts. On anti-microbial resistance, many developing countries stressed the importance of funds and technology to help them develop national action plans by 2017. The WHO produced a paper on options to set up a global stewardship framework to support the development, control and appropriate use of new antimicrobial medicines and diagnostic tools. Another paper showed the secretariat has made quite a lot of progress, but action on the ground seems to be slow. For example, in the two Asia-Pacific regions, only six countries have completed their national plans and another five have plans being developed. WHOs Keiji Fukuda said the next steps were to make progress on the global action plan adopted in 2015, further develop the global stewardship framework and involve political leaders on the issue. Two issues on childhood nutrition highlighted the need to put health concerns above corporate interests. The first was childhood and adolescent obesity. In 2014, an estimated 41 million children under five years were affected by overweight or obesity. The marketing of unhealthy foods to children was identified by the WHO Commission on ending childhood obesity as a major problem. It proposed actions to reduce the intake of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, including imposing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and curbing the marketing of unhealthy foods. The WHA called on the WHO to develop an implementation plan and urged governments to develop national policies. On the second issue, the WHA welcomed WHOs guidance on ending the inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children. The marketing of follow-up formula and growing-up milks targeted for babies aged six months to three years should be as strictly regulated as infant formula. Foods for infants and young children should be promoted only if they meet strict standards, and doctors should not accept gifts or free samples from companies. On access to medicines and vaccines, the WHA agreed on measures to address the global shortage of medicines and vaccines, including by improving affordability through voluntary or compulsory licensing of high-priced medicines. An interesting side event was organised by India on behalf of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) on the effects of free trade agreements on access to medicines. South Africas health minister stated that patents pose a barrier to access to medicines. The main speaker, American law professor Frederick Abbot, gave reasons why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement would create new difficulties for members to have access to affordable medicines. His warning was complemented by the head of UNAIDS Michel Sidete, who estimated that the US$2bil (RM8.18bil) annually now spent to treat 15 million AIDS patients could jump to US$150bil (RM613bil) if there were no generic drugs and patients had to use originator drugs at US$10,000 (RM40,875) a person a year. Two environment-related health issues were discussed. Air pollution accounts for eight million deaths worldwide annually 4.3 million due to indoor and 3.7 million to outdoor air pollution. The assembly welcomed a new WHO road map for actions in 2016-19 to tackle the health effects of air pollution. Another 1.3 million deaths worldwide are caused by exposure to chemicals such as lead and pesticides. The WHA committed to ensure chemicals are used and produced in ways that minimise adverse health and environmental effects by 2020, with the WHO asked to develop a road map. A controversial issue is how the WHO should relate to non-state actors. After two years of negotiations, the WHA adopted the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA), which provides the WHO with policies and procedures on engaging with non-governmental organisations, private sector entities, philanthropic foundations and academic institutions. On one hand there is the aim to strengthen WHOs engagement with organisations; on the other hand is the need for WHO to avoid conflicts of interest that may arise when corporations and their foundations and associations wield large and undue influence if they are allowed to get too close to WHO. Whether the adopted FENSA strikes the right balance will be seen in future years. Nanotechnology extends shelf life of fresh fruit (Nanowerk News) Bananas, mangoes and papayas: these tender tropical fruits are in high demand in export markets and an important livelihood source for producers. But freshness is key because these fruits spoil quickly and damage easily. The challenge is especially daunting where refrigeration is lacking. Estimates suggest that up to 40% of produce in tropical countries is lost in post-harvest handling. Breakthrough research by Canadian, Indian, and Sri Lankan partners points to a promising innovation: nanotech applications of a natural plant extract called hexanal can be used to delay fruit ripening. Hexanal inhibits a plant enzyme that is responsible for breaking cell membranes during a fruits ripening process. In initial research in India and Sri Lanka, scientists used a hexanal-impregnated formula to test the product on mangoes. Spraying orchards with a low concentration of the compound slowed fruit ripening by three weeks. The team is also developing smart packaging systems, made from materials such as banana fibre, that slowly release hexanal to extend storage life after fruit is harvested. Higher incomes Sprayaing mango trees with hexanal formula in IndiaThese applications can boost farmers incomes. Lets say a mango farmer sprays half or one third of the orchard with the formulation, explains Jay Subramanian, a professor at Canadas University of Guelph. He gets that same mango production but spread out over a three- to four-week window instead of just one week, which causes a major rush and a glut in the market, leading to low prices. In field trials, farmers were able to earn up to 15% more for their crop. Once harvested, the sprayed mangoes remained fresh for up to 26 days in cold storage and 17 days at room temperature. Researchers at the University of Guelph, Indias Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Sri Lankas Industrial Technology Institute are building on this early success. Under a second phase of funding through the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, a joint initiative of IDRC and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, they are taking their investigations beyond Asia. Together with institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago, they are looking at hexanal applications with other fruits under different growing conditions. The research teams are testing a variety of sprays, coatings and packaging on bananas, citrus, papayas and even some Canadian tender fruits and berries. Each fruit presents its own unique challenges, such as ripening along different timelines, requiring fine-tuning of the application process. Natural compound Biosafety testing shows promise. Already approved as a food additive in the United States, hexanal leaves no harmful residues. Its a very natural compound, says Dr Subramanian. In our academic research we have found that if you spray or dip the fruit with it, within 48 hours its all gone you cant find even a trace using a microscope. SHARE WASHINGTON When in his 1964 GOP acceptance speech Barry Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," a reporter sitting near journalist/historian Theodore White famously exclaimed: "My God, he's going to run as Barry Goldwater!" Six weeks into Donald Trump's general election campaign, Republicans are discovering that he indeed intends to run as Donald Trump. He has boasted that he could turn "presidential" respectful, respectable, reticent, reserved bordering on boring at will. Apparently, he can't. GOP leaders who fell in line behind Trump after he clinched the nomination expected, or at least hoped, that he would prove malleable, willing to adjust his more extreme positions and tactics to suit a broader electorate. Two problems. First, impulse control: Trump says what he actually feels, whatever comes into his head at any moment. Second, a certain logic: Trump won the primaries Sinatra-style, his way against the odds, the experts and the conventional rules. So why change now? "You win the pennant," Trump explained, "and now you're in the World Series you gonna change?" Hence his response to the Orlando terror attack. Events like these generally benefit the challenger politically because any misfortune that befalls the nation gets attributed, fairly or not, directly or indirectly, to the incumbent party (e.g., the 2008 financial collapse). And Hillary Clinton is running as the quasi-incumbent. The textbook response for the challenger, therefore, is to offer sympathy, give a general statement or two about the failure of the incumbent's national security policy, then step back to let the resulting national fear and loathing, amplified by the media, take effect. Instead, Trump made himself the (political) story. First, he offered himself unseemly congratulations for his prescience about terrorism. (He'd predicted more would be coming. What a visionary.) Then he went beyond blaming the president for lack of will or wisdom in fighting terrorism, and darkly implied presidential sympathy for the enemy. "There's something going on," he charged. He then reiterated his ban on Muslim immigration. Why? Because that's what Trump does. And because it worked before. It was after last December's San Bernardino, California, massacre that Trump first called for a Muslim ban. It earned him lots of opprobrium from GOP leaders and lots of support from GOP voters. He shot up in the polls, never to descend until he clinched. So why not do it again? Because the general election is a different game. Trump assumes the Republican electorate is representative of the national electorate. It's not. Take the Muslim ban. Sixty-eight percent of GOP voters support it. Only 38 percent of Democrats do. And there are approximately 7 million more Democrats in the country. (Independents are split 51-40 in favor.) The other major example of doing what's always worked is the ad hominem attack on big-dog opponents. It worked in the primaries. Trump went after one leading challenger after another, knocking them out sequentially. Hillary Clinton is a lousy campaigner but her machine is infinitely larger and more skilled than any of Trump's 16 GOP competitors. More riskily, Trump is now going toe-to-toe with a sitting president. Barack Obama is no Jeb Bush. He's not low energy. He's a skilled campaigner who clearly despises Trump and relishes the fight. And he carries the inestimable advantage of the gravitas automatically conferred by 7 years of incumbency. Moreover, he now enjoys an unusually high approval rating of around 53 percent. Trump's latest favorability is 29 percent (Washington Post-ABC News). It's no accident that Trump's poll numbers are sliding. A month ago, when crowned as presumptive nominee, he jumped into a virtual tie with Clinton. The polls now have him losing by an average of six points, with some showing a nine- and 12-point deficit (Reuters/Ipsos and Bloomberg). This may turn out to be temporary, but it is a clear reflection of Trump's disastrous general election kickoff. His two-week expedition into racism in attacking the Indiana-born "Mexican" judge. His dabbling in conspiracy, from Ted Cruz's father's supposed involvement in the Kennedy assassination to Vince Foster's ("very fishy") suicide. All of which suggests, and cements, the image of a man who shoots from the hip and is prone to both wild theories and extreme policies. Ronald Reagan biographer Lou Cannon thinks that the Goldwater anecdote is apocryphal. How could anyone (even a journalist) have thought that Goldwater, who later admitted he always knew he would lose, was going to run as anything but his vintage, hard-core self? Same for Trump. Give him points for authenticity. Take away for electability. SHARE Not at the expense of our community At the June 6th Marco Island City Council Meeting, our council discussed how to respond to Collier County Commission Chair Donna Fiala's May 25 letter. The letter requested that the city of Marco Island agree to escrow $2 million in county money owed to Marco Island for road maintenance. It also requested a renegotiation of the 2002 interlocal agreement. In that agreement, Collier County agreed to pay the city $1 million a year for 15 years. In exchange the city agreed to maintain all the roads in the city and take ownership of Collier Boulevard, San Marco Road, and Goodland Drive (the portion of Goodland Road that is within the City's boundaries). The key word is "maintain." Until the present time, the city of Marco Island has spent over $52 million on all roads. For many years, the citizens of Goodland have complained about their road that frequently floods and becomes impassable. The worse part of the road is that which the county still owns in Goodland. In good faith, the city agreed with the county to pay for a $70,000 hydrologic study to create an elevated road. So far the county has not paid their share for this study. During discussion at council, Councilor Honecker reviewed the history behind the interlocal agreement and pointed out many environmental issues. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has consistently maintained that they must have a vote on the future of the road. Further, there are "right of way" issues that come in to play during construction which are very complicated. The expected cost of building an elevated road will exceed $4 million. This cost as well as clearance from numerous state agencies and environmental organizations will increase the cost and delay the project for years. Initially, Councilors Honig and Rios spoke in support of being conciliatory with the county and to negotiate a new Interlocal Agreement in which the city would forego the $2 million owed to the city in hopes that the county would assist in building a new elevated road. A motion to do this was defeated 5-2. Councilors Batte, Honecker and Sacher then proposed that the city manager and the city attorney draft a letter to the county in response to Commissioner Fiala's letter in which the city agrees to abide by the 2002 agreement to maintain all roads, including "maintaining" Goodland Drive. It also requests that the county pay the $500,000 that is presently holding in escrow and to complete payment of the $1.5 million owed to the city in the future. This motion passed 5-2. I support this motion. Improving relations with the Collier County Board of Commissioners is one of my key platforms in my candidacy for Marco City Council. As many know, the city is preparing an application for its' own COPCN with Collier County. The city presently experiences 3,500 emergency 911 calls each year. The county, because of its' control of EMS, stations one full time ambulance on Marco Island and a second part-time ambulance for only five months. According to Fire Rescue Chief Murphy, there are frequently four emergency calls at the same time, requiring off-island departments to respond and frequently exceeding the county's goal of eight minutes or less. These two issues reflect the importance of "home rule" for Marco Island. We need to determine what is best for our citizens. We should cooperate with the county but not at the expense of our community. Dr. Jerry Swiacki Marco Island Break chains The Orlando massacre of over 50 LGBT individual Americans was the height of authoritarianism. The heinous act was committed for the purposes of creating fear and to exercise a brand of control over peaceful people's lives and actions, i.e. the illegitimate use of force to achieve social or political goals. The response called for by many has been that to fight tyranny, we must become what we hate; that we must meet on an equal playing field of totalitarianism to achieve victory. I strongly disagree. The only way to fight authoritarian tyranny is to promote and protect individual liberty. When entering an establishment like the nightclub, current law prohibits patrons from possessing the tools to defend themselves. Of course deranged killers do not follow the law and take advantage of unarmed, peaceful individuals. In defense of freedom, our first instinct should be to break chains rather than create new ones. Jared Grifoni Marco Island SHARE By Carrie Kerskie There is a new trend emerging in the world of identity theft. The trend involves phone accounts, landline or mobile. It could involve a new account or your current account. Either way, it is something that you must be aware of so you can identify the warning signs. Current accounts Taking over your current phone account is easier than you think. All a thief has to do is to call your phone carrier, provide them with your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. That is all the information required to access your account. Once accessed, the thief can make changes such as setting up online access, changing your email address of record, setting up call forwarding, changing your phone (mobile), or moving your account to another carrier. If the thief has set up online access he can make any of these changes to your account via the internet. Why would someone want to take over your phone number? Think about it for a minute. When your bank suspects fraudulent activity in your account the bank will call you to verify the transactions. If someone wanted to use your accounts for fraud they would also need access to your phone number so the transactions will be authorized. If a thief is applying for a new loan or a new credit card using your identity, he knows there is a chance the creditor will call your phone number if fraud is suspected. Another reason for taking over your phone number is to bypass a credit report fraud alert. Victims of identity theft often request a free 90 day fraud alert be placed on their credit reports. Victims have the option of adding their phone number to the alert. If fraud is suspected, the creditor will call the phone number listed. If your phone number has been forwarded then your identity thief will receive the call, not you. New accounts To open a new phone account, mobile or landline, you need a name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. The company will typically run a credit report before opening the account or offering a payment plan for the mobile device. If someone has really bad credit and is unable to get an account or device he could simply use your information to get one. Or perhaps the thief does not want to have to pay for the new phone account so he will use your information to get one. Another reason for someone to use your information to set up a new phone account would be to set you up for additional identity theft. Once an account has been established the phone number is reported to the credit bureau or bureaus. This fraudulent telephone number becomes part of your personal information on your credit report or reports. One more piece of information from your credit report that a potential creditor will use to verify your identity. Red flags Here are a few warning signs that you may be a victim of phone identity theft. You stop receiving incoming calls. You no longer have service on your mobile device. You receive mail thanking you for opening your new phone account. You see a new credit inquiry on your credit report from a new phone carrier. You receive a collection letter or call regarding a phone account. If you detect any of these red flags do not ignore them. If you suspect your current account has been hijacked call your phone carrier at the phone number on you bill. If you suspect a new phone account has been fraudulent opened in your name contact the phone carrier, if known, or review your credit reports, if the phone carrier is unknown. Do not disregard as a possible error. Take the time to investigate the information. The earlier you take action, the easier it will be to recover from the incident. Prevention There are a few steps you can take to protect your current phone accounts from account takeover. Set up online access to your account. Set up a PIN or passcode or security question on your account (use answers that are not easily found through an internet search). Do not click on links in unexpected emails from your phone carrier. Either call your carrier at the phone number on your bill or log in to your account at your carrier's website. Set up a credit freeze (with a PIN) with each credit bureau. Only recommended if you will not be applying for new credit in the next year or two. The National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) is a "national membership of over 70 utility, telecommunications and pay-TV providers." NCTUE is used by member companies to determine the financial risk of new and current consumer accounts. Their database contains information on over 342 million consumers. The NCTUE does not maintain information on all consumers. However, if they have information on you, you are entitled, per the requirements of the FCRA, to review your NCTUE consumer file. To request your free NCTUE disclosure report call (866) 604-6570 or visit http://www.nctue.com/consumers. You also have the option to place a 90 day fraud alert or freeze your NCTUE disclosure report. A security freeze will prevent them from sharing your information with others. For more information call 866-349-5355. These steps are your best defense again phone account fraud. Please keep in mind that even with these steps you will still need to monitor your statements, credit reports and watch for red flags. Nothing is 100 percent safe. When was the last time you heard about a crime ring that went legit because a fraud prevention measure put them out of business? Never. They will always look for weaknesses, backdoors and loopholes. They never let down their guard. Neither should you. Carrie Kerskie is a sought-after speaker, trainer and consultant on identity theft and data privacy. She is the author of "Your Public Identity: Because Nothing is Private Anymore." Kerskie is the director of the Identity Fraud Institute at Hodges University and president of Kerskie Group Inc. You can contact her at 239-435-9111 or ckerskie@hodges.edu. Follow her on Twitter@CarrieKerskie.com. Signs warning high waters were placed on Goodland Dr. in Goodland on Sunday, August 30, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) SHARE A motorist drives through high water on Goodland Dr. in Goodland on Sunday, August 30, 2015. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) By Lisa Conley Sharing, togetherness and problem-solving: that's what the Goodland Civic Association (GCA) is all about, and these days the organization is trying to solve one big problem, the flooding of Goodland Drive. Greg Bellos has served as president of the GCA for the past three years. The retired surgeon said he enjoys being president because like his previous job it's all about helping people, and right now the people of Goodland need some serious help. "The flooding of Goodland Drive a risk to our residents," Bello said. "The road is gradually breaking down which means it gets more and more submerged each time it floods. It's a serious and ongoing problem." Marco Island's Public Works Director Timothy Pinter said there's two possible solutions one long-term, one short-term but neither one is a guaranteed success. "A long-term solution would be elevating the road anywhere from one to two feet," Pinter said, "but that might not fix it, we don't know." A short-term, and cheaper, solution would be a mill and overlay job, Pinter said, which is when the top two inches of a road is stripped and then repaved. The process would fix any potholes and raise the road one to two inches, which might be enough to alleviate the problem. Bello, however, said that would just make the problem 'prettier.' "You can clean up a wound and put a protective bandage on it and it'll look like it's healing," Bello said, "but meanwhile an infection could be festering underneath and it'll just going to continue to grow and get worse until it's addressed." If an infection is never addressed, Bello said, it can have deadly consequences, and the same stands true for the flooding on Goodland Drive. "If the road isn't fixed, we could have a situation where one of our residents needs emergency medical assistance but those vehicles aren't able to reach them because the road is too flooded," Bello said. As it stands now, not all of Goodland Drive floods when it rains, at least not according to the Department of Transportation. "The Department of Transportation says that if one lane is passable, then a road isn't flooded," Pinter said, "so technically, parts of Goodland [Drive] aren't flooded. That's why part of this whole problem has to do with perspective, and no one can say for sure what the solution is." Pinter also said the solution ultimately depends on the discussions between the city and the county. Councilor Larry Honig advocated working with the county to find a solution at the June 6 city council meeting. "The citizens of Goodland deserve a solution to the problem ... that's not an issue," Honig said. "The issue is; what is the solution?" Whatever the solution may be, Bello said he hopes they find it soon. "We just want what's right for us," Bello said, "and if we don't speak out, no one will." Goodland Civic Association at a glance In this 2015 file photo, Carlos Burguillo of Naples holds his daughter Sofia, 2, as she feeds a giraffe during Boo at the Zoo in Naples on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. (Dorothy Edwards/Staff) SHARE By Sebastian Gonzalez, Sebastian.Gonzalez@Naplesnews.com Father's Day At Naples Zoo: From Friday through Sunday, dads can celebrate Father's Day at Naples Zoo, 1590 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples, for free by trading some of those half-empty bottles of cologne or aftershave from previous Father's Days. Along with a paid child (or adult) ticket, dads just need to bring a new or partially used bottle of cologne to the Zoo on Father's Day. Dad and family can then enjoy cruising through islands of monkeys, seeing the new cheetahs, feeding the giraffes, and more. 239-262-5409. napleszoo.org. Father's Day Car and Cash Giveaway: Celebrate Father's Day on Sunday at Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, 506 S., First St., Immokalee, where dad can win a 2016 Range Rover Sport and $15,000 in cash will be given away. Five winners of $1,000 will be selected at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. The grand prize drawing for the Range Rover sport begins at 7 p.m. 239-658-1313. seminoleimmokaleecasino.com. Father, Son, Grandson Look-Alike Contest: 11 a.m. Saturday near Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Miromar Outlets, 10801 Corkscrew Road, Estero. Registration begins at 10 a.m. Fathers, sons, and grandsons compete together for prizes in this annual family event. miromaroutlets.com Dad's Day Out Car Show: June 18 at The Village Shops on Venetian Bay, 4200 Gulf Shore Blvd. N., Naples. Exotic and antique car show to benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation. The show will feature the Naples Marco AACA Antique Car Club and Black Horse Motors Exotic Cars. Judging for the top three winners will be based on donations to benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Village will also be offering complimentary photos for Fathers and their families that will be printed on-site. venetianvillage.com Mark Sievers speaks during a custody hearing Wednesday, May 11, 2016. He is trying to transfer temporary custody of his two daughters from Teresa Sievers' mother, Mary Ann Groves to his mother, Bonnie Sievers. Sievers is being held on first degree murder charges in the murder of his wife, Teresa. (Photo by Andrew West/News-Press) SHARE Teresa Sievers. (Submitted photo) Mark Sievers By Melissa Montoya, mmontoya@news-press.com The brother of Teresa Sievers wants her husband removed as a trustee of a family trust set up in 2009. Teresa Sievers, 46, was killed last year and her husband, Mark Sievers, has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing. Teresa Sievers created the trust, which is valued at $3 million from two life insurance policies. Mark Sievers was made the acting trustee and her brother, Patrick Tottenham, a successor. Her two children, ages 9 and 11, are beneficiaries of the trust. Tottenham has been named the personal representative of Teresa Sievers' estate. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday on Tottenham's behalf by Laird Lile, a Naples attorney. According to a letter dated June 9, from Lile to Mark Sievers' attorney Antonio Faga, Mark Sievers said he would resign as trustee if Tottenham agrees to keep him informed of the financial details of the trust. "That would be a violation of my client's responsibilities if he becomes trustee," said Lile, adding that Mark Sievers would not be entitled to that information. Mark Sievers also wants to be assured he will be granted the position of trustee if he is acquitted, according to the letter. Tottenham disagreed with those conditions. Lile wrote he was surprised that Mark Sievers would stand as the sole obstacle to money that would benefit his daughters. "The refusal of your client to resign strikes me as inconsistent with his representations to the court that he has his daughters' interests as his paramount concern," the letter states. Lile said Tottenham was disappointed and has "a continued hope that his nieces' father would understand that he needed to resign unconditionally." "This has nothing to do with innocence or guilt today," Lile said. "This has to do with his inability to administer the trust." "This is the voice of Teresa Sievers saying if her husband is unable to be trustee she wants her brother to be the trustee and that's what we are trying to accomplish," Lile added. Mark Sievers' attorney Michael Munnert, of the Faga Law Group, said Thursday that the lawsuit is being reviewed. "We will file the appropriate pleading," he said. Teresa Sievers, a well-liked holistic doctor, was killed June 28, almost a year ago, in her Bonita Springs home. Jimmy Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright were arrested on Aug. 25 and Aug. 27, respectively, in Missouri. Investigators said the two men were promised money by Mark Sievers to kill his wife. He stood to gain about $4.43 million from insurance policies after Teresa Sievers died. Mark Sievers was arrested in February after Wright, his childhood friend, began cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a 25-year plea deal. According to the lawsuit, he tried to collect the insurance money about 20 days before Wright and Rodgers were arrested. The insurance company Ohio National Life has refused to pay the proceeds because of the accusations against Mark Sievers. It intends to deposit the money with the Lee County Clerk of Court's Office, which is required to charge a fee upon collecting the money. Mark Sievers will be in court Friday for a dependency hearing. Teresa Sievers' mother Mary Ann Groves has been granted temporary custody of the couple's two children. An emotional Ashley Toye pleaded for leniency and a second chance Friday during her resentencing hearing on murder charges connected with the vicious 2006 Cash Feenz killings in Lee County. Toye, whos entitled to the rehearing under a recently passed law targeting juveniles convicted of murder, repeatedly apologized for joining 10 people in the torture and killing of Alexis Sosa, 18, and his 14-year-old nephew, Jeffrey Sosa. A jury convicted her on six felony charges, including two counts of murder that mandated a life sentence. Toye was three weeks shy of her 18th birthday at the time of the murders. I couldnt find my way. I couldnt stick up for myself. Im sorry I couldnt stick up for anyone else, Toye, now 26, said through tears Friday. Following recent U.S. and Florida supreme court decisions, juveniles who received automatic life terms for murders they committed before age 18 can have resentencing hearings. A judge must consider 10 factors about a defendants background and personal characteristics before issuing a new sentence. Toyes sentence is scheduled to be issued June 22. Toye admitted to carving an asterisk in the back of 14-year-old Jeffrey Sosa and riding to a Cape Coral industrial park, where the Sosas were shot a combined 11 times and lit on fire. Although shes never been accused of causing the fatal injuries, she was convicted of first-degree murder because the Sosas died during the commission of a kidnapping in which Toye participated. Throughout the case, Toye said she acted out of fear of her boyfriend and a desire to fit in with the crowd, which included members of the local Cash Feenz rap group. I was controlled. I was a lost little girl, Toye said. Prosecutors agreed that Toyes life term isnt merited under new laws governing juvenile murder sentencing. They did not, however, recommend a specific term of years, and Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle could uphold the life sentence. The state has found this a difficult and troubling case when you consider the decisions that have come out of the court in trying to decide what is an appropriate sentence for Ashley Toye, Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross said. After the hearing, she declined to say whether the Sosa family would be amenable to a sentence of less than life. Toyes lawyer, Stuart Pepper, asked for a 25-year sentence, equal to the term Toye must serve for her convictions on the kidnapping charges. He pointed to Toyes lack of familial stability her mother deserted the family when Toye was 3 years old, reappearing for a 15-month stretch and lack of maturity at the time of the killing. If any person would be a poster boy or girl for these (court) decisions, it would be Ashley Toye. They were specifically intended for children in her situation, Pepper said. On the stand, Toye said prosecutors had signaled their willingness to recommend a 30-year sentence, though that admission drew Kyles ire. Prosecutors noted that only three of the 10 defendants charged in the case received life sentences. Among them were Kemar Johnston, the purported ringleader and Toyes boyfriend, and Roderick Johnson, who was 17 at the time and had his resentencing hearing Thursday. The seven other defendants, all of whom accepted plea agreements, received between 14 and 50 years in prison. The juvenile murder resentencing hearings of Toye and Washington are among the first in the state. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in March that a 2014 Florida law, which required judges to consider several factors before sentencing juvenile killers, applies retroactively to already-sentenced prisoners. In the few completed hearings under the new rules, some of which were done before the Florida Supreme Courts ruling, judges have shown a willingness to give less than life. In Collier County, Juan Jose Barrientos Jr. received 40 years in prison for robbing and fatally stabbing a man when he was 17 years old. In Miami-Dade County, Ronald Salazar also got 40 years for raping and murdering his 11-year-old sister. Salazar was 14 years old at the time and had endured a childhood marked by abandonment, poverty and violence. SHARE Angelo E. Ruth (Photo: Lee County Jail) By Ben Brasch, The News-Press A 60-year-old Dunbar sandwich shop owner was arrested Thursday in connection to a 1993 killing of a woman, according to Capt. Jim Mulligan, Fort Myers police spokesman. Angelo E. Ruth is in Lee County Jail on a bond of $200,000. Mattie Henry was found shot in the back of the head Sept. 8, 1993, at 1:36 p.m. behind the Highlands East Recreation Center on Canal Street, according to the Fort Myers Police Department. The crime scene is 1 1/2 miles away from Speedy Two, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard sandwich shop that Ruth owns, according to Lee County Property Appraiser records. "Angelo Ruth is the last person we believe she was with," a Fort Myers police detective told The News-Press in 1999, according to archives. The story also said that Ruth and Henry had a daughter together, but Ruth was living with another woman. Ruth said in a deposition, according to the story, that he took the 40-year-old Henry to the Poinsettia Motel, where he paid for a room and they had sex. Then Ruth said he went home to his fiancee, according to the archived News-Press story. The case was featured on the TNT show "Cold Justice" in 2015. The show's Kelly Siegler and Greg Pinkins worked with Fort Myers Police Department's Sgt. Brian O'Reilly and Detective Albert Antonini in season three, episode No. 318. Kitson (Photo: Andrew Wests/news-press.com ) SHARE By Thyrie Bland, The News-Press, tbland@news-press.com The developer of America's first solar town wants Florida Gulf Coast University to be a part of the community. Kitson and Partners, the real estate company developing Babcock Ranch, asked FGCU to be part of the Charlotte County project when it was conceived about 10 years ago and recently reaffirmed its desire for a partnership. When the company made its initial pitch to FGCU, it offered the school $3 million and 67 acres of land to build a research center. Syd Kitson, chairman and CEO of the real estate company, has made FGCU a new offer that does not include the money. The company wants to give the university 67 acres for environmental and astronomy studies. It also wants to donate a 12,400-square-foot educational facility to FGCU, give the school rent-free use of 1,600 square feet of space in a health and wellness center and develop other partnerships with the school. Babcock wants a relationship with FGCU based on three components: education, community partnership and research. Kitson said he believes a partnership between Babcock and FGCU will be beneficial to FGCU's students and Babcock's residents. "I think what makes this really exciting for us are these educational opportunities," Kitson said. "We get going talking about these things. It gets really exciting when you talk about what we can and cannot do. What we found is we are only limited by our imagination." FGCU is taking a wait and see approach before committing to any partnerships with Babcock. The Babcock project is coming to fruition after being slowed by the Great Recession. The developer broke ground on the project in November. The first homeowners are expected to move into Babcock during the first quarter of 2017. The city will be powered by solar energy during the day and natural gas when the sun goes down. It will consist of 19,500 homes and 6 million square feet of retail and office space. About 50,000 people are expected to live at Babcock, and others will work there. Babcock's developer wants to house a charter school for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade on the bottom floor of the educational facility. The hope is to open the school by the fall of 2017 and make it a place where FGCU students who want to be teachers can train, said Debra Dremann, a senior vice president at Kitson. The educational facility's second floor will be for FGCU's use on a rent-free basis. "If you really think about great towns, they are all built on really great schools," Dremann said. The charter school will start out small, with 72 students, and eventually will be moved to its own facility. The entire 12,400-square-foot building would then be gifted to FGCU. Chris Simoneau, executive director of the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation, said there have been some preliminary talks about how FGCU could use the building. He said the uses range from broadcasting lectures, continuing education classes, such as how to use an iPad, to students making use of classrooms when at Babcock to do research. "We want to prove the concept first the distance learning, the need for continuing education," he said. "We are going to watch how the city grows. We have thought about it, but we have not resolved anything. "I think that he has got a lot of infrastructure in place. He needs to get the residents in place. You are talking about the end of 2017 or early 2018 before there will be enough activity on Babcock Ranch to justify our people being there." Babcock's 30,000-square-foot health and wellness center is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018. Babcock's plan is for FGCU to use part of the building so students in the university's Department of Rehabilitation Sciences can get some real-world experience. "I think it's more likely to be a practice site where our students can go out there, interact with their wellness center members in providing them physical therapy, in providing them occupational therapy, providing them training," Simoneau said. FGCU has discussed putting an observatory on the 67 acres that the company wants to give the school. FGCU has not looked into the cost of building an observatory on the property, Simoneau said. There also are other possible partnership opportunities between Babcock and FGCU, such as Babcock's efforts to develop an autonomous or driverless vehicle, Dremann said. She said there could be a partnership between Babcock and FGCU's Institute for Entrepreneurship. "One of the things and some of the research that we've done is that a lot of people who are potentially moving down here to retire are really not thinking about retiring," she said. They are actually thinking about second careers. "We think there is a really great opportunity to engage that early retiree who is thinking about their next entrepreneurial endeavor as well as the millennials and the young families." SHARE A candle is lit for one of the victims of the Orlando shooting at a vigil held at Bambusa Bar and Grill on June 16, 2016 in Naples, Florida. Besides lighting 49 candles to honor each of the victims, Bambusa also hosted a fundraiser auction to raise money for the survivors and the victims' families. (Nicole Raucheisen/Staff) Two men light a candle for one of the victims of the Orlando shooting at a vigil held at Bambusa Bar and Grill on June 16, 2016 in Naples, Florida. Besides lighting 49 candles to honor each of the victims, Bambusa also hosted a fundraiser auction to raise money for the survivors and the victims' families. (Nicole Raucheisen/Staff) Betty Nordstrom, 52, of Naples, is consoled at a vigil held at Bambusa Bar and Grill for the Orlando shooting victims on June 16, 2016 in Naples, Florida. Her son, who lives in Orlando, lost three of his friends in the attack that claimed 49 lives. (Nicole Raucheisen/Staff) Patrons watch the vigil ceremony, with the victim's photos displayed on the TVs, at Bambusa Bar and Grill on June 16, 2016 in Naples, Florida. Besides lighting 49 candles to honor each of the victims, Bambusa also hosted a fundraiser auction to raise money for the survivors and the victims' families. (Nicole Raucheisen/Staff) Related Photos PHOTOS: Orlando Vigil at Bambusa By Alexi C. Cardona of the Naples Daily News Under dim lights, friends and strangers lit 49 candles to honor each of the 49 lives lost in the massacre. They sobbed and hugged one another, placed their hands on each other's shoulders. The names and photos of the victims of the mass shooting at a gay Orlando nightclub Sunday night were projected in a slideshow Thursday night at the front of Bambusa Bar and Grill in downtown Naples. "This is our community," said Steve Soutner, co-owner of the bar. "Orlando is not alone. We all stand by them, we all stand together. This tragedy affects everyone, no matter who they are." Pulse and Bambusa are 191 miles away, but the prayers reach. On Thursday night, about 200 people came to Bambusa to mourn the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and to raise money for the families. An auction raised more than $2,400, and 25 percent of the bar's take Thursday night will go to victims. Gay Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the Stonewall Riots and, more recently, to mark the Supreme Court ruling that made gay marriage legal nationwide. "It's especially hard to see this attack happen during a month that celebrates so many great things for the gay community," said Pedro Blanco, 64, a Bambusa regular. "It's so cold and calculated that the shooter would pick a place that was having a big celebration." Soutner and Mel Biondi, partners and co-owners, said they strive to make their bar a safe and joyful place for patrons. "This is always a place of fun, love and joy," Blanco said. "That's ultimately what you come to a gay bar for for the love and acceptance." The people at the bar will continue to live in love and acceptance, they said, because living in fear isn't an option. Jason Donahue, 44, and John Donahue, 56, met when they weren't looking for love, in a place where all they feel is love. They saw each other across the bar at Bambusa 10 years ago this November. Jason Donahue, who has lived in Naples for 16 years, said the gay community in the area is small enough that everyone at Bambusa knows one another. "And if you come in and we don't know you, we'll know you by the end of the night," he said. The Donahues had friends over to their home for game night Saturday. When they awoke Sunday morning, all they saw all day was news of the tragedy. "We didn't go out, didn't do anything," Jason Donahue said. "We didn't know what to do. We watched as the body count went from 20 to 50. It was horrifying." "I thought it was only a matter of time something like this would happen," he said. "John and I are going to the gay pride festival in Orlando this weekend. Will I have my guard up? Yes. But it's the right thing to do, to stand up and defend who we are." Jose Luis Morales of Orlando lays a crucifix along on the Cuban flag, and would also lay a American and LGBT flag at Orlando Health Wednesday, June 15, 2016 in Orlando. The city and nation is still feeling the effects of the June 12 mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub " Pulse. (Corey Perrine/Staff) SHARE By Maria Perez of the Naples Daily News ORLANDO As Orlando residents try to begin to heal from the Sunday massacre of 49 people at one of the city's most popular gay nightclubs, agencies and airlines are working together to get those victims home for the last time. The Florida Division of Emergency Management is working with airlines to fly the remains of the victims who hailed from locations outside the United States. One of them is 31-year-old Joel Rayon Paniagua, who will fly home free of charge to his hometown in southern Mexico. Cousin Jose Luis Paniagua said his family yearns to see their fallen family member. "His family wants to be with him and tell him goodbye," Paniagua said. "They want him to go in peace." Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesman Aaron Gallaher said several airlines have stepped up to provide travel for the victims free of charge. Neither Delta Air Lines nor JetBlue Airways was willing to reveal how many families they have helped. "We would rather respect the privacy of those families," Delta spokesman Brian Kruse said. "Right now our goal is to help as many of those family members as we can." Rayon Paniagua was one of 49 people who were fatally shot early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub. Self-proclaimed Islamic State allegiant Omar Mateen walked into the club about 2 a.m. and sprayed the crowd of up to 300 with bullets from a high-powered assault rifle. Mateen also led Orlando police in a standoff that lasted at least two hours before a SWAT team created a hole in a club bathroom wall that set free up to 20 patrons. Mateen also crawled out of the hole left jagged by cinder blocks and was shot dead by police. State and federal authorities descended on the South Orange Avenue club Sunday and removed the last of the fallen patrons that night by 11 p.m. The Orange County Medical Examiner's Office identified them earlier this week with the help of a statewide emergency response team. Each person was autopsied, and Mateen's body was kept in a separate facility. "The shooter's autopsy was also conducted in another building, away from the victims," Joshua Stephany, Orange County chief medical examiner, said in a statement. "This is not a law or requirement, but was rather done out of respect for the victims and their families so that the shooter may never be near the 49 beautiful souls again." The remains of the victims were released to funeral homes by Thursday. The shooting took place during Latino night and many of its patrons were Hispanic. Pablo Caceres, regional director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Office in Florida, said 23 of them were from the U.S. Caribbean territory. Caceres said up to 12 families have asked for help bringing deceased loved ones home. "This has been a very hard blow to the Puerto Rican community," Caceres said. Christina M. Hernandez, from Farmworker Association of Florida, said the organization has received several phone calls from people in Puerto Rico asking for information. "We had a lot of people reaching out from the island," Hernandez said. "They were figuring out how to transport coffins to the island." Some of the Puerto Rican victims came to Central Florida in search of opportunity, and others were just visiting Orlando to be with their fellow statesmen. The club where they were killed was a landmark for gay Puerto Ricans, Caceres said. Consulates from countries such as Colombia and Mexico, as well as groups like Caceres', gathered with representatives from airlines at the Camping World Stadium, where the city of Orlando opened a family assistance center. Rayon Paniagua's funeral is scheduled to take place Saturday in Orlando and it will be attended by his mother and his brothers. Then he is headed home. Paniagua said Rayon was a man with plenty of plans. "But this happened," Paniagua said. "And the dreams were over." Daily News reporter Arek Sarkissian contributed to this report. Related stories: SHARE Diane Jacob, Naples Becoming homeless Someone near and dear to me is about to become homeless due to the failings of yet another federal program, as well as the lack of affordable housing in Southwest Florida. This 63-year-old lady has lived in Naples for 21 years and due to her circumstances, her rent is subsidized by HUD through Section 8. Just before her lease was to renew on April 1, her landlord died unexpectedly and his family chose not to renew the rental lease as they plan to sell the home. The rental allowance approved by HUD for this lady is $875, including utilities. Her income is $792 per month and her share of cost is 30 percent of that. So, if rent/utilities are $875 per month, her share of cost is $238 and Section 8 pays the landlord $637 per month. She has been unable to find anything even close to $875 and has been staying with friends. Her Section 8 voucher will expire if she does not find a place to move into by July 1 and she cannot extend her stay with her friends beyond that date. Once the voucher expires, she can reapply, but the Collier County Housing Authority only allows 1,200 applicants on the waiting list at which point the list is "closed" and at this time, the list is closed. I am not familiar with how Section 8 calculates the rental allowances, but $875 is certainly inadequate and unrealistic almost anywhere today and especially in this area. Bureaucratic wheels move very slowly but something must be done to bring the Section 8 rental allowances in line with local rental rates. This lady has family and friends in this area but may be forced to relocate if (big if) she can find something somewhere within the HUD allowance. Otherwise, we welcome another victim to the homeless population. SHARE Robert F. Tate, Naples Orlando attacks Here we go again. Another mass murder perpetuated by a man who purchased an assault-type weapon three days before he killed 49 people at a dance club in Orlando. Could this have been avoided? Perhaps, at least to some degree. One group has the ability to reduce the number of assault weapon massacres but refuses to do so. Although the vast majority of all Americans object to assault weapons being sold to the public, the Republican Congress, of whom almost all belong to and are supported by the NRA, refuses to require any background checks before gun sales at the largest gun selling venues in the country. They refuse to ban assault weapons and even refuse to prohibit someone on the do-not-fly list from purchasing a weapon (an assault-type weapon?). But you have to feel sorry for them they have no choice. Almost without exception, Republicans are NRA members and get paid handsomely by the NRA in the form of contributions keeping them in office. But there's no such thing as a free lunch. Because of the enormity of the NRA, Republican politicians would lose their offices if that organization withdrew their support. So they vote instead to put no sensible restrictions on guns in order to please their masters. They continue to ignore a ban on assault-type weapons (but will pray for the victims). If only a few Republicans in Congress had voted to ban assault weapons, perhaps, just perhaps, Orlando would not have happened. How did your representatives vote when presented with an opportunity to keep these weapons out of the hands of civilians? And, more importantly, will you vote to continue the carnage? Angelo Mozilo, chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., testifies at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on severance packages for executives involved in the subprime mortgage crisis, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 7, 2008. Mozilo, who left Countrywide upon it's acquisition by Bank of America in July 2008, may now be the target of a civil-fraud claim by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Photographer: Jay Mallin/Bloomberg News JAY MALLIN/BLOOMBERG NEWS U.S. prosecutors have abandoned their case against Angelo Mozilo, a pioneer of the risky subprime mortgages that fueled the financial crisis, after a two-year quest to bring a civil suit against him. The Justice Department has decided not to sue Mozilo, the co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. That effectively ends nearly a decade of U.S. scrutiny of a man who became a face of risky lending practices and later an emblem of the governments mixed success in holding individuals accountable. In recent years, the 77-year-old has been living in a 12,692-square-foot house in Santa Barbara, Calif., investing in real estate and writing a book about his life so his grandchildren will "know the truth." Interviewed in late 2014, shortly after news of prosecutors' civil pursuit became public, he denied any wrongdoing and said the national real estate collapse, not Countrywide's lending, was at the root of the crisis. "Countrywide or Mozilo didn't cause any of that, he said at the time. The decision not to move forward with civil cases against Mozilo and other Countrywide executives was made by Justice Department officials in Washington and Los Angeles, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. David Siegel, an attorney for Mozilo, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The Justice Department, though a spokesman, declined to comment. Countrywide, which was bought by Bank of America Corp. in 2008, originated more than $408 billion of worth of loans in 2007, at the height of the housing market. Many of them went to poorly vetted and risky borrowers, the Justice Department has said. After the 2008 crash in housing and the complex financial instruments built from nonperforming mortgage loans, the Justice Department opened widespread investigations into industry practices. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles dug deeply into Countrywide's actions, including Mozilos stock sales in the months leading up to the bursting of the mortgage bubble. They brought no criminal case against him. Lawmakers and public-interest groups complained that executives walked away from the housing bust enriched and mostly unscathed. Mozilo who earned at least $500 million over a decade leading up to the crisis, according to compensation-research firm Equilar Inc. paid a $67.5 million penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. In 2014, the Justice Department began trying to build a civil case against Mozilo, using the same anti-fraud laws it had employed to extract more than $37 billion from Wall Street banks. The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, known as Firrea, gave the department a low threshold for bringing civil suits and a long period to bring cases. The Justice Department used Firrea to reach a $17 billion settlement with Bank of Bank of America over how Countrywide and Merrill Lynch & Co. which Bank of America bought in 2009 marketed mortgage-backed bonds to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis. The closure of the Mozilo case comes weeks after a federal appeals court reversed a 2013 Firrea ruling against Bank of America and Rebecca Mairone, the only executive of a major U.S. bank to be found liable for their part in the mortgage crisis. Mairone, the former chief operating officer for a division of Countrywide, was found liable by Manhattan jury for misrepresenting the quality of mortgages her company sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Justice Department claimed the bank and Countrywide generated thousands of defective loans and sold them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now under government control. Countrywide sold the loans to boost revenue in the tightening credit market in mid-2007, according to the government. The program became known as the High Speed Swim Lane, or HSSL later nicknamed The Hustle. A three-panel appeals panel in New York ruled in May that prosecutors failed to prove Mairone, and Bank of America, defrauded the government. The court threw out a $1 million fine against Mairone and a $1.3 billion judgment against Bank of America. Mozilo, known for his tanned visage, became an American success story after co-founding Countrywide in 1969 and building it into the nation's largest mortgage lender. His fortunes turned in 2007 during a surge in defaults of loans the company made to borrowers with poor credit. That year, Countrywide, based in Calabasas, Calif., reported its first annual loss in more than two decades. By March 2008, lawmakers tried to make Mozilo a poster child of Wall Street greed as the U.S. economy slumped. They beckoned him to Washington, where he testified before a combative congressional committee about his pay along with the ousted CEOs of Merrill and Citigroup Inc. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a Bloomberg Television interview two months later that Countrywide "will come to symbolize what went wrong with housing." Country Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Mohamed Taha Siala, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya on Friday (17 June 2016). They discussed the political and security situation in Libya. The Secretary General said he was encouraged by the progress made by the Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj and conveyed NATOs support for the political dialogue process led by the United Nations. During their meeting, they also addressed NATOs possible assistance to Libya in the defence and security field, which would be part of the international efforts to help the country address existing security challenges. In line with the decisions adopted by NATO Heads of State and Government at the 2014 Wales Summit, NATO stands ready to assist Libya in the field of defence and security institution building, if requested by the Government of National Accord and in complementarity with the United Nations and the European Union. The meeting of the Secretary General and Minister Taha Siala is part of the ongoing discussions on how NATO can help Libya develop its defence and security institutions. It follows a recent conversation of Mr. Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj and contacts between NATO and Libyan officials. Lax approach to food safety FDA called the report's findings 'unacceptable' (NaturalNews) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not force a recall of salmonella-tainted peanut butter and almond products after advanced DNA testing confirmed a salmonella contamination, a government watchdog said in a review of the agency's food safety program.In the report, Daniel R. Levinson, the Inspector General, said that peanut butter and almond products were voluntarily recalled by nSpired Natural Foods, Inc. after 165 days (or more than five months), making at least 14 people seriously ill with a strain of salmonella linked to the strain found at the firm's manufacturing facility. Salmonella is a bacterial infection that can cause serious health issues and can be fatal for young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems."FDA does not have adequate policies and procedures to ensure that firms take prompt and effective action in initiating voluntary food recalls. As a result, consumers remained at risk of illness or death for several weeks after FDA was aware of a potentially hazardous food in the supply chain," the report reads."We suggest that FDA revise its policies and procedures to instruct recall staff to establish set timeframes for (1) FDA to request that firms voluntarily recall their products and (2) firms to initiate voluntary food recalls."The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General reviewed 30 recalls that occurred between 2012 and 2015, and found a similar case where it took the government 81 days to recall a variety of listeria-tainted cheese products made by a Virginia firm. At least nine people became seriously ill, and one infant died.Despite the FDA's power to force recalls of potentially harmful foods and new sophisticated DNA screening technologies to identify pathogens at an early stage, they still fail to warn the public, placing consumers in jeopardy of a serious illness or death."Months and weeks when peoples' lives are on the line?" asked lead investigator George Nedder. "It needs to be done faster."While the FDA has the authority to order recalls, they do not use this power, nor do they have policies or procedures to ensure fast voluntary food recalls . In a statement, Rosa DeLauro, who oversees food and drug safety for an FDA-focused house subcommittee, called the absence of procedures and recall timelines "mind-boggling."Furthermore, she mentioned the salmonella outbreak in cucumbers last year, where nearly 900 people became sick, 191 of whom were hospitalized, and six of whom actually died."Delays like this one - and others found in the report - are completely unacceptable and leave American consumers at risk for illness and death," DeLauro said.On their blog, FDA officials Stephen Ostroff and Howard Sklamberg called the report's findings "unacceptable," claiming that the agency is "totally committed" to food safety.Nonetheless, they admitted that the system is flawed, and said that the FDA has set up a group of safety officials to oversee outbreaks and review problematic cases that seem to be moving too slowly."That way we will be able to take action much more quickly in circumstances where there seems to be some reluctance at the firm," Ostroff said.They noted that once more experience is gained in the new DNA screening technique, they hope to be able to shorten the timelines. The FDA also has a plan underway to strengthen compliance and enforcement policies, including both voluntary and mandatory recalls. The 'Internet of things' is turning out to be a huge privacy issue No more value of liberty? (NaturalNews) Maybe it's something in the water at the National Security Agency , but for some reason, officials there just can't seem to get enough of spying on us by continually expanding their surveillance dragnet.As reported by, the agency is now looking into possibly stealing data from Internet-connected biomedical devices like pacemakers, according to the NSA's deputy director, Richard Ledgett."We're looking at it sort of theoretically from a research point of view right now," Ledgett told the attendees of the 2016 Defense One Tech Summit, held June 10 in Washington, D.C.is a defense/national security oriented news and information website.The deputy director referred to the devices as just "another tool in the toolbox" of electronic surveillance, agreeing with a comment that the data that could be collected from pacemakers and other devices would be akin to a "signals intelligence bonanza.""As my job is to penetrate other people's networks, complexity is my friend," he told the conference. "The first time you update the software, you introduce vulnerabilities, or variables rather. It's a good place to be in a penetration point of view."Penetrating networks is spy-speak for essentially violating rights that are supposed to be protected by the Fourth Amendment , which (supposedly) guarantees "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures ... ." The amendment also requires government to get search warrants issued only "upon probable cause" from a court of law, which describes "the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."The NSA would likely get cute and argue that hey, signals from a pacemaker aren't "papers" or "houses," so they aren't covered by the Fourth Amendment. But they certainly are "effects," and no one could reasonably argue that stealing data from a device (without a warrant) is not an invasion of privacy, given that the data was not being sent to NSA for analysis voluntarily.Are you starting to see why this "Internet of things" isn't all it is cracked up to be?That said, according to, Ledgett is not the only one who is anxious to begin collecting data from biomed devices and other Internet-connected devices and appliances:In a letter to electronic privacy champion Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Clapper actually identified, in passing, some devices that could be hacked by the NSA and other federal agencies so that they could gain access to private data. Those items included "a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a child's toy."The fact that top officials with U.S. intelligence agencies are so blatant about their desire to scoop up as much personal data on American citizens as possible ought to be alarming to many in Congress, but at least publicly there has not been much push-back. Many of these intelligence briefings are held in secret; there are portions held in public, but eventually the House and Senate intelligence committees most generally launch closed-door sessions so that they can discuss classified materials.They apparently also discuss new and innovative ways to destroy constitutional protections Very influential states' rights advocate and jurist, St. George Tucker, wrote regarding the importance of the checks included in the Fourth Amendment: "The constitutional sanction here given to the same doctrine, and the test which it affords for trying the legality of any warrant by which a man may be deprived of his liberty, or disturbed in the enjoyment of his property, can not be too highly valued by a free people."In the Information Age, however, "free people" seem to have forgotten what value is inherent in liberty. Climate scientists warned that levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is going to be at its highest this year. Contrary to what experts have previously estimated, CO2 levels will exceed a benchmark of 400 parts per million (ppm) for the entire year, as measured atop Hawaii's famous Mauna Loa volcano. As explained in the report published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the dramatic escalation can be blamed to El Nino conditions. El Nino, as defined by Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. The temperature anomaly affects the weather patterns in different parts of the world. It can result to increased rainfall across the southern tier of the U.S. and in Peru, and drought in the West Pacific. For the past months, El Nino has warmed and dried the tropics, limiting the ability of forests to eliminate CO2. At the start of the year, El Nino pushed the temperature at its highest, reaching 1.13C above the 1951-1980 average. Furthermore, El Nino has triggered huge wildfires around the world, injecting more CO2 in the air. When drought develops, vegetations are dried out, providing ample fuel for the fires. Wildfires will ignite very easily under such dry conditions and can spread quickly, as explained by North Carolina State University. While naturally occuring, the El Nino can be intensified by human-induced climate change. "The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is rising year-on-year due to human emissions, but this year it is getting an extra boost due to the recent El Nino event--changes in the sea-surface temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean. This warms and dries tropical ecosystems, reducing their uptake of carbon, and exacerbating forest fires. Since human emissions are now 25 per cent greater than in the last big El Nino in 1997/98, this all adds up to a record CO2 rise this year." Lead author Professor Richard Betts, of the Met Office Hadley Centre and University of Exeter explained to Science Daily. The report provides further warning and serves as a reminder that people must do something to ease carbon dioxide emissions. BBC noted that the last time CO2 was regularly above 400 ppm was three to five million years ago, before modern humans existed. The research was done as collaboration between the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services in England and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Questions remain unanswered as EgyptAir flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo crash into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19. According to updates, forensic experts managed to recover body parts of some of the passengers. In a recent one, Egyptian authorities confirmed that wreckage from the plane was identified from the Mediterranean; however, the black box remains to be missing. The EgyptAir flight 804 vanished on May 19 with 66 passengers on board. A few weeks ago, French and Egyptian authorities detected a "ping" from the plane's black box using the state-of-the-art technology of a French search vessel. And in a recent statement, Egyptian investigators announced that they have found wreckage from the missing EgyptAir plane. Authorities said that "several main locations of the wreckage" had been identified, according to a report by BBC. One of the search vessels already sent back images of the wreckage, the report added. The recovery of the identified debris is now being studied with the help of the John Lethbridge Search Vessel. Experts are mapping the locations of the identified wreckage of EgyptAir's Airbus 320 plane to aid in further investigations crucial in finding out whether the plane crashed intact or not. With the identified parts, the investigators will use a mapping technique to help identify the possible distribution of all the debris before proceeding to the retrieval process. The mapping might be able to help locate every single part of the plane, including where the black box is located. Through the mapping results, investigators can analyze if the plane exploded mid-air or if it crashed intact and broke upon contact with water. Investigators who have worked with similar cases before are confident that they will be able to tell from the wreckage if the plane was downed by an explosion or not. However, retrieval and further investigations would not be easy and are expected to last for months. Experts' fear is that the time for a black box to emit "ping" or signal is about to lapse, but according to the report by BBC, the John Lethbridge vessel is capable of detecting the black box even without the signal. But despite that, the black box has to be found to shed light to the mysterious downing of EgyptAir Flight 804. Once located, the debris and the black box will be sent to Egypt, according to a civil aviation official in an interview with CNN. The U.S. is said to send its own team to help Cairo in the recovery and investigation of Flight 804 debris, which will include a recorder specialist with a high level of expertise in analyzing black box data. "Abnormal is the new normal," said a climate change expert. Climate change on Earth has reached another all time record: the month of May is the hottest recorded month, according to the premiere space agency in the U.S., NASA. According to NASA, May's temperature broke global records, including the Arctic which has survived abnormal amount of heat causing the Greenland ice sheet to melt in unusually faster speed, while Alaska also broke its record by a huge margin. The same trend was experienced worldwide including Finland. "The state of the climate so far this year gives us much cause for alarm," said David Carlson, director of Geneva's World Climate Research Programme, in a press release published by Phys.org. Parts of the world experienced the worst El Nino phenomena causing drought in agriculturally-dependent nations such as the Philippines. In Australia, 53 percent of the population experienced the warmest autumn in history. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and its World Climate Research Programme studied satellite records of the Arctic Sea Ice. The data revealed that this May 2016, the sparsest sea ice coverage was observed. The snow started melting in Barrow Alaska on May 13 and it is the earliest annual retreat in coverage recorded in a span of 78 years, according to a report by Aljazeera. In Greenland, Nuuk experienced a recorded 24.8 degrees Celsius. Experts say that the carbon dioxide emissions contribute to the extreme weather trend. Since the last El Nino in 1998, carbon emissions have increased by 25 percent causing a hotter temperature on Earth. If the trend doesn't stop, the world should expect an even hotter temperature records in the future. Experts also believe that the abnormal climate conditions are not only due to El Nino but also from other factors as well. "Exceptionally high temperatures. Ice melts rates in March and May that we don't normally see until July. Once-in-a-generation rainfall events. The super El Nino is only partly to blame," Carlson said in another interview with Economic Times. The World Meteorological Organization also believes that one of the factors responsible for the worsening climate conditions are the green house gasses present in the atmosphere. NASA satellite's observation of ice sheets on Earth is approximately 600,000 square kilometers below the all time record of 38 years. Land, by all means, is a major resource asset as it provides a foundation for economic growth and for poverty reduction. As the world's population increases, land becomes increasingly valuable, which only means any form of land degradation is a threat to us all. Desertification is one of the major problems adversely affecting the quality of the land. As defined by Green Facts, desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by variations in climate and human activities. To promote public awareness about the situation, June 17 is commemorated as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. As per United Nations, the global event was declared in December 1994 to recognize the need to combat desertification and drought. For this year, the observance will have the theme "Inclusive cooperation for achieving Land Degradation Neutrality," and a slogan "Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People." To better understand the issue, here are some basic facts about desertification. How desertification occurs Desertification is usually due to human activities and extreme weather conditions. When trees and plants are removed from the soil (such as in grazing and intensive farming), the nutrients in the soil are also removed, causing it to be degraded. Without the nutrients, the land would be infertile and would turn into a desert--dry and arid. How are we affected by desertification? According to a report published by the International Fund For Agricultural Development, over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification and one billion people in over 100 countries are at risk. Desertification results to the fall of world's drinking water supply. Every year, 12 million people die because of water shortage. In addition to water, desertification affects livelihood. Since 1990, 6 million hectares of productive land are lost every year due to land degradation. This threatens the food security of the planet. How can we minimize or prevent desertification? Sustainable development will not be achieved if all lands are left unproductive, which is why people must do their share to save what's left of the land. Because desertification is caused by loss of vegetation, reforestation and tree generation is highly encouraged. Avoid cutting trees to make way for tall buildings. Moreover, protect the soil by fencing and enrich it by using animal manure. Another way to reduce the impacts of desertification is by managing water usage properly. Sanborn and Market Gas in Salinas was briefly advertised as an Airbnb rental for anyone who ever dreamed of spending the night inside a convenience store of a gas station, KSBW reported. But as of Thursday, that listing is no longer on the Airbnb site. It's not clear whether Airbnb or the gas station's owners took down the listing. For just $50 a night, Sanborn and Market Gas offered all you can drink hot water, other beverages, coffee, and ice cream a toilet and basic needs. All guests needed to bring along with them was an air mattress. Rather than stay at a real nice comfy luxury place, this has a real nice experience, owner Pete Shen told KSBW. The gas station promoted itself on Airbnbs website as, Gas station stay over, where guests are offered a safe nights sleep with security cameras, good lighting and a location on a busy street corner. Im the guinea pig in the commercial business so far for Airbnb, Shen told KSBW. After our first stay over, see how it goes, maybe people might like it; maybe people may not like it. So well see how it goes. At least one Oakland city leader is calling for the feds to take over the investigation into the police department's growing sex scandal. The police department in the past week has seen three different chiefs. Chief Sean When resigned last Thursday. And on Wednesday, his replacement, Ben Fairow, was fired for having an affair more than a decade ago. Paul Figueroa is now serving as the acting chief for the department. "At the top they failed us," said Jim Chanin, a civil rights attorney. "They have failed us and we're looking around for people who will be successful and move us forward." Chanin said he is in close contact with the federal monitor as the city deal with a widening sex scandal involving a teenage girl who claims she had sex with more than a dozen Oakland police officers, some while she was underage. "We're taking this investigation where it goes and whoever is cuplable is going to have to leave or be suspended," Chanin said. The shakeup at OPD was followed by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office announcing late Wednesday it placed DA inspector and former Oakland police commander Rick Orozco on administrative leave in connection with the sex scandal. The young woman at the heart of the case said late last year Orozco sent her a message on social media containing a sexual innuendo. The woman also said he asked her out to dinner when she was just 17 years old. "For me to hear this morning who it was and what happened, and seeing what he did I am completely disgusted," City Councilman Noel Gallo said. Gallo said the shakeup is not over and more fallout is ahead. He believes it is time for the feds to take control of the police department. "Based on where we are today and what I know, I think it may be time to have complete federal oversight," Gallo said. A hunger striker from the #Frisco5 has reached out to the Black Panther co-founder in order to build an intergenerational bridge of community activism. Averi Sellassie Blackwell, 39, will lead a frank conversation with Bobby Seale, 79, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Freedom Archives, 522 Valencia Street in San Francisco. Tickets are available for $20. Blackwell made international news as part of the #Frisco5, a group of five citizens who pledged not to eat anything until Mayor Ed Lee fired or asked former SFPD Chief Greg Suhr to resign over the police department's 0 percent conviction rates in police killings. The #Frisco5 were hospitalized on their 16th day, and formerly ended the strike on the May 8, the 17th day. Lee asked Suhr to resign on May 19 after Jessica Williams, 29, was fatally shot by a San Francisco police sergeant. "To sit and talk with him is inspiring," Blackwell told NBC Bay Area of Seale, who started the Black Panther movement in Oakland in 1966 with Huey Newton. "To hear his organizational tactics and his motivation and his intentions for why he started and put his life on the line for the Panthers and to hear from him as opposed to other people talking about him I'm always interested to hear what people have to say about something they built as opposed to what other people have to say." After two years of legal wrangling, the federal case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company on charges of violating pipeline safety laws and obstructing the federal probe of the 2010 San Bruno blast will begin Friday. The case was set to start on Thursday, but got pushed back a day after the judge removed 10 juror prospects from the pool and the replacement candidates were questioned by both sides. The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was sworn in Thursday afternoon, ending two and a half days of jury selection, and intense legal disputes over what evidence the government can present during trial. Federal prosecutors say they expect their opening statement to last only about 30 minutes, but PG&E's lead lawyer, Steve Bauer, told U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson that he expects his presentation -- complete with slides -- will take 2 1/2 hours. The company faces 12 separate charges of pipeline safety violations --everything from shoddy record keeping to failing to properly assess its pipelines, and failing to inspect them after potentially hazardous pressure surges. The company has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Although one of the pipelines referred to in several counts is the same one that exploded in September 2010 in San Bruno, prosecutors are not arguing that any specific federal regulatory violation triggered the blast. In court papers, the company has asserted that it is the victim of a smear campaign by prosecutors eager to pin blame after the San Bruno disaster. Prosecutors counter that the company made critical decisions without proper records and made those decision based on profit, not safety. It is not clear whether the utility will put on its own defense or whether it will rely on undermining prosecutorial witness testimony. If convicted, the company could face up to a half billion dollars in federal penalties. Prosecutors estimate that sum is twice the amount the company saved by not heeding the regulations. That fine would be on top of the $1.6 billion the company paid based on a litany of regulatory violations related to the San Bruno disaster. The trial is slated to take six to eight weeks. San Francisco continued setting standards in equality and inclusivity Thursday by becoming the first big city to appoint a senior adviser for transgender initiatives. Mayor Ed Lee announced that former police commissioner and longtime executive director of the Human Rights Commission, Theresa Sparks, will take the position as the city puts a greater emphasis on transgender equality issues. "A lot of it will be overseeing and coordinating existing programs that we have and making sure they're effective and doing a gap analysis to see what were missing," Sparks said. Lee said that with the issues surfacing in North Carolina and Mississippi over basic rights such as toilet use, his office felt an adviser offering guidance on equality for the LGBTQ community on such issues was the right move. "I think this is approproriate for Pride month," Lee said. Said Sparks: "Even before this appointment came out but since Sunday, we have been contacted by a number of jurisdictions." Sparks begins work in her new position on July 1. A suspected serial burglar was arrested at a San Mateo home Thursday morning after being verbally detained by a worker who was staying at the house while renovating it for the owner. Vincent Frank Dimassimo, 28, of San Mateo, was arrested and charged with two counts of felony burglary and six counts of possession of stolen property, according to the San Mateo Police Department. He was caught inside the home by Luciano Guana, who woke up to find a man sprinting out of the house in the 1500 block of Roberta Drive. Guana chased Dimassimo down the street, but instead of tackling or punching him, he just talked to him. He asked the suspect to return his stolen property. "He keeps on asking me not to call the cops, he keeps on begging me not to do anything big," Guana said, "but in the back of my head, this guy robbed me." Gauna said he pretended to call his friends, but instead dialed 911, relaying information while he continued to talk with Dimassimo. A subsequent investigation determined that the same home was burglarized just hours earlier on Wednesday night, and the crime was reported to San Mateo police just after 11 p.m., police said In that report, Guana told authorities more than $9,000 in property had been stolen from the home, including more than $6,000 in commercial grade power tools and a flat screen television. That night, Guana had returned to the home from another job to find the doors wide open. "Everything's open, lights are all off; usually I leave the lights on," Guana said. "I walk back out to my truck, grab my bat, come in here and realize there's nothing. Everything got robbed." Police said Dimassimo was the likely suspect in that crime and had returned to the home Thursday morning to steal more items. San Mateo police detectives conducted a search of a nearby home where Dimassimo was believed to have stayed overnight and recovered stolen property from the burglary, police said. They then followed up on a series of prior incidents of vehicle burglaries in April and May in which Dimassimo was the suspect and believe there is now sufficient evidence to charge him with those crimes as well. Police said Dimassimo has multiple prior arrests for various narcotic-related offenses. Uber and Lyft are threatening to leave Chicago if a rideshare ordinance that was unanimously approved Friday by a joint City Council committee passes the full council next week. "It would make true ridesharing impossible," Chelsea Wilson, a Lyft spokeswoman, said in a statement following the committee vote. "Because of this, we will be forced to cease operations in Chicago if this ordinance becomes law. The Ridesharing Reform Ordinance, which passed out of a joint Transportation and License Committee on Friday, would require drivers to obtain restricted public chauffeur licenses. This includes protections like fingerprinted background checks, drug testing and city debt checks. The ordinance will now move to the full City Council for a vote. The ridesharing industry has pushed back against fingerprinted background checks, physical exams and drug tests for all their Chicago drivers. Companies warned against what could happen to the industry if the ordinance ultimately passes. Wilson said the ordinance "forces part-time Lyft drivers into an onerous, outdated model, requiring hundreds of dollars in fees just to share a seat in their car." Chicago's City Council has argued that the ordinance would level the playing field between rideshare services and the city's struggling taxi industry. A similar ordinance passed in Austin last month, and both companies pulled out of the city. Ald. Anthony Beale, the Chicago ordinance's sponsor, praised the legislation Friday and called on fellow lawmakers to approve the measure. I applaud the committee for sending the message that rideshare company drivers need to follow the same rules as other for-hire drivers to ensure public safety, Beale said in a statement. Now its up to my colleagues to enact the ordinance to make sure our ridesharing services are safe and accountable. Uber Chicago General Manager Marco McCottry noted Uber already operates under Chicago guidelines that require criminal background checks for drivers and vehicle safety checks. He said "costly and complicated barriers for drivers" would prevent them from becoming drivers, taking away affordable rides in the city. "We love Chicago," McCottry said in a statement. "But the ordinance that advanced today would eliminate ridesharing as we know it here." "There is no need to harm one industry to help another," he said. "We continue to urge aldermen to reject this ordinance and instead modernize taxi's rules to make life easier for their drivers." An Uber petition to keep the company in Chicago has received over 100,000 signatures. A man died after being pulled from Lake Michigan Friday afternoon, police and fire officials confirmed. According to the Chicago Police Department, emergency personnel responded to a call of a person in the water at Montrose Harbor around 5:26 p.m. Friday. Officials said the man fell into the water, and didn't resurface. Lifeguard services as well as responders from the Chicago Fire Department pulled him from out. He was taken in very critical condition to Weiss Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office later identified him as Ryan Klingensmith, 23, of the 800 block of W Benton St in Iowa City, Iowa. Friends said Klingensmith had just recently moved to Chicago for a job, and was out with friends when tragedy struck. Witnesses said he and his friends were playing beer pong when the ball fell in the water. He jumped in after, witnesses said, and didn't come back up. "The most important thing is to pay attention," manager of safety and training at Freedom Yacht Club David Coxhead said, warning boaters to wear a lifevest on the lake. "Always be aware of your surroundings." Even though the air temperature is warm, experienced sailors said the water is still very cold and warn anyone at the lake against getting in. "If you fall into cold water, you have a gasping reflex, you tend to suck water in," said Bruce Thompson, a former sailing instructor. "So if you don't have air in your lungs, you can drown, which may have been what happened." After 25 thefts have been reported since late last year, officials are warning women of brazen crimes at gas stations near interstate highways. Thefts have been reported from Oak Lawn to a number of towns in northwest Indiana, and authorities believe it could be one man behind it all. Police in Munster, Indiana, believe the man seen victimizing a woman on security footage in Oak Lawn is the same person committing similar crimes in their community. "He usually hits single females that are gassing vehicles," said Munster Police Lt. Ed Strbjak. "As the person, the young lady, pulls up, then he pulls around to the passenger side reaches through the window, opens the door, and gets in." The man then typically takes the woman's wallet or purse, and leaves without her knowing. Authorities have released a photo of a tan Nissan Maxima with an unusual sunroof that they believe he is now using to hit gas stations along, or very close to the 80/94 corridor. "The most recent was this last Saturday at approximately 11:30 pm at the corner of Calumet and Ridge at the BP station there," Strbjak said. "The lady went to fill up her tank. He reached in the window, got the purse, and headed back towards the expressway." Police urge drivers to be acutely aware of their surroundings, locking cars, holding onto purses, even if you're only going to be at the pump for a short amount of time. A Chicago singer who appeared on the Mexican version 'The Voice' in 2011 has died after he was shot in an ambush while celebrating his birthday with friends, officials said Saturday. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed that 45-year-old Alejandro "Jano" Fuentes died on Saturday. He was shot three times in the head late Thursday outside his Tras Bambalinas School on Chicago's southwest side. The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. Thursday in the 4300 block of South Archer in the citys Brighton Park neighborhood. Police said Fuentes was in a vehicle with a passenger when a man with a gun walked up and ordered him out of the car. When Fuentes resisted, the gunman shot him several times in the head, critically wounding him. Fuentes was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and the gunman fled on foot before getting into a car a short distance away. Friends of Fuentes say he and his assistant were leaving Tras Bambalinas, an academy for young performers owned by Fuentes, to celebrate his 45th birthday. "We are feeling confused and we have no explanation why all these things are happening, said close friend Miguel Sanchez, whose two children attend Fuentes academy. We are very sad because it's something you don't expect to happen to your close friends." According to those who know him, Fuentes moved to Chicago three years ago to take part in a play. He liked the city so much he decided to stay and open his studio. Video posted by the studio earlier that day shows a group inside singing him Happy Birthday. Fuentes was a top 10 finalist in Mexicos version of The Voice, called La Voz, in 2011. Jano Fuentes from la voz mexico on Vimeo. He loved to help everyone, it didn't matter who it was, said Alejandra Arellano, who works at a bakery next to Fuentes studio. We're sad. We're concerned and also because of the violence." Police have released few details about what may have prompted the shooting. But some believe the shooting was not a random act of violence. "It wasn't random, Sanchez said. This guy, they were waiting for him. They were waiting for him to come out of the school. The Associate Press contributed to this story. A Chicago Public Schools employee was shot and killed outside the elementary school where he was working on Thursday afternoon, according to Chicago Police and CPS. Denzel Thornton, 25, was outside in the 4800 block of W Walton St in the South Austin neighborhood at around 12:30 p.m. when someone shot him in the head before fleeing, according to Chicago Police. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The shooting occurred outside Robert McNair Elementary School, where a graduation ceremony was scheduled to take place later in the afternoon. Thornton, of the 800 block of W Buena Ave in Buena Park, worked for Chicago Public Schools as a Compliance Specialist for Nutrition Services, according to a statement from the district. He had worked for CPS for 10 months, was based out of the district's central office, and was doing his regular rounds at McNair when the shooting occurred, officials said. "It does not appear the school, the students, or staff was targeted or in risk at anytime," CPD Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy said in a news conference Thursday afternoon. Roy also said Thornton had no gang ties or criminal history. On behalf of all of Chicago Public Schools, we were devastated to learn today about the tragic death of one of our employees," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. "Denzel Thornton was a member of our Nutrition Services team, and like many CPS employees, he worked hard every day to serve our children. Even in challenging circumstances, CPS employees are extraordinarily dedicated to the students we serve, and I have the deepest respect for their commitment and hard work. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Denzel Thornton, and we will all keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Shortly after the shooting, families received an automated call saying "The Chicago Police Department is currently investigating an incident that took place outside our school today. No McNair students were injured as a result of this incident, however students may have questions or be upset by what happened. The CPS Crisis Support Team will be at school tomorrow to provide assistance to any students needing support, as well as an increased presence from CPS Safety and Security." The 8th grade graduation took place as scheduled. No one is in custody and police continue to investigate. A Chicago Public Schools employee who was shot and killed outside the elementary school where he was working Thursday afternoon, simply wanted to give students in the violence-plagued city neighborhood a better future, friends said. "All he wanted to do was return the chance that he was given to other kids," said his best friend Edith Herbert. "And that is the most honorable thing you can do." Denzel Thornton, 25, was shot while walking to his car around 12:30 p.m. outside Robert McNair Elementary School in the 4800 block of W Walton St in the South Austin neighborhood. Children were still in school and eighth graders were just hours away from graduation when someone shot Thornton in the head before fleeing, according to authorities. Thornton was pronounced dead on the scene. "What do we tell our children that's graduating?" said said friend Corey Hardiman. "'Do I have a chance at life? Do I have a chance at living my dream?'" Thornton, of the 800 block of W Buena Ave in Buena Park, worked for Chicago Public Schools as a Compliance Specialist for Nutrition Services, according to a statement from the district. He had worked for CPS for 10 months, was based out of the district's central office, and was doing his regular rounds at McNair when the shooting occurred, officials said. "It does not appear the school, the students, or staff was targeted or in risk at anytime," CPD Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy said in a news conference Thursday afternoon. Roy also said Thornton had no gang ties or criminal history. On behalf of all of Chicago Public Schools, we were devastated to learn today about the tragic death of one of our employees," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said in a statement. "Denzel Thornton was a member of our Nutrition Services team, and like many CPS employees, he worked hard every day to serve our children. Even in challenging circumstances, CPS employees are extraordinarily dedicated to the students we serve, and I have the deepest respect for their commitment and hard work. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Denzel Thornton, and we will all keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Shortly after the shooting, families received an automated call saying "The Chicago Police Department is currently investigating an incident that took place outside our school today. No McNair students were injured as a result of this incident, however students may have questions or be upset by what happened. The CPS Crisis Support Team will be at school tomorrow to provide assistance to any students needing support, as well as an increased presence from CPS Safety and Security." The 8th grade graduation took place as scheduled. Thonrton had received a full scholarship to Johnson and Wales University and previously interned as a chef at Disney World before returning to Chicago to give back to the community. He was involved in the Career Through Culinary Arts Program, a program that opened up the doors of opportunity for him. "He played by the rules, he went by the book, he did what he was supposed to do," said Herbert. Those who knew him say he made a major mark in the city during his short, but promising life. "He was remarkable, he overcame so much in his short life and wanted to give back and do so much more," said his mentor Nicola Copelan. No one was in custody for the shooting Friday as police continue to investigate. Father Michael Pfleger, the outspoken pastor at St. Sabinas church in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, took to social media to condemn an event Gov. Bruce Rauner is hosting at the Dusable Museum of African American History next week. Cant understand why the DuSable Museum will allow Gov. Rauner to speak there on Monday, Pfleger wrote on Facebook Friday. Pfleger called the appearance disrespectful and urged readers to call DuSable to tell them to stop this. This man has abandoned and raped the community of resources, Pfleger added. A representative for DuSable said the museum was not affiliated with the event, claiming the governor merely rented the space for an hour Monday afternoon to host a Juneteenth celebration. The holiday commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery. The pastor's incendiary post received a considerable amount of pushback on social media, with some users siding with Rauner. Nevertheless, the governor ultimately cancelled the event Saturday. "It is unfortunate that special interests politicized what was supposed to be a celebratory event," a Rauner spokesperson said in an e-mail. "Out of an abundance of caution and respect for the safety of visitors and the museum, we have regretfully cancelled the planned Juneteenth event at the DuSable Museum." Pfleger has been a sharp critic of Rauner throughout the budget impasse. In March, Pfleger and other activists staged a demonstration outside the Thompson Center to protest the governors budget proposal, which included deep cuts for social service agencies. "You don't balance the budgets on the backs of poor people and balance it on child care and violence prevention programs. That's not how you're going to balance the budget," Pfleger said. In May of last year, Pfleger pointed to Gov. Bruce Rauners declared budget cuts as a future obstacle in curbing gun violence in the city. "With all these state cuts taking place in this city, all the jobs that are not going to be there, the programs are not going to be there, I think its frightening whats ahead of us right now in this city, Pfleger told NBC 5. Illinois' anti-violence program CeaseFire, which treats violence as a public health issue, was among the programs that were cut as part of an executive order Rauner issued last February. Crews rescued a woman from the Thames River in New London early Thursday morning after a sunset swim turned disastrous. On Wednesday, a 20-year-old woman went for an evening swim at Mitchell College Beach in New London. When she didnt return by 10:30 p.m., her mother called the New London Police Department to report her daughter missing. According to a press release from the Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, the mother reported her daughter usually returns home around the same time and that this was, highly unusual and very concerning. Police found the missing womans clothes on the sand of Mitchell College, about a mile from the mouth of the Thames River. The Coast Guard sent out a 29-foot response boat and started searching the water. The search area expanded toward Long Island Sound and kept expanding more than a mile, all the way to Ledge Light. Around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the woman was found clinging to the ledge in her wetsuit. The Coast Guard pulled her aboard the boat. According to Chatwin, She was OK, obviously a little cold, a little tired. Grateful to see the crew. And they gave her a ride back to shore. After being in the water for about four hours, the swimmer was brought to L&M Hospital for treatment. She is expected to be okay. The Coast Guard reminds residents even experienced swimmers may struggle with strong currents. Something that a lot of people don't realize is the effect the current can have on you when you're actually swimming in the water, Nate Chatwin of the Coast Guard, said. The tide was going out and the current was strong. If someone were to try to swim back against the current it'd be considerably more difficult. Police have arrested one man suspected of stealing more than $300,000 in a credit card fraud spree targeting stores throughout the northeast and they are looking for one more suspect. Police responded to the Wal-Mart on Gold Star Highway in Groton around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday to investigate a report of larceny by fraud. The man had fled, but the description was familiar, police said. It matched a description of a person who is suspected of similar crimes throughout the North East that have resulted in the loss of $300,000. Officers who were responding to investigate saw a car speeding off that matched the description and chased it into the Copp Property Dog Park parking area, where two people who were in the car ran into the woods. Police were called in from Ledyard, Groton City, New London, Stonington, Waterford, Connecticut State Police, and the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force to help with the search and the Groton Emergency Communications Center sent out a reverse 911 call to area residents alerting them to what was happening and urging them to call police if they saw either suspect. Police located one suspect in the area of Route 117 and Interstate 95 and identified him as Kashif T. Louissaint, 24, of Brooklyn, New York. He was charged with criminal attempted larceny in the fourth degree, criminal attempt illegal use of a credit card and interfering with an officer. He was wanted by the FBI in Newark New Jersey on wire fraud charges and was also charged as a fugitive from justice. He is being held on $200,000 bond, and will appear in court in New London today. Officers are still searching for the second suspect. A $750,000 settlement has been reached with relatives of an unarmed motorist fatally shot by an off-duty South Texas sheriff's deputy. The family of Mathew Jackson on Thursday agreed to settle the civil lawsuit. The money will be paid by Bexar County's liability insurance that covers employees. Jurors last month acquitted Anthony Thomas of a murder charge in the August 2013 death of Jackson. Authorities say Thomas was in uniform but driving his personal vehicle when the side mirrors of both vehicles bumped. Thomas, who did not testify at his criminal trial, had told investigators that he feared for his life when Jackson ran toward him while carrying a shiny object. The item turned out to be a cigarette lighter. Thomas was fired after the fatal shooting. Investigators in Collin County have arrested a man accused of invasive visual recording of a girl, county officials say. According to jail records, 21-year-old Aaron Flores-Lopez was arrested June 10 after being accused of pointing a recording device underneath a girl's dress inside a 7-Eleven store at 1500 South Preston Road in Celina two days before. Investigators discovered more videos of women in McKinney, Prosper and Frisco, according to The Dallas Morning News. Lopez is currently in jail as the investigation continues and is being held on $50,000 bond. Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to contact the Collin County Sheriff's Department at 972-547-5100. Denton police continue to investigate a man arrested for allegedly telling a hospital employee she would "die" if she didn't accept a Quran. Officer Shane Kizer, spokesman for the Denton Police Department, said Thursday that 28-year-old Peshwaz Waise had been moved from the Denton City Jail to undergo a medical evaluation, on which he couldn't comment further. Waise was arrested Wednesday morning at the security checkpoint of the Denton County Courthouse. Police took several complaints that morning of Waise speaking irrationally and causing disturbances at several locations in town. According to an arrest affidavit, he eventually went to the Texas Health Presbyterian Women's Center and tried to get an employee at the front to give a Quran to the hospital chapel, the employee claimed, telling her she would "die" and the hospital would "go down" if she didn't. Waise was arrested at the courthouse a short time later, where witnesses said he was speaking loudly in the lobby about wanting to give the Quran to judges. During his arrest, officers say he told them he was "the King" and "I'm imposing the death penalty." He later told the deputies that "anybody who touches me is going to bleed," according to police. Officers closed off half of the courthouse parking lot for hours as they investigated Waise's vehicle out of caution, but found no weapons or explosives. Kizer said Waise is from Virginia, though they're still investigating exactly why he was in Denton. So far, Kizer said, Waise has said he wanted to preach Islam, even trying to preach to the police public information officer from inside his jail cell. Kizer said that Waise did show up at least one other time in the area when he was reportedly trying to preach at a Dallas church last month. Before he began attracting officers' attention Wednesday, leaders at the Islamic Society of Denton said he showed up at their mosque. "He prayed with us morning prayer," said Imam Mohamed Fouad, who had never seen Waise before that morning. Fouad said Waise approached him before the prayer session was complete, talking about wanting to preach, and the Islamic leader asked him to talk to him afterward. "He came to me and told me, 'Imam, we wantpreaching for non-Muslims in order to know Islam,'" said Fouad. Fouad said preaching like that is not a part of what they do that the mosque is a place for the local Islamic community to gather, celebrate and teach to those who come to them, but not to go out and preach. "I said to him, this is not our work here," he said. Fouad said he gave Waise a few copies of the Quran before the man left and a short time later was arrested for making those threats. Fouad said he believes Waise likely has psychological issues, but he did not think that the man was a danger. "I am sure, no. According to what I see," he said. "All his goal, just preaching." However, Fouad said he urged Waise to be safe and not to bother people with his message, especially in the wake of the shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando. Fouad said the Islamic Society of Denton heavily condemns the attack and that violence of that kind has no place in their religion or any. "There is no religion for blood. Killing is killing, and blood is blood," he said. A representative for the FBI said they have been in contact with local police on the Waise situation, and Kizer said they continue to work with terrorism investigators as they evaluate the suspect's intentions. Bernie Sanders is ready to work with Hillary Clinton and her presidential campaign to "transform the Democratic party," he said in a video streamed Thursday night, billed as discussing "what's next for our campaign." He also made clear his political campaign, which he's described as a "political revolution," is aimed at defeating Donald Trump as much as it is about making the United States more progressive. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time," Sanders said. What Sanders did not do in the video, a transcript of which was posted as Sanders spoke, was drop out of the race for president, or at least not explicitly. He has not conceded the race or referred to Clinton as the likely nominee. But the two rivals met Tuesday night in a Washington, D.C., hotel along with advisers to discuss policy goals and future plans. "It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very important issues. But it's also true that our views are quite close on others," he said, adding that he looks forward to continued discussions to "make certain that your voices are heard." Clinton has already clinched the delegate commitment needed to be named the party's presumptive presidential nominee. She did not immediately release a response to Sanders' video. Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist" who positioned himself as a robust liberal alternative to Clinton, wasn't able to capitalize on momentum during the primary season and pull ahead of the former secretary of state during the long primary season, which ended Tuesday. Sanders has raised millions in small donations and drew enthusiastic crowds to his rallies. Under heavy pressure from Democrats to drop out, he vowed in recent months to stay in the race until the last primary, arguing he could sway superdelegates to his side. He has rejected criticism that he was potentially turning his supporters away from Clinton and said the debate his candidacy had sparked was good for the country and for the Democratic party. On June 9, President Obama endorsed Clinton, and Sanders' run entered what appears to be its final phase: influencing the future of the Democratic party and the future of the nation. Sanders outlined his agenda for the Democratic National Convention, to be held in Philadelphia in July. It includes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, ban banning the sale of assault weapoons, defeating the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He also provided a link to his web page with advice for how to run for president, so his followers can inject "new blood to the political process" and change the nation in a grassroots way. "My hope is that when future historians look back and describe how our country moved forward into reversing the drift toward oligarchy, and created a government which represents all the people and not just the few, that they will note that, to a significant degree, that effort began with the political revolution of 2016," Sanders concluded. The Associated Press contributed to this report. There was a sigh of relief at Dallas Police Headquarters Friday as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump left from Love Field to continue his Texas visit elsewhere. About half the city's force of 3,500 officers was involved with security for the visit and demonstrations in one way or another. "The officers did an exceptional job," Dallas Police Chief David Brown said. Before the visit began Thursday, Brown said Dallas commanders studied problems experienced in other cities where Trump's presence sparked violence. "We looked at what we could do better to make sure that that didn't happen in Dallas," Brown said. Working with the U.S. Secret Service, Trump's campaign staff and Dallas Fire-Rescue, Dallas police provided security for Trump motorcades, at a Preston Center hotel where Trump stayed, at The Highland Hotel on Central Expressway where Trump held a fundraiser and at Gilley's nightclub on South Lamar Street where a Trump rally and demonstrations were staged. Thousands of Trump supporters attended the rally and another thousand or so protesters and supporters demonstrated on Lamar Street. The Dallas strategy on Lamar was to keep Trump supporters and protesters apart as much as possible with a large force of officers ready to deal with confrontations. "If conflict did develop we would very quickly and swiftly deal with that conflict so it didn't grow," Brown said. "And we tried to express that early on, that we would make sure protesters had their right to freedom of expression, but did not injure people or destroy property." Several people were removed for disrupting the Trump rally which was held on private property. Police removed seven people from the demonstrations on the street. One person was arrested and a news photographer was injured. Dallas Fire-Rescue reported seven people were treated for heat-related injuries, and one was hospitalized. In all, Thursday night's events were far more peaceful than Trump visits in some other places. NBC 5 law enforcement expert Don Peritz said arrangements for the visit were planned on very short notice. Peritz visited the Lamar Street location to witness how things went. "Everyone should be proud," said Peritz. "This is a credit to Dallas as a whole not only to the public service agencies involved, the people who executed it but the citizens." Trump, himself, praised Dallas police several times during his Thursday night speech and many supporters attending the rally said they appreciated the police presence. Protest organizer Carlos Quintanilla also praised Dallas police but said demonstrators deserve credit, too. "I think the police did an excellent job and I also believe that both sides were on their best behavior. No one wanted to send the wrong message to America that the Trump supporters are violent or our supporters are violent. So everyone was behaving," Quintanilla said. Protest organizers Domingo Garcia and Peter Johnson also said they believe Dallas police and demonstrators displayed good cooperation. Chief Brown said past police outreach efforts with the community paid off in this situation. "The Dallas Police Department is committed, dedicated, professional," Brown said. Protest organizer Dominique Alexander criticized police communication with demonstrators. Alexander said improvements should be made in the future. Figures were not available Friday on how much money the city of Dallas spent providing services for the Trump events. Dallas-based AT&T is in the process of expanding access to its ultra-fast GigaPower Internet service in parts of southern Dallas. GigaPower is capable of Internet speeds up to one gigabit-per-second, which can allow for dramatically decreased download times for large files. Kiel Murray, of Dallas, is already the beneficiary of the service. Murray, an information security consultant, does not live in the citys southern sector; instead, Murray lives near the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Greenville Avenue on the east side of US 75. In addition to his work, which requires him to simultaneously connect to three networks from home, Murray takes online graduate courses from a major university which require him to download lectures. I would download these videos and it would take up to 30 minutes in order to download, Murray said about his previous Internet service. But in this case [with GigaPower] when I go to [download a lecture] and prepare for any of my trips, and I click Videos Download button here, it downloads in about 10 seconds. Actually, the download process took approximately six seconds when Murray showed NBC DFW how it worked. You know, Ive been doing this for three years with AT&T, and it still amazes me every time I see it, said Jeremy Settle, Director of AT&T GigaPower Market Execution. Settle told NBC DFW that AT&T has been investing in fiber service for 25 years, and that GigaPower is its biggest advancement to date. Its at the speed of light. A laser is going down glass, and making bends and turns all throughout the city and the world to do that, Settle said. Settle emphasized that GigaPower is already available to about 10,000 customers in southern Dallas, and that AT&T plans to double that availability within one year. That expansion cannot happen soon enough for Dale Smith. Absolutely, its essential to the essence of what we do, said Smith, CEO of Black Contemporary Television, a 24/7 online television network. Smith runs his network out of an office in Dallas Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center near Fair Park. Were excited, obviously. Were happy to hear that now this is going to be an option that we will be able to tap into, Smith said. The next thing that obviously comes to mind is when, where, how is the Martin Luther King Center going to benefit from it. During a recent visit, it took Smiths computer more than two minutes just to load and begin to play a video from his own website. If you are, say, a web design business, or some kind of 21st Century app developer, or something like that, youre not going to be interested [in setting up shop] down here because of the challenges to get high-speed Internet service, Smith said. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings praised AT&Ts recent announcement about the GigaPower extension. The core message of GrowSouth is that Southern Dallas is not a charity case, Rawlings said in a news release. It is an investment opportunity. GrowSouth is a Dallas initiative to extend development, education and business opportunities into the citys southern sector, an area long-overlooked for such investment. A Tarrant County grand jury has declined to indict a Fort Worth man involved in a counterfeit sneaker exchange in March. The case involving 23-year-old Ryan Perez ended with no charges Wednesday. Perez gave four pairs of Nike Air Jordans to an 18-year-old man in exchange for a pair of Yeezy Boost 350s, an Adidas shoe designed by rapper Kanye West that can be sold for hundreds of dollars. Perez said he believed the shoes to be counterfeit after further examination. He confronted the other trader and asked to swap the shoes back, which the man did. But the man filed a police report two days later saying he was robbed by Perez and felt threatened. Perez has filed a report accusing the other trader of selling counterfeit products and filing a false police report. Major traffic changes are in store this weekend for drivers passing through the Dallas mixmaster, where Interstate 35E and Interstate 30 cross paths. Beginning Friday night at 11 p.m., crews with the Dallas Horseshoe Project will begin work to shift the southbound I-35E lanes from the center two lanes to the far left two lanes. Here's what you need to know: Traffic heading eastbound on I-30 will move from the far left two lanes to the center two lanes. The lanes will essentially flip-flop positions. The Riverfront Boulevard exit will not move, but the signage will change. It currently reads 35E, but will change to 30 as the lanes shift. The Jefferson Boulevard exit will be closed during the work and will stay closed until the fall. The work comes as part of the $798 million renovation of the interchange, known as the Dallas Horseshoe. Work is scheduled for completion in summer 2017. Before work can be finished though, lanes have to be switched so crews can build additional lanes. "Pay attention, slow down and look for the new signage out there," said Dianne Tordillo, public information specialist for the project. "There will be several digital message boards as well as new road signage for the new exit." Exit changes won't just impact southbound I-35E traffic, but drivers heading east on I-30 on Saturday night will need to take extra care. "For folks coming eastbound I-30 from Arlington and Fort Worth, if they're wanting to head to downtown Dallas, they're also going to be shifted to the right," Tordillo said. Beginning 11 p.m. Saturday, the northbound I-35E exit will shift from the far left lanes to the far right lanes. And the exit for Beckley and on-ramp for Sylvan will also change. Project managers advise drivers to be aware of the changes and check out their website for detailed videos of the changes. NBC 7 has learned the motive for placing rocks below an underpass near downtown San Diego may have been to clear the area of homeless people before Padres games at Petco Park this season. NBC 7 obtained hundreds of emails between City of San Diego officials involved in the project, which show there was a push to install the rocks before the Padres 2016 Opening Day game. When that deadline could not be met, the focus turned to completing the project prior to the Padres All-Star Game coming up in July. The Padres deny being involved in the project and said that a now-former Petco Ballpark Administrator acted on his own behalf. The rocks were placed below the Interstate 5 overpass on Imperial Avenue in April. They have become the topic of heated controversy in the community. The area was known to be filled with tents or sleeping bags belonging to the homeless. Homeless advocates argued the rocks deterred people from sleeping below the underpass and were forcibly moving the homeless out of the area. Some residents said that it made the area safer for them to walk around. According to back and forth emails between city officials, the plan had been in the works since July 2015. The project also called for installing LED lights around Petco Park and along Imperial Avenue, putting up No Parking signs and painting the curbs red. Those involved in the initial plan were the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), city officials from Real Estate Assets and the Transportation & Storm Water Department. Caltrans approved the permit for the project by March of this year but did not approve the LED lights. In a statement, the City said the public wanted lights to be installed in the area to make it safer. City Councilmember David Alvarez for District 8 said his office was never notified of this project and no lights were ever installed. The unfortunate thing about this project is, while the rocks were installed, there were no lights. So what the community was actually asking for has not occurred, Alvarez said. Now, questions are being raised about special treatment and lack of community input for the project. It always takes a really long time to get anything done but it sure seems this project got pushed along quickly without any community input and thats whats really worrisome, Alvarez said. The San Diego Padres added they also wanted lights and No Parking signs. The team says they never requested rocks below the underpass and did not want to deter the homeless. Alvarez said the rocks send the wrong message from the city. NBC 7 spoke with the former Petco Ballpark Administrator on the phone Wednesday. He said he was not let go from City because of the project and that it was not an attack on the homeless. He also stated that he stands by the project because it was a way to beautify the area of Sherman Heights. The former employee told NBC 7 that the project is working and people now feel safer walking in that area. A scorching heat wave is headed for Southern California this weekend and early next week, prompting excessive heat watches and warnings as "dangerous" temperatures are possible for some areas. "It looks like it will be a very hot Father's Day, straight to the beginning of the week," said NBC4 meteorologist Shanna Mendiola. Temperatures are forecast to climb sharply starting Saturday. Monday will be the hottest day, with temperatures ranging between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. An excessive heat watch will be in effect in most of L.A. County on Monday. The blistering heat is a result from "an extremely strong area of high pressure'' over Arizona and New Mexico, the NWS said. While some relief is expected in coastal and valley areas Tuesday, sweltering heat will remain in the San Gabriel Mountains and the Santa Clarita Valley. For those trying to stay cool at the beach, a high surf advisory will be in effect until 9 p.m. Friday in along the coast in L.A. and Orange counties, where waves of 3 to 6 feet are expected. Forecasters warned of an elevated fire danger due to the high heat and humidity levels. The weather conditions are especially critical in Santa Barbara County, where a fire near Refugio State Beach has burned 4,000 acres. Southland residents were advised to schedule outdoor work only early in the morning or in the evening, and take precautions to avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Children, the elderly and pets were should also be closely monitored during the scorching heat. Power outages are likely during hot weather conditions, as electricity demands will be high. Residents are urged to turn thermostats to 78 degrees or higher. According to the LADWP, conservation is particularly essential from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a list of cooling centers and more hot weather tips, click here. Colorful chalk is a bit of a wonder. It's an easy-to-find art material that may be ably used by both kids and adults, and it isn't expensive, at least when compared with some tonier paints. And of timely importance? Chalk doesn't melt. That's a positive, seeing as how the annual Pasadena Chalk Festival, which is a Father's Day Weekend tradition 'round the Crown City, will unfurl during what is, without quibble, the hottest weekend thus far of 2016. But the amazing artworks, the ones that use cement as canvases? Those will stay intact even if the thermometer flirts with three-digit territory. And even hotter than what the mercury might say: The Pasadena Chalk Festival is free. Free, and a weekend-long affair, too, one that spreads out over a sizable chunk of Paseo Colorado. And while you could easily fill a morning gazing downward at the Impressionist-inspired, abstract-nifty, 3D-neato creations, there are lots of to-dos sprinkling the scene. Like? There's a Kids Chalkland, where tots may make cars for their pops. Animation Alley salutes cartoon-y creations, and a Police Car Show on Sunday, June 19 summons the auto buffs. Do note, as you make your way there, that the artists will be at work throughout the weekend, and pictures will be more fully fleshed out by Sunday afternoon (as compared to Saturday morning). Don't let that deter you from visiting on the first day, however. Watching how an artist outlines her project, and starts to shape her vision, can be quite compelling. Some umbrellas will be set up, surely, for artists to work beneath, and nearby restaurants and shops have shade, too, should you need it. Best pack your sun hat, though, and some sunblock, and your love for ephemeral, chalk-cool art that appears in a day or two and then disappears again nearly as fast. It's definitely an event from the "Seize the Day" files, which are fine files to visit as often as one can. Amid speculation he is on a list of possible vice presidential running mates for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday he is "not looking for a new job" and is focused on running for re-election. "I think it's probably one story of thousands we'll hear on things like this," Garcetti said on KNX Newsradio's "Ask the Mayor" program. "And I guess I'm a little old-fashioned. I'm not looking for a new job. I have a great one right now, and that's being mayor of the city. "But I've worked hard to make sure that we get a president who is going to be responsive to our cities so things we do whether it's rebuilding infrastructure, turning around education, solving our traffic, dealing with homelessness, keeping our cities safe that that is first and foremost on the agenda of the candidate I'm supporting, Hillary Clinton." Garcetti said he has not had any contact with the Clinton campaign about being vetted as a possible vice-presidential candidate. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that Garcetti's name is on a list of possible running mates for Clinton. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, is also on the list. Speculation about a Clinton running mate has focused primarily on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. The Wall Street Journal reported that other potential candidates being considered are Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey; and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. Garcetti said Clinton's campaign rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, also deserves consideration. "I really am not looking for a new job," the mayor told KNX. "I'm running for re-election in this city. And somebody once said, I think it was Bill Clinton once said the two best jobs in politics are president of the United States and mayor of a big city. I love doing things here in L.A., not having to move, being with my family and that's what I'm focused on." Bill Carrick, Garcetti's campaign strategist, confirmed that the mayor has not been in communication with the Clinton campaign on the vice president vetting process. "I don't know anything about this (other) than what you and I read in the Wall Street Journal," Carrick told City News Service. Carrick said he has "no idea where they (the Clinton campaign) are in the process we know nothing about it." "The mayor's running for re-election as mayor and doing his job as mayor," Carrick said. Garcetti, who endorsed Clinton last fall, has "campaigned vigorously for Secretary Clinton in the California primary and before that in Nevada and Arizona," according to Carrick. "He's a strong supporter of hers, and wants to do what he can to make sure she gets elected," Carrick said. Garcetti has introduced Clinton at rallies and other events, and participated in a Clinton campaign event focused on immigration reform. The business of the Olympics is big money. The politics, even bigger. Los Angeles is trying to prove to the world the city is ready to host the 2024 games. Paris may be LA's biggest competition. And now the French are playing a few games of their own. It appears there's a rooster in the henhouse. "I will call the police right now." NBC4 cameras caught members of the French Consulate scouting proposed Olympic venues at UCLA Thursday morning. They apparently wanted to see for themselves what LA is up to. NBC News confirmed they toured Pauley Pavilion. Then leaders from the Paris 2024 bid were supposed to join them. But after seeing NBC4 cameras ... "What are you doing?" said a French Consulate rep. And the rest of the tour was abruptly canceled. The LA24 committee was mystified by their unexpected visitors. "The Paris leaders' visit to our city today certainly comes as a surprise but we really have no objection to their visit," said Janet Evans, Olympian and LA24 bid committee member. NBC4 confirmed that the group from Paris was at USC Wednesday, taking pictures and video while investigating the Coliseum and several other venues. Evans said LA24 has nothing to worry about. "Our facilities that we would use if we're honored to host the 2024 Olympic Games are world class," she said. "They're amazing venues and when the world comes to Los Angeles in 2024 we'll be ready to host the world's best athletes." While it appears there is no rule violated by the French, on its website the International Olympic Committee states, "The cities must refrain from any act or comment likely to tarnish the image of a rival city or be prejudicial to it." So far, no further comment the French Consulate or the bid committee. Rainbow flag signs with "#ShootBack" written on them were found plastered across West Hollywood on Thursday morning, causing a stir among residents and condemnation from city leaders, less than a week after the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando. The flags, blending a snake symbol used by the Tea Party with the symbol for gay pride, were found all over the Southern California city Thursday morning, including in front of City Hall and one of the city's most popular gay bars, the Abbey. Crews worked all afternoon to remove the signs. City leaders say even though they're still angry about the Orlando massacre, they are against the message on the signs. "As we see them our Public Works Department is taking them down because we don't allow the posting of any sign on our trees or poles," City Councilman John Duran said. It's not known who posted the flags. Duran says the city is reeling over the Orlando massacre and the arrest of a suspect in Santa Monica headed to the LA Pride Parade with guns and explosives the same morning. "As a people, I think we're pretty accustomed to acts of hatred and violence and we've learned to work our way through it," he said. "We're still in shock and anger at this moment, the community that we literally dodged a bullet on Sunday possibly with the individual in Santa Monica." Some residents said their anger doesn't mean they, too, want to pick up a gun. "The idea of 'shoot back' is so playing into the hands of the NRA that I feel like everyone has turned Republican in this town, and that doesn't happen in this town," resident Lisa Beach said. The owner of the Abbey reacted to the flags with a statement saying, "the best way to shoot back is to enact serious change to our gun policy and urge a ban on assault weapons." Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more were injured in the shooting at Pulse in Orlando. Authorities are investigating the death of a woman and child whose bodies were found inside a burning car Thursday night at a park in the Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles. Deputies responded to reports of a car on fire at Athens Park, located in the 300 block of 124th Street about 9:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. When deputies arrived, they found an SUV fully engulfed in flames. Fire crews extinguished the fire and discovered the bodies of a woman and a small child, the sheriff's department said. Witnesses told authorities the woman was standing near the car with a child about 3 to 4 years old, and kept getting in and out of the car as it burned. At one point, the woman placed the child into the burning car and then climbed in, deputies said. People in the park yelled for her to get out of the car and attempted to get the child out but the flames were too intense. The woman and child were quickly overcome by flames and were pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives learned the car had been parked at the location for a while and said it appeared the woman and child were living in the car. It wasn't immediately known if the woman started the fire or if the flames were ignited due to a mechanical issue, Lt. John Corina with the Sheriff's Department said. Investigators were working to determine why the woman may have wanted to kill herself and the child, the sheriff's department stated. The woman and child have not yet been identified. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. What to Know Residents in both Miami-Dade and Broward County will be able to donate blood and other items to victims of the Orlando mass shooting. Blood drives have been set up in both counties on Friday. South Florida residents will get a chance Friday to give blood in an effort to continue support for those injured during the Orlando mass shooting Sunday. Those in Miami-Dade County can give blood at an event held by the Miami Police Department and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. The event is from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Miami Riverside Center located at 444 Southwest 2nd Avenue. In Broward County, the Florida Panthers will be joining the City of Sunrise and the Fire Chiefs Association of Broward County for their own blood drive at the BB&T Center from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. Food trucks will be on site and the Panthers are giving fans a 20 percent discount on items inside their fan store at the arena if they donate. Donations will also be accepted for the OneOrlando fund, set up by Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer to help nonprofit groups provide assistance to those victims. Both events in South Florida were put together in association with OneBlood, a nonprofit group that organizes blood drives across the country. Police are trying to figure out what happened at a popular Italian market after they made a gruesome discovery Wednesday night. An employee was found dead at Mimmo's Mozzarella located at 475 Northeast 123 Street in North Miami. According to Natalie Buissereth with North Miami Police, officers went inside and discovered an employee with a gunshot wound in the back of the store. "They're trying to figure out what happened, what exactly took place at Mimmo's," Buissereth said. Police said a person happened to be driving by Mimmo's Mozzarella Wednesday night when they noticed something was suspicious in the business; the door was left open after hours. When police arrived around 9 p.m. they found 29-year-old Jose Gonzalez lying dead on the ground. Officer Buissereth said Gonzalez suffered a gunshot wound and died from the injuries. The market owners were too distraught to comment, but were seen talking with investigators at their shop. They said Gonzalez was a wonderful employee from Venezuela and had been working at the market for a few months. Officer Buissereth added: "It is definitely a homicide. Right now, we're still baffled by a lot of things that took place so we just need help from our community. Anyone that saw anything no matter how insignificant." Police won't release whether anything was taken from the business, but a sign on the business says they will be closed until Monday. "This was an isolated incident," Buissereth said. "There was never a problem there, so this is really something that is just baffling us at this time." If you know anything about this case, call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. South Florida is offering its support to Orlando. The Freedom Tower in Miami lit up in rainbow colors in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. The president at Miami Dade College said students were emailing and demanding the college do something to bring the community together. Voices of love, hope and healing sang out in Downtown Miami Thursday as the Freedom Tower washed in the colors of the rainbow. Still reeling over the terror and hate that unfolded in Orlando over the weekend, those in attendance weren't shy about their fears. "I actually lost a friend of mine Sunday. It's hit close to home and I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from this nightmare," one attendee said. "It's a scary time but I wanted to come out to show my support because we can't be afraid of what could happen," another added. MDC teamed up with local legislators and faithful leaders to remember those lost, and open up communication about what can be done in the aftermath. "Let's talk about what we can do to support the LGBT community, by giving blood or money or time or talent, to make sure our communities are full of equality, oneness and understanding," said Pastor Benjamin Evans III with the Just Love Center. A much louder crowed marched through Wilton Manors calling for unity in the face of tragedy. They shouted for equal rights and respect for all religions and sexual orientations. Candles flickered as the names of the 49 people killed were read one by one. They were students, professionals, mothers and fathers, all taken at Pulse nightclub. Despite the pain, attendees were urged to focus on love, not hate. A central Florida man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that 43-year-old Thomas Anthony Prins was sentenced Wednesday. He was convicted last week of first-degree murder. Authorities say Prins had been boating with his girlfriend, 28-year-old Crystal Pifer, on the Halifax River in Port Orange last August when the two began to argue. Prins strangled Pifer and dumped her in the water, where her body was found the next day. Miami Police detectives are looking to identify two men who were caught on camera robbing a local pizza restaurant. It happened just before 11 p.m. on June 15 at the Domino's Pizza located at 1575 Southwest 8th Street in Miami. According to police, two armed suspects entered the store, pulled out semi-automatic pistols and demanded money from the employees. Police said as both suspects were emptying the register, one of them stayed in the front of the restaurant and demanded the cellphones of the employees. The second suspect went to the back office and approached two more employees who were counting money. The suspect then demanded the money and pistol-whipped one of the employees twice in the head. The victim fell to the ground, a suspect dragged him out of the office and then took his cellphone. Police said the suspects demanded the employees to open the safe, but they were unsuccessful. At that moment, a customer walked into the restaurant and the suspects pointed their guns at him and yelled, "This is a robbery." The customer was able to run away. The suspects then fled the store in an unknown vehicle. Both men are described as black males, 20-30 years of age and 160-180 pounds. One was wearing a grey hoodie, blue pants and his hand was wrapped in a bandage. The other was wearing a multi-colored beanie hat and jeans. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS. There has been a lot of support from people all over the country for the victims in Orlando, touched by the tragedy, visiting the area to pay their respects. There are now 49 crosses that contain each of the victims' names killed in the nightclub shooting. "It's a monumental effort to do this," one visitor to the memorial said. But 65-year-old Greg Zanis, who is about to retire, said it's worth it, "I'm here to hope to change the message and my new message is love your neighbor, love your brother." Zanis came from the Midwest to central Florida, "This is a man coming from Chicago to show I love my brother. I love my neighbor." 49 crosses: One for each soul lost at Pulse nightclub when an enraged gunman opened fire. "I started Sunday right after church and I worked until midnight. So that was a short day. Just building," Zanis said. He found a spot at Orlando Health, and in the blistering heat, grabbed each one off his small pickup and started setting them down, one by one. There is a red heart attached to each, with markers at the base for the community to share their sorrow and support. "We're made in the image of God and when you see somebody dead like that it just changes. It's like how can somebody do this to these people? How much hate was in this guy's heart? I understand he went and shot them again," Zanis said. This is personal for Zanis. He said his father was murdered and shot in the head. "There's a lot of controversy nationally about what's going on here. People are going to change the gun laws. You're not gonna change somebody's heart until you love your neighbors," he said. Later in the day Thursday, volunteers went out to the memorial and placed photos of the victims by each cross. State prosecutors want to hire a psychiatric expert to evaluate the South Carolina mother who drove her minivan into the surf off a Florida beach with her children inside. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports a hearing that began June 8 on the state's motion to revoke Ebony Wilkerson's conditional release and send her back to a state hospital has been delayed while prosecutors seek the expert evaluation. The motion says Wilkerson's defense lawyers aren't opposing the evaluation. Wilkerson, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was pregnant when she drove the van into the Atlantic Ocean on March 4, 2014. Beachgoers helped rescue her three young children. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered to a state hospital. Officials say she stopped taking her medication and had a psychotic episode in May. A Massachusetts native who survived the Orlando nightclub shooting took his first steps Friday since getting shot in the leg in the June tragedy that claimed 49 lives. Angel Colon, of Framingham, posted a video to his Facebook page, showing the 26-year-old taking his first steps "all by myself." [[390070771, C]] "Ahhhh Took my first Steps all by Myself!!!!!! SO HAPPY!!! #OrlandoStrong #AngelStrong #LoveIsLove," he wrote. Colon was critically injured when the gunman, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, opened fire at the gay nightclub Pulse near downtown Orlando on June 12. Mateen, who died in a shootout with police pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group during a call with police dispatchers during a three-hour standoff. The massacre is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. [[383392001, C]] Hillary Clinton on Thursday won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, giving her a powerful voter turnout engine against Donald Trump. The Republican businessman swiftly accused labor leaders of selling out members to a candidate he said was aligned with Wall Street. The exchange underscored Trump's efforts to win over blue-collar workers who typically support Democrats, especially those in Midwest battleground states whose wages have stagnated and have been hurt by a decline in manufacturing jobs. The AFL-CIO's general board voted to endorse Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a move that had been expected after Clinton secured enough support among delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. "Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. "Throughout the campaign, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice." A short time later, Trump fired back with a statement that said the endorsement was a sign the union federation "no longer represents American workers." "Instead," he added, "they have become part of the rigged system in Washington, D.C., that benefits only the insiders." For months, Trump has denounced "stupid" trade deals that he says hurt U.S. workers and pledged to penalize companies for sending jobs overseas. For that reason, he predicted Thursday, the AFL-CIO's members would vote for him "in much larger numbers than" Clinton in November's general election. Trump's statement included a number of falsehoods the billionaire businessman has repeated in recent weeks as he seeks to draw a contrast with Clinton. Among them was the incorrect allegation that Clinton's immigration proposals would "completely open America's borders in her first 100 days in office." Trump also said that if elected, Clinton would implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. While Clinton promoted the agreement dozens of times as secretary of state, she has since said she cannot support the deal in its current form. She has said she backs trade deals only if they fulfill a three-pronged test of creating "good" jobs, raising wages and improving national security. Trump also misleadingly claimed that as secretary of state, Clinton "racked up a $1 trillion trade deficit with China." In her role as the nation's top diplomat, Clinton had no direct control over the difference in the cost of U.S. imports from China versus its exports to the nation. Trump issued a second statement later Thursday afternoon blaming "Clinton's global trade policies" for the fact that the "nation's current account trade deficit hit its highest mark in 7 years." He was referring to a report from the Commerce Department Thursday saying that the current account trade deficit jumped 9.9 percent in the first quarter to $124.7 billion its highest level in more than seven years. He also repeated his false claim that Clinton supports the TPP, saying "there is no doubt she would enact it if given the chance yet more betrayal of union voters whose jobs would vanish as a result of this deal." Clinton has won the endorsements of many of the AFL-CIO's largest unions in the past year, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers, paving the way for the AFL-CIO to back her campaign. The labor federation represents 12.5 million members and is a potent force in Democratic politics and voter turnout. Union leaders have been gearing up for a general election showdown against Trump, whom they portray as a threat to working families even though he fared well among blue-collar voters during the GOP primaries. "This election offers a stark choice between an unstoppable champion for working families and an unstable charlatan who made his fortune scamming them," said Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME and the chair of the AFL-CIO political committee. A New Jersey couple faces more than 550 counts of animal cruelty after 276 small dogs were rescued earlier this month from what one official described as "the worst hoarding situation" they had seen in Monmouth County. Charlene and Joseph Handrik, of Howell Township, were charged Friday with 276 counts of animal cruelty for providing inhumane living conditions to the animals and another 276 counts for failing to provide their dogs proper care. All of the charges are disorderly persons offenses. Ross Licitra, interim president, chief executive officer and chief law enforcement officer at the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said his group and prosecutors opted for disorderly persons animal cruelty charges rather than indictable counts because the dogs rescued from the couple's home were in relatively good health despite the deplorable conditions and neglect. The house raised suspicions from an Associated Humane Society official as he investigated a report of a dog on the loose by Bennett Road in Howell on June 2, authorities said. He was knocking on doors in the area when he came across the home, where a foul odor was emanating. No one answered the door there, but he heard dogs barking inside and notified SPCA. Officers responded and investigated, then launched the rescue operation the next day. Inside the home, officers found hundreds of Chihuahuas, Yorkies, pugs and mixed-breed dogs inside. Many were sitting on bookshelves. One shelf was specially built near the ceiling of the living room, "like a hamster cage for dogs," according to Tierney Park, a Monmouth Sheriff's deputy. "They have steps that go up to the shelf and there were dogs looking down and barking." There were others living under beds and even between walls. Many appeared petrified as they were brought out, having never been exposed to the outdoors. The Handriks declined to speak with NBC 4 New York outside their home after the dogs were rescued. Additional charges are expected to be filed against them, including charges for not properly licensing and vaccinating their animals. Information on attorneys for them wasn't immediately available. More than 40 of the dogs rescued from the Handricks' home were adopted from a New Jersey animal shelter last weekend. Some dogs are still in foster care, and some mother dogs are currently caring for their babies. About 25 of the dogs taken from the home were pregnant. Rapper Fetty Wap says he's sorry for making a music video that landed a New Jersey school administrator in hot water. After the rapper released the video for his latest single "Wake Up," the Paterson school district put the Eastside High School principal of operations, Zatiti Moody, on administrative leave with pay as it investigated how the video was allowed to be shot at the school. Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, attended the school before dropping out. "I came today to apologize," he said before the Paterson school board of education Wednesday night, an hour before the board meeting started. He left quickly, but stopped to sign autographs in the school hallway, The Paterson Press reported. More than 100 other students, parents and community members turned up in support of Moody. "Paterson has bigger things to worry about than a music video," said parent Terri Holness, according to The Paterson Press. The song "Wake Up" is a stoner's anthem with lyrics like, "I ain't really trippin' over school / Let's get Wiz Khalifa high and / Get meditated, over medicated." It's not clear when the video was shot, but the school district said it happened during non-instructional hours. The video shows Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, rapping near trophy cases and lockers inside the halls of the school, at times with young people whizzing by on skateboards. It also features images of people drinking out of "40 Wap" malt liquor bottles, smoking out of makeshift apple bongs, and a stripper dancing on a pole in the classroom. No student participated in the taping of the video. The 24-year-old rapper said in an earlier statement released by his publicist, "I went back to my old high school because I love my city. I wanted to show the students of Paterson that someone who walked those same hallways they walk everyday and sat in the same classrooms shown in the video has become successful. If I can do it, they can do it, too." The New York State Senate unanimously approved a measure Wednesday to decriminalize most folding knives. The bill, which has already been approved in the state Assembly, is intended to stop police departments from arresting thousands of New Yorkers who carry folding knives they use for work. It passed by a vote of 61-0. Last year, the I-Team revealed how the NYPD has arrested tens of thousands of people for illegal "gravity knives." But most of those cases never end up with weapons convictions. Instead, the cases are often dismissed or pleaded down to non-criminal offenses. Currently, the criminal code says any blade that can be deployed with the use of gravity or centrifugal force is considered illegal. But critics say the current wording of the law allows for a police officer to declare virtually any blade illegal if the officer has the physical skill to open it with the flick of a wrist. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has opposed the bill to decriminalize folding knives on the grounds that it could endanger police officers and the public if more people feel free to carry blades. Rather than legalizing folding knives, Vance has suggested adding language to the law that would allow legitimate craftspeople to obtain a license to carry the blades. The knife reform bill now goes to the desk of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 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. What to Know Two people were hit by trains minutes apart at 14th Street subway stations in the West Village, police said. A woman fell onto tracks and was hit after she fainted, according to witnesses. She was fighting for her life Friday morning. Minutes later and just a block away, a man fell onto tracks and was hit. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition. A woman is fighting for her life and a man is in a hospital after they fell on tracks and were hit by subway trains around the same time in the West Village, police said. Witnesses say the 36-year-old woman fainted around 9:20 p.m. Thursday as she was on the platform of the 14th Street station at Seventh Avenue in the West Village. After fainting, she fell on the subway tracks. Its unclear how long she was on the tracks, but at some point she was hit by a southbound 3 train, according to police. She was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where both of her legs were amputated. Her condition wasnt immediately known, but police said she was fighting for her life. A man fell on the tracks around the same time at the 14th Street station at Eighth Avenue, according to witnesses and police. The 23-year-old man was on a northbound E platform when he fell. He tried to get back to the platform but was hit by an E train, police said. The man's leg was wedged between the train and the platform. Emergency responders freed him and took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Chilling cellphone video shows terrified club-goers huddled for protection inside a bathroom at the Orlando nightclub where a gunman opened fire over the weekend. The video was provided to NBC 4 New York by a survivor who was physically unharmed but emotionally traumatized and gives an unprecedented look at the terrifying moments when gunman Omar Mateen opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring scores more. A woman grasps a man in her arms, sobbing. Another man stands next to her, trying to calm her, saying "shhh," as the rest of the group huddles in petrified silence. The gunman fires shot after shot. Outside Pulse, another video obtained by NBC 4 New York shows the police response as dozens of officers race to the club. When officers arrive, a gunfight breaks out, and people are rushed outside. The parking lot next to Pulse is full of the wounded and the scared. They cry and wail, confused. A man is heard speaking frantically in Spanish on his cellphone: "A lot of gunshots here in the nightclub. They're killing us. A lot of gunshots. Help me, please. Call the police." That cellphone was shattered in the chaos at the club, the cries for help punctuated by the methodical sound of gunfire. Police in SWAT gear move forward, carrying a ladder to get a better view from a nearby roof. The two club patrons who provided the video to NBC 4 New York said the officers walked them through, explaining they would hear explosions, not to be afraid, and that they want to get inside to Mateen and put an end to the killings. A local high school student who overcame great odds is about to pusue his passion at a prestigious Manhattan school. Josue Nunez was seven years old when he first sat down at a piano. He played by ear, and by age 10, he was playing to crowds. Now, at 18, the prodigy is a performer. His fingers dance through Mozart and Beethoven, precise but powerful. "I see myself playing to a lot of people, becoming a successful pianist," he says. It wasn't easy at first. Nunez and his family arrived in New York from the Dominican Republic four years ago. He couldn't practice for months, and as he searched for a place to play, his family looked for a home and work. For months, they dealt with rejection borne out of a barrier most immigrants know well: language. "He didn't speak English but two or three words," said Marc Ponthus, Nunez's piano instructor at Third Street Music School Settlement, where he's now been playing the last four years. At least they could relate to the music. "He connected very fast -- all on work, determination and in talent, of course," said Ponthus. Nunez quickly became a fan favorite at Third Street, according to executive director Valerie Lewis. "When the community hears he's playing, they show up to experience it," said Lewis. After his long journey to practice in the U.S., Nunez starts at the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship. "I felt like it was a challenge, and I completed it," he said. Authorities searched through the home of a Pennsylvania man accused of sexually assaulting a teenager whose parents allegedly gave her to him when she was 14 because he helped them financially. She was one of a dozen girls living in the residence. Neighbors are opening up after police found 12 girls aged 6 months to 18 years old living secretly in a Bucks County Mans Home. NBC10s Aundrea Cline-Thomas talked to the woman who made the tip call that brought officials to the home. Officials in Bucks County acting on a tip Thursday found Lee Kaplan, 51, at his Feasterville home, along with 12 girls ranging in age from six months to 18 years, police said. One girl, now 18, told police that she and Kaplan have a 3-year-old child and a six-month-old child, according to investigators. UPDATE: What did authorities do about neighbor's warnings of something wrong at Kaplan's home? "This child gave birth to two other children through an inappropriate relationship," Lower Southampton Police Lt. John Krimmel said. Kaplan faces charges including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and aggravated indecent assault. When police entered Kaplan's home Thursday, "all the children were running around," Lt. Krimmel said. "Some were hiding. They were well-behaved, but scared." Krimmel said officials are trying to verify who the parents of the other children found at the home are. The teenager's parents told police the other nine girls in the house were their children, but no birth certificates or Social Security cards could be located to confirm that, officials said. "They purport to be the parents of all the children, but I don't know if we believe them," Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said. Heckler said he could not say how long the children had been at Kaplan's house.[[238427591, C]] "It will be until into next week before I can stand in front of cameras and say X, Y, Z happened," Heckler said. "We have miles to go." Lower Southampton police said they did not find any identifying documents for any of the girls. "We are still investigating that. Bucks County is investigating that along with other agencies to help identify their genealogy and who their parents actually are," Krimmel said. On Saturday, police and dogs scoured the home's backyard for evidence after officials obtained a search warrant. Krimmel said authorities waited until dawn so they would be able to search the property in daylight. "We have a search warrant for the entire property," he said. "There are dogs searching for evidence." Twelve girls are in protective custody after an anonymous tip led to a disturbing discovery inside a Bucks County home. Police say the homeowner was abusing at least one of the girls, and are investigating whether or not the other girls are victims, too. According to an affidavit, the girl's father told an officer he gave his daughter, who was 14 at the time, to Kaplan after he helped the family out of financial ruin. The father allegedly admitted he gave Kaplan his daughter after researching the legality of such an action online. The father is charged with conspiracy of statutory sexual assault and child endangerment. His wife is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The parents, who live in Lancaster County, as well as Kaplan, are all in custody on $1 million bail, police said. It is unclear if any of them have attorneys. NBC10.com is not identifying the parents to protect the identity of the young girls. PHOTOS: 12 Girls Found in Feasterville Home Kaplan, 51, lives in the 400 block of Old Street Road in Feasterville, where he and the children were found, according to the complaint. He bought the home, which was built in 1926, back in 1988 according to county real estate records. Neighbor Jen Bets said she made the tip call to authorities, bringing them to the home. "It's never the wrong time to do the right thing," Bets told NBC10's Christian Cazares. "There were signs."[[383468571, C]] "(She was) too young to be the wife, too old to be holding his hand," Bets said. She would often see Kaplan walking down the street with girls, holding hands with one of them. "It took too long," Bets said of response to the home, which she said she had spoken with neighbors and police in the past about. "I just want them to get help and get back and be happy. They're so sad and fearful every time I see them. That's what made me call." Robert Hoopes, the Director of Public Safety for Lower Southampton Township, told NBC10 police received several calls over the years about the house from concerned neighbors yet none of them suggested child abuse. "We didn't get the child abuse calls," he said. "If it was a child abuse call we would've responded naturally." The police complaint said Kaplan "had told other neighbors that no children live there." But one nearby resident, Denise Horst, said she saw the girls often. "I've ridden by this house (and) I've seen young girls, various ages of children, dressed mostly in Amish clothing," Horst said. "Often afraid, like they would once he'd come out of the house, the male would come out, they'd go running into the house." She said she also saw one of the young girls pregnant. "I was wondering what was going on," Horst said. "It looked like these girls were scared." Police say they found homework and instruments in the basement of the home, suggesting that the children were home schooled. Heckler said the children apparently did not attend school and it was unclear if they had ever been to a doctor, but they didn't appear to be in bad health and showed no visible signs of trauma. "They were living down in the basement," said Hoopes. "They were hiding in the chicken coop. In the basement there's an elaborate train set up. By elaborate I mean tens of thousands of dollars worth of trains on platforms." NBC10 discovered that Kaplan made thousands of dollars selling model trains through an eBay business he ran out of his home called "The Brass Caboose." Authorities say cases of canned food, a chicken coop, garden and a green house at the property also suggested a self-sufficient lifestyle not uncommon to the Amish. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the 18-year-old girl's parents were born into the Amish faith, but renounced it amid a long fight with community elders, according to a federal lawsuit they filed in 2009 against their former church. The lawsuit, which was dismissed later that year, said they operated a metalworking business on their property. Kaplan and the girl's parents are due in court on June 28th. All 12 of the children are together in protective custody, according to Heckler. The Republican-led House on Thursday narrowly defeated an attempt to bar young immigrants living in the country illegally to enlist in the armed forces, as opponents tied the measure to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Lawmakers voted 211-210 to reject an amendment by Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., to the annual defense spending bill. He said he wanted to close what he called a "backdoor amnesty program" created by President Barack Obama without approval from Congress. But Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., linked Gosar's amendment to Trump's characterizations of immigrants and the candidate's proposals to deport those illegally in the United States. Trump also wants to build a wall along the Mexican border. "We shouldn't let anti-immigrant, partisan posturing stand in the way of our military recruitment goals," Gallego, a former Marine who served in Iraq, said. "Our armed forces need the best and brightest soldiers, Marines and airmen they can get, and these young people want nothing more than to serve the country they call home." The potential recruits were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. They are protected from deportation under the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. They also receive temporary work permits, renewable every two years as long as they meet certain requirements. Federal officials have said the program is not a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship. The Pentagon announced nearly two years ago that DACA beneficiaries would be allowed to enlist in a trial program that had been open only to legal immigrants who had unique language, medical and cultural skills. Gallego said weeks ago the House Armed Services Committee approved a compromise that affirmed the secretary of defense's authority to allow any immigrant to enlist, including DACA beneficiaries, if it's determined to be in the national interest. Gosar said the Pentagon told him that 141 DACA immigrants have used that path to join the military. But the program was never supposed "to be utilized for the benefit of illegal aliens," according to Gosar, who said they can be granted citizenship if they are deployed to a combat zone for at least one day. He said his amendment would have returned the program to its original intent. "The president has relentlessly amended immigration law by executive fiat and executive edict. And this is another time," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, a frequent critic of the Obama administration's immigration policies who supported Gosar's proposal. A separate but similar amendment to Gosar's by King would have blocked the Pentagon from using any money to enlist DACA beneficiaries. It failed on a vote of 214-207. Gallego also opposed King's amendment. "Your patriotism is more important than your papers," he said. Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, held a rally in Dallas Thursday night after hosting an invitation-only fundraiser earlier in the evening. About 3,000 people were in attendance for the rally at Gilley's South Side Ballroom, which was held on the one-year anniversary of his presidential campaign launch. Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed supporters at a campaign event at Gilleys South Side Ballroom on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Trump spent much of the rally recounting his victories during his party's hard-fought primary, offering a state-by-state recap. "This is the one-year anniversary, and hopefully we're going to make it a worthwhile year," he said. Donald Trump spoke in Dallas exactly one year after beginning his presidential campaign. His speech Thursday largely looked back at his successful primary year. Trump did not mention by name one of his former rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who won the Texas primary handily and has yet to endorse Trump. Still, Trump promised a Texas-sized victory in November. "We're going to win Texas so big, we're going to win Texas so big," he said. Trump Rally in Dallas A former Cruz supporter, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, was among those who spoke at the rally. "I endorse the man, Donald Trump. I endorse what he stands for and to make America great again!" Burgess said. Raw video shows protesters and police outside Gilleys Southside Ballroom where presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Thursday, June 16, 2016. Trump joked about riding a mechanical bull at the rally but seemed a little confused by the concept. "I read about this place," Trump told the crowd. "Where's that horse?" He appeared to be referring to the venue's mechanical bull. The original Gilley's and its bull were featured prominently in the 1980 movie "Urban Cowboy." Trump predicted his ride would be a smash in the news. "Hey, you want to hit the papers tomorrow? Let's get that horse. I'll ride that horse," said Trump. "The problem is, even if I make it, they'll say I fell off the horse and it was terrible." Thousands of Donald Trump supporters arrived to cheer on their candidate at Gilleys South Side Ballroom in Dallas. Trump was also inspired by a protester's cowboy hat and suggested selling a "Make America Great Again" version. Trump told the crowd he expects winning the general election against likely rival Hillary Clinton in November to be more difficult than the primary because of what he perceived to be a dishonest press. "You know, it's funny. I didn't love the press during the primaries, but now it's, like, brutal," Trump said. During his speech at Gilleys South Side Ballroom on Thursday, presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump mentioned NBC 5s coverage of his campaign. As the rally ended supporters from inside the venue began to mix with protesters who were gathered outside on South Lamar Street. Dozens of police officers, both on foot and on horseback, formed a line and guided the crowds away from Gilley's and into Downtown Dallas, where they dispersed. Dallas police worked to keep the peace as protesters mixed with supporters outside the Donald Trump rally at Gilleys South Side Ballroom. A Dallas Advocate photojournalist was treated for a head injury after he was struck by a rock thrown from the crowd. NOW: Photographer for Dallas Advocate magazine hit in face with rock. Ambulance on way. #TrumpInTX @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/cvoqY2yzUT ScottGordonNBC5 (@ScottGordonNBC5) June 17, 2016 Dallas police reported one arrest for disorderly conduct, and there were seven other people removed from the Trump rally while the candidate spoke. In all, about 1,500 to 1,800 police officers worked during the Trump visit, either helping block and direct traffic along the motorcade route, or at the rally site. Raw video shows how Dallas police handled removing Trump supporters from a crowd of protesters outside Gilleys after the presumptive Republican presidential candidates spoke at a Rally Thursday, June 16, 2016. (WARNING: Possible foul language) Seven people were treated for heat-related illness, Dallas Fire-Rescue reported, with one person transported to a hospital. The temperature Thursday reached the mid-90s, with a heat index above 100 degrees. After the rally, Trump's motorcade returned to the Hilton Dallas/Park Cities off Northwest Highway and the Dallas North Turnpike, where the candidate was expected to stay the night before traveling to Houston on Friday for a campaign event in The Woodlands. Protesters gathered Thursday outside Gilleys South Side Ballroom in Dallas, where Donald Trump was due to hold a political rally. Fundraiser for Trump Prior to the rally at the South Side Ballroom, Trump attended a fundraiser at The Highland Hotel, at Mockingbird Lane and U.S. Highway 75. Tickets ranged from $500 to $250,000, and organizers remained tight-lipped about the guest list and wouldn't say how many people were in attendance. The email invitation urged North Texas Republicans to come together and unite as a party to support Trump as the presumptive nominee so they can take back the White House in November. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attended a private fundraiser with Dallas County donors prior to Thursdays rally in Dallas. Dallas Police Prepare to Keep the Peace During Trump Rally The South Side Ballroom, which is across the street from Dallas police headquarters, holds fewer than 4,000 people. Trump's rally at the American Airlines Center in Dallas last September drew more than 15,000 inside and several thousand protesters outside. Dallas police have hundreds of officers are working security for Donald Trumps rally. In anticipation of large crowds converging at the smaller venue, Dallas police closed several blocks of South Lamar Street, from Cadiz Street to Belleview Street, beginning at 2 p.m. Due to the recent history of clashes taking place at Trump rallies, the Dallas Police Department used Wednesday afternoon to practice crowd control and techniques in riot gear at Fair Park. Ahead of Donald Trumps rally in Dallas Thursday, the Dallas Police Department practiced crowd control techniques in Fair Park Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Dozens of State Department employees have signed an internal document that calls for airstrikes against the government of Syria's President Bashar Assad, a position that's in contrast with the White House policy, NBC News reported. The "dissent channel cable" was signed by 51 State Department officers who have been involved with U.S.-Syria policy, an official familiar with the memo told The Wall Street Journal. The document repeatedly called for "targeted military strikes" against Assad, who has been fighting rebels and ISIS for over five years, the newspaper reported. Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told Reuters the dissent channel cables are not unusual but the number of signatures on this latest document is very large. A JetBlue flight crew helped a grieving woman who was traveling to be with family after losing her 20-year-old grandson in the Orlando massacre, NBC News reported. As they were taking beverage orders, two flight attendants passed around a piece of paper to the other passengers, asking them for signatures to cheer the woman up on the plane ride. But passengers began writing paragraphs, filling up pages. Once the flight ended, the crew held a moment of silence in memory of her grandson, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. Passengers, on their way out of the plane, gave condolences to the grandmother and stopped to talk to her. Flight attendant Kelly Davis Karas, from Maine, wrote about the experience on a Facebook post, which has since gone viral. She said she wanted to share her story so that people could know that even after such unspeakable evil, there can be good. Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday he plans to fight lawmakers who approved a measure to block administrative changes to streamline the gun permit process for residents. Christie, a Republican, said Democratic lawmakers were exploiting the tragic shooting in Florida on Sunday and that he intends to block their efforts to undo regulations designed to make it easier for residents to obtain a firearm. "They're wrong, and we'll fight them," Christie said. Christie's comments came at a statehouse news conference after the Democrat-led Assembly voted on Thursday to declare that regulatory changes Christie unveiled in April don't comply with legislative intent. The resolution comes just days after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and injured dozens of others. Lawmakers say the last thing New Jersey should do is put more guns in residents' hands. "In the wake of repeated incidents of mass violence involving firearms, the last thing we ought to do is increase the proliferation of firearms," Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald said. Christie didn't immediately comment on the Assembly vote. He announced regulatory changes and new guidelines in April, a little over three months after the New Jersey Firearm Purchase and Permitting Study Commission, which he created, issued the recommendations. The changes included an update to the "justifiable need" standard required under the state's strict gun laws. They added "serious threats" to the list of circumstances that could show danger to a permit applicant's life. Other changes included expanding the list of places gun owners transporting their weapons may stop and a directive from the attorney general requiring licensing authorities to follow the state's 30-day deadline for processing. The panel was created after Berlin resident Carol Bowne, whose firearm permit application was delayed beyond the statutory limit, was stabbed to death last June by an ex-boyfriend, who later killed himself. Christie created the panel by executive order that month before launching his presidential campaign, which he later quit after a poor finish in the New Hampshire primary. The regulatory changes and administrative guidelines meant Christie was going around the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which has favored stricter gun legislation. Thursday's resolution will now go to the desks of Christie and the state police superintendent. The administration will have 30 days to amend or withdraw the regulations. If it doesn't then the Legislature may block the adoption of the regulation by holding a hearing and approving another resolution after 20 more days. A San Diego bouncer working at a Downtown nightclub helped rescue three people trapped inside an overturned minivan early Friday morning. The crash happened at 5th and Broadway around 1 a.m. Friday when a car ran a red light. Two cars initially crashed into each other at the intersection, San Diego Police (SDPD) said, then a third car got involved. It is unclear which can ran the red light, police say, though the investigation is ongoing. The minivan landed on its side, trapping three people inside. A bouncer rushed to the rescue, helping pull the people out. The people were transported with minor to moderate injuries, police said. Police are investigating whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash. No other information was immediately available. As San Diegos craft beer industry continues to thrive, a new program is helping local microbreweries tap into the business without risking it all. Developer H.G. Fenton Companys Brewery Igniter Program is helping San Diego brewers realize their dreams of opening their own facilities and tasting rooms in communities that appreciate the craft culture. The program leases small suites known as turnkey breweries that come fully equipped with everything needed to launch a brewing business: from barrel systems and a keg washer, to a bar and beer tasting area. The program is designed to give small brewers the chance to go into business quickly and invest less capital upfront as they get their brewery up and running. Basically, its a collection of turnkey breweries for rent, H.G. Fenton portfolio manager Bill Hooper told NBC 7. Our target customer is not the hobbyist, but someone who is an experienced brewer, who wants to start a craft brew business. Brewery Igniters first two brewhouses Pure Project and Amplified Ale Works opened this year in Miramar, side-by-side at 9030 Kenamar Dr. Pure Project debuted in late January, bringing its Costa Rica-inspired vibe and unique tap list to the community known by brew enthusiasts as Beeramar. Co-founder Mat Robar said when he and his business partners heard about the Brewery Igniter Program, they jumped at the chance to open their own tasting room in San Diego. The Brewery Igniter Program really allowed us to quickly move into this space and quickly be up and running, as opposed to the traditional route, which may take a year to order and get your equipment, several months to get your permitting and work through all the contractors yourself and that type of stuff, Robar told NBC 7. It really eliminated a lot of those headaches and roadblocks that may be preventing a lot of other breweries from opening up. It allowed us to get up and running in about six months, give or take, he explained. Rock-influenced Amplified Ale Works opened its Miramar tasting room in May. This is the brewerys second location. The original Amplified Ale Works is in Pacific Beach but co-founder Alex Pierson said the brewery needed to expand in order to be able to meet the growing demands of customers. Weve had our location in Pacific Beach for four years now and just hadnt been able to meet the existing demand that weve had, Pierson explained. To be able to come in here and do some production brewing has been great. Within a month of operating in Miramar, Pierson said Amplified has really ramped up production, quadrupling the amount of beer they were able to produce when they only operated from the Pacific Beach site. This includes more batches of Amplifieds best-selling brew, Electrocution IPA, the classic San Diego Westcoast-style IPA of which the brewery just cant seem to make enough. That was one of the key selling points for the Brewery Igniter Program for me, was the opportunity to grow and meet the existing demand that we already have in Pacific Beach, without overextending ourselves and trying to grow too fast in an industry where everyone is moving at a very rapid pace, Pierson told NBC 7. Amplified's Miramar location offers more than 12 house beers on tap. With this facility and more resources, Pierson said he expects even more growth for his company. With 128 breweries now operating in San Diego, the Brewery Igniter Program is quickly gaining buzz. Claudia Faulk, CFO Partner at Aztec Brewing Co. and a member of the San Diego Brewers Guild board of directors, said she wishes the program had existed when her brewery was first coming up. I think it gives people an opportunity to jump right in and not have to be as stressed about not having equipment. You dont always know how to set things up; this is already set up and you can see how things work and when you make the next step, youre not going to make as many mistakes, said Faulk. I know when we started, we didnt know what we were doing, she added, saying that opening a microbrewery is much harder than it looks. Theres a lot of paperwork and a lot of steps the build out. You have to figure out how big you want to be and then its like, How much money do I have? because that determines how big. And then its What did you forget? because everything costs more than you think it will, Faulk explained. Brewery Igniter will hop to North Park next, with plans to open three turnkey breweries in the heart of San Diegos craft beer scene. Each of those 2,000-square-foot spaces will include a 10-barrel brewhouse, tap room and other equipment to start a beer business. H.G. Fenton Company is still sifting through potential tenants to fill those suites, which will all be housed in the same building, making it easy for patrons to hop from brewery to brewery. Hooper said Brewery Igniter is also looking to expand to the North County, also a hotbed for hops. H.G. Fentons mission is to help businesses succeed so whether its the craft brew industry or a tech startup company, we want to be there to help them with that, added Hooper. And, for entrepreneurs trying to make it in a competitive market, a little help is certainly worth a toast. Were a small team; were all kind of chief cook and bottle washer at this point, Robar said with a laugh. I dont know if wed even exist without the Brewery Igniter Program. A Coronado-based Navy SEAL was arrested and booked into jail in connection to a deadly stabbing in Santa Monica, according to the Los Angeles Times. Theo Andrew Krah, 28, was arrested in San Diego County on Monday. According to Santa Monica Police Dept. (SMPD), Krah had been involved in an altercation with the victim on the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday evening. SMPD responded to reports of a person down on the 1300 block of 5th street around 5:06 p.m. When they arrived, the victim was unresponsive and has suffered severe head trauma. The victim, described to be in his 50s by the Los Angles Times, died Sunday morning from his injuries. SMPD said they arrested Krah near his home in Coronado on the 600 block of Orange Avenue. He is being held on a $2 million bail. A San Diego attorney killed in a rollover crash in Borrego Springs over the weekend had a big impact in the local community and statewide. Raul Cadena, 49, died Saturday while on a Boy Scouts trip with his son. Officials say the driver of the SUV, in which Cadena was a passenger in the front seat, lost control and slammed into a tree in a ditch off the northbound lane of State Route 79. NBC 7 learned that Cadena fought for workers rights in the courtroom and helped push for legislation in Sacramento. On Thursday, Assemblywoman Toni Atkins adjourned the Assembly session in memory of Cadena. Those close to Cadena told NBC 7 that he was respected and loved for his work in and outside the courtroom. A friend and peer of Cadenas said the father of two grew up in poverty but attended Harvard University and then UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). He was the most modest, least arrogant person you could imagine, said Timothy Blood, friend and peer. Blood said, at first, Cadena joined a law firm and represented large corporations, but he realized that it wasnt what he wanted to do. He described his friend as someone who was a champion for others. Thats who he is, said Blood. Raul was always there to represent the people who needed representation the most. Blood says San Diego's legal community is reeling and reflecting on not just the career, but also the life Cadena lived. His family says, in lieu of flowers, people can make contributions to California Rural Legal Assistance, an organization seeking justice for migrant workers, which was a cause dear to Cadena. A service is scheduled for Cadena on Saturday at the St. Pauls Episcopal Cathedral on 2728 Sixth Avenue. As temperatures across San Diego begin to climb and the region braces for excessive heat, local fire officials are doing the same: staffing up in case any wildfires break out. Hot temperatures and low humidity put the region at risk over the coming weekend and into the next week for potential wildfires in San Diego County. But CAL Fire crews and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) officials say they are ready for any potential fires. Across the county, CAL Fire has 29 engines, staffed with three firefighters each, at hand to fight any flames. In addition, there are hand crews available. SDFD Chief Brian Fennessy ordered five additional brush engine crews to be on hand and one additional battalion chief on duty for wildland fire responses within the city. The department's second helicopter, which generally starts full time on July 1, will be brought in early starting this weekend as an additional resource. Fennessy said he expects open space and cliff rescue helicopter responses to increase over the weekend and more people head to the beaches and mountains. The National Weather Service (NWS) says an excessive heat watch will be in effect for parts of San Diego County, including valleys, mountains and deserts, from Sunday morning through next Thursday evening. Communities that will feel the heat the most include: El Cajon; Santee; La Mesa; Poway; Pine Valley; Julian; Escondido; San Marcos; Lake Arrowhead; Big Bear. According to the NWS, the heat wave will bring temperatures between 92 to 97 degrees in the mountains, 95 to 105 degrees in local valleys and 105 to 111 degrees in the high desert. San Diego Lifeguards say they are already fully staffed for the summer and do not plan on adding more crews this weekend. The heat has already had an impact on one SoCal fire: Santa Barbara County's Sherpa Fire. At midnight Thursday night, CAL Fire crews were dispatched to help fight the Sherp Fire, which exploded in size overnight. One strike team of engines, which includes five engines with three firefighters each and a Battalion Chief, headed to the area. Additionally, one strike team of hand crews -- one CAL Fire supervisor and two hand crews, each made up of 15 to 18 firefighters from the Department of Corrects and Rehabilitation -- were dispatched. More local crews could head to the Sherpa Fire if requested. A deputy public defender who once served as the top manager for San Diego County's juvenile branch has been arrested and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. David D. Lamb, 44, faces two federal charges alleging that on at least two separate occasions, he had possession of child porn and tried to distribute the material to others as part of a file-sharing program, according to court documents obtained by NBC 7. He appeared in federal court in Santa Ana on Thursday. Prosecutors said federal agents first came across an encrypted online social media platform in late 2014 that allowed users to trade child pornography photos and videos. They traced an IP address to Lambs computer at his Mission Hills apartment, court documents allege. After serving a search warrant in September 2015, agents found 847 child porn images and hundreds of videos on his computer and other devices, according to court documents. Investigators also said they found online chat conversations between Lamb, who went by the pseudonym sdattorney, and other users, where he requested specific types of child pornography. Lamb has not worked at the San Diego County Public Defenders Office since September 2015, said Public Defender Henry Coker. To say the least, I am saddened by this development. I have great faith and confidence in our criminal justice system and will await the outcome of the process, Coker said. Lamb once defended Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, on a prior charge that he faced in San Diego. Lawyers who worked with Lamb and residents at his apartment complex were shocked by the news. "It's definitely unsettling," said one neighbor, who wished to not be identified. "I had no idea anything like that would be happening here." Gao Gao, San Diego Zoos eldest panda, has a heart disease that is rapidly worsening, zoo officials said Friday in a statement. The panda underwent a medical checkup on Tuesday, where animal care staffers found that he had pulmonic stenosis, a narrowing of the pulmonary valve opening. The 26-year-old panda was diagnosed with a heart murmur three years ago, but Tuesdays checkup showed his new, progressive condition. Hes been put on medication and animal care staffers will continue to perform cardiac ultrasounds. Resident Veterinarian Ryan Sadler said in a statement that Gao Gaos heart disease will continue to progress and cant be cured. He is responding very well to his treatment, and we will continue to monitor the progression of his disease, so we can keep him as healthy and content as possible, Sadler said in a statement. Further details on the pandas prognosis werent immediately revealed. Gao Gao is on loan at the San Diego Zoo from the Peoples Republic of China. He lives at the zoo with two other pandas, 24-year-old Bai Yun, and their 3-year-old offspring, Xiao Liwu. Only four zoos in the nation are home to giant pandas, including the San Diego Zoo, the Washington D.C. Zoo Park, Zoo Atlanta and the Memphis Zoo. In the wild, zoologists estimate there are about 1,600 worldwide. A San Diego mother convicted of killing her 3-year-old daughter in a crash while high on methadone has been sentenced to more than 13 years behind bars for the death of the toddler. Brandy Teague, 32, was convicted in the April 4, 2015, DUI death of her toddler, Carlee Ramirez. A San Diego judge sentenced her Friday to 13 years and four months in prison. Probation was denied. A jury found Teague guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of drugs, child abuse and possession of methamphetamine. According to San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Aimee McLeod, Teagues toddler, Carlee, was not properly buckled into her car seat at the time of the deadly crash on Broadway in El Cajon. Teagues two sons, Brandon and Christopher, were also in the car. The boys were hurt but survived. McLeod said the fathers of two of the children Carlees father and Christophers father were in court April 14 when her sentencing was delayed. At that time, a judge let Christophers father, Enrique Robles, deliver his impact statement to the court because Robles will not be able to return to court for Teagues sentencing in June. For Christophers father, if he doesnt work, he doesnt get paid. For him to come back is a financial hardship, McLeod explained. As Robles addressed the court, he said he wants justice. Robles said Teague has caused him and his son a lot of suffering. One year after the crash, Robles said Christopher still has problems with his leg and needs physical, speech and hearing therapy. McLeod said Robles impact statement was added to the record and will be taken into consideration by the judge at Teagues sentencing. According to investigators, Carlee was sitting in a booster seat in the left rear passenger side of Teagues car when her mother veered off the road and plowed the car into a power pole. While Carlees lap belt was secure, the shoulder belt was behind the back of the seat, according to a report from the San Diego County Medical Examiners (ME) office. Although emergency crews performed CPR on Carlee and rushed her to Rady Childrens Hospital, she died soon after. Her cause of death was blunt force injuries to her head and a neck fracture, the ME report noted, and her manner of death was categorized as accidental. During Teagues preliminary hearing, El Cajon Police Department Officer Jeremy Fisher testified, saying he interviewed the defendant's young son, Brandon, in the minutes after the crash. According to Fisher, the boy told him that his mom had been falling asleep at the wheel before the family arrived at a local fast food restaurant for dinner. The boy said he told his mom that they shouldn't be driving. Brandon suffered a gash to his left eye, felt sore in his chest and arm, and told Fisher he was having trouble breathing following the crash. D.C. is hot, but parasols may soon be hotter, due to a new sharing program in Georgetown aimed at keeping the neighborhood's visitors cool as they stroll between boutiques and restaurants. The Georgetown Parasol Share pilot program allows shoppers to pick up a parasol at one of 48 participating businesses, use it as they wander the neighborhood and then return it at any other participating location. The parasol share area will span across M Street, Wisconsin Avenue, K Street and some side streets. "This has been a really fun and creative idea for our organization to develop, and to bring our community of both local, homegrown merchants and national retailers together," Joe Sternlied, the CEO of Georgetown BID, said in a statement. The program kicked off Friday and will last through the end of August. Each red, white and blue parasol is branded with the phrase "Shop Georgetown and Stay Cool." Here are three other things you should know about the program before picking up a parasol. 1) It's free! The parasols come at no cost to users. Just be sure to return it to another parasol hosting location when you're ready. Use the Georgetown BID website to find the complete list of participating businesses. 2) These are parasols, not umbrellas, which is a pretty important distinction. Parasols are like a life-size version of the colorful pop-ups you use to decorate summer cocktails. They're lightweight, so you can toss one over your shoulder for easy protection from the sun. They are also smaller than most umbrellas, so you won't have to worry about using them in the neighborhood's crowded walkways. 3) There's a hashtag, so you can share your pleasant pedestrian experience with all. Georgetown's historic row houses, glistening waterfront and charming canal already make the area an ideal Instagram location. Pose with your parasol at any of your favorite Georgetown stops, and post the pictures on social media with #GeorgetownParasolShare. You can also tag Georgetown BID in your Instagram posts with @officialgeorgetowndc. What to Know The concert guide features 21 shows that will be in the DC area this summer with dates and ticket prices. Concerts are at Jiffy Lube Live, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Wolf Trap, the Verizon Center and more. Some famous faces will take to DC stages this summer, including Drake, Ellie Goulding, Paul McCartney, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. It's time for summer concert season. We know you're excited! Check out some noteworthy performances hitting the D.C. area this summer. JUNE Wale, June 9 Billboard Magazine and 1800 Tequila host a Wale concert June 9 as a part of "Back to the Block," where musicians return to their hometowns for a concert. The show will be at ASIA DC (1720 I St. NW), and doors open at 8 p.m. Twenty One Pilots, June 10 Twenty One Pilots will "Ride" to Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland) for a concert June 10. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $75 to $177. Luke Bryan, June 10-11 Luke Bryan brings two nights of country tunes to Jiffy Lube Live (7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow, Virginia) June 10 and 11. The shows start at 7 p.m. and tickets range from $32 to $498 Friday and $59 to $515 Saturday. Ellie Goulding, June 13 Dance to Ellie Goulding at Merriweather Post Pavilion June 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $56 to $275. Dave Matthews Band, June 18 Stop by Jiffy Lube Live for a Dave Matthews Band concert June 18. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show range from $62 to $842. Ziggy Marley, June 21 Relax to some reggae at the Fillmore Silver Spring (8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring) with a Ziggy Marley concert June 21. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show, and tickets are $34.50. Lil Uzi Vert, June 26-27 Lil Uzi Vert will perform two nights at the Fillmore. The June 26 show with special guests 21 Savage and YFN Lucci has sold out, but you can still catch Lil Uzi Vert June 27 for $25. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. JULY 5 Seconds of Summer, July 8 Embrace your inner fangirl July 8 for 5 Seconds of Summer's concert at Jiffy Lube Live. Tickets are $25 to $195, and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Monica, Melanie Fiona & Avant, July 16 Monica, Melanie Fiona & Avant present Love Stories: Chapter 1 at DAR Constitution Hall (1776 D St. NW) July 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $57 to $206. Young Thug, July 21 Head to Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road NE) for Young Thug's concert July 21. Doors open at 9 p.m. for the 18+ show, and tickets are $42.60. Fifth Harmony, July 29 As part of The 7/27 Tour, Fifth Harmony will take the stage at George Mason University's EagleBank Arena (4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Virginia) July 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $29.75 to $257.18. Billy Joel, July 30 The Piano Man is set to perform at Nationals Park (1500 S. Capitol St. SE) July 30. The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $62 to $649. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa, July 31 Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa unite for The High Road Tour. The duo performs at Jiffy Lube Live July 31, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $26 to $263. AUGUST G-Eazy, Aug. 4 G-Eazy performs with Logic at Jiffy Lube Live Aug. 4 on The Endless Summer Tour. Tickets to see the California rapper are $30 to $144.50. Paul McCartney, Aug. 9-10 Spend a night listening to Paul McCartney at the Verizon Center (601 F St. NW) Aug. 9 or 10. Tickets to see the former Beatles member Tuesday or Wednesday are $68 to $4,675, and the shows start at 8 p.m. Phillip Phillips & Matt Nathanson, Aug. 10 Phillip Phillips and Matt Nathanson are teaming up for a concert at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia) Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. Get tickets for $32 to $42 before they're "Gone, Gone, Gone." Darius Rucker, Aug. 12 Darius Rucker stops by Jiffy Lube Live for The Good For a Good Time Tour Aug. 12. Tickets are $30.35 to $199, and the show starts at 7 p.m. Kenny Chesney, Aug. 18 Break out your cowboy boots Aug. 18 for the Kenny Chesney concert at Jiffy Lube Live. Get tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show for $30.25 to $292. Drake, Aug. 19-20 If you're reading this, it's not too late to catch Drake's concerts at the Verizon Center Aug. 19 and 20. The shows start at 6:30 p.m.; tickets for Friday or Saturday are $115 to $2,028. Train, Aug. 20 Train rolls into Merriweather Post Pavilion for a show Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $63 to $491. Miranda Lambert, Aug. 25 Enjoy an evening of country at Miranda Lambert's concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion Aug. 25. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are $59 to $383. A former military lawyer is facing life in prison after being convicted of torturing a Virginia couple during a home invasion. A jury recommended two life terms plus 98 years behind bars for Andrew Schmuhl. The decision followed emotional testimony from one of the victims and from Schmuhl's mother. Schmuhl was convicted on Tuesday of breaking into the McLean home of lawyer Leo Fisher and his wife, Sue Duncan, and holding them captive for three hours as he shot, stabbed and tased them. Prosecutors argued the attack was an act of revenge against Fisher, who had fired Schmuhls wife, Alecia, from his law firm weeks earlier. Prosecutors had asked jurors to recommend five life terms but said Thursday that they were satisfied with the result. Fisher, speaking in a statement, thanked jurors. "Sue and I are enormously grateful that the jury has convicted Andrew Schmuhl on all charges brought against him, and that he has received an appropriate prison sentence," he said. "We simply want our lives back. We never wanted to become thought of as the people who were attacked by these criminals." Fisher said in court Thursday that the brutal attack left both he and his wife with permanent scars and impairments. "I've never been a person who hated before, and I hate now," he said. Duncan has constant nightmares about someone trying to kill her, her husband said. "I just don't want this guy and his wife, these two monsters, to ever do this to anyone else again," Fisher told jurors. Schmuhl's attorney and parents asked jurors for leniency. The lawyer argued Schmuhl was so overly medicated for back problems and other health issues that he did not know what he was doing as he tortured Fisher and Duncan. Schmuhl's mother apologized, speaking directly to the victims. "Your tragedy is our tragedy as well. On behalf of our family, my apologies," she said. Fisher and Duncan got up and left the courtroom. Alecia Schmuhl will be tried in September for her alleged role in the attack. "We await Alecia Schmuhls trial in September and a similarly just result," Fisher said in his statement. A substitute teacher in Maryland is about to celebrate her 90th birthday and the 50th year she has spent in many of the same classrooms. Florence Binstock Avigan, better known to generations of students as Mrs. Binstock, was honored Friday in Montgomery County. Students and teachers at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring gave her a standing ovation. "It's overwhelming," she said. "I just don't feel 90." Binstock, who swims laps five days a week, is a rigorous, no-nonsense teacher, her students said. "She always makes sure that we gave 100 percent every time we're in class," student Daniel Olabosipo said. "She's a very charismatic teacher," student Phillip Wesley said. "She's energetic." Binstock will turn 90 on Sunday. Police in Virginia identified a man Monday who they say is responsible for murdering another man in 1988 after the two went to buy beer in West Virginia. Timothy W. Warnick, 58, of West Virginia, was indicted Monday on first-degree murder and robbery charges in relation to the death of Henry E. Ryan, who was 29 when he disappeared. Ryan, known as "Ricky," went to pick up beer with Warnick and an unidentified man Sept. 30, 1988, police said. He was last seen leaving a roadside pull-off along the Shenandoah River in West Virginia, witnesses told police. The night Ryan disappeared, the sheet metal worker had planned to meet with his siblings at the river, where he often went camping, his sister told The Journal, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 2009. Police discovered Ryan's body in a shallow grave off Route 9 in Loudoun County, near the West Virginia border, almost six months later, on March 14, 1989. An autopsy was conducted and confirmed he had been murdered. The Loudoun County Sheriff's office Cold Case Unit, which launched in 2012, conducted interviews with family, friends and witnesses to crack the decades-old case, the office said in a statement. Warnick previously was a person of interest in the case. Detectives used "advances in technology and investigative techniques" to advance the case, police said. Warnick is in custody in Florida on unrelated charges, police said. Information on his lawyer was not available immediately. Nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston will sit down with a mediator and hospital representatives to see if they can avoid a one-day strike next week. Both sides will be at Boston's City Hall plaza to continue contract negotiations after 95-percent of voters said "yes" to the strike Monday night. The votes were cast in a secret ballot. The groups are trying to agree on wages, time-off benefits, staffing levels and the length of the new contract. More than 3,000 nurses at the hospital have been trying to negotiate new contracts. The hospital released a statement that said in part, "We sincerely hope that we can reach a fair and reasonable contract and avoid a strike. Our focus, however, remains on providing safe, high-quality care to our patients, and we will be ready to do so should a strike occur," said Ron M. Walls, MD, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Brigham and Women's Health Care. The statement added, "The leadership team and the entire BWH community have the utmost respect for our nurses and the incredible care they deliver each day." If nurses do strike, it would be the first in 30 years and the largest ever in Massachusetts. Police and the Massachusetts Fire Marshal are investigating after a mailbox was blown up by a homemade bottle bomb in Hampshire County. WWLP-TV reports that police say officers were called to Pelham around 8 a.m. Thursday for a report of a loud explosion. Police found that a mailbox had been destroyed by a homemade bottle bomb. The State Hazardous Materials team was called in to make sure everything was safe. Police say they believe it was an isolated incident. An investigation is underway. Police are continuing to search for the suspect who stabbed a man in what's being called a random attack in Brookline, Massachusetts. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras from a nearby nursing home. The victim, the man in his 50s, was walking his dog when he was attacked on Vernon Street. Police say the suspect stabbed the victim three times and took his cellphone. But just moments later another camera captured the suspect throwing away that cellphone. Brookline Police Deputy Superintendent Michael Gropman said, "Discarded the phone within 30 seconds because he found it of no value, so what we have is an individual who's almost dead over nothing." Police say one of the victim's stab wounds was so deep it punctured his lungs. If the wound was any deeper it would have reached his heart. The victim remains at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is expected to survive. The suspect is described as about 26-years-old and clean-shaven, and was wearing dark pants and a dark jacket or hoodie with a logo on it. Anyone with information is asked to call Brookline police at 617-730-2222. A Massachusetts native who was shot five times in the Orlando, Florida, nightclub attack got to personally thank the police officer who pulled him out of Pulse nightclub. Angel Colon, of Framingham, got to meet Eatonville Police Officer Omar Delgado Thursday. Colon was critically injured in the Orlando shooting and was rescued by Officer Delgado. They hugged and talked about their experiences. Colon said he was shot three times in the leg and fell down. He tried to get up, but was trampled, shattering and breaking bones in his left leg. A total of 49 people were killed and dozens more were injured in the June 12 shooting. Police in Salem, New Hampshire, have arrested a woman accused of driving under the influence of Heroin while two children were in the vehicle. Officers responded to the area of 67 Main St. around 6 Wednesday night for a report of a vehicle operating erratically. Witnesses told police the driver crossed a median to do a u-turn and struck a parked vehicle in a parking lot. Officers found the driver, later identified as Sarah Breau, 29, of Hopkinton, who was trying to walk away from the vehicle. She reportedly told police she drove to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to purchase heroin. Officers searched the vehicle and found bags with a powdery substance and two kids in the vehicle. Breau was arrested and charged with possessing heroin, child endangerment and criminal mischief. While in the hospital police say she removed a bandage and sutures, causing a large amount of blood to spill on the floor. She was held on $1,000 and was arraigned Thursday, when she was released on $5,000 bail. Police in Weymouth, Massachusetts, say a drunk driver crashed into a drive-in restaurant and then fled early Thursday morning. The crash happened outside Jenna's Drive-In around 2:45 a.m. on Park Avenue. Initially, the fire department was called to help when a resident noticed a car burning on the front lawn of his home. "Yeah, it was big," said John Ezadian. "I looked through my window and I see the car right there." When the crash occurred, Ezadian was awake doing some work at home and immediately ran outside to see if the driver needed help. "I said, 'Are you OK?' He looked at me and he took off," Ezadian explained. "I tried to stop him." But according to Weymouth Police reports, officers found the driver walking down a nearby road. They arrested 29-year-old Michael Cox after he stated he had recently been in an accident. Cox faces several charges, including a second offense of operating under the influence and driving without a license. "Hopefully, he'll be off the road for awhile," said Jenna Perett, who owns the drive-in. Police estimate the accident caused $2,000 in damage to her property. Officers said Cox drove straight through some of Perett's picnic tables before landing on Ezadian's front yard. Despite the damage, she was able to resume business Thursday. "I can't even think about it," Perett said, "I'm happy it was in the middle of the night. No one got hurt." During an arraignment in Quincy District Court, a judge ordered Cox held on $500 cash bail. He is scheduled to reappear in court in August. Police and fire crews are searching for a missing person Friday morning in the water in Eastham, Massachusetts. The Coast Guard, notified by the Eastham Police Department at 8:30 a.m., requested assistance in the search for the 47-year-old man. The Coast Guard Station Provincetown lauched a response boat crew and air crew. The Wellfleet Harbormaster, Eastham Fire Department, Orleans Fire Department, Wellfleet Fire Department and four good samaritans are searching all of Wellfleet Harbor and Billingsgate Shoal area. The search for the man was suspended around 7 p.m. Friday. It is expected to resume at first light Saturday. Norwich conference looks at Anglia Catholic history Norwich conference looks at Anglia Catholic history A one-day conference looking at the history of Catholicism in East Anglia since the Reformation was held at Norwich Catholic Cathedral on Saturday June 12, to help mark the 40th anniversary of the Diocese of East Anglia. Just half an hour of web browsing is enough time for machine learning mechanisms to uncover a persons personality and produce identifying digital signatures, researchers say. Those traits can include conscientiousness and neuroticism, among other characteristics, the scientists from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia say in their media release published by AAAS, the science society. And it might identify the individual, too. "Our research suggests a person's personality traits can be deduced by their general internet usage, says Dr. Ikusan R. Adeyemi, a research scholar at the university. + Also on Network World: The shocking truth of how you'll be tracked online and why + He means web browsing, rather than social network usage. Social networks have been used before to figure out whether people are gregarious or introverted, the scientists explain. However, this study of network traffic, published in Frontiers in ICT, is different because it can also reflect their choice, preference and reflexes, which is largely controlled by their unique psychological characteristics. Those characteristics, such as openness to new experiences and even agreeableness, are discovered through machine learning. Its an important development because marketers could adapt their offerings if they can guess how receptive a consumer is going to be to a product. A consumer open to new experiences could be pitched new kinds of products, say. And a known-to-be disagreeable consumer could be pandered toor not. Online advertising has its fair share of detractors for a reason. Intrusiveness, being forced to view videos before being allowed to view content, pop-up ads, quantity of ads causing repeated browser slowdowns, and generally irrelevant ads are among causes of consumer griping. The more appropriate the ad, the more lean or effective the ad medium could be. Behavioral analysis and security But it isnt just purveyors of Internet stuff and the intended recipients who might benefit from behavioral analysis. "It can also be used as a complementary way of increasing security for online identification and authentication. Law enforcement agencies can also apply our findings in the investigation of online crime cases," says Adeyemi in his release. Behavioral patterns are a holy grail for marketers and others. The internet is providing its fair share. I recently wrote about how smartphone Wi-Fi radios are being used to collect breadcrumb data on pedestrians as they move around a university campus. Building managers can use that electronically gathered intelligence to decide where to place resources such as ATMs. Most of the data being collected and distributed by wireless providers, for example, is said to be anonymized. Thats done through the simple removal of the identifier, such as a name or phone number, before the data is passed on to the marketer. One further thing thats interesting about the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia study is that anonymity, as we know it, may not apply any more. The notion of online anonymity is based on the assumption that on the internet, the means of identification are limited to network and system identifiers, which may not directly relate to the identity of the user, the paper says. But what about the digital fingerprint of personality trait? Were all unique. If the machine learning gets good, are we not going to be identified by our behavioral signature? Stripping the names or phone numbers out of a database becomes pointless. Were identified anyway. A rising star we have lost but whose memory will go on shining brightly Newbury politicians have paid tribute to the decent and kind Labour MP who was gunned down in a horrifying attack in her constituency yesterday [Thursday]. Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, was shot and stabbed multiple times in an attack outside a library in the village of Birstall. The 41-year old mother of two children was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but was pronounced dead at 1.48pm. A man, named locally as Tommy Mair, aged 52, has been arrested by police in connection with the incident. Paying tribute to Mrs Cox Newbury Labour said: All of Newbury Labour Party send our condolences to the family of Jo Cox, the fantastic Labour MP who was cruelly and brutally murdered [Thursday] while she went about doing her job, representing the area in which she grew up. Jo was a tremendous MP who dedicated her life to defending human rights here and around the world. Her death is an assault on the true British values of common decency, freedom of expression, democracy and the truest of all which Jo stood for more than any other: that hope must triumph over hate. We mourn Jo today, a rising star we have lost but whose memory will go on shining brightly, her cause remaining our common cause, her battles we will continue to fight and her message of hope will go on resonating forever. Speaking to Newbury Weekly News the MP for Newbury Richard Benyon also paid tribute to the decent and kind Labour MP. He said: She was one of the brightest stars of the new intake and she had an ability to work across parties. She was extremely popular. It has really hit colleagues on all sides of the House. This attack has made me angry and I want to go and stand on the high street and say to people whether you vote for us or not we are elected to represent the constituency. How dare people attack anyone whether they are a parish councillor, an MP or an MEP, on the basis of the job they do. Speaking of safety for MPs and his staff he said: Many of my newer colleagues have been quite shocked about the way they have been treated on social media from trolls and from other individuals. "It has reached an unacceptable level of personal attacks. If anything good can come out of this ghastly event is maybe just a little bit of understanding that MPs are human beings. He added: We are not going to be put off by insane acts such as that which befell Jo Cox. There has been a lot of verbal threats before this. In the last six months I have heard a dozen conversations where they are wondering whether or not to inform the police. I am concerned about my staff. Very often they are the ones that deal with the callers to the office while I am safe inside the security ring that is Westminster and they are in Newbury. He said that although he had not been on the receiving end of any physical attacks there had been instances where the police had been notified of individuals coming to the office or calling. He added: But I have never felt a moments qualm about doing my job. Jane Pickens to mark anniversary of 'Nosferatu' with live film score New Hampshire native Jeff Rapsis will be doing the scoring with a digital keyboard right next to the screen as the film is being shown. Columnist Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich). Reporter Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee). Women born in the Caribbean or Africa are two times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit at the time of their delivery than Canadian-born women, a new study has found. The risk for both mom and newborn being admitted to an intensive care unit, or ICU, at the same time was also 2.75 times higher for Caribbean-born women and two times higher for African-born women. Mothers from Jamaica and Ghana each had the highest overall risk of ICU admission at the time of delivery, approximately 2.7 times higher than Canadian-born women. The study, published today in Critical Care Medicine, was led by Dr. Joel Ray, a physician at St. Michael's Hospital and scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Dr. Ray looked at the country of origin of all women who gave birth in Ontario between 2003 and 2012. During the study period, there were 881,504 births among 604,253 Canadian-born mothers, and 305,494 births to 221,574 immigrant mothers. Of the births among immigrant women, there were 2,999 births to women from Ghana and 10,440 births to women from Jamaica. About 1.8 per 1,000 Canadian-born women were admitted to an ICU, compared to 6.7 Ghanaian-born and 6.3 Jamaican-born women. Rates for both mom and baby admitted to the ICU were 1 per 1,000 for Canadian-born women, compared to 6 Ghanaian-born women and 4.5 Jamaican-born women. "The findings showed a clear trend for ICU admissions of Caribbean-born and African-born women giving birth in Ontario," said Dr. Ray. "One likely explanation for the elevated risk is that women from these regions are at much higher risk of pre-eclampsia, or high blood pressure in pregnancy, which has been identified as a major predictor of ICU admission." Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Previous work by Dr. Ray has shown that the rate of pre-eclampsia is approximately 3.5 times greater among immigrant Ontario women born in African or Caribbean regions. Dr. Ray said that the shared higher risk may be explained by common genetic ancestry, persisting economic disadvantage following migration to Canada or lower health literacy. Further, pre-eclampsia has an up to 50 per cent chance of being inherited. "Although pre-eclampsia is a serious condition, it is treatable and manageable with early intervention," said Dr. Ray. "Now that we've identified a possible higher risk in these particular groups, it's important for clinicians to provide appropriate resources to pregnant patients, hopefully minimizing the risk of deliveries that result in mom, baby or both being admitted to an ICU." Dr. Ray said that including a simple hand out explaining the signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia would promote health literacy and awareness for all women, not just those at higher risk. "Many women who develop pre-eclampsia realize too late that something is wrong, so they progress to a more critical form the disease. Important symptoms of pre-eclampsia include headache, vision changes and swelling," said Dr. Ray. "If they exhibit other risk factors for pre-eclampsia, women from Jamaica, Ghana and other high-risk regions could also be started on low-dose aspirin before 20 weeks gestation, which effectively and safely reduces the risk of pre-eclampsia and pre-term birth." Women can also optimize their health before becoming pregnant through weight reduction and getting any existing blood pressure issues under control. One in every eight couples struggles to conceive or maintain a pregnancy. In Charlotte, at least 4,000 people seek infertility treatment every year. As such, the city has become a hub of knowledge and resources for patients diagnosed with infertility. A local chapter of the national infertility support group RESOLVE, embryo banks, follicle preservation and alternative health care are treatment options patients can locate in the Charlotte area. With the prevalence of infertility cases, how caregivers and patients communicate around this medical condition takes on greater importance, which is why two UNC Charlotte researchers are investigating ways to improve discourse on the subject. Bethany Johnson, a UNC Charlotte research faculty associate in the Department of Communication Studies and a research affiliate for the University's Women + Girls Research Alliance, along with Margaret Quinlan, associate professor of communication studies and a core faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Health Psychology Ph.D. program at UNC Charlotte, are currently conducting academic research related to patient-practitioner communication in fertility clinics. "Our interest is in helping practices to make patients feel seen, heard and understood while maintaining a healthy work-life balance for doctors and nurses," Johnson explained. Johnson and Quinlan's work explores the various issues facing individuals across the gender spectrum diagnosed with infertility, as well as some of the cutting-edge treatments now available. Although infertility is generally understood from a biological perspective, research shows that individuals with infertility face undesired emotional and social outcomes from treatment, such as stress (depression, anger and frustration), uncertainty, marital instability, anxiety-related sexual dysfunction, financial hardship and fear of social censure or a lack of social and emotional support. In addition to issues that individuals face, couples also can experience tension in their relationship that could compound other emotional and social outcomes like, sexual dysfunction, low self-esteem and fear of isolation. "Families, friends and members of the medical community don't know necessarily what to say or how to support someone going through infertility treatment. Some things, although well intended can be hurtful. We hope to inform people of supportive and unsupportive messages" Quinlan said. In their study, Johnson and Quinlan explore the issues that accompany infertility and explain them, in part, as a result of the "taboo" associated with the condition and stress the need for conversation. The general sense of shame associated with infertility stems from pronatalist discourse in society, which is a practice that encourages women to become mothers as their "biological destiny." This in turn causes a stigma, ending a conversation before it begins. The two researchers used historical medical records, personal accounts and media coverage to examine attitudes about infertility among individuals and within the medical community and the public at large. This historical perspective allowed Johnson and Quinlan to address areas where progress has stalled. "Our interviewees were looking for people to listen, to not give advice or have solutions but to be there," Quinlan said. As qualitative researchers, Johnson and Quinlan examine communication issues and create resources for patients and practitioners to make sense of infertility in formal and informal contexts. Their research revealed a discrepancy in desired patient support and the support patients received during treatment. Communication surrounding infertility can be difficult given that most patient care happens outside of the office. "A lot of the infertility treatments are done at home instead of a traditional office setting. Not having someone to contact or ask questions is difficult for patients. It's a different kind of regimen that doesn't fit into the hours of nine to five," Quinlan said. The study references interviews from 26 women, most of whom related their experience to that of "cattle on a conveyor belt" being pushed through the infertility process. Research gathered by the professors indicates the disconnect caregivers display when communicating with patients, in some cases, can be improved by simply rephrasing the message or using the patients name during communication. Johnson and Quinlan also suggest making resources like a contact for emergency texts or a list of previously approved instructional YouTube videos for at home treatments, readily available for patients. "Infertility treatment is expensive, and insurance doesn't always cover it. It can cost anywhere from $800 dollars to $30,000 dollars for each cycle. In North Carolina, there is no mandate of coverage for infertility care. If you're paying out of pocket, you may have higher expectations from your health care," Johnson said. The work conducted by the professors extends the current research in communication studies and provide preliminary data needed to understand the communication processes between patients and reproductive, endocrinology and infertility (REI) medical practitioners. The ultimate goal is to provide guidance to health care practitioners and patients with infertility as they interact in REI offices and treatment settings. Scholars who have previously studied infertility focus on the emotional and social consequences of treatment. Johnson and Quinlan surveyed the challenges arising from communication between patients and practitioners at REI practices during the treatment itself. "Our work will fill a particular gap in the available literature. This study serves as the first entry into the patient-practitioner discourse, starting with the examination of females' stories, shedding light on issues of female patient agency during infertility treatment," noted the researchers. Source: University of North Carolina at Charlotte In summer 2011, University of Colorado Cancer Center investigators Joaquin Espinosa, PhD, and Matthew Galbraith, PhD, taught a summer symposium on gene expression at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island, New York. As part of the three-week course, one of their students, Joel Perrez-Perri from Dr. Pablo Wappner's lab at the Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, Argentina, presented data from experiments on fruit flies describing the role of the histone acetyl-transferase TIP60 (aka KAT5) in regulating the expression of genes controlled by a protein known as HIF1A. Now five years later, in summer 2016, studies resulting from this seemingly obscure finding have resulted in a paper published today in the high-impact journal Cell Reports showing the role of TIP60 in allowing human colorectal cancer cells to survive at the oxygen-poor centers of tumors. "Tumors often can't grow the new blood vessels needed to supply themselves with the oxygen that most tissues would need to grow. In order to survive in low oxygen - in conditions of hypoxia - tumors produce the protein HIF1A. In human tumors, hypoxia and high expression of HIF1A are both predictors of bad outcomes," says Galbraith, now an Instructor of Pharmacology at the CU School of Medicine. If it were possible to silence HIF1A, many cancers would succumb to hypoxia. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to find drugs that inhibit the function of HIF1A. To circumvent this problem, scientists around the world are performing research to identify auxiliary proteins inside the cell required for HIF1A activity - referred to as cofactors - that could be more amenable to pharmacological inhibition. At the time of the serendipitous summer encounter, the labs led by Espinosa in Colorado and Wappner in Buenos Aires were employing vastly different approaches to identify HIF1A cofactors. While Galbraith and Espinosa used human cancer cells grown in petri dishes, Perez-Perri and Wappner employed fruit flies, an organism frequently used as a model due to ease of genetic manipulation. Efforts in the Espinosa lab led to the identification of an enzyme known as CDK8 that is required for much of HIF1A activity in cancer cells. Efforts in the Wappner lab led to the identification of TIP60, also an enzyme, required for HIF1A activity in flies. The power of these discoveries resides in the fact that enzymes are a type of proteins whose activities can be more easily manipulated with medicines (unlike the action of the gene HIF1A itself). In fact, such drugs are already available to shut down the activity of CDK8 and TIP60. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today In 2013, Galbraith and Espinosa published their findings in the prestigious journal Cell and embarked on a collaboration with the scientists in Buenos Aires to investigate whether TIP60's role in the response to hypoxia in flies was conserved in human cancer cells. "It was a nice coincidence and a great opportunity to collaborate with fellow scientists in Argentina, the country where I was born, raised and received my education," Espinosa says. "I invited Joel to come to our lab in Colorado to spend a few months learning how to work with human cancer cells." What they found is that the role of TIP60 is conserved in human colorectal cancer cells, which require HIF1A, CDK8 and TIP60 to form small tumors in the lab. "By depleting CDK8 and TIP60 in colorectal cancer cells, we shut down more than 60 percent of the cellular activity of HIF1A, and this suffices to block their tumor-initiating ability," Galbraith says. As with much basic research, Perez-Perri's stay in the Espinosa lab generated as many questions as answers, many having to do with molecular mechanisms by which TIP60 promotes HIF1A activity. This line of study was pursued in the Espinosa lab by graduate student Veronica Dengler. Dengler's work showed that HIF1A and TIP60 work together to turn on many genes inside the cell nucleus, including key genes required for the cellular adaptation to hypoxia. In collaboration with scientists from Madison, WI, led by Dr. Danette Daniels at the biotech Promega, the team demonstrated that HIF1A and TIP60 interact physically with each other inside cells. "What I love about this project is that it illustrates the power of collaboration and training efforts. In order to make these important discoveries, we assembled a team of scientists from Buenos Aires, Colorado and Wisconsin, in academia and industry, to work with two graduate students located 6,000 miles apart," Espinosa says. "This study absolutely demonstrates the importance of basic research," Galbraith says. "Here we had something in a fruit fly that didn't have any obvious connection to cancer and it turns out to be an important player in one of the most critical networks of cancer survival signaling." The researchers hope their work will stimulate additional interest in exploring the function and possible inhibition of TIP60 and CDK8 in the context of cancer. Largest percentage of children with very high blood lead levels concentrated in six regions, including in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Despite four decades of public health efforts to minimize childrens exposure to lead, high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels are still found in children in numerous regions of the United States, according to a new study by researchers at Quest Diagnostics, the worlds leading provider of diagnostic information services. Published online in the Journal of Pediatrics, the six-year study examined 5,266,408 blood lead levels (BLLs) test results of infants and children under age six in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Quest Diagnostics Health Trends study is believed to be the largest analysis of BLL test results in children in the United States. While there is no safe blood lead level in children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified a blood lead level equal to or greater than five micrograms per deciliter as a threshold to identify children with elevated blood lead levels. The study found that greater than 3.0% of children nationally had blood lead levels at or above this level. High blood lead levels were greater for boys (3.1%) than girls (2.8%), a slight, but statistically significant difference. Despite an unexplained modest increase in 2015, overall, blood lead levels declined in children during the six-year period ending in April 2015. However, on a regional basis, high percentages of infants and children had blood lead levels equal to or greater than five micrograms per deciliter (high BLLs). In six regions categorized by ZIP code, more than 14 percent of specimens tested had high BLLs. These include three regions in New York (Syracuse, Buffalo and Poughkeepsie), two in Pennsylvania (York and Oil City) and one in Ohio (Cincinnati). The eleven regions with the largest proportions of specimens with very high BLLs (equal to or greater than ten micrograms of per deciliter), were also in New York (Syracuse, Buffalo, Poughkeepsie, Niagara Falls, Binghamton), Pennsylvania (York, Oil City, Reading, Erie), and Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland). The analysis also examined rates by states, finding that those with the highest proportion of high BLLs were Minnesota (10.3%), Pennsylvania (7.8%), Kentucky (7.1%), Ohio (7.0%), and Connecticut (6.7%). California and Florida had the lowest rate of high BLLs (1.4% and 1.1%, respectively) and very high BLLs (0.2% and 0.1%). From the first year of the study period to its final year, Mississippi had the largest absolute increase in high blood levels (from 3.1% to 6.3%), while New Hampshire demonstrated the largest absolute decline in high blood lead levels (from 9.7% to 2.6%). In addition, the Quest investigators examined correlations between test results and pre-1950s housing construction, poverty income ratios (PIRs), and health plan enrollment. The study showed that living in an area with a high proportion of pre-1950 housing construction, when the use of lead-based paint was widespread, was strongly associated with having a high blood lead level, confirming prior findings from NHANES. The study also showed children living in ZIP codes with the highest poverty rate had a greater proportion of high BLL and very high BLL, while children living in ZIP codes with lower rates of poverty were much less likely to exhibit high BLL and very high BLL. These alarming findings show that while our nation has made progress in addressing lead exposure, our public health successes are neither complete nor demographically consistent, said Harvey W. Kaufman, senior medical director, Quest Diagnostics and an author of the study. We have a long way to go, both in terms of contaminated water and residual lead-based paint, to reduce disparities that put some of our children at disproportionate risk of exposure to lead. This Quest Diagnostics study may offer value to healthcare policymakers considering policies to protect young children from long-lasting impacts of exposure, and to clinicians, who may use the geographic findings to guide screening determinations in high prevalence areas, added Dr. Kaufman. In May 2012, the CDC Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP) advised that there is no safe blood lead level, and that even low levels of lead in blood affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. A study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies (NIEHS) showed that high neonatal blood levels of lead in mothers can cause epigenetic changes in their unborn children. Research suggests the effects of lead exposure appear to be irreversible. Study Strengths and Limitations The study's strengths are its size and national scope; the ability to examine narrow sub-groupings of data based on three-digit ZIP codes; and the use of an objective laboratory method, versus surveys or polls, which may be subject to user misrepresentation or error. Study limitations include reliance on testing orders, rather than population sampling; varying volumes of test results in certain states; and the inability to determine values below the threshold of detection. Quest Diagnostics does not provide services to all clinicians in the U.S., so results are not broadly representative of all patients tested in the U.S. Based on analysis of de-identified test results, the study was performed in compliance with applicable privacy regulations and the company's strict privacy policies, and was determined to be exempt from Western Institutional Review Board. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Turku have developed an easy-to-use and affordable blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) test. The testing device enables ordinary consumers to check that the water at their beach is free of cyanobacteria toxins. A commercialiser is now being sought for this rapid biodegradable testing device. The cyanobacteria testing device, which is suitable for mass production and the size of a bank card, can be used both by consumers and authorities. The disposable, paper-based testing device can identify the occurrence of the most common cyanobacteria toxins, such as microcystins and nodularins. "The cyanobacteria test requires only a few drops of water and indicates the result within 15 minutes. If two red lines appear on the display, the water contains cyanobacteria toxins. One line means that the water sample is toxin free," explains VTT Senior Scientist Liisa Hakola. As lake and sea waters warm up, the annual summer monitoring of blue-green algae blooms begins. Toxins are present in approximately every second blue-green algae bloom and you cannot detect by visual inspection alone whether the cyanobacteria in the water is toxic or not. "Even after the blue-green algae disappear, the water might contain toxins for a while. With the device, you can quickly check that the water is safe to use," says Markus Vehniainen, Researcher at the University of Turku. The joint project of the University of Turku and VTT aimed to meet the need of consumers to obtain up-to-date information about the state of their water bodies by developing an affordable, fast and easy-to-use-solution. If transferred to an automated testing platform, the assay would also be suitable for applications requiring particular measurement sensitivity, such those for testing drinking water around the world. The cyanobacteria test has been developed as part of a project to create new knowledge and business from research ideas funded by Tekes. It has been found to work also in natural water samples, and a commercialising company is currently being sought so that the test can be made available to consumers. The UK Government's pilot of seven-day opening of doctor surgeries has significantly reduced weekend emergency hospital visits, hospital admissions and ambulance call-outs, new University of Sussex research has found. Spread across the whole week, Accident & Emergency visits were down 10 per cent among patients of pilot surgeries in central London. The greatest effect was seen on Saturdays and Sundays, with a drop of 18 per cent recorded across weekends. Crucially, for squeezed NHS budgets, expensive hospital stays and ambulance call-outs also dropped significantly. The reductions were almost entirely driven by fewer elderly patients with moderate injuries or illnesses - not, as the Government expected, by minor cases being diverted away from A&E. The researchers believe this is because A&E doctors take fewer risks with elderly patients they don't know and choose to admit them to a ward to be 'on the safe side', whereas General Practitioners (GPs) have an intimate knowledge of their patients' medical history and can send the less serious cases home after treatment. Essentially, GPs make far more effective 'gatekeepers' to more expensive treatments. Many of the minor cases in A&E are the so-called frequent flyers - people who visit A&E on multiple occasions. Very few of these people took up the option to visit a GP instead. This suggests that a nationwide roll-out of seven-day opening would not only reduce pressure on stretched A&E services as a whole, but that the impact would be biggest among the most costly cases. Professor Peter Dolton and Dr Vikram Pathania of Sussex's School of Business, Management and Economics led the study, which is published online in the Journal of Health Economics. Dr Pathania said: "There is clearly evidence of unmet demand for weekend GP opening. "Seven-day opening for GPs appears to make a dent in two major sources of A&E expense - admissions and ambulance usage. The latter alone shows a significant drop of nearly 20 per cent on weekends. "Costs aside, there is also strong evidence that patient healthcare, in many cases, could be better delivered by a visit to a GP. "Patients may automatically equate the size and complexity of a large hospital-based A&E unit with higher quality care. But typically A&E doctors are junior to GPs, who are equivalent to hospital consultants in terms of their medical training and expertise. Plus GP treatment is based on direct past experience with the patient and access to their medical records." The research has potentially large implications for NHS finances, with an unplanned hospital admission costing around 30 times as much as a GP visit: A&E visits have risen 32 per cent over the past decade to 21.8 million a year Each A&E visit costs the NHS 114 An ambulance call-out adds 220 to the bill An unplanned hospital admission costs an eye-watering 1489 This compares to just 45 for the average GP visit The researchers caution that the long-term impacts are still unknown. People may respond to less crowded A&Es by visiting them more, for example. It is also clear that demand is highest among older people and, as the research also shows, the more affluent. In fact, some practices have already curtailed their weekend opening, citing insufficient demand. It may be, therefore, that seven-day opening should only be implemented in strategically located surgeries and may not be optimal for all surgeries. Professor Dolton said: "These findings suggest the need for a careful rethink about the efficiency of redirecting patients to extended GP surgeries to lighten the load in A&E - although this would need to be accompanied by a redirection of NHS funding to Primary Care." Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/Nz2ZCWxNsS J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2016 Among the 49 brutally slain at the massacre at Pulse in Orlando Florida, was a man called Luis Vielma. This 22-year-old worked at the 'Wizarding World of Harry Potter' theme park in Orlando, and was, according to friends and family a true blue 'Harry Potter' fan. On Monday, 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling tweeted her grief at news of his death.On Monday night, friends, family and co-workers held a vigil in his memory at the theme park. A friend and a colleague, in a moving eulogy, spoke about what a wonderful person and the true Gryffindor, that Vielma was.We are standing here tonight in front of Hogwarts castle, raising our wands to one of our fallen. Tonight we raise our wands to one of the bravest and best Gryffindors the world has ever known. Tonight we raise our wands to Luis Vielma. He was kind, and he was brave, and he was one of the kindest souls you will ever meet in your life.""Every single member of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, every single person he touched, every guest he came across, he created a type of magic for them that can never be compared to anything else in this world."Tonight we remember a team member, a brother, a son, a friend. Tonight we remember someone that created a type of magic that we can never replace.All present then raised their wands and candles towards the Hogwarts castle, in remembrance of Vielma and the 48 others who were slain at Pulse. Watch the video right here: New Delhi: CBI on Friday claimed one of the accused arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar spoke about raising an army of 15,000 armed men to fight anti-Hindu forces. The agency alleged that Virendra Tawade, a member of Sanatan Sanstha, who has been arrested in connection with the murder, had sent emails to Sarang Akolkar, an absconding accused with a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued by the Interpol against him in the Goa blast case of 2009. In these emails, Tawade spoke about formation of the army of 15,000 men who are armed and ready to fight anti-Hindu forces in the country, official sources said. The sources said Tawade had even suggested that to Akolkar that money should be collected through donations and contribution and if it still fell short for procurement of weapons, then the men should resort to dacoity. Tawade, who was arrested earlier this month, is in CBI custody and there was no means of verifying the CBI claims but his lawyer had contested allegations made by the agency in special court in Pune and also claimed that his client was innocent. The sources claimed that Tawade communicated in code language in the emails with Akolkar like using books for guns and chocolates for bullets. Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 by two persons while he was on a morning walk in Pune. The CBI has reportedly identified six suspects in this case, including Tawade and Akolkar. The answer is very simple. From the very beginning Obamas missions has been ___And working to pass laws to disarm law abiding American Citizens makes American Citizens more vulnerable to these kinds of terrorist acts [the Orlando Massacre] .And what are some of the other Obama / Hillary Administrations doings designed to bring death to America by a thousand cuts? The Obama / Hillary Clinton Administration has added more to the national debt than all other presidents combined;it has given aid and comfort to our enemies by releasing them from GITMO;it has struck a deal with a hostile foreign nation behind closed doors which will allow a terrorist Islamic State to gain the component parts for a nuclear arsenal;it is allowing a thousand Islamic "refugees" into the U.S. each month without proper screening or a requirement they renounce an allegiance to their country of origin;it has transferred Americas weapons of defense and military technology to hostile Islamic leaders [the Islamic Brother Hood];it has worked to release $150 Billion in assets to the terrorist government of Iran;it has allowed our southern border to be invaded by the poverty stricken populations of Mexico and Central America;it is making American citizens tax slaves to support the economic needs of millions of foreigners who have invaded our borders;it has decided to prop up the communist government of Cuba by normalizing relations with this country, which in turn will yield a needed infusion of money to strengthen this governments iron fist around the necks of its citizens;it has released thousands of criminal illegal aliens from our nations jails into our nations population;it is responsible for undermining our election process by making it easy for ineligible persons to vote;it has interfered with our nations ability to develop our nations natural resources, namely oil, coal and natural gas, to fuel our economy;it has worked to stifle Americas agricultural industry and ability to produce food under the guise of environmental necessity;it has intentionally sabotaged our nations health care delivery system;it has blatantly impinged upon the American Peoples inalienable right to make their own choices and decisions regarding their health care and medical needs;it is responsible for a dramatic increase [about 12 million] in the number of people receiving food stamps;it is responsible for a dramatic drop in fulltime employment;it is responsible for a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate among our nations Black and poverty stricken youth by allowing illegal aliens to take these jobs;it has used the force of our federal government to tax the paychecks of hard working people living in our nations inner cities and then transferred $ billions from our federal treasury to his inner circle donor friends under the guise of green energy [Solyndra/Chevy Volt/Fisker, Exelon, etc.];it has repeatedly circumvented our Republican Form of Government by issuing Executive Orders and memorandums;it has used the force of the federal government to attack "conservatives" who dare to exercise their right to freedom of speech;Who can truthfully deny that Obamas mission from the very beginning has been ___JWK "In-principle decision has been taken to allow exports to certain countries who are in friendly relationship with us...if they manage to export, then we would enhance the capacity by 10 per cent so that the forces are not deprived," Parrikar said. To a question about the delay, he said "I think we are now fast coming to a conclusion." Government has decided in principle to allow export of missile systems to 'certain' countries who have friendly relationship with India, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said."The government had taken a very conscious decision about 4-5 months ago that 10 per cent of the missile capacity will be permitted to be exported if producers manage to get export orders subject to parameters set by the union government and External Affairs Ministry," he told reporters.Policy of export was always existing earlier, but the problem was lack of spare capacity after meeting requirement of the country's armed forces, he said, adding that the production capacity for various missile systems like 'Akash' had been been improved now.Parrikar, here for the inaugural flight of indigenous basic trainer aircraft Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), was responding to a question on export policy. On possible export of BrahMos missiles to Vietnam, which he had visited earlier this month, he said the Southeast Asian country had expressed interest and a group would be set up to discuss about their requirement.About Rafale fighter plane deal, the Defence Minister said discussion between both sides had concluded and he was waiting for a report from the Indian team which had held negotiations. "May be next week I should receive their report, once the report is received, the Ministry will analyse it and then it will go to the government," he said.The deal was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, 2015 during his visit to France when he said India would purchase 36 Rafales in a government-to-government contract.Asked about the standby, if the deal does not come through, Parrikar said, "I don't think you should see it from the negative side, because it is a declaration by two governments and we have signed in principle memorandum also."Noting that the finalization of the deal was not very far, he said "we waited almost 14-15 years for acquisition. "This is not a big time if you compare;...it is a big purchase we have to be careful." Vinod Anthony Thomas, a tenth semester student of Faculty of Architecture (FOA), Manipal University, has clinched the second prize at a public competition for designing waterless and odourless toilets for the Indian Railways.The idea behind the competition, organized by Research Designs and Standards Organization, Lucknow, was to design a toilet which does not give off a foul nor uses any water for operation and maintenance.(Photo: Vinod A. Thomas/ Facebook Vinod designed a toilet which does away with problems in the existing system of disposal of human waste on the tracks which is, according to him, unhygienic, unethical and damaging to the environment. His project also mentions that there is no effective flushing in the existing model, which results in accumulation and foul smell.According to a release by Manipal University, his design replaces the present system with a conveyor which carries waste in a hermetically sealed pocket to a large collection bin to store waste. It is run manually by a crank wheel and the bin has been designed to reduce waste of water by means of decomposition and forced ventilation (evaporation of water).(Photo: The design that won him the prize/ Facebook The competition was conducted in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a clean India under the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan'. Five among the several entries were shortlisted before the winners were declared.On May 31, shortlisted designers presented their projects before the jury, which comprised experts from Railways, industry and academia/research fields. Vinods design was adjudged the second best in the results announced this week. He bagged Rs 75,000 as prize money and shared the second place with another designer, Rahul Garg and team member Saurabh Hans. Mumbai: Ten auditors of private firms have been arrested in connection with the alleged over Rs 350 crore road scam in the city, said police. The accused are employees of two private engineering audit firms which were appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to inspect the road works by contractors. The 10 accused had allegedly prepared and submitted the reports in favour of the contractors, police said. In 2015, Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar had written to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta complaining about the poor quality of newly constructed roads in the city, police said. In this regard, a case was lodged at Azad Maidan police station on April 27 2015, after the BMCs internal inquiry found that over two dozen roads in the city were of poor quality, police said. The investigators found that the arrested accused were allegedly hand-in-glove with the contractors concerned in the roads scam, they said. DCP (Operations) Ashok Dudhe confirmed the arrests which were made on Wednesday. "More arrests in the case are possible and further probe by the police is on," he said. The accused, identified as Santosh Kadam (42), Pavankumar Shukla (26), Ashfaque Sayyed (26), Milind Kumavat (26), Premanand Dhanawade (37), Rakesh Merwade (34), Mangesh Talekar (33), Dheeraj Phooljhele (40), Rahul Shinde (29) and Dhauryashil Patil (33), were arrested by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) formed under Assistant Commissioner of Police, Colaba Division, Rajendra Chavan. All the 10 accused were on Thursday produced in a local court which remanded them in police custody till June 21, police added. New Delhi: After science and mathematics Olympiad, the NCERT is set to organise the first ever 'Yoga Olympiad' for all government and government-aided schools students ahead of the International Yoga Day on June 21. The three-day event will begin from Saturday and culminate on the eve of the International Yoga Day with an award ceremony to be attended by HRD minister Smriti Irani. "To be conducted with different syllabus for upper primary and secondary students from block, district, state to national level, participants will be tested on five yogic practices: Asanas, Pranayam, Kriya (cleansing process), Dhyana (meditation), Bandha and Mudra," NCERT Director Hrushikesh Senapaty told reporters. However, considering the opposition to 'Surya Namaskar' and Om Chanting by certain sections, NCERT has made it optional and it will not be under the categories to be assessed. The theme of the Olympiad is 'Yoga for Health and Harmony'. "It is important that the younger generation is given a direction of holistic vision of sharing, caring, harmony, peace and love as the key features of yoga. Olympiad will help to develop an understanding of yogic practices, their application in one's life and living which in turn develop physical, emotional and mental development of children," he said. The students were first selected at the block level followed by district level and then state level. The 16 finalists (four boys and four girls at upper primary and equal number at the secondary level) will be competing in Delhi during the Olympiad which is now going to be an annual feature. Assessment of participants will be done by a jury based on certain criteria. The children will be assessed based on the practical performance of various yogic activities. Only practical aspects of yogic practices in terms of performance will be judged, the NCERT Director said. At each stage, there will be a team of three judges having expertise in Asanas, Pranayam, Kriya, Bandh. The jury members will be drawn from educators, practitioners/ scholars from different institutions, schools and yoga institutes across the country. New Delhi: Delhi Police's Special Cell has questioned a few staff members and students in the last few days in connection with the February 9 event over which a case of sedition was registered and the varsity's students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others were arrested. The questioning was a part of investigation and none of them were detained. The students were identified with the help of the video clip of the event which was declared authentic by the CBI forensic lab, a senior official said on Thursday. Among others who were questioned were the ones who had initially sanctioned permission for the event and given it clearance. The questionings were conducted in the past two weeks. The Special Cell also wrote a series of letters to JNU authorities asking them to cooperate in the investigation, the official added. The raw video footage of the controversial February 9 JNU event was to be "authentic" by the CBI forensic lab earlier in June. Earlier, Delhi Police had sent four video clips of the event to Gandhinagar-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) which in its report, in May, had said that they were genuine. However, a Delhi government-ordered probe, into a set of seven video clippings of the controversial event sent to the Hyderabad-based Truth Labs, had found two clips to be manipulated while others as genuine. Kanhaiya, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in February and later granted bail in the case, which is now being probed by Delhi Police's anti-terrorism unit Special Cell. The report highlighted irregularities in the appointment of a private company as an advisor to the government on the water tanker scheme. It also pointed out that the hiring of consultants was done in an arbitrary manner. The allegations are politically motivated. It was not my decision to procure the water tankers. It was a collective decision by a board comprising DJB CEO, engineers and experts. A BJP MLA and two municipal councillors were also part of the decision making process," Dikshit said. Delhi government's fact-finding committee on the water tanker scam indicted former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in 2015 of wrongdoing, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government did not act on it for nearly a year, documents have revealed.The fact-finding report dated July 14, 2015, accessed by CNN-News18 on Friday, indicted former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit of causing a loss of Rs 400 crore to the national exchequer.However, despite being pointed out the irregularities in the Jal Board in 2015, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Sharma waited for almost a year before writing to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung asking him to get it probed either by the CBI or Delhi's Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB). Jung forwarded it to the ACB on Thursday."The allegations are politically motivated. It was not my decision to procure the water tankers. It was a collective decision by a board comprising DJB CEO, engineers and experts. A BJP MLA and two municipal councilors were also part of the decision making process," she told PTI.Reacting to the fact finding report, BJP MLA, Vijendra Gupta said, "It is highly suspicious that why Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sat on the files for almost a year. We suspect some secret understanding between Sheila Dikshit and Kejriwal."He said, "In July, when he (Kejriwal) noticed there was something wrong in the whole issue, then why did he remain siklent and release funds to the private companies on a monthly basis. He should have ordered a probe then with the permission of LG."The probe comes at a time reports suggested that Dikshit could be Congress party's poll in-charge in Punjab or its chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh.Dikshit questioned the timing of the probe saying it showed that a motivated campaign was being launched against her.me."Countering BJP's allegations, Congress Leader Kiran Walia, said, "It is unfair to level charges against anyone before the final investigation report. We are ready to face any probe."Walia claimed that the AAP government trying to divert the issue of 'office of profit' by raising the water tank scam."They (AAP government) are raising the issue for their political interests. I would like to ask Delhi Chief Minister, if he was so interested in weeding out corruption then why he was quiet for a year? He should have immediately terminated the contracts. Who stopped him from doing so?" she said. Chandigarh: The Haryana government on Friday extended till June 30 the term of the Justice S N Dhingra Commission, which is making inquiries into grant of land licenses to some companies including that of Robert Vadra's in Gurgaon. "The Haryana government has extended the term of the Justice S N Dhingra Commission of Inquiry till June 30, 2016," an official release said. A notification to this effect was issued by the state's Chief Secretary. The Haryana government had in December last year extended the Commission's term for a period of six months. The Manohar Lal Khattar government had in May last year set up the one-man inquiry commission under Dhingra, a retired judge of Delhi High Court, to probe issues concerning the grant of license(s) for developing commercial colonies by the Department of Town and Country Planning to some entities in Sector 83, Gurgaon. The Commission was to probe transfer or disposal of land, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of beneficiaries under the rules, and other connected matters, bringing Vadra land deal under the scanner. It was asked to submit its report within six months from the date of its first sitting. BJP had made the land deals under the previous Congress government in Haryana a major poll issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, alleging rules were relaxed to favour a few including Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar says that no filmmaker can function without the features of the popular search engine Google as movies are all about research. "We are always researching; when we make movies it's all about research - emotional research, historical research, sometimes just modality research. I think that there is no filmmaker who can function without the functions of Google," Karan said while hosting a show to announce Google's new search experiences for the Indian film industry. At the event, Karan interacted with some of the senior officials of the company just like he interacts with the celebrities from the film industry in his popular show 'Koffee With Karan'. "We spoke about what kind of impact Bollywood has on Google. Bollywood and Google definitely has a relationship. All our search engines go towards Bollywood, Google being such a large platform. "I always say that Google is like your mom; it has all the answers and sometimes answers that you may not want to read but they have the answers, and some harsh realities of your life and career pop up all the time. So it's all like really you don't want to go there, but you have to, because it is available to the world. "And what's also amazing is that it is your one-stop shop. That's the only way that I can really describe Google. Google is now also become a part of our daily parlance; it's almost like 'hello' and 'good morning', 'Google it', it's as simple. I think that's fantastic; one big brand that becomes a part of your day in an extraordinary way," he said. Karan has had his share of ups and downs in his careers with big hits like 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and the same time, disasters like 'Bombay Velvet'. "I absolutely love Google, who doesn't, we all love Google. Look me up and you'll find all my box-office hits on Google; what you will also find are my box-office disasters," he said. Karan's next film is 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma. Chennai: Megastar Rajinikanth is fine and vacationing in the US, said a source close to the actor amid rumours that he is not well. His publicist has clarified that Rajinikanth is well health-wise. "Rajinikanth sir is absolutely fine. He is vacationing in the US and is expected is return soon. Due to rigorous shooting schedule, doctors had advised him to take a break. Hence, he decided to go on a holiday," the publicist said. Some reports also suggested that Rajinikanth is undergoing kidney-related treatment in California. "He had undergone full medical check up in Chennai before he left for the US," the publicist clarified. From the first week of July, the 65-year old is expected to join the sets of Tamil actioner '2.o'. Rajinikanth's 'Kabali', in which he plays an ageing gangster, is slated for release on February 15. Ludhiana: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who surprised his fans by unveiling his muscular look for 'Dangal' earlier this week, on Thursday said he is a fan of his 'Andaz Apna Apna' co-star Salman Khan's physique, and considers him as the "original bodybuilder of the industry". 'Dangal', directed by Nitesh Tiwari, tells the story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who fought against all the odds to train his daughters, Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, in professional wrestling. Salman Khan will also be seen as a wrestler in his next film 'Sultan', which is slated to release on Eid this year. Asked about his comparison with Salman, Aamir said on the set of 'Dangal' here: "I have always been a huge fan of Salman Khan. In the industry, we have always admired Salman's body. "If someone has been involved in the bodybuilding in our industry, it is Salman. I am a fan of his body and his fitness. I don't think my body is as good as Salmans. I try to come close to him. He is the original bodybuilder of the industry." Aamir said there is no similarity between the two films as their stories are totally different. "I am really excited to watch Sultan' because every film of Salman is entertaining to watch. We enjoy his films a lot. Despite wrestling being a common aspect in our films, the story of our films is different. I loved the teaser and promo of the film and also the song, which has been coincidentally shot in Punjab," Aamir said. Further sharing details about 'Dangal', Aamir said: "The film goes beyond wrestling. Wrestling is an important aspect of the film but the script penned by Nitesh Tiwari (director and writer of Dangal') goes beyond it. "The film is filled with emotions. It is socially relevant and entertaining at the same time. We assume such stories to be very grim but you would be surprised to know that when I was listening to the script, I was laughing as much as I was crying. "Like Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani) picks up a very serious topic but his way of telling a story is humorous. Nitesh has chosen to go with the same style." Apart from Aamir, 'Dangal', which is currently being shot here at the Akhada Leel near Toosa village, also features Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra. The film is slated to release on December 23 later this year. Are we looking at an Orlando false flag with the recent mass shooting at Pulse (a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida) where over 50 people were reportedly killed? False flag attacks happen in the US with a certain and predictable regularity. It has been awhile since the last major false flag attack on US soil (San Bernardino), interspersed with one in Europe (Brussels). In recent years, the NWO manipulators throw a false flag operation into the mix every so often for numerous reasons. A first is to ensure the public doesnt forget about being scared in their home towns of being attacked anywhere at any time. A second is to ensure the public doesnt forget to continue being afraid of the bogeyman du jour (in this case ISIS or Islamic terrorism, better named Zio-Islamic terrorism in deference to the real force [Zionism] behind it). A third is to target different places (schools, movie theaters, nightclubs, etc.) and different segments (gays, teachers, etc.) in and of society, so that everyone starts to feel personally threatened by the specter of a mass shooting or bombing, because they identify more with that type of place or segment. A fourth is gun control: the continuing agenda which has been greatly accelerated under Obama for the US to override the 2nd Amendment, forbid gun ownership and bring US laws into harmonization with those of the Rockefeller-influenced UN. A fifth is distraction: the NWO social engineers time these events to keep other important topics out of the news (such as the ongoing and nefarious efforts to pass the TPP, TTIP, TISA, CETA and other giant free-trade agreements to further enslave the average citizen). There are other reasons, but thats a brief summary. With all that in mind, lets take a look at some of the specifics of the Orlando mass shooting case. Here are some salient points indicating that the Orlando mass shooting may be a false flag operation: Orlando False Flag Clue #1: Alleged Killer Worked for G4S The notorious G4s is a British multinational private security company, the worlds largest by revenue. It has already been exposed as having ties with Israel, and the security-intelligence apparatus of the US-UK-Zionist axis (CIA, MI6, Mossad). For instance, G4S was helping Israel with its prisons before recently pulling out due to unfavorable publicity (thanks to the BDS movement). It is therefore rather intriguing that the suspected mass killer/shooter (or patsy) Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim man, has been a G4S employee since 2007. Here is the official statement from G4S: Omar Mateen was employed by G4S at a residential community in South Florida and was off-duty at the time of the incident. Mateen was subject to detailed company screening when he was recruited in 2007 G4S is connected to 9/11 and Guantanamo too, as this article on Washingtons Blog states: Previously called Securicor, G4S provided security at all three airports affected by the 9/11 attacks. Securicor/G4S had bought Argenbright Securitythe 9/11 airport security firmjust nine months before the 9/11 attacks. The company later ran operations at Guantanamo Bay. Orlando False Flag Clue #2: Alleged Killer Already Known to the FBI With so many of these false flag events, the killers or patsies are already known to the FBI or other intelligence agencies. The FBI knew about Mateen; they evaluated his potential for terrorism by interviewing him at least two different times. You may recall that the FBI has become famous of late for its sting operations, where it has knowingly and willingly orchestrated fake terrorist acts to supposedly make us safer, while at the same time entrapping gullible people to play along and justifying its own existence. Orlando False Flag Clue #3: Alleged Killer Shot Before He Could Speak or Be Tried Dead men tell no tales. Omar Mateen has been shot, so were never going to hear his side of the story. This is certainly not the first time this has happened. Orlando False Flag Clue #4: Supposed Pledged Allegiance to ISIS ISIS is the pet frankenstein of the New World Order, so you can thoroughly expect the ISIS card to be played at false flag events to further (and falsely) cement in peoples minds the idea that ISIS is a real and imminent threat to America. It is patently obvious to many by now that ISIS-IS-ISIL-Daesh is a US-Israeli creation. Just like Islamic terrorists supposedly chanting Allah Akbar every time before they kill, the pledge of allegiance to ISIS has become a standard ingredient in the recent Western false flag recipe. Orlando False Flag Clue #5: Drill Occurred 3 Months Prior in Orlando You know the drill. Same time, same place, same event. With this Orlando mass shooting, there was a MCI (Mass Casualty Incident) drill that occurred 3 months ago, although there is not much information about the nature of it. Orlando False Flag Clue #6: 666 Numerology As with almost all false flag attacks, there is a numerological marker to the Orlando false flag event. The attack took place yesterday on June 12th, 2016, written in American English as 6/12/2016. There is a 6, then five central digits (1 + 2 + 2 + 0 + 1) which equal 6 when added together, then an ending 6, making a 666. The occult symbolism of this number is painted all over Illuminati and other Secret Society events. Coincidence? You decide. Orlando False Flag Clue #7: More Than 50 Dead Another reason to suspect the official narrative of the Orlando mass shooting is simply the alleged numbers of dead victims. More than 50 dead? The greatest number of dead people in the US since 9/11? So how does a security guard manage to possess the training and prowess to kill that many people in that short a time? We come across the same loophole in the official story of Sandy Hook, where skinny kid Adam Lanza is supposed to have shot and killed 26 people in record time. As Kevin Barrett writes: More than 50 dead? Only one shooter? And the guy was not even a special forces professional, but a flaky security guard?! (Who just happened to be on all the National Security radar screens, like so many others now-proven patsies.) Sorry, MSM, that doesnt pass the smell test. Its funny how almost all Muslim terrorists are either ridiculously ultra-competent supermen able to take down skyscrapers and blow up the Pentagon using a couple of package-openers as their only weapons; kill ludicrously large numbers of people in mass shootings without any military training; or otherwise perform amazing feats of mass carnage or else they are the worlds LEAST competent destruction-wreakers, dufuses who cant get a match lit to try to blow up their own shoe, or who pack their underwear with sterno camping fuel and no detonator and somehow expect their crotch to explode. Conclusion: Question Everything about the Orlando Mass Shooting As always, you have to question everything about these attacks. If you want the truth, youll get more of it by flipping or inverting everything the MSM (Mainstream Media) says, and using that as your starting point for investigations, rather than the other way around. Stay tuned for more evidence as the situation unfolds. New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said Congress and BJP have no 'moral right' to question the Delhi government on parliamentary secretaries. "Congress and BJP have no moral right to question us on parliamentary secretaries, who are not paid a single paisa, unlike the provisions for their councillors. According to the DMC Act only mayors are entitled to such benefits," AAP's Delhi Convenor Dilip Pandey told reporters. "They illegally created the posts of Leader of the House and Leader of Opposition, which have no existence in the DMC Act, in extending the facilities. The Chairman of the Standing Committee was also a beneficiary of that," Pandey said. The party accused BJP and Congress of bending the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to provide facilities to its councillors thus leaving them bereft of any "moral right" to question AAP on the issue of office of profit. The party said the standing committees of the civic bodies had unilaterally decided to extend the facilities of transportation and offices to certain councillors, which AAP claimed amounted to monetary graft. AAP said since the benefits were monetary in nature, the Standing Committee had no power to amend the Act and any such change had to be approved by the Lt Governor and the Union Home Ministry. "Why does not BJP leader Vijender Gupta forward a complaint related to these irregularities to the Anti-Corruption Branch?" Pandey asked. On the issue of the President's refusal to give assent to a bill to keep the 21 AAP MLAs, appointed as parliamentary secretaries, out of the ambit of office of profit, Pandey reiterated the lawmakers were assisting the government without any pecuniary benefits. Mumbai: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday said passage of the bill facilitating the Goods and Services Tax (GST), being hailed as the biggest indirect taxation reform, will "not benefit" the economy significantly. "GST is not big deal for the Indian economy. There is a feeling that it will simplify the tax system, I have no objection to it," he said, speaking at the industry lobby Indian Merchant Chamber (IMC) in Mumbai. "I don't think it is going to be a game-changer. If it comes, it is ok. If it doesn't come also it is ok," he said. It can be noted that the industry has been pegging an increase of upto 2 percentage points in the GDP growth just by the passage of this legislation which is stuck for many years now under two Union governments. Swamy also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had objected to the GST when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and now the Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa is objecting to it. "At one stage, when Mr Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister, he took objections and wrote a letter to the government," he said. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said earlier this week that most of the states barring Tamil Nadu have come on board on the long-pending Goods and Services Tax bill and expressed hope of pushing the legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session. Senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit has said she is ready for any role the party wants her to take up, following speculation that she may be the chief ministerial face in Uttar Pradesh. "I will be ready for anything that the party asks me to do. This is my only plea that whatever decision the high command wants to take, be taken quickly. Time is running short," she said. Sources in the Congress have claimed that the former Delhi CM could play an important role in Uttar Pradesh. Political strategist Prashant Kishore has been keen on a Brahmin face in the state which makes Dikshit a serious contender. There have also been reports that Dikshit may be made the Congress in-charge of Punjab after Kamal Nath stepped down over row on his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-sikh riots. Dikshit asserted that the party made the right choice by accepting Kamal Nath's resignation to avoid any possibility of a controversy. "We didn't want to get into a controversy at the time of an election. Akalis and the Aam Aadmi Party would have just talked about the issue if Kamal Nath would have served as the Congress in-charge in Punjab. It was wise of party president Sonia Gandhi to have taken that decision," she asserted while maintaining that Kamal Nath had no case against him. She hails from Kapoorthala in Punjab and is considered close to Congress' CM face Captain Amarinder Singh. Elections in both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are due to be held in 2017. Cyberbullying is a reality that many face on the internet and social media networks. It's something that people usually do not talk about. But in a digital age cyberbullying is a growing reality and many youngsters are affected by it.On June 17 this year, let's come together and spread awareness about cyberbullying on 'Stop Cyberbullying Day'. Cyberbullying refers to electronic communication used for the purpose of bullying. 92 per cent of parents in India are fearful that their children will be cyber bullying victims. Education is becoming increasingly key to mitigate growing online abuses rates.Launched by Cybersmile Foundation, 'Stop Cyberbullying Day' utilises social media to spread an anti cyberbullying message with the #SCD2016 hashtag on social networks.By 2017, 134 million children in India will be online, giving them access to a well of information and knowledge. Yet, more than half of the children between 8 and 17 years (that accounts for 53% who are currently utilising the net), have faced some form of cyberbullying at least once.As a result, parents in India fear online bullying more than physical bullying when it comes to their children. Compared to the global average, Indian parents are 20 per cent more likely to limit their childs online activities.Indian telecom operator Telenor has also pledged to support 'Stop CyberBullying Day 2016' this year and you can also do your bit in spreading awareness for this cause at Cybersmile's website Nairobi: A Kenyan court on Thursday threw out a bid to outlaw anal examinations on people suspected to be gay, a practice that has been criticised by rights activists. The case was brought by two men who challenged police use of rectal inspections after undergoing the procedure when being investigated for homosexuality, which is illegal in Kenya. Being gay can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years in the country, although prosecutions are rare. "There was no other way evidence could have been obtained to ascertain that they are gay without carrying out anal analysis," Judge Anyara Emukule said in a ruling at the High Court in the port city of Mombasa. The men are expected to appeal the decision. Eric Gitari, head of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya, called the tests "humiliating". The ban on homosexuality "has flooded Kenyan society with waters of prejudice, hatred and shame", he wrote in Newsweek ahead of the ruling. Homophobia is on the rise in Africa, and taking an anti-gay position while espousing evangelical Christian values is a major vote winner in many countries on the continent. Gay rights activists have warned of rising intolerance in Kenya, including attacks on homosexuals and alleged cases of lesbians being raped to "cure" them. Human Rights Watch wrote in a recent report that discrimination against homosexuals in Kenya "remains a major problem", and that the authorities' "response to mob attacks and other forms of anti-gay violence has been limited." According to the charging documents, Anderson used force while attempting to steal from an individual, and later stole food from the Skyline Inn in Sweet Home. When approached by an officer, he is said to have provided false information, and later resisted and escaped from the officer attempting to take him in. LEBANON What if a nurse in a poor African village had access to a medical diagnostic tool the size of a cell phone that could determine the presence and amount of virus in a sample of blood or saliva in minutes for less than $2 per sample? Although technology already exists to make such a reading, the equipment is usually based in a laboratory, takes time to run a test, costs thousands of dollars, isnt mobile and cannot withstand the rigors of heat, cold or sandstorms. But a development team that includes John Mata, associate professor of pharmacology at COMP-Northwest in Lebanon, and David Roberts of Takena Technologies in Albany, has developed a prototype device that worked the very first time it was tried, according to Roberts. The mobile diagnostic device which currently fits in a small plastic case is composed of a computer system linked to a laser and detector. Their project recently received a $20,000 John C. Erkkila Endowment for Health and Human Performance grant. The project is titled The Use of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Detect Virus in Blood. Mata said that initially the project will be focused on HIV, Zika and Ebola, although assays for human papillomavirus (HPV), tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis C (HCV), anthrax, malaria and salmonella are also in the design phase. The unique feature of this new technology is the ability to directly measure biological targets without the need for enzymes or heat sensitive reagents, he said. Further, the measurements can be made on a small battery-powered fluorometer that the research team has constructed as a prototype for this novel detection method. The goal of this research is to allow testing for early viral infection and other emerging pathogens anywhere in the world for a cost of less than $2 per test. And the device is targeted to cost less than $1,000 each. We started talking about this two years ago, Mata said. Mata brings the medical/biological background and expertise with synthetic RNA binding polymers to the table and Roberts brings the ability to design hardware and software. In a nutshell, Mata said every virus has its own unique identifying structure built upon DNA and RNA. By using RNA binding polymers modified with fluorescent dyes, and shining a laser through a fluid sample, we can determine the amount of a virus by how brightly the material glows when it finds a target, he said. Mata said that basically, we put in one wavelength of light and get out another wavelength. The difference in those wavelengths is the amount of virus in the sample. And, because viruses mutate as they come and go through outbreaks, the detection probes can be updated quickly with the latest identifying information. Mata and Roberts say that the prototype currently tests for only one virus at a time, but like the miniaturization of computer chips, they envision some day being able to test for up to 100 viruses at the same time. We want this to be a one-button operation, Roberts said. It will be the size of a cell phone, operate on two small batteries and be impervious to heat or cold. The men said the device could be used to detect issues with food or drinking water. This could be sold at Cabelas and someone who likes to hike could use one to determine whether water in a stream is contaminated, Roberts said. In addition to Mata and Roberts, other participants are researchers Thomas Squier PhD, Vishwanath Venketaraman PhD, Michelle Steinhauer PhD, and Yijia Xiong, PhD from the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. Joining Roberts from Takena Technologies is Greg Peek with James Summerton from GeneTools, LLC of Philomath, the inventor and manufacturer of the polymers. Jocelynn Powell, a first-year student at COMP-Northwest, is helping with lab research and other medical and undergraduate students and will begin assisting in the testing this summer. Roberts said all of the technology used in the prototype is currently available off the shelf in a much smaller size and is reasonably priced. He said the prototype cost about $1,500 in actual parts. The men presented the idea at a recent meeting to military representatives and said they were impressed with its potential. Information detected by the device can be uploaded like a text message or cellular phone call anywhere in the world, the men said, such as the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. 40 people with Zika Chief Medical Officer Dr Akenath Misir said the ministrys Integrated Management of Aedes Programme focuses on proper disposal of waste so as to reduce mosquito breeding grounds, not on spraying peoples homes. The committee also learnt that 985 patients had heart surgery at TTs public hospitals in the past year. Otherwise, Permanent Secretary Donna Ferraz revealed that in the past year some 810 patients had benefitted, to the tune of $37 million, from a fund itemised as households to access services that their local Regional Health Authority has problems supplying. The beneficiaries included 245 people receiving prosthetics, plus other patients receiving eye surgeries. Ferraz said this initiative is separate to the ministrys External Patient Programme. The ministrys programme administrator, Beesham Seetaram, told Government Senator Allyson Baksh that patients applying for this provision are first assessed by a medical social worker. Recall of Sleep Apnea Device Is Not Going Well (Newser) A "stunning, dazzling" find across the pond, per a French book publisher: a sketchbook that belonged to Dutch master painter Vincent Van Gogh, AFP reports. "This sketchbook was known only to the owners, myself, and the publisher," a Seuil official told the news agency Thursday, noting that the drawings will be published in November and called Vincent Van Gogh: Le Brouillard dArles (The Fog of Arles). And it's obvious they're hyping up the book's release by revealing very few details. "No further information will be divulged until the world press conference to be held in Paris in mid-November 2016 on the eve of the book's arrival in bookstores in the various countries," a Seuil statement says, per Atlas Obscura. (Read about the battle over a cherished Van Gogh work.) (Newser) Nate Bethea served as an infantry officer in the US Army from 2007 to 2014, and during that time, he fired thousands of rounds from assault rifles. "These weapons are intended for the battlefield. I dont want an assault rifle, because I dont want to think of my home country as a battlefield," he writes in the New York Times. "I dont want civilians to own assault rifles, because I think the risks outweigh the rewards. If people really do believe that they need them, maybe its because they see a battlefield where others dont." He notes that he's seen the effects the weapons have, and he doesn't want to think the US is such a dangerous place that we need such weapons. He quotes a friend, an Army Special Forces officer with multiple combat deployments: "People who say they need an AR for hunting or home defense often dont understand the weapons ballistics or overpenetration. ARs cause horrific damage to humans; thats why the military developed them. If you want to shoot an AR so bad, please feel free to join the fight against ISIS in the military." And, Bethea begs, please don't get hung up on the semantics. Yes, there are slight differences between assault weapons used by the military and the types of assault rifles civilians can buy, but the truth is, a civilian would be able to buy basically the same rifle Bethea carried in Afghanistan, and the same accessories, with little difficultyand that's not right. Click for his full piece. (Read more assault rifles stories.) (Newser) Brock Turner has become known as "the Stanford rapist" since he was convicted of sexual assault against a now 23-year-old woman and sentenced to six months in prison. But technically Turner, 22, wasn't convicted of rape: He was convicted of three counts of sexual assaultassault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign objectand California lawmakers now want to modify state laws so that all sexual penetration without consent is deemed rape, the Independent reports. This initiative comes via the California Legislative Women's Caucus, some of whose members believe the state's current definition of rape"an act of sexual intercourse without consent involving penile penetration"is too limiting. How these lawmakers think California should define rape: the same way the FBI does, which is: "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." This definition wouldn't allow for "wiggle room," wrote Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, the caucus's vice chair, in a blog post at Time. "Sexual penetration without consent is rape," she asserted. "It is never invited, wanted, or warranted. Rape is rape, period." She says that by tying the act of rape strictly to an act of "sexual intercourse" (meaning penile penetration), we're doing a disservice to victims. "Hopefully, being able to properly label the crime will ensure more survivors will see justice done." (How Stanford graduates expressed their outrage.) Next episode of 'Game of Thrones,' titled 'Battle of Bastards' will bring to fore one of the most-awaited battles on the show when Jon Snow will lock horns with Ramsay Bolton to claim Winterfell. Though Ramsay has a better and bigger force than Jon Snow, it is being said that the former Lord Commander of Night's Watch may get help from an unexpected source. As fans know, a few episodes back, Sansa Stark wrote a letter after coming back from her campaign to rally the support of North. Since the campaign did not prove to be completely successful, the Stark girl decided to ask for an outsider's help. Many assume that she wrote the letter to Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger of Vale, asking him to send his soldiers to fight by the side of Jon Snow. However, there is something more she wants to achieve through her letter. She knows that Ramsay can intercept any letter she sends south and she wants exactly this to happen. Why? It would help her get revenge against the evil Ramsay and if possible, Littlefinger, too. The latter is the person, who she holds responsible for marrying her off to the former. What she has in mind is quite an intelligent plan. As soon as Ramsay intercepts her letter, he would send a part of his army against Littlefinger, thereby, diminishing his own strength, and strengthening Jon's. If Littlefinger wins (the chances are high as he possesses a big and well-trained army), it would be great for his troops can advance north to help Jon. But even if he loses, it would keep Ramsay's soldiers engaged for a fair amount of time and bring tragedy for the cunning Littlefinger. So, in both the situations, she stands to gain and therefore, it must be said that it is a brilliant game plan on her part. Looks like she has matured a lot after going through the bitter trials in her life and we are more than happy to see this transformation. She is emerging fast as a smart player in 'Game of Thrones.' Meerut: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sangeet Som went ahead with the 'Paidal Nirbhay Yatra' despite denial of permission by local administration. However, after walking for 1 km with scores of his supporters, police stopped Som saying Section 144 that has been imposed in the area. This forced the BJP leader to suspend his march. Som told mediapersons that being a loyal BJP worker he would never break the law. "Senior officials have stopped us here saying Sec 144 is imposed here on, so we are stopping our "Yatra" here," Som said. Som has also warned the authorities to take necessary action to prevent people migrating from Kairana and ensure security to the locals. We are giving an ultimatum of 15 days to the state government to bring back families who have migrated. If the administration fails to do so, nobody will be able to stop the BJP workers from visiting Kairana or any other place to ensure security to the people, Som exhorted. Earlier, the District Magistrate had denied permission to Sangeet Som's Paidal Nirbhay Yatra across western Uttar Pradesh from Friday. In order to make people feel safe, the BJP MLA from Sardhana had decided to undertake a Paidal Nirbhay Yatra on Friday from Meerut to Shamli district. Som, an accused in 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, wanted to make those people feel secure, who are living in fear because of the communal atmosphere being created by some political parties. Som had also assured that BJP is with the people of Uttar Pradesh and that he wont let any untoward incident happen. Meanwhile, the nine-member BJP delegation which visited Kairana to probe the alleged migration of Hindu families on Wednesday targeted the UP government over the deteriorating law and order condition in the state. Addressing a press conference Suresh Kumar, BJP spokesperson said, The common man is not feeling safe and is helpless as he has no options but to live in an unsafe environment and the Uttar Pradesh government is fully responsible for this. Today I spoke with many people. The list which was released by Hukum Singh ji only included 346 families from Kairana and 83 of Kandla whwre as in real there are more people who have left the village and there are many more you are willing to do the same. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru: Indias indigenous basic trainer aircraft, Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), today made its inaugural flight here in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The two-seater aircraft designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was flown by Group Captain C Subramaniam and Group Captain Venugopal for about 10 to 15 minutes at the HAL Airport here. Aimed at being used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services, HTT-40 made its maiden flight on May 31. Indian Air Force is expected to procure 70 HTT-40 aircraft. Detailed design phase of HTT-40 was launched in August 2013 with HALs internal funding and was completed in May 2015. From then, it has taken 12 months to fly the first prototype. While the HTT-40 programme was almost junked during the UPA rule, Parrikar pushed both IAF and HAL to ensure development of the trainer. Complimenting the HTT-40 team for the accomplishment, he said, when I came here in March 2015 the confidence they had infected me also. They had promised me within one year they will fly the aircraft. Im happy that they have kept the assurance. According to HAL, the team behind HTT-40 programme is young with an average age of 29 when it started. The programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018, and towards this the company will be manufacturing three prototypes and two static-test specimens. Also work has started on the stall and spin tests campaign in order to meet the project timelines. The Defence Minister said, I request them to bring it still earlier, by the beginning of 2018, so that they can go into serial production in 2018 itself. He said while HAL would supply HTT-40 to defence forces, it would be permitted for certain percentage of export. Stating that HAL has proven track record in the design and development of basic trainer, Chairman T Suvarna Raju said HTT-40 was an example of the companys commitment to indigenously developing trainer aircraft for the armed forces. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Tripoli: Pinned down in the centre of the coastal city of Sirte, Islamic State group jihadists today stepped up suicide bomb attacks on forces of Libyas unity government who suffered 10 dead. The focus of IS counter-attacks has been aimed at retaking Sirtes port and western sectors of the city, the hometown of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi, military sources said. Jihadist groups took root in Libya in late 2014, taking advantage of the chaos and power struggles that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Kadhafi in 2011. A suicide attack using a booby-trapped car targeted the Abu Grein checkpoint, the forces of the Government of National Accord said in a statement sent to AFP. Forces allied to the GNA captured the town of Abu Grein on May 17 as they advanced on Sirte, the jihadists stronghold in Libya, 130 kilometres (80 miles) to the east. Thirty-two people were killed and 50 wounded in a car-bomb attack in Abu Grein the next day targeting the forces allied with the GNA. Ten members of the pro-GNA forces were killed and seven wounded in todays blast at Abu Grein, said sources at the central hospital in Misrata, from where they launched an offensive against the jihadists. The military command of the anti-IS operation said two other car-bombings inside Sirte itself were foiled today. Our forces managed to destroy two car bombs before they reached their targets, it said. The two cars had targeted positions of our forces on two fronts. The jihadists have mounted eight suicide car bombings against pro-GNA forces since Sunday, as they intensify efforts to regain lost ground in the Mediterranean city. The pro-GNA forces backed by air strikes entered the city last week, aiming to drive the extremist group out of its bastion on Europes doorstep. But the advance has been stalled since Sunday on the outskirts of Sirtes residential areas where the jihadists are holed up. Established in Tripoli more than two months ago, the UN-backed unity government has been struggling to exert its control over the North African country, which is awash with weapons. The operation to retake Sirte has so far left 155 pro-GNA fighters dead and 500 wounded, according to an AFP count based on reports from medical officials. Unity government head Fayez al-Sarraj said this week that the GNA forces advances in Sirte should be a model for a national initiative to fight terrorism. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: US President Barack Obama has warned that horrific mass shooting incidents like the recent one in Orlando will continue to occur unless tougher gun control laws are adopted. We cant anticipate or catch every single deranged person that may wish to do harm to his neighbours, or his friends, or his coworkers, or strangers. But we can do something about the amount of damage that they do, Obama told reporters. Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed individual like those in Aurora and Newtown to buy extraordinarily powerful weapons - and they can do so legally, Obama said. Obama along with Vice President Joe Biden met yesterday victims and families of the weekends mass shooting in which a self-radicalised Afghan-origin youth pledging allegiance to the ISIS killed 49 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. Another 53 were injured during the shooting that took place in the wee hours of Sunday. This debate needs to change. Its outgrown the old political stalemates. The notion that the answer to this tragedy would be to make sure that more people in a nightclub are similarly armed to the killer defies common sense. Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense, Obama said. And if we dont act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this - because well be choosing to allow them to happen. We will have said, we dont care enough to do something about it, Obama added. Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump has said that the casualties could have been far less if people were allowed to carry guns. Obama has been seeking tougher gun control laws that make its difficult for people to purchase such weapons of mass casualties. The strong gun lobby assisted by a Republican-controlled Congress is preventing Obama to accomplish his goal of a tough gun control laws. Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and parents, and they asked, why does this keep happening? And they pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage, he said. In his presidency Obama has made seven such trips to meet families and victims of a mass shooting. Hoping that Senators would rise to the moment and do the right thing, Obama said he is pleased that the Senate will hold votes on preventing individuals with possible terrorist ties from buying guns, including assault weapons. Ive said this before - we will not be able to stop every tragedy. We cant wipe away hatred and evil from every heart in this world. But we can stop some tragedies. We can save some lives. We can reduce the impact of a terrorist attack if were smart, Obama said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: The US has urged members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to support Indias membership into the elite grouping. The United States calls on Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG plenary, which I think is next week, State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday. Im not going to get ahead of how thats going to go or hypothesise and speculate about where its going to go, but weve made clear that we support the application, Kirby said in response to a question. During the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Barack Obama welcomed Indias application to the 48-member grouping. The US has been pushing for Indias NSG membership. Earlier, ahead of a meeting here US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of Indias bid, saying they should agree not to block consensus on Indian admission. A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support Indias application when it comes up at the NSG Plenary later this month. India, though not a member, enjoys the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules for its atomic cooperation deal with the US. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. The US support has come a day after Chinas official media expressed concern about Indias entry, saying it will shake the strategic balance in South Asia and make India a legitimate nuclear power. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Beijing: Tianhe-3, a supercomputer that can deliver at least a billion billion calculations per second is being developed by China, which claims will be operational by 2020, that is 3 years ahead of the US, Liao Xiangke, head of the school of computing at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) has said. The US has plans to deliver an exascale supercomputer capable of 1,000 petaflops in 2023. The exascale system will be the next major milestone in supercomputing performance. During the 13th Five-Year-Plan period (2016-2020), China will develop an exascale computer under the national plan for the next generation of high performance computers. The government of Tianjin Binhai New Area, NUDT and the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin are working on the project, and we plan to name it Tianhe-3, said Liao Xiangke. "It's entirely probable that one or more governments will deploy supercomputers with hypothetical peak performance of an exaflop by 2020," said Steve Conway, a high-performance computing analyst at IDC. "An exaflop is an arbitrary milestone, a nice round figure with the kind of symbolic lure the four-minute mile once held." But now the question is what exactly will China be capable of delivering in 2020? According to Conway, the first stage is likely be peak exaflop performance, and then a Linpack test. This will make it eligible for ranking on the Top 500 supercomputing list, he said. But the measure "that counts most, but will be likely be celebrated least," said Conway, "is sustained exaflop performance on a full, challenging 64-bit application." According to him, the third stage probably will not take place until the 2022 to 2024, the timeframe set by the US. Last year, the White House had released a plan for coordinating exascale development and defined an exascale system capable of "100 times the performance of current 10-petaflop systems across a range of applications representing government needs." Application performance is what the US emphasis on and not on a peak performance record. Even if China delivers, Tianhe-3, the supercomputer by 2020, it will spark a debate over the usefulness of the machine. Tianhe-1, Chinas first petaflop supercomputer capable of at least a million billion calculations per second came into service in the supercomputing centre in 2010. Tianhe-1 at present performs various tasks including oil exploration, high-end equipment manufacturing, biological medicine and animation design. It also serves nearly 1,000 customers, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch no less than 20 satellites under one mission on June 22 from the Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. ISRO had successfully launched the first technology demonstrator of indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) on May 23 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. In June 22 ISRO mission, the satellites will be launched from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 09.25 AM, ISRO said. As ISRO gears up for the big launch, here are the five things you should know: 1. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C34 will carry all the satellites, including Cartosat-2, Indias earth observation spacecraft. 2. 19 co-passenger satellites weighing about 560 kg at lift-off into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) will be launched by the PSLV-C34. 3. The total weight of all the 20 satellites carried on board PSLV-C34 is about 1,288 kg. 4. The co-passengers include satellites from the US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia as well as two satellites from Indian Universities. 5. The mission will include LAPAN A3 of Indonesia, BIROS of Germany, SKYSAT GEN 2-1 of US, MVV of Germany among the micro satellites. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : In one of a kind initiative, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the help of students of the College Of Engineering Pune (CoEP) has developed its Pico Satellite Swayam which is set to launch on June 20. The students are working on the project, since 2008, on the campus on a corpus fund of Rs 50 lakh. The satellite is being launched along with ISROs satellite CartoSat-2C from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Speaking to media on Thursday, BB Ahuja, Director of CoEP, said the utility of the satellite will be to ensure that end-to-end communication is established even in the remotest of places. Students involved in the project said that the satellite weighs less than 1,000 grams and hence, is termed as Pico satellite. Moreover, since the satellite aligns itself with the magnetic field on its own, hence termed as Swayam. The satellite uses the magnetic field of the earth to stabilise the satellite after the launch. This technology is unique and will be used for the first time in the country, added Ahuja. Besides, Project manager Dhaval Waghulde said students of all faculties and different batches participated in the project with seniors passing on the expertise to the new students. Meanwhile, faculty head, Manisha Khaladkar said that a second project has also been approved by ISRO. Though currently unnamed, she said, the project will be powered by solar energy and will be three times the current size of the satellite. The satellite will fly like a kite and will send the data on ion composition regularly to earth that can be then studied. This project will be powered by only solar energy, she added. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ahmedabad: Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 killed in Gulbarg society massacre, today expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict in the case, saying the court did injustice to her. She also said that she will approach the high court against the verdict of the special SIT court which today sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case. Zakia is particularly unhappy with the seven-year jail term awarded to 12 convicts and 10-year sentence to one other convict, who were held guilty for lesser offences not including murder. She is also miffed with the acquittal of 36 others in the case. I dont understand why 11 were given life imprisonment and some are given just seven or ten years of imprisonment. Why this selective approach as they all were part of a violent mob which killed people inside the society. This is wrong justice. The court did injustice to me, Zakia said while talking to reporters. I was there in the society when the violent mob brutally killed my husband (Ehsan Jafri). He was an MP, yet he was hacked to death and burnt alive in the middle of road. Todays verdict is not sufficient for such crime. I wished that court had given lifer to all of them who were involved in the crime, she said. According to her, those who were acquitted were also guilty and should be punished. My fight for justice will continue. Why these 36 were acquitted? Did they save any resident of the society? They were also part of the mob. I am not at all satisfied with todays verdict. I will approach the high court against it, Zakia said. A special SIT court here today sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case of burning alive of 69 people, including former Congress MP Eshan Jafri, in the 2002 post-Godhra violence. The court awarded ten-year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. However, her son Tanvir Jafri said there was definitely some sense of closure at the convictions but it would have to be seen why some of the accused were not convicted. We will definitely contest in the High Court some of the acquittals, he said. Former SIT chief R K Raghavan who had probed the incident, welcomed the judgement. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ahmedabad: Special Investigation Team (SIT) counsel in the 2002 Gulbarg massacre case, R C Kodekar today expressed dissatisfaction about courts verdict in the case and announced to approach the High Court, as he felt the sentence was too "lenient". Kodekar was upset especially after the courts refusal to add till death clause in the life sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the case. Todays verdict is not that satisfactory. We feel the sentence is lenient and inadequate. During arguments, we had appealed to the court that life imprisonment till death should given to all. We are not convinced with the penalty awarded, said Kodekar. 12 convicts were given only seven years, which is very lenient too. It should be either ten years of life imprisonment, he said. We will appeal in the High Court, said Kodekar. Gulbarg is one of the nine cases that was investigated by Supreme Court appointed SIT, headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan. A special court here today sentenced 11 convicted in the massacre, to life imprisonment till death if the state does not exercise power to remit the sentence. The court awarded ten year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. The prosecution had argued that all the 24 convicts should be given death penalty. The Gulbarg Society massacre, which took place here on February 28, 2002 when Narendra Modi was the Gujarat Chief Minister, shook the nation when a mob of 400 people set about attacking the society in the heart of Ahmedabad and killed the 69 residents including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: India has taken up with Bangladeshi authorities the death threat to a priest of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka by suspected militants claiming to be from the ISIS even as security at the complex has been beefed up. The Ramakrishna Mission received a threat letter on Wednesday which said the priest will be killed if he continues to preach his religion, amid a string of targeted murders across the country by suspected militants in the recent months. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today that the Indian High Commission has taken up the issue with Bangladeshs Foreign Ministry and police. High Commission of India, Dhaka, has contacted both Bangladesh Police and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and have been assured of full support and protection. We are also in direct contact with the RK Mission in Dhaka, Swarup said. He said police presence at the complex has been strengthened. Swarup said the First Secretary (Consular) in the High Commission visited the RK Mission this morning to review the security. The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission is a branch of the Belur Math in Kolkata. A police official in Dhaka yesterday had said the priest received the letter on Wednesday evening on a computer-composed IS letterhead with the perpetrator identifying himself as one AB Siddiqui. Bangladesh is an Islamic state. You cant preach your religion here. If you continue preaching, youll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th, the officer quoted the letter as saying. The letter, he said, did not mention any month. Suspected Islamists have killed a number of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh in recent months prompting authorities to launch a nationwide anti-militant clampdown since Friday. Bangladesh authorities have detained nearly 12,000 people in a nationwide crackdown to halt a spate of deadly attacks. Some of those arrested were linked with outlawed Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh. Though most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State or its affiliates and other similar extremist groups, the Bangladesh government has repeatedly dismissed the claims and said the attacks were carried out by homegrown outfits linked to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. London: British Premier David Cameron has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the UKs firm support for Indias NSG membership bid, a boost to the country ahead of the nuclear trading clubs crucial meeting next week. Cameron confirmed Britains backing for Indias membership of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in a telephone call to Modi yesterday. A Downing Street spokesperson said, The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indias application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would firmly support Indias application. They agreed that in order for the bid to be successful it would be important for India to continue to strengthen its non-proliferation credentials, including by reinforcing the separation between civil and military nuclear activity, the spokesperson said. The two leaders also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate), the spokesperson said. Indias case for NSG membership is also being strongly pushed by the US, which has written to other members to support Indias bid at the plenary meeting of the group expected to be held in Seoul on June 24. While majority of the elite group backed Indias membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to Indias admission. China maintains opposition to Indias entry, arguing that it has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China wants NSG membership for its close ally Pakistan if NSG extends any exemption for India. India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France. The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking support for its entry. The NSG works under the principle of consensus and even one countrys vote against India will scuttle its bid. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: After a wait of over three decades, the IAF will finally get its hands on the first squadron of indigenous Tejas next month with the delivery of the fourth Light Combat Aircraft. However, the first squadron will be made of up of just four Tejas aircraft, in stark contrast to at least 16 aircraft that usually makes up for one squadron globally. State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, manufacturer of Tejas, will hand over the fourth aircraft to the Air Force on July 1. The four aircraft will be used for training and familarisation. Rather than waiting for LAC Mk II, IAF had decided to go in with an upgraded version of the existing Tejas with over 40 modifications. IAF currently plans to acquire 120 Tejas aircraft, with 100 of these having major modifications. The force wants Active Electrically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Unified Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite, mid-air refuelling capacity and beyond the vision range missiles. As per the production plan, six aircraft will be made this year (2015-16) and HAL will subsequently scale it up to eight and 16 aircraft per year. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. judi online hadir sebagai solusi praktis saat ingin memasang taruhan dengan mudah dan fleksibel. Berbagai tipe game bermunculan dan sportsbook terutama taruhan bola masih mendominasi. Anda cukup berkunjung ke situs judi bola lalu siap memainkan gambling kapan saja. Judi seperti ini membutuhkan akun dan deposit. Akun menjadi bukti bahwa anda adalah member. Situs tersebut hanya memberikan akses kepada member yang valid. Sebelum lanjut bermain, segera ikuti prosedur daftar dan lakukan apa yang dibutuhkan. Deposit di situs judi menggunakan beberapa cara. Yang sering dipakai adalah transfer bank sebab lebih praktis dan mudah. Ada juga deposit dengan e-money yang sedang tren serta sering dipakai kalangan muda. Uang yang masuk dianggap sebagai saldo lalu dipakai membeli kupon judi bola online. Fitur Situs Judi Bola Fitur judi berguna agar aktivitas dapat dilaksanakan tanpa kendala. Di judi online seperti sportsbook, mayoritas fitur tidak berbeda jauh dengan gambling lain seperti live casino. Akan tetapi, objek dan acuan berbeda sehingga harus menyesuaikan beberapa situasi. Cek daftar berikut untuk mengetahui penjelasan lebih lanjut. 1. Akses dan server Akses situs judi membutuhkan server 24 jam yang terus online tanpa henti. Anda dapat bermain kapan saja sehingga lebih fleksibel. Bandingkan saat masih bermain secara konvensional. Dari semua sistem judi yang tersedia, taruhan bola memang cocok dengan sistem online sebab sesi judi bukan melawan member lain seperti poker. 2. Deposit Seperti yang disebutkan sebelumnya, deposit merupakan cara member mengisi saldo. Uang tersebut dipakai secara otomatis. Transaksi memakai cara non tunai yang dijamin oleh pihak situs judi. Selain deposit, ada juga withdraw yaitu menarik dana dari akun. Jika memenuhi syarat, proses ini dapat dilakukan. Sistem transaksi akan terus muncul yang baru terutama metode e-money. Untuk menjamin keamanan, pihak pengelola hanya memilih yang telah berlisensi resmi. 3. Customer service Saat anda bingung cara deposit, customer service akan memberikan solusi. Mereka dapat dihubungi 24 jam kapan saja. Pihak pengelola ingin memberikan layanan terbaik sehigga keberadaan cs sangat penting. Daftar Jenis Judi Bola Online Secara umum, cara main judi ini adalah anda membuat prediksi lalu memasang. Misalnya, dua tim akan menghasilkan lebih dari dua gol. Opsi klasik yaitu prediksi apakah pertandingan berakhir dengan imbang, menang, atau kalah. Jenis taruhan yang tersedia di situs judi bola dapat disimak pada daftar berikut. 1. Tebak hasil Bagi yang baru bermain di situs judi bola, mulai dari pilihan yang mudah dan sudah familiar. Contohnya adalah tebak hasil atau three ways. Seperti yang disebutkan sebelumnya, opsi ini akan memberikan pilihan menang, imbang, dan kalah. Ini merupakan taruhan klasik yang diterapkan sejak lama. Nama lainnya adalah three ways karena terdiri dari tiga opsi. Selain itu, ada juga double chance yaitu memilih dua dari tiga opsi tersebut. Selanjutnya, pilihan taruhan yang juga berkaitan adalah draw no bet terdiri dari yes dan no. Bettor akan menang saat tim yang dipilih menang. Akan tetapi, uang taruhan segera dikembalikan karena hasilnya seri. 2. Halftime/fulltime Ada juga pilihan lain disebut halftime/fulltime. Anda menebak hasil di masing-masing babak. Misalnya, seri di babak pertama dan menang di babak akhir. Pilihan ini terdiri dari beberapa kombinasi karena menggabungkan dua sesi. Cara bermain judi ini tidak sebatas tebak hasil karena pihak pengelola juga menambahkan over under, double chance, dan lainnya. Satu kategori dapat diperluas dan berlaku secara online. 3. Over under Jenis taruhan bola yang terkenal dari situs judi bola over/under. Cara memakainya adalah anda menentukan berapa maksimal atau minimal gol. Misalnya, member memilih over 1.5 yaitu gol harus lebih dari 1.5 atau minimal 2. Hal sebaliknya berlaku saat menentukan under 1.5 dimana maksimal gol adalah 1.5. Fitur over under termasuk yang mudah dimengerti karena pilihannya juga sangat jelas. Anda akan menemukan opsi terendah yaitu 0.5 dan tertinggi 5.5 bahkan hingga 6.0. 4. Both team to score Anda menebak dua tim akan memasukkan gol. Untuk memasang prediksi ini, pilihannya adalah both teams to score. Jika pilih yes, anda menang saat keduanya mampu menciptakan gol. Tentu saja, pilihan no berarti salah satu tim tidak mencetak gol. 5. Clean sheet Saat cek situs judi bola, ada pilihan disebut sebagai clean sheet yaitu hasil pertandingan tanpa gol bagi satu atau dua tim. Opsi ini juga berkembang dengan pilihan clean sheet di babak pertama dan kedua. 6. Handicap Situs judi bola juga menambahkan pilihan yang cukup populer yaitu handicap. Istilah ini terkait memberikan kekurangan atau keunggulan sehingga awal pertandingan tampak tidak imbang. Hal ini terjadi karena salah satu tim dianggap sangat kuat atau lemah. Minimal Deposit 50.000 IDR Metode Deposit Transfer Bank, Gopay, OVO, Pulsa Game favorit SBOBET, Casino, Slot, Poker, Tangkas Provider terpercaya SBOBET, Maxbet, Nexus, IDN Poker, Joker123 Bonus Judi Online di Situs Multibet88 Setelah mengetahui opsi judi dan fitur yang tersedia di situs tersebut, bagian berikutnya adalah membahas bonus yang diterima. Anda dan para member berhak mendapatkannya karena mampu memenuhi syarat tertentu. 1. Bonus rollingan Situs judi bola memberikan bonus rollingan. Sistem ini berdasarkan total taruhan dan berlaku di semua game. Sekian persen dari taruhan akan dikembalikan lagi kepada member. Bonus seperti ini mempunyai beberapa syarat yang sangat penting. Pada umumnya, member wajib mencapai batas minimal tertentu. Situs judi kadang membuat bonus rollingan berlaku umum yaitu tidak terikat game dan taruhan. Member akan tetap menerimanya meskipun bermain pada judi lain. Perlu anda ketahui, sportsbook bukan hanya sepakbola sehingga opsi bonus semakin besar. 2. Event Situs judi bola sering mengadakan event serta memberikan promo. Misalnya, event tebak juara saat kompetisi atau turnamen sedang berlangsung. Ada juga mix parlay yaitu tawaran memasang kupon judi terdiri dari beberapa pilihan. Event akan selalu ada apalagi di periode tertentu dimana para bettor sedang memiliki waktu luang. Selain event berdasarkan kompetisi, pihak situs judi juga membuat acara seperti akhir tahun, mingguan, liburan, dan sebagainya. 3. Jackpot Jackpot juga sering dibagikan di situs judi bola. Member harus membeli kupon dan menunggu undian. Hadiah besar siap diterima jika beruntung menang. Program ini kadang diperluas ke game lain. 4. Referral Referral adalah bonus karena member mengajak orang lain bergabung. Semakin banyak yang ikut serta di situs judi maka peluang komisi juga meningkat. Sistem ini memakai kode khusus sebagai identifikasi. Cara memperoleh referral tidak ada batasan. Member berhak memakai cara apa saja misalnya share ke social media, website, dan video streaming. Bonus berlaku selama judi online tetap beroperasi. Situs judi bola menyediakan bonus dan promo untuk menarik banyak member. Mereka berhak menerima lebih apalagi yang sering bermain dan loyal. Jadi, anda segera terus meningkatkan transaksi dan menangkan banyak bonus besar. Keunggulan Yang Identik Dengan Agen Judi Bola Bagus Dari aspek mana saja tidak akan ditemukan hal yang kurang atau mengecewakan dari agen judi bola online bagus. Agen judi online terbagus selalu memiliki cara mereka sendiri untuk memberikan yang terbaik bagi membernya. Kepercayaan yang pemain berikan dengan cara mendaftar kesana akan dibalas dengan sepadan melalui berbagai keunggulan yang hanya akan anda dapatkan jika bermain gambling bola online dari agen taruhan bola terbagus ini. Detailnya akan dibahas disini jadi simak sampai akhir bila anda ingin tahu lebih banyak. Fasilitas Utama Agen Judi Bola Terbagus Agen judi bola online terbagus diakui dan mendapatkan banyak kepercayaan dari pemain pasti karena ada alasan yang jelas. Harus ada hal logis yang menjadi kriyteria dari agen taruhan bola ini menjadi yang terbagus diantara agen taruhan bola yang lainnya. Jumlah pemain agen taruhan bola ini juga semakin besar dari tahun ke tahun membuktikan jika kualitas dari agen judi online ini memang fakta bukaan hanya sekesar janji saja untuk menarik banyak pemain gambling bola online. Detail fasilitas unggulan yang dimiliki oleh agen judi bola terbagus adalah sebagai berikut ini: 1. Jam operasional dan layanan bandar yang akan dibuka selama 24 jam, setiap hari tanpa cuti selama satu tahun penuh. 2. Bisa menghubungi custumer service melalui layanan livechat, whatsapp dan email selama 24 jam juga. 3. Custumer service adalah asisten pribadi yang akan membantu mengatasi kendala yang dialami pemain kapan saja. Custumer service memang sudah sangat terlatih dan profesional sehingga mampu merespon dengan sangat cepat. 4. Ada banyak permainan hgambling bola yang bisa dimainkan disini dari mix parlay, handicap, ix2, outright, kick off, odd/oven dan under/over dengan nilai taruhan yang paling rendah adalah 1000 rupiah saja. 5. Bonus yang akan didapatkan pemain yang sudah bermain di agen judi online ini ada bonus anggota baru, referal, depo harian, pinjaman online, bonus liga lokal, cashback dan toko kode promo. Permainan gambling bola yang ada di agen judi bola terbagus ini memakai semua pertandingan yang ada di bursa bola besar dan terpercaya seperti Agen Sbobet sampai ubobet. Permainan gambling yang anda mainkan disini juga termasuk permainan yang fair karena memakai teknologi live streaming dan sistem manual multiplayer yang tidak memberikan kesempatan pemain maupun bandar untuk melakukan kecurangan. Setiap transaksi yang ada di agen judi bola terbagus ini juga telah menggunakan aturan baru yang membuat pemain tidak harus menghabiskan banyak waktu untuk melakukan transaksi. Midsalnya saja untuk melakukan pendaftaran ke agen judi online ini yang sekarang bisa dilakukan hanya dengan memberikan data personal asli yang masih berlaku ke custumer service dan cs yang akan melakukan pendaftaran id pemain untuk anda. Ketentuan baru ini yang akan membuat pendaftaran tidak lagu butuh waktu yang lama. Deposit Yang 1000% Aman Dan Mudah Agen judi bola terbagus juga berani menjamin setiap transaksi keuangan yang dilakukan disini akan berjalan dengan lancar dan 100% aman. Misalnya seperti deposit yang menggunakan aturan pemain harus transfer ke nomor rekening yang didapatkan langsung dari Custumer service dan memakai nomor rekening yang masuk ke server. Aturan itu berlaku untuk berjaga-jaga bila ada masalah yang terjadi bandar akan mudah melakukan pelacakan dan mengatasi kendala dengan mudah. Deposit yang ada di agen taruhan bola online ini bisa dibayar mulai dari 10.000 saja. Deposit juga bisa memberikan bonus depo harian 5 ribu. Proses deposit yang harus dilakukan pemain akan melalkui proses berikut ini: Langkah yang pertama pemain harus sudah memiliki id pemain disini. Setelah melakukan pendaftaran baru login ke web agen taruhan bola online terpercaya ini. Setelah itu harus ada komunikasi yang dilakukan dengan custumer service untuk meminta nomor rekening bandar yang masih aktif. Langkah yang kedua, setelah dapat nomor rekening bandar aktif di agen judi bola terbagus ini langsung datang ke ATM. Transfer sejumlah dana ke nomor rekening bandar yang masih aktif tadi (harus pakai nomor rekening yang anda pakai untuk mendaftar). Jangan transfer uang dalam jumlah yang dilebihkan karena tetap yang akan masuk tetap sesuai dengan yang anda masukkan ke dalam formulir deposit nantinya. Langkah yang ketiga, kembali login dengan menggunakan id pemain yang anda miliki. Lanjutkan dengan livechat bersama custumer service untuk menunjukkan bukti transfer yang telah anda lakukan. setelah pengecekan yang dilakukan oleh custumer service selesai anda bisa melanjutkan ke tahap yang berikutnya. Langkah yang keempat, anda bisa memilih menu deposit dan klik pilihan deposit dengan uang asli. Nanti akan muncul form deposit yang harus anda lengkapi dengan data ini: 1. User ID 2. Password 3. Bank yang dipakai 4. Nomor rekening bandar 5. Nomor rekening pemain 6. Jumlah deposit yang dibayar Submit setelah melakukan pengecekkan dan tidak ada yang salah dari data dan proses deposit online yang anda lakukan dengan uang asli di agen judi bola terbagus ini. Transaksi Withdraw Tanpa Potongan Agen judi bola terbagus juga akan mempermudah pemainnya untuk melakukan tarik dana atau dikenal sebagai transaksi withdraw. Saat pemainb ingin mengatur jumlah saldo yang ada di akun mereka, saat akan cuti atau bahkan saat ingin berhenti bermain judi bisa langsung melakukan transaksi withdraw kapan saja dengan lancar dan tentu saja selalu aman. Transaksi withdraw di agen taruhan bolka online ini bisa dilakukan dengan proses sebagai berikut ini: 1. Login dengan pakai user id dan password. 2. Hubungi custumer service dan berikan user id yang anda miliki, minta custumer service untuk mengecek sisa saldo yang anda miliki. 3. Klik menu withdraw yang ada di agen taruhan bola terbagus ini, isi dengan user ID, password, bank, uang yang ditarik dan nomor rekening yang anda miliki. 4. Tunggu konfirmasi, saat ada konfirmasi yang masuk ke email langsung cek rekening anda untuk memastikan uang yang tadi anda tarik sudah masuk. Meskipun pemain bermain dengan menggunakan pulsa, saat melakukan withdraw akan tetap cair dalam bentuk uang asli. Selain itu bandar juga tidak akan memotong dana yang anda tarik untuk biaya admin jadi uang yang ditarik akan tetap utuh. Pemain yang melakukan deposit ini harus menyisakan saldo 10.000. Agen judi bola terbagus memang selalu memiliki banyak keunggulan yang membuat banyak pemain betah bermain disini. Dari fasilitas yang lengkap dan layanan keuangan yang aman serta mudah akan membuat pemain tidak memiliki keraguan untuk bermain derngan jumlah bet yang besar. Jadi anda juga harus mulai bergabung dengan agen taruhan bola online ini supaya bisa sukses sama dengan pemain yang telah lebih dulu daftar ke agen judi online ini. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, officially announced on June 16 it will invest VND340 billion ($15 million) in Anova Feed JSC to build more animal feed facilities in support of the countrys growing livestock industry. The IFC will provide the investment through five year convertible bonds to help Anova Feed build two more mills in the provinces of Dong Nai and Hung Yen and a warehouse in Long An Province over the next two years. The feed producers new mills and livestock warehouse will create more than 500 new jobs and supply livestock products to nearly 40,000 farmers all over the nation. Nguyen Hieu Liem, CEO of Anova Corporation, said: IFCs financing will help Anova Feed triple its production capacity, providing quality and reliable feed to the fast growing animal protein sector in Vietnam and we are also seeking IFCs advice in expanding our reach to other countries and strengthening corporate governance standards in preparation for a listing. The IFC will support Vietnam's livestock production to pursue food safety and create hundreds of jobs. Photo by VnExpress Photo Contest/Le Quoc Hung In addition to financing, the IFC will help Anova Feed deploy sustainable operations by applying IFC Performance Standards and the World Bank Group Environment, Health and Safety Guidelines. Domestic demand for meat has increased rapidly thanks to the countrys growing population and higher standards of living. Vietnam's agriculture sector has been driven by small production and its farmers are seeking sustainable measures in bio-security and feed quality. IFC aims to support the sustainable development of Vietnams agricultural sector, which is rapidly growing and accounts for more than 20 percent of the countrys gross domestic product, said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. By supporting companies like Anova Feed, we are promoting the development of efficient and sustainable local private enterprises along the agribusiness supply chain as a driver of competitiveness and improvement in agriculture products in the local market. The IFC has stepped up its investments in agriculture in recent years. In the fiscal year ending in June 2015, the IFC invested $3 billion across the agriculture supply chainfrom production to retail distribution, to help improve output, foster liquidity, promote logistics and distribution, and expand access to credit for small farmers. At the end of the fiscal year, the IFCs committed agriculture investment reached $5.2 billion. The IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide. In the 2015 fiscal year, the IFC's long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion. Related news: > Vietnams Dragon Capital to get $50m IFC debt to deepen corporate bond market > Food and beverage giant Masan reports record first quarter earnings > Masan Group buys $64mln stake in Vissan Vietjet welcomes new jet as it aims for dominant position in Vietnam Vietnamese low-cost carrier Vietjet has passed another milestone in its fleet expansion plan following the arrival of a new Airbus A320. The new jet, which touched down at Ho Chi Minh Citys Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Thursday, has expanded the budget carriers fleet to a total of 40, including 180-seat A320s and 220-seat A321s, said Vietjet in a press release. The jet was delivered to Vietjet straight from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. This is the 18th delivery from an order for 100 A320 aircraft that the low-cost airliner placed in 2014. We are delighted to have more new aircraft joining our fleet to continue to expand our network in the Asia Pacific region and all over the world. Vietjet is proud to operate a new, modern and lively fleet and is always committed to new generation aircraft to bring our passengers comfortable and high-quality flights, said Luu Duc Khanh, Vietjets managing director. Ground staff check a VietJet A320 airplane before departure for Bangkok, at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/ Kham The airline also recently struck a deal with Boeing for 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft worth $11.3 billion. This has become the largest single commercial airplane purchase ever in Vietnams aviation history. Vietjets seat capacity was up 74 percent year on year, making it the second fastest growing airline in the region last year, according to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). The low-cost carrier is expanding its fleet at speed to meet the rising demand in both domestic and international market. VietJet has captured a 40 percent share of the domestic market, and will likely surpass the national flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines in 2016 as the countrys largest domestic carrier, said CAPA. VietJet carried 9.3 million passengers in 2015, an increase of 66 percent from 2014. Revenue soared 205 percent last year to 10.9 trillion dong ($486 million), while net income rose to almost VND1 trillion, according to the company. The airline expects revenue to double this year and passenger numbers to reach 15 million. Vietjet is aiming to seek a valuation of at least $1 billion for its initial public offering. That would make VietJet a more valuable company than Malaysias AirAsia Bhd., PT Garuda Indonesia and Thai Airways International. Vietjet started operating in 2011 and has since grown to become one of Vietnams largest airlines. Related news: > VietJet and Boeing sign $11.3 billion airplane sales deal > VietJet secures $35.5 million loan from Vietnamese bank to expand fleet > Australia's Qantas and Vietnam Airlines to invest $139mln to expand Jetstar Pacific fleet The Boughton administration needs to step up to the plate and responsibly challenge the proposed, yet unapproved, second expansion of the interstate Algonquin methane (natural gas) pipeline in Danbury. This expansion, dubbed Atlantic Bridge by the builder and operator, Spectra Corp., is proposed to run in Danbury from the terminus of the ongoing AIM pipeline expansion segment (just south of the high school) to the vicinity of Rockwell Road over in northeast Danbury. On its way, it will, according to plans submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), plough off the previous right of way for close to a mile on Maple Ridge Road and Berkshire Drive just west of Route 37 and Padanaram Brook. This greenfield, or newly dug up, construction will dramatically disrupt the lives of dozens of residents on those densely inhabited roads. This type high-impact construction undermines Spectras constant claim that the Algonquin pipeline projects are relatively desirable because of the use of a pre-existing right of way. Because of comparable unwarranted disruption, many towns in neighboring states, along the path of the Algonquin, are standing up to FERC and Spectra unlike the Boughton administration. New York Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have been pressured by state and local legislators, along with grassroots organizations, to call a halt to the already approved AIM project in New York until further health and environmental review is done. We need the same public engagement in Connecticut and Danbury. Despite the head-in-the sand fatalism exhibited by some parts of Danbury government, neither Atlantic Bridge nor the third proposed segment, Access Northeast (to possibly cross the Still River again in a green field construction), are close to being approved by FERC. Belying the supposed inevitability of the methane pipelines, grassroots pressure in Massachusetts and Hartford area recently helped stop the already approved North East Direct methane pipeline project (which would have expanded Kinder Morgans Tennessee pipeline, which runs roughly north/south through Connecticut, as opposed to the Algonquins west to east orientation). Pleading inevitability, by anyone in local government, is just irresponsible. Danbury has been ground zero for these extraneous pipeline projects, remarkably being included in all three expansions due in large part to the proximity of the soon-to-be-ramped-up, toxin-spewing compressor station just over the New York border. Unlike other past industrial or even corporate investments in the area, we get little more from the pipeline projects than disruption and perpetual risk. As a responsible response to this situation, the Boughton administration and Danbury, like most other cities on the pipeline path, needs to be asking the obvious questions of FERC about the projects justification and requesting details on the projects health, safety and environmental liabilities. An ignited rupture on this high pressure line would be catastrophic for the city. Spectra and FERC, could, at the very least, be asked to produce a detailed contingency plan for such an event including compensation. This kind of public inquiry is easily accomplished on the FERC public docket and would, at the least, demonstrate to Spectra that someone in Danbury government is watching and closely evaluating their activities in the area. Residents on their own (especially those near the near Route 37 pathway deviation) need not tolerate or submit to the prerequisite land surveys on their properties by Spectra or their contractors. As an aid, you find a simple legal letter at http://www.sierraclub.org For more general information on the methane pipelines in this area, check the websites http://www.sierraclub.org/connecticut/gas-pipelines or https://sape2016.org/ . In conclusion, for Danbury folk the Algonquin pipeline expansions are not a politically partisan or even environmental issue. It is first and foremost about local sovereignty and welfare including home values. James Root is a resident of Danbury. Migrant children in northern France are forced into crime and prostitution on a daily basis to secure a place to stay in migrant camps or the promise of passage to Britain, the U.N. children's agency said on Thursday. UNICEF said sexual exploitation, violence and forced labour were a constant threat for children travelling alone and urged the authorities to do more to protect them. "We know this has been a long-running problem for over a decade but it's got much more extreme and severe in the last year with the increase in the global refugee crisis," said Melanie Teff, senior humanitarian advocacy and policy adviser at UNICEF U.K.. "We heard sad stories of girls charging 5 euros ($5.60) to be sexually exploited in order to get into the camp, or to start paying towards their passage to the UK," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Of the roughly 206,200 people who arrived in Europe by sea this year to June 4, one in three was a child, UNICEF said on Tuesday, citing figures from the U.N. refugee agency. Many eventually end up in camps such as the shanty town nicknamed the "Jungle" outside France's northern port of Calais. UNICEF said there were an estimated 500 unaccompanied children living in seven camps on the northern coast of France, including Calais and Dunkirk. Some 2,000 children have passed through the camps since June 2015, it said. Several children told the aid agency that they were held by different criminal groups who demanded ransom from their families, while others were forced to work under almost slave-like conditions to pay for their journey. Children from Afghanistan told UNICEF that being raped was their biggest fear. Faced with demands from traffickers to pay between 4,000 pounds ($5,660) and 5,500 pounds ($7,790) each to cross to Britain, children were looking for alternative ways to make the journey - with some hiding in refrigerated lorries, UNICEF said. "There isn't schooling being provided, and most nights the children are walking for hours and trying to jump into lorries," Teff said. "They're living in a very, very tense situation and a lot of them talk about how they're going crazy from the boredom." Teff said children living in migrant camps often had to pay to access showers or were forced to open lorries so others could jump in. On average children stayed in the camps for five months before moving on, although some remained there for nine months and one child was stuck there for more than a year, UNICEF said. The agency interviewed 60 children between 11 and 17 from Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Vietnam living in camps along the English Channel, between January and April 2016. OTTAWA, June 17, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Join Canada's newest Canadians at one of 44 Canada Day citizenship ceremonies taking place across Canada this July 1st. Use Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's online interactive map to find a ceremony near you. The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, and in partnership with Parks Canada, the Fort LangleyNational Historic Site and the Rideau Canal National Historic Site in downtown Ottawa are among the many places hosting special citizenship ceremonies this Canada Day. "Canada is celebrated around the world for its freedom, democracy, inclusion and diversity," said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister, John McCallum. "This Canada Day, I encourage you to come to one of our Citizenship Ceremonies to celebrate being and becoming Canadian -- and to welcome the newest members of our family. More than one in five Canadians were born outside Canada. This is our strength and a source of great pride. Please join us in celebrating it." Quick facts: Citizenship ceremonies are the end of a long process of immigration, settlement and integration for a newcomer to Canada . Ceremonies are a moving and emotional celebration as well as a necessary legal step to citizenship. . Ceremonies are a moving and emotional celebration as well as a necessary legal step to citizenship. Canada is a land of immigrants, made up of over 200 ethnic origins, with thirteen of those ethnic groups having Canadian populations over one million. is a land of immigrants, made up of over 200 ethnic origins, with thirteen of those ethnic groups having Canadian populations over one million. In 2015, 252,000 people became Canadian citizens. Those attending a ceremony will have the opportunity to reaffirm their own citizenship. Associated link Follow us: Photos of Minister McCallum available at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/photos/index.asp SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada For further information: Minister's Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-954-1064; Media Relations, Communications Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-952-1650, [email protected] Mark M. Persaud honoured for extensive public service LONDON, ON, June 17, 2016 /CNW/ - The Law Society of Upper Canada presented a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD), to lawyer Mark M. Persaud at its Call to the Bar ceremony in London, Ontario on June 17. Persaud has devoted his legal career to public service. A regular volunteer with community-based organizations assisting refugees, the homeless and youth at risk, he is also a strong voice for groups committed to addressing issues of equity and discrimination. (See biography, online.) Law Society Treasurer Janet E. Minor awarded the honorary LLD to Persaud, who then delivered the keynote address to the 113 new lawyers attending the ceremony. As part of its Call ceremonies each year, the Law Society awards honorary doctorates to distinguished people in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice. Recipients serve as inspirational keynote speakers for the new lawyers attending the ceremonies. In her remarks to the newly called lawyers, Treasurer Minor said, "We need your innovation and creativity. We are counting on you. You are privileged because you have the capacity to make a difference. You are empowered you can help to empower others. When you do, in your work and in your life, I think you will find this kind of engagement is the most rewarding and fulfilling and it will give you the kind of happiness you feel today." The Law Society regulates lawyers and paralegals in Ontario in the public interest. The Law Society has a mandate to protect the public interest, to maintain and advance the cause of justice and the rule of law, to facilitate access to justice for the people of Ontario and act in a timely, open and efficient manner. Find @LawsocietyLSUC on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. #lawyered SOURCE The Law Society of Upper Canada Image with caption: "Legal humanitarian Mark M. Persaud (centre) received an Honorary LLD from the Law Society at the London Call to the Bar ceremony June 17. Here, he signs the LLD Register with Law Society CEO Robert G.W. Lapper. Q.C., and Law Society Treasurer Janet E. Minor. Persaud delivered the keynote address to the 113 new lawyers attending the ceremony. The Law Society awards honorary doctorates to distinguished people in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice. (CNW Group/The Law Society of Upper Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160617_C5727_PHOTO_EN_716663.jpg For further information: Media contact: Susan Tonkin, Communications Advisor, Media Relations, 416-947-7605 or [email protected] Mark Persaud honoured for extensive public service TORONTO, June 15, 2016 /CNW/ - The Law Society of Upper Canada will present a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD), to lawyer Mark M. Persaud at its Call to the Bar ceremony in London on June 17. As part of its Call ceremonies each year, the Law Society awards honorary doctorates to distinguished people in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice. Recipients serve as inspirational keynote speakers for the new lawyers attending the ceremonies. Mark Persaud has devoted his legal career to public service. A regular volunteer with community-based organizations assisting refugees, the homeless and youth at risk, he is also a strong voice for groups committed to addressing issues of equity and discrimination. He was the founder and President of the Canadian International Peace Project. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, only 10 years after arriving in Canada as a political refugee fleeing turmoil and persecution in Guyana. (See full attached biography.) Law Society Treasurer Janet E. Minor will award the honorary LLD to Persaud, who will then deliver the keynote address to the 112 new lawyers attending the ceremony. More than 1,500 new lawyers will be called to the Bar this June at six ceremonies throughout the province. When: Friday, June 17, 2015 10:30 a.m. Where: London Convention Centre 300 York Street, London, Ontario Biography Mark M. Persaud was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, only 10 years after arriving in Canada as a political refugee fleeing turmoil and persecution in Guyana. He majored in political science at York University and went on to receive his LLB and LLM at Osgoode Hall Law School. He has also studied at the Center for Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard University. As a lawyer, teacher and writer, he has contributed to community development within Canada and internationally on issues of domestic and international peace, security, development, civil liberties and human rights. He is the principal of the Persaud Law Group where he practises in civil litigation, including commercial and construction litigation, criminal, regulatory, administrative law and professional discipline. He has held a broad range of positions, including as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, and as counsel to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He has taught Canadian Constitutional Law and Administrative Law as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Michigan and been a guest lecturer in Criminal Law and Foundations of Law. He has been recognized for his extensive public service. He is the recipient of the Alumni Public Sector Law Gold Key from Osgoode Hall Law School (2007), and both the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for his leadership and contributions to Canada. SOURCE The Law Society of Upper Canada For further information: Media please note: Please confirm your attendance in advance by contacting Susan Tonkin, Communications Advisor, [email protected], or 416-947-7605. Find @LawsocietyLSUC on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. #lawyered Waterloo, N.Y. -- The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency today announced its selection of Seneca Falls businessman Earl Martin as the winning bidder for the nearly 7,000 remaining acres of the former Seneca Army Depot. Earl Martin Martin, 37, owner of Seneca Iron Works and Deer Haven Park, LLC., offered $900,000, which was unanimously approved by the IDA's board Monday. The IDA set a Feb. 29 deadline and a total of 16 bids were received. Robert Aronson, the IDA's executive director, said he expects Martin will assume ownership sometime later this year. Among his plans -- which include a $13 million projected investment in the expansion of Seneca Iron Works, and other developments with a potential to create more than 200 new jobs over a 10-year-period -- Martin noted at the top of his priority list is saving the Depot's famed white deer herd and other wildlife on the property. He said he wants to work closely with Seneca White Deer, Inc, and other groups to make that happen. One of the first things he plans to focus on, he said, is improving the habitat. He said he will set aside at least 1,500 acres in the northern part of the property in the town of Varick for the herd, which is currently numbers less than 85. "I believe the white deer are part of the history of the area. On top of that a lot of people will benefit from having the white deer. It would be a shame if the white deer were not allowed to thrive," he said. "One the biggest downsides is lack of a good food source. We're going to put some focus on that. Secondly, we'll be doing a better job of securing the perimeter and there will be some changes with that. We will be doing some patrolling to make sure there's no illegal activity." According to the latest estimate, they're are less than 85 white deer remaining on the property. Seneca White Deer has been the strongest supporter of saving the white deer and using the deer as a major part of an eco-tourism plan for the Depot. According to the group's website, "The white deer found at Seneca Army Depot are a natural variation of the white-tailed deer, which normally have brown coloring. The Seneca deer are not albino, but are "leucistic," which means they lack all pigmentation in the hair, but have normal, brown-colored eyes." Seneca Iron Works now employs more than three dozen employees. Martin said his company manufactures farm and dairy equipment, snow plows and parts for plows, along with other items. His proposals for the land, which he announced this afternoon a press conference in the Seneca County IDA office, include: *Less reliance on Chinese suppliers for the products his company makes, "with the expectation of bringing many of those opportunities to Seneca County." *After some 75 years of being off the tax rolls, making the land taxable and creating an economic asset to Seneca County, the towns of Varick and Romulus and the Romulus and South Seneca County school districts. *Develop of approximately 20 Amish homesteads to live on, and farm the land. He mentioned these farmers would be making use of some the land's numerous, former ammunition storage building (called igloos) to store grain and other things. *Willingness to have a much desired east-west road through the land. *Emphasis on local tourism, including eco-tourism and Amish/Mennonite-related tourism. *Retention of current land uses, including existing businesses and the conveyance of the police and fire training facilities to Seneca County. *Construction of some kind of solar energy facility to off-set his company's energy costs. As part of the process in selecting Martin, a work group comprised of members of the Seneca County IDA and the county's Board of Supervisors thoroughly reviewed all 16 bids and narrowed them down to the most viable. The work group then conducted in-person interviews with those bidders and reviewed their financial statements. Aronson noted Martin's bid was not the highest, and that there were also bids that exceeded $1 million. He declined to name those bidders. "All through this process we explained to people we weren't necessarily interested in the highest bid, but the best bid in general." Gary Westfall, chairman of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors and Waterloo Town Supervisor, said he felt confident that Martin will transform the Depot property into an economic asset for the entire region. "This is an historic day in Seneca County," he said. "For more than 50 years, the Seneca County Army Depot was a thriving military base serving our country through World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. For the past 20 years, it was vastly underutilized and county leaders have worked hard to make it an economic asset again. With Earl Martin, we're confident it will be." Westfall said for decades the local have always referred to the land as "the Depot." "Maybe someday, they'll refer to it as Martinville," he said, smiling. Rochester, N.Y. A man accused of planning a New Year's Eve attack on a Rochester bar disrupted a court appearance today and had to be forcibly removed from the courtroom. Emanuel Lutchman refused to follow directions from court security and did not stand when U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian Payson entered the courtroom, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Security touched Lutchman to get him to rise, but he appeared to resist, the paper said. Emanuel Lutchman It was clear that Lutchman was already at odds with officers when he entered, according to the D&C. A security officer from the U.S. Marshals service warned Lutchman not to pull away and Lutchman continued to argue. He was eventually handcuffed and removed, the D&C said. His attorneys agreed to waive the appearance today and another court date was set for Aug. 4. It's possible Lutchman will plead then. The case could also move to trial at that point, according to the D&C. Lutchman could be heard in court today telling his attorney that he didn't want to take a plea, the D&C said. Lutchman allegedly planned to attack a Rochester bar on New Year's Eve with knives and a machete provided by an informant for the FBI, according to the Associated Press. Lutchman was arrested before he could carry out the attack. Authorities said in court papers that Lutchman, 25 at the time of his arrest, is a convert to Islam who said he received direction from an overseas Islamic State member, according to AP. He apparently wanted to complete the attack to prove he was worthy to join the group. He was described in court papers as having a long criminal history including a 2006 robbery conviction that led to a five-year prison sentence and arrests for mental health issues, AP said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo later said that Lutchman became a Muslim while serving time in state prison. He became radicalized on the internet, Cuomo said. Lutchman was charged in December with attempting to provide material support to terrorists. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112 By GMM 17 June 2016 - 10:46 Felipe Massa has warned that Bernie Ecclestone may be serious in his threat to axe the Brazilian grand prix. Given that Interlagos has a contract until 2020, some Brazilian reporters had played down the F1 supremos warning that Novembers race could be the last. "We know how Bernie works with his negotiations," Williams driver Massa told Brazils UOL in Baku. "He likes to put pressure on, as we have seen with Monza and what has happened with some other places. When something is not going the way he wants, he says what he says. "On the other hand, we know what the situation is," Brazilian Massa added. "What is happening in Brazil at the moment is very difficult. "So its not impossible that F1 in Brazil will be over. It is quite possible. "We live in a situation where everything is reaching the limits in many ways," he said. UOL said the Interlaogs promoters had issued a statement saying that renovation plans were on track and there is no legal reason the contract should be broken. Ecclestone, meanwhile, was up to his old tricks with reporters on Thursday, saying the 2017 calendar could be anywhere from 18 to 22 races long. "They (Monza) are still looking," he said. "Brazil has got a few problems they havent got a proper president at the moment so they cant worry about small technical things like getting paid." By Olivier Ferret 17 June 2016 - 19:40 A busy first day of practice for the team at this new and challenging street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was a very intense pair of sessions as the engineers needed to gather a broad range of data, running the cars in a number of different configurations in order to best establish the development and performance path for the remainder of the weekend. Apart from a fuel system issue for Fernando in second practice, which briefly delayed his first run on the Option tyre, both cars ran smoothly throughout. Fernando Alonso Today was positive. We arrived to find a very fast track, as we expected, but also one with some challenging corners. Maybe we need to go through the data at some of the corners as theres still areas where we can improve tightening up our knowledge of the inside kerbs and the racing lines, for instance. Thats something I did in Singapore a few years ago, and it really helped. "Looking at the data we had from the simulator, I reckon our level of competitiveness is possibly slightly better than wed anticipated were performing quite well, so thats the positive news of today. "Todays positions dont really show our full potential. Jenson Button We started this morning a little bit better than wed perhaps expected, but, once everyone had got to grips with the track, it moved us to our usual positions. Getting the right downforce level will be key for qualifying we still need to work out what that will be, as our understanding isnt quite there yet. We also need to better understand the tyres, too the Soft seems to be a good tyre, but we need to improve our performance on the Supersoft. There are some good corners around here; Turn 14 is right on the edge its mad, really but the section past the castle is too slow. The car felt reasonably okay, but, on a slippery track, when you get a tiny bit of oversteer, you suddenly get a lot of oversteer, which makes things tough. Were not quite there yet with the balance, but I hope we can get things into shape for Saturday and Sunday. Eric Boullier Today was always going to be challenging: given the contrasting characteristics of this track the lengthy, high-speed main straight, and the tight, unforgiving section through the old city it was essential to establish optimal downforce and balance settings for the remainder of the weekend. That meant running both cars in a number of different wing, floor, tyre, fuel and balance configurations in order to gather as much data as possible for our engineers to study this evening. Weve certainly got plenty of information we just need to look over it carefully tonight. First impressions of this track are certainly impressive its already clear that this is no ordinary weekend, and the race on Sunday is likely to be tense, exciting and unpredictable, which can only be a positive for the fans. Lets hope that were well equipped to take full advantage of that expected unpredictability on Sunday. Yusuke Hasegawa Our focus today was to set up the car and power unit to the first ever F1 track in Baku. Based on todays performance, we still need to tweak the power unit data to adapt to the frequent braking, long straights and the over-6km full lap. All in all, we believe that the setting is good so far. Obviously, Fridays finishing positions do not often reflect the reality of the race, but we are at a good starting point. By GMM 17 June 2016 - 11:20 Imola chief Uberto Selvatico Estense says the former San Marino GP venue is "ready" and poised to replace Monza as Italys sole F1 race. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is still warning that intense and typical Italian politics could mean historic Monza loses the grand prix after 2016. "The most humiliating moment was not when Bernie Ecclestone commented on the great mess with the English newspapers, saying the Italians would probably only agree on the Thursday before the race," Selvatico Estense told La Repubblica. "No, the worst was the next day, when I realised that he is right," he added. The Imola chief explained how the circuit 40 kilometres east of Bologna became a very real alternative to Monza. "Simple: after four years of negotiations (with Monza) that made him lose patience, Ecclestone called us that gave us the same conditions. "We accepted," said Selvatico Estense. "So we signed a contract for the Italian grand prix from 2017." La Repubblica said the deal is currently only conditional, and depending on whether funds in the hands of the Italian automobile club Aci can be released. "The Aci argues that the money is only for Monza, but we say that it is intended for the Italian GP," Selvatico Estense said. "If the state had allocated that money to Monza it would benefit a single company, which is illegal." However, Selvatico Estense insists that Imola is "ready" to host the 2017 race. Vietnamese children who are hard of hearing have been given the tools they need to attend school following a World Bank pilot scheme that has delivered sign language-based education to first graders, the financial institution said in a press release on Thursday. Over the past five years, the project has provided home-based sign language lessons for 255 children under six years old in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Quang Binh, and Ho Chi Minh City. Under the project, a hearing-impaired mentor, a sign language interpreter and a hearing teacher are hired to teach sign language to these children and their families in their own homes. Initial evaluations show that using sign language has helped improve hearing-impaired childrens language and cognitive development, as well as their communication skills. The Language and Cognitive Development score of these children aged five to seven is 7.6 out of 10, compared to eight out of 10 for five-year-old hearing children. The World Bank-supported project has helped about 150 deaf Vietnamese children learn sign language in preperation for school. Photo from IDEO Project The project has also trained more than 50 adults with hearing impairment to become mentors for deaf children, and helped about 200 hearing teachers to improve their sign language skills so they can support deaf children more effectively. More than 50 hearing people have also been trained as sign-language interpreters to help with communication. Most deaf children in Vietnam do not have access to early childhood education and their parents lack professional support, said Achim Fock, the World Banks acting country director for Vietnam. The positive results of the project affirm the support of their learning in schools with trained hearing and deaf teachers and sign language interpreters essential for the deaf children to develop to their full potential, he added. The project has also launched an interactive website to provide online sign language lessons, sign language vocabulary, games and other educational material for deaf children and their families, educators and the public. A series of short sign language videos is expected to be broadcast on the national education channel (VTV7) to reach out to a wider audience. The project has not only launched a new method of teaching sign language to deaf children, it has also strengthened the participating schools and other relevant organizations in supporting deaf education in Vietnam, said Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia. The project is funded by the Japanese Social Development Fund, administered by the World Bank, and implemented by World Concern Development Organization. It has a budget of $2.8 million, with an additional $130,000 from the Vietnamese government. Related news: > Vietnam approves $20m project to promote disabled people's rights > Autistic children excluded from disability benefits > Vietnam to borrow $100 million from World Bank to improve teacher training An Airbus 320 aircraft with registration number 5A-WAT on Thursday arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos with 162 N... An Airbus 320 aircraft with registration number 5A-WAT on Thursday arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos with 162 Nigerians who had been stranded in Libya.The returnees, comprising of 132 males, 27 females and three children, returned voluntarily to the country at about 3 p. m.The returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Swiss Government and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.The details of the returnees were taken by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) and the Police.Also on ground to receive the returnees were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).Two of the returnees, who were in critical conditions upon arrival, were immediately rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention.Addressing newsmen, Ms Sara Hammon, Assisted Voluntary Return and Re-Integration Consultant, IOM, Lagos, said the returnees had indicated their willingness to go back to Nigeria.She said: This flight has come from Tripoli in Libya, carrying some Nigerian migrants who were stranded in Libya and have volunteered to return home.They have been assisted by the Swiss Government and the IOM to come back to their country of origin.What happens after this is that they will get a stipend from IOM and will be assisted to get to their final destinations, Hammon said.According to her, the returnees are all Nigerians and were profiled by the NIS upon landing at the airport.Also speaking, the Operations Assistant, IOM, Libya, Mr Juma Hassan, said the organisation had been assisting various nationalities, including Nigerians, to leave the war-torn country.This is the second time this year that we are coming to Nigeria. The last time was on March 10.We may have another charter soon because we have request from the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli regarding the nationals there that want to be assisted to go back to Nigeria.How soon is not really feasible to me but I can say from two months to three months time, Hassan said.He explained that one returnee was involved in a car accident in Libya, while another one suffered severe burn injuries when fire gutted the apartment he was sharing with some other migrants.According to Hassan, the IOM provided a medical doctor to assist the returnees on the trip before they were handed over to the Nigerian medical team.The Director-General of NEMA, Mr Mohammed Sanusi, said the Federal Government would counsel and rehabilitate the returnees before integrating them into the society.Sanusi, who was represented by the Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, NEMA, Mr Aliyu Sambo, said the agency would work with the state emergency agencies to ensure that the returnees are reunited with their families in Nigeria. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff to a new bride who had to be dumped because she was found to be HIV positive. ... Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff to a new bride who had to be dumped because she was found to be HIV positive.Fayose made the analogy in explaining why he withdrew his support for Sheriff despite initially backing the latters emergence as PDP Chairman.Without doubt, I did not beg him but I supported his coming. And when you act within ambits of time the information you have at a given time, I am not someone that will say I did not support Sheriff, he said on Thursday, June 16, 2016 after a meeting of PDP leaders in Abuja.But when you want to marry a woman, on the wedding day they tell you that the woman has HIV, will you still remain in the marriage? I am out of it, he added.Sheriff was removed from the chairmanship position during the PDPs National Convention on May 21, 2016.Fayose was one of the few PDP members who supported Sheriffs emergence despite claims that the latter had links to Boko Haram.His [Sheriffs] emergence at this time is the best thing in the present circumstance and those aggrieved should sheath their sword and deploy their time and resources into fighting the All Progressives Congress (APC) instead of their own party," the governor said on February 22, via a statement released by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.I therefore call on all my admirers and believers in my dogged fight for the revival of our party to support our new chairman, whom I believe has the required capacity to reposition the party, the governor added.Sheriff later thanked Fayose for his support and revealed that it was the governor who made him chairman of the PDP.I never planned to be the PDP Chairman but God used people like Fayose and other Nigerians to make me the chairman (of the party), Sheriff said on March 17.I was sleeping in my room when Fayose called me from Port Harcourt and said I was going to be the new National Chairman. For me, it was a miracle, he added.After Sheriffs removal from office, Fayose explained that he was forced to withdraw his support because the situation was tearing the PDP apart. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced Thursday that no former African leader had met the very high bar for one of the worlds richest priz... The Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced Thursday that no former African leader had met the very high bar for one of the worlds richest prizes. The Ibrahim Prize has been awarded just four times in the decade since it was established.Former President Goodluck Jonathan failed to win the prestigious $5 million Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meeting a key criterion.Although, Jonathan seems to have met the Prize criteria which includes Former African Executive Head of State or Government, left office in the last three years, democratically elected, served his or her constitutionally mandated term, demonstrated exceptional leadership; it is unclear why he wasnt given.Allegations of massive corruption under his administration presently being investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC may have cost Jonathan the prize.So far, only the former presidents of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano; Botswanas Festus Mogae; Namibias Hifikepunye Pohamba; and Pedro Piers of Cape Verde have clinched the award. Ex-South African President Nelson Mandela was awarded an honorary prize in 2007.The founder, Mo Ibrahim speaks to Newsday on why there was no winner. The Bauchi state government has issued a statement explaining why one of its commissioner, Abdullah Mohammed Idris was photographed with h... The Bauchi state government has issued a statement explaining why one of its commissioner, Abdullah Mohammed Idris was photographed with huge sums of money.Read statement issued by state government below:Good evening to the good people of Bauchi state. It has come to my attention, the circulation of certain photographs online of money found on the table of a serving Commissioner of Bauchi state. I wish to assure you all that, the said picture is no implication of corruption or illegal money transactions.This period of Ramadan teaches us to extend love to the poor, less privileged and the non buoyant. In line with this, and as has always been done, the Bauchi State Government releases funds to mosques in Bauchi state for the provision of iftar to faithfuls. These funds are disbursed through the Office of the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, to assist faithfuls who are not buoyant enough to afford iftar.Once again, we understand the insensitivity of the image, surfacing at a time like this when we as a Government are working hard to achieve a corruption-free and transparent administration.We want to assure the good people of Bauchi state that all and sundry is being done to make the best use of resources, fight corruption within the State and ensure that all our promises to the people are fully delivered.May Allah crown our efforts with success.Shamsuddeen Lukman AbubakarSA Communications to His Excellency the Governor of Bauchi State16th June, 2016 The members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in United Kingdom storm Royal London Hospital Whitechapel, where President Muhamma... The members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in United Kingdom storm Royal London Hospital Whitechapel, where President Muhammadu Buhari was allegedly expected on June 16, Thursday.The photos were shared through one of the social accounts of the IPOB.The pro-Biafra supporters, who were holding posters and flags, claimed that Buhari is receiving treatment in this hospital.President Buhari was scheduled to return back to Nigeria on June 16, Thursday.However, vice president Yemi Osinbajo has said that he spoke with the president over the telephone and that there was no need for Buhari to rush to Nigeria.But he stated that the president is in perfect condition and just need more rest.The president is expected back home on Sunday and will resume his duties on June 20, Monday.Buhari was last seen on June 13, Monday, hosting Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury in London.Nigerians worried over his health, comparing his vacations with late president Umaru YarAdua. Alhaji Balarabe Musa, former Governor of the old Kaduna State is blaming President Muhammadu Buhari the ongoing agitations in the country. Alhaji Balarabe Musa, former Governor of the old Kaduna State is blaming President Muhammadu Buhari the ongoing agitations in the country.Speaking during an interview session with PUNCH Newspaper, Balarabe said , Buhari has not demonstrated that he is serious about using dialogue to resolve the various ethnic tension. This government does not care about dialogue. The Presidents military background and approach are affecting his performance. Former President Musa YarAdua understood the importance of dialogue which enabled him to put a halt to militancy in the Niger Delta. But what do we have now? Tension and agitation in different parts of the country.Dialogue is the only way to resolve the Biafra agitation in the South-East, the Niger Delta Avengers and the Boko Haram violence. The APC does not deserve a second term. The PDP is not also a better option. We need another credible alternative.Buhari created enemies for his government when he excluded the South-East from his kitchen cabinet. The kitchen cabinet is the closest to the President. The cabinet is even more superior to the main cabinet which comprises the ministers. The exclusion of the South-East from his cabinet gave rise to the agitation for Biafra.The solution is the return to a state-economy rather than a privatised economy which is not helping the country. There is unemployment, poor power supply, tension across the geopolitical zones and poverty. The country needs a better alternative that would restore peace, ensure the rule of law and revive the economy. The APC and the PDP lack the capacity to achieve this. The search and rescue team have recovered in the Gulf of Tonkin debris belonging to the CASA-212 plane with nine people on board which crashed yesterday while searching for the missing Su-30 fighter pilot Tran Quang Khai. Refresh for latest updates - Vietnam lost contact with CASA-212, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, of the Vietnam Coast Guard yesterday noon while it was searching for the missing Su-30 fighter jet and its pilot Tran Quang Khai. - Nine crew members of CASA-212 remain missing. - The search team have found CASA debris 13-15 nautical miles to the south west of Bach Long Vi Island - Vietnams Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh called on China to immediately provide Vietnam any information they might obtain about objects suspectedly coming from Vietnamese missing aircraft and pilots. - China has deployed NANHAIJIU 101 rescue ship to help with the search. 12:15 p.m. Marine police have recovered the CASA debris, a shoe, a backpack with personal belongings and an emergency kit. Four experts from Vietnam's air force have confirmed which parts of the plane have been found. This forms the basis to investigate what caused the crash. A shoe's been found among the debris. A broken window. 11:45 a.m. Lieutenant-General Phan Van Giang, Chief of General Staff at Vietnam People's Army has reached the area where the CASA plane lost contact. However, Giang has not revealed any information about the crew members. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said from the Steering Committee for Search and Rescue of the CASA plane in Hai Phong: "We have to find the crew members at all costs." 11:00 a.m. Lieutenant-General Phan Van Giang, Chief of General Staff at Vietnam People's Army has boarded a marine police vessel heading to Bach Long Vi Island to oversee the search and rescue for Su-30 fighter jet Tran Quang Khai and the crew of CASA-212. 10:40 a.m. On the crashed CASA, there were six officers and three soldiers. Colonel Le Kiem Toan, Chief of Air Force Brigade 918 is the captain of the CASA plane. According to a VnExpress source, Colonel Le Kiem Toan, used to be part of the search operation for Malaysia Airlines' MH 370 plane which went missing on March 8, 2014 when it was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. China is actively working with Vietnam in the search for the crashed CASA. A bag recovered by the search and rescue team. Photo by VnExpress/The Toan 10:25 a.m. A source from Ministry of Defense said that there are two challenges faced by the CASA search and rescue operation. First, the area where Vietnam lost contact with the CASA plane is east of the Tonkin Gulf delimitation. Second, at the time of the crash, the weather suddenly worsened. A frontal command has been set up at the High Command of Vietnam People's Navy (Hai Phong City). Lieutenant-General Phan Van Giang, Chief of General Staff at Vietnam People's Army is directly in charge of the search and rescue operation for the CASA plane. Currently over 1,500 people are searching for the missing CASA plane, including 764 marine police officers and 800 fishermen. There are 184 vehicles participating in the operation, including three Mi171 and two EC 155 planes and 155 vessels. 10:15 a.m. Maritime Rescue Center has deployed three SAR ships for the search. They are equipped with thermographic cameras which can search for objects during day and night, even under bad weather conditions. Following the request by Vietnam Coordination Center for Maritime Search and Rescue, China has deployed NANHAIJIU 101 rescue ship to help with the search for the CASA plane. NANHAIJIU 101 is under the command of SAR 273 marine search and reascue vessel. 10:00 a.m. Debris from missing CASA search plane recovered Debris of Vietnam's crashed rescue plane found CASA debris. Photo by VnExpress/The Toan Debris has been found 13-15 nautical miles to the south west of Bach Long Vy Island. Photo by: VnExpress/The Toan 9:37 a.m. CASA-212 crew before the crash. The search team has managed to recover some debris from the CASA plane 13-15 nautical miles to the south west of Bach Long Vi Island. A tyre, belongings, life jackets and an equipment bag have also been found. Tyre belonging to the crashed CASA-212. Photo by Vietnam People's Army 8:30 a.m., June 17 At 7 a.m. this morning, Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Coast Guard Commander, said the rescue team has neither approached the location of the plane crash nor found the missing CASA plane crew around Bach Long Vi Island area (Hai Phong). "The initial cause has been determined as bad weather, which prompted the crew to ask to descend, followed which the plane crashed," said Dam. 9:30 p.m., June 16 Vietnams Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh met with Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong, according to Vietnam News Agency Friday. Vinh called on China to immediately provide Vietnam any information they might obtain about objects suspectedly coming from Vietnamese missing aircraft and pilots. He also asked China to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese airplanes, vessels and other search and rescue forces to expand their operations to the east of the delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnam Coast Guard and other search and rescue forces found some debris possibly from the missing CASA in the waters south west of Vietnams Bach Long Vi Island, near the delimitation between Vietnam and China in the Gulf of Tonkin, VNA said. The sea is 60-70 meters deep at the crash location. Also on Thursday, Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of General Staff of the Ministry of National Defense, held an urgent meeting with the navy, coast guard, border guard and other relevant defense forces in Hai Phong. A search and rescue command was established at the headquarter of the Vietnam Peoples Navy in the northern city. Vietnam's CASA aircraft. Photo by VnExpress/Quoc Thang Vietnam lost contact with a CASA maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Vietnam Coast Guard with nine people on board in the waters off the coast of the northern city of Hai Phong on Thursday when it was out searching for the missing Su-30MK2 fighter pilot Tran Quang Khai. Taking into account the latest incident, the country is at the same time struggling to search for two missing aircraft, the CASA-212-40 and the Su-30MK2, and 10 people with nine on the European-made CASA and pilot Tran Quang Khai on the Russian-made fighter jet. Related news: > Vietnam loses contact with plane searching for missing fighter pilot > Over a thousand people join search for missing Vietnamese fighter pilot > Vietnamese fighter jet missing, one pilot has returned to the shore Dino Melaye, chairman of the senate committee on federal capital territory, wants the country to abolish the use of state of origin, esp... Dino Melaye, chairman of the senate committee on federal capital territory, wants the country to abolish the use of state of origin, especially in determining the eligibility of citizens for political offices.Instead, he wants the state of residence to be reckoned with, saying this would help to enthrone peace and oneness among Nigerians.Melaye made the call on Friday in Abuja at a ceremony to unveil the logo/medal of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), in commemoration of its 18th anniversary.Ethnic bigotry should be shunned; there should be a replacement of the state-of-origin to unite the country, he said.Any responsible person that has lived in a particular place for a certain number of years can aspire to any political position, including that states governor seat.He called for the rebirth of the country, and challenged youths to guard against moral decadence.There is also the need for the review of the educational system so as to teach more morals, values and culture with a view to building falling walls.He assured the PCN that the bill for its ratification would pass the third reading at the national assembly.Dickson Akoh, commandant of PCN, commended the federal house of representatives, for recently passing the bill for an Act to establish the PCN.This all-important achievement alone calls for celebration as the PCN reaches 18, he said.It is in view of that remarkable stride that we resolved to commemorate this years anniversary. This may be the last anniversary we will be celebrating as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), as we are in the process of transforming into a government establishment.Melayes position on state of origin aligns with the consistent stand of David Mark throughout his tenure as senate president. Although legislative action in that regard never quite materialised, he spoke about it both home and abroad.You should know that one of the issues weve been discussing in Constitution amendment is shift from state of origin to state of residence because it is an important issue, he told journalists in Quebec, Canada, after the opening ceremony of the 127th inter-parliamentary union (IPU) assembly, in 2012.You are resident in a place for 20 years and still, they dont take you as part and parcel of that place. I think its a difficult task but in my candid opinion, I think if we have an open mind and we approach it from a nationalist perspective, rather than a small, clannish perspective, I think we would get it right.Lets forget the business of state of origin and go to state of residence. Once you are resident in a place and you perform your civic responsibilities for the period, theres no reason why you shouldnt benefit, provided, of course, you dont claim dual residency. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has detained the immediate past governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngillari, for his al... The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has detained the immediate past governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngillari, for his alleged role in the distribution of N450 million for the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan.Mr. Ngillari is being detained at the Gombe zonal office of the EFCC.His detention followed information provided by a former Nigerian ambassafor to the U.S., Hassan Adamu, who told the EFCC that when the chairman of PDP in Adamawa state, Joel Madaki, and himself took custody of the money from Fidelity Bank, it was taken to the government House in bullion vans by officials of the bank.Mr. Adamu also told investigators that the chief of staff to Mr. Ngilari, Alhaji Hamman, and the accountant to the government house, Aisha Waziri, counted the money and confirmed the figure.The duo became custodians of the fund based on the directive of their boss, the governor, he said.Mr. Adamu also said he left after the government officials took custody of the fund and did not know how the money was shared, and did not personally benefit from it.An official of the EFCCrevealed that Mr. Ngilari denied authorizing his former aides to take custody of the fund.He also said a detention order had been signed and most likely, he would spend the night in EFCC custody.A team of investigators handling the campaign slush fund grilled the former ambassador for several hours after he reported to the Commissions office at about 9.30 am on Thursday.He was however, allowed to go. Three Nigerian lawmakers have been accused of sexual misconduct in the United States of America. Three Nigerian lawmakers have been accused of sexual misconduct in the United States of America.The accused lawmakers are : Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue)However, the accused reps have strongly denied the allegation, daring the US government to release proof of their alleged crimes.The House of Representative in swift response, has set up a panel to investigate the delicate issue. The Federal Government on Thursday said it would accelerate work on four hydropower plants in order to boost energy supply in the countr... The Federal Government on Thursday said it would accelerate work on four hydropower plants in order to boost energy supply in the country.Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), stated that government would increase work on Gurara hydropower plant phase one and phase two, Zungeru, Dadin Kowa and Mambilla power plants to solve Nigerias energy problem.Fashola said continuous vandalism of gas pipelines and infrastructures across the country had forced government to divert to other alternative sources of energy.The minister, who spoke at the launch of Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG) for Nigeria, assured that embarking on alternative sources of energy by government would make it impossible for anybody to hold Nigeria to ransom in future by controlling any particular source of fuel for electricity.The minister said: We have seen from events that started from around the 14th of February this year, repeated acts of vandalism on our gas pipelines and infrastructure that renders us clearly vulnerable to one source of fuel for our energy development.That has challenged us to develop options, alternatives solar in particular and of course hydropower plants in more quantitative response. So we will be accelerating work on project like Gurara hydropower plant phase one and phase two. Work has started on Zungeru hydropower plant. We will also be accelerating work on Dadin Kowa power plant, as we will on Mambilla power plant which will give us the biggest single electrification source over a period of seven years that it is estimated to take to conclude it.To us, this is a journey of diversification, a journey of electricity security for Nigeria, it is a journey that has already started and it is a journey that will ensure that in future, it will be impossible to hold this country to ransom by controlling any particular source of fuel for electricity. Nigeria's former President Goodluck Jonathan has been rejected for Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meet... Nigeria's former President Goodluck Jonathan has been rejected for Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership despite meeting key requirements.Jonathan seems to have met the Prize criteria which includes Former African Executive Head of State or Government, left office in the last three years, democratically elected, served his or her constitutionally mandated term, demonstrated exceptional leadership; it is unclear why he wasnt given.On Thursday, the committee in-charge of the award announced that no former African leader met the requirements for the 2015 version of the yearly award. This will be the second consecutive year without any winner for the prestigious award.The prize was instituted in 2006 by Sudanese telecoms entrepreneur, Mo Ibrahim. The prize rewards former African leaders who demonstrated sterling qualities while in office, served their constitutionally mandated term; and demonstrated exceptional leadership. The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has welcomed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to abandon its currency peg and adopt... The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has welcomed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to abandon its currency peg and adopt a flexible exchange rate policy, saying this was important to reduce fiscal and external imbalances.The IMF spokesman, Gerry Rice told journalists yesterday that the Fund wanted to see how effective the naira exchange market functions once the new float system is put into effect next Monday.According to Rice, I think the announcement yesterday to revise the guidelines for the operation of the Nigerian interbank foreign exchange market is an important and welcome step.It will provide greater flexibility in that market, the foreign exchange market.It would be recalled that senior IMF officials, including managing director, Christine Lagarde had urged the Nigerian government to devalue the Naira to absorb some of the shock to the economy from a plunge in oil prices and revenues. 23 year old teacher identified as Mugi has been sentenced to 90 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting 10 boys who were his students. ... 23 year old teacher identified as Mugi has been sentenced to 90 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting 10 boys who were his students. Mugi, a Homosexual Kenyan primary school teacher, will serve nine years for each assault, and the sentences will run consecutively.Mugi indecently assaulted the 10 boys at a school in the countrys Kiharu Constituency between January and May, 2015. The boys, aged between 13 and 16, testified that Mugi, who was also their boarding master, fondled their private parts and kissed them after night preps. The joint military force deployed to protect oil installations in the Niger Delta region, Operation Pulo Shield, on Friday warned Niger De... The joint military force deployed to protect oil installations in the Niger Delta region, Operation Pulo Shield, on Friday warned Niger Delta militants to desist from further attacks on oil installations.Disclosing this in a statement, the spokesman of the force, Col Isa Ado said troops, while on patrol on June 9 along Brass water ways of Bayelsa, foiled an attempt by suspected pipeline vandals to destroy Agips oil pipeline at Okpoma Community.According to Ado, six suspected pipeline vandals were arrested along Ebelebiri and Agba communities in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on May 28 by the troops deployed to the area.He said, On same day, troops in continuation of its raid on suspected pipeline vandals camps carried out cordon and search operation in Oporoma Community of Delta.Ten suspected pipeline vandals were arrested during the operation, one pistol, 195 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 14 handheld radio set, 30 detonating cords and several phones with SIM cards were recovered.Those behind this heinous act of bombing of critical installations in the region are warned to have a rethink and tow the line of peace by adopting a legitimate means to address their grievances instead of taking the law into their hands.We must embrace and support the laudable and bold initiative by the government to dialogue for peace and development, and call on the communities to guide their youths against acts capable of sabotaging the economy of the nation.Ado claimed that that one of the arrested vandals admitted to being part of the group that bombed the Nigerian Petroleum Developing Company, NPDC, crude oil pipeline at Escravos, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta.Recall that Niger Delta Avengers had claimed responsibility for the NPDC attack at Escravos crude export pipeline.The spokesman stated that several bomb-related items were recovered from the vandals who allegedly destroyed the Escravos facility. The Director of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, on Thursday said the military will rehabilitate rep... The Director of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, on Thursday said the military will rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram members through its Operations Safe Corridor.Abubarka stated this at a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.He said the operation was to rehabilitate, reintegrate, empower and de-radicalise surrendered members of the sect.He said,Nigeria being a signatory to United Nations conventions must comply fully with that portion of the convention.Even if you arrest or capture an enemy or prisoner of war, by international law, you are to treat him with all human dignity. You must do that, as long as you are a signatory to UN convention.We evolved a policy by the defence headquarter and that operation is called operation Safe Corridor.Operation safe corridor is an operation trying to rehabilitate, reintegrate, empower and de-radicalise those that surrendered and those captured.It is not in any way amnesty. We are trying to comply fully with international best global practices and that is why we came up with that.`The Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin with other service chiefs agreed to this and they came up with it, which is the first of its kind since the Boko Haram terror began.And very soon, we will have a camp somewhere in the Northeast where they will be kept for empowering and reintegrating and de-radicalising them. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, told a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that former acting National Chai... The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, told a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that former acting National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, was validly removed by the legally constituted May 21, 2016 National Convention of the party held in Port Harcourt.The PDP told the court that the Caretaker Committee of the party headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi was duly appointed in line with the Constitution of the party. The party stated that the National Convention was convened by the National Executive Committee headed by the former National Acting Chairman, Senator Sheriff, who himself participated in pre-convention events including his participation in the screening exercise.Making the submission on behalf of the PDP before the trial judge, JusticeAbdullahi Liman, counsel to the party, Oladejo Laminkanra, SAN, argued that: Modu Sheriff submitted himself for screening at the Port Harcourt National Convention. Realising that he has lost his bid to be national chairman, Modu Sheriff alone without consent and consultations with the National Executive Committee claimed he postponed the convention. Modu Sheriff had no such powers to postpone a convention approved by the National Executive Committee. According to the party, Modu Sheriff is not the chairman of PDP. He was never elected at any convention and he is subject to the extant judgment of A.B. Mohammed J of the Abuja High Court, which he is curiously seeking to enforce.The Abuja High Court judge had in judgment of May 18. 2016 in FCT/CV/1443/2016 rejected Modu Sheriffs argument that he is PDP Chairman until 2016. The PDP argued that no court stopped the party from holding its national convention, adding that the National Constitution of the PDP was also never suspended, hence the National Convention derived its powers from the partys constitution.The party stated that the interim order of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt stopping Modu Sheriff from parading himself as PDP Chairman was still subsisting. Earlier, Sheriff urged the court to dismiss the originating summons.Sheriff through his counsel, Ajibola Oluyode filed an applications asking the court to set aside the interim order directing him to stop parading himself as acting National Chairman.The former acting national chairman also urged the court to strike the name PDP from the suit and subsequently strike it out. Justice Liman adjourned the matter to July 4, 2016 for judgment. Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, has denied holding talk with a federal government team led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr... Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, has denied holding talk with a federal government team led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu yesterday.An online medium had reported that the two parties met at the Delta state government house in Asaba.But in a tweet on its handle: @NDavengers this morning, the militant group denied the meeting, saying, According to SaharaReporter, Niger Delta Avenger, NDA, and the Nigerian government had a meeting in Asaba, Delta State to Dialogue.We want to say its a lie and anybody parading themselves as Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, representatives are political jobbers.@SaharaReporters THEY ARE NOT OUR REPRESENTATIVES. Two Nigerian migrants seeking greener pastures in Europe, via Libya, have died in the Sahara Desert, within the borders of Niger. Two Nigerian migrants seeking greener pastures in Europe, via Libya, have died in the Sahara Desert, within the borders of Niger.Although the two Nigerians were not identified by the Nigerien authorities, they were among the 34 migrants, including 20 children, found dead in the vast desert after being abandoned by their smuggler, according to a statement read on Nigerien television on Wednesday.The nationalities of other victims were not also revealed by the government.Agadez in the landlocked countrys arid north is a popular way-station for migrants attempting to traverse the Sahara Desert and reach Libya and eventually Europe.Of the adult migrants, nine were women and five were men. They died between June 6-12, Interior Minister Bazoum Mohammed said, adding that President Mahamadou Issoufou expressed his condolences to their families.The International Organisation for Migration estimates that 120,000 people crossed through Agadez last year. IOM recorded 37 migrants died in the desert last year. The Senate on Thursday passed the Public Procurement Act, 2007 Amendment Bill. The bill, if assented to by the President, will, among ... The Senate on Thursday passed the Public Procurement Act, 2007 Amendment Bill.The bill, if assented to by the President, will, among other things, give priority to locally made goods in all government procurements.Presenting the report at plenary, the Chairman of the Procurement committee, Senator Joshua Dariye, said the essence of the bill was to provide for and adopt the local content policy.According to him, certain sections of the 2007 version of the Act had been amended to favour local manufacturers and ensure speedy completion of projects.He said, Similarly, the issue of disposal which is an integral aspect of procurement has been aptly captured by the amendment in the new sub-clause 1(e).The committee has equally sustained the amendment to section 34(1,2) sought by the bill for the purpose of patronizing made in Nigeria goods: this will go a long way to encourage our Nigerian manufacturers.The amendment proposed by the bill in section 35 is to review upwards the mobilization fee from 15 per cent to 25 per cent that may be paid to a supplier or contractor. This is aimed at enhancing timely completion of procurement processes at various phases.The Senate, however, approved the inclusion of Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors as members of the National Council on Public Procurement. Anambra State Governor, Mr Willie Obiano has appointed a 30-yr-old man named Mark Okoye as a commissioner in his government. Mark was... Anambra State Governor, Mr Willie Obiano Anambra State Governor, Mr Willie Obiano has appointed a 30-yr-old man named Mark Okoye as a commissioner in his government. Mark was yesterday confirmed as the Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget Development by the Anambra State House of Assembly and is regarded as the youngest commissioner in Nigeria.Now a tweet from Gov Obiano's official twitter account that links to a statement on a website announcing the appointment - described Mark as a '30-yr-old young and sound boy'. The term 'boy' attracted the attention of twitter users who found it condescending. Former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro yesterday slammed a N100 million suit on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commi... Former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro yesterday slammed a N100 million suit on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged breached of his fundamental human rights.The former Minister is demanding the sum as general damages for the alleged unlawful and unconstitutional seizure and detention of several items, properties and personal effects belonging to him and family by the EFCC on June 24, 2016.Other applicants in the suit are: Mrs. Fati Obanikoro, Alhaja Moroophat Obanikoro, Gbolahon Obanikoro, Babajide Obanikoro.Obanikoro in the fundamental rights enforcement suit, filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), is also praying the court to restrain the EFCC whether by its officers, Servants, privies, assigns or agents from arresting, detaining, harassing any of the applicants or any of their relatives pending the hearing and determination of the suit.The applicants also want the court to restrain the commission from further entering their premises and an order Directing it to tender an unreserved public apology to them for the unlawful action.They are also asking the court to direct the respondent to release all the items, properties and personal effects seized from their premises.The applicants further want the court to hold that the action of the EFCC constitute a gross violation of their fundamental rights as guarantee under section 43 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.In a 15 paragraphs affidavit attached to the suit and sworn to by Mrs. Fati Obanikoro, states that on June 14 some officials of the EFCC numbering about 20 stormed their premises situated at 10 Mojisola Onikoyi Street, by Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos and took away several items.She also alleged that the respondent thereafter proceeded to also search the personal house of the former Minister at 4 Layi Ajayi-Bembe road, Parkview, Ikoyi, LagosShe also claimed that before the alleged invasion of the premises there was no prior notice by way of letter or invitation served on any of the applicants and there was also no order of court mandating them to carry out the action.She list some of the items seized by the Commission to include: building plans, cheque leaflets, company documents, car keys, phones, two company seals and six company stamThe applicant further averred that the EFCC officials claimed that they are investigating the former Minister and two of his children but some of the properties taken away do not belong to them.She also insisted that unless the court issued an order compelling the commission, it will not return the seized properties.No date has been set for the hearing of the suit. Organs of a doctor who died from a sudden illness were donated by his relatives and have saved the lives of six people. Organs of a doctor who died from a sudden illness were donated by his relatives and have saved the lives of six people.Song Wei, 34, a trainee doctor at Shanghai Changhai Hospital, suffered an acute brainstem hemorrhage on May 31 and was pronounced dead on Wednesday.His wife and parents decided to complete his final wishes and donated Song's liver, lungs, kidneys, corneas and skin tissue to save patients' lives and help two see again."He is a doctor. Healing the wounded and saving the dying was his life mission," said his wife.According to the local Red Cross Society, Song is the city's 195th organ donor and 57th this year.(Xinhua) The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has appealed to Nigerians, irrespective of creed or religious affiliations to co-exist in peace... The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has appealed to Nigerians, irrespective of creed or religious affiliations to co-exist in peace and understanding.According to him, the task of building a viable nation cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of communal and religious intolerance, as it is being witnessed in different parts in the country.The vice president spoke on Thursday in Abuja while he was being honoured with an award by the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who represented Prof. Osinbajo at the event, also urged Nigerians to be patient with the administration.Ojudu said the task of rebuilding the country transcends religion, pointing out that it is instructive enough to see the vice president who is a Pastor being recognized and honoured by Muslim Lawyers Association.The presidential aide enjoined Nigerians to shun acts capable of plunging the nation into needless orgy of bloodbath and destruction of property.He observed that the country had gone astray for too long and that it takes sincerity, commitment and patriotism on the part of everyone to put things right. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has ordered the shutdown of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat. Arase... The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has ordered the shutdown of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat.Arase also gave the party one week to resolve its crisis.A statement issued by the Force Spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole, said the IGP took the decision at a meeting with stakeholders of the party in Abuja.In a bid to finding a lasting solution to the protracted crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, convened a meeting with all stakeholders in his Abuja office on Friday and called for peace among the parties, particularly Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi,After exhaustive deliberations, in the meeting that was also attended by the Director-General of Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, each of the factions Sen Ali Modu Sherifs and Sen Ahmed Mohammed Makarfis-led factions agreed to nominate four representatives, each, for peace talks to arrive at a harmonized position within one week.The PDP Secretariat at Wadata House Plaza and Legacy House should be under lock and key pending the outcome of the resolution, the statement said. Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd) is set to storm the Supreme Court to press for his freedom deni... Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd) is set to storm the Supreme Court to press for his freedom denied him by the federal government after three different High Courts in Abuja had admitted him to bail in the criminal charges filed against him by the government.The ex-NSA had on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal in Abuja lost his bid to enforce his freedom after he had secured bails on all the charges against him. Dasukis lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN) confirmed that appeal papers have been put together to be filed at the apex Court to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the High Courts that gave judgment to government on the re-arrest after bail.Raji said that there are sufficient grounds for his client to approach the Supreme Court to seek the enforcement of his freedom from detention ordered by the federal government after he had been granted bail by three Judges who are prosecuting him on the charges.Dasuki said that he was not afraid of trial in the charges against him as a former National Security Adviser but added that the proper thing must be done by government by respecting the bail granted him lawfully but courts.He claimed that since government had approached court in his matter, the same government must be fully ready to abide by court decisions in the interest of justice and the rule of law. The ex-NSA had been admitted to bail by three different High Courts in Abuja but he was re-arrested on December 29, 2015 by operatives of the Department of the State Services (DSS) on the alleged order of the federal government and had since been held incommunicado. However, the government in its defence in a motion on notice filed in court claimed that Dasuki being a Crown Prince of Sokoto Caliphate had large sympathizers across the length and breadth of the country who may jeopardize his trial if allowed on bail.Dasuki had asked the high courts and the Court of Appeal to stop the federal government from further prosecuting him in the criminal charges until the bail granted him is obeyed and also pleaded that the courts should no longer grant indulgence to the federal government having been in contempt of the courts by the refusal to allow him freedom after the bail.In a unanimous judgment of the full panel of the court delivered by Justice Abdul Aboki, the Appeal Court upheld the submission of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which put Dasuki on trial, that it was not in contempt of any court order because the re-arrest of the appellant (Dasuki) in December last year was not at its (EFCC) instance.Justice Aboki said that from the submissions of the appellant counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) and the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the bail condition granted Dasuki was perfected on December 29, last year and that a warrant of release to that effect was served on the Comptroller of Prisons in Kuje, upon which he was released.On his re-arrest by the operatives of the Department of the State Security Service (DSS), the Appeal Court agreed with the Abuja High Court that the re-arrest cannot be turned to a disobedience to its order on bail because the court bail was not targeted at the DSS when it was granted.The appellate court also said that the EFCC which put Dasuki on trial on criminal charges at the FCT High Court cannot be held responsible for the action of DSS on the ground that the two agencies are different entities established by different Acts and vested with different powers.Besides, the Appeal Court said there was no existing order against the re-arrest of Dasuki and that since there is no existing order, there cannot be a disobedience to a non-existing court order. The court held that the appellant ought to have established the terms of court order on the bail clearly to indicate in clear terms, the agency that can be held for contempt if the order is violated.In the appeal, the court said that form 48, which deals with contempt of court, was not served on either EFCC or DSS and as such, the two agencies cannot be held liable for the offense of contempt.Justice Aboki therefore held that there was no violation of any court order either by DSS or EFCC in respect of the bail granted Dasuki on December 18, 2015 and his subsequent re-arrest on December 29, 2015 by DSS operatives, shortly after he perfected his bail condition and secured freedom.However, the Appeal Court warned that court order must be obeyed and the issue of bail was a right to any person charged to court, adding that any act of disobedience to court order by government is injurious to smooth running of the society and it is an invitation to anarchy.Dasuki had approached the Court of Appeal praying it to set aside the ruling of an Abuja High Court which exonerated EFCC from his re-arrest shortly after he perfected his bail conditions.He asked the appellate court to void the ruling of the High Court and set it aside on the ground that DSS and EFCC are both agents of the Federal Government which is the complainant in the charges against him at the high court. Worried by the renewed bombings of pipelines in the Niger Delta region, Delta State children, Thursday appealed to the Niger Delta Avenger... Worried by the renewed bombings of pipelines in the Niger Delta region, Delta State children, Thursday appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA and other Militant groups to stop further attack on oil facilities in the region.The children at a forum in Asaba organised to mark this years Day of African Child with the theme Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting All Childrens Right, told members of the NDA to consider the plight of the vulnerable group in the event of a full blown war in the region.The children from various schools, reviewed the impacts of war on the civilian populace particularly on children in some African countries. Decrying that they dont want to live as refugees, they said the impact of war could better be imagined than experienced.We beg the Niger Delta Avengers to think about the plight of children in conflict situations. We need to see laughter of children but how can be a reality when they are forced to live in refugee camps. We need government to guarantee our rights and welfare, they stated.Appealing to prevail on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to find lasting solutions to the lingering crisis in the region, they urged the Federal government to avoid the war episodes in countries such as Burundi, Somalia, Congo, Sudan among others.The Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa in his address at the occasion, expressed the commitment of his administration to the protection of the rights of every child in the state as enshrined in the Child Rights Law 2009.Okowa who was represented by the State Commission for Information, Mr Patrick Ukah, decried situation where childrens rights were being violated.On her part, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Rev. Omotsola Williams told parents to continue to inculcate moral values in their children which according to her, African continent is known for in raising their children.Blaming the conflicts in various African continents on the abandonment of parental roles by parents, families and communities, Omatsola said; except children are raised with the ideal moral values, the conflicts are bound to continue.Few persons who derive personal joy in conflicts come up with wrong ideas and try to propagate it on their fellows; this, at the end result in conflicts. The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to st... The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to start afresh in his leadership of the country.He urged the president to do all that is necessary now to revamp the economy before things get out of hands.Speaking on Thursday during his 80th birthday celebration which took place at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos, Okojie also advised Buhari not to take the goodwill he is currently enjoying from Nigerians for granted.Okojie said, If President Buhari wants to make a quick turn back, he should take his inaugural speech and the All Progressive Congress, APC, manifesto, study them and then start afresh.That is my advice, he stated, adding that the Nigeria is in need of leaders who would unite and not divide the country.Continuing, he observed that Nigeria is in need of self-sacrificing leaders who would pay attention to the needs of the people.He said, At this stage of my life, I can only advise and admonish our policy makers, especially in the education sector, that are now battling with the lives of innocent children, to allow education to flourish; for if education does not flourish, our country cannot flourish.You have already seen it in some parts of the country. We have seen it in some of our childrens behaviours, Okojie added. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, clarified that the current economic hardship in the country is not meant to punish Nigerians,... Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, clarified that the current economic hardship in the country is not meant to punish Nigerians, but the government is trying to lay solid foundation for good governance. Osinbajo, who was speaking at a Public Lecture/Presentation of Award tagged; Service Above Self organised by the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN), in Abuja, said it is imperative for all not minding political, religious or tribal inclination to stand for justice, equity and unity of Nigeria.Represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters to the President, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, the Vice President lauded some Muslim faithfuls, who have been speaking against acts of violence perpetrated against Christians by some extremists.Yes! Things are very hard in the country. Our government meant very well for Nigerians, this is not to punish people. It is because things have gone bad in the past, he said.In his remarks, the National President of MULAN, Dr Kamal Dawud maintained that to ensure peaceful coexistence in the country, non-Muslim brothers and sisters must understand that Islam is a peaceful religion with some sensitive issues. According to him, Let our non-Muslim brothers and sisters avoid these sensitive issues and make them no go areas, to allow peace reign in Nigeria. Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, Friday, described as false, report that it participated in closed-door meeting with the Minister of Petroleum... The group in a tweet, Friday, debunked the online report, saying that it did not hold any dialogue with the minister. It stated that anybody that claimed to have represented it at the meeting was a political jobber.It was learnt that the minister only met with stakeholders from the riverside areas of the state, especially the troubled Gbaramatu Kingdom and other parts of Warri South West local government area. Among those at the meeting were the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, chairman of the Delta Waterways and Land Security Committee, Chief Boro Opudu, Commissioner Mofe Pirah, who is in charge of Oil and Gas and Mr. David Tonwe, a senior aide to the governor on security.Others at the meeting were Chief Godspower Gbenekama, Chief Daniel Ekpebide, who represented Gbaramatu kingdom. Chief Ayiri Emami representative of Itsekiri ethnic group, while Chief Michael Johnny, an Okerenkoko leader, who with Emami, had been very vocal against the NDA, were also at the meeting.The meeting discussed the bombings and other related issues in the area, and as tension rose, the minister said he came to listen and know the way out. In all, the stakeholders agreed on the need for peace to reign and the militants to stop bombing pipelines.Because of the observed antagonism among the leaders, the governor was advised to set up a reconciliation committee to amicably settle the differences among them. Precious Chikwendu, the mother of Femi Fani-Kayode's only son has revealed why he is still being held by the Economic and Financial Cr... Precious Chikwendu, the mother of Femi Fani-Kayode's only son has revealed why he is still being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.Ms Precious told reporters in an interview that Fani-Kayode has told the EFCC all he knows about the PDP campaign funds.All the monies paid into his account were from private entities and they were judiciously used to prosecute the PDP 2015 presidential campaign. He was granted administrative bail with onerous conditions. The said bail conditions were met on Thursday, the 12th day of May, 2016, yet the complainant/respondent (EFCC) has refused to release the defendant/applicant till date.I was there during one of the interrogation sessions, and what the operatives were asking the defendant/applicant was to refund the campaign funds and nothing more. The instant charges against him were merely brought to justify his unconstitutional detention by the complainant/respondent.The EFCC are only keeping him to ask him to refund the campaign funds expended for the PDP 2015 Presidential Campaign in respect of which he was the Director of Publicity. Taiwanese lawmakers urged the government Thursday to investigate local conglomerate Formosa's possible role in mass fish deaths in Vietnam, as activists said industrial pollution from its multi-billion dollar steel plant could have caused the environmental disaster. If Formosa is behind the tonnes of dead fish that began washing up along Vietnam's central coast two months ago, it could jeopardize new President Tsai Ing-wen's signature policy of promoting investment in Southeast Asia in a bid to reduce Taiwan's economic reliance on China, lawmakers said. "There will be no end of trouble", for the so-called Southbound Policy if Tsai's new government doesn't carefully address widespread concern among the Vietnamese public over the incident, said senior lawmaker Su Chih-feng of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The fish deaths have devastated local fishermen and caused public anger in communist Vietnam, including rare public protests which were violently broken up by authorities, who arrested scores of activists. Vietnam's state-run media initially pointed the finger of blame at Formosa's steel plant in central Ha Tinh province, but has since back-peddled. The Vietnamese government has carried out tests but not yet announced an official verdict on the causes of the fish deaths, prompting many activists to allege a cover up. Poor track record Formosa has a poor track record of environmental scandals spanning the globe, from Texas to Sihanoukville, Cambodia. It has also been accused of causing pollution in Taiwan, including a petrochemical complex in southern Yunlin where Su used to be county chief. Authorities in Taiwan need to step in and ensure the company meets "international environmental, human rights and labour standards", said Chang Yu-yin, chief of the Environmental Jurists Association, a Taiwanese organisation. Peter Nguyen, a Taiwan-based Vietnamese priest, said Tsai's government must ensure Formosa, if proven responsible, clean up the environmental disaster and fully compensate victims. "Vietnam wants foreign investment but it should be win-win," he said. "If our environment and our people suffer, it will pose major challenges and problems" for future Taiwanese investments in Vietnam, he added. Taiwan and Vietnam do not have formal diplomatic relations but maintain close trade ties. Around 250,000 Vietnamese live in Taiwan, either because of work or due to marriage. David Wang of Taiwan's department of investment services, said the island had offered to assist the Vietnamese government's own probe into the fish deaths but the help was declined. Hanoi will release the results of its probe, conducted with international experts, by the end of June, he added. Formosa fanned the flames of suspicion in April when one of its employees in Vietnam told state media the country had to "choose whether to catch fish and shrimp or to build a state-of-the-art steel mill". The employee was subsequently removed from his post and apologised for his remarks. "I couldn't catch a fish since March," 29-year-old Vietnamese fisherman Le Quang Dung told AFP, adding he'd been forced to move to Taiwan to find work. "I hope Formosa's plant will shut down so we can get our clean ocean back again," he said. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide financial support to help Vietnam deal with the climate change, including the drought and salinity in the Mekong Delta. Phuc made the suggestions in a meeting with ADB President Takehiko Nakao who is on a three-day visit to Vietnam concluding June 17, the Vietnamese government portal said in a statement on Thursday. Over the last few months, the prolonged drought caused by El Nino has had devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of plantations as well as the lives of two million people in the southern and central parts of the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and ADB President Takehiko Nakao (L). Photo by VGP/Quang Hieu The prolonged drought has also caused severe saltwater intrusion in 10 out of 13 provinces throughout the Mekong Delta, with saltwater intruding 20-25 kilometers further inland compared with seasonal averages. The World Bank on June 10 approved a $310 million loan to help Vietnam tackle climate change and ensure the sustainable livelihoods of local residents in the Mekong Delta. Around 1.2 million people in nine Mekong Delta provinces who have been affected by climate change, salinity intrusion, coastal erosion and flooding will benefit from the Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project.Several countries also joined forces to provide financial assistance to help people in the Delta to overcome the difficult time. The Prime Minister has expressed his thanks to ADB for supporting more than 160 programs/projects worth over $15 billion in Vietnam. We hope that ADB will continue to provide preferential loans to support Vietnams economic reforms and poverty and hunger reduction efforts, Phuc said. He said Vietnamese government is implementing various measures to make full use of the official development assistance as well as ADBs loans for the countrys social-economic development. The ADB President called on Vietnam to accelerate the disbursement of its approved loans. He said the bank is willing to provide financial support to help Vietnam combat climate change and poverty and hunger; develop transport infrastructure and renewable energy; control bad loan and budget collection issues; push for state-owned enterprise restructuring and development of private sector. Related news: > Vinh Long wants $33 million from state budget to help combat drought and salinity > Historic drought costs Vietnam $670 million > Japan offers $2.5 mln in emergency aid to help Vietnam combat drought A source from the Ministry of National Defenses Search and Rescue Command confirmed late Friday Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai, one of the two pilots on board the missing jet Su-30 MK2, has died and his body is on a vessel en route to the shore. A Vietnamese fishing boat has identified a dead body smothered in a parachute floating in the waters around 6 p.m. today about 33 nautical miles from Thanh Hoa central provinces Hon Me Island. At about 7:00 p.m., the body was transferred from the fishing boat to a vessel from Nghe An provinces Border Guard. Major Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Commander in chief of a battalion from Thanh Hoas Hon Mat Island, said the man died about two days ago. At 8:00 p.m., a source from the Ministry of National Defenses Search and Rescue Command confirmed the dead body is Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai, one of the two pilots on board the missing jet Su-30 MK2. His co-pilot Major Nguyen Huu Cuong was rescued by a fishing boat on June 15, a day after the plane went down. Vietnam People's Air Defense - Air Force lost contact with the fighter jet flying offshore Nghe An on Tuesday morning. The jet departed from Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa Province for routine training but disappeared from radar at 7:29 a.m the same day. Vietnam also lost contact with CASA-212, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, of the Vietnam Coast Guard yesterday noon while it was searching for the missing Su-30 fighter jet and its pilot Tran Quang Khai. Nine crew members of CASA-212 remain missing. The search team have found CASA debris today, 13-15 nautical miles to the south west of Bach Long Vi Island. Related news: > Vietnam loses contact with plane searching for missing fighter pilot > Over a thousand people join search for missing Vietnamese fighter pilot > Vietnamese fighter jet missing, one pilot has returned to the shore Martin Karplus Biographical E arly Years in Europe I was born in Vienna, Austria in 1930 [1]. Already before the Nazis entered Austria in 1938, our life had changed significantly, even from the viewpoint of an eight year old. Among our neighbors were two boys of ages comparable to my brother, Robert, and me. They were our best friends, and we played regularly with them. In the spring of 1937, they suddenly refused to have anything to do with us and began taunting us by calling us dirty Jew boys when we foolishly continued to try to interact with them. On March 13, 1938, the German Nazi troops crossed the border into Austria and completed the Anschluss, the joining of Austria with Nazi Germany. A few days after the Anschluss, my mother, brother, and I left Austria by train for Switzerland on a ski vacation. My parents had been concerned about Hitlers takeover of Austria for some time. For the previous three years, my Aunt Claire, who had studied in England, had been teaching English to me and my brother Bob. Well before March 13, train tickets had been purchased and a bed-and-breakfast pension had been reserved in Zurich. The most traumatic aspect of our departure was that my father was not allowed to come with us and had to give himself up to be incarcerated in the Vienna city jail. In part, he was kept as a hostage so that any money we had would not be spirited out of the country. My mother reassured my brother and me, saying that nothing would happen to him, though of course she herself had no assurance that this was true. At the end of the summer, the visas finally arrived, passage was booked, and the three of us were ready to leave for the United States. Although there had been no news from my father, he miraculously turned up at Le Havre a few days before our ship was scheduled to depart for New York. From my point of view, it was exactly what my mother had told me would happen: We would all go to America together. When my father joined us in Le Havre, Bob and I asked him what jail had been like. He told us that he had been treated well in jail and cheerfully described how he had passed the time teaching the guards to play chess. One aspect of my fathers personality, which strongly influenced both my brother and me, was to make something positive out of any experience. A New Life in America We arrived in New York Harbor early in the morning on October 8, 1938, and I stood on the deck watching the Statue of Liberty appear out of the mist. The symbolism associated with the Statue of Liberty may seem trite today (and somewhat deceptive given our present immigration policies), but in 1938 it was special for me. Most of the immigration formalities had been taken care of by Uncle Edu, so that a few hours after our arrival we boarded a train to Boston. During our initial weeks in the United States, we were lodged in a welcoming center in Brighton, where a large mansion had been transformed into an interim home for refugee families. We were taught about America (what it was like for foreigners to live in Boston), given lessons to improve our English, and aided in the steps required to be allowed to remain in the United States as refugees. Soon we were ready to start a new life. My parents rented a small apartment in Brighton (part of Greater Boston), and Bob and I immediately entered the local public schools, as we had in Zurich. Motivated by their concern for our education, my parents then moved to Newton (a suburb of Boston), where the schools were recognized as superior to the Boston public schools. My parents bought a small house in a pleasant neighborhood in West Newton, and I attended the Levi F. Warren Junior High School. My junior high teachers soon realized that I was bored with the regular curriculum, so they let me sit in the back of the classroom and study on my own. What made this experience particularly nice was that another student, a very pretty girl, was given the same privilege, and we worked together. The arrangement was that we could learn at our own pace without being responsible for the day-to-day material but had to take the important exams. Several dedicated teachers at Warren Junior High helped us when questions arose, particularly with science and mathematics. With this freedom, we explored whatever interested us and, of course, did much more work than we would have done if we were only concerned with passing the required subjects. Beginning of Scientific Interests When we moved to Newton, Bob was given a chemistry set, which he augmented with materials from the high school laboratory and drug stores. He spent many hours in the basement generating the usual bad smells and making explosives. I was fascinated by his experiments and wanted to participate, but he informed me that I was too young for such dangerous scientific research. My plea for a chemistry set of my own was vetoed by my parents because they felt that this might not be a good combination two teenage boys generating explosives could be explosive! Instead, my father had the idea of giving me a Bausch and Lomb microscope. Initially I was disappointed no noise, no bad smells, although I soon produced the latter with the infusions I cultured from marshes, sidewalk drains, and other sources of microscopic life. I came to treasure this microscope, and more than 60 years later it is still in my possession. One especially rewarding aspect of my working with the microscope was that my father, who was a thoughtful observer of nature, spent a lot of time with me and was always ready to come and look when I had discovered something. I had found an exciting new world and looked through my microscope whenever I was free. The first time I saw a group of rotifers I was so excited by the discovery that I refused to leave them, not even taking time out for meals. They were the most amazing creatures as they swam across the microscope field with their miniature rotary motors. (The rotifers come to mind today in relation to my research on the smallest biological rotatory motor, F 1 -ATPase.) My enthusiasm was sufficiently contagious that I even interested some of my friends. It was a special occasion when they came to my house and looked at the rotifers through the microscope. This was the beginning of my interest in nature study, which was nurtured by my father and encouraged by my mother, even though it was still assumed that I would go to medical school and become a doctor. One day my closest friend, Alan MacAdam, saw an announcement of the Lowell Lecture Series (a Boston institution, originally supported by a Brahmin family the Lowells), which organized evening courses on a wide range of subjects at the Boston Public Library that were free and open to the public. The series that had caught Alans eye was entitled Birds and Their Identification in the Field, to be given by Ludlow Griscom, the curator of ornithology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Alan and I occasionally walked in the green areas in Newton, particularly the Newton Cemetery, and looked for birds with my fathers old pair of binoculars. Together we attended the first lecture, which had a good-sized audience, although it was not clear whether most of the people came simply to have a nice warm place in winter rather than because of their interest in birds. I was enthralled by the lecture, which provided insights into bird behavior and described the large number of different species one could observe within a 50 mile radius of Boston. I was amazed that it was possible to identify a given species from field marks evident even from a glimpse of a bird, if one knew how and where to look. Alan did not attend the subsequent lectures, but I continued through the entire course. At the end of the fourth or fifth lecture, Griscom came up to me and asked me about myself. He then invited me to join his field trips, and a new passion was born. From that time on, my treasured microscope was relegated to a closet, and I devoted my free time to observing birds on my own, as well as with Griscom and his colleagues, with the Audubon Society, and other groups that organized field trips. I entered Newton High School in the fall of 1944 but soon found that I did not have the same supportive environment as in elementary and junior high school. My brother, Bob, had graduated from Newton High School two years before and had done exceedingly well. My teachers presumed that I could not measure up to the standards set by my brother. Since I had always been striving to keep up with Bob and his friends, this just reinforced my feelings of inferiority. Particularly unpleasant were my interactions with the chemistry teacher. When my brother suggested I compete in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, the chemistry teacher, who was in charge of organizing such applications, told me that it was a waste of time for me to enter and that it was really too bad that Bob had not tried instead. However, I talked to the high school principal and he gave me permission to go ahead with the application. I managed to obtain all the necessary papers without encouragement from anyone in the school. A test was given as part of the selection process, and I found a teacher who was willing to act as proctor. I did well enough to be invited as one of the 40 finalists to Washington, D.C. Each finalist had a science project for exhibition in the Statler Hotel, where we were staying. My project was on the lives of alcids, based in part on a trip to the Gaspe Peninsula and some of the field studies I had made during New England winters. The various judges spent considerable time talking with us, and the astronomer Harlow Shapley, who was the chief judge, charmed me with his apparent interest in my project. I was chosen as one of two co-winners. (At that time, there was one male and one female winner; Rada Demereck and I were co-winners.) The visit to Washington, D.C. was a formative experience. We met President Truman, who welcomed us as the future leaders of America. Moreover, winning the Westinghouse Talent Search made up for the discouraging interactions with some of my high school teachers. Their attitude contrasted with that of my fellow classmates, who voted me most likely to succeed. College Years I entered Harvard in the fall of 1947. There was never any question about my wanting to attend Harvard and I did not apply to any other school. In addition to the Westinghouse scholarship, I received a National Scholarship from Harvard to cover the cost of living on campus. Otherwise I would have had to live at home to save money. I would not have minded this, since I was not a rebellious teenager eager for independence and distance from my parents. However, as I soon discovered, much of the Harvard experience took place outside of classes at dinner and in evening discussions with friends. At first I still intended to go to medical school but changed my mind during my freshman year. My teenage ornithological studies, fostered by Griscom and Donald Griffin, with whom I had gone on a field trip to Alaska, had already introduced me to the fascinating world of research, where one is trying to discover something new (something that no one has ever known). I began to think about doing research in biology, but concluded that to approach biology at a fundamental level (to understand life), a solid background in chemistry, physics, and mathematics was essential. I enrolled in the Program in Chemistry and Physics. This program, unique to Harvard at the time, exposed undergraduates to courses in both areas at a depth that they would not have had from either one alone. Although I shopped around for advanced science courses to meet the rather loose requirements, I also enrolled in Freshman Chemistry because it was taught by Leonard Nash. A relatively new member of the Harvard faculty, Nash had the deserved reputation of being a superb teacher. Elementary chemistry in Nashs lectures was an exciting subject. A group of us (including DeWitt Goodman, Gary Felsenfeld, and John Kaplan my crazy roommate, who became a law professor at Stanford) had the special privilege that Nash spent extra time discussing with us a wide range of chemical questions, far beyond those addressed in the course. The interactions in our group, though we were highly competitive at exam times, were also supportive. This freshman experience confirmed my interest in research and the decision not to go to medical school. Harvard provided me with a highly stimulating environment as an undergraduate. I enrolled in a wide range of courses, chosen partly because of the subject matter and partly because of the outstanding reputation of the lecturers; these courses included one in Democracy and Government and another in Abnormal Psychology. More related to my long-term interests were George Walds Molecular Basis of Life and Kenneth Thimanns class on plant physiology with its emphasis on the chemistry and physiology of growth hormones (auxins) in plants. Both professors were inspiring lecturers and imbued me with the excitement of the subject. These courses emphasized that biological phenomena (life itself) could be understood at a molecular level, which has been a leitmotif of my subsequent research career. Walds course also introduced me to the mechanism of vision, which led to my first paper on a theoretical approach to a biological problem [2]. Rather than taking the Elementary Organic course taught by Louis Fieser, I enrolled in Paul Bartletts Advanced Organic. It taught the physical basis of organic reactions. It was an excellent course, though difficult for me because one was supposed to know many organic reactions, which I had to learn as we went along. At one point, Bartlett suggested that we read Linus Paulings Nature of the Chemical Bond, which had been published in 1939 based on his Baker Lectures at Cornell. The Nature of the Chemical Bond presented chemistry for the first time as an integrated subject that could be understood, albeit not quite derived, from its quantum chemical basis. The many insights in this book were a critical element in orienting my subsequent research in chemistry. At the end of three years at Harvard I needed only one more course to complete the requirements for a bachelor degree. During the previous year I had done research with Ruth Hubbard and her husband, George Wald. (Although Hubbard was scientifically on par with Wald, she remained a Senior Research Associate, a nonprofessorial appointment, until very late in her career when she was finally promoted to Professor. This was not an uncommon fate for women in science.) I mostly worked with Hubbard on the chemistry of retinal, the visual chromophore. When I brought up my need to find a course for graduation, Wald suggested that I enroll in the physiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This course was one of the few non-Harvard courses that was accepted for an undergraduate degree by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The physiology course was widely known as a stimulating course designed for postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. The lectures in the course by scientists who were summering at Woods Hole, while doing some research and enjoying boating and swimming, offered students a state-of-the-art view of biology and biological chemistry. In considering graduate school during my last year at Harvard, I had decided to go to the West Coast and had applied to chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley and to biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Accepted at both, I found it difficult to choose between them. Providentially, I visited my brother, Bob, who was working with J. R. Oppenheimer at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. Bob introduced me to Oppenheimer, and briefly to Einstein. When Oppenheimer asked me what I was doing, I told him of my dilemma in choosing between U.C. Berkeley and Caltech for graduate school in chemistry or biology. He had held simultaneous appointments at both institutions and strongly recommended Caltech, describing it as a shining light in a sea of darkness. His comment influenced me to choose Caltech, and I discovered that Oppenheimers characterization of the local environment was all too true. Pasadena itself held little attraction for a student at that time. However, camping trips in the nearby desert and mountains and the vicinity of Hollywood made up for what Pasadena lacked. At Caltech, I joined the group of Max Delbruck in biology. He had started out as a physicist but, following the advice of Niels Bohr, had switched to biology. With Salvador Luria and others, he had been instrumental in transforming phage genetics into a quantitative discipline. His research fascinated me, and I thought that working with such a person would be a perfect entree for me to do graduate work in biology. After I had been in the Delbruck group for a couple of months, Delbruck proposed that I present a seminar on a possible area of research. I intended to discuss my ideas for a theory of vision (how the excitation of retinal by light could lead to a nerve impulse), which I had started to develop while doing undergraduate research with Hubbard and Wald. Among those who came to my talk was Richard Feynman; I had invited him to the seminar because I was taking his quantum mechanics course and knew he was interested in biology, as well as everything else. I began the seminar confidently by describing what was known about vision but was interrupted after a few minutes by Delbrucks comment from the back of the room, I do not understand this. The implication of his remark, of course, was that I was not being clear, and this left me with no choice but to go over the material again. As this pattern repeated itself (Delbruck saying I do not understand and my trying to explain), after 30 minutes I had not even finished the 10-minute introduction and was getting nervous. When he intervened yet again, Feynman turned to him and whispered loud enough so that everyone could hear, I can understand, Max; it is perfectly clear to me. With that, Delbruck got red in the face and rushed out of the room, bringing the seminar to an abrupt end. Later that afternoon, Delbruck called me into his office to tell me that I had given the worst seminar he had ever heard. I was devastated by this and agreed that I could not continue to work with him. It was only years later that I learned from reading a book dedicated to him that what I had gone through was a standard rite of passage for his students everyone gave the worst seminar he had ever heard. After the devastating exchange with Delbruck, I spoke with George Beadle, the chairman of the Biology Department. He suggested that I find someone else in the department with whom to do graduate research. However, I felt that I wanted to go home to chemistry and asked him to help me make the transfer. Once in the Chemistry Department, I joined the group of John Kirkwood, who was doing research on charge fluctuations in proteins, as well as on his primary concern with the fundamental aspects of statistical mechanics and its applications. I undertook work on proteins and the research started out well. In the spring of 1951, as I was getting immersed in my research project, Kirkwood received an offer from Yale. Linus Pauling, who was no longer taking graduate students, asked each student who was working with Kirkwood whether he would like to stay at Caltech and work with him. I was the only one to accept and, in retrospect, I think it was a very good choice. Initially, I was rather overwhelmed by Pauling. Each day upon arriving at the lab, I found a hand-written note on a yellow piece of paper in my mailbox which always began with something like It would be interesting to look at As a new student I took this as an order and tried to read all about the problem and work on it, only to receive another note the next day beginning in the same way. When I raised this concern with Alex Rich and other postdocs, they laughed, pointing out that everyone received such notes and that the best thing to do was to file them or throw them away. Pauling had so many ideas that he could not work on all of them. He would communicate them to one or another of his students, but he did not expect a response. After I got over that, my relation with Pauling developed into a constructive collaboration. Given Paulings interest in hydrogen bonding in peptides and proteins, he proposed that I study the different contributions to hydrogen bonding interactions for a biologically relevant system, but I felt this would be too difficult to do in a rigorous way. Because quantum mechanical calculations still had to be done with calculating machines and tables of integrals (something difficult to imagine when even log tables have followed dinosaurs into oblivion), we had to find a system that was simple enough to be treated by quantum mechanical theory. I chose the bifluoride ion (FHF-) because the hydrogen bond was the strongest known, the system is symmetric, and only two heavy atoms are involved. (Today, such strong hydrogen bonds have become popular in analyses of enzyme catalysis, although there is no convincing evidence as to their role.) The time at Cal Tech was very rewarding, all the more so because of the intellectual and social atmosphere of the Chemistry Department. The professors like Pauling, Verner Schomaker, and Norman Davidson treated the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows as equals. We participated in many joint activities that included trips into the desert, as well as frequent parties held at our Altadena house, where Feynman would occasionally come and play the drums. Postdoctoral Sojourn in Oxford and Europe One day in October 1953, Pauling came into the office I shared with several postdocs and announced that he was leaving in three weeks for a six-month trip and that it would be nice if I finished my thesis and had my exam before he left. This was eminently reasonable, since I had finished the calculations some months before and I had received a National Science Foundation (NSF) postdoctoral fellowship to go to England that fall. Paulings request provided just the push I needed, even though the introduction was all I had written thus far. With so much to get done, I literally wrote night and day, with my friends typing and correcting what I wrote. In this way, the thesis was finished within three weeks, and I had my final PhD exam and celebratory party before Pauling left. After a brief visit with my parents in Newton, I took an ocean liner for England and arrived shortly before Christmas 1953. During my two years in Oxford as a postdoctoral fellow, I spent much of the time traveling throughout Europe and taking photographs; they are the basis of several exhibitions. Also, I spent more time thinking about chemical problems than actually solving them. My aim was to find areas where theory could make a contribution of general utility in chemistry. I did not want to do research whose results were of interest just to theoretical chemists. Reading the literature, listening to lectures, and talking to scientists like Don Hornig and the Oxford physicist H. M. C. Pryce, I realized that magnetic resonance was a vital new area. Chemical applications of magnetic resonance were in their infancy and it seemed to me that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), in particular, was a field where theory could make a contribution. I concluded that a quantum mechanical approach could aid in interpreting the available experimental results and propose new measurements. Five Years at the University Of Illinois: NMR and Coupling Constants As my postdoctoral fellowship in Oxford (19531955) neared its end, I was looking for a position to begin my academic career in the United States. With my growing interest in magnetic resonance, I focused on finding an institution that had active experimental programs in the area. One of the best schools from this point of view was the University of Illinois, where Charles Slichter in Physics and Herbert Gutowsky in Chemistry were doing pioneering work in applying NMR to chemical problems. The University of Illinois had a number of openings in Chemistry at that time because the department was undergoing a radical renovation; several professors, including the chairman Roger Adams, had retired. Pauling recommended me to the University of Illinois and the department offered me a job without an interview. I accepted the offer from Illinois without visiting the department, something unimaginable today with the extended courtships that have become an inherent part of the academic hiring process. The University of Illinois offered me an Instructorship at a salary of $5000 per year; the department offered nothing like the present-day start-up funds, and I did not think of asking for research support. Having had such a good time as a postdoctoral fellow traveling in Europe, I was ready to get to work, and Urbana-Champaign seemed like a place where I could concentrate on science with few distractions. The presence of four new instructors Rolf Herber, Aron Kupperman, Robert Ruben, and me plus other young scientists on the faculty, such as Doug Applequist, Lynn Belford, and E. J. Corey, led to a very interactive and congenial atmosphere. I focused a major part of my research on theoretical methods for relating nuclear and electron spin magnetic resonance parameters to the electronic structure of molecules. The first major problem I examined was concerned with proton-proton coupling constants, which were known to be dominated by the Fermi contact interaction. What made coupling constants of particular interest was that for protons that were not bonded to each other, the existence of a nonzero value indicated that there was an interaction beyond that expected from localized bonds. In the valence bond framework, which I used in part because of my training with Pauling, nonzero coupling constants provide a direct measure of the deviation from the perfect-pairing approximation. To translate this qualitative idea into a quantitative model, I chose to study the HCCH fragment as a function of the HCCH dihedral angle, a relatively simple system consisting of six electrons (with neglect of the inner shells). I believed that it could be described with sufficient accuracy for the problem at hand by including only five covalent valence-bond structures. To calculate the contributions of the various structures, I introduced semi-empirical values of the required molecular integrals. Although the HCCH fragment is relatively simple, the calculations for a series of dihedral angles were time consuming and it seemed worthwhile to develop a computer program. This was not as obvious in 1958 as it is now. Fortunately, the ILLIAC, a large digital computer at that time, had recently been built at the University of Illinois. If I remember correctly, it had 1000 words of memory, which was enough to store my program. The actual program was written by punching holes in a paper tape. If you made a mistake, you filled in the incorrect holes with nail polish so that you could continue the program; the output appeared on spools of paper. Probably the most valuable aspect of having a program for this type of simple calculation, which could have been done on a desk calculator, was that once the program was known to be correct, a large number of calculations could be performed without having to worry about arithmetic mistakes. Just as I finished the analysis of the vicinal coupling constants [3], I heard a lecture by R. V. Lemieux on the conformations of acetylated sugars. I do not remember why I went to the talk, because it was an organic chemistry lecture, and the chemistry department at Illinois was rigidly separated into divisions, which had a semiautonomous existence. Lemieux reported measurements of vicinal coupling constants and noted that there appeared to be a dihedral angle dependence, although the details of the behavior were not clear. The results were exciting to me because the experiments confirmed my theory, at least qualitatively, before it was even published. As happens too often with the application of theoretical results in chemistry, most people who used the so-called Karplus equation had not read the original paper [3] and thus do not know the limitations of the theory. They assumed that because the equation had been used to estimate vicinal dihedral angles, the theory said that the coupling constant depends only on the dihedral angle. By 1963, having realized organic chemists tend to write and read Communications to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, I published such a Communication [4]. In it, I described various factors, other than the dihedral angle, that are expected to affect the value of the vicinal coupling constant; they include the electronegativity of substituents, the valence angles of the protons (HCC and CCH), and bond lengths. The main point of the paper was not to provide a more accurate equation but rather to make clear that caution had to be used in applying the equation to structural problems. My closing sentence, which has often been quoted, was the following: Certainly with our present knowledge, the person who attempts to estimate dihedral angles to an accuracy of one or two degrees does so at his own peril. In spite of my concerns about the limitations of the model, the use of the equation has continued, and the original paper [3] is one of the Current Contents most-cited papers in chemistry; correspondingly, the 1963 paper was recently listed as one of the most-cited papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society [5]. The vicinal coupling constant model, which was developed primarily to understand deviations from perfect pairing, has been much more useful than I would have guessed. In many ways my feeling about the uses and refinements of the Karplus equation is that of a proud father. I am very pleased to see all the nice things that the equation can do, but it is clear that it has grown up and now is living its own life [6]. At Illinois, my officemate was Aron Kuppermann. Our instructorship at Illinois was the first academic position for both of us, and we discussed science, as well as politics and culture, for hours on end. Aron and I decided that, although we were on the faculty, we wanted to continue to learn and would teach each other. I taught Aron about molecular electronic structure theory [we published two joint papers on molecular integrals] and Aron taught me about chemical kinetics, his primary area of research. Aron is officially an experimentalist, but he is also an excellent theoretician, as was demonstrated by his landmark quantum mechanical study of the H + H 2 exchange reaction with George Schatz. This work was some years in the future (it was published in 1975), but in the late 1950s we both felt that it was time to go beyond descriptions of reactions in terms of the Arrhenius formulation based on the activation energy and pre-exponential factor. My research in this area had to wait until I moved to Columbia University, where I would have access to the required computer facilities. Move to Columbia and Focus on Reaction Kinetics During the summer of 1960 I participated in an NSF program at Tufts University with the purpose of exposing high school and small college science teachers to faculty actively engaged in research. Ben Dailey, one of the organizers of the program, asked me one day whether I would consider joining the chemistry faculty at Columbia University, where he was a professor. Because I had already been at Illinois for four of the five years I had planned to stay there, I responded positively. I heard from Columbia shortly thereafter and received an offer to join the IBM Watson Scientific Laboratory with an adjunct associate professorship at Columbia. The Watson Scientific Laboratory was an unusual institution to be financed by a company like IBM. Although the laboratory played a role in the development of IBM computers, many of the scientists there were doing fundamental research. The Watson Laboratory had been founded in 1945 near the end of World War II to provide computing facilities needed by the Allies. It had a special attraction for me in that it had an IBM 650, an early digital computer, which was much more useful than the ILLIAC because of its greater speed, larger memory, and simpler (card) input. (No more nail polish!) I was to have access to considerable amounts of time on the IBM 650 and to receive support for postdocs, as well as other advantages over a regular Columbia faculty appointment. This was a seductive offer, but I hesitated about accepting a position that in any way depended on a company, even a large and stable one like IBM. This was based, in part, on my political outlook, but even more so on the fact that industry has as its primary objective making a profit, and all the rest is secondary. By contrast, my primary focus was on research and teaching, which are the essential aspects of a university, but not of industry. Consequently, I replied to Columbia and the Watson Lab that the offer was very appealing, but that I would consider it only if it included a tenured position in the chemistry department, even though I agreed initially to be at the Watson Lab as well. Columbia acceded to my request and after some further negotiation, I accepted the position for the fall of 1960. The environment at the Watson Lab was indeed fruitful, both in terms of discussions with other staff members and the available facilities. I was able to do research there that would have been much more difficult at Columbia. However, not unexpectedly, the atmosphere gradually changed over the years, with increasing pressure from IBM to do something useful (i.e., profitable) for the company, such as visiting people at the much larger and more applied IBM laboratory in Yorktown Heights, essentially doing internal consulting. I decided in 1963 that the time had come to leave the Watson Lab, and moved to the fulltime professorial position that was waiting for me in Chemistry at Columbia. (IBM closed the Watson Lab in 1970.) I continued research in the area of magnetic resonance after moving to New York. One reward of being at Columbia was the stimulation provided by interactions with new colleagues, such as George Fraenkel, Ben Dailey, Rich Bersohn, and Ron Breslow. Frequent discussions with them helped to broaden my view of chemistry. In particular, my interest in ESR was rekindled by George Fraenkel and we published several papers together, including a pioneering calculation of 13C hyperfine splittings [7]. Although the techniques we used were rather crude, the results provide insights concerning the electronic structure of the molecules considered and aided in understanding the measurements. My interest in chemical reaction dynamics had deepened at Illinois through many discussions with Aron Kuppermann, as already mentioned, but I began to do research in the area only after moving to Columbia. There were several reasons for this. There is no point in undertaking a problem if the methodology and means for solving it are not available: It is important to feel that a problem is ripe for solution. (This has been a guiding rule for much of my research there are many exciting and important problems, but only when one feels that they are ready to be solved should one invest the time to work on them. This rule has turned out to be even more important in the application of theory to biology, as we shall see later.) Given the availability of the IBM 650 at the Watson Lab, the very simple reaction, H + H 2 H 2 + H, which involves an exchange of a hydrogen atom with a hydrogen molecule, could now be studied by theory at a relatively fundamental level. Moreover, early measurements made by Farkas & Farkas in 1935 of the rate of reaction over a wide temperature range provided important data for comparison with calculations. A second reason for focusing on chemical kinetics was that crossed molecular beam studies were beginning to provide much more detailed information about these reactions than had been available from gas phase or solution measurements. The pioneering experiments of Taylor & Datz opened up this new field in 1955. It made possible the study of individual collisions and the determination whether or not they were reactive. Thus, calculated reaction cross sections, rather than overall rate constants, could be compared directly with experimental data. To do a theoretical treatment of this or any other reaction (including the protein folding reaction), a knowledge of the potential energy of the system as a function of the atomic coordinates is required, as described in my Nobel Lecture. Richard Porter, a graduate student with F. T. Wall at Illinois, had done collinear collision calculations for the H + H 2 reaction. Much impressed by Porter, I invited him to join my group at Columbia as a postdoctoral fellow. At Columbia, we rapidly developed a semi-empirical extension of the original Heitler-London surface for the H + H 2 reaction, based on the method of diatomics in molecules and calibrated the surface with ab initio quantum calculations and experimental data for the reaction [8]. This surface, which is known as the Porter-Karplus (PK) surface, has an accuracy and simplicity that led to its continued use in many reaction rate calculations by a variety of methods over the years. Within the approximation that classical mechanics is accurate for describing the atomic motions involved in the H + H 2 reaction and that the semi-empirical Porter-Karplus surface is valid, a set of trajectories makes it possible to determine any and all reaction attributes, e.g., the reaction cross section as a function of the collision energy. The ultimate level of detail that can be achieved is an inherent attribute of this type of approach, which I was to exploit 15 years later in studies of the dynamics of macromolecules. Recently, I was pleased to learn that our paper was cited by George Schatz [9] as one of the key twentieth-century papers in theoretical chemistry. Schatz states, The KPS paper stimulated research in several new directions and ultimately spawned new fields. One of these as cited by Schatz was molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules, as described in my Nobel Lecture. Return to Harvard University and Biology In 1965, it was time to move again. Columbia and New York City were stimulating places to live and work, but I felt that new colleagues in a different environment would help to keep my research productive. I had incorporated this idea into a plan: I would change schools every five years and when I changed schools I would also change my primary area of research. It was exciting for me to work on something new, where I had much to learn so as to stay mentally young and have new ideas. The initial qualitative insights obtained from relatively simple approaches to a new problem are often the most rewarding. I received numerous offers and decided to return to Harvard. After I had been at Harvard for only a short time, I realized that if I was ever to again take up my long-standing interest in biology I had to make a break with what had been thus far a successful and very busy research program in theoretical chemistry. A key, although accidental, element in my choice of a problem for study in biology was the publication of Structural Chemistry and Molecular Biology, a compendium of papers in a volume dedicated to Linus Pauling for his 65th birthday. I had contributed an article entitled, Structural Implications of Reaction Kinetics, which reviewed some of the work I have already described in the context of Paulings view that a knowledge of structure was the basis for understanding reactions. However, it is not my article that leads me to mention this volume, but rather an article by Ruth Hubbard and George Wald entitled Pauling and Carotenoid Stereochemistry. On looking through the article, it was clear to me that the theory of the electronic absorption of retinal and its geometric changes on excitation, which play an essential role in vision, had not advanced significantly since my discussions with Hubbard and Wald during my undergraduate days at Harvard. I realized, in part from my time in Oxford with Coulson, that polyenes, such as retinal, were ideal systems for study by the available semi-empirical approaches; that is, if any biologically interesting system in which quantum effects are important could be treated adequately at that time, retinal was it. Barry Honig, who had received his PhD in theoretical chemistry working with Joshua Jortner, joined my research group at that time. He was the perfect candidate to work on the retinal problem. I will not elaborate on our studies here as they are outlined in my Nobel Lecture. Hemoglobin: A Real Biological Problem Another scientific question that appeared ready for a more fundamental investigation was the origin of hemoglobin cooperativity, the model system for allosteric control in biology. Although the phenomenological model of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux had provided many insights, it did not attempt to make contact with the detailed structure of the molecule. In 1971 Max Perutz had just determined the X-ray structure of deoxy hemoglobin, which complemented his earlier results for oxy hemoglobin. By comparing the two structures, he was able to propose a qualitative molecular mechanism for the cooperativity. Alex Rich, now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had invited Perutz to present two lectures describing the X-ray data and his mechanism. After the second lecture, Alex suggested that I come to his office to have a discussion with Perutz. Perutz was sitting on a couch in Alexs office and eating his customary banana. I asked him whether he had tried to formulate a quantitative thermodynamic mechanism based on his structural analysis. He said no and seemed very enthusiastic, although I was not sure whether he had understood what I meant. Having been taught by Pauling that until one expressed an idea in quantitative terms, it was not possible to test ones results, I went away from our meeting thinking about the best way to proceed. Attila Szabo had recently joined my group as a graduate student, and the hemoglobin mechanism seemed like an ideal problem for his theoretical skills. The basic idea proposed by Perutz was that the hemoglobin molecule has two quaternary structures, R and T, in agreement with the ideas of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux; that there are two tertiary structures, liganded and unliganded for each of the subunits; and that the coupling between the two is introduced by certain salt bridges whose existence depended on both the tertiary and quaternary structures of the molecule. Moreover, some of the salt bridges depended on pH, which introduced the Bohr effect on the oxygen affinity of the subunits. These ideas were incorporated into the statistical mechanical model Szabo and I developed [10]. It was a direct consequence of the formulation that the cooperativity parameter n (i.e., the Hill coefficient) varied with pH. This was in disagreement with the hemoglobin dogma at the time and led a number of the experimentalists in the field to initially disregard our model, which was subsequently confirmed by experiments. Protein Folding In 1969 I was invited to spend a semester at the Weizmann Institute and I joined the group of Schneior Lifson. While there, Chris Anfinsen visited and we had many discussions of his experiments on protein folding, which had led to the realization that proteins can refold in solution, independent of the ribosome and other aspects of the cellular environment. What most impressed me was Anfinsens film showing the folding of a protein with flickering helices forming and dissolving and coming together to form stable substructures. The film was a cartoon, but it led to my asking him, in the same vein as I had asked Perutz earlier about hemoglobin, whether he had thought of taking the ideas in the film and translating them into a quantitative model. Anfinsen said that he did not really know how he would do this, but to me it suggested an approach to the mechanism of protein folding. When David Weaver joined my group at Harvard, while on a sabbatical leave from Tufts, we developed what is now known as the diffusion-collision model for protein folding [11]. Although it is a simplified coarse-grained description of the folding process, it showed how the search problem for the native state could be solved by a divide-and-conquer approach. Moreover, the diffusion-collision model made possible the estimation of folding rates. The model was ahead of its time because data to test it were not available. Only relatively recently have experimental studies demonstrated that the diffusion-collision model describes the folding mechanism of many helical proteins [12], as well as some others. When David Weaver and I developed the diffusion-collision model in 1975, protein folding was a rather esoteric subject of interest to a very small community of scientists. The field has been completely transformed in recent years because of its importance for understanding the large number of protein sequences available from genome projects and because of the realization that misfolding can lead to a wide range of human diseases; these diseases are found primarily in the older populations that form an ever-increasing portion of humanity. Over the past decade or so the mechanism of protein folding has been resolved, in principle. It is now understood that there are multiple pathways to the native state and that the bias on the free-energy surface, due to the greater stability of native-like versus nonnative contacts, is such that only a very small fraction of the total number of conformations is sampled in each folding trajectory [13]. This understanding was achieved by the work of many scientists, but a crucial element was the study of lattice models of protein folding. Such toy models, as I like to call them, are simple enough to permit many folding trajectories to be calculated to make possible an analysis of the folding process and free-energy surface sampled by the trajectories [14]. However, they are sufficiently complex so that they embody the Levinthal problem, i.e., there are many more configurations than could be visited during the calculated folding trajectory. The importance of such studies was in part psychological, in that even though the lattice model uses a simplified representation, real folding was demonstrated on a computer for the first time. An article based on a lecture at a meeting in Copenhagen [15] describes this change in attitude as a paradigm of scientific progress. Origins Of The CHARMM Program When I visited Lifsons group in 1969 there was considerable interest in developing empirical potential energy functions for small molecules. The novel idea was to use a functional form that could serve not only for calculating vibrational frequencies, as did the expansions of the potential about a known or assumed minimum-energy structure, but also for determining that structure. The so-called consistent force field (CCF) of Lifson and his coworkers, particularly Arieh Warshel, included nonbonded interaction terms so that the minimum-energy structure could be found after the energy terms had been appropriately calibrated. The possibility of using such energy functions for larger systems struck me as potentially very important for understanding biological macromolecules like proteins, though I did not begin working on this immediately. Once Attila Szabo had finished the statistical mechanical model of hemoglobin cooperativity, I realized that his work raised a number of questions that could be explored only with a method for calculating the energy of hemoglobin as a function of the atomic positions. No way of doing such a calculation existed. We decided the time was ripe to try to develop a program that would make it possible to take a given amino acid sequence (e.g., that of the hemoglobin alpha chain) and a set of coordinates (e.g., those obtained from the X-ray structure of deoxy hemoglobin) and to use this information to calculate the energy of the system and its derivatives as a function of the atomic positions. This could be used for perturbing the structure (e.g., by binding oxygen to the heme group) and finding a new structure by minimizing the energy. Developing the program a major task, but Gelin had the right combination of abilities to carry it out [16]. He would have faced almost insurmountable difficulties in developing the program (pre-CHARMM) if there had not been prior work by others on protein energy calculations. Although many persons have contributed to the development of empirical potentials, the two major inputs to our work came from Schneior Lifsons group at the Weizmann Institute and Harold Scheragas group at Cornell University. The CHARMM program is now being developed by a wide group of contributors, most of whom were students or postdoctoral fellows in my group; the program is distributed worldwide in both academic and commercial settings. Pre-CHARMM, while not trivial to use, was applied to a variety of problems. An early application of pre-CHARMMwas Dave Cases simulation of ligand escape after photodissociation from myoglobin; a study that was followed by the work of Ron Elber, which gave rise to the locally enhanced sampling (LES) and multiple copy simultaneous search (MCSS) methods now widely used for drug design. The First Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Biomolecule Given that pre-CHARMMcould calculate the forces on the atoms of a protein, the next step was to use these forces in Newtons equation to calculate the dynamics. This fundamental development was introduced in the mid-1970s when Andy McCammon joined my group. A basic assumption in initiating such studies was that potential functions could be constructed which were sufficiently accurate to give meaningful results for systems as complex as proteins or nucleic acids. In addition, it was necessary to assume that for these inhomogeneous systems, in contrast to the homogeneous character of even complex liquids like water, classical dynamics simulations of an attainable timescale (10 to 100 ps) could provide a useful sample of the phase space in the neighborhood of the native structure. There was no compelling evidence for either assumption in the early 1970s. When I discussed my plans with chemistry colleagues, they thought such calculations were impossible, given the difficulty of treating few atom systems accurately; biology colleagues felt that even if we could do such calculations, they would be a waste of time. The original simulation, published in 1977 [17], concerned the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), which has served as the hydrogen molecule of protein dynamics because of its small size, high stability, and a relatively accurate X-ray structure; interestingly, the physiological function of BPTI remains unknown. This development, which played an essential role in the Nobel Prize, is described in my Nobel Lecture. The conceptual changes resulting from the early studies make one marvel at how much of great interest could be learned with so little such poor potentials, such small systems, so little computer time. This is, of course, one of the great benefits of taking the initial, somewhat faltering steps in a new field in which the questions are qualitative rather than quantitative and any insights, even if crude, are better than none at all. Epilogue As I read through what I have written, I see what a fragmentary picture it provides of my life, even my scientific life. Missing are innumerable interactions, most of which constructive but some not so, that have played significant roles in my career. The more than 250 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who at one time or another have been members of the group are listed in my Nobel Lecture. Many have gone on to faculty positions and become leaders in their fields of research. They in turn are training students so I now have scientific children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all over the world. I treasure my contribution to their professional and personal careers, as much as the scientific advances we have made together. Contributing to the education of so many people in their formative years is a cardinal aspect of university life. My philosophy in graduate and postgraduate education has been to provide an environment where young scientists, once they have proved their ability, can develop their own ideas, as refined in discussions with me and aided by other members of the group. This fostered independence has been, I believe, an important element in the fact that so many of my students are now themselves outstanding researchers and faculty members. My role has been to guide them when problems arose and to instill in them the necessity of doing things in the best possible way, not to say that I succeeded with all of them. Discussing my scientific family makes me realize that another missing element is my personal family, an irreplaceable part of my life. Reba and Tammy, my two daughters whose mother, Susan, died in 1982, both became physicians (thereby fulfilling my destined role); Reba lives in Jerusalem, Israel, and Tammy lives Portland, Oregon. My wife, Marci, and our son, Mischa, who is an intern at the Harvard Kennedy School, complete my immediate family. As many people know, Marci also plays the pivotal role as the Laboratory Administrator, adding a spirit of continuity for the group and making possible our commuting between the Harvard and Strasbourg labs. Without my family, my life would have been an empty one, even with scientific success. Postscript The biography up to this point is based, as already mentioned, on an article published in 2006 [1]. Molecular dynamics simulations have continued their rapid growth as a result of methodological improvements, force field refinements, and the availability of faster computers. The citation of methods for the study of complex systems in this years Nobel Prize in Chemistry will have the important consequence of legitimizing simulations and make likely their greater acceptance by experimentalists. The introduction of simplified potential functions, the specific focus of the Nobel Prize, certainly played a role in making possible molecular dynamics simulations of macromolecules. However, I am convinced that the latter are the essential element. I dedicated my Nobel Lecture to the 244 Karplusians who have worked in my laboratory in Illinois, Columbia, Harvard, Paris and Strasbourg. Without them, I would not have received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Over the last forty years, many of them have contributed to the methodology and applications of molecular dynamics simulations. I find it curious, as I state in the written version of my Nobel Lecture, that molecular dynamics simulations were not mentioned in the description of the Scientific Background of the Nobel Prize. The large community involved in molecular dynamics simulations, which includes all of this years Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, has transformed the field from an esoteric subject of interest to only a small group of specialists into a central element of modern chemistry and structural biology. Without molecular dynamics simulations and their explosive development, no Nobel Prize would have been awarded in this area. There is perhaps a parallel here between the fact that molecular dynamics was not mentioned in the Nobel Prize citation and the citation for Einsteins Nobel Prize in Physics (1921). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for the theory of the photoelectric effect and not for his most important work, the general theory of relativity, which had already been verified by experiment and was the origin of his worldwide fame as a scientist. Interestingly, when he gave his Nobel Lecture, it was on relativity, even though he knew that he was supposed to talk about the photoelectric effect. Correspondingly, I traced the history of molecular dynamics simulations and their development in my lecture and did not emphasize the development of potential functions for simulations, the focus of the Chemistry Nobel Prize citation. The complex deliberations of the Physics Committee in reaching its decision concerning Einsteins Nobel Prize are now known because his prize was awarded more than fifty years ago. The public will again have to wait fifty years to find out what motivated the Chemistry Committee in awarding this years Nobel Prize. References This biolography is an abbreviated updated version of the article entitled, Spinach on the Ceiling: A Theoretical Chemists Return to Biology, Ann. Rev. Biophys. & Biomolecular Struc. 35, 147 (2006). It can be downloaded without cost. Honig B, Karplus M. 1971. Implications of torsional potential of retinal isomers for visual excitation. Nature 229, 558560. Karplus M. 1959. Contact electron-spin interactions of nuclear magnetic moments. J. Chem. Phys. 30, 1115. Karplus M. 1963. Vicinal proton coupling in nuclear magnetic resonance. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 85, 2870. Dalton L. 2003. Karplus Equation. Chem. Eng. News 81, 3739. Karplus M. 1996. Theory of vicinal coupling constants. In Encyclopedia of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Vol. 1: Historical Perspectives, ed. DM Grant, RK Harris, pp. 420422. New York: Wiley. Karplus M, Fraenkel GK. 1961. Theoretical interpretation of carbon-13 hyperfine interactions in electron spin resonance spectra. J. Chem. Phys. 35, 13121323. Porter RN, Karplus M. 1964. Potential energy surface for H3. J. Chem. Phys. 40, 11051115. Schatz GC. 2000. Perspective on Exchange reactions with activation energy. I. Simple barrier potential for (H, H 2 ) J. Chem. Phys. 43:32593287. Theor. Chem. Acc. 103, 270272. Szabo A, Karplus M. 1972. A mathematical model for structure-function relations in hemoglobin. J. Mol. Biol. 72, 163197. Karplus M, Weaver DL. 1976. Protein-folding dynamics. Nature 260, 404406. Islam SA, Karplus M, Weaver DL. 2004. The role of sequence and structure in protein folding kinetics: the diffusion-collision model applied to proteins L and G. Structure 12, 18331845. Dobson CM, Sali A, Karplus M.(1998). Protein Folding: A Perspective from Theory and Experiment, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 37, 868893. Sali A, Shakhnovich E, Karplus M. 1994. How does a protein fold? Nature 369, 248251. Karplus M. 1997. The Levinthal Paradox: yesterday and today. Fold. Des. 2, 569576. Gelin, BR. April 1976. Application of Empirical Energy Functions to Conformational Problems in Biochemical Systems. Harvard PhD Thesis. McCammon JA, Gelin BR, Karplus M. 1977. Dynamics of folded proteins. Nature 267, 585590. From The Nobel Prizes 2013. Published on behalf of The Nobel Foundation by Science History Publications/USA, division Watson Publishing International LLC, Sagamore Beach, 2014 This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/ Nobel Lectures/The Nobel Prizes. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. Copyright The Nobel Foundation 2013 To cite this section MLA style: Martin Karplus Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Wed. 26 Oct 2022. ELKO Juniors and seniors in high schools from Elko and Spring Creek may have an opportunity to get a head start on their college course work with the approval of a dual credit program. The Elko County School Board voted 4-0 in favor of developing a design for an academy model that would allow upperclassmen to take classes for college credit while still attending their high school classes. Dan Mahlberg and Annette Kerr were absent. Elko County School District Superintendent Jeff Zander said the proposal came about after a discussion with Director of Secondary Education Jack French and Elko High School teacher David Meisner. If the model the design team creates is approved, it would split the students time between their high school and the Great Basin College campus. We received a proposal to develop an academy that would allow high school juniors and seniors from Elko and Spring Creek to spend four credit hours a day up at the college and actually receive dual credit for the classes and be in a college environment, Zander said. Zander continued by saying there were a number of classes at GBC that could potentially align with the coursework of Advanced Placement classes. Even though there appears to be ways to align the high school and college curriculums, the details still need to worked out by the design team. We probably need to do a study of the analysis of the alignment of our AP programming and our duel credit programming, he said. Once we can make those determinations that we can provide more opportunities kids in regards to that programming then we can talk about the actual academy model of this particular project. Another concern in implementing the program is taking juniors and seniors off of their high school campus for part of their school day, and the negative affect it could have on students who are taking classes at two campuses at the same time. After motioning to approve the design team study to look into the implementation of course alignment between the high schools and GBC, Trustee Jonathan Karr said the discussion surrounding the proposal at the Superintendents Advisory Committee raised some questions he would like the design team to further explore. The question came up of, Are we even still a high school because were now shipping kids to college? he said. It brought up some good questions I hadnt thought of and I think theyll address a lot of those and it would be a good study altogether, as well. Karr also suggested contacting other colleges around the area to see how theyve implemented similar programming. French said the design team will consist of stakeholders from GBC, the teachers association and high school administrators to help ensure that integrity of the normal high school class curriculum wouldnt be adversely affected by having some students take their classes at GBCs campus. Board Member Lou Basanez said she was encouraged by the conversation concerning the proposal at the advisory committee meeting, and emphasized that the people assigned to the design team could make a big difference in how successful the program is. It will be important for the right people to be on that design team who know what theyre talking about, she said. Some of the things they brought up I havent even thought of. Having the right people will make all the difference. With every absence, it's harder for students to succeed academically: Editorial June 15 Kaleen P. Ballard, 26, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $695 Clifford T. Brown, 35, of Elko was arrested at 764 S. Fifth St. for domestic battery, disturbing the peace, destroying the property of another and coercion. Bail: $5,135 Sky D. Brown, 21, of Elko was arrested at 1009 Chestnut St. in Carlin for three counts of failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $4,710 Shonna C. Buster, 26, of Elko was arrested at East Jennings and Puccinelli ways for failure to appear on a traffic citation, possession of a controlled substance, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail: $7,085 John G. Hebel, 19, of Elko was arrested at East Jennings and Puccinelli ways for driving without a drivers license, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail: $6,575 Tiffany E. Leavitt, 19, of Elko was arrested at 3920 E. Idaho St. for violation of probation or condition of suspension. No bail listed. Kyle D. Leyva, 22, of Spring Creek was arrested at 316 Dove Creek Drive for disturbing the peace. Bail: $355 Amador A. Mercado, 48, of Elko was arrested at South Fifth Street and Carlin Court for DUI, driving without a drivers license and speeding. Bail: $1,530 Aimee L. Renter, 45, of Elko was arrested at the Elko County Jail for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $1,995 James G. Robbins, 48, of Carlin was arrested at 1740 Mountain City Highway for driving with a suspended drivers license. Bail: $355 Lucas R. Smith, 23, of Spring Creek was arrested at 3750 Idaho St. on a warrant for sexual assault. Bail: $150,000 Adali F. Zaragoza, 33, of Rio Linda, California, was arrested on Interstate 80 for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $394 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. ELKO Hospital employees and union members demonstrated, for the third time, at Lamoille Highway and Errecart Boulevard to ask Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital to promote safe staffing practices for themselves and the community they serve. Theres only two nurses in the ER Saturday and Sunday, said Registered Nurse Donna Kevitt, depicting the cornerstone of the protest and further stating there are not any nurses to cover the mid-shift. With this weekend being the 16th annual Motorcycle Jamboree, Kevitt said she worries about safe staffing. Ashley Osborne, RN, spoke to the Free Press about the issues of recruitment and retention and the steps made to alleviate some of the concerns. Changes include security guards and bringing nurses up to the state level of pay. Weve made baby steps unfortunately, the important things havent improved in fact theyve gotten a little worse over the last three years and that is staffing, she said, explaining there is a huge turnover at the hospital. This turnover even affects recent graduates from Great Basin Colleges nursing program in that they are not able to find work locally. We are unable to give them the secure education that they need to have the foundation to become nurses, she said, discussing how these individuals often leave to gain their training at another location. This issue is not only centered on new nurses but also experienced ones from out of state. Osborne said even those with years of experience are hanging by tenterhooks. Right now our emergency department is so understaffed there are night shifts when there are literally no nurses on the schedule, leaving the department scrambling to find help, she said. Nurses are feeling obligated to the community to accept these assignments, however, it is being noticed the situation is not being alleviated by this practice and these assignments are refused more and more. Some are even suspended for refusing. This has propelled the nurses to take the role of advocate for our community and the patients and thats the only place were coming from when were doing things like this, she said. Osborne said she has been working on making NNRH both a better place for health care and a satisfactory work environment. The nurses hope the community joins them in the coalition to solidify solutions, including political ones at the upcoming legislature where they will advocate for safe staffing ratios. These ratios currently apply to Clark and Washoe counties, but the population of Elko does not warrant this. Since Elko is a regional hospital, it is hoped an exception can be carved out for it, said Dana Gentry, communications director for SEIU. Osborne called on county and city elected officials to help with this crisis, as well as the hospital board. This is political, unfortunately, it takes politics to make changes like this we need them acting, we need their voices, she said. This is not a pay issue 95 percent of the nurses are happy with our pay, said Osborne, explaining some nurses are hired at or paid a lower level of pay and the union is holding the hospital accountable for that. Safe staffing is all it is you could pay me $100 an hour, but give me an unsafe assignment, I will not come to work. I will not give subpar care, said Osborne. It is truthfully embarrassing that a community does not feel comfortable coming to get health care at this facility, she said, this is due to the cost and the level of health care. There is a petition on the groups Facebook page Healthcare Justice Elko. I think its unfortunate that the people of Elko are being held hostage because theyre geographically isolated, said Gentry. She would like to see the hospital invest more in the staffing. Looking to Wednesdays town hall meeting, Gentry told the story of an attorney, who is suing on behalf of a patient who was receiving oxygen that ran out and was not changed. The patient died and the hospital told the family the patient was older and it was his time. I think its a lack of responsibility on the corporations part, said Gentry. If youre going to provide health care you have to provide the staffing to make it work. There is no reason for the nursing shortage as many who are licensed nurses are at home or working in other industries, said Osborne. This has nothing to do with bargaining, said Gentry, explaining physicians have even left out of concern for patient care and billing practices need to be examined. In fact, a patient survey provided by Medicare gave the facility two out of five stars. Only 44 percent of those surveyed said they would recommend NNRH; these numbers are matched against Nevada and national averages. This is not done without taking certain steps to try to communicate with the hospital, said Osborne, who has sat in on meetings with the NNRH CEO Rick Palagi. SEIU Nevada, is a health care union representing all unionized nurses in the state, has been called on for power, financial backing and legal support. We respect SEIU Nevadas right to assemble, but because we are in active negotiations with the union and must respect the confidentiality of the bargaining process, we will not comment on todays demonstration, said a statement from NNRH. The hospital stated there have been eight meetings between itself and the union since January, including Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Community Its now easier than ever to connect and chat with others in your local area. You can connect with your community by asking general questions, give area updates and recommendations and even let your community know about local events that are taking place. The province has announced additional funding for the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund, which will also get a new name: the Indigenous Economic Development Fund. The fund will get $70 million over the next seven years, which launched in 2014. The province has announced additional funding for the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund, which will also get a new name: the Indigenous Economic Development Fund. The fund will get $70 million over the next seven years, which launched in 2014. The original investment was $95 million over 10 years. The funds purpose is to help Indigenous communities develop long-term strategies to diversify their economies; increase access to employment and training opportunities for Indigenous people; provide access to financing to start and expand Indigenous businesses; and enable communities and businesses to collaborate on region-wide employment and skills training projects. The fund has three funding streams: regional partnership grants, economic diversification grants, and the business and community fund. To date, Ontario has funded 51 projects with Indigenous partners through the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund. Aboriginal Financial Institutions are continuing to accept applications for grants, loans, equity and other financing products from the current phase of the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund until March 31, 2017. The evidence continues to mount: Donald Trump does not understand or respect the political system he seeks to lead. The only other explanation is that he understands the system very well, and is trying to undermine its basic foundations in order to clear his path to the White House. His latest outrage: revoking the credentials of The Washington Post and hindering that papers ability to cover his campaign. Their sin: doing their job scrutinizing his promises, holding him accountable. Post editor Martin Baron was correct in saying that Trumps decision is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press. This is not an isolated incident; it reflects a larger pattern of abuse and attack. Trump has pulled the credentials of other outlets he doesnt like Politico, BuzzFeed, Univision and assailed individual journalists like Foxs Megyn Kelly who dare to question his fitness to be president. Hes threatened to open up libel laws, which are deliberately designed to protect media independence against the thick wallets and thin skins of bullies like Trump. And he seldom misses a chance to demean the journalists assigned to his campaign. I think the political press is among the most dishonest people Ive ever met, he told a recent press conference. When reporters asked if he would continue his anti-press tirades he answered, Yeah, it is going to be like this. You think Im going to change? Im not going to change. Well, the media is not going to change, either. If anything, the scrutiny of Trumps record and character will get even stricter between now and November. Thats the American way. Thats what voters deserve. As Thomas Burr, the president of the National Press Club, put it, Any American political candidate who attacks the press for doing its job is campaigning in the wrong country. But ignorance is not the only explanation for Trumps actions. He probably knows exactly what hes doing. Since his followers despise Washington, trashing the Washington Post feeds their resentment. Many people like it, Trump told The New York Times. They say, Theyre being punished for being dishonest. Hes trying to intimidate some journalists into softening their coverage. And by discrediting his critics, he hopes to mitigate the impact of the negative stories that are sure to come. Ironically, Trump launched his broadside just as a new study from Harvards Shorenstein Center documented how eight mainstream news organizations, including the Post, aided the rise of his campaign because they are attracted to the new, the unusual, the sensational the type of story material that will catch and hold an audiences attention. Trump is arguably the first bona fide media-created presidential nominee, writes professor Thomas E. Patterson, the reports author. That might well be true, but the general election is a very different context. Many reporters originally treated Trump as a novelty, a celebrity not a serious candidate. They went easy on him, in direct contrast to Hillary Clinton, who received far tougher coverage before the primaries than Trump did, according to the Harvard study. That was then, this is now, and the Posts recent treatment of Trump reflects the shift of the media into a far more aggressive stance. One story that sparked the candidates ire was a dogged investigation of his promise to raise and donate $6 million for veterans organizations. The Post found that his efforts fell far short, and Trump only fulfilled his promise after reporters started asking questions. Thats exactly what the media has always done. Trump presents professional journalists with a new and vexing problem, however. Theyve always prided themselves on being impartial, neutral, even-handed. But now theyre faced with a candidate who constantly spreads innuendos and fabrications, and employs social media to inject those untruths directly into the political bloodstream. So journalists are asking: Do we have to be more tough-minded in holding him accountable for his words and actions? Do we have to help voters understand, in more detail and with more precision, exactly what hes doing and saying? As a result, the Post report on Trumps speech after the Orlando shooting was distinctly sharp-edged. His words were laden with falsehoods and exaggerations, wrote the paper, and contained a number of inaccuracies and overstatements. Clearly the Post has not been intimidated by Trumps attacks, and other media outlets should not be, either. Their independence and courage is more vital than ever. If Trump doesnt get that, he truly is campaigning in the wrong country. The report on Podemos' alleged funding by Venezuela. The Venezuelan National Assembly has opened an official investigation into alleged financial ties between the Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos and the administration of the late Hugo Chavez, according to documents to which EL PAIS has had access. The legislative chamber of the Latin American nation has asked Podemos leaders Pablo Iglesias, Juan Carlos Monedero and Jorge Verstrynge for cooperation into the matter of whether the Spanish party was indirectly funded by chavismo. If these ties are proven, they would involve party financing and acts which violate Spanish legislation, and therefore irregular hiring by the Venezuelan state Venezuelan Assembly report Podemos has always denied receiving any funding from these sources, although a foundation with ties to Podemos, the Centro de Estudios Politicos y Sociales (CEPS, or the Center for Political and Social Studies) did perform advisory work for Venezuela. Freddy Guevara, chairman of the Assemblys Comptroller Committee, wants to know whether the 7.16 million allegedly received between 2003 and 2011 by CEPS headed by leading Podemos officials was later used to create the party in 2014. Records from the Spanish Culture Ministry show that the non-profit foundation received at least 3.7 million from the Hugo Chavez administration. Some years, the Venezuelan contribution represented more than 80% of all income for the foundation. Venezuela in Spains campaign Podemos' connection with Venezuela, and its lack of public support for the release of political prisoners there, has been used by the Spanish opposition to portray the party as an instrument of chavismo in Spain. If Podemos reaches power, warn its opponents, Spaniards may end up with a similar regime and find themselves lining up for food and basic household products. Meanwhile, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has been downplaying the connection. In a recent interview, he said that he was disappointed with the way things have developed in Venezuela, but added: "Don't count on us to support those who are trying to use Venezuela as a campaigning tool back in Spain." Spaniards are voting in a fresh general election on June 26. In late May, Ciudadanos candidate Albert Rivera flew to Caracas to meet with opposition leaders and demand the release of dissidents. The money transfers ended in 2011. Chavez himself died in March 2013, and was succeeded in the post by his vice-president, Nicolas Maduro. In December of last year, voters in Venezuela handed opposition parties a historic landslide victory over Maduros Socialists in hotly contested legislative elections, which ended 17 years of parliamentary rule by backers of chavismo. Theres a saying in Venezuela: if you dont owe anything, you shouldnt fear anything, said Guevara in a telephone conversation with EL PAIS. There shouldnt be a problem with getting them to cooperate. Weve already been in touch with agents from the Venezuelan government who were involved at the time, and analyzed whether the type of tasks entrusted to the foundation bore any relation to the amount of money it was paid, and the answer was no, it was an exorbitant amount of money. This is not the first time that Podemos has been dogged by claims of illegal financing Guevara is now asking Podemos leaders to come to Caracas to offer their version of events. The government of Venezuela hired CEPS to perform advisory, training and technical work in various agencies, according to the Assemblys documents. The foundation says it worked for Venezuela the same way it would work for any other country, but the Venezuelan opposition feels it was paid an exaggerated amount of the nations funds and that this fact may have contributed to the extreme crisis in social, economic and health terms currently gripping the country. Another one of the documents in the Assemblys power states that CEPS maintains close ties with Podemos. If these ties are proven, they would involve party financing and acts that violate Spanish legislation, and therefore irregular hiring by the Venezuelan state. The document goes on to say that it is not illegal in Venezuela to hire political advisors, but the sums paid out are potentially striking, particularly when one analyzes the type of service performed; by proving the link between the CEPS foundation and the political party Podemos, the hiring would be illegal in the eyes of the Spanish state. This is not the first time that Podemos has been dogged by claims of illegal financing. One of its founders, Juan Carlos Monedero, stepped down shortly after it emerged that he had made 425,000 from advisory work for the governments of Venezuela and other Latin American nations, and failed to declare this income to Spanish tax authorities. Monedero denied allegations that he used this money to fund the new party. English version by Susana Urra. Lynn Peppas, of Valparaiso, began working at American Bridge Co. in Gary in 1959. She was its final employee. Barb Mockler, whose father, William Bailey, had worked there as manager of accounting, owned this 1911 photo. He sent many materials from the plant to the Indiana Historical Society when the plant closed in 1980. Peppas was Baileys secretary. Peppas remembers well both the place and the people there. Trees had formed a canopy over the drive, but emerald ash borers took their toll, and the trees were cut down. The gym, as it was known, was used for storage in her day, but her father told her there was a canteen downstairs and games played in the gym when he worked there earlier. The canteen was still functional when she hired on. The steel came from U.S. Steels Gary Works and went to this division to be fabricated. The draftsman designed McCormick Place the one that burned down in 1959. It was contract number V5875, Peppas remembered. I typed that so much, she said. It was small and you knew everybody. The Picasso sculpture at Daley Plaza in Chicago was fabricated in secrecy at American Bridge in Gary. The John Hancock Center, Sears Tower and many of the citys bridges were American Bridge projects. It was very small, about 2,500 people max, and that was in the 1960s and 1970s, she said. Peppas knew everybody who worked there. By the late 1970s, it was United Steelworkers contract time, and the domestic steel industry was beginning to see a radical reduction in the workforce. American Bridge in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, was slated to close, Peppas said, but its workers accepted the contract offer, and the Gary plant was closed instead. Peppas stayed behind to process the final paperwork, including retirements. I laid myself off in November of 81, she said. She then went to work for U.S. Steel. MERRILLVILLE Trecia Green describes the accident that, at the age of 5, forever changed her life: "I was in the car with my auntie and uncle, and the car met a tree. The tree didn't move." Her foot was crushed in the collision. A doctor left it to heal in a cast rather than reconstruct it. An underactive thyroid further stunted her growth. As an adult she underwent multiple ankle fusions, which ended up leaving her right leg a couple centimeters shorter than her left. She suffered from knee, hip and back pain. She walked with a limp. Then Green, who lives in Gary, found out a Region hospital, Methodist in Merrillville, was offering a procedure to correct foot and ankle deformities. She met with podiatric surgeons Mark Jones and Edgardo Rodriguez. "We're going to have fun with you," she remembers them telling her. The doctors first removed the unneeded hardware from the previous surgeries in her lower leg. Then they cut and broke her tibia because bone is more pliable as it heals. They outfitted her with an apparatus that would slowly lengthen her limb. Back at home, Green turned the nuts in the device herself, causing her leg to grow by about a millimeter a day. The doctors injected stem cells into the bone to help with the healing process. The full recovery took a little less than a year. "How're you doing?" Jones asked Green during a recent reunion at the Northwest Indiana Orthopedic Spine Center in Merrillville. "You bowling?" "Of course," she said. "You doing well?" "Now I am." She laughed. Green, a 48-year-old call-center operator, wore a soft brace on her right foot but walked normally. The limp that had plagued her for years was gone. So was the pain that came with having one limb longer than the other. "I've always been an active person," Green explained. "I always bugged the doctor: When can I get back to bowling? So I've been doing that. When the weather's permissible, I ride my bike." Methodist Hospitals has since done about a half a dozen of the procedures. Jones hopes to start a deformity correction center in Northwest Indiana with medical residencies and fellowships. The surgeon said that because she was so motivated to get better, Green was the ideal candidate for the surgery. "I'm glad I did it," she said. "From the way I was before to the way I am now it's a grave difference. A grave difference." She added: "I bowled a 186 last night!" MERRILLVILLE Ever since losing her 23-day-old daughter, Emma, in 2014, Amelia Kowalisyn has made it her mission to make things easier for other families mourning the loss of a infant. She furthered that goal this week, when her nonprofit, Emma's Footprints, presented devices to six Lake County hospitals that preserve the bodies of stillborn babies so parents have more time to grieve. The organization donated one to Porter Regional Hospital in Valparaiso in April. "This is a really important part of families being able to say goodbye," said Carolyn Sexton, president of the Legacy Foundation, which provided a $23,000 grant to purchase the units. The devices, called Cuddle Cots, cool a pad that is attached to a bassinet, basket or crib, stalling the decomposition process for up to three days. Each unit costs about $3,000. On Monday at the Legacy Foundation, Kowalisyn, her husband and 2-year-old son by her side, presented the Cuddle Cots to Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary, Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville and Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Crown Point. In 2009, there were 36 fetal deaths in Lake County, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Kowalisyn was also joined by the Hobart mother who inspired her to give Region families the gift of time. Michelle Michniewicz, of Hobart, had only a few hours with her late daughter, Juno, after her birth last September. During the time at the hospital, she and her husband were basically just given a list of funeral homes and told to pick one. Michniewicz was recently certified as a bereavement doula and is offering her services for free to parents at Northwest Indiana hospitals. Emma's Footprints also plans to provide materials to the labor and delivery units to give to grieving mothers and fathers. In the future, Kowalisyn hopes to work with the hospitals to create "angel rooms," or birthing suites for families with stillborn children. "This gives us a different perspective," said Alicia Hart, nurse manager at the St. Mary Medical Center birthing unit. "The parents' perspective, which is important for nurses to remember." The CEO of Methodist Hospitals issued a statement Thursday confirming that the Northwest Indiana hospital system is exploring a merger. Methodist's board of directors met recently to discuss whether the nonprofit should remain independent or partner with another health system. "Health care reform has put greater pressure on hospitals and health care systems to increase access to care while also minimizing costs," CEO Ray Grady stated. "This has made it challenging for many organizations to navigate this new marketplace independently." He said Methodist has been approached by numerous health care organizations about potential partnerships. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, hospitals have been merging at a frenetic pace. They're positioning themselves for a shift in the payment system from fee for service to a model based on quality and cost-efficiency. They're also trying to gain leverage in negotiations with insurers, which are themselves rapidly consolidating. In the past year in the Region alone, Harvey-based Ingalls Health System merged with University of Chicago Medicine, the LaPorte and Starke Hospitals were bought by for-profit Community Health Systems, and Jasper County Hospital was absorbed by Franciscan Alliance. Methodist, which has campuses in Gary and Merrillville, is the Region's smallest hospital system by number of employees, following Community Healthcare System, Franciscan Alliance and Porter Health Care System. Grady stated that Methodist is financially stable and thus "operating from a place of strength." Methodist had $355.8 million in revenues in 2014 on $345.5 million in expenses, a margin that has gotten smaller each year since 2011, according to IRS 990 filings. PORTAGE The state has extended the deadline for local governments to apply for matching funds in its Community Crossings infrastructure program. The new deadline is July 29. INDOT cited high interest in Community Crossings as the reason for the extension, which pushes back the deadline two weeks. "It looks like there are going to be a lot of applications," state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, told members of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission Thursday. About $150 million will be available this year, according to INDOT, and $100 million in future years, to repair local roads and bridges. The program will pay half the cost of a project. The program requires municipalities and counties to generate matching funds from several potential sources, including a wheel tax. Some communities have already done so, including Merrillville and Valparaiso most recently. Others have decided against it, including Schererville and Hammond. Other sources for matching funds include local income tax money being returned to local governments by the state this year, and money in rainy day funds. Communities also must come up with an asset management plan that will generate data officials can use in future years to evaluate the program. Soliday, who chairs the Roads and Transportation Committee in the House of Representatives, noted the legislation creating the program reserves 50 percent of the funds for the state's 64 smallest counties. Projects eligible for the funding include road resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, road reconstruction, roundabouts, and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance projects in conjunction with road projects. Applications will be evaluated based on need, traffic volume, local support, the impact on connectivity and mobility within the community and regional economic significance. Grant awards will be announced by the end of August, according to INDOT. For more information, in.gov/indot/2390/htm. Bob Geldof (c) campaigns against Brexit on the Thames. NIKLAS HALLE'N (AFP) It would be advisable not to play down the effects of a possible exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU). Nor to look down on the British, even though they are ultimately responsible for the mess they are getting themselves into. And they are jointly responsible for the fact that the EU lacks the necessary appeal at this critical time, such as the social foundation that they were so opposed to. It would be foolish to score own goals by doing this. It would also be advisable not to play down the challenge posed by the referendum, which will be held on June 23. In contrast to what some believe, the economic impact of secession would not be static, but could in fact be exponential. It is true that the British economy is small compared to the entire community a sixth of the total. And that a Brexit would cause the UK to suffer the most, given that nearly half of its exports go to the EU. A breakaway would strengthen the emerging trends toward an inbred and protectionist retreat But a breakaway would strengthen the emerging trends toward an inbred and protectionist retreat as is already evidenced in some movements against the TTIP trade deal with the US. It would divert the attention of economic policy: instead of concentrating on better integrating the Eurozone, instead the focus would be on saving what can be saved as part of new commercial negotiations with a separate London. And it would underline a global perception of Europe, one that would be negative: it could become a hindrance, a place to be freed from. We already have clear evidence to sustain these conclusions. In the wake of the growing trend toward secession that has been seen in the polls which are just that, polls the pound has nose-dived, the markets have fallen and the central banks have announced that they are prepared to offer whatever kind of monetary buffer is needed. Economic worries appear to have increased. International organisms and economists, in an unprecedented show of unity, have warned of the disaster. And the panic has spread to the British government itself, whose chancellor of the exchequer has warned of the need to raise taxes and implement severe spending cuts should the Brexit vote win through. If all of this is happening when the question has not even been resolved, it is not hard to imagine what could happen if the result is negative. It seems increasingly clear that the negative effects of a Brexit would be too much for the economy Whats more, it seems increasingly clear that the negative effects of a Brexit would be too much for the economy. It would affect the political arena, damaging the perceptions of, the dynamic and the stability of the EU as a political-economic project; among other reasons, due to the chance of a contagion effect and even a house-of-cards in other reticent member states. The impact could end up being savage. Above all, because the British problem is not an existential one that exists in isolation. It is joined by others that are far reaching: the management of the migratory crisis; the arduous digestion of the Great Recession; and the rise in populism thats to say, the nationalism that is often extreme, xenophobic and that has shifted from Euroscepticism to Europhobia. As such the rise of the separatists is not a relief for anyone who is sensible, but rather the complete opposite. It is worth conveying this message to our fellow citizens in the United Kingdom, trusting in their reason while also preparing for the most disagreeable outcome. English version by Simon Hunter. MERRILLVILLE A Gary man who recently was sentenced in three theft cases has been additionally charged in a burglary where firearms were stolen, according to court records. Thomas J. Askew, 28, and Ashley T. Jackson, 28, were charged Thursday with burglary, a Level 4 felony. A resident told police that about 5 p.m. July 30, 2015, he discovered someone had broken into his home in the 5600 block of Delaware Street in Merrillville. His television and gun safe were missing. The gun safe included ammunition, a semi-automatic rifle and two pistols, according to the affidavit. A detective found the safe Aug. 27, 2015, inside an abandoned home next to where Jackson lives in Gary. Jackson was dating Askew. After obtaining a search warrant, police found photos of the missing guns on Askew's cellphone, according to the affidavit. In one photo, Jackson was allegedly holding the semi-automatic rifle. The additional charge comes a week after Askew was sentenced by Lake Criminal Judge Diane Boswell to four years in prison followed by two years on probation. Askew pleaded guilty to four counts of theft in three criminal cases from Gary. Askew had his initial hearing Friday at Lake County Jail for the recently filed burglary case. A warrant was issued for Jackson's arrest. PALO ALTO, Calif. The judge who sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer in a sexual assault case has often followed the sentencing recommendations of probation officers. That's according to an Associated Press review of Aaron Perksy's rulings. The light six-month jail sentence given to Brock Turner touched off debate over whether the judge handled the case properly and drew widespread calls for his removal. Other cases included sentencing a man convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a fatal drunken driving crash to six months in jail and giving another defendant three years in prison for a robbery. The AP review showed that Persky has adhered to the same practice in every trial where the probation office made a recommendation since he began presiding over a Palo Alto criminal court in 2015. A member of the LaPorte County Council will not be forced to give up his seat after escaping a felony drug dealing conviction. Matt Bernacchi was still found guilty, though, and is serving one year of probation for a Class A misdemeanor charge of dealing marijuana. He could have been sentenced to 12 months in jail, but instead received the lighter punishment under a guilty plea accepted May 9 by Porter Superior Court Judge William Alexa. A Level 6 felony charge of maintaining a common nuisance was dismissed as part of the plea. A felony conviction under Indiana law would have resulted in him automatically being dismissed from the council, said council Vice President Mark Yagelski, D-Michigan City. Bernacchi, 34, a Democratic, lost his bid for a third consecutive term in the May primary so, regardless, he'll vacate the seat at the end of the year. LaPorte County Council President Terry Garner, R-Hanna, said the situation is unfortunate, but at least Bernacchi will be allowed to serve the remainder of his term. "We all make mistakes in our life and we have to deal with it, but as far as a council member he's been a great asset," said Garner, who added Bernacchi has been very committed with service on numerous boards and time spent in other capacities. It's alleged Bernacchi in April of 2015 gave $40 worth of marijuana to a female undercover officer in Valparaiso during a deal arranged on Facebook. The previous year, it was his use of Facebook that created an uproar over the police giving him a speeding ticket. He specifically stated in his post that drugs are killing children but the police instead of catching "real criminals" like drug dealers are out pulling people over for speeding, which he called harassment. Bernacchi turned down requests, including from law enforcement, for him to resign over each of those matters. Now that he's been convicted of a crime, Yagelski said he wouldn't be surprised if his resignation will again be sought by someone in the community. "He only has a few months left anyway. I really don't see anything happening to be honest with you," Yagelski said. In 2010, Bernacchi was arrested on an initial charge of operating while intoxicated and received one-year probation on the charge, which was reduced to reckless driving. CALUMET TOWNSHIP A Gary man was arrested on marijuana and resisting law enforcement charges Wednesday after he yelled profanities at officers directing traffic around a crash, officials said. Donnie R. Whalin, 28, faces misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement, disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, online Lake County court records show. Lake County sheriff's police responded about 7:30 p.m. to West Ridge and Clark roads for a crash with injuries, department spokesman Mark Back said. Lake County officers parked in front of the crashed vehicles with emergency lights activated and began conducting traffic until Gary police arrived, he said. As officers were directing traffic, a man in a light brown 1993 Chevrolet van slowed to a stop and yell profanities at the officers, Back said. The man later identified as Whalin then sped off, he said. Whalin then turned around and drove back toward officers, who ordered him to pull over and get out. Whalin complied, but then tried to re-enter the vehicle and resisted officers when they told him his vehicle was going to be towed because they found his driver's license was suspended, Back said. "Whalin was placed under arrest for resisting law enforcement and continued to act in a disorderly, combative manner and resist officers," according to a news release. Officers smelled burnt marijuana as they prepared for the van to be towed, and found about 2 grams of suspected marijuana in a jar in the center console, Back said. Officers also found a BB gun that looked like a real firearm, he said. A 19-year-old Hammond woman in the van was not charged, he said. INDIANAPOLIS A former Valparaiso city councilman allegedly told an Indianapolis police officer arresting his wife over a drunken encounter Friday that he didnt know who he was messing with, according to court records. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office formally filed charges this week against Tim Daly, 50, for his involvement in Friday nights incident at a hotel in Indianapolis. He has been charged with public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. His wife, Amy Daly, 45, of Valparaiso, has been charged with a felony for battery against a public safety officer. Amy Daly, who serves on the Center Township Board, has also been charged with resisting law enforcement and public intoxication. She faces up to 2 years and six months in prison for the felony charge. Amy Daly allegedly invoked her position as an attorney to elude arrest, according to court records. She also told police they were overreacting, and that she could not believe they were being treated this way, according to the affidavit. Scott Tuft, a Porter County Tourism Board member, was also involved in the incident. He has been charged with resisting law enforcement and public intoxication Class A and B misdemeanors. He faces up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000 on the Class A misdemeanor, and a fine of up to $1,000 for the Class B misdemeanor. He is accused of getting in an officers face as the officer tried to get another man to leave the hotel Friday night. As the officer put Tuft under arrest for not backing down, Amy Daly grabbed the officers arm and repeatedly tried to pull him away from Tuft, according to police. As police were filling out paperwork, Tim Daly allegedly got in the officer's face. The three were in town as Porter County delegates to the Republican Convention. A fourth unnamed individual who, according to police, recorded the incident on a cell phone told police they couldnt take them to jail until the states attorney general arrived. The person also claimed he spoke to Gov. Mike Pence on the phone. Tuft was reportedly apologetic to the arresting officer while en route to jail in a patrol car. GARY Police have secured charges against a 30-year-old Gary man believed to have robbed two people April 14. John F. Johnson Jr. has been charged in Lake County Superior Court with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of criminal confinement, Gary Police Lt. Dawn Westerfield said in a news release. Johnson Jr. and an unidentified man are accused of robbing and confining two people who traveled to the area to purchase a television advertised on Craigslist. They were robbed of a gun, two iPhones and $800 in cash, police have said. Johnson Jr. is at large and is to be considered armed and dangerous, according to the news release. Johnson has prior pending charges for similar incidents, which include attempted murder, criminal recklessness and multiple counts of armed robbery, according to the release. Dwight Taylor rose from the slums that were Cabrini-Green a former Chicago housing project infamous for crime and poverty to rear four successful daughters in Gary, including a soon-to-be married deputy prosecutor in Marion County. Now, however, the 60-year-old Taylor and his wife, Bernice Taylor, are being forced to move from their Concord Commons apartment unit by the end of September after 18 years. Last year, an outside company said it planned to take over Concord Commons and Woodlake Village and make millions of dollars of improvements. What residents and officials said they didnt realize was the project, funded by a bond issue that was approved by the Gary City Council, would displace Taylor and hundreds of other residents from the two complexes because of income restrictions tied to the renovations. For a family of two like his own, Taylor said an annual income of more than $31,000 meant they had to leave. Taylor said he and his wife make more than that amount. Both the administration and members of the council agree that we would not have supported such a conversion, because we would not be OK with displacing residents, said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson. According to Freeman-Wilson, officials initially asked if anyone would be displaced, and officials from the company, Merchants Affordable Housing Corp., said no. She said Merchants application to Garys Economic Development Commission, which included a request for a pass-through bond, did not require them to note that all the apartments would be what are called affordable or, low-income, units. The company put that information in its financing application to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority in order to receive a federal low-income tax credit of 4 percent, but that was missed by council members and city staffers. Taylor said he is considering filing a class-action lawsuit against the company. Merchants Affordable Housing Concord Commons is on the east side of Burr Street, north of 21st Avenue. It has 10 apartment buildings plus some town homes. Woodlake Village consists of about 18 apartment buildings north of U.S. 20 (Melton Road) and west of South County Line Road. Combined, the two complexes contain more than 850 apartments. In November, the City Council approved a $28.3 million bond issue to purchase and rehabilitate the apartments. Merchants Affordable Housing Corp. said it planned to use the money from the bond issue, plus a 4 percent tax credit issued by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, to fund the purchase and renovations. The company would be responsible for repaying the loans. The company said it was going to spend an average of $16,000 per apartment on renovations. Taylor said residents at first anticipated new appliances. Then many found out they were going to have to leave. Not all residents are displeased. Richard Thomas, 63, a 10-year resident of the complex, said he and other residents are happy with the changes that include new appliances. Not too much not to like, said Thomas on Thursday as workers buzzed about the complex, making improvements. Thomas said workers are doing a good job fixing the buildings and improving the property. Accommodation and compensation In the ensuing weeks, city officials have held meetings to try to mitigate some of the problems, including one on June 10. We reported on our meeting with management and our efforts to address accommodation and compensation for those who have to move, Freeman-Wilson said. There is a plan for compensation, but we are also exploring options like covering moving expenses and other considerations. Freeman-Wilson said Council President Ron Brewer also will schedule some other onsite meetings with residents. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that residents are no worse off financially, even though we understand the psychological toll of last-minute displacement, she said. Taylor said tenants were told they would receive a security deposit and a months rent. The mayor said she is just as upset as we are, Taylor said. I dont know how shes not going to lose her home. She feels they deceived her. Moving on Last month, Janine Betsey, executive director of Merchants Affordable Housing Corp., acknowledged a better job could have been done in notifying tenants who had to move. She said her corporation got rid of the company that provided this initial notification. She also said tenants who do not meet the new income requirements would be able to stay until the end of their leases, and after that, would be allowed to stay on a month-to-month basis until they could relocate to new housing. She also said previously that Merchants wants to build a portfolio of high-quality, affordable units throughout Indiana. Apparently, a similar issue occurred last year in Indianapolis. The comment section of a May 26, 2015, online story in Indianapolis Business Journal chronicled Merchants Affordable Housing Corp. taking over a number of apartment buildings there. Tenants there also found themselves suddenly facing displacement, because their incomes were higher than allowed in the newly renovated buildings in Indianapolis. Betsey estimated earlier that 20 to 30 percent of Concord Commons residents and a smaller percentage of Woodlake Village residents have incomes that exceed the threshold to live at the apartments and would have to move. Taylor and another resident, Ernestine Strickland, however, thought the percentage of residents having to move from Concord Commons was higher than that figure. Taylor, who now has until the end of September to move, does not want to stay in Gary. Im going to be perfectly honest with you. There is no place in Gary I would move, he said. Taylor is inclined to move to the Indianapolis area where his daughters are located, although he said his wife is devoted to her local church. Taylor also said some of the people now moving into the complex are disrespectful of the property and are dumping trash on the grounds. I am going to call it the new Cabrini-Green, Taylor said. VALPARAISO We have to have love win out over hate, Mary Jo Nuland said of her reason for taking part in a silent vigil and march Thursday in response to last weekends mass shooting in Orlando. These things happen and happen and happen and were devastated, but we dont say, What can we do to prevent this? And I would really like to prevent this, said the Valparaiso resident, one of more than 75 who attended. Showing solidarity with all affected by the tragedy, including the LGBT and Muslim communities, was the point, said the Rev. Timothy Leitzke, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, where the vigil originated. Silence showed solidarity with those who were silenced, he said. This seems to have touched very many people, Leitzke said. By gathering, people could be together and feel together at a difficult time, he said. The names of the 49 Orlando victims were read at the church and again at the marchs end on the steps of City Hall. Mongy ElQuesny, imam of the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Merrillville, attended to express his sympathy and condolences to the victims families. ElQuesny said he also wanted to take a stand against violence and direct Muslim youths away from websites that peddle a perverted version of religion. We cannot solve our differences by killing each other, ElQuesny said. On a practical level, Nuland said she supports both tougher gun control laws and better provision of mental health. If the gunman had received mental health care, the massacre might not have happened, she said. A voting table in Madrid. kike para While there is no official census of nationalized Spaniards, there are hundreds of thousands of them according to citizenship application records. They come from Morocco, Romania, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, to name the largest communities in Spain. And while their origins are varied, they now share a Spanish ID card and something else besides: a tendency to vote for left-wing parties. These new Spaniards have the right to vote in the upcoming general election of June 26, which seeks to break the deadlock produced by the inconclusive ballot of December 20. Spain has been under a caretaker government since then. We cant arrive here and start asking for homes, cars and a paid education; nor can we believe that well get those things just because Podemos is promising it Colombian Chamber of Commerce worker While polls indicate that the acting administration of the conservative Popular Party (PP) will repeat its victory in terms of votes, the second spot is being hotly contested between the Socialist Party and the Unidos Podemos alliance, which incorporates anti-austerity, green and communist elements, among others. And the way that these new Spaniards vote on June 26 will play a role in the outcome. Despite this new social relevance, many of them say they still feel like strangers in Spain. We still feel like guests, says Ica Tomi, vice-president of the Federation of Romanian Associations (FEDROM). We are the largest community in Spain [around 800,000] but we are associated with Gypsy criminals; that is why many of us will not go vote, and those who do will vote for the left for historical reasons and because it fits in better with our own work culture. 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. Tomi, 52, has been living in Spain for 12 years and describes herself as a Spanish-Romanian who is disenchanted with the political class. She also suggests which way her fellow Romanians will vote. Among us, there is a historical rejection of communism because of a Stalinist past. Most will vote for the Socialist Party because of their sympathy for [former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez] Zapatero following his immigrant regularization drives. The more conservative ones will vote for the PP, but they will ignore the new parties, precisely because they are new and are not renewing anything. Spain is the EU member state that grants the most citizenship papers, representing 23% of the total, according to the latest Eurostat figures. Most of these new Spaniards have been in Spain between 12 and 25 years. Last year, 78,000 applicants were granted citizenship on the basis of long-term residency. Fabricio Ortega, president of the National Federation of Associations of Ecuadorans in Spain, says that his fellow countrymen do not look favorably upon acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. We cannot go on like this, with a prime minister who is burnt out and in ruins, he says. Ecuadorans do not look kindly upon the PP because we are the most suffering of all worker types: the self-employed, who are forced to pay out nearly 200 every month [to the social security system]. Ica Tomi, of the Federation of Romanian Associations of Spain. Luis Sevillano Ortega has a degree in Law and Economics but for the last 10 years he has worked as a bread delivery driver. He left Ecuador with his wife to escape the corralito (restrictions on deposit withdrawals) of 1999, and both of their children were born here. Moroccans make up the bulk of the applicants who successfully obtain Spanish citizenship 19,904 last year. Annas Merabet, a 43-year-old translator who works at the Madrid Superior Court of Justice and has been living in Spain for 24 years, says that Moroccans tend to vote left. The more-educated ones lean toward Podemos, and the less-educated ones toward the Socialist Party, which they identify with Moroccos Socialist Union of Popular Forces, while the PP to them is the equivalent of the Islamist parties, from the moderate ones all the way to DAESH, she explains. Merabet also adds a thought about Islamist terrorism: Nations involvement in the Syrian conflict makes them a target, and Spain is selling weapons. As long as Islam is not disassociated from Saudi Arabia, as long as Spain does not take Islamic religion seriously and control the training of imams, there will be jihadists. Meanwhile, Bolivians, Peruvians, Ecuadorans and Latinos in general feel closer to Podemos and the Indignados movement, says Jose Luis Salvatierra, editor of Ocio Latino magazine. We are more active, weve made many revolutions, were accustomed to taking streets and squares, he says. But not everyone is convinced. We cant arrive here and start asking for homes, cars and a paid education; nor can we believe that well get those things just because Podemos is promising it, says a worker at the Colombian Chamber of Commerce in Madrid who declined to give her name. What is happening here has already happened in Colombia: [Alvaro] Uribe won because the country was sick and tired of the narcs and corrupt liberalism. He made promises and he won. People here are sick of corruption and of the crisis, and they will vote with their gut. English version by Susana Urra. VALPARAISO After working at the Indiana Veterans' Home in West Lafayette for 30 years, Ruby Pritchard became a resident at the request of her husband who was a veteran and who lived there before he died. The home serves veterans from Indiana and their wives, who do not have the ability to take care of themselves. It is currently home to 239 people. On Thursday, 25 of the Indiana Veterans' Home residents traveled to Valparaiso's American Legion Post 94 for a free lunch. "This year is the best we've had so far," Pritchard said. The Post 94 members have been fundraising through 50/50 raffles since February to pay for the lunch. All the funds for it were donated and no money was taken from their general funds, said Dick Stamper, Post 94 commander. "This will be a big honor," said Thomas Henderson, who organized the event. Legion members served meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and string beans at the request of the attendees, Henderson said. "The residents really do like coming here," said Carole Stocker, a driver for Indiana Veterans' Home, "They're so good to us here." In addition to the lunch, Post 94 provided guests with pull tabs with cash prizes for the winners. In addition, the Legion gave each attendee $50. Veterans also were invited to take hats for themselves. "I like coming to these because it gives me a chance to meet people I used to know or my dad used to know," said veteran Harry Christopher. This is the third time the Valparaiso Legion hosted the IVH residents, and members said they intended to make this luncheon an annual event. "It shows them that people remember them," said Don Davis, a Legion member. WASHINGTON The slaughter in Florida and an attention-grabbing filibuster in the Senate did little to break the election-year stalemate in Congress over guns Thursday, with both sides unwilling to budge and Republicans standing firm against any new legislation opposed by the National Rifle Association. Democrats renewed their call to action after Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., held the floor along with colleagues in a nearly 15-hour filibuster that lasted into the early hours Thursday. "We can't just wait, we have to make something happen," said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., at an emotional news conference where Democrats joined family members of people killed in recent mass shootings. "These are people bound by brutality, and their numbers are growing." But Republicans were coolly dismissive of Democrats' demands. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., derided Murphy's filibuster as a "campaign talk-a-thon" that did nothing but delay potential votes. Noting that a few Democrats had skipped a classified briefing on the Florida nightclub shooting to participate in the filibuster, McConnell chided: "It's hard to think of a clearer contrast for serious work for solutions on the one hand, and endless partisan campaigning on the other." Democrats spoke of the need for new gun legislation. Republicans cited the threat posed by the Islamic State group, to which Orlando gunman Omar Mateen swore allegiance while killing 49 people in a gay nightclub early Sunday. But the two sides mostly talked past each other, and efforts to forge consensus quickly sputtered out. As a result, the Senate faced the prospect of taking dueling votes beginning Monday on Democratic and GOP bills, all of which looked destined to fail. The back-and-forth came as President Barack Obama visited the victims' families in Orlando, and called on lawmakers to act. "Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families and explain why that makes sense," Obama said. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined Senate Democrats' call for action. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump weighed in with a tweet suggesting he would meet with the NRA and support efforts to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. Exactly what he would support was unclear. It's the same exercise the Senate has engaged in time and again after mass shootings. Even after the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings of schoolchildren, the Senate could not pass a bipartisan background checks bill. Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine criticized the state of affairs as "Groundhog Day." After the shooting in San Bernardino, California, last year, the effort was downgraded to trying to pass a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to keep people on a government terrorism watch list or other suspected terrorists from buying guns, but that too failed. This time, Feinstein is seeking a revote on her bill. Republicans will offer an alternative by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that would allow the government to delay a gun sale to a suspected terrorist for 72 hours, but require prosecutors to go to court to show probable cause to block the sale permanently. Votes were also expected on dueling background check bills. All were expected to fail. Collins said she was working with other Republicans, as well as talking to Democrats, on a bill that would prevent people on the no-fly list a smaller universe than targeted by Democrats from getting guns. But her bill had not been blessed by GOP leaders and it was unclear if it would get a vote. Polls show large numbers of Americans agree with the need for at least some limited gun measures such as background checks. But Democrats have been unable to turn the tide of public opinion to their purpose because the NRA is able to mobilize and energize voters who will threaten to vote lawmakers out on the gun issue alone. This past week, the NRA made robo-calls in Pennsylvania urging people to contact their senators and "express their strong opposition to any new gun control laws." In the GOP-controlled House, Republicans had no plans to act on guns and Democrats were unable to force any action, given House rules less favorable to the minority party than in the Senate. Instead the House passed a bundle of previously approved counterterrorism bills and sent them to the Senate again. "The question is, is going after the Second Amendment how you stop terrorism? No. That's not how you stop terrorism," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. ___ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. . The State Board of Accounts report asking two retired School Town of Munster administrators to repay $851,000 to the school district has drawn a lot of attention in the community. The report doesnt recommend they be charged with theft, but the SBOA sent the report to the Indiana attorney generals office and the Lake County prosecutors office for their consideration. The FBI also has begun an investigation. At a time when teachers and students were feeling the pinch, the Munster School Board was granting administrators more money than they deserved under the terms of the contract, according to the SBOA audit. Angry residents packed the school administration building Monday and called for some board members to resign. Those residents have every right to be irate. For more than nine years, former superintendents William Pfister and Richard Sopko were paid more than the contracted amount for their annuities, the SBOA said. In the 2010-11 school year, for example, the amount for Pfisters annuity should have been 4 percent, or $7,100, but the district actually put $67,450 into his annuity. In the 2011-12 school year, Pfister got more than 10 times the amount he should have received deposited into his annuity. Teachers pay was frozen in 2010 during Pfister and Sopkos tenure. The Munster School Board is the only one in Northwest Indiana that gave bonuses to a local school superintendent. And this at a time when the district was struggling financially, asking voters in May 2013 to agree to a tax increase. The School Board also allowed them to retire in 2009 and then be rehired in 30 days, at the same pay level, while allowing them to also collect retirement benefits at the same time. (We offer thanks to state Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, and the late state Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, for co-sponsoring legislation to eliminate this double-dipping loophole.) The School Board released a prepared statement that the board self-reported the potential misappropriation of funds to the SBOA and the Lake County prosecutors office. Board President Melissa Higgason read the complete statement but made no other comments. At a time when upset taxpayers are demanding answers, Higgason, who wasnt on the board during the Sopko and Pfister eras, refused to talk on the boards behalf. It is up to the prosecutors to see that justice is served, including repayment of funds, but taxpayers deserve answers. The board should provide them. CHICAGO Federal authorities have arrested 331 people in six Midwest states including Illinois and Indiana as part of a sweep targeting immigrants living illegally in the U.S. previously convicted of crimes and other immigration violators. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a news release Friday saying the operation began May 9 and wrapped up Monday. It also covered Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri. Authorities arrested 107 people in the Chicago area and 25 in the Indianapolis area. Of the 25 individuals arrested in Indiana, 23 had been convicted of crimes in the U.S. including drugs, fraud and domestic violence. Most of the Indiana arrests were in Indianapolis. Additional arrests took place in the following communities: Bloomington, Bremen, Elkhart, Jeffersonville, Lafayette, Richmond, Seymour, Shelbyville, and Tipton, the release said. In Illinois, 96 of those arrested had been convicted of crimes including robbery, aggravated sexual abuse and weapons offenses. The majority of those arrests were in Chicago, Cicero and Waukegan. BIRSTALL, England Campaigning in Britain's European Union membership referendum and normal political life were suspended Friday as the country absorbed the daylight slaying of lawmaker Jo Cox with shock and worry that the political fury unleashed by the EU campaign was somehow connected to the killing. Prime Minister David Cameron appealed for intolerance and hatred to be driven out of politics, as a U.S. civil rights group said the man suspected of the gun and knife attack had links to an American white supremacist organization. Heidi C. Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center said Thomas Mair had been a supporter of the National Alliance, "the most dangerous and violent neo-Nazi group in the United States for decades." The center, an Alabama-based group that monitors hate groups, said it had obtained documents showing that Mair bought books and magazines from the National Alliance on three occasions in 1999 and 2003. On its website, the center published copies of receipts showing that in 1999 a Thomas Mair of West Yorkshire the county where Cox and her suspected killer both lived bought publications including "Chemistry of Powder and Explosives" and "Improvised Munitions Handbook." In 2003 he purchased a subscription to the group's magazine, "Free Speech." The address on the receipts corresponded to a house that was cordoned off by police tape and guarded by uniformed officers on Friday. The National Alliance was founded by William Pierce, whose book "The Turner Diaries" has been called a grisly blueprint for a race war. Timothy McVeigh based the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people, on a truck-bombing described in the book. Beirich said while most of the violence by people associated with National Alliance has been in the United States, the organization has always had a "global footprint." "They do not define themselves by country. They define themselves by race," she said. A Thomas Mair of Batley the town where the suspect lives was also named as a former subscriber to pro-Apartheid publication SA Patriot. In 2006, the online newsletter of far-right group the Springbok Club said Mair was "one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of SA Patriot." Mair, 52, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Cox, who was shot and stabbed outside a library in her northern England constituency. The suspect's brother, Scott Mair, told reporters his brother had a history of mental illness, but was not violent. Witnesses said Cox, a 41-year-old Labour Party legislator, was attacked by a man with a homemade or antique-looking gun. Clarke Rothwell, who runs a cafe near the scene, said the assailant shouted "Britain first" or "put Britain first" several times. Britain First is the name of a far-right group, which disclaimed any connection to the killing. Cox was a former aid worker who had championed the cause of Syrian refugees and campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU when it votes in a referendum on Thursday. The referendum has sparked an intense debate about immigration and Britain's place in the world. "Leave" campaigners have said voters should quit the EU to take their country back from bureaucrats in Brussels and curb large-scale immigration from other EU nations. Both sides in the referendum halted campaigning activity after Cox's death. Rival groups Britain Stronger In Europe and Vote Leave said they were canceling rallies and major events planned for Saturday, though local door-to-door leafletting could resume. Politicians from all parties have paid tribute to Cox, and Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II had written to her husband, Brendan Cox. The couple had two young children. In a show of political unity, Cameron and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the site of the killing in Birstall, 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London. The two men added bouquets to a huge mound of flowers left in tribute to Cox. Cameron urged people to "value and see as precious the democracy that we have on these islands." "Where we see hatred, where we find division, where we see intolerance, we must drive it out of our politics and out of our public life and out of our communities," he said. Corbyn said the slaying of Cox was "an attack on democracy." "It's the well of hatred that killed her," he said. Corbyn said Parliament would be recalled from a break on Monday so that lawmakers could pay tribute to Cox. The House of Commons had not been due to resume meeting until after the referendum. Rows of police combed the pavements around the site of the attack outside the library in Birstall. Mothers walked their children to the town's primary school past the spot, some wiping away tears. Others stood talking quietly in small groups about the brutality of the killing, its exceptionally public nature and whether anyone could have done more to stop the attacker. Flowers also covered the houseboat on the River Thames where Cox and her family lived when they were in London. More mourners left flowers outside Parliament, and some linked the heated atmosphere of the referendum to the attack. "I didn't know her, but she stood for everything that this country should be standing for at the moment and I have two young children and I am just so angry," said teacher Joanna Chidgey, whose father is a former lawmaker. "Well, angry is not the right word at the moment, but these people who are whipping up bigotry and racism and hatred and intolerance at the moment, they should hang their heads in shame." Violence against British politicians has been rare since Northern Ireland's peace deal two decades ago. Cox is the first serving lawmaker to be killed since Conservative politician Ian Gow was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1990. While Parliament is protected by armed police, lawmakers spend large amounts of time in their home districts, generally without dedicated security. Since 2000, two lawmakers have been attacked and wounded while meeting with constituents. Cameron's office said a reminder of safety guidance has been sent to members of Parliament, suggesting they go to local police if they have concerns. "I know MPs are scared," said Dan Jarvis, Labour member of Parliament. But he said lawmakers would continue to meet with constituents. "We'll be reviewing our security, but I'll walk through Barnsley today like every Friday," said Jarvis, an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many female lawmakers, in particular, say they have been subject to online abuse and threats, and a man was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of sending a "malicious communication" to Cox. London's Metropolitan Police said the man received a police warning, and he "is not the man in custody" over Cox's death. ___ Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama contributed to this story. Music returned to Forest Hills Stadium Thursday, with Mumford and Sons kicking off the summer concert series. NY1 is the exclusive media sponsor of the venue. Ruschell Boone filed the following report. Forest Hills is known for its beautiful homes, manicured lawns, tranquility and, now, this year's concert series at the Forest Hills Stadium. The band Mumford and Sons kicked off the 2016 season in front of a sold-out crowd. "He loves them, and I'm very happy to be here," said one attendee. "This is great. The atmosphere is fantastic." That enthusiasm is a far cry from the reaction many had in 2013 after the venue's first concert featuring Mumford. It was so overcrowded, the promoter offered refunds to some of the ticket holders. "It was rough, but still totally worth it," said one attendee. The noise from the open air stadium and the large crowds infuriated the residents. "They were peeing on the lawns. They were peeing in the park. They were throwing their litter everywhere," said one resident. Then in 2014, there was the dust-up over the profanity-filled concert featurning Drake and Lil Wayne, but there were no complaints last year after the promoters made significant improvements to the venue and crowd control. This year is expected to be even better. "They have done a number of items to make sure that the sound has been, I don't want to say eliminated, we can't eliminate it, but has been subdued to a certain degree," said Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Community Board 6. "There are sound curtains all around. They built tunnels so the noise doesn't flow out. DEP, New York City DEP has been down here to check the decibel level, and every year, it's gotten better and better." And with a number of big name acts like Paul Simon, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan set to hit the stage this summer, the excitement is growing among the residents and music fans. "Mumford is my number one show, but I'm also looking forward to seeing Van Morrison," said one attendee. Some of the local business owners are also looking forward to seeing the crowds. Concertgoers are expected to spend money in the neighborhood before and after the shows. An FDNY chief killed on September 11th is finally laid to rest Friday. It was the first funeral of a city firefighter who died that day in 10 years. NY1's Roger Clark has the story. Firefighters were lined up as far as the eye could see outside Saint Philips and Saint James Church on Friday. It was a final goodbye to Battalion Chief Larry Stack, almost 15 years after he was killed at the World Trade Center. "On September 11th, he wasn't supposed to be responding there, but he would not, not go," said Al Hay, a retired FDNY Chief of Safety. "He had to go. And he did. He just gave his life, trying to help others." Stack's remains were never recovered. But a decade and a half later, his family asked the New York Blood Center if they could locate blood he had donated during a bone marrow drive before his death. Stack's blood was found at a storage facility in Minnesota, allowing the family to finally have a Catholic Funeral Mass, which requires remains. "It's important that we found something we could bury," retired FDNY firefighter Ray Pfeifer said. "His wife Theresa never gave up hope that they would find something," said Deputy Chief Rich Brandt of the Long Beach Fire Department. "And I think it's just a miracle that this came up and that happened to be." Stack was 58 years old when he was killed. He was a 33-year veteran of the department, not to mention a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the Safety Battalion at the Brooklyn Navy Yard when he responded on 9/11. Stack was remembered for his heroism up until his final breath, helping an injured civilian when the North Tower collapsed. "He saw what happened, and he knew immediately he had to respond and help out," retired FDNY firefighter Daniel Prince said. And for those who knew Stack and his family, there was relief that they would finally be able to lay him to rest. His legacy includes two sons who became firefighters Brian, and Michael, a lieutenant who eulogized his Dad. Michael wrapped up with these words: "Larry, it's time. You're going home," FDNY Lt. Michael Stack said. Stack's final resting place is Long Island's Calverton National Ceremony, alongside many other heroes like him. Tall, slim, handsome and a dynamic speaker, Mr. Carmichael soon emerged as a leader, cocky enough to be described as looking like he was strutting when standing still. Mr. Parks wrote that watching him made him believe that the young man could ''stroll through Dixie in broad daylight using the Confederate flag for a handkerchief.'' A Radicalism Born Of Raw Experience As a SNCC field organizer in Lowndes County in Alabama, where blacks were in the majority but politically powerless, he helped raise the number of registered black voters to 2,600 from a mere 70, or 300 more than the number of registered whites. Displeased by the response of the established parties to the success of the registration drive, he organized the all-black Lowndes County Freedom Organization, which, to fulfill a state requirement that all parties have a logo, took a black panther as its symbol. The panther was later adopted by the Black Panther Party. The young Mr. Carmichael was radicalized by his experiences working in the segregated South, where peaceful protesters were beaten, brutalized and sometimes killed for seeking the ordinary rights of citizens. He once recalled watching from his hotel room in a little Alabama town while nonviolent black demonstrators were beaten and shocked with cattle prods by the police. Horrified, he said that he screamed and could not stop. Mr. Carmichael was arrested so often as a nonviolent volunteer that he lost count after 32. His growing impatience with the tactics of passive resistance was gaining support, and in 1966 he was chosen as chairman of SNCC, replacing John Lewis, a hardworking integrationist who is now a Congressman from Georgia. Barely a month after his selection, Mr. Carmichael, then just 25, raised the call for black power, thereby signaling a crossroads in the civil rights struggle. Increasingly uncomfortable with Dr. King's resolute nonviolence, he sensed a shift among some younger blacks in the direction of black separatism. Many were listening sympathetically to the urgings of Malcolm X, who had been assassinated a year and a half earlier, that the struggle should be carried out by any means necessary. It was June 16, 1966, and Mr. Carmichael, a spellbinding orator, was addressing a crowd of 3,000 in a park in Greenwood, Miss. James Meredith, who had integrated the University of Mississippi, was wounded on his solitary ''Walk Against Fear'' from Memphis to Jackson, and volunteers were marching in his place. When they set up camp in Greenwood, Mr. Carmichael was arrested and his frustration was obvious. Gold prices now are hovering around $1,090 per troy ounce, the lowest price so far this year. In general, prices have been declining since a peak almost two years ago. (Like a currency exchange, there is a selling price and a buying price.) In Hong Kong, gold is traded in tael, or a little more than 1.2 troy ounces. A pair of bangles, each using a tael of gold and created in a dragon and phoenix motif from a simple mold but with a hand-finished design would be priced at around 25,415 Hong Kong dollars ($3,280), which includes the stores 2 percent commission and a 690-dollar design fee. A customer who decided to sell that jewelry back to the store on the same day, as gold prices fluctuate, would walk out with about 20,490 dollars. Our customers wont need to bring their receipt back, as our makers mark is clearly stamped on each piece, said Hung Lam, a salesman at Chow Sang Sang, another popular gold trader. Mr. Wong acknowledges that 24-karat gold jewelry appeals almost exclusively to Chinese customers. We do have some non-Chinese customers, but their appetite for gold jewelry is not comparable to Chinese, he said, adding that the Chinese also prefer their gold to have a saturated, almost gaudy gold tone. With technology these days, we are able to change the color of 24-karat gold to a rose tint, but Chinese want their gold to look exactly like a gold bar, because this is what it looked like for hundreds of years, he said. This style appeals to Chinese because its part of our heritage, whereas for foreigners, they dont have the same sense of historical reference. This exhibition also features a short film shot on the island of Lesbos, where you have spent many months in refugee camps. Is it a taster of the feature-length film you are in the process of making on the plight of the refugees in Europe? Thats a work I produced at the beginning of many long months deeply entrenched in refugee conditions. As my first gesture, I jumped onto an abandoned boat in the middle of the ocean to try to feel what its like to be alone out there. And it feels very tense, you feel very fragile and hopeless even though there was very good weather, and no wind. You can imagine if there are 50 people on that boat in much worse conditions. I saw childrens milk bottles, a womans scarf and even a Bible abandoned on the water. Do you feel hope for the refugees in Europe? I think its never as they imagine. They leave the war zone, but this is a different war. They leave behind the bombs and explosions, but they see deeply in their hearts and their minds how humanity is a wasteland. When they enter Europe, they see how theyve been abandoned. Its really tragic. Children have to stay out of school for years, and all they know is the camp. Their parents have no jobs and no money except for the few euros of support from the UN. What is the role of the artist in this kind of humanitarian crisis? The artist is someone who is involved, but detached at the same time. We are parallel to the conditions and we try to examine and learn from them. We give our passion and our sensitivity to another person who has to pass the night in a cold tent, with wet socks and no light; and for the children, no milk. They cant even find a place to take a shower, or use the bathroom. They stay there for months, but no one tells them where to go or what to do. Ive been told there are 60 million refugees in the world. A few of them have been really taken care of, very few, less than 1 percent, maybe. Bernie Sanders delivers a speech to supporters via live stream. REUTERS Bernie Sanders will keep fighting. The Democratic hopeful to the White House is not dropping out of the race. Instead, he has reiterated his goal to take his platform to the Democratic National Convention and work to defeat Donald Trump. There is no way for Sanders to win the nomination at the convention but he insists on defending the values his campaign stood for in order to transform the Democratic Party. Election days come and go. But political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end Bernie Sanders Election days come and go. But political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end, he said to his supporters in a speech titled The Revolution Continues. Sanders compared the popular movement that has supported his campaign to the civil, womens, and gay rights movements. The Vermont senator explained the three main goals of his revolution. First, he wants to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated. Sanders told supporters that the United States does not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign. We cannot have a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, Muslims, women and African Americans. His second goal is to revolutionize his own party. I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda. And, lastly, Sanders wants to encourage his voters to get involved in local and state politics in order to keep government from falling into the hands of the conservative right. Defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. Sanders wants to encourage his voters to get involved in local and state politics in order to keep government from falling into the hands of the conservative right There is growing pressure for Sanders to exit the race, especially since his opponent Hillary Clinton won enough delegates to clinch the nomination. Yet the Vermont senator remains steadfast and has not backed his partys likely nominee even after President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly endorsed her. The Sanders campaign has exceeded all expectations over the last year. Its progressive proposals forced Clinton to lean further left than expected. As he said in his latest speech, he put inequality, poverty and campaign funding topics that are usually given less focus than foreign policy or tax laws at the center of the debate. Sanders explained why he believes his campaign is not some kind of fringe idea and why he wants to continue fighting until July: more than 12 million votes, more than half a million people attended his events and more than eight million contributed donations that averaged $27 apiece. In virtually every state that we contested we won the overwhelming majority of the votes of people 45 years of age or younger, Sanders said. These are the people who are the future of this country. Sanders wants to fight on their behalf to make sure that Clinton defends some of the policies they voted for in the primaries. Even though Clinton won 34 contests and surpassed Sanders by 3.7 million votes, his ideas have the backing of 12 million voters Even though the former secretary of state won 34 contests and surpassed Sanders by 3.7 million votes, his ideas have the backing of 12 million voters. He has shown that he is determined to defend them at the convention. His proposals include election law reform to curb the influence of the rich, regulations on Wall Street, more social assistance programs, a plan to reduce childhood poverty and inequality, gun control and immigration reform. Sanders strategy is unusual. The primary race usually ends when one candidate reaches the necessary number of delegates to seize the nomination. Sanders, who has the backing of 48 superdelegates, is still standing, even though Clinton has secured the support of almost 600 superdelegates. English version by Dyane Jean Francois. A selected guide to jazz performances in New York City. Full reviews of recent jazz performances: nytimes.com/jazz. A searchable guide to these and other shows is at nytimes.com/events. Melissa Aldana-Glenn Zaleski Sextet (Saturday) Ms. Aldana, a saxophonist, and Mr. Zaleski, a pianist, share an aesthetic of postbop dynamism. For this one-nighter, they also share leadership duties, working with a congress of their peers: Philip Dizack on trumpet, Ben van Gelder on alto saxophone, Rick Rosato on bass and Craig Weinrib on drums. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., the Jazz Gallery, 1160 Broadway, fifth floor, at West 27th Street, 646-494-3625, jazzgallery.org. (Nate Chinen) Jim Black Trio (Sunday) Mr. Black is a drummer of convulsive intensity and a bandleader rooted in the protocols of noise-rock. But in this group, with the probing Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder and the intuitive American bassist Thomas Morgan, he spins a deeply sonorous variation on the acoustic piano trio tradition. The Constant is the bands fine third album, which will provide the bulk of the material here. At 8:30 and 10 p.m., Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com. (Chinen) Blue Note Jazz Festival (through June 30) This monthlong event rolls on with a mix of marquee names and crossover fare. Highlights in the coming week include the world-beating tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, in a free concert on Saturday at Central Park SummerStage; the Rebirth Brass Band at the Highline Ballroom on Sunday and at the Blue Note on Monday; and the pianist Robert Glasper at the Blue Note, appearing first with his trio (Tuesday and Wednesday) and then in a duo with another leading pianist, Jason Moran (Thursday and June 24). A full schedule is at bluenotejazzfestival.com. (Chinen) Orange Is the New Black grows darker than ever in Season 4. Amazon unveils its latest pilots. And Pixars visually entrancing The Good Dinosaur turns the creation story on its head. Whats Streaming ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK on Netflix. Life at Litchfield Penitentiary turns especially ugly in Season 4, as privatization brings overcrowding and abusive guards while deepening racial chasms. Piper, meanwhile, anoints herself lord of the jungle as her soiled-panty enterprise flourishes. But then Judy King, a Martha Stewart-inspired lifestyle guru (with a taste of Paula Deen), lands in the clink. To Poussey, she may as well be Beyonce. The entire season is available Friday. AMAZON PILOTS on Amazon.com. Get out the vote! Its that time of year when Amazon gives viewers a say about which pilots to develop. (And its not mere frivolity: Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle began this way.) On the ballot for adults: The Interestings, adapted from the Meg Wolitzer best seller that follows a group of artistic teenagers from summer camp in 1974 through several decades of adulthood. Lauren Ambrose stars as an actress who uses her wit to compensate for what shes lacking in glamour, money and talent. The Last Tycoon, adapted from the unfinished F. Scott Fitzgerald novel about a Hollywood golden boy (Matt Bomer) battling his boss and father figure (Kelsey Grammer) for the soul of a film studio during the Depression. Donald J. Trump is holding a fund-raiser in New York City next week to be hosted by a whos who of the financial world, including John A. Paulson, whose hedge fund made billions betting on the collapse of the housing market. Joining him are Stephen A. Feinberg, the secretive financier and founder of Cerberus Capital Management, and Peter Kalikow, the politically connected real estate magnate. Neither man had publicly announced his support for the Republican presidential candidate and presumptive party nominee, until now. The joint Republican National Committee and Trump fund-raiser will take place on Tuesday, at an undisclosed location in the city, according to an invitation seen by The New York Times. Tickets are going for $50,000 a person, though the hosts are paying $250,000 a couple. Additional details, the invitation said, will be disclosed when a reservation for a seat is made. It is a sign that a small, but growing, crowd in the financial world is warming up to the idea of backing Mr. Trump. The financial industry represents a crucial group for the presidential candidate as he prepares to face off with Hillary Clinton, his well-financed political rival, before the general election in November. Mrs. Clintons donor network includes the former hedge fund star George Soros, who recently warned against the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump. She also has the backing of some well-known Wall Street executives. WASHINGTON Federal regulators on Thursday took up the fight for their right to label certain financial institutions as too big to fail after a Federal District Court threw out their designation of the insurance company MetLife earlier this year. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a body of regulators led by the Treasury Department, said in April that it would contest the decision, shortly after the ruling was handed down. Late Thursday, the government filed its first substantive brief in its appeal. The Dodd-Frank Act gave the council, which includes the heads of the banking agencies, the authority to designate large nonbanks as systemically important to prevent the kind of fallout seen from the near-collapse of American International Group during the height of the financial crisis. The institutions so designated will be subject to greater capital requirements and regulatory scrutiny. The district court overturned the collective judgment of the heads of the nations financial regulatory agencies that material distress at MetLife could pose a threat to the countrys financial stability, the council, which is being represented by the Justice Department, said in the brief. The courts ruling leaves one of the largest, most complex and most interconnected financial companies in the country without the regulatory oversight that Congress found essential. Revlon said on Thursday it was buying Elizabeth Arden for $419.3 million in cash, a deal uniting two well-known names in cosmetics. The companies value the deal at $870 million, including debt. Revlon is paying $14 for each Elizabeth Arden share, a premium of 50 percent over the closing price on Thursday. Revlon said the combined company would benefit from having a presence in more markets worldwide. It estimated savings of $140 million from the combination. Elizabeth Arden opened her first Red Door salon on Fifth Avenue in 1910. The company, now based in Miramar, Fla., sells skin care products and fragrances in 120 countries. It has been trying to turn its fortunes around, posting a loss of $28.4 million on revenue of $191.9 million in its most recent quarter. Despite the name on its airplanes, United Airlines is anything but fully unified. More than five years after United merged with Continental, the combined carriers 24,000 flight attendants are still operating as if the company were running two airlines. That disconnect has made scheduling crews and flight routes more complicated and has contributed to operational challenges, including flight delays. Now, after three years of negotiations, the airline and its flight attendants seem to be near an agreement that could integrate the work force. United management and the Association of Flight Attendants, the union representing the airlines cabin workers, are scheduled to meet for four days in Chicago next week in what both parties hope is a final mediation session. A new contract would unify all the flight attendants on issues like health care plans, wages and scheduling. We feel optimistic, said Sara Nelson, the unions international president and a United flight attendant for 20 years. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, known by millions as the Emmy Award-winning host of a television show in the 1950s, made one of his last public appearances at St. Patricks Cathedral in Manhattan, rising from his chair and kneeling before Pope John Paul II during a visit in 1979. But his burial in a crypt at the cathedral after his death a few months later at age 84 has been at the center of a dispute that has held up his 14-year journey toward sainthood. Relatives want his body moved to Peoria, Ill., where he was ordained a priest and where officials of the Roman Catholic Church have been behind the effort to make him a saint. Now, his family has turned to the courts to compel St. Patricks Cathedral and the Archdiocese of New York to turn over Archbishop Sheens body. A petition filed on Monday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan by the archbishops niece seeks permission to disinter, remove and transfer his remains because consent cannot be obtained from the archdiocese. In a rush to get home to the Bronx one afternoon in March and hoping to save a few dollars, Jose Lopez scanned the traffic near 116th Street for the livery cars that pick up riders and do not fuss with a meter. But no such luck. He gave up, stuck out a hand, and a green cab pulled over. A good thing he didnt find another taxi: By the time Mr. Lopez got out on East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx, he had effectively scored about $200,000 for himself and three friends. On Thursday, he and the three other men all immigrants who worked construction in largely untamed territories of New York City were handed checks of up to $50,000 by the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer. A decade ago, they were ripped off by a contractor who had hired them to work on renovations of rundown apartment houses owned by the city. The city recovered the money, but the hunt for many of the workers ran into one blind alley after another. Gene Cavallero Jr., who took over his fathers fabled Manhattan restaurant, the Colony, and maintained it as a gilt-edged gathering place for the social elite and the international jet set, died on June 4 in Phoenix. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his son Gene Cavallero III. Mr. Cavallero teamed up with his father at the Colony in the early 1950s, sharing the all-consuming task of cosseting a highly demanding clientele that regarded the restaurant, at the corner of Madison Avenue and 61st Street, as an extension of their living rooms and its owners as their personal concierges. The Colony occupied a lofty perch in New York Citys dining scene. Founded in 1919 and bought by Gene Cavallero Sr. with two partners in 1922, it struggled initially, known for its clientele of playboys trolling for dates and businessmen with their mistresses. The heiress and socialite Virginia Fair Vanderbilt put it on the map when she wandered in for lunch, decided she liked the place and recommended it to her friends, despite its louche reputation. It was a place frequented by how do you say the demimondaines of New York, Gene Sr. told The New York Times in 1959. ALBANY State lawmakers were assembling the skeleton of a long-awaited deal on a number of issues on Thursday evening, including a one-year extension of Mayor Bill de Blasios control of New York City schools and an ethics reform measure that would strip state pensions from elected officials convicted of a felony. A final announcement seemed just out of reach as the Legislature settled in for a late night on Thursday, the last official day of the 2016 legislative calendar, and lawmakers were told to return on Friday for a final gallop of votes. Still, the silhouette of the package started to appear on Thursday, with lawmakers in serious discussions about supplying extra funding for the State University of New York and the City University of New York and releasing millions in state money for supportive housing for the homeless. The chairman of the Assembly Committee on Racing and Wagering, J. Gary Pretlow, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, announced on Thursday that there would be a vote on a bill to legalize daily fantasy sports, the multibillion-dollar sports-betting industry that was bulldozed from New York last year after the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, ordered its two largest purveyors, DraftKings and FanDuel, to stop operating. It was unclear how Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, would receive the proposal, though its sponsor in the State Senate, John J. Bonacic, a Hudson Valley Republican, said late on Thursday that the governors office had reviewed it and suggested changes that were incorporated. The logistics center for El Corte Ingles in Coslada. Carlos Rosillo Immediacy became the key word in retail sales on the same day that the internet reduced the distance between manufacturers and buyers. Logistics, the sector involved in delivering packages to clients, lives off customers clicks and taps. E-commerce is its main engine of growth, and also its main challenge. Every online purchase marks the beginning of a race against time. Seurs logistics center in Madrid is open day and night. It is synchronized with the time at which most Spaniards make their online purchases, starting at 6 or 7pm, when they get off work. Spanish logistics company Seur already has its eye on the next new trend: fast food delivery Around 400 employees run around frantically among piles of packages at the facilities of Spains leading express shipping company. Forklifts raise and lower large boxes that will be sent out north and south of the country. The northbound ones are placed in the right-hand side of the warehouse, the southbound ones in the left. Conveyor belts with 68 exit doors carry packages at a speed of two meters per second. Manual and automated classifying systems using laser and photography analyze up to up to 28,000 items an hour. These packages will be delivered within 24 hours on average. If something or someone is not moving, it means something or someone is failing, says an official in charge of directing all this traffic. 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. Seur has two major logistics centers in Madrid and Barcelona, and trucks drive out of them filled to capacity with goods. Most of these products have been purchased online. It used to be that our dialogue was with the manufacturing company, but now its with the final consumer, explains Carlos Cavero Mestre, general director of logistics for Seur. E-commerce in Spain is still below French or British levels, but it is on the rise. In the third quarter of last year when the latest official figures are available there were nearly 74 million online purchases, a 27.4% rise from the same period a year earlier. Music, books, newspapers, stationery and clothing lead the sales charts. In this battle to head the sector, logistics companies are simultaneously allies and competitors of e-commerce giants such as Amazon, which are increasingly developing their own delivery mechanisms. Conveyor belts with 68 exit doors carry packages at a speed of two meters per second Such is the case with El Corte Ingles, Spains leading department store. In December, the company launched its own express delivery service that promises to have items at the door within two hours of purchase. More recently, customers are being allowed to select the exact time of delivery. The service is available in 27 Spanish cities. Meanwhile, Amazons ambition is to reduce delivery times even further, down to about an hour. It has conducted trials in cities such as Milan, and is experimenting with drones. The US companys arrival in Spain in 2011 revolutionized the sector. Its enormous catalogue and speedy delivery times altered the classic parameters of retail commerce. Amazon is expanding its Madrid facilities, planning a new logistics center near Barcelona airport and renting out a building in the center of the Catalan capital for express downtown deliveries. Seur, which has an agreement with Amazon, views e-commerce as an agent for growth. And it already has its eye on the next new trend: fast food delivery. This market is working really well in the US, and we feel that there is a large margin for growth in Spain, says Pedro Gallego, corporate operations director for Seur. The company, he explains, has reached a deal with the JustEat application and plans to triple its driver crew in order to deliver food within a maximum timeframe of 40 minutes. And using electric vehicles, he adds. English version by Susana Urra. Kenneth Walton, a flamboyant official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who galvanized the agencys New York office against violent political radicals and entrenched organized crime bosses in the early 1980s, died on May 25 in Albuquerque. He was 76. The cause was throat cancer, his wife, Charlotte, said. Mr. Walton emerged as the public face of the F.B.I. in notorious cases that included the 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored car in Rockland County, N.Y., the arrest in 1982 of a fugitive in Manhattan for extorting $1 million from Johnson & Johnson in the Tylenol poisoning scare and the governments offensive against the Mafia after Rudolph W. Giuliani became the federal prosecutor in Manhattan. Mr. Walton mixed the panache of a central-casting G-man with an audacity to defy rigid protocol, a combination that defined him inside the F.B.I. as an agents agent and allowed for unusual joint operations between the bureau and its frequent rival, the New York Police Department. Ken Walton was the operational reason it succeeded, Robert J. McGuire, a former New York City police commissioner, said in an interview this week. He had the complete trust and confidence of the cops because he was more of a street detective than a button-down bureau agent. The City University of New York reached a tentative contract agreement with its faculty and staff members on Thursday, ending a six-year stalemate and staving off a threatened walkout at the start of the fall semester. The deal would give 25,000 employees represented by the Professional Staff Congress, the universitys largest union, 10.41 percent in compounded salary increases over seven years, from October 2010 through November 2017. It would also provide bonuses of up to $1,000 for workers. Beyond salary issues, the agreement would offer adjunct faculty members whose ranks have swelled in recent years, especially at CUNYs four-year colleges longer appointments of up to three years, rather than subjecting them to yearly or even semester renewals. CUNYs professional staff, which includes program directors and student service providers, would also be given more chances for career advancement. The deal must still be approved by CUNYs board of trustees, as well as union members, in a process that could last several weeks. But both sides expressed optimism, and relief, that a deal had finally been struck. The wedding guests sat on bales of straw lined up evenly in rows. Heads of wheat served as boutonnieres for the groomsmen. Two flower girls, actually cows named Mona and Lisa, were led by their handler. The bride walked down the aisle to John Lennons Imagine. A glittery headband held her platinum blond hair in place while a so-called cowboy preacher, flown in from Colorado, began a prayer. The wedding, at a farm near the town of Nassau in upstate New York in May 2014, was beautiful, according to witness accounts. And though the event may also have been a bit unusual, it would seem an unlikely candidate to draw the scrutiny of the federal government. This week, though, federal prosecutors filed a civil complaint against the brides father, J. Felix Strevell, 54, an official in the administration of Gov. George E. Pataki, and the bride herself, Nicole Strevell-Childrose, 30, saying the wedding was paid for with money that belongs to the state. YAPHANK, N.Y. A Long Island man was arrested on weapons charges on Thursday after police officers found assault rifles, bomb-making instructions, over $40,000 in cash and Nazi paraphernalia in his house, the authorities said. The man, Edward Perkowski, 29, of Mount Sinai, also faces drug charges after the police recovered marijuana and mushrooms during the search. Mr. Perkowskis brother, Sean, 25, who also lives in the home, was arrested on an unrelated outstanding bench warrant, the police said. Britains moment of truth is fast approaching. Next Thursday, the country will vote on whether to remain in or to leave the European Union. The referendum has generated a torrent of analyses, commentaries and appeals including President Obamas urging Britain to stay in. Most serious studies have concluded that Britain would be economically and politically damaged by Brexit, a British exit from the E.U. And yet the chorus of disgruntled voters convinced that bureaucrats in Brussels are threatening their identity, sovereignty and values, and also packing their island with foreigners, is growing by the day. This British version of make America great again is every bit as illusory as Donald Trumps slogan and just as potentially dangerous, for Britain and for its European and North American partners. The campaign has generated powerful emotions. On Thursday, after the shooting death of Jo Cox, a Labour Party politician who has been a strong voice for staying in the union, both sides suspended all campaigning. There will be concrete consequences for Britain if it severs itself from the union. It would lose tariff-free access to its largest trading market, or be forced to make big concessions. It would have to negotiate its own trade pacts with other nations, and would have much less bargaining heft. The anti-union crowd promises that freedom from E.U. regulation will bring economic gains, but Britons will have to write their own protections, in areas from the environment to banking. There is no argument that the European Union is a flawed institution. Its dysfunction has been on display in its fitful handling of the Greek debt and refugee crises, its bureaucracy is pathetically slow to recognize or correct its failings and it often acts like an out-of-touch and undemocratic elite. Part of that is the inherent inefficiency of an institution of 28 member states with big differences in size, wealth and democratic traditions, and which participate to different degrees in the single currency and border-free zone. Here at home, many of us are alarmed by the carnage. We are alarmed by loopholes that let felons and domestic abusers get hold of guns without a background check. We are alarmed that a known or suspected terrorist can go to a federally licensed firearms dealer where background checks are conducted, pass that background check, legally purchase a firearm and walk out the door. Now veterans are speaking out. Last Friday, two days before the tragedy in Orlando, a new initiative, the Veterans Coalition for Common Sense, led by the Navy combat veteran Capt. Mark Kelly and his wife, the former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was announced. Those of us serving on its advisory committee come from every branch of our military and virtually every rank. We are trained in the use of firearms, and many of us have served in combat. And we all think our country must do more to save lives from being cut short by gun violence. As this national crisis continues to rage, I ask my fellow veterans patriots who have worn the uniform, who took an oath to protect our Constitution and the Second Amendment, who served this great country to add your voice to this growing call for change. America needs you. In my life as a soldier and citizen, I have seen time and time again that inaction has dire consequences. In this case, one consequence of our leaders inaction is that felons, domestic abusers and suspected terrorists have easy access to firearms. Some opponents of closing these gaps in our laws will continue to argue that dangerous people will obtain guns in our country no matter what, and therefore that taking steps to make it harder for them is fruitless. That is both poor logic and poor leadership. Just as something as complex as a combat operation in a war zone meant that we could not eliminate every enemy combatant or prevent every American casualty, we cannot prevent every dangerous person from getting a gun, and we cannot prevent every gun tragedy. But wouldnt preventing many of them be worth it? I believe it would. We Americans are not a uniquely bloodthirsty people. We do not have more violent video games or movies than other countries. We do not have more dangerously mentally ill individuals than other countries. We are not unique in facing down the threat of global terrorism and active shooters. But we have uniquely high rates of gun deaths and injuries that make us stand out in the worst of ways. Our communities should not feel like war zones. Our leaders can start by doing more to keep guns out of the hands of those who cannot be trusted to handle them responsibly. That must be our mission. An attack like this, or a plot for one, is uncovered every few years rare, but more common than many Britons would like to admit. In June 2015, a member of the neo-Nazi group National Action was convicted of the attempted murder of a South Asian man at a supermarket in Wales. In 2007, a former B.N.P. candidate was jailed for stockpiling explosives in anticipation of a coming civil war caused by immigration. In 1999, David Copeland, a neo-Nazi lone wolf, set off three nail bombs in London, targeting the black, gay and South Asian communities, killing three people and injuring more than 100. These people may act independently, but their behavior and ideas are not shaped in a void. Far more people move through the periphery of far-right politics than formally join a party or organization. The details that have emerged about Mr. Mairs life place him in this periphery: The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that he was a longtime customer of Vanguard Books, the publishing arm of the National Alliance, an American neo-Nazi group. The police have reportedly found Nazi regalia and far-right literature at his house. Social media has extended the far rights reach. Sources tell me that Britain First has only a few hundred members. But its Facebook page has more than 1.4 million likes and churns out nationalist, Islamophobic and anti-immigration memes. Saying UK borders are secure, open to 500 million people, declares one meme, which displays a photo of the European Unions flag, is like saying my home is more secure with the doors and windows left open. Another shows Muslims praying in the street in London and asks: Is this what our war heroes died for? Many of these are widely shared and they often echo the coverage of immigration and ethnic minorities found in much of the British press. This points to an uncomfortable truth: Far-right politics cannot be as easily cordoned off from the mainstream as people would like to believe. Fascists attach themselves to popular causes and drag the debate in their direction. Populists and parties of the center take note and then try to appeal to voters susceptible to the far rights messages by taking xenophobic positions of their own. People in Britain have been doubly shocked by Ms. Coxs killing because of its timing. The debate over our countrys June 23 referendum on European Union membership has reached fever pitch and exposed new levels of xenophobia and hatred. The discussion over Brexit among politicians and in the media has often ignored wider questions about representation and democracy and instead focused on the issue of border security, frequently expressed in the most exclusionary, nationalist terms. Barack Obama is clearly wrong when he refuses to use the word Islam in reference to Islamist terrorism. The people who commit these acts are inflamed by a version of an Islamist ideology. They claim an Islamist identity. They swear fealty to organizations like ISIS that govern themselves according to certain interpretations of the Quran. As Peter Bergen writes in his book The United States of Jihad, Assertions that Islamist terrorism has nothing to do with Islam are as nonsensical as claims that the Crusades had nothing to do with Christian beliefs about the sanctity of Jerusalem. On the other hand, Donald Trump is abhorrently wrong in implying that these attacks are central to Islam. His attempt to ban Muslim immigration is an act of bigotry (applying the sins of the few to the whole group), which is sure to incite more terrorism. His implication that we are in a clash of civilizations is an insult to those Muslims who have risked and lost their lives in the fight against ISIS and the Taliban. The problem is that these two wrongs are feeding off each other. Obama is using language to engineer a reaction rather than to tell the truth, which is the definition of propaganda. Most world leaders talk about Islamist terror, but Obama apparently thinks that if he uses the phrase Islamic radicalism the rest of us will be too dim to be able to distinguish between the terrorists and the millions of good-hearted Muslims who want only to live in fellowship and peace. Ms. Mitchell was able to bring in blades because her bag was not searched. Even after the escape, investigators for the inspector general witnessed Clinton employees entering the prison with large containers or bags that no one opened or inspected. That this happened in the presence of investigators shows that the practice was deeply ingrained. The Clinton escapees had little chance of being discovered once they set their plan in motion. The report shows, for example, that guards sometimes falsified records to make it appear that they were making required rounds when they were in fact reading or doing crossword puzzles. Secure in that knowledge, one of the inmates, David Sweat, left his cell and roamed subterranean areas of the prison for about 85 nights, seeking a way out. He and his partner eventually crawled out through a steam pipe. The Clinton case would be troubling even if it were one of a kind. But an investigation of a 2003 escape from the Elmira Correctional Facility turned up similar problems. According to the new report, the state corrections department took inadequate action to ensure that the deficiencies that enabled the escape at Elmira were not present or did not arise at other prisons. The Cuomo administration has made significant changes at Clinton, started reforms elsewhere in the system and has strengthened the office within the corrections department that investigates wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the report raises questions about the departments ability to oversee itself. After calamities, people donate millions of dollars to the American Red Cross, believing it is uniquely equipped to provide prompt humanitarian aid. The latest evidence that their faith has been misplaced came this week in a report by Senator Charles Grassley about the charitys poor response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The earthquake killed an estimated 160,000 people and left much of the already impoverished island in ruins. The Red Cross provided food, medical care and emergency shelter in the immediate aftermath of the quake, and it has since funded dozens of projects to improve schools, hospitals and infrastructure. But Senate investigators found that the Red Cross spent about 25 percent of the $488 million raised for Haiti relief on administrative costs and fund-raising. That is unusually high; the charity has previously said it typically sets aside about 9 percent of donations for administrative costs. In one notable example, investigators found that the Red Cross earmarked $2 million to manage a $4.3 million contract it had awarded to the International Federation of the Red Cross, a partner organization. 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 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 Mr. Nadella supplied one explanatory clue in an email that he sent to Microsoft employees. This combination will make it possible for new experiences, he wrote, such as Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task youre trying to complete. He went on to predict that such experiences would get more intelligent and delightful. Delightful is not the first adjective that comes to mind here, or even the 10th. If Im working in Word, I cant see why Id welcome the intrusion of even a close friend, let alone a bot telling me about a stranger pulled from LinkedIns database. My version of Word, a relatively recent one, is not that different from the original, born in softwares Pleistocene epoch. It isnt networked to my friends, family and professional contacts, and thats the point. Writing on Word may be the only time I spend on my computer in which I can keep the endless distractions in the networked world out of sight. Did Mr. Nadella, who has been at Microsoft since 1992, learn nothing from the Clippy disaster? Clippy, the animated anthropomorphic paper clip introduced in 1996, popped up unbidden in Microsoft Office programs to offer advice. Are you writing a letter? it would ask annoyingly. Clippy became famous for the ire it provoked and, in 2010, Time magazine included Clippy in a roundup of the 50 worst inventions of all time, along with asbestos, leaded gasoline and pay toilets. The British have been warned many times over. The International Monetary Fund; the Bank of England; Britains Treasury; David Cameron, the countrys prime minister; top bankers like Jamie Dimon; scores of economists; and even Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley have said that a vote to leave the European Union would hurt the British economy. Yet the warnings so far have not worked. A stream of recent opinion polls suggests that Britons will vote Thursday to leave the European Union. But the polls were wrong in Britains general election last year, and betting markets are saying there is a 64 percent chance that Britain will vote to stay. What is clear is that the gloomy forecasts of economic pain have not resonated with voters. Thats partly because the referendum has mostly become about national sovereignty and curbing immigration. A country in the European Union has little control over the movement of people between other countries in the union. The British have long been concerned about this freedom, and the leave campaign has focused on those worries. HOUSTON Texas efforts to bar Syrian refugees from settling in the state were dealt a legal blow on Wednesday when a federal judge in Dallas dismissed the states lawsuit against federal officials and a nonprofit group that assists refugees. After the terrorist attacks last year in Paris, Texas became the first state to try to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees by suing the Obama administration. Texas Republican leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz cited security concerns and said they believed that people with ties to terrorist groups were exploiting the refugee program. Officials in other states, including Indiana and Oklahoma, have publicly refused to accept Syrian refugees as well, but only Texas and Alabama filed federal lawsuits. The Texas lawsuit accused the State Department and other federal agencies of violating the Refugee Act of 1980 by failing to consult with state officials before resettling refugees. It also charged that the nonprofit relief group, the International Rescue Committee, had breached its contract with the state. In his opinion, released Thursday, Judge David C. Godbey of Federal District Court ruled that Texas claims had no legal merit. Judge Godbey did not rule on whether federal officials violated the Refugee Act. The judge ruled more narrowly, finding that Texas lacked legal standing to enforce the Refugee Acts requirement on advance consultation with states and failed to prove sufficient facts to establish a breach of contract. BURLINGTON, Vt. The primaries are officially over. Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump are attacking each other over the Orlando tragedy. Final touches are being made to convention plans. Running mates are being vetted. But on Thursday night, Senator Bernie Sanders stood at a podium in a small, chilly television studio here pointing his index finger at a camera and insisting to his supporters that his campaign was fighting on. With five bright lights illuminating him, Mr. Sanders delivered a shortened version of his stump speech via livestream to his supporters, saying his political revolution was just beginning and reeling off the many injustices it would set about to end. Although it covered a lot of ground, from the influence of money to poverty wages to fracking to the cost of college, the speech did not include the one thing some Democratic leaders have awaited: an endorsement of Mrs. Clinton, who last week became the presumptive nominee. The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly, Mr. Sanders said. I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. After eight years of largely abstaining from politics, former President George W. Bush is throwing himself into an effort to save his partys most vulnerable senators, including several whose re-election campaigns have been made more difficult by Donald J. Trumps presence at the top of the ticket. In the weeks since Mr. Trump emerged as the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Mr. Bush has headlined fund-raisers for two Republican senators and has made plans to help three more. Among them are Senators John McCain of Arizona, who was one of Mr. Trumps earliest targets of derision, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who has struggled to respond to Mr. Trumps inflammatory talk. Friends say that the former president is deeply bothered by Mr. Trumps campaign message, especially his derogatory remarks about Muslims and immigrants. At the event with Mr. McCain, Mr. Bush stressed the importance of preserving the Republican-held Senate as a check and balance on the White House, suggesting that such a check was needed, whether the next president is Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Mr. Bush announced through a spokesman last month that he would not support Mr. Trumps candidacy and would not attend the Republican convention in Cleveland next month. His father, former President George Bush, and his brother Jeb Bush, who was defeated and ridiculed by Mr. Trump in the primary campaign, are also staying away. BRASILIA Less than two months before Brazil hosts the Olympics, the countrys tourism minister resigned Thursday, becoming the third minister in a month to step down amid a sweeping graft investigation of the state oil company Petrobras. Tourism Minister Henrique Alves was one of two dozen officials named in plea bargain testimony by a former Petrobras executive linking the interim president, Michel Temer, and several of his closest allies to Brazils biggest corruption scandal ever. While Mr. Temer dismissed the accusations as frivolous lies, the latest resignation emphasized the risks that come with the sweeping Petrobras investigation, which has thrown Brazils politics into chaos and deepened its worst recession in decades. Sergio Machado, a former senator from Mr. Temers party who ran the shipping arm of Petrobras for more than a decade, was the latest of several politicians and executives who, when pressed by investigators, offered information about friends and allies. ZADAR, Croatia It was not Et tu, Brute; more like Et tu, et tu, et tu. After less than six months in office, Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic of Croatia was ousted on Thursday in a no-confidence vote called by the very party that selected him in the first place. The move brought down the government in Zagreb and ended a brief, tense union between reformers and the Croatian Democratic Union, the countrys nationalist right-wing party, which chose Mr. Oreskovic to lead with the approval of reformers. Never in the history of Croatias democracy has the ruling majority, or a portion of it, moved to recall the prime minister it has chosen, Mr. Oreskovic said. The no-confidence vote in Parliament passed 125 to 15, with two abstentions. Croatia could face another election if a government has not formed within 30 days. WASHINGTON More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administrations policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the countrys five-year-old civil war. The memo, a draft of which was provided to The New York Times by a State Department official, says American policy has been overwhelmed by the unrelenting violence in Syria. It calls for a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process. Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administrations approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Obama has plans to change course. Mr. Obama has emphasized the military campaign against the Islamic State over efforts to dislodge Mr. Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed. But the memo, filed in the State Departments dissent channel, underscores the deep rifts and lingering frustration within the administration over how to deal with a war that has killed more than 400,000 people. The Tuesday preview of the main Galleries section, which features 286 exhibitors from 33 countries, was a far more telling indicator of how the worlds leading art dealers are faring in todays uncertain times. As collectors filed through the rain into the two-floor Messe Basel, it soon became clear that the primary trade in new works by contemporary artists and secondary re-sales by dealers and auction houses usually at significantly higher prices are two distinct markets. Even though visitors were moving with less urgency than they had been in recent years and the lunchtime lines looked shorter, new primary market pieces by bankable names were selling steadily. Image Njideka Akunyili Crosbys Super Blue Omo. Credit... Njideka Akunyili Crosby/Victoria Miro, London A 2016 Degenerate Art abstract by the Romanian-born auction favorite Adrian Ghenie, priced at $460,000, was among the numerous early sales by the Paris dealer Thaddaeus Ropac, helped by the knowledge that a 2014 canvas by Mr. Ghenie sold for $4.5 million at Sothebys in February. The Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo gallery Blum & Poe sold the typically stylized Yoshitomo Nara figure painting, Mia, also dated 2016, for $700,000. Chantal Crousel of Paris sold a new Wade Guyton inkjet-on-linen painting of the metal frame of a Marcel Breuer chair the artist owns. This was bought for $600,000 by a French collector. It was one of five new large-scale works offered by different dealers at the fair. In 2014, at the height of the last art market boom, five such Guyton works sold for $350,000 each. Back then, many collectors and advisers would rush upstairs to the cutting-edge galleries on Art Basels first floor to snap up the latest abstracts by artists in their 20s and 30s. But the speculative mania for young abstraction has cooled. Instead, collectors this year were focusing on work like Rodney Grahams painstakingly devised 2016 lightbox photograph, Artist in Artists Bar, 1950s, showing the 67-year-old Vancouver artist sitting pensively in an imaginary bar surrounded by 20th-century modernist abstracts (which he himself had painted). Two of the four examples of this editioned work were sold by New Yorks 303 Gallery, priced at $275,000 each, with the remaining two on reserve. Basel was more conservative this year both in terms of what people brought and what people were buying, said Ms. Levene, the London art consultant. Clients are nervous about buying works by younger artists if theyre not sure where their careers are going. Journalist was not detained /updated/ Knar Manukyan, a journalist of Zhoghovurd (People) daily, has not been detained, Taguhi Tovmasyan, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, told A1+. She could not be detained because the writ did not specify her status; it was not clear whether she is a witness or aggrieved party, Taguhi Tovmasyan said. A rapid response team of the Ombudsman's Office also visited the journalists apartment upon receiving a report about her possible detention. We shall draw up a report and disseminate it during the day, Spokesman for the Armenian Ombudsman, Zohrap Yeganyan said. Spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, left a Facebook post saying Armlur.am is spreading disinformation alleging that military police want to detain their employee. I inform everyone that the military police are not empowered to detain a journalist. Taguhi Tovmasyan is giving a press conference at 2 oclock in connection with todays incident. 10. 40 Military Police arrived to arrest journalist A group of military police officers have arrived to detain Knar Manukyan, a journalist working with Zhoghovurd (People) daily. They are in the journalists apartment at this moment, armlur.com reports. The decision of her detention was issued after the daily published the details of an incident that involved Sergey Hayrapetyan, Chief of Security of the Defense Minister. We have been unable to receive any clarification from the Investigative Committee. The scene always feels festive when the New York Philharmonic presents its annual free concerts in the citys parks. But as Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonics music director, said in welcoming the crowd of some 50,000 on the Great Lawn in Central Park on Wednesday for the summer seriess opening, the entire country is suffering in the aftermath of the horrific attacks at a gay nightclub in Orlando. He and the musicians dedicated the concert not just to the memory of the victims, but also to the idea that we are all part of a shared humanity. In place of the scheduled opening work, a Rossini overture, Mr. Gilbert conducted Barbers solemnly beautiful Adagio for Strings. It felt consoling to be amid tens of thousands of New Yorkers listening to a beloved work by an American master. That Barber was openly gay lent further resonance to the moment. Max Martin, the Swedish producer and songwriter who worked on hits for Taylor Swift (Blank Space), Britney Spears ( Baby One More Time) and Katy Perry (Teenage Dream), has been awarded the 2016 edition of Swedens Polar Music Prize, along with the Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. The award comes with a cash prize of one million Swedish krona (about $119,825). You blew my cover! the famously spotlight-averse Mr. Martin (born Martin Sandberg) said in his acceptance speech on Thursday, according to the BBC. Ive managed to hide between two speakers in a basement for over 20 years, but you got me! The songwriter has refined and developed the worlds popular music, according to an announcement by the foundation that administers the prize. In the last 20 years, no composer in the world has written melodies as sustainable or as widespread as those of Max Martin. Ms. Bartoli was cited for her vocal range of three octaves and a unique ability to live a role with fullness of expression. The Justice Departments pursuit of Angelo R. Mozilo, one of Wall Streets most recognizable names tied to the subprime mortgage crisis, is ending with a whimper. After dropping a criminal investigation of Mr. Mozilo earlier, federal prosecutors recently decided against filing a civil fraud case against him, his lawyer, David Siegel, confirmed on Friday. Prosecutors in Los Angeles, in coordination with those at the Justice Department in Washington, spent more than two years reviewing the merits of pursuing a civil fraud case against Mr. Mozilo, a co-founder of Countrywide Financial, which was one of the largest originators of subprime mortgages in the run-up to the financial crisis. Mr. Mozilo, 77, and several other former Countrywide executives received letters in the last few weeks from federal prosecutors notifying them that the prosecutors had officially ended an investigation into the sale of billions of dollars of mortgages to home buyers with questionable credit histories, Mr. Siegel said. He added his client was pleased to see the investigation concluded. The year is only half over, and already it has been so eventful, and even traumatic. The next obvious challenge heading our way is the question of Britains exit from the European Union, or Brexit, which will be voted on next week. The departure of any nation from the European Union would be significant as we saw with Greece a few years back, even opening the door to departure would be disruptive. Yet the British case is special. London, after all, is the financial capital of Europe, and along with New York, a major center of global finance in general. From the debt side of things, Britain is of particular importance because most debt instruments are either governed by New York law or English law. This is true of traditional debt, as well as debtlike things like swaps, where the International Swaps and Derivatives master agreement calls for a binary choice between these two jurisdictions when picking the applicable law that will govern. I would like to read something into the fact that it is only Mr. Salerno who sued, but its hard to know whether this is a sign that the remaining Viacom directors are backing down. They certainly are not racing to resign, and two of them George S. Abrams and Mr. Dauman have filed lawsuits in Massachusetts. The gist of Mr. Salernos countersuit is that life is unfair. He asserts that Mr. Redstone always wanted independent governance at Viacom and did not want to have his daughter in charge. But things have changed, and Mr. Salerno and Mr. Dauman are on the outs. This change is attributed to Mr. Redstones poor health and his daughters influence. Included in court filings are titillating accusations like Mr. Redstone is suffering from severe dementia and cannot do simple arithmetic. But Mr. Dauman gave an affidavit in November 2015 stating that Mr. Redstone was engaged and attentive. Mr. Salerno countered that this statement was made to help his longtime friend and colleague maintain his choice of health care agent. This type of talk may be a manifesto of poor treatment, but it is not much of a legal basis for overturning National Amusements action. And a court is not likely to care that Mr. Salerno and Mr. Dauman are getting a poor deal. The directors and officers of Viacom have profited handsomely from Viacom. Mr. Dauman alone has probably been paid over a half a billion dollars over the years. Yes, they had to curry favor with Mr. Redstone, but they knew his mercurial side and the bad corporate governance. As they bought into this arrangement when they benefited, it is hard to see a court sympathizing with them. But all is not lost for Mr. Salerno and his allies. Their legal case is more apparent in the motion filed by Mr. Salerno to expedite the case. In that motion, Mr. Salernos lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom state: The court cannot sanction Sharis faithless conduct. Here, Shari has engaged in an unlawful scheme to take control of Viacom by either taking advantage of Mr. Redstones lack of capacity or by exercising undue influence over him, and as a result has caused NAI [National Amusements] to breach its fiduciary duties as Viacoms controlling stockholder. This court has often recognized in the context of a Section 225 proceeding [which allows the challenge of an appointment or removal of a director] that improper conduct such as Sharis provide an equitable basis to invalidate written consents. Mr. Salernos lawyers then cite three cases for this principle. These cases generally stand for the idea that a court will look to see whether the consent was properly authorized when it was delivered and that the court will invalidate them only if they were improperly obtained, typically with a wrongful act that arose to a breach of fiduciary duty. In a case involving the pharmaceutical company Bigmar, for example, the companys president was found to have lied and breached her fiduciary duties to obtain a delegation of authority to vote a controlling block of shares to remove the companys directors. The court in that case invalidated the presidents actions, which had involved a breach of fiduciary duty by the president. BRUSSELS To the sort of dysfunction that provokes frustration with the European Union, add its highest appeals court. When member states could not agree on the hiring process for new judges to deal with a backlog of cases, they simply gave one to each of the 28 countries in the bloc. They originally planned for just nine, wary of the ballooning bill. This unwieldy club of nations and such costly compromises are a constant flash point in the debate over the European project. As Britain heads to the polls on Thursday over whether to leave the European Union, many supporters of the so-called Brexit consider Brussels a bloated bureaucracy that sucks funds and resources. They have a point, at least in some examples. While the group of nations professes mutual support, it is often hobbled by a lack of consensus that leads to dubious decisions. He said the action was particularly troubling in light of Viacoms announcement that its fiscal third-quarter earnings will fall short of estimates. Image George S. Abrams is a Boston-based attorney who has represented Sumner Redstone for fifty years and has been a board member of Viacom since 1987. Credit... Nathan Benn/Corbis, via Getty Images In response, Carl Folta, a Viacom spokesman, said that actions by Mr. Redstones daughter, Shari, are impeding Viacom and that the issue concerns the control of the company. It is certainly in the interests of all of Viacoms stockholders that the Massachusetts actions be pursued in order to preserve the independence of Viacoms board, he said. The legal disputes roiling Mr. Redstones media conglomerate center on the dismissal of Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams from the trust that will control Mr. Redstones companies after he dies or is declared incompetent. Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams filed suit in Massachusetts challenging Mr. Redstones mental capacity to make decisions related to his businesses and asserting that he had been manipulated by his daughter. Lawyers for Mr. Redstone have maintained that he is competent and acting independently. They filed a separate petition in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles to validate the changes. In the company filing this week, Viacom stated that Mr. Dauman and Mr. Abrams would be required to repay Viacom if a court found that they had breached their fiduciary or other duties or had not acted in the best interests of Viacom in filing the Massachusetts suit. That case is just the beginning of the legal bills for Viacom, as fights erupt in courtrooms across three states in the fierce power struggle for Mr. Redstones $40 billion media empire. Viacom is also covering the legal costs for Frederic V. Salerno, Viacoms lead independent director, who filed suit Thursday in a Delaware court seeking to block moves by Mr. Redstones National Amusements company to replace five directors on the Viacom board. Much was made when Mr. Slimane left (after months of speculation and breast-beating in the fashion community) over the question of whether Mr. Vaccarello would, as Mr. Slimane did when he arrived in 2012, change everything at YSL, or whether he would be charged with effectively continuing a pallid version of the aesthetic Mr. Slimane had created. The campaign would indicate the answer is neither one nor the other, but somewhere in between. It was not shot by Mr. Vaccarello himself, the way most of the ad campaigns under the famously controlling Mr. Slimane were shot by Mr. Slimane, but by the American photographer Collier Schorr. It continues Mr. Slimanes focus on youth, and is black and white, as were many of Mr. Slimanes ads. But the youth it celebrates is not that of the grungy Los Angeles music scene, one of Mr. Slimanes obsessions; it is not youth identified with any particular place or fetish, except for a certain comfort and delight in the body. Which suggests we may be in for some sex. Well, all of Mr. Vaccarellos past work under his own name suggested the same thing, so thats not really a surprise. The ads are the beginning of a carefully orchestrated rollout of Mr. Vaccarellos vision for YSL. They will be followed on Monday by an updating of the YSL website and Instagram account, which somewhat controversially got wiped clean of its Slimane content after the designers departure. The rollout will culminate in October with Mr. Vaccarellos first Saint Laurent womens wear show in Paris. At which point everyone may have become so used to Mr. Vaccarellos messaging they will have forgotten Mr. Slimanes version (fashion memories are pretty short), and whatever shape the new collection takes, it may have less the shock of a freezing plunge in a pool than the pleasant embrace of a warm bath. There are currently a lot of complaints going around about how social media is to blame for consumer product saturation/boredom, but when it comes to getting people inured to a brands new identity, it does have its uses. As the Zika virus swept north from Brazil into the Caribbean, bringing with it frightening risks for pregnant women and their unborn children, United States health officials decided in February that all expectant women who had visited the countries affected should be tested for the disease. But after the guidelines were put in place, public health officials and doctors in New York City found that large numbers of women, many uninsured or low-income immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, were not being screened and tested in a systematic way. The problems facing the citys health care providers in ensuring that all of those who need testing can get it illustrates the monumental challenges involved in reaching those considered most at risk. And as summer approaches, the reach of mosquitoes that carry the virus is expected to extend to Florida and other states along the Gulf of Mexico. The exact number of people missed is not known, because nobody really keeps data on how many women who traveled to a Zika area should be tested, said Dr. Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. To the Editor: Kudos to The Times for covering the battle to protect family farm agriculture in North Dakota (North Dakotans Reconsider a Core Value, news article, June 13). At the root of this issue is not nostalgia but the future. Its about how were going to protect our soil and water, our citizens and our communities. Not mentioned in the article are the horrors of industrial agriculture that occur when laws like North Dakotas ban on corporate farming are loosened: How in Missouri, a Chinese company came to own 42,000 acres of prime farmland, with 200,000 additional acres in their sights; how in North Carolina, the $3 billion corporate-owned pork industry disproportionately affects the poorest residents, particularly minority communities that face environmental damage and lax government oversight. As Willie Nelson, the founder of Farm Aid, wrote in an Op-Ed essay that ran locally in North Dakota: Citizens are told that their long-held values are getting in the way of progress, or that the family farm is obsolete. But the truth is just the opposite: Corporate farming is destroying our present; the family farm is our future. On Tuesday, North Dakotans led the way for us all by voting with their values and rejecting corporate farming. New loan will be spent on PR of Serzh Sargsyan and Hovik Abrahamyan - lawmaker (video) The Armenian legislature discussed on Friday a number of legislative measures and agreements. One of them was a loan agreement signed between the Republic of Armenia and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in May, 2016. Under the document, the EBRD is providing assistance to the city of Gyumri in Armenia in rehabilitation of major streets and modernization of public lighting in Gyumri. A sovereign loan of up to EUR 14.6 million will be allocated to Armenia for the benefit of Gyumri through the on-granting arrangement. The parliamentary factions of the Country of Law Party (OEK) and Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) supported the measure saying they agree to initiatives concerning Gyumri. The measure received 102 votes in favor, 4 against and 2 abstentions. The National Assembly also passed the amendments to the RA Laws on Personal Data Protection and Administrative Territorial Division. The legislature also discussed an agreement with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) signed on May 12 2016, under which the IBRD will provide Armenia a US$30 million loan of variable spread with a 14.5-year grace period and the total repayment term of 25 years. The US$30 million loan for the Power Sector Financial Recovery Program-for-Results for Armenia was approved in April 2016. This project will support the Government's efforts to maintain adequate and reliable electricity supply by improving the financial condition and governance of the state-owned power generation companies and the private power distribution company. During the discussion, BHK lawmaker Mikael Melkumyan said judging from what they had heard he could say that the state was assuming the criminal management of the neclear power plant. The plant's deputy director was accused of extorting $ 20 million. You cannot always justify criminals and shift the burden on citizens. BHK will vote against the bill, said Naira Zohrabyan, head of the BHK faction in the Armenian parliament. Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan added in turn, Are going to take a new loan in order to organize the PR of Serzh Sargsyan and Hovik Abrahamyan? The agreement received 70 votes in favour and 32 votes against. To the Editor: Ban Ki-moons Thankless Position (editorial, June 11) says the secretary general had no real choice but to capitulate to Saudi Arabias demands that he remove the Saudi-led coalition from his list of shame for killing and maiming children and attacking schools and hospitals in Yemen. Saudi Arabia reprehensibly threatened to cut off funding for United Nations programs, putting Mr. Ban in a terrible position. But he had a choice, and it will have long-term consequences. By caving in to Saudi Arabias blackmail, Mr. Ban sends a message that other countries can use improper pressure to escape accountability for their abuses. Its not just a few funds and programs that will suffer, but the United Nations legitimacy and broader civilian protection agenda. JO BECKER Childrens Rights Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch New York MUMBAI, India When 2-year-old Rutuja playfully tipped over a bottle, spilling water onto the mud floor of the familys shack, her mother, Nageshwari Rathore, let loose a screech, lunging forward as though to slap the toddler. Ms. Rathore stopped herself, sinking her head into her hands. You finished it, she whispered. The loss wrenched at the 25-year-old. That June morning she had stood in line in the scorching heat for over an hour to collect five liters of water. A government tanker rolls up once a day to the abandoned field where she now lives. Located in Ghatkopar, a Mumbai suburb, the field functions as a relief camp for 350 families who have left their villages in rural Maharashtra because of a drought, the worst in 100 years. Wild pigs root through the open sewer that runs alongside the Rathores tarpaulin shack. When the monsoon arrives, possibly in the next few days, it will flood the camp and force the family out. Over 330 million Indians about one quarter of the countrys population have been affected by the drought. In this western state, where over half the population is dependent on the rural economy, the effects are severe. An average of nearly nine farmers committed suicide every day last year, primarily over debt related to crop failure. A new experimental airplane being built by NASA could help push electric-powered aviation from a technical curiosity and pipe dream into something that might become commercially viable for small aircraft. At a conference on Friday of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Washington, Charles F. Bolden Jr., the NASA administrator, announced plans for an all-electric airplane designated as X-57, part of the agencys efforts to make aviation more efficient and less of a polluter. The X-57 will take the first giant step in opening a new era of aviation, Mr. Bolden declared. The steps taken by NASA will not translate into all-electric cross-country jetliners. But the agency hopes the technology can be incorporated into smaller, general aviation and commuter aircraft some years from now. The X-57 will look more like a Cessna, unlike some of NASAs earlier sleek, futuristic X-planes. Its cruising speed might hit 175 miles per hour. Its wings, however, will be unique far skinnier than usual and embedded with 14 motors. In case you think marijuana hasnt gone mainstream: Microsoft is now weed- compliant. As Nathaniel Popper writes, the company better known for instigating a mind-expanding number of PowerPoint presentations has thrown in with a Los Angeles start-up to offer software that helps governments monitor sales and commerce in states where pot is sold legally. Its a sensible move, considering how widespread the legal marijuana industry has become in the past few years and how rapidly it is growing. This fall, five states will vote on legalizing marijuana to one degree or another. The largest vote is in California, where pot is already allowed for a wide range of medical complaints. Marijuana legalization follows an interesting and little-noted curve in Americas relationship with vice: Major recessions, which lower tax revenue, tend to create the legalization (and heavy taxation) of commonplace illicit practices. The Great Depression brought back drinking. State lotteries became widely popular in the long downturns of the 1970s. The recession of 2008 seems to have lit a million legal joints. Who knows what well get with the economic shock that doubtless lies a few decades hence. Of course, legal marijuana is very much a vice of its time, too, with high-tech features. Even before Novembers vote on fully legalizing marijuana in California, there are meet-ups for budding (forgive me) marijuana start-ups involved in branding, delivery systems and cookbooks. A site called Cannabis Reports says it tracks the genetic characteristics of over 9,000 varieties. Industry conferences are frequent, even before there is an industry. On Thursday, Britain votes on whether to leave the European Union. Two of The Upshots financial reporters, Neil Irwin and Peter Eavis, discussed the potential consequences of what is being called Brexit. Peter: Neil, so summers coming and that usually means a crisis brewing in Europe. Of course, right now thats the Brexit vote. Do you think the markets have priced in a vote to leave? And how is Brexit different from Greece crashing out of the euro, the crisis of last year? Neil: Greetings to The Upshots resident Brit, from an American who just likes going to pubs. The funny thing about Brexit and markets is the gap between the polling evidence, which has decisively swung in the last couple of weeks toward Britain leaving the E.U., and the comparative equanimity of financial markets. Yes, the pound is down since late May, from around $1.47 to $1.42. British stocks are down. British government bond yields are down substantially as well, though that could cut either way in what its telling us. But none of this is panic-alarm type of activity in financial markets of the sort we saw surrounding the more intense phases of the Greek crisis. The way I see it, there are two possibilities: Either markets think British voters will come to their senses by Election Day and the polling should be ignored, or investors just think the financial and economic ripples of a leave vote are overstated. But Im not sure which theory I place more weight on. Peter: Lets take up your second option that investors think Brexit possible but do not fear a broad impact in the global economy and in the markets. I can see a scenario in which that stance makes sense. Its in the interests of the E.U. and Britain to work out a smooth transition. Leaders would make soothing remarks and central banks would ease policy to offset economic weakness and turmoil in the markets. The storm would pass. But there are gloomier scenarios. The shock of Brexit could reinforce deflationary forces in Europe, which the European Central Bank has struggled to overcome. Over time, Brexit might stoke the popularity of movements in other countries that want to leave the European Union. The prospect of, say, the Netherlands, a member of the euro, voting to leave would be very bearish. CHARLESTON, S.C. A year after nine members of a historic black church were killed here, politicians and pastors joined with congregations from around the region on Friday to mark the occasion with prayers, tambourines and clapping hands, but also with impassioned, almost desperate calls for action in the face of unceasing gun violence. A memorial service at the TD Arena on Friday morning mourned the victims and evoked the glory of God dozens of times to shouts of Amen from the crowd. But it was the demand for greater restrictions on the nations guns that drew the loudest applause from the mostly black audience. Words alone, no matter how sincere or well intended, cannot be substituted for sustained and meaningful action, Mayor John Tecklenburg said at the event. Cant we at least remove the availability of assault weapons from those who have broken the law? Those who have mental issues? Cant we at least complete reasonable background checks? The ceremony played out against the vitriol and division of the presidential election and came less than a week after yet another atrocity, the massacre of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Fla. Like the shooting in Charleston and the many before it, that attack has renewed debate over the nations gun laws, which remain a point of fierce contention even here, where grief over the killings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is still raw. Now in this world, theres no gatekeeper, he said. Facebook moderators take videos down if they glorify violence, but allows them to remain if they appear to be trying to raise awareness. In some cases, as in the video of Mr. Perkins, Facebook adds a disclaimer: Warning Graphic Video. Videos that contain graphic content can shock, offend and upset. Are you sure you want to see this? Whether for advocacy or for mere voyeurism, the video of Mr. Perkins has been shared thousands of times on social media. Though relatively infrequent, the list of gruesome violence accidentally captured through live streaming is growing. In March, a video appeared to show a Chicago man capturing his own shooting on Facebook Live. His selfie-mode video was interrupted by the sound of gunshots, the camera appeared to fall to the ground, and a gunman appeared to step over the camera and fire more shots. The Chicago police said they suspected the video was linked to a shooting in the South Side, but have not confirmed it. The city has been besieged by gun violence, as documented by New York Times journalists over Memorial Day weekend. An Ohio teenager, Marina Lonina, 18, was accused in April of streaming a video of her friends rape on Periscope. She pleaded not guilty to a litany of charges as severe as the rape suspects. Ms. Lonina told the police that she had filmed the encounter to gather evidence. She was swept up by the gravity of the situation, her lawyer, Sam Shamansky, said in April. And as she immediately told the police, she was filming in order to preserve, not to embarrass or to shame or to titillate anybody. BALTIMORE In opening the states case against Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the driver of the police van in which Freddie Gray suffered the spinal cord injury that killed him, the prosecutor uttered two crucial words: Rough ride. Officer Goodson, the prosecutor said, intended to bounce Mr. Gray, a black man, around in the van that morning. Officer Goodson, who is also black, is facing the toughest charge second-degree depraved heart murder of the six officers accused in Mr. Grays death. And legal experts say the prosecutions chances of a conviction on that count hinge in large part on being able to prove that Officer Goodson intentionally, and with disregard for Mr. Grays life, drove him dangerously. The defense rested its case Friday, and closing arguments are set for Monday. But just before the state rested its case earlier this week, a crucial prosecution witness said he could not say whether a rough ride had occurred another indication of just how difficult the prosecutions case may be. CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. First came the grimaces the disbelieving eyes trained upon his shirt, his signs, his car window stickers broadcasting a local betrayal. Then his teenage son refused to drive the family car without redecorating, hiding the three Make America Great Again hats that usually sit atop the dashboard. And there are deeper indignities still more piercing than any parking lot glowering or dinner table slight when John Nadler feels the full weight of his status as Americas loneliest supporter of Donald J. Trump: Acquaintances in the hometown Mr. Nadler has known for nearly three decades will not look him in the eye. People Ive known for years, Mr. Nadler, 63, said. Just nod or wink or something. Anything. Across the country, every election introduces a measure of neighborly strain. Allegiances splinter. Eyes roll. Conversations curdle. Donald J. Trump is heading west this weekend for rallies in Las Vegas and Phoenix and a fund-raiser at Barry Goldwaters old estate, known as Be-nun-i-kin, Navajo for house on top of the hill. But it was the prospect of Mr. Trumps gathering with members of the Navajo Nation that was creating the most intrigue around the trip of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Navajo leaders had extended an invitation to Mr. Trump, as they have to other candidates, to meet with them, despite objections from a number of members over his repeated use of the name Pocahontas to deride Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. On Friday, Navajo officials said the meeting was not going to happen during Mr. Trumps trip. Nevertheless, Mr. Trumps words have stirred a debate among Native Americans about how they should deal with him. For many, his mention of the historical figure is offensive and a sign that Mr. Trump, who has been accused of being anti-immigrant, also has problems with the people who first inhabited the country. 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 Donald J. Trump rarely, if ever, acknowledges he might be losing at anything. He expressed bewilderment at a poll during the primary race that showed him behind in the Iowa caucuses. He often invokes unscientific polls as examples of his strength, and mentions surveys that have questionable methodology. So it was surprising when Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on Thursday night that he is not beating Hillary Clinton in the most recent presidential polls. Im four down in one poll, three and a half in another that just came out, and I havent started yet, Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in a phone interview on Thursday night, a thought he volunteered as he dismissed concerns from Senate Republicans that he may be a drag on their candidacies in the fall. And I have tremendous Republican support, Mr. Trump said. Unfortunately they never talk about that, they talk about the few rebels. WASHINGTON With congressional leaders once again at a stalemate over how to respond to a mass shooting, the Senates most moderate Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, is developing a compromise measure that would prevent some terrorism suspects from purchasing weapons, while sidestepping partisan flash points that have doomed similar legislation in the past and threaten to do so again next week. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, has already scheduled votes for Monday on four proposals two sponsored by Republicans and two by Democrats but all four are expected to fail in a nearly identical replay of votes last December after the attack in San Bernardino, Calif. Thats what I am trying to avoid, Ms. Collins said in a brief interview riding the subway from the Capitol back to her office on Thursday evening. I dont want Groundhog Day here. I dont want us to go through the same thing we went through last year with no result. John Hickenlooper, the Democratic governor of Colorado whose name has been floated as a potential vice-presidential candidate for Hillary Clinton, strongly denounced Donald J. Trump for his response to the deadly attack in Orlando, Fla. We went through the same kind of thing, Mr. Hickenlooper said in an interview this week, recalling the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., in June 2012, in which 12 people were killed. He said that he was struck by Mr. Trumps instinct to turn the Orlando shootings of more than 100 people, nearly half of whom were killed, into an exercise in self-congratulation as opposed to one of empathy. His meanspirited response, and trying to seize the political opportunity, Mr. Hickenlooper said of Mr. Trump, was unfair to the injured victims and their family members. WASHINGTON Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is leaning heavily toward running for re-election to the seat he swore he was giving up after six often frustrating years and a failed presidential run, associates said on Friday, a reversal that would upend one of the most competitive races in the country. Mr. Rubio could make his decision public early next week after he spends the weekend with his family in Florida weighing the personal, political and financial considerations of another campaign. One adviser who described the senator as all in said Mr. Rubios staff members had already begun scouting a site for a possible announcement. The likelihood of a re-election bid seemed to grow on Friday when one of Mr. Rubios potential rivals, Representative David Jolly, suddenly dropped out of the race and said he would seek another term in the House instead. Earlier in the day, Mr. Jolly foreshadowed his move, telling CNN, Marco is saying hes getting in. Ever restless, strategic and ambitious and only 45 years old Mr. Rubio has spent the past few weeks discussing with his friends and colleagues the difficulties he would face maintaining his political profile if he left the Senate. He would like to run for the presidency again, either in 2020 or 2024, and is concerned that his opportunities would be far more limited if he were no longer in office. CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK, N.M. As his professional and parental duties approach a new phase, President Obama is taking a family vacation this weekend to the caverns here and to Yosemite National Park, echoing a similar trip he took seven years ago when his daughters were smaller and his hair not nearly so gray. The first family headed out a week after the Obamas elder daughter, Malia, 17, graduated from high school. Mr. Obama has said many times that Malias looming departure she has been accepted by Harvard but will take a gap year first is causing him great emotional turmoil, and during the graduation ceremony on June 10 he wept behind dark sunglasses. The family spent about two hours at Carlsbad Caverns on Friday before flying to California, where they will remain until the afternoon on Sunday, which is Fathers Day. Most of the weekend is devoted to family time. Donald J. Trumps supporters in Congress have struggled for weeks with a daily deluge of questions from reporters about the latest comments by the Republican Partys standard-bearer. But this week seemed to be a turning point. Instead of defending Mr. Trump, people like Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and a rumored vice-presidential contender, told reporters that he was disappointed with Mr. Trumps call for a sweeping ban on Muslim immigrants and for intensive profiling of Muslim citizens in the United States. Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and the No. 2 in Senate leadership, said, I just dont have enough time to provide running commentary for everything a candidate running for president says. Mr. Cornyn, citing scheduling, said he would not attend Mr. Trumps events in Texas on Thursday. Even Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California and the co-chairman of Mr. Trumps House Leadership Committee, sought some distance from him. I am not a surrogate, he told The Hill. A private school in Texas has been sued for more than $3 million by the family of a black girl who accused three white classmates of wrapping a rope around her neck and dragging her to the ground during a school trip leaving her with severe rope burns and a mark that looked like a necklace. Lawyers for the girl, who is identified in court papers filed on Monday only as K.P., said evidence suggested that race played a role in the episode, which occurred during an overnight outing in April by students from the Live Oak Classical School in Waco. The girl was 12 at the time. But while lawyers for the girl and the school agree that something happened to the student, they disagree about virtually everything else whether what occurred had been a deliberate act, the severity of her injuries, who was to blame and if race was a motivation. The girls mother, Sandy Rougely, said in an interview on Thursday that she thought her daughter was wearing a necklace when she first saw her after the trip. She said when she learned that the marks had been caused by a rope, that just tore me into pieces. AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA (JUNE 17, 2016) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) // (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, R.C. KODEKAR, SAYING: The court acknowledged that the 24 accused had assembled unlawfully and had come with an intention to kill people and they were punished for the same. Eleven persons were given life sentences and out of the remaining 13, 12 were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and one person was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. // SURAT, GUJARAT, INDIA (JUNE 17, 2016) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) // (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) WIFE OF CONGRESS PARTY LAWMAKER EHSAN JAFRI, WHO WAS HACKED TO DEATH AT GULBARG SOCIETY, ZAKIA JAFRI, SAYING: I will start preparing for a fresh case in the coming days. I will once again go to the court with my lawyers after consulting my son, and seek justice. I will ask the judiciary why it did this? // AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA (JUNE 17, 2016) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) // (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTIVIST TEESTA SETALVAD, WHO HAS BEEN HELPING THE FAMILIES OF THOSE KILLED IN GULBARG SOCIETY MASSACRE, SAYING: We are very disappointed in the lesser sentence. We had argued for exemplary life imprisonment for all the 24 accused. We had made a strong case that where sections like 436 and 149 are applied and they are part of a willfully armed mob that was on the attack from 9 am (0330GMT) right up to 5 pm (1130GMT), there is no reason for such leniency in sentence. // (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) WIFE OF AN ACCUSED SAYING: A person has been in prison for the last 14 years... what else should I say? I am sick of making rounds of courts. My husband was not even present at the spot and still he was named as an accused. Theres not much need in Flushing, one of the epicenters of a thriving Chinese emigre community that is making New York what Paris was to White Russians in the 1920s, with all the intrigue. Some of that intrigue centers on Mr. Ho, as scholars and publishers wonder how he manages to walk a fine line between Chinas contentious interest groups. Unlike his competition, Ho Pin has an impressive track record of accurately forecasting leadership successions and breaking important stories, said Prof. Minxin Pei, who studies Chinese elite politics at Claremont McKenna College in California. The only concern I have is whether he is being used by his sources inside the Chinese regime. If he is, he could get into serious trouble because the rivals of his sources must not be very happy about what he has been doing. Bao Pu, the publisher of New Century Press in Hong Kong, said Mr. Ho had a mixed record. Although he has had spectacular scoops and published an authoritative biography of Zhou Enlai, the first prime minister of the Peoples Republic of China, his company has also published its share of salacious works. Those books made money, enticing other publishers to follow suit and hurting the reputation of Hong Kongs media and publishing industry, Mr. Bao said. Im not sure whether they contributed to freedom of speech or if they spoiled it, Mr. Bao said of Mirror. But if Mr. Ho is an agent of his sources, it is hard to tell who they may be. On the one hand, he can be complimentary of Chinas politicians, saying, for example, that Mr. Xi still has the chance to become a great leader. He is also highly critical of people who say Hong Kongs civil liberties are in grave danger from Beijing, arguing that many people in the former British colony exaggerate the threat. The greatest danger to liberty in Hong Kong lies with the tendency of Hong Kongs media toward self-censorship, he says. Mirrors flagship bookstore in Hong Kong, up one floor from a busy city street, is still in business, unlike so many of its competitors, which are falling victim to a relentless long-term campaign by the Communist Party to stifle the supply of and demand for publications critical of the countrys leadership. DHAKA, Bangladesh The Bangladeshi police on Friday ended a week of mass arrests in response to the three-year campaign of killings by Islamist militants, saying that among the more than 11,000 people detained in the sweeps, 194 were believed to be linked to militant networks. The arrests came under sharp criticism from human rights activists and opposition leaders in Bangladesh, who said the authorities hoped mainly to show the public they were taking vigorous action to stop the killing. The police, they said, often round up men without providing evidence of wrongdoing or due process. A Bangladeshi Nationalist Party leader said more than 2,700 people were detained because they were critics of the government. The government is responsible for identifying the real militants and arresting them, said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, the partys senior joint secretary general. Now, they are arresting a large number of B.N.P. leaders, activists and supporters to hide their failure. The sweeps reflect pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities to respond to the broad-daylight killings of bloggers, academics and other secularist voices. We should be ready for more extensive operations by Azerbaijan - Zaruhi Postanjyan (video) We should not pin great hopes on the upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents, says Heritage party member Zaruhi Postanjyan. Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Moscow in April. An agreement on ceasefire was reached during the meeting which put an end to the 4-day clashes in Karabakh. But the representatives of the Atsakh Republic did not participate in the meeting, she said. Zaruhi Postanjyan says we need not expect anything positive from the heads of three authoritarian regimes - Putin, Aliyev and Sargsyan will meet in the near future. Rather, we should be ready for the next stage of more extensive operations by Azerbaijan. The lawmaker says the settlement of the Karabakh conflict based on the Madrid Principles within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group format does not stem from the interests of Armenia. It suggests irreversible losses for us. The so-called Madrid Principles, that include non-use of force, were violated by the April war. Hence, the talks based on these Principles will be used as betrayal. The authorities of Armenia have, in fact, betrayed our nation, she said. The opposition lawmaker does not agree with the claims that Armenia would suffer more losses if it tried to return the territories lost in the four-day war. We had some many victims as a result of poor policy and betrayal. Many of our soldiers were killed on the first day of the clashes because they did not receive an order to protect themselves. That led to the consequent loss of territories, she said. BEIJING Two longtime members of Chinas beleaguered democratic opposition each received prison sentences of over a decade on Friday after being pronounced guilty of subversion by a court in Hangzhou, an eastern city that will host a gathering of world leaders later this year. The court gave a sentence of 11 years to Lu Gengsong after declaring him guilty of subversion for publishing pro-democracy essays on overseas websites and promoting the banned China Democratic Party, and it handed down a sentence of 10 and a half years to Chen Shuqing, another supporter of the party, for the same charges, said Fu Yonggang, a lawyer for Mr. Chen. Mr. Fu said that Mr. Lus main defense lawyer could not be in court for the verdict because of another trial. Chen Shuqing didnt say much after the verdict, Mr. Fu said by telephone from Hangzhou. But before the verdict hearing, he said that hed appeal if he was found guilty, no matter how short or long the sentence was. BEIJING The Chinese police have detained three more people in a widening investigation into the creation and distribution of liquor bottles that bore the image of a lone man blocking a line of tanks, a reference to a figure of resistance to the deadly 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy movement, according to a friend of the detainees and the wife of one. Images of the bottles with a label showing an altered Tank Man, this time sitting on the ground apparently looking at a computer, began circulating on WeChat in May, shortly before the 27th anniversary of the June 4 killings, according to a friend of the detainees. The three a poet, a freelance advertising designer and a former driver all lived in the southwestern city of Chengdu. The friend, who communicated by online message, asked not to be named for fear that he also would be detained. The liquor was called Eight Liquor Six Four, a play on the Chinese name for the crackdown, based on the dates numbers: 89.6.4. (In Mandarin, the word for liquor, jiu, is a homophone for nine.) HONG KONG When a book publisher disappeared off the streets of Hong Kong in December, only to show up in the custody of the police in China a few days later, residents from across the political spectrum voiced alarm that the safeguards protecting this citys 7.2 million people from Beijings harsh and arbitrary legal system were under grave threat. Months passed. The case of what eventually became five missing booksellers all affiliated with the same company, which specialized in publishing and selling rumor-filled tales of political intrigue among Chinas leadership, faded from the headlines. Three of the men returned to Hong Kong, making implausible statements about having voluntarily cooperated with the police on the mainland. Only one remains in custody. But on Thursday night, a dramatic news conference held by the fifth bookseller, Lam Wing-kee, brought the story front and center again in Hong Kong conversations. Mr. Lams account of how he was grabbed at a border crossing, handcuffed, blindfolded, taken hundreds of miles away by train, put in solitary confinement and forced to confess to an act selling books that is not a crime in his native Hong Kong renewed fears that harsh Chinese justice, or lawlessness, is seeping into a metropolis steeped in the British legal tradition, right down to the white wigs worn by court officials. HONG KONG An American man who had been convicted of growing marijuana in Taiwan killed himself in a courtroom after he was sentenced to a four-year prison term, according to court officials. The man, Tyrel Martin Marhanka, 41, slashed his throat with a pair of scissors on Thursday, the Changhua District Court said in a written statement. He was rushed to a hospital but could not be saved. He had been convicted of growing marijuana at his home in Changhua, in central Taiwan, and of importing marijuana and opium poppy seeds. A prison term of up to seven years was possible, but the court gave him the lesser sentence because he had not sold marijuana and was growing it for his own use. When a court interpreter told Mr. Marhanka the sentence, he replied, Four years? The Taipei Times reported, quoting witnesses. He said he did not want to appeal. A British exit, known as Brexit, would most likely stoke renewed pressure in Scotland for independence from Britain an idea rejected in a 2014 referendum but one that has not gone away. A vote to leave the bloc would also put Northern Ireland on the external frontier of the European Union. And it would present challenges to the formal and informal integration of North and South that has accelerated in the wake of the complex 1998 peace agreement that defused the long sectarian conflict between pro-British Protestants and pro-Irish Catholics in the North. In doing so, it could risk reversing a process during which, in the words of Mary McAleese, a former Irish president, customs and border controls have melted away. While Northern Ireland is unlikely to opt for new constitutional arrangements with the British government in London and the Irish government in Dublin anytime soon, were it to feel the cold winds of a serious economic downturn after a British divorce from Europe, there might be a new political dynamic there, she added. Even a vote to remain could have constitutional implications if Scottish and Northern Irish votes swung a close result in favor of staying, antagonizing English supporters of leaving. GENEVA Doctors Without Borders, one of Europes biggest charities, said Friday that it was turning its back on millions of dollars from the European Union to protest the blocs policies on refugees and migrants. We will no longer take funds from the E.U. and its member states in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people back from European shores, the charity said in a statement. It has sharply criticized the agreement between the European Union and Turkey that will provide more than $6 billion to Turkey in return for stopping the flow of refugees to Europe and taking back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea to Greece. That deal, the charity said, made aid to Turkey contingent on tighter border controls, not on the basis of humanitarian need. Wakefield - 16 June 2016 // SOUNDBITE (English) Dee Collins, Temporary Chief Constable at West Yorkshire police: Jo (Cox) was attacked by a man who inflicted serious and, sadly, ultimately fatal injuries. Subsequently, there was a further attack on a 77-year-old man nearby who has sustained injuries that are non-life threatening. // SOUNDBITE (English) Dee Collins, Temporary Chief Constable at West Yorkshire police: Shortly afterwards, a man was arrested nearby by local, uniformed police officers. Weapons, including a firearm have also been recovered. // SOUNDBITE (English) Dee Collins, Temporary Chief Constable at West Yorkshire police: At 1.48pm (1248 GMT) Jo Cox was pronounced deceased by a doctor who was working with a paramedic crew that were attending to her serious injuries. This is a very significant investigation with a large numbers of witnesses that are being spoken to by police at this time. There is a large and significant crime scene and there is a large police presence in the area. A full investigation is under way to establish the motive of this attack. // SOUNDBITE (English) Dee Collins, Temporary Chief Constable at West Yorkshire police: Our working presumption is indeed that this is a lone incident. The indications through our professional experience are suggesting that. We have got high visibility patrols now in the areas in terms of making sure that the local community feel reassured. And obviously weve also been making sure that key individuals within our localities are also being briefed. So, we are doing our very best to reassure everybody. I think the most important fact here at the moment is that we do have one male under arrest. DETMOLD, Germany In many ways, it is fitting that Germanys last trial of a former SS guard at Auschwitz played out far from the spotlight, in this pretty provincial town of 70,000. It was from places like these a rural corner of North Rhine-Westphalia, modern Germanys most populous state that the Nazis formed their bedrock, the millions of men and women who signed up to Hitlers apparently triumphant cause and with little questioning executed its murderous maxims. They were people like Reinhold Hanning, 94, who on Friday was sentenced to five years as an accessory to at least 170,000 deaths during his time as an SS guard at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, from January 1943 to mid-1944. After World War II, Mr. Hanning was in British custody, and he was released in 1948 to live out his life in his hometown, Lage, six miles from Detmold. He said he never spoke about Auschwitz to anyone, not even to his wife, two sons and grandchildren. MADRID A baby born to Syrian refugee parents in Jordan last year has received approval to go to Spain to undergo emergency facial surgery, the familys lawyers said Friday. The baby girl, Sham Aldaher, was born last July without an eye and with a severely disfigured face. A Barcelona childrens hospital offered in March to perform the complex surgery required to repair her disfigurement, but bureaucratic hurdles have kept her from traveling to Spain. Spains interior minister, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, said the government decided to grant a travel visa on Thursday, shortly after The New York Times published an article about the babys plight. Speaking in Barcelona on Thursday, the minister told Efe, the Spanish news agency, that Shams family was expected to stay in Spain only for the babys treatment at Sant Joan de Deu hospital in Barcelona. In the aftermath of Russias annexation of Crimea in March 2014, and the Kremlins support for insurgents in Eastern Ukraine, the European Union and the United States imposed wide-ranging economic penalties against Russia. Image Prime Minister Volodymyr B. Groysman of Ukraine earlier this month. Credit... Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters European officials on Friday extended sanctions on doing business in Crimea, and are scheduled to consider next week whether to extend broader sanctions. But some European officials appear keen for a thaw with Russia. If our relationship today is troubled and marked by mistrust, it is not broken beyond repair, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, said Thursday on a visit to St. Petersburg. We need to mend it, and I believe we can. On that, the Ukrainian prime minister was adamant. He said it was imperative to maintain the strictest penalties, and he repeatedly referred to Russia as an aggressor that threatens the security and sovereignty of other countries. Countries that support the removal of sanctions will turn into the aggressors accomplices, he said. NKR Foreign Minister pays working visit to the Kingdom of Denmark On June 16, the working visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan to the Kingdom of Denmark started. In the framework of the visit, the Foreign Minister had meetings with representatives of various political circles, at which the current situation in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement was touched upon, in particular, in the context of the military venture unleashed by Azerbaijan in early April. The sides exchanged views on a range of issues related to the regional security. The Foreign Minister also briefed the participants about the state building process in Artsakh, as well as the steps taken by the people and authorities of Artsakh towards the establishment of a free and democratic society. On the same day, Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan participated in the reception organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Denmark on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. RA Ambassador to Denmark Hrachya Aghajanyan delivered a welcoming speech, attaching great importance to the first ever event dedicated to Artsakh in friendly Denmark. The Ambassador noted that Artsakh's independence was based on the unshakeable aspiration of Armenians to achieve freedom, manage their own lives without oppression and preserve their centuries-old culture and identity. In his speech, Minister Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the way passed by the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, noting that Artsakhs achievements would be impossible without the continuous support by Armenia and the Diaspora. He stressed that not only our compatriots, but also many people around the world, including in Denmark, were standing by Artsakh, sharing with its people the same values and ideas based on the imperatives of democratic freedoms and the realization of peoples' right to self-determination. Karen Mirzoyan expressed confidence that the achievements of the people of Artsakh on their path to independent state building didn't go unnoticed, and sooner or later, Artsakh would become a full member of the civilized world. He urged to work for the vision of peaceful and stable South Caucasus region, which would ensure the security and peaceful coexistence of all the peoples of the region. Vox Viva male choir, which gave a concert in the NKR in 2015, participated in the reception. The choir performed works by Armenian and Danish composers. After the performance, the choir's artistic director Mette Rimer shared his impressions of the trip to Artsakh, expressed gratitude for the cordial reception, and noted that he looked forward to the opportunity of hosting Artsakhs choir in Denmark. The reception was attended by diplomats, political and public figures, representatives of the expert community, journalists, and members of the Armenian community of Denmark. CAIRO The flight data recorder from EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed in the Mediterranean last month, has been recovered, Egyptian investigators said on Friday, one day after announcing that the cockpit voice recorder had been found. The crew of the John Lethbridge, a research vessel involved in the search, found the wreckage of the plane, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. The vessel equipment managed to pick up the memory unit, which is considered as the most important part of the above-mentioned recorder, the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said. It added that investigators had been notified, and that the two data recorders would be transferred in Alexandria, Egypt, to the committee to carry out analysis and unload the voice conversations. BAGHDAD Iraqi forces quickly entered central areas of Falluja on Friday after weeks of battling the Islamic State, fighting that had forced thousands of civilians to flee and overwhelmed the ability of aid agencies to care for them. Reporting little resistance from Islamic State fighters, counterterrorism forces raised the Iraqi flag over the main government building in central Falluja, officers and state television reports said. They said that pro-government forces moved on to besiege the citys main hospital, which was the first target of American forces when they invaded the city in 2004 and in recent months has served as a headquarters complex for the Islamic State. The rapid and unexpected gains suggested a shift in tactics by the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, or perhaps a sign of their weakness, as they abandoned their dug-in positions and regrouped in western neighborhoods of Falluja. That allowed thousands of civilians, who aid groups had said were being held as human shields, to flee across two bridges over the Euphrates River beginning on Thursday. For her daughter, whose film career grew out of the East Village 1970s punk era, her mothers demons and eventual breakthrough from the chrysalis of depression are the underpinnings of her moving new documentary, Call Her Applebroog, at the Metrograph theater through Thursday, June 23 (a schedule is at callherapplebroog.com). Fifteen years in the making, the film is an intimate portrait of a formidable artist who continues to innovate at 86, in fuzzy slippers at her SoHo studio. But perhaps more than anything, it is the story of a mother and a daughter exploring the tumultuous years of their shared past. Its very difficult to see a film about yourself plus, by a daughter, Ms. Applebroog said on a recent morning, wigs from one of her digital art projects poking out from the bookshelves. I was positive it would be something that Beth would put out after Im gone. It never occurred to me shed say, Oh, I finished the film. For Beth the B is a homage to B-movies the process has finally brought an appreciation for her own difficult history. I think I spent a lot of my childhood protecting my mother, she said, sitting in a white room at the School of Visual Arts, where she teaches. The backdrop set off her vivid blue hair. The pair share many of the same preoccupations, almost telepathically. But Beth B had not seen the Mercy Hospital drawings until they looked at them together before the camera. What a profound treasure, she said. It was like seeing the shell of who my mother was when I was 13, then looking at her today as this powerful, strong artist. On his arrival in Canada in 1693, Charles Duquet (a murdering, thieving, indentured boor) stares at the green gloom around him and is informed: It is the forest of the world. It is infinite. He runs away and goes into business. Around 1700 we find him in China, asking a local trader: How far back can a forest withdraw before it replenishes itself? The equivocal answer: People must eat or they die. They need fuel to cook rice. They must keep warm. So trees fall. Returning to his original Canadian landing, he finds that the landscape had been corrupted. . . . For a moment he was frightened; if miles of forest could be removed so quickly by a few men with axes, was the forest then as vulnerable as beaver? No. . . . These forests could not disappear. In New France they were vast and eternal. And as Kurt Vonnegut would have said, so it goes, right up to 20th-century Brazil, about which a Duquet descendant assures himself: The rain forest is so large and rich it defeats all who try to conquer it. Schmoozing, risking and trading, Duquet becomes what we might now call a multinational. In an Amsterdam coffeehouse he meets an Englishman who had intimate business dealings with the newly appointed New England royal mast contractor. So Duquet learns the art of procuring ownership of great white pine tracts by purchasing old township grants. He trades secretly with Scotland, Anglicizes his name to Duke, and by the time he meets his fate, the firm of Duke & Sons has become a perpetual motion machine, hacking and selling. Accompanying Duquet at the novels opening is another servant named Rene Sel, who does not run away. In order to wed a wealthy Frenchwoman, the master discards his Micmac concubine, whom he marries to Sel. From their union springs the novels other narrative thread. The mostly Euro-American Dukes sell lumber on an ever vaster scale, while the metis Sels struggle between subsistence in a blighted indigenous culture and badly compensated piecework in lumber extraction. They all knew that river work was the most dangerous. . . . That was why the boss gave the water work to the Indians. The chronicled generations come and go, fattening on dead trees, enacting and re-enacting the tragedy of the commons, whose addictive me-first arithmetic prevents most but not all of them from considering that someday the bottom must fall out for everybody. Annie Proulx is on the side of the angels. We need more writers like her to hammer home the message that we had better stop mistreating one another and our planet. Unfortunately, hammering is just what she does, as when she annotates a senators remark that the Constitution was made by whites for whites. (After all, she inserts, who else was there? Ha, ha.) The whole novel suffers such two-dimensionality, as in one episode from the 1750s, when a Duke descendant complains about thievish competitors who logged his acres, then knocks out his pipe, which starts a fire. In Boston the next day Bernard saw the distant smoke and reckoned it was in Duke & Sons forestland; but fire could not be helped. Forests burned, according to Gods will. That this supposedly canny fellow could be so careless of his own profit is preposterous, but Proulx loses sight of this in her zeal to remind us who the wastrels are. Each day at school, Adrian runs a gantlet of threats and intimidation, weighted by anxiety and the books he carries to avoid his locker, where he risks ambush. But Adrian is equally at war with himself. Before Kobes assault, Adrian says dismissively, Not only is he the sole out gay kid I know of, but hes also so cliche gay its no wonder theres a huge freakin target on his back. Adrians fear and the ugly judgments he has internalized serve as uncomfortable reminders that in an era of increasing tolerance, being yourself can still get you killed. In such an environment, Adrians transformation into a hero we can root for is convincingly gradual, marked by welcome humor, flashes of slapstick and prayers to Obi-Wan the only deity Adrian trusts in a town where he is frequently reminded that God hates fags. He begins to embrace the idea of using his art for protest, risking exposure both as a gay teenager and as an artist in a world prone to snarky critique. It can be hard to parse the rules of Linns cloistered Texas jockocracy. Adrian shares space with a diverse cast of characters: his crush, Lev Cohen; the wrestling star Manuel Calderon; the drama kid Kobe Saito. But if there is tension between them and the ruling class of violently homophobic, tobacco-chewing Bubbas, we never see it. If Kobe has experienced persecution for being Japanese as well as gay, we dont hear of it, and aside from a passing reference to driving while black, race never seems to be an issue in need of attention. Implausibly, Adrian claims that though his friend Audrey was picked on in elementary school for being black, shed always go to the teachers and theyd take care of it. Beyond that, cultural and racial biases go missing, and that feels like a missed opportunity in a story about marginalization and visibility. But in its powerful visual components, Draw the Line pushes Adrians story into bold new territory. The art images from Graphites adventures, discarded sketches is appropriately inconsistent. It is the work of a maturing talent, occasionally awkward but showing flashes of thrilling brilliance (the final page is particularly beautiful). When Adrian experiences his first romantic relationship, we dont just read about two boys falling in love. We see it rendered on a full page two male bodies, costumed and entwined, mid-flight. It is sweeping, grand, unabashedly romantic and, in its effusive intensity, not entirely comfortable. It is first love, experienced and displayed without irony or emotional armor. Its a moment fit for a hero, and like Adrians journey, it is epic. East West Street To the Editor: In the impressive review of Philippe Sandss East West Street, by Bernard-Henri Levy (May 29), we read that Lemkin and Lauterpacht lived and studied in the city of Lviv, which does not reflect their true roots. Lviv, called Lemberg until 1918, is the current Ukrainized spelling of the former Polish city of Lwow, the great center of Polish culture between the two world wars. Rafal Lemkin was born in the township of Bezwodne in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire, and Sir Hersch Lauterpacht was born in the town of Zolkiew, in Lwow Voivodeship, formerly Lemberg. Thus both were Polish Jews and students of two leading Polish professors, Juliusz Makarewicz and Stanislaw Starzynski, at the law department of Lwow University. HENRY LOTHANE NEW YORK To the Editor: Bernard-Henri Levy contends that the idea of international justice has gradually gained a semblance of meaning, citing as proof the fact that the archcriminals of Cambodia, Sudan and Rwanda are indicted and sometimes even punished. But the difference between being indicted and being punished is all the difference in the world, as demonstrated by the case of Sudan, to which Levy refers. The Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was indicted in 2009 by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Darfur genocide. Yet for seven long years, the Obama administration has not taken a single concrete step to apprehend Bashir; in fact, the United States has not even criticized the governments of the numerous Arab and African countries to which Bashir has openly traveled, even though some of those regimes are major recipients of American aid. Levy concludes his review by noting that President Obama has read Samantha Powers book about the history of American responses to genocide, and he urges Obama to also read Philippe Sandss new book on the origin of the term genocide. The problem, however, is not that Obama has not read enough on the subject; it appears to be that he places a higher priority on avoiding a tiff with Bashirs backers the Arab League, Russia and China than he does on bringing a perpetrator of genocide to justice. The collection begins with Paul McAuleys Elves of Antarctica, about a helicopter pilot working for a huge industrial project intended to preserve Antarcticas western ice sheet. This is probably the most scientifically plausible story in the set. Its also one of the most didactic, explaining the altered world in a leisurely way that is perhaps meant to evoke the romantic haze Strahan mentions, though instead it just feels heavy-handed. A number of stories in the first half of the collection, like Ken Lius Dispatches From the Cradle: The Hermit Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts, fall into this territory: lovely yet disengaged travelogues of an environment in flux. This starts to change with Christopher Rowes Brownsville Station, the slightly surreal tale of a train that travels along the linear city edging the coast between Cancun and Key West. Thereafter the collection gets less plausible but more intriguing and immersive, as in Jeffrey Fords What Is, an omniscient-narrated tale of stubborn, damaged people fighting a hopeless battle for survival in drought-destroyed Oklahoma. Nalo Hopkinsons Inselberg features a mutant tour bus driver of a living bus ferrying entitled tourists through a terrifying and wondrous island landscape of sugar swamps and radioactive seas. By Catherynne M. Valentes closing tale, The Future Is Blue, readers are far off the path of thinly veiled environmentalist lecture and deep into the strangeness of a world utterly transformed. Here, at last, is the romanticism that Strahan seeks after a journey from science into the unknown that perhaps intentionally replicates the future to come. Altogether its haunting, heady stuff. Mira Grants hit Newsflesh trilogy was an astonishing take on the tired zombie apocalypse subgenre precisely because it was barely about the zombie apocalypse at all. It wore other hats: epidemiology thriller, genre-savvy black comedy and a fascinating exploration of the future of (not so) new media. Now the follow-up anthology RISE (Orbit, $25) covers the before and after of the novels, with several short stories set during the Rising, when the zombies first appeared, and others exploring the aftermath of Blackout, the trilogys conclusion. This is great for established readers, because it brings into sharp focus what is mostly elided in the core series. In How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea, an indirect sequel to the trilogy, readers are shown a different paradigm for survival in Australias environment-first response to the crisis. (The zombie kangaroos are a highlight.) Countdown introduces the personalities involved in the creation of the Kellis-Amberlee zombie virus, humanizing the researchers, the test cases and even the anti-establishment protesters who disastrously released the viral strains and thus initiated the apocalypse. All of this makes for a rich expansion on a beloved universe. However, roughly half of the collection is set during the Rising itself, and these weaken the whole. Instead of nuanced examinations of the politics of fear, stories like The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell and San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats are what Newsflesh wasnt: just zombie stories. Theyre exciting, horrifying. Theyre written with the same gripping attention to character and pace, and are just as darkly tongue-in-cheek as the novels (as a story about zombies versus San Diego Comic-Con cosplayers must be). Still, they lack the media analysis and complexity that made the trilogy so refreshing. New readers may come away thinking of this series as merely fun. They would do better to head straight for the trilogy, leaving the vast horde of longtime fans to devour Rise in the spirit its meant. THE MONEY CULT Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream By Chris Lehmann 403 pp. Melville House. $28.95. How can the most hedonistic consumer culture on the planet also be host to some of the most religious people in the world? Why hasnt the bureaucratic rationality of corporate capitalism erased the last vestiges of faith in God, especially in the United States, still the farthest outpost of modern-industrial society? Chris Lehmann, a co-editor of Bookforum, has the answers in The Money Cult. Hes up against Max Weber, who also had North America in mind when he wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber argued that pious Puritans somehow became secular Yankees, who learned to lock themselves into an iron cage of a disenchanted world: In the field of its highest development, in the United States, the pursuit of wealth, stripped of its religious and ethical meaning, tends to become associated with purely mundane passions, which often actually give it the character of sport. Lehmann demonstrates, contra Weber, that Protestantism at its extreme, out there on the European frontier called America, was a way of re-enchanting the world, not draining it of transcendent meanings and it still is, in the evangelical or Pentecostal forms of contemporary megachurches, where Joel Osteen, the prophet of the new millennial prosperity gospel, presides over an empire of God-blessed striving and self-help. The novel progresses in alternating chapters, moving from Zinaidas recollections of her intimacy with Chekhov to Katyas anxieties over the fates of her business and her marriage and Anas professional insecurities as an invisible translator rather than the more glamorous author. (It is worth noting that Anderson is herself a translator as well as a novelist.) The book blurs the line between firsthand experience and imagining worlds one cannot know, either because of blindness or the removals of time and geography, and renders authentic and memorable portraits of its three heroines. THE DARK LADYS MASK By Mary Sharratt 398 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26. Narrated by Aemilia Bassano Lanier, a cross-dressing poetess of Jewish descent living on the periphery of the court of Queen Elizabeth at the turn of the 17th century, Sharratts historical novel is not just a response to the enigmas surrounding Shakespeares sonnets but also an absorbing bildungsroman that grapples with strikingly contemporary issues of gender and religious identification, definitions and discrimination. Over the course of the novel, Aemilia at times dressing as a man crosses boundaries of geography, sex and faith on a path that leads her from her fathers household at the age of 7 to a refined education among Christian nobility to an ethically compromised stint as a courtesan, followed by an unwilling marriage. Later, she collaborates on some of Shakespeares most famous works as his lover, only to suffer a betrayal she cannot forgive. At every turn the reader grows increasingly attached to this sympathetic and admirable heroine, whose weaknesses make her all the more convincingly human. Sharratt nimbly traces the inspiration for such masterpieces as Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet alongside the timeline of Shakespeares journey with Aemilia, her influence carrying him from poverty to extramarital and literary bliss. Against all odds despite Wills disloyalty and the overwhelming oppression facing women in general Aemilias strength of character and resolve to earn her status prevail as she becomes the first Englishwoman to attempt, let alone achieve, even modest success as a published writer. THE HONEYMOON By Dinitia Smith 415 pp. Other Press, $26.95. Smiths fourth novel sketches the life of Marian Evans, who achieved celebrity during her lifetime publishing novels under the male pseudonym George Eliot, and was widely esteemed for her peerless breadth and depth of learning in subjects as diverse as philosophy, politics, literature and history. Smith imagines her biography as a series of formative relationships with men from her once idolized father and older brother to her complicated romantic entanglements with such literary lights as Charles Bray and George Henry Lewes. Everybody knows that chief executives receive bounteous pay as a matter of course. In 2015, for example, the median pay for a top corporate executive at 200 large American companies was $19.3 million. Less discernible, though, is who actually earned their pay the most by increasing the value of the companies they run by a commensurate amount. Such performers are not to be confused with executives who work to propel their companys stock price. This pursuit can have fleeting benefits and disastrous consequences, as Valeant International, the beleaguered drug company, has shown. One reason its so hard for shareholders to determine a chief executives value is that companies descriptions of their pay packages are complex. For example, the discussion of General Electrics compensation practices took up more than 20 pages of its 65-page proxy this year. Any investor who plows through these pay documents will recognize a common corporate theme: The amounts awarded to the chief executive are aligned with shareholders interests because the pay is grounded in the companys performance. Its what cities in the United States and Europe, pre-internet, once called cruising grounds areas that have for the most part become quaint artifacts of the gay past, replaced by hookup apps like Grindr, Jackd and Scruff. Havana is gay night life before Grindr. On an island of communists, gay Cubans were long Havanas have-nots, the last among equals. That began to change in 2008, when, after a gay rights speech by Mariela Castro Espin, the daughter of President Raul Castro, the capital staged its first gay pride parade, which has continued annually, less as a shirtless spectacle and more as a protest. Kingbar, which opened last year in the hip Vedado neighborhood, harks back to a time when American gay bars still had a bit of a renegade quality. Its like freedom of expression, said Manuel Subarez, 27, a sandwich maker at a cafe who is also a full-time Lena Dunham superfan. Its like we can do anything we want today, because we are gay, he said at this years parade, tugging proudly on his Keith Haring tank top. Homosexuality was legalized here in 1979, but a 1988 law prohibits a publicly manifested presence. The revolution continues, said Dr. Castro, 53, a sex educator, at the official post-parade festival as she held a rainbow placard of this years motto, Yo Me Incluyo (I Include Myself). Until there is equality and diversity for all Cubans in all aspects of our society. FLORENCE, Italy For his debut at Pitti Uomo, the twice-yearly mens wear trade fair that draws 1,222 brands and accounts for an overwhelming portion (some say as much as 80 percent) of the sales volume in this particular and expanding part of the fashion business, Matteo Martini dressed with fastidious care. He wore a pair of white summer jeans with rolled cuffs, a custom-tailored white button-down shirt from the Robert Friedman label, left untucked. Over it he wore a mid-gray super-lightweight wool blazer with a notched lapel. To accessorize, he selected a chunky Swatch wristwatch from a growing collection and a pair of royal blue Adidas trainers with yellow stripes. He styled his hair himself with a side part, lightly gelled. Tucked into his breast pocket, a pink-piped white pocket square signaled to an observer his assured sense of style and fashion. Unlike most of the 30,000 others who attended the fair, he came with his mother. Obviously, it could not be otherwise: Matteo is 6. We must keep print formats! was my first thought after savoring the articles and images in todays vertically-formatted magazine. Your reporters and their subjects expressed themselves with spot-on images and prose. The whole issue is a bewitching mix of history, aesthetics, human interest, engineering, architecture and the list goes on. Sometimes the topics with the most resonance are so much a part of our environment that they become invisible to our examination: New York City skyscrapers! Celia Carroll, Santa Monica, Calif. While respectful of the challenges of producing content for multiple platforms the print version of The Times and the digital one would hope that content would be readable in both. This weeks print version of the Sunday magazine is simply unreadable. Magazines are not meant to be read as if they were wall calendars, and some of the typefaces were illegible in print. The digital version of The Times provides much material that obviously cannot be included in the print version. But creating material for the digital platform should not render the print version unreadable. Harold Rosenthal, Delmar, N.Y. Halfway though The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refns new film about envy, duplicity and cannibalism on the Los Angeles fashion circuit, a smarmy designer forces a young man to judge two models. One of them, an icy product of plastic surgery, is manufactured, the designer says; the other, a 16-year-old waif (Elle Fanning) who transfixes everyone she meets, is an example of being born beautiful. Her boyfriend says that a persons insides are what really matter. If she wasnt beautiful, the designer retorts, you wouldnt have even stopped to look. Audiences may soon feel the same about The Neon Demon, which opens Friday, June 24. A jarring, visually arresting fairy tale about self-worth in the selfie age, its full of shocks that are delivered like razor blades hidden inside cotton candy. Mr. Refn wraps rape, necrophilia, literal blood baths and a disturbing appearance by Keanu Reeves around brightly colored, fluorescent sets. Audiences and critics at this years Cannes Film Festival were outraged. A critic for The Daily Mail called for the film to be banned in Britain. But Mr. Refn insisted that his funny movie is more than just a vessel for titillation. You dont get very far with being nice, Mr. Refn, 45, said in a phone interview from Milan. Creativity is meant to inflict opinions on you, or points of views, or leaving it up to you to make your own decisions, but its never meant to satisfy you. Mr. Refn, who is Danish but was raised in New York, has been drawn to extremes since his debut film, Pusher (1996), the first of a grim trilogy focusing on Copenhagens underworld. He attracted international attention with Bronson (2009), a comically brutal portrayal of Britains most famous prisoner, with Tom Hardy in the title role. And with Ryan Gosling in the lead role for Drive (2011), a hazy tribute to American car-chase films, Mr. Refn finally achieved commercial and critical success, winning the award for best director at Cannes. Mr. Refns name has at various times been attached to big-budget remakes, but his follow-up to Drive was widely panned: The garishly violent Only God Forgives (2013) featured Mr. Gosling as an impotent mamas boy and a foul-mouthed Kristin Scott Thomas as his cruel mother, facing off against a stoic Bangkok detective who sings karaoke when hes not mutilating victims with a sword. Q. I vaguely recall an old political story that compared Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Staten Island Ferry. Could you tell me how it goes? A. There are several versions of that story, but perhaps the most famous involves Hyman Schorenstein, a longtime Brooklyn Democratic district leader and the boss of Brownsville early last century. (A word about Mr. Schorenstein: After World War I, he helped keep Brownsvilles Jewish population firmly Democratic and away from the Socialists. For this he was put on the payroll as the countys register of deeds, Elliot Willensky wrote in When Brooklyn Was the World, 1920-1957, published in 1986. Mr. Schorenstein could neither read nor write, but a challenge to remove him on those grounds failed when a judge ruled that he had been doing a fine job.) A local Democratic candidate asked why he was getting no help with posters, lawn signs or anything else, when Mr. Schorenstein was plowing all the campaign money he controlled into the re-election of President Roosevelt, above. He explained it this way: Ah, youre worried? Listen. Did you ever go down to the wharf to see the Staten Island Ferry come in? You ever watch it, and look down in the water at all those chewing-gum wrappers, and the banana peels and the garbage? When the ferryboat comes into the wharf, automatically it pulls all the garbage in, too. The name of your ferryboat is Franklin D. Roosevelt stop worrying! That version came from Jews in American Politics, edited by L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, who got it from Theodore H. White. Other versions have Mr. Schorenstein telling it when he was supporting Roosevelt for governor in 1928; still others say Mayor Jimmy Walker told it to Mr. Schorenstein. The first time I went to Destination Bistro, I was with a girlfriend and we sat at the bar for dinner because a private event had taken over the dining room. We had a lovely time, chatting with everyone from the friendly bartender to other guests to a chef who came out of the kitchen to say hello. The next time I visited the Yorktown Heights restaurant, I was with family and we wanted to have a more intimate conversation. But every time we began to engage, a staff member came over. No fewer than six people, from a busboy to the owner himself, approached our table within minutes after our entrees came out to ask us if we liked the food. We had barely had a chance to taste it. Image The pork belly special entree. Credit... Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times It feels ungenerous to complain about too much attention, but theres a tyranny to the constant refrain, Is everything all right? Were very cognizant of keeping the mom-and-pop feel to our brewery, Ms. Vigliotti said. Across town from DuVigs 300-square-foot tasting room is the colossal Stony Creek Brewery. With a bocce court, an abundance of outdoor seating overlooking a tidal inlet off Branford Harbor and a 2,500-square-foot taproom (complete with a granite-faced fireplace), Stony Creek has become one of the areas most popular destinations since its opening in March 2015. We didnt realize how thirsty Connecticut was, said Ed Crowley Jr., company president. Stony Creek is doing its best to quench that thirst with 14 draft lines. Of its various ales and lagers, Belgian Big and Big Cranky weigh in at just under 10 percent alcohol. Youve got to make a few beers that are off-the-wall for a small but influential group of drinkers, said Mr. Crowley, who estimated that the brewery cost around $20 million to build. Stony Creek relies on the expertise of an in-house microbiologist to ensure its beers consistency. Veracious Brewing, in Monroe, takes a different approach with the dozen-plus beers it serves in an oak-paneled beer hall-like setting that abuts its brew house. We havent done one of those the same twice, Mark Szamatulski, the companys brewer and co-owner, said of his brews. Well keep tweaking them until theyre the best I can make. Such experimentation is to be expected from a man who, with his wife, has operated Maltose Express, a home brewing and winemaking store, for the last 25 years. Among the 22 different beers Mr. Szamatulski has made since the brewery opened a year ago are a Bohemian Pilsner, an imperial-style stout and a watermelon beer made from freshly crushed juice. Earlier this month a bill in the North Carolina state legislature to prevent the police from releasing body and dashboard video passed a House committee. Currently making its way through State Supreme Court in Manhattan is a lawsuit by the Time Warner Cable television channel NY1 against the Police Department, for failing to produce five weeks of footage from its body camera pilot program, which began late in 2014. Image A body camera. Credit... Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters In April of last year, a reporter for NY1 requested the footage through the states Freedom of Information Law, but was denied by the Police Departments records access office, on the grounds that the department itself had not reviewed the footage and could not offer a redacted sampling, which would remove any images that might violate the privacy of victims or bystanders. The department would turn over the footage, however, for a fee of $36,000, representing the estimated cost of the labor required to examine the digital images and locate and copy those that it could make available. Lawyers for NY1 argue that the demand has no basis in the Freedom of Information Law and effectively bars public access to footage whose entire purpose is to subject the N.Y.P.D.s actions to public supervision, as their petition put it. As the lead lawyer for NY1, Saul Shapiro, remarked in court two weeks ago, the body camera program was a voluntary initiative by the Police Department, and it would have to live with the consequences of a plan it chose to devise. The presiding judge, Justice Kathryn E. Freed, seemed almost bewildered by the citys resistance, pointing out more than once that the departments unwillingness to make the footage easily available seemed to undercut the entire premise of transparency, on which the program was based. Lawyers for the news organization had also pointed out that there were modern technologies available to make the task of redaction cheaper. In a letter to the judge following the hearing, city lawyers countered that the court had no authority to force the Police Department to adapt such technologies, which was like hearing someone say that although he was fully committed to losing 20 pounds, no one was going to tell him to eat less and to go to spin class. The case is not the only one casting doubt on the citys commitment to transparency on the part of the police. About the same moment that Mr. Bratton was complaining about cellphone videos, the city filed a brief in a suit brought against it by the Legal Aid Society seeking a summary of prior, substantiated complaints filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer whose illegal chokehold resulted in Eric Garners death. We still know almost nothing about him. William Sanford Nye got his start doing sketch comedy, made his name as Bill Nye the Science Guy in childrens television and now runs an organization dedicated to sending spacecraft to other planets. Two years ago, he added the title of bicoastal New Yorker, dividing his time between Los Angeles and Manhattans Upper West Side, where he is finishing work on a book called Everything All at Once: How Nerds Solve Problems and a series of childrens books called Jack and the Geniuses. Among his favorite things about life in New York: the subway system. Are you kidding me? Mr. Nye, 60, said. Its amazing. Carries a billion people a year. For $2.75 you can go anywhere. Come on, people. THE AGING GUY I get up in time to watch Meet the Press. Theres three ways to know that youre old. When I sit on my porch in Studio City in Los Angeles, I yell at cars to slow down. Slow down! Then, its not uncommon to be out there in shorts pulling weeds with one hand and a cup of coffee in the other hand, talking to the neighbors about how hot its going to be. And the third thing is when you decide that watching Meet the Press is a valuable use of your time. Though I hadnt eaten it yet, I was almost sure that the pizza at Aumm Aumm Pizzeria and Wine Bar in North Bergen would be a winner. My dining party was sitting at a table near the entrance and perusing the menu when a family of four walked in speaking Italian. We ended up engaging in small talk, and I found out that they were tourists from Bari, a seaside city in Italys Puglia region. They had been to the restaurant two days before, they told us, and had enjoyed the pizza so much that theyd come back for more. If the pizza was a hit with the Italians, it would most certainly be with us too. Oh, and how it was. Arriving first was the Ortolana, which had a light layer of tomato sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes, bite-sized pieces of eggplant, zucchini rounds and red and yellow pepper strips, all of which had been perfectly roasted, fresh basil and house-made mozzarella. With its lightly charred, paper-thin yet fluffy crust, made with flour from Le 5 Stagioni, an established company in Parma, Italy, and its abundance of high-quality toppings, finding fault wasnt an option. Image The tartufata pizza with black truffles. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times A white pizza of mozzarella and mascarpone cheeses, diced eggplant and quartered cherry tomatoes was scarfed down just as fast. The margherita with tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella and Grana Padano, a hard cheese similar to Parmesan, released a medley of flavors that belied its simple ingredients. Civil initiative waits for UN Secretary-General's response Members of the Stand up, Armenia! movement have again gathered near the UN Office in Yerevan to know the answer to their letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. They had given a video with the letter to the UN representatives. The video clearly shows that the four-day clashes in Karabakh in April were initiated by Azerbaijan. It shows Azerbaijani army approaching the border with Karabakh. Armenian soldiers repeatedly report about the enemys advancement but they are ordered to wait. Spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, has said that the video should not have appeared on the Internet as they were going to discuss it on another platform. Now, the world is criticizing us for the video. I think we should wait for Ban Ki-moons answer to know who is to bear criminal responsibility we or Artsrun Hovhannisyan. They may be subjected to criminal liability for concealing from the international community the facts about Azerbaijani aggression, Andreas Ghukasyan, a member of the initiative, told A1+. A German flag with a barely noticeable strip of lace added to its bottom serves as a stage curtain at the beginning of The Underpants, a comedy adapted by Steve Martin from a German farce by Carl Sternheim, at Guild Hall in East Hampton. That delicate edging is the last bit of subtlety to be found in this production, which almost immediately devolves into a loud, in-your-face spectacle that shamelessly begs for laughs and applause. Two beer hall girls, not usually part of Mr. Martins play, come skipping out to lead the rest of the cast in a prancing musical introduction, clapping their hands emphatically in a way that suggests that audience members put their hands together, too. The jolly clapping, by all the actors, pops up during every scene change as well. Mr. Martins satirical play, which had an Off-Broadway run in 2002 and has often been revived, seems more strained than it has to be in this version, directed by Bill Fennelly. The production originated at Syracuse Stage last year with largely the same cast. The stylized acting is actually carried off nicely by the performers, including those who introduce the show, Hollybeth Gourlay and Margot Plum, the charming dirndl-clad Madchen. Its all just too unrelenting. I Remember Mama had its Broadway premiere in 1944 and ran for over 20 months. (Marlon Brando made his Broadway debut as Nels, the familys young son.) In the story, set in 1910, Katrin, the oldest of three daughters, yearns to become a published writer. She struggles toward her dream as her family undergoes several ordeals: Illness strikes the youngest daughter; a marriage proposal brings about some stress; and theres always a lack of money in the home. Through it all, the extended family prevails, affectionately. The immigrant parents at the center, far from their roots in Norway after moving to San Francisco, sacrifice everything for their children, but they get just as much in return. As written by John Van Druten, based on a novel by Kathryn Forbes, the play is so gummy-sweet that my fingers seem to stick to the keyboard just writing about it. Yet something marvelous happens when these women inhabit their roles, in everyday clothes instead of period costumes. Such a staging urges the audience to exercise its imagination, making us all partners in the production rather than mere spectators. Granted, theater always relies on the suspension of disbelief. But here the immersion is deeper and more satisfying. Because of the actresses ages, all these characters seem to be simultaneously recalling the past and living in it. Barbara Andres, as the Mama of the title, has traveled with the show from its 2014 production. Shes the bedrock of this family and of the play, and her scenes with Mia Katigbak, as Katrin, are poignant. The one in which Katrin learns her mother traded an heirloom for a gift for her is deeply touching. Lynn Cohen, as both Mr. Hyde, a boarder, and Uncle Chris, a man whose cranky exterior hides a golden soul, is a joy as she savors these bombastic roles. Rita Gardner, as the timid Aunt Trina, is a fine contrast and just as exciting to watch. Heather Mac Rae, as Nels, drives a gentle early scene as the boy appeals to his family in hopes of attending high school. Despite Mr. Krymovs penchant for intellectualizing at Moscows experimental Dmitry Krymov Lab, which he heads, meditating on the art of theater comes with the territory the human heart and the thwarting of its needs is his subject in Square Root. And that subject, he said, is embedded in Chekhovs plays, like Three Sisters, from which he draws. Its the formula of the human desire to be happy and the voice that tells you, Not today, he said. But Square Root is hardly formulaic. While it is populated by recognizable characters from Three Sisters and other Chekhov works, its narrative is not a linear retelling of any of them. Rather, its a distilling of their elements, which are accessed impressionistically and condensed into moments, said Liz Diamond, chairwoman of the drama schools directing department and a collaborator on the project. At the rehearsal, those moments could be enjoyed on the level of spectacle. In one, the action proved explosive when Julian Elijah Martinez, as Captain Solyony of the Russian Army, devoured the scenery in a hyperbolic display of rage against Baron von Tuzenbach, his competition for the affections of Irina, the youngest of the three sisters. In another moment, the mood turned poignant when the army, which had provided solace and suitors for the lonely sisters, was banished from their country village stripping away everything the women had come to value. Not least among those was the exiled Colonel Vershinin, with whom Masha, the middle sister, had found love. John Leguizamo has, in his own words, a great therapist, and a while back this estimable health care professional offered his intense patient some very solid advice: Get a hobby. Acting was my everything, said Mr. Leguizamo, 51, who is a new addition to the cast of the Netflix series Bloodline. (Season two was released late last month.) He also stars with Bryan Cranston in the feature film The Infiltrator, to be released July 13. But I need distractions, because show business is stressful, man. Theres a lot of stress and pressures and criticism. Eight years ago, Mr. Leguizamo came up with a surefire distraction: He would sell his brownstone on the Lower East Side and buy another one in the West Village. Then, with the wavering support of his wife, Justine, 47, who he said favors apartments with doormen, he would fix it up. Eventually, this led to an idea for yet another distraction: He would become the faithful caretaker of the 150-year-old (or thereabouts) wisteria with Medusa-like tendrils in the backyard. I have a special business technique, Mr. Leguizamo explained. I wouldnt recommend it to everyone, but I buy high and sell low. I bought this place in 2008 right after the crash. Not after the prices went down, but before the prices went down. No word on whether he sold his previous place using the same canny tactic. Sometimes cruise shopping feels like car shopping. You know theres a deal out there; you just have to find it. Cruise lines regularly run sales, and the current batch will reward procrastinators and shoulder-season sailors. If you can travel later this month, Adventure Life is offering 50 percent off its 10-day Arctic trip to North Spitsbergen in Norway departing June 29. Billed as an eco-volunteer cruise, the trip assigns 50 passengers to pick up ocean garbage in the remote Svalbard archipelago, while the other 50 take part in an excursion. They swap roles in the afternoon and cancel cleaning entirely if polar bears are in the area. Discounted rates start at $2,450 a person. Head to the Caribbean this summer with MSC Cruises which is offering an all-inclusive package on its MSC Divina ship priced from $798 a person for a seven-night trip that includes unlimited drinks, Wi-Fi and one shore excursion. The offer, starting at $798 a person, is good on select summer sailings starting the week of June 25 as well as a few fall and winter dates. Travelers must book by July 9 to get the deal. The luxury line Silversea is running a Silver Select promotion through July that includes a $1,500 per-suite spending credit on its ocean-going itineraries that can be used for shore excursions, spa treatments and more. Or travelers skip the credit and get a two-category suite upgrade, or 50 percent off a second cabin. The deal is good on many sailings, including a nine-day trip from Athens to Monte Carlo on the Silver Spirit departing Aug. 31 with rates starting at $7,050 a person. The fare includes round-trip economy air travel, transfers, two nights in a hotel before the cruise, shore excursions and Wi-Fi. David Sedaris, the author of Lets Explore Diabetes With Owls and When You Are Engulfed in Flames, spends his time in West Sussex, England, when he isnt on his twice-yearly 45-city lecture tours. Hotels figure highly in his repeat vacation spots. He returns to the Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara again and again (Everyone there looks like Mitt and Ann Romney), and he loves the Ambassade Hotel in Amsterdam (Ive probably stayed there at least a dozen times, and they keep the same people there. Its a nice feeling to go to another country and have people remember your name and be so warm). His favorite thing to do while traveling? Shop. I was recently in Lisbon with a friend, he said, and our driver would constantly say, David, look out the window to your left, thats a statue of . I wanted to say: Whatever made you think that I care? Youre talking to the wrong person. Heres a list of shops I want to go to. He calls Tokyo the top city for shopping: It really is the best. Usually youll go to a city, and it has one street with interesting, exciting shops. But in Tokyo it just goes on and on and on. Its harder now, though. When I first moved to Paris, I could bring people back a Diptyque candle or chocolate from Maison du Chocolat. Now those things are everywhere. But in Japan there are still things you can buy that people at home havent heard of. And his dream trip is a brief very brief visit to India. You know how everyone goes to India for three months? I want to go to India for three hours. So I can leave when I get thirsty, and then I can get back on the plane without any risk of getting a stomach bug. Pop Poet: Who says nobody reads poetry anymore? On the paperback trade fiction list, a debut collection called Milk and Honey, by the Canadian writer Rupi Kaur, is going strong at No. 8 after nine weeks. Kaur is a 23-year-old social media phenom from Toronto who gained attention last year when she fought Instagrams removal of a photo she posted showing menstrual blood. As her audience grew she now has 475,000 followers on Instagram and 34,500 on Twitter Kaur earned a reputation not only for her photos and sketches but also for brief, plain-spoken poems tackling feminism, love, trauma and healing in short lines that can be as smooth as pop music (love will hold you / love will call your name) or as jagged as rusty metal (the hurt / the loss / the pain / the breaking). Much of Kaurs appeal comes from this artless vulnerability, like a cross between Charles Bukowski and Cat Power, and from an ingenues willingness to blurt out whatever is on her mind. I was always writing for myself, she told The Times of India this month. I wrote what I needed to write and hear thats what makes it powerful. And its this honesty that has got me where I am today. Well, that and some serious marketing savvy: Besides Milk and Honey, which she initially self-published, visitors to Kaurs website can also buy jars of artisanal honey branded with her name, from the hives of distinguished queen bees. And she has ideas about how to expand her reach. There have been articles saying that all women need to read my book, she told The Times of India. I ask, why not all men? In fact, that would be even more valuable because we women want to sit down with men and tell them this is how we feel, this is what we go through. The Inheritance: Yaa Gyasis debut novel, Homegoing, hits the hardcover fiction list at No. 15. The book details Ghanas slave trade in the 1700s and follows its effects among generations of Ghanaians both in and out of America. Oftentimes, when West African immigrants get to America, theres this idea that theyre set apart from African-Americans, Gyasi told Vogue. In a lot of ways, culturally, they are. I wanted to show what it is actually that connects us, and I had to go really far back to get there. Quotable: Terry McMillans breakthrough novel, Waiting to Exhale, spent more than a year on the hardcover and paperback lists back in the 1990s, and every novel she has written since has also been a best seller. (Her latest, I Almost Forgot About You, enters the hardcover list at No. 12.) But according to a recent essay in The Washington Post, the book that mattered most to McMillan in her early teens wasnt a novel at all; it was Bartletts Familiar Quotations. This book of passages, phrases and proverbs, she writes, helped me acknowledge that I didnt need to feel ashamed or embarrassed, because other people had thought about a lot of the things I did and not always in the same way. NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Please upgrade your browser. The chart above details nearly all the ways group play could end for Croatia. Each cell in the chart above represents the outcome of two games. Green cells mean that Croatia will advance to the next round of the tournament. Yellow cells indicate a third-place finish, which, for four of the six teams, will be enough to advance. Pink cells are bad news: they represent outcomes that eliminate Croatia. Croatia enters its final match against Spain on the heels of a disappointing tie with the Czech Republic, in which it lost a two-goal lead. But that result is unlikely to affect its group chances; it still would have needed to beat Spain to win the group. But Spain has yet to concede a goal and will be coming off a 3-0 win over Turkey. If Croatia Beats Spain, it will win Group D and will play a third-place team from Group B, E or F in the Round of 16. If Croatia ties Spain, it finishes in second place and will play the winner of Group E in the Round of 16, regardless of what happens in the Czech Republic-Turkey match. If Croatia loses to Spain, its fate depends on the outcome of the Czech Republic-Turkey match. Croatians should root against the Czech Republic, hoping for a Turkey win or draw, which would guarantee Croatia a second-place berth. If the Czech Republic beats Turkey, Croatia could finish in third, depending on the goal differential between it and the Czech Republic. Some scenarios end in a fair play tiebreaker, which could hurt Croatia, whose fans threw flares on the field in its match against the Czech Republic. BEIRUT The Russian Defense Ministry said a 48-hour cessation of hostilities has been declared in the divided northern Syrian city of Aleppo, and activists reported a relative calm in Syrias largest city Thursday. In past months, Aleppo has witnessed fierce fighting and bombardment, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of people on both sides of the contested city. Russia said the truce went into effect after midnight Wednesday. Several similar truces have been declared in the city in recent months. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the city was calm early Thursday but that government warplanes later bombarded several rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo. The observatory said that since the latest round of violence began April 22, 627 people have been killed and some 2,900 wounded. It said the dead included 124 minors. Rebels seized part of Aleppo from forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in 2012. Assads forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have nearly encircled rebel-held parts of the city in recent months. Aleppo-based activist Baraa al-Halaby said opposition fighters in the city were not informed about the truce. He said government forces as well as Russian and Syrian warplanes have been targeting the Castello road that links rebel-held areas with the rest of the country, preventing people from leaving. After eight years of largely abstaining from politics, former President George W. Bush is throwing himself into an effort to save his partys most vulnerable senators, including several whose re-election campaigns have been made more difficult by Donald Trumps presence at the top of the ticket. In the weeks since Trump emerged as the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Bush has hosted fundraisers for two Republican senators and has made plans to help three more. Among them are Sens. John McCain of Arizona, who was one of Trumps earliest targets of derision, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who has struggled to respond to Trumps inflammatory rhetoric. Friends say the former president is deeply bothered by Trumps campaign message, especially his derogatory remarks about Muslims and immigrants. At the event with McCain, Bush stressed the importance of preserving the Republican-held Senate as a check and balance on the White House, suggesting that such a check was needed, whether the next president is Trump or Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Bush announced through a spokesman last month that he would not support Trumps candidacy and would not attend the Republican convention in Cleveland next month. His father, former President George H.W. Bush, and his brother Jeb Bush, who was defeated and ridiculed by Trump in the primary, are also staying away. President Bush believes that its critical to keep the Senate in Republican hands, said Freddy Ford, Bushs spokesman, who confirmed the heightened activity. He is actively helping some senators in tight races who are strong leaders and share timeless conservative values. The fundraisers held by Bush are expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for the candidates, in total. Next week, he will appear at a fundraiser for Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. And similar events are being planned for Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rob Portman of Ohio. Bushs effort to help down-ballot candidates fill their campaign coffers underscores how fissures in the Republican Party are affecting fundraising. The senators are not receiving any fundraising help from Trump, a typical role for the partys standard-bearer. And few congressional candidates have sought Trumps endorsement, given his high negative ratings in polls and unpredictable nature. At the same time, Trump is relying heavily on the Republican National Committee for his campaign infrastructure. The support from Bush also reflects a significant uptick in his standing. He was toxic to his own party in the final years of his presidency and left the White House deeply unpopular after two wars and a financial collapse that plunged the nation into recession. Few candidates were clamoring for his help. Outside of helping his brother and his nephew, George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner, and his friend Ed Gillespie in a Virginia Senate race, Bush has largely stayed away from campaigns since returning to Texas in 2009, writing only a handful of personal checks for candidates who visited his Dallas office. But 47 percent of people nationally view him favorably now, according to a February poll from Quinnipiac University. (Trumps favorability was at 31 percent in a June 15 national poll from Bloomberg Politics.) Further, Bush is highly popular among Republicans, especially the party elites who are big campaign donors. The hosts listed on the invitations for the fundraisers for McCain and Blunt include some of the countrys leading Republican contributors who have recoiled from Trumps candidacy. In retirement, unlike former President Bill Clinton, Bush does not devour daily political developments and intrigue, and largely shuns television news coverage. But Trump has presented a message starkly different from the one offered by Bush, especially on terrorism and racial tensions. At a debate in February, Trump said Bushs administration lied about intelligence to justify the war in Iraq. And he excoriated Bush for the Sept. 11 attacks. The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush, right? I mean, it came down, Trump said at a news conference. We werent safe. At a rally that night in support of Jeb Bush, the only public event he appeared at for his brother, the former president seemed to refer to Trump without naming him. I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated, but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration, Bush said. We need someone that can fix the problems that cause our anger and frustration. This week, after the deadly shooting in Florida by a U.S. citizen whose parents were from Afghanistan and who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, Trump called for an expanded ban on Muslim immigrants. We need to tell the truth also about how radical Islam is coming to our shores, Trump said, accusing Muslims in the United States of not doing enough to stop terrorism. Trumps speech was in stark contrast to the approach Bush took after the 2001 attacks. The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam, Bush said in a speech on Sept. 17, 2001, at the Islamic Center in Washington. Islam is peace. He criticized reported attacks against Muslims in America. They need to be treated with respect, Bush said. This week, the candidate who most echoed Bushs message was Clinton. President Bush went to a Muslim community center just six days after the attacks to send a message of unity and solidarity, Clinton said in a speech in Ohio, adding, It is time to get back to the spirit of those days, spirit of 9/12. Bush declines to praise or criticize either Trump or Clinton in public settings. My candidate lost, he tells audiences, referring to his brother. AUSTIN, Texas Julian Castro is returning home to San Antonio Friday swarmed by the same speculation as when the 41-year-old left Texas for Washington two years ago: Is he vice-presidential material? Even as President Barack Obamas housing secretary tries tamping down talk of becoming Hillary Clintons running mate this fall, Castro is headlining the Texas Democratic Convention under rumors that his name remains on a short list of contenders. But that chatter isnt the only noise. Castro, who was born in San Antonio but whose grandmother is from Mexico, is one of the most high-profile Hispanic politicians in the country. Some Democrats believe Donald Trump, who has suggested that some Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals and called a judges Mexican heritage grounds for moving a trial, will send minority voters flocking to Clinton even if a Latino candidate isnt on the ticket with her. Other possible picks, including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, could help Clinton carry key swing states. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez also offers Clinton a potential Latino running mate, as well as a liberal who could help unify disheartened Bernie Sanders supporters. Even some rooting for Castro say Trumps once-unlikely ascension as the presumptive Republican nominee may have changed which contenders make the cut. You have to be realistic in the sense that Trump is going to provide a lot of impetus to Hispanics to get out and vote, said Garry Mauro, who is Clintons state director in Texas and is a former state land commissioner. If you read the national press the urgency of a Hispanic on the ticket seems to be diminishing. Castro, who was elected mayor of San Antonio in 2009 at age 35 and held the job for five years, has campaigned for Clinton since the early stages of her White House run. His identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, is another up-and-comer among Democrats and railed against Republicans last week over making the Library of Congress continue using the word alien in reference to immigrants. Julian Castro is not even two years into a job that makes him the youngest member of Obamas cabinet and has deflected questions about whether he might join the 68-year-old Clinton on the ticket. Harvard-educated, telegenic and a charismatic speaker, Castros political ceiling has long been a subject of speculation, but his fast rise has also begun confronting some pushback. A coalition of progressive groups, some of which have supported Sanders, have criticized Castro since April over his Housing and Urban Development office selling mortgages to Wall Street in the aftermath of the housing and foreclosure crisis. Some Democrats in Congress and liberal Super PACs, including the Latino Victory Fund, have hit back and criticized progressives of targeting their own. Even if Clinton doesnt need Castro, Texas Democrats do. Even in Washington, Castro remains the biggest star of a beleaguered state party that hasnt won a statewide office since 1994 and was pummeled again in 2014 when Wendy Davis ran for governor. He will deliver the keynote speech to what is the nations largest Democratic state convention, where some still hope he may return one day to run for governor. Hes clearly a star in the party across the country, said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. Hes got an amazing track record right now. We certainly hear all the chatter. A year ago, the nation was transfixed by a different horrific crime, the shooting deaths of nine church members during Bible study at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina. With the backdrop of the Orlando shootings, survivors and family members of the victims of the Charleston slayings on June 17, 2015, sat down to reflect on forgiveness, race relations, gun violence and the suspect, Dylann S. Roof, called Prime Evil by some of the survivors. The conversation was led by Michael Schwirtz and Chris Dixon of The New York Times. Forgiveness Schwirtz: Nadine, you gained some fame and notoriety when you stood up in court during the bond hearing and publicly forgave Dylann Roof. Do you have any regrets about that statement? Nadine Collier: I stand behind it. All the way. I dont have no regrets at all. I just believe in God. And didnt have that hatred in my heart. Esther Lance: I dont forgive him because my heart aint there. It aint going to be no time soon. I cant forgive him. The Rev. Sharon Risher: Forgiveness is a personal journey for everybody. I have not gotten to that point where I could forgive Dylann Roof. Thats just me. Being in clergy, Im mandated to forgive, yet I understand that God is a loving god and that he gives everybody an opportunity to reach that path of forgiveness. Felicia Sanders: Forgiveness is not for the person. The person doesnt care whether you forgive him or not. Forgiveness is for you. Forgiveness is growth. If you dont have any forgiveness in you, it makes you stagnate. You will never grow. Youre giving the individual the power over you, so that means youre still a victim to the person. I want to say that we refuse to be a victim. I want him to know, Prime Evil to know, that just because you took our loved ones, you dont have us. I believe we can get more done now than before. Tyrone Sanders: I want to put on the record that Im not there yet. I dont know if Ill ever forgive. Gun Control Schwirtz: Reverend Risher, what has it been like to be directly involved with the gun issue, pressing for legislation? Have you felt any frustration? Risher: Right after June 17, I became very vocal and involved in grass-roots advocacy groups on gun control. So Ive been on Capitol Hill, I testified before the judiciary committee in Oregon. I have lent my voice to different bills. This is what that year has brought for me, an opportunity and a platform to beg our American people to look at the gun laws, look at background checks. Its long, hard frustrating work, the results arent something tangible that you can put your hands on, but laws are being changed and the attention to gun reform is out there. Im always optimistic. Charleston and Race Schwirtz: The shooting prompted fierce debate over the issue of race in South Carolina and culminated with the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds. How has the issue evolved over the last year? Risher: The racial tension and history of Charleston is there. It took hundreds of years to build it; it will probably take hundreds of years for people to look at Charleston, South Carolina, as a different place. Tyrone Sanders: I had a Confederate flag, like about 10 doors down from me. I was tempted to go on the porch and ask them to take it down. But I said, No, Im going to go ahead and leave them alone just like Ms. Polly says. If you leave them alone theyll eventually settle down. And they took it down. Theyve got the state flag up now. Dixon: Did you expect the Confederate battle flag at the Statehouse to come down? Tyrone Sanders: I was in awe because I didnt expect it to happen. But that flag coming down wont bring my son back. Or my aunt or the other seven. Dixon: How has the shooting changed Charleston and the way people relate or interact with each other? Tyrone Sanders: If they know who I am, theyre a little kinder. When I went back to work, it seemed I got a lot of embracing from the white guys. Felicia Sanders: I still think that there is a lot of unity. Ive met so many people within this year that I would have never met. So many people still coming giving their condolences. Thats unity right there. I see a lot more smiles. Sheppard: The same. People are a little kinder to each other. Felicia Sanders: June 17, 2015, was the first racism Ive ever encountered. And I got it all at once. Sheppard: Theres unity in more ways than one. If you look on Sunday youll see about seven or eight of those trucks with those Confederate flags going across the bridge. So theyre unifying, too. The Church Schwirtz: Can you speak about your relationship with Emanuel? Are any of you still active in the church? Felicia Sanders: Ive been trying to go. Its not easy. Its a preparation for me. When I go there, I have to not eat at night or drink anything in the morning so that I wont have to go downstairs to the bathroom. Emanuel is not Emanuel no more. Emanuel is the new Emanuel. The church for some reason thinks its about the church. The fellowship hall, where it all happened at, they didnt give it no respect. I was in line to go into my sons funeral. And I heard somebody say, Oh, you should go downstairs now, it smells like blood. How do you think that made me feel? Sheppard: This happened on Wednesday and they were back in church on Sunday, which I thought was terrible. Simmons: I dont feel the church should have been opened that soon. Because when I went to the church a couple of days after, I could still sense and smell blood. So it wasnt a good feeling for me. It was one of my weakest moments Ive experienced throughout this whole process. Collier: The last time I was there was Aug. 30, 2015, my mothers birthday. And I havent been back since. Growing up I was on choir at the church. Since this happened, its like, everything, my whole life changed. My mom was assassinated for the church. My momma when she was not ushering, we got a little seat we sit at, two, three rows from the back. Id come around and sit on the side of her. Can you imagine me coming in and sitting in the front? It just freaks me out. Took everything out of my body just to do that on her birthday. I havent been back. FULLERTON A former financial-services manager accused of embezzling more than $5 million from the city of Placentia was charged Friday with 88 new felony counts. Two months after Michael Minh Nguyen was charged with 17 felony counts of misappropriation of public funds, Orange County Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche, during a hearing at the Fullerton courthouse, said the former city worker will face another 19 counts of the same charge. Further, Nguyen was charged with 66 new felony counts of money laundering, a felony count of making a nonsufficient funds check and two counts of falsifying records. Nguyen, 34, faces up to 97 years, eight months in prison as well as a $10.3 million fine if convicted. He was being jailed in lieu of a bail amount of $4.3 million. Nguyens attorney did not respond Friday to requests for a comment. Orange County Superior Court Judge Scott A. Steiner agreed to issue a temporary restraining order on the funds and assets seized by the Orange County District Attorneys Office in connection with the embezzlement case. In a city statement released in connection with Fridays hearing, Placentia officials indicated that Nguyen is believed to have embezzled $5.16 million, an amount that has continued to rise since his April 13 arrest. City officials indicated that $3.1 million has been seized for recovery, and a $1 million crime insurance policy is also being processed. We are immeasurably disappointed that, starting in January 2014, one of our employees allegedly exploited his position of trust by manipulating financial controls to steal taxpayers money for his own benefit, Placentia City Administrator Damien Arrula wrote. The city has implemented new policies and procedures that have significantly strengthened our accounting systems in a manner that far exceeds government standards to ensure the safety of our taxpayers funds, he said. According to prosecutors, Nguyen, between Jan. 27, 2014, and April 12 of this year made 36 wire transfers from a city account to several other accounts personally belonging to him and other recipients. Authorities allege that Nguyen tried to conceal the embezzlement by altering ledgers. Labreche declined to comment on a June 10 Register story, based on search warrants, that said an attempt by a Las Vegas high-roller to receive a wire transfer of thousands of dollars in city funds at a casino brought the reported embezzlement to light. According to a probable-cause statement filed by a district attorneys investigator, employees of the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino became suspicious when a gambler tried to persuade them to accept a wire transfer from the city of Placentia, claiming it was for what turned out to be a nonexistent film project. Casino employees contacted federal investigators, who alerted Placentia officials. According to the D.A. investigators statement, Nguyen initially told city offiicals that he had initiated a handful of wire transfers from the citys bank accounts, but claimed that he always paid the money back. The D.A. investigator wrote that Nguyen later told another city employee that he was using the city wiring service to do things on the side, but that it had fallen apart. Labreche declined to discuss whether authorities are investigating the high roller or anyone else who might have been involved in the alleged embezzlement. My goal is to protect the city and make them whole, the prosecutor said. Nguyen appeared in court on Friday, confined to a holding cage. He gave brief yes answers when asked by the judge if he understood certain parts of the proceedings, but otherwise remained quiet. Labreche said the investigation is still active. Nguyen is expected in court July 22. Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com Democrats dramatic primary turnout in Orange County brought some surprises. At least two Democratic candidates were unexpectedly vaulted into first place, an indicator that the two and perhaps a couple of Democrats in second place could prevail in the general election despite Republicans upper hand in those races two years ago. While Assemblywoman Young Kim, R-Fullerton, was busy campaigning and raising money (spending $338,000 with $731,000 left), Democratic challenger Sharon Quirk-Silva said she was spending more of her time teaching school and planning to make up campaign ground over the summer (she spent $200,000 and had $290,000 left). But as of Friday evenings tallies, Quirk-Silva was winning 53 percent to 47 percent, thanks in fair measure to Democrats casting more Orange County ballots than Republicans for perhaps the time ever. In the race for the First Districts county supervisor, incumbent Republican Andrew Do was not only expected to finish first but some gave him a shot at getting more than 50 percent of the vote and avoiding a November runoff. (Races for most partisan offices, including those in the state Legislature, automatically have a November election for the top two finishers. Races for most county offices, which are officially non-partisan, only go to November if nobody garners a majority of the vote.) As of Friday, Democratic Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez was ahead of Do, 38 percent to 35 percent. In the race to replace termed-out Republican Sen. Bob Huff, Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, finished first as expected but with a relatively modest 45 percent of the vote, while two Democrats split the rest. That could provide an opportunity for the leading Democrat, Fullertons Josh Newman, come November. The district of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, which straddles the Orange-San Diego county line, finds Republicans with an 8.4-percentage point edge in voter registration. Yet in a field of three, second-place finisher Doug Applegate, a Democrat, was within 6.5-percentage points of Issa. The third candidate was an independent. In 2012, Issa had a 30-point edge in the primary and won the general by 16 points. In 2014, he had a 34-point primary advantage and won the general by 20 points. In other words, the margin closed by 14 points each time. That should help give Applegate hope. WILD CARD: TURNOUT November turnout, a major factor in the final outcome of these races, remains the big unknown. Republicans routinely have a higher propensity to vote in primaries than Democrats, with Democrats turnout increasingly proportionately for the general election. But this primary, it was Democrats who were most enthusiastic to vote. They had the tail-end of a competitive presidential primary firing many up, while the choice had already been settled on the GOP side. Additionally, some regular GOP voters may have stayed home because of mixed feelings over their controversial presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. Will Orange County Democrats have an even bigger advantage in November, following their tradition of better turnout in November than in June? Or will the tables turns in Republicans favor? On one hand, Democrats risk losing the energy that Bernie Sanders brought to the primary. On the other hand, Republicans have no GOP candidate vote in the race for retiring Sen. Barbara Boxers seat both finalists are Democrats so there is little motivation in the second biggest race on the ballot. And in the biggest race, its virtually a foregone conclusion that Hillary Clinton will beat Trump in this famously blue state. I think we can throw out conventional wisdom this election, said Lori Cox Han, a Chapman University political scientist. It will really come down to Trump and whether hell motivate voters to come out. In California especially, there are two oppositional aspects to that motivation: One question is whether hell motivate GOP and independent voters to come out to support him. The other is whether hell spur offended Democratic Latinos to vote against him. Across the country, Republicans are worried if Trump will suppress the vote, said Jodi Balma, a Fullerton College political scientist. If I was a Republican leader looking at the primary results, I would have to be worried. But its a long way to November. Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com GOLETA, Calif. Stoked by winds, a wildfire burning west of Santa Barbara roared down mountain slopes toward the Pacific Ocean, shutting down Californias major coastal highway and forcing a group of firefighters to seek shelter behind a fire engine as flames licked at them. As the blaze grew to more than 6 square miles, authorities warned Friday that the regions notorious afternoon and evening sundowner gusts would recur through the next two days. Weekend fire dangers already were expected to worsen with the arrival of an extreme heatwave across the Southwest, including in New Mexico, where a wildfire has destroyed two dozen homes. The California inferno appeared to support national wildfire authorities predictions of another dangerous and difficult year for the state after years of drought. State firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service already have fought more than 1,800 wildfires since Jan. 1, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. While El Nino delivered rain and snow to Northern California this winter, the south was bypassed. What rain fell was just enough to sprout grasses that quickly died, adding to the danger of long-dead vegetation. About 140 homes and ranches were considered at risk in southern Santa Barbara County at the foot of the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, an east-west trending range that parallels the south-facing coast. Fires become especially dangerous when sundowners are formed by high pressure inland to the north and low pressure over the ocean to the south, causing gusty winds to sweep down the face of the mountains. A gust in the fire area around 1 a.m. Friday was clocked at 47 mph, the National Weather Service said. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department posted a picture of firefighters near El Capitan State Beach taking shelter behind a fire engine as flames and a hail of embers roared toward them. U.S. 101, the states main coastal highway, had to be shut down for hours for the second time since the fire erupted Wednesday. A firefighting DC-10 jumbo jet led an air attack Friday morning, dropping vast swaths of retardant to stop the fires movement across difficult-to-reach terrain. A fleet of planes and helicopters have assisted an army of fighters on the ground. In central New Mexico, a blaze that began Tuesday has charred more than 26 square miles and destroyed homes near the small community of Chilili. It also blanketed Albuquerque, the states largest city, in a thick haze. The fire was expected to continue moving east and northeast and posed an imminent threat to Chilili, the Tajique area, and the Ponderosa Pine residential area, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez took to the air in a National Guard helicopter on Thursday to survey the devastation, according to a report in the Albuquerque Journal. This is a serious fire, Martinez said later during a news conference at an Estancia school that holds the command center for the firefighters. We want to make sure New Mexicans understand that. Extremely hot and dry weather was forecast to continue into the weekend, although gusty winds should ease, fire officials said. In east-central Arizona, progress was made against a 12-square-mile blaze that broke out Wednesday south of Show Low. The winds werent as bad, and the back-burns did exactly what we wanted them to do, Navajo County Sheriff KC Clark said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. However, a small Navajo County community remained evacuated and thousands of other residents were told to be prepared in case they had to leave. In Nevada, a 300-acre Reno brush fire that threatened dozens of homes was 75 percent contained and crews were mostly in mop-up mode Thursday evening. Blazes also threatened homes in Utah, where a firefighter hurt his head in a fall. Blindfolded and handcuffed, the bookseller was abducted from Hong Kongs border with mainland China and taken to a cell, where he would spend five months in solitary confinement, watched 24 hours a day by a battery of Chinese guards. Even the simple act of brushing his teeth was monitored by minders, who tied a string to his toothbrush for fear he might try to use it to harm himself. They wanted him to identify anonymous authors and turn over data on customers. I couldnt call my family, the man, Lam Wing-kee, said Thursday. I could only look up to the sky, all alone. Months after he and four other booksellers disappeared from Hong Kong and Thailand, prompting international concern over what critics called a brazen act of extralegal abduction, Lam stood before a bank of television cameras in Hong Kong and revealed the harrowing details of his time in detention. It can happen to you, too, said Lam, 61, who was the manager of Causeway Bay Books, a store that sold juicy potboilers about the mainlands Communist Party leadership. I want to tell the whole world: Hong Kongers will not bow down to brute force. Although Lams assertions could not be immediately confirmed, his revelations contradicted Beijings claims that the booksellers had voluntarily entered the mainland to cooperate with an investigation by the Chinese authorities. One of the men, Gui Minhai, vanished from his seaside apartment in Pattaya, Thailand, in October. Another, Lee Bo, a British citizen, disappeared from the streets of Hong Kong in December. Lams account highlights the lengths to which the government of President Xi Jinping is willing to go to silence critics outside mainland China at the risk of damaging its standing on the international stage. To back up the governments claims that the booksellers had voluntarily entered China, state-run television broadcast confessions by the five men; Gui, for example, tearfully said he had returned to China to face justice for his role in a fatal 2003 hit-and-run car accident in the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo. Lam said his own words that he had broken mainland law by publishing salacious books about Chinese leaders had been crafted by the authorities but that he had no choice but to cooperate. It was a show, and I accepted it, he said of his confession. I had to follow the script. If I did not follow it strictly, they would ask for a retake. His revelations open a rare window into the workings of Chinas security apparatus, which frequently uses forced confessions by lawyers, rights advocates and even celebrities to sway public opinion and justify the detentions of those who have dared to defy the party. Lams claims are also likely to confirm the worst fears of Hong Kong residents, who say Beijing has been intensifying efforts to erode the prodigious liberties enjoyed by the former British colony since it was returned to China in 1997. Lam Wing-kee has blown apart the Chinese authorities story, Mabel Au, Amnesty Internationals director in Hong Kong, said in a statement. He has exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese authorities to go after the booksellers. The booksellers were key players in an industry that produces racy, rumor-filled books focused on the sex lives and power games of Chinas top leaders. Although such books are banned on the mainland, where the message about politics and politicians is tightly controlled, they are eagerly sought by visitors to Hong Kong, who return home to China with the books stowed in their luggage. In the months since Lam and his colleagues disappeared, the industry has fallen on hard times. Causeway Bay Books has closed, and many Hong Kong bookstores have pulled titles about Chinese politics from their shelves. The disappearances shocked people in Hong Kong and reverberated internationally. Many saw the episode as an expansion of Chinas authoritarian legal system beyond its borders, in clear violation of the one country, two systems framework that allows Hong Kong to maintain a high degree of autonomy from Beijing. Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to demand the booksellers release. Diplomats from Britain, the European Union and the United States also registered concern. Three of the men, including Lee, have since been allowed to visit Hong Kong but later returned to the mainland. During their visits, they refused to publicly discuss the details of their disappearances. Gui, who holds a Swedish passport, is the only one still in custody. Lams ordeal began on Oct. 24, during what he said was a routine trip to see his girlfriend on the mainland. As he crossed the border at the Chinese city of Shenzhen, he said, he was seized by security personnel. Blindfolded and with his hands bound, he was put on a train that traveled hundreds of miles north to Ningbo. The next few months, he said, were spent in a dingy cell, where he signed away his right to a lawyer and the right to contact his family. He said he was questioned 20 to 30 times about his role in Hong Kongs publishing industry. At one point, he said, he was forced to sign a confession that incriminated Gui, saying his colleague had orchestrated the unlawful sale of books that harmed Chinese society. He said the cells furniture was covered in padded fabric, an apparent attempt to prevent him from committing suicide. After about five months, he was moved to an apartment. They wanted to lock you up until you go mad, he said. On Thursday, Lam told reporters that Lee had told him privately that he, too, was taken to China against his will. Lam said Lee was able to get him the equivalent of about $15,000 for living expenses and as compensation for the loss of his job after the bookstore closed. Lee did not respond to a request for comment. The authorities apparently thought Lam would continue to cooperate. He said they let him travel to Hong Kong on Tuesday after he promised to return to the mainland with a hard-drive full of information on customers. Instead, Lam decided to meet with the news media. I dare not go back, he said. I dont plan on setting foot in mainland China ever again. GENEVA Islamic State forces have committed genocide and other war crimes in a continuing effort to exterminate the Yazidi religious minority in Syria and Iraq, U.N. investigators said Thursday, urging stronger international action to halt the killing and to prosecute the terrorist group. The investigators detailed mass killings of Yazidi men and boys who refused to convert to Islam, saying they were shot in the head or their throats were slit, often in front of their families, littering roadsides with corpses. Dozens of mass graves have been uncovered in areas recaptured from Islamic State and are being investigated. The investigators have produced 11 reports documenting wide-ranging crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by many parties to the 5-year-old civil war in Syria, but in a report released Thursday, they invoked the crime of genocide. They based their findings on actions taken by Islamic State since August 2014 against 400,000 members of the Yazidi community, followers of a centuries-old religion drawing on many faiths. Genocide has occurred and is ongoing, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chairman of the panel, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, said in a statement. ISIS has subjected every Yazidi woman, child or man that it has captured to the most horrific atrocities, he told reporters in Geneva, using an acronym for Islamic State. ISIS permanently sought to erase the Yazidis through killing, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm. Those acts, he said, clearly demonstrated its intent to destroy the Yazidi community in whole or in part. More than 3,200 Yazidi women were still being held by Islamic State fighters, mostly in Syria, the panel found. The commission on Syria has repeatedly recommended referral of the crimes to the International Criminal Court, but no action has followed from the Security Council, where Russia, a permanent member and the closest ally of Syrias president, Bashar Assad, wields a veto. Certain authorities continue to try to manufacture a motive for the Orlando tragedy. They refuse to connect the dots right in front of their eyes. It is well known that Muslims dont express the tolerance for the LGBT community that we in the U.S. do. In many Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia, such behavior is against the law, and is punishable by death. Islamic law Sharia law is a mirror of Islamic faith. So we have to consider the possibility that these acts are an expression of the beliefs of those committing them. Is there a place in American society for a religion that condones killing those who disagree with or disobey its laws? The Paris attack was similar. A magazine violated Islams rule about publishing images of its prophet. People died as a result. Christians are being massacred all over the world by so called Islamic extremists because they are Christian. These things arent happening simply because of the availability of weapons. But instead of drawing the obvious conclusion, Obama and others blame it on guns. It is a convenient conclusion. The problem is that in places where guns arent so readily available, these very same people use explosives. Making bombs may be a little more difficult than loading a gun, but not enough to deter the violence. People really do kill people. Guns, explosives, airplanes, knives, box cutters and rail cars are merely their tools. Take away one, and theyll use another. What is needed is prevention of crime rather than investigation. Between sanctuary cities, mayors like the one in Cleveland telling police to stand down, laws releasing felons from jail because we dont have room for them, condemnations of traditional police investigations and surveillance as profiling, and lack of any genuine immigration screening, we have made crime prevention a distant dream. The old saying that An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure doesnt seem to apply anymore. Even an ounce of prevention seems too much for us. And we are paying the price. M. J. Knudsen Trabuco Canyon Stand your ground? I wonder if the Orlando nightclub shooter survived his heinous crime, would he have employed Floridas famous Stand Your Ground law as his defense in his bid to go free? It worked for George Zimmerman, so why wouldnt it work for him as well? After all, they both bought their guns legally in Florida. Jay Garbutt Anaheim Hills After an email reminder Thursday from Southern California Edison about a power outage planned today for maintenance, Bob and Christine Paulhus of Yorba Linda started figuring out how to keep their two kids cool and entertained given reports that the mercury is going to keep on rising. I think everyone is really concerned about the high temperatures that are coming our way, Christine Paulhus said of conversations with neighbors and on social media about the timing of power outages. By Monday, temperatures could reach as high as 107 degrees in inland Orange County and 85 in coastal areas. Southern California Edison could not provide how many maintenance outages are planned in O.C. over the next week, however media relations project manager David Song said each one will be looked at case-by-case for whether they should be delayed because of high temperatures. Southern California Edison serves 50,000 square miles, with multiple micro-climates to take into consideration, so one blanket decision is unrealistic, he said. This dry heat spell is expected to last through Tuesday. The heat is caused by high pressure pushed in from the Southwest. Paulhus said her husband is on kid duty today and is planning trips to the movies or to visit grandparents to avoid the heat and escape boredom without electricity. One Facebooker suggested freezing gallon bottles of water ahead of time and having them in the fridge to keep food cold. Other areas of Yorba Linda reported notices of 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. outages on Monday, expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave. How does Edison plan to leave these people without fans, air conditioning or refrigeration for that length of time during the heat wave? Barbara McKenzie wrote in an email. Maintenance outages are scheduled so Southern California Edison can upgrade old equipment and make sure the grid and infrastructure is compatible with new technology, such as solar, Song said. Communication of planned outages typically happens a week prior via text, mail, email or door hangers. If customers dont get notified about a push back, Song said outages will go on as planned. Although there is discomfort and its not something that is ideal, he said, customers can plan around it and take measures. People with critical medical problems that could be affected by an outage, such as someone who depends on a respiratory machine, will be contacted by an Southern California Edison representative by phone to make sure they are notified about an outage, Song said. Orange County customers who many have concerns or questions about planned outages can call 800-655-4555 or visit sce.com and click on outage center. Contact the writer: angieratzlaff@ocregister.com 714-796-7831 Thomas Jefferson complained in the Declaration of Independence that King George III has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. Americans today can empathize. An unending string of new regulations from a multitude of offices like the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board have left people with less dynamic economy and fewer job opportunities. And the swarm is only increasing. This month, the recently created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed 1,300 pages of new regulations on businesses providing payday loans. By the CFPBs own estimates, the rule is likely to cut 80 percent of payday loan volume, putting thousands of companies out of business. Why the disdain for this industry? Payday lending has always been a target of regulators, who see it as a predatory industry preying on low-income earners. One could readily conclude that the business model of the payday industry depends on people becoming stuck in these loans for the long term, claims the CFPB. Of course, its highly unlikely that federal bureaucrats living in leafy Washington, D.C., suburbs have ever needed a quick $100 to pay for daycare, fix their car or keep their utilities running. Just because they dont know anyone without a bank account doesnt change the fact that one in nine American households doesnt have a checking account, and three-quarters live paycheck-to-paycheck (i.e., those who may need a payday loan on occasion). No question payday loans, which cost about $15 per $100 borrowed, are dangerous and should only be used in moderation. But so is alcohol. So are countless other products and services Americans use on a day-to-day basis. But regulators claims that payday loans are little more than debt traps are unfounded. More than 90 percent of borrowers report that their knowledge of their loans terms and cost was as expected. In fact, these regulations that require full credit and income checks will hurt the customers who use payday loans most responsibly: those who need cash quickly but promptly repay when they get paid. Like most regulations, these will consolidate the power of the big players, who have the margins to cover the regulatory costs, at the expense of small, independent businesses. And what about the consequences to the borrower, whose need for quick, unconventional credit wont disappear with their payday options? Competing methods credit card interest, a bounced check or a private loan shark are far more expensive and dangerous than payday loans. A Federal Reserve study finds that bankruptcy and returned checks increase in states with the severest payday restrictions. But worse alternatives and unintended consequences dont register with unaccountable bureaucrats and social justice warriors who believe that they can design a better world by regulating politically unpopular industries out of existence. American Founders recognized the threat such actors posed and therefore limited lawmaking to the legislative branch, not unaccountable bureaucrats, who as Jefferson warned continue to grow and swarm the country looking for their next victim. Alfredo Ortiz is president and CEO of the Job Creators Network A year after the Orange County grand jury concluded that nearly every local police agency was inadequately trained to handle the mentally ill, a review has found dramatic changes, with law enforcement better prepared than ever. Last year, the grand jury said none of the 22 law enforcement agencies in Orange County was qualified to handle the countys newly adopted Lauras Law, and few departments were adequately equipped to deal with mentally ill people in any way. A year later, an examination shows that agencies including the Orange County Sheriffs Department and police departments in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Tustin, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Orange and Westminster have devoted thousands of hours training officers on how to deal with the mentally ill. The results, according to a host of chiefs and street-level police, are safer officers and more effective and successful interactions with the mentally ill. Still, this has happened at a time when police departments have fewer officers than they did before the recession of 2007 and 2008, so the progress achieved to date has only been a strong first step. The grand jury recommended 40 hours of training, but police chiefs say staffing makes that goal unobtainable. Instead, departments are training as best they can. In Huntington Beach, 75 percent of all officers have had at least 24 hours of Crisis Intervention Training, and specialized field training officers have had at least 32 hours, according to Chief Robert Handy. More training is scheduled. Our officers make very critical judgments in split-seconds of time, with very limited information, Handy said. Increased training allows them to better identify signs of mental illness and know how to react. The widespread and swift response is far different from what most grand jury reports generate. This report, titled The Mental Illness Revolving Door: A Problem for Police, Hospitals and the Health Care Agency, is being applauded by law enforcement. That might be because the report includes the polices side of the argument, which suggests that the countys Health Care Agency has a role in the poor treatment of mentally ill people. Many police agencies stated the County Health Care Agencys attitude regarding 5150s was to keep the numbers down artificially, and its posture was merely to manage the problem like a traffic cop doing traffic control rather than to embrace it, solve it, and own it, jurors wrote. Police agencies expressed the feeling that the county was acting as if the problem of having dangerous and severely mentally ill persons on the streets was the police agencies problem rather than the Health Care Agencys problem. GUARDIANS OF THE ILL The wake-up call for all this was the July 10, 2011, death of Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless schizophrenic man, after an encounter with Fullerton police. Two officers were charged with crimes related to Thomas death and were acquitted. Charges against a third officer were dropped. Still, the incident marked a sea change. Citizens rose up in anger. The health care system looked inward. Many in the law enforcement community were aghast. Men and women in uniform realized they needed to better adapt to a new world, which, tragically, had shuttered many institutions for the mentally ill and left those suffering to wander the streets. While still handling their regular duties, police today are de facto guardians. The homeless and mental illness issue have become the responsibility of the police, Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes said. Local police agencies are really rising to the occasion. Were putting a lot of resources into this. Even before last years grand jury report and before Thomas death, according to the department Fullerton was an agency at the forefront of change. In their assessment, jurors concluded that officers needed more training hours, yet they added that the Fullerton department has excellent (crisis intervention) training materials and courses ranging from one to four days. Hughes ticked off several programs in place, including a virtual training simulator that requires officers to make split-second decisions about who is armed and who is not, and who is a random citizen and who is an armed threat. Working with nonprofits, he said, the department has helped place 117 homeless people in long-term housing during the past four years. Im very proud of our efforts, he said. We have put a tremendous amount of emphasis on our homeless and mentally ill training. Still, Hughes was quick to add, That doesnt mean were perfect. Hughes pointed to recent police shootings in San Diego that involved mental illness as an example of the continuing problem facing officers nationwide. STRETCHED THIN With grimy makeshift camps along the Santa Ana River and vagabonds wandering alleys and parks, parts of Anaheim appear almost post-apocalyptic. A shockingly large tent city, with about 500 homeless people around the countys Civic Center in Santa Ana, too, belies the television myth that Orange County is home to nothing but rich housewives and sun-drenched surfers. The scenes speak not only to the relatively new roles of police as caretakers for the mentally ill, they also speak to the burden shouldered by many departments that were cut to the bone during the recession. Anaheim police Chief Raul Quezadas response last year to the grand jury was blunt about a department stretched thin. His comments were similar to staffing concerns voiced by other departments even Orange and Westminster, which the grand jury called shining examples of a more enlightened approach while also recommending they nearly double training hours. While the Anaheim Police Department agrees that providing police officers 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training would greatly enhance the service delivery level to this challenging population, the impact to departmental operations to accommodate 40 hours for this training would be significant and untenable, he said. Still, Anaheim police Sgt. Luis Correa noted that the department presses ahead with additional training and has implemented or beefed up other programs. Those programs include a full-time Psychiatric Emergency Response Team that handles incidents involving the mentally ill, a Homeless Outreach Team to address mental health issues, training of the negotiations unit to deal with the mentally ill, and 20 homeless-liaison officers. LAURAS LAW Two years ago, Orange County adopted Lauras Law, named after Laura Wilcox, who was killed in Nevada County in 2001 by a man who had refused treatment for his mental illness. The law allows officials to order treatment for the severely mentally ill, sometimes against their will. The grand jury recommended mandatory and specific training related to Lauras Law for all officers. That makes sense at first glance. Yet the law is almost never used. Sheriffs Lt. Andy Ferguson pointed out that while deputies might face a situation with a mentally ill person about once a week, Lauras Law cases are few and far between. Still, like at other agencies, deputies are briefed on the law. The grand jury also left a warning that county health officials take on more duties: The main task of the police is to protect and serve the public. The time spent waiting for county clinicians to arrive at the scene, the time spent driving the mentally ill to hospital emergency rooms, and the time spent waiting (in) an emergency room with the mentally ill is wasted. All this wasted time is precious time that needlessly takes the police away from carrying out their primary duty of patrol. Contact the writer: dwhiting@ocregister.com Bernie Sanders profusely thanked his supporters. He said he looked forward to working with Hillary Clinton to advance key issues. And he urged like-minded followers to run for state and local offices so they can continue the political revolution he began. In short, during his 23-minute speech live-streamed across the country, Sanders sounded very much like a candidate prepared to drop out of the Democratic presidential race. Only the senator from Vermont pulled up short Thursday night, neither conceding the partys nomination nor endorsing Clinton in the general election. The major political task that together we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly, Sanders said of the presumptive Republican nominee. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time. But defeating Trump cannot be our only goal, Sanders cautioned, speaking from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. The senator reiterated his call to push the issues that animated his campaign centered on income and wealth inequality and he pledged again to maintain that effort up until the Democratic National Convention next month in Philadelphia. Aides said more than 218,000 people watched at least part of the live stream. Though inching ever closer toward a concession, Sanderss overall posture Thursday was consistent with his actions of recent days. While not bowing out of the race, he has done nothing of late to pursue the only available course left to wrest the nomination from Clinton, the partys presumptive nominee. That would involve persuading hundreds of superdelegates who have already announced their support for the former secretary of state to switch allegiances at the convention. Aides said Sanders has not been lobbying superdelegates the Democratic elected officials and other party elites who have a say on the nomination but are not bound by results in their states. Nor does Sanders have any immediate plans to do that, aides said. Sanders has instead been focusing his energy on trying to influence the Democratic Party platform and its future legislative agenda so that it looks more like the agenda on which he campaigned for president. During Thursday nights address given in front of a blue background emblazoned with numerous Bernie logos Sanders offered a lengthy recitation of the issues he talked about during his campaign. A small sampling: raising the minimum wage, making college tuition free, defeating bad trade deals, making health care a universal right and launching a massive jobs program to rebuild the countrys infrastructure. Sanders said he and Clinton agree on some of these issues, but on others, he said, there are major differences. A meeting in Washington between the two Tuesday night focused on some of those. I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda, Sanders said. I also look forward to working with Secretary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors. Aside from Trump, Sanderss most pointed criticism Thursday night was directed at the Democratic Party itself, which he joined to run for president after serving in Congress as an independent. Sadly, the current Democratic Party leadership has turned its back on dozens of states in this country and has allowed right-wing politicians to win elections in some states with virtually no opposition including some of the poorest states in America, Sanders said. His speech served as a call to arms for others considering running for political office and he announced a new website to advance that effort. I have no doubt that with the energy and enthusiasm our campaign has shown that we can win significant numbers of local and state elections if people are prepared to become involved, Sanders said. In some parts of the world, when a shark attacks a human, the shark becomes the hunted. Off Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, where in the past five years nearly 20 attacks and seven fatalities have occurred, anti-shark efforts include huge nets and underwater spotters armed with harpoons. Areas of South Africa also have offshore nets as well as a flag system to alert beachgoers when sharks are lurking nearby. And in Australia, after two deadly shark attacks in a week, a 14-foot shark was captured and killed on a baited drum line. As shark attacks become more common last year was an all-time record for shark attacks worldwide governments and lifeguard agencies are figuring out how to protect the public, sometimes in controversial ways. In Orange County where the most serious shark attack in recent history took place May 29, when a triathalete was seriously injured by what experts believe was a great white the weapon of choice, so far, is information. Since the attack in Corona del Mar, local lifeguards have met with great white experts to learn more about the species. Theyre surveying the coast more carefully and more frequently. And theyre shutting down beaches (at least twice in the past month) with less provocation. At least one agency, Seal Beach, is using a drone to scan the waters for sharks. Longtime Orange County lifeguards and experts are seeing more sharks than ever before. Former surf champion Ian Cairns is no stranger to coastal waters turning sharky. The Laguna Beach resident grew up in Western Australia, where he never feared sharks, even though he knew some might be nearby. But after deadly attacks in the region at least 12 since 2000 the attitude is shifting. The whole environment with sharks has changed, Cairns said. Theyve grown big, and theyve grown deadly. I see a real parallel to what is happening here, he added. We never thought about sharks. Now, they are everywhere. Like in California, where hunting great whites is banned, Australia years ago implemented restrictions on killing them. Now, the sharks that were saved as juveniles are adults: big, hungry adults. You just have this massive population of great white sharks, Cairns said. Everyones vibe will change really soon when someone gets killed. Cairns remembers visiting his hometown, Perth, Australia, where people would regularly swim and surf. But with the recent deaths in the region, he said people are afraid to get in the water. Someone gets bitten in half, it sort of cuts down on the enthusiasm, he said. In the wake of the two recent attacks, Australias Department of Fisheries patrolled waters and set up shark capture gear. After the first attack, which occurred near where a shark had injured a person a month earlier, officers trapped a great white. The 14-foot shark died on the baited line, and its carcass was disposed of at sea after scientists took measurements and tissue samples, according to sharksmart.com.au, a government-sponsored website dedicated to shark news in Australia. The government is considering reopening a shark fishery, shut down in 2007, and the regular use of baited drum lines to capture sharks. Baited drum lines were used in the summer of 2014, but the tactic was stopped amid public outcry. While some might argue that the tactic is pointless, Cairns compared it with eliminating a rogue mountain lion after it goes on a killing spree, saying authorities would be quick to kill the creature as soon as it becomes a man-eater. I love having a healthy marine environment. But is it healthy when one population grows so dramatically? he said. Its out of balance. Decades ago, shark attacks prompted officials in Sydney to set up nets off the beach. They did the same in Durban and other areas of South Africa, Cairns said. Some coastal areas in South Africa also have a shark flag system. A red flag means a shark has been spotted, but its exact whereabouts arent known. A white flag with a black shark means a shark has been spotted and remains close enough to make it unsafe for humans to be in the water. At Reunion Island, a small French territory in the Indian Ocean, officials put a ban on surfing and swimming in 2013 after seven deaths in just a few years. The waters recently reopened after long nets were installed and underwater lookouts were trained to patrol the shark nets with harpoon guns. The government also has set up smart drum lines, which send real-time information back to land. Ninety bull and tiger sharks have been tagged in an attempt to track them, and the hope is that real-time tracking might someday produce instant alerts that could be issued when sharks approach beaches. Areas of Australia have started using similar technology. Several shark-deterrent products have hit the market in response to the increase in attacks. Sharkbanz uses what the company describes as magnetic shark repellent technology in a wristband it claims is an anti-shark device. More recently, the company (after teaming with Australian surf brand Modem) said it has developed a surfboard leash that issues an electromagnetic field that it says interferes with a sharks electrical sense. A Sharkbanz press release describes the process like this: This interference reduces the risk of attack by causing inquisitive sharks to flee. The unpleasant experience for the shark is similar to a person suddenly shining a very bright light in another persons eyes in a dark room. Its important to note that Sharkbanz technology does not harm the shark or other nearby marine life. The cost of the product is $180. The press release notes that while the leash will reduce the risk of shark interactions, it doesnt promise complete safety. (T)here is no 100 percent guarantee that interactions will not take place, the release says. Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com In recent seasons, Costa Mesa Playhouse has had fun and pushed the envelope with non-traditional fare like Urinetown, Dog Logic and Bat Boy, the Musical. Now The Great American Trailer Park Musical joins that list of edgier shows, as Betsy Kelsos book and David Nehls lyrics satirize the stereotype of trailer trash poor, lower-class Southern whites. CMPs staging, directed by Cathy Petz, captures the 2005 off-Broadway shows broad laughs along with an element just as crucial: a confessional, bittersweet tone. As vital is the way Nehls score allows these well-meaning characters to express their heartaches. The shows dialogue and lyrics deliver some rough, raw laughs, with language to match a striking contrast to its characters, enmeshed in soap opera-like romantic entanglements. Petz imparts a suitably loose, funny, funky tone, providing a meditative show that evokes soft chuckles and hard guffaws while pulling at the heartstrings, and her cast effects a satirical sketch comedy flavor a la Saturday Night Live in essaying Kelsos fast-moving, enjoyably inventive script. Elizabeth Bouton is honest and ingenuous without making the agoraphobic Jeannie naive, delivering notable vocal work all around. Her opposite number is Pippi (Erin Bartosch), a young stripper who moves in next door and starts an affair with Jeannies husband Norbert (Jon Sparks). Bartosch evokes pathos for the sexy yet troubled young lady, delivering a sultry pole dance during the song The Buck Stops Here and serving up sizzling vocals throughout the show. Sparks Norbert is a decent everyman who honestly loves both Jeannie and Pippi. Jonathan Haidls portrayal of Pippis obsessive boyfriend Duke is goofily comical when scary and alarming would serve the role better. The shows heart and soul are Shannon Page, Emily Price and Montica Kirsch, solid comedic actors with dynamite vocals who function as the shows Greek chorus. Nehls first-rate lyrics advance the plot, and his musically viable, enjoyably authentic score covers a wide variety of genres country-western, hard and soft rock, Motown, gospel, blues and disco. Todd Hulet and Stephen Hulsey alternate on keyboard while leading the outstanding onstage band. Petzs detailed, ingenious scenic design features Jeannie and Norberts corrugated trailer cut away so we can see inside, the facade of Pippis trailer, and fold-out brick walls for the strip club. emarchesewriter@gmail.com Its a dumb question, I know, but thats exactly what Japanese company Seiren is trying to find out with its limited-edition of Deoest cotton underwear called Hawaiian Breeze. Apparently, each pair of boxer briefs were hung on a clothesline in the U.S. island state for 48 hours before being packaged in a sealed glass container. To promote its Deoest line of anti-odor mens underwear, Japanese company Seiren has taken the effort of hanging 100 pairs of the new boxer briefs on a giant clothesline in Hawaii, where they were caressed by the gentle tropical breeze for two full days before being taken down and stuffed into individual glass containers. I get the idea fresh air and anti-odor underwear kind of make sense together, so I guess it works for promotional purposes. What I cant wrap my head around is why they thought selling these 100 pairs of Deoest Hawaiian Breeze for $60 was a good idea. Designers briefs from established brands like Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren usually cost around $30, so why would anyone pay double that? Because they were exposed to Hawaiian air, or because they come in glass jar? But thats not all! For a limited time, shoppers who spend over 3,000 yen on Deoest products, will receive a complementary sealed plastic bag full of refreshing Hawaiian air. They even have a video showing how Seiren filled a canister with air on a Hawaiian beach and then shipped it to Japan where it was pumped in these tiny bags. They dont provide any advice on how to use the bag, but to avoid it mixing with the average air in your surroundings, I suggest making a tiny needle hole and sucking it into your lungs to get the full flavor Or you could spend just $7.5 on a can of French country air and skip on the anti-odor underwear. via RocketNews24 Science Week which promotes an interest in science and technology took place this week and was marked by a number of events around the country. Science Week which promotes an interest in science and technology took place this week and was marked by a number of events around the country. The Midlands of Ireland hosted a unique event for transition students from Offaly and Westmeath focussing on careers in science and technology. This event was facilitated by development agency Atlantic Corridor, which has developed a wide range of international links for the region in science and technology education. Almost 200 students from Gallen Community School, Ferbane and Athlone Community College participated in a workshop which gave an insight into careers in science and technology in sectors as diverse as renewable energy, software development and aerospace and engineering. The students also participated in animated discussions on careers and subject choices with CPL Resources plc, Irelands leading recruitment company which has a particular expertise in science and technology recruitment. Deputy Marcella Corcorcan Kennedy, TD made some opening remarks at the event and commented, I am delighted to be associated with this celebration of Science Week hosted by Atlantic Corridor. It is a great opportunity to demonstrate the importance of the sciences in all our lives and the potential it has for education and employment for our young people. It is also an opportunity to reflect on our scientific heritage and to appreciate the endeavours of people such as Mary King from Ballylin, John Joly from Bracknagh, George Johnstone Stoney from Clareen and of course the Parsons family from Birr who made significant contributions to science and engineering over approximately 150 years ago. Speakers at the Atlantic Corridor Science Week event included Heather Laurie of Mainstream Renewable Power who have recently established an operation in the Midlands region. She spoke about her enthusiasm to share her love of her work and career path. Being a female engineer and working in a pioneering renewable energy company like Mainstream is a very exciting. Every day were looking for new ways of doing things so I really get to use my creative side, which I love. I would say, if youre looking for a career which is fast-moving, exciting and where your ideas really count, engineering in the renewable energy sector is the place to be. And with huge renewable energy projects such as Mainstreams Energy Bridge coming on track in the next three to four years, Ireland is going to need lots more young, talented engineers who want to make a real difference. I certainly feel I am. Other speakers include Senan Coffey of Swedish Communications Company Ericsson who have a substantial presence in the Midlands region since the early 1970s. Ericsson is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Over 1,000 networks in more than 175 countries utilize Ericsson network equipment and 40 percent of all mobile calls are made through Ericsson systems. Senan Coffey commented, science and technology are all about where the world is going, what kind of future we will be able to shape, its great to be working as part of that. Georgia Tech is one of the worlds most renowned engineering universities based in Atlanta. It has an applied research facility based in the Irish Midlands. Dr Krish Ahuja, Regents Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta gave an inspiring talk about his journey into a career in aerospace research. He described how a boy from a home with no electricity in India stumbled into aerospace research through curiousity, sincerity, hard work and a love for thoroughness. He provided a unique prize for a raffle that took place among the students on the day. The prize was a coin provided by NASA which is engraved to reflect the fact that coin contains metal parts which were flown to the Moon as part of the Apollo Space Missions. The lucky winner was Joseph Egan from Gallen Community School, Ferbane. Judith Moffett, Manager of Science & Technical Engineering for CPL Resources plc remarked, the science and engineering job market in general is improving, albeit there is still redundancies occurring. This year we have seen an increase in demand for specialist roles in the pharma, biotech, medical device, manufacturing and electronics sectors. We are still experiencing a skills shortage for senior science and engineering professionals. Interestingly, we have also noticed a skill shortage in intermediate level specialists ranging from 1 to 5 years experience. These roles are becoming the most difficult for our clients to fill. This highlights how critical it is to maintain a steady pipeline of science and engineering graduates, who have a college placement during their courses, to ensure that our reputation for producing highly qualified technical candidates continues. Further information on Atlantic Corridor can be found on www.atlanticcorridor.ie and you can also find it on Facebook and follow it on Twitter. Loading... OilVoice will be with you shortly... The nuclear plant at Fort Calhoun is entering the twilight months of its 43-year life, and it could be another 43 years before the plant is safely and completely decommissioned. Decommissioning the industry term used to describe the process of securing, tearing down and decontaminating material and equipment exposed to radioactivity can take as long as 60 years. But even though a retired nuclear plant in neighboring Colorado was converted to burn natural gas about 25 years ago, OPPD President and Chief Executive Tim Burke said this deal is as good as done. Yes, the plant will initially be mothballed while the utility lets radiation decay on its own and it saves money for the more than $1 billion endeavor. Just dont expect engineers to return to Fort Calhoun to generate energy in the future, no matter what the fuel and no matter who is the next U.S. president, even if energy policy changes. That would be highly unlikely now that weve made the decision. Its still an economy-of-scale issue, Burke said of the countrys smallest nuclear plant. Because its the smallest, its hard to spread costs over a greater base of power generation, OPPD argues. At any rate, it will still be years before the plant is bereft of a significant workforce, Burke said. Just because you move the nuclear fuel from reactor to the spent fuel pool, you still have significant responsibilities from a nuclear safety perspective. The utilitys executives said they dont yet know a timeline for when employees might start getting cut from the roster. OPPD next has to submit a plan for its decommissioning to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. KEARNEY, Neb. Many little girls dream of being dressed in white and walking down the aisle on their wedding day, but not Kelcee Dickman. Instead, she rode on horseback through the draw behind the groom at the Cottonmill Park Amphitheater in Kearney, Nebraska, on June 11 to the tune of From this Moment by Martina McBride. "I had no idea, the groom Peder Jacobsen, said. He was so overwhelmed, he didnt know what to say. It was very emotional for everyone in the wedding party, the brides mother, Leslie Dickman, said. She said seeing her daughter riding up behind Peder looked as if it were in a movie. It was one of her best rides ever riding on horseback down the hill to marry the love of her life, Leslie said. Its been a challenge to keep the secret from Peder, Leslie said. She set up the surprise by borrowing Kelcees horse Zee in May by telling Peder she was using the horse for a trail ride. I didnt want him to think anything was up. We could have the horse here and ready for the wedding without him suspecting anything, Leslie said. Kelcee is the daughter of Monte and Leslie Dickman and grew up on their ranch at Thedford. She is the granddaughter of the late Robert and Jane Ayres of Kearney, who owned the Hub until the 1980s. Peder is the son of Rhn and Paula Jacobsen of Franklin. Leslie said her daughters love for horses outshines almost anything else in her life. Thats especially true of Zee, which she raised and trained. Zee is my buddy, Ive raised him, trained him, and he knows me so he wont mind the train that will be flowing down my back on to his. Kelcee said. Kelcee met the other love of her life, Peder, through mutual friends. They clicked during their first conversation. Kelcee laughs about how nervous the farmer from Franklin was when he proposed at Christmas. I found the ring in the bottom of my stocking," she said. She already knew what she wanted in a wedding, including her dream of riding down the aisle on horseback. Everything had a touch of Western to it, including my dress with a brown sash around the waist and trim of the dress. The decorations included sunflowers in Mason jars, and the men were dressed in blue jeans and boots, she said. After the wedding, kids in attendance got to ride the horse. The couple dont have plans for a honeymoon just yet. Once their corn is harvested, theyll take one. COUNCIL BLUFFS - Brianna Myres fascination with turtles started with Hercules. The young woman took ownership of the red-eared slider freshwater turtle when she was 10 years old while growing up in Council Bluffs. Learning about turtles and how to take care of them spurred my interested in turtles in general," she said. "The more I learned about the different types, the more I got interested in sea turtles in particular." Myre, a 2008 Abraham Lincoln High School graduate, has gone on to conduct award-winning research about sea turtle hormones and reproduction. In an academic career thats taken her across the country, Myre will next travel to Costa Rica to continue her research on the endangered species. Myres journey started while studying physiology in her high school AP biology course. I really dug into that. I wondered if it was possible to specialize in sea turtle physiology? she said. It is. Myre majored in fisheries and wildlife at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a minor in Spanish. She interned one summer in the reptile area at the Henry Doorly Zoo, working with a variety of species. The following summer, she interned in the mammal rehabilitation field at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. A year later, she was on Topsail Island, North Carolina, where she focused on sea turtle rehabilitation at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. After graduating, Myre headed south to obtain her master's degree at Southeastern Louisiana University, about an hour north of New Orleans. There, she set to work on her most ambitious project to date: for two years, Myre studied the reproductive cycle in loggerhead sea turtles. Her work took her to St. Lucie, Florida, where she was able to study adult female loggerheads. She explained that the nearby nuclear power plant pulls in seawater to use a coolant and sea turtles are often caught up in the process. Theres a group that helps rescue everything caught there," she said. "They catch a lot of adult females in breeding season." Her research included using an ultrasound and blood tests to figure out when the turtles would bread. Sea turtles generally breed every two years. Myre and her research team were able to identify a protein the turtles produce when theyre getting ready to produce eggs. That particular protein helped us determine if a given sea turtle would nest that year, she said. We call it a pregnancy test, but its actually better. You can predict it before the pregnancy occurs. Myre explained the breakthrough: When studying turtles, researchers often want to know about turtles in the area. Are they nesting or just an adult hanging out? The project took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Myre struggled to find funding and supplies, while no one had done this depth of project in the labs at SLU before. The team had to work to get grants, obtain permits and make the trek to Florida for samples and ultrasounds. There were a lot of trials in getting that off the ground," she said. "It was every day am I going to be able to make this happen or not? I was tearful at my defense of my master's. So many people helped make this happen. In February, Myre presented her findings at the annual meeting of the International Sea Turtle Society, which gave her a Conservation Impact Award for her work. At the event, many experts in the field whose work shed read and admired encouraged her to continue her research. Her findings will also be published soon in the scientific journal, Copeia. Myre said she will continue her research. She recently completed her first year at Texas A&M, where her Ph.D. project works to continue to develop the pregnancy test and further the breadth of her study. For instance, shes working to develop a test that can determine if a sea turtle has recently eaten. There are sick sea turtles in America and rest of world," she said. "We wonder if its related to what theyre eating. In order to tell that we need to have a test for it. We also want to develop ways to determine what a healthy turtle looks like. Right now, theres no standardized method to measure length and weight of a sea turtle and say this sea turtle is healthy for its size. We want everyone to use the same criteria. Another step in her research? The trip to Costa Rica. Myre will head south in early July, spending about two months studying sea turtles in the Central American country. Shes set up a Go Fund Me account to raise money for use on lodging and boat rentals during the field research. Myres parents still live in the area. Her mother, Jennifer, lives in Council Bluffs, while her father, Tom, lives in La Vista. Her younger sister Brittany is a junior at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, while he other sister, Beth, will be a sophomore at Papillion-La Vista South High School. She said she makes it home for Christmas and whenever she can during the summer. Its always very emotional to come back and see my family. Some things change and some things stay the same, she said. But the next adventure is never too far away, pulling her from her hometown. Myre expects to complete her studies at Texas A&M in 2020. After that shell likely stay in academia, finding a professor job thatll allow her to work in a lab and train future sea turtle biologists. This is my lifes work. This is my dream above any dream in life, she said. I wanted to work with sea turtles, but also help find tools conservationists and biologists can use that will be useful to use to help them be more successful in the wild and help them recover from their endangered status. DES MOINES An Iowa legislator has been called to active duty with the Iowa Air National Guard. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant and a major with the Air National Guard, will serve in support of military operations from June through September. Its Nunns fourth deployment. He was previously on active duty with the Air Force, amassing 700-combat flight hours during three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. A statement released Thursday by Iowa House Republicans says Nunn, a cybersecurity and counterintelligence officer, was specifically requested to be called to active duty by the U.S. Department of Defense based on those skills. Gujarat: 14-yr-old rape survivor gets HC nod to end 22-week pregnancy Ahmedabad oi-PTI Ahmedabad, Jun 17: The Gujarat High Court has allowed termination of 22-week pregnancy of a 14-year-old rape survivor, holding abortion was in the "best interest" of the teenager. "After careful inquiry of the medical opinion on feasibility of the pregnancy as well as social circumstances faced by the victim, this Court is of the opinion that termination of pregnancy requires to be permitted, which is in the best interest of the victim," Justice Sonia Gokani said in an order given last week. "The victim's fragile health and poor haemoglobin level require that a team of doctors examines her once again and also ensure her safety," she maintained. The girl, from Rajkot, had moved a special criminal application seeking Court permission, at the earliest, to terminate her pregnancy of 22 weeks citing her age and "in the larger interest of justice". Continuance of pregnancy would cause grave injury to her health and well being, it said. The HC relied on an order of the Supreme Court in the case of Chandrakant Jayantilal Suthar vs State of Gujarat where the apex court had held the "best interest" of the victim as the benchmark for passing orders in such cases. Gokani said, "In the present set of circumstances, the Court's decision has to be guided by the best interest of the victim alone and not of the stakeholders nor of the guardian." "It can be noticed that the patient has severe anaemia with 6.5 per cent haemoglobin and pregnancy of 22 weeks and 3 days as on June 7. The medical opinion suggests termination can be carried out with the order of the Court and after correction of anaemia with due risk of the procedure." As per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, termination of pregnancy can be done up to 20-week of pregnancy. A rape case was filed on May 22, 2016 in Rajkot mahila police station after the victim's parents came to know their daughter was pregnant. The accused, a 21-year-old youth who was known to the girl, was later arrested and is currently behind bars. The victim's parents first moved a Court in Rajkot for termination of pregnancy. However, the Rajkot Court denied nod for the medical procedure following which they approached the HC. PTI Tamil Nadu lights up with festive spirit for Deepavali Mamata likely to visit Chennai for WB Governor's family function Tamil Nadu: 65-year-old man dies watching 'The Conjuring 2' in theatre! Chennai oi-Preeti Panwar Chennai, June 17: In a shocking incident, a 65-year-old man died while watching the recently released Hollywood horror movie -- The Conjuring 2, at a cinema theatre in Tiruvannamalai on Thursday, June 16 night. According to a report published in TOI, two persons, both native of Andhra Pradesh, had gone to watch the night show of 'The Conjuring 2' at Sri Balasubramaniar Cinemas in the town. While watching the climax of the movie, one of them complained of chest pain and fainted. He was rushed to the Old Government Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The hospitalst staff asked his companion to take deceased's body to Tiruvannamalai Government Medical College Hospital for conductig postmortem. However, he fled away with the deceased's body. Meanwhile, the police is inquiring to establish the identity of the deceased. OneIndia News Sangeet Som and many like him are enough to take down UP Feature oi-Pallavi Sengupta Uttar Pradesh always had issues with the law and order situation, but politicians like Sangeet Som make it worse. As he embarks on the 'Nirbhay Padyatra' today, horrifying visuals of the Muzaffarnagar riots flood back. Considered to be the man behind instigating the riots, he was the prime suspect who incited provocation through a hate speech here. He was also said to have shared a video that claimed to show the murder of Sachin and Gaurav. It was later revealed that the incident in the vidoe clip had no connection with the riots in Muzaffarnagar. He was not alone, there were others too who added oil to the fire. For instance Congress minister Saeedulzaman, BSP MLAs Noor Saleem alias Pappu Raja and Maulana Jameel and Muslim leaders Salman Saeed, Sultan Nasir, Naushad Quereshi, Maulana Musarraf, Ahsan Quereshi and Asad Zaman too had 'strong' opinions about the video. Not just Muzaffarnagar riots It would be wrong to adjudge Sangeet alone, but there have been no dearth of leaders who have done the same when it comes to maintaining the law and order situation. Take the instance of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP Supremo, whose statements on rape prove why UP is turning into a criminal's den in the country. Just to remind the mysogyny: "One commits rape and four more are named. Can such a thing happen? It is impractical" "Girls first make friends with boys. When they disagree to a certain thing, they call it rape. Boys make mistake. Should we hang people in rape cases?" "What can I say about the kind of women entering the Parliament-the wives and daughters of businessmen, who invite whistles for boys." "Only high society women can rise, not the women from our villages. They are not as attractive." Like Father, like son The most embarassing part was when Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said during a press meet organised after the Badaun rape case and said, "YOu did not face any problem, did you?" (on asking about the safety and security of the women in the state). The Dadri incident and more Top ministers attracted media ire with their particularly hate statements. Be it the Dadri lynching or the beef ban, everything became a political gammot for hate crime...to the point that the causes merged. While meeting with the family of the accused in Dadri lynching case, Sangeet Som said, "The state government will pay the price for its partial behaviour towards one community. Like they (the ruling Samajwadi Party) had taken the accused in Muzaffarnagar riots in a plane, they have taken those cow killers in a plane." He further said, "The case reported from the village was an outcome of anger towards the Akhilesh Yadav government. Police have never taken action in the cases related to cow slaughter. I appeal to the state government to stop atrocities on innocent villagers.The visit of people like Owaisi from Hyderabad will disturb law and order. I request Azam Khan and Owaisi to stop making statements on this issue. Otherwise Hindus know how to retaliate." Similar was the reaction of Bhoopendra Chaudhary, Hindu Raksha Dal President, who said,""Hindus will not tolerate attacks on our mother cow." "The cases of cow slaughter will be dealt with in the same way like the Hindus did in Bisada." Nawab Singh Nagar, former BJP legislator from Dadri, in fact, went straight ahead and held the family of the Dadri victim responsible. "It is obvious that such an incident will lead to anger among people and there will be communal tension. If this was the case, the family is in the wrong. If they have consumed beef, they are also responsible. This is a village of Thakurs and they express their sentiments in a very strong way. If they have done this, they should have kept in mind what the reaction would be," he said. Tarun Vijay, RSS leader, as quoted in an article in Indian Express, said, "lynching a person merely on suspicion is absolutely wrong, the antithesis of all that India stands for and all that Hinduism preaches. But I wonder why there was no outcry from the secular media and leaders when Tika Lal Taploo was killed by jihadis and his daughter was left alone in this world. The secular brand of communalism is more lethal sometimes than the bullets of violent people." Then questioning the "so-called liberal Muslims", he says,"Have you done anything to show Hindus that you stand with them when they are assaulted by the Andrabis? Muslim silence on Hindu woes is often taken as support for intolerant Islamists. In many parts of India, cow slaughter is a serious offence." "Sadly, secular celebrations of "beef festivals", as well as the provocative butchering of a cow in a bazaar for political mileage, have pushed a society that worships the cow as mother to question the real motive of the seculars," he further adds. He later took to Twitter and said, "Why responsibility to keep peace and maintain calm is always put on the Hindus alone? Be a victim and maintain silence in face of assaults!" The surprising part was the Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma's comments that in a way justified that the lynching was not meant to "harm" a woman, but was triggered by the woman's father. Bizarre and illogical as it sounds, he said, "u must have seen that whenever there is any buzz about cow slaughter, media, people all rush (to the spot). All those who love the cow rush (to the spot). It (the murder) took place as a reaction to that incident (cow slaughter). You must also consider that there was also a 17-year-old daughter in that home. Kisi ne usey ungli nahin lagaayi (no one touched her). The attack was triggered by sudden outrage over cow slaughter,Sharma said. "Momentarily hai (It was momentary). Gaay ke maans par hum logon ka... andar se aatma hilne lagti hai (On beef... our soul starts shaking). You can kill other animals, mutton, and people don't (react)... (but) when you name cow... We have linked the cow with our mother....................................................It's a very sad incident. We condemn it. But don't give it a communal colour." Author Dimitris Mita had rightly pointed out, "The flute of the Pied Piper of Hamelin has never left us and it is essential that we train our ear to detect its false notes because in our case the flute is being played by the rats." It is important whom we follow and best to judge what we follow. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 17, 2016, 15:24 [IST] Bangladesh: At least 69 dead in fire in apartment used as chemical warehouse in Dhaka After death threats in Dhaka, Ramakrishna Math in touch with PMO India oi-PTI Kolkata, Jun 17 Following death threat to a member of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka, authorities of the Order have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apprising them of the situation. "Our general secretary wrote a letter to both of them requesting to look into the matter. We explained what has happened in Dhaka," a monk of the Order, headquartered in Belur near here, told PTI. He said both of them have expressed their anxiousness in the matter and offered all possible help. "After the incident, we are in constant touch with the PM's Office. Our chief minister also called us up. We are also in touch with the high commission in Dhaka and adequate security arrangements have been made," the monk said. The Mission had received a threat letter on Wednesday which said the member will be killed if he continued to preach his religion amid a spate of targeted murders across Bangladesh by suspected militants in recent months. PTI Chhath Puja fasting rules: What one must keep in mind during the 4-day festival 'Alchemist' author Paulo Coelho's new novel on Mata Hari India oi-PTI New Delhi Jun 17: Author Paulo Coelho's next novel 'The Spy' is based on the imagined life of Mata Hari, the courtesan who was accused and executed for treason, a hundred years ago, publishers Penguin Random House India said. Mata Hari was a Dutch dancer who shocked and delighted audiences during the first World War, and she became a confidant to some of the era's richest and most powerful men. She dared to liberate herself from the moralism and provincial customs of the early twentieth century, but ultimately paid for it with her life. Books written by Coelho include 'The Alchemist' among others have sold 200 million copies in 160 countries including India. Susan Sandon, Managing Director of Cornerstone, has acquired the rights to the new novel by Coelho. Sandon, acting on behalf of Hutchinson at Cornerstone, Hamish Hamilton in Australia and New Zealand, and Penguin Random House India, struck a deal for an undisclosed figure with Monica R Antunes at Sant Jordi Asociados. 'The Spy' is set to be published this November simultaneously with Knopf in the US. Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin Random House India said "I am delighted to be publishing Paulo Coelho again. He is such a widely loved and respected author in the subcontinent, and I truly believe that the captivating story of Mata Hari, an extraordinary woman ahead of her time, will resonate deeply with readers in India." As Mata Hari she waited for her execution in a Paris prison, one of her last requests was for a pen and some paper to write letters. PTI Amul clocks quantum leap of 187% in 6 years India oi-IANS By Ians English Ahmedabad, June 17 The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the popular Amul brand of milk and dairy products, has registered a quantum growth of 187 per cent in the last six years, indicating a whopping cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2 per cent. During the last three years, Amul achieved a growth of 67 per cent to clock a turnover of Rs 23,004 crore during the year 2015-16. This was revealed at the 42nd annual general meeting of the GCMMF held at its headquarters Anand in Gujarat. The group turnover of GCMMF and its constituent member unions, representing the figure of all products sold under the Amul brand, was Rs 33,000 crore or $5 billion. Rapidly moving up the global rankings, Amul is now ranked as the 13th largest dairy organisation in the world, according to the latest data released by the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). It is ranked well ahead of other dairy companies such as Land O'Lakes & Schreiber Foods of USA, Muller of Germany, Groupe Sodiaal of France and Mengniu of China. Speaking at the AGM, GCMMF Chairman Jethabhai Patel said: "In the last two years, when dairy farmers across the world saw a sharp decline in farm-gate prices of milk, only farmer-members of Amul cooperative family have witnessed growth in milk procurement price." He cited the instance of dairy farmers in New Zealand who suffered a 47 per cent fall in farm-gate prices of cow milk during the last two years. On the other hand, with its focus on marketing value-added milk and dairy products in consumer packs, farmer-members of the Amul cooperative witnessed 17 per cent in their milk procurement price during the same period. Patel stated that, "During the last six years, our milk procurement has witnessed a phenomenal increase of 87 per cent. This enormous growth in milk procurement was a result of high milk procurement price paid to our farmer-members which too has increased by 90 per cent during this period." Amul had succeeded in almost doubling the income of the farmers in the last six years, he added. GCMMF Managing Director R.S. Sodhi said Amul's initiative in "promoting the concept of commercial, scientific and cooperative dairy farming is also helping in attracting next generation of dairy farmers to remain in the business." He added that, "by aggressively promoting dairy entrepreneurship among rural youth, the benefits of 'Make in India' initiative can also be extended to rural India." According to him, said, "If our rural youth view dairy entrepreneurship as an attractive livelihood option, it could go a major way in checking migration from villages to urban areas. Incentive schemes to promote dairy entrepreneurship and commercial dairy farming among rural youth can be the central pillar of our 'Make in Rural India' strategy". IANS Man booked for tweets against Maha CM; has a history of such posts against leaders Auto rickshaw driver shot at in Mumbai India oi-PTI Mumbai, June 17: An auto rickshaw driver was allegedly shot at by unidentified persons in eastern suburbs, police said on Friday,June 17. The incident took place yesterday at around 4 PM at Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College when Salim Sheikh had stopped by to answer nature's call and some unidentified assailants shot at him from a black colour car, a senior police official said. Sheikh, a resident of Shivajinagar, sustained bullet injury on his shoulder and was admitted in Kolekar nursing home in Ghatla area in Chembur. His condition is stated to be stable, the officer said. A case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) has been lodged in this connection with Tilak Nagar police station. Investigators are looking into all angles with regard to the shootout and are also ascertaining that whether Sheikh was assaulted due to enmity with someone, an official of Tilak Nagar police station said. It is also being checked if Sheikh has any criminal record, he said. PTI 'Godavari flows to Austin on its anniversary' India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Austin: June 17: Godavari Restaurant Chain - The fastest growing South Indian food chain Opens its 10th Franchise Location by stepping into Austin, TX on the eve of its first anniversary. The Restaurant chain that began its journey last year in Boston serving authentic south Indian food is all set to expand to Austin and San Antonio while launching Godavari Foundation in AP and Telangana. Godavari restaurant chain, the fastest growing South Indian food giant in America now sets its foot into Austin this weekend. The more special occasion will be the anniversary of the exciting chain that has already been alluring food lovers in nine locations of the United States for a year. The Austin restaurant will be the tenth of the group as well as the second in the state of Texas. Godavari Austin is strategically located just a few miles away from the corporate offices such as Apple Inc, Dell Inc, Oracle and many more. "TEAM" Godavari is coming up with a unique concept for the grand launch with Mega buffet called as "Pancha Kattu" Lunch Buffet. Those serving food will be dressed in authentic Pancha and Langa Voni, the cultural symbols of south India. Godavari will serve the buffets with brand new authentic recipes which were sent by the grandmothers from across AP, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Some of the varieties include "Bheemavaram Bonda, "Kinnerasani Appadam Bajji", "Mangamma gari Mamsam Pappucharu", "Avakai Koramenu Pulusu", "Rayudu Gari Raagi Sankati", "Naatu Kodi Guddu Pulao" and many more for the first time in the US. Godavari Austin is also coming up with a special food truck named "Godavari Express" to serve the party crowd in Sixth Street in Austin and also serve at live caterings in Austin and San Antonio area. Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Teja Chekuri, Co-founder of Godavari Group expressed happiness at the growing footprint as well as the patronage for Godavari. "The Austin restaurant is our second in Texas and is expected to tickle the taste buds of the large Indian diaspora. It is also the anniversary location and truly reflects our journey that began in Boston". Koushik Koganti, was awarded the prestigious young alumni achiever award by Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and his inspiring speech received a huge applause from the Alumni. Here is the video of his speech. Venu Peddu, Srinivas Gondi & Rajsekhar Reddy Pasham, from Godavari, Austin Franchise said "We are now gearing up to open our new location in San Antonio in the coming months to serve the huge Indian community, and happy to be a part of Godavari family and also have been a part of "TEAM" Godavari since the beginning. Godavari had a huge celebrity visits during the last months in Dallas, Boston, Chicago and the film personalities were mesmerized by the authentic dishes that Godavari is serving across the US. Godavari also served a huge gathering of "Telangana Association of North America (TENA) in Boston very recently and received compliments from the guests. "Godavari Foundation" is going to be inaugurated in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to be driven by a young and dynamic team. "Godavari's huge success in this short time should be attributed to the young and dynamic team that wants to show the power of incredible Indian food across the globe," said, the franchise owners of Godavari Austin. We TRUST our Legacy Continues in Austin and San Antonio areas. We would invite every food lover to taste our authentic recipes. OneIndia News Govt and Indian Airforce have full faith in HAL, says defence minister Parrikar India oi-Vicky Bengaluru, June 17: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who is in Bengaluru told reporters that both the government and the Indian Airforce have confidence in the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). He was at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore today to witness the first test flight of Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), country's indigenous basic trainer aircraft. The minister also entered the cockpit of the aircraft to have a closer look and later said that he was extremely impressed. Confidence in HAL: When a reporter asked the defence minister as to why this project had been delayed, he said that there were some issues in the past. It was pointed out to him that the IAF had refused this aircraft. However, Parrikar showed the press a bottle of water in his hand and said that it was pure. Showing the clear colour of the water in it, he said today everything is clear. The government and the IAF have full faith in the HAL. It depends on how the bureaucracy is handled he said. The bureaucracy will perform exactly like the government, he said while taking an obvious dig at the earlier government [HTT-40 has the full backing of IAF: Manohar Parriakar] On the Raphael deal, the minister said that discussions are still on. I will soon get the report on this from our side. The matter will be taken forward based on that, he also said. Kashmir: On the Kashmir issue, Parrikar showered praises on the intelligence bureau. He said that the IB has done a very good job in identifying terrorists. There are several encounters that take place today and this is because the terrorists are being identified he said. He also said that in the past few months the number of casualties involving the Indian army personnel has drastically come down. This is because the coordination is very good and the Intelligence Bureau had been picking up information on the location of the terrorists. The HTT-40: This aircraft would be used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services. The IAF will procure 70 of these aircrafts HAL has said that the programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018. It is also proposed to introduce weapons to this aircraft. The aircraft weighs 2,800 kilograms and has a turbo prop engine of 950 shp class. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 17, 2016, 17:01 [IST] Gulberg massacre case: 11 get life term India oi-Vicky New Delhi, June 17: The special court hearing the Gulbarg massacre case has awarded life terms to 11 persons. While delivering the verdict on the quantum of sentence, the court awarded seven years imprisonment to 12 while one more person was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. The court had convicted 24 persons in connection with this case while acquitting 36. The court had fixed June 17 as the date for the sentencing. After it had held 24 persons guilty there were long winding arguments on the sentencing. The prosecution had argued that the highest sentence be awarded in this case. The court had convicted 24 persons and acquitted 36 in connection with the Gulbarg massacre case in which 69 persons were killed. The special court while delivering its verdict convicted 11 out of the 24 persons for murder. The verdict came 14 years after a mob of nearly 20,000 attacked the Gulbarg society comprising 29 bungalows and 10 apartments in which 69 were killed. Bipin Patel, a corporator of the BJP who was accused of being part of the mob had been acquitted. The others to be acquitted are police inspector K G Erda, Atul Vaidya a VHP leader among others. In the case there were a total of 338 witnesses who testified. The trial went on for 6 years. This is one of the nine cases in the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots case. The Supreme Court had appointed a Special Investigating Team to probe all the nine cases. The SIT while probing the case named 66 persons in all of which 9 are still in jail while the rest obtained bail. The Supreme Court which is monitoring the probe had ordered the special court to give its verdict soon. The SIT had said in court that 39 charred bodies had been found which is an indication that they had been burnt alive. The SIT further submitted that it had found petrol cans, swords and lathis at the site. OneIndia News . Gulberg massacre- Sentencing of 24 accused today India oi-Vicky Ahmedabad, June 17: A special court in Ahmedabad will today hand out sentences to the 24 persons who were convicted in connection with the Gulberg massacre in Gujarat. Last week after arguments on the sentencing had concluded, the court had said that it would fix a date on Monday. The court has directed all parties to be present in court when the quantum of the sentence would be delivered. The court had convicted 24 persons and acquitted 36 in connection with the Gulbarg massacre case in which 69 persons were killed. The special court while delivering its verdict convicted 11 out of the 24 persons for murder. The verdict came 14 years after a mob of nearly 20,000 attacked the Gulbarg society comprising 29 bungalows and 10 apartments in which 69 were killed. Bipin Patel, a corporator of the BJP who was accused of being part of the mob had been acquitted. The others to be acquitted are police inspector K G Erda, Atul Vaidya a VHP leader among others. In the case there were a total of 338 witnesses who testified. The trial went on for 6 years. This is one of the nine cases in the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots case. The Supreme Court had appointed a Special Investigating Team to probe all the nine cases. The SIT while probing the case named 66 persons in all of which 9 are still in jail while the rest obtained bail. The Supreme Court which is monitoring the probe had ordered the special court to give its verdict soon. The SIT had said in court that 39 charred bodies had been found which is an indication that they had been burnt alive. The SIT further submitted that it had found petrol cans, swords and lathis at the site. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 17, 2016, 8:10 [IST] Gulberg verdict: SIT to approach HC on 'lenient' sentencing India oi-PTI Ahmedabad, June 17: Special Investigation Team (SIT) counsel in the 2002 Gulberg massacre case, R C Kodekar today expressed dissatisfaction about court's verdict in the case and announced to approach the High Court, as he felt the sentence was too "lenient". Kodekar was upset especially after the court's refusal to add "till death" clause in the life sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the case. "Today's verdict is not that satisfactory. We feel the sentence is lenient and inadequate. During arguments, we had appealed to the court that life imprisonment till death should given to all. We are not convinced with the penalty awarded," said Kodekar. "12 convicts were given only seven years, which is very lenient too. It should be either ten years of life imprisonment," he said. "We will appeal in the High Court," said Kodekar. Gulberg is one of the nine cases that was investigated by Supreme Court appointed SIT, headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan. A special court here today sentenced 11 convicted in the massacre, to life imprisonment till death if the state does not exercise power to remit the sentence. The court awarded ten year jail term to one of the 13 convicted for lesser offences while 12 others have been given seven-year sentence each. The prosecution had argued that all the 24 convicts should be given death penalty. The Gulberg Society massacre, which took place here on February 28, 2002 when Narendra Modi was the Gujarat Chief Minister, shook the nation when a mob of 400 people set about attacking the society in the heart of Ahmedabad and killed the 69 residents including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT. PTI HTT-40 has the full backing of IAF: Manohar Parriakar India oi-Oneindia By OneIndia Defence Bureau Bengaluru, June 17: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday that the Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) project of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has the complete backing of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Addressing a press conference at HAL's Hawk hangar, inside the Old Airport, Parrikar said that with a new government in place at the Centre, the project has been given a renewed push. Showering praise on HAL's youngsters who spearheaded the HTT-40 project, Parrikar said he had confidence in the team right from the word go. "I had interacted with the young team earlier. When I met them last year, they showed me a presentation and I was convinced that they would deliver. In fact the aircraft first flew ahead of the schedule (May 31, 2016). I am happy," Parrikar said. Ahead of the press meet, Parrikar witnessed the official flight of HTT-40, during which it did some limited manoeuvres. This was the Basic Trainer Aircraft's (BTA) 8th flight since its maiden flight on May 31. HAL has full freedom to export BTA Keeping HTT-40 on focus and not wanting the media to raise other issues, Parrikar said he has given the full freedom to HAL to explore the export potential of HTT-40. "As per the current plan, the production should start in 2018. I have told HAL care of the after sales customer care well, an area they need to improve. The indigenous content of HTT-40 is very high and close to 80 per cent. The IAF is very keen on this aircraft and they have given full backing. Let's not dig into the past and talk about what happened earlier," Parrikar said. Orders could go up for BTA in future Saying that the HTT-40 has the firm commitment from the IAF (70 numbers), he said the numbers could go up to 200 in future depending upon the demand from various users. "Our government has given the required support the project requires," the minister said. The minister did not forget to mention the name of the HTT-40 Project Manager Prashant Singh Bhadoria, a 36-year-old engineer, who played a key role in the programme. Prashant, hailing from Nanded in Maharashtra, is with HAL for the past 15 years. Young team gets a pat on their back Parrikar also invited the young HTT-40 team members for a group photo and said: "Seeing their confidence even I am feeling very positive. As it is, I am a very positive man." Earlier soon after the aircraft landed, Prashant took Parrikar for a walk-around his pet project. Parrikar also got into the cockpit and chose to use the pilot's ladder instead of VIP one, specially positioned next to the plane. HAL Chairman T Suvarna Raju said HTT-40 had already completed around 20 test points. OneIndia News President Tran Dai Quang and Great Supreme Patriarch of Mohanikaya sect Tep Vong (Source: VNA) In the morning the same day, the President paid courtesy calls to Great Supreme Patriarch of Mahanikaya sect Tep Vong at Unnalom pagoda and Great Supreme Patriarch of Dhammayuttikaya sect Bour Kry at Say Pope pagoda. He expressed his belief that with Tep Vong at the helm, Cambodias Buddhism will increasingly flourish, and with his role and prestige, the host will make more positive contributions to the solidarity, friendship and neighborliness between Vietnam and Cambodia. Tep Vong welcomed the visit, which was expected to tighten bilateral friendship and cooperation, and wished that on the back of past achievements, Vietnam - Cambodias ties will be everlasting. Meeting Bour Kry, the Vietnamese leader affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people will do their best to nurture the traditional friendship between the two nations. He hoped that Bour Kry would continue educating Buddhists and Cambodian people about the tradition of bilateral ties. The host, for his part, said Cambodian Buddhists wished for peace, prosperity and development for Cambodia and Vietnam, and for Southeast Asia in general. He stated confidently that the two countries will stand side by side to reinforce their solidarity and friendship. Also in the morning, President Quang held a meeting with representatives of Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia. Speaking at the event, the State leader spoke highly of the role of Vietnamese investors and the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia (AVIC), saying that successful joint projects in trade, investment and tourism have increased the State budget and created more jobs in Cambodia, thereby contributing to the bilateral comprehensive cooperation. The Vietnamese Party, State and government will continue devising strategies and adopting effective measures to facilitate long-term business operations in Cambodia and encourage Vietnamese investment in the neighboring countr, in the principle of equality and mutual benefit, he said. He also urged Vietnamese firms to improve their business efficiency in Cambodia, abide by the host countrys law and contribute to its social welfare. According to the AVIC, Vietnam has invested USD3.2 billion in 172 projects in Cambodia, becoming the fifth largest investor in the country, mostly in the fields of finance-banking, energy, mining, agro-forestry and telecommunications. Vietnamese tourist arrivals to Cambodia have grown year on year, and Vietnam has been among the top sources of visitors to the country over the past five years. On the occasion, the President also presented a USD1 million vocational training school to Prey Veng province. Concluding the visit, both sides issued a joint statement./. Mehbooba Mufti gets notice to vacate official bungalow 'meant for J&K CMs' Accession Day: Valley lights up on this day when J&K became part of India Jammu and Kashmir: One terrorist killed in an ongoing gun battle India oi-Jagriti Srinagar, June 17: At least one terrorist was killed on Friday in an ongoing encounter between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore region. The area around the house where militants are hiding has been cordoned off and efforts are on to eliminate the militants. The gun battle reported a day after four terrorists and soldier were killed as Army foiled an infiltration bid in Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control in Kashmir on Thursday. This was second infiltration bid foiled by the security forces along the LoC in Kashmir. On Tuesday, an infiltration bid was foiled in Machhil sector of Kupwara district. Soldier, 4 militants killed as Army foils infiltration bid near LoC The two-day operation left one militant dead while one soldier laid down his life. Four other jawans were also injured in the operation. 1 terrorist killed in an ongoing encounter in Sopore (J&K) (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/HppI2AduZx ANI (@ANI_news) June 17, 2016 OneIndia News Justice for Rohith Vemula: Teachers protest to revoke suspension of two colleagues India oi-Oneindia By Maitreyee Boruah Hyderabad, June 17: The protests and dharnas at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), Hyderabad, are far from over. On June 17 (Friday), the teachers of UoH staged a protest at the university campus to revoke the suspension of two faculty members by the administration. The protest was hosted by the University of Hyderabad Teachers Association (UHTA) and the SC/ST Teachers Forum. "Faculty members on the campus are distressed because of the suspension of Tathagata Sengupta and KY Ratnam. After their arrest in March, this is a double punishment they are being made to go through," P Thirumal, general secretary, UHTA, told reporters. On a Facebook post, Joint Action Committee for Social Justice of UoH-the group spearheading the protest movement demanding justice for Rohith Vemula--wrote, "We extend complete support to the demands put forward by the SC/ST Teachers' Forum and concerned teachers. We demand the immediate revocation of suspension of Professor KY Ratnam and Dr Tathagata Sengupta. We appeal to the student community of the UoH to join hands in rage against unrestrained attacks on struggling student and teacher communities. Please assemble at 11 am in front of University Administrative Block." It has been five months since the students of the UoH, Hyderabad, are fighting to get justice for Rohith Vemula. Rohith, 26, committed suicide inside the campus of the university in January. Rohith's tragic death has become a rallying point for all those who have long been saying that there exists a systematic discrimination of Dalit students in the higher educational institutions across the country. "Radhika Vemula (Rohith's mother) will join the hunger strike today in support of two suspended faculty members and to demand arrest of the vice-chancellor of UoH, Appa Rao Podile. It has been five months since Rohith's suicide, but till now, none of the accused has been arrested. Instead those who were seeking justice were arrested, lathicharged, jailed and suspended. Despite these clampdowns, the movement has not stopped, it only got intensified," said a post on the Facebook page of Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (UoH). OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 17, 2016, 12:39 [IST] Induction of Congress MLAs into BJP is death of Parrikar's legacy, says outgoing Goa deputy CM Swaraj, Parrikar, Ananth Kumar: BJP has lost some of its tallest leaders recently Manohar Parrikar promises to resolve Secunderabad road closure issue India oi-IANS By Ians English Hyderabad, June 17 With the army's decision to close certain roads in Secunderabad Cantonment causing concern among general public, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday assured that he will try to solve the problem. Speaking at a meeting at Bollarum in Secunderabad, he said he would assess the ground situation and interact with the members of civil society. Parrikar stressed on solving the problem in a give and take manner by holding discussions with the army, Ministry of Defence and the state Government. He said that the Secunderabad issue will be treated as his personal problem and assured that it will be resolved in a limited time frame. He gave the assurance when the issue relating to closure of roads was brought to his notice by public representatives during the inauguration of the newly built Cantonment General Hospital at Bollarum. He said he shares the concerns of both the military and the civilians. He highlighted the issues related to security threat by giving examples of Pathankot and Gurdaspur terror attacks which were executed by a few persons. The hospital inaugurated by the minister is proposed to be named after Sardar Vallabhai Patel. It was previously known as Cantonment Infectious Diseases Hospital. Established in 1933 and maintained by Cantonment Board, Secunderabad, it used to serve medical needs of Secunderabad Cantonment area and also patients from the surrounding municipalities and villages. IANS Parrikar terms Chinese intrusions as an annual affair India oi-Oneindia By OneIndia Defence Desk Bengaluru, June 17: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was in his elements today while interacting with the media. Addressing a press conference, after the first official flight of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd's (HAL) Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40), Parrikar had the media into splits on many occasions. When asked about the recent Chinese intrusion into the Indian territory, Parrikar said: "I think it is an annual affair now. The transgression area is an issue. But the situation has come down when compared to past." The minister said the talks between both sides have increased and the commander-level interaction on border is helping to resolve the issue. "We've pushed them back every time they came in," the minister said. To another query on the heightened terrorist strikes in the Valley, the minister said in the last two days alone, the security forces have neutralized two infiltration bids. "The ratio is 1:4.4 (for every soldier martyred more than 4 terrorists are killed). But I do not want even one jawan to die and our efforts are in that direction. The issue escalates during winter season," Parrikar said. To a query on the proposed Joint Commands, the minister said that he was awaiting a report from a committee headed by a Lieutenant General rank officer. "The question is whether we need so many commands. India has 17 commands and China has only six. We will take a call after the report is submitted," he added. On Aero India-2017, the minister said it will be held at Bengaluru only, setting aside the speculations that it will be shifted to Goa. On Rafale deal, Parrikar said it is proceeding on the expected lines. He said the Tejas Squadron formation will be held in July with three aircraft set to be inducted. On DTTI (Defence Technology and Trade Initiative), the minister said talks are moving in the right direction with aircraft carrier technologies being discussed currently. When quizzed on the same topic again, the minister said: "You cannot expect me to be a walking encyclopedia." OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, June 17, 2016, 14:54 [IST] Cabinet approves infusion of Rs 1,500 crore in IREDA: Here are the Highlights Seventh Pay Commission: Cabinet approval delayed, expected in July India oi-Jagriti New Delhi, June 17: The implementation of much awaited Seventh Pay Commission has been delayed once again as the matter is expected to be placed before Cabinet for approval in next month. Reportedly, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries is yet to take a final call on basic pay hike during its meeting last week. 7CPC: Good news for govt employees!Secretary Panel submits report;recommendations to be implemented soon The approval is expected after the Finance Ministry will prepare a note and present it before the Cabinet. AK Mathur led 7th pay panel had proposed a minimum monthly basic salary of Rs. 18,000 and maximum Rs. 2,50,000 for the central government staff. 7th Pay Commission: Arrears likely in October Sources say that government will go by the recommendations of secretaries panel as later has taken into account concerns of all stakeholders including employees' unions and trade Unions. A number of paramilitary chiefs held meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday to discuss the issues related to Seventh Pay Commission. OneIndia News Chhath Puja fasting rules: What one must keep in mind during the 4-day festival Special Marine police for India: Just see how well equipped terrorist groups are at sea India oi-Vicky New Delhi, June 17: When it comes to guarding a country, it is extremely important that the borders are secure. However in todays scenario, it becomes even more important to guard the sea as it continues to be exceptionally vulnerable. India's 7,516 kilometre coastline is guarded by the state marine police, Indian coast guard and the Indian Navy. The coastal states had complained that the security is just not enough and this led to Home Minister Rajnath Singh announcing that the government would seriously consider setting up a special marine police force. The setting up of this force is extremely important as the sea is a busy place where illegal fishermen, drug mafia, Chinese spies, pirates and of course the terrorists operate. In this context it must also be noted that almost all terrorist outfits have a maritime unit. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba in particular has the most advanced one and with tying up with the al-Shabab has only made it the strongest. What equipments do maritime units of terrorist groups have? The Lashkar-e-Tayiba makes it mandatory for every recruit to undergo a course in maritime training. In their kitty they have high speed recreational boats, scuba diving equipment and water scooters. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba has also associated itself with two other groups the al-Shabab and the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islamiya. Headed by Abu Yakoob, these two outfits boast of a strength of 3,000 members who have been trained to undertake maritime operations. The al-Qaeda has used the Indian waters several times to smuggle arms. They have a dedicated team which operates on sea. However if they plan to launch a sea borne attack, they are more likely to depend on the resources of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The other groups which specialise at sea are the Jemmah Islamiah and the Abu Sayaaf. The JI has several speed or suicide boats. This group had attacked a US vessel in 2003. The Abu Sayaaf is a lethal group based in Philippines. They continue to use the old wooden boats to avoid coming under the radar. However their men laden with machine guns carried out the Super Ferry attack of 2004 in which 100 were killed. Intelligence and constant monitoring: During an address by the former Home Secretary of India, G K India in New Delhi, he had touched upon the aspect of maritime security. He had said that there is a constant need to upgrade maritime security. We have been constantly discussing this issue during various high level meetings. However, maritime security is not easy. There are lakhs of fishing boats, and it is almost impossible to monitor each one of them. We could put an interceptor on a big boat, but the smaller ones are a problem, he had also said. Intelligence Bureau officials have been pointing for long that maritime threats are the highest and most dangerous and the capabilities to launch a sea-borne attack was also seen during the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. OneIndia News 'Ram temple movie wont stall mediation', says SC as it refuses to stall the film release 'Udta Punjab' released, protests in Ludhiana India oi-PTI Chandigarh, June 17: "Udta Punjab", a drug-themed Bollywood film that was embroiled in a censorship row and multiple legal battles, was released across the country on Friday,June 17 as scheduled without any incident being reported barring protests by Shiv Sena activists in Ludhiana. Police took 30 activists of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) into preventive custody in Ludhiana after they tried to create ruckus when the movie screening was going on in a multiplex there even as tight security arrangements were put in place at various places across Punjab. They were later released. The Police said that security at cinema halls and multiplexes, especially in prominent shopping malls at various cities including Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, was beefed up. In Ludhiana, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) leader Rajiv Tandon demanded that the film should be banned because it was defaming Punjab. The activists of the outfit tried to forcibly enter Goverdan Mall where the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film was being screened. Police, however,prevented their entry. No other untoward incident has been reported. The film starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh that delves into how a large number of youth in Punjab have succumbed to drugs had also triggered a political slugfest. The film was cleared by the courts with some directions like cutting one scene after its producers and the Censor Board were locked in a bitter row. The movie was said to have been released to favourable reviews and also received a thumbs up from the Hindi film industry with stars like Katrina Kaif, Pooja Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt praising the movie's gritty content and outstanding acting. "I thought it was a really outstanding film. Both Shahid and Alia have done an unbelievable job. Alia's performance is absolutely brilliant in the film. I think it is a beautiful movie," Katrina said. PTI UK PM Cameron assures support to India's NSG bid India oi-Shubham Ghosh London, June 17: UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday (June 16) pledged his country's "firm support" for India's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [What is NSG?] The UK, thus, became one of the many countries, including the US, to back India's efforts to become a member of the elite club which engages in nuclear trading. China and Pakistan are among countries that have opposed India's entry in the NSG. The nuclear trading group is set to have a crucial meeting next week. A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister spoke to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of nuclear supplier countries that works together to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons." Cameron and Modi also took stock of UK-India ties in their telephonic conversation. "They agreed that the UK-India relationship was going from strength to strength, including through the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and wife Kate)," the spokesperson said. Oneindia News [With PTI inputs] Donald Trump does it again, says 'US must consider racial profiling' Grief of Orlando victims' kin was beyond description: Prez Obama International oi-Shubham Ghosh Washington, June 17: US President Barack Obama on Thursday (June 17) said after meeting kin of the victims of the mass shooting that took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, that their grief was beyond description, a National Public Radio (NPR) report said. Click here for more stories on Orlando Shooting "Through their pain and through their tears, they told us about the joy that their loved ones had brought to their lives," Obama said, adding: "These families could be our families. In fact, they are our families - they're part of the American family ... our hearts are broken too." [While Mateen killed 49, Imran Yousuf saved 70 lives] Forty-nine people were killed after a 29-year-old gunman opened firing in Pulse night club while over 50 were injured. The killer, Omar Mateen, was also killed by the security froces. Obama, who has got a few months left in office, appealed for unity across political lines to stop militant activity during his two-hour long meeting with the victims' kin. [Obama 'directly responsible' for Orlando shooting: John McCain] He said: "Given the last two terrorist attacks on our soil - Orlando and San Bernardino - were homegrown, carried out, it appears, not by external plotters, not by vast networks or sophisticated cells but [by] deranged individuals warped by the hateful propaganda that they'd seen over the Internet, then we're going to have to do more to prevent these attacks from occurring." [Shootings to recur in absence of strict gun control laws: Obama] The US president said such attacks require a different way of handling and called for further restrictions on the gun culture, which is being seen as a major social menace in the country. Oneindia News 'Pakistan's N-programme has increased risk of conflict with India' International oi-PTI Washington, June 17: Pakistan's "full spectrum deterrence" nuclear doctrine and increasing fissile production capability have increased the risk of a nuclear conflict with India, a Congressional report has said amid Pakistan's efforts to drum up support for its NSG membership bid. "Islamabad's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called 'full spectrum deterrence' have led some observers to express concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India, which also continues to expand its nuclear arsenal," the bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more, said the report 'Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons', authored by Paul K Kerr, analyst in non-proliferation, and Mary Beth Nikitin, specialist in non-proliferation. According to the copy of the report dated June 14, which was obtained by PTI, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against it. CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress, which periodically prepares reports on issues of interest to American lawmakers for information purpose only and does not represent the official position of the US Congress. Running into 30 pages, the report comes in the wake of Pakistan lobbying at the Capitol Hill and before the US government in support of its membership to the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. Though noting that Pakistan in recent years has taken a number of steps to increase international confidence in the security of its nuclear arsenal, the CRS report observed that instability in Pakistan has called the extent and durability of these reforms into question. "Some observers fear radical takeover of the Pakistani government or diversion of material or technology by personnel within Pakistan's nuclear complex. While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards," CRS said in its report meant for the lawmakers to take an informed decision. CRS said the current status of Pakistan's nuclear export network is unclear, although most official US reports indicate that, at the least, it has been damaged considerably. Referring to Pakistan's NSG membership application, the CRS said according to US law, the Obama Administration could apparently back Islamabad's NSG membership without congressional approval. In the past few weeks, top Pakistani leadership including its Ambassador to the US has been writing letters to lawmakers and meeting Government officials to push for its NSG bid. PTI President Tran Dai Quang and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hunsen (Photo: VNA) The following is the full text of the Joint Statement. 1. At the invitation of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, H. E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , and Madame Nguyen Thi Hien led a high - level Vietnamese delegation to pay a State visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia on June 15th-16th. During the visit, President Tran Dai Quang had a Royal Audience with His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni. The President also met Samdech Vibol Sena Pheakdey Say Chhum, President of the Senate, Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly, and Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. President Tran Dai Quang also paid a courtesy call on His Holiness Samdech Preah Akka Maha Sangharajadhipati Tep Vong, Great Supreme Patriarch of Mahanikaya, and His Holiness Samdech Preah Abhisiri Sugandha Maha S angharajadhipati Bour Kry, Great Supreme Patriarch of Dhamayuttikanikaya of the Kingdom of Cambodia and laid wreaths at the Independence Monument, Monument of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preah Borom Ratanak Kaudh the late King Father of Cambodia and the Monument of Cambodia - Vietnam Friendship. 2. In an atmosphere of solidarity, friendship, mutual understanding and trust, leaders of the two countries had extensive discussion s and exchanged views on all dimensions of the relations of friendship and comprehensive cooperation as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest of the two countries. President Tran Dai Quang congratulates the fraternal Cambodian people on the enormous and prideful achievements made in national reconciliation and development. The President express es his deep conviction that under the wise reign of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, and the leaders of the Senate, the National Assembly and the Royal Government of Cambodia, the people of Cambodia would achieve greater success in the course of national development and would successfully organise communal elections in 2017 and general elections to select members of the National Assembly, sixth legislature in 2018, contributing to realisation of a peaceful and prosperous nation. His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni and other leaders of Cambodia congratulated President Tran Dai Quang and through the President extended congratulations and best regards to the newly-elected Vietnamese leaders, deeply valued the first ever State visit to Cambodia by President Tran Dai Quang, extolled the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people to safeguard and reunite the country in the past, and congratulated Vietnam on remarkable achievements in national reforms and development. The Leaders of Cambodia also wished that the people of Vietnam, under the leadership of Vietnams Communist Party and State, would successfully realise the goals of industrialisation and modernisation. 3. Both sides noted with satisfaction the excellent progress of the friendly neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation in recent years that generated practical benefits to the two peoples. President Tran Dai Quang underscored that Vietnam always values the good friendship and strong support extended to the people of Vietnam of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, the leaders and people of Cambodia in the past struggle for national independence as well as in national development today. His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni and other leaders of Cambodia expressed their deep gratitude for the strong support and assistance that generations of leaders and people of Vietnam accorded to the people of Cambodia in the past and at present, and affirmed that they always remember the assistance of the Vietnamese voluntary soldiers in cooperation with Cambodian people to liberate Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge genocide regime in 1979. 4. Both sides pledged to continue strengthening and advancing the bilateral relations under the mantra of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive and lasting cooperation, fully observe the principles in the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Statements in 1999, 2005 , 2009, 2011 and 2014, to respect each others independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interfering in each others internal affairs and not allowing any hostile forces to use the territory of one country to threaten the security of the other, and settle all problems arising between the two countries by peaceful negotiations. 5. Both sides agreed to increase high-level meetings and contacts, and exchange of delegations at all levels; promote people-to-people contacts, particurlarly between the people of the border provinces. Both sides underlined the importance of providing both people knowledge of the traditions of friendship, solidarity and multual support between the two countries. 6. Both sides agreed to instruct relevant ministries and agencies concerned to collaborate with each other to amend the mechanisms and agreements in order to promote bilateral trade, invesment and economic connectivity between the two countries. They also agreed to review policies with a view to achieving USD5 billion of bilateral trade in the coming years . 7. Both sides re-affirmed to continue to fully implement Treaties and Agreements and MOUs on border isssues between the two countries, and are committed to find once-and-for-all solutions to remaining border sections along the Vietnam-Cambodia borderline in order to complete land border delimitation and markers plantation as soon as possible with an aim to build the borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and sustainable development between Vietnam and Cambodia. 8. President Tran Dai Quang thanked His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni and other leaders and authorities of Cambodia for providing assistance to Vietnamese residents over the past years . In spirit of friendly neighborliness between the two countries, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam hopes that the Kingdom of Cambodia would continue to take measures in ensuring the legitimate rights of Vietnamese residents, equally treated as other foreign residents in Cambodia in conformity with the laws and regulations of Cambodia. 9. In the evolving regional context with current developments, both sides noted with satisfaction the coordination and cooperation between the two countries at multilateral fora during the past years. In this regard, both sides are committed to continuing to further advance the coordination and cooperation through promoting the collaboration, information sharing and mutual support for the sake of strengthening ASEANs unity and centrality which contribute to peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region, and the world at large. Both sides encourage the settlement of disputes by peaceful means including negotiation and consultation, exercise of self-restraint, renunciation of the threat or use of force in accordance with universally recognised principle of international laws, including the 1982 United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both sides are committed to working closely with each other and other members of the Mekong River Commission, Mekong-Lancang Cooperation and other Mekong cooperation mechanisms to ensure the sustainable management and use of the Mekong river water resources. 10. Both sides agreed to coordinate with each other in organising activities and events solemnly marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Cambodia diplomatic relations (June 24th, 1967 - June 24th, 2017). 11. Both sides expressed appreciation for the outcomes and the profound significance of the Presidents State visit, which is seen as a pivotal event that contributes to the promotion of traditional solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in a sustainable manner. 12. President Tran Dai Quang expressed his sincere thanks to His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni and the people of Cambodia for the gracious hospitality accorded to him, Madame and the high-level delegation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 13. President Tran Dai Quang kindly invited His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and Leaders of the Senate, the National Assembly and the Royal Government of Cambodia to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and other Cambodian leaders expressed their heart-felt thanks and accepted the invitation./. Sanders will work with Clinton to stop Donald Trump International oi-IANS By Ians English Washington, June 17: Bernie Sanders has urged his supporters to look beyond the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech that stopped short of fully endorsing Hillary Clinton but made clear that he was no longer actively challenging her candidacy. In the speech that signalled the effective end of a 14-month campaign odyssey, the Vermont senator insisted his "political revolution continues" despite Clinton's effective victory in the delegate race, The Guardian reported. But crucially, Sanders implied he would soon be working with her campaign to help defeat Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump. "The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Trump is defeated and defeated badly," Sanders said. "And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time." "Let me conclude by once again thanking everyone who has helped in this campaign in one way or another," he said. "We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future." Sanders speech may frustrate some Democrats who hoped the Senator would swiftly encourage his supporters to back Clinton before the party's national convention. "I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda." Earlier on Thursday, campaign manager Jeff Weaver said he was no longer seeking to change the Democratic superdelegates -- something that had previously allowed Sanders to maintain there was still a theoretical path to victory in the nomination race. "We would like to get to a place where we could very actively support the nominee," Weaver told Bloomberg Politics, insisting that "we'll have a unified party coming out of" the national convention in July. Officially, the Clinton campaign has appeared patient with the process, issuing a statement after the talks on Tuesday saying they had "agreed to continue working on their shared agenda, including through the platform development process for the upcoming Democratic National Convention". Pressure has been mounting on Sanders among other Democrats in Washington, where he was criticised on Thursday for not taking part in a Senate filibuster on gun control. Sanders began his campaign last April with little expectation of winning more than a handful of delegates or states, let alone seriously challenging the former secretary of state for the nomination, and primarily viewed the process as a way to raise awareness of progressive issues. But his surprisingly strong performance in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire and a series of record-breaking rallies had seen the movement evolve into a proud insurgency that some felt could go all the way. Sanders will almost certainly remain a powerful force on the progressive wing of the party but is now likely to call on his supporters to throw their weight behind Clinton in the face of a historic threat from Trump. IANS py/vm No need for massive new strikes on Ukraine: Vladimir Putin 'If NATO clashes with Russian army, it will lead to global catastrophe,' says Putin Vladimir Putin calls for parliamentary elections on September 18 International oi-IANS By Ians English Moscow, June 17 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree calling for the elections to the State Duma (lower house) to be held on September 18, Kremlin said. While the date of the elections was already known, the presidential decree is meant to officially launch the electoral process for the renewal of the Duma, composed of 450 deputies, Efe news reported. Initially the elections were scheduled for December 4, but the Duma itself decided in July 2015 to advance them to September 18, to coincide with municipal and regional elections to be held on the same day. The Duma's decision was endorsed by the constitutional court. IANS 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn (Source: baochinhphu.vn) At a reception for Thai Deputy Prime Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn in Hanoi on June 16th, the Vietnamese Government leader suggested the two countries, as the worlds biggest rice exporters, partner with each other to keep rice prices beneficial to their farmers. A boost should be given to collaboration in trade and investment, he said, citing opportunities awaiting Thai investors after Vietnam engages in many new-generation free trade agreements. Besides, Vietnam boasts abundant and skillful labour resources that can meet Thailands demands, he added. The leader also proposed the two countries join hands in culture, national defence and security while strengthening bilateral ties in people-to-people diplomacy. Praising the affiliation between Vietnam and Thailand in regional and international forums, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged the two countries to team up with other effected nations and international organisations, in the management, and sustainable and effective use of Mekong River water resources. More joint efforts should be focused on the actualisation of an action programme to realise the strategic partnership for 2014-2018 as well as agreements reached at Vietnam-Thailand joint Cabinet Retreats, the host said. For his part, the Thai Deputy PM voiced his wish that the Vietnamese Government will create more optimal conditions for Thai businesses in the country. The Thai Government encourages local investors to run long-term and sustainable operation in Vietnam, he said. The guest conveyed Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ochas invitation to PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc to pay a visit to Thailand in a bid to consolidate bilateral ties and partake in a number of activities making the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries (August 6th, 1976). Also on June 16th, the Thai Deputy PM met with his counterpart Vu Duc Dam, during which they shared the view that Vietnam and Thailand hold substantial potential for cooperation in economy, trade and investment that can bring bilateral trade to USD20 billion. They agreed on the need for the two countries to reach a plan on tourism cooperation for 2016-2018 soon and foster their partnership in education. Host and guest consented to continue cooperating with other ASEAN member countries in order to maintain the intra-bloc solidarity and carry forward the ten-member groups central role and common voice on regional and international issues. The same day, Thanasak Patimaprakorn was welcomed by National Assembly Vice Chairman Do Ba Ty, who thanked the Thai Government and people for their USD100,000 aid package donated to Vietnams southern provinces stricken by drought and saltwater intrusion. Ty said he wished that the two countries will maintain the exchange of delegations at all levels, effectively implement their cooperation mechanisms and agreements, pay more heed to the role played by each countrys legislative body and step up cooperation between their parliamentarians. The Thai Deputy PM pledged to make all-out efforts in order to consolidate and strengthen collaboration between the two countries across all fields. He is on an official visit to Vietnam from June 16th-19th./. Rumble 03 Aug 2022 A quick clip on a former Auschwitz survivor explaining how the yellow star that she had to wear on her shoulder was a symbol of you.. Rumble 18 Oct 2022 A conversation with Cathering Austin Fitts. Catherine is an American investment banker and former public official who served as.. euronews (in English) 30 Aug 2022 Fighting between rival Iraqi forces rages for a second day in and around Baghdad's Green Zone where 23 supporters of powerful.. Rumble 26 Oct 2022 Suzie Etc. is a freelance research investigative journalist reporter Vlogger and can be found on the following social media.. Police in Papua New Guinea on Thursday arrested the director of the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption directorate, Matthew Damaru.Mr Damaru's lawyer said his client was taken in for questioning by officers of the police internal affairs division and were expected to charge him with abuse of office.The arrest follows a previous attempt to detain Mr Damaru on Wednesday, apparently on the orders of the police commissioner, Gary Baki.The allegation relates to Mr Damaru's arrest of the Supreme Court judge, Sir Bernard Sakora, in April on suspicion of judicial corruption.That case was thrown out by the National Court last week.But it highlighted a glaring division between the police hierarchy and anti-fraud squad officers who've been probing a major corruption case that implicates the Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill.Following Sir Bernard's arrest, Mr Baki ordered the closure of the anti-fraud squad's offices, a decision that was overturned by the National Court.Radio New Zealand Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. Learn more Two first cousins in East New Britain in Papua New Guinea were sentenced recently to five years each in jail for having an incestuous relationship. The National Court in Kokopo sentenced Janice Lucas and Sakia Tobing from Tinganagalip village in Central Gazelle after they were found guilty. The court heard that between Jan 2014 and Jan 2016, the two prisoners were having a long term relationship. When their parents and village elders found out, they tried to stop them but the couple would not listen. Even the village court tried to settle the matter several times, but to no avail. The father of the male offender took a bold stand and reported the matter to the police and the two were arrested. The court heard that the father and mother of the two prisoners were biological brother and sister. The father and mother of the two prisoners expressed great concern over their childrens actions saying it was highly immoral and degrading to the Tolai custom. Justice Salatiel Lenalia told the two that they did not respect their parents concern and that of the community leaders. He sentenced the two to five years in jail and suspended two years and they will serve the balance of three years. The National / One PNG Copyrighted Image? DMCA Reprinted from us10.campaign-archive1.com 'Allegedly' Disappears as Russians Blamed for DNC Hack A Washington Post video turned a computer security firm's allegations about a DNC hack into a series of unsourced factoids. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday (6/14/16) that Russian intelligence had hacked the DNC servers to steal opposition research on Donald Trump: Russian Government Hackers Penetrated DNC, Stole Opposition Research on Trump While the Post story by Ellen Nakashima was sourced to "committee officials and security experts who responded to the breach"--i.e., CrowdStrike, the security firm hired by the DNC--that attribution dropped out of the headline, presenting Russian government culpability as an unquestioned fact. This framing was echoed by dozens of media outlets who picked up on the story and uncritically presented Russian guilt in their headlines without qualification: Russian Government Hackers Broke Into DNC Servers, Stole Trump Oppo ( Politico , 6/14/16) ( , 6/14/16) Russia Hacked DNC Network, Accessed Trump Research ( MSNBC , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russians Steal Research on Trump in Hack of US Democratic Party ( Reuters , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russian Government-Affiliated Hackers Breach DNC, Take Research on Donald Trump ( Fox , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russia Hacks Democratic National Committee, Trump Info Compromised ( USA Today , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russian government hackers steal DNC files on Donald Trump ( The Guardian , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russians Hacked DNC Computers to Steal Opposition Research on Trump ( Talking Points Memo , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) Russian Spies Hacked Into the DNC's Donald Trump Files ( Slate , 6/14/16) , 6/14/16) What Russia's DNC Hack Tells Us About Hillary Clinton's Private Email Server (Forbes, 6/15/16) Then something strange happened. Wednesday afternoon, a person or persons using the name "Gufficer 2.0" (referencing a hacker who infamously got into the Bush family emails) published online what appears to be detailed information derived from the hack. In the post, Gufficer 2.0 claimed the hack wasn't nearly as sophisticated as CrowdStrike claimed, and wasn't the work of hackers working for Russian intelligence. While it's definitely conceivable that Gufficer 2.0 could turn out to be a front for Russian intelligence, as CrowdStrike alleges, it certainly raises doubts as to the airtight case against Russia. Tech website Vocativ (6/16/16) concluded with a note of skepticism from Jeffrey Carr, CEO of a competing cybersecurity firm, who observed that while "it's not unusual for any intelligence service to cover its tracks," I'm skeptical almost all the time when it comes to attribution". I think the entire historical assignment of [government-affiliated] actors"was just wrong. That they were never part of an intelligence service or military service in the Russian government, that they were always independent hackers, and we don't really know who they are. In the wake of the Gufficer 2.0 development, some media outlets began to hedge their bets. Notice the shift in framing from Wired's Andy Greenberg: Russia's Breach of the DNC Is About More Than Trump's Dirt (/www.wired.com/2016/06/hack-brief-russias-breach-dnc-trumps-dirt/">6/14/16) Thirty-six hours later -- after the Guccifer revelation: A Chaotic Whodunnit Follows the DNC's Trump Research Hack (/www.wired.com/2016/06/chaotic-whodunnit-follows-dncs-trump-research-hack/?mbid=social_twitter">6/15/16) They were 100 percent certain the hack was Russian, and now it's a "Whodunnit"? International Business Times also shifted from a "Russia did it" to a "it's a mystery" framing: Russian Hackers Infiltrated Democratic Party Computers to Steal Research on Donald Trump (6/14/16) (6/14/16) DNC Hack: Security Firm CrowdStrike Stands by Research as Russia Strongly Denies Involvement (6/16/16) Suddenly things aren't so certain. Which is good--journalists should update stories as they evolve--but this raises an essential question: Why was everyone so willing and ready to take CrowdStrike's word for it, without an ounce of skepticism, in the first place? Upon entering the White House in 1977, Brzezinski formed the Nationalities Working Group (NWG), dedicated to weakening the Soviet Union by inflaming ethnic tensions, especially among the Islamic populations of the region. While Brzezinski activated his scheme, former CIA operative Graham Fuller was station chief (1975-1978) in Kabul. Conveniently for Brzezinski, Fuller's focus was on how to politicize the Islamic world on behalf of American interests. As Fuller explained his thesis : "In the West the words Islamic fundamentalism conjure up images of bearded men with turbans and women covered in black shrouds. And some Islamist movements do indeed contain reactionary and violent elements. But we should not let stereotypes blind us to the fact that there are also powerful modernising forces at work within these movements. Political Islam is about change. In this sense, modern Islamist movements may be the main vehicle for bringing about change in the Muslim world and the break-up of the old "dinosaur" regimes." In 1977 Fuller was in a position to activate Brzezinski's scheme. As CIA station chief in Kabul he was perfectly positioned to provide Brzezinski with the intelligence necessary to build a case for President Carter to sign a directive allowing him to lure the Soviets into invading Afghanistan. For Brzezinski, getting the Soviets to invade Afghanistan was an opportunity to shift Washington toward an unrelenting hard line against the Soviet Union. By using covert action, he created the conditions needed to provoke a Soviet defensive response, which he then used as evidence of Soviet expansion. However, after Brzezinski's simple exaggerations and outright lies about Soviet intentions became accepted, they found a home in America's imagination and never left. US foreign policy, since that time, has operated in a delusion of triumphalism, provoking international incidents and then capitalizing on the chaos.From its origins in 1977 as a covert program to destabilize the Soviet Union, through ethnic violence and radical Islam in Afghanistan, Soviet Georgia, Azerbaijan and Chechnya, a line can be drawn to the Orlando massacre shooter. The theories, practices and policies implemented by Brzezinski, prior to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, have found their logical evolutionary step, and the violence continues.If it hadn't been for Brzezinski's scheme, Omar Mateen, the man believed to be solely responsible for the June 14 massacre, most likely would have been born in Afghanistan 29 years ago, instead of the United States. We will never know what kind of man Mateen might have become had he been born and raised in the home of his ancestors. One thing is sure; the time has come for Americans to question whether the legacy of Brzezinski's obsession with conquering the world at any cost should continue to be an American dream as well. Because of dueling tragedies in Orlando, the Egypt Air black box, and the gun violence filibuster, the Clinton FBI investigation has taken a back burner. But Julian Assange has hinted at a mass document dump that will eliminate any doubt over her wrongdoing as Secretary of State. Truthdig has more: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says his organization's upcoming leak of more Hillary Clinton emails should be enough to indict her -- but doubts the FBI will do so. "As the presidential race heats up, there has been increased attention on the FBI investigation into Clinton's emails as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has begun to use the scandal as an offensive strategy against his Democratic opponent. Clinton isunder investigation by the FBI because of her reliance on a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, breaking multiple department rules on cybersecurity. "WikiLeaks, an organization created to publish classified information, made major waves in March when it published a searchable archive of Clinton's emails. Now, Assange is promising another leak of emails that he believes could serve as sufficient evidence for the FBI to indict her. Speaking via video in an interview on Britain's ITV network, he noted that WikiLeaks 'had a very big year ahead.' "'We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton,' he said. 'We've accumulated a lot of material about Hillary Clinton. We could proceed to an indictment.' "Assange said, however, that in his opinion, the FBI would choose not to indict her in hopes of gaining favor with a Clinton administration. 'The FBI could push for concessions from the new Clinton government,' he said. But, he added, 'there's very strong material, both in the emails and in relation to the Clinton Foundation.' "As The Guardian notes, Assange has long been a critic of Clinton's politics. He once said that 'she has a long history of being a liberal war hawk,' and last week he even accused Google of manipulating search suggestions to help her campaign." Mikhail Gorbachev and Barack Obama have radically different views on what is involved in doing away with nuclear weapons. Reading Gorbachev's new book, The New Russia, is a bit disappointing, but it contains some key insights. It may also be a cure for insomnia; it's no page turner. It's part decades-long diary and travelogue, part petty self-aggrandizement (by someone in no need), and part ill-informed conservatism. Gorby claims that Obama "honoured his promise to withdraw from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." In fact, both are still raging, the never completed withdrawal from Iraq fell wildly short of the campaign-promise schedule, and Obama actually promised to escalate in Afghanistan, which he did, tripling the U.S. presence and making that war primarily his own in terms of deaths, days, and dollars. The fact that smart well-informed people abroad, like Gorbachev, fall for common U.S. myths is an indication of how very difficult foreign relations can be. Gorby thinks that Obama wants to eliminate nuclear weapons, and claims that Obama decided not to put missile systems into Poland and the Czech Republic. In fact, the people of the Czech Republic decided that. Obama put the missiles on ships, opened a base in Romania, and began construction in Poland. Gorby claims that Russian diplomacy deserves the primary credit for preventing the 2013 U.S. bombing of Syria. This is indisputably false, as numerous chronologies, including Obama's own statements in the Atlantic magazine last month, make clear that first public pressure resulted in Obama's reversal of his decision to bomb, and second, he picked up the idea of removing the Syrian government's chemical weapons. Yet it is true and important that the United States and Russia cooperated nonviolently on the project. Gorbachev writes as a friend to and frequent visitor to the United States, a general believer in accepted mainstream wisdom, and a critic who, as seen above, is generous to a fault. So it's worth paying attention when he writes from his own direct experience, and when he offers guidance on what might be done in the future. Obama's view, as expressed in Prague and Hiroshima, is that nuclear weapons are needed for defense and cannot possibly be eliminated for many years or decades to come, if ever. Gorbachev's view, as expressed in his book and elsewhere, is that history can be fundamentally shaped by politicians if they will only abandon their fatalism and set their minds to it. He says this, of course, as someone who worked with the United States to end the Cold War and to reduce nuclear weapons. He even tried to negotiate the total elimination of nuclear weapons, but Obama's hero Ronald Reagan would not go along, refusing to give up the outlandish boondoggle that Obama is putting into Romania and Poland, as well as into Alaska, California, and a new site proposed for New York, Michigan, or Ohio. This weapon is misleadingly called Missile "Defense" or Star Wars. Obama sees the big hurdle to eliminating nukes to be the "evil" that has supposedly been in the human species since the "rising of the first man." Gorbachev sees the biggest hurdle as something else entirely, something much more down-to-earth and reparable if the will can be found to act. The time has come to eliminate nukes, he writes, "but could it be considered realistic if, after ridding the world of weapons of mass destruction, one country would still be in possession of more conventional weapons than the combined arsenals of almost all the other countries in the world put together? If it were to have absolute global military superiority? . . . I will say frankly that such a prospect would be an insurmountable obstacle to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. If we do not address the issue of a general demilitarization of world politics, reduction of arms budgets, ceasing the development of new weapons, a ban on the militarization of space, all talk of a nuclear-free world will come to nothing." This is striking. Many U.S. peace groups, and at least many peace groups abroad that I'm aware of, think of overall demilitarization and abolition as rather dreamy diversions. First, they say, we should take a concrete step by eliminating nukes. Then we can move on to eliminating war and switching to alternative modes of foreign relations: aid, diplomacy, the rule of law, cooperation. But here is a world authority on nuclear disarmament negotiations, and a former president of the other main nuclear power, saying that unless the United States, the world's dominant military, pursues major overall disarmament, nukes cannot be eliminated. Gorbachev objects to the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy which commits the United States to global military superiority. He objects to the Clinton-Bush-Obama expansion of NATO -- and he objects to it as a violation of the agreement that re-unified Germany. He objects to the use of NATO to wage wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya. He objects to U.S. exceptionalism and unilateralism. Yet he proposes cooperation and better approaches going forward. Even in this self-defensive book, Gorbachev admits many shortcomings of his own and of Russia's. He praises many things American. Primarily, however, he offers the tough love of an old ally: You won't end war with more war. You won't make friends with more weapons. You won't make a better world by compounding the errors of the old one. See original here 'Hi. This is Guccifer 2.0 and this is me who hacked Democratic National Committee,' the hacker wrote, emailing documents purportedly from DNC servers to various outlets. (Image by (Photo: Kjetil Korslien/flickr/cc)) Details DMCA This week's hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer network "just became a big deal," according to whistleblower Edward Snowden: on Thursday, a lone actor took responsibility for the cyber attack previously blamed on Russia and published a series of documents allegedly extracted from DNC servers. A hacker calling themselves "Guccifer 2.0" -- after Guccifer, the currently jailed Romanian hacker who claims to have accessed Hillary Clinton's email server during her tenure as secretary of state -- emailed documents to Gawker and the Smoking Gun that appear to be opposition research (pdf) on Republican front-runner Donald Trump as well as lists of million-dollar-plus donations and donor contact information. One of the documents released by 'Guccifer 2.0.' (Image by (Image: guccifer2.wordpress.com)) Details DMCA The hacker also published the documents on their blog. Gawker reported that it "has not yet been able to verify that the Trump file was produced by the DNC, but we have been able to independently verify that the financial documents were produced by people or groups affiliated with the Democratic Party." After stating that the attack was "easy, very easy" to accomplish, the hacker wrote in their email to the Smoking Gun that "Guccifer may have been the first one who penetrated Hillary Clinton's and other Democrats' mail servers. But he certainly wasn't the last. No wonder any other hacker could easily get access to the DNC's servers." Guccifer 2.0 went on to claim that they accessed "many thousands" of documents from DNC servers, and that they gave WikiLeaks "all the rest." The release of donor information appears to refute the claims of the DNC and its cyber security firm, CrowdStrike, which earlier this week said that no donor or financial documents had been breached. "DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said no financial documents were compromised," the hacker wrote on their blog. "Nonsense! Just look through the Democratic Party lists of donors!" In response to Guccifer 2.0's posting, the DNC doubled down on the original claim that Russia was behind the cyber attack: "Our experts are confident in their assessment that the Russian government hackers were the actors responsible for the breach detected in April, and we believe that today's release and the claims around it may be a part of a disinformation campaign by the Russians," the DNC told Wired. Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of CrowdStrike, also suggested to the Washington Post that Guccifer 2.0's release of documents "may be part of a 'Russian disinformation' campaign." "We are exploring the documents' authenticity and origin," Alperovitch told the newspaper. "Regardless, these claims do nothing to lessen our findings relating to the Russian government's involvement." "Some small signs do point to Russian involvement," Wired noted. "The PDFs posted by Gawker and the Smoking Gun contain error messages on several URLs that include Cyrillic characters and translate from Russian to 'error, invalid hyperlinks.'" "Finding the perpetrator of a sophisticated hacker intrusion can be messy," as Wired observed. "Getting to the bottom of a vicious data breach at the center of a no-holds-barred presidential campaign is a full-on trainwreck." Regardless of whether or not Russia is indeed behind the incursion, Edward Snowden pointed to the significance of the DNC hack on Twitter: Dear John (can I call you John?): Do you like green eggs and ham? I'm sure you do! No? But I know you don't like that wascally wabbit Obama. He's so wascally that he caused a deranged, mixed up, homophobic young man to go pop! pop! pop! In a nightclub in Orlando and kill 48 people. That's just plain wrong, eh Johnny boy? And he did it all from the Oval Office! Did you see the size of his magic wand? He sure could do "Puff The Magic Dragon!" Awwww, that Obama guy is so wascally that he did not bomb Syria like you told him, and look what happened! See? You told him! And he did not bomb Iraq enough when he had the chance; then he up and pulled out the troops! And he stopped bombing Libya just as things were going so well! Then he had the nerve to go on television and tell YOU how to fight ISIL! Why the nerve of that man! Does not know that you're a war hero, even though Donald Trump says you're not? That wascally Obama done gone and say that since ISIL started to terrorize people in Araq he's killed 120 of their leaders and B-52 bombers are hitting them with precision strikes every day. John, I know you love your bombing. I know that you get a rush with just the thought of bombing. I know, I know. You're still sore at him for not bombing in the Ukraine. And we should be bombing more in Yemen. What's it gonna take to make this wascally Obama lead and act? The killing of gays in Orlando is all his damn fault! I mean, where does he get off telling us about gun control. Why if here were armed gays in the bar, night club? In Orlando they could of taken out the bad guy! But nooooo. All this malarkey about background checks, safety locks, waiting periods, gun control and all kinds of anti-Second Amendment nonsense. Oh, and there's that whole thing that Republicans love the Second Amendment too much to deny even terrorists the right to assault rifles! Obama IS the enemy in the White House and he's to blame for EVERYTHING. I mean, do you still love green eggs and ham? Oh, sorry we spoke about this already! Yeah. I mean, you and your party and your colleagues in the senate are serious about fighting terror, right? Okay? So how come you and your sad bunch of jokers have not even allowed a vote on Adam Szubin the man the wascally Obama nominated for the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence? And that wascally Obama just gets your goat! Here's what he said in his speech after the murders in Orlando. "It is absolutely true, we cannot prevent every tragedy. But we know that consistent with the Second Amendment, there are common sense steps that could reduce gun violence and could reduce the lethality of somebody who intends to do other people harm. We should give ATF the resources they need to enforce the gun laws that we already have. "People with possible ties to terrorism, who are not allowed on a plane, should not be allowed to buy a gun. Enough talking about being tough on terrorism. Actually be tough on terrorism and stop making it easy as possible for terrorists to buy assault weapons. "Reinstate the assault weapons ban, make it harder for terrorists to use these weapons to kill us. Otherwise, despite extraordinary efforts across our government, by local law enforcement, by our intelligence agencies, by our military -- despite all the sacrifices that folks make, these kinds of events are going to keep on happening. And the weapons are only going to get more powerful." You and the Republican response? I love it! Just love it! THE PRESIDENT CANNOT SAY RADICAL ISLAM! All together now. One, two, and three! THE PRESIDENT CANNOT SAY RADICAL ISLAM! THE PREIDENT CANNOT SAY RADICAL ISLAM! Oh, brother! Is that all it takes to fight terrorism? To prevent guns from getting in the hands of people who should not have them? Like the general public for instance? Oh heck, Johnny boy I WANT GUN CONTROL. I want to control people outside of law enforcement and the army and the US Marines and Navy and prevent them from walking to Wal-Mart and leave with an AR-15 rifle and a large capacity magazine. That's not being anti-Second Amendment. That's being SENSIBLE and using common sense. Yes, John there is gun control in England and here's the contrast?: as of now there have been over 6,000 gun deaths here in the good ole US of A. In England? about 126 for the whole of last year. Johnny, Johnny here in America we do NOT love guns. WE'RE ADDICTED TO GUNS. And as with any addiction we first have to admit that we have an addiction in order to find a cure. And as with any addiction the addict becomes fixated on the next fix, ergo, we can't get enough guns. With 340 million guns in private hands, American is armed to the teeth like no other nation in history. Meanwhile the National Rifle Association (NRA) are you a card-carrying member John? Would have us believe that we still need more guns! But I know you can't even consider Obama's simple, extremely limited, Band-Aid recommendations. Nah. After all these mass shootings are the fair price Americans pay for the "right to bear arms" and, I might add, to own an AR-15 or AK-47 assault rifle. Peachy. And we need our guns for personal protection, right? And what about the Second Amendment and protection against tyranny? We need many guns to defend ourselves against the dastardly government. Johnny boy, you simply must think about buying a tank. And a rocket launcher. And a mortar. And a pair of matching, pearl handle Colt 45s. Now I know you don't like dear ole Donald Trump but I think you will agree that he really bashed that wascally Obama when his response to the Orlando Massacre was"wait for it"tada! CALL IT RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM! Yep, the three magic words that will make terrorism go away. Instead of fighting terror we'll just do some uncomplicated, no frills word-bombing! So I guess what I'm really trying to say is that even as you guys in the Republican party go off half-cocked (there's that gun lingo again) and float ideas that your alcoholically merry uncle can come up with at a Thanksgiving soiree, please try not to let so much nonsense come out of your buccal cavity. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). There is a YouTube video making the rounds. It's called " Obama Slow-Jams the News ". Perhaps you've seen it; thus far it has received over eight million views. It's a segment from the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, who begins speaking briefly about the president's accomplishments over the past eight years. He'd intended to make a joke about it but then changed his mind; it didn't need a joke; what it needed was to be. He asked the Roots' Tariq Trotter, who assented, if the record should be slow-jammed, and the curtain rose on their guest--President Obama. And the band began to play--softly, slowly, down-tempo. With Obama and Tariq fanned out behind Fallon, the focus on each in turn, Obama sing-songed the list of his accomplishments in office--you've heard it often enough, the optimistic assessments, the face-lifted facts, the occasional nugget of truth like a gnat in spider silk--summoning all those jobs (in which the discouraged who stop looking for jobs are folded into falling unemployment numbers), eradicating the recession (until comes the next bank failure, at which point people will, no volition required, 'bail-in' their bank accounts for parasites too protected to fail), conducting undeclared wars in seven countries and establishing forevermore anonymous assassination by drone (well, he didn't mention those). The litany was relieved by a focus on Fallon as he intoned, "Oh, yeah, president Obama stimulated long-term growth, in both the public, and the private, sector ..." Eyes sleepy, mouth to the mike as he swayed to the rhythm, Fallon did a fine impression, much of the audience standing, quivering with amusement and awe, unable to believe this, sharing the air with Obama. "In 2008," Fallon murmured, "the country wasn't feelin' in the mood; it was too tired and stressed; it said it had a headache ... Barack lit some candles and got some silky satin sheets ..."; Tariq crooned, "Silky satin sheets, now ...", the lazy beat zapped with finger snaps. Fallon: "He told the American people, yeesss, we can ..."; Tariq: "Yes, we can, and it's all right; he created tons of jobs for you and me ...", pause, "and he's got one left, for Hil-lar-y! "" Obama hit all of his sugar-spun accomplishments, his State of the Union redone in sing-song. And I, no admirer of the man, could smile along, enjoying the parody, letting the half-truths float by--until it went one plug too far. After seven years of darkness during which details of the so-called free-trade agreement were kept not only from the people but even from Congress (if not from Wikileaks), the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership finally erupted like methane into infrared. As has been noted elsewhere, an authentic free-trade agreement need not be lengthy, primarily needing provisions to remove tariffs and eschew currency manipulations--practices that otherwise increase the cost of imports. But in the darkness the TPP ballooned into thousands of pages within which trade is barely glimpsed. Its greater aim is to consolidate legal rights of the non-patriated special interests that fashioned it, while leaving consumers effectively unclothed. Incidentally, perhaps, it will handicap the US, because the TPP neglects to address two issues that are crucial specifically to US global competition: Value-Added Taxes (VATs) and currency manipulation. Applied to imports at the point of entry, VATs are employed by every country in the TPP save Brunei, a tiny nation on the island of Borneo. And the US. Although TPP indeed cuts thousands of tariffs, VATs go unmentioned. The way TPP is written--and it cannot be renegotiated--this will act as a tax on US exports to other TPP countries. As to currency manipulation, the US doesn't do it but many other TPP countries do, and this too will give their products an advantage over US goods. One can only speculate as to the reasons for Obama and his highly touted trade negotiator allowing the US to be put to such needless disadvantages. But maybe these issues seem safely removed from your concerns. This won't be. TPP greatly expands the Investor State Dispute Settlement system. ISDS gives corporations the right to sue governments that have laws--environmental, policy, labor--that might impair their profits. Might is the operative word; in their suits they need not substantiate their claims of impaired profits but just assert them. These suits will be heard not in the court system but in a closed-door tribunal. Only private industry may sue through ISDS; state or citizen suits wend their ways through the court system. Governments trying to protect consumers or labor or environment will be engulfed in lengthy and expensive legal actions while corporations take their profits one way or the other. We've already had a taste of what's to come--note the TransCanada suit of Obama's administration over Keystone--but, as they say, you ain't seen nothing yet. If all 12 countries involved implement TPP, it will expand ISDS provisions from 20 percent of the world's economy to 90 percent. This will affect you. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you're ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs."--Julian Assange What Obama has done in advocating for TPP with perhaps more energy than he's put into anything since running for office surpasses hypocritical. (And pay great attention to the pact--TTIP--behind the curtain.) Any politician who backs TPP unaware of its contents is dangerously naive; any who with knowledge backs it should be debarred from public service, for it is not the public that he--or she--serves. Afghan villagers sit near the bodies of children killed by U.S. drone (Image by brown.edu) Details DMCA In what's being called the worst mass killing by the United States in the past six months, numerous mentally disturbed individuals, with the extensive backing of a well-financed terrorist organization, and support from a growing circle of allied gang members, have gruesomely slaughtered 1,110 to 1,558 innocent men, women, and children. This incident, which has left shocked and speechless a handful of people who've heard and thought about it, took place between December 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016, during which interval the killers got off 4,087 airstrikes, including 3,010 over Iraq and 1,077 over Syria. Aiding and abetting the slaughter, and now also being sought by law enforcement, are France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, and Canada. In what is widely understood as an appeal for judicial mercy, Canada has expressed remorse. None of the other alleged perpetrators has done so. Several have openly acknowledged their participation, including by displaying the gang symbol of a U.S. flag tattooed on their glutei maximi. An offshoot terrorist group said to have been inspired by the United States and going by the name of "Russia," during the same period has brutally murdered 2,792 to 3,451 innocents using similar techniques apparently copied from those of the U.S. gang. Despite being well documented, these murders have gone largely unreported in U.S. media outlets working overtime to focus on a smaller slaughter in Orlando, Florida. The death counts are imprecise but highly selective, as they intentionally exclude all casualties deemed to be those of combatants. In a coincidental connection, the Orlando killer blamed the U.S. bombings in Iraq and Syria for his own murderous rampage. Adding to the bizarre connections, members of the U.S. public have been heard blaming the Orlando slaughter for additional airstrikes to come. Commented an alien in a ship approaching the planet earth: "Reverse engines! Get us out of here! Let's try back in 10 years and see if anyone is left." Rutronik and Pulse Electronics Expand their Partnership www.rutronik.com www.rutronik.com Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH and Pulse Electronics have expanded their franchise agreement, which previously encompassed Germany and France, but with immediate effect now also covers the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa).Rutronik has been a Pulse Electronics distributor since as far back as 2003, with the franchise encompassing all products from the Power, Wireless Infrastructure and Network User business units. This franchise focuses on discrete LAN modules as well as sockets with integrated LAN modules, as well as power inductors, common mode chokes, AC/DC and DC/DC converters for switch-mode power supplies, gate drive transformers, current sensors and Rogowski coils.Rutronik also distributes antennas as embedded, internal, external and outdoor models for wi-fi, Zigbee, ISM and GPS. These products are primarily targeted at the industrial and automotive markets. We are pleased to now be able to offer all of our customers in the EMEA region these innovative components, which offer compelling value for money. They can receive samples within a very short time, and also benefit from outstanding commercial and technical support from Pulse Electronics, said Gokhan Ersoy, Senior Marketing Manager for Inductors & Timing Devices at Rutronik.In Rutronik, we have found a distribution partner that can genuinely reach all of our target customers in Europe something which Rutronik has already proven in its existing franchise territories, explained Grahame Lockey, Distribution Sales Manager at Pulse Electronics. Our common goal is to reach a broader customer base and to be able to offer the customer technical and commercial solutions of the highest standards by way of design-in support.About Rutronik (Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH is third largest distributor in Europe (Europartners Distribution Report 2014) and the number eleven worldwide (Global Purchasing, May 2015). The broadline distributor offers semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components in addition to boards, storage, displays & wireless products. The company's primary target markets are the automotive, medical, industrial, home appliance, energy and lighting industries. The company bundles all products and services for specific embedded applications from the product areas of boards, storage, displays, wireless and peripherals under RUTRONIK EMBEDDED. RUTRONIK SMART brings together sensors, wireless components, micro-controllers, power management and safety solutions for devices within the Internet of Things (IoT). Expert technical support for product development and design-in, individual logistics and supply chain management solutions as well as comprehensive services complete its customer-oriented, forward-looking range of services. The company, established by Helmut Rudel in Ispringen/Germany in 1973, employs more than 1,400 staff worldwide and achieved Group sales of EUR820 million in the 2015 fiscal year.Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH, Industriestrasse 2, 75228 Ispringen, Germany; ph. +49 (0) 7231/801-0,Press contact:Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH:Janina Weber, Public Relations, tel: +49 7231 801-1679;e-mail: Janina.Weber@rutronik.comAgentur Lorenzoni GmbH, Public Relations, Christine Schulze,tel: +49 8122 55917-14; e-mail: christine@lorenzoni.de Europe Refined Cotton Industry Report 2016 Global QY Research http://globalqyresearch.com/europe-refined-cotton-industry-2016 http://globalqyresearch.com/download-sample/61424 http://globalqyresearch.com/checkout-form/0/61424 https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-qy-research The recently published report titled Europe Refined Cotton Industry 2016 Market Research Report is an in depth study providing complete analysis of the industry for the period 2016 2021. It provides complete overview of Europe Refined Cotton market considering all the major industry trends, market dynamics and competitive scenario.The Europe Refined Cotton Industry Report 2016 is an in depth study analyzing the current state of the Europe Refined Cotton market. It provides brief overview of the market focusing on definitions, market segmentation, end-use applications and industry chain analysis. The study on Europe Refined Cotton market provides analysis of market covering the industry trends, recent developments in the market and competitive landscape. Competitive analysis includes competitive information of leading players in market, their company profiles, product portfolio, capacity, production, and company financials. In addition, report also provides upstream raw material analysis and downstream demand analysis along with the key development trends and sales channel analysis. Research study on Europe Refined Cotton market also discusses the opportunity areas for investors.View Full Report With Complete TOC, List Of Figure and Table:With 153 tables and figures, the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Download Sample this Report:7 Analysis of Refined Cotton Industry Key Manufacturers7.1 Buckeye (Georgia-Pacific)7.1.1 Company Profile7.1.2 Product Picture and Specification7.1.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.1.4 Buckeye (Georgia-Pacific) SWOT Analysis7.2 Jin Hanjiang7.2.1 Company Profile7.2.2 Product Picture and Specification7.2.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.2.4 Jin Hanjiang SWOT Analysis7.3 Xinjiang Guangda Shanhe7.3.1 Company Profile7.3.2 Product Picture and Specification7.3.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.3.4 Xinjiang Guangda Shanhe SWOT Analysis7.4 Guangrao Fuli7.4.1 Company Profile7.4.2 Product Picture and Specification7.4.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.4.4 Guangrao Fuli SWOT Analysis7.5 Hubei Golden7.5.1 Company Profile7.5.2 Product Picture and Specification7.5.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.5.4 Hubei Golden SWOT Analysis7.6 Xinjiang Su Nok7.6.1 Company Profile7.6.2 Product Picture and Specification7.6.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.6.4 Xinjiang Su Nok SWOT Analysis7.7 Yaohua7.7.1 Company Profile7.7.2 Product Picture and Specification7.7.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.7.4 Yaohua SWOT Analysis7.8 Yingte7.8.1 Company Profile7.8.2 Product Picture and Specification7.8.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.8.4 Yingte SWOT Analysis7.9 Jinqiu Cotton7.9.1 Company Profile7.9.2 Product Picture and Specification7.9.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.9.4 Jinqiu Cotton SWOT Analysis7.10 Mingda7.10.1 Company Profile7.10.2 Product Picture and Specification7.10.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.10.4 Mingda SWOT Analysis7.11 Huian7.11.1 Company Profile7.11.2 Product Picture and Specification7.11.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.11.4 Huian SWOT Analysis7.12 Tailida7.12.1 Company Profile7.12.2 Product Picture and Specification7.12.3 Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Gross, and Revenue7.12.4 Tailida SWOT AnalysisTo Purchase this premium Report atGlobal QY Research is the one spot destination for all your research needs. Global QY Research holds the repository of quality research reports from numerous publishers across the globe. Our inventory of research reports caters to various industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. With the complete information about the publishers and the industries they cater to for developing market research reports, we help our clients in making purchase decision by understanding their requirements and suggesting best possible collection matching their needs.Unit1, 26 Cleveland Road, South Woodford, London, E182AN, United KingdomEmail: sales@globalqyresearch.comFollow us: Global Performance Wear Industry 2016 Market Study by Ongoing Trends, Research, World Growth Analysis, Productivity, Costs & Popularity http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-performance-wear-industry-2016-market-research-report.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=710394&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com The report thoroughly analyzes the most crucial details of the global Performance Wear market with the help of an in-depth and professional analysis. Described in a ground-up manner, the report presents an all-inclusive overview of the market based on the factors that are expected to have a substantial and measurable impact on the markets developmental prospects over the forecast period.Obtaining market-related data is not a very difficult task. It is the task of filtering out the unnecessary parts and compiling relevant information that actually matter or can solve a business issue at hand. Lack of dedicated resources for undertaking focused research that results in the collection of the most fruitful data is one of the most common shortcomings of inbound research activities.With this report, organization can have easy access to the details that will have the most substantial bearing on the overall development of the global Performance Wear market or the sectors that matter the most to organizations. The report is compiled with the intent of providing necessary market information to vendors operating in the global Performance Wear market. It thus makes for a resourceful data repository that can help decision makers devise the most effective business strategies.The report also includes a thorough overview of the competitive landscape and regulatory framework of the global Performance Wear market. This will provide readers a clear understanding of the state of competition, threats, major opportunities, and the major rules, regulations, plans, and policies impacting the market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsChapter One Performance Wear Industry Overview1.1 Performance Wear Definition1.1.1 Performance Wear Product Pictures & Product Specifications1.2 Performance Wear Classification & ApplicationChapter Two Performance Wear Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 Performance Wear Raw Material & Equipments Supplier and Price Analysis2.2 Performance Wear Labor & Other Cost Analysis2.3 Performance Wear Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.4 Performance Wear Manufacturing Process AnalysisChapter Three Performance Wear Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis3.1 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Performance Wear Capacity and Commercial Production Date3.2 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Performance Wear Manufacturing Plants Distribution3.3 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Performance Wear R&D Status and Technology Sources3.4 2016 Global Key Manufacturers Performance Wear Raw Materials Sources AnalysisOrder a Free Sample Copy of this Report @QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Global High-K and ALD/CVD Metal Precursors Market 2015 - 2020 http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/market-analysis/high-k-and-aldcvd-metal-precursors-market-global.html http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/request-for-sample.html?flag=S&repid=55998 http://goo.gl/27bL7K http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are process employed to generate high quality and performance materials. ALD/ CVD high purity precursors are distributed via cylinders and provide control to meet process necessities. ALD or CVD precursor materials are ideal for copper, metal and electrode deposition on semiconductor structures using ALD processes. The process is useful to produce thin films in the semiconductor industry. High-k precursors are used for capacitors and gate while metal precursors are used for electrode.Browse the full High-K And ALD/CVD Metal Precursors Market Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014 2020" report atStrong demand for high-k precursors for various applications including LED is expected to drive high-k and ALD/CVD market growth during the forecast period. In addition, advanced innovative products in order to meet new integration systems would boost the market growth in the years to come. Continuous technological advancement and rising demand for high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors in nanotechnology is further predicted to fuel market growth. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period.The report provides a compressive view of the High-K And ALD/CVD Metal Precursors Market based on technology and region. The high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market can be classified in terms of technology into interconnect capacitor and high-k gates. Capacitor segment accounted for significant share of overall market. High-k gate is another key technology in this market and expected to exhibit considerable growth over the forecast period. Interconnect is a fabrication techniques that uses copper or aluminum for patterning metals.Geographically, the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, further bifurcation of region on the country level, which include U.S., Germany, UK, France, China, Japan and India. Asia Pacific has witnessed strong growth of high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors in past couple of years on account of advanced packaging base. North America is expected to exhibit moderate growth over the forecast period.Get Request sample atThe report provides comprehensive view on the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors 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.Some of the key players operating in the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market are Dow Chemical, JSR Corporation, AFC Hitech, Adeka Corporation, Linde Dynamic Network Factory Inc, NANMAT, Air Products and Chemicals, Tri Chemical Laboratories Inc. and Samsung Electronics among others. The detailed description of players includes parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business and recent developments of the company.Get Illustrative Sample before buying:This report segments the global high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market as follows:High-K and ALD/CVD Metal Precursors Market: Product Segment Analysis Interconnect Capacitor High-K GatesHigh-K and ALD/CVD Metal Precursors 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 FREETel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 FREEWeb:Email: sales@syndicatemarketresearch.com Medical Suction Devices Market: Evolving into a Major Market Opportunity http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-suction-devices-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11720 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Global Medical Suction Devices Market: Overview and ScopeSuction devices have a wide range of applications in the clinical environment and are used to remove fluid and other debris in the body with the help of a vacuum. Medical suction devices, both handheld and wall-mounted ones, are used in surgical procedures, for airway clearing, and in research and diagnostics at home, hospitals, pre-hospitals, and clinics. These devices can be manually operated or be battery-powered, AC-powered, or dual-powered.To access full report, please visit :Hospitals and clinics are the most preferred settings for medical suction devices, and the soaring demand for suction devices in these areas positively impacts the demand for wall-mounted devices. While the demand for medical suction devices in surgical applications is significantly high, their application in the field of diagnostics is anticipated to gain prominence in the coming years owing to an increase in clinical research and diagnostics.The report offers clients an in-depth evaluation of the performance, contribution, and size of the medical suction devices market. The scope and dynamics of this market also form an integral part of the research study. The leading segments and players have been identified and assessed with the help of the latest market intelligence tools, including SWOT analysis, Porters Five Forces analysis model, market attractiveness analysis, and value chain analysis.Global Medical Suction Devices Market: Key Trends and OpportunitiesThe paradigm shift from traditional health care settings to home health care, coupled with the growing need for portable and compact devices, has significantly boosted the market for medical suction devices. Portable suction devices are easy to use, reliable, and durable and as a result, their adoption in home care settings has greatly increased. The increase in aging population is another factor boosting the market for medical suction devices. Rising geriatric population globally will result in an increased demand for emergency care and growth in surgical procedures. This, in turn, will positively impact the need for effective suction devices.Other factors driving the global medical suction devices market include declining prices of suction devices, increase in the number of surgical procedures, and growing incidences of chronic respiratory diseases.Global Medical Suction Devices Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the global medical suction devices market can be segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. North America accounts for the largest share in the overall medical suction devices market and is most likely to retain its lead throughout the forecast period. One of the key factors boosting the market for medical suction devices in this region is the rising incidence of chronic diseases across the region. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 50% of the American population suffered from at least one chronic disease in 2014. Seven out of 10 deaths in the U.S. resulted from chronic diseases and these diseases accounted for a whopping 86% of the total health care costs in the country.The Asia Pacific market for medical suction devices is projected to gather steam in the coming years and expand at the fastest pace through 2024. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the increase in aging population, and the consequent increase in home care as well as surgical interventions will bolster the medical suction devices market in Asia Pacific. The growing focus of leading players on the APAC region as a strong and lucrative contender is also anticipated to benefit the medical suction devices market here.Request A Sample Of This Report:The international medical suction devices market boasts of a number of small and large players competing at various levels. These include Laerdal Medical, Labconco Corporation, ZOLL Medical Corporation, Precision Medical, Inc., Medela Holding AG, Amsino International, Inc., INTEGRA Biosciences, Welch Vacuum, Drive Medical, Allied Healthcare Products, Inc., Olympus Corporation, MG Electric Ltd., Medicop, ATMOS Medizintechnik GmbH & Co. KG, SSCOR, Inc., and Weinmann Gerate fur Medizin GmbH + Co. KG.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 global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact us:Mr. Sudip STransparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email:A sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Green Edge Systems Presents School Digital, Dry Erase and Magnetic Menu Boards at TASN and ANC 2016 http://www.myplatedryerase.com http://www.myplatedryerase.com Green Edge Systems, leader in school menu boards, presents innovative school digital menu boards, school dry erase menu boards, school magnetic menu boards and school nutrition hand sanitizing at the TASN 2016, Texas Association of School Nutrition annual conference, The Austin Convention Center, Austin, TX, 21-22 June, 2016, Booth 323 and at the ANC 2016 SNA School Nutrition Association annual conference, The San Antonio Convention Center, San Antonio, TX 11-13 July 2016, Booth 1700.Austin, TX, June 17, 2016 -- Green Edge Systems, leader in school menu boards, presents innovative school digital menu boards, school dry erase menu boards, school magnetic menu boards and school nutrition hand sanitizing at the TASN 2016, Texas Association of School Nutrition annual conference, The Austin Convention Center, Austin, TX, 21-22 June, 2016, Booth #323 and at the ANC 2016 SNA School Nutrition Association annual conference, The San Antonio Convention Center, San Antonio, TX 11-13 July 2016, Booth #1700.The Green Edge System Digital Menu Board System, has the latest and greatest feature set as well as being highly affordable utilizing low cost Mini PC players or the Google Chromebox superb performance low cost players and the school nutrition food service displays of choice. Prices are highly affordable; moderate start up fees and minimal monthly license, software update and support fees, making digital menu boards highly affordable to school food services nationwide.Features of the Green Edge Systems school digital menu board system include the option to automatically insert food images to menu items from the Green Edge Systems huge image library (as seen in the image in this press release) or from the school food services own food images. The school digital menu board system automatically schedules the school's menu according to the school child nutrition menu cycle including the option to automatically insert food images as seen above. Integration with the school nutrition menu generation systems, import dynamically menus using Dropbox as an interface for entering menu information and many more advanced features.Most of the menu board designs, appearing on the various pages of the Green Edge Systems siteCould be converted to templates for the school food service digital menu board systems, and allow school food services to implement their school digital menu boards, school MyPlate dry erase boards and school magnetic dry erase menu boards using the same style of design across all school food service cafeterias.The Green Edge Systems MyPlate Dry Erase Menu Boards on display at the show will include multiple examples of MyPlate dry erase menu board for wall mounting, on counter stands, on stands on wheels and on stands without wheels, and well as integrated menu boards on stands with hand sanitizing dispensers.The Green Edge Systems Magnetic Dry Erase Menu Boards on display, will include the newest innovations in school magnetic dry erase boards, for wall mounting, on stands with wheels and without wheels, and inside lockable display cases.The Green Edge Systems Hand Sanitizing dispensers will be on display, and are available in conjunction with menu board displays as see on the company website link above.The Green Edge Systems Magnetic Dry Erase Menu Boards on display, will include the newest innovations in school magnetic dry erase boards, for wall mounting, on stands with wheels and without wheels, and inside lockable display cases.Tommy OrpazGreen Edge Systems, Inc20929 Ventura Blvd., ste.47-224Woodland Hills, CA 91364818-825-8167tommy.orpaz@greenedgesystems.com Global Cloud Computing Market Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts 2015 --2021 - Acute Market Reports http://www.acutemarketreports.com/report/global-cloud-computing-market-by-country-united-states-canada-india-china-japan-united-kingdom-company-profiles-share-trends-analysis-size-opportunities-segmentation-and-forecast-2015-2021 http://www.acutemarketreports.com/category/ict-market http://www.acutemarketreports.com Cloud Computing is an internet based technology that serves a centralized data source to remote devices connected via internet or intranet. It is a network where a program or application runs on a server and is shared across multiple devices such as Personal Computers (PCs), Laptops, and Mobile Devices. The sole requirement is connecting the server through a communication network such as Internet or Intranet or Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). The earlier levels of virtualization were featured by integrated storage, CapEx and OpEx savings, and data security and so on. Cloud computing enables utilization of data to support business decisions while keeping IT cost down. It also enables organizations to leverage PaaS for faster application deployment. Cloud Computing is being largely used by major companies for their widely used applications such as Drop box Inc. for their Dropbox Storage, Google Inc. for Gmail, Google Auto Back Up, Face book , Ever note, Skype and lot more.Browse Full Report Visit -Cloud Computing services have a transformational effect on all sectors across the globe. Almost all the sectors are shifting or at least thinking to shift their database into the cloud. Today several IT companies have moved to cloud computing. Other sectors such as healthcare and social media are most affected by cloud computing. There are several reasons why a company or an industry migrates to cloud. However, the major reason is cost reduction. Cloud services are allowing the businesses to reduce their capital expenditure by eliminating the cost of IT Infrastructure.Chap 1. Overview Of Cloud Computing1.1. Defining Cloud Computing Market1.2. Cloud Computing Architecture1.3. Key Buying Criteria Of Cloud Computing Services1.3.1. Cost Is The Criteria For Major Market Segments1.3.2. Data Storage Capacity Is Huge1.3.3. Stability Of The Service Provider Is Of Paramount Importance1.3.4. Seeking A Solution That Can Help In Achieving Flexibility1.4. Value Chain Analysis1.4.1. Cloud Vendors1.4.2. Cloud Service Providers1.4.3. Cloud Distributors And Resellers1.4.4. Cloud Brokers1.4.5. End Users1.4.5.1. Enterprise Users1.4.5.2. Consumers1.5. Strategic Recommendations1.5.1. Data Security Is No More A Problem With Encrypted Code1.5.2. Go Hybrid1.5.3. Flexible Deployment Models For Big Data1.5.4. Expanding Opportunities In The Public SectorBrowse All Reports of This Category -Chap 2. Key Components Of Cloud Computing2.1. On The Basis Of Deployment Models2.1.1. Public Cloud2.1.1.1. Drivers Of Public Cloud2.1.1.1.1. Growth In Small & Medium Businesses Provide Tremendous Opportunity For Public Cloud Services2.1.1.1.2. SaaS Is The Biggest Driver For Cloud Service Providers2.1.1.1.3. Cost & Time Efficiency Is The Need Of The Growing Market2.1.1.2. Restraints2.1.1.2.1. Security Is The Major Issue In Public Cloud Model2.1.2. Private Cloud Provides Greater Control And Privacy2.1.2.1. Drivers2.1.2.1.1. Government Regulations Demand High Data Security2.1.2.1.2. Increasing Concerns Of Big Business Towards Security2.1.2.2. Restraints2.1.2.2.1. High Cost Of Private Cloud Services2.1.3. Hybrid Clouds2.1.3.1. DriversAbout - Acute Market Reports :Acute Market Reports is the most sufficient collection of market intelligence services online. It is your only source that can fulfill all your market research requirements.We provide online reports from over 100 best publishers and upgrade our collection regularly to offer you direct online access to the worlds most comprehensive and recent database with expert perceptions on worldwide industries, products, establishments and trends.Our team consists of highly motivated market research professionals and they are accountable for creating the groundbreaking technology that we utilize in our search engine operations to easily recognize the most current market research reports online.Contact Us :Chris PaulACUTE MARKET REPORTSOffice No 101, 1st Floor ,Aditi Mall, Baner,Pune, MH, 411045IndiaToll Free(US/CANADA): +1-855-455-8662India: +91 7755981103Email : sales@acutemarketreports.comWebsite : DAY Vision Marketing agency provides social media services in the Lehigh Valley https://dayvision.com United States 06-17-2016. DAY Vision Marketing is a leading digital marketing agency providing high level marketing solutions ideal for the growth of small to large sized companies. The success of most companies today is based on the effectiveness of digital marketing solutions employed. A digital marketing agency must develop a comprehensive solution for your business allowing you to grab attention from potential customers. You can drive results with your online marketing budget, but you will need a leading agency like DAY Vision to get those results.It is very possible for companies to increase profits with the help of online marketing solutions. Online marketing, or internet marketing, is the backbone for the success of a company so if you want to grow in competitive markets. Lehigh Valley companies benefit from the higher traffic to their website made possible with effective SEO and Social media. Your website is the online representation of your business and it cultivates the relationship between you and your customers.If you want to boost the profitability of your business then use internet marketing or SEO services.SEO efforts must be designed according to your business offerings to grow your brand, products and sales. The SEO expert must Endeavour to increase the ranking of your website using the most relevant keywords on popular search engines like Google or Yahoo. The companies who want to grow in the future need effective and quality marketing solutions today which will promote their brand and products in an interactive manner.For highly professional and specialized SEO services and Social media in the Lehigh Valley rely on DAY Vision Marketing.To learn more about SEO services in the Lehigh Valley please visit:URL:Telephone: 610.403.3999Email: mailto:Info@dayvision.comDAY Vision Marketing offers full service support for promoting your business, brand or services. They provide result-driven services to promote your business or brand in todays competitive markets.If you are looking for a highly professional performance-based SEO services in the Lehigh Valley, contact DAY Vision Marketing.2222 South 12th StreetAllentown, PA 18103US Global Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) Market to be Concentrated in North America Through 2022, APAC to Show Promising Growth http://bit.ly/1UZD3G5 http://bit.ly/1mNPADm http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Bone morphogenetic proteins form a critical part of the group that is responsible for growth. It is a multi-functional factor and originates from the superfamily of transforming growth factor beta. The key role of bone morphogenetic proteins has been in the development of cartilage and bones. Recently, there have been extensive studies on the role of bone morphogenetic proteins in chronic kidney disease, bone complications, and long bone autografts.According to the report, the key driver of the global bone morphogenetic protein market is the growing number of physical trauma cases. There has recently been a growth in the number of sports-related injuries as well, further contributing to the growth of this market.Avail a Free Sample Report:Another major driver of the global bone morphogenetic protein market is the growing percentage of the elderly in the global population. This rising demographic is the most prone to bone complications and is therefore a prime creator of demand for most bone-related healthcare and medical device markets, including the global bone morphogenetic protein market.However, the global bone morphogenetic protein market is currently seriously hampered by the side effects associated with the off-label usage of market products. Another restraint on the market is the high cost of bone morphogenetic proteins, which is coupled with the overall low rate of approvals with limited indications. Another older restraint on this market is the easy availability of substitutes for bone grafts.The growth rate can be improved by a faster proliferation of the global bone morphogenetic protein market into the developing economies. In this context, while North America has led the market in 2013, the current focus is being put on the Asia Pacific region by many global players. A high population density coupled with a rapidly evolving healthcare infrastructure is creating a higher appeal for this region. The report expects North America to continue dominating the global bone morphogenetic protein market in the given forecast period, owing to a high number of patients between 40 and 80 years who are suffering from lower back pains.Browse Full Research Report:The report segments the global bone morphogenetic protein market on the basis of types and applications. Based on type, this market has been segmented into rhBMP-2 and rhBMP-7. Of these, the U.S. FDA has approved the use of rhBMP-2 in tibial shaft fractures, opening up its scope of growth more than the latter. rhBMP-7 is mostly used as an alternative in very specific autograft cases.Based on application, the global bone morphogenetic protein market was dominated by the spinal fusion surgeries segment in 2013, when it held 76.5% of the market.The key players in the global bone morphogenetic protein market, as detailed in the report, include Cellumed Co. Ltd., Medtronic, and Stryker Corporation.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Cellulose Ether & Derivatives Market worth USD 6.30 Billion USD by 2020 Cellulose Ethers Market, Cellulose Methyl Market, Cellulose Ethyl Market, Cellulose Hydroxyethyl Market, Cellulose Hydroxypropyl M http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cellulose-ethers-market-782.html http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=782 http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical http://www.marketsandmarkets.com The report Cellulose Ether & Derivatives Market by Product Type (MC, EC, HEC, HPC, & CMC), by Application (Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care, Construction, Food Industry, & Others), by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, & RoW) - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020, This report defines and segments the cellulose ether & derivatives market with analysis and forecast of the market size.Browse 97 market data tables with 49 figures spread through 154 pages and in-depth TOC on "Cellulose Ether & Derivatives Market - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020"Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.The global cellulose ether & derivatives market size is projected to reach USD 6.30 Billion, by 2020. This growth is fueled by the growing technological dominance, increasing demand for application areas such as personal care, pharmaceuticals, construction, food ingredients, increasing development strategies, and expansion & acquisition activities.Methyl Cellulose & Derivatives: The fastest growing grade in cellulose ether & derivatives marketMethyl cellulose and derivatives market consists of methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, and hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose. They are generally used in shampoos, tooth pastes, and liquid soaps, to generate their characteristic consistency with regard to thickness. The market for methyl cellulose and derivatives is projected to be the fastest-growing among different product types of cellulose ether, which accounts for a major share in the overall market. Asia-Pacific is currently the largest user of methyl cellulose and derivatives.Pharmaceuticals The largest market for cellulose ether & derivativesThe pharmaceuticals industry is the biggest application market of cellulose ether & derivatives that accounted for a major share in the market, in terms of value, in 2014. Cellulose ether & derivatives are used as tablet binders and pharmaceutical excipients (non-active ingredient). The market for cellulose ether & derivatives in the pharmaceutical industry is driven by the rise in demand for advanced drugs.Request for Sample PDF:Asia-Pacific The largest market for cellulose ether & derivativesAsia-Pacific is the largest market for cellulose ether & derivatives with major developments witnessed in China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Asia-Pacific market accounted for half of the cellulose ether & derivatives market size, in terms of value, in 2014. This region is expected to dominate the market till 2020. Asia-Pacific is expected to remain the biggest region till 2020 with high investments in growing applications such as mining, construction, drilling fluids in oilfield, and pharmaceuticals industries. Also, Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing market for cellulose ether & derivatives. This high growth is attributed to the expansion of production capacity, competitive manufacturing costs, among other factors.Major players such as Samsung Fine Chemicals (Korea), AkzoNobel Performance Additives (The Netherlands), Ashland Inc. (U.S.), SE Tylose (Germany), and CP Kelco. (U.S.), have adopted development strategies such as expansions, acquisitions, and product developments to achieve growth in the cellulose ether & derivatives market.This report covers the market, in terms of value and volume, for cellulose ether & derivatives and forecasts the market size till 2020. The report includes the market segmentation by product type, application industry, and region.About MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets 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. 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&Ms 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 infographics 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. RohanMarkets and MarketsUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, India.Tel: +1-888-600-6441Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.comVisit MarketsandMarkets Blog @Visit MarketsandMarkets @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.Markets and MarketsUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, India. Steam turbine of nuclear power plant equipped with customised oil demister system www.franke-filter.com Individual vacuum adjustment in the lube oil system due to oil mist separator from Franke-Filter.As part of a major life extension program, Franke-Filter has provided a first-class engineering solution to the on-running oil mist problems of a large nuclear power plant. With a number of issues such as low levels of vacuum in the lube oil system and oil mist discharge into the environment, the operator decided to solve the problems by replacing the aged existing system, by an up-to-date oil mist separator from Franke-Filter."It was a win-win situation from the beginning. A comprehensive on-site survey was undertaken, flow and capacity values noted, and a number of sketches were made of the intended installation area. Drawings were produced by our construction team and a suitable design was put forward, together with an up-dated specification covering the electrical and mechanical elements of the oil mist separator. As a result, the oil mist problems have been eliminated and our customer is now able to adjust the vacuum in the three separate chambers in the lube oil system individually with just one demister Unit. We now have a very satisfied customer." says the responsible technical consultant from Franke-Filter.Before1. Unable to adjust the low vacuum in the lube oil system2. No ATEX rating3. High level of maintenance4. No recovery of oil5. Health, safety and environmental issues6. Three separate demister per lube oil tankAfter1. Constant, adjustable high level of vacuum to suit application2. Latest edition of ATEX rating3. Long-life filter elements with < 30.000 operating hours4. Recovery of oil and return into the lube oil tank, without loss of additives5. Governmental targets for clean environment achieved6. One combined demister unitBy providing engineering solutions to the above problems, the operator will now include Franke-Filter oil mist separators in future extended station life programs.About Franke-Filter:Back in 1989, the company was founded in Holle as FRANKE Mess- und Filtersysteme. It was focussing on the manufacture of customised, high quality oil mist separators for power plants and turbine manufacturers in Germany and its neighbouring countries. With its relocation to Bad Salzdetfurth in 1996 - a brand new office and assembly hall were erected - and its change of name to FRANKE Filter GmbH in January 2001, the clean solution could be offered to customers in Europe and all over the world.At FRANKE Filter we are committed at providing you with active environmental protection. In order to achieve the best possible results we manufacture according to the most up-to-date standards. Being both the designer and a specialised manufacturer of oil mist separators FRANKE Filter has gained valuable experience for more than 25 years through personal customer contact for all conceivable applications concerning separation of oil mist.Contact details:Franke Filter GmbHWiedhof 931162 Bad SalzdetfurthDeutschlandEmail: info@franke-filter.deTel.: +49 (0) 5064 904-0Fax: +49 (0) 5064 904 - 18Web: TatvaSoft developed a simple yet comprehensive System Monitor Tool to monitor software and hardware inventory In today's fact paced digital world, companies face challenges in managing their IT infrastructure whenever a new asset is added. It becomes hard for the technical person to install the software manually in each and every system. Even a small software install/upgrade becomes challenging. To troubleshoot this issue, they have developed a System Monitoring tool that tracks the hardware and software inventory in the organization.TatvaSoft, a CMMi Level 3 Software Development Company, having offices in Melbourne & Sydney in Australia has developed a System Monitor Tool with the aim to track hardware and software inventory to help networking department troubleshoot technical issues immediately.This System Monitoring tool helps the network administrator to collect the detailed information of the hardware and software characteristics. Using this tool, the administrator can manage the process, services and status of each individual system. It maintains a record of all assets available and thus, helps in troubleshooting issues or problem when identified. By knowing the root cause of the issues, the tool helps in troubleshooting them efficiently.This System Monitoring tool composed of two parts: a) server part and b) client part. The server part has a web based interface and contain 25 plugins to monitor different tasks performed on each system. The client part constitute to a limited functionality for an individual system. The digital technologies has also been leveraged to build an effective system to cater all types of network issues.This tool has benefited the client to reduce system breakdown and saves lot of time and efforts, and ultimately saves money. It allows the network admin to continuously monitor the IT assets, controls their workstation from a single web based, troubleshoot any technical issues efficiently and access track report. Apart from this, they have equipped the tool with lots more functionalities of monitoring and managing which helps the clients in better understanding and control of IT assets.TatvaSoft Australia Pty Ltd is a Software Development Company based in Melbourne & Sydney. Our 14+ years of experience and vast global customer base helped us to be positioned as one of the most acknowledged software, web & mobile app development service provider. We expertise in varied technologies like .Net, Java, PHP, BizTalk server, Open Source, SharePoint, BI and Mobile.We bring the peace of mind & reliability of an Australian company, along with cost benefits & flexibility as we have a development centre in India. We cater to clients across the industries and different sizes right from SMEs to large corporate houses. Our relationship with our clients is built on mutual trust, respect and benefit.Level 23, HWT Tower, 40 City Road, Southbank Melbourne VIC 3006 SAHS Lifesciences Launches New Range of Poultry Feed http://www.sahs.in SAHS Lifesciences Pvt Ltd is an India's leading animal husbandry company and manufacturer of wide variety of poultry products such as chicken food, feed additives, poultry medicines, chemicals, live birds and fresh meat products. The company announces the launch its wide range of new poultry feed products in the market. The feed comes in four forms that are popularly known as crumble, pellet, mash and scratch gain.Founder and Director of SAHS Lifesciences, Harjeet Kaur said, "A lot of research has been done by SAHS veterinary experts to prepare the correct feed formulations that meet the nutrition requirements of chickens of different age. She further explains that the starter feed is developed to provide all the nutrients a baby chick needs in the early weeks of their life, and Grower feed is perfect once the chicks reach 8 weeks of age.The amount of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals present in the feed manufactured for broilers, layers and breeders varies a lot and the value depends on the specific purpose they are raised for. Layer feed is specifically prepared for egg laying hens, it contains enough protein and calcium required for maximum egg production, and it should be given until the hen stops producing eggs. Breeder feed provides adequate value of protein and amino acids to achieve maximum fertility in breeders. The contents of broiler feed gives excellent growth and weight to chickens raised for meat production.All the feeds are reasonably priced because the company knows that the poultry industry has been suffering from many challenges that are hurting their profitability. Excessively hot weather conditions and a sudden hike in the prices of grains, soya and other ingredients used in the preparation of feed are few of them. "SAHS Lifesciences has been in feed manufacturing for last many years and it makes every effort to provide high quality unique feed formulations to make poultry businesses profitable," says Mr. Devendra Singh Rawat, Marketing Manager, SAHS.India based SAHS Lifesciences is an ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 22000:2005 certified company working in the field of poultry products manufacturing and animal nutrition research and development. Its manufacturing plants (spread all over India) deliver ultimate quality products by using modern equipment and latest technology. The company has a great team of highly skilled and experienced animal nutritionist, agriculture experts and veterinarians.SAHS Lifesciences Pvt LtdFirst Floor, Plot No. 4 & 5, B-1/A, Sector-51 (Above Axis Bank), Noida 201301, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaContact: +91-120-4560999, +91-8800311134Website: Europe Cloud Computing In Pharmaceutical Research And Development Industry to Grow owing to Enhanced Security of Cloud Computing Solutions http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressrelease/1806 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/724962 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ MarketResearchReports.biz has announced the addition of a new report, titled Europe Cloud Computing In Pharmaceutical Research And Development Industry 2016 Market Research Report, to its online repository. As per the report, the Europe cloud computing in pharmaceutical research and development industry is expected to perform exceptionally well in the years to come owing to the increasing adoption of cloud computing in the industry.Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is in the phase of adopting advanced technologies. Leading players in the pharmaceutical industry are taking efforts to streamline their procedures to minimize losses. The introduction of cloud computing in the pharmaceutical industry has already driven the growth of this industry. By adopting new cloud computing technologies and solutions, organizations in the pharmaceutical industry are driving innovation.View Press Release Report at:Over the past decade, the global technology market has registered a drastic change. Cloud computing is one ray of hope for many industries to maximize their profits. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the many industries experiencing maximum benefits due to the acceptance of cloud computing solutions and technologies.Pharma companies are now using cloud analytics, cloud data management services, automation, and marketing to streamline their operations. With this, they are experiencing the many benefits of evolving technologies. The implementation of cloud services in the research and development phase has led to effective data care. Pharma companies are also implementing cloud technologies in their research and development activities for new drug discovery.For Sample Copy, click here:Even though cloud computing is spreading like fire across all regions, its implementation has been the highest in the European countries. Pharma companies in Europe are implementing cloud computing solutions to provide practical methods for clinical trials and manage a huge amount of data.However, the Europe cloud computing in pharmaceutical research and development industry is expected to face certain challenges in the years to come. Data security is one of the biggest challenges that could restrict the growth. The number of cloud system providers is increasing at a rapid rate. This invites data migration problems while changing cloud computing service providers. Cloud computing vendors losing, damaging, or breaching valuable data might pose a considerable risk to businesses. With improved cloud computing solutions and authorized access, pharma companies can be assured of the security of business data.There are many companies operating in the Europe cloud computing in pharmaceutical research and development industry. Amazon is one of the leading companies, offering innovative cloud-based computing solutions to small-scale and large-scale businesses. Mergers and acquisitions are expected to happen in the years to come. With this, leading players are expected to maintain their dominance by increasing their share in the market. With this, new entrants will get a chance to introduce their product portfolio in the Europe market.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E : sales@marketresearchreports.biz Growth of European Blood Culture Testing Industry Shifts into High Gear with Technological Advancements in Medical Sector http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressrelease/1807 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/724971 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ A new market research study has recently been added by MarketResearchReports.biz to its huge database of research reports. The study offers a detailed analysis of the blood culture testing industry in Europe, focusing on the key growth drivers, barriers, product segmentation, and competitive landscape. The 138-page research study, titled European Blood Culture Testing Industry 2016 Market Research Report, discusses the current trends and major opportunities in the European blood culture testing industry. The research study offers a comprehensive overview, comprising the definitions, applications, classifications, and the structure of the blood culture testing industry in Europe.A blood culture is a test carried out to determine if there is any infection in the blood. The presence of bacteria or fungi in the blood may be an indication of an infection, which may weaken the immune system of a person if not addressed. Some of the latest technologies that are being used for blood culture tests are the use of the molecular technique, mass spectrometry, multiplex real-time PCR system, and electro spray ionization.View Press Release Report at :The growing prevalence of diseases is one of the major factors driving the blood culture testing industry in Europe. The research study has presented the past performance of the European blood culture testing industry along with the future projections with the help of tables, charts, and infographics. Furthermore, the feasibility of novel investment projects is evaluated and research conclusions are presented.The rising incidence of several blood stream infections and the growing demand for diagnostic tests are the key factors projected to bolster the growth of the European blood culture testing industry throughout the forecast period. In addition, the technological advancements in the medical sector and the rising awareness among the population regarding the availability of latest technologies are anticipated to propel the European blood culture testing industry in the next few years.For Sample Copy, click here:On the flip side, the lack of appropriate reimbursement policies and the high cost of the advanced techniques used for blood culture are anticipated to curb the growth of the blood culture testing industry in Europe. Nevertheless, the identification of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms holds potential opportunities for growth of the major players operating in the blood culture testing industry in Europe.The prominent players operating in the blood culture testing industry in Europe include Becton, Dickinson and Company, Abbott, Siemens, Biomerieux, Alere, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Bruker Corporation, Thermo Fisher, Nanosphere, and Cepheid.Detailed profiles of the leading companies have been studied in the research study, focusing on their financial overview, product specification, business policies, production, cost, capacity, gross, price, and revenue. The SWOT analysis of the major companies has also been provided in the scope of the research report to offer a clear understanding of the industry.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E : sales@marketresearchreports.biz Neuropathic Pain Disorders to Drive Pain Management Devices Market to USD 411 Million by 2020 http://www.ihealthcareanalyst.com/report/pain-management-devices-market/ http://www.ihealthcareanalyst.com According to a market research report published by iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc., Pain Management Devices Market Global Devices and Applications Analysis and Forecast 2013-2020, the global pain management devices market was valued at USD 2,935 Million in 2014 and is estimated to reach USD 6,127 Million by 2020, at a CAGR of 13.5% from 2015 to 2020.Browse the Pain Management Devices Market Global Devices and Applications Analysis and Forecast 2013-2020 atPain management devices efficacious in relieving pain mainly include analgesic infusion pumps (intrathecal or external); electrical infusion pumps such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES/EMS), electrical stimulation devices (ESDs); neurostimulation devices such as spinal cord stimulation (SCS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), and sacral nerve stimulation (SNS); and radiofrequency ablation devices. The pain management devices market report estimates the market size (Revenue USD million - 2013 to 2020) for key market segments based on device type and its applications (pain due to cancer, facial injury and migraine, musculoskeletal, neuropathic and trauma related) and forecasts growth trends (CAGR% - 2015 to 2020). It also provides the detailed market landscape and profiles of major competitors in the global market including company overview, financial snapshot, key products, technologies and services offered, and recent developments.The global pain management devices market is segmented as:1. Product Type1.1. Analgesic Infusion Pumps Devices1.1.1. Intrathecal Infusion Pumps1.1.2. External Infusion Pumps1.2. Electrical Stimulation Devices1.2.1. TENS Devices1.2.2. NMES/EMS Devices1.2.3. Other ESDs1.3. Neurostimulation Devices1.3.1. SCS Devices1.3.2. DBS Devices1.3.3. VNS Devices1.3.4. SNS Devices1.4. Radiofrequency Ablation Devices2. Application2.1. Cancer Pain2.2. Facial and Migraine Pain,2.3. Musculoskeletal Pain2.4. Neuropathic Pain2.5. Trauma3. Geography (Region, Country)3.1. North America (U.S., Canada)3.2. Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of LA)3.3. Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of EU)3.4. Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Rest of APAC)3.5. Rest of the World4. Company Profiles4.1. Baxter International, Inc.4.2. Bio-Medical Research (BMR) Ltd.4.3. Boston Scientific Corporation4.4. Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.4.5. DJO Global, Inc.4.6. Halyard Health4.7. Hospira, Inc.4.8. Medtronic plc4.9. Smiths Medical4.10. St. Jude Medical4.11. Stryker CorporationiHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. is a global health care market research and consulting company providing market analysis, and competitive intelligence services to global clients. The Company has published more than 150+ syndicate, custom and consulting grade healthcare reports covering 70+ companies and 20+ countries in animal healthcare, biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, healthcare informatics, healthcare services, medical devices, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.Ana AitawaiHealthcareAnalyst, Inc.2109, Mckelvey Hill Drive,Maryland Heights, MO 63043United StatesEmail: sales@ihealthcareranalyst.comWebsite: Intellectual Property Market - Saving your Business From Forgery http://goo.gl/4ZXz89 http://goo.gl/HnUYJZ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com In the modern business world, intellectual property has emerged an asset in itself. Registering intellectual property (IP) and protecting it has become a burgeoning market thanks to the price IP can now command during partnerships, mergers, and takeovers. As companies large and small become more aware about protecting their patents and proprietary processes or knowledge, the intellectual property market is bound to report expansion. The report on the intellectual property market studies different resources and assets such as designs, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.Free PDF Sample :From being confined to the technical industry, the concept of intellectual property has now made its way into other conventional and emerging industries. Government policies have been designed around intellectual property, and companies are in the intellectual property are now reaping the benefits of the same. The report analyzes these aspects and converts them into numbers and figures for readers to gain a clear understanding of the global intellectual property market. This is done via the use of industry-leading analytical tools and databases. Market projections are provided for the duration 2014 to 2020, and are based on a meticulous review of the micro and macro factors at play in the intellectual property market.OverviewOrganizations in the intellectual property (IP) market offer IP rights management services to organizations as well as private individuals such as artists, designers, and authors. Intellectual rights protection allows organizations and individuals alike to innovate freely, without fear of their proprietary ideas being monetized by others. But on the flip side, the intellectual property rights market faces loss of revenues because of the sheer costs associated with obtaining licenses, copyrights and designs - all of which are intellectual property. Intellectual property has implications for private and public entities, as both strive to maintain a balanced patent system that can further be used for commercializing a technology/know-how or restricting its widespread use. However, it is now amply evident that intellectual property rights are a powerful tool for securing financial or takeover deals, and during negotiations. The intellectual property market also features law firms that advise their clients on protecting and using their intellectual property in compliance with the regulatory mandates in different regions of the world.Full Report With TOC is Available @The global intellectual property market will move a step close to maturity when IP laws are followed, information transparency is achieved, and strategic thinking is given importance. Leading economies have already passed laws to encourage this. In the United States, for instance, introduced the America Invents Act in September 2011. The act is aimed at enhancing product quality by collecting third party patent-related information and registering it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).The report segments the global intellectual property market based on geography and property type. By geography, the market is composed of North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. By property type, the market comprises: Patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, copyrights, and trade secrets. While patents offer the inventor the exclusive rights of using their intellectual property, copyrights work on a similar understanding but for a limited time frame. With patents and copyrights becoming an important asset for companies wanting to maintain a lead over their competitors, it is expected that they will spend more on acquiring these rights. The development of patenting funds will also pump in more revenue into the global intellectual property market. The trend of online intellectual property is developing into a solid market in its own right.Intellectual property market, by type:PatentsTrademarksCopyrightsTrade dressCopyrightsTrade secretsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global 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.Mr. Sudip. S90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Polyamide Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=12311 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/ Polyamide Market: OverviewPolyamide is a polymer with versatile properties and high demand in various end user segments such as automotives, textile, electronics, machinery, packaging and coatings among others. Polyamides occur naturally in form of wool, silk among others and can be synthesized artificially. Nylon, polyamide 6 and aramid are amongst artificially made polyamides. Artificial polyamides exhibit properties such as resistance to wear, good mechanical properties, low permeability to gases and chemical resistance. Bio-based polyamides are gaining demand in market owing to its eco- friendly nature. Polyamide 6 is dominant type among polyamides in terms of revenue and consumption owing to its cost to performance factor.Polyamide Market: DriversGrowing automotive industry in developed and developing countries is expected to drive the polyamide market. Polyamides are preferred by automotive manufactures due to their high performance at low cost. Owing to current rise in raw materials prices in automotive industry, manufacturers are shifting towards polyamides for various applications such as coatings and films. The growth in automotive industry is due to the rising disposable income of consumers and increase in transportation activities across the world. Increasing demand from applications in electronics and coatings industry is expected to drive the market. Increase in the construction activities and rising population are major driving factors for electronics and coatings industry. Low cost of production and high performance factors such as chemical & wear resistance and insulation makes polyamide ideal choice to be used in electrical and electronic applications.Polyamide Market: OpportunitiesResearch and development in the field of bio-based and specialty polyamide for different applications is expected to provide immense opportunities for players in the near future. The manufacturers, associations and end product manufactures are investing in R&D activities. Polyamide applications in food contact & domestic products and specialty polyamides in automotive to replace metals are expected to provide opportunities for players in this market. Technology modifications such as bio-based polyamide are expected to drive the market in near future owing to eco-friendly properties. Government regulations and rising health awareness in developing countries are expected to fuel the bio-based polyamide market in the near future. Complex manufacturing process of polyamide and availability of the precursors are expected to hamper polyamide market growth. Degrading properties due to moisture absorption is another factor which may hamper market growth. Companies are developing bio-based and specialty polyamides for different applications including medical. For instance, Akrema launched specialty polyamide, Pebax, Rilsan and Rilasmid, which are of medical grade. These specialty polyamides offer advantage over other polyamides with unique specifications such as gel rating, moisture content and viscosity.Download FREE Exclusive Sample Of This Report :Polyamide Market: Region-wise OutlookNorth America and Europe are dominating the polyamide market with growing demand from automotive and electronics industry. Major players are located in the same region with high production capacities and R&D centers. Growing demand from Asia-Pacific region and other developing countries due to increased applications of the polyamide is expected to boost the market. The Eastern and Central European countries, South East Asian and Latin American nations are expected to experience higher growth owing to increase in auto sales, rising construction activities, improving civil infrastructure by government and other events.The key players in the polyamide market are BASF SE, Honeywell International Inc. Formosa Group, Invista, Li Peng Enterprise Co., Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Radici Group, Royal DSM N.V., Solvay, Ascend Performance Materials Inc. Shenma Industrial Co. Ltd., Huntsman, Koch industries, Royal DSM N.V., Lanxess, Rhodia, Arkema and others.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 : When it comes to steak, our readers like it old-style, as served by Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. In our People's Choice poll for Portland's steakhouse, Sayler's was the clear winner, leading the vote from the moment the contest began. Says commenter Connie_Marie: "SAYLER'S has great steaks and the best value in town. It may not be as trendy as some of the downtown spots but the steaks are superb and come with a complete meal for the price. Unlike so many for which you pay the same but your steak is ala carte." Sayler's is a 70-year-old institution in Portland. Brothers Art and Dick Sayler arrived in Portland from North Dakota, pooling their money to purchase a small restaurant in east Portland called Old Country Kitchen. That was in 1946. Art's sons, Gerry and Gene, shepherded the family business through the 1970s (and a $1 million rebuild following a 1978 fire), '80s and into the '90s. Gene's sons, David and Bryan, run the restaurant today, never forgetting their motto: "Great dinners, friendly service and good prices." Bryan Sayler answered a few questions via email about the family business. His answers have been edited for clarity. Q: Explain the family's part in Sayler's over the years. A: Art, my grandfather, and Richard Sayler started Sayler's in 1946. It started serving chicken, steak and rabbit, and wasn't a big hit at first. Relatives all worked in the kitchen as managers, servers, and even took linen home to wash at night. In 1948, they revamped the concept and focused more on steaks. As far as we can tell, they invented two big things: steaks by the ounce (from a 6-ouncer to a 72-ouncer), and the 72-ounce steak challenge, which is free if one can eat it all in under one hour. Other relatives contributed recipes for dressing, and our famous steak seasoning and mushroom sauce. After that, things took off, leading to multiple expansions to the building. By the '50s, they were serving 800 to 900 customers per day, staying open sometimes until 2 a.m. My dad, Gene Sayler, started in the late '60s and, with his brother Gerry, ran the restaurant until the mid-'90s, when my brother Dave and I joined the company. Before becoming owners, all of us were busboys, cooks, dishwashers and bartenders, so that we understood a lot about the company. Today, Dave and I make joint decisions on pricing, sourcing, marketing and company policies. Q: Sayler's is famous for the "72-ounce steak challenge." How did it start and what are some of the most memorable attempts? A: The founders came up with the 72-ounce challenge as a "gimmick," as Richard Sayler called it, to get publicity. I think they just thought they would try it and see how it went. When the new steak-centered menu took off, they didn't want to change whatever it was making the restaurant so successful, so they kept doing it over the years. And even now, as the number of attempts has dwindled, we continue to do it, because the challenge continues to generate some interest. Some memorable steak stories: The most remarkable is the woman who ate the whole steak in under three minutes. One person finished the 72-ouncer and was still hungry, and ordered another large steak. One person hid some of it in his boot so that he could complete the challenge. Q: Have you seen the business and diners' expectations change? A: We've been lucky that we've remained popular for 70 years without having to change too much. It really is amazing that the restaurant has had basically the same menu since 1948, and that's good, because we don't have to always be thinking of new specials and food trends. In 1950, it seems people had more of a propensity to order a 72-ounce porterhouse or a 40-ounce top sirloin than today, and our most popular item today -- a 6-ounce tenderloin -- was the kids meal in the '50s. I was surprised recently when we did a poll of our customers, and I learned the incredible popularity of our relish tray, which is a tray of carrots, olives, baby corn, celery, and pickles; something many restaurants did in the '50s is still loved 60 years later. Q: What do the people know that critics don't? A: People know value. We order some of the same steak and seafood that the most expensive restaurants in town order: choice porterhouses, choice Angus ribeyes, prime top sirloin, Maine lobster, Gulf prawns and Alaskan halibut. Just ask my suppliers. We then include relish tray, salad or soup, potato, bread and ice cream - it's a complete meal for a price that is less than many other wonderful restaurants in town. We love that Portland has so many acclaimed restaurants, but we are friends with people who are supposed to be our competitors, because we think we offer something unique. The quality of the food for the price you pay is the best in town. Congratulations, Sayler's. As the People's Choice winner, Sayler's will receive a "Best of" badge for all to see. (See full terms and conditions) -- Stephanie Yao Long, syao@oregonian.com -- Sue Jepsen, sjepsen@oregonian.com tayna2.JPG Kaiser Health Plan hopes to raise rates in the individual market by 14.5 percent in 2017. Kaiser is part of an integrated health care operation that includes Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, shown here while still under construction. (Andrew Theen/The Oregonian) After a brutal two years in which they lost a collective $253.3 million, Oregon's health insurers are again seeking double-digit price hikes in 2017. As tentatively approved by state regulators, All ten companies offering individual health policies will raise rates in 2017, from 9.8 percent for Health Net Health Plan of Oregon to 17.9 percent for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon to 29.3 percent for Moda Health Plan. The dawning of the Affordable Care Act era has been tough on health insurers and consumers. No longer able to deny coverage to customers with pre-existing conditions, many of the state's largest carriers have lost millions of dollars and have passed on two successive years of big rate hikes to their customers. "We're certainly concerned about affordability," said Laura Cali, Oregon insurance commissioner. "We're worried that people will just decide not to buy insurance." So far, the evidence in Oregon suggests citizens are willing to pay the price. The number of people buying insurance through the individual market continues to rise and the number of uninsured Oregonians continues to decline, Cali said. A complete list of the proposed new rates is available here. The state is scheduled to make its final decision on 2017 rates by July 1. In the meantime, regulators will hold public hearings and is accepting comments from the public. The state is asking Oregonians for input at a series of public hearings. A consumer watchdog group voiced concern that the new higher rates are not entirely justified. "We acknowledge that many Oregon insurers lost money in 2015, and it is not unreasonable for them to seek to avoid large financial losses going forward," said Jesse O'Brien, policy director for the OSPIRG Foundation, which closely scrutinizes the industry. "But the more we dig into the insurers' justifications, the more concerned we are that the proposed rates may overcharge consumers." OSPIRG is equally concerned about the windfall profits enjoyed by many hospitals since passage of the Affordable Care Act. Hospitals' surging bottom line stems in part from the fact they are providing much lower levels of charity care to the uninsured. "With study after study showing that one-third of health care spending is waste, we can't afford anything but a full-court press for more effective use of our health care dollars," OSPIRG's O'Brien said. Despite the big losses of recent years, state officials said Oregon's health insurers are financially sound. "Carriers that cover the most people are largely extraordinarily well capitalized despite the fact they've absorbed large losses," said Patrick Allen, head of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. That wasn't always the case with Moda, Oregon's second-largest insurer. The Portland company was driven to the brink of insolvency in 2015 and was taken into "supervision" by state regulators in January. Since then, Moda has sold off assets and borrowed money to replenish its capital reserves by some $165 million. Barring the unexpected, the state will soon allow Moda to return to normal operations, Allen said. -- Jeff Manning 503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com "I was just built for construction," said Ashley Dowd as she stepped down from a ladder, masking tape in hand. The pink Nike swoosh on her shoes matches her pink T-shirt that reads "Western Spray Foam." Dowd insulates homes with spray foam for a living, alongside coworker Jennifer Frazier. Together, the two make a rare sight -- an all-woman construction crew. Frazier said she used to feel out of place on work sites because people think it's a "man's job." And the men, usually, don't see her as an equal. "But now, I just ignore it," she said. "We got it down. We can run circles around them." In Oregon, the male-dominated construction industry is hiring rapidly. But the proportion of women in the industry remains stubbornly low. Women like Dowd and Frazier make up one-fifth of all construction jobs in the state -- a disparity that is a "deeply rooted cultural and industry issue," said Mary Ann Naylor of the nonprofit Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. In the early '90s, women held 14 percent of jobs in the industry. Even with the increase since then, construction still lags behind most industries when it comes to the proportion of female workers. Naylor said women are missing out on high-paying jobs because they're routed away from the trades from a young age. She said girls aren't playing with building toys like Legos, and women aren't depicted in construction jobs in pop culture. "Our cultural image of construction workers is almost always a white male," she said. According to a June 2015 study on data from the Oregon Apprenticeship System, white males entered into 79 percent of all Oregon apprenticeship agreements from 2001 to 2010. Women, regardless of ethnicity, filled only 7 percent. Nick Beleiciks of the Oregon Employment Department said the state's economy needs more women to move into the industry. That's because construction is one of the fastest-growing industries in the state, projected to increase 22 percent by 2024. That compares to an overall job growth rate of 14 percent. With 17,600 jobs forecast to be added by 2024, Naylor said the industry won't have enough workers to fill the demand as baby boomers retire and the population increases. "It's not just a matter of doing what's right and what's fair," Naylor said. "You've got to expand who you see as a construction worker, or the industry is going to have a huge shortage of workers." In construction, the gap in pay is narrower than on average in corporate America, as full-time female workers make 82 percent of what men make for weekly earnings. Across all industry sectors, women make 68 percent. Dowd said she loves her job because it's hands on, and the hours are more regular than her previous jobs as a bartender and waitress. She also said her hourly pay is higher. Other women in the field said their construction jobs tend to pay well, have good opportunities and foster their love of building. But they often have to compensate for their gender and prove themselves to their customers and coworkers. Dowd and Frazier fit the construction-worker mold in some ways. They like to curse, and they make a point to tell a reporter they're "actually" really strong. "Seriously, we are," Frazier said. Holly Huntley, owner of Environs construction company in Portland, said she doesn't have time to let stereotypes bother her. "We're busy, we're working a lot," she said. "That just kind of rolls off my shoulder." Huntley studied criminal justice at The George Washington University, but never intended on pursuing a job in her field. Instead, she focused on construction and received her contractor's license when she was 30. She said she wanted to be self-sufficient and know how things work, and she didn't want to pay someone else for help. So, she practiced fixing leaky faucets and holes in the walls at her dad's place. She lived in Portland for 13 years before launching Environs in 2009, and now her crew includes one man and three women. Huntley said when she's on a work site, people still often think she's the homeowner rather than a worker. "If you see a woman on the job site, you don't assume she's working," she said. "You can be a woman with your tool belt on, and you're still the homeowner." Huntley said it's a hard image to break. But she also said Portland is ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the country, in which women only make up 9 percent of construction jobs, according to the latest census data. Yasmine Branden, former president of the National Association of Women in Construction, said the lack of women in the field can be attributed to the industry's poor marketing and the widespread opinion that construction is still not considered a "viable option" for women. Branden said most people don't realize the gamut of occupations in the field from the trades to management to insurance. "It comes back to demonstrating to parents the amazing opportunities and income and career paths for children," she said. Branden said women add value to a job site because they often plan ahead and work more efficiently. "I've seen it myself," Branden said. "When you see a woman show up in the morning, she will take 10 minutes to assess what she needs to do that day and get every tool out of her car." Craig Schmidt, of Western Spray Foam & Plumbing, said he's worked with many crews, but his all-woman crew now works "10 times harder" than any of them. Naylor said pulling more women into construction can start with just including pictures of them into the industry's recruiting and marketing materials. "Women have to see themselves," she said. "They have to know that they're welcome." -- Natasha Rausch An online business based in Sandy nearly went bankrupt last year before police arrested its bookkeeper on embezzlement charges, the owner said. Deborah Mapes-Stice, who has owned Trail Pals for 13 years, said she hired someone who appeared qualified but she now says business owners should do more due diligence. The bookkeeper, Paula Lorraine Prosch, 36, of Sandy, turned herself in at the Clackamas County jail after a grand jury indicted her on multiple felonies, the Sandy Police Department announced in a news release Thursday. Mapes-Stice wants other small-business owners to learn from her experience, she said. "The bottom line is you have to be smart," she said. "Do an extensive background check on everybody." When a trusted bookkeeper left the company in 2014, Mapes-Stice said, she began looking for someone new to handle the bills, invoices and other financial responsibilities. "We're a small company, and we needed a bookkeeper," Mapes-Stice said. "I wanted somebody that we knew. I was nervous about it, and I didn't want to hire a random bookkeeper." A close family friend introduced her to Prosch, who went by the name Lily. "She appeared qualified," Mapes-Stice said. "She was nice and personable. She appeared to have our best interest in mind, and she became a friend during that time." Hired in November 2014, Prosch spent the following 51 weeks appearing to be an effective bookkeeper, Mapes-Stice said. She saved the company money on phone bills and aggressively went after customers who attempted to commit credit card fraud. The company had been paying an independent accountant to help reconcile the books until Prosch persuaded her boss to allow her to take over the task, Mapes-Stice said. By October 2015, Mapes-Stice said, the company had less than a dollar in its account. "We thought the business was failing," Mapes-Stice said. A Clackamas County grand jury indicted Prosch on seven counts of first-degree theft, nine counts of first-degree forgery, 10 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and a single count of identity theft, according to circuit court records filed June 11. Mapes-Stice declined to say how much was stolen in total, but indicated it was a high five-digit dollar figure. With a bank account nearly wiped clean, Mapes-Stice and her husband began reviewing PayPal records and other financials. They turned over what they found to police. "As a result of the report, Sandy police launched an investigation lead by the detective," said Officer Sam Craven in a news release. "A forensic accounting of the business' accounts was also conducted." The money hasn't been recovered, the police spokesman said. As a result of the theft, Sandy detectives have asked the public for any information about Prosch, who also goes by Paula Lorraine Henderson, according to court records. Anyone with information should call Sandy police at 503-489-2195. Meanwhile, the incident forced Mapes-Stice to lay off her five employees while the company recovered. With help from her husband, she said, the company has stayed afloat as she has worked to catch up on the months-long backlog of unpaid bills. Her former employees had volunteered many hours to help out and recently began earning part-time pay again, she said. Moving forward, Mapes-Stice said her son has agreed to perform bookkeeping tasks. But she also plans to again hire an accountant to reconcile her books and verify everything on a monthly basis. Every small business owner should do the same, she said. "We've managed to stay in business," Mapes-Stice said. "We're just going to continue on and not let evil triumph." -- Tony Hernandez thernandez@oregonian.com 503-294-5928 @tonyhreports lightbar Deputy Albin Boyse, an 18-year Clark County Sheriff's Office veteran, is on paid administrative leave after shooting at a bank robbery suspect on June 13, 2016. (The Oregonian/OregonLive/file) The Clark County Sheriff's Office on Thursday identified the deputy who shot at a bank robbery suspect who later died at a hospital. Deputy Albin Boyse, an 18-year sheriff's office veteran, is on paid administrative leave, as is standard practice during officer-involved shooting investigations. He shot at Kenneth Allen Pointer of Portland, 43, who was suspected of robbing a U.S. Bank branch in Vancouver. Pointer made off Monday with an undisclosed amount of cash that had a tracking device with it. Boyse performed a "pit maneuver" -- a technique used to stop Pointer's car -- and shot at him, deputies said. The incident happened at Northeast 10th Avenue and 219th Street, more than 10 miles from the bank. Authorities didn't release information about the cause or manner of Pointer's death. Boyse is a school resource officer at Columbia River High School and a Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team member, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Deputies said he was recently credited with saving a student who collapsed at the high school. The case is under investigation. -- Jim Ryan jryan@oregonian.com 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Rebecca Woolington of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report Erik Lukens, editorial and commentary editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive, is leaving to become editor of The Bulletin in Bend. Lukens, 48, came to The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2012 from The Bulletin, where he had been city editor and editorial page editor. In 2014, he led the editorial board to a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing for a series on the problems facing Oregon's Public Employees Retirement System. Also under his leadership, The Oregonian/OregonLive became the first news organization to call for then-Gov. John Kitzhaber's resignation. "We wish Erik the best in his new job," said Steve Moss, president of Oregonian Media Group, which publishes The Oregonian/OregonLive. "Erik's clear-eyed view and strong voice served our readers well during his tenure." Lukens starts at The Bulletin Aug. 1. "I'm grateful for my four years at The Oregonian and will miss my colleagues and many of the people I've met in Portland," he said. A decision on how to replace Lukens has not been made. -- The Oregonian/OregonLive . Aware that students in Oregon's largest school district faced danger from lead paint radon and tainted drinking water this year, the Portland school board pressed pause this week on buying something else some parents say could harm children's health contain dextrose and high fructose corn syrup, and are guaranteed to last nine months in the freezer. Yes, the individually packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from Smucker's lack crusts. But other features have drawn reproach: They're factory-made in Kentucky and are guaranteed to last nine months in the freezer. Portland Public Schools plans to serve more than 600,000 of them in the coming year. . But that doesn't make them a good choice for Portland kids, those parents have fumed. That's rubbed some parents the wrong way , given the area's fondness for healthy, locally sourced food. Sure, Uncrustables are served in cafeterias all over the country, including in BeavertonBut that doesn't make them a good choice for Portland kids, those parents have fumed. Craig Williams, a longtime PTA leader, turned to Facebook to pose his question about the plastic-encased entree : "Can we find something more healthy and palatable than the product Smucker's offers?" " For me, it isn't about eliminating the ready-to-eat sandwich, a menu item which I know a lot of students look forward to eating on a daily basis, but about making it a healthier option, one without so many ingredients (especially ones you can't pronounce)," Williams wrote. He clearly tapped a nerve, and dozens of other parents jumped in, adding their mostly anti-Uncrustables views. Never mind that Williams later confessed he had high-fructose-containing Smucker's jam in his own refrigerator, along with a smaller jar of "natural" Smucker's without the syrupy sweetener When the school board met just 24 hours later, on Tuesday evening, a proposed $350,000 contract to buy more than 600,000 of the sandwiches at 51 cents apiece had been pulled from the agenda. Gitta Grether-Sweeney, Portland Public Schools' nutrition director , explains why the pre-packaged pb&js are a good choice, if not a perfect one. They meet school nutrition guidelines, by delivering the requisite amount of protein and whole grains without exceeding fat and calorie limits, she said. They're also an entree that a lot of students, particularly in kindergarten through second grade, love to eat. And, she said, the pre-made, individually packaged sandwiches deliver two key factors that Portland Public Schools cafeterias absolutely need: They help ensure peanut butter, to which some children are They help ensure peanut butter, to which some children are highly allergic, is segregated from other food and cooking surfaces and utensils. And they're available even when power is out, ingredients for fresh meals go bad or water is turned off (like it is now, in light of findings showing lead in schools' water). Just pull them from the freezer, wait two hours and serve. "They are a great back-up food for emergencies," she said. Absent an emergency, children are always offered at least three other entree choices, Grether-Sweeney said. Alternatives can include a locally sourced hamburger cooked in the school kitchen, a Southwest-style bean and rice bowl, a whole-breast chicken fillet or some lasagna hand-assembled using locally made marinara sauce and fresh basil. Yet 12 percent of students, on average, pick the soft, sweet sandwich wrapped in plastic. Despite defending the Kentucky-made lunch staple, Grether-Sweeney said she would love to serve a locally sourced pb&j instead. The school district already buys "wonderful" bread and pizza crust made from locally and sustainably grown whole wheat, she said. And the Willamette Valley grows abundant and flavorful marion berries and strawberries for jam. She met with the district's bread vendor "a couple months ago" to see if they could help find someone to make individually packaged pb&js for Portland schools, she said. But no one has stepped up yet. " If I can get these things made locally, that would be great," she said. Grether-Sweeney wishes the Uncrustables made with strawberry jam didn't contain high-fructose corn syrup. The good news, she said, is that beginning this fall, the grape jelly version of the crust-free sandwich will contain none -- in the jelly or the bread. This year's solicitation for sandwich bids did request no high-fructose syrup "to push the companies to make things the way we would like them," she said. But ,she said, companies "are not always able to meet those" requests. Anthony said he's never tasted an Uncrustable made with whole grain flour and grape jelly or strawberry jam - the choice in Portland school cafeterias. And he acknowledged that the many reports he's received of children eating a few bites and refusing to finish the sandwiches are purely anecdotal. He was incredulous to learn that, more than 600,000 time a year, a Portland student considers other menu choices - and opts for an Uncrustable. But it's true, Grether-Sweeney said. "Kids do like them." In the months following the state's deadliest mass shooting in modern times, Oregon Institute of Technology President Chris Maples quietly set up a new scholarship program. Starting this fall, OIT will waive tuition for any Umpqua Community College student who was in one of four classes in Snyder Hall on Oct. 1 when a gunman killed 10 people, including himself, and wounded 8 others. The "UCC Hero Scholarship" is available to 85 students, Maples said in an interview Thursday. OIT picked that criteria with the help of UCC since those students were "considered most physically and emotionally impacted" because of their proximity to the shooting. Three UCC students are already enrolled at OIT this fall and a fourth has applied to the four-year school. Maples said that was more than he expected to show up so soon. The scholarship will be available to any of the survivors who qualify as long as they apply by Jan. 1, 2020, and are enrolled by 2021. OIT wanted to give the students time to "get settled and get back as much of a normal life as they can," Maples said. Maples said he reached out to then-UCC interim president Rita Cavin shortly after the shooting and asked what he could do to help. "What can we do to not let somebody get them off track," Maples said. "To not let somebody completely derail a part of their life they were working on." OIT settled on a special scholarship program to offer free tuition for UCC students "until they complete a bachelor's degree" at either the Klamath Falls or Wilsonville campuses. "Our goal is to help these people," Maples said. "It's just the right thing to do," Students must still be admitted to OIT. The scholarship applies to all programs, aside from the Nursing track, according to the scholarship form. Students must also maintain a 2.0 grade point average. In-state tuition at the four-year school based in Klamath Falls is approaching $10,000 per year. -- Andrew Theen atheen@oregonian.com 503-294-4026 @andrewtheen A 20-year-old University of Oregon student was arrested Tuesday and faces 10 felony child sex abuse charges. Aryavong Aaron Khounlavouth, a Springfield resident and UO student, was arraigned Wednesday and faces charges that he knowingly downloaded and copied child pornography. The Register-Guard reported that Khounlavouth has been under investigation since 2014, and that Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators discovered Khounlavouth allegedly downloaded pornographic material and saved it to a cloud-based account. Aryavong Aaron Khounlavouth was arrested Tuesday on child sex abuse charges. According to court documents, Khounlavouth downloaded and copied child pornography as recently as June 2 "consciously disregarding the fact that creation of the visual recording to sexually explicit conduct involved child abuse." Khounlavouth is scheduled to appear in Lane County Circuit Court Aug. 9. -- Andrew Theen atheen@oregonian.com 503-294-4026 @andrewtheen schooling sardines A decline in sardine populations could create a demand for currently unmanaged forage fish species. (Photo courtesy of The Associated Press/1998) Starting this fall, Oregon commercial anglers looking to target a new fish at the bottom of the ocean food chain may first have to prove they can do so sustainably. Fish managers at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have crafted a plan to ban all new forage fisheries in state-regulated waters, unless anglers can prove they can target the fish without harming the ecosystem. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to consider adopting the policy at its September meeting. It may seem like common sense, but it puts Oregon near the forefront of a push to adopt more sustainable ocean fishing practices in an effort to stave off overfishing problems that have long plagued the world's oceans. In a statement, state marine resources manager Caren Braby said the plan will "allow our existing fisheries to thrive while preventing new forage fish fisheries from forming without thorough consideration and review." The plan follows a similar move in May by the National Marine Fisheries Service and Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manage federal waters at least three miles off the coast. Oregon's move fills in the regulatory gap in the three miles from the shoreline to federal waters. If approved, the plan will protect small schooling fish such as saury and sand lance, preventing them from joining sardines, anchovies and herring on the list of commercially-targeted baitfish. These small species play a key role in the ocean ecosystem, serving as a vital food source for larger fish, mammals and birds. "That three mile strip up and down the Oregon coast also happens to be an incredibly important space for a lot of those marine wildlife," said Gilly Lyons, a fisheries advocate with the Pew Charitable Trusts. "We're wonderfully encouraged that the state is moving to protect it." When they suffer as a result of overfishing or climactic shifts that can decimate baitfish populations, the havoc often ripples up the food chain. The ongoing collapse of Pacific sardine populations, for example, has been blamed for a wave of starvation among other species including sea lions and shorebirds. --Kelly House khouse@oregonian.com 503-221-8178; @Kelly_M_House Annastasia Hester Annastasia Hester was attacked inside her apartment on June 10, 2016. The 35-year-old Gresham resident called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. to report she'd been stabbed, but died later at the hospital. (Handout courtesy of Gresham Police Department ) With no arrest in the week-old killing of a Gresham woman stabbed inside her apartment, police are seeking the public's help. Annastasia Diane Hester, 35, died at a local hospital on June 10 after she called 911 at 3 a.m. to report the stabbing. "She was able to communicate to 911 until police arrived, just barely,'' said Gresham Detective Brandon Crate. Hester died of a stab wound to the torso, Crate said. Hester lived in an apartment unit in the East Park Apartments off the Springwater Corridor, in the 100 block of Southwest Eastman Parkway. Hester had worked as a floor supervisor for the waste management service Stericycle for the past six years, according to an obituary. She was a Portland native who graduated from Gresham High School in 2000, moved to Corvallis to study childhood development before returning to Gresham to attend Mt. Hood Community College, according to an obituary. A divorced mother of a 4-year-old daughter, Hester also had worked at an after-school program for children called Champions and did jobs as a face painter. A memorial service is scheduled Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham. Gresham police, with help from Oregon State Police, said they've collected a "significant amount of evidence'' from Annastasia Hester's apartment in the 100 block of Southwest Eastman Parkway. Gresham police, with help from Oregon State Police Forensic Unit, said they've collected a "significant amount of evidence'' from Hester's apartment. But they're asking neighborhood residents who might have private surveillance systems to contact police. Areas of particular interest include: residential neighborhoods and businesses south of the 7th Street bridge, along Eastman Parkway from Powell Boulevard to Division Street; Powell Boulevard between 182nd Avenue and Hogan Drive; and Eastman Parkway from Division Street south along Southwest Towle Avenue to Butler Road. While investigators already have canvassed surrounding areas for surveillance images, they just want to make sure they haven't missed anything, Crate said. Detectives also would like to talk with anyone who might have been in the area of Southeast Powell Boulevard and Eastman Parkway around 3 a.m. on June 10. With no arrest made, detectives are cautioning the public to remain vigilant and keep their doors and windows locked. Crate said investigators haven't determined yet whether Hester knew her attacker, or if it was a stranger-on-stranger killing. "We still haven't ruled that out,'' Crate said. Police are awaiting state crime lab results on evidence from her apartment. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Gresham police tip line at 503-618-2719. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian To get to the music room, you must leave the main building at Robert Gray Middle School, walk outside and down a set of steps to a blue metal door that opens into a long hallway. It's symbolic, leaving behind math, science and socials studies classes, because a different kind of education takes place in this room at this Southwest Portland school, the way it does in every elementary and middle school that offers a band program. If you've played in a school band (Ainsworth 1966-68, snare drum), you know what I mean. A music program at this level is almost always close to spinning out of control: Sour notes from time to time, shaky rhythm and, often, a lack of committed practice. At the center of it all sits the band director whose crowning achievement is to get as many as 50 kids, some distracted, to start and end a song in unison, making it recognizable enough to an audience. You think explaining 3x-4=7+2x is difficult? Try getting a school band to make it through "Tonight," from West Side story in the key of Ab Major with chord changes and single notes, along with pianissimo and mezzo forte when the score calls for it. And at Robert Gray, the notes are fading away. Music teacher, Jeanne Berg, is retiring at the end of June, the end to a 37-year career. She has taught the sons and daughters of children who were once in this very room. But before the curtain descends, she was busy getting ready for the band's end-of-the year concert and an appearance in the Rose Festival's Junior Parade. Then she takes the 50-person choir to New York City where they will see the city and also perform on the street outside of the Empire State Building and at an outdoor market. She plans to take the group on a tour of Carnegie Hall, telling them to sing in the lobby so they can truthfully say they sang at Carnegie Hall. "I cry a lot," Berg said while sitting at her desk while her students fill the room and take their seats. She tries to calculate how many students she's taught during her career. Best guess, she figures, is 4,000. Any famous students? She smiles. "Chad White," she said. "He played alto sax here in 1990." And? "He lives in New York City," Berg said. What? Blue Note? Village Vanguard? Maybe the Birdland Jazz Club? He's known," she said, "as the nation's No. 1 underwear model." She laughed. And so goes the life of a band teacher. Berg learned how to play instruments while attending Mount Hood Community College. She later received her degree in education from Portland State University and eventually a master's in music education at the University of Portland. Although a former French horn player of hers plays with a professional orchestra back east, Berg knows that most of the kids she's taught won't play an instrument beyond, possibly, high school. Middle school band is an elective. When kids walk into her music room, they get a shot to be on the team. In her world, there is no such thing as a bench warmer. "I want all kids to try," she said. "Even if it's painful to hear, the rule is to smile and clap. There's nothing like seeing the light go on in a kid's eyes. When they work as a unit, it's absolute magic. I want them to leave me having a love of music that they carry with them the rest of their lives." Berg announced her retirement during the annual December school concert, drawing gasps from former students had come back for the traditional event that always brings alumni back to the school auditorium. Berg, 58, divorced with a grown daughter, said her students have taught her as much as she's taught them. "I learned more the first year I taught in class than I ever did in college," she said. "My kids taught me patience. Daily, I'm reminded of the middle school mentality. What we as adults might think isn't a big deal, is to them. I've learned to feel, and understand, their pain." Berg looks over her students, who have taken their spots, instruments in hand. She's ready to count them off, to start practicing. She pauses. The rule for middle school band teachers who retire is that they don't come back to school for any concerts for three years. That gives the new teacher a chance to play without a musical ghost hovering nearby. So Berg knows that she won't see these kids again. This is it, the last practice. "Drummers, you get to set the cadence," she calls out. And so it starts. And so it ends. --Tom Hallman Jr. thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224 @thallmanjr Binder.jpg (Steve Duin) Fear? "I fear the gap between the haves and the have-nots in America will continue to grow exponentially," Sarah Nelson said. Fear and loathing? "I fear socially-acceptable intolerance and bigotry in the name of religion," Liz Burnside of Vancouver wrote. "I fear xenophobia in the name of patriotism." Fear and prescience? "I fear demagogues, on the edges of both the left and the right, who have simple, angry answers," Bob Robison told me. In the summer of 2004. In the shadow of the Twin Towers and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. That summer was the vitriolic build-up to the re-election of George W. Bush. In late June, as the rancor intensified, I asked readers, "What are we afraid of? What divides and conquers us? What keeps us up at night?" We were two years before the birth of Twitter. Oregonlive's raging comment stream was barely a trickle. But the column struck a nerve. Within 24 hours, hundreds of readers responded, sharing their alarm. I held on to those letters and emails. Stashed them away in a black binder. Saved both the red notes and the blue. I saved them because the laments on the war in the Middle East, the struggle of the middle class, and the pillaging of the environment were so honest and gut-wrenching and raw. I saved them because readers like Steve Decker wrote to say, "I fear that I will die and have never worked on anything that made a difference." When I paged through that binder this week, it was unnerving, given how many of those fears have been realized. The gap between the haves and have-nots? The concentration of wealth in the nation's richest families has increased dramatically in these dozen years. "Xenophobia in the name of patriotism?" Donald Trump has built his presidential campaign on a wall at the Mexican border and a ban on Muslim immigration into the United States. Did you mention "demagogues," Mr. Robison? "The future is difficult to predict," Robison, a former crime victims' advocate for Multnomah County, offered Thursday. "I wouldn't have predicted Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee. In many ways, it seems like our worst fears have come true." Even as the federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004, there was no imagining the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary or a gay nightclub in Orlando. But in his email a dozen years ago, Don Jeffrey warned us, "Having an opinion without information has become a national hobby." The addiction to celebrity was already locked in. "What rough beast is slouching under the radar," asked Karen Flagstad of Southeast Portland, "while we are all obsessing about the latest soap opera involving a political figure?" And Steve Harris, like so many Oregonians, could feel the hardening of the collective arteries: "I'm afraid of being so self-centered that I close my mind to the possibility that those I disagree with may have a message that is part of the solution." The most personal reflections in that binder still give me pause. "My greatest fear is a lifetime of regrets," John McNassar wrote, "looking back from my death bed and realizing that what I did with most of my life is worry about money." And Steve Decker? He's now living in Montana. Decker had been unemployed for a year, laid off from Digimarc in Beaverton, when he wrote me in 2004. He had just realized, he says, that he'd spent "a lot of time doing things that paid well but weren't rewarding or important. "So, I changed what I do." He taught physics and computer science for seven years at Oregon Episcopal School. Then he moved to Montana to be close to his grandson: "Another place where I can work on something that makes a difference." When I asked him about fears, past and present, Decker said, "An awful lot of what we rail against is based on not knowing. "When I was working at Digimarc, I had two Palestinians working for me, both extremely observant Muslims and two of the finest men I've ever known. I also had a couple students at the school who turned out to be transgender. "Once you know them, it's a lot harder to be afraid and condemnatory. In that sense, I think I've become a lot more ... well, inclusive." The alternatives are complacency and despair. The alternatives are frightening. -- Steve Duin stephen.b.duin@gmail.com A Washington County jury on Friday found a 22-year-old man guilty of all counts in the sledgehammer killing of his cousin's great-grandmother. Micus Ward was charged with two counts each of aggravated and felony murder in the Oct. 5, 2013, slaying of 71-year-old Jacqueline Bell. The jury reached the verdict after about three hours of deliberation during the past two days. Jurors next week will determine Ward's sentence. The state is not seeking the death penalty in the case, so jurors will decide whether Ward will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole or serve a minimum of 30 years before he could become eligible for release. During closing arguments Thursday, defense attorneys maintained that Ward had nothing to do with the brutal killing, while prosecutors asserted that he helped deliver the deadly blows as part of a robbery plan. Arguments on both sides focused, in part, on Ward's intellect. His attorney, Benjamin Kim, contended Ward has an intellectual disability that contributed to the way he behaved that day. Prosecutor Jeff Lesowski told jurors that Ward's low IQ did not mean he was incapable of murder. On the morning of Oct. 5, Ward and his cousin, Joda Cain, took off in Bell's sage-colored Lexus sedan with her purse and jewelry inside. Cain, then 17, was at the wheel when police stopped them later that day after a high-speed chase through eastern Oregon. Ward bolted from the car, authorities say, but was quickly arrested. Around the same time, deputies in Washington County discovered Bell's body in the bedroom of her Cedar Mill home. She was on the floor and wrapped in a blanket with the sledgehammer nearby. Circular bruises covered her back. Last September, a jury found Cain guilty of manslaughter in the death of his great-grandmother, rejecting aggravated murder charges against him. Cain, who claimed Ward was behind the bludgeoning, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. During his trial, Cain testified that he came to live with Bell in July 2013 after she gained guardianship and moved him out of Kansas City, Missouri. He wanted to live with her, he said, to escape his chaotic home life and abusive stepfather. Ward, who is not related to Bell, had been visiting from Kansas City at the time of the slaying. Last year, Judge Rick Knapp initially found Ward unfit to stand trial after a doctor at the Oregon State Hospital determined Ward had an intellectual disability that rendered him incapable of participating in his defense. Months later, a state hospital doctor determined he could assist in his case, and in January, Knapp found him fit to proceed. On Thursday, Lesowski told jurors that Ward is clearly competent and that a police interview with him showed that he is able to communicate, listen and appropriately answer questions. He told jurors he thinks Ward's IQ is higher than what tests have shown. "I'm not here to tell you he's the smartest person in the world," Lesowski said. "He didn't have to be to commit a crime." Lesowski told jurors that Bell's blood was found on Ward's clothing. A button from Ward's shirt was later discovered inside Bell's bedroom, indicating she had fought with him, Lesowski said. The prosecutor noted that a friend of Cain's had also been at the home when the killing occurred and awakened to the sounds of Bell's screams and Ward demanding money. Lesowski pointed to the way Ward ran from police before being arrested. "Who runs from the police?" Lesowski asked. "Guilty people run from the police." Lesowski pointed to Ward's statements to detectives that he never went into Bell's bedroom, when physical evidence proved he had. "Who lies to the police?" Lesowski asked. "Guilty people do." Ward's lawyer, Kim, acknowledged that the evidence showed that his client, at some point, was in the room during the beating. But the blood evidence and the button, he told jurors, don't mean that Ward participated. Kim denounced the credibility of the friend who heard the killing occur, referring to him as an "earwitness," saying his story changed over time and questioning his memory. Kim also blasted parts of the investigation. Police didn't do a good job interviewing the friend, he told jurors. And law enforcement made another "inexplicable" blunder: They washed Cain's clothes, instead of preserving them, Kim said. Investigators never knew whether Cain had blood on him, too. Kim told jurors to consider his client's actions in light of his intellectual disability. The defense lawyer said Ward scored 59 on an IQ test. He said Ward can't drive or order food from a menu on his own. He said his client can barely read. "He's been mentally retarded all his life," Kim said. "It was something that was identified when he was 6 years old." Ward, Kim said, didn't even know Bell. Cain, however, wanted to become rich, and he wanted her dead, the defense attorney said. But jurors ultimately disagreed that Ward wasn't involved. They will return to court Tuesday to hear testimony before determining his sentence. Emily E. Smith of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. -- Rebecca Woolington 503-294-4049; @rwoolington MM6COABbernstein.jpg A slide is projected at the first meeting of the Community Oversight Advisory Board in February 2015. (Maxine Bernstein/Staff) The insults and jeering that disrupted last week's meeting of the Community Oversight Advisory Board marked a low point in the 16-month history of the panel. But unruly public crowds aren't the only problems that have plagued the citizen board tasked with monitoring Portland's compliance with a federal police-reforms settlement. City leadership's attention to the panel is sporadic, despite the city holding ultimate responsibility for its effectiveness. Several board members have resigned over the past year and others are now calling for a temporary halt to cope with the dysfunction, as The Oregonian/OregonLive's Maxine Bernstein reported. The drama at the latest meeting, at which audience members shouted at the board and interrupted its work multiple times, only highlights the question: Can this board be saved? The turmoil facing board members contrasts sharply with the bumptious words that Portland's leaders have used over the years to describe the creation of the independent oversight board. The idea for the panel was part of a 2012 agreement with the federal justice department to settle claims that Portland Police engaged in a pattern of excessive force against people with mental illness. Community members and a city-hired compliance officer, not a court-appointed monitor, would track Portland's progress in implementing reforms, solicit community feedback and offer recommendations for improving police practices. The board, many have bragged, was a first-of-its-kind solution that could be a model for cities seeking to be accountable to their communities. http://media.oregonlive.com/opinion_impact/photo/agenda-2013jpg-da8a3522a991b9c6.jpg Editorial Agenda 2016 Get Oregon centered Better leadership in education Make Portland a city that works Build Oregon prosperity Protect and expand personal freedom Get pot right _______________________________ It turns out, unfortunately, that self-congratulatory words don't do much in the way of providing concrete guidance. Since convening in February 2015, board members have complained about insufficient training and education from city officials to orient the citizen volunteers in how to do their work, adhere to public meetings law and other requirements. They criticized a lack of engagement and interest from Mayor Charlie Hales, who serves as police commissioner, and from police chief Larry O'Dea, who has yet to sit down with the board despite a requirement for twice-yearly meetings. "There's nothing that signals this work is a priority for the mayor and the chief," said Avel Gordly, a former state senator who serves on the oversight panel and called for the temporary suspension of work. And members, who were initially advised of a 10-hour per month commitment, are spending four or five times that, researching national policies at their own cost. But Gordly strongly believes the board can and must survive. She noted that despite setbacks, the panel has made significant progress and offered dozens of recommendations that reflect the expertise of its members. A "reset," in which facilitators help identify shortcomings and lay out next steps would help focus their work. Oregonian editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. are Helen Jung, Erik Lukens, Steve Moss and Len Reed. To respond to this editorial: Post your comment below, submit a , or write a . If you have questions about the opinion section, contact Erik Lukens, editorial and commentary editor, at or 503-221-8142. Gordly's not the only member wanting help shaping the group's future. Several members told The Oregonian/Oregonlive editorial board that the city must substantially increase the resources it is devoting to tracking police reforms, encourage public participation in the oversight committee's activities and take interest in what they are doing. For example, while Commissioner Amanda Fritz has attended several meetings, few other commissioners show up. And some were disappointed by the lack of a response from the mayor to the panel's recommendation earlier this year that the city immediately get rid of the so-called 48-hour rule which gives officers a two-day waiting period after a shooting before they must answer questions from internal affairs investigators. Hales was limited by what he could publicly say, due to contract negotiations with the police union, said Hales' policy director, Deanna Wesson-Mitchell. While he did notify the city-hired compliance officer who works with the citizens' panel, Wesson-Mitchell acknowledged that a letter to the full panel reiterating his support would have been helpful. She also noted that the city has increased funding and added a staff person in response to the group's requests. But she, Fritz and others note that the board is independent and isn't under their authority. In fact, Fritz said, the city council needs to take direction from them on whether they are fulfilling their promises under the settlement agreement. The thing is, the implementation of the oversight board is one of the promises under the settlement agreement. As U.S. Attorney for Oregon Bill Williams noted, the city committed to carrying out a host of remedies, which includes ensuring the effective operation of the panel. "It's incumbent on the city, according to the terms of our agreement, that they do what it takes to make it successful," he told the editorial board. That means taking some of the steps that Gordly outlined. It also means recognizing that before you can pump yourself up as a model to other communities, you actually have to be doing something worth following. - The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board ballot.JPG Voters use the drop box at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland on May 17. (Susan Green/Staff) By Sal Peralta Last month, the Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) became the first third party to win a spot on the state's May primary ballot. More than 46,000 Oregonians participated, making it the largest third party election in Oregon history. For a party that was founded in protest after the Legislature passed laws making it harder to run for office as an independent and replaced the word "independent" with "non-affiliated" to describe candidates on the ballot, it was a big step. Because the Independent Party is a state level party, which had no national affiliates until this year, we notified the state that the party would not use the state process for selecting a presidential candidate. In March, party leaders were notified that the state would include a presidential line on our May primary ballot. At that time, we recommended that the state either list all of the leading presidential candidates (Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, etc.) or simply not print a ballot line. Both options would have saved the counties money, increased public participation and been less confusing to voters. The state declined to list any candidates on the party's ballot and attempted to unlawfully force the party to accept the results of the write-in winner, which would have had several negative effects: It would have set a precedent that prevented the party from establishing a national convention of "Independent Parties"; it would have prevented our members from selecting a viable "independent" candidate should such a candidate emerge; and it would have taken away the right of our party not to nominate a candidate for president. In response to our written objections, the attorney general reversed its opinion and the secretary of state was forced to concede our party had a right to nominate according to the process adopted by the party. The party will instead conduct a presidential preference vote that will include the leading write-in winners -- Trump, Clinton and Sanders -- along with other candidates. This vote will take place from July 4 through July 18. Unlike the state primary election, the ballot will use "approval voting," which allows voters to select as many candidates as they would support. The winning candidate is the person with the most votes. Voters will also be allowed to select "none of the above" as an option. Anyone who is a registered member of the Independent Party of Oregon or as a non-affiliated voter by June 24 will be allowed to participate in the Independent Party's presidential preference primary and member survey, which will help the party determine its agenda for the 2017 legislative session. Finally, IPO members will have an opportunity to decide whether they want the party to continue building a national coalition of third "Independent parties" to provide a true national alternative to the Democrats and Republicans. We have reached a tentative agreement with Independent parties in Massachusetts and Minnesota to start developing a national third party coalition. We hope to have the involvement of at least 15 state parties this year, with more coming online in time for the 2020 election. Trying to build a national presidential coalition is a big shift for our party. The power differential between the Democrats and Republicans and every other third party is stunning. We understand the obstacles. But the simple truth is that more than half of Americans do not feel well represented by either the Democrats or the Republicans. Unless someone starts building mainstream alternatives to those parties, we will keep going down the same wrong path that we have been on for the past 20 years. If you think it's time for a change, please consider joining the Independent Party (or registering as non-affiliated) by June 24 and then take part in the IPO's primary election and member survey. For more information about the IPO's upcoming election and to learn how you can participate, please visit www.indparty.com/2016. * Sal Peralta is secretary of the Independent Party of Oregon. 1orlando.JPG A makeshift memorial for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) By Alyssa Rosenberg The massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where 49 people were murdered this past weekend, has prompted outrage at the impossibility of gun control in the United States, memorials at and for gay bars, and sharp debates about whether the shooting was primarily a hate crime, an act of terrorism or both at once. And in a sign that people are sickened by the rote responses to horrors that have themselves become frighteningly routine, many are rejecting one of the rituals that follows such tragedies: the offering of "thoughts and prayers" to the bereaved. I understand the pain and frustration of people who reject that offer. Given that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has accepted a past speaking invitation to from Kevin Swanson, a pastor who has suggested the death penalty for gay people who don't repent their sexual orientations, I can see why people might wonder what, exactly, Cruz's prayers consist of. Treating prayer as a substitute for action after yet another mass shooting can seem like an obscene bait-and-switch. But the anger in response to "thoughts and prayers" suggests widespread failures of communication around what prayer consists of and what it's supposed to accomplish. The Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study of 35,000 Americans from all 50 states provides a window into which Americans pray and how often they do it. Fifty-five percent of respondents said that they pray "at least daily," while 23 percent pray "seldom" or "never." People who identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses were most likely to say they pray at least daily, followed by Mormons, Historically Black Protestants, Evangelical Protestants and Muslims. Respondents between the ages of 30 and 49 were most likely to say they pray daily; by contrast, 33 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds said they pray seldom or never. Women pray more frequently than men. In that survey, Pew didn't ask respondents about whether they believe that prayer alone can bring about material change in the world. "I don't know that many people think that thinking about something can actually have any effect on it. But a lot of people who offer prayers are doing it in the spirit of actually believing that those prayers are powerful and, importantly, that they can prompt the powerful to act, or to change minds," Alissa Wilkinson, a professor at King's College and the critic-at-large at Christianity Today, wrote in an email to me when I asked about the backlash against "thoughts and prayers." But in a 2016 "Religion in Everyday Life" study, Pew did ask what role religion plays in respondents' major life decisions. Eighty-six percent of people Pew identified as highly religious, defined as those who pray daily and attend services once a week, said that they relied on prayer and religious reflection to guide their actions. A number of people I spoke to about prayer in the wake of the Pulse attack suggested that explaining that connection, and making manifest the work that is inspired by prayer, could go a long way toward making offers of prayer seem more meaningful. Gil Steinlauf, the senior rabbi at the Adas Israel Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Washington (in Judaism, Conservative refers to a particular religious tradition, rather than a political orientation), wrote in an email that for Jews, prayers "seek to orient ourselves in the grand scheme of the on-going relationship between God and the Jewish people. That relationship is defined by a covenant that calls us to action, i.e. the mitzvot, or commandments that lead to a more holy and just world." "For Jews today, prayer is inconceivable as divorced from action," Steinlauf continued. "For Jews, prayer ought not be an offering of wishes and good intentions, and then leaving the rest to God. If prayer reminds us of anything, it is that we are in this world as God's partners in Creation for a world that needs repair. I believe that all peoples of faith, no matter what their concept of prayer is, should take this essential Jewish insight of prayer to heart. We live in a time when the need for immediate action is critical." Elise Hanley Ashley, a recent graduate of Union Theological Seminary and a transitional deacon in the Episcopal Church, suggested that religious people and faith communities make explicit connections between prayers and acts in the wake of a tragedy. "Prayer is not only this conversation with a higher power or God, but it therefore also helps one to listen to what God is wanting for your life and the world, and prayer would impact your actions," she explained. "It's communicating your next step. How is this affecting us, and how is this compelling us to action? I think churches and other communities of faith need to put out that message. What can our particular community do or provide to those who are hurting right now, to those who are marginalized, to those who need something?" Christopher Ashley, the Episcopalian theologian who presided at my wedding, wrote that he felt as though it was natural for believers to turn to God in situations in which they felt hopeless. What some nonbelievers might see as an evasion from action believers might understand as an acknowledgement that they face circumstances beyond their control. "The liberal/Kantian critique of 'thoughts and prayers' after massacres or the deaths of refugees or storms is that we do have power over gun laws, asylum policies, and carbon emissions," he said in an email. "Yet, I know I'm not alone in feeling powerless in the face of all those policy environments. To put it another way, the recourse to 'thoughts and prayers' doesn't only mark the gap between what humanity as a whole could do in principle and what's only in God's hands, but also the communal breaches of kindness and generosity that make democratic deliberation impossible or counterproductive." But the idea that prayer might express a shared sense of hopelessness and frustration, or a desire to be of service, gets lost when the people at whom those prayers are directed have experienced harm at the hands of the faithful, Elise Hanley Ashley said. If people have experienced "almost vengeful" prayers that they will change their sexuality, for example, an offer of prayer may feel hostile rather than kind. "Many in our community hear the hypocrisy in their offering prayers while simultaneously working on discriminatory legislation against our community, and by promoting legislation that is turning our American streets into war zones with the ready availability of assault weapons," Rabbi Steinlauf wrote. At the end of the day, Wilkinson suggested, the backlash against "thoughts and prayers" offered up by positioning politicians is a well-earned one. "I'm dubious that many (politicians, especially) who offer 'thoughts and prayers' actually view them in the way that, for instance, your average middle America parishioner does," she wrote to me. "Maybe that's most obvious in the fact that for many, actions don't accompany the prayers. And that's visible to the public, and I don't think the reaction against it is unmerited." (c) 2016, The Washington Post 1trump.JPG Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives two thumbs after signing autographs during a campaign stop at The Fox Theatre on June 15, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Branden Camp/Getty Images) By Barton Swaim Special to The Washington Post Donald Trump has now been so widely and scorchingly criticized by editorialists and commentators for so many reasons that I'm almost inclined to leave him alone. Writers are a perverse lot, and we become uncomfortable when we find ourselves agreeing with too many people too often. If only Trump would go a few days without indulging in ostentatious buffoonery and mendacity, I might have time to expatiate on topics I care about more, among them my deep and long-standing dislike of Hillary Clinton. But no. It's not to be. Trump's latest disgrace, of course -- unless he utters another one before these words are posted -- is his nasty and craven remarks about President Obama. "Look," he said on Fox News, "we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind. And the something else in mind -- you know, people can't believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on." Asked to explain his call on Twitter for Obama to resign, Trump remarked, "He doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands -- it's one or the other, and either one is unacceptable." Clearly, the repeated "there's something going on," together with the claim that maybe Obama has "got something else in mind" and maybe "gets it better than anybody understands," is intended to suggest that Obama is a closet Muslim, or that he sympathizes with radical Islamic terrorists. Rather than saying it straightforwardly, though, Trump swaggered up to the line without crossing it. He wouldn't "own it," as we say these days. Asked what he meant by the comment, he responded to Bloomberg Politics, "I was referring to the fact that at times President Obama seems more in support of Muslims than Israel." That is not what he was "referring to," and he knows it. He was talking about what Obama is, not what he "seems" to be. Trump is the kid on the playground who asks if your mom is a slut, and when you get angry he says he wasn't calling your mom a slut, he was just saying some moms are sluts, come on, what's wrong with you anyway? Trump made the same sort of innuendo on the "Today" show, alleging in that instance that "there are a lot of people that think maybe he doesn't want to get it. A lot of people think maybe he doesn't want to know about it," and so on. This, as The Washington Post's Jenna Johnson pointed out, is often how Trump makes his accusations -- not boldly but cautiously: "Trump frequently couches his most controversial comments this way, which allows him to share a controversial idea, piece of tabloid gossip or conspiracy theory without technically embracing it. If the comment turns out to be popular, Trump will often drop the distancing qualifier -- 'people think' or 'some say.' If the opposite happens, Trump can claim that he never said the thing he is accused of saying, equating it to retweeting someone else's thoughts on Twitter." That's very astutely observed. Yet I wonder if Trump's behavior isn't as much nurture as nature, or as much learned as innate. In an age in which memories are short and reputations can be ruined and reinvented in six months, American political discourse has become rife with unflattering suggestions meant to wound and discredit in the absence of evidence or straightforward explanation. These suggestions rarely approach the reprehensibility of Trump's remarks, but they are nasty even so. I have a clear memory, for instance, of hearing President Obama making the case for his economic proposals in the summer of 2011 and saying, "The only thing preventing these bills from being passed is the refusal of some folks in Congress to put the country ahead of party. There are some in Congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see America win. And that has to stop. It's got to stop. We're supposed to all be on the same team, especially when we're going through tough times." So "some folks in Congress" weren't on the American "team"? Which folks, exactly? And what, other than disagreement with Obama's economic policies, was the evidence for it? The president was accusing his adversaries of bad faith and contempt for their country, but his language remained just vague enough to avoid slander. Many similar insinuations come to mind, and they come from both sides of the ideological field. Think of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani's suggestion that Obama doesn't love America, not because he's a traitor or disaffected but because -- as if this made it somehow less slanderous -- the president "wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country." Or, going further back, recall Howard Dean's remark in 2003 that it was an "interesting theory" that President George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks before they happened. "He obviously doesn't believe it's true," Dean's spokesman dutifully explained later. Or consider the tired accusation that the other side is "playing politics" with some important matter. On one level, the accusation sounds as if it might be fair -- "politics" isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you don't "play" it when you should be doing other things. What the accuser means to say without quite saying it, however, is that members of the other party value their own political careers and the perquisites of office more than they care about matters of national importance -- the death and injury to innocents in a terrorist attack, say, or the spread of a deadly virus. But since that more straightforward accusation would sound nasty, the accuser adopts the metaphorical and vaguer "playing politics" instead. We all know what was intended, though. On the journalists' side, many a story has "raised questions" because the reporter wanted, in essence, to accuse without producing evidence. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the phrase, but in many cases it's sufficiently clear that the reporter wanted to attribute guilt but couldn't because the evidence wasn't there. So instead of doing more work on the story and arriving at a firmer conclusion, he or she claimed -- arbitrarily -- that various circumstances "raise questions" about the willful wrongdoing or neglect that must surely be there. So yes: Donald Trump is a malicious insinuator. But in many ways he's an extreme and ugly outgrowth of our political culture, not an aberration from it. Swaim is author of "The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics" and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Trail Blazers fire broadcasters: My husband and I have been Blazers season ticket holders since 1998 and have stuck with the team through many upheavals. The firing of broadcasters Mike Barrett, Mike Rice and Antonio Harvey as beloved game announcers who offer colorful insights is the latest. The fans truly love these guys. They represent the city, the team and the people. For Blazers President Chris McGowan to acknowledge the fine job they have done but fire them simply because he "felt it was time to take the broadcast in a new direction" with no reason is unforgivable. We as avid fans certainly deserve far better, as do Mike, Mike, and Antonio. I join thousands of others in being upset and angry with this latest fiasco. Ketty Gattman Miller Northeast Portland * Trail Blazers fire broadcasters: Do the Blazers think a clean sweep of broadcasters will add games to the win column? How about finding the one or two players to finish this team instead -- especially a more consistent three-point shooter? Bruce Wierth Southeast Portland Oregon standoff defendant Jason Blomgren Thursday admitted to patrolling the grounds of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and frequently standing guard with guns at its entrances as he pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge. Jason Blomgren Blomgren, 42, is the fourth person to plead guilty to the charge of conspiring to impede federal officers from doing their work at the federal wildlife sanctuary in Harney County, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. Federal prosecutors are recommending Blomgren face the low end of the sentencing guidelines for his offense level, which would suggest six months home detention, according to court records. The federal judge isn't bound by that recommendation. He's to be sentenced Oct. 14. "Myself and others performed guard duty at different locations at the refuge,'' Blomgren told the judge. "Just routine guard duty rotations with weapons. That's really it.'' Blomgren, in an interview after his arrest, told federal agents that he drove to the refuge from his home in North Carolina on Jan. 11. He initially borrowed weapons from others, but later carried his own .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, prosecutors have said. In a prior court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said Blomgren also told law enforcement that the occupation leaders never booby-trapped the wildlife sanctuary but talked about using "IEDS,'' or improvised explosive devices, when planning for a worst-case scenario and using at least two drones to spy on the FBI. Blomgren remained at the refuge through Jan. 25. On Jan. 25, he went to John Day to help set up for a planned community meeting a day before the occupation leaders were stopped and arrested by federal agents and state police on their way to the meeting. Occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was shot and killed by state police during the stop along U.S. 395. Blomgren left Oregon after those arrests, attended Finicum's funeral in Utah and then went to the Bundy ranch in Nevada, according to court testimony. He was arrested in Nevada on Feb. 10, Gabriel said. Blomgren has been out of custody since early March, after his attorney argued he needed to return to North Carolina to care for his 17-year-old son who has autism. He had left his two sons with his elderly parents when he went to the refuge after reading about the Jan. 2 takeover on the internet. He had been on electronic monitoring and home detention. As part of the plea deal, the government will dismiss at sentencing the second count Blomgren faces - possession of firearms or dangerous weapons in a federal facility, as long as he continues to accept responsibility for the crime. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown asked Blomgren if he had sufficiently reviewed all the court papers he had signed on Thursday, and Blomgren said he had. Blomgren is one of 26 defendants indicted on the federal conspiracy charge stemming from the 41-day occupation of the refuge. A trial in the case is set for Sept. 7, though some defendants have requested a delay in their prosecutions. The others who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge are Corey Lequieu, Eric Flores and Geoffrey Stanek. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian lightbar A 27-year-old Springfield man is facing charges tied to a Canadian child pornography investigation. (The Oregonian/OregonLive/file) UPDATE: This story was updated with the man's correct age and status as a University of Oregon student. Here's an updated version. EUGENE, Ore. -- A 20-year-old University of Oregon student and Springfield resident is facing charges tied to a Canadian child pornography investigation. Aryavong Khounlavouth The Register-Guard reports that Aryavong "Aaron" Khounlavouth was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of encouraging child sex abuse. The Lane County District Attorney's Office filed an additional nine charges before his arraignment Wednesday. It doesn't appear that he has entered a plea yet. Authorities began investigating Khounlavouth in April after 40-year-old Eric Paul, of Canada, was accused of uploading child porn and sending it to others on Twitter. Canadian police discovered communications on Paul's electronic devices tying Khounlavouth to the alleged crime. Court records allege Khounlavouth admitted to investigators he downloaded child pornography and said he had tried to give up watching the material but was unable to stay away. -- The Associated Press Supplies of Russian natural gas to the EU via a traditional route across the territory of Ukraine in 2020 would be much more cost effective than via the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, National JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy has said. "Considering the ongoing arbitration proceedings in Stockholm, we are concerned with Gazprom's intentions to spend its scarce resources on economically unjustified projects. Naftogaz supports the establishment of fair, transparent, and competitive environment in the European gas market," Naftogaz Chief Commercial Officer Yuriy Vitrenko said. "If the capacity is booked at the present level of 110 bcm the delivery via this route will be four times cheaper than via the Nord Stream 2. At 70 bcm of booked capacity, transit costs are expected to be three times lower compared to the Nord Stream 2 option," reads the company's statement. Taking into account that Russian gas currently delivered via Ukraine is destined primarily for consumers in the CEE, Southern Europe and Turkey, the Direct Stream is also the shortest of the routes. The Ukrainian gas monopoly also stressed that the change of the transportation route might result into disruptions of gas supply to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Turkey the gas transport infrastructures of which are linked to the current route and have weak or no connection with the German gas network, to which the Nord Stream 2 is connected. On June 16, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the cost of gas supply to Germany via the Nord Stream 2 would be 1.6 times lower than if it is transported via Ukraine. Miller added that Gazprom was planning to eliminate around 4,300 kilometers of gas pipeline in the centra corridor of the gas transport system by 2020 after which Ukraine's transit capacity would amount to 10-15 bcm. Ukraine in 2015 increased transit of natural gas to Europe and Moldova by 7.9% compared to 2014, to 67.082 bcm. Gas transit through the country to Europe in 2015 was 64.bcm, and 2.921 bcm to Moldova. An employee of the Great Cats World Park in Cave Junction is in the hospital after being bitten in the arm by one of the facility's tigers. The Illinois Valley Fire Department responded to a call at the park shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, Southern Oregon CBS affiliate KTVL reported. The woman, who has not been named, was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass. She will likely need surgery, the fire department told KTVL. Both the fire department and park have said that there is no danger to the public, according to reports from KTVL and NBC affiliate KOBI. UPDATE: Great Cats World Park released a statement early Friday. Yesterday afternoon one of our keepers was bitten by one of our tigers and taken for medical treatment. At the time of the incident she was in a lockdown area, and got too close to the cat. Safety protocols were immediately followed and the situation was diffused quickly and professionally. At no time did the tiger leave his enclosure, and there was never any danger to the public. Though there is an inherent risk in caring for wild animals, this is the first incident of its kind at Great Cats World Park, and we are grateful that our employee is doing well. According to the Great Cats website, the park has six tigers: three Siberians and three Bengals. No word on whether the woman, who's in her 40s, was working alone when the tiger bit her. In 2013, the head keeper at Sherwood's WildCat Haven Sanctuary was attacked and killed by at least one cougar when she was cleaning an enclosure alone. --Eder Campuzano 503.221.4344 @edercampuzano ecampuzano@oregonian.com A new bill in the U.S. Senate would create cleaner, safer fishing sites for tribal fishing crews on the Columbia River. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, carved out space in the U.S. Department of Interior appropriations bill to fund more sanitation and law enforcement services for the 31 fishing camps in Oregon and Washington where members of the Warm Spring, Yakama, Umatilla and Nez Perce tribes live permanently and seasonally while fishing for salmon. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in March that these sites are overcrowded and unsuited for permanent occupation. However, many tribal fishing crews live on them because the river is where their ancestors lived for at least 9,000 years. The overuse has caused the few bathrooms at sites to malfunction, trash piles up and there is little or no water set aside for drinking or electricity for home use. "The language included in today's appropriations bill will help keep the tribal fishing sites along the Columbia River clean and safe," Merkley said. "And this is another step in the process of righting past wrongs and gaining momentum to make a difference in tribal communities along the Columbia River." The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission handles maintenance and operation functions at the site. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs -- part of the Department of Interior -- is ultimately the owner of the sites, though. The agency is supposed to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make sure tribal members can access the river. "We very much appreciate Sen. Merkley's interior appropriations bill language to address the tribal housing crisis along the Columbia River and look forward the passage of this critically important appropriation bill with this language included," said fish commission director Paul Lumley. The Army Corps was also supposed to provide housing for the Native Americans displaced when the three Columbia River dams were built, starting in the 1930s. That never happened. Merkley and federal politicians from Washington and Oregon have introduced three other bills that would direct federal agencies to build more than 50 houses in the next few years. Those bills are currently stalled in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Here is the language included in the Interior Department's appropriations bill: "The Committee is concerned that the Bureau's budget does not adequately fund operating costs for treaty fishing sites in the Columbia River Gorge that were set aside by Congress as part of Title IV of Public Law 100-581 and Public Law 79-14 to allow tribes access to fishing locations in lieu of traditional fishing grounds that were compromised by dams. The Bureau is directed to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and affected tribes and provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations within 60 days of enactment of this Act that details the amounts needed to fully fund operating and law enforcement needs at such sites. The Bureau is also urged to incorporate the needs identified by the requested report in future budget requests." -- Molly Harbarger mharbarger@oregonian.com 503-294-5923 @MollyHarbarger Thirty-five gunshots were fired at the Lloyd Center area Residence Inn Marriott about 2:30 a.m. Friday, with one bullet penetrating a room and grazing a guest, Portland police said. The shooting occurred in the back of the property at 1700 N.E. Multnomah St. after someone renting a room hosted a party, Sgt. Scott Montgomery said. The bullets struck the second floor of Building 11. "A car pulls up and unloads 35 rounds on the hotel," Montgomery said. One bullet entered a room, striking a woman who was visiting Portland on business from Taiwan, Montgomery said. The bullet grazed her leg, but she wasn't seriously injured, police said. "We were very lucky,'' Montgomery said. Lee Luetjen, manager of the Residence Inn, said later Friday morning that all her guests are fine, and everybody was "good-natured'' about it. "Nothing like this had ever happened here before,'' Luetjen said. The suspected gang-related shooting has driven the number of police calls of gang shootings and assaults to 74 so far this year, one below the 75 reported at the same time last year, according to police. There were six shootings in the last two weeks, including a house riddled with bullets on June 6 on Northeast 93rd Avenue. It marked the third shooting of the home this year. Bullets penetrated a young boy's room in a home on Northeast 93rd Ave. about 3:25 a.m. on June 9, the third time the home was shot up this year, Portland police said. The woman who lives at the home with her three young children told The Oregonian|OregonLive that she plans to move, and her children no longer sleep in the residence because of the violence. (Maxine Bernstein |Staff) The tenant, a woman with three young children, was not the target but the fathers of her kids have gang affiliations and may have been the targets, police said. "She has kids by opposing factions,'' Montgomery said. The woman, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, said the latest shooting sent bullets whizzing through the bedroom of her young son. Luckily, her children weren't home at the time. She said she's looking to move, and won't allow her kids to sleep at the house any longer. Police are investigating whether another apartment shooting, which occurred on June 10 in the 6600 block of Southeast Belmont Street, was targeted at the landlord, who was a juror in a Gresham gang-related homicide case, police said. No one was wounded in that shooting. Another bullet that penetrated the second-floor window of a home on Northeast 93rd. Ave. on June 9, about 3:25 a.m. The bullet entered a young boy's bedroom, but his mother said she was the only one home at the time in a back bedroom. No one was wounded. (Maxine Bernstein|Staff) Tactical operations police Capt. Matt Wagenknecht said he's hopeful that police and community outreach groups and others can keep this year's gang-related violence from reaching the level recorded last year. Yet Portland gang enforcement officers said they're sometimes being pulled off their regular shifts to fill vacancies in patrol shifts because of the bureau's staffing shortage. In 2015, the Gang Enforcement Team responded to 193 gang shootings, stabbings and assaults, the highest number since the Police Bureau began recording the data in 1998 and far above 109 in 2014. Anyone with information about Friday's shooting at the Residence Inn Marriott is asked to call the Police Non-Emergency Line at 503-823-3333. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian Gary Roy Holstrom advertises on his website Esoteric Stuff that he's spent more than a decade searching for the "most unique and wondrous pieces of art from East Asia, the Oceania Islands and parts of Africa." He goes on to boast that the items he carries aren't mass produced and that "it is not likely that you will find another piece like the one you see here.'' But Holstrom admitted in U.S. District Court in Portland on Thursday that some of the "tribal and cultural artifacts" that he thought he was importing were actually merchandise crafted from species that were endangered or otherwise protected. He pleaded guilty to negligently selling endangered wildlife, a misdemeanor. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Bounds has recommended Holstrom face five years' probation and pay a $25,000 fine. The maximum sentence for the crime is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The prosecutor recommended the milder sentence due to Holstrom's "complete cooperation," advanced age and surrender of the endangered wildlife parts. According to Bounds, Holstrom engaged in nine transactions in which he resold protected and endangered wildlife between May 2011, and July 2014. These sales were worth a total of $9,170, and ranged from $155 for a single Loris skull (primate found in Southeast Asia) to $4,700 for a pair of Orangutan skulls. He sold the two orangutan skulls in July 2014 to an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent, the prosecutor said. "He repeatedly imported merchandise crafted from species that were endangered or otherwise protected and then concealed that fact from Fish and Wildlife inspectors by failing to declare the true contents of his inbound parcels,'' Bounds wrote in a sentencing memo. At first, Holstrom's attorney Mark N. Bartlett asked U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown to permit his client not to address the court, as he said, "It's been a very difficult and trying time for Mr. Holstrom.'' But Brown insisted that she needed to hear Holstrom say in his own words what he did wrong before she could accept his guilty plea. Holstrom, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, stood between two of his lawyers and addressed the judge. He said he developed his hobby of collecting tribal and cultural artifacts into a business after retirement. He said he has an educational background in psychology and anthropology and long supported animal rights, but that he did not do "his due diligence'' to check whether the "old tribal artifacts'' he was importing and reselling were considered endangered. He thought some of the skulls were used in tribal ceremonies and were "old enough'' not to qualify as endangered. Bounds said that Holstrom, as an enthusiastic collector, should have known that the orangutan skulls are typically illegal to possess, let alone sell. The illegal activity was discovered in 2011 when Customs and Border Protection officials discovered the skull of a macaque -- a monkey native to Southeast Asia -- in an unmarked international shipment addressed to Holstrom. Federal fish and wildlife agents seized the skull and contacted Holstom, but he denied any knowledge or ownership of it. They subsequently reviewed the merchandise on his website, and found him selling the illegally obtained orangutan skulls. That led to a search warrant for his Forest Grove home in the summer of 2014. Holcomb subsequently turned into a cooperating witness and provided investigators with a grocery list of the protected wildlife parts that he'd paid for and received from two Malaysian businessmen who ran Borneo Artifact: turtle shells, orangutan skulls, a langur skull and primate skull, according to court records. The two Malaysian business partners, Eoin Ling Churn Yeng and Galvin Yeo SIang Ann, pleaded guilty in April to illegally smuggling endangered wildlife skulls, tusks, bird beaks and other artifacts into the United States and were sentenced to spend six months in federal prison. Holstrom is set to be sentenced at 11 a.m. on Oct. 14. He remains out of custody. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian Updated at 10:33 p.m. Wax dripped from candles and hardened in little piles Thursday night on Mississippi Avenue, as vigil speakers offered messages of community, grief, pride and solidarity. An organizer estimated 1,000 or more people gathered outside the Q Center in North Portland, at the corner of Mississippi Avenue and Mason Street, to mourn those who lost their lives when a gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub in Orlando. The vigil began with a solemn recitation of the names of the 49 people who died. And the dense crowd later buzzed during moments of enthusiastic chanting -- prompted by speakers who included religious, ethnic and LGBTQ leaders, as well as Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Vigil attendees held candles, signs and each other. Some waved flags or raised cameras. The event came amid an outpouring of support for the victims of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Fifty-three others were wounded in the early morning attack Sunday inside the Pulse nightclub before police killed the gunman. The Q Center, which held healing sessions on Monday, hosted the vigil with Pride Northwest. The center also held a blood drive before the vigil and has another drive scheduled for Wednesday. -- Jim Ryan jryan@oregonian.com 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Jordan Director Schnitzer was adamant Wednesday that he never intended to let his former girlfriend be a part of his 5-month-old son's life, unless they were still romantically involved. Schnitzer -- the prominent Portland developer who is fighting to keep his ex from seeing the son they created through in vitro fertilization -- told a Multnomah County Circuit judge that he wanted to be the sole parent of his first and only son, who was born through a surrogate. "I've gone through a contentious divorce," Schnitzer said during about an hour of testimony Wednesday. "...The whole point of doing this is so I could have my son." Schnitzer's account followed the testimony of his former girlfriend. Cory Noel Sause, 37, testified that she and Schnitzer, 65, had agreed that he would have full custody of the boy, but that she would be known as the child's mother and be a part of his life. In a battle that has pitted two of Oregon's most influential and wealthiest families, Sause is asking a judge to undo a December 2015 ruling that declared Schnitzer the "sole and exclusive parent" of the boy. Schnitzer asked a judge for the designation a day after the boy's birth without mentioning Sause by name. He said the child was created by his "sperm and donor eggs, which were the exclusive property of the Petitioner (Schnitzer)." Sause found out that Judge Beth Allen had designated Schnitzer as the exclusive parent roughly a month later. She filed papers in March seeking to reverse that decision. While they were dating, Schnitzer said, Sause offered him her eggs with "no strings attached" -- as she wrote in a text. He recounted that she told him she "took a life" and wanted to help "create a life." In 2004, Sause killed 21-year-old Patrick Kibler and seriously injured his 14-year-old brother while she was driving drunk in Lake Oswego. Sause -- who was a law student at Lewis & Clark College at the time -- served three years and three months in prison. Sause disputed Schnitzer's characterization of her reasons. She testified that she could see how much Schnitzer -- the father of two grown daughters -- wanted a male heir, and she thought donating her egg would mean the boy would have a mother and another extended family in his life. Sause said the boy wouldn't get that if Schnitzer went through with his plans to use an anonymous donor. Schnitzer said he instructed his lawyer, Jeff Nudelman, to draw up a document outlining the terms of Sause's egg donation. Nudelman did and emailed the contract for Sause to sign, which she said she dropped off with Schnitzer's receptionist in June 2014. Sause said she assumed Schnitzer signed that copy. The contract states that Schnitzer has "full jurisdiction custodial rights over the future deposition of male embryos" and that he would "relinquish any claim to or jurisdiction over any female embryos" that might be created. In other words, Schnitzer wanted a son and Sause would have rights to any female offspring. The contract also states that Sause would be able to meet any son born and, if it was determined to be in the best interests of the child, "may have in(sic) active role in the life of the child." The reverse would be true for Schnitzer if a daughter were born, the contract says. Sause has pointed to this contract to show that she was always supposed to be a part of the boy's life. But Schnitzer said he never signed the contract and that he told Sause so. He said he had lots of problems with it. For one, the contract calls for the pair to go to a mediator to settle any disputes that might arise. Schnitzer said he never would have agreed to that. "Disputes? I'm going to get in a situation with my son where I've got to go to mediation... No way," Schnitzer said. Schnitzer said instead of having his lawyer revise the contract so that it was to his liking, he relied on egg donor consent forms from Oregon Health & Science University that Sause signed, relinquishing her rights to the eggs. "My assumption was they were good enough for OHSU," Schnitzer said, of the forms. Both Schnitzer and Sause are Lewis & Clark Law School graduates. Much of Wednesday's hearing relied on some of the thousands of texts Schnitzer and Sause sent each other over two years. Schnitzer's attorneys pointed to texts supporting his side -- that as Sause wrote in a text: "It was always my intent and wish to give you the gift of life, a son, with no strings attached..." Upon suggesting that the boy move in with her sister, Caitlin Sause, and not herself immediately after the birth, Sause texted "Caitlin's got that breeder instinct." But Sause's attorney also questioned Schnitzer about text messages he sent her. In one text, Schnitzer updated Sause on the surrogate's pregnancy, writing: "Everything is fine with your baby." Schnitzer also sent Sause's mother a recording of the fetus' heartbeat, stating "This is your grandson." Sause's attorney asked Schnitzer to explain why he'd refer to his future son as the grandson of Sause's parents. Schnitzer responded: "I've always made it clear to them the only way they would be grandparents (was) if Cory and I were together." Neither Sause nor her parents have seen the boy since shortly after he was born. Schnitzer referenced bad relations that have surfaced "after they started screaming (at) me and threatening me with these lawsuits." Sause's lawyer asked Schnitzer if he threatened to sue Sause's family after they included the boy's name among a list of surviving relatives in the March obituary of Sause's grandfather. Schnitzer said his attorney sent the family a letter "asking them to retract" the boy's inclusion on the list. Upon further questioning, Schnitzer agreed that the letter did threaten a lawsuit over the issue for severe emotional distress. Judge Katherine Tennyson, who is presiding over the case, hasn't made a ruling. The hearing is scheduled to continue for at least another day in July. -- Aimee Green 503-294-5119 lightbar Police said Shantina Turner, 29, was stabbed to death at Club Skinn, 4523 N.E. 60th Ave. in Portland, on June 15, 2016. (The Oregonian/OregonLive/file) Police have identified the woman who was stabbed to death at a Northeast Portland strip club late Wednesday night. Shantina Turner, 29, died of sharp force injuries, Portland police said in a news release. Rinita Linelle Lowe, who's suspected in the stabbing, faces a murder charge and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, court records show. Turner was stabbed at Club Skinn, 4523 N.E. 60th Ave., and died at the scene. Police said she and Lowe, 23, had been arguing inside the club before the stabbing. They knew each other, according to police. The club's website describes it as a "long time established neighborhood full nude bar with a cozy comfy party atmosphere." The location has been connected to violence in the past. A 33-year-old man died and a 21-year-old woman was injured in an overnight shooting outside the club in 2013, according to a previous Oregonian/OregonLive report. And in January 2011, a man celebrating his 24th birthday was shot and killed outside the club, which was at that time called JD's Bar and Grill, according to the report. Lowe is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, court records show. Melissa Metcalf, who bartends at Club Playpen, a strip joint about a mile from Club Skinn, said Turner instantly took a liking to her. She said Turner came to the club at least three days a week and was always smiling. Turner attended Metcalf's birthday party at Club Playpen on June 7, Metcalf said, and wrote in a birthday card that Metcalf was her favorite bartender. Metcalf, a 39-year-old Vancouver resident, said Turner couldn't stand it if people were mad with her, was nice and didn't like arguing. "Life won't be the same without her, and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that," Metcalf said. "She was somebody special." -- Jim Ryan jryan@oregonian.com 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 alligatorsurvivor.jpg Paul Santamaria describes the alligator attack he suffered in 1986 as an 8-year-old visiting Disney World. He still bears the scars. (Inside Edition) HEBRON, N.H. -- in an alligator attack has brought back some frightening memories for a New Hampshire man who was grabbed by a gator at a Disney campground in 1986, when he was 8. Paul Santamaria, of Hebron, said he was horrified for the family of Lane Graves, who was snatched by an alligator in shallow water Tuesday at a beach at Disney's Grand Floridian resort, 3 miles from where Santamaria was attacked. "I have two little girls the age of the boy that was taken, and it was just something that kind of hit home," Santamaria said. In 1986, Santamaria's family was staying at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground when he was attacked while feeding ducks at a pond. The gator knocked him down, grabbed his leg and started to thrash around and try to pull him into the water, Santamaria said. He yelled for help. His 12-year-old sister grabbed him under the arms, and his 10-year-old brother started hitting the gator. Santamaria kicked the gator with his other leg. "Instead of just freezing, they decided to fight, to help me to fight to get away, and I'm here because of it," he said. "I was lucky." Eventually the alligator opened its mouth and let him go. He suffered gashes and a tooth stuck in his thigh, and he was hospitalized for a week. He still has the scars on his leg. The alligator that attacked Santamaria was later shot and killed. A Disney spokesman said then that as far as he knew, it was the first such attack at the sprawling theme park. In Lane's case, five alligators were killed in the search for his body, but authorities have yet to determine which of them, if any, was responsible for the boy's death. The Orange County sheriff said it was the first time an alligator had killed someone at Disney in its 45 years of operations. Santamaria has been back to Disney World since he was attacked, but he said he's been much more cautious. Stan Dollar, 70, has a new heart and an old car. Both will soon be running better than ever. The former thanks to a medical team at St. Vincent Medical Center. The latter thanks to his friends in the Sherwood Cruisers car club. On Saturday, after three weeks in the hospital recovering from surgery, Stan was able to visit the Cruisin' Sherwood car show and see, for the first time, the work his friends have done on his 1941 Chevy Special Deluxe Coupe. A police car drove Stan through the crowd and dropped him off next to his Chevy. Using his walker, he slowly circled the car, interrupted only by hugs and handshakes from his friends. He ran his fingers along the hood. He touched the gleaming engine. I spied a few tears welling in the corners of Stan's eyes. Afterward, the normally talkative guy didn't know quite what to say. He wasn't sure he'd live to see the car look so good. "I really love them," Stan said of his friends. "Even before they even touched my car, I really loved them." Stan bought the Chevy 27 years ago, but has never gotten it to run. After hearing about his friend's health troubles, Keith Canutt, a club member and owner of Horseshoe Restoration in Sherwood, led the effort to finally put Stan in the driver's seat. On May 16, doctors installed a mechanical heart pump in Stan's chest to aid his chronically weak heart. Over the past month, his friends have installed new wiring, air conditioning, power windows and doors, the hood, fenders, brakes and more in his car. Keith estimates when it's all done, they will have put roughly 1,000 man hours and $30,000 worth of work and parts into the Chevy -- at no charge. "I started crying," Stan said, when Keith offered to get his car running. "I couldn't believe that the guys would actually go that far and do that. It meant the world to me for them to even suggest anything like that." Club members often help each other on restoration projects, but this goes beyond anything they've tackled before. Why are they doing it? "Aw, you just gotta meet him," was the general response. "You'll understand. He's just a great guy." At his Beaverton home with his wife Patty by his side, Stan told me about finding that old Chevy in Billings, Montana. It was 1989, and Stan was visiting a body shop for a sales trip. "It was sitting there, all rust, and the glass was broken out of it and it was a pretty rusty ol' bucket," he said. He paid $450 for it. Over the years, he's hired folks to work on the car and done the cherry red paint job and a few other projects himself. He hoped to one day drive it on "rod runs" -- short trips with his Cruisers friends. "That's always been my dream, but sometimes dreams get run to the sidelines," he said in a sweet Texas drawl. I could listen to Stan talk all day. And he could talk that long, too. Stan grew up near Dallas, and he lost both parents to heart disease: His mother died when he was 11, his father when he was 16. After their deaths, in 1963, he was taken to Oregon to live with an aunt and uncle. When he told his uncle he wanted to drop out of school, his uncle said that was fine, as long as Stan learned a trade. The uncle spent weeks teaching Stan to become a mechanic. "Finally I said, 'I appreciate what you're doing, but I just don't like grease," Stan recalled. "He said 'Well, boy you gotta do something.'" So he took Stan down to Kadel's Auto Body in Tigard and introduced him to owner Omar Kadel. "He said 'The boy says he wants to be around cars but he hates grease.' And Omar said 'Well I got a job for him,'" Stan said. And that's how Stan started his career painting cars. Stan did get his GED at age 39, and later took some courses at Portland Community College. He spent the first half of his career painting in body shops and the second half selling automotive paint. He retired at age 57 as his heart slowed him down. Through the years, the Chevy remained an ever-present side project. But Stan was losing hope of finishing it. "I've never been able to get the car running, kind of ran out of skills myself and then with my health... I just never got anywhere with it," Stan said. That's where Keith comes in. "It's getting close," Keith said a week ago. "It's been a month-long thrash, but we're getting there." Stan has at least another month of recovery before he can drive, and Keith needs close to another month to get the car drivable. Even so, I asked Stan where he plans to take the Chevy first. Wherever his friends are going, he said. -- Samantha Swindler @editorswindler / 503-294-4031 sswindler@oregonian.com Representatives of the Ukrainian milk sector are alarmed with low purchase prices of raw milk and the ongoing reduction of milking cows. They ask to conduct state-ordered goods purchases to emerge from crisis. The press service of the Association of Milk Producers reported that milk production is on verge of loss-making for the second year in a row. Last year only milking cow numbers in the country decreased by 8% and milk production by 4%. Milk companies have fears that if the trend continues milk cow breeding will be completely destroyed. "The growth of raw milk purchase prices on the Ukrainian market could prevent this. The trend would not be seen on the global market in the short term and only state-ordered goods purchases could help to do this, purchases of powder milk and butter," the association said. Some profile associations headed by the Association of Milk Producers on June 13 sent an official letter to Agricultural Policy and Food Minister Taras Kutovy asking to initiate a working meeting with representatives of the sector, sector nongovernmental organizations and the Agrarian Fund to draft a joint plan to emerge from the protracted crisis. Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has met with United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on June 16 to discuss the process of reform implementation in Ukraine and the U.S. assistance in the modernization of the Ukrainian army, the information and public relations department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported on Friday night. According to the statement, Groysman thanked his interlocutor for the U.S. help to modernize the Ukrainian army and expressed the hope for the continuation of such support. "This assistance is a good investment in the protection of international rights and democratic values," Groysman said. The head of the Ukrainian government informed the senator about the situation in Donbas He stressed that shooting attacks on Ukrainian army positions continue. Groysman also said that the Ukrainian people's defense capacity should be increased. He also told McConnell about the Ukrainian government's priority tasks, including macroeconomic stabilization, deregulation, public privatization, and judicial reform. The prime minister also said that the government is planning to amend the country's tax legislation this year. Groysman also said that the Ukrainian government continues cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank is ready to allocate additional $1 billion on programs in Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said following a meeting with World Bank Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Sri Mulyani Indrawati in Washington. "This is good news. The World Bank is ready to review how efficient the already planned and financed programs are, and reserve additional $1 bln for their expansion next year," the prime minister wrote on Facebook on Friday. Groysman noted that he had "and encouraging meeting" with Indrawati. "Agreed that the World Bank is to assist in developing a strategy for transport corridors and roads in Ukraine, assess what resources the strategy would require and determine where budgetary, credit or private funds should be attracted. We never had such a strategy before, and it can become one of the vehicles to push Ukraine's economic revival," Gorysman said. The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce, with a nonprofit that bills itself as the nations premier conservative training organization, is hosting a campaign training event for aspiring politicians. Its open to the public and scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 25 at the Midland County Historical Society, 3417 W. Main St., in the Northwood University Dow Solutions Lecture Room. Registration, which closes Friday, is $60 and includes training materials, lunch and drinks, according to American Majoritys website. Scheduled topics include campaign planning, communication and how to gain votes. The training is designed for those seeking local, state or federal elected office, and features a workshop that will help you learn what prospective political candidates need to do to win elections or ballot initiatives, according to American Majority. The non-partisan, nonprofit American Majority says it continually trains, organizes, mobilizes and equips new grassroots conservative leaders, having worked in 46 states over the past seven years. Chamber President and CEO Bill Allen said in the Chambers June 8 weekly update that American Majority is a conservative leaning non-profit, but the training they will provide is truly middle of the road. Allen said he utilized American Majoritys services last May while at the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. Las Cruces is a bit different than Midland and if we were thinking of bringing in someone that wasnt middle of the road, it was imperative that the message was, Allen said, adding he spoke with American Majority at least ten times before I had a comfort level to schedule them. Ultimately they did a fantastic job of presenting the basics ... to folks interested in politics and running for office. That was the purpose and that is what was delivered. ... Thankfully, our presenter was a man of his word and we got what was promised. During her lifetime, Judge Donna Morris invested a lot of time and effort into Pinecrest Farms. Now, the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation is honoring her service with a $100,000 donation to the assisted living facility. Her influence at Pinecrest was enormous, Pinecrest Director Joe Blewett said. Judge Morris was the leading advocate to take care of the people we serve. She had a personal relation with a lot of our residents. I moved to Midland in January of 2014 and it didnt take long to realize what a big impact she had on the entire community. Morris also lent her time, talents and wisdom as a trustee at the Strosacker Foundation for over 35 years. Stating that it was becoming more difficult to serve as a trustee, Morris decided to step down last December. Very regretfully, we accepted her resignation, said Bobbie Arnold, president and CEO of the Strosacker Foundation. At the foundations December meeting, trustees chose to honor Morris with a $100,000 gift, which would go to the organization of her choice. Immediately, she chose Pinecrest, Arnold said. She felt very good about the direction that Pinecrest was taking and the wonderful work that is being done there. Unfortunately, before seeing the actual grant, Morris passed away on Feb. 6. You couldnt go anywhere with Donna and not have somebody come up and say, Hi. She was so approachable and well known. She was definitely a person for all of the people, Arnold said. The grant will be split, with $75,000 going to medication needs for patients and $25,000 for activities. We wanted to stay true to the Strosacker values, Judge Morris personal values and where it is needed, Blewett said. Working with the Strosacker Foundation and Judge Morris family, we are going to allocate $75,000 towards paying for necessary medications and medical supplies for residents that do not have the means. The remainder will go into what we consider an activity fund to enhance the lives of the residents. The plan is to disburse the $75,000 evenly over the remaining years of the millage (until 2026). Approximately 25 percent of Pinecrest residents would be eligible for assistance with paying for their medication. Some people are far behind. You are dealing with some people that have made decisions with their physicians to stop some medications, Blewett said. This will give them an opportunity to go back on medications that they can now afford. Arnold stated that the foundation was very pleased with the decision. I know Donna was passionate about the inability of people to pay for medication, Arnold said. She heard many stories about people making choices between food and medicine. I think this is a wonderful way to honor her. The funds to increase activities will allow Pinecrest residents to attend an additional Great Lakes Loons game, bring more music in and purchase more physical therapy equipment. We appreciate the support of the community for Pinecrest, Blewett said. The millage takes care of the meals, room and board, and care for residents. Judge Morris completes the full cycle of one of the very, very few things residents needed help with and now they have that. We also appreciate the Strosacker Foundation because they have been a huge supporter of Pinecrest. In 1979, Gov. Milliken appointed Morris as judge of the Midland County Probate Court where she served until 2001. She was appointed by Chief Justice Mary Coleman to sit on the first Judicial Council of Michigan in 1981. The same year she served as chair of the Probate Judges mental health committee, where she worked for six years with then Rep. Debbie Stabenow to enact a new mental code for Michigan. She always thought of others, Arnold said. The mentally challenged, the mentally ill and the poor. Anything to do with social services was her passion. I loved her like a mother. As Morris left her position as a trustee, she was determined to have the Strosacker Foundations continue its support of those in need. Donna gave me my marching orders to keep pushing my pencil for social services and I will do so, Arnold said. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed legislation Thursday that he said would have unfairly and artificially restricted competition in the car parts industry, raising the cost of auto repairs and insurance premiums. The bill, which won approval on 86-23 and 33-3 votes in the Republican-controlled House and Senate over objections from conservative groups and others, would have amended Michigan's motor vehicle service and repair law. Snyder, a Republican, said he supported much of the "modernization" bill, but he balked at revisions related to when original parts would have to be used in repairs instead of less expensive aftermarket parts. He specifically took exception to a requirement that body shops, in the first five years of a vehicle's warranty, do certain repairs only with new or recertified parts from the original manufacturer or parts that had been tested and verified as meeting the quality of original parts. There would have been an exception if the vehicle owner authorized aftermarket parts in writing. Snyder said protecting consumers and ensuring that vehicles are safely repaired is a "laudable goal," but some structural parts such as bumpers affect safety while fenders, grilles and other "primarily cosmetic" parts do not. "This bill doesn't sufficiently delineate between the two types of parts, thereby limiting the use of safe, high quality aftermarket parts designed specifically for particular vehicles," he wrote to lawmakers. Prohibiting mechanics from using safe alternative parts "is an inappropriate impediment on the competition that has resulted in both high quality OEM and aftermarket parts for Michigan drivers to enjoy," he said in the veto letter. He likened the provision to requiring pharmacists to obtain a waiver from customers to sell them generic drugs instead of more expensive name-brand medications. Republican Rep. Peter Pettalia of Presque Isle, who sponsored the legislation and is the co-owner of an Alpena auto repair business, applauded the veto. He said while he remains "very concerned" about the use of "inferior" major component parts, he said the Senate added overly strict requirements to his bill changes the House agreed to after reinserting a provision to let customers demand cheaper parts in writing. "I'm very comfortable with where the governor went with this," Pettalia said in a phone interview. Online: House Bill 4344: http://1.usa.gov/265P30T The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office. Tuesday, June 14 10:24 p.m. A 22-year-old Newberry man was locked in Sanford Lake Park due to being on the lake after the park closed. The man told police he had mechanical issues on his boat that prevented him from getting out before the park closed. A deputy let him out. 12:41 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to Greendale Township for a red truck driving recklessly. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and made contact with a 79-year-old Bay County man. The man said a vehicle was tailgating him with its bright lights on and he was attempting to get away from the vehicle. 12:48 a.m. A 26-year-old woman reports her checkbook was stolen about a month ago and several checks totaling $54.44 were made out to a local gas station. Police said the woman needed a report from her bank. The investigation is ongoing. 12:52 a.m. A 31-year-old Lee Township woman tried to call 911 for a domestic dispute involving her, her 31-year-old husband and 11-year-old son. Police said the husband tampered with the line. He was arrested for tampering with the phone line and lodged at the Midland County Jail. Police said theyre requesting the prosecutors office review for possible domestic assault charges. A Midland father was sentenced to eight to 30 years in prison for abusing his 1-month-old daughter, who suffered brain injuries after a November 2015 incident. Standing in front of Midland County Circuit Court Judge Stephen P. Carras on Thursday, Edward Russell Huizar, 20, was sentenced for first-degree child abuse and assault charges. In Michigan, first-degree child abuse is a felony that carries a maximum life sentence if a person knowingly or intentionally causes serious physical or mental harm to a child. On Nov. 24, 2015, Midland Police detectives received a referral from Childrens Protective Services. At the time, the 1-month-old infant was in intensive care at Covenant HealthCare receiving treatment for brain injuries. Doctors at the hospital indicated the injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, states an affidavit filed in court. During interviews at the Midland Law Enforcement Center, the babys mother told detectives she had just returned to work from maternity leave on Nov. 19. On her second day back to work, Nov. 20, she received a phone call from Huizar about 5:15 p.m. asking her to come home early because there was something wrong with their daughter. When she reached the East Ashman Street home they were living at, she found the baby had a bruise on her head. Huizar first told her the dog a 6- to 8-pound Chihuahua had jumped off the back of the couch and landed on the babys head. He changed his story a couple of times, she told detectives. Huizar told detectives he was watching the baby while his girlfriend was at work, and the baby became fussy. He said he was frustrated that the baby wouldnt stop crying so he shook her for approximately 10 seconds before placing her on the couch and punching the couch. He said each time he punched the couch, the baby bounced up into the air, the affidavit states. He told detectives he told the mother several stories including that the dog jumped on her head. The affidavit lists the infants injuries as abusive head trauma, post trauma seizures, retinal hemorrhages, rib irregularities and bruising on her left temple. What happened to this child was excessive brutality, Judge Carras said during Thursdays sentencing. Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks invited the infants mother to the stand. Both of our lives were turned upside down, she said, hurriedly reading from a statement to the court. She said her daughter now must go to many doctor appointments and therapy, and that she only sees her a couple of times per week. She said the girls father was controlling and abusing, both physically and emotionally, which made her afraid to seek help. She said she lost her job at an area daycare and wants to finish classes at Delta College. She returned to her seat, wiping tears in the arms of others alongside her. Brooks, calling it a horrible, horrible crime, said Huizar has a major, major anger management problem. Nothing justifies taking your anger out on a person, especially a baby, Brooks said. We could have gone to trial, but this is a young man. Is he going to mature? Is he going to learn to control his anger? There has to be a serious, significant punishment. Brooks added he is prosecuting a similar crime involving the murder of a child. Fortunately, this child did not suffer to this point, Brooks said. (She) may be able to recover completely. When the judge asked Huizar if he had anything to say on his behalf, Huizar said no. Huizars appointed attorney, Dan Duke of Midland, said he understood it was a horrible situation and that it was excessive child abuse, obviously, but that the father took responsibility by entering a guilty plea. Huizar initially tried to cover up the situation, Judge Carras said. The judge also acknowledged the fathers actions in admitting guilt. Even so, nothing could be done to right the situation, the judge said. You took your anger out on an infant, Carras said. She is going to bear the scars her life is forever changed. Judge Carras ultimately agreed with the prosecution that the punishment needed to be serious, and sentenced Huizar to eight to 30 years in prison, with credit for 205 days already served. KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- A sunny afternoon turned tragic when - out of nowhere - a car sped off a busy road landing nose-down, its velocity flipping it upside-down before finally scraping to a halt off the side of the road. Senior Airman JaMesha Pratt, 18th Operations Support Squadron airfield systems technician, had just finished Weighted Airman Promotion System testing when she witnessed the car fly off the side of the road. Pratt immediately veered off the side of the road and in seconds was assisting the older Okinawan couple with their struggle to survive. When I saw the car flip upside down, I immediately pulled over and ran to assist the two people who were trapped inside it, said Pratt. I came along the passenger side and saw a woman who was upside-down, held in place by her seatbelt, while crying and hysterical from her ordeal. The woman was upset because along with the terrifying situation she found herself in, her husband who was driving, was not responding to her attempts to wake him up. I was able to carefully maneuver her out and away from the vehicle and promised to go back for her husband, she explained. Then I ran to the other side and slowly pulled her unconscious husband out. However, while removing the wounded man from the wrecked vehicle, Pratt explained he woke up and became frantic as to the whereabouts of his beloved wife. I was trying to keep him calm and sitting down, for the sake of his safety as I wasnt sure the extent of his injuries and needed to properly assess him, she said. Once I realized he was looking for his wife, I brought the two of them together and they were both able to calm down. A few other bystanders were on the scene by then and called an ambulance, Pratt explained. Once a few other people had shown up I noticed the smell of gasoline was getting stronger and stronger, she continued. I checked and the vehicle was indeed leaking gas and so we moved the couple to a safer distance in case the car caught fire or possibly exploded. That was when Pratt noticed the bleeding cut on the head of the husband. I made sure his head stopped bleeding and then realized the wife was clutching her chest and having trouble breathing, she stated. I couldnt find any visible injuries and realized I needed to just keep her as calm as possible. In spite of her severe pain, it was the best course of action until the medical technicians arrived. Once first-responders arrived on the scene, Pratt explained what happened and then continued home to finish her day. Its truly amazing how Airman Pratt immediately took action to save the lives of those two locals, said Senior Master Sgt. Jon Dizonno, 18th OSS airfield systems superintendent. We are extremely proud of her selfless actions that day which show our commitment to the local communities here. Across the globe, Airmen live, work and participate within the local communities of countries they call home. Looking back on that day, I really believe our self-aid buddy care training assisted me because I just reacted to the situation as it was unfolding, said Pratt. It was just an automatic response or reaction to the potentially deadly situation. As members of the U.S. military here, we are responsible for helping and assisting whenever, wherever we can. We are all willing to help if situations like this happen, Pratt continued. Its a part of our core values, regardless of branch of service. At the end of the day, we are a part of these Okinawan communities. This isnt just where I serve, its where I liveits my home, she explained. These are our neighbors and friends and they need to see how much we value and respect them. I see them when I go to work or take out the trash. We interact at the malls, beaches and especially at the many Okinawan historical sites across the island. They are our family and we are proud to be here and live alongside them, she concluded. Pearl Harbor Welcomes USS Bremerton Home By Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Lee Submarine Forces Pacific JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii Friends and family members gathered pierside to cheer the return of the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) following the successful completion of her six-month Western Pacific deployment on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, June 15. Cmdr. Wes Bringham, hailing from Dallas and Bremertons commanding officer, praised his crew for their outstanding performance and determination throughout the deployment. A large focus of this deployment has been individual development and building bench depth in the crew, Bringham said. We have been wildly successful at this, in large part due to the drive and motivation that each sailor has had to excel. Thirteen sailors advanced in rank, and 19 earned their submarine warfare qualifications, which allows them to wear the submarine warfare insignia and shows others they have mastered overall submarine warfare knowledge. Bremerton has completed 15 Western Pacific deployments throughout her 35-years of service, said Bringham. As the oldest commissioned Los Angeles-class submarine, she proved her fighting spirit while she steamed more than 30,000 nautical miles to complete her missions. It all starts with having the proper mindset. From a new sailors first day aboard, they are taught that our boat isnt old, its a classic and classics take work to restore and maintain, said Bremertons Chief of the Boat Master Chief Fire Controlman Wade Jacobson, from Alum Bank, Pennsylvania. One of the highlights of the deployment was participating in two bilateral exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy, exercises Foal Eagle and Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare Readiness and Evaluation Measurement (SHAREM), to further ties with the U.S. Pacific ally, Bringham said. My crew got a lot out of the interactions with our close ally, and we learned a lot about operations in the constrained waters near the Korean Peninsula, Bringham said. Our participation in these exercises contributed to the interoperability and combined warfighting capability between our two countries. While building relationships in the Pacific, Bremerton conducted port-call visits to Guam, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Singapore. We pulled into ports of countries I would have never dreamt to visit and experience their rich cultures, said Machinists Mate 1st Class Albert I. Rice, from Grandview, Texas. From Buddhist temples in South Korea, to centuries-old castles in Japan, and to gazing upon the city of Singapore, this deployment certainly offered experiences that will have a lasting impact on my life. The Bremerton crew took pride in the completion of their successful deployment, and Bringham took pride in his submariners. I can truthfully say that I would go anywhere with this crew, knowing that they will keep the ship at sea allowing us to accomplish the mission with excellence, Bringham said. We are coming back home much stronger than when we left, and that is a testament to a culture of growth and development that my crew has at the deckplate level. USS Bremerton, commissioned on March 28, 1981, is the second ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name of the Washington city. It is the eleventh ship of the Los Angeles-class of nuclear attack submarines. The vessel is 362-feet long, displaces 6,900 tons and can be armed with Mark-48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) torpedoes. For more news from the Pacific Submarine Force, visit www.csp.navy.mil. The European Union along with the United National Development Program (UNDP) have launched a project worth EUR 1.3 mln to reform the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. A new EU/UNDP project 'Rada for Europe' was presented with the participation of Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski, and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Neal Walker. "It is a very important project aimed at the support for the Verkhovna Rada, reform of the internal structure and the quality of lawmaking in Ukraine," Tombinski said. The EU ambassador added that the European Parliament's Needs Assessment Mission developed a range of recommendations for reform implementation in the Ukrainian parliament. The project will be aimed at the improvement of quality of lawmaking by the parliament and control over implementation of the legislation. The UNDP will implement the project in close cooperation with the European Parliament under an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of administration. The key priorities of the project include the improvement of professional behavior of employees of the secretariat and staff of the Verkhovna Rada in order to provide the parliament and people's deputies with effective services. Tombinski added that local and international experts would be involved in the project implementation. The project envisages the introduction of a new model of bill elaboration, restructuring and optimization of parliamentary committees' work, simplification of the bill adoption procedure, expert support, assistance in the implementation of the Open Parliament plan and introduction of instruments to involve citizens in lawmaking. The budget of the project is estimated at EUR 1.3 mln. HONOLULU, Hawaii USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) arrived in Honolulu, Wednesday, for a port visit before continuing on a four-month Arctic deployment. This port call is Healys first stop in Hawaii since 2011. The Healy will be open to the public for tours Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Pier 11. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Pets are not allowed aboard the cutter. Coast Guard crewmembers will be standing by to answer questions about Healy and upcoming operations. This summer, the Healy crew will provide presence and access to conduct three major missions focusing on the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the Arctic Ocean and its ecosystems, as well as performing multi-beam sonar mapping of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). For the first mission, the Healy crew will work with 46 researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and University of Alaska-Anchorage. The mission will employ the Global Explorer remotely operated vehicle, net trawls, bottom cores and conductivity, temperature, and depth casts to assess the biological diversity of the Chukchi Sea. The team of scientists will use cutting edge technology to identify and document the species living in this poorly understood and rapidly changing region. Performing their second mission, the Healy crew will deploy an array of acoustic bottom moorings in support of researchers from Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Office of Naval Research. The moorings will collect data on how climate change and decreased ice coverage is affecting the Arctic Ocean. The final mission is in support of the State Department and the White House Office of Science and Technology. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire will use multi-beam sonar mapping and bottom dredging in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean to further support the demarcation of the ECS. This work will directly support the United States claim for natural resources found on or beneath the ocean floor. The Healy is the nations premiere high latitude research vessel. The cutter is a 420 foot long icebreaker with extensive scientific capabilities. Based out of Seattle, the cutter has a permanent crew of 87. Its primary mission is scientific support. In addition, as a Coast Guard Cutter, Healy is capable of other operations such as search and rescue, ship escort, environmental protection, and the enforcement of laws and treaties in the Polar Regions. Media interested in conducting interviews must contact Healy's public affairs officer via email, Brian.P.Hagerty@uscg.mil, prior to June 16th. For more information about USCGC Healy, please visit: http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/cgchealy http://www.icefloe.net YOKOSUKA, Japan - The first temporary detachment of U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base, June 15, for training with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) FA-50 aircraft pilots. In addition to bilateral training missions, Growler aircraft will support routine operations that enhance regional maritime domain awareness and assure access to the air and maritime domains in accordance with international law. The detachment is composed of four aircraft and about 120 personnel assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 138, an expeditionary squadron based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. Previous VAQ 138 detachments like this one have completed deployments to locations throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific and participated in several exercises with allies and partners. This detachment is part of a U.S. Air Contingent established by U.S. Pacific Command in April with the approval of the Government of the Philippines to promote interoperability and security cooperation. AFP offered to host the U.S. Air Contingent at Clark Air Base to train with their FA-50 fighter pilots and support units which are located there. The first temporary Air Contingent was comprised of five A-10C Thunderbolt aircraft, three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and approximately 200 personnel deployed from multiple Pacific Air Forces units. The forces deployed to the Philippines for exercise Balikatan and completed their final mission April 28, 2016. BLOOMINGTON Sometimes, being a caregiver to a loved one with cancer feels like the world is spinning without you. "Everything is going on around you," observed Mike Fitzgerald, 44, who was caregiver to his wife, Elaine, who had squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. "The world is spinning and you are stuck in this nightmare," Mike explained. He paused and took a sip from a coffee mug with the name "Elaine" on it. Elaine died on Dec. 2, 2014, at age 39. "It seems like the world is going on around you but you just don't know if you're going to get another day," said Stephanie Moore, 38, who was caregiver to her husband, Noah, who had colon cancer. She wiped tears from her eyes. Noah died on Nov. 12, 2014, at age 32. Stephanie and Mike, sitting beside each other, joined hands as they continued to look forward, with their children surrounding them. It was a beautiful, quiet evening on June 7 in the backyard of their Bloomington home. After their spouses died, Mike and Stephanie, who didn't know each other, separately began to attend a Grief Share group at Eastview Christian Church. Commiserating over lack of sleep and single parenting turned into a mutual respect, then a friendship among the two families and love between Mike and Stephanie. "We realized that this connection we had was a gift resulting from tragedy," Mike said. They married April 30, 2016, with their children Sophie Fitzgerald, 14; Kayla Fitzgerald, 11; Ethan Moore, 11; and Eli Moore, 7 surrounding them. "I will never replace Elaine and Mike won't replace Noah," Stephanie said. "Even though there are six of us, we consider ourselves a family of eight. "Noah and Elaine are with us all the time," Stephanie continued. "Not a day goes by when we don't talk about them." Noah, Stephanie, Ethan and Eli lived in Danvers. Noah was a senior technician with Illinois Eye-Bank, now Eversight Illinois, in Bloomington. Stephanie is a respiratory therapist at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center. "He was one of the most giving people you'd ever want to meet," Stephanie said of Noah. He was a volunteer firefighter, a member of the Lions Club and a Boy Scout troop leader who loved the outdoors. "We went fishing, hiking, hunting and camping," Ethan said. "He was a very good dad." In November 2013, Noah began experiencing constipation and pain. Within the month, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. "His reaction was 'All right, I got this. God's got this,'" Stephanie recalled. "But I was scared." The tumor was cutting off blood flow to one side of his liver. Chemotherapy was followed by two surgeries that resulted in removal of the bad part of his liver. Complications resulted in liver failure. Scans found that the cancer was in his colon, liver, lungs and back. Stephanie took time off from work to be Noah's caregiver. "I was with him all the time," she said. "I did everything for him. I bathed him, changed him, gave him his meds and everything he needed. There really was no time for anything else. He was my husband. That's what I was supposed to do. "He never complained." He told Stephanie that after he died, he wanted her to find someone else. "It was very emotional," Ethan said. Sometimes, Ethan and Eli stayed with relatives and friends. "We tried to keep their lives as normal as possible," Stephanie said. "We got a lot of support." After Noah died, "the next few months were a blur," Stephanie admitted. "I returned to work after Christmas (2014) but I was raising two boys on my own." Elaine, Mike, Sophie and Kayla lived in Bloomington. Elaine was a social worker who assisted with patient discharge planning at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. Mike works in claims at Country Financial. "Elaine was very animated and always had a big smile," Mike said. "She was very funny, dedicated to her work, caring and kind," Sophie said. In early 2013, she detected what she thought was a canker sore on her tongue. A March 2013 biopsy resulted in a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. Despite three surgeries, cancer remained, so radiation and chemotherapy followed. "The radiation burned her tongue so she couldn't eat, couldn't talk and could hardly drink," Mike recalled. "She was in a lot of pain." For awhile, she improved and went back to work. But neck pain resulted in a July 2014 surgery that included removal of a tumor in her neck. Her vocal cords were damaged so she couldn't swallow or speak. "It was very hands-on," Mike recalled. "I dressed her wounds, administered pain meds, made sure she was getting proper nutrition through her feeding tube. I took time off work. "It's something you do for your loved one," he said. "It's a lot of sleepless nights, holding hands, trying to be that emotional support and relying on family and friends to help out. It's an all-encompassing endeavor." "I was nervous and scared," Sophie said. More cancer was detected in October. Elaine died in December. The next few weeks were surreal for Mike. Mike and Stephanie didn't know each other but each heard about the Grief Share group at Eastview. "I needed to talk with someone who went through what I went through," Stephanie recalled. Mike said, "It was a good thing to do. It was reassuring." Mike and Stephanie connected almost immediately because they were close in age, had been caregivers to spouses who died of cancer at about the same time and were trying to raise children of the opposite sex. They discussed their grief, not being able to sleep, going to counseling and parenting. "I didn't feel so alone," Stephanie said. "We found comfort in each other." They got together for coffee, found they had a lot in common and organized family get-togethers. "The kids seemed to have a fun time," Stephanie recalled. Both families discovered that they share a love of the outdoors, have similar temperaments and cherish relatives, friends and faith. "We realized we had a unique relationship," Stephanie said. "A friendship blossomed and became more than a friendship," Mike said. They bought a house together and married on April 30. "Blending the two families has been a lot easier than we thought," Stephanie said. "I like having more siblings. And I couldn't do anything without a mother figure because dad doesn't know anything about girls," Sophie said with a smile. "It's been easier than I thought," Ethan said. "We don't have a guide book for this," Stephanie said. "We are trying to make everyone as comfortable and loved as we can." The family is participating in the 22nd annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life of McLean County on June 24-25 at the Normal Community High School track. "Noah and Elaine were positive people and always wanted to give back to the community," Stephanie said. "We wanted to continue that, while honoring them and raising money for research." Long term, what is the family's goal? Stephanie thought for a moment. "We want to continue our story and want it to show other people..." BLOOMINGTON A Bloomington man was convicted Thursday of six counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor 10 years ago. A McLean County jury deliberated about three hours over two days before returning the guilty verdicts against Christopher Hinthorn, 39, of the 800 block of West Elm Street. He was acquitted on two other counts of predatory criminal sexual assault. The verdicts followed a three-day trial. Hinthorn faces 18 to 180 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 12. His $1 million bond was revoked after the verdicts. Shortly after their return to deliberations at 9 a.m., the jury asked for a transcript of the testimony from two witnesses. In a statement after the verdicts, First Assistant State's Attorney Adam Ghrist said, "This case is an unfortunate reminder that child sexual abuse is ever-present in our community but, as in this case, a simple calls to the DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) hotline can save a child. "I am thankful that the jury recognized the dynamics of the survivor's abuse and disclosure, and I am hopeful that with this verdict the survivors of Christopher Hinthorn's years of abuse can begin to heal." Defense attorney Steve Skelton represented Hinthorn, who was accused of sexually assaulting the girl between April 2005 and 2012. The jury heard testimony from the victim and a second girl who was not named in charges but said she also was abused by Hinthorn. Hinthorn and the girl named in charges knew each other. The girl's accusations came to the attention of authorities after a youth minister called the state DCFS hotline after he learned of the situation. BLOOMINGTON A 16-year-old girl was shot late Thursday night in what initially was reported to be a drive-by shooting in the 300 block of South Madison Street, police said. Bloomington police were dispatched at 10:29 p.m. to the block between Olive Street and Kentucky Alley for a report of three shots fired from a vehicle, Bloomington police Lt. Mike Gray said. The teenager, whose identity was not released, was taken to BroMenn Regional Medical Center, Gray said, but her condition was not available. No one was in custody and no vehicle was identified as of early Friday morning, police said. "I heard pow! pow! pow! real fast," said Stanley Carey, whose apartment in Lincoln Towers overlooks the intersection of Madison and Olive streets. "It was no firecracker. I know the difference between a .22 and a firecracker." Shortly after the call, police had the block cordoned off with crime scene tape and officers were combing the pavement and buildings with flashlights for evidence. The scene is across the street from Lincoln Towers and about a block southwest of the McLean County jail. Carey, who came down to talk to police after hearing the gunfire, said he hears fights periodically in the area, but he doesn't worry too much about his own safety because Lincoln Towers is a secure building. "In this part of town you never know" what's going to happen, he said. "I've heard them threaten each other before. It's the same old (expletive) with these kids." Anyone who has information regarding this incident is asked to contact detectives John Atteberry at 309-434-2348 or Paul Swanlund at 309-434-2373 . If you have information and wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers at 309-828-1111. This story will be updated. Dutch Metinvest B.V., the parent company of Ukraine's Metinvest mining and metal group has filed a motion to the U.S. bankruptcy court of Delaware in relation to the hearing of its case in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales asking to uphold the British court's decisions. The group said on the website of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) the motion was filed to meet Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code regulating ancillary and other cross-border insolvency cases in the United States. The case of Metinvest is heard by the British court, the company asks to admit the decisions of the British court in the United States. The hearing date is July 21, 2016. Objections can be submitted before July 15, 2016. Metinvest has agreed to restructure eurobonds and pre-export finance facilities (PXF) facilities with a committee of creditors. The agreement concerns $85.5 million notes due in 2016, $298.6 million notes due in 2017 and $750 million notes due in 2018 and $1.07 billion PXF facilities. Some 75% of noteholders must approve the offer to validate it. Of the fighting faiths that flourished during the ideologically drunk 20th century, anti-Semitism has been uniquely durable. It survives by mutating, even migrating across the political spectrum from the right to the left. Although most frequently found in European semi-fascist parties, anti-Semitism is growing in the fetid Petri dish of American academia, and is staining Britains Labour Party. In 2014, before Naseem Naz Shah became a Labour member of parliament, she shared a graphic on her Facebook page suggesting that all Israelis should be relocated to the United States. She seemed to endorse the idea that the transportation cost would be less than three years of defense spending. When this was recently publicized, Red Ken Livingstone, former Labour mayor of London, offered on the BBC what he considered a defense of her as not anti-Semitic because a real anti-Semite doesnt just hate the Jews in Israel. Besides, Livingstone said, Hitler was a Zionist (for supposedly considering sending Europes Jews to Palestine) before he went mad. As mayor, Livingstone praised as a progressive voice an Egyptian cleric who called the Holocaust divine punishment. Labours leader, Jeremy Corbyn, says he wants to cleanse Labour of such thinking. But Corbyn hopes to host at the House of Commons a Palestinian sheikh who calls Jews bacteria and monkeys and has been accused of repeating the blood libel that Jews make matzo using the blood of gentile children. Leftist anti-Semites invariably say they hate not Jews but Zionism, and hence not a people but a nation. Israel was, however, created as a haven for an endangered people. Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, refutes the canard that hating Israel is not the same as hating Jews by saying: Criticism of Israel is not necessarily anti-Semitic or anti-Zionist. When Sacks asks his audiences if Britains government can be criticized, everyone says yes. But when they are asked, Do you believe Britain should not exist?, no one says yes. Then Sacks tells his audiences: Now you know the difference. It is very easy to hate, says Sacks. It is very difficult to justify hate. Anti-Semitisms permutations adapt it to changing needs for justification. In the Middle Ages, he says, Jews were hated for their religion. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were hated for their race. Now they are hated for their nation. The new anti-Semitism can always say it is not the old anti-Semitism. But it is. It remains, Sacks says, essentially eliminationist. It disguises its genocidal viciousness, insisting that it seeks the destruction not of a people but only of the state formed as a haven for this people that has had a uniquely hazardous history. The international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, supported by many American academics, aims not just to pressure Israel to change policies, as South Africa was pressured to abandon apartheid, but rather to de-legitimize Israels existence as a nation. Sacks says that when bad things happen to a healthy society, it asks: What did we do wrong? A fraying, insecure society asks: Who did this to us? Sacks notes that although Jews were never more than 2 percent of Germanys population, this did not protect them from becoming the explanation for Germanys discontents. In a conversation with a supposedly moderate British Muslim leader, Sacks asked, Does Israel have a right to exist within any borders whatever? The leader replied: Your own prophets said that because of your sins you have forfeited your right to your land. To which Sacks responded mildly: But that was 2,700 years ago and surely the Jews have served their sentence. After World War II, Western nations strove to develop what Sacks calls a cultural immune system against anti-Semitism with Holocaust education and other measures. The immune system is not weakening in Britain, other than among Muslim immigrants and leftists eager to meld their radicalism with radical Islam. Labours leader before Corbyn, Edward Miliband, who led the party in the 2015 general election, is Jewish, as was the Conservative Partys greatest 19th-century leader (Benjamin Disraeli). Former Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, who was educated at Eton, noted, perhaps regretfully, certainly indelicately, that Margaret Thatchers Cabinet included more old Estonians than old Etonians. This was not anti-Semitism, just a jest too fine to forgo. Seven decades after the Holocaust, some European nations have, remarkably, anti-Semitism without Jews and Christian anti-Semitism without Christianity. Britain just has a few leftists eager to mend their threadbare socialism with something borrowed from National Socialism. The recent letter "True Islam teaches love and tolerance" by Namoode Khokher is interesting in light of how all world religions try valiantly to teach the same tenets. Has any ancient religion progressed into our day and time with preaching hate and anger toward his neighbor, close or far? I believe all religions have had bouts of fanaticism, including Christianity. Centuries ago there was war between Christianity and Islam, trying to conquer the Holy Land, present day Israel. Khokher implores all of us to co-exist; I agree we all need to do that. However, we have failed so awfully throughout all of time vainly trying to co-exist. On Friday, as the world mourned over Muhammad Ali's death, there was tribute to his strong religious ideals. Then two days later, early Sunday, in Orlando, an awful slaughter of men and women at the hand of a gunman, who professed in the name of Allah and Islam to kill those. This proves our fallen human nature has a propensity to do radical evil, each in the name of their god, regardless of truthful tenets professed by other peaceful members in the same religion. The greatest (Muhammad Ali) who has now departed this physical world has left all trophies and triumphs behind to his heirs. This is the paradox of religions. All promote ideals of love and tolerance but not all followers fully adhere to that. Pride and hate are obstacles in our way to a peaceful kingdom. Leon Kaeb, Bloomington Is it time for Illinois to land in the ditch? My response is a resounding yes! I liked it when, several years ago, former Gov. Pat Quinn suspended legislators salaries due to lack of legislative action in a similar situation during his watch. I firmly believe that Senate President Cullerton and House Speaker Madigan need to feel the pain right along with those Illinois citizens whom they profess to support. The Pantagraph said in an editorial some time back that when the voters elected Bruce Rauner to be governor of Illinois, the voting majority were saying on a statewide basis, Its time for a change. Cullerton and Madigan keep wailing about how Rauners Turn Around Agenda will hurt the middle class. But it is their tax, spend, and borrow, high business taxes and workers' compensation expenses together with their supporting union cronies high wage scales that are causing business and jobs to leave Illinois. That is what is hurting the middle class. An angry, informed, law-abiding, tax-paying, legal citizen of the state of Illinois who votes. Randall E. Carney Bloomington A man has come forward claiming that he was also nabbed by an alligator while visiting the Orlando, Florida Disney resort when he was eight refuting the statements of the theme park that the latest incident is the first of its kind. Daily News reported that the man, named Paul Santamaria has the photos and the scars to prove the attack. He said that he crouched near a pond to feed the ducks when suddenly, a seven and a half foot long female alligator grabbed him. The alligator reportedly chomped down on his leg and tried to pull him underwater. The man, now 38 years old, said that he decided to come forward with his near-death experience after local sheriff claimed to the media that the death of the toddler, identified as Lane Graves from Nebraska, was the first alligator attack in Disney's 45 years in Orlando Florida. The New Hampshire man continued to reveal that he was with his brother, his sister, and another child. He also said that he did not scream at first as he was shocked but when he realized what was going on, he called for help and his sister, Carolyn, then 12, and brother Joseph, then 10, rushed to help him. His sister reportedly grabbed him under his arms and pulled against the alligator. His brother was picking up rocks and sticks to throw at the alligator. He also remembered that he started to kick the alligator with his free leg in an attempt to break free. Eventually, the gator opened its mouth and let go of his leg. Santamaria recalled that he spent around a week in the hospital. People who had costumes of Mickey Mouse and Snow White on also came to visit him. The parents of Santamaria filed a federal lawsuit against Disney in January 1988 but was terminated in September of the same year. Santamaria did not comment on whether or not they received a financial settlement thus the dropping of the lawsuit. The man said that his heart broke for the parents of Graves. Graves was dragged into the water at around 9 P.M. His father wrestled with the alligator but could not let the animal let go of his child. Divers were able to recover the body of Graves a day after at around 3:30 P.M. His body was said to be intact. By then, there were signs in the area saying that guests should not play or swim near the man-made lake but no signs were put up saying there are alligators in the Orlando, Florida Disney resort. Experts have released tips on how to act when there is an alligator attack. People should put up a fight with the animal and make as much noise as possible. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has enacted bill amending Article 9 of the law on medicines with respect to state registration (re-registration) of medicinal products, the president's press service reported on Thursday. Poroshenko said that Ukraine would have several positive results after the entry into force of the law. "The quality of medicines will be higher. We will have a competition in the internal market and people will be able to choose the best value for money," the president said. "We are shutting off another channel of corruption in Ukraine. It is also an obvious advantage. And the third position is that the leading pharmaceutical companies that refused to pay bribes for ethical reasons will finally be able to come to Ukraine. The gates are open for them now," he said. The implementation of the law will also improve Ukraines image globally, Poroshenko said. "From the third world countries in terms of pharmacology we are moving to the position that is absolutely clear for all our partners. It is an efficient way to implement the Association Agreement," the head of state said. The president believes that the adoption of the law is only the first step to start reforming the entire system of healthcare. Acting Health Minister Viktor Shafransky was instructed to draw up bylaws required to implement the law for the next government meeting. This 8th Grader's speech moved every spectator during his middle school graduation day - not into tears as you might all be thinking, but into pits of 8-minute laughter. You can probably say he made a mash-up of every campaign rally he had watched as he impersonated presidential hopefuls, Trump, Cruz, President Obama, Clinton and Sanders. Not only did Jack Aiello's speech made every conversation a possibility after the Thomas Middle School graduation, his speech also reached other people's ears through a viral video that circulated online. After he impersonated presidential hopefuls, Jack Aiello is now being dubbed as the next comedy star to watch out for, or the next president of the United States. "If you were to ask him what he really wants to do, he really truly does want to be president someday. He feels a great desire to be a leader. A politician or a comedian, which the lines do sometimes blur," John Aiello, Jack's father, said as quoted by NBC Chicago. People agree with Jack's father that he has acquired some professional comedic antics. With the way his graduation speech turned out, it also shows his great interest in politics. He wouldn't have successfully impersonated this election's presidential hopefuls including current President Barrack Obama, if he didn't know the distinct way their hands moved, the tone of voice they use when they deliver a speech, and the usual content of what comes out of their mouths. With just picking out lines from his hilarious graduation speech, you would already have an idea of the presidential hopeful he is impersonating. In one part pertaining to the school's language classes, he said, "You know, people say I don't like China, I love China. I mean, I love China. I mean, I have so many terrific friends in China. But I took Spanish and let me just tell you, by the way, that it was fantastic. Muy fantastico." If you follow the election campaign, you would no doubt know that the 8th Grader was mocking Donald Trump. Jack changed into a higher tone towards the end of his graduation speech, increasing his voice's volume as he impersonated the only female presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton. Modulating on words Hillary uses frequently, he says "I'd like to start off by thanking the great hardworking teachers of Thomas Middle School. They've been our champions. They've given us the skills to get us through sixth grade and through eighth grade. And now we're going to take those skills and apply them to high school." Throughout the 8-minute video, everyone was heard cheering and laughing when Jack Aiello, in full character, impersonated the U.S. most talked about politicians these days. He got the standing ovation he deserved at the end of his graduation speech when the audience was already in high spirits. As reported by NBC Chicago, the 8th Grader's graduation speech was originally an English subject requirement. Jack got the go-signal to deliver it on graduation day when his speech was one of the three pieces chosen by the teachers to complete Thomas Middle School's Graduation Day this year. The most viewed graduation speech of all time as of 2013 is Steve's Job's 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University. The Apple founder's speech has garnered over 26 million views with Seth McFarlane's 2006 Harvard speech landing on second place with 10 million views (via Visible Measures). According to About Education, the top ten themes of a graduation speech are as follows: importance of goal-setting, taking responsibility for one's actions, purpose of mistakes, contiuous search for inspiration, reaching for dreams, creating a personal daily mantra, application of the golden rule, value of humility and gratitude, focusing on life's essentials, and setting high expectations. Jack Aiello's speech might have been hilarious but it did not forget to pay tribute to the school and its staff, and to thank them for the years of lessons learned that can be applied to their high school life and beyond. Laugh your heart out as you watch the video of the 8th Grader's graduation speech below. Share the part that you found most hilarious or the impersonation that you think is closest to a presidential hopeful on the Comments section. For more news like this and your daily dose of parenting tips, follow Parent Herald. A year ago, none of the friends and classmates of a teenager, who has autism came to celebrate her 18th birthdayparty. Now, she has received 6,000 cards from different people after her cousin took to Facebook what had happened. The teenager with autism, identified as Hallee Sorenson of Bangor, Maine, was seen in the Facebook post that went viral sitting alone in a bowling alley crying. Her birthday cake was in front of her, the balloons and party hats were set up, and she was sitting there expectantly waiting for her guests to arrive. Her cousin, Rebecca Guildford, then took the snap shot and shared it on social media, USA Today reported. Guildford wrote alongside the photo, "Hallee is funny, sweet, caring, smart, an athlete, a jigsaw puzzle champion, a wonderful student, and a best friend to all." She added that if anyone deserves a great birthday, it is her cousin. Sorenson's cousin added in her post, "I would love to flood her mailbox with birthday cards, from all over. Hal loves getting mail- this would be the best birthday gift she could ask for." The post was then shared more than 230,000 times. The 19th birthday of Sorenson will be this coming July and she has received more than 6,000 cards by this month. Aside from the letters that Sorenson has gotten and will continue to receive, a Facebook page was set up especially made for her birthday. People from all over the world get to greet her there and send their well wishes for the teen with autism. The mother of Sorenson, Allyson, also released a statement saying that their garage is packed with mail. She noted that they have been getting entire trucks of mail just for her daughter noting that it is unbelievable how it made her so happy that she has cried. The family did say they did not want any presents given to the teenager with autism but some people have sent presents anyway. Allyson said that they will go through the presents and will have some donated for Christmas. Anyone who wants to send a card or a present to Sorenson could do so by sending it to 34 Wellesley Way, Bangor, ME 04401. She will be turning 19 this July 2. 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 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has expressed the hope that the government, the parliament and community would show progress in further implementation of healthcare reform in Ukraine. "The government, the parliament and community will shortly form their common vision of healthcare reform which must meet modern requirements," the president said during a visit to the Main Military Clinical Hospital of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday. The head of state stressed that it is important to develop high quality medicine measured not by a number of beds, but by high professionalism of the staff, high quality services and modern equipment, relevant prevention and rehabilitation systems. Poroshenko recalled that two years ago combat medics were facing a significant shortage of necessary medicines for servicemen. However, despite "resistance of bureaucracy and pharmaceutical mafia" the procedure of medicine registration has been changed. "This is just the beginning of a serious and deep healthcare reform which our country needs," the president said. Patna: A day after his name appeared in the June 17 kidnapping for four men and the murder of one, the Patna police on Wednesday arrested Janata Dal U legislator from Mokama Anant Singh in connection with his alleged involvement in the abduction of builder Raju Singh of Bihta that took place last year in November. UPDATE: Janata Dal - U legislator Anant Singh was sent to Beur Jail in police custody late night on Wednesday. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vikas Vaibhav, after obtaining a search warrant from the court, raided Anant Singh's government bungalow in Patna and his property in Ladma village near Barh. {gallery}newsimages2015/june/062415{/gallery}Accompanied by dozens of Special Task Force (STF) and Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) jawans, the police raided the criminal-turned-politician's residence in Patna at around 3:00 pm. Around the same time, another team of armed policemen raided the MLA's home in Ladma village. Based on the evidences gathered from both places, the city police arrested the JD-U leader and was brought to the Sachivalaya police station where he remains confined until he is brought before a court either on Thursday or Friday, the SSP said. Throughout the raid, a nonchalant JD-U legislator sat outside the home with one of his associates with no sign of worries on his face. His supporters, however, attacked the police vehicle and clashed with the policemen when he was being transferred to the police station. Authorities had to resort to mild lathi charge to control the situation. Later, they also gathered outside the Sachivalaya police station and demanded his immediate release. Police found, among other things, six live rifle magazines and a pile of clothes stained in blood. They also recovered an elephant in Singh's yard. The evidences were being sent to the crime lab for a DNA report, Vaibhav said adding he was being arrested for his involvement in the 2014 Raju Singh abduction case and not on the kidnapping-murder of a youth on June 18 this year. A close associate of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD-U leader faces dozens of cases of murder and kidnapping cases. He was given the top billing in the 2012 Adhikar Rally launched by the JD-U to press for special status for Bihar. As reported yesterday, four criminals who were arrested yesterday in connection with the June 17 abduction of four men and the murder of one of them, told the then Patna SSP Jitendra Rana that they carried out the crime at the order of Anant Singh. Within hours of Rana making a public statement about the involvement of Anant Singh in the kidnapping-murder case, the Nitish government ordered the transfer of Rana replacing him with Vikas Vaibhav. The sudden transfer of Rana to Motihari, however, has raised many eyebrows including another don and former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Pappu Yadav who demanded a CBI probe in the SSP transfer case. RJD's spokesperson Mundrika Singh Yadav also demanded arrest of Mokama MLA in connection with the abduction and murder of a youth on June 17. Though Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remains silent on the subject, his party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar denied the SSP was transferred at the behest of Anant Singh saying Rana's transfer had nothing to do with June 17 case. Meanwhile, the don from Mokama has denied any involvement in the kidnapping and murder case and accused Jitendra Rana of harboring personal vendetta against him to destroy his political career. Patna: Former right hand man of Lalu Prasad Yadav who later joined the Nitish-led Janata Dal U, on Thursday resigned from the JD-U saying he could not remain in the party when it had sold its soul to the party that it fought against for over two decades. "Lalu's influence is finished in Bihar and by joining hand with him; Nitish Kumar has betrayed the mandate of the people of the state. The RJD chief is no more the leader of the Yadavs because if he was, why did his wife and daughter lose big in the last Lok Sabha elections?" the former MP from Pataliputra constituency told the media. Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Yadav said that the people of Bihar had voted him into power to erase the bad memories of the 'Jungle Raj'. "He was put in power to solve the problems of the people but now the same Nitish Kumar is standing side by side with the man against whom he canvassed across the state. This is a huge betrayal of trust and I don't think the people of Bihar would ever forgive him," the former Lalu aide said. Ranjan Yadav, however, remained vague on his political future saying he would take some time off from politics before deciding what he wanted to do next. Patna: Hundreds of domestic help in Patna on Thursday took out a procession demanding a national policy to advance their causes including better pay, respect, and security under the state's unchartered worker security act. The President of the Bihar Domestic Workers' Union Neeru Devi told the media that in the lack of a coherent policy to guard their interest, they were routinely victimized by their employers who physically abused them and falsely accused them of stealing their valuables. Neeru Devi further told the media that there were people in Bihar who 'bought' children in the state and sold them to large employment agencies in big metros like Delhi and Mumbai. "We want a cohesive policy that safeguards the interests of all domestic workers in Bihar. Besides better pay, we want security from violent-prone employers who regularly abuse by framing false charges against us including theft and pilferage," she said. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari and leaders of several unions were present in the rally. Patna: Just hours after Janata Dal U expelled former MLC Usha Sinha from the party after the police issued a warrant against her for her role in the ToppersGate scam; she was removed from her post as the Principal of Ganga Devi Mahila College in Kankarbagh and was replaced by Shyama Rai. Sinha, the wife of former Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Chairperson Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, like her husband, remains in hiding after arrests warrant were issued against the couple involving massive financial irregularities and corruption at the highest level. Rai was earlier posted as the Principal of Nalanda Mahila College in Biharsharif in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district of Nalanda. Magadh University Vice Chancellor Dr. Mohammed Ishtiaq confirmed the removal of Sinha and praised Rai as an upright citizen who was dedicated to improving education in Bihar. Meanwhile, police on Thursday seized gold jewelry worth over Rs. 20 lakh during a raid at the home of Bachcha Rai, Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh's partner in crime and the Principal of now shuttered Vishun Roy College. The gold was hidden neatly under a bundle of haystack, police said. Police also recovered Rs. 1.18 lakh in cash and several incriminating documents from Rai's home. Iran, Russia eyeing Sukhoi Superjet joint production deal 06/17/16 Source: Press TV Iran says it is looking into a plan to jointly produce Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100) airplanes with Russia - what could take the Islamic Republic to the club of global plane makers if materialized. Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100) (photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga) (photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga) Iran's Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mohammad-Reza Ne'matzadeh told reporters in Moscow that Iran has already started talks with Russian over the plan. "Now the talks regarding a joint manufacture of this airplane are underway, but there are no results yet," Ne'matzadeh told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was the first to break the news over a possible Iran-Russia cooperation over the production of SSJ 100. Rogozin had told the media in Moscow last November that the two countries are negotiating over the production of the planes in the Islamic Republic, stressing that Russia may deliver a large batch of SSJ 100 planes - described as the country's most modern commercial jets - to Iran before 2020. Rogozin had emphasized that the batch could comprise about 100 planes. The planes can be in part be localized by Iranian producers if Tehran makes the political decision to purchase ready-made aircraft, he had told the media during a two-day trip to Iran. "If Tehran agrees to purchase the Superjet, we will discuss partial localization of production in Iran," the Russian official had emphasized. Sukhoi Superjet 100 is Russia's newest twin-engine regional passenger aircraft which began operating commercially in 2011. More than 60 aircraft are in service with airlines in Laos, Mexico, and Russia. Turkey to triple trade with Iran to $30B 06/17/16 Source: Press TV Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci says the country has serious plans to triple trade with Iran to $30 billion "as soon as possible". Tufenkci told Reuters on Thursday that the January removal of sanctions against Iran has already prepared the grounds for Tehran and Ankara to boost the level of their mutual trade. "Banking and financial transactions have become easier (for Turkey) after the sanctions on Iran were softened, already boosting our business with Iran," said Tufenkci. Trade between Iran and Turkey rose to $21.9 billion in 2012, then fell below $10 billion in 2015 due to the sanctions. The Turkish and Iranian central banks have re-opened their connection on the SWIFT global transaction network, Reuters cited comments by an Iranian economy official in an interview earlier this month, in a sign of normalization of banking ties. Turkish companies have used the January removal of anti-Iran sanctions as a major opportunity to resume trade and investment in the country, where other sectors of economy such as auto, clothing, textiles, machinery and chemicals as well as tourism, among others, have been beckoning to international investors. Turkish industries have specifically recently increased their activities over their Iran investment plans. Turkey's Unit International in early June announced a $4.2 billion agreement with the Iranian Energy Ministry to build seven gas power plants in Iran. Also, Turkey has already announced that it plans to build at least 10 hotels in Iran in what officials in Ankara have already said will be a milestone in efforts to boost mutual economic ties with the Islamic Republic. Brexit and What it Means for Britain and for Europe 06/17/16 By Farhang Jahanpour (first published by TFF Associates & Themes Blog) The United Kingdom in relation to the wider European Union. (source: wikipedia) Today (16 June 2016), Jo Cox, the 41-year old Labor MP, was killed after she was shot and stabbed in her constituency in Yorkshire. A 52-year old man was arrested in the area. The suspect was named locally as Tommy Mair. There is as yet very little concrete information about him or his motives, and it is too early to jump to a conclusion and link his dastardly act with the referendum, but some eyewitnesses have said that before shooting Jo Cox twice, Mair shouted Britain first. Clearly, he is a deranged individual, but if he uttered those words, it is possible to conclude that the assault was connected with the referendum. The fact remains that the assassination of such a strongly pro-EU MP is a big shock, a major loss and of course the source of great grief for her husband and her two small children. Before being elected as an MP in the last general election, Jo Cox had been a charity worker and a human rights campaigner all her life. Her husband, Brendan, used to work for Save the Children. They and their two little children lived a quiet and unassuming life in a barge on the Thames near the Houses of Parliament. Her husband released the following touching statement after her death: Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jos friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo. Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it everyday of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people. She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesnt have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous. Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full. In any case, this ugly deed provides an extreme example of the acrimonious debates that are held over the referendum. All campaigning has been suspended as a sign of respect for the death of the MP. On June 23, the British people take part in a rare referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or to leave. Referenda are not vey common in Britain, and apart from its rarity this referendum may decide the fate of Britain for decades to come, and its outcome can also have a profound bearing on other EU states. Whatever its outcome, the referendum has already created major rifts between those who wish to stay in the EU and those who wish to leave, and it has particularly split the Conservative Party asunder, with strong and unprecedented personal attacks on politicians on either side. There are deep divisions about Britains membership in the EU not only between the parties, but also within the parties, including some right-wing elements in the Conservative Party and some leftist politicians in the Labour Party going against their partys official policy. Britain has always been a reluctant member of the EU, and of its predecessor the European Community. The issue of Britains relationship with Europe has always been divisive and emotive. There are many reasons for this. One important factor is that the English Channel separates the United Kingdom from Europe, not only physically but also mentally and politically. The fact of being an island race living on the edge of Europe has created a feeling of isolation that has set Britain apart from the continent. British people love European countries and have been great travellers and admirers of European culture. Indeed more than two million Britons have moved to Europe and live there permanently, and there are now more than three million EU immigrants who live and work in Britain and are on the whole well integrated, but many Britons do not regard themselves as a part of the continent. Another reason for a feeling of separateness has been Britains imperial history, which has brought it into conflict with her European neighbours. Although Britain has successfully moved beyond the empire, a slight feeling of superiority or at least of separateness still persists. The foundations of the European Union go back to 1945 when European countries, especially France and Germany, decided to start a new era and put an end to their history of conflict. Britain, being outside the European stage, did not share this sentiment. Although in his 1946 speech in Zurich, Winston Churchill spoke eloquently about Europe being the home of all the great parent races of the Western world, based on Christian faith, and once united there would be no limit to the happiness, to the prosperity and glory of the European people, nevertheless, he seemed to speak of Europe as a foreign observer and not as a member. He went on to say: In all this urgent work, France and Germany must take the lead together. Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America, and I trust Soviet Russia - for then indeed all would be well - must be the friends and sponsors of the new Europe and must champion its right to live and shine. Therefore, it is striking that he saw Britain and the British Commonwealth, alongside mighty America and Soviet Russia, as friends and sponsors of the new Europe, which clearly did not include Britain. When the European Coal and Steel Community was forged in 1951, Britain stood on the side-lines and she also declined an invitation to join the six founding nations of the European Economic Community [EEC] in signing the Treaty of Rome in 1957. However, when Britain changed its mind and finally decided to join the EEC in 1961, her application was blocked by French President Charles de Gaulle who accused Britain of a deep-seated hostility towards European construction. This rejection did not strengthen the British peoples love for the new union. Britain finally joined the EEC in 1973 under Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath when Gen de Gaulle had left the scene. Although the referendum for membership produced a resounding 67% votes in favour of joining, a small minority of Britons have always remained hostile to membership. Although Britain ultimately joined the EU, she has always been semi-detached from it. In her 1988 speech in Bruges, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejected a European super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels. She also negotiated a rebate from Brussels. Britain is not a member of the Eurozone, or of the Schengen Area. Before the last general election, in order to calm the unrest in the Conservative Party about the EU, Prime Minister David Cameron promised a referendum if elected to office. In February 2016 he took part in 30 hours of talks in Brussels in order to negotiate a new EU deal. He declared that he had received major concessions from Brussels, and then announced that the referendum would be held on 23 June. This was a hasty decision, because the issues surrounding British membership of the EU are too complex to be decided on the basis of an in-out vote, especially as the time allocated for the debates prior to the referendum is too short to discuss all those issues in detail. All polls show that the vote is too close to call, with young people mainly in favour of remaining and older people mainly against it. The opponents of British membership stress the issue of immigration, loss of sovereignty and Britains financial contribution to the EU, while those who are in favour of it stress the benefits of being a member of the largest economic bloc in the world. During the last election, Mr Cameron had promised to bring the number of new immigrants down to tens of thousands, but last year there were over 330,000 immigrants, most of them from the EU. Those on the left object to the EU due to what they regard as its cosy relationship with big business, with neoliberal economy, its close links to the United States and the NATO, and her recent siding with the Neoconservatives regarding relations with Russia over Ukraine and the stationing of anti-missile defence systems in Romania and Poland and huge military exercises in Baltic countries. Although the Labour Party is officially in favour of remaining in the EU, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is seen as a rather reluctant advocate of membership. As recently as June 2015, a short time before becoming the Labour leader, Corbyn said: There is no future for a usurious Europe that turns its smaller nations into colonies of debt peonage. Those on the left of the British politics believe that those remarks are as true today as they were a year ago when they were made. While an end to conflict in Europe is certainly a good thing, many people not only in Britain but also throughout Europe question whether a United States of Europe is wise or feasible, given the distinct historical and cultural differences between the 28 EU member states. Although it seems that a majority of English people are in favour of Brexit, certainly the majority of Scottish people are in favour of staying in. In fact, the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has threatened that if the majority of Scots vote in favour of remaining, but the country leaves the EU based on the votes of the majority of English people, that would provide grounds for a new referendum for Scottish independence. Britains exit from the EU will certainly harm the plight of working class people who have benefited from EU regulations on minimum wage, annual holidays, maternity and paternity leave, pensions, etc. It will also be a setback for human rights as those who wish to exit often complain about EU human rights guidelines, which they regard to be excessive and intrusive. While a united Europe acting as an island of peace trying to help the developing countries, and acting as a force to bring America and Russia closer together, would be a very good thing, a subservient EU that follows American dictates and forms a hostile bloc against Russia and China would certainly be a negative force. Sadly, contrary to their own interests, EU countries joined in Americas unilateral sanctions against Irans nuclear program and even now after the nuclear agreement has been reached they have failed to take full advantage of the lifting of sanctions due to their fear of US retaliation. As far as East-West relations are concerned, a more farsighted policy towards Ukraine could have brought it closer to Europe, without necessarily cutting it off from Russia, as was the aim of some US Neoconservatives who supported (some say engineered) the coup in Kiev. The new wave of refugees to Europe has shown how fragile EU unity is. It has just scratched the surface and a great deal of ugly nationalism has emerged and many walls and barbed wire fences have been erected. Maybe what Europe needs is a more universal vision in order to be able to look outwards and not to take shelter in a European fortress. Britains exit from the EU may in fact force the British people to re-examine their place in the new world, by realizing that the old days of the empire are gone and that even the special relationship with the United States will not be a substitute for strong links to Europe, as indeed most American politicians, including President Obama, have said that they would like Britain to remain in the EU. At the same time, it can force the European states to re-examine their ambitions for a united Europe, and also to decide how far they want to go in forming a Western-bloc alliance against the East. A parochial Europe will not only violate her civilizational goals, it can indeed act as a negative force in the international community. Europes greatest service would be to act as a bridge between the Middle East and Russia on the one hand and the American continent on the other, pushing for peace, for non-alignment, for non-interference in proxy wars in the Middle East and for creating a universal civilization based on European ideals of freedom, democracy, human rights, equality, free trade and global peace. With its long history and the legacy of the Enlightenment, Europe can help usher in a new global civilization. About the author: Farhang Jahanpour, a TFF Associate and Board member and Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society, is a former professor and dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Isfahan and a former Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University. He is a tutor in the Department of Continuing Education and a member of Kellogg College, University of Oxford. The best 2-in-1 laptop 2022: our picks of the best convertible laptops These are the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that top managers of public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia seeks to save UAH 7 billion in the first year of operation. "The plan of the new head of Ukrzaliznytsia foresees saving of UAH 7 billion by the company in the first year of operation," the press service of Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers reported, referring to a speech of the prime minister at the US-UA Working Group Yearly Forum: Providing Ukraine with an Annual Report Card in Washington (the Untied States). He said that the government intends to continue practice of public appointment of heads of state-run enterprises at open tenders. Groysman said that today there is a large discrepancy between the country's potential and its opportunities and low living standards, which is unfair. The prime minister said that today it is important to conduct reforms and create a high-quality system, which would make the country attractive and stop outflow of citizens, especially youth, who live the country. "I do not see any unbiased reasons for Ukraine be in poverty," he said, adding that the task of the government is success of Ukraine. CORONA The Corona Chamber of Commerce introduced 40 under 40 Thursday at its 2016 State of the City luncheon. It is a group of 40 entrepreneurs and high achievers who have yet reach their black balloon birthday. Honorees were nominated by peers and friends and selected by a panel of judges. They share early achievements, passion and a willingness to give back to their communities, according to the chamber. The group sends the message that this isnt your dads chamber, according to chief executive officer and president Bobby Spiegel. This is not a junior chamber acknowledgement, said Mark Peabody, chairman of the board. These are not like Cub Scouts in training or anything like that. These guys individually and collectively are very impressive at any age. Members come from city government, health care, education, finance, real estate, retail and the nonprofit world. The youngest is Vivianne Silva, 18, who at 12 founded the Food Runners Club, which provides events catering to raise money for charities and jobs skills to youthful volunteers. Most of the 40 under 40 attended the luncheon in a conference room at Crossroads Christian Church. Several shared their enthusiasms in the first of a series of videos the chamber will show at its events. Chelsea Dischinger said her children get to see her make her dream and passion a reality. It is a handmade jewelry company called Pacific Daisy. Every time we get into a new store I take them in that store and they see Pacific Daisies is in the store, she said in the video. They see my display and theyre so proud. Its a great way to teach my kids you can dream big. You can do anything that you want to do. Go for it. Its also a way that Im raising my children, as funny as that sounds. After the presentation, Mayor Jason Scott delivered the keynote, in which he outlined progress on the expansion of the 91 Freeway. Contact the writer: fbuck@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9551. ORLANDO Tim Hetzner was surrounded by dogs, some resting on their sides, some quietly sitting and each being patted by virtually everyone who passed them in the hotel lobby. They were therapy dogs, 12 in all, and theyd been in this city for five days visiting those affected by the nightclub massacre where 49 people were killed and dozens of others injured. Most had arrived from Chicago. It was Friday morning and the dogs were ready to go out on their deployment again this time to the hospital where victims were still being treated for injuries sustained in Sundays mass shooting. RELATED STORY: Doctor in shooting remembers chaotic first hours Hetzner said the dogs bring smiles to the faces of those in the midst of trauma. But he said the real therapy comes when they just talk to the dogs. We spent time with a young man yesterday who went into the club with five friends, Hetzner said. Now three are dead and two are injured. He cant sleep more than 30 minutes because he wakes up hearing gunfire. Rich Martin wears a lanyard around his neck with ribbons and buttons from tragedies hes traveled to with the dogs. Theres a ribbon from Sandy Hook, one from a shooting in Marysville, Washington, where a 15-year-old shot four at a high school before killing himself. Not all are shootings. Hes been to wildfires and floods, too. But Orlando is on a different scale. And the dogs quietly absorb the stories and feel the gentle strokes from people shaken by the trauma. RELATED STORY: Obamas visit to Orlando lifts spirits in city shaken by massacre A few people wanted photos of the dogs, so Susie, Sasha, Jacob, Phoebe, Ruthie, Kye, Katie, Barnabas, Mahalah, Jewel, Hannah and Gracie lined up by the checkout desk and had their pictures taken. As people at the hotel gave final pats to the dogs before they headed out to provide comfort, Martin paused thinking about all the tragic events he and the dogs have visited and said to a reporter: May we never have to meet again. Dangerously hot weather is headed Inland this weekend through much of the first week of summer, prompting health officials to issue safety warnings for people and pets. Remember not to leave children or pets in hot cars, not even for a moment, San Bernardino County Health Officer Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare cautioned Thursday, June 16, when the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the region. Monday marks the start of summer. But the anticipated triple-digit heat is expected to begin hovering around record-breaking levels during the weekend. Looks like several daily high temperature records could be broken Sunday and even more Monday, forecasters said in their written analysis. Highs on Monday are currently forecast to be105 to 115 in the Inland Enpire and high desert, mid-80s to upper-90s in the mountains and 115 to 120 in the low deserts. Late-week temperatures are expected to be nly slightly lower. It will remain hot through the rest of next week, but likely not quite as hot as Sunday-Monday-Tuesday, according to the written forecast. The beaches will remain cooler, but visitors should be prepared for already dangerous surf and rip currents. So a Beach Hazards Statement will continue in effect for surf of 3 to 6 feet, locally reaching 7 feet at times, the forecast cautions. The swell and surf will gradually lower Friday through Sunday. The bottom line for Inland residents trying to cope with the sweltering heat, say Riverside County health officials, is to hunker down in a cool place and drink non-alcoholic, un-sugared fluids or risk dehydration, headache, dizziness, weakness, muscle pains, nausea and vomitting. Moreno Valley Councilwoman LaDonna Jempson says she will not resign despite calls to do so from some critics who say she should have disclosed a felony conviction. I am not a quitter, she said in an interview Wednesday, June 15. I have a lot of people encouraging me to keep doing what Im doing. Theyre happy with what Im doing in the city and the district. Jempson has come under criticism since she admitted at a council meeting June 7 that she was convicted of embezzlement which she revealed during a council discussion on whether those with felony convictions should be allowed to serve on city advisory boards. She said applicants who made mistakes long ago should be evaluated based on their service to the community, calling herself an advocate of second chances. The council ultimately chose not to adopt a proposed change that would have barred convicted felons. In her case, Jempson, 60, said she was 26, living in San Francisco and in an abusive relationship when she was forced to commit a theft at a bank where she worked. She feared for her and her childs safety, she said. Jempson, who provided more details this week on the incident, said she left for Alaska after she was charged in 1982 for those reasons. The threat was there, she said. I knew if I didnt get out of town, then there would be a problem. Jempson said she returned to San Francisco two years later and in 1991, turned herself in to authorities. She said she spent 45 days in prison and was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest and three years probation. At a council meeting Tuesday, June 14, some critics said Jempson should have disclosed the conviction when she ran for office two years ago. During that recall election, in which Victoria Baca was removed by voters, Jempson campaigned on improving transparency. You deceived the people, said Robert Harris, one of the resident who called on Jempson to resign. He added: You are still trying to play the victim. But Jempson supporters said she should be judged on how shes helped the community. Her service to her church and community speaks louder than anything she did 30 years ago, said Peggy Holmes, a friend of Jempsons. She has paid her debt to society and shes given back. State law does not bar candidates with a felony conviction from running for office unless their crime involves public agency money, interim City Attorney Steve Quintanilla stated in an email. Otherwise, the only requirement is that they not be in prison or on parole for a felony, he said. Jempson said she never lied during the campaign and would have answered honestly if someone had asked at the time. But she did not feel it necessary to raise it herself, she said. Other council members have not called on her to resign. Im disappointed and surprised by what happened, Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez said. Its not for me to decide whether she should resign or not. Jempson said she plans to run for re-election in November. If the people feel my past is too major a concern about me being a relected official, they wont vote for me and I will accept the results whatever they are, she said. Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 or ighori@pressenterprise.com Just days after the Orlando mass shooting, the family of San Bernardino terrorist attack victim Damian Meins is asking why Congress didnt vote on gun-reform laws when legislators had the chance the day after Meins and 13 others were shot to death Dec. 2. Long Beach resident Tina Meins spoke out in the nations capital Thursday to urge lawmakers to support gun control legislation that could help prevent mass shootings such as the Orlando attack and the one that killed her father. Its time to disarm hate, she said at a Washington, D.C., press conference called by Democratic senators pursuing legislation to reduce gun violence following the attack in Orlando on Sunday. With deep sadness in her voice, Meins, 33, said she knows what the families and friends of the Orlando nightclub shooting victims are going through. Each person in that club was someones child, a sibling, a lover, a friend. I wish I could say Im surprised that were here again, but sadly, Im not, she said. And we will continue to be here again and again if our elected officials fail to take action that prevents dangerous and hateful people from getting their hands on a deadly weapon, she added. San Bernardino County health inspector Damian Meins, 58, of Riverside was among 14 people killed and 22 wounded in the terrorist shootings at the Inland Regional Center. Tina Meins spoke at an 11 a.m. press conference called by Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, the morning after he ended a 15-hour filibuster pushing for votes on legislation to keep people on the federal terrorist watch list from getting gun licenses and to require background checks to buy weapons at gun shows and on the Internet. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and five other Senate Democrats also took part. The press conference was attended by Tina Meins mother and sister, Riverside residents Trenna and Tawnya Meins, and the Rev. Sharon Risher, a North Carolina hospital chaplain. Rishers mother, Ethel Lance, and cousins Susie Jackson and Tywanza Sanders were shot and killed June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. Tina Meins told reporters she began reliving the trauma of her fathers killing as news of the Orlando shooting unfolded. She felt compelled to speak out to help prevent more attacks. The pain of knowing this was happening again in our country to so many families was just too much to bear, she said. She questioned why a majority of senators voted Dec. 3 against a measure that would have prevented people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns. More than 2,000 terror suspects have legally bought guns since 2004, she said. How can we ignore the fact that in this country, we make it easy and legal for dangerous people, including suspected terrorists, to commit unspeakable acts by providing them with easy access to guns? said Meins, with raw pain on her face. I cant wrap my mind around why anyone in Congress finds this acceptable, she said. Re: Unity not division needed after Orlando [Opinion, June 15]: We all have some baggage. Both presumptive nominees of the major parties have a lot. While we are arguing about who has the most, lets not forget that as important as it is to elect a commander in chief, we must also not elect a divider in chief. United we stand, divided we fall is an urgent warning for these perilous times. It becomes clearer each day that one of the candidates cannot stop running their mouths with his reckless rhetoric. His toxic talk is dividing us further than we already are, stoking fear and anger. And anger is one letter from danger. Both candidates have baggage but one candidate needs to take it back onto his personal plane. He must not be allowed to take it onto Air Force One and bring this country down. The win-win solution? Let him and us be winners, and unite most of the country, by asking NBC to take him back. We can all promise to watch The Apprentice so he can enjoy telling us, I have really the hugest ratings ever recorded in the history of the television. John Saville Corona Gun control Re: Pondering responses after Orlando [Opinion, June 16]: Id like to ask gun control advocates for an example of when a ban on something effectively put an end to it? Once upon a time alcohol consumption was considered such a problem in this country that the Constitution was amended to prohibit it. The 18th Amendment did nothing to curtail alcohol consumption; in fact, it gave birth to speakeasies and bootlegging. Likewise, a ban on assault weapons will do nothing to prevent mass shootings. These tragedies reflect the moral disposition of the perpetrator period. As a country, it would be in our best interest to finally have a candid discussion about our nations moral health. It is a critical piece missing from the national conversation. This debate would serve us far better than bickering about gun control. Melissa Bourbonnais Riverside In some parts of the world, when a shark attacks a human, the shark becomes the hunted. Off Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, where in the past five years nearly 20 attacks and seven fatalities have occurred, anti-shark efforts include huge nets and underwater spotters armed with harpoons. Areas of South Africa also have offshore nets and a flag system to alert beachgoers when sharks are lurking nearby. And in Australia, after two deadly shark attacks in a week, a 14-foot shark was captured and killed on a baited drum line. As shark attacks become more common last year was an all-time record for shark attacks worldwide governments and lifeguard agencies are figuring out how to protect the public, sometimes in controversial ways. In Orange County where the most serious shark attack in recent history took place May 29, when a triathalete was seriously injured by what experts believe was a great white the weapon of choice, so far, is information. Since the attack in Corona del Mar, local lifeguards have met with great white experts to learn more about the species. Theyre surveying the coast more carefully and more frequently. And theyre shutting down beaches (at least twice last month) with less provocation. At least one agency, Seal Beach, is using a drone to scan the waters for sharks. Longtime Orange County lifeguards and experts are seeing more sharks than ever before. Former surf champion Ian Cairns is no stranger to coastal waters turning sharky. The Laguna Beach resident grew up in Western Australia, where he never feared sharks, even though he knew some might be nearby. But after deadly attacks in the region 12 since 2000 the attitude is shifting. The whole environment with sharks has changed, Cairns said. Theyve grown big, and theyve grown deadly. I see a real parallel to what is happening here, Cairns added. We never thought about sharks. Now, they are everywhere. Just like off California, where hunting great whites is banned, Australia years ago implemented restrictions on killing great white sharks. Now, the sharks that were saved as juveniles are adults; big, hungry adults. You just have this massive population of great white sharks, Cairns said. Everyones vibe will change really soon when someone gets killed. He remembers visiting his hometown in Perth, Australia, where people would regularly swim and surf. But with the recent deaths in the region, Cairns said people are afraid to get in the water. Someone gets bitten in half, it sort of cuts down on the enthusiasm, he said. In the wake of the two recent attacks, Australias Department of Fisheries patrolled waters and set up shark capture gear. After the first attack, which occurred near where a shark had injured a person just a month earlier, officers trapped a great white. The 14-foot shark died on the baited line, and its carcass was disposed of at sea after scientists had taken measurements and tissue samples, according to sharksmart.com.au, a government-sponsored website dedicated to shark news in Australia. The government is considering re-opening a shark fishery, shut down in 2007, and the regular use of baited drum lines to capture sharks. Baited drum lines were used in the summer of 2014, but the tactic was stopped amid public outcry. While some might argue that the tactic is pointless, Cairns compared it to eliminating a rogue mountain lion that goes on a killing spree, saying authorities would be quick to kill the creature as soon as it becomes a man eater. I love having a healthy marine environment. But is it healthy when one population grows so dramatically? he asks. Its out of balance. Decades ago, shark attacks prompted officials in Sydney, Australia to set up nets off the beach. They did the same in Durban and other areas of South Africa, Cairns said. Some coastal areas in South Africa also have a shark flag system. A red flag means a shark has been spotted, but its exact whereabouts arent currently known. A white flag with a black shark means a shark has been spotted and remains close enough to make it unsafe for humans to be in the water. In Reunion Island, a small island in French territory in the Indian Ocean, officials put a ban on surfing and swimming in 2013 after seven deaths in just a few years. The waters recently re-opened after long nets were installed and underwater lookouts were trained to patrol the shark nets with harpoon guns. The government has also set up smart drum lines, which sends real-time information back to the land. They have tagged 90 bull and tiger sharks in an attempt to track them, and they hope that real-time tracking someday might produce instant alerts that could be issued when sharks approach beaches used by humans. Areas of Australia have started using similar technology. In addition to how governments are responding to attacks, several shark-deterrent products have hit the market in response to the influx of attacks. Sharkbanz uses something the company describes as a magnetic shark repellent technology in a wristband the company claims is an anti-shark device. More recently, the company (after teaming with Australian surf brand Modem) said its developed a new surfboard leash that issues an electromagnetic field that the company says interferes with a sharks electrical sense. A Sharkbanz press release describes the the process like this: This interference reduces the risk of attack by causing inquisitive sharks to flee. The unpleasant experience for the shark is similar to a person suddenly shining a very bright light in another persons eyes in a dark room, Its important to note that Sharkbanz technology does not harm the shark or other nearby marine life. Cost for the product is $180. The press release notes that while the new leash will reduce the risk of shark interactions, it dont promise complete safety. (T)here is no 100 percent guarantee that interactions will not take place. Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com RELATED: CORONA: Shark bite victim: I felt the teeth going into me CORONA DEL MAR: Shark attack victim is fitness trainer from Corona HUNTINGTON BEACH: Shark sighting closes Sunset Beach SHARK: Beaches to reopen today; closed after surfer reports shark bump at Bolsa Chica Ukraine has forwarded an official letter to the United Nations protesting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's remarks about Russia's role in efforts to settle the conflict in Donbas, Ukrainian presidential administration deputy chief Kostiantyn Yeliseyev said. "A few hours ago, a letter was sent to the UN with a request to circulate this letter of protest as an official document of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, respectively," he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday. "An indication that this mistake was recognized, an indication that the UN responded to our ambassador's reaction was that the text of the secretary general's speech at the relevant forum was changed and edited, and it now differs from its initial version," he said. Blue Star was counting money Thursday morning. It was so much cash, she couldnt believe it. I keep counting and counting and counting, she said. Its amazing. In just one day, two LGBT-oriented nightclubs joined a local performing arts venue to put on a fundraiser for the employees of Pulse the club in the city that was the target of a mass shooting where 49 people died and dozens were injured before the gunman was killed by law enforcement. Star said the fundraiser, which included a performance by drag queen Roxy Andrews from RuPauls Drag Race show, netted more than $100,000. Owners of Southern Nights and The Hammered Lamb organized the fundraiser along with Star, who operates The Venue in Orlando, in less than 48 hours. The fundraiser was Wednesday afternoon and went well into the evening. This was people putting a dollar bill in our hands. Or $5 for a raffle ticket, Star said. It was mostly in small amounts. It was just from the people, you know? Pulse, which she estimated had about 50 employees, is still closed since the Sunday massacre and Star said aside from the trauma of the shooting, they need financial help to pay bills while not working. In this industry, a lot of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, Star said. We thought this would be a good way to help. And Parliament House Resort, another gay club in the city, will be hosting a Pulse Bar over the weekend to also help raise money for the employees of the club. Contact the writer: david.montero@langnews.com; @DaveMontero on Twitter Several of San Jacinto High School industrial wood technology instructor Jeff Whittenburgs students have earned accolades at the California State Fair in Sacramento. And while some of the students can return to the competition, its the final contest for Whittenburg. After 23 years as the wood instructor at Monte Vista Middle School and the past 18 at the high school, Whittenburg has retired. Jeff is one of the most influential teachers at SJUSD not only with students, but with all staff, SJUSD superintendent Diane Perez said. His passion for students, combined with his incredible talent, is the reason our woodshop program is the best in the state. The program is well represented at the California State Fair, which for more than 160 years has been showcasing outstanding entries from a variety of competitive exhibits. Student-made projects in industrial and vocational skills were open to any California resident from age 5 through community college. The San Jacinto Unified School District has supported students participation in the fair by providing a furniture moving van to transport them to and from Sacramento. This years student winners, whose works will be on display in Sacramento from July 8 through 24, included Ryan Marquardt for his double seat bench that took Best of Class and Jesus Andrade, who earned a blue ribbon for his cherry rocker and a third-place award for his patio bench. Julia Beeson created a surfboard table that earned her a second-place win. Honorable mentions were given to Danny Herrera for his mission coffee table and Angelo McNealey for a walnut chip and dip bowl. Cordell Smith, a 2015 graduate of San Jacinto High, is currently attending Modesto Junior College and entered three pieces in the state fair competition. The craftsman rocking chair he made for his mothers birthday and took a year and a half to finish received a second-place award. He also made a maple fruit bowl and a display cabinet that also got a second place ribbon. I had little knowledge in wood working before I took the classes, said Smith, 18, who took seven classes in the four years he was with Whittenburg. Taking the wood shop classes I have learned many techniques of fabricating and using new creativity. Whittenburg said he has loved teaching and appreciated the support he always received from administration throughout the years. He is pleased with its choice of Roy Castillo to take over the program. Our district has hired an outstanding young individual with experience in classroom organization, management and curriculum that aligns with our history at San Jacinto High School and extensive furniture background and training, said Whittenburg, 64. Matt Hixson, assistant superintendent of personnel services for the district, said, Roy brings with him a drive to achieve high standards relative to the woodworking craft but also brings an enthusiasm to make woodworking and industrial technology a program that teaches students to be creative well beyond their high school experience. Roy is committed to continuing the hard work and long-term dedication set forth by Jeff Whittenburg, Hixson said. We have the makings of a perfect transition and one that will not only continue the success of an already hugely successful program but one that continues to meet the demands for the future. Contact the writer: dianerhodes.writer@gmail.com The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has indicated that it will consider the restoration of the 25 percent commission for lotto receivers if the party wins the general elections. Acting National Chairman of NPP, Freddie Blay disclosed this when the leadership of the Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana (CLAAG) paid a courtesy call on him at the partys national headquarters at Asylum Down, Accra yesterday. We will seriously consider the 25 percent commission and bring you all under it, because if you are talking about 500,000 people in an industry, you cant wish it away. The association is a non-governmental organization that consists of private lotto writers and agents who work with private lotto operators. Several pleas by the Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana (CLAAG) for government to review the existing law have so far been ignored. Concerns National Coordinator of the association, Kwaku Duah Tawiah, who led group, expressed concerns about the existing law that regulates the lotto industry, adding we are concerned because from 2001 to 2002, the erstwhile Kufuor administration started a move to abolish private lottery in the country. According to him, they were not happy with the development and attempted to persuade government to rescind its decision. He said eventually, the law [Act 722] was enacted in the year 2006. By this law, our members, who were about 2 million Ghanaians, lost their jobs. Underground operations As a result, Mr Duah revealed that most of these persons operate clandestinely which has often resulted in encounters with the police and other security agencies. . We are here to appeal to them that when they come to power, they should reconsider the law to enable us work and pay our taxes since we are also Ghanaians, he added. When I was with a certain lotto company as director of operations, we had 1,700 lotto agents and each one of them had not less than 40 writers, and at that time we had 68,000 people working in that company, apart from an office staff of 348 people, he revealed. Unfortunately, due to the law, the company has now reduced its staff drastically, operating with a 28-man office staff while the whereabouts of the 68,000 workers remain unknown, he added. Party would create jobs Mr Blay said the NPP administration at the time found it necessary to bring lotto operators and the industry under one umbrella and that the law was not deliberately made to render agents and operators jobless but streamline the operations. The NPP acting chairman added: We can see operators, stakers and so forth have gone underground; although the NLA is still in charge, government is not having the full benefit of taxation from the industry. That notwithstanding, weve made it clear that we want to create jobs; it is a policy of the party to make sure that greater percentage of men and women in our country will be in the position to put food on their table to feed their families and take care of other expenses of their families, so we take that one very seriously. Vote wisely He therefore charged lotto operators, agents and writers to vote wisely to get the desired change they seek after the November polls. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video On June 7, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Education launched the distribution of over 4 million books in English and local Ghanaian languages to public primary schools in all 216 districts. The aim is to improve the reading skills of nearly 2.8 million primary school students, enhance education policies and management systems, as well as strengthen parent, school and local government capacity to promote reading. The books will provide more access to reading materials and enrich the reading environment for kindergarten to primary 3 pupils in all of Ghana. U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Robert P. Jackson and Minister of Education, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang delivered remarks to commemorate the official handover of the books. These books will open minds, expand horizons, and introduce millions of primary school children across Ghana to new worlds and opportunities, remarked Ambassador Jackson. A literate, educated population drives development and builds nations. But a 2013 test showed that the vast majority of Ghanaian primary school students are unable to read with fluency. I am happy to report that this is changing. One of the major drivers of this change is the strong partnership between the U.S. Government and the Ghana Ministry of Education. USAID and the Ministry of Education initiated the Partnership for Education: Learning program in 2015. This partnership supports the Government of Ghana to encourage children to develop their reading skills and stimulate parent or guardian interests in early grade reading, both in English and Ghanaian languages. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that there was no winner for the 2015 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership since none of the leaders considered met the criteria. The announcement was made following a meeting of the independent Prize Committee chaired by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim. The award was instituted in 2006 by Sudanese telecom tycoon, Mo Ibrahim, as an incentive to promote good governance on the continent and also to encourage African leaders to leave office when their term limit is due. The award is also a standard for excellence in leadership in Africa, and not a first prize, there is not necessarily a Laureate every year, the foundation said. The last winner, for the 2014 edition, was former Namibia President Hifikepunye Pohamba, whom Dr. Salim described then as having demonstrated sound and wise leadership while maintaining his humility throughout his Presidency. The Foundation has awarded four leaders since its inauguration in 2006 namely: President Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), President Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008), and President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007). Nelson Mandela was the inaugural Honorary Laureate in 2007. Commenting on the decision of the Prize Committee, Mo Ibrahim, Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said the board respects the decision of the Independent Prize Committee. When we launched the Prize ten years ago, we deliberately set a very high bar. He continued, We want the Prize to shine a spotlight on outstanding leadership to provide role models right across society, as well as supporting Laureates to continue to serve the continent by sharing their wisdom and experience. In 2009 and 2010, there were no winners but South Africas Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded $1 million special prize for his lifelong commitment towards "speaking truth to power" in 2012. The candidates for the Ibrahim Prize are all former African Executive Heads of State or Government who have left their office during the last three calendar years, having been democratically elected and served their constitutionally mandated term. The Prize Committee meets on a regular basis to review eligible candidates and has begun considering candidates for the 2016 Ibrahim Prize, the foundation announced. The winner gets $5m over 10 years and $200,000 a year for life. There were no winners in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Source: Reuters 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 Police in the Ashanti Region have arrested one a 28-year old woman, for allegedly masterminding a robbery that led to the death of a police officer, Corporal Frank Essel, in May, at the Open Space Hotel at Denkyehmouso, Kumasi. The woman, identified as Abena Serwaa, is believed to have contracted the two robbers who carried out the robbery at the hotel. The suspects robbed victims of their valuables, shot and killed the police corporal, and injured a male receptionist at the hotel. The Police subsequently placed a GHc 5,000 bounty on the killers of Corporal Essel who are on the run. Addressing journalists today [Monday], the Deputy Ashanti Police Commander, ACP Ampofo Duku, revealed that Abena Serwaa specifically directed the robbers to some occupants of the hotel, who she believed were carrying large sums of money. ACP Ampofo Duku also revealed that the items found on Abena Serwaa when she was arrested, included an amount of GHc1,487, substances believed to be marijuana and medical supplies she claimed she uses for a business. The police say they are hopeful Abena Serwaa will assist them to arrest the two who committed the robbery and also killed the police officer. Source: citifmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Bodies of migrants, including children who were abandoned by people smugglers while trying to reach neighbouring Algeria were found in the Niger desert last week, authorities said Wednesday, June 15. "Thirty-four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children died trying to cross the desert, Nigers interior ministry said in a statement."They probably died of thirst, as is often the case, and they were found near Assamaka, a security source said, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria. The migrants were abandoned by people smugglers, the statement added, and only two of the bodies have so far been identified a man and a 26-year-old woman both from Niger. Two unidentified Europe-bound Nigerians were among the dead. The nationalities of other victims are yet to be revealed. Temperatures in the desolate region can reach a brutal 42 degrees Celsius, with blinding sandstorms tearing across the desert. The hostile conditions mean that only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found. Thousands of illegal migrants have arrived in Algeria in recent years, mostly from neighbouring Mali and Niger. Libya used to play host to the majority of migrants in sub-Saharan Africa, but since that country descended into chaos following the ousting of Moamer Kadhafi, Algeria has become the main destination for the regions migrants. Many transit through Algeria headed for Europe, but more than 7,000 migrants from Niger, mostly women and children, were returned to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries governments. Europe has recently turned its attention to trying to curb the number of illegal arrivals from Africa, after a deal with Ankara in March slashed the number of people trying to cross from Turkey. 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 ECOWAS Community Court, has ordered Ghana to pay $ 250,000 in compensation to the family of Augustine Chukwuebuka Ogukwe, 15, a Nigerian Student, who died in a swimming incident on October 2013 in Ghana. The Court said that the compensation is for the failure of the Ghanas police to carry out a proper investigation into the death of the student thereby failing in its obligation to protect and defend all persons within its territory. According to a release from the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, Mr Obioma Ogukwe, father of the deceased had brought an action in which he alleged that he was given an autopsy report issued by the Ghana Police Hospital without his consent or knowledge, which revealed that the basic cause of death was drowning while the direct cause was asphyxia by submersion. Led in evidence by Femi Adedeji, the plaintiff also alleged that the physical appearance, contrary to the Autopsy report, showed evidence of torture on the body and the wounds on his face and sides, which he said were evidence of beating, torture, and gruesome murder. The suit filed in February 2014, the plaintiff claimed that Ghana neither took steps to investigate the matter nor to set up a Coroner Inquest to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of the deceased and prosecute any person found culpable in violation of the countrys obligations under international human rights instruments. Consequently, Mr. Adedeji submitted that the right to life of the plaintiffs son had been violated by the State. But Counsel to the Defendant, Mrs Dorothy Afriyie-Ansah submitted that given the peculiar circumstances of the death of Master Austine Ogukwe where no finger prints could be taken, nobody saw how it happened and the tip off was from an unknown informant, no arrest could have been effected. She refuted the claims that the State failed or refused to investigate the matter and to conduct a coroners inquest to unravel the strange occurrence, but that a report of full scale investigation had been submitted to the office of the Attorney General for advice. She then contended that the plaintiff was not entitled to his claim for compensation for a death caused by drowning and not unlawful causes. Mr Justice Micah Wilkins Wright, delivering judgment, acknowledged that though the defendant may not be liable for acts of private institutions operating in its territory, the State has a duty to protect all persons in its territory and to properly investigate or institute an inquiry and punish all acts of violence and violations committed in its territory. The judges also noted the defendants failure to provide evidence in support of its argument, including the documentation of the crime scene, to explain the marks on the body of the deceased, which could have been as a result of several factors. The late Augustine, who was until the tragedy a Student of Ideal College, Tema near the countrys capital was said to have died during a jogging exercise involving 45 other students who later went swimming. Also on the panel were Justices Friday Chijioke Nwoke and Alioune Sall. 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 Poroshenko: 10,000 people have died, 20,000 were injured as a result of Russian aggression The Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine has resulted in killing of 10,000 people and left twice as many injured, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said. "Almost 10,000 people have been killed, 20,000 injured, 1.8 million internally displaced," Poroshenko said in Kyiv on Friday, when speaking about the results of Russian aggression in Donbas. The Flagbearer of the largest opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo Addo has appealed to the people of the Central Region to vote massively for the party and himself to enable the NPP win the upcoming elections. He made the request when he visited the Agona East (Kwanyako) and Agona West (Swedru) constituencies as part of his five-day tour of the region which started yesterday (Thursday). Describing the region as a kingmaker, Nana Akufo Addo urged the people of the region to return the NPP to power adding that, that is the only way Ghana will be restored back on the right path of development. This year, we are pleading with people from this region (Central Region) to vote massively for the NPP. The party that wins the region convincingly is sure to produce the next president. Do us that good of voting for me and the NPP to be in power for the next four years to bring the development we so much desire for Ghana. Nana Akufo Addo also assured the chiefs in the two areas that supporters of the NPP will guard against using foul language during the electioneering campaign. Source: kasapafmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Convention Peoples' Party's presidential candidate Ivor Greenstreet says he sees nothing wrong with President Mahama receiving a gift from a Burkinabe contractor after he had been awarded two contracts from government. I dont have a feeling that there is a breach of protocol or conflict of interest he explained in an interview on Joy News Thursday. He dismissed talks about impeaching president John Mahama as ridiculous after two lawyers argued that the president has breached Article 284 of the Constitution. The conditional provision states that matters that may bring the office of the President into public ridicule and even matters that subject the whole country to embarrassment are grounds for impeachment. Legal practitioner Kwame Boateng Acheampong and Prof Ken Attafuah have condemned the president for accepting the 2010 edition Ford Expedition gift in 2012. But Ivor Greenstreet has described calls for the impeachment of his good brother as ridiculous. He said a government statement reacting to the expose was explanatory enough to quell any perception of wrong-doing. They have explained themselves the CPP Presidential candidate maintained. Ivor Greenstreet argued that the Ford Expedition was not a secret gift nor was it given in the night. It was a properly documented generosity, he indicated. Ivor Greenstreet suggested that in view of the noises made so far, it would be difficult for him to make a donation to the bereaved president because it could misconstrued. A code of ethics for ministers and political appointees launched in July 2013 by President Mahama expressly forbids them to receive any item valued more than 200 cedis or $50. The Ford Expedition is valued at about $100,000. Presidential advisor on corruption, Daniel Batidam, before the expose, explained that it amounts to conflict of interest and corruption for a public officer to take a gift of comparable value. Source: Joy News 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 NDC pressure group, Young Cadres has warned journalists to desist from depicting Ghana as a cheap country to the international world. This comes after the brouhaha of President John Dramni Mahamas alleged car gift from a Burkina Bay contractor. Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure in a latest investigation claims President John Dramani Mahama (then Vice President) was presented with a new Ford Expedition vehicle as a gift by a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, purportedly for helping him to secure contracts for fencing Ghanas embassy in Burkina Faso and also winning a 46.4km European Union funded Dodo-Pepesu Road Contract. Government communicators have denied strongly the gift as bribe but have confirmed the car is being used for governmental purposes. However, the group in a statement described journalists who intend to tarnish the presidents reputation as impish For any journalist to suggest that the President of our nation will accept a car bribe is the height of mischief and ridiculousness, Bright Botchway said in a statement copied to Peacefmonline.com Read below the full statement Ghana is not cheap, and our journalists must not make the nation appear so. Our nation is not rich, but we are far advanced and richer than Burkina Faso and most countries in Africa. For any journalist to suggest that the President of our nation will accept a car bribe is the height of mischief and ridiculousness. Our national ethics and respect for authority are gradually being trampled upon, all in the name of free speech and a liberalized media environment, and those held as the conscience of the state must speak up. In a rather bizarre happening that stands against our traditional customs and cultural practices, Manasseh Azure, a purported investigative journalist, and his Multimedia ltd. released a so-called investigative report against the President, on a morning when the first gentleman of the land had lost his mother. At least common sense and courtesy will dictate to us that the worst one can do to even his enemy, in times of grief, is to commiserate with him and celebrate or add salt to his wounds. Manasseh Azuri and his Multimedia rather decided to throw custom and common sense to the dogs and came public with this hastily-packaged and biased report. This so-called investigative report purports to indict His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for engaging in corruption by accepting a vehicle gift from a Burkinabe contractor. How low can we come as a nation? Young Cadres, as an association, will want the public to avert our minds to some historical antecedents in relation to gifts. First, it is a historical fact that the Peduase Lodge was a gift from the contractor of the Tema Harbour to the first President of our dear nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who in turn donated it to the state. Former President Kuffuor received vehicle gifts from the ex-Libyan President, Col. Muammar Qathafi, who in turn donated it to the state of Ghana. It is this same trend that President Mahama followed when he received this Ford Expedition vehicle gift from the Burkinabe businessman. After receiving this gift, the President simply gave it to the state which was then added to the state vehicle pool. Now out of pure mischief and a deliberate attempt to soil the hard-won reputation of President Mahama, Manasseh Azure is impugning corruption into this whole issue. For the avoidance of doubt, every President in this world receives gifts. In order not to cause diplomatic row or to offend the sensibilities of the giver of the gifts, such gifts are accepted and then handed over to the state, in most jurisdictions. Because there is always the tendency to link such gifts to corruption, the United States of America, for instance, has instituted laws that require its Presidents to hand over gifts to the State Department anytime they receive such presents. We, as a nation, are yet to get there but we will. We will want to take this opportunity to sound a word of caution to Manasseh Azure and his paymasters that President Mahama is incorruptible and will not stoop so low to accept a mere Ford Expedition with a view to offering contracts in return. The President, even before ascending the highest throne of this land, had more than enough to afford the most expensive vehicles there is to buy. The President does not need a Ford Expedition for anything. In their haste to paint the President corrupt, Manasseh and his backers have forgotten that this same President is the one who has been accused of buying V8 vehicles for officials of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). How does someone who gifts V8 vehicles accept a relatively cheaper 2010 Ford Expedition as a gift? This is a President whose junior brother is so wealthy that he is able to buy an aircraft for his company. Is the President so cheap as to accept a USD30,000 - 40,000 vehicle for his personal use? In the name of politics, if journalists would want to sell their conscience and sacrifice the truth, Ghanaians are watching. Manasseh Azure and Multimedia can close their eyes to the massive development President Mahama has initiated in this country in the areas of health, real estate, transport and education among others; they can keep on carrying out their smear campaign against the President; they can continue with their evil campaign to unseat President Mahama and install their septuagenarian darling Akufo Addo. But they should know that, it is only God who installs kings and not men. Long live Ghana Long live NDC Long live YCA 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 Business and commercial activity came to a complete standstill in the Agona West, Gomoa Central and Gomoa West constituencies of the Central Region, when the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Thursday, June 16, visited the constituencies on day 1 of his 5-day tour of the region. With news filtering into Swedru, in Agona West, of his arrival, Nana Akufo-Addo was met by thousands of residents who lined the principal streets of Swedru to catch a glimpse of the NPP flagbearer and listen to his message of hope ahead of the conduct of this years election, amidst chants of yeresesamu, afi yi y wafi. In the company of the NPPs parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Cynthia Morrison, the NPP flagbearer first paid a courtesy call on Nana Aseidu Kobina Botwe II, Chief of Agona Swedru, before moving to the Swedru Central Market to interact with market women, traders, business owners and commercial drivers. With complaint after complaint bordering on the unfavourable economic conditions prevailing in the country, which has resulted in collapsed businesses, rising cost of living, high prices of food commodities, amongst others, the clarion call by the Swedru market women was for a change in government so they could have relief. The NPP flagbearer, on his part, acknowledged the difficult conditions facing Ghanaian businesses under the Mahama government, assuring that his Akufo-Addo government, God-willing from January 2017, will make Ghana work again. There is hardship everywhere and the Ghanaian is suffering. But we can change this. I am asking for your vote, so we can change Ghana and bring jobs for our unemployed youth. For you, market women, a change in government will also mean an opportunity for the monetary system in Ghana to be fixed so you can also get back on your feet again. Ghana, a land filled with an abundance of human and natural resources, was not destined to be a poor country. We can do something about our circumstances, and that can only come about when I have your vote and your support, he said. According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the Mahama government has shown that it is incompetent and cannot be trusted to do the job. Be it businesses or agriculture, every aspect of the economy is in tatters. I am coming to fix all of this. I am going to assemble an array of talented men and women who will fix the economy, so we can bring relief, wealth and prosperity to every part of Ghana. He urged the electorate to vote for the NPPs candidate for the constituency, Cynthia Morrison, with the assurance that we are bringing jobs into Agona West, and to the country. Visit to Gomoa Central Nana Akufo-Addos next port of call was the Gomoa Central constituency, where he visited Abosso and Gomoa Lome. There also, hundreds of ecstatic residents abandoned their business activities in a bid to catch a glimpse of the NPP flagbearer and welcome him into the constituency. Addressing a durbar of Chiefs at Gomoa Lome, in the presence of a large crowd of residents, he explained that bad governance is the reason why every Ghanaian, in every part of the country is experiencing untold levels of hardship, and therefore it is imperative that Ghanaians get a c I want residents of Gomoa Lome to help push me and the NPP into Jubilee House. We are not coming into office because we want to steal your money or laud ourselves over Ghanaians. We are coming into office to serve, work hard and bring prosperity to all. That is why we, in the NPP, are in politics, he added. According to Akufo-Addo, there will be no politics of discrimination along the lines of political, ethnic or religious affiliations, under his government. There wont be a situation, as is the case now, where because youre an NPP member, your cocoa farm will not be sprayed, or you will not get cocoa seedlings. That is not the kind of work we are coming to do. We are coming to work for everybody, he indicated, to a rousing applause from the gathering. Just as he had done in Agona West, Nana Akufo-Addo urged the electorate to vote for the partys parliamentary candidate for Gomoa Central, Naana Eyiah Quansah, describing her as an able advocate for the people of the constituency. In concluding, the NPP flagbearer, experiencing at firsthand the deplorable nature of the road network in the constituency assured constituents that his administration will fix the roads in the constituency. Return Gomoa West to NPP Nana Akufo-Addo rounded off day 1 of his tour with a visit to Gomoa Dawurampong, in the Gomoa West constituency, where indicated that his government was going to build on the legacy of success of the government of President Kufuor. With the NPP having once held the seat, with Hon. Joe Kingsley Hackman as Member of Parliament, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed the need for Gomoa West to go back to the NPP in this years elections. He therefore urged the electorate in the constituency to repose their faith and confidence in the NPPs candidate for the constituency, Alex Abban, who, incidentally, also passed through Nana Akufo-Addos law firm. The NPP flagbearer was accompanied on his tour of the constituencies by NPP Central Regional Chairman, Robert Kutin, and other NPP Central regional executives; Prof. Dominic Fobih, former Minister for Education and NPP MP for Assin South; Hon. Kwamena Bartels, former Minister in several portfolios under President Kufuor, and also a former Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North; amongst others. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Several members of state and government appointees are expected to join President Mahama in his hometown as he buries his late mother today. The funeral is expected to attract a huge crowd but Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr. Kwesi Pratt has warned government officials not to abandon works at their offices just to attend the funeral service. Abiba Nnaba, mother of the president died on Tuesday evening at the SSNIT Hospital in Accra after a prolonged illness but managing editor of the Insight newspaper has warned government officials that with equally important work to be done, it would be a squander of industrious time to mourn with the president instead of working. Speaking on Peacefms flagship show Kokrooko, Mr. Kwesi Pratt stated that he fears by noon, the progress of Ghana would be standstill because several ministers would not work today and travel all the way to the Northern part of the country to support President Mahama. If we dont take care by afternoon, there will not be a single minister at work in Accra; the same with the Military and Police hierarchy; of them will want to show love to the President. If the President has appointed you a Minister and you want to help him, its not your presence at the ceremony that matters, rather you should do your work well so that Ghana develops, and that will help the President rather than following him up north for the funeral, he advised. He ended by suggesting that if youre the IGP focus on your work so that country remains safe and peaceful; that is more important than attending this funeral ceremony. We should not bring this country to a stand still simply because the Presidents mother is being buried today. We should all do our work well. They attending this funeral is unnecessary lets remain in Accra and work for mother Ghana,that is my humble view. 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 Well, this is just heartbreaking. A Queensland schoolgirl felt compelled to create a Change.org petition (with the help of her Mum) asking for community support to demand her high school takes a stronger stance against the bullies she says torment her on a daily basis. Dysart State High School student Tayla Sekhmet, who is almost 13, called the petition School bullying is killing me, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP, which kicks us square in the guts tbh. Im the most unpopular kid at school and people make my life a living hell, she writes. Every day people call me fatso, weirdo, ugly, freak, and tell me I should kill myself. Ive been pushed to the ground, had people go through my bag, or break my scooter when I rode it to school. Even people in other grades who I dont know do these things to me too. Tayla even claims that one boy continues to sexual harrass me yet, despite apparently broaching the bullying with the school, hasnt been offered sufficient support. I have told my teachers many times, my mum has called the school, and I have had school meetings. None of this is helping, Ive been told to just ignore these people, but I cant take it anymore. The petition has received a huggggggeeeeee outpouring of support, smashing past its goal of 30,000 signatories overnight its now well on its way to 50,000 (it was at 40,000 at the time of writing), while Change.orgs comms director Gary Nunn tweeted the petition is one of the most powerful hed seen. Taylas plan is to deliver the petition to the school and Queensland education minister Kate Jones in the hope it prompts stronger action against schoolyard bullies. Her mum Kali recently updated the petition with a note to thank everyone for their overwhelming support of her daughters plea. Yesterday, when Tayla was reading through all the comments you all have written, she cried. She couldnt believe that so many people could care about -in her words- a insignificant freak like me, she says. Tayla says she is going to print out every comment made on her petition and fill her entire wall with them. She reads every one. And she is especially sad to see that so many others are experiencing the same bullying. I know that you are all random strangers on the internet and we will never meet, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for signing this petition, because you have changed my daughters life forever. OH GOD BRING IT IN. PEDESTRIAN.TV reached out to Dysart State High School but it declined to comment. You can support Kaylas petition by chucking it your signature HERE. We already have. Photo: Kali Sekhmet. If youre having a tough time and feel like you need to have a chat to someone, reach out to the friendly folks at Headspace.org.au: in person, via online chat, or by calling them on 1800 650 890. Oh, #AusPol. You funny, funny little bugger. The giant election campaign of 2016 already seems like its been going on forever, and we still have two whole weeks left. So many overwhelming opinions! So much conflicting information! So many politicians saying purposely inflammatory things to get more media coverage! (Soz.) It gets tiring. So, if your local MP has done something a bit crap, or if a particular pollie hurts your soul every time they open their mouths (Oh hey Cory Bernardi, what up?), you now have a solution. Send them a ball gag! Duh. Theres now a company, Gag Your MP, that will send the pollie of your choice a ball gag for the low, low price of $14.99. See below for verification of this inane, yet endearing start-up business: If only @realdepp (or his dogs) had been able to send @Barnaby_Joyce one of these last year pic.twitter.com/RDmB4rULhW Gag Your MP (@GagYourMP) April 18, 2016 While some of packaging and posters look a bit rough, would you say your main concern when couriering asphyxiation sex toys to politicians is professional-looking, tasteful signage? Probably not. The message is the important part. If youre thinking to yourself, What in the ever-loving FUCK? Is this serious?, then the brains behind GYMP (was this acronym on purpose?), Tyler Hamilton, has that answered for you too: He says that he started the business after someone joked that they should send Cory Bernardi a buttplug, to stop him talking out his arse: The project started during the Safe Schools debate, when Cory Bernardi would have a new homophobic argument against the program each day. I had read online about somebody wanting to send him a buttplug to stop him talking out of his arse. I thought it was a great idea. I was hoping that by allowing people to send these, it would be more of a message to our politicians that people are unhappy with what they are saying. So far we have sent a few to Cory Bernardi, one to Peter Dutton, Barnaby Joyce. Somebody just bought a golden ball gag to send to Donald Trump about 15 minutes ago. So, there you have it. Look, Malcolm Continuity and Change Turnbull asked for growth, jobs and innovation in small business, did he not? If youd like to present a ball gag to the pollie of your choice, you can by visiting: gagyourmp.com Source: Gag Your MP. By now youve probably read about the 2-year-old dragged into the water and drowned by an alligator near Disneys Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida. The 2-year-old boy identified as Lane Graves, holidaying with his family from Nebraska were enjoying Movie Night at the resort when the reptile snatched him from the shallow waters of the manmade Seven Seas Lagoon at about 9:20pm local time. The childs father apparently rushed into the shallow water in a desperate attempt to wrestle the boy from the gator believed to be between 1.2 and 2 metres long but was unsuccessful, triggering a search and rescue mission that ended with the recovery of his body about 18 hours later. Its a tragic accident in anyones book, but there are still plenty of people judging Lanes parents for allowing him near a lagoon flagged with No Swimming signs in a state where an estimated 1.3 million wild gators roam free. Now a mum-of-three has come out in their defence, posting a series of pics that show her own son Channing at the edge of the same lagoon at about 8:45pm, just 30 mins before Lane was taken; her point being that she had no reason to believe the water was dangerous, and that randos have no right to parent-shame his distraught mum and dad. Jennifer Venditti Roye said Channing was running back and forth between the lagoon and the resorts water slide all night, as were plenty of other kids. I can assure you alligators were not on my mind at all when Channing was in the water, she writes in her post, which has since gone viral. Its a tiny beach, surrounded by pools, water slides, a restaurant and a fire pit. I cant conceive that an alligator would be in such a busy, small space. There is a time to be critical when parents are doing drugs and their children get hurt, she added to PEOPLE. But this is just not the time. Its heartbreaking. All beaches and marinas at Disney World remain closed until further notice, and Disney has said its conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols. That will include the number, placement and wording of signs and warnings in the area; while No Swimming signs were posted at the lagoon, none warned of gators. Our thoughts go out to Lanes family. Source: Fox News. Photo: Facebook / Jennifer Venditti. Ah no. Nonononono. Andrew Bolt has referred to the 75 or so religious leaders and prominent Islamic Australians who dined at Kirribilli House last night as Malcolm Turnbulls pets. Turnbull, as you may already know, hosted a number of prominent Muslims at Kirribilli House last night at an Iftar dinner, to mark the holy month of Ramadan. Guests included Waleed Aly (who later interviewed Turnbull), wife Susan Carland, head of the Australian Multicultural Foundation Hass Dellal, Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi, AFL star Bachar Houli and Islamic youth advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied. It did not include right-wing commentator Andrew Bolt, who must be feeling pretty salty about being left off the guest list this morning, for he wrote in his blog: Turnbull dines with pet Muslims. He later corrected his headline. Turnbull dines with pet Muslims. UPDATE: Plus a breast-hanging anti-gay sheikh. Do do you think Bolt doesnt like Muslim people? Bolts ire stems from Turnbull being seated to what he calls the most media-friendly but unrepresentative Muslims he can find. i.e. Waleed Aly and Susan Carland on his right, and youth advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied on his left, whom Bolt calls a Q&A favourite. This seating arrangement is designed not to present Islam as it really is in Australia but as Turnbull would like us to believe, writes Bolt. And it is designed above all to add lustre to Turnbull himself. Look, cant fault you there, Andy. Adding lustre is kinda Malcs thing. But that isnt his *only* thing. One of the attendees was Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, who was once recorded on video preaching that homosexuality was an evil act which brought evil outcomes such as HIV and Aids. And Turnbull took no issue with condemning these comments. Acts of terror like Sundays massacre in Orlando are perpetrated to divide us along lines of race, religion, sect and sexuality but that kind of hatred and division must not prevail, he said in his speech. We must stand together like we do tonight as one Australian family united against terrorism, racism, discrimination and violence. And Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman later *also* rejected these comments, issuing a statement after the dinner. I have previously noted passages in the holy Quran which do not support homosexuality. However I always follow such statements with a personal commitment to tolerance and encourage that all Muslims and all people approach all individuals, no matter their faith, race or sexuality, in a considerate and respectful way, he said. So how about those pets. Source / Photo: News Corp. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. A few days ago, an 11 million signature-strong petition was delivered to the Chinese government, calling for them to ban Yulins notorious dog meat festival. In case youve been tuned out to that particular fest, the annual event sees thousands upon thousands of pups slaughtered and eaten. Yeah. The push against it, which features the co-signs of Ricky Gervais and Ian Somerhalder, claims its a straight-up brutal celebration that doesnt really have a place in the modern world. Heres some footage captured last year, but fair warning: its pretty confronting. Well, in response to the growing influx of opposition, vendors on the scene claim hub-bub has actually boosted interest in the June 21 event. Read: actual dog-meat butchers are thanking the massive backlash for getting hungry punters interested in the whole deal. According to AFP, the owner of the honest-to-God Yulin Number One Crackling Dog Meat Shop said my stores dog-meat sales are much higher than before, last year was up more than 50 percent. Because of the protests, more people know that Yulin has a dog meat festival, so everyone comes and tries it. As we get closer to the dog meat festival, all Yulins hotels are completely full. Thats one of many similar claims among vendors. Hell, even the owners of animal shelters in the region are rallying against outside interference. One claims the international outrage amounts to little more than unintentional sabotage that only encourages locals to stand up for the tradition which was only started in a few years back. Essentially, we might just be looking at the largest and most uncomfortable example of the Streisand Effect ever seen. As for the practice itself? Well, a truck full of 400 slaughterhouse-bound animals some still wearing pet collars was intercepted last month by animal rights activists. Humane Society International estimates that elsewhere in the city, about 300 dogs are killed for food each day. The Yulin government has pledged to ban the slaughter of the dogs in public, but because Chinas animal rights laws only cover endangered animals, they cant outright stop the practice behind closed doors. FWIW, HSI claim the interest unintentionally spurred by the #StopYulin campaign has been overblown, and theyre working to frame dogs as pets, and pets only an increasingly attractive prospect in a nation with a rapidly-growing middle class, who now have the means to keep puppers as furry friends. It looks like the fest is still going ahead this year, though. If you have a doggo of your own, now might be a decent time to give it a cuddle. Source: Hong Kong Foreign Press / CNBC / South China Morning Post. Photo: Barcroft Media / Getty. Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has met with U.S. Senator John McCain during a visit to the United States on Thursday, June 16. The officials discussed reform implementation and anti-corruption efforts made in Ukraine, the information and public relations department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported on Friday night. "We are doing the utmost to fight corruption effectively," Groysman was quoted in the statement. Groysman told McCain about the first steps taken by the government over the time since it has been formed. He spoke about the introduction of a common market price for natural gas, the launch of public privatization of state enterprises, the process of deregulation and anti-corruption activities. The Ukrainian prime minister thanked the senator for his clear position in support of Ukraine "during hard historical times in the country." Groysman also said that judicial reform started in Ukraine after the parliament has amended the Constitution of Ukraine in the part of justice. The prime minister added that the Ukrainian government continued cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. The prime minister stressed that the Ukrainian army and its arms needed to be modernized. He also informed the senator about the situation in Donbas. In turn, McCain reaffirmed his support for Ukraine on its way of reform implementation and condemned Russian aggression. Buzzwords have been spurting out of this federal election campaign since day dot innovation and choices, anyone? but very few terms have been bandied about as much as negative gearing. Oh yes, the system that allows property investors to just write off their losses, thereby encouraging them to, uh, buy more property, has been the topic of heated (read: frothing, frantic and livid) discussion for yonks. That being said, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten have used the lead-up to the July 2 election to make sure every human being on this big ol island know exactly where they stand on the issue. While Labor have stated theyll amend the system to pad the governments coffers and maybe, just maybe loosen investors stranglehold on the housing market, the Coalition have been deadset in defending the scheme. Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison have gone as far to say any meddling would cause a disturbance in the financial force thatd make life harder for bang-average, middle-class mum and dad investors. Labors negative gearing policy has some nasty consequences for every day mum & dad investors trying to get ahead. pic.twitter.com/fA5fxdWjze Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) February 15, 2016 In an April interview, Turnbull said there are well over a million Australians who have an investment property, most of whom are on average earnings, who have an investment property and they are negatively gearing it. Well, heres the thing: the ABC have just obtained documents from the Treasury itself, showing more than half of negative gearings tax breaks go to the top 20% of income earners. The docs themselves read negative gearing benefits high-income families, which was already known, but seeing that statement alongside another stat the bottom 20% of earners only take 5% of the negative gearing tax benefits somewhat diminishes the concept of humble middle-class investors comprising the bulk of negative gearers. And, even if they do somehow comprise the numerical majority of investors, they sure as hell aint taking the majority of tax breaks. The whole issue of negative gearing was largely absent from tonights leadership debate, but oh boy, itll be interesting to see what tactics each side uses in the light of this one. POLITICS. What a wonderful thing. Source: ABC. Photo: Glenn Hunt / Getty. Orrstown Bank Orrstown Bank announced earlier this year that it had purchased this facility in Swatara Twp. The bank has announced it is expanding into Berks County. (Photo provided.) It looks like Orrstown Bank is on the move again. Orrstown Bank will open its first financial services office in Berks County at 1100 Berkshire Blvd. in Wyomissing. The office is expected to open in July. Orrstown Bank will occupy approximately 3,000 square feet of space. Initially, the facility will house members of the bank's trust and wealth management group, Orrstown Financial Advisors, and will provide both office and customer meeting space. Other business lines are expected to join the location over time. The newest location is part of the firm's strategic plan, and the bank plans future expansion, the company said in a press release. The announcement of the bank's entrance into Berks County comes after the bank purchased facilities in Dauphin and Cumberland Counties earlier this year. The bank also opened a commercial lending office in Lancaster County last month. Orrstown Bank announced that it had purchased an office building in Swatara Twp. at 4750 Lindle Road from the Hospital & Health System Association of Pennsylvania. That building will serve as a regional facility that will be used to support the bank's expansion into Dauphin, York and Lancaster counties, the bank said earlier this year. The Lindle Road location is undergoing interior renovations for the areas that the bank will be occupying. Some areas of the building are occupied by tenants. Bank officials are hoping to open the offices at that facility in August. Orrstown Bank also announced the purchase of a facility earlier this year from Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage at 4075 Market St. in Hampden Twp. The building at 4075 Market St. is the planned space for a retail location in addition to a space for commercial and business lenders as well as mortgage lenders and wealth and investment advisers. The bank plans to close its branch at 3045 Market St. in Camp Hill and relocate it to the new building in Hampden Twp. when it opens. The new facility in Hampden Twp. is expected to open in August. In May, the bank opened a new financial services office in Manheim Twp., Lancaster County. The space at 1800 Fruitville Pike serves as a base of operations for the bank's Lancaster region commercial lending team. Representatives of Orrstown's trust and wealth management business, Orrstown Financial Advisors will also work out of the space. Orrstown Bank is based in Shippensburg and has 21 locations in Cumberland, Franklin, Perry and Lancaster counties and one in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are "snapshots" of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving. The following restaurants and other establishments in Lebanon County that handle food were inspected during the week of May 22-28 and were recorded as of June 8. READ MORE: READ MORE: May 25 THE CHEF'S CORNER AT THE BEHNEY HOUSE HOTEL 2 W. MAIN ST., MYERSTOWN Change-of-owner inspection. Food employee was donning single-use gloves without a prior hand wash; food contact surface of plastic lids and containers were split and not smooth or easily cleanable. May 24 PRICE RITE LEBANON VALLEY MALL 2231 LEBANON VALLEY MALL, LEBANON Regular inspection. Outside trash receptacle is leaking onto the ground and not in good repair; two dock doors have gaps, allowing light from the outside to show through to the inside and do not protect against the entry of insects and rodents. WENDY'S #1930 1490 E. LEHMAN ST., LEBANON Regular inspection. Plastic containers had cracks, splitting and blistered surfaces that are difficult to sanitize; build-up of grease behind the fryers at the floor/wall juncture. May 23 CASSEL'S CAFE & BAKERY 2838 HORSESHOE PIKE, CAMPBELLTOWN Regular inspection. A utility sink or curbed cleaning facility with a floor drain is not provided in the food facility; food facility lost its certified food employee more than three months ago and has not replaced the certified food employee as required. Establishments with no violations. May 24 SIMPLY DELISH 10 S. RAILROAD ST., MYERSTOWN Regular inspection. No violations. THOUSAND TRAILS HERSHEY - MHC THOUSAND TRAILS LP 493 S. MOUNT PLEASANT ROAD, LEBANON Regular inspection. No violations. May 23 SPEEDWAY #06766 2949 HORSESHOE PIKE, P.O. BOX 27, CAMPBELLTOWN Change-of-owner inspection. No violations. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are "snapshots" of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving. The following restaurants and other establishments in Dauphin County that handle food were inspected during the week of May 22-28 and were recorded as of June 8. READ MORE: READ MORE: May 28 POOR DADDY'S at MARKET ON CHOCOLATE TFF TYPE 1 21 W. Caracas, Hershey Regular inspection. Hand sani-wipes and hand gel are not immediately available for use if needed. May 27 CONKLIN FARMS LLC at OPEN AIR MARKET 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Regular inspection. Bags of cut lettuces stored directly on top of cartons of eggs inside a cooler; egg labels do not contain a "not classified" statement. DUNKIN DONUTS - BOARDWALK 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Deflector shield on ice dispenser for fountain-soda unit has residue accumulations; paint on concrete floor is peeling and worn, making the surface not easily cleaned. EL GALLITO MEXICAN BAKERY III 216 N. FRONT ST., STEELTON Follow-up inspection. (Original report, April 21, 2016) Numerous prepackaged food items are not labeled properly with the name of product, ingredient statement and distributed-by statement; unpackaged food items do not have placards or easily accessible ingredient listing available for consumer review (guidelines provided); trash receptacles outside the food facility not in immediate use are not covered properly. MOTHER KLUCKER'S PIES AND CAKES at OPEN AIR MARKET 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Opening inspection. Ingredient, sub-ingredients, and allergens are not available upon request. SCHENKS BAKERY 1061 N. MOUNTAIN ROAD, HARRISBURG Regular inspection. Hand-wash sink blocked with baking sheets at time of inspection; observed a pest control container with loose bait, which is not approved for food service. UNCLE CRABBY'S at SATURDAY'S MARKET 3751 HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN Type 2 follow-up inspection. (Original reports, March 30, 2016, and April 28, 2016) Chemical spray bottles do not have a label or name to identify the product; thermometer is not available for the refrigeration unit at the stand area; food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. WRIGHTS NUT HUT 100 HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Hand-wash sink in the prep area was blocked by coffee pot and not accessible at all times for employee use. May 26 CENTRAL PA'S KOSHER MART 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Raw wood surfaces are exposed at front counter under serving window. MCDONALDS 1123 2270 W. HARRISBURG PIKE, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspection. Chemical spray bottles hanging on the same shelf as condiments in the kitchen area; ice on the ceiling, shelves, and boxes of food in the walk-in freezer; accumulation of pink residue on the deflector plate of the ice machine in the dining area; accumulation of food debris on the shelves in the basement dry-storage area; accumulation of trash on the floor under the shelving units in the basement dry-storage area. MOE'S SOUTHWEST GRILL 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Observed employees drink from open drink-type containers in food-prep operations; exterior surfaces of food-storage pans have sticker and glue residue accumulations. NOMAD BBQ MFF TYPE 4 6758 LEHIGH AVE., HARRISBURG Opening inspection. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. SIDEWINDER CHICKIE'S & PEATS 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Coated light bulbs at hot-hold pass-through unit are de-laminating; fan guards in walk-in cooler have static dust and residue accumulations. SUBWAY # 50121 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Food facility does not maintain Food Employee Certification records as required. THE OUTPOST 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. Employee was drinking from an open-type container in food-prep operations; drink-ice scoop is stored with handle in direct contact with drink ice; chicken was thawing at room temperature on the prep table, which is not an approved thawing method. TURKEY HILL #227 4850 UNION DEPOSIT ROAD, HARRISBURG Regular inspection. Packaged cinnamon rolls and hot grab-n-go sandwiches do not have ingredients/sub-ingredients available; accumulation of pink residue on the right ice machine deflector plate of the fountain-soda machine; accumulation of static dust on the fan guards inside the walk-in cooler; trash and debris on the ground behind the outside dumpsters. May 25 MIDDLE PAXTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 931 PETERS MOUNTAIN, DAUPHIN Regular inspection. Chemical spray bottle without a label or name to identify the product. PENN STATE HERSHEY REHABILITATION HOSPITAL 1135 OLD WEST CHOCOLATE AVE., HUMMELSTOWN Regular inspection. Clean dish trays are stored directly on the floor between uses; cove molding at floor and wall juncture at entrance to cart-washing room is damaged with residue accumulations; clean food equipment and/or utensils in cook line area, stored wet in a manner that does not allow for draining and/or air drying (wet nesting; hand-wash sink in the rear cook line area was blocked by cart and not accessible at all times for employee use. WEST HANOVER WINERY INC 7646 JONESTOWN ROAD, HARRISBURG Regular inspection. Facility does not have at least a two-bay sink for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing utensils for cutting cheese. May 24 CAPITAL CAFE ANTON AIRFOOD 1 TERMINAL DRIVE, SUITE 200, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspections. Rusty metal shelves were in the walk-in cooler; accumulation of dirt on the floor under equipment in the kitchen area. HUDSON NEWS 1 AIRPORT ROAD, SUITE 201, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspection. Packaged pastries in a consumer self-service cold-holding unit were without any labeling. HUDSON NEWS EURO CAFE 1 AIRPORT ROAD, SUITE 201, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspection. Accumulation of static dust on a fan guard in inside a beverage cold-holding unit in the store area; single-use paper plates not covered or inverted to protect against contamination; sanitizer bucket inside the front hand-washing sink, indicating use other than handwashing; soap was not available at the hand-wash sink in the ware-washing area; mops were being stored in the three-compartment sink. PHILLIPS SEAFOOD 1 TERMINAL DRIVE, SUITE 200, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspection. Vacuum-packaged fish was being thawed under refrigeration without packaged being cut open or being removed from its ROP environment; accumulation of static dust on the metal shelves in the walk-in cooler; food facility has an original certificate posted, but the location is not conspicuous for public viewing. SNACK SHACK 605 COCOA AVE., HERSHEY Regular inspection. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration; quat strips are needed for the product in the facility dispensing system. STARBUCK'S COFFEE 1 AIRPORT DRIVE, MIDDLETOWN Regular inspection. Accumulation of static dust on a metal shelving unit storing equipment next to the ware-washing area; a leak was under the sanitizer compartment of the three-compartment sink. May 23 HIBACHI GRILL & SUPREME BUFFET 5116 JONESTOWN ROAD, SUITE 5080C, HARRISBURG Follow-up inspection. (Original report, May 9, 2016) Facility does not have a food employee certified in Food Safety (facility has shown proof of registration and is scheduled to take certification exam on June 6, 2016). THREE (3) B ICE CREAM #1 1430 PETERS MOUNTAIN ROAD, DAUPHIN Regular inspection. Turkey was thawing at room temperature in the hand-washing sink, which is not an approved thawing method; turkey was inside the hand-washing sink, indicating use other than hand washing. TURKEY HILL MINIT MARKET #234 6300 DERRY ST., HARRISBURG Regular inspection. Two 16-ounce jugs of chocolate milk were for sale with a sell-by date of May 20 and May 21, which is past its sell-by date; pink residue was on the drain-line tubes to the catch-basin of the fountain-soda machine; hand-wash sink near the ware-washing area was blocked with food at time of inspection; accumulation of dust and trash on the floor under the fountain-soda machine. Establishments with no violations. May 28 IN A JAM BY MARYANN at MARKET ON CHOCOLATE TFF TYPE 1 21 W. CARACAS AVE., HERSHEY Regular inspection. No violations. TORCHBEARER SAUCES at MARKET ON CHOCOLATE TFF TYPE 1 21 W. CARACAS AVE., HERSHEY Regular inspection. No violations. May 27 BEE KIND at OPEN AIR MARKET 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Opening inspection. No violations. DIPPIN DOTS - CARROUSEL 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Follow-up inspection. (See original report below - May 26, 2016) No violations. FOUNDERS WAY FUNNEL CAKES 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Follow-up inspection. (See original report below - May 26, 2016) No violations. OLIVERO'S VINEYARD at OPEN AIR MARKET 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Regular inspection. No violations. THE COUNTRY PANTRY 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Regular inspection. No violations. TORCHBEARER SAUCES at OPEN AIR MARKET 2300 N. CAMERON ST., HARRISBURG Regular inspection. No violations. May 26 DIPPIN DOTS - SIDEWINDER 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. No violations. SIMPLY CHOCOLATE 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. No violations. May 25 COLONIAL DOLLAR 4600 JONESTOWN ROAD, HARRISBURG Follow-up inspection. (Original report, May 12, 2016) No violations. May 24 MCDONALD'S #4941 2929 PAXTON ST., HARRISBURG Complaint inspection. No violations. May 23 HERBY'S EL MEXICANO RESTAURANT 720 MAIN ST., STEELTON Follow-up inspection. (Original report, May 17, 2016) Here are past restaurant inspections related to follow-up inspections that were done May 22-28. May 26 DIPPIN DOTS -CARROUSEL 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. (Out of compliance) Hand-wash sink located in the prep area does not have water at a temperature of at least 100 F. FOUNDERS WAY FUNNEL CAKES 100 W. HERSHEYPARK DRIVE, HERSHEY Regular inspection. (Out of compliance) Five pint containers of milk offered for sale past the expiration date; hand-wash sink located in the prep area does not have water at a temperature of at least 100 F. At a New Hampshire car dealer, you can get a free AR-15 assault rifle along with your used car purchase. Hagan's Motor Pool in Rochester, N.H., which proudly boasts its status as a veteran-owned business, has its "Buy A Car, Get An AR" campaign as its Facebook header. The promotion, which began a month before the shooting deaths of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, offers a free AR-15 assault rifle with the purchase of select vehicles. Or, if you don't want the rifle, you can go with a 9mm pistol. Or, if you don't want a gun at all, you can get a discount on the vehicle itself. Hagan told FOX25 that he has given away 4 AR-15s and one of the pistols as of Thursday. If you choose to get one of the guns, you do have to undergo a background check. "They go to the dealer and pass their background check. If they don't pass they don't get the weapon it's that's simple," Hagan said. The AR-15 is similar to the weapon used in the Orlando shooting. The actual weapon was a Sig Sauer MCX. Hagan's gun promotion has gone viral in the days since the shooting, and a post to the dealership's Facebook page states that it has gotten little flack for the move. "I believe in equality, and by learning how to properly and responsible operate a firearm you make yourself equal with all who would attempt to attack you," owner Hagan wrote. The dealership also shared a voicemail left by a customer in support of the promotion. The deal at Hagan's runs until August. Kaplan-mugshot-JPG.jpg Screencap from NBC10 Philadelphia UPDATE: Lancaster County couple told police they thought sale of their daughter was legal. Police discovered 12 girls inside of a Bucks County home on Thursday, including a teenage girl from Lancaster County. The girls found in the Feasterville, Pa. residence range from six months old to 18 years old, NBC10 out of Philadelphia reports. The owner, Lee Kaplan, has been charged with sexual assault, and one of the victims informed police she was the mother of two of the other girls discovered. Those girls are 3-years-old and the six-month-old. "This child gave birth to two other children through an inappropriate relationship," Lower Southampton Lt. John Krimmel told NBC10. WGAL reported that the teenage mother's parents, Daniel and Savilla Stolzfus, live in Lancaster County and were Amish. Police arrested the parents after an allegation that they sold their daughter to Kaplan. Daniel Stolzfus told police that he thought giving his daughter to Kaplan was legal after conducting online research. The exchange was made after Kaplan helped the Stolzfus family escape financial ruin. No birth certificates for the children have been found. A Lancaster area attorney is offering to put his money where his mouth is. Richard Caplan, president of Arts to the Core and a former school board member at two Lancaster County school districts, wants to turn the old Bishop McDevitt High School into an arts-infused, K-8 public charter school. And Caplan told media outlets Friday that, that he had the resources from his own personal funds to pay for the school's renovations and purchase -- costs he estimated at more than $2.6 million. "To be very candidate about it, Arts to the Core [a non-profit organization] is being financed entirely by me out of my pocket," Caplan said. "... I am funding this out of my pocket because I believe in it." Caplan, who lives in the Lancaster area, is a former school board member at two Lancaster County school districts, including Lancaster School District, where he served as board president in 2010 and 2011 when Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera was the district's superintendent. Caplan said fundraising is difficult before a school receives a charter because people see it as "too risky." But once the school received a charter, there would be many resources available to it. Caplan said his organization has entered into an agreement with the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg to buy the building on Market Street in Harrisburg for $1.6 million if they're able to get a charter. Caplan said Arts to the Core would prepare and file that charter application by the end of July, if everything goes well. Harrisburg School Board must approve the plan for it to go forward. When asked how confident he was that the school board would approve the application, Caplan said it would be "absurd" to be confident because "history suggests that over 90 percent of these applications are initially denied." Of those, he said more than 50 percent are reversed upon appeal, a process that goes through the state's Department of Education. "We believe because we're proposing a very powerful pedagogical structural and ... we have very strong board members and we have an enormous reservoir of experience in developing our application for the charter, that we would get our charter one way or the other," Caplan said. "If it takes an appeal, so be it. We would certainly prefer to have the school board embrace this." Caplan said the school, which he hopes will be operational by around September 2017, would be unique in Pennsylvania. "It's an art-infused school in which the curriculum, the academic curriculum, is enhanced by art projects that focus on translating the skills and content of the academic curriculum into art projects that provide an alternative learning pathway for kids," Caplan said. The school would be free for students, and would draw students from within the city and surrounding areas. A board of directors from the community would run the school, he said. Caplan said the school would hope to have 300 students from kindergarten through fourth grade in its first year, and then add a grade each year until it reached eighth grade. At that point, Caplan estimated, the building could have close to 540 students. In addition to the school, Caplan said the building could be used to help arts organizations in the city that don't have adequate resources. "We hope to be able to make this an art incubator," he said. However, work needs to be done on the school before students or artists could use it. Caplan estimates that renovation costs could be more than $1 million. He said the building has been vandalized and has several roof leaks. It also needs to be renovated so that it's ADA accessible, and they'll have to put in security. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has met with President of the Senate of the Netherlands Ankie Broekers-Knol in Kyiv on Thursday to call on the Dutch parliamentarians to use effective solutions to complete the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. "The president has called on the Dutch parliamentarians to use effective solutions to complete the ratification of the Association Agreement with the EU. He expressed confidence that the results of the April referendum in the Netherlands would not be an insuperable circumstance on that way," the presidential press service reported after the meeting. Poroshenko also expressed hope for the quick completion of the adoption by the EU of a decision on visa-free travel for Ukraine. "Ukraine has fulfilled all agreed criteria," the president said, adding that this had been confirmed by the European side. He also briefed the Dutch side on the measures taken by Ukraine to fight corruption, on prosecution and judicial reform. "The parties discussed the situation in Donbas. Petro Poroshenko stressed that he counts on further solidarity and unity of the European Union in support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the extension of the EU sanctions against Russia," the press service said. The Ukrainian president stressed the need to increase international pressure on the aggressor in order to accelerate the release of Ukrainian hostages in the occupied territories and political prisoners in Russia. What is more, Poroshenko and Broekers-Knol discussed the investigation into the downing of flight MH 17 in Donbas in July 2014. Tall grass covers former Bishop McDevitt High School property An arts-centric, kindergarten through eighth grade charter school is slated for construction in the old Bishop McDevitt High School building on Market Street in Harrisburg. The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg and Arts to the Core Charter School have signed an Agreement of Sale that, with the approval of the Harrisburg City School Board, will allow Arts to the Core to finalize the purchase of the property. If approved, the school would open in September 2017. (Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.) A former Catholic high school building in Harrisburg could become an arts-centric charter school as early as next year. The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg and Arts to the Core Charter School have signed an agreement of sale that would allow Arts to the Core to finalize the purchase of the former Bishop McDevitt High School property on Market Street. The plan requires the approval of the Harrisburg City School Board. The arts-centric, kindergarten through eighth grade charter school would open in September 2017. "For students who struggle to learn in school because traditional lecture and textbook teaching is incompatible with their diverse learning styles, arts-empowered schools provide a parallel pathway for mastering core academic subjects," said Richard Caplan, president of Arts to the Core. "We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate, within the City of Harrisburg, the power of this proven educational strategy to unlock students' full learning potential and to encourage their innate creativity." In a written statement, Caplan said that arts-oriented schools have been shown to significantly improve attendance, "encourage respect for individuality, foster a culture of cooperation and non-violence, and dramatically reduce disciplinary problems." The Arts to the Core Charter School would feature small class sizes of 20 students or less. The program would accept all students who apply, regardless of their level of artistic aptitude or their special needs. The written statement said that the charter school would "not require the payment of tuition. Students who live within city limits would be bussed to and from school. "Our primary goal is to provide the highest quality, individualized learning option for students within the Harrisburg metropolitan area," said Bob Marquet, vice president of Arts to the Core. "However, we also intend to serve as a positive community resource and to provide compelling evidence, through academic success of our students, that the arts belong within Pennsylvania's required core curriculum." The York City School Board in September denied the charter school organization an application for an arts-focused charter school in York, according to a report by The York Daily Record. District administrators objected to what they said was a lack of information in the application, such as instructional plans and financial plans. Representatives of the proposed school countered that details requested could not be determined until after a charter was obtained. The board ultimately voted 7-0 to deny the application. Once the cornerstone of its community, the former McDevitt high school - a 115,000 square foot building - was established in 1930 after the diocese outgrew its former school on North Street. McDevitt was the first high school in the Harrisburg Diocese. It closed its door in 2012. By then - in spite of generations' worth of positive memories - the school was marred by the wear and tear of time as well as the realities of modern urban life, including taunts and threats to students and faculty. Arts to the Core expects to file its charter application by the end of July. The Harrisburg City School Board would have 75 days to hold a public meeting on the application prior to voting on it. According to the press release, Arts to the Core is prepared to appeal to the state's Charter School Appeals Board should its application by denied. Officials from the charter school will be available for questions between 1:30-2 p.m. June 17 at the former Bishop McDevitt High School, 2200 Market Street, Harrisburg. John McCain FILE - In this May 5, 2015 file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. McCain said Monday that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doesn't need to apologize to him for remarks about his captivity in Vietnam, but should tell veterans he's sorry. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen) (Brett Carlsen) Sen. John McCain said he misspoke when he called President Barack Obama "directly responsible" for the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. Earlier in the week, McCain blamed Obama for the Orlando shooting and immediately received backlash from Democrats, who compared his words to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. McCain, a senior senator from Arizona and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, walked back those comments in tweets and a statement Thursday night. To clarify, I was referring to Pres Obamas national security decisions that have led to rise of #ISIL, not to the President himself John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 16, 2016 I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible - my full stmt: https://t.co/IhDSefwIzM John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 16, 2016 McCain said in the statement that Obama's decision to completely withdraw U.S. troops in 2011 from Iraq led to the rise of the Islamic State. "I and others have long warned that the failure of the President's policy to deny ISIL safe haven would allow the terrorist organization to inspire, plan, direct or conduct attacks on the United States and Europe as they have done in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino and now Orlando," he said. A Dauphin borough man is heading to state prison for at least three-and-a-half years after he recently pleaded guilty to a number of burglaries fueled by his heroin addiction. Jason R. Tyner, 36, of Dauphin Borough, was sentenced Wednesday to three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison. Jason R. Tyner, 36, of Dauphin Borough, was sentenced Wednesday to three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison for committing the string of burglaries in 2015, the Dauphin County district attorney's office said. The spree started after Tyner stole $2,700 worth of jewelry from his mother on Feb. 20, 2015, so he could buy heroin. In August, Tyner stole two handguns and jewelry from his aunt's home, the DA's office said. Tyner went to Harrisburg and sold the guns in exchange for heroin. Police found one of the handguns hidden in bushes in the 600 block of Schuylkill Street in uptown Harrisburg. A 17-year-old kid arrested for selling heroin was found with the other gun, according to the DA's office. Tyner stole from his mom again in November. He took her debit card and withdrew $720 to continue feeding his heroin addiction, according to the DA's office. The following month, he committed one more robbery before he was caught. In December, Tyner put on a mask, walked into the MK Extra Fuel Stop in Dauphin and demanded cash. He grabbed $150 from the register before fleeing. Tyner pleaded guilty to each of the crimes on June 8, 2016. The commonwealth refused to offer a plea agreement, the DA's office said. Rollercoaster.jpg Hersheypark's Stormrunner rollercoaster (File photo/Dan Gleiter, PennLive) This is not the crime of the century. But it undoubtedly has robbed the victim of some fun. State police said Friday that they are investigating the theft of a Hersheypark ticket from a woman's car on Charles Avenue in Londonderry Township. The crime occurred overnight Tuesday, police said. Anyone with information can call Trooper Jordan Rich at 717-671-7500. Donald Trump Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Charleston, West Virginia, Thursday, May 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) Donald Trump at a Thursday night rally in Dallas kept up with his newfound platform: part Hillary Clinton detractor, part LGBT advocate. Since the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history occurred Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Trump has been positioning himself as the better candidate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. According to ABC News, Trump called the attack an example of "what one sleazebag can do" and said the "LGBT community is starting to like Donald Trump very, very much lately." There is some hope among conservative Republicans that Trump may be the candidate to help the party become more accepting of same-sex marriage, Politico reported. Meanwhile, The Daily Beast is reporting the LGBT community despises him. But Trump has said in tweets and on campaign stages that he will fight for the LGBT community. Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016 He claims Hillary Clinton takes donations from countries that hurt LGBT Americans and women. "As far as gays are concerned, they throw them off buildings. They kill gays in these countries. So you tell me who's better for the gay community or for women than Donald Trump," Trump said, according to ABC. University Park Plane Crash Smoke rises in the woods in Benner Township where a deadly plane crashed Thursday, June 16, 2016. Officials said the small plane crashed trying to land at an airport operated by Penn State University. (John Boogert/Centre Daily Times via AP) (John Boogert) Dr. Robert Arffa The pilot killed in the crash of a small plane at University Park Airport Thursday morning has been identified as Gary Orner of White Oak. The twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo airplane crashed on its approach about 8:45 a.m., according to a news release from Penn State University, which controls the airport. The pilot and a passenger were both pronounced dead at the scene. They were the only two on board. While Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said Thursday night the passenger would not be identified until Friday, pending the arrival of dental records, a spokeswoman with Nittany Eye Associates confirmed Thursday he was Dr. Robert Arffa and posted a statement on its Facebook page. "As he has done for every month in the last fifteen years, Dr. Arffa was traveling from Pittsburgh to State College to perform LASIK and YAG laser procedures at Nittany Eye," the statement said. The Washington Observer-Reporter said the plane was owned by Aero National Inc., an air ambulance company based in Washington, Pa. The National Transportation Safety Board out of Ashburn, Virginia, is leading the investigation with support from the Federal Aviation Administration in Harrisburg. University Park Airport was closed shortly before 9 a.m. and later reopened at 10:26 a.m., the university said. Two incoming flights were diverted and two outgoing flights were delayed during the closure. All four flights were non-commercial. The Dog Head wildfire burns as seen from the town of Tajique, near the Manzano Mountains on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Tajique, N.M. Authorities don't have a containment estimate yet for a wildfire burning in the Manzano Mountains southeast of Albuquerque but say good weather helped firefighters attack the fire overnight. The so-called "Dog Head Fire" in part of the Cibola National Forest east of Los Lunas started Tuesday and grew to over a square mile by Wednesday morning after its growth slowed overnight. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Chief of the National Police of Ukraine Khatia Dekanoidze has dismissed Chief of the National Police in Mykolaiv region Vitaliy Honcharov. "The situation is dynamic. After yesterday's statement [criticism by the Ukrainian president of the local police], Khatia Dekanoidze has dismissed chief police in Mykolaiv region Vitaliy Honcharov. The next [to be fired] is the local prosecutor," Presidential press secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook on Thursday. As was reported, while being on a working visit to Mykolaiv on June 15, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized the local enforcement agencies' failure to fight corruption and demanded the dismissal of the local police chief and prosecutor. Poroshenko also informed that Mykolaiv State Administration head Vadym Merikov had tendered resignation after a conversation with the president. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has visited the Main Military Clinical Hospital in Kyiv on Friday to congratulate combat medics on their upcoming professional holiday. "This is one of the most important and needed occupations. You return health and sometimes life to people," the president said. He said some 2,500 medics provide medical aid at the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) front line and 197 of them have been awarded state medals. "Unfortunately, we lost 35 combat medics," Poroshenko said Emmet County plans road work, new signs with ARPA funding Bids will be going out this winter for a Camp Petosega Road project and new road signs throughout the county. A ceremony to close Anaconda 2016 exercise has been held at the military base in Nowa Deba, Poland, the press service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine said on Friday. Around 1,200 servicemen and civilians from five countries of the world participated in the exercise, according to the press service. Units of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG), mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Hungary, aeromobile platoon of the air assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, mechanized and tank battalions of the Armed Forces of Poland were involved in the exercise. Poroshenko's administration says Kyiv is preparing for Kerry's visit, which may take place soon Ukraine is preparing for the visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Presidential Administration of Ukraine reported. "The [Ukrainian] prime minister is currently visiting the U.S. I understand that this matter was discussed there. We have raised the issue of Kerry's visit at all levels, and we hope that such a visit will take place soon," Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine Kostiantyn Yeliseyev said at a briefing on Friday. Yeliseyev expressed the hope that this visit will be organized soon, but did not specify the possible date. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is convinced that a visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU "will become a reality" this year. During the roundtable talk in Kyiv on Friday Klimkin said that at the present time both the European Parliament and the EU authorities discuss the time frame and the way the visa-free regime will be adopted. "First, the report on Ukraine will be prepared, and we are working to accelerate the preparation of this report. At the same time the European countries are working on a mechanism for "extra confidence" to this regime in the event of migration risks. I hope that corresponding decisions will be taken in the nearest future, and this year the visa-free regime will become a reality," Klimkin said. Klimkin noted that the EU considers every country that has fulfilled the criteria "should not be seen as part of policy packages but within the frames of what has been done." "The European Commission has confirmed the implementation of all the criteria by Ukraine," the foreign minister said. Council of the EU extends 'Crimean' sanctions against Russia until June 23, 2017 official publication The Council of the European Union has made decision to extend restrictive measures imposed on Russia over Crimea until June 23, 2017, a statement published on the official website of the Council of the EU reads. "The measures apply to EU persons and EU based companies. They are limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol," the statement reads. According to the statement the sanctions include prohibitions on: - imports of products originating in Crimea or Sevastopol into the EU; - investment in Crimea or Sevastopol, meaning that no European nor EU-based companies can buy real estate or entities in Crimea, finance Crimean companies or supply related services; - tourism services in Crimea or Sevastopol - in particular, European cruise ships cannot call at ports in the Crimean peninsula, except in case of emergency; - exports of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors and related to the prospection, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources. Technical assistance, brokering, construction or engineering services related to infrastructure in these sectors must not be provided either, it reads. "The EU continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and remains committed to fully implement its non-recognition policy," the statement of the European Council reads. The official legal act will be published on Saturday, a diplomatic source in the EU told Interfax. Sanctions continue to be in place and the issue is not about their taking effect - no changes have been brought in, this is just the legal procedure, the source said. As stated in the declaration of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs And Security Policy on behalf of the EU on 13 March 2016, the EU continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and remains committed to fully implementing its non-recognition policy. Groysman: Russia can repay its big debt to Ukraine by returning Crimea Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said Russia owes much to Ukraine and the return of Crimea can contribute to repaying such a debt. "In fact, Russia has a great debt to Ukraine and it should be worked out. In particular, Crimea's de-occupation would contribute to the repayment of the debt," the premier wrote on his Twitter page. Groysman also said Crimea is the Ukrainian territory. Gov. Christie on Thursday announced the nomination of his former chief counsel, Chris Porrino, as New Jersey attorney general, a job that for three years has been filled by officials serving in an acting capacity. At a Statehouse news conference Thursday, Christie said he was "delighted that Chris is back." Porrino left the administration in July 2015 and took a job as cochair of Lowenstein Sandler L.L.P.'s national litigation practice. He will succeed Robert Lougy as acting attorney general - an interim title before a confirmation hearing. "The Senate president [Stephen Sweeney] and I have been working well," along with the Senate's Republican leader, Thomas H. Kean Jr., "on issues of confirmations of late," Christie said. "It's my expectation that we're talking a matter of weeks" before a confirmation hearing, Christie said. Christie said Porrino - who took on the role of chief counsel in January 2014, the month the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal broke - has "provided me great guidance and wisdom through some really challenging times." Porrino had "broad responsibility" over appointments, and worked with lawmakers of both parties on legislation, Christie said. Porrino said Thursday that he was not registered with either political party. Before serving as chief counsel, Porrino had worked since 2012 as director of the Division of Law in the Attorney General's Office, overseeing 500 lawyers, Christie said. In a statement describing the Division of Law as a "difference-maker" under Porrino, the governor's office singled out his role in litigation it credited with clearing the way for protective dunes to be built at the Jersey Shore. After the state Supreme Court rejected a $375,000 jury award to a Harvey Cedars couple, who had argued that their property value was diminished by a dune, Porrino negotiated a $1 settlement with the couple, the governor's office said. Porrino's role as a negotiator garnered attention last year when a former Department of Environmental Protection commissioner wrote a New York Times commentary critical of an environmental settlement between the state and ExxonMobil. The former commissioner, Bradley Campbell, alleged that Porrino had "elbowed aside" the attorney general to cut a deal favorable to Exxon, claims a Christie spokesman dismissed at the time as "baseless." While New Jersey's constitution says the attorney general "shall be nominated and appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate," Porrino's selection could mark the first time since 2013 the state has had an attorney general in line with that process. After Christie appointed Jeffrey S. Chiesa, attorney general at the time, to the U.S. Senate in June 2013, John J. Hoffman took over as acting attorney general. Christie later announced his intention to appoint his then-chief of staff, Kevin O'Dowd, to the job. But O'Dowd's selection was put on hold in the aftermath of the bridge scandal. In 2014, O'Dowd left Christie's administration to work for Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Hoffman, who continued to serve as acting attorney general, was never nominated by Christie. In February, Hoffman announced he was leaving for a job at Rutgers University, and Christie named Lougy as acting attorney general. Last month, Christie notified the Legislature of his intent to nominate Lougy for a Superior Court judgeship, leaving a hole to fill for attorney general. mhanna@phillynews.com 856-779-3232@maddiehanna www.philly.com/christiechronicles Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko commended the decision of the Council of the European Union to extend sanctions imposed on Russia due to the annexation of Crimea. "I continue working with the EU leaders to adopt a similar decision over the Donbas occupation," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on Friday. The EU Council at a session in Luxembourg made a decision on extension of the restrictive measures imposed on Russia over Crimea until June 23, 2017, the Council said in a statement posted on its website. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko over the past two years in office has lost considerable support among the electorate. Every second Ukrainian assesses his performance in office negatively, first and foremost because of declining living standards. These are the conclusions of the sociological research project, titled "Two years of Petro Poroshenko's presidency. What do Ukrainians think about the authorities and the situation in the country?" conducted by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. Presenting the results of the research on Friday at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency Hvylia Internet news portal editor Yuriy Romanenko said 80.6% of respondents noted the worsening economic situation in the country over the past two years, while only 4.3% of those polled cited positive changes. "The poor economic situation correlates with appraisals of political processes. Some 68.8% of respondents said that the situation is changing for the worse, and only 10.1% of those who participated in the survey said there was any improvement," Romanenko said. Some 41.8% of Ukrainians polled blamed the chief executive for deteriorating living standards, 16.8% cited unfulfilled election campaign promises, an increase in corruption 9.2% and military setbacks 8.9%. Romanenko said "Poroshenko looked good, but only when he was compared to former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, Poroshenko The president succeeded in transferring responsibility for the situation in Ukraine to the premier [until he was sacked]." Berta Communications director Taras Berezovets noted that during the current crisis it does not make sense to expect politicians to maintain high popularity ratings. "We see that hopes placed on new leaders, such as [Mikheil] Saakashvili and [Andriy] Sadovy have not been justified. Ukrainians expect their leaders to act responsibly, they blame current politicians for not doing what they promised to do," Berezovets said. Tomorrow morning, Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Yuri Malenchenko are coming home from the International Space Station. But if you live in the United States or Europe, you're going to have to get up pretty earlyor stay up lateto see it happen. The three Expedition 47 crewmembers are scheduled to undock from the station at 1:52 a.m. EDT (6:52 UTC). Their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft will begin its descent to Earth three-and-a-half hours later, touching down in Kazakhstan at 5:14 a.m. Kopra, Peake and Malenchenko launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome back in December, and will have spent 186 days in space when they depart. Earlier today, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra formally handed command of the station over to his colleague, Jeff Williams: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko counts on the support of the Vatican in the issue of the return Crimea annexed by Russia. "I am convinced that the Holy See together with other international partners will act in the spirit of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea by Russia and will support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of our state," Poroshenko said after the talks with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in Kyiv on Friday. The Ukrainian president also praised the European Union's decision to extend the sanctions against Russia over the annexation of Crimea. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said during a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin that representatives of Vatican could join the negotiations on the release of Ukrainians who are held illegally in self-proclaimed Donbas republics and in Russia. "We have agreed to coordinate our actions to engage the Holy See into humanitarian missions for freeing hostages," Poroshenko said at a joint briefing with Parolin in Kyiv on Friday. KYIV. June 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko over the past two years in office has lost considerable support among the electorate. Every second Ukrainian assesses his performance in office negatively, first and foremost because of declining living standards. These are the conclusions of the sociological research project, titled "Two years of Petro Poroshenko's presidency. What do Ukrainians think about the authorities and the situation in the country?" conducted by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. Presenting the results of the research on Friday at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency Hvylia Internet news portal editor Yuriy Romanenko said 80.6% of respondents noted the worsening economic situation in the country over the past two years, while only 4.3% of those polled cited positive changes. "The poor economic situation correlates with appraisals of political processes. Some 68.8% of respondents said that the situation is changing for the worse, and only 10.1% of those who participated in the survey said there was any improvement," Romanenko said. Some 41.8% of Ukrainians polled blamed the chief executive for deteriorating living standards, 16.8% cited unfulfilled election campaign promises, an increase in corruption 9.2% and military setbacks 8.9%. Romanenko said "Poroshenko looked good, but only when he was compared to former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, Poroshenko The president succeeded in transferring responsibility for the situation in Ukraine to the premier [until he was sacked]." Berta Communications director Taras Berezovets noted that during the current crisis it does not make sense to expect politicians to maintain high popularity ratings. "We see that hopes placed on new leaders, such as [Mikheil] Saakashvili and [Andriy] Sadovy have not been justified. Ukrainians expect their leaders to act responsibly, they blame current politicians for not doing what they promised to do," Berezovets said. Active shooter incidents in the United States continue to rise in frequency, with new FBI statistics showing the highest average of incidents ever in a two-year period, reports ABC News. The release Wednesday of the FBI's latest review of active shooter incidents came just three days after the worst mass shooting in American history, when a 29-year-old Florida man, identified by authorities as Omar Mateen, opened fire in an Orlando nightclub frequented by members of the gay community, killing 49 and wounding more than 50. According to the FBI, 2014 and 2015 each saw 20 active shooter incidents. That's more than any two-year average in the past 16 years, and nearly six times as many as the period between 2000 and 2001, the starting point for the FBI's review. The FBI says that the generally agreed upon definition of an active shooter situation is "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area." "Unlike a defined crime, such as a murder or mass killing, the active aspect inherently implies that both law enforcement personnel and citizens have the potential to affect the outcome of the event based upon their responses," the FBI said in a 2013 study of active shooter incidents. Several high-profile incidents occurred last year alone -- from the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA, which killed 14, to the assault at a community college in Roseburg, OR, where seven were killed. Most of the 40 incidents in 2014 and 2015, however, didn't receive such national attention. 'Reform or don't get paid' is the message Supervisor John Avalos is sending to the San Francisco Police Department as part of the Board of Supervisors' review of Mayor Ed Lee's $9.6 billion budget proposal, which began Thursday, reports the San Francisco Examiner. On Friday, Avalos will ask the five-member board Budget and Finance Committee to support placing on reserve $200 million of the San Francisco Police Department's salary budget. Avalos said that would leave the department with enough funding to operate for the first six months of the fiscal year before having to return to the Board of Supervisors to ask for additional money. The remaining money would only be released if the department makes specific reforms, like adopting a use-of-force policy that requires de-escalation techniques and "use of the 'minimal force necessary' as opposed to 'reasonable' force." There would also need to be quarterly reports on arrests and use of force, including demographic data and incidents resulting in death or injury. Avalos said he had a phone conversation with acting police Chief Toney Chaplin, who told him "don't do it" in regards to holding police funding hostage. Avalos said he intends to have an in-person meeting with Chaplin prior to Friday's committee hearing. Supervisor Malia Cohen, however, raised concerns about impacts to "immediate staffing levels and incoming Police Academies." The killer who knifed to death two French police officials in their home this week, claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, tracked the couple days before the gruesome murders and uploaded his claim of responsibility on the family computer, a judicial official said on Friday. As the investigation into the gruesome deaths on Monday advanced, France honored the couple, Commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, No. 2 officer in Mureaux, a hardscrabble town west of Paris, and Jessica Schneider, a police administrator in nearby Mantes-la-Jolie, another challenging town for police, reports the Associated Press. Hundreds of officers convened for a somber ceremony at the prefecture of Versailles, the region where the two had lived and worked. President Francois Hollande, who presided, praised the couple as "two heroes of daily life." Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced it has signed a Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) agreement with the State of Colorado. Colorado is the latest CJIS agreement AWS has signed, on the heels of CJIS agreements with the California Department of Justice and the State of Minnesota. AWS says with this CJIS agreement, law enforcement throughout the State of Colorado can leverage cloud technology in ways that increase IT and data security, improve operational efficiencies, and provide access to next-generation technologies and tools that are made possible with the AWS Cloud. The Cloud opens the door to the future of policing, AWS says. From body-worn cameras, video storage, and digital evidence management to records management systems, analytics, information sharing, and Internet of Things (IoT), AWS and its AWS Partner Network (APN) community enable law enforcement to use technology that is secure, reliable, and cost-effective, the company says. We recognize that when law enforcement agencies place data in the cloud, they put an absolute priority on secure access to information, wherever and whenever it is needed. To meet these needs, the AWS Cloud infrastructure has been architected to be the most secure, reliable, and flexible cloud computing environment in the world, said Teresa Carlson, vice president of AWS Worldwide Public Sector. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with our justice and public safety customers and partners so that they can confidently use the AWS Cloud with all the powerful security features, tools, and best practices it offers, while focusing on their core missions keeping our nation safe. AWS currently has more than 1 million active users including more than 2,000 government agencies. Photo: Ziemba Photographic Arts Like many law enforcement officers, Julie Werhnyak of the Tempe (AZ) Police Department had a routine she practiced before reporting for her shift. But on Tuesday morning March 3, 2015, something didn't feel right. Officer Werhnyak had a premonition that something was going to happen. It bothered her so much that she altered her routine and even pinned her hair back differently. Werhnyak then said her personal pre-duty mantra: "I accept and expect that I will be involved in a violent encounter today, and I will do whatever I need to do to ensure that I am successful." And before she left her home she pocketed a challenge coin given to her by a SWAT unit commander from a neighboring agency. It was inscribed "Our meeting is not by chance. It is God's will." Werhnyak's first call that morning went without incident. Then dispatch sent her on a "check welfare." Unanswered Messages The check welfare complainant was a young man who had notified the police that something was happening to his girlfriend's sister. The girlfriend's sister left a voice message on his girlfriend's phone asking for help. The girlfriend was at work at the time so the message was not noticed for several hours. A subsequent message came in saying the woman had gone to a local theater to see a movie. Her loved ones went to the theater to look for her. They did not find her. The woman's sister sent her boyfriend over to the condo where the woman lived with her boyfriend, Matthew Metz, 26. He found both their cars in the parking lot of the condo and went to their door. Repeated knocks went unanswered. But he heard people talking. And he thought he heard a scream. The sister's boyfriend dialed 911. Officers were dispatched shortly after 12:35 p.m. Muffled Screams Werhnyak arrived on the scene first, followed by her friend Latasha Hampton. They spoke with the complainant, the sister's boyfriend, and learned there was no history of violence in the couple's relationship. The complainant even described Metz as a "really nice guy." The characterization of Metz as a "nice guy" should have been reassuring but Werhnyak was still uneasy. And so was Officer Hampton. Hampton turned on a voice recorder she carried on patrol and both officers went to the door of the couple's residence. They knocked and announced. Repeatedly. Some 17 times. There was no answer. Werhnyak had dispatch send the woman a text and she left her a voice message. Hampton went around the back of the building to search for another entrance. She found a sliding glass door. Hampton called Werhnyak to join her. She said she heard music turn on and then turn off then turn on and off again. She also said she had heard what sounded like duct tape being stripped off of a roll. Hampton stayed in position at the back of the building and as Werhnyak made her way back to the front, she summoned a supervisor and other units to the scene. There she saw the father of the woman. He told her he had received a text from his daughter and all it said was "I love you." We're Coming In Hampton radioed Werhnyak, advising she heard muffled screams from inside. Additional officers were on the way. But Werhnyak decided she had to get in the condo's front door and stop whatever was happening. The door itself was a standard wooden residential door, which could be easily defeated. But it was protected by a locked metal gate and Werhnyak did not have a Halligan tool or a ram. The victim's father had given her a tire iron, but it was too short and Werhnyak could not get enough leverage to pry open the gate. While Werhnyak worked on the gate, Hampton, still at the glass door, called in to the victim by name and told her, "We're coming in to help you." She also told Metz, "We are coming in to get you." Through the Door Werhnyak was still working on the security door with the useless tire iron when additional officers, including a supervising sergeant, arrived on scene. They brought the tools needed to get through the door. The officers formed a stack at the door. Sgt. Dennis Doran made short work of the security gate and Officer Richard Fairclough hit the inside door with the ram. It didn't just open; the bottom panel burst into pieces. Werhnyak squatted down and looked through as she made entry. It was a bright day outside, but very little of the midday sun was reaching into the condo. The lights were off, the shades and curtains were drawn over the windows. A shadow moved inside illuminated from behind by light leaking through the blinds of the sliding glass door on the other side of the condo. In front of the sliding door, Werhnyak observed the silhouette of the suspect, who had his back to her. She saw him reach over his head and drop twice with all his weight onto the victim who was on the floor. He then spun, looked in the officers' direction, and took off into the interior of the condo and out of sight. Werhnyak said, "He's running," and continued through the door into a narrow entryway. She stated, "He went to the right," and waited for the other officers to enter. Officer Fairclough button-hooked into a small bath/laundry room, immediately to the right. Just beyond that, there was a doorway to a small kitchen and then it opened into the living area. Werhnyak no longer had eyes on the suspect. "Where is he?" Doran asked from behind. Werhnyak wasn't sure, but thought the suspect had gone to the back of the condo to escape or barricade himself. "I think he went to a back room," Werhnyak said. She continued to slice the pie around the corner to the kitchen, expecting a long threat, but the threat was actually much closer. The suspect was hiding around the corner to the kitchen. He leaped out of the darkness into the hallway with a large hunting knife overhead. Werhnyak fired two rounds. The suspect was so close that the muzzle of Werhnyak's gun touched his body as she fired her first shot. At the same time, the knife penetrated the front of Werhnyak's neck, just above her left clavicle and less than an inch from her carotid artery. Werhnyak was launched backward through the air. On her way down, she fired a second round before crashing onto the tile floor. Werhnyak's head hit hard and she knew she had been injured, but she didn't know how badly. The officers behind her were now shooting at the suspect. Werhnyak took advantage of their protection and scrambled out of the condo on her hands and feet. As she ran to cover, she called for medical assistance. "Two Paul Thirteen, I need an ambulance I've been stabbed," she reported over the radio. The Hospital Metz was killed at the scene. His girlfriendwhose name has not been publicly releasedsurvived. She had been bound and then stabbed repeatedly. She stated that Officer Hampton's reassuring words helped her to hang on. The first officer to get to Werhnyak was Ryan Garnett. He did his best to comfort her and control her bleeding while EMTs were en route to their location. Werhnyak stayed calm while Garnett rendered aid. "I was focusing on relaxing my breathing," she says. "I was also wondering if I was hit in the carotid and if I was, whether Fire would be able to save me." Officers later told Werhnyak they were surprised at how composed she was during and after the incident. Werhnyak believes the reason she could stay in control after the stabbing was that she had mentally prepared herself and preplanned what to do in such an incident. "I knew if I was ever seriously wounded at a hot scene, that I would make sure I did everything I could to get to where Fire could reach me," she says. Werhnyak was transported to the emergency room from the scene. The stab wound and a medical complication caused by the attack kept her in a hospital bed for four days. She also suffered a concussion and a shoulder injury. Back to Work Four weeks after leaving the hospital, Werhnyak was back on duty. She says it was not easy coming back, primarily because of being assigned to the Tempe Police Department crime prevention unit, where she says she had absolutely nothing to do. "When somebody deals with a trauma like this, you can't put them in an assignment that is very stressful and you can't have them doing absolutely nothing," Werhnyak says. "That was really difficult." After two weeks on the crime prevention detail, Werhnyak requested to go back on patrol. In hindsight, she recognizes she wasn't ready. Shortly after going back to patrol, Werhnyak was one of several officers sent to a call of five people stabbing each other in an apartment parking lot. After that call, she says she "hit the wall" emotionally. Werhnyak didn't feel as though she initially received the psychological assistance that was right for her. "Law enforcement agencies need to do a better job of vetting the therapists we send our people to. The therapist needs to be someone trained in trauma who understands law enforcement officers." Moving On Julie Werhnyak retired last month from the Tempe PD with 20 years of service. For her actions on March 3, 2015, Werhnyak received several awards and honors, including the Police Cross and the Life-Saving Medal from the Tempe PD and Officer of the Year from the Elks Club. One of the reasons Werhnyak was eager to retire after 20 years was to dedicate herself to her company, Artemis Self-Defense. Werhnyak, a defensive tactics instructor who holds black belts in Taekwondo and American Karate, says the company offers tactical and self-defense education. In addition, Werhnyak presents and speaks regularly about this incident. She credits her martial arts training for helping her both physically survive the stabbing and prevail against the emotional challenges that followed. "When the shit hits the fan you will not rise to the occasion, you will fall to your level of training," she says. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print After months of promising to fight all the way to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, the Sanders campaign now admits that they are not trying to convince the all-important superdelegates to support the Vermont senator. Campaign manager Jeff Weaver said there are no plans to do so in the near future either. In an interview on With All Due Respect, Weaver said that Sanders is technically still a candidate, but there is no effort to call superdelegates and convince them to reverse their support of presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton. Video: The admission by the Sanders campaign seems to be a recognition of reality as even some of their superdelegates were switching their support to Clinton. In the interview, Weaver also said the Democratic Party will be united coming out of the convention and that he will support the partys nominee somewhat surprising comments from a guy who at times sounded like a member of the Bernie or Bust crowd. Although the Vermont senator has yet to formally withdraw from the race, its becoming increasingly clear that its game over. Sanders will be addressing his supporters in a live online video tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, but its not yet clear what those remarks will consist of. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Failed presidential candidate Ted Cruz took to the floor of the U.S. Senate today to do what he always seems to do: spew nonsense. The Texas senator happy to be on the wrong side of every issue lambasted the 15-hour Democratic filibuster and said the effort to reduce gun deaths in the United States is a political distraction. Let me repeat: The man who once read Green Eggs and Ham on the Senate floor in an attempt to destroy the Affordable Care Act and shut down the government he wants to lecture us about political gamesmanship. Video courtesy of C-SPAN: Cruz said: This is political distraction. This is political gamesmanship. And I think the American people find it ridiculous that in response to an ISIS terror attack the Democrats go on high dudgeon that weve got to restrict the 2nd amendment rights of law abiding citizens. This is not a gun control issue. This is a terrorism issue. And it is nothing less than political gamesmanship for them to try to shift for their favorite hobby-horse, of taking away the Bill of Rights from law-abiding citizens. First of all, Sen. Cruz, the American people absolutely dont find this ridiculous. Poll after poll shows that voters want smarter gun laws. A survey released just yesterday showed that a strong majority of Americans 61 percent support tighter firearm regulations. Sixty percent want to see the government enact a ban on assault weapons. Cruzs assertion that this is at odds with public opinion is an outright lie. Gun fanatics may be louder, but they do not speak for the majority of the U.S. not even close. In the wake of yet another American mass shooting, this is exactly what the public wants their government to be doing. The other suggestion by Cruz that the effort to reduce gun violence is a hobby-horse is shameful and offensive. Its not a hobby; its a necessity. Itll save lives. Ted Cruz might understand that if he wasnt so busy cashing checks from the NRA. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Appearing Friday on CNNs New Day, resident Trump apologist Jeffrey Lord promoted the idea that the Democrats should apologize for slavery. In other words, Democrats should apologize for something Democrats who are no longer alive supported 150 years ago, Republicans who are alive today should be able to continue to promote the cause of the Confederacy (and its ugly legacy of slavery) without apology. Watch Lord address Georgetown sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson: I would certainly hope that Professor Dyson is going to lead a march on the Democratic National Committee at their convention and ask them to apologize for slavery. They have six platforms still standing in which they called for slavery in the United States. You never hear anything about that. I never hear anything about that. I would think that that would be pretty bad here. But apparently not. This, coming from a party that still tells us slavery wasnt really so bad, and that blacks today are worse off under Democratic governance than they were as slaves. One wonders, if slavery wasnt really all that bad, why it should be expected Democrats apologize for it. But nobody ever said Republican arguments have to make any sense. Youd think, from the rhetoric we hear almost daily, that the GOP would be patting Democrats on the back for once participating in the subjugation of a minority they would themselves like to see subjugated today. Dyson, quite aware, if Lord is not, that the Democratic platform no longer promotes slavery, responded that his concern is the here and now: I am against slavery wherever and whenever it exists, but what Im against now, in the present day, is the refusal to acknowledge the humanity of so many other people and the inability, it seems, of the Trump campaign to do anything but amplify the worst sentiments, and worst racial and anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican sentiments that we have seen in a long time here, and to find discourse in the rhetoric of a person who is the presumptive Republican nominee is quite troubling. Republicans, who have virtually nobody who will vote for them but white people because of their racist rhetoric and legislation, are very eager to cast Democrats as the bad guys, and to protray Democrats as the party who have a race problem. Back in March, Jeffrey Lord, who by the way refuses to disavow the very Republican KKK, wanted Hillary Clinton personally, to apologize for slavery: Im still waiting for Mrs. Clinton or any Democrat to get the Democratic Party formally on record apologizing for slavery. I mean, we can start there and go on. So, you know, if they want to get into that, then we can get into that too. It is true that the Democratic Platform of 1856, for example, was very pro-slavery: That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made. However, that was then, and this is now: It is the Republican Party of today that promotes racism and the subjugation of blacks and other minorities, while the Democratic Party champions equality. As Van Jones explained to Lord in March, the KKK The KKK left the Democratic Party and they joined your party. Black voters know this, and they overwhelmingly vote Democratic, a fact Lord is probably at a loss to explain. It is significant that the GOP, which opposes revealing to public school students the unsightly grit of American history, loves to bring up American history. History is not on the side of the Republican Party. The Democrats of the antebellum south are the Republicans of today, and the Democratic Party, in striving to expand rather than restrict rights, more closely resembles the party of Lincoln. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Donald Trump looks like a loser, so Republican delegates are panicking and hatching a scheme to the presidential nomination away from him. The Washington Post reported: Dozens of Republican convention delegates are hatching a new plan to block Donald Trump at this summers party meetings, in what has become the most organized effort so far to stop the businessman from becoming the GOP nominee. The delegates are angered by Trumps recent comments on gun control, his racial attacks on a federal judge and his sinking poll numbers. They are convinced that Trump is an insufficiently conservative candidate and believe they will find enough like-minded Republicans within the next month to change party rules and allow delegates to vote for whomever they want, regardless of who won their state caucus or primary. The new campaign is being run by the only people who can actually make changes to party rules, rather than by pundits and media figures who have been pining for a Trump alternative. Many involved in the delegate-driven movement supported Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the primary but say they have no specific candidate in mind and are not taking cues from any of Trumps vanquished opponents. If Trump were leading Hillary Clinton in the polls, the effort to take the nomination away from him would not exist. The biggest problem that Republicans are having with Trump is that he looks like a loser. The Republican delegates would not be saying a word if Donald Trump was beating Hillary Clinton. The delegates dont care about what Trump says or refuses to say about the issue. They shut their mouths and allowed Trump to roll to the Republican nomination when they thought that he could win in November. Much of what Trump has been saying on the campaign trail is virtually identical to what Republicans have been saying for years. Dont be fooled by their faux concern over Trumps statements. The real problem that Republicans have with Donald Trump is that it looks like he is not going to win. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Conservatives have been revealed through numerous social media interactions to be thin-skinned. We see this frequently, especially through the lens of Donald Trumps Twitter feed, his chosen medium for insulting people who have in any way challenged or questioned him. Wednesday in Atlanta, Trump said, Ask the gays what they think and what they do, in, not only Saudi Arabia, but many of these countries, and then you tell me, whos your friend, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Well yeah, there is always more to reality than Trumps simple bluster, isnt there, as this tweet shows: @BraddJaffy @robcarpenter81 trump and Hussein Sajwani, executive of UAE where homosexuality is punishable by death pic.twitter.com/aNDBuN32Ox Steven (@SteveP_201) June 15, 2016 When Donald Trump said, Ask the gays, the Twitterverse quickly responded by putting the presumptive Republican nominee in his place. In fact, as Huffington Post trends editor Jenna Amatulli quipped the other day, it was the best Twitter meme Donald Trump never wanted. That is just one example, of course. There have been many others. Like reality, social media does seem to have a liberal bias. And that bothers Fox News addicted conservatives. They need to be able to sign onto their social media accounts with some feeling of assurance that their reality bubble will not be penetrated. Enter Newsmax talkshow host Steve Malzberg, with the answer to the pesky prickings of unwelcome facts: We need a conservative Facebook, a conservative Google, a conservative Twitter. You get what hes saying. You know, something to go along with the conservative alternative to Wikipedia, Conservapedia. We can be sure it will be at least as accurate as Conservapedias claim that Trump seems to be on the side of the homosexual agenda. Of course, as Human Rights Campaign (HRC) tells us, Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality, which, says The New York Times, is a position he has held since at least 2000 a long time for Trump to hold any opinion. And it was Trumps complete, but by no means unique, tone deafness to LGBT issues, that led to the ask the gays fiasco. Donald Trump is not on the side of the homosexual agenda, of course, and cant be while he is saying he will overturn marriage equality, and pals around with people who want to kill gays. So a conservative-friendly (meaning fact-hostile) social media platform gives conservatives a place where they can pretend anything they want to be true, sort of like what Fox News has done with the mainstream media. Then Malzberg can enjoy conservatweets about non-existent massacres of Christians in our streets. You can certainly see the appeal this would hold for conservatives, harassed daily by fact-friendly tweeters. They say social media censures conservatives, when in fact it corrects them, and mocks them for being egregiously wrong, shall we say. It must be awful for them, having their deeply cherished illusions so rudely ripped away, again and again by people who dont get their information from Fox News. But here again the pesky prickings of reality intrude, and People for the American Ways Brian Tashman has some advice for Malzberg, writing The Newsmax host may want to ask Janet Porter of the Religious Right group Faith 2 Action how creating a conservative alternative to Facebook turned out. The fact is, though Trump and other Republicans like to pretend they represent some silent majority, the silent majority speaks again and again on social media, telling conservative clowns exactly what it thinks about them. The bruising answer is that the silent majority isnt impressed with gay-bashing, misogynist, racist a**clowns like Donald Trump. Having your own Twitter isnt going to change that. It just gives you a place to pretend its not true. JINAN, June 16, 2016 -- Chinese People's Armed Police Force soldiers take part in a raid session at the Mountain Tai in Taian, east China's Shandong Province, June 16, 2016. Soldiers of the Armed Police Force in Shandong held training sessions in the forest at the Mountain Tai on Thursday. The training will last for 7 days and nights, including 43 sessions of 6 categories. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng) 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. President Xi Jinping has proposed more cooperation on major projects with Serbia ahead of his state visit to Belgrade. China wants to share development opportunities and achievements with Serbia, Xi said in an article published by Politika, a daily Serbian newspaper. The two countries should increase bilateral trade and investment to benefit people in both nations, Xi said. Describing Serbia as an "eternal friend and sincere partner" of China, he highlighted the bilateral friendship that dates to the 1950s when China established diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia. "There is a saying in Serbia that friends are the fruits of time," Xi said in his article. The two countries will sign a number of cooperation documents covering areas including economic affairs, trade, production capacity and finance, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Denis Depoux, deputy president of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for Asia, said Serbia is one of the hot spots for investments in Europe, as the country seeks to join the European Union. He said Serbia has been able to position itself as a destination with the lowest production costs in Europe and a high availability of labor with technical skills. Economic growth in Central and East European nations has created many business opportunities for Chinese companies and investors, he said. Xiang Junyong, an international relations researcher at Renmin University of China, said Xi's visit will bring more Chinese investment to Serbia, where many Chinese companies have contracts to build rail, highway and bridge projects. Sinisa Mali, the mayor of Belgrade, told China Central Television the two countries will sign an agreement worth 500 million euros ($561 million) on investment in the city's sewage facilities. A Chinese company will also build an industrial park in Belgrade, he said, without disclosing the company's name. Liu Haixing, assistant foreign minister, said Xi will visit the Smederevo steel mill, which was founded in 1913 and acquired in April by Hesteel Group, China's largest iron and steel business group in terms of production capacity. In 2009, Serbia became the first country in Central or Eastern Europe to establish a strategic partnership with China. In September last year, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and troops from the European country attended the parade in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. Following statewide legislation that went into effect in May, there has been some confusion about how Rochester's school board election primary will be held in August. Essentially, the changes would impact how candidates names are listed on the ballot but due to a 1974 law passed specifically regarding Rochester, the district is exempt from the Legislature's most recent changes. "Essentially, the primary and general election will occur as you were anticipating when you filed for a seat on the RPS School Board," said John Carlson, director of business for RPS in an updated memo sent to school board candidates Thursday. "We apologize for the multiple messages and confusion this may have caused." The Rochester Public School District was notified of the statewide changes in early June, by the Secretary of State, but the office overlooked the law specific to Rochester, said Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester. The "confusing" updates came with the Secretary of State's interpretation as an explanation to how they should be applied. The reason for the statewide change was to "help provide uniformity and clarify" school district offices should be placed on the ballot as one office, with a "Vote for Up To" the number to be elected not as separate offices, each with a "Vote for One," according to Ryan Furlong, the communications director for the Minnesota Secretary of State. ADVERTISEMENT The changes would have made the school board election process an open primary, which means all the candidates would be put on an open list, from which the candidates who received the most votes would continue to November's election. In Rochester, because there are seven candidates that have filed for three seats more than twice the number of seats available the top six candidates would have been nominated for the election in November. But a 1974 law effectively overrules the new legislation and exempts Rochester from falling under that category, so the district will only hold a primary for one seat, seat 3, which Bobbie Gallas, John League and incumbent Deborah Seelinger filed for. "It didn't affect the way which I was going to run," Gallas said, who is one of three candidates who will now be on the ballot for an August 9 primary . Rochester uses an "alley" system, which elects board members to individual, at-large seats. But it's different from a typical at-large system, where all candidates run against all other candidates, because it allows candidates to pick specific seats. But the seats aren't tied to districts, the entire community is able to vote for all the candidates. Statewide, systems vary in some school districts seats are tied to geographic districts, some are completely at-large, and others are a combination of at-large and geographic, according to a 2014 memo prepared for Liebling by a DFL researcher. "There are pros and cons to all these things," Liebling said, but Rochester's system can produce "odd results," like multiple candidates filing against a particular incumbent, or other incumbents running completely unopposed. "It's historical, it's not because of anything because of modern-day Rochester," Liebling said. "This is the way history has been and this is the way state law operates." School Board Chair Gary Smith said school board members weren't aware of the change, or that the Legislature was even talking about changes. ADVERTISEMENT "We didn't even know about it, it kind of caught us by surprise I'm not sure anybody really knew," Smith said. Liebling said a school board member contacted her, and because of that she looked into it. "It sort of ended up being out of curiosity, otherwise the school district wouldn't be complying with the mistake in interpretation." Liebling said. 'Low-information elections' Liebling raised other concerns about school board elections, calling them "low-information elections," because they run without party designation and issues are often unclear. The fact that they're generally low-budget campaigns doesn't help with communicating to voters either. "It's hard for regular citizens to get information about who the various school board members are and what they stand for," she said. And this can make it difficult for the community to understand how the uncommon election system works in the first place. Despite how the election will work, school board candidate John League said for the most part, the public has "no idea about school board elections." League is another candidate on the ballot for the August primary. ADVERTISEMENT "My intent is really to educate our school-aged kids parents a little more about the school system, especially the school board," he added. "That's really more of my agenda." But because Rochester is an outlier, the question remains, how should elections be handled in the first place. There's been lots of discussion about the pros and cons of each system, and Liebling said she's even hosted conversations about how the process works in the past, but there has never been a consensus on what's best. "Lots of school board members weren't thrilled about the possibility of making any changes," Liebling said. "But they shouldn't be the deciders on is, because it's about what serves the community the best." A set of Destination Medical Center Design Guidelines intended to steer the city toward its goal of becoming "America's City for Health" will count on changes in the business and development community. Rochester residents had opportunities to review and comment on the guidelines at two public meetings Thursday. Authors of the guidelines, Tom Fisher and Bob Close of the University of Minnesota Metropolitan Design Center, fielded questions, including how developers would be able to provide their feedback on the new recommendations for DMC-area building. "We certainly don't want to create something that is a problem for our development community or in other words discourages development at a time when we're trying to move the city forward," Fisher said. "On the other hand, we'll be honest, we're also trying to change the development community in Minnesota. "The American development community we think in many ways is behind what is happening elsewhere in the world, and we think there are some best practices that we could greatly benefit from, that produce very profitable real estate developments but that are also done in ways that also create incredible cities," Fisher said. ADVERTISEMENT The city has other planning documents that are considered guidelines, another attendee at a session Thursday pointed out; for the new DMC Design Guidelines to effect change, the city would have to go further. "That was part of the idea of this was to actually put a lot of this in a format that could be written into the regulations," like the Rochester Zoning Ordinance and Land Development Manual, Fisher said. The Rochester City Council will have the final say on which guidelines and recommendations take ordinance form, said Mitzi Baker, Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department executive director. Even if some of the document makes its way into city ordinance, Baker said it would be important to view the guidelines as a guiding document, not a rulebook. "I think it's important that we don't look at this as a document that says this is the only way you can do business in Rochester, but this is what we overall, all, are aspiring to achieve as a community," Baker said. The DMC Design Guidelines, and DMC development in general, could require more direction in the future and the Metropolitan Design Center is planning to keep a voice in the conversation. As an extension of the University of Minnesota, the design center might seek space within the Rochester campus. "We actually hope at some point to have a branch office here in Rochester where we could be available full time for all the incredible things that are going on here," Fisher said. The DMC Design Guidelines are available for public review on the city of Rochester website, at rochestermn.gov , and comments can be emailed to Terry Spaeth, city development director. His contact information is available on the website under the administration department tab. WINONA The legacy of Winona's pint-sized superhero Super-Gav lives on. His parents, lawmakers and health officials announced on Wednesday that Minnesota will add three rare disorders to the list of conditions tested as part of the state's newborn screening program. The news comes nine months after 5-year-old Gavin Quimby, also known as "Super-Gav," died from metachromatic leukodystrophy. His parents, Shanna and Nick Quimby, have been pushing to get six other related disorders added to Minnesota's newborn screening program. The Minnesota Department of Health will begin screening for three of these disorders in January mucopolysaccaridosis type 1, Pompe disease and X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. Nick Quimby said he and his wife want to do what they can to make sure parents find out as soon as possible if their child has one of these life-threatening disorders. "We wanted other families not to have to go through what we went through," the Winona dad said after a news conference at Winona Health. ADVERTISEMENT When Gavin Quimby was born, his family had no inkling he had a rare disorder. It wasn't until he was almost four years old that he was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy or MLD, a genetic disorder that causes the brain and nervous system to progressively lose function. The community of Winona rallied around the Quimby family, declaring June 19, 2014, to be "Super-Gav Day." On that day, then 4-year-old Gavin donned a T-shirt emblazoned with a "G" and a red cape and performed heroics around the city. He was presented with a golden key to the city. During Tuesday's news conference, Gavin's parents wore Super-Gav T-shirts in their son's honor. While Minnesota still does not screen for MLD, his parents said they see the addition of these three related disorders as a step in the right direction. They are hopeful that one day, the state will screen for MLD so that critical treatments can begin right away. "We would have our son today if there were some screening for MLD," Nick Quimby said. Newborn screening Minnesota's newborn screening program dates back to 1965. Between 24 and 48 hours after a baby is born, a few drops of blood are collected from the newborn's heel. Those drops of blood are placed on a card. Once the spots have dried, they are sent to the Minnesota Department of Health to be screened. More than 99 percent of Minnesota newborns undergo the screening, although parents can opt out of the program. The Quimbys' quest to increase the number of disorders being screened by the state dates back to November 2014. That's when they approached Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, to ask for help. Miller went on to introduce the Super Gav Act to add the six conditions sought by the Quimbys to the newborn screening program. But Miller said he quickly learned that the best way to get the change made wasn't by passing a law. Instead, he urged the Quimbys to testify before the Newborn Screening Advisory Committee and make their case. The couple shared their story and the committee recommended three disorders be added to the screening program. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger approved the additions. Miller praised the Quimbys' determination to make sure newborns in the state are screened for these serious disorders. ADVERTISEMENT "Super-Gav and his family will play a small but critically important role in the life of nearly every baby that's born in the state of Minnesota, and I think that's something not only to be proud of, but that's something pretty special," Miller said. Minnesota Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Paul Allwood said beginning in January, the state will screen newborns for 60 conditions, including all of the conditions recommended by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. That makes Minnesota's newborn screening program one of the most comprehensive in the nation. "Newborn screening is really important in that we can detect these very rare disorders that in many cases if we don't find them quickly, there's very little we can do. The damage is already done," Allwood said. Continuing the fight The Quimbys say they will continue to push for additional screening of rare, life-threatening disorders via the state's newborn screening program. They also established the Gavin Quimby Research Fund through the Calliope Joy Foundation. That fund supports the research of Dr. Alessandra Biffi, director of gene therapy at Boston Children's Hospital. The goal is to help develop more effective treatments for leukodystrophies. Shanna Quimby said their success pushing for added screening is bittersweet for the family. "We are so happy for other families, but you are still sad for yourself and other people who have lost children," she said. Still, the couple say they are pleased to know the change will help others. The state estimates five to 15 Minnesota children will benefit from these screenings each year. ADVERTISEMENT Nick Quimby added, "We haven't had a lot of good feelings in the last couple of years. This feels good." With Chinese President Xi Jinping's arriving in Serbia for a state visit, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has said his country is willing to cooperate with China in various fields, and will strive for regional stability and peace through economic development. "I think that we'll strike a lot of deals. We're getting ready to sign almost 20 agreements, which is an amazing result for a small country. And we can do a lot of businesses in all different spheres. We are very, very open to cooperating with Chinese companies, Chinese business, Chinese government in all our social spheres." He also spoke highly of the Hungary-Serbia railway, which is China's first high speed rail built in Europe. The Prime minister says it signifies a remarkable attempt made by China, Serbia and Hungary, and the start of the cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries. Meanwhile, as the host of President Xi's first destination, Belgrade Mayor Sini?a Mali also welcomes the Chinese leader and hopes his visit will bring more opportunities for Belgrade. "Probably we will be signing, as far as the city is concerned, at least two agreements, maybe three. One is in the waste water treatment and infrastructure business. The value of this investment is around 500 million euro, so it's a big, sizeable investment. And another is an agreement with another Chinese company to build an industrial park, the Chinese industrial park in Belgrade next to the so-called Chinese Bridge. The bridge that was built actually by the Chinese companies. That will enable us to attract more even more Chinese companies." Relations between two capital cities -- Beijing and Belgrade -- are the epitome of the relations between China and Serbia. The two cities signed cooperation agreement as early as 1980 and the cooperation has brought benefits to both sides. Serbia is the first leg of Xi Jinping's trip to Central and Eastern Europe as well as Central Asia. He will later head to Poland and Uzbekistan. ZUMBRO FALLS To spend less money and maybe get more people to vote, Zumbro Falls this year will join eight other area municipalities who have residents mail in their votes. In parts of Minnesota, mail-in voting is fairly common, especially in rural counties. For example, Polk County in far northwest Minnesota has 41 cities or townships that vote by mail, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State office. Statewide, 736 municipalities vote by mail. To be eligible for mail-in balloting, a town has to have fewer than 400 people. Any township in a non-metro area also qualifies. Zumbro Falls City Clerk Susan Eischens said the town of fewer than 200 people will save about $1,000 this year. "For us in the city here, it was a cost factor," she said. In a typical election, fewer than 100 people vote in Zumbro Falls, but the city still needed to have the same number of election judges. ADVERTISEMENT Second, "I'm really a firm believer that this younger generation is not really about going to polls," Eischens said. But if they get a ballot in the mail, they might be more apt to vote. Finally, she's heard that newer voting machines are likely to be mandated soon. "Looking forward, it's going to cost even more," she said. Wabasha County Auditor/Treasurer Denise Anderson said that parts of Minneiska and Bellechester in Wabasha County and Minneiska Township have used mail-in balloting in the past. The system has worked well, she said. Minneiska saves about $1,400 for the primary and main election while the township saves about $700. To switch to mail-in voting, a city or township has to conduct a public hearing, then the council or township board must vote to approve the change, Anderson said. What other counties in the region are doing: Olmsted County has no towns small enough to qualify, and no townships are doing it. Mower County has three towns Mapleview, Sargeant and Taopi that use it. "We feel that it works better," said Amanda Kiefer, a deputy in the auditor/treasurer's office. "Some residents do have some doubts" about security. But she said using the sealed envelopes and witness signatures helps. "We do take a lot of precautions," she said. ADVERTISEMENT Dodge County doesn't have any towns small enough, said Sara Marquardt, Accounting Services and Elections director. Some could do it but aren't, she said. "We didn't look at that option this year," she said. Goodhue County has only the part of Bellechester and Dennison in its border. "It was a cost factor," said County Finance Controller Amy Hove. The two towns have few people, but since they are split by a county border, they need two sets of judges, adding to the cost. They tried it in the past two elections "and we thought they would be a good test run," she said. "I think it's been fairly successful." The one thing people have complained about is getting "the election vibe" going on Election Day, Hove said. "They like having voters come in," she said. Winona County has its part of La Crescent use mail-in. Houston County has no mail-in communities.. In Fillmore County, Whalan and Preble townships use mail-in voting, said Carrie Huffman, interim auditor/treasurer. It's especially good for Whalan because it has only 40 registered voters, she said. That saves money and might lead to a better turnout. Ballots are sent to all registered voters about a month before Election Day. Those who want to register after that, or the day of the election, need to go to the county courthouse, which will be open regular voting hours. ADVERTISEMENT When you get a ballot, you will need a witness who is registered to vote in Minnesota, including a spouse, notary public or a person with authority to administer oaths. Mark your ballot with black ink and seal it in a tan envelope. Do not write on the ballot or envelope. Put the tan envelope in the larger white one and fill out all the information on that envelope. You and your witness must sign it Seal the white envelope and mail it in. In the county office, the white envelope is checked to make sure everything is correct, then the tan envelope, the one without any identification, is taken out, put aside and opened on Election Day. Illustration: Liu Rui /GT The 16th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, later this month. Leaders of the SCO members and observers will make plans for future multilateral cooperation and discuss institution building and other key issues. As the 2015 Ufa summit passed a resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the organization, how to promote the procedures and the effects of the expansion will be top on agenda this year. Since establishment, the SCO has been following the principles of openness and transparency. The group is willing to cooperate with nations and international organizations that recognize the SCO principles, and welcomes countries applying for membership. The SCO does not restrict its members from joining other international organizations or signing up to treaties, nor prevent members from taking on other international duties. The SCO invites guests and representatives from concerned international organizations to its summit every year. As an observer of the UN General Assembly, the SCO has signed memorandum of cooperation with a number of regional organizations. With growing influence, the SCO has received membership applications from many countries, but it is cautious and has taken a number of factors into considerations when handling these applications. As a young organization, the SCO still needs to improve its institution building and solidify the basis for cooperation, and thus hasty expansion is ill-advised. The SCO also needs to draw lessons from other international organizations in terms of expansion. Expansion risks bringing internal conflicts, increasing decision-making costs and dampening the unity of the organization. Therefore, the SCO has made legal and documentary preparations for the first stage, and established specific teams to research and determine the threshold for expansion. Meanwhile, the SCO fully respects each member state based on the principle of consultation and consensus. During the 2010 Tashkent summit, member leaders approved the SCO rules of procedure and regulations on the admission procedure for new members. While the former has set up concrete entry conditions for new members, the latter has provided a basis to improve the internal mechanisms and organizational procedures. The 2014 Dushanbe summit approved procedures for the granting of SCO member status and a new version of the model memorandum on the obligations of applicant states, further clarifying the principles and procedures of expansion. This symbolized the end of the paper-preparatory phase to admit new members. On this basis, the 2015 Ufa summit formally started to expand, admitting Belarus as an observer, and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal as dialogue partners. Generally, international organizations need a long and tough time to expand. Thus, observers are concerned about SCO expansion, especially the admission of India and Pakistan. The two nations, which are hostile over the issues of Kashmir and anti-terrorism, have long been locked into a state of military confrontation, and share conflicting views over the Afghanistan issue and other regional affairs. The hostility between the two states is unlikely to be dispelled in the short time. Together with their complicated relations with China and Russia, analysts believe their admission may have negative effects on the SCO, bringing more internal conflicts and lowering the level of mutual political trust and the efficiency of multilateral cooperation. However, India and Pakistan have both attached great importance to joining the SCO. They pledged to sign all the SCO legal documents and perform in accordance with the law, and are willing to contribute to the SCO on both economic and security matters. Noticeably, expansion could also bring many benefits to the SCO. The scope of the group will be expanded from China, Russia, and Central Asian countries to South Asia, covering over 60 percent of Eurasia. In addition, more opportunities will be brought to the SCO. As India and Pakistan are both major powers in South Asia, their accession to the SCO will make the group a more important player and more appealing in regional and global affairs. With more geopolitical and geo-economic influence, the SCO will play a vital role in the process of multi-polarization. In the Tashkent summit, the SCO will demonstrate its special global influence again to the world. Public question whether Manchu-style ceremony was quaint or servile SHENYANG, June 14, 2016 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with performers at the Shenyang Palace Museum in Shengyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, June 14, 2016. Merkel visited Shengyang on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Li Gang) A Manchu-style welcoming ceremony to greet visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province has drawn controversy on Chinese social media, with some netizens accusing it of "raking up China's humiliating modern history and impairing the country's dignity." During her visit to the northeastern industrial city of Shenyang on Tuesday, Merkel and her delegation were invited to visit the Shenyang Palace Museum, which offered an official welcoming ceremony characteristic of the Manchu, the ethnic group that started China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911). During the ceremony, Merkel enjoyed a performance demonstrating royal rituals and was welcomed by the "Chinese emperor" and his "concubines." Video of the ceremony soon went viral on Sina Weibo under the hashtag "Merkel's visit to Shenyang," which garnered more than 3.6 million page views and received mixed reactions from netizens. Some supported the ceremony for "showing traditional culture," while others dismissed it as a "shameless performance." "The ceremony is shameless and servile - a fake emperor acted to welcome a condescending foreign leader. It reminds me of the Eight-Nation Alliance [including Germany] that besieged Beijing in 1900," a netizen commented under the hashtag on Thursday. "It's absurd to relate this routine performance to the Eight-Nation Alliance. The public should not amplify side issues, but focus on the possible development opportunities that Merkel brought to the city," a Shanghai-based expert on international relations who asked for anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday. The Shenyang Palace Museum could not be reached for comment as of press time. Zhang Yiwu, a professor and cultural scholar at Peking University, told the Global Times that some netizens over-interpreted the ceremony. "The Shenyang Palace Museum is a cultural name card for the city, thus holding such a grand welcoming ceremony for a foreign leader is quite understandable," Zhang added. According to the palace museum's official website, similar ceremonial performances are held weekly from April to October and are open to all visitors. Zhang suggested that the public adopt a placid attitude and not view the museum's folkloric performance as a sign that China cannot let go of its history. He noted that tourist activities in both developed and developing countries include performances in reconstructed historical settings. Merkel visited Shenyang primarily to see the city's Sino-German manufacturing park, a key site in strategic cooperation on the "Made in China 2025" and "Industry 4.0" initiatives, China Central Television reported Tuesday. Merkel visited China from Sunday to Tuesday on her ninth trip to the country since 2005. Serbia, Poland, Uzbekistan trip promotes Chinas vision Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a three-nation tour on Friday before attending the 16th annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan. Analysts said the state visits to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan are aimed at promoting China's global economic vision in Central Europe and Central Asia, focusing on cooperation in industrial capacity and infrastructure. Also, this year's SCO summit is expected to witness significant progress in India and Pakistan's pursuit to become formal SCO members. "Adding members shows the organization's openness and will increase the SCO's capabilities in resolving security and economic issues. The fact that more countries wish to join the SCO proves the organization's influence is growing," Xia Yishan, a research fellow of Central Asian studies at the China Institutes of International Studies, told the Global Times. Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister Li Huilai told the media on Wednesday that the inclusion is a sign that the organization has matured. The entry of India and Pakistan will add about 1.5 billion people under the SCO umbrella. This may also help improve strained ties between India and Pakistan by opening another communication channel, Xia said. "Under the SCO framework, heads of states and their security and law enforcement departments will regularly meet. This will to some extent help the two countries engage in conciliatory dialogue," Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier said that the SCO has become a paradigm of regional and global cooperation with great vitality. "The SCO serves as a model of efficient cooperation by simultaneously paying equal attention to economic development and security cooperation, which has helped safeguard regional peace and stability," Wang told reporters in May. The summit will also discuss anti-terrorism, drug smuggling and transnational crimes to deepen security cooperation in the region. Founded in 2001, the SCO currently has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers. Cooperation framework Aside from the SCO summit, Xi's visits to the three countries serve to boost China's relationship with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia, analysts said. China and Serbia will sign trade, industry and finance agreements while China and Poland will close deals on finance, aviation, science and education. Within the China-CEE cooperation framework, or the "16+1" mechanism, major projects have been given the green light or are underway, including a China-Europe land-sea express passage, freight train services to strengthen connectivity between China and Europe, and the construction and renovation of a rail link between the Serbian and Hungarian capitals. In April, China's Hebei Iron and Steel Group signed a 46 million euro ($52 million) deal to take over Serbia's century-old steel plant Smederevo, hoping to transform the plant into one of the most competitive firms in Europe. Xi's CEE visits come on the heels of his state visit to the Czech Republic in April. The presidents of the Czech Republic and Serbia attended China's V-day parade in Beijing last year. "Much emphasis in recent years has been given to economic cooperation with the CEE. The region is also vital to China's Belt and Road initiative," said Ding Chun, director of the Europe Research Center at Fudan University. The three nations were among the first to respond to the Belt and Road initiative. Serbia is pushing forward with a re-industrialization strategy to attract more foreign investment, while Poland, as the sole member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in the region, hopes to provide a gateway for China to Europe. In an interview with the Global Times, Miroslaw Gajewski, Polish Ambassador to China, said Poland can become a key partner in the Belt and Road initiative due to its position as a major transportation hub in Europe. "Large-scale investments in infrastructure and logistics systematically strengthened Poland's competitive advantage in the transport business, where our position is already very strong," Gajewski said. Xi will be the first Chinese head of state to visit Serbia in 32 years. In 2009, Serbia became the first CEE country to establish a strategic partnership with China. Poland is China's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe, while China is Poland's largest trading partner in Asia as well as its third-largest importer. China is also eyeing capacity cooperation with Uzbekistan, whose economy mainly relies on energy and agriculture. Song Shengxia and Xinhua contributed to this story WASHINGTON When in his 1964 GOP acceptance speech Barry Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," a reporter sitting near journalist/historian Theodore White famously exclaimed: "My God, he's going to run as Barry Goldwater!" Six weeks into Donald Trump's general election campaign, Republicans are discovering that he indeed intends to run as Donald Trump. He has boasted that he could turn "presidential" respectful, respectable, reticent, reserved bordering on boring at will. Apparently, he can't. GOP leaders who fell in line behind Trump after he clinched the nomination expected, or at least hoped, that he would prove malleable, willing to adjust his more extreme positions and tactics to suit a broader electorate. Two problems. First, impulse control: Trump says what he actually feels, whatever comes into his head at any moment. Second, a certain logic: Trump won the primaries Sinatra-style, his way against the odds, the experts and the conventional rules. So why change now? "You win the pennant," Trump explained, "and now you're in the World Series you gonna change?" Hence his response to the Orlando terror attack. Events like these generally benefit the challenger politically because any misfortune that befalls the nation gets attributed, fairly or not, directly or indirectly, to the incumbent party (e.g., the 2008 financial collapse). And Hillary Clinton is running as the quasi-incumbent. ADVERTISEMENT The textbook response for the challenger, therefore, is to offer sympathy, give a general statement or two about the failure of the incumbent's national security policy, then step back to let the resulting national fear and loathing, amplified by the media, take effect. Instead, Trump made himself the (political) story. First, he offered himself unseemly congratulations for his prescience about terrorism. (He'd predicted more would be coming. What a visionary.) Then he went beyond blaming the president for lack of will or wisdom in fighting terrorism, and darkly implied presidential sympathy for the enemy. "There's something going on," he charged. He then reiterated his ban on Muslim immigration. Why? Because that's what Trump does. And because it worked before. It was after last December's San Bernardino massacre that Trump first called for a Muslim ban. It earned him lots of opprobrium from GOP leaders and lots of support from GOP voters. He shot up in the polls, never to descend until he clinched. So why not do it again? Because the general election is a different game. Trump assumes that the Republican electorate is representative of the national electorate. It's not. Take the Muslim ban. Sixty-eight percent of GOP voters support it. Only 38 percent of Democrats do. And there are approximately 7 million more Democrats in the country. (Independents are split 51-40 in favor.) The other major example of doing what's always worked is the ad hominem attack on big-dog opponents. It worked in the primaries. Trump went after one leading challenger after another, knocking them out sequentially. Hillary Clinton is a lousy campaigner but her machine is infinitely larger and more skilled than any of Trump's 16 GOP competitors. More riskily, Trump is now going toe-to-toe with a sitting president. Barack Obama is no Jeb Bush. He's not low energy. He's a skilled campaigner who clearly despises Trump and relishes the fight. And he carries the inestimable advantage of the gravitas automatically conferred by seven and a half years of incumbency. Moreover, he now enjoys an unusually high approval rating of around 53 percent. Trump's latest favorability is 29 percent (Washington Post-ABC News). It's no accident that Trump's poll numbers are sliding. A month ago, when crowned as presumptive nominee, he jumped into a virtual tie with Clinton. The polls now have him losing by an average of six points, with some showing a nine- and 12-point deficit (Reuters/Ipsos and Bloomberg). ADVERTISEMENT This may turn out to be temporary, but it is a clear reflection of Trump's disastrous general election kickoff. His two-week expedition into racism in attacking the Indiana-born "Mexican" judge. His dabbling in conspiracy, from Ted Cruz's father's supposed involvement in the Kennedy assassination to Vince Foster's ("very fishy") suicide. All of which suggests, and cements, the image of a man who shoots from the hip and is prone to both wild theories and extreme policies. Reagan biographer Lou Cannon thinks that the Goldwater anecdote is apocryphal. How could anyone (even a journalist) have thought that Goldwater, who later admitted he always knew he would lose, was going to run as anything but his vintage, hard-core self? Same for Trump. Give him points for authenticity. Take away for electability. Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post. The Hormel Institute should be congratulated on the grand opening of its major expansion. The expansion was made possible by $13.5 million from the state of Minnesota and matched by a $13.5 million contribution from the Hormel Foundation. The Foundation gave an additional $8 million for the recruitment of up to 120 new staff who will be hired over the next several years. This expansion reaffirms Hormel Institute's commitment to scientific research and innovation while expanding its collaboration with the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to benefit all. Since 1987, Greater Rochester Advocates for Universities and Colleges (GRAUC) has successfully advocated for more than $130 million in higher education funding to support our local economy. GRAUC continues to serve as a catalyst for collaboration and complementary missions amongst our area public higher education institutions. We are committed to advocating for the necessary science and technology programs to support the Hormel Institute and fulfill the skilled workforce needs throughout southern Minnesota. GRAUC is pleased to have Gail Dennison, Hormel Institute's director of development and public relations, on our board. We salute the entire Hormel Institute team on the celebration of this significant expansion. ADVERTISEMENT The work of The Hormel Institute and GRAUC has never been more important. Mark Utz GRAUC board chairman Don Supalla GRAUC executive director Rochester Theres an old joke about how it would be nice if there was an American Interests desk at the State Department, since Foggy Bottom was usually more sympathetic to foreign nations than our own. The truth behind that joke is what makes so extraordinary the story the Wall Street Journal is reporting tonight about the 51 State Department employees who have signed a petition calling for a tougher military policy against the Assad regime in Syria: BEIRUTDozens of State Department officials this week protested against U.S. policy in Syria, signing an internal document that calls for targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State. The dissent channel cable was signed by 51 State Department officers involved with advising on Syria policy in various capacities, according to an official familiar with the document. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a copy of the cable, which repeatedly calls for targeted military strikes against the Syrian government in light of the near-collapse of the ceasefire brokered earlier this year. The views expressed by the U.S. officials in the cable amount to a scalding internal critique of a longstanding U.S. policy against taking sides in the Syrian war, a policy that has survived even though the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has been repeatedly accused of violating ceasefire agreements and Russian-backed forces have attacked U.S.-trained rebels. The Wall Street Journal doesnt say so directly, but this represents massive internal disgust with the pusillanimity of Obama going on for several years now. That the State Department would want stronger military action is simply extraordinary. Here and there the reality of the matter breaks through: Its embarrassing for the administration to have so many rank-and-file members break on Syria, said a former State Department official who worked on Middle East policy. . . The recent letter marked a move by the heart of the bureaucracy, which is largely apolitical, to break from the White House. In other words, this is a no-confidence vote on Obamas Middle East policy, from a government body that is otherwise endlessly accommodating to drift and indecision. TIANJIN, June 16, 2016 -- A doctor performs an operation for a patient with spinal cord injury at the affiliated hospital of Logistics University of People's Armed Police Force in Tianjin, north China, June 16, 2016. Chinese scientists have used a biomaterial "scaffolds" to treat spinal cord injuries, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on Thursday. A team led by Dai Jianwu, researcher with the CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, first proposed building a microenvironment with biomaterial that would help regeneration of neurons, the CAS said. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) To Brexit or not to Brexit, that is the question addressed by Douglas Murray in Exit Britain? (National Review) and by Christopher Caldwell in See you, EU? (Weekly Standard). What is Brexit? Brexit is shorthand for the question whether Britain should leave the European Union, the question submitted to the British electorate by referendum on June 23. Dont stop reading yet! The question raises issues that concern us every bit as much Great Britain. These engrossing articles do a great job laying them out in a most entertaining manner. Among these issues are the administrative state and national transformation (i.e., immigration). With respect to the current immigration crisis, for example, Murray notes: A migrant flow had persisted across the Mediterranean for years, but it now became a flood. By the German governments own private figures, in 2015 alone around 1.5 million migrants, in addition to those visiting workers who had already been expected, entered Germany. That is around 2 percent of the German population. Similar numbers entered Sweden and other countries. Experts expect a similar flow this year, and the summer rush has already begun. In anticipation, Merkel arranged billions of dollars in bribes from the EU to the Turkish government to stem the flow through Turkish territory. Along with the European Commission, she also agreed that, to keep out several million refugees this year, the EU would award visa-free travel inside the EU to Turkish citizens, who number 75 million. Murray also takes a look at the Remain campaign: In the campaign to date, the prime minister has informed the British public that the vote he has offered, should it go the wrong way, will lead to global recession, a simultaneous rise in mortgage payments and slump in housing prices, the invasion of Europe by Vladimir Putin, the end of peace on the Continent, and the arrival of at least three out of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Murray is British. Indeed, he is an associate editor of the Spectator (UK). Caldwell, by contrast, is American, with a special interest in the issue of immigration in Europe. He is the author of Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West. Caldwell does a good job of situating Brexit issues in an American context. The Brexit referendum arises from a commitment made by Prime Minister David Cameron to prevent the leeching of conservative voters to UKIP. Here Caldwell draws on American analogies: The Tory party under Cameron has become what the Republican party would have become had anybody followed the recommendations laid out by the RNC elders who convened the Growth and Opportunity Project after Mitt Romneys drubbing in the 2012 election. Cameron came of age in the Tory wilderness decades that began with the rise of Tony Blairs New Labour in the mid-1990s. Redemption through wussification is his motto. He has learned to talk about global warming and quality of life. Although something of a Euroskeptic in his youth, he is now on a positive crusade against Little Englandism and xenophobia, and has convinced himself that the Brexit campaign is a symptom of both. Cameron has always been one of those politicians (somewhat like Hillary Clinton) who uses organization and preparation to compensate for a lack of charisma, and the campaign he is running against the referendum he himself called is something to marvel at. It is a masterpiece of political choreography. Investment banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup) and bigfoot British political donors (Lord David Sainsbury, Roland Rudd) have bankrolled a mighty organizationBritain Stronger in Europeto campaign for Remain. It uses top politicians from both the Labour and Tory parties. Project Fear represents the heart of the Remain campaign in which President Obama played a cameo role. Caldwell provides a glimpse of Project Fear: Cameron has solicited foreigners, many of whom are indifferent to or ignorant of the trajectory of Europe in our time, to offer testimonials to the catastrophe that awaits Britain should it reclaim the sovereignty to which it clung so shabbily and unimpressively at Runnymede, Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo, and Dunkirk. These warnings are released daily. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe warns that a vote to leave would scare off Japanese investors. Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund has predicted that the consequences of Brexit range from pretty bad to very, very bad and has helpfully scheduled a report to that effect for June 17, six days before the vote. Cameron roped together 13 U.S. secretaries of defense and state and national security advisers, led by George Shultz, who signed a letter scolding Britons for embarking on what Cameron called an act of supreme irresponsibility. Michael Froman, the U.S. trade representative, warns Britain, Were not particularly in the market for free-trade agreements with individual countries. (Apparently, Britain cannot aspire to the grandeur, in Obama administration eyes, of Chile or Morocco, each of which has such an agreement.) President Obama himself said on a visit to London that, should Britain leave the EU, it would have to get to the back of the queue on trade deals. On that last point, Caldwell adds: Of course, it can come to the front of the queue the next time we need its young men to die in one of our wars. I highly recommend these two articles, long as they are. They entertain as they instruct on issues that matter to us as well as England and Europe. By Eromo Egbejule President Muhammadu Buhari recently celebrated one year in office. Has he delivered on key election promises of change? On the back of vows to fight corruption and insurgency in Nigeria, Mr. Buhari was sworn in as successor to President Goodluck Jonathan a year ago. Mr. Buhari made history as the first challenger to defeat an incumbent since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999. But how well has he fared in delivering on his promises of change to voters? Africa Check evaluated key promises to change sectors of the economy that directly affect citizens daily lives. Corruption Promise: Revenue-producing entities such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Customs and Excise will have one set of books only. Verdict: Not achieved Mr. Buhari made this promise in a debate at Chatham House in February 2015. He has since implemented the Treasury Single Account for a number of entities after both the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations failed to do so. The Treasury Single Account is held at the Central Bank. Before government bank accounts were scattered and some entities were reported to have up to 45 different ones. Officials would use the revenue to open fixed deposit accounts and have interest accrue while projects suffer. Keeping the governments funds in one place makes it easier to track them. The president has claimed that the single account brought together N2.2 trillion from the many scattered accounts. This includes the Nigeria customs service. However, in September 2015 the accountant-general of the federation announced the exemption of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other entities, such as the Nigeria Railway Corporation and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, from transferring their funds to the Central Bank. The reason given was that these were profit-oriented government business entities. Therefore, all revenue-producing agencies in the country do not yet have one set of books as Buhari promised. Declaration of assets Promise: Publicly declare my assets and liabilities and encourage my political appointees to also publicly declare their assets and liabilities. Verdict: Not achieved Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu released details of Buharis assets last September when his asset declaration form and that of deputy president Yemi Osinbajo was handed to the Code of Conduct Bureau for verification. The presidents assets included five houses and livestock such as cattle, sheep, horses and a variety of birds. Mr. Buhari has said he would make the documents available to the public after the bureau has finished their job but is yet to do so. Until this happens, we have to rate this promise as not achieved. So far, only two political appointees in this dispensation have declared their assets to the Code of Conduct bureau the director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, who was appointed under the Jonathan administration as well as the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Waziri Adio. National security Promise: Ensure that under my watch, no force, external or internal, will occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil. Verdict: Mixed progress In Buharis inaugural speech, he immediately ordered that the militarys command centre be relocated to the capital of Borno state. Maiduguri was the hotbed of the insurgency being waged by Boko Haram, which had previously taken effective control of a swathe of territory about the size of Belgium in the North East region. The president then strengthened Nigerias relationship with partner governments in the Multinational Joint Task Force, comprising Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The insurgents have since lost control of most of the territory they held but still carry out suicide bomb attacks from time to time. One of the Chibok schoolgirls infamously abducted from their beds in April 2014 has been rescued and even fleeing emirs are returning to their domains. To the south, the oil-rich Niger Delta is in the middle of another crisis. The Niger Delta Avengers, a startup ethnic militia, are destroying pipelines at will despite a heavy military presence in the area. Environment Promise: To implement vigorously a comprehensive Niger delta pollution cleanup programme. Verdict: Achieved Nigerias minister of environment, Amina Mohammed, took up the role after stepping down as a special adviser to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon. Under her watch, the government has started a programme to clean up oil pollution in the Niger delta. This means the replanting of mangrove trees and setting up of factories to process and clean heavily contaminated soil, as was recommended in a 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme report. The clean-up campaign was officially launched earlier this month in Bodo, Ogoniland. Mr. Buhari was supposed to unveil the commemorative plaque but cancelled his visit. However, the UK newspaper The Guardian reported that it will take some 18 months to start full remedial work. Employment Promise: Target the creation of 3 million new jobs a year through industrialisation, public work and agricultural expansion. Verdict: No progress In the first year of Buharis presidential term unemployment has shot up. In May, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the unemployment rate has risen to 12.1% in the first quarter of 2016 when it was at 8.2% in the quarter that Buhari was inaugurated. The number of unemployed has increased by nearly 4 million between the second quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. April June 2015 Jan March 2016 Fully employed (40 hours/week) 55,693,723 53,977,958 Underemployed (20-39 hours) 12,208,823 15,023,327 Unemployed (1-19 hours) 3,087,719 4,436,07 No job at all 2,445,840 5,049,207 There doesnt seem to be a concrete plan in place to turn the situation around. In Buharis Democracy Day speech on May 29 he only announced that a national womens empowerment fund was going to provide N1.6 billion in microfinance loans to women. Electricity Promise: The APC government shall vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000 megawatts in four to eight years. Verdict: No progress Nigeria reached a peak generation capacity of 4,800 MW in 2015 but last week peak capacity only stood at 2,591 MW, data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission showed. In March 2016, power generation collapsed completely and for three hours no part of the country was supplied from the national grid. Buhari recently admitted that the power situation is no longer a laughing matter. However, only one new plant is under construction, the Azura thermal power station, which was started under Jonathan in 2014 and is an independent power plant. It will add 450 MW in its first phase. This report was first published by our partner, Africa Check, a non-partisan fact-checking organisation. We have their permission to republish. You can follow then on their Twitter account: @AfricaCheck. Musiliu Obanikoro served as Nigerias Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the immediate-past administration of Goodluck Jonathan. In this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES Samuel Ogundipe, Mr. Obanikoro, a one-term senator and former Minister of State for Defence, tells his own side of the story from his abode in the United States, as Nigerias anti-graft officials continue their investigations into his activities while in office, as well as those of his two sons, Jide and Gbolahan. You dared the government to seek your extradition in a statement you released a day after your property was raided in Lagos, did you do that because youre in America or because youre confident of your innocence? You know why I am laughing? Because they have trivialised government by all those senseless propaganda that theyre perpetrating all over the place. These people youre talking about, they know they dont have anything that will withstand judicial scrutiny. They will never attempt any extradition. I, Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, am inviting EFCC to petition America to extradite me to Nigeria. The whole world would now see their charade for what it is. It is even good for everyone to know the truth, including those who are sympathisers to the All Progressives Congress. Because, in Nigeria, youre either on this side or the other side. But this American system is unbiased. Theyre neither for me nor for them. So, let them bring the tissue of lies that they have put together and submit everything to serious judicial scrutiny and let us see whether it will fly. I am inviting them to do that. Let them tell us how APC elections were funded if it was not government funds that they used. So why are you persecuting people that lost election and maturely and showing respect for peace and tranquility of Nigeria submitted themselves to the rule of law and accepted the verdict of the people and youre now turning around to witchhunt them? Maybe theyre trying to tell Nigerians in advance that if they lose elections they will not let go. And I have two good examples to show that if the APC loses election they will never hand over, they would rather destroy the system than hand over government to the winner. My son was a victim in Lagos. We won elections and they refused to hand over without blinking an eye. The councillorship election of my son and chairmanship elections were won by the PDP and they took everything away from themjust like that. But, as the saying goes, the law is like a sieve, so it cant catch all offenders. Similarly, if youve done anything to breach public trust as a minister, shouldnt you be made to pay for your actions in order to deter others from committing similar offence? My brother, dont let us be naive. There are petitions against [Minister of Transport, Rotimi] Amaechi and there are petitions against [Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Tunde] Fashola with the EFCC. They have decided not to touch them because they are in government and they are in APC. We are all Nigerians, are you telling me all APC members are clean? And I am telling you authoritatively as someone who had worked extensively in security institutions in Nigeria that government funds at the state level were used to help APC win elections. You see, it is unfortunate that these people will use propaganda to destroy people unjustly. And, in this month of Ramadan, God will visit them in his own way. All this time they were talking about, my son, Jide, was out of Nigeria. We have evidence to show that he was not even in the country. We have evidence. That is why I am telling them to bring the matter to a neutral ground where they will subject it to proper judicial scrutiny. I am inviting them, I am begging them in the name of God. Jide was not even near Nigeria throughout the period in question. He was here in America when the whole funds theyre talking about were released. My other son, Gbolahan, didnt have access to that kind of money. Did he work for government? How could he have that kind of funds? Are you implying that the EFCC plucked those figures from thin air, including bank accounts and firms said to have been linked to your sons? It is unfortunate that the media in Nigeria are allowing these people to abuse them. Theyre not using you, theyre abusing you. Ask them to give you the account details since they have decided to try this matter in the court of public opinion. Let them publish the account numbers publicly. Why not go to the Corporate Affairs Commission and obtain those documents there independently? That is why I am saying let them come and seek my extradition then we will see whether all the lies theyre propagating in Nigeria will fly here. It is one thing to use their power to intimidate judges and compel them to do things that ordinarily they wouldnt do. But because theyre trying to put everybody in a cage, they will blackmail, they will intimidate just to arrive at a desired conclusion. But luckily, God gave me the wisdom to seek more knowledge after office, thats why I am here in America and not in Nigeria for them to persecute the way theyre persecuting others. Tell EFCC to give you all the documents of the company and account statements from the banks. Let them publish everything in the papers. And anywhere you see Obanikoros name, you should crucify me. Neither Jide nor Gbolahan has interest in Sylvan McNamara Ltd. or knows anything about the N4.7 billion fleece? I am volunteering to pay for the publication. Tell EFCC to make them available then you call me, I will pay to have it published in the papers for all Nigerians to see. Not a kobo can be traced to me nor to my children. Not a kobo. Theres a paper trail, this money was not just given in cash. There were bank transactions according to them. At a time they claimed the money was part of the $2.1 billion arms procurement funds. Now, they have changed it that its from the National Security Agencys imprest account. Now, assuming, but without conceding, assuming that it was from NSAs imprest account, does the law not allow the NSA to use its imprest as it pleases when it comes to security? Does the law not allow that? Go and read their release today, they said it was from the NSA imprest account. Let me tell you, I am not defending Dasuki, hell defend himself. But in terms of security parlance and the challenges we were confronted, N4.2 billion was too insignificant against the threat that we faced. I worked as Minister of State for Defence and I know the meaning of imprest account, so discretion is very key in this area. I am telling you and I am appealing to all Nigerians to also join me in asking them to seek my extradition. Did your sons leave Nigeria because they knew the authorities were closing in on them? My sons have really established persecution, politically. You cannot be releasing something to the media for the past eight months and now youre coming out to release the same thing by yourself. Something that you have used to destroy, to tarnish and reduce me in the public and going to my house without a valid court order. They claimed I have forfeited my property, how can I forfeit a property without a due process? You see, my brother, the danger we face in Nigeria is bigger than what all of you are admitting. I am telling you, the danger you face in that country, if EFCC can go to a magistrate and lie to them and get an order that someone has forfeited his property, without a fair hearing? Without any letter inviting him to come and explain anything? Without the judge seeking to know the other side of the story before granting such forfeiture order? Nigeria is in a great trouble, my brother. We are in serious trouble. This is worse than a military era. Far worse than a military era. I am going to petition the National Judicial Commission on the activities of the judge. I do not have any business account anywhere in the world. Since I dont have any business, you cannot trace any money to a business account. How can you forfeit someones sweat without hearing from them? Now, talking about my sons. Let me tell you, Jide went for a course in Hollandlet me tell you, I want them to come to America, I am repeating myself so that the two of us can have serious judicial scrutiny. Jide went to Holland for a course in fish farming. But it is convenient for the EFCC to go to a beer parlour shop and be speculating. You cannot say people should not go and improve themselves when they have interest. Gbolahan also has a very good reason to be out of the country. Gbolahan has a valid explanation and a genuine and honest reason to be in America. But from what were seeing now, we can tell that were in deep political trouble with the government of the day. Let me tell you, I will not honour any invitation from the EFCC and neither would I allow my children to be part of that charade. Having gone to my house without inviting me or inviting my children. They subjected my grandkids, my teenage kids, my wife and daughter-in-law to this kind of embarrassment, it is evident that I cannot get any fair hearing from them. It is unfortunate that they would jump fences into my residence in which there were two-year-old, three-year-old, four-year-old-children. Every man deserves fair hearing. You must have your day in court. Now taking that privilege away from people and not dignifying them, to me, is not good. You dont need any soothsayer or any pastor or any imam to tell you that they have a predetermined position as far as this matter is concerned. Either officially or unofficially, they have never invited me. Let me tell you something new today, about a month or two ago, we got a letter from the bank that Gbolahans account was frozen. We went to court in Abuja. EFCC came to court and lied that they never froze the account. Their deposition is in court. Our lawyer, Onoja, has their deposition in which they said they never froze the account. So, we have all the proof to prove in a fair judicial system that these people are witchhunting us and that theyre persecuting us. We have sufficient evidence and we will show it in the court of law. Let them bring anything they have. I can show it to you that there is no wherewhatever evidence they havethat they can link me, Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, and my children directly to any of the claim being made by them. Why did they lock up Femi Fani-Kayode? What did he do that their own campaign spokesman did not do? This is someone who had no idea how money for campaign was sourced. You also had a publicity secretary who paid the media just as Femi did and hed never been invited for anything. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Theres a clear evidence that whatever the EFCC is doing now is just persecution, political persecution. They have gone from arms money to other things. What did operatives make away with when they raided your property and that of your son? Has your family enumerated the items to you? That is no longer relevance as far as I am concerned. I have asked my lawyers to challenge all their activities in the court. I am a law abiding citizen, but I will not allow anybodyno matter how highly placedto humiliate me, to rubbish me. I have been in public office for more than 20 years and I have never been found wanting. For them to call me a thief, it means a lot to me, even if it doesnt mean anything to them. Every of my properties can be explained. These were things acquired not when I was in government. Including the exquisite vehicles and other valuables said to have been wheeled away from your home? Up till now, they have not given us any court order to the effect of everything theyve done. As I speak to you, they have not. Our lawyer was there today for over four hours and they didnt give him anything. Nigeria is in trouble. If people of goodwill dont stand up and ask these people to follow due processall I am saying is: follow due process. Nobody, should be above the law, including the institutions that are saddled with the responsibility of law enforcement. If all of us submit ourselves to the rule of law, that is when we will have orderliness. We will not have orderliness when people trample on the individual rights with impunity and knowing that nothing will happen to them. I want all Nigerians to be patient and let us bring this fight against corruption to the international arena and see how it would play out. So youre going to remain in exile rather than submit yourself to Nigerian authorities? I did not say that. I cannot say that. Nigeria is my country, a country that I love dearly. What I am saying is that, once EFCC is made to conform with due process, rule of law, fairness, equity I am prepared to submit myself and come home. We learnt you recently graduated from Oglethorpe, yet youre determined to remain in the United States for a while, are you afraid of the president? One thing I know General Buhari does not have is tolerance for opposition. I can say that anywhere. He does not tolerate opposition. You can see that this point is quite evident in all his activities, even though it would have been in his interest to allow opposition to thrive. If the PDP had killed opposition, they wont be in power today. Anyone that speaks against Buhari now is an opposition and they will deal with him. As I am talking to you now, I am enrolled in a leadership training course. I am also studying Spanish after which I intend to enrol to study French. I have started Spanish now, I learning Spanish now. You didnt apply for a job, how are you sustaining yourself? I am an old man, who will employ me? People see old men as liabilities. But you have the skill, youve been educating yourself all over, after all? Yes, what I can do here is consultancy, and you have a lot of activities in that aspect here. There are so many companies that are interested in public ventures in Nigeria and they need people like us who have been in government to advise and do paperworks for them so that they can have informed position as far as their interest is concerned. Theres a lot to do here, actually. There was outpouring of emotions at Nimbo, Enugu State, on Friday as nine of the victims of the April 25 attack on the community by suspected herdsmen were buried. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victims, all male, were buried in the community amidst tears by relatives and members of the public who thronged the funeral. The women of the community were clad in black attires and marched round the venue of the event singing war and solemn songs while some cried and rolled on the ground. In his tribute during the funeral mass, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State assured the community that they must get justice. The death of our brothers cannot be in vain as we must do all within our lawful means to give them justice, he said. This has become necessary to prevent such occurrence anywhere in the country. The governor said five suspects arrested in Kogi State in connection with the killing must be made to face the law. Mr. Ugwuanyi commended the Federal Government for steps taken so far to redress the situation. He said the state government would continue to assist the families of the deceased in various ways. Earlier in a homily, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Godfrey Onah, said the community was yet to recover from the incident. How often have we wished the whole thing was just a bad dream from which we would soon wake? As if to shake off any element of doubt, here we have the remains of some of our slain brothers lying before us, he said. Mr. Onah appealed to the government not to contemplate any laws that would deprive people of their farmlands and means of sustenance in order to provide grazing reserves. NAN reports that the caskets were taken away for interment by their respective families at the end of the mass as some were buried previously on request. The funeral was attended by Sen. Chukwuka Utazi representing Enugu North and some members of the state assembly led by the Speaker, Edward Ubosi. Also in attendance were a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, the director general of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, traditional rulers and members of the clergy. (NAN) Three days after raiding their properties in Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has written to formally invite the sons of a former minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro. Letters of invitation seen by PREMIUM TIMES say Babajide Obanikoro, and his brother, Gbolahan, should appear before Hamza Abdulahi, an EFCC investigator, on June 22, 2016 by 10:00 a.m. at 30A Harper Crescent, Zone 7, Abuja. This commission is investigating a case in which your name featured prominently, wrote Kanu Idagu who signed the letter, dated June 15, 2016, on behalf of the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu. In view of the above, youre requested to kindly report for an interview with the undersigned. PREMIUM TIMES also gathered that operatives also raided Mr. Obanikoros property in Abuja on Thursday and Friday. Sources familiar with the development said EFCC had taken possession of the home. Meanwhile, the former minister on Thursday filed a suit at a Federal High Court in Lagos for the enforcement of his fundamental rights, as well as those of his family members accused by the EFCC of financial wrongdoing. In suit number FHC/L/CS/826/16, filed by their lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, the Obanikoros sought, amongst other reliefs, a compensation of N100,000 million from the Nigerian government. Those listed as applicants in the fundamental rights enforcement action are: Fati Obanikoro, Moroophat Obanikoro, Gbolahan Obanikoro, Babajide Obanikoro and Musiliu Obanikoro as first, second, third, fourth and fifth applicants respectively. The EFCC had on Tuesday stormed Mr. Obanikoros residence in Lagos. Also searched was a property said to belong to Mr. Obanikoros eldest son, Babajide, where officials carted away vehicles and other valuables in a raid that lasted several hours. The properties are located at Parkview Estate and Onikoyi Drive, both in the Lagos highbrow suburb of Ikoyi. Mr. Onoja argued in the affidavit that the seizure and detention of the applicants several items, properties and personal effects, constitute a gross violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act, Cap. 10, LFN, 2004. The seizure and continued detention of the applicants several items, properties and personal effects, are neither known to any law nor permitted by any law or procedure and, therefore, not justified. No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit, which is yet to be assigned to a judge. Mr. Obanikoro and his two sons, Jide and Gbolahan, were not in the country when the properties were raided. But they vowed to challenge the actions of the government within and outside the country. Officials accused the family of looting up to N4.7 billion in public funds, allegedly using shoddy companies and other proxies to perpetrate the act. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES in his first interview since the raid, Mr. Obanikoro denied any wrongdoing and dared the Nigerian government to commence extradition process against him and his two sons. According to the court filings, Mr. Onoja said the following items were taken from his clients properties during the raid: 1. Files and documents 2. Check leaflets (Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank) 3. Two company seals 4. Six company stamps 5. Photocopy of data pages of passports 6. Forms CO7 of various companies 7. Continuation sheet with HEs signature 8. Building plans 9. Phones 10. Balmoral Ltd. documents 11. Car keys 12. Items taken from Jide Obanikoros apartment: 13. Ejide Farms Ltd. documents 14. Bank statements 15. Kia Optima (Bronze colour) 16. Cheque leaflet from Access Bank (Mahnoush Beauty Place) 17. Flash drive 18. GTBank statement of account 19. Items taken from Musiliu Obanikoros home: 20. Building plans 21. Bills of quantities 22. Business proposals 23. Books 24. Letters from Profound Securities 25. Land documents in Ikoyi. The Nigerian Army has denied reports that the salaries of soldiers in 1 Mechanized Division, Kaduna, had been illegally deducted from. The division described the report as false and unfounded. This was contained in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Abdul Usman, a colonel, on Thursday. The statement reads: The attention of 1 Division Nigeria Army has been drawn to an online publication carried in Sahara Reporters over illegal deduction of their salaries. In the report, it was alleged that soldiers of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, have cried out that their monthly salaries are being deducted by 1 Division Finance Department without explanation which cut across all the ranks. We wish to debunk the entire allegation as contained in the publication and make some clarification on the issue. First and foremost, we would like to state that the Nigerian Army pay system is generated from the Finance Headquarters. This by implication implies that all information regarding Pay/Allowances is built up in the system and as such, the Division Finance can neither manipulate nor alter any data of a soldier captured in the pay roll. The Army has a robust system to address any problem with respect to soldiers concerns, including pay issues. It is our submission that the allegations are spurious without any iota of truth. More so, the allegations are made anonymous which is totally unusual in a military setting. Sahara Reporters is hereby strongly advised to always double check such allegations in the interest of justice and fairness, he said. Troops of the Nigerian Army, in an operation with personnel of the Civilian- JTF, on Thursday, carried out an operation that led to the arrest of two key Boko Harams commanders, an army statement said. Those arrested are Ibrahim Jagwal, 38, who is an Ameer (commander), and the insurgents automobile repairman, Audu Ahmadu, 45. Going by Boko Harams ranking protocol, the two may have killed up to 50 persons or personally slit the throat of any of their parents, or family member to whom they are related by blood, to earn their prestigious rank as Ameers. The arrest of the two Boko Haram leaders is being considered as a major achievement for the Nigerian troops and the ongoing counterinsurgency operations. Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, a Colonel, said in a statement that the two men were helping the troops with vital information that could lead to further major arrests. Mr. Usman, who is the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, added 47 civilians comprising men, women and children had also been rescued during a raid operations in one of the Boko Haram camp between Borno and Yobe state. His statement reads: Today, Thursday 17th June 2016, troops of Sector 5, 27 Task Force Brigade, 3 Division, in conjunction Civilian JTF from Maiduguri arrested a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Ibrahim Jagwal, aged 38 at Gishiwa Dabua area of Potiskum, Yobe State. The suspected terrorist who turned out to be the Ameer of the Boko Haram Terrorists at Tumbin Gini, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State, also led the team to Garejin Audu in Potiskum, where another terror suspect, Audu Ahmadu, (alias Condemned) aged 45 years, was arrested same day. Preliminary investigation confirms that Audu Ahmadu is a Boko Haram Engineer who specializes in repairs of automobiles for the Boko Haram terrorists group. It was further confirmed he was at the garage to repair 2 vehicles. The vehicles were recovered by the team, while the suspects have been taken into custody for onward movement to Joint Interrogation Centre. In a related development, troops of 156 Task Force Battalion, 29 Task Force Brigade carried out clearance patrol yesterday. The patrol team came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists near Abalam, South West of Alagarno forest. The team engaged the terrorists who fled due superior fire power. The troops pursued them and discovered that they left behind 7 men, 13 women and 27 children that were held hostage at Gemri village. The patrol team also recovered 4 Dane Guns, 3 Bows and 5 packs of arrows containing 114 arrows. The terrorists camp was destroyed while the rescued persons have been moved to Maiduguri Internally Displaced Persons Camp. The governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, on Tuesday vowed to empower members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, posted to the state, to create jobs. Mr. Umahi made the commitment during the swearing-in of 2016 Batch A, Stream 2, corps members at the NTSC Orientation Camp in Afikpo Local Government Area. Despite the adverse economic situation in the country, the governor said Ebonyi would turn the potential jobseekers to job creators. Mr. Umahi was represented at the swearing-in ceremony by the state Commissioner for Youth Development and Sport, Charles Chukwuemeka. The governor, who lauded the vision of the scheme, however, maintained that his administration would ensure that the gains of NYSC were sustained This administration will always place it on its priority list to sustain these gains despite the economic challenges, the governor explained. Let me assure you that my administration will always attach great importance to efforts geared towards sustaining the gains of the NYSC scheme. During the past one year, he said his administration has created a platform to harness the potentials of youth to become job creators. According to him, the initiative was already yielding tangible results as many youth in the state have ventured into various businesses especially, agriculture. My administration totally agrees with the thinking of the NYSC management especially in the area of entrepreneurship, Mr. Umahi continued. That is the reason we have, as a government in the last one year, under the Devine Mandate committed ourselves to the welfare and wellbeing of the youth. He assured that the government would create an enabling environment for youth to thrive and harness their God-given potentials through good governance. Some corps members who spoke to Premium Times pledged to be change agents at their various primary places of assignment. One of them, Onigha Pius said, My deployment to Ebonyi State is the will of God. I will make God and man proud. I am here to serve and will leave a mark by the grace of God. Also, David Ogunejimite said serving in Ebonyi had always been his dream and therefore he will put his best throughout the service year Security agencies in Osun State held an emergency meeting Thursday to find ways of curtailing possible fallouts of an ongoing controversy over the use of hijab in public schools. The meeting was held at the office of the state Director of Security Services, Ike Madagwana, with the state police commissioner, Femi Olanipekun, representatives of the state government, Sunday Akere and Wale Afolabi, both former commissioners, in attendance. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), representative of Baptist Church in the state, other paramilitary organizations in the state. The states Christian Association of Nigeria is opposed to the use of hijab by female Muslim students in public secondary schools, especially those established by churches. A recent court ruling authorised the uniform. In response, CAN directed Christian students to attend schools in church garments. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Thursdays meeting, which lasted for several hours, generated hot exchanges between the security officials and representatives from the Baptist Church. The arguments started when Baptist officials made it clear that it was inappropriate for the security agencies to invite them for the meeting, asserting that only CAN could summon them to such meetings to discuss the hijab issue. Members of the Baptist team said they were not informed about such meeting, but were only invited by the Director of SSS, who had informed them that he wanted to see the churchs officials. We wondered how We just want to see you in our office could now turn to be an unexpected meeting, one of the clergymen, who would want to be named, said. We were even surprised that all the security outfits in the state had already gathered at the place waiting for our arrival. We declined to sit with them as we told them that only CAN officials could meet us. How can they say that they want to see us in their office and organize a meeting that we were not aware of with us. After a lot of persuasion by all security agencies that gathered there, we sat with them and when the issue of hijab was raised, we only told them that we were not for war but for peace anytime, any day, but our own right also should not be taken away from us. To our own knowledge, it is not a meeting but invitation to see the SSS in their office before we met all those assembled in preparation to have a meeting with us. If there will be a meeting let them communicate with CAN officials. After the session, state police commissioner, Mr. Olanipekun, told journalists that there was a peaceful meeting between the Christian body and the security agencies in the state to restore peace between Christians and Muslims. He stated the Christian body was charged to live in harmony with Muslims in the state and was assured that same talks would be held with the Muslim body. A journalist in Ogun State, Nosifat Oshin, who was abducted alongside her 15-year-old daughter, Afolabi, two weeks ago, regained their freedom on Friday. The victims, according to the family, were released Friday morning. It was unclear whether ransom was paid. Mrs. Oshin is the director of information at Odogbolu local government area of Ogun State, and wife of a former deputy speaker, Tokunbo Oshin . She and her daughter were seized on June 2 near the familys home in Ijebu-Ode as they tried to drive inside the residence. The former deputy speaker, Tokunbo Oshin, confirmed the release of his wife and daughter. Thank God my wife and daughter have been released, but they have been taken to hospital for medical care, Mr. Oshin told PREMIUM TIMES. President Andrzej Duda addressing a Berlin conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Treaty on Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation said the treaty was a result of the reconcilement process and the end of the Cold War. The president expressed hope that the next 25 years of bilateral relations will lead to even greater mutual understanding. "This treaty is a result of a process of reconcilement between our nations, but also the end of the Cold War. We would not have an end to the Cold War, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall if not for the overthrow of the Soviet bloc initiated by Poland's Solidarity," the president said. President Duda calling German President Joachim Gauck's Friday visit to Warsaw an "incredible, unprecedented exchange of visits." said, it is "a great signal crowning 25 years of deepening and building friendship and opening us for the next 25 years." "I strongly believe that they will be even better...and lead us towards greater mutual understanding," stressed the Polish president. (PAP) For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. In an recent article wrote for China-US Focus.com titled The New York Times is Wrong about the South China Sea, U.S. writer and Foreign Policy analyst Ben Reynolds pointed out that one editorial of the New York Times echoes a number of mistaken arguments that are popular with American policymakers, and hoped that the New York Times could be more thorough and careful with the facts in future pieces, instead of selling the American public on yet another disastrous foreign intervention. Most significantly, the Times lends credence to arguments that dramatically inflate the threat that China poses to the region and the United States, he wrote, this editorial demonstrates the difficulties that face American advocates for peace in a media environment dominated by uncritical support for U.S. foreign policy. Reynolds argued that the editorial has misconstrued key points about international norms in the South China Sea and in Asia as a whole. For example, thefreedom of navigation being asserted by U.S. is for U.S. military vessels, not oil tankers. Needless to say China never poses a threat to the trade in this area. He stressed that the newspaper has demonstrated different attitudes towards China and Vietnam on the construction activities in the South China Sea. To China, the project is aggressive and outrageous tactic; but to Vietnam, U.S. ally, the ongoing military outposts construction just being on-purposely ignored. 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, he mocked. Until major American press outlets reorient their outlook on U.S. foreign policy toward China, it will remain our responsibility to correct dangerous and mistaken ideas that can only contribute to hostility between the American and Chinese peoples. (People's Daily) Hailing it as a timely and significant strategic communication, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi believed the Special China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting held on Tuesday has expanded the consensus between China and ASEAN. The meeting, held ahead of the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, was the first of its kind in three years. The meeting delivered the voice of China and ASEAN members to commit to regional peace and stability, Wang said in a press conference after the meeting. The dialogue ties have boosted respective economic and social development, East Asian cooperation, as well as peace, stability and prosperity in the entire region, he added. The Chinese Foreign Minister called on all parties to focus on win-win cooperation, manage differences and eliminate distractions. In China-ASEAN relations, our cooperation far outweighs disputes, opportunities triumph challenges and solidarity goes way beyond friction, he said. The ultimate goal for China and ASEAN countries is to forge a closer community now that the interests of both sides are highly-intertwined, explained Wang. To ensure a healthy development of China-ASEAN relations, China proposed both sides to reinforce strategic communication, and deepen political mutual trust, according to the Minister, suggesting an early signing of the Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. We should support the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism, narrow down internal development gaps and prioritize education and tourism in cultural cooperation, said Wang. The minister added that China, affirming the significance of building the ASEAN community, supports the ASEAN integration process, backs the central role of ASEAN in regional cooperation and encourages ASEAN to play a bigger role in international and regional affairs. Complex and sensitive issues should be resolved through friendly negotiations, he stressed. Wang also pledged that China will devote concerted efforts along with ASEAN countries to ensure the success of the commemorative summit marking the 25th anniversary of the dialogue relations to be held in Laos this September. Reaffirming the necessity to jointly safeguard maritime peace and stability, top diplomats from the 11 nations also reiterated the proper handling of the South China Sea issue and preventing it from disrupting China-ASEAN cooperation. They also reiterated the importance to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and called for an early completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). Article 4 of the DOC stipulates that disputes should be resolved peacefully through friendly consultation and negotiation by sovereign states directly concerned. According to Wang, the ministers also recognized the progress scored by the recently-concluded senior officials meeting on the implementation of the DOC held in Vietnam, where officials agreed to speed up their efforts in issuing a joint statement on the implementation of the DOC and implement the advice from consultations on the COC. That advice includes accelerating the formulation of guidelines on a senior foreign official hotline on emergencies between China and ASEAN nations. (Peoples Daily) The heads of state from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries are expected to take India and Pakistan to the next stage in a process of attaining full membership at the Tashkent summit to be held in late June. If so, the SCO will move a step closer in expanding its membership. Inclusion of India and Pakistan in the SCO membership was first approved at the SCO summit held in Ufa in Russia last year. At the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers held last month, the ministers adopted a memorandum of obligation on granting the two membership and submitted it to the Tashkent Summit for approval. So the summit to be held in Tashkent will be a key stage for the final decision. During the Ufa summit, the organization also accepted Belarus as an observer state, and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal as dialogue partners. Such moves, regarded as the most important organizational reform since the SCOs establishment, will help improve its international status, and benefit its long-term development. Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Huilai said in a press conference Wednesday that China, as a member of the SCO, welcomes membership applications from all qualified nations willing to join the organization. China will also work with other members to study on relevant application based on legal documents on membership expansion, he pledged. The organization is now assessing applications for dialogue partner status from five more nations, Rashid Olimov, General Secretary of the SCO, told Russian news agency ITAR-TASS in a recent interview. The SCO currently has six member states China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with Belarus, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers, and Turkey, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal as dialogue partners. The expo this year featured business matching fairs and conferences among various industries for the first time. The Investment and Cooperation Conference presented 240 projects in agriculture, energy resources, infrastructure, information engineering, service and many others. During the matching fair of business associations, 22 cooperation agreements were inked, according to CCEEC organizing committee office. In addition, 690 exhibitors from 268 companies in the 16 CEE countries joined the product expo during the event, which attracted more than 1,000 professional buyers from around China. Sealed and potential deals are worth a total of $26 million, according to the CCEEC organization committee office. Official data also show that 18 educational cooperation projects among China and CEE countries were inked during the event. China has signed an agreement with three CEE countries to build a technology and innovation center. A joint research center between Ningbo and CEE cities was officially launched during the event. The Ministerial Conference of China and CEE Countries on Promoting Trade and Economic Cooperation that was held during the CCEEC expo saw the debut of an important publication, Ningbo Manifesto. The manifesto gives an overview of consensus between China and CEE countries and offers guidelines to develop and promote trade cooperation in the future. According to the manifesto, China, especially Ningbo, will step up efforts in generating more trade volume between China and CEE countries in agricultural products, food, technology, manufacturing and emerging sectors such as cross-border e-commerce. Gao Hucheng, minister of China's Ministry of Commerce, said after the ministerial conference that the CCEEC event has achieved what it is expected and created new landscape for economic and trade cooperation among China and CEE countries. Tang Yijun, acting mayor of Ningbo, said that in the recent years, the amount of cooperative projects between Ningbo and cities and regions in CEE countries is increasing and the relationship is getting deeper and more substantial. In the future, Ningbo will host more expos and see it as an opportunity to further work with CEE cities and regions on industrial projects, market development, trading and cultural exchange. About China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo is the first expo on trade and investment between China and CEE countries. The first edition of the expo was held in Ningbo from June 8-12, 2015. It is hosted jointly by the Ministry of Commerce and the provincial government of Zhejiang, and organized by related sectors of the Ministry of Commerce, Ningbo municipal government and Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province. SOURCE CEEC Organization Committee Office NEW YORK, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a latest market report published by Persistence Market Research, titled "Asia Pacific Alopecia Treatment Market :( 2016-2024)", revenue from the Asia Pacific alopecia treatment market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period 2016-2024. In the report, the Asia Pacific alopecia treatment market is analyzed on the basis of, type of alopecia, treatment type, and end user. On the basis of type of alopecia, the overall market has been segmented into alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, and alopecia universalis. Topical drugs (creams, oils, lotions, gels, shampoos, and foam), oral drugs, injectable (platelet rich plasma therapy, steroid and injectable fillers), hair transplant services and low level laser therapy form the basis of treatment type. By end user segment, the market has been segmented into hospitals, dermatology and trichology clinics, home care settings, and aesthetic clinics. In the overall market, oral solid dosage formulations are expected to witness increased acceptance owing to ease of consumption by patients in Asia Pacific. Accordingly, oral drugs segment is anticiapted to witness an increase in value from US$ 556.6 Mn in 2016 to US$ 1,005.1 Mn by the end of 2024. To View Sample Report: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11077 Rising global demand for effective hair loss treatment medications especially oral drugs is the prime driver of the market. Oral hair loss treatment drugs are gaining popularity as they help in maintaining patient-safety through reduced number of medicine dosages, but with increased drug efficacy. However, changing lifestyle along with increase in stress level among working class population, cosmeceutical drug manufacturers focusing on expanding their hair treatment and scalp treatment product line, and cytokine therapy gaining momentum for alopecia treatment are other factors that expected to fuel the market growth for alopecia treatment market over the forecast period. Patent expiry of major blockbuster drugs resulting in market exclusivity for some brands and various side effects associated with the hair loss treatments is expected to hamper the overall market growth. Some of the side effects such as allergies, depression, and chances of permanent sexual dysfunctions. Other market deterrents include limited efficacy of the hair loss treatment drugs and lack of reimbursement facilities for hair loss treatments services, such as laser treatments. Based on countries, the market has been divided into China, Japan, Australia & New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Vietnam, Philippines and Rest of Asia Pacific. Developed pharmaceuticals markets such as the China and Japan are expected to emerge as the main sourcing markets. To View and Download TOC: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/asia-pacific-alopecia-treatment-market/toc This report assesses trends by type of alopecia, treatment type, end user, and countries; to offer analytical insights about the potential demand emerging for particular alopecia treatments in specific regions. China is estimated to dominate the alopecia treatment market accounting for maximum revenue share of the overall market by end of 2016. By 2024 end, China and Japan markets are expected to account for over three-fifth share of the Asia Pacific alopecia treatment market revenue. In terms of market share by value, China is estimated to retain its dominant position, registering a CAGR of 7.1% over the forecast period. Some key companies covered in this report include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Inc., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Cellmid Ltd., The Himalaya Drug Company, Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd, Shiseido Co., Ltd., and Zhangguang 101 Science & Technology Co., Ltd. These companies are primarily focused on enhancing their product portfolio through research and development and introduction of innovative and cost-effective advanced manufacturing procedures in order to gain higher market share and to strengthen their respective positions in the Asia Pacific market. Browse Full Report Description: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/asia-pacific-alopecia-treatment-market.asp Key Players Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Merck & Co., Inc. Johnson & Johnson, Inc. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. Cipla Ltd. Cellmid Ltd. The Himalaya Drug Company Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd Shiseido Co., Ltd. Zhangguang 101 Science & Technology Co., Ltd. To Buy Full Report: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11077 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: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/persistence-market-research-&-consulting Twitter: https://twitter.com/persistence_mkt Journalist Resources: media@persistencemarketresearch.com SOURCE Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd. PEORIA, Illinois, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT/Euronext: CATR) informs its stockholders that today, in accordance with Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, 2 Forms 4 (the report on Form 4 being a statement of beneficial ownership of its officers, directors and 10% owners) were filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Caterpillar files electronically with the SEC required reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 11-K; proxy materials; ownership reports for insiders as required by Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and registration statements on Forms S-3 and S-8, as necessary; and other forms or reports, as required. All of the forms and reports filed electronically with the SEC are available on the SEC Internet site (www.sec.gov). Caterpillar also maintains an Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com) and copies of its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished with the SEC are available free of charge through Caterpillar's Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com/secfilings) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant document has been filed with the SEC. CONTACT: Rachel Potts, Corporate Public Affairs, +1-309-675-6892 This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire. SOURCE Caterpillar Inc. LUXEMBOURG, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ContourGlobal Power Holdings S.A. (the "Issuer") today announced the settlement of its previously announced cash tender offer (the "Tender Offer") for any and all of its outstanding 7.125% senior secured notes due 2019 (the "Notes"), which expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 14, 2016 (the "Expiration Time"). In accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer, the Issuer accepted for purchase $256,599,000 aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes (approximately 51.32%), representing all such Notes that were validly tendered and not withdrawn as of the Expiration Time. The Issuer intends to redeem all Notes not purchased in the Tender Offer on July 6, 2016. This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell the Notes or any other securities, nor shall there be any purchase of the Notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or purchase would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About ContourGlobal The Issuer is a finance subsidiary wholly-owned by ContourGlobal L.P., a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "ContourGlobal"). ContourGlobal is a premier developer and operator of wholesale electric power generation businesses in 20 countries worldwide. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The Issuer undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, including, without limitation, changes in ContourGlobal's business or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. SOURCE ContourGlobal DUBLIN, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Electric Vehicle Market in China 2016-2020" report to their offering. The electric vehicle market in China is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 30.3% during the period 2016-2020. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the electric vehicle market in China for 2016-2020. The market is segmented based on the technology type: BEVs PHEVs A trend which is expected to boost market growth is the low ownership of vehicles per capita and the migration from rural to urban areas. Low penetration rate of passenger cars in China has made the region one of the most attractive markets for global automakers. The massive size of the country (home to the world's largest population) offers immense potential in terms of vehicle penetration per capita. According to the report, a key growth driver is the monetary subsidies which are making EVs to become competitively prices. Electrifying public transport has gained importance in China. The Chinese government has supported both manufacturers and customers to encourage the use of EVs. In line with this, the Chinese government has rolled out initiatives designed to encourage the use of EVs. Further, the report states that one challenge that could restrict market growth is the anxiety surrounding the range of travel offered by EVs. The storage capacity of the battery in an EV poses a key challenge faced by customers (as a result most customers fear to venture far from a charging station). Key vendors: BAIC Motors BYD FDG Geely Wuzhoulong Yutong Zotye Auto Key Topics Covered: PART 01: Executive summary PART 02: Scope of the report PART 03: Market research methodology PART 04: Introduction PART 05: Market landscape PART 06: Market segmentation by type PART 07: Market segmentation by technology PART 08: Market drivers PART 09: Impact of drivers PART 10: Market challenges PART 11: Impact of drivers and challenges PART 12: Market trends PART 13: Vendor landscape PART 14: Key vendor analysis For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/gjdtt7/electric_vehicle 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 As Chinese President Xi Jinping readies to kick off his Central and Eastern European trip on Friday, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang hailed the fruits reaped by the practical cooperation between the two nations in an article published by People's Daily. Li cited the infrastructure projects constructed or funded by Chinese companies as an example of bilateral collaboration. The projects include the Pupin Bridge, a road bridge over the Danube River in Belgrade, a power plant in Kostolac, the E763 Highway between Serbia and Montenegro, and the Budapest-Belgrade Railway. Both sides are currently mulling cooperation on waste-to-energy projects and industrial parks, Li said. In a recent interview with Peoples Daily, Serbian Ambassador to China Milan Bacevic also praised the acquisition of the Smederevo-based steel plant, which had been running at a loss, by Hebei Iron and Steel Group this April. The project injects strong impetus to the economic competitiveness of Serbia, he noted. As a gate to the European market, Serbia provides huge conveniences for Chinese enterprises, the ambassador said. Further plans for Serbia include discussions with Macedonia in a canal linking the Danube and the Aegean Sea. The success of those projects benefits from the "16+1" cooperation framework initiated in 2012. The new cooperation platform established by China and the 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) aims to deepen traditional friendship, enhance win-win cooperation and push for a balanced China-Europe relationship. Statistics show that the trade volume between China and CEECs totaled at $56.2 billion in 2015, an increase of 28 percent from 2010. Chinese companies have invested more than $5 billion in CEECs, and the 16 CEECs have invested more than $1.2 billion in China. EASTAMPTON, New Jersey, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicore BioNetworks Inc. announces the retirement of Mr. Philip A.D. Secretan and Mr. Fred N. Boulos as directors of the corporation. Both have served the Board faithfully and diligently for a combined 19 years. Their support and guidance helped Epicore evolve from a struggling startup to a successful enterprise. During their tenure, the Company has seen sales increase three fold, has been profitable in every quarter of operation and has grown to become a significant supplier to the world aquaculture industry. They leave the Company on solid financial footings, ready to grow its business to the next level and to reward the support of its shareholders. Mr. Secretan has agreed to make his aquaculture industry expertise available to the Company as Epicore continues to broaden its aquaculture business. The Board wishes them the best in their retirement years. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/380305LOGO ) Additionally, Epicore BioNetworks Inc. is pleased to announce that a new director has joined the board, effective June 16, 2016. The Board welcomes Mr. Stefan Zaphiriou Zarifi of Malaga, Spain. Mr. Zarifi holds a bachelor's degree from the London School of Economics. He has held senior positions in several London based financial firms. The Board expects that his knowledge and experience will be of great benefit to Epicore's plan to develop commercial alliances. The Board of Directors has approved issuance to Mr. Zarifi of 50,000 options to buy Epicore common shares. The grants follow Company board compensation policy. The options being issued have an exercise price of C$0.65 per share and expire in five years. The 50,000 options granted is equivalent to 0.2% of Epicore's issued common stock. The Epicore Stock Option Plan was approved by shareholders at the Company's Annual General and Special Meetings of Shareholders. Epicore BioNetworks Inc. is a leading producer of environmental biotechnology and animal nutrition products. It manufactures in the USA and markets worldwide to a variety of industries to reduce environmental pollution and increase operational productivity. Epicore BioNetworks Inc. is a public corporation with a registered office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and with shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol EBN). [The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.] Mr. William P. Long (Chief Executive Officer), Tel: +1-609-267-9118 SOURCE Epicore BioNetworks Inc. DUBLIN, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Ethoxylated Castor Oil (CAS 61791-12-6) Market Research Report 2016" report to their offering. This Global Report 2016 is a result of industry experts' diligent work on researching the world market of ethoxylated castor oil. The report helps to build up a clear view of the market (trends and prospects), identify major players in the industry, and estimate main downstream sectors. The first chapter introduces the product by providing review of the most of its characteristics (composition, structure, hazards, storage, toxicological & ecological information, etc.). The second chapter focuses on ethoxylated castor oil end-uses, the third one gives summary on a number of patents. The fourth chapter deals with ethoxylated castor oil market trends review, distinguish ethoxylated castor oil manufacturers and suppliers. The chapter 5 summarizes ethoxylated castor oil prices data. The last chapter analyses ethoxylated castor oil downstream markets. The ethoxylated castor oil global market report 2016 key points: - ethoxylated castor oil description, its application areas and related patterns - ethoxylated castor oil market situation - ethoxylated castor oil manufacturers and distributors - ethoxylated castor oil prices (by region and provided by market players) - ethoxylated castor oil end-uses breakdown - ethoxylated castor oil downstream industries trends Key Topics Covered: 1. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1. General information, synonyms 1.2. Composition, chemical structure 1.3. Safety information 1.4. Hazards identification 1.5. Handling and storage 1.6. Toxicological & ecological information 2. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL APPLICATION 3. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL PATENTS 4. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL MARKET WORLDWIDE 4.1. General ethoxylated castor oil market situation, trends 4.2. Manufacturers of ethoxylated castor oil 4.3. Suppliers of ethoxylated castor oil 4.4. Ethoxylated castor oil market forecast 5. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL MARKET PRICES 6. ETHOXYLATED CASTOR OIL END-USE SECTOR For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8x6bmj/ethoxylated 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 What is SEMS? SEMS (Smart Energy Management System) is a comprehensive energy management system which integrates different layers of communication, information and applications. Broadly speaking, SEMS puts every system component in an information environment that is interconnected rather than requiring actual physical connections. SEMS V1.0 will concentrate exclusively on solar power. Why do DNOs need SEMS? Large installations can affect the stability of traditional energy distribution because of lack of management, dispatch and forecast. The GoodWe system has the functionality to maintain stability in independent situations. Meanwhile, users of large systems have additional requirements about their power generation. They are no longer content to merely monitor how much electricity their system produces or whether it is working optimally on their roof. How does SEMS V1.0 manage your power? Is already compatible with various batteries to store electricity generated from rooftop solar panels during the day, so that electricity can be used at night during peak-usage times. Users can use a mobile APP to control the flow of the energy and manage the batteries intelligently. Supports remote control, management and updates so that users can get immediate problem solving and the latest operating software. Also, SEMS V1.0 integrates a smart chip in its solar inverter to realize high levels of data transmission encryption. This ensures the system operates effectively and in a safe condition. Is fully compatible with MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport). MQTT is the important connectivity protocol "Internet of Thing" which supports SEMS to access and control smart homes. Users can manage household appliances, control and monitor their energy usage through SEMS. "Global energy is undergoing significant changes; we are in the era of the combination of information technology and energy systems. GoodWe is no longer just a component manufacturer. We are committed to building a Smart Energy Management System to manage the production, usage and scheduling of energy; to realize real-time monitoring, analysis and optimization via its data and cloud computing; to support free trade of distributed energy; to achieve optimal economic benefits and social benefits," said GoodWe's General Manager, Mr. Huang Min. SOURCE GoodWe BRENTWOOD, England, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The GYENNO SPOON, from GYENNO Technologies, a kind of smart tableware that can automatically identify a hand tremor and use technology to actively keep the spoon stable, made its debut at the National Tremor Foundation's (NTF) annual conference held at The Holiday Inn in Brentwood, Essex on Saturday June 4, 2016. NTF is an organization that aims to provide help, support and advice to all those living with all forms of tremor irrespective of age. The organization's annual conference provides members and friends with the opportunity of not only meet and spend time together but also ask a panel of experts questions that help with improving quality of life. During the conference, Dr Bain discussed Ultrasound treatment research currently in operation, and Dr. Misbahuddin gave speech on Deep Brain Stimulation for stopping neurological tremors. Especially to deserve to be mentioned, a new utensils called GYENNO Spoon debut in annual conference. Many people have heard of the GYENNO SPOON since the last Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas; now it has come to the UK to meet its friends at NTF. Several patients at the conference tried using the GYENNO SPOON to eat and they felt no stress. (Images here.) Between Parkinson's disease, which is estimated to affect 7 million or more people worldwide, and a neurological condition called Essential Tremors, which is even more prevalent, many tens of millions of people worldwide suffer from shaky hands, making it extremely difficult to hold a utensil and eat without spilling. Embarrassing and frustrating, this shaky grip can strip away a person's independence. However, the GYENNO SPOON, with its ergonomic grip, senses the tremor and uses robot technology to move the spoon both up and down and side to side to counteract the tremor and keep the food on the utensil. The utensil uses a 360 degree stabilization solution, offsetting 85% of unwanted tremors. About GYENNO Technologies GYENNO Technologies focuses on developing medical grade health-related technology products. Founded in 2013 and based in Shenzhen, China, the company combines Big Data, IoT and sensors to create beautiful and useful personal health products. The company's initial products comprise a Smart WATCH, Smart CUP, Smart SPOON and a smartphone health app. For more information, visit http://www.gyenno.com/index-en.html . Contact: Derek Li Sales & Marketing Director +86-177-278-82505 lidehuai@gyenno.com Related Links http://www.gyenno.com SOURCE GYENNO Technologies CO., LTD. LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The CEO of an international vehicle armouring company - 'IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems' was celebrating this week after being awarded the title of the country's top executive by Business Worldwide Magazine. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160616/809784 ) Voted by the magazine's readers, entrepreneur Tom Fleenor was delighted to pick up the award which he received for his fast turn-around of an ailing armoured vehicle plant. American-born Fleenor, whose company produces armoured vehicles for the defence and security sectors, bought over the former International Armoring Corporation Philippines operation last year. He then installed innovative technology, invested in new materials, application processes and completely restructured the manufacturing operation. As a result he has turned the company's fortunes around. "We're delighted how well things have gone, considering what we started with," said Fleenor. "But really, this is only the beginning. As an independent company we will continue to innovate and develop top quality products so that our clients get the best of what the industry has to offer as well as feel a return on their investment." Fleenor insists that his company's vehicles are the most technologically-advanced and bullet-resistant for passengers in the world. Doors, pillar posts, roofs, floor and every single piece of glass in a car can be surreptitiously security-strengthened while the vehicle maintains its original physical appearance - both inside and out. Clients of IAC Philippines/TomArmor Systems include US homeland security, European defence industries, Southeast Asia and Philippine governmental contracts along with the private high wealth sectors. Then there are developing nations both in African and the Middle East who are facing both internal political stability from rebels and threats from nearby nations. Celebrity clients too are growing in number and nationality. Fleenor added: "As well as being known as a company which produces top quality vehicles, we are also very much known for our honesty. Our corporate mission statement, for instance, states that we produce the finest, most technologically-advanced bullet resistant passenger and specialty vehicles in the world - and that's not wrong. In this industry the truth is essential; for one thing lives are at risk." We do what we say we will do, thus avoiding conflicts within the organization and clients. Transparency and honesty has played a critical part in the success of regaining our clientele and our ability to reorganize in a positive position. Meanwhile the armoured vehicle sector is experiencing huge growth at the moment due, in the main, to the rise in conflict both across and within nations. There are predictions that the industry will be worth around $28 billion USD by the end of this decade. Previously it hit its peak during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts when the demand for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) escalated. By 2012, 42,000 of these vehicles had been produced, at a total cost of around $47.7 billion. To find out more about the armoured vehicle industry and Fleenor's philosophy see www.iacphilippines.com An article on the company can be found on BWM website http://www.bwmonline.com/2016/05/driving-global-success-within-armoured-vehicle-industry/ For more details on Business Worldwide Magazine Awards 2016, go to http://www.bwmonline.com/awards About Business Worldwide Magazine Business Worldwide Magazine is the leading source of business and dealmaker intelligence throughout the world. Our quarterly magazine and online news portal enables an established audience of corporate dealmakers to track the latest news, stories and developments affecting the international markets, corporate finance, business strategy and changes in legislation. This readership includes of CEO/CFO - Banks, Corporate Lawyers and Venture Capital/Private Equity Companies to name a few. http://www.bwmonline.com Contact David Jones Awards Department E: david.jones@bwmonline.com W: http://www.bwmonline.com SOURCE Business Worldwide Magazine VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile payment transaction volume will grow by a massive 42% to reach 26,923.7 Mn in 2016, up from 18,969.8 Mn in 2015. In terms of value, this will represent nearly US$ 768.78 Bn, up from US$ 549.91 Bn in 2015. Mobile payments will continue to be strong in APEJ and Africa, as unlike US and Europe, a majority of consumers don't own a credit card, and are making a direct shift from cash to mobile payments. Growth will be particularly robust in China, where the entry of Apple and Samsung earlier this year has led to a renewed interest, sprucing up the already fiercely-competitive landscape. Request a Sample Report: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-262 While strong adoption in China will continue to boost the mobile payment market in Asia Pacific, making it the leading market globally in terms of volume, Africa will maintain its numero uno position in terms of value. The tremendous success of M-Pesa in Kenya has influenced consumers and businesses in other African countries to adopt mobile money, leading to a rapid increase in the Africa mobile payment market. Africa currently accounts for nearly 32% revenue share of the global mobile money market, with a subscriber base of over 100 million. Outside of Asia Pacific and Africa, the U.S. and Western Europe remain the other lucrative regions for mobile payment transaction market globally. While mobile payment transactions will continue to grow, existing challenges, such as slow adoption of smartphone compatible POS systems by retailers will continue to impede growth. "While a 42% volume growth looks staggering, there's more to what meets the eye. Apart from a few countries, consumers haven't fully embraced mobile payments, in spite of its relatively better security features. However, given the enormous advantages mobile money offers over traditional payment options, it won't be long before mobile payments become as ubiquitous as credit cards", FMI said in its report. Free Analysis by Technology with TOC: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-mobile-payment-transaction-market By technology, SMS and WAP/WEB will continue to account for most of the transactions conducted worldwide. Mobile payments conducted through SMS will witness a year-on-year growth rate of over 28% and total US$ 385 Bn in revenues. Payments made through NFC, widely touted as the technology of the future, will witness the highest y-o-y growth rate, increasing at over 59% in 2016. Money transfer and merchandise purchases account for over 90% revenue share of the global mobile payment transaction market on the basis of end-use 'purpose'. Mobile payments made for merchandise purchases will be worth US$ 323.73 Bn in 2016, up from US$ 228.32 Bn in 2015. Money transfer, the largest end-use purpose in the mobile payment transaction market, will grow by over 38% to surpass US$ 381 Bn in revenues. Speak with Analyst for any report related queries, clarifications or additional data requirements: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-262 Leading players operating in the global mobile payment transaction market are PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Alipay. Long-term Forecast: FMI forecasts the global mobile payment transaction market to increase at a CAGR of 39.1% through 2020 and reach US$ 2.89 trillion in revenues. Get More Insights on Electronics & ICT Market Research Reports: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/category/electronics-ict FMI Latest Insights: Video on Demand ( VoD) Service Market : http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/video-on-demand-market http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/video-on-demand-market X-Band Radar Market: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/x-band-radar-market http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/x-band-radar-market Smart Railways Market: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/smart-railways-market About Us: Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Contact Us: 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 T (UK): + 44 (0) 20 7692 8790 Sales: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Press: press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com SOURCE Future Market Insights LONDON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gastropharm is proud to announce that on June 10, Vivomixx, the world's most concentrated probiotic, received approval for reimbursement on National Health Service (NHS) prescription. This approval was granted by the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances (ACBS), who is responsible for advising on applications for food supplements. Gastropharm is a United Kingdom based, specialist pharmaceutical company with key executives who have extensive experience in the research, development and marketing of products of clinical benefit to patients suffering from a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders. Gastropharm is marketing Vivomixx in the United Kingdom. Vivomixx is a safe, gluten-free food supplement that can be taken daily to achieve a balanced digestive system. This specific combination and concentration of strains was invented some 20 years ago by medical doctor and professor of infectious diseases and immunology, Claudio De Simone, MD, PhD. Vivomixx contains his original formulation with 450 billion bacteria and eight carefully selected strains which has been subject to extensive research in 60 studies and over 170 scientific publications. "The NHS reimbursement approval of Vivomixx is important as it offers patients in the United Kingdom access to this highly concentrated probiotic. The specific formulation in Vivomixx has been widely studied, and represents an important therapeutic option for some patients," Dr. Anton Emmanuel, University College Hospital; National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Vivomixx is available in both sachets and capsules, and the NHS price for the 30 pack sachets is only 29.95, which represents a considerable saving for the NHS compared to the existing alternatives.[1] If patients were switched to Vivomixx, NHS total savings could be as high as 500,000 a year. [2] Vivomixx is currently available in 15 countries throughout Europe. For more information about the product and ordering from your country with reliable partners, visit http://www.vivomixx.co.uk. Consult with your physician for more information. [1] Based on Chemist & Druggist Business Magazine June 2016. [2] According to analysis supplied by GPRx Data. Related Links http://www.vivomixx.co.uk SOURCE Vivomixx DUBLIN, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Suspension Market by System, Damping, Architecture, Leaf Spring & Air Suspension Markets, Component, Vehicle Type, & by Region - Forecast to 2021" report to their offering. The suspension system market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.11% during the forecast period, to reach USD 67.22 Billion by 2021 Increasing demand for riding comfort, stability, better cornering, safety, luxury, technological advancements, along with stringent emission regulations and fuel efficiency standards enforced by the different legislative bodies across the globe are driving the suspension system market. The increasing disposable income and improving standard of living of customers have raised the demand for luxury cars, which in turn, drives the demand for advanced suspension systems. The semi-active/active suspension system market is the highest growing system type in the suspension system market. It is projected to grow at a promising CAGR from 2016 to 2021. Semi-active/active suspension systems achieve better ride comfort with superior vibration control. Unlike passive suspension systems, semi-active/active suspension system have the potential to provide both improved ride quality and handling performance with the help of better braking and cornering. The suspension system market, by architecture is led by semi-independent/independent architecture type during the forecast period. Semi-independent/independent architecture damps the vibrations more effectively, providing better comfort and road handling. The major types of semi-independent/independent suspensions are MacPherson strut and double wishbone. The suspension system market is dominated by major players such as ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Germany), Tenneco Inc. (U.S.), KYB Corporation (Japan), Continental AG (Germany), Magneti Marelli S.p.A (Italy) along with regional suppliers. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Automotive Suspension System Market, By System Type, Vehicle Type and Region 7 Automotive Suspension System Market, By Architecture 8 Automotive Suspension System Market, By Damping Type 9 Automotive Suspension System Market, By Component 10 Automotive Air Suspension System Market, By Region 11 Automotive Leaf Spring Suspension Market, By Region 12 Competitive Landscape 13 Company Profiles - Benteler International AG - Continental AG - KYB Corporation - Magneti Marelli S.P.A. - Mando Corporation - Schaeffler AG - Tenneco Inc. - Thyssenkrupp AG - Wabco Holdings Inc. - Zf Friedrichshafen AG For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kkx8f3/suspension_market 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 DUBLIN, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Confectionery Market in the Us 2016-2020" report to their offering. The confectionery market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 1.57% by revenue during the period 2016-2020. Confectionery Market in the US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. One trend which is expected to drive market growth is the demand for sugar-free confectionery products. With changing consumer preferences, food processing companies now have low-calorie and sugar-free alternatives as part of their product lines. Consumers are increasingly substituting sugar confectionery with low-calorie sweeteners. This has created a surge in demand for sugar-free confectionery. These provide sweetness levels comparable to sugar confectionery products at much smaller quantities than sugar. Sugar-free products are more evident in sectors such as mints and medicated confectionery, driven by brand activity from manufacturers such as Wrigley. According to the report, a key growth driver is the availability of a wide range of products. The consumer's choice of packaged food items depends on the availability of the products in the market. The larger the number, the higher the chance of consuming multivariate products. The availability of a wide range of products is also driving the sugar confectionery market. Key vendors - Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli - Ferrero - Hershey's - MarsMar - Mondelez International - Perfetti Van Melle - Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Economy overview Part 06: Market landscape Part 07: Market segmentation by product Part 08: Market segmentation by distribution channel Part 09: Market drivers Part 10: Impact of drivers Part 11: Market challenges Part 12: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 13: Market trends Part 14: Vendor landscape For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/x85hgv/confectionery 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 Clustrix Revs its Next-Gen Magento Engine at MagentoLive UK SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK has given the world some awesome things: Newtonian Physics, Shakespeare, parliamentary democracy, The Beatles. Now San Francisco-based Clustrix, a Magento Silver Performance Partner, wants to give something back at MagentoLive UK 2016, taking place June 20-21. Clustrix, Gold sponsor of the show and provider of the first scale-out SQL database, will demo ClustrixDB for Magento--the next-generation backend that supercharges the performance capabilities of Magento stores. "Today's e-commerce companies all must face two realities: they need to handle radical shifts in website traffic and transactions, and they need to sell to a global audience that never sleeps, and never stops shopping," said Mike Azevedo, CEO, Clustrix. "We've built a backend for high-transaction Magento stores that allows you to process more orders per hour and eliminate checkout-lockout due to catalog updates and indexing." ClustrixDB for Magento includes the only Magento-approved drop-in replacement for MySQL, which accommodates more than five times the traffic and orders of a typical Magento site, and the Shadow (re)Indexer, which allows companies to update e-commerce catalogs without slowing down the site and making check-out unavailable. Proving what was thought impossible: zero errors, 100 percent uptime while re-indexing Conventional wisdom and experience say that you can't re-index under heavy workloads without significant (revenue-eating) downtime. However, Clustrix will demonstrate at the show that, with its new Magento backend, you can run a Magento store at remarkable levels of performance -- 14.6 orders per second and 816 pageviews per second while doing catalog updates approximately every 12 minutes (with new catalog updates appearing on the site in seconds). "You'd expect an online store to buckle under these conditions, however at Magento Imagine we showed that this can be done while achieving an average response time of 267 milliseconds, with 0% error rate and 100% checkout uptime," said Azevedo. "We're going to repeat the demonstration at MagentoLive UK, and anyone who doesn't think we can duplicate the results is invited to come and see for themselves--we predict they'll walk away believers." To learn more about ClustrixDB for Magento, don't miss VP of Sales, Lindsey Anderson's Solutions Spotlight presentation, taking place on Tuesday, June 21st, 9:00 - 9:30am, at Westminster 2, Level 3! About Clustrix Clustrix provides the leading scale-out relational database engineered for the cloud or data center. ClustrixDB is a drop-in replacement for MySQL and an ideal solution for high-transaction, high-value workloads typically found in businesses such as ad tech, e-commerce, gaming and large web and mobile businesses. Our customers use ClustrixDB for critical business applications that support massive transactional volume and real-time reporting of business performance metrics. ClustrixDB delivers more than 25 trillion transactions per month for customers including AOL, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip, Choxi, Photobox, Rakuten and Symantec. Headquartered in San Francisco, visit www.clustrix.com to learn more. Clustrix is trademarked in the U.S. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Other product or company names mentioned may be trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Related Links http://www.clustrix.com SOURCE Clustrix